The Consequences Of Climate Change Environmental Sciences Essay

The job of clime alteration affects the full universe and this is one of the major planetary jobs. The impacts of clime alteration are diverse and could be damaging to one million millions of people across the universe, peculiarly those in developing states, who are the most vulnerable. Many of the effects of clime alteration will hold negative economic effects. The figure of terrible conditions events, for illustration, is likely to increase and escalate as a consequence of clime alteration, which could ensue in one million millions of dollars in economic harm yearly. Climate alteration refers to an addition in mean planetary temperatures. Natural events and human activities are believed to be lending to an addition in mean planetary temperatures. This is caused chiefly by the addition of â€Å" nursery † gases such as Carbon Dioxide ( CO2 ) . The rise of planetary temperatures have been accompanied by alterations in conditions and clime. We can see many negative effects of c lime alteration such as oceans warming and going more acidic, ice caps runing and sea degrees lifting. Recently, human activities have released big sums of C dioxide and other nursery gases into the ambiance. The nursery gases effects come from the combustion of fossil fuels to bring forth energy. Furthermore, deforestation, industrial procedures and some agricultural patterns besides emit gases into the ambiance which contributes a batch of negative effects to our nature. Harmonizing to the US bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) ( 2010 ) , there are seven indexs which show an addition in a heating universe which are troposphere temperature, humidness, temperature over oceans, sea surface temperature, sea degrees, ocean heat content and temperature over land. In contrary, there are three indexs that result in the decreasing of temperature which are sea ice, glaciers and snow screen. Climate alteration contributes a batch of negative effects because o f the addition in planetary temperature which leads to the thaw of ice, effects on agribusiness and alterations in conditions forms. First of wholly, the effects of planetary heating and clime alteration can be black. In fact, world have already witnessed and keeps witnessing negative effects of planetary heating. Climate alteration occurs due to increase of planetary temperature. Global heating caused by air pollution is increasing the sum of C gases, besides known as nursery gases in the Earth ‘s ambiance. The termA greenhouseA is used in concurrence with the phenomenon known as the nursery consequence. Energy from the Sun drives the Earth ‘s conditions and clime, and heats the Earth ‘s surface. In bend, the Earth radiates energy back into infinite. These gases are hence known as nursery gases. The nursery consequence is the rise in temperature on Earth as certain gases in the ambiance trap energy. Greenhouse gases act like a cover around Earth, pin downing energy in the ambiance and doing it to warm up. This phenomenon is called the nursery consequence and is natural and necessary to back up l ife on Earth. However, the physique up of nursery gases can alter Earth ‘s clime and consequence in unsafe effects to human wellness and public assistance and to ecosystems. Harmonizing to Anup Shah ( 2012 ) , six chief nursery gases are carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) , methane ( CH4 ) ( which is 20 times as potent a nursery gas as C dioxide ) and azotic oxide ( N2O ) , plus three fluorinated industrial gases: hydro fluorocarbons ( HFCs ) , per fluorocarbons ( PFCs ) and sulphur hexafluoride ( SF6 ) . Water vapor is besides considered a nursery gas. Greenhouse effects besides have positive effects because without them, heat would get away back into infinite and the Earth ‘s mean temperature would be a batch colder. However, if the nursery consequence becomes stronger, so Earth might no longer be suited for worlds, animate beings and workss to populate in. Human activity has caused an instability in the natural rhythm of the nursery consequence and related procedures. As a conseq uence, the ice caps start to run and increase the sea degree might finally submerge some little islands and gnaw the surface of the mainland. The addition in planetary temperatures leads to the thaw of the snow screen and glaciers in mountains and both poles. If the glaciers melt, the sea degrees will besides lift. Initially, the rise in sea degree would increase merely by an inch or two. But even a modest rise in sea degrees could do deluging jobs for the houses, workss and edifices that are situated in the low-lying countries. There has been much concern about the possibility that planetary heating will do the polar ice caps to run and deluge many coastal metropoliss. In short, if both polar ice caps melted, sea degree would so raise plenty to deluge many coastal countries and alter the universe ‘s coastlines. Furthermore, climate alteration gives a batch of negative effects on agribusiness. The high temperature of the Earth causes the fertile lands to go wastes and unsuitable for agricultural activities. Harmonizing to NOAA ( 2010 ) , climate alteration affects agribusiness on dirt procedures, harvests and grasslands and farm animal. First, effects on dirt procedure. The possible for dirts to back up agribusiness and distribution of land usage will be influenced by alterations in dirt H2O balance. It will increase in soil H2O shortages, for illustration dry soils become even drier. The increased demand for irrigation could better dirt workability in wetting agent parts and diminish poaching and eroding hazard. Second, effects on harvests. The effects of increased temperature and CO2 degrees on arable harvests are more susceptible to altering conditions and field veggies will be peculiarly affected by temperature alterations and H2O shortages will straight impact fruit and vegetable produc tion. Last, there are effects on the grasslands and unrecorded stock. Poultry and unrecorded stock could be exposed to higher incidences of heat emphasis therefore act uponing productiveness. It will increase in disease transmittal by faster growing rates of pathogens in the environment. Therefore, we have to unify in happening positive solutions for these immediate jobs. On the other manus, extreme conditions forms may go more common. The rise of mean temperature produce a variable clime alteration. There are many critical effects of utmost conditions forms such as windstorms, heat moving ridges or drouths, storms with utmost rain or snow and dust storms. Harmonizing to George E. Mash ( 2000 ) , utmost conditions caused by C dioxide ( CO2 ) from autos, industries and power workss, trap heat near the Earth ‘s surface. More heat means more energy. Adding so much energy to the ambiance creates the potency for more extremes. Washington occupants experienced conditions extremes in the autumn of 2006. First, record rains churned up rivers and caused landslides and inundations around Western Washington. Then, as the H2O began to unclutter, a record cold with ice and snowfall paralytic parts of the west side of the province. That was closely followed by record gale force air currents, 14 deceases, extended belongings harm, and yearss of power outages f or 1 million places and concerns in Washington. Climatologists say utmost conditions events will go more common as our clime heats up. In add-on, drouths can impact us on less summer H2O for farms, metropoliss and woods. Worlds, animate beings and workss can non populate with limited H2O supplies. In that instance, we will hunger for H2O if the drouths maintain go oning. Besides, irrigation will be less due to earlier high river flows and diminishing dirt wet. Furthermore, less H2O for metropolis municipal H2O beginnings will impact industries, concerns and householders. With a 3.6 grade heating, drouths will happen more often. To forestall from non holding adequate H2O supplies, we must take safeguard stairss to forestall it from happens. Conservation patterns can assist cut down demand for H2O. Municipalities and irrigation territories need to seek new storage countries to flush out the flow and demand for H2O. If inundations become more utmost and frequently occur, warmer tempera tures result in more winter precipitation falling as rain instead than snow throughout much of the Pacific Northwest. This alteration will ensue in higher winter watercourse flows with more inundations, less winter snow accretion and earlier spring snowmelt. In contrast to more rain when we do n't necessitate it, there will be less H2O when we do necessitate it. Significant decreases in summer watercourse flow will adversely impact husbandmans who rely on irrigation, occupant and summertime hydropower production. These alterations are likely to increase bing struggles among viing H2O users, made worse by a regional population addition. In decision, we must united and collaborate with each other in order to salvage our female parent nature from the addition in planetary temperature and changing of conditions forms that are progressively widespread. We must take safeguards in order to protect our Earth from utmost clime alteration. There are assorted effects due to climate alteration such as the snow runing in the Arctic is increasing, lifting sea degrees, shriveling land size, natural catastrophes such as inundations, drouths and forest fires and increasing wellness job and affects on cosmopolitan life affect the end product of agricultural merchandises. Therefore, we must take safeguards in order to forestall clime alteration. Among the steps that should be implemented to turn to clime alteration is holding an consciousness run on environmental attention. In add-on, the usage of eco-friendly energy beginnings should be given precedence. Education about the environment should be emphasized in school and environmenta l instruction is besides of import to the older coevals is implemented as a few of them are merely concerned with wealth and net income entirely. Furthermore, information about the effects caused by clime alteration and the impact of environmental pollution should be widely disseminated in assorted ways. The governments should make research diligently on how to cut down planetary heating. Reforestation and recycling plans besides must be done instantly. We must cut down C monoxide emanations by cut downing the usage of private vehicles. By taking a assortment of safeguards, our Earth will be safe from the menace of clime alteration.

Economical and religious repression Essay

â€Å"Illustrate from Blake’s songs the ways the poet shows that the people of his time were alienated from their natural selves and from society by political, economical and religious repression† A major target of Blake’s in the conquest to correct the unnatural state of society was that of religion and the Church. Blake was an unconventional Christian. Although clearly religious, as seen in poems such as ‘The Lamb’ and ‘Night’, he abhorred the concept of organised religion and believed it to be an extremely damaging institution which was more concerned with the oppression of the lower classes and the continuance of the unequal status quo than with true religion. Blake believed the moral codes that were extolled by the Church were significantly damaging to society, making innocent concepts deviant and causing bitter unhappiness. In ‘The Garden of Love’, Blake conveys his feelings on the repressive qualities of religion. This poem is the basis for Blake’s theory on repressive religion, using ‘The Garden of Love’ as a basis for the damaging effects of religious ‘bans’, Blake then goes onto portray how the effects change with different experiences such as love and sex. In the poem, the speaker returns to ‘The Garden of Love’ where he used to ‘play’ (which seems to refer to the innocent discovery of sexuality by children) and finds that it has been transformed. Where once children used to ‘play on the green’ there are now ‘priests in black gowns’, and ‘gravestones’ where there used to be ‘flowers’. The speaker has become aware of Church law and its oppressive ‘bans’, Blake emphasises the influence of the religious morals by use of metrical technique. The power of ‘Thou shalt not’ paralyses the poem, with three successive stresses halting the regularly anapaestic rhythm. In the same way that ‘Thou shalt not’ stops the flow of the poem, the construction of the Chapel stops the innocent ‘play’ of children. In the design which accompanies the poem children are seen praying over the graves of ‘Joys & Desires’, which were murdered by the Church. Blake further expands his theory on how repressive religion alienates people of his day from their natural selves in his two poems on sexual intercourse, ‘The Blossom’ and ‘The Sick Rose’. ‘The Blossom’ is a celebration of what Blake would call completely natural sex, being free from morals and repressive religion it is a wonderful and joyous occasion, so full of emotion that it makes the robin sob with joy. ‘The Blossom’ is full of positive language, such as ‘happy’, ‘merry’ and ‘pretty’ and contains a simple and bouncing rhythm that conveys the naturalness of the act and how positive such sex is. ‘The Sick Rose’ on the other hand portrays sexual intercourse at its most depraved and shameful. The poem is a vision of sex under the influence of repressive religious morals and restricting social conventions; it portrays sexual intercourse under the influence of repressive religious morals. The poem utilises a complicated and lumpy rhythm, with a mix of anapaestic and iambic feet and a disturbing first line which is difficult to scan, the world of ‘Experience’ is clearly evoked through Blake’s metrical technique. The poem’s imagery of an ‘invisible worm’ ‘flying at night’ in a ‘howling storm’ is full of darkness, violence and depravity. The Rose hides (implied by ‘found out’) her sexual pleasure, her ‘bed of crimson joy’, which reveals the hypocrisy of female pleasure in this depraved form of sex; the Rose has sexual desire but hides it from the ‘invisible worm’. In the final two lines Blake sums up his point of the poem, that this kind of sexual intercourse, this ‘dark secret love’, ‘Does thy life destroy’. Through his portrayal of love and sex in the Songs, Blake shows the damaging effects of religious repression. Repressive religious morals and laws have led to the body becoming detached from the soul, and sex, which the Church associates with the body, has become a seedy and deviant act. In these poems, Blake has shown that the Church has alienated people from their natural selves. In ‘My Pretty Rose Tree’, Blake reveals his beliefs on the unnatural constraints of marriage. Blake repudiated any kind of binding contracts or morals, which might constrain the natural self from its freedom and marriage fell firmly within his sights. As far as Blake was concerned, marriage was a dead institution (as revealed by the ‘marriage hearse’ of ‘London’) and an unnatural social prison which severely damaged peoples’ natural selves. In the poem, a ‘flower was offered’ to the speaker, a metaphor for an extra-marital affair, by a woman which the speaker finds attractive (‘Such a flower as May never bore’). However, the unnatural constraints of marriage cause the speaker to unhappily, suggested by the slowing of the rhythm with a double stress in ‘And I passed the sweet flower o’er’, turn down the offer and return to his wife, his ‘Pretty Rose tree’. The artificial boundaries of marriage have led to the speaker giving up the chance of being happy with his ‘sweet flower’ and to being trapped with his jealous ‘Rose tree’ whose ‘thorns’ are his ‘only delight’. Blake suggests that without the constraints of marriage that the speaker would have been free to follow his heart, rather than conforming to an artificial law and becoming unhappy. In ‘London’, Blake further expresses his attitude towards marriage. In the poem, marriage is presented as a ‘hearse’, a vessel for carrying the dead, though with their bodies (their sexual selves) being dead in a loveless and institutionalised marriage which extols the virtues of the soul over the deviant and depraved body. Blake blames the unnatural state of love in society on the Church’s separation of body and soul. The separation has forced the soul to be encapsulated in marriage and the body to be forced to become deviant and turn to ‘youthful Harlots’. Sexual pleasure has only two options, either a loveless marriage or buying pleasure from seedy and diseased prostitutes. Marriage, in Blake’s eyes, has made all sexual pleasure the kind found in ‘The Sick Rose’, depraved and hidden, whereas in a world free from the unnatural constraints alienating people from themselves, people would be able to enjoy the pleasure found in ‘The Blossom’.

Balance Theory Essay

Introduction Good Evening ladies and gentlemen my name is xxxxx and today I shall enlighten you about a very interesting theory concerning consumer behaviour and Marketing. As practicing marketers, we are well aware of the impact that a celebrities endorsement can have on consumer behaviour but I am pretty sure most of you wouldn’t know the reasoning behind such a phenomenon. What is the Balance Theory? Ever wondered why firms use celebrities to endorse their products? Well wonder no further because Fritz Heider proposed with his Balance theory that people attempt to maintain a psychological balance and form relationships that balance out their likes and dislikes. For example if Person A likes a celebrity and the celebrity likes a product but Person A originally disliked the product, then Person A is likely to end up increasing his enjoyment of the product or decreasing his liking of the celebrity or both. All these options create equilibrium. As marketers, it is our goal to achieve market the product successfully to the target audience. For example if we were to use Michael Jordan to market golfing products, then the target consumer would most likely end up disliking the product. However, if we were to use Tiger Woods to market the golfing products, then consumers of golfing products would most likely end up liking the products. The Balance Theory Explained So the Balance Theory is made up of a Triangle that consists of 3 elements. The relationship between these 3 elements is known as sentiment relations. So the first element is PO, the second element is PX and the third element is OX. If the results of the multiplication of the positive or negative signs of any 2 elements yields a positive result, then the consistency in the triad is maintained and vice versa. This model may seem complicated but it is in essence very basic. So let me simplify this for you with an example. Positive Example Let us assume P is John a basketball fan, O is Michael Jordan a celebrity Basketball player and X is the product being marketed and in this case let’s assume it is a limited edition basketball. So if John is a fan of Michael Jordan, then the sentimental relation PO will be positive. Since Michael Jordan is approves of the product he endorsed, the relationship OX is positive too. Therefore, by default, PX would be positive too. Negative Example However, say if P were to remain John, O were to become Tiger Woods and X were to become a golf set, then PO would become negative since Tiger Woods is a golfer and hence John would not be able to relate to him, OX would remain positive since Tiger Woods loves the product he is endorsing and the eventual result of this would be a negative PX which would mean consistency in the Triad is not maintained and that the celebrity endorsement has not been successful in promoting this product to the consumer. Importance of this theory to us This theory is of interest to us as future marketers as it helps us understand consumer behaviour and psychology with regards to mascots used to endorse/market a product. It also educates us on the 3 way relationship that transpires between product, celebrity and consumer and in turn, we would be able to market our products using the correct celebrities for the correct product. The End And that ladies and gentlemen concludes my presentation on Fritz Heider’s Balance Theory. Thank you all for your kind attention. Bibliography 1. http://www.investorwords.com/15193/balance_theory.html 2. http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/balance_theory.htm 3. Roy, Subhadip, Gammoh, Bashar S., Koh Anthony C. (2012). Predicting the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements using the balance theory..Journal of Customer Behaviour. 11 (1), p33-52.

Visitor Attraction Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Visitor Attraction Management - Essay Example Visitor attraction is a market that is an increasingly emergent market. It is established that only proper management can sustain these sites in the long run. Every aspect of the attraction i.e. finances, public relations, human resource, impact management etc need to be carefully considered to ensure that the business stays afloat. It is imperative that the site leaves a lasting impression on the visitors (McBoyle 2008). Examples are natural areas, theme parks, museums, animal orphanages, heritage centers etc. Effective management can never be underrated as it inspires visitors and thus generates revenue for the locality. It helps a visitor attraction site compete favorably (Leask 2009). It looks at factors such as the kind of attraction, skills employed, resources available, environment that is competitive enough and the stakeholder base. It is important that a visitor attraction site be well planned. It should stand out from the rest, be properly designed and be unique. This will make it superior to its competitors (Mitchell 2001). This paper will focus on theme parks and specifically, Thorpe Park. It will discuss its management in light of three subtitles; marketing, human resources and visitor experience and quality. This paper aspires to elicit the managerial challenges faced by the named park and highlight how to deal with them. Introduction Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Chertsey, Surrey in the United Kingdom established in 1979. It is managed by Merlin Entertainment, to whom it was let out. It occupies about five hundred acres of land. It enjoys visitations as statistics show that it had approximately 2million visitors in the year 2011. It is a tourist attraction site that provides fan activities for its visitors. It is well known for its ecstatic activities. It has close proximity to London (Yugimotou 2012). Marketing In simple terms it means offering the correct group of people the right product or service in the correct destination, having t he proper cost in mind and getting to them via the right channel of promotion. The aims of researchers going into it are majorly to increase its acceptability, enhance its yearly proceeds and improve clients’ approval (Swarbrooke 1999). Challenges and evidence A study was conducted of Thorpe Park’s marketing strategies adopted. Both primary and secondary data were studied and the following insights were deduced: They have a very effaceable broadcast media outreach. They use the television to publicize themselves. Without a doubt, this reaches a good number of people. Furthermore, they also use print media to promote themselves. They provide flyers and brochures to those who visit. This is a good way of reminding the visitors to go back again. It is also a means of advertising themselves to those who have never been there before (http://www.paperdue.com/details/A). It was ear-marked that their performance online is quite impressive. They have also developed certain stra tegies such as promotional like price cuts, have good eateries etc. However, it is important to note that Thorpe Park is not doing well in terms of publicity especially in the sector of billboards and posters use. In addition, another challenge is its neighboring competitor, Legoland. This is an amusement park located just under half an hour drive from Thorpe Park. It is noted that it could pose a very significant danger to the growth and development of Thorpe Park

Professional Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Professional Issue - Essay Example About 50 per cent of the total population of children in Britain between 9 and 12 years of age use the social networking sites in spite of the established limits of minimum age. According to EUKidsOnline, at least one in every five children has a profile on Facebook despite the fact that the rules require children to be 13 years old to have a Facebook profile (BBC, 2011). The matter of safety of the innocent users of social networking sites like children is debatable. This paper draws a critical analysis of the argument that social networking sites pose threats to the safety of children. An Overview of the Laws in UK related to Social Networking Sites Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 Organizations in the UK that deal with the information about living as well as the identifiable people are obliged to show compliance with the DPA 1998 provisions. Service providers have to be very careful while processing children’s information to comply with the DPA 1998 provisions. This includes the providers of social networking sites that gather the users’ personal data to enable the registration. ... However, the new requirements of notification also include the email addresses’ registration. The government has proposed that these blacklisted email addresses be forwarded to the social networking sites so that they can check the email addresses against the ones in their user base and accordingly, deactivate the matching accounts. Guidance Report by the Home Office Task Force on Child Protection The Home Office Task Force on Child Protection published a note of guidance on the Internet in April, 2008 whose objective was to enhance the safety of children using the social networking sites. Along with serving as a resource of education for the parents, the guidance provides the providers of the social networking services with recommendations on ways to operate the sites in such a way that safety of the users is maximized. The guidance report of the Home Office acknowledges the fact that no environment is completely safe for children in any circumstances, though risks can be red uced by changing the default settings of privacy for the users under 18 years of age to private, making the private profiles of the users below 18 years of age non-searchable without the users’ consent, clear declaration of the information that would be publicly available that what would be private at the time of registration, declaration of simple and user-friendly ways of reporting abuse, discouragement for children to provide excessive information about themselves, and establishment of a system of sharing of reports of abuse between the law enforcement agencies and the industry (The In-House Lawyer, 2008, p. 82). In addition to that, the government of the UK â€Å"set guidelines requiring the sharing of the ‘email addresses’ of registered sex offenders to

Theory Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Theory - Lab Report Example This is affected by electron intensity. If for example the intensity of the electrons is significantly high, there may be a lot of scattering which may produce a result which is far from what is expected. This is used to estimate the formation porosity and the formation density. Through the use of the litho-density the fluid type can also be established. The pore space of the oil and gas is also measured through the litho-density log. This refers to the amount of pores that are in a volume of a solid which is porous in nature. In this case, the value of the porosity is measured as a percentage. However, the true porosity includes the volume of the pores that are sealed. Clean formation is usually more than shales. As a result of this the bulk density will read less than the actual density. Therefore, the density porosity which is computed will be higher in terms of shales as compared to the actual porosity. The SP and GR log complement each other in the sense that Sp log uses electrical charge for the purpose of recording whereas the GR uses Gamma rays. Both of these measure different attributes which are existent in the well. These logs would not be advisable in situations where there is excessive radiation or electrical charge in the well. This is because these may cause fault in the equipment. They are, however, advocated in situations where the quantities of such attributes are average. The quality of caliper in this section will be low. This is because the porosity will take away a significant amount of materials from the region. The result of this is reduced quality of rock and

What caused the Great Sepoy Rebellion of 1857-8 Essay - 1

What caused the Great Sepoy Rebellion of 1857-8 - Essay Example The role of the Indian sepoys was a central one as without their initial rising, other classes would not have been able to initiate such a high level of revolt. The hatred of sepoys attracted all other classes as well and this in turn resulted in the great sepoy rebellion and one of the major rebellions in the history of India. It is often referred to as the first Indian nationalist uprising. Although people from all over India were involved, the major areas of rebellion included the Northern areas of India and Bengal. The Indian sepoys tried to popularize the event by asking the last Mughal emperor to re-establish the Mughal Empire. Through this, they did gain wider support; however, the emperor did not have much power left. Therefore, the revolt was not successful to be turned into a widespread national revolt as the British were able to control it to some extent. Although the rebellion started as a military cause, it took on hold as majority of Indians joined this to show their resentment against the British. After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British took hold of Bengal and took advantage by introducing reforms and policies against the peasants and traders. Along with this, other major causes including religious, political, social resulted in the great rebellion of 1857. The most important cause of this great rebellion included the growing resentment of the Indian sepoys towards their British masters. These sepoys were basically peasants and therefore, supported the farmer community of India at that time. Therefore, the adverse policies of the British government for the agricultural sector greatly affected the feelings of the sepoys as well as they could relate to the actual feelings of the farmer community. Secondly, these sepoys were greatly dissatisfied with the discriminatory promotion and payment policies. The European soldiers were paid more salary although the majority chunk of the work was done by the

The Progress Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Progress Report - Assignment Example Chinese Restaurants are facing direct and indirect competition. So, in order to stay and remain competitive in the market Chinese Restaurants should work on increasing the awareness of their products. In the case of Chopsticks Express, this restaurant is targeting only the small amount of Chinese consumers, who are the students of the State College. My efforts would be to make awareness of the Chinese foods in the market along with highlighting how the local customers could be attracted towards Chinese foods. The role of supervisor has been important for this project and I have been guided by my supervisor throughout the project and this has helped in improving the quality. I have been incorporating the feedback of the supervisor and will continue doing so. After receiving further feedback, the research would continue its steps for the submission of its final draft of proposal. Work Completed I have received the approval and feedback from my instructor about my research. The feedback included instructions of carrying out my research and his instructions have been helpful in improving the work. I have identified that Chinese restaurants are facing some direct competition from the other Asian and American restaurants. The draft proposal of the project was due from 10th June and after modifying my research according to the feedback received I submitted my final proposal in the third week of June with my final topic of Research Information of Chinese Restaurants in State College. My research included analysis of different Chinese restaurants. 13 Asian and 8 Chinese restaurants are located in State College Downtown. Among the Chinese restaurants, Chopsticks Express offers the authentic cuisine of Chinese. Chopsticks express, situated in the center of the state downtown, enjoys the advantage that it could attract more customers apart from the local Chinese customers. I have identified the reason why the restaurant has not been highly successful and the reason is that it does not influence other customers of the region. I figured out that majority of the people do not visit Chopsticks Express because of its unpopularity. When I have researched on it further, I identified the reasons why no one would want to visit a restaurant which does not have a welcoming environment. In the ending days of June I was supposed to work on the demographic part. Demography included the study of population and size. The study included sample size of 800 customers who received questionnaires; these 800 people were those who belonged not only to the area of downtown but also those who visit downtown. The questionnaire was also provided for the managers of the Chinese restaurants operating in the State college downtown. Information and awareness play an important role in marketing of the restaurant. The responses suggested that awareness of Chinese food in US was relatively low and only local customers like Chinese students preferred Chinese cuisine in US. For determi ning the possible solutions for the Chinese restaurants to attract larger number of customers I submitted my recommendations on 30th June. Work to be completed Through this questionnaire I will try to identify the tastes and preferences of the people.I will also appoint interviews with the managers of the Chinese restaurants where I will ask questions related to my study. I want to help Chinese

How to Improve the Place Where You Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How to Improve the Place Where You Work - Essay Example The first step towards improving the workplace is to make sure that the employees have a way by which they can communicate with management pertaining to their workplace related issues. This can be done via unidentified surveys or comment forms dropped into boxes at strategic locations within the office. These pieces of data, information, or stories can then be collated in order to give management a better idea as to the status of the workplace. The problems within the workplace or workforce cannot often be seen on the physical level which is why it is of the utmost importance that employees have a way to release their work frustration by allowing their sentiments to reach the upper levels of management who can hopefully do something about it. Using the collated information, the workforce development team can now put on their thinking caps and mine the forms for plausible solutions from fellow employees. It is highly possible that the best solution to workplace problem can be found in the imaginative ideas of an employee just letting off steam in a survey form. These ideas can then be developed and integrated into an updated work dictum that will hopefully serve to enhance the culture in the workplace, thus, lowering stress levels all around. Remember that improving the workplace is not the responsibility of management alone. ... Scheduling regular dialogue sessions with department members and department heads will often provide the much needed input regarding work related problems that need to be solved. Project specific teams can then be created in order to focus on the narrowed down problem list and its potential solutions as specific action ideas. At this point, it would be a good idea for the company to sponsor quarterly meetings with the employees in order to let them know about the progress or succeeding stages of the workplace improvement efforts. The success of the problem specific teams will rely on upper level communication and representation. This communication and action conduit should be tasked with the responsibility of engaging the key organization leaders and managers in regular discussions meant to bring the plight of the workers to the attention of the business leaders. By enlightening the top brass about the lower level problems, they will be able to help formulate possible action plans me ant to help strengthen the organization. This is also a method by which management can show the rank and file employees that they are valued members of the corporation and as such, their workplace concerns are taken seriously by management since the solution to those problems affect the bottom line of the company profits. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that these team members are not merely secretaries who take notes during meetings and create action plans that never see the light of day. Rather, these workplace improvement team members should be allowed to instigate and experiment with their suggested problems and solutions in order to gauge the effectiveness of the proposed solutions on a department level at the very least. Such compartmentalized methods of

Human Resources JDT2 Essay Example for Free

Human Resources JDT2 Essay Summary: Based on recent quality testing on the toys manufactured for elementary school aged children, it has been noted that the metal whistles contain an amount of lead that is over the United States legally acceptable limit for children age 7 and under. A large shipment is packaged and scheduled to depart at the end of the week. The whistles were manufactured under our company name and at our own warehouse facility. Decision Alternatives: Alternate Process In creating the following possible decision scenarios, the well-being of this company is a massive concern to everyone when a situation such as this arises. The outcome from any decisions made not only effect the consumer of the product, but also the Toy Company, it’s employees, stakeholders, and future customers based on the reputation of the company. In order to determine the best decision, without favoritism, a decision model (7 step decision making process) has been used to guide each deciding deliberation. Therefore, understand that all possible alternatives have been researched and only the best three possible solutions have been included for review. Decision Alternatives: Alternate Advantages and Disadvantages Explain Decision Model or Process Used for Each Advantages Disadvantages Financial considerations Legal considerations Ethical considerations Contact the South American Ministry of Education 7 step decision model, shown above. Allow product receiver to make decision Contamination of company reputation. 50/50 chance of increased reproduction cost. Release of legal obligations once South American Ministry accepts product. The possible subjection of harm to innocent children is simply unethical. Reproduce Contaminated Toy 7 step decision model, shown above. Maintain higher level of satisfaction. Increased costs of reproduction, product delivery late. Approximate cost of $100,000 will be incurred. Maintained federal requirements even outside of geographical requirements. Providing safe products to all children. Ship Product As Is 7 step decision model, shown above. Lowered costs. Potential harm to innocent children Possible litigation cost if families choose to enact a class action. Possible litigation and class action suit The subjection of harm to innocent children is simply unethical. Decision Alternatives: Alternate Considerations 1. Contact the South American Ministry of Education This decision will allow for the receiver of the product to determine for themselves if in fact the shipment is not acceptable and needs replaced. Each government has developed their own criteria of quality control aspects, and should be respected in their own research and limitations of product quality. Within this decision the possibility of the cost of reproduction has a weighing chance of a 50/50 percentage based on the request of the South American Ministry of Education. Also, the informing of and accepting of the product as is will place no further legal obligations on the toy company. 2. Reproduce Contaminated Toy Within the borders of the United States of America, this is the only  acceptable decision to be made. The lead amounts found are above the legal limits and should by all considerations be destroyed and reproduced under the proper legal lead limit guidelines produced by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. The cost of this reproduction will fall solely on the shoulders of the company. The approximate cost to be incurred is $100,000. Also, in the making of this decision the Toy Company will be required to contact and inform the consumer of the production issue and the steps being taken to remedy the issue. The consumer may in turn be upset at the delay and remove their business from our company or may find our honesty in the situation to be respectable and assist in promoting our company due to highly ethical character display. 3. Ship Product As Is The guidelines for lead contamination are much more detailed within the United States than that of most regions. The product could easily be shipped and arrive on time for the opening of school in the South American region expected to receive the whistles. The product information would be included in the packaging, leaving the decision for a return of the product to be determined on the chance someone will notice the lead limits information. This choice could possibly rid the company of any further expenses. However, this leaves to chance the harming of many children, the legal allegations that can be brought up by the South American Ministry of Education, and the extreme tarnish of the company’s reputation within the United States and as a worldwide supplier of children’s products. During the narrowing of possible decisions to be established, a system of steps was utilized to enable a criterion for selecting the best possible outcomes. Each of the previous actions stated posse a decision between respect, ethical behavior, or financial consideration. As a whole each of these three actions must be carefully considered as a possible benefit to the company, as well as a possible strike against the reputation that has been so carefully created through producing top quality products for children all over the world. Alternative Recommendation: Recommendation Justification Of the three best available choices the superior choice would be the Reproduction of the Product. The reasoning in this decision is: Legal Aspect: Although as a company legal retaliation could be avoided if the  consumer accepted the product as is after being fully informed, the families of the children involved will still have the legal right to produce a class action claiming Product Liability on the part of the company for allowing the acceptance of the product by the South American Ministry of Education. Under Product Liability when individuals are harmed by an unsafe product, they may have a Cause of Action against the persons who designed, manufactured, sold, or furnished that product. Wests Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008) Financial Aspect: The reproducing of the product will initially cost the company approximately $100,000. This by all considerations is a financial blow to any company; however, if you consider the alternative cost of ongoing litigation and a class action pay-out, $100,000 seems rather insufficient. Also consider the possible benefit from this loss of monies; not only will the children involved not be affected negatively by a product produce in the land of the free, but the word will quickly spread about the companies quick action plan to resolve an issue for the safety of their consumer, before being forced to do so by the courts. In addition to the consideration of time, effort, and the expense of recovery, an effective plan to recover from the loss incurred on the reproduction of the product there are a few majors concerns that will be on the front line of significance; Brand Protection: The importance of brand protection is only outweighed by the health and safety concerns of the consumer. Cost recovery is a secondary concern. (Belcastro Alfonso, 2011) Supplier relationships. Supplier issues that may make cost recovery difficult include difficulties in tracking supplier contracts or supplier insurance documentation and preservation of supplier business relationships. (Belcastro Alfonso, 2011) Ethical Aspect: For a moment let us look at this situation from the consumer’s side. Would we as parents want the toy company we trust to first consider our children before their personal gain? I would assume anyone would agree that a child should never be subjected to the cruelty of mass production oversight in the products that will be utilized to teach them, care for them, feed them, or protect them. As a company the media would portray any action less than replacement of the product as a grotesque  display of unethical and malice behavior. All businesses, small and large, have an ethical obligation to their consumers, first of all to provide the product purchased and then to not harm anyone-including the consumer. (Gray, 2011) Product safety is an ethical obligation to the extent that companies have a duty to provide consumers with whatever it is they pay for and products are assumed to be safe for ordinary use. (Gray, 2011) Alternative Recommendation: Recommendation Ana lysis Overall, the purpose behind any decision that focuses on an issue that requires action on the part of the company is the ethical obligation the company has, not only to the consumer of the product but also to the employee that we depend on to produce the product, the children for which the product is purchased, and the Board of decision makers for the company and the general public that will recommend our product or company to others based on previous experiences. By providing a less than optimal product, we as a company, say that it is acceptable to lessen our value when the product is for children outside of the United States; this is not an acceptable way of thinking, nor an acceptable reputation of the company and its stakeholders. Moving forward on the remanufacturing of the whistle-even though it is a costly choice-will show for the value the company holds in their customers and the general population of consumers. Displaying a behavior of ethical decision practices will develop a stronger relationship between consumer and producer. This behavior can also produce a chain reaction of ethical revisions in other company actions. In current business the dollar comes before the consumer-making a move to be above the competition will place the company above others in their guarantee to produce only the best. Alternative Recommendation: Social Responsibility The remanufacturing of the product will display this company as being of the utmost ethical level in protecting its consumers even though the consumer is not on the American soil. Placing consideration in the safety and well-being of children of all aspects of geographical location, financial status, and nationality shows American and foreign manufacturing companies that the dollars involved do not come before that of the safety of the people that depend on our moral stature as a producer of children’s toys.  By maintaining the same standards internationally as we would within the American borders, with our products we can inevitably lessen the boundaries between product and consumer all over the world. The ground floor for a decision has been laid for all involved in the determination of an appropriate action in this case. Based on the information provided here, it is desired that a decision based on the good of all mankind-both producer and consumer will be in consideratio n in the deciding of the steps to follow. The American people base much of their perception of a company on its viewpoint to the greater good to humanity; this should what is seen in the products we supply. References: Belcastro, Denny and Alfonso, Bert, October 2011, Capturing Recall Costs Measuring and Recovering the Losses Retrieved on December 27, 2013, http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Capturing_Recall_Costs/$FILE/Capturing_recall_costs.pdf. Gray, JW, May 16, 2011, Moral Issues Related to Consumers, retrieved from: http://ethicalrealism.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/moral-issues-related-to-consumers/ Product Liability. (n.d.) Wests Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). Retrieved December 27 2013 from http://legal- dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Product+Liability

Designing and Planning High Voltage Laboratories

Designing and Planning High Voltage Laboratories 1. Introduction The demand of energy which has to be delivered over long distances is increasing in todays world due to industrial and economic development. Transportation of such a large amount of power needs extra high voltage transmission lines. High voltage laboratories are an essential requirement for making acceptance tests for the equipment that go into operation in the extra high voltage transmission systems. In addition, they are also used in the development work on equipment for conducting research, and for planning to ensure economical and reliable extra high voltage transmission systems. 2. Transmission System Equipment in High Voltage Laboratories A high voltage laboratory is expected to carry out withstand tests at high voltages on the following transmission system equipment: (i) Transformers (ii) Capacitors (iii) Cables (iv) Lightning arresters (v) Isolators and circuit breakers (vi) Line hardware and accessories (vii) Other equipment like reactors, etc. 3. Activities and Studies in High Voltage Laboratories On equipment, professors use high voltage laboratories for study and improvement work and conducting tests on equipment. At voltage, more dominant than the test voltage needed, this contains decision making of the security factor for dielectrics and trusty works under varied atmospheric conditions for example rain, fogà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Occasionally, it is needed to work problems related test lines and another equipment under pollution and atmospheric conditions. It cannot be done enclosed spaces. Research activities generally contain the following: 1) Breakdown case in insulating media for example solids, liquids, gases or composite systems 2) Insist on voltage on large gaps, requisites used in power systems and surface flashover works on equipment specific reference to the equipment. 3) Electrical interference works because of the discharges from equipment working at high voltages. 4) Works on insulation regulation on high voltage power systems. 5) High current case for example plasma physics, electric arcs. Generally, high voltage laboratories equipped with an expensive tool and that increasing their build cost. As a result, planning and order have to be with caution done in order that with the test rig chosen, the enterprise isnt high and maximum beneficences of the laboratory is done. 4. Classification of High Voltage Laboratories High voltage laboratories can be classified into three types, depending on the purpose for which they are goal and the available finances. (i) Small laboratories (ii) Medium laboratories (iii) Large (general) laboratories 4.1 Small Laboratories Small Laboratories A small laboratory is one that contains d.c. or power frequency testequipment of less  than 10 kW/10 WA rating and impulse equipment of energy rating of about lOKJor  less. Voltage ratings can be about 300 kV for a.c., single unit or 500 to 600 kV a.c. for cascade units,  ±200 to 400 kV d.c. and less than 1OO kV impulse voltage. Normally  the equipment is meant for housing in a room or hall of size 15m x 10 m x 8 m. Sometimes the equipment ratings are limited such that they can be accommodated in  a room of height 5 m to 6 m only. Such laboratories are meant for Engineering  Colleges and Universities who decide to build such a facility with small resources for  doing high voltage tests or research or for imparting training. In such a case, it is  preferable that the Engineering college or University associate with a local industry  or R D organization. It is important to decide and define the responsibilities of the  parties concerned as to how the test facilities and time can be shared. Another idea is  to have the university to decide to own the laboratory fully but throw open the  facilities of regular technical training and high voltage testing for the clients. Here it  may be mentioned that many high voltage problems can be solved by tests at moderate  voltage levels. Such laboratories can be built with an investment of 2 to 10 million  rupees (at 1991 prices).

Management Practices in Japanese and US Companies

Management Practices in Japanese and US Companies This Research Paper makes a summary comparison of cross-cultural research conducted in the last ten to fifteen years in the areas of Human Resource Management; Management Style and Negotiation Strategies in Japanese and US companies. The different Research Studies in these three areas analyzed the learning possibilities for Japanese and US companies on two different levels: At headquarters and at subsidiary level. For each one of the three research topics, a Roadmap is drafted with concrete steps and strategies as to how these companies should adapt their management practices in these 3 areas in order to be even more successful. The findings of this paper also cover the very central debates in the international Human Resource Management literature: The Convergence vs. Divergence issue and the Standardization vs. Localization issue. The results clearly show that overall the dominance effect is most important (i.e., subsidiary practices appear to converge to the dominant US practices). Hence the results obtained in this paper lead to the rather surprising conclusion that for what might be considered to be the most localized of functions HRM convergence to a world-wide best practices model is clearly present. From the authors viewpoint his is a logical consequence of globalization in all business sectors. Key Words: Road Map; Human Resource Development; Leadership Style, Negotiation Strategies; USA; Japan; Cross-Cultural Introduction to Human Resource Management Practices in Japan and in the USA From a historic perspective, Human Resource Management (HRM) has been identified as a key ingredient for the success of Japanese companies on world markets during the 1980s. In this decade, suggestions as to how Western managers could learn from Japanese HRM practices were plentiful. Only one decade later, however, Japan went into a recession from which its business model has not yet fully recovered. Oddly enough, these formerly superior HRM practices are now being viewed as the root of the malaise of the underperforming Japanese economy A Research Perspective of HRM Practices in Japanese and US Companies In the early 1980s of the last century, the Japanese management model, and in particular its HRM model, have often been depicted as very different from Western-style management, yet much more competitive (Kono Clegg, 2001). Its deep-rooted and unique cultural and institutional characteristics usually were cited as the key reasons for these differences (Pudelko, 2006). Earlier, Frenkel Peetz (1998) described a rapidly speeding up globalization-induced trend towards increasing convergence resulting from global competitive pressures. In parallel, Katz, Darbishire (2000) noted a clear trend towards convergence in key patterns of HRM practices among industrialized countries. This phenomenon they call converging divergences. In parallel, the research of Frenkel Kuruvilla (2002) concludes that employment relations patterns are being determined by the interplay of what they define as three distinct à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾logics of actionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸: The logic of global competition, resulting in the pursuit of global à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾best practicesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and ultimately global convergence does not allow local insular cross-cultural happiness and coziness any longer. One reason that the USA has achieved its dominant status in the 1990s was its superior economic performance. The conclusion from these findings were that if the strengths of a successful economy are concentrated in industries characterized by intense international competition such as IT, computers and electronics the attention and the readiness to learn from it tends to be particularly strong. Such industries are often the pioneers for defining and producing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾best practicesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and the place where such global standards of management practice are set. Taylorism, or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸, has been the prime example for a management concept claiming universal validity. Other examples were lean production, kaizen, re-engineering and management by objectives once strong points of the Japanese economy, when they were the best practice leader in doing so. Since the implosion of the Japanese economy and with the advent of globalizatio n, speed of action and instant flexibility to adapt to changing global market conditions were key criteria to succeed. Cultural diversity research carried out in the US and in Japan over the last one and a half decades has been that the American management model is particularly well suited to provide the required speed and flexibility to cope with rapidly changing economic and technological conditions. Consequently, the USA became again the dominant role model (Edwards, Almond, Clark, Colling Ferner, 2005). Summary Comparison of Key HRM Practices in Japanese and US Companies The following diagram shows a comparison between Japanese and US firms HRM practices. Areas discussed are: Recruitment and release of personnel; training and human resource development; employee assessment and promotion; as well as employee incentives. The comparison clearly illustrates the individualistic HRM approach in American firms as compared to the collectivism-oriented HRM orientation in Japanese firms. It is obvious that in the high technology sector especially the team and consensus oriented HRM philosophy of the Japanese is a hindrance to success. It appears that there are several other reasons for the declining importance attached to key attributes of Japanese model (kaizen, kanban, total quality management, quality circles, team work). Just like the Japanese firms have to learn from best practice solutions from other countries, these attributes have already been adopted by American HRM managers in the last 20 years, therefore are less significant in the future as sources for orientation. The changes brought about by globalization in the competitive environment probably also have played a role. For the future, fundamental developments such as globalization require substantial on-going responses from multi-national companies to maintain competitiveness. Figure 1 compares Japanese and US HRM practices and their competitive impact on HRM management in general. Figure 1: Comparison of Japanese US HRM Practices in 4 Key Areas HRM Sector: Japanese HRM Practices: US HRM Practices: 1. Recruitment Release of Personnel: Recruitment of new graduates to a permanent position Selection based on inter-personal skills Life-long employment philosophy low staff turnover rate= high loyalty Managerial positions filled with internal staff only Finding the best candidate internally or externally available Selection based on performance/expertise Job hopping philosophy pouts individual goals above company interests Positions filled with best expert available Competitive Effects of respective HRM Practices: Slowness towards innovation Lack of external expertise Promotes rapid innovation from inside or outside Low loyalty to employer HRM Sector: Japanese HRM Practices: US HRM Practices: 2. Training HRD Development: Broad training towards generalist knowledge Extensive training based on work group approach Employee is trained to fit corporate culture Specific training for specific tasks only Training is limited and focused on the individual only Little effort to mould the employee towards the corporate culture Competitive Effects of respective HRM Practices: Focused on corporate culture building Focused on individualism to promote success HRM Sector: Japanese HRM Practices: US HRM Practices: 3. Employee Assessment Promotion: Emphasis on seniority and not on performance Emphasis on group achievements Qualitative informal evaluation criteria Career path broad based in several Divisions Emphasis on individual success only Emphasis on individual achievements Quantitative measurable criteria and objectives Career path mostly confined to one functional part only HRM Sector: Japanese HRM Practices: US HRM Practices: 4. Employee Incentives: A mix of material and immaterial incentives Pay increases based upon seniority Little difference between top management pay levels and workers: Low with 20:1 Emphasis is on material incentives: Pay + bonus Pay based upon individual performance only Very large differences between top management and workers: High with 100:1 Competitive Effects of respective HRM Practices: Slow promotion for top performers Slow climate of innovation Quick promotion for top talents Innovative staff ensures innovative corporate climate Proposed cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic HRM Approach Throughout the research reports analyzed for this paper, Globalization demands a broader-based strategic HRM response by Japanese firms on this more than 90 % of the interviewed Japanese Executives agreed. The results from the American respondents showed that they considered it to be a particular strength of the American HR management. Japanese managers agree in turn, that their process based incremental improvements concepts will lose in significance in the future. Furthermore the research data clearly shows that only Japan management has a distinct desire to change its own HRM model in a rather comprehensive way. This definitely can be described as a paradigm shift. The following Figure 2 gives some key thoughts and elements for such a strategic approach to HRM tasks in the future. Figure 2: A cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic Approach to HRM Tasks in the Future Drivers of Global Changes in HRM: Elements causing Changes: Impacts of Change Elements on HRM: Need to reduce costs Speed of product innovation Quality of service Knowledge of client needs Staff motivation Training in design to cost method Innovative methods in product management Staff motivation and skills training Market knowledge has to be communicated Individual performance alone counts Risks involved: Overall corporate management philosophy has to be benchmarked against industrys best practice Key Changes needed: HRM has to install and accompany a change management process Individual performance evaluation has to abolish consensus-based group performance evaluation concepts Conclusions: HRM has to become the driving integrative force for the implementation of the Corporate Business Plan Resulting Roadmap for HRM Strategy: HRM Parameters that need to improve the Competitiveness of Corporations: HRM Parameter: Expected Benefits from HRM Changes: Strategic HRM Plan has to be part of Business Plan Future staff qualifications are in sync with corporate business plan Business Plan has to contain Change Management Concept HRM develops a long term focus linked to strategic corporate objectives Innovative Career Development Allows quick promotion of top performers Innovation oriented recruiting Speed up innovation cycles Promotion based on merit only Does away with risk minimizing attitude Introduction Best HRM Practice Concept HRM does self-control of its performance against key competitors Strategic HRM Implementation Roadmap: Overall Strategic HRM Objectives: HRM is the binding link of overall corporate business strategy to the employees of the company HRM promotes innovation and change culture in the company Planning Horizon of chosen HRM Strategy: Long term plan over 20 to 30 years Strategic plan over 5 years Operative rolling plans over 2 to 3 years Top Management Support required to implement new HRM Strategy: HRM has be a board level responsibility with staffing and budget to implement HRM Strategy chosen Introduction to cross-cultural Management Styles Globalization has changed the managerial tasks of US and Japanese mangers dramatically: Many have to work now in an international environment, in Japan or in the USA. Reasons for these changes were joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and cooperation alliances. In the 1980s, Japan taught the work what kaizen; kanban, total quality control, etc meant in terms of competitive advantage. So the US managers had to learn these concepts. Towards the end of the late 1990s, the US had caught up with this cross cultural learning approach. Then the globalization effect came to full speed suddenly the individualistic type of US management proved to be much more flexible and successful then the slow consensus-based Japanese management style. Research findings towards different Business Cultures in Japan and in the US The research for this paper showed that the business cultures in Japan and in the US differ in 5 key categories: 1. Power Structure: National level versus international level; egalitarian approach versus non-egalitarian approach; centralized management forms versus decentralized management practices. In the authority-driven business environment still prevailing in Japanese companies, aspects of power play a critical role. This slows down decision making, as power issues dominate business cultures dominating innovative US companies (Browaeys 2009). 2. People Relationships: Collectivism versus individualism; team orientation versus individual focus. Japanese collectivism is documented in its overemphasis on team issues; where consensus finding warrants longer times until a decision is being taken (Dickson 2003). Management emphasizes group loyalty, relationships in groups prevail over individual tasks. Americans have lesser loyalty to their companies, they see employment as a temporary issue for the mutual benefit of employer and employee. 3.Tolerance for Risk-taking: High avoidance levels versus low avoidance levels; bureaucratic orientation versus non-bureaucratic orientation. The consensus-based Japanese business culture tries to minimize uncertainties through an over-emphasis on planning. As a result, they do not like to change plans once they were approved (Yamazaki 2008).US companies treasure the opportunities offered in risky endeavors a horror for traditional Japanese companies! 4. Masculinity/Femininity: Role differentiation between males and females at society and organizational levels. Japanese managers are expected to be assertive and decisive, with sex roles clearly defined. This means fewer women progress to managerial positions in Japan, whereas in the US women climb to executive posts on a much more regular basis (Jacofsky 1988). Work for Japanese managers is seen as the center of life interests. Edwards 2005) 5. Time Orientation: Long term view versus short term view in business planning and strategy formulation. The time perspective in their business philosophy: Past/present in Japan versus present/future perspective in US companies. American companies are a lot quicker to react to new opportunities what was successful in the past is less important than new opportunities which lay ahead in the near future (Dahl 2004). The retrospective business approach of Japanese companies has them look for long-term relationships. US companies take the present and look quicker and often farther into the future. This speeds up their decision making processes and facilitates the acceptance of risk taking among their executives (Tsui 2007). Research findings towards Key Managerial Skills in Japan and in the US Effective cross-cultural management skills have to fit the prevailing national business culture where they are being applied to on their workplaces. In individualistic business environments as in the US, new employees are being hired on the basis of their personal records. In the collectivistic business culture of Japan, recommendations from elite universities or from family members who already work for the company play a vital role. The following key managerial functions have been analyzed in research paper: Reward allocation and employee motivation; employee participation and managerial communication; executive development. 1. Reward Allocation and Employee Motivation: The proper allocation of rewards is the driving force of the individualistic US business environment: Rewards are expected to be equity based, i.e. based upon an individuals contribution to corporate success. Rewards are supposed to be equal for equal performance: Rewards have to based upon the specific needs of a position (Riley 2007). In the more equality and group oriented Japanese business culture, rewards are being allocated on a group basis. These research findings did prove that the application of inappropriate reward systems caused feelings of de-motivation and injustice (Buttery 2000) 2. Employee Participation and Managerial Communication: To get employees to participate in goal setting in a US company is daily business, as in this way it increases the employees involvement in how his work environment is being shaped. Given the individualistic US business culture team effectiveness rises if team members are personally accountable for their personal contribution, which can be measured i.e. management by objectives (Javidan 2006). In the more socially oriented Japanese Business culture, employee participation is more socially oriented and the employees display lower levels of power distance between organizational levels (Hofstede 1980) 3. Executive Development: In an American business environment, qualified staff is classified into high potential groups for future executive positions at a much earlier stage of their career and at a much younger age as compared to the Japanese business culture. This encompasses a mix of specialist type of work assignments combined with near executive project assignments, to give them an early feeling of how an executive ticks (Yamazaki 2008). Japanese companies tend to focus on generalist type of assignments with intensive functional and geographic job rotation at almost the same hierarchical levels. Promotion is by seniority criteria mostly (Saee 2010). In consequence this implies: Executive development in US companies is based upon the potential benefits seen in a junior executive, whereas the Japanese approach is more oriented towards rewards for the past performance (Raimo 2009). Proposed Roadmap for a strategic cross-cultural Management Style The following Figure 3 gives a strategic roadmap for a cross-culturally based management style which facilities quick and efficient adaptation to cross-culturally different work environment. Figure 3: A cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic Approach to Drivers of cross-cultural Management Styles:Management Style Development Common Management Skills Deficiencies: Negative Impacts of missing cross-cultural Management Skills: Lack of employee motivation In-adequate communication style De-motivating reward system Slow pace of promotion system Lack of managerial skills training Performance is not recognized/rewarded Work objectives unclear=de-motivating Individual motivation not released Resistance to innovations Necessary changes do not take place Risks involved: Mix of management skills not suited for work environment High potentials are not identified and promoted High staff turnover; slow pace of innovation and change management Key Changes needed: HRD concept oriented towards cross cultural sensitivity Top management involvement in management skills profile development Cross-culturally oriented career development system Conclusions: An innovative HRD approach is needed Designed by managers with local management experience HRD skills Resulting Roadmap towards a cross-cultural oriented Management Style: Managerial Skills that need to be improved: Management Skills requiring Attention: Expected Benefits better Management Styles: Reward systems motivation tools Keep staff and attract talents Career development system for talents Quick promotion for high potentials Innovative pay system Increased motivation to innovate Clear set of managerial objectives Rewards are measurable and objective Internal PR for new management style More credibility for management styles Top managers have to practice this style Extra motivation to manage/risk changes Strategic Management Skills Implementation Roadmap: Overall Strategic Management Skill Development Objectives: Analyze requirements for necessary cross-cultural management skills Incorporate necessary changes into overall management philosophy and corporate mission Document and promote concept at all managerial levels Planning Elements for chosen Management Skill Development Strategy: Assess time and research requirements properly; involve superiors where needed Involve top management team properly and show their support in public statements/info releases Managerial Support required to implement new Management Skill Development Strategy: Develop a strategy paper involving top management and clarify roles and inputs and state resource requirements as compared to potential gains from these improved management skills Introduction to cross-cultural Negotiation Styles Cultural Diversity is one of the most critical issues in international negotiations. A key requirement for successful international negotiation is the extent to which the negotiating parties are capable of understanding the negotiating habits and thoughts of their counterparts who come from another culture (Brett 2000). When entering into an international negotiation process, the full awareness and understanding of the cultural differences, such as cultural background, national character, emotional aspects, rules and regulations of other countries, decision making styles, ways of discussing, meeting and negotiating is of vital importance in order to make the negotiation successful. The difficulty the negotiators are facing have to do with dealing on the basis of different sets of values, attitudes, behaviors and communication styles of the other party participating in the negotiation process. The proper planning and preparation for negotiations, and participating in the negotiation p rocess must take into consideration all these factors. This will avoid setbacks, surprises and shock so often faced in cross-cultural negotiations. A. Basic Research Findings linking Negotiation and Culture A nations culture in itself consists of interrelated patterns or dimensions which come together to form a unique social identity shared by a minimum of two or more people It is the unique character of a social group and the values and norms common to its members that set it apart from other social groups (Brett, 2001;). Consequently for this reason, because of the different values and norms, people from different cultures negotiate differently (Brett, 2001;). Many authors talk of a set of cultural values associated with each cultural group which actually is the determining force for the culture (Tinsley, 2001, Brett, 2001;). The knowledge of these values and norms provides insight into the choices made and influences these very negotiators cognitions, emotions, motivations and strategy. Research shows a clear differentiation: Whilst values refer to what a person considers important (more on cognitive side), norms refer to what is considered appropriate behavior (behavioral aspects) i n a specific culture. Consequently, because of these different values and norms, people from different cultures tend to negotiate differently (Brett 2001). These cultural values and norms shape implicit theories invoked in negotiations (Gelfand and Dyer 2000) and may influence a negotiators response to strategically displayed emotions. In Japanese companies, the emphasis of a group being the core nucleus for negotiations communicates these values to its members and rewards conformity. In this way a members values become thoroughly culturally constituted. Thus, culture creates an overall environment for Japanese companies and their negotiators which in many ways directly or indirectly compels the constituent members to be guided by their cultural value sets while negotiating. B. Research Findings concerning the strategic Framework of cross-cultural Negotiations According to the book The Global Negotiator: Making, Managing, and Mending Deals around the World in the twenty-First Century (Salacuse 2005) there are a total ten particular elements consistently complicating intercultural negotiations. 1) Negotiating goal: Contract or relationship? 2) Negotiating attitude: Win-Lose or Win-Win? 3) Personal style: Informal or formal? 4) Communication: Direct or indirect? 5) Sensitivity to time: High or low? 6) Emotionalism: High or low? 7) Form of agreement: General or specific? 8) Building an agreement: Bottom up or top down? 9) Team organization: One leader or group consensus? 10) Risk taking: High or low? Research shows that for a Japanese manager negotiation is also about being sensitive to the personal/emotional factors and hence may sometimes be indirect, informal, and general with less sensitivity to time whereas. On the other side for a negotiator from USA, any negotiation is to the point, direct, formal, with high consideration for time and less care for personal or emotional factors. B. Research Findings concerning Diversity Factors and Strategies in Cross -Cultural Negotiations In countries such as in the US and much of northern Europe, strong, direct eye contact conveys confidence and sincerity while in Japan, prolonged eye contact is considered rude and is generally avoided. In Japan they always prefer personal space during business dealings. With regard to the Japanese, Salacuse shows that 100 percent of the Japanese respondents claimed that they approached negotiations as a win-win process. Communication itself constitutes a basic component of negotiation framework. Diversity in this communication aspect is also very obvious and pertinent. In a culture that emphasizes directness, such as the American one, you can expect to receive a clear and definite response to the proposals and questions. In SE Asian cultures such as the Japanese reaction to proposals made to them may be gained by interpreting seemingly vague comments, gestures, and other signs. Concerning the cultural sensitivity to time, Salacuse in his study quotes Japanese tend to negotiate slowly, and Americans are quick to make a deal. Contrary to this perception of time, for Americans the objective is a signed contract and as for them time is money, they want to close a deal quickly. Americans therefore try to reduce time invested in formalities to a minimum and get down to business quickly. Japanese and other Asians, whose objective is to create a relationship rather than simply sign a contract, need to invest time in the negotiating process so that the parties can get to know one another well and determine whether they wish to embark on a long-term relationship Another crucial aspect in cross-cultural negotiations is risk taking ability. The Japanese tend to be highly risk averse in negotiations, and this tendency was affirmed by the survey conducted by Salacuse, which found Japanese respondents to be the most risk averse of the twelve cultures. Americans in this survey, by comparison, considered themselves to be risk takers. C. Research Factors concerning the Management of Conflict in cross-cultural Negotiations Research findings with regard to managing conflict in cross culture negotiation show that different cultures focus on different aspects. Tinsley (1998), revealed that when managing conflict American managers preferred to focus on interests, while Japanese managers concentrated on status power. The differences could be explained by the American value for poly- chronicity (or multitasking) and the Japanese occupation with hierarchy (or unequal social structures. It is obvious though, that awareness of emotions is vital to negotiation and it plays a key role when it comes to cross-culture negotiation conflicts. In the Japanese business culture, status and power also play an important role in conflict management where parties try to manage conflict by using differences in authority, status and power. To them it is normal that high status parties try to enforce their ideas for resolution on lower status parties. If this is not possible, Japanese negotiation parties try to enhance their st atus by co-opting people of higher status. D. Research Findings concerning cross-cultural Decision-Making styles during Negotiations Decision-making styles vary a lot between Americans and Japanese. When it comes to team based versus individual way of taking decisions one extreme is the American negotiating team with a supreme leader who has complete authority to decide all matters. The Japanese business culture stresses team negotiation and consensus-based decision making. American managers usually tend to make decisions by themselves, while Japanese managers tend to make decisions by consensus. Furthermore, Americans treasure the value of flexibility, whereas once a Japanese manager has reached a decision, may believe it is shameful to change it. Decisions can be taken either through a deductive process or through an inductive process. In his research, (Salacuse 2005) found that Americans do view deal making as a top down (deductive process); while the Japanese tend to see it as a bottom up (i.e. inductive) process. E. Research Findings concerning the Interests Strategy in cross-cultural Negotiations The process of aligning and integrating the best interests of both parties works as a catalyst for successful negotiation. This interests-based strategy promotes the resolution of dilemmas through cognitive problem solving. Research shows is essential to shift focus from position to interest. Several authors suggest that as both parties want to gain their individual interest therefore they always want to implement the negotiation. From their perspective, individual interests of parties are always more important than collective group interests. A cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic Approach to Negotiation Styles The following Figure 4 shows a roadmap for the development of efficient cross-cultural negotiation styles. Figure 4: A cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic Approach to Negotiation Drivers of cross-cultural Negotiations: Common Negotiation Difficulties: Negative Impacts on Negotiations:

Vegetarianism :: Healthy Lifestyle Essay

Vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the limitation of ones diet to only vegetables. Vegetarianism has been around for centuries, but recently we have seen the eruption of a more militant vegetarianism that is inspired by the animal "rights" movement. Today, vegetarian activists are throwing pies at Ronald McDonald and the Pork Queen, scrawling "meat is murder" in prominent locations, committing terrorist acts of arson, and waging media campaigns equating meat consumption with cannibalism. Vegetarians are, on the average, far healthier than those who consume the typical Western diet, and enjoy a lower incidence of many chronic diseases. However, it has not been proven that one must eliminate meat from one's diet in order to be healthy. It has been aptly demonstrated that the typical Western diet contains too much fat. Eliminating meat from the diet is one way to reduce fat, but it is not the only way. Vegetarian diets have also been shown to increase the risk for nutrient deficiencies. Children are particularly vulnerable and can lead to growth problems. Vegetarian children often fail to grow as well as their omnivorous counterparts despite protein intakes. Ecological arguments against omnivorous and carnivorous eating are little more than an attempt by those from the less popular animal "rights" movement to ride the coattails of the more popular environmental movement. In some cases, warnings of impending environmental cataclysm are used to advance an ethical agenda. However, arguments to the effect that eating meat is "destroying the planet" overlook that the planet has not yet been destroyed despite millions of years of omnivorous and carnivorous eating by millions of individuals from a multitude of species. The Second Law of Thermodynamics dictates that some energy will be inevitably lost as one moves up the food web. Therefore, arguments about how it takes X pounds of plant protein to generate Y pounds of meat have a sound theoretical basis. However, these arguments are often overstated. These arguments falsely assume that pork chops and steak are the only products of animal agriculture. They falsely presume that a pound of animal foodstuffs is nutritionally and energetically equivalent to a pound of plant foodstuffs. These arguments also ignore the energy content and opportunity cost of replacing animal by-products, which is considerable. Even the animal's excrement is a valuable resource. Certain animal products, such as fetal calf serum, collagen and laminin are crucial for medical research using cell cultures, and have no available alternatives.

Thigh Creams :: Media Self Image Papers

Thigh Creams As we approach the twenty-first century, the western world has become increasingly preoccupied with idealizing thin women. As young women are socialized they are exposed to images in the news media which perpetuates the vision that thin women are happy and successful. These are the role models to which women look up to, creating increasing pressure to live up to such an ideal. Desperate to achieve a figure that rivals Elle Mcpherson, women are willing to pay exorbitant costs, and sacrifice, trying almost anything to look like modern society's ideal woman. As the mediums available to advertisements continue to expand so do the number of products available claiming and guarantying weight loss or firming effects. Women shell out billions of dollars each year hoping that one of these "miracle" products will finally render them thin, after all thin is beautiful, right? However, a woman can be thin and still have cellulite, so does this mean that she is not beautiful? The media has taught women that cellulite is a lifelong battle that must be waged. If Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Rachel Hunter certainly don't have cellulite, why should the average American woman? So we are given a plethora of products to chose from which promise to make us all super models. So what is the problem? It is highly unlikely that none of the super models have cellulite, as it is an affliction which is common to women of all weight ranges. Also, super models have an advantage that the rest of us do not, their photographs may be digitally enhanced to redu ce something as unsightly as cellulite. The cosmetic industry has jumped on the opportunity to profit from women who perceive their bodies to be inadequate or at the very least, less than ideal. If these products were not hot sellers than there would not be such a variety available on the market. As a woman who has fallen prey to societal pressures and purchased two different "miracle" thigh creams, I was wondering do these creams work for others even though I, personally, didn't find much of a difference? After all a picture says a thousand words, and everyone has seen those advertisements with the before and after pictures, why hadn't I achieved such results? I was then given the motivation I needed to find out the answer when I was given an assignment to research the claims of a health product.

Effects of Homosexuals in Schools Essay

In the 19th century, a German psychologist coined the term â€Å"homosexuality†. Basically, homosexuality is often a sexual attraction that is primarily towards the members of the same sex (Pickett, 2006). Oftentimes, homosexual equates to being gay and/or lesbian. There are varying points of view regarding homosexuals and homosexuality. Many religious groups believe that there no one born as a homosexual. However, there are plenty of scientists, particularly psychologists who believe that a person is born this way. Religiously speaking, there are no supporting texts in the Bible that there are homosexuals. Only two genders are made: man and woman. Oftentimes, the greater portion of the homosexual community believe that they were â€Å"born gay† (Worthen, 2004). This belief and perspective oftentimes give them comfort and a sort-of justification for their â€Å"state†. Also, this very same ideology relieves them of any responsibility to change. Nevertheless, there is no firm scientific proof until today that affirm that some people are born homosexual. Genetically speaking, they are just either male or female (Worthen, 2004). Since there are no born homosexuals, many psychologists believe that homosexuality is a learned behavior. There are many factors or reasons why a person becomes homosexual. Primarily, most of these factors involve family. These include a disturbed family life in the early years (of the individual), absence of/in love on the part of either parent or a failure to identify with the same-sex parent. Later, the consequences of these reasons manifest in the individual in varying forms—and one of them is through confusion of their identity that oftentimes lead to homosexuality. But one thing is for sure—that homosexuality has many roots (excluding family). Along with the other factors that cause homosexuality, we must not also take for granted the individual. The individual’s choices also play a key part in transforming and shaping his (homosexual) identity. Majority of causes of being homosexual is rooted with family reasons. In such cases this immensely affects the behavior of the individual particularly in school. Majority of homosexuals that go to school instantly faces the burden of â€Å"coming out†. This is one of the hardest challenges that an individual must face. Since most of homosexuals that go to school are having identity crisis and fear of rejection from their peers (if ever they decided to come out), they have a very high tendency to have unusual behavior from â€Å"straight people†. Most of the time, (with the assumption that the individuals are mostly teenagers since they still go to school) these people is in high risk of suicide, substance abuse, the feeling of isolation and more importantly, school problems. Consequently, because of this kind of behavior, they (and it) inevitably affect their relationship with other people. Because they always need the feel to isolated, the tendency is that, they can be the frequent butt of jokes (especially in schools where homosexuality is not yet a very open and accepted topic) that will in turn can lead into more dangerous behaviors. Moreover, when things go uncontrollable, there is also a huge tendency for the individual to resort to many absurd and unsafe displacement methods (i. . substance abuse, committing crimes, etc). Because of the rising number of individuals (particularly young homosexuals) that is involved in this kind of situations, a great deal of number of individuals and concerned groups were established to help them. Most of these help lines offer counseling but more than that, they also make sure that the individual can pursue his/her way to full acceptance and if worse comes to worse, to their recovery. Before the advent of DNA technology, psychologists and sociologists believe that the cause of homosexuality is influenced by the environment of the individual; but with DNA testing, they were able to pinpoint that somehow, genes has something to do with it. But more importantly, we cannot deny the fact that from the beginning, there were only male and female; but as time pass, some strong environmental factors can bend the reality of life that even Nature herself find it hard to turn back (or at least minimize the bad consequences) time.

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 11

I don't understand,† Eric said pitifully as Thea towed him toward the bleachers. â€Å"Well, that's reasonable.† â€Å"Blaise wants to talk to me alone and you want me to do it.† â€Å"That's right.† Thea hadn't realized it was possible to sound bright and bleak at the same time. â€Å"I told you she'd probably go after you-â€Å" â€Å"And you told me to be careful of her. You made the point very strongly.† â€Å"I know. It's just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea searched for an explanation that wouldn't be too much of a lie and clutched her bottle of Evian water. She didn't need to ask him if he had the protective charm with him- she could smell New Hampshire pine needles. â€Å"It's just that I think it's better to get things settled,† she said finally. â€Å"One way or the other. So maybe if you talk to her face-to-face†¦ well, you can decide what you want, and we can get this over with.† â€Å"Thea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eric stopped, forcing Thea to stop, too. He looked completely bewildered. â€Å"Thea-I don't know what you're thinking, but I don't need to talk to Blaise to know what I want.† He put his hands gently on her upper arms. â€Å"Nothing she can say could make any difference.† Thea looked at him, at his clean, good features and his expressive eyes. He thought things were so simple. â€Å"Then you can just tell her that,† she said, trying to sound optimistic. â€Å"And the whole thing will be resolved.† Eric shook his head, but allowed her to guide him onward. Blaise was leaning against a concrete dugout by the baseball diamond. When they were about ten feet away, Thea stopped and nodded at Eric to keep going. He walked to Blaise, who slowly straightened with the leisurely grace of a snake uncoiling. Thea put her thumb into the Evian bottle and jiggled it gently. â€Å"Thea said you wanted to talk to me.† Eric's voice was polite, but not encouraging. He looked back at Thea after he said it. â€Å"I did,† Blaise said in her liquid, persuasive voice. But to Thea's surprise, she addressed the ground, as if she felt awkward. â€Å"But now†¦ well, I feel so embarrassed. I know what you probably think of me-trying to say something like this while your girlfriend is standing there.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eric glanced back at Thea again. â€Å"It's okay,† he added, his voice softer. â€Å"I mean, it's better to say whatever it is in front of her than behind her back.† â€Å"Yes. Yes, that's true.† Blaise took a deep breath as if steeling herself and then lifted her head to meet Eric's eyes. What on earth is she doing? Thea stared at her cousin. Where did this scene come from? â€Å"Eric†¦ I don't know how to say this, but†¦ I care about you. I know how that sounds. You're thinking that I have dozens of guys, and the way I treat them I can't possibly care about any of them. And I don't blame you if you just want to walk away right now, without even listening to any more.† Blaise fiddled with the zipper at her throat. â€Å"Oh, look, I'm not going to walk away. I wouldn't do that to you,† Eric said, and his voice was even more gentle. â€Å"Thank you. You're being so nice-much nicer than I deserve.† Absently, as if it were the most casual of gestures, Blaise reached for the zipper at her throat and pulled it down. The necklace was revealed. Don't look directly at it, Thea told herself. She stared instead at the back of Eric's sandy head-which suddenly went very still. â€Å"And you know, this is going to sound strange, but most of those boys don't really like me.† Blaise's voice was soft now-seductive but vulnerable. â€Å"They just-want me. They look at the surface, and never even try to see any deeper. And that makes me feel†¦ so lonely sometimes.† In Thea's peripheral vision, gold stars and moons were shifting and flowing. Yemonja root and other delicious scents wafted toward her. She hadn't even noticed that the first time; she'd been too deep in the necklace's spell to analyze it. And a faint, high resonance hung in the air-two or three notes that seemed to shimmer almost above the threshold of hearing. Singing crystals. Of course. Blaise was assaulting every sense, weaving an inescapable golden web†¦ and the whole thing was tuned to Eric's blood. â€Å"All I've ever wanted is a guy who cares enough about me to look deeper than the surface.† Blaise's voice had a slight catch now. â€Å"And-well, before I knew Thea liked you, I guess I thought you might be that guy. Eric, please tell me-is that completely impossible? Should I just totally give up hope? Because if you say so, I will.† Eric was standing oddly now, as if he were crippled. Thea could see his breath coming faster. She didn't want to see his face-she knew what it would be like. Like Luke's. Blank wonder changing into slow adulation for Blaise. â€Å"Just tell me,† Blaise said, raising one hand in a gesture full of pathos. â€Å"And if you say no, I'll go away forever. But if†¦ if you think you could care about me†¦ even just a little†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She gazed at him with luminous, yearning eyes. â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eric's voice was thick and hesitant. â€Å"I†¦ Blaise†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He couldn't seem to get started on a sentence. And no wonder. He's lost already. Certainty hit Thea, and she stopped shaking her plastic bottle. Her little Elixir of Abhorrence didn't stand a chance against Blaise's magic. Eric was hooked and Blaise was reeling him in. And it wasn't his fault. Nobody could be expected to hold out against the kind of enchantment Blaise was using. Enchantment and psychology so beautifully mixed that even Thea found herself half believing Blaise's story. But she had to try anyway. She couldn't let Eric go without a fight. With one final, violent shake, Thea took her thumb out of the bottle neck. Colorless liquid skyrocketed, spraying up and then raining down on Eric. A geyser of loathing. Only one thing went wrong. As soon as the mysterious downpour hit Eric, he turned to see where it was coming from. Instead of looking at Blaise when the elixir soaked into his skin, he was looking at Thea. She stared back into his gray-flecked eyes with a kind of horror. Twice. He'd been twice enchanted now, once to love Blaise and once to hate her. Oh, Eileithyia, it's over†¦. It was a crisis, and Thea responded instinctively. She reached for Eric, to save him, to be saved herself. She flung out a thought the way she'd fling out a hand to someone going over a cliff. Eric. A connection†¦ Like dosing a circuit-and that was all it took. Thea felt a wave of†¦ something, something hot and sweet, more magical than Blaise's magic. Distilled lightning, maybe. The air between her and Eric was so charged that she felt as though her skin was being brushed with velvet. It was like being at the intersection of cosmic force lines. And it was all okay. Eric's face was his ordinary face. Alive, alert, full of warmth-for her. Not zombie worship for Blaise. Thea. It can't be this simple. But it was. She and Eric were staring at each other in the quivering air and the universe was just one big singing crystal. We're right together. A yell shattered the silent communion. Thea looked toward the dugout and saw that Blaise the vulnerable had disappeared. â€Å"I'm wet,† Blaise shrieked. â€Å"Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what water drops do to silk?† Thea opened her mouth, then shut it again. She felt giddy with the sweetness of relief. She had no idea if Blaise really thought the elixir was only water-but one thing was clear. However strong Blaise's spell had been, it was broken now. And Blaise knew it. Blaise jerked the zipper up and stalked off. â€Å"She's mad,† Eric said. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea was still dizzy. â€Å"I told you she likes getting mad.† She took Eric's arm, very gently, and partly to steady herself. â€Å"Let's go.† They'd only gone a few steps when Eric said, â€Å"Thank God you hit me with that water.† â€Å"Yes.† Even if the elixir hadn't worked it had somehow broken Eric's concentration or distracted Blaise or something. She'd have to see if she could figure out what had happened to disrupt a spell as potent as the one Blaise had created†¦. â€Å"Yeah, because, you know, it was getting really awkward,† Eric went on. â€Å"I kept trying to think of a polite way to tell her there wasn't a chance, but I couldn't. And just when I realized I was going to have to say it and hurt her feelings-well, you soaked us.† Thea stopped dead. She stared at him. He was serious. â€Å"I mean-I know I hurt her feelings anyway. Or she wouldn't have gone away mad. Uh, are you mad now? Thea?† She started walking again. â€Å"Are you saying you didn't even want to be with her? Not even just a little?† He stopped. â€Å"How could I want to be with her when I want to be with you? I told you that before this whole thing started.† Maybe it's because we're soulmates. Maybe it's because he's so stubborn. But, whatever, I'd better never tell Blaise. She'll have a whole new reason for killing him if she finds out her spell bounced off like water off a duck. â€Å"Well, anyway, it's resolved now,† she murmured-and at that moment she really believed it. She was too happy to think about anything dreadful. â€Å"Is it? Does that mean that we can finally go out? Like on a date?† He sounded so wistful that Thea laughed. She felt light and free and full of energy. â€Å"Yeah. We could go right now. Or†¦ we could go in. Your house, I mean. I'd like to see your sister and Madame Curie again.† Eric made an â€Å"ouch† face. â€Å"Well, Madame Curie would probably like that. But Roz lost her case- the court ruled that the Boy Trekkers are a private organization. And she is not-pardon the pun-a happy camper.† â€Å"All the more reason we should go see her. Poor kid.† Eric looked at her quizzically. â€Å"You're serious? You have a choice of anywhere in Las Vegas and you'd like to go to my house?† â€Å"Why not?† Thea didn't mention that a human house was more exotic to her than anywhere else in Vegas. She was happy. It turned out to be a modest frame house, shaded by a couple of honest-to-goodness trees, not palms. Thea felt a twinge of shyness as they went inside. â€Å"Mom's still at work. And†-Eric checked his watch-â€Å"Roz is supposed to be in her room until five. Home detention. This morning she microwaved her Barbie dolls.† â€Å"That doesn't sound good for the microwave.† Rosamund's door was plastered with homemade Signs. DO NOT ENTER. KEEP OUT AND THIS MEANS ERIC. FEMINISM IS THE RADICAL NOTION THAT WOMEN ARE PEOPLE. When Eric opened the door a piggy bank shaped like a skunk came flying toward him. He ducked. It hit the wall and, amazingly, didn't break. â€Å"Roz-â€Å" â€Å"I hate everybody! And everybody hates me!† A hardback book came soaring. Eric shut the door fast. Bang. â€Å"Everybody doesn't hate you!† he yelled. â€Å"Well, I hate them! Go away!† Bang. Bang. Crash. â€Å"I think maybe we'd better leave her alone,† Eric said. â€Å"She gets a little moody sometimes. Want to see my room?† His room was nice, Thea decided. Lots of books, some smelling of mildew-â€Å"I get them at the used book stores.† Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. Development and Structure of the Fetal Pig. The Red Pony. Most of them were about animals in some form or other. And lots of trophies. Baseball trophies, basketball trophies, a few tennis trophies. â€Å"I have to switch between baseball and tennis different years.† Sports equipment was scattered carelessly around, mixed with the books and some dirty socks. Not so different from a teenager's room in the Night World. Just a person's room. There was a picture of a man on the desk, a man with sandy hair and a glorious, lightning-bolt smile like Eric's. â€Å"Who is it?† â€Å"My dad. He died when Roz was little-a plane crash. He was a pilot.† Eric said it simply, but his eyes went dark. Thea said softly, â€Å"My parents died when I was little, too. What's sad is that I don't really remember them.† Eric looked at the picture again. â€Å"You know, I never thought about it, but I'm glad I do remember. At least we had him that long.† They smiled at each other. By the bed was a tank that gave off a pleasant percolating sound. Thea sat next to it and watched iridescent blue fish dart around. She turned off the bedside lamp to see the lighted tank better. â€Å"You like it?† â€Å"I like everything,† Thea said. She looked at him. â€Å"Everything.† Eric blinked. He eyed the bed Thea was sitting on, then slowly sat at the desk. He stuck out a casual elbow to lean on and papers showered to the floor. â€Å"Oops.† Thea stifled a laugh. â€Å"Is that the U.C. Davis application?† He looked up hopefully from gathering them. â€Å"It sure is. Want to see it?† Thea almost said yes. She was in such a cheerful mood, ready to agree to anything, be open to anything. But a moment of thought changed her mind. Some things were just going too far. â€Å"Not right now, thanks.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬ He put the papers back. â€Å"You know, you still might think about transferring to the zoology class at school. Ms. Gasparro is a great teacher. And you'd really like what we're studying.† Maybe I could, Thea thought. What would it hurt? â€Å"And if you were ever interested. Dr. Salinger is always looking for extra help. It doesn't pay much, but it's good experience.† And†¦ what would that hurt? It's not as if I would be breaking any laws. I wouldn't have to use any powers, either, I could just be close to the animals. â€Å"I'll think about it,† she said. She could hear the suppressed excitement in her own voice. She looked at Eric, who was sitting with his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, watching her earnestly. â€Å"And- thanks,† she said softly. â€Å"For what?† â€Å"For†¦ wanting the best for me. For caring.† The light from the fish tank threw wavering blue patterns on the walls and ceiling. It made the bedroom seem like its own little underwater world. It danced over Thea's skin. Eric stared at her. Then he swallowed and shut his eyes. With his eyes still shut, he said in a muted voice, â€Å"I don't think you know how much I care.† Then he looked at her. That connection again. It seemed to be drawing them together-an almost physical feeling of attraction. It was exciting, but scary. Eric got up very slowly and crossed the room. He sat by Thea. Neither of them looked away. And then things just seemed to happen by themselves. Their fingers were intertwined. Thea was looking up and he was looking down. They were so close that their breath mingled. Thea shivered with the electricity. Everything seemed wrapped in a golden haze. Crash. Something hit the other side of the wall. â€Å"Ignore it; it's poltergeists,† Eric murmured. His lips were an inch from hers. â€Å"It's Rosamund,† Thea murmured back. â€Å"She feels bad-and it's not really fair. We should try and make her feel better.† She was so happy that she wanted everyone else to be happy, too. Eric groaned. â€Å"Thea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Let me just go see if I can cheer her up. I'll come back.† Eric shut his eyes, opened them, and turned on the lamp. He gave her a pained smile. â€Å"Okay. I have to water Mom's outside plants and feed the rabbits and stuff, anyway. Let me know when she's cheered up enough. I'll be waiting.† Thea knocked and ducked as she entered Rosamund's room. â€Å"Roz? Can I just talk to you for a minute?† â€Å"Don't call me that. I want you to call me Fred.† â€Å"Uh, how come Fred?† Thea sat cautiously on the edge of the bed-or not the bed, actually, the box springs. The mattress was across the room, standing on its side in a corner. The entire room looked as if it had been hit simultaneously by a hurricane and an earthquake, and it smelled strongly of guinea pig. Slowly, part of a sandy head appeared above the mattress. One green eye regarded Thea directly. â€Å"Because,† Rosamund said with terrible maturity, â€Å"I'm not a girl anymore. Things have always been this way for girls and they will always be this way and they are never going to change. And don't give me any of that B.S. about how females hear better and do better in submarines and have better fine motor skills, because I don't care. I'm going to be a boy now.† â€Å"You're a smart kid,† Thea said. She was surprised at how smart Roz was, and at how much she wanted to comfort her. â€Å"But you need to study your history. Things haven't always been this way. There were times when women and men were equals.† Rosamund just said, â€Å"When?† â€Å"Well-in ancient Crete, for one thing. They were all children of Eileithyia, the Great Goddess, and boys and girls both did dangerous stuff, like acrobatics on wild bulls. Of course†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea paused, struck by a thought. â€Å"The Greeks did come and conquer them.† â€Å"Uh-huh.† â€Å"But, um†-Thea wracked her brain for human history-â€Å"Well, the ancient Celts were okay-until the Romans came and conquered them. And†¦ and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Human history was a problem. â€Å"I told you,† Rosamund said bitterly. â€Å"It always turns out the same. Now go away.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea hesitated. It was the excitement that did it. The giddy feeling of everything being right with the world. It made her overconfident, made her feel as if Night World law were a little thing that could be dispensed with if necessary. Don't, a part of her mind whispered. Don't or you'll be sorry. But Rosamund was so miserable. And the golden glow was still around Thea, making her feel protected. Invulnerable. â€Å"Look,† she said. â€Å"This may not help much, but I'll tell you a story, a story that always made me feel better when I was a little girl. Only you have to keep it a secret.† There was a flicker of interest in Rosamund's green eyes. â€Å"A true story?† â€Å"Well-I can't really say it's true.† And that's true-I can't. â€Å"But it's a good story, and it's about a time when women were leaders. About a girl called Hellewise.†