Monday, September 30, 2019

American Psycho Review

Psycho is a cult movie based on the much controversial novel by Brett Gaston Ellis. Directed by Mary Harrow, it is a dark comedy and a clever satire of America in the 1 us that artfully connects conformity, materialism, misogyny, narcissism, classicism and superficiality. If you are a movie connoisseur and enjoy well directed stories, you should definitely not miss American Psycho. But this movie Is a bit difficult to assimilate as it is hard on your guts and your mind due to the obvious violence and gore, it is not for everyone, but definitely Is a work of art!The opening reedits are very artsy and one of the finest examples of cinematography Eve ever seen. The cranberry Juice Is very easily mistaken as drops of blood falling which Is a very subtle Imagery evoking sinister abstractions. The attention to detail Is almost Impeccable, from the dressing styles, the music culture, architecture, gadgets, the landscape, Interior decorations & design, to the movie texture. There Is a deep c haracter study of Patrick Bateman, who Is a suave yuppie working at Wall Street. This wealthy 27 year old working as Vice President in Pierce & Pierce becomes a psycho killer by evening.The character is portrayed by the flamboyant welsh actor Christian Bale whose performance was nothing less than chilling and sensational. Bale did a great job to bring out the split personality of Bateman. Bateman has many unusual traits. He is an attention-to-detail freak. During his elaborate morning routine, he even mentions why he doesn't use aftershave with little or no alcohol. Why? â€Å"Because alcohol makes your skin dry and makes you look older†. He is the epitome of narcissism which is why he HAS to look good and have the perfect body. He even video tapes his sexual escapades.His laconic manner of dialogues goes to suggest typical psychopathic behavior. There is a sever diversification and identity crisis depicted in the movie where Bateman desperately tries to stand out. Bateman wa s easily mistaken to be Halberds because they wore the same suits and went to the same salons. Another hilarious moment was when they were comparing their business cards and all of them were Vice presidents of the same firm! You know you are a Patrick Bateman when you are on the verge of murdering the other person if their business card is better than yours.Bateman dines at the nines of restaurants, wears only designer clothes, lives in an uptown Manhattan apartment overlooking the American gardens, goes to the best spas and tanning booths, gets off on cocaine and if these aren't enough to fill his hollowness, he resorts eating cooked brains of random strangers. He Is absolutely devoid of human emotions, those other than lust, greed and disgust. He kills his associate Paul Allen because Paul could get a reservation at some fancy restaurant and he couldn't! There are some disturbing scenes where he commits grisly murders of his friend Elizabeth, homeless person and his dog out of she er boredom.As the story unfolds, his blood thirst becomes more acute and he rampantly kills people In order to get noticed. This is when he starts to lose grip on reality and things become more surreal which suggests that the killings were in his head. There are many junctures in the movie where this is almost evident, for example the ATM machine read â€Å"Feed me a stray cat† and Bateman tried to insert the cat forcefully through the slot. By the end of the to convey? † Also did or did not Bateman kill all those people. But it is not a real story, he killings are clearly metaphorical.It mocks an era where women treated like garbage; people resorted to conformity & materialism and where the well-off folks were ‘busy listening to annoying music, getting high, eating gourmet meals and talking big. It has a subtle philosophical tangent too, it is not that life is pointless and therefore Bateman does evil, but instead that he does evil to prove (to himself) that life is pointless and his actions have no ramifications. Hence a society without a moral compass makes the environment congenial for psychopaths like Bateman to be born.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Functions of Management Essay

Great managers are fair and respectful to employees. They don’t ask employees to do anything they would not do themselves. They show up on time, and they are a good role model who leads by example. Great managers are honest and accept their faults, and they are able to publicly admit when they are wrong. Great manager is someone who is a good listener and is proactive in dealing with issues and not afraid to get in the trenches with his or her coworkers. A great manager leads workers, but at the same time does not generate resentment by being too bossy. A great manager builds close connections with the people they supervise. A great manager recognizes employees for their contributions at work. This is one of the surest ways to secure employee loyalty and earn the perception that you are smart enough to understand that you don’t know everything. Recognition and rewards do not typically need to be monetary. In most cases, simple public recognition is all that is required. Recognition nurtures the soul, it feels good, and it stimulates a desire to repeat positive behavior at work. great manager is approachable and possesses a likeable personality. Moreover, a great manager has a sense of humor about the world and themselves. And a great manager understands that they need to manage systems, but more importantly they need to manage the way they relate to their employees. I haven’t seen nor work for an ineffective manager. An ineffective manager can make workers of all levels miserable, which can result in low employee morale, stress, and turnover. Why are some managers ineffective? It could be because these managers define themselves only as a manager, and not also as a leader because managers try to plan, organize, and coordinate, and leaders aim to inspire and motivate. They may view leadership and management as two different entities, when in reality leadership and management need to go hand-in-hand. – The management does meaningful work in a culture of respect, camaraderie and teamwork. They begin by analyzing the culture to establish a benchmark, then measure progress regularly. Determine what matters most to your employees; Meaningful work, Recognition, Respect for management, Communications, and Empowerment. Acknowledging individual differences, they maximize individual strengths. They commit to continuous improvement. Management must place as high a priority on employee satisfaction as it does on customer satisfaction, quality, financials and other strategic performance measures.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Biceps Tendon Rupture With Post-operative Complications

Biceps Tendon Rupture With Post-operative Complications Locomotor PBL Experiment Writeup Introduction In this PBL, we observe a case of biceps tendon rupture with post-operative complication of heterotopic ossification. We will first go through the anatomy of the upper limb followed by a discussion of the ruptured biceps tendon, heterotopic ossification and finally mode of action of indomethacin. Learning Objectives 1. Osteology of the upper limb with emphasis on the elbow and wrist 2. The neurovascular supply to the upper limb 3. Movements possible at joints of upper limb and the range of movements possible with regards to the elbow and wrist and the muscles that bring about these actions. 4. Rupture of distal biceps tendon 5. Heterotopic ossification 6. Mode of action of Indomethacin 1. Osteology of the upper limb with emphasis on the elbow and wrist Arm The humerus is the largest and longest bone of the arm region connecting the shoulder to the forearm. Proximally, the head of the humerus articulates with the glenoid cavity of the sca pula forming the glenohumeral joint. Distally the humerus articulates with the two bones of the forearm, the ulna and radius. The humerus is shown in more detail in figure 1 below. Figure 1 Humerus (1) For Anil’s case we will focus several prominent features on the distal region of the humerus which forms part of the elbow. There are two projections on either side of the distal end of the humerus which are the medial and lateral epicondyle. The medial epicondyle protects the ulnar nerve which passes just posteriorly and also serves as the attachment site for the forearm superficial flexor muscles. The lateral epicondyle conversely is the attachment site for the forearm extensor muscles. Anteriorly in between these two epicondyles are two articular surfaces: the round surfaced lateral capitulum which articulates with the radius and the spool shaped medial trochlea which articulates with the ulna. Also anteriorly, the radial fossa directly above the capitulum accommodates the h ead of the radius during flexion of the elbow whereas the coronoid fossa directly above the trochlea accommodates the coronoid process of the ulna during flexion of the elbow. Both the radial and coronoid fossa limit flexion of the elbow. Posteriorly, the olecranon fossa accommodates the olecranon process of the ulna during extension of the elbow. The olecranon fossa prevents hyperextension of the elbow. Forearm The forearm is made up of two bones: ulna and radius. Proximally both of these bones articulate with the humerus whereas distally only the radius directly articulates with the carpals of the wrist thus connecting the arm to the wrist. The ulna and radius are shown in figure 2 below. Figure 2 Radius and Ulna (1) The ulna The ulna is the stabilizing bone of the forearm and is medial and longer of the two bones. There is a projection anteriorly at the proximal end called the coronoid process which fits into the coronoid fossa during elbow extension. Posteriorly on the proximal end of the ulna is the olecranon process (which forms the prominence of the elbow) which fits into the olecranon fossa during elbow extension. The articular surface between the olecranon and the coronoid articulates with the trochlear of the humerus and gives the movements of elbow extension and flexion.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Visual Arts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Visual Arts - Research Paper Example Online dating sites include Match.com and E-Harmony while the most popular video sharing site is YouTube. Rather than focus on how to use these forms of social media, I will base my paper on how they are transforming how we watch television. I will also highlight on the impact they will have on network news, commercial television and cable TV in the coming, say ten years. The rise in the popularity of social media can be viewed as a revolution. Why would anyone come to this conclusion? Just to look at a few statistics about social media: According to a research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 73% of teenagers, 72% of young adults, and 40% of all adults above 30 years use social networking sites. As if that is not enough, if the number of Facebook users were the population of a country, it would be the third most populated country, just under China and India. Moreover, social media has overtaken pornography as the number one activity on the web. Before I jump into the e xact questions I want to address, I find it is rather essential to show the relevance of social media on TV. First, we all agree that it is changing the way we watch TV. For instance, in the Spring of 2007, the number of people who tuned in TV dropped by 2.5 million. (Nielsen report)This was in comparison to the previous year, 2006. In 2010, it was found that consumers in the U.S spent as much time on the internet as on TV. (Forrester). Since people are spending more time on the internet, people's interactions on the internet are also increasing. Companies have noted this and are shifting to the internet. No one can forget last summer’s Old Spice videos. In the videos, Isaiah Mustafa spent two days, dressed only in a towel and gives responses to fans in a setting that was made to appear as a bathroom. Within the first 24 hours after they were uploaded, they had a massive 83 million YouTube views. This was way above the views of Obama’s victory speech. This can be attri buted to the fact that there were instant responses to the users in real time. As such, they appeared to be conversational. This is one way in which social media is changing the way we view TV. Besides this, the following are the trends that we are likely to see in TV due to popularity of social media. First, all TV channels will be done away with. TV users will have a chance to watch what they want, and when they want. There will be several customs made content on the internet which one can demand when they want. This will be enhanced by the availability of unlimited content, which will be available form online libraries. One will only be required to search for the content using powerful search engines to access the content. Traditional channels, which focus on their brands and limited sharing, will be entirely done away with. Already there are technological advances in TV devices connected to the internet such as Apple TV, Roku and Xbox. These devices will be adopted by many peopl e who will also demand that the entire TV experience is integrated as a simplified, single interface. The next trend in TV viewing will be to do away with the remote control. TV as we know it from the past required installation of interactive TV enhancements. In recent years, this has changed with companies such as Google launching the remote-keyboard interface. This has not achieved much success. Interface innovation companies are working on TV controls that do not require remote controls. Comcast and Verizon,

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Analysis Paper (Article) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis Paper (Article) - Essay Example There is an allegation of conspiracy between the lawyers to prevent the truth from coming out. Here, the jurors were instructed by the judge to enjoy their much awaited business trip and prepare for the next trial, while the two lawyers were summoned by the judge to clean-up their act and settle their issues while awaiting for the continuation of the trial. Thus, in the scenario presented by the author, it is clear that the chief prosecutor is remiss of his sworn duty when he tried to conceal the name of the next witness who is scheduled to give his testimony. According to him, the government had only promised to provide names of the witnesses within one day prior to their testimony. He further added that this will prevent the ensuing of a debate and avoid another stupid argument. However, the district attorney tried his best to settle for a compromise. He manifested his intention to provide a written record of his protest of the manner such case was prosecuted as he claims that mate rial evidence have been withheld in delay for a prolonged period of time. The fact that the prosecution failed to provide the names of the witness shall make the cross-examination process less effective.

No one has to go to school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

No one has to go to school - Essay Example He then suggests repealing compulsory-attendance laws in order for public schools to provide better education to those who are committed and willing to learn. The article demonstrates how the compulsory-attendance law is not delivering the goods it promised to deliver- increase the number of children attending school. Quite the contrary, it has negligible impact on the number of children attending school. Moreover, this law is not rigidly followed because of its costs and public schools are forced to accept and teach unruly students. The author believes that the time spent to teach these disorderly students should instead be spent on serious learners. Hence, the author comes to a conclusion that removing compulsory-attendance laws will be a financially smart move. The author explains that without compulsory-attendance laws teachers students, especially those in the elementary level, will be forced to take their studies more seriously, or else they will lose their chance of acquiring higher formal education. And, lastly, the author argues that schools should not be looked upon as a jack-of-all-trades, because schools are created to fulfill only one major function—to

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Module 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Module 7 - Essay Example In Japan, it was the samurai class which embraced Zen most fully. The samurai comprised the warrior class that served the emperors and members of the landed aristocracy; the word samurai translates to ‘men who serve’ and their code of conduct is contained in the Bushido (where bushi means ‘warriors’). Zen particularly appealed to the Samurai because of its emphasis on simplicity of lifestyle and spiritual and physical discipline. Meditation and a study of insoluble problems became the means of cleansing an individual of earthly desires, and focusing on nothingness to discover the ‘inner truth’ (Smitha, 2011). It is this ability to concentrate on the present moment to the exclusion of all else that enabled the Samurai to live, fight and die without fear, hesitation or regret. The Samurai could detach their mind from everything, move with perfect freedom, and reflect their opponent’s mind. They are not distracted by the prospect of the chan ging tide of combat, of doubt or fear; they can concentrate completely on the task of the moment, to kill and be killed. The Samurai also believed in karma and rebirth, which makes this life but a stepping stone for them to the next life. This makes the Samurai utterly fearless. References: Marinchek, J.A. 2009 ‘How Zen Made the Samurai Fearless.’ Suite 101. Retrieved 2 October 2012 from http://suite101.com/article/how-zen-made-the-samurai-fearless-a159718 Smitha, F.E. (2011) ‘Samurai, Bushido, Zen, other Sects and Spiritual Public Baths.’ Macrohistory and World Report. Retrieved 2 October 2012 from http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/rel-japan02.htm The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2012 ‘Zen Buddhism’ Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 2 October 2012 from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/zen/hd_zen.htm Video Review ‘The Zen Mind’ ‘Pictures of the Floating World’ < http://it.spcollege.edu/flashapplications/accessibleYou TubePlayer/index.htm?swfWidth=480&swfHeight=358&videoWidth=480&videoHeight=270&srtFile=http://it.spcollege.edu/srt/HUM2270_KevinMorgan/HUM2270_Mod7_JapArtAft1300_FloatWorld.srt&youtubeURL=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sixSBDp5VoU I took two cyber journeys which presented very different concepts which nevertheless were very much related. The first video, ‘The Zen Mind’ has music and a few verbal explanations, but these and the images are sufficient to convey the meaning of what it is to practice Zen Buddhism. The video exemplified the stark simplicity and extreme detachment of the lives of Zen monks from the busy everyday life. There was a brief flash of images of the Japanese urban dwellers making their way through a crowded train station. Then there is a quick return to the equanimity of the images of the Zen monks. It depicts a philosophy summarized in the last statement of the video, â€Å"You see your own true nature, and it is the nature of the universe.† T he second video, ‘Pictures of the Floating World,’ exhibits a way of life that is anything but detached from the world, but rather it celebrates the sensual, temporal, even commercial aspects of the lifestyle in the thick of society. The artistic style portraying this viewpoint is called Ukiyo-e , ‘The Floating World’; it depicted the lifestyle of the newly evolving class,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Bioethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bioethics - Case Study Example cochlear implants in various region within different communities to be able to identify significant of cochlear implant device in regards to stigmatization and acceptance within these communities. Cochlear implant device help children to communicate with others in efficiency manner. It gets hard for a child to communicate around when he or she do not have cochlear implant device. However, the stigmatization within different community at times prevails among this family with deaf person. Some communities however, disapprove the implantation of cochlear devices terming as non-correspondent virtue. Virtue ethics is the applied theory since deaf children without cochlear implants and living in the Deaf community usually gets hard times to communicate as far as the issue of cochlear device is concerned. According to the research, it has been known that this device have regulated the issue of deafness within different communities and any community against the cochlear implant decision not only disapprove the exercise but also need deafness issue to prevail at large. In conclusion, Cochlear implant device help children to communicate with others in efficient manner. It gets hard for a child to communicate around when he or she do not have cochlear implant device. Virtue ethics is the applied theory since deaf children without cochlear implants and living in the Deaf community usually gets hard times to communicate as far as the issue of cochlear device is concerned. According to the research, it has been known that this device have regulated the issue of deafness within different community. In the categories, there is only one group for the development, kind of jumping to the conclusion that the community is useless and that they want to develop their instrument. However, their intention is to have fifth group to address the benefits of keeping the children deaf or not. The only way to develop the instrument is to compare deaf children with non-deaf

Monday, September 23, 2019

Human Resourses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resourses - Essay Example Effective human resource policies should at enhancing job morale, reducing job turnover and increasing individual employee productivity (Patchen 67). Task one: human resource plans The strategic plans of human resource management are aimed at achieving increased employee morale, increased skills and compliance with the rules and regulations of the organization. The plans also aim at adhering with labor laws. Compliance with labor laws. The organization should ensure compliance with industrial labor laws on minimum wages, working hours, safety and occupational laws, pensions and other contractual obligations. There will be effective channels of communication where employees can forward their dissatisfaction with supervisors and other grievances. All the grievances will be arbitrated promptly and all employees will be accorded fair hearing in case of disciplinary proceedings (Lauby 61). Recruitment and interviewing. The organization should implement recruitment and selection practices which result to hiring the best talent. Accurate advertisements which contain the job descriptions and person specifications and other related information shall be placed within a reasonable time. Recruitment shall be fair and timely hiring shall be implemented. Well planned induction shall be offered to all new employees (Lauby 78). Compensation. Compensation shall include both monetary and non-monetary rewards. Compensation should be equitable between work groups and levels of management. Compensation shall be benchmarked to the market rates. Employee performance management. Individual goals shall be aligned to overall organizational goals and objectives. Regular performance appraisals shall be conducted and timely feedback disseminated to all employees. Training and development. Mentoring and coaching shall be offered to all employees. Training shall be aligned with individual goals and organizational needs. Skills audit shall be conducted regularly to identify training needs. Su ccession planning and continuity shall be ensured. Conformity with legal provisions (Lauby 97). The organization shall diversity, privacy, equal opportunity and freedom of information in human resource practices. Discrimination shall be prohibited. Task two: questionnaire The questionnaire will use a rating scale of one to five as follows: (1) strongly agree, (2) agree, (3) neither agree or disagree, (4) disagree and (5) strongly disagree. The list of questions which employees at all levels will be expected to respond to is as follows. 1) Are proud to work for the company? 2) Are you free to express your fear and dissatisfaction in your work? 3) Is your immediate supervisor competent in human relations? 4) Do you feel that you are able to work for the company as long as you do a good job? 5) Does the company offer salary levels which compare with others in the industry? 6) Does your compensation match your skills, roles and responsibilities? 7) Do you receive immediate feedback on y our personal accomplishments and achievements? 8) Is your immediate supervisor concerned with the quality of services you offer? 9) Do you feel the company has adequate health and safety standards in your

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Granting Finance and Non-Fund Based Limits Essay Example for Free

Granting Finance and Non-Fund Based Limits Essay For the purpose of granting finance, banks are lending by way of fund based limits as well as non fund based limits. The following are treated as fund based limits: a) Lock and key type – against of pledge of goods; b) Open factory type pledge or open key advance – against hypothecation of goods; c) Advance against hypothecation of goods; d) Advance against book debts; e) Advance against bills. The following are considered as non fund based limits granted by the banks to the public: Letter of credit and bank guarantees: Banks normally undertake a proper appraisal of the financial standing and requirement of the customer for non fund based facilities as in the case of fund based ones. This is because though the bank in the case of non funded facility, commits itself to pay only in the event of non-payment by or non performance of the customer, the possibility of the given non-funded credit facility resolving into real or funded credit facility on the customers default or non performance cannot be ruled out. Letter of credit: A letter of credit is a written undertaking given by a bank on behalf of its customer who is a buyer, to the supplied, promising to pay a certain sum of money provided the supplier complies with the terms and conditions embodied in the letter of credit. A letter of credit is required where the supplier of goods and services deals with unknown parties or otherwise feels the need to safeguard his interest. In such circumstances he stipulates in his sales contract with the buyer that the goods will be supplied and payment made only under a banks letter of credit. Under a banks letter of credit a conditional commitment to make the payment is made by the bank which gives an assurance to the supplier that he will receive the necessary payment provided he does what the buyer requires him to do, within the time period specified in that regard. Whereas in the case of fund based limits, the banks deal with goods, in the case of letter of credits, they deal with documents and not in goods and the transactions are executed only on the basis of the documents. The letter of credit is an autonomous transaction quite distinct from the sale and purchase on which it may be based. The bank issuing the letter of credit has to make up its mind within a reasonable time on receipt of the documents whether to accept or reject them. Normally the letter of credits issued the banks are governed by the Uniform customs and practice for documentary credits of the International Chamber of Commerce situated at Paris. Reference: http://classof1.com/homework-help/finance-homework-help/

Friday, September 20, 2019

Project failure in the software industry

Project failure in the software industry Introduction: Project failure is a common thing heard in the Software Industry in recent years. It has been observed that almost 50% of the projects in the Industry fail due to many various reasons. Research shows that Project failure is not due to one particular reason but many reasons contributing to it. The Standish Group [1995], found in their survey that of all the projects only 1/6 of the projects were completed on time and within the specified budget. They also found that 1/3 of the projects were cancelled and more than  ½ of them were considered challenged. In these cancelled and challenged projects about 189% were over budget, 222% were behind schedule and only 61% of the requirements were met. Factors contributing to project success are to complete it on time, should be under budget and should meet the requirements completely, but generally these dont meet the expectations which results in project failures. The most common reasons for project failures are lack of user involvement, unre alistic time scale, poorly defined requirements, poor testing, miscommunication and difference of opinion between team members, etc. Since now most of the companies use software for various operations, it is a must for every company to avoid project failures. A huge amount of money is spent on making software, therefore it is important to analyze and understand the reasons behind the various reasons behind project failures. The graph below shows various reasons for failure and the percentage to which each factor contributes. The above graph and the percentage of failures show that it is normal for a software project to fail due to various reasons. But the point is what we can do to avoid it. For that we need to understand the various reasons for failure and the steps to avoid them. Reasons for Project Failures: Vague Requirements: Requirement gathering is the first step of any project development life cycle. Any project starts with the understanding and analyzing the requirements of the customer. Often the requirements are not clearly specified and the manager assumes the requirements as per his/her understanding and asks the developers to start developing the product which results in not meeting the exact requirements of the stakeholder. Many times the customer, himself/herself is not aware of what they want as keep changing the requirements on regular time intervals which results in delay of product delivery, increased cost and inefficient product. Many times due to time constraint the developers start the project assuming requirements and start developing it, thinking that the requirements will be fulfilled once we start developing which may result in incomplete project and increase in cost or even delay in completion of project. Hence it is very important to understand the requirements of the customer and make a proper software requirement document and then start the project development. Consequences: The result of vague requirements is severe. This will cause an increase in cost, inefficient product and a lot of rework. The developers will have to spend a lot of time and put in extra hours of work to make the necessary changes as the product developed is not as expected. Suggestion: To avoid this situation of vague requirements which may lead to project failure, I suggest that the project manager should meet the customer to get the exact requirements of the project. The Manager should make sure that all the requirements are properly documented so that the developers know the exact requirements which will help them to know what the goals to achieve are. The Manager should also regularly meet the developers and make sure that all the requirements are clear as they come and everyone has understood the requirements document. The requirement analyses and developing a project development life cycle should be given enough time before the actual development starts. Unrealistic Time Scale: Poor schedule estimation is another reasons for project failure. Many project managers understand the need to deliver the projects fast due to which they set unrealistic schedule to make sure the project is produced quickly without knowing the amount of work that needs to be done. Due to which they make superficial design and start coding to make the product as quickly as possible thinking that sooner the coding starts, faster the product is finished. Many times the managers are also pressurized by the stakeholders regarding the project deadlines. The Project Managers many times dont even work together with the stakeholders in defining a realistic schedule and decide on a proper deadline for the completion of the project. But this is the most common mistake made by the project managers. As a result of this unrealistic time scale the final product is either faulty or does not meet the user requirements or delay in delivery of project resulting in increase of the product development co st. Consequences: The result of unrealistic time scale is increase in cost and time to deliver. Since the schedule is unrealistic the manager will make a working model and ask the programmers to start coding quickly, which will result in low quality of work by the coders as they are under great pressure and the final product delivered will not meet the expectations of the stakeholder. This will cause the project to fail and cause waste of resources and money put in the project. Suggestion: Since unrealistic time scale being a common mistake made by the project manager, it can lead to heavy losses. This mistake should be taken care of by making a proper project plan and setting realistic deadlines. This plan and deadlines should be decided based on the amount of work to be done and the size of the team working on the project so as to avoid unnecessary pressure on the team. This will give enough time to work on each and every module properly and fulfill all the requirements properly rather than just complete the project within the given time. More importantly the stakeholders should be provided all the required data and estimated time of completion. They should also be updated at regular intervals to make sure that the work in on the estimated time. Poor Communication: Poor Communication is the third reason for project failure. Due to poor communication between the managers and developers, the developers are not aware of the work to be done by them, which may result in delay. As this important information is not shared between team members, the progress of the project is also not known. Trying to avoid communication between team members to avoid conflicting views between them may result in project failure. Sometimes the programmers are not allowed to give their opinion about the improvement of the project which is also a reason for project failure. This kind of poor communication between the manager and the team members hinders the progress of the project. This kind of poor communication should be avoided and the manager should take the necessary steps to overcome this problem for the success of the project. Consequences: The impact of this reason for project failure is very severe. It will affect the cost of development, affect the schedule and functionality. If the communication is poor it may lead to inefficient product development. Suggestion: Communication is very important between the team members, the management and the stakeholders for the project success. Since poor communication can lead to severe losses to a project I would suggest that manager should regularly communicate with the team regarding the project progress. This will help the manager to keep a track on the ongoing progress and also make sure that the team has understood all the requirements properly and avoid conflicting views between the members. And all the members will know their role in the project thus avoiding unnecessary work. Communication with the stakeholder will also help the stakeholder to know about the progress of the project and to know if the project is going as per the requirements. Scope Creep: Scope Creep gives the overall view of the final system to be delivered. Scope creep happens due to increase in the scope of the project during development. Often it is seen that the manager or the customer wants to add more functionality to the system while it is being developed. Like if a student record system is developed for the subjects taken and scores of the students by semester. But then the customer wants to add personal details and fees structure for each course. This will increase the scope of the system as the new functionality is required to be added along with the old requirements. This will affect the schedule of the project. Many times it happens that the customer might change the requirement at regular intervals or might require change as they are not comfortable with the existing system resulting in scope creep. Consequence: The consequence of this is very severe. As the requirements of the system change it will increase the cost of development and even affect the project schedule. Suggestion: Scope creep should be avoided as it may lead to major project failure or unnecessary delay in the project deliverable. This can be avoided by getting all the requirements from the user at the start of the project and even the priority in which the requirements need to be fulfilled. The cost and the time of delivery should be documented as per the present requirements. So any change will affect the cost and time should be told to the customer and everything should be documented. Inappropriate Staffing: Inappropriate staffing is another reason for project failure. The manager needs to find the right people for the job. Many times there are programmers who lack the required experience in the technology and are not qualified enough for that job. It also happens that the managers hired or allocated to a project dont have enough experience in handling such a huge task or dont have enough technical knowledge. These programmers and managers are hired simply to keep the cost of development low. So it is very important to get the right set of people to work on the project, who are experienced enough and can work well in a team for project to be successful. Many times it may happen that a member of the team or a high level manager might leave the job, which may affect the project schedule. Many times it happens that resources are not allocated properly while shows inefficiency in work, thus delaying the project schedule. This problem has been a major problem with all the companies. Consequences: This will have an impact on the project schedule as every time new resources are allocated, it will consume time to understand and complete task. Suggestion: To overcome the problem of inappropriate staffing the management must hire the right set of people for the required task who are efficient enough for the job. They must have a well balanced team and people who work well as a team and appreciate each other to achieve the bigger goal of successful project completion. Lack of User Involvement: User involvement is very important for any project to succeed. If the user is not involved in the project development by continuously communicating with the project manager, it may result in a project failure. Many times it happens that the user doesnt know how to use the system as the user is not much involved in the working of the system. The developers get the requirements from the user but the users are not actively participating in the design phase, requirement analysis phase, testing phase or the users are changing the requirements which may lead to delay in the project schedule and might not meet all the user requirements. Many times it is seen that the user will specify the requirements and then wait for the final product. Due to this the users sometimes dont get the expected functionality or they might not be familiar with the system which may result in a lot of time wasted in learning the system. Consequence: The consequence of this is medium effect. There can be a lot of change in the functionality as the user is not aware of the system working till the end. It may also increase the cost of the project and schedule as the user will take a lot of time to get familiar with the system. Suggestion: To overcome this problem of lack of user involvement, the user should actively participate in all the phases of project development. The user should be eager to learn the system before it is put live and hence should be trained to use the system. This will help the user to get familiar with the system and will also be able to test the system for all the features that are expected of the system. Poor Planning: Planning is the most important part of any project. If the project is well planned it will be completed on time and within schedule, resulting in success with all the requirements full filled. Project plan defines the objectives of the project and the goals to be achieved. The project plan contains the amount of resources required, the cost of development and the deliverable schedule. It helps in knowing what is to be done and what resources are required in which area of the project. Sometimes it is seen that the manager doesnt have much time to make a project plan due to time constrain from the senior management due to which implementation starts before the project plan is completed. This will hinder the project schedule as the flow of project development will not be clear. Many times it happens that project activities are dependent upon the previous activities completion but in case of poor planning this will get affected. This will result in the increase in the project development cost and increase the deliverable schedule. Consequences: The effect of poor planning is very severe. It will have an impact on the project development cost, incomplete requirements and will also affect the schedule. Suggestion: To avoid the problem of poor planning, the management should make sure that the project is well planned with all the resources, phases of development, cost estimation and the schedule of delivery before the implementation starts. Then at regular intervals it should be check if everything is going as planned, so that any kind of problem can be taken care of right away before its too late. Poor Testing: Poor testing plays an important role in project being a failure. Developers do test the project after the coding is done but it is the duty of the user to do an acceptance test to know if the system meets the requirements. But sometimes this testing fails as the requirements are poor enough to be tested. The user is unaware of the importance of this testing. It also happens that the user is not trained enough to test the system resulting in a poor test. Many times it is seen that the development phase takes so long that there is no time for testing, due to which it is avoided. So the user should be encouraged to do the acceptance testing so that the user is comfortable with the developed system. Consequences: The result of poor testing is that not very heavy. If the testing fails, then the development team will have to do a lot of rework on the failed areas. This will increase the cost and delay in project deliverable time. Suggestion: To make sure that testing is done properly the project should be well designed and planned. If the project is to be delivered in modules, then every module should be tested which is very useful as all the functionality is checked at the end of each module. This help in avoiding the entire system test at the end of the project, since most of the modules are tested as they were completed. Then the user should be trained to use the system so that they can do a proper test of the system. This can help in overcoming the problem of poor testing. View Point: The analyses shown above are based on my research about various reasons for project failure and their consequences. From my research on the above I analyzed and suggested that all of the above reasons are important and should be taken in to consideration during the life of project development as they have equal effect on success of a project or its failure. I think that most projects fail due to vague requirements, poor planning and inappropriate staffing. Making sure that all the requirements are properly gathered is the first step in any project development process. If the requirements are not properly gathered then it may lead to problems down the line during development. I have observed that many times due to time constraint or not clear requirements the development phase is started considering that once a working model is ready then all the left out requirements can be handled but this is the biggest mistake made as it will require a lot of rework and increase the cost of development. Many times vague requirements force the developers to make a functionality that is actually not required thus wasting of time and resources results in a lot of rework. Poor planning is also a factor for project failures. Due to vague requirements the planning done is also poor resulting in project failure. Planning phase comes after requirements gathering phase. In this phase all the details about the project development, the resources required, the cost of development, the time schedule of deliverable project parts or whole are decided. This phase takes a good amount of time as the whole project development is planned in this phase, so if the planning is poor, it may lead the project down the hill instead of up. So during the planning phase all the aspects of development should be taken into consideration by the developers and managers. Another problem which is faced by most of the companies is of inappropriate staffing. A project team should have the right combination of people. People, who are experienced, can work well in a team. Generally managers try to cut the cost of development by hiring people who are less experienced with the kind of project to be developed and even inexperience in using the technology being used. This will affect the project schedule. Many times it happens that a manager or team member leaves the project due to work pressure as they are kept to do parts in many projects. Due to this the project is delayed and a lot of time is lost in training the new member. So managers should chose the right people for the team and also the members should be dedicated to a particular project. Many times I have seen that there are dependencies between teams during a project development. Like now a days there is outsourcing where in the design and testing is done by one team and the coding is sent to another team. So whenever there is a change in the functionality or the design the coding team seating elsewhere are given the changes resulting in a lot of rework which relatively affects the project schedule. Many times there is miscommunication between the teams working in different modules so changes in one module is not conveyed to the other resulting in errors during the testing phase. So there should be proper communication between teams and regular updates should be given to all the teams working on the project to avoid any error at later stage of the project. And other than these all the other factors should be taken into consideration by the management for a successful project. Lessons Learnt: From my research on project failures I learnt that project management is the most important aspect for any projects success. From research on this topic I learnt that over the years this problem has haunted the software industry but still the management has not learnt from the previous mistakes. All the reasons shown above are very critical and can lead to project failure if not handled with care. Manager must also focus on the team development for any project as it the overall team effort that makes the project successful and not an individual. Conclusion: The research gives an insight into various reasons of software project failure. These reasons have been experienced by every manager in the industry and so now companies have started focusing on proper management of the projects. References: http://www.coleyconsulting.co.uk/failure.htm http://ezinearticles.com/?Causes-Of-Software-Project-Failureid=453814 http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/feb06/marasco/ http://www.docstoc.com/docs/24462435/Why-Projects-Fail-Graph http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-software-projects-fail.html http://www.projectperfect.com.au/info_it_projects_fail.php http://ezinearticles.com/?Causes-Of-Software-Project-Failureid=453814 http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:rpsupt-SPl0J:www.tier1performance.com/content/features/mets_files/MajorCausesofSoftwareProjectFailures.pdf+reasons+for+software+project+failurecd=3hl=enct=clnkgl=us http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/71209/Why_Projects_Fail http://knapton.blogspot.com/2007/05/why-do-software-projects-fail.html http://www.adaptivepartners.com/projfailb.htm http://portal.acm.org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/citation.cfm?id=1370099.1370100coll=portaldl=ACMCFID=12421101CFTOKEN=86551462

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Nothing But the Truth :: essays research papers

Nothing but the Truth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Philip Malloy is a high school student. He is in the ninth grade at Harrison High School in New Hampshire. The story begins when Philip keeps humming the Star-Spangled Banner everyday in his homeroom class during the morning news and announcements. Philip is in Mr. Lunser’s homeroom class. The faculty rule is that everyone is to be silent and stand up respectfully during the playing of the national anthem. Teachers and other students thought it was annoying and started getting tired of Philip’s humming.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Philip enjoys running and looks forward to trying out for his school's track team. His middle school coach had told the coach at the high school that Philip was a really good runner. His hopes are crushed when he learns that he cannot try out for the team because he has a 'D' in English. Philip is not fond of his English teacher, Miss Margaret Narwin. He does not like her at all and thinks she is the meanest and dumbest teacher in the world. She always gets on his nerves. She wrote a letter to her sister, Anita, and told her that she liked Philip. She said he was intelligent and that he had potential, but he irritated her because he did not have the desire to learn. Philip studied for his winter term exams but did not bother to study for his English exam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the spring term, the faculty made changes and Philip got assigned to Miss Narwin’s homeroom class. Things got worse when Philip was assigned to her homeroom as if being in her English class wasn’t bad enough. When Philip got back to school he found out he was assigned to counseling. Philip was furious and still wanted to get out of Miss Narwin’s English class.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Miss Narwin is always sending Philip to the principal’s office for creating disturbances. Philip makes jokes and fails Miss Narwin’s tests on purpose. He couldn’t pass her class and she couldn’t take a joke. Philip keeps a diary of everything that happens and of everything that goes on in his head.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Philip gets into big trouble. Miss Narwin sends him to the vice-principal’s office for humming the national anthem. He gets suspended for a week. It is the nature of the disturbance, humming during the Star Spangled Banner that creates a huge controversy. A chain reaction of events turns the conflict into a patriotic issue.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Secularism v. Spirituality in the Second Nuns Tale Essay -- Second Nu

Secularism v. Spirituality in the Second Nun's Tale      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes the men and women of the Church in extreme forms; most of these holy pilgrims, such as the Monk, the Friar, and Pardoner, are caricatures of objectionable parts of Catholic society.   At a time when the power-hungry Catholic Church used the misery of peasants in order to obtain wealth, it is no wonder that one of the greatest writers of the Middle Ages used his works to comment on the religious politics of the day.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yet not all of Chaucer's religious characters are failures in spirituality. His description of the Second Nun is of a truly pious woman who spends her life in the service of others; she claims this service as the very reason she tells her tale:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And for to putte us fro swich ydelnesse,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   That cause is of so greet confusioun,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have heer doon my feithful bisynesse,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the legende, in translacioun   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Right of thy glorious lyf and passioun   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thou with thy gerland wrought with rose and lilie -   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thee meene I, mayde and martir, Seint Cecilie.   (22-28)    She is using her time wisely and in the service of her God, avoiding the easy-to-commit sin of sloth as she journeys on her horse, and aiding her comrades in the avoidance of this sin.   In addition to saving the pilgrimage from sloth, she enlightens and teaches those around her, much like her beloved Saint Cecilia.      However, while the character herself is fascinating and worthy of study alone, most intriguing is the choice of her tale.   What is Chaucer's purpose in having the character tell the tale ... ...owski, Eileen   S. "Chaucer's Second Nun's Tale and the Apocalyptic Imagination." The Chaucer Review. 36.2. 2001: 128-148. Project Muse. 2 Apr. 2002. Keyword: Second Nun. Martin, Fredrick. Increase and Multipy in the Speech Acts of Chaucer's Nun's Priest, Second Nun, and Canon's Yeoman. 30 Mar. 2002 <http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/9976/chaucer8.html>. Reames, Sherry L. "The Cecilia Legend as Chaucer Inherited It and Retold It: The Disappearance of an Augustinian Ideal." Speculum. 55.1. 1980: 38-57. JSTOR. 6 Apr. 2002. Keyword: Second Nun. Taise, Brother Anthony of. Chaucer and Religion. Ewha University, Seoul. 30 Mar. 2002 <http://www.sogang.ac.kr/~anthony/Religion.htm>. Weise, Judith A. "Chaucer's Tell-Tale Lexicon: Romancing Seinte Cecyle." Style. 31.3. 1997: 440-479. ProQuest. 02 Apr. 2002. Keyword: Second Nun.   

Caring for a Person With Dementia Essay example -- Dementia and Aggres

Introduction Dementia is an umbrella term used to explain the gradual decline in multiple areas of functions, which includes thinking, perception, communication, memory, languages, reasoning, and the ability to function (Harrison-Dening 2013). Worldwide, 47.5 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and may contribute to 60–70% of cases. (Alzheimer's society 2014). The complexity of dementia presents a number of behavioural challenges to those who live with dementia and their care providers. Aggressive behaviour seems to be one of the most prevalent challenging behaviours in the different stages of dementia (Weitzel et al 2011). As acute care settings are not the best places for people afflicted with dementia , it is necessary to empower the hospitalised people with dementia and their family members. As nurses are often the central core of care, they should have the potential of positive long-term effect on the lives of people with dementia (Harrison-Dening 2013). Inadequate training, lack of specialised education, negative attitudes and poor practice development can precipitate a failure in the delivery of high-quality care for the hospitalised dementia people (Chater & Hughes 2012). Brain Activity Changes Dementia progressively affects almost all brain functions, including the control of motor function (Plosker & Gauthier 2009). The cell damage leads to tissue shrinkage and limited function in the brain's frontal and temporal lobes, which control emotions, planning, and reasoning, judgment, speaking, understanding and controlling movements (Narvid et al 2009). Consequently people with dementia may suffer the difficulty of solving p... ...rnal Of The Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses' Association (JARNA), 14(3), 8-12. McKay, A., O'Neil, M., & McMonigle, A. (2008). Managing challenging patient behaviors. Journal Of Continuing Education In Nursing, 39(9), 390-391 Plosker, G., & Gauthier, S. (2009). Cerebrolysin: a review of its use in dementia. Drugs & Aging, 26(11), 893-915 Narvid J, M. L. Gorno-Tempini , A. Slavotinek , S. J. DeArmond , Y. H. Cha , B. L. Miller & K.Rankin (2009) Of brain and bone: The unusual case of Dr. A, Neurocase: The Neural Basis of Cognition, 15:3, 190-205. Whall AL; Colling KB; Kolanowski A; Kim H; Hong GS; DeCicco B; Ronis DL; Richards KC; Algase D; Beck C; (2008)Factors associated with aggressive behavior among nursing home residents with dementia.Gerontologist, 2008 Dec; 48 (6): 721-31

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Into the Wild Essay

Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild, and Chris McCandless, the main character, share very similar stories and personalities. The best was in which these similarities are depicted is in chapters 14 and 15, when Krakauer inserts himself into the story. In these chapters Krakauer highlights a lot of parallels between himself and McCandless and through these highlights we can look at Krakauer as a credible biographer because he has a deeper understand for McCandless’s motivations. Krakauer and McCandless have very similar obstacles and backgrounds which is exemplified in chapter 14. Both men at one point in life sought isolation, and more specifically, sought isolation with nature. Both thought they had something to prove, may it be to themselves or those around them. â€Å"I was twenty-three, a year younger than Chris McCandless when he walked into that Alaska bush† (Krakauer, 135). They are both two young men going out into the wilderness trying to live on their own and accomplish their own desired feat. Krakauer believed that since they shared similar challenges and characteristics, that their emotions and thoughts may have been the same too. No one really knows what McCandless was thinking at the time but Krakauer believes that he felt some loneliness from time to time. Krakauer once believed that he could live without people and friends just like McCandless though, but Krakauer admits that every once in a while he felt lonely so he infers that McCandless must have felt this same loneliness during his time in the wilderness. Krakauer also wants to elicit the comparison of their relationships with their fathers. â€Å"My father was a volatile, extremely complicated person, possessed of a brash demeanor that masked deep insecurities† (147). Both have fathers that they did not quite get along with and had tough relationships with. This also adds more credibility to Krakauer as a biographer as he shares yet another thing in common with McCandless. The motives of both characters are another important connection that must be made; both characters shared resilience and were determined to succeed. Krakauer’s own account is now made even more crucial to the book as we now see that both characters shared similar motives and mindsets. After being denied once by Devil’s Thumb Krakauer is still determined to climb to the top. â€Å"In truth my escapade on the north face had rattled me, and I didn’t want to go up the Thumb again at all. But the thought of returning to Boulder in defeat wasn’t very appealing either† (146). This can be compared to McCandless’s strong belief in his ability to survive. McCandless’s journey had not been an easy one and he had not been very successful, yet he was still determined in his abilities and would not give in. The fact that Krakauer also shares a similar mindset as McCandless makes his verdict about McCandless’s life that much more credible. Krakauer’s most important claim is that McCandless did not commit suicide. Even though McCandless states in his final postcard to Westerberg that he may never make it out alive, he still strongly belives in his own abilities. McCandless was under the false notion that, if he was able to survive everything so far, then he could survive the rest of his journey.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Mydin Business Profile

Mydin Business Profile Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd is one of the largest and well-established Malaysian-owned Companies involved in wholesaling and retailing. The company was founded in 1940 and was based on Subang Jaya, Malaysia. The company incorporated in 1957. Mydin currently operates 100 outlets nationwide inclusive of 10 hypermarkets, 18 emporiums, 3 bazaars, 54 mini markets (MyMydin), nine convenience stores (MyMart) and six franchise outlets (Mydin Mart). The company started the first operation in Kelantan and the company also known as the affordable and competitive prices offered among the budget-conscious consumers.Mydin Target Market and Product lines The company supplying several range of goods to the lower and middle income groups and also to the other wholesalers, retailers, small businesses, offices and schools. The main competitors of Mydin are Carefour, Qiant and Tesco. Mydin target more on Muslim market and their target market is as halal-wide as their range of produ cts. It offers food and beverage, apparel, accessories, household goods, fittings and furnishings, electronics, children’s toys and even exercises equipment, stationeries, daily and dairy products, toiletries and Muslim goods.There are a variety of accessories to put on for the scarves for the Malay girls and ladies to choose. Besides that, Mydin is the best place to buy Muslim clothes, prayers rugs and other attire to Islamic worship at affordable prices in Kuala Lumpur. Pricing Mydin is a market-oriented approach that reacts to what customers want. Mydin’s outlets are very popular with the residents in Malaysia due to the competitive pricing. Mydin is able to offer lower pricing that has value for money than the competitors because it bypasses distributors and sources for goods from the manufactures.The customers can also buy a lot of things with a little of money. Besides that, through their impressive appearances, Mydin has been able slowly change the perception th at their economical priced goods to low quality products. Mydin purchases in bulk to enjoy the lower prices. Mydin also use the customary pricing such everyday low price and the need for quality for the customer. Mydin relentlessly pursues bargains from suppliers to execute its everyday low price philosophy. Mydin target the lower and middle income groups. Mydin use the flexible pricing according to he festivals such as there is a Deepavali promotion in Mydin Bukit Jambul, Penang which is 1 panel RM39. 90 and 2 panels are RM49. 90 for the curtains. Besides that, the accessories with different designs are in RM29. 90 and the maggi mee is only RM3. 69 buy 5 free 1. Promotion There are four types of promotion mix in Mydin which are advertising, sales promotion, public relation and direct marketing. Advertising Mydin advertised in brochures in USJ Subang Jaya Mydin during 7th-20th March 2012. It was to let the customer enjoy the freshness of quality products.Besides that, Mydin also adv ertised their promotion offer products in the website. Mydin sets up corresponding billboards and by buying similar advertisement placement in the newspaper. Mydin provide quality products to customers and Mydin creates excitement on special period of low costs offer such as there are a lot of promotions in festive seasons. Mydin also promote it is the best place to shop round especially the Muslims. Mydin partly sponsored by the manufacturer and retailer such as Dutch Lady, Sunquick, Jacob, Tops, Premier. There is a slogan named ‘why pay more? Buy at wholesale prices’! n everywhere of the hypermarket. It is to attract the customers to buy their products at the low prices. Sales Promotion There are several kinds of sales promotion in Mydin such as Deepavali, Salam Aidiladha and Brand Fair, Holiday and Holiday and Travel Fair and Wedding Fair. Besides that, people get an automatic entry to win a Mount Bike and Cash Vouchers when a min of RM50 at Mydin with the customerâ €™s Mybankard Debit Card. It is a contest in April. The upcoming kids colouring contest is on 10th November 2012 starts at 4pm at the Mydin Wholesale Hypermarket Taman Saga, Alor Setar (Malaysia).There was a health, beauty and wellness campaign held on 26th April until 8th May 2012. It is let the customers to try out and maximize their talents and grab a chance to win great prizes. Public relations There was a CSR shopping programme at Mydin supermarket, Bukit Jambul on 2nd August 2012 involving the children from Permata Kasih Orphanage. Besides that, R. Apparavoo lead the management of Mydin hypermarket in Ayer Keroh prepared and distributed the free bubuk lambuk to the shoppers on Saturday 18th August 2012. The porridge which was packed in a container.Apparavoo’s staff had cooked the porridge in several big pots before distributing to the customers. These charity events are to demonstrate innovativeness and maintain and improve the company image. Direct marketing Mydin hypermarket has a twitter account to post latest updates and let the customers to get to know what’s new in Mydin hypermarket. Place Mydin’s headquarter is in Jalan Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur . The locations of Mydin can be search in the website by category and by state. It may show the nearest locations. The customers may get to buy the groceries at the nearest outlets.Mydin in Penang such as Mydin Wholesale Hypermarket Bukit Jambul in Penang is near to the residential areas. It also has a bus stop outside the Bukit Jambul complex. It is so convenient for the customers to buy their stuff. The local manufacturer will send the products by trucks to the Mydin hypermarkets. Mydin will provide delivery services to the small retailers where the retail shops are located nearby the Mydin branches by the Mydin vans. Positioning Mydin’s position as the leading local hypermarket operator which sealed its position to operate the KR1M programme.The government gave a simple condition which was for the prices to be competitive so that it benefits the low-income earners in the KR1M project. They drafted a list of essential items such as rice, flour, milk, diapers and washing detergent which need to be affordable. The company leads wholesale and retail company to provide the best value, the wide assortment of goods and continuous excellence in the business formula and improve the work efficiency and set a competitive price to increase price purchasing power of Malaysian consumers. PeopleThe staff must have undergone the training before they starts working. There are a few levels that are specific staff staffs assigned for different tasks which are the management, stock, store, sales assistant, management and the cashier in every Mydin branch. Most of the staff will be trained as sales assistants and cashiers because they are required for doing the daily operation in the branch. The foreign workers will work as janitors in the Mydin hypermarket. Physical E vidence There are a lot of building and outlets of Mydin in Malaysia such as Mydin Mall in Taman Saga, Alor Setar was newly opened in March.Mydin leads the way for dynamic digital signage in the hypermarket retail industry in Malaysia by employing its own in store multimedia TV network; Mydin USJ, Selangor has recently launched Mydin TV. The shoppers, tenants and suppliers can know the up to date promotions and campaigns or activities throughout the stores by the Mydin TV channel. Layout of Mydin is grid pattern layout. The aisle must be long enough for the customers to look long enough at the merchandise as they pass the shelves display.The products put accordingly at the shelves display such as the food and beverages are put in the same area, the stationery and books are put in the same area. the color of the Mydin are blue and yellow. There are free wifi in Mydin Bukit Jambul, Penang. Process The computerization the warehouse system of Mydin has been increased the accuracy in ter ms of automation. It is much more effective than relying on a manual labour. Other than that, Mydin select Intermec because of the the rugged design and robustness of the CK61 which can withstand repeated drops from high ground.Besides that, Intermec’s security feature, iLaunch is to present to lock the operating system automatically. The staff cannot use or exploit the computer for personal use. The policies of the consumers who shop in Mydin hypermarket should get a written copy of guarantees and warranties and compare their features. Besides that, the consumers have to read and understand any contract you are asked to sign. The consumers have to make sure there are no blank spaces and the salesperson’s verbal promises are in the contract.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

History of Circle Essay

The word â€Å"circle† derives from the Greek, kirkos â€Å"a circle,† from the base ker- which means to turn or bend. The origins of the words â€Å"circus† and â€Å"circuit† are closely related. The circle has been known since before the beginning of recorded history. Natural circles would have been observed, such as the Moon, Sun, and a short plant stalk blowing in the wind on sand, which forms a circle shape in the sand. The circle is the basis for the wheel, which, with related inventions such as gears, makes much of modern civilization possible. In mathematics, the study of the circle has helped inspire the development of geometry, astronomy, and calculus. Early science, particularly geometry and astrology and astronomy, was connected to the divine for most medieval scholars, and many believed that there was something intrinsically â€Å"divine† or â€Å"perfect† that could be found in circles. The compass in this 13th century manuscript is a symbol of God’s act ofCreation. Notice also the circular shape of the halo| Circles on an old astronomy drawing| Some highlights in the history of the circle are: * 1700 BC – The Rhind papyrus gives a method to find the area of a circular field. The result corresponds to 256/81 (3.16049†¦) as an approximate value of Ï€. * 300 BC – Book 3 of Euclid’s Elements deals with the properties of circles. * In Plato’s Seventh Letter there is a detailed definition and explanation of the circle. Plato explains the perfect circle, and how it is different from any drawing, words, definition or explanation. * 1880 – Lindemann proves that Ï€ is transcendental, effectively settling the millennia-old problem of squaring the circle.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Emotion Management

Managing emotion is not easy for me. I find that all to often I allow my emotions to get the best of me and I definitely have a hard time focusing that emotion in a productive manner. I feel as though I do not understand well just exactly what my emotions are until it’s too late. I may have just been slightly frustrated over a small issue, but now I’m completely consumed with anger because I couldn’t resolve a small conflict. Goleman (2001) states, â€Å"having Social Awareness or skill at managing relationship does not guarantee we have mastered the additional learning required to handle a customer adeptly or to resolve a conflict-just that we have the potential to become skilled at these competencies. † This is where I find myself in life. I have the ability to become skilled at many emotional competencies, I just haven’t learned how to yet. Socially speaking I deal very with impulse control and am very effective at resolving conflict. Personally speaking I am just the opposite. I would do very well to learn and practice, what Goleman calls, The Self-Management Cluster. The cluster involves focusing on and managing internal states, controlling impulses, and acknowledging resources. The pursuit of happiness is a driving force in a human’s daily decision making. We choose who, what, where, why and how based on our imagination of the future and how it will treat our future selves. In attempting to create this state happiness I often find myself just the opposite. I like to think that I’m pretty good at shooting myself straight and not over or under predicting the outcomes of my future, however I must agree with Gilbert’s (2006) view that â€Å"Our imaginations aren’t particularly imaginative. Our imaginations are really bad at telling us how we will think when the future finally comes. † If I could live in the ideal world that my simple brain can conjure up I would be wealthy, be situated in the exact job that I know was created just for me, and live with a wife who just adores me. As it stands I only live with that that wife, my imagination thought up the other bits. Sitting here now reading the last line I think I just reinforced the idea that my imagination definitely lacks imagination, The idea of this paper is to consider prescribed readings from Goleman and Gilbert and write a health and wellness prescription for myself. There is one excerpt from Goleman’s book that speaks to me. There is growing evidence that fundamental ethical stances in life stem from underlying emotional capacities. For one, impulse is the medium of emotion; the seed of all impulse is a feeling bursting to express itself in action. Those who are at the mercy of impulse—who lack self-control—suffer a moral deficiency: The ability to control impulse is the base of will and character. By the same token, the root of altruism lies in EMPATHY, the ability to read emotions in others; lacking a sense of another's need or despair, there is no caring. And if there are any two moral stances that our times call for, they are precisely these, self-restraint and compassion† (Goleman, 1995). I believe my prescription from this excerpt is to focus on practicing self-control. I am very good at loving my wife, but I am awful at being a partner. I choose to do what makes me happy in the moment, like exercising or reading a book, rather than spending quality time together. I’m very compulsive to my own wants. I need to look at what the needs of our relationship are and then weigh in how my needs may be affected and make decisions based on all the information gathered. Currently I am very compassionate, caring, giving person. I believe that I am very healthy and have a fair amount of emotional intelligence (EI). I listen well and ask for clarification of what I’ve heard rather than assuming what I heard. I fight fair. I create boundaries and try my best to listen to what my body is tells me. I believe the authors would agree with these statements. I believe they would want me to focus more on self-control and developing more compassion for my personal relationships. I believe I do a good job at finding happy. I try to keep day-to-day life simple and do the little things with big rewards. My prescription for myself is to seek out understanding for my lack of personal impulse control and focus on relationship building activities at home. Achieving a level of balance and control of daily challenges is essential to overall health and happiness. Barringer and Orbuch (2013) quote Marilu Henner explaining â€Å"Being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and rewarding life. †

Friday, September 13, 2019

Organization Culture Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organization Culture Exercise - Essay Example The personnel of the organization are involved as well as specialized in the arrangements of intercultural dialogues, networks and relationships. The organization is also involved in promoting education among the poor people of several countries. Considering the transparent role that the company is playing in terms of bringing together the people of different countries for the promotion of culture, the organizational culture of British Council is an example to be followed by the same people who are involved in different programs initiated by the organization. Considering the discussion of the organizational culture, the Competing Values Framework is one of the most successful business models which can answer well about an organizational environment and its working. The significant traits of this model can be seen through figure presented below: The model presented above can be said to be perfectly executed in the organizational culture of British Council. The human resource development is the key aim within the organization according to which the morale of the individual employees of the organization is boosted through various means. The internal process of the company is very transparent in which all the employees have stability in their job and they have firm control over their duties. The key aim is the spread of the information through all the departments involved in the organization into a particular activity. Growth is another feature that the employees are expected to show in the organizational environment, which means that the employees have to be forward-thinking and have positive approach in carrying out a particular function, and this is one main feature that has been experienced by me in the British Council’s organizational culture. The employees of the BC are also expected to be efficient and productive and for which they have better resources by using which they can become more transparent in their approach that

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Socratic Method Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Socratic Method - Assignment Example Socrates’ argument holds true because individuals often choose to do things that other people say are wrong and they can also choose to do things that they know are wrong with the intention of benefiting themselves as humans are rational and will do anything to achieve their end or benefit from the situation. People’s personal intuition will lead them to doing things the way they do them so as to satisfy themselves and they choose to ignore what other people will think of it (Navia, 1999). An example is a stressed person who will turn to alcohol knowing that it cannot be a solution to their problems, but will gladly go into drinking as they think that this will do away with their stress. If people accepted that all evil is ignorance, this would have a profound impact on the justice system as people would make defenses on this basis which would be detrimental to justice. Prison and death sentencing would be affected in that proving someone guilty of a crime would be hard as they would state ignorance as their defense and meeting the expectations of justice would be a

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Information Needs by Position, Function and Role Essay

Information Needs by Position, Function and Role - Essay Example Certainly, having an appropriate organizational model in place is a precondition for long stint success (Pugh, 1990). This is because of its ability to identify and address the innumerable business and human realities of the corporation in question. An organization is a three layer system where at the bottom the organization’s material flows (activities of the first kind). Decision makers, managers of the organization are at the top. The middle layer receives information from the bottom, processes it and presents it to the decision makers. Decisions made in the top layer influence the bottom layer activities. For organization mangers to make qualitative decisions, they need to receive qualitative information on time (Pugh, 1990). This will result in the delivery of decisions to the bottom layer on time. Qualitative realization is attained if these information flow procedures are ensured by the middle layer. The two fundamental requirements of an organizational structure includ e division of labor into distinct tasks and coordination of that labor. This is such that the workers are able to accomplish the company’s goals. ... It may choose to cluster these utilities together under the department of marketing. Bigger establishments may organize so much of these undertakings that they isolate sales into a department different than the other functions (Pugh, 1990). Hence, qualitative information is required on the customer’s needs as well as the company’s performance in the market. The company should have information on how to establish market niche. The other information needed is the need for competitor intelligence. The company should be equipped with strategies to beat the competitor. Roles Once a corporation has proven how functions are convened, then functions must be allocated to the people who have the capability to perform them. Many establishments make roles to execute these functions. Companies should have information on ranks with job explanations that will assist employees to know the range, function and parameters of their roles. This will create a system of accountability and rel iability between all the people working in an organization (Pugh, 1990). In corporations big enough to have several people in a branch, roles aid in making sure that each person is taking care of central functions without replication or desertion of tasks. For instance, in a finance division, they might have a controller, accounts payroll person and an accounts collections person. All these people form part of a crew with an inclusive job to manage the firm's cash flows. However, every one of them has a set of duties that boost efficiency and ensure the assiduousness of the team. Information needs associated with organizational roles include information on training programs and motivation strategies for the employees. There is a need for

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Taxonomy Comprehension and Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Taxonomy Comprehension and Application - Essay Example By examining each Character separately, and stating off with Philosopher Aristotle, he has been renowned for Philosophical Works - later to be regarded ad Scientific. He has been and is still remembered to have Initiated the Study of Living Organisms -including Himself. This is the area where his Work has been Most Admired. He made enough efforts to discover the Relationships among the Living Organisms. As a Behaviourist, he was keenly interested in knowing something about Which category behaves how. And, possibly, what influences it to do so. His Crown of 'Father of Science' - is Prime enough to illustrate his Research and Academic Weight in the World of Learning. So, Aristotle looks at the relationship of Living Organisms in their Quest for Livelihood. Aristotle is also interested in establishing Sense of Belonging, characteristic of any Creature. This he does by Classification of things - organisms in this sense. Not only does Aristotle stop there. He goes further to study Plants and illustrate their differences in Species. So his Kin Interest the Origination of Species has sparked off a lot of Ambition among both the Philosophers. And, actually, his innovations have led to complicating the Understanding of the Difference between Religion or Philosophy and Science. The Context of... The study of these two inter-related Philosophers -and Hence, Schools of thought, is paramount for purposes of Study (Research) and day-to-day reasoning inherent among the People on this Planet. As the Ideas that flowed from these Brains has been and lives to be remembered. By examining each Character separately, and stating off with Philosopher Aristotle, he has been renowned for Philosophical Works - later to be regarded ad Scientific. He has been and is still remembered to have Initiated the Study of Living Organisms -including Himself. This is the area where his Work has been Most Admired. So his Kin Interest the Origination of Species has sparked off a lot of Ambition among both the Philosophers. And, actually, his innovations have led to complicating the Understanding of the Difference between Religion or Philosophy and Science. By way of classical reasoning. It can be seen that Aristotle has a Scientific View of the Subject, Taxonomy - which is taken to mean 'Something that one wishes to convey especially by Language' - which he does by addressing himself to the Realities of Life via the Expression of Organic Life. For purposes of this Topic, however, we need to make another point or two about the way is Emotions and Feelings of Human and Nature afflict his Counter-part who seems to be slightly opposed to his way of viewing nature and what constitutes its components.     

Monday, September 9, 2019

Supreme Court Rulings - Potter v. California Essay

Supreme Court Rulings - Potter v. California - Essay Example It is not only prudent for the government to protect the civil liberties of its citizens but it is a contractual obligation to do so as stipulated in the Constitutional Bill of Rights. Civil liberty is in itself a form of natural liberty, part of which is divested and placed in the hands of the government in order to produce more good and bring happiness in the entire community than if it were to remain in the hands of the individual (Cohen 15). Civil liberty as an offshoot of natural liberty for one to do as they please is not restricted by the government to the extent that it does not threaten public welfare. Civil liberty in guaranteeing one’s freedom to do what they want is limited to injury or harm of others by the action done. The concept of civil liberties is grounded on liberal theory. Liberal philosophers believed in a state of nature prior to a political society where individuals were entirely free to do anything, including killing each other. Creation of societies n ecessitated the need to keep people and their possessions secure thus restricting natural liberty as far as necessary for security of everyone. Any natural right that threatened public order was taken away. The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States protects rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion from being interfered with by the government. The freedom of expression is constituted by the rights to freedom of press, speech, implied rights of belief and association, assembly, and right to petition the government in order to get a redress of grievances. Interpretation of the extent of protection given to these rights is reserved for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has interpreted The First... The researcher states that the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States protects rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion from being interfered with by the government. The freedom of expression is constituted by the rights to freedom of press, speech, implied rights of belief and association, assembly, and right to petition the government in order to get a redress of grievances. Interpretation of the extent of protection given to these rights is reserved for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has interpreted The First Amendment to apply to the federal government. In this case, the researcher believes that Mr. Potter in pleading the First Amendment referred to the arrest as infringing on his freedom of expression. This freedom basically entails freedom of speech and it would be expedient for us to delve into its intricacies. First, the right to freedom of speech gives individuals the right to express themselves with no constraint or interference and in deed Mr. Potter exercised their freedom in this regard. Second, it is a requirement by the Supreme Court to give justification for interfering with this cases where it makes an attempt to regulate content of speech. Third, is the right to assemble, which allows people to congregate for lawful and peaceful purposes. The right to belief and association is embedded within this right too, which are the First, the Fifth, and the Fourteenth. Fourth, an individual has the right to petition government in order to obtain redress of their grievances.

Popular Music Youth And Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Popular Music Youth And Education - Essay Example According to this paper the author further gives a detailed explanation of the relationship between popular music and education. In this section, the need to integrate pop music in education is overly emphasised. The author concludes the essay by giving an overview of the general importance of music. Autobiographical account of the author’s relationship with music. It makes a conclusion that from the foregoing discourse, it has been established that music surrounds our day to day activities in our diverse cultures. The most outstanding outcome of this essay is that music has a great impact on the academic performance of individuals. Available studies reveal that about 90% of individuals with post graduate degrees participated in music education during their school days. Similarly, schools that spent a big chunk of money on music education post very impressive academic performance in general. It has been indicated that music education increases one's success in the society because such people rarely get involved with drugs and substance abuse. This argument is further supported by research findings that indicate that an education in music increases overall brain activity. Moreover, children that are exposed to music at an early stage in their development possess better reasoning skills than their counterparts who had a different orientation. It is for this reason that students who are good in math, science, and engineering have a craving for music.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Creating a Competitive Strategy for a Discount Retailer (MKT 100) Essay

Creating a Competitive Strategy for a Discount Retailer (MKT 100) - Essay Example This has induced a lot of involvement and commitment from the managers of the stores. CanadaCo stores offer significantly higher level of customer service due to the reason mentioned above. The stores are cleaner, more attractive and better stocked. This has resulted in higher per store sales when compared to the competition and has lead to higher revenue and market share. Though CanadaCo has a wider variety of products, the product mix is similar to that of the competition. CanadaCo can expand the number of product categories and also include a number of varieties for each category. The SWOT analysis has given a clear picture of the current position of CanadaCo and also the potential challenges it has to face in the future due to the recent course of events. It is clear that UsCo is a big threat to CanadaCo as it has a larger infrastructure in terms of man power and number of stores. Moreover, the stores are centrally managed and hence, UsCo’s initial aim will be to gain a considerable market share in a short span by cutting down the profits. It is evident from UsCo’s approach in the United States, that it gives greater importance to market share. It has expanded rapidly by focussing on gaining consumer trust. UsCo also gives great importance to brand image and positioning, as the cheapest supplier of consumer goods. The pricing policy of UsCo has been set to meet the requirements of the target consumers. It is a well known fact that acquiring a new customer is about six times costlier than retaining an existing customer (Jobber, 2004). Hence CanadaCo can take initiatives to retain the existing customer base. This can be done by the introduction of Customer Loyalty schemes. As it is evident that UsCo will take initiatives in the future to expand its market share in Canada, CanadaCo should effectively counteract this by being the first mover in

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Deceit in Hunters in the Snow Essay Example for Free

Deceit in Hunters in the Snow Essay Tobias Wolff’s â€Å"Hunters in the Snow† centers on the actions and personalities of Kenny, Frank and Tub as they embark on a hunting trip during the winter. Each character faces problems (in character or otherwise) which they attempt to cover up through deception – the central theme in this short story – in order to accept their respective actions. The consequences of these cover ups profoundly change the power of each character over another. Furthermore, the characters don’t realize how their lies influence others around them. Kenny is a quintessential bully. His need for power over the other two causes him to assert control of any action be it driving or asking for permission to hunt on private grounds. In truth, he doesn’t even wish to ask for permission but is pressured by Frank to do so. Kenny’s seemingly flippant mannerisms also follow from his desire to be the alpha-male. He insults and mercilessly teases Frank and Tub about their insecurities. He pretends to desire to run over Tub after appearing an hour late and immediately silences any objection from Tub. However, he neither realizes how far he is pushing Tub nor the peril he is in. His stupid actions leading up to and after the murder of the old dog finally push Tub, who legitimately fears for his life, to retaliate. This immediately puts Kenny’s life at the hands of his bully victims and leaves a power vacuum to be filled. Tub’s main problem is his denial of the poor eating habits that he has. He adamantly tries to convince others that his problem is due to his glans despite acutely knowing that he gorges himself on unhealthy foods in solitude. The insecurity he feels about being found out causes him to become easily manipulated and bullied by Frank and Kenny. Moreover, the retaliation against Kenny only adds to the insecurity Tub has and he immediately searches for approval and protection against the consequence of shooting Kenny. Frank fills in this vacuum and manipulates Tub into siding with him. Frank himself faces the issue of adultery. His lust for another woman causes him to deceive himself into believing that this new female is the love of his life despite a small part of his conscience stating otherwise. He even goes as far as to perverse the beliefs of that small part by asserting that his reluctance is only due to the good that his wife had done him and the kids they had. Frank’s self-deception inadvertently acts on Tub’s insecurities, prompting Tub to open up about his problems to Frank. By deceiving himself to accept his adultery, Frank pushes Tub to accept the eating problems that Tub has by giving in to Tub’s urges. Frank is unaware that his acceptance of adultery has already influenced Tub to succumb to Tub’s desires (shown by the fact that Tub decides to open up to Frank). Each character has major issues that need to be corrected but prefer to deceive themselves and others than accept the truth and work towards correction. As such, Kenny lies in mortal peril, Frank gains newfound power in the group and over Tub, and Tub remains submissive to Frank’s wishes. Moreover, the newfound confidence in Frank leads him to ignore common sense in going back to retrieve vital directions to the hospital. The futures of these three characters is left hanging, however it is clear that the ending has each one moving down separate and erroneous paths.

Friday, September 6, 2019

Morning in Nagrebcan by Manuel E. Arguilla Essay Example for Free

Morning in Nagrebcan by Manuel E. Arguilla Essay (1) It was sunrise at Nagrebcan. (2) The fine, bluish mist, low over the tobacco fields, was lifting and thinning moment by moment. A ragged strip of mist, pulled away by the morning breeze, had caught on the c umps of bamboo along the banks of the stream that flowed to one side of the barrio. (3) Before long the sun would top the Katayaghan hills, but as yet no people were around. In the grey shadow of the hills, the barrio was gradually awaking. Roosters crowed and strutted on the ground while hens hesitated on their perches among the branches of the camanchile trees. Stray goats nibbled · the weeds on the sides of the road, and the bull carabaos tugged restively against their stakes. (4) In the early morning the puppies lay curled up together between their mother’s paws under the ladder of the house. Four puppies were all white like the mother. They had pink noses and pink eyelids and pink mouths. The skin between their toes and on the inside of their large, limp ears was pink. They had short sleek hair, for the mother licked them often. The fifth puppy lay across the mothers neck. On the puppys back was a big black spot like a saddle. The tips of its ears were black and so was a patch of hair on its chest. (5) The opening of the sawali door, its uneven bottom dragging noisily against the bamboo flooring, aroused the mother dog and she got up and stretched and shook herself, scattering dust and loose white hair. A rank doggy smell rose in the cool morning air. (6) She took a quick leap forward, clearing the puppies which had begun to whine about her, wanting to suckle. She trotted away and disappeared beyond the house of a neighbor. (7) The puppies sat back on their rumps, whining. After a little while they lay down and went back to sleep, the black-spotted puppy climbing on top of the Four. (8) Baldo stood at the threshold and rubbed his sleep-heavy eyes with his fists. He must have been about ten years old, small for his age, but compactly built, and he stood straight on his bony legs. He wore one of his fathers discarded cotton undershirts. (9) The boy descended the ladder, leaning heavily on the single bamboo railing that served as a banister. He sat on the lowest step of the ladder, yawning and rubbing his eyes one after the other. (10) Bending down, he reached between his legs for the black-spotted puppy. He held it to him, stroking its soft, warm body. (11) He blew on its nose. The puppy stuck out a small red tongue, lapping the air. It whined eagerly. Baldo laughed a low gurgle. (12) He rubbed his face against that of the dog. He said softly, My puppy. My puppy. He said it many times. (13) The puppy licked his ears, his cheeks. When it licked his mouth, Baldo straightened up, raised the puppy on a level with his eyes. (14) You are a foolish puppy, he said, laughing. Foolish, foolish, foolish, he said, rolling the puppy on his lap so that it howled. (15) The four other puppies awoke and came scrambling about Baldos legs. He put down the black-spotted puppy and ran to the narrow foot bridge of woven split-bamboo spanning the roadside ditch. (16) When it rained, water from the roadway flowed under the makeshift bridge, but it had not rained for a long time and the ground was dry and sandy. (17) Baldo sat on the bridge, digging his bare feet into the sand, feeling the cool particles escaping between his toes. He whistled a toneless whistle with a curious trilling to it produced by placing the tongue against the lower teeth and then curving it up and down. (18) The whistle excited the puppies; they ran to the boy as fast as their unsteady legs could carry them, barking choppy little barks. (19) Nana Elang, the mother of Baldo, now appeared in the doorway with handful of rice straw. She called Baldo and told him to get some live c Is from their neighbor. (20) Get two or three burning coals and bring them home on the rice straw, she said. Do not wave the straw in the wind. If you do, it will catch fire b ore you get home. (21) She watched him run toward Ka Ikaos house where already smoke was rising through the nipa roofing into the misty air. (22) One 0 two empty carromatas drawn by sleepy little ponies rattled along the pebbly street, bound for the railroad station. (23) Nana Elang must have been thirty, but she looked at least fifty. She was a thin, wispy woman, with bony hands and arms. She had scanty, with straight, graying hair which she gathered behind her head in a small, tight knot. It made her look thinner than ever. Her cheekbones seemed on the point of bursting through the dry, yellowish-brown skin. (24) Above a gray-checkered skirt, she wore a single wide-sleeved cotton blouse that ended below her flat breasts. Sometimes when she stooped or reached up for anything, a glimpse of the flesh at her waist showed in a dark, purplish band where the skirt had been tied so often. (25) She turned from the doorway into the small, untidy kitchen. (26) She washed the rice and put it in a pot which she placed on the cold stove. She made ready the other pot for the mess of vegetables and dried fish. (27) When Baldo came back with the rice straw and burning coals, she told him to start a fire in the stove, while she cut the ampalaya tendrils and sliced the eggplants. (28) When the fire finally flamed inside the clay stove, Baldos eyes were smarting from the smoke of the rice straw. (29) There is the fire, mother, he said. Is father awake already? (30) Nana Elang shook her head. Baldo went out slowly on tiptoe. (31) There were already many people going out. Several fishermen wearing coffee-colored shirts and trousers and hats made from the shell of white pumpkins passed by. The smoke of their home-made cigars floated behind them like shreds of the morning mist. (32) Women carrying big empty baskets were going to the tobacco fields. They walked fast, talking among themselves. Each woman had gathered the loose folds of her skirt in front and, twisting the end two or three times, passed it between her legs, pulling it up at the back, and slipping it inside her waist. The women seemed to be wearing trousers that reached only to their knees and flared at the thighs. (33) Day was quickly growing older. The east flamed redly and Baldo called to his mother, Look, mother, God also cooks his breakfast. (34) He went to play with the puppies. He sat on the bridge and took them on his lap one by one. He searched for fleas which he crushed between his thumbnails. (35) You, puppy. You, puppy, he murmured softly. (36) When he held the black-spotted puppy, he said, My puppy. My puppy. (37) Ambo, his seven-year old brother, awoke crying. Nana Elang could be heard patiently calling him to the kitchen. Later he came down with a ripe banana in his hand. (38) Ambo was almost as tall as his older brother and he had stout husky legs. Baldo often called him the son of an Igorot. The home-made cotton shirt he wore was variously stained. The pocket was torn, and it flipped down. He ate the banana without peeling it. (39) You foolish boy, remove the skin, Baldo said. I will not, Ambo said. (40) It is not your banana. He took a big bite and swallowed it with exaggerated relish. (41) But the skin is tart. It tastes bad. (42) You are not eating it, Ambo said. The rest of the banana vanished in his mouth. (43) He sat beside Baldo and both played with the puppies. (44) The mother dog had not yet returned and the puppies were becoming hungry and restless. They sniffed the hands of Ambo, licked his fingers. They tried to scramble up his breast to lick his mouth, but he brushed them down. (45) Baldo laughed. He held the black-spotted puppy closely, fondled it lovingly. (46) My puppy, he said. My puppy. (47) Ambo played with the other puppies, but he soon grew tired of them. He wanted the black-spotted one. He sidled close to Baldo and put out a hand to caress the puppy nestling contentedly in the crook of his brothers arm. (48) But Baldo struck the hand away. (49) Dont touch my puppy, he said. My puppy. (50) Ambo begged to be allowed to hold the black-spotted puppy. But Baldo said he would not let him hold the black-spotted puppy because he would not peel the banana. (51) Ambo then said that he would obey his older brother next time, for all time. (52) Baldo would not believe him; he refused to let him touch the puppy. (53) Ambo rose to his feet. He looked longingly at the black-spotted puppy in Baldos arms. (54) Suddenly he bent down and tried to snatch the puppy away. (55) But Baldo sent him sprawling in the dust with a deft push. (56) Ambo did not cry. He came up with a fistful of sand which he flung in his brothers face. But as he started to run away, Baldo thrust out his leg and tripped him. (57) In complete silence, Ambo slowly got up from the dust, getting to his feet with both hands full of sand which again he cast at his older brother. (58) Baldo put down the puppy and leaped upon Ambo. Seeing the black-spotted puppy waddling away, Ambo turned around and made a dive for  it. Baldo saw his intention in time and both fell on the puppy which began to howl loudly, struggling to get away. Baldo cursed Ambo and screamed at him as they grappled and rolled in the sand. (59) Ambo kicked and bit and scratched without a sound. He got hold of Baldo’s hair and tugged with all his might. (60) They rolled over and over and then Baldo was sitting on Ambos back, pummeling him with his fists. He accompanied every blow with a curse. (61) I hope you die, you little demon, he said between sobs, for he was crying and he could hardly see. (62) Ambo wriggled and struggled and tried to bite Baldos legs. Failing, he buried his face in the sand and howled lustily. (63) Nana Elang called out in her tired, patient voice that if they didn’t stop their noise, they’d wake up their father and he’d whip them (64) Baldo now left him and ran to the black-spotted puppy which he caught up in his arms, holding it against his throat. (65) Ambo followed, crying out threats and curses. He grabbed the tail of the puppy and jerked hard. (66) The puppy howled shrilly and Baldo let it go, but Ambo kept hold of the tail as the dog fell to the ground. (67) It turned around and snapped at the hand holding its tail. Its sharp little teeth sank into the fleshy edge of Ambos palm. (68) With a cry, Ambo snatched away his hand from the mouth of the enraged puppy. (69) At that moment the window of the house facing the street was pushed  violently open and the boys father, Tang Ciaco, looked out. (70) He saw the blood from the tooth marks on Ambos hand. He called out inarticulately and the two brothers looked up in surprise and fear. (71) Ambo hid his bitten hand behind him. (72) Baldo stopped to pick up the black-spotted puppy, but Tang Ciaco shouted hoarsely to him not to touch the dog. (73) At Tang Ciacos angry voice, the puppy had crouched back snarling, its pink lips drawn back, the hair on its back rising. (74) The dog has gone mad, the man cried, coming down hurriedly. (75) By the stove in the kitchen, he stopped to get a sizeable piece of firewood, throwing an angry look and a curse at Nana Elang for letting her sons play with the dogs. He removed a splinter or two, then hurried down the ladder, cursing in a loud angry voice. (76) Nana Elang ran to the doorway and stood there silently fingering her skirt. (77) Baldo and Ambo awaited the coming of their father with fear written on their faces. (78) Baldo hated his father as much as he feared him. He watched him now with half a mind to flee as Tang Ciaco approached with the piece of firewood held firmly in one hand. (79) He a big, gaunt man with thick bony wrists and stoop shoulders. A short-sleeved cotton shirt revealed his sinewy arms on which the blood-vessels stood out like roots. His short pants showed his bony-kneed, hard-muscled legs covered with black hair. (80) He was a carpenter. He had come home drunk the night before. He was not an habitual drunkard, but now and then he drank great quantities of basi and came home and beat his wife and children. (81) He would blame them for their hard life and poverty. You are a prostitute, he would roar at his wife, and as he beat his children, he would shout, I will kill you both, you bastards. (82) If Nana Elang ventured to remonstrate, he would beat them harder and curse her for being an interfering whore. (83) I am king in my house, he would say. (84) Now as he approached the two, Ambo cowered behind his elder brother. He held onto Baldos undershirt, keeping his wounded hand at his back, unable to remove his gaze from his fathers close-set, red-specked eyes. (85) The puppy with a yelp slunk between Baldos legs. Baldo looked at the dog, avoiding his fathers eyes. (86) Tang Ciaco roared at them to get away from the dog: Fools! Dont you see it is mad? (87) Baldo laid a hand on Ambo as they moved back hastily. (88) He wanted to tell his father it was not true, the dog was not mad, it was all Ambos fault, but his tongue refused to move. The puppy attempted to follow them, but Tang Ciaco caught it with a sweeping blow of the piece of firewood. The puppy was flung into the air. It rolled over once before it fell, howling weakly. (89) Again the chunk of firewood descended, Tang Ciaco grunting with the effort he put into the blow, and the puppy ceased to howl. It lay on its side, feebly moving its jaws from which dark blood oozed. (90) Once more Tang Ciaco raised his arm, but Baldo suddenly clung to it with both hands and begged him to stop. (91) Enough, father, enough. Dont beat it anymore, he entreated. Tears flowed down his upraised face. (92) Tang Ciaco shook him off with an oath. Baldo fell on his face in the dust. He did not rise, but cried and sobbed and tore his hair. The rays of the rising sun fell brightly upon him, turned to gold the dust that he raised with his kicking feet. (93) Tang Ciaco dealt the battered puppy another blow and at last it lay limpy still. He kicked it over and watched for a sign of life. The puppy did not move where it lay twisted on its side. (94) He turned his attention to Baldo. (95) Get up, he said, hoarsely, pushing the boy with his foot. (96) Baldo was deaf. He went on crying and kicking in the dust. (97) Tang Ciaco struck him with the piece of wood in his hand and again told him to get up. (98) Baldo writhed and cried harder, clasping his hands over the back of his head. (99) Tang Ciaco took hold of one of the boys arms and jerked him to his feet. Then he began to beat him, regardless of where the blows fell. (100) Baldo encircled his head with his loose arm and strove to free himself, running around his father, plunging backward, ducking and twisting. (101) Shameless son of a whore, Tang Ciaco roared. Stand still, Ill teach you to obey me. (102) He shortened his grip on the arm of Baldo and laid on his blows. (103) Baldo fell to his knees, screaming for mercy. He called on his mother to help him. (104) Nana Elang came down, but she hesitated at the foot of the ladder. (105) Ambo ran to her. (106) You too, Tang Ciaco cried, and struck at the fleeing Ambo. (107) The piece of firewood caught him behind the knees and he fell on his face. (108) Nana Elang ran to the fallen boy and picked him up, brushing his clothes with her hands to shake off the dust. (109) Tang Ciaco pushed Baldo toward her. (110) The boy tottered forward weakly, dazed and trembling. He had ceased to cry aloud, but he shook with hard, spasmodic sobs which he tried vainly to stop. (111) Here take your child, Tang Ciaco said, thickly. (112) He faced the curious students and neighbors who had gathered by the side of the road. He yelled at them to go away. He said it was none of their business if he killed his children. (113) They are mine, he shouted. I feed them and I can do anything I like with them. (114) The students ran hastily to school.The neighbors returned to their work. (115) Tang Ciaco went to the house, cursing in a loud voice. Passing the dead puppy, he picked it up by its hind legs and flung it away. (116) The black and white body soared through the sunlit air; fell among the tall corn behind the house. (117) Tang Ciaco, still cursing and grumbling, strode upstairs. He threw the chunk of firewood beside the stove. He squatted by the low table and began eating the breakfast his wife had prepared for him. (118) Nana Elang knelt by her children and dusted their clothes. (119) She passed her hand over the red welts on Baldo, but Baldo shook himself away. He was still trying to stop sobbing, wiping his tears away with his forearm. (120) Nana Elang put one arm around Ambo. She sucked the wound in his hand. She was crying silently. (121) When the mother of the puppies returned, she licked the remaining four by the small bridge of woven split bamboo. She lay down in the dust and suckled her young. She did not seem to miss the black-spotted puppy. (122) Afterward Baldo and Ambo searched among the tall corn for the body the dead puppy. (123) Tang Ciaco had gone to work and would not be back till nightfall. (124) In the house, Nana Elang was busy washing the breakfast dishes. Later she came down and fed the mother dog. (125) The two brothers were entirely hidden by the tall corn plants. As they moved about among the slender stalks, the corn-flowers shook agitatedly. Pollen scattered like gold dust in the sun, falling on the  fuzzy · green leaves. (126) When they found the dead dog, they buried it in one corner of the field. Baldo dug the grove with a sharp-pointed stake. Ambo stood silently by, holding the dead puppy. When Baldo finished his work, he and his brother gently placed the puppy in the hole. (127) Then they covered the dog with soft earth and stamped on the grave until the disturbed ground was flat and hard again. (128) With difficulty they rolled a big stone on top of the grave. (129) Then Baldo wound an arm around the shoulders of Ambo and without a word they hurried up to the house. (130) The sun had risen high above the Katayaghan hills, and warm, golden sunlight filled Nagrebcan. The mist on the tobacco fields had completely dissolved.