Personal Goal Paper

Personal goals are achieved through dedication and the love of what you are doing. Nobody can decide one person's personal goals for themselves because it is only made by them and it reflects their character and interests. A personal goal that I have is to serve people in need whether that is through mission trips, volunteer work, or a child sponsorship. The steps that I will need to take in order to reach my goal of serving others is to get involved in a church that is committed to serving others, volunteer locally and be a part of credible programs, and seek children in need to pompons on a regular basis.Missions work is something that I have always wanted to do but never have had the opportunity of doing. The church that I went to back at my home church would always go to Guatemala every year to rebuild communities and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have never went, but it was always a goal of mine to go. In order for me to reach my personal goal of going on mission trips, I need to get involved in a church that consistently goes on mission trips. Being a part of a dedicated group of Christians in order to spread the word of Jesus and restore the hearts and minds of any, would be very rewarding to me.I have done volunteer work In the past but a goal of mine Is to do It more out of love and compassion for others and their environment. In order to make this goal happen, I need to find volunteer programs or places that would allow me to show the love of God to others and serve them both physically and spiritually. In the past I was a part of the Market Street Mission coat drive In which I helped people find coats for themselves and their families In order for them to keep warm during the winter. It was a wonderful experience that gave me Joy and kindheartedness towards the needy.In order to achieve my personal goal of serving others, I would Like to sponsor a child In need In another country. It would be an awesome feeling to see how much my money and love towards a child Is making a huge difference In their life and how they live It. Writing to the child and receiving letters from him or her would allow me to connect with the child more affectionately. It would also allow me to give him or her hope for a better future and write Inspiring Bible verses. Personal goals are not Just goals you check off on a list. Rather, they allow you to discover a deeper truth about yourself and society as a whole. By muttererI have done volunteer work in the past but a goal of mine is to do it more out of a part of the Market Street Mission coat drive in which I helped people find coats for themselves and their families in order for them to keep warm during the winter. It In order to achieve my personal goal of serving others, I would like to sponsor a child in need in another country. It would be an awesome feeling to see how much my money and love towards a child is making a huge difference in their life and how they live it. Writing to the child a nd receiving letters from him or her would allow me her hope for a better future and write inspiring Bible verses.

TV show

Check, Please! Bay Area is a local TV program, which reviews local restaurants. During each episode, three guests introduce their favorite restaurants to the television audience. Each guest also has to review the other two restaurants that are being featured on the show. Together with the host, the three guests gather around a table and talk about their experiences. The host of the show, Leslie Sbrocco, who has blond hair and wore a brown suit, talked throughout the program with a warm smile on her lips. Her guests were two guys, mark and Modesto, and a lady, Rachel. Mark is around thirty and a youth worker. Maybe because of his job, he has a great sense of humor and was the most interesting person on the show. His skin is brown and his body is big, which made him look like a huge but nice potato. His favorite restaurant is New Kapadokia, a Turkish restaurant. Modesto looks older than Mark and lives in San Francisco. His favorite restaurant, Aperto, is also located in the city. Modesto looks affable and kind. He had black and gray hair and wore glasses. The last guest, Rachel, is an art director. She is also a blond and wore a blue sweater. Rachel dressed kind of elegantly and likes elegant restaurants. The restaurant she preferred, Massa’s, was predictably expensive and formal. The room where the four of them sat looked like a dining room. In the center of the room was a large table on which set four glasses of wine. On other words, the host and guests sat around the table as if they were old friends having dinner and chatting in a luxurious dining room. The first restaurant they talked about was New Kapadokia, which was highly recommended by Mark. Mark lived in Turkey as a teenager and has wonderful memories of Turkish food. He told Leslie Sbrocco and other two guests that the first time he dined at New Kapadokia it was love at first sight. The restaurant, whose name comes from a real region of Turkey, is located in Redwood City. It is a medium sized restaurant with French windows, white table cloths and comfortable wooden chairs. Turkish pictures decorate the bright-yellow walls and make the environment distinctly exotic. The dishes are genuine Turkish style cuisine, according to Mark. Executive Chef, Meral Guvenc, has several signature dishes, which include kebabs, stuffed eggplant and one particular appetizer hat looks like a spring roll. Mark described the situation when he had first tasted this appetizer. â€Å"While my wife talked,† he said, â€Å"I just pounded them into my mouth. † Everyone laughed. During the meal, a few cups of flavorful tea were used to enliven the meal. The Turkish tea is served in small Turkish glasses and presented on shiny brass trays. Finally, the other two guests gave restaurant a good review. Since the location is unpretentious, people can afford it and still have a wonderful dining experience. The second restaurant was Aperto, which has been at the same location in San Francisco for 60 years. Similar in size to New Kapadokia, it is medium sized with twenty tables and French windows along the sidewalk side of the restaurant. The tables and chairs are of wood. The restaurant was very simply decorated but still looks neat and pleasant. The cuisine is Italian, and all the food is prepared with local Bay Area ingredients. The signature dishes of Executive Chef, Laura Guagliano-Montiel, are taglioline pepati, roasted chicken and butternut squash ravioli. There are also special recommendations from the chef everyday. Modesto said, â€Å"They are always different, but the special are always really special. The restaurant served only wine and beer,, and Rachel said that she and her husband were disappointed with the meal. However, the guys still thought it was a nice place to hang out with friends or to have a casual meal with a family since the price is reasonable and the restaurant attracts open and friendly people. All in all, it is an affordable neighborhood restaurant. The last restaurant was Masa’s, the one recommended by Rachel and, of the three restaurants featured on this particular program, the most elegant. Like Aperto, Masa’s is also a San Francisco restaurant. It is also a medium sizes restaurant but with no windows. All the light comes from the red-covered lamps hanging from the ceiling, which according to Rachel, are Masa’s most excellent decorations. The light is soft, with huge dark-red reflections on the floor. This lighting gives the restaurant a fabulous and somewhat mysterious atmosphere. The dark colored walls are decorated with simple-style pictures, copper statues and light-colored curtains, which create a wonderful contrast to the rest of the room’s deep richness. The cuisine offered by Masa’s is very contemporary French. Every course is somewhat sparse but very delicious. A very extensive wine list provides to the adventure in dining. Dinner at Masa’s is a journey to elegance. Mark said that he was nervous throughout the dinner. The prices are quite high, but the service, the food, and the ambience are exceptional. There are even private dining rooms. Rachel called it a fabulous five-star dinging experience. Generally speaking, this restaurant is expensive but classic and wonderful. If a formal dinner is needed or, if people want to try the good service, Masa’s is a good choice. Of the three restaurants featured on this particular episode of Check Please, New Kapadokia seems to be the best choice. It showcases casual-style dining at affordable prices for both lunch and dinner. Aperto and Masa’s also look like excellent choices, especially for people who live in the city. The reviews left by the audience who had been to these restaurants gave New Kapadokia the most support, so it is probably a good idea to go there first if you want a new dining experience. Some of the people said that the airing of Check Please, the restaurant become overcrowded, maybe it’s a good idea to make your reservation well in advance.

Communication in the Workplace

Communication is a vital process in organizations and companies in today’s world. It has been defined as an activity that entails transmitting information through interexchange of views or messages by behavior, signals, writing, visuals, and speech. The process of communication requires a sender, the message to be sent, and a receiver. However, it is mandatory for the receiver to be aware of the sender’s intention to communicate. This means that a sender can be able to communicate with a receiver across vast distances (Wilson 2010). Normally, the communication the process is complete after it is clear that the receiver understood the message as intended by the sender. Communicative commonality is integral to effective communication between communicating parties. Effective communication is not only needed inside an organization but also when dealing with external stakeholders. It enables organization to achieve competitive edge considering the fact that it through it that an organization remains responsive to consumer needs (Jones & George 2007). On the contrary, poor communication disrupts almost everything in an organization. There are a number of barriers to effective communication (Huczynski & Buchanan 2010). This paper intends to highlight the barriers and how three organizations (Professional Sports, Bernard Mathews, and NHS trust Hospital) have been able to handle the barriers to ensure effective communication. Barriers to Effective Communication Barriers to communication are factors that might hinder effective communication between parties in the workplace. According to Antony and MacVicar (2011), this includes language barriers, cultural barriers, organizational barriers, personal barriers, and interpersonal barriers. Other barriers to effective communication include information technology and power. Professional sports organizations in Greece, Bernard Mathews, and NHS trust hospital have had to deal with at least of the barriers. The three have employed different strategies to deal with them hence their continued success (Mullins 2005). NHS Trust Hospital Poor communication has hindered hospitals to serve customers in the desired manner. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the problem. According to Smith and Preston (1996), the nature of jobs executed by doctors and nurses has contributed to poor communication. Nurses and doctors jobs are in most cases stressful leading to their informal communication among them. It is also common to find practitioners being less polite when addressing one another. Lack of understanding of one another’s role and knowledge has also contributed to the poor communication in NHS hospital (Smith & Preston 1996). Gender differences have also been a barrier to effective communication with stereotypes being the main cause. Men practitioners seem to have less respect for female practitioners hence conflicts in communication. Research has shown that professionalism and status is also a major cause of poor communication in NHS hospital. More experienced nurses and doctors seemed to have fewer problems in building relationships and communicating effectively. This is as compared to less experienced doctors and nurses who experience a lot of problems communicating. Members of the same group in the hospital also find it easy to communicate. Smith and Preston (1996) argues that this ostensibly because of similar language, sense of belonging, and similar training. NHS has tried to deal with the barriers through the application of a number of strategies. For instance, it has tried to create good relationships among practitioners. This has been done to ensure they are able to communicate with one another with ease. It has also employed training and teaching communication programs to enhance to encourage good communication among practitioners. It is clear that nurses and doctors in the organization have found it hard to get along with one another as a result of different training (Smith & Preston 1996). It has also been suggested that the organization should implement good communication systems to aid practitioners in communication. The world has been experiencing technological advancements on a daily basis. The hospital needs to capitalize on this to be able to improve communications (Smith & Preston 1996). Bernard Mathews Farms Bernard Mathews Farms is also one of the organizations that have suffered as a result of poor or ineffective communication. Noise has been one of the major barriers to the organization’s effective communication. Specifically, the organization was affected by the noise created by the media. To be more precise, press articles published negative information about the Bernard Mathews that led to the public have a negative attitude towards it. On the other hand, the organization failed to communicate to its stakeholders or respond to the allegation in a timely to be able to set the record straight. In the essence, this left the public confused on the matter leading to the organization losing its credibility. This also led to the company losing a competitive edge on the market. Employees were also demotivated seeing their company’s name being tarnished in the media. As a result, it necessitated the need for the management to come up with strong strategies on how to enhance communication with its stakeholders (Bernard Matthews 2011). The company was committed to improving its communication not only with internal stakeholders but also external ones. Internal stakeholders include directors, managers, and employees. The company has been able to communicate effectively with its internal stakeholders through the production of multilingual weekly newsletter to all employees. This has been done to ensure employees are well aware of what is happening in the organization. The same information is made available on its intranet site. Employees can also log in to be able to access new information. Similarly, the company also provides conducts face to face meeting aimed at informing managers on the progress of the company as well as new initiatives (Bernard Matthews 2011). The company has also employed different strategies to be able to communicate with external stakeholders. This includes customers, regulatory bodies, suppliers, the community, and the government. Essentially, the company was committed to winning back the trust of its stakeholders to survive the market. One way through which this was achieved is advertising. The company has been able to use the television to advertise its products to ensure they stick in the minds of its customers. It has also made a follow to ascertain the impact of the advertisements. It is through this strategy that the company is able to explain to its customers the benefits of consuming its products. Ultimately, this also gives it the opportunity to address the negative publicity as it is able to inform stakeholders on what is really happening (Bernard Matthews 2011). Social media and the internet has also been used by the company to be able to reach out to its stakeholders. For example, the company has four websites that serve different audiences. This includes a corporate website, consumer sites, Foodservice site, and a campaigning site. It has been able to use the same to market its products as well as make its new initiatives known to stakeholders. The company has also used the media and public relations to communicate circuitously with its consumers (Bernard Matthews 2011). Professional Sport. Professional sport organizations have also faced many barriers that impede effective communication. Specifically, coaches have found it problematic to communicate effectively with their players during games. This can be attributed to them having limited time. Coaches find it hard to communicate with players as a result of the limited time they might have to transmit instructions. They have tried their best to handle the same. However, limited time remains a great obstacle (Athanasios 2005). Language has also created a barrier to effective communication in the company. Professional sports teams are normally composed of players from different countries. As such, coaches might find it problematic to communicate with them. Ability of perception and attitude also hinder effective communication. It is common knowledge that players might decode messages differently hence some may not be able to get the right information. The negative attitude among players has also created a great barrier to communication considering the fact this affects communication not only to their superiors but also other players (Athanasios 2005). There are also external factors that have hindered communication in professional sports in Canada. External factors are those that are not directly related to the players or their coach but still affect communication. For example, spectators, sports officials, and opponents also act as barriers to effective communications. This can be attributed to the noise they make during sports events (Athanasios 2005). Coaches try to ensure effective communication by asking their players to be calm and remain focused. They also try to minimize the negative influence created by outside factors. Coaches have also dealt with the problem of languages through naturalization of players. Equally, they have also ensured that their messages are short and clear to ensure every individual perceives or understands them in the desired manner. Team cohesion, fatigue, and team environment affect their attitude towards one another. Coaches have tried to deal with this through ensuring team members have enough rest and spend more time with one another (Athanasios 2005). Conclusion Communication is very essential for organizations. It is imperative for the management in different organizations to ensure effective communication for better performances. There are a number of barriers that hinder effective communication including personal barriers, language barriers, physical barriers, and gender barriers. Professional Sports, Bernard Mathews, and NHS trust Hospital have faced some of these barriers and have tried their level best to handle them to ensure their success. Communication in the Workplace Communication and its many assets are very important. In order to be successful in anything we need to have effective communication. Although effective communication is very important in today’s world we will have issues with ineffective communication, also known as barriers. To communicate you need to have a sender, receiver and a message. It is important to relay any message with accuracy, with errors we then begin to have barriers causing ineffective communication. Technology is another factor that can be helpful but needs to be used properly. In my organization we use autocratic, democratic, paternalistic and laissez-faire. We are all about rights as well as delegating things to the appropriate parties. In my opinion having a combination of all management styles is important and makes it easier when you need to adjust to the different situations. Every situation and work day (involving who you work with) can be different. You make need to be more of a laissez-faire or paternalistic manager when you work with someone who needs direction at work. In my work facility we share knowledge and anything we need, thoroughly through emails, verbally and our communication book; which in our communication book you can find a lot of different information with dates, times, descriptions, etc. The more through we are the more likely we have communicated effectively even though the receiver or receivers may not be there. To communicate effectively there are five main techniques that can help you to improve. First off there is brainstorming; when you brain storm you are just throwing ideas out there in order to get any ideas together. There are also workplace tours which can also be known as a form of training. By doing tours you can allow others to see how another spectrum does things and learn how to improve or find new ways of doing things. Stakeholder surveys and stakeholder meetings are ways of getting groups together to generate more ideas. Put simply there is the expression â€Å"two heads is better than one†. Lastly there is formal suggestion system which in turns means you are workings together to figure out what these ideas mean and if they will have any value to what you need currently. Even though we have effective communication you are still going to have ineffective communication. This can be a variety of things. The first one which can cause a vast variety of issues is our main demographics like; age, cultural background, race, gender and language. There is also noise barriers which can cause you to miss-understand or interpret your sender (person giving message) wrong. You could also be ignoring parts of the message you will be receiving and only hearing the parts you would like to hear. Communication through technology has many of these same factors. Technology can be both effective and ineffective with all of its aspects. First we have speed which with online communication and cell phones you receive the date almost instantly. Accessibility in today’s world with the internet and our vast variety of resources we can find just about anything we would like. In health care accessibility can become an issue if information is accessed by an unauthorized individual which is a violation of HIPPA. When a breach becomes known you are required by law to notify the correct officials and take the necessary steps to correct the problem. Efficiency has a lot to do with speed. You can send something as simple as an email or text to get your message to the receiver. Written communication means there is a â€Å"hard copy† of the given information you can access. As for the news it can be accessed online or via the T. V. giving you more information. In health care we need to be able to keep up with the change and communication is vital. One simple mistake can make a world of difference especially in a hospital setting. You want to take the appropriate steps to improving and ways to alter or avoid having issues with ineffective communication. As you can see communication and management are vital in today’s success. You want to communicate effectively and work on improving and getting rid of any ineffective communication issues you may have. Make sure you are using the appropriate management style for the given situations and communicate your message thoroughly to your receiver. ReferencesMcManus, K. (1998). A project management system for innovation. Journal for Quality and participation, 21(5), 60. Management Study Guide. Roles of Communication barriers in ineffective communication. Retrieved from: www.managementstudyguide.com/role-of-communication-barriers-in-ineffective-communication.htm Nelson, L. (2012). Ehow Learning. How Technology Impact Communication in the Workplace Communication and its many assets are very important. In order to be successful in anything we need to have effective communication. Although effective communication is very important in today’s world we will have issues with ineffective communication, also known as barriers. To communicate you need to have a sender, receiver and a message. It is important to relay any message with accuracy, with errors we then begin to have barriers causing ineffective communication. Technology is another factor that can be helpful but needs to be used properly. In my organization we use autocratic, democratic, paternalistic and laissez-faire. We are all about rights as well as delegating things to the appropriate parties. In my opinion having a combination of all management styles is important and makes it easier when you need to adjust to the different situations. Every situation and work day (involving who you work with) can be different. You make need to be more of a laissez-faire or paternalistic manager when you work with someone who needs direction at work. In my work facility we share knowledge and anything we need, thoroughly through emails, verbally and our communication book; which in our communication book you can find a lot of different information with dates, times, descriptions, etc. The more through we are the more likely we have communicated effectively even though the receiver or receivers may not be there. To communicate effectively there are five main techniques that can help you to improve. First off there is brainstorming; when you brain storm you are just throwing ideas out there in order to get any ideas together. There are also workplace tours which can also be known as a form of training. By doing tours you can allow others to see how another spectrum does things and learn how to improve or find new ways of doing things. Stakeholder surveys and stakeholder meetings are ways of getting groups together to generate more ideas. Put simply there is the expression â€Å"two heads is better than one†. Lastly there is formal suggestion system which in turns means you are workings together to figure out what these ideas mean and if they will have any value to what you need currently. Even though we have effective communication you are still going to have ineffective communication. This can be a variety of things. The first one which can cause a vast variety of issues is our main demographics like; age, cultural background, race, gender and language. There is also noise barriers which can cause you to miss-understand or interpret your sender (person giving message) wrong. You could also be ignoring parts of the message you will be receiving and only hearing the parts you would like to hear. Communication through technology has many of these same factors. Technology can be both effective and ineffective with all of its aspects. First we have speed which with online communication and cell phones you receive the date almost instantly. Accessibility in today’s world with the internet and our vast variety of resources we can find just about anything we would like. In health care accessibility can become an issue if information is accessed by an unauthorized individual which is a violation of HIPPA. When a breach becomes known you are required by law to notify the correct officials and take the necessary steps to correct the problem. Efficiency has a lot to do with speed. You can send something as simple as an email or text to get your message to the receiver. Written communication means there is a â€Å"hard copy† of the given information you can access. As for the news it can be accessed online or via the T. V. giving you more information. In health care we need to be able to keep up with the change and communication is vital. One simple mistake can make a world of difference especially in a hospital setting. You want to take the appropriate steps to improving and ways to alter or avoid having issues with ineffective communication. As you can see communication and management are vital in today’s success. You want to communicate effectively and work on improving and getting rid of any ineffective communication issues you may have. Make sure you are using the appropriate management style for the given situations and communicate your message thoroughly to your receiver. ReferencesMcManus, K. (1998). A project management system for innovation. Journal for Quality and participation, 21(5), 60. Management Study Guide. Roles of Communication barriers in ineffective communication. Retrieved from: www.managementstudyguide.com/role-of-communication-barriers-in-ineffective-communication.htm Nelson, L. (2012). Ehow Learning. How Technology Impact

Bullying of Gay and Lesbian Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bullying of Gay and Lesbian Students - Essay Example 1). It is also unfortunate that these students are also physically injured and threatened by other students because of their sexual orientation. The distress of these bullied students is not exactly attributed to their sexual orientation, but to the hatred and prejudice against their sexual orientation (Norton and Vare, p. 327). As a result of this bullying, these students are two to three times more likely to attempt and eventually commit suicide (Chase). The education of these students is significantly affected by bullying. For the most part, these students are unable to receive adequate education due to intense bullying from other students (Chase). This bullying may sometimes escalate because the students are often embarrassed to report the cruelties they are experiencing. Due to bullying, they are often likely to skip school. Surveys indicate that gay and lesbian students often skip school for fear of being physically injured by other students and for fear of being targeted by bu llies through taunts and name-calling. According to 2001 statistics, about 28% of these students would likely drop out of school, this is more than three times the average for heterosexual students (Chase).

E-commerce security and fraud protection Term Paper

E-commerce security and fraud protection - Term Paper Example E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services by via electronic platforms such as the Internet and other computer-based networks (Schneider, 2011). It has grown to be a necessary tool for efficiency in business. However, this platform has been faced with a myriad of challenges with Moftah, Abdullah and Hawedi (2012) indicating that the problems relate to consumers’ protection in their transactions which call for trust and privacy across the different geographical locations. Mohapatra (2013) argues that e-commerce transactions have been constrained by security, with consumers wary of the privacy of their personal information and the use of credit cards to make online purchases. The increased use of mobile devices has even further complicated security provision in e-commerce. Thus, a secured system would be needed to enhance e-commerce growth. E-commerce is online, thus accessible to the general public. The increase in cyber crime has also seen an increase in security threats in e-commerce. According to Mohapatra (2013), amounts reported globally, largely from frauds and hacking in e-commerce, stand at over $ 388 billion per year. As such, e-commerce has suffered the resultant liabilities, loss of trust and additional cost for clean-up. This calls for an effective security systems that would protect consumers and merchants from such losses. According to Schneider (2011), such a system would be pegged on a complex interaction of several database management systems, applications development platforms, network infrastructure and systems software. This encompasses preservation of integrity, confidentiality and availability of computer and data resources, referred to as the security triad. Further to this, there would be need for non-repudiation, access control and privacy. Access Control Approaches The first way in which e-com merce has been secured and protected against fraud is through access control. Physically, access control would involve the restriction of an unauthorized person into a building, property or room. In a similar manner, e-commerce has applied several technologies that control access to Internet resources, including authorization, authentication and audit (Farshchi, Gharib and Ziyaee, 2011). The model in this case entails the subjects, these being entities that could perform an action on the system, and objects, these being entities to which access needs to be controlled. Both of these should be taken as software entities as opposed to human users since a human user would only have an impact on the system through software entities on which they have control. First, user IDs, passwords, biometrics and tokens have been used to authenticate an individual. As observed by Mohapatra (2013), authentication involves what the user knows such as a password, what a user possesses such as a token o r what the user is, such as biometric characteristic. The user ID/password approach verifies a user against a set of ID and password. This has however been noted to be the least secure technique in e-commerce because of the threat of guessing, eavesdropping, external disclosure, host compromise and replay attacks (Schneider, 2011). Thus, user IDs and passwords could be combined with physical tokens, creating a multiple factor authentication so as to

Corporate Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Corporate Risk Management - Essay Example Unfortunately such high degree of risks can bring negative impact on the profitability as well as to the future success of the organizations. So to protect from such bad consequences it is essential for such organization as soon as possible to find an appropriate solution so that they could handle or manage risks in better way which in otherwise could bring catastrophe to them. So a desirable solution is through applying appropriate sets of procedures or policies at proper intervals. Risk management is one such effective strategy that to a great extent can minimize or reduce various types of risks that an organization has to face while carrying out its operations. By adopting such strategy an organization can ensure its better success and growth in the future. Viewing this importance the paper attempts to describe what is risk management or risk management decisions, the direct and indirect costs and benefits of risk management decisions to an organization and how they can be measure d. Risk management or risk management decisions are a logical process that aims at eliminating or minimizing the level of risk pertained to any business operations. In other words it can be told as a series of process that comprises of identifying, analyzing, and implementing necessary steps so as to minimize or eliminate the exposures to risk of loss that are to be faced by an organization. The practice of risk management makes use of number of tools and techniques, and also the concept of insurance, in order to manage the different types of risks. The duty of carrying out the process of risk management is entrusted to the concerned department of corporate risk management, who firstly identifies what are the various potential sources that cause to trouble, after identifying the corporate risk managers analyzes each of the sources carefully and then finally after analyzing they take precautionary measures or steps to overcome from such exposure of losses. The term risk management is known to be a "relatively a recent evolution of the concept to insurance management" (Sullivan, 2009, P. 452). The concept risk management that comprises of broader scope of activities and responsibilities than what the insurance management actually dealt with. The uses of Risk management was initially applied by the organizations to protect from various physical threats which occurs while carrying out their operations such as theft, fire, flood, legal liability, disability, employee injuries, car accidents, and many which otherwise took number of years to protect themselves from such risks and in turn which would bring barriers to their day-to-day operations and profitability. It was seen as the 20th century ended; the activities of risk management were much more expanded to the areas of financial risks such as interest rates, exchange rates, and now e-Commerce. As mentioned earlier risk management as a process risk management involves several series of steps where the concerned corporate risk management department of an organization identifies, analyzes, treats and monitors the risks which are involved in carry out their any business operations (Culp, 2001). These entire processes were carried out by the organizatio

Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 34

Questions - Assignment Example Examples of this knowledge obtained are records structures and routines. Tacit knowledge is exclude as it cannot be manipulated (Metaxiotis, 2010) 9) Intelligent decision support systems could improve the quality of medical care and reduce the cost of health care. After reading this chapter and other sources, answer this claim. What types of decisions will be improved by an IDSS in health care? The types of decision improved by an IDSS in healthcare are prescriptive and descriptive decision-making that are applied in rational decisions such as diagnostic, data collection, problem identification, and classification, as well as scanning procedures. Push technology is an internet based communication system that allows transaction request from a central web publisher. The two advantages are instant transmission of information with reliable and secure delivery and the efficient server connection to send contents providing end-to-end visibility (Metaxiotis, 2010). Metaxiotis, K. (2010). Intelligent information systems and knowledge management for energy: Applications for decision support, usage, and environmental protection. Hershey, PA: Information Science

The militarization of our law enforcement agencies in America Research Paper

The militarization of our law enforcement agencies in America - Research Paper Example Owing to the level of criminals sophistication, militarization offers police protective equipment like helmet so that they are equally safe guarded from possible attack. This incude use of armored vests,sophisticated machines guns and trucks fitted with communication gadgets The militarized police must reconcile between keeping the civilians safe while they are on raid. At the same time they must uphold their own safety from possible return gun fire from the criminals. Abiliy to undertake these two responsibilities helps in gaugig the preparedness from the militarization process. The interest of the civiliam must be prioritized through sound preparation mechanisms while carrying out raids.accountability in the event that police raids aount to loss pof life of civilian through negligence or abuse of power is also a concern. Militarization of police is geared towards improving the security of the citizens and ensuring sustained functionality of the government to defend its subjects. This calls for shared responsibility between members of the public and government. Militarization of law enforcement agencies is a positive step towards addressing the surging criminal sophistications. The idea should be given more attention and offered more support by the society at

Legal rights of tenured teachers in dismissal proceedings Essay

Legal rights of tenured teachers in dismissal proceedings - Essay Example Its amendment by Chapter 691 of the Laws of 1994 provides an opportunity for teachers who were accused of any misconduct or incompetence the right to defend himself in court and undergo due process. Within fifteen days, the board of education is responsible in implementing the various rights of the teacher to undergo due process such as the teacher's right of hiring a hearing officer who would be responsible for reviewing the charges against him and would further investigate his case. If permitted, through the process, in support of the facts and findings, the hearing officer may give recommendations with regard to the penalties or punishments deemed appropriate for the charges against him. (http://www.nbto.org/Union/tenure.htm, para 10) On the other hand, for cases that involve pedagogical misconducts or judgments, the teacher is allowed to have a three-member panel who would do the investigation and review the charges against him. It is the duty of the school district clerk or secretary's role to make sure that these provisions and rights of the employee is met in order to provide them with a fair fight. (http://www.nbto.org/Union/tenure.htm, para 10) A great number of issues on tenure has involved not alone the teachers but the school district administrations as well. ... "Tenure is a form of job security for teachers who have successfully completed a probationary period. Its primary purpose is to protect competent teachers from arbitrary non-renewal of contract for reasons unrelated to the educational process -- personal beliefs, personality conflicts with administrators or school board members, and the like. " (http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-925/tenure.htm, para 2) Teacher's tenure started back in 1917 in New York but it was only in 1970 when this part of the Education Law was taken seriously by the school districts and the teachers. Furthermore, the law was strengthened and the process were expedited in 1977 as a response to the growing pressure to the school districts' numerous unfair and illegal dismissals. There was not clear evidence with regards to when the provisions on teacher's tenure had become a federal property right such that it remains to be a concern of the state for which every policies vary. The basic thrust of the Teacher Tenure Act1 is that public school employees under its protection2 may be dismissed or demoted only for one or more of fifteen grounds set out in the act and only according to the procedures set out in the act. Most often, teachers misinterpret this provision in the Education Law thus, it should be made clear that teacher tenure is merely a protection against unlawful dismissals even if he or she is guilty of the charges filed against him/her. (http://www.iog.unc.edu/pubs/electronicversions/pdfs/leps20.pdf, para 1) The due process for which tenure recognizes among the teachers recognizes that laws and legal proceedings must be fair. A person's basic rights to 'life, liberty or property,' should not be taken away from them without the due process of law.

Introduction to mass communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to mass communication - Essay Example The editor is another gatekeeper who decided which parts of the original report were to be retained and which parts were to be changed or removed from the report. B) This report is targeted towards the world in general. This is a news item about politics, and it cannot be denied that everybody who is even slightly conscious of the world around him must have at least some interest in politics, for, as Aristotle said, "Man is a political animal." This report is about one of the greatest incidents in world politics in the year 2009, and is targeted towards anybody who has an interest in politics, anybody who is literate and aware of the political situations in the world. CNN is one of the world's leading journalism media, and their reports are generally believed to be authentic and trustworthy; a lot of people depend on CNN for comprehensive reporting of different events. It is not possible for everybody to be present everywhere every time; and although television has made communication easier, the utility of print journalism remains. This report is targeted to all those people who were interested in Obama's swearing-in and wanted a first-hand account of the proceedings at the inauguration of USA's 44th President and the first Black President in the history of the country. C) This report describes the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of t... The United States is considered the most powerful country in the world. This greatness that America has achieved was not a given; according to Obama, "it must be earned". America has earned its greatness, and although it faces serious economic and international challenges, it has not ceased to be great. Obama showed his countrymen a ray of hope in saying that the challenges faced by USA will be met, although that may not be easy or quick. Joe Biden was sworn in as Vice-President before Barack Obama took his oath of office with his hand on the same Bible that was used in Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration. Obama took note of the fact that he was Black, and thanked those who sacrificed so much so that "a man whose father, less than 60 years ago, might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." He promised to end petty squabbles on Capitol Hill, bring "old friends and former enemies" into the fold. He also vowed to leave Iraq to its people and to finish forging "a hard-earned peace" in Afghanistan. To Muslims, he promised "a new way forward, based on mutual interest," and to terrorists, he said, "You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." The report also shows what the reaction of people across America and the world were. While spectators at the National Mall were overwhelmed by Obama's speech, across the country, people gathered together to watch Obama deliver words of hope on television. Even the reactions of celebrities like Oprah Winfrey are documented in this report. It also mentions that world leaders like Nicholas Sarkozy, the French President, and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd congratulated the new President on

Marine Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marine Finance - Assignment Example Research – Mainly concerned with providing research work on marine industry. The Shipping Industry The shipping industry comprises of the largest marine sector. However there has been a decline in the shipping industry since 1974. This can be primarily attributed to cyclical developments which got worse with the structural changes in the shipping industry and the world trade that made adjustments a time consuming and complex process. The extreme changes in the revenues, cash flows and values of assets during the present financial crisis have bought in difficulties in the regular order of financing shipping companies. While bank loan will continue to be an important source of finance, the newly regulated environments are forcing the shipping banks to shift their risk from balance sheet to capital markets through instruments of loan securitization. Due to this shipping company will look for capital markets as a source of external debt. Risk management will be a key issue in the shipping companies under the current situation. The other changes witnessed by the shipping industry is that traditionally it was structured by function and performance but now it is undergoing drastic changes as traditional functions are now merged with number of other services. Another major change witnessed by the shipping industry is involvement of the government in its ownership, operation and regulation. Thus the shipping industry has evolved over time from traditionally being an owner operating, free trading, and unregulated industry towards a public oriented, highly regulated and institutionalised industry (Frankel, 1987, pp. 1-15). Role of Financial Management in Risk Mitigation of shipping Industry The shipping industry encounters a number of risk namely changes in equity prices, interest rates, exchange prices, commodity rates and the changing freight rates. The risk of the changing freight rates will be discussed at length in this section. This is a kind of marketing ris k the shipping industry faces on a regular basis. The freight rates historically have proved to be very volatile. The effect of unpredictable geo-political events and slow adjustment of supply to demand has resulted in drastic changes in the freight rates. In financial management the best used risk assessment model is the Value at-Risk Approach. It was developed by JP Morgan’s Chairman Dennis Weatherstone. In this approach he asked his staff to provide him with one page report on a daily basis popularly known as the â€Å"4:15 report† which indicates the risk and potential loss in the next 24 hours in the bank’s portfolio. The approach used the estimates of standard deviation and correlation between the returns of different traded equipments. General methodologies of estimating the Value at Risk Approach are analytical methods, Historical Simulation and Monte-Carlo Simulation. This very approach is used in the assessment of freight rate risk in shipping industry . This approach first considers freight rates as risk factors which are assumed to follow random walk and are modelled using stochastic processes. These stochastic processes reflect some of characteristics of freight rate dynamics. The cash flow forms the key measurement of risk. For

Gender differences Essay Example for Free

Gender differences Essay It could be said that to some extent the view that processes within schools may lead to gender differences in educational achievement is true. The theory of Interactionist looks at the individual rather than society; therefore it is a bottom up theory. Interactionist argue that the processes within the schools such as the hidden curriculum may lead students in gender differences in educational achievement, as what happens inside the school which is unwritten is what influences the individual in educational achievement, not the formal curriculum or what is written rule such as the subjects which is being studied influences the student to achieve. The sociologist Goffman explains that everyone in society is presenting the self in everyday life. What he means is that everyone is a puppet of society and not in control of what they say or do, but in fact they are attached in strings and act for example in play, such as a female may play the role of a mother at home but play the role of a student at school. Some argue that the structure and settings of schools, generally creates gender differences in educational achievement, for example the socialisation aspect is that the students are socialised into tolerable forms of behaviour pupils are given drill in how to move about the school, sit in desk, raise hands the puritan of hard work, sober living and good manners is continuously urged upon them. This socialisation naturally created gender differences as males are seen or expected to behave in classrooms in the manner of masculine while females are seen or expected to behave in feminine behaviour or otherwise it could be considered odd, and therefore the students who do behave odd are looked at differently or called deviant. The sociologist Postman and Weingartner, studied that the hidden curriculum consisted of discovering that; knowledge is beyond the power of students and is in case none of their business; secondly recall is the highest form of intellectual achievement and therefore the collection of facts is the goal of education; the voice of authority is to be trusted more than independent judgement; feelings are irrelevant in education; passive acceptance is a more desirable response to ideas than active criticism. This study proves that the individual does not play in an important role but rather how to survive the school and just pass the exams was important and therefore not keen on which gender is learning or how but on how they should just pass the time in school and move on as education is not about the self but on facts and memorising, and not understanding. As a result it could be said that the study of classroom interaction is the idea that the reality of the classroom is a negotiated reality. For students and teachers, the hidden curriculum consists of learning how to survive in the classroom.

Business Plan for Start-Up

Business Plan for Start-Up The business Plan. Synopsis. For this assignment we as a group have been asked to produce a business plan with supporting analysis and justification. The aim of the business plan is to focus on convincing the company stakeholders of the viability of your company start up. The justification includes evidence relating to the rigour of the product selection and the content of our plan. Introduction. A business plan is a written documentation of which describes the business, the objectives of the business, its strategies, the market of which the business is in and the financial forecasts. The business plan has many functions, from securing external funding to measuring the success with the business itself. It essential when starting up a business for a business to have a realistic working business plan. Our business plan is a statement of intent and provides details on how we as a company are going to develop our business, when we are going to do it, whos going to play a part and how we as a group will manage the money. The Business Plan. The executive summary: Our company is a Young Enterprise company trading in imported and homemade products for the product market. We as a company aim to produce and sell a variety of greeting cards and candles of which are homemade to the general public. An aging population will enhance demand for specific card types. The types of cards that there may be an increased demand of cards that there may be an increased demand for include: Retirements Anniversary Birthdays Christmas Easter Valentines Day, mothers and fathers day cards Handmade cards are likely to continue growing in popularity as card sender seek more and more to express their own individuality. The business, its products and services: The business. ASGO4 is a unique candle and cards selling company we offer a variety range of products which include all sorts of various candles and cards for any all kind of special occasions to meet all needs. The company ASGO4 consists of 5 dedicated members who aim to grow this company to achieve a successful business. Product and services. We have a wide range of cards to suite various needs and for all special occasions, i.e. birthdays, anniversarys, valentine and exams. Exam congratulation cards and best wishes for courses can have a wide range of market; these cards will have a good selling point within Staffordshire University. (Refer to appendix 1.) Competition comparison ASG04 products contain many features that distinguish them from those produced by competitors. ASGO4 products are handmade and are to suite all special occasions. The quality of the candles and cards are produced at a magnificent level, even to the untrained eye, which makes ASGO4 products more realistic. ASGO4 are unique and offer a wide range of candles, not many similar products is available in the domestic market. Technology ASGO4 products are mainly handmade some of the products produce by, ASGO4 will be provided by wholesalers, these products that are produced by wholesalers will be produced at a professional level. Future products ASGO4 aim to turn into a successful business, by providing a wide range of candles and cards to meet all requirements. The candles that are provided by ASGO4 have a potential market, as they can be used for many special occasions. What benefits its offers. ASGO4 products offer great benefits to its customers because what we provide to you cannot be provided to you from else where. Customers would buy our products because our products are different compared to whats already available on the market, so this makes ASGO4 more appealing to its customers. Product facilities The main facility, we will use is the market store, within our market store e will have a wide range of space to display our products, we will use tables and colourful table cloths which we will hire, we will use the table cloths to make our tables of display colourful and appealing. Some candles and cards will be hand made by the members of the ASGO4, but these will be simple products, we will do this simply to widen our range of products. Information technology Information technology is of a part of the almost every business day to day life. We will use a promotional information technology tool which will done by are of our class colleagues, he will promote our company ASGO4 and this will create awareness of our company, what we offer and where we are based in Newcastle. The markets and competitors: There are a number of competitors of which we have to consider, the types of candle competitors of which we have to consider are: Johnson Wax Glade known as air-care candles. Bousius (UK) Ltd. Dane. Yankee Candle Ltd. British Candlemakers Federation. Colony Gift Corporation Ltd. Prices Patent Candle company Ltd. The types of card competitors of which we have to consider are: Birthdays. Clintons. Hallmark. Card Factory. Marketing and sales: Market Segmentation Enhancement candles unscented Retail sales of unscented candles were  £48 million in 2000, a rise of 27% over 1996. They account for 50%, by value, of the enhancement sector, compared with a share of 62% in 1996. Figure 7 provides trends since 1996. Growth within the unscented candles sector is decelerating, as purchase of scented candles becomes more popular. Unscented candles include coloured household candles, which can be used as ornaments as well as for lighting. Many are purchased to match household dÃÆ' ©cor, as well as to create a relaxing ambience during dinner parties. Enhancement candles scented It is the fragranced candle sector which is fuelling growth within the candles market overall. Retail sales of scented candles are estimated at  £48 million for 2000. This demonstrates a rise of 106% since 1996. Scented candles account for an estimated 34% of the total candle market and 50% of the enhancement sector by value. Functional candles tea lights Tea lights have reached the mature stage of the product lifecycle, being one of the first candle variations to be introduced into the UK after traditional white household candles. For this reason, value market growth is set to slow over the next few years, although they remain popular as they are so versatile. In 2000, tea light sales were  £27 million, a 10% increase on 1996. They accounted for some 19% of all candle sales in 2000, which is a decline of 6 percentage points since 1996, reflecting a drop in price points rather than usage. Emergency candles Retail sales of emergency candles (primarily white household candles) are declining slowly and were  £4 million in 2000. This compares to almost  £7 million in 1996. Mintel s consumer research indicates that as many as 18% of housewives had either bought or received white household candles within the six months to January 2001, although not all will have been bought for emergency use only. Figure 10 demonstrates trends since 1996. Air care candles Air-care candles designed for freshening air/masking odours are increasing in popularity. According to Mintel s consumer research, around a third of housewives use candles as air fresheners in 2001 and one quarter claim to have bought or received scented candles made by air freshener companies. The air-care candles market was worth  £14 million in 2000, almost three times the value of 1996 sales. It is still at the growth stage of the product lifecycle, with many of the products being relatively new. Figure 11 provides trends in the air-care candles market between 1996 and 2000. Target market segment strategy Target market: Enhancement candles scented Scented candles have experienced a considerable growth in popularity since 1998, with 63% of housewives having purchased or received them during the six months prior to the survey. This reflects trends within the market place generally. A quarter of candles purchased or received are scented. Consequently, our company aims to import and sell scented candles since the scented candle is the most popular and profitable candle category so far. Candle industry Major factors influencing the market The candles market is influenced by a number of factors. Purchased primarily by women, the growth in the number of women working has impacted positively on candles sales, because of a subsequent increase in discretionary income and financial independence. There has been a shift in lifestyle patterns, with a growing trend towards alternative healthcare and aromatherapy, and a revival in the popularity of pot pourri and incense, all of which have had a positive influence on candle sales, especially within the fragranced sector. There are also seasonal variations, with garden candles naturally performing better in the summer during usage of barbecues, or Christmas candles with special Christmas colours and fragrances for the Christmas period. Changes in the age structure of the population have also served to boost sales of certain candle types. For example, the young age group has expanded, boosting sales of the more fashionable floating candles which have a high purchase rate among this age group. Industry participants (Main competitors) Colony Gift Corporation Ltd Colony Gift Corporation is the UKs leading quality candle manufacturer and claims to be the largest producer of scented candles in Europe. Colonys turnover in 1999 was  £22 million, up 21.5% on 1998 turnover of  £18.1 million. It employs more than 460 people and its brands are available in over 70 countries. Prices Patent Candles Company Ltd The company produces candles and related accessories. It offers a wide range of candles for all occasions, including: scented and aromatherapy; outdoor lighting; Christmas and Easter; as well as decorative candles and the more traditional church-style candles. Yankee Candle (Europe) Ltd Yankee candles are positioned as premium-quality, giftworthy candles for the purpose of home fragrancing. Fragrances are numerous and include sage and citrus, spiced apple, honeysuckle, French vanilla and spiced pear. Bolsius (UK) Ltd Bolsius (UK) Ltd is owned by NLD Bolsius International BV. The company has been active in the UK for over 15 years. Only about 40% of the companys output is sold through retail outlets, while approximately 25% of sales are to religious institutions and 35% to the catering trade. Johnson Wax Johnson Wax is owned by the US company SC Johnson Son Inc and is a major player in a number of household goods products, notably household cleaning agents and polishes. The company leads the air freshener sector, with most of its marketing effort placed behind the Glade brand. (Refer to the business justification Ansoff product/market matrix and Boston matrix to assess marketing and business development strategies). The team skills: Within ASGO4 there is in total five dedicated staff members of whom all have different roles within the business itself. Below is a list of the roles each of the staff members have and also entails a description of what they are responsible for within the roles and what types of skills are required for each of the roles: Team skills should identify the strengths of the teams the plans to deal with any obvious weakness. Leadership. Managing director is ultimately responsible for the other members of staff, shareholders of the business; the managing director needs to exercise all of the leadership skills as well as diplomacy fairness strength. A managing director is responsive for encouraging teamwork. Administration. Company secretary are responsible for the co -ordination, communication organisation of all the areas relating to our company ASGO4. The specific roles of being the companys secretary include the following Completing registration documents Keeping the share register Keep records Administrating company meetings Organising agendas minutes Finance. Finance director is responsible for financial resource management, it is the job of the finance director to keep track of the money and also need to plan, know and record where the money is coming from, whos got it and where its going. All financial transitions should be recorded by the financial director and to communicate financial progress to members of the team. Other roles of the financial director includes doing the banking and work a alongside with the company secretary on the company share and responsibilities to shareholders. The financial director is also responsible for calculating and paying the young enterprise and corporation tax. Marketing. Marketing director need to use their innovation and creative skills in taking a key role in identifying market and opportunities as well as defining product or service charlatanistic. The main responsibilities include PR and advertising for the company, as well as carrying out market research and customer observation to help to maintain customer satisfaction. Operations. Operations director are responsible for product and service development, their role is the ensure that a method of operation is decides and organise the production of the company products and service, an operations director is responsible for purchasing raw materials, stock, supply and demand of finished items. Health and safety of the other staff members and customers should be one of the operation director concerns. The operation: ASGO4 will buy candles from its wholesalers and then put its products on the market, we will use a market store in Newcastle market, and we will display all our products there within the market. Newcastle market is amongst one of the biggest markets in Stoke-On -Trent, so this enables us to target a wide range of audiences this will make our products more appealing as there are huge crowds in the market that we could attract. The main advantage of our locations is that as Newcastle market is one of the busiest markets to people from all background and different social class attend this market and this is a great opportunity to take advantage of this because we will have a wide range of audiences. Financial forecasts: After financial forecast, such as cash flow and Profit and Loss Account, we have just started our business ASG04. And we are only preceded in one month preceded January 2005. Our business is running slow. So, it will take time to pick up. We have a good target market in Newcastle market. We have a wide range of target range in this aspect. Newcastle market is amongst one of the busiest open market in Stoke-On-Trent. We only have a few expenses, such as motor petrol, premises and equipment hire. As our expenses are very low, this allows us to increase our profit margin. Because of low expenditure, we have a low cost that means our price of product will not be set very high. Our business will have enough working capital to survive because of our low cost. We intended to raise a huge amount of money as our product attracts a wide range of target audience. We expect to make a substantial amount of profit as we proceded without business. (Refer to appendix 2.) Business Justification. A business plan is produced to convince shareholders, banks to invest into our business. The concept of the business is purchasing pre-produced products i.e. candles and some cases producing products. The products that will be sold will be aimed to various age groups. In order for the business to see success and make a profit it is important to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum. the business will focus on selling various types of candles i.e. scented, unscented, floating etc. our products bought from manufactured will not be sold as they are, they will be bundles and sold as gift packs for example. This methods makes the product unique and be able to make a profit. For example, 1 large candle will cost the business approximately 60p. If the product was sold as apart of a set of various candles i.e. sizes, colures and sold for  £5.00. This one candle may make a profit of excess of  £2.00. Researching into this product and market is important, so the company is able to forecast its success. It is clear there is a market for this product. The correct location is also important. As the products will be sold on a market stall, our company will see less overhead costs compared to high street stores. Above shows a table showing the sales of scented candles between 1996-2000. This information is important so that company is able to see the changing trends over time. Un-scented candles are not as popular as scented candles. These products often uses to create a desired atmosphere and also used for show. Increasing sales can only mean that there is a demand for these types of products. This project has no major overhead expenses. Our main expense will be renting the stall that will cost approximately  £16 per week. As no other major resources are required for example water, electric, our costs will be kept to a minimum and be able to transfer bargains to our customers. Analysing the business plan there is a big chance for success with this project. Sales for these products are increasing every year and the public are looking for new products to buy. Demand for candles are created by women and often purchased more by women. With busy, stressful lifestyles combined with working, looking after families has created an environment for candles. The below illustrates UK manufacture sales between 1996 and 1999. It shows that there is a drop in sales in the UK. In 1999 it shows that sales were down to  £1.57 per candle. Source: candles UK April, 2001 Ansoffs product/market The Ansoffs product-market matrix helps to understand and assess marketing or business development strategy. ASG04 is able to use Ansoffs product matrix to see what mix strategic options to use. Product development is developing or finding new products to take to an existing market. This is a strategy if the company has a strong market share in a particular market. Developing products are often a very expensive process. In this case, ASG04 does not have any market share, but with the product being sold are in demand and play apart of the market share in the UK. A business should try not to have any Dogs, but focusing on cash cows, problem child and stars that need to be kept in a kind of equilibrium. Funds generated by cash cows are used to turn problem child into stars that may turn into cash cows. Boston matrix. The Boston matrix model is a tool for assessing existing and development products in terms of their market potential. Our products lay between stars and soon to be turning into cash cows. The market already exists and has various types of candles that are sold. ASG04 is purchasing ready produced candles and developing them by making them more appealing to the public to buy.

The Life Of J S Bach Music Essay

The Life Of J S Bach Music Essay This research paper will describe the life of J.S. Bach, including his biography, career and personality. Johann Sebastian Bach is considered one of the greatest composers in the music history and a very talented person. That is why it would be interesting to find out more about his life in detail. Johann Sebastian Bach (March 31, 1685 July 28, 1750) is a German composer and  organist. Bach is also considered a representative of the Baroque period.   During his life, Johann Sebastian Bach has written more than 1000 works, where were shown all the important genres of that time. The composer has also summarized the achievements of musical art of the Baroque period.  As a fact, Bach was the master of polyphony.  Ã‚  His work has had a profound influence on subsequent music composers, including those in the XX century. Johann Sebastian Bach was the youngest, the eighth child of Johann Ambrosius Bach musician and Elizabeth Lemmerhirt.  Rod Bach is known for his musicality from the beginning of the XVI century: many of the ancestors of Johann Sebastian were professional musicians.  During this period, church, local government and the aristocracy supported the musicians, especially in Thuringia and Saxony.  Father of Bach lived and worked in Eisenach.  At this time the city had about 6000 inhabitants. The work of Johann Ambrosius included the organization of secular concerts and performance of church music. When Johann Sebastian was 9 years old, his mother died a year later the father shortly married again.  The boy was taken to his elder brother, Johann Christoph, who served as organist at the nearby Ohrdruf.  Johann Sebastian enrolled in high school, and brother taught him to play the organ and piano.  Johann Sebastian was very fond of music and never missed an opportunity to do it or learn something new.  Johann Christoph in the closet kept a notebook with notes of famous composers at the time, but, despite requests from Johann Sebastian, he did not give him to look at it.  Once the young Bach was able to extract from the always locked cabinet brothers notebook, and in six months on moonlit nights, he copied its contents himself.  When the work has already been completed, brother found a copy and took notes. Perhaps the strain of view during the rewriting of the music at night was the cause of later development of cataracts, which played a fatal role for the composer. Tr ained at the Ohrdruf led him to become acquainted with the work of contemporary composers from South Germany Pachelbel, Froberger and others.  It is also possible that he became acquainted with the works of composers in northern Germany and France.   In 15 years, Bach moved to Là ¼neburg, where in 1700-1703 he studied at the singing school of St. Michael.  During his studies, he traveled to Hamburg the largest city in Germany and Celle (where the premium was a French music), and Là ¼beck, where he got the chance to become acquainted with the works of famous musicians of his time.  These are the same age and the first works of Bach for organ and harpsichord. In addition to singing in the chorus a cappella, Bach probably played the organ and on the harpsichord.  Here he received his first knowledge of theology, Latin, history, geography and physics, but also, possibly, he began to teach French and Italian.  At school, Bach was able to communicate with the sons of famous northern German aristocrats and the well-known organists, especially with George Bemom in Là ¼neburg and Reynken in Hamburg.  With their help, Johann Sebastian, possibly gained access for the largest of all the instruments on which he ever played.  D uring this period, Bach expanded his knowledge of the composers of the era, above all, the Dietrich Buxtehude, whom he greatly respected. Bach wrote over 1000 pieces of music.  Today, each assigned number of famous works BWV (short for Bach Werke Verzeichnis catalog of Bach).  Bach wrote music for different instruments, both spiritually and worldly.  Some of the works of Bach are the treatments of works by other composers, and some reworked versions of his works. Organ music in Germany at the time of Bach has had a long tradition established by predecessors of Bach, Buxtehude and other composers, each in its own way influenced by it.  With many of them Bach was personally acquainted. Over a lifetime, Bach was best known as a first-class organist, teacher and writer of organ music.  He has worked in both traditional for that time of free genres, such as the prelude, fantasia, toccata, passacaglia, and in more severe forms chorale prelude and fugue.  In his works for organ Bach skillfully combined the features of different musical styles, with whom he became acquainted during his life.  The composers music was influenced by both northern German composers (Georg Bà ¶hm, with whom Bach met in Là ¼neburg, and Dieterich Buxtehude in Là ¼beck), and southern music composers: Bach transcribed his works of many French and Italian composers to realize their musical language, he later  even transcribed some of Vivaldi violin concertos for organ.  During the most fruitful period for Organ Music (1708-1714), Johann Sebastian, not only wrote many pairs of preludes and fugues, and Toccata and Fugues, but also wrote an unfinished organ little book a collection of 4 6 Short Chorale Preludes, which demonstrate various techniques and approaches to  composing choral works on the topic.  After his departure from Weimar Bach became less writing for organ, however, after the Weimar were written many well-known product (6 trio sonatas, a collection of Clavier-ÃÅ"bung Leipzig chorales and 18).  Throughout his life Bach not only wrote music for organ, but also engaged in consulting in the construction of instruments, checking and setting of new organs. Bach also wrote a number of pieces for harpsichord, many of which could carry clavichord.  Many of these creations are encyclopedic collections, demonstrating the various techniques and methods of composing polyphonic compositions.  Most of the clavier works of Bach, published in his lifetime, were held in the collections under the name Clavier-ÃÅ"bung (clavier exercises). Well-Tempered Clavier in two volumes, written in 1722 and 1744 respectively is a compendium of each volume of which is contained on the 24 preludes and fugues, one for each frequently used key.  This cycle was very important in connection with the transition to a system configuration tools that allow equally easy to play music in any key especially for the modern evenly tempered scale. Two voiced 15 and 15 three-part invention small works, arranged in order to increase the number of characters in the key.  Meant (and still used today) to learn to play keyboards. Three collections of suites: The English Suites, French Suites and Partitas for harpsichord.  Each cycle is contained in 6 suites, built on a standard scheme (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Jig, and an optional part between the last two).   Goldberg Variations (about 1741) is the melody with 30 variations.  Cycle has a rather complicated and unusual structure.  Variations are rather based on the tonal plan of themes than on most tunes. There is a variety of pieces such as Overture in the French style, BWV 831, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903, or Italian Concerto, BWV 971. Bach wrote music for individual instruments, as well as for ensembles.  His works for solo instruments are 6 Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006, 6 Suites for Cello, BWV 1007-1012, and the Partita for solo flute, BWV 1013 many consider one of the most profound works of the composer.  In addition, Bach composed several pieces for solo lute.  He wrote also trio sonatas, sonatas for solo flute and viola da gamba, accompanied only by bass-general, as well as a large number of canons, mostly without the tools for implementation.  The most significant examples of such works are the cycles of Art of Fugue and The Musical Offering. The most famous works of Bach for Orchestra are Brandenburg Concertos.   They were named so because Bach, sending them Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Swedish in 1721, thought to get a job at his court, but this attempt was unsuccessful. Six concerts were written in the genre Concerto Grosso.  Other extant works by Bach for orchestra include two violin concertos, Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043, and also concertos for one four harpsichords.  Researchers believe that these concerts for harpsichord were merely adaptations of older works of Johann Sebastian, now lost.  As a fact, Bach has also written four orchestral suites. Among the chamber works should highlight the second Partita for violin, in particular the last part chaconne. Vocal works. Cantatas.  In the long period of his life, every Sunday Bach visited the Church of St. Thomas led the performance of the cantata, the theme was chosen according to the Lutheran church calendar.  Although Bach performed a cantata and other composers, in Leipzig he composed at least three full annual cycles of cantatas, one for each Sunday, and every religious holiday.  In addition, he composed a number of cantatas in Weimar and Mulhouse.  Total Bach wrote more than 300 cantatas on spiritual issues, of which only about 195 have survived.  The cantatas of Bach differ a lot in form and instrumentation.  As a fact, some of them are written for one voice, some for chorus, some call for the execution of a large orchestra, and some only a few instruments.  However, the most commonly used model is as follows: Cantata offers the solemn choral entry, then alternate recitatives and arias for soloists or duets, and completes the entire chorale.   The final chorale i s often anticipated by the chorale prelude in medium-sized parts, and is sometimes included in the introductory part as a cantus firmus.  The best known of Bachs cantatas are religious Christ lag in Todesbanden (No. 4), Ein feste Burg (number 80), Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Room 140) and Herz und Mund und Tat und  Leben (Room 147).  In addition, Bach composed a number of secular cantatas, usually confined to some events, such as a wedding.  Among the most famous secular cantatas by Bach are Two wedding cantatas and humorous Coffee Cantata. St John Passion (1724) and St. Matthew Passion (c. 1727) a work for chorus and orchestra to gospel theme the sufferings of Christ, intended to be executed on the evening of Good Friday in the church of St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. Passion is one of the most large-scale vocal works of Bach.  It is known that Bach wrote 4 or 5 of Passion, but these are two completely reached our days. Oratorio and Magnificat.  The most famous Christmas Oratorio (1734) is a cycle of six cantatas for performance during the Christmas period, liturgical year.  Easter Oratorio (1734-1736) and the Magnificat are more extensive and carefully designed cantatas and have a smaller scope than the Christmas Oratorio or the Passion.  Magnificat exists in two versions: the original (E-flat Major, 1723) and later and the famous (in D Major, 1730). Masses.  The most significant mass Bach is Mass in B minor (completed in 1749), a complete cycle of the ordinary.  In this Mass, as in many other works by the composer, came reworked early compositions.  Mass never performed entirely in the life of Bach the first time this has happened only in the XIX century.  Furthermore, this music is not performed on purpose because of the duration of sound (about 2 hours).  In addition to the Mass in B minor, come down to us 4 short two-part Mass by Bach, as well as individual parts, such as the Sanctus and Kyrie. Others vocal works by Bach include several motets, about 180 chorales, songs and arias. Today, performers of Bachs music are divided into two camps: those who prefer authentic performance (or historically oriented performance), that is, using the tools and methods of the era of Bach and performing Bach on modern instruments.  In times of Bach did not have such large choirs and orchestras, such as in times of Brahms, and even the most ambitious of his works such as the Mass in B minor and the Passion, do not involve performance of large groups.  In addition, some chamber works by Bach did not specify instrumentation, and therefore are known today are very different versions of the execution of the same products.   Of the stringed keyboard instruments Bach preferred the clavichord.  He met with Zilberman and discussed with him a device of its new tool, contributing to the creation of the modern piano.  Bachs music for one instrument often is left up to others, for example, Busoni transcribed organ Toccata and Fugue in D minor and other works for piano. In popularizing the music of Bach in the XX century have contributed to many lightweight and modernized versions of his works.  Among them is widely known today melodies, performed by Swingle Singers, and recorded Wendy Carlos in 1968 Switched-On Bach, where was used the recently invented a synthesizer.   In the last years of his life, and after death of Bach his fame as a composer began to diminish: his style was considered old-fashioned compared to the burgeoning classicism.  He was better known and remembered as a performer, teacher and father of Bach, Jr., primarily Carl Philipp Emanuel, whose music was known.  However, many of the major composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, are known and loved works of Johann Sebastian.  For example, when visiting the school of St. Thomas, Mozart heard one of motets (BWV 225) and exclaimed: There is much to learn! And then, asked the notes, and was long and happily studying them. Beethoven greatly appreciated Bachs music.  As a child he played the preludes and fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier and later called Bach true father of harmony. Chopin before concerts locked in a room and played music by Bach.  The works of Johann Sebastians had an effect on many composers.  Some themes from the works of Bach, for example, the theme of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, were reused in the music of the XX century. Biography, written in 1802 by Johann Nikolaus Forkelem, spurred public interest in his music.  More and more people are discovering his music.  For example, Goethe, rather late in life acquainted with his works (in 1814 and 1815 in Bad Berka were performed some of his clavier and choral works), in a letter in 1827 compared the feeling of the music of Bach with the eternal harmony in dialogue with  itself .  But the current revival of Bachs music began with the performance of the Passion of St. Matthew in 1829 in Berlin, organized by Felix Mendelssohn.  Hegel, who attended the concert, later called Bach a great, a true Protestant, strong and, so to speak, erudite genius which we have just recently re-learned to appreciate in full measure.  In subsequent years, he continued to work on Mendelssohns promotion of Bachs music and growing popularity of the composer.  In 1850, the Bach Society was founded, whose goal is to collect, study and dissemination of works of Bach.  I n the next half-century that society has undergone extensive work on compiling and publishing the body of the composer. The major forms in which the composer worked are: Toccata and Fugue in D minor; Joke Suite for Flute and Strings; Musical Offering*; St. Matthew Passion; Invention; Goldberg variations*; Brandenburg Concertos; Magnificat* Chorale Preludes. In XX century, continued awareness of the musical and pedagogical value of his works.  Interest in music of Bach has created a new movement among performers: a widespread idea of an authentic performance.  These artists, for example, use a harpsichord instead of a modern piano, and choirs smaller than it was made in the XIX and early XX century, wanting to exactly recreate the music of Bachs era. Some composers have expressed their respects to Bach, including the themes of their works motive BACH.  For example, Liszt wrote a prelude and fugue on BACH, Schumann wrote six fugues on the same topic.  The same subject has used Bach, for example, in the XIV counterpoint of the Art of Fugue.  Many composers took the example of his work or have used the theme of them.  Examples are variations on a theme by Diabelli Beethoven, whose prototype is Goldberg Variations, 24 Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich, inspired by the Well-Tempered Clavier, and the Sonata for Cello in D Major by Brahms, which are inserted in the final musical quote from Art  Fugue.  Bachs music is among the best creations of mankind is recorded on golden disc Voyager. All in all, the research has shown me the path of life of Johann Sebastian Bach, his success, talent and possibilities. He has made many efforts to show his talent to the world, to make people appreciate what he was doing and to leave the indispensable heritage to the humanity.

The Difficulty of Measuring the Cost of Living Essay -- Economics

The Difficulty of Measuring the Cost of Living Cost of living is designed to measure the costs of maintaining living standards of working- class households. It was first introduced in 1914. It is difficult to measure the cost of living because prices are constantly changing, meaning cost of products will change too. Prices will change for instance due to increases in costs or inflation, so if a can coke was $1 in 2000, due to an increase in wage demands, costs have increased and thus the selling price of coke has increased to $2 in 2001. This happens to many commodities in the market and as a result of that it is difficult to measure the price of products as that are constantly changing over a period of time. The quality of products also changes, however this will appear on the cost of living index. For instance computers, CD players, televisions are of better quality now than they were before and that is why their prices have increased. However only the price of the product will be mentioned in the index, not the fact that its quality has been improved. Their design and performance also changes. So a price change will accompany the introduction of a new model or an improved design. Therefore it is difficult to assess the real nature of the price change. An example is the price if BMW cars has increased by 10 percent, but the quality, performance and design of the new model is much better and superior to that of the older model, has the exchange value increased or decreased? Tax also affects the cost of living because; changes in indirect taxes will affect te goods and services we purchase. Taxes will either increase or decrease due to the fluctuating inflation rate. Changes in the indirect tax... ...uct. This is known as the need for change and it's a psychological aspect more consumers go through. Also new products are invented, consumers get curious and want to try them out and this leads to changes in tastes and fashion. This causes a problem with weighting. Therefore measuring the cost of living is very difficult, because prices change, quality changes, and consumer's tastes and fashion change. Also this is the generation of technology meaning new inventions are being developed faster than any of us can imagine, meaning the cost and living index needs to be updated regularly and meaning it is not very accurate. Also there are millions of people in each country, how can you possibly know what is the average spending habit? To assume there is one, you must neglect people who don't fit that criteria meaning, the cost of living guide is inaccurate.

Aldous Huxley :: essays research papers

The English novelist and essayist Aldous Leonard Huxley, b. July 26, 1894, d. Nov. 22, 1963, a member of a distinguished scientific and literary family, intended to study medicine, but was prevented by an eye ailment that almost blinded him at the age of 16. He then turned to literature, publishing two volumes of poetry while still a student at Oxford. His reputation was firmly established by his first novel, Crome Yellow (1921). Huxley's early comic novels, which include Antic Hay (1923), Those Barren Leaves (1925), and Point Counter Point (1928), demonstrate his ability to dramatize intellectual debate in fiction; he discussed philosophical and social topics in a volume of essays, Proper Studies (1927). Brave New World (1932), was his most celebrated work. Aldous Huxley was born in Godalming, Surrey on July 26, 1894, into a well-to-do upper-middle-class family. His father, Leonard Huxley, was a biographer, editor, and poet. He first studied at Eton College, Berkshire (1908-13). When Huxley was fourteen his mother died. At the age of 16 Huxley suffered an attack of keratitis punctata and became for a period of about 18 months totally blind. By using special glasses and one eye recovered sufficiently he was able to read and he also learned Braille. Despite a condition of near-blindness, Huxley continued his studies at Balliol College, Oxford (1913-15), receiving his B.A. in English in 1916. Unable to pursue his chosen career as a scientist - or fight in World War on the front - Huxley turned to writing. His first collection of poetry appeared in 1916 and two more volumes followed by 1920. During the 1920s Huxley formed a close friendship with D.H. Lawrence with whom he traveled in Italy and France. For most of the 1920s Huxley lived in I taly. In the 1930s he moved to Sanary, near Toulon, where he wrote Brave New World, described as a dark vision of a highly technological society of the future. In the1930s Huxley was deeply concerned with the Peace Pledge Union. He moved in 1937 with the guru-figure Gerald Heard to the United States, believing that the Californian climate would help his eyesight, a constant burden. After this turning point in his life, Huxley abandoned pure fictional writing and chose the essay as a way for expressing his ideas. Huxley wrote Brave New World in four months in 1931. It appeared three years after the publication of his best-seller, the novel Point Counter Point.

Filmmaking :: essays research papers

The Film about Filmmaking Truffaut's irresistibly charming "film about filmmaking" is an enormously affectionate homage to cinema, as well as a portrayal of the joy and anguish of filmmaking. The framing film Day for Night tells the story of a director; Ferrand (Truffaut) and his crew shooting a romantic family melodrama entitled Meet Pamela at the Studio Victorine in Nice. As the shooting proceeds, the personal crises of the crewmembers engulf the professional sphere of their lives, and threaten the smooth progress of the filming: one of the leading actresses, Sà ©verine (Valentina Cortese), is anguished by her son's terminal illness and unable to remember her lines because of her alcoholism; Stacey (Alexandra Stewart) is three-months pregnant and refuses to shoot a swimming scene in a bathing suit; Alphonse (Jean-Pierre Là ©aud) seeks feminine/maternal affection and lingers over the same question: "Are women magic?" Ferrand realizes that films are more harmonious than life: there are "no traffic jams or no dead waits," and people like them are happy only in their work of making films. Despite a series of difficulties and the accidental death of Alexandre (played by Jean-Pierre Aumont) in a car crash, the crew manages to complete the filming and then disperse to future destinations. From the outset Day for Night is full of Truffaut's nostalgia for cinema of the past. A title sequence accompanied by orchestral music gradually turns into a melancholic accordion tune; a still of Dorothy and Lillian Gish with subtitle announces that the film is dedicated to these legendary stars of the silent screen. The spectator is then led to a square seemingly in Paris, a rather chic landscape dotted with a metro station, a fashionable cafà ©, stoned buildings, the sound of busy traffic and pedestrians. A young man (Jean-Pierre Là ©aud) with a solemn expression on his face appears from the metro station and walks towards an elderly man. After a while the young male slaps the latter on his face. As soon as an immense tension occurs we hear the voice "Cut" and the camera tracks back to reveal that it was a shooting of a film. The camera pulls back further and we see the film crew, a television presenter and her crew. The television crew interviews the actors and they p rovide us with a synopsis of the film they are shooting: Meet Pamela is the story of a tragic affair of an adulterous couple.

Deception Point Page 86

â€Å"What did you just say?† Gabrielle demanded. The guard's fist stopped in midair. â€Å"I said the senator was glad I let you in earlier. You were right. It was no problem at all.† â€Å"You and the senator talked about that?† Gabrielle sounded surprised. â€Å"Yeah. So what?† â€Å"No, I just didn't think†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Actually, it was kind of weird. The senator needed a couple of seconds to even remember you'd been in there. I think the boys were tossing back a few.† â€Å"When did you two talk, Owen?† â€Å"Right after you left. Is something wrong?† A momentary silence. â€Å"No†¦ no. Nothing. Look, now that I think of it, let's not bother the senator this instant. I'll keep trying his house line, and if I don't have any luck, I'll call you back and you can knock.† The guard rolled his eyes. â€Å"Whatever you say, Ms. Ashe.† â€Å"Thanks, Owen. Sorry to bother you.† â€Å"No problem.† The guard hung up, flopped back in his chair, and went to sleep. Alone in her office, Gabrielle stood motionless for several seconds before hanging up the phone. Sexton knows I was inside his apartment†¦ and he never mentioned it to me? Tonight's ethereal strangeness was getting murkier. Gabrielle flashed on the senator's phone call to her while she was at ABC. The senator had stunned her with his unprovoked admission that he was meeting with space companies and accepting money. His honesty had brought her back to him. Shamed her even. His confession now seemed one hell of a lot less noble. Soft money, Sexton had said. Perfectly legal. Suddenly, all the vague misgivings Gabrielle had ever felt about Senator Sexton seemed to resurface all at once. Outside, the taxi was honking. 103 The bridge of the Goya was a Plexiglas cube situated two levels above the main deck. From here Rachel had a 360-degree view of the surrounding darkened sea, an unnerving vista she looked at only once before blocking it out and turning her attention to the matter at hand. Having sent Tolland and Corky to find Xavia, Rachel prepared to contact Pickering. She'd promised the director she would call him when they arrived, and she was eager to know what he had learned in his meeting with Marjorie Tench. The Goya's SHINCOM 2100 digital communications system was a platform with which Rachel was familiar enough. She knew if she kept her call short, her communication should be secure. Dialing Pickering's private number, she waited, clutching the SHINCOM 2100 receiver to her ear and waiting. She expected Pickering to pick up on the first ring. But the line just kept ringing. Six rings. Seven. Eight†¦ Rachel gazed out at the darkened ocean, her inability to reach the director doing nothing to quell her uneasiness about being at sea. Nine rings. Ten rings. Pick up! She paced, waiting. What was going on? Pickering carried his phone with him at all times, and he had expressly told Rachel to call him. After fifteen rings, she hung up. With growing apprehension, she picked up the SHINCOM receiver and dialed again. Four rings. Five rings. Where is he? Finally, the connection clicked open. Rachel felt a surge of relief, but it was short-lived. There was no one on the line. Only silence. â€Å"Hello,† she prompted. â€Å"Director?† Three quick clicks. â€Å"Hello?† Rachel said. A burst of electronic static shattered the line, blasting in Rachel's ear. She yanked the receiver away from her head in pain. The static abruptly stopped. Now she could hear a series of rapidly oscillating tones that pulsed in half-second intervals. Rachel's confusion quickly gave way to realization. And then fear. â€Å"Shit!† Wheeling back to the controls on the bridge, she slammed the receiver down in its cradle, severing the connection. For several moments she stood terrified, wondering if she'd hung up in time. Amidships, two decks below, the Goya's hydrolab was an expansive work space segmented by long counters and islands packed to the gills with electronic gear-bottom profilers, current analyzers, wet sinks, fume hoods, a walk-in specimen cooler, PCs, and a stack of organizer crates for research data and the spare electronics to keep everything running. When Tolland and Corky entered, the Goya's onboard geologist, Xavia, was reclining in front of a blaring television. She didn't even turn around. â€Å"Did you guys run out of beer money?† she called over her shoulder, apparently thinking some of her crew had returned. â€Å"Xavia,† Tolland said. â€Å"It's Mike.† The geologist spun, swallowing part of a prepackaged sandwich she was eating. â€Å"Mike?† she stammered, clearly stunned to see him. She stood up, turned down the television, and came over, still chewing. â€Å"I thought some of the guys had come back from bar-hopping. What are you doing here?† Xavia was heavyset and dark-skinned, with a sharp voice and a surly air about her. She motioned to the television, which was broadcasting replays of Tolland's on-site meteorite documentary. â€Å"You sure didn't hang around on the ice shelf very long, did you?† Something came up, Tolland thought. â€Å"Xavia, I'm sure you recognize Corky Marlinson.† Xavia nodded. â€Å"An honor, sir.† Corky was eyeing the sandwich in her hand. â€Å"That looks good.† Xavia gave him an odd look. â€Å"I got your message,† Tolland said to Xavia. â€Å"You said I made a mistake in my presentation? I want to talk to you about it.† The geologist stared at him and let out a shrill laugh. â€Å"That's why you're back? Oh, Mike, for God's sake, I told you, it was nothing. I was just pulling your chain. NASA obviously gave you some old data. Inconsequential. Seriously, only three or four marine geologists in the world might have noticed the oversight!† Tolland held his breath. â€Å"This oversight. Does it by any chance have anything to do with chondrules?† Xavia's face went blank with shock. â€Å"My God. One of those geologists called you already?† Tolland slumped. The chondrules. He looked at Corky and then back to the marine geologist. â€Å"Xavia, I need to know everything you can tell me about these chondrules. What was the mistake I made?† Xavia stared at him, apparently now sensing he was dead serious. â€Å"Mike, it's really nothing. I read a small article in a trade journal a while back. But I don't understand why you're so worried about this.† Tolland sighed. â€Å"Xavia, as strange as this may sound, the less you know tonight, the better. All I'm asking is for you to tell us what you know about chondrules, and then we'll need you to examine a rock sample for us.† Xavia looked mystified and vaguely perturbed to be out of the loop. â€Å"Fine, let me get you that article. It's in my office.† She set her sandwich down and headed for the door. Corky called after her. â€Å"Can I finish that?† Xavia paused, sounding incredulous. â€Å"You want to finish my sandwich?† â€Å"Well, I just thought if you-â€Å" â€Å"Get your own damn sandwich.† Xavia left. Tolland chuckled, motioning across the lab toward a specimen cooler. â€Å"Bottom shelf, Corky. Between the sambuca and squid sacs.† Outside on deck, Rachel descended the steep stairway from the bridge and strode toward the chopper pad. The Coast Guard pilot was dozing but sat up when Rachel rapped on the cockpit. â€Å"Done already?† he asked. â€Å"That was fast.† Rachel shook her head, on edge. â€Å"Can you run both surface and air radar?† â€Å"Sure. Ten-mile radius.† â€Å"Turn it on, please.† Looking puzzled, the pilot threw a couple of switches and the radar screen lit up. The sweep arm spun lazy circles.