Magic Bands Go to ETSU

Magic Bands Go to ETSU East Tennessee State University has grown from a teacher’s college in 1911 to a full-blown university in 2016. With 11 colleges on four campuses, the university offers a range of curricula from business to medicine. The University is proud to have held costs down while maintaining a high standard. As the University gets deeper into the 21st Century, though, it seeks ways to utilize technology to create a â€Å"friction free† situation for faculty, administrators and students. It should be no surprise that it was Disney who brought the concept of electronic tracking and payment to the mass market. Caleb Kraft, writing in the Electronic Engineering Times opens his article with â€Å"Disney is no stranger to technology.† From the beginning, when the original Disney Land was opened in the 1950s, the theme park was at the cutting edge. The animatronics that drove many of the exhibits are crude by 2016 standards. It was impressive in its time and Disney has continued t o be a leader (Kraft, 2014). With the MagicBand, Disney takes the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) process commercial. The good news is that the MagicBand is assembled from off-the-shelf technology. In that same article it is noted that the only â€Å"proprietary† component is one chip which has a â€Å"standard† part number except for a â€Å"DN† suffix which, presumably, means custom made for Disney. It would be easy, then, to have the equivalent device manufactured at a reasonable price. The hardware is priced reasonably, and the basic operational software is available. The problem is the â€Å"middleware† where the application is customized for the user (Violino, 2005). The question is whether or not it would make sense to invest in this technology for a college or university. The initial cost, the transmitters and receivers would be significant. In addition, there is the cost of that â€Å"middleware.† Not to be ignored is the requirement for a full-time, dedicated Information Technology (IT) specialist. One of the keys to making the device work is that it must be simple enough that it does not require training itself. A simple, one page â€Å"quick start guide† should be all of the documentation required. Or, as Creager (2014) suggests, make everything simple enough that a seven-year-old can lead the way. Assuming the answer to the core questions â€Å"does this technology make sense in a college or university setting?† is â€Å"yes,† then it is interesting to speculate what applications this technology could have for the school? There remains significant â€Å"friction† in the system. With engagement of the stakeholders in the University we can address this. Students, faculty and administration must be on board. But just consider how well things could work. First, and most obviously, the School Equivalent of the MagicBand (SEMB) (no citation, I just made that up) would function as your student identification in all that you do. Do you need to get into Dossett or Powell or Carter or Centennial Hall? Hold the SEMB to the door and hear the â€Å"click† as it unlocks. When you want to get into your own room? Do the same thing. Is it time to do your laundry? Gather it up and head down to the laundry room. Your SEMB will unlock the washer, unlock the detergent vending machine, and unlock the drier. It will not fold your T-shirt collection. Not yet anyway. But the guys and girls in the engineering college can work on that one. The Doctor Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory) T-shirt folding machine is already available, through Amazon, for twenty dollars or less. Surely the nerds in Dr. Keith Johnsons Department of Engineering Technology, Surveying and Digital Media can automate that task. Do you need a soda? The SEMB will handle the bil ling. When you head to the Market Place, the Treehouse, the Atrium or the Cave the SEMB will, again, handle the billing. More importantly, the SEMB will be linked to the kitchen system. This will allow the finest possible tuning of inventory in the kitchen, minimizing waste. Your personal preferences can be tracked and if you are not eating things that are good for you the food police will send a notification to your laptop reminding you that your diet is important, especially at your age. Since not everything is available on the internet (yet), students still spend time in the Sherrod Library. When you walk in the library will recognize your SEMB. Sit at one of the carrels and, again, the SEMB logs you in. The carrel terminal will come on and your library history will be on the opening screen. Now you can search for that article, â€Å"Analysis of Sixteen Utterly Boring Things† by Isaiah Lott that was published in the American Journal of Boring Stuff back in 1987. The laptop has already told you that this isn’t available through JStor or any of your normal sources so you are stuck looking the old fashioned way. Since the system traces everything, you are informed, from the carrel terminal that issue is not on the shelf. Fortunately, since the SEMB tracks everything, you also know that your classmate Roger has it and he is in carrel 26. You can walk down, ask if he is using it right then and borrow it. When you are done and have returned the issue to Roge r, or to the desk, you just walk out with the other books you needed. No need for a tedious check out procedure. That is already taken care of by the SEMB. The Professor has no need to worry about those mundane tasks like taking roll. As you walk into the classroom or the lab or the lecture hall just wave your wrist and you are logged in. When you turn in an assignment via the internet, the BlueTooth connection on your laptop has you logged in. If it is an assignment that you have to turn in as a hard copy the SEMB will log and bill your printer time. You will need to be careful with the friends you choose and the access you allow them. Remember, with the SEMB in place, your location is available if you are logged in to some place fitted with a receiver. You will allow some friends to have â€Å"full† access. For those in your inner circle, your location will be visible and they can simply come find you. Most, though, you will limit to your cellphone number and email address. If you are on a work study program the concept of a time clock is obsolete. Wave the SEMB and you are â€Å"clocked in.† When you leave the SEMB clocks you out. Be careful if you are required to use an ETSU vehicle though. The SEMB has you linked to the GPS. If you are speeding they will know. And by all means do not stop at a bar. If you have a Physical Education requirement the SEMB will log you in and out of the BCPA or the pool (it is perfectly waterproof). You can track steps or miles walked, run or swum. Do you care about â€Å"calories burned? The SEMB can take care of that for you. Those long lines to register are a thing of the past with the SEMB system. Your laptop recognizes the SEMB and logs you in. You can sit at the laptop, choose your classes, get registered, and have everything confirmed before your coffee is cold. If at some point there is an issue with your schedule your SEMB will notify you to check the laptop. All of this makes student life easier. The days of the paper class schedule or the combination lock are in the past now. Your locker at the gym? The SEMB handles that. There is no need to carry a heavy load of books any more. Your laptop or iPad is linked, via the SEMB, to the university system and in turn to the online sources your professors use. The SEMB system is important to the university administration as well. At the most basic level, reports of census, broken by class, college, time of day, day of week or any other cohort that administrators deem worthwhile, or simply interesting, can be drawn. No need to review a paper record to see if Survey of Twelve Boring Things 305 is actually being attended. The SEMB has provided a report of number of students, by name if that matters, how regular they attend, what grades they are getting and the rest. For counselors, the system provides the type of information they had only dreamt of as little as two years ago. How are their students doing in class? There it is on the screen with the click of a mouse. How is John doing in his major? A quick check shows that he still needs to get three core requirements taken and that one of them has to be taken next semester or he will not meet the prerequisites for the next level. With a click of the mouse and a few keystrokes he can send a message. And John, through the little â€Å"buzz† on his SEMB knows, in about a second that he needs to check. The fiscal office no longer has to work through a mountain of paper or a maze of spreadsheets. The SEMB is tracking every cent charged against every student’s account. If a student is getting close to his limits the notification is automatic. If he or she has overspent the fiscal department can be notified immediately and action taken. Reports are now largely automatic as well. The Department of Education requires beginning of semester, mid-semester and end of semester reports including basic counts and breakdowns by race, age, sex, religion and seventeen other categories. Nobody remembers why, but they do and since they provide a significant fraction of the University’s funding the reports must be filed. With the SEMB system in place, not only can these reports be filed, they are filed with a level of accuracy and timeliness that would have been impossible only two years ago. Is the Disney MagicBand technology suitable for the University setting? The answer is â€Å"probably yes.† Students who have grown up with computers, cell phones, iPads, xBox gaming consoles and the like will be comfortable with the system. For us, it is natural. Faculty will accept the technology as well. For them this is a truly labor saving system. Those mundane tasks, keeping attendance records for example, become automated and free faculty for the job of preparing for class and teaching. This is, presumably, what they want to do anyway and why they invested all of those years, first in school themselves and then establishing themselves in their discipline. The ease of scheduling meetings will provide another benefit. The primary resistance can be expected to come from the administrators. This is not a question of technical ability. Every office has computers these days and staff is fully familiar with how to handle the technology. Rather, the issue is in the nature of bureaucracies. Things have been done â€Å"this way† for years. Systems are in place and understood. Many processes, whether preparing reports or providing support, have reached the point of being almost automatic. Any change will result in disruptions and, as nature abhors a vacuum, bureaucracies, by their nature, abhor change. On balance, implementation of an SEMB-like system would seem to be a benefit to both the suppliers and consumers in higher education. The system could track parking too.

My Exercise Prescription for Paige Essay example - 1214 Words

Discussion and Conclusions Paige the prescription I have created for you is based on your fitness level. I incorporated all the aspects of which I tested you with and determined the mode, frequency, intensity, duration, rate of progression, and amounts of sets and reps for each components of your exercise prescription. Throughout our meeting, you discussed with me the types of activities you like to participate in. You expressed what you wanted to achieve through this exercise plan and you informed me of your likes and dislikes. You made it clear that you could exercise everyday and that your time availability was flexible. I would like you to exercise in some way each day, even if it is just stretching. You do not have to do the same†¦show more content†¦Having this amount of time is going to be very helpful in reaching your goals of increasing your VO2max and loosing body weight. I have not found any of your lifestyle factors that would hinder your progression through this prescription. Other than being aware of your nutritional habits, I see nothing keeping you from your goals. To further explain the prescription I will break down your prescription up into the different components of your exercise session. The warm up will consist of jogging for five minutes. You will maintain certain intensity with the ten second heart rate count range I calculated for you. I would like you to begin warming up by jogging either on the treadmill or outside. I choose jogging for you because I feel it will be the best warm up for you. In addition, you like to run and it will be a good transition into the cardio portion of your workout. You will need to warm up for at least five minutes to insure your body has had time to warm up. You may also bike to warm up as well. Your cool down will consist of a ten minute walk, slow bike, or slow swim using a similar heart rate range as that of your warm up. I would like you to walk as your cool down if you have been running. Walking will allow your heart to recover along with ensuring that your blood does not pool and your blood pressure stabilizes. Whichever form of cardio you prefer that day, you can stay consistent, keeping the same mode of exerciseShow MoreRelatedHealth Self Assessment1317 Words   |  6 Pagesaware of an individual’s health status. Our textbook authors, Meeks, Hait Paige (2009) describe the importance of self-appraisals and health behavior inventories in teaching students about their practices that will impact their health. In order to become an effective teacher who is enthusiastic about health education, the author of this paper focuses on gaining a comprehensive understanding of her health. After assessing my health through an internet tool available on the Council for ResponsibleRead MoreAccounting Information System Chapter 1137115 Words   |  549 Pages(interactions with external parties). Student answers should contain many of the things in Table 1-2 and Figure 1-1 as well as others not shown, as a retail operation differs from an application development enterprise. The author concludes the exercise by having the students turn to Table 1-2 and Figure 1-1 while he emphasizes the need for owners, managers, and employees of organizations to identify the information needed to make key decisions in the company’s business processes and the key

Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

Question: Discuss about the Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Answer: Introduction: A small group of neurons secretes Neuromodulators, and they diffuse in large areas of the nervous system having an effect on a variety of neurons. They ensure that a particular neuron releases chemicals to regulate different groups of neurons, a process known as neuromodulator. Serotonin, histamine, and dopamine are some of the major neuromodulators in the central nervous system. These processes are quite significant for instance, dopamine reuptake inhibitors ensure blockage of the dopamine transporter and are thus used in the treatment of conditions such as depression and narcolepsy (Paice, 2007). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors enhance the effect of a released serotonin by preventing its removal from the given synapses and are used to treat depression as well. Notably, neuromodulator is a type of treatment where direct administration of medication into the nervous system occurs. This is meant to regulate a particular cells activity with the aim of controlling pain. It is a subset of neurotransmission but differs in the way the neuromodulators are released. During neuromodulator, a whole neural tissue is subjected to the neuromodulators activity due to exposure. In neurotransmission, however, the release happens at a specific synapse. Importantly, neuromodulator does not carry the excitation of the inhibition from one neuron to the next, but it alters either the synaptic or cellular properties of the neurons. The process can be used to treat spasticity, epilepsy, movement disorders, and pain syndromes. As Ma, Chiravuri, Xing, (2015) observes, pain occurs in approximately 70 percent of cancer patients and about 65 percent of non-malignant disease patients. For this reason, there has been advent of various treatment to relieve the patients of this pain. The various treatments for acute pain include use of morphine, aspirin, and paracetamol or acetaminophen in the United States. Morphine is a narcotic or opioid analgesic that aids in regulating acute pain. Morphine, being very addictive should be taken in small quantities and only as prescribed by the doctor. However, those with asthma, breathing problems or have had a blockage in their intestine or stomach are advised never to take morphine as it could stop or slow down ones breathing. Morphine could be taken orally, rectally or via injection which has an instant effect thus inducing pain. Generally, it takes an average of fifteen to sixty minutes for the effects of morphine to occur. This opioid could be used to help in severe arthritis and lower back pains. Conclusively, morphine can work for everyone as a pain reliever but differently depending on dosage. People who have a high tolerance for opioid will take higher amounts compared to the one with a lower tolerance. However, Price, (2013) advises that the use of morphine for most cases should be the last option as there are much more and simpler methods to relieve pain. Again, the use of morphine has very adverse side effects which include vomiting, sedation, nausea, constipation and urinary retention. References Lewis, T. (2010). Sensory systems: Types of pain. Pain., 33-48. doi:10.1037/13987-003 Ma, L., Chiravuri, S., Xing, Z. (2015). Perioperative Pain Control in Patients Receiving Intrathecal Morphine Infusion for Chronic Pain: Does it Matter how we do it?Journal of Pain Relief,04(06). doi:10.4172/2167-0846.1000213 Neuromodulators. (2011).Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology,1755-1755. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_5009 Neuromodulators For Pain Management In Rheumatoid Arthritis. (2012).Journal of Pain Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy,26(2), 172-172. doi:10.3109/15360288.2012.687948 Paice, J. A. (2007). Supplement: Advances in Opioid Management: Evaluation and Treatment of Persistent Pain Disorders. Pain Management Nursing, 8(3). doi:10.1016/j.pmn.2007.07.004 Price, D. D. (2013). First and Second Pain Assessment (First Pain, Pricking Pain, Pin-Prick Pain, Second Pain, Burning Pain).Encyclopedia of Pain,1288-1293. doi:10.1007/978-3-642- 28753-4_1509

What we believe and value, how we behave and how w Essays

What we believe and value, how we behave and how we view ourselves and others are all strongly influenced by the culture in which we live. One culture's normal values, may seem weird or even offensive by another culture. A good example of a universal value that is viewed diffefrently by different cultures around the world, is Marriage. Some cultures in South Asia, and Africa believe and practice arranged or forced marriages. In parts of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan there are marriages that take place solely to improve economic and social status. Had I been born there, my beliefs might be different. Here in the U.S. of America, we tipically marry for love, life long companionship, and children. Being of mainstream North American culture, I personally view marriage as a sacred vow between a man and woman under God. I don't support divorce, but more I find these days with the young generations(mine included) divorce is common. I've not married yet, but I was once engaged. It's always when you're in a committed relationship that hot women want to be social. Out of loyalty, honesty, respect, and faith, I had to refuse in a few tempting encounters. The divorce rate is higher than it was in the past here in the U.S. based on what I hear from the media. Why is that? Could it be that other cultures have influenced the newer generations to view marriage differently? I do not know the specifics, but I do know this country has had marriage law changes in the past. During my Grandfather's generation, it was socially unacceptable and illegal for interracial marriages to take place. Today, the laws have changed again allowing same sex marriage recognized legally.

30 More Nautical Expressions

30 More Nautical Expressions 30 More Nautical Expressions 30 More Nautical Expressions By Mark Nichol After launching a list of seafaring idioms on a previous online cruise, I discovered a cargo hold of additional expressions that originated on the high seas but have come to rest high and dry on land. Here’s the haul. 1. All at sea: lost because of lack of knowledge of one’s position (confused and disorganized) 2. At loose ends: a reference to idle sailors being assigned to check that rigging is secure (idle) 3. Bail out: remove water from (assist or rescue) 4. Broad in the beam: said of a wide vessel (said of a large-hipped woman) 5. By and large: said in reference to steering slightly off the wind to ease effort and decrease the risk of slowing (in general, without special consideration) 6. Cut and run: sever the anchor line in an emergency (leave abruptly and abandoning others) 7. Fall foul of: collide with or become entangled in (come into conflict with) 8. First-rate: the largest class of warships during the sailing era (best) 9. Flog a dead horse: a reference to a period of work after getting and spending an initial payment (focusing on something already completed or settled) 10. Flotsam and jetsam: items lost or thrown overboard, respectively (odds and ends) 11. Give a wide berth: provide sufficient space when anchoring or docking to avoid other ships (keep at a distance) 12. Go by the board: a reference to something lost overboard (said of something to be abandoned or ignored) 13. Hail from: referring to the point of origin of a ship (come from, live) 14. Half seas over: partly submerged or keeled over so that waves are breaking over the deck, and therefore unable to maneuver effectively (drunk) 15. Hand over fist: using one hand at a time in quick alternating movements (rapidly) 16. Hard and fast: grounded (inflexible) 17. Hard up: a reference to the tiller being pushed as far to one side as possible (short of money) 18. High and dry: beached or caught on rocks and standing out of the water as the tide recedes (stranded or without resources or support) 19. In the offing: in sight, from the term for the expanse of ocean visible from shore (about to happen) 20. Know the ropes/learn the ropes: a reference to understanding knots, ropes, and rigging (familiarity with or training in how to perform a task) 21. Loose cannon: a piece of artillery that is not secure and therefore can cause damage or injury when it rolls on its wheels from the ship’s movement or from its recoil after being fired (out of control or unpredictable) 22. Ship shape: ready for sailing, with equipment and materials secured (clean, neat, in good condition) 23. Skylarking: sliding down rigging for fun (engaging in playful antics) 24. Take another tack: change the ship’s direction in relation to the wind (try another approach) 25. Take the wind out of one’s sails: a reference to the loss of movement when another vessel comes between the wind and one’s ship (to undermine another, usually by anticipating an action) 26. Taken aback: halted by a sudden shift of wind (surprised by a revelation) 27. Three sheets to the wind: a reference to the sheets (ropes) of a sail becoming loosened, rendering the sail useless (drunk) 28. Trim one’s sails (before the wind): adjust sails as appropriate (act according to circumstances) 29. When one’s ship comes home: a reference to the arrival of a fully laden cargo ship that will bring profit to the owner or investors (achievement of fortune or good luck) 30. Whistle for it/whistle for the wind: from the tradition of superstitiously whistling to summon the wind (hope for the impossible) At least two nautical expressions, â€Å"between the devil and the deep (blue) sea† (meaning, essentially, â€Å"between a rock and a hard place†) and â€Å"to the bitter end† (meaning â€Å"to the last extremity, regardless of difficulty†), have been attributed to seafaring origins, but the idioms, or similar expressions, may have come from earlier landlubber usage. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Mostly Small But Expressive InterjectionsRunning Amok or Running Amuck?Charles's Pen and Jesus' Name

The Most Dangerous Myth about Writing - Freewrite Store

The Most Dangerous Myth about Writing - Freewrite Store Based on the encounters I’ve had as an author and an editor, I’d say it’s rarer to find someone who doesn’t want to write a book than someone who does. Today’s guest post is by editor and author Susan DeFreitas (@manzanitafire), whose debut novel, Hot Season, won the 2017 Gold IPPY Award for Best Fiction of the Mountain-West.       Based on the encounters I’ve had as an author and an editor, I’d say it’s rarer to find someone who doesn’t want to write a book than someone who does. Many dreamers never so much as start. But there are also a whole lot of would-be authors who start writing a book and never find a way to finish it. Some writers lose the thread of a novel because they lack a sense of the big-picture, the story as a whole. Some abandon their writing projects because they lack the discipline to set aside time to write. But there are many writers who fail not because they’re not cut out for writing, but because they are, in as much that they’re perfectionists. But that perfectionism has been misplaced. Which is why I consider the idea that you should revise while you’re drafting a book the most dangerous myth about writing. The Great (Unwritten) American Novel In 2000, the ink on my degree in creative writing was not yet dry, but I was working on the Great American Novel. For me, at twenty-two, this involved working in a bagel shop and spending a lot of time in Coyote Joe’s, my local watering hole- but despite my youthful excesses, I worked steadily at the novel I had in mind. Sure, it was a sprawling epic- and sure, my reach exceeded my grasp (by a mile, at least!). But the book didn’t fail because I lacked vision, nor did it fail because I stopped writing- in fact, I worked diligently on it for the next ten years of my life. That novel failed because every time something seemed off, I went back to the beginning and revised. The Power of Deadlines There is a perennial truth known to grad students and journalists: a looming deadline will make you actually finish a piece of writing, no matter how epic or ambitious your aims with it might be. When I went back to school at thirty-two, I no longer had the luxury of revising ad infinitum, because I had to turn out twenty pages of new work every two weeks. And yet, these were somewhat famous people I was working with, who might just give me a hand up if they liked my work. The incentive to produce polished prose was high. But how could I produce polished work in just two weeks? My solution was simple: I worked twelve-hour days. I hadn’t kicked my perfectionist’s habit of revising as I drafted, I’d just found a way to accommodate it (by eliminating nearly everything else of any consequence from my life). As a result, I did produce some polished work (though I’d scrap a whole lot of it later; see Editor’s Note, below). And maybe, just maybe, I managed to impress someone- if not with my work, than my work ethic. But what I lost, in the process, was my enjoyment in writing itself. Remember When Writing Was Fun? When I was a kid, I didn’t dread the act of writing. Between the pages of my composition notebooks, fantasy worlds came alive and â€Å"imaginary friends† became real. I was always looking for an excuse to play hooky from the rest of my life (especially if it involved homework or chores). After grad school, I asked myself, â€Å"When did writing become something I hate?† I realized this change occurred when I tried to perfect a piece of writing, to finish it, in too short a span of time. But that short span of time- the almighty deadline- was what had finally allowed me to finish in the first place. How could I make writing fun again, while actually producing publishable work? For me, the answer was this: Stop revising as you write. Separate drafting from revising. And reconsider your tools. Part One: Stop Revising as You Write Remember my Great (Unwritten) American Novel? It’s languishing in the back of my hard drive because I could not stop going back to the beginning and revising it. Which, though it gave me the illusion of progress, kept me from doing anything more than inching forward. It can be useful now and then to look back at where you’ve been with your novel and the promises you’ve made to your reader- useful too to remember what the voice of the protagonist or narrator sounds like. But take it from someone who sacrificed years of her life in the service of a failed manuscript: that boomerang that keeps sending you back to the beginning is unlikely to ever give you enough momentum to write your way through to the end. And oftentimes it’s only once you’ve reached the end of your book that you know- really know- the way that it should begin. So no matter how polished your opening pages might be, you might have to scrap them in the end. Part Two: Separate Drafting from Revising When I talk about drafting, I’m talking about the process of creating new work. By revising, I’m talking about the process of improving that work- adding to it and deleting from it, reshaping and improving it. Productivity experts tell us that we’re less efficient when we’re constantly switching between tasks, and it doesn’t take a neuroscientist to tell you that drafting and revising make use of very different parts of the brain. (The former generally involves throwing spaghetti at the wall; the latter involves deciding what sticks.) As a consequence, switching back and forth between these two tasks in the same session tends to be not only inefficient but frustrating- and because it’s hard to do both tasks well, you never quite achieve the effortless state of flow. That’s another term productivity gurus like to throw around. But writers, you know what I’m talking about: The flow state in drafting is when the next word, the next sentence, the next movement of the story, is clear; the flow state in revising is when you can easily tell what’s on and what’s off (and how to address the latter). If you want to work efficiently- and with less frustration- my advice is to separate these two tasks as much as humanly possible. Part Three: Reconsider Your Tools When I decided I was going to make writing fun again, I tried all sorts of process-oriented hacks. Some of them stuck, and some of them didn’t, but one of the most useful strategies I found was drafting by hand. When you open up a Word document, the first thing you see is the beginning of the piece. If you’re a perfectionist- and to succeed at writing, I believe, you must be- it’s difficult not to get sucked in. (What’s a little nip and tuck here and there?) The trusty composition notebook from my childhood, I found, did not work that way. I opened to the last thing I had written, not the first- and in doing so, more effortlessly found the thread (especially if I had made a few notes the last time I wrote, about what came next). Of course, writing by hand is slower than writing on a computer. So if you can find a way to write- via a typewriter, via tech like the Freewrite, or simply via the willpower required to start at the end of your Word document, rather than the beginning- you’ll have the best of both worlds. Editor’s Note Everything I’ve learned in the course of my journey as a writer has been backed up by what I’ve learned in my career as a freelance book editor. At Indigo Editing Publications, we work with authors over the course of three distinct rounds of editing: a developmental edit, a line edit, and a proofread. Which is to say, we don’t cut a comma, question a word choice, or ask to see a single image clarified until the story itself has been nailed down. Doing so would be a waste of the client’s money, and of our time- because the word, sentence, or image in question might not even make the cut for the next draft. Just as writers are best served by separating drafting from revising, revising is best served by separating work on the story from work on the language itself. It can be hard to do, but it is, without a doubt, the most efficient way to work. In Conclusion Certainly, there are exceptions to every rule, and there are some successful authors who meticulously revise as they draft new work (Zadie Smith is a good example). But in my experience, these writers are the exception. Those who succeed in publishing are usually those who’ve learned how to reliably enter a state of flow, in both drafting and revising- and in most cases, they’ve learned to do it by separating drafting from revising. Of course, I’m curious about your thoughts on this. When has writing been the most fun for you? How has perfectionism served you as a writer (or held you back)? And what’s the number one most useful writing hack you’ve found?    An author, editor, and educator, Susan DeFreitas’s creative work has appeared in (or is forthcoming from) The Writer’s Chronicle, The Utne Reader, Story, Southwestern American Literature, and Weber- The Contemporary West, along with more than twenty other journals and anthologies. She is the author of the novel Hot Season (Harvard Square Editions), which won the 2017 Gold IPPY Award for Best Fiction of the Mountain West. She holds an MFA from Pacific University and lives in Portland, Oregon, where she serves as an editor with Indigo Editing Publications.

Australian contract law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Australian contract law - Research Paper Example Subsequently however, Big Oil Ltd transferred its ownership to an associated company, Best Oil Ltd, in which it has 40% interest and the Portland Council reacted by withdrawing the 50% concession earlier agreed. The issue here is whether or not the Council of Portland is bound by the agreement between Big Oil Ltd and the Victorian Government with respect to the prerogative of Big Oil Ltd to transfer its ownership to another company in which it has at least 40% interest. Under the law, only the parties to a contract have the right to enforce its terms and be conferred a right or be obligated under it.1 This is referred to as the principle of the privity of contracts, which was first established in Australia in the case of Tweedle v Atkinson.2 A strict application of this doctrine in the herein case would mean that Best Oil Ltd cannot enforce the 50% rating concession as against the Council considering that it was not a party to the contract between Big Oil Ltd and the Council of Portland. It is with respect to that contract only a third party. Nonetheless, the doctrine of privity is not a cut-and-dried rule the way recent cases have allowed exceptions to it. In Trident General Insurance Co Ltd v McNiece Bros Pty Ltd, 3 for example, the High Court allowed a third party in an insurance contract to claim against the insurer, but this is because a corresponding provision in the insurance law specifically grants this right.45 However, the privity doctrine is still enforced in the Australian legal jurisdiction and it is not clear under what particular exception Best Oil Co can invoke it. Best Oil’s argument is that it has a right to the 50% rating concession by reason of an implied term because of the stipulation under the contract with the Victorian Government allowing it to transfer its interest to a company in which it has at least 40% interest in. On the other hand, the Portland Council also invoked implied term in terminating

Corporate social responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Corporate social responsibility - Essay Example Some theorists as well as practitioners describe CSR as a form of corporate compliance with the spirit and the letter of the law; or, as a business approach that takes into account the manner in which the organization’s activities impacts upon its different stakeholders (Nehme & Wee, 2008:129). Pursuant to its legal mandate, CSR is seen as a condition where the corporation acts as a free agent of the state, to the extent that the expressed social objectives are imposed on the corporation by law (Manne & Wallich, 1972, p. 40). On the other hand, more than just compliance with legal mandate, CSR is also thought to pertain to the corporation’s efforts above and beyond regulatory requisites, in effect finding an equilibrium between the needs of stakeholders on one hand, and those of making a profit for the investors in the other (Nehme & Wee, 2008:132). CSR is â€Å"[a] concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis† (European Commission, in Nehme & Wee, 2008:131). CSR, from a market viewpoint, has been identified as a source of competitive advantage, as the company explores ways of approaching and engaging with their stakeholders (Corporation and Market Advisory Committee, 2006). â€Å"CSR is the result, implicit or explicit, of the nature of a firm, its role in society, and its relationships with its internal and external stakeholders† (Argandoà ±a and Hoivik, 2009, p. 229). The same activities, it is observed, may be undertaken whatever theory is adopted, as even community-focused activities may actually be undertaken in the service of corporate interests – a form of market development effort. Nevertheless, embarking on these activities which do not directly comprise the company’s main business operations are taken to be external manifestations of the company’s CSR program. Ever since the advent of

The Books and School Essay Example for Free

The Books and School Essay In the first few pages of the book, Bloom highlights the importance of reading and studying literature and at the same time mentions one’s limitations about conducting this exercise. He writes, â€Å"The Biblical thee-score years and ten no longer suffice to read more than selection of the great writers in what can be called the Western tradition, let alone in all the word’s traditions. †(Bloom, 1995, p. 17) The best of the literature, finds new perspectives with the passage of time. New interpretations are introduced; many additions to the old ones are done, as per the demands of the time. The fable of the yesteryears becomes the reality of the day as for some characters in works of famous writers. They have the all-time appeal, as they transcend all secular limitations, and establish for themselves a unique place in the history of literature. Bloom dives deep in to the ocean of literature and tries to collect and introduce the pearls of wisdom to his readers. How did he achieve it and what were the implications? The re-examination of the world of literature afresh†¦ â€Å"Originally The Canon meant the choice of books in our teaching instructions, and despite the recent politics of multiculturalism, the Canon’s true question remains: What shall the individual who still desires to read attempt to read, this late history? †(Bloom, p. 17) asks Bloom and seems to grope for the answer. He attempts to dive deep in to the ocean of literature Age-wise the Autocratic Age, the Democratic Age, and the Chaotic Age. Any literature has time-value but there is a branch of ‘literature’ that transcends limitations of time. And more reading doesn’t mean more knowledge. Why should anyone attempt to possess all knowledge? The limitations of human existence, prima-facie, negate such possibility, even if one intensely wishes! I am reminded of a real-life incident. The question asked to a candidate for a high-profile selection post, was â€Å"Who is the Finance Minister of Spain? † Obviously the Interview Board Member was trying to corner the candidate. The bold candidate answered the question with a counter-question, â€Å"Sir, may I know from you who the Sports Minister of Nigeria is? I frankly say, that it is not necessary for me or anyone to acquire such superfluous general knowledge. It has nothing to do with one’s efficiency or productivity related to work. † What you do is not important; how you do what you do is important. Similarly, what you read is not important; how you read what you read is important-rather what you assimilate is the crux of the reading exercise. Presently, when the world is deeply impacted by the materialistic civilization, the industrial and internet revolution lays the real fear of the reading habit getting minimal- reading, just out of necessity and no more the soul pleasure! Bloom’s sincere efforts to re-kindle the passion for reading as for authors like Shakespeare, Austen and Dickens, is laudable and it is the need of the time , to come out of the web of dreary and mechanical life. Having said that, he poses the well-meaning question related to the Canon, â€Å"What shall the individual who still desires to read attempt to read, this late in history? A maestro of Classical Music takes interviews for the prospective candidates for judging their potentiality as for the inborn musical talents. He just asks them to sing a line or two, and he is able to judge their intrinsic worth. Bloom’s opinions about the quality of literature are somewhat similar. He is fascinated by the literary world created by Shakespeare. To him he is the be-all and end-all of the canon that he defines for the Western world, the standard by which one judges all literature. Bloom rightly opines that human mind has limitations as for acquiring the knowledge. When one transcends the mind-barrier it is altogether a different world and it is not possible to describe that state through verbal communications. Because, it is the final stage of experiencing, this is beyond then realm of words. Shakespeare, according to Bloom is the master psychologist- he has tackled each type of psychological situations and given answers through his characters. It is therefore, not necessary to read the psychological texts with the hope of finding anything new, after having read Shakespeare. This holds well, according to Bloom, in the religious contest as well. Shakespeare’s understanding of the religious tenets is so perfect! But not so about spirituality, admits Bloom candidly! An elegy for the Canon, Bloom does three types of classifications for the literature: The Autocratic Age, The Democratic Age and the Chaotic Age. Bloom makes rather the controversial statement that all great writing can end up sounding rather too similar. To select 26 authors of the vast multitude of literature should be a tough task for Bloom, but to the lucky ones in his team, he has rendered yeoman service. He has done a fine survey of classical literary traditions. Many have found it so rewarding to read these authors, in the light of the critical assessment done and fresh light thrown by Bloom. He has made the flowers of literary taste bloom in the desert. (Those who were hitherto disinterested in classical literature) Two issues immensely influence any author. The influence of Nature and the influence of the works of other authors! This process can be termed as literary sparks generated out of friction. One idea gives rise to several ancillary ideas, sometimes more profound and brilliant than the original idea. Through the introduction to various authors, Bloom has succeeded in inspiring the readers as well and that created the chain reaction in them to read more and more. The authors probably wrote one more book by such inspiration and the readers read another book! Both are the comparable processes of the literary genius latent in an individual. Therefore, those who have read the Western Canon of Bloom have admitted that it has been the most rewarding experience of their lives. No contradictions can be made as for Bloom’s observation about the impact of the materialistic civilization, ruthless competition, where moral boundaries are often violated and he asserts that such a process does destroy literary study in the name of socio-economic justice. One who creates literature and the one who loves literature have peculiar types of hearts, which a normal secular individual would find it difficult to understand. Such literary giants may have to pass through derision and even opposition. And finally a stage of willing acceptance would not be far off. There are ample examples of such developments if one goes through the history of mankind over the last few centuries. Bloom is however is too much obsessed about Shakespeare. No doubt, he is brilliant among the brilliants, but Blooms overreacts as for the glory that Shakespeare was, is and will be! Well, that is Bloom’s personal opinion, and one need not agree with it. An author writes true to his convictions. He doesn’t write to please someone. Reading Bloom’s book should be the beginning of the literary saga for any individual, not the end! It should never be! Conclusion: Bloom is a highly evolved individual, and he seems to have crossed the last hurdle of the mind-barrier. He has repeatedly knocked the portals of spirituality, but he has not entered it. He has, however, succeeded in taking certain potshots at it. If he were to cross it, his perspective about the entire mass of literature, would have changed, and he would have understood the meaningfulness and meaningless of the literary classics. But from his intellectual level, he has given the best possible explanations and views about the Western Canon. ============= Works Cited: Bloom, Harold: Book: The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages: Paperback: 560 pages Publisher: Riverhead Trade; 1st Riverhead Ed edition (September 1, 1995) Language: English ISBN-10: 1573225142 ISBN-13: 978-1573225144

Essay on Shirley Jacksons The Lottery - Evils of Society Exposed

The Evils of Society Exposed in The Lottery  Ã‚   In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our own lives. In today’s society we often have an all too-casual attitude toward misfortune; Jackson shows us this aspect of human nature through the town’s casual attitude toward the lottery. The men talk of "rain, tractors and taxes" and the women gossip—all the time knowing they are about to kill someone or be perhaps even be killed themselves (Jackson 863). The thing that is most important to them is to hurry up and finish so they can eat lunch. Perhaps the feeling of being in a hurry makes what they’re about to do easier; they don’t have time to let it bother them. How often in today’s society do we hear the phrase, "just hurry up and get it over with"? The townspeople seem to have mixed emotions about the lottery; they fear it yet on a very barbaric level they enjoy it. By standing "away from the pile of stones," and keeping their distance from the black box, the villagers show their fear of the lottery (Jackson 863). However, once they find out who is going to be stoned, Tessie Hutchinson, they seem to actually enjoy the stoning. One villager picks up a stone so big she can barely carry it; someone even gives Tessie’s youngest son a few pebbles to throw at his mother. Their overall attitude about the stoning is summed up by the phrase "and then they were... ...f their family (Jackson 867). In everyday life, we posses the same selfish attitude portrayed in the story. What is one of a child’s favorite words? It’s "mine!" We constantly say well "it’s better you than me" and "it’s every man for himself." It’s pretty scary _when you actually think about it, because you realize we really are that selfish. "The Lottery" is "symbolic of any number of social ills that mankind blindly perpetrates" (Friedman 108). The story is very shocking, but the reality of mankind is even more shocking. Isn’t it funny that Jackson gives us a description of our nature, and not only do we not recognize it for what it is , but it shocks us. Works Cited Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 989. Friedman , Lenemgia. Shirley Jackson. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1975.      

Holy Sonnet Xii Essay

John Donne is widely known to incorporate or allude to various religious symbols and concepts throughout his poems. His poem â€Å"Holy Sonnet XII: Why Are We† questions the concept of creation, humankind and all elements, exploring the ideas of the original sin and God’s relationship with man and nature. The poem also explored the concepts of human supremacy over nature. Through several language devices such as metaphors, rhyme and rhythm, repetition and tone, Donne attempts to understand the Creator’s motives for creating humans and the various elements present in the world. Donne also employed rhetoric to convince and demonstrate to readers mankind’s dominance over nature and natural elements. Donne employed an inquiring even a perplexed-sounding tone to his poem to imply a sense of injustice within the Creator. This sense of injustice revolved around subjecting animals, who are â€Å"simple, and further from corruption† and more powerful, for the convenience of man, who is corrupt and is â€Å"worse than† the animals: â€Å"Why are wee by all creatures waited on? †¦ Why brook’st thou, ignorant horse, subjection† With the inquiring tone, Donne attempted to reveal the Creator to be someone prejudiced, where he is previously believed to be all just and fair. Donne implied an idea of favouritism in the last few lines of the stanza: â€Å"You have not sinn’d, nor need to be timorous †¦ For us, his Creatures, and his foes, hath dyed.† In these lines, Donne alluded to the dying of Jesus on the Cross, suggesting that the Creator died only for humans and not for the other animals. Donne perceived this act to be unfair as humans have sinned greatly, whereas animals are more pure and have not sinned. He also alludes to the fact that the Creator had created animals and other elements of nature solely for human’s use: â€Å"Why doe the prodigal elements supply†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This action of alluding to the Creator in a rather indignant manner, questioning the Creator’s motives, is recurring through many of Donne’s poems, such as in The Flea. Throughout the poem, Donne continually diminishes the human race to be corrupt and sinful, comparing this nature with the pure, uncorrupted and simple nature of the animals and other elements of creation. By incorporating the questioning tone, readers may be more convinced of the â€Å"prejudiced† motives of the Creator, that He may not appear as just as he is said to be. The poem also explored the relationship of the Creator, sin and all the other creations through the rhyming scheme of the poem. Contrary to popular belief, Donne presented the Creator to have no correlations with sin and creations, implying that the Creator is simply a distant being. This idea was revealed in the rhyming couplet at the end of the poem: â€Å"But their Creator, whom sin, nor nature tyed, / For us, his Creatures, and his foes, hath dyed.† The rhyming couplet portrayed the Creator to have no ties with sin or nature, thus why He died for humankind. The final couplet also answers several questions and result in more ideas regarding creation and human’s relationship with the Creator: these questions include the reasoning to human dominancy and the concept of original sin, and again, favouritism. As the final couplet suggests that the Creator is distant to all other elements and creations but humankind, it also suggests that God is closer to humankind, having died to save them from their sins, thus why they appear as dominant. It also suggests that animals and other elements were created for the benefit and convenience of the human race. The concept of original sin is proposed throughout the poem at the moments Donne implied the corruption and sinning of humankind: â€Å"†¦being more pure than I, / Simple and further from corruption †¦ weaker I am, woe is mee, and worse than you / You have not sinn’d†. The concept is also implied through the querying tone and repetitive use of â€Å"why†, as Donne questioned why the Creator died for humankind, who have greatly sinned since the beginning, but subjugated animals, who are pure and not corrupt, and other resources to man’s convenience. Favouritism is also implied in the final lines as it appears that the Creator had only died for one of his Creations and not all: â€Å"For us, his Creatures, and his foes, hath dyed†. This final lines, particularly in the use of the collective word â€Å"us†, the human supremacy and separation of humans from animals become evident. As Donne used the word â€Å"us† to refer solely to humankind, it creates a sense of distance from the animals, as if the other elements were not a part of God’s creations and that humans were the Creator’s only â€Å"creatures†. The central idea of the poem, animal subjection to humans, was explored through the questioning tone but also the metaphors employed throughout the poem. In the opening line of the poem, Donne clearly presented the idea of human supremacy, stating that it is humans who are â€Å"waited on† by all other creatures, through his question. This idea of supremacy is further emphasised in the next question, â€Å"Why doe the prodigal elements supply / Life and food to mee, being more pure than I, / Simply and further from corruption?†. In this questions, it is implied that creatures seemed to have been created to prodigally supply humankind with life and food, despite humankind being closer to corruption than the animals. Through this next question, Donne creates the idea of animal constraint and the animal’s inferior nature. In the next lines, Donne implies of the stealth and strength of the animals compared to the humans, â€Å"Why brook’st thou, ignorant horse, subjection? / Why dost thou bull, and bore so seelily / Dissemble weaknesse, and by one mans stroke die, whose whole kinde you might swallow and feed upon?† The particular use of â€Å"ignorant horse† presents two meanings: the first is the literal meaning, a description of a horse as being ignorant, oblivious of man’s power over them, while the second meaning may be metaphorical. The word â€Å"horse† may refer to human race and the ignorance may be stemmed from the fact that humans believe themselves to be superior over all other creations, where in truth, they are actually weaker. In the questions presented in the poem up to this point, despite their subjects being human supremacy and animal inferiority, Donne throughout implied the better power and nature of the animals: he portrayed the strength of the animals but also presented their sinless and pure nature. By portraying animals in this light, Donne attempts for his readers to view animals as not a race inferior to humans but as a race mightier and stronger than humans. This implication may stem from Donne’s belief that it is more correct for the animals to dominate humans as humans have sinn’d and are corrupted, and therefore are not deserving of all the â€Å"prodigal elements† supplied by the other creations. By presenting the human race to be unjustly dominant, and as the animals and other elements enslaved to humans, Donne attempted to evoke a piteous feeling towards the animals from readers. Through the questioning tone and metaphors employed throughout the poem, Donne revealed that man is not as superior as first deemed and that animals are actually more stronger than what is perceived, therefore man should not be subjecting the animals and other creations for their benefit and use. Donne employed a combination of language devices such as conceit, tone, rhyme scheme and metaphors throughout the poem to explore the concept of creation and human supremacy over animals as well as the original sin and the Creator’s relationship with sin, nature and humankind. Through the inquiring tone of the poem, Donne attempted to understand the motives of the Creator, but also convince the readers of the unjust nature of the Creator.

Freedom Writers vs the Outsiders

Comparing Freedom Writers and The Outsiders Taking place in Long Beach California, Richard Lagravense directed an amazing movie titled â€Å"Freedom Writers. † Freedom Writers came out in 2007 and has inspired many teenagers all over the world. Not only do I consider this to be one of my favorite movies, but many others do too. Freedom Writers was a movie with many interesting characters. Hilary Swank stars as Erin Gruwell (Mrs. G), a high school teacher who realizes that teaching is her passion and who doesn’t know what she would do without her students.Scott Glenn plays the role of Steve Gruwell, Erin’s husband. The rest of the stars of the movie are Patrick Dempsey as Scott Casey, Imelda Stainton as Margret Campbell, April L. Hernandez as Eva Benitez, Mario as Andre Bryant, Kristin Herver as Gloria Munez, Jaclyn Ngan as Cindy, Sergio Montalvo as Alejandro Santiago, Jason Finn as Marcus, Deance Wyatt as Jamal Hill, Vanetta Smith as Brandy Ross, Gabriel Chavarri aas Tito, Hunter Parrish as Ben Daniels, Antonio Garcia as Miguel, Giovanne Samuels as Victoria, John Benjamin Hickey as Brian Gelford, Robert Wisdom as Dr.Carl Cohn, Pat Carrol as Miep Gies, Will Morales as Paco, and Armand Jones as Grant Rice. I feel that each character played an important part in this movie and I loved each and every one of them. Due to the fact that this is one of my favorite movies, and how much I enjoyed watching it, I would rate this movie a 4. 5 out of 5 stars. The only reason I felt that it didn’t deserve 5 stars is because I found some of the parts in the movie to be rather confusing. At times, scenes were hard to follow and truly understand what was happening. For example, Eva and Paco went to the convenience store.When they arrived they unexpectedly bumped in Cindy and her boyfriend. Paco tries to shoot the guy in the orange sweatshirt (the guy who beat him up in school) because he wanted his money back on a game he was playing and was giving the cashier a difficult time. Paco also wanted revenge. When Paco took out his gun and fired it at the guy in the orange sweatshirt, he accidentally ended up hitting Cindy’s boyfriend because the other guy ducked. After watching this part a second time I more clearly understood what was happening. The first time I really didn’t know who each character was or the point of the scene.I would still highly recommend this movie to kids all ages. Some parts are violent but this movie does teach valuable lessons. The movies, Freedom Writers, and The Outsiders, are both spectacular movies. Even though these two movies are quite different, they do have some similarities. Both Freedom Writers and The Outsiders are about two extremely violent gangs. All of the gangs in the two movies stuck up for all of their fellow gang members and each member stands by whatever another member does. This is true for all gangs. Personally, I think that Freedom Writers was a better movie. Hey, do you w ant some fries with that shake? † says a male student to Mrs. Gruwell on the first day of school. That type of rudeness was pretty much the way things always were in Long Beach California where the movie Freedom Writers takes place. Hillary Swank (Mrs. Gruwell) stars in this gripping story of inner-city kids raised around drive-by shootings and hard-core attitudes. Whenever you step out the front door of your house, you have to beware because anythitwo gangs in Freedom Writers fight for their territory, race, respect, and what’s theirs.In this movie, the music played throughout the scenes was always different. At the beginning of this movie, the two gangs wouldn’t even sit next to each other in school, let alone talk to one another. At the end, the gangs made peace and everyone ended up getting along all because of Mrs. Gruwell. Even though the gangs, The Greasers and The Socials, are violent in The Outsiders, they are not quite as violent as the gangs in Freedom Writers. The Greasers are more caring and respectful whereas the gangs in Freedom Writers don’t really care about anything.The music played during this movie is always the same song; it is just different parts of the song being played or the same part repeated. Taking place in the 1960’s in Tulsa, Oklahoma makes this movie older which contributes to some of the differences in the gangs. Although The Outsiders is a thrilling and well directed movie, I didn’t find it to be as exciting as Freedom Writers. My recommendations for these movies would depend on the age of the viewer. I would recommend The Outsiders to pre-teens and Freedom Writers to teens because it is more violent.

Supply side policies and its economic impact Essay Example

Supply side policies and its economic impact Essay Example Supply side policies and its economic impact Paper Supply side policies and its economic impact Paper Supply side policies are those that improve the supply side of the economey. There are the two forms of supply side policy. Supply side policies of the product market and that of the labour market, which can directly influence the national economy. All the supply side policies of the product market are design to increase competition and therefore productivity. An increase in productivity will mean that an industry is able to produce more with a given amount of resources. Privatisation is a major supply side policy of the product market side that is intended to increase the productive potential of the economy and consequently lead to a higher rate of economic growth. Privatisation actually break up state regulated monopolies into privately own enterprises and this would eventually mean that the intensity of competition among businesses will increase, rather than having government firm not competing against each other, these privately owned businesses compete together. Recently in the United Kingdom the utilities such as gas and electricity have been privatised and this has benefited the economy greatly, although there have been a few exceptions to this such as rail track privatisation which has generally been considered as a national failure due to excessive under investment. Another common supply side policy of the product market side is deregulation, which aims at removing excessive sate imposed regulation on economic activity within the national economy. Excessive regulation requires certain expectations and standards that business must spend to comply with, and consequently it is these excessive regulation that are imposed on business which increase costs. Therefore deregulation decreases the economic costs for businesses and simultaneously allows more entrants to enter the market. The supply side policies of the labour market side are possibly imperative for attaining substantially higher levels of economic growth. The reforms such as legislation against trade union can help industries stuck in an endless cycle of dispute with their employers. Trade union typically aim to achieve higher wages and make sure that condition for workers are sound, and improving within their particular industry. If the government aims to reduce trade union power then this will hugely advantage the industry. Other supply side policies such as reducing unemployment benefits have not been used very much in the U. K. economy but possibly in other free market economies. In some free market economies the benefits received for being out of work can exceed those for taking a low paid job, therefore people would rather be out of work and receive benefits than working, therefore by reducing the benefits received for being out of work people would be less well off and consequently unemployment would increase helping increase the rate of GDP. Diagrammatically the level of output and the price level are determined by the interaction of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. Under some conditions, employment depends only on total spending, or aggregates demand. At other times, supply limitations are an important part of the policy problem and have to receive major attention. From the 1930s to the later 1960s, macroeconomics was very much demand-oriented. But in recent years the emphasis has shifted and aggregate supply and supply-side economics have gained in importance. This shift of emphasis and interest was no doubt fostered by the slow growth and high inflation experienced by the industrialised countries in the 1970s. If the economy is close to full employment, increased aggregate demand will be reflected primarily in higher prices or inflation. The aggregate supply side of the economy has then to be introduced. The aggregate supply curve specifies the relationship between the amount of output firms produce and their price level. The supply side not only enters the picture in telling us how successful demand expansions will be in raising output and employment, but also has a role of its own. Supply disturbances, or supply shocks, can reduce output and raise prices, as was the case in the 1970s when the price of oil increased sharply. Conversely, policies that increase productivity and thus the level of aggregate supply at a given price level, can help reduce inflationary pressures. In the early 1980s supply-side economists promised that disinflation was possible without unemployment. The 1981-1982 recession punctured that hope. But supply-side economics made a partial comeback because the recovery from that deep recession was both rapid and prolonged. Supply-side economics and its effectiveness abroad. Supply-side economics was all the rage in the United States in 1981, the first year of the Reagan administration. And so-called supply-siders still run a very active publicity machine, proclaiming the correctness of their views in the press and in books. Supply-side economists lay heavy stress on the incentive effects of taxation in determining the behaviour of the economy. Beyond that broad agreement there are really two separate supply-side groups. The mainstream group stresses the importance of tax incentives in promoting growth, especially by their effect on saving and investment. Similarly, it analyses the effects of tax changes on labour supply, the effects of Social security on saving and retirement decisions and a host of other important issues. But it was the radical fringe of supply-side group that received most of the publicity during the early 1980s, when Reagan tax cut that determined fiscal policy for the entire decade was put in place. This group made exaggerated claims for the effects of tax cuts on saving; investment and labour supply and for the effects of tax cuts on total government revenue from taxation. Among the intellectual leaders of the fringe was Arthur Laffer, whose curve has become famous. Radical supply-siders were installed in the Treasury and there was an active supply-side group in Congress. The radical fringe argued that 1) tax rate reductions would have such powerful effects on work effort that total tax revenues would rise and 2) the supply-side effects of the tax cuts would have a powerful effect in reducing inflation by increasing the growth rate of output. In 1981 the Reagan administration presented an optimistic scenario for growth with low inflation that was supposedly justified by supply-side considerations. Tax rates were to be cut significantly but, it was claimed, the rapid increase in growth would keep the budget close to balance. That at least was the public claim. Radical supply-side economics was thus an essential part of the rhetoric supporting Reaganomics. The most important factor in these policies was the Presidents determination to cut taxes. This was done in the belief that the government was too large and that government spending could be cut by denying Congress tax revenue to spend. Arguments by supply-siders that tax cuts would rapidly increase economic growth and reduce inflation were certainly welcome, but it is quite likely that President Reagan would have proceeded with his policies even had he known they would result in massive budget deficits, so long as they would reduce the size of government. Supply-side predictions were criticised at the time by mainstream macroeconomists. The evidence is that tax reductions do affect incentives and that tax cuts increase output. But there is no evidence that the incentives would be so strong as to result in higher government revenue after a tax cut. Similarly, an increase in the growth rate of output will contribute to reducing the inflation rate-but the effects are unlikely to be powerful. The events of two years following the Reagan tax cuts do not support the views of the radical supply-siders. Inflation was indeed reduced, but the reduction was a result of tight monetary policy and not of expansionary fiscal policy. Output fell rapidly; it did not increase. These events led to the departure of the radical supply-siders from responsible policy-making positions, but did not slow their claims that supply-side economics (of the radical branch) was the solution for the economys problem. An interesting sidelight on supply-side economics comes from considering the relationship between supply-side economics and monetarism. Both approaches are often associated with conservative political positions. But the two groups of economists are critical of each other. In their policy positions, favouring tax cuts in almost all circumstances and believing also that the Fed should allow rapid money growth to foster rapid output growth, the supply-siders are closer to Keynesianism than to monetarism. Supply side policies An alternative or even a complementary policy to demand-side management is to increase the productive potential of an economy, irrespective of the state of aggregate demand. Policy measures, which raise the long run or potential GDP, are known as supply-side policies. Successful supply-side policies raise potential GDP faster than if were it left to the normal process of economic growth. The attractiveness of such policies is that they bypass the uncomfortable trade-off between output and inflation. The general conclusion is that, regardless of their effectiveness, supply-side policies do not produce immediate miracles. They may increase incentive to raise production; they may be aimed at improving general efficiency; they may require some sectors to decline and free resources for other, more valuable uses. All these measures take time to work, five to ten years, or even longer. Three broad approaches to increasing the economys long-run potential have been examined. First, good supply-side policy should aim to make markets as efficient as possible and when markets fail that test, government intervention can improve matters. Second, given that governments are already interfering in the market place for both good and bad reasons, they should strive to minimise the negative impact of their intervention. One example is regulation; another is taxation; yet another is subsidy policy. Third, unemployment remains a deep concern in much of Europe where roughly 10% of the labour force is out of work. Taxation and the provision of public goods. Public goods are special because they naturally are non-rival and non-excludable. Being non-excludable, public goods cannot be charged to their users. A toll booth can be installed at a bridges entrance, but what price should its owners charge ? Non-rivalry means that the marginal cost of their use is very small; thus the price ought to be low. But fixed costs can be large (a bridge is very expensive to build), so how can the producer be compensated ? In addition, a bridge is a natural monopoly if it is the only one in the vicinity. If the owner charges a high price and makes large profits, market competition will lead to the multiplication of bridges next to each other, a very inefficient outcome. Markets just cannot cope with such failures, public goods need to be provided collectively (free bridges), or their provision needs to be regulated (privately built bridges are generally subject to strict regulations, including pricing and quality of service). Public goods are pervasive: transportation and amenities, but also justice and police, passports, defence and diplomacy etc. In each case, there is a market solution, but it is inefficient as not enough-sometimes none at all-would be privately provided. And in each case, the insufficient provision of the public goods would greatly impair economic activity, possibly leading to the breakdown of other, well-functioning markets. This is why the provision of public goods is a fundamental supply-side policy. The more efficient the provision, the more productive the economy will be. Efficiency means that public goods are produced at the lowest possible cost-which also involves issues of corruption. It also requires that resources be collected to finance the production of public services, an issue to which we now turn. Once a society has agreed to let government perform certain public functions, public resources need to be raised in order to pay for them. This is done through taxation of final goods and services. Taxation generally distorts markets by driving a wedge between the cost of producing goods and services and the price paid by the consumers. Non-distortionary taxes do not affect economic behaviour. An example would be lump-sum taxes levied on individuals without any reference to incomes, wealth, or spending, or taxies levied unexpectedly on past incomes and wealth so that it is too late to react. For this reason, non-distortionary taxes are appealing to governments. In practice, however, retroactive taxation is considered unfair precisely because it takes people by surprise. Lump-sum taxes are also unpopular, as Mrs Thatchers fateful experience with the poll tax in 1990 showed. As a result, nearly all taxes are distortionary. Laffer curve. Because distortionary taxes move the economy away from its first-best equilibrium, it is entirely conceivable that higher tax rates actually result in lower tax yields. This effect is sometimes called the Laffer curve. This curve describes a theoretical relationship between total government tax revenues and the average tax rate (the ratio of tax receipts to GDP). The tax rate ranges from 0 to 100%; at a 0% rate, tax revenue is nil; when the tax rate reaches 100%, no one is likely to work or produce at all so tax receipts are also nil. At intermediate tax rates, tax receipts are positive. The hump-shape of the curve indicates that the tax rate distorts the economy so much that beyond some tax rate, taxable income declines faster than the tax rate increases. The threshold point corresponds to the average tax rate for which tax receipts are at a maximum. Any rate of taxation to the right of this point is inefficient because the same tax income can be raised with a lower tax rate, i. e. less distortion. Incentives and taxation The social safety net. The social safety net refers to the system of transfers and benefits designed to help the disadvantaged and vulnerable in society. These include unemployment benefits, social welfare, old-age pensions, early retirement, health insurance and disability benefits. A large gap divides European countries, which transfer between 20% and 30% of their national income to individuals or firms, from the USA, Japan and Switzerland, which transfer only 10-15%. This might lead a casual observer to conclude that high European unemployment is a product of the social welfare state, which puts weight on solidarity but at the cost of productivity and economic efficiency. Yet it is too hasty to claim that Europeans have erred too far in the direction of social protection, in comparison to the rest of the OECD. The high level of transfers observed in Europe is to some extent a response to high unemployment, which may have other underlying causes. At the same time, these transfers-in the form of unemployment benefits, welfare and premature retirement and disability pensions-take the pressure off workers and firms to adjust to a changing world economy. The greatest danger is that the safety net becomes a trap, leading to long-term unemployment. It is useful to think about the adverse effects of the safety net on incentives. The social systems of most countries share two institutional features. First, poor or unemployed people receive transfers-income maintenance programmes or unemployment benefits-from the state. Second, income taxes are progressive: the rate of taxation increases as income rises. Taking up a job not only means receiving a salary, but also paying taxes if the salary is high enough and thereby losing eligibility for income maintenance programmes. It is conceivable then that people can be financially worse off by taking a job, not to mention incurring a loss of leisure and possibly some activity in the underground (shadow) economy. Implicitly, these people face an effective marginal tax rate-considering the overall effect of work on their income-in excess of 100%. Recent experience of work-to-welfare in the USA indicates that the incentive aspect is important for bringing workers on social assistance back to work. Labour taxation. Because labour is so important in any economy, it is natural to expect governments to tax it. Labour is one of the most highly taxed commodities. Not only is labour subject to income taxes paid by households, but also to a number of social security contributions by both employees and employers.

How to Build a Marketing Report Quickly (Free Template) - CoSchedule

How to Build a Marketing Report Quickly (Free Template) Most marketers would rather not spend time building reports. It can be a tedious process that takes your focus off doing other work. However, good reporting is essential for proving your efforts are moving the needle. The key, then, is learning how to build effective reports quickly. That way, you’ll be able to show (with real data) how well you’re performing. You’ll also have more time to spend on things that actually make a difference (instead of compiling  reports). In this post, we’ll walk through a complete marketing report template you can use. It’s built to be flexible and editable to adjust to your own needs. We’ve also intentionally excluded complex formulas that, while beneficial for automation, can easily break when adding or removing portions you may or may not need. We’ll also show you: How to build this report using free tools. Different marketers have different tool sets and workflows. So, for the purposes of this post, we’ll demonstrate how and where to find usable data from free sources. Replace those tools with your own paid alternatives where necessary. How to analyze your marketing performance and translate it into language others can understand. How to get this all done quickly so you can spend your time on other things. Now, let’s make you a marketing reporting master. Why Bother Building Reports, Anyway? If you can find all your analytics data inside your reporting tools, or within individual apps and services themselves, then why do you need to complete formal reports? Here are a few reasons: Your boss and company executives need to see all your data in one place. They want to see your numbers, and they want to see them quickly. You need that visibility yourself. Mashing together data from multiple sources in one location can help you connect the dots in ways you wouldn’t otherwise. It’s useful for others in your company to see how marketing is performing. Beyond executives and decision-makers, other staff might benefit from seeing the numbers. To make this whole process more expedient, download your template below.How To Build A Marketing Report Quickly (Free Template)Section 1: Marketing and Sales Summary First and foremost, marketing needs to increase your bottom line. So, that’s where our reporting template will start. To begin, include a short summary of three successes your team achieved over the past month: These could include: Successful projects you’ve recently completed. Significant increases on your KPIs. Problems your team has been able to solve. Anything you’ve achieved that’s worth sharing can go in this space. Next, let’s take a look at your sales and revenue. These are the numbers that rule your entire life (as a marketer). Where to Find This Info Start with your own team to find quick wins to share. If you’re not immediately aware of what those might be, ask your supervisor or coworkers. Try to find stories that show what you’re accomplishing to earn your paychecks. Depending on your role and the size of your organization, tracking down your sales data may not be as obvious. If you don’t typically dig into tools that can show this data (CRMs, Google Analytics, and so forth), you may need to get some outside help. If that’s the case for you, here are some starting points to consider: Ask your sales team. They should have numbers for leads and revenue. Your finance department. Again, they should know how much money is coming in. Your sales management or tracking software. If your company uses such a service, see if you can get access for reporting purposes. Regardless of where they come from, what’s important is that you report accurate numbers. Recommended Reading: How to Rock at Relationship Marketing Like the Best Sales Pros Section 2: Website / Blog Performance Report You’ve likely invested a hefty chunk of change in your website. If you’re running a blog, you’re (hopefully) putting ample resources into publishing consistent content, too. In either instance, you should be making sure they’re both earning their keep.

State Research Elements that Influence State Government Essay

State Research Elements that Influence State Government - Essay Example Members are encouraged to vote for these state and local leaders presented by the union. Another way they seek to influence state government is through their Political Action Committee called Political Action Committee for Education (PACE). Pace contributions are given separately from union dues. This money is used for lobbying and election contributions. PSEA spent nearly $1,000,000 on lobbying salaries and efforts for FY 2006-2007. Democratic candidates are the main recipients of PSEA member and PACE contributions. Many of these candidates favor increased funding for public schools, blocking voucher programs that would send public money to private schools and merit pay for teachers. These initiatives have been identified as some of the most troubling issues for teachers and PSEA members in Pennsylvania. Traditionally, Democratic candidates have been able to count on PSEA as an ally in most elections in districts where education is an issue. Republicans in Pennsylvania have usually been in opposition to PSEA in every way. The whole concept of unionized public sector employees upsets many Republicans. They often point out the fact that some school districts require all members to pay a portion of dues even if they do not join the PSEA. These sorts of ideological and structural differences between the PSEA and Republican Party have traditionally kept them on opposite sides of legislation that seeks to weaken unions or change rules. The effects of the PSEA on state elections is debatable, especially in a weak economy. Pennsylvania has experienced a record number of teacher furloughs since the economic downturn began in 2008. The localized structure of public education in Pennsylvania weakens the effectiveness of PSEA at the state level as well. Pennsylvania is divided into 501 independent local school districts. Each one of these districts has a school board that oversees local expenses and

Business Management in Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Management in Nursing - Assignment Example Being a business, the nurses are expected to put in effort to the achievement of that business’s objectives using effective staff and financial management resources. It is for this reason that Business management in Nursing is being offered; to empower nurses to be effective in managing the business aspect of nursing. This paper develops a syllabus for Business management in Nursing. Keywords: learner, nursing, business management Syllabus for Business Management in Nursing Instructor: Office: Office Hours: Contact Hours: Semester, Year: Telephone: E-Mail: Course Information 1. Course Description This is course is aimed at preparing students to meet the changing business management expectation of the present health care services. The students shall also learn about the changing trends in healthcare industry, the changing roles of nurses from bedside practice to middle management and the business aspect of healthcare in general. Students shall also learn of how the nurses can c ontribute to the success of the healthcare business using effective staff and financial management resources. 2. Course Content The following key topics shall be covered in this course; Management functions and decision making in which case topics under management like planning, staffing, directing, organizing and controlling shall be covered. In addition managerial roles like, decisional, informational, and interpersonal that assist in decision making shall also be covered. In addition the fourteen principles of management as put forward by Henry Fayol shall also be covered and how they are applicable in nursing. Employee and Healthcare organizational development in which case issues like change-management plan, organizational problem identification and resolution, behavioral-science knowledge, organizational behavior, linear and holistic organizational development, and the business management code of ethics shall be covered. Staff and Financial Resource Management in which case su b topics like budgeting and finance, human resource management, procurement, whole-school engagement to resource allocation, and an in-depth understanding and interpretation of financial statement information shall be covered. 3. Methods of Instruction The instructor will make use of case studies, lecturers, videos, student experiences and responses, guest speakers and questions and exercises from main reading materials. Student Outcomes and Expected Competencies 1. Competencies Students taking this course should have done BBM 101 (Principles of Business Management) and BNM 204 (Nursing Management). 2. Student Outcomes By taking this course, the learner should have the ability to; Display knowledge of the changing trends in nursing healthcare by; clearly examining and understanding the changing roles of nurses from bedside practitioners to middle management level managers; clearly interpreting the changing perspective of the health industry in which the health care practice is viewe d as business and the nurses are required to manage that business well; clearly demonstrating that he or she can apply the knowledge obtained about business management In the nursing perspective. Apply the five management functions of planning, controlling, staffing, organizing and directing to the nursing practice efficiently. Exhibit a strong business knowledge and orientation in the healthcare industry. Design organizational system to solve practical

East Asian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

East Asian - Essay Example Qian had the prerogative to choose who, what, why and how things happened in his history. Qian chose to quote his sources as much as possible. An example is the account of the attempt made by Jing Ke on the life of the first Chinese emperor, which was an eyewitness account by the great-grandfather of his father's friend, who served as a low-ranked bureaucrat at court of Qin and happened to be attending the diplomatic ceremony for Jing Ke. Qian also created highly probable and consistent events even when there were none available. His work eventually consisted of 130 chapters about Dynastic houses, the biographies of the Han emperors, dates of events, descriptions of rites and rituals, music, and various other topics of interest. Also included were the histories of the states which existed during pre-Qin China and the biographies of other important personages in history. Before The Records of the Grand Historian, historical texts tended to downplay the role and events from other dynasties and played up their own. This tendency was also present in Sima Qian's historiography. Qian portrayed the Han dynasty as having the Mandate of Heaven and gave lesser importance to the dynasties that preceded it. Among the features that Qian emphasized in his work was the ascendant character of the Han Dynasty. Consequently, he depicted the preceding Qin dynasty, which was Legalist, as evil and as such deserved to be replaced by the Han which prescribed to Confucianism. This theme is recurrent in his biographies which often contained moral lessons and anecdotes. Qian also took every opportunity to point out that Legalist ideals which were abundant and commonplace in the Qin Dynasty did not benefit anyone unlike Confucian ideals which redounded to benefits for the people. Examples of these biographies which justified the ascendant moral plane of the Han were the Chen She, Han Xin and the Empress Lu. This bias of Qian's against the Qin dynasty is fairly evident throughout The Records of the Grand Historian. Qian's favorable disposition towards Confucianism is explained by his belief that it is a more preventive means by which to keep peace among the peasants. He believes that fair, just and moral rulers will beget fair, just and moral peasants for them to rule. This common nature when achieved among both rulers and peasants would result in peace, according to Qian's beliefs. In contrast, he believes that the Legalist approach is able to preserve peace through the rule of a tyrannical government. He contends that a tyrannical government places all its constituents, peasants, nobles and ministers alike, under threat of mistreatment and enslavement. Qian also pointed out that there are major differences in how the Qin and Han perform their rites and treat their ancestors. In Confucianism, rituals and ancestors were central in their beliefs. This was exemplified in the biographies of Han Xin and Chen She. Qian pointed out that the latter's grave was cared for by thirty families which saw it as an honor to perform such duty. Qian also related how Han Xin buried his mother "on a high broad expanse of earth with room enough around to set up 10,000 households," similar to the treatment received by an honored ruler. Both personages were practitioners of Confucianism in their lifetime and were correspondingly rewarded with power and influence. In contrast, Qian's biography of the

My Memorable Journey In New York English Literature Essay

My Memorable Journey In New York English Literature Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   New York is a very popular city that everyone is familiar with when they heard of the names of Statue of Liberty, Time Square, and the Broadway, but this place to me is not only just an ordinary city; it is a home that I most feel safe and protected. It has a very special meaning in my life since it was the first home that my family and I resided when we came to America ten years ago. New York was filled with such wonderful memories such as when we tried to adapt to a new life, culture, new people, and foods and learn how to speak English. It is place of comfort that I feel most at ease and relaxed. Although we only stayed in Queens for half a year when I was still seven, it has always been a place where I consider special and unforgettable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My trip to Bronx, New York last summer was a very remarkable experience for both my sisters and I. We traveled to different places and did many activities that we have never went or done before while living in Queens. The thought of reaching New York was so tantalizing that I began to feel a little worried and nervous. It was an endless six hours trip, and every minute seemed like hours as we kept on looking out the airplane window constantly; but after what seemed like eternity, we finally made to our destination. We took a glimpse of the scenery outside, and there we saw thousands of tall buildings lining up next to one another. The city was still very busy and crowded. The colorful lights from buildings, stores, cars, and more, created such an awesome landscape. Everything remained the same as if it was our first day moving to America, our new home country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The passengers began to take off their sit belts and hurriedly gathered their luggage and bags, getting ready to exit the airplane. It was hot and crowded as everyone started pushing on one another in order to reach the exit as fast as possible. By the time we got out, it was a relieve for all of us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We drove in our cousins car to a small apartment in Bronx where my aunt and grandma lived. It was hard for us to adapt to a new home on our first night of sleep because the bed, the sheet, the pillows, and the smell were quite different, but after my first two days, I was able to adapt more easily to the streets around the apartment, the stores, and the people. A lot of walking was required, and soon it became one of my habits. The area in Bronx and the polluted environment are so different from the ones I know when we were still living in Queens. The neighborhoods were mostly African American, and everywhere you go, you will them see them from here to there. The street was more crowded with people shopping from stores to store. New York is famous for their cultural diversity especially their great variety of restaurants and markets such as McDonald, Thai Tea, Chinese foods, Italian spaghetti, Korean sushi, and Japanese foods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While my cousins, my sisters, and I took a train to China Town, a group of African Americans children performed their talent in front of the passengers in hope of receiving back rewards. They brought their radios and carried out a street dance style such as the locking, popping, the moon walk, and other styles that I was uncertain of. From what I witnessed, I felt that these children were wonderful and marvelous since they were using their own skills and talent to make money for their living without feeling shameful in front of passengers, who might think they were foolish. I really admired their hard work and also their courageous, but they made me feel that I have never done anything in my life to make my own money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     As we arrived to Canal street of China Town, Manhattan, a sudden shock overwhelm me after I observed the place. This was my first time visiting China Town in New York, and I must admit that this place is much more exciting and enjoyable comparing to the empty and boring one in California. China Town in Manhattan was overcrowded with Chinese immigrants and visitors walking from store to store. The streets was tightly packed, and there were so many small restaurants selling fried noodle, dim sum and seafood, and more markets for fruits, meats, fishes, and drinks. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun when they were competing over the good quality of meats and fruits, workers stood on sidewalk, trying to promote their new products and foods, and young children gathered around in the small playground of the school to play tag and swings. We passed by a market to buy meats and other ingredients for our dinner tonight. The cashier spoke a lan guage that I was certain it was Cantonese because my dad has always spoken Cantonese to me, and I was certain that she did say the phrase toe chei say, meaning to thank everyone, but I still struggled to catch her other words since she was speaking too fast.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We then stopped at a dim sum restaurant for our breakfast and spent our whole afternoon playing in the arcade and shopping in stores. That day, I experienced the most embarrassing moment of my life while taking a picture with the man who dressed as the statue of liberty. At first, I thought it was totally free of charge to take a picture with him, but afterward, he hold me back and demanded us to pay him a five dollar bill. To our surprise, both my sister and I had already spent all of our money in the arcades and the stores, and we couldnt contact our cousins, who were still shopping in the market. My heart was beating tremendously fast as people stopped by to watch us. The man gave us an angry face, but he let it go anyway.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The next day, we took a long trip in the early morning to visit the Statue of liberty, a symbol that I most feel proud of our country, but the embarrassing moment that happened in China Town somewhat annoyed me. It was extremely hot that day as if I could feel the heat singeing my face liked it was 150 degrees. As we entered the harbor in a ship, the first thing we saw was the huge Statue of Liberty, a gift given by the French, who helped our country fought in the American Revolution. The monument reminded me of the hard work and sacrifice of the soldiers who I always respect and feel proud of. All the privileges that I enjoy today such as freedom to worship my religion, express my opinion, desire the things that I want, and choose my own path and career are given by those brave soldiers. We took numerous pictures with the statue and the gleaming and beautiful harbor that surrounded it. I must admitted that this was my most favorite tour t hroughout my three weeks trip to New York. In the afternoon, we took the subway to Time square to watch the night view at night. As the sun began to fade away and day became a little cooler, we walked around and observe the wonderful and dazzling lights that made the night feel more bright and cheerful. The view was so awesome that it gave me a sense of shock but joyful, which I would never forget. We passed by the Time Square Tower, the GMC, the big McDonald and more, but we stopped by the theater to watch one of most amusing and exciting movies, G. I. Joe. For the following days, we spent most of our time with our aunt and grandma, cooking, watching funny movies, and playing Tu Sac, a four color games. The day before we left New York to return back to California, we spent the last time with our relatives at the Jones Beach. The shining sun, the sound of the waves that hit the shoreline, and the white sands were all my favorite. While relaxing under the tent, I took a moment to feel the atmosphere of the place which I could sense the feeling of joyfulness from the cool breeze and the warmness from the sun just like in California. The young ones played cards and tags and splashed themselves in the water, while the elders prepared the foods. It was an amazing and relaxing place where I could feel the bond with my relatives. There was a feeling of sadness when we had to say goodbye to everyone, but we left with a smile on our face, keeping the memories of New York especially China Town, the Statue of Liberty, Time Square, the beach, the foods, the time we spent with everyone, and finally my embarrassing moment with the man dressed like the Statue of Liberty.