Essay on Jean Piaget vs. Levy Vygotsky - 586 Words

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky both have very different yet similar views about the child and tenets within their theoretical perspectives. While Piaget sees children as ‘little scientists’, curious little discoverers who learn through the development attained at each of his four stages, Vygotsky views the child as competent and capable and that the child’s development is lead by their learning. Though Vygotsky puts greater emphasis on the sociocultural aspects of learning, both Piaget and Vygotsky consider sociocultural theory in their perspectives. The major tenets of Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory lie largely in his stages of development. Piaget sees children as â€Å"little scientists who are constantly creating and testing their†¦show more content†¦It consists of the ability to think theoretically and argue complex statements (Swift, n.d.). Piaget believed that children should be allowed to ‘explore and experiment’ as they please and through this the child will be provided with the room to expand their current knowledge about their world and the people in it (Ackermann, n.d.). In addition, this helps with the process of assimilation and accommodation, the ability to understand an idea or concept and fit it into an already existing schema such as, realising that cats and dogs are similarly furry and have four legs but are different animals. Piaget’s understanding of children is that they are only able to complete a given task when they are psychologically able which reverts back to his four developmental stages. The ages of these stages refer to times in the child’s life where he has seen children show an extensive increase in their learning and understanding (Atherton, 2011). In Te WhÄ riki (M.o.E, 2006), this is reflected on page 11 as it states that the children within the centre will be p rovided with activities to fit their age and stage of development. To Piaget, children are perceived, not as little adults, but as people with their own expanding view of the world which transform with every connection made between the people and things s/he associates with (Ackermann, n.d.). Ackermann states that Piaget saw knowledge as the experienceShow MoreRelatedLifespan Developmental Psychology: An Overview4022 Words   |  16 Pagesperspectives and theories available to understand this development. The better self-approach would be to understand all of them and apply them in their respective areas of specialization accordingly. Some of the most eminent theories in this regard are Jean Piagets Stage Theory, Lev Vygotskys Social constructivism, Albert Banduras Social learning theory, Erik Eriksons eight stages of psychosocial development and John B. Watsons and B.F. Skinners behaviorism , attachment theory describes kinds of

The Twilight Saga 4 Breaking Dawn 14. You Know Things Are Bad When … Free Essays

string(81) " rather than tying them to my leg, so I wouldn’t be smelling them, either\." 14. You Know Things Are Bad When You Feel Guilty For Being Rude To Vampires VAMPIRES When I got back to the house, there was no one waiting outside for my report. Still on alert? Everything’s cool,I thought tiredly. We will write a custom essay sample on The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 14. You Know Things Are Bad When †¦ or any similar topic only for you Order Now My eyes quickly caught a small change in the now-familiar scene. There was a stack of light-colored fabric on the bottom step of the porch. I loped over to investigate. Holding my breath, because the vampire smell stuck to the fabric like you wouldn’t believe, I nudged the stack with my nose. Someone had laid out clothes. Huh. Edward must have caught my moment of irritation as I’d bolted out the door. Well. That was†¦ nice. And weird. I took the clothes gingerly between my teeth – ugh – and carried them back to the trees. Just in case this was some joke by the blond psychopath and I had a bunch of girls’ stuff here. Bet she’d love to see the look on my human face as I stood there naked, holding a sundress. In the cover of the trees, I dropped the stinking pile and shifted back to human. I shook the clothes out, snapping them against a tree to beat some of the smell from them. They were definitely guy’s clothes – tan pants and a white button-down shirt. Neither of them long enough, but they looked like they’d fit around me. Must be Emmett’s. I rolled the cuffs up on the shirtsleeves, but there wasn’t much I could do about the pants. Oh well. I had to admit, I felt better with some clothes to my name, even stinky ones that didn’t quite fit. It was hard not being able to just jet back home and grab another pair of old sweatpants when I needed them. The homeless thing again – not having anyplace to go back to. No possessions, either, which wasn’t bothering me too bad now, but would probably get annoying soon. Exhausted, I walked slowly up the Cullens’ porch steps in my fancy new secondhand clothes but hesitated when I got to the door. Did I knock? Stupid, when they knew I was here. I wondered why no one acknowledged that – told me either to come in or get lost Whatever. I shrugged and let myself in. More changes. The room had shifted back to normal – almost – in the last twenty minutes. The big flat-screen was on, low volume, showing some chick flick that no one seemed to be watching. Carlisle and Esme stood by the back windows, which were open to the river again. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were out of sight, but I heard them murmuring upstairs. Bella was on the couch like yesterday, with just one tube still hooked into her, and an IV hanging behind the back of the sofa. She was wrapped up like a burrito in a couple of thick quilts, so at least they’d listened to me before. Rosalie was cross-legged on the ground by her head. Edward sat at the other end of the couch with Bella’s burrito’ed feet in his lap. He looked up when I came in and smiled at me – just a little twitch of his mouth – like something pleased him. Bella didn’t hear me. She only glanced up when he did, and then she smiled, too. With real energy, her whole face lighting up. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked so excited to see me. What was with her? For crying out loud, she was married] Happily married, too – there was no question that she was in love with her vampire past the boundaries of sanity. And hugely pregnant, to top it off. So why did she have to be so damn thrilled to see me? Like I’d made her whole freakin’ day by walking through the door. If she would just not care†¦ Or more than that – really not want me around. It would be so much easier to stay away. Edward seemed to be in agreement with my thoughts – we were on the same wavelength so much lately it was crazy. He was frowning now, reading her face while she beamed at me. â€Å"They just wanted to talk,† I mumbled, my voice dragging with exhaustion. â€Å"No attack on the horizon.† â€Å"Yes,† Edward answered. â€Å"I heard most of it.† That woke me up a little. We’d been a good three miles out. â€Å"How?† Tm hearing you more clearly – it’s a matter of familiarity and concentration. Also, your thoughts are slightly easier to pick up when you’re in your human form. So I caught most of what passed out there.† â€Å"Oh.† It bugged me a little, but for no good reason, so I shrugged it off. â€Å"Good. I hate repeating myself.† â€Å"I’d tell you to go get some sleep,† Bella said, â€Å"but my guess is that you’re going to pass out on the floor in about six seconds, so there’s probably no point.† It was amazing how much better she sounded, how much stronger she looked. I smelled fresh blood and saw that the cup was in her hands again. How much blood would it take to keep her going? At some point, would they start trotting in the neighbors? I headed for the door, counting off the seconds for her as I walked. â€Å"One Mississippi†¦ two Mississippi†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Where’s the flood, mutt?† Rosalie muttered. â€Å"You know how you drown a blonde, Rosalie?† I asked without stopping or turning to look at her. â€Å"Glue a mirror to the bottom of a pool.† I heard Edward chuckle as I pulled the door shut. His mood seemed to improve in exact correlation to Bella’s health. â€Å"I’ve already heard that one,’7Rosalie called after me. I trudged down the steps, my only goal to drag myself far enough into the trees that the air would be pure again. I planned to ditch the clothes a convenient distance from the house for future use rather than tying them to my leg, so I wouldn’t be smelling them, either. You read "The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 14. You Know Things Are Bad When †¦" in category "Essay examples" As I fumbled with the buttons on the new shirt, I thought randomly about how buttons would never be in style for werewolves. I heard the voices while I slogged across the lawn. â€Å"Where are you going?† Bella asked. â€Å"There was something I forgot to say to him.† â€Å"Let Jacob sleep – it can wait.† Yes, please, let Jacob sleep. â€Å"It will only take a moment.† I turned slowly. Edward was already out the door. He had an apology in his expression as he approached me. â€Å"Jeez, what now?† Tm sorry,† he said, and then he hesitated, like he didn’t know how to phrase what he was thinking. What’s on your mind, mind reader? â€Å"When you were speaking to Sam’s delegates earlier,† he murmured, â€Å"I was giving a play-by-play for Carlisle and Esme and the rest. They were concerned – â€Å" â€Å"Look, we’re not dropping our guard. You don’t have to believe Sam like we do. We’re keeping our eyes open regardless.† â€Å"No, no, Jacob. Not about that. We trust your judgment. Rather, Esme was troubled by the hardships this is putting your pack through. She asked me to speak to you privately about it.† That took me off guard. â€Å"Hardships?† â€Å"The homeless part, particularly. She’s very upset that you are all so†¦ bereft.† I snorted. Vampire mother hen – bizarre. â€Å"We’re tough. Tell her not to worry.† â€Å"She’d still like to do what she can. I got the impression that Leah prefers not to eat in her wolf form?† â€Å"And?† I demanded. â€Å"Well, we do have normal human food here, Jacob. Keeping up appearances, and, of course, for Bella. Leah is welcome to anything she’d like. All of you are.† â€Å"I’ll pass that along.† â€Å"Leah hates us.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So try to pass it along in such a way as to make her consider it, if you don’t mind.† â€Å"I’ll do what I can.† â€Å"And then there’s the matter of clothes.† I glanced down at the ones I was wearing. â€Å"Oh yeah. Thanks.† It probably wouldn’t be good manners to mention how bad they reeked. He smiled, just a little. â€Å"Well, we’re easily able to help out with any needs there. Alice rarely allows us to wear the same thing twice. We’ve got piles of brand-new clothes that are destined for Goodwill, and I’d imagine that Leah is fairly close to Esme’s size___† â€Å"Not sure how she’ll feel about bloodsucker castoffs. She’s not as practical as I am.† â€Å"I trust that you can present the offer in the best possible light. As well as the offer for any other physical object you might need, or transportation, or anything else at all. And showers, too, since you prefer to sleep outdoors. Please†¦ don’t consider yourselves without the benefits of a home.† He said the last line softly – not trying to keep quiet this time, but with some kind of real emotion. I stared at him for a second, blinking sleepily. â€Å"That’s, er, nice of you. Tell Esme we appreciate the, uh, thought. But the perimeter cuts through the river in a few places, so we stay pretty clean, thanks.† â€Å"If you would pass the offer on, regardless.† â€Å"Sure, sure.† â€Å"Thank you.† I turned away from him, only to stop cold when I heard the low, pained cry from inside the house. By the time I looked back, he was already gone. What now? I followed after him, shuffling like a zombie. Using about the same number of brain cells, too. It didn’t feel like I had a choice. Something was wrong. I would go see what it was. There would be nothing I could do. And I would feel worse. It seemed inevitable. I let myself in again. Bella was panting, curled over the bulge in the center of her body. Rosalie held her while Edward, Carlisle, and Esme all hovered. A flicker of motion caught my eye; Alice was at the top of the stairs, staring down into the room with her hands pressed to her temples. It was weird – like she was barred from entering somehow. â€Å"Give me a second, Carlisle,† Bella panted. â€Å"Bella,† the doctor said anxiously, â€Å"I heard something crack. I need to take a look.† â€Å"Pretty sure† – pant – â€Å"it was a rib. Ow. Yep. Right here.† She pointed to her left side, careful not to touch. It was breaking her bones now. â€Å"I need to take an X-ray. There might be splinters. We don’t want it to puncture anything.† Bella took a deep breath. â€Å"Okay.† Rosalie lifted Bella carefully. Edward seemed like he was going to argue, but Rosalie bared her teeth at him and growled, â€Å"I’ve already got her.† So Bella was stronger now, but the thing was, too. You couldn’t starve one without starving the other, and healing worked just the same. No way to win. Blondie carried Bella swiftly up the big staircase with Carlisle and Edward right on her heels, none of them taking any notice of me standing dumbstruck in the doorway. So they had a blood bank and an X-ray machine? Guess the doc brought his work home with him. I was too tired to follow them, too tired to move. I leaned back against the wall and then slid to the ground. The door was still open, and I pointed my nose toward it, grateful for the clean breeze blowing in. I leaned my head against the jamb and listened. I could hear the sound of the X-ray machinery upstairs. Or maybe I just assumed that’s what it was. And then the lightest of footsteps coming down the stairs. I didn’t look to see which vampire it was. â€Å"Do you want a pillow?† Alice asked me. â€Å"No,† I mumbled. What was with the pushy hospitality? It was creeping me out. â€Å"That doesn’t look comfortable,† she observed. â€Å"S’not.† â€Å"Why don’t you move, then?† â€Å"Tired. Why aren’t you upstairs with the rest of them?† I shot back. â€Å"Headache,† she answered. I rolled my head around to look at her. Alice was a tiny little thing. ‘Bout the size of one of my arms. She looked even smaller now, sort of hunched in on herself. Her small face was pinched. â€Å"Vampires get headaches?† â€Å"Not the normal ones.† I snorted. Normal vampires. â€Å"So how come you’re never with Bella anymore?† I asked, making the question an accusation. It hadn’t occurred to me before, because my head had been full of other crap, but it was weird that Alice was never around Bella, not since I’d been here. Maybe if Alice were by her side, Rosalie wouldn’t be. â€Å"Thought you two were like this.† I twisted two of my fingers together. â€Å"Like I said† – she curled up on the tile a few feet from me, wrapping her skinny arms around her skinny knees – â€Å"headache.† â€Å"Bella’s giving you a headache?† â€Å"Yes.† I frowned. Pretty sure I was too tired for riddles. I let my head roll back around toward the fresh air and closed my eyes. â€Å"Not Bella, really,† she amended. â€Å"The†¦ fetus.† Ah, someone else who felt like I did. It was pretty easy to recognize. She said the word grudgingly, the way Edward did. â€Å"I can’t see it,† she told me, though she might have been talking to herself. For all she knew, I was already gone. â€Å"I can’t see anything about it. Just like you.† I flinched, and then my teeth ground together. I didn’t like being compared to the creature. â€Å"Bella gets in the way. She’s all wrapped around it, so she’s†¦ blurry. Like bad reception on a TV – like trying to focus your eyes on those fuzzy people jerking around on the screen. It’s killing my head to watch her. And I can’t see more than a few minutes ahead, anyway. The†¦ fetus is too much a part of her future. When she first decided†¦ when she knew she wanted it, she blurred right out of my sight. Scared me to death.† She was quiet for a second, and then she added, â€Å"I have to admit, it’s a relief having you close by – in spite of the wet-dog smell. Everything goes away. Like having my eyes closed. It numbs the headache.† â€Å"Happy to be of service, ma’am,† I mumbled. â€Å"I wonder what it has in common with you†¦ why you’re the same that way.† Sudden heat flashed in the center of my bones. I clenched my fists to hold off the tremors. â€Å"I have nothing in common with that life-sucker,† I said through my teeth. â€Å"Well, there’s something there.† I didn’t answer. The heat was already burning away. I was too dead tired to stay furious. â€Å"You don’t mind if I sit here by you, do you?† she asked. â€Å"Guess not. Stinks anyway.† â€Å"Thanks,† she said. â€Å"This is the best thing for it, I guess, since I can’t take aspirin.† â€Å"Could you keep it down? Sleeping, here.† She didn’t respond, immediately lapsing into silence. I was out in seconds. I was dreaming that I was really thirsty. And there was a big glass of water in front of me – all cold, you could see the condensation running down the sides. I grabbed the cup and took a huge gulp, only to find out pretty quick that it wasn’t water – it was straight bleach. I choked it back out, spewing it everywhere, and a bunch of it blew out of my nose. It burned. My nose was on fire†¦. The pain in my nose woke me up enough to remember where I’d fallen asleep. The smell was pretty fierce, considering that my nose wasn’t actually inside the house. Ugh. And it was noisy. Someone was laughing too loud. A familiar laugh, but one that didn’t go with the smell. Didn’t belong. I groaned and opened my eyes. The skies were dull gray – it was daytime, but no clue as to when. Maybe close to sunset – it was pretty dark. â€Å"About time,† Blondie mumbled from not too far away. â€Å"The chainsaw impersonation was getting a little tired.† I rolled over and wrenched myself into a sitting position. In the process, I figured out where the smell was coming from. Someone had stuffed a wide feather pillow under my face. Probably trying to be nice, I’d guess. Unless it’d been Rosalie. Once my face was out of the stinking feathers, I caught other scents. Like bacon and cinnamon, all mixed up with the vampire smell. I blinked, taking in the room. Things hadn’t changed too much, except that now Bella was sitting up in the middle of the sofa, and the IV was gone. Blondie sat at her feet, her head resting against Bella’s knees. Still gave me chills to see how casually they touched her, though I guess that was pretty brain-dead, all things considered. Edward was on one side of her, holding her hand. Alice was on the floor, too, like Rosalie. Her face wasn’t pinched up now. And it was easy to see why – she’d found another painkiller. â€Å"Hey, Jake’s coming around!† Seth crowed. He was sitting on Bella’s other side, his arm slung carelessly over her shoulders, an overflowing plate of food on his lap. What the hell? â€Å"He came to find you,† Edward said while I got to my feet. â€Å"And Esme convinced him to stay for breakfast.† Seth took in my expression, and he hurried to explain. â€Å"Yeah, Jake – I was just checking to see if you were okay ’cause you didn’t ever phase back. Leah got worried. I told her you probably just crashed human, but you know how she is. Anyway, they had all this food and, dang,† – he turned to Edward – â€Å"man, you can cook† â€Å"Thank you,† Edward murmured. I inhaled slowly, trying to unclench my teeth. I couldn’t take my eyes off Seth’s arm. â€Å"Bella got cold,† Edward said quietly. Right. None of my business, anyway. She didn’t belong to me. Seth heard Edward’s comment, looked at my face, and suddenly he needed both hands to eat with. He took his arm off Bella and dug in. i walked over to stand a few feet from the couch, still trying to get my bearings. â€Å"Leah running patrol?† I asked Seth. My voice was still thick with sleep. â€Å"Yeah,† he said as he chewed. Seth had new clothes on, too. They fit him better than mine fit me. â€Å"She’s on it. No worries. She’ll howl if there’s anything. We traded off around midnight. I ran twelve hours.† He was proud of that, and it showed in his tone. â€Å"Midnight? Wait a minute – what time is it now?† â€Å"‘Bout dawn.† He glanced toward the window, checking. Well, damn. I’d slept through the rest of the day and the whole night – dropped the ball. â€Å"Crap. Sorry about that, Seth. Really. You shoulda kicked me awake.† â€Å"Naw, man, you needed some serious sleep. You haven’t taken a break since when? Night before your last patrol for Sam? Like forty hours? Fifty? You’re not a machine, Jake. ‘Sides, you didn’t miss anything at all.† Nothing at all? I glanced quickly at Bella. Her color was back to the way I remembered it. Pale, but with the rose undertone. Her lips were pink again. Even her hair looked better – shinier. She saw me appraising and gave me a qrin. â€Å"How’s the rib?† I asked. â€Å"Taped up nice and tight, i don’t even feel it.’7 I rolled my eyes. I heard Edward grind his teeth together, and I figured her blow-it-off attitude bugged him as much at it bugged me. â€Å"What’s for breakfast?† I asked, a little sarcastic. â€Å"O negative or AB positive?† She stuck her tongue out at me. Totally herself again. â€Å"Omelets,† she said, but her eyes darted down, and I saw that her cup of blood was wedged between her leg and Edward’s. â€Å"Go get some breakfast, Jake,† Seth said. â€Å"There’s a bunch in the kitchen. You’ve got to be empty.† I examined the food in his lap. Looked like half a cheese omelet and the last fourth of a Frisbee-sized cinnamon roll. My stomach growled, but I ignored it. â€Å"What’s Leah having for breakfast?† I asked Seth critically. â€Å"Hey, I took food to her before I ate anything† he defended himself. â€Å"She said she’d rather eat roadkill, but I bet she caves. These cinnamon rolls†¦ † He seemed at a loss for words. ‘Til go hunt with her, then.† Seth sighed as I turned to leave. â€Å"A moment, Jacob?† It was Carlisle asking, so when I turned around again, my face was probably less disrespectful than it would have been if anyone else had stopped me. â€Å"Yeah?† Carlisle approached me while Esme drifted off toward the other room. He stopped a few feet away, just a little bit farther away than the normal space between two humans having a conversation. I appreciated him giving me my space. â€Å"Speaking of hunting,† he began in a somber tone. â€Å"That’s going to be an issue for my family. I understand that our previous truce is inoperative at the moment, so I wanted your advice. Will Sam be hunting for us outside of the perimeter you’ve created? We don’t want to take a chance with hurting any of your family – or losing any of ours. If you were in our shoes, how would you proceed?† I leaned away, a little surprised, when he threw it back at me like that. What would I know about being in a bloodsucker’s expensive shoes? But, then again, I did know Sam. â€Å"It’s a risk,† I said, trying to ignore the other eyes I felt on me and to talk only to him. â€Å"Sam’s calmed down some, but I’m pretty sure that in his head, the treaty is void. As long as he thinks the tribe, or any other human, is in real danger, he’s not going to ask questions first, if you know what I mean. But, with all that, his priority is going to be La Push. There really aren’t enough of them to keep a decent watch on the people while putting out hunting parties big enough to do much damage. I’d bet he’s keeping it close to home.† Carlisle nodded thoughtfully. â€Å"So I guess I’d say, go out together, just in case. And probably you should go in the day, ’cause we’d be expecting night. Traditional vampire stuff. You’re fast – go over the mountains and hunt far enough away that there’s no chance he’d send anyone that far from home.† â€Å"And leave Bella behind, unprotected?† I snorted. â€Å"What are we, chopped liver?† Carlisle laughed, and then his face was serious again. â€Å"Jacob, you can’t fight against your brothers.† My eyes tightened. â€Å"I’m not saying it wouldn’t be hard, but if they were really coming to kill her – I would be able to stop them.† Carlisle shook his head, anxious. â€Å"No, I didn’t mean that you would be†¦ incapable. But that it would be very wrong. I can’t have that on my conscience.† â€Å"It wouldn’t be on yours, Doc. It would be on mine. And I can take it.† â€Å"No, Jacob. We will make sure that our actions don’t make that a necessity.† He frowned thoughtfully â€Å"We’ll go three at a time,† he decided after a second. â€Å"That’s probably the best we can do.† â€Å"I don’t know, Doc. Dividing down the middle isn’t the best strategy.† â€Å"We’ve got some extra abilities that will even it up. If Edward is one of the three, he’ll be able to give us a few miles’ radius of safety.† We both glanced at Edward. His expression had Carlisle backtracking quickly. â€Å"I’m sure there are other ways, too,† Carlisle said. Clearly, there was no physical need strong enough to get Edward away from Bella now. â€Å"Alice, I would imagine you could see which routes would be a mistake?† â€Å"The ones that disappear,† Alice said, nodding. â€Å"Easy.† Edward, who had gone all tense with Carlisle’s first plan, loosened up. Bella was staring unhappily at Alice, that little crease between her eyes that she got when she was stressed out. â€Å"Okay, then,† I said. â€Å"That’s settled. I’ll just be on my way. Seth, I’ll expect you back on at dusk, so get a nap in there somewhere, all right?† â€Å"Sure, Jake. I’ll phase back soon as I’m done. Unless †¦Ã¢â‚¬  he hesitated, looking at Bella. â€Å"Do you need me?† â€Å"She’s got blankets,† I snapped at him. â€Å"I’m fine, Seth, thanks,† Bella said quickly. And then Esme flitted back in the room, a big covered dish in her hands. She stopped hesitantly just behind Carlisle’s elbow, her wide, dark gold eyes on my face. She held the dish out and took a shy step closer. â€Å"Jacob,† she said quietly. Her voice wasn’t quite so piercing as the others’. â€Å"I know it’s†¦ unappetizing to you, the idea of eating here, where it smells so unpleasant. But I would feel much better if you would take some food with you when you go. I know you can’t go home, and that’s because of us. Please – ease some of my remorse. Take something to eat.† She held the food out to me, her face all soft and pleading. I don’t know how she did it, because she didn’t look older than her mid-twenties, and she was bone pale, too, but something about her expression suddenly reminded me of my mom. Jeez. â€Å"Uh, sure, sure,† I mumbled. â€Å"I guess. Maybe Leah’s still hungry or something.† I reached out and took the food with one hand, holding it away, at arm’s length. I’d go dump it under a tree or something. I didn’t want her to feel bad. Then I remembered Edward. Don’t you say anything to her! Let her think I ate it. I didn’t look at him to see if he was in agreement. He’d better be in agreement. Bloodsucker owed me. â€Å"Thank you, Jacob,† Esme said, smiling at me. How did a stone face have dimples, for crying out loud? â€Å"Urn, thank you,† I said. My face felt hot – hotter than usual. This was the problem with hanging out with vampires – you got used to them. They started messing up the way you saw the world. They started feeling like friends. â€Å"Will you come back later, Jake?† Bella asked as I tried to make a run for it. â€Å"Uh, I don’t know.† She pressed her lips together, like she was trying not to smile. â€Å"Please? I might get cold.† I inhaled deeply through my nose, and then realized, too late, that that was not a good idea. I winced. â€Å"Maybe.† â€Å"Jacob?† Esme asked. I backed toward the door as she continued; she took a few steps after me. â€Å"I left a basket of clothes on the porch. They’re for Leah. They’re freshly washed – I tried to touch them as little as possible.† She frowned. â€Å"Do you mind taking them to her?† â€Å"On it,† I muttered, and then I ducked out the door before anyone could guilt me into anything else. How to cite The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 14. You Know Things Are Bad When †¦, Essay examples

Stewardship and Governance for Hospitality Industry- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theStewardship and Governance for Hospitality Industry. Answer: Introduction The study is basically focusing on the development of the stewardship model and its application in the hospitality industry. This stewardship model which is developed by Block has prime significance in the hospitality business. The study is also reflecting on the critical justification as ell the selection of this model as the most important model for providing high quality service in hospitality industry. The study also reflects on providing deep insights and knowledge on the stewardship model which might be applied in Victoria Hotel Melbourne which is initiated in this study as well. It should also be providing description of the potential benefits and the challenges to be faced by the Victoria Hotel Melbourne in the evaluation and the application of this model as well. It is also describing that how the stewardship model introduced by Block has been applied in this hotel so that this will help in providing value to the service and not on the self interests of the employees or the other stakeholders involved in the hospitality business. Critical Justification of the Stewardship Model Stewardship is defined as the set of principles and practices which is useful in dealing with the policies and procedures or the management practices with the string sense of ownership and responsibility for the final results to be illustrated. It is the idea of control which is given to the customers and developing self reliance on all whose lives should get affected by the business organizations (Ross et al., 2016). The stewardship focuses on four set of principles or practices which involves provides high quality service to the customers, service over the self interests, participation in a team and not by individuals and the accountability and responsibility for the final outcome to be reached by any individual in business organizations as well. The stewardship requires that the individuals should be the stewards of the region or community where they live in. They should be involved in bringing out sustainability for the business. They are to be selecting service over the self int erest. It is also seen that empowerment is required for the stewardship to be working effectively and its application in Victoria Hotel Melbournes as well. The individuals should be able to respond very well in the complex situation and they should be self motivated, accountable and will be talking own responsibilities to create the best place possible in the Victoria Hotel Melbourne as well. According to Ross et al. (2016) Block has introduced the stewardship model which is changing the way the individuals should be working in any Victoria Hotel Melbournes. It is obvious that the stewardship model has been replacing the leadership as leadership only vests power into one individual by another and that individual will not be able to get the value needed it. It is seen that leadership often goes bias for the low level employees of the individuals rather than the upper level employees (Ross et al., 2016). In case of stewardship there has been might change came over the control and governance of the Victoria Hotel Melbourne involved in the development of the proper operational setting as well. In accordance with Hernandez, (2012) leadership is closely associated with management which tells that how the employees and the other stakeholders in the business were closely involved in Victoria Hotel Melbourne. Knight Landres (2013) argued that management is not so much important b ut governance is very much essential in managing and controlling the interest and the expectations of the individuals as well. It is seen that the current organizational structure do not act like this way. The stewardship model is providing greater control over the employees who are communication or interacting more with the customers on a daily basis. In accordance with Hernandez (2012) the model introduced by Block is not so much concerned with the patriarchy concept where the all levels of the Victoria Hotel Melbournes should get involved in controlling, providing consistency and predictability for the achievement of the common goal. According to Fukuyama (2013) the stewardship model is trying to involve partnership rather than patriarchy. The partnership concept introduced by this model has the co0mmand and the control system to be properly im0lemnted which should be minimizing bureaucracy and reducing the overall costs and improved customer service as well for the customers in any Victoria Hotel Melbourne as well. Analysis of the potential benefits and challenges in evaluation of this model in Victoria Hotel Melbourne The potential benefits for the adoption of the stewardship model could be the excellent control and command over the purposes and the operations. The model also helps in making effective decision making and the achievement of the predetermined objectives are done at the best level possible (CH Chan Mak, 2014). This model also provides the benefit of reducing the power of bureaucracy which develops a strong and healthy work culture by which the employees and other stakeholders could be able to work in a comprehensive manner. According to Hernandez (2012) the model also has the benefit of introducing accountability in the decisions what the lower level employees make it and they were given much more stability and freedom to have their opinions to be raised as compared with the upper level management. The challenges for the evaluation of this block model could be that there is lowering of hold of the upper level management in Victoria Hotel Melbourne which might proved to be not good for the stability and flexibility as with leadership the upper level management of this hotel is vesting power on the lower rank employees and does not support them to provide high quality services (Parris Peachey, 2013). Application of Stewardship model in Victoria Hotel Melbourne Victoria Hotel Melbourne is one of the largest and reputed hotels in Australia. Victoria Hotel Melbourne has the aim of providing high quality service to the customers so that there is excellent customer satisfaction level to be introduced (ibis-styles-the-victoria.melbournetophotels, 2018). The stewardship model introduced by Peter Block indicates that if the lower level employees are more accountable and participate much more in the decision making process, then the customer satisfaction could be achieved easily (Brunner, 2015).It is aid that if the employees of lower ranks have the more command and control over the service then the customer value will be generated which is useful. The employees should be working in partnership for achievement of the common goal as well. This model will make the employees of Victoria Hotel Melbourne to be cynic and make it involved in taking biased decisions as the cynic in a group can affect the partnership goal of the other employees working in p artnership in Victoria Hotel Melbourne (Waters, Sevick Bortree TJ Tindall, 2013). So there are high levels of cynicism to be developed from the adoption of this model. This model also indicates that the Victoria Hotel Melbourne does not perceive the top down nature of the business and the organizations at that time could not be able to implement empowerment and personal accountability which will prove to be threatening for the lower level employees. This model also provides the benefit of making the lower rank employees to become much more result oriented as compared with the upper level management of any Victoria Hotel Melbourne as well (Parris Peachey, 2013). This model also provides the power of making much more contribution as a team rather than an individual working in any Victoria Hotel Melbourne. This indicates that the employees of the hotel should be working together in order to get quick and proper results of achieving the best quality services and increasing the market share in this competitive hospitality industry. This model also contributes in better exchange of information between the upper and the lower level management in any Victoria Hotel Melbourne. In accordance with Hernandez (2012) stewardship will help in developing accountability for the results without defining the purposes of the others, do not have to control others or take care of them as well. It is obvious that the control is laid only to those team members or the employees who do not have the priority of controlling others and who are involved greatly ion work. Stewardship always gives more reliability and freedom to each and every team members and other employees in the Victoria Hotel Melbourne to have high credentials and values in the opinions they serve and keep within themselves as well. According to Fukuyama (2013) stewardship should be able to provide care to the individuals without having any control mechanisms to be able to apply on it. The ownership and responsibility are the two main elements of stewardship which provides and brings in success at every level of this hotel. The current business model for Victoria Hotel Melbourne will be providing lesser control over the individuals who are interacting more often than not with the customers as well (Hernandez, 2012).The power actually vests on the line manager or the supervisor rather than on the employees which is not justified in this model introduced by Block. The is model is in relation with providing power more to the individuals having the lower ranks and think that they should be able to control and accountable of the decisions taken rather than the upper level management (Hernandez, 2012). Conclusion From the study it is evident that the idea of stewardship has its roots in the idea of religious and environmental stewardship. It is concluded that stewardship is generally a wide and innovative concept which does not have so much of significance existed in the business model of Victoria Hotel Melbourne. It concludes that command, control and accountability are the three elements of stewardship which provides better flexibility and stability in this hotel. References Brunner, O. (2015).Land and lordship: structures of governance in Medieval Austria. University of Pennsylvania Press. CH Chan, S., Mak, W. M. (2014). The impact of servant leadership and subordinates' organizational tenure on trust in leader and attitudes.Personnel Review,43(2), 272-287. Waters, R., Sevick Bortree, D., TJ Tindall, N. (2013). Can public relations improve the workplace? Measuring the impact of stewardship on the employer-employee relationship.Employee relations,35(6), 613-629. Fukuyama, F. (2013). What is governance?.Governance,26(3), 347-368. Hernandez, M. (2012). Toward an understanding of the psychology of stewardship.Academy of Management Review,37(2), 172-193. Houghton, J. D., Neck, C. P., Krishnakumar, S. (2016). The what, why, and how of spirituality in the workplace revisited: A 14-year update and extension.Journal of Management, Spirituality Religion,13(3), 177-205. ibis-styles-the-victoria.melbournetophotels (2018). Retrieved from https://ibis-styles-the-victoria.melbournetophotels.com/en/ Knight, R. L., Landres, P. (Eds.). (2013).Stewardship across boundaries. Island Press. Parris, D. L., Peachey, J. W. (2013). A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in organizational contexts.Journal of business ethics,113(3), 377-393. Ross, A., Sherman, K. P., Snodgrass, J. G., Delcore, H. D., Sherman, R. (2016).Indigenous peoples and the collaborative stewardship of nature: knowledge binds and institutional conflicts. Routledge. Van Puyvelde, S., Caers, R., Du Bois, C., Jegers, M. (2012). The governance of nonprofit organizations: Integrating agency theory with stakeholder and stewardship theories.Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly,41(3), 431-451. Wilkinson, M. D., Dumontier, M., Aalbersberg, I. J., Appleton, G., Axton, M., Baak, A., ... Bouwman, J. (2016). The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship.Scientific data,3. Winson, S. (2017). Regulatory stewardship: voice of the regulator.Policy Quarterly,13(4).

Kone the Monospace Launch in Germany free essay sample

The German low-rise building market was divided, as in other European countries, in geared traction technology (PU and PT), and hydraulic technology (PH) that accounted for 8% and 92% respectively. KONE’s new product, MonoSpace, was mainly characterized for its new technology, the EcoDisc, which provided a more comfort ride, did not need for a machine room, and reduced energy consumption. Before the launch of MonoSpace in Germany, it was test marketed in France, United Kingdom (U. K. ) and The Netherlands. In the latest, MonoSpace was a complete success. It gave higher profits and 62% of the low-raise market (up from 52%). But in France only 40 units were sold of the 300 expected and in U. K. no units were sold during the first month after launch. Results that gave Hatala cause for concern. Finally, a pre-launch had been done: During November 1995, 4 PH customers converted their orders to MonoSpace and from January to June 1996, 30 MonoSpace elevators where arranged to be installed. We will write a custom essay sample on Kone: the Monospace Launch in Germany or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page All of them were asked to â€Å"keep quiet about the technology†. Decision to be made: Since the pricing and positioning strategy of MonoSpace will have a significant impact in KONE’s European and global image, Hatala has to decide with extreme caution each one of them. We will analyze price in deep. Alternatives: To set a price we have two alternatives, (1) to follow the indications at KONE’s Brussels headquarters: â€Å"to set prices above existing prices if KONE held less than 15% market share and in line with existing price levels if KONE otherwise† or (2) to set their own price according to the German market. Quantitative Let’s analyze each country individually. In France, the price was FF 30,000 over the price listed for a PT. This was done because it was expected to have a FF 5,000 cost reduction in energy and in consequence, be able to recover the investment in just six years. Nevertheless, it seems that this short-term gain was not enough to thrill the French market. As the market share in U. K. was above 15%, the price was to be kept in line with the most expensive geared traction. However, the PT only entailed 10% of the low-rise market and its price was almost the double than PH price, plus U. K. ontractors’ concern of leaving out the machine room for fear of a price gouging from KONE as being the only non-machine-room provider; lead to the absence of demand for the MonoSpace. On the contrary, in The Netherlands, PT and PU counted for 60% to 70% of the sales and as the in-line price for MonoSpace was set in only DG1,000 more than the most expensive geared traction elevator, allowed more customers to give a chance to this new te chnology, plus the fact that KONE was the market share leader by far. 1Most of the data is from Table D and page 6. Data from page 4. 3Data from Table C and Table E. 1Most of the data is from Table D and page 6. 2Data from page 4. 3Data from Table C and Table E. In conclusion, the suggestion given from Brussel’s managers left out the unique characteristics of each of the countries. Therefore for the case of Germany, we should take into consideration the fact that 92% of the low-rise elevators sales come from the hydraulic technology and only 2% come from the most expensive geared traction system, and that even the market share of KONE in this country is only 9. %, maybe the price should not be set above the existing ones. Qualitative: KONE Aufzug had very well identified their customers: (1) property developers –concerned mainly with the overall cost and the investment value of their properties, made the decision of which elevator to buy, 10% of the times. (2) General contractors –who sought for the more competitive offer through a competitive bidding process, made the decision 50% of the times, and (3) architects –that were more worried about the cosmetic options of the elevators. They were the ones in charge of the decision 40% of the times. Under these customers, we can see that for the general contractors, a low price, closer to the PH’s one would be more attractive. However, for the architect, it seems that the price may not be a real obstacle because they care more about the looks of the building rather than the final price of it. Recommendation amp; Rationale: After analyzing the data both quantitative and qualitatively, we have concluded that a price between both technologies would be better to introduce the MonoSpace into the German market. As we could see in the British market, a price that is more than double of the most inexpensive elevator won’t create enough interest to even ask about this new product, especially if the vast majority of the market prefers the lower price elevator. Thanks to the French’s experience, we can see that customers are not really interesting in investing in a technology that has not really been proved in the market, even when it promises a more comfortable ride, a cost reduction in energy, and the elimination of machine rooms and potential fire and environmental hazards. Finally, in the unique case that The Netherland presented, we can conclude that customers are willing to try something new and with many improvements for a small price increase. If we understand that all the elevators were priced very similarly and the market preferred the geared traction system instead of the hydraulic, we can understand why the price worked. Nevertheless, German market is a hybrid of all previous. A 92% of the lo-rise elevator sales come from the PH, leaving only 6% for PT and 2% for PU. We see that the price for the PU is DM 20,000 more than the PH. Hence, we can assume that even though the hydraulic system provided lower ride comfort and lower speed than the geared traction elevators, Germans are not willing to pay that difference to improve their experience. (Neither the British nor the French did). So a price closer to DM 60,000 of the PH would bring the most possibilities to have a success in the MonoSpace. To complete our discussion, we think that after setting the right price, it is of vital importance to generate a marketing kit that highlights the qualities of MonoSpace. It is highly recommended to create a communication strategy able to reach everyone involved in the process of buying the elevator, whereas is the final consumer or the architect that just has a building in mind. It is also important to create conscience of the MonoSpace so they have it in consideration for all upcoming projects. [ 1 ]. KONE: The MonoSpace Launch in Germany. Narayandas, D. and Swartz, G. Boston  : Harvard Business School Publishing, 2005, p. 7.

Club to catwalk

Club to catwalk Club to Catwalk, page 10Club to Catwalk: critical analysisDuring the whole period of human existence, not a single thing was changed as much as fashion. One might even say it was too pretentious and for its sake people first created and then wore the most unbelievable and incredible costumes, rose above all on high platforms and adorned everything with amazing hairstyles ... only for fashion's sake! As the saying goes "Always dress to impress, so that others would think you're also in the trend. The main peculiarities of the '80s fashion were the unique ideas of the designers. The words "NO", NOT RIGHT" simply did not exist, as everything made people gasp and take after the new trends that alighted the life of the British capitol.Some people think that during the last few years, fashion did not introduce anything brand new. Everything was well known and even predicted from year to year.Vivienne Westwood in LondonPeople are now wondering whether this is the end of fashion as we know i t, and will the pacemakers of fashion turn their attention to the long past trends of the former decades in order to get more ideas and inspiration.London Fashion of the '80s is the topic that has come to the mind of Claire Wilcox, VA's curator of the most vibrant and vivid exhibition in the past years - "Club to Catwalk. London Fashion of the '80s". One of the co-curators describes this exhibition as a showplace of the 'timely creative period that by many was unappraised and misunderstood' ('Club to Catwalk: About the Exhibition', 2013).Looking upon the subject at first glance a question arises as to why this exhibition is held now. However, Claire Wilcox answers herself, as she did in an interview to the Grazia Daily...

A company organizational struc...

A company organizational structure is a guidance to all employees by laying out the official reporting relationships representing the workflow of the company and provide clarity on specific human resources management issues, such as managerial authority and to achieve the company goals George, J. (2005). A formal outline of a companys structure makes it easier to add new positions in the company, as well, providing a flexible and ready means for growth, hence, departments can work more efficiently and have more time focusing on productive tasks. The structure refers to both the formal and informal frameworks that shape how the business is operated. However, the management must select the most suitable structure for the organization as it is not a one size fits all decision. Implementation of a formal organizational structure can also differentiate small-business operations from large-business operations. (David, 2018). This report attempts to focus on the different type of structure (functional, divisional and network structures) undertaken for each type of different organization. However, there are also elements such as work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization, decentralization and formalization which contributes to build a positive organization behavior. Functional structure is set up so that each portion of the organization is grouped according to its purpose. The functional structure is more technical orientated hence it enhances productivity level in which the organization can identify the expertise in each department. The lower level hierarchy level also gets to play a role in their responsibility, thus employees will have job satisfaction (Kalliath, 2009). Work specialization is the key structure to the organization structure. Today we use the term work specializations or division of labor, which activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs. For example, Google company adopted work specialization element, employees are carefully recruited, and they are job match each employee according to their knowledge. However, this hinders the rapid growth of the organization due to their stringent hiring process. The employees are strongly driven by the corporate culture. The organization also creates motivation to the employees by reward system and job enlargement to make sure that the employee is well engaged in the organization (Steven.L.M, 2005). However, the drawbacks to a functional structure is that it could lead to higher dysfunctional conflict and poor communication between departments which can delay the decision making, inflexibility. This type of structure is only suitable for small organization with one product or service as management can oversee the work process efficiently and maximize the employees performance (Julie. D, 2018). Starbucks had rearranged their organisation structure to improve on customer satisfaction (Shultz, 2008). The functional structure of Starbucks company is centralization of various departments or functions within the organization. By adopting functional structure using departmentalization element (geographic) each region has individual reporting managers which receives a closer managerial support for geographic needs and therefore a clear chain of command is apparent. A high degree of flexibility was used in individual department in adjusting strategies and policies to fit into various market conditions. This allows the employees to communicate effectively within the departments (George, 2005). Thus, there is presence of empowerment for the employees to make their own decisions and this gives them a sense of belonging to the organization (Starbucks, 2018). Today, with the new organizational structure, Starbucks had successfully achieved customer satisfaction and reduncies of employees are also eliminated and hence created a tensed working environment during the change of the structure. individual teams are being centralized to create an infrastructure with span of control globally within the region and hence capability and effectiveness are improved. Management can also focus more on the employees and functional activities can be design for each individual employee so the mission and goal of the organization will be shared across the organisation (Shultz, 2008).

Johnthan Edward 1703-1758 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Johnthan Edward 1703-1758 - Essay Example Such beliefs lead us all toward a common good and teach us a better way of life. Religion is also quite complex and difficult, at times, to understand. Theologians attempt to make sense of this difficult subject in an effort to bring people closer to an understanding of the divine nature of the world. While many such famous theologians come from Europe, Jonathan Edwards was born and raised right here in America and is still consider to be one the greatest and most intellectual theologians that ever lived. Jonathan Edwards lived a relatively short life of only 55 years. During his life, however, he contributed many things to American culture, and to the spiritual lives of people around the world. He was quite a smart child, entering Yale College when he was only 13 years old. At that time, Yale was still a seminary instructing students with a Biblical background. During his college years, he quickly began his career as a spiritual and theological writer and graduated as the Valedictor ian in his class. By the time he graduated, he seemed to have already formulated a philosophy of life that he would use as the foundation of his future writings that are still well read today. What follows is a brief, yet thorough, description of the theological and intellectual influence of John Edwards on America. The Writings of Jonathan Edward Jonathan Edwards spend much of his time leading various churches in the Connecticut and New York area. In early adulthood, he learned a lot from his grandfather, who was seen as a spiritual man in the New England area. His grandfather, then, had a huge influence on the philosophy that Edwards would begin to adopt through his studies at Yale and beyond. Not only did people in New England really like Edwards as a person, his great influence probably came from his writings. He wrote volumes of books in intellectual and theological topics during his all to short life. As Phillip Sinitiere wrote, â€Å"Edwards was known both from his large net work or correspondents and through his voluminous writing ministry† (744). He wrote about such concepts as the extent of sin, the importance of ethics and virtue, they dynamics of the human will, and the nature of mission work (Sinitiere 745). There are many scholars who contend that Jonathan Edwards is America’s greatest philosophical theologian. This would put him up there with such European philosophers as Martin Luther. More than being just a theologian, however, it should be pointed out the Edwards contributed a great deal to the intellect of those who read his works. His writings were both deep and profound. Many people still study his works because they are complex, yet so revealing about the world in which we live. It is amazing any time someone who lived 300 years ago is still mentioned today. Edwards is not only mentioned, but studied as if he is still around and living today. That speaks volumes of the respect he must have had while he lived, worked, and wrot e in the New England area. As people continue to study the various writings of Jonathan Edwards, they have discovered that he spoke a great deal about ethics. This conversation is still as relevant today as it was when he first wrote. Philip Quin wrote that Edwards ha â€Å"something to contribute to contemporary conversations and debates in ethics† (300). This shows us that people today are still discussing his view on ethics. Conversations about ethics are

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics - Essay Example One of the unique things I have witnessed is the nature of people who buy collectible such as sports cards or movie posters. This essay examines applied economic principles to the nature of collecting and selling collectibles. Analysis The nature of the collectible marketplace is a notable economic phenomenon. Generally people usually buy things because they have an easily identifiable reason. For instance, people buy groceries because they have to eat, and they buy shampoo because they have to clean their hair. This is different for collectibles where the reason people purchase certain things is oftentimes mysterious. People note that they collect oftentimes for enjoyment (Yumeka). But still, why would one person be willing to pay thousands of dollars for a piece of cardboard with Mickey Mantle’s picture on it, but not be willing to pay $10 dollars for just a piece of cardboard? To a large degree economic analysis offers answers to these questions of collectible prices. The o verarching area of understanding collectibles is through Mankiw’s principles. One of the Mankiw’s economic principles is that, â€Å"Markets Are Usually a Good Way to Organize Economic Activity† (â€Å"Principles of Economics†). When considering collectible prices it’s clear they are a direct reflection of the market. As indicated above the reasons people desire to buy collectibles is out of a personal or sentimental connection to the object they are buying. For instance, it’s noted that people oftentimes baseball cards because they are seeking to reconnect with the memories they had during their childhood (Douglas). Certain types of card then take on greater personal and sentimental value for people. A Mickey Mantle baseball card will carry with it a lot more sentimental value than a baseball card by a less popular player. According to Mankiw then, the invisible hand of the market will guide the price of this card in relation to the amount the market is willing to pay for it. Another important consideration is Mankiw’s principle that â€Å"People Respond to Incentives† (â€Å"Principles of Economics†). Within the collectible market this is an important principle that influences price and collector involvement. While people oftentimes are drawn to buying collectibles because they have an interest in the specific item, there is also the hope for many people that the item they buy will increase in value. It’s noted that baseball cards have been considered a viable alternative to investing in stocks (Bullock). In these regards, the collectibles market is made complicated as people who buy the item out of personal interests and people who buy it out of economic interests clash and combine. Consider the nature of a very rare movie poster. While the poster may not be as attractive as a poster one could purchase from Wal-Mart, it still sells for a considerable amount more money. This is related to Mankiw’s principle of incentives in part because people recognize that there are some people who desire the poster for a personnel connection to it; however, they also recognize that since the poster is rare there is only a limited quantity. In this way people are willing to buy the poster because they will be able to sell it to others at a premium because the poster is not easily found. Conclusion In conclusion, this essay has examined the phenomenon of collectible sales in terms of two of

Apache Corporation Essay Example for Free

Apache Corporation Essay Apache Corporation was formed in 1954, based on the idea of becoming significant and prosperous in the oil industry. The company took $250,000 of investor capital, paired it with fierce determination and now Apache Corporation is considered one of the top independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world (Apachecorp.com, 2012). Apache Corporation operates in both domestic and international markets exploring for, developing, and producing natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids (Apachecorp.com, 2012). On December 31, 2011, the Company had production in the United States, Canada, Egypt, and Australia. Offshore production exists in the United Kingdom, the North Sea, and Argentina. Looking into the future Apache plans to continue to explore other countries for new discoveries and development opportunities (Apachecorp.com, 2012). Environment The success of any business depends on the ability to adapt to the environment it operates in. As part of the oil and gas industry Apache Corporation operates in a global business environment known for its competitiveness. The company has shown growth in production thirty one of the last thirty three years and throughout those years change has been a constant companion. Wide swings in oil prices have become commonplace in the world today, the price of a barrel of oil changes almost daily. Operating in other countries means that political unrest and changes in government policies must be addressed, as well as oil industry regulations that are constantly evolving. Apache Corporation has withstood the changes in business environment for 57 years and remains committed to successfully embracing the changes yet to come. Technology Over the last 10 years the most significant technological advance for the industry has been the coupling of horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing techniques. This new method allows the development of resources that are trapped in shale and other areas that have been nearly impossible to mine in the past. Apache Corporation now applies this technology worldwide (Apachecorp.com, 2012). This method is also used by nearly all other companies in the industry including the comparison companies Devon and Anadarko. Financial Health According to the 2011 Apache Corporation Annual Report the company showed a profit for the year and the debt ratio is 0.22. One top competitor Anadarko Petroleum located in San Antonio Texas has a debt ratio of .65 and showed a loss for the 2011 year (Hoovers, 2012). A second top competitor Devon Energy located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma had a better year in 2011, this company did show a profit and their debt ratio is 0.48 (â€Å"Hoovers†, 2012). Within the gas and oil industry the overall financial status of Apache Corporation is sound. Working in a high risk industry the production risks are balanced by both geographic diversification and a mix of high and low risk properties in the portfolio (Hoovers, 2012). With approximately 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserve Apache Corporation is positioned to maintain their current momentum. The natural gas product is sold most often at current market prices while the crude oil is marketed directly to integrated marketers and refineries. Contract terms are generally 30 days with automatic renewal until canceler at current market prices which change almost daily (Apachecorp.com, 2012). Apache Corporation has been exploring for and producing oil and gas products for over 50 years. The company has been successful and appears to be a sound investment. In this analysis we have reviewed the business environment, financial health and use of technology for Apache Corporation for the purpose of deciding whether or not to invest in the company. References http://www.apachecorp.com/Resources/Upload/file/investors/Apache_AR_2011.pdf Hoovers. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.hoovers.com/company/Apache_Corporation/rfrtif-1-1njea3.html Hoovers. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.hoovers.com/company/Devon_Energy_Corporation/rrxkxi-1-1njea5.html

Hemmingway-hills Like White El Essay -- essays research papers

Writing styles changed drastically from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. The nineteenth century had authorial intervention and authors wrote about things they had never experienced, where as the twentieth century had a lot of hidden symbols and images and writings were more generally based on events in which the authors had been a part of. Many people thought these “hard to understand writings would be a temporary phase of literature, but authors such as Ernest Hemingway wrote in such a branding way that this writing style has been a constant example of a powerful literary expression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemingway was one of the best users of symbols and images. In the story Hills Like White Elephants, he has hidden symbols behind almost everything in the story. The main symbol in this story is the abortion. This is known in the story as the “simple operation.'; The whole story is about this couple that is considering an abortion. Each little part of the abortion is another symbol. The “white elephants'; showed something they didn’t want, in this case the baby. Even the smallest things, like the alcohol, symbolized old ways (beer) and something new (Anes del Toro) in the two peoples relationship.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This story also gives you images of the happenings going on in the story. “The station between two lines of rails'; gave you ...

Groups marginalised in Society Essay

One of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society are people with an intellectual disability. Developmentally delayed individuals need a wide range of leisure programmes to choose from. The principle of Normalization has led to equal rights for people with special needs. Providing people with inclusive leisure programmes with non-disabled persons assists with their socialisation. However, lack of tolerance in the community at large, financial constraints, difficulties in accessing transport as well as skill deficiencies can inhibit some people from participating (Paterson & Taylor, 2002). People with disabilities often feel isolated, with little support from family and friends. This can inhibit them from being able to attend recreational activities. It is important that changes of attitude occur in mainstream society to assist the person with a disability to achieve a ‘better quality of life’. (Patterson & Taylor, 2001). Marginalised groups often are stigmatised, discriminated against and excluded from society. (Goffman,1997). This is certainly the case for people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Negative community responses, especially fear of HIV, often leave the person in despair and with lowered of self-esteem (Edington et al, 1998). They have to cope with loss of employment and rejection by members of professional and social networks and as a result they feel isolated and impoverished. The Aids Council of New South Wales (ACON) has responded by offering individual programmes as well as a network of social groups for leisure activities. A caseworker from AC (Aids Council) explained that it is extremely difficult for the HIV/AIDS affected person to participate in ‘mainstream’ activities because of negative attitudes and stigmatisation. Poverty is disproportionately high amongst minority and ethnic groups. Issues such as discrimination in finding employment, accessing education and training prevents individuals from achieving success. One study by Vescio et al, 1999, investigated sports participation and attitudes towards girls attending high schools in Sydney. It was found that participation by girls from non-English speaking backgrounds was significantly lower than those of Anglo-Australian culture. Barriers experienced by the girls included language, cultural and religious aspects. Cultural differences, prejudice,  discrimination and ignorance of ethnic groups often lead to isolation (Hibbins, 1998). These factors greatly inhibit ethnic communities from participating in leisure activities. Society needs to become more understanding of cultural diversity and tolerance of religious difference. Goffman, E, 1997, Selections from Stigma. In The disability studies reader, ed., L. Davis, Routledge, London, pp.203-215. Hibbins, R., 1998, Leisure and ethnic diversity in Australia. In Tourism, leisure and sport: Critical perspectives, eds.D. Rowe & G. Lawrence. Hodder Education. Sydney, pp.100-111. Patterson, I., & Taylor, T., 2001, Celebrating inclusion and diversity in leisure. Vescio, J.A., Taylor, T., Toohey, T., 1999, An exploration of sports participation by girls from a non-English speaking backgrounds.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 40

Matt and Mrs. Flowers were in the bunker – the addition to the house that Mrs. Flowers's uncle had put onto the back for woodwork and other hobbies. It had fallen into even more neglect than the rest of the house, being used as a storage space for things Mrs. Flowers didn't know where else to put – such as Cousin Joe's folding cot and that old sagging couch that didn't match a stick of furniture inside anymore. Now, at night, it was their haven. No child or adult from Fell's Church had ever been invited inside. In fact, except for Mrs. Flowers, Stefan – who'd helped move large furniture into it – and now Matt, no one had even been in for as long as Mrs. Flowers could remember. Matt clung to this. He had been, slowly but surely, reading through the material Meredith had researched and one precious excerpt had meant a lot to him and Mrs. Flowers. It was the reason they were able to sleep at night, when the voices came. The kitsune is often thought to be a sort of cousin to Western vampires, seducing chosen men (as most fox spirits take on a female form) and feeding directly on their chi, or life spirit, without the intermediary of blood. Thus one may make a case that they are bound by similar rules to the vampire. For example, they cannot enter human dwellings without invitation†¦ And oh, the voices†¦ He was profoundly glad now that he'd taken Meredith and Bonnie's advice and gone to Mrs. Flowers's first before going home. The girls had convinced him he'd only be putting his parents in danger by facing up to the lynch mob that awaited him, ready to kill him for allegedly assaulting Caroline. Caroline seemed to have found him at the boardinghouse immediately, anyway, but she never brought any kind of mob with her. Matt thought that perhaps it was because that would have been useless. He had no idea what might have happened if the voices had belonged to ex-friends long ago invited to his house while he was at home. Tonight†¦ â€Å"Come on, Matt,† Caroline's voice, lazy, slow, and seductive purred. It sounded as if she were lying down, speaking into the crack under the door. â€Å"Don't be such a spoilsport. You know you have to come out sometime.† â€Å"Let me talk to my mom.† â€Å"I can't, Matt. I told you before, she's undergoing training.† â€Å"To be like you?† â€Å"It takes a lot of work to get to be like me, Matt.† Suddenly Caroline's tone was not flirtatious any longer. â€Å"I bet,† Matt muttered, and added, â€Å"You hurt my family and you're going to be sorrier than you can imagine.† â€Å"Oh, Matt! Come on, get real. Nobody is going to hurt anybody.† Matt slowly opened his hands to look at what he had clenched between them. Meredith's old revolver, filled with the bullets blessed by Obaasan. â€Å"What is Elena's middle name?† he asked – not loudly, even though there were the sounds of music and dancing in Mrs. Flowers's backyard. â€Å"Matt, what are you talking about? What are you doing in there, making a family tree?† â€Å"I asked you a simple question, Care. You and Elena played since you were practically babies, right? So what is her middle name?† A flurry of activity. When Caroline finally answered he could clearly hear the whispered coaching, as Stefan had heard so long ago, just a beat before her words. â€Å"If all you're interested in is playing games, Matthew Honeycutt, I'll go find someone else to talk to.† He could practically hear her flounce away. But he felt like celebrating. He allowed himself a whole graham cracker and half a cup of Mrs. Flowers's homemade apple juice. They never knew when they might be locked in here for good, with only the supplies they had, so whenever Matt went out of the bunker he brought back as many things as he could find that might be useful. A barbeque lighter and hairspray equaled a flame thrower. Jar after jar of Mrs. Flowers's delicious preserves. Lapis rings in case the worst happened and they ended up with pointy teeth. Mrs. Flowers turned in her sleep on the couch. â€Å"Who was that, Matt dear?† she asked. â€Å"Nobody at all, Mrs. Flowers. You just go back to sleep.† â€Å"I see,† Mrs. Flowers said in her sweet-old-lady voice. â€Å"Well, if nobody at all comes back you might ask her her own mother's first name.† â€Å"I see,† Matt said in his best imitation of her voice and then they both laughed. But underneath his laughter there was a lump in his throat. He had known Mrs. Forbes a long time, too. And he was scared, scared of the time that it would be Shinichi's voice calling. Then they were going to be in trouble for good. â€Å"There it is,† shouted Sage. â€Å"Elena!† screamed Meredith. â€Å"Oh, God!† screamed Bonnie. The next instant, Elena was thrown, and something landed on top of her. Dully, she heard a cry. But it was different from the others. It was a choking sound of pure pain as Bloddeuwedd's beak thunked into something made of flesh. Me, Elena thought. But there was no pain. Not†¦me? There was a coughing sound above her. â€Å"Elena – go – my shields – won't hold – â€Å" â€Å"Damon! We'll go together!† Hurts†¦ It was just the shadow of a telepathic whisper and Elena knew Damon didn't think she'd heard it. But she was circling her Power faster and faster, done with deception, caring only about getting those she loved out of danger. I'll find a way, she told Damon. I'll carry you. Fireman's lift. He laughed at that, giving Elena some hope that he wasn't dying. Now Elena wished she'd taken Dr. Meggar in the carriage with them so he could use his healing powers on the injured – – and then what? Leave him to the mercies of Bloddeuwedd? He wants to build a hospital here, in this world. He wants to help the children, who surely don't deserve all the evils that I've seen visited on them – She shunted the thoughts aside. This was no time for a philosophical debate about doctors and their obligations. It was time to run. Reaching behind her, she found two hands. One was slick with blood so she reached farther, thanking her late mother for all the ballet lessons, all the children's yoga, and she grabbed the sleeve above it. And then she put her back into it and pulled. To her surprise she hauled Damon up with her. She tried to heft him farther up on her back, but that didn't work. And then she even managed a wobbly step forward, and another – And then Sage was there picking both of them up and they were going into the lobby of the building of the Shi no Shi. â€Å"Everyone, get out! Get out! Bloddeuwedd's after us and she'll kill anything in her way!† Elena shouted. It was the strangest thing. She hadn't meant to shout. Hadn't formulated the words, except perhaps in the deepest parts of her subconscious. But she did shout them into the already frenzied lobby and she heard the cry taken up by others. What she didn't expect was that they would run, not out into the street, but down toward the cells. She ought to have, of course, but she hadn't. And then she felt herself and Sage and Damon going down, down the way they had last night†¦ But was it really the right way? Elena clamped one hand over the other and saw, judging by foxlight, that they needed to head off to the right. â€Å"WHAT ARE THOSE CELLS TO THE RIGHT OF US? HOW DO WE GET THERE?† she shouted to the young vampire gentleman next to her. â€Å"That's Isolation and Mentally Disturbed,† the vampire gentleman shouted back. â€Å"Don't go that way.† â€Å"I have to! Do I need a key?† â€Å"Yes, but – â€Å" â€Å"Do you have a key?† â€Å"Yes, but – â€Å" â€Å"Give it to me now!† â€Å"I can't do that,† he wailed in a way that reminded her of Bonnie at her most difficult. â€Å"All right. Sage!† â€Å"Madame?† â€Å"Send Talon back to peck this man's eyes out. He won't give me the key to Stefan's ward!† â€Å"As good as done, Madame!† â€Å"W-wait! I cha-changed my mind. Here's the key!† The vampire fished through a ring of keys and handed one to her. It looked like the other keys on his ring. Too much alike, Elena's suspicious mind said. â€Å"Sage!† â€Å"Madame !† â€Å"Can you wait till I pass with Saber? I want him to tear the you-know-what off this guy if he's lied to me.† â€Å"Of course, Madame!† â€Å"W-w-w-wait,† gasped the vampire. It was clear that he was completely terrified. â€Å"I may – may have given you the wrong key – in this – this light – â€Å" â€Å"Give me the right key and tell me anything I need to know or I'll have the dog backtrack you and kill you,† Elena said, and at that moment, she meant it. â€Å"H-here.† This time the key didn't look like a key. It was round, slightly convex, with a hole in the middle. Like a donut that's been sat on by a police officer, part of Elena's mind said, and began laughing hysterically. Shut up, she told her mind sharply. â€Å"Sage!† â€Å"Madame?† â€Å"Can Talon see the man I'm holding by the hair?† She had to go on tiptoe to grasp him. â€Å"But of course, Madame!† â€Å"Can she remember him? If I can't find Stefan I want her to show him to Saber so he can track him.† â€Å"Uh†¦ah†¦got it, Madame!† A hand, dripping blood from the wrist, lifted a falcon high, at the same time as there was a serendipitous crash from the top of the building. The vampire was almost sobbing. â€Å"Turn r-right at the n-next right. Use the k-key in the slot at h-head height to g-get into the corridor. There m-may be guards there. But†¦if – if you don't have a key to the individual cell you want – I'm sorry, but – â€Å" â€Å"I do! I have the cell key and I know what to do after that! Thank you, you've been very kind and helpful.† Elena let go of the vampire's hair. â€Å"Sage! Damon! Bonnie! Look for a corridor, locked, going right. Then don't get swept away. Sage, hold Bonnie and have Saber bark like crazy. Bonnie, hold on to Meredith in front of the guys. The corridor leads to Stefan!† Elena never knew how much any one of her allies heard of this message, sent by voice and telepathy. But ahead she heard a sound that to her was like choirs of angels singing. Saber was barking madly. Elena would never have been able to stop by herself. She was in a raging river of people and the raging river was taking her right around the barrier made by four people, a falcon, and a mad-seeming dog. But eight hands reached out to her as she was swept by – and a snarling, snapping muzzle leaped ahead of her to divide the crowd. Somehow she was being run into, bruised, cradled, shoved, and, grasped and grasping, forced all the way to the right wall. But Sage was looking at that same wall in despair. â€Å"Madame, he tricked you! There is no keyhole here!† Elena's throat went raw. She prepared to shout, â€Å"Saber, heel,† and go after the vampire. But then, just below her, Bonnie's voice said, â€Å"Of course there is. It's shaped like a circle.† And Elena remembered. Smaller guards. Like imps or monkeys. Bonnie's size. â€Å"Bonnie, take this! Shove it into the hole. Be careful! It's the only one we've got.† Sage immediately directed Saber to stand and snarl just ahead of Bonnie in the tunnel, to keep the stream of panicked demons and vampires from jostling her. Carefully, solemnly, Bonnie took the large key, examined it, cocked her head, turned it in her hands – and placed it in the wall. â€Å"Nothing's happening!† â€Å"Try turning or pushing – â€Å" Click. The door slid open. Elena and her group more or less fell into the corridor, while Saber stood between them and the herd pounding by, barking and snapping and leaping. Elena, lying on the ground, legs entwined with who-knew-who-else's, cupped a hand around her ring. The fox eyes shone straight ahead and a bit to the right. They were shining into a cell ahead.

Most Lopsided Presidential Elections

Most Lopsided Presidential Elections The most lopsided president election in U.S. history was Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelts 1936 victory against  Republican Alfred M. Landon. Roosevelt won 98.5 percent or 523 of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs that year. Such a lopsided president election is unheard of in modern history. But Roosevelts victory is by no means the only lopsided presidential election. Republican Ronald Reagan won the most electoral votes of any president in history, 525. But that was after seven more electoral votes were added to the prize. His 525 electoral votes represented 97.6 percent of all 538 electoral votes. Definition of a Lopsided President Election In presidential elections, a landslide election is generally agreed to be one in which the winning candidate secures at least 375 or 70 percent of the 538 electoral votes in the Electoral College. For purposes of this article, we are using electoral votes as a measure and not the popular vote. It is possible to win the popular vote and lose the presidential race, as happened in the 2000 and 2016 elections because of the way electoral votes are distributed by states.  A landslide presidential election, in other words, may not always result in a similarly wide margin in popular vote because many U.S. states award electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis to the candidate who wins the popular vote in their state. Using the standard definition of a landslide victory in presidential politics, when one candidate wins at least 375 electoral votes, heres list of contested presidential races that were among the most lopsided in American history. Note: President Donald Trumps 2016 electoral victory does not qualify as a lopsided victory as he won only 306 electoral votes. Democrat Hillary Clinton won 232 electoral votes but carried the popular vote. List of Landslide Presidential Elections Under that standard definition, the following presidential elections would qualify as Electoral College landslides: 1996: Democrat Bill Clinton won 379 electoral votes against Republican Bob Dole, who received only 159 electoral votes.1988: Republican George H.W. Bush won 426 electoral votes against Michael S. Dukakis, who received only 111.1984: Republican Ronald Reagan won 525 electoral votes against Democrat Walter Mondale, who got only 13 electoral votes.1980: Reagan won 489 electoral votes against Democrat Jimmy Carter, who got only 49 electoral votes.1972: Republican Richard Nixon won 520 electoral votes against Democrat George S. McGovern, who got only 17 electoral votes.1964: Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson got 486 electoral votes against Republican Barry M. Goldwater, who got only 52 electoral votes.1956: Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower got 457 electoral votes against Democrat Adlai Stevenson, who got only 73 electoral votes.1952: Eisenhower got 442 electoral votes against Stevenson, who got only 89 electoral votes.1944: Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt got 432 electoral votes against Republican Thomas E. Dewey, who got only 99 electoral votes. 1940: Roosevelt got 449 electoral votes against Republican Wendell L. Wilkie, who got only 82 electoral votes.1936: Roosevelt got 523 electoral votes against Republican Alfred M. Landon, who got only 8 electoral votes.1932: Roosevelt got 472 electoral votes against Republican Herbert C. Hoover, who got only 59 electoral votes.1928: Republican Herbert C. Hoover got 444 electoral votes against Democrat Alfred E. Smith, who got only 87 electoral votes.1924: Republican Calvin Coolidge got 382 electoral votes against Democrat John W. Davis, who got only 136 electoral votes.1920: Republican Warren G. Harding got 404 electoral votes against Democrat James M. Cox, who got only 127 electoral votes.1912: Democrat Woodrow Wilson got 435 electoral votes against Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, who got only 88 electoral votes.

Criminal case of Florida vs Jamarco Stafford Term Paper

Criminal case of Florida vs Jamarco Stafford - Term Paper Example The case of Jamarco Stafford and James Adams reflect a phase in the lives of human beings where crime seems to have taken a major role in changing an entire scenario of a family from happiness to a shattered stage of living. The families of Jamarco Stafford and James Adams could be realized to be in such a stage after they lost their children and faced their other children spending days and nights in jail. Murder being a heinous and harsh crime has been found to encounter several laws and charges. Yet, the society seems to be unable to control human beings from taking up such dreadful measures. Particularly, in the modern times, the younger generation seems to be more violent in nature and getting involved in incidents of murders (Holinger, 1994, p.21) as in the case of Jamarco Stafford and James Adams also get presented. The story of Jamarco Stafford and James Adams presents a case where these two friends who were extremely close friends, growing up together, attending places and events together, eventually betrayed each other when both killed each other’s brothers. Adams had killed the brother of Stafford on demand of a gun. The resistances on the earlier murder created confrontations that led to a second murder of Lavoris Adams who was the brother of James, by Stafford. The incident shattered the lives of these two families and the two young kids had to spend their lives in jail. The incidents were shocking and unexpected since these two kids had grown up together and were the closest of friends (Lebovich, n.d.).... The incidents were shocking and unexpected since these two kids had grown up together and were the closest of friends (Lebovich, n.d.). In the recent years murders or killing by adolescents have rapidly increased in rate. This has eventually created difficulties for â€Å"law enforcement personnel†, as well as other people who are involved in the social or health welfare of common people, the educators, members of families and the peer groups (Heckel & Shumaker, 2001, p.xix). Particularly in cases of adolescent killings it becomes highly difficult to judge the causes behind the act. The young generations are unable to explain their thoughts, their reasons, and are confusing and unaware of the consequences of such actions. Many times they attempt such acts from utter immaturity and impatience (Heckel & Shumaker, 2001, p.xix). Criminal laws are also applicable on the adolescents who execute such heinous crimes. In fact, the number of prisoners from adolescents seems to be rising more than adult prisoners. Juvenile murderers are also treated like adults since laws have now initiated measures not to be partial in such cases, instead criminals should tried as made by the law. The adolescents who have been found to be involved in murders reflect that the number of males in the records is much higher than there are females in the same record (Worell, 2001, p.617). Criminal law and its theories are highly significant in the context of adolescent killing. It has been observed that a criminal law theory may be different from other laws thus making the criminal law theory a unique theory in its context (Moore, 2010, p.8). In most cases the causes of a crime would not be able to be explained by common people. However, several researchers have

Immigration Reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Immigration Reform - Research Paper Example On June 15, 2012, with immediate effect, the Obama administration declared that the administration would not deport young illegal immigrants arrived in the US as children. To speak precisely, the illegal immigrants will get work permit if they have arrived in the US before age 16 and the current age of the applicant is less than 30. They may also be granted work permit if they have been living in this country for 5 years uninterruptedly, have graduated from a US high school, or have served in the military. Above all, it is necessary that they do not have any criminal history during the stay in the US. Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security further clarified, "It is not immunity; it is not amnesty. It is an exercise of discretion," (Peralta and Memmott, 2012). This implies that the State is using its discretion powers and allowing people to apply for job permits. In this policy measure, the government decides to bypass Congress because of their inability to enforce the Dream Act that has provision of granting citizenship to illegal immigrants provided they serve in the military or go to college. For many undocumented children, English is their first language and the US is their home. Many of these illegal immigrants are in the process of completing schooling with the top grades. They do have the potential of becoming future teachers, nurses, doctors and scientists but their illegal status comes in their way. The Presidents initiative will give them an opportunity to exploit their full potential. The initiative is aimed at achieving the following objectives (American Immigration Council, 2012). a. Initiative provides opportunity not only to enhance their living standards but contribute to the US economy by increasing its GDP and tax contributions. It has been found that those with higher degrees earn two to three times more than a person with only high-school degree