Equity and Trusts Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Equity and Trusts Assignment - Case Study Example The second general point is that in order for any trust provision to be valid, it must comply with the rule set out in Knight v Knight2 by Lord Langdale MR. This states that there must be three certainties in the trust provision, certainty of words, certainty of subject matter and certainty of objects.3 The certainty of words requirement was described in Re Kayford Ltd.4 as being akin to a certainty of intention. The intention is to impose a mandatory obligation on the trustees of how the trust property is to be dealt with. Regarding certainty of subject matter I do no see any issues. English law has long recognised the distinction between real and personal property, with real property being land, interests in land, and fixtures.6 Coupled with the condition that the property be in England and Wales, this description would allow for a clear identification of the trust property. Per Ungoed-Thomas, in Re Golay7 as long as property is capable of ascertainment, it will be valid. Regarding certainty of objects, if this is a discretionary trust then the requirement, as set out by the House of Lords in Macphail v Doulton8 is that it must be possible to determine whether any individual is within the class of beneficiaries or not, with absolute certainty. The Court of Appeal further clarified this requirement by stating9 that what was required with a discretionary trust was 'conceptual certainty' of the class. 'Evidential certainty' would then only be required for the members of the class that were actually to benefit, and the rest of the class, or the 'complete list' of beneficiaries need not be defined. However, since it states that the proceeds are to be distributed equally, it could also be a fixed trust, in which case the stricter requirement, known as 'complete list' certainty is required10. This means that there must be 'conceptual certainty' regarding who is or can potentially be a beneficiary. As well as this, there must be 'evidential certainty' identifying clearly, every single member of the class. Only if full certainty is present in both of these senses, will the trust be upheld as certain of objects. In this case, it should not be too difficult to establish who are the grandchildren of Marcus and therefore this provision should be successful. My shares in Delta to be sold and the proceeds, at the discretion of my trustees, to the employees and ex-employees of Delta. According to the beneficiary principle, 'for a trust to be valid it must be for the benefit of individuals'.11 This follows the simple logic that without beneficiaries, there is no owner of the property. This is the basic reason why purpose trusts, trusts that have as their goal some purpose other than the direct benefit of persons, are also invalid. However, in Re Denley's Trust Deed12 it was held that the maintenance of property for the benefit of

Second language acquisition Essay Example for Free

Second language acquisition Essay Study: To access the impact of anxiety and age on second language learning. Method A personal information questionnaire was first provided to two classes (34) of adults studying in the second semester of a migrant English program, all of whom had undertaken an oral exam within their English program two weeks earlier. From this corpus of 40 questionnaire responses only 7 were selected for this study, based on the fact that they had no knowledge of English prior to arriving and the length of time they had been living in America. Subjects The subjects chosen were all females and all were over the age of 25. Their time living in America varied between 6 months and 1 year but none had learnt or been able to speak or understand English prior to their arrival in America. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed for this purpose. The questionnaire consists of 10 items on a five-point Likert type scale. The items reflect the oral situations the subjects were likely to encounter within their study program. Results Table 1 below provides the results of the questionnaire by subjects ordered by age and numbered 1-7. Table 1: Subject/ age Q. 1 Q. 2 Q. 3 Q. 4 Q. 5 Q. 6 Q. 7 Q. 8 Q. 9 Q. 10 Oral Exam Score 1 (25yrs) Korean 5 5 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 2 48/100 2 (27yrs) Spanish 5 5 4 2 3 3 3 3 3 1 72/100 3 (32yrs) Russian 5 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 71/100 4 (36yrs) Spanish 5 5 4 1 3 3 4 3 3 2 66/100 5 (44yrs) Russian 5 5 4 2 3 4 3 4 3 2 53/100 6 (48yrs) Russian 5 5 4 2 4 4 4 4 3 1 47/100 7 (51yrs) Spanish 5 5 4 1 4 4 3 4 4 1 47/100 Discussion This qualitative data shows that talking in front of the class and answering teacher’s questions cause the most anxiety with all 7 feeling extreme anxiety in these two situations. The situation causing least anxiety for all is when they speak to their English teacher in an informal situation. Similarly, the table indicates low anxiety levels for 5 out of 7 subjects in group discussions. An interesting point to note is that anxiety levels proved lower overall when subjects were participating in a one to one situation with their teacher, even under test conditions, in contrast to situations where they were performing in front of their peers. Results also show that correction by the teachers whether for grammar or pronunciation does cause anxiety, whether it be moderately of very for all subjects. Results also indicate that anxiety increased with age with the one exception of subject 1 – the youngest but as anxious as the two eldest subjects. The same results are found in relation to scores received on their oral English exams, scores decreased with age and anxiety levels with the exception of subject 1. It should be noted that subject 1 is the only Asian participant, which may be a factor in her being the exception as all others were of Russian or Spanish descent. APPENDIX Questionnaire. Fill in the circles according to how anxious you feel when you speak English in the following situations. 1: not at all 2: slightly 3: moderately 4: very 5: extremely Situation Anxiety level 1. The teacher asks me a question and I have to answer in English O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 2. Having to talk or present by myself in front of the class O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 3. Taking part in a role-play in front of the class O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 4. Taking part in a group discussion in the class O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 5. When the teacher corrects my grammar O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 6. When the teacher corrects my pronunciation O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5. 7. When I think other classmates are criticizing my English O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 8. When undertaking an oral test O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 9. Asking English teacher for advice O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 10. Speaking informally to my English teacher O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5. APPENDIX Personal Information Name: _____________________________________ Age: _______________ Address: _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Place of birth: ______________________________________________ Years living in America: __________ Age you arrived in America: _________ Nationality: _____________________ Score in school oral exam: _________.

Falling Down Essay -- essays papers

Falling Down The 1993 film falling down provides a look into two separate men’s lives in the course of one day. Although the movie was highly acclaimed for it’s portrayal of the new human situation, the covert and overt racism, sexism, and classism leave a sour taste in this viewer’s mouth. The movie comes across as a lame attempt to show the â€Å"White man’s ever growing burden.† The audience is expected to feel a compassion for both lead characters. The message that is supposed to be portrayed is similar to films of today such as fight club and American beauty. All three pointing at what they see as specific flaws yet offering up no real solutions to these problems. With these flaws in this system pointed out Michael Douglas’ character William Foster is held up as a martyr. He is not portrayed as a real villain through out the story. Both men feel the strain of society the difference is the way each chooses to express this frustration. The first scene both main characters are stuck in a huge traffic jam. Sick of waiting William Foster leaves his car in search of a way to â€Å"come home† to his wife. After leaving his car the second main character, Detective Pendergast, is shown commenting that it is his last day on the force. The two are contrasted Pendergast is able to work within societies boundaries while Bill has rejected the society that has rejected him. In this time there is an obvious comparison between the two that will become reoccurring through out the ...

Why Do People Migrate :: Migration Moving Immigation Globalization Essays

Looking up in the sky from Tempe Town Lake, there is a steady stream of airplanes on their final approach into Sky Harbor Airport. Nothing stops the forward progression of these metal birds and just as the sun disintegrates over the horizon, the crafts disappear turning into a string of lights. The same effect happens to the valley roads, painted with a multicolor of automobiles, constantly on the move and turning into red and white blurred dots after sunset. People on the move, coming and going to unknown destinations, prompting the question what kind of migrations are involved with one person to the next? Are they transmigrating, immigrating or emigrating, the ever twisting tie of migrating bows, so what is the driving force behind daily migration? Another questioned raised by such activities would be why exactly are so many people continuously moving from one area to another? To answer some of these inquiries it would be important to understand the need for T.I.E.†™s in cultures and the money hungry corporations and countries, representing the tuxedo, that inflicted colonialism and assimilation towards many peoples ways of living. For an economy built on reciprocity or gift society, before the influence of western ideas there really is no monumental value of the all mighty dollar. The key word, however, comes with the introduction of western influences. Money begins to take over the simple idea of having a precious commodity to be traded with a neighbor who has something that can complete a basic need. Within the Tongan society there was the breakdown in reciprocity when it came to land issues and other shared items within the community. This eventually forced some people to transmigrate and immigrate to other countries to find ways to secure peaceful retirements. These seekers of another way of life may have started a minor assimilation of the Tongan culture when salaries were generated from their travels and sent back to their economy. The situation presented by the Tongan’s was developed more by their own current problems with population growth. However, this is not as drastic as the underdevel opment of third world countries, such as, Mexico forcing migration or the influences of the Colonial Mind in Africa. Unlike the Tongans, who freely chose to live in a different country, there are other civilizations that are forced to migrate for their own survival.

Explain Arisotles Virtue Ethics

Dominance is a state of action as opposed to inaction and an individual must work hard in order to achieve it. To reach Dominance you must reason and be a thinker as this is unique to humans, it is the final cause for humanity as it is the most fulfilling position to be in. Reaching such a superior end goal requires hard work and effort: â€Å"man is a political and social animal† – the greatest good for a person is for them to actively participate in the politics of society and to interact with other humans, morality can only arise once these activities have been performed.A riotous life is an ongoing task and can only be achieved through practice and education. â€Å"Dominance is an end in itself' and is merely pursued for its own virtues rather than as a means to an end. A virtue, for Aristotle, is a trait that contributes to a person functioning well as a human being such as bravery and generosity. A virtue is not doing one action on one given occasion such as givi ng to charity once and then never again, it is not ‘feeling virtuous as you are not brave if you feel brave and do not act upon it and it is also not a natural inclination as someone who has been born that way has not worked to become virtuous.Aristotle concludes that a virtue is a learned nature/tendency to reason and act in a certain way. We are each responsible for the choices that we make based on personal vice and virtue, how virtuous a person may be is entirely dependent on how they will intend to act in any given situation. The doctrine of the mean/the golden mean is a central concept in Aristotle virtue ethics. According to the doctrine of the mean, a virtue is a mean state between two extremes: one of excess and one of deficiency.To be virtuous, one virtue must connect with another. Virtues will only fully develop in a minority of people and the doctrine of the mean can be used to guide you; however you must be educated to use this. And so, an element of elitism can b e seen here. For example: it is good to be courageous, however you can have too much or, even, too little courage. Aristotle did not explicitly declare what the midpoint was, and so it is clearly not of numerical value and so it must be more about acting at the right time.Although virtue ethics does not give you a clear answer to an ethical dilemma, it allows each individual to respond to each different situation they face. Aristotle believed that there were 4 different groups of people. There are vicious people who are those that do not attempt to be virtuous. There are incontinent people who face moral conflict but usually choose a vice. Continent people do the virtuous thing most of the time but still have to overcome a moral dilemma, and virtuous people enjoy doing good actions, and so they face no moral dilemmas in life.Choices are important as every human has an aim in life. Such aims are then split into either superior or subordinate aims and, according to Aristotle; the supe rior aim of an individual is Dominance as this is the final purpose of a human. In society, some people re hedonists and seek pleasure, some serve the community and seek honor (politicians) and some are philosophers and live in a state of contemplation. Aristotle believes philosophers to be the best as they possess the ability to exercise key intellectual virtues which allow them to steer themselves towards Dominance.Virtues are either moral or intellectual in which there are 5 intellectual virtues according to Aristotle: prudence/practical wisdom, intuitive intelligence, wisdom, scientific knowledge and craft/art. Of the 5 virtues, Aristotle considers practical wisdom to be the most important in Virtue Ethics as it imply describes moral behavior, and does not require people to do something different to what they already do.You may do a string of good actions, but unless you know the direction you are to go then you may end up on the wrong path. Since people act differently in every situation there are no inherently bad actions. Anyone who is virtuous should, theoretically, always make the correct decision. Aristotle Virtue Ethics is person rather than action based; it looks at the moral character of the person carrying out an action. Good character traits must be cultivated and developed in order for people to truly achieve Dominance.

Astral Case Study Essays

Astral Case Study Essays Astral Case Study Essay Astral Case Study Essay Essay Topic: The Healers Introduction? This instance gives a good? avor of the challenges of a general director. in peculiar when 1 is new to the occupation. The instance explores the parachuting in of Sarah Conner. a venture-capitalist ( BLL. 60 % proprietor of Astral ) employee. to take over the running of Astral ( North America ) following the sudden decease of its long-time president ( Maxwell ) . Astral is largely a maker of Cadmium records for other labels. though Maxwell has expanded its ain recording concern ( 10 % of grosss ) across a scope of musical genres. Astral has established a name for quality and invention. but generallyavailable engineering has become so dependable that quality no longer truly serves as a discriminator in the industry. The? rst intent of instance surveies is developing a better apprehension through larning to use appropriate and diverse tools/concepts taking to better replies increasing your chance of success. With the information provided brand sure you 1. province the facts . 2. provide reading of these facts ( besides through usage of constructs ) . and so 3. conclude. The latter two stairss are frequently losing in instance survey studies. Besides. construction is cardinal. Some narrative is non a job. narrative without construction de? nitely is a job! ? ? De? ne the Context? ? De? ning the context is non synonymous to supplying a sum-up of the instance survey. Based on what you have read province. interpret and draw decisions. If you province the industry of Compact Discs is no longer differentiated but monetary value is going the chief competition issue. you need to bespeak why this is relevant and what this implies ( like: graduated table is of enormous importance in this state of affairs and if Astral does non? nd another manner to distinguish itself. like developing the DVD. from rivals its hereafter will look instead inexorable ) . If you province Astral’s formation of scheme resembles that of the entrepreneurial school residing in the head of the leader. you need to interpret this into. Stellar footings ( the scheme of Astral NA resided and was executed in the caput of sir Max ) and conclude what consequences this has for Conner ( really few people in Astral NA will be able to make up ones mind harmonizing to this scheme because that is what sir Max did ) . If you province that sir Max resembled the creative person type of a director. you need to reason what consequences this has/d for Astral’s operations: short on inside informations and followthrough which means that Conner is bound to? nd a batch of loose terminals ( like the missive from Yurbank dating July 1st. seemingly non acted upon ) . Top quality. high tech merchandise means high investing demands. instead high entry barriers. high hazard of replacements. etc and this in bend means that one can easy miss’ possible rivals ; Entrepreneurial leader means low authorization of employees and the degree of political power depends on propinquity to the leader ; A Venture Capitalist as cardinal stock holder means a potentially stronger focal point on shorter term return ; A female leader in a paternalistic working environment means Conner has some excess hurdlings to take and booby traps to avoid ; A fabrication company like Astral means coordination by standardisation of work procedures connoting a instead large planning and quality direction section ; A growing scheme means high dependence on recognition lines to procure hard currency to procure growing ; etc. ? ? ? 26. Rue Maunoir | 1207 Geneve | Switzerland | World Wide Web. sustineo. org | [ electronic mail protected ]/*org | +41 79 822 3546 De? ne the Key Issues or Problems? Cases are semi-structured jobs. and job de? nition accomplishments are one of the chief acquisition merchandises of perennial instance survey analysis. Stating the many weak signals and symptoms in a instance survey without indicating to bigger issues and/or jobs does non assist. What is truly traveling on in this instance survey and why did it go on this manner? Output of this measure should be a clear de? nition of the cardinal issues or jobs at manus backed up with the informations available ( facts ) added with premises made. The type of Leadership and scheme formation of Astral is one of the cardinal issues as it will be impossible for Conner to retroflex this ; This has led to an under-empowered and under-developed direction ( i. e. Conner will hold a difficult clip to? nd Alliess ) and a batch of urgent and some of import affairs to cover with non limited to the memos found on Conner’s desk ( there will be many other affairs which were in sir Max’s caput ) . For Conner the cardinal issue will be to capture the chief issues at manus ( direction control. ? nancial form. menaces. scheme ) being able to boil these down to a study to be produced in 2 hebdomads while necessitating to be in England to link to the other major stockholder and pater familias and procuring hard currency to go on operations. ? ? Use Concepts? Even though common sense and intuition are of import in direction and scheme it is cardinal to use different concern constructs ( both prescriptive and descriptive ) in order to increase your apprehension of the issues in your context ( and to prove the pertinence of the constructs studied ) . Management Control: In Wrapp’s Good directors don’t make policy decisions a metaphor is used depicting a director sitting in a watercourse: operating jobs? oat by. the director rapidly examines each 1. hangs onto the good 1s and after roll uping a few Begins to see ways in which they might associate. be perceived in the power construction. and travel the organisation toward its aims. In some ways this metaphor rhenium? ects the existent state of affairs of Conner. The many memo’s indicating to operating ( and scheme ) jobs could be perceived as chances to larn to understand Astral. Successful executives have a endowment for maintaining good informed ( or going wellinformed for Conner ) about a broad scope of operating determinations being made at different degrees in the company. Effective executives know how to concentrate their clip and energy on comparatively few issues. This is an issue for Conner as she is surrounded by people who are looking to her for every move. Successful executives play the power game. They recognize the? rm’s power construction and work though corridors of comparative indifference. Conner needs to acquire a appreciation on the new power construction developing in this vacuity ( and maintain a close oculus on Wallace Alexander ) . Successful executives besides cultivate an art of impreciseness. fulfilling their organisations so that they have a sense of way while avoiding public committedness to speci? hundred aims. Because Conner does non hold the elaborate apprehension of the concern as a sir Max would hold this art of impreciseness will proof to be of import. Effective executives muddle with a intent. acknowledging that it is best to seek for partial plans and modest advancement toward ends. patching together parts of different proposals. This requires wide-ranging involvements and he ability to see how things relate. Peter Senge’s The Leader’s New Work: Building Learning Organizations could be helpful in supplying penetrations for Conner as she will necessitate to assist Astral to larn. She needs to assist the directors to see the system ; seeing the systems that control events. The directors can no longer rely on sir Max to hold on the beginning of jobs. Conner is a interior decorator planing the regulating thoughts of intent. vision. and nucleus values ; of the policies. schemes. and structures to interpret steering thoughts into concern determinations ; and the creative activity of effectual acquisition procedures. Astral Case Study 2? ? ? ? ?  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013? ? ? Conner is a teacher assisting people get more penetration. It includes assisting them acquire a better image of their mental theoretical accounts and to believe consistently. Conner is a steward ; Stewardship applies to both the people led and the intent that underlies the endeavor. This would be the biggest alteration in an organisation similar Astral as this is the antonym of a centralist bossy theoretical account. It remains a inquiry whether a steward function would work within Astral at the minute. However. the functions of interior decorator and instructor seem rather appropriate. For person like Conner ( non a music specializer. much younger than sir Max and female ) the leading attack needs to be rather different without questioning sir Max’s attack or seting excessively much duty on the directors excessively fast. Huy’s In congratulations of Middle Managers states in-between directors are important for a company: they are the enterprisers ( able and willing to recognize new concern thoughts ) . they are communicators of the demands for alteration. they are the healers making a clime of reassurance. and they are tight rope creative persons supplying business as usual’ of import in times of alteration. This could be a helpful position for Conner as she needs to acquire her center directors to act like this. ( Financial ) Shape of the Company: To ease this rating exercising Rumelt’s four trials of scheme ( consistence. consonant rhyme. advantage. and feasibleness ) could assist. There does non look to be issues of consistence: the ( formulated ) scheme seems to be rather straightforward and does non incorporate open via medias. Consonance exists when the basic mission or range of the? rm matches its environment over clip ; the? rm will so hold a generic scheme. In Astral’s instance this is distinction ( this might return to be leading if new distinction possibilities remain undeveloped. Competitive advantage can usually be traced to one of three roots: ( 1 ) superior resources ; ( 2 ) superior accomplishments ; or ( 3 ) superior place. In the past competitory advantage was based on all three ; today this is less the instance. The result of the current picture compaction onto disc ( DVD ) could make a new competitory advantage. The trial of feasibleness asks whether the scheme can be attempted within the physical. homo. and? nancial resources available. Astral is running up against barriers in footings of being able to? nance its growing. Phahalad and Hamel’s strategic purpose casts a visible radiation on the earlier yearss of Astral and how it was founded. Today there is non a clear strategic purpose steering Astral to regenerate planetary market leading. After Conner has led Astral into smoother sailing this would go a point of action. Menaces: Andrews in the construct of corporate strategy clari? es what the? rm might make. i. e. . placing the menaces and chances in the environment. Second is what the? rm can make. i. e. . measuring the? rm’s strengths and failings. Third is what the? rm wants to make. i. e. . sing the personal values of the top direction. Last. there is what the? rm should make. i. e. . the ethical facets of strategizing. Because Astral comes from an entrepreneurial scheme position ( scheme shacking in the caput of the enterpriser ) it should likely switch to a more plan-based position stressing deliberation and preparation from a design school perspective as Conner will be the CEO to plan this ( instead than a particular planning section in the planning school ) . Because Astral has been successful in the yesteryear separating itself from the competition through invention a competences/resource-based analysis of Astral might be bene? cial supplying penetration in possible new beginnings of competitory advantage. Because Astral has lost ( some of ) its competitory advantage a? ve forces analysis of its current place might be appropriate. The earnestness of the menace of entry depends on the barriers present and the reaction from incumbent rivals. Astral and the industry at big has several beginnings of barriers to entry: economic systems of graduated table. merchandise distinction. capital demands. cost advantages independent of graduated table. and entree to distribution channels. Suppliers have dickering power by raising monetary values or cut downing quality and the consumer is demanding of all time lower monetary values. higher quality and more service. Substitutes limit the pro? t potency of an industry by puting Astral Case Study 3? ? ? ? ? ? ?  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013 a ceiling on monetary values. Even though – at the clip – Cadmiums were the cardinal merchandise higher monetary values would open the door for replacements. There is besides intra-industry competition indicated by monetary value competition and new service offering. Rivalry is intensi? erectile dysfunction by approximately tantamount rivals. slow industry growing. and deficiency of distinction. The industry is traveling towards cost leading as the dominant generic scheme. ? Barney’s looking inside for competitory advantage provides the analysis tools for a resource-based analysis mentioned above. The writer identi? es four cardinal standards inquiries that this internally-oriented analysis must turn to: value creative activity ( resources and capablenesss are valuable merely when they exploit chances or extenuate menaces ) ; rarity ( capablenesss or resources that are valuable but common will be indispensable in leting a? Rm to accomplish para. but non to out-compete. its challengers ) ; imitability ( resources and capablenesss that are valuable and rare will confabulate long-run advantage if challengers? nd it dif? cult to either extra or replacement for these resources and capablenesss ) ; ? nally. there is the inquiry of organisation ( valuable. rare. and hard-to-imitate resources will confabulate superior long-run pro? tability depending on how good they are orchestrated into a coherent system. Astral does non hold a sustainable competitory advantage at the minute. it does make value because of its high quality ( but this is non sustainable ) . Scheme: Mintzberg’s generic concern schemes provide more insight into the type of generic scheme Astral could take. Step 1 is to turn up the nucleus concern in the industry ( upstream. midstream. or downstream ) : Astral is a midstream concern pulling a assortment of inputs into a individual production procedure out of which? ows the merchandise to a assortment of users. Step 2 is separating the nucleus concern – opening up the nucleus concern to separate the features that enable an organisation to accomplish competitory advantage and so to last in its ain context. We distinguish between Input sourcing schemes ( procurance. enlisting. ? nancing ) . throughput processing schemes ( procedure development. fiction. assembly. merchandise research. merchandise development ) . end product bringing schemes ( distribution. publicity. pricing. gross revenues. service ) and back uping schemes ( legal. control. preparation ) . Stellar focal points chiefly on throughput processing schemes and – to a lesser extent – end product bringing schemes indicating to a distinction scheme ( with low cost ) . Initially Astral focussed on design distinction and quality distinction. At the minute it still has ( some ) quality distinction and seeking to tilt on support distinction. Measure 3 is lucubrating the nucleus concern by develop its merchandise offering within the concern. developing the market via new sections. new channels or new geographical countries or force the same merchandises more smartly through the same markets: diversi? cation ( ? ) . merchandise development ( better CD’s ) . market development ( new CD labels ) . incursion. Step 4 is widening the nucleus concern by concatenation integrating ( widening operation downstream or upstream ) including rosin makers ( upstream ) or music labels ( downstream ) . diversi? cation schemes ( entry in some concern non in the same concatenation of operations ) . schemes of entry or control. or backdown schemes. Finally. Step 5 is re-conceiving the nucleus concern ( Es ) through concern rede? nition scheme. concern recombination schemes or nucleus resettlement schemes. At the minute this might non be an immediate option for Astral. but with the cognition of today one could conceive of a resettlement scheme towards ( digital ) music. or a rede? nition scheme ( digital storage devices ) . ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013 4 Astral Case Study Provide Alternative Courses of Action? ? ? ? ? Based on above analysis and understanding what should be done following? What are the true options at manus and when implemented what will be the expected consequence ( i. e. will all issues be resolved or will at that place be staying or new issues/problems ) ? What options does Conner hold in the short-run? A none-negotiable is to go to to the different memo’s and bring forth a selection/decision mechanism. Conner needs to to the full understand Astral’s current scheme. supply a robust rating in footings of scheme rating ( consistence. consonant rhyme. competitory advantage and feasibleness ) . positioning. internal resource-base and options of generic schemes. Conner needs to suggest a manner frontward ( a 6-month program within 2 hebdomads and an 18month program at the terminal of the month ) . Conner can suggest to go on the current scheme every bit much as possible procuring a? nancial injection by BLL. reconstituting the company for improved deputation ; stop the current scheme and concentrate on rationalisation traveling to a low cost scheme ( might be dif? cult as Astral is non built on this premiss ) ; Re-focus the current scheme altering its formation procedure. and re-emphasising the distinction scheme and beef uping competitory advantage ( a bundling scheme possibly: music. picture. videodisk ) ; issue scheme: rationalisation. cleaning up. reorganizing and so selling the company. Choose a Course of Action? Choose a class of action from the alternate classs of action bespeaking why ( explicitly sing and rejecting the other alternate classs of action ) . Indicate both hard. quantitive informations and your soft qualitative feelings about each class of action. For Conner we need a list of pending actions/decisions and a logical thinking as to which action/decision should be taking. at what clip and by whom. ? Develop an Action Plan? Develop an action program by which the desired action may be achieved or implemented within the context. and bespeak who should make what. when and how. Besides provide a process to measure your class of action of pick based on its existent impact. Below you’ll? nd a good illustration of a hands-on action list – by Ms. Maridali Alicea. Date: August 24th August 24th Recommendation: Keep meeting to inform staff of alterations ( deputation. and duties ) Brief him on difference in direction attack. Capable: Staff Meeting with Astral Toppers Meeting with Assistant ( Wallace ) MBA pupil visit Fox Hunt Production run out of specs BLL spouses visit Delinquent history Billboard Magazine interview Safety Day plans Unauthorized Return of Merchandise August 24th Reschedule September 7th Probably necessitate to travel August 25th Operations section will manage ( Bart O’Reilly ) – Reminder the quality of our merchandise is one of the companies competencies September 7th. Assistant can set up adjustments August 26th Finance section – recommend immediate payment to forestall holds in shipment ASAP this hebdomad Reschedule for more appropriate clip Manufacturing section will manage ( Bart O’Reilly ) – Social concerns must be considered Marketing and Gross saless section will manage ( G. Scott Herron )  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013 5 Astral Case Study Renewal of Revolving Credit EPA Inspection: Fish putting to death Contract Negotiations Safety Day plans concerns EPA Inspection: legal advocate Proposal for New Plastic Packaging August 25th Sarah Conner will manage – reexamine capital construction Sarah Conner will manage. emphasize the importance of ecology conformity Selling and Gross saless section will manage ( G. Scott Herron ) . Manufacturing section will manage ( Bart O’Reilly ) – Social concerns must be considered Sarah Conner will manage. emphasize the importance of ecology conformity Manufacturing section ( Bart O’Reilly ) and Marketing and Gross saless section ( G. Scott Herron ) will manage – see the blessing for New packaging equipment Manufacturing section ( Bart O’Reilly ) and Marketing and Gross saless section ( G. Scott Herron ) will manage – see the proposal for New Plastic Packaging Sarah Conner will manage – reexamine capital construction Sarah Conner will manage – importance to upcoming audit HR section. ( Sandy Bien-Fait ) will manage. Operations section will manage ( Bart O’Reilly ) Sarah Conner will manage – see the impact of engineering invention. but besides current? nancial restrictions Sarah Conner will manage – due to? nancial restrictions unable to follow hard currency colony Approval of New Packaging Equipment. Renewal of Revolving Credit Lawsuit Hiring CD Rot Project Future Vision Lawsuit Employee Reprimand Audit Planning Meeting Equipment Maintenance Signing party and concert Anonymous note – employee behavior Capital Structure Summary August 24th HR section ( Sandy Bien-Fait ) will manage. September 10th Sarah Conner will manage – must be up to day of the month with all issues relevant to cases. environmental concerns. and CD Rot August 26th Finance section – remind of environmental concerns and hazards Marketing and Gross saless section will manage ( G. Scott Herron ) HR section ( Sandy Bien-Fait ) will manage. Sarah Conner will manage  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013 6 Astral Case Study.

Free Essays on Dylan Thomas

had forked no lightning† is metaphorical. Line eight â€Å"Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay† employs personification and metaphor. Line ten â€Å"Wild men who sang the sun in flight† is exaggeration and metaphor. Line 11 â€Å"they grieved it on its way† is also exaggeration and metaphor. Line 13 â€Å"Grave† is a pun; â€Å"blinding sight† is an oxymoron. Line 14 â€Å"Blind eyes could blaze like meteors† is a simile. Line 17 â€Å"Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray† is a paradox. Commentary: A villanelle is a French poetic form that originally served as a vehicle for pastoral, simple, and light verse. That Thomas would employ that form for the subject of death enhances the irony of beseeching a dying person to rage. No doubt the poet also chose this form because of the repetition of the important lines, â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night† and â€Å"Rage, rage against the dying of the light† and because of the tight formal structure of the form. The subject matter which is the command to the father not to accept death so easily lends itself to the dichotomy of â€Å"day† and â€Å"night† which become somewhat symbolic for â€Å"life† and â€Å"deathï ¿ ½... Free Essays on Dylan Thomas Free Essays on Dylan Thomas Subject: Dylan Thomas’ father had been a robust, militant man most of his life, and when in his eighties, he became blind and weak, his son was disturbed seeing his father become â€Å"soft† or â€Å"gentle.† In the poem Thomas is rousing his father to continue being the fierce man he had previously been. Literary devices: The form on the poem is a villanelle, with a rhyme scheme alternating â€Å"night† and â€Å"day.† â€Å"Good night† is a metaphor and a pun. â€Å"Dying of the light† is a metaphor. â€Å"Old age should burn and rave† in line two is a combination of metonymy and personification. â€Å"Close of day† is a metaphor. â€Å"Burn† in that same line is used metaphorically, as is â€Å"dark† in line four. In line five â€Å"their words had forked no lightning† is metaphorical. Line eight â€Å"Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay† employs personification and metaphor. Line ten â€Å"Wild men who sang the sun in flight† is exaggeration and metaphor. Line 11 â€Å"they grieved it on its way† is also exaggeration and metaphor. Line 13 â€Å"Grave† is a pun; â€Å"blinding sight† is an oxymoron. Line 14 â€Å"Blind eyes could blaze like meteors† is a simile. Line 17 â€Å"Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray† is a paradox. Commentary: A villanelle is a French poetic form that originally served as a vehicle for pastoral, simple, and light verse. That Thomas would employ that form for the subject of death enhances the irony of beseeching a dying person to rage. No doubt the poet also chose this form because of the repetition of the important lines, â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night† and â€Å"Rage, rage against the dying of the light† and because of the tight formal structure of the form. The subject matter which is the command to the father not to accept death so easily lends itself to the dichotomy of â€Å"day† and â€Å"night† which become somewhat symbolic for â€Å"life† and â€Å"deathï ¿ ½...

Hotel and Travel Vocabulary in Spanish

Hotel and Travel Vocabulary in Spanish Hotel reserved? Flights booked? Bags packed? Whats next is learning a few essential words to make your hotel stay a little easier. If youre headed to a Spanish-speaking country, your hotel is as good a place as any to practice Spanish. Your concierge or host will appreciate the effort and can help you with tricky pronunciations along the way. Different Hotel Types When in a country where Spanish is the primary language, travelers spend more time in their lodgings, called hospedajes, than any other place. If you have arrived in a Spanish-speaking  ubicacià ³n, which means location, nail down the type of hotel that you would prefer, also called a  hotel in Spanish, too.   Looking for a spa or resort? Then ask for the nearest balneario.  Want something deluxe, then you want something  de lugo!  Or looking more for a motel or inn, ask for el motel or la posada.  There are unique types of accommodations, or alojamientos, such as a  bed-and-breakfast, which is called a pensià ³n, or bungalows, called a bungalow in Spanish, too. Reservation Desk You have decided on the type of lodging, now you need to make reservations, called ​reservaciones. You will negotiate the costs, or tarifa, with the  hotelero, or hotelkeeper. It is appropriate to ask what the standard tip or propina should be for your bellhop, also called the botones. Upon checkout, you handle the bill, or la cuenta, with the hotelero. All About Your Room What kind of room, or  habitacià ³n, do you want? Want a suite, ask for a ​suite in Spanish, too. Do you need a single room, or  habitacià ³n sencilla?  Do you want a double, a habitacià ³n  doble, or a triple, also called a triple. Want to make sure you have a bathroom in your room, ask if it has a  baà ±o.   How about your bed, called a cama? Do you want a single bed, a cama de monja, or do you want a double bed, called a cama de matriomonio? Does it matter which floor, or piso, you are on? If you want to make sure you are on the ground floor ask for el piso bajo. Need directions to the ice machine? Ask for el hielo. How about a view, or vista, out your window? If you are in a beach locale, then perhaps la vista al mar, or a sea or ocean view, is important to you. Nice amenities to know about your room would be: Is there room service, or  el  servicio  en  cuarto? How about an in-room safe, called la caja de seguridad? Hotel Features The room is booked. You are officially a guest, or huesped. You are ready to explore the hotel amenities. Does it have a bar, also called bar, or a restaurant, called a restaurante? How about coffee in the morning? Where is  el cafà ©? The person who can guide you would be the concierge, or el conserje.   Are you in town for a convention, called la convencià ³n? Need to ask how to get to the convention hall? That would be called el salà ³n de convenciones. How about going out dancing after the convention? Ask about where to find a  discoteca. Other hotel amenities that can boost your vacation experience include free parking, called estacionamiento, a swimming pool, called a piscina, and a workout room, or gimnasio. English Guidance Due  to the widespread adoption of English, particularly at upper-end hotels, it may be more common to find signage for English words used to describe certain facilities or services. Do not be surprised if words like spa,concierge, and room service are used instead of the Spanish equivalent.

Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 7

Literature - Essay Example When the Greeks became interested in biography, nothing was recorded about the man to whom they ascribed their literary treasures. It is only a romantic story that he was a blind minstrel. Homer wrote Iliad in an impersonal, elevated, formal verse, employing language that was never used for ordinary conversation; the metrical form used is dactylic hexameter, one form of Versification. In terms of style, there has been no real distinction made between the two works. This writing style of his intensifies the emotion and dramatic effect of the story, giving emphasis on the words that carries the â€Å"clue† bringing suspense and curiosity to the readers. However, since ancient times many readers believed that Iliad and Odyssey were written by different people. If Iliad deals with passion, insoluble dilemmas, having no real villains with an ultimately cruel and tragic universe, the Odyssey is its opposite. In Odyssey, the wicked are destroyed, right prevails and the family is reun ited – with rational intellect. However, this is not so much of an issue because really good writers can write from whatever perspective they want to do the story and Homer is no ordinary writer. In a direct way, Homer was the â€Å"parent† of all Greek literature; drama; historiography and even philosophy all show the mark of the issues, comic and tragic, all raised in the epics and the techniques Homer used. Marcus Aurelius, whose full name is Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus is a Roman emperor and a stoic philosopher. In his domestic policy, Marcus Aurelius was a champion of the poor, for whom he founded schools, orphanages and hospitals and alleviated the burden of taxes. He also tried to humanize criminal laws and the treatment of slaves by their masters. As a philosopher, he is remembered for his 12 books of moral precepts called Meditations. All was written in Greek while

Shop Class as Soulcraft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shop Class as Soulcraft - Essay Example With the push to use your brain instead of your brawn this society seems to be slowly devaluing work done by your own hands. Work that would have been considered noble fifty years ago, perhaps even prestigious, is viewed as somewhat beneath us today. So is this just society moving on, using forward thinking to advance, or is America slowly digging its way into a hole that it will one day have to climb out of? After taking a peak at our country fifty years ago, where it is today, and where its heading, our society may want to reconsider reinstating shop class over the latest technology class in our educational system. Fifty years ago a little over forty percent of Americans were â€Å"blue collar workers† and people employed in the farm sector in 1947 stood at 7.9 million (About). Sixty percent of Americans owned their own home, at this time and the majority also had a retirement of some sort (Young, and Young). The average male could not only change his own flat tire, but due to the fact that the majority of cars driven in America were American made, they also had the knowledge and resources to fix the majority of other problems that arouse in their vehicles. At that time no job was considered unreasonable or too lowly if it was a means to support your family. In actuality many people took pride in what they could build or do themselves. Schools also prided themselves in not only teaching the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also in offering classes in the vocational since, such as shop, agriculture, and mechanics. It was out of this, â€Å"do it yourself† era that America made its climb to the number one spot in world power and recognition. America was leading the way in the automotive, industrial, and agricultural industries, and there was no need to outsource because the American people were more than capable and willing to do the work themselves. Now we fast forward through the eighties were the push became to, â€Å"Prepare Kids for High-Tech and the Global Future.† During this time it was decided as a society that technology was were our future was heading and the need for people to do the work themselves was a thing of the past. So slowly classes such as shop and agriculture were taken out of the mainstream public school system and replaced with computer technology and literacy. Now we arrive in present day were it is estimated that we are actually the first generation since the formation of this country expected to make less that their parents. 9.1 percent of people who graduated from college in 2009 are still unemployed and only 24 % of the people who applied for jobs upon graduating in 2010 reported getting one (Greenhouse). These people graduated with all the right mental skills, and were promised hope for great careers and lives, and now they have nothing to do. In fact 8.7 of the people on unemployment in 2010 have some kind of higher education (Table A-4). There is a push to stop outsourcing and immigration because it’s, â€Å"taking jobs away from the American people†. The majority of the jobs, however, that are outsourced, or worked by those from other countries, are in fact blue collar jobs. If in today’s society the typical middle aged American male can’t, or won’t, change his own tire will he really be willing or able to work these jobs if presented? It is no doubt that this generation is far more

Quality Safety And Cost As It Affects Nursing Essay

Quality Safety And Cost As It Affects Nursing - Essay Example Organizations that have been able to reorganize care delivery to be centered around the patient (where the responsibility of offering care is arranged around what the patients want and needs, as opposed to around the convenience of the organization together with its clinicians and staff) are accomplishing success in enhancing both efficiency and safety, and reducing cost. These organizations also realize that the loyalty of their workforce is rising, and their general organizational performance increases, with profitability benefits. I would demonstrate the importance of nurses in providing patient-centered care. It is important for the director and staff to realize that there should be a healthy clinical relationship between the nurses and patients. These relationships communicate caring, together with the emotional and social responsibilities of delivering care. This way the director and the staff can realize that nursing care can affect the quality of care and patient safety and t he cost. I recommend that social interactions between the nurses and patients are central to patient care should not recede with the advancement of technology. Emotional and social tasks of providing care should never take a back seat to the administrative and biomedical tasks of providing care. The potential nurse-patient relationship to improve the safety and cost-effectiveness of care delivery should never be overlooked in the discussions regarding the way to reform the health care system.

History of Photography - Eugene Richards Term Paper

History of Photography - Eugene Richards - Term Paper Example In retrospect, it became a whole different world that I came to treasure. White taught me to look at light and to slow down and see things in a more meditative fashion, to become more involved.† (Cited from Rosalind Smith, shutterbug.net) In 1968, Eugene resisted a military draft and instead of being sentenced, he was offered a position with VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) which is a federal program of the â€Å"war on poverty†. About a year and a half later after working with VISTA in Arkansas Eugene became a co-founder for a social service organization and community newspaper known as â€Å"Many Voices† which reported on black political action as well as the Ku Klux Klan. Today Eugene stands as one of the most talked about photographs in the field of Photojournalism, well exhibited and the proud recipient of many awards in his field. Not known for doing happy photographs, but they are most times relatable. This Photographer can shoot photographs that te ll stories to fill the pages of many. Gettyimages.com reported that Eugene’s photographs have been extensively collected and exhibited in more than 40 solo shows in the United States and abroad. Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles, the International Center of Photography in New York, Centre National de la Photographie and the Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris and VISA pour l’Image in Perpignan are but a few of the many institutions that have hosted his exhibitions. In June 2007, Eugene was honored with a large-scale retrospective, Thirteen Books, at the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, Virginia. Eugene Richards’ Career Once he returned to Dorchester, Richards decided to photograph his racially developed neighborhood-after which he published a book â€Å"Dorchester Days†. Eugene then worked as a freelance magazine photographer, undertaking diverse assignments such as; the American family, drug addiction, river blindness, Pediatric AIDS etc. Richards has published a lot of books another being â€Å"Exploring Life† which was inspired by his first wife’s battle with breast cancer. There are instances when Richards reverted to some old-fashioned or yet sometimes hardcore brutal reporting which was depicted in a series he shot in Mexico while working with a Human Rights group. He shot a men’s psychiatric ward, the emptiness and the barely clad inmates alongside a pool of urine cascading through the center of his frame. Undoubtedly one of the greatest photographers of our era, Richards and his work are one. He is always deeply involved. He photographed a young Sicilian woman moments after she has given birth, holding the infant to her as tears of joy slide down her cheeks. Her husband bends to kiss her, still draped in his surgical gown. The photograph, part of the â€Å"American Family† series, was done for Life magazine. (Cited from Rosalind Smith, shutterbug.net) Emotions ran high as Richards documented the joint parenting of two gay couples. The series titled â€Å"Here’s to Love† borders on the edge and the magazine assignment became history when Richards photographed the innocent picture of the baby in a bathtub with one of the men. â€Å"The editor said the baby was learning sexuality from the father,† Richards tells us, â€Å"and I tried to make a point to this editor asking, ‘Well, what have you learnt about sexuality from your parents? Probably about as much as I did—

God In The Jewish Tradition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

God In The Jewish Tradition - Essay Example Clearly, the meaning of God is one that is uniquely personal to each and every person. Only the individual can decide what God means to them which is based to a great degree on the individual's values and personal beliefs. The role that God plays in that individual's life and religion will be strongly based on these subjective assessments, but it will also be strongly influenced by the teachings of the synagogue, the rabbi, and the traditions that the individual experienced as they grew. In many tales of the Jewish faith, it was God who helped keep the Israelites alive throughout all their various persecutions through history, creating a type of human-like heroic identity. It was God who led them out of Israel and slavery and it was God who spoke to them through burning bushes and from mountaintops while they wandered in the desert, giving them help and direction. Mordecai Kaplan, known as the father of Reconstructionism, who pushed this type of identification of God. In his writings , he said that God chose the Jews and determined to help them with their success (Kaplan, 1937). However, Kaplan was not necessarily suggesting that God was a personality. Instead, he was attempting to say that God was something greater than this. He said, â€Å"God is neither a being nor a philosophical abstraction. God is a creative force in the universe. He was an inspiration for the Jews and the voice that gave with both hands" (1937). Even here, though, God seems to be a greater than normal personality.

History of Photography - Eugene Richards Term Paper

History of Photography - Eugene Richards - Term Paper Example In retrospect, it became a whole different world that I came to treasure. White taught me to look at light and to slow down and see things in a more meditative fashion, to become more involved.† (Cited from Rosalind Smith, shutterbug.net) In 1968, Eugene resisted a military draft and instead of being sentenced, he was offered a position with VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) which is a federal program of the â€Å"war on poverty†. About a year and a half later after working with VISTA in Arkansas Eugene became a co-founder for a social service organization and community newspaper known as â€Å"Many Voices† which reported on black political action as well as the Ku Klux Klan. Today Eugene stands as one of the most talked about photographs in the field of Photojournalism, well exhibited and the proud recipient of many awards in his field. Not known for doing happy photographs, but they are most times relatable. This Photographer can shoot photographs that te ll stories to fill the pages of many. Gettyimages.com reported that Eugene’s photographs have been extensively collected and exhibited in more than 40 solo shows in the United States and abroad. Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles, the International Center of Photography in New York, Centre National de la Photographie and the Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris and VISA pour l’Image in Perpignan are but a few of the many institutions that have hosted his exhibitions. In June 2007, Eugene was honored with a large-scale retrospective, Thirteen Books, at the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, Virginia. Eugene Richards’ Career Once he returned to Dorchester, Richards decided to photograph his racially developed neighborhood-after which he published a book â€Å"Dorchester Days†. Eugene then worked as a freelance magazine photographer, undertaking diverse assignments such as; the American family, drug addiction, river blindness, Pediatric AIDS etc. Richards has published a lot of books another being â€Å"Exploring Life† which was inspired by his first wife’s battle with breast cancer. There are instances when Richards reverted to some old-fashioned or yet sometimes hardcore brutal reporting which was depicted in a series he shot in Mexico while working with a Human Rights group. He shot a men’s psychiatric ward, the emptiness and the barely clad inmates alongside a pool of urine cascading through the center of his frame. Undoubtedly one of the greatest photographers of our era, Richards and his work are one. He is always deeply involved. He photographed a young Sicilian woman moments after she has given birth, holding the infant to her as tears of joy slide down her cheeks. Her husband bends to kiss her, still draped in his surgical gown. The photograph, part of the â€Å"American Family† series, was done for Life magazine. (Cited from Rosalind Smith, shutterbug.net) Emotions ran high as Richards documented the joint parenting of two gay couples. The series titled â€Å"Here’s to Love† borders on the edge and the magazine assignment became history when Richards photographed the innocent picture of the baby in a bathtub with one of the men. â€Å"The editor said the baby was learning sexuality from the father,† Richards tells us, â€Å"and I tried to make a point to this editor asking, ‘Well, what have you learnt about sexuality from your parents? Probably about as much as I did—

Bibliography of Raphael Linkin Annotated Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Of Raphael Linkin - Annotated Bibliography Example Raphael Lemkin was born in Imperial Russia in the village named Bezwodne. He was referred to as Rafal Lemkin. Lemkin’s parents were Joseph and Bella Lemkin. He had two siblings. His father was a farmer whereas his mother was a highly educated woman who engaged in philosophical, linguistic, and art-related works. Lemkin’s was greatly influenced by his mother and the achievements she was able to attain. At the age of 14years, for example, he was well versed with about 14 languages, an aspect that was difficult to many people (Hovannisian 125). Raphael Lemkin attended a local trade school and upon graduation, he went to Ukraine to study Linguistics at John Casmir University. While at the university, Raphael Lemkin developed an interest in the field of criminology and thus the issue of genocide. This urge made him to enroll in the University of Heidelberg located in Germany for a degree in philosophy. It was later that he studied law and became a prosecutor. He advanced gradually into his lawyer occupation (Hovannisian 127). In regard to his career and work experience, Lemkin worked for different law firms in different capacities. In 1929-1934, Lemkin worked as a public prosecutor in Warsaw as well as a secretary to the Committee on Codification of the Laws of the Republic of Polish. In 1930, he was promoted to be a deputy prosecutor. One of his achievements at this level was the translation of The Polish Penal Code of 1932, from Polish to English. He did this in collaboration with Malcolm McDermott, a law professor at Duke University (Martin par 7). His interest in crime grew day after day and it brought about the issue of genocide which was founded on the American Genocide. The Simile Massacre of 1933 in Iraq also fueled the genocide concept. It was in 1934 that Lemkin resigned his job for a position of a private solicitor.

Research project would - Library System Essay Example for Free

Research project would Library System Essay First and foremost I offer my sincerest gratitude to our professor Mr. Marlon M. Sumait who has supported me throughout my thesis with his patience and knowledge. In my daily work I have been blessed with a friendly and cheerful classmate and friends who helped me in the field of data collection and programming my system. Special thanks to my cousin Richard S. Pasuquin (Web developer at IT Easy software Solution at Quezon City Philippines) for the providence in my thesis in the field of codes and some encodings made. INTRODUCTION Schools set the various pedagogical changes to achieve the current level of education in other countries. Because of the growing numbers of computer users, this became an effective medium to demonstrate the knowledge and skills of the students. From the traditional searching process for the books in the libraries, the interactive usage of computers can be now addressed as part of the library system. Background and Problem Statement In the aim of the universities to supply the necessary materials to their students, the idea of library management system is introduces. This involves the utilization for processing, accessing and retrieving the information that can effectively support the process of student’s learning, decision- making and scholastically approaches. Because of the organized approach and systematic management of the information, the accessibility and retrieval in the library can be easy. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER TITLE PAGE Title Page i Acknowledgement ii Table of Contents iii Scope And Delimitation iv I. Introduction 1 1.1 Relevant Findings 2 1.2 Statement of the Problem 3 Objective (Significance of Study) 1.3 Methodology 4 II. Structure of Thesis 1.4 Data Flow Diagram 5 1.5 Case Study(Library System Codings)- 6 1.5.0 LOG IN FORM CODINGS 7 1.5.1 MAIN FORM CODINGS 8-9 1.5.2 BOOK LIST 10-11 1.5.3 ADDING BOOKS 12-13 1.5.4 CHOOSE STUDENT 14-15 1.5.5 BORROWING BOOKS 16-19 1.5.6 EDIT BOOKS 20-21 1.5.7 RETURNED BOOKS 22-23 1.5.7 ADDING USER’S 22-23

Electronic Communication In Society

Electronic Communication In Society Since the invention of the electric telegraph in 1831 by Joseph Henry, electric communication has been a significant piece of our society. From a casual text to an important fax electric communication has become crucial to human interaction. However, this kind of communication that has been so customary to our everyday society has also been very controversial. Unfortunately, the usage of electronics to interact has eliminated much of the more traditional forms of communication. Nonetheless, electronic is essential to almost all of our communication today. Computer communication is extremely popular today. It involves two or more computers and is a quick, usually internet based way of communicating. There are many different types of communication via a computer, however the most common ones are: Instant messaging Video Chat E-mail Social Networking Instant Messaging. Instant Messaging (IM) is a direct and fast form of communication that occurs over a network (usually the internet) between two or more people. IM is not to be confused with e-mail because it happens in real time, when people send each other messages using IM they are communicating much faster than they would with e-mail. In fact, they can communicate at about the same speed as they would if they were talking to each other physically. Instant Messaging also uses and has developed its own language in a way. A series of abbreviations and internet slang has revolutionized modern electronic communication. This slang has also come to prominent use in text messaging and on social networking sites. There are thousands of Instant Messaging sites and programs, however a few of the more common ones are: AIM Google Talk iChat Video Chat. Other than text based internet communication, there is also video communication. This is when a person speaks to a camera on their computer and the image is transmitted to another computer. This facilitates a seemingly physical conversation since each person can see the other while they talk. Video chat is made possible be either a webcam that can be attached to ones computer or a built in camera that does not need to be attached. Video chat has revolutionized both business and personal computer communication. Messenger programs such as Skype and iChat allow users to communicate from different parts of the world as though they were only a few inches away. E-mail. E-mail is one of the oldest usages of electronic communication of the types we have discussed so far. It is not as fast as IM or video chat, however it is more popular among the older generation. E-mail seems to work the way a letter might, although it is sent over a network as opposed to through a mailing system. The recipient and mailer both have e-mail addresses and are able to send messages, pictures, videos and files through e-mail. Each e-mail address is unique in a network such as gmail or hotmail and so mail does not get mixed up. Like IM and Video Chat an e-mail account allows one to acquire a list of friends or contacts- a list of ones acquaintances and their e-mail addresses. Unfortunately, among the younger community, e-mail has become seemingly outdated because of the more frequent use of IM, Video Chat and social networking. Social Networking. Currently, social networking is the most popular type of internet communication. Social Networking focuses on building relationships between people, over the internet, who share similar interests or have things in common. Generally, it gives a user a profile or a page dedicated to their interests, activities or information. Then, just like the other types of communication we have seen, allows them a list of contacts or friends with whom the can communicate. Usually communication or viewing of ones profile requires mutual consent on behalf of the viewer and the person whose page is being viewed. A few very popular social networking sites are: Facebook Myspace Twitter Telephone Communication The telephone seems to be a given when discussing electronic communication in modern day society. Although originally used for simply dialing and receiving calls, the telephones uses have spread over a wide range of functions. Cell phones can not only be used for calling but also for texting and internet applications. Texting. Texting is an extremely popular form of electronic communication today. A text message is usually a brief message written to someone using a mobile phone. A text can include an image, video or sound along with the briefly written message. A sort of language has developed between texters of the modern world. This slang includes: lol-laughing out loud g2g- got to go l8er-later Some worry that this slang is detracting from the usage of proper language. Also, many worry that texting harms human interaction. The prominence of texting over talking could potentially hurt our ability to talk face-to-face hand have normal social interaction. Texting also does physical harm to our society. Texting and driving is a leading cause in teen deaths in car accidents. Calling. Phone calls, of course, are a part of telephones and electric communication. Few, however, understand the mechanics and intense science behind the telephone and the ability to make phone calls. According to Wikipedia, a telephone uses a microphone in the handset to convert the sound waves to electrical signals which are then sent through a telephone network to the other phone and are then converted back to sound waves that can be understood by the ear. Telephone calls are extremely important to society and calling is much more similar to actually talking than texting or instant messaging. Telephone calls also make fast communication more possible while keeping it at a more personal and human level. Telephones and the Internet. As telephones became more and more high-tech and gained applications and more software, it is natural that they should also have internet. Many phones these days have similar functions to computers except with fewer capabilities and the ability to make and receive phone calls. Unfortunately, however, the uses of media on mobile phones and the near constant availability of such media contributes to the media craze in our society and the problem many have with the over usage of media. Other Electronic Communication. Telephones and computers are not the only electronic devices used to communicate. There are many other devices (Often connected to telephones or computers) that also provide a means to interact electronically. Voicemail. When someone calls someone else, whether it is via a cell phone or telephone, and the receiver does not pick up, the caller has the option of leaving a message for the receiver. This is called a voicemail or answering machine. According to Wikipedia voice mail messages are stored on hard disk drives and messages left by the caller are recorded. When the owner of the voicemail wishes to retrieve that message, he or she must simply call the voicemail. Although voicemail did help people leave messages in their personal lives, voicemail had its most significant impact on the business world. It reduced the need for secretaries because now an actual person was not needed to take messages and it allowed for more personalized and discreet messages to be left for the receiver. Faxing. A fax or facsimile is a document sent over a telephone line. According to Wikipedia, faxing was first very prominent in the mid 1980s when they became affordable and more feasible for homeowners to purchase. Faxing works in many ways the same as calling. Two people have fax numbers and one sends a document to the other over a telephone line. Although some people own private fax machines, they are primarily used in the business world to transport sensitive documents that may not be safe to allow on the internet. Printers. Although printers by themselves do not seem to be electronic communication devices, they facilitate many communications that are very important to us. For example, scanning allows us to take a document and put it on our computer. We can then proceed to send the document out to people through the internet, which we would not be capable of doing without the assistance of the printer. Printing also allows us to communicate. Objects printed can be sent through mail, which allows us to communicate to other people. So, although printers are not in themselves electronic devices used to communicate, they are often used as a means to communicate. Conclusion The importance of electronic communication in our society is incomparable to any other recent development. It has revolutionized communication in both the professional and personal spheres in human interaction. It is very important that people understand electronic communication and how to use it because of its significance to everyday life. Hopefully this paper has helped you to understand the details of electronic communication.

The Master vs. The Student: Antonioni and Coppola Essay -- Michelangel

The Master vs. The Student: Antonioni and Coppola Michelangelo Antonioni initiated a shift in Italian film in the 1950s. He kept some aspects of Italian Neorealism but then moved away into the world of the art film. With Blow-up, which was made possible by a deal MGM for a series of films in English, he takes a meandering, odd storyline and places it in trendy, ?swinging? London (Thompson & Bordwell, 426-7). He further reinforces the distance between the diegetic world of the film and the audience through precisely spacious camera techniques. ?I want to re-create reality in an abstract form. I?m really questioning the nature of reality,? Antonioni has said honestly about the film (Arrowsmith, 112). He has taken the audience-active film to a new and interesting level. Blow-up has often times been compared to Francis Ford Coppola?s The Conversation. The two films not only share a similar plot (two men, both leaders in their fields, inadvertently stumble across a murder or murder plot and must reevaluate themselves while reevaluating their creations) but Coppola uses much of the same camera techniques as Antonioni, as well. The film is not a total emulation, though; Coppola adds his own twist by taking space and contorting it, whereas Antonioni might leave it in the abstract. In examining the two aspects of space and self-evaluation, one can see that Coppola?s The Conversation does not imitate Antonioni?s Blow-up as much as it learns from it. Antonioni?s most noticeable and intriguing tool of Blow-up is the use of space within each frame. Antonioni, on the cusp of Neorealism, often times places the camera far from Thomas (the main character played by David Hemmings), letting him move about freely within the frame. ... ...as far back in the room the camera could get, it seems). All of these shots reinforce the loneliness, desperation, and isolation of these two stranded souls. All these shots lend to the two breaking down barriers within themselves to reach a better, actualized self. And, all of these shots could easily have been produced by Antonioni or Francis Coppola; perhaps there is hope for a new wave of the Antonioni-art-film style. Works Cited Arrowsmith, William. (1995). Antonioni, The Poet of Images. New York: Oxford. Brunette, Peter. (1998). The Films of Michelangelo Antonioni. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University. Leprohon, Pierre. (1963). Michelangelo Antonioni: an Introduction. New York: Simon and Schuster. Thompson, Kristen & Bordwell, David. (2003). Film History, an Introduction. Boston: McGraw Hill. The Master vs. The Student: Antonioni and Coppola Essay -- Michelangel The Master vs. The Student: Antonioni and Coppola Michelangelo Antonioni initiated a shift in Italian film in the 1950s. He kept some aspects of Italian Neorealism but then moved away into the world of the art film. With Blow-up, which was made possible by a deal MGM for a series of films in English, he takes a meandering, odd storyline and places it in trendy, ?swinging? London (Thompson & Bordwell, 426-7). He further reinforces the distance between the diegetic world of the film and the audience through precisely spacious camera techniques. ?I want to re-create reality in an abstract form. I?m really questioning the nature of reality,? Antonioni has said honestly about the film (Arrowsmith, 112). He has taken the audience-active film to a new and interesting level. Blow-up has often times been compared to Francis Ford Coppola?s The Conversation. The two films not only share a similar plot (two men, both leaders in their fields, inadvertently stumble across a murder or murder plot and must reevaluate themselves while reevaluating their creations) but Coppola uses much of the same camera techniques as Antonioni, as well. The film is not a total emulation, though; Coppola adds his own twist by taking space and contorting it, whereas Antonioni might leave it in the abstract. In examining the two aspects of space and self-evaluation, one can see that Coppola?s The Conversation does not imitate Antonioni?s Blow-up as much as it learns from it. Antonioni?s most noticeable and intriguing tool of Blow-up is the use of space within each frame. Antonioni, on the cusp of Neorealism, often times places the camera far from Thomas (the main character played by David Hemmings), letting him move about freely within the frame. ... ...as far back in the room the camera could get, it seems). All of these shots reinforce the loneliness, desperation, and isolation of these two stranded souls. All these shots lend to the two breaking down barriers within themselves to reach a better, actualized self. And, all of these shots could easily have been produced by Antonioni or Francis Coppola; perhaps there is hope for a new wave of the Antonioni-art-film style. Works Cited Arrowsmith, William. (1995). Antonioni, The Poet of Images. New York: Oxford. Brunette, Peter. (1998). The Films of Michelangelo Antonioni. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University. Leprohon, Pierre. (1963). Michelangelo Antonioni: an Introduction. New York: Simon and Schuster. Thompson, Kristen & Bordwell, David. (2003). Film History, an Introduction. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Zoe’s Tale PART III Chapter Twenty-One

The next morning I found out Dad was under arrest. â€Å"It's not exactly arrest,† Dad said at our kitchen table, having his morning coffee. â€Å"I've been relieved of my position as colony leader and have to travel back to Phoenix Station for an inquiry. So it's more like a trial. And if that goes badly then I'll be arrested.† â€Å"Is it going to go badly?† I asked. â€Å"Probably,† Dad said. â€Å"They don't usually have an inquiry if they don't know how it's going to turn out, and if it was going to turn out well, they wouldn't bother to have it.† He sipped his coffee. â€Å"What did you do?† I asked. I had my own coffee, loaded up with cream and sugar, which was sitting ignored in front of me. I was still in shock about Enzo, and this really wasn't helping. â€Å"I tried to talk General Gau out of walking into the trap we set for him and his fleet,† Dad said. â€Å"When we met I asked him not to call his fleet. Begged him not to, actually. It was against my orders. I was told to engage in ‘nonessential conversation' with him. As if you can have nonessential conversation with someone who is planning to take over your colony, and whose entire fleet you're about to blow up.† â€Å"Why did you do it?† I asked. â€Å"Why did you try to give General Gau an out?† â€Å"I don't know,† Dad said. â€Å"Probably because I didn't want the blood of all those crews on my hands.† â€Å"You weren't the one who set off the bombs,† I said. â€Å"I don't think that matters, do you?† Dad said. He set down his cup. â€Å"I was still part of the plan. I was still an active participant. I still bear some responsibility. I wanted to know that at the very least I tried in some small way to avoid so much bloodshed. I guess I was just hoping there might be a way to do things other than the way that ends up with everyone getting killed.† I got up out of my chair and gave my dad a big hug. He took it, and then looked at me, a little surprised, when I sat back down. â€Å"Thank you,† he said. â€Å"I'd like to know what that was about.† â€Å"It was me being happy that we think alike,† I said. â€Å"I can tell we're related, even if it's not biologically.† â€Å"I don't think anyone would doubt we think alike, dear,† Dad said. â€Å"Although given that I'm about to get royally shafted by the Colonial Union, I'm not sure it's such a good thing for you.† â€Å"I think it is,† I said. â€Å"And biology or not, I think we're both smart enough to figure out that things are not going well for anyone,† Dad said. â€Å"This is a real big mess, nor are we out of it.† â€Å"Amen,† I said. â€Å"How are you, sweetheart?† Dad asked. â€Å"Are you going to be okay?† I opened my mouth to say something and closed it again. â€Å"I think right now I want to talk about anything else in the world besides how I'm doing,† I said, finally. â€Å"All right,† Dad said. He started talking about himself then, not because he was an egotist but because he knew listening to him would help me take my mind off my own worries. I listened to him talk on without worrying too much about what he said. Dad left on the supply ship San Joaquin the next day, with Manfred Trujillo and a couple other colonists who were going as representatives of Roanoke, on political and cultural business. That was their cover, anyway. What they were really doing, or so Jane had told me, was trying to find out anything about what was going on in the universe involving Roanoke and who had attacked us. It would take a week for Dad and the others to reach Phoenix Station; they'd spend a day or so there and then it would take another week for them to return. Which is to say, it'd take another week for everyone but Dad to return; if Dad's inquiry went against him, he wouldn't be coming back. We tried not to think about that. Three days later most of the colony converged on the Gugino homestead and said good-bye to Bruno and Natalie, Maria, Katherina, and Enzo. They were buried where they had died; Jane and others had removed the missile debris that had fallen on them, reshaped the area with new soil, and set new sod on top. A marker was placed to note the family. At some point in the future, there might be another, larger marker, but for now it was small and simple: the family name, the name of the members, and their dates. It reminded me of my own family marker, where my biological mother lay. For some reason I found this a little bit comforting. Magdy's father, who had been Bruno Gugino's closest friend, spoke warmly about the whole family. A group of singers came and sang two of Natalie's favorite hymns from Zhong Guo. Magdy spoke, briefly and with difficulty about his best friend. When he sat back down, Gretchen was there to hold him while he sobbed. Finally we all stood and some prayed and others stood silently, with their heads bowed, thinking about missing friends and loved ones. Then people left, until it was just me and Gretchen and Magdy, standing silently by the marker. â€Å"He loved you, you know,† Magdy said to me, suddenly. â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"No,† Magdy said, and I saw how he was trying to get across to me that he wasn't just making comforting words. â€Å"I'm not talking about how we say we love something, or love people we just like. He really loved you, Zoe. He was ready to spend his whole life with you. I wish I could make you believe this.† I took out my PDA, opened it to Enzo's poem, and showed it to Magdy. â€Å"I believe it,† I said. Magdy read the poem, nodded. Then he handed the PDA back to me. â€Å"I'm glad,† he said. â€Å"I'm glad he sent that to you. I used to make fun of him because he wrote you those poems. I told him that he was just being a goof.† I smiled at that. â€Å"But now I'm glad he didn't listen to me. I'm glad he sent them. Because now you know. You know how much he loved you.† Magdy broke down as he tried to finish that sentence. I came up to him and held him and let him cry. â€Å"He loved you too, Magdy,† I said to him. â€Å"As much as me. As much as anyone. You were his best friend.† â€Å"I loved him too,† Magdy said. â€Å"He was my brother. I mean, not my real brother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He started to get a look on his face; he was annoyed with himself that he wasn't expressing himself like he wanted. â€Å"No, Magdy,† I said. â€Å"You were his real brother. In every way that matters, you were his brother. He knew you thought of him that way. And he loved you for it.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Zoe,† Magdy said, and looked down at his feet. â€Å"I'm sorry I always gave you and Enzo a hard time. I'm sorry.† â€Å"Hey,† I said, gently. â€Å"Stop that. You were supposed to give us a hard time, Magdy. Giving people a hard time is what you do. Ask Gretchen.† â€Å"It's true,† Gretchen said, not unkindly. â€Å"It really is.† â€Å"Enzo thought of you as his brother,† I said. â€Å"You're my brother too. You have been all this time. I love you, Magdy.† â€Å"I love you too, Zoe,† Magdy said quietly, and then looked straight at me. â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"You're welcome.† I gave him another hug. â€Å"Just remember that as your new family member I'm now entitled to give you all sorts of crap.† â€Å"I can't wait,† Magdy said, and then turned to Gretchen. â€Å"Does this make you my sister too?† â€Å"Considering our history, you better hope not,† Gretchen said. Magdy laughed at that, which was a good sign, then gave me a peck on a cheek, gave Gretchen a hug, and then walked from the grave of his friend and brother. â€Å"Do you think he's going to be okay?† I asked Gretchen, as we watched him go. â€Å"No,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Not for a long time. I know you loved Enzo, Zoe, I really do, and I don't want this to sound like I'm trying to undercut that. But Enzo and Magdy were two halves of the same whole.† She nodded to Magdy. â€Å"You lost someone you love. He's lost part of himself. I don't know if he's going to get over that.† â€Å"You can help him,† I said. â€Å"Maybe,† Gretchen said. â€Å"But think about what you're asking me to do.† I laughed. It's why I loved Gretchen. She was the smartest girl I ever knew, and smart enough to know that being smart had its own repercussions. She could help Magdy, all right, by becoming part of what he was missing. But it meant her being that, one way or another, for the rest of their lives. She would do it, because when it came down to it she really did love Magdy. But she was right to worry about what it meant for her. â€Å"Anyway,† Gretchen said, â€Å"I'm not done helping someone else.† I snapped out of my thoughts at that. â€Å"Oh,† I said. â€Å"Well. You know. I'm okay.† â€Å"I know,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I also know you lie horribly.† â€Å"I can't fool you,† I said. â€Å"No,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Because what Enzo was to Magdy, I am to you.† I hugged her. â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"Good,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Whenever you forget, I'll remind you.† â€Å"Okay,† I said. We unhugged and Gretchen left me alone with Enzo and his family, and I sat with them for a long time. Four days later, a note from Dad from a skip drone from Phoenix Station. A miracle, it said. I'm not headed for prison. We are heading back on the next supply ship. Tell Hickory and Dickory that I will need to speak to them when I return. Love you. There was another note for Jane, but she didn't tell me what was in it. â€Å"Why would Dad want to talk to you?† I asked Hickory. â€Å"We don't know,† Hickory said. â€Å"The last time he and I spoke of anything of any importance was the day – I am sorry – that your friend Enzo died. Some time ago, before we left Huckleberry, I had mentioned to Major Perry that the Obin government and the Obin people stood ready to assist you and your family here on Roanoke should you need our assistance. Major Perry reminded me of that conversation and asked me if the offer still stood. I told him that at the time I believed it did.† â€Å"You think Dad is going to ask for your help?† I asked. â€Å"I do not know,† Hickory said. â€Å"And since I last spoke to Major Perry circumstances have changed.† â€Å"What do you mean?† I asked. â€Å"Dickory and I have finally received detailed updated information from our government, up to and including its analysis of the Colonial Union's attack on the Conclave fleet,† Hickory said. â€Å"The most important piece of news is that we have been informed that shortly after the Magellan disappeared, the Colonial Union came to the Obin government and asked it not to search for the Roanoke colony, nor to offer it assistance if it were to be located by the Conclave or any other race.† â€Å"They knew you would come looking for me,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"But why would they tell you not to help us?† I asked. â€Å"Because it would interfere with the Colonial Union's own plans to lure the Conclave fleet to Roanoke,† Hickory said. â€Å"That's happened,† I said. â€Å"That's done. The Obin can help us now,† I said. â€Å"The Colonial Union has asked us to continue not to offer aid or assistance to Roanoke,† Hickory said. â€Å"That makes no sense,† I said. â€Å"We are inclined to agree,† Hickory said. â€Å"But that means that you can't even help me,† I said. â€Å"There is a difference between you and the colony of Roanoke,† Hickory said. â€Å"The Colonial Union cannot ask us not to protect or assist you. It would violate the treaty between our peoples, and the Colonial Union would not want to do that, especially now. But the Colonial Union may choose to interpret the treaty narrowly and has. Our treaty concerns you, Zoe. To a much lesser extent it concerns your family, meaning Major Perry and Lieutenant Sagan. It does not concern Roanoke colony at all.† â€Å"It does when I live here,† I said. â€Å"This colony is of a great deal of concern to me. Its people are of a great deal of concern to me. Everybody I care about in the whole universe is here. Roanoke matters to me. It should matter to you.† â€Å"We did not say it did not matter to us,† Hickory said, and I heard something in its voice I had never heard before: reproach. â€Å"Nor do we suggest it does not matter to you, for many reasons. We are telling you how the Colonial Union is asking the Obin government to view its rights under treaty. And we are telling you that our government, for its own reasons, has agreed.† â€Å"So if my dad asks for your help, you will tell him no,† I said. â€Å"We will tell him that so long as Roanoke is a Colonial Union world, we are unable to offer help.† â€Å"So, no,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"We are sorry, Zoe.† â€Å"I want you to give me the information your government has given you,† I said. â€Å"We will do so,† Hickory said. â€Å"But it is in our native language and file formatting, and will take a considerable amount of time for your PDA to translate.† â€Å"I don't care,† I said. â€Å"As you wish,† Hickory said. Not too long after that I stared at the screen of my PDA and ground my teeth together as it slowly plodded through file transformations and translations. I realized it would be easier just to ask Hickory and Dickory about it all, but I wanted to see it all with my own eyes. However long it took. It took long enough that I had hardly read any of it by the time Dad and the others had made it home. â€Å"This all looks like gibberish to me,† Gretchen said, looking at the documents I was showing her on my PDA. â€Å"It's like it was translated from monkey or something.† â€Å"Look,† I said. I pulled up a different document. â€Å"According to this, blowing up the Conclave fleet backfired. It was supposed to make the Conclave collapse and all the races start shooting at each other. Well, the Conclave is starting to collapse, but hardly any of them are actually fighting each other. They're attacking Colonial Union worlds instead. They really messed this up.† â€Å"If you say this is what it says, I'm going to believe you,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I'm not actually finding verbs here.† I pulled up another document. â€Å"Here, this is about a Conclave leader named Nerbros Eser. He's General Gau's main competition for leadership of the Conclave now. Gau still doesn't want to attack the Colonial Union directly, even though we just destroyed his fleet. He still thinks the Conclave is strong enough to keep doing what it's been doing. But this Eser guy thinks the Conclave should just wipe us out. The Colonial Union. And especially us here on Roanoke. Just to make the point that you don't mess with the Conclave. The two of them are fighting over control of the Conclave right now.† â€Å"Okay,† Gretchen said. â€Å"But I still don't know what any of this means, Zoe. Speak not-hyper-ese to me. You're losing me.† I stopped and took a breath. Gretchen was right. I'd spent most of the last day reading these documents, drinking coffee, and not sleeping; I was not at the peak of my communication skills. So I tried again. â€Å"The whole point of founding Roanoke colony was to start a war,† I said. â€Å"It looks like it worked,† Gretchen said. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"It was supposed to start a war within the Conclave. Blowing up their fleet was supposed to tear the Conclave apart from the inside. It would end the threat of this huge coalition of alien races and bring things back to the way it was before, when every race was fighting every other race. We trigger a civil war, and then we sweep in while they're all fighting and scoop up the worlds we want and come out of it all stronger than before – maybe too strong for any one race or even a small group of races to square off against. That was the plan.† â€Å"But you're telling me it didn't work that way,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Right,† I said. â€Å"We blew up the fleet and got the Conclave members fighting, but who they're fighting is us. The reason we didn't like the Conclave is that it was four hundred against one, the one being us. Well, now it's still four hundred against one, except now no one's listening to the one guy who was keeping them from engaging in total war against us.† â€Å"Us here on Roanoke,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Us everywhere,† I said. â€Å"The Colonial Union. Humans. Us. This is happening now,† I said. â€Å"Colonial Union worlds are being attacked. Not just the new colony worlds, the ones that usually get attacked. Even the established colonies – the ones that haven't been attacked in decades – are getting hit. And unless General Gau gets them all back in line, these attacks are going to keep happening. They're going to get worse.† â€Å"I think you need a new hobby,† Gretchen said, handing me back my PDA. â€Å"Your new one here is really depressing.† â€Å"I'm not trying to scare you,† I said. â€Å"I thought you would want to know about all this.† â€Å"You don't have to tell me,† Gretchen said. â€Å"You need to tell your parents. Or my dad. Someone who actually knows what to do about all this.† â€Å"They already know,† I said. â€Å"I heard John and Jane talking about it last night after he got back from Phoenix Station. Everyone there knows the colonies are under attack. No one's reporting it – the Colonial Union has a lockdown on the news – but everyone's talking about it.† â€Å"What does that leave for Roanoke?† Gretchen said. â€Å"I don't know,† I said. â€Å"But I know we don't have a lot of pull right now.† â€Å"So we're all going to die,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Well. Gee. Thanks, Zoe. I'm really glad to know it.† â€Å"It's not that bad yet,† I said. â€Å"Our parents are working on it. They'll figure it out. We're not all going to die.† â€Å"Well, you're not going to die, at least,† Gretchen said. â€Å"What does that mean?† I asked. â€Å"If things really go swirling, the Obin will swoop in and take you out of here,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Although if all of the Colonial Union is really under attack, I'm not sure where you're going to end up going. But the point is, you have an escape route. The rest of us don't.† I stared at Gretchen. â€Å"That's incredibly unfair,† I said. â€Å"I'm not going anywhere, Gretchen.† â€Å"Why?† Gretchen said. â€Å"I'm not angry at you that you have a way out, Zoe. I'm envious. I've been through one attack. Just one missile got through and it didn't even explode properly, and it still did incredible damage and killed someone I care about and everyone in his family. When they come for us for real, we don't have a chance.† â€Å"You still have your training,† I said. â€Å"I'm not going to be able to engage in single combat with a missile, Zoe,† Gretchen said, annoyed. â€Å"Yes, if someone decides to have a landing party here, I might be able to fight them off for a while. But after what we've done to that Conclave fleet, do you think anyone is really going to bother? They're just going to blow us up from the sky. You said it yourself. They want to be rid of us. And you're the only one that has a chance of getting out of here.† â€Å"I already said I'm not going anywhere,† I said. â€Å"Jesus, Zoe,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I love you, I really do, but I can't believe you're actually that dumb. If you have a chance to go, go. I don't want you to die. Your mom and dad don't want it. The Obin will hack a path through all the rest of us to keep you from dying. I think you should take the hint.† â€Å"I get the hint,† I said. â€Å"But you don't understand. I've been the sole survivor, Gretchen. It's happened to me before. Once is enough for any lifetime. I'm not going anywhere.† â€Å"Hickory and Dickory want you to leave Roanoke,† Dad said to me, after he had paged me with his PDA. Hickory and Dickory were standing in the living room with him. I was clearly coming in on some sort of negotiation between them. And it was also clearly about me. The tone of Dad's voice was light enough that I could tell he was hoping to make some point to the Obin, and I was pretty sure I knew what the point was. â€Å"Are you and Mom coming?† I said. â€Å"No,† Dad said. This I expected. Whatever was going to happen with the colony, both John and Jane would see it through, even if it meant they would die with it. It's what they expected of themselves as colony leaders, as former soldiers, and as human beings. â€Å"Then to hell with that,† I said. I looked at Hickory and Dickory when I said it. â€Å"Told you,† Dad said to Hickory. â€Å"You didn't tell her to come away,† Hickory said. â€Å"Go away, Zoe,† Dad said. This was said with such a sarcastic delivery that even Hickory and Dickory couldn't miss it. I gave a less-than-entirely-polite response to that, and then to Hickory and Dickory, and then, for good measure, to the whole idea that I was something special to the Obin. Because I was feeling saucy, and also because I was tired of the whole thing. â€Å"If you want to protect me,† I said to Hickory, â€Å"then protect this colony. Protect the people I care about.† â€Å"We cannot,† Hickory said. â€Å"We are forbidden to do so.† â€Å"Then you have a problem,† I said, â€Å"because I'm not going anywhere. And there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it.† And then I left, dramatically, partly because I think that was what Dad was expecting, and partly because I was done saying what I wanted to say on the matter. Then I went to my room and waited for Dad to call me again. Because whatever was going on between him and Hickory and Dickory, it wasn't over when I stomped out of the room. And like I said, whatever it was, was clearly about me. About ten minutes later Dad called for me again. I went back into the living room. Hickory and Dickory were gone. â€Å"Sit down, Zoe, please,† Dad said. â€Å"I need you to do something for me.† â€Å"Does it involve leaving Roanoke?† I asked. â€Å"It does,† Dad said. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"Zoe,† Dad said. â€Å"No,† I said again. â€Å"And I don't understand you. Ten minutes ago you were happy to have me stand here in front of Hickory and Dickory and tell them I wasn't going anywhere, and now you want me to leave? What did they tell you to make you change your mind?† â€Å"It's what I told them,† Dad said. â€Å"And I haven't changed my mind. I need you to go, Zoe.† â€Å"For what?† I said. â€Å"So I can stay alive while everyone I care about dies? You and Mom and Gretchen and Magdy? So I can be saved when Roanoke is destroyed?† â€Å"I need you to go so I can save Roanoke,† Dad said. â€Å"I don't understand,† I said. â€Å"That's probably because you didn't actually let me finish before you got on your soapbox,† Dad said. â€Å"Don't mock me,† I said. Dad sighed. â€Å"I'm not trying to mock you, Zoe. But what I really need from you right now is to be quiet so I can tell you about this. Can you do that, please? It will make things go a lot more quickly. Then if you say no, at least you'll be saying no for the right reasons. All right?† â€Å"All right,† I said. â€Å"Thank you,† Dad said. â€Å"Look. Right now all of the Colonial Union is under attack because we destroyed the Conclave fleet. Every CU world has been hit. The Colonial Defense Forces are strained as it is, and it's going to get worse. A lot worse. The Colonial Union is already making decisions about what colonies it can afford to lose when push comes to shove.† â€Å"And Roanoke is one of those,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Dad said. â€Å"Very definitely. But it's more than that, Zoe. There was a possibility that I might have been able to ask the Obin to help us here on Roanoke. Because you were here. But the Colonial Union has told the Obin not to help us at all. They can take you from here, but they can't help you or us defend Roanoke. The Colonial Union doesn't want them to help us.† â€Å"Why not?† I asked. â€Å"That doesn't make any sense.† â€Å"It doesn't make sense if you assume the Colonial Union wants Roanoke to survive,† Dad said. â€Å"But look at it another way, Zoe. This is the first colony with colonists from the CU rather than Earth. The settlers here are from the ten most powerful and most populous Colonial Union worlds. If Roanoke is destroyed, all ten of those worlds are going to be hit hard by the loss. Roanoke will become a rallying cry for those worlds. And for the whole Colonial Union.† â€Å"You're saying we're worth more to the Colonial Union dead than alive,† I said. â€Å"We're worth more as a symbol than as a colony,† Dad said. â€Å"Which is inconvenient for those of us who live here and want to stay alive. But, yes. It's why they won't let the Obin help us. It's why we don't make the cut for resources.† â€Å"You know this for sure?† I asked. â€Å"Someone told you this when you went back to Phoenix Station?† â€Å"Someone did,† Dad said. â€Å"A man named General Szilard. He was Jane's former commanding officer. It was unofficial, but it matched up with my own internal math.† â€Å"And you trust him?† I asked. â€Å"No offense, but the Colonial Union hasn't exactly been on the up-and-up with us lately.† â€Å"I have my issues with Szilard,† Dad said. â€Å"And so does your mom. But yes. I trust him on this. Right now he's the only one in the whole Colonial Union I actually do trust.† â€Å"What does this have to with me leaving Roanoke?† I asked. â€Å"General Szilard told me something else when I saw him,† Dad said. â€Å"Also unofficial, but from good sources. He told me that General Gau, the Conclave leader – â€Å" â€Å"I know who he is, Dad,† I said. â€Å"I've been keeping up with current events.† â€Å"Sorry,† Dad said. â€Å"He said General Gau was being targeted for assassination by someone in his own close circle of advisors, and that the assassination would happen soon, probably in the next few weeks.† â€Å"Why'd he tell you this?† I asked. â€Å"So I could use it,† Dad said. â€Å"Even if the Colonial Union wanted to tell General Gau about the attempt – which it doesn't, since it probably would like to see it succeed – there's no reason to believe that Gau would consider it credible. The CU did just blow up his fleet. But Gau might listen to the information if it came from me, because he's already had dealings with me.† â€Å"And you were the one who begged him not to bring his fleet to Roanoke,† I said. â€Å"Right,† Dad said. â€Å"It's because of that we've been attacked as little as we have. General Gau said to me that neither he nor the Conclave would retaliate against Roanoke itself for what happened to the fleet.† â€Å"We were still attacked,† I said. â€Å"But not by the Conclave itself,† Dad said. â€Å"By someone else, testing our defenses. But if Gau is assassinated, that guarantee dies with him. And then it's open season on Roanoke, and we'll get hit, fast, because we're where the Conclave had its biggest defeat. We're a symbol for the Conclave, too. So we have to let General Gau know he's in danger. For our own sake.† â€Å"If you tell him this, you'll be giving information to an enemy of the Colonial Union,† I said. â€Å"You'll be a traitor.† Dad gave me a wry grin. â€Å"Trust me, Zoe,† he said. â€Å"I'm already neck-deep in trouble.† His smile disappeared. â€Å"And yes, General Gau is an enemy of the Colonial Union. But I think he might be a friend to Roanoke. Right now, Roanoke needs all the friends it can get, wherever it can get them. The ones we used to have are turning their backs on us. We're going out to this new one, hat in hand.† â€Å"And by we you mean me,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Dad said. â€Å"I need you to deliver this message for me.† â€Å"You don't need me to do it,† I said. â€Å"You could do it. Mom could do it. It would be better from either of you.† Dad shook his head. â€Å"Neither Jane nor I can leave Roanoke, Zoe. The Colonial Union is watching us. They don't trust us. And even if we could, we can't leave because we belong here with the colonists. We're their leaders. We can't abandon them. Whatever happens to them happens to us too. We made a promise to them and we're going to stay and defend this colony, no matter what happens. You understand that.† I nodded. â€Å"So we can't go. â€Å"But you can, and secretly,† Dad said. â€Å"The Obin already want to take you off Roanoke. The Colonial Union will allow it because it's part of their treaty with the Obin, and as long as Jane and I stay here, it won't raise an eyebrow. The Obin are technically neutral in the fight between the Conclave and the Colonial Union; an Obin ship will be able to get to General Gau's headquarters where a ship from the Colonial Union couldn't.† â€Å"So send Hickory and Dickory,† I said. â€Å"Or just have the Obin send a skip drone to General Gau.† â€Å"It won't work,† Dad said. â€Å"The Obin are not going to jeopardize their relationship with the Colonial Union to pass messages for me. The only reason they're doing this at all is because I'm agreeing to let them take you off Roanoke. I'm using the only piece of leverage I have with the Obin, Zoe. That's you. â€Å"And there's something else. General Gau has to know that I believe the information I'm sending him is good. That I'm not just being a pawn again in a larger Colonial Union game. I need to give him a token of my sincerity, Zoe. Something that proves that I have as much to risk in sending him this information as he has in receiving it. Even if I or Jane could go ourselves, General Gau would have no reason to trust what we say to him, because he knows both Jane and I were soldiers and are leaders. He knows we would be willing to sacrifice ourselves for our colony. But he also knows that I'm not willing to sacrifice my only daughter. And neither is Jane. â€Å"So you see, Zoe. It has to be you. No one else can do it. You're the only one who can get to General Gau, deliver the message, and be believed. Not me, not Jane, not Hickory and Dickory. No one else. Just you. Deliver the message, and we might still find a way to save Roanoke. It's a small chance. But right now it's the only one we've got.† I sat there for a few minutes, taking in what Dad asked of me. â€Å"You know if Hickory and Dickory take me off Roanoke, they're not going to want to bring me back,† I said, finally. â€Å"You know that.† â€Å"I'm pretty sure of it,† Dad said. â€Å"You're asking me to leave,† I said. â€Å"You're asking me to accept that I might not ever see any of you again. Because if General Gau won't believe me, or if he's killed before I can talk to him, or even if he does believe me but can't do anything to help us, this trip won't mean anything. All it will do is get me off Roanoke.† â€Å"If that's all it did, Zoe, I still wouldn't complain,† Dad said, and then quickly held up his hand, to stop me from commenting on that. â€Å"But if that's all I thought it would do, I wouldn't ask you to do it. I know you don't want to leave Roanoke, Zoe. I know you don't want to leave us or your friends. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Zoe. But you're also old enough now to make your own decisions. If when all was said and done you wanted to stay on Roanoke to face whatever came our way, I wouldn't try to stop you. Nor would Jane. We would be with you until the end. You know that.† â€Å"I do,† I said. â€Å"There are risks for everyone,† Dad said. â€Å"When Jane and I tell the Roanoke colony council about this – which we will do once you're gone – I'm pretty sure they are going to kick us out as the colony leaders. When news gets back to the Colonial Union, Jane and I are almost certainly going to be arrested on charges of treason. Even if everything goes perfectly, Zoe, and General Gau accepts your message and acts on it and maybe even makes sure that Roanoke stays unmolested, we will still have to pay for our actions. Jane and I accept this. We think it's worth it for a chance to keep Roanoke safe. The risk for you here, Zoe, is that if you do this, you might not see us or your friends again for a very long time, or at all. It's a big risk. It's a real risk. You have to decide whether it's one worth taking.† I thought about this some more. â€Å"How long do I have to think about this?† I asked. â€Å"All the time you need,† Dad said. â€Å"But those assassins aren't sitting around doing nothing.† I glanced over to where Hickory and Dickory had been. â€Å"How long do you think it will take them to get a transport here?† I asked. â€Å"Are you kidding?† Dad said. â€Å"If they didn't send for one the second I was done talking to them, I'll eat my hat.† â€Å"You don't wear a hat,† I said. â€Å"I will buy a hat and eat it, then,† Dad said. â€Å"I'm going to come back,† I said. â€Å"I'm going to take this message to General Gau, and then I'm going to get back here. I'm not sure how I'm going to convince the Obin of that, but I'm going to do it. I promise you, Dad.† â€Å"Good,† Dad said. â€Å"Bring an army with you. And guns. And battle cruisers.† â€Å"Guns, cruisers, army,† I said, running down the checklist. â€Å"Anything else? I mean, as long as I'm going shopping.† â€Å"Rumor is that I might be in the market for a hat,† Dad said. â€Å"Hat, right,† I said. â€Å"Make it a jaunty hat,† he said. â€Å"I promise nothing,† I said. â€Å"Fine,† Dad said. â€Å"But if you have to choose between the hat and the army, pick the army. And make it a good one. We're going to need it.† â€Å"Where is Gretchen?† Jane asked me. We stood outside the small Obin transport. I had already said good-bye to Dad. Hickory and Dickory waited for me inside the transport. â€Å"I didn't tell her I was leaving,† I said. â€Å"She is going to be very upset about that,† Mom said. â€Å"I don't intend to be away long enough for her to miss me,† I said. Mom didn't say anything to that. â€Å"I wrote her a note,† I said, finally. â€Å"It's scheduled for delivery tomorrow morning. I told her what I thought I could tell her about why I left. I told her to talk to you about the rest of it. So she might come by to see you.† â€Å"I'll talk to her about it,† Jane said. â€Å"I'll try to make her understand.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said. â€Å"How are you?† Mom asked. â€Å"I'm terrified,† I said. â€Å"I'm scared I'll never see you or Dad or Gretchen again. I'm scared I'm going to screw this up. I'm scared that even if I don't screw this up it won't matter. I feel like I'm going to pass out, and I've felt that way since this thing landed.† Jane gave me a hug and then looked to my neck, puzzled. â€Å"You're not taking your jade elephant pendant?† she said. â€Å"Oh,† I said. â€Å"It's a long story. Tell Gretchen I said for her to tell it to you. You need to know about it anyway.† â€Å"Did you lose it?† Jane asked. â€Å"It's not lost,† I said. â€Å"It's just not with me anymore.† â€Å"Oh,† Jane said. â€Å"I don't need it anymore,† I said. â€Å"I know who in this world loves me, and has loved me.† â€Å"Good,† Jane said. â€Å"What I was going to tell you is that as well as remembering who loves you, you should remember who you are. And everything about who you are. And everything about what you are.† â€Å"What I am,† I said, and smirked. â€Å"It's because of what I am that I'm leaving. What I am has been more trouble than it's worth, if you ask me.† â€Å"That doesn't surprise me,† Jane said. â€Å"I have to tell you, Zoe, that there have been times when I have felt sorry for you. So much of your life has been completely out of your control. You've lived your life under the gaze of an entire race of people, and they have made their demands on you right from the beginning. I'm always amazed you've stayed sane through all of it.† â€Å"Well, you know,† I said. â€Å"Good parents help.† â€Å"Thank you,† Jane said. â€Å"We tried to keep your life as normal as possible. And I think we've raised you well enough that I can tell you this and have you understand it: What you are has made demands of you all your life. Now it's time to demand something back. Do you understand?† â€Å"I'm not sure,† I said. â€Å"Who you are has always had to make room for what you are,† Jane said. â€Å"You know that.† I nodded. It had. â€Å"Part of that was because you were young, and what you are is so much larger than who you are,† Jane said. â€Å"You can't expect a normal eight-year-old or even a fourteen-year-old to understand what it means to be something like what you are. But you're old enough now to understand it. To get an appreciation for it. To know how you can use it, for something besides trying to stay up late.† I smiled, amazed that Jane remembered me trying to use the treaty to stay up past my bedtime. â€Å"I've watched you in the last year,† Jane said. â€Å"I've seen how you interact with Hickory and Dickory. They've imposed a lot on you because of what you are. All that training and practicing. But you've also started asking more of them. All those documents you've had them give you.† â€Å"I didn't know you knew about that,† I said. â€Å"I was an information officer,† Jane said. â€Å"This sort of thing is my job. My point is that you've become more willing to use that power. You are finally taking control of your life. What you are is starting to make room for who you are.† â€Å"It's a start,† I said. â€Å"Keep going,† Jane said. â€Å"We need who you are, Zoe. We need you to take what you are – every part of what you are – and use it to save us. To save Roanoke. And to come back to us.† â€Å"How do I do it?† I asked. Jane smiled. â€Å"Like I said: Demand something back,† she said. â€Å"That's unhelpfully vague,† I said. â€Å"Perhaps,† Jane said, and then kissed me on the cheek. â€Å"Or maybe I just have faith that you're smart enough to figure it out on your own.† Mom got a hug for that. Ten minutes later I was fifteen klicks above Roanoke and climbing, heading for an Obin transport, thinking about what Jane had said. â€Å"You will find that our Obin ships travel far more quickly than your Colonial Union ships,† Hickory said. â€Å"Is that right,† I said. I wandered over to where Hickory and Dickory had placed my luggage and picked out one of the suitcases. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Far more efficient engines and better artificial gravity management. We will reach skip distance from Roanoke in a little under two days. It would take one of your ships five or six days to reach the same distance.† â€Å"Good,† I said. â€Å"The sooner we get to General Gau the better.† I unzipped the suitcase. â€Å"This is a very exciting moment for us,† Hickory said. â€Å"This is the first time since you have lived with Major Perry and Lieutenant Sagan that you will meet other Obin in person.† â€Å"But they know all about me,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"The recordings of the last year have made their way to all Obin, both in unedited and digest form. The unedited versions will take time to process.† â€Å"I'll bet,† I said. â€Å"Here we are.† I found what I was looking for: the stone knife, given to me by my werewolf. I had packed it quickly, when no one was looking. I was just making sure that I didn't imagine packing it. â€Å"You brought your stone knife,† Hickory said. â€Å"I did,† I said. â€Å"I have plans for it.† â€Å"What plans?† Hickory asked. â€Å"I'll tell you later,† I said. â€Å"But tell me, Hickory,† I said. â€Å"This ship we're going to. Is there anyone important on it?† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Because it is the first time that you have been in the presence of other Obin since you were a child, one of the members of Obin's governing council will be there to greet you. It very much wants to meet with you.† â€Å"Good,† I said, and glanced at the knife. â€Å"I very much want to meet with it, too.† I think I actually made Hickory nervous right then.