Interview Questions for Manager Profiles Essay

Q1.What do you think are the challenges for Hero MotoCorp at this moment? Q2.What steps would you take to meet the challenges? Â  Q3.Describe a situation in which you were required to handle an unsatisfactory customer. Q4.How has your previous company benefited from you? Â  Q5.What are the most important skills that are required for this job profile? Which of these do you have and don’t have? Q6.What life lessons does a management degree teach? Â  Q7.Tell us about a time when, as a team leader, you had to deal with a difficult situation professionally. How did you solve the issue keeping the team members in purview? Q8.What are the two significant trends in the two wheeler industry today? Q9.Describe a situation when you had to convince a non-supporting team member to consider your plan of action. Q10.What was your specialization in your management studies? Q11.What was going on in your mind when you decided on the management specialization subjects? Q12.How has your previous job experience helped you personally and professionally? Q13.Describe your usual work week. What kinds of works do you do as a manager? General Interview Questions for Hero MotoCorp Ltd Q1.Tell us something about yourself. Q2.What are your hobbies? Q3.What is your vision for Hero MotoCorp? Q4.How did you come to know about Hero MotoCorp? What made you apply here? Q5.Give us reasons why you want to work in this company and not any other. Q6.How do you think will you make a difference in the company? Q7.Which product or service of Hero MotoCorp interests you the most? Why? Q8.How do you see yourself 5 years from now? Q9.What is your expectation in terms of salary? Q10.Tell us about the competitors of Hero MotoCorp. How do these competitors rate in comparison to this company? Q11.How would you describe your role in Hero MotoCorp, if you are hired?

Motorcycles are dangerous Essay

The road is filled with cars and motorcycles but what makes motorcycles seem dangerous, is it the motorcycle itself, is it the drivers who are driving side by side with motorcycles or is it the dare devils riding motorcycles? There is a saying for motorcycles, â€Å"Its not if one fall, its when one falls. † This is said because beginners are notorious for dropping their motorcycles. Motorcycles themselves are not dangerous. It’s the non-experienced drivers and the drivers around them, that pose a threat to motorcycle riders all over the world. The thing with both motorcycles and cars, is if one were to take all the safety classes and course, they would then be less likely to come across accidents on the road. It’s also surprisingly important to know about the vehicle that you drive. Whether that be a car or a motorcycle, because if you know about the mechanics behind it, there is less of a chance that one would get into an accident caused by a mechanical error. Riders who peacock (the act of dressing in color, very noticeable) and wear proper gear are less likely to be in an accident or be hurt in one. Drinking and riding is a big no-no, on a motorcycle the rider need to have full control of the motorcycle and surroundings, drinking even the legal limit will impair a rider far more than in a car. The standard thought is motorcycles are dangerous, but the truth is they are as dangerous as drivers make them or can be even safer than cars if the driver takes the proper initiative and audited. A motorcycle is a tool of transportation, the way it is used determines whether it is dangerous or safe. If an inexperienced person gets on a motorcycle and expects to go on a ride, most likely that person will end up in an accident and in the hospital. It is important to learn to use the tool, what it can do and how knowing all the right steps to staying safe. Motorcycleminds. org recommends that every rider take the beginning rider education class and advanced education rider class to protect oneself and others on the road. These educational classes teach one everything from tire pressure to lane sharing properly. One of the acronyms taught in these classes that beginning to expert cyclist use every time they hop on a motorcycle is T-CLOCS and it stands for tires and wheels, controls, lights, oil, chassis, stands. T-CLOCS is a MSC (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) checklist to keep siders alert and safe. The full in depth checklist can be found on http://www. msf-usa. org/downloads/t-clocsinspectionchecklist. pdf . Without T-CLOCS riders might be going out on and unsafe motorcycle asking for an accident to happen. Knowing how a motorcycle works is just half the game, practice allows for one to perfect the technique of riding making safer and safer every day but still realizing that one always need to be in control but the same can be said for drivers of cars even pedestrians on bicycles. All a motorcycle is a tool and like any other tool it can be classified as dangerous only if miss used and abused. A nail gun can be very dangerous if used improperly but when used properly it can do a professional clean job without any accidents. Broken, worn out parts can be replaced, a human life can’t, safety is only as safe as the driver makes it motorcycles are not dangerous. Choosing proper riding gear will increase minimizing damage in an accident and will maximize how visible the rider is to others on the road. This is where Peacocking and safety should unite to minimize falling in blind spots of other drivers. Covering oneself in riding gear may not seem very stylish but it beats being cheese in a cheese grinder. When driving a car the people in it use seat belts and like to have airbags with outstanding crash ratings. To provide the same level of protection as a car, motorcycle riders should consider wearing proper DOT (Department Of Transportation) approved gear to ensure crash test ratings. When it comes to gear and its expenses it is important to think that the gear is the only thing between the rider and asphalt in an accident. Starting out from ground up with gear, proper boots that have ankle support and have close toes is very important. Having proper boots will prevent skin burns and many accidental rolled ankles. Depending on the kind of riding being done leg and knee pads can be bought but thick jeans or protective riding pants suffice in most cases. Hands that are not protected in an accident can be badly damaged but it is easy to prevent this by having sturdy gloves deigned for the type of riding going on. Jackets can be safe, flashy and fashionable, why not have all three working together? Most motorcycles jackets do, they will provide protective padding, materials that are comfortable but can handle road rash so that skin doesn’t, and while being fashionable usually they make riders more visible to others. As Basem Wasef Writer of Motorcycle Gear 101 on about. com said,â€Å"An old saying goes something like this: If you’ve got a $20 head, buy yourself a $20 helmet. † DOT approved helmets that provide three quarters to full face helmets are crucial in providing proper protections. Having all the appropriate riding gear makes falls that will happen, be less harsh and cuts the dangers of riding by a great deal. People wearing gear properly will be safe like a driver driving in a car with good crash ratings. Accidents happen in cars and motorcycles, being ready for them take many of the danger out of riding motorcycles. The most dangerous thing on a motorcycle is a fatal crash. Most people don’t realize is that a majority of fatal motorcycle accidents are caused by the misuse of motorcycle or riding under the influence. â€Å"One out of three motorcycle accidents involves a rider who is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Thirty-five percent of fatal motorcycle accidents involve a speeding motorcycle rider. † Keller and Keller law firm. Sixty-eight percent that leaves about thirty-two percent for other fatalities to be cause by things cars, trucks and motorcycles fault accidents. Following the law will prevent most motorcycle accidents. All vehicles on the road can be dangerous, if misused, not just motorcycles. Falling on a motorcycle happens but riders keep their head held high just like a teen that crashes their first car. Remembering T-CLOCS can save a riders life and the life of the surrounding people. Dressing to what, a peacock-cock-cock peacock allows on to standout and stay safe on the road. Motorcycles are not dangerous vehicles used properly, skateboards and BMX bikes can be more dangerous. As a avid motorcycle rider of four years I strongly urge anyone interested in riding in MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation). Keep the roads safe for future generations. Works Cited http://www. msf-usa. org/downloads/t-clocsinspectionchecklist. pdf http://dsc. discovery. com/cars-bikes/top-10-ways-to-stay-safe-on-your-motorcycle-2. html http://motorcycleminds. org/? p=847 http://ridingsafely. com/ridingsafely1. html http://motorcycles. about. com/od/gearreviews/tp/Motorcycle-Safety-Gear-101. htm http://www. 2keller. com/library/motorcycle-accident-statistics-motorcycle-acci View as multi-pages.

Support Individuals To Live At Home

Outcome11. Outline the anatomy and physiology of the human body in relation to the importance of correct moving and positioning individuals:Our bodies have many muscles and bones, these working together help the human body move. Certain muscles with certain bones will work together to move the part of the body. When a muscle contracts it will pull the bones at the joint in the correct direction that it is designed to move. When mobility is reduced and muscles do not get exercise these muscles will be floppy and will make movement slower and more difficult. When moving people it is important not to over stretch the joint as this can cause pain and may also cause damage the joint. There are nerve fibres throughout the body and these send impulses to the muscles and this make the muscle contract or relax. Poor moving and handling techniques can damage these nerve fibres.2. Describe the impact of specific conditions on the correct movement and positioning of an individual: There are many conditions that can impact on movement and positioning of people. People with arthritis normally have stiff painful joints and are limited movement in certain areas. When moving or positioning a person it is important to take care doing this so there is reduced pain and discomfort. Some people may suffer from cerebral palsy, as a result of this, some of their muscles may be contracted or joints will be causing a fixed rigid limb. Anyone who is looking after someone who has cerebral palsy will need to ensure they use effective communication and be careful whilst moving and handling them.Outcome 21. Describe how legislation and agreed ways of working afeect working practicies related to moving and positioning individuals:Every time a care worker moves or supports the weight of a service user they are manually handling that person.Unsafe moving and handling techniques can result in injury to either the care worker or the person they are assisting  to move.To reduce the risk of injur y to the care workers and the people being supported legislations are put in place to protect people.The health and safety at work act 1974 makes it a legal requirement for employers to ensure that the health and safety and welfare of their employees is maintained and the employees have a duty to take reasonable care of the health,safety and welfare of themselves and others.Also we need to respect the individual and include them in their own care we must also follow our work settings policies and procedures and each individual will have there own care plan (agreed ways of working) which we must adhere to.We also need to make sure that our moving and handling training is up to date as this is also a required legislation and should be renewed on a yearly basis this helps us to make sure that we move and position residents correctly also it allows us to be informed of any new regulations that may be coming into affect and also refreshes us on how to use the equipment correctly ie hoist ,manga,rotunda etc.2. Describe what health and safety factors need to be taken into account when moving and positioning individuals and any equipment used to do this:Before we carry out any activity at work that involves moving and handling we must be trained, to carry out the moves and also to ensure we have sufficient knowledge of our own body to work. Safely moving and handling incidents occur as a result of lack of awareness, slippery floors, lack of preparation, faulty equipment, lack of co-operation from the individual, poorly trained and ill prepared staff Health and safety measures When I have to move the person then I should be careful and I must explain the person before assist them, what is going to happen and try as much as possible to keep away from lifting altogether, trying rather to roll, to slide or to turn the person.The use of simple and fairly inexpensive aids will eliminate the need lifting or heavy handling. Moving and handling has special rules: I need to make sure that I have enough space to move smoothly and freely. Move any obstructions for space to move, place my feet comfortably apart so that I have a firm base. Always stand as close as possible to the person to be moved, bend at the knees so that I can use the strong leg muscles, do not bend or twist at the waist. Try to maintain the  Ã¢â‚¬ËœS’ shape of My spine to help to reduce the strain on my backOutcome 31. Access up-to-date copies of risk assessment documentation: 2. Carry out preparatory checks using: 3.The individuals care plan 4.The moving and handling risk assessment 5. Describe what action should be taken if the individuals wishes conflict with their plan of care in relation to health and safety and their risk assessment:Outcome 51. Follow the care plan to ensure that individual is positioned: Using the agreed techniques In a way that will avoid causing undue pain or discomfort 6. Monitor the individual througout the activity so that the procedure can be stopped if there is any adverse reaction:Outcome 61. Describe when advice and/or assistance should be sought to move or handle an individual safely:2. Describe what sources of information are available about moving and positioning individuals:

Cal week 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cal week 6 - Essay Example This activity was carried out throughout the week and there was also a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the use of the stakeholder management approach within organizations during the process of strategic management and decision making (Marquardt and Marquardt, 2011, p. 99). There was an assignment on posting a literature review to the discussion relating to the stakeholder management approach. The assignment involved the critical identification of key arguments, new insights of the articles, and the application of the literature review to a personal experience (Pedler, 2011, p. 16). I have learned a number of things from both the readings and the class members. First, I have learned that managers have a complex task of making sure that their actions satisfy all the interest groups of an organization. This has expanded my understanding as to why managers need to avoid being biased in order to avoid conflicts of interests (ONeil and Marsick, 2007, p. 88). Second, I have also learnt that managers are required in an ethical manner in order to achieve fairness in addressing the issue of fairness among different stakeholders. This is because they have the duty of preserving and serving the interests of all the stakeholders of the organization. Third, I have come to appreciate the importance of team work in discussing week modules. I had a number of discussions with class members and this improved my understanding of the module. I have also learned that people have different interpretations of a common literature material. This is because class members would post diff erent ideas on the discussion board. This offered the best opportunity for learning (Kember, 2000, p. 34). The concepts from the classroom have been very helpful during the learning module. I have applied the concepts from classroom lessons to solving real life problems. For instance, the concept of stakeholder management approach can be

Are human beings capable of acting from a concern for others that is Essay

Are human beings capable of acting from a concern for others that is not derived from a concern for their own welfare - Essay Example gates various questions for example, the best ways for individuals to live in society, the best ways to conduct businesses using the business ethics and the actions that are considered wrong or right in certain circumstances. Ethics strives to provide the answers for the complex questions regarding human morality by elaborating concepts like evil and good, wrong and right, vice and virtue, and crime and justice. Business ethics is a type of applied ethics that is used to scrutinise the ethical principles and ethical issues that come up in the business environment. Business ethics is defined as the study of the proper practices and policies in businesses in regards to the potential controversial issues for instance insider trading, corporate governance, discrimination, fiduciary responsibilities, and corporate social responsibility.3 The business ethics are developed in enterprises so that a particular level of trust is enhanced among the employees, consumers, and other market participants that promote the business and the general economy of the States. This essay is going to discuss if human beings are capable of acting from a concern for others that is not derived from a concern for their own welfare, from the angle of ethics and economics point of view. Meta ethics seeks to comprehend the nature of the ethical statements, properties, judgements and attitudes. Meta ethics addresses queries such as the goodness in individuals and how people can differentiate between the good and bad, therefore seeking to recognize the nature of diverse ethical evaluations and properties. Human beings are capable of acting from a concern for others that are not derived from a concern for their own welfare depending with how they were brought during their childhood and what they learnt from school, religious places the surrounding environment regarding what is right and wrong. Individuals whose goal is to improve and attract more customers to their businesses act with concern for

Advocacy and issues in physical education Essay

Advocacy and issues in physical education - Essay Example A lot of them are so fat! In the last two decades the number of obese children in our country has tripled. In fact, they comprise 17.1% of children including teenagers (Advocacy Issues). The figure is daunting!There is need for setting up after-school physical activity program in the school's main gym for non-athletes, increase in the amount of physical education currently offered in the school, adding physical education to No Child Left Behind law, and maintain 30 minutes recess in the regular school day.In the absence of adequate physical activity, the actual performances of the students suffer. They are unable to attain peak performance. They do not maintain the level of concentration required. They tire easily. They lack resilience.You can see that there are serious consequences awaiting these kids. From the viewpoint of health, obesity is the single cause for most diseases like cardiovascular problems, blood pressure, hypertension, type-2 diabetes, stroke, etc. (Advocacy Issues) . Apart from this, obesity comes in the way of physical activities and fast thinking that make careers. Parents too urge physical education in view of this situation.In a few years from now, these kids could be looking back with regret why they could not partake of a healthier system. They may feel they ought to have done more in the physical realm. They may even consider starting at that point. However, a great number of these students may drop out in the absence of sustained efforts of others over them, something that they can get in the school. It is here that we could do something positive and have the students put on the right track so that they can continue with it even after they complete school. I think there is the need to nurture physical exercise. Much of the time is spent on the mental aspects. Indeed the best times are spent studying. The physical attributes are hardly touched upon. It is high time the physical aspects are given their due. If we fail to act now the day is not far off when we will pay for the lapse with serious consequences to the individual and to the nation. Build better society The inclusion of physical education in school will have tremendous impact in the hearts and lives of the students. Given the right approach, they will grow to appreciate life better. The level of their thinking will improve. They will have better self-respect and they will learn to make more correct evaluations. Apart from better learning, their contributions to society will improve. It is important to bear in mind that we are handling children entrusted to us by parents who are keen to see that their wards receive the best attention and nurture not only mentally but also in the physical domain. Besides, society needs strong, self-oriented students. The capacity to perform and excel is inculcated in students who are well disposed to physical education. These students possess the attitude to awaken in society the right beliefs and traits so that the composite whole is reflected in the students. Building self-respect Students with physical education not only receive training and workout whereby they have better build physically but also score on self-evaluation. They are also well-informed and

The Gaia Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Gaia Theory - Essay Example An example of this is the central belief in Gaia Theory that says the composition of the atmosphere is closely regulated by biological reactions to changes in the atmosphere. For example, an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere should result in a corresponding growth in vegetation that would absorb the additional CO2. In this way, Gaia theorists say that the biological reaction to changes in the atmosphere help keeps the earth in a state of habitable stasis. Some Gaia theorists argue that instead of stasis, the biological changes will actually work to optimize earth’s ability to sustain life. I agree with the criticism leveled against the Gaia Theory. While I find the thoughts and hypothesis generated by this theory, I think the author’s discussion of how historical evidence shows that once earth cools, it actually works to keep itself cool and after it has heated it tends to stay hot is at odds with the theory. The levels of C4 and C2 evidenced in arctic ice core samples seems to show that biological changes cannot counter all changes in the atmosphere to create a situation of stasis or even optimization. Forests affect global climate change in several important ways. The manner that they affect global climate change is different depending on whether the forest is located in a tropical, temperate or sub-arctic region. Tropical forests affect global climate change greatly through high levels of evaporative cooling and carbon sequestration. The humid climate contributes to rapid growth in woody flora of all types. The competing species of trees organize themselves into a climax forest consisting of a deeply shaded floor with low surface temperature with massive amounts of carbon stored in the trunks to the trees. Much study has been made of the clearing of tropical forest for agricultural uses.

The rise of the Second Klan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The rise of the Second Klan - Essay Example It is believed that it had enlisted more than 30 million people by mid-1920s of which 43% belonged to the protestant church (MacLean, 7). It was against the Catholics, Jews, immigrants and the African Americans who were giving the whites a run for the available housing and jobs. They also aimed at restoring social order. This paper will examine the issues that gave rise to the Klan, the role played by class, gender and race as well as the complex forces that gave rise to the invisible army. The rise of the second Klan can be attributed to many factors as outlined by MacLean (1-97). The first factor responsible for the rise of the Klan was the famous film â€Å"The birth of the Nation† by D.W Griffiths which depicted black men as beasts and the white men as saviors of American civilization (12). The film had lots of praises for the first Klan in their advocacy for restoration of the white rule after the civil and the reconstruction thereafter. As such, it was very influential a mong the whites. Simmons and his friends took advantage of this platform to preach their ideologies and recruit thousands of members. Another significant event that gave rise to the second Klan was the lynching of a Jewish man namely Leo Frank. This individual had been convicted of murdering Mary Phagan a white factory worker. He had been handed a death sentence but the Georgia governor commuted the sentence (12). The white men were very angry with the governor’s action that they decided to hang him and the place he was hanged became the podium for launching the Klan organization. This was the beginning of the recruitment drive for the Klan. It established links with the press to champion their course and attract more people to the Klan through propaganda. These helped the Klan to infiltrate even the high levels of government since those who were against the fraternity would be threatened and blackmailed (88). The role of government officials was to ensure security for member s; since it comprised of governors, mayors, lecturers, and judges the chances of prosecuting errant members were slim. This is why the organization managed to thrive for long and expand despite its activities. The Klan also ensured most of the lay leaders of the protestant churches were Klan men. This enabled them to paint a good picture of the Klan despite their violent acts. They also infiltrated the fraternal organizations such as the woodmen of world and Elk and used them to recruit more members and as a channel for communicating its agenda. Those who joined were initiated through an oathing ceremony whereby they paid initiation fees as well as buying Klan costumes which comprised of hoods, robes, and terrifying masks (MacLean, 7-15). According to MacLean’s â€Å"The vice of modernity,† the rise of the second Klan was also prompted by economic and social factors. The main issue that led the whites to revive the Klan was fear of losing the white supremacy due to the economic and social changes that were occurring. They felt that these shifting lines of race, class, religion and gender were threatening social order and it was its role to maintain order in society (MacLean 32). Due to industrialization there was rapid urbanization which changed the lives of Americans. Most people were involved in cotton farming among other farming activities with the whites

Applying Theories and Principles for Planning and Enabling Inclusive Essay

Applying Theories and Principles for Planning and Enabling Inclusive Learning and Teaching - Essay Example The best way to understand Brain-based education is through three words namely: principles, strategies and engagement. Thus, learners have to be engaged and it has to be done with strategies, which are real science based (Darling-Kuria, 2010, p. 02). Brain-based learning effectively ensures to produce a more efficient learning process, which assists the student through comprehension on how the brain delivers, and learns the valuable learning environment possible. Therefore, brain-based learning is the vigorous engagement of strategies that are purposeful on principles, which are effectively derived from neuroscience. Brain-based learning is done in accordance to the way the brain is designed naturally to learn. This study will extensively discuss the various merits of the curriculum, which are taught through instructions, where it is taught, how it taught, the environment, how it measured, and the assessment (Call & Featherstone, 2010a, p.05). A research done recently shows that adul ts have a paramount role in facilitating for the children an early environment that is stimulating. There is therefore a need of the classrooms to have a link that is nearly close to the real-world environment. The curricula being taught should include problem layers, cultural and many sensory layers that effectively stimulate and excite the noble neural networks of the brain. It is also evident that an individual cannot learn in the same way to the other people and thus each individual has his/her own learning style. Evidently, artificial stress on the children is inevitable if the children are forced to learn under ineffective conditions, which greatly interfere with how they learn. These conditions reduce and depress their performance results as well as their motivation. Educators should therefore ensure to embrace the children as individuals and not as a collective class that deserve uniform practices since they are supposed to incorporate diverse teaching skills (Taylor & Macke nney, 2008, p.18). Additionally, educators must provide complex instructions, which effectively enhance and develop learning profiles individually. Complex instruction is multifaceted and it involves providing a variety of resources, groupings, instructional materials, and assessment instruments. Additionally, structured classroom time devoted to emotional and social skill building, group problem solving, and team building strengthens academic learning. Research conducted recently on learning and brain indicates that the brain effectively responds more to learning environments that are enriched and which involve as many of its processing centers as possible. Thus, educators have to allow the children to have rich experiences and then give them time and opportunities to make sense of their experiences by finding and reflecting connections in how things relate to each other. Lessons stimulating emotions, senses, and memory aid cognition and future retrieval in real world situations (C all & Featherstone, 2010b, p.35). The student usually benefits from a type of captivation in which wide selections of motivations are integrated so that the experiences are more genuine and engaging. These experiences should have problem-solving skills in learning different theories and facts since they are personally and meaningfully rewarding to the learners and thus being more inspiring and rewarding. Learners learn

English Technical Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English Technical Writing - Assignment Example For example, in the customer service division, a secondary expert in divisional support for this area should grant recognition and approval that the activities associated with a job function are accurate and up-to-date on current role. If the organization is attempt to map out a step-by-step procedure manual for a technology support function, expertise in systems training and development should be consulted as a primary resource to support the job role claims. Procedure manuals can be developed for virtually any industry and be built to describe the functions of a variety of job functions. In an academic environment, these manuals can identify meeting protocol for executives associated with corporate policy or those outlined by senior decision-makers that govern knowledge and education. Either internally or externally, some form of consulting expert should give final approvals for the step-by-step guide or improve on what has been inferred from existing data. Mapping is part of the p lanning process and the actual gathering of support materials to assist in drawing a job or functional map of a system.

John Kerry on Syria Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

John Kerry on Syria - Assignment Example So what do we know that can’t talk about publically? We know that the Assad regime has the largest chemical program in the entire Middle East. We know that the regime has used those weapons multiple times this year† Before the statement marked in bold, Kerry says that some of the information the government possess cannot be exposed to the general public, yet he goes ahead and presents the same information to the general public. This makes the first statement generally invalid. â€Å"..instead for four days, they shelled the neighborhood in order to destroy the evidence, bombarding block after block at a rate four times higher than they had over the previous ten days†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦in all of these things that I have listed, in all of these things that we know, all of them, the American Intelligence Community has high confidence, this is common sense, this is evidence, these are facts†¦.† John Kerry confirms that the US government intelligence did not manage to gather evidence regarding Assad’s attack on neighboring opposing communities owing to the fact that Assad’s military destroyed all the evidence. However, he goes ahead and argues that the information the US government possess are common sense, therefore

Discussion - Stereotypes Essay Example for Free

Discussion Stereotypes Essay Although some people believe that they do not use stereotypes to describe people or even think of others differently, that is false. In this generation, stereotypes are everywhere and are almost impossible to not be affected by them. The true definition of the word ‘stereotype,’ is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Stereotypes can be applied to just about anything; ranging from age, gender, media, social, racial, and even class. These are just a few areas that can be stereotyped. Regardless of what anyone says or tries to do, stereotypes are unavoidable; they are used to categorize just about everything and everyone. One of the most common stereotypes out there is about gender. Many people categorize gender and what they hear about the two different genders and then make judgments based on those things that they heard. For example, one major stereotype about women is that they are terrible drivers. Although this may be true in some cases, it does not mean that all women are terrible at driving. There is proof to this because there are some professional drivers that are women. Also, the stereotype that all men are tough, outgoing, macho men is not true. Maybe some men would like people to think that they are too tough to hurt, but this does not go for everyone. Another stereotype about women is that they are not good at sports, but in reality there are so many professional sports players out there that are women. Granted that not all women are good at sports, there are still so many out there that are great at sports. Also, the stereotype that men or women who spend too much time on their computers or reading books are geeks is just ridiculous. Sometimes people have a hard time fitting in with the real world so instead they like to spend time on the internet where they can easily fit in somewhere with other people easily. In order to fit in on the internet all you need is a couple clicks and you are there. Spending time on the internet doesn’t make anyone a geek regardless of the reason for going on to the internet so much. Another humorous stereotype about men is that all men are slobs. While this is true about many men, it is not true about all of them. Some men suffer from OCD, and will have to make everything they do perfect and neat, but others just do not like to be sloppy or slobs. Also, many people think that men are the slobs and women are the neat ones, but that is completely incorrect. There are so many women who are even bigger slobs than men and are completely fine with being a slob and it does not bug them one bit. Even though some of those stereotypes out there might be true for some people that does not mean that all stereotypes will be true for everyone. While it is true that gender has a pretty big role while dealing with stereotypes, society has an even bigger role. Within today’s society, just about everything has a certain stereotype, if not multiple stereotypes about it. Stereotypes are created towards music, grades, how one dresses, tattoos, piercings, and so much more. While music is one of the most important things to many people, others will change the way they think about someone based on what music they listen to. Some people will even avoid someone completely just because of the music that they choose to listen to. For example, a group of people who like to listen to rap music might avoid being with a person who enjoys jazz. Also, society deals with people having tattoos as such a negative thing; regardless of what the tattoo stands for or is about. Someone who might be saving lives as a doctor who has tattoos can be viewed as a negative person just for the fact that he or she has tattoos. This has to be one of the most unfair, ridiculous stereotypes that our society has come up with. What one person would like to make permanent on their own body should not matter to other people especially if it is not offensive in any way. Some people will get tattoos for loved ones who passed away, but somehow in other people’s eyes doing so is very wrong and the person should be judged as a negative human. Some people will even go as far as think of someone with tattoos as a criminal. As for piercings, it is almost the same way about tattoos, but there is some leeway with piercings. Society thinks it is alright for humans to get piercings, but once someone wants to make those piercings into gauges, everything about it is wrong. A gauge is simply a larger piercing. To make a gauge, one needs to get their ear pierced and then once it heals, they simply stretch the healed piercing making it a larger hole. Somehow this is also viewed negatively and therefore, people with gauges are viewed as bad people. It is actually harder to get a job for a person that has tattoos and gauges than a person without these, regardless of the intelligence of either person. Just about every company does not want to hire any ‘negatively viewed’ people to become their employees. It does not matter how smart the person can be; if the person has tattoos or gauges, most likely the company will hire someone else. This is not fair to anyone and it is all thanks to stereotypes made by society all about society. Although just about everyone hates some stereotypes, everyone uses them and makes more, it is beyond hypocritical, but everyone does it; which brings me to the comic strip. In the comic strip, a man is talking to his therapist about stereotypes and how he hates them, but in the way he is doing so, he is also making a stereotype of his own about people who make stereotypes. This goes to show that even if everyone wants to end stereotypes, it is just about impossible to completely end them. Stereotypes are just too common and easy to create more and more and spread across the world. Although gender and social are two big factors of stereotyping, the largest must be racial stereotyping. Not everyone wants to act in a rude way towards other races, but it is just unavoidable due to stereotypes. In the short video, â€Å"A class divided,† the teacher, Jane Elliot, dared to do something that could possibly end her career as a teacher. She decided to teach her kids about discrimination towards other races. In a class full of brown eyed and blue eyed white children she told her class that all the blue eyed children were better and more important than the other brown eyed children. This caused little chaos within the class, one blue eyed kid got in a fight with a brown eyed child because the brown eyed child was thought to be less important than the blue eyed child. This chaos in the class started within a day of starting this experiment. The next day Elliot did the same test, but instead of blue eyed children being the more important, this day was the brown eyed children. Although this was a very risky testing, the results stuck with the children for the rest of their lives. These children knew first hand just how bad it felt being picked on because of stereotypes. The movie Crash is known for the dramatic roles it plays with racial stereotyping and many other stereotypes. Just about the whole movie is continuously going on about different stereotypes and how it affects different people. For example, in the movie an Egyptian store clerk was robbed and on the walls the robbers wrote stereotypes against Arabians. This goes to show that many people can’t tell the difference between some cultures or races so they will just group them with some other race. Within the in-class discussion about the different races, there were different views on each of the races, but some people thought alike using stereotypes to think that way. Some races were thought of as negative stereotypes while other races had positive stereotypes. For example, while talking about Germany, the class thought of Hitler, beer, and Nazi. Two out of those three statements are negative; beer was the only non negative one that was said. While Germany was deemed negative, Australians were thought of as positive. The Australian list consisted of animals and accents, which both are positive. Finally, in the article, Stereotypes Simply Psychology, the author talks about different races and what some races thought of others. The study done showed that white Americans were seen as industrious, progressive and ambitious, while African Americans were seen as lazy, ignorant and musical. This just goes to show that just about all people think differently about all races, even if the thoughts could be way off or pin point on, stereotypes are included in everyday life. To sum everything up, there are some positive stereotypes, but there are even more negative stereotypes out there. There are labels dealing with just about everything one can think of, ranging from society to gender to age to even the media. Although stereotypes are mostly negative and bad for everyone, they also sometimes help us humans out. While thinking fast, humans use stereotyping to quickly categorize the object or human that they are thinking about. This automatic process of ours can be helpful, but it can also be harmful depending on how one chooses to use this quick ability. While stereotypes can truly be helpful, the vast majority of all people choose to use labels as a negative thing to put others down in a hurtful way. More and more stereotypes pop up each year, some more hurtful than the previous ones. Although these stereotypes are harmful, there is little to nothing that we as a society can do to get rid of them; they are everywhere and always being created. Works Cited A Class Divided. William Peters. Frontline, 1985. Film. McLeod, S. A. (2008). Stereotypes Simply Psychology. Retrieved from Meehan, K. Pros Cons. [Comic]. http://www. thecomicstrips. com/store/add. php? iid=83614.

Conflict Resolution In African Countries Politics Essay

Conflict Resolution In African Countries Politics Essay Africa as a continent is faced with rampant conflicts in some of its countries with consequent negative effects to the economic, political and social lives of their citizens and neighboring countries. A study by Africa action, an activism website for Africa, states It is important to note that most of Africa is not at warà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ However, where conflicts do exist, they affect not only the stability of the countries involved, but also their neighbors and the entire sub-region. The political class often uses ideologies to stay in office and sometimes resort to conflicts in the form of violence. Conflict resolution, being a basic human activity, is conducted in forms that often vary across cultures. Different methods have been used in the past to try to resolve these conflicts including military deployment; dialogue between conflicting parties; and even negotiations. THESIS: Whenever there is scarcity of resources there is bound to be conflict as people try to share the resources. Conflict is thus as old as humanity. Conflict is defined as the underlying issue in dispute between or among parties and conflict resolution as the elimination of causes of the underlying conflict. Conflict resolution in African countries Africa as a continent is endowed with enough resources to keep the world moving for years. It is indeed the resources from Africa that brought industrialization to life; ranging from raw materials to labor. It is thus absurd that majority of African countries are categorized under third world countries and are faced with frequent deaths due to diseases, civil wars, poverty, and natural calamities. Civil wars and political unrests have been the major setbacks to development in Africa. Where there is peace, corruption comes in the way. Allocation of resources has always been a cause of disagreement in countries frequented by conflicts in Africa. Okoth et al states: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦State power in African countries has been the major arena of privilege -the religious, business, and other arenas provide fewer opportunities and it has been accessible to ambitious men of humble origin. The quest for political power is thus motivated by the desire to control state resources and their authoritative allocation. (46) African political class, thus try so hard to achieve political positions in their respective governments and once they get there, they work even harder to maintain these positions. They then indulge in allocation of state resources to theirs kinsmen and close friends with no regard whatsoever to the common man who labors so much and gets no say in the fruits of his labor. This scenario, more often than not leads to a section of the country feeling left out in the allocation of state resources taking up arms in an attempt to oust the incumbent political class out of government. In an attempt to try to hold on to power and the status quo, the political elite often resort to ideologies to save their skins. Nzunga points out that the current state of most African countries cannot be dissociated from the Berlin Treaty of 1885, which divided the continent into zones of European influence. Before this year, most communities in this continent ran their own affairs in relative independence, within a clearly understood ethnic region. He points out that the greatest injustice the colonial masters committed was, undoubtedly, the imposition of their language and culture on the colonized minority groups. Because of the way the colonial masters divided the African continent without regard to the various cultures of ethnic communities that were in existence before them, these ethnic communities found themselves in the same borders forming countries. The political elite is well aware of this fact and whenever things are not going well for them they go back to their ethnic cocoons making them believe that it is their tribes in threat of extinction by the others. This often leads to ethnic clashes as witnessed in the Rwanda genocide and Kenya. Okoth et al notes that the politically motivated ethnic violence in Kenya in 1991-1992 on the re-introduction of multi-party politics can thus be explained in terms of this misuse of the state to the advantage of a few, and the consequent instigation of parochial identities by political leaders for their own selfish interests (52). Others, in the case of Nigeria, resort to their religious affiliations clashing Christians against Muslims. Political ideology is thus a tool used by the politicians to cause conflict while they desperately cling to power for selfish reasons while the common citizen suffers. Sadiki is quick to point out that an observation of conflict trends in Africa indicates that intrastate armed conflicts, which were on the rise between 1990 and 1998, have significantly decreased in number. Many conflicts on the continent have been settled and others are in the process of being resolved, generally through peaceful means. This is an indication that as far as African states are concerned, military deployment has not been successful in resolving conflicts rather it fuels it. This is evident in southern Sudan where military deployment from the north for over a decade failed to resolve the conflicts until peaceful negotiations were introduced. Despite the military deployment by the AU and UN peacekeepers in Somalia, the state is still in chaos as violent conflicts thrive. In Kenya, for example, the 2007-2008 post election violence only escalated when police tried to intervene. It took the efforts of a third party, Kofi Annan, to lead peaceful negotiations between the two parties in conflict to resolve the conflicts. In the present day, conflicts in Egypt and Tunisia over corruption and equitable allocation of state resources cannot be resolved through military might. In conclusion, with studies showing the similarities in the causes of conflicts in African countries, one thing that stands out is that we should not wait for conflicts to occur and try to resolve them. Instead, African countries should put constitutional measures in place that will ensure corruption and resource allocation issues are dealt with from the roots upwards.

CRISPR-Cas9 History and Engineering

CRISPR-Cas9 History and Engineering A modular platform using engineered single short guide RNA to allow programming of CRISPR specificity, permitting high efficacy gene induction for analysis of gene function. The ability to control gene expression has been the key method in elucidating their respective functions, pathways, and regulatory elements; paving a way for future therapeutic applications. The two main approaches of determining gene function involve the analysis of loss-of-function (LOF) and gain-of-function (GOF) mutations. LOF involves a mutation in an allele where partial or full loss in genetic function occurs. GOF involves the introduction of a mutation which generates a new allele associated with a new function. The problem with GOF screening approaches is that theyre hindered by a requirement for large comprehensive cDNA library overexpression systems which rarely encompass the full spectrum of isoform variation. Viral expression vectors are not large enough to allow these to be cloned. LOF screening is the predominant way of analysing gene function, using techniques such as Transcription-activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) RNA interference and Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs). However, these are difficult to construct on a genome wide scale, unlike CRISPR-Cas9. A brief history of CRISPR-Cas9 In 1987, Ishino et al observed the presence of CRISPR repeats within bacterial genomes, but it wasnt until 2006 that Makarova proposed for its use as an adaptive immune system. Cas9 or CRISPR associated protein 9 is an endonuclease, guided by RNA and associated with CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). The system functions by interrogating and cleaving foreign DNA from bacteriophages by unwinding the foreign DNA and checking its complementation to a 20 base pair spacer region on the guide RNA. If the DNA substrate is complementary to the guide RNA, cleavage of the DNA occurs (Heler R, 2015). (Jinek M, 2012) discovered that by inactivating Cas9s two catalytic domains, its DNA cleavage ability is disrupted thereby creating catalytically dead or dCas9. This provides a platform for an RNA-guided transcript activator (dCas9-activator) using a single short guided RNA (sgRNA). Engineering CRISPR-Cas9 In their article: Genome-scale transcriptional activation by an engineered CRISPR-Cas9 complex, Konermann et al develop a system using programmable DNA binding proteins for engineering synthetic transcription factors for the modulation of endogenous gene expression. This allowed GOF screening and was successful in turning on tens of thousands of individual genes in parallel. To allow rational engineering of the CRISPR-Cas9 system, the structure of the Cas9-sg-RBA-target DNA tertiary complex had to be elucidated. To do this, crystallographic studies were performed. Optimal anchoring positions were determined for the activation domains. The team settled on the addition of protein interacting RNA aptamers to the tetraloop and stemloop 2 to facilitate the recruitment of effector domains to the Cas9, as illustrated in figure 1. Fusion of the dCas9 to transcriptional activation domains converts the Cas9 nuclease into an dCas9-activator. Linking the dCas9 to domains of proteins involved in transcriptional activation and allowing CRISPR to target promotor sequences regulating transcription of particular genes provides a means of modulating natural gene expression. The efficacy of this system is low causing at most a fivefold increase in activation. Tiling the promoter region with several sgRNAs can produce a substantial transcriptional activation. Konermann et al overcame this low efficiency by turning CRISPR sgRNA into a modular platform which assembles multiple different transcriptional activators. The addition of the protein interacting RNA aptamers attracts RNA binding proteins. The complex can be used to target the transcription activation domains of different transcription factors, creating a system termed the synergistic activator mediator (SAM) by its authors. Astonishingly, this complex can induce more than 100-fold activation of genes. Parallels can be drawn with the cells natural mechanisms of gene regulation; enhancers can turn on gene expression by generating long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) which act as modular scaffolds, recruiting cellular machinery similarly to CRISPR. Konnermanns findings appear to mimic the lncRNAs by orchestrating the use of multiple proteins to have them work in cohesion. Current Applications The authors displayed the applications of this response by creating a library of sgRNAs, thereby allowing individual activation of over 23,000 genes. Their experiments were centred around melanoma cancer cells. PLX-4720 is a common drug treatment, capable of killing these cancerous cells. The experiment involved activation of individual genes to establish which ones would provide resistance to the killing effects of the PLX-4720 treatment. Drug resistance was determined by calculating the relative frequency of sgRNAs in melanoma cells post drug treatment. sgRNAs were correspondent to the genes involved in known drug-resistance pathways.   This verified that the SAM technique could identify biologically significant outcomes of varied gene expression. It was determined that 13 genes whose altered gene expression produced a state of drug resistance. Potential applications The significance of the findings of Konnermann et al are a new and improved programmable targeting system for DNA by which RNA sequences can be engineered to determine specificity. Through this, single sgRNA-mediated gene upregulation can be performed.This next generation of CRISPR expands the Cas9 toolbox, further engineering may take advantage of the modular nature of this system. The scaffolding allows variation in the use of aptamers, for recruitment of specific effectors It has been proposed to replace the MS2 stem loops with PP7 elements to recruit repressive elements as opposed to activators, thereby opening the possibility of bidirectional transcript control. Further research is required to determine off target effects of CRISPR and validate experiments to confirm effects of altered gene expression. This will require a detailed understanding of regulatory elements and further experiments with gene sub libraries. Future applications will involve positive and negative selectio n screens to determine genetic elements in cells.

Hurricanes :: essays research papers

Hurricane, name applied to migratory tropical cyclones that originate over oceans in certain regions near the equator, and particularly to those arising in the West Indian region, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane-type cyclones in the western Pacific are known as typhoons. Hurricanes are high winds that move in a circular motion, around an eye (a low pressure center of a storm). The diameter of the area affected by winds of destructive force may exceed 150 mi. Gale winds prevail over a larger area, averaging 300 mi in diameter. The strength of a hurricane is rated from 1 to 5. Obviously 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest strength. Hurricanes sometimes produce over 250 mm (10 in) of rain and lead to extensive flooding. Which in turn can cause another problem in its self.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The places that are most often hit with tornados are: Antigua, Bermuda, Central America, Charleston, SC, Galveston, TX, Miami, Providence, RI, Santo Domingo, Asia, Honduras, Oceania, United States, and the West Indies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Florida has to contend with the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Hurricane Andrew swept through southern Florida in August 1992, just south of Miami, leaving 41 people dead, making more than 200,000 homeless, and doing about $20 billion worth of property damage. In August 1995 Hurricane Erin crossed Florida along the same path, then turned and swept through the panhandle, causing an estimated $360 million in damage. The panhandle was pounded again later in 1995 by Hurricane Opal, which caused damage of $2.1 billion. A series of tornadoes hit the central part of the state in February 1998, claiming 42 lives. That is just one case in particular. All over the world the same story happens over and over. What is so sad is that in the 3rd world countries, there is little to no protection and many more lives are lost. Such as in 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, killing between 5,600 and 7,000 people. It also swept away 70 percent of their crops and cost billions of dollars to put the nation back together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Right now there are people trying to prevent hurricanes. At the present it is impossible to prevent them, but with early detection many lives have been saved.

Connie’s Choice in Where are you Going, Where have you Been? :: Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

Where are you Going, Where have you Been? – Connie’s Choice I think Connie opened the screen door because she wanted to escape from her life with her family into some kind of fantasy. I think there were other reasons also, but the story points to this one in many places. First of all, Connie was not happy at home. The story says that her father "was away at work most of the time," and "didn't bother talking much to them," so Connie didn't have love from him and had to find male attention somewhere else. Connie found her happiness in escaping with her friend to the drive-in restaurant and daydreaming about boys. But the happiness she found in both of these things had nothing to do with actual events; it is based on a fantasy. When she was out at the drive-in with a boy, her face gleamed "with the joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place; it might have been the music." When she daydreamed about boys, they all "fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face, but an idea, a feeling mixed up with the urgent pounding of the music..." A theme that runs through this story is that music seems to be the bridge from the real world into Connie's fantasy world. She doesn't know what she wants, but it's got something to do with "the music that made everything so good." When Arnold Friend drove up the driveway, Connie was listening to music, "bathed in a glow of slow-pulsed joy." She soon discovered that he was playing the same music in his car. This is not a coincidence; I think it makes a connection in the back of Connie's mind. And, the story says that it seemed to Connie like Arnold "had come from nowhere," and "belonged nowhere," and that everything about him "was only half real." I think in some strange way Arnold becomes to Connie the way to escape into her fantasy. When she learns his true intentions she is scared to death at first but eventually that fear gives way to "an emptiness." Connie thinks, "I'm not going to see my mother again... I'm not going to sleep in my bed again.

Yellow Ribbon Project

PR Assignment 1 Background Sheet: Generating Yellow Ribbon Project Campaign Awareness 1. About the Organization: Singapore Prison Services Singapore Prison Services (SPS) is a division of the Singapore Police Force that concentrates on the care and rehabilitation of prisoners who have committed social or criminal offences. The organization does not merely concentrate on housing and providing guidance for inmates while they are in remand, it is also dedicated to ensure that no repeat offences ensue. Thus, a major portion of their efforts also concentrate on providing inmates with basic employment skills in hopes of preventing past criminal behaviour from surfacing upon their release into society. This indicates that the SPS provides preventive and after-care measures to maintain former prison inmates compliance with the law as much as possible. (Source: http://www. prisons. gov. sg/about_us. html) 2. About the PR Situation In 2005, SPS services realized that former inmates released into society faced social stigma in the form of negative public opinions of being ex-offenders and are often denied employment or rejected by society. Such public opinions are harmful and repressive. Seitel (1998, pp50) describes Public Opinion as the aggregate of many individual opinions on a particular issue that affects a group of people by forming consensus or popular attitudes and thoughts. The role of the PR practitioner then is to positively influence an individual’s attitude. As seen in the above definition, public opinions represent popular thoughts that can prove an inmate’s re-integration into society a daunting task. Without the means of finding acceptance or a proper means of living, many relapse back into a life of crime, a paradox that can be resolved through a public relations campaign that aims to educate and seek acceptance. As such, the Yellow Ribbon Project as a public relations campaign in a long-term program that sought to change public perceptions of ex-offenders was launched in order to deliver a second chance. In this situation, the SPS has been providing culinary training to a group of inmates in conjunction with Raffles Hotel (Singapore) that has culminated in a cooking competition. A renowned chef has been at helm in training them and he has marvelled at their ability to pick up skills in a short time. The newsworthiness of this initiative begins with prison inmates partaking in a grand cooking competition not unlike the Iron Chef series. Thus, a Media release highlighting the background of the cooking competition and a feature article in the form of a personality profile written by an SPS Public Relations Executive will be provided for the purposes of fulfilling this assignment. 3. Reasons for Using PR Communication: 3. 1 Media Release: It is deemed that to generate positive publicity and awareness of the ‘bizarre’ cooking competition in conjunction with this year’s Yellow Ribbon Project (YRP), a media release will be sent to newspaper editors in Singapore in hope that the story will be printed and generate interest and positive awareness. A media release has been described by Seitel (1998, pp175) as a document of record to state an organization’s official position or to influence a publication to write favourably about the material discussed and stimulate editors to cover a story. As readers tend to perceive news articles with more credibility, it is hoped that the use of a media release information transformed into a news article will fulfil the communicative objectives of the YRP better in terms of reach and credibility than using an advertisement or provision of information on the organization’s website. 3. Feature Article-Personality Profile: For the second communication tool, a personality profile of a former prison inmate who has found moderate success as a food hawker will be written by an SPS Public Affairs executive and published in a local Singapore Newspaper, The Straits Times special edition that covers the YRP in October. In addition, the personality profile will also be posted on the SPS we bsite for maximum coverage. A feature article has been described by Seitel (1998, pp203) as articles found in magazines or newspapers that are the opposite of hard news items, often light, humorous or enlightening. In this scenario, the feature article is utilized to disseminate less newsworthy (there is less news-worth in a story about a former convict turned cook) information in more subtle ways to break misconceptions that ex-offenders, like leopards, never change spots. The feature article is thus useful when less important information needs to be conveyed to the publics of a PR campaign that nevertheless, represents a supporting communication device in meeting campaign objectives. References: Seitel, FP, 1998, The Practice of Public Relations, 7th edn, Prentice-Hall, NY, USA. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (LOGO) INMATES SHOWCASE CULINARY TALENT AT FIRST-EVER YELLOW RIBBON COOKING COMPETITION Singapore, September 9, 2010 – Twelve inmates pit their culinary skills against one another in the Yellow Ribbon Cooking Competition held in Changi Prison Cluster A today. This milestone activity is the first in a series of Yellow Ribbon Project activities in 2007, organised by the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders (CARE) Network. The cooking competition was jointly organised by Raffles Hotel. Chef de Cuisine Jean-Charles Dubois from the hotel’s French fine-dining restaurant Raffles Grill was one of the judges at today’s finals and was also heavily involved in preparing the inmates for the competition. This cooking competition simulates the kitchen environment and challenges faced by professional chefs. Participants were required to produce an original Western-style dish within a strict three-hour limit using predetermined ingredients and equipment. The participants showed promise and a genuine eagerness to learn, and this experience has been rewarding as I have been able to see the improvements they have been able to make,† said Chef Dubois. To prepare participants for the competition, Chef Dubois visited the institutions five times and provided video instruction to introduce the ingredients and cooking methods to the inmates. â€Å"The participation of inmates in this competition further reaffirms their determination to contribute to their families and society. We’re proud to have our inmates’ creation featured at the prestigious Raffles Hotel. Chef Dubois’ contribution to our inmates also shows that the community is willing to take the lead in helping inmates in their rehabilitation and reintegration,† said Mr. Desmond Chin, Chairman, Yellow Ribbon Project Organising Committee. Winning recipes will also be recreated at a special reunion lunch, A Tribute of Love, to be held in three days’ time for winners and their family members. Raffles Hotel will also feature the best dish on a Raffles menu, making it available to her patrons and guests. *ENDS* About Yellow Ribbon Project The Yellow Ribbon Project is a nation-wide campaign to raise the awareness of Singaporeans about the need of inmates, ex-offenders and their families for societal acceptance. For more information, please contact: Jale Byrd, Executive Public Affairs Branch, Singapore Prison Service Telephone: 6565-6565 Email: [email  protected] gov. sg From The Fire Into The Frying Pan By Jale Byrd The bang and clatter you hear when you step into the hawker centre at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 is undeniably a dragon’s roar. Rueburn Liang’s Chia Song Fried Kway Teow stall, which he has operated for the past 13 years, is synonymous with good food. It is also the most prolific stall at the busy food centre. The setup comes complete with a portable television and loud speakers that broadcast the latest soccer and professional wrestling matches. â€Å"Frying a good plate of Char Kway Teow is an art. I bang loudly on the edge of my wok to attract customers to my stall. The TV keeps them entertained,† booms Rueburn, as he gesticulates with his charred spatula. Loud, vociferous and a former Ang Soon Tong (a Secret Society in Singapore) enforcer, you will be inclined to agree. Rueburn is a karate expert plastered with tattoos of flaming dragons over his massive frame, which are made conspicuous with his well-greased white singlet. The missing last finger on his right hand makes the man’s dark, pockmarked face even more intimidating. But lest you get alarmed, Rueburn’s lashings are taken out on his trusty wok, where he conjures mouth-watering plates of delicious, spicy and sinful Char Kway Teow. â€Å"I had to chop off my last finger as a ‘settlement’ for leaving the society in 1987, and a $800 Ang Pow (a red packet containing money, is seen as an auspicious sign by the Chinese),† he reveals without a hint of regret. Otherwise, ‘they’ will never leave me alone. Now, those days are over. Luckily, some of those people respect me, never really give me trouble. † (A secret society member has to sever a finger to maintain his code of honour and pay an ‘exit fee’ to leave the underground organizati on without fear of repercussions) With all his dubious activities, an inevitable brush with the law saw Rueburn put behind bars for nine months. Rueburn broke the arm, skull and penis of a credit defaulter in a savage fight. The bone-breaking experience threw him into the ‘fire’ of Queenstown gaol, a humbling experience for the former gangster. I really got burnt by the prison ‘fire’. We were made to kneel and live in a mini-hell. Sipeh Chor leh (Really Tough) Outside, I was a ‘terror’, but the others were hardened criminals and I seemed like a sissy compared to them. I didn’t want to spend my life strolling in and out of jail. Sio jit pai kow liow! (Getting burnt once was enough) I decided it was good for me to leave the society and turn to a decent living. I was right,† says Rueburn with hindsight. (The criminal slang for serving time in prison is ‘tio her sio’ or getting burnt by fire) Rueburn, who only completed pr imary education, was at a loss. The only decent job he was good at was cooking. His vocation as a military cook in the Singapore Armed Forces during his national service in 1983 cemented his culinary passion and served him in good stead. At the encouragement of his then girlfriend Fion (now Mrs Liang) and some savings, he successfully bid for a hawker stall and set up Chia Song in 1988. However, he learnt to perfect his Kway Teow frying skills only much later. â€Å"Not easy to fry a good plate. True, it looks easy but I had to experiment many times before I was satisfied†¦now, I think I am getting there,† Rueburn says modestly. Getting there? It’s very good already! One of the best in Singapore! † quips Elson Boey, a retired civil servant. â€Å"There is always a long queue during lunch time. I think his secret is in the intensity of his fire. † Hard work as it seems, Chia Song is a labour of love. The couple dedicates 12 hours a day amidst unforgiving flames to create a uniquely Si ngaporean masterpiece. â€Å"The fire must always be strong and the leow (ingredients) must be fresh! Timing is also very important, as you do not want to overcook the dish. Bah You (pork lard) must be used liberally, as it gives that special taste. You only live once ah, so live it good! No need to be so healthy one. † Indeed, words of culinary and hedonistic wisdom. It is lunchtime and an almost scandalous crowd forms. A haze of smoke clouds the sizzling sound of stir-fried garlic as they simmer in a pool of aromatic lard. Chee Seng furiously stirs in his noodles and kway teow into a heated wok smoldering under a furious fire. Within moments, arrays of delicious condiments are thrown into the fray, soaking in the thick flavour. When the rich smell of caramelized sweet sauce wafts under your nostrils, Rueburn has served another satisfied customer. A stolen glance around the hawker centre reveals an assortment of harried but happy workers haphazardly sliding tantilising morsels of Fried Kway Teow down their throats. Echoing Elson’s sentiments is Rachel Tua Kang, an auditor who works nearby. â€Å"Simply fantabulous! My diets never take off, this temptation is too much! † When told, Rueburn Liang brushes off his accolades as if they were burnt garlic bits on his flaming wok, his reddened face warms up into a big grin as he takes another drag of his Marlboro cigarettes. Ying siu nia,† (they are just entertaining me) he jokingly retorts. It is closing time for the busy hawker and he takes a well-earned respite from the day’s backbreaking battle with his wok and emerges at the end of the day with a rosy complexion, no doubt made pink by the tremendous temperatures he has to endure. As Mrs. Liang cleans up the slobber knocker of a hawker stall, Rueburn takes delight in a leisurely smoke. Rightfully, he see ks solace in his daily bottle of bitter-cold ABC stout. Gleefully, he chugs down a glass of the icy brew. Ha ha, these days I only fight with my wok. My life could have turned out much worse! There is no fear of getting burnt now. † As he breaks into another cheerful smile, he bursts into a self-indulgent laughter, as if to remind himself of his good fortune. It is lunchtime again, and Rueburn busies himself over a brilliant hot wok. You might think a fire-breathing dragon was fueling the fire, as the flames turn to a ferocious blue fireball. However, the dragon is above the stove, controlling the fire. He has made the transaction of jumping from the fire into the frying pan.

Discuss the Difficulties in Seeking to Adopt a Common Social Policy

Assignment 2-Take Home Exam (Question 3, 5 and 6) Question 3 Discuss the difficulties in seeking to adopt a common social policy and social welfare agenda among the E. U. member states. Introduction A social policy is a public policy and practice in the areas of health care, human services, criminal justice, education, and labor. (Malcolm Wiener Centre) In European Union, it has passed a long way to seeking adopt a common social policy and social welfare agenda among the E. U. member states. Caune et al has summarized the process of social policy into three steps followed by the milestone of EU.First stage was to create a common market and keep the national welfare policies. During the first stage E. U. did seek to establish a certain policy, such as freedom of movement for workers and freedom of establishment and equal pay and rights for migrant workers. The second stages was Maastricht treaty that creating Maastricht criteria as new economic policy regime and established ‘sof t law management’. The thirds stage was focus onwards coordination and competition of national welfare policies. The treaty of Lisbon which is the recently moment in E.U. social policy, it defines E. U. seeks to assess the significance of the poverty/social inclusion open method of co-ordination in terms of what it indicates about the EU’s engagement with social policy. From the historically, EU was did a lot of works to creating social policy and social welfare agenda. But E. U. still faces many difficult to making a common social policy among E. U. states. Furthermore, this essay will mainly discuss on the difficult in seeking to adopt a common social policy and social welfare agenda among the E. U. ember states which are based understand and analyzed the history and concept of E. U. social policy. Discussion From the three stages of form a social welfare system, we could found European Union has really well social welfare systems as an example for the rest of the wo rld. It has maintained social equality among EU members which defend weaker market participants and guarantee them acceptable standards of living. However, EU is now face great challenges, such as rapid growth in EU expansion and integration, growing competition among member states for investments.Most of them are now becoming difficult to a adopt a further common social policy EU, such as increasing about personal expectancy, population migration process, growing income inequality and the existing social exclusion. These difficulties are mainly coming from two sources which are national and European level. If EU aims to form a common social policy, they will firstly facing a problem of different social policies pursued by member states. Rutkauskiene indicated that there is† no unanimous opinion about all existing social policy in EU. (Rutkauskiene, 2009) Every member states have their social policy depends on different typology, such as Mediterranean model and antipodean mode l. These different social policy models in the place which lead EU faces a huge challenge-too many different social policy model in the members will hinder the process of adopt a common social policy in EU. One of the objectives of common social policy is maintain social equality among EU member state but each member state has a different economic situation that leading to different budget on social welfare expenditure.Hence, there will be conflict between different countries investment on the social welfare. One of the example are from the EU integration process, employee are free to move to a low cost countries and also employee from poor countries can move to a member state that has a better work condition. The enlargement or integration of European has becoming one of the difficulties in order to adopt a common social policy in EU because it has direct on the social issues, such as unemployment rate and fair work rights.Traser describe enlargement had already, in 2004, caused pu blic anxiety about large numbers of low-skilled and semiskilled workers from the new Member States seeking both employment and benefits in the EU-15, and displacing national workers with cheap labour. (Traser, 2005) The issues about free movement of employee is only one example about the differences of economic situation between member states but it can be a main difficulties for EU to adopt a common social policy because the members state are only stand for their own country and competing with other member states.In the European level, EU are also did a lot of work trying to leading member states participate on the process of adopt a common social policy but it is difficult as well. Since the Maastricht Treaty a concept of ‘soft law’ management measures are used to implementation of the EU activates. This has given to the control measures that are based on voluntarism, education and the sharing of best practices. (Rutkauskiene, 2009) In other world, member’s sta te is voluntary participation in an exchange of information or action.The European council collected all these soft measurement 2000 in Lisbon and give them a name of ‘Open Method of Coordination. (OMC)† (European Council Web) In the European council website explained OMC- set goals are monitored and supervised, best practices are shared and there is a scope to share. (European Council Web) But there are one important feature of the OMC is that goals and achievement are established at the EU level, while the measure and practice to achieving them are left for national governments. Many scholar are debate the disadvantage of this method.OMC is the lack of obligation to implement any agreements, and the lack of sanctions for failing to meet any obligations (Szyszczak, 2006). In other words, EU did not give in to any suggestion about policy to national government, and national government did not need to adequately orient their active measures according to OMC goals. Moreove r, each member states can present their own conclusions on the certain policy areas in their national actions plans, such as pension and health care area. Rutkauskiene has found a greatest number of faults in pension’s area caused by OMC. Rutkauskiene, 2009) Everyone is too different in their personal needs and clamming to adequate for all is not feasible. So a government policy should be set a minimum pension sum to be guaranteed and set of this agreement among EU member states. In other worlds, it is necessary that guidelines for changes in indicator evaluation are set, thereby blocking the way for different understanding about social affairs. From the different argument on OMC policy we can it was mainly established a principle of turning into coordination among EU member state but it facing difficulties turning this policy into an operational manner.Vandenbroucke state the post challenge of Lisbon treaty is EU need an operational social policy. (Vandenbroucke, 2002) Unfor tunately, according to the discussion that the current OMC policy has some disadvantaged that made difficulties for EU to adopt a common social policy. Conclusions This essay has started with an introduction milestone of adopt the EU social policy. The difficulties in adopt a common social policy among EU member states have been compounded furthermore by the fact that large number of state in EU and each of them implementing a different social programs and social policy measures.Then we look on how European Union to dealing with this difficulties of great variety in the social policy systems. We have been chooses the current model to coordinate of social affairs in 2000 at the signing of Lisbon strategy which are Open Method of Coordination. Based on the analysed from different academic literature, â€Å"the main shortcomings of the OMC were identified as the lack of obligation and no sanctions for failing to carry out the activities set out in the agreements reached. (Rutkauskiene , 2009) Hence, the inefficiency of current policy is other main difficulties in adopt a common social policy. At the end, the process of adopt a common social will be forward in the future and the difficulties are also coming continuously at different stages. Reference Arnaudova, F. Z. L. A. A. (2011). Growth, well-being and social policy in Euroep: trade-off orsynergy. European Social Policy Centre Concuil, E. , from http://ec. europa. eu/invest-in research/coordination/coordination01_en. htm Daly, M. (2006). EU Social Policy after Lisbon.Queen's Univeristy, Belfast. Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. Retrieved 10 Jan 2013, from http://www. hks. harvard. edu/centers/wiener Palier, P. R. G. a. S. J. a. B. (2011). The EU and the Domestic Politics of Welfare State Reforms. England. Rutkauskiene, L. (2009). Problems in the formation of the common EU social policy: Vilnius Univeristy. Szyszczak, E. (2006). Experimental Governance: The Opend Method of Coordination. European Law Jou rnal. Traser, J. (2005). Report on the free movement of workers in EU-25: who's afarid of EU enlargment? Brussels:European Citizen Action services. Vandenbroucke, F. (2002). The EU and Social Protection: What should the Euroepan Convention Propose. Retrieved from http://econstor. eu/bitstream/10419/44291/1/644397675. pdf Vobruba, G. Debate on the enlargement of the Euroepan Union. University of Leipzig. Question 5 the single market is the fundamental economic underpinning of the EU. Discuss why  this single market is problematic in the EU with regards to the digital technology sector Introduction The Europe commission in a 1985 white paper launched the single market programme.The main purpose of single market is ‘seeks to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people – the EU's â€Å"four freedoms† – within the EU's 27 member states. †(European Commission Web) It was launched as the fundamental economic integration of the EU. It creates large benefit to the enterprise and EU-citizens. The European commission and the EU’s executive arm, has target ‘energy, digital and transport sectors as priorities for depending market integration. †(Egen) In relating to the digital technology sector, the world economic is now more deepening on the digital technology.A 2010 study commissioned by the European Policy Centre from Copenhagen Economics showed that an integrated European Digital Single Market (DSM) would lead to an increase in GDP of at least 4%, with concrete benefits for consumers and citizens. (Economics, 2010) European commissions have already been set in motion about importance of digital single market. For example, Monti report had already highlighted the importance of developing the digital single market, which was also reflected in the digital agenda and the single market act.However, there are still many problem existed in the EU with regards to the digital technology sector. This e ssay will outline of the reasons of why this single market is problematic in digital sector, which are mainly because of less enforce on inappropriate regulation in the member states and cost effectiveness and differences in provision of the infrastructure and ‘old national monopolists’. Discussion In Pablo’s report, which has summaries the European commission need to work more on to build trust and confidence in digital single market.Echeverria has indicated that â€Å"European Commission need to stresses that the consumer rights directive marked an important step forward in terms of increasing legal certainty for consumers and businesses in online transactions, and today constitutes the main consumer protection instrument for online services. † (Echeverria) A single market strategy will require a higher level of legal regulations in regarding to issues such as cybercrime, data privacy and spam while ensuring free movement and the possibility of transacti ons on the internet.Otherwise this single market will be a problematic in digital sector because of the existence of a patchwork of different legal provisions and barely interoperable standards and practices. Also the consumer can’t access the full benefits from this strategy if this regulation is poor. European commission’s report of building the digital single market has identified more and more pollution is using the digital technology now. (Commission, 2011) Peoples are now using more internet service to making a convenience life, such as the online cross border trade.Moreover the digital single market will allow citizens to have access throughout the EU to all forms of digital content and services. So in order to creating single market digital sector, if people are not use digital service in a safety environment then there will be a data protection problems. The other reasons of why  this single market is problematic in the EU with regards to the digital technol ogy sector, which is cost effectiveness. In Zuleeg’s report has determine that a single digital market will require large scale investments in fixed and mobile networks, with much of this investment needing to come from private operators. Zuleeg, 2012) Especially in the European finical crisis period, Europe government and private operator will need to have spent more to support this investment by developing new investment vehicles and guarantees. Michelle Egan also defines a digital single market is a long way of investment and still have many barriers now. (Egan) But the single market in digital sector will improve productivity and contribute to increasing Europe’s medium to long term competiveness. It also brings out benefit beyond the economic which it can help some societal problem, such as fragmented labor market and environment problems.According to all of this facts, we can finding the single market can bring large benefit to citizens and social but it will nee d to put extra investment by government and private operator. So this single market will bring out a conflict between internal users and external stakeholders because of cost effectiveness. A study by Copenhagen economic has list out â€Å"there is a range of national and international operators, totalling close to 100 mobile operators. â€Å"(Copenhagen economic) In the Australia digital sector there are mainly one operator provide the most mobile and internet infrastructure which are Telstra.The digital sector is fragmented in European compared with other countries. The most of the digital companies are competing on a national scale instated of across borders. None have continent-wide operations and provide difference in provisions of infrastructure. One of the example is there are still less operator can provide mobile service across borders and also with a high roaming fees. However the single market strategy in digital sector is trying to integrate these companies into one gr oup.This single market strategy may become problematic in the digital technology sector because a fragmented supplier industry may hamper certain developments. From the overall finding, we can operator is the main stakeholder with a large impact on the digital sector. The study by Copenhagen has further explained this fact as â€Å"a lack of market consolidation with ‘old national monopolies’ keeping their strong position in local markets due to government protection in the past. â€Å" The operators are stress on their profit and ignore the importance of single market.One of the major benefits of European single market is increasing competition, leading to lower prices and better welfare for consumers and society as a whole. But the operator has main power in the national market and can refuse price convergence. Conclusion At the end, the single market in digital will have large impact on European economy either in public sector or employee or consumers or producer s ides. But according to the nature of digital technology sector which is fragmented industry and investment barriers so the single market has being a problematic in this industry.Reference Completing the internal market White paper from European Commission to European Council (1985). Brussels. Commission, E. (2011). Building the digital single market-cross border demand for content services. Echeverria, P. A. On completing the digital single market Economics, C. (2010). The conomic impact of a european digital single market. Egen, M. Twenty years after the completion of the EU's single market programme, member states have still not eliminate all barriers to trade. London: The london school of economic and politcal science. Zuleeg, F. (2012).A digital single market by 2015. eSharp. European Mobile Indsutry Obeservatory. (2011) Monti, M. (2010). A new strategy for the single market. â€Å"The Single Market†. Europa web portal. http://ec. europa. eu/internal_market/index_en. htm. Retrieved 03 January 2012. Question 6 what are the problems to be encountered in forming a European sense of identity among the citizenry of the EU? Introduction A sense of a national identity is â€Å"the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status. (Smith, 1993) Usually, these are nation-states but it also can implied an entity group of European Union. McCormick writes sense of European identity as â€Å"a related term of Europeanism refers to the assertion that the people of Europe have a distinctive set of political, economic and social norms and values that are slowly diminishing and replacing existing national or state-based norms and values. †(McCormick, 2010) Johan Borneman indicates the practices of Europeanization in term of languages, money, tourism and sex and sport. Borneman 1997) European Union are getting practice on this through the creation of the European single market, the expanded the European Union from twelve members in 1985 to twenty-seven members in 2007 and link the legislative and policy frameworks of EU with European identity. As we explained before EU has a long history of this integration process but there are still many problems encountered in forming a European sense of identity among the citizenry of the EU. There are especially in some countries are having this problems such as British.Moreover, this essay will discuss on the main problems that are in forming a European sense of identity among the citizenry of the EU. It also will consider some examples in English. Discussion Medrano has summarized the main problems into three section which are â€Å". 1) conflated behaviour in referenda on reform treaties of the European Union, support for European integration, and identification with Europe, 2) conflated different dimensions of European identity, and 3) failed to unpack the various meanings that citizens a ttach to the idea of identification with Europe† (Medrano, 2010)In the detail, the first problems are mainly concerned on the public debate on European identity. Many people see no opportunity to influence supranational decisions effectively because there are lacks of intermediary actor primary covering European issues. In the public, the media or journalists are both have lack of supporting on EU news. Vreese said â€Å"It is difficult to ‘sell’ an EU story. † (Vreese, 2004) Medrano has asked many journalists do you agree you play an important role in ‘crating a European identify’. (Medrano, 2010) The most of them unanimously agreed that the answer should be ‘NO’.Some journalists believe their role is to create engagement and interest and not to influence identity. One of the examples is in British, the public opinion is divided and the country is becoming the most of skeptic members in EU with regards to EU policy of common curre ncy and the enlargement. There is other problem influencing public opinion about Europe, such as difference in social-demographic characteristics. Most of researcher has find men being more supportive of Euro-pan integration and higher levels of education are associated with being more positive towards the EU.The second problems listed by Medrano, can be described as there are having many dimensions of European identity either by national or citizen. If there are too many dimensions of European identity that will results a lack of precision use in the use of the sense of European identity. The official dimensions of European identity is a precondition for a democratically legitimise European Union with feeling of belonging together of the people living in the member states, including the awareness and the support of common values, achievements and aims.But in related to a real case the European identity is far lagging behind national identity. Fukuyama has given one example of Franc es created a strong national identity by built around the French languages. (Fukuyama, 2012) In order to compared within the EU’s dimension, EU are more stress on political and policy identity but the nation’s dimensions are more focus on culture and social level. EU has 27 members within different culture and religion. These countries have already built on different level of national identity.EU is now trying to integrate this national identity into one common identity which is European identity. So EU needs to conflate different dimension of European identity. The third problems is failed to consider the citizen’s ideal about European identity. The EU defines concept of European identity are most physically based, such as free movement of goods and service. But the officials should to promote a sense of belonging to Europe citizens emotionally. Medrano stated there are lacks of identification with Europe among citizens are mostly interested in the emotional di mension of identification. (Medrano,2010)Besides of Medrano’s measured three problems, there are still many other problems in order to create a sense of European identity. One of these problems are EU has less use any knowledge or instruments of identity policy to deliver the sense of European identity, such as education. Walkenhorst writes â€Å"without a sense of commitment and knowledge of citizenship rights the European peoples cannot establish a democratic identity in the sense of supporting the EU as a legitimate political system†. (Walkenhorst, 2004) EU also will not being able to demonstrate its benefits for the European citizen without using an instrument of identity policy.For instance, provide more education or program on spread the sense of European identity will also help to avoid the problems of different religions. EU has different religions identity, such as Christian and Muslim. The concept of European identity need to consider the ideal of multicultur alism and democracy. Conclusions This essay draws an analysis of the problems encountered in forming a sense of European identity which are based on an understanding what is a sense of European identity and how could generate a sense of identity.Since the firstly forming a European Union, EU are trying to creating a sense of European identity. A sense of national or regional identity is an emotionally feeling belongs to a group. EU did a lot of work that letting people are physically feeling of European citizen, such as free movement of people and goods. One of the examples, are Eurostar given people are more mobility in traveling around European. However, EU is now facing problems on ignored the citizen’s emotionally feeling of European identity and conflicts of different dimension about European concept of identity.Each member state and citizens has different dimension about European identity. The best way to solve this problem is using accurate instrument to spread the ide al of European identity, such as education and media. But the fact is there is lack of use media and education that results a problems in forming a sense of European identity. Reference Adrian Favell, E. R. , Theresa Kuhn, Janne Solgaard Jensen and Juliane Klein. (2011). The Europeanisation of Everyday Life: Cross-Border practices and Transantional Identitifcations Among the Eu and Third-Country Citizens. Foweler, J. B. a. N. (1997).Europeanization. Annual Review. Retrieved from http://www. jstor. org/stable/2952532 . Fukuyama, F. (2012). European Identities Retrieved from http://blogs. the-american-interest. com/fukuyama/2012/01/10/european-identities-part-i/ Margaret R, A. (2008). Perceptions of European Identity among EU Citizens: An Empirical Study. McCormick, J. (2010). Europeanism: Oxford University Press. Medrano, J. D. (2010). Unpackiing European Identity: CAIRN, INFO. Smith, A. D. (1993). National identity: Univeristy of Nevada Press. Versteegh, M. L. C. (2010). European Ci tizenship as a New Concept for Euroepan Identity.

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon EPILOGUE TREATY

ALMOST EVERYTHING WAS BACK TO NORMALTHE GOOD, pre-zombie normalin less time than I would have believed possible. The hospital welcomed Carlisle back with eager arms, not even bothering to conceal their delight that Esme had found life in L.A. so little to her liking. Thanks to the Calculus test I'd missed while abroad, Alice and Edward were in better to shape to graduate than I was at the moment. Suddenly, college was a priority (college was still plan B, on the off chance that Edward's offer swayed me from the post-graduation Carlisle option). Many deadlines had passed me by, but Edward had a new stack of applications for me to fill out every day. He'd already done the Harvard route, so it didn't bother him that, thanks to my procrastination, we might both end up at Peninsula Community College next year. Charlie was not happy with me, or speaking to Edward. But at least Edward was allowedduring my designated visiting hoursinside the house again. I just wasn't allowed out of it. School and work were the only exceptions, and the dreary, dull yellow walls of my classrooms had become oddly inviting to me of late. That had a lot to do with the person who sat in the desk beside me. Edward had resumed his schedule from the beginning of the year, which put him in most of my classes again. My behavior had been such last fall, after the Cullens' supposed move to L.A., that the seat beside me had never been filled. Even Mike, always eager to take any advantage, had kept a safe distance. With Edward back in place, it was almost as if the last eight months were just a disturbing nightmare. Almost, but not quite. There was the house arrest situation, for one thing. And for another, before the fall, I hadn't been best friends with Jacob Black. So, of course, I hadn't missed him then. I wasn't at liberty to go to La Push, and Jacob wasn't coming to see me. He wouldn't even answer my phone calls. I made these calls mostly at night, after Edward had been kicked outpromptly at nine by a grimly gleeful Charlieand before Edward snuck back through my window when Charlie was asleep. I chose that time to make my fruitless calls because I'd noticed that Edward made a certain face every time I mentioned Jacob's name. Sort of disapproving and wary maybe even angry. I guessed that he had some reciprocal prejudice against the werewolves, though he wasn't as vocal as Jacob had been about the â€Å"bloodsuckers.† So, I didn't mention Jacob much. With Edward near me, it was hard to think about unhappy thingseven my former besi fnend, who was probably very unhappy right now, due to me. When I did think of Jake, I always felt guilty for not thinking of him more. The fairy tale was back on. Prince returned, bad spell broken. I wasn't sure exactly what to do about the leftover, unresolved character. Where was his happily ever after? Weeks passed, and Jacob still wouldn't answer my calls. It started to become a constant worry. Like a dripping faucet in the back of my head that I couldn't shut off or ignore. Drip, drip, drip. Jacob, Jacob, Jacob. So, though I didn't mention Jacob much, sometimes my frustration and anxiety boiled over. â€Å"It's just plain rude!† I vented one Saturday afternoon when Edward picked me up from work. Being angry about things was easier than feeling guilty. â€Å"Downright insulting!† I'd varied my pattern, in hopes of a different response. I'd called Jake from work this time, only to get an unhelpfulBilly.Again. â€Å"Billy said he didn't want to talk to me,† I fumed, glaring at the rain oozing down the passenger window. â€Å"That he was there, and wouldn't walk three steps to get to the phone! Usually Billy just says he's out or busy or sleeping or something. I mean, it's not like I didn't know he was lying to me, but at least it was a polite way to handle it. I guess Billy hates me now, too. It's not fair!† â€Å"It's not you, Bella,† Edward said quietly. â€Å"Nobody hates you.† â€Å"Feels that way,† I muttered, folding my arms across my chest. It was no more than a stubborn gesture. There was no hole there nowI could barely remember the empty feeling anymore. â€Å"Jacob knows we're back, and I'm sure that he's ascertained that I'm with you,† Edward said. â€Å"He won't come anywhere near me. The enmity is rooted too deeply.† â€Å"That's stupid. He knows you're not like other vampires.† â€Å"There's still good reason to keep a safe distance.† I glared blindly out the windshield, seeing only Jacob's face, set in the bitter mask I hated. â€Å"Bella, we are what we are,† Edward said quietly. â€Å"I can control myself, but I doubt he can. He's very young. It would most likely turn into a fight, and I don't know if I could stop it before I k† he broke off, and then quickly continued. â€Å"Before I hurt him. You would be unhappy. I don't want that to happen.† I remembered what Jacob had said in the kitchen, hearing the words with perfect recall in his husky voice. I'm not sure that I'm even-tempered enough to handle that You probably wouldn't like it so much if I killed your friend. But he'd been able to handle it, that time â€Å"Edward Cullen,† I whispered. â€Å"Were you about to say ‘killed him? Were you?† He looked away from me, staring into the rain. In front of us, the red light I hadn't noticed turned green and he started forward again, driving very slowly. Not his usual way of driving. â€Å"I would try very hard not to do that,† Edward finally said. I stared at him with my mouth hanging open, but he continued to look straight ahead. We were paused at the corner stop sign. Abruptly, I remembered what had happened to Paris when Romeo came back. The stage directions were simple: They fight. Paris falls. But that was ridiculous. Impossible. â€Å"Well,† I said, and took a deep breath, shaking my head to dispel the words in my head. â€Å"Nothing like that is ever going to happen, so there's no reason to worry about it. And you know Charlie's staring at the clock right now. You'd better get me home before I get in more trouble for being late.† I turned my face up toward him, to smile halfheartedly. Every time I looked at his face, that impossibly perfect face, my heart pounded strong and healthy and very there in my chest. This time, the pounding raced ahead of its usual besotted pace. I recognized the expression on his statue-still face. â€Å"You're already in more trouble, Bella,† he whispered through unmoving lips. I slid closer, clutching his arm as I followed his gaze to see what he was seeing. I don't know what I expectedmaybe Victoria standing in the middle of the street, her flaming red hair blowing in the wind, or a line of tall black cloaks or a pack of angry werewolves. But I didn't see anything at all. â€Å"What? What is it?† He took a deep breath. â€Å"Charlie† â€Å"My dad?† I screeched. He looked down at me then, and his expression was calm enough to ease some of my panic. â€Å"Charlie is probably not going to kill you, but he's thinking about it,† he told me. He started to drive forward again, down my street, but he passed the house and parked by the edge of the trees. â€Å"What did I do?† I gasped. Edward glanced back at Charlie's house. I followed his gaze, and noticed for the first time what was parked in the driveway next to the cruiser. Shiny, bright red, impossible to miss. My motorcycle, flaunting itself in the driveway. Edward had said that Charlie was ready to kill me, so he must know thatthat it was mine. There was only one person who could be behind this treachery. â€Å"No!† I gasped. â€Å"Why? Why would Jacob do this to me?† The sting of betrayal washed through me. I had trusted Jacob implicitlytrusted him with every single secret I had. He was supposed to be my safe harborthe person I could always rely on. Of course things were strained right now, but I didn't think any of the underlying foundation had changed. I didn't think that was changeable! What had I done to deserve this? Charlie was going to be so madand worse than that, he was going to be hurt and worried. Didn't he have enough to deal with already? I would have never imagined that Jake could be so petty and just plain mean. Tears sprang, smarting, into my eyes, but they were not tears of sadness. I had been betrayed. I was suddenly so angry that my head throbbed like it was going to explode. â€Å"Is he still here?† I hissed. â€Å"Yes. He's waiting for us there.† Edward told me, nodding toward the slender path that divided the dark fringe of the forest in two. I jumped out of the car, launching myself toward the trees with my hands already balled into fists for the first punch. Why did Edward have to be so much faster than me? He caught me around the waist before I made the path. â€Å"Let me go! I'm going to murder him! Traitor!† I shouted the epithet toward the trees. â€Å"Charlie will hear you,† Edward warned me. â€Å"And once he gets you inside, he may brick over the doorway.† I glanced back at the house instinctively, and it seemed like the glossy red bike was all I could see. I was seeing red. My head throbbed again. â€Å"Just give me one round with Jacob, and then I'll deal with Charlie.† I struggled futilely to break free. â€Å"Jacob Black wants to see me. That's why he's still here.† That stopped me coldtook the fight right out of me. My hands went limp. They fight; Paris falls. I was furious, but not that furious. â€Å"Talk?† I asked. â€Å"More or less.† â€Å"How much more?† My voice shook. Edward smoothed my hair back from my face. â€Å"Don't worry, he's not here to fight me. He's acting as spokesperson for the pack.† â€Å"Oh.† Edward looked at the house again, then tightened his arm around my waist and pulled me toward the woods. â€Å"We should hurry. Charlie's getting impatient.† We didn't have to go far; Jacob waited just a short ways up the path. He lounged against a mossy tree trunk as he waited, his face hard and bitter, exactly the way I knew it would be. He looked at me, and then at Edward. Jacob's mouth stretched into a humorless sneer, and he shrugged away from the tree. He stood on the balls of his bare feet, leaning slightly forward, with his trembling hands clenched into fists. He looked bigger than the last time I'd seen him. Somehow, impossibly, he was still growing. He would tower over Edward, if they stood next to each other. But Edward stopped as soon as we saw him, leaving a wide space between us and Jacob. Edward turned his body, shifting me so that I was behind him. I leaned around him to stare at Jacobto accuse him with my eyes. I would have thought that seeing his resentful, cynical expression would only make me angrier. Instead, it reminded me of the last time I'd seen him, with tears in his eyes. My fury weakened, faltered, as I stared at Jacob. It had been so long since I'd seen himI hated that our reunion had to be like this. â€Å"Bella,† Jacob said as a greeting, nodding once toward me without looking away from Edward. â€Å"Why?† I whispered, trying to hide the sound of the lump in my throat. â€Å"How could you do this to me, Jacob?† The sneer vanished, but his face stayed hard and rigid. â€Å"It's for the best.† â€Å"What is that supposed to mean? Do you want Charlie to strangle me? Or did you want him to have a heart attack, like Harry? No matter how mad you are at me, how could you do this to him?† Jacob winced, and his eyebrows pulled together, but he didn't answer. â€Å"He didn't want to hurt anyonehe just wanted to get you grounded, so that you wouldn't be allowed to spend time with me,† Edward murmured, explaining the thoughts Jacob wouldn't say. Jacob's eyes sparked with hate as he glowered at Edward again. â€Å"Aw, Jake!† I groaned. â€Å"I'm already grounded! Why do you think I haven't been down to La Push to kick your butt for avoiding my phone calls?† Jacob's eyes flashed back to me, confused for the first time. â€Å"That's why?† he asked, and then locked his jaw, like he was sorry he'd said anything. â€Å"He thought I wouldn't let you, not Charlie,† Edward explained again. â€Å"Stop that,† Jacob snapped. Edward didn't answer. Jacob shuddered once, and then gritted his teeth as hard as his fists. â€Å"Bella wasn't exaggerating about your abilities,† he said through his teeth. â€Å"So you must already know why I'm here.† â€Å"Yes,† Edward agreed in a soft voice. â€Å"But, before you begin, I need to say something.† Jacob waited, clenching and unclenching his hands as he tried to control the shivers rolling down his arms. â€Å"Thank you,† Edward said, and his voice throbbed with the depth of his sincerity. â€Å"I will never be able to tell you how grateful I am. I will owe you for the rest of my existence.† Jacob stared at him blankly, his shudders stilled by surprise. He exchanged a quick glance with me, but my face was just as mystified. â€Å"For keeping Bella alive,† Edward clarified, his voice rough and fervent. â€Å"When I didn't.† â€Å"Edward,† I started to say, but he held one hand up, his eyes on Jacob. Understanding washed over Jacob's face before the hard mask returned. â€Å"I didn't do it for your benefit.† â€Å"I know. But that doesn't erase the gratitude I feel. I thought you should know. If there's ever anything in my power to do for you† Jacob raised one black brow. Edward shook his head. â€Å"That's not in my power.† â€Å"Whose, then?† Jacob growled. Edward looked down at me. â€Å"Hers. I'm a quick learner, Jacob Black, and I don't make the same mistake twice. I'm here until she orders me away.† I was immersed momentarily in his golden gaze. It wasn't hard to understand what I'd missed in the conversation. The only thing that Jacob would want from Edward would be his absence. â€Å"Never,† I whispered, still locked in Edward's eyes. Jacob made a gagging sound. I unwillingly broke free from Edward's gaze to frown at Jacob. â€Å"Was there something else you needed, Jacob? You wanted me in troublemission Accomplished. Charlie might just send me to military school. But that won't keep me away from Edward. There's nothing that can do that. What more do you want?† Jacob kept his eyes on Edward â€Å"I just needed to remind your bloodsucking friends of a few key points in the treaty they agreed to. The treaty chat is the only thing stopping me from ripping his throat out right this minute.† â€Å"We haven't forgotten,† Edward said at the same time that I demanded, â€Å"What key points?† Jacob still glowered at Edward, but he answered me. â€Å"The treaty is quite specific. If any of them bite a human, the truce is over. Bite, not kill,† he emphasized. Finally, he looked at me. His eyes were cold. It only took me a second to grasp the distinction, and then my face was as cold as his. â€Å"That's none of your business.† â€Å"The hell it† was all he managed to choke out. I didn't expect my hasty words to bring on such a strong response. Despite the warning he'd come to give, he must not have known. He must have thought the warning was just a precaution. He hadn't realizedor didn't want to believethat I had already made my choice. That I was really intending to become a member of the Cullen family. My answer sent Jacob into near convulsions. He pressed his fists hard against his temples, closing his eyes tight and curling in on himself as he tried to control the spasms. His face turned sallow green under the russet skin. â€Å"Jake? You okay?† I asked anxiously. I took a half-step toward him, then Edward caught me and yanked me back behind his own body. â€Å"Careful! He's not under control,† he warned me. But Jacob was already somewhat himself again; only his arms were shaking now. He scowled at Edward with pure hate. â€Å"Ugh. I would never hurt her.† Neither Edward or I missed the inflection, or the accusation it contained. A low hiss escaped Edward's lips. Jacob clenched his fists reflexively. â€Å"BELLA!† Charlie's roar echoed from the direction of the house. â€Å"YOU GET IN THIS HOUSE THIS INSTANT!† All of us froze, listening to the silence that followed. I was the first to speak; my voice trembled. â€Å"Crap.† Jacob's furious expression faltered. â€Å"I am sorry about that,† he muttered. â€Å"I had to do what I couldI had to try† â€Å"Thanks.† The tremor in my voice ruined the sarcasm. I stared up the path, half-expecting Charlie to come barreling through the wet ferns like an enraged bull. I would be the red flag in that scenario. â€Å"Just one more thing,† Edward said to me, and then he looked at Jacob. â€Å"We've found no trace of Victoria on our side of the linehave you?† He knew the answer as soon as Jacob thought it, but Jacob spoke the answer anyway. â€Å"Trie last time was while Bella was away. We let her think she was slipping throughwe were tightening the circle, getting ready to ambush her† Ice shot down my spine. â€Å"But then she took off like a bat out of hell. Near as we can tell, she caught your little female's scent and bailed. She hasn't come near our lands since.† Edward nodded. â€Å"When she comes back, she's not your problem anymore. We'll† â€Å"She killed on our turf,† Jacob hissed. â€Å"She's ours!† â€Å"No,† I began to protest both declarations. â€Å"BELLA! I SEE HIS CAR AND I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! IF YOU AREN'T INSIDE THIS HOUSE IN ONE MINUTE !† Charlie didn't bother to finish his threat. â€Å"Let's go,† Edward said. I looked back at Jacob, torn. Would I see him again? â€Å"Sorry,† he whispered so low that I had to read his lips to understand. ‘†Bye, Bells.† â€Å"You promised,† I reminded him desperately. â€Å"Still friends, right?† Jacob shook his head slowly, and the lump in my throat nearly strangled me. â€Å"You know how hard I've tried to keep that promise, but I can't see how to keep trying. Not now† He struggled to keep his hard mask in place, but it wavered, and then disappeared. â€Å"Miss you,† he mouthed. One of his hands reached toward me, his fingers outstretched, like he wished they were long enough to cross the distance between us. â€Å"Me, too,† I choked out. My hand reached toward his across the wide space. Like we were connected, the echo of his pain twisted inside me. His pain, my pain. â€Å"Jake† I took a step toward him. I wanted to wrap my arms around his waist and erase the expression of misery on his face. Edward pulled me back again, his arms restraining instead of defending. â€Å"It's okay,† I promised him, looking up to read his face with trust in my eyes. He would understand. His eyes were unreadable, his face expressionless. Cold. â€Å"No, it's not.† â€Å"Let her go,† Jacob snarled, furious again. â€Å"She wants to!† He took two long strides forward. A glint of anticipation flashed in his eyes. His chest seemed to swell as it shuddered. Edward pushed me behind himself, wheeling to face Jacob. â€Å"No! Edward!† â€Å"ISABELLA SWAN!† â€Å"Come on! Charlie's mad!† My voice was panicked, but not because of Charlie now. â€Å"Hurry!† I tugged on him and he relaxed a little. He pulled me back slowly, always keeping his eyes on Jacob as we retreated. Jacob watched us with a dark scowl on his bitter face. The anticipation drained from his eyes, and then, just before the forest came between us, his face suddenly crumpled in pain. I knew that last glimpse of his face would haunt me until I saw him smile again. And right there I vowed that I would see him smile, and soon. I would find a way to keep my friend. Edward kept his arm tight around my waist, holding me close. That was the only thing that held the tears inside my eyes. I had some serious problems. My best friend counted me with his enemies. Victoria was still on the loose, putting everyone I loved in danger. If I didn't become a vampire soon, the Volturi would kill me. And now it seemed that if I did, the Quileute werewolves would try to do the job themselvesalong with trying to kill my future family. I didn't think they had any chance really, but would my best friend get himself killed in the attempt? Very serious problems. So why did they all suddenly seem insignificant when we broke through the last of the trees and I caught sight of the expression on Charlie's purple face? Edward squeezed me gently. â€Å"I'm here.† I drew in a deep breath. That was true. Edward was here, with his arms around me. I could face anything as long as that was true. I squared my shoulders and walked forward to meet my fate, with my destiny solidly at my side.