Canadian Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Canadian Economy - Essay Example Besides the USA, the trade agreements saw an increase in Canadian trade among other countries such as Chile, Costa Rica, Israel, Mexico and other southern American states.(Beltrame) This had profound benefits for the country and the economy growth has been soaring since. Besides those agreements that took place about a decade ago, the country has entered into a free trade agreement with the European Union which has further offered a boost to the already robust economy. The signing of this agreement took place in 2008. The economy of Canada is supported by several sectors which must be looked at as having a better understanding of the economy and the effects of the economy. These include the service sector, the manufacturing sector, the energy sector and the agriculture sector. This is the largest of the sectors in the Canadian economy, accounting for just about two thirds of the total GDP. The largest of the employers under this sector are the retail sector which employs about 14% of the total Canadian work force. Initially, the retail sector was composed of small retail outlets within the urban centers as well as in the suburbs. However, entry of big outlet stores such as the Future Shop and the Wal-Mart stores originally of the US has forced most of the small retail outlets to migrate to the suburbs where they still employ a considerable number of people. Other employers in the service sector include the business services sector which employs about 12% of the Canadian population. The sectors falling under this are the real estate firms and the banks. The other important sectors falling within the service sector are the education and health sectors. Though these are not part of the private sector, they continue to provide reasonable employment opportunities to the rest of the Canadian economy. The last of the service sector includes the hospitality cum tourism sectors which are equally important for the country. (Viera) Though with the recent recession, there has been a decline in the number of tourists visiting the country mainly due to the strong Canadian dollar. The highest numbers of tourists visiting Canada are from the US though the recent times have seen an increase in Asian tourists especially those from China. Manufacturing sector The manufacturing industry in Canada unlike in most other developed countries is not the core business, though this is not to mean it is unimportant. Most of the industries or manufacturing companies in Canada are affiliates of externally founded companies with an example being the motor industry. Most motor manufacturing industries have a manufacturing plant in Canada but none of them are indigenous. The reason for this has been cited to be the cheaper service charges in Canada e.g. lower health care insurance as compared to the United States. Besides this, Canada has a greater population of educated people making labor considerably lower as compared to the US. Canada presents one of the most interesting economies with a minimal reliance on industries the opposite of other developed countries around the world. Agriculture Canada was initially an agricultural nation especially in the 19th century; that is before the service industry gained considerable dominance in the 20th century. Even in current times, the country is a major exporter of wheat globally though most of it goes to the neighboring US. The Canadian government

Nonverbal Communication Codes Essay Example for Free

Nonverbal Communication Codes Essay 1. What nonverbal messages are being sent in this image? Why are you looking at me? Is the nonverbal message that I would take from the woman with the bad tan. 2. What type of nonverbal communication codes are being used to deliver the messages? I believe the nonverbal message in this image is Affect Displays. A woman with an obvious bad tan seems as though she has a negative reaction to the gentleman that’s doing a double take, looking at her. Her facial expression has a look of irritation from the staring 3. What effect does each message have on the other people in the image? It is hard to determine the effect on the other people that is in the image; however, I suppose the people that are around them that saw the interaction should’ve felt the awkwardness as well. It would be obvious that the signal would be not to get involved and to look away. 4. What nonverbal communication skills and strategies could be used to communicate effectively in this situation? Smiling or showing a friendly face and eye contact should have been made to reduce the feeling of inadequacy or awkwardness. 1. What cultural barriers are seen in this image? I believe the gentleman is focused on the group of woman because he is trying to figure out their dress and culture because it is different than his. 2. What type of nonverbal communication codes are being used to deliver the messages? I feel like the type of nonverbal communication codes that is being used is Affect Displays and Regulators. The gentleman’s posture is used to communicate his emotion and his posture asked the question, â€Å"what are you are doing, and why you dressed that way?† This is an example of the affect Displays because his posture is showing emotions. The other code that is then displayed is the regulator because he is giving eye contact to the group with a facial expression, and open mouth or raised eyebrow, trying to get the group’s attention. 3. What effect does each message have on the other people in the image? The effect that each person has in the image is of non-affect. No one has notice the gentleman’s non-verbal communication methods. Either no one sees it, or he is being ignored, based off of the individuals in the picture. 4. What nonverbal communication skills and strategies could be used to communicate effectively in this situation? The nonverbal communication skills and strategies that can be used to communicate effectively in this situation were simply being a friendly face and smile to show no threat. Also, if the gentleman was really serious, he should have stopped and face the group that he was trying to get their attention 1. What nonverbal messages are being sent in this image? The nonverbal message in this image says that there are still places in Asia where smoking continues to be allowed in some public places; and, smoking is a popular thing to do. 2. What type of nonverbal communication codes are being used to deliver the messages? The nonverbal communication code that is used to deliver this message is the Adapters. Adapters are nonverbal behaviors that help you satisfy personal needs and adapt to the immediate situation or surroundings. 3. What effect does each message have on the other people in the image? The effect that being an adapter in this image has on other people in the image I believe is that smoking is addictive and if one person smokes a cigarette and you are a smoker thing you will want a cigarette as well. 4. What nonverbal communication skills and strategies could be used to communicate effectively in this situation? I am not a smoker; I would either leave the room or show displeasure from secondhand smoke. 1. What cultural barriers can be seen in this image? 2. What nonverbal messages are being sent in this image? 3. What type of nonverbal communication codes are being used to deliver the messages? 4. What effect does each message have on the other people in the image? 5. What nonverbal communication skills and strategies could be used to communicate effectively in this situation? 1. What cultural barriers can be seen in this image? The cultural barriers in this image can be defined as business people who are possibly on their way to work on being a know it annoyed by a woman on her cell phone, not paying attention to where she’s going. 2. What nonverbal messages are being sent in this image? In this image, the people display a busy, business like image. The affect display can be displayed through their posture, and by putting little expression on their faces. It is almost as if it is a hostile rush to get where they’re going. 3. What type of nonverbal communication codes are being used to deliver the messages? The nonverbal communication codes that can be displayed from this image is the Affect Display. 4. What effect does each message have on the other people in the image? It seems as though the people in this image are annoyed by the woman was talking on her cell phone and not paying attention to where she’s going or having a very loud conversation. 5. What nonverbal communication skills and strategies could be used to communicate effectively in this situation? Lady, please hang up the phone and watch where you’re going.

Brexit: Causes and the Future of Britain

Brexit: Causes and the Future of Britain Abstract A referendum was held on June 23rd 2016, to decide whether the United Kingdom (UK) should leave or remain as a part of the European Union (EU). This vote is commonly referred to as Brexit merging words Britain and Exit. The 4 nations of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) voted to leave the EU. This paper explores the reasons for the Brexit, its global implications, the current situation and what lies ahead. Keywords:   Referendum, United Kingdom, Brexit, European Union. On June 23rd 2016, a referendum was held to decide whether the UK should leave or remain as a part of the EU, also known as Brexit. The 4 nations of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) participated in the referendum with leave winning by 51.9% to 48.1%, with almost 30 million people voting (Hunt A. & Wheeler B., 2017). To understand the reasons for the referendum and why the UK voted to leave the EU, a brief history of the relationship between the UK with the EU is studied. The reasons to vote for and against Brexit as also analyzed, along with its global consequences. Finally, the current situation and how much of the Brexit has been implemented is discussed. European Union and its History with the United Kingdom After the end of the Second World War, the European nations wanted to end the frequent and costly wars between neighbors. In 1957, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘Common Market’. (European Union, n. d., para 2). EEC was formed with the goal of economic cooperation between the European nations. The 1960s improved the economy of the EEC members as they started trading without charging custom duties when they traded with each other. On January 1 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the EEC. Greece became the 10th nation in 1981, followed by Spain and Portugal five years later. In 1986, Single European Act was signed, with the intent of allowing free flow of trade across EU borders, creating the ‘Single Market’. (European Union, n. d., para 5). The Maastricht Treaty in 1993 established the European Union (EU), of which the EEC was a main component. The EU was formed with the goal of unifying Europe’s nations under one united foreign policy, common citizenship rights, trade rights and a single currency, called euro. (Pruitt S., 2016). Although the UK became a part of the EU in 1973, the relationship between the UK and the EU has been a turbulent one. The UK applied first applied for EEC membership in 1963. But France’s President Charles de Gaulle vetoed its application, on the worry that English would replace French as the main language of the community. But in 1973, UK was finally allowed into EEC under Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath. (The Telegraph, 2016). But within two years, UK was on the verge on leaving the EEC. In 1975, UK voted on the referendum to whether stay or leave the EEC. 67 percent voted to remain in the EEC. Tension again began in 1984, when UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wanted to reduce British payments to the EEC budget. At that time, the UK was the third poorest country of the EEC, but was paying a lot more to the budget due to its lack of farms. At that time, farm subsidies made up 70 percent of total expenditure. The UK, due to its relatively few farms, got a very small share of the farm subsidies. Margaret Thatcher with her tough talks managed to reduce Britain’s contribution to the EEC from more than 20 percent to about 12 percent. The UK also had issues with the EU regarding France’s ban of British beef during â€Å"mad cow† disease outbreak in the late 90’s, to the decision to allow British chocolates to be sold to rest of Europe in 2000, after a 27-year long dispute. Decision to vote for Brexit In 2011, David Cameron became the first UK prime minister to veto a EU treaty. This was done to protect London’s financial sector and stop a levy on banks. In 2013, he made a speech where he outlined the challenges faced by EU and committed to renegotiate UK’s membership with the EU. At the same time, a lot of support began among British people for the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which held a hard stance with the EU. An ongoing migrant crisis and an economic unrest in the Eurozone increased anti-Europe sentiments. With the increasing support for the UKIP, David Cameron made a pledge in 2013 that if the Conservatives were in power after the 2015 election, there will be an in/out referendum. (Wright O. & Cooper C., 2016) . After coming to power after the election, Cameron promised the vote by end of 2017. He continued his renegotiation with the EU and had managed to make new deals for Britain, which he said was a strong basis to back a Remain vote. To remove the EU vote from holding headlines in the political agenda, David Cameron set an early referendum date of 23rd June, 2016. Reasons for and against Brexit After the decision for the referendum date was taken, a lot of polarizing took place for both sides of the vote-leave or remain. Campaigns for both leave and remain had contrasting opinions of the issues at large. Views for both leave and remain campaign regarding the important issues are discussed below. Main issues of Brexit A lot of arguments for the leave campaign was based on the fact of economic freedom of the UK from the EU, control of UK border from the migrant crisis and trade deals. Arguments of remain was that the vision of the leave campaign lacked convincing detail. (Buttonwood, 2016). Economic Issues The leave campaign had the view that the UK’s links with the EU meant that it cannot make individual trade links with emerging markets like China or India. Leaving the EU would allow UK to diversify its trade deals. However, the remain campaign pointed the fact the 44 percent of UK’s export goes to the other EU countries. Leaving the free-trade agreement of the EU would hurt UK’s economy and leaving EU would be counterproductive. Remain also argued that leaving the EU will hurt the banking industry in UK as trading advantages of being inside the EU helps the banks make profit. The leave campaign rubbished those fears and believed that London would remain a financial capital outside of EU, and banks would still want to be based in UK due to low tax rates. Immigration and Jobs People for the leave campaign had the view that the UK cannot control their border as long they remained a part of EU. EU gives freedom of movement to other EU citizens and an automatic right to live in the UK. (Smith-Riley B., 2016). The immigration crisis also triggered very polarized views. EU had the belief that aiding the refugees was a moral obligation. (Mauldin J., 2016). But people who wanted UK to leave EU had the viewpoint that immigration was a national issue and each country should have their own say on whom they want to enter their country. Remain campaign were of the view that leaving would not solve the migration crisis, but simply shift border control from France to the UK. Regarding jobs, nearly 2.5 million people are employed in UK due to EU trade, which gives freedom of movement for EU citizens. The remain campaign held the view that closing the borders would result in loss of some of those jobs, raising unemployment in the country. Also, businesses may invest less in the UK as they may have to pay high taxes for import and export, outside of â€Å"free trade†. The leave campaign was of the view that the job loss claims were exaggerated. In fact, jobs may flourish in the UK if they can provide better incentives to new businesses like low corporation tax. Defense and Sovereignty Issues People for the leave campaign had the belief that the UK may have to contribute to a EU army to fight against terrorism and other threats. Such a contribution would take away funds and independence from UK’s own military. Remain campaign argued that countries working together would give the best chance to the EU to counter terrorism threats from ISIS and other countries which wants to undermine the EU. Many people who supported the notion of leaving the EU believed that multinational organizations take away control from the individual nations. There was growing mistrust between the countries, coupled with a simultaneous rise in nationalism. There were calls for further economic integration after the euro crisis, which was opposed by the euro sceptics. Remain campaign argued that in this age of globalization, countries must have common economic goals to sustain a healthy economy benefiting everyone. They argued that it is better to remain a part of EU and help change the rules from inside, rather than leave it altogether and have no say in any new decision makings. What happened on June 23rd 2016? How did UK vote? On June 23rd 2016, over 33 million people of the UK countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland cast their vote to either leave or remain in the EU. Leave won by 51.9% to 48.1%. But the voting pattern was different in the 4 countries. While England and Wales voted to leave the EU, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted remain. But the overall vote count had leave have more votes than remain. A breakdown of the vote for leave and remain for the individual countries is given below. Figure 1. Voting pattern for Brexit of the 4 UK countries- in percentages (Hunt A. & Wheeler B., 2017) There was a political fallout as the immediate result to vote for Brexit. Scotland, who had decided to vote to remain in the EU, were forced to leave as the UK voted as a whole. Scotland wanted to go for another referendum to vote and decide whether to remain as a part of the UK, or gain independence and apply to the EU as an independent nation. Prime Minister David Cameron, who led the remain campaign, announced to resign from his position. Theresa May was appointed as the new Prime Minister of UK on 13th July 2016. From the beginning, she was firm in her decision that no attempts should be made by UK to remain as a part of EU or to rejoin it after Brexit. On the other hand, Eurosceptic leaders celebrated as they strongly wanted to withdraw from European Union, or diminish the scope of EU’s legislative influence. There was a political uproar throughout the whole country because people plunged into the phase of uncertainty that could not only affect the global political situation, but also could impact the world economy. Economic & Global impact European single market is a trade bloc, that enables free trade between 28 countries (including UK) that come under the European union. This single market not only enables easy navigation of goods and services between the member countries, and easement of several trading barriers, but also boosts economic growth, helps in effective governance of trade practices, and improves the overall standard of living in the member countries. Brexit will not only hinder smooth trade practices but will also affect the financial markets. Currency Turbulence â€Å"Just a day after Brexit, it had been seen that pound fell sharply against euro. On June 24th, the pound fell to a 31 year low against the dollar.† (Allen K. and Monaghan A., 2016). Sterling also fell against euro. This weaker status of pound against euro brought tension among holidaymakers, tourists, and exporters because pound could then fetch lesser returns and made trading more competitive. Tourists from UK couldn’t travel Europe as comfortably like before as they got lesser money’s worth after Brexit. Reduced Trade The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, popularly known as OECD, which is an association for developed nations, has stated that Brexit would bring a â€Å"major negative shock† in UK. France, Germany and Italy are the stronger members of European Union. They are also key trading allies of UK. But now due to Brexit there will be reduction of trade with these countries due to stringent regulatory policies and lesser labor mobility. UK cannot easily access the European single market. By 2020, GDP would be over 3 percent smaller than otherwise in the U.K.† (Rafal Kierzenkowski et. al., 2016) Domino Effect UK has been the first state to withdraw membership from EU. Since no other state has withdrawn the membership from EU, this could frame a pattern or design that will enable the other member states to increase their momentum of membership withdrawal from EU. In fact, after Britain’s exit from EU, Alternative for Germany (AfD) chairman Bjorn Hocke said I know the German people want to be free of EU slavery.† On the other hand, there can be a different outlook towards exit. â€Å"For instance, Scotland might leave the U.K. to become a stand-alone nation within the EU (like the Republic of Ireland).†Ã‚  (Geewax M., 2016). In a nutshell, Brexit will keep bringing rippling effect that will not only bring disruption in political front or obstruction in the flow of labor, capital and commerce; but will also increase Euroscepticism among the present member states of EU. Brexit’s influence on various industries Housing and commercial property The unreliability and unpredictability of the market after the referendum’s result came out, freaked out the Investors, which also affected the commercial property sector. Estate agents were more affected than house builders. As per Anthony Codling, an analyst at Jefferies, housing sector would be comparatively less affected because government helped the first-time buyers with financial aids. In fact, demand for houses would be vigorous but the cost of construction would keep rising. Building shares kept declining and the most affected housebuilders were Taylor Wimpy, Barkley and Baratt. In FTSE 100, they lost more than 4% in addition to their land securities. (Inman P. and Farrell S., 2016) Retail Retail sector was badly hit, which was already going through a lot of pressure. In fact, before the voting results were even declared, an atmosphere of uncertainty was creeping up. The shopping habits of majority of consumers took a different path. They stopped spending on things that do not come under necessary products. For example, the fashion sales declined drastically and saw the biggest drop in their sales for seven years. As most of the fashion retailers purchase their raw materials from Asia and pay them in dollars, they have been affected more due to the drop in the value of pound.   But some companies have benefitted as well. We know that deflation is the situation in which the supply of money in an economy gets diminished. During this time the purchasing power of money is greater. So, Brexit would help to bring relief to Britain’s supermarkets, which couldn’t earn their desired revenues in last two years due to the deflationary environment. Also, FTSE 100 index is currently at 7343.08 compared to 6338.10 on the day of referendum. This index basically depicted many companies which earned in dollars and not in pounds in UK. Hence, when there was a decline in the value of the pound compared to dollar, their returns multiplied. Telecom â€Å"Vodafone’s announcement that it could  move its headquarters out of the UK  brought one of the most striking impacts of the referendum on corporate Britain.†Ã‚  (Rhiannon B. et. al., 2016).    Since EU has a pivotal role in regulating the telecom sector, Brexit has already put forward many questions against Britain’s own telecom industry. A Spanish telecom company called Telefonica also began their assessment and evaluation of their UK based subsidiary company named O2. An attempt was made to sell O2 to Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, but that unfortunately got hindered due to concern over competition. Later in October 2016, Telefonica has also renounced their plan of listing O2 in the London Stock Exchange due to the tumult created by Brexit. Also, there could have been rise in the momentum of Vodafone’s merger with the company called Liberty Global, which had taken over British cable group Virgin Media in 2013 to branch out into Europe’s cable market. But due to the turmoil created by Brexit, the valuation of Virgin Media had significantly dropped. Insurance Insurance companies had to mandatorily comply with Solvency II directive of European Union Law. This rule aims in harmonizing EU insurance regulation. Solvency II consists of three pillars, viz., pillar 1, pillar 2 and pillar 3. Pillar 1 states the quantitative requirements and resources that insurance companies need to maintain for meeting the liabilities. Pillar 2 deals with risk management structure, which helps to foresee risk against which capital must be held. Pillar 3 deals with transparency and disclosure of risk and meeting the capital requirements. Lord Turnbull, the former civil service head who served as a board member of Prudential, believed that Brexit would help the global companies who wanted to disassociate themselves from the complex directive of Solvency II. Also, after Brexit investors were in dilemma because of its harm on balance sheets and regular business operations. That’s why insurers had to struggle to minimize the immediate problem of share price fluctuations. Legal & General’s stock declined substantially by 30pc in two days, before it reassured shareholders that its solvency and cash generation were retaining properly. (Williams C., 2016) Energy National Grid and SSE have both urged the Government to ensure Britain remains in the EU’s internal energy market (IEM) that will enable them to perform smooth trading of electricity and gas between UK and the European countries. (Williams C., 2016). Since EU laid an easy pathway for UK to make smooth dealing in regards to receive the utilities and benefits of energy sector, Brexit would bring disruption in the whole process that ran with a continuous synergy. Therefore, the UK consumers will now have to incur more costs for energy consumption because UK’s exit from EU could lead to 500 million pounds rise in the cost of procuring energy as a resource. Transport Airline industry has also been badly hit due to Brexit. Sterling’s sharp depreciation has brought perplexity in the aviation sector because this decline in the value of sterling would reduce the demand to travel. This drop in the value would make traveling more expensive. EasyJet has already speculated that they will have less passengers to travel during summer months, and this uncertainty has forced them to rethink whether they should carry on their business in UK or not. Positive Aspects Pounds weakness would increase tourism in UK. People from all around the world can visit and spend comparatively more than what it used to be before. UK’s hospitality industry can flourish more. Big touristy attractions like Madame Tussauds or Legoland can gain more foot traffic. Even the renowned restaurants and pubs can get more customers. Current Scenario of Brexit’s Implementation Theresa May, the current Prime Minister of the UK has stated that she will trigger Britain’s exit from the EU by end of March, 2017 and begin the two years of negotiations. To begin the negotiations, she must invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, and decide on what deals the UK will make with the EU. According to the deals to be made, people are terming it as either a â€Å"hard† Brexit or a â€Å"soft† Brexit.   Article 50 None of the states have ever left European Union; Britain was the first to do so. This has created a lot of turmoil in global economy. The rules for withdrawal or exit is mentioned in Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon. Lisbon Treaty aimed to make EU more transparent and efficient in functioning. It was a treaty that was agreed by the head officials of EU member countries. But since UK has left the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May would trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017. Though the decision of the referendum was taken in a day, the process of leaving EU will be time consuming. After Article 50 is triggered, no directives or rules of EU that exercise control over its member states, will be applied to Britain. Britain and EU will then become two individual parties to any contracts or agreements, and will have to take every decision through bargains and negotiations. Many economists believe that creating future trade relationships or agreements on crucial policies like immigration or trade tariffs between UK and EU countries can become more difficult and burdensome. Figure 2. Steps to be taken for UK to leave the European Union (Hunt A. & Wheeler B., 2017) Hard and Soft Brexit A hard Brexit will be an arrangement where the UK will surrender its full access to the single market and customs union along with the EU. (Sims A., 2016). The trade relationship will be based initially on the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Going for a hard Brexit will give the UK full control of its border, and decide on trade deals on its own. A soft Brexit on the other hand will mirror the current deals the UK has with the EU as much as possible. It will lose having a seat on the European Council, but may keep access to the open trade market of the EU. The leave campaign members are more inclined towards going for a hard Brexit approach, while the remain campaign wants to take the path of a soft Brexit. However, both approaches come with their own pros and cons. International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, has said a hard Brexit approach would benefit the UK by making it a global trading nation. (Sims A., 2016). However, leaving the open market may subject the British goods and services to tariffs, as well as increase bureaucratic checks on goods. If the UK decides to go for a soft Brexit, London’s position as a financial hub may be kept intact if the UK decides to allow the EU rule of free movement of European nationals to work and settle in the UK. Supreme court ruling The latest update of Brexit’s implementation is the Supreme court ruling. Justices ruled that Prime Minister Theresa May cannot use the privilege to trigger  Article 50  of the Lisbon Treaty and begin the two-year process of negotiating the UKs separation from its EU partners. (Telegraph Reporters, 2017). Britain’s Supreme court has also ruled out that the UK government must hold vote in the Parliament before beginning the process of annulment. (Greene Allen R. & Dewan A., 2017). Though UK Government was dissatisfied with this new ruling but they would abide by it. Jeremy Wright, Attorney General of England and Wales, told reporters that they would agree to court’s ruling but would also take every measure to implement Brexit. Theresa May is playing the key role in enacting Brexit and she looks forward to execute all the plans by the end of March 2017, in association with all who voted for leaving EU. References   (1) Hunt, A. & Wheeler, B. (2017) Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887 (2) European Union. (n. d.) The history of European Union. Retrieved from:   https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/history_en#1945_-_1959 (3) Pruitt, S. (2016) The history behind Brexit. Retrieved from: http://www.history.com/news/the-history-behind-brexit (4) The Telegraph. (2016) Britain’s 40-year relationship with the EU. Retrieved from:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/16/britains-40-year-relationship-with-the-eu/ (5) Wright, O. & Cooper, C. (2016) Brexit: What is it and why are we having an EU referendum? Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/what-is-brexit-why-is-there-an-eu-referendum-a7042791.html (6) Buttonwood. (2016) Eu Referendum- The arguments for voting remain. Retrieved from: http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2016/06/eu-referendum-2 (7) Smith-Riley, B. (2016) Leave or remain in the EU? The arguments for and against Brexit. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/16/leave-or-remain-in-the-eu-the-arguments-for-and-against-brexit/ (8) Mauldin, J. (2016) 3 Reasons Brits voted for Brexit. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmauldin/2016/07/05/3-reasons-brits-voted-for-brexit/#1c8d5991f9d6 (9) Allen, K. & Monaghan, A. (2016) Brexit fallout- the economic impact in six key charts. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/08/brexit-fallout-the-economic-impact-in-six-key-charts (10) Kierzenkowski, R., Pain, N., Rusticelli, E. & Zwart, S. (2016) The economic consequences of Brexit- A taxing decision. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/the-economic-consequences-of-brexit_5jm0lsvdkf6k-en (11) Geewax, M. (2016) Circle June 23. A vote that day in the U.K. could affect your wallet. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/10/481424109/circle-june-23-a-vote-that-day-in-the-u-k-could-affect-your-wallet (12) Inman, P. and Farrell, S. (2016) Pound hits 31-year low after disappointing service sector data. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/05/pound-hits-31-year-low-after-service-sector-data (13) Rhiannon, B., Dakers, M. & Martin, B. (2016) UK firms mull moves in wake of Brexit. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/06/29/uk-firms-mull-moves-in-wake-of-poll/ (14) Williams, C. (2016) What does Brexit mean for the key parts of the UK economy? Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/02/what-does-brexit-mean-for-the-key-parts-of-the-uk-economy/ (15) Sims, A. (2016) What is the difference between hard and soft Brexit? Everything you need to know. Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-hard-soft-what-is-the-difference-uk-eu-single-market-freedom-movement-theresa-may-a7342591.html (16) Telegraph Reporters. (2017) Brexit ruling: The Supreme Court judgement in full. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/24/brexit-ruling-supreme-court-judgment-full/ (17) Greene Allen, R. & Dewan, A. (2017) Brexit ruling: UK Supreme Court gives parliament Article 50 vote. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/24/europe/brexit-article-50-supreme-court-ruling/

The Rainmaker by John Grisham :: The Rainmaker John Grisham

The Rainmaker by John Grisham    The world is full of great novels. From Sherlock Holmes to the three musketeers. As the years progress more novels are written and more money is made. John Grisham is a rising star in literature. His books have enticed readers and has given the people something good to read. What makes his books great is that they are so realistic. He applies his personal law and trial knowledge into the books he writes. What it is about ? It was his last semester of law school. Rudy Baylor was assigned to give free advice to a group of seniors. It is at that very time, and that very place, that Rudy encounters his first true clients. Dot and Buddy Black. They have been robbed by a powerful insurance company. A company with millions of dollars in assets. They have caused the suffering of a young man. They have ruined his chances to live by not issuing their coverage that they were obligated to give. Donny Ray, son of Dot and Buddy is dying of Lukemia, he is going to die, his chances for survival are over and it is a matter of months. Rudy does’nt realize the case that has fallen into his lap until phone calls are made. There is a great problem, however, Rudy is broke, he hasn’t even passed his bar exam yet. And will go head to head with one of America’s most experienced and accomplished defense attorney’s. From the beginning of the novel to the last word, Rudy is plagued with a series of mishaps and problems. When something looks bright the clouds come in and ruin the hope. Rudy is in Luck. As the big trial begins, he is given a judge that is definetly on his side and 12 jury members that think the same way that he does. After researching great benefit, the insurance company, Rudy discovers cover ups by the company. He also discovers Great Benefits harsh way in getting rid of their numerous mistakes. n How it relates to your audience The Trial Obviously Rudy is not stupid. He enters all the facts he has discovered and uses them to help solidify his p osition in the minds of the jurors As the trial goes on Rudy is given another problem. A beaten girl is discovered by Rudy at the hospital during his studying.

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 4

The next day, I went to the address on Dante's business card. It was in Rainier Valley, which wasn't exactly rundown but wasn't upwardly mobile either. The directions led to a narrow shop jammed in between a barber and a shady-looking convenience store. PSYCHIC hung in red neon letters in the window. The â€Å"I† had burned out. Underneath it, a handwritten sign read: PALM READING & TAROT CARDS. I stepped through the door, making bells ring. The interior proved to be as barren as the exterior. A narrow counter flanked one wall. The rest of the small, stark space was empty, save for a round table covered in red velvet that had cigarette burns on it. A tacky crystal ball sat on top. This place was a wasteland compared to Erik's warm, inviting shop. â€Å"Just a minute,† a voice called from an open doorway in the back. â€Å"I've just got to – â€Å" A man entered the room and stopped when he saw me. He was about six-foot, with black hair pulled back in a ponytail. Two days worth of facial hair covered his face, and he wore jeans and a plain black T-shirt. Early forties, maybe, and pretty cute. He looked me over from head to toe and gave me a sly, knowing smile. â€Å"Well, hello. What do we have here?† He tilted his head, still studying me. â€Å"Not human, that's for sure. Demon? No, not strong enough. Vampire? No†¦not this time of day.† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stopped, surprised that he'd sensed something in me. He had no immortal signature; he was definitely human. He must be like Erik, I realized. A mortal who could sense the immortal world, though he didn't have enough skill to pinpoint what I was exactly. Deciding there was no point in subterfuge, I said, â€Å"I'm a succubus.† He shook his head. â€Å"No, you aren't.† â€Å"Yes, I am.† â€Å"You aren't.† I was a bit surprised to be having this conversation. â€Å"I am too.† â€Å"No. Succubi are flame-eyed and bat-winged. Everyone knows that. They don't wear jeans and sweaters. At the very least, you should have a bigger chest. What are you, 34B or something?† â€Å"C,† I said indignantly. â€Å"If you say so.† â€Å"Look, I am a succubus. I can prove it.† I let my form change, shifting through several different female variations before returning to my usual one. â€Å"See?† â€Å"Well, I'll be damned.† I had a feeling he was playing with me. â€Å"Are you Dante?† â€Å"For now.† He approached and shook my hand, holding on to it. He flipped it over. â€Å"You here for a palm reading? I'll show you how to shape-shift your hand to get a good future.† I took my hand back. â€Å"No, thanks. I'm here because I have some questions†¦questions that Erik Lancaster thought you might be able to answer.† Dante's smile dropped. He rolled his eyes and walked over to the counter. â€Å"Oh. Him.† â€Å"What's that supposed to mean? Erik's my friend.† Dante leaned his back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. â€Å"Of course he's your friend. He's everyone's friend. Fucking boy scout. If he could have shaken his holier-than-thou attitude and worked with me, we could have made a fortune by now.† I remembered what Erik had said about Dante being a con artist and a Hell-bound person. I didn't pick up any evil vibes off him, but there was a definite abrasiveness to his attitude that made Erik's assessment more plausible. â€Å"Erik has standards,† I declared. Dante laughed. â€Å"Oh, great. A holier-than-thou succubus. This is going to be fun.† â€Å"Look, can you just answer my questions? It won't take long.† â€Å"Sure,† he said. â€Å"I've got time – at least until the next rush of customers.† The bitter tone in his voice as he gestured to the empty room indicated that there hadn't been a rush in a very long time. â€Å"I had a dream the other night,† I explained. â€Å"And when I woke up, all my energy was gone.† â€Å"You're a succubus. Supposedly. That kind of thing happens.† â€Å"I wish everyone would stop saying that! This wasn't normal. And I'd been with a man the night before. I was charged up, so to speak.† â€Å"You do anything afterward that would have depleted the energy?† Everyone kept asking that too. â€Å"No. I just went to bed. But the dream†¦it was really strange. I don't know how to explain it. Really, really vivid. I've never felt anything like it.† â€Å"What was it about?† â€Å"A, um, dishwasher.† Dante sighed. â€Å"Did someone pay you to come here and mess with me?† Through gritted teeth, I related the dream. â€Å"That's it?† he asked when I finished. â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"Lame dream.† â€Å"Do you know what it means?† â€Å"Probably that you need to fix your dishwasher.† â€Å"It isn't broken!† He straightened up. â€Å"Sorry. Can't help you then.† â€Å"Erik said this was your specialty.† â€Å"It is, I suppose. But, sometimes a dream is just a dream. You sure you don't want me to read your palm? It's all bullshit, but I can at least make something up so you feel like the trip wasn't wasted.† â€Å"No, I want to know about my fucking dream. How can it be just a dream if I woke up with no energy?† Dante walked back over to me and flicked a piece of escaped hair out of his face. â€Å"I don't know. You aren't giving me enough to go on. How many times has it happened?† â€Å"Just the one time.† â€Å"Then it may be just a fluke, kiddo.† I turned toward the door. â€Å"Well, thanks for the ‘help.'† Hurrying over to my side, Dante caught my arm. â€Å"Hey, wait. You want to go get a drink now?† â€Å"I – what?† â€Å"I'll risk upsetting the masses and close up shop for the day. There's a great bar around the corner. Draft Budweiser – only a dollar a glass during happy hour. My treat.† I scoffed. I didn't know what was more absurd. That Dante thought I'd go out with him or that he thought I'd drink Budweiser. His attractiveness wasn't enough to make up for his weird personality. â€Å"Sorry. I have a boyfriend.† â€Å"I'm not looking to be your boyfriend. Cheap sex is fine with me.† I met his eyes. They were gray, similar to Carter's but without the silvery hue. I expected a joke here, but despite the perpetual smirk, Dante appeared to be perfectly serious. â€Å"Why on earth do you think I'd have cheap sex with you? Do I look that easy?† â€Å"You say you're a succubus. You're easy by definition. And even without the bat-wings and flame-eyes, you're pretty cute.† â€Å"Aren't you worried about your soul?† Even if he was as corrupt as Erik had insinuated – and I still wasn't really seeing that – Dante would take some kind of hit from sleeping with me. All mortals did. Of course, I'd met plenty of men – good and evil alike – who'd been willing to risk their souls for sex. â€Å"Nope. My soul's pretty far gone. This would just be for fun. Look, if you want to skip the beer, we can just get right to it. I've always wanted to do it on the table over there.† â€Å"Un-fucking-believable.† I pushed open the door. â€Å"Oh, come on,† he pleaded. â€Å"I'm pretty good. And hey, maybe your boyfriend's poor sexual performance is what's stressing you out and taking away your energy.† â€Å"Not likely,† I told him. â€Å"We don't have sex.† There was a moment's silence, then Dante threw back his head and laughed. â€Å"Did it occur to you that maybe that's stressing you out? Clearly the dishwasher is a metaphor for your broken sex life, which then forces you to wash dishes ‘by hand.'† I left, heading back to the bookstore where I could get a little respect. Some dream expert Dante had turned out to be. I could see now why Erik didn't really like him. I was also starting to wonder if maybe everyone was right. Maybe I had mentally burned myself out. Maybe the dream was really just a dream. I was almost at the bookstore when I got a phone call. â€Å"Miss Kincaid?† asked a pleasant female voice. â€Å"This is Karen from the Seattle Children's Alliance, calling to confirm your participation in our auction this week.† â€Å"Your what?† There was a pause. â€Å"Our charity date auction, to raise money for the Alliance.† I was still baffled. â€Å"Um, sounds like a great cause, but I have no idea what you're talking about.† I heard papers being ruffled. â€Å"We have you listed as a volunteer.† â€Å"For what, to be auctioned off for a date?† â€Å"Yes. It looks like†¦here we are. Your name was submitted by Dr. Mitchell.† I sighed. â€Å"Let me call you back.† I hung up and dialed Hugh. â€Å"Hey, Dr. Mitchell. You volunteered me to be auctioned off?† â€Å"It's not that different from what you usually do,† he argued. â€Å"And it's for charity.† â€Å"I buy the peace-on-Earth-and-good-will-toward-men thing from Peter and Cody – but not from you. You don't care about those kids.† â€Å"I care about the group's director,† Hugh said. â€Å"She's a fucking fox. I get some high quality candidates to raise money, and I can probably get her in bed.† â€Å"You're using a children's charity to further your sex life. That's horrible. And why didn't you ask Tawny? If anyone needs a date, she does.† â€Å"Her? Jesus Christ. It'd be a disaster. We're trying to make money here. Do you hate kids or something?† â€Å"No, but I don't have time to do it. I'll write them a check.† I hung up on his protests, just as I turned onto Queen Anne Avenue. I was a little early for my shift and decided to stop home and grab an apple and a granola bar. Last time I'd worked, we'd been so busy that I'd skipped my lunch break. I figured that this time, I should come prepared. My immortality wouldn't let me starve to death, but I could still get lightheaded and weak. Halfway down the hall to my apartment, I felt a shock wave of crystalline goodness. Angelic auras. I opened my door and found the whole gang: Carter, Yasmine, Whitney, Joel, and Vincent. None of them spoke; they were all just watching me expectantly. The angels would have sensed me long before I sensed them. They all sat in my living room, casually occupying my sofa and chairs as though they weren't a host of heavenly warriors. Well, not all of them were casual. Joel sat as stiff and formal as he had the first time I met him. â€Å"Oh, man,† I said, shutting the door behind me. â€Å"It's just like that They Might Be Giants song.† Vincent grinned. â€Å"‘She's an Angel'?† I nodded. â€Å"Somewhere they're meeting on a pinhead – â€Å" † – calling you an angel, calling you the nicest things,† he finished. â€Å"What are you doing here?† demanded Joel, interrupting our jam session. â€Å"Or not so nice,† I muttered. I turned from Vincent and glared at Joel. â€Å"I live here, remember?† â€Å"We're having a meeting,† he said. â€Å"Hey, when you asked if Vince could stay here, you never said anything about making this your top secret tree house headquarters. I don't care if you guys hold your choir practice here or whatever, but don't try to throw me out while you do.† â€Å"Sorry,† said Yasmine. I did a double-take. Apologies from angels were about as rare as from demons. From the look on his face, Joel was about as surprised as me. â€Å"We probably should have asked first. We can go somewhere else.† She leaned over my coffee table and started gathering up newspapers. Interesting. Apparently Vincent's fixation with the news was more than just a personal hobby. I glanced back up at Yasmine and tried to act like I hadn't noticed anything. â€Å"No, it's fine. I'm actually heading right back out. I just came by for some food.† She pushed strands of long, black hair out of her face. They'd slipped out of her ponytail. â€Å"You want Vince to make you something?† He turned to her, startled, wearing an astonished, yet still-amused look. â€Å"What am I, your personal assistant?† â€Å"Not with the kind of respect you show us,† she grumbled. I hid a smile. â€Å"Thanks, but I'm fine. I don't have the time.† â€Å"Good,† said Joel. â€Å"Then hurry up.† Whitney sighed and looked a little embarrassed – but not enough to contradict him. Yasmine had no such qualms and elbowed him in the ribs. â€Å"What was that for?† he exclaimed. â€Å"You have no manners,† she scolded. Grinning broadly, I went to the kitchen and found an apple. When I opened the cupboard to look for my granola bars, I found the box empty. â€Å"Hey,† I said, carrying it out to the living room. â€Å"Did somebody eat these? I had two left this morning.† Carter spoke up for the first time. â€Å"I was hungry.† I stared at him, incredulous. â€Å"You ate both of them?† â€Å"I was hungry,† he repeated, not looking contrite in the least. â€Å"Does it ever stop with you?† I exclaimed. â€Å"First the Christmas tree, now this? You didn't even throw the box away!† â€Å"I was hoping you'd forgotten about the Christmas tree. That was an accident, and you know it.† I sighed loudly and put the apple in my purse. â€Å"I'm going to the grocery store later,† said Vincent helpfully. Aubrey jumped up and settled herself between him and Yasmine. Both their hands instantly moved to pet her. Aubrey gave me a smug cat look at the attention. â€Å"I'll pick you up some more if you want.† â€Å"Pick him up some more so that he doesn't go rob the food bank next. See you guys later. No wild parties while I'm gone.† Carter, Yasmine, and Vincent laughed; Whitney and Joel didn't. When I'd shut the door behind me, I paused in the hall, wishing there was some way to spy on angels. There wasn't, unfortunately. I couldn't even hide from them. They could mask their signatures from me, but not vice versa. In fact, they all knew I hadn't left yet. Annoyed, I headed downstairs, curiosity burning in me. Why were they all here? Why did they need a human? And what role did the newspapers play? Figuring out what angels did with their time was always difficult. With my side, it was pretty straightforward. We were always looking to commit souls to Hell and did so in a well-monitored, micro-managed manner. Heaven's forces moved in mysterious ways, though. Carter's purpose in Seattle was a continual puzzle for my friends and me since none of us ever saw any evidence of him doing anything particularly noble, aside from sharing his cigarettes. He did always show a lot of interest in my love life and was quick to dispense cryptic pieces of advice, but I suspected that was more curiosity than altruism. Work was only a few blocks away. Since it wasn't raining, I simply walked down there. As soon as I entered Emerald City, Maddie approached me, an uncomfortable expression on her face. â€Å"Hey,† she said uneasily. â€Å"I, um, need your advice. I'm going to a wedding tomorrow and don't know what to wear. This is so stupid†¦but could you take a look at my options?† Peering around, I decided the store could function without us for ten minutes, particularly since it had taken Maddie a fair amount of courage to broach this subject. I'd never actually seen her dress up before. â€Å"Okay. Let's see what you've got.† We went back to my office, and she tried on three different dresses. No doubt Seth would have been amused to know she was changing clothes while I was in there. When she'd finished, I gave my honest opinion. â€Å"They don't do you justice.† â€Å"Which is a nice way of saying they look awful on me.† Maddie balled one of the dresses up and tossed it to the floor. â€Å"I hate this sort of thing. How can I write about women's issues and not be any good at them?† â€Å"Well†¦you write about different kinds of issues. The problem here is that you're wearing clothes that are too big for you.† Her dark eyes widened in surprise. â€Å"I'm big. They're loose. They hide it.† Maddie wasn't big, not really. She was a size ten or twelve, if I had to guess, and her short height emphasized that a little. But her curves were all proportioned correctly, and she had a very pretty face. Of course, compared to the anorexic models so popular among humans today, I could understand her attitude. â€Å"You are not big. But those dresses make you look it. Something smaller's going to make you look better.† â€Å"I can't wear tight clothes.† â€Å"They don't have to be tight. They just have to fit.† Maddie sighed and ran her hands down the sides of her thighs. â€Å"You don't know what it's like,† she said, the slightest accusatory note in her voice. â€Å"You're beautiful and tiny. Not all of us have the luxury of looking perfect all the time.† â€Å"No one looks perfect all the time,† I argued. â€Å"I certainly don't.† Okay, I kind of did. â€Å"You've just got to find the right things. And really, half of beauty is attitude. You feel sexy, then you are sexy.† Maddie looked dubious. â€Å"I don't think it's that easy. Guys aren't exactly chomping at the bit to ask me out. You know how long it's been since I was on a date?† â€Å"That goes back to attitude,† I said. â€Å"Look, I don't mean to sound harsh, but you don't always give off friendly vibes. I mean, you do to me. And to Doug. Sort of. But really, that's it.† â€Å"I know I'm not the best with people,† she admitted, crossing her arms over her chest. â€Å"But I just can't do meaningless small talk.† â€Å"Yeah, but you still have to do some talking. It's a fact of life.† â€Å"Well, if guys came and actually talked to me, maybe I could try. But they aren't really lining up.† She gestured at her body. â€Å"Because of this. And now we've come full circle.† â€Å"What if I could guarantee you a date?† I asked, suddenly inspired. Her lips quirked into a smile. It instantly transformed her face. â€Å"Are you asking me out?† â€Å"No, but someone else will, I'm certain of it. You just have to let me pick out your outfit.† â€Å"I'm not wearing anything slutty.† â€Å"It won't be,† I promised. I stood up from my chair. â€Å"Look, I've gotta run. Wear the yellow dress to the wedding. With a belt. I'll give you details later about the date plan.† She left, looking skeptical, and I threw myself into work. The rest of the day flew by. I never saw Seth in the caf? ¦ and presumed he was working at home today. We had a date later on, so I knew I'd see him then. Since becoming manager, I spent a lot of time holed up in my office, which was hard on the social part of me. But, every once in a while, I got to escape to cover someone's break or arrange a display. While near the self-help section, a guy carrying some books stumbled near me and dropped the stack. Hoping he hadn't tripped on a bump in the carpet and was planning a lawsuit, I hastily knelt down to help him. â€Å"No, no,† he said, cheeks burning. He was the age I looked, late twenties. Early thirties at most. â€Å"You don't have to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I was already stacking them, though, and quickly understood his discomfort. They were books on all sorts of fetishes – in particular, exhibitionism and voyeurism. â€Å"Oh God,† he said, as I handed him the books. â€Å"I'm so embarrassed. I feel like such a pervert.† â€Å"It's okay,† I told him. â€Å"It's your business, and we've all got our†¦ah, preferences.† He looked mildly reassured but still clearly wanted to bolt. There was a wedding ring on his hand, and I expected I was dealing with a fetish he probably didn't share with his wife. Honestly, I was surprised he'd resorted to actual books when he could find a hundred times more sources on the Internet. Most likely he and his wife shared a home computer, and he feared discovery. It was Georgina the succubus, not Georgina the bookstore manager, who asked the next question. Georgina the bookstore manager would have gotten fired for it if caught. â€Å"You like the watching or the doing?† I kept my voice low. He swallowed, studied me for mockery, and must have decided I was serious. â€Å"The, um, doing.† For half a breath, I considered going for it with him. I needed the energy, badly. He'd be an easy mark, consumed with a secret obsession he couldn't fulfill anywhere else. But, it'd mean doing it in this body, and I didn't like that. This was my preferred, everyday shape. I didn't want to sully it with business. So, I smiled and sent him on his way, silently wishing him well in fulfilling his sexual desires. I called Seth later while I was walking home from work to confirm our date. We were going to meet over at the Pacific Northwest Ballet to see The Nutcracker. While he appreciated the performing arts, getting him to go out while his book's ending loomed had been a Herculean task, and I still couldn't believe he'd agreed. He'd only conceded after I'd promised he could show up at the last possible minute. Only, we apparently had different definitions of â€Å"last possible minute† because when the lights went down, he still hadn't surfaced. The ballet started, and I craned my neck each time I heard one of the doors open. The chair beside me stayed empty, unfortunately. It was a sign of my agitation that I missed a lot of the performance and couldn't appreciate Clara's dream – a dream as vivid for her as mine had been for me. I loved the ballet. I'd danced in a few shows over my lifetime and never got tired of watching graceful muscles and elaborate costumes. At intermission, I turned on my cell phone and saw that Seth had tried to call. I dialed him back without even listening to the voice message. When he answered, I said, â€Å"Please tell me a crazy fan kidnapped you and broke your legs with a sledgehammer.† â€Å"Um, no. Didn't you get my message?† â€Å"Well, no, seeing as my phone said it came in a half-hour ago. I didn't have it on because I was busy watching this thing. You know, The Nutcracker?† He sighed. â€Å"I'm sorry. I couldn't leave. I was too wrapped up. I thought if I, uh, gave you enough notice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Notice? This was more like a belated birthday card. Six months after the fact.† Silence fell, and I felt some satisfaction in knowing he was quietly acknowledging his wrongdoing. â€Å"I'm sorry, Thetis. It was†¦I shouldn't have done it, busy or not. I'm really sorry. You know how I get.† Now I sighed. He was so damned sincere and adorable that I had a hard time holding a grudge. This wasn't, however, the first time he'd stood me up or otherwise neglected our social life. Sometimes I wondered if I allowed him too much indulgence. I spent so much time worrying about my transgressions taking advantage of him; maybe I was the one being walked over without even realizing it. â€Å"You want to meet up after the show?† I asked, trying not to sound mad. â€Å"Cody invited me out to the bar with them. We could hang out there for a while.† â€Å"Um†¦well, no.† â€Å"No?† The annoyance I'd tried to quell shot its head back up again. â€Å"I just forgave you for standing me up and wasting the money I paid on your ticket, and now you're turning down my conciliatory offer?† â€Å"Look†¦I really am sorry, but watching you and your friends get drunk isn't exactly appealing.† I sat for a moment, too stunned to respond. He'd spoken in his typically mild way, but I'd heard the slightest bit of derision underscoring his words. Seth didn't drink. He always tolerated my excesses good-naturedly, but I suddenly wondered if they irritated him after all. His meaning came through as haughtiness to me. â€Å"Sorry we're not up to your standards. God knows we can't expect you to do anything outside of your comfort zone.† â€Å"Please, stop. I don't want to fight with you,† he said with exasperation. â€Å"I'm really, really, really sorry about all this. I didn't mean to stand you up. You know that.† The lights flashed, signaling the end of intermission. â€Å"I've got to go.† â€Å"Will you†¦will you please come over tonight? Go out with your friends, let me finish, and then I'll make things up to you. I promise. I†¦I have an early Christmas present for you.† The hesitancy in his voice softened my heart. A little. â€Å"Yeah. Okay. It might be really late when I get there.† â€Å"I'll wait up.† We said our good-byes and disconnected. I watched the rest of the show in a grumpy mood and decided drinking and bitching with the gang couldn't come a moment too soon.

Roberto Clemente Essays - Roberto Clemente, Carolina, Puerto Rico

Roberto Clemente Essays - Roberto Clemente, Carolina, Puerto Rico Roberto Clemente Roberto Clemente played in an era dominated by the likes of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente was usually overlooked by fans discussing great baseball players. Not until late in his 18-year career did the public appreciate the talents of the 12-time All-Star of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even though he was arguably the best baseball player at that time he was also a devote humanitarian which ultimately led to his death. Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, August 18, 1934. Growing up he helped his father, who worked as a foreman on a sugar plantation and manager of a grocery store, load and unload trucks. The youngest of four children, Roberto excelled in track and field, winning medals in the javelin throw and short distance races. Despite his great success in the other sports his real love was baseball. He took advantage of the weather in Puerto Rico to play baseball year-round. He became consumed with the game. He squeezed a rubber ball to build up his throwing arm. While in high school, he signed a $60-a-month contract and he also received a $5,000 bonus and a new glove to play for Santurce, a professional team in the Puerto Rican league. He was 18 then and hit .356 in the winter of 1952-53. The next season, Brooklyn Dodgers scout Al Campanis held a baseball tryout clinic. He impressed Campanis enough that he offered him a $10,000 bonus. The 18 yr old had to wait until he graduated from high school before he could sign with a major league team. So he gave his word to Campanis that he would sign with the Dodgers. Later other teams were ready to offer him more money. The Milwaukee Braves were willing to give him a $30,000 bonus. But being a man of his word he stuck to his agreement and signed with The Brooklyn Dodgers. The talent-laden Dodger organization of the mid-1950s knew it would be difficult for the teenager to break into the majors with the Dodgers, therefor they tried to hide him in the minors. They were afraid that another team would draft him after the 1954 season. (There was a rule stating that any player who received a bonus of at least $4,000 had to be placed on the major league roster within a year or he could be drafted for $4,000.) Though he batted only 148 times for the Montreal Royals. There fears came true the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him that November. Though only 20 and still learning the English language, He became a starter for the Pirates in 1955. He was rightfully Pittsburgh's pride and joy. The fans laugh at his antics, ooh- and-ah at his spectacular plays, roar in anticipation of his performance, and in general love the man. The Pirates, who were awful in his first three seasons, gradually built a strong club. In 1960 they won the National League pennant, with him hitting .314 with 16 homers and a team-high 94 RBI and making his first All-Star team. He continued his awesome play in the World Series, hitting .310 as the Pirates defeated the New York Yankees on Bill Mazeroski's famous ninth-inning homer in Game 7. But He never wore his 1960 championship ring. Feeling snubbed by the writers because he only finished eighth in MVP balloting, he wore an All-Star ring instead. His performance in 1960 was just the beginning of his All-Star, Hall of Fame career. In 1961 he was in the best shape of his life, finally getting over the chronic back problems that had bothered him since his rookie season. With his improved health, He hit .351 to win his first batting title, producing 201 hits. On November 14, 1964, he married Vera Cristina Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They had three sons. Roberto Jr., Luis Roberto and Roberto Enrique. Proud of his heritage Roberto insisted that Vera give birth to all three sons in Puerto Rico. From 1964 through 1967, He won three more batting titles. And in the year he didn't win one, he was voted the National League's MVP. He had a career best .371 batting average in 1967. The year he won the MVP, he finished fifth in batting at .317 but had career-highs with 29 homers and 119 RBI (second best in the league). The Pirates came in third, three games behind the first-place Dodgers. In 1971, Clemente (.341) led the Pirates to another pennant. Though one of the game's

Cetaceans Essays - Megafauna, Cetaceans, Cetacea, Whale, Free Essays

Cetaceans Essays - Megafauna, Cetaceans, Cetacea, Whale, Free Essays Cetaceans Whales, dolphins and porpoises make up the classification order Cetacea, which contains two suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. The baleen whales are members of the Mysticeti suborder, while the toothed whales, dolphins and porpoises make up the suborder Odontoceti. Altogether, the two suborders contain eighty-one known species, separated into thirteen different families. In each family are a number of species, each classified further into 'sub-families', or genera, of which there are 40. What Are Cetaceans? There are many misconceptions about cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), the most common of which is the idea that cetaceans are fish. They're not - they are mammals, like you and me. Millions of years ago, they lived on land; their bodies were covered in hair, they had external ears, they walked on four legs, they beared live young. As mammals, cetaceans have these characteristics that are common to all mammals: * They are warm-blooded animals. * They breathe in air through their lungs. * They bear their young alive and suckle them on their own milk. * They have hair - though generally only a few 'whiskers'. Another way of discerning a cetacean from a fish is by the shape of the tail. The tail of a fish is vertical and moves from side to side when the fish swims. The tail of a cetacean is horizontal and moves up and down instead. The Cetacean's Adaptations for Sea Life Over a period of millions of years, the cetacean returned to the sea - there was more food there, and more space than on land. Because of this increase in space, there was no natural limit to the cetacean's size (i.e. the amount of weight its legs could hold) since the water provided buoyancy. It had no longer any need for legs. During this time, the cetacean lost the qualities that fitted it for land existence and gained new qualities for life at sea. Its hind limbs disappeared, its body became more tapered and streamlined - a form that enabled it to move swiftly through the water. For the same reason, most of its fur disappeared, reducing the resistance of the giant body to the water. The cetacean's original tail was replaced by a pair of flukes that acted like a propeller. As part of this streamlining process, the bones in the cetacean's front limbs fused together. In time, what had been the forelegs became a solid mass of bone, blubber and tissue, making very effective flippers that balance the cetacean's tremendous bulk. After the cetacean's hair disappeared, it needed some way of preserving their body heat. This came in the form of blubber, a thick layer of fat between the skin and the flesh that also acts as an emergency source of energy. In some cetaceans the layer of blubber can be more than a foot thick. Breathing, Seeing, Hearing and Echolocation Since the cetacean is a mammal, it needs air to breathe. Because of this, it needs to come to the water's surface to exhale its carbon dioxide and inhale a fresh supply of air. Naturally it cannot breathe under water, so as it dives a muscular action closes the blowholes (nostrils), which remain closed until the cetacean next breaks the surface. When it does, the muscles open the blowholes and warm air is exhaled. To make this easier, the cetacean's blowholes have moved to the top of its head, giving it a quicker chance to expel the stale air and inhale fresh air. When the stale air, warmed from the lungs, is exhaled it condenses and vapourises as it meets the cold air outside. This is rather like when you breathe out on a cold day and a small cloud of warm air appears. This is called the 'blow', or 'spout', and each cetacean's blow is different in terms of shape, angle and height. This is how cetaceans can be identified at a distance by experienced whalers or whale-watchers. The cetacean's eyes are set well back and to either side of its huge head. This means that cetaceans with pointed 'beaks' (such as dolphins) have good binocular vision forward and downward, but others with blunt heads (such as the Sperm Whale) can see either side but not directly ahead or directly behind. The eyes shed greasy tears which protect them from the salt in the water, and cetaceans have been found to have good vision both in the water and out. Akin to the eyes, the cetacean's ears are also small. Life in the sea accounts for the cetacean's loss of its external ears, whose function is to collect

Chemistry Diatomic Molecules Cheat Sheet Essays

Chemistry Diatomic Molecules Cheat Sheet Essays Chemistry Diatomic Molecules Cheat Sheet Paper Chemistry Diatomic Molecules Cheat Sheet Paper Procedure for Negatively Charged Ions (CHIC-) Use the same procedure as outlined above, then as a last step add one electron per negative charge to fill octets. Carbonate ion has a 2- charge, so we have two electrons available to fill octets. Using the procedure above, we arrive a this structure: The two singly-bonded oxygen atoms each have an open octet, so we add one electron to each so as to fill these octets. The added electrons are shown with arrows. Dont forget to assign formal charges as well! The final Lewis structure for carbonate ion is: Procedure for Positively Charged Ions (NH+) Use the same procedure as outlined above, then remove one electron per positive charge as needed to avoid expanded octets. When using this procedure for positively charged ions, it may be necessary to have some atoms with expanded octets (nitrogen in this example). For each unit of positive charge on the ion remove on electron from these expanded octets. If done correctly, your final structure should have no first or second period elements with expanded octets. Using the basic procedure outlined above, we arrive at a structure in which nitrogen has nine valence electrons. (Electrons supplied by hydrogen are red; electrons supplied by nitrogen are black. ) Removal of one of these valence electrons to account for the 1+ charge of ammonium ion solves this octet rule violation. Slathers Rules: All other electrons in the same group as the electron of interest shield to an extent of 0. 35 nuclear charge units except Is group, where the other electron contributes only . 30. ) Write the electron configuration for the atom using the following design;(ls) (ad) (as,up) (ad) (if) (as,up) 2) Any electrons to the right of the electron of interest contributes no shielding. (Approximately correct statement. ) 3) All other electrons in the same group as the electron of interest shield to an extent of 0. 35 nuclear charge units 4) If the electron of interest is an s or p electron: All electrons with one less value of the principal quantum number shield to an extent of 0. 85 units of nuclear charge. All electrons with two less values of the principal quantum umber shield to an extent of 1. 0 units. 5) If the electron of interest is an d or f electron: All electrons to the left shield to an extent of 1. 00 units of nuclear charge. 6) Sum the shielding amounts from steps 2 through 5 and subtract from the nuclear charge value to obtain the effective nuclear charge. Examples: Calculate Z* for a valence electron in fluorine. Rule 2 does not apply; 0. 35 6+0. 85 2 = 3. 8 Z* = 9 3. 8 = 5. 2 for a valence electron. Calculate Z* for a as electron in Platinum. (1 (Dodd) (ass,app) (Dodd) (puff) (zaps) (add) (ass) Rule 2 does

Outsoucing in the United States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Outsoucing in the United States - Research Paper Example In as far as recruitment is concerned, there are other independent companies which can offer advanced services on behalf of different organisations which entails that they can outsource the recruitment and staffing services to third parties. As such, this paper seeks to explain the meaning of outsourcing as well as outlining its pros and cons. The paper will also attempt to evaluate real life situations of outsourcing in different organisations. According to Heneman & Judge (633), outsourcing refers to contracting work to a vendor or third party administrator to perform the tasks that could be done by the organisation itself. This means that the functions of the whole human resources department in particular can be done by an outside company. There are many examples of outsourcing of specific staffing activities and some of them include the following: seeking temporary employees, executive search, skills testing, assessing employee backgrounds, job relocations, assessment centers as well as affirmative action planning (Kleynhans, 85). Basically, the organisation can outsource some of its functions such as recruitment to the third party whilst it concentrates on other core business of the organisation. ... This process is usually longer and many organisations usually spend a fortune in recruiting and selecting the right candidates for the organisation. Outsourcing the recruitment services to the third party is advantageous in that the organisation will only pay a fixed fee and these employment agencies have experience in attracting experienced and skilled workers in the industry. The organisations will not waste more money and resources while training new candidates since the recruitment agencies can head hunt for people with the required knowledge and skills. By outsourcing the recruitment services to the other parties, the HR department of the organisation concerned will be better positioned to focus on the other pertinent issues such as employee motivation as well as improving their performance for the benefit of the organisation as a whole. The other advantage of outsourcing is that the organisation is likely to witness improved services since the vendors have special expertise in selecting the right people for different clients. On the other hand, the recruitment agencies are flexible to meet the changing needs of the clients given that they constantly seek information about the needs of different organisations with regards to their staffing needs. Despite the driving factors forcing the organisations to consider outsourcing of HR activities to the other third parties, there are also some cons that are not always favourable to the company. One notable disadvantage is that there is likely to be some form of resistance within the organisation where some members will prefer the HRM to fulfil all its functions by considering internal promotion of

Morality. The Genealogy of Morality by Nietzsche Essay

Morality. The Genealogy of Morality by Nietzsche - Essay Example The second dimension that Nietzsche discusses is morality relating to slaves or priests, and this primarily deals with Jewish beliefs. This dimension believes that priests loath warriors and call their desire for power an evil act, and they believe that their own poverty or simple state is called good. These two beliefs are called slave and master morality. Slave morality seems to be much more refined as compared to master morality and it is driven by a feeling of anger or resentment. It was born of Christianity as Christian love is due to hatred and therefore it is in accordance with slave morality and its derivation from ‘ressentiment.’ (Nietzsche and Kaufmann) Even though slave morality is interesting and more complex as well to understand as compared to master morality and their self-assuredness, Nietzsche is apprehensive that it makes mankind a mediocre race and people who have generally an inherent perception of slave morality would like to prefer comfort and secur ity over risk and conquest over the world. The priests believes in the slave morality and they believe that it saves them from evil and other perils of the afterlife, and the master morality will distract people from changing themselves for the better and making their present a better situation to live in. Most modern humans also perceive the slave morality in this way and act this way. Nietzsche also believes that there is a difference between the two kinds of morality be it good/bad or good/evil by giving the relevant example of lamb and bird of prey. The lamb would believe that the bird of prey is evil since it kills and that they themselves are good because they don’t kill. However, these statements become useless in the event that God has made them in such a way that they cannot kill; and not because of any moral account but simply because they are unable to, they don’t know what they would be capable of if they would be able to kill. Birds of prey similarly canno t be highlighted as wrong doers and evil simply because they are built in a way that they are to kill. If the deed, which is killing could be separated from the being that kills because it was made that way, then only could be condemn these birds for their deeds. Nietzsche also goes on to argue that there are instances when there is a deed, but no doer and then you cannot blame anyone. Such as lightning cannot be removed from the flash and seen independently and hence the fact that we view that the doer is distinct from his act is simply something we view because of society and its prejudices. Master morality is what the aspiration is so to say, slave morality is prevalent and not desirable. Nietzsche also believes that guilt originally didn’t have any moral aspects in it, and it was simply like a debt. A person who owed something to someone was in debt and guilty of it, and he owed a creditor some sum. Therefore a creditor could take advantage of that and could even make the debtor pay at any time or take penalties. This wasn’t to punish the debtor and make him feel bad about himself, but this was only for the creditor’s mirth and pleasure. Therefore punishment was like a paradox; it was cruel for the debtor and yet cheerful for the creditor and it was supposed to have been forgotten afterwards without any grudge from any party. Law and regulation is like a creditor in a society; if someone goes against the law then this means that they have broken and harmed society and they can be punished for this mistake. (Nietzsche and Kaufmann) Justice believes however that people don’t have that power to punish good or bad or evil and

America's Ethos and why Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 decided to intervene Term Paper

America's Ethos and why Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 decided to intervene militarily in the Dominican Civil War - Term Paper Example The constitution began as a compromise between the people who believed in central government with diffusion of power across the state and those who perceived the central government to be weak if diffusing its power across states (Bryson 771). Lyndon B Johnson became the 36th president in US. He served in all elected federal offices in US. He served as a democrat between 1937 and 1949, as a senator between 1949 and 1961. After assassination of President John Kennedy in 1963, Johnson took over the presidency. He won the support of Democratic Party. He designed the legislation on Great Society that saw the inclusion of the law that upheld the civil rights and fight on poverty. The bill on civil rights banned racial discrimination in the public facilities (Colman 34). According to the ethos in America, U.S. was not to seek the leadership position in the world. However, it was providence or fate that forced America into a new role. The American ethos does not include of America becoming the worlds police. Nevertheless, events in history conspired in creating a bipolar world comprising of two superpowers competing on global governance structure (Segal 366). For instance, after President Truman informed the new responsibilities by America to the Joint Congress in 1947, the Soviets undermined the agreements. Currently, each nation has its own way of life, with the choices being free for anyone. Among the different preferences lie in freedom of religion and speech, free elections and free institutions among others. Remarkably, in a very short timeframe, the foreign policy in US and the world politics pivoted to internationalism from the isolationism if not interventionism. The U.S. was prompted to increase its massive military to survive the effects of WWII. As a result, there was intervention in US troops to take the forward positions in projecting the US power as well as deterring

IDS Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IDS Policy - Essay Example These systems could be any workstation, server or other network peripherals such as a router. The IDS system runs as a service or a process and has the ability to detect the network traffic on the host system. To save the system from past threats a "threat signature" database is present to make sure that the system is not vulnerable to those threats. Microsoft, Cisco and Tripwire etc. are some of the companies that deal in these IDS systems. (Spafford, Zamboni, 2000) 2. Network Based IDS: These are systems that confine and analyze packets on the wire. Network based IDS are used to protect the entire systems on the network unlike Host base IDS which are built for a single system. After confining the packets on the network they send it to the IDS console for inspection. Major vendors include Cisco and Symantec. As Gem infosys is a small software company having just 10 PC's and a broadband connection should not face much difficulty with the IDS system. But sometimes IDS solutions can bring out bogus alarms that may result in incorrect distribution of information. Inadequate potential and bad configuration choices are the major factors for this kind of problem. On the other hand many products need to be kept updated and well managed to avoid problems such as well updated sensors. Proc

Review of research article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Review of research article - Essay Example The article that will be evaluated is Goal Setting Effects in Elite and Nonelite Boxers by M. O’Brien, S. Mellalieu and S. Hanton and published in the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology. In a brief overview, the article Goal Setting Effects in Elite and Nonelite Boxers by O’Brien et al (2009) deals with the question how goal-setting affect or influence elite and nonelite athletes in combat sports like boxing. Addressing this particular question, it has utilised the goal-setting model as developed by Burton et al (2001). It is now in this context that a more in depth look at the article will be carried out. There are three purposes that underlie the research. These are: the primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a goal-setting intervention program upon elite and nonelite boxers selected components of performance behaviors and their indirect psychological responses (O’Brien, 2009). It further holds that it aims to use the contemporary goal –setting model as developed by Burton et al (2001) and that it will extend the application of the said model to multiple baseline with focus on self-generated components of both the elite and nonelite boxers’ targeted and nontargeted performance behaviours over the duration of a competitive season; and (b) boxers indirect psychological responses to the goal program in the form of competitive anxiety and self confidence(O’Brien,2009). The second objective is to identify the underlying mechanisms of goal programs using qualitative analysis and the examination of the retention and outcome effects of the pr ogram. This goal is significant since according to the authors no research prior to this one has been done to look into the effects of goal setting to one-on-one combat sports like boxing (O’Brien, 2009). The third aim is to affirm a previous study that â€Å"elite boxers would experience greater improvements in performance behaviours as compared to the

Memo to Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Memo to Manager - Essay Example The giving of inexpensive gifts upon greeting, such as pens, foreign cigarettes, perfume, or shampoo are greatly appreciated by anyone, and can be used to indicate a desire for friendship. A major difference between Vietnamese and our Western culture is the meaning of eye contact. When you are introduced to a person who is your elder, of an elevated status, or the opposite sex, care should be made to not make eye contact. This is a sign of respect, and does not indicate a lack of trust as we perceive it. Also, putting your hands in your pockets or on your hips while talking is a sign of arrogance and shows disrespect. The Vietnamese prefer to follow a very rigid protocol when conducting a business meeting. A meeting will begin with the ranking guest making introductory remarks. These include formal thanks for hosting the meeting, objectives for the meeting, and an introduction of the participants. The Vietnamese host will follow with some formal remarks after which the substance of the meeting can begin. I plan to keep these rules of etiquette foremost in my mind on my visit. I will take some small gifts that would be appropriate for either a man or a woman for our initial greeting. As the most senior member of our staff, I will introduce the others during our first meeting and allow the Vietnamese to do the same.

IDS Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IDS Policy - Essay Example These systems could be any workstation, server or other network peripherals such as a router. The IDS system runs as a service or a process and has the ability to detect the network traffic on the host system. To save the system from past threats a "threat signature" database is present to make sure that the system is not vulnerable to those threats. Microsoft, Cisco and Tripwire etc. are some of the companies that deal in these IDS systems. (Spafford, Zamboni, 2000) 2. Network Based IDS: These are systems that confine and analyze packets on the wire. Network based IDS are used to protect the entire systems on the network unlike Host base IDS which are built for a single system. After confining the packets on the network they send it to the IDS console for inspection. Major vendors include Cisco and Symantec. As Gem infosys is a small software company having just 10 PC's and a broadband connection should not face much difficulty with the IDS system. But sometimes IDS solutions can bring out bogus alarms that may result in incorrect distribution of information. Inadequate potential and bad configuration choices are the major factors for this kind of problem. On the other hand many products need to be kept updated and well managed to avoid problems such as well updated sensors. Proc

Memo to Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Memo to Manager - Essay Example The giving of inexpensive gifts upon greeting, such as pens, foreign cigarettes, perfume, or shampoo are greatly appreciated by anyone, and can be used to indicate a desire for friendship. A major difference between Vietnamese and our Western culture is the meaning of eye contact. When you are introduced to a person who is your elder, of an elevated status, or the opposite sex, care should be made to not make eye contact. This is a sign of respect, and does not indicate a lack of trust as we perceive it. Also, putting your hands in your pockets or on your hips while talking is a sign of arrogance and shows disrespect. The Vietnamese prefer to follow a very rigid protocol when conducting a business meeting. A meeting will begin with the ranking guest making introductory remarks. These include formal thanks for hosting the meeting, objectives for the meeting, and an introduction of the participants. The Vietnamese host will follow with some formal remarks after which the substance of the meeting can begin. I plan to keep these rules of etiquette foremost in my mind on my visit. I will take some small gifts that would be appropriate for either a man or a woman for our initial greeting. As the most senior member of our staff, I will introduce the others during our first meeting and allow the Vietnamese to do the same.

Electrical Systems Essay Example for Free

Electrical Systems Essay The purpose of this laboratory test was to make comparisons between theoretical and practical results and to develop a greater understanding of factors affecting the operation of complex AC networks. The results from the Series Parallel RC network have minimal errors, however the small differences are mainly due to slight machine and human error. The DSO should be turned on at least a day earlier to achieve steady values, therefore this not being done, could have caused some of the errors. When measuring the change in time, it is difficult to determine the exact point at which the curve crosses the line. Because there is two points to determine, the error is then doubled. These factors also affect the results of the RLC circuit, however the inductor causes the main errors in this circuit. At low frequencies, the inductor interferes with the signal generator, not only causing the values to be slightly wrong but also projects a graph that doesn’t completely represent a sinusoidal function. This causes the change in time to be incorrect and therefore the phase angle. The inductor is also the equivalence of a 24 resistor, which will consequently alter the results. Whilst measuring voltage, it is important that the component is connected to ground. The ground point is considered to have a voltage of zero and is therefore the reference point. If this was not the case and the component was not connected to the ground, there would not be a reference point of zero, rather the voltage of the terminal it is connected to. To measure the magnitude and phase without shifting the ground, a value could be directly read off the graph. The phase would be the same, as it is just compared to the current. Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) can be proven if the voltage of the source is completely consumed through the circuit. Calculations, found in the appendix, prove that the series parallel RC network follows KVL, as the voltage consumed by the resistors and capacitors approximately equals the voltage supplied by the source. There is only an error of 2. 4% and a phase difference of half a degree, therefore it can be concluded that KVL holds for the measured values for this circuit. Calculations, found in the appendix, prove that the RLC Circuit follows KVL, as the voltage consumed by the resistor, inductor and capacitor approximately equals the voltage supplied by the source. There is only an error of 1. 02% and a phase difference of 0. 86Â °, suggesting that the circuit is an accurate representation of KVL. Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL) can be proven if the current leaving a node is equal to the current entering it. Calculations, found in the appendix, prove that the series parallel RC network follows KCL, as the current through IR2 added to the current through IC2 is approximately equal to the total current. There is only a 0. 647% error and a phase difference of 0. 903Â °, suggesting the KCL holds true for the measured values for this circuit. Calculations, found in the appendix, prove that the RLC circuit follows KCL. The current supplied by the source and the current through the resistor, inductor and capacitor are all approximately equal. The errors are 0%, 2. 3% and 7. 99% and the phase differences are 0Â °, 3. 15Â ° and 14Â °. This does suggest the KCL holds true but there are slight errors in our measurements. The large errors are either due human error, machine error of inductive interference. This laboratory demonstrates that results can be measured very accurately with simply resistors and capacitors but that inductors largely affect the circuit’s performance. Our results prove the DSO performs accurate measurements, but allowances need to be made for the inductors’ resistances and signal interference.

The Spread of the English Language

The Spread of the English Language English is the language of survival in the present battle of life .This prevalence of English language came as a result of the British colonizing movements previously and the present economical and political power of English speaking countries that imposed themselves and as a result imposed their language on the globe[1]. The essay will include the causes of the dominance of English in the world, its part in the world and in my life as well as the negative results of this dominance. The present wide spread of the English language worldwide is obvious from the huge number of its users which is about 1.8 billion speakers [2] , as well as the increasing rate of its learners which approaches a billion[3]. This remarkable interest in learning English which can be noticed from the huge number of its learners reflects the leading role it plays in our world today. This leading role has various aspects. For instance, the globalized world that English created, presents a way of connecting the whole world together, politically by generating a common area of communication between different ethnic groups which is the use of English language and economically as it led to free trade that resulted from globalization [4]. Moreover, as it is the main language of teaching science, it helped scientists and researchers around the world to share their knowledge and scientific results which led to the developments we witness today [1]. Furthermore, it plays a vital role in the cultural exchange by translating other cultures books to English as there are considerable numbers of English users who can benefit from these translations. English language also has its significant role in individuals lives which I will discuss through my experience. It has been 14 years since I started learning English which has affected my life positively since then. The first and most important thing is that it helped me to enter the university, because without having a certain level of knowledge in English, it is almost impossible to think of studying a scientific major in UAE [5]. In addition, it acts as an access gate for me to other cultures by having the power of communicating with individuals from any part of the world through using English. Moreover, I had the chance to practice my favorite activity which is reading by having a look at English literature depending on my knowledge in its language. Despite of the usefulness of the spread of English language, I believe it has some negative aspects on both learners and native speakers. When it comes to English learners, learning any language is fairly challenging [6]. For me, I can say I started learning real English since five years only and the other nine years were nothing but a waste of time because learning any language requires an extra personal effort in mastering it rather than the knowledge we get from school. As a result, the learning process is long as well as frustrating. In addition, it caused a cultural conflict for non-native speakers as many of them started losing the strength of their mother tongue language because of the extensive use of English language [7]. As an example, in the Arab world we now have what is called the Arabizi generation. Arabizi is a word that is used to describe the mixture use of both Arabic and English languages which was caused by the general interest of mastering English by Arabic nativ e speakers [8]. This trend of mixing Arabic and English resulted in weaken the hegemony of Arabic language especially with children which led to an issue of identity for them. The side effects of the spread of English on native speakers are limited but important. One thing is that English native speakers lost one aspect of their uniqueness which is their language, as they are not longer the only ones who use it. Another disadvantage for the next English native generation is that they face the threat of ending up of having only one language while the whole world is forced to learn English in combination with their own mother tongue language which will have its cultural political and economical threat on them [9]. Although mastering English is of major importance, people shouldnt neglect mastering their own mother tongue language in order to maintain their identity and distinguishing themselves from other nations and cultures. It is also important for English people to start learning other languages to keep up with rest of the world. The references: [1] D. Crystal, Thecambridge encyclopedia of the English language. New York: Cambridge University press, 2003, pp. 106 [2] G. Schiltz. (2004, Jun 2). Lecture 7: World-Wide English. [Online]. Available: http://www.ehistling-pub.meotod.de/01_lec06.php on 21 Apr 2010 [3]K. Beare. (n.d.). How many people learn Englishglobally?. [Online]. Available: http://esl.about.com/od/englishlearningresources/f/f_eslmarket.htm on 21 Apr 2010 [4] J. Korpela. (2003, Sep 2). English – the universal language on the Internet?. [Online]. Available: http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/lingua-franca.html on 21 Apr 2010 [5] T. Morgan. (2008, Sep 21). UAE: Poor English limiting university access. University world news. [Online]. 0045. Available: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20080919100258584 on 21 Apr 2010 [6] The Language Chronicle. (2008, Aug 3). The Challenge of Learning a New Language. [Online]. Available: http://thelanguagechronicle.com/the-challenge-of-learning-a-new-language/ on 21 Apr 2010 [7] R. Rubdy and M. Saraceni, English in the world. NY: Continuum, 2006, pp. 187 [8] R. Habib. (2005, Dec 18). Thoughts on Arabizi. Gulf news. [Online]. Available: http://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news/al-nisr-portfolio/tabloid/articles/thoughts-on-arabizi-1.308444 on 4 Apr 2010 [9] M. Taylor. (2006, Feb 15). Global spread of English ‘a threat to UK’. The Guardian. [Online]. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/feb/15/students.tefl on 14 Apr 2010