Police in Society Essay

The police department and the police force in general, have the power and duty at all times of the day and night to ensure that the lives of people is protected as well as property (Bayley D, 1979, 109-143). This is done through preventing crime, detect and arrest offenders, preserve the public peace as well as enforce all laws, ordinances and provisions of the administrative code over which the police department has jurisdiction. The crime-control theory suggests that police department develops in reaction to rise in criminal activity (Bayley D, 1979, 109-143). Thus, the structure in metropolis police department should have few levels with a wide span of control. Decision-making should be the task of lower-level personnel (Greene et al, 1992. 183-207). The structure should involve a police Chief, assisted by two deputies, two patrol Lieutenants, two administrative and Investigative Lieutenant, four four-person patrol platoons with a Sergeant and Corporal in each platoon, a Sergeant of Detectives and four detectives for all investigations, and as well as two to two-man bike patrols. While police leadership has many challenges, the police chief should offer transformational leadership essential to produce cultural changes in the attitudes and beliefs of the line officers. He has to be principled in order to get extraordinary things done in this organization. He should be willing and ready to challenge any process (Kouzes & Posner, 1987. 17-94). Thus, he should take risks, challenge the system, and challenge the way things are done. He should also inspire a shared vision to his subordinates by breathing life into what are the hopes and dreams of others and enable them to see the exciting possibilities that the future holds (Kouzes & Posner, 1987. 17-94). In doing so, the police chief should enlist the support of all those who are necessary to get results, as well as those who will be affected by the results in this case the public at large. Through encouraging collaboration and teamwork makes it possible for the subordinates to do good work (Kouzes & Posner, 1987. 7-94). Envisaging that Metropolis is a diverse and dynamic as any community in the world, it requires continuity and stability in certain basic areas of life, in particular the areas of safety and security. It crucial to note that the key to offering continuous safety and security is to have police department guided by a clear and unwavering philosophy by which to guide the determination of priorities and decisions in policing. The entire Police Department, encompassing every sworn officer as well as civilian member, and all associated City officials, suppliers, vendors, and other stakeholders in its mission, should focus their full on-duty attention to meeting and satisfying the safety and security needs of Metropolis urban city. To achieve this, the community requires both swift police response to crime and disorder, in addition to crime prevention and problem solving utilizing the latest technologies. In so doing both approaches should be utilized with intelligence to achieve a comprehensive networking approach that serves the community in a balanced manner. Thus, the major mission of metropolis Police Department should be to safeguard the lives and property of the people they serve, to decrease the incidence and fear of crime, and to enhance public safety at the same time as working with the diverse communities to improve their quality of life. This should be done with honor and integrity, while at all times conducting themselves with the highest ethical standards to maintain public confidence (Greene et al, 1992. 183-207). Hiring standards Most Police departments in cities face what some call a personnel crisis, with the number of recruits at record lows, an increasing number of experienced officers turn down promotions to sergeant or lieutenant, while many gifted senior officers decline offers to become police chiefs as well as police executive. Recruits pre-employment background should be ascertained before being taken in, in the department. The purpose of a pre-employment background investigation shall be to rapidly, competently as well as fairly to make out those applicants who are unfit for public service or whose prior conduct is contradictory to, or incompatible with, the law enforcement mission. No selection standard of the department shall be in conflict with, or contrary to, the spirit or letter of fair employment laws of the State. However, any applicant who has ever been convicted of any offense declared by law to be a felony in this or any other state shall not be eligible for employment with the department. Same standard shall apply to misdemeanor offenses, save that the applicant should not have been convicted within the past three years of any criminal offense declared by law to be a misdemeanor in this or any other state. The urban center being hard hit with the problem of drugs, a person who is a current user of illegal drugs shall not be eligible for employment with the department. Drugs in this case should be taken to imply the controlled substances in accordance with the state’s provisions. The first step in the selection procedure is recruitment. Having a number of applicants, we must select those that are best fitting for the department. The department must have a number of minimum standards to employ in measuring the applicants. Issues of age, height and weight, physical agility and strength, and education should be taken into account. These applicants should be subjected to background investigations, which comprises of previous drug use. They should take polygraph examination, psychological screening as well as meet medical requirements (Goldsmith 1990, 91-114). In addition to the above, the candidates will be required to take a written examination as well as an oral interview. The last step will be to train them once they have been chosen. The training should take account of programs that include the department’s mission statement in addition to ethical considerations. The training should also be based upon what the officer does in the course of a day. The actual content of the training should include subject areas such as the laws of arrest, patrol techniques, investigations, cultural diversity, and ethics. Upon completing the training, the new recruit police officer will begin his or her field training. This will comprise assignment to a field-training officer who acts as a mentor for him/her. The new officer remains in probation for a certain period before beginning his or her career path. This path may embrace advanced training to stay put with the changes in the law. The officers will be entitled to specialized training to prepare them for specific jobs in the department. Policing philosophy The philosophy of metropolis police department shall be based on the belief that the public deserves an input into policing, and indeed, has a right to it. It will also rest on the vision that in order to find solutions to community problem of growing drug in the neighborhood, the police as well as the public must move beyond a narrow focus on individual crimes or incidents, and instead consider innovative ways of addressing drug issue concerns in general. Bonds of trust between all officers and the community in all aspects need to be established through continued and creative police outreach (Freeman, 1990. 19-109). The net effect will be to build a professional, representative, responsive, and answerable institution that works in affiliation with the public (Goldsmith 1990, 91-114). In an attempt to solve the public’s problem, the department will identify the specific concerns that the Metropolis inhabitants feel are most threatening to their safety and well-being, in this particular case ‘drugs’. This area of concern then shall become priority for joint police-community interventions. The officers and a variety of building members then will outline problem-solving partnerships to develop responses that they can both use to eliminate or minimize the problem (Freeman, 1990. 19-109). Technologies The department should have police cars, upgraded to the specifications required by the force, built to police specifications in the factory. These cars should be modified to encompass adjustments for higher durability, speed, and high mileage driving in addition to long periods of idling at higher temperatures. This is accomplished by heavy-duty suspension, brakes, calibrated speedometer, tires, alternator, transmission and cooling systems. Where possible, slight modifications to the car’s stock engine should be done if not installation of a more powerful engine. These cars are to be employed in patrolling the area round the clock. The department can employ Global-positioning system to track those convicted with drug related offences so as to help deter future recidivism. In addition the police force can make broad use of radio communications equipment, carried both on the person and installed in vehicles, to co-ordinate their work, share information as well as get help quickly (Walker, 2005. 5). Presently, vehicle-installed computers have increased the ability of police communications, enabling easier dispatching of calls in addition to criminal background checks on persons of interest. Metropolis Police Department should have similar technologies in their patrol vehicles.

Battle Cry of Freedom

United States History i| Battle Cry of Freedom| The Civil War Era by: James M. McPherson| | Sandra Dunlap| 4/16/2010| James M. McPherson was born October 11, 1936. He is considered to be an American Civil War historian and he is a professor at Princeton University. He received the Pulitzer Prize for his book Battle Cry of Freedom and Wikipedia states this was his most famous book. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Ph. D. and teaches United States History at Princeton University. Battle Cry of Freedom; The Civil War Era id a work of such vast scope necessarily emphasizes synthesis at the expense of theme. If there is a unifying idea in the book, it is McPherson's acknowledged emphasis on â€Å"the multiple meanings of slavery and freedom, and how they dissolved and reformed into new patterns in the crucible of war. † In spite of the existence of a growing class of urban workers and a burgeoning immigrant population, McPherson finds that â€Å"the greatest danger to American su rvival midcentury was neither class tension nor ethnic division.I feel it was sectional conflict between North and South over the future of slavery. † He dismisses the idea advanced by some historians that conflicts over tariff policy and states’ rights were more central to the political tensions of the 1850's than the South's â€Å"peculiar institution. † McPherson emphasizes that â€Å"by the 1850s Americans on both sides of the line separating freedom from slavery came to emphasize more their differences than similarities. McPherson is critical of previous literature that he says â€Å"lack the dimension of contingency-the recognition that at numerous critical points during the war things might have gone altogether differently† (857-858). The narrative style allows him to point out such critical moments that others would have missed or looked over. He carefully identifies instances where another outcome was possible, or even probable. His treatment of both sides in the war is evenhanded.The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to brace a government ready to split apart with a few political two-by-fours: It gave the South a deferred decision on the question of slavery in New Mexico and Utah in return for a stronger fugitive slave law and the admission of California to the union as a free state. Four years later, the Kansas-Nebraska Act shattered this uneasy peace by repealing the Missouri Compromise line of 1820, which had banned slavery in the northern territories, and substituting the deliberately ambiguous doctrine of popular sovereignty, which left room for violent disagreement among the territorial settlers.The Kansas-Nebraska Act completed the destruction of the divided Whig Party and gave rise to the new, entirely Northern, Republican Party, whose stated objective was to prevent the spread of slavery. Although not all Republicans were motivated by sympathy for the Negro—indeed many were deeply antipathetic toward blacks and opposed slavery only in the economic interest of working-class whites—and although the party was pledged not to disturb slavery where it already existed, Southerners regarded it as a threat.The election of Republican Abraham Lincoln in the â€Å"revolution of 1860† precipitated the â€Å"counterrevolution of 1861,† the secession of the lower South and, after the firing of shots at Fort Sumter, of the upper South as well. In stressing the formation of the Confederacy as a â€Å"preemptive counterrevolution,† McPherson follows the model of historian Arno Meyer, who applied it to twentieth century Europe.Such a counterrevolution does not attempt to restore the old orders; it strikes first—preempts revolution—in order to protect the status quo before revolution can erupt. The secessionists magnified the potential threat posed by Lincoln's election, arguing that waiting for an â€Å"overt act† against Southern rights was comparable to waiting for a coiled rattlesnake to strike. The time to act was before the North decided to move against slavery, as the Southern radicals believed the â€Å"Black Republicans† ultimately would.McPherson's other important theme is that the Civil War was a political war, fought by citizens rather than by professional armies; as a consequence, political leadership and public opinion directly affected military strategy, and events on the battlefield reverberated on the home front and especially in Washington, D. C. For this reason he chose a narrative rather than a thematic format, integrating political and military events to emphasize complex patterns of cause and effect. Thus, he emphasizes that the failure of the Army of the Potomac to reach Richmond during the Seven Days’ Battle in the spring of 1862 changed Union policy rom the limited goal of restoring the Union into one of total war to destroy the Old South and consequently gave rise to the Copperhead faction of a ntiwar Democrats in the North. Antietam was a major turning point not only because Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was driven back across the Potomac, but also because it ended Confederate hopes for European recognition and military assistance, and gave Lincoln the military victory he had been waiting for as a backdrop for his Emancipation Proclamation.Especially in the North, where the two-party system still operated and the Republican position on slavery was still evolving and far from unified, Union military success or failure had far-reaching effects. The defeats at Bull Run and Ball's Bluff led Congress to establish the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, and the Union failure at Fredericksburg gave Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, who aspired to replace Lincoln as the Republican nominee in 1864, an opportunity to encourage a senatorial investigation of the cabinet.Public morale in the North rose after the victory at Stones River and temporarily blunted the Cop perhead offensive against Lincoln's war policy; it plummeted again after the Confederate triumph at Chancellorsville on May 2-3, 1863, and Lincoln exclaimed in despair: â€Å"My God! my God! What will the country say? † McPherson gives military outcomes the central place in his explanation of Northern victory and Southern defeat; he is critical of theories that undervalue events on the battlefield.In his concluding chapter he reviews the various explanations that historians have advanced for the South's ultimate defeat, analyzing the weaknesses in each. Although the North was superior in manpower by two to one and had even greater economic resources, revisionist historians have denied that the South fought against odds so great as to make defeat inevitable; they have pointed out the number of small countries that won independence against even greater odds, not the least of which was colonial America against Great Britain.Such historians have argued instead that internal divis ions—the states’ rights governors who refused to cooperate with the central government, the disaffection of non-slaveholders, libertarian resentment of conscription and the restriction of civil liberties—fatally weakened the South's morale and destroyed its will to fight. McPherson discounts this argument, as well as the alternative interpretation that stresses the gradual development of superior Northern ilitary and political leadership that was evident by 1863, because both commit â€Å"the fallacy of reversibility†: If the outcome had been reversed, the same factors could be cited to explain a Southern victory. He particularly faults the loss-of-morale thesis, for â€Å"putting the cart before the horse†; defeat was the cause of Southern demoralization and loss of will, McPherson argues, not the consequence. McPherson faults most explanations of Southern defeat for failing to take into account the factor of contingency, the realization that at v arious turning points the war might have taken an entirely different turn.He identifies four critical turning points that shaped the final outcome. The first was in the summer of 1862, when Stonewall Jackson and Lee in Virginia and Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby-Smith in the West launched counteroffensives that prevented the Union armies from claiming what had appeared to be certain victory. This rally by the South meant that the war would be prolonged and intensified, and Southern success seemed assured before each of three successive turning points toward Northern victory.First, Union triumphs at Antietam and Perryville in the fall of 1862 turned back Confederate invasions and killed the hope of European recognition for the Confederacy; they may also have prevented a Democratic victory in the 1862 elections, which would have hampered the Lincoln government's ability to prosecute the war, and certainly permitted the president to make his Emancipation Proclamation from a position of political and military strength.The next critical time was during the summer of 1863, when success at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga turned the North toward eventual military victory. The last one came in the summer of 1864, when enormous Union casualties of the spring campaign in Virginia—three-fifths as many battle deaths as in the previous three years of fighting—combined with the seeming lack of progress forced the North in the direction of peace negotiations and nearly resulted in the election of a Democratic president.William Tecumseh Sherman's capture of Atlanta and Philip Henry Sheridan's destruction of Jubal Early's army in the Shenandoah Valley made Union victory inevitable; only then, after the military situation became impossible, McPherson contends, did the South lose its will to fight. Several important long-term consequences of the Northern victory emerge in McPherson's analysis. Slavery and secession were killed forever, and the word â€Å"Uni ted States† became a singular instead of a plural oun; the â€Å"union† of states, as in â€Å"the United States are a republic† became a nation and an indivisible entity. Replacing the old federal government with which the average citizen rarely came in contact, except at the post office, was a new â€Å"centralized polity. † This national government levied direct taxes and collected them through an internal revenue service that it created itself, drafted citizens into a national army, imposed a national banking system, and instituted numerous other innovations.Eleven of the first twelve amendments to the Constitution, McPherson points out, had restricted the authority of the national government; beginning in 1865 with the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, six of the next seven amendments greatly increased federal power at state expense. Finally, the balance of political power shifted from the South, which had controlled the presidency for tw o-thirds of the years since the founding of the republic, and had predominated in the selection of the House Speakers, presidents pro tem of the Senate, and Supreme Court justices.For fifty years after the Civil War no Southerner was elected to the presidency, none of the House Speakers or Senate presidents came from the old Confederacy, and only one-fifth of the Supreme Court justices were appointed from the South. McPherson contends that despite the South's appearance of being different from the rest of the United States, the argument can easily be made that until the Civil War it was actually the rapidly changing North that was out of step with the rest of the world. Although slavery had been largely abolished, most societies had an un-free or only semi-free labor force.Most of the world was rural, agricultural, and traditional; only the northern United States and a few countries in northwestern Europe were speeding toward industrial capitalism. Thus, Southerners were both sincer e and correct when they claimed to be fighting to preserve the republic of the founding fathers: limited government that protected property rights and served an independent gentry and white yeomanry in an agrarian society. The South's preemptive counterrevolution attempted to preserve this tradition, but Union victory in the Civil War ensured the dominance of the Northern vision of America.

Bargaining Power Of Buyers Marketing Essay

Bargaining Power Of Buyers Marketing Essay For all kind of strategic decision making it is essential to consider number of internal and external factors so that a company can completely understand its position in strategic group it lies and which could assist the brand to device strategies which could lead the company towards the achievement of it strategic objectives in the light of it’s vision and mission statement, following is the graphical representation of the Porter’s five forces model and detailed explanation of ikea’s and h http://software–porter-five-forces.smartcode.com/images/sshots/software__porter_five_forces_18378.gif BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS: IKEA: IKEA being a giant organisation and genuinely very cost effective which ultimately reflects on its pricing strategy, that leaves the buyer with a very low or nil bargaining power Ikeas standardised approach has always made IKEA out list the competitors which leaves the consumer very little choice to consider an alternative for the prod ucts and services being offered at IKEA. H Although the production is subcontracted to different countries but IKEA has got a complete grip on its operation overseas and has a robust control and management system to stay in bargaining position with its suppliers, due to bid system adopted by IKEA the suppliers all over the world finding themselves lucky to relate to the brand always try their level best to win the bid to get a chance to produce for the market leader in furniture industry which leave the suppliers almost with no power to bargain at any occasion H 70% of the suppliers are from Asia e.g. India etc who are finding themselves in a very good scale of performance on their own records as due to H&M growing strategy to expand has resulted in more merchandise to be prepared all the time with the growing tendency of 15-20% every year, therefore suppliers in this time of utmost recession are lucky to be associated to a brand which in this era of downsizing have expansion plans which would fetch more opportunities that could be availed by thousands of more suppliers bring them don to stage where none of the suppliers have any bargaining power

Post 16 Education in the United Kingdom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Post 16 Education in the United Kingdom - Essay Example Simultaneously, the organizational structure of the post 16 education is rather complex and can be delivered through several different means: (Lea, 2003) According to Walkin (2000), 'young adults must realize their full potential as active and effective members of society at large, and at all kinds of public and voluntary bodies, thus it is the state responsibility to provide the necessary models for young adults' action and participation'. To follow this task and to provide effective and efficient post 16 education, there has been developed a national and local system of post 16 educational establishments. On the national level, the main organization responsible for the post 16 education is the national Learning and Skills Council. Its main responsibilities lie in 'funding and planning education and training for over 16-year-olds in England'. (Learning and Skills Council, 2003) The strategic aim of the organization is to give the young 16-year-old adults in England the best skills for further education and work in the world. The work of the LSC is made more efficient through the well developed operating structure, which has its offices in 47 local areas. The LSC is not responsible for the post 16 education in the Universities. ... prise Councils and the knowledge of the Further Education Funding Council, together with making the cooperation with employers, community groups and learning providers closer and more effective. From the critical viewpoint, the LSC should be also involved into the area of University education for 16-year-old, as the centralization of functions will bring the desired high control over the whole system of post-16 education and the realization of the most urgent needs and means of achieving the strategic goals. The LSC is divided into the four different groups which are learning, skills, resources and strategy and communications. The 47 local offices represent the local structure responsible for the post 16 education, together with the following local institutions, being integral of the state educational system in the country. Sixth Form Colleges There are 103 sixth form colleges in England, some of them are related to secondary schools, and some are absolutely independent. To make the organizational structure close to perfect, in some local areas all post 16 provisions, related to different secondary schools, have been merged into one local college. These kinds of colleges usually offer wider ranges of options and curriculums for the students, than it is in usual secondary schools during the two last years of education. (Huddleston, 1997) Further education colleges The main similarity of the further education colleges and the sixth form colleges lies in the fact that they provide programs, which are much alike, but in addition also offer a range of vocational training programs and opportunities for their students. The critical role of these entities is in attracting students from secondary schools, who didn't wish to continue their study in the same environment and

Reaction Paper for the movie The Godfather (1972) Essay

Reaction Paper for the movie The Godfather (1972) - Essay Example Mobsters can sometimes seem more like cartoons than real people. However, there is one movie that sets the bar for what all others would be compared to. That movie is the Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and it tells the story of the Corleone crime family. The family, as led by Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), fights for money and power in the grimy and sometimes glamourous world of organized crime. There are three sons, one adopted son, and one daughter in the family. Set in the years following the Second World War, the main plot of the movie is that the Don is given a chance by other mobsters for his family to expand their empire by getting involved in the drug trade. The Don, however, doesn’t think this is the right thing to do. This makes the other families angry and they begin to prepare for war. The Don along with his sons, Sonny (James Caan), Fredo, and consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), prepare to do what must be done to preserve the power they have f ought so long and hard to have. The youngest son, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has never been involved in the crime part of the family and isn’t well known to the other families. Everyone thinks he is different. They think he is a war hero and has no street smarts. He has spent time fighting on a battlefield which is so much different than the political streets of New York. In the end the movie shows he is different: he is better at being a don and a mobster than anyone else. Throughout the movie, the tension between family and crime is constantly explored. The biggest theme that this film deals with is the theme of family, shown in both a literal and metaphorical sense. For me this was by far the most fascinating part of this movie—to see how the various children of the Don have to deal with the pressures of the new responsibilities thrown on them by the war that is underway. This drama is powerfully represented in the script and

Four HR Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Four HR Questions - Essay Example However, it is vital to note that the decisions taken under particular situation may not hold good for all situations, in fact they may give negative results under different circumstances. This implies that effective leadership calls for consistently making situation based decisions. From literature, situational leadership advocates for greater participation of employee in decision making on the premise that the more employees participate in decision making the more they will accept the decisions taken. It with this line of thought that Vroom and Yetton (1973) proposed a Situational leadership model called the normative decision model. The normative model identifies five different decision procedures that range on the situation and level of involvement from autocratic to consultative to group-based decisions. Even though, situational leadership advocates for greater employee participation, Vroom and Yetton (1973) identified that not all decision making situations need to go throu gh the process of consultation. To enable leaders isolate the instances where decision making would require consultation from those where consultations would add little value, Vroom and Yetton (1973) formulated seven questions which leaders can use to determine the level of subordinate involvement in decision making. The seven questions touch on problem information, commitment, and decision quality and acceptance. Putting Vroom and Yetton (1973) normative model to use it can be discovered that consultation would be a waste of time in the following circumstances: (1) where the leader has sufficient information to make a high quality decision and acceptance of the decision by subordinates is not critical for its implementation; (2) where neither the nature of the solution nor the acceptance of the decision by subordinates is critical to the implementation of the decision; (3) where the nature of the solution is not critical and whatever the leader decides it is reasonably certain th at his / her subordinates would accept; (4) where the nature of the solution is critical but the leader has sufficient information to make a high quality decision. In this instance even though the acceptance of the decision by subordinates would be critical to its implementation, if the leader is reasonable certain that he / she has sufficient influence over his / her subordinates to the extent that they would most certainly accept his / her decision then consultations would be a waste of time. In conclusion, to enable effective decision making a leader would find using Vroom and Yetton (1973) seven questions and normative model a critical tool that will save him / her time, effort and likelihood of success for the decisions that he / she takes. Identify the potential difference in human resource management (HRM) policies between two organizations where one follows a low-cost strategy and the other follows a differentiated, quality enhancement

Royal national lifeboat institute Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Royal national lifeboat institute - Case Study Example The name was subsequently changed to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1854, when cork lifejackets were first issued to crew members. Since its inception, the RNLI has saved more than 139,000 lives , the proof of which are the innumerable stories of courage of sailors and volunteers who have stood the social and technological change over a period of time. The purpose, vision and values of RNLI clearly define their activities i.e. Purpose is â€Å"saving lives at sea†, Vision is to â€Å"end preventable loss at sea† and the Values are â€Å"selfless, dependable, trustworthy and courageous†. Their philosophy is not to seek funding from the government but the lifesaving service is provided by volunteers, and the organization is supported by contributions, donations and legacies on a purely voluntary basis. The entire operation is performed through local teams but with resources and directions from a central location. They have gained expertise through the h istory and tradition of the RNLI’s achievement of almost two centuries. The whole objective is to carry out preservation of life at sea and on the water, primarily by prevention and rescue operations. Introduction This report is a case study of Royal National Lifeboat Institute. ... It was founded by Sir William Henry on 4th March 1824. It was started with the name of National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Ship wrecks; after thirty years it was named Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI). The idea of this Institute came up in his mind when he was on the Isle of Man and had witnessed the treacherous nature of the sea causing dozens of accidents of ships. So he decided to save their lives and then at his appeal, this charity was founded. In 1854, lifejackets were issued to the crew first time. In 1891, the first street collection was held at Manchester. This charity is established with the purpose of saving lives at sea. Its vision is to end preventable loss of life at sea. They all are dedicated towards their vision. They work together like a team to come up with the situation. Till now RNLI has saved more than 139000 lives. Now it has 444 lifeboats and 235 lifeboat stations. For saving lives, it has two main categories of lifeboats:- All weather boats: Weight of large boats is more than 40 metric tons, 1250hp engines, its speed is 25knots and its cost is around ?2 millions. Inshore lifeboats: These are small boats which work at the shores and are able to operate in shallow waters. It has different types of lifeboats for different places. When any incident occurs at the sea, then firstly it gets all the detail about the incident from the coastguard and then the crew can plot a course to the casualty. After arriving at the scene, they tell about their arrival to the coastguard and after that they assess the situation and take up the further steps. If possible they had a talk With the casualty and provide them reassurance.

Relation of the issues, associated with the topic on global context of Research Paper

Relation of the issues, associated with the topic on global context of digital media, to the consumption of digital media - Research Paper Example However, digital media use can pose some significant for young people in relation to identity deception, placing them in the way of attack by other harmful virtual identities, as well as an unhealthy reliance on connectivity and feedback to other users. The paper seeks to answer a variety questions regarding the ethical gray areas in digital media space. How can self-expression online play a significantly positive role in the identity formation of a young person and what circumstances make identity play a deception? What do the youth gain by performing strategically and deliberately their various identities over a public forum? Finally, what are the potential costs to themselves, as well as to others? This paper focuses on the intersection between young people, digital media space and digital fluency. The perils and promises of the digital media space are especially salient when it concerns young people who have digital skills, spend a considerable amount of their time online and have begun to assume new identities there. These young individuals while being the best prepared to utilize digital media space for good tend to have high chances of perpetrating or becoming the victims of lapses in ethics. Psychological research into moral development is suggestive of the fact that, over time, experiences and social contexts affect the capacities for action and moral development. However, less is known in regard to the evolution of ethical and moral stances in the global digital space sphere. The development capacity of young people who are involved in digital media space is important, especially in the context of their capacities to discern ethical stakes in digital media space. There may be a need to revise the traditional psychological frameworks concerning moral development in light of the significantly distinct properties inherent in digital media space, coupled to the heavy participation of

Benefits of Reading and Studying Literature Essay

Benefits of Reading and Studying Literature - Essay Example By dipping into the rich variety of novels, stories, poems, and plays etc, a reader achieves great pleasure and the kind of entertainment that allows him to use his imagination to visualize the story within his own mind. The endless supply of horrors, mysteries, comedies, and tragedies has contributed to the development and progress of the societies and cultures. Secondly, literature makes immense contribution to the improvement of one's knowledge sphere by providing information about various aspects of life. Literature unlocks the culture of the past to the contemporary readers provides the modern society wisdom about life. "Critical thinking skills can be strengthened through the reading of literature, and literature invites students to learn about new cultures. Furthermore, literature can teach students to learn more about themselves and about their own culture." (Irvine, 72) Thus, literature allows one interpret one's own life and emotions and contributes to the growth of humanit y. Thirdly, literature helps one in improving one's knowledge and functions as a system of learning. Literature gives room for personal interpretation and such a personalized reading can ensure the best transmission of knowledge. Therefore, literature ahs great influences on the improvement of personal life as well as the development of the societies and it reminds us of the incredible richness of our culture.

Promoting mental wellbeing amongst older adults Essay

Promoting mental wellbeing amongst older adults - Essay Example Below one can see a health strategy to promote mental wellbeing among older adults of a country. Strategy to Promote Mental Well being of Older Adults First and foremost , there should be provision in the health and social welfare policy to allot more funding and financial services to health centers which exclusively for older adults with mental illness. The government should increase the awareness among public regarding the mental well being of an older adult, so that they become alert and conscious regarding their food habits, exercise and lifestyle. Mental ill health could be due to a disability or serious physical illness, so the older citizens should be educated more about various diseases. The informal carers should be encourages and supported in the right manner, so that they feel motivated to take care of the older diseases citizen of the society. â€Å"Informal support groups are not provided by law but are volunteers ‘who offer to do something without charging a feeà ¢â‚¬  (Fischer, 2003,pg.13).Same should be done to formal carers as well as they are the part of social support group. The poor and secluded old people should be given social benefits like, income support and other medical benefits so that they do not feel dejected and ignored. This can fill a great gap in their life from being helpless and destitute. The older citizen should be alerted about the bad consequences of drugs, alcohol and other addictive substances to avoid misuse of them .Drug, alcohol abuse are due to the stress factor and they should be warned against this action. – As per, (SHFWP,2009) â€Å"Homelessness, refugee status, discrimination, having a physical disability all increase the risk, as do family factors (e.g. partner violence), drug and alcohol problems and lack of social support from others†. The non –profit organization which work for the welfare of the mental health of older adults should be given monetary benefits to encourage them in introducing programs which can aid old people with mental disease to improve their health. A strong strategic and leadership role should be undertaken by local government, working in partnership with other agencies, particularly the health centers, to ensure a wide range of effective programs to meet the needs of mentally ill old people. According to (Barnes2010)â€Å"Encouraging the development of new service models and utilizing new the opportunities afforded by emerging technologies to deliver the best outcomes for adult social care†. This will help in giving better and quality medical services to old aged who is mentally ill. Critical Evaluation of Contribution of Social Policy Mainly most of the developed countries have a well defined Social and health polices but when it comes to the implementation, it is not up to the mark. They put forward various programs and strategies to maintain and upgrade the mental and physical health of the older citizen, but when it comes to practice less is done. (Hasenfield,1991,pg.451-479) writes that â€Å"It is argued that policy output is determined by the organizational systems which develop as a result of technological specifications, economic considerations, and power relations†. So the government should create plans and policies according to the technology, economic condition and financial budget of the country. The living condition of an old aged person who is mentally il

The History of the Discovery of Cinematography Essay Example for Free

The History of the Discovery of Cinematography Essay Not know the exact date of introduction of motion picture films to us. But if according to the first introduction of moving picture presented by the Lumiere brothers in Paris, it happened in December 1895. However, in view of the case have said the film first screened as early as 1917 again, he may be said to be the age of the film is almost a century. Regardless, the film is not to be in a form that we can watch now. It is said to start with the success of a designer of the camera can transmit images to a banner quoted the picture is not moving (still). This led to enhance the capability of this camera can transmit images can be moved. So the term `movie` used comes from the word moving that is moving. Oxford Dictionary of movie termed as cinema or `movie` only. Motion picture had moved, but still dumb (silent pictures). But it was unveiled to the public and make a new form of entertainment that would never have imagined by people at that time. This phenomenon existed before the First World War. In the interim period between World War I and World War II films already available from the West. Should still have more senior citizens remember with nostalgia the film Charlie Chaplin, Laura And Hardy. Required to be disclosed to relive the era of silent movies in Hollywood, recently, released a film titled` silent The Artist and won the Orange Bafta Awards in France by Jean Dujardin plays, able to beat superstars including Brad Pitt and George Clooney. But when the film appeared to speak we have had no feature film of the Middle East to this country, especially Egypt, thus witnessed the emergence of famous actors such as Mohd Abdul Wahab and Umm Kalthum. Mohd Abdul Wahab, for example, known for its melodious song. Egyptian movie featuring the two of them play very well among the Malays at that time because whatever comes from the Arab countries will be respected by them, let alone many young Malays began to have the opportunity to Egypt to study. On the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, this bear was the spirit of Arab culture and berqasidah melodious. Meaning melodious recitation of the Koran Karim in taranum and performed at weddings and feasts, goes up, especially in rural areas. However, Western films also began to enter the country. Titles such as Cowboy Roy Rogers, Zorro and Tarzan is no stranger at the time. Due to World War two, too many young people 18-35 years old were killed in the West there is a situation that the number of young women far exceed men. But the West was once said to also have high morals and practice puritisme, began little by little changing patterns of social liberalism and culminates in an independent and free sexual practices. This situation affects the pattern of entertainment, including actors in theater and film entertainment. And appeared in a movie star, which emphasized the sex symbols like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Gina Lollobrigida and Brigitte Bardott. In the era of the 1950s and 60s, they pushed this film as a sex symbol, either within or outside the film and stage. For Elizabeth Taylor, the highlight of her acting was as Cleopatra with Richard Burton and doubles in the movie titled the same. Marilyn Monroe was performed enthusiastically in the movie Seven-Year Itch. For the heavyweights, including actor Richard Widkmark, Cary Grant, John Wayne and Rock Hudson. Due to the heat of World War II at that time still be felt decades after the 1940s, the film appeared with prolific character of war at that time. Titles such as Battle of Britain, The Longest Day, Battle of the Bulge, All Quiet on the Western Front, A Bridge Too Far, Saving Private Ryan and the Sands of Iwo Jima is considered as a blockbuster until the 21st century. In Malaysia, the film Lieutenant Adnan be a trial highlighting the history of patriotic courage of a fighter at the time of the Second World War where our troops advancing all-out defense of the Japanese in Singapore. If we watch a documentary film called The Rising Sun Over Malaya, which aired on History channel (Astro) on February 15 last, we can see how violently bestial and the Japanese at that time under the command of General Yamashita. Why do we not continue to defend the historical film of water which may whet our patriotism? Government or rich GLCs should be urged to sponsor a film like this. Sekual to World War there was a clash of two ideologies of power that a form of democracy dipenghulukan NATO supported the United States, while communism (Marxism-Leninism) is a right belonging to the Soviet Union. The outcome was what is called the Cold War or the Cold War, which saw two sides gather nuclear arsenal to be directed to the respective blocks. In this era, the activities of spy-spy or intelligence must be essential for both parties. These symptoms are infectious to filmmaking. Arose the James Bond film series (Sean Connery as a film icon intelligence), The Saint (Roger Moore), Man from Uncle, CIA, FBI and MI-5. But because filmmakers belong to a same block in terms of ideology, the end of the film almost all countries in favor of the block thats it. The other party is portrayed as evil and mischief-maker and always lose! Reflecting the strength of America came the films such as The West Wing, Raids on Entebbe and much more for American propaganda. The West Wing for example trying to highlight the strength and greatness of the United States. In addition, the CIA also depicted in the film with his role heading towards Islam. From the Arab / Muslim is also a flavor in many movies and supposedly reflect any crime and violence caused by them. Symptoms of blaming Muslims in the film existed before the events of 11 September 2001 or 9/11. But post 9/11 sparked another aspect of Islamaphobia in the West. Hong Kong film industry and Hindi (Bollywood) is also growing rapidly. Who does not know who popularized the art of Bruce Lee kung fu defense and Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, Sri Devi, Ashwariya, Shusmita Shen and Shah Rukh Khan. If before this film is considered a little of the global political landscape, there is also describe the film to stand clash, between a producer and director with the other as portrayed in the film Schindlers List and Passion of Christ. The first is a gain or fishing sympathy of the Jewish world who suffer by the Hitler regime, while another form of attempts to blame the Jews who allegedly due to their greedy cause Jesus Christ was crucified. Jesus on the U.S., according to Islam the Quran he was not crucified. (See Surah An-Nisa verse 157 or 4:157). People say it just like the crucified Jesus the U.S.. The film industry in this country began as early as the 1930s, when the two companies established publishers in Singapore, Shaw Brothers and Cathay Film actor, accompanied by Malays who are still at an amateur level. However, with the guidance of people like L Krishnan, Haji Mahdi and then P Ramlee, the Malay film industry began to grow rapidly and achieve excellence in the early 1960s. The first film made possible to bring the title Laila Majnun followed many other topics which pioneered star acting like Siti Tanjung Perak, D Harris, Haji Mahdi, Neng Yartimah, Kasma Baty, Baking, Mussels Sarawak, S Kadarisman and AR Tompel. Further illuminate the emergence of Michael `natural` Ampas Street Studio film. As the son of artistic versatility, good acting, direction, music and lyrics, Michaels iconic film art and film industry dominate the decade. Not need further described Michael contribution to the glory of Malay films. Suffice it that the words of our great artiste is second to none. This is reflected also in the song arrangement, add to playlist Jeritan Change. Only difference in the past they called `the` movie star or artist, but now the artist. If P Ramlee alive at this age when so advanced production equipment and digital film, would he much greater than Stephen Spielberg. World politics does not influence directly the Malay film genre. However, due to World War II, the Japanese military dictatorship then make the people in this region are poor, helter disorder and incoherent. This was reflected in films like Michael Tow Beca and Lost and Delirious. There is a tendency to focus on compliance with the laws of God will (Semerah Rice) with reference to Law of the Sea of ​​the 15th Century Malacca and the influence of the Middle East (Ali Baba and Ahmad Single Lapok Albab) in culture. Law of the Sea reflects the firmness of Malacca Islamic Shariah. Films like this should be shown over and over again dilayar silver or even the TV as well as aspects of Islamic law it is also acting and artistic treasures of our culture should be an example to new generations. Approach many Malay films, whether published Shaw Brothers or Cathay-Keris until the 1970s can be regarded as a classic film, which comprises mostly Malays good value as role models for todays society. Regardless of whether the issue of Malay films are considered outside the country because it comes from Singapore, which was once in Malaya. Anyway, the exposure to the public that there should be survival. If a lot of old or classic song can only echo frequently on radio and TV, why not the old or classic movies as well as it can be perpetuated cultural heritage to be shown to the present generation? If the world does not affect the political atmosphere Malay film genre what the local political landscape. Dare we publish certain political films, especially in present circumstances, such as political satire film (political Satire) although there are attempts in this direction, but the extent of the `square` only. The reason, perhaps there will be no producer dared to publish it, fear can not be shown in theaters or TV stations afraid to buy it? Sophistication of the tools and techniques of film making should exploit our film industry. The film industry as a source of global economy also shows we are now able to watch movies in 3D and 2D animation. The question is, can we imagine the motion picture by the year 2020? TIDAK diketahui tarikh sebenar filem wayang gambar diperkenalkan kepada kita. Tetapi jika mengikut perkenalan pertama gambar bergerak yang dipersembahkan oleh dua beradik Lumiere di Paris, ia berlaku pada Disember 1895. Akan tetapi memandang kepada hal ada mengatakan filem mula ditapis seawal 1917 lagi, maka boleh dikatakan usia filem sudah hampir satu abad. Apapun, filem bukan terus berada dalam bentuk yang kita dapat tontoni sekarang. Ia dikatakan bermula dengan kejayaan seorang pereka kamera dapat memancarkan gambar dipetiknya kepada kain rentang dengan gambar tidak bergerak (still). Ini mendorongnya mempertingkat keupayaan kameranya sehingga dapat memancarkan gambar boleh bergerak. Jadi istilah `movie` yang digunakan berasal dari perkataan `moving`- yakni bergerak. Kamus Oxford mengistilahkan movie sebagai `cinema` atau `film` saja. Wayang gambar sudah bergerak tetapi masih bisu (silent pictures). Namun ia mula dipamerkan kepada umum dan menjadikannya satu bentuk hiburan baru yang tidak pernah terfikir oleh manusia pada masa itu. Fenomena ini wujud sebelum Perang Dunia Pertama. Pada zaman interim antara Perang Dunia Pertama dan Perang Dunia Kedua sudah ada filem dipasarkan dari Barat. Harus masih ada lagi golongan warga emas ingat dengan penuh nostalgia filem Charlie Chaplin, Laura And Hardy. Perlu dinyatakan untuk mengenang kembali era ‘silent film’ di Hollywood, baru-baru ini, diterbitkan sebuah filem ‘silent` berjudul The Artist dan menang Orange Bafta Awards di Perancis menerusi lakonan Jean Dujardin, mampu mengalahkan bintang handalan termasuk Brad Pitt dan George Clooney. Apabila sudah muncul filem `bersuara` kita dapati sudah ada filem terbitan Timur Tengah ke negara ini terutama Mesir, sekali gus menyaksikan kemunculan pelakon terkenalnya seperti Mohd Abdul Wahab dan Ummi Kalthum. Mohd Abdul Wahab misalnya, terkenal dengan lagunya yang merdu. Wayang gambar Mesir yang memaparkan lakonan mereka berdua amat laris di kalangan orang Melayu pada masa itu kerana apa jua berasal dari negara Arab akan disanjung tinggi oleh mereka, apatah lagi ramai anak muda Melayu mula berpeluang ke Mesir untuk melanjutkan pelajaran. Di Pantai Timur Semenanjung Malaysia, semangat Arab ini membuahkan pula budaya `berlagu` dan berqasidah. Berlagu maknanya membaca al-Quran Karim secara Taranum dan dilakukan pada majlis perkahwinan dan kenduri-kendara, terutama di luar bandar. Pun begitu, filem Barat juga mula masuk ke negara ini. Judul seperti Cowboy Roy Rogers, Zorro dan Tarzan tidak asing lagi pada masa itu. Akibat dua kali berlakunya Perang Dunia, terlalu ramai orang muda berusia 18-35 tahun terkorban sehinggakan di Barat wujud situasi bilangan wanita muda jauh mengatasi lelaki. Maka itu dikatakan Barat yang dulunya juga punya moral tinggi serta mengamal puritisme, mula sedikit demi sedikit berubah corak kepada liberalisme dan memuncak kepada pergaulan bebas serta amalan seks bebas. Keadaan demikian mempengaruhi corak hiburan termasuklah pelakon dalam hiburan melalui teater dan perfileman. Dan muncullah bintang filem yang memberi penekanan kepada simbol seks seperti Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardott dan Gina Lollobrigida. Pada era 1950-an dan 60-an, filem melonjakkan mereka ini sebagai simbol seks, baik dalam atau luar filem dan pementasan. Bagi Elizabeth Taylor, kemuncak lakonannya adalah sebagai Cleopatra bergandingan dengan Richard Burton dalam filem bertajuk sama. Marilyn Monroe pula membuat persembahan ghairah dalam filem Seven-Year Itch. Bagi pelakon lelaki handalan termasuklah Richard Widkmark, Cary Grant, John Wayne dan Rock Hudson. Disebabkan bahang Perang Dunia Kedua pada masa itu masih dirasai berdekad selepas tahun 1940-an, maka filem bercorak perang muncul dengan prolifik pada masa itu. Tajuk seperti Battle of Britain, The Longest Day, Battle of the Bulge, All Quiet on the Western Front, A Bridge Too Far, Saving Private Ryan dan Sands of Iwo Jima dianggap sebagai blockbuster hinggalah kurun ke-21. Di Malaysia, filem Leftenan Adnan berupa satu percubaan penonjolan sejarah keberanian seorang pejuang patriotik pada masa Perang Dunia Kedua di mana tentera kita mempertahankan habis-habisan kemaraan tentera Jepun di Singapura. Kalau kita menonton filem dokumentari berjudul The Rising Sun Over Malaya yang ditayangkan di saluran History (Astro) pada 15 Februari lalu, kita dapat lihat betapa bengis dan zalimnya tentera Jepun pada masa itu di bawah pimpinan Jeneral Yamashita. Kenapakah kita tidak meneruskan penerbitan filem sejarah mempertahankan tanah air yang boleh menyemarakkan lagi semangat patriotisme kita? Kerajaan atau syarikat GLC yang kaya raya patut diseru supaya menaja pembikinan filem seperti ini. Sekual kepada Perang Dunia berlaku pula pertembungan dua ideologi kuasa besar yang mana bentuk demokrasi didokong NATO yang dipenghulukan Amerika Syarikat, manakala komunisme (Marxism-Leninism) menjadi hak kepunyaan Soviet Union. Maka terjadilah apa disebut Perang Dingin atau Cold War yang memperlihatkan dua pihak mengumpul ‘arsenal nuclear’ untuk dihalakan terhadap blok masing-masing. Dalam era ini, kegiatan intip-mengintip atau risikan menjadi ramuan wajib bagi kedua-dua pihak. Gejala ini berjangkit pula kepada pembikinan filem. Timbullah siri filem James Bond (Sean Connery sebagai ikon filem risikan), The Saint (Roger Moore), Man from Uncle, CIA, FBI dan MI-5. Tetapi disebabkan pembikin filem tergolong dalam satu blok sama dari segi ideologinya, maka hampir semua penghujung filem itu memihak kepada negara blok itu saja. Pihak yang satu lagi itu digambarkan sebagai jahat serta pengacau dan sentiasa kalah! Sebagai mencerminkan kekuatan Amerika maka terbitlah juga filem seperti The West Wing, Raids on Entebbe dan banyak lagi untuk propaganda Amerika. The West Wing misalnya cuba menonjolkan kekuatan dan kehebatan Amerika Syarikat. Selain itu, CIA turut digambarkan dalam filem dengan peranannya menghala terhadap Islam. Dari itu orang Arab/Islam turut menjadi `perencah` dalam banyak filem dan mencerminkan kononnya apa juga kejahatan serta keganasan berpunca daripada mereka ini. Gejala menyalahkan orang Islam dalam filem wujud sebelum peristiwa 11 September 2001 atau 9/11. Tetapi pasca 9/11 menyemarakkan lagi aspek Islamaphobia di Barat. industri perfileman Hong Kong dan Hindi (Bollywood ) juga berkembang pesat. Siapa tidak kenal Bruce Lee yang mempopularkan seni pertahanan kungfu dan bintang Bollywood Amitabh Bachchan, Seri Devi, Ashwariya, Shusmita Shen dan Shah Rukh Khan. Jika sebelum ini filem dianggap mencerminkan sedikit sebanyak landskap politik global, ada juga menggambarkan filem untuk `pertembungan pendirian`, iaitu antara seorang penerbit dan pengarah dengan yang lain seperti ditonjolkan dalam filem Schindlers` List dan Passion of Christ . Yang pertama itu sebagai meraih atau memancing simpati dunia terhadap kaum Yahudi yang terseksa oleh rejim Hitler, manakala satu lagi berupa percubaan menyalahkan kaum Yahudi yang dikatakan akibat angkara merekalah menyebabkan Jesus Christ `disalibkan`. Mengenai Nabi Isa AS, Islam berpandukan al-Quran menyatakan baginda tidak disalibkan. (Rujuk Surah An-Nisa ayat 157 atau 4:157 ). Orang dikatakan disalibkan itu sekadar menyerupai Nabi Isa AS. Industri perfileman di negara ini bermula seawal 1930-an apabila dua syarikat penerbit ditubuhkan di Singapura, Shaw Brothers dan Cathay Film dengan disertai pelakon Melayu yang masih di peringkat amatur. Namun, dengan bimbingan orang seperti L Krishnan, Haji Mahadi dan kemudian P Ramlee, industri perfileman Tanah Melayu mula berkembang pesat dan mencapai tahap kegemilangan pada dekad 1960-an. Filem pertama dijayakan membawa tajuk Laila Majnun diikuti banyak lagi tajuk yang mana lakonannya dipelopori bintang seperti Siti Tanjung Perak, D Harris, Haji Mahadi, Neng Yartimah, Kasma Booty, Junaidah, Siput Sarawak, S Kadarisman dan AR Tompel. Kemunculan P Ramlee menyinari lagi `alam` filem di Studio Jalan Ampas. Sebagai anak seni serba boleh, baik lakonan, arahan, muzik dan lirik, P Ramlee menjadi ikon seni perfileman dan mendominasi industri filem dalam dekad itu. Tidak perlulah dihurai lanjut sumbangan P Ramlee ke arah kegemilangan filem Melayu. Memadailah kata-kata bahawa Seniman Agung kita ini memang tiada tandingannya. Ini dibayangkan juga dalam lagu gubahannya, Di Manakan Kucari Ganti. Cuma bezanya pada masa dulu mereka disebut `bintang filem` atau seniman tetapi sekarang artis. Kalaulah P Ramlee hidup pada zaman ini ketika peralatan penerbitan filem begitu canggih dan digital, nescaya beliau lebih hebat lagi daripada Stephen Spielberg. Politik dunia tidak mempengaruhi genre filem Melayu secara langsung. Akan tetapi akibat Perang Dunia Kedua, kemudian pemerintahan tentera Jepun membuatkan masyarakat di rantau ini miskin, porak peranda dan tidak keruan. Ini dicerminkan dalam filem P Ramlee seperti Penarik Beca dan Ibu Mertuaku. Ada kecenderungan untuk memfokus kepada kepatuhan akan hukum-hukum Allah (Semerah Padi) dengan merujuk Undang-Undang Laut Melaka Abad ke-15 dan pengaruh Timor Tengah (Ali Baba Bujang Lapok dan Ahmad Albab) dari segi budaya. Undang-undang Laut Melaka mencerminkan ketegasan Syariah Islam. Filem seperti ini patut ditayangkan berulang kali dilayar perak mahu pun di TV kerana selain aspek perundangan Islam ia juga khazanah seni lakonan dan budaya kita yang patut menjadi contoh kepada generasi baru. Pendekatan banyak filem Melayu, sama ada diterbitkan Shaw Brothers ataupun Cathay-Keris sehingga tahun 1970-an boleh dianggap sebagai filem klasik Melayu yang kebanyakannya mengandungi nilai baik untuk dijadikan teladan masyarakat kini. Tak kiralah sama ada filem Melayu ini dianggap terbitan luar negara kerana ia berasal dari Singapura yang dulunya dalam Tanah Melayu. Pokoknya, pendedahan kepada umum patut ada kesinambungannya. Kalau banyak lagu lama atau klasik sering saja boleh berkumandang di radio dan TV, mengapa tidak filem lama atau klasik juga memang boleh diabadikan sebagai warisan seni budaya untuk ditunjukkan kepada generasi sekarang? Kalau suasana politik dunia tidak mempengaruhi genre filem Melayu bagaimana pula suasana politik tempatan. Beranikah kita menerbitkan filem berbaur politik terutama dalam keadaan sekarang, misalnya filem sindiran politik (political satire) walaupun sudah ada percubaan ke arah ini, tetapi itu setakat `siku-siku`saja. Sebabnya, mungkin tak akan ada produser berani menerbitkannya, bimbang tidak boleh ditayangkan di pawagam atau stesen TV takut hendak membelinya? Kecanggihan peralatan dan teknik mengenai pembikinan filem wajar dieksploitasikan industri filem kita. Industri perfileman selaku sumber ekonomi secara global juga memperlihatkan kita kini sudah boleh menonton filem dalam bentuk animasi 3D dan 2D. Soalnya, bolehkah kita bayangkan bentuk wayang gambar menjelang tahun 2020 nanti?

Financial analysis Essay Example for Free

Financial analysis Essay The Back Yard Burgers has 183 restaurants – 44 company-operated and 139 franchisees as on June 30, 2007. The sales figures indicate total revenue of $12,610,000 as compared to last year sales figure of $11,695,000. Restaurant sales accounted for $10,688,000 that is a 10. 3% increase from last year figures of $9,686,000. Out of this 10. 3% increase of revenue, 6. 8% is attributed to the addition of two new company-operated restaurants till Jun 30, 2007 since July 1, 2006. The remaining 3. 5% increase in the revenue from restaurant sales is from the existing restaurants. Thirteen Weeks Ended June 30, July 1, 2007 2006 Revenues: Restaurant sales $ 10,688 $ 9,686 Franchise and area development fees 84 204 Royalty fees 1,265 1,245 Advertising fees 318 314 Other 255 246 Total revenues 12,610 11,695 Expenses: Cost of restaurant sales 3,502 3,120 Restaurant operating expenses 5,040 4,646 General and administrative 2,259 1,634 Advertising 814 668 Depreciation 544 543 Other operating (income)/expense — — Total expenses 12,159 10,611 Operating income 451 1,084 Interest income 29 16. Interest expense (193 ) (198 ) Other, net (28 ) (24 ) Income before income taxes 259 878 Income taxes 50 302 Net income $ 209 $ 576 Statement of income for the period July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007 The statement of income shows a net income of $209,000 only for the current year as compared to $576,000 in the previous year. An increase in the general and administrative expenses and increased advertising expenditure accounts for the lower net income of the company. The annual turnover of the company in the year 2006 was $44,710,000 as compared to $41,000,000 in the year 2005. The company reported a 9% annual growth in sales. Key financial data of Back Yard Burgers (In millions of USD) Income Statement Quarterly (Jun 07) Annual (2006) Annual (2005) Total Revenue 12. 61 44. 71 41. 00 Gross Profit 3. 81 13. 67 12. 29 Operating Income 0. 45 2. 18 0. 42 Net Income 0. 21 0. 88 -0. 04 Balance Sheet Total Current Assets 7. 19 7. 08 5. 32 Total Assets 32. 94 33. 41 31. 64 Total Current Liabilities 5. 24 5. 79 4. 01 Total Liabilities 15. 24 16. 11 16. 34 Total Equity 17. 70 17. 30 15. 30 Cash Flow Net Income/Starting Line 0. 21 0. 88 -0. 04 Cash from Operating 0. 40 4. 05 3. 33 Cash from Investing -0. 16 -1. 85 -7. 83 Cash from Financing -0. 25 -0. 36 5. 78 Net Change in Cash -0. 01 1. 84 1. 28 The above table gives in insight into the company’s current financial position. The operating profit in the year 2006 was $2. 2 million compared to an operating profit of $0. 4 million in the previous year. The net profit was $0. 9 million in the year 2006 as compared to a net loss of $0. 04 million in the year 2005. The company reported a net profit margin of 1. 96% in the year 2006 as compared to 1. 28% in the previous year. The operating margin of the company also increased from 3. 56% to 4. 87%. The financial ratios for the current period is provided in the table below: Key Stats Ratios Quarterly (Jun 07) Annual (2006) Annual (TTM) Net Profit Margin 1. 66% 1. 96% 1. 28% Operating Margin 3. 58% 4. 87% 3. 56% EBITD Margin 9. 77% 8. 34% Return on Average Assets 2. 53% 2. 69% 1. 80% Return on Average Equity 4. 77% 5. 37% 3. 44% The company has seen a decreasing profit over the past few years. The analysis of the various factors that account for success in the fast food industry in this paper has highlighted the reasons responsible for the decreasing profit.

Difference Between Telecommunication and Mass Media

Difference Between Telecommunication and Mass Media What are the main differences between telecommunications (point-to-point) and mass media (one-to-many)? Compare the two using examples. Telecommunications and mass media are distinguished from one another by a variety of technical, infrastructural, and interactive differences. This essay will, broadly, outline and describe these differences. One of the first points to make, however, is that both forms have their own prehistories and heritage in earlier forms of communication. While â€Å"telecommunications† (point-to-point) and â€Å"mass media† (one-to-many) are defined conventionally and in the contemporary world by telephones and the internet (for example), they also have earlier forms and precedents. Telecommunications emerged properly from early telegraph networks, which, in anticipation of later more global systems, were constituted by a network of nodes (towers), which enabled the sending and receiving (and thus coding and decoding) of messages and information. Similarly, mass media has its own heritage in almost any form of communicated information that had a potentially anonymous and spatially distributed audience; the printing press of the 16th century enabled the steady reproduction of the printed word through block cutting and, latter, movable type. These technologies allowed for the production and dissemination of the first newspapers, broadsides and pamphlets – documents will constitute the first â€Å"mass† conversations of literate society in the early modern period. Broadly speaking, telecommunications are then defined by a number of technical as well as infrastructural or procedural differences. Firstly, they allow for the narrowly focused communication between two locations or persons – in other words, they have focus and, at least in theory, secrecy. Secondly, telecommunications allow for the sending of the message without the physical presence of a message. Because the technology relies on a form of encoding or compression, a translation from a set of words or ideas into a transmittable data stream – such as light, waves or electricity – they do not require the automatic transcription of the message itself. The early optical telegraph required direct line-of-sight to enable this transmission, and for an informed person to be present, in view, in order to decode and reassemble the message from its parts (flashes of light, mechanical patterns, etc). The printing press Thirdly, telecommunications are interactive in so far as they enable a reply to be sent along the same channel, directly from sender to receiver. In this sense, their emphasis is on passing information, but also on receiving a response to that transmission. Over time, however, the spatial notion behind telecommunications has shifted; whereas early forms – such as optical telecommunications – required line of sight over short distances, modern forms, from visible light, waves, and electricity, do not require line of sight, and do not require close spatial proximity. This is a function of the expansion in the infrastructure of telecommunications globally; a telephone call is transmitted and received to a number of mediating nodes – and passed on – before it reaches its target. As such, especially in the modern period, the point-to-point nature and process of telecommunications has become its most important definition. In its earliest ramifications, though, t his could also have a â€Å"public† dimension ; the fire flare chain used to signal the arrival of the Spanish Armada was both a point-to-point transmission (from the signaller to the navy headquarters), but also a public signal – the meaning of the flares was well understood by those who saw it in 1588. Optical beacon; both â€Å"point-to-point† and â€Å"public† Mass media is broadly defined as â€Å"one-to-many† communication. Such a definition, while useful, has its drawbacks and limitations. Namely, that â€Å"media† has different connotations and structures of transmission than the process of broadcasting itself (McQuail, 2010). Whereas a newspaper would be defined as â€Å"media†, it is the process of distribution and receipt that constitute its â€Å"mass† or â€Å"broadcast† element. Furthermore, in the modern sense there is an attachment to the idea of â€Å"mass media† as â€Å"effective, or even affective, media† as a transmission in which the â€Å"many† are actively engaged with and responsive to the â€Å"one†. Broadly speaking, however, mass media is defined by the transmission of information from one point to many potential points. Importantly, however, it does not have to be received; a television can be switched on or off, receiving only parts or elements of a message, without interrupting the primary transmission itself, which is continuous. The same applies for radio communication, which can be broadcast technically and successfully without any receivers picking the message up (such as a radio wave distress call, or the Morse code that was used to signal the sinking of the titanic in 1911). Secondly, point-to-mass communication is public; that is, its message is not intended for a specific individual or location, but for a potentially infinite number of individuals. While telecommunications are used to share private or even secret information (from a personal phone call to a national secret), mass media is characterised by its publicity. While it does not have to be â€Å"received† however, in order to work technically, it still requires receipt and response in order to justify its initial broadcasting. If radio stations or Television Networks had no audience, the financial rationale for their existence would be lost. In this sense, it is much more fluid in terms of content than telecommunications. The third and final distinction of point-to-mass communication from telecommunications is the fact that it is one way. While the networks and nodes of telecommunications infrastructure are set up in such a way that direct interaction is possible, mediums such as TV or radio do not require interaction – they are not targeted at a specific individual. However, mass media is different again from telecommunications in its social implications ; while the telegraph had the social and economic effect of enabling wider trading networks, of influencing diplomacy, and of – at least partially – connecting otherwise distant areas, mass media has an accumulative and far wider social impact. The printing press was linked with the protestant reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries, with the rise of universities, and with the spread of literacy. These had implications not only for culture, but for social relationships and interactions (Isaac and McKay, 2000, 10). Scholars, such as Joshua Meyrowitz, have suggested that such transformations in social life also have psychological implications, where television in the course of the 20th century had a role in enabling people to relate in new, â€Å"placeless† ways. This is aligned with the argument of Benedict Arnold who, in his Imagined Communities, showed how mass media is implicated in the â€Å"imaginations† of national and other identities, where â€Å"it [the nation] is imagined as a community, because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship† an â€Å"imagined community† that is interlinked through shared, mass media experiences and identities (2006, 7). However, because of this one-way or unidirectional technique, mass communication is open to greater fluctuations in responses. As blah argues in a cultural history of radio, there have been times when it was both the primary device for popular entertainment in the home, but also a time when it was not responded to at all (2002, 2-3). Such transformations have a greater effect on the kinds of information transmitted on these media; while it was once characterised by popular, talk entertainment, radio is increasingly a site for music, with talk entertainment having been taken over by audio-visual broadcasts on digital TV, and through audio-visual mass communication on the internet. At the same time, this technology, because of its fluctuations and its impacts, has been a site for greater anxiety than telecommunications; numerous theories of â€Å"media injection† have linked mass media with violent behaviour (such as shootings and â€Å"copycat† killings, such as the rece nt Batman cinema shootings in America). This anxiety stems from the concern over who controls and therefore authorises mass communication, and thus of how it implies a less visible â€Å"systems of oppression† than telecommunications (where personal, emotional lenses are used to internet messages and information received) (Peterson, 2005, 105). It is interesting than that, with the recent Snowden/NSA/GCHQ revelations, that telecommunications has been implicated in the same anxieties that used to structure television and mass media (Gauntlett and Hill, 1999, 72). The internet, however, offers a technology where the main distinctions between telecommunications and mass communication break down and interact. Media such as Twitter, a social networking and interactive tool, are both mass media and telecommunications in their infrastructure and technique ; a â€Å"tweet†, or message, can be broadcast to a posters followers (from 0 to millions), while there is also a channel for responding directly – the reply. Similarly, channels such as YouTube allow for individuals to post video content to a mass audience, but also have the feature that enable the viewer to comment and respond. Importantly, however, these responses are not private, but also public; they therefore become part of the public sphere while also being, in a sense, â€Å"point-to-point†. This essay has defined telecommunications (point-to-point) and mass media (point-to-many), and has also described their primary differences. Furthermore, it has outlined, however briefly, the kinds of implications these differences have. In the final section of the essay, it was argued that new and emergent forms of mass communication are unique in so far as they combine aspects of both techniques of communication. Bibliography Anderson, B (2006) Imagined Communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Verso Gauntlett, D and Hill, A (1999) TV Living: television, culture and everyday life. London: Routledge Hilmes, M and Loviglio, J (2002) Radio Reader: essays in the cultural history of radio. Psychology Press Isaac, P and McKay, B (2000) The Mighty Engine: the printing press and its impact. Oak Knoll Press McQuail, D (2010) McQuails Mass Communication Theory (Sixth Edition). SAGE Peterson, M (2005) Anthropology Mass Communication: media and myth in the new millennium. Berghahn Books 1

Science and the Judicial System Essay -- Biology Essays Research Paper

Science and the Judicial System Science and the Judicial System are two concepts that at face value seem to be very distinct and unique in their own nature, but at their cores they share interesting similarities and connections. They each propose a different way of understanding how we comprehend and place order. In this paper I'll address my understanding of both concepts, analyze their theories, backbones and failures, and then bring them both together through connections hopefully to support my idea that they are both inextricably connected to what we call life and its relationship to the human mind. Science is a controversial subject very much like Judicial System. Although Science is largely composed of observation, experiments and their results, it raises controversy because imagination and perspective play a key role in those interpretations. As we know that imagination and perspective vary with each person due to education, background, and experience; how is it possible that we can assign a concrete truth to such a varied conceptualization. Thus, we cannot formulate any concrete truth. In this sense I see Scientists more as Philosophers. Another issue I find when dealing with traditional scientific theories is that Science often fails to provide theories and explanations for phenomenon's that hold truth and validation in both a scientific context and the context of the human mind. I feel that Science often caters to a "black and white" way of formulating answers; it fails to recognize the gray areas. Often times people try to find the most common and accepted ways to support their theories and in doing so they adapt to the standard and more traditional ways of viewing the world. This leaves less room for creativit... ...ly in value but also politics. Both science and the judicial system produce gray areas when trying to understand and rationalize. Science and the judicial system are inextricably connected to life. We systematically try to put life in a box to create order, order insures a comfort, and that comfort often gets in the way of open-mindedness. The human mind by itself is a convoluted vast universe. We as scholars, scientists, and human kind need to understand and that by assigning truths, right or wrongs we are limiting the extend of our intellectual capacities. References 1)The Truth of Science, Physical Theories and Reality, An article from Harvard University Press http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/NEWTRU.html 2)An Overview of American Abortion Laws, A thorough explanation of the laws concerning abortions http://hometown.ao.com/abrtbng/overview.htm

Hatchet :: essays research papers

I read a Book called Hatchet. Brian Robeson had divorced parents, goes on a flight to see his father in the Canadian wilderness. This is Brains first time in an airplane. He explains this to the pilot and tells him that he is scared. The pilot feels sorry for Brian and decides to show him that flying is not hard. He lets Brian take the steering control and lets him steer for awhile. Just when Brian thinks that everything is going well, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. Brian knows he must land the plane himself or die. He tries to use the radio, but it diddn't work. He knows that if he hits the trees he can die. So he decides to land in the water of a lake. When he lands in the water. He gets out through a window. He sat on the bank of the lake for a while to rest. Brian knew he needed food and shelter to survive so he left to find both. He diddn't want to go too far from the lake where his water was, or he might get lost. He found a cherry tree and he ate some because he was hungry. He filled his windbreaker with cherries to eat later and then found a cave to stay in. He slept good, but in the morning when he woke up, he saw a bear in the cave. He was scared, because the bear was only about 20 feet away eating his cherries out of his windbreaker. The bear only looked at Brian and then left. The cherries must have been enough to full him up. The discovery of how to make a fire was very important to Brains survival. He needed to have a fire at the front of the cave to protect him from wild animals, and to signal for help.A porcupine came into his cave. It was dark in the cave and he heard something moving. He knew it was alive, but he diddn't know what it was. So he kicked it. Then the quills shot into his foot and then he knew it was a porcupine. He was in hurt, and knew he could not touch it. He threw his hatchet, and it hit the rock of the cave instead of the porcupine, and it made a spark. He knew how to make the spark.

Character Analysis of Dee Johnson in Everyday Use by Alice Walker Essa

Alice Walker crafts the character of Dee Johnson in the short story â€Å"Everyday Use† in a clever way. Starting from the first paragraph, Walker creates an image of Dee, who at first seems very shallow. Dee then becomes a more complex character as the story progresses. Blessed with both brains and beauty, Dee emerges as someone who is still struggling with her identity and heritage. Dee is a flat character, who is described as arrogant and selfish. Through the eyes of Dee, one can see her egotistical nature. Dee is portrayed as a light-skinned black person who feels as though she is better than everyone else because her waist is small, her skin is light, she has a nice grade of hair, and she is somewhat educated. Although she may be educated when it comes to college, she is not educated w...

Advertising and its classifications: jib fowles appeals in pandora’s jewelry ad. Essay

Advertising and Its Classification â€Å"Advertising Fifteen Basic Appeals† by Jib Fowles. Jib talks in his essay about how advertising enticesus us through imagery approaches,The power of imagery in marketing is substantal. We can becalled walking advertisements,from the jewelry we wear to the shoe’s on our feet we are promoteing brands and logos everyday. The ad for PANDORA Jewelry found in the December 2011, issue of Real Simple magazine,Pandora has a classy beutiful woman, wearing dark color clothing, looking in her husbends eyes longly. She has her left hand on her chin with a georgus set of rings, and some not as obvious pandora bracelets on her rist. The Pandora ad reads † UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS† in the bottom righthand corner. This ad successfully illustrates three of Fowles’s appeals: the need for prominence, the need for attention, and the need to achieve. The first appeal we see at work in the ad is the need for prominence. Jib Fowles defines this need † To injoy prestige and high social status.† discribes it as â€Å"unambiguously classy†. we see the beutiful woman in the ad she is flawless not one frizzy har out of place her makeup is natural, and every thing is blurry in the background. That illustrates the jewelry is classy enouf to sell it’s self. Another way we see the need for prominence is, In the top left hand corner you see the set of rings seperated, it has three Eternity Ring’s priced at a woping $135.00 a peace, the heart and peral ring’s are $285.00 a peice. wearing such expencive peace’s are a way to say I am worth a lot and you should look up to me. The bottom left corner has a picture of an â€Å"O† in a box with a crown on top, this is a tradmark of Pandora. This tells us if we wear pandora jewelry we can also apear classy and injoy a high social status. Markters are targeting men in this ad, he clearly just gave his significant other the ring and she is gazing in his eyes sensualy. Promoters are enticing men with a promotional sale † Buy $150.00 dollers of pandora jewelry get a pandora ring valued up to $50.00 dollers free.† Men have an hunting gathering mentalidy, thay always want the best of things. It also seems to suggest that, if he gave his significant other this jewelry he will have an † Unforgettable moment† as well. The second appeal we see at work is the need for attention. Fowles defines this appeal as † The desire to exhibit ourselves in such a way to make others look at us is a primitive, insuppressible instinct.† He also discribes it as † wemon who want eyes upon them know what they should do.† The woman in this ad is wearing a suggestive lacy blouse, witch tells us she wants to be noticed. Every thing behind her is blury so all you see is her. As we see the need for attention still there are several other ways to sell jewelry, the ad out of Real Simple magazine for pandora, is similar to most other ad’s in differing magazines. The woman is receving a gift from a significant other, a peice of jewelry to make other women look twice at her. markters of this appeal are targeting wemon in this ad because we look to other wemon for trend setting peice’s. The advertiser chose this appeal wisley, all jewelry screams look at me. Consmers will want to purchase this ring because you can wear it in so many different ways, or one peice alone, eather way the peice stands doninant to what she is wearing. The final appeal in this ad acording to â€Å"Fowels Fifteen basic appels† is the need to achieve. Fowels defines this appeal as â€Å"The drive that energizes people, causing them to strive in their lives.† He also discribes it as a â€Å"need to attain a higher standard.† we see this appeal at work because the woman in the ad is not doing any thing but siting infront of her significant other with the look of achivement. She has the best significant other in her life, this is what her look tells us. Marketers are successfully useing this appeal. Men want to buy their woman this brand of jewelry because, Pandora’s collection is inspiring, hand-finished, it’s signature style, and it is a customizable jewelry line. The consumsr of this product wants a timeless orignal peace of jewelry. In this appeal, the need to achieve pulled from the December 2011, Real Simple Magazine Pandora ad, the target is a man because all you see in the ad is her wearing the ring set and some braclets. At the bottom of the ad you see a gift rap bow telling us he bought her the best gift a man can get a woman a ring symbolizing his love and comentment. This add successfully illstrated three of Fowles appeals, the need for prominence, the need for attention and the need to achieve. Fowles has taught us to be more conscious of the soliciting taking place every day. We  must train our brain’s to filter out the things we want from the things we need. Most imporantly to sheld our childern from the potentally self sabotaging labeling going on in the world today. We want our children to make up thier own minds on whats cool, not what promoters think is cool. Lets teach our kids to be unique all on thier own.

Commercial Internet Sites Essay

Go to at least 15 commercial Internet sites such as Yahoo!, MSN, and About.com. Document information on the types of attempts (such as pop-up windows and advertisements) that influence the viewer, including counting the number of references toward social shaping. The websites you consult should be listed in a reference list at the end of the newsletter. Take the information you have gathered and write an article for your company newsletter summarizing your findings and drawing conclusions. The article should be at least 500 words in length and should demonstrate depth of thought as well as originality. The first commercial Internet web site that I am analyzing is the online social networking web site Orkut.   It permits maintaining relationships through pictures, messages, music and videos.   What seem interesting with Orkut are that is permits to establish new connections with people belonging to any part of the world, help to come in contact with old friends and family in any part of the world.   Any individual interested in making friends can open an account on the web site and develop their own profile.   What adds uniqueness to Orkut is the fact that any friend or family member can insert their own testimonials of that person.   In the profile, personal, social and professional information can be demonstrated.  Ã‚   Another unique feature of Orkut is that any person can search for another by simply typing in the name in the search box. MSN is a community web site mainly concerned with email, messaging and social contacting.   This web site is brought out my Microsoft.   The users interested can open an account with the MSN web site and are given an individual username and password.   The user would be getting personalized information from the MSN network.   These include news, sports, weather, local news, etc.   Each user can make changes to the layout, color, themes, etc to the individual web page. Yahoo is a social network web site that mainly provides email, news, searches, messenger, jobs, weather, Horoscope, Health and other information.   The Web site concerns a wide range of areas.   Yahoo has its sources in almost every nation of the world and these provide localized information.   Each user can log into the web site with his or her usernames and password. Google, one of the strongest search engines in the world has extended its services to other areas such as book searches, computation, social network groups, news, maps, etc.   People are mainly attracted towards Google as it search strategy is very strong and would permit the user to use their own initiative whilst search for various aspects in the Internet. Tagged.com is social networking that permits users from various parts of the world to get in contact with old friends and new friends.   It was launched in the year 2004.   The graphic interface of the web site is very appealing and has several innovations such as slides, videos and the music presentation.   It has several reputed news sources such as Wall Street Journal, Business Week Online, Ad week, etc. Travellers Point is a social network that provides personalized information regarding traveling destinations and experiences, photo galleries, blogs, forums, maps, etc.   Users can create their own usernames and passwords on the web site and get upload and download photos and videos of famous travel destinations throughout the world.   The Web site works in association with another organization known as ‘Travel helpers’, which provides expert guidance to travelers. Hikut.com is a social networking web site that provides various features to the users, user such as galleries, blogs, music, videos, polls, groups, quizzes, events, classifieds, etc.   The users can also use several other features on the web site such as chats, interfaces, scrapbook, etc.   The users would have to register on the web site with a user name and a password. Linkedln is a professional social network web site that permits the users to share professional information with other experts and specialists throughout the world.   More than 16 million users have registered from about 150 countries.   Users who have registered include clients, partners and colleagues.   Users can also search for jobs and get in contact with the job seekers. One of the main religious social networking web site in the world is My Church.com.   This web site was launched in 2006 offering services to Catholics in the blogs, forums, messenger services, counseling, calendar events, sermons live telecasts, paying of thanksgivings, etc.   The founders of this web site have combined Internet and technology in a very innovative manner to obtain one of the most advanced Catholic networking web sites in the world. More than 7000 Churches are associated with the web site. One of the major social networking web site in the world concerned with sharing music, videos, photos, etc, is Multiply.   The web site also extends its services to other media other than the Internet including MMS and mobile services.   The web site not only caters to the personal needs of the user, but also to the professional and the academic needs.   Only individuals who are closely related to one another can share media information. Another social networking web site is Friendster that caters to the needs of small circle of friends.   It is utilized more widely in Asia than in any other part of the world.   It has been in competition with several other social networking web sites such as Yahoo 360 and Facebook.   In the year 2006, the web site came out with an innovative discovery, which entitled it a patent.   It demonstrated a method and an online tool to calculate and develop relationships between people. Facebook was a social networking web site launched in the year 2004, meant for the students of Harvard University.   However, as the web site was a strong success, several other universities were added including Boston University, MIT, etc.   Slowly any student belonging to any university in the world was allowed to register on the web site.   More than 58 million users have been registered on the web site.   The site offers the users several features including sending and receiving messages, gifts, placing ads, blogs, etc. References: Facebook (2007). â€Å"Facebook – Home Page.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.facebook.com Web site. Friendster (2007). â€Å"Friendster – Home Page.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.friendster.com Web site. Google (2007). â€Å"Google Help Center.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from Google Web site: http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/help/features.html HiKut (2007). â€Å"Hikut.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.hikut.com Web site. LinkedIn (2007). â€Å"Linkedin.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.linkedin,com Web site. MSN (2007). â€Å"MSN-Home Page.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from MSN Web site: http://www.msn.com/ Multiply (2007). â€Å"Multiply – Home Page.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.multiply.com Web site. My Church (2007). â€Å"My Church – Home Page.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.Mychurch.org Web site. Orkut (2007). â€Å"About Orkut.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from Orkut Web site: http://www.orkut.com/About.aspx Tagged.com (2007). â€Å"Tagged – Home Page.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from Tagged.com Web site: www.tagged.com Travellers Point (2007). â€Å"Travellers Point.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.travellerspoint.com Web site. Yahoo (2007). â€Å"Yahoo Company Information.† Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from Yahoo Web site: http://info.yahoo.com/

Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 13

Jade sat in the wing chair, holding Tiggy upsidedown on her lap, petting his stomach. He was purring but mad. She stared down into indignant, glowing green eyes. â€Å"The other goat,† Kestrel announced from the doorway, saying the word as if it were something not mentioned in polite society, â€Å"is just fine. So you can let the cat out.† Jade didn't think so. There was somebody crazy inBriar Creek, and she planned to keep Tiggy safe where she could see him. â€Å"We're not going to have to feed on the goat, are we?† Kestrel asked Rowan dangerously. â€Å"Of course not. Aunt Opal did because she was tooold to hunt.† Rowan looked preoccupied as she answered. â€Å"I like hunting,† Jade said. â€Å"It's even better thanI thought it would be.† But Rowan wasn't listening she was biting her lip and staring into the distance. â€Å"Rowan, what?† â€Å"I was thinking about the situation we're in. You and Mark, for one thing. I think we need to talk about that.† Jade felt reflexive alarm. Rowan was in one of herorganizing moods-which meant you could blink and find that she'd rearranged all your bedroom furnitureor that you were moving to Oregon. â€Å"Talk about what?† she said warily. â€Å"About what you two are going todo. Is he going to stay human?† â€Å"It's illegal to change him,† Kestrel put in pointedly. â€Å"Everything we've done this week is illegal,†Rowan said. â€Å"And if they exchange blood again well, it's only going to take a couple of times. Do you want him a vampire?† she asked Jade. Jade hadn't thought about it. She thought Mark was nice the way he was. But maybehe would wantto be one. â€Å"What are you going to do with yours?† she asked Ash, who was coming slowly downstairs. â€Å"My what?† He looked sleepy and irritable. â€Å"Your soulmate. Is Mary-Lynnette going to stayhuman?† â€Å"That's the other thing I've been worrying about,† Rowan said. â€Å"Have you thought at all, Ash?† â€Å"I can't think at this hour in the morning. I don'thave a brain yet.† â€Å"It's almost noon,† Kestrel said scornfully. â€Å"I don't care when it is. I'm still asleep.† He wandered toward the kitchen. â€Å"And you don't need to worry,† he added, looking back and sounding more awake. â€Å"Because I'm not doinganythingwith the girl and Jade's not doing anything with the brother. Because we're goinghome.†He disappeared. Jade's heart was beating hard. Ash might act frivolous, but she saw the ruthlessness underneath. She looked at Rowan. â€Å"Is Mary-Lynnettereally his soulmate?† Rowan leaned back, her brown hair spreading likea waterfall on the green brocade of the couch. â€Å"I'm afraid so.† â€Å"But then how can he want to leave?† â€Å"Well †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Rowan hesitated. â€Å"Soulmates don't always stay together. Sometimes it's too much-the fire and lightning and all that. Some people just can'tstand it.† Maybe Mark and I aren't really soulmates, Jade thought. And maybe that's good. It sounds painful. â€Å"Poor Mary-Lynnette,† she said. A dear voice sounded in her mind:Whydoesn'tanybody say â€Å"Poor Ash†? â€Å"Poor Mary-Lynnette,† Jade said again. Ash reappeared. â€Å"Look,† he said and sat down onone of the carved mahogany chairs. â€Å"We need to get things straight. It's not just a matter ofme wanting you to come home. I'm not the only one who knows you're here.† Jade stiffened. Kestrelsaid, almost pleasantly,†Youtold somebody?† â€Å"I was staying with somebody when the family called to say you were missing. And he was there when I realized where you must have gone. He also happens to be an extremely powerful telepath. So just consider yourself lucky I convinced him to let me try to get you back.† Jade stared at him. She did consider herself lucky. She also considered it strange that Ash would go to such trouble for her and Rowan and Kestrel-for any bodybesides Ash. Maybe she didn't know her brother as well as she thought. Rowan said, very soberly, â€Å"Who was it?† â€Å"Oh, nobody.† Ash leaned back and looked moodily at the ceiling. â€Å"Just Quinn.† Jade flinched. Quinn †¦ that snake .He had a heart like a glacier and he despised humans. He was the sort to take Night World law into his own hands if he didn't think it was being enforced properly. â€Å"He's coming back on Monday to see if I've takencare of the situation,† Ash said. â€Å"And if I haven't,we're all dead-you, me, and your little human buddies.† Rowan said, â€Å"So we've got until Monday to figuresomething out.† Kestrel said, â€Å"If he tries anything on us, he's in fora fight.† Jade squeezed Tiggy to make him growl. Mary-Lynnette had been sleeping like a stone-buta stone with unusually vivid dreams. She dreamed about stars brighter than she'd ever seen and starclouds shimmering in colors like the northern lights. She dreamed about sending an astronomical telegram to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to register her claim for discovering a new supernova. About being the firstto see it with her wonderful new eyes, eyes thatshe saw in a mirror-were all pupil, like an owl's or a cat's†¦. Then the dream changed and she was an owl, swooping down in a dizzying rush from a hollow Douglas fir. She seized a squirrel in her talons andfelt a surge of simple joy. Killing felt so natural. All she had to do was be the best owl she could be, and grab food with her feet. But then a shadow fell over her from somewhereabove. And in the dream she felt a terrible sick real ization-that even hunters could be hunted. And that something was after her†¦. She woke up disoriented-not as towhere shewas, but as to who she was. Mary-Lynnette or a hunter being chased by something with white teeth in themoonlight? And even when she went downstairs, she couldn't shake off the sick feeling from her dream. â€Å"Hi,† Mark said. â€Å"Is that breakfast or lunch?† â€Å"Both,† Mary-Lynnette said, sitting down on the family room couch with her two granola bars. Mark was watching her. â€Å"So,† he said, â€Å"have you been thinking about it, too?† Mary-Lynnette tore the wrapper off a granola bar with her teeth. â€Å"About what?† † Youknow.† Mary-Lynnette did know. She glanced around to make sure Claudine wasn't in earshot.† Don't think about it.† â€Å"Why not?† When she didn't answer, he said,†Don't tell me you haven't been wondering what it would be like. To see better, hear better, be telepathic†¦and live forever. I mean, we could see the year three thousand. You know, the robot wars, colonizing other planets†¦. Come on, don't tell me you'renot even a little curious.† All Mary-Lynnette could think of was a line from a Robert Service Poem: Andthe skies of nightw re alive with light, with a throbbing, thrilling flame†¦ . â€Å"I'm curious,† she said. ‘But there's no point in wondering. They do things we couldn't do-they kill† She put down her glass of milk as if she'd lost herappetite. She hadn't, though-and wasn't that the problem? She ought to be sick to her stomach at just the thought of killing, of drinking blood from a warm body. Instead, she was scared. Of what was out there inthe world-and of herself. â€Å"It'sdangerous,†she said aloud to Mark. â€Å"Don'tyousee? We've gotten mixed up in this Night World-and it's a place where bad things can happen. Not just bad like flunking a class. Bad like †¦Ã¢â‚¬  †¦ white teeth in the moonlight †¦ â€Å"Like getting lolleddead,† Mary-Lynnette said. â€Å"And that's serious, Mark. It's not like the movies.† Mark was staring at her. â€Å"Yeah, but we knew that already.† His tone said â€Å"What's the big deal?† And Mary-Lynnette couldn't explain. She stood up abruptly. â€Å"If we're going over there, we'd better get moving,† she said. â€Å"It's almost one o'clock.† The sisters and Ash were waiting at Burdock Farm. â€Å"You and Mark can sit in the front with me,† MaryLynnette told Jade, not looking at Ash. â€Å"But I don't think you'd better bring the cat.† â€Å"The cat goes,† Jade said firmly, getting in. â€Å"OrI don't.† Mary-Lynnette put the car in gear and pulled out. As they came in sight of the small duster of buildings on Main Street, Mark said, â€Å"And there it is, downtown Briar Creek in all its glory. A typical Friday afternoon, with absolutely nobody on the streets.† He didn't say it with his usual bitterness. MaryLynnette glanced at him and saw that it was Jade he was talking to. And Jade was looking around with genuine interest, despite the cat's claws embedded in her neck. â€Å"Somebody'son the streets,† she said cheerfully. â€Å"It's that. boy Vic. And that other one, Todd. And grown-ups.† Mary-Lynnette slowed as she passed the sheriff'soffice but didn't stop until she reached the gas station at the opposite corner. Then she got out and looked casually across the street. Todd Akers was there with his father, the sheriff and Vic Kimble was there with his father. Mr. Kimble had a farm east of town. They were all getting into the sheriff's car, and they all seemed very excited. Bunny Marten was standing on the sidewalk watching as they left. Mary-Lynnette felt a twinge of fear. This is what it's like when you have a terrible secret, she thought. You worry about everything that happens, and wonder if it's got something to do with you, if it's going to get you caught. â€Å"Hey, Bunnyl† she called. â€Å"What's going on?† Bunny looked back. â€Å"Oh, hi, Mare.† She walkedunhurriedly-Bunny never hurried-,acrossthe street. â€Å"How're you doing? They're just going to check out that horse thing.† â€Å"What horse thing?† â€Å"Oh. . .didn't you hear?† Bunny was looking behind Mary-Lynnette now, at Mark and the four strangers who were getting out of the station wagon. Suddenly her blue eyes got rounder and she reached up to fluff her soft blond hair. Now, I wonder who she's just seen, Mary-Lynnettethought ironically. Who could it be? â€Å"Hi† Ash said. â€Å"We didn't hear about the horse thing,† MaryLynnette said, gently prompting. â€Å"Oh†¦ um, one of Mr. Kimble's horses cut his throat on barbed wire last night. That's what everybody was sayingthis morning. But just now Mr.Kimble came into town and said that he didn't think it was barbed wire after all. He thinks †¦ somebody did it on purpose. Slashed its throat and left it todie.† She hunched her shoulders in a tiny shiver.. Theatrically, Mary-Lynnette thought. â€Å"You see?† Jade said. â€Å"That's why I'm keeping my eye on Tiggy.† Mary-Lynnette noticed Bunny eyeing Jade. â€Å"Thanks,Bun.† â€Å"I've got to get back to the store,† Bunny said,but she didn't move. Now she was looking at Kestreland Rowan. â€Å"I'll walk you there,† Ash said gallantly. Withwhat, Mary-Lynnette thought, must be his usual putting-the-moves-on manner. â€Å"After all, we don't know what could be lurking around here.† â€Å"It's broad daylight,† Kestrel said disgustedly, but Ash was already walking Bunny away. MaryLynnette decided she was glad to get rid of him. â€Å"Who was that girl?† Rowan asked, and something in her voice was odd. Mary-Lynnette glanced at her in surprise. â€Å"Bunny Marten. I know her from school.What's wrong?† â€Å"She was staring at us,† Rowan said softly. â€Å"She was staring at Ash. Oh, and probably youthree, too. You're new and you're pretty, so she's probably wondering which boys you'll take fromher.† â€Å"I see.†But Rowan still looked preoccupied. â€Å"Rowan, what is it?† â€Å"It's nothing. I'm sure it's nothing. It's just thatshe's gota lamia name.† † Bunny?† † Well.† Rowan smiled. â€Å"Lamia are traditionallynamed after natural things–gems andanimalsand flowers and trees. So Bunny' would be a lamianame-and isn't a marten a kind of weasel?† Something was tugging at the edges of Mary-Lynnette's consciousness again. Something about Bunny †¦ about Bunny and †¦ wood †¦ It was gone. She couldn't remember. To Rowan she said,†But-can you sense something suspiciousabout her or anything? I mean, does she seemlike one of you? Because otherwise I just can't see Bunny as a vampire. I'm sorry; I just can't.† Rowan smiled. â€Å"No, I don't sense anything. And I'm sure you'reright-humans can have names likeours, too. Sometimes it gets confusing.† For some bizarre reason Mary-Lynnette's mind wasstill on wood. â€Å"You know, I don't see why you name yourselves after trees. I thought wood was dangerous for you.† â€Å"It is-,and that makes it powerful. Tree names are supposed to be some of the most powerful nameswe have.† Ash was coming out of the general store. Immediately Mary-Lynnette turned around and looked for Jeremy. She didn't see him in the empty gas station, butshe heard something-something she realized she'dbeen hearing for several minutes. Hammering. â€Å"Come on, let's go around back,† she said, alreadywalking, not waiting for Ash to reach them. Kestreland Rowan went with her. Jeremy was around back. He was hammering a long board across a broken window. There wereshards of thick, greenish-tinted glass all over the ground. Light brown hair wasfalling in his eyes ashe struggled to hold the board steady. † What happened?† Mary-Lynnettesaid. She moved automatically to hold the right end of the board in place for him. He glanced up at her, making a grimace of reliefas he let go of the board. â€Å"Mary-Lynnette-thanks. Hang on a sec.† He reached into his pocket for nails and began driving them in with quick, sure blows of the hammer. Then he said, â€Å"I don't know what happened.Somebody broke it last night. Made a real mess.† â€Å"Last night seems to have been a busy night,† Kestrel said dryly. Jeremy glanced back at the voice. And then †¦ his hands went still, poised with the hammer and nail. He was looking at Kestrel, and at Rowan beside her,looking a long time. At last he turned to MaryLynnette and said slowly, â€Å"You need more gas already?† â€Å"Oh-no. No.† I should have siphoned some out,Mary-Lynnette thought. Nancy Drew would defi nitely have thought of that. â€Å"I justit's been knocking a lotthe engine-and I thought you could lookat it-under the hood-since you didn't last time.† Incoherent and pathetic, she decided in the silencethat followed. And Jeremy's dear brown eyes were still searching her face. â€Å"Sure, Mary-Lynnette,† he said-not sarcastically, but gently. â€Å"As soon as I get finished.† Oh, hecan't be a vampire. And so what am I doing here, lying to him, suspecting him, when he's only ever been nice to me? He's the type to help old ladies, not kill them. Sssssss. She started as the feral hiss tore through the silence. It came from behind her, and for one horrible instant she thought it was Kestrel. Then she saw thatJade and Mark had rounded the comer, and that Tiggy was fighting like a baby leopard in Jade's arms. The kitten was spitting and clawing, black fur standing on end. Before Jade could get a better grip, he climbed up her shoulder and leaped, hitting the ground running. † Tiggy! â€Å"Jade shrieked. She took off after him, silvery blond hair flying, agile as a kitten herself. Markfollowed, ricocheting off Ash who was just comingaround the comer himself. Ash was knocked into thegas station wall. â€Å"Well, that was fun,† Kestrel said. But Mary-Lynnette wasn't really listening. Jeremywas staring at Ash-and his expression gave Mary Lynnette coldchills. And Ash was staring back with eyes as green as glacier ice. Their gazes were locked in something like instantaneous, instinctive hatred. Mary-Lynnette felt a quiver of fear for Jeremy-but Jeremy didn't seem afraid for himself. His muscles were tight and he looked ready to defend himself. Then, deliberately, he turned away. Turned hisback on Ash. He readjusted the board-and MaryLynnette did what she should have done in the beginning. She looked at his hand. The ring on his index finger glinted gold, and she could just make out the black design on the seal. A tall duster of bell-shaped flowers. Not an iris,not a dahlia, not a rose. No-there was only one flower Rowan had mentioned that this could possiblybe. It grew wild around here and it was deadly poison. Foxglove. So now she knew. Mary-Lynnette felt hot and sick. Her hand began to tremble on the board she was holding. She didn't want to move, but she couldn't stay here. â€Å"I'm sorry-1 have to get something-† The words came out in a painful gasp. She knew everyone wasstaring at her. She didn't care. She let go of the board and almost ran away. She kept going until she was behind the boardedup windows of the Gold Creek Hotel. Then she leaned against the wall and stared at the place where town ended and the wilderness began. Motes of dust danced in the sunlight, bright against a dark background of Douglas fir. I'm so stupid. All the signs were there, right in front of my face. Why didn't I seebefore? I guess because I didn't want to †¦. â€Å"Mary-Lynnette.† Mary-Lynnette turned toward the soft voice. She resisted the impulse to throw herself into Rowan's arms and bawl. â€Å"I'll be okay in just a few minutes. Really. It's just a shock.† â€Å"Mary-Lynnette †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's just-it's just that I've known him so long.It's not easy to picture himyou know. But I guess it just goes to show you. People are never what they seem.† â€Å"Mary-Lynnette-† Rowan stopped and shook her head. â€Å"Just what are you talking about?† â€Å"Him.Jeremy. Of course.† Mary-Lynnette took abreath. The air felt hot and chokingly dusty. â€Å"He did it. He really did it.† â€Å"Why do you think so?† â€Å"Why?Because he's a werewolf. â€Å" There was a pause and Mary-Lynnette suddenly felt embarrassed. She looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot, and then said more quietly,†Isn't he?† Rowan was looking at her curiously. â€Å"How did you know?† â€Å"Well-you said black foxglove is for werewolves. And that's foxglove on his ring. How did you know?† â€Å"I just sensed it. Vampire powers are weaker insunlight, but Jeremy isn't trying to hide anything. He's right out there.† â€Å"He sure is,† Mary-Lynnette said bitterly. ‘ I should have sensed it. I mean †¦ he's the only person in town who was interested in the lunar eclipse. And the way he moves, and his eyes †¦ and he livesat Mad Dog Creek, for God's sake. I mean, that land's been in his family for generations.And' -Mary-Lynnette gave a sudden convulsive sniffle-â€Å"people say they've seen the Sasquatch around there. A big hairy monster, half person and half beast. Now, what does that sound like?† Rowan was standing quietly, her expression grave-but her lips were twitching. Mary-Lynnette's vision blurred and wetness spilled onto her cheeks. â€Å"I'm sorry.† Rowan put a hand on her arm. â€Å"I'mnot laughing.† â€Å"I thought he was a nice guy,† Mary-Lynnettesaid, turning away. â€Å"I still think he is,† Rowan said. â€Å"And actually, really, you know, it means he didn'tdo it.† â€Å"The fact that he's a nice guy?† â€Å"The fact that he's a werewolf.† Mary-Lynnette turned back.† What?† â€Å"You see,† Rowan said, â€Å"werewolves are different. They're not like vampires. They can't drink a little blood from people and then stop without doing anyreal harm. They kill every time they hunt-because they have to eat.†Mary-Lynnette gulped, but Rowanwent on serenely. â€Å"Sometimes they eat the whole animal,but they always eat the internal organs, theheart and liver. They have to do it, the same way that vampires need to drink blood.† â€Å"And that means †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He didn't kill Aunt Opal. Or the goat. They wereboth intact.† Rowan sighed. â€Å"Look. Werewolves and vampires traditionally hate each other. They've been . rivals forever, and lamia think of werewolves as sort of-lower class. But actually a lot of them are gentle.They only hunt to eat.† â€Å"Oh,† Mary-Lynnette said hollowly. Shouldn't shebe happier about this? â€Å"So the guy I thought was nice just has to eat the odd liver occasionally.† â€Å"Mary-Lynnette, you can't blame him. How can I explain? It's like this: Werewolves aren't people whosometimes turn into wolves. They're wolves who sometimes look like people.† â€Å"But they still kill,† Mary-Lynnette said flatly. â€Å"Yes, but onlyanimals.The law is very strict aboutthat. Otherwise humans catch on in no time. Vam pires can disguise their work by making it look like a cut throat, but werewolf kills are unmistakable.† â€Å"Okay. Great.† I should be more enthusiastic, Mary-Lynnette thought. But how could you ever re ally trust someone who was a wolf behind their eyes? You might admire them the way you admire a sleek and handsome predator, but trust them †¦no. â€Å"Before we go back-we may have a problem,†Rowan said. â€Å"If he realizes that you recognized his ring, he may know we've told you about you know.† She glanced around and lowered her voice. â€Å"The Night World.† Mary-Lynnette understood. â€Å"Oh, God.† â€Å"Yes. That means it's his duty to turn us all in. Or kill us himself.† â€Å"Oh, God† â€Å"The thing is, I don't think he will. He likes you, Mary-Lynnette. A lot. I don't think he could bring himself to turn you in.† Mary-Lynnette felt herself flushing. â€Å"But then, that would get him in trouble, too, wouldn't it?† â€Å"It could, if anybody ever finds out. We'd better go back and see what's going on. Maybe he doesn't realize you know. Maybe Kestrel and Ash have managed tobluff him.†