Saturday, October 12, 2019

Types of Cancer and the Impact Upon the Patient and Family Members Essa

Abstract This paper is about cancer and the devastating impact it has on, not only the patient but the family members as well. How it forms, takes shape, what the symptoms are, how to diagnose the illness, and how to treat it as well as live and everyday life with this form of disease. Also how you can prevent it. What steps you can take to make sure you don’t get it. I will also explain on how to look for signs of what types of cancers you might get. Tell you, how often you should get screenings. I will also tell you who is at risk for getting cancer. Just how many people have cancer right now, how many are expected to get it? I will also tell you how many people are expected to die from this disease. I will discuss how there are many different types of cancer. I will also tell you about the stages, symptoms and if it can be cured or be fatal. Finally I have to tell you about the costs of fighting cancer, plus how much of a toll it takes not only on the patient but the family members as well. With cancer it can take not only a physical but emotional toll on everyone involved. Not to mention, all the money and time that is involved in fighting to win the battle. (Ahmedin, 2009). Most people do not discover they have cancer till it is too late. One can hope and pray that they will never contract this disease. Some of it is hereditary and runs in the family. Cancer sometimes is passed down through the generations. Cancer can also skip a generation. Cancer can lay dormant in your body for years and never show signs it is there. The best way to avoid cancer is to eat healthy, exercise, don’t smoke. (Ahmedin, 2009). Cancer and the Devastating Affects On Family Members & Types Cancer is a group of growths and abnormal c... ...on and Cancer; The Currant Epidemiological Evidence. Electronic Journal Center. (Vol.96, Issue S1, 42-45). Khatcheressian, J.L. (2006). American Society Of Clinical Oncology. Breast Cancer Follow Up. (Nov. 2006, (31), 5091-5097). Kristal, Alan R. (2004). Vitamin A, Retinoid and Caroteniods as Chemopreventive Agents For Prostate Cancer. The Journal Of Urology. (Vol.171, Issue 2, Supplement 554-558). Mysliwiec, P.A. (2006). Malignancies Following Cancer of the Colon. Malignancies Among Cancer Survivors. (NIH Publ. No. 05-5302). Schairer, Catherine. (2006). Family History of Breast Cancer as a Risk Factor for Ovarian Cancer in prospective Study. Breast Cancer. Electronic Journal. (Vol. 107, Issue 5, 1075- 1083). Siegfried, Jill M. (2001). Woman and Lung Cancer. Does Estrogen Play a Role. Lancet Oncology, Electronic Journal Center. (Vol. 2, Issue 8, 506-513).

Friday, October 11, 2019

Bp’s Ethical Culture Essay

We will go through the BP business context and culture, safety aspect, organization capability, responsiveness and risk assessment aspects of their ethical culture, result from the management and caused the disaster. BP Business Context and ethical culture: From the BP management employer aspects, they are not follow some mechanical level, safety procedure over and ignored which required by Act (e.g. Clean Air Act) over 8 year for their production. At the end the huge explosion occurred in March 2005. Because of the hydrocarbon liquid leakage and vapor, the ignition explosion result of the accident. They failed to give the safeguards protection tools to protect employees, this accident killing employees and injured people in Texas oil refinery. And the other issue of the Alaskan oil pipelines leaked; their culture also reflect the safety negligence in their operation and management. Not check the pipelines by routine maintenance. BP management did not doing any corrective action on the contract worker discovered the first pipeline leak in March of 2006, (e.g. whole stop the pipelines operation for checking details), still waiting the leakage happen on August 2006. And in October 2007 another spill in Prudhoe Bay, once again showing that BP was ignored the maintenance equipment and the safety level of the production. In 2010, violations again at BP facilities (at Ohio factory), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that workers might be exposed to injury or death should explosive or flammable chemicals be released at an Ohio factory. The BP working environment have the characteristic that is resistance to change, lack of trust and motivation; unclear expectations about supervisory and management behaviors, led to rules not being followed consistently and no initiating improvements. Management did not set or consistently reinforce process safety, operations performance and systematic to reduce the risk. e.g. neglected the safety protection tools. (Reference 01) Organizational Capability: poor management and communication in the complex organization, high turnover of refinery plant managers which will affect their consistency of responsibilities. Inability to see the risk, poor level of hazard awareness and process safety knowledge, e.g. the temporary worker doing wrong on the hydrocarbons to atmosphere with unclear control in the high risk and safety industry practice. Lack of early warning system in the refinery plant; e.g. poor communication, poor performance-management process and deteriorating the work standards. Means that BP allows the defective process in their production refinery and pipelines channel. Even though the project was carried out before the extensive research to identify any potential environment risks of the pipelines stretched to their network From the BP investor aspects, even a huge amount of fines, criminal penalties were paid again. They just only concern the profit rather then the employees, environment, base on their short term focus with high level oversight on prevention or improvement and safety management. Even the production was shut down a month for repairing; they just focus on resume the production which means profit as a priority. From the interest group, e.g. National Fish and Wildlife, the state law and act. BP was neglected their monitoring role, just paid the fund or fines to be a remedy, but still running at their loosen management culture. From the BP employees aspects, insider trading and fraud document (mail fraud and wire fraud), and reward from the manipulate the propane market at a high prices Integrity of the BP management, also lack of monitor and alert of the internal control. As the National oil company, the management let company making loss on violate Act, not setting a well control system for employees for prevention. These parts clearly showing the history of disregarding the well-being of stakeholders not follow the law and high level operation and maintenance level of BP. Different refinery plane have their own safety management system, and they did not share their best practice with others. So doing the same work but running at different safety system level. And as the employees of BP, from the result of the explosion, oil leakage and fraud issue all of them are affecting their society and economic damage. They know and maintain these BP culture but they do not concern until the accident or issue occurred. From these aspects of the BP ethical culture, and still no solid continues improvement, then it was caused the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster. At the beginning, BP tried to shift their responsiveness to the contractor Transocean, Ltd., loosen and negligence management style (know but not concern style), lying on the accident real situation to public. And delay the recovery work which subject to their management decision and style.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Professional Development Plan Essay

Introduction The Professional Development Plan (PDP) is a structured process made by an individual to reflect on their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan their personal, educational and career development. PDP complies a range of procedures, such as planning, doing, recording, and reflection. (The Higher Education Academy 2012) The objective of this PDP is to help improve existing skills or to develop new ones. In order to do so, a self-assessment, SWOT analysis, SMART and Belbin’s self-perception inventory will be completed, to acknowledge strengths and weaknesses. Section 1: Professional Development Plan For this PDP three distinct goals will be developed. * Individual Goal – Time Management and Personal Organisation * Group Working Goal – Searching databases * Academic Goal – Listen, read and take notes To help set the goals, three goals worksheets were completed and the SMART diagnosis was applied (See Appendix 1 and 2). SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. (Scanlon 2011) Time Management and Personal Organisation This goal was chosen as the individual goal because managing time and being organised was always a struggle, and therefore for several times in numerous occasions the effect was unpleasant. By being able to manage time and being more organised, opportunities will rise to have a more effective performance in personal, academic and professional life. This weakness was noted through the self-assessment comprised by a friend, a colleague and myself (See Appendix 3). This skill was not developed sooner out of pure laziness and lack of motivation. To achieve this goal I will do weekly schedules to see what was done during the week and check if certain activities were accomplished (See Appendix 4). This goal is set to be developed until 11th March 2012. Searching Databases This goal was chosen as the group working goal because searching databases was always a difficult task, either it was for personal, academic or work related purposes. Whenever there are group works, this task is always passed on to other members, which made my ability to improve less feasible. This weakness was noted through the Belbin Test (See Appendix 5). This skill was not developed until now because there was lack of knowledge of databases resources. To achieve this goal I will carry on a research about Miss Universe, looking for information in all resources I can find (See appendix 6). As there were no relevant books on the subject, I had to confine the search to the Internet. This goal is set to be developed until 12th March 2012. Listen, Read and Take Notes This goal was chosen as the academic goal because as English is not my first language, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with lectures and at the same time take notes, as well as it is difficult to read, comprehend in just one go, and take notes. By developing this skill, when preparing for exams, being in lectures, workshops and work meetings, listening, reading and taking notes, will become simple, efficient, quick and easy. This weakness was noted while in class, at home and at work, and later on identified in SWOT analysis and also through the self-assessment comprised by a friend, a colleague and myself (See Appendix 3 and 7). The SWOT analysis is a notably useful tool to identify and analyse opportunities for development and related barriers and challenges. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Being Strengths and Weaknesses internal factors and Opportunities and Threats external factors. (Scanlon 2011) To achieve this goal I will take notes from lectures and from a few pages of one of the recommended books for this unit (See Appendix 8). This goal is set to be developed until 12th March 2012. Section 2: Progress Review Time Management and Personal Organisation For this goal I did weekly sheets to see my development. I did the first weekly sheet in 19th December 2011. As I was not working at the moment my only responsibility was University, and seems like the less responsibility one has, the less he/she does. That is exactly what was happening. I was spending most of my days watching television and/or watching series online, or simply just spending days sleeping. I had my mother and a friend over for Christmas and New Year. With their presence here, I felt like doing even less, because all I wanted was to spend time with them or go out and show them Manchester. So basically all the activities I was always planning to do, I ended up not doing them. I knew I had an exam in early January, and yet I did not study until the week before the exam. I managed to pass the exam with a low pass, 44%, but I know I could have done much better if only I dedicated myself to study longer and in advance. So after this happened I realized it was time for me to stop being lazy and change my attitude towards the use of my time. I started watching less television and less series online. I started reading a novel ‘The Lucky One’, I started getting more worried with the planning of my PDP, I joined the gym and I was more focused in finding a job. For a while it was difficult having so many activities after not having basically none. I started going to the gym more often, like twice or three times a week. I started going to Church also; I did not go in a long time. I was more focused in classroom, and I understood more of the topics in study. I was feeling more motivated, less lazy, and I was managing my time very well. I was more organized with my studies, and personal life. I kept a diary so I would know what I did and what I needed to do. So in the end, I think the development of this goal helped me a lot, it improved my attendance in University, and also my productivity at home. Searching Databases For this goal I did a research on Miss Universe. Their history, how it started, who invented it, what is its purpose, previous contestants, the actual Miss Universe Leila Lopes, that is Miss Angola, from my birth country. I have to admit I chose this as my research topic because of how proud I am of her. She is a beautiful woman, and gave her best and deserved to won. As I was doing the research on the subject, I realized I did not choose the best topic to do a research, because I could only find information on the Internet. There are no relevant books on this subject, and even the news I found, were on online newspapers. But as I did not have more time to think of a new topic, and start doing a new research, because I still had my last goal to develop, I had to keep up with lectures of both units, and look for a job, I just kept this topic. I do not think I had great improvements with this goal, and it was mainly because of my topic of research choice. I could not explore others sources, and that confined me to the Internet, which has a wide range of irrelevant information. So this is one goal I will keep on developing because it is really necessary for the years ahead. Listen, Read and Take Notes For this goal I gathered as evidence all the notes I have from lectures I attended, and notes I made from a few pages of one of the recommended books: ‘Organizational Behaviour’ by Buchanan and Huczynski (2010). It was hard in the beginning because I did not know where to begin. I was trying to be more focus in class, by not having my phone close, and not talking with colleagues unnecessarily. As we only have 2 classes per week, it was hard to develop this skill, so I decided that notes from the lectures alone would not be enough. I started to do notes from the book referred above. And after a while I was feeling more confident, my notes were becoming good. I would write more in the lecture notes, instead of just listening and getting home, and not knowing what were the main points of that topic. I will still keep on developing this skill because it is non-stop, I know I am still far from excellent, but it was good to give it a go, and actually see some changes even though they are little. Goal Setting and S.M.A.R.T goals Specific – What (goal), why (reasons), which (constraints) etc.? Clearly stated outcome you wish to achieve. Measurable – Can progress be assessed? A goal that you can evidence, i.e., demonstrate its achievement in way and can show progress. Attainable – Can the goal be accomplished? The goal should not be too high or low. Goals that are set too high or too low become meaningless. It should stretch you a bit, without being too extreme. Realistic – Is the goal worthwhile? Make sure goal can be achieved within the framework of your life before the submission date, not as you would hope or would like it to be. You have to be willing and able to work on the goal. Time-bound – What is your target completion date? Make sure goal that you set for yourself can be achieved within the timeframe and before the submission deadline of 14 March 2012. You must have start and endpoints.

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 25

I'd sworn I'd never go back into my bedroom, but just then, I needed my bed. I spent the rest of the day in it, curled up in the proverbial fetal position. Much like when I'd made Seth leave, I didn't feel anything. I was dead inside. There was nothing left, nothing in my life, nothing to keep me going. Some wise part of my brain said I should cry. I knew there was grief inside of me, grief that would eventually explode. But I was blocking it for now, afraid to acknowledge that all of this was real or face the consequences. This, I realized, was why Yasmine had screamed. It was a terrible thing to be cut off from something you loved so much. To be cut off from the thing that gave your existence meaning. Hours passed, and light and shadows moved across my bedroom as the sun began its descent. My room grew dark, but I didn't bother flipping on the lights. I didn't have the energy or motivation. I don't know how much time passed before I heard the knock. At first, I wasn't even sure that's what it was. Then, it sounded again – definitely someone knocking on my front door. I stayed in bed, not wanting to see or talk to anyone. What if it's Seth? Some small part of me clung to that hope, that maybe he'd changed his mind. The rest of me didn't believe it. I'd seen the look in his eyes. The resolve. He wasn't coming back. And if he wasn't coming back, then there was no point in being social. My visitor knocked a third time, louder still. Beside me, Aubrey turned her head toward the living room, then toward me, no doubt wondering why I wouldn't put a stop to the noise. With a sigh, I crawled out of bed and stalked toward the front of the apartment. Half-way there, I stopped. It wasn't Seth. â€Å"Georgina!† wailed a twangy soprano voice. â€Å"I know you're in there. I can sense you.† I'd sensed Tawny too, of course, which is why I'd stopped walking. I sighed again, wondering if it would be possible to ignore her. Probably not. Even if I didn't answer, she'd probably stand out there all day, now that she knew I was here. I opened the door, expecting to be barreled into with tears and fanfare. Instead, I found Tawny standing calmly outside my door, hesitant to enter. Her eyes were wet after all, but she seemed to be trying very hard to rein herself in. The trembling of her lip suggested that wasn't going to be easy. And she had a glow. â€Å"C-can I come in?† she asked. I stepped to the side and waved her in. â€Å"You want me to take you out for a drink to celebrate your conquest?† That was it. She lost it. Sobbing into her hands, she sank down on to my loveseat. Still numbed from the Seth fallout, I had no mental energy to deal with this. Not enough energy to hate her, not enough energy to pity her. I was living apathy. â€Å"Tawny, I – â€Å" â€Å"I'm sorry!† she interrupted. â€Å"I'm so, so sorry. I didn't want to. I didn't want to do it. But he told me if I did that it'd pay off for both of us, that he'd pull strings to get me faster advancement and that I'd – â€Å" â€Å"Whoa, hang on,† I said. â€Å"Who's ‘he'? Niphon?† She nodded and produced a pack of tissues from her purse. At least she traveled prepared now. She blew her nose loudly before going on. â€Å"He told me to fake it – fake being bad. I mean†¦well, actually, I am kind of bad. Okay, a lot bad. I can't flirt like you. And I really can't dance.† She paused a moment, as though this caused her particular pain. â€Å"But you were right in saying it was impossible for me to not get sex from someone. I did. I just lied and said I couldn't.† It was just as I'd suspected for a while now, but hearing her confirm it didn't really cheer me up. It was yet another reminder of all the miserable things in my life these last couple of weeks. Staring at her, I still couldn't bring myself to feel angry at her. Partially because I was still drained of feeling and partially because it just wasn't worth it. Niphon had used her to play me, but he'd played her too. â€Å"You're a good liar,† I told her finally. â€Å"I could never be sure if you were telling the truth or not – but you seemed to be. I'm usually good at reading people.† Tawny smiled, just a little, with something almost like pride. â€Å"I hustled people a lot when I was mortal. Worked some con jobs.† The smile disappeared. â€Å"Until that asshole dumped me for a cheap blond whore. She had no idea what she was doing, but did he care? No. Dick. He's sorry now. They both are.† I blinked. I hadn't expected to hear that. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear that. Suddenly, Tawny's initial desire to make men everywhere suffer made a lot more sense – as did the reason she might have sold her soul in the first place. I hoped her current appearance wasn't some weird bastardization of the cheap blond whore. Because that would just be kind of creepy. â€Å"Well, um, I'm†¦sure they are. And you know, the skills you need to hustle and con aren't that different from seduction.† Maybe it was the moving and talking, but as I sat there, my sluggish brain began to stir to life and analyze the situation. â€Å"Tawny, why are you telling me this? If you're working for Niphon, he's probably not going to appreciate you blowing his cover.† â€Å"You're right. He doesn't know I'm here. But†¦but I was afraid. I know it'll all come out if you tell, and I don't want to go down with him! I thought if I came and talked to you and told you what happened that maybe†¦maybe you could forgive me. I'm starting to like it here. I don't want to leave. And if they punish him, they'll punish me too and – â€Å" â€Å"Wait, wait. Stop again. Punish him for what? For getting you to lie?† I frowned. â€Å"And what is it I'm going to tell?† Tawny was so surprised that she forgot to sniffle. â€Å"About her.† â€Å"Her?† â€Å"That – that hag. The one who came into my dreams†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Nyx? Oh. That really is how you hid your glow. Hugh was right.† â€Å"I hated it,† said Tawny vehemently. â€Å"Every time he made me go to her so she could suck me out. And then I'd have such weird dreams.† Think, Georgina, think! It was all coming together here if I could just put my own romantic disaster off to the side of my mind for a moment. â€Å"You†¦went to Nyx willingly? To have your energy sucked out so I wouldn't find out that you were lying?† Tawny nodded. My brain hurt. â€Å"And he – Niphon – made you, and – † I stopped. â€Å"Niphon knew about Nyx. You both did. And how to find her.† â€Å"He's the one who got her to come here when she escaped. Promised her two succubi,† sniffed Tawny. She gave me a puzzled look. â€Å"I thought†¦I thought you knew all that? I heard you were there when they captured her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tawny looked a little nervous, like she was wondering if maybe she'd done the wrong thing in betraying Niphon. As for me, I was suddenly reliving the battle back in my bedroom and Nyx's offer to help me get revenge on the one who'd sent her after me†¦. Niphon. â€Å"Niphon?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Niphon sent a crazy chaos goddess after me? Why? Why does he hate me that much?† Tawny's eyes went wide, no doubt surprised at my sudden outburst. â€Å"I†¦I don't know. He just said that he wanted to make things difficult for you. Screw up your life. Maybe get you sent away.† Hugh's words came back to me. All I know is that when an imp shows up and is going to this much trouble over something, the evidence suggests it's big. My heart raced, and I grabbed hold of her hand. â€Å"Tawny. Did he ever say anything about my contract? Any contract at all?† She shook her head frantically, tousling her blond curls even more than they already were. â€Å"No, not while I was around.† â€Å"Are you sure? Think! Think of anything, anything at all he might have said to explain why he did what he did.† â€Å"No, nothing!† She broke her hand away. â€Å"I'm telling you the truth this time. He just made it sound as though†¦well, like he didn't like you. He wanted you to be unhappy. Suffer. I don't know.† Niphon. So many things could be laid at his feet. According to Tawny, he'd used her to make me look like a bad mentor (which I was, kind of) and possibly get sent away. The imp had also talked to Seth about selling his soul – despite my warnings. Seth's decision to leave me had been his own, true. But, I realized, Niphon had played a role in getting Seth to think about such things. The distraction Nyx had caused – which apparently Niphon had brought about too – had cut me off from spending time with Seth. Realizing how close he'd been to selling his soul had driven Seth away. The fear of how that would affect him and me both had been too strong – strong enough that he chose to walk away from me. â€Å"Georgina?† I made a decision then. It wasn't going to change what had happened with Seth and me, but it was going to make me feel better. â€Å"Georgina?† repeated Tawny, peering at me. â€Å"Are you okay? You aren't going to get me sent away, are you? Georgina?† I rose from my chair, surprised at how my muscles had become kinked. No longer wanting to be dressed up, I shape-shifted out of the dress and into jeans and an empire cut sweater. Black. Like my mood. I glanced over at Tawny. â€Å"You want to go to a party with me?† I drove us over to Peter and Cody's, where the â€Å"evil† holiday party was taking place. I barely noticed that it was raining again. I walked up the building's stairs like one going to her own funeral, grim and purposeful – and with enough speed that Tawny had to scurry to keep up in her stilettos. When I felt the immortal signatures within the apartment, smug relief flooded me upon discovering Niphon was still there. Peter opened the door before I finished knocking. He wore a red sweater with an appliqu? ¦ Santa on it. It matched his tree, of course. â€Å"Look at this,† he said sarcastically. â€Å"She deigns to show up and join us lowly – â€Å" I strode past him without a word. He gaped. Moving through the room, I was vaguely aware of the others there. Jerome. Cody. Hugh. But I didn't want any of them. Niphon, standing with a glass of wine, regarded me with curious amusement as I headed straight for him. Considering I usually avoided him if it all possible, my approach undoubtedly astonished him. But not as much as when I punched him. I didn't even need to shape-shift much bulk into my fist. I'd caught him by surprise. The wineglass fell out of his hand, hitting the carpet and spilling its contents like blood. The imp flew backward, hitting Peter's china cabinet with a crash. Niphon slumped to the floor, eyes wide with shock. I kept coming. Kneeling, I grabbed his designer shirt and jerked him toward me. â€Å"Stay the fuck out of my life, or I will destroy you,† I hissed. Terror filled his features. â€Å"Are you out of your fucking mind? What do you – † Suddenly, the fear disappeared. He started laughing. â€Å"He did it, didn't he? He broke up with you. I didn't know if he could do it, even after giving him the spiel about how it'd be better for both of you. Oh my. This is lovely. All your so-called charms weren't enough to – ahh!† I'd pulled him closer to me, digging my nails into him, and finally, I felt an emotion. Fury. Niphon's role had been greater than I believed. My face was mere inches from his. â€Å"Remember when you said I was nothing but a backwoods girl from some gritty fishing village? You were right. And I had to survive in gritty circumstances – in situations you'd never be able to handle. And you know what else? I spent most of my childhood gutting fish and other animals.† I ran a finger down his neck. â€Å"I can do it for you too. I could slit you from throat to stomach. I could rip you open, and you'd scream for death. You'd wish you weren't immortal. And I could do it over and over again.† That wiped the smirk off Niphon's face. Behind me, the rest of the room had come to life. â€Å"For fuck's sake,† yelled Jerome. â€Å"Get her off him.† Strong hands pulled me back, Cody and Hugh each grabbing one of my arms. I fought against them, struggling to get back to a cringing Niphon. My friends were too strong. I couldn't break free and didn't have the life left to shape-shift added bulk. â€Å"Get rid of him, Jerome!† I yelled. â€Å"Get rid of him, or I swear to God, I really will rip him apart. He set me up to fail with Tawny. He brought Nyx here, for fuck's sake! Get rid of him!† I saw my boss's face. He didn't like being yelled at or ordered around – particularly in front of others. His face was hard and angry. I could tell he was about to tell me to shut up, and then something in his expression shifted. He turned his attention back to Niphon. â€Å"Get out,† the demon said. Niphon stared open-mouthed. Very fishlike, actually. â€Å"Jerome! You can't just – â€Å" â€Å"Get out. I know what you were trying to do, but you shouldn't have done it behind my back. Go back to your hotel, and be out of town by tomorrow.† Niphon still wanted to protest. But then, he looked at Jerome, looked at me, and then looked at Jerome again. Swallowing, the imp scrambled to his feet and grabbed a briefcase sitting on the couch. With one more glance back at me, he ran out the door. Jerome's gaze fell on Tawny, who was pressing herself against the wall in a futile effort to disappear. â€Å"It's not her fault,† I said quickly. â€Å"Don't punish her.† Jerome studied her a few more moments before sighing impatiently. â€Å"Later. I'll deal with you later.† I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but the fact that he hadn't smote her on the spot was a positive sign. Judging from the grateful look on her face, she agreed. Cody and Hugh still had a death grip on me, but after several moments, they released me. I sagged with exhaustion, surprised to see I was breathing heavily. Tension filled the room. Finally, Cody said, â€Å"Where did you learn to throw a right hook?† â€Å"You don't live through the Dark Ages without learning stuff like that,† mused Peter. He glanced at the spilled wine and sighed. â€Å"Club soda's not going to get that out.† â€Å"Georgie,† said Jerome in a rumbling voice. â€Å"Do not ever speak to me like that.† I steadied my breathing and swallowed back the bloodlust coursing through me. I met Jerome's dark eyes defiantly. â€Å"Noted,† I said. Then, unable to handle my friends' looks of both astonishment and concern, I ran out of the apartment. I made it down one flight of stairs before collapsing and sitting on the landing. I buried my face in my hands and started sobbing. The grief had finally won. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Hugh sat down beside me and put his arms around me. I pressed my face to his chest and kept crying. â€Å"You'll get over this,† he said quietly. â€Å"No. I will never get over this. I'm alone. I wish I was dead.† â€Å"No, you don't. You're too wonderful and have too many people who love you.† I lifted my head and looked at him. I'd never seen his face so compassionate, so serious – except when he'd yelled at Seth during poker. I sniffed and ran a hand over my wet eyes. â€Å"We broke up. This is what you wanted. You didn't want me and Seth to be together.† Hugh shook his head. â€Å"I like Seth. I want you to be happy. If you could be together without all the heartache, I'd send you on with my blessing. But I don't think that's possible. I think this is best.† â€Å"You told him the only way I'd let him go is if he hurt me, if he was an asshole. Do you think that's why he did it? Slept with Maddie? Because only something drastic would drive me away?† Hugh looked surprised at the reference to Maddie. â€Å"I don't know, sweetie. I don't know what he was thinking.† Sighing, I leaned back into him. â€Å"I will never get over this.† â€Å"You will.† â€Å"It's going to take a lot of time.† â€Å"Well, you have a lot of time.†

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Assessment of The Economic Climate in Britain, Pertaining to Starting Essay

Assessment of The Economic Climate in Britain, Pertaining to Starting up a New Business - Essay Example ntinue pumping money in economic condition, the year (2012) closing with triple dip recession alarm with industrial production dropped by 9.8% as compared to 2011 and highest decline in 20 years (Elliot, 2012), results in imposing negative pressure on the business start ups as it seems difficult to reap considerable profits in this economic condition. On the other hand the positive signals such as growth forecast to remain 0.9% in contrast to -0.1% in 2012 and the UK job hiring pick-up (Murray, 2013), encourage the entrepreneurs to establish their own business set up as there are growth chances. Year 2013 gives mixed signals of growth such as reports of further decline in industrial production in 2013 while on the other hand, February 2013 reported permanent job hiring increased for four consecutive months in January 2013’ anticipating growth of almost 0.7% for 2013 (Murray, 2013). The decrease in the industrial production impose risk on the start up of a new venture as it ref lects decrease in the supply of products and hence increase in inflation. On the other hand the growth in the employment rate is beneficial for the start up businesses as it signals more consumption on the part of the individuals. Mixed signals despite consistent efforts traces trend mainly from triple dip recession due to deepened Euro-Zone crises and increased inflation curtailing consumer demand (Elliot, 2012). Ranking of UK on Doing Business chart developed by World Bank has improved from 8th positions in 2012 to 7th position in 2013 (World Bank, 2013; Schwab, 2012). This improvement is based on the factors assessing ease of doing business; therefore, self refers that ease has been increased in order to encourage investors to initiate business and gear up economic activity. Moreover, these... This essay aims to identify the impact of economic risks on the state of business environment of UK. It is being considered in the essay, that doing business in UK carry greater risk than ever. Despite consistent efforts the weak performance of UK economy is still creating greater uncertainty for the people who are interested in starting their own business venture. For instance, negative signals such as UK to borrow much higher in 2012-13 as compared to previous year with almost public sector job cuts reaching 1.2 million and further 2.7 million by 2018 Still, The UK conditions where unemployment has not been as high as expected, austerity plans of government stuck and jobs being created (though in slow pace) are all dampening recovery of economy as well as local demand. Conversely the stimulus is positive from external demand. Increase in the local and external demand results in providing the new start up businesses with better operating environment leading to rise in the overall profits and returns. Therefore, it can be stated the conditions to do business are much better for concerns intend to capitalise on this increasing demand. Ranking of UK on Doing Business chart developed by World Bank has improved from 8 positions in 2012 to 7 position in 2013. This improvement is based on the factors assessing ease of doing business. The ease has been increased in order to encourage investors to initiate business and gear up economic activity. Moreover, these positive factors are also reflecting acceptance in the financial market.

Monday, October 7, 2019

Race & Ethnicity Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Race & Ethnicity Relations - Essay Example THE APARTHEID South Africa has been marked with 350 years of colonialism and apartheid movement which has ingrained the superiority of fair skin, narrow features and straight hair in the minds of the locals (Manning, 2004). At the same time, have a broad nose or curly hair or even black skin is associated with ugliness. The local Zulu or SeSotho language has been abandoned in favor of English which sounds classier and associated with being civilized and educated (Manning, 2004). This, combined with a preference for music that is classic European as opposed to the ‘noisy’ African â€Å"marabi† or tap dance have resulted in the belief that it is more worthy to live the life of a â€Å"white† as opposed to a â€Å"black† in Africa (Manning, 2004). It is not uncommon to associate Africans as laborers who live in shanty, overcrowded towns and are uncivilized whereas Westerners are associated as being smart, working in white-collar jobs and being more educ ated. This racial stereotyping has resulted in the birth of a false ideology that the white skin is superior which is manifested in the mindset of both the white and black South-Africans. The above has its roots in the Apartheid movement which resulted in the geographic separation of humans defined through decree. It was a gradual and procedural process of systemically categorizing humans based on race. Although history has defined the start (1948) and the end (1994) of this policy, it cannot be classified as a one-off event since its ideology was borrowed from the subtle yet dominant arbitrary categorization of South Africans during the colonial era of British rule (Franchi, 2003). These colonialists had already constructed the racial difference by â€Å"Europeans† were distinguished from â€Å"coloreds† or the native Africans. Henceforth, an act was passed which divided the population into four categories namely the White, Colored (those belonging to mixed races), Ba ntu (native Black Africans) and Asians (that included people from the subcontinent as well as China) (Franchi, 2003). This, however, was later followed by a more severe legal implementation of the actual â€Å"Apartheid† policy that exacerbated the exploitation and de-humanization of the local indigenous majority at the hands of the White colonist minority. Social privilege was granted to the South Africans that were â€Å"white-skinned† such that they monopolized political authority to continue to enjoy this supremacy. This policy encompassed all spheres of life including political, social and economic aspects that progressively deprived the Black South-Africans of their dwellings, nationality and civil liberties. Laws were passed in this regard from 1948 to 1958 that prohibited the sharing of land, education, labor, marriage, sexual relations and social services between the native Black South Africans and their White counterparts (Franchi, 2003). Black South Africans were required by law to bear â€Å"pass-books† that contained their work and home address (Franchi, 2003). Indigenous South Africans who failed to produce necessary documents upon spot checks were later subjected to brutal treatment and expelled to their demarcated regions (Franchi, 2003). What had begun as a political oppression had now traumatized the lives of the indigenous blacks of South Africa. This psychological imprint remains fresh in the minds of many such natives to date. However, this was not all.

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Perspectives on People at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Perspectives on People at Work - Essay Example They make possible the application of the process of management and create a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organisation can be planned, organised, directed and controlled. In this case, the personality of a manager and his own individual differences determine the style of management and have a great impact on the staff. Without the direct participation and support of a manager, this power cannot be pushed to its full potential. Successful management require many of the characteristics common to all managers, but also requires special abilities to manage any organization in today's rapidly changing environment. The concerts of perception, individuality and attitudes play the most important role here. The impact of individual differences on the staff is important, because managers are judged not just on their own performance but on the results achieved by subordinate staff. There are many ways of looking at the meaning and role of individuality. It should be mentioned that for many oganisations, individuality of the manager and his personal skills as a leader is the main criteria in recruiting. For some corporations, individuality is the major criteria for further promotion. The personal qualities of managers are identified as an essential part of the process of management and require that proper attention be given to the personnel function. The effectiveness of any team or staff is dependent upon the efficient use of their skills and knowledge. In this case, the human element plays a major part in the overall success of the organization (Robbins, 2004). Proper attention to the personnel function of a manager helps to improve the efficiency of the labour force and the level of organisational performance in general. The influence of the manager's individual differences can be explained by the fact that the manager is an example for his subordinates. The manager is a leader who has a great influence on employees through his image, personal values and ability to motivate people. Good communication skills of the manager will result in an open and friendly atmosphere in the organization. If the manager has a reserved character, the staff relations will be restraint and emotionally limited. The staff can exercise self-direction and control to achieve objectives to which they are committed, if they are persuaded by the manager. The practical manager can be helped by analysing various approaches to leadership styles, but he must come to his own conclusions and adapt to the actual situation. Under proper conditions people can learn to accept and seek responsibility to follow his style of management and personal characteristics. The impact of manager's differences is closely connected with the process of perception. The concept of perception means that people select from the environment around them the information they need the most. The process of perception includes comprehension of sounds, shapes, smells, colours, pain, movement, taste, touch, pressures and feelings. And the most important, the process of perception determines individual behavioural responses to particular situations (Schuler, 1998). From the psychological point of view, perception is explained by the fact that people are not able to respond to everything around them, and they subconsciously select the information. The process of perception is important for a manager, because he has individual differences perceiving other people, and employees perceive him