An Overview of the Works of John Pierpont Morgan

John Pierpont Morgan (1837 – 1931) is one of the more controversial figures in the history of America and the world of finance. Described as a sui generis, a colossus (McCallum, p. 2), â€Å"the organizer† (Miller, 2003), â€Å"banker of last resort† (Andrews, 1999), and â€Å"the man of the hour† (Corey, p. 348), John Pierpont Morgan has also been called a â€Å"robber baron† (Andrews, 1999). Thus, it is evident that J. P. Morgan was a man who was as much praised for his actions in saving the American economy during the 1895 and 1907 crises, as he was criticized and derided for what was seen as his calculated control of the financial world and American business. Viewed from the lens of financial history, however, there can be little doubt that no person, either before or since, has left â€Å"upon the great art of money getting so important an influence.† (Flynn, p. 452) Indeed, Morgan†s acumen in finance and business is clearly illustrated by the fact that the U.S. government had to set up a whole array of government institutions, from the Federal Reserve to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Transportation, to carry out the market stabilizing functions that Morgan had once assumed (Andrews, 1999). But perhaps, the biggest testimony to Morgan†s financial astuteness and power lies in the role he assumed as defacto central banker in 1907. For, there can be little doubt that J. P. Morgan single-handedly rescued the American economic system from falling into disarray. The key to understanding how one man could possibly act as the defacto central banker for as democratic, large and influential a country like the United States, lies in not so much analyzing the actual event, but in J. P. Morgan†s personal history. For, only such an approach could possible explain how he possessed the financial power to avert the collapse of one of the richest banking systems in the world. John Pierpont Morgan was born in Hartford, Connecticut on April 17, 1837. The son of a rich commodity broker, Morgan was exposed to the world of finance and business from an early age (1000 Management Giants, 1999). Interestingly, call it sheer coincidence or the hand of destiny, the day of Morgan†s birth saw all the banks in New York suspending specie (currency) payment, with banks in Hartford following suit the next day. Thus, as Flynn (p. 462) points out, the future money king came into the world amid the din of crashing banks. Environmental influences may have played a role in instilling in the young Morgan an early interest in business. However, it appears that Morgan also had a natural interest in and gift for figures. For, even as a child, he is reputed to have kept a meticulous account detailing the receipt and expenditure of his allowance (1000 Management Giants, 1999). Further, this early interest was no fluke since he repeatedly proved his prowess with figures in both school and college. So much so, that his high school teacher is reported to have called him a prodigy after witnessing Morgan†s ability to mentally solve problems in cubic root and decimals. But perhaps the greater compliment to Morgan†s mathematical ability came when the University of Gottingen offered the graduate student Morgan, a professor†s chair in mathematics (Flynn, p. 454, 464). Fortunately for the business world, and unfortunately for the mathematical one, Morgan refused. Morgan entered the business of finance in 1857 as an accountant in the New York based Duncan, Sherman and Company. Morgan†s first job, as well as the work he did with his father†s international firm, gave him a unique perspective on specie standardization necessity for credit and commerce (obits.com). It is also interesting to note that Morgan began his career in a year of panic, just as he began his life amidst the din of crashing banks. But, perhaps this was a fortuitous start since, as Geisst (p. 89) observes, the panic of 1857 proved to be a fertile training ground for many future financiers. In Morgan†s case, this was probably true since he later demonstrated that he knew the value of financial stability and solidity. Besides the valuable learnings of the initial years, the civil war that followed must also have taught Morgan a great deal in terms of identifying business opportunities in downturns, the effect of war on monetary policy and credit, and most important, the role of courage, confidence, and faith in taking business decisions. In fact, this probably accounts for one of Morgan†s most famous sayings, â€Å"Remember, my son, that any man who is a bear on the future of this country will go broke.† (McCallum, p. 2) Morgan proved his abilities in business very early. For, it is apparent that he quickly learnt the financial ropes to become an increasingly influential member of the firm, Dabney, Morgan & Company (1864-1871), before moving on to become a partner in Drexel, Morgan & Co. In fact, it was the latter firm that grew to be recognized as one of the world†s most powerful financial institutions, both before and after it came to be known as J. P. Morgan & Co. in 1895 (Netstate, 2005). The reputation of J. P. Morgan & Co. was primarily earned in the decade 1879-89 when the House of Morgan consolidated its financial power and developed the institutionalized mechanism for the control of investment resources and of industry. Indeed, this is evident in the fact that by 1889, J.P. Morgan had secured control of many important railroads by virtue of his use of new forms and functions of finance such as the formation of trusts, acquisitions and mergers. In fact, this is when â€Å"Morganization,† or the control of finance over industry, and consequently, the centralization of industry and finance, was first established (Corey, p. 131-2). Morgan†s interest in consolidating the railroads, however, was not just for profit reasons. He was genuinely interested in achieving stabilization in the interests of the American economy. Therefore, he improved railroad properties and services, increased safety and efficiency, and decreased costs to operators, shippers, and the traveling public (Destler, p. 39; Moody, p. 134; Wagenknecht, p. 56). Morgan achieved this through providing the railways with enormous amounts of capital, which they needed for investment. More important, he put a stop to all price wars, thereby prevented likely bankruptcies, ensuring in the process that the capital was put to good use (Andrews, 1999). Much like his interests in the railways, Morgan also invested in consolidating other core sector businesses such as steel and power. For instance, he funded Thomas Edison in setting up the Edison General Electric Company. He later acquired and merged Thomas Houston Electrical with Edison to form General Electric in 1892, to emerge as the controlling force in the power industry (Geisst, p. 115) Similarly, by 1901, he had created U.S. Steel, North America†s first billion dollar company (McCallum, p. 2). Morgan achieved this through merging his Federal Steel Company with Andrew Carnegie†s Carnegie Steel Company (obits.com). After the merger, he then proceeded to offer the public the largest to date stock offering of $1.4 billion (Geisst, p. 115-6). However, much like the railways, Morgan†s principal reason for taking an interest in the steel industry was his goal of achieving a stable American economy through stabilization and prevention of violent fluctuations, which the steel industry in particular was subject to. This, Morgan felt, was a critical task because such fluctuations invariably resulted in creating periods of inflation and depression for many other industries, which were dependent on steel (Weinberg, p. 148). The key to Morgan†s success in amassing wealth and financial control lay in his ability to mobilize funds, overseas and at home, for the various trusts he controlled. In the absence of a central bank, these trusts quickly gained in clout as financiers and bankers aided and contributed to the consolidation of many smaller, innovative companies by merging them into industrial giants (Geisst, p. 124). Therefore, it is hardly surprising that J.P. Morgan & Co., First National, and National City Bank, a trio dominated by Morgan, held a total of 341 directorships in 112 companies with aggregate capital resources (in money of the day) of between $ 22-25 million in 1912 (Andrews, 1999; Wagenknecht, p.50). Thus, Morgan†s path to success explains the colossal power he possessed in the financial and business circles of America. So much so, that even the U.S. government turned to him for help on several occasions. One such occasion was in 1985, when the U.S. Treasury was facing a rapidly melting gold reserve. Morgan responded promptly by organizing a syndicate, which supplied the U.S. government with $62 million dollars in gold. This timely action shored up the reserves to a safe limit of $100 million and probably saved the dollar (McCallum, p. 2; Wagenknecht, p. 55). This action, plus the indisputable power of his holdings, makes it evident that by 1907, J. P. Morgan was seen as the first among equals in American finance and industry. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that Wall Street, banks, trusts, and the government turned to him when banks began failing in 1907. There were several factors that precipitated the 1907 banking crisis. The chief of these was the rampant speculation that took place between 1905 and 1906 in the background of a prosperous economy, easy credit, and low interest rates (Moody, p. 134-6). To make matters worse, businesspersons such as F. A. Heinze and C. W. Morse regularly used the shares and resources of banks they owned to buy shares in other banks, or finance their more speculative undertakings (Cahill, 1998; Corey; p. 339-40; Moody, p. 138-141). The unchecked and unregulated American financial system of that era did not help matters any, giving speculators free rein to speculate in rail, copper, and indeed, any issue which Wall Street threw their way, no matter how unsound (Corey, p. 339; Moody, p. 135-6). The first signs of warning of an overheated economy and a bubble actually came in 1906 when Wall Street demand loans and merchant†s discounts began commanding the highest rate in more than 30 years. In fact, in September 1906, New York banks reported a deficit in reserves, leading to the U.S. Treasury depositing government surplus funds in banks (Noyes, p. 357). The action of the U.S. Treasury, however, only resulted in a brief respite. For, in March 1907, prices crashed on the New York Stock Exchange with reports of slackening production and earnings. The situation was further aggravated when large financiers were forced to liquidate their â€Å"indigestible securities† (Corey, p. 340) by a liquidity crisis (Moody, p. 142; Cahill, 1998). This second mini-crisis was once again averted due to the intervention of the U.S. Treasury, high money rates drawing gold from Europe, and funds returning to New York post the end of the crop season (Moody, p. 143). These stop gap measures, however, did not address the real issue, namely, speculation and unregulated financing of businesses. Thus, in October 1907, when the shares of United Copper collapsed due to Heinze†s attempts to corner them, it led to the collapse of a prominent brokerage firm run by his brother, the Heinze controlled Butte (Montana) Savings Bank and the Mercantile National Bank (Corey, p. 340-1; Moody, p. 144). The New York Clearing House Committee agreed to bail out Mercantile to restore depositor confidence. However, the action failed to do so, owing to a ripple effect that occurred once the committee publicized its findings on Heinze and Morse†s speculative activities. This ripple effect led to a run on several banks and trusts such as the Knickerbocker Trust associated with Heinze and Morse (Corey, p. 340; Cahill, 1998). From this point, the panic spread to the rest of the country owing to a loss of confidence in the economy and the American system. In addition, the accompanying credit and liquidity squeeze only deepened the crisis. The collapse of the Heinz and Morse controlled empire and the subsequent run on banks led to financial forces coming together rather automatically under Morgan†s leadership. Even the U.S. government looked to Morgan to solve the problem, with Secretary of the Treasury, George Cortelyou, rushing to New York to confer with Morgan and his associate financiers. In the absence of a central banking institution, Morgan had no choice but to step in and do what he could in an improvised and dictatorial style. In fact, Morgan was the only man in a position who could do so. For, J. P. Morgan & Co. was in sound condition, having learnt the importance of maintaining a high degree of liquidity from previous experiences (Corey, p. 341-2). In any case, Morgan was known for his conservatism and aversion to speculation (Destler, p. 53; Wagenknecht, p. 56). Therefore, if anyone could be trusted to see America safely through its latest crisis, it was J. P. Morgan. Morgan rose to the occasion admirably. While banks crashed and investors panicked, Morgan mobilized the available money in the banking system and trusts, along with the $25 million handed over by the Treasury, to distribute to the banks and other financial institutions. In addition, J. P. Morgan & Co. announced that it would anticipate all interest and dividend payments payable through the firm (Corey, p. 343-44; Geisst, p. 119). Morgan also stepped in at every crucial juncture of the crisis. For instance, Morgan organized a pool of $ 3 million to prevent the Trust Company of America failing. Similarly, when the New York Stock Exchange showed signs of a financial collapse under the weight of all the margin selling that the trusts and banks were forced into, Morgan bailed out the institution by quickly mobilizing a $25 million pledge of funds (Geisst, p. 119-120). Morgan†s role in the bank crisis of 1907 led to the press hailing him as America†s savior and â€Å"man of the hour.† (Geisst, p. 120; Corey, p. 348). Unfortunately, however, criticism soon followed with accusations ranging from his having engineered the crisis for profiteering purposes to being a robber baron. This led to the Federal government setting up the Pujo commission in 1912 to investigate Morgan†s suspected violations of anti-trust laws. The experience, in fact, is said to have broken Morgan who thereafter chose to retire. Morgan died in Rome on August 31, 1931. When he died, he left behind a legacy in investment banking and finance that is revered till today. The debates on Morgan†s motives may go on. But there is one fact that cannot be contested. And, that is, that he single-handedly saved America from one of its worst financial crises.

God and Philosophy Essay

Many philosophers will say that God plays an important role in a person’s mental being. Others will argue that he doesn’t and that we decide by our own mentality. The three thinkers that will be discussed in this paper made a large impact in the philosophical world with their theories and reasons. Descartes, Kant, and Hume are all important players in the world of philosophy, but according to other philosophers, so is God. Rene Descartes, a noted French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, coined the Latin phrase â€Å"Cogito ergo sum† (I think, therefore I am). He â€Å"refused to accept the scholastic and Aristotelian traditions that had dominated philosophical thought throughout the medieval period† (www. iep. utm. edu). He frequently contrasted his views with those of his predecessors. In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of God’s act of creation. In 1641, he wrote Mediations on First Philosophy, which he employed a method called methodological skepticism; where he doubts any idea that can be doubted. God, in Descartes’ metaphysics, is the bridge from the subjective world of thought to the objective world of scientific truth. â€Å"The mind, owing its existence to God, is innately programmed with certain ideas that correspond to reality; hence the importance, in Descartes’ system, of proving the existence of God, the perfect guarantor of our ideas, so that the mediator can move from isolated flashes of cognition to systematic knowledge of the nature of reality† (Cottingham, 31). In Meditations, he mentions the idea of a benevolent God. â€Å"Because God is benevolent, he can have some faith in the account of reality his senses provide with a working mind and sensory system and does not desire to deceive him; however, this is a continuous argument, as his very notion of a benevolent God from which he developed this argument is easily subject to the same kind of doubt as his perceptions† (www. wikipedia. com†). Descartes sought to retain the belief in the existence of innate ideas together with an acceptance of the values of data and ideas derived from an experience. Next up is Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher that held that there is an objective moral law. Most philosophers view morality very differently. Some think there is an objective moral law, but that it depends on God’s will. â€Å"Others thought morality was to do with reason, but that the reasoning was all about how to promote some objective, like one’s own happiness of welfare of society† (Walker, 5). Kant rejected these ideas, because morality is depending on something outside itself- God’s will. Kant inquired whether it could be possible to ground synthetic ? a priori’ knowledge for a study of metaphysics, because most of the principles of metaphysics from Plato through Kant’s immediate predecessors made assertions about the world or about God or about the soul. Kant’s works of 1755 reveal more of his originality and his enduring themes. Universal Natural History, deriving the present state of the planets from postulated initial conditions by reiterated applications of the laws of Newtonian mechanics, manifests not only Kant’s commitment to those laws, for which he was subsequently to seek philosophical foundations, but also his commitment to thoroughly naturalistic explanations in science, in which God can be the initial source of natural laws but never intervenes within the sequence of physical causes. Kant still holds that the existence of God can be proved as a condition of the possibility of any reality. Finally, Kant further develops his argument that scientific explanation cannot allow divine intervention in the sequence of events, and that God must be seen only as the original ground of the laws of nature. The existence of God is therefore to Kant a necessary assumption for what he sees to be an objectively valid morality. Lastly, David Hume, British philosopher, is considered one of the most influential religious philosophers. Hume questioned the process of inductive thinking, which had been the hallmark of science. He criticized the standard proofs for God’s existence, traditional notions of God’s nature and divine governance, the connection between morality and religion, and the rationality of belief in miracles. He also advanced theories on the origin of popular religious beliefs, grounding such notions in human psychology rather than in rational argument or divine revelation. For Hume, all objects of human reason are divided into two kinds: Relations of Ideas and Matters of fact. All reasoning of matters of fact is founded on Cause and Effect. Cause and Effect play a big role in Hume’s philosophy. Hume wrote The Natural History of Religion in 1757. Its main theme is the causes and consequences of the religious development of mankind from polytheism to monotheism. â€Å"Belief in a god or gods is not natural like belief in an external world, since there are races in which it is not to be found† (Quinton, 52). Contrary to many critiques Hume does believe that there is a God, however he does not believe that God is all greatness like society commonly assumes and accepts. Hume argues that because one sees an effect that doesn’t mean that we can automatically know or assume its cause. This argument can be used to explain the creation of the world. As influential as Hume was, he remains an academic skeptic, making the reasonable judgments of an ordinary life, regardless of lack of academic knowledge. God played an important role in every philosopher’s thinking. They either tried to provide proof that he does or does not exist, or tried to decipher why so many people followed a man whom they have never even met. Nevertheless, God played an important role in Kant’s, Descartes’, and Hume’s philosophical thinking. Works Cited Burnham, Douglas and James Fieser. â€Å"Rene Descartes (1596-1650). † The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2005. < http://www. iep. utm. edu/d/descarte. htm>. Cottingham, John. Descartes. New York, Rutledge: 1999. Quinton, Anthony. Hume. New York, Rutledge: 1999. â€Å"Rene Descartes. † http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Descartes. Walker, Ralph. Kant. New York, Rutledge: 1999.

What Does It Mean to Be Well-Educated Essay

In the article â€Å"What Does It Mean to Be Well-Educated† Mr. Kohn point out 6 points on being educated. Point 1.The Point of Schooling. (Nel Noddings the professor emerita at Stanford University, urges us to reject â€Å"the deadly notion that the schools’ first priority should be intellectual development† and contends that â€Å"the main aim of education should be to produce competent, caring, loving, and lovable people.†) I like this quote on the purposes of education. I work in a Christian School the maine goal for us as teachers and coaches is to participate in the development of a well-rounded student so they can learn the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in life. The next point that I would like to discuss is the concept of evaluating people as a whole vs. someone’s education. In this point Mr. Kohn talks about the difference in being well educated and the difference from simply being provided with a poor education. Is there a difference? I personally believe there are different types of education and not all people learn the same way. In the city that I live in there are many choices for schools from private to public. In some cases people move multiple times to keep their children in the district with the best schools. You must look at the person and where they came from in some families unfortunately education is not a main concern survival as a whole may be. Therefore we must look at the whole person not just the education someone may have. The next point is the absence of consensus, in this point Mr. Kohn discusses what a high school student should know or be able to do. He goes on to talk about the local and state and national standards. Should they all be the same? I believe it would be hard for every state to have the same standards across the board for education. There are going to be obvious areas where education is valued and areas where simply surviving is important. The district in my area is too large and some of the same standards do not make sense and applied to each town and county. I think that having standards is a good thought but there should be a better way of measuring these standards than simply testing the students sometimes individuals are not very good at test taking. Another important point Kohn discusses is all the definitions used for accommodations and school terms that do not make sense. The concept of seat time, which is the idea of being in a seat for a specific amount of  time dose not mean that you are well-educated. Just by setting in a lecture or listening to a new concept doesn’t always mean that you will retain that information that was being taught. The average person forgets or can’t remember what was said to them 48 hours ago. Another term is the term job skills Kohn states that â€Å"It would be a mistake to reduce schooling to vocational preparation, if only because we can easily imagine graduates who are well-prepared for the workplace (or at least for some workplaces)† In this statement he is telling us that someone with just one skill will be at a disadvantage, throughout life because of the way the world is changing with new technology that is making everything move quicker. The idea of test score is a point that interests me as well, just because you scored well on tests does not necessarily mean that you will be able to retain information from what you read. I think that some people have anxiety when it comes to tests specifically those with time limits and the added pressure of scoring well. In some cases teachers are under so much pressure to teach what will be on the test more then the concepts formulas of the material of the class. They are not always teaching what the proper foundations are of the subject. They are required to have certain scores for their classrooms to be successful. Another interesting point that is made is the Memorization of a bunch o’ facts. Kohn explains, â€Å"Familiarity with a list of words, names, books, and ideas is a uniquely poor way to judge who is well-educated.† Just because you can talk about great authors remember some quotes and tell some theories doesn’t mean you are well informed. Kohn also talks about the hierarchy of the graduation process and who is in charge of deciding who passes and fails because of a standardized test. It seams to be problem in multiple states. To be able to graduate you must fit in the required credits courses requirements. â€Å"This is disturbing not merely because of the inherent limits of the tests, but also because teaching becomes distorted when passing those tests becomes the paramount goal. Students arguably receive an inferior education when pressure is applied to raise their test scores, which means that high school exit exams may actually lower standards.† With this statement you can see that Mr. Kohn feels that’s the test scores are not actually relevant to all. He goes on to tell us more about the â€Å"Pass this standardized test or you don’t graduate,† If we look at most states we see that they are using curriculum standards to help students graduate with  the same standards as others students in other states. Students are learning facts, skills, and sub skills that they are expected to master at the grade level to continue on to the next grade level. The final point Kohn brings about talking about what it takes to be well-educated. Kohn, lists some qualities that are used to help you to succeed. â€Å"Schooling is organized around problems, projects, and questions – as opposed to facts, skills, and disciplines.† If teachers can focus on this and apply this to there classroom then knowledge and learning become exciting for the students. â€Å"Teachers are generalists first and specialists (in a given subject matter) second;† With this statement you can see that if you can apply this to your class room that you can succeed and continue to have a great learning environment. Well-educated people have general knowledge of world needed for making rational decisions in personal and intellectual life and basic skills, which develops the analytical ability to order and adapt to the changing environment. With an open mind, which helps to set up new and different goals in life, and with experiences and the skill to analyze and value the others’ ideas or thoughts. In Proverbs 1:7–9. 7 the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 9 They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. This verse speaks to the lessons you have learned not only from your parents and the Bible but also from your time in school. Learning never ends to be well-educated you need to have the desire to learn and grow as the world continues to change.

Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final Exam - Essay Example Connelly (2010) gave many reasons to support his argument. He states that In his book ‘Congressional Government’ Wilson’s suggestion on American politics were incomplete and were not fully evolved to a certain extent. Even though he stated that â€Å"radical defect† (Connelly, 2010, 119) of the constitutional system is separation of powers he did not tackle or changed the fundamental flaw of separation of legislative and executive powers of American Constitution. Wilson suggested that â€Å"the cure for the friction of the separation of powers can be found in the fusion of party government† (Connelly, 2010, 119), however Connelly (2010) was of the opinion that he disregarded the separation of powers’ potentiality for fission. ... According to Connelly even though Wilson was a good politician and political scientist to point out the defects of the constitutional systems he lacked the perception to understand its strengths (Connelly, 2010). Even though Wilson stood out as a worthy opponent to James Madison federalist view, questioned and raised the defects of pluralist system, yet his idea of pure party government was not feasible under the system of separation of powers however it might have been possible within House of Representatives with majority according to Connelly (2010). Therefore Connelly opined that Woodrow Wilson’s project was doomed to failure. 2. How might Tocqueville explain the objectives of Piven & Cloward’s project to especially target the poor in voter registration drives? (minimum 300 words). Tocqueville (1838, 1) in his book ‘Democracy in America’ stated that â€Å"in United States even religion of most of the citizens is republican, since it submits the truths of the other world to private judgment, as in politics the care of their temporal interests in abandoned to the good sense of the people†. He further states that republican ideas are so ingratiated into Americans that they become habits, opinions and ultimately recognized formally as laws. To change republican’s notions hijacking the ideals of American and its democracy, Tocqueville (1838) suggests revolutionizing the whole society. He thinks that it can happen only with consistent efforts and series of events over a period of time with opposite opinions that can substitute this process. He also opines that in America, to destroy the republican ideology a difficult social process

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

History - Essay Example Stephen Kinzer in book â€Å"Overthrow† argues that America could have avoided most of these violent military confrontations spending billions of dollars and causing bloodshed and pain by more patient and effective use of diplomacy and its tools of persuasion. â€Å"Modern history makes it eminently clear that when United States engages with oppressive and threatening regimes, using combinations of incentives, threats, punishments and rewards, those regimes slowly becomes less dangerous† (p.320). This statement sums up what the US has to understand if they truly want peace on earth rather than using the military might to overthrow the other countries governments. The author cites the examples of China, the former Soviet Union, South Korea, South Africa as the success stories of effective diplomatic strategy. At the same time one look at the countries that US militarily intervened like, Philippines, Afghanistan, North Korea, Vietnam, Iran and Iraq the results were terribly wrong. In Iran for example in the early 1951, US at the request of the British, removed a fully functional democratic government only to install a dictator. And in Iraq several decades later they did exactly opposite. Both have not worked. Iran became a completely anti-american country with religious leaders as head of state that looks to oppose any American ideas at the world level. Iraq is still smoldering from the chaos of war with violent reactions every now and then. The resentment against US is ever increasing with strong Anti-US propaganda. The author argues that in most of these cases diplomatic and political approaches would have been far more effective. More often than not, the think tank of the US gets impatient and jumps to the conclusion that a â€Å"regime change† is the only answer. What do they do?. They forcefully invade the country with their military might and advanced weaponry, remove the leader of that country and hand its power to someone who will dance to their tunes.

Free Trade and its Benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Free Trade and its Benefits - Essay Example e study of this subject very seriously. According to Lipsey,International Trade is a transaction and trade of goods and services between two individuals living in different countries,two companies operating in different countries and even two governments indulging in some form of trading activity.International trade becomes Free Trade when there are no taxes, quotas and tariffs are levied to these transactions. International trade becomes controlled trade when taxes and quotas are present in the trade activity involving two parties from different countries.There are certain advantages of Free Trade such as efficiency,improved standard of living and foreign earning.The disadvantages of Free Trade are plenty too.These include government revenue loss, deterioration for local industry and outflow of foreign reserves.It is widely believed that free trade leads to efficiency.This can be explained by a diagram,but we must keep in mind that opposite of free trade is one where the host govern ment charges either tariffs or quotas on imported goods. In the above diagram, it can be seen that free trade is more meritorious to a situation where either no international trade is taking place or where the trade is not free. At first there is no free trade. The market is work at a point where D=S or where demand is equated to supply. The equilibrium quantity of goods traded at this point is represented by â€Å"Y†. If the country decided to indulge in free trade then SW will become the supply curve and fewer goods will be traded in the market at point â€Å"Y1†. The reason why the quantity of goods traded in the market is reduced is because the imported goods are cheaper and local production of goods has reduced and the gap between Y-Y1 is filled by imported goods. This is a point of controversy and economists who are against Free Trade argue that free trade will lead to closure and downsizing of local businesses resulting in massive unemployment in the country. Un der these circumstances Free Trade looks like an evil and it looks a valid claim that imported goods should be stopped from penetrating the local markets. However, the supporters of Free Trade claim that it leads to better utilization of world’s scarce resources. They use the theories of absolute and comparative advantage to justify their claim and recommends that the country should divert from production of goods in which it does not have an absolute and comparative advantage to the good where these advantages can be exploited. However, many countries choose a different route and exploit the benefits of allocative efficiency. They charge some sort of taxes to imported goods or give subsidies to local industries to make sure that local production remains high and local industries are able to compete with the imported goods. This leads to partial improvement in local industries situation, but at the expense of efficiency. Hence, one can see that any trade that is taxed or rest ricted cannot yield same amount of efficiency as uncontrolled trade. Free Trade also renders certain other advantages too. It leads to an increase in choices that people can make. This is a necessary condition for improvement in living standard of people. Hence, Free Trade allows people to live a better life. Free Trade

Tesco(supermarket) lost market share Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tesco(supermarket) lost market share - Essay Example On the other while some of the players in this industry such as Waitrose have been expanding the number of stores, Tesco has been doing very little with regard to their geographical accessibility. Despite the extension of floor space having been a major driver in the growth of Tesco in the past, they have not been doing it as aggressively as they used to do before. There are a number of things that Tesco Supermarket can do to regain market share. Tesco might consider staying relevant through innovation. One of the best ways through which a business organization can remain competitive is by identifying emergingtrends, trends before their competitors do (Kotler&Kotler 2012, p. 119). This will be possible if they pay close attention to the things that change in the lifestyle of their customers. Tesco supermarket should also consider getting in touch with their customers. At this age public relations is not all about receiving the complaints of customers. However, it has developed to the extent that business has to seek to know some of the things that they customers wish they could get from supermarkets. They should make sure that they do not make any assumptions about what their customers want, but get but creates avenues for continuous communication between them and their customers (Shafer 2011, p. 91). They should consider acting on the possible recommendations of their customers as soon as possible. Tesco supermarket should also consider simplifying the buying process. When buying processes are deemed to be lengthy and complicated, many customers will always opt for somewhere where the process is simpler. Accessibility is always important for any chain of stores. Customers might be willing to purchase from a certain supermarket, but fail to do so because the supermarket does not have any stores in their locality (Gordon 2002, p. 201). Given that Tesco has not been recently active in terms of expansion, it would be beneficial for them to start

Manging People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Manging People - Essay Example It depends upon the manager/ leader how he manages people. Most of the businesses now structure their employees in group and every group has a manager and in more general terms leader. Every group is given a project or a task which is to be accomplished. It is the responsibility of the manager that the project is completed before the deadline and the group is functioning smoothly. Thus the companies' owner or the people who appoint manager should keep several things in mind like the organizational skills of a person, his temperament and his communication skills. To evaluate the best choice amongst candidates the interviewers should conduct a detailed interview. Observation skills can be very helpful in determining the right choice thus the owner should appoint a manager on temporary bases and after the manger proves himself he should be made permanent. Another way of determining if the person appointed is capable is by having discussions with team members under that manager. The owner should ask team members if they are facing any kind of difficulties because of the manger. Thus after thorough evaluation it becomes quite obvious if the person chosen for the job is capable or not. Choosing the right person is so essential that if this decision is made wrong the overall performance of the company can get affected. Characteristics of an Ideal Manager Every characteristic which proves to create solidarity and harmony amongst the team members is an important characteristic. The manager should even have qualities which would enhance motivation and honesty of the team members towards the job and the team members. If a manager is very criticizing or points out tiny mistakes of his team members the effect of it would be that the employee would develop hatred for his manager. Thus instead of discussing projects with manger the team member would start hiding work. Another thing is that if a manger responds brusquely to questions and interruptions the team members would eventually leave you alone. They will not raise problems, they will not question your instructions, and they will struggle on bravely. Your behavior may result in a swamp of errors, unguided activity and absolute dissatisfaction. Then there is motivation a manager should be highly motivating he should have the quality to praise good work and should be habitual of highlighting god work of employees. A manger should always be their to support, encourage and help his team members. These qualities always give a team member an effect that the manager is his friend more then his boss thus loyalty towards work increases. Then there is setting targets a manger should have the capability of setting standards that is dividing a major task into sub tasks. The criterion on which a manger assigns these tasks is very important a manager should be aware of every team member's abilities hence if a manger assigns jobs according to personal capabilities the result would be very effective, quality of the job would be remarkable and all team members would feel satisfied with their jobs. Then there is advancements if a team members is working very hard and still getting no promotion he might get clumsy and the spirit of working would die therefore a

The Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Business Plan - Essay Example rder to create their own imagined designs of the cakes and in turn help our bakers to have as many designs as possible; hence our business will stand out among others. We value good customer service and therefore we will make sure that our service is up to date with the ever changing technology. This will keep us to the mark of competition and remain friendly to the customers. The bakery will belong to the partnership of 5 people. There are no bakeries in the area and therefore this will give us a break through. We only have few competitors as threats one of the major competitions is the big supermarkets, Milton, marsh and best choice bakery. Although economy has gone from good to bad it has not affected the bakery industry. â€Å"The consumer price index for food, an indicator of bakery product values, rose 4.7 percent in September 2011 compared to the same month in 2010† (â€Å"Hoovers†). We will focus on the changes in customers’ needs such as preference, pleasure, health, and convenience. Middle class citizens are mainly our targets. But we will also give the lower class people and opportunity to access our products in a well created section in our bakeries. These sections will have breads and cakes from one day old. We are going to have average prices but keep up to date the quality and quantity in our production. Our objective is to be able to attract from 200 customers and above. We expect the customers of all ages and regardless of their sex, religion, color, or race. If our prediction goes right, we will be able to make about $500 in any single day and this will translate into $13000 in a month. Because of the current technology we will be able to contact our customers through internet. That is by the use of all available social sites such as face book, twitter and so on. By having our own website we will be able to display all our products and service to hundreds of potential customers. We also plan on advertising our business to the local dailies,

DQ1 Case Lenovo Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DQ1 Lenovo - Case Study Example Lenovo differentiated its products in the marketplace by providing a greater value proposition than the competition. Other important values of the company include customer focus, innovation, and trustworthiness. Customers often rely on subjective factors to determine whether to trust a company (Philosophe). Investing money in marketing can increase the customer awareness and level of trust towards a company. The company should advertise the ThinkPad product in a manner in which the customer knows that Lenovo is now responsible for the manufacturing of the product. This will give the customers confidence that other products developed by Lenovo are of high quality. The design, functionality, and features of the ThinkPad should stay the same to maintain consistency in the customer’s minds. Lenovo should position itself as a global corporation. The firm can no longer think domestically only since the Chinese market is limited in comparison with the global market. It is better to have a small market share of a big pie, than a big market share of a small pie. In 2011 there were 352.2 million computers sold worldwide (Plunkett Research,

The rule system Essay Example for Free

The rule system Essay Looking beyond the biological argument the debate carries on through two propositions of how children acquire and produce grammar: single and dual route theory (Mareschall et al. 2006).  Childrens inflectional morphology follows a curved pattern which begins with correct application of outer layers; for example adding ed at the end of a word indicates the past tense. Inflections then become disrupted as grammatical rules are over generalised producing common errors such as goed. With experience children then seem able to apply regular and irregular forms of various tenses with ease. This pattern of development is called the U-shape (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). A conventional account for this process is that infants simply memorise the correct formation and as they discover grammatical rules they over apply them creating mistakes, then as the rules become more robust they eliminate the over-regularisations and adopt the correct format for nouns and verbs (Plunkett and Wood, 2006) The competing theories differ in their account of how the memorisation and inflection process leads to the U-shape pattern of development (Plunkett and Wood, 2006).  Dual route theory has traditionally been associated with nativists such as Pinker (1988). The theory suggests that there is a memory system working in conjunction with a rule system. These two cognitive systems are activated when an individual attempt to inflect a word (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). The memory system, which they suggest keeps a record of all the irregular and most common inflections (Plunkett and Wood, 2006 p.182) is firstly consulted in an attempt to retrieve the appropriate formation. The rule system, which uses common rules of language to add endings to word stems, is simultaneously consulted to retrieve the appropriate ending. Should the memory system be successful in its search the rule system is prevented from proceeding (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). The dual route theory explains the U-shape as a result of the memory system failing to retrieve the correct inflection and thus liberating the rule system producing an over-regularisation. With experience rare inflections are then solidified producing fewer errors. The empiricist version lies with the single route theory which is supported by connectionist models who developed the same U-shape pattern of development and also learned plural inflections before past tense inflections (Plunkett and Wood, 2006, p.184) as infants do.  The theory holds that regular and irregular inflections are produced by a single system that stores all of the inflections in the language (Plunkett and Wood, 2006, p.183). Whilst connectionist networks can only serve as an indication of how credible  a theory is and not how such a process might occur, it is nevertheless a good reinforcement.  Single route theory proposes that the higher the numbers of inflections are stored in the memory the more intense the competition gets for memory space  resulting in what is known as the interference effect. This effect results in words with similar phonological sounds being confused. Another connectionist model produced by Rumelhart and McClelland (1987) lent support to this theory. The first few verbs fed into the network were successfully conjugated but as more were introduced so the competition for network resources intensified and resulted in over-regularisation. Then through further training irregular verbs became engraved and mistakes diminished (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). Other empiricists such as Marchman (1997) have produced evidence that favours single route theory by carrying out research that supports the prediction of which type of errors children are likely to produce. Marchman found that irregular verbs with many enemies were more likely to have {add/ed/} wrongly used as their past tense form than verbs that had few regular verb enemies also irregular verbs that had highly frequent past tense forms were less likely to be given the regular past tense endings than those verbs whose past tense form was rare (Plunkett and Wood, 2006, p.187), this adheres to the single route theory. Further support has been produced by cross-linguistic researches. Dual route theory serves as an efficient means for highly regular languages such as English. However for other languages such as German this is not the case nor is it valid for any language that has multiple ways of forming a tense. Chomskys Universal Grammar theory was challenged by Tomasello (2000) who suggested a distributional explanation for childrens understanding of syntax. His approach places verbs in a prominent position as they place important constraints on utterances (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). Rather than memorising all utterances Tomasello suggests analogy; a partial remembrance of some utterances that are later adapted as prototypes for new utterances (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). Early diary studies support this view. Brain (1963) made observations on his son through this early technique and observed that some words, which he called Pivot words only occurred in one position whilst Open words moved around freely. During the process of learning syntax, pockets of knowledge are formed; these then broaden allowing one another to influence each other creating grammatical regularities. According to the distributional approach the explanation for recovering from over-generalisation is that as the pockets of knowledge become more robust they develop an ability to isolate which in turn reduces errors that may of occurred through either the inappropriate extension of a pocket of grammatical knowledge or an attempt to resolve conflict between pockets of grammatical knowledge (Plunkett and Wood, 2006, p.196). Researchers such as Fodor and Karmiloff-Smith were a good representation of opposing views on brain modules. On balance the empirical evidence supports the epigenetic view of modularisation a process by which genes and the environment work together to create self organisation (Karmiloff-Smith, 1992). Neuroscience further supports a view in between nativists and empiricist, whilst they are able to produce evidence that the brain is capable of supporting language in other areas it is  unmistakable that damage to left hemisphere (the seat of language) can severely effect language development. How children acquire and produce grammar is debated  through single and dual route theory. Empirical evidence has given greater support to the single route theory which does not deny elements of nature but also incorporates  nurture. Connectionist networks are becoming a common method to test theories and have been used to lend support to many language theories such as the distributional approach. Children through out the world inevitably learn their mother tongue whether it be by speech or sign (Karmiloff-Smith, 2002). What is substantive is whether this is due solely to operant conditioning of caregivers or to an innate principle of universal grammar. In view of the evidence presented in this paper it seems implausible that language can develop without the presence of both nature and nurture as Bruner (1983) conveys; we shall make little progress if we adhere either to the impossible account of extreme empiricism or to the miraculous one of pure nativism. (Bruner 1983, P. 10).

Hotel Consultation Essay Example for Free

Hotel Consultation Essay It appears to me that the Dreschler Hotel needs to look into their rates. After comparing the other hotels and the Dreschler Hotel their rates seem too high compared to the other hotels and what they have to offer. I think if they would lower their rates this would generate more business and more business means more revenue. This would be reflected on the ADR if they did lower the rates. Yes, if your rates are higher you will take in more money at that moment but you might sell a lot more rooms if rates are kept down while being competitive. I think the Dreschler Hotel could make some improvements and then this would increase the revenue. I think it is very out dated and in order for the owners and shareholders to ever see their investments back in their pocket is to make this a mixed-use which would have hotel room suites, condo’s, pool, gym, retail shops, office building, and several restaurants. This will be projected at a Twenty Eight Million Dollar Project. It will have many retail shops for the guest convenience and it already is situated in the heart of the town with over 90 shops available now. It will then add a pool, hot tub, spa, sauna, gym, office buildings for lease or sale and many restaurants. We would like to have a tremendous view and possible farmers market in the complex or within walking distance as another food alternative. This is a fairly fast way to get cash flow moving fairly fast and also can sell if interested or they could hire a management company to run the development for them. The options are endless but they will need to do some marketing to get this development out there and get interested parties involved. One thing I feel this hotel is in need of its working capital. They are having trouble with paying the normal operational expenses. The owners have even been putting money in to use for the hotel and cannot continue to do this. They have no working capital to work with to do any renovations or add a few t hings needed to get more guests staying at the hotel. They have a couple of options to get this done. The first one is to apply for a SBA 7(a) Loan. They will loan money  to a business in need of working capital which the Dreschler Hotel needs. They can use this loan for operation expenses, renovations, inventory, or to add items needed. They also may look into the option of investors which will love to get involved in something this big. This would probably be a great choice for this hotel and its circumstances. I feel the owners and shareholders have already put in all the working capital or cash that they can at this time. They have to do something to start making some money and to do that I feel this hotel needs a lot. The only option would be to sell some shares of the hotel for some cash to use for working capital. Then they would have more owners or shareholders would have a say in how things are ran. Sometimes, this is a good thing and other times it can be a bad thing so it is a tough situation but sometimes they have good suggestions or ideas as well. They will have to show a good business plan and show they have the ideal location along with the town’s approval or possibly get guarantees on businesses coming to the mixed use such as retail stores, office spaces, and restaurants. You want a variety of restaurants so you have to have many restrictions on who you sell or lease to because you want variety. This will be an upscale hotel with the same in the retail and restaurant end also. We would be adding suites in the hotel rooms along with a pool and gym. While looking at financial schemes you must weigh the good and the bad or the risks involved to do this. After looking at converting the Dreschler Hotel into a mixed-use I found there are a couple of benefits that would be gained if we converted it such as you have a hotel for guests to stay in and then you have restaurants and food options for the guests that they can even walk to when staying at the Dreschler Hotel. They try to put retail, food and accommodations all tog ether and keep them on the same scale. At the same time there are disadvantages such as you have to have a large piece of land to do this and you have to look at the market around this area to be able to have the economics available to get the revenue there to pay for this. I researched the pros and cons of converting the property into a timeshare. I found the biggest advantage is the return of the money from the project to the owners or shareholders. Another huge benefit would be the construction time is cut way down so you would be up and making money much quicker. A big disadvantage is you are not the original developer and many issues can arise. One main thing is the  location. If you have the right location it will usually make a lot of money. The last one I looked at was the conversion of the hotel to a condominium. I found an advantage would be the increasing revenue by adding things such as a bar, spa, hot tubs, gyms and restaurants. This usually is an upper end hotel and they attract a lot of customers or guests and then the money and revenue will start coming in faster. Another benefit is the owner can sell the units much quicker and then can also hire a management company to run it for him and still bring in money or get his money returned quickly. Many condos have a disadvantage because they come with many restrictions. I think a mixed-use would be an awesome opportunity along with a lot of the things this hotel needed. With the location and the stores in the area it would be a great location so after consideration we will be calling the new mixed-use The Dreschler Village and Suites. References: DeFranco, A. L., Lattin, T. W. (2007). Hospitality financial management. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Axia College’s Writing Style Handbook http://www.sba.gov/about-sba/what_we_do/resource_guides (retrieved 03/06/2014). http://www.aha-engineers.com/MEP-projects-hospitality.html (Retrieved 03/07/2014)

Basic Lan Network Design Using Cisco Packet Tracer

Basic Lan Network Design Using Cisco Packet Tracer Learning Outcomes are formal statements that articulate what students or learners are able to achieve after following set of instructions, and why they need to do it. It is a process that weighs the objective of doing something and the outcomes of doing that thing. To measure if the LOs have been met, students need to be assessed. Assessment gives the assessor the opportunity to understand how well students have learnt, and also to use the evidence for constant improvements (Baume 2009). LOs, enables the selection of contents that are important for learners, develop instructional strategies to deliver these contents, design, develop and chose what instructional materials to use, build tests materials for assessing and evaluating learners and improve the teacher ability to deliver contents. Using actionable phrases (verbs) to know the why can lead to great learning outcomes formulation. For example, in order to locate background information and statistics of a phenomenon, a learner starts by identifying, consulting and evaluating reference books or journal articles related to the topic. To formulate the LOs in this case, the teacher starts with what students need to know? And why they need to know it (Pek 2002). This introductory section of LOs, form the preamble for what LOs should be and how they should be formulate for quality teaching. LO1 Using effective teaching methods and support of learning With my experience of delivering lectures at the university, colleges in London, being an IT trainer, I have used a wide range of teaching methods over the years. Depending on the environment and the LOs, in this section I intend to elaborate on some of the methods that I have used in the past, advantages and disadvantages of the different teaching methods used. The process of determining LOs starts with the selection of a teaching method (TM), lecturing, small group and class discussions, videotapes, webcast and one-to-one discussion are common examples of TM. In my experience, there is no cut and dry method, in most cases a combination of strategies works well. In line with Gibbs (Gibbs Habeshaw 1993) due consideration should be given to the following when selecting a TM: The subject matter, i.e. what is it about? How knowledgeable the learners are to the subject What need to be achieved (learning objectives) What is the available time frame to meet the learning objectives How many learners are involved or the size of the group Are the participants the right people for the subject? Learning styles of participants Available equipment The room layout The cost Different students learn better in different ways, for example, international students in my class in London prefer visual information while home students prefer verbal inputs. My class is not unique, Glauco reported the same phenomenon in his work on learning style in the multicultural classroom (Vita 2001). This phenomenon can be attributed to cultural differences which play an important role in individual learning style. Additionally, different subjects and topics are easier to understand when taught in different ways. I deploy an interactive strategy with adult students undertaking Cisco Networks training program, this permit discussions, interactions, participation and exchange of viewpoints because of the subjective type and the learning environment which require interactivity between students, the trainer and hardware equipment (experiential learning). Contrasting this with a lecture hall at the university with over 80 students, I deploy a power point presentation with explana tions, pauses, questions and answers because of the class size, the time frame (1 hour) and the subject type which has a no student-hardware interactions(cognitive and constructive learning). In light of selecting teaching method, I have always select suitable methods for the stated learning objectives and LOs. The following sections highlight some of the methods I have used in the past and reasons behind their selection. Lecture Lecture is widely accepted as the best teaching method for larger classes (Carpenter 2006), in computer science (e.g. computer networks), lectures are often followed by lab sessions where students individually work on materials through guided lab sheets. In most cases, the lectures are used to illustrate processes rather than analysis of contents. As a lecturer of computer network (CNET) modules at the university we follow this approach. Students attend an hour lecture which is then followed by a two hours lab session where they implement different network designs and architecture discussed in during lectures. By using both cognitive and constructive learning theories(Swan 2005), the learning objective of the module can be achieved. Though a very useful method, based on my experience and research in this area (Griffiths Oates 2003), lecturing strategy has the following advantages and disadvantages as summarise in the table 1. Table : Advantages and disadvantages of lecture method Advantages Disadvantages Lecture can be used in any classroom size. In a larger classroom, lecture is the only option. It is teacher centred and do not take account of different students learning styles In a conducive and well-presented lecture, students can be motivated to investigate more about a topic. Reduces student participation as they become passive and less active with topics of less interest. The teacher being at the centre of the lecture has total control over everything that happen in the class creating a one-to-many based communication which might be ideal for a large class size learning environment. It is one way communication, students ability to learn depends on notes taking and attentiveness. The teacher can only know if learning is taking place through questions and answers. Discussion This learning method enables students to be actively involved in what they are supposed to be learning. In the computer science discipline (e.g. computer network) which I am involved, students are divided into groups of 3 each. The first 10 minutes of the lab session used to read and brainstorming possible implementation solutions by reflecting on the in-class lectures. This is important because students are given the chance to openly express their opinion about the lab, and what is deemed as possible implementation solution is agreed by the group with the guidance of the teaching. Using discussion method and social learning theory (Bandura 1969), I am able to pull knowledge and ideas from different students. This is useful because in most cases students will have background information about the lab from lectures and should be able to evaluate and analyse different opinions. Students learn by being able to implement their own solutions to a lab scenario. Though a useful method in the lab environment, from my teaching experience and research in discussion teaching methods (Welty 1989), table 2 summarize the advantages and disadvantages of using discussion method as a teaching method. Table : Advantages and disadvantages of Discussion method Advantages Disadvantages Students have the leverage to actively process information and ideas. It is time consuming and unfocused if no clear direction is given to the students. It is unique opportunity for students to share experiences and get involved in making decision on what best practices should be used to achieve the objective of the lab. Students could be protective of their ideas and makes it difficult for the instructor to get others involved. Being interactive, it open communication channels between teachers and students to feedback each other. The size of the class must be restricted Demonstration This laboratory work approach of learning enable students to role play (i.e. experiential learning theory) concepts introduce in lectures (Fry et al. 2009) and (Kolb Boyatzis 1999) Introduction to new concepts, procedures and techniques, can be a bit daunting to students; I have used demonstration to complement in-class lectures at the university and in other colleges that I lecture. Demonstration sessions generally begin with an overview lab session, and the list of points the students need to focus on. Using this approach gives them an idea of what the objectives and the LOs are. This is followed by the session proper, where students are given the chance to perform the procedures just explained in the introduction session. To ensure students are in line with the objectives, I spend the rest of the time observing what they are doing, offering suggestions and feedbacks. Using demonstration as preliminary approach for students to practice some of the concepts learnt in lectures has proven to be a good method of teaching. In light with Brophy (Brophy 2000) and my experience in using demonstration teaching method, table 3 show some of the advantages and disadvantages of using demonstration as a learning method. Table : Advantages and disadvantages of demonstration method Advantages disadvantages Active participation is critical to learning new skills, demonstration enable students to participate in learning. This method does not work well in large class environment, in most cases, videotapes are shown in monitor, which takes away that interactiveness with students Students interest peak up, as they can experience some of the concepts first hand by getting involved It is time consuming to set demonstration sessions In computer networks, demonstration is the only method of conveying complex theories. Demonstration might not always go as planned, as things break down, takes a long time to set them up. Conclusion Teaching methods form the bases on how teaching has to be delivered, different environments, subject, topics and students may require different teaching methods. A combination of two or more teaching methods can be used in effective teaching. However, due consideration should be given to what learning theory can be used and the pros and the cons of individual teaching methods. LO4: Designing, selecting, and using learning resources and ICT to develop an effective learning environment and learner support system. An effective lesson depends on the materials used to deliver or teach it, for students to learn to their maximum potentials, teachers need to identify and create effective teaching materials. A teaching material could be any tool used to deliver or convey information and test students understanding of a subject. Teaching materials includes videos, audio cassette, worksheets, websites and simulators. Designing and selecting teaching materials takes into account the educational goals of the students (Allwright 1981) and how the teacher want the students to absorb, process and retain information during learning (learning theories). With experience of designing and selecting learning materials (e.g. simulators, websites, presentation slides, websites, hardware and software) for students undertaking courses in academic and professional environment, many factors including those in the literature(Commonwealth of Learning 2005) have influence my design and selection of different teaching materials (Cisco packet tracer, MS PowerPoint and Word) among which includes; The objective: the design and selection of learning resources start by identifying what I want the students to know at the end of each lesson, this is known as the cognitive objective (Krathwohl 2002). For example, during the design and selection of learning resources (e.g. Cisco packet tracer, words documents and www.pritmas.com) for Cisco network first year students, the introductory materials are always in form of hand-out and references to useful internet websites. These materials set their expectations from day one and give students an overview the course. Additionally, the design and selection of learning resources also take into account what I want students to be able to do at the end of each lesson, also known as behavioural objectives (Kizlik 2002). Resources vary with learning objectives. For example, computer science students undertaking networking modules have different learning objectives from Cisco students undertaking Cisco Certification courses. However, achieving the objectives of the lesson is deeply incorporated into the design and selection of learning materials. By using tailored learning resources, my students have constantly show high level of interest in the subject. Audience analysis: who are the learners, this comes into play when designing and selecting learning resources. Their race and ages are some key attributes that has to be taken into consideration. This attributes enable tailored delivery of learning objectives. In a multicultural or single culture classroom where students may or may not have different experiences, considering their background knowledge before making references to objects or places they are more familiar with can increase students understanding of a lessons. For instance, HND students undertaking computer hardware module in Cameroon and have never been to the UK have a quite a different type of environment compare to students in the UK taking the same module. With this disparity, the design and selection of materials for the two audiences is different. With experience of delivering the same module in both countries, examples or references used to relate learning objective is different. Different students have different learning style and will learn more effectively when their learning style is used to convey information. As shown in (Vita 2001) foreign students turn to prefer visual learning while home students prefer auditory learning style, having an inventory of what learning style students prefer is important in learning material (e.g. head on projectors and audio clips) design and selection. In a multicultural classroom, it could be daunting to design or select learning materials that will appeal to all the students. To overcome this, I have constantly deployed audio and visual learning materials interchangeably during lectures and practical lessons to ensure no particular group is at the disadvantage. Designing and selecting materials is one thing, how they will be delivered to students is something different. Methods of delivering learning resources include image projection using LCD projector, hand-out copies, website based delivering methods. My methods of contents delivering are largely influenced by students learning style which could be a function of culture as mentioned above. Instructional technology has been at the forefront of my learning material design and selection, technology ease the process of creating and dissemination learning resources to students. However, technology could hinder students who are not familiar with the technology being used in learning (Lea et al. 2001). As an IT teacher, technology has enhanced my ability to engage students and enact different learning theories. For example, I have used personal website(Pritmas.com 2013) to distribute learning resources and support students queries. Conclusion Advances in instructional technologies inherently have a great impact on how lesson resources are design, selected and distributed. For effective design and selection of these resources, key factors such as learning objective, knowing who the students are, learning style, how these materials will be delivered and seeking to integrate technologies into the design and delivering of learning resources is important. However, technologies might be a disadvantaged for students who are not familiar with the technology in used. So teachers should work to overcome this hindrance by selecting appropriate learning theories i.e. how they want students to absorb, process and retain information during learning. Response to reviewers and feedbacks In what ways did the review help? What new ideas do you plan to investigate? Part 3, is your opportunity to respond to the reviewers feedback. In the light of the feedback and discussion with your reviewer, which of your session intended learning outcomes listed in part 1 of the form do you feel were achieved by your learners? How do you know this? Were any met less well and why do you feel this was the case? The following LOs were achieved: Understand DNS concept Explain the composition of an IP address and Domain name Install configure a DNS server and client Through quick assessment (in class question and answer, and the ability for students to implement the lab scenarios) and feedbacks from students, they now feel comfortable to implement and explain theories behind DNS and can now define an IP address and its function in communication On reflection, based on the comments and feedback, explain how you plan to adopt or follow up on new ideas. In your second and third reviews please identify any commonalities between the feedbacks from the different observers. Which aspects will you investigate or find out more about? What will you do and why? This process has been learning exercise, on reflection; I intend to adopt and use the objectives and LOs to structure my teaching, starting from session planning to delivering and assessment. By using SMART objectives and identifying learners needs, it is important to follow a pedagogic structure to ensure LOs are met. I now look forward to work on some of the issues raised during the teaching session. For example, my body language, encouraging students to take down notes and making sure students are actively participating in class or lab sessions. Feedback on the review process How useful has it been? Could the process be improved? It has been an eye opener to get someone to review my teaching, and being able to review someone elses teaching. I will suggest, more time be allocated to the exercise, two or more reviewers per session for cross referencing. Reflections on the PREP Process To be completed by the reviewer and sent to the their PGCAP600 tutor this completes this part of the process. Part 4, is the reviewers opportunity to reflect on the process of reviewing somebody elses teaching. What did you learn from conducting a teaching review? Did the process cause you to think about your own teaching differently? Have you developed any new ideas that you plan to investigate? Has the process of review helped you understand your own teaching strengths and preferences? Has it caused you to think differently about your own methods, design, values etc? Has this helped to confirm or challenge any assumptions about what constitutes effective teaching? Did you gain a different perspective on teaching from a student perspective? Yes, I found it really interesting to observe someone from another discipline teaching, for sure, the review process has reshaped my understanding of teaching and the structural approach that need to be followed to meet the learning outcomes. The process has also renewed my confident in teaching and my ability to impact other peoples future. Taking up the challenge to review a colleague from another discipline was nerve racking in the first place. Lornas engagement with students, her ability to easily connect with them and deal with a difficult situation (fire alarm) just added to some of the things that I have learned from the process. Have you generated any ideas about how you might like to develop your teaching? Yes, as mentioned above, being able to watch someone deliver practical lessons and give feedbacks on how well she has done has been very helpful. I come out of this process with the following new ideas, which I think will enhance my teaching: Seek to understand individual students background Be more open and accommodative Being more knowledgeable in my subject area. Making sure a lesson plans is in place in all Lessons. Build a feedbacks process to improve and to know if learning is taking place Application of different learning theories (per needs) Feedback on the review process How useful has it been? Could the process be improved? I think it is definitely useful to observe others teaching, however my role as a lecturer and demonstrator allows me to design, select and deliver learning materials while also observing other academic members of staff teaching on a regular basis, the PREP exercise was not different. However, observing someone from another discipline demonstrate was unique and reminded me that teaching is about following pedagogic processes and I really value the opportunity to discuss the experience afterwards (i.e. as a reviewer and reviewee). I will suggest, more time be allocated to this exercise (PREP), two or more reviewers per session for cross referencing CONCLUSIONS Teaching is a process of inducing learning to other people, how this process is accomplished and how it impacts both learner and the teaching defines effective teaching. By setting appropriate learning outcomes, defining the best methods to deliver and designing and selecting materials to achieve this outcomes can lead to effective teaching in higher education. APPENDIX University of Plymouth CNET226 Basic LAN network design using Cisco Packet Tracer The objective of todays lab is to design and describe a functional network using Cisco packet tracer simulator. Background You are a network engineer. You were given a job by a company who is one of your most valued customers. You have to design a functional LAN for them that contains 2 groups of 5 pcs each connecting to 2 separate switches. Then the switches are connected to a router (R1) and R1 is connected to the ISP router (R2). So basically you have 2 rooms with 5 pc each and both of these rooms have a switch and they are connected to R1. There is a third room and in this one there is a web server running Server 2008 OS. Connect that one with a separate switch and then to the R1. Tasks Using Cisco Packet Tracer (open cisco packet tracer by clicking start Æ’Â   All programsÆ’Â  packet tracer on your PC). Design a functional network you will use to accomplish the customers business needs. Save it (to save: on packet tracer, use file Æ’Â   save as Æ’Â   .pktÆ’Â  location) we will need this later. An example with pc and servers can be found in the diagram below. C:UsersLouis AnegekuhDesktoplab_3.jpg Figure : Sample Network Design Report: Individually write a report of NOT less than 400 words to explain your network diagram using the following guide. Write a list of the devices and cabling you have used in the design. Write a step by step report on what cables you have usd to connect all your devices and the reason(s) behind the selection. Explain the reason (s) behind the devices you have chosen in your design. What ports (interfaces) are you using to connect the devices in your network? Please save your report for a brief discussion on it next week. NOTE: It is important you all attend next week lab, which will be on IPv4 subnetting.

Good Fellas Movie Poster Analysis Essay -- Papers

Good Fellas Movie Poster Analysis My analysis is based on the movie "Good Fellas". The three men that are featured on the poster pictured in medium frame are the main characters and are also the main focus of my analysis. Robert DeNiro:The facial expressions and posture of DeNiro shown on the poster enables you to see that he looks like a rough tough guy who is very serious when it comes to business. The frown on his face as evidence by his creased forehead and one eyebrow higher than the other together with his folded arms and upright stance suggest that he is serious. In addition to this the larger size of the face as well as that of his whole frame in comparison to the others tells that he is the authorative figure and maybe the oldest. He is wearing top businessman suit complete with a red tie, which suggests that he's a man who is not to be crossed, as the colour red is symbolic for love or death (blood). In other words he appears to be saying if you are not with me you will be eliminated. Joe Pesci:He...

Battle of the Buldge :: World War II History

Battle of the Buldge The Battle of the Buldge was the last of the German attacks. It lasted from December 16,1944 to January 28, 1945. The Battle of the Buldge was the largest land battle of World War 2. More then a million men participated in this battle, 600,000 germans, 500,000 Americans and 55,000 British armies were fighting. Towards the end of 1944, World War 2 was coming to an end. The German forces were weakening. Hitler's armies were on the run. The Allies had regained land that was previously taken over by the Nazis, such as Paris, Casablanca and Tripolia. Hitler decided that a surprise attack against the allies could turn the tide of the war. He built up large armies with newly built tanks, artillery and airplanes. Hitler's last attack had to work or he would be defeated. The plan was to march 85 miles from Southern Belgium to Luxembourg and attack the allies by surprise. He would attack during the Christmas season in the Ardennes Forest, an area where there were only a few allied shoulders. T he invasion was designed to split the American and British armies in half. However it did not succeed. The German armies caught the allies by surprise. They had some success in the beginning and were able to take a lot of land from the allies and captured many allied soldiers. The allied forces fought Hitler's armies bravely. They held on to their ground wherever they could. They slowed down the German armies until American and English reinforcements arrived to fight the Germans. The German army was no match for the allied forces. They were running out of fuel, men and ammunition. After fierce battles the German forces were pushed back and gave up all the land they had conquered in the beginning of the

Individuals with Disabilities Act Essays -- essays papers

Individuals with Disabilities Act Everyone says, "We need to help the schools more, it's all about the students." An act was created in 1975, to help those students who were disabled. This law has been criticized by many administrators and teachers. Over the years, because of these criticisms it has been revised and expanded throughout different schools. Higher education figures, such as principles, need to look closely at this act. They're have been cases in schools that have discriminated against this law. People who do or do not have a disability should know about this law and what it exactly means. This law has various amounts of positive key aspects concerning it. Some think its fair, and some do not. Education is suppose to help kids grow into adults with knowledge they have retained and make a good living for themselves. Disabled kids should have this advantage too. "The IDEA is a civil rights act, not an entitlement program." (Gordon and Keiser) This law is an expansion and revision of a law once called, "Education for All Handicapped Children Act." Now it is known as the law of â€Å"Individuals with Disabilities Act." It is known that "President Clinton signed the 1997 revised IDEA amendments into law to help make a fair and balanced compromise for everyone." (Marchand) Legislation was strict when leveling the terms concerning this law. The government has special fundings for special education in schools. It guarantee’s free education for children with disabilities ages 3-21 years of age. In time, this soon meant that, schools would have to have special transportation abilities for students. For students in wheel chairs, they created ramps so it was be easy to have access into the school. Elevators were rapidly bu... ...ing Access, Equilty, and Quality For Students With Disabilities In School-to-work systems: A Guide to Federal Law and Polices. Eric Digest. Retrievd from Eric database. ( 2001, August ). School Law News. Court: Emotionally Disabled Entitled to IDEA services, Issue 17, p.1-2. Retrived September 30, 2004, from Academic Search Premier. ( 2004, March ). Early Years. Education Journal, Issue 75, p.22. Retrieved September 30, 2004, from Academic Search Premier. Gordon, Michael., Keiser, Shelby. (Eds). (2000). Accommodations In Higher Education Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). New York: GSI Publications. Vogel, S.A., Reder, Stephen. (Eds). (1998). Learning Disabilities, Literacy and Adult Education. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Wright, Peter, Wright, Pamela. (1997). Wrightslaw. Retrieved November 15, 2004 Http://wrightslaw.

Disadvantages of Watching TV

We require some kind of etiquate to educate the human beings for watching TV execessively without getting the advantages of the same. We have lost all our old heritage to socialise the environment. Watching TV does not involve the person participation actively. In sub-conscious mind we just go on watching the subject without involving our active mind. We are also loosing the social activites as well as outdoor activities which gives boosting effect on human mind. We should generate awareness among the people about the disadvantage of watching the TV. Although this great invention of science has played major role in human life to give more comfort as well as information human requires for his development but in my view disadvantages has also played vital role to destroy of old age heritage which in fact scientifically proven that outdoor as social activites gives metal and physical satisfaction. As we are well our that our encestors have develop sense of visualizing the events happening at far distant places. This has happend because human has practiced his body in such a that they can see adn visualise the thing before the events take place. But TV may not give this opportunity to develope the human mind. Watching TV has become habbit and some time we do not prefer to visit relatives and friends house and also do not prefer to be visited by them. We would like to generate the awareness in the human being to visulaise this drawback in order to avoid untoward incident to happen in futre and repent on this activity at later date. We must develope and generate a group who can devote the time to make people aware about the outcome of this activity.

How was Macbeth’s fall from grace a tragedy? Essay

Shakespeare presents an image of Macbeth originally as a hero, a role model of courage and bravery. However his indiscernible fascination with darker forces, portrayed by the witches, and whilst he is aware of the treachery in his subsequent actions throughout the play, his ambition engulfs his better judgement, where he contributes to his downfall from such greatness, and thus his character is human, enhancing such a tragedy. Macbeth experiences a sudden disastrous reversal in fortune where his material wealth rapidly multiplies and his personal values swiftly decrease, leaving him loveless, as well as childless, and eventually lifeless, factors which are remnant of Shakespearean tragedies. Even as he retains comprehension of his fate, approaching the play’s finale the audience experiences a certain catharsis, in which they feel pity for his misfortune, even if this character has behaved appallingly, in that his ambition and Lady Macbeth had pressure him to transform someone he himself did not like. Originally, Macbeth is portrayed as an image of prominence, and his relentless enthrallment with supernatural forces results in circumstances whirling out of his control. ‘Brave Macbeth†¦like Valour’s minion carved out his passage†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and thus assisted significantly in the victory which ensued, earning him a multitude of respect from not only the people, but King Duncan. In fact, the worthy King does see to it that as an added prestige and a gift of gratitude to such a noble gentleman, the title of Thane of Cawdor which has been retrieved from a most ‘disloyal traitor,’ and somewhat ironically considering Macbeth’s fate, ‘what he has lost, Macbeth has won.’ It appears, that upon the meeting of the three witches, who do deliver the three prophecies that indicate such a prosperous future for Macbeth, he is fuelled by his own ambition. It could be argued that this is beyond his own control, a mere circumstance often viewed in tragedies, where other characters and conditions are unrestrained by the protagonist, as it is realized that the witches have arranged to ‘meet with Macbeth’ and tempt him, yet he is aware of the possibility of their lies as ‘imperfect speakers’ and thus, his ‘rapt’ removes the possibility of his providence being unpreventable. The reader forms an impression of Macbeth prior to his personal introduction into the play, and thus Shakespeare employs a clever technique in placing Macbeth on a pedestal from our perspective prior to his  arrival. Unexpectedly, Macbeth experiences a sudden reversal in fortune, where he is forced to maintain criminal conflict in order to preserve his status which he has come to rely upon, and in doing so, manages to lose all that was initially dear to him. In what seems like moments, Macbeth achieves the Thane of Cawdor alongside the King of Scotland, but eludes the intimacy he once shared with his wife, and once such a conspirator, leaves her an innocent spectator to ‘applaud the deed.’ The gradual separation of Macbeth and his Lady is strangely sardonic, especially subsequent to the death of Lady Macbeth, where his perspective offers that ‘she should have died hereafter’ resignedly, similar to his manner upon achieving realization that his death is impending, thus presenting a double meaning in referral to himself and his deceased beloved. Shakespeare displays a sharp contrast in which Macbeth seems to have at one instant everything a man could desire including a kin gdom and pregnant wife, afterwards he is found to be truly alone, ‘abhorred tyrant, stripped of his love, child and eventually life. Such abrupt affluence exchanges in which a protagonist moves from happiness to misery, perhaps even death is often a result of dramatic conflict, typical in an Elizabethan tragedy. Disasters which are to follow Macbeth’s foremost crime are inevitable, and his awareness of this increases his humanity, as he has a flaw of pride which eventually is fatal. His evident ignorance of the many signs which do indicate to him to discontinue this murderous work are either for his own personal objectives as he has ‘no spur†¦but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself’ or for that of Lady Macbeth’s taunts which stimulate him as she insults his manhood in her opinion of him as a ‘coward in thine own esteem.’ Early in the play, he does establish the distrustfulness of the witches, as ‘the instruments of darkness’ and with knowledge of their ‘imperfect’ speech he still allows their words to effect him greatly, so much as to he ‘is in blood, Stepped in so far that †¦should wade no more, returning were as tedious as go’er.’ Upon knowledge of Macduff’s flight, Macbe th’s overruling passion for his prominence engulfs his better judgement, and he does order to murder of ‘his wife, his babes, and all  unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.’ Macbeth’s judgment is so weakened by worship for the position he holds that barbarian acts of murder to innocent women and children is no longer beneath him, and Shakespeare presents this in such little light that it appears to be of no importance to Macbeth at all. Prior to Macbeth’s death, the audience experiences a purgation of emotions, almost a catharsis in which empathy is felt for the protagonist, due to the fate dominated by supernatural forces which he appeared to never have true influence over. For his fate was partly predetermined, and his eventual loss followed by a release from such a suffered life is partly relieving, and partly saddening, as his eventual outcomes differ so greatly from his intentions. This misfortune he experiences may be larger than he deserves. Macbeth was once ‘valour’s minion’ and now communicates and consorts with ‘black and midnight hags,’ a procedure used to represent his obvious downfall. Formerly, upon the initial assassinations Macbeth does commit, we see glimmer of conscience when he ‘could not say Amen.’ His discarding of God’s ways in the Elizabethan era would have caused uproar from certain people, yet others would be moved to pity with empa thy for somebody who could lose such faith in God. In fact, Macbeth pities himself, when he realizes that to ‘know my deed, ’twere best not know myself’ and thus the reader commiserates with Macbeth in his regret. Finally, the reader experiences such compassion as Macbeth admits he has ‘lived long enough’ and cares not about his lack of army, and only wishes to die fighting, a soldier, the way he did begin, and agrees to ‘let them fly all.’ In termination, Macbeth’s fall from grace is a tragedy in the way in entails many such factors, involving elements of catharsis, as well as a sudden reversal in fortune for the protagonist. The circumstances beyond Macbeth’s control also contribute to his collapse, thus his disgrace was premeditated, and the pity exploited amongst the audience for Macbeth allows for a purgation of emotion, leading to the belief that the tragedy’s conflicts were a result of human flaws and perhaps his death was whilst deserved for his actions, perhaps not his beliefs.

Just War Essay

The just wars fought by the United States government against Indian tribes were iniquitous and questionable. The formulation of the concept of just and lawful war was proof of the same reason why most Indian tribes sided with England, that the Americans were corrupt and fraudulent. I believe that there is always a democratic and diplomatic way of handling problems and conflicts, especially when dealing with political and social issues. For instance, the U. S. government, holding a prominent and powerful place in society, should have exercised authority responsibly by surveying and gathering information regarding the concerns and demands of the tribes. There should have been in depth discussions regarding the peace-keeping process of local tribes, as well as its relation to their culture. When we talk about culture in the global context, we are talking about variety and difference. What I mean is that, there is and will never be one right culture. Cultural relativism, and the likes, proves such assertion. To apply this concept in the situation, what the U. S. government believes as a process of long term peace, may not be true to the beliefs and traditions of the tribes. Tribal conflicts have been a part of their existence, and long before the intervention of the Europeans and the Americans, they have managed to coexist despite conflicts, which they settle within their own means of setting up a common ground and bringing back social order. Therefore, the U. S. government should not have made assumptions about the practices of the tribes. Moreover, every person has the right to believe in things they want to believe in. So if tribes believe that the Americans are oppressive and chose to side with the English, then that is their own right – to look after their best interests in order to survive. They should not have been punished due to their beliefs and their prevailing instincts to survive and live in more desirable conditions. After the war ended, and the English were defeated, the U. S. government should have sat down with tribal leaders and talked about what things should be done in order to calm and satisfy the tribes. The just and lawful wars, as claimed by the U. S. government were tactless and unreasonable.

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 25~26

Chapter Twenty-five They Know Not What They Do When Rivera and Cavuto arrived at the Safeway, they found that the remaining Animals had crucified Clint on a stainless-steel chip rack and were shooting him with paint-ball guns. Lash unlocked the door to let them in. The Emperor and his men followed. Clint's screaming sent Bummer into a barking fit and the Emperor snatched him up and stuffed him headfirst into the pocket of his overcoat. â€Å"That really necessary?† Rivera asked, pointing to the paint-splattered martyr. â€Å"We think so,† Lash said. â€Å"He ratted us out.† Lash turned, sighted down the pass-through of register three, and fired a quick volley of electric-blue paintballs into the center of Clint's chest. â€Å"Did he call you again?† Rivera threw a thumb over his shoulder at the Emperor. The Emperor bowed. â€Å"You needed help, my son.† Lash nodded, considering that the Emperor might be right, then reeled and fired three quick shots into Clint's groin. â€Å"Just the same, motherfucker!† â€Å"Stop that!† Rivera said. He snatched the paintball gun out of Lash's hand. â€Å"It's cool. He's wearing a cup.† â€Å"And he's saved,† said Barry, who had been firing from register four. â€Å"Well, he is now,† Cavuto said. As he approached the paint-sodden Evangelical, he pulled a serrated-edge pocket knife from his back pocket and flicked it open. â€Å"And just so you know,† Cavuto added when his back was to them, â€Å"if I turn and there's a single paintball gun pointed in this direction, I will be forced to mistake it for a real weapon and unleash lead Disneyland on your pathetic asses.† Barry and Troy Lee immediately dropped their weapons onto the counter. â€Å"So, the Emperor tells us that you guys have been up to some shit. I thought we all agreed that we were going to keep it on the down-low until things calmed down.† Lash looked at his shoes. â€Å"We just had a little party in Vegas.† Rivera nodded. â€Å"And you kidnapped Tommy Flood?† Lash glared over Rivera's shoulder at the Emperor. â€Å"That was a secret. Really we were saving him from the daylight.† â€Å"So the redhead did turn him?† â€Å"Looked like it. He was unconscious at dawn. Just a little sunlight hit his leg when we were moving him and it started to smoke.† â€Å"So you geniuses did what?† â€Å"Well, we tied him to a bed at my apartment and left.† â€Å"You left?† â€Å"We had to work.† Cavuto had cut the zip ties that held Clint to the chip rack and helped him to the register, where he sat him down, careful not to get any paint on his sport coat. â€Å"Forgive them, they know not what they do,† Clint said, wincing as he touched his paint-spattered shoulder. â€Å"Because they're fucking idiots,† Cavuto said, handing him a roll of paper towels. Rivera ignored the scene at the register. â€Å"So you just left him there. So I'll find him there now, right?† â€Å"That was a couple of nights ago,† Lash said. â€Å"Go on.† Rivera looked at his watch. â€Å"Well, in the morning he was gone.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"It's awkward.† For variety, Lash looked at Barry's shoes. â€Å"Yeah, tying up your friends and torturing them can be that way,† Rivera said. â€Å"We didn't torture him. That was her.† â€Å"Her?† Rivera raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Blue. A hooker we rented in Vegas.† â€Å"Now we're talkin',† Cavuto said. â€Å"She came back with us. She wanted us to kidnap Tommy or his girlfriend.† â€Å"Why did she want that? To get their share of the art money?† â€Å"No, she had plenty of money. I think she wanted to be a vampire.† Rivera tried to hide his surprise. â€Å"And?† â€Å"When we went back to the apartment in the morning, Tommy was gone and Blue was dead.† â€Å"We had nothing to do with it,† Barry added. â€Å"But we didn't think you'd believe it,† Troy Lee said. Rivera felt a tension headache starting to throb in his temples. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. â€Å"So you found a dead woman in your apartment. And you didn't think that then might be a good time to call the police?† â€Å"Well, you know, dead hooker in your house – embarrassing,† Troy Lee said. â€Å"I think we've all been there. Can I get a high five – † Apparently, he couldn't, and was thus left hanging. â€Å"That's the weird thing,† Barry said. â€Å"When we went to move her body, it was gone. But the rug we wrapped her in was still there.† â€Å"Yeah, that's the weird thing,† Cavuto said, nudging his partner in the arm. â€Å"Heinous fuckery most foul,† said the Emperor. â€Å"Ya think?† said Cavuto. Bummer growled from his pocket sanctuary. â€Å"You guys are not helping,† Rivera said. Then to Lash again: â€Å"You have a description of this hooker?† Lash described Blue, glossing quickly over the fact that she was blue, and spending entirely too much time describing her breasts. â€Å"They were outstanding,† Barry said. â€Å"I kept them.† Rivera turned to Troy Lee, who seemed the most rational of these insane bastards. â€Å"Explain, please.† â€Å"We found silicone implants wrapped up in the rug where we had left Blue.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† Rivera said. â€Å"Intact?† â€Å"Huh?† Troy inquired. â€Å"Were they all cut up?† â€Å"You think someone cut them out of her and took the body?† Troy asked. â€Å"No,† Rivera said. â€Å"So now you've lost three of your buddies?† â€Å"Yeah. Drew, Jeff, and Gustavo didn't show up tonight.† Rivera had Lash get the addresses of the missing Animals from the office and wrote them down in his notebook. â€Å"And you don't think that they might just be out partying?† â€Å"We called all the phones, checked their houses,† Lash said. â€Å"The door was hanging open at Drew's, and Jeff had left half a beer in the driveway, which he would never do. Besides, Jeff and Drew might flake, but Gustavo wouldn't. We even went to his cousin's house in Oakland looking for him.† â€Å"And he did not est en la biblioteca either,† said Barry, who, for some reason, believed that all Spanish-speaking people spent a lot of time in the library and had therefore checked there for the intrepid night porter. â€Å"No more bodies that you might have forgotten to mention?† â€Å"Nuh-uh,† Lash said. â€Å"Our money was gone, though. But we'd given it all to Blue anyway.† â€Å"I didn't,† Clint said. â€Å"Mutual funds, less ten percent for the church.† â€Å"You gave six hundred thousand dollars to a hooker?† Rivera almost slapped the kid. Almost. â€Å"Well† – Lash looked at Barry and Troy Lee, then, trying to suppress a grin – â€Å"yeah.† Rivera shook his head. â€Å"Keep the door locked and don't report this to anyone else.† â€Å"That's it?† Lash said. â€Å"You aren't going to arrest us or anything?† â€Å"For what?† Rivera flipped his notebook closed and tucked it into the inside pocket of his suit coat. â€Å"Uh, I don't know.† â€Å"Me either,† said Rivera. â€Å"Emperor, you stay inside tonight with these guys. Okay?† â€Å"As you wish, Inspector.† The Emperor scratched behind Lazarus's ears. â€Å"That okay?† Rivera said to Lash. Lash nodded. â€Å"Are we going to be safe?† he asked. Rivera stopped, looked around at the Animals and the Emperor and his dogs. â€Å"Nope,† he said. â€Å"Let's go, Nick.† He turned and walked out the door. The foghorn was lowing across the Bay as the detectives walked back to their car. Fort Mason, just across the street, was barely visible in the rolling cloud of gray mist. â€Å"You think the old vampire is hunting the Animals?† Cavuto asked. â€Å"Someone is,† Rivera said. â€Å"But I'm not sure it's him.† â€Å"You think it might be the redhead and the kid?† â€Å"Could be, but I don't think so. You know, even with the vampire, we always had an identifiable MO – broken neck and massive blood loss, on a victim who turned out to be terminally ill, right?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"So if he went after these kids, why no bodies?† â€Å"So it's Flood and the redhead. And they hide their bodies.† â€Å"I think it could be worse than that.† â€Å"Like worse in a way that we'll never be able to open the bookstore and may in fact end up doing time for taking the vampire's art collection?† â€Å"Like worse in that the hooker and the missing Animals aren't dead at all.† â€Å"How is that worse?† Then Cavuto realized how that was worse. They climbed into the car and stared at the windshield for a while without saying anything. Finally, after a full minute, Cavuto said, â€Å"We're fucked.† â€Å"Yep,† Rivera said. â€Å"The whole city is fucked.† â€Å"Yep.† Chapter Twenty-six Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal: Star-Crossed Lover and Tragic Fatale OMG! We are doomed by our forbidden love! We are like from different feuding families, from the wrong side of the tracks, he is like year of the Rabbit and I am a Leo, so we are even star-crossed, and it's a well-known fact that rabbits and lions have a strained relationship. OMFG! He's so hot! He rocks my stripy socks. If we had moors, I would so be off brooding upon one, my delicate jaw muscles clenched as I stared off into the mist, feeling my profound missing-ness for him. (I can't believe that San Francisco doesn't have a moor. Everywhere you go we have automated, coin-operated robotic bathrooms, or Frisbee golf courses, or some new stainless-steel epileptic razor-blade public-art thingy, you'd think the least they could do would be to install a decent moor – because there are a lot more people who like brooding than like Frisbee golf. I'm pretty sure moors can be used for other purposes, too, like hauntings and hiding bodies and family picnics and whatnot.) Thus I am for ced to do my brooding at Tulley's Coffee on Market Street. It took most of the day for us to move the Countess and the vampyre Flood to Jared's room. First we had to wrap them up in duct tape and garbage bags to protect them from the sun, then get them down the hill from the Bay Bridge in the garden cart, which was totally physically hard, and not like taking X and dancing or playing DDR all night, more like work. Then, when we were loading them into the minivan, these two cops come by. And they're all, â€Å"So, what are you doing with your piercings and your magenta-on-black hair, and what can we do to further repress your creativity? Bluster-blah-blah.† And Jared was all, â€Å"Nothing.† All wussy and guilty-sounding. He had the front end of the Countess at the time and he totally just dropped her headfirst on the floorboard of the van. So I was like, â€Å"Fucktard! The Countess is going to rip your nads off when she awakens!† (And she might, too, although when we unwrapped her she seemed unbruised.) And the cop was all, â€Å"Hold it right there, kid.† With his hand on his gun like I was going to go all Columbine on his ass or something. So I knew it was time for some strategy. So I stepped over to the cop, and I started whispering like I didn't want Jared to hear. And I'm all, â€Å"Officer, I'm really embarrassed to even be seen like this. I'm a Kappa Kappa Delta pledge and we're doing this hazing thing. I wouldn't be caught dead dressed like this, but it's like the most popular and powerful sorority on campus.† And the cop is all, â€Å"What about the guy? He's not in your sorority.† And I was all, â€Å"Shhhhhhh. God, you want to hurt her feelings? They made her shave her head like that and she's having a hard enough time with that and being totally flat-chested. Frankly, I don't think she's going to make it. Everyone knows that KKDs are pretty. Hello.† I batted my eyelashes and sort of pushed my basically invisible boobs together with my arms, as I have often seen done in music videos. And the cop was all, â€Å"Can I see your student ID?† And I was like, FUCK, because I didn't know which college would be most likely to have a sorority, so I went with my Berkeley student ID, because Berkeley is a well-known bastion of hippie behavior and higher learning in which a sorority girl would probably have to blow like a hundred football players just to keep her GPA up. And cops like football. So he was all, â€Å"Okay, but make sure there's plenty of airholes so your friends can breathe.† And I was all, â€Å"Sure thing. See ya later, cop.† So when we got the masters to Jared's house, his step-mom was all, â€Å"So, I see you have your little friend with you.† And Jared had to play chilly, so he was like, yeah, we have a school project. And stepmonster was so proto-orgasmic that Jared was with a girl that she didn't even say much when we dragged the bodies through the den. Jared was all, â€Å"They're for social studies. We're doing replicas of Egyptian mummies.† Despite the complete embarrassment for me as a fellow woman, I'm grateful that when fathers pick their trophy wives, they don't check resumes or SAT scores, because you couldn't get away with that shit with a woman of normal intelligence. But Jared's stepmonster was all, â€Å"Oh, how nice for you. Would you like some juice?† Fortunately she wasn't around in sixth grade when Jared and I actually did our mummy project. We got in trouble for charging three hundred dollars' worth of Ace bandages on my mom's Visa, and my sister Ronnie has never fully recovered the feeling in her feet (and has an anxiety attack whenever she's in an enclosed space). But there was no gangrene or amputations like the doctors threatened, and we got a B, so I don't see what all the noise and counseling was about. Anyway, after we unwrapped the Countess, I knew I had to go back and feed Chet, like I promised the disgusting huge cat guy, and since we had now shared a moment of intimacy, I felt obligated. So we shoved the vampyre Flood under Jared's bed, because Jared wanted to sit on the bed and play Xbox and it's a single bed. So, anyway, I caught the bus on Twenty-fourth Street, and got back to the SOMA with just enough time to feed Chet before the old naked vampyre awakened from his undead slumber. And I took Jared's dagger with me in my biohazard messenger bag, because I thought I would dispatch Elijah by decapitation as, like, an extra-credit thing for the Countess. Shut up. It wasn't like I went down in the basement in my nightgown to check on a blown fuse when the radio clearly had stated that there was a psycho killer on the loose and he was probably in the basement. I'm not stupid. I put on Jared's motocross boots and his leather jacket and spiked dog collar, and tied my hair back, so I was totally Thunderdome-ready. How hard could it be to feed the cat and cut the head off a sleeping old guy, anyway? It's not like they wake up. I mean, we bonked Flood's head on the steps going to Jared's room like eight times and he didn't even groan. So I would have been all good and totally in line to be Princess of Darkness or at least Assistant Manager of Darkness, except when I was going up the steps I heard the dryer open. And I was all, Uh-oh. Since when is sundown like at five-o'clock? What am I, nine years old that I should have sunset at five o'clock? Sunset shouldn't be until like eight or nine o'clock, right? Right? So, I'm like, WHOA. And I froze. And I stood there for like a half an hour, not moving at all, because I didn't buckle like the top buckles of Jared's motocross boots, to show my casual badassness, so it was like I was wearing fucking sleigh bells. (I know, I'm a tard.) So I couldn't move. Then, after about a year, I hear this car pull up outside and the doors open, and I'm thinking – Hello, Diversion, my old friend. And I ran out the security door and right into this tall blond ho. And she's dressed all couture and shit, like it's fashion week at church or something, except she's with three of the guys from the Hummer limo, and she's pale as albino monkey cum. And I don't mean in a good way either. I mean in a sort of â€Å"Hey, Myrtle Joe Cornfed, y'all let go your stepdaddy's penis and get over here and turn the channel to NASCAR† kind of way. I mean, she had no mascara on at all! Then she just picks me up by the arms and it hurt a lot, and I'm like kicking and thrashing and all, and she throws back her head and here come the fangs. And I'm all, â€Å"No way. They'll just let any-fucking-body into the coven.† And she's all, â€Å"Not you. Unless you know where my money is.† And I'm all, â€Å"Step off, skank.† And she goes to bite me, and something yanks her back off her feet and I go flying. Next thing, I'm looking up at the old vampyre in his yellow tracksuit, who is holding the blond ho by the hair, and the pale limo guys are like coming in on him. And Track-suit is all, â€Å"Against the rules, pet. You can't go willy-nilly turning everyone you meet. It attracts the wrong kind of attention.† And wham, he smacks her face on the hood of her Mercedes, leaving a face print on the paint, I swear on the crusty hippie grave of my mother. So I'm all, â€Å"Owned! Bee-yatch! Dog fucking owned you!† Doing a minor booty dance of ownage, perhaps, in retrospect, a bit prematurely. (I believe hip-hop to be the appropriate language for taunting, at least until I learn French.) So they all turn on me. And I'm all, â€Å"awkward.† So I started backing across the street. And crusty old vampyre bounces monkey cum's face off the hood of the Mercedes a couple of more times, then drops her and comes for me. The limo guys are all sort of standing by the car like they are waiting for instructions or something. Then one of them says, â€Å"Hey,† and starts coming my way, too. So I'm at the wall across the street, and I know I can't run, so I reach into my bag and pull Jared's dagger. And Tracksuit starts laughing – like really stoner laughing, pointing at my ensemble. And I was all, â€Å"Shut up, fuckface, this knife and boots totally go with fishnets.† Except for the Countess, I realize now that vampyres lose all fashion sense at death. But then I hear this really loud thumper coming from down the alley, like club music you can feel in your breastbone, and this totally race-pimped yellow Honda comes screaming out of the alley. Who knew you could even get a car down that alley. So the old vampyre has to jump back to avoid being run over and the limo guys jump back, and I was kind of hiding my head in my arms, but I hear, â€Å"Get in,† and it's the cool Manga-haired Asian guy who I'd seen outside the loft before. And I'm all, â€Å"What?† Because the music is really loud. And he's all, â€Å"Get in.† And I'm all, â€Å"What?† And by this time the old vampyre has jumped over the hood of the Honda and is about to grab me when there's this flash. Really more than a flash, because it stayed on. But there was this blinding light. And the music goes down and I hear, â€Å"Get in.† So I look into the light, and I'm like, â€Å"Grandma, is that you?† Okay, I didn't say that. I'm totally fucking with you. I looked into the light and saw the Manga-haired guy, wearing sunglasses, and he's waving for me to get in his car. And then I see that the old vampyre is charred like Wile E. Coyote after a bad rocket shoes test. And so are the limo guys, and they're smoking and limping away from the Honda, which is shining like a star or something. And Manga is all, â€Å"Now!† And I'm all, â€Å"Shut up, you're not the boss of me.† But I got in the Honda and we totally drifted around the corner, and when we're a block or two away Steve (that's his name, Steve) kills the ginormous floodlights in the backseat and I can sort of see again. And he's all, â€Å"High-intensity ultraviolet.† And I'm, â€Å"You, too.† And he's like, â€Å"What are you talking about?† I'm like, â€Å"I thought it was a compliment.† Then he smiled, like the cutest smile, although he was still driving muy intense and totally badass, and he goes, â€Å"No, that light back there was high-intensity ultraviolet. It burns them.† And I was all, â€Å"I knew that.† And he was like, â€Å"You know that those three guys were vampyres, too, right?† And I'm all, â€Å"Duh.† But I didn't know. So I'm like, â€Å"How did you know?† Then he takes off his shades and puts on these binocular robot-glasses things, like they wear in Siphon Assassin Six for Xbox, which I am against because it glorifies violence in the minds of adolescent boys and because it's totally impossible to get a decent head shot when your squad mates are bumping into you, which needs to be fixed in the next version if I'm going to be able to do the â€Å"gray spray† on the sentry tower glass. So Steve is all, â€Å"Yeah, they're infrared. You can see heat with them, and there was no heat coming off anyone back there but you.† And I'm like, â€Å"Who the fuck are you?† And he's like, â€Å"My name's Steve. I'm working on my biochem masters at S.F. State.† â€Å"Stop,† I said. â€Å"Please do not further endorken youself to me. You have great hair and a car that is most fly, and you have just saved me with your mad ninja driving skills, so do not sully your heroic hottie image in my mind by further reciting your nerdy scholastic agenda. Don't tell me what you're studying, Steve, tell me what's in your soul. What haunts you?† And he was like, â€Å"Dude, you need to cut back on the caffeine.† Which was fair, and I know that he was only saying it out of concern for my welfare and whatnot, because I think he knew even then that we were destined to be together, soul mates. So while he drives, Steve tells me that he was doing some experiments on some bodies for his master's thingy, and he found that the cells of the victims were regenerating when you added blood to them, and he thinks he can turn them back to normal human cells by using some gene therapy or something. And he's been talking to the Countess and Lord Flood about turning them back, but the Countess is all, â€Å"No way, hot Manga-haired science guy.† So I was all, â€Å"Why would she want to give up immortality and superpowers and whatnot?† And he was all, â€Å"I don't know.† And I was all, â€Å"We should discuss it over coffee.† And he was like, â€Å"I would love to do that, but I'm already late for work.† And I was like, â€Å"I thought you were a mad scientist.† And he was all, â€Å"I work at Stereo City.† And I was like, â€Å"Dude, you should get a job at Metreon selling the big-screens, because they have like the best test couches.† And he was like, â€Å"Okay.† Just like that, â€Å"Okay.† So he wanted to give me a ride home, so I would be safe, which is so sweet, but I needed double-soy Mochaccino to calm my nerves, so here I am at Tulley's, totally brooding. But before I got out of the car, I was like, â€Å"Steve, do you have a girlfriend?† And he was like, â€Å"No, I put a lot of time into my studies, and I sort of always have.† And I was like, â€Å"So would you be in the market for a Gaijin princess?† And he was like, â€Å"That's Japanese. I'm Chinese.† And I'm like, â€Å"Don't change the subject, Kung Pao, what I want to know is if you're ready to spend some up-close and personal time with ninety pounds of barbarian woman-flesh! Sorry, I don't know how much that is in kilos.† I don't know what came over me. I was just fizzing over with adrenaline and passion and whatnot, I guess. I usually don't throw myself at guys, but he was so mysterious and smart and hot. So he got this big grin and he was like, â€Å"My parents would freak out if they saw you.† And I was like, â€Å"You live at home?† And he was all, â€Å"Well, uh, yeah, uh, kinda, uh – â€Å" So I grabbed the pen out of his pocket and wrote my cell number on his arm while he stuttered, then when I put the pen back I kissed him sort of hard and totally passionately, which I could tell he liked a lot, so I pushed him away and slapped him so he wouldn't think I was a slut. But not very hard, so he wouldn't think I wasn't interested. And I was all, â€Å"Call me.† And he was all, â€Å"I will.† So I was like, â€Å"Do not fuck with your hair.† And he was all, â€Å"Okay.† And I was all, â€Å"Be careful.† And he was all, â€Å"I will. You, too.† And I was all, â€Å"Oh, yeah, thanks for the rescue and whatnot.† And he was all, â€Å"Sure. Thanks for the kiss.† And so I am his shameless White Devil Juliet and he is my sweet Ninja Romeo (unless Ninjas are also Japanese, in which case I will have to look some shit up for metaphors because the only thing Chinese I can think of right now is Dim Sum, and I believe it's disrespectful to refer to your soul mate in terms of finger food). Fucksocks! My cell. Jared. L8rz.