Al Baik Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Al Baik Analysis - Essay Example Over the years Al Baik has grown and has opened few outlets in Makkah, Yanbu and Taif but has not gone global. This paper aims to talk about situations where the companies do not tend to go global and the reason behind the decision. Al Baik is one such company which utilises the most of its home ground and feels that it should expand only when the company fits to all the requirements to go global and maintain its brand name at the same time. AL Baik has been the price leader and has applied the strategy of both cost leadership and differentiation through which it has been able to achieve competitive advantage and according to the CEO of AL Baik, Rami Abughazalah the company has been able to flourish in Saudi Arabia and has given a tough competition to its brands such as Mc Donald’s and KFC. A literature review has been provided where the fact of going global has been discussed and also why companies do not go global despite of the buzz globalization, what are the benefits of g oing global and the expansion mode in Saudi Arabia and their culture. The research has been conducted both in primary and secondary method in order to get into the details of the plans of expansion of AL Baik, the famous fast food restaurant. Thus it can be concluded that AL Baik has plans to expand in the future but only when the situation and the conditions are correct and according to the situations favouring AL Baik. ... The restaurant was not franchised but it was an agency from the US from a company which sold fryers and secret mixers. The restaurant stood at Jeddah. But during the first year of its operation the company suffered a huge loss because people at that point of time did not understand the concept of fried chicken. Thus in order to create an awareness of the product Shakkour Abughazalah printed on every bag a statement that explained the meaning and concept of fried chicken. The company reached its first milestone when about 100 people visited Al Baik on a day and thus it continues to serve people in Jeddah and in nearby cities. Today Al Baik is one of the most famous fast food chains of restaurants operating in Jeddah and has opened few outlets in Makkah, Yanbu and Taif. In Jeddah the company has about 40 outlets and has been the market leader. Research Methodology The research methodology includes both primary as well as secondary research. On the basis of the research it has been anal ysed that Al Baik has made its plans for expansion but considering the conditions it would expand. In terms of primary research, interview was conducted with the CEO of AL Baik, Rami Abughazalah and secondary research was based on from the research made on the literature review. This has also helped to come in to conclusion as to why firms do not go global and also the reason for organisation going global. An analysis into the interview of the CEO has made it clear the strategies and the plans of the company to expand. Business Strategies used by Al Baik The business strategies adopted by AL Baik is based on the interview conducted with the CEO of Al Baik, Rami Abughazalah. Therefore assumptions are made on the strategies used by AL

Comparison of Ifrs and Us Gaap Essay Example for Free

Comparison of Ifrs and Us Gaap Essay Presents the key similarities and differences between IFRS and US GAAP, focusing on the differences commonly found in practice. It takes into account all standards published up to August 2007. IFRS Pocket Guide 2006 Provides a summary of the IFRS recognition and measurement requirements. Including currencies, assets, liabilities, equity, income, expenses, business combinations and interim financial statements. Understanding financial instruments – A guide to IAS 32, IAS 39 and IFRS 7 Comprehensive guidance on all aspects of the requirements for financial instruments accounting. Detailed explanations illustrated through worked examples and extracts from company reports. Contents Page Preface How to use this publication Summary of similarities and differences Accounting framework Financial statements Consolidated financial statements Business combinations Revenue recognition Expense recognition Assets Liabilities Equity Derivatives and hedging Other accounting and reporting topics Foreign currency translation Earnings per share Related-party disclosures Segment reporting Discontinued operations Post-balance-sheet events Interim financial reporting 3 4 12 13 20 25 30 34 39 50 58 59 62 62 63 64 65 67 67 68 69 Index Similarities and Differences – A comparison of IFRS and US GAAP – October 2007 Contents 1 Preface Preface One day we may not need to produce this publication because the world’s capital markets will be using one accounting framework, and there will be no need for a comparison between two sets of standards. However, there is much to do before this can become reality. The International Accounting Standards Board and the U S Financial Accounting Standards Board have been committed to converging IFRS and US GAAP since the Norwalk Accord of 2002. Many commentators have called for convergence to simplify financial reporting and reduce the compliance burden for listed companies, especially those with stock market listings in more than one jurisdiction and those who participate in cross-border, capitalmarket transactions. A major step in the movement to one set of global accounting standards is the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2007 proposal to drop the requirement for a US GAAP reconciliation by foreign private issuers that prepare their primary financial statements under full IFRS. Another significant step is the 2007 SEC Concepts Release on allowing domestic US registrants to use IFRS as an alternative to US GAAP. These potential changes, if they come to fruition, will significantly alter the international landscape of accounting. US capital-market participants have already started to show a much greater interest in IFRS, realising that it may replace US GAAP as the accounting language underlying future financial reporting and capital-market activity. This will not happen immediately.

My New Life with Wickham Essay -- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

I have been living in London with Wickham for several months now, and, although none of my family would agree with this, I am glad that I ran away with him, he likes me very much and I care for him dearly. After all, if I had asked for father’s permission to go and live with Wickham, without being married, surely he would have said no without any hesitation. So I thought, if I wanted to be with Wickham, I had no choice but to run away with him. At the time, I thought, why not now? So I did. I love being here, in London, alone with my Wickham, sometimes I do feel quite lonely though, because Wickham goes out gambling at least every other day I would say. I am in the process of stopping Wickham from gambling, he is so addicted. I try to tell him that he will never get a better paying job if he keeps gambling, he will have too bad a reputation. He keeps saying that he will try and stop, but he always ends up going off in the evening. He cannot control himself. It is terrible really. When he is out, and I am alone, I do think of my family, my sisters, mother and father, I do miss them all very very much. On the whole, I am relatively happy with my life though. One good thing is, even though I am the youngest of us 5 sisters, I am the first to be married! So mother will be very proud of me. Now, I am the most important one, I will be put first. We have only been married for one month, but I love it. Wickham does not seem to view things any differently, he still treats me exactly the same, it is as if nothing has changed. One strange thing about our wedding was Mr. Darcy being there, most surprising. When Mr. Darcy came to us one evening, offering to organise our whole wedding and pay for it all, I was so shocked. It... ...zzy would ever marry. I am quite jealous that Lizzy will be living in the grand estate of Pemberly, and she will be ever so rich, that I am glad of. Because myself and Wickham are in debt and there is no hope of us ever having our own house, so hopefully we will be given help financially so we can have our own house. If we are very lucky, Darcy might help Wickham with some business of some kind. I do not see why they should keep all their money to themselves, that would be ever so selfish of them. I feel that I am the luckiest girl alive, I am married to the finest, most handsome man in the world. I imagine every woman must be envious of Wickham being at my side. I could not have married a finer man, and I could not have made my sisters more envious of me. Kitty and Mary do not have a chance of finding a man as good and kind as I have. Life could not be better.

The Immune System Essay -- essays research papers

The Immune System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The immune system is a group of cells, molecules, and tissues that help defend the body against diseases and other harmful invaders. The immune system provides protection against a variety of potentially damaging substances that can invade the body. These substances include disease-causing organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. The body's ability to resist these invaders is called immunity. A key feature of the immune system is its ability to destroy foreign invaders while leaving the body's own healthy tissues alone. Sometimes, however, the immune system attacks and damages these healthy tissues. This reaction is called an autoimmune response or autoimmunity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The immune system is composed of many parts that work together to fight infections when pathogens or poisons invade the human body. Pathogens are disease-causing organisms such as bacteria and viruses. The immune system reacts to foreign substances through a series of steps know as the immune response. Any agent perceived as foreign by a body's immune system is called an antigen. Several types of cells may be involved in the immune response to antigens.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When an antigen enters the body, it may be partly neutralized by components of the innate immune system. It may be attacked by phagocytes or by performed antibodies that act together with the complement system. The human immune system cont...

Teacher Tribute

I would like to tribute this to one of my favorite teachers throughout my years at Lawrence Middle School, Mr. Hughes. The most important teacher in my life I would have to say would be my 8th grade history teacher Mr. Hughes my 8th grade history teacher. The way he taught was perfect it was easy to intake all the information’s because he would make learning the lesson fun. For example I remember we were learning about slavery and how north and south had fought, he divided the class into two one was the south and the other the north. We had to argue and battle why we each side wanted what they want and we would have to back it up and the winning team would get money or some kid of reward. He made me look at school from a whole another perspective. If it wasn't for him I would probably not doing so good in school an not caring about graduating. If it wasn't for his teaching and his lectures he gave me I would not be the person I am now, nor would I have been close to graduating because before him I did not really care for school and learning. He told me so many things that you needed in life and how to become successful and the things you need to do to accomplish it. I remember we were selling chocolate for a school fundraiser an he bought a whole box of me just to show he cared. He was an amazing teacher who i will never forget. He was the only teacher who i liked listening lectures from because he just made them so much interesting changing his voice or the tone whatever it was he needed to do to make the class stay awake an learn he did. Mr. Hughes has past way he was sick an got injured and never got better he was a very wise man. I would just like to say R. I. P Mr. Hughes the teacher who made a difference in not my life but in many more others lives and just the way life is looked upon. He lived his life to the fullest I believe he did everything he wanted to he would always have these crazy stories he would tell us give us life lessons on what to do an the wise things. Their isn’t a day that goes by an I don’t think of him. His sense of humor which made learning so much fun. His Aphorism’s he would speak of an compare them to life. That’s why I wanted to do a tribute to him because of him being one of my favorite teachers throughout my years learning. Mr. Hughes is the most important teacher that i have had in my life.

Triandis definition of culture Essays

Triandis definition of culture Essays Triandis definition of culture Paper Triandis definition of culture Paper Culture, in sociology and social anthropology, is the beliefs, behavior, language, and entire way of life of a particular group of people at a particular time. Culture includes customs, ceremonies, works of art, inventions, technology, and traditions. Triandis definition of Culture: 1Culture is a set of human-made objective and subjective elements that in the past have increased the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction for the participants in an ecological niche, and thus became shared among those who could communicate with each other because they had a common language and they lived in the same time and place. 1 2British anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor defines culture as that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Many other definitions of culture have been offered, but by and large all refer to shared systems of values and behavior. 2 All human brings create culture, it is a pattern of ways of responding to basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing family, organization, religion, government and social structures. Each culture posses its own particular traditions, value and ideals. Judgment of what is wrong right or wrong, good or bad, acceptable or taboo are based on cultural values. Culture is the result of all the daily discussions and negotiations between people. They are frequently agreeing (sometimes openly, usually tacitly) about the proper way to do things and how to make meanings about the events of the world around them. If you want to change a culture you have to change all these conversations-or at least the majority of them. Sources: 1 olemiss. edu/courses/psy561/lect0_files/frame. htm 2 Culture Defined, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. 3People learn culture. Many qualities of human life are transmitted geneticallyan infants desire for food, for example, is triggered by physiological characteristics determined within the human genetic code. An adults specific desire for milk and cereal in the morning, on the other hand, cannot be explained genetically; rather, it is a learned (cultural) response to morning hunger. Culture, as a body of learned behaviors common to a given human society, acts rather like a template (ie. it has predictable form and content), shaping behavior and consciousness within a human society from generation to generation. So culture resides in all learned behavior and in some shaping template or consciousness prior to behavior as well (that is, a cultural template can be in place prior to the birth of an individual person). 3 4According to the American Heritage English Dictionary, the definition of culture is: The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. 4 Status: 5Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others. status can be formal as well as informal. Formal statuses are those given in form of a designation for example in an organization such as manager. Informal will include those, which exists outside the organization or even within but less important than the formal one. 5 Sources: 3 wsu. edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/culture-definition. html 4 wsu. edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/glossary/culture. html 5Stephen P Robbins, Organizational Behavior, 7th edition. Five Different Cultural Approaches. Universalism vs. Particularism. Universalists are more rule based and particularists are relationship based. In paritcularists approach more attention and importance is given to relationships. People in Universalists culture believe that general rules, codes, values and standards take are more important than particular needs and claims of friends and relations. Particularistic cultures see the ideal culture in terms of friendly relationships. They focus more on relationships. Individualism vs. Collectivism. In individualistic culture people place the individual before the society. They are expected to make decisions by themselves. In a particularistic culture, the quality of life for all members of society is seen as directly reliant on opportunities for individual freedom and development. The community is judged by the extent to which it serves the interest of individual members. In a collectivist culture people place the community before the individual. In collectivist culture people are expected to act in such a way that it serves the society. The individual is judged by the extent to which he serves the interest of the society. Achievement vs. Ascription. Achievement means people are judged on what they have recently achieved or accomplished. Ascription means that status is attributed to you by things like birth, kinship, gender, age, interpersonal connections, or educational record. Achieved status refers to doing, ascribed status refers to being. Achievement-oriented societies or organizations justify their hierarchies by claiming that senior people have achieved more. In ascription-oriented cultures, however, hierarchies are justified by power-to-get-things-done. Neutral vs. Emotional.

hate cimes essays

hate cimes essays The heart is an organ of fire, filled with intense love and intense hatred. But it is the hatred, which entwines the lives of people causing them to display acts of violence and cruelty. Hatred is displayed through forms which include: prejudices towards large groups of people, crimes of hatred being committed, and indirect hatred which involves hurting others as an act of rebellion against someone or something. Throughout history, the world has been afflicted by the prejudices of powerful leaders who in turn took their animosity out on large masses of people. Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany during World War II, is a prime example of this. He took his hatred out on the Jews, forcing them into concentration camps. Another group that is a target of hatred are the blacks. The Ku Klux Klan, otherwise known as the KKK, possess intense hatred for the black race. Their hatred is demonstrated by marching in white cloaks in protest and also by burning the churches and neighborhood s of blacks. Just as Hitler and the KKK express hatred, the Skinheads are yet another group which have strong prejudices. These so called Skinheads abominate most races other than their own. White hooded silhouettes, German Soldiers echoing Hail Hitler!, and the infamous Skinheads are harsh reminders of hatred which exists throughout the world. In the same way that prejudices of large groups of people are expressed, hate crimes are committed to demonstrate acts of hatred. Most recent are the burning of black churches across the South. A crime of this sort shows hatred against the black race. Sometimes leading to manslaughter, racial tensions are abundant. Furthermore, the burning of crosses or flags are offensive crimes that are committed to show a person's hatred for religion or the government. Spousal abuse, child abuse, homicide, and wars between races can only be acts of one thing: hatred. Newspapers are filled with page after page of...

Luther Burbank essays

Luther Burbank essays Luther Burbank Luther Burbank was born the thirteenth of 15 children in Lancaster, Massachusetts on March 7, 1849. He was a sensitive, shy boy with a curiosity about the outdoors. His cousin, Professor Levi Burbank, took him on long walks in the woods to study plant life and discuss his interests in biology. He completed his formal education at Lancaster Academy, where he studied biology, chemistry and physics, but he didnt decide upon a career. He wanted to study medicine but there was so many children in his family and so little money, he was forced to go to work. He got a job in a near-by factory as a wood turner and pattern maker for fifty cents a day. He didnt like this work because it was indoors, so he decided to become a truck gardener. It was at this time that Luther first read Charles Darwins Animals and Plants Under Domestication. He decided then and there to make plant breeding his lifes work. Although he had no real scientific education, he did have an intense curiosity about plants and a love of nature. He began simple experiments, and, through trial and error, improved growing methods. These he tested in further experiments as he tried to develop new and sturdier vegetables. One of his first experiments was with sweet corn. In order to get corn on the market earlier, he forced the kernels to grow inside the warm house two weeks before the ground was ready. Then when it was warm enough outside, he planted the seeds which had already sprouted. This way he already gained two weeks on the other gardeners, and the sweet corn was ready to sell two weeks earlier. This method of growth created many advantages for gardeners since they could reap the benefit of their crops at an earlier date. One day Burbank discovered among his potato plants a seed ball on the leafy part of the plant. He collected it carefully and plan ...

Time Series Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Time Series Assignment - Essay Example Autocorrelation function (ACF) is the  cross-correlation  of a  signal  with itself. It refers to the similarity between observations as a function of the time lag between them. ACF is a statistical tool for finding repeating patterns, for example the presence of a periodic signal obscured by noise, or may be identifying the  missing fundamental frequency (Box and Jenkins, 1994) in a signal implied by its  harmonic  frequencies.   Just like ACF, PACF plots (Box and Jenkins, 2008) are also commonly used tool for identifying the order of an  autoregressive model. The partial autocorrelation of an AR (p) process is zero at lag  p  +  1 and greater. If the sample autocorrelation plot indicates that an AR model may be appropriate, then the sample partial autocorrelation plot is examined to help identify the order. One looks for the point on the plot where the partial autocorrelations for all higher lags are essentially zero. Placing on the plot an indication of the sampling uncertainty of the sample PACF is helpful for this purpose: this is usually constructed on the basis that the true value of the PACF, at any given positive lag, is zero. If the PACF displays a sharp cut-off while the ACF decays more slowly (i.e., has significant spikes at higher lags), we say that the stationarized series displays an "AR signature," meaning that the autocorrelation pattern can be explained more easily by adding AR terms rather than by adding MA terms. The plots clearly displays a sharp cut-off for the PACF and a significantly reducing value of spikes for the ACF implying that we instead use an AR

Financial Management - The Spring Group Assignment Essay

Financial Management - The Spring Group Assignment - Essay Example The time value of money can also be referred to as time preference for money.this, then, constitutes the rationale of considering time value of money in financial decision-making. The main reason for time preference for money is to be found in the re-investment opportunities for funds, which are received early. The funds so invested will earn a rate of return which or more popularly as a discount rate. The expected rate of return as also the time value of money will vary from individual to individual depending on his perception, among other things1. The investment decision relates to the selection of assets in which can be acquired fall into two broad groups (i) long-term assets which will yield a return over a period of time in future, (ii) short-term or current assets defined as those assets which in the normal course of business are convertible into cash usually within a year.accordingly, the asset selection decision of a firm is of two types. The first of these involving the first category of assets is popularly known in the financial literature as capital bugeting.the aspect of financial decision-making with reference to current assets or short-term assets is popularly designed as working capital management 2. Working capital management is concerned with... One aspect of the working capital management is the trade-off between profitability and risk (liquidity). There is a conflict between profitability and liquidity. If a firm does not have adequate working capital, i.e. it does not invest sufficient funds in current assets, it may become illiquid and consequently may not have the ability to meet its current obligations and thus invite the risk of bankruptcy. If the current assets are too large, the profitability is adversely affected. The key strategies and considerations in ensuring a trade-off between profitability and liquidity is one major dimension of working capital management. In addition, the neither inadequate nor unnecessary funds are locked up. To summarise, the management of working has two basic ingredients, namely (i) an overview of working capital management as a whole, and (ii) efficient management of the individual current assets such as cash, receivables and inventory 3. The second major decision involved in financial management is the financing decision. The investment decision is broadly concerned with the asset-mix or the composition of the assets of a firm. The concern of the financing decision is with the financing-mix or capital structure or leverage. The term capital structure refers to the proportion of debt (fixed-interest sources of financing) and equity capital (variable-dividend securities/sources of funds). The financing decision of a firm relates to the choice of the proportion of these sources to finance the investment requirements. There are two aspects of the financing decision. First, the theory of capital structure which shows the theoretical relationship between the employment of debt and the return to the shareholders. The use of debt

Financial Investment Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Investment Analysis - Essay Example This, particularly, must be challenging for companies with global operations that may have their cash balances fragmented across different geographies, banks, and bank accounts which make accessing cash difficult (Huang 2003). In this regard, this paper seeks to address the issue of efficient diversification as a comprehensive strategy in liquidity and stock return. Liquidity of an asset explains the ease with which an asset can be sold after its purchase without incurring further losses and how risks can be mitigated if not minimized (Baker 2006). The various losses that could be incurred may be due to the various transaction costs or price changes or poor investment strategies. Thus the main aim of this study shall be to examine how proportionate efficient diversification increases the neutralization of low pricing and promising high returns (Elton et al. 2007). The paper holds that efficient diversification must there is a potential benefit when risky part of portfolio consists of weighted proportions of all possible risky assets. Naive and Efficient Diversification Studies done on investment on stock markets and equity securities have documented the relationship that exists in weighted portfolios (proportionate or otherwise on risky assets). Broadly speaking, there two causes of uncertainty. Elton et al (2007) note that one of them is risk which relates to broad economic conditions. These include inflation, currency exchange rates, interest rates and business cycle. Interestingly, these macro-economic aggregates cannot be foreseen with implicit surety, yet they impact on the rate of returns. Second, according to them, is a firm-specific influence which affects the organization without obviously affecting other companies (Elton et al. 2007). These include effects such as managerial structure, human resource changes and research and development (Baker 2006). Obviously when diversification is naively done, for instance adding additional security to a risky por tfolio, then this should work to lessen portfolio risk. The implication here is that continued diversification into even other securities more and more decreases the probability of exposition to the specific risk factors of the company, thereby ensuring the falling of portfolio volatility (Jagannathan and Wang 2006). All this happens when it is naive diversification where equally weighted portfolio of many securities is employed (Elton et al 2007). Inherently, if risks are only firm’s specific means, diversification still reduces the risk to reasonable low levels (Baker 2006).This means that when it comes to a situation where the sources of risks are autonomous and there is spreading of investment into numerous securities, there is negligibility of exposure to specific font of risk. This is what is sometimes referred to the insurance principle (Jagannathan and Wang 2006). Regardless of this however, the tragedy is that in a situation where common risk foundations have impact on all companies, even widespread diversifying fails to eradicate risk. At this, portfolio standard deviation reduces when securities numbers increases. Despite this, it is never reduced to zero, and thus there must be a market risk/systematic risk, which is attributed to market forces (Jagannathan and Wang 1996). Else how, efficient diversification is often done when weighted portfolios are employed proportionately.

A+ Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A+ - Assignment Example Perceived obsolescence is a concept which means that something has seemingly gone out of style but it has not yet. In other words, basically recycling should be planned obsolescence, because as we become a garbageless society the recycling system will be perceived obsolescence and recognized as such within society, without a doubt. These are real concepts. Recycling only comparmentalizes garbage. We have increasing amounts of recyclable garbage to compartmentalize and reuse, threfore we must realize that when we â€Å"throw away,† there is no away, per se. The garbage is either being added to the amount of recyclable garbage in circulation or is added to the landfills. 4. Since we â€Å"cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely,† what is the solution if we are to become a sustainable society? Another way to say this is you can’t have unlimited economic growth with limited resources. If we become a sustainable society, we will be far less wasteful as a society. Once our resources become scarce, we are going to have difficulty finding new revenue sources. The problem is, we can no longer depend on foreign oil to help our livelihood. The economy will not recover if we consistently fail to use our resources wisely. So, in effect, we must galvanize as a nation in order to use them with caution and very sparingly. In order to accomplish this we must reign in our spending and not make waste and increase revenue. We need to ensure that the economic system is sustainable environmentally, if that makes sense. Our policies should reflect ecological realities. The biological systems on which we depend should be supported by policies. If they are not, we will have future problems for sure. The political action groups (PACs) that lobby Congress must â€Å"go green† and become environmentally conscious and savvy and â€Å"in the know† about what we are doing to our environment.

Where I am going. My Personal Story as a Proud Mother of Two Essay

Where I am going. My Personal Story as a Proud Mother of Two - Essay Example I am a year into my thirties and a proud mother of two. As a teenager, I was an ambitious young girl with high academic records and had a passion for teaching. Unfortunately, my family's financial situation made it unfeasible for me to pursue college education. However, now that I am capable of sponsoring my education by myself, I will not let my parenthood or marital status keep me from achieving my life's goals because I finally have an opportunity to fulfill my academic pursuits and now that my children are grown up enough, I can comfortably divide my time between parenting and studying. I realize that it is a long way and the way is hard and that I will probably be old by the time I reach the end of it but the end will be better than the beginning. Now that I have a motivating factor, I am capable of giving my life a direction that I want. At the same time I will have to motivate my children and help them in organizing their lives and personalities. I hope to graduate proudly with an English Honors Degree in the year 2009 although I am prepared for the fact that it might take me a little longer than that owing to my domestic responsibilities. But nevertheless, it is "better to be late than never!" One of the major concerns of college going mothers is finding the money to finance their education. Because they work full-time, receive good salaries, or hold certain assets, they may find their financial aid award is not enough to meet their needs without taking out costly student loans. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick but one should not let this shake one's faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did because my work is going to fill a large part of my life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. I am aware that life does not last forever, so I do not want to be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. I don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become and everything else is secondary. Can today's working and mothers over 25 overcome the stress and anxiety they feel when they return to a big city University, in a degree program, after years of being out of the classroom I think the stress and anxiety involved is actually necessary for mothers like me to fuel our efficiency and pushes us, but too much of it should be avoided to enable us to be successful in our endeavors. Being in most households the mother is the backbone of the family and the burden of creating family structure is always on her. Similarly, I will need to constitute new boundaries, guidelines and roles with the family, so I can focus on academics. A mental preparation is necessary in order to deter some anxieties that may occur during this transition. One must learn how to stay focus on their goal and to think positively. Careful planning is essential for a working mom returning to school, otherwise she may find that she is overexerting herself and could begin to suffer from mental and emotional pr oblems including depression and chronic anxiety. I plan to set realistic goals for myself considering I may have an abundance of tasks to complete for work and college, so it's important to limit the disruptions at work so that I won't jeopardize my employment. I see myself making use of weekend courses and extra classes and accessing libraries

A+ Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A+ - Assignment Example Perceived obsolescence is a concept which means that something has seemingly gone out of style but it has not yet. In other words, basically recycling should be planned obsolescence, because as we become a garbageless society the recycling system will be perceived obsolescence and recognized as such within society, without a doubt. These are real concepts. Recycling only comparmentalizes garbage. We have increasing amounts of recyclable garbage to compartmentalize and reuse, threfore we must realize that when we â€Å"throw away,† there is no away, per se. The garbage is either being added to the amount of recyclable garbage in circulation or is added to the landfills. 4. Since we â€Å"cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely,† what is the solution if we are to become a sustainable society? Another way to say this is you can’t have unlimited economic growth with limited resources. If we become a sustainable society, we will be far less wasteful as a society. Once our resources become scarce, we are going to have difficulty finding new revenue sources. The problem is, we can no longer depend on foreign oil to help our livelihood. The economy will not recover if we consistently fail to use our resources wisely. So, in effect, we must galvanize as a nation in order to use them with caution and very sparingly. In order to accomplish this we must reign in our spending and not make waste and increase revenue. We need to ensure that the economic system is sustainable environmentally, if that makes sense. Our policies should reflect ecological realities. The biological systems on which we depend should be supported by policies. If they are not, we will have future problems for sure. The political action groups (PACs) that lobby Congress must â€Å"go green† and become environmentally conscious and savvy and â€Å"in the know† about what we are doing to our environment.

Chronic pain management- article critique Lab Report

Chronic pain management- article critique - Lab Report Example 225, par 1). Health-related quality of life (HQRL) indicating individual’s state of physical and mental health and coping, pain intensity, HQRL, and patient satisfaction could be assessed in response to a multidisciplinary pain management program in order to examine whether these are amenable to change (p. 225, par 1). In the purpose statement, the multidisciplinary pain management program is the independent variable, and the pain intensity, coping strategy, and HQRL are dependent variables, and they have been clearly identified. The population identified includes a wide range of patients who have chronic pain symptoms, and the authors identifies significance of the study in terms of the need of development of a multidisciplinary pain management program that accommodates biophysical, psychosocial, and emotional aspects of chronic pain and treatment of them in a holistic manner. The author proposes to examine further to see if there is any positive change in pain symptoms after introduction of the proposed therapy in terms of coping, HQRL, and pain symptoms so a rehabilitative care plan can be developed. The literature review guides a reader for a possible treatment program for pain and rehabilitation that would call for a multidisciplinary approach to improve coping strategies and health-related quality of life (p. 225, par 1). The mechanism of coping as a cognitive-behavioral adjustment has been reviewed in detail. The rationale is well supported by evidence from literature that HRQL is considered to be an important outcome of interventions in chronic conditions like pain. Adequate conceptual definitions have been provided as derived from the literature (p. 225, par 2). For this, the authors have cited many specific references, 37 in all, all of them are direct. For example, they have cited the basic concept of modern

Jewish Purim Holy Day Essay Example for Free

Jewish Purim Holy Day Essay The Jewish faith has been around for more than a thousand years. Judaism like many other faiths such as Christian, Muslim, Hindus, and Buddhist has holidays that are part of a tradition that is followed. When an individual makes a choice to believe in one religion and follow it as its way of faith it is important to understand all elements that come along with that religion. This paper will review the holy day known as Purim and the review will explain the history of this day and the practices associated with this holy day. The last section will discuss cultural differences that may affect how this day is observed by different branches of Judaism. Purim The holy day Purim is celebrated in March this is the twelfth month in the Jewish calendar. The holy day starts at sundown of the first secular date for example 2014 the celebration will start at sundown on March 15th and end at nightfall of the 16th. The story The book of Esther explains that like many tails we read about we have a villain and a hero. Haman the adviser to the kind tells the king that there are people who do not follow the laws that the king has created. Haman creates a plan to exterminate all of the Jews. Esther the king’s queen, the king does not know she is Jewish. Esther uncle asked her to goes to the king and ask him to save her people. Esther fasted for three days for fear that she will be killed for visiting the king uninvited. Esther goes to the king and asks him to save her people. The Jewish people are saved. This leads to the celebration of the Purim. This holy day is noted as one of the joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar (Molloy, 2010). Religious practices Purim is not outlined in the Torah but has been celebrated by Jews sense the second century CE. Purim has been nicknamed the Jewish Mardi gras (Institute for Curriculum Services, 2012). For the holy day all Jews are required to fulfill the four Purim mitzvoth. The two readings of the Megillah the Scroll of Esther and Mikrah Megillah. There is to be a celebration with a feast during the feast alcohol is consumed, adults drink till they are unable to say distinguish between the phrase â€Å"Cursed be Haman† and â€Å"blessed be Mordecai† (Religion Facts, 2004 para.14). Next Jews are to give gifts of food to their friends. Last an act of charity to the poor. Purim states that two acts of charity must be given in the amount equal to the balance of one’s inexpensive meal. The act must be given directly to the poor and must be given without merit (Religion Facts, 2004). Branches of Judaism The Jewish religion is not unlike many other types of religion where many of the followers have created new branches. The Jewish religion has 4 different branches that appear to be the main views that are followed. Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the most traditional branch that is practiced by Jewish followers. There is a large range of differences in the orthodox views. The idea to modernize but to also adhere to the Jewish laws makes this a very difficult branch the idea to embrace new views but do not forget Jewish cultures. Reform Judaism The belief that individuals have a choice over what they believe to be meaningful within the views of Judaism. This giving each person the idea that they have the choice to follow the path that is best suited for them. Reformed Judaism teaches that ethical laws are binding while ritual laws can be changed to fit into modern day society. Conservative Judaism Currently the middle ground of orthodox and Reform Judaism, the idea that Judaism can keep tradition and also adapt to modern circumstances. There is an importance within Conservative Judaism to study traditional Jewish text to assist in the guide for ethics and practice. Reconstructionist Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism teaches that it is not simply a religion but also an evolving civilization; Within Reconstructionist Judaism the Jewish laws do not have to be followed, but it does state that the community will be strengthened if they are. Cultural difference in the observation of Purim Purim is a holy day that celebrates the defeat of those that wanted to exterminate Jews. Not only do religions celebrate that they have overcome many obstacles so do countries, nations, towns, and tribes. Many references to the holiday Purim states that this holy day has been around for over thousands of years and will continue to be celebrated for many more thousands of years (Institute for Curriculum Services, 2012). As society changes this may change how followers of the Jewish faith may change how they celebrate holy days. This Jewish holy day may not only referee to Esther the queen that saved all the Jews from extermination but also to the time in history were Hitler again tried to exterminate the Jewish race. Judaism has been around for century but so have people and races that have felt threated by them and felt the need to exterminate them. This day of celebrate is a day that the Jewish people can rejoice in the fact that they have overcome many obstacles in life and they will survive. Conclusion Holy days or holidays however it is said can mean many things depending on the faith that is may be referring to. To celebrate Santa clause or to celebrate overcoming an obstacle can bring people together. Religion is just that the bringing together of a group of people that want to rejoice in the feeling of something more than just themselves. Judaism is a faith that has had challenges but has overcome many challenges to become stronger with time that is why the tradition of Purim is important to follow. References Institute for Curriculum Services. (2012). Branches of Judaism. Retrieved from http://www.icsresources.org/curricula Molloy, M. (2010). Experiencing the world’s religions Traditions, challenge, and change (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ReligionFacts. (2004-2013). Purim. Retrieved from http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/holidays/purim.htm

Various Cause Effects Of Video Games Psychology Essay

Various Cause Effects Of Video Games Psychology Essay The most successful aspect of video games is that they provide a huge amount of human interaction through imagery and audio, thus encouraging the player to think and act quickly(Wolf, 2001, p15). This aspect makes video games different from any other forms of non-interactive media like television or radio. Video games give clear instructions about actions to be performed to reach particular levels in the game and instils a level of confidence and spirit of victory in its players. They also serve academic purposes and can be utilised as a powerful medium for educating children and youth in a very interesting and powerful manner. For example, video games involving driving can be used as a medium to teach players the traffic rules and penalties imposed if the rules are violated. Puzzle based video games give valuable practice lessons of time management, helps to sharpen specific skills needed to succeed in the game, encourages critical analysis and thought and improves cognitive abiliti es (Wolf, 2001, p17; Seller, 2006, p20). Social Video games have a part in influencing the social behaviour of young players especially children. The interactive gaming gives a virtual environment involving the player and his opponent which is essentially the computer system. In addition to promoting a level of healthy competition among players, the penalties imposed help to give due respect to fellow participants and encourages sportsman spirit to a great extent. Games which involve military contents can help to inculcate patriotism in youngsters as they are made to believe that they are protecting their country from rival attacks. Though there has been criticisms regarding the effect of video games in sparking criminal behaviour among youth, Jenkins (n.d.) observes that the hostile factors contributing to these acts are coming from unsound minds and disrupted families rather than interactive media. In fact, James Gees work highlights the benefits of using video games as effective media for logical problem solving and continuous improvement, thus improving the qualitative skills (Gee, 2001). Psychological Apart from providing relaxation and enjoyment, video games boost the players confidence level and raises curiosity as in most games, each level is exciting and cannot be seen unless the players pass all the previous stages. In children, the level of psychological development obtained leads to sharpening of memory and logical skills, increased mental development and simulation, making them tougher to face the challenges of the real world. Vices Contrary to the popular belief that video game players are just youngsters, Entertainment Software Association(ESA) has shown that 49% of game players are in the age range of 18-49 while the demographic statistics give 52% male and 48% female players (ESA, 2009, p3). The revenue obtained by video game sales in US was $11M in 2008 with Wii console games at the top according to NPD statistics (ESA, 2009, p10). Though the video game industry has flourished and sales figures have been accelerating over the last few decades, a lot of negative publicity has affected the popularity of interactive games to a large extent. Though there are many pros, the bad effects are so obvious and derogatory that they outweigh the advantages to a large extent. Medical The increasing popularity of video games is making more and more youngsters spend considerable amount of time and money in front of the gaming console or computer which has harmful medical effects arising due to addiction (Gunter, 1998, p31). The addiction can lead to childhood obesity as children will find no time for outdoor games which are healthy and provides relaxation and exercise to brain, mind and body. The strain caused by continuous exposure to harmful radiation from television affects a significant number of youngsters by ending up having problems with their eyes. The adult players are even more in danger as the addiction causes a change in lifestyle which trigger a variety of fatal illnesses from high cholesterol to heart attacks in addition to causing spinal alignment problems due to wrong posture. Psychological Most of the video games depict violence and the motto is to kill and succeed. Young minds are particularly interested in games involving violent attacks, abusive language and homicide. Different researches have been conducted in psychological aspects due to violent video games. Anderson et al. (2007, p12-39, p40-60) has described about the different kinds of aggressive behaviour exhibited by children based on which an aggression model is created. The effects of violence can arise from thefts for buying video games to thrills obtained from imitation of the shootings and attacks on innocent subjects. Continuous exposure to violent media has a profound influence on the mental balance of the young player, giving a very wrong impression that killing is winning. Social Recent reports have shown that an average time spent by a child playing console, arcade or home video games is almost 11-13 hours/week (Gentile, 2004, p1; Olson et al.,2007, p1). It means that they get little time for social interactions, academic reading and outdoor games. Decrease in peer association hinders development of social etiquettes, family ties and character. The social and emotional commitments are disrupted by over indulgence in interactive media leading to a set of humans devoid of emotions, respect or self-esteem. The increasing amount of violence and destruction involved in most games and the lonely atmosphere provided acts as detrimental to good social conduct. Stromberg (n.d.) has shown that almost 50% of popular games depict either fantasy or human violence to the extent that they encourage players to become less caring and friendly. According to Gentile Anderson (2003, p131-152), the tendency of aggressive behaviour is affected by repeated game play which often r eward the players for violence. Critical Analysis Wirth et al. (2003) has given that the virtual environment created by video games is essential to establish a spatial presence. But the impression of world as given by games has very little relation with the original real circumstances or actions. The violence and plan of action depicted in these scenarios, if practised in actual circumstances give horrendous repercussions for both the doer and the society. Some researches show video game learning as better to classroom learning in terms of memory retention (Moreno Meyer, 2000, p724) but it does not in any way substitute the knowledge obtained from books, classrooms or other interactive learning techniques but just complements them. The reason for success of video games has been described as the level of active control involved (Greenfield, 1984, p102). Active control often enables the player to decide on the course of action to be taken to fight the circumstances which gives them an uneven control and pseudo confidence that may urge them to enact similarly in a real situation. Moreover, the points gained during shooting or killing tends to glorify the violence depicted in games. The addiction to video games often leads to fits of anger and rows between the children and parents. The first rehabilitation centre for teenagers addicted to video games has been set up in London following the urge of parents (Taylor, 2010, p9). Parents have expressed concerns on the influence on video games on the psychological and social behaviour of children (Gunter, 1998, p35). Most video games have parental control through which the type, intensity and mode of play can be controlled by parents. But recent research has shown that only one-fifth of the parents are exercising their control over purchase of video games, with 55% of stores educating them on ratings (Walsh et al. 2003). Lee et al. (2009, p562) have put forward that the technological aspect has an influence on violent psychological behaviour in a way that a game played using less sophisticated graphics and audio do less harm. But here also, time is the deciding factor as continuous exposure to the virtual world even in low resolution graphics can cause psychological imbalance and health problems. Even though clear correlation between violent shooting attacks by teenagers and interactive gaming has not been established in all cases, the increase in vocal abuse and insensitiveness towards crime itself are appalling. American Health Associations research has given results stating that time spend by teenagers belonging to lower socio-economic status playing games was almost five fold than those of their educated and rich counterparts (ScienceDaily, 2008). This shows that education, and not money is the judging factor for use of technology. Conclusion

Fermi National Accelerator :: physics proton accelerator

During the early 1950's there was a need for a new large accelerator facility in the United States, therefore a group called MURA (Midwestern Universities Research Association) was formed by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission specifically to take on this enormous task. By the early 1960's the accelerator research panel had made several recommendations about the accelerator project. The panel reccomended that four things needed to be constructed to get the project under way. What the panel had suggested was that a super high current accelerator be constructed, a proton accelerator of approximately 200 GeV ( this would be Fermilabs original main ring) be constructed, storage rings needed to be constructed and a design study for an approximately 800 GeV machine needed to be formed. On November 21, 1967 President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill allowing the go ahead of the Fermi National Accelerator and by early 1968 congress approved funding to build the laboratory. In 1967 the Fermilab cost $243 million with an additional $120 million in 1983 to complete the Tevatron. The site chosen by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was just outside Chicago Illinois in a small town called Weston, Illinois. The first person chosen to take on the complicated task of running the Fermilab was Founding Director Robert R. Wilson, and from the outset Robert committed the laboratory to firm principles of scientific excellence, esthetic beauty, stewardship of the land, fiscal responsibility and equality of opportuniy (Fermi website, http://www.fnal.gov/pub/contact/index.html). What excactly does the Fermilab do you ask? Well in the simplest terms possible the lab studies the tiniest building blocks of matter to learn and understand more about the forces involved in holding them together and the forces that separate them, otherwise known as particle physics. To study these subatomic particles the scientist must smash them together in order to see what comes flying out. One of the most interesting parts about the Fermilab is the immense size of the equipment used to carry out the experiments. The Tevatron is the highest energy particle accelerator in the world. It is located 30 feet below the surface and has a circumference of approximately four miles. The Tevatron uses accelerators that help add energy to the subatomic particles so that they can travel around the four-mile loop 50,000 times a second at a speed of 99.9999 % of light. To help study the collisions there are two collider detectors ( CDF and DZero), each about the size of a four story building.

The Cussing Trend :: essays research papers

Cussing Trend Present generation is rolling over cussing trend. Wherever you see from daily lexicon, whether on television, stored in kids? iPod?s or packed into soccer carpool, you will find them brimming with borderline expletives. In today?s generation there?s not list, but an entire volume touch the boundary or goes up to infinity. None is unabashed about cussing trend. Well, we?re light years away from 1950?s and 1960?s. During 50?s and 60?s it was so hard to write or describe borderline expletives. Back in 1953 the writers for ?I love Lucy? couldn?t describe Lucille ball?s pregnancy by using the word ?pregnancy?. Even though it was not allowed by TV censors or in book or in Newspaper. If I compare my personal experience with 50?s and 60?s, it will cross the boundary. Well, this is about my 12 years old cousin, he was playing Xbox all the time instead of studying. So in order to push him back to study my uncle took his Xbox and hide at the good place that he could not find it. And my cousin couldn?t find it, so he started cussing on everyone that who took his Xbox. Well, when I went to his house and I ask him that what happen? And he was like that basted hide it and I was like who? He said his dad. I got shocked when he said basted to his dad. I was thinking in my mind like why this new generation is cussing and using borderline expletives. After all I ask him that where did u hear that word? And he answered that he heard on TV. With that experience I could figure out that this

Somplaint letter Essay

Dear Ms Brennan, I am writing this letter of complaint about a very serious matter and it is not only affecting me but my whole class. I wanted to discuss a matter that has troubled me and my classmates for around 2- 3 months now, as I have seen there has been no progress in the situation I thought it would be better if you could see it from a student’s point of view. I have learnt that many of my other classmates have also come to you with our situation. I also know that you may well know who and what I am talking about, I am writing to you about our maths teacher Mrs Sanderson and how she teaches us. On many occasions Mrs Sanderson has showed us a video of someone drawing constructions etc and then very vaguely saying or pretty much repeating what the person has said and sat down and said â€Å"I will give you a worksheet about this and do it†. On another occasion she has asked a student to come up and practically teach a lesson for her and make the student explain everything. The student is Arin Tofi she is a very smart girl but I am also sure that she herself wants to sit down, learn and do her work too. Many students have suggested for you to come and supervise in our lessons but as you may know people’s personalities change when they are around other people, I am not suggesting that Mrs Sanderson is like this, but I am saying in general people change around their acquaintances, colleagues and bosses etc. I have also realised that our school never really has stable teachers in maths as they are always employing new teachers all the time. I do know that Mrs Sanderson is either replacing Mrs Abrahams permanently or substituting for her I do not know. At the beginning of this Mrs Sanderson said to us at the beginning of the lesson that for the rest of the week she would not teach us properly and all we would do is sit and do worksheets this did not affect as that is what she mostly gives us to do anyway. What she also said was that she would not teach us because of our behaviour although we are not quite disciplined in her classes that is not our fault it is most likely hers. I am not questioning any way of teaching or in any way telling you how she should  teach but if she can’t control us then that is her lack of putting a certain amount of discipline on us. We have had another teacher (which of whom I do not remember her name) for once a fortnight and if you ask her she will tell you that in her classes we don’t lose concentration and all our work is up to date and I remember what she teaches us more than I do in Mr Sanderson’s for the last few months. We have also had supply teachers were we concentrate more and do our work. I also think that when she came to say this to us at the beginning of the week, she had brought it up because of my classmates also complaining but I think that this goes against the right of freedom of speech as we should have a right to complain, talk and say anything I like without an outcome of me losing my maths lessons for a whole week just because I wanted to speak my mind. As I know teachers have always encouraged us to speak up and say if anything is wrong and this is my way of doing it. We are in year 9 now and should not have a teacher where we do not learn properly or do work. We are coming up to assessment week where we do mocks and our SAT’s we cannot carry on like this as it is an important year and is a very vital moment in our journeys to getting our GCSE’s and getting the grades we want and absolutely need. I am sorry if I may have come across rude or inconsiderate in this letter in any way but as I said before this is my way of expressing how I feel towards this situation. Yours sincerely, Sanjida Chowdhury Yr 9 HAL Set 1

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 14

â€Å"All right,† Damon said as he and Elena reached Bonnie and Meredith. â€Å"Now comes the hard part.† Meredith looked up at him. â€Å"Now comes†¦?† â€Å"Yes. The really hard part.† Damon had finally unzipped his mysterious black leather bag. â€Å"Look,† he said in a bare murmur, â€Å"this is the actual Gate that we have to get through. And while we're doing it, you can have all the hysterics you want because you're supposed to be captives.† He pulled out a number of pieces of rope. Elena, Meredith, and Bonnie had drawn together in an automatic show of velociraptor sisterhood. â€Å"What,† Meredith said slowly, as if to give Damon the final benefit of some lingering doubt, â€Å"are those ropes for?† Damon put his head to one side in an oh-come-on gesture. â€Å"They're for tying your hands.† â€Å"For what?† Elena was amazed. She had never seen Meredith so obviously angry. She herself couldn't even get a word in. Meredith had walked up and was looking at Damon from a distance of about four inches. And her eyes are gray! some distant part of Elena's mind exclaimed in astonishment. Deep, deep, deep, clear gray gray. All this time I've thought they were brown, but they're not. Meanwhile Damon was looking faintly alarmed at Meredith's expression. A T. rex would have looked alarmed at Meredith's expression, Elena thought. â€Å"And you expect us to walk around with our hands tied up? While you do what?† â€Å"While I act as your master,† Damon said, suddenly rallying with a glorious smile that was gone almost before it was there. â€Å"The three of you are my slaves.† There was a long, long silence. Elena waved the entire pile of objects away with a gesture. â€Å"We won't do that,† she said simply. â€Å"We won't. There has to be some other way – â€Å" â€Å"Do you want to rescue Stefan or not?† Damon demanded suddenly. There was a searing heat in the dark eyes he had fixed on Elena. â€Å"Of course I do!† Elena flashed back, feeling heat in her cheeks. â€Å"But not as a slave, dragged along behind you!† â€Å"That's the only way humans get into the Dark Dimension,† Damon said flatly. â€Å"Tied or chained, as a vampire's or kitsune's or demon's property.† Meredith was shaking her head. â€Å"You never told us – â€Å" â€Å"I told you that you wouldn't like the way in!† Even while answering Meredith, Damon's eyes never left Elena. Underneath his outward coldness, he seemed to be pleading with her to understand, she thought. In the old days, she thought, he'd have just lounged against a wall and raised his eyebrows and said, â€Å"Fine; I didn't want to go anyway. Who's for a picnic?† But Damon did want them to go, Elena realized. He was desperate for them to go. He just didn't know any honest way of conveying that. The only way he knew was to – â€Å"You have to make us a promise, Damon,† she said, looking him directly in the eyes. â€Å"And it has to be before we make the decision to go or not.† She could see the relief in his eyes, even if to the other girls it might seem as if his face was perfectly cold and impassive. She knew he was glad she wasn't saying that her previous decision was final, and that was that. â€Å"What promise?† Damon asked. â€Å"You have to swear – to give your word – that no matter what we decide now or in the Dark Dimension, you won't try to Influence us. You won't put us to sleep by mind control, or nudge us to do what you want. You won't use any vampire tricks on our minds.† Damon wouldn't be Damon if he didn't argue. â€Å"But, look, suppose the time comes when you want me to do that? There are some things there that it might be better for you to sleep through – â€Å" â€Å"Then we'll tell you we've changed our minds, and we'll release you from the promise. You see? There's no downside. You just have to swear.† â€Å"All right,† Damon said, still holding her gaze. â€Å"I swear I won't use any kind of Power on your minds; I won't Influence you in any way, until you ask me to. I give my word.† â€Å"Right.† At last Elena broke the stare down with the tiniest of smiles and nods. And Damon gave her an almost imperceptible nod in return. She turned away to find herself looking into Bonnie's searching brown gaze. â€Å"Elena,† Bonnie whispered, tugging on her arm. â€Å"Come here for a sec, okay?† Elena could hardly help it. Bonnie was strong as a small Welsh pony. Elena went, casting a powerless look over her shoulder at Damon as she did. â€Å"What?† she whispered when Bonnie finally stopped dragging her. Meredith had come along as well, figuring it might be sisterhood business. â€Å"Well?† â€Å"Elena,† Bonnie burst out, as if unable to hold the words back any longer, â€Å"the way you and Damon act – it's different than it used to be. You didn't used to†¦I mean, what really happened between you two when you were alone together?† â€Å"This is hardly the time for that,† Elena hissed. â€Å"We're having a big problem here, in case you hadn't noticed.† â€Å"But – what if – â€Å" Meredith took up the unfinished sentence, pushing a dark lock of hair out of her eyes. â€Å"What if it's something Stefan doesn't like? Like ‘what happened with Damon when you were alone in the motel that night'?† she finished, quoting Bonnie's words. Bonnie's mouth fell open. â€Å"What motel? What night? What happened?† she almost shrieked, causing Meredith to try to quiet her and get bitten for her pains. Elena looked at first one and then the other of her two friends – the two friends who had come to die with her if necessary. She could feel her breath come short. It was so unfair, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Can we just discuss this later?† she suggested, trying to convey with her eyes and eyebrows Damon can hear us! Bonnie merely whispered, â€Å"What motel? What night? What – â€Å" Elena gave up. â€Å"Nothing happened,† she said flatly. â€Å"Meredith is only quoting you, Bonnie. You said those words last night while you were asleep. And maybe sometime in the future you'll tell us what you're talking about, because I don't know.† She finished by looking at Meredith, who just raised one perfect eyebrow. â€Å"You're right,† Meredith said, completely undeceived. â€Å"The English language could use a word like ‘sa.' It would make these conversations so much shorter, for one thing.† Bonnie sighed. â€Å"Well, then, I'll find out for myself,† she said. â€Å"You may not think I can, but I will.† â€Å"Okay, okay, but meanwhile does anyone have anything helpful to say about Damon's rope stuff?† â€Å"Such as, do we tell him where to stuff it?† Meredith suggested under her breath. Bonnie was holding a length of rope. She ran a small, fair-skinned hand over it. â€Å"I don't think this was bought in anger,† she said, her brown eyes unfocusing and her voice taking on the slightly eerie tone it always did when she was in trance. â€Å"I see a boy and a girl, over a counter at a hardware store – and she's laughing, and the boy says, ‘I'll bet you anything that you're going to school next year to be an architect,' and the girl gets all misty-eyed, and says, yes, and – † â€Å"And that's all the psychic spying I care to hear today.† Damon had come right up to them without making a sound. Bonnie jumped violently, and almost dropped the rope. â€Å"Listen,† Damon continued harshly, â€Å"just a hundred meters away is the final crossing. Either you wear these and you act like slaves or you don't get in to help Stefan. Ever. That's it.† Silently, the girls conferred with their eyes. Elena knew that her own expression said clearly that she wasn't asking either Bonnie or Meredith to go with her, but that she herself was going if it required crawling behind Damon on her hands and knees. Meredith, looking directly into Elena's eyes, slowly shut her own and nodded, letting out her breath. Bonnie was nodding her head already, resigned. In silence, Bonnie and Meredith let Elena tie their wrists in front of them. Elena then let Damon tie her wrists and thread a long rope between the three of them, as if they were a chain gang of prisoners. Elena could feel a flush coming up from below her chest to burn in her cheeks. She couldn't meet Damon's eyes, not this way, but she knew without asking that Damon was thinking about the time that Stefan had dismissed him from his apartment like a dog, in front of just this audience, plus Matt. Vengeful cad, Elena thought as hard as she could in Damon's direction. She knew the last word would hurt the most. Damon prided himself on being a gentleman†¦ But â€Å"gentlemen† don't go into the Dark Dimension, Damon's voice in her head said mockingly. â€Å"All right,† Damon added aloud, and took the lead rope in one hand. He started walking briskly into the darkness of the cave, the three girls crowding and stumbling behind him. Elena would never forget that brief journey, and she knew neither Bonnie nor Meredith would either. They walked across the shallow opening of the cave and into the small opening in the back, which gaped like a mouth. It took some maneuvering to get the three of them into it. On the other side the cavern flared out again, and they were in a large cavern. At least that was what Elena's enhanced senses told her. The everlasting fog had returned and Elena had no idea which way they were going. Only a few minutes later a building reared up out of the thick fog. Elena didn't know what she had been expecting from the Demon Gate. Possibly huge ebony doors, carved with serpents and encrusted with jewels. Maybe a rough-hewn, weathered colossus of stone, like the Egyptian pyramids. Perhaps even some sort of futuristic energy field that flickered and flashed with blue-violet lasers. What she saw instead looked like a ramshackle depot of some kind, a place for holding and shipping goods. There was an empty pen, heavily fenced, topped with barbed wire. It stank, and Elena was glad that she and Damon had not channeled power to her nose. Then there were people, men and women in fine clothes, each with a key in one hand, murmuring something before opening a door in one side of the building. The same door – but Elena would bet anything that they weren't all going to the same place, if the keys were like the one she had briefly â€Å"borrowed† from Shinichi's house a week or so ago. One of the ladies looked as if she were dressed for a fancy masquerade, with fox ears that blended into her long auburn hair. It was only when Elena saw under her ankle-length dress the swishing of a fox tail that she realized that the woman was a kitsune making use of the Demon Gate. Damon hastily – and none too gently – led them to the other side of the building, where a broken-hinged door opened into a dilapidated room that, strangely, seemed larger on the inside than on the outside. All sorts of things were being bartered or sold here: many looked as if they had to do with the management of slaves. Elena, Meredith, and Bonnie looked at one another, round-eyed. Obviously, people bringing wild slaves in from the outside considered torture and terror all in a day's work. â€Å"Passage for four,† Damon said briefly to the slump-shouldered but heavyset man behind the counter. â€Å"Three savages all at once?† The man, eyes devouring what he could see of the three girls, turned to look at Damon suspiciously. â€Å"What can I say? My job is also my hobby.† Damon stared him straight in the eyes. â€Å"Yeh, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The man laughed. â€Å"Lately we bin gettin' maybe one or two a month.† â€Å"They're legally mine. No kidnappings. Kneel,† Damon added casually to the three girls. It was Meredith who got it first and sank to the ground like a ballet dancer. Her dark, dark gray eyes were focused on something no one but she could see. Then Elena somehow untangled the single syllable from the others. She focused her mind on Stefan and pretended she was kneeling to kiss him on his prison pallet. It seemed to work; she was down. But Bonnie was up. The most dependent, the softest, the most innocent member of the triumvirate found that her knees had gone solid. â€Å"Redheads, eh?† the man said, eyeing Damon sharply even as he smirked. â€Å"Maybe you'd better buy a little tingler for that one.† â€Å"Maybe,† Damon said tightly. Bonnie just looked at him blankly, looked at the girls on the ground and then threw herself into a prostrate position. Elena could hear her sobbing softly. â€Å"But I've found that a firm voice and a disapproving look actually work better.† The man gave up and slumped again. â€Å"Passage for four,† he grunted and reached up and pulled on a dirty bell rope. By this time Bonnie was weeping in fear and humiliation, but no one seemed to notice, except the other girls. Elena didn't dare to try to comfort her telepathically; that wouldn't fit in with the aura of a â€Å"normal human girl† at all, and who knew what traps or devices might be hidden here in addition to the man who kept undressing them over and over with his eyes? She just wished she could call up one of her Wings attacks, right here in this room. That would wipe the smug look off the man's face. A moment later, something else wiped it off as completely as she could have desired. Damon leaned across the counter and whispered something to him that turned the slumped man's leering face a sickly color of green. Did you hear what he said? Elena communicated this to Meredith using her eyes and eyebrows. Meredith, her own eyes crinkling, positioned her hand in front of Elena's abdomen, then made a twisting, ripping motion. Even Bonnie smiled. Then Damon led them to wait outside the depot. They had only been standing a few minutes when Elena's new vision spotted a boat gliding silently through the mist. She realized that the building must be on the very bank of a river, but even with Power directed solely to her eyes she could barely make out where the nonreflective land gave way to shining water, and even with Power directed solely to her ears she could barely hear the sound of swift deep water running. The boat stopped – somehow. Elena couldn't see any anchor dropped or anything to fasten it to. But the fact was that it did stop, and the slumped man put down a plank, which stayed in place as they boarded: first Damon, and then his bevy of â€Å"slaves.† On board, Elena watched Damon wordlessly offer six pieces of gold to the ferryman – two for each human who presumably wouldn't be coming back, she thought. For a moment she was lost in the memory of being very young – only three or so, she must have been – and sitting on her father's lap while he read to her from a wonderfully illustrated book about the Greek myths. It told about the ferryman, Charon, who took spirits of the deceased over the river Styx to the land of the dead. And her father telling her that the Greeks put coins on the eyes of those who died so they could pay the ferryman†¦. There's no coming back from this journey! she thought suddenly and violently. No escape! They might as well be truly dead†¦. Strangely, it was horror that saved her from this morass of terror. Just as she lifted her head, perhaps to scream, the dim figure of the ferryman turned from his duties briefly as if to look back over the passengers. Elena heard Bonnie's shriek. Meredith, shaking, was frantically and illogically reaching for the bag in which her gun was stowed. Even Damon didn't seem to be able to move. The tall specter in the boat had no face. He had deep depressions where his eyes should be, a shallow hollow for a mouth, and a triangular hole where his nose should have protruded. The uncanny horror of it, on top of the stink from the depot pens, was simply too much for Bonnie, and she slumped sideways, limp against Meredith, in a faint. Elena, in the midst of her terror, had a moment of revelation. In the dim, moist, dripping twilight, she had forgotten to stop trying to use all her senses to their fullest. She was undoubtedly better able to see the inhuman face of the ferryman than, say, Meredith. She could also hear things, like the sounds of long-dead miners tapping at the rock above them, and the scurrying of enormous bats or cockroaches or something, inside the stone walls all around them. But now, Elena suddenly felt warm tears on her icy cheeks as she realized that she had completely underestimated Bonnie for as long as she'd known about her friend's psychic powers. If Bonnie's senses were permanently open to the kinds of horrors Elena was experiencing now, it was no wonder that Bonnie lived in fear. Elena found herself promising to be a hell of a lot more tolerant the next time Bonnie faltered or started screaming. In fact, Bonnie deserved some kind of an award for keeping a grip on sanity this far, Elena decided. But Elena didn't dare do any more than gaze at her friend, who was completely unconscious, and swear to herself that from now on Bonnie would find a champion in Elena Gilbert. That promise and the warmth of it burned like a candle in Elena's mind, a candle she pictured held by Stefan, the light of it dancing in his green eyes and playing over the planes of his face. It was just enough to keep her from losing her own sanity on the rest of the journey. By the time the boat docked – at a place just slightly more traveled than the one where they had embarked – all three of the girls were in a state of exhaustion brought on by prolonged terror and wrenching suspense. But they hadn't really used the time to think over the words â€Å"Dark Dimension† or to imagine the number of ways its darkness might be manifested. â€Å"Our new home,† Damon said grimly. Watching him instead of the landscape, Elena realized from the tension in his neck and shoulders that Damon was not enjoying himself. She'd thought he'd be heading into his own particular paradise, this world of human slaves, and torture for entertainment, whose only rule was self-preservation of the individual ego. Now she realized that she had been wrong. For Damon this was a world of beings with Powers as great or greater than his own. He was going to have to claw out a foothold here among them, just like any urchin on the street – except that he couldn't afford to make any mistakes. They needed to find a way not just to live, but to live in luxury and mingle with high society, if they were to have any chance to rescue Stefan. Stefan – no, she couldn't allow herself the luxury of thinking about him at that time. Once she started she would become undone, begin to demand ridiculous things, like that they go round to the prison, just to stare at it, like a junior high kid with a crush on an older boy, who just wanted to be driven â€Å"by his house† to worship it. And then what would that do to their plans for a jailbreak later? Plan A was: don't make mistakes, and Elena would stick to that until she found a better one. That was how Damon and his â€Å"slaves† came to the Dark Dimension, through the Demon Gate. The smallest one needed to be revived with water in the face before she could get up and walk.

Business environment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business environment - Coursework Example was formed in order to help the process of international collaboration and it seems the plan is working while, airlines are getting specifically benefitted as cross border trade amongst European nations gets facilitated (Naor, Linderman and Schroeder, 202). The barriers to trade are falling apart and in this way, the airlines such as Virgin Atlantic can reduce its processing speeds of a plane to mere hours now. The plan of EU is to create a unified and integrated economic zone in Europe so that region’s cultural identity can be saved from unconstructive influences of Americanization and during the process; the one of the biggest European airlines is getting back to life. VAA is an English company which makes it European in identity and because of this reason; people of Europe like to travel with a European service provider rather than taking services of other cultures. England is not a part of European Union but it is indeed the part of Europe and no one can deny this fact (Jay, 45). Being European is currently proving to be a good influence of Virgin Atlantic. The relaxation regarding VAT regulations, cross-border trade and closer approximation of excise duties allow the company to consider Europe as a unified country where policies are similar. The company’s employees are rather safe from experiencing cultural and legal shock while travelling to the various countries of the Euro net. However, this not the whole story because England can regain its political position in the Europe by using VAA as a strategic tool in this regard (Casanova, 421). The companies have been known to carry their country of origin’s identity wherever they go in the world. By offering generous discounts and great level of service, the company can create goodwill about its country in other European nations. Additionally, humans have the habit of over generali zing about nations and if airline’s staff can behave admirably and warmly to people then it may go a long way in terms of

How do terrorists justify their actions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How do terrorists justify their actions - Essay Example It can be understood that a terrorist might not be a born as terrorist. Some factors then in his life could be responsible for his becoming a terrorist and not being any other professional. The activities of the terrorists might not be justified from the point of view of the common people who are killed. However, the actions of terrorists might have their own justifications. A challenge encountering the norms of International Humanitarian Law provides one justification for the acts of terrorists. According to this view, all of the individuals who are considered as non-combatant might not be innocent. These people become targets of such violent measures. Many times the effect of family might be a cause. For example, a child whose father had been a terrorist might in a natural process become a terrorist as well. Many terrorists groups are performing such acts on the name of the All-Mighty. A second justification might arise from the issues of humanity reflecting the terrorist actions to be their fights for humanity. It might also be that the individuals involved in terrorism might possess mental disorders or they are psychologically weak and suffer from lack of power (Saul, 2006). There might be personal factors or at times different situations might be responsible in compelling the individuals to perform such heinous acts. Violent acts can be closely associated with psychological difficulties within an individual (Borum, 2004, p.10). Thus psychological factors may be considered as one serious reason for justifying the acts of terrorists. The group reinforcement is another factor of concern. Many times, the probability or the rate of such performing such acts may increase as an effect of group reinforcement where the terrorist groups may be responsible in compelling an individual to take such measure (Fatout, 1992, p.63). Thus, the group of terrorists in which an individual has become part of might influence the individual to

Critical Appraisal Of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Articles Essay

Critical Appraisal Of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Articles - Essay Example The article titled â€Å"Analyzing Qualitative interview data. Addressing issues of reliability and validity† presented by   J.V. Appleton deals with the aspects that must be taken into consideration while conducting a qualitative research study to ensure the reliability and validity of the data (Appleton, 1995). In contrast, Shuster and Shannon (1994) in their article titled   â€Å"Differential Prehospital Benefit from Paramedic Care† present the aspects affecting the efficacy of quantitative research methods. Both article authors have based their findings on the results of actual studies they have personally carried out in order to assess the relative efficacy of either method. The two articles present a valuable insight into the process of conducting research and the means that may be employed to ensure that data obtained are as valid and reliable as possible. Both these studies were conducted using health professionals as the source of the data. J.V. Appleton (1995) is a healthcare visitor/worker and the aim and objective of her research effort were to identify a set of criteria to identify and determine which families could be considered â€Å"vulnerable† from the point of view of child protection. The method chosen for her research study was a qualitative approach based on a two-fold process – the administration of questionnaires as well as follow up interviews. The reason for the choice of a qualitative approach lay in the fact that this was an exploratory study designed to elicit the perspective of healthcare workers. Therefore the quality of the data was dependent upon the richness and quality of the responses that needed to be obtained rather than upon statistical numbers and figures that could be used as the basis for the study. Qualitative research has been found to be useful in the study of exploratory phenomena (Morse, 1991).   Appleton’s study was based upon questionnaires administered to 1 2 healthcare workers followed up by face to face interviews, with a tape recorder being used in all cases.

MGMT 3000 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MGMT 3000 - Essay Example Here possessing high score refers to organized, responsible and dependable nature where scoring low refers to unreliable and disorganized nature. Emotional Stability: It deals with ability to handle stress. People having high emotional stability, always tend to become secure and self-confident and have comparatively higher job and life satisfaction. On the other side people with low emotional stability tends to be anxious, depressed and nervous. Openness to Experience: It focuses to determine desire and interest towards the creativity and novelty. People scoring low have a tendency to be conventional, where as on the opposite side high scorers tend to be curious, creative and artistically sensitive. Positive core self evaluators like themselves and consider themselves as capable and effective. They usually set ambitious goal and tend to perform better to achieve them where as negative evaluators dislike themselves and consider themselves as powerless. It defines the ability of the people to fit external and situational factors through adjusting their behaviors. People scoring low in this factor usually have high behavioral consistency and vice-versa. High self-monitors take leadership positions instead of having less commitment to their organizations. There are basically two personality types A and B. Type A refers to the competitive people and can work well in high level of stress also. They are basically fast workers and less quality conscious and highly prized in America. Where as Type B people are less competitive by nature and have less time urgency. Proactive Personality: Possessing this personality, enable individuals to show initiatives and identify opportunities. They are use to be the leaders and change agents and like to challenge the status quo. It ranks the individual’s value into the hierarchical value system. It consists of the content and intensity which denotes the importance of the mode of

Political Economy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political Economy - Assignment Example In the first game, player 1’s best response is in UL where he gets 3 pay offs. This is his best response since 3>2. At the same instance, player B has his best response of 4 playoffs (4>3 and 3>2).In the first game, player 1’s best response is in UL where he gets 3 pay offs. This is his best response since 3>2. At the same instance, player B has his best response of 4 playoffs (4>3 and 3>2).In the second game. At the same point (UL), both players have their best responses. For player 1, 3 playoffs (3>2) while for player 2, 4 playoffs (4>0).Nash equilibrium exists when player 1’s best response is the same as that of player 2. At (UL), both players have their best responses.The Condorcet loser in the elections is candidate C. The results indicates that his percentage preference in orderings (CAB and CBA) are 25% (24% +1%). This is the lowest since that of candidate B is 33%.a. In a plurality formula the candidates would get their votes as A (15000); B (15500); C (1 4500); and D (5000). This is the sum of all the votes where each of the candidates is preferred over the rest.   Candidate B would be favoured by the system and win with 15,500 votes. As shown by the figures, candidate A would be the runner-up with 15,000 votes.b. Runoff system.Total votes cast in the election are 50000. Therefore, none of the candidate makes it 40% of the votes (20,000). In a runoff, candidates A and B will be considered. Dropping candidate C would give 3500 votes to A, and 2500 to B as the second ranked.  Dropping candidate D will then give 1500 votes to A, and none to B in the same way.The system will therefore favour candidate A, who will be the winner with 15000+3500+ 1500 votes. A total of 20,000 votes.

The Hidden Truth Behind Sweatshop Business in India Research Paper

The Hidden Truth Behind Sweatshop Business in India - Research Paper Example Gap which is a successful and high street brand which has sweatshop factories operating in India depicts the hidden truth and true prevailing conditions of the sweatshop business in India. Globalization has allowed multinational corporations to lower their costs by outsourcing as many functions as possible to low-wage countries (Ross 2010). It has also allowed these low-cost countries which are mostly located in Asia to attract these corporations for investment and employment. As long as these corporations bring in the required investment and provide for employment, the governments of these nations are willing to amend their laws for the benefit of these companies. One of the main reasons that these brands select a particular country for outsourcing is either because of favorable labor laws or an inefficient system for imposing these labor laws. In the case of China, the labor law bans trade unions and strikes which favor many companies. On the other hand, in the case of India an ine fficient system and corrupt law enforcement favors corporations to shift their production to benefit from child labor, low wages and exploitation of working conditions (Winston 2005, Ross 2010). The Indian government cannot afford to interfere with the operations of these multinational apparel brands since there is a chance that these companies may move their production to other competitive countries, like China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam, where the laws and regulations are lax (Ross 2010). According to an estimate provided by United Nations, India employs around 55 million children, under the age of 14 years, and producing around 20% of India’s GDP (Foster 2007). India, along with Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, is part of a low-wage, Big Asia bloc exporters of apparels to the United States and Europe. These countries account for 55 percent of the U.S. import market, which amounts to 95 percent of the U.S. apparel market (Ross 2010). The increasing trend of customers demanding low-cost, high-quality apparel has forced large apparel brands to outsource their production facilities to low-cost countries to stay competitive in terms of pricing, without compromising on profits. Companies such as Gap, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Primark, Next, Mothercare and Wal-Mart have been found involved in the exploitation of the workforce (Mail Online 2007, Winston 2005, Chamberlain 2010). The management of these large brands lobbies with powerful economic and political forces of their nations to promote imports from lower-cost countries by lifting import quotas on apparel (Winston 2005). Large brands like Gap have been found exploiting the Indian workforce more than once. The first case of exploitation was discovered in 2007 after which Gap had promised to put in extra effort to rid their factories of forced labor and exploitation. In 2010, however, Gap was again found involved in child-labor and exploitation activities in India (Foster 2007, Chamberlain 2010). Exploitation of workforce is only possible when both parties in an employment contract agree to the wage levels and working conditions. It is important to appreciate that poverty in India is widespread. According to a study, almost half of all children in India are malnourished (Foster 2007). This extreme poverty forces parents, living in poor localities, to either sell their children to contractors for work, in return for a better life and

The controversal breed of dog The Pit Bull Essay Example for Free

The controversal breed of dog The Pit Bull Essay The American Staffordshire Terrier (also known as Pit Bull) is believed to be a man-eating beast. But is this breed all its made out to be? The Pit Bull started in the Unites States; it has been developed since the early 1800s as a result of crosses between the bulldogs of that time and game terriers. Although the early ancestors of this breed came from England, the development of the American Staffordshire Terrier is the story of a truly American breed. This type of dog was instrumental in the success of farmers and settlers who developed this country. They were used for general farm work, hunting wild pigs, bears, and other large game, guarding the homestead, and general companionship. A number of the early ancestors were also developed for the sport of dog fighting. The extraordinary vitality of this breed is a direct result of breeding for successful fighting dogs. This now illegal activity is, unfortunately, more often cited as the early purpose of the dogs rather than the general farm work. Although ancestors of the American Staffordshire were fighting dogs, the selective breeding since the 1930s has been away from the fighting heritage. The American Staffordshire Terrier of today is a companion and show dog, rather than a gladiator. Although more rarely used on the farm now, the talents that made him a good all-purpose dog are still to be found in the breed. Later on, In the early 1900s people began to fight dog against dog in a pit, or dog against bull in a pit which is why the dog was later named the Pit Bull. Unfortunately in todays society there have been many cases of over breeding for this dog which has created temperament problems in their bloodlines, leading to inconsistent behavior. Pit Bulls over bred today are usually used to fight illegally in run down urban areas or are kept outside and are used to guard junkyards, peoples houses or private property. The over breeding of these dogs led to people housing them that were not qualified to handle this breed. Though they do not get overly large they have a body mass that can weigh up to 90 pounds, and a lockjaw with 800 pounds of pressure. These dogs are very smart, but require a lot of care and  attention. The Pit Bull will also learn to imitate the behavior of its owner. People who neglect these dogs or use aggressive force to train them will often have an aggressive dog likely to turn and attack. When kept in safe living conditions and trained properly these dogs are excellent family pets with a natural guard dog instinct to protect its family. Many of the dog attacks to take place in the past 10 years have been by Pit Bulls, but what about 10 years before that when the feared breed was the Doberman Pinscher. Now Dobermans are recognized as an extraordinary breed while the Pit Bull has now gained the reputation of Man eater. To stop the over breeding, inbreeding and sales to unfit owners, it is encouraged to buy your American Staffordshire Terrier from a registered and reputable breeder. It is also advised to see the papers and bloodlines to the parents to make sure they have been Temperament Tested (TT). When a responsible owner goes to these lengths to get a pedigree Pit Bull, they will end up with a companion for life that will be loyal and protect your every step. American Staffordshire Terriers tend to take to their main owner the most. They will follow them everywhere and protect them against danger at all times. Though very gentle, if the Pit Bull senses that their owner is in danger or at risk, they will put their own lives at stake for the well being and safety of their family. For the past 3 years precautions have been taken to ward off Pit Bulls becoming turned into attack dogs and the number of Pit Bull attacks have decreased. Now, because of the ever growing popularity of Labrador and Golden Retrievers, their inbreeding have caused these examples of Mans Best Friend to attack as well. So before you judge every Pit Bull that you see please be aware that a majority of the time it is the inability of the owner, and not the aggressiveness of the dog. Any dog can attack if not properly bred or cared for!