The Concept of Self-Interest Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Concept of Self-Interest - Term Paper Example The paper will analyze the concept of self-interest from the position of Adam Smith, Chinese Confucianism, and Christianity. The human nature is created in a way that every action benefits the self-conscious. The action by a person either good or bad is made in regards to the wants of a person. In an argument by Marilynn (2001) the relationship between the human nature and one’s actions are based on the benefits one may achieve. The author further asserts that human nature acts in response to the human needs (Marilynn, 2001). For this reason, self-interest in inevitable. The creation of self-interest is involuntary to human nature. Moreover, the relationship between self-interest and human nature is created minus ant regards of morality and ethics. The moral obligation of human beings does not go beyond the altering of their internal needs. Marilynn (2001) is the assumption that the moral obligation of human beings is mostly influenced by the requirement of the society. Consequently, people tend to act as required by the people. This requirement can, however, be altered by personal needs. For this r eason, it is an accurate assertion that self-interest is an involuntary creation of the human mind to suit personal needs. As a creation of God, a person has the ability to control their perception of self-interest. The ability of a person to act may be influenced by their personal needs but a person can influence their needs. In an argument by Voert, Felling & Peters (1994) human beings are created with power and ability to control their ability to create wants and needs. For this reason, self-interest is a personal creation that can be controlled if a person wants to. From the Christian perspective, self-interest is selfish and a creation to justify immorality and being unethical. Moreover, Christians are required to act as required by the creator. This requirement makes self-interest, not a requirement or a need. In addition, self-interest can be shunned by adhering to the Christian teachings on morality and human requirements.

International Relation Theory Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Relation Theory - Case Study Example This school of thought argues that this was not normal intervention since it raised questions regarding the legitimacy of humanitarian intervention, the nature of sovereignty statehood and the role of international community to rescue individual and nations at risk. Using the English approach in studying the conflict in Kosovo makes it possible to understand the need of international intervention in relation to rule of sovereignty and general prohibition against use of force. According to social constructivist approach, argues the causes of the riots by the Kosovo students were motivated by political reasons whereby the Kosovar Albanians demanded for republican status within Yugoslavia. In this regard, the actions by the kosovars demonstrated their collective identity in that these demonstrations led to reforms that strengthened Albanian identity. Throughout the 1980’s, there was growth of Yugoslav identification and its implication for the stability of the Yugoslav, but through socialization, people began to view themselves differently. This perception made Yugoslav vulnerable because of lack of state support and the emergence of entrepreneurs using nationalist ideas to pursue a variety of agenda. The rise of nationalist entrepreneurs began to portray Kosovo issue as victimization of Serbs in Kosovo and larger problem with Yugoslavia as a whole. In addition, constructivist theory can be applied in federalism did not serve to answer all of national questions in Yugoslavia. In Kosovo, the Yugoslav idea was not accepted by those of Albanian ethnicity who were majority of the population in the area. The federal structure that confined Albanian population to the status of national minority and Kosovo to sub federal unit has won wider acceptance among Kosovo Albanians. The kosovar Albanians took into uprisings to protest against their incorporation in Yugoslav political structure. This idea manifested in 1980 when the kosovars Albanians rejected the Yugoslav ideas eventually plunging them into deadly conflict. The conflict in Kosovo led to systematic rape, which is identified by international law as war crime. Therefore, liberal feminist seeks to whose law is it because rape is interpreted from gendered viewpoint as attack on woman’s honor. Liberal feminist on the other hand recruited women in the military force. Women helped in provision of services in legal institutions in that they acted as prosecutors and attorneys this was done with the aim of promoting gender equality and preserve public image. In addition, gendered expectation and assumption in conflict resolution is vital in that it gives women a chance to move from victim part, and reclaim their agency and participate actively in recovery process. Critical feminist perspective seek s to understand how the contemporary world order developed and to identify who is hurt or benefit by current array of power relation. In addition, the war led to massive women trafficking and exclusion of women from decision-making based on gendered and ethnicized interpretation of woman’s place in Kosovo society. The question that many historians pose is that what led the United States of America to engage herself in the operation-allied forces in 1999? Unites states had little extrinsic or economic interest in the Balkans after the Soviet Union had collapsed. The republic of Yugoslavia was weak and poor situated on the periphery of Europe. The conflicts in Kosovo caused a security threat to US secondary interest in Europe given that the country was closer to NATO

Evaluating the Value of the Multifactor Leadership

Evaluating the Value of the Multifactor Leadership The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) is one of the most widely used instruments to measure leadership ability and behaviour in organisations and organisational studies. However this does not mean it is without flaws. This report will describe and discuss the MLQ and its main purposes. It will analyse leadership theories and the ways in which the test resonates with and conflicts with particular theories. In particular it will look at classic and contemporary leadership perspectives and theories and how it has been applied to the development of the MLQ and the Multifactor Leadership Model the questionnaire is based on. This report will show that while there are flaws in the design, construction, validity and practical application of the MLQ, it is a reliable tool when used in conjunction with other leadership selection and development tools and offers much promise in evaluating leadership ability and behaviours, follower reactions and situational attributes. In 1978, Burns proposed that leaders could be distinguished in terms of transactional or transformational leaders (Parry and Bryman, 2006, p 450). In his work, transactional leadership consisted of an exchange process between the leader and follower in which the leader offers a reward for compliance with his or her contract (Parry and Bryman, 2006, p 450) and is based on rewards and punishment. Transformational leadership on the other hand is the process of motivating followers or colleagues to do more than originally expected using charisma, influence and vision by transferring followers attitudes, beliefs and values, as opposed to simply gaining compliance (Parry and Bryman, 2006, p 450; Rafferty and Griffin, 2004, p 330). However, Burns proposed that a leader was either transformational or transactional, and that the two were at opposite ends of the spectrum. In the 1980s, Basss approach was able to draw heavily on Burns work, but hypothesised that successful leaders were transformational and transactional. Bass theory represented a combination of transformational, transactional and non-transactional laissez-faire leadership factors (Antonakis et al, 2003, p 264). Bass propositioned that transformational and transactional leadership styles are separate and independent dimensions that appear simultaneously (Tejeda, Scandura and Pillai, 2001, p 33) and that the transactional attributes would deliver the basic needs of an organisation, while the transformational attributes would foster change and encourage commitment. He believed that every leader displays each of the styles to some extent and called this the Full Range of Leadership Model (Bass, 1998, p. 7). However an effective leader would demonstrate transformational attributes more frequently then transactional attributes. Central to Bass research is the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Hartog, Muijen and Koopman, 1997, p21). The MLQ is a leadership assessment tool that measures leadership behaviour and style. It is the primary measurement tool of research on the theory (Tejeda et al, 2001, p 34). In its most recent format, the MLQ is a short but comprehensive survey of 45 items which measures a full range of leadership styles (http://www.cornerstonecoaching.com.au/MLQ_Questionnaire.html, 20/09/2010).  The MLQ is designed to evaluate the factors that are related to leadership and how these factors determine the efficiency and effectiveness of a leader. It assesses the transformational leadership with five scales: 1) idealised attributes, 2) idealised behaviours, 3) inspirational motivation, 4) intellectual stimulation and 5) individualised characterisation (Muenjohn and Armstrong, 2008, p 5). Three scales are identified as characteristics of transactional leadership: 1) contingent reward, 2) man agement by exception: active and management by exception: passive and one scale for Non-leadership, laissez-faire (Muenjohn and Armstrong, 2008, p 5). It also assesses the outcome of leadership in terms of effectiveness and satisfaction. The current version of the MLQ (Form 5X) was developed based on the results of studies of the previous versions and the feedback of leadership scholars who revised the questionnaire (XXXXX IN Antonakis, Avolio and Sivasubramaniam, 2003, p 265) and is used widely in research and across organisations in leadership assessment and development. Leadership Theories and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire The Multifactor Leadership Model has become one of the most widely cited theory of leadership, and while Bass (Bass, 1990b, in Hartog et al, 1997, p19) claims that the transactional-transformational leadership model is a new paradigm, and does not replace or explain other models, the model does in fact integrate ideas from classic and contemporary theories of leadership. Up until the late 1940s, the trait-based approach dominated leadership approaches (Parry and Bryman, 2006, p 448). These theories isolated characteristics that differentiated leaders from non-leaders based on the premise that leaders are born, to an extent, and that the skills required are innate and are not developed over time. The Multifactor Leadership Theory is not a trait based approach however it is evident that there are certain traits exhibited that differentiate a transformational leader from a transactional leader or traits that are not considered as leadership qualities. For instance, confidence (question 25), pride (question 10), optimism (question 9), resiliance and enthusiasm (question 13) are seen as traits of transformational leaders. One question in the MLQ states my associates and followers trust me and exhibit the values I portrayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (www.mlq.com.au, accessed 21/09/2010). In this question, trustworthiness is a trait that is perceived as important for transformational leadership. In fact, Bass approach is based on the concept of the trait or characteristic of charisma. However what the MLQ does not do is state that leadership traits are innate, and that leaders cannot be developed. A key advantage of the MLQ is that it is a tool to assess leadership skills and develop the leader into becoming more effective, efficient and transformational and show where development is required. From inception, the multifactor leadership model incorporated earlier behavioural approaches to leadership (Sashkin, 2004 in Antonakis, Cianciolo and Stenberg, 2004, p 175). Behaviour dimensions are actions that inspires by communicating a vision, actions that express considerations and behaviours that engage and challenge followers to think for themselves (Sashkin, 2004 in Antonakis et al, 2004, p 175). One of the best known approaches to behavioural leadership theories stems from research undertaken by a group of researchers at the Ohio State University. Stogdill and Coons identified two dimensions of leadership in their studies, referred to as consideration or employee-oriented leadership and initiating structure or production-oriented leadership (Antonakis, Cianciolo and Stenberg, 2004, p 7), not dissimilar to transactional, or task focussed leadership. It is important to note that unlike trait based approaches to leadership which focuses on characteristics that is perceived to make a good leader, behavioural approaches emphasise that behaviour can be changed, and through training, individuals can be better leaders. The MLQ is a tool that assesses current behaviour and can be used as a tool to assist in developing individuals to better leaders. In 1967, Fiedlar proposed a contingency model of leadership effectiveness which measured the leadership orientation of the person completing it (Fiedlar, 1967 in Parry and Byrman, 2006, p 449). The leader was either human-relations oriented, that is, considerate of the subordinates feelings and concerned with fostering good relations, or task-motivated (Parry and Byrman, 2006, p 449). Like Burns approach on transactional and transformational leadership, Fiedlar proposed that leaders were either human-relations oriented or task motivated, and could alternate depending on the situational factors. The MLQ however shows that for a leader to be effective, both task oriented attributes and transformation attributes needed to be displayed. The two were not co-dependent. The theory focuses on contingent reward as motivation, and is similar to transactional leader attributes. However, the theory highlighted that since a leaders personality does not change, it is instead necessary to change th e situational factors instead, such as task structure, position power or leader-member relations (Parry and Byrman, 2006, p 449). The MLQ is an assessment tool based on analysing a persons behaviours and attributes and developing or changing their behaviour to transformational leaders rather than transactional or non-leaders rather than the need to change the environment or situation. The multifactor model seems to stem from research conducted from the late 1980s onwards and the theories that became known as contemporary perspectives. One such example is leadership through emotional intelligence (EI). EI is consistently associated with good leadership and is the ability to understand and manage feelings, moods and emotions in self and others (Kupers and Weibler, 2005, p 369). The connection between emotions and transformational leadership was assessed by research conducted in 2001 by Palmer, Walls and Burgess by measuring emotional intelligence in 43 participants in managerial roles using the Trait Meta Mood Scale, and effective transformational leadership attributes were measured by the MLQ. It was found that there was a positive correlation between EI and transformational leadership, a factor that has not been missed by Bass, who declared that leadership is as much emotional and subjective as rational and objective in effect (1999, p 19 in Kupers and Weibler, 20 05, p 369). This and other research has suggested that EI is an important component of transformational leadership, and the ability to utilise transactional attributes when required. In fact, transformational leaders would need to use emotion to communicate vision to gain a response from their subordinates. It is interesting to note that the EI model became prevalent from 1980 onwards. Perhaps for this reason Bass and team insisted that their multifactor leader model was not based on previous classic models of leadership but asserted that there was a positive relationship between EI and transformational leadership. While this report does not propose that the multifactor model does not have any similarities to classic models, it is evident that the model has more similarity with contemporary models of leadership. Further correlations can be made between the multifactor model and the level 5 leadership model and inspirational leadership model. The level 5 leadership model is based on the premise that an effective leader exhibits attributes effective leadership, competent management, contributing team membership and a highly capable individual and can in addition demonstrate personal humility and professional will. Inspirational leadership is a combination of level 5 leadership and EI. Inspirational leaders selectively show their own weaknesses, dare to be different, rely on intuition and ability to read interpersonal cues and practice tough empathy. Attributes of the multifactor model, including inspirational motivations, simulation and consideration are similar to the concepts presented above. Effective leaders will also be transformational and transactional, therefore showing both competent manager and highly capable individual attributes. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Practical Application The MLQ is essentially based on the premise that for a leader to be successful, transactional and transformational attributes need to be displayed. This has also made the test popular and valid in a variety of situations and environments, including structured, task oriented workplaces, such as manufacturing or in a professional services environment, where employee empowerment, charisma and visionary leadership are prevalent. In addition, it is essentially a 360 degree feedback tool, that is used not only to develop the leader but to identify the thoughts of subordinates, thereby increasing accuracy, acceptance, better understanding of performance and gaps in performance and indicates the leadership skills an individual needs to develop to be effective. Based on the results, ineffective leaders can be differentiated from effective leaders. Furthermore, its successful application in a variety of organisations is highlighted by the fact that it has been translated in other languages to decrease the language barrier or cultural implications. What it does not take into account however, is other cultural implications such as preferred or required leadership style or social factors, and research has revealed that different cultures place value certain leadership styles and behaviours to a greater extent than others. Certain cultures for instance, may not value individualise d consideration for instance as much as the cultural norms of collectivist societies in China or India for instance, so attributes valued in the multifactor model may not be ideal in certain cultures. In a study by Shahin and Wright (2004), they highlighted that cooperation and coordination were important for social integration among people in Egypt, stemming from social culture and its dependence on Islam (Shahin and Wright, 2004, 9 203). The MLQ does not take into account social culture and cultural implications and for this reason further questions were added measuring social integration. Shahin and Wright (2004) also noted that the form in which char ismatic leadership portrayed in the Egyptian context has a strong element of authoritarianism (p 504). The leadership style exhibits strong elements of transactional leadership behaviours, where contingent reward and management by exception are required to ensure subordinates perform (Shahin and Wright, 2004, 9 504). Therefore the ideal measurements of the MLQ needed to be customised to suit the context. In addition Validity and Design As noted above, key to the multifactor model is based on the premise that the theoretical background stems from classic and contemporary leadership, and is based on developing leaders, not that leaders are born. The MLQ is widely accepted and used and extensive research has been conducted that highlights its validity and reliability to measure management behaviour and performance (Agle, 1993; Carless, Mann and Wearing, 1995; Lowe, Kroek and Sivasubramaniam, 1996). It has emerged from a through and rigorous research process over the past fifteen years (Whitelaw, 2001, p 1). Part of its success in implementation in todays business world is its success in integrating emotional intelligence into the attributes of transformation leaders. Based on the results, training, support, mentoring and coaching can be provided to the leader. It would be very difficult in criticising the MLQ in terms of its application, as the multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ) is widely used in academic research and also a broad range of different organisations across many cultures (Anatonakis et al, 2003; Krickbride, 2006). The evidence of this is the fact that the MLQ has been translated into ten different languages, and has extensively been used in organisations globally in the following sectors in many sectors such as training, consulting, financial and insurance institutes, law firms, hospitals, mining and manufacturing businesses, media, government, marketing, gaming industry, defence, retail, property businesses, education etc. However, research (House, 1997) reveals that different cultures vary immensely in the value they give to certain leadership styles and behaviours. This may lead to a problem in the potential application of the MLQ as leadership behaviour that is valued by the MLQ (e.g. individualised consideration t owards subordinates) might violate certain cultural norms of collectivist societies e.g. India and Japan. Furthermore, a research conducted by Connelly, Zaccharo, Threlfall, Marks and Mumford (2002) reveals that questionnaires like MLQ in which subordinates and peers provide evaluation, fail to measure certain types of leadership skills, as they might be less observable e.g. knowledge, problem-solving and judgement capabilities.   The ***** provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of public organizations, especially on the point that the criteria are multiple, shifting, and conflicting (Rainey, 2003) The MLQ is capable of measuring the extent to which leadership is ***** considerate, providing the ***** with support, mentoring, ***** coaching (*****, p. 5). Established ***** (Bass). In addition, the MLQ: *****. Differentiates effective and ineffective leaders ***** all organizational levels; 2. Assesses the effectiveness ***** an entire organizations leadership; 3. Is valid ***** cultures ***** types of organizations; *****. Is ***** to administer, requires 15 minutes to complete; 5. Has ***** extensively ***** and validated; 6. The MLQ provides the best relationship ***** survey data to organizational outcome; and, 7. The MLQ has become ***** benchmark measure of Transformational Leadership (***** *****) The data developed from the ***** to date have been shown to highly correlate with ***** with effectiveness, performance, ***** satisfaction (Bass, p. 83). In addition, the feedback of MLQ results can also be used for mentoring, counseling, coaching, and training; MLQ scores might also be used profitably to identify executives to head ***** ventures (Bass, p. 84). Theoretical background is based on developing leaders, not that leaders are born EI aspects present in MLQ Plenty of research and used widely, accepted 360 degree feedback, tool to identify the thoughts of subordinates practical application design validity Weaknesses of Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Cultural factors e.g. org culture Environmental factors, economy (crisis) Type of organisation e.g. manufacturing organisation might need diff style of leadership to professional services firm Reliance on honesty Self-evaluation Does not consider variance in thought or ideology Some questions may not apply in certain situations Opportunities and Threats of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire practical application design validity Conclusion

Personal Narrative Adults Negative View of Teenagers :: Papers

Personal Narrative Adult's Negative View of Teenagers There is a significant difference of opinion about teenagers today that comes from teenagers themselves and the adult population. A good majority of the young people today view themselves as relatively responsible people. A lot of them are inquisitive and are eager to learn new things. Many are committed to a drug-free lifestyle, and there are a lot of students who achieve very high grades. Most adults' view on teen behavior is very different. Of course, there is a percentage of youth that is very immature, lazy, unorganized, disrespectful, and careless, etc. (The list could go on and on.); but, unfortunately, it is the bad qualities that stay in the minds of many adults and elders. There are few teenagers today who will openly admit to their bad habits or behaviors. Maybe they can’t keep a clean room, or maybe they have a very difficult time remembering to do their homework every night. It may even be possible for them to spel things inkirectly. I am a strong believer in the fact that doing your best is all that matters, yet teens must also be aware of the fact that â€Å"good enough† isn’t. Everyone makes mistakes, but you’re judged many times on how few mistakes you actually make. I’m sure that nobody would go to a job interview ready to tell the boss of the company: â€Å"Well, let’s face it. I’m not very productive, and I rather be watching The Simpsons right now.† Who really is willing to tell someone about his or her personal flaws? In reality, it takes someone to offer a â€Å"wake up call† sometimes to make us aware of when we’re not doing something correctly. Today’s teens need to be criticized, but they also need to be encouraged when they are doing something right as well. They need to be told when they could be a little more responsible, and they could use some advice occasionally on how to manage their time. Equally as important, I think a teenager needs to be told when they solve a problem correctly or produce an excellent piece of work. Encouragement will only bring about repetition; and, maybe after being told that they’ve done something right, today’s teens will be able to much more easily say: â€Å"I’m responsible.† It is disappointing to come across such an abyss between the viewpoints of elders and teenagers on teen habits.

History of Television Essay

Television Broadcasting Malaysian television broadcasting was introduced on 28 December 1963. Color television was introduced on 28 December 1978. Full-time color transmissions of grand launched until officially inaugurated on New Year’s Day 1982. There are currently 8 national free-to-air terrestrial television stations in Malaysia and 2 national pay subscription television stations in Malaysia. Out of eight television channels, four of them are available in Sabah and Sarawak, and the other four are available only in Peninsular Malaysia.Transmissions in Malaysia were black-and-white until 28 December 1978. First stereo audio broadcasting was introduced in 1985 by TV3.Five out of eight channels does not have 24-hour schedule. 24-hour television was introduced in Malaysia between 13 to 16 May 1989 on TV1. The first 24-hour broadcasting in Malaysia was introduced in 2007 by TV2. Local Programming RTM had local programmings in each state until 1984, and those local stations had been replaced by relay of RTM1. RTM1 had 1 hour of local programming between 1984 to 1992. Today, RTM broadcasts the same version nationwide except in Sarawak and Sabah, which still have some local programmings. RTM have plans to re-introduce the local channels after digital switchover. The local channels had the name RTM and state name, for example RTM Pinang for Penang. Each channel had its own schedule and broadcasting hours, and some programs relay from RTM1 and RTM2 (usually news programs and government programs). Between 1984 to 1992, the local programmings was around 5:00pm on RTM1. For the new local channels, the broadcasting hours are currently unknown. Today, RTM still broadcasting radio in local, but television in national.

Analyzing Pro forma Statements Essay

This financial analysis will define an initiative of what to implement, that would increase sales over the next five years. It can either be, another market, product, or a corporate expansion. A pro forma will be created and used for the XYZ Manufacturing Company of a five year projections. Assumptions will be made to support each line item, to increase or decrease the forecasted statements. There will also be interpretation of the financials, in relation to the initiative. Recommendations are to made on the potential discretionary financing needs. This word analysis is the company’s short term and long term financing needs, and strategies to help the company manage their working capital (University of Phoenix, 2014). Pro forma statements are created by, forecasting and combining the income and balance into a financial statement format. This will determine how the account balances are forecasted by acquiring forces that will influence and project how the accounts will be influenced. These forces are recognizable as restrictive debt agreements, sales, and company policies The following illustrations below is the Pro forma’s process for a five-year projection. This information is based on historical data collected from the sample provide (UOPX, 2014)..There is acquired information of a increase in sales new product as the result of a new product introduction also an increase in the production capacity. The increase in sales will acquire fixed assets with the excess cash (Parrino, Kidwell, & Bates, 2012) Pro forma Balance Sheet for XYZ Company, INC. Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity-$559,608 $649,251 $848,766 $1,,037,172 $1,183,541 In the above balance sheet the current assets and current liabilities has increased in the ratio of sales (Parrino,Kidwell, & Bates, 2012, p90,91. 92) There is also an additional increase in the fixed assets. The company to take out an additional loan to meet the capital expansion, and the working capital needs (Parrino, Kidwell, & Bates, 2012) I would recommend that the company The first step in this pro forma financial statements is the forecasting of sales. Sales always influence the current asset and current liability account balances. For example: the account receivable balances would need to become larger increased if the firm needs to carry more inventory. Through the profit margin, and the dividend payout ratio. There is much difficult in forecasting sales, but it is an essential, it only depend on the season of the year, economy and the industry There could also be many other factors as well. Reference Parrino, R., Kidwell, D. S., & Bates, T. W. (2012). Fundamentals of corporate finance (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N. J.: John Wiley & Sons. University of Phoenix material, (2013) â€Å"Analyzing Pro Forma Statements† retrieved from https://newclassroom3.phoenix.edu/Classroom/#/contextid/OSIRIS:44656217/context/co/view/activityDetails/activity/53c06956-87e9-4050-8ecc-815e914705e0/expanded/False/focus-cmt/none/tab/Instructions

Using the Spanish Verb Pasar

Using the Spanish Verb Pasar Like its English cognate to pass, the Spanish verb pasar has a variety of meanings that often vaguely relate to movement in space or time. The key to translating the verb, more so than with most words, is understanding the context. Pasar is regularly conjugated, using the pattern of verbs such as hablar. Pasar as a Verb of Happening Although the English pass is sometimes a synonym for to happen, such usage is extremely common in Spanish. Another possible translations for this usage is to occur or to take place. Dime quà © te pasà ³. (Tell me what happened to you.)Nadie sabà ­a decirnos lo que pasaba, habà ­a mucha confusià ³n. (Nobody knew to tell us what happened, there was so much confusion.)Mira lo que pasa cuando les dices a las personas que son bellas. (Look at what happens to people when you say they are beautiful.) Other Common Meanings of Pasar Here are the other meanings of pasar you are most likely to come across: To happen, to occur:  ¿Quà © ha pasado aquà ­? (What happened here?) Pase lo que pase estoy a tu lado. (Whatever happens, Im at your side.) Creo que ya pasà ³. (I think it has already happened.) To spend (time): Pasà ³ todo el dà ­a con la familia de Juan. (She spent all day with Juans family.) Pasaba los fines de semana tocando su guitarra. (He would spend weekends playing his guitar.) To move or travel: No pasa el tren por la ciudad. (The train doesnt go through the city.) To enter a room or area:  ¡Bienvenida a mi casa!  ¡Pasa! (Welcome to my house! Come in!) To cross (a line of some sort): Pasamos la frontera y entramos en Portugal. (We crossed the border and entered Portugal.) El general Torrejà ³n pasà ³ el rà ­o con la caballerà ­a. (General Torrejon crossed the river with the cavalry.) To go past: Siga derecho y pase 5 semforos. (Go straight ahead and pass five traffic lights.) Cervantes pasà ³ por aquà ­. (Cervantes came by here.) To hand over an object: Psame la salsa, por favor. (Pass the sauce, please.) No me pasà ³ nada. (He didnt give me anything.) To endure, to suffer, to put up with: Nunca pasaron hambre gracias a que sus ancestros gallegos trabajaron como animales. (They never suffered from hunger because their ancestors worked like animals.) Dios no nos abandona cuando pasamos por el fuego de la prueba. (God does not abandon us when we go through the fiery ordeal.) To experience: No puedes pasar sin Internet. (I cant get by without the Internet.) No tenà ­a amigos ni amigas, por eso me lo pasaba mal. (I didnt have male friends nor female friends, and because of this I had a rough time.) To pass (a test): La nià ±a no pasà ³ el examen de audicià ³n. (The girl didnt pass the audition.) To exceed: Pasamos de los 150 kilà ³metros por hora. (We went faster than 150 kilometers per hour.) To overlook (in the phrase pasar por alto): Pasarà © por alto tus errores. (Ill overlook your mistakes.) To show (a motion picture): Disney Channel pasà ³ la pelà ­cula con escenas nuevas. (The Disney Channel showed the movie with new scenes.) To forget: No entiendo como  se me pasà ³ estudiar  lo ms importante. (I dont now how I forgot to study the most important thing.) Reflexive Usage of Pasarse The reflexive form pasarse is often used with little or no change in meaning, although it sometimes suggests that the action was surprising, sudden, or unwanted:  ¿Nadie se pasà ³ por aquà ­? (Nobody passed through here?)Muchos jà ³venes se pasaron por la puerta de acceso para adultos mayores. (Many young people passed through the access door for older adults.)En una torre de enfriamiento, el agua se pasa por el condensa. (In a cooling tower, the water passes through the condenser.) Key Takeaways Pasar is a common Spanish verb that is often used to mean to happen.Other meanings of pasar coincide with many of the meanings of its English cognate, to pass.The reflexive form pasarse usually has little or no difference in meaning from the normal form.

What is the Job Market for Web Developers

What is the Job Market for Web Developers in the last few years, there has been an explosion of companies offering to train people in web development through bootcamps, online instruction, classes, and nearly anything else to get people coding. the target audience for most of these are people who did not study coding in the past but now want to change career paths. with so much excitement around start-ups and technology, coding know-how is becoming more and more an incredibly valued skill. but what can new web developers expect as they enter the development career marketplace?when it comes to salary, there is some disagreement depending on what source you prefer. the united states department of labor suggests a range from as low as $33k to $105k. this is obviously quite a range and surely covers a wide spectrum of employment situations. other sources put the range from around $75k to $120k for web development positions.in terms of job availability, the timing really could not be better for web developers. there are a plethor a of jobs and not enough people with the right skills for hire. 61% of executives say they face recruitment challenges when it comes to highly skilled and technical positions. as the gap between qualified workers and unfilled jobs continues to grow, it is expected that the gap will grow even greater for those looking for web developers. as any business 101 class will teach you, high demand and low supply can certainly lead to price increases. in this case, price equals web developers’ salaries!so strike while the iron is hot! i have a feeling in 400 years, they will look back at this time period and see anyone who cannot code as practically illiterate. while that might sound crazy, it is basically how we look at the past with regard to reading. perhaps the best part of it all, once you have those skills, you never what brilliant idea might strike you and inspire you to create your own start-up and become your own boss!

Of mice and men - A comparison of the opening scenes of the film and the beginning of the book Essay Example for Free

‘Of mice and men’ – A comparison of the opening scenes of the film and the beginning of the book Essay Fiction (1033) , Book (985) , John Steinbeck (629) , Of Mice and Men (560) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints A comparison of the opening scenes of the film and the beginning of the book ‘Of mice and men’ is set in southern California at the time of the great depression (late 1920 and early 30’s), the basis of the story is about 2 men George and Lenny, who are two workers who travel from place to place finding work on ranches, so they can earn there 50 bucks a month. George is the leader out of the two he looks after Lenny, sorts out where they go and what they do and eat. Lenny is a very big and strong man, but he is very dumb and could not look after himself, he his at heart a nice, harmless man but likes colourful, nice feeling things, so he is just like a small child. Lenny gets them into trouble a lot, he likes to touch nice things and when he does people get the wrong idea and like at the start of the book and film gets accused of rape, and at the end causes a death of a woman. Like most writers or directors, John Steinbeck and Gary Sinise try to grab the readers or viewer’s attention. Even though the novel and film are based on the same story, they use different techniques and ways to try and get the audiences attention. In the novel John Steinbeck uses a lot of description of his settings and this is how he tries to keep the audience’s imagination going. For example in the first two pages of the novel, he uses a strong descriptive and a strong style of language to try and give an effect of a natural, calm and peaceful atmosphere, also when describing the willow pool he tries and puts as much detail in as possible, as this area of land is one of the most important places in the story as this is where Steinbeck starts the story and ends it in a similar place. It’s quite amazing how Steinbeck manages to turn a violent and threatening scene into a calm, relaxing place and an almost peaceful time. I think that the first set of settings is set in a spring/summer theme as they are talking about there dream which is seen as the American dream of this time, so this also relates to life in the late boom and depression of the 1920’s. The beginning is used to try and introduce the two main characters portraying Lenny as the leader and it seems that he is like a father to Lenny who is portrayed as a small child who cannot control what he is doing. George also knows he has to take the role as the father or older brother and has to keep rules and tells him what to do, e.g. when they are drinking from the lake Lenny keeps his head in the water and is just guzzling the water down, then George says; â€Å"For god sake don’t drink so much†, and also he checks if the water is safe by making sure that its is running although George is of little intelligence him self he knows how to stay alive and live well. Gary Sinise tries to grab the audience’s attention quite differently at the beginning of the film as he uses a dramatic sequence of George and Lenny sitting in the luggage holder of a train, and you see him thinking back to what happened at Weed. When this is happening the light fades over Georges face from the cracks in the compartments wooden walls, this effect of the light streaming across his face gives an imaginary sense of prison bars. During Georges flashbacks you see them running fast and out of breath down a field full of long grass, and it keeps flashing back on Georges face in the train giving you a sense of distress instead of the calming effect of the novel. It then flashes to a pretty woman in a red dress that has a rip going down the bottom of it, the air flows through her dress and hair as she is running down a field. This scene really is exciting and full of tension to the viewer, which contrasts totally to the calm and peaceful opening of the book. Next you she a bunch of workers in a field, and they hear the girl’s screams. The workers on horse follow carrying shotguns. This contrasts to the life of today against nearly a century ago, as nowadays Lenny would have been arrested and put to a fair trial but back then they would have just killed Lenny on the spot. This scene puts people on the edges of their seats giving a sense of suspense; this is how a good director is able to keep the audiences attention to the film. The scene of the willow pool is quite like the scene in the book it gives a more relaxed effect from the previous suspense scenes, as they hide neck deep under the overflowing bush weed, and luckily the workers lose them. When we see George and Lenny getting there work cards it proves the fact that this is in the 1930’s as there were a lot of job shortages and you had to go to a job office and see if any jobs were available, most people would take any job there was, because of the depression. This then gives us a slight historical background of the time they are in. George in the book is firstly described as â€Å"small and quick, dark of face with restless eyes and sharp, strong features†. George being described as having restless eyes gives an impression that he is quite alert and a quick thinker of what to do in troubled times. Lenny on the other hand is described quite differently: â€Å"Huge man, shapeless face with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws†. â€Å"†¦the way a bear drags his paws† Lenny is being described as an animal which shows that he is a slow and clumsy both physical and mentally. The characters in the film are unlike the ones in the book as they are not physically opposite. Lenny is only slightly taller than George, but the behaviours of these two characters do mirror that it is similar to the book as Lenny acts like a child and George is the smart, dominant one. This is often shown in the close ups of their faces and in their speech and movement. The clothes they wear are described in the book as workers clothes so rugged and tattered, so the movie is also based on this part as the clothes in the movie are like this. In my opinion I think casting John Malkovich was perfect to be Lenny as he was able to portray the child like brain of Lenny. He seemed to fit the right description of Lenny. The voice used by John Malkovich was very effective in giving the viewer a childlike impression of Lenny. Gary Sinise although he was director he himself played George and he obviously knew how he wanted George to be played and he did with an amazing attitude, he gave out the attitude and cunningness of George as is written in the book. In conclusion, the beginning of the book and the beginning of the film are based on the same storyline. The way the scenes are described and presented are really quite different. Gary Sinise is able to create a sense of action and suspense followed by the calm of the willow pool, whilst Steinbeck creates a very rich and calm descriptive opening scene, which contrasts with the violence of what is actually happening. ‘Of mice and men’ – A comparison of the opening scenes of the film and the beginning of the book. (2017, Oct 26). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

How would Jesus lead Worship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How would Jesus lead Worship - Essay Example It is all about people’s normal vision of worship compared to how Jesus, as a Church leader sees it Himself. The second part of the book deals with the practical suggestions for contemporary believers paying much attention to the gospel of Luke. This significant piece of the discussion in the book is divided into four separate chapters titled as follows: Humble Servants, Leaders with Authority, Creative Communicators, and Reliant on the Spirit (Hargreaves and Hargreaves 38, 61, 81, 103). All of them lead a reader toward the idea of what God gives a worshipper for just one song while praising in psalms. Interaction and dialogue as based on my experience First of all, this book changed my way of thinking about personal relationship with Jesus. I know that we should keep up with the demands of time. Just praising Jesus in a new way is a good idea for those who seek God’s grace into their lives. In this vein, the authors admit the following statement: â€Å"Jesus would kee p up with the trends—we must be completely up to date with what we wear† (Hargreaves and Hargreaves 8). Hence, I see that the book is a practical guide for every believer aware of the right side in worshipping. Based on my experience, I cannot communicate this message to my peers other than to make my praise to God really powerful. In other words, new styles in music and singing are to be shared while praising God due to His multifaceted manifestations of power and reason, because God creates something new every single day. Certainly, the book is full of different standpoints regarding a step-by-step instruction on how to follow Christ-like way of worshipping. I feel that each Christian should bear in mind that singing like Jesus needs more practice so that to the Holy Spirit. Taking a look at my worshipping style, I have come up with what I should do in advance, namely â€Å"being obedient in service to God’s design for our lives† (Hargreaves and Hargreav es 9). Definitely, this is why so many Christians do not have what God promised them. It is similar to the story of the People of Israel when God led them to the Promised Land. Looking through the gospel of Luke, I have realized the scope of benefits God gives those sharing the same message as Jesus taught. In this respect it is not about the material amenities, but the spiritual jump within the myriad of divine manifestations of God power in lives of ordinary believers. Those who urge for His glory trying to get the revelation of how to become more like God will definitely reach this goal out through praising God every single minute in church or elsewhere. Critical assessment While reading the book, I have realized that the church is in need of more vision in how to worship God. The overall impression from this book is that the church should be flexible and open to the needs of contemporary humanity so that to please everybody in music styles and genres. Being culturally mature is the first step. Second, I have understood that there should be more tries on how to be closer to God on the part of me as a believer. The model I have pointed out while reading the book is as follows: â€Å"The supreme example of worship intimacy surely has to be looked for in Christ Jesus and his relationship with the Father† (Hargreaves and Hargreaves 12). Therefore, the follow-up in the Christ-like way of worshipping has become my credo. Our devotion to Jesus should be felt by the Creator. However,

Memphis Design-Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass Essay

Memphis Design-Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass - Essay Example The paper "Memphis Design-Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass" discovers postmodernism and Memphis design group. With inspirations derived from earlier movements such as Pop Art and Art Deco, the colors were used in both a graphic and dynamic way. The use of history in the Memphis post modernist furniture is particularly evidenced by the way their colorful designs that were reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s ‘op’ art movement. The use of history and drawing of inspirations from the past in post modernism was particularly meant to counter the modernist concepts of writing history or starting from scratch after all was lost during the war. The social and cultural changes in 1970 led to the reaction against modernism. Designers embraced popular consumerism and culture. The modernistic principle required all objects to functional. Radical designers started to define a new language for design and moved away from functional well-designed goods. Ettore sottsass and De Lucchi were particularly frustrated by the rigid attitudes of the international design community. The post modernist artists were inspired by cultural, emotional philosophical, ancient, and contemporary influences. Together with De Lucchi and other designers, he founded Memphis to explore a visual language for design based on the popular culture and kitsch. The group wanted to experiment with new designs and materials. Ettore wanted to discover new and unique ways of using materials to bring a wealth of artistic influences.

Managerial Acconting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managerial Acconting - Essay Example Product prices mean both fixed and variable factors and the cost unit bears a full burden of all the costs. The paper focus to illustrate the validity of the variable and absorption models of costs of production, which determines the levels of profitability of a product. It outlines the justification for difference in profits when using variable and absorption costing systems. It is imperative to note the main difference in profits when using variable and absorption costing systems. In absorption costing methods, fixed overhead costs are applicable to manufacturing costs, calculated per unit. That is, fixed costs divided by the units manufactured and sold over a period considered during costing. It results to the cost, per unit, of every unit that the firm manufactured or sold over a period. In variable costing, the fixed overhead is applied as a lump sum expense, rather than a unit. The fixed overhead include the summation of all variable costs such as raw materials and supplies among other costs. A sum of fixed overhead costs over a period is added. Instead of figuring the expenses on a unit basis, they are subtracted from the revenue as a lump sum figure. The unit profit calculated under absorption costing, therefore, is lower than that calculated under variable costing. Managements have interests that each product should have its total cost, both fixed and variable, and still generate profits. For every business, generating profits is the key target. If a product does not give benefits, then the management may consider discontinuing production over time. That implies that a product needs to recover all the costs involved in its production as well as provide returns to warrant profitability. Not all the goods provide the same contribution towards profitability. Some products may sell at a cost that covers variable costs to the maximum levels but fail to meet

Photography branding part 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Photography branding part 2 - Assignment Example This is the extended version of old CRM. At our photo studio we can maintain a database comprising of all the customer details which will be helpful to us in future contracts. E-CRM can be very advantageous because it is entirely based on the modern technology. We can say that with the help of electronic CRM we can manage our customers on a regular and even on individual basis. The firm can be more responsive towards the customers’ orders. This can help us to create a loyal customer base. At our photo studio we can also apply this e-CRM technique. There would be specific information which must be required from the customers in order to fulfill their future orders in proper time. The information required would include full name, home address, purchase history, and also the planner for the coming events. This would help our professional staff to coordinate with them accordingly. If we have a proper time schedule of the upcoming events then we can accurately manage them and thus satisfying our customers. By promoting our websites on different social websites we can have a larger customer base. In this advanced business world the need of internet based systems is very much important, because many researchers have proved that a strong CRM system directly affects the profits of the organization. This e-CRM helps to establish long term relationships with the customers. Research studies showed that there can be three ways to implement a CRM system in any organization; these can be operational, analytical and collaborative. The operational CRM is for working at the front office means it directly connects with the customers. Now the second technique is analytical CRM which works on the data provided by the operational CRM. It is used for interpretation or we can say data mining. In other words we can say that operational CRM records the number of sales and the analytical CRM predicts the purchasing pattern on those

Film History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Film History - Essay Example The year 1944 to 1948 marked its heyday (Walsh 169). The themes that characterized Film Noir are manifested in the â€Å"Sin City,† â€Å"Following,† â€Å"Memento,† â€Å"The Dark Night Strikes,† and the like. The â€Å"Sin City,† a crime thriller released in 2005 featured black and white landscapes, brutality of the narration, and the violent action. This film presented a style, which paid tribute to Noir Film (Mayer and McDonnell 380). Meanwhile, a film of Christopher Nolan entitled, â€Å"Following† also exhibited themes of Noir Film. The movie, which was released in 1998 relied on suspense, shadow, and pervading mode. Christopher Nolan also directed â€Å"Memento,† which is a 2001 thriller featured in a reverse manner. It portrayed themes of Film noir such as suspense, alienation, and irrationality (Schellhardt 319). A movie released in 2002 entitled, â€Å"The Dark Knight Strikes Again† similarly portrayed themes of film noir through its depictions of the Gotham City and it s psychologically damaged hero (Spicer 53). The use of film noir as a style of cinema in the current movies indicated that its theme proved popular beyond the 1940’s to

Leadership Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Leadership - Case Study Example nd avoidance/passive styles) and different features of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, diminishment of personal accomplishment) were made by authors. Out of these five hypotheses only two were fully supported: the one - about positive association between passive leadership style and both depersonalization and emotional exhaustion; the second – about positive correlation between transformational leadership and personal accomplishment. The highest achievement of the authors and therefore the best feature of the article is the fact that the article provides a thorough literature review. A lot of sources providing research on the different styles of management as well as the research on different features and reasons of burnout were analyzed. The analysis of correlations between leadership styles and burnout which already exists in the literature is also presented by the authors of the article. However, the empirical researches as well as the conclusions made in the article contain certain limitations. First of all, taking into account the fact that out of five hypotheses made by the authors of the article only two were fully support with the data, their conclusions about the connections between styles of leadership and burnout as a whole seem somehow overgeneralized. Those hypotheses which were fully supported with the data present just one side of the burnout. Besides that, there are limitations connected with the sample which is used for the research. Even though the authors of the article argue that the response rate of 26.2 percent is normal for this area of research as it involves sensitive issues, it is still very low and as we don’t know anything about the remaining 73.8 percent of the planned sample, the results of the research may be seriously biased. Such a small number of answers (131) provides doubts about the credibility of research results. Even though the study contains certain limitations, especially from the methodological

Film History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Film History - Essay Example The year 1944 to 1948 marked its heyday (Walsh 169). The themes that characterized Film Noir are manifested in the â€Å"Sin City,† â€Å"Following,† â€Å"Memento,† â€Å"The Dark Night Strikes,† and the like. The â€Å"Sin City,† a crime thriller released in 2005 featured black and white landscapes, brutality of the narration, and the violent action. This film presented a style, which paid tribute to Noir Film (Mayer and McDonnell 380). Meanwhile, a film of Christopher Nolan entitled, â€Å"Following† also exhibited themes of Noir Film. The movie, which was released in 1998 relied on suspense, shadow, and pervading mode. Christopher Nolan also directed â€Å"Memento,† which is a 2001 thriller featured in a reverse manner. It portrayed themes of Film noir such as suspense, alienation, and irrationality (Schellhardt 319). A movie released in 2002 entitled, â€Å"The Dark Knight Strikes Again† similarly portrayed themes of film noir through its depictions of the Gotham City and it s psychologically damaged hero (Spicer 53). The use of film noir as a style of cinema in the current movies indicated that its theme proved popular beyond the 1940’s to

To what extent was naval rivalry the main cause of the first World War Essay Example for Free

To what extent was naval rivalry the main cause of the first World War Essay One of the main causes of World War I was the Anglo-German naval race. Britain, as an island empire, always had the navy as one of her top priorities. A key event in Britain’s naval expansion was the 1889 â€Å"Naval Defense Act† that established the two power standard: Britain considered necessary to have a navy that was not only the largest in the world, but also equal to or greater than the sum of the worlds second and third largest navies. On the other side of the channel, also Germany saw naval expansion vital and as the only way to succeed in the acquisition of overseas colony; therefore, the â€Å"official† aim of Germany’s naval expansion was to reinforce their colonial empire, but this expansion was also seen as an obvious response to the British naval plans. This situation exacerbated the relations between the two European power and set basic elements for a naval race. In 1906, the Naval Race took an important turn. Britain launched the ‘HMS Dreadnought’, this new battleship was faster (21 knots), with a bigger range ( 9-12 Km), and powered with ten twelve-inch guns instead of the usual four, it was such an advancement of naval technology that it rendered all existing battleships obsolete. A couple of years later Germany responded to Britain, planning to build four dreadnoughts in a three years time. Britain inevitably had to counterattack Germany’s expansion by announcing the building of eight dreadnoughts instead of three. Consequently the relations between them were obsessed from the building of the navies, and a direct and evident rivalry was created. The results of this frenetic naval rivalry was that by 1914 Germany ,even if Britain’s fleet remained considerably larger , had become the second naval world power; they were both ready for a more than ever imminent war. Although the naval rivalry was one of the main causes of World War I and profoundly contributed to create an aggressive situation between the European nations, there was other long terms causes beside it. One of them was the alliances system that divided Europe in two main faction: on one side the triple alliance, including Germany Austria and Italy, on the other the triple entente, including France Russia and England. These alliances were defined as defensive, but choosing allies obviously also implicate choosing the most likely enemies, therefore this two blocs were ready to fight in case of a war. Another long term cause was the colonial rivalry. In the decades preceding WWI almost all the European nations were involved in the â€Å"Scramble for Africa†. All the nations wanted to demonstrate their strength occupying vast areas of Africa. France was one of the most successful, controlling almost all the West and Centre Africa. Also Germany started an intense colonial expansion and gained a million square miles territory between 1884 and 1899. Britain gained the control of some areas in the south of Africa, in Egypt and on the East and Gold Coast. The colonies were often seen as a source of free raw materials and as the only areas of possible expansion without deeply compromising European balance. Effects of the colonial rivalry can be analyzed in two different ways, on the one hand colonies were a sort of safety valve allowing the European power to keep the contrasts away from their continent; on the other hand this rivalry implemented the tension between the colonists nations, causing aggressive foreign policy. Besides this long term causes there was also the event that formerly caused the outbreak of war: the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The heir to the throne was assassinated on 28 June 1914 during a visit to the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The attack was planned from a group of six young Bosnians, even if their first plan to kill Franz Ferdinand failed, Gavrilo Princip, one of them, was able to approach the car and shot the Archduke and his wife. The assassination was the perfect pretext for Austria to start military actions against Serbia, and after gaining Germany’s support Austria-Hungary finally mobilized her troops against Serbia on 25 July. As a reaction Russia mobilized against both Germany and Austria, Germany declared war on France and Britain declared war on Germany for violating Belgium neutrality. In conclusion none of these causes can be defined as the only cause of war. All of them contributed to create hostility between European powers and to create the basis for a World War. The Naval Rivalry was probably a result of the pre existing tensions but certainly increased the hostility between Britain and Germany. Anyway the presence of such a great navy and army do not implicate a war but should be a deterrent since large scale destructions would be inevitable. It’s also true that the possession of a great and expensive navy and army pushes to use and test them. The overwhelming impression is that the long term causes made a conflict inevitable and that the short term causes such as the Balkan and Moroccan crisis just helped to increase the tension; while the Franz Ferdinand’s assassination was just the excuse the nations were looking forward to start the conflict.

Enterprise Resource planning system

Enterprise Resource planning system In the business world organization, business software plays a very important role to support the business and its activities to increase the productivity and efficiency of the business. Although business software give benefits but it also brings major implication for a company when the firm decide to implement different type of business software. This paper will discuss the role and purpose of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and Accounting Information System (AIS). Moreover the paper will discuss the benefits and drawbacks for companies of implementing ERP system. Specifically the paper will discuss how AIS system maybe be affected by implementation of a full ERP system and the identification of major implication for AIS system. Role and Purpose of Enterprise Resource planning system Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) is specifically designed for distributors, retailers and professional services firms according for their needs. The company named SAP Aktiengesellschaft is currently a world market and technology leader in providing ERP systems (Benjamin B. Bae, Paul Ashcroft, 2004). ERP system implemented to provide more accurate information and safe time, reduce asset costs and financial cycles, increase customer satisfaction, and globally integrate information across the enterprise supply chain. ERP system use relational database technology to integrate various units of an organizations information system which integrated all business process and sub-processes linked and unified into a single system. It has been designed to focus on four main areas in a company that is financial, human resources, marketing and supply chain management. ERP system is essential to the needed by all organizations and can use in any kind of organization, irrespective of the business objectives, size, and area of operations. Using this system not only economizes but it also improves the efficiency of the average existing work process. Without ERP system on modern day, firms cant run competitively between organizations because leak of proper drafted and formulated which ERP system can provide it. The main reason for this is because it can be configured to accommodate a large variety of different work processes and this lead it became popular not only in large corporations but midsized companies also frequently used it because it provides a seamless integration of their business. During the 1990s, Global 2000 companies spent billions of dollars on ERP systems (Dan Everett, 2003). The attractive of ERP systems seem likely to be the promise of centrally coordinating and controlling many aspect of corporate planning. As such, ERP systems can be seen to represent a far reaching technological promise and even the ultimate manifestation. Benefits and Drawbacks for Implementing ERP System The benefits for implementing ERP system is it helps organization to reduce costs and cycle time, increase the productivity and quality and improve the customer service by automating basic and repetitive operations. ERP systems automatically estimate the demand for a product, order the raw materials, provide production schedules, track down the entire inventory, allocate costs, and keep historical customer. The ERP systems repeat all the operation and keep the information so that the organization can analysts the impact of changes in product mix and volumes in order to maximize corporate profit margins. Besides that, ERP systems also provide informational benefits to management. ERP system helps an organization to achieve better resource management for example in workforce management improved the manpower allocation, in inventory management improved inventory turn and stock allocation, in production management optimized supply chain and production schedules. It also improved decision making by increase the market responsiveness, has a better profit and also controls the cost and also flexible the customer services, increase the service adjustment and response customer demand. Integrated information systems bring a new opportunity to directly support a tight link with customers (Vitale, 1986; Malone and Yates, 1987; Clemons and McFarlan, 1986). ERP systems provide E-business by using the web integration capability it helps get closer to customers. It provides benefit to business to business (B2B) interactive customer service, for example through customer directs feedback it can improved product design, and most importantly provide real time and reliable data enquiries. In addition with the integrated and standard application architecture in ERP system it provide infrastructure support business flexibility for future changes by response to internal and external changes and provide range of options in react, reduced IT costs and increased capability for quick and economic implementation of new applications (Shari Shang and Peter B. Seddon, 2000). The drawback for implementing ERP system is the cost of installing is expensive. The cost of installing an ERP system can cost up to US$100 million. In1999, most organizations spent between US$90-180 billion on ERP system (Shari Shang Peter B. Seddon, 2000). The ERP system be installed by ERP consulting organization and the fees to modify the system is also expensive with average at about US$150-$225 per hour (Benjamin B. Bae, Paul Ashcroft, 2004). Besides that, installing an ERP systems take a longer period. ERP system is a complicated system and it often takes 12-18 months to be installed and operating (Benjamin B. Bae, Paul Ashcroft, 2004). It take longer period is because a detailed study must be made and reviewed before installing ERP system to match the business requirement. Any mistake in planning of ERP systems will affect the entire performance system. The implementation of the ERP systems will hurting the companys process, break customer relations and will required a longer time from achieving its long-term financial goals (Dr. Yan Wang, 2005). In addition, implementation ERP system required a new procedures to manage the system, train employee the procedures of system, and managerial and technical support and this cause many companies found the change takeover to ERP systems a slow and painful process. Role and Purpose of Accounting Information System (AIS) Accounting Information System (AIS) play as a backbone in accounting transaction processing system. It combine the accounting format, implementation, and monitoring of information systems. It uses the modern information technology resources with the traditional accounting methods to provide financial information to organizations. AIS analyze and record all the business transactions to prepare financial statements and provide accounting data to manage the organization. Constantinos J. Stefanou state that, AIS is a process of collecting and recording the data and information based on the events that have an economic effect upon organizations and keep the maintenance, processing and communication of information to stakeholders. All the information will be use for decision making purpose and evaluate the financial position of the organization. Andreas I. Nicolaou, 2000 claim that a critical research issue in the fields of accounting and management decision-making concerns the fit of the AIS with the organizational requirements for information communication and control. This means that AIS is a computer-based system which process all the financial information and supports the decision tasks in the context of coordination and control of organizational activities. Besides that, Ed ODonnell, Julie Smith David, 2000 state that AIS provide input for decision making. AIS summarized the important business events for example production, purchasing and selling activities for internal decision making. AIS make business accounting activities easier, quicker, and more accurate. It safe accountant time and avoid mistake since the system is analyzed accounting records and prepare financial statements. Since AIS gather all accounting and transaction information by electronically and automatically so it avoids data entry and computing errors. The Major Implication for AISs of the Implementation of a Full ERP System Basically, a successful implementation of ERP system will increases competitiveness by increase the quality and customer satisfaction, speed up the processes, and reduce all the lead times. There is few reason AIS system may be affected by the implementation of a full ERP system. Steve G. Sutton 2006 claim that ERP system change the financial accounting environment significantly as the processes used to record, assimilate and distribute such information all radically change. ERP system can be traced back all the transaction recording process for example it will captures the data when a cashier scanning a bar code or warehouse worker at a receiving dock and automatically update the processes in the AIS records. Besides that, ERP system also supports two major processes in AIS that is order-to-cash and purchase-to-pay. In order-to-cash process, the ERP system can analyze to determine the goods being requested by customers. At this process, ERP system links together customer, inventory, purchasing, and vendor data to determine whether the customer is in good standing and likely to pay the bill. After that, ERP system schedules the order for delivery, if the goods are not available within the organization, a purchase order is sent to a vendor. ERP system will ensure that the invoice contains correct quantities, prices, terms, and addresses and then it will record cash receipts and updating cash and accounts receivable amounts in the general. For the purchase-to-pay process, ERP system will automatically generate the purchase requisition on the basis of data and reviews purchases requests to determine that organization is authorized and within budget. ERP system will assists the buyer in identifying sources of supply for the requested item, analyzing vendor quotations, and selecting vendors by comparing vendor prices, terms and past performance. ERP system will automatically links purchasing order, receipt and vendor invoice and record in accounts payable in the general ledger. Further, ERP systems also improved decision-making process and used financial ratio analysis. It act as facilitators of business processes and also support management decision-making. It has enabled to use financial ratio analysis and production of budgets which also including cash budgets, absorption costing and profitability analysis per customer. In addition ERP systems have introduced sophisticated accounting techniques in their accounting processes which is activity based costing (ABC) and target costing. It also lesser extent involves time reductions for accounts closure and preparation of financial statements. The last reason through the implementation of a full ERP system is it not just a business process of electronic procedures but it is also with the scientific management idea. This system can always thinking of integrating the organization internal control throughout the entire business cycle, through a set of pre-designed and improved cover the plans, prices, supply, production, sales, and inventory management and automatically update. In summary, the ERP systems appear to have fulfilled its purpose as demonstrated in the changes in the accounting practices brought in. Overall, the benefits achieved by ERP systems strongly influence accounting information and practices and also organizational planning at a strategic level. Booth et al. (2000) states that ERP users perceptions of the quality of accounting IS in financial and management accounting as adequate in terms of reporting and decision support and good in terms of transaction reporting. Therefore, results between the two systems are comparable, indicating that there are still benefits accrued for ERP adopters. Stefanou (2002) also reports that the integration of accounting applications, information exchange and reporting capabilities as notable advantages and strengths of ERP systems. Conclusion In conclusion,

Locke Vs. Locke Essays -- Empiricists, Empiricism

For many political theorists and thinkers, the ideas of labor and property are central to the evolution of governments or states, and henceforth, very important aspects of human life. For some writers, the development of property is a direct result of labor, and government is set up to ensure the property rights of those who own property. Some view property and labor fundamentally or naturally connected aspects of human life, while others see it as merely a social convention. Each thinker also has different opinions about how property is acquired, as well as what the limits to property acquisition are. While one writer may provide the most fair account of property, another may provide a more feasible account of property acquisition and its limits. This essay will attempt to compare and contrast the beliefs of John Locke and Karl Marx on the ideas of labor and property with their connections to the aspects of the human condition, as well as determine who holds the most feasible or fai r account of property. To begin, Locke believes that property is not a "thing", rather, it is a relationship between an individual and an item. Property is a natural condition in John Locke’s state of nature, meaning it was present since the beginning. "Thus labor, in the beginning, gave a right of property, wherever anyone was pleased to employ it upon what was common, which remained a long while the far greater part, and is yet more than mankind makes use of." (Locke, 27). In order for property rights to exist, they must be recognized by other individuals through the act of mixing physical labor with nature. The most fundamental and natural forms of the property of man are "The labor of his body, and the work of his hands…" (Locke, 19.) These fundamental properties, according to Locke, cannot be stripped from any man "…nor could without injury take from him." (Locke, 21). By mixing nature with this fundamental form of property, or labo r, man can appropriate property to himself. "His labor hath taken it out of the hands of nature, where it was common, and belonged equally to all her children, and hath hereby appropriated it to himself" (Locke, 20). Here, Locke explains that by mixing one’s physical labor with, for example, an apple from a tree, one removes the apple from the common cache ... ...er, which are understood as goods or property. To Marx, property is not a natural or fundamental aspect of human existence. In a capitalist economy, property comes about through certain social relations between the capitalist and laborer. It is a social convention to Marx, and is not natural at all, in fact one of Marx’s main movements into communism abolishes all property rights. One reason Marx would like to move from our current governments into communism is because of the alienation of labor. Alienation of labor alienates the physical laborer from the object he creates. The capitalist owns the product that the laborer produces through the division of labor, and no individual worker will ever own what he creates in this system. Marx does not really delve on the evolution of property rights or property relations, he is more concerned with economic factors of production and markets. In Marx’s base superstructure model of a political economy, the forces of production (labor, technology) form the base of the political system. After the forces of production, come the relations of production, which are class inequality, property rights and the division of labor.

Huck and finn :: essays research papers

Jim’s Perspective   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of a sudden I woke up to someone saying hello and I jumped up and turned around to see who was on the island with me. To my surprise I saw Huckleberry Finn, thinking that he was dead i dropped to my knees and said â€Å"doan’ hurt me dont’t! I hain’t ever done no harm to a ghos’. I alwuz liked dead people, en done all i could for ‘em. You go en git in de river ag’in, whah you b’longs, en doan’ do nuffin to Ole Jim, ‘at ‘uz alwuz yo’ fren’.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then Huck explained to me what had happened to him and amde me understand he was alive and not a ghost. After expalining Huck says â€Å"It’s good daylight. Le’s get breakfast. Make up your campfire good.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"What’s de use er makin up de camp-fire to cook strawbriesen sich truck? but you got a gun, hain’t you? Den we kin git sumfn better then strawbries.† I said.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Strawberries and such truck,† he said. â€Å"is that what you live on? â€Å"I could’nt get nuffin else,† â€Å"Why how long you been on the island Jim?† â€Å"I came heah de night after you’s killed.† â€Å"What, all that time† â€Å"Yes indeedy† â€Å"And you ain’t had nothing but that kind of rubbage to eat?† â€Å" No sah nuffin else† â€Å"Well you must be starved ain’t you?† â€Å"I reck;n i could eat a hoss. I think I could. How long you ben on de islan’?† â€Å"Since the night I got killed.† â€Å"No W’y, what has you lived on? But you got a gun. Oh, yes. you got a gun. Dat’s good. Now you kill sumfn en I’ll make up de fire.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So we went over to where the canoe was, and whuile I built the fire in a grassy open place amongst the trees, Huck went off and feched a meal and bacon and coffee, and a coffee-pot and frying pan and sugar and tin cups, and I was set back considerable because I reckoned it was all done with witchcraft. He caught a good big catfish and I cleaned him with my knife and fried him. When breakfast was ready weolled on the grass and eat it smoking hot. I laid it in all my might , because i was most starved. Then we had got pretty well stuffed, we laid off and lazied.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By and by I said: â€Å" But looky here, Huck who wuz it dat ‘us killed in dat shanty ef it warnt you?† Then he explained to me th whole thing and I told him it was smart.

MS Powerpoin

(1) I needed scaffolded help when I was learning MS Powerpoint for the first time. My teacher taught the function of each command icon and how to use animation for the presentation. I understood what needed to be done and the concepts behind it as my teacher demonstrated how to do it. After the discussion, he asked us to make our own presentation. I was able to make text boxes and color the texts, but I needed more help in using animating effects for the presentation.So my teacher guided me by demonstrating again how to do it. In the end, I was able to memorize the different functions of the commands available in MS Powerpoint and get used to the environment of the software. (2) Scaffolding offers a number of advantages. First, it provides clear directions as the instructor assists the student in the learning process. It also clarifies the purpose of the lesson and the importance of learning it, which keeps the student motivated.It also offers assessment to determine whether the lear ner is on the right track, which reduces uncertainty, surprise, and disappointment of both the instructor and the learner. This is especially useful for students with low self-esteem and learning disabilities. It allows the teacher to give positive feedback on their achievement. This could also minimize the level of frustration for the learner and the instructor. In addition, scaffolding keeps the learner engaged in the lesson or task (Van Der Stuyf, 2002). Although it offers many advantages, scaffolding has a number of disadvantages as well.As scaffolding is individualized, it could be extremely time-consuming and its implementation in a large class would be challenging. The implementation of scaffolding may also require a teacher to be properly trained for it to be effective. In scaffolding, the teacher needs to give up some of the control and allow the students to commit errors, which could be difficult for the teacher. However, despite the disadvantages, the positive impact of s caffolding on learning and development is very apparent (Van Der Stuyf, 2002).

Mba Finance Assignment

The group operates in a highly competitive market. New entrants join the market on regular basis and current competitors continue to improve their standards. The outdoor market had become more attractive to the large retailers that challenges the Group in pricing. Although the Group generated a revenue of ? 267,7 million during the year it has an operating loss of (? 2 million) and loss before tax of (? 14,4 million). Chief Executive Neil Gillis, says the primary objective of the Group is to reduce costs and debt. Over the year by managing supply chain more effectively, the Group reduced debt facility from ? 40 million to ? 35 million. David Bernstein, Chairman, admits that the Group experienced a difficult financial year. On the other hand an improvement in working capital through a ? 5. 9m reduction in the level of inventory was achieved and new processes have been put in place to meet and improve on the level of availability from this lower level of inventory.Cash management had a high level of focus through the year with improvements being made to supplier terms and a greater focus on collecting debts. Outdoor division maintain a sound performance in a tough retail market, reporting a small reduction in operating profit compared to the previous year. Accordingly, the Group strategy is to focus on this strength and to manage a structured exit from the Boardwear business. A great deal of change has occurred over the last year and this will continue with a program of upgrading stores and converting stores from Boardwear to Outdoor.Ratio Interpretations ROTA(Return on total assets): The ROTA ratio measures how effectively the company is utilizing its assets to generate profit before paying its interest and tax obligations. From the ROTA calculation it is observed that the company has made 6. 62% loss for each ? of assets on its financial statements in 2008. In 2009 the company performed even worse in terms of ROTA with – 12. 21% of loss for each ? pound of assets on its books. When we take a deeper look into the calculation we see that the denominator has decreased by 14% which has a positive impact on the ratio.However the numerator therefore the loss of the company has increased by 62% which impacted the ratio negatively. Considering the ROTA ratio and comparing the two years results It can be said that the company is facing problems with utilizing its assets and generating revenues. Profit Margin: Profit margin ratio measures how much profit the company generates before paying interest and tax. The company made a loss of 2. 52% for each ? of sales it made in 2008 and 4. 50 %for each pound of sales made in 2009.Looking at the financials of the company we see that the cost of sales and distribution costs has decreased in 2009 compared to 2008 which positively impact the profitability. However the revenues of the company have decreased in 2009 and this decrease was larger than the total decrease in cost of sales and distribution co sts. Consequently the company made a larger loss for each ? of sales made in 2009. Return on capital employed (ROCE): Return on capital employed measures the efficiency and profitability of a company's capital investments. for each pound invested the company made -7,27 pence's for 2008 and 13,93 pence's for 2009.The decrease in ROCE is majorly due to the decrease in profit before tax. There is only a slight decrease in assets and liabilities from 2008 to 2009 which can off-set each other. Current ratio: Current ratio is a measure of liquidity and is believed to be a good indicator of a company's ability to repay its outstanding loans. The company has ? 1,49 of current assets for each ? 1 of current liabilities in 2008 and ? 1,33 of current assets for each ? 1 of current liabilities in 2009. There is only a slight change between the two years but looking at the books we can say 2008 was more liquid for the company rather 2009. Quick ratio:Quick ratio measures a company's ability to m eet its short-term obligations with its most liquid assets. The quick ratio is more conservative than the current ratio because it excludes inventory from current assets. Inventory is  excluded  because  some companies have  difficulty turning their  inventory into cash. As we look at our company we see that the company was successful in 2009 in turning inventory in cash but since the assets also decreased from 2008 to 2009 it was better in 2008 than 2009. Stock turnover: Stock turnover ratio indicates the number of times a company's average inventory is sold during an accounting period.It can be said that the company turned its inventory over 2,43 and 2,44 times in 2008 and 2009 respectively. It means the company sells out its inventory in approximately 150 days, which is not very effective. This shows that the company ties money in stocks for a long time therefore it is not available to be used elsewhere. Fixed asset turnover ratio: Fixed asset turnover ratio measures a company's ability to generate net sales from fixed asset investments. A higher one shows the company has been more effective in using the investment in fixed assets to generate revenues.Changes in the ratio over time reflect whether or not the firm is becoming more efficient in the use of its fixed assets.. Even though 2009 ratio is slightly higher than 2008 it does not mean that the company become more efficient because looking at the financials we see that both revenues and fixed assets decreased from 2008 to 2009. Furthermore when we look at the details of fixed assets we saw the decrease is due to the accumulated depreciation. In other words there is not an actual decrease in fixed assets but in revenue there is. Debtors turnover ratio:Debtors turnover ratio measures the days receivables are outstanding from the debtors. Looking at our company we see that the debtors turnover ratio decrease in 2009 compared to 2008. Therefore we can say that the company is collecting its receiva bles in shorter time intervals in 2009. In the ideal case the shorter collection periods indicates the effectiveness of the company. However in our case the company is already making loss and the shorter collection period might be due to the liquidity problems of the company. The company might be applying shorter terms to collect its receivables and pay its debts Debt to equity ratio:Debt to equity ratio is used for researching the capital structure of a company. It indicates what proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. In other words it shows the proportion of the company financed by creditors in comparison to that financed by stockholders. From our computations we can conclude that 80% of the company was financed by investors in 2008 when 20% is financed by creditors. In 2009 only 6% of the company is financed by creditors when 94% is financed by investors. We can say that the firm is willing to fund its operations with its own equity rather than debt.Income gearing: Income gear ratio measures how much of its profits a company is spending on the payment of interest expense. Since the company in our case can’t make any profit it is not meaningful to analyse this ratio. However it can be said that the company can’t pay its with its earnings but with the assets it has in hands. Profit per employee: Profit per employee indicates the average profit generated per person employed. We can see that the company dismissed about four hundred employers during the year 2009 but this did not prevent profit per employee ratio to decline even more.In 2009 the company generated a loss of ? 5 million more than 2008 which could not be covered by the decrease in employees. Sales per employee: Sales per employee ratio compares the pound volume of sales against the total full time employee equivalent of people working in the business. It provides a broad indication of how expensive a company is to run. The sales per employee ratio is rather high for the company. Which means the company operates on lower overhead costs which translates into healthy profits. On the other hand looking at two years we can say that the company was more effective in 2008 than 2009.Even the company employed more people in 2008 than 2009 the revenues were also higher. Dividend per share (DPS): Dividend per share is the amount of the dividend that the shareholders will receive for each share they own. Dividends are a form of profit distribution to shareholder thus looking at the financials it can be said that it can be optimistic to expect a growth since the dividend per share is in a declining trend from 2008 to 2009. Earnings per share (EPS): Earnings per share mean the portion of profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. It serves as an indicator of profitability as well.In our case the EPS is in a negative trend. We see a large decrease from 2008 to 2009 about 20 pence's. This shows the company is not making money. In our case this is a going concern. The company should find ways to make money because money losing business will eventually go bankrupt. Dividend cover: Dividend cover measures the ability of a company to maintain the level of dividend paid out. Since the dividend cover is -3,6 and -34,8 for 2008 and 2009 respectively it means the company's loss attributable to shareholders is 3,6 times the amount of dividend paid out for 2008 and 34,8 times the amount of dividend paid out for 2009.The reason the dividend cover declining that much from 2008 to 2009 is due to the decrease in both dividends and earnings per share. Dividends have decreased 75% (from 4 to 1) while the earnings have decreased by more than 100% (from 14,4 to 34,8). Price Earnings ratio: Price earnings ratio shows how much investors in market is willing to pay for company's earnings. We can see that there is an increase in P/E ratio from -12,3 to-1,2 in 2009. Even though the earnings per share decreased so did the marke t price of the stocks. I believe we would not be wrong saying investors are more optimistic about the future of the stock in 2009 than 2008.Dividend yield: Dividend yield is the ratio that measures how much a company pays out in dividends relative to the market price of the share of the company. This ratio is important for the investors considering investing in the shares of the company. Observing the shares of the two companies with equal share price, an investor will invest in the company with the higher dividend yield. In our case dividend yield for Blacks Leisure Group increased in from 2. 22 % to 2. 38 % in 2009 which will have a positive impact on the investment considerations of investors.However the company has made losses in the last two financial years the increase is mainly due the decrease in market price of the shares of the company. This situation will possibly negatively affect the perceptions of the investors about the company. ROE: Return on equity measures the prof itability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested. The company earned -7,2 pence's for each pound invested by the stockholders in 2008 and -21 pence's for each pound invested in 2009. Both the decrease in net income and equity resulted in a %14 decrease in return on equity.Conclusion As we look at our calculations, the company's financials and the auditor's report we can see that the Group ability to continue is a going concern. The Group and Lloyds Banking Group are engaged in discussions regarding provision of a financial structure which will enable the Group to accelerate both the exit of the loss-making Boardwear business and the development of the Outdoor store portfolio. However the Directors are well aware that the loan facility will not be extended beyond August 2009 and that there is a risk that the going concern may not be resolved satisfactorily.

Digital Fortress Chapter 40

Outside Node 3, Chartrukian looked desperate. He was trying to convince Hale that TRANSLTR was in trouble. Susan raced by them with only one thought in mind-to find Strathmore. The panicked Sys-Sec grabbed Susan's arm as she passed. â€Å"Ms. Fletcher! We have a virus! I'm positive! You have to-â€Å" Susan shook herself free and glared ferociously. â€Å"I thought the commander told you to go home.† â€Å"But the Run-Monitor! It's registering eighteen-â€Å" â€Å"Commander Strathmore told you to go home!† â€Å"FUCK STRATHMORE!† Chartrukian screamed, the words resounding throughout the dome. A deep voice boomed from above. â€Å"Mr. Chartrukian?† The three Crypto employees froze. High above them, Strathmore stood at the railing outside his office. For a moment, the only sound inside the dome was the uneven hum of the generators below. Susan tried desperately to catch Strathmore's eye. Commander! Hale is North Dakota! But Strathmore was fixated on the young Sys-Sec. He descended the stairs without so much as a blink, keeping his eyes trained on Chartrukian the whole way down. He made his way across the Crypto floor and stopped six inches in front of the trembling technician. â€Å"What did you say?† â€Å"Sir,† Chartrukian choked, â€Å"TRANSLTR's in trouble.† â€Å"Commander?† Susan interjected. â€Å"If I could-â€Å" Strathmore waved her off. His eyes never left the Sys-Sec. Phil blurted, â€Å"We have an infected file, sir. I'm sure of it!† Strathmore's complexion turned a deep red. â€Å"Mr. Chartrukian, we've been through this. There is no file infecting TRANSLTR!† â€Å"Yes, there is!† he cried. â€Å"And if it makes its way to the main databank-â€Å" â€Å"Where the hell is this infected file?† Strathmore bellowed. â€Å"Show it to me!† Chartrukian hesitated. â€Å"I can't.† â€Å"Of course you can't! It doesn't exist!† Susan said, â€Å"Commander, I must-â€Å" Again Strathmore silenced her with an angry wave. Susan eyed Hale nervously. He seemed smug and detached. It makes perfect sense, she thought. Hale wouldn't be worried about a virus; he knows what's really going on inside TRANSLTR. Chartrukian was insistent. â€Å"The infected file exists, sir. But Gauntlet never picked it up.† â€Å"If Gauntlet never picked it up,† Strathmore fumed, â€Å"then how the hell do you know it exists?† Chartrukian suddenly sounded more confident. â€Å"Mutation strings, sir. I ran a full analysis, and the probe turned up mutation strings!† Susan now understood why the Sys-Sec was so concerned. Mutation strings, she mused. She knew mutation strings were programming sequences that corrupted data in extremely complex ways. They were very common in computer viruses, particularly viruses that altered large blocks of data. Of course, Susan also knew from Tankado's E-mail that the mutation strings Chartrukian had seen were harmless-simply part of Digital Fortress. The Sys-Sec went on. â€Å"When I first saw the strings, sir, I thought Gauntlet's filters had failed. But then I ran some tests and found out†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused, looking suddenly uneasy. â€Å"I found out that somebody manually bypassed Gauntlet.† The statement met with a sudden hush. Strathmore's face turned an even deeper shade of crimson. There was no doubt whom Chartrukian was accusing; Strathmore's terminal was the only one in Crypto with clearance to bypass Gauntlet's filters. When Strathmore spoke, his voice was like ice. â€Å"Mr. Chartrukian, not that it is any concern of yours, but I bypassed Gauntlet.† He went on, his temper hovering near the boiling point. â€Å"As I told you earlier, I'm running a very advanced diagnostic. The mutation strings you see in TRANSLTR are part of that diagnostic; they are there because I put them there. Gauntlet refused to let me load the file, so I bypassed its filters.† Strathmore's eyes narrowed sharply at Chartrukian. â€Å"Now, will there be anything else before you go?† In a flash, it all clicked for Susan. When Strathmore had downloaded the encrypted Digital Fortress algorithm from the Internet and tried to run it through TRANSLTR, the mutation strings had tripped Gauntlet's filters. Desperate to know whether Digital Fortress was breakable, Strathmore decided to bypass the filters. Normally, bypassing Gauntlet was unthinkable. In this situation, however, there was no danger in sending Digital Fortress directly into TRANSLTR; the commander knew exactly what the file was and where it came from. â€Å"With all due respect, sir,† Chartrukian pressed, â€Å"I've never heard of a diagnostic that employs mutation-â€Å" â€Å"Commander,† Susan interjected, not able to wait another moment. â€Å"I really need to-â€Å" This time her words were cut short by the sharp ring of Strathmore's cellular phone. The commander snatched up the receiver. â€Å"What is it!† he barked. Then he fell silent and listened to the caller. Susan forgot about Hale for an instant. She prayed the caller was David. Tell me he's okay, she thought. Tell me he found the ring! But Strathmore caught her eye and he gave her a frown. It was not David. Susan felt her breath grow short. All she wanted to know was that the man she loved was safe. Strathmore, Susan knew, was impatient for other reasons; if David took much longer, the commander would have to send backup-NSA field agents. It was a gamble he had hoped to avoid. â€Å"Commander?† Chartrukian urged. â€Å"I really think we should check-â€Å" â€Å"Hold on,† Strathmore said, apologizing to his caller. He covered his mouthpiece and leveled a fiery stare at his young Sys-Sec. â€Å"Mr. Chartrukian,† he growled, â€Å"this discussion is over. You are to leave Crypto. Now. That's an order.† Chartrukian stood stunned. â€Å"But, sir, mutation str-â€Å" â€Å"NOW!† Strathmore bellowed. Chartrukian stared a moment, speechless. Then he stormed off toward the Sys-Sec lab. Strathmore turned and eyed Hale with a puzzled look. Susan understood the commander's mystification. Hale had been quiet-too quiet. Hale knew very well there was no such thing as a diagnostic that used mutation strings, much less one that could keep TRANSLTR busy eighteen hours. And yet Hale hadn't said a word. He appeared indifferent to the entire commotion. Strathmore was obviously wondering why. Susan had the answer. â€Å"Commander,† she said insistently, â€Å"if I could just speak-â€Å" â€Å"In a minute,† he interjected, still eyeing Hale quizzically. â€Å"I need to take this call.† With that, Strathmore turned on his heel and headed for his office. Susan opened her mouth, but the words stalled on the tip of her tongue. Hale is North Dakota! She stood rigid, unable to breathe. She felt Hale staring at her. Susan turned. Hale stepped aside and swung his arm graciously toward the Node 3 door. â€Å"After you, Sue.†