The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 11

Elena hung up the phone. She and Bonnie had discussed everything that was going on, from the mysterious appearance of Celia's and Meredith's names to Margaret's upcoming dance recital. But she hadn't been able to bring up what she had real y cal ed to talk about. She sighed. After a moment, she felt under her mattress and pul ed out her velvet-covered journal. Dear Diary, This afternoon, I talked with Caleb Smallwood on the front lawn of my house. I barely know him, yet I feel this visceral connection with him. I love Bonnie and Meredith more than life itself, but they have no idea what it's like to lose your parents, and that puts a space between us. I see myself in Caleb. He's so handsome and seems so carefree. I'm sure most people think his life is perfect. I know what it's like to pretend to have it together, even when you're coming apart. It can be the loneliest thing in the world. I hope he has a Bonnie or a Meredith of his own, a friend he can lean on. The strangest thing happened while we were talking. A crow flew straight at us. It was a big crow, one of the biggest I've ever seen, with iridescent black feathers that shone in the sun and a huge hooked beak and claws. It might have been the same one that appeared on my windowsill yesterday morning, but I wasn't sure. Who can tell crows apart? And, of course, both the crows reminded me of Damon, who watched me as a crow before we even met. What's strange – ridiculous, really – is this dawning feeling of hope I have deep inside me. What if, I keep thinking, what if somehow Damon's not dead after all? And then the hope collapses, because he is dead, and I need to face that. If I want to stay strong I can't lie to myself. I can't make up pretty fairy tales where the noble vampire doesn't die, where the rules get changed because it's someone I care about. But that hope comes sneaking up on me again: What if? It would be too cruel to say anything about the crow to Stefan. His grief has changed him. Sometimes, when he's quiet, I catch a strange look in his leaf green eyes, like there's someone I don't know in there. And I know he's thinking of Damon, thoughts that take him somewhere I can't follow anymore. I thought I could tell Bonnie about the crow. She cared about Damon, and she wouldn't laugh at me for wondering whether there were some way he might still, in some form, be alive. Not after she suggested the very same thing earlier today. At the last minute, though, I couldn't talk to her about it. I know why, and it's a lousy, selfish, stupid reason: I'm jealous of Bonnie. Because Damon saved her life. Awful, right? Here's the thing: For a long time, out of millions, there was one human Damon cared about. Only one. And that one person was me. Everyone else could go to hell as far as he was concerned. He could barely remember my friends' names. But something changed between Damon and Bonnie, maybe when they were alone in the Dark Dimension together, maybe earlier. She's always had a little crush on him, when he wasn't being cruel, but then he started to take notice of his little redbird. He watched her. He was tender with her. And when she was in danger, he moved to save her without a second thought as to what it might cost him. So I'm jealous. Because Damon saved Bonnie's life. I'm a terrible person. But, because I am so terrible, I don't want to share any more of Damon with Bonnie, not even my thoughts about the crow. I want to keep part of him just for me. Elena reread what she had written, her lips pressed tightly together. She wasn't proud of her feelings, but she couldn't deny they existed. She leaned back on her pil ow. It had been a long, exhausting day, and now it was one o'clock in the morning. She'd said good night to Aunt Judith and Robert a couple of hours ago, but she didn't seem to be able to make it into bed. She'd just puttered around after changing into her nightdress: brushing her hair, rearranging some of her possessions, flipping through a magazine, looking with satisfaction at the fashionable wardrobe she hadn't had access to in months. Cal ing Bonnie. Bonnie had sounded odd. Distracted, maybe. Or perhaps just tired. It was late, after al . Elena was tired, too, but she didn't want to go to sleep. She final y admitted it to herself: She was a little afraid to go to sleep. Damon had been so real in her dream the other night. His body had felt firm and solid as she held him; his silky black hair had been soft against her cheek. His smooth voice had sounded sarcastic, seductive, and commanding by turns, just like the living Damon's. When she had remembered, with a sickening horror, that he was gone, it had been as if he had died al over again. But she couldn't stay awake forever. She was so tired. Elena switched off the light and closed her eyes. She was sitting on the creaky old bleachers in the school gym. The air smel ed of sweaty athletic shoes and the polish they used on the wooden floor. â€Å"This is where we met,† said Damon, who she now realized was sitting beside her, so close the sleeve of his leather jacket brushed her arm. â€Å"Romantic,† Elena replied, raising one eyebrow and looking around the big empty room, the basketbal hoops hanging at each end. â€Å"I try,† Damon said, a tinge of a laugh coloring his dry voice. â€Å"But you chose where we are. It's your dream.† â€Å"Is it a dream?† Elena asked suddenly, turning to study his face. â€Å"It doesn't feel like one.† â€Å"Wel ,† he said, â€Å"let me put it this way. We're not actual y here.† His face was serious and intent as he gazed back at her, but then he flashed one of his sudden, bril iant smiles and his eyes slid away. â€Å"I'm glad we didn't have gymnasiums like this when I did my studies,† he said casual y, stretching out his legs in front of him. â€Å"It seems so undignified, with the shorts and the rubber bal s.† â€Å"Stefan said that you played sports then, though,† Elena said, distracted despite herself. Damon frowned at Stefan's name. â€Å"Never mind,† she said hastily. â€Å"We might not have much time. Please, Damon, please, you said you're not here, but are you anywhere? Are you al right? Even if you're dead†¦ I mean real y dead, dead for good, are you somewhere?† He looked at her sharply. His mouth twisted a little as he said, â€Å"Does it matter that much to you, princess?† â€Å"Of course it does,† Elena said, shocked. Her eyes were fil ing with tears. His tone was light, but his eyes, so black she couldn't tel where the iris ended and the pupil began, were watchful. â€Å"Everyone else – al your friends – this town – they're al okay, though, aren't they? You have your world back. There are such things as col ateral damages you have to expect if you're going to get what you want.† Elena could tel from Damon's expression that what she said next would matter dreadful y. And, in her heart of hearts, hadn't she admitted to herself the other day that, as much as she loved Damon, things were better now, that everything could be good again with the town saved and her returned to her old life? And that she wanted it that way, even if it meant Damon was dead? That Damon was what he said: collateral damage? â€Å"Oh, Damon,† she said at last, helplessly. â€Å"I just miss you so much.† Damon's face softened and he reached for her. â€Å"Elena – â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† Elena murmured. â€Å"Elena?† A hand was gently shaking her. â€Å"Elena?† Someone stroked her hair, and Elena nuzzled sleepily into the touch. â€Å"Damon?† she said, stil half dreaming. The hand paused in its stroking and then withdrew. She opened her eyes. â€Å"Just me, I'm afraid,† said Stefan. He was sitting next to her on her bed, his mouth a straight, tight line, his eyes averted. â€Å"Oh, Stefan,† said Elena, sitting up and throwing her arms around him. â€Å"I didn't mean – â€Å" â€Å"It's al right,† Stefan said flatly, turning away from her. â€Å"I know what he meant to you.† Elena pul ed him toward her and looked up into his face. â€Å"Stefan. Stefan.† His green eyes had a distant expression. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said pleadingly. â€Å"You have nothing to apologize for, Elena,† he said. â€Å"Stefan, I was dreaming about Damon,† she confessed. â€Å"You're right, Damon was important to me, and I†¦ miss him.† A muscle twitched at the side of Stefan's face, and she stroked his jaw. â€Å"I wil never love anyone more than I love you, Stefan. It would be impossible. Stefan,† she said, feeling like she might cry, â€Å"you're my true love, you know that.† If only she could reach out and show him with her mind, make him understand what she felt for him. She'd never ful y explored her other Powers, never ful y claimed them, but losing their telepathic connection felt like it might kil her. Stefan's expression softened. â€Å"Oh, Elena,† he said slowly, and wrapped his arms around her. â€Å"I miss Damon, too.† He buried his face in her hair and his next words were muffled. â€Å"I've spent hundreds of years fighting with my only brother, with us hating each other. We killed each other when we were human, and I don't think either of us ever got over the guilt and the shock, the horror of that moment.† She felt a long shudder go through his body. He sighed, a soft, sad sound. â€Å"And when we final y started to find our way back to being brothers again, it was al because of you.† His forehead stil resting on her shoulder, Stefan took Elena's hand and held it between both of his, turning it over and stroking it as he thought. â€Å"He died so suddenly. I guess I never expected†¦ I never expected Damon to die before I did. He was always the strong one, the one who truly loved life. I feel†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He smiled a little, just a sad twist of his lips. â€Å"I feel†¦ surprisingly lonely without him.† Elena entwined her fingers with Stefan's and held his hand tightly. He turned his face toward hers, meeting her eyes, and she pul ed back a little so she could see him more clearly. There was pain in his eyes, and grief, but there was also a hardness she had never seen there before. She kissed him, trying to erase that hard edge. He resisted her for half a second, and then he kissed her back. â€Å"Oh, Elena,† he said thickly, and kissed her again. As the kiss deepened, Elena felt a sweet, satisfying sense of rightness sweep through her. It was always like this: If she felt distanced from Stefan, the touch of their lips could unite them. She felt a wave of love and wonder from him, and held on to it, feeding the emotion back to him, the tenderness between them growing. With her Powers gone, she needed this more than ever. She reached out with her mind and emotions, past the tenderness, past the rock-solid love that was always waiting for her in Stefan's kiss, and delved deeper into his mind. There was a fierce passion there, and she returned it, their emotions twining together, as their hands held each other harder. Beneath the passion, there was grief, a terrible, endless grief, and farther stil , buried in the depths of Stefan's emotions, was an aching loneliness, the loneliness of a man who had lived for centuries without companionship. And in that loneliness was the taste of something unfamiliar. Something†¦ unyielding and cold and faintly metal ic, as if she had bitten into foil. There was something Stefan was holding back from her. Elena was sure of it, and she reached deeper into his mind as their kisses intensified. She needed al of him†¦ She started to pul back her hair, to offer him her blood. That always brought them as close as they could possibly be. But before he could accept her offer, there was a sudden knock on the door. Almost immediately it opened and Aunt Judith peeked in. Elena, blinking, found herself alone, her palms stinging from the speed with which Stefan had pul ed away from her. She looked around hastily, but he'd vanished. â€Å"Breakfast is on the table, Elena,† Aunt Judith said cheerful y. â€Å"Uh-huh,† Elena said, distracted, peering at the closet, wondering where Stefan had hidden himself. â€Å"Are you al right, dear?† her aunt said, her forehead creased with concern. Elena had a sudden picture of how she must look: wide-eyed, flushed, and disheveled, sitting in her rumpled bed and looking wildly around the room. It had been a long time since Stefan had needed to use his vampiric speed for anything as mundane as not getting caught in her bedroom! She gave Aunt Judith a reassuring smile. â€Å"Sorry, I'm stil half-asleep. I'l be right down,† she said. â€Å"I'd better hurry. Stefan wil be here to pick me up soon.† As Aunt Judith left the room, Elena final y caught sight of Stefan, waving from the lawn below her open window, and she waved back, laughing, the strange emotions at the bottom of Stefan's mind put aside for the moment. He gestured that he was going around to the front of the house and that he would see her in a minute. She laughed again and jumped up to get ready for the picnic at Hot Springs. It was nice to be the kind of girl who worried about getting grounded. It felt†¦ pleasurably normal. A few minutes later, as Elena, now dressed in shorts and a light blue T-shirt, her hair pul ed back in a ponytail, headed down the stairs, the doorbel rang. â€Å"That'l be Stefan,† she cal ed as Aunt Judith appeared in the kitchen doorway. Elena grabbed her beach bag and picnic cooler from the bench in the hal . â€Å"Elena!† Aunt Judith scolded. â€Å"You have to eat something before you go!† â€Å"No time,† Elena said, smiling at the familiarity of the argument. â€Å"I'l grab a muffin or something on the way.† She and Aunt Judith had exchanged these words, or similar ones, most mornings of Elena's years in high school. â€Å"Oh, Elena,† Aunt Judith said, rol ing her eyes. â€Å"Don't move, young lady. I'l be right back.† Elena opened the door and smiled up into Stefan's eyes. â€Å"Why, hel o there, stranger,† she said softly. He kissed her, a sweet touch of his lips on hers. Aunt Judith hurried back into the hal way and pressed a granola bar into Elena's hand. â€Å"There,† she said. â€Å"At least you'l have something in your stomach.† Elena gave her a quick hug. â€Å"Thank you, Aunt Judith,† she said. â€Å"I'l see you later.† â€Å"Have fun, but please don't forget Margaret's dance recital tonight,† Aunt Judith said. â€Å"She's so excited about it.† Aunt Judith waved good-bye from the doorway as Elena and Stefan strol ed toward the car. â€Å"We're meeting the others at the boardinghouse and caravanning to Hot Springs,† Stefan said. â€Å"Matt and Meredith are both bringing their cars.† â€Å"Oh, good, we won't be as crowded as we were yesterday. Not that I minded sitting on your lap, but I thought I might squish Celia in the middle,† Elena said. She turned her face up and stretched like a cat in the sunshine. A breeze tossed her ponytail, and she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation. â€Å"It's a gorgeous day for a picnic,† she said. The world was alive with birdsong and with the rustle of trees. A faint tracery of white clouds underscored the bright blue of the sky. â€Å"Would it be jinxing ourselves to say it feels like the kind of day where nothing could go wrong?† she asked. â€Å"Yes, it absolutely would be jinxing ourselves to say that,† Stefan said, straight-faced, unlocking the passenger-side door for her. â€Å"Then I won't say it,† Elena said. â€Å"I won't even think it. But I feel good. I haven't been to Hot Springs for ages.† She grinned with pure pleasure, and Stefan smiled back at her, but Elena was struck once again by that certain something new – something troubling – in his eyes.

Slovin Formula

SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE Sample ? Is a finite number of an item (or individual) taken from a population having identical characteristics with those of the population from which it was taken. ? A sample is considered biased if one or several of the items (or individuals) in the population are given a consistently better opportunity to be chosen than the others. ? A collection with specified dimension Sample size ? Random sampling, the larger the sample, the more accurately it represents the population from which it was taken. As the sample size decreases, the degree of representativeness becomes less. Size of sample depends on some factors: ? Degree of accuracy required ? Amount of variability inherent in the population from which the sample was taken ? Nature and complexity of the characteristics of the population under consideration Sample Strategy ? Common Misguided Approach ? decide what data to collect ? then undertake survey ? decide what analysis should be done wrong data collected ? data collected on wrong subjects ? insufficient data collected ? Desired analysis may not be possible or effective Key to Good Sampling ? formulate the aims of the study ? decide what analysis is required to satisfy this aims ? decide what data are required to facilitate the analysis ? collect the data required by the study Determine sample size ? Slovin Formula: ? n = N__ ? 1+NE? ? Where: n = sample size ? N = population size E = margin of error * desired Example:What should be the representative sample size if the population from which the sample will be taken is 10,000 and the desired margin of error is 2%? Solution:To determine the sample size, use the formula; n = ___N__ 1+NE? n = 10,000 = 2,000 1+ (10,000) (0. 02)? The sample size is 2,000 This formula in finding the sample size cannot be used when the normal approximation of the population is poor or small. Margins of Error | |Population |Â ± 1% |Â ± 2% |Â ± 3% |Â ± 4% |Â ± 5% |Â ± 10% | |500 |* |* |* |* |222 |83 | |1500 |* |* |638 |441 |316 |94 | |2500 |* |1250 |767 |500 |345 |96 | |3000 |* |1364 |811 |517 |353 |97 | |4000 |* |1538 |870 |541 |364 |98 | |5000 |* |1667 |909 |556 |370 |98 | |6000 * |1765 |938 |566 |375 |98 | |7000 |* |1842 |959 |574 |378 |99 | |8000 |* |1905 |976 |580 |381 |99 | |9000 |* |1957 |989 |584 |383 |99 | |10000 |5000 |2000 |1000 |588 |385 |99 | |50000 |8333 |2381 |1087 |617 |387 |100 | Margin of Error Is the allowable error in percent due to the use of the sample, instead of the population ? * indicate that the assumption of normal approximation is poor and that the sample size formula does not apply. Guidelines with regards to the minimum number of items needed for a representative sample: ? Descriptive studies – a minimum number of 100 ? Co-relational studies – a sample of at least 50 is deemed necessary to establish the existence of a relationship ? Experimental and causal comparative studies – minimum of 30 per group ? Sometimes experimental studies with only 15 items in each group can be defended if they are very tightly controlled ? If the sample is randomly selected and is sufficiently large, an accurate view of the population can be had, provided that no bias enters the selection process Sampling Error ? Is the error attributed to chance that is being made when selecting random samples to represent a given population under consideration. ? It is the expected chance difference, variation or deviation between a random sample and the population. ? Does not result from measurement or computation errors, although these errors also contribute to inaccuracy.

Basic Counseling

A married woman had a conflict with her best friend because of money. She needed so much in putting up her business and for its permits. As she waited until the business grows up, she needed more for the benefit of her family. Her husband was sick and had no capacity of providing for the whole family. She had no choice, but to borrow money and take the risk of being a first time business woman.The friend lent her so much with incurring interests of almost 25 percent of the total debts. The woman was not able to pay on time because of the problems that came her way the past few months.Due to that, a feud arose. The situation of her husband became worse that required her to spend much and work a little harder. Because of working and too much thinking, she developed insomnia that led to her body losing weight. One of her children had to stop studying because she could not longer subsidize his needs. There were many speculations spreading in their place. There were a lot of stories made out of the problem that they were having. Some even exaggerated the issue that put the married woman and her family in a very humiliating situation. All eyes were on them that made them feel really bad.The family members, especially the mother did not wan to go out anymore to socialize and came to the point of just lying down in the bed and doing nothing. She feared even the mere fact of opening their gate when someone visits and was scared of facing their relatives due to unwanted questioning. She stopped functioning well even in the house that led to some misunderstandings between her and her husband and the children themselves. She even heard from her sister that her son did not want to admit to his classmates how they are related, because he never wanted to be asked and be treated unequally by others.Instead of talking to the friend that she owed from, she opted to cut the communication between them by not answering her calls and hiding every time she comes to their house. That made the feud worse. Because the friend thought she really never wanted to pay, she tried asking legal advices to sue the married woman. The woman never cared at all. It seemed like her financial problem let her identity change. She was never the same woman again. One day, as she was sleeping in the couch, she heard people talking outside. Mush to her realization, they were the police in their place trying to look for her.She went out and was brought by the police in heir office for some interrogation. Although very much ashamed of the neighbors watching them, she never tried hiding her face, because as much as she wanted to, the people around her would still know that it was her. So she believed there was no chance of escaping from embarrassment. Her friend, together with the police, asked her so many things about their issue and asked her to sign in a contract saying she would pay in months time together with the incurred interests. She was very much ashamed of what happened. She always cried.Her family sympathized so much with her. They were findings way to help her in paying and cheered her up for her to forget her problem even in a little while. Soon they discovered it was futile doing that. What they did was invite relatives to visit her who were all telling her that everything would turn out right. To their disappointment, it did not help too much. Even being obedient to her did not do too good in the problem. Although everyone noticed that she was needing help, nobody succeeded in making their part. She cried more and slept less. Her physical appearance talked much about what she was suffering then.She never talked about the debt and chose to walk away from the situation as much as possible. Because it seemed like it was helping, the family never mentioned about it anymore. But time went by, the due date was coming. And there, the problem started again. The same scenarios were seen regarding her behavior. I believe that the situation is not just a shal low one. It talks about money; therefore it needs to be dealing with some more legal and psychological advices. The family members, as noted, never bothered asking how the problem started and were the money was used.Nobody even asked the history of the feud and the reason why the woman was so much affected with the issue. It is just stated that they found ways to cheer her up and to help her, without even knowing the proper way of doing it and the best things that woman needed. She was not asked how much she was needing. They can also ask the help of a professional for her easy recovery on the matter. They might have used the counseling techniques for the subject to easily cope up with the situation. According to a website regarding counseling skills, it is very important to listen and communicate well to make up the major part of good counseling.What these kinds of people actually needs is the assurance that they are accurately heard by their peers and listeners. It is always best to see them calm down after they tell you their insights on the matter. They must also do probing because that is the only way to find out what else they are feeling, other than what is being asked of them. They must have used open-ended questions for them to be able to elaborate on their answers and freely state what they are feeling. Through that, the person’s burden will be lessened and would feel better. It is always good to have your feeling voiced out and revealed in a free manner.Given the freedom of speech, one gets the feeling of relief and loses the tension that she or he is experiencing. Communication is a very useful tool in helping a person feel better after a very depressing experience. In fact, many people who experienced unaccepted death of relatives and other related issues seek the help of professionals for counseling. The counsel must not be very formal in dealing with this. He or she must chose the most comfortable position while talking to the client and must show interest for the client to feel open about the situation and say more of what he or she is undergoing.What they only wanted is for them to be heard. They may use empathetic responses to the clients as they share their stories. Through this, the client would see that the counsel was able to attend well to his or her story and fully understood what she or he is feeling at the moment. They can also use the method of summarizing and paraphrasing the problem of a client. The counsel must ask the client what she or he is feeling and narrate it according to his or her desire. After hearing the client’s side, the counsel will then repeat what the she or he said to clarify issues and make sure he or she heard the client right.The counsel must use his or her own words in repeating the story for them to be ale to see the experience in a different view or perspective. By seeing it that way, the person will recognize new feelings that was not experienced believe and will therefo re be enlightened with everything. The role of the counsel is so vital because it is them who take part in the counseling. Without their proper knowledge on the right way of counseling, the purpose of it will be futile. The aim of helping the person in any manner will be useless because the rules were not executed properly.They must have a wide knowledge on counseling aside from the basics to have a successful one. Knowing the counseling techniques will be a stepping stone to be a very effective counsel that everyone looks for nowadays. In general, listening to the client, probing for further information, asking open ended questions for freedom in answering, giving emphatic responses for affection, summarizing and paraphrasing stories can be useful techniques in counseling. Many people must apply this in real life events. The person being interviewed is a woman with sic children. Four of which are boys and the rest are girls.She was a member of a broken family and had a very traumat izing experience when she was younger. Her education was sponsored by her Aunt who believed so much in her potentials and talents. She had a lot of friends in and out of school. She never bothered approaching people for friendship, instead the other people go to her to introduce themselves. She was a woman with full confidence and courage. She used to join beauty and academic contests where she gained a lot of fame and awards. She was known by everyone, because she has the beauty, the brains and the attitude.Everyone was her friend and all of them were kind to her. She came from a remote area and married a man whom she met in tertiary school. They were a happy couple then. They had all the things that they need, without forcing anyone in working. They both have good jobs that are able to provide for the needs of their family. They were indeed a happy family surrounded with love and care. It just by fate that the husband suffered from arthritis that later turned into the worse versio n of it. Every joint was already infected which made him paralyzed and bed ridden. There were no ways for him to work anymore.That was the start of all the financial problems. The husband needed therapies as the children needed support for their education. The woman did not give up, instead she worked harder and found ways to earn more. The cooperation that they have is the family is one of the strengths that they are so proud of. Their children were cooperative and everyone was industrious. They always make sure that they make their part in the house chores and responsibly do the tasks assigned to them. The woman was brave and was courageous in all the problems and challenges that come her way.She was kind to everyone that made it possible for other people to also treat her well. She is educated and was able to finish her degree with several achievements. She was always doing her best to be on top. She was technically a career woman and a successful one. Her weaknesses include her financial constraints. A lot of things get affected with her problems with money. She had been asking people to lend her some and promised to give it back in a particular day. She lost her word of honor that is why many people do not trust her at all.She had difficulty in building that trust since she did not do what she promised to the people around her. Also, because of working too much and spending a lot of time outside their home, she lost track of her children. Her family, on the other hand, did not know her at all that much. They had difficulty dealing with her because they did not know the approach to use for them to be able to start the conversation the right way. She already lost her identity outside the home and has been opting to choose going out with other people than her family.The problem that she is currently dealing with right now is the treatment and prejudice of other people towards her. A lot of the people around have not been the same anymore. Every relationship that she has with others is very civil. The intimacy of her relationships with others was lost. A lot of things changed. She’s thinking that it has something to do with her recent problem with money. She never wanted to discuss and explain to them the issue, so it ended up losing intimate relationships. Her companions are never the same people again. She also lost her confidence in everything that she does.She never asked about her old friends and just remained as she is now after the incident. Although many people stare at her when she passes by or even if strangers never forget to glance at her when she’s out, she never dared explain. She believed that everything happened for the love that she has for her family. Nowadays, a lot of people are seeking help because of some problems dealing with interpersonal issues, including relationships with other people. It is not always that they get the best solution to their problems or even get the half of the satisfaction that they need when they ask for counseling.The main purpose why they seek help is for them to minimize the emotional burden that they are having every time they think of their problems. Also, they are aiming to lessen its effects on the people near them and their daily activities. It is sometimes very serious that it even causes their dysfunction in the society. Culture is a very big factor that mold every individual and their behavior in the society. That thing makes them. It continuously affect their being as they grow older. They can adopt it even if they move out of the place where it came from.It is already difficult removing what you got in the set of culture that your society got. Every person has differences in cultural background and orientation. Each is brought up differently, thus require different approaches in counseling. According to Broom et. al in the book called Sociology: A Core Text with Adapted Readings, cultures vary in their ways of guiding human behavior. Underst anding the clients cultural background would be a very big help in giving off solutions and in the counseling itself. Knowing one’s orientation and composition will be a very big factor in deciding how to approach a client.The counsel will find it easier dealing with him or her, since she somewhat got the technique in counseling the client well. There will be a very little difficulty. There are clients who are sensitive with words and who may get offended once talked to in a manner that another client needed. Some may never want talking about the family. This may be because the client came from a broken one or had a traumatizing experience inside his or her family. Some may not want dwelling too much on personal issues like the sexual ones. Knowing this will have a great impact on the role of the counsel in active listening.Cultural competence is very much relevant in dealing with this kind of issues since they are dealing with people in cross-cultural contexts. According to a website, â€Å"Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and policies and strategies that join in a system, agency, or among professionals and enable them to work effectively to cross-cultural situations both in prevention and treatment contexts† (Cross, Dazron, Dennis and Isaacs, 1989). Cultural competence therefore is the ability to deal with the problems of people and relationships coming from different places with different cultural background.It is important to have that ability because today counseling is in demand. It will be very useful applying that ability in giving the right solutions. It is true that each person who asks for counseling has his or her own story that we must understand both in his or her context and ours. Cultural competence also helped in the relationship between the counsel and the client. It is a pre-requisite to an open relationship, which can lead to honesty and sincerity, which can make the counseling easier and more per sonal. Let us take for example the case that I have mentioned above.The woman lives in a remote are. There are probably very few people there, which means that only a number of persons know her and talk about if ever they do. Her situation now is very much different since she is living in the city where a lot of people see her everyday. Her sensitivity of gossips probably rooted out of that fact. She may not be used to people doing that to her. She is also famous in school. She had a lot of friends. Everyone knew and adored her. But her setting changed into somewhat chaotic when she gained friend whom put her into shame later on.Her trauma might have come from the reality that she is not used of being betrayed and treated in a not so nice manner. She came from a broken family, which might have taught her the values of having a beautiful family. After the family members that she has now gets affected with what she was going through, she already gave up because of the fear of having t he same kind of family again. She had a reputation in the place where she came from. Remember, she had the beauty, the brains and the attitude, so she can’t accept the fact that she became laugh stuff in the place where she is living now.The culture in their place is very much different with the culture that she is witnessing now. Moreover, her experiences in academic and beauty contests were the reasons why she was talked about in that remote area where she came from and not about debts. The counsel must find the most efficient way to hip her by studying her cultural background and be aware of the present differences. The role of the counsel is not basically to listen, but to understand. How more can he understand if he does not even know where the client came from and the cultures that brought him up?If the counsel is able to help her out of this, she may be able to function well again. She can go back to work and provide the needs of her family. She will again understand w hy she works alone and why her friend did that to her. She may go back to her normal life and be confident again with actions. She may even discover that she also sinned by not facing her friend to talk about the matter. And who knows, she may have her lost relationships back. The efficiency of a counsel can be seen on the client. I have presented in this paper that counseling plays an important role in the society.They can help patients change for the better and realize what is wrong with them by just listening and understanding their cases. In the past, counseling is just done to mentally ill patients. But now, even the mere fact that you are sad can already require professional counseling. We can’t deny that one of its purposes is to lessen attempts of suicide and other things that a patient can do due to too much depression. The counsel must be very responsible about this because ending up an interpersonal problem somewhat depends on them. They must find a way to learn wh at must be learned in order for them to be called as such.Their primary roles must given attention to by enhancing their talents in helping people with problems. References Bonjean, C. M. , D. Broom, and L. Broom. 1990. Sociology: A Core Text With Adapted Readings. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Cultural Competence and Professional Psychology Training. (2008). Retrieved December 7, 2008, from Goliath Website: http://goliath. ecnext. com/coms2/gi_0199-159598/Cultural-competence-and-professional-psychology. html. Counseling Skills: Basic Counseling Skills for Any Situation. (n. d). Retrieved December 7, 2008, from http://www. askmikethecounselor2. com/counselingskills. html.

Company Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Company Law - Essay Example However, under certain circumstances, it has been identified that courts may disregard this principle. Correspondingly, corporate veil is a legal notion that separates the characteristics of a business from that of the characteristics of its shareholders, which further defends the shareholder from becoming liable for the debts and other legal obligations associated with the company. It simply signifies that the creditors of the company cannot claim personal assets of the owner; instead, they could claim only for the assets related to the entity2. In this regard, lifting the corporate veil is another legal notion of the company law enacted in the UK which is intended to signify that there is no distinction between the rights and duties of a corporate body and its members. In this context, it has been noted that, lifting the corporate veil will no longer make the owner or investors of the company to enjoy the benefits or protection as per the law related to the corporate body. Simultan eously, the notion of lifting the corporate veil will also make shareholders of the company liable for any probable debts and liability owned by the corporate body3. Based on this context, the paper will highlight the various aspects related with the company law of the UK and the reluctance of the UK courts to lift the corporate veil, except in the most exceptional cases. U.K Company Law and Corporate Veil The UK company law comprises specific standards and regulations regarding the corporate operations in the UK. One of the prime intentions of the law is to set regulations regarding the claims of the corporate body. It has been noted that there are various approaches, which companies adopt in order to conduct their business; out of which, certain approaches might not be in favour of the stakeholders of the company. In order to limit those approaches, the government of the country are often engaged in developing the company laws. The laws mainly intend to ensure proper conduct of th e companies, which are both legal as well as ethical at the same time. The companies in the UK are primarily governed under the Company Act 2006, which was recently amended in the year 2009. The updated or revised presentation of the UK company law is further observed to be quite simple as well as more flexible, which further facilitates in easy understanding of the rules and regulations by the corporate members. The revised edition of the law aims at enhancing the liabilities of the shareholders towards its various business operations4 5. Lifting the Corporate veil is one of the sections or contents of the UK company law that falls under the Companies Act 2006. It is fundamentally referred to the decision of the law, which signifies that any claim or the liability of the corporate body is separable to the members of the corporate entity. Accordingly, when a creditor of the company discovers that a debtor or the company is insolvent, the creditor of the company usually seeks to reco ver the debt from the members of the company including directors, shareholders and at times, with the associate of the company. In such scenario, when assets of the company are insufficient to meet the claims of creditors, the court may make the members of th

Strategic Relationships in the Organisations Supply Chain Essay

Strategic Relationships in the Organisations Supply Chain - Essay Example The researcher states that to analyze the existing supply chain relationship various methods are there which can be employed to find out how the partners in a supply chain are performing and is the relationship only seems useful or is productive and beneficial for the organization. Either we can go in a stepwise manner and review performance of each supply chain component, or we can view the who process as one unit and do its SWOT analysis through which we can easily find out the weak link in the entire process and then can work or finding a solution for that weakness. Now the main benefit that we’ll achieve through SWOT analysis is that we’ll have a full-scale analysis of our supply chain process, i.e., We’ll identify our core strengths which shall be quite helpful for us. Knowing our core strengths, we can focus on those areas or components to further improve and excel which will not much take time and improve our efficiency. By knowing our weakness, we’ ll know what factors have been harming us and what steps are needed to be made to eliminate the weakness or is the weakness due to such a weak link then we need to arrange alternate measure to fulfill the requirement on the temporary basis. Next finding opportunities to established new and stronger relationships will help us grasp any such opportunity which shall be helpful in the more extended run for the organization. Finally, identification of threat will help us stay prepared for any troublesome or problematic situation which in normal circumstance would be disastrous for the organization and would have damaged the organization’s image as well as a result in the financial loss as well. The process of management of various human, machine, technological and other resources and maintaining the relationships that the organization has it's with supply chain stakeholders which include staff, employees, labor, supplier, etc. to ultimately develop end-product for the customer fro m mere raw materials through addition of value is called Supply Chain Management.

The political party of WEST VIRGINIA (USA) Essay

The political party of WEST VIRGINIA (USA) - Essay Example The present political system of the state has been identified to have a major bearing upon the development of its socioeconomic position within the global context (Golder Associates Inc, â€Å"East Lynn Lake Coal Lease Socioeconomic Baseline Assessment and Socioeconomic Impact Analysis†). PART 1 In relation to the geographical background, West Virginia is located in the Southern region of the US and surrounded by Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Maryland. With abundance of valuable resources to suffice the developmental needs of the state, the state has been able to grasp the attention of other neighboring states and territories within the US. From a historical perspective, the socioeconomic condition of West Virginia has long been witnessed to endure various difficulties and challenges with regard to the development of its demographics, income levels and employment statistics. Moreover, the population trends of the state can also be duly considered as one of the maj or and growing concerns towards the development of its economy. In relation to the socioeconomic development, the political conditions within the state can be recognized as more fragile in comparison to other US states. According to the present statistics, it can be apparently observed that a majority of the population, i.e. 90% are the Non-Hispanic Whites. Moreover, the present income level of the population has also been identified to face radical changes as compared to other US states. The per capita personal income of the population has been witnessed to prevail under the average income level of the other US states. West Virginia is presently standing at 50th position in respect to its economic stance in the US, which represents a slower movement of income level amid the population (Golder Associates Inc, â€Å"East Lynn Lake Coal Lease Socioeconomic Baseline Assessment and Socioeconomic Impact Analysis†). The cultural background of West Virginia demonstrates the prevalen ce of friendly and helpful environment and the maintenance of a realistic culture that eventually attracts the attention of the global population (Barker, A Study of West Virginia Values and Culture†). PART 2 The most powerful political party in West Virginia can be viewed as the Democratic Party amid the other existing political parties within the state. Primarily, the political environment of the state consists of four independent political parties including Democratic, Libertarian, Mountain and Republican. Although the Republican Party proceeded over the origin of West Virginia, the Democratic Party has been leading the state from the last few decades with efficiency. This Democratic Party is regarded as the most renowned party in West Virginia because of its striving performance in satisfying the developmental needs of the state, rather than rendering prime focus on mitigating the influence of other political parties within the state. With regard to determine the political system efficacy of West Virginia, the Governor of the state can be viewed as the primary figure of the entire political system, irrespective of partisan affiliation (Brisbin 136-148). The US and the State legislature of the Democratic Party has been currently comprising 20 Governor Political Affiliations, 19 State Senate Majority Affiliations along with 22 State House Majority Affiliations and 22 State Attorney General Political Affilia

Rhabdomyolysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rhabdomyolysis - Term Paper Example However, the severity of the syndrome normally range from asymptomatic rise in serum muscle enzymes to the presence of life threatening complications associated with extreme electrolyte imbalances, enzyme elevations as well as acute renal injury (Knochel, 2003). Although Rhabdomyolysis is often common among individuals who have suffered trauma or major injuries, the clinical condition has also been known to develop as a response to particular medications, drugs and dietary supplements. This paper discusses the history and physical findings of rhabdomyolysis, the background of the disease, its etiology, pathogenesis, natural history and management. History and Physical Findings of Rhabdomyolysis The patient in this medical case study was a 24 year old female who was displaying symptoms consistent with rhabdomyolysis. The clinical history revealed that the patient had taken statin medications to help lower her cholesterol levels and this resulted into a severe muscle pain. Immediately after taking the medication, the patient also suffered from severe muscle weakness, extreme muscle aching throughout her entire body and the production of dark colored urine. Although the dose of statin dose taken was not high, the patient had also taken another drug known as meofibrozil(Lopid) which could have aggravated the condition((Baxter and Moore, 2003). On the other hand, further inquiry revealed that the patient normally uses nutritional supplements as part of their weight reduction strategies. Confirmatory diagnosis was carried out by using a number of standardized examinations to show the damaged skeletal muscles. Some of the tests carried out included analysis of the patient’s urine, urine myoglobin test, analysis of Creatine kinase level and serum potassium level analysis. The treatment of the patient included giving her fluids that particularly those containing bicarbonate in order to prevent the potential kidney damage by flushing the remnants of myoglobin from the kidneys (Baxter and Moore, 2003). Additionally diuretic and bicarbonate medicines were also prescribed. After fluid resuscitation, the patient was transferred to a medical facility where measures were also taken to correct potential electrolyte imbalance in the patient. For example, ECG was obtained to help monitor any likely effects of hyperkalemia or other electrolyte imbalances. Background of the Disease Disease Etiology and Pathogenesis The etiology of rhabdomyolysis is normally broadly categorized into acquired and hereditary causes. Hereditary causes of rhabdomyosis largely consist of enzyme related defects that often result in disorders such as mitochondrial lipid metabolism, carbohydrates metabolism as well as other important inherited disorders such as neuroleptic malignant disorders and hyperthermia. On the other hand, acquired causes generally result from any condition that potentially damages the skeletal muscles such as crush injuries, muscle tremors due to alcohol ism, drugs such as statin, cocaine, heroin and amphetamine, extreme exercises, ischemia and trauma (Brancaccio and Lippi, 2010). Excessive intake of alcohol and other commonly abused drugs such as heroin, cocaine and amphetamines has also been known to result in severe damage to skeletal muscles thereby triggering rhabdomyolysis. Additionally individuals who routinely use nutritional supplements and performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids may also develop rhybdomyolysis which

Digital Millenium Copyright Act Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Digital Millenium Copyright Act - Research Paper Example Additionally, DMCA created fines for people violating the Act that include up to $25,000 per download in civil court and up to $500,000 or up to five years in jail in criminal court (â€Å"Public†). Two of the biggest supporters of the DMCA were the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) – both groups that represent in the MPAA’s case film production companies and in the case of the RIAA, record companies. Both see illegal downloading, which is also called piracy, as a huge threat to their industries. The RIAA claims that in in 2009, 63 percent of all music possessed by Americans was illegally downloaded or otherwise â€Å"shared† at a profit loss to the music industry of up to $20 billion a year. (â€Å"Scope†) The MPAA says their levels of piracy are not yet that enormous, but in 2010 gave the example of the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which they claim was legally downloa ded 50,000 versus 1.1 million illegal downloads. (Zima 1) It’s important to note that the DMCA went into effect in 1998 to stop illegal downloading and yet, according to the RIAA and the MPAA, the situation is only getting worse. Napster, a peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading site that a RIAA member once called â€Å"the single most insidious website I’ve ever seen,† (â€Å"Recording†) didn’t start operations until several months after the DMCA was signed into law. So does the DMCA have any effect on piracy? Is this now nearly 13 year-old law still relevant to new technology? First, understand ­Ã‚ ­ that the DMCA didn’t outright ban all downloading of copyrighted material off the Internet. What it did was outlaw the use of technology to get around the anti-piracy technology that copyright holders added to digital technology. For example, the DMCA made illegal the creation and dissemination of software designed to override the anti-copy protecti on on a newly purchased CD, allowing that CD to be converted into MP3 or MP4 format – which then can be easily shared on-line or burned onto a blank CD. It did not specifically make it illegal to use a P2P downloading service to download pirated music or movies, but it did make it illegal to create and host a P2P downloading service where copyright protected digital material was knowingly made available by users, which was in a nutshell what caused Napster’s demise. (Skolnik 1) Here’s what the DMCA did do – it placed more restrictions on â€Å"fair use† of a copyrighted product. Fair use is â€Å"the principle that the public is entitled, without having to ask permission, to use copyrighted works in ways that do not unduly interfere with the copyright owner’s market for a work† (Von Lohmann). For example, it is presently within a person’s fair use rights to trade in or sell that DVD to a store for resale. But according to curre nt interpretations of DMCA, it is not within fair use for the person to use software to extract the electronic information from that DVD and convert the files so the movie can be played on an iPod – even if the person it only doing this for personal use and not with any intention of sharing the file. (Von Lohmann) As one critic of the DMCA puts it, â€Å"Photocopiers, VCRs, and CD-R burners can also be misused, but no one would suggest that the public give them up simply because they might be used by others to break the law†

A 2,500 3,000 word individual report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A 2,500 3,000 word individual report - Essay Example Finally, we look into how we can implement Performance Management to improve the company to better achieving its long term goals. The purpose of this section is to define Performance Appraisal and Performance Management, as well as to distinguish between the two. Both Performance Appraisal and Performance Management lead to increase in organisational productivity (Thomson 2003). Performance Appraisal is one of the tools used for implementing Performance Management. Performance Appraisal is the process of setting job standards, measuring and evaluating employee performance, and giving relevant feedback to the employees (Thomson 2003). Performance appraisals are an important part of performance management, particularly in the Feedback Stage of Performance Management (Farrington 2007). Currently, our company is relying on Performance Appraisal in order to improve employee performance. However, Performance Appraisal is not enough to maximize and maintain good employee performance for the following reasons. Performance Appraisal, when used alone, is demotivating, it takes a lot of time to implement and get results back, it creates a legal liability, and it flies in the face of team rewards and accountability (Brull 1997). Furthermore, Cook discusses that the focus of Performance Appraisal is too much on the individual, instead of developing the employee. Appraisal is inconsistent and only useful in the extremes of performance (1993). In itself, it is therefore not enough to maximize organisational productivity. This section defines Performance Management, its two foci which are development and reward driven, and details the process of performance management. This section then explains how and why Performance Management improves organisational productivity. Performance Management is the process used by managers to enable the employees to perform effectively and efficiently

INtro to rela dbase Business Intelligence and Data Warehouses week 9 Assignment

INtro to rela dbase Business Intelligence and Data Warehouses week 9 - Assignment Example Since it operates with such huge data sets, an OLAP database is substantial on CPU and plate bandwidth. A data warehouse is intended to handle extensive investigative inquiries. An OLTP database system emphasizes extremely complex tables and joins because the data is standardized. In other terms, it is organized in a manner that no data is copied. Using this method to make data relational conveys storage and handling efficiencies. In addition, this method also permits those sub-second reaction times (Rahman, 2011). In an OLAP database framework, data is composed particularly to encourage reporting and examination, not for rapid value-based needs. The information is de-normalized to improve explanatory inquiry reaction times and give usability to business clients. Fewer tables and an easier structure bring about simpler reporting and examination. Operational data and decision support data serve diverse purposes. Most operational information is put away in a social database whereby the structures have a tendency to be profoundly standardized. Operational data stockpiling is improved to help transactions that concern day by day operations. To compel the performances given, operational frameworks store data in numerous tables, each with a base count of fields. Decision support data contrast from operational data in three fundamental ranges Operational data are ordinarily stored in numerous tables, and the information stored concern the data around a certain transaction only. Decision support data are put away in relatively fewer tables that store information obtained from operational data. The decision support data do exclude the subtle elements of every operational transaction. The operational databases continuous and fast information renewal make data irregularities a conceivably devastating issue. Accordingly, the data neces sities in a common transaction framework for the

Coupon Accounting Abuse Essay Example for Free

Coupon Accounting Abuse Essay The incentive, opportunity, and rationalization to commit fraud have plagued business organizations for many years. There are numerous ways that managers and employees can commit fraud. This makes it a necessity for businesses to have quality internal controls that help prevent fraudulent activity. However, even with the best set of controls businesses are still susceptible of fraud. This paper will concentrate on the case study concerning coupon accounting abuse and will answer questions pertaining to company controls, ways to prevent coupon abuse, parties who may be harmed, and the type of fraud presented in the case. Coupon Accounting Abuse Question 1: Discuss whether the situation described can happen to a company with a good control environment. It is imperative for a company to have good accounting internal controls. A company that has a good control environment will help deter fraud, but these controls can only provide a company with reasonable assurance. In this situation the brand manager is committing the fraud. This would make it very hard even for a company with good controls to detect fraud. In what is known as management override, managers can simply circumvent a company’s internal controls. Question 2: Describe any steps a company could take to prevent such abuse. There are many steps that a company can take to prevent fraud abuse. A company should implement a strong code of ethics policy. Every manager and employee should be trained and very aware of the policy. This will help in maintaining the integrity of the workforce. There should be a strong screening process that includes background checks to help ensure the company is hiring honest employees. There should also be a segregation of duties. In this case the brand manager has complete control over estimating the coupon liability. This estimate should be approved by another manager at the company. The company should inform independent and internal auditors of the significance that coupons can have on the company’s financial statements. A risk management group should be established whose task is to facilitate and co-ordinate the overall risk management process. Depending on the size and nature of the organization, the risk management group may be in the form of a committee who meet from time to time (CIMA, 2009). Question 3: List those parties who might be harmed by this situation. Fraud is often mistakenly considered a victimless crime. However, fraud can have considerable social and psychological effects on individuals, businesses and society (CIMA, 2009). In this situation the brand manager is harming multiple parties. When the manager replaces the 4% estimated redemption rate with 2% he is increasing revenue making the company look more profitable than it really was. This is misleading to managers and shareholders who are reading the financial statements. It could be detrimental to the business if managers think a brand is doing better than it really is. The shareholder will also be impacted in the coming year because of the added liability expenses. The brand manager is putting himself at risk to be harmed because if he is caught his job will be terminated and he will be prosecuted. Question 4: Do you consider this example to be management fraud or employee fraud? I consider this to be management fraud. Management fraud often involves senior or high level management’s intentional misrepresentation of financial statements, theft or improper use of accompany resources. Employee fraud involves a non-senior employee theft or improper use of company resources (Gottlieb, 2011). The fraud that was committed was by the brand manager who developed a myopic view and knew that he would be managing another brand in the next year. This situation is becoming increasingly common in the workplace. In order to combat fraud and white collar crime in businesses, a concerted effort must be exerted by the management of the business, the external auditors, and by all employees of the business. Everyone must realize that fraud is not a victimless crime. The cost of fraud and theft are shared by all through higher costs and lower corporate profits. Through adequate internal controls by management, better working environments for employees, more stringent requirements for external auditors, and codes of ethics for employees, everyone can start to combat frauds and defalcations within corporate America (Farrell, Franco, 1999).

Apple iPhone Essay Example for Free

Apple iPhone Essay Japan to Apple iPhone No Thanks and Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark Fin Soup these two case studies shows what happens when consumer behavior and marketing mix in globalization goes very wrong. These two studies reveal how marketer think they are giving a wonderful product and service in the case of Apples the iPhone and Disney the Sharks Fin Soup. Understanding the consumer’s behavior and the customs and values of the culture impacted these two campaigns. Apologies good media press and changes in the strategy to get the approval of the consumers. Both case studies points out the impact of technology and how it at first affected the campaigns for bad with negative that changed the reputation of both companys. Apples dilemma was very embarrassing for the company with negative reports and predictions of how the iPhone was going to sell in Japan. The propaganda was already put out to the media about the Japanese saying No Thanks to Apple concerning the iPhone 3. Apple thought that Japan would be ecstatic with the new product but supposedly the opposite occurred with reports of weak showing of the iPhone3. Of course with Apple being the cutting edge in technology and innovation in the western world Japan did not feel the same way about Apples iPhone3. First Japan was a hard market to try to get into the for Apple and their competition Nokia, and Motorola, whose attempts to grab Japanese customers were futile. So this was going to be a difficult campaign for Apple. At the time Japan was hostile toward western brand including Nokia and Motorola which I thought were Japanese brands. What’s wrong with the iPhone, from a Japanese perspective? The high monthly data plans that go with it, its lack of features, the low-quality camera, the unfashionable design and the fact that it’s not Japanese. Besides cultural opposition, Japanese citizens possess high standards when it comes to cell phones. The country is famous for being ahead of its time when it comes to technology. Japanese consumer rather would use their own brand even if the feature is not used frequently. For example, Japanese handset users are extremely into video and photos .The iPhone had neither a video camera nor multimedia text messaging. A highlight feature enjoy on their handset is a TV tuner. Many consumers also used their cell phone as their only computer device and also as a TV. The monthly rates was considered to expense and many consumers did not want to pay the monthy bill. Apple had to make  decision because the consumer’s behavior was very different in Japan. The Japanese in the time of No Thanks were more communal than individualistic which a new trend with the younger generation is. They were not considered conspicuous consumption they way it is in western countries. The Japanese way of consumer behaving was inherited from Edo Period of history (each class had it own code) Brand shopping revealed two things about the Japanese consumer social status and quality of product. Japanese consumers are known for being demanding with products. The Japanese consumer shopped mostly in department stores but now this is changing with malls. The Japanese consumer is a cautious spender and that is why the monthly charge for service was problem for Apple. They are also very environmental aware and health conscious. Apple did not understand that Japan demographic of aging is very large with life expectancy being vey long. So Japan has a big 60 plus consumers demographic that live by the old tradition, values and customs. These consumer behaviors were very different from the western marketer Apple did not take these in to consideration when the iPhone came out. The marketer had to start at zero level and make huge marketing decision for the Japanese market. Quality of the iPhone its features had to be reintroducing to the consumers to the cell phone market in Japan. Many iphones were given away so as to help the consumer get comfortable with the iphone a great strategy. The monthly pricing had to be adjusted but they really had to do with the value of the Yen. The Bloomberg report today notes that the iPhone has captured 72 percent of the Japanese market. High price, lack of a video camera and support for multimedia messaging, all three of those shortcomings have been addressed. â€Å"Softbank w ho Apple used to sell iPhones gives away the phone for free, and Apple has added a video camera and support for multimedia messaging. The Bloomberg report further suggests that those moves were just what the iPhone needed to gain a foothold in Japan, which we also acknowledged in a report published August 2009.†(Tewney ,2008) Would Mickey Mouse Eat Sharks Fin Soup? Became fiasco for Disney with reports that Disney wool start serving Shark Fin Soup to their customers in Disney Hong Kong. In a feature dated May 18, the Hong Kong Standard reports that shark fin soup, along with roast suckling pig and sliced abalone, will be included in wedding banquets Disney is promoting at the two hotels at the Hong Kong Disneyland resort. Shark’s fin soup is a traditional Chinese  delicacy popular at weddings and other important social events. Eating shark’s fin soup carries cultural significance and is seen as luxurious and a display of affluence and generosity. However the process by which sharks are caught and killed to provide the ingredients has long been criticized for the way in which fins are harvested . A 2004 survey by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that out of 262 shark species around the world, 56 were endangered. The Hong Kong Standard publishes a follow up to the story on May 23 and reports that Disney’s plans to serve shark’s fin soup have outraged local environmentalists. Under the environmentally umbrella Disney has integrated conservation efforts into its daily operations. The company says its employees around the world proactively support environmental initiatives through all aspects of its business and states that it is â€Å"committed to balancing environmental stewardship with our corporate goals throughout the world.† Disney lesson was tradition and customs no longer overruled environmental issues because affluent consumer wants a certain food or clothes. The voice of green and environmental safety out powered and was louder than the money of the wealth who wanted the Shark Fin Soup. With the new rising environmentalist animal cruelty advocate this was not going to be easy for the affluent consumer to win. Disney was going to have to make a decision not to serve the soup at all and it did. Globalization, can intentionally or otherwise remove social and cultural differences, which can often have a bearing on consumer behavior and in turn, lead to brands developing a more consistent global identity, one which doesn’t have to worry about the backlash of possible misinterpretation in other parts of the world. This isn’t to say that marketers believe cultural issues are no longer important. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The more information a brand holds about the world and its contrasting consumers the more chance it has of understanding and manipulating them. The interlocking of economic spheres is another aspect, which has affected consumer behavior for very different reasons all together. The European Union and the combine currency of Euro connecting different countries with the same currencies make for a huge consumer behavior being established. This was also the problem with Apples because Japan does not have the same cultural values as the western hemisphere which was a learning campaign for Apples globalization. The arrival of the Internet and advances in technology have succeeded in breaking down social and cultural barriers, but have not succeeded in stopping the masses from being continually guided by those who are learning more and more about them and the way they behave. In conclusion these two global business dilemma help to open the way for a precise understanding of different culture that helps with evolving of globalization to include all cultures and to give the best culturally socially, environment decision while giving the best service and product. Reference Key Characteristic of The Japanese Consumer (2014) Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/rpretet/key-characteristics-of-japanese-consumers CRS ASIA (2014) Retrieved from :http://www.csr-asia.com/weekly_news_detail.php?id=5318 Consumer Behavior (2014) Retrieved from:http://publicresearchsystems.blogspot.com/2009/01/report-on-global-factors-affecting.html Why Japans Hate Apple (2014) Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ . â€Å"Softbank who Apple used to sell iPhones gives away the phone for free, and Apple has added a video camera and support for multimedia messaging. The Bloomberg report further suggests that those moves were just what the iPhone needed to gain a foothold in Japan, which we also acknowledged in a report published August 2009.† Why Japans Hate Apple (2014) Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark’s Fin Soup Retrieved from:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/business/worldbusiness/17 shark.html?pagewanted=all_r=0

Financial Analysis of the British Petroleum (BP) Foundation

Financial Analysis of the British Petroleum (BP) Foundation British Petroleum Foundation British Petroleum (BP) is one of the worlds leading integrated oil and gas companies, and it is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world. It provides customers with energy for heat and light, fuel for transportation, lubricants to support the performance of engines and petrochemicals products to diversify daily use items. BP was founded in 1908 by William Knox DArcy to exploit oil discoveries in Iran. Nowadays key persons are Carl-Henric Svanberg (Chairman) and Bob Dudley (CEO). The BP Foundation, Inc., established in 1952, is a private non-operating foundation and an independent charitable organization separate from, but funded entirety by, BP that exists for the public benefit. It supports philanthropic activities around the world, helps communities by supporting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education programs across America, economic development, and by drawing attention to environmental issues. First of all, BP Foundation is widely known for contribution to the development of STEM educations. It has supported several initiatives in Illinois by donating $5 million to the Museum of Science and Industry; $400,000 to the University of Chicago Collegiate Scholars Math Science Initiative; $100,000 to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Energy Center; and $135,000 to the Chicago State University. Moreover, the BP Foundation supports organizations such as the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, the aim of which is to showcase talents of American Indians, Hispanics and African Americans. BPs initiative of donating $1 million every three-year has supported 200 engineering scholarships for students, who attend one of NACMEs 51 partner universities. In general, since 2012 BP Foundation has donated around $65 million for education, that shows a desire to expand economic opportunity, develop a highly skilled workforce and inspire the next generation of innova tors. In 2005, BP united with the Association of Science- Technology Centers in order to launch the Energy Education Initiative, objective of which is to train and equip STEM teachers. Besides, it joined the Million Women Mentors project to help young women to learn more about STEM careers. Second, BP Foundation has Employee Matching Program, that enables BP employees to match fund from BP to eligible charitable organizations and to help support the community where they work. Since 2006, the BF Foundation has matched over $82 million on behalf of its employees to charitable organizations worldwide. In 2014 employees volunteered about 207,866 hours and raised around $1.6 million by taking part in sponsored pledge events. In appreciation of their efforts, the BP Foundation additionally provided matching grants in the total amount of $10.4 million to educational institutions and charitable organizations. Also, BP supports military men both during and after their service. In 2005, BP was rewarded with the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, that the US government gives to employers for their support of workers serving in the Guard or the Reserve. Also, it helps veterans return to civilian life by, for example, supporting adaptive sports such as Paralympic programs and the Warrior Games, that help disabled or injured veterans while they pass procedure of rehabilitation and reintegration. To sum up, it must be said, that BP Foundation is one of the biggest supporters of programs designed to promote education through STEM, but at the same time it invests in economic development through job training, sustainable community projects and enterprise development; and the environment through projects that further the understanding of global environment issues. Financial Analysis Monetarily, the company is performing great. From its financial position, the company has many long-term assets, which are used by the company as a source of income especially when leasing as well as securities while borrowing loans which gives the company an advantage when it comes to loans for future. The long-term assets are known to increase in value as years proceed which places the company at a better place. Additionally, the company has short-term assets which includes revenue and short-term income, which is used by company to provide for most of its expenditures as it, acts as a source of income. From the given information, it indicates that organization has a positive liquidity. The assets of the organization exceed its liabilities, which explains the organization can meet its financial obligations without much pressure. There are the total assets of about 11 million while there are about 7 million of total liabilities which basically leads to the positive deficit of roughly 5 million. The company has short term liabilities, which explains that the company can easily settle them down and cannot lead to the closure of the business. The company also has a lot of sales which shows that the company is performing well in the market. In addition, the company has gross sales of assets which is worth more than 44 million dollars which specifies that the company is better placed and have a lot of disposal capital. The contributions, grants and gifts do not contribute a lot to the company source of income and capital like the company assets which are sold. When comparing its expenses and income, we noticed that the company doesnt incur a lot of expense when it comes to hiring of services as well as equipments used in the office which basically reduces the company liabilities as well as expense. After the financial year, the net assets are greater than net liabilities which shows that the company performed well at the end of fiscal year. The current ratio of the company is greater on the assets side when compared to the liabilities side. The company also has a higher book value of more than 14 billion dollars, which they can use for attracting investors since it indicates that the company is performing better and not in debt. The company also has a higher fair market value which shows that the company is performing well in market and that its products are considered among the best in the market which basically increase its market value. The company investments on the corporate stock is higher both in book value and the market price which illustrates that the company is performing good in the market and that its bonds are among the highly purchased in the market. However, the organization has some grants which are payable and are higher at the end of year as compared to the beginning of the year. This indicates that the company incurred some more expenses between the year which explains that the organizations will incur more expenses on paying the grants. The company lacks any deferred payments and mortgages to pay which reduces the amount of debts that they owe other companies. The business has other investments around $ 175,000, which indicates that the company source of income and revenue is high. Funding of the Organization British Petroleum Foundation is funded through a program called Employee Matching Program. The employees who are linked with this program called Employee Matching Program. The employees who are linked with this program are those working for British Petroleum Corporation. This company is one of the worlds biggest enthusiasm companies and it delivers energy products and services to people around the world. In the employee matching program, a maximum amount of $ 5,000 or equivalent to local currency per employee for each calendar year that has been allocated. They also have the options that are well outlined on how each employee may choose to participate and use this fund. An annual budget from the BP foundation would be allocated to this fund. All employees of British Petroleum and any of its designated partners or exclusively owned subsidiaries are eligible to participate in the program. The recipient organizations must function on a Not for a Profit Basis. The organizations that are located in United States must be qualified for tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Service Code 501 (Gong, 2). Fundamentally, British Petroleum Foundation has done countless things to the entire world and especially with touching many lives. The foundation has donated more than $ 218 million to community and enterprises in the United States. In 2015, BP foundation logged more than 55,000 hours of volunteering that raised approximately $6 million grants. Apart from above, the foundation also assists organizations such as National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) which obtains to create an Engineering workforce. The foundation contributed $1 million to support 200 scholarships for students who are attending one of NACMEs universities. British Petroleum foundation also provides financial support to natural disaster areas. In cooperation with local BP businesses, it contributed $125,000 to provide food and health services to those affected by floods in 2015. The foundation is dedicated to support worldwide organizations that meet the British Petroleum foundation donation approach which includes economic development, education and education, economic development and ecological programs. They do not accept unwanted offers but they do request reviews submitted by BP businesses around the world. BP foundation has also partnered with sports and support social enterprises which began in September 2011 to create employment legacy from London 2012 Olympic games. The British Petroleum has also worked with social enterprises in East London and West London to provide training and knowledge to support projects to allow the enterprises grow in future. Therefore, we can conclude that British Petroleum Foundation has contributed to make the Earth the better place for everyone. The BP foundation is also funded from three sources which includes contributions and grants received, interest on investments and profits from sale of assets (Form 990). The foremost source of funding in 2015 tax return is the grants of $ 5.7 million from BP America, Inc. In 2014, they received $ 209,713 from BP Products North America; from which $208,929 was a noncash transaction. The second source of funding is the Interest on Investments. In 2015, the interest was less notable amount of $16,920, however in 2014, the interest was $ 95,338. There was decrease of interest income in 2015 because there were the sales of $44,613.321in 2014 which was initially obtained by the foundation. The third source of funding is profit from sale of assets. In 2015, it amounted to be $(4,651), however in 2014, the profit was $38,734. Therefore, in 2015, its contributions became negative of 0.08%, however the contribution was reported for 26.70% in 2014. The major source of funding is grants which was received from British Petroleum. Issues facing the Foundation Just like any other organization operation in the economy, BP foundation faces some issues in its day to day operations. The first one is financial challenges. BP foundation is exclusively reliant on its parental company. They do not receive any support from other government, private or public organizations. BP foundation is not able to encounter its operating and managerial expenditures from its own resources. There are many more people who need to be reached by the charitable works of BP foundation but finance remains a limiting factor. The foundation needs more funds to be able to extent its charitable services to every corner of the globe. It is therefore up to its management to generate ideas on how they will be able to raise these funds to smoothen their operations. Another issue is operational level. The operations of the foundation revolve around dynamic sectors of the society like education particularly science, economic development and environmental issues. The organization contribution is mainly restricted for providing scholarships for education to its employees but not to community. Also, they are inhibited by the fact that they are suffering losses economically and the company is not in situation to make investments. The foundation should set a lot of funds for research of new ways of doing things. This will enable those students who are under the foundation to be part of the new discoveries made every day. By doing that, the foundation will be able to leave back a legacy to the forth coming generations for being part of those people who contributed to the great innovations ever made in the globe. Information about the Foundation The information on the foundation is very limited. It needs extensive research for one to obtain the information about this foundation because of the nature of their work. They are doing charitable work and it is not always published in newspapers or covered by bloggers. Because of the nature of this information, it needs to do a lot of research to access them. The website of British Petroleum has a very limited information about BP Foundation. The websites like CNN and NASDAQ didnt have any information regarding the financial statements. The other websites provided very limited information about the BP Foundation. The main information came from the BP Foundations Form990 tax returns for 2014 and 2015. Other than that, it is very difficult to find the information regarding the BP Foundation. Integration of BP Foundation The foundation is integrated into British Petroleum Corporation by several levels. The foundation specially gives grants to STEM education, which basically follows the British Petroleums core values of safety and energy. Similarly, in case of when natural disaster occurs, the foundation gets help from BP to help those who got affected during the incident. Another level is excise tax, which is based on investments income, which shows that statement regarding its activities and if the company controlled any entry or exit of any company in the market. Moreover, the company donations to any organization and other transactions outside the book value. The file also shows the credit payments and any other penalty the company was fined. The company through shares and taxes is tied with British Petroleum Corporation as well as the company assets. Work Cited Gong, Ning, and Bruce D. Grundy. Charitable Fund-Raising Matching Grants or Seed Money: An Application to Employee Matching Grant Schemes. SSRN Electronic Journal (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 12 Mar. 2017. Employee Matching Fund. BP Life Benefits (Core US Benefits) Employee Matching Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017. BP Foundation. Bp.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Dehumanization of the Slave Trade Essay -- Slaves Blacks Black Race Ra

Dehumanization of the Slave Trade Bare feet walked across the rocky dirt road. Hands, feet, and wrists chained together. A long line of black people, men and women and even young maturing children. Beaded up hair from the water and sweat dripping from their filthy bodies from the hot desert-like sun beaming upon them. Dusty looking skin from the times they fell and tried so hard to get up. Empty stomachs; starving people; black people. Some naked and some clothed. They have been walking for some miles, being pulled along, whipped continuously, and told what to do; by the white man. Flies buzzing around them. Rotten smells of all sorts. Swollen feet and hands from the treacherous journeys and over-bearing labor that they had to endure. They were slaves. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the labor of African Americans was in higher demand. This was due to the insufficient amounts of white and Indian indentured servants, for the use of agricultural labor. During the 16th and 17th century time periods, Brazilian and Caribbean sugar plantations were very profitable and the use of African Americans as the laborers/workers provided a model for the European colonists in North America. (historychannel.com) Africans served as guides and soldiers in the journey of Mexico, however when they were brought to North America they were instead used to produce export crops, such as tobacco, rice, indigo, and cotton, which was a major source of wealth. Once this had begun the English settlers gradually begin to turn to black slavery to solve the labor shortage (history channel.com). Spain and England engaged in the housing of slaves. In the 16th century Spain brought in 100,000 Africans. However England did no... ...nized English, and religion, and the other aspects of the Western civilization, thereby creating their own unique culture that combined African with European elements. They tried to take over our minds, souls, and bodies, but only got what they gave us, nothing in return. Bibliography Funk And Wagnalls. "History of the Civil Rights Struggle: The Slave Era." History.com. 2005. World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company. 17 Feb. 2006 http://www.historychannel.com/blackhistory/?page=history2. Unknown. "People & Events Royal African Company established 1672." Pbs.org. WGBH and PBS online. 17 Feb. 2006 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p269.html. Gaines, Ernest J. New York: Vintage Books, 1993. 63. Gaines, Ernest J. New York: Vintage Books, 1993. 167. Gaines, Ernest J. New York: Vintage Books, 1993. 192.

meeting diverse needs in a classroom Essay -- essays research papers

Having observed inside a kindergarten classroom for a couple of weeks thus far, it has already become apparent to me the plethora of diverse needs of the children within a single classroom. Not all students are alike. They differ in how they learn, how quickly they pick up and absorb information, how they comprehend the meanings of things etc. While meeting these diverse learning needs in a single classroom can be very challenging for a busy teacher, it must be done in order for all of the students to advance to the next level. I feel that it is important that a teacher be flexible with the methods by which he or she teaches students material. Adjusting the method from time to time gives learners who are having trouble with one presentation style the possibility of being able to make sense of the ideas being portrayed. Also it is important to alternate from individual lessons to group lessons to class lessons to allow for the diverse strengths and weaknesses of the students to be ac counted for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the particular classroom that I observe, the teacher does a good job of meeting the diverse needs of the students. Lesson by lesson, she alternates from doing hands on activities to verbally giving children the information. This allows for students with auditory strengths along with those students possessing visual strengths to get a chance to make sense of the material. She goes out of her way to make sure that every child’s way of learning is being a...

WHO CAN CATCH A LIAR?’, Ekman and O’Sullivan, 1991. Essay -- English L

WHO CAN CATCH A LIAR?’, Ekman and O’Sullivan, 1991. What is the definition of lying or indeed deception? Well deception can be defined in many ways, but it was termed by Vrij (Vrij, 2000, p.6) as a successful or unsuccessful deliberate attempt, without forewarning, to create in another a belief, which the communicator considers to be untrue. Telling lies is a daily life event, which varies in quite complex ways depending on the situation the person is in and the person being lied to. People lie for all kinds of reasons. However half the lies are either self–orientated, and are therefore intended to make the liar appear better or to gain personal advantage (DePaulo et al., 1996). Self– orientated lies consist of people lying in order to avoid punishment, to make a positive impression on others or to protect themselves. Some lies are other–orientated, to make another person feel better or for another’s benefit. How can you tell if someone is lying to you? People generally believe that nonverbal cues to deception exist and they know what these cues are; but how accurate are people at detecting lies? In laboratory studies concerning detection of deception, observers are given videotaped or audiotaped statements of various people who are either lying or telling the truth. After each statement the participant is asked to judge whether the statement are true or false. In most studies reported, people have not been very good at judging when people are lying. Average accuracy in detecting deceit has rarely been above 60% with 50% being chance and most people have performed below 50%. Studies revealed that in three separate experiments conducted by Kraut and Poe (1980) DePaulo and Pfeifer (1986) and Ko... ...ussed in the appropriate section of the study, therefore this could be an area that could be further explored in the future. On the whole in conclusion, the study has established the extent to which people are able to detect lies by observing physiological responses. Mistakes in lie detection are inevitable, but perhaps with the correct training, experience and motivation we may become specialists in detecting lies. But is this possible?. In my opinion in both theoretical and practical terms; this is a sound work on a vital subject. Although room for further research is needed. REFERENCES ---------- Aldert Vrij, (2002) ‘Telling and Detecting Lies’ chapter 4, in Nicola Brace and Helen Westcott (ed) ‘Applying Psychology’ The Open University Journal article – Paul Ekman and Maureen O’Sullivan (1991) ‘Who Can Catch A Liar’ Vol.46, no 9, pp.913-930

The Role of Cargo Protein

The experiment shown in figure (3) was done to characterize the role of cargo protein binding domain of sec24p in protein sorting. The vesicles were generated with the Sec24L616W mutated from microsomal membranes. The number of cargo proteins were estimated by immunoblotting or by autoradiography which were then quantified by using secondary antibody (labelled with radioactive molecules). The results are immune blots and showed the effect of Sec24L616W on packaging of cargo proteins. The findings of the experiment are this that the sec61p and Kar2p which are residents of ER were not found in vesicle fraction. They were missing from the vesicle when compared to wild type. there were group of proteins such as chitin synthase, profactor-a, were found in the mutant vesicles. In this experiment they learned that there are multiple sites organizing the cargo protein signals that binds at their own and confirmed the presence of additional unidentified domains which also interacts with distinct types of cargo proteins. If the amino acid signal in protein Gap1p was mutated to some random amino acid signal, this will lead to affected condition. If we can tell DID is replaced by DXE signal and If amino acid signal LxxLE in Bet1p was mutated to the amino acids DID which was signal of Gap1p, the following different result would be expected: There are more chances that there will be two bands on immunoblot in 2nd and 3rd lane, which is normal and signal will not be disturbed for cargo protein, as the result would be similar to Gap1p. Bet1p is important site and mutation at this site causes defects in cargo packaging. If this is mutated with gap1p signal, the results may resemble to Sed5p, Erp1p or Bos1p, that are affected cases. Due to this mutation there are more chances to disrupt cargo packaging.

Poverty and Horse Film Essay

This is a story of two tribal Armenian boys who belonged to the Garoghlanian tribe. For their family, even at times of extreme poverty nothing could match the importance of honesty. They never did anything wrong and never lied or never even stole anything. The story talks about an incident that revolves around two cousins Aram who is nine years old and Mourad who is thirteen. The world, for Aram, at that time, seemed to be a delightful and extremely joyous yet mysterious dream. People believed in every imaginable kind of magnificence. Mourad was considered to be crazy by everybody he knew. The story opens with Mourad coming to Aram’s house at four in the morning one fine day. He tapped on the window to Aram’s room. When Aram looked out of the window, he was taken aback and startled to see Mourad riding a beautiful white horse. In fact, he was so dazed that Mourad had to say â€Å"Yes, it’s a horse. You are not dreaming.† All this was too unbelievable because Aram knew that they were too poor to be able to afford to buy a horse. The only way Mourad could possess it could be by stealing. They were too honest to lie and yet too crazy to ride a horse. Thus, they kept the horse for two weeks, enjoying its ride in cool air and singing to their heart’s content on the country roads. They hid it from the rest of the world by keeping it in a barn of the deserted vineyard. Meanwhile, Aram came to know that the horse was stolen from John Byro. They planned not to return it to him so soon although it pricked their conscience to steal, which was completely their ethics and tribal norms. One fine day they came across John, the farmer. Such was the boys’ family famous for their honesty that the thought of his horse being stolen by the boys never crossed John’s mind. He was just amazed at the resemblance and said: â€Å"I would swear it is my horse if I did not know your parents.† This moving experience led the boys towards John’s vineyard the very next morning. They left the horse in the barn after patting it affectionately. Later that day, John seemed to be very pleased and shared the news of the return of his horse with Aram’s mother. The story teaches us the importance and necessity of honesty even in the face of greed and passion.

Linguistic Reading Response Paper on “The Celtic Languages”

It is interesting to note that the term ‘Celt’ is a linguistic term first mentioned in the writings of Greek and Roman ethnographers and historians (MacAulay, p. 2). My idea of the concept is that of a particular people with a distinct language who once inhabited Great Britain. It turns out that this language, generally known as Continental Celtic, has a range of dialects once spread out across the various peoples of Europe such as in Gaul and northern Italy, yet died out on the European continent a few centuries back. Celtic survived however, in the British Isles and in Ireland, which is quite a feat given the dominance of Latin and later English settlements. In terms of linguistic affinities, Celtic is recognized as an Indo-European language though it is of interest to note that experts regard it as having archaic features (MacAulay, p. 3), i.e. its lack of a fully developed infinitive, differentiation of gender in numerals 3 and 4, among others, sometimes attributed to its being a ‘peripheral’ language removed from an innovating center. Variations between the Celtic languages, i.e. Continental and Insular, appear to be a convoluted matter best left to linguists. Ultimately the evolved form of the modern Celtic languages has special typological features which are both archaic (conservative) and innovative. Locative structures used to express location and possession are utilized to express aspectual modes, which in turn cover the range of progressive, prospective and perfective aspects in Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and optionally in British (MacAulay, p. 6). On the other hand, Breton and Irish have innovated based on their majority contact languages French and English, to develop new perfective constructions, as contact with these languages is a primary accelerating source of innovation in Celtic tongues. Thus, languages continue to evolve as its speakers, in the course of their interaction with those of other cultures, are exposed to foreign influences in the on-going social interface between peoples and nations in an increasingly globalizing world. Linguistic Response Paper on the â€Å"Creole Continuum† The so-called ‘Creole continuum‘ evolve in situations in which a creole coexists with its lexical source language and there is social motivation for creole speakers to acquire the standard so that the speech of individuals takes on features of the latter – or avoids features of the former – to varying degrees (p. 50). Considering that linguists for a long time were unsure on how to classify varieties with both creole and non-creole features, particularly the English-based varieties of the West Indies, it appears significant to consider that among the many Negro slaves in different parts of America, the jargon upon becoming the only language of the subject group, is a creolized language considered inferior to the masters’ speech yet nonetheless subject to constant leveling-out and improvement in the direction of the latter (Bloomfield, 1933, p. 474). Linguists such as DeCamp attempted to work out a theoretical model that could deal with variation in a sufficiently rigorous manner, in reaction to the transformational generative grammar coming to dominate American linguistics. The general usefulness of the continuum model gained wide acceptance by the mid-1970s, yet it is true that it fails to explain why Atlantic creoles in particular share so many structural features not found in their different lexical source languages (p. 58). Thus the shift back into a universalist theory giving primacy to language acquisition. Chomsky (1965) had proposed that children were born with a predisposition to recognize certain universal properties of language that facilitated their acquisition of the language of their particular speech community (p. 58). Yet such an assertion is still open to scholarly debate and argumentation. It would thus appear that the answer to the creole question remains elusive, despite advances in linguistic studies and theory. References MacAulay, Donald. â€Å"The Celtic languages: an overview†