Causes and Effects of Homelessness Essay

Homelessness is living without a home, be it on the streets or in shelters. There are many causes for people becoming homeless, and the combination of factors that lead to homelessness are different for every individual. Some of the factors that contribute to homelessness for youth, single adults, and families are poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse and mental illness, limited assistance services, and personal choice. The effects are also varied and can pertain to communities, businesses, other people and the homeless themselves. Some of the effects of homelessness are health, personal, families, abuse, and the society. Although there are many reasons why people become homeless, this paper will only include the top five causes. Poverty is the number one leading cause of people becoming homeless, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Poverty is best known as that state of being poor. When people lack income to meet all of their needs, they are forced to choose between housing, utilities, transportation, childcare, healthcare, and food. Nationally, homeless who have been surveyed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, high proportions of homeless individuals were found to be employed. However, wages are often not sufficient to ensure housing stability and many people do not have jobs that provide living wages, health insurance, or high job security. Roughly half of homeless adults have incomes of less than $300 per month, (National Coalition for the Homeless). A lack of educational opportunities limits access to living-wage jobs and contributes to poverty. Another issue related to poverty is high cost and shortage of housing. It is difficult, if not impossible, for low-income individuals and families to find affordable housing. It’s no wonder with the limited scale of housing assistance programs, and other services of aid. With growing poverty levels and more people becoming homeless, public assistance services are unable to  keep up with the demand. Public assistance can be described as government aid (publicly funded) or privately funded agencies (churches, and/or other charities) to needy, aged, or disabled persons and to dependent children. Assistance programs do exist, but many have regulations and requirements that many people don’t qualify for. There are also the issues of waiting lists that might be as long as six months or a year. Shelters are available, but may have limited space and are only temporary (usually measured by weeks, some only lasting two weeks). Even with the programs out there, most don’t have adequate funding for prevention of homeless. Whether people are abused, mentally ill, or have disabilities, assistance is becoming more scarce and strict including health care necessities. While homeless people consist of mentally ill people and addicts, this only makes up a small portion of the entire homeless population. Mentally illness is foreseen as various psychiatric conditions, usually characterized by impairment of an individual’s normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by physiological or psychosocial factors. Addicts consist of alcohol and drug users/abusers, which are considered of having habits of consuming either or both. According the U.S. Conference of Mayors (2005), about 16% of single adults are mentally ill homeless, and addicts make up less than this (addicts are more complex). It is difficult for either (mentally ill or addicts) to keep a job and often have trouble finding housing and treatment. Both, mentally ill and addicts, have a hard time finding services when living on the streets, thereby creating a cycle of homelessness and addiction from which it’s almost impossible to escape. Other homeless who need escape are the people of domestic violence. Domestic violence will consist of women and/or children whom are or have been physically, mentally, and/or emotionally abused (battered). Nationally, studies indicate that up to half of homeless women with children have experienced domestic violence, including children who are homeless. With specific shelters available for battered women, more women are fleeing their abusers, thus creating more homeless. Children, too, run away because of being battered and end up homeless. Children often encounter more abuse while on the streets to acquire food, shelter or clothing. Both, battered women and children are often forced with choosing between being abused or becoming homeless From interviews that I have conducted over the years,  there are still homeless people that just choose to become/stay homeless. I interviewed a homeless veteran back in 2009 whose name is Jim, and again in 2011. Jim informed me that he became homeless shortly after the Vietnam War because he chose to. He didn’t have family waiting for him, and had no desire of getting a job after serving his country. After being homeless for more than 15 years, he states that â€Å"it is easier†. He doesn’t have the hardships of paying bills such as rent, utilities, insurance, car fuel, and other bills. He also doesn’t have the responsibilities of caring for dependents, but living only for himself. Because of this advantage, he is able to survive on very little money. Jim says that â€Å"I focus on only the basics of food and hygiene†. With charities providing free food, soup kitchens, camping equipment, clothing and restroom facilities (including showers), Jim is able to survive without much begging. He claims that â€Å"being homeless gives me freedom† because he lives for the today and only planning for tomorrow. Though hard at times, simplicity can be blissful. Homelessness has a huge effect on an individual’s physical and emotional health. Homeless men and women suffer from colds that they cannot get rid of because they have no access to medicine. They suffer from vitamin deficiencies and often don’t get adequate sleep. Exposure to the elements and unsanitary living conditions can lead to frostbite, leg ulcers and upper respiratory infections. Serious illnesses like HIV/AIDS, diabetes and tuberculosis are more common in homeless people than amon g the general population. They also are more at risk for dependency on drugs and alcohol. Homeless individuals have no housing to protect them from physical violence and even rape. At the time when a homeless person realizes that he/she won’t have a roof to live under, it is hard for them to believe. It is this fact of not dealing with reality that makes homeless people less able to take actions, but they suffer psychologically as a result. Being without a home takes a terrible toll on children as well. Homeless children have higher rates of ear infections, stomach problems and asthma than other children their age. These children are also more likely to be depressed, anxious, or withdrawn, and have more difficulty in school than their peers. Homelessness tears families apart because some shelters won’t take boys and others won’t accept children. A mother may have to watch helplessly as her children are taken from her and placed with relatives or in foster care,  which highly affects the children. These can lead to emotional breakdowns that lead them to become institutionalized or they can begin to develop behavioral problems that land them in front of a judge. There is also the economic impact that homelessness has on society. Operating and maintaining homeless support services programs are costly ventures. The funding for these programs comes in the form of taxpayer dollars and private donations. Yet, most of these programs are generally unfunded, which means that only the most basic of services can be offered. This in turn means that many homeless are forced to seek alternate methods of getting their basic needs met. Subsequently, those homeless who cannot find employment will turn to recycling or panhandling as a means of putting money in their pockets. As the numbers of homeless who dig through garbage cans and dumpsters in search of recyclable items and as the number of homeless who panhandle increases there are the inevitable complaints to the community’s governm ent to do something about the homeless. This usually causes the city to adopt stricter laws concerning – and in some instances, prohibiting – these activities. Then, because of the need to enforce these ordinances, local law enforcement must be on the look-out for violators. For those homeless who are caught, the officer must then take the time to stop, check the person’s ID, and write the person a ticket. Which costs more money, because then it has to go through the local court system. Paperwork has to be filled out, court appearances must be set, and for those homeless who either don’t pay the fine or show up in court, additional paper work is created. If a warrant is issued, then the next time the person is caught, there is a possibility that they will be given a trip to the local jail – at taxpayer’s expense, of course – which means more paperwork. There is also an environmental impact that homelessness has on a society. Since most communities do not have anywhere near the amount of supportive resources needed for the numbers of homeless in their areas, the homeless will be forced to find alternate places to live and sleep. In more urbanized areas, this could be in the doorways of businesses after closing hours, behind buildings, public benches, bus shelters, building hallways and the like. In other, less urbanized communities, the homeless may seek shelter in â€Å"green belt† areas. Since every person has a need to heed the call of nature, and because many businesses deny the homeless the use of bathroom facilities,  the homeless are forced to use whatever convenient location they may find to tend to those needs. The cost of clean-up, once again comes out of taxpayer dollars. Since the 1940’s, the issue of homelessness has remained a growing concern within the U.S. Factors contributing to the problems are varied and deep-set within the make-up of our economy, and affect the economy as a whole. Not all homeless people chose to live in the streets or shelters. If a person believes this, then their perceptions are ignorant and unaware. Whatever the causes of an individual’s homeless, the consequences can be brutal. There is no one cause of homelessness and as a result there is no one solution. The solutions needed to eliminate homelessness are the same ones needed to prevent its occurrence. An understanding of the population and the causes of homelessness provides the background necessary to begin developing a strategy to end homelessness. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY About the Homeless: Snapshot of homelessness. National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2011. Web. 2011 October 3.  www.endhomelessness.org/section/about_homelessness/snapshot_of_homelessness On this web page, I accessed several inner links to gain additional information for more specifications. The National Alliance to End Homelessness gives lots of details pertaining to homelessness. There are statistics, characteristics and reasons of homelessness. This site focuses on educating people about homeless and offers homeless people resources. It gives common geographical areas of homeless, the types of people who are homeless, how often people become homeless and the reoccurrences. The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a non-profit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness with updated and current information. This source helps emphasize the causes of my paper’s main topic, and reinforces the effects of homelessness based on facts. Jim. Personal interview. May 2009. Jim was a homeless veteran at the time of interview and has been homeless for more than 15 years. He was actually part of a â€Å"camp† community, consisting of seven other homeless people. I talked with several of them, but he is the one with the most to say. This interview is about some people choosing  to be homeless for no particular reason, other than it being easier. Jim talked about when he became homeless shortly after the Vietnam War. He hadn’t had family before the war, and didn’t have anyone/anywhere to turn to afterward. Society didn’t offer much support and government didn’t offer any help. So he became homeless. Now, it’s his way of life and he has no desire to change it. He has adapted to being homeless and finds that it’s easier (the others agreeing that it’s an easier way of life). Jim is still homeless as of August 2011, when I ran into him this summer. He mentioned that as a veteran and Obama’s help with veteran services, he now receives some assistance (food, cash, and METRO bus tickets for transportation). Even with new veteran’s laws passed to help homeless veterans, he remains homeless and claims to be too old to go back to work. This information supports my theory on some people choosing to be and stay homeless. USHUD 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress: SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS and STATISTICS. National Coalition for the Homeless, 2011 June 20. Web. 2011 October 1. www.nationalhomeless.org Why Are People Homeless? National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009. Web.  2011 October 1. www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html The National Coalition for the Homeless gives statistics and information about homeless people. Both web sites talk about what types of people become homeless and reasons why they become homeless. The main reasons described in detail pertain to poverty and housing statistics, but also give some examples of other factors. Information also includes characteristics of homeless persons. The information provided is factual and is as accurate as can be expected (homelessness cannot be known precisely). The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network that is working toward ending homelessness with current and updated information. The organization consists of many services that all fight for the rights’ of homeless people and report to congress. These sources give factual information about the causes and effects of homeless people, and support the topic of my paper.

Question Bank Essay

What is Software Development Life Cycle? (SDLC) (2 mks) System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is the overall process of developing information systems through a multi-step process from investigation of initial requirements through analysis, design, implementation and maintenance. b) Draw a diagram for pure waterfall life cycle. (5 mks) [pic] c)Explain the different phases involved in waterfall life cycle. (8 mks) Phase I – Modeling Phase In this phase we view the software product as part of a larger system or organization where the product is required. This is basically a system view where all the system elements are created. Phase II – Software Requirements Analysis Here we have a phase where the requirements are gathered. The information domain for the software is understood. The function, behaviour, performance and interfacing of the software are determined. The requirements of the software and the customer are decided upon. Phase III – Design This determines the data structures, the software architecture, the interface representations and the procedural (algorithmic) detail that goes into the software. Phase IV – Code Generation Here the actual programming is done to obtain the machine code; it is an implementation of the design. Phase V – Testing The testing is a process that goes hand in hand with the production of the machine code. There are a number of testing strategies. First unit testing is done and then integration testing. Alpha testing is to see if the software is as per the analysis model whereas beta testing is to see if the software is what the customer wanted. Phase VI – Installation The software is released to the customer. Phase VII – Maintenance This is the largest phase of the software life cycle. Maintenance can be of different types: to modify the software as the requirements of the customer evolve, to remove the residual bugs in the software etc. 2)What is feasibility study? What are the contents we should contain in the feasibility report? (5 mks) A feasibility study is an initial look at an existing information processing system to decide how it might be computerized or improved. The contents that a feasibility report are: †¢ A statement of purpose of the system. †¢ A definition of system scope. †¢ A list of deficiencies of the current system. †¢ A statement of user requirements. The cost and benefits of development. †¢ A conclusion and recommendations. 3)What are the purposes of Data Flow diagrams, Entity-Relationship diagrams? Give an example diagram of each. (10 mks) Data Flow Diagrams Data Flow diagrams are a means of representing a system at any level of detail with a graphic network of symbols showing data flows, data stores, data processes, and data sources/destinations. The purpose of data flow diagrams is to provide a semantic bridge between users and systems developers. The diagrams are: †¢ Graphical – Eliminating thousands of words; Logical representations – Modeling WHAT a system does, rather than physical models showing HOW it does it †¢ Hierarchical – showing systems at any level of detail; and †¢ Jargonless – allowing user understanding and reviewing. [pic] Entity Relationship Diagram E-R Diagram is a graphical representation of the data layout of a system at a high level of abstraction. It defines data elements and their inter-relationships in the system [pic] 4)What is data modeling? Give 5 examples for data modeling. (5 mks) Data modeling is the act of exploring data-oriented structures. Like other modeling artifacts data models can be used for a variety of purposes, from high-level conceptual models to physical data models. From the point of view of an object-oriented developer, data modeling is conceptually similar to class modeling. With data modeling you identify entity types whereas with class modeling you identify classes. Data attributes are assigned to entity types just as you would assign attributes and operations to classes. Examples for data modeling include: †¢ Entity-Relationship diagrams †¢ Entity-Definition reports †¢ Entity and attributes report †¢ Table definition report Relationships, inheritance, composition and aggregation. 5)What is the difference between SRS document and design document? What are the contents we should contain in the SRS document and design document. SRS Document SRS document is a contract between the development team and the customer. Once the SRS document is approved by the customer, any subsequent controversies are settled by referring the SRS document. SRS document defines the customer’s requirements in terms of Functions, performance, external interfaces and design constraints. SRS Includes: †¢ Functional †¢ Non functional User †¢ Interface †¢ System Design Document The purpose of a design is to describe how the enhancements will be incorporated into the existing project. It should contain samples of the finished product. This could include navigational mechanism screenshots, example reports, and component diagrams. Design Includes: †¢ E-R Diagrams †¢ Data flow diagrams †¢ Data Dictionary 6)Explain all the phases involved in the implementation phase. (10 mks) Conduct system Test In this test software packages and in – house programs have been installed and tested, we need to conduct a final system test. All software packages, custom- built programs, and many existing programs that comprise the new system must be tested to ensure that they all work together This task involves analysts, owners, users, and builders. Prepare Conversion Plan On successful completion of system test, we can begin preparations to place the new system into operation. Using the design specifications for the new system, the system analyst will develop a detailed conversion plan. This plan will identify Database to be installed, end – user training and documentation that needed to be developed, and a strategy for converting from the old system to the new system. The conversion plan may include one of the following commonly used installation strategies 1)  Abrupt Cut-over 2)  Parallel Conversion 3)  Location Conversion 4) Staged Conversion Install Databases In the previous phase we built and tested the database. To place the system into operation we need fully loaded databases. The purpose of this task is to populate the new systems databases with existing database from the old system. System builders play a primary role in this activity. Train Users Converting to a new system necessitates that system users be trained and provided with documentation that guides them through using the new system. Training can be performed one on one; however group training is preferred. This task will be completed by the system analysts and involves system owners and users. Convert to New System Conversion to the new system from old system is a significant milestone. After conversion, the ownership of the system officially transfers from the analysts and programmers to the end users. The analyst completes this task by carrying out the conversion plan Recall that the conversion plan includes detailed installation strategies to follow for converting from the existing to the new production information system. This task involves the system owners, users, analysts, designers, and builders. 7)List and explain different types of testing done during the testing phase. (10 mks) Unit Involves the design of test cases that validate that the internal program logic is functioning properly, and that program inputs produce valid outputs. All decision branches and internal code flow should be validated. Unit testing involves the use of debugging technology and testing techniques at an application component level and is typically the responsibility of the developers, not the QA staff. Integration As the system is integrated, it is tested by the system developer for specification compliance. †¢Concerned with testing the system as it is integrated from its components †¢Integration testing is normally the most expensive activity in the systems integration process †¢Should focus on: †¢Interface testing where the interactions between sub-systems and components are tested †¢Property testing where system properties such as reliability, performance and usability are tested System Testing the system as a whole to validate that it meets its specification and the objectives of its users. The testing of a complete system prior to delivery. The purpose of system testing is to identify defects that will only surface when a complete system is assembled. That is, defects that cannot be attributed to individual components or the interaction between two components. System testing includes testing of performance, security, configuration sensitivity, startup and recovery from failure modes. Involves test cases designed to validate that an application and its supporting hardware/software components are properly processing business data and transactions. System testing requires the use of regression testing techniques to validate that business functions are meeting defined requirements. Black Box This is testing without knowledge of the internal workings of the item being tested. For example, when black box testing is applied to software engineering, the tester would only know the â€Å"legal† inputs and what the expected outputs should be, but not how the program actually arrives at those outputs. It is because of this that black box testing can be considered testing with respect to the specifications, no other knowledge of the program is necessary. For this reason, the tester and the programmer can be independent of one another, avoiding programmer bias toward his own work. White Box Also known as glass box, structural, clear box and open box testing. White Box is a software testing technique whereby explicit knowledge of the internal workings of the item being tested are used to select the test data. Unlike Black Box testing, white box testing uses specific knowledge of programming code to examine outputs. The test is accurate only if the tester knows what the program is supposed to do. He or she can then see if the program diverges from its intended goal. White box testing does not account for errors caused by omission, and all visible code must also be readable. 8)List and explain all the phases involved in the construction phase. (10 mks) Build and Test Networks †¢ In many cases new or enhanced applications are built around existing networks. If so there is no problem. †¢ However if the new application calls for new or modified networks they must normally be implemented before building and testing databases and writing or installing computer programs that will use those networks. This phase involves analysts, designers and builders †¢ A network designer and network administrator assume the primary responsibility for completing this task. Build and Test Databases †¢ This task must immediately precede other programming activities because databases are the resource shared by the computer programs to be written. If new or modified databases are required for the new system, we can now build and test those databases. †¢ This task involves system users, analysts, designers, and builders. †¢ The same system specialist that designed the database will assume the primary responsibility in completing this task Install and Test New Software Packages †¢ Some systems solutions may have required the purchase or lease of software packages. If so, once networks and databases for the new system have been built, we can install and test the new software. †¢ This activity typically involves systems analysts, Designers, builders, vendors and consultants. Write and Test New Programs †¢ In this phase we are ready to develop any programs for the new system. Prototype programs are frequently constructed in the design phase. However, these prototypes are rarely fully functional or incomplete. This task involves the system analysts, designers and builders. 9)What is data conversion? Why is it necessary? Data Conversion is the changing of the data structure to accommodate new or different needs for the data. Different operating systems have different application software, and each application normally has its own internal way of saving data. There are some standards such as CSV files for databases and RTF files for word processing text, however, these are few and far between and often only save the basic information rather than the full structure. 10)What is change management? Computer based systems are dynamic. As the business Environment changes, there is a need of some changes to the information system. The changes occur not only during the study, design, and development phases of the life cycle of the system. In this process there are two elements that are essential to the management of change. †¢ The performance review board, which can make management–level decisions about system modifications. †¢ Baseline documentation, which can be referred to, to determine the extent and impact of proposed modifications. 11)What is user acceptance testing? Explain different testings in user acceptance testing. Why is it necessary? User Acceptance Testing is a phase of software development in which the software is tested in the â€Å"real world† by the intended audience. Different testings are: Alpha Testing Alpha testing is the software prototype stage when the software is first able to run. It will not have all the intended functionality, but it will have core functions and will be able to accept inputs and generate outputs. An alpha test usually takes place in the developer’s offices on a separate system. Beta Testing The beta phase of software design exposes a new product, which has just emerged from in-house (alpha) testing, to a large number of real people, real hardware, and real usage. Beta testing is not a method of getting free software long-term, because the software expires shortly after the testing period. User acceptance testing is used to know if the system is working or not (both clients ; in-house) 12)What are functional and non-functional requirements? Functional †¢ How the system should react to the particular inputs †¢ How the system should behave to the particular situations †¢ What the system should not do Non functional †¢ Constraints on the services or functions †¢ Time constraints †¢ Constraints on the development process 13)Explain the steps involved in the prototyping 1. Define the goal and purpose of the prototyping. 2. Make plans for iterations (number, range) and evaluations (dates). 3. Transform the conceptual design to a first outline of the user interface and a first synopsis for the users’ information. 4. Design the paper prototype. 5. Let domain experts review the paper prototype regarding completeness and correctness. 6. Test the prototype’s usability.

Chapter 12 Holt Ancient World History

Chapter 12 1. A) Justinian I was an emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He reformed the roman laws by rearranging them and putting them in order. The revised law code called Justinian’s Code. B) Theodora influenced the nika revolt because she stood strong and convinced her king to do the same. C) Justinian could have made his achievements by being more conscious of how much land his government could support when he was taking over the land to the west. 2. A) A mosaic is a piece of art comprised of small pieces of colored tile or glass. Mosaics were one of the most common types of Byzantine art.B) I believe that the iconoclasts responded the way they did to the human images because it seemed to them like the images were to close to the non-Christian worship of an idols. C) The split between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church occurred because of their many differences the most important of which was who in the church had the most power. 3. A) Under the Macedonian dynasty th e Byzantine Empire enjoyed a 200 year golden age. B) The split between the aristocracies of city and countryside was a problem because it caused them to fight within their empire which weekend them to outside attack.C) The statement, â€Å"The Byzantines themselves, not the Turks, bear the greatest responsibility for the end of their empire,† is completely true. Section 2 1. A) The Slavs asked for help from the Rus to bring â€Å"Order† to their way of living and act as a kind of king. B) The accomplishments of Yaroslav the Wise are: fact that he became ruler of Kiev Rus, He hired scribes to translate religious books from Greek to Slavic, and under his rule the Russian law was codified, and he helped regain territory that had been lost.C) The physical geography may have affect the relationship between the Byzantine Empire and the Kievan Rus because since the where so close there seems as if there might be some territorial issues. 2. A) Cyril And Methodius converted Sla vs to Christianity. B) Vladimir I impacted Russian Christianity by converting then marrying the sister of the Byzantine Emperor. He also built libraries, schools, and churches. Then he made Christianity the state religion. C) I think Christianity spread more in he city then the country side because cities have more people which means it was probably more promoted. 3. A) Alexander Nevsky was known as a Russian hero. Not only did he defeat the Swedes and the Teutonic Knights, he also was the Mongols vessel. B) I think Invasions from the outside caused more damage to the Kievan State then Internal problems because they always seemed to be under attack. First, being attacked from the east, Then the north and then being invaded again by the Teutonic Knights.Section 3 . A) Alfred the Great was the kind of Wessex. He helped defeat the Danish Invaders and joined forces with Anglo-Saxon England. He also compiled a code of laws and promoted learning. B) The Franks converted to Christianity be cause their leader, Clovis, swore that if they won the battle be could become a Christian. The Franks won, and all his troops followed in Clovis’s footsteps. C) I think Western Europe broke apart probably because they didn’t have a unifying leader. Everyone in that age wanted power to themselves. . A) Patrick spread Christianity throughout Ireland without giving a care how he was treated. By the time he died he achieved making almost all of Ireland Christian. B) Gregory the Great was a Roman Catholic pope. His major achievement was restoring monastic discipline, and was zealous in propagating Christianity. C) I think Christendom affect medieval Europe in a small way. It was just another society that promoted Christianity and its customs. 3. A) Life for a Celtic Monk is quiet and reserved.They liked to be isolated from the rest of society because they felt as though it would keep them from being distracted from their faith. They like to fast and spend days at a time in solitary contemplation. B) Benedictines and Celtic monasteries were similar because they both where groups of monks who were very dedicated and focused on their religion. They were also both led by Abbots. They are different from each other because the Benedictines were open to the public about their religion and were not as brutal then the Celtics.Celtics often did intense fasts and like to be isolated and away from social activity. C) I think that the most significant thing that the Benedictines did was run schools that help educate and create the â€Å"Finest Minds† of the Middle Ages. This led to smart people copying important ancient manuscripts to help keep the knowledge of Greece and Rome alive. Without those manuscript, we probably would be reading this chapter and a big chunk of history would be undiscovered.

Extra credit Human resources development Assignment

Extra credit Human resources development - Assignment Example Therefore, it can be safely inferred that certain methods of recruitment are superior to others due to a variety of reasons. The power of the internet can be emphasized by the fact that it has found widespread application in nearly all aspects of human lives. From grocery shopping to international import/exports, the usefulness of the internet cannot be denied. The aspect of online recruiting is one of these, and it seems that internet has to a great extent molded the face of modern recruiting activities. The process of shortlisting the candidates has greatly been simplified as seen in the selection process of very famous firms like Coopers & Lybrand where one-fourth of the applicants are eliminated during the initial process of selection online (College Press Service, 1997). The HR management teams identify a number of parameters for which the applicants have to be tested. Once this is done, it becomes possible to conduct the test online and manage the selection of eligible candidates (Vecchio, 1996). Another important benefit of using the online recruitment systems is the widespread availability and accessibility of internet. This has removed the concept of international borders to some extent as employers are free to hire capable individuals from all around the globe for the specific job at hand. Similarly, in the virtual world, nearly everyone is able to promote and sell his/her skills online, and employers have the choice of limiting their selection to the most appropriate employee. One of the negative aspects of internet recruiting is the fact that for the demanding jobs on the internet, HR managements of companies are flooded with applications once a job is advertised, this makes it impossible for humans to manage such huge amounts of data thereby making it possible for computers or softwares to replace humans in the future. A number of legal issues are likely to arise as the practice of internet recruiting is

Issues in Employee Performance - The Berkeley Restaurant Essay

Issues in Employee Performance - The Berkeley Restaurant - Essay Example Current paper focuses on the potential use of employee performance theories and models for improving organizational performance; reference is made to The Berkeley, a high end London restaurant. The specific restaurant is part of the Berkeley Hotel in London, Knightsbridge (The Berkeley Hotel 2012). The specific business is quite successful; still, emphasizing on employee performance could further enhance the performance of the organization. In any case, challenges that are common in all performance management systems would not be avoided; however, the organization’s experience on performance management, as explained below, could help to control the relevant risks. 2. Strategies for improving employee performance in The Berkeley restaurant 2.1 Aligning staff goals and organisational goals The relationship between employee performance and organizational goals is revealed through the definition of performance management. In the study of Marchington, Wilkinson and Sargeant (2002) the performance management is described as ‘the policies that focus on employee performance as a means of fulfilling organizational goals and objectives’ (Lowry 2002, p.129, in Marchington, Wilkinson and Sargeant 2002, p.318). ... of the employees’ (Schryver 2002, p.40). It is implied that employee performance can negatively affect the performance of the organization, meaning the case that employees are not able to support the achievement of organizational goals. Moreover, according to Houldworth, Jirasinghe and Group (2006) organizational goals can be achieved only when employees have understood organizational goals and when they are given the chance to participate actively in the organization’s daily operations. In other words, high employee performance is depended on the ability of each organization to align staff goals and organizational goals (Houldworth, Jirasinghe and Group, 2006, p.182). The terms on which this alignment is based are not standardized, meaning that each organization can use different practices for achieving the above target. The promotion of teamwork across the organization could help employees to contribute more in the achievement of organizational goals (Houldworth, Jira singhe and Group 2006, p.182). This practice could be also used in the restaurant under examination, taking into consideration the characteristics of the particular business. Teamwork could be promoted in The Berkeley but up to a particular level, especially in regard to the lower levels of workforce, having in mind the fact that the activities of all employees in the restaurant’s key unit, the kitchen, should be continuously monitored by the Chef; the latter would have to define the terms of teamwork according to the skills of staff but also the restaurant’s needs, as related to its daily menu. Hutt and Speh (2012) note that the increase of value of each organization can be

Local News Stories of Interest in Corpus Christi, Texas Essay

Local News Stories of Interest in Corpus Christi, Texas - Essay Example In fact, the citys organizational goal is to be a national leader of excellence in public service† (City of Corpus Christi: History, 1). In this regard, the population, totaling 287,438 as of July 2009 (City-Data, 1), reveal diverse interests and concerns, in their pursuit to be a national leader of excellence through social responsibility and servant leadership. The local residents’ concerns and issues are divulged through one of the news websites in the city, the Caller Times. A search at the official website of Caller Times disclose interesting local news articles where some articles generate an extraordinarily large amount of comments. Politics remain to preoccupy the local residents’ affairs as they recently focused on the clamor for recount by Republican and Democratic Party officials. One article, written by Rick Spruill entitled Ortiz requests $13,000 in donations for recount generated, posted on November 8, generated a staggering 61 comments, to date. Spruill indicated in the report that â€Å"U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz on Monday asked supporters for $13,000 for the recount. He said in an e-mailed statement to supporters the money must be raised by midnight† (par. 2). This enraged most citizens indicating their frustration and rage for Ortiz’s solicitation for the money despite being a millionaire. Aside from politics, the weather has been a perennial issue due to the strategic location of Corpus Christi. Citizens are concerned on hurricanes, cold fronts (where a discussion actually ensued regarding the exact nature), and other possible calamities and weather disturbances brought about by the climate change, in general. Weather is a crucial issue as local residents’ schedules for various activities would highly depend on weather forecasts. A more extensive search in the news would bring to light the genuine enthusiasm for

Tourism destination marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tourism destination marketing - Essay Example The tourism destination marketing employs different marketing and promotional practices according to Oxford Business Group (2008). Under the marketing practices there is internet marketing, market positioning among others. Market positioning is considered as the first step and refers to the process of identifying and selecting markets that represent the potential of the business in determining criteria for competition. It is usually based on effective knowledge of the needs, perception and wants of the market. It also needs benefits ordered the benefits that are provided by the destination. The market benefits, differentiation and images are the only tourist perceptions. In the case of internet marketing the area is wide as it incorporates email marketing where by products can be sold through the email. Social media ensures customers interact and generate a direct trust with the customers. Search engine optimization places the industry at the top of search engines ensuring direct vis ibility. Paid Search marketing monitors traffic and then delivers it directly to landing for conversion purposes. According to the International Monetary Fund (2003), the e-marketing practices have been the best of bred and it is good for internet marketing campaign. Online surveys are also conducted enabling the direct access to market information. This information include, tracking results, identifying new customers, target markets and product market before launch. Use of qualified leads where they identify and also establish direct conducts with target customers. In the promotion practices there is the Middle East online advertising. Through this new business customers are attracted in the field hence attract high-net worth individuals. They also engage in Email and SMS advertising which allows a cost effective promotion practice, tracking of promotion campaigns as well as direct web traffic. There is also the online banner advertising which ensures large scale advertising in the tourism marketing destination. A Marketing Case Study The objective of the case study is to increase awareness as well as improve the drive bookings for the promotion of summer rooms to a KSA audience. The following steps are to be followed: Increase Arabic SMS that are sent to the selected KSA database who have high net worth individuals. The customer can receives messages containing promotion details and then they can use the mobile WAP incase they need more information according to Scott and Jafari (2010). Information being delivered both in Arabic and English The consumers can send messages from the WAP site straight to the reservation department. The hotel reservation department to receive enquiry (that includes all sorts of data) into the message inbox and thus they are able to follow up from step one to five. The key UAE products include beef, coal, furniture, USB’s, oil, cement, Cokes, Gowns, salt, Granite, Steel, dresses, Nickel, Photo frame and magnesium among othe rs according to Linden (2006). Segmentation in the market includes focusing on marketing efforts where there is a greatest chance of success as suggested by Rugimbana and Nwankwo (2003). In the case of business services segment it is referred to as market segmentation services. In United Arab Emirates there are different categories of market segmentation. For instance brake fluids and grease in the market segment are categorized under Energy or Lubricants while Automatic transmission oil is

Implication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Implication - Essay Example We then proceed to the f test. In this instance, we are terming two hypotheses. The null hypothesis is that the other brand will be referred to LIDL breakfast bread and Kellogg breakfast bread. We test this null hypothesis against an alternative hypothesis. In this instance the alternative hypothesis is that irrespective of the addition of a new brand of breakfast bread into the market, many consumers stay loyal and prefer to purchase LIDL and Kellogg breakfast breads. The scenario can be presented as follows: The computed F value is 5.004. This f value is compared to the tabulated f value at 3 and 156 degrees of freedom that are the regression and residual sums of squares. Indeed, the computed f value is greater than the tabulated f value at the r=0.05 level of significance. This means that at the r=0.05 level of significance; we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that irrespective of new additions to the market, LIDL and Kellogg bread remain most popular. This is affirmed by the t-test that concludes that Kellogg and LIDL breakfast breads are good value for money and that they are reasonably priced. The two hypotheses being tested are that a new bread of the same quality as Kellogg and LIDL would not be preferred to an alternative a new bread with the same features as LIDL and Kellogg would be preferred. This can be presented as follows: At the r=0.05 level of significance, f tabulated is greater than f computed hence we fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that LIDL and Kellogg breakfast bread perform consistently irrespective of new additions to the

NASA Strategic Plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

NASA Strategic Plan - Case Study Example For a strategic plan to be achievable, it has to be clear such that one can easily understand what it is all about. NASA’s 2011 strategic plan lacks any form of clarity. There are no specific goals and objectives and one would argue that it is just a list of a few nonspecific and unformulated ideas. In addition, the mission statement for the company should be for specifically aimed at the employees, the customers, the stakeholders and partners to the organization. It should be short and clear-cut provided the message is passed understood by recipients. The vision statement should be a bit longer and detailed as this is gives the employees, stakeholders, and customers and partners an idea of what the company is working towards and the means through which it hopes to get there. In NASA’s strategic plan, the vision statement is short and rather vague while the mission statement is a bit more detailed than should be the case. In addition, the mission statement does not express a particularly unique mission that is unique to the agency. Both of the mission and the vision statement could probably apply to any government agency that deals in research and development as there is no mention of aeronautics or space. This could in away lead to a misunderstanding of the agencyâ€⠄¢s general tactical direction (National Research Council, 2012). A strategic plan for any organization should involve all the members of the organization, at every organizational level. This insinuates that all the members of the organization should be able to understand the plan for them to be capable of playing part in the attainment of the organizations goals and objectives. When setting goals and objectives, one has to involve everyone at every level in the organization, as they will all be helpful in working towards the realization of the company’s mission. Secondly, the strategic plans for NASA are a bit far stretched considering the

Treatment Case Essay Example for Free

Treatment Case Essay Introduction It is important to know what treatments means as well as the meaning of evaluation. Treatment can be defined as the care by applications and procedures which are intended to reduce pain, injury or illness. Evaluation on the other hand is the determination whether a person, a group of people or an activity has met a certain requirement or criteria. Treatment Evaluation is therefore a close supervision on whether an item, a person or groups of people with a certain problem have been assisted in the correct way and there improvement is visible. Lambert, Ogles, (1986) Discussion Being a supervisor of a clinical treatment program or counseling agent, it is essential to design a evaluation method that will examine how a clinical therapy is effective in a company. The evaluation I will use should include requirement like how to make use and mobilize the clients spiritual sides, how to psychological acceptance is fostered .the treatment evaluation should also be able to reduce the effects of negative thoughts .the therapy used in the company should assist clients to get enough access with the core values. it should contain research of human language that is modern in order to understand and bring out the causes of human suffering. I would make sure my evaluation is built on the foundation of committed action on large patterns. In order to improve proficiency of the staffs in clinical skills, assessment will be successful when video demonstrations role play and samples of the audience work is used. The clients will be able to learn many things due to various video representations. The empirical found concerning the functions and the nature of the worries and the role of emotional processes. Murdock. N. L.(2006). The results also will indicate the roe and importance of addressing emotional and interpersonal factors in the therapy as well as how therapeutic relationship is used to maximize the outcome of this corresponding treatment. Through this, it will be able to evaluate systematically the proficiency of the therapy. The success of the evaluation will be seen when the staff or the members of the staff get the competency at using it as an instrument to validate the work samples, and formulate conceptualization. As a supervisor, I will make sure the evaluation I am designing is able make supervisory skills and cognitive therapy strong enough. Murdock. N. L.(2006) I will make sure that people understand the evaluation before it is used in the company, that is, the method implemented should manage the staff group environment of the therapy. These evaluation is able to assist people to adapt the techniques that individual have developed that is later used in the group therapy environment. The evaluation should be able to bring out the evidence for supporting the use of the treatments with patients who era seriously depressed and with other disorders. It should also reflect on the behavioral conceptualization when treating the depressed patients or clients. The evaluation treatment must be able to bring out the principles and the strategies of things like behavioral activation. Murdock. N. L.(2006). The evaluation should have the real meaning of the causal effects as well as methods and ways of approximating average causal effects. It should also be able to outline clearly the advantages and the disadvantages of the methods for determining these average effects. Murdock. N. L.(2006). Conclusion The evaluation method that is designed should be good enough to guide the staff on how to use the therapy and also to ensure that the clients are served correctly and that they get satisfied. Opinions of the clienteles are encouraged for easy judgment on the evaluation that been implemented. Lambert, Ogles, (1986) References Lambert, Ogles, (1986): Journal of children and Family Studies: The counseling psychology, 2,283-293. Murdock. N. L.(2006): On science-practice integration in everyday life: A plea for theory, The counseling psychologist, July 1, 2006; 34(4):548-569)

Art Deco Concepts and Ideas | History of Art

Art Deco Concepts and Ideas | History of Art Throughout history, man has observed and experienced numerous movements and births in the world of art and architecture that influenced life and dwelling. Some movements were mere fads that lasted several seconds in the larger scale of time, others were strong influencers that lasted beyond their years, either physically or in the minds and hearts of many. Art Deco, a movement that started in the early 1920s in the arts that translated immediately into architecture is undeniably one of the strongest iconic movements that effected the lives of many and has its dominant mark on the physical world. The movement still remains alive in various forms of pop culture reappearances and in actual physical standing buildings and structures and not as a movement in action, but simply in examples to remind people of a certain times allure. What sets Art Deco apart from other movements is its collectivity of several other movements and attempts in the world of art and architecture. The purpose of this paper is to identify and elaborate on the myriad of art and architectural styles that contributed into making Art Deco what it was/is. Also, since Art Deco was a dominant force made up of many successful styles, what made it last a relatively short period as a movement, yet some of its characteristics are used and found in subsequent styles still. The Beginning of Art Deco (a history): The birth of Art Deco was interesting in the sense that the movement started before the birth of the name Art Deco in 1968 where it was first used by Bevis Hillier as the title for his book on the decorative arts of the 1920s and the 1930s that are the actual years the movement belonged to. The Term originated from the distinguished exhibition of decorative and industrial arts held in Paris, France in 1925 called Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. In terms of the concept and feel of the exhibition, The Paris exhibition is like a city in a dream, and the sort of dream that would give the psychoanalysts a run for their money (Vogue, London August 1925). The exhibition was a gathering pot where many artists and architects unveiled their works of art that later strengthened and inspired the concoction of the decorative motif style. The use of Art Deco as a label at that time was non-existent and the contemporary art was called Art Modernes in France a nd Modernistic art in the United States. Although numerous people think of the United States and American artists when it comes to Art Deco and the birth of Art Deco, the movement was actually birthed by European styles. The two chief countries that sparked the Art Deco motion were Germany and France. The movement was not a instant spark, it evolved quietly throughout the early 1920s and saw its climax at the Parisian exhibition, then it gradually saw its way across many countries especially the United States in a concentrated way which is why many people think of the Art Deco style as an American style. Defining Art Deco/Influences: Art Deco as a movement is almost impossible to define in a brief sentence or idea. The movement incorporated many elements, genres of design, and artistic/architectural movements that it becomes necessary to view and appreciate it as a large sum of minor components rather than a single entity. Some of the components that birthed Art Deco may even seem to clash or repel each other, yet, in reality they work harmoniously. For example, Germany and France in the immediate years post World War1 had different styles in art and architecture. The German approach was more towards Modernism, meaning having crisp and angular functionalism in design and an emphasis on clean geometry. Paris however had a style that was delightfully playful, a decorative style that is closest to the Art Nouveau Vernacular which was to be eradicated by its disciples. These two extremes are the two major movements that make up Art Deco as we know it, however, they are not the only movements or influences. At that ti me, the more lively style that is described as leisurely, comforting, and a representation of wealth arrived to the United States before the rigid German style thus helping the growth and spread of Art Decos decorative ways in the country. Along side the German modern style of design and the Art Nouveau movement, Art Deco barrowed influences and inspiration from many styles. Not only did Art Deco include many art or architectural styles, it was also influenced by historical aspects and futuristic ideologies. Deco was described as to contain elements from the ancient past to the distant future (Duncan, Alastair, 7). A past historical influence that is very evident in the style of Art Deco is the Ancient Pharaoh civilization and the Egyptian culture mania that overtook Paris after Tutankhamuns tomb discovery by Howard Carter in 1922. Combined with the mesmerizing Egyptian elements that were easily adopted as decorative motifs in Art Deco, more exotic inspirers played a role in influencing the style, such as Mayan temples, tribal African sculptures, the Ballets Russes, and Japanese lacquer-work. The decorative motifs of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Sumer cultures also influenced and stimulated some Art Deco architects as did the Medieval and Byzantine architecture. Further more, classical structures and sculptures of the Roman and Greek cultures also played a part in the forming of Art Deco, however, the Art Deco architects were against the Beaux-Arts Neoclassicism, thus they adorned their classically based buildings and structures with modernized elements and figures of classical mythology in a playful strictly aesthetically decorative manner. Since Art Deco is not an instant reaction to another styles action, it truly had lesser rules in style than most other movements, and it probably had the most relaxed and forgiving rules when it came to re-interpreting another styles elements, or completely borrowing an element. For example, if an architect was commissioned by a client who is fascinated by maritime activity, and wanted to have elements of that show in the building, an Art Deco architect would design an art piece of a boat or an anchor in the exact same forms and colors from a decorative material and adorn the building with it. What makes this action possible and feasible is Art Decos strong dependency on Industrial design. The strong streamlined forms of industrial design and techniques of art creating through industrial commercial ways truly helped the Art Deco movement and added another very powerful component to the previously mentioned elements that make up the fabric of the movement. As previously mentioned, it seems that the components of Art Deco are countless, all equally stimulating and important in their own right. The French Rationalism style of building and the Art Nouveau movement in the early 1900s before the 1920s for example were important precursors of Art Deco. Auguste Perrets Rue Franklin apartment building, c.1902, which was extensively glazed and revolutionized the building techniques with the use of reinforced concrete works as a foreshadow of Art Deco and what was to come. The heavy ornaments on Perrets building work as a bridge from the more stylized floral style decorations to the ordered and less organic famous floral motifs of Art Deco such as the lotus leaves. Along side Art Nouveau, another powerful movement that influences many Art Deco buildings is Expressionism in both its industrial German style and the brick building Dutch style. The style of the Expressionist architecture in its emotional and beautifying methods is clearly visible in the Art Deco designs. Although the movement was prior to the First World War, it had a strong comeback in the 1920s and famous expressionist buildings such as Peter Behrens monumental glass and steel turbine factory, c.1908, served as a model and inspiration for Art Deco designs. The Exhibition hall by Hans Poelzig in Poznan, Poland, c. 1911, also worked as a muse and model for following Art Deco artists. In terms of the brick building expressionism, three major Dutch influencers of Art Deco were Johan Melchior van der Mey, Michel de Klerk, and Piet Lodewijk whose work included brick, glass, and concrete in a stylized structural and decorative manner that can be linked directly to Art Deco. Italian Futurist architect Antonio SantElia was another major influencer on the Art Deco movement although a few rare projects of his were built and the majority remained sketches on paper. SantElias Monza cemetery, 1912, is an example of his work where decorative designs and heavy use of ornamentation in glass and concrete may be found and linked to Art Deco. In the United States, the Chicago School of Architectures massive vertical steel skeleton buildings made in the Moderne style from 1875-1910 count as influencers of Art Deco. From that group, Louis Sullivan and his student Frank Lloyd Wright specifically are the two architects whose works most hold links and bridges to Art Deco. Frank Lloyd Wrights work included many heavily ornamented buildings both in the exterior and interior with sharp geometry and studied repeated patterns and motifs in brick and concrete that are very much Art Deco-esque such as the Midway Gardens in Chicago built in 1914. (first half) *In Addition to the prior information, the following outline titles will be discussed in the second half, which is the more theoretical part structural wise. Elements of the Art Deco style: The characteristics that make a design original Art Deco, and specific elements that art deco must attain. Examples of famous art deco buildings: The buildings, and the theories and messages behind them. Writers opinion and analysis: My own personal opinion on the movement the and theories behind the movement, also, why I believe the movement failed to live longer even thought it seemed ultimately powerful ( the answer to my proposed question).

The Weakness Of Relying On Income Per Capita Economics Essay

The Weakness Of Relying On Income Per Capita Economics Essay Income per capita is how much money each person earns in average in a particular time. It is used to indicate the economy for an area and to evaluate the living standards and the quality of life for different countries, nations or regions. It is usually measured by dividing the national income of a country, which is the entire income of all the people arising from a countrys gross domestic product (GDP), by the entire population of the country. Income per capita= total personal income of a country/ the entire population of the country For example, lets suppose there is a city where 1,000 people are making $200 per year and 100 people earning $1 million per year so the income per capita is ($200x1000people)+($1 million x 100people) / 1100 = $91,091. b) The weakness of relying on income per capita Income per capita is a very useful tool to assess the wealth of a nation, especially when comparing to other nations. By using income per capita, we can compare the economic well being of an individual in the country or the living standards between countries or the living standards within country overtime. Yet, it has a number of limitations why this may not be the right tool to determine well-being for an individual country. Firstly, when using income per capita as measurement, the income distribution does not gauge precisely. Income per capita is an average. Hence, it neglects the income distribution within a country. Though the countrys GDP per capita may be very high, it may be the fact that 10 percent of the population of the country makes millions of times more than other 90 percent of the population of the country who makes little wages. It means outliers who are within the population of a country (extremely poor or rich) can have an uneven result on the overall outcome. Secondly, by looking at the example in (a), we can see clearly that income per capita does not represent the real living standards of the whole population of the city as it is the average income of a population and the income does not allocate equally among all the population of the country. Besides, income per capita neglects the consequences of inflation. Income per capita will be unnaturally overstated if the prices increase more rapidly in one country than in another. In addition, the amount of money in different countries will have different values due to the varying exchange rates. Hence, comparing income per capita country to country gives inaccurate results. It may be more appropriate to measure when comparing different years in an individual country. Whats more, just because a countrys income per capita is high doesnt mean that country is high standards of living. It may be because of working longer hours, not because of earning high salaries. The more people work, the more stress and the more workload they get. Working long hour makes the peoples stress level high and it reduces the personal leisure time which decreases the standards of living and gives less happiness in their lives. Furthermore, the values shown up at income per capita do not include the quality of the goods is another fact why GDP per capita may not be the right tool to measure the living standards of life. The output may probably be increased. However, the goods which are being produced are of poor quality, therefore the quality of living standards may still not be getting better. Finally, real GDP does not take account of externalities which are third party costs that do have an effect on living standards of the population, for instance, congestion and pollution. These pose costs on third parties and represent real opportunity costs for them, reducing their effectiveness disposable income, and hence living standards. Congestion, pollution and other negative externalities have obviously harmful effects on wellbeing. The time spent ill, results less working days and it cuts output, and moreover, the time being sick is an opportunity cost to leisure time. c) Factors that need to be included when using income per capita When comparing income per capita between countries, we have to have a common base measure to compare income per capita in different countries to get more accurate result. To compare income per capita among countries, the input data which are gathered in the local currency has to be converted to the common base currency being used for the comparison, for example, US dollars. The problem of money inflation, which is mentioned in question (b), can be overcome by the use of money deflator by using a price index and therefore, the real per capita income is being compared and a better result of relative standard of living is deduced. In addition, income per capita doesnt show how a countrys income is disturbed and it also neglects about environment, human freedom and the value of leisure. As a result, one must also take into account other factors providing, such as longevity and peoples health, the distribution of income, the quality of environment, access to education and many more to examine the real quality of life in different countries. All of the above factors need to be considered when using income per capita to assess differences in well-being among countries to make sure that meaningful comparisons are accomplished. d) Human Development Index The Human development Index (HDI) is a standard means of measuring well-being. It is used to point out the impact of economic measures on quality of life. To assess the different countries living standards based on the fall and rise of incomes within that country, for instance, income per capita, is not an accurate way of determining that countrys development. There are a number of more important factors which should be assessed to get the real standard quality of life, for example, how healthy people are, what their potential is as a human beings and how the environment in which they are living is. For the purpose of giving a more comprehensive measure of well-being in both social and economic variables among countries, the HDI has developed as an alternative way to measure other aspects of human developments. The basic concept of HDI is to assess the development of a country through people of a country being healthy, being educated and having good standards of living. The person whether having healthy lifestyle is measured by life expectancy. The life expectancy determines the normal lifetime of the people of a certain region. It is also an aspect for assessing the physical life quality of a certain region. Being educated is one of the features in measuring HDI which is assessed by adult literacy and enrollment in primary, middle and high school level. Having good standards of living is measured by purchasing power parity, PPP and income. HDI is not a complete measure of development of countrys well-being. It does not take in important indicators, for instance, respect for human rights, inequality and democracy. However, by using HDI, governments are able to assess countrys well-being against other countries in a better way instead of just focusing success on money statics and it gives a broadened view of the progress of human and the complex link between well-being and income. Question 2 (a) Deflationary gap takes place when the equilibrium level of income is less than the full employment income. Expansionary monetary policies should be carried out to overcome the deflationary gap of an economy. Normally, in this case, a central bank will raise the supply of money to solve the problem of deflationary gap by means of reserve requirements and/or providing lower interest rates. Expansionary monetary policy, in reserve, allows banks to hold only a small amount of the total assets. Therefore, cash withdrawal can be available immediately and banks keep only a small amount of the total assets and the rest is put in liquid assets in the forms mortgages and loans. By reducing the reserve requirements, the funds of loan available are increased and it makes the money supply rise. By giving lower interest rates it encourage people and firms to borrow money and investment will rise. As the money supply increases, people will consume more goods and services. As the expansion of business cycle gets underway, wealth gets higher and this will head to a multiplied increase in national income. (b) Inflationary gap occurs when there is too much demand in the economy and it takes place when the equilibrium level of income goes over the full employment income. The inflationary gap can be controlled by implementing the deflationary fiscal policy. It could be done by raising taxes in some form and/or by reducing government spending. Either of these will slow down the economy level of demand and will help to reach the equilibrium level of economic growth. Deflationary fiscal policy will probably increase the tax on expenditures which lead to increase prices and discourage people from spending too much, or it may increase the tax on income that will make people less money so that they can stop people from spending so much and this will have a multiplied effect on national income. (c) Question 3 a. (i) Marginal utility Utility is a persons total satisfaction that obtained from when a customer consumes a good or service. Marginal utility is an additional satisfaction which one person acquires from using one additional unit of a good or service. As marginal utility concept is used by economists to examine how much units of good or service a customer will purchase, it is an essential economic concept. If the use of goods and services of an extra unit maximizes the total utility, it is positive marginal utility. It is a negative marginal utility if the use of goods and services of an additional unit minimizes the total utility. a. (ii) Demand curve for good Y The following diagram illustrates a demand curve D of an individual normal good Y, where P means the price charged for each unit of normal good Y and Q refers to the quantity demanded. The point a which intercept vertically of the demand curve demonstrates the highest price for each unit of good Y that a person is willing to pay. a. (iii) According to the demand curve above, the individual is prepared to pay an amount of a for the first unit of consumption of good Y. since the demand curve for a normal good slopes downwards, the individual is prepared to pay less and less for consumption: their marginal valuation of the good falls with consumption. Under certain assumptions this marginal valuation (the height of the demand curve) can be thought of as a measure of marginal utility. (Note: as Q increases, the individuals marginal valuation falls and hence marginal utility falls the principle of diminishing marginal utility. b. (i) Price elasticity of demand According to law of demand, a drop in price of goods increases the demand of goods. A measure of how much percentage of a good quantity demanded responds to changes of price of that good is price elasticity of demand. If the demand of a good responds considerably to changes in price, demand for a good is elastic. If the demand of a good responds only a bit to changes in the price, then demand for a good is inelastic. In formula, b. (ii) Given: % change in quantity demand of good Z= (200-100)/100 x100 = 100 % change in price of good Z= (5-10)/10 x 100 = -50 Therefore, price of elasticity of demand of good Z= 100/50 = -2 c. (i) The following diagram shows a linear demand curve and the associated marginal revenue curve for a monopolist. The quantity demanded Q which is on the horizontal axis and the price P, on the vertical axis shows a linear demand curve, D for a good. Given that demand is linear, marginal revenue, MR is also linear and has twice the slope: the horizontal intercept of the demand curve, a, is twice that of the marginal revenue curve, a/2. c. (ii) the demand curve has unit elasticity nd = -1 at the point where marginal revenue is equal to zero. The inelastic and elastic regions of the demand curve are those points to the right and left of this point.

Orbits with Gravity Lab Software :: physics science space

For centuries, humankind has sought to find order in the universe. In the context of Western thought, in any case, beginning with the Egyptians, Persians, ancient Greeks; in the Americas the Mayans and Azteks, Astronomy evolved out of the necessity to discover a reliable predictor of the seasons for the purposes of agriculture. In most cases, Astronomy takes on a spiritual role in culture as well. The system of accounting that ancient peoples used to measure the seasons evolved, after a great amount of suffering and turmoil, into the physics of Gallileo and the mechanics of Newton. And Newton's remarkable system is still used today, so long as the velocities are not close to the speed of light and the mass vs. density ratio of massive objects is not too great. Linked above is a gravitational simulator upon which several models of celestial motion are explored. Written in the simple computer language of Q-Basic 4.5, the software is compilable on native systems. At the core is code that generates six n-dimensional arrays. The six arrays correspond to variable requirements in 2-d space, they are velocity vector (in polar coordinates), velocity magnitude, mass, radius, x-position, y-position. "n" corresponds to the number of total objects in the system. Once data is gathered, either entered by hand, loaded from a file, or generated randomly, the simulation can begin. There are three major divisions of the simulation, corresponding to object selection, object position change, and object velocity change, where the actual physics takes place. The simulation begins with object 1, with initial velocity vo, and calculates the next change in velocity of object 1 from the acceleration generated by all other objects. From the gravitational acceleration of object 2, for example, a new velocity vector for object 1 can be determined, and refined un til object n's effect on object 1 is considered. The sim goes down the line to object n, correcting the current velocity magnitude and vector until all acceleration effects are accounted for for all objects, then the sim erases the current position of all objects, displaces the objects dependant on their current (freshly calculated) velocities, redraws them, and returns to calculating new accelerations. The result is a fairly accurate model of gravitational motion, in which the orbital properties discussed in mechanics can be seen. Inaccuracies result with high velocities or close interactions (no collision detection is made).

Free Merchant of Venice Essays: Secular and Religious Views :: Merchant Venice Essays

Merchant of Venice - Secular and Religious Views The secular and religious views of both, Antonio and Shylock,   were portrayed very bluntly. The religious opinions of both characters   were that their religion was superior to infidels and also very   stereotypical. In the business world, Antonio owned ships with   valuable goods and was extremely generous. He always relied on their   return to shore and expressed his faith in this book. On the other   hand, Shylock was a greedy man and used the Bible for sources of   interest to collect more money. Relating to religious views Antonio   and Shylock were very parallel, but in means of business the two were   reverses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "I[Shylock] hate [Antonio] for he is a Christian. . . [Antonio]   hates our sacred nation." This phrase said by Shylock, a Jew, is based on the beliefs of other Jews upon other Christians. Shylock is   being very stereotypical because Shylock doesn't really know Antonio,   Shylock heard of Jew-hating Christians, so he thinks that all   Christians hate Jews. Antonio happens to be a great man and Shylock   didn't even give him a chance, he just hates Antonio for being of   different religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "The Hebrew[Shylock] will turn Christian; he grows kind."   Antonio says this, thinking that no Jews are kind, emphasizing naiveness. Then Antonio sees the Hebrew, Shylock, becomes amiable, so   he believes that's impossible. So Antonio interprets the scenario as   Shylock being Christianized, because he is becoming   generous. This   quotation shows how Antonio thinks that his religion, Christianity, is   superior to Judaism. The previous quotation illustrated how Shylock   was stereotypical about Christians. Both characters have similar   beliefs about other religions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Why, fear not, man, I will not for felt it! Within these three   months- that's a month before this bond expires-I do expect, return of thrice three times the value of this bond." This phrase was said by   Antonio assuring Shylock that his ship with all his goods will return   with the interest that Antonio owes Shylock for borrowing money. This   shows Antonio's trust in his ship even though there were strong winds   and high chances that his ship will be overturned. Antonio is very   naive about the real world of business and no matter what happens he   thinks he will be successful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, Shylock is a wise business man, but very   greedy.

Jeffrey Smart

JEFFREY SMART ESSAY An Iconic and well-known Australian artist, born in Adelaide in 1921 and moved permanently to Italy in 1963, often found using his work to depict industrial urban landscapes, he is Jeffrey Smart. Smart’s work has been part of Australian culture for more than half a century, he is Australia’s master of the urban vision; seeing beauty in the landscapes of modernism, his works feature industrial wastelands and concrete streetscapes he pays close attention to clean lines, composition and geometry.This essay will critically analyse Jeffrey Smart’s painting ‘Autobahn in the Black Forest 1’ which was created in 1979/80 using oil on canvas, it measures 100 x 65cm in size. Smart's work is influenced by urban landscapes, an example of one of his works is ‘Autobahn in the Black Forest 1’ this piece is an example of many influenced by urban landscapes. On the right hand side of the painting it shows a series of road barriers on a road going off into the distance, they are painted red and white diagonally.The first barrier seen has a vertical pole attached with a rust texture, added is a shadow on the right side of the pole to make the painting more realistic. The left hand side shows a road, painted onto the road are yellow lines; these lines get more vibrant into the distance. The sky is dark though gets brighter into the distance of the painting. Forest trees are surrounding the road. The main shapes used are rectangles.The lower right of the painting has a signature ‘Jeffrey Smart’. Many of Smart’s paintings are focused on the element of shape. In this painting he uses simple rectangles; he has painted the road lines dark yellow which gets more vibrant into the distance of the painting. There is an obvious repetition shown in the painting, the road barriers, these barriers are also coloured brightly. Smart admits that it's a painstaking process for him â€Å"getting the right shapes in the right place. The gloomy sky seen in the painting is used in many of Smart’s paintings, and when asked why his skies are always so gloomy and smog-laden, Smart replied with, â€Å"I need a dark sky for the composition, because the pale blue at the top of the frame loses nothing. â€Å"I work on the basis that †¦ our eyes go from left to right, left to right, left to right, always. So I always have something for the eye to start with on the left there, brings it across, and then something to bring it back again†. These dark, gloomy skies re found in most of his paintings, including â€Å"Autobahn in the black forest 1†. â€Å"Although Smart agrees composition is central to his paintings, he says the play of light and shadow is equally important, along with stillness and silence† The elements Smart has used and evident in this piece are colour, repetition, space and shape. Smart chooses his art to portray scenes of modern architecture. Since chi ldhood, where his first ambition was to be an architect, he has harboured a fascination for the subject.Which he finds exciting and beautiful, and he has based his style around the strong, simple, geometric shapes and lines that can be seen in them. He strives in his artwork to achieve the perfect composition of shape, balance, colour and light and what he calls the â€Å"fundamental aesthetic principal† of absolute stillness in his paintings. Smart's environment has been his most important influence; he spent his early years discovering the back lanes of the city's inner suburbs. Street signs, apartment blocks and construction sites then had become his subject matter.It was in Italy that the colours, shapes and designs of a country rebuilding itself after World War Two inspired Smart. And in 1965, he moved to Italy and bought the house where he has still resided for about 40 years. Smart decided early on in his career what he wanted to work with â€Å"My attraction to urban life, factories, trucks and vacant lots came in my early 20s when I decided that I had painted my last billabong scene forever. † Travelling to Europe and Italy in particular allowed Smart to experience and study works at first hand.One reason for Smart to buy a property and establish a studio near Arezzo was that the Church of San Francesco in that city contained the great fresco ‘cycle the legend of the true cross’ by the Quattrocento artist, a work which has continued to inspire Smart throughout his life. Jeffrey Smart is without doubt one of the most outstanding Australian painters of the modern age. â€Å"I like living in the 20th century — to me the world has never been more beautiful. I am trying to paint the real world I live in, as beautifully as I can, with my own eye†.

Macbeth: The Struggle Against Evil Essay

Thesis Statement: In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the character Macbeth constantly battles against his evil nature. As the play progresses, Macbeth seems to have become a completely evil tyrant, but he never fully ends his struggle against evil. Introduction I. Macbeth: a noble and virtuous character II. Struggle with temptation and evil A. Witches B. Himself C. Lady Macbeth III. Murder of Duncan A. Before the murder B. Effects of the murder IV. Murder of Banquo V. Murder of Macduff’s family VI. Lasting nobility and signs of conscience Conclusion William Shakespeare’s primary source for Macbeth was Holinshed’s History of Scotland. The fictional character, Macbeth, is based mainly on the actual Macbeth who Holinshed writes about. This Scottish play is, â€Å"Shakespeare’s chief tragic gift to the world at large† (Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher 279). Although it is his shortest play, it is often considered to be his best. In it he depicts the â€Å"corruption of a soul† in a way that both excites us, yet at the same time brings fear to us (Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher 279). He is a character with whom, we are strangely able to identify, and whose destruction we cannot watch without feelings of fright and pity (Alden 276). It is a play, which becomes the personal tragedy of Macbeth, a noble character whose flaws cause his downfall. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the character Macbeth constantly battles against his evil nature. As the play progresses, Macbeth seems to have become a completely evil tyrant, but he never fully ends his struggle against evil. Initially, Macbeth is portrayed as a brave, noble, and loyal man. He is well known and praised by many, including Duncan, the King of Scotland, who praises him for his loyalty and successes in battle. Macbeth seems to be the quintessence of nobility. Walter Curry states, â€Å"He knows what it is to be actively loyal to king and country, to accept duty, to promote justice, amity, and piety† (112). Before meeting the witches, he seems to have a â€Å"definite disposition†, to be resolute in his choices, and free from ambiguity (Curry 104). According to Raymond Alden, â€Å"The principle point is that Macbeth is presented to us at the outset in a nobly attractive form and is actually, in some sense, a good man† (276). When he meets the witches, they help instill evil thoughts into his mind. They see, â€Å"what passions drive him and what dark desires await their fostering† (Curry 116). He struggles with these evil thoughts which are already rooted within him. His real temptation begins after hearing Johnson 2 the witches’ predictions saying that he will become king. Curry says that the witches’ prophecy, â€Å"arouses his passions and inflames his imagination to the extent that nothing is but what is not† (78). Realizing his flaws in character and that he wants the kingdom, they feed his strong sense of ambition and self-love. Curry explains that the witches, â€Å"symbolize a secret world of evil spirits that with satanic cunning lie in wait for human souls, conquering the unguarded heart and rejoicing in hurling their victim to the dust of misery and sin†(57). Their purpose is, â€Å"to stimulate Macbeth’s imagination to the point of grasping some underlying emotional, moral, or intellectual content† (Curry 55). Through their temptation, the witches are able to confuse and corrupt his judgement so that he is lead towards choosing the means to reach his desired goal, to become king. After the first appearance of the witches, Macbeth’s pride and ambition begin to overcome him. Evil thoughts of how he could obtain the crown run through his mind. He really begins to go through an internal struggle against evil. Curry says that he is too concerned not with, â€Å"attaining the ultimate good, but of flattering his inordinate love of self† (113). He is incapable of using correct judgement and making a reasonable decision. He knows that to become king, he will have to commit murder. He is very sensible and thinks about what the consequences of his actions would be. He still has a strong sense of conscience; although, his ambition is beginning to overtake him. Alden observes that Macbeth’s evil thoughts are, â€Å"in the making, instead of ready made; and they struggle against that sense of their vileness which we have already observed† (277). Duncan is a good and virtuous king; he is also Macbeth’s cousin. The power of his ambition is demonstrated when he says, â€Å"I have no spur / to prick the sides of Johnson 3 my intent but / vaulting ambition, which oerleaps itself / and falls on th’ other† (1.7.25-28). â€Å"Vaulting ambition† is his chief character flaw and his only reason to kill the king. Edward Dowden points out that, â€Å"Shakespeare does not believe in any sudden transformation of a noble and loyal soul into that of a traitor and murderer† (223). Macbeth’s conscience still bothers him, even though he knows what course of action he should take. After much contemplation, he resolves not to kill Duncan, but his decision doesn’t last long. Evil thoughts overcome him. Lady Macbeth is also seen as an evil with which he struggles against. She understands Macbeth very well and knows exactly how to manipulate him. She knows that he is a good man. This is demonstrated to us when she says, â€Å"Yet I do fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / the illness should attend it† ( 1.5.16-20). She also knows that he will probably not go through with his plans without her pressuring and influencing him to go through with them. She decides that she must rid of anything that interferes with him becoming king. Macbeth tells her that he has decided not to kill the king and she becomes infuriated. She knows that he is a very proud man, so by questioning his manhood she is able to convince him to kill the king. According to Curry, â€Å"He dares do all that may become a man. And it is precisely this established foundation of his self-esteem that Lady Macbeth assaults. She charges him with unmasculine weakness and contemptible cowardice† (118). She is a very influential force upon him and holds much power. Macbeth succumbs to the temptation and evil of his wife. Even though he has given into the temptation and evil, he continues to have a strong sense of conscience and fears the evil act which he is soon going to commit. Johnson 4 Macbeth goes through a major struggle with his guilt and conscience when he commits his first murder, the murder of Duncan. Wilson Knight observes that, â€Å"He himself is hopelessly at a loss, and has little idea as to why he is going to murder Duncan† (121). Macbeth is nervous and feels very guilty about murdering him. He feels so guilty that he even becomes delusional and starts imagining things. His regretting conscience and struggle against evil is demonstrated to us when directly after murdering him, he hears voices saying, â€Å"Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor / Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more† (2.2.41-42). He is very remorseful and doesn’t want to think about the evil act which he has just committed. His remorse and conscience is shown after killing Duncan when he says, â€Å"This is a sorry sight† (2.2.20). He is very rattled and on edge because of his sins. Beginning after the first murder, there is a dramatic change in the Macbeth’s character. Curry says, â€Å"It is a profound alteration in the state of his personality, an astounding dislocation of the very center of being, which fixes itself immediately in a habit inclining to further crime† (104). After murdering Duncan, it’s as if the good in him begins to diminish. He starts to lose some of his conscience and begins transforming into an almost evil character. Curry quotes Thomas Aquinas in saying, â€Å"when man through one sinful act loses honor, charity, or shame, or anything else that withdraws him from evil, he thereby falls into another sin, the first being the accidental cause of the second† (119). He becomes less concerned with conscience, and more concerned with completing what he has already begun: â€Å"I am in blood stepped so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er† (3.5.37- ). He feels like it is too late for him to turn back now, and that he has nothing left to lose at this point. Johnson 5 It becomes easier for Macbeth to commit the second and third murders. A â€Å"train† of sins and crimes follow the first crime he commits (Curry 120). The second murder is the murder of Banquo. Banquo was one of his close colleagues but his, â€Å"wracking passions, frayed nerves, and inordinate apprehension of the imagination,† have led him to believe that Banquo’s knowledge Could be a possible threat to him (Curry 127). He built it up in his mind that Banquo was the main source of all his problems and a very significant threat to his kingdom. Thinking that doing evil will be easier if he does it quickly, he says, â€Å"The very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand† (4.1.147-148). Taking this irrational course of action leads to the third murder that Macbeth commits, the murder of Macduff’s family. Macduff is one of the main people who oppose Macbeth and pose a major threat. Without any rational reason, and in a rage of anger, he surprises Macduff’s castle and kills everyone in his family. By this time it seems as if so many of his sins have built up, and that almost all of the goodness which he initially had has left him. He remains an almost completely evil tyrant. Although finally, it seems like there is no goodness and nobility remaining in him, there is. Macbeth never fully allows himself to become entirely evil. There are still lasting signs of conscience and virtue shown in his character. Curry explains, † Macbeth remains essentially human and his conscience continues to witness the diminution of his being. There is still left necessarily some natural good in him; sin cannot completely deprive him of his rational nature, which is the root of his inescapable inclination to virtue†(133). Even when Macbeth is about to die, he demonstrates nobility by not killing himself or giving up. He also did not want to kill Macduff because he felt guilty about spilling so much of his blood already. This shows his Johnson 6 lasting conscience and virtue. Thomas Aquinas is quoted as stating that, â€Å"no human being can become completely evil† (Curry 89). Initially, it is easy to see all of Macbeth’s good virtues, but later after he has committed all of his evil acts, it becomes very difficult. It’s almost as if the evil takes over and becomes second nature to him, but not quite. Doing the evil acts is always difficult for him, and through it all he is able to maintain his conscience and some virtues. He never becomes completely evil because of his conscience, which causes a great deal of mental suffering. The good in him is never fully destroyed, and we hold admiration for him even up to the time of his death: â€Å"Macbeth’s language is the grave utterance of the very heart, conscience-sick, even to the last faintings of moral death† (Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher 230). Works Cited Alden, Raymond. Shakespeare. New York: Duffield, 1922. Curry, Walter C. Shakespeare’s Philosophical Patterns. Ann Arbor: LSU UP, 1959. Dowden, Edward. Shakespeare: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art. New York: Harper, 1880. Jonson, Ben, Beaumont, and Fletcher. Shakespeare. Liverpool: Howell, 1874. Knight, Wilson. The Wheel of Fire: Interpretations of Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Meridian, 1957. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Literature, Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: The British Tradition. Ed. Ellen Bowler et al. Saddle River, New Jers4ey: Prentice, 1999. 272-361.

An Experience That Changed My Life

Seven years ago I gave birth to a healthy boy who changed everything about me and my life. Before his birth I was an optimistic person who only thought of the fun things that would make my day. I was an immature girl without a care in the world. After his birth I grew up, stopped partying, and took on the responsibility that was gifted to me. It has not been a breezy walk along the shores of the beach, but more like a steep climb up a precipitous and rocky mountain. Yet having my son is not something that I would give up no matter how hard it is. Before the birth of my son I was an optimistic person who only thought of the fun things that would make my day. I was an immature girl without a care in the world. I remember spending my days with friends and traveling between our beautiful islands of the Northern Marianas, not worrying about anything or about spending too much of my parents’ money. I enjoyed spending my summer days at the beach walking along the shores, collecting sea shells, and going for a swim. I enjoyed going to parties just to enjoy time and eat all the delicious food I could put on my plate. I enjoyed going to festivals to play games, watch dance competitions, and spend my money on food that were delicious at each vendor. I remember drinking and dancing the nights away with my friends. I remember always going out to the Aquarius Club on Friday nights with friends just to drink and dance. I’d get so intoxicated with alcoholic beverages that I’d end up drunk. I’d dance with my friends and just enjoy the great time I’m having in the club until I was ready to go back home. I always had the time to sleep as long as I wanted to after a crazy night out. I remember just going to school and completing my assignments on time without any hassle. I had so much time to myself. I remember playing video games, surfing the internet, or just watching television all day if I had no homework. I remember just going to school, partying, and having a great time. But seven years ago, November 01, 2003 it all changed, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy my son Divine Joe. The day I went in to the hospital to give birth to him was a very exciting day, I checked in at Commonwealth Health Center at 10:00 in the morning; the Doctor was oing to induce me at 12:00pm. I remember just lying there on the bed being so excited wanting him to be out already. The midwife and nurses came in and hooked me up to the IV and baby monitors. At 6:30 pm I was fully dilated and my water bag hadn’t broken so the midwife broke it for me. And that is when I started wishing it would really all just end. The pain was so excruciating I thought I was going to die, but it did not last long. At 8:05 pm my baby boy was born and he was just perfect to me. The unbearable and exhausting pain I had gone through was worth it. I had never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I had never been puked on, pooped on, chewed on, or peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I could sleep all day or all night, basically anytime I wanted too. I had never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests or give shots. I had never looked into teary eyes and cried. I had never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I had never sat up late hours at night watching a baby go to sleep or having to wake up every ten minutes in the middle of the night just to make sure everything was okay with him. I had never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put him down. I had never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the pain he was going through. I had never known that something so small, like a baby, could affect my life so much. I had never known that I could love being a parent. I hadn’t known the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I hadn’t known that something so small, like a baby, could make me feel so important and happy. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a parent. I hadn’t known that I was capable of feeling so much more. When the midwife put my son in my arms he was so soft and warm. His eyes were open and so bright. I remember crying and thinking to myself wow this is my son, a precious part of me and he is just adorable. His birth changed everything about me and my life, it was an unexpected gift. Having my son was the greatest thing to happen to me; it changed my life for the good qualities. After his birth I grew up, stopped partying, and took on the responsibility that was gifted to me because he gave me purpose in this world.