A Plan For Stews Self Service Garage - 1360 Words

In order to increase weekday sales we have developed a plan for Stew’s Self Service Garage to reach a new customer base by improving the referral program, expanding its social media presence, targeting local community events, partnering with other local businesses and developing new advertising techniques to effectively reach our target market. First, Stew’s Self Service Garage should simplify and refine its current referral program. The current plan has a convoluted 11 tier rewards system that makes it difficult for consumers to remember, and therefore leads to fewer referrals. After performing a survey on what consumers want to be rewarded with for a referral, the second most popular selection was a free weekday hour. We see this a great way to motivate customers to refer new customers with a minimum loss of profits for Stew s Self Service Garage. For each referral they make that results in a new customer, they receive a free weekday hour to use at the shop. In order to entice the referee to come to the shop, we recommend that the referred customer be given a free weekday hour as well. Additionally, we considered developing a loyalty program to develop repeat customers and reward loyalty. We found that numerous auto shops have loyalty programs in order to retain their customers, however, they have a larger pool of competitors. Due to the nature of Stew’s Self Service Garage’s business, there are few competitors that operate within Stew’s Self Service

Significance Of Iran s Nuclear Program And Show How Other...

These papers seeks to explain the significance of Iran’s nuclear program and show how other countries react and are affected by it. Israel does not only have a particular outlook of the Iranian nuclear program, but it also has an independent way of taking evasive action to reduce its fears (Eiran Malin, 2013). If Israel were to launch attacks on Iran to push back their nuclear program, the cause and effects of this could ripple across the region and beyond. Meir Dagan, former head of Israel’s external intelligence agency was warned numerous times that an Israeli attack on Iran would â€Å"ignite a regional war† (p. 76). Also Israel’s concerns over Iran could make a chain of defensive outcomes that could get out of control in a way that†¦show more content†¦The terrorists and radicals in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Bosnia, the Philippines, and elsewhere have been backed by Iran. Even today the support remains strong: the U.S. government is sure that Iran is tied to a large number of radical groups in Iraq. Although Iran has been supportive of terrorism for the past 25 years and it has control of chemical weapons for over 15 years, Tehran has not transported â€Å"unconventional systems† to terrorists. Iran is more than likely to proceed with their restraint and not transfer chemical, biological, and or nuclear weapons. Providing terrorists with such weapons gives Iran few advantages. These terrorist organizations are still able to operate effectively with their already existing methods and weapons (Byman, 2008). Politics of terrorism with Iran Israel Iran’s hostile history towards Israel has been one of the most on going and confusing aspects of the Middle East conflict. Since the beginning of the Islamic Republic, Iran’s politicians have accused Israel and questioned their legality, and their right to exist. Iran has never fought a war with Israel and has no land disputes (Takeyh, n.d.). Although Israel and Iran under the shah, which is a title given to the emperors and kings of Iran, have had a decently good relationship between 1953 and 1979, Iran’s hostility towards Israel can be thought back to â€Å"Khomeini† who was the former leader of Iran from 1979-1989 (Takeyh, n.d.). In his point of view, the most

Bollywood Sociology for Indian Fashion and Culture- myassignmenthelp

Question: How Fashion Changed Over Time in Bollywood Answer: Introduction Indian culture can be defined as one of the richest and oldest as India has an ancient heritage. Now, India has more than 1 billion population and there are many festivals which happen each year. This diversity makes the Indian culture manifold and India has long fashion history. As there are many groups, tribes and religious people live in India, the fashion sense of Indian is distinguished. Indians have an ancient clothing fashion tradition; moreover, the 90s witnessed rapid growth in fashion sense. Increasing exposure of westernisation and global fashion impacted the Indian culture. Economic liberalisation is one of the reasons of society's growth in fashion. Post-independence society mainly focused on traditional design and textile that led to the fashion of ethnic dressing. However, in recent times, Indian society and Indian Bollywood industry follow the adoption of western culture and fashion. Bollywood films are a huge part of the culture of India and these show different aspe cts of Indian culture and its fashion senses (Desai et al. 2015). Of late, Bollywood is getting more modernise with the touch of westernisation. Bollywood is losing its culture of Indianness In the early stage, Indian cinema set its Bollywood style of fashion through Bhanu Athaiya as he started experimenting with Indian costume designs. His works of fashion in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Teesri Manzil (1966) set the trends in Bollywood and Indian mass market followed the fashion style. Since the time of Anarkali Suits, Sadhana Cut (body-hugging sleeveless salwar), Mumtaz Saree, Retro-style Bell-bottoms, Bobby Print, Bollywood always created new using Indian fashion and culture. In recent times, Indian female actresses are now following the retro style and imitated the old fashion. Chiffon Saris was in fashion for old days and still, it is one of the trendsetters in Bollywood. However, with the time, western outfits are stealing the fashion from Indian culture. Sonam Kapoor, arguably best-dressed actress in recent time in Bollywood uses western dress to exhibit her graceful looks. Priyanka Chopra follows the western dressing sense to cope up with Hollywood culture and m ovies. Indian heroines are trying to make skinny looks, glowing skin and a great smile. Their grown, candy-coloured dress, minis and least saris make the Bollywood divas westernised. However, the touch of Indian culture is getting lowered in Bollywood films and heroines preferred short dresses, slender legs and high heels make them less Bollywood, more westernised. The Recent fashion sense of merging Indian ethnic wear with western culture is in vogue (Singh and Gupta 2014). Kareena Kapoors Patiala-ShahiSalwar with long T-shirt is one such example of this and Indian audiences like this by making this trend a huge hit. Long kurta with blue denim for the Indian actress is famous pair of dresses in onscreen, along with this Bohemian styling is new fashion trends for Indian cinema. Lack of Indianness is proven the fact with melting towards the multiethnic group with open-minded fashion is obvious. Fashion in dress is not all, Indian film stars are following westernised haircuts and in m usic, the sound is more like the Western song. Westernisation of Bollywood fashion In a previous time, When Indian actors and actresses wore simple dresses and Indian masses could identify them with fashion and culture. Now, Indian people are more educated and they are getting more used to with Westernised culture. Mass people want to see such western touch in Bollywood films also and Bollywood fashions and name movies are westernised also (Arora 2014). The silver screen of Indian cinema halls and televisions are ruining the traditional fashion sense. Traditional dhoti-kurta is bygone days and jeans, t-shirts and suits are in fashion. Lifestyles of people are changed now and style of fashion in daily life is changed also. Bollywood fashion designers like Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Vikram Phadnis and Suriley Goel believe in merging western and Indian fashion sensibilities. Indian film industry made itself free from the bondage of British influence and made its own identity, however, in recent influx of westernisation, the independent culture is getting s ubmerged (Skeptikai.com 2017). The language, the dressing, the storyline and even the names of the movies are influenced by the western culture in Bollywood. Indian cinema is becoming westernised not for targeting the global market nor to appeal foreigners, but to target mostly the Indian people. Indian culture and society are mainly demand western fashion, culture, music and style. As stated by Davis (2014), fashion generally as a style or system of dress that encodes presentation of the body. Moreover, fashion mainly concerns of presentation of body and the messages it bears through this. Bollywood industry is trendsetters in India for fashion and public follow the trend in the mass market. Globalisation and Bollywood Bollywood becomes global as the number of released cinemas in India is increasing and the market is expanding. Bollywood is competing in the International market. Bollywood is now appealing to wider audiences through western touches to Hollywood movies. An example of 1990s Bollywood blockbuster film was Aashiqui and on that film, young adults wore westernised clothes and female characters wore dressed that passed her knees. In 2000, another blockbuster movie named Kaho Na Pyar Hai, lead film stars wore westernised dress and skin was revealed. Most importantly, heroine wore bikini tops. In recent times, another trendsetter movie was I Hate Luv Storys (2010), the name also suggested the western touch. The attire of leads was extremely western and it mimicked what typically be seen in films of Hollywood. Recently, Indian award-giving functions are held in abroad where many western celebrities remain present. The dressing style of actors and actresses more like westernised, it shows west ern culture has a detrimental effect in Bollywood. India has famous media to connect to the public that is film and Bollywood are trying to do the justice of this. However, Western culture and influences are too many and Indian traditions are lost. In a previous time, fashion, culture and soulful music were the heart of Indian music, for now, this touch of the heartbeat is missing. The desire to follow western-like themes has directly affected the westernised fashion in films. Reference List Arora, S., 2014. Globalized Frames of Indian Fashion.Global Studies Journal,6(1), pp.23-29 Davis, F., 2014.Fashion, culture, and identity. University of Chicago Press. Desai, J., Dudrah, R. and Rai, A., 2005. Bollywood audiences editorial.South Asian Popular Culture,3(2), pp.79-82. Rao, S., 2010. "I need an Indian touch": Glocalization and Bollywood Films. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 3(1), pp.1-19. Singh, J. and Gupta, K., 2014. Bollywood and Fashion Trends in India: A Longitudinal Study. International Journal of scientific research and management (IJSRM), 2(1), pp.491-495 Skeptikai.com. 2017.Bollywood Zombies and The Westernization of Indian Pop Culture | Skeptikai. Available at: https://skeptikai.com/2013/04/10/bollywood-zombies-and-the-westernization-of-indian-pop-culture/ [Accessed on 19 Sep. 2017].

The Evolution of Mass Media free essay sample

Mass media is a way of connecting people all over the globe, such as television, radio, internet, newspaper, magazines, etc. Mass media started thousands of years ago. In different cultures, people had different ways of communicating. Many drew pictures on cave walls as a way of telling stories, while others communicated by hitting sticks on walls. In today’s culture, we are able to connect with people all over the world just by phone or internet. Throughout the last century, there have been many major developments in the evolution of mass media. One of the major developments that were invented in the early 1900’s was the steam-powered printing press. With this invention, people were able to get newspapers filled with local news. Silent movies became popular in the early 20th century as a source of entertainment. Later sound was added to the films. Another major development was the radio. It was used to show different musical genres, create hit songs, and make starts of the artists. We will write a custom essay sample on The Evolution of Mass Media or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Media convergence is a combination of mass media and communication outlets. Before media convergence, people wrote letters and sent them through mail to communicate. Now, we have emailing, text messaging, and video chatting to communicate. We have adapted to the media convergence and use it in everyday life. Work places have also adapted to this new wave of technology and the convergence of mass media. Offices are becoming much smaller and the amount of paper used in offices is becoming smaller and smaller. Media literacy is the ability to retrieve, examine, evaluate and create media in many different forms. If we did not have media literacy, there would be no books, newspapers, internet, and much more. Responsible media is the choice made by an individual to filter what is relayed to us by the media and we only remember what is useful or important. Media literacy is important for responsible media consumption because accurate information will not cause mass panic. Incorrect information does not help the American public. â€Å"There is no doubt that the American culture is driven by technology. When closely examined, the development of the media industry is astounding† (Truthor, C. , November 2005). Mass media has evolved from the last century. Nearly everything is done with technology now, from working in an office, to general communication through text messaging. We are now living in a world of technology. References Truthor, Claire, (2005). Mass Media Today Scholarly Article

Essay on Craig Hawkins PS 2

Essay on Craig Hawkins PS 2 Essay on Craig Hawkins PS 2 Craig Hawkins Prof. Sante 11/16/14 Theory of Democratic Peace Throughout the world there are numerous countries that are ruled by different political systems, in which every country is entitled to do so. Although some systems are viewed more favorably than others, in this paper the political systems discussed will be the democratic, authoritarian and totalitarian systems. These political systems will be analyzed in relation to the Theory of Democratic Peace. This theory argues that nation-states governed by democratic regimes do not have conflicts with other countries that would lead to wars. Through the analyses of the Theory of Democratic Peace in relation to the democratic system: United States, authoritarian system: China and totalitarian system: Iraq, I find this theory to be inaccurate. The United States is a country governed by democratic rule. As a democratic country the U.S. emphasizes rights, liberties and justice. Since 1776 the United States has only evolved through democracy along to a population that now holds â€Å"316,128,839 million people† (quickfacts.census.gov). â€Å"The majority of the population is made up in 77.7 % Whites, 17.1 % in Hispanic/Latinos and 13.2 % in African Americans (quickfacts.census.gov). The United States economy has many liberties and opportunities for financial gain. The United States itself is projected to earn â€Å"5.7 trillion dollars in revenue during the year of 2014† (usgovernmentrevenue.com). The United States economy is sustained mostly through taxes. Sources of revenue that come from taxes are income taxes, social insurance taxes, ad valorem taxes and business taxes. â€Å"The United States is the third largest country in the world and borders two other countries: Canada and Mexico† (geography.abo ut.com). The United States climate changes throughout the course of the year, entering all four seasons. â€Å"The United States was recognized as an independent nation by Great Britain in 1783 following the American Revolution† (1775-1783)(usa.gov). The Declaration of Independence represents freedom the United States won, on July 4th the U.S. celebrates this day. Major following events to come The Civil War between northern and southern states from 1861-1865 which ultimately led to Barack Obama being elected the first black President of the United States† (infoplease.com). Within the United States lies the core of how the country is governed starting first with the Constitution. The United Sates is governed through three different branches, The Executive Branch: where a great deal of power is held by the President, The Legislative Branch: consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate and The Judicial Branch: â€Å"courts systems that harbor the judgment resp onsibilities for what is considered fair and considered justice† (whitehouse.gov). Country based decisions are made within these branches by the people within the Congress and Senate. Congress is made up of the House of Representatives (435 elected members) and the Senate (100 Senators). The constitution grants Congress to make legislative decisions. The senate agrees to pass laws and send them to the President for approval. †Both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote† (whitehouse.gov). Together these different parts of government work together to uphold the democratic system in place. China is a country governed under authoritarian rule. Authoritarian ruled countries â€Å"are governed by a small group that do not attempt to control everything, instead limiting individual freedoms in favor of hierarchical organization of command, obedience and order† (Roskin 97). Under authoritarian rule China has grown it’s population to 1,355,692,576 billion people. 47 % of the population are between the ages of 25-54 years of age, 17.1 % of population are between the ages of 0-14 years of age, (indexmundi.com/china). The economy is very much profitable in terms of creating revenue for

Selection of Quotes by Seretse Khama

Selection of Quotes by Seretse Khama I think that the trouble we now face in the world is caused mainly by the refusal to try and see another man’s point of view, to try and persuade by example - and the refusal to meet a rather passionate desire to impose your own will upon others, either by force or other means.Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana, from a speech given in Blantyre in July 1967. It should now be our intention to try to retrieve what we can of our past. We should write our own history books to prove that we did have a past, and that it was a past that was just as worth writing and learning about as any other. We must do this for the simple reason that a nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past is a people without a soul.Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana, speech at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, 15 May 1970, as quoted in the Botswana Daily News, 19 May 1970. Botswana is a poor country and at present is unable to stand on its own feet and develop its recourses without assistance from its friends.Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana, from his first public speech as president, 6 October 1966. We are convinced that there is justification for all the races that have been brought together in this part of Africa, by the circumstances of history, to live together in peace and harmony, for they have no other home but Southern Africa. Here we will have to learn how to share aspirations and hopes as one people, united by a common belief in the unity of the human race. Here rests our past, our present, and, most importantly of all, our future.Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana, speech at the national stadium on the 10th anniversary of independence in 1976. As quoted in Thomas Tlou, Neil Parsons and Willie Hendersons Seretse Khama 1921-80, Macmillan 1995. [W]e Batswana are not desperate beggars...Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana, from his first public speech as president, 6 October 1966. [D]emocracy, like a little plant, does not grow or develop on its own. If must be nursed and nurtured if it is to grow and flourish. It must be believed in and practiced if it is to be appreciated. And it must be fought for and defended if it is to survive.Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana, speech given at the opening of the fifth session of Botswanas third National Assembly in November 1978. Lefatshe ke kereke yame. Go dira molemo tumelo yame.The world is my church. To do good my religionInscription to be found on Seretse Khamas grave.

Alexander Graham Bell Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alexander Graham Bell - Research Paper Example From an early age Bell demonstrated great intellectual curiosity and potential. Bell â€Å"became interested in botany and at age twelve built a contraption to aid a neighbor in his flourmill† (Mackay, pg. 9). His father published texts on elocution and Bell demonstrated a strong propensity in this subject. Bell would later attend prestigious high school, followed by college, and was generally recognized as mediocre at both. Upon graduation Bell began experiments with sound following his father’s interest in elocution. His experiments would ultimately lead him to become â€Å"Professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at Boston University† (Mackay, pg. 111). While Bell experimented with a number of sound elements, his work with the telephone undoubtedly holds the greatest contemporary relevance. In this context of understanding, Bell had â€Å"begun experimenting with a phonautograph in 1874† (Town, pg. 189). While he recognized that he was on to something he realized lack of proper funding and knowledge to complete his final invention that would electronically transmit the human voice. These challenges were overcome when Bell first encountered Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders who would help fund his invention, as well as Thomas Watson who had the required knowledge in engineering to put it together. Ultimately, â€Å"in 1876 Bell would complete his invention of the telephone, three days after receiving the patent† (Ross, pg. 302). While later in his life Bell would invent the metal detector, his greatest cultural contribution is undoubtedly telephone. Even as Bell made a substantial social contribution through his invention of telephone, the question of what the world would be like without Bell is a complicated one. While Bell invented the telephone, it’s clear that there were elements that emerged in contemporary technological platforms and allowed for this invention to occur. It is highly probable then, that if Bell had not invented his

International business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 8

International business - Essay Example For example it was the company that dictated for the international market, what it needed to buy from Apple. Again, the international market did not have much choice in becoming the first users to new types of products. That is, Apple used the international market of offload most of its older products so that it could make way for new products to be introduced into the American market (Robertson, 2011). With the coming of Steve Jobs however, this approach changed as the international market was actually put at the centre of the company’s inventions and innovations. That is, instead of giving the international market what the company wanted to offer, there was enough research to know and understand the needs of the international market together with what the American market wanted. This way, the inventions that were made such as the iPod were made to meet the international demands. It is not surprising that with Steve Jobs at Apple, the company could now boast of a global marke t, where it is reported that nearly twice as many people outside the U.S were employed when the iPod was invested as those employed in the U.S (Freeland, 2011). In essence, the company positioned itself to take advantage of globalization. Once the global positioning was guaranteed through the approach to innovation which was research-led, Apple started developing very quickly. More to the company’s own approach to innovation was the technology based platform that Apple was offered as part of globalization to enhance its business growth. For example Bhagwati (2004) reported that the advent of electronic commerce (e-commerce) peaked around the early 2000s, making it easier for the company to be connected to the international market through the internet. As the elements of e-commerce provide, the company did not necessarily have to have a lot of offices across the globe before it could sell to the international market. Rather, a

Poetry and Strong Human Spirit Essay Example for Free

Poetry and Strong Human Spirit Essay Success is the journey not the destination. â€Å"A strong human spirit essential for an imaginative journey. † Imaginative journeys take us from the reality now to unreal existences that can exist in our minds. A strong human spirit is essential for an imaginative journey to flow through our mind. The success is the journey that is being taken not the destination. This can be expressed through the poems â€Å"Frost at Midnight and Kubla Khan,† by Sammuel Taylor Coleridge and â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou that see the journey as the success not the outcome and that their strong human spirit allowed them to go on the journey. In the poem â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou the poet expresses her journey through being discriminated in America because of her race. Her journey is much more successful then the destination because as she went on the journey and experienced heartfelt times, along the way she taught the discriminators she can still get back up even if they hurt her many times. The poet uses repetition to do this. â€Å"Still I’ll Rise. She also uses similes to convey her connection with nature along this journey as she uses the concept of natural resources and by using oil, gold and diamond to show contradictions that people think she is wealthy but really they are the spoilt ones. â€Å"Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in our living room. † She uses rhetorical questions to intensify the poem and to touch the responders. This portrays how she is successful in trying to express what she believes in to others while on the journey. In the poem â€Å"still I’ll rise† the poet has a strong human spirit that is essential for her journey. For her to write this poem as a form of protest it needed a strong human spirit. Her whole poem is based on freedom which is expressed every time she gets hurt and then rises again. Her use of metaphors empathise how strong her spirit is when she gets discriminated but still has hope to keep going. â€Å"Just like hopes springing high† and â€Å"you may shoot me with your words. † Her use of rhetorical questions and repetition allow people to think about it and understand it properly through her words and her strong spirit. â€Å"Does my sassiness upset you?  Why are you beset with gloom? † Her strong human spirit allowed her to achieve the freedom that she wanted. In the poem â€Å"Kubla Khan† by Samuel Taylor Coleridge the poet takes us through his mind on an imaginative journey. His journey had no destination at all but the success was there all along through his connection and love with nature. The poet uses a lot of alliteration to describe this place and assonance to describe how beautiful this image of nature is and how the success of the journey is created through the beauty of nature. Measureless to man† and â€Å"twice five miles of fertile ground. † The use of a simile describes the place as being old but still in good condition ‘Forests as ancient as hills’ and the river as being scary and holy. He does this through the use of an oxymoron as he puts two of these words together and they contradict â€Å"A savage place? As holy and enchanted†. This is the success of the journey as it is still alive but really old. He describes a women’s music with alliteration â€Å"A Damsel with a dulcimer† â€Å"Loud and Long† â€Å"Deep Delight. By including this he has achieved success all through the journey as he celebrates. In the poem â€Å"Kubla khan† by Samuel Taylor Coleridge a strong human spirit was essential for this imaginative journey. His use of assonance and alliteration to describe how beautiful the image of nature is and how the strong human spirit can take us on an imaginative journey. â€Å"Sunless Sea. † By the poet using his imagination he has made this place that feels like paradise with his strong spirit. He needed a strong human spirit to imagine a place that feels like paradise. All through the journey he describes his strong connections with the natural environment and because of his strong human spirit he was able to imagine the nature and environment using metaphors as extraordinary with the river springing up viciously to become a fountain. â€Å"As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing. † The poem â€Å"Frost at midnight† by Samuel Taylor Coleridge his imaginative journey is the success not the destination. As the poet goes on this journey into his past and then he goes into another dream as well this expresses that imaginative journey is a success because his not reaching no destination. The poet begins with a metaphor which connects with nature and God, â€Å"The frost performs its secret ministry,† so the success of the journey has already started with the nature and God. This concept relates to the journey of the poet back into his childhood as he in the quiet cottage and looks at the film in the blue flame which fluttered on the grate is contrasted with him in the past looking at the bars at school to watch a fluttering stranger. This is the success of the start of his imaginative journey and that there is no destination. He then while sitting at school goes into another dream about his birth place and the church tower where the bell would ring so sweetly expresses the success of his journey when he was younger in the country side he was more connected to nature where in the city the only connection was the â€Å"lovely star and sky†. The poem â€Å"Frost at midnight† by Samuel Taylor Coleridge expresses a strong human spirit that is essential for an imaginative journey. The use of the simile â€Å"inaudible as dreams† which describes the quietness which gives him the strong human spirit to the imaginative journey. He also uses assonance to describe how the solitude or quietness his inmates have left him is disturbing him. â€Å"Have left me to solitude to suit abtruser musings†. The looking at the blue flame gave him the strong human spirit to begin his imaginative journey. The relationship between father and son is also giving the poet the strong human spirit because he doesn’t want his son to grow up like him in the city but to be raised in the country so his is more connected to nature.

Willa Cather :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Willa Cather wrote several wonderful stories and novels. After reading or viewing three of them and reading a little about her other works on the Internet, I have noticed that all of them have things in common. I have observed that her works often times involve family situations and how different types of people deal with death. The stories tend to reflect a time in her life I would assume. They are also reflected close to her home in many times. The stories tend to use the same types of dialogue and have similar characters as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie, O Pioneers!, the family is torn by death in several ways. The father dies in the beginning of the movie. He makes Alexandra the head of the family because he knows she will keep the land and that she can care for the family the best. In a way, it seemed he knew she would best respect his decisions prior to his death. It is in this way already that death and families are introduced. In an opposing circumstance, the sculptor, Harvey, in â€Å"The Sculptor’s Funeral,† had no family to miss. He was basically thrown out of the family after they realized he didn’t quite fit in where he was born. It didn’t seem like he cared though because he still became successful in Boston. He died and was brought back to his hometown after being an outcast there prior to his success. When he was buried in his hometown he was not talked of brightly. He was basically made an object for the town to ridicule. His only friend who was a lawyer ther e stood up for him at the end of the story showing all of the townspeople how cruel they were to Harvey.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I read an article on the Internet about her and as she wrote â€Å"Neighbor Rosicky† her father went through a heart attack and died from it. It almost seems in the writing you can tell the change in the mood after her father’s death. This brings her personal life into her writing and makes it unique while tying in with the story well. I believe it even said that her circumstances were used in her writing for the remainder to the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willa Cather was raised in rural Kansas. Her writing also reflected a country-life atmosphere. Her stories rarely took place in larger cities because she didn’t know much about them.

Housing Discrimination

Allyson Jones Housing and Society Due: October 11, 2012 Dr. Joyner Housing, Neighborhoods and Health Disparities Corina Graif, PhD, RWJF Health & Society Scholar at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Many aspects of internal housing conditions are known to affect health. Limited but important evidence also exists on the health implications of the socio-spatial context of housing.For instance, fear of crime, crowding, neighborhood disadvantage, social exclusion, and residents’ social exchange are linked to cardiovascular and mental health, obesity, diabetes and low birth weight. In my dissertation work and related projects, I ask questions about the spatial context of neighborhood effects to investigate how the urban geography of inequality and cumulative spatial disadvantage shape the health and well-being of the inner-city poor.Several important questions about the neighborhood and spatial context aspect of housing remain critical to ask in our quest to understand and act on the constellation of factors shaping health outcomes: a) How do different spatially salient markers (such as nearby presence of crime hotspots; community health centers; daycare) interact with the neighborhood context in shaping health outcomes, employment, and health care. f) To what extent moving low income families to high quality neighborhoods increases or decreases their access to health related resources and critical social networks and jobs?Read more about Moving to Opportunity and how neighborhoods impact residents’ health. http://www. rwjf. org/en/blogs/human-capital-blog/2012/01/housing-neighborhoods-and-health-disparities. html RACIAL DISPARITY STILL HAUNTS HOUSING MARKET July 3, 2003 By Anders Hoerlyck IN THEORY, the American housing market is free and open. The report found that high-interest loans, many of which are illegal, are three times more likely in low- income neighborhoods than in high-income areas, and five times more likely in black neighborhoo ds than in white neighborhoods.HUD further noted that homeowners in high-income black neighborhoods are six times as likely as homeowners in upper-income white neighborhoods, and twice as likely as homeowners in low-income white neighborhoods, to have high- interest loans. Another study found that black homeowners receive less value for their homes than white homeowners. The study, which compared home values to homeowner incomes for owners of different ethnic and racial groups in the nation's 100 largest cities in 1990, found that, equalizing for income, black homeowners received 18 percent less value for their homes than white homeowners; white homeowners owned $2. 4 worth of house for every dollar of income, while black homeowners owned only $2. 16 worth of house. The study further revealed that the 18 percent gap imposed on black homeowners – the so-called segregation tax – primarily results from a high degree of racial segregation in neighborhoods. Working poor fac e shortage of affordable housing November 10, 1996 Consider Sam Brown of San Francisco, who pays more than two thirds of his monthly income to keep his family in housing.Housing officials estimate more than five million families are in dire straits when it comes to paying for a place to live. The affordable housing shortage has worsened as officials have torn down high rise tenements, characterizing them as warehouses for the poor. Some housing assistance programs have helped to ease the stress. http://articles. cnn. com/1996-11-10/us/9611_10_welfare. housing_1_affordable-housing-housing-assistance-programs-housing-officials-estimate? _s=PM:US Middle-income families facing housing shortageToday in America more than 3 million moderate income families have a critical housing need despite working the equivalent of a full-time job,† said Michael Stegman, one of the authors of the study, â€Å"Housing America's Working Families. â€Å"†The report was commissioned by the Cen ter for Housing Policy, a subsidiary of the National Housing Conference, which is a consortium of some 700 home builders and home lenders from across the country. http://articles. cnn. com/2000-06-02/us/housing. shortage_1_center-for-housing-policy-critical-housing-national-housing-conference? s=PM:US Housing at Risk AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE †¢ June 2012 What you need to know about three key changes that could have a big impact on the preservation of existing affordable housing BY DONNA KIMURA AND CHRISTINE SERLIN Three key changes are poised to make a big impact on the preservation of existing affordable housing developments. These new moves two new programs and one policy change arrive at time when the affordable housing stock is shrinking. This amounts to nearly 60 percent of units with federal project-based rental assistance.Approximately 50,000 units are assisted under these programs, including about 25,000 units under the Mod Rehab program. Under the legislation, a demo nstration program has been created that allows certain public housing and Sec. 8 Moderate Rehab properties to voluntarily convert to a long-term Sec. 8 rental assistance as a means of preserving these units. They could convert to either a project-based rental assistance contract administered by HUD and be eligible for renewal under the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act or a project-based contract with a local public housing authority.As many as 60,000 units of public housing and Sec. 8 Mod Rehab housing may be converted under a competitive selection process. FHA PILOT PROGRAM Centerline Capital Group provided about $2 million in low-income housing tax credit equity. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has recently launched a pilot program that aims to speed up the processing time for FHA-backed deals that use low income housing tax credits (LIHTCs). NONPROFIT SALES PROCEEDS During the 1960s and 1970s, HUD worked with nonprofits to finance thousands of pr operties under its mortgage insurance programs, including Sec. 21(d)(3), Sec. 231, and Sec. 236 of the National Housing Act. HUD reports that nonprofits own 39 percent of all Sec. 236 and 221(d) (3) properties with maturing mortgages. More than 700 of these properties have mortgages that will mature within the next 10 years, representing roughly 80,000 affordable housing units, including 42,000 with project-based rental assistance. Historically, there have been restrictions on nonprofit owners receiving proceeds from the sale of FHA-insured properties. ttp://www. housingfinance. com/ahf/articles/2012/june/0612-special-focus-Housing-At-Risk. htm Growth through Low Income Housing Published on: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Written by: Trista Winnie Low income housing makes housing more accessible for many families There is a common misconception that low income housing today is of the same quality as the low income housing projects of the past. This misconception is a hurdle that low in come housing developers and advocates have to work hard to overcome.Often, community members try to prevent low income housing from coming to their area, assuming that the stereotype that low income housing equals low quality housing is true. Low income residents have their own fears about property values. When planning a low income housing development within a community, â€Å"all kinds of fears come out,† Greer said. Mixed use projects, incorporating low income housing and retail, are gaining popularity Another way in which developers are gaining acceptance is through production of mixed income developments, rather than strictly low income developments. Affordable housing is a problem for every community because the cost of housing and the sale prices of houses are going up faster than incomes. † Low income housing developments that seek to be eligible for tax credits are required to be set aside as low income housing for a minimum of 30 years, according to the Danter Company. Financing is also available for other types of low income housing through programs such as tax credit allocations, partnerships, low interest loans, grants and donations. For more on the Hope VI program and other sources of low income housing financing, see our article on Financing Low Income Housing Projects. ) The rehabbing of rundown low income housing projects is just one avenue through which developers can be involved in low income housing, but it should serve as an overall notice for all investors that the low income housing industry is not a glamorous one. Communities and sources of funding both favor those who are experienced in low income housing. Competition for low-income housing funds is fierce. http://www. uwireinvestor. com/articles/low-income-housing-51313. aspx Housing discrimination â€Å"widespread† among disabled, immigrants, minorities, others May 07, 2012|Yvonne Wenger A survey of 549 community-based organizations suggests that housing discrimin ation is on the rise, particularly targeting disabled individuals, immigrants, minorities and families with children, according to the nonprofit Consumer Action. â€Å"Housing discrimination is all too alive and well in the United States today,† Ken McEldowney, executive director, Consumer Action, said in a statement.Forty-eight percent of surveyed organizations called housing discrimination very serious. Forty percent said housing discrimination has gone up in the last two years; 11 percent said discrimination has gone down. http://articles. baltimoresun. com/2012-05-07/business/bal-housing-discrimination-widespread-among-disabled-immigrants-minorities-others-20120504_1_housing-discrimination-minorities-and-families-baltimore-neighborhoods Report | September 2007 New Housing, Income Inequality, and Distressed Metropolitan AreasBetween 1970 and 2000, both distressed and non-distressed metropolitan areas with rapidly growing income inequality experienced rapidly growing reside ntial segregation by income. In distressed metropolitan areas between 1970 and 2000, rising income segregation was associated with excess housing construction. In non-distressed metropolitan areas, there was no relationship between income segregation and excess housing construction. Rising income inequality and neighborhood income segregation accounted for 16 to 50 percent of new construction in distressed metropolitan areas between 1970 and 2000.Policies that reduce income inequality can help reduce overbuilding and income segregation in distressed areas. http://www. brookings. edu/research/reports/2007/09/newhousing-watson The Links between Income Inequality, Housing Markets and Homelessness in California The housing market rapidly rising rents, the declining number of low-income rental units in the housing stock, and deceleration in federal housing programs. Homelessness in California John Quigley, Steven that growing income inequality working through homelessness.Income inequali ty has grown substantially Distribution of Income in California (1996). Of California’s income distribution suggests that there income distribution. Better-quality housing, enter the lower-quality market, and the resulting higher rents suggest very low incomes can no longer afford housing and are forced that affect homelessness associated with greater homelessness. The links between income inequality and homelessness, income in a number of locations higher and incomes move lower), the greater the incidence of homelessness response to changes in income distribution.Decrease the average income of households in the lowest fifth increases in the homeless population. Policy Interventions which policy interventions in the housing market can lower homelessness rates one trend in federal programs built housing rates on lower-quality housing to encourage landlords to of income (currently 30 percent) in units available on the study uses simulation models to explore how homelessness und er Section 8) to all low-income households, targeted â€Å"barely-standard† housing, and a general maintenance subsidy the landlord programs maintenance program.The demand for and price of the lowest-quality housing, forcing out the lowest-income renters responses identified above would go to low-income households to make low-quality housing more affordable and thereby, Section 8 program and by compensating local governments very low end of the housing stock. www. ppic. org/main/publication. asp? i=211 Claudio Frischtak Benjamin R. Mandel Crime, House Prices, and Inequality: The Effect of UPPs in Rio January 2012 Residential property prices are an important gauge of economic conditions writ large.Property’s location determinants of house prices can alter the level and dispersion of household wealth connection between crime and house prices. Document the relationship between crime and house prices. Distributional consequences of removing the public bad of crime; that is , the removal of crime the degree of overall inequality among property values. Crime rate a dynamic model of property valuation. Our empirical work will show that decreasing crime does, in fact, benefit lower valued properties disproportionately, reducing the inequality among properties.House prices for the city of Rio de Janeiro since 2008. Both homicides and robberies coefficient measures the level of inequality of house prices across Rio’s neighborhoods. It objective of crime reduction residential property prices in Rio’s formal housing market, as well as on homicide and robbery rates in each of Rio’s neighborhoods, we formally test the hypotheses that Neighborhoods closer to a UPP station experienced larger than average decreases in crime and larger than average increases in house prices after the UPP was put into place.Prices increased by an average of 5-10 percent, homicides decreased by an average of 10-25 results to construct counterfactual price and cri me rates and, with those, city-wide statistics. We note that since we do not observe house prices skyrocketing residential property prices in the formal housing markets surrounding the favelas. Having established that the UPPs influenced crime and house prices in opposite directions house prices. Returns to crime reduction; this implies that properties with either high initial crime rates or current property values.This treatment of the dynamic transmission of crime rates into house prices is quite duration of crime rates in the past; lower initial crime rates with low historical duration gives rise to the biggest increases in price when the crime rate declines. Implementation of the UPP policy counterfactual house prices described above shows that the disparity in house prices across Dispersion in property prices within those neighborhoods narrowed, suggesting that even change in the crime rate.Works identifying the impact of crime and violence on property prices, with the paper by exploit both spatial and temporal variation in crime data to identify the effect on house prices, persistence of historical crime rates. The present study uses more disaggregate price data, at on the implications of crime for the dispersion of house prices. First draw connection between crime reduction and wealth inequality. Our empirical measurement of the crime elasticity of house prices is connected to a crime rate as exogenous, which ay have biased the elasticity estimates if, for example, crime occurs disproportionately in poorer neighborhoods with low property values or, conversely, if criminals target areas with higher-priced homes. (2009) found 12 instances in of a set of 18 empirical studies relating house prices and crime variation around an exogenous policy experiment, the UPPs in Rio to historical crime rates or the levels of property prices is a reasonable instrument for the effect of crime on house prices. www. newyorkfed. org/research/staff_reports/sr542.Housing and inequalities in health Professor Hoyden-Chapman The existence of debilitating inequalities in health across social groups has become the first law of public health. People privileged by more education, income, the dominant ethnicity, higher status jobs, and housing standards, have better health than those with less education and income, minority ethnicity, lower status jobs, and poorer housing. Focusing on housing and neighborhood improvements have historically been key policy instruments to improve population health.Housing tenure has been associated with health in a number of studies—those who rent their houses appear to have poorer health than those who own their houses even after controlling for age, gender, and education. 5Housing for most households is their largest monthly expenditure and housing costs in the survey were related to health. The psychosocial aspects of housing such as pride in a house and neighborhood showed an association with health status only before controlling for other variables.Several multilevel studies have shown that some neighborhoods are indeed bad for people's health. 6Surveys to explore new associations and intervention studies to test causal links between housing and health are important. The social and economic aspects of housing, and the lack of it, continue to play an important part in generating inequalities in health. http://jech. bmj. com/content/56/9/645. full Green Building Saves $$$ Developers open their books to show low operating costs at green properties BY BENDIX ANDERSONAFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE †¢ April 2008 Thanks to these energy savings, the reserve accounts of the 600 green affordable apartments in the portfolio of Homestead Capital are an average 36 percent larger than the rest of Homestead's affordable portfolio. The apartments were built to a variety of green standards. Early operating data from the green portfolio of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. , shows energy savings of up to 40 pe rcent, compared to properties built to the standards of local building codes.Of course, the biggest energy savings are at projects built to the toughest green standards. Denny Park also meets the demanding standards set by Enterprise for its Green Communities investments. It cost Denny Park's owners, the Seattle-based Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), a total of $1,000 per apartment in utility expenses to operate Denny Park in 2007, from electricity to hot water to trash pickup. That's as much as $200 per apartment lower than the utility costs at LIHI's other affordable properties.Conserving water green developers and investors also report steep savings on their water bills, which are 35 percent to 40 percent less on average than water costs at comparable properties, according to information from the portfolio of green properties in Enterprise's Green Communities Initiative. Denny Park racked up savings, with water and sewer costs of $188 per resident, compared to $235 and $322 p er resident at LIHI's comparable properties. Saving water also helps keep the hot water heating costs down.Denny Park's hot water bill was just $133 per apartment in 2007, roughly a quarter less than at LIHI's comparable properties. It cost $102 per apartment to haul trash away from Denny Park in 2007. Green projects have low turnover Tenants are also less likely to move out of green affordable housing properties, according to developers. Many residents appreciate the improved air quality at green building projects, said Oberdorfer. http://www. housingfinance. com/ahf/articles/2008/apr/FOCUSGREENBUILDINGSAVES0408. htm Towns get new deadline for affordable housing July 01, 2004Last year, the General Assembly passed the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act, which encourages municipalities with less than 10 percent affordable housing to develop a plan to increase that percentage. http://articles. chicagotribune. com/2004-07-01/news/0407010376_1_municipalities-towns-percentage-poi nts HUD program to target jobs for poor residents November 23, 1993|By Eric Siegel | Eric Siegel, Staff Writer Baltimore will serve as a pilot program for a national effort to channel more federal housing funds toward low-income residents and minority businesses, officials announced yesterday.HUD also promised stricter enforcement of the so-called â€Å"Section 3† requirement, part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968. â€Å"HUD estimates the federal money could support 300 low-income jobs in the city. City housing officials could not immediately say how much of the federal housing money the city receives goes to fulfilling the Section 3 requirement. Of 85 city residents hired to renovate units at Cherry Hill Homes, 26 were public housing residents, they said. http://articles. baltimoresun. com/1993-11-23/news/1993327087_1_public-housing-residents-federal-housing-housing-and-urban Census: housing disparities continueBy Brandt Williams Minnesota Public Radio Septe mber 17, 2002 For most Americans, the value of their home is their prime source of wealth. During the 1990s, a booming economy and buyer-friendly housing market helped many Minnesotans build thousands of dollars in home equity. They were able to buy at low prices and watch the value of their homes skyrocket. Goetz says home values remain lower in those neighborhoods than in predominantly white areas, where the demand for homes is higher. Census figures show the statewide median home value for African Americans is $106,000, which is slightly higher than for Hispanics.American Indians have the lowest statewide median home value, at $78,000. Asian American home values remain slightly higher than that of whites. In Hennepin County, home of the state's largest concentration of people of color, African American home values are the lowest at $103,000. Goetz says this gap in home values will feed future economic gaps between whites and people of color, because home equity is passed on from generation to generation. In 1990, white home values were 3 percent higher than those of Hispanics and 6 percent higher than for African Americans. ttp://news. minnesota. publicradio. org/features/200209/17_williamsb_censushousing Environ Health Perspect. 2005 May; 113(5): A310–A317 PMCID: PMC1257572 Environews Focus Dwelling Disparities: How Poor Housing Leads to Poor Health For most Americans, the value of their home is their prime source of wealth. During the 1990s, a booming economy and buyer-friendly housing market helped many Minnesotans build thousands of dollars in home equity. They were able to buy at low prices and watch the value of their homes skyrocket.Goetz says home values remain lower in those neighborhoods than in predominantly white areas, where the demand for homes is higher. Census figures show the statewide median home value for African Americans is $106,000, which is slightly higher than for Hispanics. American Indians have the lowest statewide median ho me value, at $78,000. Asian American home values remain slightly higher than that of whites. In Hennepin County, home of the state's largest concentration of people of color, African American home values are the lowest at $103,000.Goetz says this gap in home values will feed future economic gaps between whites and people of color, because home equity is passed on from generation to generation. In 1990, white home values were 3 percent higher than those of Hispanics and 6 percent higher than for African Americans. http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257572 Disparities in Risk To a large extent, disparities in health and access to care among minorities reflect disparities in socioeconomic status. The fact that minority populations on average are poorer than whites underlies many health disparities.Health insurance coverage and access to preventive care play a major role in determining health outcomes. Although insurance coverage improves access to health care, minority ch ildren have less access to primary medical care than white children, even after accounting for differences in insurance coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation Report. Inadequate routine and preventive care increases a child’s incidence and burden of disease. Hospitalization for asthma generally is avoidable if the disease is well managed.Poverty, substandard housing, inadequate access to health care, lack of education, and failure to adequately control asthma with medication all contribute to asthma episodes and deaths. Ethnic minorities also experience poorer cancer survival rates than whites. According to the American Cancer Society, cancer mortality rates are 40 percent higher for African-American men than white men. Efforts to eliminate health disparities are underway both nationally and locally. NIEHS and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have supported several urban asthma studies. Many states also have created offices addressing min ority health.The HHS OMH funds health projects conducted by minority community and national organizations, maintains minority health consultants in HHS Regional Offices, and operates a Resource Center on minority health issues. The National Institutes of Health also has a National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities to coordinate research, training, and outreach programs surrounding health disparities. Due to the strong link between socioeconomic status and health disparities, programs designed to improve the socioeconomic status of minorities also could help to reduce health disparities.Focusing on properties that pose the greatest health risks, which are overwhelmingly older, low-income, and in substandard condition, will yield the greatest improvement in health outcomes and address the striking health disparities borne by low-income and minority families. http://www. afhh. org/ifc/ifc_disparities. htm A growing number allege unfair treatment in housing market| Update d 9/29/2007 | Nearly 40 years after a national law banned housing discrimination, an increasing number of complaints are alleging unfair treatment of minorities, the disabled, families and other groups.The Department of Housing and Urban Development and housing assistance agencies logged 10,328 complaints last year, a 12% jump from 2005. Between 2002 and 2006, seven states and the District of Columbia averaged more than 10 housing discrimination complaints per 100,000 housing units, according to the GNS analysis. The average state rate was 7. 6 complaints per 100,000 units. The 1968 Fair Housing Act, amended in 1988, bans discrimination in the housing market based on disability, race, sex, national origin, religion, skin color or whether a family has children.Reasons for the growing number of discrimination complaints vary, housing officials say. Agency's performance criticized Last year, 36% of the complaints to HUD were settled. Federal officials and fair housing advocates say it' s difficult to know whether housing discrimination is on the rise in a particular area. Private housing groups also get complaints that aren't included in the data. †¢ In almost one third of counties, no housing discrimination complaints were filed with HUD or its contract agencies between 2002 and 2006. †¢ Housing discrimination complaints related to disability are as common as those related to race.Nationally, disability-related cases accounted for 40% of complaints filed with HUD and its contract agencies last year. Race-related complaints accounted for 39%. Housing experts expect disability complaints to climb as the nation's population ages and older Americans better understand their housing rights. Last year, HUD dismissed 40% of complaints, citing lack of evidence. One reason may be that housing discrimination today can be subtler. HUD must investigate discrimination complaints within 100 days. http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/news/nation/2007-09-28-housing-main_N. htm

Policing Practices and Operations Essay

Policing agencies are incredibly responsible to the communities, counties, states, and nation to protect against crime and provide service to citizens. With this tremendous responsibility comes inherent scrutiny. The practices and operations of police agencies are under constant surveillance by the public as well as other policing agencies. To promote functionality police organizations are departmentalized to enhance efficiency and improve communication. Relationships within these organizational structures exist. Partnerships are developed between the community and policing agencies to increase crime reduction and improve order maintenance. The organizational structure of policing agencies will be reviewed along with communication patterns both within and outside of the agency. Current trends and issues facing policing agencies and communities will be examined and an analysis of changed that could be implemented to improve the partnerships between policing agencies and communities wi ll be determined. Relationships Between Traditional Organizational Structures of Policing Agencies Municipal Law Enforcement Municipal law enforcement is most commonly represented as the local police. These police departments provide local protection to cities and towns; departments vary in size in accordance to population. The structure of municipal law enforcement is generally broken into two divisions: investigation and patrol. Under these departments is an umbrella of subdivisions. Investigations houses units specific to vice, homicide, and juvenile relations. Additional departments exist such as â€Å"community relations, internal affairs, training, and research and planning† (Pollock, 2012, p.93). Specialized teams have also been created in some departments servicing cases such as domestic violence, responding to the mentally ill, and various other issues. Departments of a smaller capacity carry more responsibility in handling multitudes of cases due to the lack of additional resources. Municipal agencies coordinate with state and federal agencies when crimes are not within their jurisdiction (Pollock, 2012). County law enforcement County law enforcement is publicly known as the sheriff department. The structure supports the county sheriff and the sheriff deputies. Sheriffs serve protection to the local police and assist in crime investigations in counties that do not have local law enforcement. Management of the county jail is generally the county sheriffs responsibility. Some jurisdictions assign jail responsibilities to deputies, but they generally do service patrol. Civil documents, warrants, and eviction notices are also served from the sheriff’s office. The position is attained by election but deputies are employed through procedures similar to the selection process of the municipal law enforcement agencies (Pollock, 2012). State Police Highway Patrol, State Patrol, and the Department of Public Safety are State law enforcement agencies. Hawaii is the only state without a state police force. The demand for law enforcement on roads passing through townships created these agencies. State law enforcement agencies are publicly known for enforcing traffic law violations and deal exclusively with state laws. This limited jurisdiction separates them from municipal and federal agencies. Statewide criminal investigations involving auto theft or drugs are within the state polices jurisdictions. Assistance to local detection and investigations are also services provided by the state police. This limited jurisdiction separates them from municipal and federal agencies (Pollock, 2012). Federal Agencies The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are federal agencies. These agencies deal with the enforcement of federal laws implemented by Congress. Functions are primarily investigations, and a very limited amount of patrol work is implemented. The largest federal law enforcement agency is the Department of Homeland Security. The agency with the broadest jurisdiction is the FBI. An investigation of a violation of both federal and state laws is permissible by federal law enforcement agencies. The sale of controlled substances is the most common example of this (Pollock, 2012). Communication Patterns Within and Outside the Policing Agency Technology has greatly improved the efficiency of policecommunications within the agency. In-car computers and laptops allow officers to have quick access to vital information. Loc al and federal information on a suspect from data files nationwide can be retrieved within moments. Dispatch and assignments are available to officers through the in-car computer system eliminating the reliance upon two-way radios. Officers and vehicles are monitored through Global Positioning Devices (GPS) (Maguire, 2011). Police officer responsibilities also include communicating with the public. Officers are expected to be competent with problem-solving skills, mediation, and social interactions. Training and education in these areas is vital in earning the trust and confidence of the community. Functions such as community policing, which will be discussed later, rely heavily on the public as a resource for crime fighting. Positive interaction with the public is achieved by exhibiting solid problem solving skills, social adaptability, and admirable temperaments (Maguire, 2011). Current trends in the approach to the policing function Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) SARA is a problem-solving model associated with problem-oriented policing. â€Å"SARA stands for scanning, analysis, response, and assessment† (Pollock, 2012, p.102). This approach to fighting crime applies available resources such as crime reports to target crimes centralizing in specific areas. The information is analyzed in an attempt to explain the origin of the crime. Officers then respond with the proposed solution, which could mean increased patrol in specific areas, or direct enforcement. Measures are then assessed to determine success rates (Pollock, 2012). Community Policing Community policing is trending in the recent years. The idea is that the police would create a partnership with the community to aid in the reduction and prevention of crime. Community support can greatly benefit in the resolution of neighborhood problems. This style of policing is service-oriented encompassing â€Å"many different types of tactics and programs, all with the goal of officers and community members developing partnerships to solve some of the neighborhood’s problems† (Pollock, 2012, p.99). Additionally, community policing places an emphasis on the decentralizing of policing (Pollock, 2012). Order Maintenance and Zero Tolerance policing Order maintenance and zero tolerance-policing places focuses on eliminating public order crimes such as public drinking, noise violations, graffiti, public urination, and intrusive panhandling, in full force. The ideology is that the elimination of the smaller crimes will ultimately reduce the larger crimes. The targeting of minor offenses affects a broad spectrum of the community including the general law abiding citizens. The strict implementation of city ordinances violations such as property maintenance and parking violations can greatly improve the probability of accusations of biased enforcement directly affecting various cultural groups (Pollock, 2012). Existing Issues with the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Community Law enforcement fights a constant uphill battle to achieve harmony between maintaining order in society and protecting the rights of individuals. Police must encompass the element of authority while remaining approachable and socially accessible. The mil itary structure that has developed within the police organization poses a threat to community relations and hampers efforts of community policing. Officers are trained to protect due-process constitutional rights. Aggressive officer behavior, and in some cases bearing inappropriate weaponry, creates the components of militarization. This contentious behavior fosters fear in society and serves as a daily reminder of government intervention (Maguire, 2011). Changes to Improve Partnerships Between Law Enforcement and Community Partnership between law enforcement and the community can be improved by consistently following protocol and procedures. Any time an officer fails or violates standard procedures or protocols trust within the community weakens. The machismo attitudes that can be fostered from the military style training and organizational structure can create soldiers instead of law enforcement officials. Agencies need to have harsh consequences for officers who directly violate standard procedures. The machismo attitude can cause an overlap of jurisdictional formalities. Officers cannot assume the role judge, jury, and prosecution. Partnerships are built on common interests and trust. The only practical way to eliminate bias and unnecessary infringement upon citizens from law enforcement is to create a more superior breed of officials. This can be achieved by creating enhanced psychological and practical testing methods. Agencies must strive to uphold the  service-based theme of community oriented policing. Inappropriate behavior and excessive use of force are shortcomings that should be immediately dispensed. Conclusion The organization structure of policing agencies is broad and complex. Levels of hierarchy have been established to implement a chain of command and create jurisdictional boundaries. Communication within agencies, between agencies, and the communities they serve are vital to the promotion of commonality of service and protection. Technology along with skill training aids in achieving this goal. Policing agencies have developed methods such as POP and COP to boost functionality and efficiency in crime reduction. The ever present issue facing policing agencies remains in achieving a balance between authority and service. References Maguire, M. (2011). Critical Issues in Crime and Justice: Thought, Policy, and Practice (1 ed). : Sage. Pollock, J. (2012). Crime and Justice in America An Introduction to Criminal Justice (5th ed.). : Elsevier.

Relationship Between Fiction and Non-fiction

Relationship Between Fiction and Non-fiction Free Online Research Papers Fiction and non-fiction are both very intriguing types of writing to read. Many people view them as total opposites. The fiction stories are usually very funny and made up, but they can be very informative if put in the right context. Non-fiction stories can be used to tell readers of personal losses or gains. One can take a piece of non-fiction writing and place it within a fiction text’s context, which makes the writing serve a new purpose. By placing non-fiction into fiction text, the writing is transformed from a piece of analysis into a tool of the fiction’s text. There are many instances where stories are written with a good mix of fiction and non-fiction. When stories are written with a bit of each type of writing they are more informational and use more examples. Even though the two are perceived as opposites, they actually go hand in hand when trying to get a point across. There are times in fiction writing where there are references to non-fiction ideas. Some writers do this for a comparison of things that aren’t possible. There are many novels, short stories, fables, fairy tales, films, comics, interactive fiction, animation, and video games that can include or reference factual occurrences. Fiction is the written expression of, reflection upon, and/or interpretation of observed, perceived, or recollected experience just like non-fiction. An example of this would be in the fiction story â€Å"Lottery† that tells of people going to a lottery and the â€Å"winner† gets killed by stones. The reason this story related to non-fiction is because it described the occurrences in towns in previous years. In non-fiction writing there is usually a lot of facts placed within the story’s text. There are a lot of other times where fiction is included in the non-fiction work because of a similarity between the idea the fiction has and the one nonfiction has. The non-fiction stories use factual references such as â€Å"Oh, this is the wrong bitch?† (141) and â€Å"Young Franklin Deland Roosevelt attended Groton, as did boys with last names like DuPont, Morgan and Harriman† (143) to give emotion and to make the story sound good by having a famous person involved. Non-fiction stories usually relate to personal issues such as losses or gains just as fiction uses humor to represent opinions. There is also the fact that both fiction and non-fiction try to resemble real-life occurrences to help stop or encourage others to do certain things. The way that fiction and non-fiction are expressed really helps people understand concepts. When people read a story that has a mix of the two types of writing, they are able to learn from other people’s doings and sometimes get a laugh also. When fiction is placed within the text of the non-fiction it helps with the understanding of the text. The way that fiction writing can be used to describe real life occurrences is interesting to many people. It is usually very important for people to read both fiction and non-fiction texts to understand the similarities and differences between both. Research Papers on Relationship Between Fiction and Non-fictionHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionMind TravelBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThree Concepts of PsychodynamicTrailblazing by Eric AndersonThe Fifth HorsemanHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayStandardized Testing

Conscience vs. Conscious

Conscience vs. Conscious Conscience vs. Conscious Conscience vs. Conscious By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between conscience and conscious? They stem from the same Latin root, but their usage is distinct. Writers occasionally confuse the two words, but if you remain conscious, you’ll likely be able to say with a clear conscience that you know the difference. Conscience and conscious both come from the Latin word conscius; the word elements mean â€Å"with† and â€Å"to know.† (Yes, the -science in conscience means the same thing as science itself.) Conscience is a noun meaning â€Å"sense of the quality of one’s character and conduct,† â€Å"adherence to moral principles,† and â€Å"consideration of fairness and justice.† Confusion between conscience and conscious occurs because the latter word is sometimes used as a noun synonymous with consciousness, meaning â€Å"mental awareness,† though the longer form is usually employed. More often, however, conscious appears as an adjective meaning â€Å"aware† or â€Å"awake,† or â€Å"involving perception or thought.† It also appears in combination with a noun in phrasal adjectives such as â€Å"budget conscious† to refer to someone who is concerned, sensitive, or vigilant about something. Conscience and conscious can be distinguished because the former word is qualitative people have various degrees of moral strength while conscious, as its antonym, unconscious, indicates, is quantitative: You’re either one or the other, whether the word is used as a noun or an adjective. However, consciousness, as the word is usually applied, like conscious refers to a continuum: We speak of raising one’s consciousness and of higher consciousness, because this quality can be improved or increased. Like the noun conscious, though, consciousness has a quantitative sense as well, referring to a state of mental activity, as opposed to unconsciousness caused by illness or injury. Other words descended from the Latin word are self-conscious, which literally means â€Å"self-aware† but has acquired a connotation of â€Å"preoccupied with how one is perceived by others,† an attitude that leads to shyness and stress, and conscionable and its more common antonym unconscionable; the latter means â€Å"inexcusable, reprehensible.† Conscientious means â€Å"scrupulous† or â€Å"careful†; a conscientious objector is someone who objects to a requirement on religious grounds. Originally, around the turn of the twentieth century, the context was mandatory vaccination, but ever since World War I, the primary sense has been of a person who refuses military conscription. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Mostly Small But Expressive InterjectionsPeace of Mind and A Piece of One's Mind50 Words with Alternative Spellings

Company Valuation Model and Application On Royal Bank of Scotland Plc Essay

Company Valuation Model and Application On Royal Bank of Scotland Plc - Essay Example This dissertation will document comprehensively the current generally accepted concepts and methodologies of company valuation techniques. In addition, it will be my endeavor to propose an integrated model in which the investors can apply data and information and evaluate the company value with a reasonable level of accuracy.This dissertation will document comprehensively the current generally accepted concepts and methodologies of company valuation techniques. In addition, it will be my endeavor to propose an integrated model in which the investors can apply data and information and evaluate the company value with a reasonable level of accuracy.In this dissertation, an effort has been made to address the problems related to the methodology of valuations that have been adopted recently to predict the net worth of companies. The current financial valuation techniques of a company primarily comprise of four methods; †¢ Asset based valuation (that includes tangible and non-tangible assets),  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Income based valuation,  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Market-based valuation, and  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Cash flow based valuation.  All four methods result in different ways of thinking and often in different valuations. The investors normally do not understand which method is more suitable for them to use for making the most informed investment decisions and hence trust the methods that are generally adopted and presented by the rating agencies and performance evaluation agencies operating in the markets.

To What Extent Can HRM Be Described as Strategic Essay

To What Extent Can HRM Be Described as Strategic - Essay Example This paper will focus on the extent to which the human resource management can be considered as strategic. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) The purpose of the HR strategies is to guide the human resource management development and implementation programs. The programs dedicate towards the means of communicating to all concerned the intentions of the organization about the management of the human resources. The Human Resource strategies provide a dynamic vision but they also determine to which direction the actions are required to be executed and realized. The strategic human resource management develops a stream of dynamic decisions which help in the formation of a pattern developed by the organization for the management of the human resource and also identification of specific areas which needs to be developed. The strategies will basically focus on the do’s and dont’s of the organization to maintain the organizational health stability (Armstrong, 124). In st rategic human resource management, the functioning system appears in a systematic cycle following a sequenced chronological order. These can be classified into five different dimensions: a) mission and goals, b) environmental analysis ,c) strategic formulation , d) strategy implementation and lastly d) strategy evaluation (Bratton, 40). Validation of strategic human resource management There are limitations to the strategic human resource management. They do not always take into account the circumstances that are unique to a company's structure which may require alteration to regular procedures. The strategic human resource may not be always cost effective in nature since it focuses more towards a centralization-based approach and ignore the factors such as implementation and operating costs (Armstrong, 385). The strategic human resource management may not find its optimal feasibility in smaller companies that do not provide hardcore corporate environment. It can be also said that t he concept of strategic human resource management are based on beliefs about the rationality of the approaches used to develop strategy. The process also seems to underestimate the significance of politics, power, and culture. The implications of the power and politics perspective of the HRM are manifold. It is a fact that anyone who has worked with the organizations in the development of the HR practices such as selection and appraisal systems has inferred that it is political rather than technical or strategic consideration which determines the development of the final product (Armstrong, 278). Focus on organizational processes such as power and influence, institutionalization, conflict and contest for controls needs to be given special emphasis in order to under how the strategic decisions will be successful (Klimosk and Zaccaro). The prevalent conceptualizations of SHRM are depended on the conventional rational perspective to administrative decision-making, acts of linear planni ng and choice and action. Managerial fallacy Critical organizational theorists have criticized these assumptions stating that the strategic decisions are not necessarily based on the output of rational calculation. The theorists argue that the image of the manager as a reflective planner and strategist is based on a

Postivie and Negative Effects of Televised Sports Essay

Postivie and Negative Effects of Televised Sports - Essay Example Further it has the negative effect because of the tobacco and alcohol industries promote their products through the sports channel which is viewed by large number of adolescents which may cause to start smoking and alcohol consumption at an early age. In this essay these topics are discussed in detail. Telecast of hockey or any other game generates an early awareness and interest in the sport and creates a fan base. Such broadcasting provides a learning feature for viewers. These televised sports event also endorse player profiles enabling admirers to pursue their favorite athlete’s career growths. Spectators who are fascinated and knowledgeable are admirers who are present at games and encourage an excited environment that inspires a team to play well. Televised games generate awareness and interest in the sport where spectators who may not watch a game otherwise. For example the televised Men’s hockey finals in the year 2002 created a great amount of interest and enthusiasm in Canada as there was a record braking television watching spectators of 8.6 million – US Men’s Ice Hockey final on CBC. This game was so extensively viewed and created high awareness to hockey at the global level. This curiosity in hockey offers admirers with a sense of satisfaction for the Canadian game. Over and above these young viewers will build up a craze for the sport as they gain familiarity and understanding of the game hockey. This endorses a positive game atmosphere and develops team inspiration (Mega essay com. 2007) The history of U.S. television is related to the sports. Certainly, Television took off the ground because of sports, recollect pioneering television sports director Harry Coyle. He further adds that at present, sports require television to survive, however it was just the other way round when it first started. The sales of

Understanding Logistics Performance Measurement And Importance Commerce Essay

Understanding Logistics Performance Measurement And Importance Commerce Essay Probably the first attempt to define logistic performance was made by Chow et al. (1994), and they presented some measures for measuring logistics performance. Since then, most of the literature on logistics performance appears to focus on models and frameworks (Clarke and Gourdin, 1991; Mentzer and Konrad, 1991; Rao and Grenoble, 1991) and on managing different aspects of logistics (Larson, 1994). Logistics performance may be thought as a subset of the larger notion of firm or organizational performance. For Instance, Gleason and Barnum decided to distinguish between effectiveness and efficiency. They defined effectiveness as the extent to which an objective has been achieved, while efficiency was defined as the degree to which resources have been used economically [journal of logistics management. Simply put, efficiency is doing things right, while effectiveness is doing the right thing [journal of logistics management, 42, pp. 3, 4]. Sink and his colleagues defined seven dimensions in order to illustrate the notion of what performance means: they are effectiveness, efficiency, quality, productivity, quality of work life, innovation and profitability/budgetability [journal of logistics management 43, pp. 266-7]. Performance measurement in the logistics functions, like all the business functions, begins at the individual metric level. However, there is forceful need for a method with which to evaluate the existing metrics as there is great abundance of metrics already in existence Logistics performance Indicators: Complex process of logistics is divided into activities which carried out at high quality will not automatically turn a process into a high standard one but they offer chance. The logistics system has the following areas with quality concerns: Logistics facilities, Logistics process and sub processes Human services, organization, management. If we talk about the quality of logistics beyond the three areas mentioned above, then we have to involve the performance and productivity indicators . Quality of logistics facilities: These facilities include: Delivery Facilities warehousing facilities packaging facilities material handling facilities Quality indicators of logistics facilities: Load capacity and performance Modern design Suitability to jobs Maintenance background Man-facilities relation (environment protection) Good-facilities relation (specialties of goods, unit load, packaging, etc.) Ways-vehicles relation Performance-price relation Relation of expected life and price of facilities Specific energy and lubricant costs Specific performance costs Specific maintenance costs Reliability Featurelessness (failure rate,) Longevity (general overhaul cycle, life span) Restorability (av. Restoring time, total break-down time) Storability, transportability Quality indicators of Transport ways Capacity, length, network, way leading (curves, slope etc.) Easy to survey, surface, illumination speed, sensibility to weather, comfort Information, signs Safety, help (telephone, helicopter etc.) Quality indicators of logistics process(es) Optimum combination of jobs (tasks) and facilities Optimum packaging and load unit Optimum logistics chain Optimum route and time Minimum transfer of goods Minimum warehousing time and event Organizing and managing logistics activities in environment-friendly way Capacity supply/capacity demand Appear time/ordered time Damage events/total activities (packaging also) Missing volume/total volume (packaging also) Error delivery/total delivery commitments Physical processing time Performed commitments/ demanded commitments Number of customers/year Logistics performance measures can be categorized into two categories such as qualitative and quantitative measures. Qualitative measures include such as customer satisfaction and product quality etc., and quantitative measures include such as order-to-delivery lead time, supply chain response time, flexibility, resource utilization, delivery performance, etc. Quantitative metrics of supply chain performance can be classified into two broad categories: Non-financial and financial. In fact, in the late 1880s the main emphasis was on financial measures such as return on investment (Christopher, 1992; Schermerhorn et al.,, 2000). However as the second progressed during 1980s, the world market changed and companies began to lose market share to overseas competitors who were able to provide higher-quality products with lower costs and more diversity. To re- capture the competitive edge, companies not only directed their strategic focus from low-cost production to quality, flexibility and short lead time, as non-financial measures (Bower Hout, 1988; Rushton Oxley, 1989; Stewart, 1995). . One of the studies conducted on performance measurement clearly suggests that each entity or company on the supply chain needs to adopt a more balanced perspective in its performance measurement and management approach. It is also suggested companies can measure more adequately non-financial indicators in addition to the financial ones (BSC). Companies need to recognize more the importance of drivers of strategic future performance as represented by the indicators within the internal process perspective and the learning and growth perspective. As it is, it would appear that though these non-financial drivers of growth indicators are recognized as important, they are often overshadowed by the financial indicators. Moreover, managing a given supply chains overall performance necessitates the coordination of measures across the different entities on the supply chain. In nutshell, requires all entities on the supply chain to adopt a common balanced perspective in their performance measurement and management in order to facilitate the overall performance and competitiveness of the entire Business logistics performance metrics could also be classified as Operational performance metrics Day to day technical representation adherence to developed schedule ( important to give time and location dimensions for quality assurance) Ability to avoid complaints(means minimizing the possible complaints) Achievement of defect free deliveries Inventory carrying cost(Levy (1997) Information carrying cost (Steward (1995) Tactical performance metrics Efficiency of purchase order (using economic order quantity and other approaches) Cycle time Booking in procedures Cash flow Quality assurance methodology Capacity flexibility Total transportation cost Strategic performance metrics Rate of return on Investment (is the ratio of money gained or lost (whether realized or unrealized) on an investment relative to the amount of money invested) Total cash flow time lead time against industry norm, Quality level Cost saving initiatives supplier pricing against market(Gunasekaran et al. (2004) Customer query time Importance of performance Measurement The importance of performance measurement cannot be denied as one of the manufacturing and management consultant said that you get what you inspect, not what you expect. (Melnyk et al. 2004) It has also been affirmed that organizations would gain competitive advantage, through logistics, when they seek and achieve excellence in the twin peaks of cost and service leadership (Christopher (1992, pp. 8-10). Similarly, another states that in operations strategy, organizations can compete not only on productivity, but also by giving perceived value through innovation and quality (Garvin (1992, pp. 126, 204, 321). Metrics are required to evaluate work done and to direct the activities, since what we measure indicates how we intend to deliver value to our customers Performance measurement can be defined as the process of quantifying the efficiency and effectiveness of action (Neely, Mills, Platts, Gregory, Richards, 1994). Pressures (severe competition, globalization, and rapidly changes in customer requirements) are significantly driving force to organizations in order to re-focusing on utilizing of people and resources based on organizational objectives. Organizations need to provide a performance measurement system to evaluate the resource utilization so that they can strategically manage and properly control to achieve their objectives and goals. it has been pointed out that performance measurement is vital part of controlling process in order to take action for ensuring desired results. (Schermerhorn and Chappell ,2000) Case Example: Many people are surprised how Wal-Mart is able to charge such low prices and continue to make a profit. There are several factors in their business model that contribute to this ability, but a big one is their ability to adapt to an ever-changing global marketplace and running an efficient supply chain system. Moreover, the giant retailer is implementing the most advanced technological solutions and measures to be efficient market player. This ability requires a flawless logistical system that allows product to be shipped anywhere at a moments notice. Wal-Marts commitment to improving operations, lowering costs and improving customer service is making it efficient and effective retailer. However, Wal-Marts success lies in its ability to drive costs out of its supply chain and manage it efficiently. Wal-Mart is considered to be a supply chain-driven company that also has retail stores. Running the whole business model on the low prices strategy and low cost transportation enables Wal-Mart to sell its products at the lowest possible prices. Wal-Mart operates each of its stores like a small company. Trained store managers manage one store at a time, one department at a time, and one customer at a time. Wal-Mart has implemented advanced logistics solutions like RFID (radio frequency identification). These solutions assist in maintaining lower costs, identifying out-of-stocks and increasing sales. Wal-Mart has successfully established Distribution centers (DC) instead of warehouses, cross-docking technology and automated replenishment also reduce inventory carrying costs. (Anonymous, 2007) Conclusion: The logistics challenge is that organizations have to be more responsive, with high levels of flexibility in delivery. The emphasis should be on processes and performance rather than on functions and profit. The competitive battleground will be in the fields of quality, productivity, speed and innovation. Progress towards performance excellence will be aided greatly by relevant and integrated measurement frameworks and models (Christopher (1994). It has been proclaimed that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and expresses it in numbers; you will know something about it (Lord Kelvin, 1996) Realizing the importance of performance measurement in logistics, many big market player are trying to be more efficient by investing huge resources in latest financial as well as non financial tools Moreover, logistics costs take 18-23% of total production costs (in a wider sense even 40%).For this reason production companies are going to make these activities more effective and efficient. Big companies have third partners (forwarders) make it. A forwarder can comprehend and optimize a longer interval of logistics chain. The share of distribution and production logistics is not right. The border is not sharp. In the case of quality the question is how and not where.

bill gates :: essays research papers fc

William H. Gates III Biographical Essay Uploaded by surfchick (2074) on Jan 5, 2005 William H. Gates III (Bill Gates) Biography On October 28, 1955 William H. Gates III (nicknamed "trey") was born in Seattle. His father was a lawyer (William H. Gates II) and his mother was a schoolteacher. He also had two older sisters who were in high school when Bill was born. Bill attended a public elementary school before he moved to a private school in North Seattle named Lakeside. Lakeside's strong academics enabled Bill to actively get involved with computers (which were the love of his life next to baseball) and use his superior intellect. This was the beginning of a long and successful career in computers. Bill combined his intellect and visions of technology along with his active participation in may charities to make our world a better place. He was born with a long family history of business, politics and community services. His grand father was the vice president of a national bank, and his father was a prominent lawyer. Early in life it was obvious that Bill Gates inherited the ambition, intelligence and competitive spirits that helped the rest of his family rise to the top in their chosen professions. In elementary school he quickly surpassed all of his peer's abilities in nearly all subjects, especially in math and science. His parents recognized his intelligence and decided to enroll him in Lakeside, a private school known for its intense academic environment. It was at Lakeside that he was first introduced to computers. In the spring of 1968 the Lakeside Prep School concluded that it should acquaint the student body with the world of computers. They were still too large and costly for the school to purchase it's own, so instead they had a fund raiser and bought computer time on a DEC PDP-10 owned by General Electric. A few thousand dollars were raised which the school figured would buy more than enough time to last into the next school year. But they had drastically underestimated the amount of students that would be addicted to this machine. With in a week all of the school's computer time had been used up. Bill and his friends went to places that made computers and finally found a company that would let them use their computers for free, but they had to record all the times that the computers crashed and exactly what happened so they could fix it.