Cow Eye dissection Essay

Purpose The purpose of this lab was to explore the anatomy of a cow eye. The eye is a special sensory organ with a complex structure and function. The objective was to gain a better understanding of the structure and the function of the eye. In this lab, we set out to dissect a cow’s eye and identify the different parts of the eye. Hypothesis If I study and review all the components and anatomy within this, then I can posse the knowledge and comprehend the functions of the cow eye and how its function are in resemblance with the human eye and its correlation to the human body. After completion of this lab I will be able to easily and confidently identify the cow eye mechanisms and permeable landmarks and terms with accuracy. Materials -Carolina Cow Eye Specimen -Dissecting Kit -Instructions -Internet; personal computer Results: Conclusion After completing this week’s lab, I have collectively and reviewed all aspects of preparing the assigned lab report. My beginning hypothesis was correct in the sense that to fully understand the material within this lab I have to comprehend the cow eye anatomy. I was able to view the external and internal eye anatomy. Most of the outside flesh was soft and slick to the touch. There is definitely a correspondence between the parts in the cow eye and those in a human eye. This lab enabled me to understand and better grasp the anatomy of the eye and how all parts within the body correlate to the entire human body.

Classification of Laws

Classification of Laws An important method of classifying law is according to the system in which it is created. †¢ common law Rules of law created by the courts through judicial decisions. Courts â€Å"make law† as part of the process of deciding cases and controversies before them. The case law created in this process is based on a doctrine known as stare decisis. This doctrine is based on the notion that prior decisions provide guidance that should be followed in subsequent cases involving the same questions of law. Thus, where a rule of law has been announced and followed by courts so that the rule has become settled by judicial decision, a precedent is established for future cases. The common law system originated in England. Therefore, because of our nation’s close historical association with England, the common law system is of significant importance in the United States. Indeed, many state constitutions specifically adopted the common law of England as the beginning point of those states’ legal systems. Civil law systems found in France and Spain are quite different from the common law system. The civil law systems rely primarily on legislative enactments, rather than judicial decisions, for law. Any court in a civil law system must defer to the legislation for the answer to a legal issue. The courts’ decisions do not become precedent. Future cases also must be resolved by reference to applicable legislation. Only Louisiana, among the various states, follows a civil law system. This is due to Louisiana’s historical ties with France. Public law Another way of classifying the law is to divide it into matters of public law and matters of private law. public law involves those matters that involve the regulation of society as opposed to individuals interacting. Examples of public law include constitutional law, administrative law, and criminal law. oConstitutional law involves the interpretation and application of either the federal or a state constitution. oAdministrative law describes the legal principles that apply to government agencies, bureaus, boards, and commissions. Criminal law encompasses all legal aspects of crime. In each of these areas, society, or â€Å"the people,† are directly involved in the issues. Their interests are represented by a governmental agency, officer, or official whose obligation it is to see that justice is accomplished and the ends of society achieved. Public law provides a major portion of the legal env ironment of business. †¢Private law encompasses those legal problems and relationships that exist between individuals. Private law is traditionally separated into the law of contracts, the law of torts, and the law of property. Contract law addresses agreements between two parties. †¢Tort law addresses wrongs other than a breach of contract, by which one party injures another. †¢Property law deals with all aspects of ownership and possession of both tangible things and intangible rights. Our whole economic system is based upon the rights of individuals to acquire and use private property. Another means of classifying the law is to divide it into: †¢Civil Law and Criminal Law, For administrative purposes, courts usually separate criminal actions from all other lawsuits. Civil cases may include suits for breach of contract or tort cases, such as suits for personal injuries. Typically, they involve a request for damages or other appropriate relief that does not involve punishment of the wrongdoer. Criminal cases involve a representative of government attempting to prove the wrong committed against society and seeking to have the wrongdoer punished by the court system. †¢Substantive Law and Procedural Law Another important classification or distinction in law is between substance and procedure. Substantive law defines the legal relationship of people with other people or between them and the state. Thus, the rules of law governing the creation or enforcement of a contractual promise are substantive in nature. Procedural law deals with the method and means by which substantive law is made and administered. The time allowed for one party to sue another and the rules of law governing the process of the lawsuit are examples of procedural laws. Thus, substantive rules of law define rights and duties, while procedural rules of law provide the machinery for enforcing those rights and duties. Judicial procedures involve the conduct of lawsuits and appeals and the enforcement of judgments. The rules for conducting civil trials are different from those for criminal trials. For example, each party may call the other party to the witness stand for cross-examination in a civil trial, but the defendant may not be required to testify in a criminal case. Procedural problems sometimes arise concerning papers filed in lawsuits, the admission of evidence, and various other techniques involved in trying the case. They are the rules of the game. Next, you will study these procedural aspects of law in greater depth. In summary, For instance, Common Law was created with the purpose of establishing a set of legal rules based on previous court decisions made on similar cases, and these decisions may or may not be regulated by any already existing statutes. This form of law is based on the stare decisis doctrine. In contrast to the common law, Civil Law is dependent on statutes, where decisions are made based on established legislative rules, therefore prior decisions from judges do not take precedence. The second classification is based on the differentiation between Public and Private law, where public law relates to societal influences and governing structures, whereas private law deals with upholding the legal rights of individuals. Another common classification introduced is that of Civil and Criminal laws, in which the courts make a distinction between laws that pertain to the deliberate perpetration of a criminal wrongdoing, from laws that were established to enforce and ascertain the outcome of a lawsuit between disputing parties. Finally, laws can also be classified as Substantive or Procedural laws, where substantive laws address the rights and duties that protect every person within our society, and the application of procedural laws, which governs and enforces the rules that assist in controlling the behavior of all the officers, governing bodies, and other members that form our judicial system. All members of the armed forces must adhere to military rules enforced by a document known as the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and this document provides all necessary guidelines in the compliance of the various articles delineated in the document. In addition, we must also comply with federal, state and local regulations. For example, in order to avoid fines and legal reprisals, and also due to the technical nature of our working environment, rules and regulations generated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must be adopted and enforced, ensuring the safety of personnel and environmental stability.

Ad Agency Report Essay

Abstract The focus of this paper is to select and research an advertising agency, which will then be evaluated. The paper will discuss the evaluation in two stages. Thus, the first section of the evaluation will include a description of the unique aspects of the agency, its strengths, services, specialties, and approach to marketing communication, and others, while the second section is going to be a personal opinion of the agency as a marketing communication firm. The selected advertising agency is TBWA. TBWA – Overview TBWA is an independent and international, privately-owned advertising agency which headquarters are located in Mmidtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was started in Europe and made a mark in the United Sated by promoting European products, such as Absolut vodka and Evian water. The agency was founded in 1970, surprisingly in France by William Tragos, Claude Bonnange, Uli Wiesendanger and Paolo Airoldi. The agency’s name was derived from the initials of the four founders’ last names. The founders hoped to tap ‘the richness of different cultures, the healthy frictions and the thrust that comes from diversity,’ as chairperson Tragos later stated in a company publication. In 1977 Tragos opened TBWA’s first U.S. office in New York City. The New York City branch of TBWA started out with $7.5 million worth of billings in the first year. The branch worked for several small accounts that would later become large money-earners, including the European bottled water company Evian and Fromageries Bel, producers of Laughing Cow cheese. In 1993 Omnicom acquired TBWA and the agency expanded rapidly to become a worthy partner to BBDO and DDB. Two key developments in the growth of TBWA were its merger with US agency Chiat Day in 1995 and with Anglo-French network GGT BDDP three years later. The agency operates through various brands all over the world, such as: TBWA ChiataDay in New York, TBWA Hunt Lascarisa in South Africa, TBWA Concept Unit in West Africa, and TBWARaad in North Africa. This company is ranked in the first ten 10 advertising agencies of the world and it has more than 274 offices in over a hundred countries and it counts more than 11,000 employees worldwide. TBWA develops and manages brand behavior in the world of today by using Disruptive Ideas. They concentrate not only on being the best in advertising but to be among the most creative companies from the world. The specialty disciplines/marketing services of this ad agency are: disruption, service development, media advertising, employee branding, digital, theatre, design, sports sponsorship, retail activation, corporate social responsibility (CSR), customer relationship management (CRM), cause related marketing, mobile utility, custom publishing, brand amplification, event marketing, and others. TBWA strategies services include: Disruptive Strategy, Brand Positioning, Brand Development, Brand Behavior and Media Arts Planning. Their analytical tools help recognize market growth opportunities. Some of these analytical tools are: Web analytics, Definition and measurement of targeted digital channels, Marketing effectiveness metrics, Customer relationship strategies, and Customer scorecards. Through service analytics and ongoing media monitoring TBWA help optimize services and activate desired behavior to leverage success fast. According to McMains (2009), TBWA is a combination of tactical rigor mid strong creative ideas. See more: Unemployment – problems and solutions essay TBWA states that their starting point for any brand is disruption, even though the brand may be local or global. Disruption drives a tactical development of the solution of their clients by challenging conventions from any industry and it provides a common language across the network for the brands this company leads. By being fluent in Ddisruption and Mmedia Aarts, each agency in the TBWA network is continuously analyzing and documenting the shifts in the media context and their influence on the behavior of the audience. Thus, this commitment makes it possible to let TBWA to serve global brands distinctively than the competitors. Some of the global clients of TBWA are: ABSOLUT, Accenture, Adidas, Apple, Energized, Four Seasons, GSK, Henkel, Infiniti, McDonald’s, Michelin, Nissan, Pfizzer, Roche, Singapore Airlines, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa, and many others. TBWA was recognized as the Best International Network of the Decade by Advertising Age in 2010, while TBWA was placed the 24th of the world’s 50 most innovative companies in 2009 by Fast Company Magazine. As stated early earlier, TBWA is a unit of Omnicom Group which is a world leader in marketing and also in corporate communications office. Omnicom’s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. Datamonitor (2010) states that Omnicom’s strengths are: client relationships, important operations with a powerful portfolio of brands, wide range of services that can be offered, and a strongerstrong market recognition. Its weaknesses rely in: constantly changing financial performances and also geographic concentration. Visible opportunities are positive outlook for interactive media market, the reviving industry of advertisements, the increase in mobile marketing, and also an increase in the advertising market of Asia Pacific. Lastly, threats that this company faces comes from an intense competition, global business risks, and also regulation. All of the mentioned above make up the SWOT analysis for the Omnicom Group which is the owner of TBWA. TBWA dominated Campaign Asia Pacific’s 2012 Agency of the Year Awards in four categories: ‘Japan Creative Agency of the Year’, ‘Australia/New Zealand PR Agency of the Year’, and ‘Singapore Digital Network of the Year’. The most important people of this company are: Tom Carroll who is the president and CEO of TBAWorldwide, Jean-Marie Dru, who is the Chairman, Lee Clow, the global director of Media Arts, and Denis Streiff, who is the Chief Financial Officer of the TBWAWorldwide. TBWA – Opinion As a personal consideration, I think that TBWA is an advertising agency that deserves its current place because it is not easy to work with companies like Apple, Addidas, McDonald’s or Pfizzer. These big players have chosen TBWA probably because they have trust in the operations conducted by this company. I would say that it is well worth to spend time and resources to create something that would be best in the following years to come because TBWA with its current customers can draw other important companies into working with it. TheyTBWA aims to be not only the best marketing network but also one of the most creative companies in the world. And The company embraces any marketing challenges on all levels: from any area of business, to any positioning, customer experience and communications. TBWA create solutions that set any business on a new growth path, using their Ddisruption toolkit proven in hundreds of client cases around the Wworld. The deployment of disruption helps galvanize diverse stakeholders in a focused and collaborative conversation in an effort to develop the biggest, sharpest, most fertile brand idea that will, in turn, inform what the brand believes, and how the brand behaves and communicates. This is an important differentiation in the TBWA approach. Disruption helps the agency network develop a creative strategy that will drive the brand’s overarching global success, without sacrificing local relevance. Conclusion The This global company does an excellent job into understanding the dynamics of the consumer in every market and also into delivering work that was test in every of the mentioned markets. In today’s world of media proliferation, fragmentation and convergence, clients benefit from TBWA’s leadership at a brand strategy level, as well as its stewardship of all marketing communication activities. And cClients stay at TBWA because of how the agency serves their soft needs. The global evidence is digital advertising which is more effective in engaging the consumer. Digital can have a lot of impact if you do it right. However, TBWA will still have to follow the objectives, moral conduit, ethical and legal activities to maintain itself as a leading voice into this industry. References Datamonitor (2010). Omnicom Group, Inc. SWOT Analysis, 1-11 McMains, A. (2009). TBWA. Brandweek, 50(1), 12-14. Press Release: TBWA Worldwide (2012). TBWA dominates four competitions at Campaign Asia-Pacific’s 2012 Agency of the Year Awards. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tbwa-dominates-four-competitions-campaign-215500701.html TBWA ADVERTISING, INC. History. Retrieved from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/tbwa-advertising-inc-history/ Select and research an advertising agency. You can choose a national or local agency. Write a 3-5 page overview and evaluation of the agency. Your evaluation should be written in two sections. The first section should describe the agency’s unique aspects, strengths, services, approach to marketing communications, specialties, client list, and so forth. The second section should be your opinion of the organization as a marketing communication firm. Include your perception of the organization.

Influence of Culture on Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Influence of Culture on Accounting - Essay Example Uniform implementation of International Accounting Standards is taking a long time mainly for this reason. The concerns and constraints of each country are different and most of the countries have well developed accounting norms and standards which they feel are quite adequate for their needs. It is another story that a reader from an alien culture might find the accounts presentation style too elaborate or too brief Dieter Ordelheide (2004 p.269) states that accounting is a social institution. He further states that Accounting is concerned with nothing less than the conceptualization of capital, its concrete expression in numbers, as well as its budgeting and monitoring, and thus with a societal institution that is so central to our economic system that it has given it its name. We might talk of global and market driven economies, the ways and means of determining the income or assets are the core of the entire financial and economic set up. Each cultural group uses these to tray and better their financial position within the culture they belong to. "Professionalism versus Statutory Control-a preference for the exercise of individual professional judgment and the maintenance of professional self-regulation as opposed to compliance with prescriptive level requirements and statutory control. Uniformity versus Flexibility-a preference for the enforcement of uniform accounting practices between companies and for the consistent use of such practices over time as opposed to flexibility in accordance with the perceived circumstances of individual companies. Conservatism versus Optimism-a preference for a cautious approach to measurement so as to cope with the uncertainty of future events as opposed to a more optimistic, laissez-faire, risk-taking approach. Secrecy versus Transparency-a preference for confidentiality and the restriction of disclosure of information about the business only to those who are closely involved with its management and financing as opposed to a more transparent, open, and publicly accountable approach." Thus as per this hypothesis each of these conflicting factors have influenced the development of the accounting standards depending upon their prevalence and dominance in the cultures being referred to. To take the example of Greek economy where the businesses tend to be closely held and public participation is indirect at its best mainly in the form of lending by banks, the need for disclosure or window dressing balance sheets is negligent. So the accounting systems which developed were fairly simple such that the limited number of stakeholders can understand the basic numbers. Of course with integration within the EU the disclosure norms have become more complex still not as complex at other developed countries say USA or Canada. In Greece one suspects that the tax bureaucrats have had a strong hand in dictating the shape of accounting conventions which are still followed. The Greek business houses being closely held tend to be wary of disclosing information to competitors so it is uncommon to see segment

Historical Significance of AIDS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Historical Significance of AIDS - Essay Example The article views a range of aspects from a social perspective on practices of institutions that shape the response of Brazil to AIDS and victims lives and their stories. It is drawn from interviews with policy makers, corporate actors, longitudinal ethnographic and activists among the care services of AIDS. The innovation of pharmaceuticals allow for unlikely coalitions which exposes the insufficiencies of action to reforms and paradigms of public health, if to global values, limited extent and mechanisms. The treatment rollouts form matters of strong negotiations, the local realization shape up by uncertainty and contingencies. Such realizations program diverse political and economic interests, as well as desires and citizens needs. The therapeutic merges also expose local infrastructure and national deficiencies and bring together the relations of civil society. A public health model that is pharmaceutically centred has surfaced to be a by-product from the treatment of AIDS sustai nability and scale up of policy of AIDS in Brazil has to constantly be negotiated in the drugs world market. Many networks and differentiation in the AIDS care resurface and in the article, the reason for the difficultness in AIDS practice among the poor has been well spelt out. The AIDS victims who are poor stay in a flux state and simultaneously acknowledging their condition during their participation in salvation. In a micro and macro level, there is a triage state and survival politics crystallizing (Biehl, pp 1083) Many communities have different beliefs, ideas and healing systems about AIDS and therefore, a viewed few ideas will be considered (porter, pp8). AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a feared disease which results into entire failure of resistance to bacterial and viral infection that originally exist in the body of human being. AIDS is caused by Human T-cell Lymph tropic-associated HTLV-III according to scientists from America. In France the scientists name d it LAV and World Health Organization calls it HIV. The virus affects selectively helper T-cells responsible for very crucial role in the defence responses of human body to fight diseases (Christopher et al, pp 7) The named symptoms might show one or alongside others or altogether might be suppressed: unexplainable and significant weight loss, thick sputum cough, glands which are swollen in neck side, groin and armpits, watery diarrhoea that persists, white copursles reduction, anal and oral ulcers persistent mood of tiredness and blood platelets reduction. The virus presence in human body is discovered through an easy test of blood called ELISA. Other tests like test of immune florescence and Western blot can be used to confirm this test (ELISA). AIDS is not curable. But researchers worldwide are working on finding a safe but effective vaccine and a drug which would stop this virus from spreading. Considerations have been on many drugs. But Dideoxy nucleoside, Ribavarin and Azidot hymidine seems to be more satisfactory. Already AZT is being used in the United States of America on the victims. AIDS is a name derived from a deadly immune structure weakening. Furthermore, AIDS as investigated is caused by T4cells destruction or functional failure. T4 cells are also known as helper cells that perform a systematic role in production of immune system or body defence antibodies. During the period of ailment, there exists a big reduction of the helper cells count blocking the manufacturing of antibodies and

Islamic Sharia Law in Present Day Nigeria Essay

Islamic Sharia Law in Present Day Nigeria - Essay Example Whether devout or not, the rulers benefited from the opportunities associated with Islam: the wealth of the transSaharan trade, the spread of ideas from North Africa, and the ability to forge diplomatic relations with Muslim rulers elsewhere. Islam an established system of public revenue based on tax and a judiciary based on the Sharia law and the alkali courts, started presided over by learned Islamic jurists. The Islamic jurispudence or Sharia law was allowed to be followed, but people started to practice it by combining the sharia laws with their new existing beliefs and this was obviously in their own interest as they were used to mould their religion accordingly. No doubt Sharia has always been a notion of conflict among Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. As Islam was being introduced into northern Nigeria in the 14th century, Muslims applied the Islamic law Sharia to their everyday lifestyle as they were bound to do so being Muslims and even those Muslims who were in favor of religious freedom, they also felt it hard to cope up with the 'Sharia' law. The conflict started with the advent of British rule, when the Muslims started feeling unsecured with a disrupted legal system because Nigerian Muslims particularly those of North were not in a position to tolerate any obstruction in between them and the 'Sharia' but at the same time they were bound to follow the legal system according to which the Sharia courts came under the supervision of Europeans probably the Christians. While recognizing Sharia law and courts, the British also restricted them in several respects. The 1906 Proclamation limited the application of Sharia to Muslims and provided that these courts could not give certain punishments, such as mutilation, torture, or others which were repugnant to "natural justice and humanity." (Bello, 2000) These changes reflected at least two principles. One was a belief that certain previously existing Sharia criminal penalties were inhumane. The other was that criminal law is a public matter to be implemented by the state rather than by private or social action. Some further changes in the implementation of Sharia occurred in the Native Ordinance of 1956, officially known as the "Native Courts Law of Northern Nigeria, No. 6 of 1956." (Bello, 2000) This provided for appeals from the Sharia courts to courts of appeal that reflected a more British understanding of justice, and the Ordinance provoked disagreement with the traditional emirs, who objected to this limit on Sharia law. In an attempt to pacify the emirs, the British then established Sharia Courts of Appeal, which were meant to protect Islamic law from excessive encroachhment through appeal to English courts. (Bello, 2000) Though well maintained, these courts were looked after by Europeans and in line with colonial policy, the British established a Muslim court of appeal in 1956, which was empowered to deal with matters of Muslim personal law only. This court was renamed the Sharia court of appeal just before independence in 1960. (Adamu, 2004) On one hand the Sharia courts were running under British authority while

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies Assignment - 5

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies - Assignment Example The company’s success cannot be attributed to serendipity; rather, the effectiveness of the management of Coca-Cola has facilitated the eloquent positioning in regards to competition. In essence, the management of the company has put in place strategies, both in the corporate-level and in the business-level, in order to ensure that the company is flourishing. The separation of these two critical levels of strategies is salient to the long-term performance and organization. The objective of business-level strategy is to create a value that appeals to the customer without compromising the cost-efficiency of the producing the value. In other words, business-level strategy focuses on how the company will satisfy the needs of the target customers in the existing market through meeting their needs accordingly and thus being competitively advantaged. On the other hand, corporate-level strategy focuses on the strategy of the organization in it’s entirely. Whereas the business-l evel strategy focuses on a single business unit, the corporate-level strategy focuses on the entire portfolio of the organization’s business. Corporate-level strategy involves deciding the products and markets that the company will venture into (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2014). In this discussion, the business-level and corporate-level strategies employed by Coca-Cola Company will be addressed, as well as the how these strategies differ from the principal Competition, PepsiCo, and in different market situations. In the business-level, Coca-Cola has complied with Michael Porter’s three generic strategies of attaining competitive advantage. On the first note, Coca-Cola employs a differentiation strategy in its bid to separate and make itself unique from other companies in the market. It is evident in the unique design used in the packaging bottles. In fact, the

Engagement and Motivation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Engagement and Motivation - Assignment Example It shall first discuss the concepts of engagement and motivation and then go on to discuss the relationship between engagement and motivation as it relates to literacy during early childhood. It shall also discuss the policy implications based on what is established in the discussion on early childhood. Practice implications shall also be established based on what is established in the discussion on early childhood. This paper is being conducted in order to establish a clear understanding of engagement and motivation as it applies to literacy during specific stages of human development. Engagement is about energy in action or the connection between person and activity (Russell, as cited by Ainley, 2004). It is about setting into motion activities which would help accomplish one’s goals. Cambourne (as cited by Kamil, Pearson, Barr, & Mosenthal, 2000, p. 403) discusses that engagement â€Å"entails holding a purpose, seeking to understand, believing in one’s own capability, and taking responsibility for learning†. There is an emotional and physical connection between the thought and the action in engagement and this engagement helps to ensure that a person has more self confidence in carrying out certain activities like reading and writing. Motivation is â€Å"about energy and direction, the reasons for behavior, why we do what we do† (Russell as cited by Ainley, 2004). It is the ultimate underlying reason for one’s activities and one’s engagement in a certain goal. Motivation may be intrinsic or extrinsic and as an intrinsic goal it may refer to a person’s reasons for doing an activity without any purpose other than the fact that one enjoys the activity. This may be related to the concept of reading for reading’s sake (Kamil, Pearson, Barr & Mosenthal, 2000). Motivation often inspires a deeper and a more profound engagement in an activity. It helps sustain

Enron Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enron Corporation - Case Study Example Executive Summary Some stories are so unbelievable that they become Hollywood movies. One of those stories is the Enron scandal. The movie called Enron the Smartest Guys in the Room was created based on the Enron story. Enron was once the biggest company in the energy industry, but a complex fraudulent scheme that began many years prior to the revelation of the fraud led to its demise. The corporate executives of the company were the primary agents that designed one the biggest accounting scandals in United States history. Two of the accounting tools that were used by Enron to cook up the numbers were market to market accounting and off balance sheet liabilities. The company would own only 49% of a subsidiary in order not to have to report liabilities of the entity. Debt from Enron was hidden in thousands of hedge funds or subsidiaries. It was all a huge scam. The organization violated or used to its advantage a variety of organizational theories. Five of the theories that influenced the behavior of Enron management and its employees were agency problem, corporate culture, teamwork, perception, and leadership. Agency problems exist at Enron in terms of the yearly bonuses, inside trading activity, and in the partnership scheme particularly the LJM partnership. The executive management team colluded with each other in a team effort. The leadership abilities of the top executive managers were outstanding. The corporate culture of the company was based on greed, disloyalty, and unethical behavior. The managers of the company were able to create a perception of a superb company that had tremendous financial performance. This was not true since the company was a fraudulent firm. Statement of the Problem Enron Corporation cooked up the numbers by violating the conservatism principle in market to market transactions and used deceptive accounting practices to hide liabilities by creating a complex network of partnerships. The mastermind of the network hedge funds was An dy Fastow. All the top corporate executives were crooked. The traders were unethical and money hungry. In a partnership called LJM Fastow stole $45 million. The company had a rotten corporate culture where the employees had tough pressures to perform or they would be fired. The company got corrupted and collusion occurred which led to the biggest corporate crime of the 21 century. Analysis of the Problem The Enron accounting scandal was a well orchestrated machine. Prior to the whistleblower revealing the truth nobody knew that the accounting of the company was not truthful. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the use of market to market accounting for Enron. They could have never imagined that it was going to be used as a tool for deception and financial fraud. When the company got a new energy contract they would recognized the profits immediately without any cash coming in. The executives exaggerated the benefits of the energy contracts in order to boost profits and r eceive bonuses and rewards for fake money. The company was creating monopoly money that did not really exist. In the year 2000 the company reported $1 billion in profits. The truth was that they did not make any money whatsoever. The company for years was overstating the value of the energy contracts. As time passed most of the earnings did not manifest themselves. The company in reality was

Experimental film&video Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Experimental film&video - Essay Example But before I go to that specific scene, there is a need to at least describe the preceding scenes to set the premise and provide a holistic review of that specific segment of the film. The scene starts with the title honeymoon which implies that Akmatov succeeded in seducing Anna with his money and the two got married. Anna, dressed in white with a band of flowers around her head was shown smiling as she beckons someone to her side. Anna was lying on her back on what looked like a couch or a bed filled with pillows. This was followed by the shadow imagery showing a man flirting with a woman. The man was trying to tickle the woman with his playful fingers. The close up shot of Akmatov reveals the identity of the man who was with Anna. After their foreplay, Akmatov dove into Anna’s bosom. The scenes that followed showed a cannon barrel firing several shots, a woman who fell flat on her face and a close up shot of Akmatov wiping his mouth in sheer satisfaction. This series of frames depicts consummated sexual intercourse between Anna and Akmatov. The cannon barrel represents the dominant male sex while the fallen woman represents the submissive female sex. The picture of Akmatov wiping his mouth represents sexual satisfaction and satiation. After their honeymoon, Anna remembered her duty to save the world. But she cannot do that with Akmatov around so she had to strangle and kill him. He killed Akmatov so that she could go the core of the earth and become the new and better heart of the world. The message is loud and clear. Eliminating commercialism and greed for wealth is the only way to clear the path for saving the world. Too much industrialization has polluted the earth and depleted its resources. Too much commercialism fuels industrialization. And too much greed for money pushes man to commercialism even at the expense of the planet that supports every form of life on

Collaborative project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Collaborative project - Assignment Example collaboration plan had little or no impact on student learning, you have the opportunity to reflect on the plan and identify possible alternative approaches that could be used in the future. The collaboration task format is based on the Kentucky Teacher Internship teacher performance assessment model. It supports Kentucky Teacher Standard VIII, Collaborates with Colleagues/Parents/Others. The format has been modified for application to teacher preparation. You will collaborate with one or more other professionals to design and implement a plan for a student whose learning could be enhanced by collaboration. Be sure to review carefully the appropriate guidelines before completing this form. Edward has a learning disability which affects hearing processing. Like many students with invisible disabilities, such as learning and mental impairments, he is sensitive to the attitudes and thoughts of fellow classmates and teachers regarding his need for special facilities in class. In the meeting I discussed in detail with the subject teachers/concerned teachers about the performance of Edward in their subjects specially the marks percentage which he got in monthly, quarterly and annual examinations. I also enquired in explanatory way about his concentration in each class. Besides all this, activities of Edwards were monitored and discussed in the meeting. The main impact of the collaboration plan on this student’s learning is that on spot assessment is possible. Because of this plan I evaluate students grades/marks frequently like monthly, quarterly and annually. Moreover, I also monitor his activities and interests on regular

Variable Factors in Fitness Center Essay Example for Free

Variable Factors in Fitness Center Essay There are five areas of interest that would be play an essential role in the variable factors for a fitness center. The first interest would include utilities. Lighting and water plays a crucial role in maintaining the livelihood for a fitness center. The fitness center uses water to provide hot or cold showers to their members after workout, water fountains are available on almost every hall, and not to mention swimming pools and hot tubs that uses large amount of water throughout the year. Quality lighting as well as quantity offers a lot in a fitness center. Fitness centers need adequate amount of lighting so their members can work out effectively as well as safely. Everyone room in a fitness center requires some light source and some requires a magnificent amount of lighting, for example, a gymnasium requires large bulbs which uses a lot of energy to illuminate light successfully. Light and water are variable factors because these resources are dependent on the amount of members who use the facilities that requires light and water. If there is a decrease in membership then the amount of lighting and water that were being used will decline as well. The less active members are than the less resources management would use concerning lighting and water in certain facilities. The second variable factor for a fitness center would be toiletry items. The amount of soap, hand sanitizer, tissue, and disposable hand towels will vary based on the number of members a fitness center has as well as the business those members bring. A fitness center should keep inventory to avoid over-spending and ordering items that will not be used. If membership declines at a fitness center, management should be aware and carefully watch the portion of their budget that is spent on toiletry items. Fewer members will equate to less usage and need of soap, hand sanitizer, tissue, and disposable hand towels. However, if business increase at a rapid rate, then management should order toiletry items accordingly to accommodate their members. The third variable factor for a fitness center would be repairs. It is not uncommon for fitness centers to experience their equipment being worn down,  broken, or just over-used. Although one can argue an optimistic point of view and suggest damages are due to the consistent amount of usage by members, which means a consecutive flow of business for the fitness center. However, when equipment is hardly being used because members are not using the equipment or perhaps there are no members, then repairs are not needed. The more members that uses fitness center equipment or machines, it is expected to be more repairs or replacements. Sometimes equipment or machines that need to be repair result from the improper usage of the equipment or machine. If members are not following the instructions on the equipment or machines that explains how each one should be operated than one can expect repairs in the near future. The fourth variable for a fitness center would be laundry as it relates to amount of bleach and detergent that is being purchased. Laundry can get very hectic at a fitness center. One should always have enough towels for members after a shower and hand towels to wipe away the sweat from a long session on the treadmill. Laundry is a never ending cycle for a fitness center that experience a consecutive flow of business and especially when membership increases. A large membership may require around the clock laundry and excessive amount of bleach and detergent to properly ensure that towels and hand towels are being cleaned properly. Also, if the amount of members decreases than the usage of laundry facilities will decrease because the high the demand for those items are no longer needed. The fifth variable factor for a fitness center would be hiring and release of trainers and instructors for a fitness center. Fitness centers who have qualified trainers and instructors offer the proper education and training to their members to effectively workout to achieve their desire goals. The number of trainers and instructors will be dependent on the membership of a fitness center. The more members that a fitness center has will increase the amount of trainers and instructors to equally distribute their knowledge, skills, and teachings to members. However, if membership decreases than fitness centers may not have a need to have twenty-five trainers or instructors if they could operate with just seven. So, this may affect opportunities for employment on both ends of the spectrum, positively and  negatively. D.) Franchise Decision Many people today are turning towards making better lifestyle decisions, those that particularly affect one’s health. If one hasn’t noticed, even fast food restaurants are turning towards healthier food choices. Who would have ever though that McDonalds would actually start selling fruits? People choose to take control of their health benefits in different ways; however, numerous people have turned to fitness centers to stay health and in shape. â€Å"The percentage of people belonging to health clubs and gyms has double over the past 20 years† (Snap Fitness, 2012). One contributing factor for this extensive growth is due to the cost of health care continuously increasing. In addition, we are living in a baby boomer generation which plays a major role in the population rate. â€Å"Economically, the health club industry has proven to be recession-proof, averaging an 8% annual growth rate since the early 1990’s across all health clubs and gyms† (Snap Fitness, 2012). That is very impressive due to the fact that most business were suffering great losses. The quoted statement proves that no matter what economic state the economy may be in, the need and demand for fitness centers will always be on the rise. Because of the high demand of fitness centers, one believes that entering into a franchise with Snap Fitness would be a great idea for countless reasons. When entering into any kind of business, cost plays a major role in decision making. Snap fitness seems to be an affordable investment. Snap Fitness points out in their Franchise Disclosure Document that one’s total investment in Snap Fitness will range from $76,113 to $361,695. The numbers seem very large, however, Snap Fitness offer excellent financing options. Furthermore, Snap Fitness â€Å"ongoing royalty and marketing fees are a set flat-rate, as opposed to other franchises that charge you a percentage of your monthly revenues† (Snap Fitness, 2012). This is great because one will always know what the marketing fees will be. Therefore, one will be able to keep additional profits if the business is doing particularly well without having to pay a higher percentage as a result of a successful month. Furthermore, Snap Fitness (2012) website points out even though the company use automated systems for member billing like other fitness businesses, Snap Fitness is different because their monthly fee is  not a percentage of their total dollar. This means that no matter how much money is made through membership billing, the flat rate will always remain the same. Entering into a franchise agreement with Snap Fitness will be a good idea because one will be able to be his or her own boss. Snap Fitness (2012) website states â€Å"From the moment you sign your Franchise Agreement, the support, service and training we provide is unparalleled in the health club industry. Our turnkey operational systems enable you to run your club with as little as one employee, allowing you to be your own boss. Our product lineup extends well beyond what comparable fitness franchises offer giving you more tools to recruit and retain members and create new revenue streams.† There just seems to be no loosing with Snap Fitness. The business has a team that is always there and available to help one push through any difficulties. The nature of the work environment seems to mimic that of a family-oriented business. The idea of being able to have one employee and a boss is very convenient because when a new business is introduced, the rate of success is unpredictable. It is always best to hire fewer employees as possible to ensure that one can break even. The breakeven point is the stepping stone to making a profit. Entering into a franchise agreement definitely has undeniable benefits. A franchise agreement with Snap Fitness may be the best option for anyone interested in this line of business.

Past Is The Key To The Future Philosophy Essay

Past Is The Key To The Future Philosophy Essay The things and deeds we did in past are now to give us fruit in present and also in the future. And our present which is going to be our past will give us its fruit in the future. The topic To look to the future One must study the past revloves in the region of past present and the future of all mankind. It covers the whole story of human being. Some think it is essential to study history in order to make their future bright but some think past has no concern with the future. Other thinks that future is related to present, the things they have in present remain same as in future. Different people have different believe on the same the topic. Why is it so? Due to the different experiences they have in their past life. In some way or another experience is second name of past. What actually affect the future? Experience affects the future. Future can never be predicted but we can strive to make it better by mean of the past experiences. Without knowing the past we repeat mistakes made in the past, and destroy our future. We cant say that we are guessing future upon the past, but in some way we can perk up our future by relating it to the events take place in past, and work to make it enhanced. No one knows what will happen in the future but the past lend us a hand and lead us to our destiny. There must be some reasons why past contribute a lot in building future. It is vitally important to study history and keeping the past in mind to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and understand why things are as they are! We study history to learn where we were in the past and where we are now, to learn what worked for people in the past. We study history in order to remember the great achievements accompolished by our ancestors to make our future shine bright like diamonds and to remember the worst things happen in past and make sure not to do these things happen again in future. We study history to know what is the right thing to do and what is wrong so that we can understand what to do in life and how the wrong things happen and how we can be prevented. Just think, if we do not have a past what would we be today? Obviuosly nothing, if we dont know the hard works of our ancestor then how can we realize their great achievement, and what we can learn from their achievements and hardships and how can we pay respect to them. The biggest example is the achievement of Paskistan, if do not study history then how we could be able to compete with others and maintain or moral value. How could we realize and feel proud on our country, culture and faith. Without a past we couldnt go through life. Our personal life is also interrelated with past. We can call our past as our memory it can be good or bad. It depends upon us with whom we want go either with bad one or by good one. We can take experience from bad memory furthermore good memories give us courage to live. Its all about experiences. The more you know about history, the more you will be ready to build your future. The famous philosopher George Santayana wrote in 1896 in Reason in Common Sense, the Life of Reason, volume 1. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. No one is strictly doomed to repeat it. But Yes! History repeats itself because no one pays attention for the first time. But if someone forgot the past they will surely repeat in number of manners. The game remains same but the player changes. Of course if we forgot something which we have to do then certainly we will some face outcome and consequences. There are many interesting events in the history which indicates us and enlighten with the truth about the words said above. Learning regarding the bad things in history is a way to prevent them from happening again. Furthermore, sometimes we even know the history we repeat it because we have not learn anything from it. It can be discussed by some examples which are taken from the link given below. http://www.city-data.com/forum/history/1023429-does-history-ever-repeat-itself-ww2.html#ixzz2EucrunZh (See the exact words from the link given above) In World War I Germany lost to France. In World War II Germany defeated France. When it came to the French they learned their lesson. They failed in other areas, particularly the invasion of Russia, where I could point out that they should have taken a page from Napoleons book and re-thought the campaign. When we debunked Vietnam vs. Afghanistan but, we can find examples to put them together. Though the wars are different, they also contain some similarities. Both were being fought to combat an idea; communism in one, terrorism in the other. As we all know, we cant fight a concept. Both were essentially nation building efforts that paralleled the war. Both were reliant upon corrupt and ineffectual local central governments who were needed for success. Both contain indigenous guerilla forces opposed to our presence. Both have little geo-political value outside of combating the concept that the area is spreading. Both are being fought essentially unilaterally with little support from other allies. So, while not everything is the same one can infer that based on the lessons of Vietnam (some of which we learned from and are using to effect in Afghanistan) the entire war is essentially doomed to failure as it is by definition unwinnable. Sayings often have root in reality. Sometimes we need to look hard and be a little more liberal in our interpretation, but they are valid in some cases. Some times for some people in some ways past acts as a greatest enemy of them. That who had a worst and most awful happening in their past life and couldnt cope up with them for such people past is the greatest enemy. They rely on their past and start blaming other things that they came from this background and so on and start asking their self that why this happened to them and think if it would not happen then they would be in pleasure instead of working for the future they humiliates their past. They do not even try to come out of it and to deal with other and this will how they lose with the fear of defeat, after some time it become impossible for them to come out of this and to glow and rise again. In some ways their society wont allow them to learn from their past, they keeping on repeating their past and let them feel bad and make them realize their mistakes and make them feel ashamed. This will lead them to disappointment. We study history to think and feel proud on our country and on our motherland. History also introduces us to the important people of past they may be our idol or evil who contributed a lot in the structure of our country. There are loads of other reasons why do we prefer to study history. It tell us where were in our past life and where we are going to be in the future. It tells us our originality where we came from and how things, people and times change, how the culture and belief developed and then how suddenly with the passage of time they changed. History takes us to new era where we can judge our selves. Similarly if we can judge and understand our selves by studying our past, then simply we can guess, judge and understand other by analyzing their past. By mean of studying history we can understand about people behavior when they acted and how they behaved in such manners. If we do not understand them then how will we make interaction with them and develop relations with them. It also develops our thinking and relating skills that how we can relate one thing with another and then get better result. Many philosophers, scholars say to gain and learn from your past experience in order to understand your life and move towards golden future and to learn lessons, wisdom and intelligence. Therefore, history leads us to understand the past and use this fact and figure to work in present and get better result in future. A person with no sense of the past is a person who is a stranger both to his or her own roots and to the human condition more generally. For human beings are not creatures of nature; we are inheritors of the history that has made us what we are. Not to know our history is not to know ourselves, and that is the condition not of human beings, but of animals. And even from a practical point of view, to be ignorant of the past is to make us impotent and unprepared before the present. How can someone without a sense of medieval history have the slightest inkling of the meaning of the current impasse the West finds itself in its dealings with Islam? The Crusades were not, as is often implied by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, a unique moment of anti-Islamic aggression. They were actually but one blip in the astonishing growth of Islamic empires in Europe and elsewhere, from the time of Mohammed onwards, right up to 1683 when the Turks were turned back from the gates of Vienna and 1686 when they were expelled from Budapest. But who now remembers any of this, or ponders its consequences? It is not, needless to say, taught in National Curriculum history, which prefers to dwell on the Aztecs, about whom we have only the vaguest knowledge in comparison, and (endlessly) on the rise of Fascism (not communism) in Europe, studied by pupils who know nothing of the history of Italy and Germany before the 20th century.   Is it any wonder that, with no sense of our past or identity as, in other moods, politicians increasingly complain we are a culture obsessed with celebrity, football, and reality television? Most of our population knows nothing else, and they have no yardstick from either history or culture with which to judge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (- Anthony OHear, The Telegraph) By the mean of understanding our history and looking into the future, we can conclude in a general sense where we were and we are going to be. Then, looking into the future, we can act in ways that built our future in the direction and ways we would like to see it and make it shine like a diamond.

Analysis of School Policies

Analysis of School Policies Introduction Assignment one is to review several policies in an existing school policy manual and to analyze each evaluating its efficacy. The school chosen for this assignment is Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School (MSPCS) located in Miami Shores, Florida. MSPCS is a small religious based school for students age eight weeks to fifth grade and provides families an affordable option for an outstanding academic and social-emotional program. Created in 1966 as a parents morning out program, MSPCS was, and is, well known for its small community and loving environment. The parents morning out program transitioned into a preschool program during the 1970s. In 1999 the church added a kindergarten class to their preschool program. Beginning in 2003 the school began to add one grade each year until finishing with the 5th-grade. In 2008 MSPCS had its first 5th-grade commencement. In July 2013 the school hired a new Headmaster, and a year later he hired a new preschool director. The school began developing a rigorous academic program. With an increased effort on providing students with a quality school experience and the hiring of new teachers with proper certification/credentials, the school is now seeing the benefits of the transformation. Policy Making Procedures The Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School Commission, appointed by the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church Session members, governs MSPCS. The School Commission has a set of specific by-laws, which clearly outline the role of the commission versus the school (Wirth). The policy manual is intended to provide guidelines and directives from the School Commission to the Headmaster regarding general policies, processes, and guiding beliefs of the School. As such, the document contains critical information for executing management plans and processes necessary to meeting and maintaining the school purposes stated in the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School Bylaws. Policies outlined in the MSPCS Policy Manual may be altered, amended, newly established, or repealed by a two-thirds majority vote of the Commission at any regular or special meeting, providing that such changes be proposed and presented to the Commission in writing at a previously scheduled commission meeting at least two weeks prior. The Headmaster may create interim policies when necessary, and the policy will remain in effect until which time the Commission acts to establish permanent policy on the given matter. There are six overarching sections in the MSPCS Policy Manual. They are academic and educational, finance, health and safety, parents, personal and School Commission, and students. For the purpose of this assignment, analyzing one policy in each section would prove to be beneficial to gathering full insight into the creation, purpose, and efficacy of the schools manual. Challenge of Materials Policy Academic and Education Section Objectives: To establish a policy that helps Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School to respect the convictions of parents and teachers in various academic subject areas, while at the same time maintaining our goal of teaching all subjects in the light of a comprehensive Christian worldview. Scope: This policy applies to all literary materials used at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Definitions: Objective Materials: A subject which Christian families and churches commonly consider divisive, whether or not the introduction of the topic was planned by the teacher or brought up by a student. Examples include: Environmentalism, the War Between the States, old earth/young earth, partisan politics, etc. Guidelines: The MSPC School Commission has the final authority in retaining or excluding a book from the collection. Any definition of objectionable material needs to keep our target readers in mind. The library exists to meet the needs of Elementary students. Materials that might be deemed inappropriate for younger readers will not be omitted on that basis. Parents/Guardians that feel a book contains offensive material should follow the following steps to address the issue: Bring the book in question to a Teacher, Media Specialist or Administrator. The Administrator or Media Specialist will review the book and determine if the offensive material is egregiously and indefensibly objectionable. If the material is not found to be egregiously and indefensibly objectionable, the book shall be returned to the collection. If the material is found to be objectionable, the book will be taken out of circulation. The Challenge of Materials Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. The policy is designed to address a parent who questions a book or material that the school and the Commission deem to be appropriate. In 1986, in reply to questions from librarians facing book or material challenges, the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) established a list of definitions to explain vocabulary related to challenges (Merola). The charge for the IFC was to recommend such steps as may be necessary to safeguard the rights of library users, libraries, and librarians, in accordance with the first amendment to the United States Constitution and the Library Bill of Rights as adopted by the ALA Council (Klipsch). The significant step of defining terms that are universal provides library staff with an appropriate and consistent terminology when responding to a complaint. With this understanding, to date, the MSPCS Challenge Material Policy has not been confronted or questioned. Therefore, no revision is necessary to this policy. Although the policy addresses adult concerns, it ultimately affects the students due to the potential of removing reading material and media from their library choices. Volunteer Hours Policy Finance Section Objective: To set guidelines for volunteering requirements of families with children who attend the elementary school of Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Scope: This policy applies to all families with children who participate in the elementary school of Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Guidelines: Parents or guardians of elementary school students must complete a minimum of 20 family hours of volunteer service per year. It is the sole responsibility of parents to sign-in and out on the volunteer card/sheet and to verify the card/sheet is validated by an MSPC or MSPCS staff representative. Volunteer hours that are not completed by April 30th will be charged the rate of $25.00 per hour to the familys account. The Volunteer Hours Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. Establishing a policy for mandatory volunteerism theoretically helps support the school and their initiatives to meet the mission. This policy addresses apparent shortcomings or lack of desire for families to become involved with their childs education and other school matters. There is currently legislation in California and Pennsylvania in regards to parent volunteerism. In both instances, the legislation protects families that are required to volunteer at their childs school from their employer who may not allow the time off. As recently as January 01, 2016, California expanded upon the Family School Partnership Act allowing, employees to take job-protected time off to find, enroll, or re-enroll their children in a school or with a licensed child care provider (Corcoran, 2017). The volunteer policy at MSPCS requires families to serve a minimum of twenty volunteer hours per year or pay $25 for each hour under the required minimum. A volunteer is defined by Merriam-Webster (1960) as, a person who voluntarily (proceeding from the will or from ones own choice or consent) undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service. By definition, requiring volunteer hours is an oxymoron and furthermore, charging individuals for not completing the requirement could be justification for litigation. The policy is in need of elimination more than a revision. When parents understand and appreciate the significance of their support, a punitive Ifà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ then policy is not necessary. When prospective parents come to school, they receive the mission statement and discuss its importance with an administrator.   The first part of the schools mission statement is A Christ-inspired experience. Being Christ-inspired means for an individual to broaden their se nse of giving to others. As long as parents understand the importance of their participation in their childs education, there is no need of a policy requiring their presence. Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, and Safety Drills Policy Health and Safety Section Objective: To set guidelines for Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School stakeholders in being prepared for an event when they may be in potential danger. Scope: This policy applies to all Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School stakeholders. Definitions: Evacuation: The immediate and urgent movement of people out of a building from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Reverse Evacuation: The immediate and urgent movement of people inside the building from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Lockdown: A confinement of all individuals to a secure location due to a perceived or real threat. Guidelines: All drills (evacuation, reverse evacuation, and lockdown) will be held on a monthly basis. During the first week of school, staff members shall take their class for a practice fire drill. Follow the evacuation map in the room using the primary route. The secondary route is also noted, and there will be one fire drill a year when the secondary route will be utilized. The school is equipped with an intercom, fire alarm system and sprinkler system. The Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, and Safety Drills Policy is an original policy from the prior administration with two key additions from the current administration in 2013. There is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. Before 2013, the policy only addressed evacuation drills. The drill is typical in all United States schools and is mandated by federal law. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), which oversees Floridas business safety and health structure, requires that companies with ten or more employees have written fire prevention and emergency exit plans, as well as practices for such an emergency for each workplace. During 2013, the new MSPCS administration included the reverse evacuation and lockdown safety drills to the policy in reaction to the climate of todays society of schools under attack by unstable or angry people. The first known instance of a reverse evacuation drill policy was after the state of Kentucky put out a school crisis planning guide, and then FEMA included the policy in their guide (Dorn). Additionally, in 2013, a lockdown drill was instituted at MSPCS. On December 14, 2012, a tragedy occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, when a disturbed man went into the school and shot many students and several teachers. The administration recognized the potential of this occurring anywhere and why it is important to establish a policy for children and educators to understand and know what to do in this type of emergency. The Federal Government does not mandate lockdown drills. However, several states have legislation in place requiring schools practice lockd owns as frequently as they practice evacuation drills. Each of the safety drills and their continued practices is essential to keeping students and educators prepared for an emergency situation. No one can tell how someone may react in an actual emergency, but having the knowledge of what to do, may decrease further stresses or even casualties. There are no plans to revise this policy, because of the eminent danger that society faces. Parental Non-Compliance Policy Parent Section Objective: To establish a set procedure for Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School administrators when parents are not in compliance with school policy or procedures. Scope: This policy applies to any time administration believes parents are not in compliance with school policy or procedures. Definitions: Non-Compliance: Failure to act in accordance with a wish or command or inability to conform to rules or standards. Guidelines: When an incident is considered serious enough according to the schools parameters, all family members will be asked to withdraw from the school regardless of previous incidents. In most instances, the following will take place: FIRST INCIDENT: Written notification regarding the incident or offense will be sent to the family and placed in the families file. A parent or guardian may be required to attend a meeting, at school, with the Administration. SECOND INCIDENT: Written notification regarding the incident or offense will be sent to the family and placed in the families file. The parent, parents, or guardian will be required to attend a meeting with the Administration. The family will be put on probation for the remainder of the school year. THIRD INCIDENT: All family members will be asked to withdraw from school the following year, or if deemed appropriate, immediately. The administration has an obligation to inform the School Commission of any incident that reaches non-compliance status. In the event of family withdrawal, the School Commission has final authority to accept or reject the administrations recommendation. The Parental Non-Compliance Policy is an original policy from the prior administration along with a recent 2015 revision by the new administration. Included in the revised version are the three step process and the paragraph giving final authority to the School Commission. Adding both parts to the policy ensures and protects the family and the administration from emotional decision making. There is no federal or state legislation on parental non-compliance at school, but many private schools do have some policy written to safeguard all parties. All members of a school community, including families, educators, students, visitors, and the administration, have the intention to work in partnership to provide the children the best experiences in their education and care. From the onset, families and staff agree at the time of acceptance or employment to acquaint themselves with and meet the terms of the schools philosophy and Code of Ethics. There are times when behaviors or actions go against the philosophy or code. Therefore, it is essential to have a policy and process for dealing with such occurrences. If the administration selects families into the school community that are mission appropriate and who can abide by the schools philosophy, then this policy, in theory, would not be necessary. Unfortunately, circumstance can arise, and each party needs to be protected and valued during trying times. In the next revision, an initial step of a verbal warning may be beneficial in providing due process to the policy and may mitigate any further escalation. Currently, the first step is to write up a warning of the incident, and this does not comply with the schools Caring Community philosophy. Within the Caring School philosophy, one of the schools goals is to empower and listen to others to further understand their perspective. A conversation to express the school displeasure with a parents behavior or action allows the parent to provide their point of view. Through respectful and honest conversation, the school and parents may agree on a solution without further incident or create hard feelings. Evaluations/Personnel File Policy Staff, Personnel, and School Commission Section Objectives: To ensure consistency of procedure and standards in all performance assessments of the staff of MSPCS. Scope: This policy applies to commission evaluations of the Headmaster, the Headmasters evaluation of administrative staff, and the Directors assessments of the teaching staff. Definitions: Evaluation: A procedure for measuring a staff members performance in helping to achieve the goals and policies of MSPCS, the curriculum objectives of the school, and the observation of the guidelines and handbooks. Personnel File: A file maintained by the Headmaster in the administrative office of MSPCS for all faculty and staff members of the school. General Statement: Several fundamental principles underlie the MSPCS approach to supervision and evaluation. These principles are grounded in current research that identifies effective instructional practices that maximize student learning and achievement. The MSPCS model for supervision and evaluation recognizes the importance of linking teacher evaluation to professional development and student learning. It also acknowledges the value of a differentiated structure that supports teachers at varying stages of their career and experience and promotes greater teacher involvement in the evaluation process. At MSPCS we recognize the importance of the supervision, evaluation, and Professional Growth process. The MSPCS Supervision, Evaluation, PGP program incorporates supervisory options connected to personal growth in a collaborative environment. MSPCS is a professional community, which encourages feedback and reflection as a means of promoting continuous teacher growth and improved student achievement. Meaningful feedback comes from multiple and diverse sources and provides an opportunity for reflection which sharpens our teachers skills of self-assessment. Supervision, Evaluation, and Professional Growth is an interactive process perceived as valuable by all involved. The MSPCS program involves assessment structures that promote an array of reflective, creative and analytic skills. In the MSPCS program, outstanding teaching is studied, sought, recognized and supported. By promoting structures that encourage professional development, a reflective school culture and research-based practices; MSPCS ensures that it will remain focused on its mission, vision, and continued goal to improve student achievement. The objective of teacher supervision, evaluation, and professional learning is to increase student achievement by encouraging and supporting the professional growth of all teachers. Administrators Assurance The MSPCS Supervision, Evaluation, and Professional Growth Plan will: Provide clear, concise, comprehensive teaching standards based on current research of best teaching practice. Provide a fair, clear system for teacher evaluation used on current research. Provide useful, timely feedback related to MSPCS teaching standards to guide professional development goals. Foster a culture of trust, mutual respect, and constructive professional dialogue, which encourages risk taking in a learning community. Refine the craft of teaching through reflection and risk-taking. Utilize data from student assessment to guide teaching practice as related to MSPCS teaching standards. Encourage teachers to chart their course for professional development. Value the diversity of teachers perspective, skills, knowledge, and practice. All MSPCS educators will have: Support and encouragement from the Preschool Director, Headmaster and other staff members. Reviewed procedures and be informed on the supervision and evaluation format and forms. Professional development goals that incorporate one or more of the MSPCS Teaching Standards. Numerous opportunities to be observed through walkthroughs. An annual formal written observation grounded on teacher reflection and growth. Opportunities to discuss their growth with the Preschool Director or Headmaster. Guidelines: All employees will be formally evaluated at least once a year. Each director will be responsible for assessing the teachers and staff members immediately under his/her supervision. The Headmaster will be responsible for the evaluations of the directors, the accounting staff, and other support staff, and the commission will be responsible for the assessment of the Headmaster. The evaluations will be based principally on formal observations of the staff member and interviews with the staff member. Observations and opinions of third parties (parents, other staff members, individual commission members, etc.) may only be taken into account if the staff member being evaluated is given an opportunity to respond to the third partys questions/concerns raised before the finalization of the evaluation. The evaluation will be considered finalized when the staff member being evaluated and the one responsible for the evaluation both acknowledge by signature that the assessment has been discussed in detail. When the evaluation is finalized, the Headmaster will place it in that staff members personnel file. Other appropriate inclusions in the archive of staff would include letters of commendation or reprimand, as well as any responses, comments, or relevant data the staff member may wish to add. Under no conditions will a staff members personnel file be made public to other staff members, parents, or anyone outside MSPCS line of authority. The file of staff may be used by an authorized representative of MSPCS to draft a letter of recommendation to a prospective employer. The file is only to be used for purposes of refreshing the memory and is not to be reproduced for the prospective employer. The Evaluations/Personnel File Policy, entirely rewritten in 2016, from the original policy that was not a policy but more of an outline of procedures. In the original policy, there was no mention of school beliefs or the purposes of the assessment. Also, the wording in the original policy was punitive and full of if-than statements as opposed to helping an educator grow and develop their skills. Often formal evaluations cause stress to an educator, because of the judgment or perception of another persons point of view placed on the individual. At MSPCS, the elimination of judgment and the focus on individual improvement and self-reflection help create a positive experience for all parties during evaluations. Marzanos model of instructional evaluation focuses on specific strategies and how well they are working. Taken one step further, MSPCS adds a component where the teacher generates the level of specificity during a self-reflection period and a pre-observation meeting with the administrator. During the pre-observation meeting, the teacher shares the learning targets for the students and how they plan to prepare the students for the lesson. The teacher provides a brief overview of the sequencing and strategies of the content of the lesson, how the students will practice or demonstrate the new content, and how students will summarize the lesson. During the meeting, the teach er selects an area they would like to improve upon and asks the administrator to assess him/her on a specific task or technique. Additionally, the teacher prescribes two or three questions that he/she would like the administrator to ask the students. During the observation, the administrator documents what is heard or seen, without opinion or judgment. He/She then moves around the room asking the prescribed questions the teacher presented to him/her during the pre-observation meeting and documents the answers the students gave to him/her. A post-observation meeting is held within a day or two to capture the momentum and to provide effective feedback. The meeting always begins with the question, On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, what would you rate your lesson? Not one person in seven years of asking the question has rated themselves a ten, which means the conversation begins with the understanding that everyone has room to improve. Much of the conversation revolves around the administrator continually asking what do you think and why do you think type questions, because the process is a self-reflection, not a judgment of being good or poor. After analyzing the data, we set goals to work on for the next observation, which may not be a formal one. The idea of the evaluation as a growth process instead of a judgment allows teachers to step back and truly look inward at their practice in a non-threatening way. There are no plans to change this policy as it has proven to be very effective. Discipline Policy Student Section Objectives: To ensure consistent biblical discipline at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Scope: This policy applies to all elementary students at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Definitions: Discipline: The practice of instructing and training people to understand and adhere to rules or a code of behavior. Guidelines: Each class develops their student appropriate discipline guidelines. Under no circumstances is corporal punishment allowed. Staff members may not withhold the bathroom, withhold food or belittle the student. MSPCS believes that everyone has the right to experience a safe and friendly school environment. Therefore, we have expectations that students will: Keep hands, feet and all objects to themselves. Show respect for adults and other students. Cooperate and show self-control at all times. Follow directions the first time without questioning. Be prepared for class each day. Be punctual and attend class each day. The school will not tolerate any of the following behaviors and may be cause for expulsion: Verbal and physical fighting. Defacing or damaging school property. Theft of school or personal property. The use of profanity or name-calling. Procedures: When a student violates classroom/school rules for the first time, teachers will discuss the infraction with the student and document the incident. In the event a student commits a second infraction, the teacher will contact the parent to discuss the issue and document the parent/teacher conference as a Step Two Referral. A parent must be contacted for a StepTwo Referral to be completed. If a third infraction occurs, the StepThree Referral must be documented on the referral form. If the student is disrupting the class to the point where learning cannot take place in the classroom, they may be sent to speak with the Preschool Director or Headmaster. If infractions continue to occur and are impeding upon the learning process for the student and others, the student may be sent home. A follow-up meeting will happen with the Preschool Director or Headmaster when the student returns to school. This session will be reflective in nature and to set guidelines and goals for the student to meet. All missed class work due to an infraction of a rule must be completed at home and returned to the teacher when the student arrives back to school. Transgressions, including but not limited to fighting, weapons, severe disrespect, bullying, etc. will result in disciplinary action which may include dismissal from school, even for a first offense. Also, if the MSPCS staff identify, through the course of observation and discussion with parents, that a students particular behavioral issues are beyond the capacity of the program to serve them, the school reserves the right to terminate enrollment at any time. The Discipline Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. All schools have a discipline policy because it is a critical element in maintaining a safe environment for students and staff. In many schools, a discipline policy states all of the things a student cannot do and what will happen if they do it. At MSPCS, the student discipline policy is more of a threat of words on paper, because the current administration does not believe in sending students home as a punishment. Skiba, Shure, Middelberg, Baker (2011) offer there is no evidence proving that discipline practices that eliminate students from classes by the punitive acts of suspensions and expulsions help to improve either student behavior or school climate. Instead of sending a student home, where they will often be unsupervised, developing an effective intervention at school is more in line with the schools Caring Community philosophy. Another part of this policy that is inaccurate is in the first line that states consistent biblical discipline. The Bibles view on discipline clearly demands that parents be responsible and diligent in spanking, but strongly prohibits physical abuse of any kind (Ingram, 2006). Further, in the MSPCS student discipline policy, it states under no circumstances is corporal punishment allowed. At MSPCS, the administration is not reinforcing the written policy properly, and the language in the policy is sending mixed messages to our families. An easy fix to the discrepancy is to eliminate the word biblical from the policy. However, a complete rewrite of the policy is necessary to match the schools philosophy of a Caring Community and preserving dignity for all. The Caring Community requires a positive-based discipline program where students are self-reflective and empowered while maintaining their dignity. The goal is for students to take responsibility for their actions and learn from each of their experiences. At MSPCS, the school teaches students to look inward to work towards developing intrinsic motivation, while at the same time reducing teacher-centric external motivation. The objective is to influence change in a students undesirable behavior through conversation, demonstration, and sending a consistent message. At MSPCS teachers receive training in the art of being an authoritative classroom leader. Bear (2010) states, An authoritative teacher set high standards and hold high expectations; enforce rules and standards in a firm, fair, and consistent manner; and promote autonomy by encouraging students active participatio

Technological Advancement in the US Military Essay -- United States Mi

Technological Advancement in the US Military Since its declaration of independence from Great Britain, the United States has experienced wars of many different sorts. Each war introduced a new kind of warfare. The Revolutionary War introduced for the first time in American history, the idea of naval warfare. Ships were armed with dozens guns and carried several dozens of men. The musket, armed with its bayonet as well as the cannon proved to be worthy weaponry advancements in the infantry together with various pistols. The Civil War introduced the revolving pistol as well as the Gatling gun which enabled soldiers to produce rapid fire and destroy enemies in large quantities with a single round. New technological advancements in transportation such as the railroad, enabled large quantities of troops to travel to a given area in nearly half the amount of time. However, the turn of the twentieth introduced new technological advancements in the country as well as the military. This ignited a century of technological advancements in the military that has enabled the United States to excel in militaristic domination. The first war to use significant technological advancement was World War I. Despite the introduction of trench warfare (in which troops dug bases many feet deep into the ground and fought only on the surface), the art of battle would forever be changed. There were many different types of weaponry advancements experienced in World War I. Machine guns were built twice more powerful than in the Civil War, firing up to 600 bullets a minute which was the equivalent of 250 riflemen. Artillery experienced a massive technological progression with the building of several thousands of powerful cannons with shells filled with ... ...ccomplishments. As the years progress, just as they have in the past, so will military technology. Not more 80 years ago, the United States was just learning how to se machine guns. Not more than 60 years ago, the United States was just learning how to use tanks and artillery. Nowadays, the US military has become the leading war machine in all aspects of warfare including weapons, computer technology and biological as well as chemical warfare. God only knows what advancements are to come our way. Works Cited * www.archives.gov/research/military/navy-ships/sailing-ships.html * www.doublegv.com/ggv/battles/tactics.html * www.revision-notes.couk/revision/927.html * www.channel4.com/histroy/microsites/w/wwzweapons.html * www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/trenches/weapons.html * www.science.howstuffworks.com/surveillance-stealth-channel

Albert Einstein :: essays research papers

Albert Einstein Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm Germany. He lived there with his parents, Herman and Pauline. Einstein attended a Catholic School near his home. But, at age 10, Einstein was transferred to the "Luitpold Gymnasium", where he learned Latin, Greek, History, and Geography. Einstein's father wanted him to attend a university but he could not because he did not have a diploma from the Gymnasium. But there was a solution to this problem over the Alps, in Zurich. There was The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology which did not require a diploma to attend. The one thing it did require was applicant to pass an entrance exam. But then yet another problem arose most scholars were 18 when they entered the institute, and Einstein was only 16. In Berne, on January 6, 1903; Einstein married Mileva Maric. The twowitnesses at the small, quiet wedding, were Maurice Solovine and Conard Habicht. After the wedding, there was a meal to celebrate at a local restaurant. But no honeymoon. After the meal, the newlyweds returned to their new home. It was a small flat, about 100 yards away from Bere's famous clock tower. Upon returning home, a small incident occured, that was to occur many times throughout Einstern's life; he had forgotten his key. A year later, in 1904 they had a child, Hans Albert. In that same year, he recieved a job at the swiss patent office. In 1905, three of Einstein's 4 famous papers; "about a 'heuristical' perspective about the creation and modulation of light, about the movement of in still liquids mixed objects supported by the molecularkinetical theory of heat and about the electrodynamics of moving objects". In autumn of 1922 Einstein received the Nobel Prize for Physics, for his work on the photoelectric effect. He did not receive the prize for his "theory of relativity" because it was thought that at the time it did not meet the criteria of something that a Nobel Prize is awarded for. So when the prize was awarded to him, they said it was awared to him for his work on the photoelectric effect, if his theory of relativity is proven false, and if his theory of relativitywas proven correct, the prize was for that. Einstein died on April 18, 1955. He died of "leakage of blood from a hardened aorta". And he refused the surgery that could have saved his life.

The Witch by Edilberto K. Tiempo

The Witch By Edilberto K. Tiempo When I was twelve years old, I used to go to Libas, about nine kilometers from the town, to visit my favorite uncle, Tio Sabelo, the head teacher of the barrio school there. I like going to Libas because of the many things to eat at my uncle’s house: cane sugar syrup, candied meat of young coconut, corn and rice cakes, ripe jackfruit, guavas from trees growing wild on a hill not far from Tio Sabelo’s house. It was through these visits that I heard many strange stories about Minggay Awok. Awok is the word for witch in southern Leyte.Minggay was known as a witch even beyond Libas, in five outlying sitios, and considering that not uncommonly a man’s nearest neighbor was two or three hills away, her notoriety was wide. Minggay lived in a small, low hut as the back of the creek separating the barrios of Libas and Sinit-an. It squatted like a soaked hen on a steep incline and below it, six or seven meters away, two trails forked, one go ing to Libas and the other to Mahangin, a mountain sitio. The hut leaned dangerously to the side where the creek water ate away large chunks of earth during the rainy season.It had two small openings, a small door through which Minggay probably had to stoop to pass, and a window about two feet square facing the creek. The window was screened by a frayed jute sacking which fluttered eerily even in the daytime. What she had in the hut nobody seemed to know definitely. One daring fellow who boasted of having gone inside it when Minggay was out in her clearing on a hill nearby said he had seen dirty stoppered bottles hanging from the bamboo slats of the cogon thatch.Some of the bottles contained scorpions, centipedes, beetles, bumble bees, and other insects; others were filled with ash-colored powder and dark liquids. These bottles contained the paraphernalia of her witchcraft. Two or three small bottles she always had with her hanging on her waistband with a bunch of iron keys, whether she went to her clearing or to the creek to catch shrimps or gather fresh-water shells, or even when she slept.It was said that those who had done her wrong never escaped her vengeance, in the form of festering carbuncles, chronic fevers that caused withering of the skin, or a certain disease of the nose that eventually ate the nose out. Using an incantation known only to her, Minggay would take out one insect from a bottle, soak it in colored liquid or roll it in powder, and with a curse let it go to the body of her victim; the insect might be removed and the disease cured only rarely through intricate rituals of an expensive tambalan. Thus Minggay was feared in Libas and the surrounding barrios.There had been attempts to murder her, but in some mysterious way she always came out unscathed. A man set fire to her hut one night, thinking to burn her with it. The hut quickly burned down, but Minggay was unharmed. On another occasion a man openly declared that he had killed her, showi ng the blood-stained bolo with which he had stabbed her; a week later she was seen hobbling to her clearing. This man believed Minggay was the cause of the rash that his only child had been carrying for over a year. One day, so the story went, meeting his wife, Minggay asked to hold her child. She didn’t want to offend Minggay.As the witch gave the child back she said, â€Å"He has a very smooth skin. † A few days later the boy had skin eruptions all over his body that never left him. Minggay’s only companions were a lean, barren sow and a few chickens, all of them charcoal black. The sow and the chickens were allowed to wander in the fields, and even if the sow dug up sweet potatoes and the chickens pecked rice or corn grain drying in the sun, they were not driven away by the neighbors because they were afraid to arouse Minggay’s wrath. Besides the sow and the chickens, Minggay was known to have a wakwak and a sigbin.Those who claimed to have seen the si gbin described it as a queer animal resembling a kangaroo: the forelegs were shorter than the hind ones: its fanlike ears made a flapping sound when it walked. The wakwak was a nocturnal bird, as big and black as a crow. It gave out raucous cries when a person in the neighborhood had just died. The bird was supposed to be Minggay’s messenger, and the sigbin caried her to the grave; then the witch dug up the corpse and feasted on it. The times when I passed by the hut and saw her lean sow and her black chickens, I wondered if they transformed themselves into fantastic creatures at night.Even in the daytime I dreaded the possibility of meeting her; she might accost me on the trail near her hut, say something about my face or any part of it, and then I might live the rest of my life with a harelip, a sunken nose, or crossed eyes. But I never saw Minggay in her house or near the premises. There were times when I thought she was only a legend, a name to frighten children from doin g mischief. But then I almost always saw her sow digging banana roots or wallowing near the trail and the black chickens scratching for worms or pecking grains in her yard, and the witch became very real indeed.Once I was told to go to Libas with a bottle of medicine for Tio Sabelo’s sick wife. I started from the town at half past five and by the time I saw the balete tree across the creek from Minggay’s hut, I could hardly see the trail before me. The balete was called Minggay’s tree, for she was known to sit on one of the numerous twisting vines that formed its grotesque trunk to wait for a belated passer-by. The balete was a towering monstrous shadow; a firefly that flitted among the vines was an evil eye plucked out searching for its socket.I wanted to run back, but the medicine had to get to Tio Sabelo’s wife that night. I wanted to push through the thick underbrush to the dry part of the creek to avoid the balete, but I was afraid of snakes. I had d iscarded the idea of a coconut frond torch because the light would catch the attention of the witch, and when she saw it was only a little boy†¦ Steeling myself I tried to whistle as I passed in the shadow of the balete, its overhanging vines like hairy arms ready to hoist and strangle me among the branches. Emerging into the stony bed of the creek, I saw Minggay’s hut.The screen in the window waved in the faint light of the room and I thought I saw the witch peering behind it. As I started going up the trail by the hut, each moving clump and shadow was a crouching old woman. I had heard stories of Minggay’s attempts to waylay travelers in the dark and suck their blood. Closing my eyes twenty yards from the hut of the witch, I ran up the hill. A few meters past the hut I stumbled on a low stump. I got up at once and ran again. When I reached Tio Sabelo’s house I was very tired and badly shaken.Somehow after the terror of the balete and the hut of the witch had lessened, although I always had the goose flesh whenever I passed by them after dusk. One moonlight night going home to town I heard a splashing of the water below Minggay’s house. I thought the sound was made by the witch, for she was seen to bathe on moonlit nights in the creek, her loose hair falling on her face. It was not Minggay I saw. It was a huge animal. I was about to run thinking it was the sigbin of the witch, but when I looked at it again, I saw that it was a carabao wallowing in the creek.One morning I thought of bringing home shrimps to my mother, and so I went to a creek a hundred yards from Tio Sabelo’s house. I had with me my cousin’s pana, made of a long steel rod pointed at one end and cleft at the other and shot through the hollow of a bamboo joint the size of a finger by means of a rubber band attached to one end of the joint. After wading for two hours in the creek which meandered around bamboo groves and banban and ipil clumps with on ly three small shrimps strung on a coconut midrib dangling from my belt, I came upon an old woman taking a bath in the shade of a catmon tree.A brown tapis was wound around her to three fingers width above her thin chest. The bank of her left was a foot-wide ledge of unbroken boulder on which she had set a wooden basin half full of wet but still unwashed clothes. In front of her was a submerged stone pile topped by a platter size rock; on it were a heap of shredded coconut meat, a small discolored tin basin, a few lemon rinds, and bits of pounded gogo bark. The woman was soaking her sparse gray hair with the gogo suds. She must have seen me coming because she did not look surprised.Seeing the three small shrimps hanging at my side she said, â€Å"You have a poor catch. † She looked kind. She was probably as old as my grandmother; smaller, for this old woman was two or three inches below five feet. Her eyes looked surprisingly young, but her mouth, just a thin line above the l ittle chin, seemed to have tasted many bitter years. â€Å"Why don’t you bait them out of their hiding? Take some of this. † She gave me a handful of shredded coconut meat whose milk she had squeezed out and with the gogo suds used on her hair.She exuded a sweet wood fragrance of gogo bark and the rind of lemons. â€Å"Beyond the first bend,† she said pointing, â€Å"the water is still. Scatter the shreds there. That’s where I get my shrimps. You will see some traps. If you find shrimps in them they are yours. † I mumbled my thanks and waded to the bend she had indicated. That part of the creek was like a small lake. One bank was lined by huge boulders showing long, deep fissures where the roots of gnarled dapdap trees had penetrated. The other bank was sandy, with bamboo and catmon trees leaning over, their roots sticking out in the water.There was good shade and the air had a twilight chilliness. The water was shallow except on the rocky side, wh ich was deep and murky. I scattered the coconut shreds around, and not long after they had settled down shrimps crawled from boles under the bamboo and catmon roots and from crevices of the boulders. It did not take me an hour to catch a midribful, some hairy with age, some heavy with eggs, moulters, dark magus, leaf-green shrimps, speckled. I saw three traps of woven bamboo strips, round-bellied and about two feet long, two hidden behind a catmon root.I did not disturb them because I had enough shrimps for myself. â€Å"No, no, iti. Your mother will need them. You don’t have enough. Besides I have freshwater crabs at home. † She looked up at me with her strange young eyes and asked, â€Å"Do you still have a mother? † I told her I had, and a grandmother, too. â€Å"You are not from Libas, I think. This is the first time I have seen you. † I said I was from the town and my uncle was the head teacher of the Libas barrio school. â€Å"You remind me of my s on when he was your age. He had bright eyes like you, and his voice was soft like yours.I think you are a good boy. † â€Å"Where is your son now? † â€Å"I have not heard from him since he left. He went away when he was seventeen. He left in anger, because I didn’t want him to marry so young. I don’t know where he went, where he is. † She spread the length of a kimona on the water for a last rinsing. The flesh hanging from her skinny arms was loose and flabby. â€Å"If he’s still living,† she went on, â€Å"he’d be as old as your father maybe. Many times I feel in my bones he is alive, and will come back before I die. † â€Å"Your husband is still living? † He died a long time ago, when my boy was eleven. † She twisted the kimona like a rope to wring out the water. â€Å"I’m glad he died early. He was very cruel. † I looked at her, at the thin mouth, wondering about her husband’s cruelty , disturbed by the manner she spoke about it. â€Å"Do you have other children? † â€Å"I wish I had. Then I wouldn’t be living alone. † A woman her age, I thought, should be a grandmother and live among many children. â€Å"Where do you live? † She did not speak, but her strange young eyes were probing and looked grotesque in the old woman’s face. Not far from here–the house on the high bank, across the balete. † She must have seen the fright that suddenly leaped into my face, for I thought she smiled at me queerly. â€Å"I’m going now,† I said. I felt her following me with her eyes; indeed they seemed to bore a hot hole between my shoulder blades. I did not look back. Don’t run, I told myself. But at the first bend of the creek, when I knew she couldn’t see me, I ran. After a while I stopped, feeling a little foolish. Such a helpless-looking little old woman couldn’t be Minggay, couldn’t be t he witch.I remembered her kind voice and the woodfragrance. She could be my own grandmother. As I walked the string of shrimps kept brushing against the side of my leg. I detached it from my belt and looked at the shrimps. Except for the three small ones, all of them belonged to the old woman. Her coconut shreds had coaxed them as by magic out of their hiding. The protruding eyes of the biggest, which was still alive, seemed to glare at me—and then they became the eyes of the witch. Angrily, I hurled the shrimps back into the creek.