The Ethical use of cell phones

The morals and values combine to form ethics, technology and the changes it brings in todays society, the effect of cell phones, the different use of the cell phone, and who can use their cell phones in the nursing homes. Ethics describes a system of morals that are studied, recommended, and accepted by society. These unwritten rules, made up of morals and values combine to form ethics. If something is ethical, it falls within the realm of behavior that society prefers.The unethical uses of the cell phones in the nursing homes workers are hose behaviors that society deems right when on the cell phone it is a combination of laws, manners and common sense. Camera phones can be a difficult privacy issue. ( http://www. ehow. com/about_5165198_ethical- uses-cell-phones. html) daily basis. The use of the cell phones has the biggest affect in this country. People either use it to communicate or even surf the web, to find various information that they are trying to inquire about.This is one use of technology is how people keep up with stocks, education, paying bills, knowing what is going on with their Job, and maintaining their busy schedules. Using this type of technology can help you to stay on top of your entire task and agendas and still stay in communication. Cell phones are the way many people communicate in the world. We use this device to keep in touch with our love ones when they are near or far away. With cell phones you can communicate with people Just about anywhere in the world.You have options of paying your bills, checking the weather; surf the internet. Use the built-in calculator for simple math, send or receive e-mail, play games, watch TV, send text messages, and last but not least keep track of all appointments, and set reminders when they are needed. So the corporation state that the use of the camera violate the HIPPA program, so they should ban cell phones because of the camera, and sound recorder functions? Next we ban cameras, sound recorders, telephones, and even Laptops. How about electric lights and hot tap water?Maybe we should ban pencils, pens, and paper so we can't write anything on our hands that we can take out of the building? Just like how the doctors' know when and where to use their cell phone, so do the direct care staff. It's not the technology, it's the users. I think a few of us have commented on the very valid point that the perpetrators were in violation f several laws and the ethical standards of the profession. Let's see them get the punishment they have earned. But misusing a tool won't stop by removing the tool; there always will be substitutes.Perhaps not having a phone in your hand was a luxury a few years ago, but today, it's expected. I will not answer personal calls and really I don't believe that personal calls to staff of any kind (yes, I do mean the sick family members, the kids in school, and the spouses stuck in traffic) should be validated (http://allnurses. com/nursing- news/lawmakers-c urb-cell-392956-page3. html) These cell phones come in all shapes, olors, and sizes for our personal use. The cell phones are in such demand for this nation because they are very convenient.

Augustine Aquinas

Aquinas embraces the material, arguing that the material world is essential in order to understand the divine. Though the theories of both men are different, they both agreed that one could know God through reason, yet no one could understand God fully because God created man. SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas on Human Nature SST. Augustine believed that human nature, which was created by God, was good. He also believed that humans are equally able to choose good or bad, but humans are constantly attracted to evil because of our sinful nature that we inherited from Adam (Free will, 2013).SST. Augustine argued that the only way to escape this sinful nature was to accept the grace given by God, which we receive only by salvation and being good. SST. Aquinas' theory on nature differs from SST. Augustine. He believed that human nature is the compilation of the mind, body, and soul. Our minds and bodies are subject to corruption, but our souls are immaterial and free from corruption. To exi st, according to Aquinas, is to be good. However, our human nature or our good depends on goodness of our actions. SST. Augustine and SST.Aquinas Knowing Good SST. Augustine believed that we are trapped by our sins and our fulfillment or happiness can only be found in God (Clark & opportune, 2003). For Augustine, knowing the good was not enough to motivate humans to be good. Humans due to their free will and sinful nature require divine intervention; knowing God. SST. Augustine believed that good was not found in worldly possessions and that we should not attach ourselves to such things (2003). Material possessions can be lost and God is the only good that cannot be lost. SST.Aquinas was a follower of Aristotle, who also believed that good was pendent on whether it contributed or deterred us from our proper human end, which is dominance, or happiness. He also believed the people could know good by reasoning well (Lecture 3, SYS-305, GU, 2013). Knowing good required a range of intell ectual and moral virtues that enable us to comprehend the nature of true happiness, and motivate us to search for it on a consistent basis. He also believed that good, was reaching a maximally fulfilling life and that we as humans are always in search of fulfillment (Wilkins, 201 1).SST. Augustine & SST. Aquinas on DOing Good Both SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas felt that doing good required God to be the main focus of man. For SST. Augustine, doing good required our love of God to be primary (Augustine, 2014). If we give God our primary love, then all other loves gain value. If we love God first, we will know what is right and good (Aquinas & Regis, 1997). Putting God first, put good in the proper order, which would then lead us to diamond. SST. Aquinas felt that our happiness or goodness is not be found in created things. SST.Aquinas believed that doing DOD required God and that God alone was sufficient for our fulfillment, or happiness. True fulfillment in doing good would come f rom loving God and our neighbor (Clark & Progeny, 2003). Hope of our fulfillment, or of doing good, can only be found in receiving grace and leading us to a closer relationship and love of God (Aquinas & Peg's, 1997). Critique of SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas Though SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas have different views about material possessions in the world, SST. Aquinas has the view that is more rational.His view is not as harsh as SST Augustine. SST. Augustine is strict on the belief that we are all broken people due to man's sinful nature. Without saying so directly, he makes humans sound like awful beings that are no good. Whereas SST. Aquinas does believe that, we have a sinful nature, but that we all have the ability to have a fulfilling life and reach our ultimate goal of happiness in the end with God. Conclusion SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas were both great minds of medieval times. They were pioneers in theology and Christianity.

Exploring the Universality and Diversity of Human Language Essay

Language is an all-important tool of mankind for expression. We think, speak and write in languages. Indeed, our use of sophisticated mode of expression such as language is what distinguishes us from animals. Language is already very much a part of us, but we often take it for granted. We do not give it much thought and probably quite a few attempt to make sense out of its nature and its complexities. Distinguished authorities in psychology, philosophy and linguistics support the concept of language as a universal human faculty. If it is not, why is it that despite little knowledge of language and its correct usage, children as young as two years, of any race or ethnicity, quickly learn to speak and understand any language they are exposed to? It is astonishing how thousands of various languages and dialects have evolved since the confusion at Babel in Genesis. The Ethnologue has listed more than six thousand (6,000) languages from all over the world (Grimes, 2001). Note that we do not only refer to civilized languages, and there could probably be more that have not been documented yet, or, have not even been heard of by the civilized population (i. e. tribal languages). Now, with the innumerable modes of pronunciation and styles of language use, we can probably come up with a million varieties of languages. If language is a universal human faculty, why are human languages so different? Universality of Language Even the scriptures provided some evidence to substantiate the concept that language is universal. Before the Tower of Babel incident, as cited in the book of Genesis, remember that mankind had one language. Ever since God intervened to cause confusion at Babel and men dispersed to various parts of the earth, human language have evolved into various kinds. Still, however, human languages are astoundingly similar! In what way are human languages the same, and why? Kumar (1997) cited that children could learn almost any language with the right timing. Children learn at a remarkable rate if they are immersed in the language during their critical period for language development, which is usually between the age of two to five years. Such that at the age of six, they would have â€Å"learned to use and understand about thirteen thousand (13,000) words† (Dunbar, 1996). Further, children of average intellectual capacity learn about ten (10) new words a day by the time they reach their first birthday. If we have to do our math, this is the â€Å"equivalent of a new word every 90 minutes of (their) waking life† (Dunbar, 1996). It is amazing how children learn a language in such a short time and, only by hearing a few words and short sentences from their parents and others, they are able to come up with virtually many others, most of which even follow correct grammatical principles. There are no set rules or systems of teaching children their first language. Just by the mere exposure to the language in their natural environment, they begin to mimic what they hear, experiment on words and phrases, then adults correct them at one point, and quite easily, they learn to speak the language despite its complexities. This is referred to as the â€Å"environmental input† in the article of Nowak and his colleagues (2002), that appeared in the 6 June 2002 of the Nature. Because of this environmental input, â€Å"children construct an internal representation of the underlying grammar. Children are not told of the grammatical rules. Neither children nor adults are ever aware of the grammatical rules that specify their own language† (p. 614). Wilhelm von Humboldt (as cited in Chomsky, 1968) believes that: â€Å"underlying any human language we will find a system that is universal, that simply expresses man’s unique intellectual attributes. For this reason, it was possible for him to maintain the rationalist view that language is not really learned – certainly not taught – but rather develops from within, in an essentially predetermined way, when the appropriate environmental conditions exist. One cannot really teach a first language, he argued, but can only provide the thread along which it will develop of its own accord, by processes more like maturation than learning† (Chomsky, 1968). Moreover, it does seem that languages transcend cultural boundaries. A good evidence of this would be how children learn in the same way regardless of cultural background. We can only wonder why when a family moves to another community with a different dialect for instance, children are the quickest to adapt and learn the new language. Do humans have the innate ability and mechanism for acquiring language within the brain? Lee (1997 ) looked into this innateness of language from a neurobiological standpoint. He asserted that there is â€Å"certain preexisting universal biological order in the brain. If they did not preexist, how would the many brains build synaptic connections that were similar to one another, even the brains of people that speak different languages? † Certain parts (such as Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas) of the brain are responsible for specialized linguistic functions, which means, â€Å"there are innate physical structure of the brain which govern our learning of language. † Chomsky (1975), a noted linguist, believes that we are â€Å"specifically designed† to learn language. As Biehler (1976) puts it, there are â€Å"striking uniformities† in languages of other cultures that follow grammatical patterns (universal grammar). Even Farrel (1978) agrees that there is â€Å"an underlying design original to all languages. † For all of them, language is simply a part of our genetic endowment, or as the evolutionist Haugen (1973) would say it, we have the â€Å"gift of language,† or the â€Å"universal gift of tongues. † Chomsky and other linguists believe that there are system of principles, conditions, and rules that are elements of all human languages. Human languages contain structure, which means they are composed of several words grouped basically by function (verbs, nouns, etc. ) and this is referred to in linguistic literatures as innate universal grammar. â€Å"The human brain is equipped with a learning algorithm, which enables us to learn certain languages. This algorithm can learn each of the existing 6,000 human languages and presumably many more, but it is impossible that algorithm could learn every computable language† (Nowak, Komarova and Niyogi, p. 615). What are the implications of all these? Regardless of cultural background, whatever language we know or use now, we are all innately predisposed to comprehend design in languages and we can easily grasp and work around grammatical rules, however complex or elaborate they are. Although of course, young children are at an advantage in using this gift, as timing in acquiring a language is important as well. Nonetheless, as a general statement, regardless of cultural or ethnic background, man’s remarkable ability to communicate through language, in itself, is already a good proof of the universality of language as a human faculty. As mentioned in the Atlas of Languages (1996), there is no known society or community in the world that is language-less. From the evolutionists’ point of view, language is essentially a human trait and this is a powerful evidence on the universality of language. While animals of the same kind have their own way of communicating, only humans had â€Å"the power of recursion to create an open-ended and limitless system of communication† Hauser, Chomsky and Fitch, 2002, p. 1578). Why and how humans acquired the faculty of language and managed to â€Å"spread from human to human and from culture to culture,† (Knezek, 1997) are often the usual subjects of discussion of scholars. Evolutionists would agree that â€Å"the faculty meditating human communication appears remarkably different from that of other living creatures†¦. that the human faculty of language appears to be organized like the genetic code with respect to its scope of expression. † Animals have been â€Å"designed on the basis of highly conserved developmental systems that read an almost universal language coded in DNA base pairs,† however, â€Å"they lack a common universal code of communication† (Hauser, Chomsky and Fitch, 2002, p. 1569).

The rule in Salomon v Salomon & Co [1897] AC 22 has been described as Essay - 5

The rule in Salomon v Salomon & Co [1897] AC 22 has been described as one of the corner stones of English Company Law. Discuss the rationale and impact of the decision on company law - Essay Example However, this paper argues that such balance has positive implications. The House of Lords decision in the case was good. At various general levels, Salomons case had universal recognition of the authority and principle where corporations were separate legal entities. Cases of this nature had firm establishment of incorporation, and new as well as separate artificial entities came to existence. From a legal perspective, corporations are distinct persons that have their personality independent of and distinct from the persons forming it, invested money in it, and directed and managed the operations (MÃ ¤ntysaari, 2006, p 34). The identity that corporations are separate legal entities in their right forms grounds for modern corporate law such as in Department of Trade and Industry v MacLaine Watson & Co Ltd. Every legal system that attains various levels of maturity appears to enjoy compulsion by the increasing complexities of human affairs and creation of persons without human characteristics. Consistency with such observation illustrates that various central and essential notions that give logical symmetry in industrial feudalism are personification of industrial enterprises. The support awarded to principles of legal personality separateness is shared among academic commentators and are unbroken into judicial and legislative circles (Ferran & Ho, 2014, p 312). The principle has enshrined depictions in section 124 in Corporations Act. The judiciary has consistent reaffirmations of the need of treating the legal doctrine with few exceptions. Subsequent Australian and English decisions of the court uphold the Salomon principle. Since Salomons case had the decision, the entire separation of company and members is rather evident. The ruling stands the test of time even with few exceptions (Routledge. 2010, p 352). In theory,

Managing Earth's Natural Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managing Earth's Natural Resources - Essay Example Being a farmer, and hardworking one at that, I strongly oppose any arrangements that would subject Callicoon to hydraulic fracturing. Jack, I know that leasing land over to extraction companies seems logical. The money is satisfactory, and one gets to retain ownership of the land. Lots of promises got made by these companies concerning how they intend to harness this resource that is the natural gas. However, the very process of fracking in itself is harmful to the natural ecosystem regardless of whatever means gets used in harvesting (Zelman 2012). Hydraulic fracturing refers to a process that creates fractures in the rocks due to the action of pressurized fluid. The process of fracking gets done after a well gets drilled and fitted with steel pipes targeting the areas that hold gas or oil. When the fracturing fluid gets injected in the well, it flows along the perforations into the target zones. The pressure created through injection of the liquid fractures the formation. Upon frac turing, fluid injection stops and the fracturing fluid flow back to the surface. Materials like ceramic beads and sand which got injected together with the fracture fluid mixture remains in the fracture space to keep the fracture open (Zelman 2012). Hydraulic fracturing uses enormous volumes of water. ... The harvesting of large volumes of water for hydraulic fracturing has negative ecological impacts in the water ecosystem. Fracking in Marcellus Shale used up 650 million gallons each year. Apart from drying up of water aquifers, water harvesting affects aquatic flora and fauna and leads to loss of biodiversity. The transportation of this water gets done by trucks that cause localized air quality and destroys the roads (Zelman 2012). A wide array of chemicals gets used together with water in hydraulic fracturing. The amount of chemicals used when millions of gallons of water gets used is enormous. In other words, the amount of chemicals per hydraulic fracturing is substantial. For instance, fracking that uses up four million gallons requires up to 330 tons of chemicals. The department of Environmental Conservation put up a list of additives and chemicals used for fracturing in Marcellus Shale. These chemicals are toxic to both wildlife and people, some of which cause cancer. These sub stances include petroleum distillates such as toluene, naphthalene and ethylbenzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol, sodium hydroxide, formaldehyde, glycol ether and hydrochloric acid. The Environmental Working Group has stated that petroleum distillates like kerosene contain benzene, a well known carcinogen which gets toxic in water in quantities that exceed five parts per billion. Volatile organic compounds such as 1, 2- Dichloroethane that are found in fracturing fluid flow back exceed drinking water standards. Flow back samples obtained from Pennsylvania had 10 times the maximum amount of 1, 2- Dichloroethane that should be in drinking water (Zelman 2012). Jack, leasing land to these exploration companies will lead to the reduction of water and air quality.

Corporate Stakeholders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Stakeholders - Essay Example Lastly, when we say product market - it comprises of primary customers, suppliers etc. There is an additional group of stakeholders that indirectly influences the performance of the company, and company cannot operate independent of it - these are the secondary stakeholders such as host communities, government and other environmental groups in the society. The firm has its obligation to maintain its actions that balances the participation of the entire key stakeholder. Each group of stakeholders has their demands that are against the demand of other stakeholders. Companies have to manage this trade-off in supporting one group over another in different decision making objectives. The primary expectations of shareholders and lenders are wealth enhancement and wealth preservation respectively; customers look for product reliability at as much lower price as possible, whereas, suppliers aim to receive the highest prices for the items supplied and that too sustainable in the long run. The group of stakeholder working there look for secure and sustainable work environment, that is rewarding and stimulating and provides opportunities for career growth. Unions struggle for ideal working conditions and achieving job security for the members. The secondary stakeholders focus in on protecting the environment and fulfilling concerns that relate t o social environment. As the description earlier indicates that product market stakeholders are basically the non investor stakeholders and their claims from the management are in the form of implicit promises that ensures continuous and timely supply of products, product enhancement, regular customers etc. These claims are implicit because payouts on these claims are not quantified and stated out aloud. But these claims are impacted by the company's existing financial policy. Cornell and Shapiro (1987) pointed out that these claims affect stock prices similar to the investor stakeholders' claims; management therefore should alter its financial policy to achieve a balance between implicit claim stakeholders and the investor stakeholders. Taking into considerations these implicit claims it can be implied that contingent claim on an organization's financial resources might be amplified in case their rights are not properly addressed. These implicit claims can be exemplified by the following: In January 984 when Apple came up with Machintosh computers, it promised (an implicit claim of competitive file servers) its customers that it will soon bring to the market the new file servers that are the hard disk that can manage data of multiple computer machines at a single time. But then the Apple had no clue of the exact characteristics, price etc. The field of corporate finance has long been recognizing how these implicit claims affect the factors earlier mentioned; this concept has been embedded in recognizing organizational capital equivalent to the current market value of all the firm's implicit claims that the firm expects to sell and organizational liabilities equaling the expected costs of honoring current and the potential implicit claims. Almost all of the stakeholders have criticized that balancing of stakeholders' rights is not a fair mechanism with capital markets or investor stakehol

Should couples in us be discouraged from having more than two children Research Paper

Should couples in us be discouraged from having more than two children - Research Paper Example 17). The government thus had to find a way to reduce population growth since the increasing dependent group was growing randomly. In the late 1960s, the government introduced the use of contraceptives even by the unemployed category of women. These contraceptives were offered at cheap prices to increase their use and thus curb the uncontrolled population growth that resulted to more poverty. The introduction of contraceptives helped reduce the population growth but the government was in full control of the population growth. The issue of the increase of low-income earners is becoming a burden to the taxpayers due to the increased overdependence on the government aiding programs. Putting this in mind, this project is aimed at discussing if the US government should discourage couples from having more than two children (Demographic Research, 2008, vol. 17). The issue of a couple on to have at most two children has raised a big debate that many researchers have surveyed in an effort of coming up with the benefits that small families have over big families and vice versa. The past researches will provide us with more knowledge and thus an informative literature review. The literature review will also provide this research on the reasons behind rapid population growth and will thus answer the issue at hand. In this research, we will use primary data to not the views of Americans and thus from the data will analyze it and discuss the findings. After discussion, the research will provide a conclusion. Lastly, in this research we will offer a recommendation. Past researches have talked the issues of the need for family planning, causes of rapid population growth and the impacts of government making laws on the number of children by a couple. The three are the most related researches that will provide us with the information required to tackle the issue at hand. The past research on the use of family

Sexual Exploitation of Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sexual Exploitation of Women - Essay Example Moreover, the nuisance in the society can be regulated but not at the expense of the safety, health and lives of individuals. Sale of sex for cash is not hampered by the constitution. However, the harm on the laws should not exceed the objectives of the federal government adopting it. When the court advised the government through the parliament to revise the laws on sex trade, the federal government argued that sex workers chose to affirmatively embrace risks that emanate from the dangerous trade (John, 2014). One of the dangers is violence on women by their clients. On the screens of reality, most prostitutes who resort to the trade are not usually driven by their own accord but other factors. Therefore, this paper seeks to elaborate conceptions about prostitutions by incorporating feminism (Native Women’s Association of Canada, 2015).Prostitution has become a social challenge due to the dynamics of the society despite its negative implication especially on women. Some of the prohibited activities are: prostitutes are not allowed to offer their services outdoors or even outside their homes; living on avails of prostitution aimed at another individual benefiting from another’s prostitution; and offering of services in public. The prohibition of not offering services outdoors is aimed at deterring the community from disruption and that concerning living on avails of sex trade is aimed at the eradication of pimps. On the other hand, prohibiting prostitutes from offering services publicly is channeled towards eradicating sex work out of the public view hence minimizing nuisance. However, there are several feminists with varied opinions on the issue in discussion (John, 2014). Other feminists perceive prostitution to be bad and retrogressive towards the steps taken towards female equality while some have a contrary opinion. They vindicate their views that prostitution is illegal

Nation-building Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Nation-building - Research Paper Example he Republic of Philippines (13 00 N, 122 00 E) is located in South Eastern Asia between the South China Sea and the Philippines Sea, in the east of Vietnam. The country has tropical marine climate with mostly mountainous terrain and coastal lowlands. The country is an agglomeration of more than 7100 islands. However, only 11 of them are populated. The capital is Manila. History The Republic of Philippines was a Spanish colony during the 16th Century and was conquered by US in the 20th century. In 1935, following the Spanish-American war, Philippines became a self governed commonwealth. During World War 2, the islands fell under the Japanese. From 1944-45 US and Filipinos joint forces fought collectively; and in 1946 as the Republic of Philippines. The Republic of Philippines (locally known as Pilipinas) is made up of 80 provinces and 120 chartered cities. Since the month of June 2010, Benigno Aquino is the president. Economy The Republic of Philippines was once one of the best econom ies in the Asia Pacific region. However, currently the country’s economy is suffering from high poverty rate which is a result of lack of population control and family planning measures. The republic of Philippines has a total population of 93.6 million as per UN data in the year 2010. The official language is called Filipino and English. Majority of the population are Christians. In Asia, The Republic of Philippines has the highest birth rate leading to a high population growth rate. At this rate, the forecast is that the population will be doubled within just three decades. The economy is also crumbling under government deficits and is heavily dependent on the remittances sent by the Filipinos working abroad. The country’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP grew by 7.3 percent in the year... The researcher states the Republic of Philippines has immense potential in terms of being a tourism giant internationally. Island tourism is increasing at a fast rate and the position of the Philippines islands is also strategically advantageous. Topping it is the language advantage- English being one of the official languages. Besides the unique treasures of the Filipino culture as well as the natural assets of both mountain and sea beach is a key strategic point for marketing the country as an attractive tourist destination. However, for successfully marketing The Republic of Philippines, the advertising agency and the Department of Tourism needs to capture the vibes of tourism marketing. It should concentrate at the fact that only natural resources or geographic diversity is not enough for the country to be positioned as a tourism giant. The essential part is forming an emotional relationship with the target audience, so that they keep coming back. Asia has seen a number of succes sful tourism campaigns like Malaysia- Truly Asia, Seoul- Infinitely Yours and The Incredible India campaign. The department of tourism should take cues from such marketing campaigns and try to create an original brand that is strengthened with its unique brand salience and sense of association. Also in the wake of the global financial crisis, the leading tourism industries have suffered. This global slowdown is also a challenge that the Department of Tourism will encounter. Also the outbreak of influenza virus and H1N1 flu led to further negative trends.

Witchcraft Evaluation through Comparison-Contrast Essay

Witchcraft Evaluation through Comparison-Contrast - Essay Example This paper will shed light upon witchcraft and paganism since 1815; modern day witchcraft will be discussed extensively in the following parts of this paper. â€Å"Before really getting into what Witchcraft is, perhaps we should take a look back at what it was—the history of it. Witches should be aware of their roots; aware of how and why the persecutions came about, for instance, and where and when the re-emergence took place. There is a great deal to be learned from the past. It's true that much of history can seem dry and boring to many of us, but that is far from so with the history of Witchcraft. It is very much alive and filled with excitement.† (Buckland, Raymond. P.1) ... Ancient religion, science fiction and myth all play an important part in witchcraft and paganism; people who practice it often take cues from religion, fiction and myth. Another important aspect of witchcraft and paganism is that people who follow it do not worship evil forces; they consider mother earth very important and usually worship mother earth rather than focusing their energy on evil forces. Satanism is another important topic which comes to mind when paganism and witchcraft is being talked of. There is a lot of difference between Satanism and witchcraft, people who indulge in Satanism pray to the Saturn or the evil forces but the followers of witchcraft do not pray to the Saturn or the evil forces. â€Å"Here in Canada kitchen prophecy is a way of life.† (The "Kitchen Goddess†) This goes to show that prophecy is often practiced by witches. They engage in speculation, they enjoy telling people about what they should expect in the future. Wicca has to be discusse d when witchcraft is being shed light upon, Wicca is a religion. The word Witch generally refers to a person from pagan religion. The roots of Wicca are firmly engraved in our history; people have been practicing it since pre-historic times. It would be inappropriate to consider Wicca as a unified whole. Beliefs and rituals practiced by the Witches vary significantly and this is why it would be inappropriate to consider Wicca as a unified whole. â€Å"There have been many books written on the history of Witchcraft. The vast majority have suffered from bias—as will be explained shortly— but a few of the more recently published ones have told the story accurately... or as accurately as we can determine.†

What is disabled Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What is disabled - Assignment Example Under ADA, disable may refer to a physical or mental impairment that may have a major effect on the major life activities of an individual (Blanck 17). To this respect, it is worth noting that either those individuals with previous record of such impairment or those regarded as having such impairment are covered. Reasonable accommodation refers any changes made to either a job or any other thing that is done in order to allow an individual with any disability to be able to not only apply for a job, but also enjoy equal access to the various benefits that are available to other employees at the workplace (Blanck 19). The fact that the employee has documentations from his doctor that he is medically obese and the fact that HR has qualified the employee as qualifying for reasonable accommodation under ADA implies that there is no need to get someone else to run warehouse errands for him since he is still able to perform the various essential functions of the job in question. In the case of Maryline, the fact that she has worked with the company for long and that she uses a wheelchair, then the employer’s obligations under title I requires that the employer provide access for an individual employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of his/her job which may include access to a building like in this case. When accommodating employees, it is not required that an employer makes its existing facilities accessible until a particular applicant or an employee needing such accommodation which will thus necessitate modifications that meets the work needs of the affected individual. In general however, it is expected that employers consider initiating changes that enables general accessibility though they are not required to provide access in places or facilities that need not to be used for benefits or activities related to

Three Signs of a Miserable Job Essay Example for Free

Three Signs of a Miserable Job Essay In his book entitled, â€Å"Three Signs of a Miserable Job,† Patrick Lencioni discusses job satisfaction by defining or rather, identifying the signs of a miserable job. According to the author there are stark differences between a job that is simply just â€Å"bad† from one that is â€Å"miserable.† The author uses many different examples throughout the book to stress his point and at the end is able to show that having a â€Å"miserable† job is not something that always has to be a problem. Patrick Lencioni addresses this issue by showing that there are many different methods of dealing with work related stress. In previous centuries the jobs available to a particular person were often predetermined by the occupation of that persons parent, in the recent years, however, more and more studies have come out showing the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. The reason behind this is that it has been shown in the Hawthorne Studies that individuals are willing to work for other benefits or factors besides pay or compensation. This led to more research as to what other factors may prompt an individual to perform work and thus led to the study of the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. This, according to the author, is the main source of job dissatisfaction. The relevance of this lies in the effect that a miserable job has upon a person. According to Lencioni, a miserable job can not only demoralize a person but it can also lead to frustrations that are brought in out of work forums. This leads to disastrous results not only in the industry but to society as well. The main cause of the problem lies with most of the members of management. As shown in a survey that the author cites, the main cause for job dissatisfaction that worker turnover is the boss. The key in dealing with the problem is in identifying what the signs of job misery are and if they are present. According to Lencioni, anonymity, irrelevance and immeasurement are the typical signs that a person is miserable with his job. The presence of these factors shows that the employee is not only miserable but they also signify that an employee is more likely to leave his current job or exhibit more work disruptive attitudes. The first sign, anonymity, is essential because it has to do with the value of the employee. Every employee, according to Lencioni, who does not feel like he or she is making a valuable contribution to work often, feels miserable. As previously mentioned, the rewards at work are not only financial but otherwise. Job satisfaction depends not only on the payment but also the intangible rewards such as being recognized. When the employee feels that the manages does not have any interest in them, their productivity decreases and they feel miserable in work. Another sign is irrelevance. This means that the employee acts as if anything that he or she contributes is useless. This feeling of futility greatly demoralizes the employee and also leads to dissatisfaction at work. The negative effect is that it can spill over to the rest of the group and negatively impact workplace productivity. The last sign is immeasurement which is the lack of ability of workers to gauge their success at work. Most employees have the need to assess just how much they have accomplished. Without this, the employee feels as if they are stuck in the â€Å"twilight zone† with no hope in sight. It is important therefore for the employee to see the progress that he or she has accomplished. The remedy, according to the author, lies in establishing good communication between the employee and the manager. Oftentimes, this problem is caused by lack of or total absence of communication. Therefore, in order to prevent this problem, the employee must strive to communicate to the manager his or her concerns before it becomes a huge problem that can no longer be remedied.

Manufacturing Processes Of Plastic Commerce Essay

Manufacturing Processes Of Plastic Commerce Essay Plastic is a major part of almost every industry imaginable. From food and beverage packaging, to childrens toys, to automotive applications, plastic is all around us. Plastic is a versatile material which can be used for many purposes depending on the specific properties. This report will explore the history of plastics, the manufacturing process, and what to expect from plastics in the future. For simplicity, we will look primarily at the two of the main types of plastics: high density polyethylene, HDPE, and polyethylene terephthalate, PET. These two types of plastic have been the stepping stones for other plastic discoveries and their properties attributed to the many bottle applications. There are different processes that correspond to each plastic type depending on the specifics of the end application. Quality control and quality assurance are vital to plastic companies. These departments provide the customer with the satisfaction of a well designed product, which is why it is so vitally important. There are other problems plastic companies face on a daily basis such as change-outs, direct printing, stopping time, and damaged goods. These problems are capable of setting a company back from profit, and there are solutions being made for each of these issues. Perhaps the biggest concern regarding the plastics industry today is about recycling and what is being done to reuse and conserve our natural resources and minimize the negative impact on the environment. Recycling needs to be faced head-on and the steps to reuse and minimize waste are explored in this paper. The History of Plastics Plastics have always been viewed in two different ways. On the one hand, some view plastics as one of the most useful materials ever made, but on the other hand some see plastics are artificial, toxic, and detrimental to the environment. Plastic is a material that is engineered by men and can be shaped into almost any desirable form. They were designed in order to replace prominent products with an inexpensive yet efficient substitute. For centuries people have used natural resins similar to plastic, but not until the mid-1800s, did the commercial development of plastics begin (Plastics 563). In 1862, the first man-made plastic was developed by Alexander Parkes. This plastic, known as Parkesine, was designed to be molded and yet retain its shape when cooled, in order to replace natural rubber (Masterson). Later in the decade John W. Hyatt developed a material to eliminate the need for ivory in the manufacturing of billiard balls. In 1870 the material was patented and named celluloid, and this was the first synthetic plastic to succeed commercially (Plastics 563). This plastic was a breakthrough, but did have a problem with being highly flammable. Other plastics would soon be invented to fix these problems and cover a wide variety of products. In 1909, Leo Baekeland patented a resin (a material made from acids) known as Bakelite which helped pave the way for the development of commercial plastics. Bakelite opened the door to scientists to begin to understand the chemistry of plastics (Plastics 564). All plastics belong to one of two groups, thermosetting plastics and thermoplastics. Thermosetting plastics are plastics that are heated but can only be molded once. Since we are covering the manufacturing of plastic bottles, we will not deal with this type of plastic. Bottles are commonly recycled, requiring the reformation of a plastic, which is the definition of thermoplastics. The thermoplastic we are most interested in is polyethylene (PE). Polyethylene was first produced in 1933 and used on radar systems during World War II to make them light enough for airplanes (Masterson). The rise of polyethylene continued after the war and became one of the most used plastics in the world. In 1953, high density polyethylene (HDPE) was invented by Karl Ziegler and Erhard Holzkamp and used in the production of pipes (Gabriel). However, this material didnt reach success until 1956 with the breakthrough of the Hula Hoop. The toy led to the high commercialization of HDPE being used in pipes, which revealed the materials usefulness in the making of other products such as detergent and baby bottles (Ceresana Research). Another form of PE which will be of interest is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which was invented in 1941 by John Whinfield and James Dickson. PET was generally used in clothing but began to see more use in the manufacturing of bottles (Bellis). Not until the early 1970s did PET see use in plastic bottle manufacturing. Nathaniel Wyeth developed this bottle, by improving the method of manufacturing the bottle through blow molding. Blow molding was developed earlier in the 1940s but was inefficient because of inconsistent products. In 1973 Wyeth improved this method, leading to how bottles are currently made by stretch blow molding (Secrest). Plastics have evolved from a little known substance into materials completely facilitated in many areas of production. Although the first substantial invention was credited in 1862, the general public didnt use the word until the mid 1930s (Masterson). Currently, in 2010, plastics have woven their way into many facets of manufacturing and production, yet these innovative breakthroughs have also brought many new challenges. Plastics Types Plastics come with unique properties and colors. Their ability to be molded into nearly any shape while maintaining their strength at a low cost makes them an ideal material for many uses. From piping to bottles, plastic is a very common and highly useful material. Not every type of plastic can be applied in the same way as another type. Each type of plastic also has its own advantages and disadvantages. An example of the different characteristics of plastics can be seen when comparing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and high-density polyethylene. PVC is a type of plastic often found in piping materials while HDPE is a plastic that is often used in bottles containing materials such as detergent. PVC is very rigid and suited to applications requiring weathering resistance, inherent flame resistance, high gloss, abrasion resistance, and low cost (Bryce 129). HDPE, on the other hand, has a good balance of chemical resistance, low-temperature, impact strength, light weight, and low cost (Bryce 122). Both materials are useful in their own rights, but some plastics are much better than others at different tasks. Plastic bottles are generally made from three different types of plastic. HDPE is a material generally found in detergent bottles, such as Tide or Gain. PET is a plastic often found in drink bottles. Lastly, polypropylene is a plastic often found in clear bottles with small handles, such as a hand soap refill bottle. Each of these plastics has their advantages and disadvantages, which the industry is trying to overcome so that each plastic can be used more widely. HDPE HDPE is very commonly seen in colored, opaque plastic bottles. A large advantage of HDPE in bottle making is its ability to be layered. For example, Tropicana orange juice bottles are a multilayered, allowing the orange juice to stay fresh longer by keeping the outside environment from touching the juice contained inside. This layering process is not limited to just this bottle (Knueve). In Tide brand bottles, there are 3 layers. The outer layer is made of virgin material, HDPE that has never been used before, and the color. The middle layer contains PCR, post consumer recycle, and regrind, which is the reground excess flash that comes off other bottles. The inner layer, or the layer that touches the product is another layer of virgin material. This layering system allows the product to be stronger and also helps keep the product safer from the outside environment (Knueve). The main reason for layering however is to consume PCR and regrind while also maintaining a protective interface layer with the product. This can also allow the color (external) and internal layers to be much thinner. A typical detergent bottle is 15% outer, 65% middle and 20% inner (Hatch). If a material is sensitive to the outside environment or even oxygen, a six layer bottle is possible. Similar to the composition of the three layer bottle, the outside layer consists of the virgin material and the next layer is regrind. However, the next three layers is what helps give the bottle the protection to the environment. Most environmental barriers do not bind well with the HDPE, so an adhesive layer must be added to each side of the barrier layer. The inside adhesive layer is then attached to the sixth and final layer, which consists of virgin resin (Knueve). HDPE is a good material choice because it is a low cost plastic. Often made using a blow mold process, bottles made from high-density polyethylene often show very good performance during bottle drop tests, a test for impact strength. HDPE also shows high low temperature toughness along with excellent resistance to chemicals and good electrical insulating properties (Lee 190). HDPE, also has some disadvantages as well. Due to the nature of the material, it has low clarity. Also, the neck dimensions are less accurate than that compared to PET bottles because of the blow molding process (Knueve). PET PET is often found in carbonated drinking bottles, such as Mountain Dew or plastic water bottles. PET bottles are often formed in injection blow molding, as opposed to extrusion blow molding. This type of plastic incorporates stiffness and good heat tolerance (Bryce 120). PET bottles are also very clear. When compared to an HDPE bottle, such as a milk container, you can easily tell which bottle is made from which type of plastic. Due to the injection blow mold process PET have neck dimensions that are much more accurate. Lastly, after a bottle is blown, the temperature drops much faster due to PET having much thinner walls, allowing less cooling time during manufacturing (Knueve). This also increases the rate at which you can produce PET bottles when compared to HDPE bottles. PET also has its disadvantages. The biggest and most obvious problem is that you are unable to blow a handle into this type of plastic. This causes issues when bottles become increasingly large, such as gallon or larger sized containers. Recently, external handles have been produced which have created a solution to this problem .These external handles can be added during the injection blow mold process, or after the bottle has been blown. Examples of these types of bottles can be found in stores today on products such as Lipton Green Tea (Knueve). Polypropylene A third type of plastic used in bottles is polypropylene which is mainly used in bottle closures. Although not common in bottles, polypropylene can be found in products that resemble PET bottles, such as a hand soap bottle. A large advantage of this material is that it can resemble a PET bottle in its gloss and clarity, but can be formed with a handle (Knueve) using an extrusion blow molding process. Polypropylene also has good impact strength unless a low temperatures. Polypropylene bottles also have good chemical resistance, high abrasion resistance and high melt strength (Lee 194). These characteristics are very similar to that of HDPE, but in bottle drop tests, especially at low temperatures, a HDPE bottle will fare better and show more impact strength (Knueve). Each type of plastic has tradeoffs however. Although HDPE has more impact strength, it is very opaque and less shiny when compared to a polypropylene bottle. Plastic Bottle Creation The first common step in any bottle making process is extrusion. Extrusion is the process by which the plastic resin is mixed and melted. Similar to a meat mincer, plastic is fed from a hopper in certain predetermined quantities and is then melted. This process mixes plastic resin together to form a uniform mixture (Lee 103). Continuous Extrusion Blow Molding (Wheel) Extrusion blow molding is a very common technique in the creation of HDPE bottles. The process of forming the bottle in extrusion blow molding is a five step process. First, the plastic resin is melted in the extruder and mixed. This melted resin then enters a die which forms the melted plastic resin into a molten hollow tube know as a parison. The parison is then fed into a mold which clamps shut. A blow pin pierces the parison inside the mold in a section of the bottle known as flash and high pressure air is injected causing the plastic to spread throughout the mold taking on the shape of the inside of the mold. After some cooling time, the piece is ejected and the flash is trimmed (Hatch). A multilayered HDPE bottle is achieved through the use of multiple extruders each feeding into the same die forming a multilayered parison. The rotary wheel and shuttle system are the two most common types of continuous extrusion blow molding. In a wheel process only a single parison is formed. The molds are mounted to a wheel and rotate around at a slow speed. As they travel past the extruder, the mold closes, encasing the parison. With the wheel, at any given moment, the parison is being captured, a part is being molded, a molded part is being cooled and a cooled part is being removed (Lee 109). Two major disadvantage of the rotary system is the complexity and setup of the clamp mechanism and the inability to produce calibrated neck finishes (Lee 110). Later in the paper, we discuss how the speed of change outs is improving, allowing this type of technology to become more dominant. Continuous Extrusion Blow Molding (Shuttle) The shuttle system follows the same principles as the rotary system. However, the molds are kept on a track. Instead of one parison being produced, the shuttle technology produces as many parisons as there are molds (Hatch). When accepting the parison, the molds clamp when the molten tube reaches the proper length. This group of molds then moves quickly back to the blowing station after the parison is cut and a blow pin enters the mouth of the bottle forming the mouth of the bottle and then blowing the remainder of the parison into the mold cavity. Shuttle molds have a few distinct advantages over a wheel. The amount of flash produced in this method is much less because the parison length matches the bottle length. In a wheel method, the parison in-between the molds can vary because of the mold spacing around the wheel. Along with more efficient trim, a shuttle system creates a calibrated neck, where as a wheel system needs to have a separate process done to finish the neck of the bottle (Hatch). Injection Reheat Stretch Blow Molding Injection reheat stretch blow molding is often used for PET bottles. This technology is a two-step process. First, the molten resin is injected into a mold cavity which forms the threads, neck and body. This shape is then transferred to a different mold where it is expanded forming the shape of the bottle (Lee 124). The first step creates what is known as a preform. These preforms do not need to be used directly after they are formed. Using quartz lights, the preforms are re-heated until they are in a pliable state where a rod then stretches them downward while a blast of high pressure air expands the bottle into the shape of the mold (Lee 124). Significant engineering goes into the design of the preform. The plastic distribution in the final bottle is obtained through the plastic distribution in the preform as well as selectively reheating the preform. The hotter areas after reheating will flow more producing thinner areas. Through the combination of preform design and reheating you can redistribute plastic to areas of the bottle that need extra strength and thin out areas of the bottle dont need the added strength. Typically the shoulder and base of the bottle have thicker areas to produce a bottle that can carry sufficient top load (Hatch). Injection stretch blow molding This process is normally considered a one step process because the preforms are produced in groups equivalent to the number of molds. This process is intermittent so instead of the preforms being manufactured and stored for later use the preforms are produced within the bottle blower. This technology is much slower that the process described above but has several inherent benefits. The first benefit is that you can produce wide mouth containers without concern for the injection mold efficiencies. In normal injection blow molding operations, the bottles have a smaller neck and some machines can create up to 144 preforms at one time. However, with a wider mouth bottle, there is less room to make each preform. Therefore, creating preforms to use at a later time, which is the reheat stretch blow process, it is much more efficient to blow directly after forming the preform. Secondly, because of the slower blowing speed this technology is well suited for smaller volume products where produ ction better matches the demand (Hatch). Quality Assurance Quality Control The traditional way to ensure that the customer received an error free product is quality control testing. In this process the products that are already manufactured undergo certain tests to determine whether or not the products meet the standards required. It is common in manufacturing that only a sampling of the products are tested not every individual item. In some facilities it would not be economical or efficient to test every single item so random samples must be used (Kalpakjian 1073). An example of a quality control test in the manufacturing of plastic bottles is to verify the thickness of the bottle walls at various locations. It would be difficult to measure the thickness at all locations using a caliper so an alternative is to slice the bottle into sections. The sections are cut using hot wires to ensure a clean cut and the bottle is always located in the same position in order to make sure the resulting sections are always the same. The sections are then weighed and compa red with standard values to ensure that the plastic is spreading appropriately throughout the mold (Knueve). It is not expected that all sections would weigh the same since specific areas need to be stronger than others such bottle shoulder or bases. Automated inspection is another process that is very prevalent in the manufacturing of products. Sensor systems are designed that measure relevant parameters of the products as they proceed through the production line. Since the products are inspected during the manufacturing process any defective ones can be removed before they reach another manufacturing process (Kalpakjian 1070). The advantage to this is that time is not wasted performing another process on an item that has already been deemed unacceptable. A problem with this process of quality control is that there is always the chance that defective products could reach the customer. Leak Tester Plastipak employs multiple quality control stations throughout their HDPE production lines to ensure that all the products that reach the consumer are of the highest quality. The main purpose of a bottle is to contain a liquid so naturally one of the most important tests along the production line is the leakage test. The bottles will be used to contain liquids but it would not be efficient to take the time to fill the bottles to capacity, ensure there are no leaks, and drain them. Also that method could lead to potential contamination and the need to completely dry the internal surface of the bottle. The solution to this method is to test for leaks with air pressure. There are multiple nozzle heads at this station and a revolving loop is incorporated into the production line at this station. When the bottle reaches this station an air tight nozzle is applied to the opening of the bottle and air is pumped into the bottle until it reaches a certain pressure (Knueve). The revolving loop allows multiple bottles to be tested at one time to ensure production is not slowed. The bottle then proceeds through the loop and if the pressure holds the bottle proceeds down the production line. If the bottle does not hold the specified pressure the bottle is taken off the line after it exits the test station by a burst of air from a nozzle locate on the side of the production line (Hatch). In order to ensure that this quality control station is functioning properly it is periodically challenged. Plastipak originally created calibrated bottles by drilling a small hole in the bottle. They recognized that not only does this create a waste of material but also leads to the chance that if the test machine is not functioning properly a defective bottle would reach the customer. The solution to this problem was to modify the machine by creating a leak of pressure (Knueve). When the test station is going to be challenged a solenoid is adjusted so that it leaks air which creates the dr op in pressure which in turn triggers the rejection of the bottle after it exits the loop. After the challenging of the test station is complete the bottles that were rejected while the solenoid was leaking can be run through the test station again eliminating the unnecessary waste of materials or risk of the challenge bottles being shipped to the customer (Knueve). Label Checker Another quality control station on the production line ensures that the labels are correct and in the right position. As the bottles travel down the line they pass through a device that takes an image of the bottle with the label on it. The software in the station is designed to recognize that specific portions of the label are orientated at specific locations on the bottle (Knueve). Once again if the bottle does not pass this test an air nozzle is located where the bottles exit the station and a burst of air is used to remove the bottle from the line. Much like the leak test station the label verifier must be challenged in order to ensure that it is functioning properly. Some defective label bottles are purposely sent down the production lines when the system is being challenged. Some examples that would be rejected are bottles with no label, skewed label, or the wrong label (Knueve). At Plastipak the tolerances are set so low that often the few bottles rejected in this station woul d still meet the standards set forth by the customer (Hatch). Spout Verifier There are certain bottles that are manufactured at Plastipak that require exterior pouring spouts attached to them. The bottles travel down the production and the spouts are secured to the bottles with an adhesive (Knueve). The spouts must be orientated in a certain direction to allow the bottle to be poured properly. A test station is situated immediately after these spouts are applied. There are many sensors located at this station to ensure that the spout will function properly. One of the sensors monitors the temperature of the spouts before they are placed on the bottle because if they are not at the correct temperature it will not seal correctly (Hatch). Immediately after the spout is placed on the bottle there is another set of sensors to ensure it was attached correctly. Two sensors located at specific locations measure to make sure the spout is orientated in the correct plane. A third sensor at the same location is used to make sure there are no gaps between the bottle and t he spout (Hatch). Finally there is a sensor that verifies the spout is the correct color. When Plastipak challenges this station they purposely send bottles through the station with spouts not positioned correctly or no spouts at all (Knueve). They also send bottles with the wrong color spout down the production line. The color recognition sensor is critical because they do not manufacture the spouts (Knueve). Process Control An alternative to a quality control system is quality process control (Quality Assurance). In a quality process control method the focus is shifted from the items produced to the processes that make the items. If the process can be fine-tuned to produce exactly the same product consistently and correctly there would be no need to check that it is to specifications and defect free. In an ideal world the production lines could be set once to produce a perfect product not only today but two years later. The reality is that things such as equipment failures, variations in the material, or unauthorized adjustments among other things could lead to the production of defective items (Gordon 424). The solution to this problem is that the processes must be monitored to ensure they are being performed within acceptable limitations. All of the monitoring systems can be networked that allows management to easily observe whether or not the processes are being performed correctly which in turn tell s them high quality products are being produced (Gordon 286). The system also has the ability to alert the operators when a process is not being performed correctly and in some cases actually shut down the production line if necessary (Gordon 287). The temperature of the resin right before the bottle is formed is an example of a key process that could be monitored. The obvious problem is that the products produced while the temperature is decreased more than likely will be defective. Another potential problem is that it could damage the molds and machinery further down the production line. If the company relied on the old method it would take the operator recognizing the error or it reaching a quality control station further down the line which would still require someone to recognize the problem and take action. In the new process control system the temperature drop could be easily detected by a thermometer and the line could automatically be shut down before a catastrophic failure. The quality process system would enable the company to streamline their production lines. Streamlining is eliminating as many activities from the production process that do not add value to the product. While the quality control checks are necessar y in situations; they do nothing to add more value to the product. Quality Assurance In the system of quality processes the quality checks that you perform actually turn into quality assurance. Since the process is being monitored to ensure correct items are being produced all quality tests that are being performed through the production line are more out of a need of assurance compared to necessity (Hatch). The question is then posed why are the production line inspections still necessary if in theory every item produced in this system is defect free. The reality is there will always be a minute amount of variation in the products being produced. The variation could be from a range of things for example quality of incoming material or wear on the machines being used (Kalpakjian 1073). There are a multitude of benefits from putting the quality into the processes instead of waiting until the product is manufactured to be concerned with quality. In the manufacturing of plastic bottles it will eliminate the amount of scrap and waste materials produced (Hatch). Also it w ill increase the reliability of the machines which improves efficiency that naturally leads to more profit. Most importantly quality process control will lead to an increase in satisfied customers (Gordon 573). Plastipak Usage Plastipak created a system that integrates all of their process control methods into a single entity. When they first began developing the system their core goals were to simply obtain a count of the bottles produced and the amount of downtime (Knueve). Plastipak realized that there was the potential to go a step further and monitor individual processes within the production line. A computer system was developed that allows management to view the status and performance of many different components of the production from any computer with internet access. The system also has an automated email system that alerts the appropriate management positions when significant malfunctions occur or there is a period of extended downtime (Knueve). A few examples of processes that are monitored are air pressure, water temperature, plastic temperature, downtime frequency and length, and reject count at different steps (Knueve). The different test stations described earlier at Plastipak now are a mea ns of assurance since the products produced meet the required specifications. Recycling The introduction of plastics into manufacturing and production has brought about a disposal problem. Being so successful, PET has attributed to this problem greatly. Since a large number of bottles are being produced, once used up these bottles create large amounts of waste because most plastics do not readily break down. These products usually were thrown away, but because of environmental concerns, active solutions were sought out. Recycling is one of the most pertinent actions taken to decrease the amount of waste created by plastic. It is a process designed to recover and reuse material, which helps conserve raw materials and keeps those materials out of landfills (Recycling 184). Instead of throwing away the bottles, people instead are encouraged to recycle them, in which case the bottles will make be used again in the manufacturing process of the same or other products. There are typically two types of recycled material used by industries: materials that have been used by consu mers and waste materials from the production process. However both of these materials can be reused in the production process in much of the same manner. These materials are usually separated by type and then broken down in different ways for reuse. Thermoplastics are re-melted and reformed into new products, or new bottles. Thermosetting plastics are usually grounded into powders or shredded, in which these are used for other products such as insulators in clothing (Recycling 184). Recycled PET was used in many other products until 1991, when the first PET bottle was made from recycled PET. This bottle was made by Coca-Cola and Hoechst Celanese Corporation and consisted of 25% recycled PET (Secrest). This paved the way for other measures taken to increase the efficiency of recycling plastics. The Process The process of recycling PET and HDPE products has been refined and engineered to get the most use out of recycled products. Typically the process is as follows: 1. All of the recycled products and waste are collected together and sent into large bales. 2. The bales are shipped to where a bale breaker which rips apart the bales. 3. The bottles are sorted by resin and color. 4. These are shredded into tiny flakes. 5. The flakes are cleaned and melted. 6. The plastic is extruded into pellets which are used in the process of forming new plastics. This completes the process of reusing the recycled plastic, where the cycle starts over for the manufacturing of plastic products (How Plastic Bottles Are Recycled). Unfortunately, recycled PET encounters problems for the manufacturing process. Although the cycle is an advantage for the environment and limiting waste, recycled PET is typically more expensive to use and has lower quality than virgin PET. Recycled PET also is regulated by the FDA which creates more restrictions (Koester). Although it would be environmentally friendly to use more recycled material in each product, it is not the most efficient decision because there are limitations involved. One reason is that the recycled material is generally more expensive. The curbside programs designed to recycle materials are not available everywhere and completely adequate. If these programs could be improved then the materials price may decrease and the quantity may increase. Also, the product needs to have a balance of ingredients, because there are limitations to the amount of each ingredient. If a bottle was

Lord Of The Flies By William Golding Philosophy Essay

Lord Of The Flies By William Golding Philosophy Essay In this paper I chose to analyze the book Lord of the flies written by William Golding as I believe it matches very well the field of organizational theory by presenting the contrast between different styles of leadership and the opposed actions of two very different leaders. I will emphasize four types of leadership styles: democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire and charismatic. I chose this book because in the novel, leadership plays a very important role, as it does in real life for us, because the characters need to feel some sense of security in order for them to survive. The situational leadership theory proposes that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variables. Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making: for example in a situation where the leader is the most knowledgeable and experienced member of a group, an authoritarian style might be most appropriate, in other instances where group members are skilled experts, a democratic style would be more effective. The fundamental underpinning of the situational leadership theory is that there is no single best style of leadership. Effective leadership is task-relevant, and the most successful leaders are those that adapt their leadership style to the maturity of the individual or group they are attempting to lead or influence. Effective leadership varies, not only with the person or group that is being influenced, but it also depends on the task, job or function that needs to be accomplished. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situa tional_leadership_theory) The existence of mankind on earth relies on various factors: the basic needs for humans to survive are food, water, shelter, but these are only the physical needs of man. Humans also have social and mental needs which require the existence of law in order to be able to coexist peacefully with themselves, the nature and the environment. The only way that law and order can be achieved in human society is by a higher authority, or some form of government or leader. William Golding tries to touch on some of these aspects of our civilization through the various characters he creates in his novel Lord of the Flies. (http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/12/13/185154/04/) The main theme of the novel is the conflict between two opposed instincts that exist within all human beings: the instinct to live by rules, act peacefully, follow moral commands, and value the good of the group against the instinct to gratify ones immediate desires, act violently to obtain supremacy over others, and enforce ones will. The two main leaders in the story, through their similar and different leadership characteristics and objectives fight back and forth to gain the discipline of the other boys on the island in order to gain the power to make the decisions that they feel should be made, sometimes for the better of the entire group, and sometimes for their own purpose. The leaders which are presented throughout the novel all have their own method of leading, and serve different purposes. The elected and democratic leader is Ralph while the self-appointed leader who tries to run a totalitarian society is Jack. In the beginning they work towards common goals, but eventually their different views on how to lead the group lead them into conflict. From the very beginning Ralph assumes primary responsibility for the groups tasks when he starts organizing their living, because he realizes that not doing so will result in savagery and moral chaos (Hynes, 59). Being aware of the situation in which they are, Ralph uses Piggys idea of the conch and takes the role of gathering the survivors. When the boys arrive in the island they automatically seek for some kind of law and order, since there are not any grown-ups. They want to belong to a group, with someone in charge to lead them, and make them feel safe. Ralph becomes this person, after being chosen in a democratic election. He tries to hear what everybody has to say. Let him be chief with the trumpet thing (Golding, 30). The conch is a symbol of democracy because it entitles everyone to having an opinion in all matters of importance. It also symbolizes law and order, everything which Ralph stands for. Although he is accepted as a leader in the beginning, his priorities as a leade r and way of thinking create conflict with some of the others. Theres another thing. We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they might not notice us. So we must make a smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire. (Golding, 49) When one observes Ralphs actions, it becomes obvious that he is not only a task-motivated leader, but also a democratic leader, which results from the fact that he leads an expedition through the forest in order to find out if the island is deserted or not. Ralph also wants shelters to be built where they can sleep, branches to be collected for a signal fire and a specific place beyond the bathing-pool to be used as a lavatory. Furthermore, he introduces rules when he tells the boys that they have to have Hands up like at school (Golding, 31) and that only the person holding the conch is allowed to speak. In addition, the conch makes the boys feel they participate; when holding it they get a chance to speak their mind and the others must listen. It is a significant trait for a democratic leader to aim for an environment of equality. Without a doubt, Ralph is also a relationship-motivated leader. He is compassionate and caring when he tries to comfort the littluns (Golding, 61) by saying there is no beast to be afraid of. He is interested in what the other boys think and he listens to them and what they have to say before he makes decisions. His closest follower, Piggy, thinks a great deal about what has to be done and how they can do it and Ralph brings up Piggys ideas at the assemblies. In brief, these are all examples that support the fact that Ralph is a complex leadership figure. He wants to be a sympathetic and egalitarian leader who does not avoid his responsibilities, but he is only twelve years old and has neither the experience needed for the task, nor the support from the other boys. In the beginning, all the boys stand by the rules set by Ralph. After a while this society starts to break up as man has a way of choosing the easiest way out. The boys get tired of the responsibility and want to play, hunt and have fun. They do not want to get rescued as they are enjoying themselves too much. When moving on to the authoritarian leader, represented by Jack, we find a character who starts his advance for the role of leader at the very first assembly when he states that he is the rightful leader of the schoolboys since he is the head boy in the choir. He is arrogant and disrespectful when he yells at his choir and bullies Piggy by screaming Shut up Fatty! (Golding, 17). Jack feels humiliated when Ralph is elected. Although he temporarily gives in, Jack soon starts using different strategies to undermine Ralphs authority, and at the same time making himself more powerful. He stirs up the group by lying about Ralph having said that the hunters are bad at hunting. And even though Jack is the one who suggests that they need rules, and is quick to point out that the one who breaks them will be punished, he soon breaks them himself when he, for instance, speaks without holding the conch or makes himself heard above the other speakers (Olsen, 13). These actions are unopposed and we aken Ralphs leadership, and according to Kirsten Olsen it is the breaking of old rules and making his own (Olsen, 14) that paves the way for Jack coming to power. After being publicly humiliated when his attempt to have Ralph unseated fails, Jack decides to leave the group and have a fort of his own. Cunningly he tries to win people over from Ralphs camp by accusing him of being a coward and a bad hunter. Jack also offers the hungry boys meat if they leave Ralph and join his group instead. Not surprisingly most boys rather eat pork and play than pick berries and do tiresome chores under Ralphs command. As a result of Jacks behavior, one notices how Ralphs leadership style gradually changes into a laissez-faire leader. At one point he wonders what is going on: Things are breaking up. I dont understand why. We began well; we were happy (Golding, 87). Later he talks to the assembled boys and asks: Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?(Golding, 200). According to Ralph the first alternative is the only possible one, but the others do not seem to agree with him. Jack is a charismatic leader who paints his face with clay before he goes hunting for pigs. The hunters join Jack because they feel as if the mask on Jacks face commands them to do so. Most boys just do what the leader says, or what the majority does, without thinking in terms of right and wrong or friendship, since they are afraid to be on their own, or even worse, a target of the other boys aggressions. Compared to the democratic leader Ralph, Jack is an authoritarian leader who yells at his peers to make his point, threatens them into obedience, makes them commit crimes as well as actually hurting them physically. An example of Jacks tactics when he finally is in power is the situation where he orders his subordinates to tie up the twins Sam and Eric, and then turns to Ralph, saying: See? They do what I want (Golding, 199). As a consequence of Jacks increasing number of followers, Ralph finds himself being the leader of only a few boys. One person, though, who never abandons him is Piggy, the representative of common sense. He desperately tries to adjust the situation on the island to conditions more like those at home and he asks: What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? Whats grown-ups going to think? Going off hunting pigs letting fires out - (Golding, 98). Compared to Jack, who leads a primary group, the choir, Ralph, with the exception of Piggy, does not have a group of close and loyal allies. A typical example of how Ralph is betrayed by some of his followers is the actions of twins Sam and Eric. They try to avoid conflicts, and therefore never openly take a stand for Ralph. The end of Ralphs leadership is a fact when Jack and his band of hunters have killed Simon and Piggy, the two most devoted boys. There are no more boys to lead, and without followers Ralph can no longer be a leader. In conclusion, both leaders have different characteristics and priorities, which make them lead the group in different ways. Ralph is considered to be the elected leader and Jack the self-appointed leader. These leaders have different skills and different views on how to create society, which leads them into many conflicts. This just goes to show that humans cannot be trusted with power, as power corrupts. The moment Jack becomes the leader of his own group he turns into a savage and does things without thinking. The same can be said about governments in the world today, who start wars with the purpose of fulfilling their own needs, and they do not mind harming others to achieve their goals and objectives. Maybe humans really are savages that cannot live in peace and coexist on this earth with all the animals and the environment. It might be quite possible that Goldings view of humans as being the worst creatures on earth, is not very hard to comprehend, as you can relate to the conf licts created by leadership that are seen throughout the world.

Rose For Emily :: essays research papers

In â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, William Faulkner tells a story about a young women who is overwhelmingly influenced by her father. Her father controls her live and makes all of her decisions for her. Without him she could not do anything except stay at home. When her father dies, Emily has to confront a new life without her sponsor. Since she is not able to function without the presence of her father, it is hard for her to adapt and accept the truth. When Emily’s father dies, women of the town call on her to offer their help, which is their custom when someone suffers a tragic loss. Emily denies that as she meets them in front of her house with no emotion in her face. She sends them away as she considers her father still alive instead of being death. Her father controls all over her life; therefore, she couldn’t accept the death of her father. In her thought, her father still exists in her house and he is the only one source that she can support to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s time for her to make her decision herself. She spends majority of her time in the house where she feels comfortable and where her father still exists and protects her. She decides to live herself in the house regardless of changes outside in the world. She could not escape from her father’ ghost shadow. Everything changes; nevertheless, she still lives with the past. For example, when a new age of city authorities in town visit her house in order to collect taxes they feel she own; she explains that: â€Å"I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me.† Yes, it is true; however, colonel Sartoris has been dead almost for ten years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are two characters in this story described opposite to each other. They are Miss Emily and Mr. Homer. Miss Emily is described as a short, fat, aged and mysterious woman. She is very stubborn lady and very hard to change; Miss Emily refuses modern change into her desolate life; for example, she refuses to allow attaching numbers on her door and a mailbox for free mail service. All her attitude is a result of her father’s over-control her when she was very young. On the other hand, Homer is â€Å" a Yankee- a big dark, ready man, with big voice and eyes lighter the his face.

Othello :: essays research papers

Othello. Othello is the title of the character and play that we all studied earlier this semester. However, it is Othello the character that I intend to discuss. Othello is the husband to the beautiful and innocent Desdemona, whom he murders because the villainous and honest Iago has misled him. A Moorish general in Venice, a society plagued with racism and where adultery is neither condemned nor approved of, Othello is in the midst of a society that will hinder and not support his progress. The central theme of the drama is the alteration of a noble lover to a raving killer, under the influence of the deliberate connivance of his aide, Iago, who convinces him that his wife is having a love affair with another officer named Cassio. Unable to trust the falsely corrupted Desdemona - he lacks the essential element of love and it is this absence of trust that causes Othello to disintegrate morally. This destructiveness extends to his own suicide, when his error of judging Desdemona to be an adulteress fails him. Our closely woven relationship with this traumatised and gullible Othello causes us to suffer with him, as he experiences emotional agonies, such as the destruction of his once reputable nobility, character and marriage to the young Desdemona. Through Act II, Scene I, Othello presents himself to us as a grandly positive and content character, "It gives me wonder great as my content To see you here before me. O my soul's joy!" (Act II, Scene II). At this stage in the play Othello has also assembled his character to impose on us an impression, that he is a noble and prominent figure in the Venetian establishment, and respected military man and a loving husband. He carries himself with an impressive dignity while frankly delighting in his young wife's unconditional love, which he values above the "seas worth", (Act II, Scene I). When the couple defend their marriage against the prejudiced Brabantio, father to Desdemona, who associates Othello with witchcraft, (because Othello is black), in Act I, Scene III, it becomes evident that the couple share an unconditional love for one another. However, in the second half of the play Othello abandons this perfect love, for a blind and unfounded jealousy too strong to act in a just manner. He loses all faith not only in Desdemona, but especially himself, "That's he that was Othello; Here I am.

Thorn Queen Chapter Twelve

Kiyo took off as soon as we got back to Tucson, saying he had to go to work. He also added that I shouldn't expect him later that night since he'd promised Maiwenn he'd come visit. Normally, that would have set my mood plummeting-and I won't lie, I wasn't thrilled as it was-but after last night, I felt superior and confident in my position with him at the moment. Somehow, I doubted he'd be looking at Maiwenn with the same awe he kept regarding me after I'd ridden him to exhaustion last night. If the crossroads in Yellow River-which we'd visited before heading out of town-had only yielded some answers this morning, I would have considered the trip a resounding success. â€Å"Nice of you to spend some time around here,† Tim told me when I emerged from the shower. As usual, he appeared to be cooking something. â€Å"What's that?† I asked, watching him roll out dough. â€Å"Cinnamon rolls,† he replied. â€Å"The second batch I've had to make, thanks to someone raiding the kitchen while they cooled.† He shot a glare over in the direction of one of the dogs-Yang, I thought-lying under the table. Yang looked extremely pleased with himself. â€Å"Sorry,† I said, even though it wasn't exactly my fault. Tim finished rolling out the dough and sprinkled the surface with a mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar. â€Å"And don't think you're going to change the subject about never being around.† I found a Coke in the refrigerator and sat down, a little irritated over the scolding. â€Å"Well, sorry you miss my company, but I don't really see how it matters. Our deal is you live here rent-free in exchange for cooking and cleaning. Me not being here means you have less work. Besides, I've had things to do.† He scowled. â€Å"Yeah, I suppose. But do your ‘things' actually involve your job-the one that gets the mortgage paid? Your secretary called last night and said you missed an appointment. And you know, dealing with her isn't part of my rental agreement.† Despite having never met, Tim and my receptionist, Lara, had an antagonistic relationship over the phone. I had no time to give to their drama today, though. The other news was too startling. â€Å"I did what?† I took out my phone, which also doubled as my planner. In addition to two missed calls from Lara, I discovered I had indeed missed an appointment for a banishing last night. I'd been so fixated on my quest in Yellow River that I'd totally forgotten I had it. â€Å"Shit,† I muttered, dialing Lara's number. As keen as I was on these missing girls, Tim had a point-my human jobs paid the bills. Not the gentry ones. â€Å"What happened?† demanded Lara as soon as she answered. No hello. â€Å"I got distracted by something else,† I said. â€Å"I'm really sorry. You think we can reschedule? Give them a discount or something?† â€Å"Probably,† she conceded. â€Å"I mean, it's not like they've got many other options to get rid of a ghost. In the meantime, though, I've got some other pending clients.† I hesitated. Normally, I wouldn't think twice about accepting as many jobs as I could. It was good for my bank account and a good deed for the world. With as much as the Otherworld was preoccupying me, however, I couldn't afford losing the time right now-or possibly missing another appointment. â€Å"Reschedule the one I missed and book only one of the others. Tell the rest we have to wait-list them.† Lara was silent for several seconds. â€Å"Are you serious?† â€Å"Afraid so.† She sighed. â€Å"Okay. You can still pay my salary, though, right?† â€Å"Yes,† I laughed. â€Å"I haven't gone bankrupt yet.† â€Å"Okay then.† She sounded only moderately pacified. â€Å"But for the record? Your roommate needs to learn some manners. He was a total asshole when I called last night.† Before we disconnected, Lara made sure to remind me about two jobs I had later that day. She wouldn't get off the phone until I repeated the times and places back to her. I was just as eager to take care of them as she was, as sort of a mental retribution for the missed one from last night. I'd never forgotten a job before. My career might be an unusual one, but I still considered myself a professional and didn't want to start falling into bad habits as a result of all this Thorn Queen business. And yet†¦as soon as I finished those jobs, I had to send myself back to the Otherworld. I only intended it to be a quick visit, though. I simply needed to check Shaya's progress and find out if the runaway girl had been located. Questioning her would make this whole search and rescue a lot easier and let me get on with my human life. The news wasn't good, however. â€Å"No sign,† said Rurik, once I hunted him down in the castle. I'd found him in a compromising position with one of the cooks. â€Å"We've got people scouring the area but haven't had any luck. We did, however, find where those bandits have relocated. Do you want us to go after them?† I hesitated. I did want to round them up, both to take the pressure off the villages and see if they knew anything about the girls that my prisoners hadn't. In the end, I shook my head. If they still had that fire demon summoner, I didn't want to go after them until we had an overwhelming show of strength. â€Å"No. Not yet. Just keep looking for the runaway.† I gave a sidelong glance toward the kitchen, into which the woman whose skirt he'd just had his hand up had disappeared. â€Å"You know, if it's not too much of an inconvenience.† At least the news from Shaya was good. The supplies Dorian had sent me home with had been shipped out, and apparently Leith had contacted her to say that after going through the irrigation book, he had some ideas for us. Naturally, he wanted to meet with me again. I suspected an ulterior motive, but it was something I'd happily endure to keep the food coming. I at least felt like Leith's intentions were easier to understand than Dorian's-and that I was a lot less likely to yield to temptation along the way. I sent the young prince a message back, saying I'd love to meet with him. On impulse, I also asked if he had anyone who might be capable of summoning water demons. Once that chore was done, I made motions to go back to Tucson. â€Å"Well? Are we going to get this done with or not?† I turned around, surprised to see Ysabel standing there in the hallway, hands on her hips. I'd been heading out toward the courtyard to do a little communion with the land before returning home. The heat was sweltering, as usual, and most of the women around here had taken to wearing light, gauzy gowns, often with short or no sleeves-not unlike the dress I'd worn to Maiwenn's party. Ysabel had made no such concessions and stood clothed in a green velvet gown, complete with long bell sleeves. The color looked stunning with her hair, but I knew she had to be miserable. â€Å"Get what done with?† She threw up her hands in exasperation. â€Å"This†¦tutorial. Or whatever it is my lord sent me here to do.† Oh, right. I hadn't forgotten Ysabel, exactly. I'd just kind of tried to pretend she didn't exist, in a feeble (and futile) hope that she might just disappear. No such luck. â€Å"Sorry,† I said, returning her hard look. â€Å"I don't really have time.† â€Å"You promised Dorian,† warned Ysabel. â€Å"And until you do this, I can't leave this godsforsaken place. I want to go home.† I shrugged and turned away. â€Å"We can't always get what we want. Kind of like that song. God knows I haven't.† I'd barely taken one step when a huge gust of wind shot toward my back, whipping my hair in front of me and rustling the tapestries on the wall. I immediately came to a halt and looked back at her. Her expression was both smug and hostile. â€Å"What's the matter? Afraid you can't keep up with me?† Charming. The old baiting tactic. She was hoping to get her way by playing on my pride. It was like the lamest trick in the book†¦except, well, it was kind of working. Okay, it was more than just my pride here. I was succumbing to temptation. With hardly any effort, Ysabel had just nearly knocked me over. It was more than I could do-much more-and her power nowhere near matched mine. If I had that kind of mastery, I could create hurricanes and blow apart buildings. Being in full possession of my magic would make me a god. That shouldn't have mattered. I shouldn't have wanted that†¦but some secret part of me did. Well, not the god part. But certainly the rest. Power like that could help my people, I tried to convince myself. â€Å"Okay. Let's get this over with then.† I acted like getting rid of her was my only concern-not that that wasn't a huge motivating factor. This castle, I was finding, was filled with rooms-most of which didn't seem to have much use. Most of the servants and guards had their own quarters, still leaving a ton of rooms unoccupied and gathering dust. I really only had need of my meeting room and parlor when I was there, and the rest had thus far stayed unused. The parlor was apparently being cleaned, so on impulse, I led Ysabel to one of the abandoned rooms. It had a river-rock fireplace that wasn't going to see use anytime soon, but the striped brocade furniture hadn't accrued too much dust. I flounced down onto a chair, arms crossed and posture defensive. â€Å"Okay. Make this fast.† Ysabel examined her sofa carefully before easing down and spreading her voluminous skirts around her. She crossed her hands on her lap, and if not for the expression on her face that said she wanted to rip me apart, I would have said she looked dainty and ladylike. â€Å"Dorian says I'm to teach you to improve your power with air.† â€Å"Something like that.† She eyed me critically. â€Å"Before we begin, I want it made abundantly clear that I am not doing this by choice.† â€Å"Really? I hadn't noticed.† Her lips curled into a sneer at my sarcasm. â€Å"I don't know what Dorian sees in you. You think you're so clever and witty when really, you're just a plain, uncouth human.† â€Å"Half-human,† I corrected. â€Å"And plain or not, your boyfriend-and, like, every other guy around here-would give up his right arm to get me into bed.† I really shouldn't have provoked her like that. Not only was it mean, it was also going to make this whole magic lesson probably even more unbearable. â€Å"Believe me, it's through no charm of your own. It's only the prophecy and your alleged breeding ability, and once that's run its course, well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She demurely smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt, not that there really were any. â€Å"It's only your child anyone will have interest in, not you.† â€Å"Sorry to disappoint you, but there isn't going to be a child.† Not as long as my doctor kept prescribing me birth control pills. Ysabel looked up, face filled with skepticism. â€Å"Oh? Then why are you with the†¦kitsune?† She said kitsune like it was a dirty word. Dorian often did too, though he did it mostly to irritate me. I think Ysabel legitimately looked down on Kiyo. â€Å"If you really are a queen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She looked skeptical over this as well. â€Å"†¦then why lower yourself by taking him as a consort? The only reason you would have is in the hopes of him fathering a child on you, just as he did Maiwenn. Clearly, he's proven his virility†¦which might be of particular concern to you. You claim you're trying not to conceive, but perhaps that's a lie to hide the fact that you can't.† â€Å"What? That's insane!† â€Å"Whereas I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She ran her hands proudly along the sides of her hips. â€Å"†¦have already bore two children.† Whoa. That was startling-and a point of pride for her, no doubt, considering the gentry fertility issue. â€Å"To whom?† For some reason, the thought that it might be Dorian bothered me. â€Å"My husband. He was killed years ago in battle.† She frowned slightly, the first sign of soft emotion I'd seen on her. In a flash, her normal bitchy expression returned. â€Å"They live with my parents right now and are healthy and strong. My lord Dorian knows I can undoubtedly have more. That's why he cast you aside for me, forcing you to turn to the kitsune for your fleeting chances of offspring.† â€Å"That's not what Dorian and I-never mind. Look, for the last time, I'm not with Kiyo to get pregnant, okay? I'm with him because I love him.† She sniffed. â€Å"I find that unlikely. If you just wanted a lover for pleasure, you would pine for my lord. No other man can match his skills in the bedroom. When he binds my hands in ropes or paints my flesh, I find no greater ecstasy than-â€Å" â€Å"Whoa, just stop,† I said, holding up both hands. This entire conversation was grating on my last nerve. â€Å"I do not want to hear any details about your sex life with Dorian, okay? That is not part of this deal. No part at all. I don't want to-wait. Did you say something about painting?† A sly smile lit her features. â€Å"My lord has a great appreciation for art. Often, before we make love, I'll lie naked before him and let him use my body as a canvas. He will spend hours adorning my flesh with color and design, often using the paintbrush as a means to pleasure me and-â€Å" â€Å"Okay, okay. I'm sorry I asked.† As the words left my lips, though, it shocked me that I could envision what she was describing perfectly. Dorian's magic lessons had often involved tying me up-the necessity of which I was never 100 percent certain of-and he would spend a large amount of that time weaving the silken cords that bound me. He'd arrange them in interesting patterns and color formations, consumed by the process itself. Somehow, I imagined him being the same with paint. I could see his face lost in thought as he painted flowers or suns or whatever, his clever, sensual hands taking their time as they lightly touched my body†¦. No, not my body. Ysabel's. I had no part of this. â€Å"Let's get this done with,† I said gruffly, hoping she wouldn't guess my thoughts. â€Å"Then we can both go home.† â€Å"Very well then. So, you need my help because you're weak.† â€Å"That's not entirely true.† Jesus Christ. It was all going to be like this, wasn't it? â€Å"I have a lot of power. I know how to control and use water magic-though I guess I could be better. Everyone assumes I must have inherited wind magic too, but so far†¦well, I've only been able to use it once.† â€Å"You may simply be deficient,† she said lightly. Her eyes flicked to my chest. â€Å"Like in so many other ways. But we shall see.† It kind of went on like that for a while. Every other sentence of hers was a barb. Yet, a lot of what she explained to me sounded similar to what Dorian had said, which at least gave me some confidence that she wasn't bullshitting me. In particular, she kept trying to describe how I could reach out and feel different types of air-just as Dorian used to encourage me to do with water. Unfortunately, it had taken a very long time to do that with water, and I felt a little pessimistic about history repeating itself. â€Å"There are different types,† she kept saying. â€Å"Don't try to sense them all. Focus small.† â€Å"What do you mean different types of air?† About an hour had gone by at that point, and I was growing weary and longing for Tucson. â€Å"Air is air,† I argued. â€Å"Spoken like a savage,† she remarked. â€Å"Perhaps we should just end this and tell my lord we fulfilled our promise to try.† I gritted my teeth. â€Å"Just explain it one more time.† She shrugged. â€Å"There are different types of air.† When she offered no more, I began to agree with her. It might be best to abandon this after all. A few moments later, though, she elaborated. â€Å"There is different air around plants. Different air after we exhale. Different air when the land is foggy. Not that you'd understand that in this wretched place.† My eyes widened. â€Å"Gas. Molecules. That's what you mean.† Now she was the one wearing the confused expression. â€Å"The different types of air,† I continued, excited in spite of myself. â€Å"You're saying the magic depends on feeling each kind†¦oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide†¦.† I was speaking a foreign language. Ysabel seemed as confused as ever, but by this point, I was running away without her. It made sense. Dorian's entire teaching method had been built on baby steps. It had started with me sensing a bucket of water and culminated in me using the water in Aeson's body to blow him apart. Starting at the molecular level with air seemed daunting, but the human in me clung to the science. And as I sat there, I began to expand my mind out, much as I did when preparing to use water magic. Air had always remained blank and untouchable, yet as I began to simply focus on a tiny part of it, it became more manageable. I thought about Ysabel's breathing-oxygen in, carbon dioxide out. The world slowed down to a heartbeat, one breath at a time†¦. I'm not sure how long I sat like that. I lost track of where I was or even if she said anything else to me. Only her breathing mattered. At last, I could sense the differences, the changes in the air coming in and coming out. As she exhaled, my mind scooped up the air-the carbon dioxide-leaving her lips and flung it as I would a ball. My control was imprecise; I had no real target. The air brushed past her shoulder, ruffling her hair. â€Å"You†¦you touched it,† she said grudgingly, clearly surprised. I was alive and burning with energy now, too consumed by what I was doing to answer her. Using magic always set my senses ablaze, made the world seem more vibrant and real. I wanted to do the trick again but decided to see if I could work it the opposite way and exert control over a different type of air-oxygen. I waited again to get a feel for her breathing, letting my mind actually sense the different particles in the air. When I felt certain I could grasp the oxygen, I did-just as she was about to inhale. Ysabel began to cough, her hands going to her throat as she tried to draw breath. Sucking the oxygen away meant, well, that she couldn't inhale it. I froze in my surprise at the obvious yet not entirely unreasonable consequences-so much so that I couldn't stop what I did. I was just†¦stunned. I was controlling air. The magic burned through me, and her oxygen just kept flowing away and away. It obeyed my commands, and I didn't have the coherent reasoning to cut it off. After several seconds that felt like years, the realization of what I was doing suddenly penetrated my higher reasoning. I finally cut off the magic, letting go of my hold on her oxygen. By then, Ysabel had fallen to her knees in a desperate attempt to get air-and probably because she was starting to lose consciousness too. At last, free of the magic, she drew a large, shaking breath, face pale and terrified. A few moments later, when she'd recovered herself, she looked at me accusingly. â€Å"You-you tried to suffocate me!† â€Å"No!† I exclaimed, aghast. â€Å"I†¦I didn't. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I was just trying to control the air†¦.† She stood up, and where once her face had been pale, it was now flushed with anger. She was shaking. â€Å"You deceived Dorian. You already know how to use this kind of magic. This is all part of some elaborate plot.† â€Å"No, no,† I said, standing as well. â€Å"I've never used it before-except once and only for a few seconds.† â€Å"I don't believe you. What you just did†¦you couldn't have done that if you were as inexperienced as you pretended to be!† What I'd done-aside from the fact it could have killed her-didn't seem like it was that big a deal. I'd sensed air and moved it. It was hardly a hurricane, and it had taken a lot of concentration-so much so that I didn't think I could repeat it anytime soon. I hardly had the effortless control she exerted over the wind. â€Å"I'm sorry†¦I really am. I didn't mean to hurt you. It was an accident.† Ysabel's only answer was a scowl, just before she stormed out of the room. As she passed me, I thought I saw both fear and tears in her eyes. Despite her bravado, I realized that what had seemed more like anger in her was actually terror. She was in the home of someone she saw as a rival, someone with a reputation as a warrior and a tyrant-and someone who had just tried to kill her. She was trapped here by Dorian's orders. â€Å"A terrifying feat, your majesty,† a voice near the doorway said. I took a few steps forward and saw Shaya standing just outside in the hall, her pretty face grim. â€Å"It was an accident,† I said, surprised at the trembling in my voice. â€Å"I don't like her, but I don't want to hurt her.† â€Å"I know.† Shaya's expression turned both gentle and sad. â€Å"But her fear isn't unfounded. You learned that too quickly and too well.† â€Å"It was easy! It's the same as moving water around or any other type of air.† â€Å"From what I understand, stealing someone's breath-denying them air-is harder than simply creating breezes. You're fighting against life itself. Those who suffocate others in this way usually require great strength and stamina. For you to be able to do it already†¦well, it's a testament to your power-and that's nearly as frightening as the act itself.† The full impact hit me. â€Å"Wait†¦there are people who do that on purpose? Steal someone's air so they can't breathe?† She shrugged. â€Å"Well, to those with the skill, suffocation's an effective weapon.† â€Å"It's sick†¦it's an inhumane way to die.† â€Å"I agree. And most people don't have that kind of strength, so it's not an issue. Among those who do have the strength, most would never consider doing it to another person, enemy or no.† I groaned. â€Å"Well, if that's true, then she has to understand that I wouldn't purposely do it to her either. She has to believe that it was an accident.† â€Å"I don't think you're going to have a lot of luck with that.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Because while most consider such torture unusually cruel, there was one person who enjoyed denying someone their breath-and who frequently used it as a form of execution and entertainment.† Shaya's look was meaningful. â€Å"Tirigan Storm King.†