Balancing the Budget

American Government Balance the Budget When it came to the budget simulator I went in there with a general idea of what I wanted to do, and the results were surprising. I was able to cut the deficit by $256 billion leaving a deficit of only $144 billion. I was not able to completely balance the budget which is disappointing but I made a significant difference. It was very difficult to make a balanced budget which I felt was fair but I’m sure many people would feel my cuts and increases were unfair or unwarranted. My biggest area for budget cuts was that of military spending, although it still makes up a large portion of the budget. I cut $208 billion from the military spending mainly because if we were to pull out from the war it would largely lower our deficit. I left the spending for military personnel unchanged because I do not deny that the military is necessary, I do however, doubt that we need all the research at the time simply because the war being fought was no relevant to us and we shouldn’t have been involved. Which brings me to the $80 billion cut from the Iraq and Afghanistan operations. I cut $105 billion from our military operations there and severely debated eliminating it completely, but we do need funding in order to bring our troops home. I eliminated our reconstruction aid there simply because with our country in such a huge problem area we need to focus on fixing our country first. On the topic of military personnel I chose to actually increase the spending towards military retirement simply because they have done a lot for our country and we need to show them support for all they have done. In retrospect I nearly eliminated the budget for foreign affairs, due to the fact that we have our own problems to fix. I completely eliminated the international development and humanitarian assistance, and international military aid budgets. My reasoning behind this is that our development is hurt in terms of economy and yes it is bad that the other countries aren’t as privileged as us but when more money is going into their development than fixing our country it is a serious problem. I won’t go into detail about every field but the last field I want to outline my reasoning behind for cutting spending in is the tax breaks for large corporations and the benefits for the richest 20% of the taxpayers. My main reason for doing this is because we need to stop placating the â€Å"rich† in our country and stop giving them so many ways to continually make obscene amounts of money which many of them will spend on frivolous things and very few give to charity. Giving the rich many tax write- offs and benefits did nothing but hurt this country. This is why I actually increased the benefits given to the bottom 60% of taxpayers by 20%. I cut all corporate tax breaks by 20% simply because the corporations are just as much at fault as the rich for hoarding the money and not returning their wealth. Moving on to the areas where I did actually increase the budget one of the bigger increases and also one of the most important was in the education department; Increasing elementary, secondary, and vocational education budget by 50% and higher education by 20%. The education department has taken severe budget cuts and it is having an adverse effect on our students who will one day bring out a leader to run this country. I would rather not elect a poorly educated person as president thus our system needs as much budget as can be spared. Another area which received a large amount of an increase was Medicare and Non-Medicare health benefits because I personally know how much trouble this industry is in. Having a pre-existing condition and a severe one at that I know how difficult it is to get health insurance and the aid which comes with it can be less than stellar. Hopefully this increase would help promote better health in the citizens of the country. Playing off the medical benefits I also increased the aid to low income families because they are a large backbone to the society. With how the economy is you have families working three jobs and still struggling to make ends meet. This is very unhealthy and actually leads to more cost needed for medical benefits because when people get sick they have to go to the hospital. It was my hope that increasing both budgets would actually balance ut. The final increase I wish to cover is also slightly more of a controversial one and it may not be a modest increase but it is still important. I increased the border security and immigration budget by 50% in hopes that it would help lower the rate of illegal immigrants coming into the country and not becoming citizens. While at first it may be viewed as a heartless thought the truth is that while we allow the immigrants who come to the country and donâ€⠄¢t get citizenship to stay we increase our own expenses. By not being citizens they themselves do not actually pay federal taxes, especially if they work under the table. However, despite not being citizens they are still eligible for our low income aid, and medical benefit programs and this is actually taking away from the citizens and taxpayers who need it. There is also the unspoken fact that without a large amount of illegal immigrants who don’t speak English we could actually cut the spending for production of many products in Spanish and other languages since those who require them wouldn’t be living in the country. While balancing the budget it occurred to me why congress would have so many problems balancing the actual budget; it is difficult to keep everyone happy while maintaining a balanced budget. My cuts were largely from the foreign affairs, the rich and corporate America. The problem is those areas in this current day and age hold a lot of influence and it runs the risk of making a whole lot of people very angry. Congress has to try its’ hardest to create a balanced budget while remaining as politically correct as it possibly can. In short balancing this budget wasn’t as hard on me as it could have been simply because I have thought about this exact topic for a long time. While my budget may not be the most politically correct budget and it may not be completely balanced it did get results, and very significant ones at that. There were probably areas which I could have not increased the budget for or areas which could have been cut a little less but I feel strongly about my decisions and I would stand by them if ever they were questioned. Balancing the Budget American Government Balance the Budget When it came to the budget simulator I went in there with a general idea of what I wanted to do, and the results were surprising. I was able to cut the deficit by $256 billion leaving a deficit of only $144 billion. I was not able to completely balance the budget which is disappointing but I made a significant difference. It was very difficult to make a balanced budget which I felt was fair but I’m sure many people would feel my cuts and increases were unfair or unwarranted. My biggest area for budget cuts was that of military spending, although it still makes up a large portion of the budget. I cut $208 billion from the military spending mainly because if we were to pull out from the war it would largely lower our deficit. I left the spending for military personnel unchanged because I do not deny that the military is necessary, I do however, doubt that we need all the research at the time simply because the war being fought was no relevant to us and we shouldn’t have been involved. Which brings me to the $80 billion cut from the Iraq and Afghanistan operations. I cut $105 billion from our military operations there and severely debated eliminating it completely, but we do need funding in order to bring our troops home. I eliminated our reconstruction aid there simply because with our country in such a huge problem area we need to focus on fixing our country first. On the topic of military personnel I chose to actually increase the spending towards military retirement simply because they have done a lot for our country and we need to show them support for all they have done. In retrospect I nearly eliminated the budget for foreign affairs, due to the fact that we have our own problems to fix. I completely eliminated the international development and humanitarian assistance, and international military aid budgets. My reasoning behind this is that our development is hurt in terms of economy and yes it is bad that the other countries aren’t as privileged as us but when more money is going into their development than fixing our country it is a serious problem. I won’t go into detail about every field but the last field I want to outline my reasoning behind for cutting spending in is the tax breaks for large corporations and the benefits for the richest 20% of the taxpayers. My main reason for doing this is because we need to stop placating the â€Å"rich† in our country and stop giving them so many ways to continually make obscene amounts of money which many of them will spend on frivolous things and very few give to charity. Giving the rich many tax write- offs and benefits did nothing but hurt this country. This is why I actually increased the benefits given to the bottom 60% of taxpayers by 20%. I cut all corporate tax breaks by 20% simply because the corporations are just as much at fault as the rich for hoarding the money and not returning their wealth. Moving on to the areas where I did actually increase the budget one of the bigger increases and also one of the most important was in the education department; Increasing elementary, secondary, and vocational education budget by 50% and higher education by 20%. The education department has taken severe budget cuts and it is having an adverse effect on our students who will one day bring out a leader to run this country. I would rather not elect a poorly educated person as president thus our system needs as much budget as can be spared. Another area which received a large amount of an increase was Medicare and Non-Medicare health benefits because I personally know how much trouble this industry is in. Having a pre-existing condition and a severe one at that I know how difficult it is to get health insurance and the aid which comes with it can be less than stellar. Hopefully this increase would help promote better health in the citizens of the country. Playing off the medical benefits I also increased the aid to low income families because they are a large backbone to the society. With how the economy is you have families working three jobs and still struggling to make ends meet. This is very unhealthy and actually leads to more cost needed for medical benefits because when people get sick they have to go to the hospital. It was my hope that increasing both budgets would actually balance ut. The final increase I wish to cover is also slightly more of a controversial one and it may not be a modest increase but it is still important. I increased the border security and immigration budget by 50% in hopes that it would help lower the rate of illegal immigrants coming into the country and not becoming citizens. While at first it may be viewed as a heartless thought the truth is that while we allow the immigrants who come to the country and donâ€⠄¢t get citizenship to stay we increase our own expenses. By not being citizens they themselves do not actually pay federal taxes, especially if they work under the table. However, despite not being citizens they are still eligible for our low income aid, and medical benefit programs and this is actually taking away from the citizens and taxpayers who need it. There is also the unspoken fact that without a large amount of illegal immigrants who don’t speak English we could actually cut the spending for production of many products in Spanish and other languages since those who require them wouldn’t be living in the country. While balancing the budget it occurred to me why congress would have so many problems balancing the actual budget; it is difficult to keep everyone happy while maintaining a balanced budget. My cuts were largely from the foreign affairs, the rich and corporate America. The problem is those areas in this current day and age hold a lot of influence and it runs the risk of making a whole lot of people very angry. Congress has to try its’ hardest to create a balanced budget while remaining as politically correct as it possibly can. In short balancing this budget wasn’t as hard on me as it could have been simply because I have thought about this exact topic for a long time. While my budget may not be the most politically correct budget and it may not be completely balanced it did get results, and very significant ones at that. There were probably areas which I could have not increased the budget for or areas which could have been cut a little less but I feel strongly about my decisions and I would stand by them if ever they were questioned.

Population Growth and the Arising Environmental Issues Essay

Population is determined by the relationship of two factors. One being birth rate and the other is death rate. If the number of deaths is less than the number of births then the population is growing larger. In John Laffin’s novel The Hunger to Come data is present showing that the population will continue to grow and not stop; â€Å"About 2050 the population will be 15. 000 million, a century later 82. 000 million and by 2350 a frightening 440. 000 million will be reached†(Engelman, 47). Like all living organisms, humans grow and reproduce; however, compared to the rate of which food is grown and supplied, the birth rate rises at a much faster rate. This compared rate of growth is known as the Malthusian relationship. The Malthusian relationship concludes that human population will eventually grow to be too big, to the point where there will not be enough food supply and other vital resources. When this happens, famine and/or death will occur, unless a plan is put into place regarding how to limit population growth. One main problem which results in the Malthusian relationship would be uncontrolled fertility. Since the death rate is decreasing due to medical advancements it allows more births to happen. Humans without doubt will create a baby faster than the supplies needed to support them. This results in birthrate being dropped down to zero population growth. This can happen in many ways, providing women with contraception (birth control), abortion centers and by creating laws to prevent couples from having more then two children. Education on family planning and birth control is a primary factor in restraining population growth. A common problem that people think is associated with overpopulation is having nowhere to put everyone, but there are also many other environmental issues that it causes. More humans will be using more cars, burning more fuel, eating more food and drinking more water. This causes more air pollution, more lands are ruined and more water and food to disappear. Therefore, population control is necessary on a global level in order to protect our environment. Population growth is ruining the earth’s oceans and water sources. This causes a decrease in earth’s water supply for the future. Due to the fact that water is vital to survive, the water sources being polluted will not do humans well. Besides water pollution, population growth also pollutes the air, which causes the greenhouse effect and reduction of the ozone layer. The greenhouse effect is when gases build up around the earth’s outer atmosphere which literally turns the earth into a greenhouse. What this means is that the heat allowed into the earth’s atmosphere is trapped inside and not aloud back out of the earth’s atmosphere. This results in an increase of the earth’s temperature, therefore it causes natural disasters such as hurricanes and due to the increased heat, crops do not grow properly. With the greenhouse effect comes the disappearing ozone layer. The main purpose of the ozone layer is to regulate the amount of UV light coming down to the earth’s surface from the sun. The chemical chlorofluorocarbon which is found in air conditioning systems, when in the air breaks down the ozone layer. This relates to population growth because of how many families are being produced everyday which results in more communities being built which means more houses. Therefore, this means more air-conditioning units will be in use, which results in the chemical chlorofluorocarbon being let out into the air and breaking down the ozone layer. With the ozone layer being broken down, more UV light enters the earth’s atmosphere and causes humans to gain skin diseases such as skin cancer. Therefore, if population growth is controlled and there is less people, less air conditioning will be used, global warming and the breaking ozone layer could be prevented. Main causes of air pollution are the use of cars and industrial plants, both which let loose harmful fumes into the air. Acid rain is a result of air pollution, it occurs when too many toxins are released into the air. It is made by fossil fuels being burnt then released into the air as a gas which then reacts with sunlight, oxygen and moisture. Acid rain when precipitated pollutes water and damages many materials and resources. Another downfall to cars with population growth is the fact of cars having air conditioning. This is because more chlorofluorocarbon will be let into the air from the car’s air conditioning. With the population increasing, it is creating air pollution which is harmful to all living organism because they need clean air, one of the most important necessities of life, to breathe. Population growth also threatens the earth’s farming resources. For example the desertification of land, this occurs when fertile land is turned into infertile land. This can happen from overgrazing of cattle, or the topsoil being carried away (erosion). If too much water is used, it can cause desertification which is mostly caused by a growing population. The more people need food, the more land is being used in the wrong way to try and make food. Another way population growth affects our outdoors is deforestation. Forests are cut down for the demand of fire wood, agricultural space, paper products and more space to live. However, forests are needed for more than human needs such as to regulate the amount of carbon dioxide let out into the atmosphere. Let it be known that population control will not end all the problems, but it would allow more time for them to be fixed and alienate environment problems. The earth’s environment is not infinite and can come to an end if population control was not started. Actions must be taken now to correct the current situations with the world involving population growth, these actions are the increase of deforestation and desertification, the decrease of farmland, more water pollution, the deteriorating ozone layer and the greenhouse effect. It is evident that there is no way our population can keep growing at the rate it does now without negatively impacting our environment.

Green Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Green Engineering - Essay Example The Durst Organization developed and constructed the Four Times Square in New York between 19996 and 1999 (â€Å"Wired New York Meetup Group† 1). There are 48 stories in the building, which makes it the newest, and the greenest skyscraper in Manhattan (â€Å"U.S. Department of Energy† 1). The building was the first green skyscraper in U.S, which continues to track its energy performance with Energy Star (â€Å"The Durst Organization† 1). Overview of Four Times Square Notably, the building presents the application of two principles of Green Engineering. These include principle 1, which reckons that designers need to strive to ensure that all material and energy inputs and outputs are as inherently safe as possible (Anastas and Zimmerman 96). It also presents principle 3, which claims that separation and purification operations should adopt a design that would minimize energy consumption and materials use (Anastas and Zimmerman 96). The Four Times Square building e ntails 1.6 million square feet of environmentally friendly architectural design. Indeed, this was the first green skyscraper and the second tallest building in the U.S. ... Department of Energy† 1). Upon completion, the Four Times Square reflected an environmentally responsible building where the designers examined the construction technology and all building systems for their impact on human health, environment sustainability, and energy reduction (Kaplan1). The evaluation made the building to be the first skyscraper to adopt state-of-the-art standards for energy conservation, indoor air quality, recycling systems, and the use of sustainable manufacturing processes (â€Å"Wired New York Meetup Group† 1). The Four Times Square has environmentally efficient gas-fired absorption chillers and a state of the art curtain wall with excellent shading and insulating performance (â€Å"Wired New York Meetup Group† 1). More so, the residents of the building are responsible of the building where the designers distributed a library of green information and environmental guidelines to the residents and the architects (Kaplan1). In addition, the t enants and their architects had substantial information on how to maximize the building as well as maintain the dream of the designers. Furthermore, the designers guaranteed lower operational costs upon the completion of the building. As such, we can establish that the Conde Nast Building adopts the principles of green engineering where it manifests quality and safe design as well as a promotion of the environmental, energy, and health factors. How the Four Times Square Works The Four Times Square adopts a low-energy design and renewable energy. The lighting at the building is very energy-efficient as it includes high performance fixtures with central controls. Notably, the designers used DOE-2 energy simulation modeling software to establish the most

POPULAR SCIENCE ARTICLE Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

POPULAR SCIENCE - Article Example It stays this way to protect itself against adverse conditions for long periods of time, in order to wait for a better time period to grow. Through experimental incubation, these spores are revived, which seem to have come from deeper hot spots inside the ocean. These newly discovered bacteria have very similar genetic characteristics to a set of bacteria found from offshore oil reservoirs. Hubert, a PhD in petroleum microbiology states that  that surveys will be able to pinpoint the exact  place from where these microorganisms have originated. He believes they might have some interesting applications, that is, if they are coming from petroleum reservoirs. These bacteria were found to be anaerobic, as they were found in high number in the sediments. Hubert stated that a source of the bacteria could be the oil reservoir and another could be that the fluid circulation through the ocean crust at the spreading ridges where hydrothermal vents are present. While these spores are extremely helpful in tracking down marine hot spots, they also offer new information about the wild life and everything about the different variety of things here in the biosphere. The bacterial species  found  in  the  environment  hide  many  of the minor groups of bacteria that apparently  don’t seem to participate in  the  functioning  of  the  ecosystem. These dormant thermophiles can be a useful key in understanding how diverse is the marine ecosystem and how well it is maintained by the submissive spreading of cells over a large area. These arctic thermophiles can be the holders of great and important clues to solve broader riddle of biogeography and biodiversity.   The thermophiles are a form of bacteria that live and breed in hot places and kill organisms around them (Kristjà ¡nsson; p 43). These are grouped into two types, either Prokaryotes or Eukaryotes.   They breed in temperatures that range between 50C to 70C. Studying these

History - Waiting for Macedonia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History - Waiting for Macedonia - Essay Example Macedonian men and women don’t necessarily feel a kinship tie to their land, unlike Bosnians. Changes experienced by the young female engineers in Skopje include the fact that they feel more liberated to do as they please, and less inhibited. Young modern socialist women in Macedonia are classified on the upper level of the social strata in comparison to Albanian women of the village, who are sometimes pillaged by war, adversity, and infirmity. Unlike women in the European Union, those from Macedonia and Albania are generally regarded as lower-class – but that might be because the countries that they are from in Southeastern Europe are less highly-regarded due to their lower socioeconomic status. Another personal identity that is portrayed in the book is religion. Religion is more relegated to a status that is separated from the state in Macedonia, and people learn to get along with each other even though they are from different religious backgrounds. Religion, in the m ovie, is portrayed as a necessary part of life. In Bosnia, everyone is split up into factions. It might have had a lot to do with the fact that in the early ‘90s everyone in the region had to at least hear about, if not deal with, the Bosnian War. The Bosnian War divided people into three distinct groups: the Bosnian Muslims; the Orthodox Christian Serbians (also known as Serbs); and the Catholic Croatians (also known as Croats). The Croatians were pitted against the Bosnians by the Serbs. But basically, the Serbians were persecuting the Bosnians based on the fact that they were Muslims. President Bill Clinton finally decided to intervene in the Bosnian conflict in order to prevent an even larger genocide from taking place. To be Muslim in Bosnia meant to be the oppressed. To be a Croatian Catholic meant to be caught in the middle between a centuries-old fight between the Orthodox Christian Serbs and the Bosnian Muslims. National Identities Both the book and the film analyze d ifferent elements of national identity as well. Classifications of national identity in Yugoslavia during the existence of the country were never completely solidified because everyone came from different ethnic backgrounds. This only made allegiance to a nationality more difficult to believe in. The uncertainties of life after Yugoslavia, however, were somehow easier to deal with than the fact that much national pride was never lost on many Yugoslavians who were able to assimilate by ethnic groups. Religion can sometimes pose as nationality in the sense that, if someone is a Muslim, they might automatically assume that they are Bosnian. Thus, in a sense, in that region of the world one’s religious identity gets fused with a nationality even though that may not reflect the reality of an individual. In a similar manner – to put it in another way – many people also assume that someone whose religion is Judaism is necessarily an Israeli, but that’s not absol utely true. Nor is it true that someone who is an Israeli is necessarily Jewish –actually, it is the converse. Nothing can be assumed or presumed. While someone may be ethnically Jewish, they may not be a Jewish national (from Israel), and nothing guarantees that someone’s religion is Judaism unless proven otherwise. Therefore, nationality, ethnicity, race, and religion, for some Jewish people, are all one and the same. But certain people do differentiate between

Kia company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Kia company - Research Paper Example For KIA motors this would include highlighting the energy efficiency of the cars and focusing on low cost of maintenance. This strategy is effective at a time when the purchasing power of the consumers is low. The recent economic downturn has led to a severe dip in the disposable income levels of individuals. Moreover fuel efficiency is also a vital factor at a time when fuel prices are sky rocketing. The company can also promote and replicate its ‘KIA Approved’ strategy that would include providing extended warranties and other benefits and an effective after sales service to lure customers (KIA, 2010). Finally KIA motors can enter into a strategic alliance with a local company of high repute. The strategic alliance would involve collaboration between KIA and its partner in the area of marketing and promoting the product including sharing retail space etc. The alliance with an established local partner would help improve the attitude of the consumers towards the brand and would instill greater confidence among the customers and lead to development of positive attitude among the customers generating sustainable competitive

Monitoring U.S. citizens' phone conversations to detect potential Essay

Monitoring U.S. citizens' phone conversations to detect potential terriorist threats - Essay Example Such provisions threaten the quintessential American way of life. Liberty and freedom have always been a fundamental part of the American ethos and values. The very spirit of American political life and popular expectations simply do not allow the state to extend its sway beyond a point where it not only interferes with the personal and professional lives of people and individuals, but rather tempers with the privacy of their private and professional phone conversations. National security is really very important. However, the concerns for national security cannot be allowed to irrationality expand to a level where they start hampering the normal activities of the citizens. The act of monitoring the phone conversations of citizens is also unconstitutional and violates the Fourth Amendment rights of the citizens, which constitute a part of the Bill of Rights (Dripps, 2007). Superficially speaking, the Fourth Amendment to the constitution of the United States of America intends to prot ect the citizens from illegal search and seizures. Surprisingly, the very purpose of this Amendment was to check the abuse of general search warrants in the American Revolution (Dripps, 2007). In the historical Katz v.

Leading in the Darkness and the Light Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leading in the Darkness and the Light - Essay Example Question Two: The trapped miners gave maps to the rescue team. Members of the team stepped up as leaders to help manage the situation in the mines. They displayed transformational leadership through various acts. Mario Gomez, who was the oldest miner, took the responsibility of ensuring that catering for everyone’s mental and spiritual health. Another miner took the role of ensuring that the physical health of the crew was intact. The miners ensured that they took care of the whole person, meaning that the trapped miners were cared for mentally, spiritually, emotionally and spiritually. The miners worked together in shifts of their groups. The miners who had leadership roles also were willing to and did their best to serve others who needed help like the trapped miners by providing both physical and physiological help. The trapped miners had chosen a person who uplifted their humor, and another was named the pastor of the group who uplifted their spiritual moods. This displayed authentic leadership in times of adversity. They showed that they had hoped for life by ensuring that they organized all their activities while trapped to ensure their survival. Question Three: The president displayed a truly transformational leadership by responding quickly to the situation. Even though there were low, the chances of survival the president went ahead and organized, how they would be rescued by having the vision and choosing people to deal with the rescue. The Mining Minister had a team that was divided into three teams with different tasks. One was to locate the miners; the other was tasked with keeping them alive, and the other ensuring that they are rescued safely. All the three leaders displayed servant leadership, as they were willing to serve others before their needs.

Respond to the class discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Respond to the class discussion - Essay Example Instead, he will expose his own family and himself to tensions that will destroy harmony. Even his own relations with his friend would take an unpleasant turn once his family would be suffering. He may, at a later point in time, regret having helped his friend and curse him for his failure, while the friend may not even feel sorry for him! Therefore, Kant’s theory would recommend complying with the first formulation rather than the third. Response to class fellows on first discussion: Marta: I agree to you in your analysis of the first formulation of Kant not for the reason you have provided but because that was the demand of the first formulation. You have given the matter an altogether different dimension of perspective that I think is not quite relevant here. You have said that father should not lie because lying is wrong, and not because he has an obligation towards his family. That would be completely wrong and inconsiderate of father if he chooses not to lie because lyin g is bad. ... Cshena: You are right in your analysis of the first formulation of Kant. I also believe that father should resolve to save his career and his family’s future instead of saving his friend. It is the requirement of the first formulation of Kant. If father helps his friend, he will still gain blame of his own wife and seven children, so the job is plainly not perfect. Also, father will earn the praise of his friend for having saved his life. This renders his act imperfect in light of the first formulation of Kant. I also consent with you in your interpretation of Kant’s third formulation because it fundamentally requires father to fulfill his duty towards the society irrespective of his personal concerns. Henke: You have come up with a general response to the question and have not clearly analyzed the case separately in light of the first and third formulations of Kant. However, I do consent with you when you say that father should be protective towards his own family. He has got a wife and seven children to take care of and for whom, he is the sole bread earner. I also like the way you have analyzed the matter in a broader background that involves all people of society. You said that it would be wrong for father to lie because this would encourage everybody to lie and that would be wrong. However, I think you could have looked at it differently! You could have said, â€Å"What if every family in the society hid a Jewish family?† That would obviously have raised government’s suspicion for its own people, and ultimately, life of not only the Jews but also of non-Jews would be on stake. Response to class fellows on the second discussion: Parker: I

Reaction Paper about Communicating Through Nonverbal Behaviors Essay - 1

Reaction Paper about Communicating Through Nonverbal Behaviors - Essay Example ean my cupboard and I had replied with an â€Å"Okay Mum† but I received a thrashing in return and when I inquired as to the reason behind it, my mother said that I shrugged my shoulders and rolled my eyes which exuberated a lot of negativity. That day onwards I became watchful of my body language. A common misconception is that a person’s body language is the only form of non-verbal communication. That is not quite the case, other categories of non-verbal communication include: paralanguage, spatial usage and self-presentation. These encompass the pitch and tone of a person’s voice, the posture and use of space as also the attention a person pays to his/her appearance, even to the point of minute details such as the perfume a person is wearing. The multitude of cues which fall under non-verbal communication have the ability of perplexing people with how to react under different situations. A lot of conscious effort is required if a person wants to communicate a single message through his verbal as well as nonverbal cues. Sometimes, for example in front of elders decency would not permit a person to disagree blatantly with what the elders are saying, so through our verbal message we tend to agree with them, however our non-verbal communication reveals our true in tentions. Therefore, it is important to exercise ample control over our nonverbal communication, since with the progress of time awareness regarding nonverbal communication and its significance is

How Tim OBrien Shows the Negative Side of Vietnam Essay Example for Free

How Tim OBrien Shows the Negative Side of Vietnam Essay In Tim OBriens The Things They Carried, OBrien talks about all the parts of the Vietnam War. It shows all the horrors and negative sides of the war and what it can do to men. Many men lose their lives as well as their best friends and comrades. War also changes the soldiers into something else thats not themselves, something evil. The Things They Carried shows the negative side of war through the imagery of the shitfield, the mental affects of the war, the hatred that can be shown by each person, the way war changes people, and the loss of companions. In the shitfield one sees everything that is bad about the war. Its dirty and mucky and its just depressing all around. While in the field the soldiers are bombarded my artillery fire so they have to sink into the muck to hide themselves. One of the soldiers, Kiowa, gets hit with one of the shells. Norman Bowker tries to pull him out of the muck but he cannot. All the men try to pull him out but they cannot. They lose a friend in Kiowa, who is lost and buried in the field, and it scars all the men for life especially when they try to pull him out of the muck. The loss of a good friend stings for OBrien. OBrien even says that he went down with Kiowa that day and he lost a part of himself in that field. Everyone lost a part of themselves there. OBrien describes what he saw of Kiowa as he was going down under the muck. Kiowa was almost completely under. There was a knee. There was an arm and a gold wristwatch and part of a boot. There were bubbles where Kiowas head shouldve been (OBrien 168). OBrien going down with Kiowa shows that there are other negative effects such as mental ones. The mental effects of the war are also very negative in The Things They Carried. War messes with peoples heads and Tim OBrien shows it in his book. I couldnt sleep; I couldnt lie still (Chen 77). This is a cause of all the blood and gore the soldier has seen. And this doesnt just speak for the one soldier who said it, it speaks for all the soldiers. The first stage is not being able to sleep, the next stage is losing your composure. Then men start to become paranoid during the war and some go crazy. Rat Kiley is a good example of this. He is a medic and he starts to go crazy. He says he hears noises in the night that arent there. He says that he hears the voices of the people dying at night. OBrien thinks its from all the gore and blood he sees day in and day out and its just getting to him but either way he loses it. Rat tells someone he is going to shoot himself so he can get out of there because of an injury. The next morning he shot himself (OBrien 223). Rat Kileys plan works and he gets to leave, but he apologizes to all the men for losing it and in turn they dont rat him out for what he did. Not only does the war mess with peoples heads during the war but also at other times. The mental effects also extend to after the war. The awful memories of war stick with some of the men long after they return home from the war. The post war stress is too much for Norman Bowker. He finds that when he returns home that its not the same to him and he cannot find his place in society. He feels empty inside and ever since the shitfield he feels incomplete. The lingering memory of not being able to pull Kiowa out of the muck sticks with him. He feels that he died there with Kiowa and this causes him to be depressed. He often talks about it with his dad saying that he wishes he could have pulled harder to get Kiowa out but he just couldnt because of the smell. Norman wrote Tim OBrien a letter about his last book. He said it was very good book but that he should have put a chapter in about the shitfield. OBrien finds out that eight months later Norman killed himself. Normans writes OBrien a letter saying there was no letter and he hung himself with a jump rope. Tim OBrien kills a man while hes in Vietnam. He still feels the effects of killing the man and the guilt years later. He remembers it very well when his daughter asks him a question. The question was if he had ever killed someone. OBriens guilt over the man he kills comes from questions his daughter asks him about the war. He feels the sting years later (Martin 2). OBrien also revisits the site of the shitfield with his daughter. He starts to remember all the bad things that happened and it hurts him. OBrien hates the bad memories; he hates a lot of things. Some of the men start to show hatred toward people who usually arent hateful. The men start to turn on each other in stressful situations when they would have never done it before. Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen got into a fistfight. It was about something stupid, a missing jackknife, but even so the fight was vicious. Strunks nose made a sharp snapping sound, like a firecracker (OBrien 62). The men show hatred in the fight and over nothing important at all. In other circumstances it mightve ended there. But this was Vietnam, where guys carried guns, and Dave Jensen started to worry. It was mostly in his head (OBrien 62-63). Dave Jensen starts to get paranoid and he hates Strunk for it. One afternoon he began firing his weapon into the air, yelling Strunks name. late that same night he borrowed a pistol, gripped it by the barrel, and used it like a hammer to break his own nose (OBrien 63). This just shows how hate is a part of Vietnam. OBrien also shows hate toward some of his comrades. In a firefight OBrien gets shot and needs help from the new medic Bobby Jorgenson, but Jorgenson freezes because hes too afraid and forgets to treat OBrien for shock. This causes him much more pain over the months because the wound wasnt treated right and in time. OBrien hates Jorgenson for it. I wanted to hurt Bobby Jorgenson the way hed hurt me (OBrien 200). Months later OBrien and Jorgenson talk. OBrien realizes that Jorgenson is really sorry and he cant bring himself to say how he feels about it and just says its ok. I hated him for making me stop hating him (OBrien 200). This isnt like OBrien to be hateful. He has become something hes not. The war changes the men into bad things, things that arent themselves. OBrien talk about how the war changes himself and his personality at times. Id come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person. Id turned mean inside. Even a little cruel at times. Its a hard thing to admit, even to myself, but I was capable of evil (OBrien 200). OBrien also talks about how one comes over innocent and but one leaves with a different identity. You come over clean and you get dirty and then afterwards its never the same (OBrien 114). Other authors talk about how OBrien shows the physical and mental devastation caused by the war. Nowhere in The Things They Carried does OBrien explain more clearly the psychic devastation wrought by wartime trauma (Neilson 193). One sees the effect of the trauma even if the characters previous personalities arent known. The killing also has a big affect on OBrien. OBrien also talks about how the man he kills changes him because it is such a big deal to take a life. The author describes the soldier he kills. He describes everything from his wounds to his figure. He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man of about twenty. He lay at the center of the red clay trail near the village of My Khe. His jaw was in his throat. His eye was shut, the other eye was a star shaped hole. I killed him. (OBrien 203). Once OBrien killed this man he was broken in to Vietnam. He no longer was clean, he was now dirty. His first kill hastens his loss of innocence (Herzog 133). The soldiers in the war arent the only ones who were changed by Vietnam. One soldier brings his girlfriend from the states to visit him in Vietnam. He has her flown in through cargo planes and brought to his camp. At first she is glad to see her boyfriend and one can tell they are in love because they spend every minute together. She begins to get curious though and wonders off camp many times to explore. Then one night she goes missing and she is gone for a couple of days. She returns with the Greenies or Green Berets. She tells him not to ask and not to worry about it and acts like she has done nothing wrong. This happens many other times and the soldier can tell that he is beginning to lose her. When she begins disappearing with the greenies and taking part in the night ambushes, she melts into a small, soft shadow' (Chen 90). She becomes something she originally wasnt. Mary Anne starts to become one with Vietnam and she totally forgets about her boyfriend. In the end she is lost forever to Vietnam. It becomes impossible to distinguish between Mary Anne and Vietnam (Chen 91). Her boyfriend loses her and she is lost to Vietnam. Just one of many casualties of the war. But in his final story OBrien moves from his concern with moral corruption and war to one even more universally human: death (OGorman 306). OBrien also loses many things in the war. The worst part of the Vietnam War that OBrien shows is his loss of companions and friends. The author talks many times about his comrades throughout the book. He loses many people close to him personally and physically. There are five deaths in the novel. Ted Lavender, Curt Lemon, Kiowa, Linda, and the slim Vietcong soldier (Martin 1). The worst is the loss of his good friend. OBrien loses his good and best friend there, Kiowa, in the shitfield. This death is the most devastating to him because of how it happened in the muck and because he was a good friend. Kiowa was gone. He was under the mud and water, folded in with the war: Kiowas death actually makes him a part of the shitfield (Chen 93). It is also very devastating because all of the men feel guilt about it because they couldnt pull him out in time to possibly save him. Kiowas death is also pointless and has no purpose except to cause pain to his friends. In the story of Kiowas death, we find a combination of senselessness of war with the guilt that must be carried by other (Martin 2). This death affects everyone in the platoon but not all deaths are gruesome and ugly. An accident kills one of the young men, named Curt Lemon, and its described by OBrien as an almost beautiful death. They were just goofing. There was a noise, I supposed, which mustve been the detonator, so I glanced behind me and watched Lemon step from the shade into bright sunlight.when he died it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and lifted him up and sucked him high into a tree full of moss and vines and white blossoms. (OBrien 70) The two soldiers are just playing a simple game and it all ends so suddenly. He is playing a game with another soldier, a game of toss with a smoke grenade, when he accidentally steps on a landmine (Martin 2). Lemon and OBrien werent as good as friends as him and Kiowa but it was a bothersome death because Lemon was so young. OBrien speaks of him stepping into the light, and then the blast sucks him up into the trees.what bothers OBrien is that Curt Lemon is just a kid (Martin 2). The death isnt all-beautiful. OBrien describes the mess that is made by the accident. The white bone of an arm.pieces of skin and something wet and yellow that mustve been the intestines (OBrien 89). Another casualty happens because of bad luck. Lee Strunk dies in battle during a firefight. OBrien describes the wound that Strunk gets. In October Lee Strunk stepped on a rigged mortar round. It took off his right leg at the knee.then he panicked. He tried to get up and run, but there was nothing left to run on (OBrien 65). Strunk didnt die right away but not all death occur right after the accident happens. Later we heard that Strunk died somewhere over Chu Lai (OBrien 66). The last death happens because of carelessness. Ted Lavender was always doped up and this in the end leads to his death. While going to the bathroom in the woods Lieutenant Cross is daydreaming and not keeping watch for enemy soldiers. While coming back from his bathroom break Lavender is shot in the head and killed on the spot. Cross never forgives himself for his death because he was daydreaming about girls and one of his men was killed. Several incidents in The Things They Carried reveal moments when the male soldiers cannot communicate with one another (Vernon 171). Death is only a small part of the whole picture. Tim OBrien shows many of the negative sides of the war to the reader in ways that the reader can see how bad war is. He uses the examples of his friends dying, the whole ordeal in the shitfield, how war changes the men including the mental effects, and by showing how hateful one can become because of the stressful situations and the things one sees. OBrien feels that he has to show all the negative sides of the war because he never wanted to go to war in the first place. Men go to war to fight battle that could be worked out peacefully and they fight and die for no reason. He feels that war is a bad thing and wants to show the reader that its a terrible thing and he does this very well. Even today war is a problem. Many young men are dying for no reason and it needs to stop. Works Cited Chen, Tina. Unraveling the Deeper Meaning: Exile and the Embodied poetics of Displacement in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried. Contemporary Literature 29.1 (spring 1998): 77-98. Herzog, Tobey C. Vietnam War Stories Innocence Lost. London: Routledge, 1992. Martin, Paul L. 24 March, 2008. http://plmartinwrite.blogspot.com/2007/11/things-they-carried.html Neilson, Jim. Warring Fictions. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1998 OBrien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990. OGorman, Farrel. The Things They Carried as a Composite Novel. War, Lit, and the Arts. Vernon, Alex. Salvation, Storytelling and Pilgrimage in Tim OBriens the Things They Carried. Mosaic (Winnipeg) 36.4 (2003): 171+. Questia. 19 Mar. 2008 http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=od=5002093009.

The Relation Between L1 and L2 Proficiency Essay Example for Free

The Relation Between L1 and L2 Proficiency Essay Investigations of the relationships between L1 and L2 contextualized and decontextualized language skills among immigrant students will be reviewed according to the background of the students involved. The three major categories are Finnish students in Sweden, Hispanic students in the United States, and Asian students in the United States and Canada. The some additional evidence from bilingual programs involving both majority and minority students will be reviewed and finally we will examine studies involving adult L2 learners. According to some researchers, the defining difference between a first language (L1) and a second language (L2) is the age the person learned the language. For example, linguist Eric Lenneberg used second language to mean a language consciously acquired or used by its speaker after puberty. In most cases, people never achieve the same level of fluency and comprehension in their second languages as in their first language. These views are closely associated with the Critical Period Hypothesis. In acquiring an L2, Hyltenstam (1992) found that around the age of six or seven seemed to be a cut-off point for bilinguals to achieve native-like proficiency. After that age, L2 learners could get near-native-like-ness but their language would, while consisting of few actual errors, have enough errors to set them apart from the L1 group. The inability of some subjects to achieve native-like proficiency must be seen in relation to the age of onset (AO). â€Å"The age of 6 or 8 does seem to be an important period in distinguishing between near-native and native-like ultimate attainment More specifically, it may be suggested that AO interacts with frequency and intensity of language use† (Hyltenstam, 1992, p. 364). Later, Hyltenstam Abrahamsson (2003) modified their age cut-offs to argue that after childhood, in general, it becomes more and more difficult to acquire native-like-ness, but that there is no cut-off point in particular. Furthermore, they discuss a number of cases where a native-like L2 was acquired during adulthood. As we are learning more and more about the brain, there is a hypothesis that when a child is going through puberty, that is the time that accents start. Before a child goes through puberty, the chemical processes in the brain are more geared towards language and social communication. Whereas after puberty, the ability for learning a language without an accent has been rerouted to function in another area of the brain—most likely in the frontal lobe area promoting cognitive functions, or in the neural system of hormone allocated for reproduction and sexual organ growth.

Economic Environment In Russia Economics Essay

Economic Environment In Russia Economics Essay In the year 1990 the Russian system underwent tremendous stress as it transformed from a centrally planned economy to a free market system (US Commercial Service, 2010). Following the breakup of USSR, Russias GDP observed a continuous period of decline from the beginning of 1991 until 1998 (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). The reasons for the serious financial crisis in 1998 were difficulties in executing fiscal reforms aimed at raising government revenues and a reliance on short term borrowing to finance budget arrears. The financial problems aggravated due to lower prices for Russias major export earners (oil and minerals) and the loss of investor confidence due to the Asian financial crisis. This resulted in the rapid and steep decline (60%) in the value of the rouble, runaway of foreign investment, delayed payments on sovereign and private debts and a breakdown of commercial transactions through the banking system (US Commercial Service, 2010). The Russian economy began to bounce back after the 1998 economic crisis with an annual GDP growth of 7% from 1999 to 2007. This led to a sharp increase in prices for Russias main exports (oil, petroleum products) and import substitution effect led to the roubles devaluation in 1998, a tax reform, tightening of fiscal policy and greater political and social stability. The economy witnessed growth as a result of extraordinary rise in the consumer oriented sectors, particularly in the construction and services industries. In the year 2007, Russias GDP increased by 8.1%, and by 2008 the GDP further increased by 5.6% (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). Russia was hit by the global economic crisis in the second half of 2008, which impacted the Russian economy immensely. The economy began to shrink, which led to falling sales, production and layoffs. In the year 2009 the economy diminished by 7.9%, through a positive revival trend that occurred in the second half of 2009, when the economy recommenced reasonable growth. The manufacturing, industrial production and construction industry witnessed a sharp decline in growth. The wages decreased and the labour force was only 66% of the total population. The number of unemployed measured 8.4% of the workforce (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). The downturn faced by the global capital market reached Russia, which led to the closure of the global sources of funding. Foreign direct investment dropped by 41%, that   is 3.6% of GDP. The major attractions for foreign direct investment were manufacturing, retail, mineral resource extraction and transport. The figure estimated for net outflow of capital is US $52bn. In 2009, the Russian equity market was affected adversely. Russian companies attracted US $1.7bn via IPOs and SPOs, whereas in 2009 only one IPO (Initial Public Offering) was registered. Nevertheless, the IPO is expected to witness a boom in 2010 (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). The end of 2009 brought positive news for Russia: the international credit rating agencies Standard Poor, Fitch and Moodys reviewed their sovereign rating outlooks for Russia from negative to stable, which was a result of higher oil prices and dropping of inflation (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). 3.1.2 FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (2010-2012) The economic development scenarios for the next three years has been drafted by the Ministry of Economic Development. They have been categorised into moderately conservative, pessimistic and optimistic. In accordance with the moderately conservative scenario, the GDP for the next three years has been depicted in Figure 2 below. The figures in the graph were derived from the prediction that the oil prices will remain at relatively high levels: US $65 per barrel in 2010, US $70 in 2011, and US $71 in 2012 (see Appendix C) (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010).https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/A-V1_X47l-ha1boxdlCsEzJET-SIMACWsuvCyyBVt5VNYS-XF2godrATGtxo-rg_k30qOiQ9y0KiK6TogxhIEd75L3Sj7346nBTJQVX8b74auUOsupE Figure 2: Forecasted economic growth Source: own compilation based on data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010 Despite 2009 being a challenging year for Russia, the country managed to achieve three important goals, states President Medvedev. First, the government has survived to maintain social stability and put together all planned social payments. Second, the government and the Central Bank respectively have managed to keep the currency steady and brought about financial stability. Third, the government extended support to its core businesses. Since the government has taken this action, none of the large enterprises have gone bankrupt (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). Concurrently, the countrys economic development has been constricted due to problems which Russia has failed to deal with this year. The problems faced by the country are the dependence on raw material exports, increasing unemployment levels and low competitiveness of domestic businesses. The Russian Government has been quite positive in dealing with the crisis by considering economic policy measures (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010).   Overall, the economic conditions in Russia seem to be favourable for Pufferfish to do business there in the nearest future. 3.4.1 LEVELS OF CULTURE An international businessperson needs to be aware of three levels of culture that may affect a multinationals operations. These levels include national culture, business culture, occupational and organizational culture. The diagram below shows the levels of culture that affect multinational management (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2008).https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/MDXcQRqh-4Qj_Khq7TfFEGYm7BUCkc_wJWhD29zy75RBl7GmBfjFA0gPP-NUQ67ZG7cAxgW_p47D07tc3TMr7Wx4kZ6zqHqWq5UiJ2VMUNmugd2oAOg Figure 3: Levels of culture Source: Cullen and Parboteeah, 2008 3.4.2 THE DOS AND DONTS OF DOING BUSINESS IN RUSSIA    The Russian market is a highly competitive market, where salesmanship is a key factor. Firms willing to enter the market should be prepared to express the competitive advantages and factors that differentiate them from others in the marketplace (US Commercial Service, 2010). Developing personal relationships with business partners is a crucial factor in the effective cooperation of major projects, government procurement or, for that matter, even in cultivating long-term business relations. One of the most difficult tasks   can be arranging a business meeting with potential partners.In addition,it may take a long time to receive a reply to an email,fax or a even telephone request for a meeting (US Commercial Service, 2010). To conduct business in Russia it is essential to know the Russian language if not an interpreter should be employed if needed. A substantial number of businessmen can communicate a courtesy level of English; however, they prefer conducting business discussions in Russian (US Commercial Service, 2010). Business cards are vital and are exchanged spontaneously. Your cards should have nothing more than your regular contact details, email address and website if available. It is advantageous to carry a bilingual business card (one side in English, one side in Russian). Promotional materials in Russian can be an crucial tool for developing interest in a companys product. The translation however has to be perfect and of high value (US Commercial Service, 2010). Sometimes during meetings Russian businesspeople tend to have very little verbal feedback. They listen quietly and with little obvious body language being exhibited   This does not mean that the listener is unable to comprehend it is just a cultural characteristic. They should be given the time and space needed to participate fully in a conversation (WorldBusinessCulture.com, 2011). 3.4.3 CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN CORPORATE CULTURE Peter Zashev (2004) says in his article that the contemporary Russian corporate culture could be presented as a cross-section of four sets of different factors and their subsequent impact on collective and individual culture and mentality. The aforementioned can be described in the figure below. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/LTKsFRqlpglWJeud7Jz7NVHb3CgRPb7TX0lw-ZZhddf90GO8M2EY7dZJhu1h3ygm6e5awAiNJ2ccd8gkbKozam9lYaEO9RxOAgfJvTRmJPv528-DRek Figure 4: Four sets of factors forming the contemporary Russian business culture Source: adapted from Zashev, 2004 Common Russian Values and Morals: One of the most influential element of Russian values and morals is the total lack of competition in the Russian social and economic life. Due to this nature the state of Moscow had the following characteristics. A militaristic nature   as it had to battle enemies and expand further geographically. A society based on compulsion and force rather than law with clear division of social groups that differed in their duties and not in their rights. Supreme power of the state/tsar. All the above characteristics slowly killed the concept of free competition. As a consequence of this, a highly centralized system was built, where the competitiveness was directed mainly at attracting the attention of the supreme power through gifts, bribes and networks of prominent personalities. This also explains why most international Russian projects are financed by the state (Zashev, 2004). Soviet Values and Morals: During the soviet times the system did not go through much change.The soviet rule enforced many concepts such as the following. Uravnilovka   that removed the link between work and pay. Increasing the level of bureaucracy, making cheating an inbuilt part of the economic system. Repression that later became a state concept and removed initiative, decision making and freedom of choice. The soviet system did not succeed in eliminating corruption, and it continued to afflict the whole Russian system. It, in fact, became the way for a normal life.   The foreign operations of the Soviet companies were state owned. It was only the Foreign Trade Organisations that were allowed to link Soviet factories with their overseas markets, suppliers or others (Zashev, 2004). Transition Values and Morals A dramatic change has appeared in the last fourteen years in the form of a massive retreat from the government. The privatisation in Russia created a new social group of owners, investors, capitialists and industralists (Zashev, 2004). Corruption and Bribery Corruption of officials in Russia is endemic, a system-wide state of affairs with deep historical roots (Zashev, 2004, p.27). It is now a common procedure for Russian businessmen to regularly pay bribes to government officials.   The government officials take economic decisions soundly on the basis of underlying motives. Many argue that the practice is a harmless means to facilitate government approvals and avoid penalties. High levels of bribery are the reason for low levels of competition, a factor that is needed for economic growth (Zashev, 2004). Businessmen from the UK not only have to worry about the corruption levels, but also have to watch out for the Bribery Act. The bill was published in draft on the 25th of March 2009 and received Royal Assent on the 8th of April 2010 (UK Government, 2010).    3.4.4. SO WHAT WILL THE BRIBERY ACT COVER? The Bribery Act looks at reforms in the criminal law with the intention of delivering a new modern and comprehensive scheme for bribery offences that will permit the judiciary and prosecutors to counter more successfully to bribery, both at home and abroad (UK Government, 2010). The Act will: provide a more efficient framework for combating bribery in the public and private sectors; create two general offences covering the offering, promising or giving of an advantage, and requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting of an advantage; create a discrete offence of bribery of a foreign public official; help tackle the threat that bribery poses to economic progress and development around the world (UK Government, 2010). During our inteview, Mr.Kell expressed his unfavourable attitude towards unfair trading practices, but he mentioned that if payments are necessary to facilitate market entry, it can be done. However, The Bribery Act will make things more complicated and put UK companies, including Pufferfish, at a disadvantage, especially in emerging markets such as Russia, where bribery is a custom. It is important that the company considers that in its market entry decisions. 6.1 MOSCOW Moscow, being the capital of Russia, is one of most promising markets for Pufferfish Limited. Moscow is the largest city in Russia, accounting for 7.34% of the total population of Russia (The World Bank, 2009). The advantages and disadvantages of   targeting Moscow are as follows. Advantages Moscow is the major business centre, with a well-structured distribution channel which will provide Pufferfish with an opportunity to reach out to its clients without much difficulty; The presence of large shopping malls and big box stores in Moscow will allow Pufferfish to reach out to a larger audience. The large hypermarkets present in Moscow contribute to the sale of 50 percent of consumer electronics that are advertised in Russia (US Commercial Service, 2010). As seen in the figure below, 51.60% of the total foreign investments is mainly from Moscow during the period January-September 2009.Due to the high intensity of consumers purchasing power and the large   presence of company headquarters,the region continues to attract a large amount of investments(US Commercial Service, 2010). https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ftVUl9i1YmCG06SfBi2FoWQmrto4M6j-5LbOIxDuhYP8A5Zc5_U4pKkhk6pPehlHmeoTW8mTT9S8GWYufTBb4swnxdN01Od2GoJ0Qd_LfECTH8PJ5vc Table 4: Foreign investment top regions Source: US Commercial Service, 2010 Disadvantages Registering a company in Moscow is very expensive. Though Moscow represents the most populated city in 2009,   the major problem faced by companies wanting to set up their business in Moscow is that it requires 9 procedures and costs 2.7% of the total GNP per capita to complete all business procedures (The World Bank, 2009). The major problem of conducting business in Moscow is that it is has become increasingly challenging to find qualified local partners and Russian employees. In addition to this, the salaries of local employees have risen significantly in Moscow (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). Nevertheless, the positive side to this is that the digital signage market is Moscow is booming. According to the Association of Communication Agencies in Russia, in the first half of the year 2008, Russia witnessed a significant growth of 13% in outdoor advertising, largely due to the increase in the digital signage market (Rushworth, 2008). Statistics from Integrated Systems Russia, an exhibition held in Moscow in 2009, shows that Moscow witnessed 66% of the total visitors, followed by 12% in the Moscow region and 4% in St. Petersburg (Integrated Systems Russia, 2009a).The figure below represents the ranking of visitor activity from different regions in Russia.https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7vfeTRpsRebFYxlzz95uB26cpCYa1G2PXHmi-sa_vof1n61Uy6hz71_gm3APoivUDKRs32MMjpefgnM2aDbM08yvKoPYEK5d3XvoApCOE21xVot1Opg Figure 6: Ranking of visitor activity from different regions in Russia Source: Integrated Systems Russia, 2009a Digital Education that took place in Moscow in 2009 was targeted at Moscow and Federal government officials responsible for education, which signifies the potential for the latest audio-video equipment (Integrated Systems Russia, 2009b).This clearly indicates the market potential for the Puffersphere products in the Moscow digital signage market. 6.1 ADVERTISING In the Russian advertising market television, radio, print and billboard media are widespread. The domestic and international advertising agencies are effective in Russia. The boom in the advertising industry in the country is a result of strong economic growth and increasing incomes. Companies that were affected by the economic crisis have recovered and started investing in mass media for advertising. Although the traditional methods of advertising still do exist in Russia, advertising agencies have refined their communication methods to meet the needs of the modern firm and are progressing quite well (US Commercial Service, 2010).The shopping malls, airports and advertising agencies present in Russia appear quite promising for the Puffersphere XXL and M models. Pufferspheres definitely have a great potential in the Russian market. Moscow and St. Petersburg have plenty of shopping malls and big box stores where Pufferspheres M and XXL can be used for advertising products (US Commercial Service, 2010). Afimall shopping centre is located in the core of Moscow city and is by far the largest shopping mall in Russia. Puffersphere XXL can be used for displays and indoor advertising in this mall   (AFI Development, 2008). Airports are another segment that Pufferfish can consider. Moscow has three major airportsà Ã‚ ± namely Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo. St. Petersburgs airport comprises of two terminals: Pulkovo-1 (domestic flights) and Pulkovo-2 (international flights).Puffersphere XXL can be used in these airports to display flight information, advertising and to display television channels (US Commercial Service, 2010). Other advertising agencies that can be interested in buying Pufferspheres are Starcom, Mindshare and Mediacom. The aforementioned media agencies can use the spheres for advertising (Mind Advertising Limited, 2011). The major concern for the company can be the cost of the product. Nevertheless the advertising agencies, airports and malls operate on a large scale, making the Puffersphere prices affordable for them. 8.3 CORPORATE In the past, Pufferfish Displays limited has taken part in exhibition centres and trade shows all over the world which has enabled the company to generate awareness about their product and build new contacts (Geoff, 2011). A significant part of marketing in Russia takes place through trade shows. Russians prefer to shop at trade shows as it provides them with an opportunity to learn from the array of technical experts and company displays. The success of European companies is mainly due to their high participation rates which is around 90 % of all foreign companies in the Russian shows and this is evident through their market share of industrial equipment which is approximately 70 percent. The exhibitions held in major cities are usually visited by representatives of regional governments and state enterprises from distant areas to purchase goods (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). Promotional seminars are another efficient way to increase awareness of equipment and brand awareness in the Russian business community. The seminars usually gather appropriate press coverage in the industry publications   (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). Trade fairs for the digital signage market have been taking place in Russia for quite some time now. The Integrated Systems Russia is the leading show with people visiting from all over Russia and abroad. Since Puffer fish uses an opportunistic approach for its sales, the Expocenter, which will be held in Moscow this year will act as a platform for Puffer fish to enter Russia (Integrated Systems Russia, 2010). Statistics from the previous year proves that the exhibition is a major success and attracted more than 8000 visitors. The figure below represents the visitors business activity (Integrated systems Russia, 2009a) https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/FiaHLl88-9l8jODnGWssuT0XI_EXs__oTKeURgcz-aQpFavDV8s2uC1XUaQlkTecmUplA3F1VqGxYFGLJfRLoWyuFlJrToyokKoCxC09hM2B9UQ0cl8 Figure 3: Integrated systems Russia 2009 Source: (Integrated systems Russia, 2009) The 2011 Expocenter certainly seems promising for Pufferfish Limited and will open a wide spectrum of opportunities for the company. The show presents the latest AV and electronic system technologies to the commercial, professional and residential electronic systems integration industries (Integrated Systems Russia, 2010). This provides Pufferfish an opportunity to display their Puffer sphere XXL and M models and in turn help Pufferfish attract various target segments on a single podium. 9.1 Uppsala model: Johanson J. Vahlne J-E. (1977), The Internationalization process of the firm a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments, Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1): 23-31 https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/2I_BZ45ctC9ENlGidRD_VREX0JKyHUMxuolE-ZaA7djj3UqzFFmpAMDfxyKdvcsTYYJsTqSnASCsWNF37pL8UNRG5JwEVW5QWGBCZNT1RDevQgsLw8Q (Johanson Vahle, 1977). https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/YKQWjMvYoipq2TfLg1Z2W_a2wuqnB8Wuc-dRdyZ2TSfxaIdqguTTMdoszm6s1NRjpJ80IUtPJCh6Ii8_l3_0Mz8cL1L17pMEeiS97JRFUDEk-f8RH1A http://www.provenmodels.com/586/internationalisation-process/jan-johansonjan-erik-vahlne/ The Uppsala model is a dynamic model which explains the internationalisation of a firm as a process. The model explains two patterns in the internationalisation process of the firms (Johanson Vahlne, 1990, in Johanson Associates, 1994). The first pattern explains the establishment chain wherein the company engages in operations in a particular foreign market. The establishment chain consists of a sequence of stages that are created in small incremental steps with extended commitment which increases with every new step. The four stages were identified by Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul in the year 1975 which are as follows: 1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No regular export activities 2. Export via independent representatives (agent)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3. Sales subsidiary and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4. Production/manufacturing (Johanson Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975, in Johanson Associates,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1994, p. 34.) The second pattern describes the fact that firms have a tendency to enter new markets with sequentially greater psychic distance and also greater geographical distance in some cases (Johanson Vahlne, 1990, in Johanson Associates, 1994; Hollensen, 2001). Firms therefore have a tendency to enter markets they understand, where they perceive opportunities and the uncertainty levels are relatively low. As proposed in the model, the firm can perceive opportunities without uncertainty only through experiential knowledge. Therefore, the firms choose incremental steps and engage in a sequential manner in foreign markets (Hansson, Sundell , ÃÆ'-hman , 2004) . Joint ventures or Greenfield: Joint ventures: The most recognised mode of entry into a new market is through establishing a joint venture with a foreign firm. A joint venture requires setting up a firm that is jointly owned by two or more otherwise independent firms. A joint venture involves two or more companies creating a legally independent company to share some of the parent companys resources with the purpose of developing competitive advantage.   Joint ventures can take various forms, with the most common being a 50/50 shareholding in a company.A few advantages of a joint venture are the reduction of risk through sharing of the project, facilitate entry into a market and quick profits. However problems such as inability to work with the local partner due to the varying organisational cultures and the national culture, can affect the joint venture and limit its performance (Lynch, 2006). In recent years,the rate of International Joint venture(IJV) formation has continued to rise steadily among the emerging markets in Latin America, Asia   and Eastern Europe.   The aforementioned emerging markets account for close to 70% of all IJV entries by multinational corporations. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, 35 % of companies used joint ventures to enter into emerging markets but only 21% continue to use them. The chart from Deloittes research shows that Joint Venture is the most popular entry mode into developing markets (Mahidhar et.al, 2009). https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RF5UMKWJ67-S0PRLoVETrzdfVxDx1q_ncwGmM9izsH0QQRGPEwxY_R64xXjX7RviiN77Wae-Q-Qc0ePjGCKwanPiXTvf8TrDrMnDpUW-AsbMlhi_M6A SOURCE:(Mahidhar et.al, 2009) This section typically aims at answering some of the common question that arises when foreign investors use joint venture in Russia   (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005):  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Are there restrictions on foreign participation? In general there are no restrictions on foreign participation except for certain industries such as banking and insurance field   (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005).  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What are the legal problems which a foreign investor in a joint venture faces? The formation and operation of joint ventures are relatively easier for foreign investors due to the liberalisation of the process of state registration of joint ventures and foreign currency legislation. Nevertheless, a few problems do exist (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005): o   Ã‚  Recurring change of legislation. o   Ã‚  The state authorities fail to conform with established terms and procedures for provision of consents, approvals, registration and issuance of licenses and so on.  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What are the types of joint venture vehicles commonly used by foreign investors? The figures below represent the principal types of joint ventures:https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/RnQg8HPYJ6ZvBOpuQcfbwff_LORWvqfVpA9Q5vj3miT1TbyK7lvJfueE9BTOGeysFfIqaPx1-JuNQbwdTx6N_kIkhq0IKYUFojl0HMqaLyRDRQXiqAE Source:   (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005) FORMING A RUSSIAN LEGAL ENTITY: The above figure describes the types of commercial legal entities that are recognised by the Civil Code of Russian Federation such as general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, additional liability companies, additional liability companies, joint stock companies (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). There are two types of joint ventures namely limited liability companies (LLC) where in involvement is based on participation interests and joint stock companies ( JSC) where in involvement is based on shares (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005). The crucial part of entering a market is to decide whether to enter as a limited liability company or joint stock company. LLCs are preferred over JSCs in setting up a wholly owned subsidiary since the process of establishment and operation of an LLC is less taxing and time consuming as there are no legal requirements that an LLC must issue shares or perform any procedures related to issuance, establishment and issuance of securities. This form of entity is more flexible and mobile as there is no requirement of issuing shares when the participants need to change the contract capital of the company. Nevertheless, a JSC is preferred for a joint venture in Russia between parties that are not related due to the following reasons. First, in an LLC each participant is eligible to leave the company at any time and for no specific reason, without the consent of other participants. In comparison to a JSC, the LLC law considers a lot of issues which requires undisputed voting decisions of LLC participants that might not be fair for a joint venture partner who is a majority participant in the LLC (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). Given the current situation Pufferfish Displays limited must invest into Russia only after they gain sufficient knowledge about the market. This may take a good three to four years. Depending on the situation then the company may choose from the aforementioned entities. They may additionally take help or guidance from the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce or the UK Trade and Investment for setting up the preferred entity. Pufferfish Displays, 2010. Services:Content Creation and Consultancy. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from Pufferfish Ltd: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk/services/ Pufferfish Displays, 2009. Case studies:Eurovision. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from Pufferfishlimited Website: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk/case-studies/eurovision/ AFI Development, 2008. Projects: Afimall city, [online]. Available at: http://www.afi-development.ru/en/projects/map/moscow/mallofrussia [Accessed 9 March 2011]. Deloitte, 2010. Doing Business in Russia 2010, [online]. Available at: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_RU/ru/insights/doingbusinessinrussia/index.htm [Accessed 26 February 2011]. Hansson, G., Sundell , H., and ÃÆ'-hman , M., 2004. The new modified Uppsala model Based on an anomalistic case study at Malmberg Water AB. Hickson, D.J., and Pugh, D.S., 1995. Management Worldwide:The Impact Of Societal Culture On Organizations Around The Globe. London: Penguin. Integrated Systems Russia, 2009a. Statistics of the third international exhibition and conference, [online]. Available at: http://www.isrussia.ru/en/isrussia/statistics [Accessed 4 March 2011]. Integrated Systems Russia, 2009b. Digital Education, [online]. Available at: http://www.isrussia.ru/en/isrussia/digital_education [Accessed 2 March 2011]. Integrated Systems Russia, 2010. About the show, [online]. Available at: http://www.isrussia.ru/en/isrussia/Digital_Signage [Accessed 4 March 2011]. Johanson, J., and Associates, 1994. Internationalization, Relationships and Networks. Stockholm: Almqvist Wiksell International. Johanson, J., and Vahlne, J-E., 1990. The Mechanism of Internationalization.   Stockholm: Almquist Wiksell International. Johanson, J. and Vahlne, J-E. 1977. The Internationalization Process of the Firm A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitment. Journal of International Business Studies, 8, pp.23-32. Johanson, J., and Wiedersheim-Paul, F., 1975. The Internationalization of the Firm Four Swedish Cases. Stockholm: Almquist Wiksell International. Lynch, R., 2006. Corporate Strategy.Pearson Education Limited. Mahidhar, V., Giffi, C., Kambli, A., Alvanos, R., and Grunewald, J., 2009. Rethinking Emerging Market Strategies: From offshoring to strategic expansion. Deloitte, [online]. Available at: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/article/43cc586731101210VgnVCM100000ba42f00aRCRD.htm [Accessed 9 March 2011]. PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia, 2009, Doing business and investing in the Russian Federation, [online]. Available at: http://russia.polpred.com/upload/pdf/doing-business-in-russia-2009.pdf?PHPSESSID=u85buagf7pdte5b77is3n96mt4 [Accessed 12 February 2011]. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010. Doing Business and investing in the Russian Federation, [online]. Available at: http://www.pwc.ru/en/doing-business-in-russia/assets/Doing-Business-Russian-Federation-2010.pdf [Accessed 12 February 2011]. Pufferfish Displays, 2011a. Pufferfish Home, Products and Services, [online]. Available at: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk [Accessed 11 March 2011]. Pufferfish Displays, 2011b. Pufferfish Resources: Investors, [online]. Available at: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk/resources/pufferfish-investors [Accessed 11 March 2011].    Pufferfish Displays, 2011c. Pufferfish: Products, [online]. Available at: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk/products [Accessed 11 March 2011]. Rushworth, R., 2008. Local Authorities and DS An outside chance. HF Network Lt

The Downfall of Tess in Thomas Hardys Tess of the DUrbervilles Essay

The Downfall of Tess in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles Tess of the D'Urbervilles is considered to be a tragedy due to the catastrophic downfall of the protaganist Tess. From the early days in her life, her father John had begun to destroy her, which then led to Alex D'Urbervill and eventually finished with Angel Clare. Each dominant male figure in her life cocntributed to her tragic downfall which the reader encounters at the end of the novel. It is unfortunate how one woman can be ruined by the three most important and dominant people in her life. Tess's downfall began with her experiences with her father. She grew up with a father who drank excessively and did not give her any type of guidance or support. His characteristics are revealed when he sends Tess to Tantridge to dliver the beehives, due to the fact that he is too drunk to do it himself. Rather than taking responsibility for the dreadful accident Tess had with the family's horse, he sends her to the D'Urbervilles mansion to seek their name and fortune. Following this, when Tess delivers her baby upon returning from Tantridge, the reader once again sees John's true sides of how horrible he is and how he destroys his daughter, by not letting the parson come and baptize her child, Sorrow, yet he is on the verge of dying. Her son's name reflects just how miserable she is and how much pain she is going through, because of Alec. Throughout these incidents the reader can see just how Tess is selfless andl oyal to her family and is focused on helping them, so she goes and seeks help from her family members. The outcome of this is unfortunately useable, her downfall. Tess's journey to Tantridge and her introduction to Alex is the be... ...one she could trust and rely on, but this had not occurred. Even though it was not intentional, Angel himself had driven Tess into Alec's arms, when he had left her. She was forced to go back to him, because of poverty and because of her family. When Tess found out Angel had returned from Brazil, she found the the only way out of her recently started relationship with Alec was by murdering him. It is distressing how all three dominant male figures in her life had chosen to hurt her so immensely. Unfortunetly Tess is very influence by people, whihc leads her to face many horrible incidents throughout her life. She is selfless, loyal and weak which makes it easy for her father John, Alec and Angel to hurt her and cause her pain, which eventually caused her downfall. Therefore it is correct; the catastrophic downfall of Tess is due to the men in her life.

Diabetes Essay -- Health Disease Disorder Diabetes Essays Papers

Diabetes Diabetes is a lifelong disease that can affect both children and adults. This disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. It claims about 178,000 lives each year. Type one diabetes, also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, usually occurs in people less than thirty years of age, but it also may appear at any age. Diabetes is a very serious disease with many life threatening consequences, but if it is taken care of properly, diabetics can live a normal life. Diabetes is a disease that causes an abnormally high level of sugar, or glucose, to build up in the blood. Glucose comes from food we consume and also from our liver and muscles. Blood delivers glucose to all the cells in the body. In people without diabetes, the pancreas makes a chemical called insulin which is released into the blood stream. Insulin helps the glucose from the food get into cells. When the pancreas doesn’t make insulin, it can’t get into the cells and the insulin stays in the blood stream. The blood glucose level gets very high, causing the person to have type one diabetes. There are many symptoms of type one diabetes. They include drinking irritability, excessive urination, extreme weight loss, feeling very hungry or tired, sores that don’t heal and blurry eyesight. The cause of type one diabetes is unknown, although genetic tendency and childhood infections are two possibilities. The pancreas undergoes a change and cells that normally produce insulin are destroyed. This may be a result of the body’s own immune system believing the pancreas is a foreign organ. Also, type one diabetes often appears at times of physical stress and during illness when the body produces extra ... ... is a technique that monitors the glucose level without the use of needles. Another type of therapy is the artificial pancreas. It combines glucose sensing and insulin delivery through a closed loop system. Mimicking the human pancreas, this therapy would register the blood glucose levels and in response deliver the right amount of insulin. Diabetes is a very serious disease that takes many lives each year. It is a lifelong disease that can be fatal to both adults and children if it is uncontrolled. Diabetes does not have to be fatal if certain precautions are taken. If diabetics maintain a healthy diet and watch their carbohydrate intake they can keep their diabetes under control. Monitoring blood sugar is also necessary to live a healthy life. If diabetics know the right way of maintaining their diabetes, they can live a very normal and active life. Diabetes Essay -- Health Disease Disorder Diabetes Essays Papers Diabetes Diabetes is a lifelong disease that can affect both children and adults. This disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. It claims about 178,000 lives each year. Type one diabetes, also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, usually occurs in people less than thirty years of age, but it also may appear at any age. Diabetes is a very serious disease with many life threatening consequences, but if it is taken care of properly, diabetics can live a normal life. Diabetes is a disease that causes an abnormally high level of sugar, or glucose, to build up in the blood. Glucose comes from food we consume and also from our liver and muscles. Blood delivers glucose to all the cells in the body. In people without diabetes, the pancreas makes a chemical called insulin which is released into the blood stream. Insulin helps the glucose from the food get into cells. When the pancreas doesn’t make insulin, it can’t get into the cells and the insulin stays in the blood stream. The blood glucose level gets very high, causing the person to have type one diabetes. There are many symptoms of type one diabetes. They include drinking irritability, excessive urination, extreme weight loss, feeling very hungry or tired, sores that don’t heal and blurry eyesight. The cause of type one diabetes is unknown, although genetic tendency and childhood infections are two possibilities. The pancreas undergoes a change and cells that normally produce insulin are destroyed. This may be a result of the body’s own immune system believing the pancreas is a foreign organ. Also, type one diabetes often appears at times of physical stress and during illness when the body produces extra ... ... is a technique that monitors the glucose level without the use of needles. Another type of therapy is the artificial pancreas. It combines glucose sensing and insulin delivery through a closed loop system. Mimicking the human pancreas, this therapy would register the blood glucose levels and in response deliver the right amount of insulin. Diabetes is a very serious disease that takes many lives each year. It is a lifelong disease that can be fatal to both adults and children if it is uncontrolled. Diabetes does not have to be fatal if certain precautions are taken. If diabetics maintain a healthy diet and watch their carbohydrate intake they can keep their diabetes under control. Monitoring blood sugar is also necessary to live a healthy life. If diabetics know the right way of maintaining their diabetes, they can live a very normal and active life.

Physics of Firearms Essay -- physics gun guns firearm ballistics

Shooting is a popular activity and it is enjoyed by many people, so much so that it is also done at a competitive level. Although many people may have shot a firearm of some sort, few of those people actually realize how much physics is involved with the shot. So what exactly is Ballistics? Ballistics is the science or study of the motion of projectiles and in the case of most firearms, these projectiles are the bullets. There are two things that affect the flight of a bullet once it has been shot out of the gun. These things are the drag of air on the bullet and the force of gravity acting upon the bullet. The force of gravity acting upon the bullet is always in a constant direction, which is down, at a rate of 9.81m/s^2. However, the force of air drag on the bullet is not always in a constant direction. This is because the trajectory of the bullet changes, so the direction of air drag on the bullet also changes. So what is it that determines the trajectory of the bullet once it has left the barrel? Aside from gravity, it is the weight, shape, and velocity of the bullet...

The Host Chapter 2: Overheard

The voices were soft and close and, though I was only now aware of them, apparently in the middle of a murmured conversation. â€Å"I'm afraid it's too much for her,† one said. The voice was soft but deep, male. â€Å"Too much for anyone. Such violence!† The tone spoke of revulsion. â€Å"She screamed only once,† said a higher, reedy, female voice, pointing this out with a hint of glee, as if she were winning an argument. â€Å"I know,† the man admitted. â€Å"She is very strong. Others have had much more trauma, with much less cause.† â€Å"I'm sure she'll be fine, just as I told you.† â€Å"Maybe you missed your Calling.† There was an edge to the man's voice. Sarcasm, my memory named it. â€Å"Perhaps you were meant to be a Healer, like me.† The woman made a sound of amusement. Laughter. â€Å"I doubt that. We Seekers prefer a different sort of diagnosis.† My body knew this word, this title:Seeker. It sent a shudder of fear down my spine. A leftover reaction. â€Å"I sometimes wonder if the infection of humanity touches those in your profession,† the man mused, his voice still sour with annoyance. â€Å"Violence is part of your life choice. Does enough of your body's native temperament linger to give you enjoyment of the horror?† I was surprised at his accusation, at his tone. This discussion was almost like an argument. Something my host was familiar with but that I'd never experienced. The woman was defensive. â€Å"We do not choose violence. We face it when we must. And it's a good thing for the rest of you that some of us are strong enough for the unpleasantness. Your peace would be shattered without our work.† â€Å"Once upon a time. Your vocation will soon be obsolete, I think.† â€Å"The error of that statement lies on the bed there.† â€Å"One human girl, alone and unarmed! Yes, quite a threat to our peace.† The woman breathed out heavily. A sigh. â€Å"But where did she come from? How did she appear in the middle of Chicago, a city long since civilized, hundreds of miles from any trace of rebel activity? Did she manage it alone?† She listed the questions without seeming to seek an answer, as if she had already voiced them many times. â€Å"That's your problem, not mine,† the man said. â€Å"My job is to help this soul adapt herself to her new host without unnecessary pain or trauma. And you are here to interfere with my job.† Still slowly surfacing, acclimating myself to this new world of senses, I understood only now that I was the subject of the conversation. I was the soul they spoke of. It was a new connotation to the word, a word that had meant many other things to my host. On every planet we took a different name.Soul. I suppose it was an apt description. The unseen force that guides the body. â€Å"The answers to my questions matter as much as your responsibilities to the soul.† â€Å"That's debatable.† There was the sound of movement, and her voice was suddenly a whisper. â€Å"When will she become responsive? The sedation must be about to wear off.† â€Å"When she's ready. Leave her be. She deserves to handle the situation however she finds most comfortable. Imagine the shock of her awakeninginside a rebel host injured to the point of death in the escape attempt! No one should have to endure such trauma in times of peace!† His voice rose with the increase of emotion. â€Å"She is strong.† The woman's tone was reassuring now. â€Å"See how well she did with the first memory, the worst memory. Whatever she expected, she handled this.† â€Å"Why should she have to?† the man muttered, but he didn't seem to expect an answer. â€Å"Needbeing your word. I would choose the termwant. â€Å" â€Å"Then someone must take on the unpleasantness,† she continued as if he had not interrupted. â€Å"And I think, from all I know of this one, she would accept the challenge if there had been any way to ask her. What do you call her?† The man didn't speak for a long moment. The woman waited. â€Å"Wanderer,† he finally and unwillingly answered. â€Å"Fitting,† she said. â€Å"I don't have any official statistics, but she has to be one of the very few, if not the only one, who has wandered so far. Yes,Wanderer will suit her well until she chooses a new name for herself.† He said nothing. â€Å"Of course, she may assume the host's name. We found no matches on record for the fingerprints or retinal scan. I can't tell you what that name was.† â€Å"She won't take the human name,† the man muttered. Her response was conciliatory. â€Å"Everyone finds comfort their own way.† â€Å"This Wanderer will need more comfort than most, thanks to your style of Seeking.† There were sharp soundsfootsteps, staccato against a hard floor. When she spoke again, the woman's voice was across the room from the man. â€Å"You would have reacted poorly to the early days of this occupation,† she said. â€Å"Perhaps you react poorly to peace.† The woman laughed, but the sound was falsethere was no real amusement. My mind seemed well adapted to inferring the true meanings from tones and inflections. â€Å"You do not have a clear perception of what my Calling entails. Long hours hunched over files and maps. Mostly desk work. Not very often the conflict or violence you seem to think it is.† â€Å"Ten days ago you were armed with killing weapons, running this body down.† â€Å"The exception, I assure you, not the rule. Do not forget, the weapons that disgust you are turned on our kind wherever we Seekers have not been vigilant enough. The humans kill us happily whenever they have the ability to do so. Those whose lives have been touched by the hostility see us as heroes.† â€Å"You speak as if a war were raging.† â€Å"To the remains of the human race, one is.† These words were strong in my ears. My body reacted to them; I felt my breathing speed, heard the â€Å"But one that even they must realize is long lost. They are outnumbered by what? A million to one? I imagine you would know.† â€Å"We estimate the odds are quite a bit higher in our favor,† she admitted grudgingly. The Healer appeared to be content to let his side of the disagreement rest with that information. It was quiet for a moment. I used the empty time to evaluate my situation. Much was obvious. I was in a Healing facility, recovering from an unusually traumatic insertion. I was sure the body that hosted me had been fully healed before it was given to me. A damaged host would have been disposed of. I considered the conflicting opinions of the Healer and the Seeker. According to the information I had been given before making the choice to come here, the Healer had the right of it. Hostilities with the few remaining pockets of humans were all but over. The planet called Earth was as peaceful and serene as it looked from space, invitingly green and blue, wreathed in its harmless white vapors. As was the way of the soul, harmony was universal now. The verbal dissension between the Healer and the Seeker was out of character. Strangely aggressive for our kind. It made me wonder. Could they be true, the whispered rumors that had undulated like waves through the thoughts of the of the I was distracted, trying to find the name for my last host species. We'd had a name, I knew that. But, no longer connected to that host, I could not remember the word. We'd used much simpler language than this, a silent language of thought that connected us all into one great mind. A necessary convenience when one was rooted forever into the wet black soil. I could describe that species in my new human language. We lived on the floor of the great ocean that covered the entire surface of our worlda world that had a name, too, but that was also gone. We each had a hundred arms and on each arm a thousand eyes, so that, with our thoughts connected, not one sight in the vast waters went unseen. There was no need for sound, so there was no way to hear it. We tasted the waters, and, with our sight, that told us all we needed to know. We tasted the suns, so many leagues above the water, and turned their taste into the food we needed. I could describe us, but I could not name us. I sighed for the lost knowledge, and then returned my ponderings to what I'd overheard. Souls did not, as a rule, speak anything but the truth. Seekers, of course, had the requirements of their Calling, but between souls there was never reason for a lie. With my last species' language of thought, it would have been impossible to lie, even had we wanted to. However, anchored as we were, we told ourselves stories to alleviate the boredom. Storytelling was the most honored of all talents, for it benefited everyone. Sometimes, fact mixed with fiction so thoroughly that, though no lies were told, it was hard to remember what was strictly true. But there were whispers of this: of human hosts so strong that the souls were forced to abandon them. Hosts whose minds could not be completely suppressed. Souls who took on the personality of the body, rather than the other way around. Stories. Wild rumors. Madness. But that seemed almost to be the Healer's accusation. I dismissed the thought. The more likely meaning of his censure was the distaste most of us felt for the Seeker's Calling. Who would choose a life of conflict and pursuit? Who would be attracted to the chore of tracking down unwilling hosts and capturing them? Who would have the stomach to face the violence of this particular species, the hostile humans who killed so easily, so thoughtlessly? Here, on this planet, the Seekers had become practically a militiamy new brain supplied the term for the unfamiliar concept. Most believed that only the least civilized souls, the least evolved, the lesser among us, would be drawn to the path of Seeker. Still, on Earth the Seekers had gained new status. Never before had an occupation gone so awry. Never before had it turned into a fierce and bloody battle. Never before had the lives of so many souls been sacrificed. The Seekers stood as a mighty shield, and the souls of this world were thrice-over indebted to them: for the safety they had carved out of the mayhem, for the risk of the final death that they faced willingly every day, and for the new bodies they continued to provide. Now that the danger was virtually past, it appeared the gratitude was fading. And, for this Seeker at least, the change was not a pleasant one. It was easy to imagine what her questions for me would be. Though the Healer was trying to buy me time to adjust to my new body, I knew I would do my best to help the Seeker. Good citizenship was quintessential to every soul. So I took a deep breath to prepare myself. The monitor registered the movement. I knew I was stalling a bit. I hated to admit it, but I was afraid. To get the information the Seeker needed, I would have to explore the violent memories that had made me scream in horror. More than that, I was afraid of the voice I'd heard so loudly in my head. But she was silent now, as was right. She was just a memory, too. I should not have been afraid. After all, I was called Wanderer now. And I'd earned the name. With another deep breath, I delved into the memories that frightened me, faced them head-on with my teeth locked together. I could skip past the endit didn't overwhelm me now. In fast-forward, I ran through the dark again, wincing, trying not to feel. It was over quickly. Once I was through that barrier, it wasn't hard to float through less-alarming things and places, skimming for the information I wanted. I saw how she'd come to this cold city, driving by night in a stolen car chosen for its nondescript appearance. She'd walked through the streets of Chicago in darkness, shivering beneath her coat. The words came slower and slower, and at first I did not understand why. Was this forgotten? Lost in the trauma of an almost death? Was I still sluggish from unconsciousness? I struggled to think clearly. This sensation was unfamiliar. Was my body still sedated? I felt alert enough, but my mind labored unsuccessfully for the answers I wanted. I tried another avenue of searching, hoping for clearer responses. What was her goal? She would find SharonI fished out the nameand they would I hit a wall. It was a blank, a nothing. I tried to circle around it, but I couldn't find the edges of the void. It was as if the information I sought had been erased. As if this brain had been damaged. Anger flashed through me, hot and wild. I gasped in surprise at the unexpected reaction. I'd heard of the emotional instability of these human bodies, but this was beyond my ability to anticipate. In eight full lives, I'd never had an emotion touch me with such force. I felt the blood pulse through my neck, pounding behind my ears. My hands tightened into fists. The machines beside me reported the acceleration of my heartbeats. There was a reaction in the room: the sharp tap of the Seeker's shoes approached me, mingled with a quieter shuffle that must have been the Healer. â€Å"Welcome to Earth, Wanderer,† the female voice said.