George Walker Bush Leadership Style Essay

Barbara and George H. W. Bush are the parents of the 43rd president of the United Sates, George W. Bush. The two were married on January 6th, 1945 and it was said that they experienced love at first sight when meeting. George Bush Sr. was 17 when married, and Barbara was 16. The two have lived in 29 homes located in 17 cities, and is the first presidential couple to reach 60 years of marriage. Barbara’s background includes working a summer job sorting nuts and bolts during World War II as well as working at the Yale Coup while her husband was attending the college, and until her first child was born. She is the second woman in history to have both a son and husband serve as president of the United States. George H. W. Bush served as the 41st president, as well as numerous other positions within our government. Some of these include vice-president to Ronald Reagan, director of the CIA, congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, and chairman of the Republican National Committee. Besides these governmental positions he was also a pilot in the navy as well as an oil businessman in Texas. George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut. He was the oldest of his five other siblings: Pauline (Robin), John Ellis (Jeb), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy (Doro). George’s sister Robin died at the age of three from leukemia when George was only seven years old. His brother Jeb would also go on to become the 43rd governor of Florida. In 1948, George Sr. and Barbara moved the family to Midland, Texas, where H. W. would make his fortune in the oil business. George attended private school in Massachusetts where he was a great athlete in baseball, football, and basketball. He was good in school, but was also known for being a bit of a troublemaker. He went on to be accepted to Yale University where he was the president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, played rugby, and was a member of the secretive Skull and Bones society. Two weeks before graduation George enlisted in the Texas National Guard. Although there is a lot of speculation as to whether or not he completely fulfilled his duty, he was honorably discharged in 1974. In 1977, Bush met Laura Welch and married her after only three months. The couple has two children together, twins Jenna and Barbara. Family is huge to George, and he attributes Laura for stabilizing his life and helping him to give up alcohol in 1986. As for George W. Bush’s leadership style, many things through his life have affected how he chooses to lead. In 1978 he lost in an election for a House of Representatives seat in Texas, which helped him to humble himself and realize that things would not be given to him just because of his father. He helped with his father’s presidential campaign in the year 1988, and this helped him to learn the ins and outs of campaigns as well as doing the dirty work required of such a position. After this, George bought a share of the Texas Rangers baseball team and served as managing general partner for five years, where he learned how a business works and runs. He became governor of Texas in 1995 and served until 2000, when he won the presidential election on the republican ticket. He served two terms as president, and dealt with disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and September 11th. George has been quoted speaking about Katrina saying, â€Å"Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, go help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives†. George W. Bush’s leadership style can be described as problem solver, delegator, decisive, visionary, and composed. He was a problem solver because he believed that getting problems solved right when they needed to be was key, and did not push them off until the next person came around to fix it. As for delegator, Bush was good at knowing when it was his place to get something done, or when he should let someone else take over the job for him. George was a decisive leader in that he made tough decisions throughout his presidency, but always did what he believed was best for our country. Visionary is one way to describe his leadership style seeing as he had a clear vision set out at the beginning of his presidency for how he wanted our country to run, and this is something that he is known quite well for. Lastly, during Bush’s presidency he had to lead our country through two terrible incidents. Through all of this, he was able to maintain his composure and remain an effective leader through tough times, which shows his composure as a leader. One of the things that George W. Bush is most well known for would be his speech that he gave at the sight of ground zero a few days after 9/11. I can hear you; the rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of us soon. † I believe that this quote from him helps to show all of the different leadership styles that he exhibited throughout his stint as governor of Texas as well as president of the United States. Nowadays, you can find George spending time with his wife Barbara on his ranch in Texas. He recently wrote his book, â€Å"Decision Points† and had a library put up in his name on the Southern Methodist University in the great state of Texas.

Project Charter Essay

Business Need: Ohio Department of Health and Human Services (ODHS) has 15,000 state and county agency employees in 88 counties in Ohio. ODHS has a network infrastructure that ranges to high quality in some regions within the system to very poor quality in other regions. Additionally, resources are limited due to a high turnover rate of existing employees causing support for the network to be handled by outside labor. Budget is also limited. To improve the infrastructure, ODHS has asked The Office of Network Support (ONS) to investigate upgrading the ODHS email system. ONS is responsible for coordinating software upgrade and updates and modifications from the Columbus, Ohio location ONS will manage the upgrade for ODHS to all agencies within the 88 counties of Ohio either by converting from the current e-mail software from Global Upgrade 7.0 to version 9.0. The decision will be made on the basis of cost, staffing and various incentives from the vendors. Currently there is a 20% cost increase with the Globalupgrades 9.0 software, but this cost will be offset by increased productivity and cost savings through incentives offered by the vendor Project Objectives: ONS will investigate, design and develop an upgraded email system providing research, expertise and installation assistance to improve the network infrastructure to improve communication between the 15,000 ODHS.Approach: Assign both external and internal personnel to assist in research to determine if updating to Globalupgrades 9.0 or another vendor is more cost effective and if incentives offered will give the advantages needed to improve the email system. Narrow research to at least two vendor contenders to use for the upgrade based on incentives, costs, and reliability and expansion packages. Select one vendor meeting all criteria and manage the  design, development and installation of the email upgrade. Testing of email upgrade through use of ODHS user group Implement email upgrade Project Team Members: The key members of the project are: Project Sponsor: Peter Parker: Director of Office of Network Support Project Manager: Lavina Barry for the Office of Network Support, ODHS. Key PM for the E-mail Upgrade Project Engineer: Diana Prince, ONS Software Engineer with specific experience in implementing and administering various email systems Globalcom Representative: Steve Rogers, Globalcom’s sales representative and chief point of contact for the State User Representative: Linda Lee Danvers, support specialist within the ODHS, serving as liaison between the ODHS User Group community and the project team ODHS User Group: A number of ODHS employees that are used to test system upgrades before implementation Team Members will be assigned by the project manager based on their expertise, skills and abilities. The team will be comprised of members from functional areas within the company that functional managers will provide with team members dedicating 100% of their time during the duration of the project. Project Mile stones: Deliverables Description Email Software UpdateInstallation of upgrade software Email System TestingTest system with user groups Email System ImplementationGo-live with support and consultation Project Constraints/Risks: Cost for the upgrade package will be a factor because of a possible increase in cost over the current system. With a high employee turnover, experts will be hired in-house on a temporary basis, selected by the project manager, to work on the project. One risk that may occur is the system being taken down for periods of time, disabling communication agency wide. This risk will be adverted by working on the system during downtime  and weekend time, with advance notice to forewarn all employees, including telecommuting users. Project Manager Authority and Responsibilities 1. Staffing – the project manager will determine the skill requirements for the Email upgrade project and provide them, along with specific team member names, by February 28, 2014. 2. Communications – status reports will be provided to the Sponsor bi-monthly. 3. Planning/Tracking – this project will be tracked using our in-house project management software. 4. Document/System Access – the project manager is authorized access to any company document or system in the pursuit of this project completion.5. The project manager will provide a project plan to the Sponsor no later than March 1, 2014. The project plan will include a description of the work, schedules, budget, spending plan, resource utilization charts and risk management plans. Support Requirements from Other Organizations: The Email Upgrade Project is set as a high priority for ODS. Functional managers will provide all the support needed to the project manager. Any scheduling conflicts will be resolved by the CEO of ODHS. Due to the limited resources available in-house, some labor will be contracted with outside vendors for the installation and testing. Vendor will support the project by providing staffing from their agency as well, number of staff and hours to be agreed to in a subcontract agreement.

Chapter 4 Back to the Burrow

The imminent arrival at their house of an assortment of wizards was making the Dursleys uptight and irritable. Uncle Vernon had looked downright alarmed when Harry informed him that the Weasleys would be arriving at five o’clock the very next day. â€Å"I hope you told them to dress properly, these people,† he snarled at once. â€Å"I’ve seen the sort of stuff your lot wear. They’d better have the decency to put on normal clothes, that’s all.† Harry felt a slight sense of foreboding. He had rarely seen Mr. or Mrs. Weasley wearing anything that the Dursleys would call â€Å"normal.† Their children might don Muggle clothing during the holidays, but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley usually wore long robes in varying states of shabbiness. Harry wasn’t bothered about what the neighbors would think, but he was anxious about how rude the Dursleys might be to the Weasleys if they turned up looking like their worst idea of wizards. Uncle Vernon had put on his best suit. To some people, this might have looked like a gesture of welcome, but Harry knew it was because Uncle Vernon wanted to look impressive and intimidating. Dudley, on the other hand, looked somehow diminished. This was not because the diet was at last taking effect, but due to fright. Dudley had emerged from his last encounter with a fully grown wizard with a curly pig’s tail poking out of the seat of his trousers, and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had had to pay for its removal at a private hospital in London. It wasn’t altogether surprising, therefore, that Dudley kept running his hand nervously over his backside, and walking sideways from room to room, so as not to present the same target to the enemy. Lunch was an almost silent meal. Dudley didn’t even protest at the food (cottage cheese and grated celery). Aunt Petunia wasn’t, eating anything at all. Her arms were folded, her lips were pursed, and she seemed to be chewing her tongue, as though biting back the furious diatribe she longed to throw at Harry. â€Å"They’ll be driving, of course?† Uncle Vernon barked across the table. â€Å"Er,† said Harry. He hadn’t thought of that. How were the Weasleys going to pick him up? They didn’t have a car anymore; the old Ford Anglia they had once owned was currently running wild in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. But Mr. Weasley had borrowed a Ministry of Magic car last year; possibly he would do the same today? â€Å"I think so,† said Harry. Uncle Vernon snorted into his mustache. Normally, Uncle Vernon would have asked what car Mr. Weasley drove; he tended to judge other men by how big and expensive their cars were. But Harry doubted whether Uncle Vernon would have taken to Mr. Weasley even if he drove a Ferrari. Harry spent most of the afternoon in his bedroom; he couldn’t stand watching Aunt Petunia peer out through the net curtains every few seconds, as though there had been a warning about an escaped rhinoceros. Finally, at a quarter to five, Harry went back downstairs and into the living room. Aunt Petunia was compulsively straightening cushions. Uncle Vernon was pretending to read the paper, but his tiny eyes were not moving, and Harry was sure he was really listening with all his might for the sound of an approaching car. Dudley was crammed into an armchair, his porky hands beneath him, clamped firmly around his bottom. Harry couldn’t take the tension; he left the room and went and sat on the stairs in the hall, his eyes on his watch and his heart pumping fast from excitement and nerves. But five o’clock came and then went. Uncle Vernon, perspiring slightly in his suit, opened the front door, peered up and down the street, then withdrew his head quickly. â€Å"They’re late!† he snarled at Harry. â€Å"I know,† said Harry. â€Å"Maybe – er – the traffic’s bad, or something.† Ten past five†¦then a quarter past five†¦Harry was starting to feel anxious himself now. At half past, he heard Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia conversing in terse mutters in the living room. â€Å"No consideration at all.† â€Å"We might’ve had an engagement.† â€Å"Maybe they think they’ll get invited to dinner if they’re late.† â€Å"Well, they most certainly won’t be,† said Uncle Vernon, and Harry heard him stand up and start pacing the living room. â€Å"They’ll take the boy and go, there’ll be no hanging around. That’s if they’re coming at all. Probably mistaken the day. I daresay their kind don’t set much store by punctuality. Either that or they drive some tin-pot car that’s broken d -AAAAAAAARRRRRGH!† Harry jumped up. From the other side of the living room door came the sounds of the three Dursleys scrambling, panic-stricken, across the room. Next moment Dudley came flying into the hall, looking terrified. â€Å"What happened?† said Harry. â€Å"What’s the matter?† But Dudley didn’t seem able to speak. Hands still clamped over his buttocks, he waddled as fast as he could into the kitchen. Harry hurried into the living room. Loud bangings and scrapings were coming from behind the Dursleys’ boarded-up fireplace, which had a fake coal fire plugged in front of it. â€Å"What is it?† gasped Aunt Petunia, who had backed into the wall and was staring, terrified, toward the fire. â€Å"What is it, Vernon?† But they were left in doubt barely a second longer. Voices could be heard from inside the blocked fireplace. â€Å"Ouch! Fred, no – go back, go back, there’s been some kind of mistake – tell George not to – OUCH! George, no, there’s no room, go back quickly and tell Ron -â€Å" â€Å"Maybe Harry can hear us, Dad – maybe he’ll be able to let us out -â€Å" There was a loud hammering of fists on the boards behind the electric fire. â€Å"Harry? Harry, can you hear us?† The Dursleys rounded on Harry like a pair of angry wolverines. â€Å"What is this?† growled Uncle Vernon. â€Å"What’s going on?† â€Å"They – they’ve tried to get here by Floo powder,† said Harry, fighting a mad desire to laugh. â€Å"They can travel by fire – only you’ve blocked the fireplace – hang on -â€Å" He approached the fireplace and called through the boards. â€Å"Mr. Weasley? Can you hear me?† The hammering stopped. Somebody inside the chimney piece said, â€Å"Shh!† â€Å"Mr. Weasley, it’s Harry†¦the fireplace has been blocked up. You won’t be able to get through there.† â€Å"Damn!† said Mr. Weasley’s voice. â€Å"What on earth did they want to block up the fireplace for?† â€Å"They’ve got an electric fire,† Harry explained. â€Å"Really?† said Mr. Weasley’s voice excitedly. â€Å"Eclectic, you say? With a plug? Gracious, I must see that†¦.Let’s think†¦Ouch, Ron!† Ron’s voice now joined the others’. â€Å"What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?† â€Å"Oh no, Ron,† came Fred’s voice, very sarcastically. â€Å"No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up.† â€Å"Yeah, we’re having the time of our lives here,† said George, whose voice sounded muffled, as though he was squashed against the wall. â€Å"Boys, boys†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Mr. Weasley vaguely. â€Å"I’m trying to think what to do†¦.Yes†¦only way†¦Stand back, Harry.† Harry retreated to the sofa. Uncle Vernon, however, moved forward. â€Å"Wait a moment!† he bellowed at the fire. â€Å"What exactly are you going to -â€Å" BANG. The electric fire shot across the room as the boarded-up fireplace burst outward, expelling Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, and Ron in a cloud of rubble and loose chippings. Aunt Petunia shrieked and fell backward over the coffee table; Uncle Vernon caught her before she hit the floor, and gaped, speechless, at the Weasleys, all of whom had bright red hair, including Fred and George, who were identical to the last freckle. â€Å"That’s better,† panted Mr. Weasley, brushing dust from his long green robes and straightening his glasses. â€Å"Ah – you must be Harry’s aunt and uncle!† Tall, thin, and balding, he moved toward Uncle Vernon, his hand outstretched, but Uncle Vernon backed away several paces, dragging Aunt Petunia. Words utterly failed Uncle Vernon. His best suit was covered in white dust, which had settled in his hair and mustache and made him look as though he had just aged thirty years. â€Å"Er – yes – sorry about that,† said Mr. Weasley, lowering his hand and looking over his shoulder at the blasted fireplace. â€Å"It’s all my fault. It just didn’t occur to me that we wouldn’t be able to get out at the other end. I had your fireplace connected to the Floo Network, you see – just for an afternoon, you know, so we could get Harry. Muggle fireplaces aren’t supposed to be connected, strictly speaking – but I’ve got a useful contact at the Floo Regulation Panel and he fixed it for me. I can put it right in a jiffy, though, don’t worry. I’ll light a fire to send the boys back, and then I can repair your fireplace before I Disapparate.† Harry was ready to bet that the Dursleys hadn’t understood a single word of this. They were still gaping at Mr. Weasley, thunderstruck. Aunt Petunia staggered upright again and hid behind Uncle Vernon. â€Å"Hello, Harry!† said Mr. Weasley brightly. â€Å"Got your trunk ready?† â€Å"It’s upstairs,† said Harry, grinning back. â€Å"We’ll get it,† said Fred at once. Winking at Harry, he and George left the room. They knew where Harry’s bedroom was, having once rescued him from it in the dead of night. Harry suspected that Fred and George were hoping for a glimpse of Dudley; they had heard a lot about him from Harry. â€Å"Well,† said Mr. Weasley, swinging his arms slightly, while he tried to find words to break the very nasty silence. â€Å"Very – erm – very nice place you’ve got here.† As the usually spotless living room was now covered in dust and bits of brick, this remark didn’t go down too well with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon’s face purpled once more, and Aunt Petunia started chewing her tongue again. However, they seemed too scared to actually say anything. Mr. Weasley was looking around. He loved everything to do with Muggles. Harry could see him itching to go and examine the television and the video recorder. â€Å"They run off eckeltricity, do they?† he said knowledgeably. â€Å"Ah yes, I can see the plugs. I collect plugs,† he added to Uncle Vernon. â€Å"And batteries. Got a very large collection of batteries. My wife thinks I’m mad, but there you are.† Uncle Vernon clearly thought Mr. Weasley was mad too. He moved ever so slightly to the right, screening Aunt Petunia from view, as though he thought Mr. Weasley might suddenly run at them and attack. Dudley suddenly reappeared in the room. Harry could hear the clunk of his trunk on the stairs, and knew that the sounds had scared Dudley out of the kitchen. Dudley edged along the wall, gazing at Mr. Weasley with terrified eyes, and attempted to conceal himself behind his mother and father. Unfortunately, Uncle Vernon’s bulk, while sufficient to hide bony Aunt Petunia, was nowhere near enough to conceal Dudley. â€Å"Ah, this is your cousin, is it, Harry?† said Mr. Weasley, taking another brave stab at making conversation. â€Å"Yep,† said Harry, â€Å"that’s Dudley.† He and Ron exchanged glances and then quickly looked away from each other; the temptation to burst out laughing was almost overwhelming. Dudley was still clutching his bottom as though afraid it might fall off. Mr. Weasley, however, seemed genuinely concerned at Dudley’s peculiar behavior. Indeed, from the tone of his voice when he next spoke, Harry was quite sure that Mr. Weasley thought Dudley was quite as mad as the Dursleys thought he was, except that Mr. Weasley felt sympathy rather than fear. â€Å"Having a good holiday, Dudley?† he said kindly. Dudley whimpered. Harry saw his hands tighten still harder over his massive backside. Fred and George came back into the room carrying Harry’s school trunk. They glanced around as they entered and spotted Dudley. Their faces cracked into identical evil grins. â€Å"Ah, right,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Better get cracking then.† He pushed up the sleeves of his robes and took out his wand. Harry saw the Dursleys draw back against the wall as one. â€Å"Incendio!† said Mr. Weasley, pointing his wand at the hole in the wall behind him. Flames rose at once in the fireplace, crackling merrily as though they had been burning for hours. Mr. Weasley took a small drawstring bag from his pocket, untied it, took a pinch of the powder inside, and threw it onto the flames, which turned emerald green and roared higher than ever. â€Å"Off you go then, Fred,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Coming,† said Fred. â€Å"Oh no – hang on -â€Å" A bag of sweets had spilled out of Fred’s pocket and the contents were now rolling in every direction – big, fat toffees in brightly colored wrappers. Fred scrambled around, cramming them back into his pocket, then gave the Dursleys a cheery wave, stepped forward, and walked right into the fire, saying â€Å"the Burrow!† Aunt Petunia gave a little shuddering gasp. There was a whooshing sound, and Fred vanished. â€Å"Right then, George,† said Mr. Weasley, â€Å"you and the trunk.† Harry helped George carry the trunk forward into the flames and turn it onto its end so that he could hold it better. Then, with a second whoosh, George had cried â€Å"the Burrow!† and vanished too. â€Å"Ron, you next,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"See you,† said Ron brightly to the Dursleys. He grinned broadly at Harry, then stepped into the fire, shouted â€Å"the Burrow!† and disappeared. Now Harry and Mr. Weasley alone remained. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢bye then,† Harry said to the Dursleys. They didn’t say anything at all. Harry moved toward the fire, but just as he reached the edge of the hearth, Mr. Weasley put out a hand and held him back. He was looking at the Dursleys in amazement. â€Å"Harry said good-bye to you,† he said. â€Å"Didn’t you hear him?† â€Å"It doesn’t matter,† Harry muttered to Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Honestly, I don’t care.† Mr. Weasley did not remove his hand from Harry’s shoulder. â€Å"You aren’t going to see your nephew till next summer,† he said to Uncle Vernon in mild indignation. â€Å"Surely you’re going to say good-bye?† Uncle Vernon’s face worked furiously. The idea of being taught consideration by a man who had just blasted away half his living room wall seemed to be causing him intense suffering. But Mr. Weasley’s wand was still in his hand, and Uncle Vernon’s tiny eyes darted to it once, before he said, very resentfully, â€Å"Good-bye, then.† â€Å"See you,† said Harry, putting one foot forward into the green flames, which felt pleasantly like warm breath. At that moment, however, a horrible gagging sound erupted behind him, and Aunt Petunia started to scream. Harry wheeled around. Dudley was no longer standing behind his parents. He was kneeling beside the coffee table, and he was gagging and sputtering on a foot-long, purple, slimy thing that was protruding from his mouth. One bewildered second later, Harry realized that the foot-long thing was Dudley’s tongue – and that a brightly colored toffee wrapper lay on the floor before him. Aunt Petunia hurled herself onto the ground beside Dudley, seized the end of his swollen tongue, and attempted to wrench it out of his mouth; unsurprisingly, Dudley yelled and sputtered worse than ever, trying to fight her off. Uncle Vernon was bellowing and waving his arms around, and Mr. Weasley had to shout to make himself heard. â€Å"Not to worry, I can sort him out!† he yelled, advancing on Dudley with his wand outstretched, but Aunt Petunia screamed worse than ever and threw herself on top of Dudley, shielding him from Mr. Weasley. â€Å"No, really!† said Mr. Weasley desperately. â€Å"It’s a simple process it was the toffee – my son Fred – real practical joker – but it’s only an Engorgement Charm – at least, I think it is – please, I can correct it -â€Å" But far from being reassured, the Dursleys became more panic- stricken; Aunt Petunia was sobbing hysterically, tugging Dudley’s tongue as though determined to rip it out; Dudley appeared to be suffocating under the combined pressure of his mother and his tongue; and Uncle Vernon, who had lost control completely, seized a china figure from on top of the sideboard and threw it very hard at Mr. Weasley, who ducked, causing the ornament to shatter in the blasted fireplace. â€Å"Now really!† said Mr. Weasley angrily, brandishing his wand. â€Å"I’m trying to help!† Bellowing like a wounded hippo, Uncle Vernon snatched up another ornament. â€Å"Harry, go! Just go!† Mr. Weasley shouted, his wand on Uncle Vernon. â€Å"I’ll sort this out!† Harry didn’t want to miss the fun, but Uncle Vernon’s second ornament narrowly missed his left ear, and on balance he thought it best to leave the situation to Mr. Weasley. He stepped into the fire, looking over his shoulder as he said â€Å"the Burrow!† His last fleeting glimpse of the living room was of Mr. Weasley blasting a third ornament out of Uncle Vernon’s hand with his wand, Aunt Petunia screaming and lying on top of Dudley, and Dudley’s tongue lolling around like a great slimy python. But next moment Harry had begun to spin very fast, and the Dursleys’ living room was whipped out of sight in a rush of emerald-green flames. Chapter 4 Back to the Burrow The imminent arrival at their house of an assortment of wizards was making the Dursleys uptight and irritable. Uncle Vernon had looked downright alarmed when Harry informed him that the Weasleys would be arriving at five o’clock the very next day. â€Å"I hope you told them to dress properly, these people,† he snarled at once. â€Å"I’ve seen the sort of stuff your lot wear. They’d better have the decency to put on normal clothes, that’s all.† Harry felt a slight sense of foreboding. He had rarely seen Mr. or Mrs. Weasley wearing anything that the Dursleys would call â€Å"normal.† Their children might don Muggle clothing during the holidays, but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley usually wore long robes in varying states of shabbiness. Harry wasn’t bothered about what the neighbors would think, but he was anxious about how rude the Dursleys might be to the Weasleys if they turned up looking like their worst idea of wizards. Uncle Vernon had put on his best suit. To some people, this might have looked like a gesture of welcome, but Harry knew it was because Uncle Vernon wanted to look impressive and intimidating. Dudley, on the other hand, looked somehow diminished. This was not because the diet was at last taking effect, but due to fright. Dudley had emerged from his last encounter with a fully grown wizard with a curly pig’s tail poking out of the seat of his trousers, and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had had to pay for its removal at a private hospital in London. It wasn’t altogether surprising, therefore, that Dudley kept running his hand nervously over his backside, and walking sideways from room to room, so as not to present the same target to the enemy. Lunch was an almost silent meal. Dudley didn’t even protest at the food (cottage cheese and grated celery). Aunt Petunia wasn’t, eating anything at all. Her arms were folded, her lips were pursed, and she seemed to be chewing her tongue, as though biting back the furious diatribe she longed to throw at Harry. â€Å"They’ll be driving, of course?† Uncle Vernon barked across the table. â€Å"Er,† said Harry. He hadn’t thought of that. How were the Weasleys going to pick him up? They didn’t have a car anymore; the old Ford Anglia they had once owned was currently running wild in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. But Mr. Weasley had borrowed a Ministry of Magic car last year; possibly he would do the same today? â€Å"I think so,† said Harry. Uncle Vernon snorted into his mustache. Normally, Uncle Vernon would have asked what car Mr. Weasley drove; he tended to judge other men by how big and expensive their cars were. But Harry doubted whether Uncle Vernon would have taken to Mr. Weasley even if he drove a Ferrari. Harry spent most of the afternoon in his bedroom; he couldn’t stand watching Aunt Petunia peer out through the net curtains every few seconds, as though there had been a warning about an escaped rhinoceros. Finally, at a quarter to five, Harry went back downstairs and into the living room. Aunt Petunia was compulsively straightening cushions. Uncle Vernon was pretending to read the paper, but his tiny eyes were not moving, and Harry was sure he was really listening with all his might for the sound of an approaching car. Dudley was crammed into an armchair, his porky hands beneath him, clamped firmly around his bottom. Harry couldn’t take the tension; he left the room and went and sat on the stairs in the hall, his eyes on his watch and his heart pumping fast from excitement and nerves. But five o’clock came and then went. Uncle Vernon, perspiring slightly in his suit, opened the front door, peered up and down the street, then withdrew his head quickly. â€Å"They’re late!† he snarled at Harry. â€Å"I know,† said Harry. â€Å"Maybe – er – the traffic’s bad, or something.† Ten past five†¦then a quarter past five†¦Harry was starting to feel anxious himself now. At half past, he heard Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia conversing in terse mutters in the living room. â€Å"No consideration at all.† â€Å"We might’ve had an engagement.† â€Å"Maybe they think they’ll get invited to dinner if they’re late.† â€Å"Well, they most certainly won’t be,† said Uncle Vernon, and Harry heard him stand up and start pacing the living room. â€Å"They’ll take the boy and go, there’ll be no hanging around. That’s if they’re coming at all. Probably mistaken the day. I daresay their kind don’t set much store by punctuality. Either that or they drive some tin-pot car that’s broken d -AAAAAAAARRRRRGH!† Harry jumped up. From the other side of the living room door came the sounds of the three Dursleys scrambling, panic-stricken, across the room. Next moment Dudley came flying into the hall, looking terrified. â€Å"What happened?† said Harry. â€Å"What’s the matter?† But Dudley didn’t seem able to speak. Hands still clamped over his buttocks, he waddled as fast as he could into the kitchen. Harry hurried into the living room. Loud bangings and scrapings were coming from behind the Dursleys’ boarded-up fireplace, which had a fake coal fire plugged in front of it. â€Å"What is it?† gasped Aunt Petunia, who had backed into the wall and was staring, terrified, toward the fire. â€Å"What is it, Vernon?† But they were left in doubt barely a second longer. Voices could be heard from inside the blocked fireplace. â€Å"Ouch! Fred, no – go back, go back, there’s been some kind of mistake – tell George not to – OUCH! George, no, there’s no room, go back quickly and tell Ron -â€Å" â€Å"Maybe Harry can hear us, Dad – maybe he’ll be able to let us out -â€Å" There was a loud hammering of fists on the boards behind the electric fire. â€Å"Harry? Harry, can you hear us?† The Dursleys rounded on Harry like a pair of angry wolverines. â€Å"What is this?† growled Uncle Vernon. â€Å"What’s going on?† â€Å"They – they’ve tried to get here by Floo powder,† said Harry, fighting a mad desire to laugh. â€Å"They can travel by fire – only you’ve blocked the fireplace – hang on -â€Å" He approached the fireplace and called through the boards. â€Å"Mr. Weasley? Can you hear me?† The hammering stopped. Somebody inside the chimney piece said, â€Å"Shh!† â€Å"Mr. Weasley, it’s Harry†¦the fireplace has been blocked up. You won’t be able to get through there.† â€Å"Damn!† said Mr. Weasley’s voice. â€Å"What on earth did they want to block up the fireplace for?† â€Å"They’ve got an electric fire,† Harry explained. â€Å"Really?† said Mr. Weasley’s voice excitedly. â€Å"Eclectic, you say? With a plug? Gracious, I must see that†¦.Let’s think†¦Ouch, Ron!† Ron’s voice now joined the others’. â€Å"What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?† â€Å"Oh no, Ron,† came Fred’s voice, very sarcastically. â€Å"No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up.† â€Å"Yeah, we’re having the time of our lives here,† said George, whose voice sounded muffled, as though he was squashed against the wall. â€Å"Boys, boys†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Mr. Weasley vaguely. â€Å"I’m trying to think what to do†¦.Yes†¦only way†¦Stand back, Harry.† Harry retreated to the sofa. Uncle Vernon, however, moved forward. â€Å"Wait a moment!† he bellowed at the fire. â€Å"What exactly are you going to -â€Å" BANG. The electric fire shot across the room as the boarded-up fireplace burst outward, expelling Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, and Ron in a cloud of rubble and loose chippings. Aunt Petunia shrieked and fell backward over the coffee table; Uncle Vernon caught her before she hit the floor, and gaped, speechless, at the Weasleys, all of whom had bright red hair, including Fred and George, who were identical to the last freckle. â€Å"That’s better,† panted Mr. Weasley, brushing dust from his long green robes and straightening his glasses. â€Å"Ah – you must be Harry’s aunt and uncle!† Tall, thin, and balding, he moved toward Uncle Vernon, his hand outstretched, but Uncle Vernon backed away several paces, dragging Aunt Petunia. Words utterly failed Uncle Vernon. His best suit was covered in white dust, which had settled in his hair and mustache and made him look as though he had just aged thirty years. â€Å"Er – yes – sorry about that,† said Mr. Weasley, lowering his hand and looking over his shoulder at the blasted fireplace. â€Å"It’s all my fault. It just didn’t occur to me that we wouldn’t be able to get out at the other end. I had your fireplace connected to the Floo Network, you see – just for an afternoon, you know, so we could get Harry. Muggle fireplaces aren’t supposed to be connected, strictly speaking – but I’ve got a useful contact at the Floo Regulation Panel and he fixed it for me. I can put it right in a jiffy, though, don’t worry. I’ll light a fire to send the boys back, and then I can repair your fireplace before I Disapparate.† Harry was ready to bet that the Dursleys hadn’t understood a single word of this. They were still gaping at Mr. Weasley, thunderstruck. Aunt Petunia staggered upright again and hid behind Uncle Vernon. â€Å"Hello, Harry!† said Mr. Weasley brightly. â€Å"Got your trunk ready?† â€Å"It’s upstairs,† said Harry, grinning back. â€Å"We’ll get it,† said Fred at once. Winking at Harry, he and George left the room. They knew where Harry’s bedroom was, having once rescued him from it in the dead of night. Harry suspected that Fred and George were hoping for a glimpse of Dudley; they had heard a lot about him from Harry. â€Å"Well,† said Mr. Weasley, swinging his arms slightly, while he tried to find words to break the very nasty silence. â€Å"Very – erm – very nice place you’ve got here.† As the usually spotless living room was now covered in dust and bits of brick, this remark didn’t go down too well with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon’s face purpled once more, and Aunt Petunia started chewing her tongue again. However, they seemed too scared to actually say anything. Mr. Weasley was looking around. He loved everything to do with Muggles. Harry could see him itching to go and examine the television and the video recorder. â€Å"They run off eckeltricity, do they?† he said knowledgeably. â€Å"Ah yes, I can see the plugs. I collect plugs,† he added to Uncle Vernon. â€Å"And batteries. Got a very large collection of batteries. My wife thinks I’m mad, but there you are.† Uncle Vernon clearly thought Mr. Weasley was mad too. He moved ever so slightly to the right, screening Aunt Petunia from view, as though he thought Mr. Weasley might suddenly run at them and attack. Dudley suddenly reappeared in the room. Harry could hear the clunk of his trunk on the stairs, and knew that the sounds had scared Dudley out of the kitchen. Dudley edged along the wall, gazing at Mr. Weasley with terrified eyes, and attempted to conceal himself behind his mother and father. Unfortunately, Uncle Vernon’s bulk, while sufficient to hide bony Aunt Petunia, was nowhere near enough to conceal Dudley. â€Å"Ah, this is your cousin, is it, Harry?† said Mr. Weasley, taking another brave stab at making conversation. â€Å"Yep,† said Harry, â€Å"that’s Dudley.† He and Ron exchanged glances and then quickly looked away from each other; the temptation to burst out laughing was almost overwhelming. Dudley was still clutching his bottom as though afraid it might fall off. Mr. Weasley, however, seemed genuinely concerned at Dudley’s peculiar behavior. Indeed, from the tone of his voice when he next spoke, Harry was quite sure that Mr. Weasley thought Dudley was quite as mad as the Dursleys thought he was, except that Mr. Weasley felt sympathy rather than fear. â€Å"Having a good holiday, Dudley?† he said kindly. Dudley whimpered. Harry saw his hands tighten still harder over his massive backside. Fred and George came back into the room carrying Harry’s school trunk. They glanced around as they entered and spotted Dudley. Their faces cracked into identical evil grins. â€Å"Ah, right,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Better get cracking then.† He pushed up the sleeves of his robes and took out his wand. Harry saw the Dursleys draw back against the wall as one. â€Å"Incendio!† said Mr. Weasley, pointing his wand at the hole in the wall behind him. Flames rose at once in the fireplace, crackling merrily as though they had been burning for hours. Mr. Weasley took a small drawstring bag from his pocket, untied it, took a pinch of the powder inside, and threw it onto the flames, which turned emerald green and roared higher than ever. â€Å"Off you go then, Fred,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Coming,† said Fred. â€Å"Oh no – hang on -â€Å" A bag of sweets had spilled out of Fred’s pocket and the contents were now rolling in every direction – big, fat toffees in brightly colored wrappers. Fred scrambled around, cramming them back into his pocket, then gave the Dursleys a cheery wave, stepped forward, and walked right into the fire, saying â€Å"the Burrow!† Aunt Petunia gave a little shuddering gasp. There was a whooshing sound, and Fred vanished. â€Å"Right then, George,† said Mr. Weasley, â€Å"you and the trunk.† Harry helped George carry the trunk forward into the flames and turn it onto its end so that he could hold it better. Then, with a second whoosh, George had cried â€Å"the Burrow!† and vanished too. â€Å"Ron, you next,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"See you,† said Ron brightly to the Dursleys. He grinned broadly at Harry, then stepped into the fire, shouted â€Å"the Burrow!† and disappeared. Now Harry and Mr. Weasley alone remained. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢bye then,† Harry said to the Dursleys. They didn’t say anything at all. Harry moved toward the fire, but just as he reached the edge of the hearth, Mr. Weasley put out a hand and held him back. He was looking at the Dursleys in amazement. â€Å"Harry said good-bye to you,† he said. â€Å"Didn’t you hear him?† â€Å"It doesn’t matter,† Harry muttered to Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Honestly, I don’t care.† Mr. Weasley did not remove his hand from Harry’s shoulder. â€Å"You aren’t going to see your nephew till next summer,† he said to Uncle Vernon in mild indignation. â€Å"Surely you’re going to say good-bye?† Uncle Vernon’s face worked furiously. The idea of being taught consideration by a man who had just blasted away half his living room wall seemed to be causing him intense suffering. But Mr. Weasley’s wand was still in his hand, and Uncle Vernon’s tiny eyes darted to it once, before he said, very resentfully, â€Å"Good-bye, then.† â€Å"See you,† said Harry, putting one foot forward into the green flames, which felt pleasantly like warm breath. At that moment, however, a horrible gagging sound erupted behind him, and Aunt Petunia started to scream. Harry wheeled around. Dudley was no longer standing behind his parents. He was kneeling beside the coffee table, and he was gagging and sputtering on a foot-long, purple, slimy thing that was protruding from his mouth. One bewildered second later, Harry realized that the foot-long thing was Dudley’s tongue – and that a brightly colored toffee wrapper lay on the floor before him. Aunt Petunia hurled herself onto the ground beside Dudley, seized the end of his swollen tongue, and attempted to wrench it out of his mouth; unsurprisingly, Dudley yelled and sputtered worse than ever, trying to fight her off. Uncle Vernon was bellowing and waving his arms around, and Mr. Weasley had to shout to make himself heard. â€Å"Not to worry, I can sort him out!† he yelled, advancing on Dudley with his wand outstretched, but Aunt Petunia screamed worse than ever and threw herself on top of Dudley, shielding him from Mr. Weasley. â€Å"No, really!† said Mr. Weasley desperately. â€Å"It’s a simple process it was the toffee – my son Fred – real practical joker – but it’s only an Engorgement Charm – at least, I think it is – please, I can correct it -â€Å" But far from being reassured, the Dursleys became more panic- stricken; Aunt Petunia was sobbing hysterically, tugging Dudley’s tongue as though determined to rip it out; Dudley appeared to be suffocating under the combined pressure of his mother and his tongue; and Uncle Vernon, who had lost control completely, seized a china figure from on top of the sideboard and threw it very hard at Mr. Weasley, who ducked, causing the ornament to shatter in the blasted fireplace. â€Å"Now really!† said Mr. Weasley angrily, brandishing his wand. â€Å"I’m trying to help!† Bellowing like a wounded hippo, Uncle Vernon snatched up another ornament. â€Å"Harry, go! Just go!† Mr. Weasley shouted, his wand on Uncle Vernon. â€Å"I’ll sort this out!† Harry didn’t want to miss the fun, but Uncle Vernon’s second ornament narrowly missed his left ear, and on balance he thought it best to leave the situation to Mr. Weasley. He stepped into the fire, looking over his shoulder as he said â€Å"the Burrow!† His last fleeting glimpse of the living room was of Mr. Weasley blasting a third ornament out of Uncle Vernon’s hand with his wand, Aunt Petunia screaming and lying on top of Dudley, and Dudley’s tongue lolling around like a great slimy python. But next moment Harry had begun to spin very fast, and the Dursleys’ living room was whipped out of sight in a rush of emerald-green flames.

International Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Paper - Essay Example Any changes in these factors of the economy can lead to the company’s planning to be affected to a great extent. Thus when an organization like Big Drive Auto requires making any specific decision or plan, like increasing the prices for fuel or the vehicles themselves, then it is essential that macro economic data is well taken into consideration. This will allow the company to rightly understand the total variation in the economic market of the country and this allows for the pricing to be more appropriate and allows the company to make higher profits. Thus the operations and the planning become more apt for the organization in terms of the whole economy of the country. There has been a strong focus on the reliability of the forecasts in terms of the macroeconomic variables. The major problems that have been noted are the ability to relate to the balance between the aggregate demand and the aggregate supply. Thus to ensure complete reliability of the macroeconomic variables, it is essential to place a focus on the balance of the aggregate demand and the aggregate supply. This can be the demand side policy which generally seeks to influence the level of spending in the economy and the supply side policy which mainly directly influence the level of production. There are a number of uncertainties that are faced by companies in terms of the macroeconomic forecast. In recent researches there has been a clear that the private sector tends to face issues which are related to the rational bias. The uncertainty of the macroeconomics forecasts can be dealt with, by a thorough study and understanding of the various prices of the number of units sold across different locations. This however requires to be analyzed by choosing a wide range of locations and over a number of years. Also as the value of oil and coolants are affected by the economic condition of the country, hence a focus should be made on the

E-Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

E-Business - Essay Example The web site itself can be very complex, depending on its functions, features, and more importantly, the level of security provided to customers. The worst scenario is to make the web site unnecessarily complicated that yields to undesired consequences such as incurring extra costs and making troubleshooting much more difficult. This is a consequence of not having a well-documented plan in place. A Web service is a software system planned to maintain interoperable interaction between computers over a network." Web services are Web APIs that can be accessed over a network, for instance, Internet. Web services are a collection of tools that can be used in a number of ways. RPC is a style of Web services which provides a dispersed utility call interface that is well-known to several developers. Normally, the fundamental component of RPC Web services is the WSDL operation. Web services are also used to apply a design according to Service-oriented architecture (SOA) models, in this situation the basic unit of communication is a message, instead of an operation. Representational state transfer is also a web service which effort to follow HTTP and related protocols by limiting the interface to a set of well-known, standard operations such as Get, Put, Delete. This web service uses WSDL to express SOAP messaging over HTTP, which defines the operations. Service Oriented Architecture is an architectural approach that leads all features of developing and using business processes, put together as services, all the way through their lifecycle, in addition to defining and provisioning the Information Technology infrastructure that permits different applications to exchange data and contribute in business processes loosely coupled from the operating systems and programming languages underlying those applications. SOA corresponds to an infrastructure in which functionality is

The Healing Power of Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Healing Power of Music - Essay Example There are still other favorable aspects of music to people aside from the Mozart effect. This one aspect is the capability of music to heal people. This area does not have a certain approach or a definitive description. It plainly proposes that the wonderful creation of music can improve and enhance the condition of individuals in their physical and mental levels for a more holistic growth (Mount, 2004). This statement of music having healing powers has been demonstrated in various fields and areas like the bible, arts and literary forms. For example, in the Bible, the story of David depicted how the young boy alleviated and appeased the heart and soul of King Saul. The Greeks were also known for using lyres and flutes. The music created by such instruments is capable of healing. It was even suggested that Alexander the Great was restored to having a sound mind when he was made to listen to the music created by the lyre. Egyptian writings that already have more than two millenniums of existence illustrate how chants and charms were able to treat predicaments like barrenness (Heather, 2002). Evidently, these events in early history attest to the healing capabilities of music. Yet, it is still imperative to prove today the mechanism of how music can have healing powers and to establish whether or not this will really work. Dr. Balfour Mount, a professor at McGill University and specializing in palliative medicine, puts forth that this healing aspect of music can be associated with the life condition of the person. In an article, he discussed how this condition or quality of life is given a subjective interpretation. Thus, the meaning and value will vary from one person to another. Still, two common factors among different individuals are highlighted, that is 'satisfaction in life' and 'emotional well being' (Mount, 2004). In this regard, it is evident that there are inherent qualities in every individual that make them value the same thing despite their differences in situations and attributes. This can be gleaned from the fact that life is seen as a continuity or journe y that has to be traversed, and music, as proposed by Dr. Mount, can aid in supplicating energy to the person at whatever state he or she may be, be it of joy or sadness (Mount, 2004). Furthermore, people also experience different states. It is not as simple as having one or the other, just like how the statue of Buddha with three heads embodies this idea. The Buddha statue has three heads going into varying directions. The one heads to the right, the good path. The head at the other side leans to the left side minding the evil. The one in the middle and facing forward has a serene disposition, suggesting a state that resembles the disposition of the mind of God. Such representations propose that in life, there really is an option to find a peaceful and calming state of mind that is beyond merely choosing the good and evil. This is the exact state where a therapeutic music can lead a person (Oliver). Music heals by allowing the person to work on whatever he or she is confronted with at present. One must not worry at what happened in the past nor stress out on planning for the future. The whole process entails a 'letting go' of any 'literal or rational patterns of thought' and it also requires recognition of what happens in reality in a more 'imaginary, intuitive and metaphoric way' (Mount, 2004).

Two Page Summary on Chapter 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Two Page Summary on Chapter 3 - Essay Example In the chapter, What can I contribute? Drucker focuses on contributions and results. An executive sometimes gets bogged down and distracted by unnecessary things like office politics, the future of the company, his own personal growth, etc. This will make him unproductive. Instead he should ask himself â€Å"What can I contribute†. Drucker (2006) feels that to ask this question â€Å"is to look for the unused potential in the job†. He is of the view that, â€Å"The focus on contribution turns the executive’s attention away from his own specialty, his own narrow skills, his own department, and toward the performance of the whole.† Further he discusses the four basis requirements necessary for effective human relations which in turn are absolutely necessary for effective contribution. The four requirements are: "What can I contribute that will significantly affect the performance and the results of the institution I serve?" This question, which Drucker thinks, an effective executive must ask, forms the basis of Drucker’s views on an executive’s contribution to his organization. Here, by contribution, Drucker means what one can do better than anyone else to make a difference. An executive’s goal must be to make a difference and be effective. It is not about doing well in what you have specialized or your specialized area of wok. It is about achieving excellence in other areas as well. An expert in one field has to learn and know about other fields, other people’s perceptions, needs and limitations and use this knowledge to be effective in his work. For an organization contribution may mean different things. But for Drucker it means â€Å"performance in three major areas: direct results, building of values and their reaffirmation; and building and developing people for tomorrow.† A person who wants to contribute must ask

ETourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ETourism - Essay Example Doodles can be seen on the top of the main page, which depict the various cultural elements of Malaysia, and are consistent with the tourism theme. These are basically aimed at giving the visitors of the website an overview of the ways they can stay in touch. However, by incorporating the depictions of the Malaysian culture they serve to grab the attention of the people who are interested in travelling to Malaysia. Moreover, it can be seen that there is a blank white background which makes all the colorful images and text pop out and make it more visible. Websites with image backgrounds are often termed as "amateur", due to the fact that it's mostly unprofessional sites that use those. Famous, reputed websites like Google, Yahoo, eBay and Amazon etc. don’t use unprofessional backgrounds which have images. The website has also given a great deal of thought to organization. This is as important as the overall aesthetics of the website because everything is compact and does not c onfuse the visitors by haphazard information. It also does not make the website look uninteresting with big, useless chunks of information that will bore the visitor. The website has also refrained from using frames.   Even though using frames will improve the usability, the address bar does not change as you switch pages. That makes it impracticable for anyone to bookmark a particular page in the site if they wish to, or emailing it to a friend to share the page (Bluejay, 2001). Lastly, the images are high quality- but compressed at the same time so as to reduce the time needed to open them up in the website and therefore, reducing the time that the visitors have to wait to see the images. The font is also very visible and simple in order to place more emphasis on the pictures surrounding and making them more attention grabbing (Website design: Interpersonal Qualities of a good web designer, 2006) Content Over and over again we have always have the sense of hearing SEO companies and SEO consultants’ affirm that content is king, in terms of search engine optimization campaigns. They are nowadays considered as correct in terms of such positioning. This is because of the fact that content has a lot of contributions in an SEO campaign, among these are contents helping as a roadmap to endorse the website to the search engines by incorporating keywords or key phrases into the content which is going to be crawled and indexed by the rummage around engine bots or crawlers. Another is that the content is a boulevard where website owners can encourage the website visitors to adapt from being a mere visitor to becoming a client. Content nevertheless, must always be kept or written in towering quality. (Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), 2002) The website truly Malaysia is very appropriate in terms of its content. The content must not be robotically generated. This means that the content must not just be taken and amended by an application; it should always be wri tten by an actual human being as the meaning being put into words is also for the use of a human being. The content is interesting, as boring content will not be able to keep the visitor on the website, thus raising the websites’ spring back rate; it is hence important to make all content attractive, adding underneath images and charming texts as well as interesting titles that would really help in keeping your visitors from straight away going to another website.

Package Marking RFID 351 wk 8 forum Research Paper

Package Marking RFID 351 wk 8 forum - Research Paper Example For long RFID has been of great influence especially in manufacturing and packaging industries in that, their tags are fixed on any object and used to track as well as manage any inventory, as well as assets. However, RFID can be used in a variety of applications including tracking of goods, access management, contactless payment, toll collections, smart dust, and verification of authenticity, airport tracking logistics, and timing sporting events (Angell, 2006). While RFID is presently utilized within an expansive scope of uses, stress is moving progressively to use in the store network. RFID can have an immense effect on every feature of inventory system administration from the common, for example, moving merchandise through stacking docks, to the overwhelming, for example, overseeing terabytes of information as data about products close by is gathered continuously. The impact of RFID on the supply chain leads to optimization and enhancement of passenger experience especially in airports (Angell, 2006). In conclusion, RFID technology as the Radio frequency identification system that transmits a unique serial number termed as identity on a wireless platform and by help of radio waves eases the total operation in the packaging industry and saves time for any work in progress for any prevailing industry. This in turn leads to profit maximization since supply chain is of great influence and in continuous perception that the consumers receive their preferences just on

Performance Appraisal Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Performance Appraisal Systems - Essay Example The evaluation is normally done by the individual's immediate superior in the organization who rates others is also rated by his superior. Performance appraisal employees rating techniques for comparing individual employees in his work group, in terms of personal qualities or deficiencies and the requirements of their respective jobs. It should be differentiated from job evaluation, which is concerned with the determination of worth of different jobs. Performance appraisal refers to the task of the rating or assessing the individual performance and abilities at work. (Yvonne, 1999, p.119) The performance appraisal is a formal programme in an organization, which is concerned not only with the contributions of the members who form part of the organization, but aims at spotting the potential also. The satisfactory performance is only a part of the system as a whole and the management needs more than merely evaluating the performance of the subordinates Performance evaluation is, something of an executive, art and science in itself. One important benefit of the system is that it helps top management to make further judgements about the executives who judge others. The top management can get a sense from the various performance appraisals, about the various departments of the organization and also the need of executive development in the years to come. Performance appraisal helps the supervisors to evaluate the performance and to know the potentials of their subordinates systematically and periodically. (Yvonne, 1999, p.124) Following are the benefits of merit rating: (a) It helps in the correct placement of workers. (b) Performance rating helps in guiding and correcting employees. (c) It helps the employees to know where they stand and consequently they try to improve their performance. (d) The performance appraisal helps to find out the ability of the personnel. This will stimulate them to better their performance in a bid to improve their rating over others. (e) Ratings can be used as the basis of sound personnel policy in relation to transfer and promotion. (f) Performance appraisal helps in designing the training programme in better way. (g) The performance appraisal if done scientifically and systematically will prevent grievances and develop a sense of confidence amongst workers because they are convinced of the impartial basis of evaluation. The making of appraisal ratings has a beneficial effect both on the persons doing the appraisal and the one being appraised. The appraisal brings to attention of supervisors or executives, the importance of knowing their subordinates as individuals. Purpose of Performance Appraisal Systems The object of performance appraisal falls in two categories: Administrative; and Self- improvement (a) Administrative Promotion. This is perhaps the most important administrative use of performance appraisal. It is of common interest to both, management and employees, to promote employees to

The Bluetooth SIG and specifications Essay Example for Free

The Bluetooth SIG and specifications Essay If the success of Bluetooth is measured by its initial interest alone then its prominence has already been assured. Before products were on sale, hundreds of companies joined the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and the Bluetooth brand became recognized worldwide. Before investigating the technology further it is appropriate to comment about the role played by the SIG, the administrative structure of which is outlined in Figure 3. With membership of the SIG nearing 2500 members it is only right to look at how the SIG works to promote, shape and define the specification and position Bluetooth in the market place. Positioning of the technology is important when you consider other wireless technologies that share the same ISM band, e. g. IEEE802. 11b, HomeRF and DECT. Differentiation is key in avoiding confusion of potential users. Figure 3: Bluetooth SIG Administrative Structure In 1994, Ericsson Mobile Communications began to examine alternatives to cables linking accessories with their mobile phones. This study produced the initial specification for wireless technology, with the Bluetooth SIG founded in February 1998 by the core promoters: Ericsson Mobile Communications AB. Intel Corp. IBM Corp. Toshiba Corp. Nokia Mobile Phones. The core promoters announced the global SIG in May 1998 and invited other companies to join as Bluetooth adopters. In July 1999 the core promoters published version 1. 0 of the specification and further enlarged the core promoter group in December 1998 with the inclusion of: ? Microsoft ? Lucent (now Agere) ? 3Com. ? Motorola. The responsibility for the various Bluetooth specifications is in the hands of the individual technical working groups. Once a specification reaches a version level 0. 5 it is made visible to associate members. An associate members must be recommended by a promoter, and submit a fee. When a specification reaches version 1. 0 it gets a higher level of visibility. Now adopters have visibility and any company can become an adopter by joining the SIG, signing and submitting the membership agreement (see â€Å"Bluetooth†). The Bluetooth specifications are open specifications for wireless communications that are free to download and use; however to use it royalty free you do have to join the SIG. By joining the group you sign up to an adopter’s agreement sharing any patents essential for implementing Bluetooth. The specifications define minimum functionality allowing devices from different companies to communicate (see â€Å"Bluetooth†). . They provide the following: o Protocol definitions for interoperability o Host controller interface o Bearer services for higher layer protocols o Profiles o Qualification o Production test o Brand book The Bluetooth specifications define the concept of a Personal Area Network (PAN), what they do not provide helps to position it in the ISM band. It is not focussed on Wide Area Networking (WAN) as it has a limited range and currently there is no hand over mechanism, though there is a working group. They do not provide implementation instructions at the application programming interfaces, user interfaces or a definition of hardware and software split. Although it could be argued there is guidance in the profiles’ specification. The rest of this section breaks down the specifications encompassing the key aspects of Bluetooth in order to explain the features (see â€Å"Bluetooth†).

Critical Reflection Of Communication Skills Relevant To Selected Clinical Scenario Nursing Essay

Critical Reflection Of Communication Skills Relevant To Selected Clinical Scenario Nursing Essay In 2006, a patient named Robin became pregnant. In the 5th month of pregnancy, the patient began having trouble with diarrhoea and then developed a severe infection in her upper respiratory system. Robins obstetrician immediately hospitalized her and within 24 hours, Robin had a temperature of 105 degrees and was in preterm labour. Just before Christmas, Robin was diagnosed with Acute Viral Pneumonia. After getting permission from the doctor to go home for Christmas, Robin was back at the hospital 15 days later because she was in preterm labour yet again. It was then that Robin was introduced to a gastroenterologist who diagnosed her with Crohns Disease. Robin was immediately put on medications to try to save her and her unborn childs lives. On 3rd February, Robins contractions were five minutes apart but her due date was the 17th of March. Robin came to the hospital and within one hour, I performed an ultrasound only to let her know that her unborn baby boy was no longer alive. Afte r the funeral of her son, Robin was diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in her inner thigh. Reflection: Interpersonal communication skills Listening is an active and basic process that involves not only taking the content of the person speaking by looking at their body language and listening to their words, but also being perceptive (Boyd, 2007, pp. 654-683). Good listening skills are shown by attending behaviour that is practiced by establishing eye contact, maintain a relaxed posture and sending appropriate messages to the patient through gestures (Timby, 2008, pp. 298-312). Attending behaviour works well in that it encourages the patient to verbalise their feelings and ideas freely (Hart, 2010, pp. 287-299). During listening, the nurse paraphrases the words of the patient in fewer words so as to make sure that the nurse understood what the patient wants. Paraphrasing is an important part of listening because it exposes and clarifies any mixed or double messages sent when the patient fails to make a direct statement (Huber, 2006, pp. 754-783). The third part of listening is clarifying. Clarifying goes beyond paraphras ing with an intention of bringing vague material into sharper focus (Kneedler Dodge, 1994, pp. 258-295). Perception checking is an effective part of ensuring accuracy of a communication because it is a method of giving and receiving feedback from the patient (White, 2004, pp. 634-683). When helping Robin, I can say that I had effective listening skills. I made a point of listening to what Robin told me and I made sure that when she was talking, I made her feel comfortable and showed that I was interested in what she was saying. Leading is a communication skill that encourages the patient to respond in an open communication so as to invite verbal expression (Chitty, 2005, pp. 512-554). The helper slightly anticipates what the patient is thinking and where those thoughts are headed. In anticipating these thoughts, the nurse leads the patient so as to stimulate the communication. Leading encourages the patient to retain primary responsibility for the direction of the communication and helps them to be active in the process (Ray Donohew, 1990, pp. 112-148). Leading also encourages the patient to explore and elaborate on their feelings. One of the tools used in leading is using open questions that can be answered by more than just a yes or a no (Giger Davidhizar, 2004, pp. 212-237). Choosing appropriate questions lead to clarification for the patient (Sully Dallas, 2005, pp. 37-82). Another tool used in leading is by being indirect when leading the patient. Indirect leading keeps the responsibility of keeping the communication going on the patient. Indirect leading allows the patient to control the direction of the communication and protect their ideas (Knapp Daly, 2002, 145-187). Direct leading on the other hand specifies a topic and the nurse uses suggestions to direct the patient. Direct leading is important in elaborating, clarifying and illustrating what the patient has been saying (Miller, 2008, pp. 284-325). In the case of a patient who has multiple problems or is vague, focussing is an important aspect that should be used in leading the communication (Marrelli Hilliard, 2004, pp. 213-263). Focussing is a way that emphasizes on a certain idea or feeling and helps the patient get in touch with their feelings (Williams Davis, 2005, pp. 27-39). I did not use leading skills when communicating with Robin and this is a skill I should in the future. I will enhance my abilities in leading skills by using open questions that will encourage the patients to share their ideas and feelings freely. Reflecting feelings, experience and content of the patient expresses that the nurse understands and wants to perceive the world as the patient does (Chase, 2004, pp. 278-317). Reflecting the patients feelings brings those feelings into clear awareness from the vague expressions that they were (Sheldon, 2009, pp 87-113). Helping the patients to own their feelings is done by identifying both the obvious and subtle feelings that are hidden behind words (Rosdahl Kowalski, 2007, pp. 1563-1612). In reflecting experience, the nurse broadly observes the patients verbalised feelings and their nonverbal feelings (French, 1983, pp. 116-145). Like paraphrasing, reflecting content involved repeating the essential ideas of the patient in fewer and fresher words (Hegner, Acello Caldwell, 2003, pp 744-763). When the patient is having difficulty in expressing an idea, reflecting content helps the nurse to clarify those ideas. During communication, reflecting helps the patient to recognise and expre ss their feelings effectively (Lipe Beasley, 2003, pp. 267-301). In communicating with Robin, I sounded monotonous and insincere when I began my reflection with saying, It seems you were very upset even after yelling for everyone to get out. In saying this I also said words that that Robin was unprepared for because they had too much depth of feeling. In future communication with patients, I should not read more interpretations into the statement than was intended, and I should use less monotonous words that sound sincere. Confronting the patients is intended to help them recognize what is going on or what the nurse infers is going on (Cherry Jacob, 2005, pp. 478-501). A patient may feel threatened and anxious at first when they are confronted. However, the patient is also grateful for the honesty albeit direct expression that shows that the nurse cares (Perry Potter, 2002, pp 1114-1163). Confronting the patient presents feedback that is difficult to hear, and as such, the nurse should poses good timing to ensure that the patient is ready for honest feedback (Fitzpatrick Wallace, 2005, pp. 341-367). Sometimes I find it hard to confront patients. In Robins case, I was finding it hard to understand and deal with her. I know that confronting the patient is one of the crucial skills that I must poses. I must recognize my feelings as the nurse and share those feelings with the patient. I must be able to involve myself in self-reflection as a form of confrontation. I believe that by practicing, training a nd observing others, I can develop my confronting skills. Using interpretation helps the patient to see their problems in new ways (Barnum Kerfoot, 1995, pp. 256-298). Unlike paraphrasing where the patients frame of reference is maintained, in interpreting, the nurse offers the patient a new frame of reference. The nurse adds his or her own meaning to the patients basic meaning (Ellis Hartley, 2004, pp. 114-146). When the nurse adds on to the basic message from the patient, and the patient understands the new idea, then communication is accelerated. Interpreting is useful in helping the patient get a broader perception their feelings (Ferrell Coyle, 2006, pp. 542-568). Interpretation is a communication skill that I used with Robin. While talking to Robin, she mentioned that she felt that the nurses around her were angels who lit her fire up in a time when she needed much encouragement. I told Robin that the way I saw it, she could join also become a nurse. Due to the Crohns disease, Robin could only live a stress-free life. However, afte r living the hospital, the first thing that Robin did was to go to Upper Valley Joint Vocational School where she applied for pre-requisite classes in the Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) program. Robin graduated in November 2009 and has been working in the nursing profession since then. The most important thing that a nurse can do for the patient is sharing simple facts (Crisp Taylor, 2008, pp. 1112-1196). Informing is a communication skill that is integrated with giving advice (Maurer Smith, 2005, pp. 360-378). Under some circumstances, where advice giving does not foster dependency and is not arrogant, giving advice can be helpful to the patient. Communication through informing gives the patient a recommended course of action that the nurse has experience with. Through giving suggestions, the patient can decide the course of action that he or she will take (McConnell, 1993, pp. 96-118). Crisis situations where the patient has to adjust to a readjustment in life are an appropriate situation for giving the patient advice. In Robins case, after she had a stillbirth, I advised her to take her time with her son, Benjamin. I encouraged Robin to spend as much time as she wanted holding the five pound fifteen ounce baby boy. As much as Robin did not want to, I took pict ures of robin and Benjamin for the memory album. I knew that that was the best albeit hardest thing robin had ever done. Summarising skills involve paying attention to what, how, why, when and the effect of what the patient said (Antai-Otong, 2007, pp. 116-128). After communicating with a patient, the nurse should try to gather all the ideas and feeling expressed in one statement (Sines, Appleby Frost, 2005, pp. 273-312). Summarising is important in that it gives the patient awareness of progress in exploring ides and feelings, problem solving and learning (Clark, 2009, pp. 45-96). In summarising, the communication ends in a natural note that clears a way for new ideas and clarifies scattered ideas (Quinn, 1989, pp. 324-364). Patients also gain confidence in that the nurse was attentive to them throughout the conversation. The nurse can use summarising as a means to check the accuracy of the ideas and feelings that were communicated by the patient. When communicating with Robin, I did not use summarising skills. In future communications, I should use the ideas from the patients to make a summary of th e statements made. Instead of making the summary myself, I could ask the patient to summarize the themes, agreements and plans made during the communication. Enablers and impediments to interpersonal communication While communicating with Robin, the physical environment did not pose as an obstacle. However, my discomfort as a nurse was an obstacle when communicating with Robin. This discomfort originated from death and dying in general terms. I dealt with this discomfort by thinking that it was not my responsibility to communicate with Robin about hospice care and prognosis. My desire to maintain positive thoughts in Robin and her parents was also an obstacle. I would put off discussions about Robins possibility of a stillbirth until I felt that Robin and her parents could handle that conversation. In the future, I will initiate communication on prognosis and hospice care without thinking it is too much trouble. I will also control fear that emerges after telling the patient bad news. The patient can also be an obstacle to effective communication when he or she is unwilling to accept prognosis or hospice care (Mauk, 2009, pp. 374-412). This unwillingness that was evident in Robins case is ascr ibed to her non-acceptance of her sons death and her diagnosis with Crohns disease. In helping with Robins acceptance, I encouraged her by letting her know that I would be there to help her and listened to her. Because this worked well, I will continue being an encouraging factor for future patients. Cultural and social issues did not act as an obstacle while I was communicating with Robin. During Christmas, Robin when home to celebrate the holiday with her family, and when she was admitted back a few days later, I gave Robin a Christmas present that facilitated communication. Conclusion and recommendation Nurses play an important role in communicating with patients because they are always in close contact. A nurse-patient relationship is improved by communication and as such, having effective communication skills is an important factor and a priority for every nurse (Daniels, 2004, pp. 1312-1325). I must develop my skills further in leading, confronting and summarising by participating in training activities. By participating in learning activities, I can develop strategies and acquire new skills as well as effectively employ those skills. Another strategy I will use is practicing key skills with actors and simulated patients because I will be able to control the nature and complexity of the task. Lastly, I must use the communication skills acquired in practice.

Differences of Liberal and Conservative Views on Social and Economic Issues

Differences of Liberal and Conservative Views on Social and Economic Issues Political intolerance: Liberals and conservatives on social and economic issues. Abstract: In recent studies liberals and conservatives have been shown to express equal amounts of intolerance towards groups with dissimilar ideologies (Brandt et al., 2014; Crawford et al., 2017). This goes against decades of studies that show that conservatives express higher levels of intolerance compared to liberals (Sibley and Duckitt, 2008). This study explores reasons why recent studies have adopted a better methodology and issues with the vast sum of previous studies. We test participant’s intolerance towards groups that have political ideologies both similar and dissimilar to their own. The results show mixed evidence both supporting and not supporting the intolerance equality claim. We look at reasons why this could be the case and present an improvement for future studies. Introduction: Conservative political ideologies has for decades been linked to higher levels of intolerance and prejudice compared to opposing liberal political ideologies (Sibley & Duckitt, 2008). This has created the idea that liberals are also therefore more tolerant and express less prejudice. This has resulted in what looks like a ‘prejudice gap’ between the two ideologies (Farwell & Weiner, 2000). Recently these finding have been brought into question. New studies support that both conservative and liberal ideologies are equal in intolerance and prejudice, thus disproving the prejudice gap, towards views that don’t match their own.   This study explores the relationship between an individual’s political ideology and their intolerance towards an out-group. Intolerance and prejudice are closely related. Intolerance is the unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behaviour that differ from ones own. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. One issue with previous studies is that they focused around minority groups such as African Americans, homosexuals and immigrants (Sears & Henry, 2003; (Terrizzi, Shook, & Ventis, 2010; Meertens & Pettigrew, 1997). These minority groups tend to have a bias towards liberal political ideologies. This is crucial in recognising as it shows that these types of studies focus on tolerance demonstrated by liberals and conservatives towards mostly liberal groups. The current research that has demonstrated that liberals and conservatives show equal amounts of intolerance have done so by exploring the tolerance of conservatives and liberals towards both liberal and conservative groups. It was found that liberals and conservatives express negative prejudices towards groups whose values are different from their own (Morgan, Mullen, & Skitka, 2010). In addition people who had conservative or liberal views even tended to prefer to distance themselves from others who did not share similar views (Skitka, Bauman, & Sargis, 2005). One study that explored this concept developed the ideological conflict hypothesis (ICH) (Brandt et al., 2014). The ICH proposes that people of different political views are willing to express intolerance and prejudice towards political ideologies that are not similar to their own.   The ICH proposes that conservatives and liberals engage in tactics such as motivated information processing and defence against worldview-violating groups to defend their ideologies. Motivated information processing is when an individual is selective about information they process. Individuals will take in information that supports their worldview while filtering out and ignoring information that conflict with their worldviews, (Kunda, 1990). Research has shown that both liberals and conservatives engage in motivated information processing when presented with an opposing political ideology (Bartels, 2002; Crawford, Jussim, Cain, & Cohen, 2013). Defence against worldview-violating groups is the need to maintain a constant worldview. This wanting of a constant worldview leads to increased intolerance towards groups whose ideologies are dissimilar to the individuals (Chambers & Melnyk, 2006). Studies have shown that both conservatives and liberals share the same level of intensity in regards to their ideologies (Skitka & Bauman, 2008). Building on from ICH one study proposed a theory of multi-dimensional ideological conflict (Crawford et al., 2017). Previous research in this area tends to treat political ideologies as a single dimension; a subject is either liberal or conservative (Jost et al., 2003) meaning the concept of ideological conflict only had one dimension to it. However this not the case, as there is growing evidence to support that there is more then one dimension to an individuals political ideologies (Crawford et al., 2017); that is a person may have a conservative view in one area and a liberal view in another, each view is a dimension. Collectively these dimensions create the persons worldview and ideology, however they are not longer belonging to just one group, conservative or liberal. This study looked at social and economic ideologies. Social ideology tends to refer to issues regarding personal freedoms (abortion, same-sex marriage etc) with conservatives tending to favour greater restriction and liberals favouring fewer restrictions in these areas. Economic ideology tends to refer to matters evolving the economy, with conservatives favouring less government regulations and liberals favouring greater government regulation. This study found two interesting patterns; the first is that it found support for ICH. That is both conservatives and liberals showed equal levels of intolerance towards views that were dissimilar to their own. The second finding was that liberals and conservatives, while still showing equal levels of intolerance, reported to have higher levels of conflict towards social ideologies compared to economic ideologies. Evidence supporting this notion suggest that a persons position on social issues more strongly labels them as a liberal or conservat ive compared to their views of economic issues (Feldman & Johnston, 2013), allowing for a greater intensity of conflict to arise when presented with dissimilar social ideologies compared to economic ideologies. Recent studies are pointing towards two new developments in the understanding of political ideological conflict. The first is that individuals that are conservative or liberal will express equal levels of intolerance towards groups or ideas dissimilar to their own (Brandt et al., 2014). The second is that individuals can have both conservative and liberal views at the same time, but belonging to different dimensions (Crawford et al., 2017), such as social or economic. In addition to this the level of intolerance/conflict expressed is higher for social issues compared to economic.   Ã‚   This leads to this studies hypothesis, it is expected that the results will support ICH, that being that both liberal and conservative participants will show equal levels of intolerance towards groups with dissimilar political ideologies. Additionally it is expected to see higher levels of intolerance/conflict in the social dimension then the economic dimension. Discussion: In this study we explored the intolerance levels of participants who held conservative/liberal views towards groups of both similar and dissimilar views on social and economic issues. The results both supported and did not support our hypotheses. In the social domain test we found evidence in favour of our hypothesis, however in the economic domain we found evidence that contradicted our initial hypotheses. In the social domain, our findings supported our first hypothesis; participants were found to show equal levels of intolerance towards social ideologies that were dissimilar to them. This supports the ideological conflict hypothesis (Brandt et al., 2014). As the ICH states, the possible reasons for the results found in this study is due to motivated information processing (Kunda, 1990) and defence against worldview-violating groups (Chambers & Melnyk, 2006; Skitka & Bauman, 2008).   This states that when liberals or conservative form ideas on a group with political ideologies not similar to their own, they are likely to form ideas that confirm their current ideology, this typically leads to the individual forming negative views towards groups of dissimilar ideologies. This is appropriate as this study presented randomly assigned participants to an out-group with randomly assigned political ideologies, meaning that participants would either be paired to an out-group that had similar or dissimilar political views. Additionally to this finding, it was noted participants showed higher levels of tolerance towards groups who shared similar political ideology. This provides additional evidence in favour of the ICH, as it is expected that when a participant is presented with a similar view to their own, they should express less intolerance. The question this brings up however is why our findings matched ICH and not the vastly large collection of studies that found conservatives to be more intolerant (Sibley & Duckitt, 2008). This is explained through the methodology of this experiment. Unlike the majority of studies conducted in the meta-analysis (Sibley & Duckitt, 2008), this studied looked at the intolerance towards groups that held both liberal and conservative views. Previous studies tended to only look at the intolerance towards groups who are easily associated with liberal views (Sears & Henry, 2003; (Terrizzi, Shook, & Ventis, 2010; Meertens & Pettigrew, 1997). This experiments methodology closely matched (Brandt et al., 2014) which provides reasoning behind why the results ended up supporting ICH over the vast majority of studies conducted. However due to the large volume of studies against our hypothesis, it’s important to properly address this. A large proportion of social and political psychologists id entify as a liberal with mostly liberal values (Inbar & Lammers, 2012). As ICH would predict, these liberal researchers could be experiencing motivated information processing and defence against worldview-violating groups. One study found that liberal psychologists tended to investigate topics that are of greater importance to liberal ideology (Mullen, Bauman, & Skitka, 2003). So while not discrediting these previous studies, there is evidence supporting a bias within them. This provides further evidence to why our study did not reproduce their results as well as why it is okay that it didn’t. In the economic domain, our findings did not support our first hypothesis, and gave weak evidence towards our second hypothesis. The first hypothesis that this goes against is that both liberals and conservatives will express equal levels of intolerance. Our findings show that conservatives have a much greater intolerance towards groups with dissimilar economic ideologies. The second hypothesis was that social domains would show a higher level of conflict compared to the economic domain. While this remains true for liberal participants and conservatives presented with a conservative out-group. Conservatives presented with an economically liberal out-group demonstrated a much higher level of intolerance, which goes against our second hypothesis. This could be explained if there was a skew in our sample size, this being more liberals then conservatives or vice versa. This leads to one possible error in this study, a sample bias. The target group in this experiment was university studen ts with an average age of around 21-22. One Australian poll found that for the ages of 18-24 and 25-34, political groups with liberal ideologies (e.g. labour party and the greens) dominated over the conservative Australian liberal party (Roy Morgan, 2017). This brings up one issue with the experiment conducted, that is that we did not take into account the number of liberals compared to conservatives and thus over-looked the possibility for a sample skew. If there was a skew in the political identities of participants (favouring liberals) one reason for higher intolerance could be explained according to political conformity (Cohen, 2003). In an age group with a majority of liberal minded individuals, an individual needs to have strong belief in their ideologies to not conform politicly to the majority. So if there was a skew and the people who identified as conservative had strong conservative ideologies, this would example why results showed conservatives more intolerant in economi c domains. Further research is needed where the sample size is correctly identified and taken into account. In conclusion this study found evidence that both supported and did not support our hypotheses. Over the social domain we see evidence of ICH however this is not seen in the economic domain. This could be due to a sample bias that was not taken into account by researchers. Future studies, which control and take into account any sample biases, are needed. References Bartels L. M. (2002). Beyond the running tally: Partisan bias in political  Ã‚   perceptions. Political Behavior, 24, pp.117–150. Brandt, M., Reyna, C., Chambers, J., Crawford, J. and Wetherell, G. (2014). The Ideological-Conflict Hypothesis.  Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(1), pp.27-34. Chambers, J. and Melnyk, D. (2006). Why Do I Hate Thee? Conflict Misperceptions and Intergroup Mistrust.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(10), pp.1295-1311. Cohen, G. (2003). Party Over Policy: The Dominating Impact of Group Influence on Political Beliefs.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(5), pp.808-822. Crawford, J., Brandt, M., Inbar, Y., Chambers, J. and Motyl, M. (2017). Social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice across the political spectrum, but social issues are most divisive.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112(3), pp.383-412. Crawford, J., Jussim, L., Cain, T. and Cohen, F. (2013). Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation differentially predict biased evaluations of media reports.  Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(1), pp.163-174. Farwell, L. and Weiner, B. (2000). Bleeding Hearts and the Heartless: Popular Perceptions of Liberal and Conservative Ideologies.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(7), pp.845-852. Feldman, S. and Johnston, C. (2013). Understanding the Determinants of Political Ideology: Implications of Structural Complexity.  Political Psychology, 35(3), pp.337-358. Inbar, Y. and Lammers, J. (2012). Political Diversity in Social and Personality Psychology.  SSRN Electronic Journal. Jost, J., Glaser, J., Kruglanski, A. and Sulloway, F. (2003). Political conservatism as motivated social cognition.  Psychological Bulletin, 129(3), pp.339-375. Kunda, Z. (1990). The case for motivated reasoning.  Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), pp.480-498. Meertens, R. and Pettigrew, T. (1997). Is Subtle Prejudice Really Prejudice?.  Public Opinion Quarterly, 61(1, Special Issue on Race), p.54. Morgan, G., Mullen, E. and Skitka, L. (2010). When Values and Attributions Collide: Liberals’ and Conservatives’ Values Motivate Attributions for Alleged Misdeeds.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(9), pp.1241-1254. Mullen, E., Bauman, C. and Skitka, L. (2003). Avoiding the Pitfalls of Politicized Psychology.  Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 3(1), pp.171-176. Roy Morgan. (2017).  L-NP (51%) takes the lead over ALP (49%) with only 3 weeks to go. [online] Available at: http://roymorgan.com.au/findings/51115-morgan-poll-august-19-2013-201308181432 [Accessed 1 Oct. 2017]. Sears, D. and Henry, P. (2003). The origins of symbolic racism.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), pp.259-275. Sibley, C. and Duckitt, J. (2008). Personality and Prejudice: A Meta-Analysis and Theoretical Review.  Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12(3), pp.248-279. Skitka, L. and Bauman, C. (2008). Moral Conviction and Political Engagement.  Political Psychology, 29(1), pp.29-54. Skitka, L., Bauman, C. and Sargis, E. (2005). Moral Conviction: Another Contributor to Attitude Strength or Something More?.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(6), pp.895-917. Terrizzi, J., Shook, N. and Ventis, W. (2010). Disgust: A predictor of social conservatism and prejudicial attitudes toward homosexuals.  Personality and Individual Differences, 49(6), pp.587-592.

This Boys Life by Tobias Wolff Essay examples -- Papers

This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff Mark Twain once said, "We are creatures of outside influences -- we originate nothing within. Whenever we take a new line of thought and drift into a new line of belief and action, the impulse is always suggested from the outside." In the memoir This Boy’s Life, by Tobias Wolff Jack shows that he is a creature of outside influence. Some examples of this are that he copies what his friends do, he doesn't try to shape his own life, and he is heavily influenced by the male figures in his life. Throughout this novel, Jack does whatever his friends do. When he was living in Seattle with his mother, he was influenced by his new friends to do bad things. His friends, Silver and Terry were kids with no one to discipline them. They befriended Jack and together they caused lots of trouble, â€Å"We broke street lights. We opened the doors of parked cars on hills and released the emergency brakes so the smashed into the cars below†¦. And we stole†(61). This shows that although Jack is good on the inside, he does whatever his friends do. Later when he an...