Remedies – Contracts Act 1950

REMEDIES †¢ method by which an injured party enforces a right or corrects a loss. It will depend on the nature of breach and the result will be differ between parties. The remedies available for breach of contract are: 1) RESCISSION †¢ An equitable remedy available at the discretion of the judge. It is available where a contract is voidable as a result of a vitiating factor such as misrepresentation, undue influence or duress. It will not cover damages. Car &Universal Credit v Cadwell Norris had paid ? 10 cash deposit and left another car as security and gave a cheque for ? 65 to Cadwell for Jaguar car purchased. The next day, Caldwell went to cash the cheque and discovered it was fraudulent and the car left as deposit turned out to be stolen. The court held that Mr Caldwell had successfully rescinded the contract. He had taken all steps possible to demonstrate that he no longer wished to be bound by the contract. He should not be prejudiced by the fact that his endeavours failed to locate Norris. 2) RESTITUTION †¢ It is not contractual and does not rely on plaintiff damages (quasi-contract). One party knowingly has received a benefit to which party is not entitled.An arrangement imposed by judge to rectify an occurrence of unjust enrichment. Sinclair v Brougham The society became insolvent, and the question arose how to divide up assets. By the time of the action, the only live issue was between some of the â€Å"B† shareholders and the depositors in the bank, the position of the â€Å"A† shareholders and trade creditors having been settled by agreement. The court held that the bank’s actions had been ultra vires and void, and that there was no possibility for the depositors to recover under quasi-contract. 3) DAMAGES It is a legal remedy available for breach of contract. Damages are an award of money to compensate the innocent party. The primary purpose of damages is to place the injured party in the position they would hav e been in had the contract been performed. †¢ Types of Damages:  There are basically four broad categories of damages: ? Compensatory (to cover direct losses and costs). ? Consequential (to cover indirect and foreseeable losses). ? Punitive (to punish and deter wrongdoing). ? Nominal (to recognize wrongdoing when no monetary loss is shown) An award of damages is subject to the application of the rules on causation, remoteness and a duty to mitigate loss. †¢ Provision : Section 74 & 75 CA Heng Hang Khim v Sineo Enterprise Sdn Bhd The court held that where the defendant failed to deliver vacant possession of a condo unit before the 36-month period as stipulated in the S&P agreement. The plaintiff was entitled to a refund of the sum paid which was compensation for loss & damage caused by breach of contract. Selva Kumar a/l Murugiah v Thiagarajah a/l Retnasamy The court held that there is no distinction between liquidated damage and penalties.In view of section 75 which prov ides that in every case the court must determine what is the reasonable compensation. Any failure to prove the damages will result in refusal to award such damages. †¢ Remoteness A claimant may only recover losses which may reasonably be considered as arising naturally from the breach or those which may reasonably be supposed to be in the contemplation of the parties at the time the contract was made. Hadley v Baxendale Due to neglect of the Defendant, the crankshaft was returned 7 days late to the plaintiff.The plaintiff unable to use the mill during this time and claimed for loss of profit. The Defendant argued that he was unaware that the mill would have to be closed during the delay and therefore the loss of profit was too remote. The court held that Hadley would have been entitled to recover lost profits from the five extra days the mill was inoperable. However, the rule should be that the damages were those fairly and reasonably considered to have arisen naturally from th e breach itself, or such as may be reasonably supposed to have been in the contemplation of both parties at the time the contract was made. Mitigation of Loss The law imposes a duty upon the person claiming damages to take all reasonable steps to reduce or mitigate their loss. If the plaintiff is able to avoid loss, damages will not be recoverable for the potential loss that the plaintiff may have suffered. Payzu v Sauders The court held that the claimant was not entitled to damages. He was given the opportunity to purchase at the discounted price but rejected this. He was under a duty to take reasonable steps to mitigate his loss. The offer was a reasonable one and one which the claimant could easily have complied with. ) SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE It is a discretionary order granted by the courts directing a person to carry out their obligations under contract. It is not generally used in breach of contract actions unless damages prove to be inadequate. When the court cannot supervise t he implementation of contract, it will not generally grant specific performance. Ryan v Mutual Tontine Westminster Chamber Association The lessor agreed to provide porter who would be ‘constantly in attendance’ but the porter also works as a chef. In his absence while working as chef, other person will perform his duties.The issue was whether tenant could seek an order of specific performance against the porter that he carries out his obligations. The court was not prepared to order specific performance because it would have had to constantly supervise the porter’s attendance. Lamare v Dixon The plaintiff induced the defendant to agree to take a lease of cellars by orally promising they would be made dry. The promise had no effect as a misrepresentation as it related to the future. The court refused the plaintiff specific performance since he had made no attempt to perform his promise.Cohen v Roche The court refused the specific performance to a buyer of a set of Hepplewhite chairs saying that they were ‘ordinary articles of commerce and of no special value or interest'. The buyer was contracting with a view to resale and for personal use. 5) INJUNCTION †¢ It is a discretionary court order. Unlike specific performance, this is a court order restraining a party from breaking their contract or from committing a wrongful act and will not be awarded if damages are an adequate remedy. An injunction may be: ? Prohibitory – preventing the breach of contract. ? Mandatory – requiring a person to perform some contractual obligation. ? Interlocutory – where it freezes the status quo between the parties until the dispute can be heard by court. Neoh Siew Eng & Anor v Too Chee Kwang (mandatory example) The landlord had cut the water supply. An injunction was granted requiring the landlord to keep all communication pipes in proper repair so that water supply to the premises would not be disconnected.Broome (Selangor) Rubber Plantations v R H Whitley (prohibitory example) An injunction was granted restraining an employee from entering into employment as a manager or assistant of any plantation in the States of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan other than the estate of his employers until the expiry of his contract of service. This is equivalent to â€Å"the specific performance by the court of that negative bargain which the parties have made†. †¢ Mareva Injunction It prevents the defendant removing or disposing any assets in the jurisdiction until the court makes decision.Mareva Compania Naviera SA v International Bulk Carriers SA, The Mareva. The shipowner hired out their ship (Mareva) to the defendant with half-monthly in advance. The defendant were only able to meet the first two installments, Mareva sued for damages and unpaid hire. They also sought an injunction to stop hirer removing any monies received from the voyage. The issue whether an injunction was obtainable to prevent the removal before judgment. The court held that an injunction was granted to continue until the dispute came to trial to prevent the defendants from disposing any assets. ) ANTON PILLER ORDER May be made available in exceptional circumstances. It is a  court  order that provides the right to search premises and seize evidence without prior warning. This prevents destruction of relevant  evidence, particularly in cases of alleged trademark, copyright or patent infringements. Anton Piller v Manufacturing Processes Ltd The plaintiff was under the belief that one of its agents was supplying confidential information to one of their competitors. However, they are concerned that subpoena would give ample time for the agent to destroy evidence.The issue was whether the company could obtain an order enabling them to enter the agent’s premises to inspect the documents. The court granted the order as there was strong prima facie case of infringement which could cause damage to applicant and clear evidence that the defendants had incriminating the material in their possession which they could destroy. 7) QUANTUM MERUIT Quantum meruit means â€Å"as much as he deserved†. It is the determination of value of the services extended based on the amount of work and the rate of work existing there for similar work, when an agreement or contract is not existing between the parties.The contract may be discharge by breach but where the contract is for goods & services, there is a new implied contract imposed by law on the party taking benefit that they will pay reasonable amount of quantum. †¢ Can arise where: ? A defendant has prevented a plaintiff from carrying out their contractual duties. ? The parties cannot agree on payment ? The parties agree on payment for the part-performance but not the actual amount. Sumpter v Hedges The claimant agreed to build two houses and was agreed that ? 565 would be payable on completion.The claimant done a little more than half job and then ran out of money and was unable to complete. Then defendant completed the work himself. The issue was whether the claimant could recover payment for work done. The contract was entire and not divisible. So, the claimant could not recover under it. Furthermore, it is not defendants fault he could not complete the job and so there was no entitlement for quantum meruit. While the defendant obtained the benefit, it did not constitute acceptance of partial performance in this case.

Gender †Wage Gap Essay

Within Australia’s workforce history, there has been a strong presence of the gender wage gap between men and women. The differences in wages between men and women still seem to persist in today’s society (Sap 1993). A study by van Wanrooy (2009) suggests that even though there is an increase of women in the labour market, they still have the caring responsibilities, looking to juggle work and family. Throughout the workforce, there is still a significant barrier present which suggests that the ‘male breadwinner’ is still the evident employment model in Australia (van Wanrooy 2009). Women seem to have a people and family first approach to work, while men tend to respect their work life and value money more (Pon and Nyhus 2012).Women’s struggle within the labour market often results from the lack of bargaining power within their chosen occupation and their skills (Preston and Jefferson 2007). Firstly, this essay will discuss the relationship between bargaining power and the current issue of the gender wage gap within Australia. This essay will explore the reasons as to why women struggle to bargain with their employers on the issue of wages and fair working conditions. Secondly, this essay with explore why the difference in personality traits between men and women contribute to the gender wage gap. A striking explanation for the present gender wage gap within the Australian workforce is the lack of bargaining power that women currently hold in their workplaces. Within Australia, women generally work in low paid and low skill occupations. This in turn limits their access to representation and strong bargaining power when it comes to negotiating pay outcomes, particularly in part time jobs (van Wanrooy 2009). As previously stated, women tend to work in low skilled jobs which then disadvantages their bargaining power. Van Wanrooy (2009) states that those people with high skill levels within their occupation are seen to have more confidence and motivation towards bargaining for more desirable pay and work conditions. Furthermore, this  suggests that men have a higher bargaining power over women. This is due to the fact that 46% of women are more likely to be given work in a lower skilled job compared to the low 36% of men that are employed in low skilled jobs (van Wanrooy 2009). This then gives men a greater opportunity to bargain for better wages, while decreasing women’s contingency to narrow the gender wage gap through bargaining power. The segmentation of women into low paid jobs and occupations has clearly limited access to bargaining power, and resulted in women relying on minimum wages distributed through the reward system (van Wanrooy 2009). In a study by Frino and Whitehouse (2003) , it is also seen that with the over representation of women in the award only sector, this clearly disadvantages women in seeking higher bargaining power and doesn’t decrease the persistent gender wage gap. As female workers are more likely to work in industries with 100 employees or less, this jeopardises the chance to gain bargaining power to negotiate wages through union s. This is due to the fact that there is a lower chance of unions to be present in smaller businesses (van Wanrooy 2009). This creates an issue for women as they are the ones that need protection and the bargaining power of the unions. While women in low skilled occupations are less likely to be union members, union membership is almost doubled when it comes to men in the same occupation (van Wanrooy 2009). With women in low qualified jobs, less likely to be union members, this impacts their ability to collaborate with their employers over the issue in the wage gap between genders. Within the labour market, it is demonstrated that because of the difference in personality traits between genders, women are often less rewarded then men (Pon and Nyhus 2011). In the labour rmarket, earnings, employment, promotion and productivity can all be influenced by personality traits (Linz and Semykina 2010). As employees, personality traits determine the amount of effort and productivity brought forward in the workplace, influencing the way they act towards incentives (Pon and Nyhus 2011). According to Pon and Nyhus (2011), women tend to be more cautious and less competitive compared to men. The lack of competitiveness by women can then lead to women staying in a particular job for longer, accepting the lower salary, not wanting to compete for other high paying jobs. As women are found to be the most  agreeable in the workforce compared to men (Pon and Nyhus 2011), this reflects upon women negatively as they are more willing to agree to first offers by employers, most often resulting agreeing to a low paid job. Personality difference and behaviours between men and women could potentially grow to wage differences and could partly explain the gender wage gap (Pon and Nythus 2011). Interesting findings from a study conducted by Hogue, Singleton and Yoder (2007) identified that women are found to hold beliefs about themselves that include having a lower self worth and a depressed entitlement. This is then reflects a lower social status, but when their status is lifted, their wage entitlement also lifts. Whereas men believe that they deserve higher wages even though their abilities and performance may not reflect worthy of a higher wage (Hogue, Singleton and Yoder 2007). On average, women are less emotionally stable compared to their male counterparts, with emotionally stable people predicted to earn more than those that are emotionally unstable (de Jong and Need 2008). This could begin to explain why women are being paid less and why the gender wage gap is still prevalent in today’s society. De Jong and Need (2008) also found within their study that people who class themselves as sociable expect to earn less than those that are more career orientated. On average, women tend to be more sociable then men (de Jong and Need 2008). It is also evident that those who are more intellectual receive higer wages, with men tending to be more intellectual than women (de Jong and Need 2008). These three personality traits that affect a person’s earning and wages could be linked to the gender wage gap as women who are emotionally unstable and more sociable would be less career focused and motivated compared to men in their workplace. In summary, there are many explanations for the current gender wage gap in Australia. This essay has revealed two in depth explanations as to why the gender wage gap still persists. From the use a previous research, this essay has identified those two explanations, the lack of bargaining power of women and the influence of personality traits on income, as accurate explanations of why the gender wage gap is still evident in society today. Each arguments are valid within Australia’s workforce and suggest that further research  should be conducted to identify further trends of the gender wage gap, and possibly enforce new rules and regulations to help combat the gender wage gap and promote equity between male and female employees. REFERNCES Frino, B & Whitehouse, G 2008, ‘Women, wages and Industrial Agreements’, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 579-596, viewed 27th April 2012, via Informit Hogue, M, Yoder, JD & Singleton, SB 2007, ‘The Gender Wage Gap: An explanation of men’s elevated wage entitlement’, Sex Roles, vol. 56, no. 9-10, pp. 573-579, viewed 01st May 2012, SpringerLink, DOI 10.1007/s1119-007-9199-z Jefferson, T & Preston, A 2007, ‘Trends in Australia’s Gender-wage ratio’, Labour and Industry, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 69-84, viewed 27th April 2012, via ProQuest Central Linz, SJ & Semykina, A 2012, ‘Analysing the gender pay gap in transition economies: How much does personality matter’, Human Relations, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 447-469, viewed 30th April 2012, SAGE Premier 2012, DOI 10.1177/0018726709339094 Need, A & de Jong, U 2008, ‘Personality traits and gender-specific income expectations in Dutch higher education’, Social Indicators Research, vol. 86, no. 1, pp. 113-128, viewed 30th April 2012, SpringerLink, DOI 10.1007/s11205-007-9104-8 Nyhus, EK & Pons, E 2011, ‘Personality and the gender wage gap’, Applied Economics, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 105-118, viewed 27th April 2012, Taylor & Francis Online Library, DOI 10.1080/00036846.2010.500272 Sap, J 1993, ‘Baragining power and wages: A game-theoretic model of gender differences in unions wage bargaining’, Labour Economics, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 25-48, viewed 27th April 2012, Science Direct database, DOI 10.1016/0927-537(93)90004-2 Van Wanrooy, B 2009, ‘Women at work in Australia: Bargaining a Better Position?†, Australian Bulletin of Labour, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 611-628, viewed 27th April 2012, via ProQuest Central

Can Public Relations Be Ethically Moral

Can public relations be ethically moral? Should we be involved in them if we want to be moral individuals? But what is ethical, moral and what is already unethical, immoral? Where are the frontiers? And who define them? The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy explains: â€Å"The field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior† (http://www. iep. utm. edu/e/ethics. htm). All definitions of ethics usually share certain notions such as distinguishing right from wrong, and determining the nature of what should be valued. In the public relations discipline, ethics embraces values like honesty, openness, loyalty, fair-mindedness, respect, integrity, and forthright communication. But people do not consider it in order life . Public relations are often immoral. Everybody wants the best for himself and people are hell-bent for everything. They use different methods to gain it. A man behaves often like a wild animal in a jungle. Thus if you want to survive you have to follow. You have to take the rules of the majority. And unfortunately, these rules are not always in accordance with ethics. The frontiers of ethic have moved only because our society lets them. What used to be immoral in the past, is considering normal today. There is no right way how to avoid immorality in public relations. The question is, how strong it is and will become. The answer will primarily depend on the society and its future action in moving the frontiers of ethics.

Why might employers have an intrest in the work - life balance of Assignment

Why might employers have an intrest in the work - life balance of their staff What is the evidance to suggest that they are tak - Assignment Example 2008). Carmichael et al. (2008) note, however, that WLB continues to be missing or weak for several sectors, such as the informal carer sector. But are employers truly interested in the work-life balance of their employees? This paper aims to answer this question through reviewing literature. It is found out that more employers apply WLB through flexible work, because of political, economic, and social factors, although substantive effects for gender equality are not yet met. More employers are developing work-life initiatives, because of international organisations’ directives. Within the European Union, WLB initiatives centralise in the ‘reconciliation of work and family’ that impact EU and nation-state level, such as the EU directives on parental leave and part-time work and the EU Council of Ministers’ declaration of 29 June 2000, which stresses the growth of paternity leave (Gregory and Milner 2009: 122). Furthermore, the EU has emphasised gender equal ity (particularly through its Framework Strategy for Gender Equality and through the creation of ‘gender mainstreaming’ in policy design and evaluation) has also significantly involved different stakeholders and influenced national legislation and collective agreements that are related to WLB (Gregory and Milner 2009: 122). For instance, because of the EU, trade union involvement in the carrying out of WLB policies has changed from â€Å"hard law to soft law† and to a greater implementation of these policies (Gregory and Milner 2009: 122). Hence, international laws and organisations have a huge impact on compelling employers to advance WLB efforts in the workplace. Flexible work is one of the predominant practices of WLB. In a comparative study, Ollier-Malaterre (2009) states: â€Å"As many as 70% of American and 67% of British employers state that flexible hours are available for employees...† (164). This article shows that depending on the culture, laws, and human resources (HR) frameworks and practices, many employers in the UK improve work-life balance through flexible work time. In the UK, traditional spheres that divide work and personal lives continue to exist, although recently, the Labour government played a larger role in promoting WLB among employers (Ollier-Malaterre 2009: 167). National laws and changing cultural views on WLB contribute to more employers seeing the importance of WLB to their employees and manifesting that through providing the option for flexible work. Maruyama, Hopkinson, and James, (2009) conducted a multivariate analysis of work–life balance effects of a telework programme. Findings showed that time flexibility variables are important and had positive effects to work and family matters. Industrial relations and unions’ viewpoint toward work-life practices can affect the application of WLB among employers. British and American unions have progressively become implicated in work-life (Olli er-Malaterre 2009: 168). Trade unions have become more involved in the introduction and execution of WLB measures, which indicate an evolution of their role from managing wage and wage-related bargaining towards providing information and application of WLB policies (Gregory and Milner 2009: 127). It also shows modernisation efforts through WLB development in the public sector and a supplementary â€Å"modernisation of modes of action, with a shift from distributive to integrative bargaining† (Cressey 2002). Integrative bargain

Final 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final 3 - Essay Example If successfully done, money laundering permits the criminals to have control over their incomes and lead to give a lawful cover up for income source. Money laundering plays a basic role in the goals of the terrorist, drug trafficker, the planned criminal, the tax evader, the inside dealer, also as many people who eschew the type of notice from establishment that abrupt wealth comes about from unlawful activities (Haggart, B., 2001). How is money laundered? There are various techniques of money laundering. The technique of prohibited money import is best when introductory traces are disappeared in the initial stage, finally leading to envoy or by the international transport gives physically the money to another country where rule of money market is not much developed or the legislation likes banking system. One good method of money laundering is nominal or smurfing partnership. In this technique, a group of couriers such as nominal partner or smurf keeps little amounts of deposits eac h day in different financial institutions. All the deposits are less than the amount which is less than the amount which asks for the attention of banks, value is less than the report limit. Money laundering- an international threat Money Laundering is seen as a personal improvement by few people, to the loss of many people. It draws up many resources from the public sector and also deterrent growth and investment. Money Laundering is the process via which the indignant suffer most (Haggart, B., 2001). According to IMF, the estimated global money laundering is approximately between $600 billion to $1.8 trillion per year. Former President Mobutu of Zaire stole approximately more than ten billion US dollars when he was in power. Nigeria also received help of around $1.1 billion for international development but Abacha stole almost $6 billion in his regime for himself and his family (Haggart, B., 2001). International Response to Money Laundering United States have been of the fore fron t in combating money laundering. The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) which obliges the broad record reporting and keeping requirements on the financial institutions in an attempt to give the law enforcement agencies with records of financial obligations. The money laundering control Act of 1986 prevents the circumvention of the requirements set by BSA by which criminal liability is created for the individuals who carry out the transactions for money having any reason, or conducting the requirements of money knowingly, that the people concerned were involved in illegal activity (Gilmore, 1999). United Kingdom is also dedicated towards the Financial Action Task (FATF) which is concerned in taking actions against the money laundering. The recommendations on the terrorist financing comply with minimum international ways to safeguard against the illegitimate act of money laundering (Gilmore, 1999). Factors that have allowed Russian organized crime to flourish since the dissolution of the USSR The political and economic instability which followed the termination of Soviet Union in 1991 permitted a planned crime to merge all of its groups in Russia. The government held many huge enterprises and also role in formulating

Research J 5.3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research J 5.3 - Essay Example The researcher must support with an explanation each item on the questionnaire what it is expected to measure. Face validity can take items by face value and exactly assess the face value. Some items can have lower face validity than what it appears to have. It involves the assessment of normal people in the field. Content validity involves the assessment of experts in the field, but it is non-empirical and judgmental (Adler & Clark, 2014). Reliability is measured by test-retest which is obtained by running the same test twice on the same test subject in a given period. The results from both tests are evaluated for test of stability over that period. Example, a test done for a particular crime can be retested in the occurrence of another similar crime. The correlation will give a stability score. Construct validity is assessment based on variables that are related. Construct validity carries weight when proof or of evidence is provided. Interrater reliability is used where results for one observer are strategically used in comparison with another using the same method. Interrater reliability is used when two or more measures are not reliable. They can compare correlatively those results using interrater (Maxifield & Babbie, 2012). A scale is defined as a measure of responding to a question, compilation of statements or questions used to respond to a concept studied. There are three types of attitudinal scaling used in criminal justice. Thurstone scale uses paired comparisons and equal appearing intervals methods to scale. Judges are given several pairs of questions and choose which would most fit the concept of study. The one picked most becomes part of the questionnaire. The judges are required to give a number scale on the strength of each question. The researcher then takes the questions that showed the strongest agreement from the judges. The weak questions are eliminated when

Why Most People Flirt Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Why Most People Flirt - Research Paper Example This process usually entails either verbal or written communication, coupled with body language, all directed from one person directly to another. Flirting can be either sexual in nature, or it can much less forthcoming, such as simply desiring to meet a new acquaintance. Again, this has been a process that humans have engaged in extensively since the beginning of time and has been the subject of much writing and pondering. This brief essay will explore some commonly held opinions flirting, in attempt to discover why humans continue to engage in this age-old practice of communicating our thoughts about another person. Flirting Can Lead To Romance Contrary to rational thinking, all types of people carry on flirtatious behavior. This means that from married people to single people, to the very old and the younger at heart, individuals have been to flirt with one another. The fact that single people flirt carries comes as no surprise. Single people have no commitment to another person, so they are free to let their desires be known by flirting with someone else. Keep in mind that people old and young have been known to flirt. The behavior is no respecter of age. What might be surprising, however, is that married people are likely to flirt as well. They have found someone that is a match for them already, yet the human tendency is to still engage in flirtatious behavior from time to time when someone strikes our fancy. They question, of course, is why people persist with the flirting, even after they have found a life partner (Luscombe, para. 1). Many people believe that they truly do not flirt. It is just as likely for a single person, as a married person, to make this claim. Luscombe (2008) writes, â€Å"Before you claim, whether single or married, that you never flirt, bear in mind that it’s not just talk we’re dealing with here. It’s gestures, stance, eye movement† (para. 2). There is much more to flirting than merely written or verb al communication. It could be as simple a movement as leaning forward, almost into, the person you are talking to. Or, it could a simple raise of the eyebrow, or a sidelong glance combine with an ever so subtle smile. While some may not consider it flirtatious behavior, it can most certainly be construed that way. Do not make the wrong assumption that only men flirt. Women are just as guilty. What about the lady that tilts here necks to side just a little bit? This exposes her soft neck so that the other person has it in full few. Whether done consciously or not, this is also flirting. Women tend to be looked over when talking about the issue of flirting, but men are not the only ‘guilty’ parties here. There are many subtle ways that women can carry on a flirtatious relationship with men (Luscombe, para. 2). Scientists have also weighed in on this issue of flirting as well. They claim that providing certain ‘contact-readiness’ clues indicates a desire for t he other person. This is often done nonverbally, but it certainly lets the other party know that you are ready for physical contact of some sort. When flirting, it appears that humans can, through their mere actions alone, indicate a readiness for the holding of hands, a kiss, or more without ever having to say anything. What’s more is the fact that flirting with another person negates the need for any questions. The answer has already been communicated through the behavior of flirting and the other person can feel free to try and act on those desires (Luscombe, para. 3). Do We Really Flirt All That Much? Flirting can also be explained by using simple psychology. Humans are often fearful of verbally communicating their true feelings for one another. They may avoid this

Being a leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Being a leader - Essay Example What matters, are the characters and attitudes toward any adjustments to be able to survive the tests of undesirable circumstances. Deciding how to respond to unrealistic expectations, and the problem people who so often plague the administrator's credibility and integrity has to have founded principles in doing so. According to James A. Davey and Warren Bird on "Handling Expectations", the following are suggested: 1. know yourself - Stripping away the accretions of the years - those layers of expectations others have laid upon us and we have willingly assumed. We should never underestimate the power of others to make us dishonest with ourselves. Change, which is dominant nowadays, is a part of the different strategies implemented to attain the peak of success of any kind of endeavor. However, it doesn't materialize completely until all the concerned people within its scope are prepared and ready most especially for its unexpected consequences. Though change without conflict is rarely possible, there is still much to do to limit conflict and overcome resistance to change. The potential influence of such technology on all aspects of communication is tremendous. As it is apparent in the advances of computer networks, communication satellites, data handling devices, electronic information exchange adapted to convey voice, vision, and graphics as distinct and separate types of communication. Communication, which is the building block of any relationship, plays a major role in the success of any organization aspiring to compete in this competing generation. It serves as a bridge to transport vast excellent inputs and highly competent outputs that marks an organization in gaining respect and prestige. Thus, the problem regarding communication tops the priority list to be addressed. Every individual communicates differently depending on a combination of personal and environmental factors. As such, a Court Administrator needs to learn to communicate at the level of the recipient, since communication is complete only when both parties understand what is being said, and as Peter Drucker puts it, "Enable performers to perform their way - not your way." Since communication plays such central roles in any organization, the key issue is not whether administrators engage in communication or not, but whether administrators communicate effectively or poorly. Communication is unavoidable to an organization's functioning. In other words, people must exchange information. However, to develop shared meaning requires positive efforts by administrator and other participants. Outputs should be made clear, understood, and agreed upon by all as goals and objectives should also be well-communicated and meet certain expectations. Highlighting priorities is equally important, and in the interest of clarity, a job description

TPA6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

TPA6 - Essay Example The recent past has seen the failure of major IT projects like the Queensland Department of Health Payroll System and the US Combat Support System. Among the reasons that cause such failures, is the exclusion of a project Champion in such projects. IT projects are associated with a substantial level of complexities in terms of complex system interfaces, scarcity of IT resources like machines that need to be shared, data conversion to compatible formats, and the ever changing technology that calls for the need to upgrade systems. Most Project Managers do not have a clear understanding of such needs or if they do, only try to solve them in a tight timeframe, and when everything has gone out of control. Thus, a Project Champion is essential at this point to develop the project’s scope, define the objectives and metrics of the project and provide an accurate specification of resources like hardware and software. In addition, a Project Champion actively supports the system’s architecture to stakeholders in an effort to provide a clear understanding of the various states the project is supposed to undergo. For instance, in case there is a change in the project’s implementation, or the hardware and software that were initially stated, most stakeholders and project managers end up being confused and filled with fear. In fact, they tend to understand change in what can be called a fragmented format, in that the change is not uniformly understood. The end results are inconsistent compliance, agitation and failure of the project. Thus, a Project Champion is needed, primarily to play a critical role in ensuring a swift transformation of changes through clarifying each and every step taken to avoid any misconceptions that might arise from the project managers, project team or the customer (Chakrabart, 1974). Most IT projects fail due to technological complexities and over-optimistic habit of project managers without having a clear

Individual Article Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual Article Analysis - Assignment Example he author moves on to also highlight the importance of recognising the needs of the staff and also engaging every member of the staff to bring out the best among them all every single day. In the current times, the author mentions, it is the teams that tend to perform better and tend to bring out the brightest stars with the help of the top performers as team leads. The three steps as the author describes in the article to bring out the best among the employees with the least investments in the current day are: With the high economic slowdown, every company aims at gaining as much as possible from every single penny that is spent on employees. The article has gone on to conclude that if small portions of the revenues are pumped into the teams to improve the teamwork, the dividend and payout of this will be very high in the form of productivity and also morale (Weightman, 2009). Based on this article and also on the various literatures that are present for employee motivation and building of employee morale, it is safe to say that ‘Teamwork’ plays a very important role. However it is essential that employees of a team are aware of how their individual work would affect the success of the team and thereby affect the working of the employees (Locke). Based on all of this, the following can be some factors that can be used to help inspire, motivate and recognise the work and contribution of every employee and also help in building the morale of the employees. Leadership: One of the biggest factors that affect the morale of the employees are the leaders. Motivation is like a commitment and application of people at work. But all these mainly depend on leadership. It is firstly essential for managers to follow the old saying – Practice what you preach. Enthusiasm and Commitment to work: Managers should show enthusiasm by going and speaking to people instead of writing memos and pamphlets, papers. This however is not only for managers and is more so for all

Social Injustice and Hispanophobia Research Paper

Social Injustice and Hispanophobia - Research Paper Example They sell out their races as well as their culture. The six characters of this play are objectively stereotypical and superficial. It is a dramatic play and brings out the prejudice that Mexicans face in America due to the misconceptions that Americans have on Mexicans. Theme is one of the, most important aspects of drama and in this drama there are six major themes involved. The central theme presented in this play is the theme on racism between Americans and Mexicans. Therefore Valdez finds humor as the significant way of passing his massage s as to avoid offending those involved and entertain the audience. Thus it expresses race issues through interesting play and conveys message in the form of comedy play. This way the writer is able to pass a sensitive, heavy and broad message in a simple and entertaining way. The theme of racism is well depicted in this play when a secretary from the Governor’s office buys a brown-skinned robot for the administration since it will appear good to have Mexican type on the staff. However the secretary rejects them since they do not have an American look. The issue of race prejudice and demands of the American culture leads to some Mexican American decide to overlook their race and separate themselves form own ethnic groups hence the play Los Vendidos (sell-out). Stereotyping Stereotyping is another theme explored in this play according to Helium (2). All the characters and their characteristics in this play embody the Mexican stereotype. The first character in the play is a farmworker and portrays the stereotype of farm workers in Mexico. He is the most ordinary and diplomat of the low class Mexican way of life in America. He only speaks Spanish since farm workers in Mexico do not know English (Glassvisage par 2). The farm worker consumes traditional meals such as beans consumed by fellow Chicanos in Mexico hence the stereotyping as suggested. Another character who represents stereotype is Pachuo who is a gangster in Mexican stereotype. He uses weapons to steal and he does not conform to the law so Miss Jimenez rejects him. His character of being a gangster is character for Mexicans who are prejudiced in America hence end up engaging in crime. Another stereotype is that of Revolucionaria who the older Hollywood reflection of a Mexican person is. He is mostly in western movies and he is seen as a romantic man whom women lust over and is used as marketing tool by most of companies. As a result he is one of the images the Mexican wants to take out of the American culture. The last implication of stereotype is through character Eric Garcia who is the perfect stereotype the Americans want about him. He acts like a Whiteman but still with his dark skin though he is an American-Mexican. He and other Mexican-American speak both English and Spanish which implies that they still posses the Chicano identity. They expected to be educated, hardworking and mannered in the right way to differentiate them from other Mexicans. Social Injustice and Hispanophobia The theme of social injustice is evident in this play and it is portrayed the oppression of Chicanos in America according to Helium (1). This oppression included racial prejudice and a lot of inequality as they tried to make life in America. This is well displayed when Miss. Jimenez chooses a model for the office through race rather than through ability, she refuses those models without the American look. The Mexicans do not have

Charities Essay Example for Free

Charities Essay The legal definition of charity has historically been somewhat elusive and stands distinct from any understanding of charity in a general or popular sense. As Lord Wright observed, in its legal sense the word â€Å"charitable is a word of art, of precise and technical meaning†[1]. Viscount Simmonds further remarked that, â€Å"no comprehensive definition of legal charity has been given either by legislature or in judicial utterance, there is no limit to the number and diversity of ways in which man will seek to benefit his fellow men†. The Preamble to the Charitable Uses Act 1601, also referred to as the Statute of Elizabeth I, contained a list of purposes which were then regarded as charitable. It assumed a central role for the courts as a reference point or catalogue of accepted instances of charity until almost 300 years later when Lord MacNaughten in the Pemsel case, famously classified charitable objects into four principal divisions: (i) trusts for the relief of poverty, (ii) trusts for the advancement of education, (iii) trusts for the advancement of religion, (iv) trusts beneficial to the community not falling under any of the preceding heads. These four heads of charity were used as reference whenever the inherent charitable nature of a purpose or institution was questioned until the Charities Act 2006 received royal assent. Section 2(2) of the 2006 Act now provides a modern statutory definition of charity by listing 13 descriptions of purposes deemed charitable at law. In order to be charitable, an organisation has to be established for one or more purposes within the descriptions recognised by the law as capable of being charitable, and for the public benefit. Charity law in England and Wales has developed within the context of the traditional monotheistic religions but it has embraced for many years religions other than Christianity and Judaism. In Bowman[3], Lord Parker effectively held that it was not just the promotion of Christianity that would be recognised but that the Courts of this country were not precluded â€Å"from giving effect to trusts for the purposes of religions which, however sacred they may be to millions of His Majestys subjects, either deny the truth of Christianity or, at any rate, do not accept some of its fundamental doctrines†. Furthermore in the Commission’s Scientology[4] decision it was firmly established that â€Å"The law does not prefer one religion to another and as between religions the law stands neutral†[5]. The English courts have, for a long time, resisted closely defining what makes some belief systems religious and others not. However in the Scientology case, the Commissioners accepted that there are various characteristics of religion which can be discerned from the legal authorities: †¢ Belief in a god or a deity or supreme being – R v Registrar General[6] †¢ Two of the essential attributes of religion are faith and worship: faith in a god and worship of that god South Place Ethical Society[7] †¢ To advance religion means â€Å"to promote it, to spread the message ever wider among mankind; to take some positive steps to sustain and increase religious belief and these things are done in a variety of ways which may be comprehensively described as pastoral and missionary†. United Grand Lodge v Holborn BC[8]. Having considered these characteristics, the Commissioners concluded that the definition of a religion in English charity law was characterised by a belief in a supreme being and an expression of that belief through worship. This definition is further refined in the 2006 Act where s2 (3) a gives a partial definition of the word religion. However, the law does not automatically recognise as a religion everything that may designate itself as a religion and there are some principles to which a purpose must conform if it is to be regarded as within the Charities Act’s description of ‘the advancement of religion’. These general principles are gathered from the common law of England and Wales but also take into account the body of law which has developed concerning the European Convention right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. As a general proposition, for its advancement to be capable of being charitable in this context, a religion should have a certain level of cogency, seriousness, coherence and importance[9]. Also, in order to be charitable for the advancement of religion, the content of any system of faith and worship has to be of a positive nature, impacting beneficially on the community. Sir John Wickens, V-C. in Cocks v Manners[10] observed: â€Å"It is said, in some of the cases, that religious purposes are charitable, but that can only be true as to religious services tending directly or indirectly towards the instruction or the edification of the public†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hence, to be charitable a religious purpose has to be serious, tend directly or indirectly to the moral and spiritual improvement of the public as well as being for the public benefit. In Holmes v Attorney General[11] Walton J commented: â€Å"†¦ It is not for the benefit of the adherents of the religion themselves that the law confers charitable status, it is in the interests of the public. † Hence, as a general proposition, in the case of charities for the advancement of religion the purpose must not simply be for the benefit of the followers of the particular religion. Formerly, the proposition stated that â€Å"as between different religions the law stands neutral, but it assumes that any religion is at least likely to be better than none†[12]. Plowman J in Re Watson[13] considered a case for the publication and distribution of the fundamentalist Christian writings of an individual where he quoted authority that the court does not prefer one religion or sect to another and said that where the purposes in question are of a religious nature then the court assumes a public benefit unless the contrary is shown†. He then went on to say that the only way of disproving a public benefit is to show that the doctrines inculcated are adverse to the very foundations of all religion, and that they are subversive of all morality. However, that part of the judgment being inconsistent with the judgment of the court of appeal and opinions given by the House of Lords in Gilmour v Coats, where it was held: â€Å"†¦the question whether a trust is beneficial to the public is an entirely different one from the question whether a trust is for the advancement of religion†, it is not regarded a binding. Since the Charities Act 2006, there is no longer any presumption that, because a purpose falls within the description â€Å"the advancement of religion†, it is for the public benefit. Section 3(2) of the Act provides: â€Å"In determining whether [the public benefit] requirement is satisfied in relation to any †¦purpose, it is not to be presumed that a purpose of a particular description is for the public benefit†. Hence, with the removal of the presumption and in the modern context the proposition may now be interpreted as meaning that advancing religion can be seen as a public good if such advancement can be demonstrated to be in relation to a system having a benign and positive content which is being advanced for the benefit of the public. Over the years, there are some purposes which, despite being beneficial and religious and indeed seriously religious, did not fall within the legal framework. For example, fostering private piety, although being a religious activity, is not a charitable purpose due to the absence of benefit to the public. In Cocks v Manners[14] (supra) it was said that â€Å"a voluntary association of women for the purpose of working out their own salvation by religious exercises and self-denial seems to have none of the requisites of a charitable institution. † In the Re Joy[15] case it was held that the real object contemplated by the testator was the non-charitable purpose of improvement of the membership of a society by prayer. Further, in Re White[16], it was held that â€Å"a society for the promotion of private prayer and devotions by its own members and which has no wider scope, no public element, and no purpose of general utility would not be charitable†. Lord Simonds in the Gilmour[17] case later confirmed the decision in Cocks v Manners and said that activities â€Å"good in themselves but solely designed to benefit individuals associated for the purpose of securing that benefit, which may not have some repercussions or consequential effects beneficial to some section of the general community† do not meet the prerequisites of a charitable institution. In Re Warre’s Will Trusts, on the matter of a retreat house, Harman J said: â€Å"Activities which do not in any way affect the public or any section of it are not charitable. Pious contemplation and prayer are, no doubt, good for the soul, and may be of benefit by some intercessory process, of which the law takes no notice, but they are not charitable activities. † Thus, in Re Hetherington[18] it was held that the celebration of a religious rite in private does not contain the necessary element of public benefit since any benefit of prayer or example is incapable of proof in the legal sense and any element of spiritual or moral improvement (edification) is limited to a private not public class of those present at the celebration. However, in the same case it was also held that the holding of a religious service which is open to the public is capable of conferring a â€Å"sufficient public benefit because of the edifying and improving effect of such celebration on the members of the public who attend. † There are also other purposes related to religion whose pursuits have not been considered as charitable because the purpose itself is not exclusively charitable. For example a trust ‘for Roman Catholic purposes’ may not be for exclusively charitable purposes furthering the Roman Catholic faith[19]. Also a gift to an Anglican vicar of a parish â€Å"for parochial institutions or purpose†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢[20] was not considered charitable. A bequest to an archbishop to be applied â€Å"in any manner he might think best for helping to carry on the work of the Church in Wales†[21] is not charitable either and neither is a generally stated purpose â€Å"for religious, educational and other parochial requirements†[22]. On the other hand, In Re Schoales[23], it was clarified that there is no distinction, from the point of view of validity as a gift for charitable purposes, between a gift to the Church of England and a gift to another Church. A gift for the general purposes of a particular church or denomination or faith community falls are considered in law as a gift which has to be applied only for such of its purposes as are for the advancement of religion for the public benefit, and hence charitable. As mentioned above, charitable purposes require some promotion or advancement that is to â€Å"spread its message ever wider among mankind; to take some positive steps to sustain and increase religious belief†[24]. Proselytising is one way of advancing religious purposes[25] but it may raise public benefit issues if it breaks the law or results in harm or detriment. Therefore, it would not be compatible with public benefit principles for an organisation to seek to inhibit anyone from their rights of freedom of thought, conscience or religion (Article 9 ECHR) and to manifest or change such beliefs. This matter was considered in Kokkinakis v Greece[26] and the court in considering attempts to forbid activities of a Jehovah’s Witness confirmed that a democratic society has a plurality of beliefs and held that freedom to manifest one’s religion includes the right to convince one’s neighbor. But, the court drew a clear distinction between bearing Christian witness and improper proselytism by stating that the former was true evangelism and the latter representing a corruption or deformation of it. Furthermore, proselytising being unlawful in some countries, the Commission dealt with the issue of whether it was possible to recognise a religious purpose as charitable in England and Wales which is not charitable and may be illegal abroad in its annual report in 1993 which mentioned: â€Å"One should first consider whether they would be regarded as charities if their operations are confined to the United Kingdom. If they would, then they should be presumed also to be charitable even though operating abroad unless it would be contrary to public policy to recognise them. Hence, an organisation whose purpose is to proselytize, even if its activity is carried out internationally, may be charitable in England and Wales unless it causes harm or detriment which outweighs the public benefit. The High Court considered the statement in the Sonsino case[27] in 2002 and upheld it. However, it still remains unclear as to what the courts would rule contrary to public policy. Another way of advancing a religion would be by means of undertaking pastoral work. However, where a charity is operating solely for the purpose of advancement of religion, then any secular pastoral work which it undertakes should be as a means of advancing the particular religion. A convent in Cocks v Manners[28] was held charitable and there the nuns were engaged in exterior works (teaching the ignorant and nursing the sick) as part of their religious work. In the United Grand Lodge[29] case, Donovan J said that taking positive steps to sustain and increase religious beliefs was something done â€Å"in a variety of ways which can be comprehensively described as pastoral and missionary†. More recently, the Pilsdon Community House, a religious community living according to Christian principles and giving practical help in cases of drug addiction, drink, having been in prison or loneliness was considered in Re Banfield[30]. The court held that the fact that a religious community makes its services available to those of all creeds and of none does not prevent it being a charity for the advancement of religion also that furthering the purposes of the community amounted to the advancement of religion.

LVMH_Career Development through International Mobility

LVMH_Career Development through International Mobility IntroductionTask 1 Work Force Planning Workforce planning is a process designed to anticipate and integrate the human resources response to an organizations strategic plan. [Strategic Workforce Planning PDF]. The plan is projected to help in staffing in terms of short as well as long term. Through Workforce Planning organisations gain insight into what people the organisation will need, and what people will be available to meet those needs. In creating this understanding of the gaps between an organizations demand and the available workforce supply, organizations will be able to create and target programmes, approaches and develop strategies to close the gaps. The plan should: †¢ Depend on the staffing and the competencies predicted for the future. †¢ Asses the present work force †¢ Identify gaps which exist between the present workforce and the future requirements †¢ Develop strategies to acquire the workforce needed in the future †¢ Evaluate from time to time the effectiveness of the plan. Work Force Planning in LVMH In a global organization like LVMH, work force planning faces a lot of constraints. The plan has to take into consideration the growing number of 71000 staff who are spread across 2000 of the companies stores. Displaying an organic growth of 7% per annum it is essential that LVMH has the right and sufficient talent to compensate its future requirements. Another constraint would be the facts that the plan should incorporate fifty different autonomously run companies which are constantly growing alongside the addition of newer companies. The main aim here would be to develop the workforce in line with the business strategy. The plan should be constantly evolving taking into account the various changes affecting the organization. From the outset LVMH was an international business and had drawbacks in its work force plan which is evident from the fact that the human resource department lacked international experience and many managers were not fluent in English. The skills required were not predicted well enough to ensure the competency levels of the employees was in co-ordination with the organizations needs at that point of time. The group is headquartered in France but has to be multicultural due to the scale of its international operations. Subsequently an effective work force plan enabled LVMH to identify the competency levels it needed from its employees in line with its business strategy. This lead LVMH to develop global managers with international expertise through International Mobility. Looking towards the future, the importance of work force planning at LVMH can be related to the following global trends: †¢ Change in market trends †¢ Scarcity of skilled workforce in certain countries †¢ Changes in legislations which may collide across operating countries †¢ Older population †¢ Changes in the retirement age of the younger generation of employees †¢ Advancement in technology to change the HR function An effective work force plan which takes into consideration the growth and the staffing constraints in the operating as well as prospective business zones would equip LVMH to maximize its growth opportunities. Task 2 Recruitment Recruitment refers to the process of attracting competent prospective employees for vacancies at an organization or firm. Recruitment may be done internally or externally. External recruitment is the process of attracting employees from outside the organization whereas internal recruitment is where internal labor is used for filling vacancies. The rapid globalization of the markets combined with a constant shortage of skilled staff and advances in technology have resulted in large scale changes to recruitment practices throughout the world. A survey spanning more than 2000 companies conducted by Intelligence Group in association with StepStone, revealed that 42% prefer to recruit internationally for their operations. International Recruitment from the Perspective of LVMH There are many advantages associated with LVMH recruiting internationally to cater to its workforce needs, some of which have been outlined below: †¢ Moving from Ethnocentric to Geocentric 50% of the Senior Executives and 40% of the managerial staff are French even though they only account for 37% of the employees in LVMH. These figures portray an ethnocentric orientation of the firm. An ethnocentric orientation in a global organization can lead to a lack of understanding of the host countries differences that may require a different approach to marketing and management. Here a common belief is that the head quarters way of managing is better or more preferred than any other way of managing practiced outside. As a global organization aiming to grow internationally an ideal approach would be a geocentric orientation as cited by Levitt(1983). This would be achievable by recruiting talent internationally which would gradually reduce the ethnocentric influence and develop a pool of global managers needed by LVMH. †¢ Reduced Influence of Labor Market Conditions in Specific Countries LVMH would have a larger people base to recruit from and it will not be limited by work force scarcity in any particular country. The influence of changes in any particular countries labor market conditions would be reduced. †¢ Larger Talent Pool Recruiting employees from the countries where LVMH has presence would add to the talent pool within the organization. These new recruits would have local knowledge of the culture and fashion trends in the country of their origin. At the international level they would bring into the organization a fresh set of skills which may benefit LVMH. For example: A designer recruited in India may create an ethnic accessory which can be marketed and sold not only in the country of origin but may have a huge potential internationally. †¢ Cost Saving Recruiting internationally would reduce the need for expatriation to fill a vacancy. This would naturally lead to saving the expenditure involved. It would also reduce the work load on the International transfer team. The internationally recruited employees could be taken through intensive training to understand the expectations from management. †¢ Less Dependence on Expatriates Many expatriates are unwilling to take on certain international assignments due to various reasons. Recruiting internationally would therefore reduce dependence on Expatriates. †¢ Government Legislation LVMH operates through more than 50 stores which are spread worldwide. Recent trends have shown that governments require companies who conduct business in their country to develop the talent of the local workforce so that they hold key management positions over a period of time. Certain countries also have legislations which require a certain percentage of the staff to be locally recruited. Task 3 International Mobility International Mobility has grown with the increase in globalization of companies and the opportunities of operating in markets across the world. This expansion in business created a need for leaders and employees with global expertise to manage operations across national borders. Human resource departments are facing a growing demand on their resources in order to manage the mobility of this new type of work force. LVMH has the advantage of developing this form of work force early and now it can reap the benefits of the pool of Global Managers. Benefits of International Mobility LVMH stands to gain from the following benefits of International Mobility: †¢ Availability of skilled labor Changes in technology have created a shift in the labor market. There is a noticeable shift towards the demand for skilled labor. Shortage of labor caused in certain countries due to this demand can be counteracted with the help of mobility. †¢ Distribution of knowledge In this age, technology progresses at a very rapid pace. In the face of eminent competition it is important for LVMH to be technologically ahead and implement development in a very short span of time. International mobility of competent work force would enable the rapid distribution of knowledge within the organization. †¢ Global Competence Since the expatriates in LVMH are travelling extensively and engaged in international assignments they develop a knowledge base and skill sets. They may include an understanding of different countries market trends, culture differences, local languages, management of multi cultural teams. More globalized managers would lead to a globalized top management who will guide its international operations. This global competence of the workforce gives LVMH an advantage over its competitors. †¢ Adaptability Recent trends show that products need to be constantly evolving and be customer specific. Mobility develops an adaptive and flexible culture in LVMH and thus it can benefit by keeping in pace with the customer requirements.

Theories Of Drunvalo Melchizadek And Jungian Biology Essay

Theories Of Drunvalo Melchizadek And Jungian Biology Essay In genetics, it is understood that humans have 44 chromosomes (22 pairs), plus 2 sex chromosomes that determine gender. That is scientific fact. Heres where it gets tricky. Suppose one has more or less than 44? Indeed, it can happen; some genetic disorders are caused by this. But what affect could it have not simply on the human body, but on the human consciousness? From the metaphysicist himself, Drunvalo Melchizadek: There are three totally different kinds of humans on the Earth, meaning that they perceive the One reality in three different ways, interpreted differently. The first kind of human has a chromosome composition of 42+2. They comprise a unity consciousness that does not see anything outside themselves as being separate from themselves. To them, there is only one energy one life, one beingness that moves everywhere. Anything happening anywhere is within them, as well. They are like cells in the body. They are all connected to a single consciousness that moves through all of them. These are the aboriginals in Australia. There might be a few African tribes left like this. Then, there is our level, comprising 44+2 chromosomes. We are a disharmonic level of consciousness that is used as a steppingstone from the 42+2 level to the next level, 46+2. We are dangerous to both ourselves and nature, but we are necessaryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦These two additional chromosomes change everything (Melchizedek ). In short, those lacking a pair of chromosomes (compared to normal humans) perceive all reality and being as one. This falls into line quite well with the spiritual beliefs of the Aborigines in particular (however, it must be pointed out that no group of people today currently possess the requisite 42 chromosomes). In metaphor, reality is one giant landmass with no divisions, no individuals. Those with the 44 chromosomes (in short, us), are unstable. Our level of evolution is simply a building block to 46. We have individual lives, but now fail to ever come together. In essence, each reality is a completely isolated island from one another. Building from this, it could be reasoned that our pain, suffering, ignorance, apathy and general bad qualities stem from our chromosomal imbalance. Therefore, the only way to truly rid ourselves of these is by moving on. Finally, to 46; the next step in human evolution. According to Melchizadeks theories, it is at this point that we come together as individual to make one, each separate, but unified. In his words again: The main change will be a shift to the unity consciousness. Every cell in your body has its own consciousness and memory. You, the higher being that occupies your body, make the millions of different consciousnesses in your body work together as one being. How does this relate to this [new evolution]? Think of yourself as a cell and the grid as the higher being. We will still have individual consciousness, but will be united in the form of a higher being in order to work as one entity (Melchizedek). In the perspective of the Christian religion, it could be viewed as a step towards becoming more God or Christ like; individual pieces making up a whole, not far from the Body of Christ belief. As all-in-one, we would achieve universal understanding. There would be no pain, no suffering, nor ignorance or apathy. To draw another parallel, it would be quite similar to the Kingdom of God or Heaven. Being said, how do we move from 44 to 46? In more general terms, perhaps it is simpler to ask how we can move from where we are as imperfect humans to something beyond, something greater, the next step. Heres where the lyrics of Forty-Six 2 and elements of Jungian psychology come into play. At the heart of Maynards Forty-Six 2 lies the concept of Change is coming through my shadow. In Jungian psychology, the mind is broken down into many parts, including the anima/animus, the ego and the shadow. In males, the anima is a group of feminine traits suppressed deep into the subconscious. Similarly, the animus is the group of masculine traits suppressed in the subconscious of females. Though not consciously present, the anima and animus affect our behavior in powerful ways. Commonly, we seek out or project those traits out onto other of the opposite sex. This accounts for the feeling of falling in love at first sight. Though we may hardly know the person, our subconscious knows what they represent. As the opposite of the conscious self, the anima/animus can act as a guide to our own subconscious. They are often expressed as the guiding female (if youre male) or male (if youre female) figures in our dreams. In short, our unconscious egos (the anima/animus), are traits we desire in the opposite sex we ourselves suppress. Conversely, the ego is our conscious mind, our sense of personal self. This sense of personal identity is purchased, however, at the expense of certain tendencies that are rejected as not-self. These rejected traits come together as a kind of unconscious counter-ego, termed the shadow. Unexplainable feelings of annoyance, anxiousness or even anger can be a result of being in contact with someone who possesses elements of our repressed selves. In dreams, out shadow may take a physical form, often as an adversary of the same gender. Of all the elements that make up our psyche, the shadow has the potential to be both the most dangerous and the most critical to our personal developments. It represents everything we most fear and despise, but also represents everything we must master to move forward. Maynards suggestion for moving from our level to the next is by embracing the shadow. By taking in the previously rejected aspects of ourselves (the not-self) and learning to live with them (it), we take a great leap towards making ourselves whole again. Do what it takes to move through, to lie, cry, die, and kill but also to move, grow and to learn are fundamental. Deep concepts and New Age theories are nothing new for Maynard and Tool. With track titles like Stinkfist, Pushit, Third Eye, Schism and Parabola, Tool has never been, nor tried to be, a band easily understood from the surface. Their song lyrics, stage shows and even album artwork all reflect this. The cover to the album Aenima, from which the song Forty-Six 2 is taken, even follows some of the themes from the aforementioned song. At first glance all one notices is the burst of white light at the center. Closer inspection reveals a series of out of focus eyes ringing the light. In typical Tool fashion, theyve said exactly what theyve wanted to say without seeming to have said anything coherent at all. Think outside the box (literally). Sure, we can all see or understand out personal shadows to some degree (hence the shadowy, out of focus eyes). What lays beyond them, though, no one truly understands. Its a revelation so blindingly bright theres no seeing through it, nor any turning back. Those willing to think for themselves (a motto of soft for the band), will see the album cover, open the CD and learn things they may never had known before. With luck, theyll never be quite the same for it. Our shadows are elementary, almost primal. Only by looking within, to listen to my muscle memory and reflect on what makes us us can we find our way through to the other side. By picking scabs and metaphorically uncovering old wounds we can confront what we previously rejected and avoided. We can step into the shadow and find new understanding on the other side. Works Cited or Consulted Keenan, Maynard James. Forty-Six 2. Aenima. Rec. Sept. 1995. Volcano, 1996. Melchizedek, Drunvalo. Leading Edge Interviews Drunvalo Melchizedek. Interview with Val Valerian. Leading Edge Interview with Drunvalo Melchizedek. Ed. Joshua Shapiro. Dec. 1995. VJ Enterprises. 13 Sept. 2008 . Tool. Album Booklet. Aenima. Rec. Sept. 1995. Volcano, 1996. Appendix A Forty-Six 2 Written by Maynard James Keenan of Tool My shadows shedding skin and Ive been picking Scabs again. Im down Digging through My old muscles Looking for a clue. Ive been crawling on my belly Clearing out what couldve been. Ive been wallowing in my own confused And insecure delusions For a piece to cross me over Or a word to guide me in. I wanna feel the changes coming down. I wanna know what Ive been hiding in My shadow. Change is coming through my shadow. My shadows shedding skin Ive been picking My scabs again. Ive been crawling on my belly Clearing out what couldve been. Ive been wallowing in my own chaotic And insecure delusions. I wanna feel the change consume me, Feel the outside turning in. I wanna feel the metamorphosis and Cleansing Ive endured within My shadow Change is coming. Now is my time. Listen to my muscle memory. Contemplate what Ive been clinging to. Forty-six and two ahead of me. I choose to live and to Grow, take and give and to Move, learn and love and to Cry, kill and die and to Be paranoid and to Lie, hate and fear and to Do what it takes to move through. I choose to live and to Lie, kill and give and to Die, learn and love and to Do what it takes to step through. See my shadow changing, Stretching up and over me. Soften this old armor. Hoping I can clear the way By stepping through my shadow, Coming out the other side. Step into the shadow. Forty six and two are just ahead of me. Appendix B Aenima album cover

Religion, Barnard College Women, War, and Evangelical Biblical Interpretation after 9.11 :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

Religion, Barnard College Women, War, and Evangelical Biblical Interpretation after 9.11 One of the most disturbing things about living in New York City since 9.11 has been the way in which the U.S. has been able to wage war on Afghanistan and now maybe Iraq, with very little public outcry. I’d like to suggest that behind the apathy, certain traditions of Christian biblical interpretation may be at work, traditions that feature feminine figures in very particular ways. These are interpretive traditions around salvation history, and apocalypse. Of course, one of the reasons that many people, particularly liberals, have not opposed the war is the discourse of saving Afghan women. There have been a number of insightful postcolonial critiques of this discourse and how it harms Afghan and Muslim women—for example, Lila Abu-Lughod’s talk given at Columbia University, â€Å"Responding to War,† which built on Gayatri Spivak’s critique that so often white men feel they have to save brown women from brown men. I would like to take these critiques as a premise, but move in a slightly different direction to consider where white men get their savior-complexes. I am interested in how interpretations of the bible shape political events and how the interpretive traditions of salvation history and apocalypse may be grounding this neo-colonial discourse of saving women. Here I’m not just talking about media rhetoric, but also about how people respond to that rhetoric and how certain ways of reading the bi ble position them to respond to that rhetoric. Given that evangelicalism and fundamentalism are alive and well in the U.S, I think its important to consider how common interpretations of the bible are part of the political calculus. This might be an obvious point, but I think that those of us on the left might bemoan the Christian Right without paying attention to precisely how biblical interpretations get incorporated mainstream discourse. However, my comments here are meant to be more suggestive than conclusive. The trope of Israel as a woman gets taken up in salvation history oriented interpretations of the Hebrew Bible in predictable ways. Israel is commonly read as woman who must alternately be punished and saved, and then ultimately led into dominion over other nations. For instance, I’ve documented some examples of these kinds of reading in my work on

Lou Gerstners IBM :: Lou Gerstner IBM

Lou Gerstner's IBM 1. What struggles does Lou Gerstner face in his plan to make IBM network-centric? Consider internal and external impediments. In order to make Lou Gerstner’s plan effective he had to make many changes with in the IBM company. Gerstner set up a team with Jerry York and Richard Thoman along board. Some changes that were made with in IBM were, a cut back on employment, reduced expenses, and a stronger customer service. Gerstner and his new team based their plans on computer networks and the products needed to help IBM reach their future goals for the company. Some struggles Gerstner faced would be, the cut back in employment, I think this would have hurt his plan because I would have slowed down the production of the IBM products also high costs with no revenue would hurt his plan until he could work and fix the problems. Another problem Gerstner was faced with would be the process of getting lost customers back to buy IBM products. 2. Must IBM’s basic corporate culture change in order to meet Gerstner’s goal? Explain. I think that IBM’s corporate culture would have changed because IBM is following a new structure in order to achieve Gerstner’s goals.. Since employment would be cut back that means that the workers that did stay would have longer hours . Another thing that would change would be the quality and advancement of the products, since the expense cost would be cut down , the quality of the products would decrease. Being the expense cost declined the would be no room for advancing the products and keeping up with the competitors. 3. What strengths does IBM possess that make Gerstner’s plan achievable? How do Gerstner’s strategies incorporate those strengths? IBM is a well known name and it’s been around for a long time. I would buy a product from a company who has a good reputation rather then from a brand new company I’ve

Animation Reaction Paper

ANI 206 / P. Trecka Reaction Paper #1 -Submit online (COL) before midnight. Max Points: 5 Screen: Gertie the Dinosaur, Winsor McCay, 1914 (U. S. A. ) The Tantalizing Fly, Max and Dave Fleischer, 1919 (U. S. A. ) Dizzy Dishes, Dir. Dave Fleischer, 1930 (USA) Write: Respond to one of the above films. Focus your analysis on specific examples from the film in question. Use the film terminology you are learning in class and in the assigned readings. Organize your analysis in an informed and spirited way.Literacy: You are responsible for reading, taking notes and writing clear, intelligent essays that reflect an understanding of the themes, terminology and art of animated films. Basic criteria but not limited to: †¢ Thesis, focus, content, ideas, analysis, interpretation †¢ Structure, organization, logic, integration of sources †¢ Use of Evidence, inclusion of relevant, specific historical evidence †¢ Logic, writing clarity and correctness Written in the first person, s ubjective point of view – I †¢ Do not retell the story †¢ Save as yourname_reaction_1. doc (WORD DOC PLEASE) †¢ Spell/grammar check †¢ Approximately 400 words, 5 organized paragraphs. To consider: Framing and composition Themes and motifs Character design Setting Cel animation: Sometimes called traditional animation is hand drawn, frame-by- frame on paper and or celluloid/acetate sheets.Iris-in: A shot that opens from darkness in an expanding circle of light. Iris-out: The opposite of an iris-in. Morph: Short for metamorphosis. The action is continuous and one object or action transforms into another. Reflexivity: reflexivity sometimes referred to as ‘self-reflexivity', describes the process by which an animator or film draws attention to itself, reminding the viewer of the medium.

Horticulture and Landscape Architecture

Fee Penn Interview Report Campus design is an art consisting of multiple and overlapping designs like determining the locations of teaching buildings, residence halls and so on. As a landscape architecture student, I am interested in this topic. I interviewed professor David Michael Barbarism, who is an assistant professor of landscape architecture in Purdue University. Proof. Barbarism earned a bachelor's of landscape architecture from Virginia Tech and a master of science from the department of landscape architecture at State University of New York Environmental School ofForestry. Before he came to Purdue, he worked in design firms from NYC and Washington D. C where he did a lot of different types of landscape designs including campus design. The day I interviewed Proof. Barbarism was a nice day with warm sunshine and blooming flowers everywhere, Purdue campus seemed to wake up from the dead winter. Nice weather leads to a nice mood, as does a nice campus design. When I asked Proof . Barbarism how Virginia Tech campus influenced his study life, he smiled and shared his story with me happily.He said the first time he walked around in Virginia Tech, he just fell in love with it and noticed that this place was the very place he wanted to go without even learning about the programs. He thought the campus Just felt right to him. It had a consistent style, a great level of public students' space from big wide open areas to little shelter private gathering areas. These were all what he thought a college should be like. From his point of view, campus landscape really has an unimaginable effect on students' lives. Proof. Barbarism did some campus design project when he was working for design firms.When I asked the key points when designing a campus, he thought a few seconds and figured out two main points which were a sense of scale and a sense of place. He explained that a sense of scale should bring comforts to people, for example, a sense of enclosure enough to feel like you are not standing in the middle a big field. The designer should leave enough space to let tons of students to walk between teaching buildings during the ten-minute break. When talking about a sense of place, he used a very effective example which I easily understood.He said to me:† k, meet me at the bell tower, you know where we meet? † The answer was obviously positive. In fact, that's the sense of place, the bell tower has its own location and it's very different from the other places. Both a sense of place and a sense of scale were the two key points he mentioned for campus design. After asking some questions about his experience being a student and a landscape architect, we shared some different opinions on Purdue campus design. We reached agreements on some issues. For example, we both thought State Street was kind of annoying because it cut the campus into two pieces.I remember the first time I arrived in Purdue in August, I let this campus was Just the n orth side of State Street. Proof. Barbarism nodded his head when I was talking and added his comments that there should be a special entry sign on State Street to let people know they were arriving in Purdue campus. We both thought State Street should be a good connection between the north and the south parts instead of being an awkward cut line of the whole campus. When talking about the locations of residence halls, we held different opinions.From my perspectives, Purdue should place the residence halls around teaching alluding so that students can have only a 5-minute walk to class Just like Hawkins Hall. However, Proof. Barbarism didn't agree with me. He shifted his chair, thought a few seconds and put some important points which I hadn't thought of before. He said the reason why many campus put academic areas separated from living areas was because their different functions. Purdue clustered most of the residence halls because they shared some facilities like dining courts, lau ndry systems and open space for fun.On the other hand, academic areas need a quite academic atmosphere tit libraries and laboratories. Considering these two different functions, it was better to separate residence halls and teaching buildings Just like what Purdue had done. Though we had different ideas of where to place residence halls, we had the same idea with respect to making the campus more pedestrian-oriented especially the way from residence halls to teaching buildings. Proof. Barbarism told me his first impression of Purdue campus was that it's an automobile-oriented campus. In fact, I couldn't agree more. There are not any interesting views along the street.I Just walk own the street and the only thing could stop me is the crossing. We both think the next step Purdue should consider is the design of State Street corridor. State Street is very important not only because it's a very busy street but also because driving though gives a quick view of Purdue campus especially fo r drivers who Just pass by. This street might be driver's first impression of Purdue campus. The discussion was so involving that I almost lost track of time. Finally, Proof. Barbarism told me the good news was that most of the improvements we talked about will show up in the future master plans.Purdue amp's designers are trying their best to improve the whole environment. He said what we should do was Just to wait and see. Thanks to Proof. Barbarism for his time to let me think about campus design with him together. I learned a lot about not only some specific terms of campus design but also some logical thinking methods to judge things like where to put residence halls. I need to take all factors into consideration and think it not only as a student but also as one of the other people who work or play on campus. We critique Purdue because we love Purdue. I am so proud to witness the growth of our Purdue campus.

The Indigo Spell Chapter Twenty-Two

I OPENED MY EYES, groggy from the sudden shock of being pulled out of the dream. My body felt sluggish, and I squinted against the light. The lamp I'd left on last night was joined by sunlight streaming in through the window, but my phone's display still showed a freakishly early hour. Someone knocked at my door, and I realized that was what had woken me up. I ran a hand through my disheveled hair and rose unsteadily from the bed. â€Å"If she needs a geography tutor now, I really am going to Mexico,† I muttered. But when I opened the door, it wasn't Angeline standing outside my door. It was Jill. â€Å"Something big just happened,† she said, hurrying in. â€Å"Not to me it didn't.† If she noticed my annoyance, she didn't show it. In fact, as I studied her more closely, I realized she probably had no idea (yet) about what had happened between Adrian and me. From what I'd learned, spirit dreams weren't shared through the bond unless the shadow-kissed person was directly brought into it. I sighed and sat down on my bed again, wishing I could go back to sleep. The heat and excitement of the dream was fading, and mostly I felt tired now. â€Å"What's wrong?† â€Å"Angeline and Trey.† I groaned. â€Å"Oh, lord. What's she done to him now?† Jill settled into my desk chair and put on a steely look of resolve. Whatever was coming was bad. â€Å"She tried to get him to sneak into our dorm last night.† â€Å"What?† I really did need more sleep because my brain was having trouble understanding the reasoning behind that. â€Å"She's not that dedicated to her math grade . . . is she?† Jill gave me a wry look. â€Å"Sydney, they weren't working on math.† â€Å"Then why were they – oh. Oh no.† I fell backward onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. â€Å"No. This can't be happening.† â€Å"I already tried saying that to myself,† she told me. â€Å"It doesn't help.† I rolled over to my side so that I could look at her again. â€Å"Okay, assuming this is true, how long has it been going on?† â€Å"I don't know.† Jill sounded as tired as me – and a lot more exasperated. â€Å"You know how she is. I tried to get answers out of her, but she kept going on about how it wasn't her fault and how it just happened.† â€Å"What'd Trey say?† I asked. â€Å"I never got a chance to talk to him. He got hauled away as soon as they were caught.† She smiled, but there wasn't much humor in it. â€Å"On the bright side, he got in a lot more trouble than she did, so we don't have to worry about her getting expelled.† Oh no. â€Å"Do we have to worry about him getting expelled?† â€Å"I don't think so. I heard about other people trying this, and they just get detention for life. Or something.† Small blessing. Angeline was in detention so much that they'd at least have bonding time. â€Å"Well, then I guess there isn't much to be done. I mean, the emotional fallout's going to be a mess, of course.† â€Å"Well . . .† Jill shifted nervously. â€Å"That's just it. You see, first Eddie needs to be told – â€Å" I shot up out of my bed. â€Å"I am not doing that.† â€Å"Oh, of course not. No one would ever expect you to do that.† I wasn't so sure but let her continue. â€Å"Angeline's going to. It's the right thing to do.† â€Å"Yes. . . .† I still wasn't letting down my guard. â€Å"But someone still needs to talk to Eddie afterward,† she explained. â€Å"It's going to be hard on him, you know? He shouldn't be left alone. He needs a friend.† â€Å"Aren't you his friend?† I asked. She flushed. â€Å"Well, yeah, of course. But I don't know that it'd be right since . . . well, you know how I feel about him. Better to have someone more reasonable and objective. Besides, I don't know if I'd do a good job or not.† â€Å"Probably better than me.† â€Å"You're better at that stuff than you think. You're able to make things clear and – â€Å" Jill suddenly froze. Her eyes widened a little, and for a moment, it was like she was watching something I couldn't see. No, I realized a moment later. There was no â€Å"like† about it. That was exactly what she was doing. She was having one of those moments where she was in sync with Adrian's mind. I saw her blink and slowly tune back into my room. Her eyes focused on me, and she paled. Just like that, I knew that she knew. Rose had said that sometimes in the bond, you could sift through someone's recent memories even if you hadn't actually been tuned into the bond at that moment. As Jill looked at me, I could tell she'd seen it all, everything that had happened with Adrian last night. It was hard to say which of us was more horrified. I replayed everything I'd done and said, every compromising position I'd literally and figuratively put myself in. Jill had just â€Å"seen† me do things no one else ever had – well, except for Adrian, of course. And what had she actually felt? What it was like to kiss me? To run her – his? – hands over my body? It was a situation I had in no way prepared for. My occasional indiscretions with Adrian had come through to Jill as well, but we'd all brushed those off – me in particular. Last night, however, had taken things to a whole new level, one that left both Jill and me stunned and speechless. I was mortified that she'd seen me so weak and exposed, and the protective part of me was worried that she'd seen anything like that at all, period. She and I stared at each other, lost in our own thoughts, but Jill recovered first. She turned even redder than when she'd mentioned Eddie and practically leapt out of the chair. Turning her eyes away from mine, she hurried to the door. â€Å"Um, I should go, Sydney. Sorry to bother you so early. It probably could've waited. Angeline's going to talk to Eddie this morning, so whenever you get a chance to find him, you know, that'd be great.† She took a deep breath and opened the door, still refusing to make eye contact. â€Å"I've gotta go. See you later. Sorry again.† â€Å"Jill – â€Å" She shut the door, and I sank back into the bed, unable to stand. It was official. Whatever residual heat and lust I'd felt from being with Adrian last night had completely vanished in the wake of Jill's expression. Until that moment, I hadn't really and truly understood what it meant to be involved with someone who was bonded. Everything Adrian said to me, she heard. Every emotion he had for me, she experienced. Every time he kissed me, she felt it. . . . I thought I might be sick. How had Rose and Lissa handled this? Somewhere in my addled mind, I recalled Rose saying she'd learned to block out a lot of Lissa's experiences – but it had taken a few years to figure it out. Adrian and Jill had only been bonded for a few months. The shock of understanding what Jill had seen cast a shadow over everything that had been sensual and thrilling last night. I felt like I had been on display. I felt cheap and dirty, especially as I remembered my own role in instigating things. That sickening feeling in my stomach increased, and there was no stopping the avalanche of thoughts that soon followed. I'd let myself spin out of control last night, carried away by desire. I shouldn't have done any of that – and not just because Adrian was a Moroi (though that was certainly problematic too). My life was about reason and logic, and I'd thrown all of that out the window. They were my strengths, and in casting them aside, I'd become weak. I'd been high on the freedom and risks I'd experienced last night, not to mention intoxicated by Adrian and how he'd said I was beautiful and brave and â€Å"ridiculously smart.† I'd melted when he'd looked at me in that absurd dress. Knowing he'd wanted me had muddled my thoughts, making me want him too. . . . There was no part of this that was okay. With great effort, I dragged myself from the bed and managed to pick out some clothes for the day. I staggered to the shower like a zombie and stayed in for so long that I missed breakfast. It didn't matter. I couldn't have eaten anything anyway not with all the emotions that were churning inside me. I barely spoke to anyone as I walked through the halls, and it wasn't until I sat down in Ms. Terwilliger's class that I finally remembered there were other people in the world with their own problems. Specifically, Eddie and Trey. I was certain there was no way they could be as traumatized as Jill and I were by last night's events. But it was obvious both guys had had a rough morning. Neither one spoke or made eye contact with others. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen Eddie neglect his surroundings. The bell cut me off before I had a chance to say anything, and I spent the rest of class watching them with concern. They didn't look like they were going to engage in any testosterone-driven madness, so that was a good sign. I felt bad for both of them – especially Eddie, who'd been wronged the most – and worrying on their behalf helped distract me from my own woes. A little. When class ended, I wanted to talk to Eddie first, but Ms. Terwilliger intercepted me. She handed me a large yellow envelope that felt like it had a book inside. There was no end to the spells I had to learn. â€Å"Some of the things we discussed,† she told me. â€Å"Tend to them as soon as you get the chance.† â€Å"I will, ma'am.† I slipped the envelope into my bag and glanced around for Eddie. He was gone. Trey was in my next class, and I took my usual seat beside him. He gave me a sidelong look and then turned away. â€Å"So,† I said. He shook his head. â€Å"Don't start.† â€Å"I'm not starting anything.† He stayed silent a few moments and then turned back to me, a frantic look in his eyes. â€Å"I didn't know, I swear. About her and Eddie. She never mentioned it, and obviously, they don't talk about it around here. I never would've done that to him. You have to believe that.† I did. No matter what Trey's other faults were, he was good-hearted and honest. If anyone was at fault for bad behavior here, it was Angeline. â€Å"I'm actually more surprised that you'd get involved with someone like her, period.† I didn't need to elaborate that â€Å"someone like her† referred to her being a dhampir. Trey put his head on his desk. â€Å"I know, I know. It all just happened so fast. One day she's throwing a book at me. The next, we're making out behind the library.† â€Å"Ugh. That's a little more information than I needed.† Glancing up, I saw that our chemistry teacher was still getting organized, giving Trey and me a little more time. â€Å"What are you going to do now?† â€Å"What do you think? I have to end it. I shouldn't have let it get this far.† The Sydney from three months ago would have said of course he needed to end it. This one said, â€Å"Do you like her?† â€Å"Yes, I – † He paused and then lowered his voice. â€Å"I think I love her. Is that nuts? After only a few weeks?† â€Å"No – I don't know. I'm not really good at understanding that stuff.† And by not really good, I actually meant terrible. â€Å"But if you feel like that . . . maybe . . . maybe you shouldn't throw it away.† Trey's eyes widened, and surprise completely replaced his blue mood. â€Å"Are you serious? How can you say that? Especially you of all people. You know how it is. You've got the same rules as us.† I could hardly believe what I was saying. â€Å"Her people don't, and they seem to be fine.† For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of hope in his eyes, but then he shook his head again. â€Å"I can't, Sydney. You know I can't. It would eventually end in disaster. There's a reason our kinds don't mix. And if my family ever found out . . . God. I can't even imagine. There'd be no way I'd ever get back in.† â€Å"Do you really want to?† He didn't answer that. Instead, he just told me, â€Å"It can't work. It's over.† I'd never seen him look so miserable. Class started, and that ended the discussion. Eddie wasn't in our cafeteria at lunch. Jill sat with Angeline at a corner table and looked as though she was delivering a stern lecture. Maybe Jill hadn't felt comfortable consoling Eddie, but she certainly had no problem speaking out on his behalf. I didn't really want to hear Angeline's excuses or meet Jill's eyes, so I grabbed a sandwich and ate outside. I didn't have enough time to check Eddie's cafeteria, so I sent him a text. Want to go out for coffee later? Don't feel sorry for me, he responded. I hadn't known if he'd answer at all, so that was something. I just want to talk. Please. His next text wasn't nearly so fast, and I could almost imagine his mental battle. Okay, but after dinner. I have a study group. A moment later, he added, Not Spencer's. Trey worked at Spencer's. Now that the Angeline drama was on hold, I was able to return to my own messed-up love life. I couldn't shake that image of Jill's expression. I couldn't forgive myself for losing control. And now, I had Trey's words bouncing around my head. It would eventually end in disaster. There's a reason our kinds don't mix. As though summoned by my thoughts, Adrian texted me. You want to get the dragon today? I'd forgotten all about the callistana. He'd stayed with Adrian during my St. Louis trip, and now it was my turn. Since Adrian couldn't transform him back into quartz, the dragon had been in his true form all weekend. Sure, I wrote back. My stomach was in knots when I drove to Adrian's place later. I'd had the rest of the day to think about my options, and I'd finally reached an extreme one. When he opened the door, his face was aglow – until he saw mine. His expression transformed to equal parts exasperation and sadness. â€Å"Oh no. Here it comes,† he said. I stepped inside. â€Å"Here what comes?† â€Å"The part where you tell me last night was a mistake and that we can't ever do it again.† I looked away. That was exactly what I'd been going to say. â€Å"Adrian, you know this can't work.† â€Å"Because Moroi and humans can't be together? Because you don't feel the same way about me?† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"Well, not entirely. Adrian . . . Jill saw it all.† For a moment, he didn't seem to understand. â€Å"What do you – oh. Shit.† â€Å"Exactly.† â€Å"I never even think of that anymore.† He sat down on the couch and stared off into space. The callistana came scurrying into the room and perched on the arm of the couch. â€Å"I mean, I know it happens. We even talked about it with other girls. She understands.† â€Å"Understands?† I exclaimed. â€Å"She's fifteen! You can't subject her to that.† â€Å"Maybe you were an innocent at fifteen, but Jill's not. She knows how the world works.† I couldn't believe what I was hearing. â€Å"Well, I'm not one of your other girls! I see her every day. Do you know how hard it was to face her? Do you know what it feels like to know she saw me doing that? And, God, what if there'd been more?† â€Å"So, what's this mean exactly?† he asked. â€Å"You finally come around, and now you're going to just end things because of her?† â€Å"Kissing you isn't exactly ‘coming around.'† He gave me a long, level look. â€Å"There was a lot more than kissing, Miss ‘I'm a Quick Study'† I tried not to show how embarrassed I was about that now. â€Å"And that's exactly why this is all over. I'm not going to let Jill see that again.† â€Å"So you admit it could happen again?† â€Å"Theoretically, yes. But I'm not going to give us the chance.† â€Å"You're going to avoid ever being alone with me again?† â€Å"I'm going to avoid you, period.† I took a deep breath. â€Å"I'm going to go with Marcus to Mexico.† â€Å"What?† Adrian jumped up and strode over to me. I immediately backed up. â€Å"What happened to you working undercover?† â€Å"That only works if I can stay undercover! You think I can pull that off if I'm sneaking around with you?† â€Å"You're with me half the time already!† I couldn't tell if he was angry or not, but he was clearly upset. â€Å"Nobody notices. We'll be careful.† â€Å"All it takes is one slipup,† I said. â€Å"And I don't know if I can trust myself anymore. I can't risk the Alchemists finding out about you and me. I can't risk exposing Jill to what we'd do together. They'll send another Alchemist to look after her, and hopefully Stanton will take precautions against the Warriors.† â€Å"Jill knows I can't put my life on hold.† â€Å"You should,† I snapped. Now he was angry. â€Å"Well, you'd know all about that since you're an expert in denying yourself the things you want. And now you're going to leave the country to make sure you can deprive yourself even more.† â€Å"Yes, exactly.† I walked over to the callistana and spoke the incantation that turned him back into his inert form. I put the crystal into my purse and summoned all my will to give Adrian the coldest look I could manage. It must have been a powerful one because he looked as though I'd slapped him. Seeing that pain on his face made my heart break. I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want to leave him! But what choice did I have? There was too much at stake. â€Å"This is done. I've made my choice, Adrian,† I said. â€Å"I'm leaving this weekend, so please don't make it any more difficult than it has to be. I'd like us to be friends.† The way I spoke made it sound like we were closing a business arrangement. I walked toward the door, and Adrian hurried after me. I couldn't bear to face the agony in his eyes, and it took all my resolve not to avert my gaze. â€Å"Sydney, don't do this. You know it's wrong. Deep inside, you know it is.† I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. I walked away, forcing myself not to look back. I was too afraid my resolve would falter – and that was exactly why I needed to leave Palm Springs. I wasn't safe around him anymore. No one could be allowed to have that kind of power over me. All I wanted to do after that was hide in my room and cry. For a week. But there was never any rest for me. It was always about others, with my feelings and dreams shoved off to the side. Consequently, I wasn't in the best position to give Eddie romantic advice when we met up that night. Fortunately, he was too caught up in his own emotions to notice mine. â€Å"I should never have gotten involved with Angeline,† he told me. We were at a coffee shop across town that was called Bean There, Done That. He'd ordered hot chocolate and had been stirring it for almost an hour. â€Å"You didn't know,† I said. It was hard maintaining my half of the conversation when I kept seeing the pain in Adrian's eyes. â€Å"You couldn't have known – especially with her. She's unpredictable.† â€Å"And that's why I shouldn't have done it.† He finally set the spoon down on the table. â€Å"Relationships are dangerous enough without getting involved with someone like her. And I don't have time for that kind of distraction! I'm here for Jill, not me. I should never have let myself get caught up in this.† â€Å"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be with someone,† I said diplomatically. Unless that person turns your world upside down and makes you lose all self-control. â€Å"Maybe when I've retired, I'll have the time.† I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. â€Å"But not right now. Jill's my priority.† I had no business playing matchmaker, but I had to try. â€Å"Have you ever thought about seriously being with Jill? I know you used to like her.† And I was absolutely certain he still did. â€Å"That's out of the question,† he said fiercely. â€Å"And you know it. I can't think of her like that.† â€Å"She thinks about you like that.† The words slipped out before I could stop them. After my own romantic disaster today, a part of me longed for at least someone to be happy. I didn't want anyone else hurting the way I did. He froze. â€Å"She . . . no. There's no way.† â€Å"She does.† A whole range of emotions played through Eddie's eyes. Disbelief. Hope. Joy. And then . . . resignation. He picked up the spoon again and returned to his compulsive stirring. â€Å"Sydney, you know I can't. You of all people know what it's like to have to focus on your work.† This was the second time today someone had said â€Å"you of all people† to me. I guess everyone had a preconceived idea of who I was. â€Å"You should at least think about it,† I said. â€Å"Watch her the next time you're together. See how she reacts.† He looked as though he might consider it, which I took as a small victory. Suddenly, alarm flashed on his face. â€Å"Whatever happened with you and Marcus? The St. Louis trip? Did you find out anything about Jill?† I chose my next words very carefully, both because I didn't want to alarm him and because I didn't want him taking some drastic action that could accidentally reveal my dealings with Marcus. â€Å"We found some evidence that the Warriors have talked to the Alchemists, but nothing that shows they're working together or have actual plans for her. I've also taken some steps to make sure she's protected.† I hadn't heard anything from Stanton today and wasn't sure if that last part would actually pan out. Eddie looked relieved, though, and I couldn't bear to stress him out any further today. His gaze shifted to something behind me, and he pushed the untouched hot chocolate away. â€Å"Time for us to go.† I looked back at a clock and saw he was right. We still had a comfortable window before curfew, but I didn't want to push it. I finished off the last of my coffee and followed him out. The sun was sinking into the horizon, coloring the sky red and purple. The temperature had finally cooled off to normal levels, but it still didn't feel like winter to me. There'd been a bunch of badly parked cars in the front of the lot, so I'd parked Latte in the back in case some careless person opened a door too fast. â€Å"Thanks for the moral support,† Eddie told me. â€Å"Sometimes it feels like you really are a sister – â€Å" That was when my car exploded. Sort of. I have to admit Eddie's response time was amazing. He threw me to the ground, shielding my body with his. The boom had been deafening, and I cried out as some sort of foam landed on the side of my face. Foam? Cautiously, Eddie rose, and I followed. My car hadn't exploded in flames or anything like that. Instead, it was filled with some sort of white substance that had blasted out with such force that it had blown the doors off and broken the windows. We both approached the mess, and behind us, I heard people coming out of the coffee shop. â€Å"What the hell?† asked Eddie. I touched some of the foam on my face and rubbed my fingertips together. â€Å"It's sort of like the stuff you'd find in a fire extinguisher,† I said. â€Å"How did it get in your car?† he asked. â€Å"And how did it get there so fast? I glanced over at it when we first walked out. You're the chemical expert. Could some reaction have happened that fast?† â€Å"Maybe,† I admitted. At the moment, I was too shocked to really run any formulas. I rested a hand against Latte's hood and wanted to burst into tears. My emotions were at a breaking point. â€Å"My poor car. First Adrian's, now mine. Why do people do stuff like this?† â€Å"Vandals don't care,† said a voice beside me. I glanced over and saw one of the baristas, an older man who I believed was the owner. â€Å"I've seen stuff like this before. Damn kids. I'll call the police for you.† He took out his cell phone and backed away. â€Å"I don't know if we'll make curfew now,† I told Eddie. He gave me a sympathetic pat on the back. â€Å"I think if you show a police report at the dorm, they'll be lenient with you.† â€Å"Yeah, I hope that – ugh. The police.† I hurried over to the passenger side and stared bleakly at the wall of foam. â€Å"What's wrong?† Eddie asked. â€Å"I mean, aside from the obvious.† â€Å"I have to get to the glove compartment.† I lowered my voice. â€Å"There's a gun in there.† He did a double take. â€Å"A what?† I said no more, and he helped me dig through the foam. Both of us ended up covered in it by the time I reached the compartment. Making sure no one was behind us, I quickly retrieved the gun and slipped it into my messenger bag. I was about to shut the lid when something shiny caught my eye. â€Å"That's impossible,† I said. It was my cross, the gold one I'd lost. I grabbed it and then immediately dropped it, yelping in pain. The metal had burned me. Considering the foamy substance was cool, it didn't seem likely it had heated up the cross. I wrapped my sleeve around my hand and gingerly picked up the cross again. Eddie peered over my shoulder. â€Å"You wear that all the time.† I nodded and continued staring at the cross. A terrible feeling began to spread over me. I found a tissue in my purse and wrapped the cross up before adding it to the bag. Then I retrieved my cell phone and dialed Ms. Terwilliger. Voice mail. I hung up without leaving a message. â€Å"What's going on?† asked Eddie. â€Å"I'm not sure,† I said. â€Å"But I think it's bad.† I hadn't yet developed the ability to sense magical residue, but I was almost certain something had been done to the cross, something that had resulted in Latte's foamy demise. Alicia hadn't been able to find the cross. Had Veronica doubled back and taken it? If so, how had she located me? I knew personal items could be used to track back to a person, though the most common ones were hair and nails. As advanced as Veronica was, it was very likely an object – like this cross – would serve just as well. Veronica might very well have found me. But if so, why vandalize my car instead of sucking out my life? The police came soon thereafter and took our statements. They were followed by a tow truck. I could tell from the driver's face that it wasn't looking good for Latte. He hauled my poor car away, and then one of the officers was nice enough to return Eddie and me to Amberwood. Against all odds, we made it back just in time. As soon as I got to my room, I tried Ms. Terwilliger again. Still no answer. I emptied out my bag onto my bed and found it had gathered a number of items today. One of them was a donut I'd picked up at the coffee shop. I put it and the quartz crystal into the aquarium and summoned the callistana. He immediately went after the donut. I found the cross and discovered it was now cool. Whatever spell it had been used in was gone. The gun was near it, and I quickly hid that back in the bag. That left Ms. Terwilliger's envelope, which I'd neglected all day. Maybe if I hadn't been so distracted by personal matters, I could have saved Latte. I pulled the latest spell book out of the envelope and heard something jangle. I removed the book and then saw another, smaller envelope inside. I pulled it out and read a message Ms. Terwilliger had written on the side: Here's another charm to mask your magical ability, just in case. It's one of the most powerful out there and took a lot of work, so be careful with it. That same guilt I always felt about her helping me returned. I opened the small envelope and found a silver star pendant set with peridots. I gasped. I had seen this charm before, this powerful and painstakingly made charm that could allegedly hide strong magical ability. I had seen it around Alicia's neck.