Environmental Analysis of Target Corporation Essay

Target Corporation is one of the largest merchants in the world. Target is recorded to be the sixth largest retailer within the United States. Founded by, George Dayton in 1902 Minneapolis, Minnesota. Target stores have a variety of products which includes everything from clothing to automotive and electronics. It is a corporation that is on-top of their game and continues to grow day-out. It is a brand that is well known and continues to raise the bar each year effectively. This paper will detect the importance of internal and external within the corporation overall. SWOT The SWOT analysis is â€Å"a historically popular technique through which managers create a quick overview of a company’s strategic situation (Pearce and Robinson, 2011, p. 140).† The SWOT analysis supplies Target with a strategic planning method in order to gauge all the strengths and weaknesses of the company as well as what opportunities are available to the company, and any threats that may arise when operating the company. SWOT allows Target to detect key issues within the environment. This method is essential for Target, because it offers succeeding stepladders in the course of development for achievement of certain objectives. Steps of Actions Considering that Target is one of the largest retailer organization, there are steps that must be taken in order to continue their effective method of operating the organization. First Target will need to assess their market by analyzing their internal and external state of the business and how it affects the organization in general. Target will need to review and understand who are their customers, what strengths and weaknesses each competitor may have, and the issues, which are occurring within the world that may affect the business overall. The company will also have to analysis potential market ventures as well as the driving forces of all sales trends. Assessing the company and competition Assessing Target and their competition is vital when it comes to operating the company in general. Target will need to identify what resources the company has available to access, what they are best at and what capabilities the company has (function). Competition plays a huge part in competing with organization that provides similar services and products. Therefore, the company must identify with their competition by researching what makes them different from their competitor, what is the company’s over-all market conditions of Target, the needs that are needed for the company services and products and what opportunities are available within the customer-market-technology world. Target must also review problems customers may have with their services and product. Strengths of Target Target has continued to rise above and move forward with being one of the largest retailers to date. Target strengths consist of: †¢ Being the second largest retailer right behind Wal-Mart. †¢ Continues to increase sales after each year of operating. †¢ Has a huge number of retail networks, and more than 1400 stores. †¢ Durable supply and demand channels. †¢ Target is environment friendly, meaning they do not offer firearms or tobacco. †¢ Target is the top seller of Gift Cards within the United States. †¢ Has donated a superior amount of profits. †¢ Target stores provides variation of products such as clothing, sports apparel, electronics, kitchen, and bed room materials, beauty, and health products, and hardware and automotive supplies. Weaknesses of Target Although Target continues to stand ground, they are still face with possibility of being at risk, and carries weaknesses that must be address. The weakness of Target consists of: †¢ Target merchandises can become quite expensive matched to competitors such as Wal-Mart. †¢ Incomplete visibility within International Market. †¢ Awareness is low as compared to their competitors. †¢ Currently lacks labor Unions. Opportunities of Target The current opportunities that Target is face with are: †¢ Target will need to focus on cost cutting in order to reduce their prices that are applied to the products. †¢ Target should take advantage of international markets. †¢ Target will need to consider offering awareness program. †¢ Invention of labor Union will need to be essential in order to increase employee gratification. †¢ Target can also consider increasing their market shares overall. Threats of Target Although Target provides superior quality and ideal customer services, the company is still face with risk and threats. The threats of Target consist of: †¢ Increasing competition with Wal-Mart. †¢ Customer diverting or products due to high price products during a recession. †¢ Continuous increasing within interest rates, and taxes. †¢ Security concern due to terrorism threats increasing. †¢ The merge of Sears and Kmart. Competitor analysis Competitor analysis is a serious part of the organization therefore; Target must identify and address all issues pertaining to the business. Target must pinpoint the tangible competitors, and substitutes, evaluate opponents’ objectives, strategies, strengths and weaknesses, and opportunities and threats, and uncover what opponents Target should take on or stand clear of. Therefore, Target must analyze the company’s economic, sociocultural, technological, political, and future. Economic analysis will supply ways to  identify what trends may have an influence on Target action. Sociocultural provides information on current or emerging trends in routine, styles, and other works of culture, demographic trends as well as what trends provide opportunities or threats. Technological analysis will be done in order to identify what type technological developments are affecting the company or what could affect the industry as a whole. Government analysis will supply information of changes within the by-laws if any, what impacts may occur, if taxes or incentives are being established that could affect any strategy progress, and finally could there be any political risks they could occur. Finally Target will need to consider the future of the company. Future will provide what future events may arise, what uncertainty need to be considered such as trends or events and what type of impact the future will bring to the company overall. In closing Target will need analyze every key factor of the company in order continue or correct issues within the company to effectively stay within competition, and continue to grow as a company in the near future. Applying SWOT will take Target a step closer in making progress and moving forward within the company. SWOT will supply Target with a strategic planning method to increase and continue the company’s strengths, and address all risk and weaknesses within the company. This method will allow Target to pinpoint key issues within the corporation, and supply ways to correct issue through internal and external analysis. Therefore, Target will need to rely on these types of methods in order to gain growth, and continue to increase their revenues and customers each year effectively. References Pearce, J. A., II, Robinson, R. B. (2011). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (12th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin (2009). Environmental analysis of Target Corporation. Retrieved September 12, 2011 from: http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/09/environmental-analysis-of-target-corporation.html (2011). Target Corporation. Retrieved September 12, 2011 from: http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-030795

A Woman’s Place

â€Å"A woman's place is in the home. † This is a very old saying, and has today I think come to mean something very specific. When people use this expression today, it is usually in ridicule of someone else, and suggesting that they have very old-fashioned and reprehensible beliefs. The notion is that people who actually believe that the saying is true, believe that all women should be forced to stay in their homes, and not go out to work, or have careers, and that they should busy and content themselves with tidying up and decorating the home, to make it a pleasant place to be for their husbands who will appreciate this.On top of this, they must do the cooking and washing. If this is what the saying means, then I disagree with it. The saying refers to a very large and complicated topic: that of people's roles in society, and if I were forced to state that I either agreed or disagreed with the statement, then whichever answer I gave would be a simplification so great that it would be untrue. However, I may surprise you by stating that I am more in agreement with the statement than against it. The standard modern belief seems to be that the saying is wrong. Modern people also seem to believe that those who agree with the saying have old-fashioned views.Actually, I think that there is a confusion between modernity and older ways on this issue. The notion that a woman must stay at home and have no occupation, and instead make a nice nest is a modern one, not an old one. Before the industrial revolution, and right back to the start of farming, the home was not as it is now. There were no factories. Clothing for everyone was made in homes. There were no machines for spinning yarn, no automatic looms, no huge workplaces employing hundreds of people dyeing and sewing cloth. Instead, there was what we now call â€Å"cottage industry†.A region's cheeses were made in the homes of the locals. A woman who was good at making cheese or sewing could earn money this way, and she would work at home. There was no divide between the home and work. There were no office blocks, people did not commute, and no one was stopping women from working by confining them to their homes. Similarly, the modern home, in which a couple might live, is a modern thing. Homes until very recently were places where many people lived. Rich people had servants, and poor people had extended families, lodgers, and took on the task of looking after each others' children.Homes were not lonely prisons as they can be for the modern housewife. The idea that the home is a nice place to stay in and be proud of, and spend money on, is also quite modern, and of great convenience to the various DIY chains around today. Some great houses of the very wealthy were show-pieces, and used for entertaining, but for the common man, the house was a place where the roof kept his bed and belongings dry, and the floor was made of earth, and one room was a pig pen, and another was for weavi ng. My feeling is that people should act in whatever way is most likely to make them happy.Coercion tends to prevent happiness, and freedom tends to promote it. I do not think that a woman's place should be forced on her, I think that women should be free. I also think that if they were truly free to pick the path that would for them lead to the greatest contentment, that many more of them would end up not going out to work. The housing situation in modern Britain strikes me as inconvenient for the fostering of happiness. Whereas once a man could with a simple job support himself and his wife and family in a home, today most couples find that both of them have to work full time to afford a decent house.How can this be a good thing? Do women go out to work at the check-out counter of a supermarket because they love it? No, I suggest that they do this because they think that they need the money. Would it not be better that they did not have to do this? If they were free, would they no t prefer something else? House prices rise and fall dramatically. In recent times in Britain, they have risen very sharply. They have been subject to a inflationary force peculiar to themselves.In a given area, there are only so many houses. If everyone buys a house there for ?10,000, and each home is paid for by one person's wages, then perhaps this  situation could remain stable, or just follow the general pattern for inflation. But if later a couple, both of whom are working, buys one house for ?12,000, then the next person in the area selling his house will know that it is possible to get ?12,000 for it, and so will instruct his estate agent to get this amount for him. Soon, all the houses become â€Å"worth† ?12,000, and the cycle repeats, with the prices going ever upward until after a while the only way to afford a house there is to pay for it with the wages of two jobs, and all the women have to work. Are the people of that area now richer? Are they happier?Some of them might be, but for most the situation is that they do not have much or any more spending money, but instead money tied up in the same homes as before that today cost more, and now the women are all working, which makes everything difficult. Very few of the women will work at home, so the house will be empty most of the time. The thing itself that all this is for – the house – gets enjoyed less not more. Childcare becomes a huge problem.Many women will find themselves chasing their tails, trying to earn more so that they can afford to pay for child carers that they need because they are at work trying to get enough  money to pay for childcare. People who argue against a woman's place being in the home are often well-educated people who take great interest in their careers. It should be remembered though that most women are not highly career-oriented, educated and intelligent. Working the till at a supermarket is not a career, it is a job. Whereas an educated woman might get great fulfilment from working as a doctor in a hospital, I do doubt that this is why many women choose to scan in tins of baked beans for a living. Half of births are male. This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.There are areas in Britain where the traditional male jobs have disappeared. Mines and steel works have closed, the army is now very small, and machines have taken over the jobs of many men in what few shipyards and car factories are left. Nevertheless, men still seek these sorts of job. Most new jobs are taken up by women. In many places, this leads to a great amount of male unemployment, and a discontented underclass of unemployed males is not good for a stable and peaceful society. Would it not be better to have those men doing something useful that gave them self-respect and purpose?Men have evolved instincts that make them do things for women. They may not always realise that what they do is for women. Quite often, they may feel that the reverse is true. Men drive recklessly. This is not good for society. Evolution has favoured men who take risks and show off, however, because in the past these men passed on the most genes. Today, selfish men drive too fast and endanger us all, but the drive in them that makes them do this comes from the fact that women of the distant past were impressed by skill and daring. Today, men get a kick out of being able to support women.They also get a hefty kick in the confidence and self respect if they cannot do this. It is commonly remarked that men do not like to marry women who earn more than they do. Society at large does not respect the kept-man. Given that this stems from deeprooted instinct, it is incredibly unlikely that this will change in the near future. We could try and educate people to respect kept-men, and kept-men to be happy being kept, but this would be going against the grain of human nature. Surely it is much better to go with the grain of human nature.This way, rather tha n having a population that can tolerate the situation, you will have a population that will be happy. This may strike you as a ridiculous opinion, and an entirely subjective conclusion, but I must point out that there is a fundamental difference between the two states of being. In one, you have people who know that they ought to believe a certain thing because they have been told to, and who perhaps (though probably imperfectly) go along with this. With the other, you have a population that gets an endorphin rush from what it does.In our ancestral past, people did not have to fill in forms. They did have to copulate in order to pass on genes. Consequently, we did not evolve to get a natural mental high from form-filling, but we did evolve to get something of a pleasant sensation from copulation. Today, we have to fill in forms, but no amount of education can make formfilling fun, because our brains simply do not have a mechanism for releasing pleasure chemicals for form-filling. Our brains do, however, have very strongly hard-wired mechanism for rewarding sex.By the same logic you cannot educate men to be happy about being kept or women to be happy working in an office while a stranger looks after her kids. You can, of course, find exceptions. Somewhere, there is a happy kept-man, and a woman for whom photocopying forms is a continuous source of joy. I am writing about the great mass of people. One thing about the saying â€Å"a woman's place is in the home† is that people find it belittling. To them it suggests that women are lesser things, not clever enough to do anything more than dust and cook. There is nothing in the statement that says this.If another saying were â€Å"a man's place is in the army†, or â€Å"a man's place is in the factory†, would people similarly think this an insult to the intelligence of men? I think not. There is nothing innate to the saying â€Å"a woman's place is in the home† that means that women are s tupid. That association comes from the history of ideas – from old arguments that have been used to suggest that women are inferior. Let us forget them. An awful lot of work has been done on human intelligence, and one consistent result is that the average man and average woman are of equal overall intelligence.Success these days is rated in male terms, it seems. To become high rank in an organisation is high status and good, and to be applauded. To earn lots of money is impressive too. To be high-profile, assertive, and otherwise masculine receives praise and to be domestic and content is seen to be contrary to this. It is a great shame that women seem to see success in the same terms. To be self-respecting, they now are made to feel that they have to succeed as men. That they usually find that they are not as good as men at being male they often put down to prejudice and unfairness in society.If the only way they can succeed is at being male, and they are competing against men, then they will always lose. Similarly, men competing in a female world will always lose. Indeed, society is biased that way too, as any man who has tried to get custody of his children after a divorce will tell you. If women will always lose, then they are likely to end up discontent. Surely it would be better to go with the grain of human nature, and offer them a feminine form of success. We live in a money-driven economy. To eat, most people have to buy food from shops. Mothers need money to raise children.For the typical woman, there are two ways of getting it: from a man, or by earning it herself. Clearly the better of the two is from a man. You may be shocked to read this, but I really do mean it. If a woman can delegate the task of getting money to someone else, and by this method end up with the money she needs, then this is surely easier and better for her than having to manage the simultaneous tasks of bringing up children and working. People may admire working mothers , and say, â€Å"how ever do you manage it? † but I do not believe that these women chose their way of life for its ease and convenience.So, it is better for the mother and her children to get the money from a man. Men might prefer to spend all their money on themselves, but this does not mean that it is better that they do. Men do get a reward in self-esteem from supporting their own children, and surely it is good for a society that they do. It seems that it is better for women, for children, for men, and for society that women get financial support from men. This is all very well, but unfortunately, life is enormously more complicated than this may suggest. Marriages break down very often.One major reason that divorce is on the increase, is that women are more financially independent, and can afford to divorce. In a modern rich world, their children will not starve. After divorce, the typical woman is considerably poorer, and the typical man richer, but still women divorce their husbands. A society that forces women to stay in marriages they hate would be sub-optimal, but so too surely is a society in which marriage is close to meaningless. It could be that we have fallen into a post-industrial trap. The invention of farming was a bit like a trap.Before farming, people did not own land, and wandered around hunting and gathering. The population was low and scattered and free. Once farming started, people had to stay put to farm their land, and to guard it from pests and thieves. They had to regard the land they farmed as their own. Farming increases the number of people who can live in a given area of land, and after not many generations, it was impossible to go back to hunting and gathering, because the population was then too large to support that way, and the rest of the land was beingfarmed by people who didn't take kindly to poachers. The result was that people who were once free were now trapped in the backbreaking world of farming. Perhaps our economy will make it impossible for houses to be affordable for typical single wage earners. If enough people stay together for long enough to pay enough joint mortgages, then house prices can stay inflated. Governments could not simply intervene and lower the price of housing. Attempts to force people to sell things for less than they could get for them always fail one way or another.Something is only ever worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it. It could be that men have ended up in a world where male virtues are criticised in all but the successful few, and in which their male instincts cause them to pursue lives that will bring them little pleasure. Meanwhile women cannot feel respected without independence, but cannot get enough money without dependence on a man who might be gone tomorrow, and so still they have to go out and get jobs.

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Marketing Mix for U.S.A car market Chery Cars China - Essay Example Toyota has also achieved success using a similar strategy. The paper recommends that Chery improves a few aspects of its marketing mix by making its activities more adaptive to the US market. Chery is China’s top car exporter with sales in over 100 countries in the world. The company has car assembly plants Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America and utilizes proprietary technology in the manufacture of cars and car components for original-equipment companies all over the world (National bureau of statistics of China, 2005). The company now has its own car models and over the past five years it has been accelerating globalization by entering new markets all over the world (Chery Auto Ltd, 2010). The USA is known for its car market culture that is largely associated with the catch phrase ‘American Dream’. This implies high quality flashy vehicles that are also expensive and high on fuel consumption (Isobel and Robin, 2009). Over the years the market has been characterized by high vehicle sales rates and competition between few but powerful car manufacturers. However, economic struggles and new fuel consumption restrictions have changed this culture over the last decade (Isobel and Robin, 2009). Marketing mix generally involves the development and coordination of marketing activities products, their pricing, their promotion, and their distribution (Chai, 2009). Traditionally the main considerations for marketing mix were referred to as the 4Ps including product, price, place, and promotion (Chai, 2009). With increasing sophistication of the marketing, three more Ps have been added to make what is now known as the 7Ps of marketing. These include people, process, and physical evidence (David, 2001). The marketing strategy that a company needs to employ to combine the 7Ps for desirable market outcomes is what is generally referred to as the marketing mix. Chery, like

The Definition of Nationalism In Different Regions and Countries Essay

The Definition of Nationalism In Different Regions and Countries - Essay Example It was Indian peasantry that formed a major force in the national liberation movement in the interwar period. To involve a broad amount of population into this movement, it was needed to take into account socio-psychological characteristics of the Indian peasantry and urban workers, yesterday’s peasants. A prominent role in the organization of mass non-violent campaign of the resistance to the colonial regime in the 20 - 40’s of the 20th century belonged to Mahatma Gandhi. He was the one to shape India national ideology. Thanks to Gandhi, the idea of the absolute independence of India was put forward. In this respect, Indian nationalism acquired the traits of Gandhi’s ideas.Gandhism resonated with wide layers of the peasantry and the urban poor because it was connected with the social ideal of the belief that the struggle for independence from British rule, is a struggle for justice. Gandhi drew upon his appeals from cultural, historical, and religious traditions that were familiar to peasants. Therefore, the demands for independence and the transformation of the society were explained in the traditional way and were clear to the dozens of millions of Indians. The tactical method of Gandhism was marked with the understanding of the traditions and psychology of the peasants. It was a method of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi’s active protest was combined with the tolerance to the enemy. Nonviolent resistance was considered as the only possible form of struggle with the colonial regime.... Prominent role in the organization of mass non-violent campaign of the resistance to the colonial regime in the 20 - 40’s of the 20th century belonged to Mahatma Gandhi. He was the one to shape India national ideology. Thanks to Gandhi, the idea of the absolute independence of India was put forward. In this respect, Indian nationalism acquired the traits of Gandhi’s ideas. Gandhism resonated with wide layers of peasantry and the urban poor, because it was connected with the social ideal of the belief that the struggle for independence from British rule, is a struggle for justice. Gandhi drew upon his appeals from cultural, historical, and religious traditions that were familiar to peasants. Therefore, the demands for independence and the transformation of the society were explained in the traditional way and were clear to the dozens of millions of Indians. The tactical method of Gandhism was marked with the understanding of the traditions and psychology of the peasants. It was a method of nonviolent resistance (boycott, peaceful marches, denial of cooperation). Gandhi’s active protest was combined with the tolerance to the enemy. Nonviolent resistance was considered as the only possible form of struggle with the colonial regime. Gandhi rejected the class struggle as a destabilizing factor the separates the nation and makes the liberation from the foreign rule impossible (Spielvogel 927). The Indian nation was united according to the primordial racial idea. So, there was a clear understanding the colonizers were the odd element in the national state structure. Gandhism tied together peasants, artisans, and the national bourgeoisie. Finally,

White Denial-Strong Response Essay Example for Free

White Denial-Strong Response Essay In the article, (Proto)Typical White Denial: Reflections on Racism and Uncomfortable Realities, written by Tim Wise he informs his readers that the article is not his first about white denial. He also reminds his readers that when talking about white denial, someone is bound to get offended. Wise received an email from a man claiming that Wises article was racist against whites and that Wise stating that whites are in denial would be like him making the broad generalization that all blacks are criminals. Wise informs his readers that a generalization based on stereotypes in racism and if the generalization is based on actual proven facts, it is not. Wise proves his point within his article by showing his readers the facts. He gives his readers the surveys and experience that either he has found on his own or that he has found in doing research on the subject. As Wise wraps up his article he explains that until whites that until whites can prove in these tests and surveys that they are not automatically putting blacks in one category and hispanics into another, whites are in fact in denial about being judgmental towards other races. For instance, after reading Wises article it brought back a specific memory I do not particularly enjoy. It was when I realized that some people hold themselves higher than others. In this case, she was better because she was white, I was better because I was white, and someone who had a dark skin tone was a criminal. White privilege was very apparent. I was in the eighth grade and my best friend Codee Ricks was half black and half white; which meant absolutely nothing to either one of us. One morning after a sleepover we decided to walk over to the gas station across the street from my house to get some donuts. We had gone there before plenty of times but this time was much different. There was a new person working, she was a fairly young white woman, we walked in and smiled, she half smiled and from the moment we walked in watched Codee like a hawk. I did not understand what was going on, I was pretty oblivious until the woman told me to come up to the counter for a second. In Wises article he reports of a study he did on his own where he asked different types of questions, When asked to envision a criminal,[ ] almost all white participants[ ]respond that their first image was that of someone who was black or Latino/a. (Wise 96) After I walked up to her counter she acted like she was showing me some kind of deal when she whispered, Watch your friend, I do not want her stealing anything. It was right there that she expressed white privilege to me. She showed how she believed she was better for being white, as well as I. I did not say a word to the lady behind the counter, I was shocked someone could be so ignorant. I told Codee the story as we walked back to my house; I had never seen my friend so sad. White privilege is very vivid in the study, and in the story. In the story the woman at the counter assumed I was not going to steal and that my friend, who was of color would, she was holding whites to a higher standard when I had done nothing to prove or earn that assumption and neither had Codee. In the same study of Wises mentioned earlier, most whites, and even large numbers of participants of color held whites up to a higher standard by assuming that the criminals were of color. In the same study another question asked reaffirmed white privilege, if I ask people to envision an all-American boy or girl, or even worse, God, they invariably admit to envisioning white images(Wise 96). At the gas station the clerk pictured a criminal being black and pictured a young girl of innocence as white. This is similar to what people automatically think when they think of the all-American boy or girl or Santa Claus. Incidents like the picturing of someone as a certain color, is what causes white privilege, and white privilege often leads to white denial. Whites automatically have some sort of unearned power that leads to them feeling as though they are superior to those of different races. Although they normally do not recognize it. For instance, I have a roommate from Kansas City, shes upper middle class, gets whatever she wants and judges whoever she can whenever she can. Just the other day I was sitting in my room talking about Dillards and how I like to go and visit my mom and occasionally shop. My roommate interrupted me with, I do not really like Dillards. When I asked her why she stated, Well, where I come from thats where the, well I am not racist or anything but the blacks and mexicans normally shop. When I asked her why that mattered she said, Well, normally, they do not make very much money. At that point I left the room. This was not the only occasion I had heard I am not racist or anything but leaving me to the conclusion that white denial, as well as white privilege are related. In the case of Codee the lady made a generalization about Codees race in the fact that she felt Codee was going to steal. While my roommate believes that those of color other than white are poor. My roommate holds whites above other races by making the assumption that those of color make less money than those who are not. Although I agree that whites are in denial, Wise himself made a broad generalization about whites, similar to the clerk and my roommate. Later within Wises article he writes of the events during Hurricane Katrina which, suggested that black folks were raping and killing people en masse and goes on to complicate things by stating, Needless to say, were a hurricane to take out Nantucket, or destroy the summer homes of the white and wealthy[ ], and were the media to broadcast rumors to the effect that rich white folks were raping and killing people []no one would believe them without evidence(Wise 97). I do not agree with no one, the reason that I do not agree is because I know for a fact that there would be a lot of people of all sorts of colors, even white, that would believe it, no one is a large statement to make. As well as it is a assumption; he does not provide any other sort of factual evidence when he makes this statement. I know that there are plenty of people who would believe it, like my one roommate, but that is one out of four. Not four out of four, which leads me to believe that there are more good people out there then no one. There are a lot of good people in the world, people who do not look at the color someone is. Like my friend Codee, who even after that incident happened to her does not hold a thing against upper class white people or white people in general. I know that I do not think of color being a difference, I do not think that I should be more privileged than Codee or anyone else for that matter. If I were to see that upper class whites were raping and killing, I would think it would be just as horrible if I could even remember the rumors about the people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. There are plenty of people in the world who do not think in terms of poor=black or rich=white. When there are stories of serial rapists here in Manhattan, I do not automatically think or picture the rapist as someone of color, I actually picture a creepy older white man; which would be me stereotyping and proving that judgment in general happens about someones own race, or a different race; as Wise and I have both shown. I do not think that it is fair for Wise to state, no one would believe them without evidence(Wise 97). As I stated above, no one is just too broad of a term. Although there should not be anyone out in the world making broad assumptions about a certain race, everyone unfortunately does. Until proven, most people in the world will not believe the the fictional, and often times even the non-fictional. Making it difficult for white denial, and white privilege to completely disappear. Throughout Wises article he makes valid points, shows his readers that is a problem by not only proving it with evidence, but also by showing us in the article that he himself makes judgments about certain types of people. Before reading this article I would not have recognized when people, including myself were judging people solely on there appearance. Not just skin tone but down to the way a person presents themselves. Looking at personal experience with Codee and my roommate, I believe that there will always be some form of white privilege and white denial. If more people were to read Wises articles and others similar to his, there would be some hope that it would go away some more.

The New Headway Intermediate Book Evaluation English Language Essay

The New Headway Intermediate Book Evaluation English Language Essay The purpose of the second part of this essay is to evaluate New Headway intermediate students book, one of the course books used at many of the foreign language institutes around the world. The evaluation will be based on an external and an internal evaluation of the book. The external evaluation will give us a brief overview of the materials from the outside (also known as factual information) and the internal evaluation will give us a closer and more detailed look at Units 1 and 2. The new headway course book is meant to be suitable for adults undertaking a general English course. It is the third edition, which means that the book is very popular and published many times. Liz and John Soars are the authors of this book. There is a note at the back of the book which states: Liz and John Soares are internationally renowned authors and highly experienced teachers and teacher trainers. This statement indicates that the authors are recognised in an international basis. The publisher is the oxford university press; A widely known publisher which has published thousands of books. There is a website link in the front and in the back of the book which you can access it online. The one link contains exercises you can do online and the other one has different English Books it has published so far. This single course book costs  £22.00, without the supplementary materials. If you want to buy the whole package, you have to buy each material individually. However, the whole package includes: class CDS/cassettes, a workbook (with or without key), the students workbook CD/cassette and a DVD/Video with students activity book. There is also a teachers book in print and locally available. Thus, the student edition will not be difficult to work with. However, if you go online at Amazon, you will see that if you want to buy together the teachers book, the workbook and the class audio cds, costs  £68. It is very expensive for someone who cannot afford it economically and he will be dissuaded from selecting it. In my opinion I would not buy the single book for only  £22 pounds as I would definitely need a workbook for supplementary exercises. However, it is not included in the package and it costs  £12.50. Also the course book does not provide any audio material in the back as man y do. I think that it is essential to provide this extra material in order to use the textbook more successfully in self-time study. The front cover is colourful with nice pictures, but in my opinion it is not very inspiring and attractive for learners. If you would take off the title I will take it as a science or a maths book. When opening the contents page, language is presented and organised into teachable units. The contents page illustrates the general organisation of the material, which is based on topics. Under each unit there is an established topic. Meanwhile, the importance of form is also made obvious by the prominent placement of grammar in the second column. It is now clear that the content is sequenced on the basis of the grammar complexity. It starts from a more simple grammar form and then progress to a more complex grammar form. The contents are divided broadly into language input and skills development. Under language input there is grammar, vocabulary and everyday English. Under skills development there is: reading, speaking, listening and writing. We can now continue to the next stage of the evaluation by performing a more deep investigation into the materials. I am going to examine Unit 1 and 2 in order to perform an effective internal inspection of the materials. Both units start with a presentation of the grammar which will be the focus of the unit and provides an engaging start. Looking the units as a whole all the language skills including grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening and speaking are all covered. Usually after the test your grammar part which engages you into the main focus of the units, there is a text. It is good that the unit starts with this way because it is helping them to remember thing they have done previously but also is going to introduce them of what grammar is going to follow. In unit 1 the grammar is very simple. It starts with auxiliary verbs, naming the tenses, questions and negatives, and short answers. Tenses and auxiliary verbs are integrated into a quiz which they have to complete and then listen to it in order to check their answers. Then there is the grammar spot and then there is a practice section where they have to practice negatives and pronunciation. Then follows some exercises on short answers where they have to notice differences between the two conversations. This is followed again by a grammar spot and then a practice activity based on short answers. It is obvious that it gives more emphasis on grammar. However, then follows an information gap speaking activity. In the next page follows a reading and a speaking activity where the students have to read a passage on the wonders of the modern world and answer some questions based on the text and then discuss some other questions. Further down there is a freer listening and speaking section w hich consists of listening about wonders of the modern world and a discussion based on inventions. Then, follows a vocabulary section with different exercises based on what it is new in a word. This part includes some spelling and pronunciation exercises. Additionally there is a reference to page 159 where you can find all the phonetic symbols. At the end of the vocabulary section there is a writing exercise in page 103 based on correcting mistakes and finally there is the section every day English where students practice social expressions through exercises. Unit 2 starts with a short Test your grammar exercise which is to guide students into the focus of the unit and provide an engaging start. Following this is a picture presentation of different people having fun and here students have to talk about what makes them happy. Then there is a textual representation incorporating pictures and a written text on the theme of what makes people happy, which talks about Sidney fisk and below some comprehension questions focusing on conceptual aspects of the target language. The target language has been embedded in the written text .The object is that learners are given some exercises where they have to opportunity to practice how the present tense is used and why. These rules are reinforced in a grammar spot section under the passage and in the grammar reference in the back of the book where learners can look for help. This is followed by a listening and speaking controlled practice activities, the first two focusing on present tenses. Both of th ese exercises use information and examples from the presentation of grammar. Then students listen and read a conversation which is based on simple or continuous and they have to practice similar conversations with the one they have listened to including different jobs. This is followed by grammar practice activities, where in the first one they have to indicate whether the sentences are correct or not and in the second to complete the sentences with present simple or present continuous. Then, the reading and speaking section is about I am a clown doctor. The unit here includes some pre-reading activities; mainly questions which are said to motivate learners. Then learners have to read the text and answer some questions. Following this is a grammar spot exercise which focuses on present passive. Students have to complete sentences from the text and then if they want they can go and see the rules on how and when to use present passive on the grammar reference part. Some more exercise s follow. The one is related to the text and in the other one you have to format some questions in order to complete the interview. Then there is an activity where students have to discuss some questions in groups. Exercises on vocabulary and listening are in the next page, based on sports. There are pictures of different people doing different sports and a warm-up activity in which learners have to make a list of as many sports and leisure activities they can think of. They can use the pictures for help. When they finish, there is an exercise where they have to match some sports with the verbs do, play or go. Then follows an activity in which they have to complete a chart using activities from the list they have made before. Meanwhile they have the opportunity to use a dictionary to look up any words they need. Then they listen to different people talking about a sport activity they enjoy and take notes. In a freer activity they can ask their partners some questions based on sports . For writing they have to write letters and emails. The unit finishes by everyday English which is based on numbers. They will learn about money, fractions, decimals and percentages, dates and phone numbers. Then they will listen to some conversation and write the numbers they hear. In my opinion it would take me 18-20 hours to teach both units in this course book. New Headway Intermediate is attractively laid out, with glossy pages and plenty use of colour and photographs which inspires the student. The strong visual element is likely to attract students. However, the cover does not really remind you of an English book, but the inside is different. I think that the new headway intermediate book is well organised into units and sub-sections and it is easy to follow. There are headings or labels for each section and exercises and activities are always introduced with clear instructions. The book clearly arranges the contents, and cross references indicate where learners can find further grammatical information, typescripts, pair work activities, irregular verbs, verb patterns and phonetic symbols in the back. Still, it does not include any revision or recycling sections and this is a disadvantage because students will not have the opportunity for self study in order to check the skills they have learnt. I would provide them with some revision ac tivities with every 2 or 3 units so that they will do revisions and refresh their skills. However, I find the way that the materials are sequenced logical, because intermediate learners need to work their grammar. Some people may find this as a limitation but I believe that it is a good for intermediate learners that the content is based on the complexity of grammar. Moreover, there is a varied mix of activities, like grammar, vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, and functional English, but it lacks on pronunciation activities. Even if it provides phonetic symbols in the back of the book it does not include material for pronunciation work, and it is essential for this level of students to practice their pronunciation. The material for vocabulary is adequate in terms of quantity and range It offers a good balance of work on all skills and they are adequately covered .Also, there are some points where there are materials for integrated skills. I think that there are not enough activities associated to the text in each unit. In unit 1 and 2, they have to read the passage and then answer some comprehension questions. There are not exercises or suitable texts that will help students to improve their reading skills (scanning, skimming, intensive reading, and extensive reading). As homework I would give students extra reading exercises to do in order to practice their reading skills. The other skill that lacks in practice in the unit is the listening skill. I believe that again the book does not provide learners the opportunity to expand and practice their listening skills. The exercises provided for listening does not help students to expand their listening skills, and thus I would give them different listening activities to do within a lessons in order to practice their l istening. Grammar, writing and vocabulary are well covered. Speaking activities can equip them for real-life conversations. The topics are motivating for the adult learners and suitable for their language level. It covers a variety of interests and it gives them the opportunity to expand their awareness on some topics and enrich their experiences. Other groups of people are also presented in the topics. On the whole, New Headway Intermediate course book is perceived as a well designed and a well written book which supports English language learning. It is also used in many schools which teach English as a foreign language. It is suitable for learners, and regarding the disadvantages mentioned above they can become overcome through supplementary activities. .

5G New Waveform Signal Analysis

5G New Waveform Signal Analysis UF-OFDM, FBMC and GFDM are under investigation worldwide as promising candidates of the New Waveform for 5G mobile communication systems. This paper describes features of their signal processing technologies and issues. New Waveform analysis environment is also introduced. Impact of each waveform to existing system can be estimated quickly by the environment. 1 Introduction Preparations for the migration from LTE/LTE-Advanced to next-generation mobile communications systems (5G) are progressing in various regions worldwide. In particular, the European METIS) and 5GNOW projects have advanced the research of new waveforms meeting 5G requirements. LTE/ LTE-Advanced currently uses Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) as the wireless signal multiplexing method, because it has high spectrum efficiency as well as high tolerance against multipath propagation and fading. On the other hand, CP-ODFM signal requires high linearity to output power amplifiers according to its high peak to average power ratio (PAPR). As a result, the power amplifier efficiency is low, increasing the User Equipment (UE) battery power consumption. Consequently, there are problems with shortened hours to receive wireless services. Moreover, the CP-OFDM spectrum has high out-of-band (OOB) sidelobes, causing problem with lowered spectrum efficiency when many UEs are operating at one location. Improving CP-OFDM is under way to solve these problems that constitute barriers to 5G system deployment. Currently, use of the Filtered Multi-carrier technology is examined to reduce the OOB sidelobes and is recognized as New Waveform. Various different methods have been proposed for implementing the Filtered Multi-carrier technology. These methods offer to improve CP-OFDM using sub-carrier filtering but each filtering method is different. Since these new waveforms are different from the CP-OFDM waveform used in LTE/LTE-Advanced, PAPR and spectrum shape are also different. As a result, devices with designs optimized for CP-OFDM are no longer optimum for the new waveforms. Therefore, RF devices, UEs and Base Stations for 5G systems will require new test instruments to generate and receive new waveforms for their various performance evaluations. 2 Example of New Waveforms This chapter explains proposed main methods of the Filtered Multi-carrier technology, in particular UF-OFDM (Universal Filtered Orthogonal Frequency Multiplex), FBMC (Filter Bank Multi-Carrier), and GFDM (Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing). 2.1 UF-OFDM UF-OFDM is a method for improving OOB characteristics by filtering each block. UF-OFDM allows a mapped signal to be allocated to a predetermined number of blocks and number of sub-carriers for each block. The data for each block are calculated using Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (iDFT) and converted to time sequence data equal to the total number of sub-carriers. As a consequence, the UF-OFDM signal becomes a time series with a length extended by (the filter tap number. The length can be set equal to the length of cyclic prefix (CP) of CP-OFDM signal. Therefore UF-OFDM has higher compatibility with the CP-OFDM. The time series signal from modulation side is pre-processed for filtering interference and S/P converted, demodulation is performed by FFT of twice the number of total sub-carriers. The demodulated signal is demapped to each symbol group after radio channel correction for each sub-carrier. Other demodulation methods such as ZF (Zero-Forcing), MF (Matched Filter), and MMSE (Minimum Mean Square Error) have also been discussed. Transmission distortion, receiver performance in the mobile environment and circuit scale, etc. will be key factors for their adoption. The OOB sidelobes have been significantly improved, being better by about 40 dB than those of CP-OFDM. Although UF-OFDM improves the OOB by filtering each block, its performance is affected by the inserted filter which causes the amplitude and phase distortion. Their results show the constellation without correction of the filter distortion. The constellation is scattered in each block in the direction of amplitude and phase due to the filter characteristics. A UF-OFDM signal (time series length of N + L à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1) using a filter with L taps is longer than the OFDM signal with the same number of sub-carriers (N). However, demodulation of the UF-OFDM signal could be desired to be performed by N point-FFT instead of 2N point-FFT, as well as that of the OFDM signal. 2.2 FBMC Unlike UF-OFDM, since FBMC is a method for improving OOB characteristics by filtering each subcarrier, it is also expected to improve the Inter-Carrier Interference (ICI) characteristics. The FBMC multicarrier modulation techniques allow the orthogonality between the Offset-QAM (OQAM) sub-carriers to be fully assured. Since narrowband filters are used for the FBMC sub-carriers, the number of digital filter taps can be larger than the total sub-carrier number. This filter method can be implemented in two ways-in the frequency domain, or in the time domain. To fix the iFFT length to the same total sub-carrier number, time domain processing method is suitable and Poly Phase Network (PPN) is used. FBMC using this narrowband filtering has greatly improved OOB characteristics. On the other hand, the number of filter taps required to improve the characteristics is about four times the total sub-carrier number, creating a four times processing latency in a PPN configuration. Accordingly, although FBMC is problem-free for bitpipe communications such as video streaming, it has lower transmission efficiency for short packets. In the actual application, besides these blocks, there is additional processing such as equalization for each sub-carrier and filtering to remove interference caused by transmission distortion. 2.3 GFDM GFDM is a new concept method in which conventional OFDM is generalized, and it is based on the block oriented Filtered Multi-carrier method following the Gabor principle. Symbol configuration of GFDM is composed of time frequency blocks made up of a number of sub-carriers K and a number of subsymbols M with high flexibility. The modulation filter processing uses pulse-shaping filter g[n] for each sub-carrier and is implemented using cyclic convolution processing. The demodulation filter processing is performed using the same filter as modulation processing and reduces the Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI). This filtering for each sub-carrier improves the GFDM OOB characteristics but generates ISI and ICI and insertion of an interference canceler is being investigated to reduce ISI and ICI caused by this filtering. The constellation for all sub-carriers show that the symbol constellation is not converged at one point due to the effect of ICI. These results are one example of using a root raised cosine filter (RRCF). The OOB characteristics and degree of ICI and ISI generation change according to the selected pulse-shaping filter. Since the GFDM waveform has the same cyclic prefix (CP) as the OFDM waveform, the OOB characteristics are worse than the new waveform which does not have CP as explained previously. Consequently, to improve the OOB characteristics, guard symbol GFDM (GS-GFDM) method, which inserts a guard symbol between subsymbols, and windowed GFDM (W-GFDM), which performs window processing in the time domain, are being investigated. On the other hand, as the same synchronization technology is used as in OFDM, GFDM can realize synchronization more easily than other new waveforms without CP. Although GFDM is considered more complex to implement, its usefulness is attracting attention n ow. It is expected to offer flexible frame design in both time and frequency domains to applications such as IoT requiring low latency. 3 New Waveform Analysis Environment The previous sections describe the investigation results of the new waveforms that are studied as 5G PHY-layer candidates. RD activity for the new technologies requires versatile engineering tool that can provide seamless use of communication system simulation and verification by actual equipments. This chapter introduces evaluation environment configured and its testing examples. Figure 14 shows the configured new waveform analysis environment including MG3710A Signal Generator with AWG (Arbitrary Waveform Generator), MS2692A Signal Analyzer for waveform capture and MATLAB ® program for generation and analysis of transmitted and received waveforms. By using MATLAB ®, which is commercially available and widely used, building user-friendly GUI and testing various wireless systems become easy, quick and flexible. 3.1 New Waveform Interference Evaluations In the study of 5G waveform candidates, it is a key to identify waveforms to realize good spectrum efficiency of unused frequency bands. This section explains how to evaluate the impact from 5G waveform candidate to existing system waveform by using the new waveform analysis environment. In this evaluation, CP-OFDM waveform with band gap is defined as an existing system waveform and UF-OFDM waveform is defined as a candidate 5G waveform. And the impact of interference is evaluated when the defined waveforms are located side by side in the frequency domain. MG3710A can easily output desired and undesired signals by using add baseband function to synthesize and output two modulated signals from one RF signal (Figure. 15). This evaluation uses the capability to generate and synthesize CP-OFDM and UF-OFDM waveforms, and analyze the signal by MS2692A Signal Analyzer. Thus giving and receiving interference evaluation is realized. We show that the spectrum of the CP-OFDM waveform having band gap and the UF-OFDM waveform. The purple trace and the blue trace correspond to the CP-OFDM and the UF-OFDM respectively. OOB sidelobe of CP-OFDM and excellent UF-OFDM OOB characteristics are addressed. Interference evaluations based on the adding waveform at baseband of MG3710A have been described. By using this analysis environment with preparation of multiple 5G waveform candidates, OOB characteristics of each waveform, interference caused by them and spectrum allocation adequacy can be evaluated easily. 4 Conclusion Regarding the 5G waveform candidates, we have presented performance evaluations by simulation and fore-casted problems in the actual operation. It is presumed that these waveforms will be integrated into a flexible multi-carrier system supporting various use cases, frequency bands and radio wave environments. We will continue to research to provide optimum solutions for the complex multi-carrier waveform measurements.

Brave New World :: essays research papers

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Aldous Huxley was born in Surray, England on July 26, 1894. He belonged to a dis-tinguished British family, which included T.H. Huxley, an famous scientist and hu-manist; and Julian Huxley, a philosopher of science. Aldous Huxley went to Balliol College, Oxford. He wanted to become a doctor, but an eye infection blinded him, and prevented him from finishing his studies. Huxley had to quit for some time because of his eye infection. He did exercises for his eyes, and with self-discipline eventually recovered from most of the infection and could some-what see. Huxley resumed his studies at Oxford, and accomplished a degree in 1916. At first Huxley tried to be journalist. But in 1921, he began writing poetry and short stories. There after, he began writing essays and novels. He received the Award of Merit for the Novel from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in the year 1959. His most famous book, "Brave New World", was published in 1932. In the "brave new world" of 632 A. F. (After Ford), universal human happiness has been achieved. Control of reproduction, genetic engineering, conditioning--especially with repetitive messages during sleep--and a perfect pleasure drug called "Soma" are the cornerstones of the new society. Religion, thinking and loneliness have been abolished. Reproduction has been removed from the womb and placed on the con-veyor belt, where reproductive workers tinker with the embryos to produce various grades of human beings, ranging from the super-intelligent Alpha Pluses down to the dwarfed semi-moron Epsilons. Each class is conditioned to love its type of work and its place in society; for example, Epsilons are supremely happy running elevators. Outside of their work, people spend their lives in constant pleasure. This involves consuming (continually buying new things, whether they need them or not), participating in elaborate sports, and free sex. While uninhibited sex is universal and considered socially constructive, love, marriage, and parenthood are viewed as obscene. The story concerns Bernard, an alpha whose programming is a bit off--he is discon-tented and desires to spend time alone just thinking or looking at the stars. At one point he takes Lenina on a vacation to the savage reservation in New Mexico. There he discovers John (the Savage), son of Linda who had visited the reservation more than 20 years previously and was accidentally left behind. When she discovered she was pregnant (the ultimate humiliation!), she had to remain among the savages.

Thoughtful Wedding Speech by the Groom -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speech

Thoughtful Wedding Speech by the Groom Ladies and gentlemen: I would like to thank the previous speaker for those sincere words and to the bride's parents for the love that they have both shown me, not only in preparation for today, but from the first moment that we met some two and a half years ago. I dont know who was more surprised that first night when my future wife brought me home without warning, when they were sitting there all ready for bed in their satin bath robes and her dad in his Snoopy slippers. Anyway quickly moving on... I did have a speech all worked out for this occasion, but of course now that I'm a married man, my wife has insisted that I read from the one that she has written for me. So here goes: On behalf of my wife and I -I suppose I'm going to have to get used to saying that? I would like to start by thanking everyone here today for sharing our very special day with us. Thank you for all the wonderful gifts and cards that you have given us, we are very touched at your generosity. We have both been very nervous about today and it means a great deal to us that you are sharing our day with us, and we hope that you are enjoying the occasion every bit as much as we are. Most people on their wedding day describe it as the happiest day of their lives. That worries me, because it implies that as from tomorrow there's a lifelong decline ahead, so I`m making the most of today. However, I'm so happy today that even days less happy would still be blissful. I would like to say a special thank you to those of you that have traveled some distance to be here today. It is quite a humbling experience to realize that you have friends and family that care so much for you. And I do genuinely mean that.... ...rything you have done today, and in the build up to the wedding, we have a small gift for you both.(Present gifts) Now before I finish and ask you to join me in a toast. I believe that my lovely wife would like to gatecrash these speeches and say a few words. (The bride?s speech) Thankyou darling. I would like to bring my speech toward a close by saying a very special thankyou to our lovely bridesmaids. I am sure you will all agree on how beautiful they look and I will always treasure the picture in in mind of you both entering the room and walking down the aisle. I would like you to know that your earrings and neck-laces are a token of our appreciation for everything you have done today. On that note. I would like to propose a toast to the bridesmaids, so could you all stand and and raise your glasses and join in as we toast. To the bridesmaids.

What Style Do I Have? :: Writing Education Essays

What Style Do I Have? A paper on style. What style's are going on around me? What style do I use? What is my written style? And what is my spoken style? In this English class, the style is the anti-Official Style. The Official Style has become a plague that everyone runs from. While running we develop our own style. In psychology class, or history or geography class, it is usually the Official Style. It's as if the professors say "I have a PhD, so it is necessary that I communicate in a fashion that will accentuate the intelligence that I have acquired from years of studious behavior." What is my style? My style is a "not trying to be official style" style. It's like starting to relearn a language a person was born into and forgot. The two languages start to intermingle. Some words are in one language and some in the other. The official style is similar. Some sentences are not written in the official style and some seem to creep in. When I'm in the mood for it, I kind of like the official style. If I feel like teasing my brain, I grab the closest psychology journal. I then meander through an article or two and my craving subsides until a future unknown date. It's also very comfortable writing in the official style. I guess I've done it for so long it comes naturally. I write my psychology papers in the official style because they sound so much more educated. The goal is to write something that a person has to read three or four times to understand. I don't usually talk using the official style. When I'm talking to my friends I use an unguarded style, although this does have levels to it. I have terrific friends, good friends, and not so good friends. The terrific friends I can say almost anything to. The good friends, I can tell some things to. The not so good friends, on the other hand, I don't tell much. But I still tell more to the not so good friends than I would to others that I don't know very well. The reason that I can tell my friends more than others who I don't know is because I don't have to worry about what they think of me. They already know me. I use an intimate style when I'm talking to my wife. What Style Do I Have? :: Writing Education Essays What Style Do I Have? A paper on style. What style's are going on around me? What style do I use? What is my written style? And what is my spoken style? In this English class, the style is the anti-Official Style. The Official Style has become a plague that everyone runs from. While running we develop our own style. In psychology class, or history or geography class, it is usually the Official Style. It's as if the professors say "I have a PhD, so it is necessary that I communicate in a fashion that will accentuate the intelligence that I have acquired from years of studious behavior." What is my style? My style is a "not trying to be official style" style. It's like starting to relearn a language a person was born into and forgot. The two languages start to intermingle. Some words are in one language and some in the other. The official style is similar. Some sentences are not written in the official style and some seem to creep in. When I'm in the mood for it, I kind of like the official style. If I feel like teasing my brain, I grab the closest psychology journal. I then meander through an article or two and my craving subsides until a future unknown date. It's also very comfortable writing in the official style. I guess I've done it for so long it comes naturally. I write my psychology papers in the official style because they sound so much more educated. The goal is to write something that a person has to read three or four times to understand. I don't usually talk using the official style. When I'm talking to my friends I use an unguarded style, although this does have levels to it. I have terrific friends, good friends, and not so good friends. The terrific friends I can say almost anything to. The good friends, I can tell some things to. The not so good friends, on the other hand, I don't tell much. But I still tell more to the not so good friends than I would to others that I don't know very well. The reason that I can tell my friends more than others who I don't know is because I don't have to worry about what they think of me. They already know me. I use an intimate style when I'm talking to my wife.

Examining Different Arguments Related to the Choice of a Career Essay

Assessment Part A: Critically Evaluating an Argument   Arts and Sciences (Advantage): Lots of flexibility in career choices: Logically Sound Arts and Sciences (Disadvantage): Leads to a career in food service – ‘Do you want fries with that? : Irrational Appeal Education (Advantage): The best way to make a difference in the world: Logically Sound Education (Disadvantage): Guaranteed low paying job: Shifting the Burden of Proof Nursing (Advantage): People always will need nurses: Logically Sound Nursing (Disadvantage): Too much schooling (according to Theo, the Law student): Shifting the Burden of Proof Information Systems and Technology (Advantage): No other degree concentration is as innovative (according to Grace): Shifting the Burden of Proof Information Systems and Technology (Disadvantage): Too limited in scope for much advancement in business situation (according to Ritesh): Logically Sound Business (Advantage): Infinite career options (according to Ritesh): Logic ally Sound Business (Disadvantage): Boring work, stuck behind a desk all day: Shifting the Burden of Proof Health and Human Services (Advantage): All the benefits of Arts and Sciences, but vastly more focused and relevant: Oversimplifying Health and Human Services (Disadvantage): Job options are all in very un-creative fields. : Double Standard Assessment Part B: Articulating the Steps Involved in Evaluating an Argument Write out the two most compelling arguments you heard that affected your decision. Next, list one that you heard that had a big logical error in it, but which you still thought was important. In the IT field, thre is not only a lot of opportunities there, from web design, to business systems and technology. There is also a huge demand in that field. The pay range also starts off at a pretty good level. One ofthe arguments I heard is that since I would start at an entry level position, there is a good possibility that I would not get the hours that I am looking for. Were there any errors in truth with that argument? Describe what those errors were, and what made them errors. There were some errors in that truth. There might not be such a high demand in my area that I live in. If I were to live in a very desolate area with little businesses, there might not be as much opportunity as others may have. What about errors of validity? Remember, these are errors in reasoning – and they’re a little harder to understand! Tell me if there are any errors of validity in this argument. I didn’t think that there were really any errors in the validity of the argument, however, there are some things that might not be considered valid by some. For instance, this field might not be for everyone. Some people might find some enjoyment in it, while others might not like it at all. Revise the argument so that it removes all errors. Restate it in a way that is logically sound. The field can be very promising, allowing you to have the opportunity to make good money. Also, most of the time, there are a high demand for employment, but it also depends on where you are looking for work. Take a look at all of what the job entails, because it might be for you, even though I enjoy it. Take a little more time on this one. What it was that led you to choose this degree concentration. Describe both about how you evaluated the arguments and also about what you valued most. I think that the most important point made in these arguments is which field I would enjoy the most. If I have a passion for technological services, then this is probably a good field for me. Also, if the pay scale is accurate, that is a great start at entry level.

Succubus Shadows Chapter 3

I worked until closing that night and didn't get home until around ten. To my surprise, I found Roman on the couch eating a bowl of cereal while the cats competed for who could take up the most attention on his lap. Honestly, they seemed to love him more than me lately. It was a betrayal of Caesarean proportions. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked, sitting on the armchair opposite him. I noticed then that the last of the party untidiness had been cleaned. Somehow, I suspected mentioning that would result in him never cleaning again. â€Å"I figured you'd be out chasing Jerome's succubus.† Roman stifled a yawn and set the empty bowl on the coffee table. Immediately, both cats sprang off his lap to get to the residual milk. â€Å"I'm on break. Been following her all day, though.† â€Å"And?† My natural curiosity aside, I was uneasy about the idea of Jerome's authority being called into question. The arch-demon might annoy me sometimes, but I had no desire for a new boss. We'd come dangerously close to a leadership change when he'd been summoned, and I hadn't been impressed with any of the candidates. â€Å"And it was incredibly boring. You're much more fun to stalk. She went shopping for most of the day. I didn't even know stores would let you take that much shit into dressing rooms. Then, she picked up a guy at a bar, and, well, you can figure out the rest.† I rather liked the idea of Roman suffering while Simone had sex. â€Å"Figured your voyeuristic tendencies would be into that kind of pornographic display.† He made a face. â€Å"It wasn't good porn. It was like the nasty, kinky porn they keep in the back of the store. The kind of stuff that only really sick people go after.† â€Å"So no clandestine meetings to report to Jerome?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Makes sense, I guess.† I stretched out and put my feet out on the table. With Doug incapacitated, I'd spent a rare day on registers, standing more than I usually did anymore. Unless I was mistaken, Roman's eyes lingered on my legs before returning to my face. â€Å"If she didn't see any immortal action today, she'd have nothing to tell on.† â€Å"Not until tonight, at least.† â€Å"Tonight?† â€Å"How scattered are you? Peter and Cody are having one of their things tonight.† â€Å"Oh, man. I forgot.† Peter loved to throw dinners and get-togethers and seemed unconcerned that I'd just had a major party of my own. As a nocturnal creature, his soirees always took place late at night. â€Å"And Simone's going?† â€Å"Yup. Mei's with her now, and I'll relieve her at Peter's.† â€Å"So you'll be there in spirit, if not in person.† â€Å"Something like that.† He smiled at my joke, and for the first time since he'd returned to town, I saw a genuinely amused sparkle in those teal eyes. It reminded me a bit of the witty, gallant guy I used to date. It also occurred to me that this was a rare non-antagonistic conversation for us. It was almost†¦normal. Misunderstanding my silence, he gave me a wary look. â€Å"You aren't thinking of wussing out, are you? Your day couldn't have been that hard.† I actually had been thinking of wussing out. After yesterday's drama and now my regret over yielding to Maddie, I wasn't sure I was up for my immortal friends' zany hijinks. â€Å"Come on,† Roman said. â€Å"Simone is so boring. And I don't even mean her activities. She's just bland. If you're not there to entertain me, I don't know what I'll do.† â€Å"Are you saying the rest of my friends aren't entertaining?† â€Å"They pale in comparison.† I finally agreed to go. Although, it wouldn't have surprised me if his interest in me making an appearance was just to bum a ride. Nonetheless, I was in a good mood as I headed over to Capitol Hill. It was a little weird having Roman with me and not with me. To continue his spying, he'd gone invisible and without signature. It was like having a ghost in my car. As usual, I was one of the last to arrive. The Three Amigos – Peter, Cody, and Hugh – were there, dressed in their usual attire now, rather than historically accurate costumes. That meant a perfectly coordinated sweater vest and slacks for Peter, jeans and a T-shirt for Cody, and business casual for Hugh. I held the door open a little longer than usual, to facilitate Roman sweeping in after me. From there, I took it on faith that he was hanging out. As soon as he let us in, Peter scurried back to his kitchen without a word. Simone was there too. She sat on the loveseat, long legs perfectly crossed and hands resting on her knees. Her body was slim with respectably sized breasts, clad in a black skirt and silvery silk blouse. Her hair was – unsurprisingly – long and blond. Most succubi seemed to think blond was a sure-fire way to get guys in bed. I considered that attitude a sign of inexperience. I'd been a brunette – albeit one with gold highlights – for a while and never had trouble scoring action. Hugh sat next to her, wearing the flirtatious face that was standard for him when it came to wooing women into bed. Simone regarded him with a polite smile, one she turned on me when I entered. She stood up and held out her hand. Her immortal signature smelled like violets and put me in mind of moonlight and cello music. â€Å"You must be Georgina,† she said. â€Å"Nice to meet you.† She kept that same polite expression, and I could tell it wasn't faked. It also wasn't mischievous or overly charming. Likewise, she bore none of the open hostility succubi had around each other, or even the sugar-coated passive aggressiveness that was also common among us. She was just averagely nice. She was†¦bland. â€Å"You too,† I said. I turned to Cody as I tried to identify the scents coming from the kitchen. â€Å"What's for dinner?† â€Å"Shepherd's pie.† I waited for the joke, but none came. â€Å"That's not Peter's usual style.† He was a great cook but tended to stray toward filet mignon or scallops. Cody nodded. â€Å"He was watching a documentary on the British Isles earlier, and it inspired him.† â€Å"Well, I've got nothing against it,† I said, sitting on the arm of the couch. â€Å"I guess we should just be grateful he didn't decide to make blood pudding.† â€Å"In Australia, they have a variant of shepherd's pie that has potatoes on the top and the bottom,† Simone said out of nowhere. â€Å"They call it potato pie.† Several seconds of silence followed. Her comment wasn't entirely off-topic, but it was just odd – particularly since she didn't deliver it in a smug, know-it-all voice that you found among people who always won at Trivial Pursuit. It was just a statement of fact. It also wasn't very interesting. â€Å"Huh,† I said at last, voice deadpan. â€Å"Good to know the name's accurate. It'll avoid any embarrassing confusion that might occur at dinner. God only knows how many wacky mishaps have happened when people ordered sweetmeats.† Cody choked a little on his beer, but Hugh gave Simone a high-beam smile. â€Å"That's fascinating. Are you a cook?† â€Å"No,† she said. Nothing more. Peter popped back in just then with a vodka gimlet for me. After last night's showdown with Doug, I'd vowed to lay off for a while – like, a few days. I suddenly decided I might need a drink after all. Peter glanced around with a small frown. â€Å"This is it? I'd kind of hoped Jerome might come.† Our boss used to hang out with us quite a bit but had been avoiding social events since his summoning. â€Å"I think he's got some business to take care of,† I said. I honestly had no clue, but I kind of hoped my vague allusion would trigger a reaction in Simone. It didn't. Peter put on a good spread as always, his kitchen table immaculately set, along with cabernet sauvignon to complement the shepherd's pie. I noted that Guinness might be a better pairing, but he ignored me. â€Å"Where are you from?† I asked Simone. â€Å"You're here on vacation, right?† She nodded, delicately lifting her fork. She'd cut her pie into perfect one-inch-sized cubes. It was enough to rival Peter's obsessive compulsion. â€Å"I'm from Charleston,† she said. â€Å"I'll probably stay for a week. Maybe two if my archdemon will let me. Seattle's nice.† â€Å"I've heard Charleston's nice too,† said Hugh. He apparently hadn't given up on getting laid tonight. â€Å"It was founded in 1670,† she said by way of answer. That weird silence followed again. â€Å"Were you there at the time?† I asked. â€Å"No.† We ate without further conversation. At least, we did until dessert arrived and Cody turned his attention to me. â€Å"So, are you going to help me or not?† I'd been pondering how Simone ever managed to score guys and if her use of adjectives expanded beyond â€Å"nice.† Cody's question blindsided me. â€Å"What?† â€Å"With Gabrielle. Remember? Last night?† Right. Bookstore Gabrielle who was only into Goth and vampire guys. â€Å"I didn't promise you I would, did I?† I asked uneasily. There were too many memory gaps from that party. â€Å"No, but if you were a friend, you would. Besides, aren't you some kind of love expert?† â€Å"For myself.† â€Å"And if memory serves,† said Hugh, â€Å"she's not even really good at that.† I shot him a glare. â€Å"You have to give me something,† said Cody. â€Å"I need to see her again†¦need something to talk to her about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I'd thought his infatuation with Gabrielle had been alcohol induced last night – seriously, was there anything alcohol couldn't be blamed for? – but that look of puppy dog love was still in his eyes. I'd known Cody a few years and had never seen this kind of reaction from him. I'd never seen it from Peter either, but my friends and I had secretly decided long ago that he was just asexual. If vampires had been capable of reproduction, he would have done it amoeba-style. I racked my brain. â€Å"I saw her reading The Seattle Sinner the other day on her break.† â€Å"What's that?† Cody asked. â€Å"It's our local industrial-Goth-fetish-horror-S-angst underground newspaper,† said Peter. We all turned and stared at him. â€Å"So I've heard,† he added hastily. I glanced back at Cody with a shrug. â€Å"It's a start. We've got it in the store.† â€Å"Are you guys done with the boring love stuff?† a voice suddenly asked. â€Å"It's time to get onto the real action.† The new voice made me jump, and then I felt the familiar crystalline aura signaling an angel's presence. Carter materialized in the one empty chair at the table – Peter had set for six, hoping Jerome would show. Seattle's worst dressed angel sat back in the chair, arms crossed over his chest and expression typically sardonic. His jeans and flannel shirt looked like they'd gone through a wood chipper, but the cashmere knit hat resting on his shoulder-length blond hair was pristine. It had been a gift from me, and I couldn't help a smile. Carter's gray eyes glinted with amusement when he noticed me. Hanging out with an angel might be weird in some hellish circles, but it had become pretty standard in our group. We were used to Carter's comings and goings, as well as his cryptic – and often infuriating – remarks. He was the closest Jerome had to a best friend and always had a particular interest in me and my love life. He'd let up a little since the recent debacle with Seth. Carter might be commonplace to us – but not to Simone. Her blue eyes went wide when he appeared, her face completely transforming. She leaned over the table, and unless I was mistaken, her neckline had gotten a little lower since my arrival. She shook Carter's hand. â€Å"I don't think we've met,† she said. â€Å"I'm Simone.† â€Å"Carter,† he replied, eyes still amused. â€Å"Simone's visiting from Charleston,† I said. â€Å"It was founded in 1670.† Carter's smile twitched a little. â€Å"So I've heard.† â€Å"You should visit,† she said. â€Å"I'd love to show you around. It's very nice.† I exchanged astonished looks with Peter, Cody, and Hugh. Simone's bland demeanor hadn't lit up exactly, but she'd suddenly become 2 percent more interesting. She wasn't infatuated with Carter the way Cody was with Gabrielle. She was just trying to bag an angel. Good luck with that, I thought. That was ballsy for any succubus. Certainly angels fell because of love and sex – Jerome was living proof – and I'd even witnessed it once. But Carter? If ever there was a staunchly resistant being, it was him. Except when it came to chain-smoking and hard liquor, of course. Yes, things with Simone had definitely gotten more interesting. â€Å"Sure,† said Carter. â€Å"I bet you could show me all sorts of places off the beaten path.† â€Å"Absolutely,† she replied. â€Å"You know, there's an inn there that George Washington had dinner at once.† I rolled my eyes. I doubted there was any part of Charleston she could show Carter that he didn't know about. Carter had been around to watch cities like Babylon and Troy rise and fall. For all I knew, he'd personally helped take down Sodom and Gomorrah. â€Å"So what kind of action did you have in mind?† I asked Carter. As entertaining as Simone's pathetic flirtation might be, I wasn't sure I was up to American History 101 tonight. â€Å"I am not playing ‘Have You Ever' again.† â€Å"Better,† he said. Out of nowhere, Carter produced Pictionary. And when I say out of nowhere, I meant it. â€Å"No,† said Hugh. â€Å"I spent years perfecting my illegible doctor's signature. I've totally lost any artistic aptitude whatsoever.† â€Å"I love Pictionary,† said Simone. â€Å"I think I have some things to do,† I added. I felt a shove on my shoulder and glanced around in surprise, seeing nothing. Then, I knew. Roman apparently still wanted me to entertain him. I sighed. â€Å"But I can stay for a little while.† â€Å"Great. That settles it,† said Carter. He turned to Peter. â€Å"You got an easel?† Of course Peter did. Why, I had no clue, but after he'd bought a Roomba and a Betamax player, I'd learned not to ask questions. We split into teams: me, Cody, and Hugh against the others. I went first. The card I drew was â€Å"Watergate.† â€Å"Oh, come on,† I said. â€Å"This is ridiculous.† â€Å"Don't whine,† said Carter, his grin annoyingly smug. â€Å"We all take a random chance here.† They started the timer. I drew some remedial waves that immediately got a â€Å"Water!† from Cody. That was promising. Then, I drew what I hoped looked like a wall with a door in it. Apparently, I did too good a job. â€Å"Wall,† said Hugh. â€Å"Door,† said Cody. I added some vertical lines to the door to emphasize the gate aspect. After a moment's thought, I drew a plus sign between the water and wall to show their connection. â€Å"Aqueduct,† said Cody. â€Å"A bridge over troubled water,† guessed Hugh. â€Å"Oh my God,† I groaned. Unsurprisingly, my time ran out before my teammates could figure it out, though not before they guessed â€Å"Hoover Dam† and â€Å"Hans Brinker.† With a groan, I flounced onto the couch. The other team then got a shot at it. â€Å"Watergate,† said Carter right away. Hugh turned on me, face incredulous. â€Å"Why didn't you just draw a gate?† Simone went after me, and I hoped she'd get â€Å"Cuban Missile Crisis† or â€Å"Bohr's Law.† The timer started, and she drew a circle with lines radiating out from it. â€Å"Sun,† said Peter immediately. â€Å"Right!† she said. I glared at Carter. â€Å"You. Are. Cheating.† â€Å"And you're a bad loser,† he replied. We played for another hour, but after my team got â€Å"Oncology,† â€Å"The Devil and Daniel Webster,† and â€Å"War of 1812,† and theirs got â€Å"Heart,† â€Å"Flower,† and â€Å"Smile,† I decided to go home. At the door, I heard a wistful sigh in my ear. â€Å"You're on your own,† I growled to Roman in an undertone. I left amid protests about being a bad sport and considered myself lucky when Carter said they were going to play Jenga next. The drive back to West Seattle was quiet this time of night, and after parking underneath my building, I was happy to see that today's unseasonable heat still hung in the air. Being so close to the water had cooled it slightly, bringing it to a perfect nighttime temperature. On impulse, I walked across the street to the beach, which was actually more like a park: grassy with only a few feet of sand. In Seattle, there were few places that offered much more. Still, I loved the water and the soft sounds of waves against the shore. A light breeze stirred my hair, and those costly glittering lights shone in the distance. I'd moved here partially to get away from Queen Anne and its regular proximity to Seth, but also because the ocean always brought back memories of my mortal youth. Puget Sound was a far cry from the warm Mediterranean waters I'd grown up near, but it soothed something within me nonetheless. That comfort was bittersweet, of course, but it was an unfortunate tendency of mortals and immortals alike to gravitate toward things we knew would cause us pain. The water was enchanting, glittering in both moonlight and street light. I stared off at a lit ferry moving toward Bain-bridge Island, then returned my gaze to the lapping waves before me. They seemed to be choreographed into a dance, an alluring pattern that urged me to join in. I might not be able to draw, but dancing was an art I'd carried from my mortal days. The water beckoned, and I could almost hear the music it danced to. It was intoxicating, filled with warmth and love that promised to ease that constant dull ache in my chest, the ache I'd carried since losing Seth†¦. It wasn't until I was calf-deep in water that I realized what I had done. My high heels were sinking into the sand, and warm day or no, the water was still at a low temperature, its icy touch seeping into my skin. The world, which had before seemed dreamy and hazy, now snapped into sharp relief, no longer an inviting dance that promised comfort and pleasure. Fear sent my heart racing, and I hastily backed up, something that wasn't easy as the sand wrapped around my heels. I finally stepped out of them and reached down, pulling them up from the water and walking back to the shore barefoot. I stared out at the sound a few moments more, startled at how much it now scared me. How far would I have walked in? I didn't know and didn't want to think about it too hard. I turned and hastily headed toward my condo, oblivious to the rough asphalt against my feet. It wasn't until I was safely back in my living room – having locked the door behind me – that I felt some measure of safety. Aubrey walked up to me, sniffing my ankles and then licking the salty water that still clung to them. I'd had one drink almost two hours ago, a drink that had long metabolized out of my system. This had been no buzzed delusion – neither had last night's sleepwalking or near-balcony jump. I sat on my couch, arms wrapped around me. Everything around me seemed a threat. â€Å"Roman?† I asked aloud. â€Å"Are you here?† My only answer was silence. He was still out with Simone and probably wouldn't be back the rest of the night. I was astonished at how suddenly and desperately I wished he were here. My condo seemed lonely and ominous. Water had splashed against my dress, and I changed out of it, swapping it for the soft comfort of pajamas. I decided then that I wouldn't sleep. I'd wait in the living room for Roman. I needed to tell him what had happened. I needed him to guard my sleep. Yet, somewhere around four, my own fatigue overcame me. I stretched out along the couch, both cats curled against me, and gradually lost track of the infomercial on TV. When I woke, it was late morning, and sunlight warmed my skin. Roman was still gone. I hadn't been able to wait him out, but I was still on the couch. For now, that was the best I could hope for.