7 Places to Look for Part-time Jobs

7 Places to Look for Part-time Jobs Low maintenance employments are an incredible chance to earnâ income as well as build up a newâ skill set on the off chance that you don’tâ the time or adaptability to focus on an all day work. Tragically, getting low maintenance line of work isn't as basic as you would might suspect. Consider these seven proven puts in to glance in request to abstain from winding up among the positions of disappointed low maintenance work searchers. 1. Nearby Staffing AgenciesWhile some setting up organizations work just with applicants looking for all day occupations, others represent considerable authority in adaptable work courses of action and may have broad associations with businesses hoping to occupy low maintenance or occasional positions. Contact neighborhood staffing offices to discover one that meets your needs.2. Characterized Ads-Print and OnlineWhile the times of looking through your neighborhood paper postings with a red pen close by might be reaching a conclusion, the class ifieds stay a reasonable hotspot for discovering low maintenance work. Online assistance needed promoting destinations likewise contain low maintenance work openings. Furthermore, don’t disregard locales like Craigslist, which may contain less customary occupations with increasingly adaptable hours.One expression of alert: when utilizing Craigslist and comparable destinations, make certain to take wellbeing estimates with regards to giving out close to home data and forgo tolerating interviews at non-open locations.3. Online Job BoardsBecause online occupation loads up are accessible, they make it simpler than at any other time to get a new line of work that suits both your range of abilities and time requirements. Utilizing the site-if channel, thin your inquiry to low maintenance employments and see just those that bode well for your schedule.4. Joblessness AgenciesDo you consider joblessness organizations as the spots to go when you don’t have a vocation, rather tha n when you’re searching for one? Reconsider. Planned for helping individuals look for some kind of employment, joblessness offices keep up databases of current neighborhood openings. These may incorporate both full-time and low maintenance openings in businesses running from food administration to retail to healthcare.5. Shoot SmallMany littler organizations, including new companies and â€Å"solopreneurs,† are all the more ready to offer representatives adaptability in the work environment. Why? Since they may not yetâ have the assets or workloadâ to bolster a full-time representative, or may need adequate office space for another all day laborer. Extending your hunt past corporate into littler and frequently specializedâ organizations, for example, non-benefits, historical centers, libraries, and places of worship can yield results.6. System, Network, NetworkMany businesses aren’t anxious to sit around idly and assets promoting low maintenance occupations. This is the place your system comes in. On the off chance that you let companions both face to face and online-realize that you’re searching for low maintenance work, you’ll likely be wonderfully astounded by what turns up.7. Consider FreelanceA new variety of independent occupation sheets, for example, eLance and oDesk-extend to scores of agreement and independent employment opportunities for everybody from programming software engineers to innovative authors. In the event that you’re searching for low maintenance work that permits you to telecommute, these specialty places of work deliver.While discovering low maintenance business can be a test, determination and realizing where to look-will at last result as an occupation that meets your planning needs, yet additionally your interesting range of abilities.

Mp3s a new age problem essays

Mp3s another age issue articles Music is wonderful, and the specialists who make it are incredibly refreshing. Music lets you get away from the real world or get you in contact with the real world. A great many people can identify with a ton of tunes, the purpose behind this is on the grounds that the specialists who compose the melodies are somehow or another or another, much the same as you and me. Over the most recent two years MP3s have gotten exceptionally famous over the Internet and on PCs. The new craze manages sharing MP3 documents with different clients by downloading the melodies from their PC to yours. Is sharing tunes between various clients over the Internet a fortunate or unfortunate idea? Is it unlawful and would you be able to stumble into some legitimate difficulty for doing this? MP3 is short for Moving Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer III, and is a pressure position that shrivels sound documents with just a little penance in sound quality. MP3 documents can be packed at various rates, however the more they are scrunched, the more awful the sound quality. So would they say they are acceptable or would they say they are terrible? Great obviously! Well it relies upon what you utilize your MP3 records for. On the off chance that you use them on your own hard drive, for your very own utilization and not on some other servers, at that point youre not a merchant. For whatever length of time that you keep your MP3s in the security of your own hard drive and not on the web, its alright, on the grounds that youre moderately innocuous. You get the opportunity to download a tune and make up your own play arrangements of melodies that you appreciate, without going out and spend your cash on a CD that you probably won't wind up enjoying. As a rule, after you heard the m elodies on your PC and discover a band that youre musically keen on, youll purchase that CD. One reason that MP3s are so well known is on the grounds that they accompany so much accommodation. The vast majority would prefer to download a melody at that point head out to the closest CD retailer to get one. For what reason are MP3s terrible? The perspective on the account enterprises is that MP3s are danger to their very lifestyles. (Anonymo... <!

trouble submitting documents COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

trouble submitting documents COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog In order for your application to be considered complete and ready for review, we must receive all the required documents, which include your resumes, recommendation letters, and transcripts.   We prefer documents be uploaded through the online application.   However, we have received a number of inquiries on what to do if you have trouble uploading these documents to your online application.   If the advice you received from the application technical support team (presuming you contacted them)   was insufficient and you continue to have problems uploading your documents; you may email   the documents to us (sipa_admission@columbia.edu) as an attachment. If you need to mail us documents; it is preferred that they be mailed together to expedite the process.   But we understand that it may be easier to just mail documents individually (such as recommendation letters) too.   Regardless, if you mail us a big packet or a small envelope, please have it sent to: Columbia University SIPA Office of Admissions and Financial Aid 420 West 118th Street, 4th Floor Mail Code 3325 408 International Affairs Building New York, NY 10027 USA All documents must be in English or accompanied by certified translations.   Please make sure these documents arrive to us by the application deadline, February 5th, in order for your application to be considered complete.   Please also note that this is our heaviest processing period so it can take up to two to three weeks to process information that was sent by mail. You may track the receipt of your documents online (by logging into your online application) without having to call or email our office.

Industrialization Of The Industrial Revolution Essay

Industrialization is the process by which an economy is transformed from primarily agricultural to one based on the manufacturing of goods. There were several people involved in the industrialization process, such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan. The Industrial Revolution completely restructured the old America into a completely different place in which we now live in. These changes brought about railroads, manufacturing cities, and population growth; this also brought new inventions such as electricity and steel itself. Although it had some positive impacts, it also introduced new problems such as the dramatic difference between the rich and the poor. Overall, it led to the change from agriculture to machinery. The Industrial Revolution began in England and came to the United States in the early 1800s. Before the Industrial Revolution, â€Å"manufacturing was often done in people s homes, using hand tools or basic machines.† (n.a ., 2009). Most people lived in small rural communities in which their daily lives revolved around farming and other agricultural activities. Life was difficult for everyone since most families didn’t have good income; also, malnourishment and disease were common. People often relied on small items and tools while farming; these tools and items didn’t seem to adapt much before the Industrial Revolution. While the Industrial Revolution was on the verge of beginning, iron ore and coal played a major role inShow MoreRelatedIndustrialization Of The Industrial Revolution886 Words   |  4 PagesO Sullivan HIS 1102 29 March 2015 Industrialization in Europe Industrialization is a noun given the definition of the large-scale introduction of manufacturing, advanced technical enterprises, and other productive economic activity into an area, society, country (Dictionary.com). Tools have been around forever, but until the industrialization they required human labor to use. Almost every aspect of life was changed during this time. The industrial revolution was first used to describe a new economyRead MoreIndustrialization Of The Industrial Revolution1588 Words   |  7 PagesThe Industrial Revolution is a technological phenomenon that still continues to this day, in the form of its fourth to fifth wave. Ever since the late 1700s, our society has evolved over nearly two and a half centuries, for better or for worse. However, most of the negatives then have disappeared into obscurity and the positives have only grown more and more. So while some might argue that Industrialization had primarily negative consequences for society because of chi ld workers and the poor conditionsRead MoreIndustrialization Of The Industrial Revolution859 Words   |  4 Pagesworked in farms. In the mid 1700’s events changed the way of life. These events are called the Industrial Revolution. It was a long, uneven process that affected peoples’ lives. Simple tools where changed to complex machines; from human and animal power to electricity. Rural societies became urban. Industrialization brought a variety of goods and an improved way of living to many. Agricultural Revolution is when people learn to farm and domesticate animals. It contributed to a rapid population growthRead MoreIndustrialization Of The Industrial Revolution989 Words   |  4 PagesThe Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries CE, was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing was often done in people’s homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine,Read MoreIndustrialization Of The Industrial Revolution1635 Words   |  7 Pages Just as it was in the 18th and 19th centuries when the industrial revolution began, today people fear that technology is d estroying jobs. Prior to the industrial revolution manufacturing was often done in peoples homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered special purpose machinery, factories and mass production. Yet at this time people feared for their jobs because the machinery resulted in often-grim employment opportunities many people argue that theRead MoreThe Industrialization Of The Industrial Revolution Essay2415 Words   |  10 Pages There are many identifying factors unique to Britain that were responsible for industrial innovation, change, growth and contraction during the period defined by the industrial revolution in Britain. By about 1750 Britain had become a world leader as a trading nation, with London becoming the warehouse of the world. London also had an efficient financial centre selling services such as insurance, including shipping insurance. It is estimated that 600,000 people lived in London at this time and aRead MoreIndustrializatio n Of The Industrial Revolution1996 Words   |  8 PagesThe Industrial Revolution started advancing in the mid-18th century after many sought new and more efficient methods of production to accomplish the needs of society . The Industrial Revolution brought with it an array of changes: an increase in population, the rise of new building typologies, redistributions of wealth and fluctuations of living conditions. The Industrial Revolution broke out in England with most of the important technological innovations being British ; with the application of reliableRead MoreIndustrialization Of The Industrial Revolution1332 Words   |  6 PagesDuring the 18th and 19th centuries, the Industrial Revolution played an integral role in the development of today’s world. Railroads were forming, factories were mass producing goods, medicines were being created, and communication was on the rise. Looking back on this time period, we can see how important all of these developments really were. Mechanization played a major role in the Industrial Revolution as people began to apply reason to manufacturing. Humans were flawed and such machineryRead MoreIndustrialization Of The Industrial Revolution1214 Words   |  5 Pagesthe emergence of the ‘Industrial Revolution’, the great age of steam, canals and factories that changed the face of the British economy forever.† (White, M, The Industrial Revolution). The industrial revolution sparked the development of capitalist economies and as a consequence a division of labour was formed. Therefore the capitalist system is seen as a natural consequence of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution was a period in which societies became industrial due to there being anRead MoreIndustrialization During The Industrial Revolution1577 Words   |  7 PagesIndustrialization – ever changing the face and heartbeat of our society and the world in which we live – since the Industrial Revolut ion began in Britain (from 1760 until sometime between 1820 and 1840). The improvement of business acquisitions and evolution of trade were essential to the Industrial Revolution. Most of the British population lived in the countryside, in small villages, and interacted closely within their family unit and work. Industrialization, however, drastically altered the

Urban growth policy Free Essay Example, 2000 words

It is, therefore, necessary for them to have a clear understanding of the policy. Perhaps the most crucial objective is to enhance transparency and develop an accountability framework for progress report. There is also need to enable an evidence based decision making process for the community. Due to the diversity of needs, difference of cultures and beliefs, it is vital to develop a mechanism of inclusion (Warner, 2007). Every member of the community should feel as part of the decisions being made on his behalf. A progress report is vital for timely and economical achievement of urban growth goals. A system to ensure transparency and accountability should always be put in place. This helps to avoid corrupt practices and effectively manage public resources. Principles of a Sustainable Urban Growth Policy in San Diego Local leadership in the community plays the key role in leading the way for the development agenda. Local leaders know the community better than anyone else, and are hence best placed to represent the community. There is a need for skilled leadership within the community. Government support is paramount in the attainment of growth and development. We will write a custom essay sample on Urban growth policy or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now It facilitates information, expertise and required resources. A collaborative approach between the government and community is extremely valuable (Israel & Warner, 2008). A balanced approach to economic, social, environmental and cultural issues Development in the urban setting should in as much as it is possible, target the entire community and not majority groups only. San Diego is a multicultural community with varied needs. A respect for local values is essential to any community. Development should not infringe on the values and traditions of the locals. Social inclusion is, therefore, addressed when the above issues are put to consideration. Partnership and shared interests is fundamental for sustainable growth in any community. It can be a waste of a community’s resources if development projects do not draw shrewd interests from the locals. Common vision means that the goals of a growth project are applicable to the community as a whole. The development policy should draw the same sentiments across the community. Goals of the growth policy should focus on the community’s capacity and available assets. A strong urban growth policy should inspire respect, unity and a spirit of volunteerism. Accessible, Q uality and Affordable Child Care Benefits the Whole community Parents are capable of performing their economic duties.

The Forbidden Game The Hunter Chapter 14 Free Essays

â€Å"Jenny?† Dee’s voice said hesitantly. â€Å"Jenny, are you okay?† I’ve had such a strange dream, Jenny thought, but when she lifted her face from her hands, it was real. She was sitting on the floor of her grandfather’s basement, in a puddle of icy-cold water. We will write a custom essay sample on The Forbidden Game: The Hunter Chapter 14 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Dee, Audrey, Zach, and Michael were standing in another puddle, looking at her. â€Å"I found these three in the hallway,† Zach said. â€Å"We fell down a shaft,† Michael said. â€Å"This hole just opened up in front of us. It took us all the way back to the first floor.† â€Å"It was a chute,† said Dee. â€Å"I fell down it, too, and then we had to walk back up here.† â€Å"We followed your crayon trail, and it ended at a door,† Zach finished. â€Å"We pressed the button and †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It let us in,† Audrey said crisply, when he stopped. â€Å"But it looks like something’s already happened.† â€Å"My nightmare,† Jenny said. She was having a very hard time bringing herself back to the present. The five-year-old in her mind seemed more real than the sixteen-year-old these people were talking to. Dee and Michael and Audrey looked like strangers. Not Zach, because Zach had been there when she was five. Zach, maybe, understood this. In any case he knelt on the floor beside her, ignoring the water soaking into his jeans. â€Å"What happened?† he said, his gray eyes steady. â€Å"I lost,† Jenny said dully, feeling strangely removed from everything. â€Å"I screwed up. I couldn’t save him. I lost.† â€Å"It’s something about Grandpa Evenson, isn’t it?† â€Å"What do you know about it?† Zach hesitated, then, looking her directly in the face, he said, â€Å"Only what my parents told me. They say he-went crazy that day. Tried to-well, hurt you.† Jenny was shocked out of her apathy. â€Å"What?† â€Å"They found you here, in the basement, with your clothes all torn and your arms all scratched. Your legs and feet were bleeding†¦.† â€Å"From the ice,† Jenny whispered. â€Å"I got dragged through the ice. And he scratched my hands to make me let him go. They were taking him. He let them take him instead of me.† Then, suddenly, she was sobbing again. She felt a movement, then a slender, hard arm around her. Dee. A rustle and a cool hand on her wrist. Audrey, heedless of her fancy clothes. An awkward, warm grip from behind on her shoulder. Michael, They were all around her, all trying to help. â€Å"You went through our nightmares with all of us,† Audrey said softly. â€Å"It’s not fair you had to face yours alone.† Jenny shook her head. â€Å"You don’t understand. All of you had nightmares about things you were scared might happen. Mine did happen-because of me. It was real. It was my fault.† â€Å"Tell us,† Dee said, her face stern and beautiful. â€Å"He was a sorcerer,† Jenny said. She looked at Zach. â€Å"You mean, all this time everybody thought he tried to hurt me?† â€Å"What were they supposed to think?† Zach said. â€Å"You were here, practically in a coma. You screamed if anyone tried to touch you, but you wouldn’t talk. And he was gone. They figured he ran away when he realized what he tried to do. And when they looked around at this place†-Zach looked around the basement himself and snorted-â€Å"well, they knew he was crazy. Paranoid. Because all this junk turned out to be-â€Å" â€Å"Charms for protection,† Jenny said. â€Å"Right. I mean, what kind of nut collects thousands of those from all over the world? And he had piles of books on the occult, all kinds of garbage____† â€Å"He was a sorcerer,† Jenny said again. â€Å"Not a black one. Maybe not a white one, either, but not black. He wasn’t trying to do evil. He was just-a little bit naive. He didn’t allow for accidents happening †¦ like a five-year-old coming down here on a day he didn’t expect her, and opening a door she knew she shouldn’t touch.† â€Å"That door?† Dee looked at the empty closet. Jenny nodded. â€Å"But what was in the closet? A monster?† â€Å"Julian.† They all stared at her. Jenny swallowed the bad taste in her mouth. â€Å"My grandfather wanted-well, the same thing those German boys in the forest wanted, I guess.† She looked at Audrey. â€Å"Power. Or maybe he was just curious. He knew there were-things – out in the darkness, and he caught some. Maybe he used runes to summon them up, I don’t know. But I know he used a rune to hold them. On that door.† â€Å"And just what,† Michael said, his voice unusually grim, â€Å"would you call the things he caught?† â€Å"Aliens,† Jenny said, looking at Dee. â€Å"Dark elves,† she said, looking at Audrey. â€Å"Demons,† she said, turning around to face Michael. â€Å"The Shadow Men,† she said to Zach. Dee hissed softly in comprehension. Once started, Jenny couldn’t seem to stop. â€Å"Dakaki. The Erlking. The old gods. The fairy folk†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Okay,† Michael said huskily. â€Å"Enough, already.† â€Å"They’re real,† Jenny said. â€Å"They’ve always been here-like genies, you know? The old name for a genie was djinn, and in his notes my grandfather called them aljunnu. Djinn-aljunnu-Julian-get it? It was a joke. They like to play with us†¦.† Her voice was rising. She felt herself gripped from all sides, but she went on. â€Å"He was keeping them trapped-but I let them out, and that changed everything. They said they had the right to take me. But he went instead. He did it for me.† She stopped. â€Å"If we’re going to get through this,† Dee said, â€Å"we’ve got to be strong. We’ve got to stand together. All right?† â€Å"Right,† Audrey said, the first to confirm it. Looking down, Jenny saw Audrey’s perfectly polished nails entwined with Dee’s slender dark fingers. Both holding on to each other, to Jenny. â€Å"Right,† Zach said with no hesitation, no distance in his winter-gray eyes. His long-fingered artist’s hand came down over Dee’s and Audrey’s. â€Å"Right,† whispered Michael, and he gripped Zach’s hand with his own square pudgy fingers, unembarrassed. â€Å"But there’s nothing to do,† Jenny said, almost crying again. â€Å"He won. I lost. I didn’t make it through my nightmare. That door†-nodding at the closet one-â€Å"was always here. It’s not the way out.† â€Å"What about that one?† Michael said, standing back and looking up the stairs. Jenny had to move around the bookcase to see it. Instead of the blank wall she had seen earlier at the top of the staircase, there was a door. Directly above them-in the room above-a clock struck five. â€Å"You must have done something right,† Dee said. Jenny’s skirt was clammy, clinging to her legs. Her hair, she knew, was in complete disarray. She was exhausted and still shaking inside, and it seemed like years since she had slept. â€Å"I’ll go first,† she said and led them up the stairs, trying to look like Dee, proud as a princess. She found her slip of paper on the top step and stepped on it. â€Å"If that’s the turret-the top of the house-we’ve won,† Audrey said. â€Å"Right?† Somehow Jenny didn’t think it was going to be that easy. She twisted the knob and pushed, and the door swung back on oiled hinges. They all stepped into the room above. It was much larger than any turret could possibly be. It was the More Games store. Well, more or less, Jenny thought. There were the same shelves and racks and tables with the same uncanny games on them. There was the same small window-quite dark-and the same lamps with shades of purple and red and blue glass. But there were differences, too. One was the grandfather clock standing near a corner, ticking loudly and steadily. The other was Tom. Jenny ran to him. He was huddled against the clock, chained to it somehow. Her mind registered fury at the humiliation of that, then went on to more important things. â€Å"Tommy,† she said, reaching with both hands for him. He turned weakly, and Jenny was shocked. There were no bruises on his face, but he looked-ravaged. His skin was unhealthily pale, and there were black circles under his eyes. He gave her the ghost of his own rakish smile. â€Å"Hey, Thorny,† he said painfully. Jenny put her face against his shoulder and cried. The faded-photograph memory had disappeared. What Jenny remembered now was the day of their first kiss, in second grade, behind the hibiscus bushes at George Washington Elementary School. They’d both gotten detention, but it had been worth it. That kiss, she thought. Everything innocent. Everything sweet. Tom hadn’t been arrogant, then, hadn’t taken anything for granted. Tom had loved her. â€Å"Tommy,† she said. â€Å"I missed you so much. What did he do to you?† Tom shook his head. â€Å"Hardly anything †¦ I don’t understand. There were the rats†-his haunted eyes skittered around the floor-â€Å"but they’re gone now.† Rats. So that was what Tom had seen in the parlor-the invisible things that had tried to climb up his legs. In second grade Tom had owned a turtle, and his older brother Greg had owned a pet rat. One morning they woke up to find that the rat had eaten the turtle-eaten it right out of the shell. I knew how upset that made him-how much he hated rats after that, Jenny thought. Why didn’t I realize what they were in the parlor? Because it hadn’t seemed bad enough. Tom had been so afraid. But one thing Jenny had learned: Everybody’s nightmare was scariest to them. You had to see it with them, get into their shoes, to understand just how scary. â€Å"I’m sorry,† she whispered. â€Å"But, oh, Tom, your wrists-† They were torn, bleeding. He was wearing shackles like the kind his brother Bruce used in police work. The rest of him was wrapped up like Marley’s ghost. â€Å"I kept trying to get away,† he said. â€Å"Not because of the rats. Because I saw you. He would come and hold up a mirror, and I could see you and what was happening to you. I saw you go through everything. When Summer died †¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped to get control of himself, his face twisting. Saw we? Jenny thought in horror. Pictures of what Tom might have seen when she and Julian were together flashed through her mind. Then she felt a backwash of relief. If Julian had been standing here holding a mirror, he must have been showing Tom the times when he-Julian-wasn’t with Jenny. Still, she had to know. â€Å"Did you ever see-him-in the mirror?† â€Å"No. But he told me-he told me he was doing things to you. To all of you. He laughed about it.† Jenny gripped both his hands. â€Å"Don’t you worry about him, Tom. He can’t hurt us anymore. We’re free, Tom-we’ve won. Now we just need to find the way out of here.† Tom looked at her, then nodded behind her. Jenny turned. She’d missed it before, because Tom had so quickly captured her attention. There was a door, just like the door in the More Games store that led out onto Montevideo Street. But this door was partly open, showing darkness outside. Standing before it, completely blocking the way, were a giant coiled snake and a large wolf. â€Å"The Creeper and the Lurker. At last,† Dee said. â€Å"Just a slight problem,† Michael said nervously. They weren’t real animals exactly-they looked more as if they’d been painted with luminous paint on the darkness. Like some special effect Zach might make for a photo. But the wolf breathed and the snake’s fluorescent tongue flicked in and out. Jenny felt sure that they could move-and do harm. She fingered Tom’s chains. â€Å"He has to let us go. The rules were that if we got to the top of the house, we could go free.† â€Å"Not exactly,† the liquid, elemental voice said from the back of the store. He was dressed the way he had been in the More Games store, in that weird combination of cyberpunk and Byronic poet. The snake tattoo was back on his wrist. He looked as laconic as he had in the store, and as beautiful. His hair was like moonstone, white with a shimmery blue glow inside. In this dim light his eyes were midnight blue. He looked-charming, sinister, and slightly mad. A demon prince with the face of an angel. Jenny was suddenly very frightened. And much more alert. Seeing Julian cleared the cobwebs out of your brain instantly. She straightened her back, still kneeling. The others were gathering themselves, too. What light there was caught Zach’s light hair and the gold clasp of Audrey’s Brunetti calfskin belt. Jenny could see by their faces that they knew Julian better now-not because they’d seen him in the Game but because they understood what he was. Julian smiled his strange, sweet smile. â€Å"You all wanted to know who I am. Well, I’ll give you a final riddle,† he said. â€Å"I’m a Visitor from the stars. I’m the Erlking. I’m Loki. I’m Puck. I’m the Hunter. I’m the Shadow Man. I’m your nightmares come true.† â€Å"We figured that out,† Jenny said, quietly, steadily. â€Å"And we played your game and won. Now we want to go home.† â€Å"You didn’t let me finish,† Julian said, turning the smile on her. â€Å"Do you remember, when you first came in the game store, I showed you the ancient Tibetan game of goats and tigers?† He gestured, one of his easy, flowing motions, and Jenny saw the bronze board on a table. Tiny figures, also bronze, sat on it somewhat like chess pieces. â€Å"Well, that’s what you’ve really been playing,† Julian said, and at the sound of his voice Jenny felt the walls closing in. He smiled at her particularly. â€Å"You are all the innocent little goats †¦ and I’m the tiger.† Tom’s hands were gripping Jenny’s numbingly. Dee was in the forward stance, left leg forward, right leg back, ready for action. Zach looked bleak, and Audrey and Michael had moved closer together. â€Å"You didn’t really think,† Julian said to Jenny, â€Å"that I would let you go.† Jenny felt dizzy. Smothering. â€Å"You said †¦ you were playing the Game fairly,† she got out, with barely the breath to say it. â€Å"You promised me-â€Å" â€Å"I’m not hidebound by tradition. And I am playing fairly-I said if you got to the turret before dawn, you’d find the door home standing open. It is open-it’s just that I won’t let you get to it.† Jenny looked at the animals guarding the door. What could even Dee do to fight them? â€Å"By the way, Tommy, here, hasn’t even faced his real nightmare yet. But there’ll be plenty of time. We’ve got something like eternity ahead of us, you know,† Julian said. His eyes were like liquid cobalt -and ravenous. Hungrier than the wolf’s as he looked at Jenny and Tom together there. God help me, Jenny thought. Please, someone help. She looked at Tom, but Tom was looking at Julian, with such hatred and fury that it made Jenny afraid for him. â€Å"Then this whole ‘Game’ has been a farce,† Tom said, almost spitting the words. His hazel eyes were burning. Julian spread his hands and inclined his head slightly-almost a bow. As if someone had complimented him on a job well done. But it was Jenny he spoke to. â€Å"I told you I’d do whatever was necessary to get you. At first I was sure you’d lose the Game-most people do. Then, when I saw you had a chance of winning, I figured I could make you turn to me for help. But you wouldn’t. She’s very strong, you know,† he added, flicking a heavy-lidded glance at Tom. â€Å"Much too good for you.† â€Å"I know,† Tom said, and Jenny looked at him, astonished. â€Å"But she’s a thousand times too good for you.† â€Å"I want her for goodness’ sake,† Julian said and smiled. â€Å"Light to my darkness. You’ll see-Tommy. You’ll have years and years and years to see how well she and I fit together.† He turned back to Jenny. â€Å"In any case, you’ve gotten this far, and I’m afraid I have to tell you the truth. Which is that the whole Game has been just-a game. The kind a cat plays with a mouse.† â€Å"Before eating it?† Dee said in a voice like a knife. Julian barely glanced back at her. â€Å"I’m only hungry for one thing at the moment, Deirdre. But my friends by the door have strange appetites. I wouldn’t go near them if I were you. And of course there are all the other Shadow Men-all my elders, those ancient, bone-sucking, lip-licking wraiths-they’d all like to get hold of you. This house keeps them outside-but you wouldn’t get far if you opened a window.† Jenny felt the trembling in Tom’s clenched fists and bowed her head. She was thinking of the poem in her grandfather’s room. Like the other fools/Who’ve slipped on these same stones and played and lost. . Did everyone lose to the Shadow Men? The dice are loaded, she thought. You can’t win. All bets are off. â€Å"They’d love to sink a tooth in you,† Julian was saying to Dee. â€Å"Do you know you’re the image of Ankhesenamun, one of the greatest beauties of Egypt?† Even as he spoke, Dee snapped her right leg up in a high kick, pulling her toes back at the last minute to deliver a devastating blow with the heel. At least, that was how it should have happened. Julian, with the reflexes of a rattlesnake, caught her foot as it came at him and jerked up, flinging Dee on her back. â€Å"Rule One in this Game,† Julian said, smiling. â€Å"Don’t mess with me. I’ll beat you every time.† Dee got up, obviously in pain-there was no way to break a fall like that-and Julian turned back to Jenny. Jenny met his ravenous eyes and felt something inside her change forever. â€Å"Let the others go,† she said clearly and softly, â€Å"and I’ll stay with you.† Julian stared at her. Everyone stared at her. Then somebody-she thought it was Michael-started to laugh. Julian smiled, very slightly, just one corner of his lip up. Not an amused smile. His eyes had gone the blue of gas flames. â€Å"I see,† he said. Jenny detached her hands from Tom’s. She stood up. â€Å"I’m serious. Let them go †¦ and I’ll stay †¦ of my own free will. And you know what that means.† She was thinking of the darkroom, of the boy masquerading as her cousin who’d held her in his arms. The boy she’d kissed-of her own free will. She was hoping Julian remembered, too. She thought he did. He looked intrigued. A strange, sensuous smile curved his lips. â€Å"Willingly?† he repeated, as if testing the word. â€Å"Willingly.† â€Å"No †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tom whispered. â€Å"Willingly,† Jenny repeated, looking only at Julian. Julian looked charmed-but wary. â€Å"You’d have to make a promise-seal the bond. In a way that couldn’t be broken.† â€Å"Yes.† She could see she’d startled him. He’d expected her to play for time, to argue. Didn’t he understand that she’d changed? She raised her eyebrows at him, ironically. â€Å"The sooner the better,† she said. Julian blinked, then said slowly, â€Å"Beautiful Deirdre can leave, and Audrey. So can Zach and Michael. But Tommy stays. I’ll keep him as a hostage for your good behavior.† Looking up at him, Jenny felt her lip twitch, not quite a smile. â€Å"I don’t think you’ll need that. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"All the same.† â€Å"All right. It doesn’t matter to me.† Then, stepping close to him, she spoke quietly, for his ears alone. â€Å"Julian, don’t you know that I’ve changed? Can’t you see that? I still care about Tom, but†¦ it’s not the same. He’d seem tame after you. Anything would seem tame after you.† His eyes widened slightly in fascination. Jenny took a deep breath. â€Å"I probably would have come to you a lot earlier if you’d just straight out asked me. Didn’t that ever occur to you? That you could just appear at my front door, no games, no threats, and just ask me?† He looked disconcerted. â€Å"Not exactly. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You’re too cynical. Do you know, I think the way you look at things has made you blind. You’ve gotten so hardened that you think you have to fight the universe to get what you want. To-sort of wrestle it out of people.† â€Å"And-don’t I?† â€Å"Not always,† Jenny said. Meeting his gaze directly, she said, â€Å"Sometimes there’s a much simpler solution. There are some things you can’t force, Julian, and you can’t buy them, either. They have to be given, for free. That’s what I want to give you.† His fascination was complete. â€Å"Then promise yourself to me,† he said, and with a motion like a sleight-of-hand trick, he held something between his fingers. A gold circlet. Jenny reached for it automatically, taking it between forefinger and thumb. It was a simple ring, with a design she couldn’t quite make out on the outside. Inside the band something was written in fancy script. She tilted the ring toward one of the small lamps. All I refuse Thee I chuse, she read. â€Å"Put this on your finger and you’re sworn mine,† Julian said. â€Å"No way to break the promise, no way to change the bond. It’s a short ceremony. Do you want to go through with it?† How to cite The Forbidden Game: The Hunter Chapter 14, Essay examples

International Journal Applications Computer -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The International Journal Applications Computer? Answer: Introducation Mobile applications are being increasingly used by the users and business organizations all across the globe. The increase in the use of enterprise mobile applications has allowed the business units to flourish as the mobile apps enable them to reach out to maximum number of customers. The enterprise mobile application is required to be developed for an insurance company. The company provides insurance plans and policies to the customers and there is a wide range of policies that are offered. The sales representatives and sales executives are hired to explain the customers about the details of the insurance policies. With the expansion of the business tasks and activities, it is now required to develop and implement a sales support application for the organization (Li and Steenkamp, 2010). The proposal of the application has already been presented and the same has been appreciated by the stakeholders of the organization. Proposed Solution The solution that has been proposed is in the form of an enterprise mobile application. The insurance company is expanding at a rapid rate. There are new sales personnel and customers that are becoming a part of the company with its expansion. Due to the expansion of the business, it is no longer possible for the sales representative to explain all the details of the insurance plans and policies to the customers. Also, the increased information and data sets are now becoming difficult to manage (Unhelkar and Murugesan, 2010). The proposed solution will allow the organization to list all of its plans and policies on the mobile application for the customers to view the details of the same. The plans selected and preferred by the customers will then be explained to them by the sales representatives and executives. There will be increased transparency that will be set up and managed between the customers and the sales staff. The changes in the policies and plans will also be easy to make. The information will be easily available and there will be no issues associated with replication and modification. In case of absence of any initiatives by the organization in this regard, it will become very difficult to keep a track of all the information and data sets. It will also become difficult to maximize the customer base as the updated information on the insurance policies will not be available to the customers as per their expectation. The enterprise mobile application will overcome all of these problems and issues. Assumptions The project resources will be provided with the tools and equipment that will be necessary for the completion of the project tasks and activities. The project resources will be provided with the environment that will be necessary for the completion of the project tasks and activities. The budget for the project that has been allocated for the completion of the project tasks will be $100,100. There will be five phases that will be present in the project and the project will be completed in a maximum of 115 days. Strategic Alignment with the Organizations Business IT Strategies Alignment Perspective Description Strategic Execution The strategies and objectives of the organization are to make sure that the maximum number of insurance plans and policies are sold and provided to the customers. The goal of the enterprise mobile application falls in line with the organizational strategies as the application will enhance customer engagement and relationship (Gomes and Yasin, 2017). There are various phases and steps that are involved in the project of the development and deployment of the enterprise mobile application. These phases will make it easy to achieve the project and organizational strategies. The management has taken the business decisions to allow the project resources to be provided with adequate tools and equipment for the completion of the project activities. Technological Aspect The enterprise mobile application will be developed in such a manner that it can be used on Android, iOS and other mobile operating systems. The application will be compatible with the rest of the technical tools and equipment that are being used in the organization. The programming language for the application would be PHP and this language will allow the application to be flexible, inter-operatable and adaptable in nature. The application will make use of MySQL and cloud databases for the storage, management and retrieval of information. The information will remain safe and secure on these platforms (Babu, 2017). There will be cloud models that will be used in the application for delivery and deployment. These would include private cloud model and PaaS model. These will provide the required level of security and privacy for the application. Competitive Potential The use of enterprise mobile application will improve the customer relationships and the engagement of the customers with the organization. This would allow the improvement of the organizational reputation in the market. There are many insurance companies that are present in the market. However, with the set up and implementation of the enterprise mobile application, the organization will gain a competitive advantage. Service Level The project will have the resources selected as per their skill sets and knowledge. The allocation of duties and responsibilities will be done in such a manner that there is no overlapping of the resources. The changes that will be launched by the project will have numerous benefits on the employees, that is, the sales staff associated with the company. It is because of the reason that the business activities will be streamlined and there will be increased customer information that will be provided to the sales executives. It will allow them to analyze the information and data sets to understand the preferences and choices of the customers in terms of their desired plan and policy. Value Proposition There will be a number of benefits and advantages that will be provided by the enterprise mobile application for the insurance company. Target Buyer Problem that will be Solved Reasons for the Preference to the Solution Sales Representatives and Executives The updated customer details, their preferences and choices will be available to the sales personnel and staff members. The accessibility of the mobile application is better as compared to the website. The integration of the mobile application is also easier and better than the website. The customer information will be readily available on the mobile application. Customers The customers will be able to view the details of the insurance plans and policies. The engagement and relationship with the organization will also improve. The accessibility of the mobile application is better as compared to the website. The integration of the mobile application is also easier and better than the website. The customer information will be readily available on the mobile application. Business Partners The revenues and profits earned by the organization will improve as the existing performance, quality and operational issues will be resolved. The customer base will also increase along with their trust in the company. The transparency between the customers and sales executives will improve with the implementation of the mobile application for the company. This level of transparency will be difficult to obtain with the setting up of the website. The assessment of the requirements and risks will also be readily done. Project Sponsor The revenues and profits earned by the organization will improve as the existing performance, quality and operational issues will be resolved. The customer base will also increase along with their trust in the company. The transparency between the customers and sales executives will improve with the implementation of the mobile application for the company. This level of transparency will be difficult to obtain with the setting up of the website. The assessment of the requirements and risks will also be readily done. Suppliers and Vendors The increase in the business operations will demand increase need of networking equipment and database requirements for the application. The transparency between the customers and sales executives will improve with the implementation of the mobile application for the company. This level of transparency will be difficult to obtain with the setting up of the website. The assessment of the requirements and risks will also be readily done. Project Costs There are various costs that are associated with the project. These include the cost of resources, development costs, design and testing costs, cost of trainings and cost of support and maintenance. There will also be a one-time cost involved which would include the cost of tools and equipment. The cost has been estimated as per the project activities and the estimation method used has been bottom-up estimation. The resources and the cost associated with the resource have been described in the table below. Role of the Project Resource Type Max. Units Std. Rate Project Manager Work 100% $ 72.00/hr Technical Expert Work 100% $ 58.00/hr Business Advisor Work 100% $ 62.00/hr Senior Mobile Application Developer Work 100% $ 54.00/hr Junior Mobile Application Developer Work 100% $ 45.00/hr Mobile Application Tester Work 100% $ 40.00/hr Network Expert Work 100% $ 48.00/hr Network Analyst Work 100% $ 38.00/hr UI/UX Expert Work 100% $ 60.00/hr Mobile App Designer Work 100% $ 60.00/hr Trainer Work 100% $ 62.00/hr Technical Writer Work 100% $ 55.00/hr Project Management Control There are various management methodologies that have been created which include Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Projects In Controlled Environment (PRINCE2) and agile methodology. The management methodology that is suitable in the case of enterprise mobile application for the insurance company is PMBOK. It is because of the reason that the project risks, conflicts and issues will be adequately handled by this approach. There are various knowledge areas that come under PMBOK for the management of the cost, schedule, resources, scope, risks and many more (Csbdu, 2014). The methodology will allow the project leadership and management with the ability to handle all of the project tasks and activities in an efficient manner. Management and Overseeing of the Project There will be a Project Manager that will be deployed in the project that will be the primary resource in the project. The resource will be responsible and accountable for the handling and management of the project activities such as planning, control and closure (Pathak, Pateriya and Pal, 2012). Communication and meetings will be managed and facilitated by the Project Manager and will be assisted by the Business Advisor and Technical Expert. There will be communication guidelines and meeting rules that will be followed during the project lifecycle. Information on the Project Progress There will be team meetings that will be organized by the Project Manager on a daily basis. The meeting will be attended by all of the internal project resources. There will be project progress and status that will be discussed in the meeting. The project issues and conflicts will also be discussed in the project. There will also be weekly team meeting that will be organized by the Project Manager with the external stakeholders. The external stakeholders will include Project Sponsor, Business Partners, Suppliers and Vendors along with the end-users. These stakeholders will be provided with the information on the project status and progress (Ucl, 2012). There will also be a reporting structure and format that will be followed during the project timeline to make sure that the latest information on the project progress is provided. The same has been illustrated in the table below. Report Name Report Frequency Report Submitted To Report Submitted By Weekly Status Report Weekly Project Sponsor Project Manager Daily Status Report Daily Project Manager Project Team Members Defect Report Weekly Project Manager and Project Sponsor Mobile Application Tester Closure Report At the end of the project Project Sponsor Project Manager Infrastructure Requirements The enterprise mobile application that will be developed for the insurance company will work on the mobile operating systems as Android, iOS and Windows. These operating systems have been selected as these are the ones that are high on demand in the market. Most mobile devices are either equipped with Android or iOS as the operating platform. Therefore, the availability and accessibility of the application on these platforms will allow maximization of the customer base (Pope-Ruark, 2012). Coding Language and Tools The coding language that will be used in the application for the development of the front end will be PHP. The coding language will provide the qualities such as flexibility, inter-operatibility and adaptability. This will make sure that the application features are incorporated and the application is accessible with ease (Moe, Dingsoyr and Dyba, 2010). Microsoft Visual Studio will be used for the coding purpose, Microsoft Project for the designing of schedule and Gantt chart and the database will be MySQL and cloud databases. There will be testing tools, such as TestLink and Bugzilla that will also be used. Cloud Services There are a number of cloud delivery and deployment models that will be used in the application. The cloud services will be used for the deployment of the application. The private cloud will be used for the purpose of the application deployment. This will provide the desired level of security and privacy to the application. The cloud model will keep the network and information related security risks and attacks aside. There will also be cloud delivery model that will be used. This will be cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS) model. The framework or the platform will be provided for the purpose of cloud delivery. Cloud databases will also be used in the application for the storage and retrieval of information and the data sets (Umsl, 2017). Software Methodologies The design of the mobile application shall be based upon the responsive web design principles. There are various design parameters that must be followed and maintained in the application. These shall include the consistency of the application in terms of the layout, color scheme and theme. The application design must adjust and respond as per the user action. The navigation shall be smooth and the application shall have a high degree of usability. The development methodology that must be followed in the application shall be agile methodology for application development. This methodology will allow the application to be flexible and adaptable in nature. There will be sprints that will be associated with the development approach and every sprint will have a subset of the requirements from the product backlog. The sprint will last for two to four weeks and there will be a daily SCRUM meeting that will be organized and facilitated by the Project Manager (Mahnic and Zabkar, 2012). The changes will be handled in an easy and effective manner with the use of the agile development methodology. There may be many changes that may be made in the requirements and technology associated with the application. The level of customer satisfaction will also improve with the use of agile methodology in the application. This is because of the reason that the customers will be informed about the project progress at all times (Kaur and Bansal, 2017). The agile practices are ad-hoc and value based in nature which will ensure that the application is scalable and supportable in nature. Testing is an important activity in the projects and there are testing practices that are necessary to be taken during the project. There are various types of testing that must be performed in the case of mobile application project. Mobile application testing comprising of system and integration testing practices must be followed and carried out during the project. There shall also be security and performance testing practices that shall be carried out to find out the bugs and defects in the application (Azanha et al., 2017). A defect report must be published at the end of every week and shall be submitted to the Project Manager and the Project Sponsor. Internationalization for a Global Market It is necessary to ensure that the application can be used by the users all across the globe. There are certain features that may promote internationalization for a global market. The language options present in the application must be immense so that the users from every part of the globe shall be able to access the application. The application must ask the user for the preferred language option and it shall be added to the customization features. Similarly, the payment options used in the application for the payment of the insurance plans and policies shall be varied. There shall be international currencies that must be accepted and shall be compatible with the application. It is also necessary for the application to make sure that the information security and privacy laws are followed. There are also many of the ethical and professional codes of conduct shall be followed. In this manner, the internationalization for the global market shall be promoted and maintained in the application. Social Media Integration Strategies It is necessary for the application to be integrated with the social media accounts and platforms so that maximum number of customers and users may get associated with the application. For this purpose, the users shall be allowed to log in to the application using social media accounts, such as, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram etc. There shall also be an option in the application to post and share information to the social media networks or to pass on the information to the contacts added in the social media accounts. In this manner, the social media networks and platforms will be integrated in the application. It will also make it easy for the sales executives and personnel to gain the information regarding the customer preferences and choices. The social media integration will also enable the executives to post and share the information regarding the latest offerings and details of the new insurance plans and policies (Modeus, 2013). There will be many advantages that will be offered by the social media platforms and networks in terms of the maximization of the customer base. Risk Management There may be many risks that may be associated with the mobile application and each of these risks may have a certain degree of impact and probability associated with them. The risks along with their impact and likelihood, ranking and description along with the response strategy have been described in the table below. Risk Name Description Risk Likelihood Impact Risk Rating (! Is lowest and 5 is highest) Response Strategy Information Security and Privacy Risks There may be execution and occurrence of the information security and privacy risks with the execution of the attacks such as information breaches, information loss and leakage. High High 4 The risk response mechanism and strategy that will lead to the apt treatment of the risks shall be risk mitigation by making use of technical, administrative and physical controls Database Security Risks The confidentiality and privacy of the information may get impacted with the occurrence of SQL injection and database security attacks Medium- High High 4 The risk response mechanism and strategy that will lead to the apt treatment of the risks shall be risk mitigation by making use of technical, administrative and physical controls Network Security Risks Man in the middle attacks, eavesdropping attacks along with the malware attacks may have an adverse impact of the security of the networks. High Medium-High 4 The risk response mechanism and strategy that will lead to the apt treatment of the risks shall be risk mitigation by making use of technical, administrative and physical controls Ethical Risks There may be insider threats and attacks carried out by the members of the internal staff and there may also be non-adherence to the ethical standards and principles. Low High 5 The risk response mechanism and strategy that will lead to the apt treatment of the risks shall be risk avoidance by providing ethical trainings and methods Schedule and Budget Risks There may be schedule or budget overrun that may be witnessed which may lead to the inability to meet the delivery deadlines (Kumar and Gregory, 2013) Low High 5 The risk response mechanism and strategy that will lead to the apt treatment of the risks shall be risk avoidance by excessive monitoring and control Technical Faults The technical tools and equipment may turn faulty and there may be failures that may take place. Medium Low-Medium 3 The risk response mechanism and strategy that will lead to the apt treatment of the risks shall be risk transfer to the suppliers and vendors (Olson, Birge and Linton, 2014) Quality Risks The quality standards and practices may not be followed and adhered during the project tasks and activities. Low High 5 The risk response mechanism and strategy that will lead to the apt treatment of the risks shall be risk avoidance by providing trainings on the quality standards Operational Errors and Mistakes There may be operational errors and mistakes that may be carried out by the end users Low-Medium Medium 3 The risk response mechanism and strategy that will lead to the apt treatment of the risks shall be risk mitigation Integration and Deployment Strategies The application shall be integrated with the rest of the technical systems and tools by carrying out a compatibility analysis as the first step. The networking tools and connections will be integrated first followed by the database and the other applications being used in the organization. The deployment of the application shall be done by making use of the private cloud as the cloud deployment models. The private cloud will be used for the purpose of the application deployment. This will provide the desired level of security and privacy to the application. The cloud model will keep the network and information related security risks and attacks aside (Machado, Pinheiro and Tamanini, 2014). It is necessary that the integration and deployment of the application is correctly done so that the performance of the application is maintained. There shall also be integration testing that must be done so that the application integration and successful deployment shall be ensured. User Acceptance and Change Management User acceptance testing shall be carried out so that the user experience from the application shall be determined. The testing process and practice must be carried out by the end-users and the test cases shall be provided to the users covering the functional and non-functional aspects of the application. The areas of improvements must be highlighted and the changes shall be made. There shall also be customer feedback and comments that must be collected at the end of each sprint (Cervone, 2011). There will be changes that will be presented by the users and there may also be changes that may be requested by the sponsor and end system users in terms of the technology and functionality. These changes shall be managed and handled by using a defined change management plan. There must be phases present in this plan in terms of the change preparation, management and reinforcement. The changes that are approved by the Project Sponsor in terms of the change requests shall be entertained. There must be change handling objectives and methodologies that shall be followed. In this manner, it will be possible to handle and manage the changes with much ease. Application Maintenance The maintenance of the application shall be done by making use of an automated cycle. In this cycle, the application shall be scanned in terms of its functionality and technology that is used. The maintenance cycles must be carried out in the application by highlighting the areas of improvement in terms of the application codes and methods. The patch management plan and cycle shall be followed to highlight the list of the security patches and updates that need to be installed. The incidents reported by the end users shall also be analyzed during these cycles along with the monitoring and analysis of the system and network activity logs. These will bring out the areas of improvements along with the information on the maintenance objectives and goals. The backup of the data and information sets shall also be taken frequently so that in case of a security risk or occurrence, there is no damage done to the information associated with the application. Future Opportunities and Enhancements Technology is changing at a rapid pace and there are many new improvements that are being done in the area of technology. There are many new developments that are now taking place in the area of mobile application development. For the sales support application that will be designed for the insurance company, there must be enhancements that shall be made in the future. There will be many opportunities that will be available to the application development team for the future. Security must be kept as a top priority for the application. It is because of the reason that the threat landscape is changing with each passing day. There are new forms of mobile security risks that are being created and being launched in the market. Therefore, the updates and inclusion of the latest security tools and protocols shall be made to the application. It shall then be followed by the use of Big Data, Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence as the technologies. These technologies shall be used and the application functionality shall be upgraded according to the same. The current set of functionalities will use data analysis and warehousing as some of the Business Intelligence technologies. There is a lot of research and development work that is currently going on in these areas that shall be included in the application. The application must add functionalities in terms of the addition of new insurance plans and policies, their comparison with the other insurance providers in the market, display of market trends to the customers and likewise. Conclusions It is recommended that the authentication and access control is used and implemented in the application. The users shall be allowed to securely login by implementing two-fold authentication in the application along with role based and attribute based access control. The application shall also be integrated with the security controls, such as, anti-malware and anti-denial tools along with intrusion detection and prevention tools. It shall also be ensured that the database security is enhanced. Also, the team members that are allocated for the project shall be done on the basis of their skills and knowledge sets. There shall be an analysis of the skills of the project team members that must be carried out in terms of the latest mobile technologies and design parameters. The enterprise mobile application that will be developed for the insurance company shall be done by making use of agile methodology as the development methodology along with the use of Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) as the management methodology. There shall be involvement of cloud services as cloud based delivery and deployment along with the cloud databases. There are various types of testing practices that must be carried out in terms of the system and integration testing, security and performance testing. The project resources shall be managed by making use of advanced resource management tools and concepts along with the organization of daily team meetings by the Project Manager. An effective communication and reporting structure shall also be followed. References Azanha, A., Argoud, A., Camargo Junior, J. and Antoniolli, P. (2017). Agile project management with Scrum. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 10(1), pp.121-142. Babu, M. (2017). Impact of firms customer orientation on performance: the moderating role of interfunctional coordination and employee commitment. Journal of Strategic Marketing, pp.1-21. Cervone, H. (2011). Understanding agile project management methods using Scrum. OCLC Systems Services: International digital library perspectives, 27(1), pp.18-22. Csbdu (2014). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. [online] Available at: https://www.csbdu.in/csbdu-old/pdf/A%20Guide%20to%20the%20Project%20Management%20Body%20of%20Knowledge.pdf [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017]. Gomes, C. and Yasin, M. (2017). Toward promoting effective strategic performance: the relevance of the alignment of performance measurement and competitive strategic choices. International Journal of Business Excellence, 12(3), p.329. Kaur, R. and Bansal, K. (2017). Students Performance Analysis Using Scrum Practices. International Journal of Engineering Research and, V6(04). Kumar, M. and Gregory, M. (2013). An exploration of risk management in global industrial investment. Risk Management, 15(4), pp.272-300. Li, Z. and Steenkamp, A. (2010). Mobile Enterprise Architecture Framework. International Journal of Information Technologies and Systems Approach, 3(1), pp.1-20. Machado, T., Pinheiro, P. and Tamanini, I. (2014). Project management aided by verbal decision analysis approaches: a case study for the selection of the best SCRUM practices. International Transactions in Operational Research, 22(2), pp.287-312. Mahnic, V. and Zabkar, N. (2012). Measuring Progress of Scrum-based Software Projects. Electronics and Electrical Engineering, 18(8). Modeus, G. (2013). Social media - Integrate it and perform better?. [online] Available at: https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:632477/FULLTEXT01.pdf [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017]. Moe, N., Dingsoyr, T. and Dyba, T. (2010). A teamwork model for understanding an agile team: A case study of a Scrum project. Information and Software Technology, 52(5), pp.480-491. Olson, D., Birge, J. and Linton, J. (2014). Introduction to risk and uncertainty management in technological innovation. Technovation, 34(8), pp.395-398. Pathak, S., Pateriya, P. and Pal, P. (2012). A Case Study on Software Development Projects in Academic Knowledge Centers using SCRUM. International Journal of Computer Applications, 43(10), pp.20-24. Pope-Ruark, R. (2012). We Scrum Every Day: Using Scrum Project Management Framework for Group Projects. College Teaching, 60(4), pp.164-169. Ucl (2012). Monthly Project Progress Report. [online] Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/itforslms/projects/other-aisc-projects/school-pharmacy/docs/P110108-00_-_UCL_SoPharmacy_Merger_2012-02.pdf [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017]. Umsl (2017). Cloud Models/Architecture. [online] Available at: https://www.cs.umsl.edu/~sanjiv/classes/cs5750/lectures/cma.pdf [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017]. Unhelkar, B. and Murugesan, S. (2010). The Enterprise Mobile Applications Development Framework. IT Professional, 12(3), pp.33-3

Jollibee International Expansion Essay Example

Jollibee International Expansion Paper JOLIBEE CASE ANALYSIS Summary Jollibee, a fast food chain, based in Philippines was able to obtain a competitive advantage in its local market by keeping tight control over the operations and catering to the taste and appetite of the local people. With the success in the home country, the company then expanded its operations into other countries under the leadership of Tony Kitchner. When Noli Tingzon joined the company, it was at a critical point, where it began to revisit its strategies to expand its international operations and explore new markets. Advantages in the Filipino market Jollibee’s early strategy in the Philippines market was to concentrate on the taste of the burgers. The taste and the size of the Jollibee’s burgers were made for the Philippine market. The taste of their burger appealed to the local people. Jollibee entered the fast food business in 1977. When McDonald entered the Philippine market in 1981, Jollibee already had a brand name for itself. This gave the first mover advantage over McDonalds. MacDonald with its money power moved very quickly. Jollibee’s, having had some success with its burgers; start expanding quickly to compete with McDonalds. They build volume on the reputation they had earned before McDonalds entered their market. One more advantage Jollibee had in the Philippine market was that they were the local company. The people could associate themselves with the company. This was emphasized in 1983 when the political climate in the country became instable. Jollibee continued to expand where as McDonald slowed down its investment in this market. We will write a custom essay sample on Jollibee International Expansion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jollibee International Expansion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jollibee International Expansion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The subsequent rise in the nationalism and local pride helped Jollibee secure a dominant position in the Philippine market. International Expansion under Tony Kitchner When Tony Kitchner joined the company as the first head of the international division, Jollibee already had a few failed attempts to entry into international markets. Kitchner was very efficient in creating the international division and implementing his strategy. He was instrumental in getting partners with good market connection for Jollibee. This was one of the major problems for Jollibee in its initial shot at international expansion. Kitchner implemented a two-part international strategy which comprised of â€Å"targeting expats† and â€Å"planting the flag. † The idea behind the targeting expats was to ease the company into the unfamiliar market. Although the segment was very small, its success allowed the company to generate momentum for further expansion in the market. By targeting the niche market, Kitchner was trying to take advantage of the brand recognition in the home market. On the other hand, â€Å"plant the flag† proved to be a executed poorly. Kitchner wanted to create big organization under his leadership. In the haste to entry the markets quickly, Kitchner did not study the market thoroughly before entering it. Planting the flag did have competitive first mover advantage like the company found out in its local market. However, there is a need to study the market before entering it. The unprofitable venture in the Middle East could have been avoided has research been done prior to entering. Also, Kitchner neglected the high cost of establishing market in new countries. While Kitchner created the new division to higher international standard there was a growing distance between the local and the international division. The local team were looked down up on by the member in the international division. This did affect the day operational efficiency of the company. Kitchner could have taken some step to curb the growing distance between the two divisions. Future International expansion The undeveloped Papua Guinea market provides the best option to leverage the company’s organizational skills. However, the country is not big enough to support 20 stores which the company thinks is critical mass for a new country. Even though the perspective partner was willing to invest all the money for the stores, Jollibee would have its brand value at risk if the stores don’t work. The profits being offered by the partner is uncertain and understandably low, the company would be better off staying away from this market. The fourth store in Hong Kong can give Jollibee the brand awareness to expand its operations in the country. This could be useful in attracting better partners. However given that the current stores were unable to attract Chinese customers as well as employees, the success of a fourth store is highly unlikely. It would be better for Jollibee to concentrate on improving the operations of the current store than opening a new one at this juncture. The Daly City is currently best opportunity for expansion for Jollibee. With a huge affluent Philippine population and relatively less competition prospects for the success of this store were bright. Also, like in Guam, California has a large population of Asian American which the company could target with changing the menu a lot.

Free Essays on The Most Embarasing Moment

The most embarrassing moment in my life happened in the restaurant one decade ago. I promised to four of my good friends that I will treat them with nice dinner in the best restaurant in the city if I get the promotion I was expecting. When that long awaited moment finally arrived, we all gathered on the warm summer Saturday night at the â€Å"Vesuvio†, Italian restaurant located in the heart of down town, with reputation of having the best Italian food in the whole country. â€Å"Vesuvio† was a pleasant upscale restaurant with the big hanging, mushroom-shaped lights and heavy wooden tables covered with traditional white tablecloths. We had some great time that night, telling jokes and remembering good high-school days over pasta, shrimps and pizzas. When handsome waiter brought our bill, I proudly reached for my black oversized purse to take my red leather wallet out of it. I did not find it right away, so I nervously shuffled the numerous items in my purse. I l ooked again, and again and still could not find it. I turned my purse up-side-down. At that time my Clinique make up bag landed on the table followed by the car keys, some photos, bunch of store receipts, my new sunglasses, but no sign of the wallet. After a short while I gave up and totally embarrassed and rather red-faced admitted to my friends that I accidentally left it at home. They started teasing me saying that since I invited them, I should pay even if I had to stay in the restaurant’s kitchen washing the dishes. However, the restaurant saga ended with my friends paying for the dinner. Furthermore, they never wanted me to pay them back. Even though my most embarrassing moment happened almost 10 years ago, they still tease me for that. Needless to say, I have never went back to â€Å"Vesuvio† again.... Free Essays on The Most Embarasing Moment Free Essays on The Most Embarasing Moment The most embarrassing moment in my life happened in the restaurant one decade ago. I promised to four of my good friends that I will treat them with nice dinner in the best restaurant in the city if I get the promotion I was expecting. When that long awaited moment finally arrived, we all gathered on the warm summer Saturday night at the â€Å"Vesuvio†, Italian restaurant located in the heart of down town, with reputation of having the best Italian food in the whole country. â€Å"Vesuvio† was a pleasant upscale restaurant with the big hanging, mushroom-shaped lights and heavy wooden tables covered with traditional white tablecloths. We had some great time that night, telling jokes and remembering good high-school days over pasta, shrimps and pizzas. When handsome waiter brought our bill, I proudly reached for my black oversized purse to take my red leather wallet out of it. I did not find it right away, so I nervously shuffled the numerous items in my purse. I l ooked again, and again and still could not find it. I turned my purse up-side-down. At that time my Clinique make up bag landed on the table followed by the car keys, some photos, bunch of store receipts, my new sunglasses, but no sign of the wallet. After a short while I gave up and totally embarrassed and rather red-faced admitted to my friends that I accidentally left it at home. They started teasing me saying that since I invited them, I should pay even if I had to stay in the restaurant’s kitchen washing the dishes. However, the restaurant saga ended with my friends paying for the dinner. Furthermore, they never wanted me to pay them back. Even though my most embarrassing moment happened almost 10 years ago, they still tease me for that. Needless to say, I have never went back to â€Å"Vesuvio† again....

The nature of financial information analysis Essay

The nature of financial information analysis - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Financial Information Analysis reflects the developments by addressing the natural world and function of accounting information in the past and present society, with specific reference to technological change. The increasing focuses particularly primary accounting documents, analysis, presentation, and Annual Reporting which propels it to the justifiable level. The main aim apparently is to endow users with the skills required to fathom the information content relevant and other accounting related materials. These functions facilitate corporate governance on creative accounting, the relevant pronouncement in regulatory structures that have been rewritten to add new insight, and emphasis. Information analysis is an art which is highly subjective exercise where skills, experience, and intuition of users account the very critical factor of consideration. The core mandate of accounting reporting, therefore, is to gather information about a n organizations strategy, its operations, and future prospects in relation to commercial, environmental and social context. This is meant to be an organization's most important reporting tool addressing how the business activities are trading and to which extent is the state of affairs in regard to the financial position. In other words, the following performance areas of concern are addressed; what is financial efficiency, liquidity, and its gearing status as well as the expectation of the shareholder in return to their money invested. Its pertinent aim is to create a formula for accounting for sustainability, bringing together governance, social, environmental and finance in a cohesive way. Financial information need to achieve financial development, sustainability and improved performance while reporting on their overall performance. In fact, it exposed some businesses to their bare minimum since companies are able to reveal most of their financial details while yet they did not achieve better performance that they expected. This therefore necessitated the need for a new framework for critical analysis in reporting that would boost their performance through better modalities of information review. The process of creating an integrated management information system has been faced with a number of setbacks. This has been brought about by a number of challenges such as the existences of different rules and regulations governing the various jurisdictions in the international society. Therefore for a report to be standardized there is a need for such report or rules in reporting to be applied across the boards (PETERSON, & FABOZZI, 2012). This has been a problem because the international communities have a different set of laws that govern them and as such some reporting guidelines may not be acceptable to extents within a given jurisdictions. This greatly affects the process of creating an integral report since the committee has to compromise or look for alternative ideas or methods that can be generally accepted across the boards and one that is all inclusive. It may also mean that some jurisdictions may have to be guided by a different guideline on international reporting requir ements (SMULLEN, 1995). Since the idea of financial information analysis was relatively new, it goes without saying that

Dividend policy of the firm is irrelevant to the rational investor Essay

Dividend policy of the firm is irrelevant to the rational investor - Essay Example These factors lead to fluctuation in the share prices and valuation of the companies. The relevance of dividend policy to a rational investor has been discussed in the subsequent sections (Gross, 2007, p.14). Rational for dividend payments The objective of investments is aimed at capital appreciation of the assets or securities over the period of holding. So, there is a definite reason for the companies to pay dividends which actually reduces the long term capital appreciation due to liquid payments in the form of dividend. The dividend payments are clear cut statements by the companies to showcase their abilities to manage their assets and performance to achieve financial profits and growth. The payment of dividends by the companies assures majority of the investors of sound financial performance in future and builds confidence for investment in stocks (Xu and  Wang, 1997, p.19). The companies decide through their dividend policy on the proportion of dividend payout and the percen tage to be kept for retained earnings. The dividend payment allocations are very delicate as the company also has to focus on increasing the financial wealth in future and reduce their dependency on leverage. The interest and tax rates also play an important role in the dividend policy of the companies. A reduction in the tax rates on long term and short term capital gains would urge the companies to cut down their dividend payments and invest more retained earning for long term capital gains (Funke, 2007, p.11). Empirical theories: Irrelevance of Dividend Policy The aspect of irrelevance of dividend policy to a rational investor can be explained by considering the empirical theories of dividend policy. Residual... The companies give topmost priority to finance their needs of investment looking at the target growth rates to be achieved in the short-term as well as long run. Only after meeting the needs of finances, the companies decide to distribute the residual profits to the shareholders in the form of dividend payments. Thus the shareholders would not be concerned of the dividend policy as capital gains for future from the investments done by the company lies at the core of maximization of their wealth. The rational investors are also knowledgeable that there is no dividend policy that could referred to as an optimal dividend policy. The dividend policies are an outcome of the fund requirement of the companies for financing the investment projects. For this reason, the dividends are declared by the companies which lead to restoration of confidence among the shareholders. Thus the shareholders are attracted more towards the investment in the company stocks as a result of which the price of th e share rises and the valuation of the companies are increased.

Fact And Fancy In Hard Times English Literature Essay

Fact And Fancy In Hard Times English Literature Essay Summary:   Explores the thematic opposition between fact and fancy, or the head and the heart in Charles Dickenss novel Hard Times. Explores the rivalry between these philosophies as a central theme to the Hard Times, as well as a fundamental crux of human existence. Charles Dickens lived in England during the 19th century, during a period of rapid economic growth when the industrial revolution was in full swing. Industrial cities sprung up throughout England, sustained solely by their factories, which furiously churned out wealth and merchandise and employed thousands of working class citizens. The living and working conditions for factory laborers in these towns were extremely poor, and the wealthy bourgeoisie prospered marvelously by greedily exploiting their employees, unfortunate people who toiled long hours in grimy factories to barely earn their subsistence. Utilitarianism was a prevalent viewpoint during this period of industrial frenzy, for it embraced the values of practicality and efficiency; and the success and survival of the participants of industrial society often depended on these standards. Dickens was disgusted with the single-mindedness of his society and with the dreary, inanimate atmosphere that accompanied it. In his novel H ard Times, an ongoing struggle ensues between the ideas of fact and fancy or the head and heart. The rivalry between these philosophies is a central theme to the Hard Times, not to mention a fundamental crux of human existence as well. Should an individual base his life on fact and rationality, or should he live by the whims of his imagination and fancy, following his heart? Dickens advances this theme persistently throughout the Hard Times, employing frequent use of descriptive imagery and metaphor throughout novel to animate the conflict between Fact and Fancy, and the result of this emphasis is a broader, encompassing critique of industrialized society in general. Dickens most clearly addresses fact and fancy through his portrayal of the education system in Coketown. The first chapter of the novel commences with a speech given by Mr. Gradgrind, addressed to the pupils at his school: Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. Gradgrind takes enormous pride in being eminently practical; a man of realities; and he nobly (in his opinion) endeavors to bestow these qualities on the youthful pupilsor rather, to smother them in factual instruction. In short, Dickens gives an unquestionably condemning impression of Gradgrind and the school by depicting their forceful, joyless educational methods in contrast to the innocence and fragility of the children. Just as Gadgrind rigorously enforces his utilitarian standards in his school, he is equally fervent in adhering to these principles in his own home. He genuinely believes that his ideals are essential to leading a successful, productive existence, and instructs his children accordingly, applying his mechanical art and mystery of educating the reason without stooping to the cultivation of the sentiments and affections. Louisa and Tom must absorb enormous amounts of factual knowledge from an early age, while, simultaneously, their father systematically represses and eradicates any notions of wonder or imagination that they might entertain, chiding them, Never wonder! Not surprisingly, Mr. Gradgrind seeks through his parental guidance to elicit the same results as in his schoolthe transformation of children into machine-like workers, lacking in personality yet supposedly ideal for efficiently performing the monotonous, repetitive labors of industrial Coketown. In addition to his firm commitment to everything factual, Gradgrind himself physically personifies the ideas fact and practicality. Dickens uses abundant imagery to give descriptions of Gradgrinds physical appearance, which is decidedly severe and methodical, including his square forefinger, square wall of a foreheadas if the shape of a square itself denotes the very notion of factand eyes which found commodious cellarage in two dark caves. Later his face is more generally described as unbending and utilitarian, and on the whole, every aspect of his appearance serves to emphasize his rigid devotion to cold facts and his thorough disregard of any sort of non-factual nonsense. Dickens employs more imagery to describe the tedious existence of the Gradgrind children under their father, saying that life at Stone Lodge went monotonously round like a piece of machinery, and Tom later describes Louisa as stuffed full of dry bones and sawdust by their father. Mr. MChoakumchild, a teacher at the school, is another individual who is characterized figuratively by Dickens. Although his name is more than ample evidence to confirm his detrimental effect on the children, there is further evidence of the harmful nature of his methods. The damaging repercussions of his educational torments are especially pronounced when Dickens compares him to Morgiana in the Forty Thieves; the teacher peers into all the vessels ranged before him, and Dickenss narrator addresses him: Say, good MChoakumchild. When from thy boiling store, thou shalt fill each jar brim full by-and-by, dost thou think that thou wilt always kill outright the robber Fancy lurking withinor sometimes only maim him and distort him! In this analogy, the ills of suppressing emotion and fancy become disturbingly concrete; for someone to endure a twisted, crippled fancy could possibly be presumed as bad or worse than possessing none at all, and this potential hazard is manifested later in the novel. Next to Tom and Louisa, Sissy Jupe is another character in Hard Times who, perhaps most acutely, feels the oppressions of prohibited fancy in Gradgrinds schoolroom. As the daughter of a circus performer, she is naturally very accustomed to thinking wild, imaginative thoughts, and she struggles in vain to acclimate herself to the meticulously factual lessons in class. In one instance, when Gradgrind commands Sissy to describe a horse, she is already so petrified by Mr. Gradgrinds stern, unsympathetic countenance, as well as the intellectual constraints of the lesson already imposed heretofore, that she fails even to offer a response. On the other hand, Bitzer, a boy in her class, gives a highly abstruse, scientific answer which pleases Mr. Gradgrind immensely: Quadruped. Gramnivorous. 40 teeth. Sheds coat in spring Later Dickens uses more imagery to directly contrast Sissy and Bitzer, implicitly furthering the development of fact and fancy. When he describes the two pupils, who happen to sit in the same row-and, at the time, in the same sunbeam-Sissy, who is full to brimming with fancy, is literally radiant in the sunlight: the girl was so dark-eyed and dark-haired, that she seemed to receive more lustrous color from the sun. As for Bitzer, who is already crammed full of information and utterly devoid of any sort of imaginative faculty, the light functions to draw out of him what little color he ever possessedhis skin was so unwholesomely deficient in the natural tinge that he looked as though, if he were cut, he would bleed white. In this manner, Dickens underscores the ghastly effects of an oppressed imagination by setting off the colorless debility personified by Bitzers physical appearance, from the sunny vitality that shines from the fanciful Sissy; thus, once again, Dickens exemplifies th e backwardness of Coketowns educational system. Aside from ornamenting his descriptions with frequent imagery, Dickens also uses various metaphors to emphasize the opposition between fact and fancy. The particulars of Gradgrinds utilitarian slant on the proper education of the youth are peppered with metaphors that Dickens draws on to mockingly embellish his obstinate convictions. Gradgrinds schoolroom is a vault, and his pupils are little vessels and little pitchers, neatly displayed and naively awaiting the imperial gallons of facts that will be crammed into them. Gradgrind intends to forcefully rid these delicate vessels of any fancy and imagination entirely, considering these merits to be useless follies that serve no practical use in the real world, and Dickens emphasizes Gradgrinds over-zealous capacity for destruction when he describes him as a kind of cannon loaded to the muzzle with facts, and prepared to blow them clean out of the regions of childhood at one discharge. In short, Dickens gives an unquestionably condemning impression of Gradgrind and the school by metaphorically depicting their forceful, joyless educational methods in contrast to the naivetà © and fragility of the children. A primary objective of Coketowns industrialized environment soon appears to be uniformity itself, another theme that is greatly enhanced by metaphorical language. When Mr. MChoakumchild is introduced, Dickens informs us that he and some one hundred and forty other schoolmasters had been lately turned at the same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like so many pianoforte legsthereby effectively likening the training of teachers to industrialized manufacture, and also hinting that the process of mass producing standardized machines of people is a fundamental, driving force in Coketowns society. This force permeates the education of the youth in school, where the machine-like teacher will mass produce industry-proficient citizens from the raw materials available in the pliable little pupils. And if they are to be suitably equipped for the real world, Gradgrind presumes that these children will need factsslews of factsand innocence and imagination are to be rooted out and discarded. The finished products of this rigorous training will emerge by the dozens, aptly-suited to excel in the industrial drudgery of Coketown. Louisa and Tom Gradgrind, unsurprisingly, feel the incompleteness of their existence even at an early age, and in one instance when their curiosity gets the better of them, they cant resist peeping through a fence at a circus performance. When their father catches them in the act, he is astounded, angered to find them in such a degraded position. At this point Tom merely gives himself up to be taken home like a machine (my emphasis), but Louisa is not quite so conditioned or obedient as Tom and shows more resistance to her father. Dickens depicts her singular, pitiful expression in this moment: struggling through the dissatisfaction of her face, there was a light with nothing to rest upon, a fire with nothing to burn, a starved imagination keeping life in itself somehow, which brightened its expression. Louisas inner fire becomes a recurring metaphor throughout Hard Times that symbolizes her suppressed imagination, and it takes on additional meaning later in the novel. In this passag e, the fire burning inside Louisa is already starved but persists nevertheless. Figuratively speaking, her imagination smolders weakly and smokily among the dry bones and sawdust that she has been filled with, and instead of a healthy fire of emotions and imagination, Louisa is filled with languid and monotonous smoke. Later in the novel, the long-term effects of enduring a childhood devoted to facts become blatantly obvious. Once Tom obtains his long-awaited independence from his fathers cold, scientific command, the rigorous training of his childhood violently backfires. Tom spirals downward in a chain of increasingly irresponsible, self-indulgent behaviors, including gambling and drinking, and eventually he gambles himself into monetary crises. His true colors come to the surface as he tries to deal with his problems, and we find out that, with all the facts and figures that his father ground into him, Gradgrind had apparently either overlooked or fallen short of instilling any sort of moral fiber in his son. Ironically, Tom ends up seeking refuge from the law by performing in disguise in the circus, the last place his father would have predicted during Toms disciplined youth. Ultimately, Tom ends up fleeing overseas after he rebukes Louisa for not helping him with his debts, and on foreign soil , full of remorse, he sickens and dies while attempting to return to his beloved sister. All in all, Gradgrinds terrible parenting is the cause of his sons failures in life; Toms squashed feelings of curiosity and enchantment exploded out of control once they were unbridled, resulting in his swift and fatal downfall. Through Toms dismal fate, Dickens grimly illustrates the repercussions of Gradgrinds utilitarian influence on those under his care. Louisa, on the other hand, does not encounter so desolate a fate as her brother, but the effects of her deprived childhood are nevertheless pronounced. While still young, Louisa marries Mr. Bounderby, an ill-fated decision that resulted largely due to the dispassionate countenance that her father infused in her from an early age. Later, like her brother, she easily succumbs to temptation once she is freed from her fathers iron grasp. In her case, the temptation is an affair with James Hearthouse, a man who easily appeals to Louisas immature, undeveloped emotions. However, Harthouse rouses Louisas long-dormant feelings into a sluggish agitation, and before she consummates any infidelity, the emotional poverty of her life engulfs her in a jolting, inescapable realitythe realization that she is destined to lead a numb and passionless existenceand so she returns to her father full of anguish and reproach, accusing him of ruining her. The fire metaphor appears again, for the once-sedated imaginative tendencies inside of Louisa have become destructive, burning within her like an unwholesome fire. She spends the rest of her days at Stone Lodge under the loving influence of Sissy, trying to regain what had become withered and stunted under her fathers care. Regrettably, Louisa has been permanently robbed of her inner spirit, her ability to live in feeling, and she ultimately endures a bleak existence, unable to secure a home or children of her own. Fortunately, Mr. Gradgrind is able learn the error of his ways, but his conversion does not spare the ruin of his two eldest children. When Louisa returns and reveals to him the effects of his parenting, he is at first doubtful, but is ultimately convinced by the wild dilating fire in his daughters eyes. Once he comes to terms with the fact that his life and beliefs, everything he had previously stood for, are in error, he arrives at the wise conclusion that there is a wisdom of the Head, and that there is a wisdom of the Heart. Later he acknowledges that Sissy, by mere love and gratitude, has brightened his household and his youngest daughter: what the Head had left undone and could not do, the Heart may have been doing silently. Gradgrinds realization is ironic, for he is the last character who we would expect to admit the shortcomings of facts and the powers of the heart. Dickenss message is clear: neither the Head nor the Heart is inherently bad; instead, the rival philosophies c omplement one another, and both should wholeheartedly embraced and juxtaposed so that nothing can be left undone. Finally, Sissy Jupe serves as a stark contrast to the other ill-fated characters. After her father abandons her early in the novel, she takes up residence with none other than the Gradgrinds themselves. Sissy is innately inclined toward fancy and an animated imagination, and her experiences in the classroom show that she tends to speak from her heart, rather than conforming to the spiritless design that Gradgrinds school holds in store for her. Indeed, her heart proves too strong and passionate to submit to the corrupting coaching she receives in school, and consequently she is withdrawn as a result of her inaptitude. Despite the halt in her education, Sissy grows into a sensible, compassionate woman during her years with the Gradgrinds, still retaining her robust imaginationa rather astounding accomplishment considering the notoriously unwholesome atmosphere of Stone Lodge. Later in the novel Sissy becomes a beacon of morals and kindness to the troubled Louisa: In the innocence of h er brave affection, and the brimming up of her old devoted spirit, the once deserted girl shone like a beautiful light upon the darkness of the other. Furthermore, only Sissy can begin to mend Louisas misshapen spirit with her soft touch and sympathetic hand and breathe the beginnings of life into an emotionally dead soul; and again it is Sissy who gives the youngest Gradgrind daughter the affectionate nurturing that Louisa and Tom needed so badly in their youths. By emphasizing the concepts of fact and fancy in Hard Times, Dickens paints a discerning model of the industrialized Victorian society, exemplifying its defects in characters like Gradgrind and Bounderby. On the whole, Dickens renders Gradgrind and his school entirely destructive and sinister, thereby presenting a possible critique of the schools in Victorian England at the current time. More importantly, however, the smaller world of the classroom directly reflects the larger, zealously industrialized society that exists outsideboth Coketown itself and the world in which Dickens lived. Through the main characters and their experiences in the representative environment of education, Dickens exemplifies the shallowness and decadence of industrialized economy, which is epitomized by Coketown. Gradgrind and Bounderby deem the Coketown workers, like Louisa and Tom, to be eternally dissatisfied and unmanageable, and Dickens openly speculates that there is an analogy between the case of th e Coketown population and the case of the little Gradgrinds. Furthermore, Coketown itself embodies the characteristic descriptions of Gradgrinds home and classroom, shown in the lines Fact, fact, fact, everywhere in the material aspect of the town; fact, fact, fact, everywhere in the immaterial, and the previously noted harms of the Coketown classroom are amplified in Coketowns factories, where machinery is chopping people up and the workers face death young and misshapen. Additional descriptions of Coketown give evidence of the inherent frailty of its moral and societal underpinnings, for although the town appears mighty and deathless, with its raging factories of fire and smoke and its tyranny over the enslaved workers, Coketowns machinery throbs feebly like a fainting pulse. The lack of any sort of supporting foundation is further emphasized by the patchy, insubstantial quality imparted on the buildings by its soot and grime: the town is shrouded in a haze of its own, a blur of s oot and smoke, discernible only as a sulky blotch upon the prospect. Moreover, Dickens actually suggests that this industrialized society is essentially corrupt and sinful when he conveys Coketown as nothing but masses of darkness that confusedly aspire to the vault of Heaven, with its chimneys rising up into the air like competing Towers of Babel. These descriptions cast a very accusatory, judgmental light on industrialism and its perpetuators in general. In Hard Times, these perpetuators, or the bourgeoisie on the whole, are represented by Mr. Bounderby, a truly despicable, selfish character, and a self-made Humbug (in his own words) who claims to follow the same philosophy as Gradgrind, and he constantly proclaims the fantastic tales of his impoverished, abandoned childhood and unlikely rise to fortune. When Gradgrind encounters Mrs. Bounderby at the end of the novel, he hastily reproaches her, wondering at her audacity in showing her face to her son, to which she replies, Lord forgive you, sir, for your wicked imaginations. This statement is ironic on several levels, for Gradgrind has only recently abandoned his rigid dependence on factsbut now, that which he deemed most dependably factual and true is revealed as a pinnacle of fanciful lies. Furthermore, Gradgrind himself formerly propagated the notion that imagination is useless and wicked; subsequently, there is now a sort of role-reversal between himself and Bounderbys mother. L astly, Bounderby, that sturdy and respected upholder of rationality and fact, is exposed as an utter hypocrite. He is a man so deeply embedded in ludicrous fabrications that his entire public identity is an invented faà §ade, a jumble of ridiculous, fanciful delusions, analogous to the elusive, ethereal qualities of Coketown itself. It is his imagination that is truly wicked, and he merely endorses utilitarian views as a result of his greedy self-interest. By portraying Bounderby as a shameless deceiver who is oblivious to the plight of his employees, Dickens suggests that industrialized society has been created and sustained without regard to human compassion or morality, and that, as a system, this type of society fosters only vice and misery. In summary, Dickens creates a loveless, greed-driven world within Coketowns schools and factories, where the principles of the market take precedence over human compassion. By sanctioning the proliferation of fact and rationality, as well as the oppression of imagination of fancy, Bounderby has no benevolent motive. He seeks to increase his wealth by increasing the efficiency of his workers, and the specialized education of the youth in Coketown is merely one manifestation of industrialized greed. Gradgrind, on the other hand, harbors good intentions for the children, but as to the effects of his actions, he is gravely mistaken, as Dickens so explicitly shows. Although Dickens does not offer a clear solution to societys ills, he portrays the goodness of humankind in the members of the circus, who cared so little for plain Fact, and about whom there was a remarkable gentleness and childishness and an untiring readiness to help and pity one another. On one note, however, Dickens is qui te clear: human nature cannot be reduced to a plethora of facts and figures, and neither can it be predicted as such: It is known, to the force of a single pound weight, what the engine will do; but not all the calculators of the National debt can tell me the capacity for good or evil, for love or hatred, for patriotism or discontent, for the decomposition of virtue into vice at any single moment in the soul of one of these quiet servants. Dickens repeatedly illustrates the grave repercussions of Coketowns society, of stifling the fire of imagination, giving a disturbing perspective of human greed and its power to corrupt.