A Matter of the heart and Coach Knight Essay

Coach K and Coach Knight both achieved significant success during their college coaching careers. Both coaches possessed the knowledge, skills, and abilities to lead their teams to numerous victories. However, their approaches to this success were very different. Robert Katz and M.D. Mumford identified three skills that leaders should have to ensure their effectiveness and success. Those skills included: technical, human, and conceptual skills. Robert Blake and Jane Mouton developed a leadership grid that indicated behaviors of leaders that were based on people and results. Based on these two leadership models, the coaches were very diverse on the methods exercised to lead their teams. One coach was more concerned with human skills and development of people, while the other coach was more focused on technical skill and results. In employing the Katz and later studies of Mumford’s skills approach, Coach K is dedicated in promoting the development and growth within his team. He utilized his human skills in his ability to work with his team and other coaching staff to accomplish their goals (Northouse, p. 45). He created an environment of trust in where the team had faith in his leadership and each other. Coach K encouraged his team to rely on each other’s ideas and concepts and adapted them into his guidance of the team. He applied his technical and conceptual skills by creating a shared vision for the team and staff; while also using his knowledge and abilities about basketball to enable the team to reach victory. Coach Knight’s skills and how they related to the Katz and Mumford’s approach were slightly different. He utilized his technical skills with his team by providing them with examples of his experience and expertise of the game. Coach Knight conducted specific activities and drills that would ensure the team would be successful. He strongly believed that physical activity or the use of technical skills which involve hands on activity or processes within an organization would guarantee victory (Northouse, p. 44).  Creating a plan and a vision for his team, he pushed his players to strive for excellence. This was an example of his use of conceptual skills. However, Coach Knight lacked human skills. He has been criticized for being unconcerned about the feelings, thoughts, and concerns of others. Most people saw him as a tyrant or dictator. While analyzing the coaches using the Blake Mouton Grid, they are very dissimilar as well. Coach K exhibits the Team leadership results. He is very concerned with results, but is just as concerned about his team and their individual needs. He operates his team with encouragement and motivation for individual and organizational results. The team is driven to produce results and is satisfied or content with his leadership abilities. Yet, Coach Knight identifies with the Authority-compliance management system. He is focused on results by any means necessary. This leadership style is high on results and low on concerns for people. Coach Knight follows a strict system with emphasis on policies and procedures. He has been known to punish or terminate team members for not producing acceptable results. Although both coaches have experienced considerable success, they have two very different leadership styles used to accomplish their goals. While Coach K equally directs his attention to both task oriented and relationship based leadership, Coach Knight centers his leadership approach on only completing tasks and achieving results. Despite the distinctive natures of their leadership proficiencies, both men are respected and highly regarded in the basketball community. References Balancing task- and people –oriented leadership: The Blake Mouton managerial grid. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_73.html Northouse. P. G. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th e.d.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Snook, S. A., Perlow, L. A., & Delacy, B. J. (2005 December 1). Coach K: A matter of the heart. HBS No 9-406-044. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing Snook, S. A., Perlow, L. A., & Delacy, B. J. (2005 December 1). Coach Knight: The will to win. HBS No 9-406-043. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing

Financial planning

Investment is not as simple as it seems. For, many people often wonder which of the different types of investment processes will yield more money in the shortest possible time(Weston, 1996). People often equate the viability of investments in terms of many factors including safety, risk, income, growth, and liquidity. The following paragraphs explain these decision making factors in detail. BODY Stock or Equity Financing. The investor will feel safe if he invests in a company that has a historical trend of generating profits(Gapenski, 1997). For, he gets a share of the income if the company makes money. On the other hand, the investor will have a high probability   of   squandering his or her money if the company he or she invests in has been generating losses for the past year or years of operation. To reiterate, he will generate income if the company generates income. Also, he or she will find his or her investment money decrease if the company generates losses. For, his or her investment in stocks or equity financing will grow if the company generates profits in its generating activities. Thus, if the company generates losses, the company will stop growing in terms of net assets. If the assets of the company are liquid, then this is a good investment. Liquidity is how very near the assets like inventory, accounts receivable and the remaining other assets can be easily converted into cash. Cash is the most liquid asset. The investor is the stockholder or owner of a certain percentage of the company. Surely, future income is unpredictable. Corporate and Goverment Bonds.  Ã‚   The investor will feel safe if the company he lends his money has been generating income for the past year or years of operations for there is strong probability that the company will have enough money to pay the bond investor. Evidently, this is a lender (investor) & borrower (loaner) relationship. Likewise, if the company is generating profits for the past years, then there a miniscule risk that the creditor will be paid when the due date for loan payment arrives. The income of the investor here is based on a pre –agreed interest rate. Thus, future interest income can be predicted. The growth is predictably fixed based on the periodic interest income rate agreed by the parties. Investment here is very liquid because the investor received fixed interest income on the money he lent to the company. Definitely, investment here is very predictably fixed. Mutual Funds.   Here, money from a group of investors is collected and invested in bonds, stocks and other short term money market securities and instruments. This is a safe investment because the mutual funds are invested by an expert third party in stocks, bonds or cash options such as Euro dollar, and other foreign currencies in what we call forward contracts. Thus, investments here are safe and the risk is very minimal. The income is very assured because money is invested in several income -generating companies. The mutual fund representatives are generally experts in giving advice on which funds to invest money in. The mutual fund advisor gathers data and analyzes the peculiarities of each fund and determines the optimal mix of securities and communicates this to the investor. Consequently, money invested here will grow fast because of the expert management of the mutual fund advisors. Finally, liquidity is reassured because the money invested in the different funds can be easily divested and the cash investment withdrawn.   Clearly, future income here is unpredictably in the investor’s favor. Real Estate.   Investment in real estate is very safe because the market value of land continues to escalate upward. Thus, there is a very small risk in real estate investments. Investment in land is very reassured because land prices continue to rise each year. Furthermore, growth will undoubtedly unfold each year. This investment is very liquid because, land can easily be sold and converted to cash anytime of the day. Investment here is very lucratively predictable. CONCLUSION: Four of the more popular investment methods are   1) Stock or Equity Financing 2)Corporate and Government Bonds 3) Mutual Funds 4) Real Estate. The bottom line here is that   the investor in interested to know if he or she will make money from investing his or her hard earned cash and cash equivalents. In conclusion, each investor will often choose the method which he or she is very comfortable with. REFERENCES: Weston et. Al., Essentials of Managerial Finance, Dryden Press, New York, 1996 Gapenski, L., Brigham, E., Financial Management, Dryden Press, New York, 1997    Financial planning Investment is not as simple as it seems. For, many people often wonder which of the different types of investment processes will yield more money in the shortest possible time(Weston, 1996). People often equate the viability of investments in terms of many factors including safety, risk, income, growth, and liquidity. The following paragraphs explain these decision making factors in detail. BODY Stock or Equity Financing. The investor will feel safe if he invests in a company that has a historical trend of generating profits(Gapenski, 1997). For, he gets a share of the income if the company makes money. On the other hand, the investor will have a high probability   of   squandering his or her money if the company he or she invests in has been generating losses for the past year or years of operation. To reiterate, he will generate income if the company generates income. Also, he or she will find his or her investment money decrease if the company generates losses. For, his or her investment in stocks or equity financing will grow if the company generates profits in its generating activities. Thus, if the company generates losses, the company will stop growing in terms of net assets. If the assets of the company are liquid, then this is a good investment. Liquidity is how very near the assets like inventory, accounts receivable and the remaining other assets can be easily converted into cash. Cash is the most liquid asset. The investor is the stockholder or owner of a certain percentage of the company. Surely, future income is unpredictable. Corporate and Goverment Bonds.  Ã‚   The investor will feel safe if the company he lends his money has been generating income for the past year or years of operations for there is strong probability that the company will have enough money to pay the bond investor. Evidently, this is a lender (investor) & borrower (loaner) relationship. Likewise, if the company is generating profits for the past years, then there a miniscule risk that the creditor will be paid when the due date for loan payment arrives. The income of the investor here is based on a pre –agreed interest rate. Thus, future interest income can be predicted. The growth is predictably fixed based on the periodic interest income rate agreed by the parties. Investment here is very liquid because the investor received fixed interest income on the money he lent to the company. Definitely, investment here is very predictably fixed. Mutual Funds.   Here, money from a group of investors is collected and invested in bonds, stocks and other short term money market securities and instruments. This is a safe investment because the mutual funds are invested by an expert third party in stocks, bonds or cash options such as Euro dollar, and other foreign currencies in what we call forward contracts. Thus, investments here are safe and the risk is very minimal. The income is very assured because money is invested in several income -generating companies. The mutual fund representatives are generally experts in giving advice on which funds to invest money in. The mutual fund advisor gathers data and analyzes the peculiarities of each fund and determines the optimal mix of securities and communicates this to the investor. Consequently, money invested here will grow fast because of the expert management of the mutual fund advisors. Finally, liquidity is reassured because the money invested in the different funds can be easily divested and the cash investment withdrawn.   Clearly, future income here is unpredictably in the investor’s favor. Real Estate.   Investment in real estate is very safe because the market value of land continues to escalate upward. Thus, there is a very small risk in real estate investments. Investment in land is very reassured because land prices continue to rise each year. Furthermore, growth will undoubtedly unfold each year. This investment is very liquid because, land can easily be sold and converted to cash anytime of the day. Investment here is very lucratively predictable. CONCLUSION: Four of the more popular investment methods are   1) Stock or Equity Financing 2)Corporate and Government Bonds 3) Mutual Funds 4) Real Estate. The bottom line here is that   the investor in interested to know if he or she will make money from investing his or her hard earned cash and cash equivalents. In conclusion, each investor will often choose the method which he or she is very comfortable with. REFERENCES: Weston et. Al., Essentials of Managerial Finance, Dryden Press, New York, 1996 Gapenski, L., Brigham, E., Financial Management, Dryden Press, New York, 1997   

Critical Thinking Paper Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Thinking Paper - Thesis Example The argument behind nonevidentialism is that some things that are true dot not have evidence. There are occasions that things have been dismissed as false because they lack evidence only for them to be proved otherwise later. On this basis, it is always wrong to treat everything based on evidence. A good example is a scenario where an individual has seen some visual evidence or even heard some audio evidence. The people to whom this individual will be relaying this information to did not see or hear anything that they can term as evidence to the information that is being given to them. The lack of evidence to back this information does not necessarily prove that the information that is being given in this case is not true. Another thing when it comes to religious beliefs is that they are mostly dependent on an individual’s faith. They are in no way related to the evidence that an individual is given. The Christian religion to be specifically asserts that the belief always come before the evidence. This means that individuals are expected to believe in Christianity. Christianity is one of the most influential religions in the world and has millions of believers all over the world. These believers base their reason for joining the religion on their faith in what the Bible tells them about the existence of God the way they should conduct themselves. People who have been in Christianity long enough have the belief that they have had experiences over time that have played a major role in convincing them of the existence of God and His powerfulness. A number of things in the universe do not necessarily have any physical evidence of their existence but are undeniably existent. A good example of such would be human consciousness. No one can claim that they have ever had a chance to see consciousness, but that no one can really disprove its existence. On many occasions, the decisions that people make are always affected by their

Organizational behavior (research analysis) Assignment - 2

Organizational behavior (research analysis) - Assignment Example To ensure that all the employees are up to date with the company values, I would organize annual events whereby the employees will be reminded on the core company values. Internal conflict resolution has been found to be more effective as compared to external methods such as courts. To come up with a good conflict resolution strategy, I would seek the opinion of the employees on workplace conflict guidelines. Conflict resolution should begin at the departmental level so that small disputes are handled before they blow up (Taylor, Rebekah, and Pamela 24). Every department should have a conflict mediator who will be trained on conflict mediation. Although training would be expensive in the short-term as compared to hiring mediators, it will be worth the cost since no new wages will be incurred in the future. Department managers will be trained as conflict mediators. Integration of management skills and conflict mediation will help solve conflicts wisely. Ineffective communication problems are bound to cause havoc in a working environment. As the new manager, I will ensure that communication channels are effective so as to avoid misunderstanding. The structure of the organization will be altered so that communication will be easier. Every department head will communicate directly to a central manager whose main function will be coordinating the different departments. The central manager will pass information from department to department and hence no cases of departmental misunderstanding will arise. According to Taylor, improper communication in departments is the root cause of conflicts in organizations (Taylor, Rebekah, and Pamela 56). He argues that a central communication point helps solve communication problems. Fair evaluation is defined as the process of determining an individual’s job-related actions without favoring or discriminating them. Fair evaluation also means that the employee’s

ENTERAL NUTRITION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ENTERAL NUTRITION - Essay Example The purpose of this study was to determine the practices of enteral nutrition and procedures among adults in intensive care units (Fulbrook et al., p. 163). The independent variables were adults in intensive care units while the dependent variables were practices of enteral feeding. A hypothesis of this study was that timely administration of enteral feeding could minimize complications in the ICU and improve the recovery rates among adult patients in ICU. (Fulbrook et al.,p. 166). A progression of worldwide studies has demonstrated that, in numerous ICUs, health care providers do not begin enteral nutrition for all qualified patients. Postponing timing in the organization, and a few highlights having an effect on a conveyance may lead to disappointment in individual encouraging targets (Fulbrook et al., p. 174). This article focuses on a literature review with the aim of helping establish the criterion for enteral nutrition among the critically ill as well as helping identify timely initiation among those eligible. Proper assessments are essential before initiating this mode of feeding. (Fulbrook et al.,p. 178). Enteral feeding is a necessity to optimize caloric targets. The research suggests that enteral nutrition to commence within 24-48 hours and the nurse should monitor the patient for any complications arising from this feeding method. The reported troubles in improving calorific admission in critically ill patients have driven the ICU group to distinguish proof based rules to create models of NS and enhance persistent results. (Fulbrook et al.,p. 176). Early start of EN, the lower term of mechanical ventilation, decrease in the unseemly utilization of parenteral sustenance (PN), potential to decrease sepsis-related complexities, intrusions in conveyance and diminished danger of death. A convenience sample test of basic consideration of medical caretakers speaking to 20 nations of the European federation of Critical Care Nursing associations

NCPC Web Field Trip Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

NCPC Web Field Trip - Essay Example Allowing oneself to communicate with proper understanding of both sides while expressing truths of opinions or sentiments may also get the other person to back off from upset contention. Then if neither of these seem to work, the next best advice would be to acquire a ‘mediating body’ preferably one who has not had previous connections with the involved parties so as to avoid partiality in resolving the conflict. Another useful approach would be to practice active listening. This way, the possibility of finding similar situations with the opposing individual is likely to establish some degree of comprehension and concern, noting how a certain encounter is understood on the same perspective by both (NCPC). How important is it to â€Å"walk in the other person's shoes† when trying to avoid or resolve a conflict? Explain. Putting oneself in another person’s shoes basically means empathizing and this requires a profound level of sincere listening so that one un derstands what the other individual has gone through which might have brought him to act in a trait of weakness resulting to the conflict.

Topic picked from the book clockwork orange Research Paper

Topic picked from the book clockwork orange - Research Paper Example R. Deltoid, The prison chaplain, Billyboy, The prison governor, ‘Minister of the interior’, Dr. Branom, Dr. Brodsky, F. Alexander and Cat woman. The novel was purposefully written to show people that their past does not matter, and that whatever they were they can change from their past. Alex is the main character in the book, being portrayed as the violent one. Certain quotations from the book are subject to interpretation, and will be looked at in this essay. The first chapter has a quotation that catches my eye, which reads, â€Å"What’s it going to be then, eh?† There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim. Dim being really dim and we sat in the Korova Milkbar making up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening, a flip dark chill winter bastard though dry (Burgess, pg 10). In this extract, Alex has been portrayed as the figurative bad guy in the novel. He has a show of might and rank, calling his friends droogs, mean ing that they answer to him. Alex is liberal, and this can be viewed by the use of his slang language. He uses the language liberally and without worry. I can’t help but notice that he has taken the role of a leader, in that he is the leader of his gang of friends. Alex stands for a typical and highly successful teenager. This can be seen by the way he has dressed while with his gang, â€Å"The four of us were dressed in the height of fashion† (Burgess, pg 10). Also noticeable is how he tells of their wealth, â€Å"Our pockets were full of deng, so there was no real need from the point of view of crasting any more pretty to tolchok some old veck in an alley and viddy him swim in his blood while we counted the takings and divided by four, nor to do the ultra-violent on some shivering starry grey-haired ptitsa in a shop and go smecking off with the till’s guts. But as they say, money isn’t everything.† (Burgess, pg 10) From this extract, I can say th at Alex is in himself a master at the game of violence, and at everything he does. Though he knows violence and has participated in it, he still believes that there is more to life than money. From these quotations, a lot can be studied according to his personality. I can conclude without doubt that Alex is generic, mindless, has considerable knowledge of evil, substantive, is highly individualistic and from the looks of it is likeable from the way he carries himself. As soon as his own boost kicks in, Alex leads his gang into the streets, where they find an old man carrying books home from the library. Sensing his fear, they first play with him for a few moments before beginning to assault him. After ripping apart his books and taking his false teeth together with his clothes, they let him walk away whimpering. The gang continues in their violent spree until the law catches up. He is betrayed by the very people he leads, with his one violent scheme not going according to plan. Dim betrays him, and he finds himself beaten up and being forced to confess to his crimes. This shows that Alex is trusting, though from this it seems he trusts the wrong people. I see this in the extract, â€Å"Bog murders you, you vonny stinking bratchnies. Where are the others? Where are my stinking traitorous droogs? One of my cursed grahzny bratties chained me on the glazzies. Get them before they get away† (Burgess, pg 66). Dim chained him, and the rest were nowhere to be seen. He learns his lesson the hard way.

Tax Havens or Offshore Financial Centre Research Proposal

Tax Havens or Offshore Financial Centre - Research Proposal Example You can have tax havens that charge virtually no tax at all or which just charge annual administrative sums of money for companies using its shores as a base for their operations, and you can have nations that simply charge a lower rate of taxation than competitor havens". (Barber, 2006) Recently some countries have emerged as evident tax havens and are attracting hefty capital inflow. Singapore, Hong-Kong, Barbdos etc are only a few to name. "In Asia, offshore interbank markets began to develop after 1968 when Singapore launched the Asian Dollar Market (ADM) and introduced the Asian Currency Units (ACUs). The ADM was an alternative to the London euro-dollar market, and the ACU rule enabled mainly foreign banks to engage in international transactions under a favorable tax and regulatory environment" (International Monetary Fund, 2000) Similarly in Europe, Luxembourg attracted investors from Germany, France and Belgium in the early 1970s (IMF, 2000) due to its low income tax rates, the lack of withholding taxes for nonresidents on interest and dividend income, and banking secrecy rules. On the same ground The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man provided very similar opportunities. Moreover Bahrain began to serve as a collection center for the region's oil surpluses during the mid 1970s, after passing banking laws and providing tax incentives to facilitate the incorporation of offshore banks. In the Western Hemisphere, the Bahamas and later the Cayman Islands provided similar facilities. Following this initial success by other countries, a number of other small countries tried to attract this business. Many had little success, because they were unable to offer any advantage over the more established centers. This did, however, lead some late arrivals to appeal to the less legitimate side of the business. "By the end of the 1990s, the attractions of offshore banking seemed to be changing for the financial institutions of industrial countries as reserve requirements, interest rate controls and capital controls diminished in importance, while tax advantages remain powerful. Also, some major industrial countries began to make similar incentives available on their home territory. For example, the U.S. established in 1981, in major U.S. cities, the so-called International Banking Facilities (IBFs). Later, Japan allowed the creation of the Japanese Offshore Market (JOM) with similar characteristics. At the same time, supervisory authorities, and to some extent tax authorities were adopting the principle of consolidation which reduced the incentives for banks to carry on business outside their principal jurisdiction. As a result, the relative advantage of OFCs for conventional banking has become less attractive to industrial countries, although the tax advantages for asset management appear to have grown in importance. In fact, reported bank intermediation on the balance sheet in IFCs has declined over the period 1992-1999, thus contributing to the overall decline in the share of bank cross-border assets intermediated through OFCs from 56 percent of total bank cross-border

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Essay Example for Free

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Essay According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) depicts a condition in which persons demonstrate an abnormal degree of obsession or compulsion in relation to specific daily activities (as cited in Gournay, Curran Rogers, 2006, p. 60). Obsessions are persistent thoughts or mental images while compulsions are recurrent behaviors that are performed specifically to relieve obsessions (as cited in Gournay, et al, 2006, p. 60). Obsessions usually cause considerable distress and anxiety for the individual and as a result actions (compulsions) are performed to diminish the anxiety caused by the obsessive thoughts or images, Stein (2002) highlights that compulsions are not necessarily observable but could take the form of mental rituals (p. 397). Everyday life experiences usually reveal some amount of obsession or compulsion but do not usually affect normal activities to a significant extent. Often such compulsions are necessary, excusable and natural and therefore do not cause considerable distress. The distinction between these behaviors and the behaviors associated with OCD is in the frequency with which they are carried out, the motivations behind the behaviors and the level of anxiety experienced (Gournay et al, 2006, p. 60). OCD is present when the behaviors reach the extent of preventing the individual from functioning properly in normal everyday activities. For OCD diagnosis, the American Psychiatric Association specifies that there must be the presence of the obsessions or compulsions as discussed above. Additionally these mental processes or behaviors must take up a significant amount of time, usually more than an hour each day (as cited in Geffken et al, 2004, p. 46). It is important to discern the distinction between the obsessive and compulsive behaviors demonstrated by persons with OCD as being significantly different from delusions that are evidenced in various other disorders. The most commonly used treatment method for OCD is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) which has been accounted with an over 80 percent success rate (Geffken et al, 2004, p. 46). This procedure uses the two techniques of exposure and response prevention. In exposure the patient is made to face up to their fears. This procedure seeks to reinforce model behavior by having the patients getting accustomed to refraining from the behaviors that they feel compelled to participate in. By being repeatedly exposed to the anxiety-causing stimulus the patients eventually develop a tolerance for the anxiety and the anxiety itself decreases. The other procedure is response or ritual prevention which uses the principle of negative reinforcement. Individuals have to endure and suppress the anxiety caused by the mental images or thoughts and therefore avoid attempts to reduce the anxiety by participating in the unwanted behavior. Research has found that both procedures are equally as effective in decreasing and eventually removing obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior (Geffken, et al, 2004, p. 46). Of the two the exposure and response form of CBT is probably the most effective treatment alternative for OCD in adults and children. In addition to CBT there are a number of drugs developed for the treatment of OCD and a few other depressive disorders. Many have proven to be effective in treating adult OCD. Among these are serotonergic agents such as clomipramine, fluvoxamine, fluoxetine and sertraline. There are also citalopram and paroxetine but these two have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (Storch Merlo, 2006, p. 329). However, more and more research is suggesting that a combination type treatment that utilizes CBT and prescription drugs have the most numerical and long term success. Anonymous (2004) reports that, Â  in a randomized study with three distinct groups of patients treated with either CBT along with sertraline, CBT alone, sertraline alone or a placebo, 53.6% of participants in the combination CBT and sertraline group showed a 100% improvement of their symptoms. Comparative results for the control groups were 39.3% with the use of CBT only, 21.4% with the use of sertraline only and 3.6% with the use of a placebo (p. 1156). References Anonymous. (2004, Dec). Combination therapy best for obsessive disorders. AORN Journal, 80(6), 1156. Geffken G. R., Storch, E. A., Gelfand, K. M, Adkins, J. W. Goodman, W. K. (2004, Dec). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: Review of treatment techniques. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing Mental Health Services, 42(12), 44-53. Gournay K., Curran, J. Rogers, P. (2006, Apr 26). Assessment and management of obsessive compulsive disorder. Nursing Standard, 20(33), 59-66 68. Stein D. (2002, Aug 3). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Lancet, 360(9330), 397-405. Storch, E. A. Merlo, L. J. (2006, Apr). Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Strategies for using CBT and pharmacotherapy. Journal of Family Practice, 55(4), 329-333.

Expanding Target to China Essay Example for Free

Expanding Target to China Essay China is, without a doubt, the fastest growing economy in the world today. Companies from around the world have wanted to tap into Chinas market to cash in on the tremendous success that it continues to experience. There had been many restrictions for foreign companies who tried to do business in China, limiting the number of foreign companies, and allowing only the big players to come into China. Even then, these big players from around the globe faced more restrictions and rules once they entered China. But things have changed since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001; a new milestone for this country, as well as for other economies. Since then, restrictions for foreign investors and businesses to enter Chinas market had begun to ease up. By December 11th, 2004, China must remove remaining restrictions on the retail sector in order to comply with the WTO rules. This means it will be much easier for foreign retailers to enter the market, and for current foreign retailers in China to expand (1). Many retailers from all over the world will seize this golden opportunity, and Target should do so too. Target, a Minnesota based national retail company, has come a long way from being Daytons department store back in 1961 to being one of the biggest players in United States retail market, as we know it today. Over the last ten years, Target has experienced a continuous incline in growth year after year. Sales reached over $48 billion this past year, a 10 percent increase from the year prior (2). Just like its revenue, the number of stores across the United States has been on the rise. Currently there are 1313 Target stores operating in 47 states, including 136 SuperTarget stores in 20 states (3). Not surprisingly, Target ranks number four in Triversitys Top 100 Retailers in the United States behind Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Kroger (4). Globally, Target is ranked number 7 in the top 100 retailers worldwide (5). With this kind of statistics, Target has the potential and the resources to begin expanding into the international market, such as China. Comparing to Metro AG, a German retailer, which ranks a couple spots ahead of Target on the worldwide list, is not that much ahead of Target in terms of sales. And yet, Metro AG is one of the largest foreign retailers in China, along with  Wal-Mart and Carrefour (6). Not only should Target continue to expand domestically, but it should also start looking to expand in other markets around the world as well, such as China. This will allow Target to become a multinational company and begin creating a global recognition for itself in the retail sector. Now of course Target cannot dive right into the China Market and expect everything to just work out. Like any other company entering a foreign market, there are challenges and factors that Target must consider and evaluate before doing business in China. In this report, different reasons why Target should enter Chinas retail market and the benefits it offers to the company will be presented. Chinas economic status, political status, and economic status, along with options of entry and other factors that will affect Targets business, will be discussed. Chinas Economic Status China is currently the worlds most potential market for consumer goods. Its average annual GDP growth rate of nearly 10 percent for the last 10 years is the strongest among other major economies around the world (7). This is mainly due to the increase in manufacturing investment from foreign companies over the years because China is full of resources and cheap labor. Many products we see today are labeled Made in China since China has essentially developed into a manufacturing centre for the worlds consumer goods production (8). With a population of 1.3 billion people and having more consumers than Europe and the United States put together, it is obvious that China is by far one of the most attractive markets to invest in for foreign companies that are in the retail and consumer sector (8). When combining the strong, continuous growth of the economy with a population of this magnitude, the results are more money in consumers pockets, meaning more money to spend on goods. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the retail sales of consumer goods in China quadrupled with a span of 10 years (7). With this kind of statistics, it will be Targets best interest to pursuit an expansion into Chinas retail market. Chinas economy and consumer market will continue to grow. The more people there are in a  market, the more money will be spent. Everyone will always need food and daily accessories regardless of how much money they have, and those that have more money to spend will spend that extra money on other goods. So by setting up operations there, Target will have a chance to go along with the ride and reap the promising rewards that Chinas consumer market offers, which is what other foreign retailers are looking for. Chinas Political Status One of the major milestones for China, which made a global impact, is its accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. This is the main reason why the forecast of Chinas growing economy remains strong. Since then, Chinas has begun to ease up restrictions on imports and exports, and also for foreign businesses entering Chinas market, most significantly the retail sector. By December 11, 2004, all restrictions on foreign retailing in China will be lifted, including restrictions on foreign ownership, number of branches, and geographic locations for where to set up stores (9). Currently, there are limited foreign investments in Chinas retail sector. In 2000, the Retail and Wholesale sector only accounts for 2 percent of the total foreign direct investment in China (7). Today, this percentage is not much higher than it was in 2000. This is because prior to Chinas accession to the WTO, there were many restrictions and regulations for foreign companies entering China. Some of the main restrictions were the annual sales volume requirement, assets requirement, and the minimum registered capital requirement. Before, in order to enter Chinas retail sector, a foreign company must have annual sales volume of at least US $2 billion, assets of at least US $200 million, and minimum registered capital of at least RMB 50 million, or about US $6.1 million. Also, they were only allowed to enter the market with approval, and in a form of a joint venture with local partners with no more than 49 percent ownership (10). This limited Chinas retail market to only the big international players such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Metro AG, etc, who all have already established a presence in China. But after China starts to comply with WTO rules next month; dramatic changes will take place in Chinas retail sector. Once all the restrictions for foreign retail companies are lifted by China, the number of foreign retailers entering China will increase sharply, both small and medium retailers. All a company will need is a good reputation and a minimum registered capital requirement of US $36,000. Other than a joint venture, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise will become an option (10). Also, the foreign players that are currently in the market will be able expand more rapidly under the new rules. This is another reason why Target should enter Chinas retail market, and soon. The percentage that the retail sector represents in the total direct foreign investment is still low, meaning there is a lot of room to grow. The sooner Target steps in, the more market share will be available for Target to gain. If Target delays its entry, other foreign retailers from all over the world will start to swarm in and the big players that are currently in the market will expand quickly; therefore making it more difficult for Target to create a significant presence. If Target decides not to enter this goldmine, then an incredible opportunity will be missed. WFOE or Joint Venture There are two options for Target to start business in China, establishing a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) or a joint venture with a local Chinese company. There are advantages and disadvantages for both options, and it will be important to understand each. Joint ventures were the only way to enter China for any foreign company due to the restrictions set by China prior to joining the WTO. With joint ventures, foreign companies were able enter Chinas market easier. It really helps to have a local partner that is already familiar with the market and know the laws of doing business in China. Also, with a joint venture, it is much less capital intensive since the local partner will be contributing to the business. The downside of a joint venture is that it is difficult to find the right partner, and it requires a lot time because a good relationship must be formed before any negotiations take place. In China, a good relationship is the key to doing business. Some major causes of joint  venture failures have been overestimation of the partners capabilities, differing expectations, and different management styles (11). These are some of the reasons that limit a foreign companys desire to expand. WFOE, an option that will be open to foreign retail companies doing or planning to do business in China after next month, would probably be the direction that most foreign retailers will choose. It should be Targets choice as well when entering China. But before a WFOE can be set up, an application must be submitted to MOFCOMs (Ministry of Commerce) provincial-level counterparts. The applications will then be forwarded to MOFOCOM for approval. The approval process takes about three to four months, but approval is only granted if the proposed business will help the development of Chinas economy (12). Target will have no problem getting approved because it will help create more jobs in China, bring in more sophisticated technology to run its stores and operations, and increase manufacturing production in China since a good portion of the products that will be in Target stores will be made in China. The disadvantage of setting up a WFOE is that it is much more capital intensive. Foreign companies do not have anyone to share the investment costs with in the country. China only allows money coming from outside of the country when foreign companies want to set up a WFOE (12). However, the advantages that WFOE offers outweigh the disadvantages. A WFOE can enjoy the exclusive management control and operational controls with less interference from the Chinese government (13). A foreign company can bring in sophisticated technology without having to worry about losing its intellectual property or figure out how many shares the technology is worth in a joint venture (14). Because of all this, a WFOE can expand into other areas more freely. Although WFOE would be a capital intensive option for Target, it will pay off in the long run. Having complete control over its management and operations, less governmental interference, and less limitations to expand will be beneficial for Target. Chinas Social Status There are some other things that it must take into account before Target jumps into Chinas retail market, one of which is the social landscape of China. Just like in the United States, knowing where the customers are and where to set up stores are important strategies. The more wealthy cities are concentrated in Chinas east and south-east coastal provinces. The top ten most prosperous provinces in China are: Shanghai, Guangdong, Beijing, Zhejiang, Tianjin, Liaoning, Fujian, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Chongqing. These areas are obviously where foreign investors want to go because of higher per capita income and consumer spending in those areas. Consumer activities in some major inland cities are slowly on the rise, but are still fairly undeveloped compared to the east (7). But it may be a good idea to start investing in those areas and capture those markets while competition level is still low. Target should obviously start with investing in a couple of the more prosperous areas, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, or Zhejiang. These four provinces have the highest per capita income and household consumption, which means there are more money spent by consumers (8). Besides this, Target should start investing in the major inland cities that are beginning to develop, such as Wuhan, Chengdu, Changsha, and Sichuan. Almost half of Chinas population lives in the central and northwest provinces (7). Take advantage of the new rules that will lift restrictions on locations and the number of stores, and enjoy the benefit of being able to expand easier by being a wholly foreign-owned enterprise. The developing areas should be Targets concentration. It may be a little more risky, and sales may be lower at first, but it will be beneficial in the long run. The biggest competitors, both domestic and foreign, are mostly located in the prosperous areas (8). It will be more difficult to establish a solid foothold in Chinas retail market if Target starts off trying to compete with big foreign players such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour, or big domestic players such as Lianhua and Hualian, all of which are much more familiar with the market. So it will be a good idea for Target to tap into the less developed major  inland cities and create a niche market while competition is still very low in those areas. This can help them develop a presence in China, and become one of the major foreign players in Chinas retail market. U.S. Commercial Service After understand all the details described previously throughout the report, Target still needs some help entering Chinas retail market. Target is very successful in the United States, but China is a totally different market. There are different consumers, different languages, and different laws. Target needs to find someone that is familiar with the languages (Chinese and English), the Chinese retail market, and all the rules that foreign business must comply with. It would be the best if Target has some managers that fit these criterions within the corporation because then those people can be assigned to assist in Targets plan to enter China. They will be familiar with Chinas market and rules, as well as Targets objectives and operations. But if there are no qualified candidates within Target, then this is where the U.S. Commercial Service comes in play to help. The U.S. Commercial Service offers customized solutions to help US companies enter and expand in the China Market. They have six offices in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. There are several services that a US company can purchase, one of which is the Gold Key Service (GKS). This service identifies and arranges appointments with the people that the company will need to meet in order to break into the China market successfully. The U.S. Commercial Service will tailor the service to the companys needs. They can assess the competition, and/or find lawyers, consultants, government officials, agents and distributors, etc (15). This is a great service that Target should use if they do not have people to use internally. Going into a foreign market, especially China, without being knowledgeable in the countrys laws and regulations, competition, consumers, and business environment is very risky. Any company that does this is essentially setting up for failure in the new market. This is why Target  needs to find experts that know how to do business in China. By being able to access competition, access the business environment, and working with a consultant or lawyer that knows the business laws in China will definitely help Target develop a safe and successful entry into Chinas retail market. To order the Gold Key Service from the U.S. Commercial Service, all Target have to do is contact the nearest U.S. Commercial Service assistance center, call 1-800-USA-Trade, or email their FCS Beijing Office at [emailprotected] (15). Other Factors In the Chinese culture, the colors red and gold are favorable colors. They represent happiness, good luck, and good fortune. During festive holidays, such as Chinese New Year, red is seen every where. All businesses, as well as households, would put up red lanterns and decorations. This may be beneficial to Target since red is Targets color. By having red in the stores in China, it may attract more consumers because people may associate the Target stores with the same meanings that they associate with the colors, especially during festive holidays. Aside from culture, Target should look into other things, such as education in China. Education is very important to Chinas future development if it is to be sustainable, but it is not an easy task. The government has been focusing on the countrys economic development, and has neglected to improve the education system and health. However, the governments new goal is to raise education spending to about 4 percent of GPD, with help from the private sector (8). In the United States, Target currently have a Community Giving Program where Target gives back over $2 million a week to neighborhoods, programs, and schools across the country (16). If Target sets up a similar program in China, it may help build its reputation in the China market. By helping the community receive better education, improving living conditions, and improving living standards will help Target gain favoritism from both consumers and the government, which can only help Targets goal for success in the market. Conclusion China offers a golden opportunity for foreign retailers, such as Target. Target should take advantage of Chinas accession to the WTO and seize the opportunity by entering Chinas retail market. There are many factors that Target must review and consider before entering China. Main factors like Chinas economic status, political status, and social status. As well as evaluating options of entry (WFOE vs. JV), understanding the culture, assessing both foreign and domestic competitions, and become knowledgeable in business rules and regulations in the country. Target will be very successful in establishing a foothold in Chinas retail market and become a major foreign retailer in the country as long as all aspects are carefully reviewed, planned, and understood. Targets presence and success has been well established in the United States, and now it is time to expand to the next big thing China. End Notes (1) http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/public/0401/01.html (2) http://quicktake.morningstar.com/Stock/Income10.asp?Country=USASymbol= TGTstocktab=finance (3) http://www.targetcorp.com/targetcorp_group/investor-relations/investor- relations.jhtml (4) http://www.stores.org/pdf/04TOP100chart2.pdf (5) http://retailindustry.about.com/library/bl/03q2/bl_rf100603.htm (6) http://www.bjreview.com.cn/200414/Business-200414(C).htm (7) http://www.pwchk.com/home/webmedia/1024303622085/RetailMarket_ China.pdf (8) http://www.pwcglobal.com/gx/eng/about/ind/retail/wef%20jan04_external.pdf3 (9) http://en-1.ce.cn/subject/RetailinginChina/RegulationPolicy/200409/29/ t20040929_1882374.shtml (10) http://www.osec.ch/~0xc1878d1b_0x0001b994/Investments/foreign_investment_ restrictions_in_trade_and_retail_lifted/en/china_fipdf (11) http://www.sinomedia.net/eurobiz/v200404/story0404.html (12) http://www.isinolaw.com/jsp/fie/fie/FIE_wfoe1.jsp?LangID=0 (13) http://english.sohu.com/2004/07/04/81/article220848132.shtml (14) http://www.businessweek.com/adsections/country/asia/ (15) http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/gks.html (16) http://target.com/target_group/community_giving/index.jhtml

The System Hacking Cycle

The System Hacking Cycle System hacking means to hack system password within the operating system. Many hacking attempts start with attempting to crack passwords. However, passwords are the key piece of information needed to access a system. Users, while creating a password, often select password that are prone to being cracked. Passwords may be cracked manually or with automated tools such as dictionary or brute-force method, each of which are discussed in this paper. Scanning and enumeration is the first part of ethical hacking and contains the hacker target systems . Enumeration is the follow-on step once scanning is complete and is used to identify computer names, usernames, and shares. Scanning and enumeration are discussed together because many hacking tools perform both. The system hacking cycle consists of six steps:- a. Enumeration b. Cracking Passwords c. Escalating Privileges d. Executing Applications e. Hiding files f. Covering tracks Enumeration occurs after making the IPv4 protocol independent of the physical network, the designers decided to make the maximum length of the IPv4 datagram equal to 65,535 bytes. This makes transmission more efficient if we use a protocol with an MTU of this size. HowÂÂ ­ ever, for other physical networks, we must divide the datagram to make it possible to pass through these networks. This is called fragmentation. The source usually does not fragment the IPv4 packet. The transport layer will instead segment the data into a size that can be accommodated by IPv4 and the data link layer in use. When a datagram is fragmented, each fragment has its own header with most of the fields repeated, but with some changed. A fragmented datagram may itself be fragmented if it encounters a network with an even smaller MTU. In other words, a dataÂÂ ­gram can be fragmented several times before it reaches the final destination. In IPv4, a datagram can be fragmented by the source host or any router in the path although there is a tendency to limit fragmentation only at the source. The reassembly of the datagram, however, is done only by the destination host because each fragment becomes an independent datagram. Whereas the fragmented datagram can travel through different routes, and we can never control or guarantee which route a fragmented dataÂÂ ­ gram may take, all the information is provided by other means such as the hop-by-hop options or other protocols. In its simplest form, a flow label can be used to speed up the processing of a packet by a router. When a router receives a packet, instead of consulting the routing table and going through a routing algorithm to define the address of the next hop, it can easily look in a flow label table for the next hop. In its more sophisticated form, a flow lab Many hacking attempts can initialize with to attempt crack passwords. Passwords are the important information which is required to login a system. Users, when creating passwords, often select passwords that are difficult to guess. Passwords are stored in the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) file on a Windows system and in a password shadow file on a Linux system. Manual Password cracking involves attempting to log on with different passwords. The hacker follows these steps: 1. Find a valid user account for password test. 2. You can create list of possible passwords. 3. Arrange the passwords according to possibility 4. Try each password. 5. Try and try for correct password. In its simplest form, a flow label can be used to speed up the processing of a packet by a router. When a router receives a packet, instead of consulting the routing table and going through a routing algorithm to define the address of the next hop, it can easily look in a flow label table for the next hop. In its more sophisticated form, a flow label can be used to support the transmission of real-time audio and video. Real-time audio or video, particularly in digital form, requires resources such as high bandwidth, large buffers, long processing time, and so on. A process can make a reservation for these resources beforehand to guarantee that real-time data will not be delayed due to a lack of resources. The use of real-time data and the reservation of these resources require other protocols such as Real-Time Protocol (RTP) and Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) in addition to IPv6. To allow the effective use of flow labels, three rules have been defined: 1. The flow label is assigned to a packet by the source host. The label is a random number between 1 and 224. A source must not reuse a flow label for a new flow while the existing flow is still active. 2. If a host does not support the flow label, it sets this field to zero. If a router does not support the flow label, it simply ignores it. 3. All packets belonging to the same flow have the same source, same destination, same priority, and same option. 2. ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT The Internet is a wonderful thing. It allows knowledge to be shared with the world. But what if you want to use the Internet to share knowledge with just one person? When web pages, e-mail, and even passwords are transferred across the Internet, they are free to be seen by anyone who cares to look. You may ask, Who is going to be looking, anyway? The answer, in most cases, is nobody. Anonymity can be your security. This is especially true of your Internet presence from home. However, the situation changes when you use your credit card over the Internet, or when you are a business on the receiving end of a credit card transaction. In such cases, anonymity clearly doesnt provide enough security. Furthermore, what if you receive a sensitive document, but you are unsure if the person who sent it really is who they claim to be? How do you know that this same document wasnt tampered with between the time it was sent and the time you received it? And what if you need to protect sensitive data on your web site, or perhaps you want to protect the data in transit to the user, or authenticate the user with a stronger authentication method? It prevents users from monopolizing limited network resources. It prevents users from using the system inefficiently. Network managers can do short- and long-term planning based on the demand for network use. Integrated Windows authentication is the most secure method of authentication, but it is available only with Internet Explorer. This authentication type had been known previously as NTLM authentication and Windows NT Challenge/Response authentication. In Integrated Windows authentication, the users browser proves itself to the server using a cryptographic exchange during the authentication process. Integrated Windows authentication supports both the Kerberos v5 and the NTLM (NT LAN Manager) protocols for authentication through the Negotiate package. If you are using Active Directory, and the browser supports it (IE 5 or above with Windows 2000), Kerberos is used; otherwise, NTLM is used. Both Kerberos and NTLM have limitations on their use. Interestingly enough, each ones strength is the others weakness. Kerberos generally works with proxy servers, but it tends to have a hard time with firewalls. NTLM generally works through firewalls, but it tends to have a hard time with proxy servers. 1. A manager checks an agent by requesting information that reflects the behavior of the agent. 2. A manager forces an agent to perform a task by resetting values in the agent database. 3. An agent contributes to the management process by warning the manager of an unusual situation. 3. PASSWORD INTEGRITY Authentication is an important feature of any secure web site. Every time a client browses to a web site, it needs to be authenticated before it can access the resources it is requesting. By default, that authentication all takes place on the server, and the client isnt even involved. Some authentication settings can make for easy access to a web site, but sometimes you want to limit who sees what information on your site. This is where more restrictive types of authentication come in. If your computer is renamed, the Internet Guest Account does not change and continues to use the old machine name. Because user accounts use security identifiers (SIDs) to identify themselves, changing the computer name doesnt affect the account name. When IIS receives a request, it automatically attempts anonymous authentication first. If anonymous authentication fails, it attempts to log on the user using another logon method. If no other authentication methods are enabled, IIS sends a 403 Access Denied HTTP error message to the client. You can use any user account that you wish for anonymous access, including the Administrator account. You can change access settings in the items Properties windows Directory Security tab, accessible by right-clicking the item in the IIS Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in and choosing Properties. (By the way, even though you can do it, dont use the Administrator account for anonymous access.) Basic authentication is a widely accepted means of authentication. Because all the information is presented and transmitted in clear text, its easy to use and makes for easy program interoperability, but the passwords can be found out faster than you can say security risk. Both the web server and FTP server components in IIS support Basic authentication. 4. CONCLUSION The simplest and the oldest method of entity authentication is the password, something that the claimant possesses. A password is used when a user needs to access a system to use the systems resources (log-in). Each user has a user identification that is public and a password that is private. We can divide this authentication scheme into two separate groups: the fixed password and the one-time password. In this group, the password is fixed; the same password is used over and over for every access. This approach is subject to several attacks. 4. REFRENCES www.ankitfadia.in for ethical hacking and password guessing techniques. www.ethicalhacker.net www.hackcommunity.com www.dl4hacks.com www.go4expert.com/forums www.ehacking.net www.govermentsecurity.org/forum/32003

Free Essay: 17th century Life Exposed in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

17th century Life Exposed in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the aspects of relationships, religion, community, discipline and punishment in the puritan community of 17th century Boston. Relationships between men and women were very constrained and that is what made adultery such a bad sin in the eyes of everyone in the community. Religion seemed to govern over all, people would look up to reverends and the community believed that fate was their destiny. Public discipline and punishment were used to discourage everyone else from committing the same crime or sin as the offending "criminal" did. The community was to follow the beliefs of god and to do their duties the best they could, yet were there to criticize and punish all who disobeyed the religion or laws. In 17th century Boston every thing was very strict and everyone was expected to follow the laws, which makes Hester's sin such an excellent example of the beliefs of that time period. The first scaffold scene is very important because the scene sums up the beliefs of the general public at that time, and gives a prospective of what Hester Prynne must deal with. In the beginning of chapter two the scene is descri bed as "it could have betokened nothing short of the anticipated execution of some noted culprit,"(47) showing that the whole town was there for a ruthless public punishment. The crowd was not there for an execution though, but there for a public punishment of Hester Prynne who had committed adultery. A townsman describes Hester's punishment to a stranger as, "they have doomed Mistress Prynne to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom."(58) This scene shows the weight of values and morals upon society in the 17th century and how public punishment was not only used as punishment but as a way to discourage others from committing the same crime. The community was key in this punishment because it helped alienate Hester and further her pain. The punishment brings forth Hester's underlying pain, "[Hester] sent forth a cry she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real.

Kuwait Parliment Misunderstands democracy for women :: essays research papers fc

The Kuwait Parliament Misunderstands Democracy for Women With the upcoming elections in the United States approaching this November, the thought came to mind of voting rights in other countries. As an American citizen, I have lived in Kuwait for over 19 years. When I went to the U.S. Embassy to submit my absentee ballot, it came to mind that I live in a country where women are not allowed to exercise the right to vote. Women's suffrage in America took 70 years of discrimination until the 19th Amendment was passed on August 26, 1920, allowing women to vote. The suffragists undertook action through lobbying, petition gathering, lectures and writings. Kuwaiti women have been fighting for 40 years and are still fighting for the right to vote. Kuwait is a country about the size of New Jersey and it is a very modern society by western standards. It is considered one of the richest nations in the world, since it has the third largest oil reserves. Kuwait being a social welfare state is highly developed with a free market economy. The monarchy government rules the country and has the only elected Parliament in the Persian Gulf countries. What does all this mean? Being a Kuwaiti national has its benefits, including free education from primary school to university. Statistics showed that over 70% of the total graduates at the local university are women studying engineering and medicine. Health care for Kuwaiti's is free, but for expatriates, small fees are applied to some services. Taxes are not imposed in Kuwait, and electricity is subsidized 80% by the government, so as not to burden residents. This means electricity and water are included in the rent cost, and phone service inside the country is free. Fast, expensive cars ar e something of the norm and shopping malls with the latest fashions from around the world are abundant. The population of Kuwait is about 2.5 million however only 27% are Kuwaiti nationals. From this figure there are 1.5 men to every Kuwaiti woman. The voting rights for eligible Kuwaiti men who have been citizens for over 20 years are allowed to contest in elections. Presently, all Kuwaiti men having the nationality over 20 years are allowed to vote, except men in the military and police force. Under the 1961 constitution, the following articles support equality among genders. Article 6 provides "the system of government in Kuwait shall be democratic, under which sovereignty resides in the people, the sources of all powers.

Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

Twilight Zone The series Twilight Zone is a show that combines science fiction with society. Every episode ends with a shocking, unexpected twist. â€Å"The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street† is an episode that informs society about the fear of prejudice and hysteria. In this episode, a loud shadow in the sky passes through Maple Street. The shadow is actually a meteor. Unexpected and strange things start to happen like the electricity and cars turning off. The people who live on Maple become very curious on what the meteor has done to the neighbors living on the street.A young boy named Tommy tells the adults that everything weird happening is because of the aliens from outer space, which he read about in a comic book. First the adults refuse to believe a child, but then they unconsciously start pointing fingers at who can and cannot be aliens. People were getting blamed for doing normal things such as insomnia, looking at stars, and experimenting on a radio, but then the neig hbors would exaggerate and make it sound suspicious, strange and unusual. As the episode continues, the adults become paranoid and start to lose their minds.This twilight zone episode reveals to us that the real monsters in society are ourselves. The neighbors were very eager to figure out who and what was the cause of the power outage. Neighbors would blame other neighbors for the outage because they believed that one person was an alien. Even though they had no proof or evidence, they used their words to blame the suspects. A ruckus of mass paranoia occurs and everyone believes that everyone is an alien. Tommy compares the real life situation to a similar problem he read in a comic book about aliens taking over a town.The power outage that happened in the comic book is also occurring in real life. The adults do not believe him at first, but then they begin to slowly and senselessly start blaming other people for being an alien because they are afraid. Just like the media nowadays, mass paranoia affects everyone. The media exaggerates how something â€Å"might† happen and society makes it a big deal before anything is really happening. They cause concern and stress upon themselves because of what the media says. The central theme that exists within the episode is that words are mankind’s reatest weapon. I believe that words may not be able to physically hurt someone, but they can emotionally. Emotional pain is sometimes harder to endure than physical pain. In the neighborhood, some of the neighbors like Les Goodman are accused of being a suspect because his car randomly turned on, while everyone else’s didn’t start. Though he has no effect on the aliens, a woman claims that she has seen him look up at the sky late at night, as though he is waiting for something. She thinks he is waiting for the aliens or something from outer space.Therefore Goodman becomes an immediate suspicion to all the neighbors. Everyone in the neighborhood is now more aware of him, claiming that his family isn’t human, but aliens. The woman was being the real monster to society because she had no idea what she was talking about and jumps to conclusion about Les Goodman. Since she made a comment that didn’t have supported evidence, she dug Les Goodman into a hole, making people think he is an alien because everyone starts to believe her. This episode conveys propaganda to the audience. Everyone is following everybody else’s opinion, and they are all being biased.Just like in real life situations, propaganda occurs in the media. We are informed about a particular person’s point of view and their idea soaks up into our brain. Towards the end of the episode, all the neighbors are at their highest point of terrorization and fear. The mob starts to panic as they see a shadow figure approaching their neighborhood. Charlie assumes the shadow to be a monster. Therefore, he starts to act malicious and grabs a gun to sh oot the shadow. Everyone comes near the monster and it turns out to be Pete Van Horn, who was one of the neighbors coming home from town.The lights in Charlie’s house randomly turns on and everyone starts to tell him that is he held responsible for the death of Pete. He is now accused of being a monster because of the electricity in his house turning on, and a murder of an innocent man. Charlie was trying to protect his people, but he ends up accidently shooting a person. Everyone starts to blame him for being a monster and throws rocks at him. He did something to help, but since someone said that he is a monster for killing and having his light turn on, he is evil.This shows that all of society is influenced to have the same viewpoint of a specific person, and sometimes they tend to follow counter-information. This episode challenges social convention because society expects us to have the same perception as what the government wants us to think. The people living on Maple w ere so afraid of what was happening that they believed anything anyone said. Steve has a radio in his garage which he has been working on by himself, and they assume that he is working on an odd electronic related to the aliens. Steve was one of the first to be suspicious of Les Goodman.When Steve was blamed of being an alien, he becomes hypocritical and yells at the neighbors and tells them they are all standing out on the street to crucify someone, and that they are all set to find a scapegoat. Steve knows the only thing that will happen to the neighbors is that they will all become obsessed with finding a scapegoat, and in result they are going to eat each other up alive. Out of fear and panic, they all ruin themselves and each other. Like social convention, Steve and Les have done something odd and different, so they have been frowned upon.In the beginning of the episode, everyone on Maple Street seems happy and cheerful. It is sunny outside and kids are playing in the streets. Once it gets darker at night, the power is still out and there is no more light outside or inside. Everyone is using candles for light, there are no more children around, and the streets seem very dark and mysterious. The neighbors are portrayed as mobs. They all stick together and follow each other wherever one goes. This shows society believing one person’s point of view. The people in the back of mob don’t have much to say.Instead they just stand there and agree with the main person speaking because they are weak and do not have anything to say. Their faces have a shadow and it is dark surrounding all of them leaving making it very suspenseful. The darkness adds a more mysterious effect. The secretive aura of the darkness represents a hidden truth behind society’s lies that are spoken to us. In the end, no one living on Maple Street was an alien. Though there really was an alien, the aliens believe that stopping a few machines, putting the street in darkness will ruin the neighbors without the aliens even being round the humans. The aliens assume that all the neighbors will pick on the most dangerous enemy and be prejudice towards the enemy and to others. But as this all happens, the neighbors’ most dangerous enemy is actually themselves. They destroy themselves by panicking and finding a scapegoat. Everyone is torn apart and no one knows or believes the truth. â€Å"There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men† is said at the end of the episode. I believe this quote sums up the people living on Maple Street perfectly.Their suspicion destroyed the neighborhood to a point where an innocent life was taken. The people are all thoughtless and frightened and are lying just to protect themselves. Community and society are easily manipulated when they are terrorized. The government tries to takeover some of society’s weak minds and influences them to believe what i s right and what is wrong. The community and society speaks before they think, even though sometimes it is not true. They create a monster to themselves because they are creating false facts for everyone to be concerned about.

Themes in Things Fall Apart

In Chinua Achebe's acclaimed novel, Things Fall Apart, there are various themes which make up the complexity and richness of the story. Although it is a work of fiction, Achebe touches upon contemporary issues involving Africa and colonialism. Colonialism is defined as political control over another country. Often this means exploiting its resources and tampering with the precious culture of the people. Post- colonial Africa is still trying to recover, by trying to adapt a mindset of what it truly means to be an African.Achebe explores these issues through his own African roots nd portrays what he believes is the true essence of African culture. One major theme of the novel is language. Language is the most effective and prominently used tool for communicating to other people. It is clear that speech is used in a different form depending on who is addressed. For example, when addressing an Igbo god or an ancestral spirit, one uses a formal tone of speech. This is to show a sign of re spect.Similarly, when people of the tribe approach and speak to Okonkwo, they use a similar tone. They respect Okonkwo for his many feats including beating Amalinze the cat. For this reason, they reflect their feeling in their speech. A significant speech barrier occurred between the Christian Missionaires. In order to communicate with the people they were required to use an interpretor. An interpretor does not always deliver the message precisely, causing severe lines of miscommunication.Eventually, these unclear communication lines could lead to ignorance among the two peoples. Another form of communication in the tribe are the folktales and proverbs. This is the Igbo peoples way of communicating their values to the younger generations. Language plays a very important role in their society, and the loss of their language is a tremendous loss of their culture. Another important theme in the novel is the theme of gender. Gender roles are central to Igbo society. To understand Igbo w orldview it is essential to understand the cultural gender roles.Even the crops are separated by male and female; in example, the yam is said to be a male crop. Males are expected to be masculine in every sense of the word. They should be physically strong and equally as violent. They are not to show emotion because that is considered a sign of weakness. For instance, Okonkwo rarely shows affection towards his children because that would be a weak sign of emotion. Due to this fact, men in the Igbo culture are assigned the role of warriors and hunters.The men do all of the hard labor and interact largely within the public sphere. On the other hand, women are viewed as weak because they do not physically compare to men. In a similar way, woman display emotions which supposedly diminishes their strength. However, women dominate the private sphere. Their role is to raise the family, clean the home, cook, etc. It is a bit ironic that the mportant Job of raising the children is given to t he â€Å"weaker† sex; Achebe touches upon this fact.The character of Okonkwo takes the idealology of masculinity too far. He suffers from patrophobia because he does not want to be like his father who was lazy and weak. For this reason he is cold towards his children and eventually kills his adoptive son Nwoye. Achebe makes it clear that these actions are not acceptable within the community. There must always be a balance between feminine and Additionally, the theme of religion is one prominently discussed within the novel. The Igbo people have a religion that is based upon the earth.Their entire culture revolves around agriculture and the mystery of nature and the seasons; therefore, they worship gods and goddesses which will help them in this dominating aspect of their lives. The people are fearful that if they commit a sin against their god that they will be punished by way of crop elimination or natural disaster. Also, considering the central role of family, ancestral spi rits are extremely important to the Igbo people. It is imperative that the people do not forget their ancestors, for they believe that if they give thanks to them, then they in spirit will reward them in return.The ancestral spirits are respected to the point that Judges in trials (masked elders) represent the ancestors who were wise and Just in decision making. During colonialism, Christian missionaries pushed the idea of a singular monolithic God. This idea was very foreign to the people and seemed irrevelvent to Igbo lifestyle. Some Igbo people accepted this new idea, however others remained firm in their beliefs. This shows the Igbo peoples open-mindedness when it comes to the spiritual world. To demean their spiritual nature would be to degrade their culture.

Best Practices and the SDLC

It has long been accepted that constant change is fundamental to IT. While most IT managers understand that change is part of the norm, the organizations that employ them often resist it. Successful IT development calls for having a clear blueprint for proper IT direction of an organization. By using a System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) model and sound best practice methods, an IT manager can define that blueprint and make the best possible IT decisions. According to http://www. bigpedia. comthe SDLC relates to models or methodologies that people use to develop systems, generally computer systems.A number of SDLC models have been created: waterfall, fountain, spiral, build and fix, and rapid prototyping. There is not a definitive correct model, but most models will include the following steps or at least a variation. The first step is the projects planning stage, in this stage the project manager (PM) decides which SDLC model to use. The PM will also survey and gather information i n regards to the current team’s skill and experience, any concerns or issues perceived by upper management, such as cost, and a process for following up the work agreement. The next step is the analysis of the system.During the system analysis the PM breaks down the entire project in to small pieces and assigns each department their applicable tasks. This step is where the plan is finalized and the PM begins to move onto the systems design. Understanding the systems design is essential to developing the system. At this step, each department head devises a plan on how their section can help develop the system. In the third step, the architectural design, these individual plans are spliced together to form the completed plan. Also during this step the work of building the system takes place.The PM’s focus shifts from planning the project to managing the development of the project. During the next step, the testing of the system takes place. This will ensure that all the bugs and flaws are removed before the deployment of the system. During the deployment step the system is used for its intended purpose. As with all systems the final step, is the maintenance of the system, which last for as long as the system is used. During this step, routine maintenance is performed to include updates. Either during or after the development of a system, certain methods or techniques are discovered to be better than other nes. In the IT industry, these ideas are sometimes called best practices. In a book titled â€Å"Electronic Government† by Jack Rabin best practices are described as an idea that suggests that there is a technique, method, or process that is more effective at delivering a desired outcome. The idea is that with proper processes, procedures, and testing, a desired outcome can be delivered with fewer problems. Best practices can also be defined as the most proficient and effective way of accomplishing a task, based on principles used repeatedl y by numerous people.Best practices are a way for a company to create standardization within their operating procedures. A great example of a best practice was displayed by Sprint recently. In August of 2008, Sprint created a guide to the infrastructure management layer to automate and speed the production of resources from within their data centers. By creating this guide, they were able to quickly manage, back up, and produce their data sets associated with each test environment build. As a result, Sprint has improved customer satisfaction, reducing the time it takes to fill requests.Another example of a best practice was in 2004 the Air Force decided that it need it network administrators (admins) to pass quality checks before allowing them to operate on Air Force domains. Each Air Force base decided to test their network admins differently. This created a lot of confusion and large amounts of money for each Air Force base because they acted independently. Therefore, the Air Forc e decided to open a best practice suggestion program, which allowed each Air Force base to submit their procedures for quality checking their network admins.Less than six months after the process started, the best practice tag was awarded to Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fl. They were allowed to implement their procedures Air Force wide. In the end, Eglin saved the Air Force six million dollars with its best practice procedures. As the term best practice has become more popular, some organizations have begun using best practices to refer to what are in fact rules, causing creativity to hamper. This will never be the case with Google.Google believes that giving their employees freedom to move about the company without middle management following them around has actually prompted creativity. In a interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Google CEO Sergey Brin explained that Google provides free gourmet breakfast, lunch and dinner—all prepared by gourmet chefs. They get free medical care, daycare, and there is even a massage chair in the lobby. All of these benefits spur creativity, which has made Google one of the World Wide Web pioneers.Google does not use best practice because they are too rigid and do not allow employees to â€Å"think outside the box†. Some best practices are needed though. This was the case with Microsoft and Netscape. They used a synchronize and stabilize method created by David Yoffie and Michael Cusumano to orchestrate a massive overseeing and managing of source code. This method allowed the two corporations to work efficiently in a parallel. During their research, they found that both companies were doing very similar tasks nightly.By creating a best practice model both companies could use they reduced production time by 15 %. Best practices along with the SDLC can help lay a great foundation for IT development. There are no set rules or guidelines for IT development. However, there is a certain structure that most successful IT projects have in common. The first step to planning a good IT project is the project selection. During this process the PM must analyze if there is a need for the system. Does someone already have a system similar that the team could use or buy?After this step if the justification for the system is still necessary, then the team must move onto the next step, which is the planning of project controls. According to the paper Indentifying Best Practices in Information Technology Project Management, project controls are defined as an estimate, estimating, and budgeting. The estimate considers how many resources are needed to accomplish this project, the act of estimating is combining the results of post project reviews, metrics, consultation, and informed assessment to arrive at time and resource requirements for an activity, and budgeting is the total cost of the project.Following this evaluation, you should assemble the team. It is important to compile a team that w ill be effective to the specific project. The team must understand the project goals and expectations. The next step is accessing the stakeholder’s involvement in the project. The stakeholder can be anyone from the management of the company to an actual customer. Some stakeholders will want as much control as the PM while other, will be hands off allowing the PM to make all the decisions.These guidelines are not all inclusive but they are a start to developing a successful IT project. Designing a good IT development project takes time and an excellent PM. There are many good models to follow, like the Arkansas best practices model. These models give a small or unorganized company the structure it needs to develop a good plan. If you follows these models along with a good SDLC you will be well on your way to creating a solid project. These two models can lay the foundation you need for a successful blueprint.

Succubus Revealed Chapter 13

Roman was impossible to live with after that. He refused to tell me any more details, only that Seth needed to undergo hypnosis and that more would be revealed once that happened. â€Å"But don't you think I should know now?† I demanded, for what felt like the hundredth time the following day. â€Å"I don't want to influence either of you,† came the response. â€Å"Just in case I'm wrong.† â€Å"I thought you said you'd figured it out! You're saying now that there's a chance you might be wrong?† â€Å"There's always a chance,† he said pragmatically. â€Å"But I don't think I'm wrong.† And with that infuriating response, there was nothing I could do except wait and speculate. I couldn't figure out what exactly Roman planned on doing with hypnosis, but at least it seemed relatively safe. I wouldn't have put it past Roman to say, â€Å"Let's stage a trap for some demons and use Seth as bait.† There were worse things than being hypnotized into clucking like a chicken, I supposed. It took a number of days to get an answer. The delay came from finding a time when both Seth and Hugh were available. Despite his many formidable skills, hypnosis apparently wasn't in Roman's repertoire. It was, however, in Hugh's, which I found kind of surprising. When I asked him about it, he explained that he'd once been at a medical conference, during which participants were required to take a certain number of seminars. He'd chosen hypnosis because he thought it would be a blow-off class. â€Å"It was actually harder than it seemed,† he remarked. â€Å"I did some more follow-up on it after the conference. Dabbled here and there. Haven't put it to much use since then, aside from an ill-fated date last year.† â€Å"Are you going to be able to do what Roman needs you to today?† I nodded toward my living room, where Roman was pacing like a caged animal. We were all waiting on Seth to show up, and Roman kept obsessing over small details necessary to create â€Å"the perfect hypnotic environment.† He was constantly adjusting the lighting and moving the recliner. Sometimes he'd put it in the center of the room. Other times, he'd drag it to the side, where there were more shadows. We'd given up on trying to advise him. He was too irritable and wound up. Hugh frowned, watching Roman. â€Å"I don't know. What he asked me to do . . . well, it's pretty basic, as far as technique goes. It's what he wants me to do with it that's kind of wacky. I've read up on it a little this week, and honestly . . . I don't know if it's going to work.† I still didn't know what â€Å"it† was and had resigned myself to patience. Seth arrived shortly thereafter, mood bright and optimistic. Andrea's improvement after Carter's visit had been remarkable, and it was affecting everyone in the household. I crossed my fingers every day that Hell wouldn't send someone back to undo what Carter had done. Seth gave me a half hug and kissed me on the lips, a further sign of his good mood since he was usually so reserved in front of others. â€Å"You missed a good time,† he told me. He was wearing a Princess Bride shirt today. â€Å"I took Kendall and the twins Christmas shopping. They got Ian some used copies of The Metamorphosis and Candide.† â€Å"He's into those?† I asked. â€Å"I mean, they're great books, but I just never thought of them as his thing.† â€Å"Well, they aren't mainstream best sellers – like some people's sellout books – so he's into the elitist appeal. He likes to go to coffee shops – obscure ones that you've never been to, naturally – and pretend to read counterculture literature. He'll be glad to have the new material.† Seth's amusement faded as he took in the living room, with all its drawn shades and Roman carefully arranging the recliner (again). Noticing our attention, Roman paused and glanced between the three of us. â€Å"I wasn't sure what background noise would work best, so I loaded a few different things onto my iPod. I've got ocean waves, wind chimes, and white noise.† Hugh shrugged. â€Å"Makes no difference to me. I'm not the one being hypnotized.† â€Å"I'm still not sure I can be hypnotized,† said Seth. â€Å"But if it doesn't matter . . . hmm, are there seagulls with the ocean waves?† â€Å"Yes,† said Roman. â€Å"Then let's go white noise.† Roman obligingly started it up, filling the room with what sounded more like faulty radio reception than soothing neutral sounds. â€Å"Maybe you should keep it at a low volume,† I suggested delicately. â€Å"You know, you don't want it to be so soothing that Seth falls asleep.† Roman looked dubious, but at a nod from Seth, the volume decreased. I might not understand how hypnotizing Seth was going to play into Hell's greater plans, but so long as Roman believed it was necessary, Seth got to call the shots. Seth gave me a quick hand squeeze and a smile that was meant to be reassuring. He didn't like immortal affairs but had accepted this crazy venture for me. Following Roman's direction, Seth settled himself into the recliner and eased it back. Hugh pulled up a stool near Seth, but Roman and I sat on the periphery of the living room. Hypnosis required a minimum of distractions, which we clearly were. I'd even had to lock the cats up in my bedroom earlier, to make sure Aubrey and Godiva didn't decide to jump on Seth's lap mid-session. â€Å"Okay,† said Hugh, after clearing his throat. â€Å"Are you ready?† He took out a small notepad, filled with his illegible writing. It was the most low-tech thing I'd seen him use in a while. â€Å"Ready as I'll ever be,† said Seth. Hugh glanced at Roman and me briefly, perhaps in case we had a last-minute change of heart, and then returned to the notepad. â€Å"Okay, close your eyes and take a deep breath. . . .† I was familiar with some of the basics of hypnosis, and the exercises that Hugh began with were pretty standard. Although Seth had been joking, I too honestly wondered if he could be hypnotized. Part of his nature as a writer was to focus on all the details of the world, making it difficult to hone in on one thing sometimes. Of course, he could also show single-mindedness for his work, and that was the attribute that soon came out. After a few minutes of guided breathing, it became clear that Seth was definitely growing more and more relaxed. I almost thought he'd actually fallen asleep, until Hugh began asking him questions. Seth responded, eyes closed, voice perfectly steady. â€Å"I want you to go back,† said Hugh. â€Å"Back in your memories. Go past your thirties, into your twenties. From there, think about your college years. Then high school.† He allowed a pause. â€Å"Are you thinking about high school?† â€Å"Yes,† said Seth. â€Å"Okay. Go further back in time, back to middle school. Then elementary school. Can you remember a time before then? Before you started school?† There was a slight delay before Seth spoke. Then: â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"What is your earliest memory?† â€Å"In a boat, with my father and Terry. We're on a lake.† â€Å"What are they doing?† â€Å"Fishing.† â€Å"What are you doing?† â€Å"Watching. Sometimes I get to help hold a pole. But mostly I just watch.† I felt a knot form in my stomach. I didn't fully understand Roman's strategy here, but there was something terribly personal and vulnerable about what we were doing, listening to these memories. Seth rarely spoke of his father, who had passed away when Seth was in his early teens, and it seemed wrong to â€Å"make† him do it in this state. â€Å"Go back even further. Can you remember anything before that? Any earlier memories?† asked Hugh. He seemed uneasy, a sharp contrast to Seth's utter calmness. † No. â€Å" â€Å"Try,† said Hugh. â€Å"Try to go back further.† â€Å"I . . . I'm in a kitchen. The kitchen at our first house, in a high chair. My mom's feeding me, and Terry's walking through the door. He runs to her and hugs her. He's been gone all day, and I don't understand where he's been.† School, if I had to guess. I tried to put an age on this memory, using what I knew of the age difference between the brothers. How long did kids stay in high chairs? And how young would he have to be to not understand the concept of school? Three? Two? â€Å"That's great,† said Hugh. â€Å"That's really great. Now keep going even more. Go back to something even earlier.† I frowned, thinking they were kind of pushing it now. I was no expert in human memory, but I thought I'd once read about how two was the age when memories really began forming. Seth seemed to struggle with this as well, frowning despite his otherwise calm exterior. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"I've got one.† â€Å"Where are you?† said Hugh. â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"What do you see?† â€Å"My mother's face.† â€Å"Anything else?† â€Å"No. That's all I remember of that.† â€Å"That's okay,† said Hugh. â€Å"Now find something else before that. Any memory. Any image or sensation.† â€Å"There's nothing,† said Seth. â€Å"Try,† said Hugh, not looking nearly as confident as he sounded. â€Å"It doesn't matter how vague it is. Anything you can remember. Anything at all.† â€Å"I . . . there's nothing,† said Seth, the frown deepening. â€Å"I can't remember anything before that.† â€Å"Try,† repeated Hugh. â€Å"Go further back.† This was getting ridiculous. I opened my mouth to protest, but Roman caught hold of my arm, silencing me. I glared at him, hoping I could convey all my frustrations at what they were doing to Seth in one look. Roman simply shook his head and mouthed Wait. â€Å"I remember . . . I remember faces. Faces looking at me. Everyone's so much bigger than me. But they're mostly shadows and light. I can't see . . . can't comprehend much detail.† Seth paused. â€Å"That's it. That's all there is.† â€Å"You're doing good,† said Hugh. â€Å"You're doing great. Just listen to the sound of my voice, and keep breathing. We need to go back even earlier. What do you remember before that? Before the faces?† â€Å"Nothing,† said Seth. â€Å"There's nothing there. Just blackness.† Roman shifted in his chair, going rigid. He leaned forward, eyes bright and excited. Hugh glanced over questioningly, and Roman gave an eager nod. Swallowing, Hugh turned back to Seth. â€Å"I need you . . . to go past the blackness. Go to the other side of it.† â€Å"I can't,† said Seth. â€Å"It's a wall. I can't cross it.† â€Å"You can,† said Hugh. â€Å"Listen to my voice. I'm telling you, you can. Push back in your memories, past the memories of this life, to the other side of the blackness. You can do it.† â€Å"I . . . I can't – † Seth cut himself off. For a moment, there was no other sound save the white noise on Roman's iPod, though it was a wonder I couldn't hear the pounding of my own heart. The frown that had been intensifying on Seth's face abruptly smoothed out. â€Å"I'm there.† Hugh shifted awkwardly, disbelief registering on his face. â€Å"You are? What are you doing? Where are you?† â€Å"I . . .† The frown returned, but it was different in nature. It was distress from the memory itself, not the effort. â€Å"I'm bleeding. In an alley.† â€Å"Are you . . . are you Seth Mortensen?† Hugh's voice was a whisper. † No. â€Å" â€Å"What's your name?† â€Å"Luc.† The frown smoothed again. â€Å"And now I'm dead.† â€Å"Go back to the alley,† said Hugh, regaining his courage. â€Å"Before you . . . before, um, Luc died. How did it happen? Why were you bleeding?† â€Å"I was stabbed,† said Seth. â€Å"I was trying to defend a woman. A woman I loved. She said we couldn't be together, but I know she didn't mean it. Even if she didn't, I still would've died for her. I had to protect her.† It was about that point that I stopped breathing. â€Å"Where are you?† Hugh reconsidered his question. â€Å"Do you know the year?† â€Å"It's 1942. I live in Paris.† Roman reached across me to a stray catalog on a chair. Producing a pen, he scrawled something on the catalog's cover and then handed it to Hugh. Hugh read it and then gently placed it on the floor. â€Å"Tell me about the woman,† he said to Seth. â€Å"What's her name?† â€Å"Her name is Suzette.† Someone let out a strangled gasp. Me. I stood up then, and Roman jerked me back down. A million protests sprang to my lips, and he actually had the audacity to clamp a hand over my mouth. He shook his head sharply and hissed in my ear, â€Å"Listen.† Listen? Listen? He had no idea what he was asking. He had no idea what he was hearing. For that matter, I wasn't sure either. All I knew was that there was no way this could be happening. Much like the night I'd gotten into bed with Ian, I had the surreal feeling that the only way any of this could be real was if I'd accidentally stumbled into someone else's life. â€Å"Tell me about Suzette,† said Hugh. â€Å"She has blond hair and blue eyes,† said Seth levelly. â€Å"She moves like music, but none of the music I make can compare to her. She's so beautiful . . . but so cruel. Not that I think she means to be. I think she believes she's helping.† â€Å"Go back now,† said Hugh. â€Å"Back to your childhood, Seth – I mean, Luc. Go back to your earliest memories as Luc. Are you there?† â€Å"Yes,† said Seth. â€Å"What do you see?† â€Å"My mother's funeral, though I don't understand it. She was sick.† â€Å"Okay. I need you to go back again, younger and younger, back until you hit more blackness. Can you do that? Can you find it again?† Again, the rest of us held our breath, waiting for Seth to respond. â€Å"Yes,† he said. Hugh exhaled. â€Å"Go to the other side of that blackness, back before Luc. You can cross it. You did it before.† â€Å"Yes. I'm there.† â€Å"What is your name now?† â€Å"My name is Etienne. I live in Paris . . . but it's a different Paris. An earlier Paris. There are no Germans here.† â€Å"What do you do for a living?† â€Å"I'm an artist. I paint.† â€Å"Is there a woman in your life? Girlfriend? Wife?† â€Å"There's a woman, but she's none of those. I pay to be with her. She's a dancer named Josephine.† I began to feel ill. The world was spinning, and I lowered my head, willing everything to settle back to its rightful order. I didn't need to hear Seth next describe Josephine. I could've done it down to the last curl. â€Å"Do you love her?† Hugh asked Seth. â€Å"Yes. But she doesn't love me back.† â€Å"What happens to her?† â€Å"I don't know. I ask her to marry me, but she says she won't. That she can't. She tells me to find someone else, but there is no one else. How can there be?† Hugh had no answer for that, but he had his rhythm now. He kept repeating the pattern, pushing Seth back further and further through impossible memories, always crossing that black wall, always asking Seth's name and location, where he was, and if there was a woman who'd broken his heart. â€Å"My name is Robert. I live in Philadelphia, the first of my family born in the New World. We run a newspaper, and I love a woman who works for us. Her name is Abigail, and I think she loves me too . . . but she disappears one night without a word.† â€Å"My name is Niccol. I'm an artist in Florence. It's 1497 . . . and there's this woman . . . this amazing woman. Her name is Bianca, but . . . she betrays me.† â€Å"My name is Andrew. I'm a priest in southern England. There's a woman named Cecily, but I can't allow myself to love her, not even when the plague takes me. . . .† On and on it went, and with each step Hugh helped Seth take back, part of my heart broke. All of this was impossible. Seth couldn't have lived all these lives and times he was describing – and not just because of the obvious problems of life and death as we knew them. Seth wasn't just describing his lives. He was describing mine. I had lived every one of these lives that Seth described. I had been Suzette, Josephine, Abigail, Bianca, Cecily . . . They were all identities I'd assumed, people I'd become when Hell had transferred me to new places over the centuries. I would reinvent myself, take on a new name, appearance, and vocation. For every one of my identities Seth mentioned, I had lived a dozen more. But the ones he talked about . . . the ones he claimed to know as well, they were the ones that stuck out to me. Because although I'd had countless lovers, in countless places, there were a handful who had struck some part of my soul, a handful whom I had truly loved, despite the impossibility of our situations. And Seth was touching upon every one of them, checking them off like items on a grocery list. Only, he wasn't just talking about these men I'd loved. He was talking about being them. Whereas I had created these lives, he was acting as though he'd been born into them, born as these lovers I'd had, only to die and be reborn again in some other place with me. . . . It was impossible. It was terrifying. And eventually, it stopped. â€Å"That's it,† said Seth at last. â€Å"I can't go back further.† â€Å"You know you can,† said Hugh. â€Å"You've done it before. Are you at the blackness again?† â€Å"Yes . . . but it's different than before. It's not like the others. It's more solid. Harder to cross. Impossible to cross.† â€Å"Not impossible,† said Hugh. â€Å"You've already proven that. Cross back to the next life.† â€Å"I can't.† The thing was, I was beginning to agree with Seth. I didn't think there was anything else he could go back to, not if he was paralleling my lives. I'd jumped ahead of him at one point and made some educated guesses on what he would say, and I'd been right each time. I knew how many great loves I'd had as a succubus, and there were none left. Before Seth, there had been eight. â€Å"Push through,† urged Hugh. â€Å"I can't,† said Seth. â€Å"They won't let me. I'm not supposed to remember.† â€Å"Remember what?† â€Å"That life. The first life.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"It's part of the bargain. My bargain. No, wait. Not mine. Hers, I think. I'm not supposed to remember her. But how can I not?† It was another of those rhetorical questions, and Hugh looked to Roman and me for help. The imp had been confident there for a while, once the lives began rolling off so easily, but this was something different. Seth wasn't making a lot of sense, not that this had all been particularly crystal clear so far. Roman made gestures that seemed to be both encouraging and impatient, with a general notion that Hugh should improvise. â€Å"Who's this bargain with?† asked Hugh. â€Å"I . . . I don't know. They're just there, waiting for me in the blackness. After the first life. I'm supposed to go on to the light, but I can't. There's something missing. I'm incomplete. My life has been incomplete . . . but I can't remember why. . . .† Seth furrowed his brow, straining with the effort of remembering. â€Å"I just know I can't move on. So they make a bargain.† â€Å"What's the bargain?† â€Å"I can't remember.† â€Å"Yes, you can,† said Hugh, surprisingly gentle. â€Å"You were just talking about it.† â€Å"I don't remember the details.† â€Å"You said it was about you being incomplete. Something was missing.† â€Å"No . . . someone. My soul mate.† Seth's breathing, which had been so steady throughout all of this, grew a little shaky. â€Å"I'm supposed to go on with her, into the light. I can feel it. I wasn't supposed to live that life alone. I wasn't supposed to go to the light afterward alone. But she's not there. She's not anywhere I can get to now. They say they'll give me a chance to find her, a chance to find her and remember. They say I can have ten lives to be with her again but that one is used up. Then I have to go with them forever.† â€Å"This life that you can't remember,† prompted Hugh. â€Å"You said it's your first life, right? The one that's on the other side of this, uh, extra thick wall of blackness? The life they say you've already used?† â€Å"Yes,† said Seth. â€Å"That's the first. The one I'm supposed to forget.† â€Å"You can remember it,† said Hugh. â€Å"You're already remembering parts of it, things you aren't supposed to. Go to the other side of the blackness, before the bargain, before your death. What do you remember?† â€Å"Nothing.† â€Å"Do you remember a woman? Think about the bargain. The soul mate. Can you remember her?† Seth's silence stretched into eternity. â€Å"I . . . yes. Kind of. I feel her absence, though I don't understand it at the time.† â€Å"Have you made it back yet?† asked Hugh. â€Å"To the first life?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"What is your name?† â€Å"Kyriakos.† â€Å"Do you know where you are? Where you live?† â€Å"I live south of Pafos.† The name meant nothing to Hugh, but it meant everything to me. I began to slowly shake my head, and Roman gripped hold of my arm again. I'm not sure what he was afraid I'd do. It seemed to be an all-purpose attempt to keep me from interrupting the nightmare unfolding before me, either with word or movement. He needn't have worried. The rest of me was frozen. â€Å"Do you know the year?† asked Hugh. â€Å"No,† said Seth. â€Å"What do you do?† Hugh asked. â€Å"What's your job?† â€Å"I'm a musician. Unofficially. Mostly I work for my father. He's a merchant.† â€Å"Is there a woman in your life?† † No. â€Å" â€Å"You just said there was. Your soul mate.† Seth considered. â€Å"Yes . . . but she's not there. She was, and then she wasn't.† â€Å"If she was, then you must be able to remember her. What's her name?† He shook his head. â€Å"I can't. I'm not supposed to remember her.† â€Å"But you can. You're already doing it. Tell me about her.† â€Å"I don't remember,† said Seth, the faintest touch of frustration in his voice. â€Å"I can't.† Hugh tried a new tactic. â€Å"How do you feel? How do you feel when you think of her?† â€Å"I feel . . . wonderful. Complete. Happier than I ever believed possible. And yet . . . at the same time, I feel despair. I feel horrible. I want to die.† â€Å"Why? Why do you feel both happiness and despair?† â€Å"I don't know,† said Seth. â€Å"I don't remember.† â€Å"You do. You can remember.† â€Å"Roman,† I breathed, finding my voice at last. â€Å"Make this stop.† He only shook his head, eyes riveted on Seth. Roman's entire body was filled with tension and eagerness, anxiously straining forward for the last pieces of info to fill out the theory he'd put together. â€Å"She . . . I loved her. She was my world. But she betrayed me. She betrayed me and tore my heart out.† â€Å"Her name,† said Hugh, catching some of Roman's excitement. â€Å"What was her name?† â€Å"I can't remember,† said Seth, shifting uncomfortably. â€Å"It's too terrible. They made me forget. I want to forget.† â€Å"But you didn't,† said Roman, suddenly standing up. â€Å"You didn't forget it. What is it? What is the woman's name?† Seth's eyes flew open, either because of his own inner turmoil or from Roman breaking the trance. Either way, the calm state of relaxation was gone. Raw emotions played over Seth's features: shock, sorrow, hate. And as he gazed around and reoriented himself to his surroundings, his eyes – and all of those dark, terrible feelings – focused on me. â€Å"Letha,† he gasped. â€Å"Her name is Letha.†