Thursday, October 31, 2019

Application of DECISION MAKING tools to MORTGAGE Industry Professional Coursework

Application of DECISION MAKING tools to MORTGAGE Industry Professional Experience - Coursework Example In making critical decisions, the people who are in positions of leadership often run into conclusions without inquiring well from professionals who can avert the damage that can be caused by such an occurrence. A good example is the doomed merger between AOL and Time Warner in the year 2001. The merger happened despite the advice of the subordinates on Gerald Levin who was at the time the Chief Executive Officer at Time Warner Inc. Levin who was obsessed with leaving a legacy at Time Warner Inc. decided to go ahead and authorize the merger despite the warnings. This is a good example of the consequences that can follow the making of irrational decisions. In this work, we shall look at the decision making models that have been developed to help in making the best decisions especially in our field. This will be addressed in the context of the mortgage industry which is our section of interest. By first comparing them we shall be able to figure out the best and discuss it. There are a number of decision making models that can be used in the mortgage and loan financing industry. First it is important to understand this field so as to see how the idea of using decision models and techniques can be implemented. First, the mortgage loans are availed to the people who want to try their hand in real estate so they can be able to purchase the property they want. In the legal mechanism that need to be followed to validate this process, the property stands as the security in case the borrower is unable to pay back the loan (Gaffney, 2014). This is a business that has been so successful in the recent past and thriving in it requires a bit of critical decision making. The amount of cash that is required to establish it means that there is no space left for gambling and every step made counts. Company A has wants to form a merger with Company

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

United Arab Emirates Country Profile Essay Example for Free

United Arab Emirates Country Profile Essay The Middle East stirs interest because of its important historical and contemporary role in global affairs. The region caught the interest of the United States only during the Second World War but the region has hosted and witnessed significant world events. Many of the early civilizations emerged from the region such as the Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations. Influential religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism developed in the Middle East. The region also formed part of various empires, in succession, as territorial control changed from the Persian, Greek, Roman, Arab, Mongol, Tatar empires and then to the Turkish empire. The succession of empires led to the fusion of civilisations and cultures leading to various radical changes in the region and human history. (Peretz 1994) During the middle ages, Europe took interest in the Middle East in opening pilgrimage paths to the Holy Land through the Crusades. This increased trade with Western European countries and opened contact of the Middle East with Asia. Napoleon occupied parts of Palestine in the hopes of defeating the British Indian Empire growing in Asia. These expressed recognition of the region’s value as Europe’s gateway to the greater Asian region. Tsarist Russia also moved southward in attempts to take control of Iran and Turkey. (Peretz 1994) With the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Suez Canal trading route opened opportunities for various European countries establishing interest in the Middle East. Competing interests fuelled various wars and diplomatic conferences to settle control of the Turkish Straits. Nazi Germany also sought to gain a foothold into the Middle East and then into Asia. During the First and Second World Wars, weapons and supplies passed through the trading routes of the Middle East. In the 1940s, the Middle East gained more importance with the discovery of its vast oil reserves, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. The Middle East gained strategic value not only for its trading routes but also for its massive oil resources. Many foreign companies sought concessions to extract oil from the region. Oil exports supported the growth of industries in European countries and the United States since at least eighty percent of oil consumed in these western regions came from the Middle East. In the early 1960s, the states comprising the Arabian Peninsula and Iran produced one-quarter of the total global oil production with an unknown volume of reserves. During the Cold War, the clashing ideological interests sought to capture the acquiescence of the Middle East, with Russia exerting pressure from the north and the United States exerting pressure from the west. (Peretz 1994) Due to these events, the Middle East became an important region in world affairs. Middle East is the regional name given by Western European states to the block of territory located at the South Western border of Asia, North Eastern border of Africa, and Western border of South Asia. As a collective term, Middle East is a large region comprised of the countries Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. This area, previously called Far East, is located in between the European and East Asian regions. The term also connotes countries sharing a predominantly Islamic culture. (â€Å"Middle East† 2007)

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Impacts of Anti-social Working Hours on Nursing Staff

Impacts of Anti-social Working Hours on Nursing Staff Abstract The aim of this research proposal is to outline a research study that is designed to determine the effects, and impacts, of anti-social working hours on nursing staff, with a view to assessing the validity of three main hypotheses: H1: The greater the number of anti-social hours worked, the more serious will be the negative effects on the professional and personal lives of nursing staff; H2: Nursing staff who have high levels of workplace support are less likely to be affected by anti-social working hours; and H3: Nursing staff who receive adequate monetary compensation for the anti-social hours they work are less likely to be adversely affected, in terms of their professional lives, by these anti-social hours. It is proposed that these hypotheses be tested through sampling twenty nursing staff, gathering both qualitative and quantitative data through the use of the Work Ability Index, a questionnaire and a logbook containing various questions the participants will be asked to comple te each working day for one month. Introduction A previous review of the relevant literature showed that there are many facets to the effects of anti-social working hours on nursing staff that are not understood. The critical literature review revealed that there were many and various effects of anti-social hours on the professional lives of nursing staff, including negative effects on performance at work, an increase in the number of mistakes made, a decrease in the patience nursing staff had towards patients, a decrease in the levels of holistic care provided and that anti-social working hours could lead to strains being placed on the relationships nursing staff have with their colleagues, their patients and the families of their patients. In addition, it was shown that anti-social working hours had negative effects on the personal lives of nursing staff, including on their home life, their personal safety and their overall health and stress levels. Research questions and objectives As a result of the findings of this critical literature review, this research proposal suggests a dual quantitative and qualitative approach to assessing the actual effects of anti-social working hours and their impacts on nursing staff, with three main hypotheses to be explored: H1: The greater the number of anti-social hours worked, the more serious will be the negative effects on the professional and personal lives of nursing staff H2: Nursing staff who have high levels of workplace support are less likely to be affected by anti-social working hours H3: Nursing staff who receive adequate monetary compensation for the anti-social hours they work are less likely to be adversely affected, in terms of their professional lives, by these anti-social hours Perspective and methodology The methodology to be utilised is both qualitative and quantitative, incorporating two quantitative methods (the Work Ability Index and a logbook) and a qualitative method (a questionnaire). In order to test the effects of anti-social hours on nursing staff, it will be necessary to sample a number of nursing staff each of whom work different types/number of hours. Twenty nursing staff will be sampled in total, five who work only during the day, five who work only during the night, five who work shifts without committing to night shifts and five who work shifts and who do commit to working night shifts. Sampling such a diverse set of nursing staff, in terms of the number/type of hours worked will allow the effects of anti-social hours on different types of nursing staff to be assessed, It is proposed that the Work Ability Index (Ilmarinen, 2007) be used to assess how anti-social hours are impacting nursing staff, in terms of their ability to do their jobs, and their own health. The Work Ability Index (Ilmarinen, 2007) is basically a series of questions which take in to account the demands of the work, the workers health status and the resources available for work, and is a summary of the responses to seven items, including: 1) Current work ability compared with the lifetime best; 2) Work ability in relation to the demands of the job; 3) Number of current diseases diagnosed by a physician; 4) Estimated work impairment due to these diseases; 5) Sick leave during the past twelve months; 6) Own prognosis of work ability two years from now; and 7) Mental resources. In addition to the Work Ability Index, several supplementary questions will be asked of the sample of nursing staff, in the form of a questionnaire, in order to gauge their attitudes to work and their overall satisfaction with their work and pay, their motivation and their opinions regarding the support that is available in their workplace. In addition to the Work Ability Index, and the supplementary questionnaire, which will be used to assess how the sampled nursing staff are being impacted, in terms of the anti-social hours, the sampled nursing staff will be asked to keep a logbook of their activities over one month of work, in which they will be asked to record: their scheduled working hours; their actual working hours; how many of their overtime hours were paid; the amount of sleep they have; a rating of the quality of this sleep; whether they use any sleep aids, and what these are; a rating of their sleepiness levels; a rating of the fatigue they feel each day; a rating of their stress levels each day; a note of any errors they made whilst at work; a note of the type of error made; a note of any potential errors they would have made had another member of staff not intercepted them; and a note of any errors observed in other colleagues. Methods Sampling The target for this research is nursing staff, in the hospital in which the researcher is employed. Due to time restrictions with the research project, which needs to be completed in two semesters, the number of participants in this study will need to be kept low, so that their responses to the Work Ability Index, the questionnaire and their records in their logbooks will be manageable, in terms of the amount of data that will result. It is therefore suggested that twenty participants are selected for the study, divided in to nursing staff covering a variety of shifts and working hours: five who work full-time, only day shifts; five who work full-time, only night shifts; five who work shifts, with no night shifts, only day shifts; and five who work shifts but who can work night shifts. Sampling the nursing staff in this way will allow an assessment of the effects of the type of extra working hours has on nursing staff, for example whether working anti-social hours at night has a grea ter negative effect on nursing staff than working anti-social (i..e, longer) hours during the day, for example. Data collection As has been discussed, the objectives of this research, and the associated hypotheses, will be tested through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The Work Ability Index will be utilised in order to gain an overall picture of the effect the work is having on the participants and the views the participants hold regarding their ability to do their jobs, and their own health (Ilmarinen, 2007). The Work Ability Index, as it requires participants to provide a numerical assessment of their responses to the various questions, will provide a quantitative assessment of the participants attitudes towards their work, their ability to do their work and their own health, as a function of the work they are required to do. The questionnaire that will be handed out to the participants aims to provide a snapshot of the participants’ attitudes to work and their overall satisfaction with their work and pay, their motivation and their opinions regarding the support that is available in their workplace. The responses to this questionnaire are intended to be open-ended and, as such, will constitute a qualitative approach to data gathering, with participants being free to respond, at will, to the questions asked. This qualitative approach will allow the participants to outline any concerns they have and to expand upon their feelings with regards to the impact of their working hours on their ability to do their work, on their professional lives, on their personal lives and on their health, amongst other factors. The logbook will, through the various questions it contains, allow both a qualitative and a quantitative approach to data gathering. Some of the questions will ask the participants to rate various things, with the responses being quantitative in nature, such as the quality of their sleep, the number of hours (scheduled and non-scheduled) that they worked, or their stress levels, for example. Other questions will allow for more open-ended responses, qualitative in nature, such as whether they use any sleep aids, and what these are, or whether any errors were made, with the opportunity to describe these errors. Analytical processes As the data that will be collected is both quantitative and qualitative in nature, various analyses will be necessary. For the quantitative data gathered, for example the responses to the Work Ability Index and the quantitative questions in the logbook, the data will be analysed with regards to determining any correlations between the responses, for example, whether longer hours, as recorded in the log book, correlates with lower satisfaction with their work, as recorded by the Work Ability Index. Such correlations can be performed using various statistical tests, via a statistical analysis software package, and will provide firm conclusions as to the relationships between the various variables being measured. The qualitative data that is collected will be voluminous in nature with a great deal of responses to view and analyse (Polit et al., 2007). As Thorne (2000) suggests, the analysis of qualitative data relies on some form of deductive reasoning in order to interpret and structure the meanings that can be derived from the data collected, within the framework of the objectives of the research and the hypotheses that are being tested. It is suggested that the data be analysed using content analysis (Pope et al., 2000; Miles and Huberman, 1984). Content analysis will allow the data to be analysed and to find emergent meanings from this data in order to find inferences from what has been said by the participants and to relate these inferences to the quantitative data that will be collected (Neuendorf, 2002). Analytical induction will be used to test and re-test the intuitive ideas the researcher has regarding the content of the responses, with regard to the objectives of the research and h ypotheses being addressed (Pope et al, 2000; Holloway, 1997). It is expected that the correlations found within the quantitative data will be supported by the qualitative data collected, and that the qualitative data will provide more of an in-depth understanding of the actual effects and impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff. This combination of quantitative and qualitative data is therefore expected to be a powerful tool in terms of gaining a full understanding of the impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff, in terms of the effects on both their professional and private lives, with regards to fulfilling the objectives of the research and determining the validity of the hypotheses being tested. Strategies to promote methodological rigour There is a risk, in this study, that the nature of the study, and implied pressure from managers and colleagues, may lead to bias in the results gained, in that nursing staff may not feel able to reveal their true feelings about these issues for fear of retribution. In order to minimise the chances of this happening, as has been seen, anonymity will be ensured at all times, minimising the chances of bias entering in to the data and maintaining methodological rigour. Access and Ethical issues In order to recruit twenty nursing staff, and to allow the research to be conducted, the Manager of the nursing staff will contacted and permission will be requested to contact the nursing staff to be able to recruit participants. As this research topic touches on a delicate subject, in that managers might be wary of addressing this subject with their staff, and because making recordings in the logbook will take time out of the working day of the nursing staff, the Manager will need to be approached with care. Appendix 1 provides a copy of the suggested letter, that will be sent to the Manager of the nursing staff, in order to recruit possible subjects for the research. All nursing staff on one floor of the hospital will be sent an introductory letter, given in Appendix 2, which will explain the purpose of the study, outline the aims and objectives of the study and outline what will be expected of participants, and which asks for any interested parties to come forward to volunteer themselves for the study. Participants will be selected on the basis of them being independent (i.e., not known to the researcher or any supervisors of the researcher) and will be contacted, within a few days of volunteering themselves and being selected, in order to sign a Consent Form (given in Appendix 3). Following the signing of the consent form, the study will be explained in more detail to the selected participants, with the letter in Appendix 2 being sent out to selected participants, with the various components, and how they will be presented to the participants, being explained within this letter. Following this, the questionnaire will be given to the participants and they will be asked to fill this in and to return it to the researcher within a week of it being sent to them. The Work Ability Index will also be passed to the participants, at the same time as the questionnaire, and the participants will be asked to complete this, within a week, and return the completed questionnaire with the completed Work Ability Index. At the same time, the logbook will be explained in detail, and passed out to each participant, for them to start recording their responses to the questions within this, every working day for one month. The actual Work Ability Index, questionnaire and logbook that will be sent out to participants are given in Appendix 4, 5 and 6, respectively. It is fundamental, at every stage of this process, that the responses of the participants are kept confidential, with only the researcher knowing which responses come from which person. This will be handled by allocating each participant a number and with the questionnaires, Work Ability Index and logbook being passed out, completed and returned, with only this number, not any names. This will ensure that only the researcher knows which participant provided which responses, ensuring that all responses will remain anonymous. Anonymity is fundamentally important in this study, given its delicate nature, dealing as it is with topics that are inflammatory within the workplace of nursing staff, and which could cause problems between nursing staff and their managers. In addition to the numbering system that will be used to protect the anonymity of participants, no personal data will be collected, other than the responses to the three tools, and the storage of all of the responses collected will be carried out in compliance with relevant data storage regulations, such as the Data Protection Act 1998. The data collected will be collected on the basis of anonymity being maintained, but, due to the nature of the study, in that the results are expected to be disseminated as widely as possible, although anonymity will be maintained, confidentiality of responses cannot be guaranteed, as it is these responses that will form the basis of the results, and conclusions of this research, which will be disseminated. The researcher could be affected by the conducting of this study, because, as has been stated, the research topic touches on sensitive matters that are often the cause of conflict within the workplace between managers and nursing staff. The very fact of conducting this study within the workplace may put the researcher at risk of reprisals of some sort, although it should be noted that the study will be introduced to the Head of Department and to managers as a research study, and that, as such, the researcher should be respected, without facing reprisals, and the research allowed to continue without problems. Timetable It is suggested that the work be conducted over the course of four months, January to April 2009. The nursing staff will be contacted, initially, and once the twenty nursing staff have been selected, the Work Ability Index and the questionnaire will be completed. Following this, the logbook will be handed out and the nursing staff will record their responses to the questions within that each working day for one month. Once the logbooks have been completed, all of the primary data will be collated and analysed, with the expectation that this process will require a further month. Once the results and conclusions have been gathered from the data, two further months will be required to write up this data in the form of the dissertation. The work would be more vigorous if a larger sample of nursing staff could be included, but this is not possible, unfortunately, given the time constraints, Budget and likely funding sources The researcher intends to apply for scholarships in order to cover the costs of the research materials needed, but, as the methodology is utilising reasonably priced materials, if a scholarship is not won, it is expected that the materials could be paid for out of the pocket of the researcher. The expected costs are as follows: Twenty notebooks (for the logbooks): 20 x  £1.50 = 30 Paper/pens/printer ink etc. for the questionnaire/Work Ability Index = 20 x  £1.00 =  £20 Small gift for each participant: 20 x  £2.00 =  £40 Binding of dissertation: 4 x  £10 =  £40 Total cost =  £130 Dissemination of results Given the intense interest in this subject in the nursing literature, it is intended that this study be written up for publication in a peer-reviewed nursing journal. In addition, the results of the study will be presented as nursing seminars and the abstract of the work will be sent out to various conferences, with a view to the work being presented at various nursing conferences. In addition, as with all dissertations completed at academic establishments, a copy of the dissertation will be deposited in the university library, so that the work is available for reference by other interested parties. References Holloway, I. (1997). Basic concepts for qualitative research. Blackwell Science. Ilmarinen, J. (2007). The Work Ability Index. Occupational Medicine 57(2), pp. 160. Miles, M. and Huberman, A. (1984). Qualitative data analysis. Sage. Neuendorf, K.A. (2002). The content analysis guidebook. Available from http://academic.csuohio.edu/kneuendorf/content/ [Accessed 27th November 2008]. Polit, D.F. et al. (2007). Nursing research: generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice. Wolters Kluwer Health. Pope, C. et al. (2000). Qualitative research in health care. BMJ 320, pp. 114-116. Thorne, S. (2000). Data analysis in qualitative research. Evidence-Based Nursing 3, pp. 68-70. Appendix 1: Access letter Address Date Dear XXXXX, Re: Msc dissertation An exploration of the impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff I am writing to ask permission for this research to be conducted within your section. As part of this request, I am asking for permission to be granted to make contact with staff under your management, and for these staff to be asked if they will participate in my research project. I hope to be able to select a total of twenty nursing staff to be able to participate in this research project. The research project consists of three separate sections: a survey of the participants using a Work Ability Index, a questionnaire of the participants and a logbook, which the participants will need to complete each working day for one month. I would like the opportunity to present the research project to all of the nursing staff under your management and to select twenty participants from the staff who volunteered their participation. The research project will require the participants to volunteer their own time and any and all research costs will be covered by myself. By the time of the study, the necessary ethical approval for the study will have been given by the relevant committee. I do hope you can consider my request for access to your staff and look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, XXXXXX Appendix 2: Participant information sheet Address Date Dear XXXXX, Re: Msc dissertation An exploration of the impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff I am writing to you now to request your participation in a research study I am conducting, looking at the effects and impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff. A literature review I previously worked on showed that there are many facets to the effects of anti-social working hours on nursing staff that are not well understood and that, as anti-social working hours have many negative effects on nursing staff, in terms of their professional and personal lives, I am interested in looking in to this issue in further detail. The main aims of the research are to test three hypotheses: H1: The greater the number of anti-social hours worked, the more serious will be the negative effects on the professional and personal lives of nursing staff H2: Nursing staff who have high levels of workplace support are less likely to be affected by anti-social working hours H3: Nursing staff who receive adequate monetary compensation for the anti-social hours they work are less likely to be adversely affected, in terms of their professional lives, by these anti-social hours The research project will consist of three main tools, a Work Ability Index, a questionnaire and a logbook, to be filled in by participants every working day for one month. It is expected that the initial assessment, via the Work Ability Index and the questionnaire, would take around one hour of your time to complete, with the logbook taking around twenty minutes to complete each day. If you have any questions or concerns about your participation, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will address these. If you decide you would like to be part of this research project, I would be grateful if you could sign and return the attached consent form and return it to me in the attached stamped addressed envelope. Yours sincerely, XXXXX Appendix 3: Consent form Research title: An exploration of the impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff Name of researcher: XXXXXX Please tick the boxes I can confirm that I have read the participant information sheet and that I understand the aims and objectives of the proposed research _____ I have been given the opportunity to ask questions and to have these questions answered by the researcher ______ I understand that my participation in this research is voluntary and I have fully understood the amount of time my participation in this research will require ____ I understand that I will be able to withdraw from the research at any stage without any retribution  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­_____ I consent to my responses being used in the dissemination of the results of this research, under the proviso that my responses will remain anonymous at all times _____ I agree to keep the research study confidential in that I should not discuss this with my colleagues or managers ____ I agree to take part in the above study ____ Name of participant: Signature: Date: Name of Researcher: Signature: Date: Appendix 4: Work Ability Index The Work Ability Index (Ilmarinen, 2007) will be used to assess how anti-social hours are impacting nursing staff, in terms of their ability to do their jobs, and their own health. The Work Ability Index for each participant will be calculated as a summary of the responses to seven items, scored over a variety of ranges, giving a total possible maximum score of 49: Current work ability compared with the lifetime best (scored from 0-10) Work ability in relation to the demands of the job (scored from 2-10) Number of current diseases diagnosed by a physician (scored from 1-7) Estimated work impairment due to these diseases (scored from 1-6) Sick leave during the past twelve months (scored from 1-5) Own prognosis of work ability two years from now (scored from 1-7) Mental resources (scored from 1-4) As has been seen, in addition to the Work Ability Index, which will give a possible score out of 49, according to the status of the participants regarding their ability to work, several supplementary questions will be asked of the sample of nursing staff, in the form of a questionnaire, in order to gauge their attitudes to work and their overall satisfaction with their work and pay, their motivation and their opinions regarding the support that is available in their workplace. The actual questionnaire is given below: 1. What are your overall feelings towards your job? 2. What is your attitude towards your work? 3. How do you feel about your pay? 4. Do you work anti-social hours? 5. Are you compensated adequately for these anti-social hours? 6. Do you feel you are forced to work anti-social hours? 7. Do you feel motivated to do your work? 8. If not, please specify the reasons behind you lack of motivation 9. Do you feel you receive enough support in your workplace? 10. If not, what could be done to improve the support available to nursing staff in your workplace? 11. How satisfied are you, overall, with your work? 12. Have you ever considered giving up the nursing profession? 13. If yes, please expand upon your reasons behind this. 14. What do you feel could be done to make your job easier? 15. What do you think managers ought to be doing to minimise the impacts of anti-social hours on you and your colleagues? Appendix 6: Logbook The logbook is intended to be completed every working day for one month, and consists of the following questions, repeated every day: Date: Please note your scheduled working hours for today Please note your actual working hours for today Please note how many of your overtime hours will be paid Please note the amount of sleep you had last night Please provide a rating of the quality of the sleep you had last night (from 1 to 10, with 1 being the poorest quality) Please note whether you used any sleep aids If you used an aid to get to sleep, please note what the nature of this sleep aid Please provide a rating of their sleepiness levels (from 1 to 10 with 1 being very sleepy) Please provide a rating of the fatigue you feel today (from 1 to 10 with 1 being very fatigued) Please provide a rating of your stress levels today (from 1 to 10, with 1 being very stressed) Please make a note of any errors you made whilst at work Please make a note of the type of error made Please make a note of any potential errors you would have made had another member of staff not intercepted this error Please make a note of any errors observed in other colleagues Please make any other comments you would like to record here Appendix 7: Ethics form (NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED)

Friday, October 25, 2019

Nuclar Energy Pros Essays -- essays research papers fc

In our society, nuclear energy has become one of the most criticized forms of energy by the environmentalists. Thus, a look at nuclear energy and the environment and its impact on economic growth. Lewis Munford, an analyst, once wrote, "Too much energy is as fatal as too little, hence the regulation of energy input and output not its unlimited expansion, is in fact one of the main laws of life." This is true when dealing with nuclear power. Because our societies structure and processes both depend upon energy, man is searching for the most efficient and cheapest form of energy that can be used on a long term basis. And because we equate power with growth, the more energy that a country uses, -the greater their expected economic growth. The problem is that energy is considered to have two facets or parts: it is a major source of man-made repercussions as well as being the basis of life support systems. Therefore, we are between two sections in which one is the section of "resource availability and waste", and the other "the continuity of life support systems pertinent to survival." Thus, the environmentalists believe that nuclear energy should not be used for various reasons. First of all, the waste product, i.e. plutonium, is extremely radioactive, which may cause the people who are working or living in or around the area of storage or use, to acquire leukemia and other cancers. They also show how billions of dollars are spent yearly on safety devices for a single reactor, and this still doesn't ensure theimpossibility of a "melt down." Two examples were then given of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, in 1979, when thousands of people were killed and incapacitated. Finally, the environmentalists claim that if society wastes less energy, and develops the means to use the energy more efficiency, then there would be a definite decrease in the requirement for more energy producing plants. On the other hand, some business men and economists say that the present conditions should be kept intact, as the other forms of energy, e.g. oil, natural gas and coal, are only temporary, in dealing with surplus, and give off more pollution with less economic growth. Concurrently, countries wanted a more reliable, smokeless form of energy not controlled by OPEC, and very little uranium was required to produce such a high amount of res... ...ote, nuclear power "threatens the present and forecloses the future. It is unethical, and inferior to non-fission futures that enhance survival for humans, alive and yet to be born, and nature, with all its living entities." Therefore, in conclusion, it is clearly evident why nuclear energy should be abandoned, even though it may be considered as economically sound, and that we should concentrate more on conservation and quality rather than expansion as we have done in the past. Footnotes: 1. Nuclear Energy: The Unforgiving Technology. Edmonton, Alberta: Hurtig Publishers, 1976. Page 201. 2. Knelman, Page 202. 3. Knelman, Page 234. Bibliography: 1. Nuclear Energy: The Unforgiving Technology. Fred Knelman, Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, Alberta. 1976. 2. Economic Thinking and Pollution Problems. Edited by D.A.L. AULD, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario. 1972. 3. Nuclear Energy: Solution or Suicide. Edited by Carol C. Collins, Facts on File Publications. New York, New York. 1984. Thesis: A look at nuclear energy and the environment and why it is one of the most criticized forms of energy - when it has great possibilities in economic growth.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Shadow Kiss Chapter 1

One HIS FINGERTIPS SLID ALONG my back, applying hardly any pressure, yet sending shock waves over my flesh. Slowly, slowly, his hands moved across my skin, down the sides of my stomach to finally rest in the curves of my hips. Just below my ear, I felt his lips press against my neck, followed by another kiss just below it, then another, then another. †¦ His lips moved from my neck toward my cheek and then finally found my mouth. We kissed, wrapping ourselves closer together. My blood burned within me, and I felt more alive in that moment than I ever had. I loved him, loved Christian so much that – Christian? Oh no. Some coherent part of me immediately realized what was happening – and boy, was it pissed off. The rest of me, however, was still actually living in this encounter, experiencing it as though I was the one being touched and kissed. That part of me couldn't break away. I'd merged too much with Lissa, and for all intents and purposes, this was happening to me. No, I told myself sternly. It's not real – not for you. Get out of there. But how could I listen to logic when every nerve of my body was being set on fire? You aren't her. This isn't your head. Get out. His lips. There was nothing in the world right now except his lips. It's not him. Get out. The kisses were the same, exactly as I remembered with him. †¦ No, it's not Dimitri. Get out! Dimitri's name was like cold water hitting me in the face. I got out. I sat upright in my bed, suddenly feeling smothered. I tried kicking off the covers but mostly ended up entangling my legs even more. My heart beat hard in my chest, and I tried to take deep breaths to steady myself and return to my own reality. Times sure had changed. A long time ago, Lissa's nightmares used to wake me from sleep. Now her sex life did. To say the two were a little different would be an understatement. I'd actually gotten the hang of blocking out her romantic interludes – at least when I was awake. This time, Lissa and Christian had (unintentionally) outsmarted me. In sleep, my defenses were down, allowing strong emotions to pass through the psychic link that connected me to my best friend. This wouldn't have been a problem if the two of them had been in bed like normal people – and by â€Å"being in bed,† I mean â€Å"asleep.† â€Å"God,† I muttered, sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. My voice was muffled in a yawn. Couldn't Lissa and Christian have seriously kept their hands off each other until waking hours? Worse than being woken up, though, was the way I still felt. Sure, none of that making out had actually happened to me. It hadn't been my skin being touched or my lips being kissed. Yet my body seemed to feel the loss of it nonetheless. It had been a very long time since I'd been in that kind of situation. I ached and felt warm all over. It was idiotic, but suddenly, desperately, I wanted someone to touch me – even just to hold me. But definitely not Christian. The memory of those lips on mine flashed back through my mind, how they'd felt, and how my sleepy self had been so certain it was Dimitri kissing me. I stood up on shaky legs, feeling restless and †¦ well, sad. Sad and empty. Needing to walk off my weird mood, I put on a robe and slippers and left my room for the bathroom down the hall. I splashed cool water on my face and stared in the mirror. The reflection looking back at me had tangled hair and bloodshot eyes. I looked sleep-deprived, but I didn't want to go back to bed. I didn't want to risk falling asleep quite yet. I needed something to wake me up and shake away what I'd seen. I left the bathroom and turned toward the stairwell, my feet light on the steps as I went downstairs. The first floor of my dorm was still and quiet. It was almost noon – the middle of the night for vampires, since they ran on a nocturnal schedule. Lurking near the edge of a doorway, I scanned the lobby. It was empty, save for the yawning Moroi man sitting at the front desk. He leafed halfheartedly through a magazine, held to consciousness only by the finest of threads. He came to the magazine's end and yawned again. Turning in his revolving chair, he tossed the magazine on a table behind him and reached for what must have been something else to read. While his back was turned, I darted past him toward the set of double doors that opened outside. Praying the doors wouldn't squeak, I carefully opened one a crack, just enough to slip through. Once outside, I eased the door shut as gently as possible. No noise. At most, the guy would feel a draft. Feeling like a ninja, I stepped out into the light of day. Cold wind blasted me in the face, but it was exactly what I needed. Leafless tree branches swayed in that wind, clawing at the sides of the stone dorm like fingernails. The sun peeped at me from between lead-colored clouds, further reminding me that I should be in bed and asleep. Squinting at the light, I tugged my robe tighter and walked around the side of the building, toward a spot between it and the gym that wasn't quite so exposed to the elements. The slush on the sidewalk soaked into the cloth of my slippers, but I didn't care. Yeah, it was a typically miserable winter day in Montana, but that was the point. The crisp air did a lot to wake me up and chase off the remnants of the virtual love scene. Plus, it kept me firmly in my own head. Focusing on the cold in my body was better than remembering what it had felt like to have Christian's hands on me. Standing there, staring off at a cluster of trees without really seeing them, I was surprised to feel a spark of anger at Lissa and Christian. It must be nice, I thought bitterly, to do whatever the hell you wanted. Lissa had often commented that she wished she could feel my mind and experiences the way I could feel hers. The truth was, she had no idea how lucky she was. She had no idea what it was like to have someone else's thoughts intruding on yours, someone else's experiences muddling yours. She didn't know what it was like to live with someone else's perfect love life when your own was nonexistent. She didn't understand what it was like to be filled with a love so strong that it made your chest ache – a love you could only feel and not express. Keeping love buried was a lot like keeping anger pent up, I'd learned. It just ate you up inside until you wanted to scream or kick something. No, Lissa didn't understand any of that. She didn't have to. She could carry on with her own romantic affairs, with no regard for what she was doing to me. I noticed then that I was breathing heavily again, this time with rage. The icky feeling I'd felt over Lissa and Christian's late-night hookup was gone. It had been replaced by anger and jealousy, feelings born of what I couldn't have and what came so easily to her. I tried my best to swallow those emotions back; I didn't want to feel that way toward my best friend. â€Å"Are you sleepwalking?† a voice asked behind me. I spun around, startled. Dimitri stood there watching me, looking both amused and curious. It would figure that while I was raging over the problems in my unfair love life, the source of those problems would be the one to find me. I hadn't heard him approach at all. So much for my ninja skills. And honestly, would it have killed me to pick up a brush before I went outside? Hastily, I ran a hand through my long hair, knowing it was a little too late. It probably looked like an animal had died on top of my head. â€Å"I was testing dorm security,† I said. â€Å"It sucks.† A hint of a smile played over his lips. The cold was really starting to seep into me now, and I couldn't help but notice how warm his long leather coat looked. I wouldn't have minded wrapping up in it. As though reading my mind, he said, â€Å"You must be freezing. Do you want my coat?† I shook my head, deciding not to mention that I couldn't feel my feet. â€Å"I'm fine. What are you doing out here? Are you testing security too?† â€Å"I am security. This is my watch.† Shifts of school guardians always patrolled the grounds while everyone else slept. Strigoi, the undead vampires who stalked living Moroi vampires like Lissa, didn't come out in sunlight, but students breaking rules – say, like, sneaking out of their dorms – were a problem night and day. â€Å"Well, good work,† I said. â€Å"I'm glad I was able to help test your awesome skills. I should be going now.† â€Å"Rose – † Dimitri's hand caught my arm, and despite all the wind and chill and slush, a flash of heat shot through me. He released me with a start, as though he too had been burned. â€Å"What are you really doing out here?† He was using the stop fooling around voice, so I gave him as truthful an answer as I could. â€Å"I had a bad dream. I wanted some air.† â€Å"And so you just rushed out. Breaking the rules didn't even cross your mind – and neither did putting on a coat.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said. â€Å"That pretty much sums it up.† â€Å"Rose, Rose.† This time it was his exasperated voice. â€Å"You never change. Always jumping in without thinking.† â€Å"That's not true,† I protested. â€Å"I've changed a lot.† The amusement on his face suddenly faded, his expression growing troubled. He studied me for several moments. Sometimes I felt as though those eyes could see right into my soul. â€Å"You're right. You have changed.† He didn't seem very happy about the admission. He was probably thinking about what had happened almost three weeks ago, when some friends and I had gotten ourselves captured by Strigoi. It was only through sheer luck that we'd managed to escape – and not all of us had gotten out. Mason, a good friend and a guy who'd been crazy about me, had been killed, and part of me would never forgive myself for it, even though I'd killed his murderers. It had given me a darker outlook on life. Well, it had given everyone here at St. Vladimir's Academy a darker outlook, but me especially. Others had begun to notice the difference in me. I didn't like to see Dimitri concerned, though, so I played off his observation with a joke. â€Å"Well, don't worry. My birthday's coming up. As soon as I'm eighteen, I'll be an adult, right? I'm sure I'll wake up that morning and be all mature and stuff.† As I'd hoped, his frown softened into a small smile. â€Å"Yes, I'm sure. What is it, about a month?† â€Å"Thirty-one days,† I announced primly. â€Å"Not that you're counting.† I shrugged, and he laughed. â€Å"I suppose you've made a birthday list too. Ten pages? Single-spaced? Ranked by order of priority?† The smile was still on his face. It was one of the relaxed, genuinely amused ones that were so rare to him. I started to make another joke, but the image of Lissa and Christian flared into my mind again. That sad and empty feeling in my stomach returned. Anything I might have wanted – new clothes, an iPod, whatever – suddenly seemed trivial. What did material things like that mean compared to the one thing I wanted most of all? God, I really had changed. â€Å"No,† I said in a small voice. â€Å"No list.† He tilted his head to better look at me, making some of his shoulder-length hair blow into his face. His hair was brown, like mine, but not nearly as dark. Mine looked black at times. He brushed the unruly strands aside, only to have them immediately blow back into his face. â€Å"I can't believe you don't want anything. It's going to be a boring birthday.† Freedom, I thought. That was the only gift I longed for. Freedom to make my own choices. Freedom to love who I wanted. â€Å"It doesn't matter,† I said instead. â€Å"What do you – † He stopped. He understood. He always did. It was part of why we connected like we did, in spite of the seven-year gap in our ages. We'd fallen for each other last fall when he'd been my combat instructor. As things heated up between us, we'd found we had more things to worry about than just age. We were both going to be protecting Lissa when she graduated, and we couldn't let our feelings for each other distract us when she was our priority. Of course, that was easier said than done because I didn't think our feelings for each other were ever really going to go away. We'd both had moments of weakness, moments that led to stolen kisses or saying things we really shouldn't have. After I'd escaped the Strigoi, Dimitri had told me he loved me and had pretty much admitted he could never be with anyone else because of that. Yet, it had also become clear that we still couldn't be together either, and we had both slipped back into our old roles of keeping away from each other and pretending that our relationship was strictly professional. In a not-so-obvious attempt to change the subject, he said, â€Å"You can deny it all you want, but I know you're freezing. Let's go inside. I'll take you in through the back.† I couldn't help feeling a little surprised. Dimitri was rarely one to avoid uncomfortable subjects. In fact, he was notorious for pushing me into conversations about topics I didn't want to deal with. But talking about our dysfunctional, star-crossed relationship? That was a place he apparently didn't want to go today. Yeah. Things were definitely changing. â€Å"I think you're the one who's cold,† I teased, as we walked around the side of the dorm where novice guardians lived. â€Å"Shouldn't you be all tough and stuff, since you're from Siberia?† â€Å"I don't think Siberia's exactly what you imagine.† â€Å"I imagine it as an arctic wasteland,† I said truthfully. â€Å"Then it's definitely not what you imagine.† â€Å"Do you miss it?† I asked, glancing back to where he walked behind me. It was something I'd never considered before. In my mind, everyone would want to live in the U.S. Or, well, they at least wouldn't want to live in Siberia. â€Å"All the time,† he said, his voice a little wistful. â€Å"Sometimes I wish – â€Å" â€Å"Belikov!† A voice was carried on the wind from behind us. Dimitri muttered something, and then shoved me further around the corner I'd just rounded. â€Å"Stay out of sight.† I ducked down behind a bank of holly trees that flanked the building. They didn't have any berries, but the thick clusters of sharp, pointed leaves scratched where my skin was exposed. Considering the freezing temperature and possible discovery of my late-night walk, a few scratches were the least of my problems right now. â€Å"You're not on watch,† I heard Dimitri say several moments later. â€Å"No, but I needed to talk to you.† I recognized the voice. It belonged to Alberta, captain of the Academy's guardians. â€Å"It'll just take a minute. We need to shuffle some of the watches while you're at the trial.† â€Å"I figured,† he said. There was a funny, almost uncomfortable note in his voice. â€Å"It's going to put a strain on everyone else – bad timing.† â€Å"Yes, well, the queen runs on her own schedule.† Alberta sounded frustrated, and I tried to figure out what was going on. â€Å"Celeste will take your watches, and she and Emil will divide up your training times.† Training times? Dimitri wouldn't be conducting any trainings next week because – Ah. That was it, I realized. The field experience. Tomorrow kicked off six weeks of hands-on practice for us novices. We'd have no classes and would get to protect Moroi night and day while the adults tested us. The â€Å"training times† must be when Dimitri would be out participating in that. But what was this trial she'd mentioned? Did they mean like the final trials we had to undergo at the end of the school year? â€Å"They say they don't mind the extra work,† continued Alberta, â€Å"but I was wondering if you could even things out and take some of their shifts before you leave?† â€Å"Absolutely,† he said, words still short and stiff. â€Å"Thanks. I think that'll help.† She sighed. â€Å"I wish I knew how long this trial was going to be. I don't want to be away that long. You'd think it'd be a done deal with Dashkov, but now I hear the queen's getting cold feet about imprisoning a major royal.† I stiffened. The chill running through me now had nothing to do with the winter day. Dashkov? â€Å"I'm sure they'll do the right thing,† said Dimitri. I realized at that moment why he wasn't saying much. This wasn't something I was supposed to hear. â€Å"I hope so. And I hope it'll only take a few days, like they claim. Look, it's miserable out here. Would you mind coming into the office for a second to look at the schedule?† â€Å"Sure,† he said. â€Å"Let me check on something first.† â€Å"All right. See you soon.† Silence fell, and I had to assume Alberta was walking away. Sure enough, Dimitri rounded the corner and stood in front of the holly. I shot up from my hiding spot. The look on his face told me he already knew what was coming. â€Å"Rose – â€Å" â€Å"Dashkov?† I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice low so Alberta wouldn't hear. â€Å"As in Victor Dashkov?† He didn't bother denying it. â€Å"Yes. Victor Dashkov.† â€Å"And you guys were talking about†¦Do you mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I was so startled, so dumbstruck, that I could barely get my thoughts together. This was unbelievable. â€Å"I thought he was locked up! Are you saying he hasn't been on trial yet?† Yes. This was definitely unbelievable. Victor Dashkov. The guy who'd stalked Lissa and tortured her mind and body in order to control her powers. Every Moroi could use magic in one of the four elements: earth, air, water, or fire. Lissa, however, worked an almost unheard of fifth element called spirit. She could heal anything – including the dead. It was the reason I was now psychically linked to her – â€Å"shadow-kissed,† some called it. She'd brought me back from the car accident that had killed her parents and brother, binding us together in a way that allowed me to feel her thoughts and experiences. Victor had learned long before any of us that she could heal, and he'd wanted to lock her away and use her as his own personal Fountain of Youth. He also hadn't hesitated to kill anyone who got in his way – or, in the case of Dimitri and me, use more creative ways to stop his opponents. I'd made a lot of enemies in seventeen years, but I was pretty sure there was no one I hated as much as Victor Dashkov – at least among the living. Dimitri had a look on his face I knew well. It was the one he got when he thought I might punch someone. â€Å"He's been locked up – but no, no trial yet. Legal proceedings sometimes take a long time.† â€Å"But there's going to be a trial now? And you're going?† I spoke through clenched teeth, trying to be calm. I suspected I still had the I'm going to punch someone look on my face. â€Å"Next week. They need me and some of the other guardians to testify about what happened to you and Lissa that night.† His expression changed at the mention of what had occurred four months ago, and again, I recognized the look. It was the fierce, protective one he got when those he cared about were in danger. â€Å"Call me crazy for asking this, but, um, are Lissa and I going with you?† I had already guessed the answer, and I didn't like it. â€Å"No.† â€Å"No?† â€Å"No.† I put my hands on my hips. â€Å"Look, doesn't it seem reasonable that if you're going to talk about what happened to us, then you should have us there?† Dimitri, fully in strict-instructor mode now, shook his head. â€Å"The queen and some of the other guardians thought it'd be best if you didn't go. There's enough evidence between the rest of us, and besides, criminal or not, he is – or was – one of the most powerful royals in the world. Those who know about this trial want to keep it quiet.† â€Å"So, what, you thought if you brought us, we'd tell everyone?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Come on, comrade. You really think we'd do that? The only thing we want is to see Victor locked up. Forever. Maybe longer. And if there's a chance he might walk free, you have to let us go.† After Victor had been caught, he'd been taken to prison, and I'd thought that was where the story had ended. I'd figured they'd locked him up to rot. It had never occurred to me – though it should have – that he'd need a trial first. At the time, his crimes had seemed so obvious. But, although the Moroi government was secret and separate from the human one, it operated in a lot of the same ways. Due process and all that. â€Å"It's not my decision to make,† Dimitri said. â€Å"But you have influence. You could speak up for us, especially if†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Some of my anger dimmed just a little, replaced by a sudden and startling fear. I almost couldn't say the next words. â€Å"Especially if there really is a chance he might get off. Is there? Is there really a chance the queen could let him go?† â€Å"I don't know. There's no telling what she or some of the other high-up royals will do sometimes.† He suddenly looked tired. He reached into his pocket and tossed over a set of keys. â€Å"Look, I know you're upset, but we can't talk about it now. I have to go meet Alberta, and you need to get inside. The square key will let you in the far side door. You know the one.† I did. â€Å"Yeah. Thanks.† I was sulking and hated to be that way – especially since he was saving me from getting in trouble – but I couldn't help it. Victor Dashkov was a criminal – a villain, even. He was power-hungry and greedy and didn't care who he stepped on to get his way. If he were loose again†¦well, there was no telling what might happen to Lissa or any other Moroi. It enraged me to think that I could do something to help put him away but that no one would let me do it. I'd taken a few steps forward when Dimitri called out from behind me. â€Å"Rose?† I glanced back. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said. He paused, and his expression of regret turned wary. â€Å"And you'd better bring the keys back tomorrow.† I turned away and kept going. It was probably unfair, but some childish part of me believed Dimitri could do anything. If he'd really wanted to get Lissa and me to the trial, I was certain he could have. When I was almost to the side door, I caught movement in my peripheral vision. My mood plummeted. Great. Dimitri had given me keys to sneak back in, and now someone else had busted me. That was typical of my luck. Half-expecting a teacher to demand to know what I was doing, I turned and prepared an excuse. But it wasn't a teacher. â€Å"No,† I said softly. This had to be a trick. â€Å"No.† For half an instant, I wondered if I'd ever really woken up. Maybe I was actually still in bed, asleep and dreaming. Because surely, surely that was the only explanation for what I was now seeing in front of me on the Academy's lawn, lurking in the shadow of an ancient, gnarled oak. It was Mason.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Critical Analysis of a Divine Image Essays

Critical Analysis of a Divine Image Essays Critical Analysis of a Divine Image Paper Critical Analysis of a Divine Image Paper A Divine Image in Songs of Innocence is a very idealistic form of the more realistic poem in Songs of Experience. In an ideal world the four traditionally Christian virtues Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love would be found in the human heart. During the industrial revolution, Flakes time, these virtues were replaced with the less perfect qualities of mankind; instead Cruelty, Jealousy, Terror, and Secrecy reigned supreme in the human heart. In Christian faith it is believed that mankind was made in Gods own image, we were perfect in all ways as we were made in Gods image but Eve ate rut from the tree of knowledge and then tempted Adam into doing the same even though they had been told not to, thus condemning future generations into a sinful existence. Since that moment humankind has been seen as sinful. We are born sinners. In the first poem Blake brings forth the beauty of mankind being created in Gods image and in the second we see the greater picture, we see how sinful and terrible mankind really is and that we truly are sinful creatures and are nothing of what the bible tells us to be. The world prays to Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love in times f distress and thank them for blessings bestowed upon them as they are representative of God, our Father dear. Through the personification of these four virtues they are made more human, and so making us seem more divine, as though we are purer than we really are. Personification Is used In the same way In A Divine Image in Songs of Experience but coupled with a harsher grouping of words bring about a completely different effect. In the second poem Cruelty has a human heart, And Jealousy a human face; Terror the Human form divine, And Secrecy the human dress, it is much more than a stones throw from the Image created In the first poem. Mankind is depicted as a beast, a creature with Cruelty, Jealousy, Terror, and Secrecy reigning in its heart. In A Divine Image In Songs of Innocence Blake does not only bring up religious Idea of man being created In divine Image but also that Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love are characteristics that man Is essentially born with regardless of his origin or belief since heathen, Turk or Jew, we are all created In the Lords Image and since Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell, There God Is dwelling too these characteristics must Ideally be found In each and every man, woman and child since we are all created In Gods Image. In the second poem, A Delve Image from Songs of Experience, Flakes choice of words reflect the world he lives In. A world plagued by a boom In the Industrial sector, growth which resulted In terrible child labor, prostitution and sickness, and many more atrocities. The words used In the second stanza make the poem seem Like an accusation, the words themselves are heavy as though they were Just as heavy as the goods of Iron forged. Blake highlights the words forged, Iron, fiery, forge, furnace, sealed, hungry and gorge through the alliteration used In fiery forge as well as the repetition on forge. Blake uses this poem, (Songs of Experience), to convey the truths of the social circumstances of his society during the Industrial revolution. He shows what humankind has become, Instead of being a species created In the Image of God; we had fallen to become some terrible Immoral creation. Collectively the poems bring about the Idea that man had fallen from grace after the Orlando sin, almost as though we went from being created In Image to Ulcer enamels, navels Taller Trot s grace to level our shameful, sinful lives as nothing more than mortal beings with selfish thoughts and ulterior motives.