Monday, September 30, 2019

The Role Of Management Accounting Accounting Essay

The function of Management Accounting is to utilize and supply accounting information to directors in a company, and by utilizing these accounting information directors will be able to do better concern determinations that allow the company to be better equipped i the control and direction maps. Compared with Financial Accounting, the information provided by Management Accounting is for dynamic tendency, instead than historical information. Management Accounting involves theoretical accounts that based on grades of abstraction to assist directors doing determinations, non based on instances like Financial Accounting does. Besides, Management Accounting is supplying information for directors within a peculiar company, it is different to Financial Accounting which provides information for external users such as creditors, public regulators and stockholders. Information provided by Management Accounting is non publically reported, it is confidential and merely used by internal directors . Furthermore, Management Accounting normally uses direction information system to carry through different directors ‘ demands, whereas Fiscal Accounting frequently refers to general fiscal accounting criterions. This essay will foremost discourse direction accounting base on the documents published by Chandler ( 1977 ) and Hoskin & A ; Macve ( 1990 ) , so one invention in direction accounting will be discussed ( the balanced scorecard ) . Finally a decision will be made. The Transformation of Large ‘Modern Business Enterprise ‘ In 1977, Alfred Chandler published a really celebrated book that is called â€Å" The Visible Hand † . This book has now become an of import academic resource in the field of direction accounting. In the debut to this book, Chandler ( 1977 ) was peculiarly interested in one thing: the transmutation of the American economic system. He stated that the transmutation was from more of less theoretical theoretical accounts of competitory companies to a group of big corporations. Chandler ( 1977 ) defined the modern concern endeavor with two most important alterations: a ) the corporations all have many degrees of direction with different degree of power, instead than the traditional organizational construction where merely the top direction has all the determination powers ; B ) the administrations are all managed by salaried executives, unlike before where directors were limited to the corporation proprietors and stockholders. Such alterations happened really rapidly at the termina l of the nineteenth century. Chandler ( 1977 ) suggested that the competitory market which was driven by ‘the unseeable manus ‘ turned into a market full of oligopolies, and the resources become controlled by the corporate directors, hence, ‘the unseeable manus ‘ suggested by Adam Smith has become ‘the seeable manus ‘ . Chandler ( 1977 ) proposed 8 propositions to demo the procedure of transmutation: In the America, when administrative coordination output higher rate of net incomes than market mechanism coordination, the traditional administrations were replaced by the modern multi-unit endeavors. The multi-unit endeavors created managerial hierarchies. When the economic activities increased to a certain degree, administrative coordination became more efficient than market mechanism coordination. The managerial hierarchy created by these administrations became a beginning of power, permanency and sustainable growing. Such procedure made director including comptrollers go more proficient and professional. Because of the fifth proposition, the multi-unit concerns increased in size and their diverseness, and different direction including accounting were separated from the ownership. Rather than increasing current net income, directors started to concentrate on the long term growing of the administrations. As these endeavors grew, they altered the basic construction of major sectors and of the economic system as a whole. What is more, Hoskin and Macve ( 1990 ) suggested that directors have to go ‘literate ‘ , which means that they have to be able to execute their functions by utilizing writing-based organizational systems. Meanwhile, they suggested that â€Å" to undergo a formal Management Education is to travel back to the beginning: competition, fright of failure, norms, tragets, success, position. † ( Hoskin & A ; Macve, 1990, p22 ) . The Balanced Scorecard During the period of recent decennaries, the field of direction accounting has developed many inventions and new thoughts, including activity based direction, strategic cost direction, economic value added and mark bing. Such constructs have become more and more popular and are on a regular basis discussed in different direction accounting books. Presents, these constructs have besides been introduced into pattern in many administrations. One of the inventions in direction accounting stated by Seal et Al ( 2012 ) is the balanced scorecard. Balanced Scorecard was originally introduced by Robert Kaplan and David Norton. Traditionally, fiscal studies provided information to demo how an administration performed historically, but non much information offered about how the administration might execute in the hereafter. For case, an administration may take to decelerate down the bringing clip in order to increase current net income rate. However, this action may ensue in reduced net incomes in the hereafter due to cut down client satisfaction. In order to work out this issue, as a public presentation measuring system, the balanced scorecard does non merely see beyond standard fiscal steps, but it besides take client, larning steps and concern procedure into consideration: a ) Financial position: involves steps including economic value added, runing income, and return on capital employed ; B ) Customer position: involves steps such as client keeping, market portion in mark sections, and client satisfaction ; degree Celsius ) Learning and growing position: involves steps including employee keeping, skill sets, and employee satisfaction ; d ) Business procedure position: involves steps including quality, throughput, and costs etc. These four positions can be concluded in a diagram, which is shown as Diagram 1. Diagram 1 showed that balances exist between internal and external steps ; subjective and nonsubjective step ; and public presentation consequences and the drivers of future consequences. There is non merely engagement of these four positions, but besides a logic nexus. Because larning and growing improves the concern procedures, which lead to a better value to the client, which once more in bend improves the fiscal public presentation. Diagram 1: Balanced Scorecard ( Beginning: ) There are many advantages of the balanced scorecard. First, by analyzing the four positions of the overall public presentation, administrations are able to obtain a balanced position of organizational public presentations. Compared with the traditional methods which merely analyses if the finance state of affairs is healthy or non within a company, the balanced scorecard provides a more overall image for administrations to happen out if they are traveling towards their organizational ends. The balanced scorecard enables administrations to detect non merely the fiscal public presentation, but besides other positions such as degree of client satisfaction, the concern processes, and employee preparation etc. What is more, the balanced scorecard method does non merely look at the immediate hereafter, it evaluates the organizational public presentations in a more dynamic manner. If an accountant notices that the administration is non making good and he/she has realized the fiscal undersid e line, normally the suggestion provided to directors are to work out the immediate issues. Such actions frequently ignored the long term effects to the administration. The balanced scorecard attack enables the administrations to do better determinations for their aims at short, medium and long tally at a glimpse. Last but non least, by using the scheme of a balanced scorecard, the administrations can do certain that the strategic actions they implemented will consequences in the results that they desired. For illustration, the administrations can inquire themselves: will increase the monetary value of a peculiar merchandise contribute to the companies in the long tally? The reply will depend on whether the consumers are happy about the merchandise, or whether the procedures associated with doing that merchandise better the quality of that merchandise. On the other manus, a few research workers have suggested there are besides disadvantages to the balanced scorecard attack. First, t his method may be clip devouring, as administrations have to be after out their aims for each positions, so interrupt the aims down and eventually make up one's mind how to make the ends. Second, even though the balanced scorecard provides an overall image in the four positions for administrations, it does non intend that these positions build the whole image. It merely involves limited fiscal information. Therefore, it is suggested that the balanced scorecard has to be a portion of a bigger acquisition and growing scheme for administrations. Finally, the same balanced scorecard does non use to all administrations ‘ state of affairss. It is strongly recommended that administrations need to gain their ain prosodies, otherwise the balanced scorecard may be meaningless. Furthermore, many academic research workers argue that the cause-and-effect relationship between indexs on the balanced scorecard can non be supported. Some indexs will non needfully take to a satisfactory result. For illustration, client satisfaction and increased degree of net income. Besides, faculty members suggested that the balanced scorecard does non take rivals ‘ actions into consideration, therefore it does non offer a specific wage system. The balanced scorecard attack has a closed relationship with modern concern endeavor. As we discussed in the old subdivision, direction became separated from ownership. Thus the balanced scored card has offered administrations to hold a overall image, so give different undertakings to directors with different duties. Therefore, the balanced scorecard to some extent encourages administrations to reassign to one of modern concern endeavor. Decision In decision, this essay has reviewed the book published by Chandler ( 1977 ) , and the article wrote by Hoskin & A ; Macve ( 1990 ) . By discoursing the suggestions and analysis stated by these writers, the cardinal characteristics of the construction and processes that involved in the transmutations of modern concern endeavors have been defined. Chandler ( 1977 ) proposed eight propositions that he thought changed the UK concern market from a market driven by ‘the unseeable manus ‘ to a market that the directors apportioning the resources, so that the market is replaced by ‘the seeable manus ‘ . Hoskin nd Macve ( 1990 ) in add-on suggested two other factors influenced the market. Besides, one of the recent invention in direction accounting – the balanced scorecard is critically discussed, and the grounds showed that the balanced scorecard attack has to some extent transformed concerns who adopted this attack into one of the modern concern endeavor. How ever, there are some concerns when utilizing this attack. In my sentiment, the field of direction accounting still has a batch to be discovered, and its inventions are ever closely associated with the market state of affairs.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Heart and Cardiac Muscle Essay

What is the heart? The heart is the organ that supplies blood and oxygen to all parts of the body. It is about the size of a clenched fist, weighs about 10.5 ounces and is shaped like a cone. The heart is located in the chest cavity just posterior to the breastbone, between the lungs and superior to the diaphragm. The heart is surrounded by a fluid filled sac called the pericardium. Blood is pumped away from the heart through arteries and returns to the heart through veins. The major artery of the body is the aorta and the major veins of the body are the vena cavae. Chambers of the Heart The heart is divided by a partition or septum into two halves. The halves are in turn divided into chambers. The upper two chambers of the heart are called atria and the lower two chambers are calledventricles. The atria receive blood returning to the heart from the body and the ventricles pump blood from the heart to the body. Valves allow blood to flow in one direction between the chambers of the heart. The Heart Wall The heart is composed of cardiac muscle which enable the heart to contract and allow the synchronization of the heart beat. The heart wall is divided into three layers: the epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium. * Epicardium – outer protective layer of the heart. * Myocardium – muscular middle layer wall of the heart. * Endocardium – inner layer of the heart that is continuous with the inner lining of blood * Cardiac Conduction * Cardiac conduction is the rate at which the heart conducts electrical impulses. Cardiac muscle cells contract spontaneously and are coordinated by nodal tissue, specifically the sinoatrial node. There are other factors that influence heart rate as well. These include endocrine hormones, body temperature and exercise. * Cardiac Cycle * The cardiac cycle is the sequence of events that occur when the heart beats. There are two phases of this cycle which are the diastole and systole phases. During the diastole phase, the atria and ventricles are relaxed and blood flows into the atria and ventricles. In the systole phase, the ventricles contract sending blood to the rest of the body. A heartbeat is a two-part pumping action that takes about a second. As bloodcollects in the upper chambers (the right and left atria), the heart’s natural pacemaker (the SA node) sends out an electrical signal that causes the atria to contract. This contraction pushes blood through the tricuspid and mitral valves into the resting lower chambers (the right and left ventricles). This part of the two-part pumping phase (the longer of the two) is called diastole. The second part of the pumping phase begins when the ventricles are full of blood. The electrical signals from the SA node travel along a pathway of cells to the ventricles, causing them to contract. This is called systole. As the tricuspid and mitral valves shut tight to prevent a back flow of blood, the pulmonary and aortic valves are pushed open. While blood is pushed from the right ventricle into the lungs to pick up oxygen, oxygen-rich blood flows from the left ventricle to the heart and other parts of the body. After blood moves into the pulmonary artery and the aorta, the ventricles relax, and the pulmonary and aortic valves close. The lower pressure in the ventricles causes the tricuspid and mitral valves to open, and the cycle begins again. This series of contractions is repeated over and over again, increasing during times of exertion and decreasing while you are at rest. The heart normally beats about 60 to 80 times a minute when you are at rest, but this can vary. As you get older, your resting heart rate rises. Also, it is usually lower in people who are physically fit. Your heart does not work alone, though. Your brain tracks the conditions around you—climate, stress, and level of physical activity—and adjusts your cardiovascular system to meet those needs. The human heart is a muscle designed to remain strong and reliable for a hundred years or longer. By reducing your risk factors for cardiovascular disease, you may help your heart stay healthy longer.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Analysis of the Development of Enterprise Resource

The overall report mainly includes an effective evaluation of the overall ERP system, which could help Disk4U to support their changing business environment. In addition, the study effectively evaluates the case study and identifies the overall requirements of Disk4U. Furthermore, effective business process is mainly depicted, which could help in understanding the business requirement of Disk4U. After the evaluation of the overall business requirement, effective system requirement could be identified. The identification of system requirement is mainly essential for choosing the appropriate ERP system to support the business process (Arvidsson, Holmstrà ¶m & Lyytinen, 2014). The main identification of the overall ERP system is essential for selecting the adequate software, which might be used by Disk4U. Lastly, the identification of adequate vendor is essential for Disk4U to select an effective accounting system (Becker, Kugeler & Rosemann, 2013). Disk4U is a small family owned business situated in Sydney, which only sells CDs and Vinyl Records. The company previously operated only in four outlets, which was spread around Sydney metropolitan. In addition, the company has effectively adopted the use of phone and email for generating the required level of sales. However, the company has currently adopted the use of online sales from eBay platform, which might increase its overall sales. Furthermore, this expansion into the new market could effectively help the company in generating high revenue, which will require an effective accounting system to support the business process. Furthermore, the change in overall business process has indicated to improve the manual process of accounting, which is been currently being used by Disk4U (Arvidsson, Holmstrà ¶m & Lyytinen, 2014). The company mainly requires depicting the overall latest technologies, which could be used in improving the current accounting system for supporting the onlin e presence in EBay. Moreover, an effective improvement in business accounting and report is need by Disk4U within specified budget of $150,000. Disk4U is a small business operation, which mainly provides products like CDs and Vinyl Records. The company has been effectively operating within the small location in Sydney with four outlets, email, and phones orders (Becker, Kugeler & Rosemann, 2013). Moreover, the company has been using manual accounting process, which was effective for supporting the small business operations conducted within a region. However, the adoption of online sales from EBay platform is effective in improving the current sales of the company. In addition, the company mainly aims is carrying the both online and physical sales. Furthermore, the use of effective online business operation could help the business in generating higher revenue. Nwankpa & Roumani (2014) mentioned that companies are mainly able to generate high revenue by incorporating online sales, which increases its customer reach. Moreover, after the evaluation of business processes certain challenges, which the company might face could be i dentified. In addition, effective use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) could be utilised by Disk4U for supporting the current change in business environment. Kilic, Zaim & Delen (2014) argued that high end ERP system could reduce the smooth functioning of the business, which in turn reduce its overall profitability. The changing business requirement could effectively help in improving of Disk4U could mainly need an effective ERP system, which could support its accosting needs. The use of online platform could increase the overall needs of an effective accounting system, which might comprehend the change in inventory. Effective monitoring is mainly needed on stock level, financial performance, and supplier quotation, which might be used in new business operations. Chou, et al., (2014) stated that companies to improve the overall performance by implying effective online system mainly use ERP system. On the contrary, Nwankpa (2015) argued that ERP system mainly loses its friction if adequate analysis is mainly not conducted to identify the accurate requirements of the company. The increased accumulation of data, which is mainly provided by the online platform, is satisfied by the ERP system. In addition, ERP system could automatically identify the overall need of inventory and contact the supplier for replenishing the stock. The adequate flow of orders could effectively be comprehended by an ERP system, which could help in flowing adequate information to relative participants (Becker, Kugeler & Rosemann, 2013). Furthermore, implementation of the overall advanced ERP system could effectively help Disk4U for improving its operational ability. Furthermore, the ERP system mainly needs different types of applications, which could improve the overall experience and reduce problems. The Disk4U for suiting the overall needs could effectively customise the ERP system, which could help in improving its business process. Lin, Zhao & Wei (2014) mentioned that companies are mainly able to customise the overall ERP system for supporting the business requirement. Moreover, with the implementation of ERPs system adequate system needs to be required by Disk4U for increasing productivity. In addition, the use of ERP Cloud, Social ERP and Mobile ERP could also be utilised. In addition, the adoption of overall mobile ERP system could effectively help the company in delivery the information to adequate employee in real-time. Kilic, Zaim & Delen (2015) mentioned that due to technological advancements incorporation of ERP system in mobile device mainly easy the flow of information. Furthermore, the use of cloud ERP system could also be effective for Disk4U to reduce the problem of data loss. In addition, the incorporation of both mobile and cloud ERP system could help the company in improving its productivity and accounting system. Furthermore, incorporation of Social ERP system could also help the company in making a social presence, which might attract potential investors. Shukla et al., (2016) argued that high costs incurred in ERP implementation mainly reduces the overall cash balance of companies and hamper its ability to make any new investments. Table 1: Depicting the costing of three different ERP system From the overall evaluation of different ERP system, Accountmate ERP per year could be used as an effective system, which might be cost effective. In addition, other ERP system is mainly costly and might increases expenses of Disk4U. Jinno, Abe & Iizuka (2017) mentioned that use of effectively ERP system is essential for companies to increase their efficiency and information flow. From the case study, it was gathered that AIS or the ERP systems could facilitate the employees of Disk4U in realizing their issues and offering specific solutions (Antero, 2015). It was also realized from the analysis of the case study of Disk4U, that the organization is dealing with problems that requires being decreased through appropriate implementation of information systems. This is also because of the reason that the smooth business operation of the company is ensured (Arvidsson, Holmstrà ¶m & Lyytinen, 2014). Implementation of ERP systems will make sure of the company several effective business processes, preparing business requirements along with deciding the software and vendor selection. The case study is dealing with the concerns specifically for the identified issues experienced by Disk4U. The Disk4U Company intends to reconstruct the business operations through adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) that is required for effective Business Process Management (BPM) (Bansal, 2013). Identifying suitable software and vendor for Disk4U will help in analyzing the current state of business operation affairs and realization of the areas those requires improvement. Implementation of suitable software and vendor in the company will also support in obtaining increased understanding concerning ways that can be adopted for the betterment of overall business operations of Disk4U (Becker, Kugeler & Rosemann, 2013). Management of the Disk4U Company might consider several business operations in order to ensure efficient data structure, networks, mobile computations, algorithms along with optimization of business process along with scheduling process (Bernroider & Mitlohner, 2015). Along with considering the ERP implementation of the system of business process management along with appropriate design of network, the management of the company can make sure of implementation regarding the integration of Application Programming Interface (API). (Bradford, 2015) discovered the fact that implementation of the Application Programming Interface (API) software will signify allowance along with several business processes in order to deliver programs that is aligned with different programs. Additionally, if Disk4U Company considers the implementation of software-to-software interface, it can facilitate ample vendors to communicate with each other devoid of having any previous understanding or intervention. For instance, ample online channels associated with functions can support the process utilization of integration of API software (Chang, 2016). This can further facilitate the process of entering the accurate information in support of credit cards along with application of API for transferring vital information to a distinct isolated application in order to verify provided information. The â€Å"Business Process Management† set can be employed for viewing at different areas of the upcoming analysis techniques (Dumas et al., 2013). In addition, the design of support process facilitates in delivering support for vital activities employed by numerous resources along with the infrastructure in a specific format. This can be deemed as a vital differentiator that considers several primaries along with support techniques for the development of direct value with regard to target consumers in the situation of major processes (Falkenberg, Hesse & Olivà ©, 2016). Certain examples of support services include relevant information technology management along with effective human resource management as well as infrastructure management. Conversely, the processes of support services majorly include cross-functional limits along with the evaluation in the future years. For this reason, it is included in the managerial capability processes along with the direction of value offered to customers in supporting the total capability of the company (Seethamraju, 2015). This can facilitate efficient offering of products along with th e company’s services. The business process management can take into account implementation of software tools those can be employed in order to deal with major business issues of Disk4U Company. Conversely, this also has a considerable role within business process management that has a difference between the flows of work along with the software of Business Process Management (Jain & Sharma, 2016). This can facilitate the automation of work with unaffected process improvement in a better manner. In addition to that, the management of Disk4U Company can also consider the process of advanced technology implementation for the production business operations. This focuses on implementation of advanced systems to deal with product data, automatic process of planning, manufacturing, execution, and scheduling (Savage, Kautz & Clarke, 2016). Moreover, the company production and marketing products can adopt mechanized process of production, scheduling, planning along with implementation. Additionally, the production and marketing products of the company can adopt mechanized technique of data gathering, Compliance administration, lean manufacturing, and planning, scheduling, total quality management along with management of product life cycle (Esteves, 2014). Therefore, it might be ascertained that the functions of business process have entered within a new stage of rapidly tracked transformation to mature along with improved technologies. The cloud based and mobile applications in addition to progressive analytics with collaboration processes can increase the impacts of properly understood functioning model levers such as shared services, global delivery system, and outsourcing as re-engineering process (Rodrigues et al., 2016). Moreover, the application along with the impact of innovative technologies might not be at a great level. Additionally, it is deemed vital to realize certain technology interventions as well as process re-engineering in consideration to organizational re-design. This includes shared services along with business process outsourcing that is combined within the International Business Service (Altamony et al., 2016). The aforementioned process cab directs the business concerns in focusing on the scarce resources that can finally affect the vital business findings. Such process also supports the process of decrease of intricacies of several distinct processes, which significantly encompass various cross-disciplinary squads (Erturk & Arora, 2017). This team can consider it quite difficult in struggling in order to observe conjoint ground along with language. Conversely, the ability to identify various levels for pulling is not increased and relies on experience collected by transformation, designing and functioning business conducts. The most effective tactic can be to identify partners that can have the capability to manage expenditure along with research on consumption. This can finally also result in risk of losing the momentum along with time in a fierce competitive surrounding (Esteves, 2014). Identifying suitable software and vendor for Disk4U Company will help in analyzing the current state of business operation affairs and realization of the areas those requires improvement. Implementation of ERP systems will make sure of the company several effective business processes, preparing business requirements along with deciding the software and vendor selection (Arvidsson, Holmstrà ¶m & Lyytinen, 2014). Net suite, Account mate and Sage 300 are the three most user-friendly and effective ERP software that can be used by the company. However, Account-mate is considered as the best Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to be implemented by Disk4U Company because of several advantages that this software can offer to the company (Becker, Kugeler & Rosemann, 2013). The advantages that this ERP software implementation can provide to the company are it comes in lowest price, supports multicurrency, effective document management, and superior expense management, or reporting, ef fective LIFO and FIFO process, effective Point-of-Sale option, and integrates with the important business process reports (Bansal, 2013). Moreover, Account-mate ERP software cal also facilitate the company to attain certain benefits associated with its use such as, it integrates with F9, effectively managers sales and tax use, enables effective human resources, consumer relationship management (CRM) and project management (PM). Account-mate ERP software is the most suitable software for Disk4U Company as it facilitates enhanced materials requirement processing (MRP), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and business intelligence (BI) (Dumas et al., 2013). Account-mate ERP software has certain advantageous features such as it is non-profit version along with vertical warehousing, construction and distribution (Frankenberg, Hesse & Olivà ©, 2016). This ERP software can solve the issues faced by Disk4U Company in its business operations though facilitating superior transaction drill down and exceptional â€Å"audit trial report† ability. This software also provides with beneficial features of increased online training and supports functionality along with allowing cut and paste transactions from the spreadsheet of Microsoft excel (Arvidsson, Holmstrà ¶m & Lyytinen, 2014). However, Disk4U Company must also manage few cons associated with implementation of Account-mate ERP software in order to obtain best business operation process advantages from it. These disadvantages include lack of "business process flowchart" navigation, no point-of-sale (POS), or human resource (HR) modules for implementations of ERP. Certain drawbacks of t he ERP software also include limited charting and graphics (Bernroider & Mitlohner, 2015). After implementing Account-mate ERP software for managing its business operations effectively, it must configure the task shortcuts from scratch as no template exists in this ERP software along with no proper dashboards. Implementation of Account-Mate ERP software can support the company’s back-office operations along with financial business processes that encompass inventory, accounting, supply chain, order management, as well as business intelligence (BI). Implementation of this software wholesale distributor is available in several countries that reach out to the new markets and consumer segments through online medium along with decreasing person-to-person administrative expenses (Falkenberg, Hesse & Olivà ©, 2016). Account-Mate ERP Software has self-service vendor centre in which the company offers its self-owned vendors with great access to information that is important to the company’s partnership that encompass purchase orders, data of accounts payable along with major other documents. Account-Mate ERP Software established an international partner network. Purchase and implementation of the software is offered on an on-demand subscription-based service through the web. Moreover, purchase of the software through self-service vendor centre considers no hardware to procure, no high up-front license charges or extremely difficult set-ups (Arvidsson, Holmstrà ¶m & Lyytinen, 2014). With Account-Mate ERP Software’s unified platform, distributors and manufacturers streamline and automate all the major business processes of a company that includes from purchasing the software and manufacturing through to order to cash, fulfillment, multichannel commerce along with effective consumer service that is devoid of complexity and expenses on on-spot IT systems. The overall report mainly included an effective evaluation of the overall ERP system, which could help Disk4U to support their changing business environment. In addition, the study effectively evaluates the case study and identifies the overall requirements of Disk4U. The company mainly requires depicting the overall latest technologies, which could be used in improving the current accounting system for supporting the online presence in EBay. Moreover, the company has been using manual accounting process, which was effective for supporting the small business operations conducted within a region. However, the adoption of online sales from EBay platform is effective in improving the current sales of the company. In addition, the company mainly aims is carrying the both online and physical sales. Furthermore, the use of effective online business operation could help the business in generating higher revenue. Implementation of the overall advanced ERP system could effectively help Disk4U for improving its operational ability. Furthermore, the ERP system mainly needs different types of applications, which could improve the overall experience and reduce problems. Incorporation of Social ERP system could also help the company in making a social presence, which might attract potential investors. The business process management can take into account implementation of software tools those can be employed in order to deal with major business issues of Disk4U Company. Account-mate is considered as the best Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to be implemented by Disk4U Company because of several advantages that this software can offer to the company. Altamony, H., Tarhini, A., Al-Salti, Z., Gharaibeh, A., & Elyas, T. (2016). The relationship between change management strategy and successful enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations: A theoretical perspective.  International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research,  7(4), 690-703. Antero, M., (2015). A Multi-case Analysis of the Development of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) Business Practices. Copenhagen Business SchoolCopenhagen Business School, Institut for IT-LedelseDepartment of IT Management. Arvidsson, V., Holmstrà ¶m, J. & Lyytinen, K., (2014). Information systems use as strategy practice: A multi-dimensional view of strategic information system implementation and use. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(1), 45-61. Bansal, V., (2013). Enterprise Resource Planning. Pearson Education India. Becker, J., Kugeler, M. & Rosemann, M. eds., (2013). Process management: a guide for the design of business processes. Springer Science & Business Media. Bernroider, E.W. & Mitlohner, J., (2015). Characteristics of the multiple attribute decision making methodology in enterprise resource planning software decisions. Communications of the IIMA, 5(1), 6. Bradford, M., (2015). Modern ERP: select, implement, and use today's advanced business systems. Lulu. com. Chang, J.F., (2016). Business process management systems: strategy and implementation. CRC Press. Chou, H. W., Lin, Y. H., Lu, H. S., Chang, H. H., & Chou, S. B. (2014). Knowledge sharing and ERP system usage in post-implementation stage.  Computers in Human Behavior,  33, 16-22. Dumas, M., La Rosa, M., Mendling, J. & Reijers, H.A., (2013). Fundamentals of business process management, 1(2). Heidelberg: Springer. Erturk, E., & Arora, J. K. (2017). An Exploratory Study on the Implementation and Adoption of ERP Solutions for Businesses.  arXiv preprint arXiv:1701.08329. Esteves, J. M. (2014). An empirical identification and categorisation of training best practices for ERP implementation projects.  Enterprise Information Systems,  8(6), 665-683. Falkenberg, E.D., Hesse, W. & Olivà ©, A. eds., (2016). Information System Concepts: Towards a consolidation of views. Springer. Jain, D., & Sharma, Y. (2016). Cloud computing with ERP-A push business towards higher efficiency. Jinno, H., Abe, H., & Iizuka, K. (2017). Consideration of ERP Effectiveness: From the Perspective of ERP Implementation Policy and Operational Effectiveness.  Information,  8(1), 14. Kilic, H. S., Zaim, S., & Delen, D. (2014). Development of a hybrid methodology for ERP system selection: The case of Turkish Airlines.  Decision Support Systems,  66, 82-92. Kilic, H. S., Zaim, S., & Delen, D. (2015). Selecting â€Å"The Best† ERP system for SMEs using a combination of ANP and PROMETHEE methods.  Expert Systems with Applications,  42(5), 2343-2352. Lin, R., Zhao, X., & Wei, G. (2014). Models for selecting an ERP system with hesitant fuzzy linguistic information.  Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems,  26(5), 2155-2165. Nwankpa, J. K. (2015). ERP system usage and benefit: A model of antecedents and outcomes.  Computers in Human Behavior,  45, 335-344. Nwankpa, J., & Roumani, Y. (2014). Understanding the link between organizational learning capability and ERP system usage: An empirical examination.  Computers in Human Behavior,  33, 224-234. pcmag.com. (2016).  PCMag India. Retrieved 12 February 2017, from https://au.pcmag.com/se/?q=SaaS+ERP Rodrigues, J., Ruivo, P., Johansson, B., & Oliveira, T. (2016). Factors for Adopting ERP as SaaS amongst SMEs: The Customers vs. Vendor Point of View.  Information Resources Management Journal (IRMJ),  29(4), 1-16. Savage, C., Kautz, K., & Clarke, R. (2016). Fears and Triggers: A Conceptual Study of Vendor-Supplied Maintenance and Maintenance Deferral of Standard Package Software.  arXiv preprint arXiv:1606.00749. Seethamraju, R. (2015). Adoption of software as a service (SaaS) enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).  Information systems frontiers,  17(3), 475-492. Seethamraju, R. (2015). Adoption of software as a service (SaaS) enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).  Information systems frontiers,  17(3), 475-492. Shukla, S., Mishra, P. K., Jain, R., & Yadav, H. C. (2016). An integrated decision making approach for ERP system selection using SWARA and PROMETHEE method.  International Journal of Intelligent Enterprise,  3(2), 120-147.

Friday, September 27, 2019

What Is Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What Is Philosophy - Essay Example I think the knowledge of everything depends on the extent of knowledge that we have about that thing. For example, we believe in God because we experience His involvement in every matter of our lives, as well as in what is beyond our imagination. The basis for knowledge is experience. A person learns from what he/she experiences. I think not all knowledge is subjective and there exist a number of universal truths. The relationship between faith and reason is obvious. We develop faith in someone when we experience something good from that’s person. That experience becomes the reason for developing faith in that person. If we talk about artificial intelligence, we can say that it builds upon the knowledge of humans. I would say that human understanding has some limit because a person understands maximum the level his mind allows him. I think the right thing to do is what benefits us and the people around us. A good person is one who values others and takes decisions that do not produce any harm for any other person. A good person to me is also the one who maintains good social relationships with others and provides support to the people in need. I think virtue always leads to happiness. Virtue is an asset and a good asset always produces something good. A virtuous action benefits everyone and puts a long-term positive impact on the whole society. â€Å"Like everything else morality is a man made concept, therefore it is not real† (An, 2009).

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Economic Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic Analysis - Essay Example There is an elastic demand for the industry products and services. Perfect elastic demand means that the responsiveness of the consumers towards a price change is high than the price changed. With the reduction in call rates and message rates, Celcom will register an increase in the number of consumers using this service. The elasticity of demand in Celcom Company will increase the demand of the company products services and products as compared to the other services and products offered in the telecommunication industry. The introduction of a new telecommunication service provider known as the U-mobile in the country has increased the number of close substitutes when it comes to provision of telecommunication products and services. The availability of the close substitutes has led to a greater elasticity of demand (Armstrong and Kotler 2010). The elasticity of demand in the Malaysian telecommunication industry has led to the adoption of price penetration strategy. The products of Celcom are highly differentiated from those of its competitors. That is, its products are highly customized to meet the customer demands. As part of its product differentiation, Celcom has reduced the cost per message from 50 cents to 25 cents and the cost of a call from 35 cents to 20 cents per minute. This has been done to fully differentiate its services from those of its potential competitors. Celcom has also differentiated its broadband network in a way which keeps up with the current technology in Malaysia. The broadband network has been differentiated in a way which makes it the fastest network in Malaysia compared to the networks provided by its competitors (Armstrong and Kotler 2010). Its network has been updated with the current technological advancements. The company also intends on launching a new differentiated product from those of its competitors. The U-verse will allow customers to pay their bills using the phone, book online hotel

Personal STATEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal STATEMENT - Essay Example The sense of responsibility to serve our fellow man is strong in my family as I also have a cousin who is a dentist in New York, an older brother who is a neurosurgeon at Ford Hospital and another brother currently studying medicine in Germany. To me, being a dentist is providing people with an essential partner for their future health and well-being and I am hoping to gain the knowledge and education I need for this from University of North Carolina, where I am currently attending as an undergraduate. Not only do I believe I would make a very fine dentist, but I am accustomed to hard work and have developed the skills necessary to study effectively on my own. When I came to this country from my birth country, Yemen, I did not speak English. As soon as I graduated from my high school, I came to America, to New York City, to learn how to speak and to become acquainted with the culture here. There was a bit of culture shock as, at the time, the sentiment in the country was largely against anyone with a name such as mine, Kuahtan Alsaidi, or who came from the Middle East. We were all considered terrorists and this made it more difficult when I had trouble remembering a word or trying to interact with people who did not understand what I was trying to say. In spite of this, I continued to work hard at learning my new language and still managed to find many people who were willing to help once they saw I was trying. I studied English for two years at New York before I felt I was strong enough in the language to begin studying other things. At that point, I moved to North Carolina and began attending University of North Carolina at Pembroke. I am currently majoring in biology, always working toward my goal to become a dentist. Almost as soon as I was enrolled in my classes, I also became involved with the university’s chemistry and physics club where I have had the chance to be

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Data Collection Procedures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Data Collection Procedures - Essay Example My research will however apply face-to-face interview with telephone interviews as an alternative, in cases of geographical barriers. The instrument is suitable for the research because of its success in similar scopes such as is application by Mignone, Klostermann and Chen (2009). The data collection technique defines an interviewer, and an interviewee who may be the direct source of required data or may have acquired the information from other sources. I particularly intend to implement a semi-structured interview that will have predetermined questions but will be flexible enough to facilitate in depth exploration of involved subjects (Kothari, 2009; Gill, Stewart, Treasure and Chadwick, 2008). Application of the technique also identifies a number of advantages that has influenced its choice. It allows for generation of extensive data that are further in depth and therefore facilitates adequate exploration of a topic. The technique also allows the interviewer to overcome the challenge of a respondent’s negative attitude towards the research or a question. Consequently, it enhances response rate and promotes clarity because the interviewer has the opportunity to explain uncertain concepts and terms. The technique also integrates easily with other approaches such as observation and therefore facilitates data collection. It can however be expensive, especially if respondents are sparsely distributed over a wide geographical region, and it is susceptible to researcher’s bias. It is also time consuming and requires interpersonal communication skills for developing rapport with respondents and lack of such skills may render it ineffective (Kothari, 2009). The research will also implement questionnaires. The technique is similarly suitable for the research, having been applied by Mignone, Klostermann and Chen (2009) in a research with similar scope of data. Like the interviews, questionnaires consist of predetermined, though

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Public economics paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Public economics - Research Paper Example Shifting Social Security aids to private accounts is a way of preventing Social Securitys anticipated forthcoming financial shortfall (Myles, 54). Privatization of Social Security would permit workers to control personal retirement money through personal investment accounts. Backers of private accounts argue that retirees would have the freedom to invest their retirement funds in the stock market as they aspire, theoretically gains huge returns than with government-invested money. Privatization programs are based on a modest idea. Instead of contributing to a collective or group, pay-as-you-go retirement plan, employees would be obligatory to build up retirement savings in directed private and individually owned accounts (Matthews and Dorothy 23). Workers can withdraw these funds from the accounts when they reached the retirement age or became disabled, and their beneficiaries could inherit any funds accumulated in the account if the employees died before reaching the retirement age or becoming disabled. At the time a worker chose to begin receiving a pension, all or some of the funds in the workers account would be changed into an annuity that would exist until the worker died. If the worker marries, both spouse, and worker might be needed to allow a j oint survivors annuity, this is to say, an annuity that would extant until both the spouse and worker have died. Under some suggestion, workers could choose to draw some of the finances as a massive distribution when they retire or disabled. Employees would be allowed to choose how their contributions were invested, within broad limits (Matthews and Dorothy 23). In few privatization programs, contributions would be collected by a semi-public or single public agency or group and then invested in one or more of a given number of investment funds. A worker might be provided with the choice of investing in, say, five various funds - a stock market index fund, a corporate bond fund, a money market fund, a real

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Business Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Business Law - Case Study Example (II) The federal statute to protect endangered bird species could be challenged in US District Court located in Minnesota, and the Missouri state statute about toxic-carrying vehicles could be challenged at the Circuit Court of Missouri, while the one dealing with interracial couples could be challenged at Circuit Court of Missouri (Family branch). (III) The argument against the Federal Statute to protect endangered birds would be that the State of Minnesota has not enacted any laws against using the area for construction purposes; the argument against Missouri state statutes would be that the US Constitution (which is the last legally binding documents for US citizens) doesn’t enforce such requirements. (I) Ralph can either lodge his case at Nevada Supreme Court or use the US District Court in Nevada. These two courts have the constitutional powers to hear the litigation instituted by Ralph against Drug-Free Enterprises for breaching the contractual agreement between them (Clarkson et al., 2008). (ii) Addressing the issue of jurisdiction authority, Nevada Supreme Court has the Constitutional authority to hear the case because Drug-Free Enterprises is incorporated in its jurisdiction. With similar reason, the US Constitution has statutes that handle the issue of breach of commercial contracts. And since all states in America are legally bound by the US Constitution (under the jurisdiction of the federal government), hence the US District Court in Nevada can hear this litigation against Drug-Free Enterprises (Clarkson et al., 2008). (iii) In order for Ralph to win this case, his argument must be presented strongly by invoking the statutes of the Federal Government and the state of Nevada that prohibit the act of contract-breaching. Such laws include Section 235 (2) of the Restatement Second of Contracts and comment (b) to Section 235, which states that inability to performance a contractual duty is a breach of the

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Walking to improve your health Essay Example for Free

Walking to improve your health Essay Hi, my name is Peter Dong. Today, I would like to share guys about using mobile phones while driving. I think we all have a cell phone. Before I get started, I would like to ask you guys this question, how many of you use mobile phone while driving? Not long ago, my friend, who lives in CA, had a fatal accident caused by phone while driving. So, I decided to share about you, what are the use of mobile while driving, the causes or problems using it, and how to prevent using mobile while driving. According to National Safety Council Study, about every 26 seconds a crash caused by drivers using phones while driving. What is distracted driving and how cell phones distracted drivers? Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. Distraction occurs any time you take your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind off driving. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each day in the United States, more than 9 people are killed and more than 1060 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver. 2012 Cell Phone and Driving Statistics In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in distraction-related crashes. About 421,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver. In 2012, 11% of drivers under age 20 involved in fatal accidents were reported to be distracted at the time of the crash. One-fourth of teenagers respond to at least one text message every time they drive and 20% of teens and 10% of parents report having multi-message text conversations while driving. How to prevent driving while using cell phones? Cell phone distracted driving has captured the attention of nation’s political leaders and employers and they are taking action: †¢ In December 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that all 50 states and the District of Columbia enact complete bans of all portable electronic devices for all drivers – including banning use of hands-free devices. †¢ While no state yet prohibits all drivers from any cell phone use, as of March 2012, 31 states prohibit teen drivers from any cell phone use,  including handheld and hands-free. †¢ The Federal Government has taken action. President Barack Obama issued an Executive order banning federal employees from texting while driving.16 Rules about employee use of cell phones while driving have been issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Federal Railroad Administration. †¢ A National Safety Council membership survey showed employers of all sizes, sectors and industries are implementing employee policies banning talking and texting while driving. †¢ Public opinion polls show a majority of the public support these efforts.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Research on Job Sites for Graduates

Research on Job Sites for Graduates DATE: March 28th 2017 TO: Wally Kowal FROM: Mohamed Abdi SUBJECT: WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDED JOB SITE FOR RYERSON BUSINESS GRADUATES? In this report, I will be discussing about three major job sites that are available in Canada that can help find a job for Ryerson business graduates. In this report, I will also include an analysis on the major features, the comprehensiveness and ease of use of each job site. By the end I will give you my recommendation on which job site is best option for a Ryerson business graduate to visit in order to find employment. Findings The three major job sites that can help Ryerson business graduates in finding employment are Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor. For each job site, I will be discussing these topics about them: Major Features Ease of use Indeed According to Jarapa (2016), Indeed.com: is one of the worlds biggest and largest job sites on the internet, with over 150 million unique visitors on a monthly basis from over 50 different countries. This companys slogan, One search, all jobs, perfectly encapsulates their unique take on what a job search site should be. Indeed.com differentiates itself from other in the field by only listings job posted on their own site but also jobs posted on countless other sources as well. Major Features Indeed, contains several features that assist this job site in being recognized as being one of, if not the best job site in the world. One of major features that Indeed has is it salary calculator. Indeed.com salary calculator allows to view the average salary for any particular job position you are looking for (Jarapa, 2016). Another feature that Indeed has is it intuitive keyword tool (Jarapa, 2016). Indeed, has the best keyword search tools for job searching because it can effectively customize how the search is carried out, which is far more intuitive than just ticking off a number of criteria boxes (Jarapa, 2016). Another feature is the search engine on Indeed. Indeed searches for jobs that are listed on job boards, newspaper sites and also niche sites (Boswell, 2017). Through these searches which Indeed conduct it is then posted on to their website. Indeeds search engine collects numerous jobs that are listed and they are all from different industries. Here is a table I created based off of Indeeds latest employment trends from February 2017: (Indeed, 2017) Based off this table, the industries of accounting, information technology, financial services and banking, real estate, human resources, retail, and hospitality accumulate a total of 128,704 number of job postings. With this total of job postings Ryerson business graduates have a variety of jobs to choose to from. Another feature is Where are the jobs feature. This feature is very special because it can take you to a map of Canada that shows you the many job postings in Canada(Boswell, 2017). Indeeds interactive map allows users to zoom into there area of choice to get a closer look of where there of employment could possibly be as well as whether that environment is best use for them. Ease of Use Although Indeed.com has a large database of job postings from numerous sources, obtaining the information that you need is easy (Jarapa, 2016). To start off, indeeds homepage is similar to Googles or Bings homepage where users simply search for the position that they are looking for. The layout of the homepage brings ease to users eyes as well as comprehending this job site doesnt take too much time or effort to learn. Thanks to Indeeds simplistic display users, and specifically Ryerson business graduates can find any job they are looking for with ease. LinkedIn According to Duffy (2015), LinkedIn is the most important cross-industry professional network around. LinkedIn is recognized as the number one social network for developing a professional network for your career (Duffy, 2015). Thanks to that anyone that is 20 years old and plus with career goals in mind should have a LinkedIn account, and if not they should make one. Major Features LinkedIn allows users to create free accounts to build a professional profile. LinkedIn is a social networking site like Facebook and Twitter. However, LinkedIn works to help its user build a professional network. Creating a professional profile, can help Ryerson business graduates gain the attention of employers because employers will be able to see their profiles and visit them. Users can connect with colleagues (Duffy, 2015). By connecting with colleagues through LinkedIn, business graduates can expand their network, and hope to get a job. Connecting with colleagues is an innovative way to connect with the industries, the bosses of your colleagues, and with colleagues associates. By expanding your network from connecting to yours colleagues your chances of finding employment increase further. LinkedIn also has networking feature. Just as Reviews (2016) stated, networking is LinkedIns core competency, and their superb execution on that feature trumps shortcomings in other traditional features you might find in other job sites. Thanks to its excellent networking feature users can develop a strong network to HR representatives (Reviews, 2016). By searching for any HR manager from different companies, users can reach out to them and build and good relationship which could benefit that user to find employment. Ease of use As I stated before, LinkedIn is a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter. Well this relates to how Ryerson business graduates will find ease when using LinkedIn to find jobs. Ryerson business graduates will find ease and will be able to comprehend LinkedIn fast because it works similarly like social network applications. This generation of business graduates are probably users of other social network application, such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Although each of these applications are used for different purpose, they are share a common goal for their consumers. That is that they are there to help users interact and socialize with people and LinkedIn is the exact same. LinkedIn is there to help users build a profile where they can interact with other and build a strong network of colleagues. Glassdoor Glassdoor is the final job search sites that I will be discussing in this report. Glassdoor is a distinctly different kind of job site because it has an innovative inside look at companies hiring practices and culture which sets them apart from both LinkedIn and Indeed (Review, 2016). For job seekers, Glassdoor is a useful tool when you want to narrow down the job you are looking for. Nevertheless, it is still a very useful job site for anyone looking for employment. Major Features Glassdoor has an inside scope on job positions and the company, (Reviews, 2016). Employees and former employees of numerous companies give anonymous ratings and reviews about the companies they have worked or are working for. These reviews are divided into categories which based on companies culture and values, work-life balance, compensation and benefits, senior management and career opportunities (Reviews, 2016). Glassdoor also has an interview questions section. These interview questions were collected from numerous companies, and are an aid for potential new hires to help them nail the interview. The interview questions section is a goldmine of information for job seekers (Doyle, 2016). They also include sample answers to questions to assist interviewees to gain confidence and a bit of understanding of what the employer is looking for. Glassdoor has a top-notch salary and compensation information. Glassdoors salary information ensures that not only employers know much the job pays. Thanks to employees posting salary information about different positions in various companies this tool is very beneficial to younger workers. Ryerson business graduates want to get paid a good amount for their hard work when studying and also, they can possibly negotiate salary cap when the interview time comes too. Ease of Use Using Glassdoors website is pretty simple to comprehend. A majority of Ryerson business graduates have visited job search sites before so using Glassdoor will be easy. From the homepage, you are greeted by a search bar, which lets you search for jobs, companies, reviews, salaries, and interview questions (Jarapa, 2016). When the search results come, you refine the results by using the filter on the site to find the current jobs available and review of them (Jarapa, 2016). Conclusion/Recommendations Therefore, I believe that the best chose for Ryerson business graduates to use to find a job is Indeed. Indeed, is most appropriate and effective option to find employment is because Indeed offers a large landscape of job opportunities for people, specifically university graduates. University students, regardless of them being graduates do not know what they want be completely. Indeed, offers a variety of business jobs for Ryerson business graduates to choose from. I recommend Indeed.com as the best site for Ryerson business graduates. References Boswell, W. (2017, March 6). Find a Job with Indeed. Lifewire. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from https://www.lifewire.com/use-indeed-to-search-jobs-3482016 Doyle, A. (2016, October 19.). Glassdoor.com Salaries, Reviews and Jobs. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/glassdoor-com-salaries-reviews-and-jobs-2060040 Duffy, J. (2015, December 16.) LinkedIn. PC Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2017 from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2120736,00.asp Glassdoor Reviews. (2015, November 16.) Reviews.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from www.reviews.com/job-sites/glassdoor/ Indeed. (2017, February). CA Industry Employment Trends. Indeed. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://ca.indeed.com/jobtrends/industry Indeed.com Reviews. (2016, December 6.) Reviews.com Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.reviews.com/job-sites/indeedcom/ Indeed. (2017, February). CA Industry Employment Trends. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://ca.indeed.com/jobtrends/industry Jarapa, J. (2016, August 8). Glassdoor Review 2016 | Pros, Cons More. Comparakeet.com. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.comparakeet.com/best-job-search-sites/glassdoor-review/ Jarapa, J. (2016, August 10.) Indeed.com Review 2016 | Pros, Cons More. Comparakeet.com Retrieved March 25, 2017, from http://www.comparakeet.com/best-job-search-sites/indeed-com-review/ LinkedIn Reviews. (2015, November 15.) Reviews.com Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.reviews.com/job-sites/linkedin/

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Culture :: essays papers

Culture The people of Aruba come primarily from European, African, and Latin American countries and the culture of the island reflects these varied backgrounds. The language, food, religion, and celebrations on Aruba are composed of a healthy mix of these countries. Aruba is closely tied to Holland because of its long occupation and present partnership in the Netherlands kingdom. The official language is Dutch, which is seen on the street signs, official documents, and many local newspapers. However, many aspects of Aruba’s culture reveal strong influences of contributing cultures, such as the common language Papiamento. Papiamento dates back to the sixteenth century, as a means for African slaves to communicate with their owners. Papiamento reflects the mentality and culture of the many peoples who have inhabited the region, including the Arawak and Carib Indians, African slaves, South American traders, Spanish conquers, Dutch merchants, Portuguese missionaries, and French and English settlers. While grammar is basic, many non-Arubans find its syntax and intonation challenging. Much of Papiamento has been handed down verbally from generation to generation. Its proverbs contain a simply stated wealth of philosophy and insight. Through humor and metaphor, utilizing food, animals, and objects from everyday life, Papiamento lends universal guidance and wisdom. Some popular phrases are â€Å"Bon Dia† for good morning, and â€Å"Masha Danki† for thank you. Aruban food is simple in preparation and taste. Mostly grilled without a lot of grease or spice, chicken, fish and vegetables are often accompanied by local vegetables such as corn, broccoli, potatoes or rice. Johnnycakes are fried biscuits prepared with slat fish (bacalaw) from Canada and Norway, which are popular in Aruba. Also popular are stews of beef, chicken, and goat, with ingredients of a cucumber called concomber and rice with black beans. Stuffed cheese, called keeshi yena, is a traditional Aruban dish dating back to the days of the Dutch West India Company. It was originally made by hollowing out the round Dutch cheeses and stuffing them with a mixture of chicken, vegetables, and spices. More modern recipes include raisins, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, olives, capers, and gherkins, and beef, fish or shrimp is sometimes used in lieu of chicken. Often eaten in place of bread is a cornmeal pudding similar to polenta. Slaves brought this recipe to the Caribbean from Wes t Africa. Culture :: essays papers Culture The people of Aruba come primarily from European, African, and Latin American countries and the culture of the island reflects these varied backgrounds. The language, food, religion, and celebrations on Aruba are composed of a healthy mix of these countries. Aruba is closely tied to Holland because of its long occupation and present partnership in the Netherlands kingdom. The official language is Dutch, which is seen on the street signs, official documents, and many local newspapers. However, many aspects of Aruba’s culture reveal strong influences of contributing cultures, such as the common language Papiamento. Papiamento dates back to the sixteenth century, as a means for African slaves to communicate with their owners. Papiamento reflects the mentality and culture of the many peoples who have inhabited the region, including the Arawak and Carib Indians, African slaves, South American traders, Spanish conquers, Dutch merchants, Portuguese missionaries, and French and English settlers. While grammar is basic, many non-Arubans find its syntax and intonation challenging. Much of Papiamento has been handed down verbally from generation to generation. Its proverbs contain a simply stated wealth of philosophy and insight. Through humor and metaphor, utilizing food, animals, and objects from everyday life, Papiamento lends universal guidance and wisdom. Some popular phrases are â€Å"Bon Dia† for good morning, and â€Å"Masha Danki† for thank you. Aruban food is simple in preparation and taste. Mostly grilled without a lot of grease or spice, chicken, fish and vegetables are often accompanied by local vegetables such as corn, broccoli, potatoes or rice. Johnnycakes are fried biscuits prepared with slat fish (bacalaw) from Canada and Norway, which are popular in Aruba. Also popular are stews of beef, chicken, and goat, with ingredients of a cucumber called concomber and rice with black beans. Stuffed cheese, called keeshi yena, is a traditional Aruban dish dating back to the days of the Dutch West India Company. It was originally made by hollowing out the round Dutch cheeses and stuffing them with a mixture of chicken, vegetables, and spices. More modern recipes include raisins, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, olives, capers, and gherkins, and beef, fish or shrimp is sometimes used in lieu of chicken. Often eaten in place of bread is a cornmeal pudding similar to polenta. Slaves brought this recipe to the Caribbean from Wes t Africa.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Types of ownership Both Cadburys and Sainsburys and plc’s (public :: Business and Management Studies

Types of ownership Both Cadburys and Sainsbury's and plc’s (public limited companies). Company registered as a plc under t Types of ownership Both Cadburys and Sainsbury's and plc’s (public limited companies). Company registered as a plc under the provisions of the Companies Act 1980. The company’s name must carry the words ‘public limited company’ or initials ‘plc’ and must have authorized share capital over  £50,000, with  £12,500 paid up – paid to the company by the shareholders. Plc’s may offer shares to the public and are more tightly regulated than limited companies. Converting a private limited company into a public one has advantages, such as the ability to raise share capital. However, it does have potential disadvantages, such as being subject to the scrutiny of the financial media and city analysts (the company’s financial records must be available for any member of the public to scrutinize). If the founder of a plc perceives the company share price to undervalue the company they may take the company private once more, as Richard Branson did with Virgin in 1989.Selling shares means that you can raise money quickly. A disadvantage of selling shares is that it is very expensive. Limited companies are owned by shareholders. These are people who own shares in the company. Shares are the parts into which the value of the company is divided. So if a business is valued at  £100 million and there are 200 million shares, each share will be worth 50 pence. All shareholders have limited liability. They are only liable for the amount they have put into the business. If a company closes down, shareholders can only lose the money they have invested. They will not be liable for anything else. Limited companies are owned by their shareholders. Large limited Types of ownership Both Cadburys and Sainsbury's and plc’s (public :: Business and Management Studies Types of ownership Both Cadburys and Sainsbury's and plc’s (public limited companies). Company registered as a plc under t Types of ownership Both Cadburys and Sainsbury's and plc’s (public limited companies). Company registered as a plc under the provisions of the Companies Act 1980. The company’s name must carry the words ‘public limited company’ or initials ‘plc’ and must have authorized share capital over  £50,000, with  £12,500 paid up – paid to the company by the shareholders. Plc’s may offer shares to the public and are more tightly regulated than limited companies. Converting a private limited company into a public one has advantages, such as the ability to raise share capital. However, it does have potential disadvantages, such as being subject to the scrutiny of the financial media and city analysts (the company’s financial records must be available for any member of the public to scrutinize). If the founder of a plc perceives the company share price to undervalue the company they may take the company private once more, as Richard Branson did with Virgin in 1989.Selling shares means that you can raise money quickly. A disadvantage of selling shares is that it is very expensive. Limited companies are owned by shareholders. These are people who own shares in the company. Shares are the parts into which the value of the company is divided. So if a business is valued at  £100 million and there are 200 million shares, each share will be worth 50 pence. All shareholders have limited liability. They are only liable for the amount they have put into the business. If a company closes down, shareholders can only lose the money they have invested. They will not be liable for anything else. Limited companies are owned by their shareholders. Large limited

Pros and Cons of the Mandatory Seatbelt Law Essay -- Pro Con Essays

An enormous division currently exists between the people who believe that automobile safety should be an option and those that feel it must be a requirement. The federal government feels the morally obligated to create the safest driving environment possible. On the other end of the spectrum, opinions exist that the average driver has ability to make the choice of safety on their own. Editorials, political assemblies, debates, and conversations have arrived on the concept of click it or ticket. This idea refers to ticketing any motor vehicle driver and passenger that is not fastened by a seat belt. Arguments have been made for both sides, and have been reviewed in multiple states. One particular article has been written, by Dr. Walter E. Williams, that discussed the negatives of click it or ticket, and has actually demoralized this idea (Williams 2003). The article is properly titled 'Click It or Ticket', and was written in the fall of 2004. His educated opinions reflect one side of the controversial argument; however also contain bias statistics and opinionated logic. Dr. Williams has researched the programs purpose and actions and feels strongly against the policy (Williams 2003). His motive of convincing readers to side with him exists in his tone of rebellion, astonishment, and confusion. His argument lies on the basis of opinion and not practicality. On the other hand, his reasons are just and well-explained, and therefore make for a liable argument. Dr. Williams provides statistics, facts, and general observations to collectively explain his view of the click it or ticket policy (Williams 2003). The first area of Dr. Williams? argument focuses on government responsibility, rights, and laws (Williams 2003). His ge... ...ay of laws and reasonable policy. Dr. Williams is obviously an individual of knowledge and pride, however, his education may not provide the key his views of positive policy. Instead of viewing the governments? attempt at safety as a negative authority, he should reflect on the physical benefits instead of the intangible conflicts. Therefore, the ?Click It or Ticket? article described one way of viewing a current law of governing safety. Dr. Williams clearly disagrees, but an audience should generally view the attempt at safety as the proper acts of government as opposed to the negative. Safety is a necessity for a civil society, and click it or ticket laws allow for a safer than nothing transportation situation. This should be appreciated and will eventually quiet all critics by accurate statistics of saved lives while maintaining a reasonable spending platform.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 29

â€Å"Elena!† Something was bothering her. â€Å"Elena!† Please, no more pain. She couldn't feel it right now, but she could remember†¦oh, no more fighting for air†¦ â€Å"Elena!† No†¦just let it be. Mentally, Elena pushed away the thing that bothered her ears and her head. â€Å"Elena, please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  All she wanted was sleep. Forever. â€Å"Damn you,Shinichi!† Damon had picked up the snow globe with the miniature forest when Shinichi found Elena's smudged glow radiating from it. Inside it, dozens of spruce, hickory, pine, and other trees grew – all from a perfectly transparent inner membrane. A miniature person – given that someone could be miniaturized and placed into such a globe, would see trees ahead, trees behind, trees in every direction – and could walk a straight line and come back to their starting point no matter which way they went. â€Å"It's an amusement,† Shinichi had said sullenly, watching him intently from under his lashes. â€Å"A toy, for children, usually. A play-trap.† â€Å"And you findthis amusing?† Damon had smashed the globe against the driftwood coffee table in the exquisite cabin which was Shinichi's secret hideout. That was when he had discovered why these were games for children – the globe was unbreakable. After that Damon had taken a moment – just one moment – to get hold of himself. Elena had perhaps seconds to live. He needed to be precise with his words. After that single moment, a long flow of words had spilled out from his lips, mostly in English, and mostly without unnecessary curses or even insults. He didn't care about insulting Shinichi. He had simply threatened – no, he hadsworn – to carry out on Shinichi the kind of violence that he had seen sometimes in a long life filled with humans and vampires with skewed imaginations. Eventually, it had gotten through to Shinichi that he was serious, and Damon had found himself inside the globe with a drenched Elena in front of him. She was lying at his feet, and she was worse off than his worst fears had allowed him to picture. She had a dislocated right arm with multiple fractures and a hideously shattered left tibia. Horrified as he had been to imagine her staggering through the forest of the globe, blood streaming from her right arm from shoulder to elbow, left leg dragging behind her like a wounded animal's, this was worse. Her hair had been soaking with sweat and mud, straggling over her face. And she'd been out of her mind, literally, delirious, talking to people who weren't there. And she was turning blue. She had been able to snap exactly one creeper with all her effort. Damon clawed up huge armfuls of them, ripping them from the earth viciously if they tried to fight or wrap around his wrists. Elena gasped in one deep breath just as suffocation would have killed her, but she didn't regain consciousness. And she wasn't the Elena he remembered. When he'd picked her up, he'd felt no resistance, no acceptance, nothing. She didn't know him. She was delirious with fever, exhaustion, and pain, but in one moment of half-consciousness had kissed his hand through her damp, disheveled hair, whispering â€Å"Matt†¦Find†¦Matt.† She didn't know who he was – she scarcely knew whoshe was, but her concern was for her friend. The kiss had gone through his hand and up his arm like the touch of a branding iron, and since then he'd been monitoring her mind, trying to divert the agony she was feeling away – away anywhere – into the night – into himself. He turned back to Shinichi and, in a voice like an icy wind, said, â€Å"You'd better have a way to cure all her wounds – now.† The charming cabin was surrounded by the same evergreens, hickory, and pines as grew in the snow globe. The fire burned violet and green as Shinichi poked it. â€Å"This water is just about ready to boil. Make her drink tea made with this.† He handed Damon a blackened flagon – once beautiful chased silver; now a battered remnant of what it had been – and a teapot with some broken leaves and other unsavory-looking things at the bottom. â€Å"Make sure she drinks a good three quarters of a cup, and she'll fall asleep and wake up almost as good as new.† He dug an elbow into Damon's ribs. â€Å"Or you can just let her have a few sips – heal her partway, and then let her know it's in your power to give her more†¦or not. You know†¦depending on how cooperative she is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Damon remained silent and turned away. If I have to look at him, he thought, I'll kill him. And I might need him again. â€Å"And if you really want to accelerate the healing, add some of your blood. Some people like to do it that way,† Shinichi added, his voice picking up speed with excitement again. â€Å"See how much pain a human can take, you know, and then when they're dying, you can just feed them tea and blood and start over†¦if they remember you from last time – which they hardly ever do; they'll usually go through more pain just to get a chance to fight you†¦,† he giggled, and Damon thought he sounded not quite sane. But when he had suddenly turned to Shinichi, he had to hold himself very still inside. Shinichi had become a blazing, glowing, outline of himself, with tongues of light lapping from his projection, rather like close-up solar flares. Damon was nearly blinded, and knew he was meant to be. He clutched the silver flagon as if he were holding on to his own sanity. Maybe he was. He had a blank space in his mind – and then there were suddenly memories of trying to find Elena†¦or Shinichi. Because Elena had abruptly been absent from his company, and it could only be the fault of the kitsune. â€Å"There's a modern bathroom here?† Damon asked Shinichi. â€Å"There's whatever you want; just decide before you open a door and unlock it with this key. And now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Shinichi stretched, his golden eyes half shut. He ran a languid hand through his shiny black hair tipped with flame. â€Å"Now, I think I'll go sleep under a bush.† â€Å"Is that all you ever do?† Damon made no attempt to keep the biting sarcasm out of his voice. â€Å"And have fun with Misao. And fight. And go to the tournaments. They – well, you'll have to come and see one for yourself.† â€Å"I don't care to go anywhere.† Damon didn't want to know what this fox and his sister considered fun. Shinichi reached out and took the miniature cauldron full of boiling water off the fire. He poured the boiling water over the collection of tree bark, leaves, and other detritus in the battered metal teapot. â€Å"Why don't you go find a bushnow ?† Damon said – and it wasn't a suggestion. He'd had enough of the fox, who had served his purpose now anyway, and he didn't care a bit about whatever mischief Shinichi might make for other people. All he wanted was to be alone – with Elena. â€Å"Remember; get her to drink it all if you want to keep her for a while. She's pretty much unsalvageable without it.† Shinichi poured through a fine sieve the infusion of dark green tea. â€Å"Better try before she wakes up.† â€Å"Will you justget out of here ?† When Shinichi stepped through the dimensional crack, taking care to turn just the right way so as to reach the real world, and not some other globe, he was steaming. He wanted to go back and thrash Damon within an inch of his life. He wanted to activate the malach inside Damon and cause him to†¦well, of course, notquite kill sweet Elena. She was a blossom with nectar untasted, and Shinichi was in no hurry to see her buried underground. But as for the rest of the idea†¦yes, he decided. Now he knew what he would do. It would be simply delicious to watch Damon and Elena make up, and then, during the Moonspire Festival tonight, to bring back the monster. He could let Damon go on believing they were â€Å"allies,† and then, in the middle of their little spree – let the possessed Damon loose. Show that he, Shinichi, had been in control all along. He would punish Elena in ways she had never dreamed about and she would die in delicious agony†¦at Damon's hand. Shinichi's tails quivered a little ecstatically at the thought. But for now, let them laugh and joke together. Revenge only ripened with time, and Damon was really quite difficult to control when he was raging. It hurt to admit that, just as his tail – the physical one in the center – hurt from Damon's abominable cruelty to animals. When Damon was in a passion it took every ounce of Shinichi's concentration to control him. But at Moonspire Damon would be calm, would be placid. He'd be pleased with himself, as he and Elena would undoubtedly have laid some absurd plot to try to stop Shinichi. Thatwould be when the fun would begin. Elena would make a beautiful slave while she lasted. With the kitsune gone, Damon felt that he could behave more naturally. Keeping a firm grasp on Elena's mind, he picked up the cup. He tried a sip of the mixture himself before trying it on her and found it tasted just slightly less nauseating than it smelled. However, Elena really had no choice, she could not do anything of her own volition, and little by little, the mixture went down. And then a dose of his blood went down. Again, Elena was unconscious and had no choice in the matter. And then she'd gone to sleep by herself. Damon paced restlessly. He had a memory that was more like a dream floating around in his head. It was of Elena trying to throw herself out of a Ferrari going about 100 kilometers an hour, to get away from – what? Him? Why? Not, in any case, the best of beginnings. But that wasall he could remember! Damn it! Whatever came right before it was a total blank. Had he hurt Stefan? No, Stefan was gone. It had been the other boy with her, Mutt.What had happened? Damn it tohell ! He had to figure out what had happened so he could explain it all to Elena when she woke up. He wanted her to believe him, to trust him. He didn't want Elena as a one-night bleeder. He wanted her tochoose him. He wanted her to see how much better suited she was to him than to his mousy, milksop brother. His princess of darkness. That was what she wasmeant to be. With him as king, consort, whatever she wished. When she saw things more clearly, she would understand that it didn't matter. That nothing mattered except them being together. He viewed her body, veiled under the sheet, with dispassion – no, with positiveguilt .Dio mio – what if he hadn't found her? He couldn't get the picture out of his mind of how she'd looked, stumbling forward like that†¦lying there breathless†¦kissing his hand†¦ Damon sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why had she been in the Ferrari with him? She'd been angry – no, not angry. Furious was closer but so frightened†¦ofhim . He could picture that clearly now, the moment of her throwing herself out of the speeding car, but he couldn't remember anything before it. Was he going out of his mind? What had been done to her? No†¦Damon forced his thoughts away from the easy question and made himself ask thereal question. What hadhe done to her? Elena's eyes, blue with golden flecks, like lapis lazuli, were easy to read even without telepathy. What had†¦he†¦done to her that was so frightening that she would jump out of a speeding car to get away from him? He'd been taunting the fair-haired boy. Mutt†¦Gnat†¦whatever. The three of them had been together, and he and Elena had been†¦damn! From there to his awakening at the steering wheel of the Ferrari, all was a shimmering blank. He could remember saving Bonnie at Caroline's house; he could remember being late for his 4:44A.M . meeting with Stefan; but after that, things began to fragment.Shinichi , maledicalo! That fox! He knew more about this than he was telling Damon. I have always†¦been stronger†¦than my enemies, he thought. I have always†¦remained†¦in†¦control. He heard a slight sound and was by Elena in an instant. Her blue eyes were shut, but the lashes were fluttering. Was she waking up? He made himself turn down the sheet by her shoulder. Shinichi had been right. There was a lot of dried blood, but he could sense that the blood flow itself was more normal. But there was something horribly wrong†¦no, he wouldn't believe it. Damon barely kept himself from screaming in frustration. The damn fox had left her with a dislocated shoulder. Things were definitely not going well for him today. Now what? Call for Shinichi? Never. He felt he couldn't look at the fox again tonight without wanting to murder him. He was going to have to put her shoulder back in the socket alone. It was a procedure usually only attempted by two people, but what could he do? Still keeping Elena in an iron mind-grip, making sure shecouldn't awaken, he grasped her by the arm and began the painful business of dislocating the humerus even farther, pulling the bone away so that he could finally release pressure and hear the sweetpop that meant that the long arm bone had slipped back into the socket. Then he let go. Elena's head was tossing from side to side, her lips parched. He poured some more of Shinichi's magical bone-knitting tea into the battered cup, then lifted her head gently from the left side to put the cup to her lips. He let her mind have some freedom, then, and she started to lift her right hand and then dropped it. He sighed and tilted her head, tipping the silver flagon so that the tea trickled into her mouth. She swallowed obediently. It all reminded him of Bonnie†¦but Bonnie hadn't been so terribly hurt. Damon knew he couldn't return Elena to her friends in this condition; not with her camisole and jeans shredded, and dried blood everywhere. Maybe he could do something about that. He went to the second door off the bedroom, thought, bathroom – modern bathroom, and unlocked and opened the door. It was exactly what he'd imagined: a pristine, white, sanitary place with a large heap of towels piled, ready for guests, on the bathtub. Damon ran warm water over one of the washcloths. He knew better by now than to strip Elena and dump her in warm water. It was what she needed, but if anyone ever found out, her friends would have his beating heart torn out of his chest and staked on a pike. He didn't even have to think about that – he simply knew it. He went back to Elena and began to gently stroke dried blood off her shoulder. She murmured, shaking her head, but he kept it up until the shoulder at least looked normal, exposed as it was by torn cloth. Then he got another washcloth and went to work on her ankle. This was still swollen – she wasn't going to be running away anytime soon. Her tibia, the first of the two bones in the lower leg, had grown properly together again. It was more evidence that Shinichi and theShi no Shi had no need for money, or they could simply put this tea on the market and make a fortune. â€Å"We look at things†¦differently,† Shinichi had said, fixing Damon with those strange golden eyes. â€Å"Money doesn't mean much to us. What does? The deathbed agonies of an old rogue who fears he's going to hell. Watching him sweat, trying to remember encounters he's long forgotten. A baby's first conscious tear of loneliness. The emotions of an unfaithful wife when her husband catches her with her lover. A maiden's†¦well, her first kiss and her first night of discovery. A brother willing to die for his brother. Things like that.† And many other things that couldn't be mentioned in polite company, Damon thought. A lot were about pain. They were emotional leeches, sucking up the feelings of mortals to make up for the emptiness of their own souls. He could feel the sickness inside him again as he tried to imagine – to calculate – the pain Elena must have felt, leaping out of his car. She must have expected an agonizing death – but it was still better than staying with him. This time, before entering the door that had been a white-tiled bathroom, he thought,Kitchen, modern, with plenty of ice packs in the freezer. Nor was he disappointed. He found himself in a strongly masculine kitchen, with chrome appliances and black-and-white tiling. In the freezer: six ice packs. He took three back to Elena and put one around her shoulder, one at her elbow, and one around her ankle. Then he went back into the kitchen's spotless beauty for a glass of ice-cold water. Tired. So tired. Elena felt as if her body were weighted with lead. Every limb†¦every thought†¦lapped in lead. For instance, there was something she was supposed to be doing – or not doing – right now. But she couldn't make the thought come to the surface of her mind. It was too heavy. Everything was too heavy. She couldn't even open her eyes. A scraping sound. Someone was near, on a chair. Then there was liquid coolness on her lips, just a few drops, but it stimulated her to try to hold the cup herself and drink. Oh, delicious water. It tasted better than anything she'd ever had before. Her shoulder hurt terribly, but it was worth the pain to drink and drink – no! The glass was being pulled away. She tried, feebly, to hang onto it, but it was pulled out of her grasp. Then she tried to touch her shoulder, but those gentle, invisible hands wouldn't let her, not until they had washed her own hands with warm water. After that they packed the ice packs around her and wrapped her like a mummy in a sheet. The cold numbed her immediate feelings of pain, although there were other pains, deep inside†¦. It was all too difficult to think about. As the hands removed the ice packs again – she was shivering with cold now – she let herself lapse back into sleep. Damon treated Elena and dozed, treated and dozed. In the perfectly appointed bathroom, he found a tortoiseshell hairbrush and a comb. They looked serviceable. And one thing he knew for certain: Elena's hair had never looked like this in her life – or unlife. He tried to stroke the brush gently through her hair and found that the tangles were much harder to get out than he'd imagined. When he pulled harder on the brush, she moved and murmured in that strange sleep-language of hers. And, finally, it was the hair brushing that did it. Elena, without opening her eyes, reached up and took the brush from his hand and then, when it hit a major tangle, frowned, reached up to grasp a fistful and try to get the brush through it. Damon sympathized. He'd had long hair at times during his centuries of existence – when it couldn't be helped, and though his hair was as naturally fine as Elena's, he knew the frustrated feeling that you were ripping your hair out by the roots. Damon was about to take the brush from her again, when she opened her eyes. â€Å"What – ?† she said, and then she blinked. Damon had tensed, ready to push her into mental blackout if it were necessary. But she didn't even try to hit him with the brush. â€Å"What†¦happened?† What Elena was feeling was clear: she didn't like this. She was unhappy about another awakening with only a vague idea of what had been going on when she slept. As Damon, poised for fight or flight, watched her face, she slowly began to put together what had happened to her. â€Å"Damon?† She gave him that no-holds-barred lapis gaze. It said,Am I being tortured, or treated, or are you just an interested bystander, enjoying somebody's pain while drinking a glass of cognac? â€Å"Theycook with cognac, princess. Theydrink Armagnac. And I don't drink†¦either,† Damon said. He spoiled the entire effect by adding hastily, â€Å"That's not a threat. I swear to you, Stefan left me as your bodyguard.† This was technically true if you considered the facts: Stefan had yelled, â€Å"You'd better make sure nothing happens to Elena, you double-dealing bastard, or I'm going to find a way to come back and rip off your – † The rest had been muffled in the fight, but Damon had gotten the gist. And now he took the assignment seriously. â€Å"Nothing else will hurt you, if you'll allow me to watch over you,† he added, now getting into the area of the fictitious, since whoever had frightened or pulled her out of the car had obviously been around when he had. But nothing would get her in the future, he swore to himself. However he had blundered this last time, from now on there would be no further attacks on Elena Gilbert – or someone would die. He wasn't trying to spy on her thoughts, but as she stared into his eyes for a long moment, they projected with total clarity – and utter mystery – the words: I knew I was right. It was someone else all along. And he knew that under her pain, Elena felt a huge sense of satisfaction. â€Å"I hurt my shoulder.† She reached up with her right hand to grip it, but Damon stopped her. â€Å"You dislocated it,† Damon said. â€Å"It's going to hurt for a while.† â€Å"And my ankle†¦but someone†¦I remember being in the woods and looking up and it wasyou . I couldn't breathe but you tore the creepers off me and you picked me up in your arms†¦.† She looked at Damon in bewilderment. â€Å"Yousaved me?† The statement had the sound of a question, but it wasn't. She was wondering over something that seemed impossible. Then she began to cry. A baby's first conscious tear of loneliness. The emotions of an unfaithful wife when her husband catches her with her lover†¦ And maybe a young girl's weeping when she believes that her enemy has saved her from death. Damon ground his teeth in frustration. The thought that Shinichi might be watching this, feeling Elena's emotions, savoring them†¦it was impossible to bear. Shinichi would give Elena her memory back again, he was certain of that. But at a time and place most amusing to him. â€Å"It was my job,† he said tightly. â€Å"I'd sworn to do it.† â€Å"Thank you,† Elena gasped between her sobs. â€Å"No, please – don't turn away. I really mean it. Ohhh – is there a box of tissues – or anythingdry ?† Her body was heaving with sobs again. The perfect bathroom had a box of tissues. Damon brought it back to Elena. He looked away as she used them, blowing her nose again and again as she sobbed. Here there was no enchanted and enchanting spirit, no grim and sophisticated fighter of evil, no dangerous coquette. There was only a girl broken by pain, gasping like a wounded doe, sobbing like a child. And undoubtedly his brother would know what to say to her. He, Damon, had no idea of what to do – except that he knew he was going to kill for this. Shinichi would learn what it meant to tangle with Damon when Elena was involved. â€Å"How do you feel?† he asked brusquely. No one would be able to say he'd taken advantage of this – no one would be able to say he'd hurt her only to†¦to make use of her. â€Å"You gave me your blood,† Elena said wonderingly, and as he looked quickly down at his rolled-up sleeve, she added, â€Å"No – it's just a feeling I know. When I first – came back to Earth, after the spirit life. Stefan would give me his blood, and eventually I would feel†¦this way. Very warm. A little uncomfortable.† He swung around and looked at her. â€Å"Uncomfortable?† â€Å"Too full – here.† She touched her neck. â€Å"We think it's a symbiotic thing†¦for vampires and humans who live together.† â€Å"For a vampire Changing a human into a vampire, you mean,† he said sharply. â€Å"Except I didn't Change when I was part spirit still. But then – I turned back human.† She hiccupped, tried a pathetic smile, and used the brush again. â€Å"I'd ask you to look at me and see that I haven't Changed, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She made a helpless little motion. Damon sat and imagined what it would have been like, taking care of the spirit-child Elena. It was a tantalizing idea. He said bluntly, â€Å"When you said you were a little uncomfortable before, did you mean thatI should take some of your blood?† She half glanced away, then looked back. â€Å"I told you I was grateful. I told you that I felt†¦too full. I don't know howelse to thank you.† Damon had had centuries of training in discipline or he would have thrown something across the room. It was a situation to make you laugh†¦or weep. She was offering herself to him as thanks for rescue from suffering that he should have saved her from, and had failed. But he was no hero. He wasn't like St. Stefan, to refuse this ultimate of prizes; whatever condition she was in. He wanted her.