Discovery and Meaningful Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discovery and Meaningful Learning - Essay Example The sessions of discovery learning incorporate three key ideas including problem solving, learner management, integrating and connecting (Harari & Legge, 2000, p. 20). Problem solving motivates learners to come up with solutions by generalizing knowledge and pull information together. Learner management allows participants, in small teams, or alone to learn at their own pace in their own ways. Integrating and connecting encourage new knowledge integration into the existing knowledge base of the learner, which helps in connecting to the real world. Meaningful Learning According to Harari and Legge (2000), meaningful learning means that learned knowledge, for instance, a fact becomes fully understood by a person and the person knows how the fact relates to the stored facts in the brain. It is expedient to contrast meaningful learning and rote learning, which is much less desirable, for us to understand the concept. Rote learning involves memorizing something with no full understanding, and one does not know how the relationship between the new information and the stored knowledge. For instance, let us say we learn five facts in a course during a term or a semester through rote learning. The five facts learned have a relationship in real life, but they are stored in memory as separate items. The brain stores the facts as distinct unrelated information that can be recalled individually when a student learns them through rote learning. When the student recalls one of the five facts, he, or she does not recall the other four facts at that moment. This means that when the student thinks of fact A, the thought does not lead him/her to think of fact B-E. We can illustrate this as follows. The facts learned seem to have no relationship between them at all, yet close examination reveals a relationship of the facts. Meaningful learning contrasts with rote learning in that what a student learns, even if they are different facts in a course, he/she can relate as the facts ha ve a relational manner in the storage memory. The brain stores the facts together since they have relationship (Harari & Legge, 2000, p. 37). When the student recalls one of the facts, he or she will also recall the other facts at the same time, or a short time afterwards. This means that recalling fact E, triggers the memory for the other facts, B and D, which in turn leads to the recalling of fact A and C. We refer to this phenomenon as spread of activation. This is what entails meaningful learning. A student who learns by meaningful learning can solve problems in an easier way than the one who learns by rote learning. Thus, we find the value of meaningful learning; a way of learning that relates facts helping one to solve problems related rather than treating problems differently, which have a relationship. The figure below shows how meaningful learning happens. Discovery learning makes sure that the brains of the learners become engaged during all learning times. Thus, this lear ning method, although it accelerates the process of education, it leads to higher retention levels than traditional approaches of learning. There are certain benefits of discovery learning including condensed training

The Black Holes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Black Holes - Research Paper Example In circumstances where the neutron star is extremely large, the 0forces of gravity outweigh the pressure gradient and this leads to a collapse. Such a neutron star collapses and shrinks until it finally turns out into a black hole. On such a scientific basis, this paper seeks to explain the properties, concepts, and space-time phenomena underpinning concept of the black hole formation. There are different types of black holes. The most common ones are; charged, rotating, supermassive, and static (Schwarzschild 150). Importantly, these four types of black holes are made up of the same fundamental elements; the singularity, the photon sphere, and the event horizon. However, the rotating black hole has an ergosphere which is a combination of two photon spheres. An interesting property about a black hole underlies the absorption of light and any other matter. Electromagnetic light once absorbed by a black hole cannot be reflected back. This originates from the most defi ning quality of a black hole which regards its emission of gravitational waves. A black hole emits strong gravitational waves that cause light to bend towards it (Schwarzschild 120). As suggested by Green (145), gravitational waves are disturbances in space-time curvature that are caused by the motion of matter. Being transmitted to a speed close to that of light, gravitational waves do not propagate through space-time. Even though gravitational waves travel straight through matter, the strength associated with them reduces as the distance from the initial source increases. As noted by Hengel (103), most black holes tend to be in a steady spinning motion as a consequence of the gravitational waves. It is this steady motion that absorbs matter and rotates it within the ring (the event zone) that is usually formed around the black hole. Such

Midlife Crisis From Crisis To Positive Transition

Midlife Crisis From Crisis To Positive Transition All human beings have to go across different developmental stages of life from womb to tomb. These human development stages are inevitable, very common in all human beings and are not very surprising things in human life. What it is interesting in these developmental stages is that each stage has uniqueness and there are many things that can be studied while human beings of different times undergo differently in different settings. The stages can be varied based on the social structure, culture and norms: there are environmental factors contributing the human development and developmental stages (Papalia et al., 2009). The transitions in the stages are the most interesting stage because it can lead either to positive or negative consequences. According to Golembiewski (1978), he found out that those who are quite aware of this transition can well adapt with the change, having good adjustment while those who are not aware have negative consequences by the transition. Developmental scientists had explained by applying theories that adulthood transition is the major transitional period where physical and psychological changes can be seen obviously. Midlife crisis is the most common that takes attention when we talk about middle adulthood. Papalia et al. states that changes in personality and lifestyle come together to attribute to the crisis, however, whether or not these changes lead to crisis depends on individuals. Hunter and Sundel (1989) speak out that there are some stereotypes about midlife: social problems occur in this period brought about by those midlife persons, especially men. The following are the stereotypes that they presented in their work: Men at middle age are obsolete at work. They have neither sufficient education nor updated technical training to compete with younger, more educated workers. Men at middle age leave (or at least want to leave) their wives for young women. Hunter and Sundel defend that these stereotypes are just myths about transitional crisis in men. They also came up with theories to proof that. These can not be said as myths alone in some settings because the real cases are showing that these are true. There are some other contributing factors that affect these myths. In this paper, I will try to discuss the contributing factors effecting the midlife transition based on human development. In chapter 2, I will try to explore about the subject for better understanding of the definition of midlife and midlife crisis in middle adulthood. In chapter 3, I will try to discuss the two myths which are commonly conceptualized by the people. I would also discuss contributing factors to these myths. Then, in chapter 4, I will conclude by bringing up the subject to social work practice and discuss what and how as social workers can intervene in this transition so that the transition would be smooth. Chapter 2 Understanding of middle adulthood and midlife crisis Middle adulthood There is no universally agreed period of middle age or middle adulthood. Papalia et al. defines middle adulthood in the book Human Development as the years between 40 and 65 but it is said to be not absolutely exact considering the facts that different peoples perception about middle adulthood varies depending on social, cultural and geographical factors. It is also explained that middle age can be a time for decline and loss but also for mastery and growth for the rest of the life. Middle adulthood/age is not decided by the chronological age but rather on the perception of oneself. Midlife crisis The mid life crisis was regarded as second adolescence and a crisis of identity (Papalia et al., 2009). It does not specifically talk about the stress and problems faced in specific age but the main essence of the midlife is that people in middle adulthood face huge transition period where they can encounter stress and problems (Hunter and Sundel, 1989). It is very interesting that Hunter and Sundal provided two different views in discussing midlife crisis; Crisis View and Transition or Non-Crisis View. They explained that the Crisis View is adopted by the crisis model under which each individual experiences a particular type of crisis at each stage of development in a particular chronological age range (p. 14). In Transition view, it is explained that most major life events are expected according to a timetable largely linked to age such as when one is to marry, raise children and retire (p. 19). It implies that the crisis is not necessarily stressed on midlife but can occur in diff erent stages of development. In many of the literature, it is found that the crisis is mainly stressed in men rather than in women although the transition has impacts on both genders. It could be because of the reasons that men are more focused towards self achievement (Papalia et al). It is also found that men are the major participants of research studies of midlife crisis. When this account is taken into consideration, it is hypnotize that gender roles and the shift of gender identity in this stage might also make men more expressive and more obvious to point out. Hunter and Sundel also discussed that why most studies focus on men could be because of the difference between traditional socialization between the two genders where women are more expressive of their emotions while men are potentially more stressful since they are more self-contained. Chapter 3 Discussion on the two myths 1) Men at middle age are obsolete at work. They have neither sufficient education nor updated technical training to compete with younger, more educated workers. Hunter and Sundel argue that middle age are not obsolete at work but they even get higher satisfaction with their job comparing to younger generations. They claim that there are even more men at middle age who appear to be workaholics and the midlife persons normally hold the managerial levels. However, it would depend on the nature of job and the productivity that the job demands. Considering the facts that job opportunities nowadays are scarcer and more competitive than before, employers and businessmen naturally tend to employ more productive with lower pay. One can not completely claim that the myth is not true but a stereotyping. The advancement of Information Technology is also a spokesperson in this account. It is obvious that younger generations are better than the middle age persons in these days. In the professions related to the advance technology might very possibly favor younger generations. It is true that middle age persons have more life experience in problem solving, taking things under control in a mature way. One can not just claim that the middle age persons are obsolete at work and they can not compete with younger generations. To a certain extent the myth is true. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010) also reported in their survey that unemployment rate in middle adulthood had declined. However, the generatively of middle age persons in this stage should be appreciated. 2) Men at middle age leave (or at least want to leave) their wives for young women. In the discussion of Hunter and Sundel, they argue that marital unfaithfulness is not caused by the transition to middle age but because of poor marriage and unhealthy marriage. According to gender identity shift as explained by Papalia et al., men tend to have intimate relationships in this transition. It is assessed according to Hunter and Sundel that for those men who can not fulfill their needs with within their marriage life because of poor marriage, they tend to leave (or want to leave) their wives to satisfy their needs of intimate relationship with younger women. The personality theories by Erickson, 1902-1994 as cited by Boeree (2006) explains this myth with the seventh stage of the developmental stages which talks about the crisis: Generatively vs Self absorption or Stagnation. This explanation tends to prove that the myth about men wanting to leave their wives for extramarital affairs. In the clarification of this theory done by Boeree, he explains that when people arrives this stage, they sometimes look at their lives and ask themselves about their meaning of life which more often leads men to have affairs. The myth, men leave or want to leave their wives depends on the personality of individuals and other environmental factors such as marriage satisfaction and social norms. Whether or not one successfully overcomes the crisis is an answer. Chapter 4 Conclusion As helping professionals, social workers need to be aware of the situation of midlife crisis and how it can affect individuals and the environment. Hunter and Sundel (as cited in McGill, 1980, p. 267) explained that many men in mid-life experience events which cause them to dramatically and significantly change their personality and behavior. There are challenges and difficulties during the transition of midlife. For men, according to gender role, who are stereotyped to be the responsible persons for the family may find it more stressful in terms of their job security and in struggling with the developmental needs for intimacy. The so called crisis is a real crisis only if someone can not over come the changes occur in the transition. The crisis can be shaped out to be a positive change. Going back to the myths, the myths are to some extent turn out to be true contributed by different factors. If middle age persons can be able to upgrade and adapt themselves with the speeding advancement, they would be less stressful and be able to make the developmental transition out to be positive change. Similarly, if they are aware of their own developmental needs, if they can build up their personality and enhance marital relationship, they would not need to find their intimacy needs outside the marriage. Social workers may take the role of providing self awareness to middle age persons, at the same time can advice continuous learning.

The Downgrading Demise of Love :: English Literature

The Downgrading Demise of Love â€Å"North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street.† (198). Ignorance is a harmful state of mind, which gives a false sense of happiness to those consumed by it. Ignorance does not allow one to mature by experience of actual events. It shelters one’s perception of actual events by giving illusions of hope. It allows the imagination to instill more meaning into an incident, where there is none. In â€Å"Araby,† James Joyce illustrates how the boy overcomes his oblivious state through irony, epiphany, and symbolism. An obvious example found in the story is the immense amount of irony used throughout â€Å"Araby.† The boy has the idea that love is always perfect and the love he holds for Mangan’s sister is perfect. In the real world, however, he has an aunt and uncle that show what love really is like. When his uncle arrives home late to take him to the bazarre, his aunt begins to argue and demand that he give the boy some money to go to the bazarre (989). The boy completely ignores this glimpse at real life. The boy realizes how life is not perfect and that love is full of compromises. He begins his trip to the bazarre and is excited on the train to arrive at this electrifying event. His idea of the bazarre is that it will be a wonderful place that will make Mangan’s sister fall in love with him. However, when he arrives, he witnesses a dark, dismal place with a grim surrounding (990). Through all the irony in his life, he realizes that he is that opposite of what he is trying to be. Perhaps one of the greatest credentials, which illustrate how the boy is oblivious to the world, is that he realizes his ignorance. All throughout the story, there are innuendoes that he is â€Å"missing something.† Some of these hints range from the symbolic blind houses to his own mental absence at the gathering before he finally gets to go to the fair. His proceeding into the dark, half-closed fair, rather than face the truth that he missed it initially, shows he simply â€Å"does not get it.† Then, however, his realization occurs. In a moment of epiphany, the boy is enlightened to how he has missed even the most obvious fact. On his determination to have his life, as he wants it, he does not realize until the epiphany that Mangan’s sister never likes him. The boy becomes conscious to the fact that he has missed his opportunity from the start. The boy sees for himself that he has

The Media: Misinterpretation of reality

The media has a significant influence over the public since it was first established as an institution. Particularly the news media, media has had its influence in setting a nation’s agenda, focusing the attention of people to specified issues as well as shaping the public’s opinion are among the well documented influences rendered by the news media1. Aside from feeding the public information about public affairs, the media do best in its ability to dictate people which issues are supposed to be important. The media does this by placing emphasis on specific issues.In a more concrete setting, newspapers teach readers which issues are to be significantly regarded by placing stories in designated places. Top stories or cover stories are placed to be the most significant issues while other stories placed after it are simply rendered as less important or significant than the front page stories. Newspapers provide a multitude of cues about the salience of the topics in the da ily news rendered in the daily news. For the television scene, the emphases on which stories are supposed to be important are manifested in the length of time devoted to the news story.With the amount of power an institution as the media has, there is to question whether this power is taken advantage of. In the competitive world of news media, gaining readership is a tedious task. With issues on investment returns and the case for readership, there are arising doubts as to whether the news media really feeds people with the essential information or they manipulate the stories to able for readership and even capital gains. In this paper, we shall put focus on evidences that suggest that the news does not reflect reality but obscures it.A look at media sensationalizingOne of the evident manifestations of media’s tendency to obscure reality and true stories lies in its nature of sensationalizing2. This could be drawn from the 2004 elections. According to Mackin, the media experi enced quite frenzy in attempting to stay updated for the election3. Assessing the performance of the media, it did not quite fairly cover the elections well. The media has a tendency to focus on the scandal and personalities involved that it forgets to look and delve into the real issues. This is one of the manifestations that news could obscure true stories. The media has a tendency to just highlight parts of the story without being able to render other sides of the story which may give clearance and understanding to the issue.Essentially there are always more issues needed to be reported on, however, the media has its own biases when it comes to the coverage of a news event or issue. The media fundamentally has two types of biases3. The firs type of bias is when the media does not focus on the more important issues. The second is that the bias which is geared towards objectivity.Media is biased when it comes to veering away from the real issue in way that it does not clarify issue s as intensively as they should be. If accusations are directed, the media does not render to investigate more in the issue. The focus of the media is to present to the public the accusations made and the personalities involved. 2Joyce Milton, The Yellow Kids: Foreign correspondents in the heyday of yellow journalism, Harper & Row, New York, 1989. 3 Mackin, Meaghan, Media sensationalizing 2004 election, 2008.There are occasions where the root cause is not as heavily mentioned as they should. Media tends to sensationalize focusing more on the conflicts created rather than the causes. During the 2004 elections, the media were more focused in bringing the latest on polls, character and appearance of the candidates. They did not bring too much focus on the covering the issues which are supposed to be addressed during elections. The nature of the media to sensationalize issues adheres to the argument that news has a tendency to obscure reality than presenting it as it is. The media in th is case is driven to present issues highlighting on scandals and personalities.Although the institution is driven by the demand reflected upon the people, the essence of what a mass media should in the first place is lost. The media more than presenting the latest public affairs to the people should also be responsible in looking more and analyzing factors underlying the issues. As people demand for the latest headlines come the need to be rightfully informed as well. An individual not rightfully informed would be able to participate rightfully in with the issues at hand.Since the media is the venue where people gather information, the expectation ranges too high with the credibility and truthfulness of the news or information. However, certain cases prove that news portrayed by media were inappropriate to the specific setting it must be relayed. Being a powerful venue to generate feedback and to build opinion through information dissemination and education to the larger scope of th e population, news portrayed by media, in some cases unfortunately bears unfruitful information. Furthermore, news to some extent does not guarantee its veracity and reliability at all time. For instance, such circumstance in untruthful reporting is present to the portrayal of Western mass media to Africa.Being the cradle of human kind, it appeared to achieve its negative height due to news about savagery the people were engaged into. These consequently gave the continent a face which every people worldwide mocked off and defamed. Depicted as â€Å"Dark Continent†, Western people are encouraged to think that nothing good will ever emerged in its soil. Many in the West bought this negative impression due to the misdealing of reportage to the continent and to the African people.According to Iyinbo4, the Western reportage is always directed to the portrayal of Africa as having a single entity discouraging the heterogeneity of tribes and cultures enriching the continent. For inst ance, the depiction of AIDS epidemic (Southern and Eastern Africa); wars, drought and starvation (Central and Eastern Africa); oil disasters (Niger-Delta, Nigeria); Muslim extremist (the North and Horn of Africa); bombings in Kenya and Tanzania (East Africa); â€Å"The Great Migration† (Kenya) all boil down to a continental issue disregarding the specificity of them to different parts of Africa.Although mass media impacts greatly in resolving crises happening in the continent, more issues were put into wrong perspective which apparently discouraged more problem-solving strategies. Under the current dispensation, the consequences of their [mass media] misrepresentation of Africa and Africans are dire: belittling the people, undermining their accomplishments, destroying their self-esteem and heritage. It does also, albeit inadvertently, provide â€Å"arms† to bigots (on all sides). It does not augur well to incense the situation with mis- and disinformation all in the na me of profits or ratings5.4 Iyinbo, O., Misrepresentation of Africans and the role of Western media. The Informed Constituent, 2007.5 Iyinbo, O., 2007.News and Reality 5Moreover, the present connotation to mass media especially in news reporting becomes increasingly negative since many media stations offer only entertainment and gives biased and untruthful news6 (Loud, 2006). This trend defeat the purpose of new reporting as it veers away to the responsible information gathering, interpreting and disseminating. The conflict arises when the most popular news stations claim that they are unbiased and are often times not. As a defence, they tend to reason-out that unbiased reporting is near impossible.Another problem with the news reporting practiced nowadays falls grimly to the misinterpretation of facts by news reporter and personnel. There are some intentional misinterpretations committed by news reporters for the purpose mainly of reporting safe and evading conflict regarding a spe cified issue. This can be best explained on the case of reporting about the pressing and present condition about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).Considering the belaboured scientific research of researchers and scientist to credence AIDS more detailed including its various symptoms and realities, media conveyance tend to discourage such intents. As it is presented and described in a subtle manner, the portrayal of its real grim is avoided to be known by the mass populace.In 2007, a Kaiser survey returned results that showed a mere 15 percent of those polled were personally concerned with becoming HIV positive (a 9 percent drop since 1997). Where once men and women considered AIDS a reputable and serious risk, they now consider the threat to be outside of their realm. This major shift in the perception of the AIDS threat, as many academicians worried, will only exacerbate the problem.6Loud, C., What's Wrong with the Media?, 2006.News and Reality 6It can be argued that this change in perception is directly related to scientific advances in the field. AIDS previously was considered to be a death warrant for anyone who managed to contract HIV in one way or another.However, it is also arguable to say that this change of perceptions is the consequence of the recent depictions of HIV/AIDS in mass media. Media tend to reinforce the idea that the disease can be beaten and would not kill those who contract it. This misinterpreted depiction given the risk and seriousness of incurable HIV/AIDS was manifested in the hit play Angels in America.Although it was turned into an HBO mini-series which was highly-acclaimed, the subject matter greatly failed to educate and inform many on HIV or AIDS. Its timeliness magnificently hit American popular culture in telling accurately the history of AIDS it did not instil any sense of education to the viewer since it only dealt with the idea that   Instead, it human will battle anything—even the physical.Another examp le of romanticized strategy to attack AIDS is when portrayal o the disease came with a major Broadway blockbuster entitled RENT. It only portrayed Bohemian New Yorker in 1980’s that having the expense of AZT (a popular drug which fights HIV’s attack on the body) can make the victim manageable to sing without a sense of real urgency or impending doom. Although it portrayed during the time that AIDS is incurable, the viewers were left with the same massage of hope that the disease played no urgent risk to the populace.   The reality of the disease is downplayed despite it almost being a character unto itself in the film.The more recently examples can be seen in a few commercials and ad campaigns made such resurgence of interest in the AIDS charity. In contextual American popular culture,  throwing a celebrity fighting against AIDS through charity in the news is presumed to be the very best solution to counter AIDS.Even grander campaign bearing the slogan â€Å"If on e of us has AIDS, all of us have it.† or popularly known as the â€Å"We all have AIDS campaign.† gave only an appealing look to the impending death disease. The memorable yet ineffective way of the campaign is viewing the action in a bold statement composed largely of celebrities, politicians and religious leaders.Essential to consider is the fact that AIDS’s portrayal to mass media only resulted to the exploitation of celebrity and commodification of the disease. The misleading market tool manages to earn through the portrayal without the benefit of necessarily spreading awareness or education. Instead of placing a knowledgeable person who is living with the disease in front of the camera, marketers commodify the disease to earn fame and eventually to establish a profitable market. This consequently appeals only to the public to give donation to a random charity disregarding the idea of better information about their own risks or how to protect themselves.Even more blatant commodification is the creation of special garments and gadgets by organized charities/companies just to take the opportunity of selling them while some profit will go to an AIDS charity. Based in the United States, this massive campaign makes the money exclusively reserved for African AIDS causes which shifted the public perception by implying subconsciously that HIV/AIDS is no longer an issue in the US.Since people cited that television is their most immediate and important source for information concerning AIDS (Research Unit for Health and Behavioural Change), a deeper analysis of media messages is important in understanding the sociological impact of AIDS and  advertising as a means of educating. However, AIDS portrayals in advertisements are always misconstrued which leaves the people pretty sitting. It is also pointed out that the bulk of HIV/AIDS advertisements are vague, confusing, prejudiced and manage to perpetuate many misconceptions about AIDS that have t he potential to spread the disease even further. It is due to this lack of true representation that the true cultural meaning of AIDS is pushed out of sight, causing vital health education messages to get lost or become misconstrued in the process.According to Jenny Kitzinger’s work titled â€Å"Audience understandings of AIDS media messages: a discussion of methods†, that the meanings of media messages do not merely lie in just the content of the messages but more likely in the readings different audiences bring to the metaphorical discussion. It is therefore argued that such messages are read based on social context and personal experience.To compensate this shift of public perception regarding the cultural importance of HIV/AIDS, we must change the way it is represented in the media by pointing out that AIDS is much serious than twitchy comedians and house hold celebrity names.References:Joyce Milton, The Yellow Kids: Foreign correspondents in the heyday of yellow j ournalism, Harper ; Row, New York, 1989.Loud, C., What's Wrong with the Media?, 2006, Retrieved 20 April, 2008, .

Reflective Essay on Learning and Motivation Essay

This reflection essay relates to the learning and teaching theories discussed in the course work. The study begins with an overview that presents a narrative of my evolution as a learner. The subsequent sections present a description of motivational attributes of an effective teaching strategy implemented in classroom setting. The study also offers a summary of the strategies that can be adopted in order to make a successful learning experience in college. I attended an educational system where schooling was based on traditional teaching systems. Teaching approaches were similar to the approach of a â€Å"banking model.† The school’s procedure depicted the teachers’ roles as depositing correct information to the learners to a point that it was needed. I began preparing for an end or term exam in my first year in the school by revising material offered to us severally. I did not have any notion why I had to learn the material (Zhang, 2009). Therefore, my life in t he school and my learning experiences were done through â€Å"rote learning.† The school system made emphasis on performance objectives over learning goals. During my third week in the school, I encountered an experience that changed my approach and motivation to learning. The experience came about after and encountered with my third year English 101 tutor, Mr. Rickie. He was very smart he had a good grounding on issues of English and career advice. His past engagements in learning and curriculum development allowed me to be consistent and relevant to learning motivation. The year was marked by class members taking the class as passive and engaged in class games instead of concentrating during class sessions (Zhang, 2009). The fourteenth week of the class people started seeing the sense of paying attention during class sessions, and we started enjoying French. The students’ attitude to the class took a different turn due to the measures he took to change the learning atmosphere. First, Mr. Rickie made the class lively through â€Å"activity setting† on Wednesday classes. The students were separated into manageable groups of five each. Students from each group were dressed to fit the roles assigned to their respective groups. The class als o created these situations as role-plays. In subsequent week, Mr. Rickie asked us about our goals as well as professions we dreamt to pursue after our education. For instance, my group took the assignment of having meetings with professionals. The day the group took to play a role, I opted to play a  lawyer. My group had prepared to meet within a restaurant and conversations were to be in English. Teachers who use such an approach consider teachers and students as co-constructors of knowledge through meaningful ways. The approach to learning considers the environment as well as role of peers in through interactions of questioning, interpreting, and listening to others’ ideas. Teachers using the learning strategy take into consideration students’ different understanding levels and diverse learning styles in eliciting ideas (Benson, 2008). The process through which students embraces opportunities of generating various ideas and clarifying their own enables reflection on provisions of fellow students. The past academic year presented me with an opportunity to address a graduate level course in Radford University. I observed a critical difference among the students through implementing diverse teaching styles. The goal of making thing classroom more interactive and motivated is a topic of discussion where groups review materials covered. In conclusion, my illustration of effective teaching strategies includes contributions and roles of teachers facilitating and co-constructing knowledge (Benson, 2008). The ultimate learning motivation includes active inclusion of students in course activities. Classrooms that embrace effective teaching strategies uphold the principles of diverse learning styles and the realization that students encounter differences in their levels of understanding.

Tips for Graduate School Purpose Statements

Tips for Graduate School Purpose Statements Now that we have reached the end of my admissions essay website, I would like to take this opportunity to offer some final tips to those of you about to embark upon the purpose statement writing process. The following information I am about to advise has helped me to write several quality graduate school purpose statements as well as many other college papers. With that in mind, I hope that they will do the same for you. Some of the most important things to remember when writing any composition are quite often the easiest to forget. Keeping your self hydrated and well rested, for example, are two very important writing rules of thumb that many people disregard as unnecessary. If you are gearing up to write your essay, do yourself a favor and make sure to get lots of rest and to drink lots of water before getting started. Making sure that you are both mentally and physically prepared for the work is an important factor when writing a successful composition. Another thing to remember when writing your graduate school purpose statement is not to be too hard on yourself. The process of writing your admissions essay is a lengthy one; you are going to have good days and you are going to have bad days. That is why it is important to be good to yourself. If you are having a bad day and feel as though everything you write is wrong, take a break for a while. Or do something creative with your time. Writing your graduate school purpose statement isnt supposed to be fun, but it isnt supposed to be excruciating either! If you would like help in writing your purpose statement or if you would like some general information on graduate school purpose statements, please dont hesitate to access the link provided. You can also feel free to contact me directly as I would love to assist you.

IMPACT OF MISSIONARY ZEAL essays

IMPACT OF MISSIONARY ZEAL essays Religious beliefs and the zeal of Missionaries and Preachers had an undeniable influence on Americas history since the first explorers set foot on this continents shores. Religious was used as a tool to justify individual goals and to provide society with the justification for slavery. Slavery provided great economic gain to the south and religion was manipulated to allow southerners to ease their conscience. Literature of the time particularly the work of Uncle Toms Cabin brought the distortion of Christian teachings to light; giving voice to the inconsistencies and inequities of the slave system compared Biblical teachings. Impact of Missionary Zeal on American History The North American continent was first occupied by missionaries from Spain, France and England; their quest for new lands and riches was the driving force behind the missionaries and the countries that sent them. Religious conversion of native peoples was a pretext used by the missionaries to justify their coming to the new land. The early colonization by the Spanish and the French had two goals. The first goal was riches and their second goal was actually a goal of the Catholic Church. This goal was to Christianize the natives. While few natives genuinely accept Christianity, missionaries set up numerous churches and missions. Through the church and the Christianization of the natives each country hoped to gain control over the labor of the natives and the resources of the area. Early Europeans had very similar motives, the desire for new lands, riches and control; although Europeans such as the British, Dutch and Germans had religious freedom to gain by the move to the new continent. The Puritans were a group of religious reformers who left England in the middle 1600s; they shared a common Calvinist theology and were highly critical of the Church of England and English society and government. In coming to America they ...

A Google Executive Shares Her Best Advice for Young People

A Google Executive Shares Her Best Advice for Young People Ivy Ross is a tech executive heading up Google’s top-secret wearables division, but she didn’t follow what you might consider a traditional path to get there. She’s been a jewelry designer, with her work appearing in some of the world’s best museums, and she has worked at multiple companies- including both Mattel and Gap Inc.  When she gave a recent Commencement Address at FIT (the Fashion Institute of Technology), Ross explained how it was because of and not in spite of her unorthodox career path that she gained the success and fulfillment she currently enjoys.Here is her best advice for young people  just starting out.Ignore Your EgoAfter Ross’s jewelry designs hit their 12th  major museum and she’d won the De Beers Diamonds International Award, Ross realized her heart just wasn’t in it like it used to be. She’d worked so hard to achieve the kind of recognition she was receiving, but now that she’d attained the hi ghest heights- accomplishments any designer would spend an entire lifetime working towards- she had nowhere else to push herself.Having her ego’s biggest desires met helped Ross to let go of those desires to try and see what other desires lay beneath them. And she found she gained a lot more satisfaction turning her talents to team work and the joy of creating things collaboratively with others.Stop Planning Too Far OutPlans are always necessary in some form or another. But the ubiquitous 5-year plan that everyone insists upon? Ross says ditch it. Could she possibly have predicted 5 years ago, for example, that she’d be spearheading a secret Google project? Of course not. Would she have been too restricted to try had she laid out a stringent 5-year plan in another field? Probably not- and that’s her point.Ross thinks 5-year plans are the way of the past, particularly given the rapid pace at which industries and technologies are changing and how often new opportu nities present themselves. Staying open to different possibilities is difficult, but doing so can shape the most rewarding careers.Appreciate the  Here and NowRoss maintains that following the â€Å"ideal career path† won’t necessarily get you where you want to go. Don’t  take jobs with the question, â€Å"Where will this get me?† in mind. Try asking instead, â€Å"What can I learn here?† or â€Å"Can I do what I do best in this environment?†Take your eye off the end game and ignore the destination. Figure out who you are an what you’re good at, and just follow your heart.

Theater Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Theater - Essay Example A man who suffers from congenital analgesia, a condition where he is unable to feel any form of pain falls in love with a woman and realizes that bruises and lacerations aren’t the only form pain that the human body could experience. The character’s exploration of pain and love is not only heart-warming but gives a close association between emotions and how they affect the well-being of our body. It shows how love repairs the character’s body and discusses a very novel concept in this short story titled â€Å"this hurts†. By the end of Steve’s story, his condition is miraculously healed as he falls in love and begins to experiences pain that he was medically unable to feel. The story could have given greater depth to Steve’s and his lover’s character but the fact that the play had eight more stories it is quite understandable as to why the plot wasn’t only superficially elaborated upon. All in all â€Å"Almost, Maine† is a well-written play that requires immense aptitude for its production and the director and actors did a wonderful job in bringing together all these exquisite notions in one

Zoo Activity. Monkey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Zoo Activity. Monkey - Essay Example However, this does not necessarily mean that human beings and apes such as monkeys belong to one single species. The truth, as has been revealed by several researchers, is that these organisms are related. They must be having something common in their DNA which proves that they were initially belonging into the same species. However, as time went by, several changes occurred in the environment which necessitated the development of more species from the already existing ones. For instance, as a result of the plate tectonics, several regions of the world were separated a part. As a result, the continents separated by large masses of water emerged. This lead to the separation of organisms which were initially living together. It explains why there is a morphological difference between the Homo sapiens and monkeys. Had there been no such separations, the human beings would not have developed more advanced features which were later relied on to distinguish them from apes. When organisms which were once enjoying similar lifestyle were separated, the connection between them was permanently cut off. Therefore, going into new environments meant that they had to look for ways through which they would survive.

The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Essay

The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children - Essay Example Violence creeps quietly and firmly into living rooms via television and its contents. This source misguides its viewers in adopting unrealistic and cinematic use of violence in real life situations in homesteads and outside. Viewers invariably have the entire family and perhaps none of the family members escape this all pervasive and negative influence. Children, with impressionable and tender psyches, are increasingly witnessing real-life violence, either in their homes, streets, schools, work places and almost everywhere. This violence has not only assumed epidemic proportions but is a sad and painful reflection on our society when recipients of violence are children, particularly in domestic environment. An environment which is otherwise supposed to protect and nurture young ones instead works to leave deep scars of hostile violence. To top it all provocations may be extremely trivial. This state of affair constitutes both a public health and moral/philosophical crises. The United States (US) has the highest homicide rate in the world. The US homicide rate for young men is 73 times greater than that observed in comparable industrialized nations. Largely uncontrolled proliferation of guns and other lethal weapons is linked directly, for one, to the increased homicide rates among children and for two, to the numbers of violent incidents that children may witness. On an average each day in the US, 9 children are murdered, guns wound 30 children, and 307 children are arrested for violent crimes.

Employability Portfolio Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employability Portfolio - Coursework Example For example, I did some marketing activities as a source of extra income to bear my educational expenses and also, to gather some experiences of real life. Additionally, I have engaged myself into some sort of voluntary organization, for example, blood donating organization, schooling for underprivileged slum children, etc, which enriched my managing capacity and practical knowledge. I think, I will be able to relate the both side- internship requirements and my personal attainment. The crucial thing is that I am yet to complete my academic accomplishment and have to go through practical field. For that reason, I need to be coped with applicability of academic theories and knowledge. So, it just a matter of time and practical tasks I will go about. In that way I will be able to fill the gap and will be succeeded to integrate the both. In terms of my academic qualification, I completed my graduation from university of Dhaka around business management. In addition, I am engaged with some organizations as voluntary activists. In this way, I am contended with management of organization. I also did some marketing activities beside my study as an extra source of income to support personal and educational expenses. I intend to relate my marketing experience with practical marketing fields. So, I think, I am best fitted to your required internship personnel. I have just provided my study and work qualification briefly for your sincere consideration. How can I explain else within the certain limitation? Please, feel free to contact me via my e-mail or phone to discuss elaborately. Business and marketing always go hand in hand in today’s commercial world where both are inevitable for the development of any region, country, as well as the whole world. For its unavoidable impact on modern society, it is wiser to be engaged with these, and also be coped with its every minute updates and analysis. Putting a sharp observation to these, I chose to come

Design of Motor Speed Sampling, Amplification, Filtering and Display Essay

Design of Motor Speed Sampling, Amplification, Filtering and Display - Essay Example On the other hand, the display circuit performs digital functions by showing the alpha numeric digits. The distinctive design of the electronic circuits for the control of motor speed control and the subsequent display is the physical approach used in the creation of physical circuits that also check the variations in behavior of various electronic components with close reference to their working. Therefore, the required system is an effective remote controlled DC motor with a speed display on seven segments with the D type flip flop. This type of circuit can be categorically divided into two parts; the PWM generator and the IR transmitter. Additionally, there are a number of ways that the remote control can be used. However, we shall deploy the use common approach of the NE555 with the combination of various components in both modules as illustrated below: Particularly, 555 is widely used for the frequency oscillation and can be obtained through the different frequency range according to the need by changing its subsequent duty cycle. The first part of the circuit is generated by the PWM and this is the input of the second model. Conversely, the second model is responsible for the transmitting of wireless signals at a 38 kHz range. Noteworthy, duty cycles can be changed by the trimming of RV2 variable resistance while the D3 is the IR diodes transmit signals (Krishnan, 2010, p.7). On the other hand, the second circuit represents the response from the first circuit and it receives signals using the IR sensor. These signals are later converted to signals that result in the subsequent motion of the motor. Generally, this represents the remote control switch which is tasked with the conversion of low frequencies into significantly lower voltages between 2v to 5v. This concept is illustrated below: Functionally, Q2 is an IR sensor that receives the transmitter signals and switches the 2N2222A transistor. Therefore, the voltage

How the Industrial Revolution, post 1865, influenced migration and Research Paper

How the Industrial Revolution, post 1865, influenced migration and expanded civilization - Research Paper Example In this second industrial revolution, discovery and invention, acting as the catalysts played a major role in industrial and economic growth of the nation. These developments coupled with the developments in transportation and communications were responsible for the formation of organized industries with the emergence of big business empires in various industrial sectors such as steel and oil. Consequently the markets grew deep and wide for catering to the needs of the suppliers and consumers. These developments resulted into migration of people from different parts of the country to the urban industrial centers and different parts of the world to the US with the urban growth taking place at a rapid pace. These migrations were responsible for the diverse cultural background in the society. Industrial development The growth of industries was very fast during this period. The consumption of steel is an indicator for industrial development. The consumption of steel in the industrial and construction sector increased during this period and fuelled the growth of steel industry. The mass production of steel through innovative methods introduced by Carnegie made it cheaper and the demand for steel increased exponentially. This has accelerated construction of railroads across the country which stimulated the growth of business and industries by rendering mobility to the goods manufactured for reaching the customers throughout the country. Similarly, the growth of oil industry has changed the way the people were living in the US as its consumption was closely linked to general industrial growth, transportation and social life. Invention of telephone and telegraph aided industrial and economic growth further. â€Å"†¦the most dramatic improvement in the speed, breadth and reliability of news cov erage came with Samuel Morse's invention of the telegraph. Newspapers became the major customers of the telegraph companies, and the cost of telegraph transmissions led to the formation of wire services like the Associated Press, which was founded as a cooperative venture by New York newspapers in 1848† (Stephens). Freedoms to press, free market economy and the capitalist system of the country encouraged entrepreneurship, and it attracted people from all over the world to the US. The opportunities available in the industrial centers for employment, profession or education caused migration of people to urban areas. The new techniques used in agriculture have increased productivity. The proportion of people employed in agriculture has come down. The agricultural laborers from rural areas migrated to cities in search of employment. Steckel states, â€Å"The importance of migration to urban growth is also indisputable. Because birth rates were low but death rates were high, migra tion fueled urban growth during the 19th century. Indeed, many cities and towns would have declined in size without an inflow of people that replaced the excess of deaths over births† (p. 1). Capital formation and emergence of corporate companies Referring to New York Stock Exchange, Teweles & Bradley says, â€Å"The vast development of the railroads was particularly important to the Exchange since those corporations were the chief issuers of securities in the trading market. About 70,000

Design of Motor Speed Sampling, Amplification, Filtering and Display Essay

Design of Motor Speed Sampling, Amplification, Filtering and Display - Essay Example On the other hand, the display circuit performs digital functions by showing the alpha numeric digits. The distinctive design of the electronic circuits for the control of motor speed control and the subsequent display is the physical approach used in the creation of physical circuits that also check the variations in behavior of various electronic components with close reference to their working. Therefore, the required system is an effective remote controlled DC motor with a speed display on seven segments with the D type flip flop. This type of circuit can be categorically divided into two parts; the PWM generator and the IR transmitter. Additionally, there are a number of ways that the remote control can be used. However, we shall deploy the use common approach of the NE555 with the combination of various components in both modules as illustrated below: Particularly, 555 is widely used for the frequency oscillation and can be obtained through the different frequency range according to the need by changing its subsequent duty cycle. The first part of the circuit is generated by the PWM and this is the input of the second model. Conversely, the second model is responsible for the transmitting of wireless signals at a 38 kHz range. Noteworthy, duty cycles can be changed by the trimming of RV2 variable resistance while the D3 is the IR diodes transmit signals (Krishnan, 2010, p.7). On the other hand, the second circuit represents the response from the first circuit and it receives signals using the IR sensor. These signals are later converted to signals that result in the subsequent motion of the motor. Generally, this represents the remote control switch which is tasked with the conversion of low frequencies into significantly lower voltages between 2v to 5v. This concept is illustrated below: Functionally, Q2 is an IR sensor that receives the transmitter signals and switches the 2N2222A transistor. Therefore, the voltage

Interview vs interrogation techniques Essay Example for Free

Interview vs interrogation techniques Essay While this may be an interrogation, the problem in this scenario is that it works under the assumption that Jacob is already guilty of the offense committed. It is the constitutional right of every person to be presumed innocent until proven guilty even if the person is caught in the act of committing a crime. By confronting the suspect or culprit, the police will not be able to elicit the information that is required. The questions that are being propounded by the police investigator do not allow Jacob the chance to answer the real questions which tend to deal with his commission of the offense. Being bombarded with such probing questions, in this case, the stacking questions will only serve to confuse Jacob and cause him to be defensive, thus nullifying any chance that the police will actually be able to get a confession from him. This is also an example of a loaded question which also serves to confuse Jacob. If I were the detective, I would ask open ended questions first to make the suspect feel at ease and allow him to answer the questions then ask closed ended questions that would help narrow down his interrogation to more specific items. This method works best in these situations because it adds a structure and a flow to the questioning and it leads to a desired outcome. Unlike the example in this scenario where there is no clear purpose as to the questioning. The detective should first determine the exact information that he wants to elicit from the suspect. Irrelevant questions such as the reaction of the parents should be avoided by the detective. The issue of motive should be approached differently instead of asking why the suspect committed a stupid act, the detective should instead take a neutral stance first and ask the suspect what exactly happened from his point of view then introduce evidence that may rebut his testimony to attempt to steer the suspect into telling the truth or even confessing.

Leadership and Employee Turnover in Hotel Industry

Leadership and Employee Turnover in Hotel Industry With the highest employee turnover rate, the hospitality industry need to encourage employees to voice their opinions, ideas, and any of their other concerns for improving performance and reducing employee turnover. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of different types of organizational culture and different leadership styles on employee voice in the hospitality industry. Hospitality human resource practitioners could modify their organizational culture and leadership style according to the results of the study, in order to encourage their employee voice. The results of this study could also contribute to the literature about factors that influence employee voice. Introduction As according to www.skagitwatershed.org Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Leadership is a process of getting things done through people. Leadership is not a science. So being a leader is an adventure because we can never be sure whether we will reach our goal at least this time. The touchdown drive may end in a fumble. The troop may have a bad weekend during the camporee. Or the citys citizens may not be convinced that the mayors policies are right. So these leaders have to try again, using other methods. But they still use the same process the process of good leadership (Orans, 1997). Employee Turnover As according to Wood (1992), defines employee turnover as the rate of change in the number of employees of a concern during a definite period commonly a month. In some other ways it is defined as a measure of the extent to which old employees leaves and new employees enter the service of the concern. Whereas in its sociological context employee turnover implies to a process of change in the size of the work force and this signifies the reasons, which cause this phenomenon to occur in any industrial unit. Employee turnover is in fact movement of employees in and out of firms and the main reasons could be voluntary or involuntary. Rationale Through the ages we have learnt that the only way to put the customer first in the hospitality industry is by putting the employee first. The rationale may not be very obvious, but it is certainly compelling. Satisfied employees lead to satisfied customers. Worldwide researches have suggested that employee turnover is among the highest in the hospitality industry. Studies have shown that average annual employee turnover range from around 60 to 300 % (Mehta, 2005). Hotels spend thousands every year for each new employee they must train to replace a seasoned worker who leaves. It is no longer a startling fact that the cost of losing an employee is between half and one-and-a-half times their annual salary. Background There are studies that support the fact that employees leave an organisation for many reasons, but two common causes are the quality of the selection system and the quality of leadership (Mehta, 2005). Arguably hotels support a culture that fosters dependence and relies on the traditional chain of command, and not all supervisors are good managers and good team leaders that leads high employee turnover. In the light of this proposition, the proposed research plans to examine as whether leadership leads to high employee turnover. The research will be conducted with reference to Delhi based hotels. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The proposed research aims to examine as whether leadership leads to high employee turnover. The research is to be conducted with reference to Delhi based five star hotels. The research will attempt to accomplish following objectives: To examine the degree of employee turnover problem in hotels To identify and evaluate the foremost causes employee turnover in hotels To examine leadership role as causing employee turnover in hotels To investigate what are the causes for the high employee turnover in the hotels. To examine are what the consequences of the high employee turnover in hotels. To study how the reduce turnover and increase employee retention in hotels. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Are qualities of leadership foremost reasons of employee turnover in hotels? Is wrong leadership causes high degree of employee turnover in hotels? Structure of dissertation Author has divided the dissertation in five chapters, in the first chapter author has discuss about the aims and objectives of the report, research mythology in which he has used primary and secondary research. He has discussed about the limitations and background of the dissertation in this chapter. In the second chapter author has given a literature review discussing the meaning of employee turnover and its importance in todays world. Author has also explained leadership and employee turnover and how it can make a difference in successful and not so successful businesses. Also the author has shown different ways to measure employee turnover. Finally, the author has explained how employee turnover is making a difference in a hotel industry and their employee. In the third chapter author has done a research mythology discussing sampling techniques and sample size which is been used for a completion of the report. In the forth chapter author has done findings and analysis based on a q uestionnaire prepared by the author. And finally in the last chapter author has done his conclusion on the report. Literature Review This section presents the theoretical concepts in the context of above mentioned research aims objectives and research questions. Employee turnover is the rotation of workers around the labour market; between firms, jobs and occupations; and between the states of employment and unemployment (Abassi et al., 2000). The term turnover is defined by Price (1977) as: the ratio of the number of organizational members who have left during the period being considered divided by the average number of people in that organization during the period. Frequently, managers refer to turnover as the entire process associated with filling a vacancy: Each time a position is vacated, either voluntarily or involuntarily, a new employee must be hired and trained. This replacement cycle is known as turnover (Woods, 2002). Most researchers (Kalliath and Beck, 2001; Kramer et al., 1995; Saks, 1996) have attempted to answer the question of what determines peoples intention to quit by investigating possible antecedents of employees intentions to quit. To date, there has been little consistency in findings, which is partly due to the diversity of employed included by the researchers and the lack of consistency in their findings. Therefore, there are several reasons why people quit from one organization to another or why people leave organisation. The experience of job related stress (job stress), the range factors that lead to job related stress (stressors), lack of commitment in the organization; and job dissatisfaction make employees to quit (Firth et al., 2004). This clearly indicates that these are individual decisions, which make one to quit. They are other factors like personal agency refers to concepts such as a sense of powerlessness, locus of control and personal control. Locus control refers to t he extent to which people believe that the external factors such as chance and powerful others are in control of the events which influence their lives (Firth et al., 2004). Manu et al. (2004) argue that employees quit from organization due economic reasons. Using economic model they showed that people quit from organization due to economic reasons and these can be used to predict the labour turnover in the market. Organizational instability has been shown to have a high degree of high turnover. Indications are that employees are more likely to stay when there is a predictable work environment and vice versa (Zuber, 2001). In organizations where there was a high level of inefficiency there was also a high level of staff turnover (Alexander et al., 1994). Therefore, in situations where organizations are not stable employees tend to quit and look for stable organisations because with stable organizations they would be able to predict their career advancement. The imposition of a quantitative approach to managing the employees led to disenchantment of staff and hence it leads to employee turnover. Therefore management should not use quantitative approach in managing its employees. Adopting a cost oriented approach to employment costs increases employee turnover (Simon et al., 2007). All these approaches should be avoided if managers want to minimize employee turnover an increase organizational com petitiveness in this environment of globalization. Organizations valuable assets are its high performing employees; and when they start leaving, its an indication that the organization is in trouble.   It appears that organizational management does not care much when low performing employees leave the organization.   In other words, the employers have to understand the damages resulting from high performance employees leaving, and the benefits resulting from poor performance employees leaving. (Hong and Chao 2007, p. 216).Employees may stay longer in an organization if they are motivated and rewarded.   Studies show that a motivated employee is a productive employee; therefore, it is the responsibility of organizational leadership to ensure that all employees are productive.   To be productive means supporting the mission and vision of the organization. Employees may stay longer with organizations if they are well paid and motivated.   Management and leadership motivate and reward high performance e mployees in order to prevent them from leaving. Organizational management and leadership pay particular attention to high performance employees and the attention given them has made them less likely to leave.   The negative relationship between performance and turnover appears to be the major conclusive finding, indicating that high performance employees would be less likely to leave than lower performance ones. (Hong and Chao, 2007 p.217).   Losing high performance employees means higher costs of human resources in form of rehiring, training, and placement.   Management action may cause some low performing employees to leave an organization; this is due to the fact that such employees are viewed as liabilities and may not be contributing to the accomplishment of the organizational mission and vision.   In SLT, leadership effectiveness is thought to be enhanced if a manager uses the style of leadership that best matches the readiness, ability and willingness of subordinates and that a good match between leadership style and subordinate readiness leads to a higher level of subordinate satisfaction and performance. The four quadrants in SLT represent four basic leadership styles: high task and low relationship ; high task and high relationship; low task and high relationship; low task and low relationship, The central precept is that as the level of follower readiness increases, effective leader behavior will involve less structure and less socio-emotional support, A leaders task and relationship behaviors interact with subordinate readiness to significantly influence leader effectiveness, which is defined as the extent to which a follower demonstrates the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task. According to Hersey et al. (1996), at the lower levels of readiness, the le ader needs to provide direction but with higher levels of readiness, followers become responsible for task direction. There is no one best way to influence people and leaders need to assess the readiness level and then use the appropriate leadership style. Thus, it is the follower who dictates the most appropriate leader behavior. In the high tech hotel industry, a work environment with proper implementation and management of technology is vitally important. Any great manager will agree that human resources still plays the most important role in any successful high tech hotel venture. Employees are the backbone of hotel industry, and they need effective leadership so that they will be motivated to do the best jobs they can do. Today, the high tech industry is beset by several factors that make it difficult to hire and retain good employees. The economy is down and the national unemployment rate is high. Good leadership, however, can inspire employees and motivate them to work harder at their jobs. The question is how. Leadership is not a random event. Rather, it is a dynamic process continually adjusted to an ever-changing environment. A great leader is able to influence the behavior of individuals and groups. Harry Truman once said, Leadership is getting people to do what they dont want to do, and like it. In the past, a leaders personality or charisma was considered key. Leadership effectiveness also was defined in terms of attitudes. The most effective leaders were deemed to be those who placed the greatest emphasis on people and production. Today, this view has been modified. Now the leader needs to vary his style to fit the readiness of his subordinates. A leaders attitude is based on his concern for both his people and their productivity. Leadership behavior also is based on two dimensions: task behavior and relationship behavior. In attempting to lead, an individual always engages in each of these behaviors to some extent. Task behavior involves directing others telling or showing them exactly what to do and how to do it correctly. Typically, direction is characterized by unilateral communication, which may take the form of oral or written instructions expected to be carried out as dictated. Instructions to employees may be explained by saying, This is how you would do this. By contrast, relationship behavior is characterized by more supportive, facilitating actions and by bilateral communication among individuals. Here, direction typically involves dialogue between a manager and his subordinates or between co-workers. The number one reason an employee leaves a company is because of their manager. The leader that employees work for determine who sticks around and who hits the road. Employee turnover costs are substantial ranging from 150% to 250% of an employees annual compensation. That means to replace an employee that makes 100,000 it will cost the company 150,000 to 250,000. If you can reduce your employee turnover then clearly you will reduce your bottom line. Extraordinary leaders make a substantial impact on employee turnover and therefore, the bottom line. How to reduce employee turnover Few things in business are as costly and disruptive as unknowingly having the proverbial revolving door for employees to exit from. While there are many secondary and tertiary items that can influence an employees decision to leave, in this weeks column Ill address the one single factor which constitutes the overarching reason that drives a persons decision to leave their employer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Leadership Continuity: Great companies have a clear vision, mission, and strategy, which are evangelized by a cohesive leadership team. A crisply articulated vision, and continuity of leadership creates an engaged workforce that understands the business model and key objectives of the enterprise. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A Planned Transition: Outstanding leadership teams set employees up for success and not for failure. They have an established on boarding process which puts forth an initial roadmap for a successful transition by clearly defining key performance indicators, business objectives, and other key metrics. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Compensation: Great leadership teams understand the value of tier-one talent, and are not afraid to pay-up in order to attract it and retain it. While todays column was a bit of an extemporaneous highlight covering only a few critical issues, I hope it clearly portrayed the value of leadership in employee retention and development. Now that so much is being done by organizations to retain its employees, why is retention so important? Is it just to reduce the turnover costs? Well, the answer is a definite no. Its not only the cost incurred by a company that emphasizes the need of retaining employees but also the need to retain talented employees from getting poached. The process of  employee retention  will benefit an organization in the following ways: Interruption of Customer Service:  Customers and clients do business with a company in part because of the people. Relationships are developed that encourage continued sponsorship of the business. When an employee leaves, the relationships that employee built for the company are severed, which could lead to potential customer loss. Turnover leads to more turnovers:  When an employee terminates, the effect is felt throughout the organization. Co-workers are often required to pick up the slack. The unspoken negativity often intensifies for the remaining staff. Goodwill of the company:  The goodwill of a company is maintained when the attrition rates are low. Higher retention rates motivate potential employees to join the organization. http://retention.naukrihub.com/importance-of-employee-retention.html A career in the hospitality industry can be both challenging and rewarding. The hospitality industry includes restaurant, hotel, and resort positions that cater to serving guests with a smile. However, the staff turnover is high in the hospitality industry, and anyone considering a management position within this segment should understand the reasons people leave their jobs. Common reasons for high turnover include: 1. Seasonality- Many hospitality positions are seasonal in nature. While lay-offs are a necessity for business survival, they are hard for workers who will receive minimal unemployment benefits. It can lead to understaffing during off-peak seasons which has a negative impact on employee morale. 2. Organizational culture Leadership If an organization does not possess a positive culture, the work environment will be unpleasant. With other considerations, this adds to the reasons why employees quit. 3. Labor Pool -The labor pool for the hospitality industry is often untrained, unskilled workers. Higher skilled workers are harder to find, and even those workers are vulnerable as they seek better opportunities. Many employees are young, students, or using hospitality jobs as a fallback or stepping stone to other careers. This increases the chances of turnover. http://www.helium.com/items/1912987-staff-turnover-in-hospitality Five Leadership Fundamentals He then realized that his job as manager became very simple. To motivate high performance and, at the same time, ensure employee satisfaction within his group, he just needed to:   Provide employees with a clear sense of where were going and why. Make sure they have the necessary resources to get their job done. Be attuned to their professional needs and try to provide them with assignments that meet these needs (not always easy but still attainable). Regularly meet with them both formally and informally to give and get feedback on whats going on. Get out of their way and, at the same time, be available when needed. What are the leadership qualities that make all this possible? First and foremost the leadership qualities that build and create a change readiness culture are totally focused on understanding and reverse-engineering the critical disconnects between organizational leadership and management, and the rest of the non-management employees. These disconnects can be summarized as an organizational management and leadership that is detached from direct feedback from the frontline and the human consequences of their decisions. This is all about moving away from the prevalent transactional leadership style with its reward and punishment mechanisms to gain compliance, and moving towards facilitative leadership that engages directly with the informal networks and aspects of the organization. This isnt so hard for organizational leadership to take on board and enact once they realize that in so doing they are dealing directly with the crustacean rock bottom root causes of resistance to change whilst simultaneously unleashing a flood of new innovations and solutions. Implicit or Informal Theories of Employee Turnover Employers and employees share some common causes of employee turnover in India. Among demographic factors, the majority of Singaporeans hold the view that the young and more educated change jobs more often than the old and less educated. Labour shortage (or perceived alternative employment opportunities) and job-hopping among the uncontrollable factors stand out in the perceptions of most people as important factors causing turnover (Debrah, 1993;1994). Further, most Indians consider satisfaction with pay, a controllable factor, one of the most important causes of turnover intention (Debrah, 1994; Koh Goh, 1995). We do not propose any hypotheses on implicit theories of employee turnover. However, we would like to explore to what extent these implicit theories are valid. Specifically, how much of the variance in the turnover model do age, level of education, perceived alternative employment opportunities, job-hopping, and satisfaction with pay explain? If these factors explain a lot of unique variance, we can say that there is a lot of truth in implicit theories on employee turnover held by Indians. METHODS Sampling and Data Collection Data were collected using a questionnaire that contained measures of job satisfaction (satisfaction with pay, satisfaction with nature of work, and satisfaction with supervision), organizational commitment, organizational justice (distributive and procedural), job-hopping, perceived alternative employment opportunities, and turnover intention. In addition, the questionnaire included questions on demographic characteristics of the respondents. The Ministry of Labour, India, publishes quarterly resignation rates by occupations and industries. These quarterly resignation reports provided us the starting point. Both manufacturing and services sectors are important for the Singapore economy. Consequently, we included industries from both manufacturing and services in our sample. Within each sector, we selected one industry with the highest resignation rates and the other with the lowest resignation rates over the last four years. In the manufacturing sector, the food and beverage industry had the highest resignation rates and the marine and shipping the lowest. On the other hand, in the services sector, the retail industry had the highest resignations and the banking the lowest. Employee turnover in hotels has received substantial attention from both academics and managers. Much of this attention has been focused on understanding its causes. Implicit in this approach is the assumption that turnover is driven by certain identifiable characteristics of workers, tasks, firms, and markets, and that, by developing policies to address these characteristics, managers might reduce the occurrence of turnover in their respective organizations. Moreover, Van Vianen, Feij, Krausz, and Taris (2004) distinguished between two motives for turnover; push and pull. Push motives are related to dissatisfaction with ones current work situation, whereas pull refer to available opportunities to improve ones career opportunities on the external labour market. Nevertheless, the job satisfaction-turnover relationship is not stable across different organizations, or that satisfaction may relate more closely to immediate or short term variables such as daily effort, rather than longer term variables such as turnover intention (Ajzen Fishbein, 1977). The research may point out that there are some problems in the hotels in recent years on the employee turnover; generally speaking, employees leave the hotels for some common reasons, such as they are not satisfied with their positions of salary. Pavesic and Brymer (1990) confirmed dissatisfaction with income, mainly in relation to the number of hours worked, to be a primary reason for managers with hospitality administration degrees leaving the hospitality industry. Although the most significant reason is that they want to seize more space for position and trainings. There is unsuitable for the promotion and management system in hotels. Hotels have taken the employee satisfaction system in order to catch up with large scales. While hotels are not marketable enough to compete with other larger scales because of some systematically reasons. In this study, hotels are very cooperative with us, and the management complies with our requirements. Therefore, this research is for the managem ent of the hotel to find out the problems and to solve the problem.

Essay --

ROME, SEPT. 21, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Advocates of abortion often insist that it needs to be legal and readily available so as to reduce health risks for women. Some recent studies show, however, that abortion brings with it considerable risks. Research in Finland published in the journal â€Å"Human Reproduction† collected data from all 300,858 first-time mothers in Finland between 1996 and 2008, LifeNews.com reported on Sept. 6. The results showed that women were three times more likely to have a very premature baby, born before 28 weeks, if they had had three or more abortions. According to an analysis of the findings published by LifeNews.com and written by Dr. Peter Saunders, it is an important study, but by no means the first revealing such risks. He said there are â€Å"around 120 articles in the world literature already attesting to an association between abortion and premature birth.† Nevertheless, the Finnish study carries a lot of weight due to the large number of women in it and also because it controlled for factors such as maternal age, socioeconomic level and various health factors. Similar results were found in another study also recently published. Lead researcher Professor Siladitya Bhattacharya, chair in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Aberdeen, and his colleagues studied how differing methods of abortion affected the future likelihood of premature births, the Medical Daily Web site reported on Sept. 5. They looked at the records of Scottish women from 1981 to 2007 and found that abortions increased the risk of giving birth prematurely in future pregnancies by an average of 37% compared to women who had never been pregnant before. Complications The study was presented at the British Science Festival.... ...esult from the pharmaceutical. Wright put at 14 the number of women who have died in the United States as a result of using RU-486 since it was legalized. Nevertheless, the push to make RU-486 available continues. In Australia until now only a small number of doctors were authorized to administer it, but now pharmacies will be able to sell it following a decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Australian newspaper reported Aug. 31. In the past six years that RU-486 has been available in Australia, TGA figures show 792 cases of "adverse events" from the use of the drugs. â€Å"Women facing un-supported pregnancy should be offered real choices by our society, not a dangerous chemical to poison their unborn child,† commented Wendy Francis for the Australian Christian Lobby. A valid point not only for Australia but for other countries as well.

Analysis of Marketing Techniques used by American Express :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Analysis of Marketing Techniques used by American Express American Express continues to attempt to expand its customer base, while at the same time trying to keep its reputation as a card of status. Its successful marketing tactics in the United States compared to the slow expansion into markets abroad show its lack of consideration of the differences of these markets. By preparing a more decisive plan as to what type of consumers to target and what products to push in each of its market areas, American Express could have a much greater success with foreign expansion. American Express has been known as a commodity to most business travelers. In order to build its customer base, other consumers need to see the card as an indispensable convenience in their lives. American Express offers convenient methods to obtain account information, pay bills, find discounted products, and even make travel plans via the Internet. The Internet site offers these options, as well as other services, such as on- line help and assistance for small businesses. American Express realizes the need for many consumers to save time and money, but to still feel important and respected. The ingenuity and thought put into the services offered on the web site shows that American Express is genuinely concerned with the satisfaction of its customers. American Express has always been known for its benefits to travelers. Some of the new travel discounts; such as the â€Å"Bahamas Getaway† packages offer significant discounts for planning a vacation in the Bahamas through a travel agent. The catch is that one must charge it on the American Express card to get the discounts. Coupon books that offer discounts at many shops, restaurants and attractions are given to those who buy a package. Over $11 million in â€Å"Bahama Getaway† packages were sold in 1999. Other getaway packages are available to consumers all over the world. American Express has successfully used this marketing strategy, as it realized that consumers want an opportunity to enjoy an exotic vacation, while at the same time, getting value for their dollar. Saving money is important to most consumers. Once again, American Express aims to please its customers. With these successful ventures, it is difficult to imagine that American Express is struggling in many parts of the world.

Three Qualities to Succeed.

Everyone have dreams, expectations and goals. Some people dream of being famous singers or actors. Other people want to become doctors, nurses, pilots, teachers o something else, the thing is to succeed, to reach their goals. So what do people need to attain their goals? They need to work hard, to take risks, and they need to have attitude and qualities. There are three qualities necessary for success: passion, perseverance and discipline. Successful people are passionate about what they do, they love what the do and they enjoy at the same time, they feel happy and complete because it’s something that they want to do to being satisfied and meet their expectations. They are creative and hard workers, they try to be original thinking in some many ways to do it as well as they can. It’s important to love what they do to do it well and become a successful person. People should have perseverance to reach their goals, they need practice to improve their abilities, sometimes people feel insecure about what they do, so they might practice to do it better. They should keep going and confront the problems, if something is going wrong just keep trying and face the oppositions. Stay focused on their goals even if some one thinks that they must try to do something else, people need to be persistent enough to stay focused on what they want, they need to be patient and persistent if they want to reach their goals. To succeed people need to be discipline, being responsible of what they do, when they make a mistake they need to be able to fix it. They need to study for attain their goals as much as they can to obtain tools and show confidence about what they are doing. It’s not enough to want to succeed, also people need to wok hard with discipline to meet their goals. People who want to succeed should have perseverance, they need to be discipline to know which way is better to follow their dreams, and the most important quality is the passion. If people enjoy and love what they do, they are going to reach the success.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 15

â€Å"Come with us. Don't make one rash move or I will take you down.† I felt angry again as he glared at me, and a smal part of me wanted to snarl and show my teeth, but I had a feeling he was looking for just that kind of excuse. Jasper paused as if he'd just thought of something. â€Å"Close your eyes,† he commanded. I hesitated. Had he decided to kil me after al ? â€Å"Do it!† I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes. I felt twice as helpless as I had before. â€Å"Fol ow the sound of my voice and don't open your eyes. You look, you lose, got it?† I nodded, wondering what he didn't want me to see. I felt some relief that he was bothering to protect a secret. There was no reason to do so if he was just going to kil me. â€Å"This way.† I walked slowly after him, careful to give him no excuses. He was considerate in the way he led, not walking me into any trees, at least. I could hear the way the sound changed when we were in the open; the feel of the wind was different, too, and the smel of my coven burning was stronger. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face, and the insides of my eyelids were brighter as I sparkled. He led me closer and closer to the muffled crackle of the flames, so close that I could feel the smoke brush my skin. I knew he could have kil ed me at any time, but the nearness of the fire stil made me nervous. â€Å"Sit here. Eyes closed.† The ground was warm from the sun and the fire. I kept very stil and tried to concentrate on looking harmless, but I could feel his glare on me, and it made me agitated. Though I was not mad at these vampires, who I truly believed had only been defending themselves, I felt the oddest stirrings of fury. It was almost outside myself, as if it were some leftover echo from the battle that had just taken place. The anger didn't make me stupid, though, because I was too sad – miserable to my core. Diego was aways in my mind, and I couldn't help thinking about how he must have died. I was sure there was no way he would have voluntarily told Riley our secrets – secrets that had given me a reason to trust Riley just enough until it was too late. In my head, I saw Riley's face again – that cold, smooth expression that had formed as he'd threatened to punish any of us who wouldn't behave. I heard again his macabre and oddly detailed description – when I take you to her and hold you as she tears off your legs and then slowly, slowly burns off your fingers, ears, lips, tongue, and every other superfluous appendage one by one. I realized now that I'd been hearing the description of Diego's death. That night, I'd been sure that something had changed in Riley. Kil ing Diego was what had changed Riley, had hardened him. I believed only one thing that Riley had ever told me: he had valued Diego more than any of the rest of us. Had even been fond of him. And yet he'd watched our creator hurt him. No doubt he'd helped her. Kil ed Diego with her. I wondered how much pain it would have taken to make me betray Diego. I imagined it would have taken quite a lot. And I was sure it had taken at least that much to make Diego betray me. I felt sick. I wanted the image of Diego screaming in agony out of my head, but it wouldn't leave. And then there was screaming there in the field. My eyelids fluttered, but Jasper snarled furiously and I clenched them together at once. I'd seen nothing but heavy lavender smoke. I heard shouting and a strange, savage howling. It was loud, and there was a lot of it. I couldn't imagine how a face would have to contort to create such a noise, and the not knowing made the sound more frightening. These yel ow-eyed vampires were so different from the rest of us. Or different from me, I guess, since I was the only one left. Riley and our creator were long gone by now. I heard names cal ed, Jacob, Leah, Sam. There were lots of distinct voices, though the howls continued. Of course Riley had lied to us about the number of vampires here, too. The sound of the howling tapered off until it was just one voice, one agonized, inhuman yowling that made me grit my teeth. I could see Diego's face so clearly in my mind, and the sound was like him screaming. I heard Carlisle talking over the other voices and the howling. He was begging to look at something. â€Å"Please let me take a look. Please let me help.† I didn't hear anyone arguing with him, but for some reason his tone made it sound like he was losing the dispute. And then the yowling reached a strident new pitch, and suddenly Carlisle was saying â€Å"thank you† in a fervent voice, and under the yowl there was the sound of a lot of movement by a lot of bodies. Many heavy footsteps coming closer. I listened harder and heard something unexpected and impossible. Along with some heavy breathing – and I've never heard anyone in my coven breathe like that – there were dozens of deep thumping noises. Almost like†¦ heartbeats. But definitely not human hearts. I knew that particular sound wel . I sniffed hard, but the wind was blowing from the other direction, and I could only smel the smoke. Without a warning sound, something touched me, clapped down firmly on either side of my head. My eyes started open in panic as I lurched up, straining to jerk free of this hold, and instantly met Jasper's warning gaze about two inches from my face. â€Å"Stop it,† he snapped, yanking me back down on my butt. I could only just hear him, and I realized that his hands were sealed tight against my head, covering my ears entirely. â€Å"Close your eyes,† he instructed again, probably at a normal volume, but it was hushed for me. I struggled to calm myself and shut my eyes again. There were things they didn't want me to hear, either. I could live with that – if it meant I could live. For a second I saw Fred's face behind my eyelids. He had said he would wait for one day. I wondered if he would keep his word. I wished I could tel him the truth about the yel ow-eyes, and how much more there seemed to be that we didn't know. This whole world that we real y knew nothing about. It would be interesting to explore that world. Particularly with someone who could make me invisible and safe. But Diego was gone. He wouldn't be coming to find Fred with me. That made imagining the future faintly repugnant. I could stil hear some of what was going on, but just the howling and a few voices. Whatever those weird thumping sounds had been, they were too muted now for me to examine them. I did make out the words when, a few minutes later, Carlisle said, â€Å"You have to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – his voice was too low for a second, and then – â€Å"†¦ from here now. If we could help we would, but we cannot leave.† There was a growl, but it was oddly unmenacing. The yowling became a low whine that disappeared slowly, as if it was moving away from me. It was quiet for a few minutes. I heard some low voices, Carlisle and Esme among them, but also some I didn't know. I wished I could smel something – the blindness combined with the muted sound left me straining for some source of sensory information. But al I could smel was the horribly sweet smoke. There was one voice, higher and clearer than the others, that I could hear most easily. â€Å"Another five minutes,† I heard whoever it was say. I was sure it was a girl who was speaking. â€Å"And Bel a wil open her eyes in thirty-seven seconds. I wouldn't doubt that she can hear us now.† I tried to make sense of this. Was someone else being forced to keep her eyes shut, like me? Or did she think my name was Bel a? I hadn't told anyone my name. I struggled again to smel something. More mumbling. I thought that one voice sounded off – I couldn't hear any ring to it at al . But I couldn't be sure with Jasper's hands so securely over my ears. â€Å"Three minutes,† the high, clear voice said. Jasper's hands left my head. â€Å"You'd better open your eyes now,† he told me from a few steps away. The way he said this frightened me. I looked around myself quickly, searching for the danger hinted at in his tone. One whole field of my vision was obscured by the dark smoke. Close by, Jasper was frowning. His teeth were gritted together and he was looking at me with an expression that was almost†¦ frightened. Not like he was scared of me, but like he was scared because of me. I remembered what he'd said before, about my putting them in danger with something cal ed a Volturi. I wondered what a Volturi was. I couldn't imagine what this scarred-up, dangerous vampire would be afraid of. Behind Jasper, four vampires were spaced out in a loose line with their backs to me. One was Esme. With her were a tal blonde woman, a tiny black-haired girl, and a dark-haired male vampire so big that he was scary just to look at – the one I'd seen kil Kevin. For an instant I imagined that vampire getting a hold on Raoul. It was a strangely pleasant picture. There were three more vampires behind the big one. I couldn't see exactly what they were doing with him in the way. Carlisle was kneeling on the gr ound, and next to him was a male vampire with dark red hair. Lying flat on the ground was another figure, but I couldn't see much of that one, only jeans and smal brown boots. It was either a female or a young male. I wondered if they were putting the vampire back together. So eight yel ow-eyes total, plus al that howling before, whatever strange kind of vampire that had been; there had been at least eight more voices involved. Sixteen, maybe more. More than twice as many as Riley had told us to expect. I found myself fiercely hoping that those black-cloaked vampires would catch up to Riley, and that they would make him suffer. The vampire on the ground started to get slowly to her feet – moving awkwardly, almost like she was some clumsy human. The breeze shifted, blowing the smoke across me and Jasper. For a moment, everything was invisible except for him. Though I was not as blind as before, I suddenly felt much more anxious, for some reason. It was like I could feel the anxiety bleeding out of the vampire next to me. The light wind gusted back in the next second, and I could see and smel everything. Jasper hissed at me furiously and shoved me out of my crouch and back onto the ground. It was her – the human I'd been hunting just a few minutes ago. The scent my whole body had been focused toward. The sweet, wet scent of the most delicious blood I'd ever tracked. My mouth and throat felt like they were on fire. I tried wildly to hold on to my reason – to focus on the fact that Jasper was just waiting for me to jump up again so that he could kil me – but only part of me could do it. I felt like I was about to pul into two halves trying to keep myself here. The human named Bel a stared at me with stunned brown eyes. Looking at her made it worse. I could see the blood flushing through her thin skin. I tried to look anywhere else, but my eyes kept circling back to her. The redhead spoke to her in a low voice. â€Å"She surrendered. That's one I've never seen before. Only Carlisle would think of offering. Jasper doesn't approve.† Carlisle must have explained to that one when my ears were covered. The vampire had both his arms around the human girl, and she had both hands pressed to his chest. Her throat was just inches from his mouth, but she didn't look frightened of him at al . And he didn't look like he was hunting. I had tried to wrap my head around the idea of a coven with a pet human, but this was not close to what I had imagined. If she'd been a vampire, I would have guessed that they were together. â€Å"Is Jasper al right?† the human whispered. â€Å"He's fine. The venom stings,† the vampire said. â€Å"He was bitten?† she asked, sounding shocked by the idea. Who was this girl? Why did the vampires al ow her to be with them? Why hadn't they kil ed her yet? Why did she seem so comfortable with them, like they didn't scare her? She seemed like she was a part of this world, and yet she didn't understand its realities. Of course Jasper was bitten. He'd just fought – and destroyed – my entire coven. Did this girl even know what we were? Ugh, the burn in my throat was impossible! I tried not to think about washing it away with her blood, but the wind was blowing her smel right in my face! It was too late to keep my head – I had scented the prey I was hunting, and nothing could change that now. â€Å"He was trying to be everywhere at once,† the redhead told the human. â€Å"Trying to make sure Alice had nothing to do, actual y.† He shook his head as he looked at the tiny blackhaired girl. â€Å"Alice doesn't need anyone's help.† The vampire named Alice shot a glare at Jasper. â€Å"Overprotective fool,† she said in her clear soprano voice. Jasper met her stare with a half smile, seeming to forget for a second that I existed. I could barely fight the instinct that wanted me to make use of his lapse and spring at the human girl. It would take less than an instant and then her warm blood – blood I could hear pumping through her heart – would quench the burn. She was so close – The vampire with the dark red hair met my eyes with a fierce warning glare, and I knew I would die if I tried for the girl, but the agony in my throat made me feel like I would die if I didn't. It hurt so much that I screamed out loud in frustration. Jasper snarled at me, and I tried to keep myself from moving, but it felt like the scent of her blood was a giant hand yanking me off the ground. I had never tried to stop myself from feeding once I had committed to a hunt. I dug my hands into the ground looking for something to hold on to but finding nothing. Jasper leaned into a crouch, and even knowing I was two seconds from death, I couldn't focus my thirsty thoughts. And then Carlisle was right there, his hand on Jasper's arm. He looked at me with kind, calm eyes. â€Å"Have you changed your mind, young one?† he asked me. â€Å"We don't want to destroy you, but we wil if you can't control yourself.† â€Å"How can you stand it?† I asked him, almost begging. Wasn't he burning, too? â€Å"I want her.† I stared at her, desperately wishing the distance between us was gone. My fingers raked uselessly through the rocky dirt. â€Å"You must stand it,† Carlisle said solemnly. â€Å"You must exercise control. It is possible, and it is the only thing that wil save you now.† If being able to tolerate the human the way these strange vampires did was my only hope for survival, then I was already doomed. I couldn't stand the fire. And I was of two minds about survival anyway. I didn't want to die, I didn't want pain, but what was the point? Everyone else was dead. Diego had been dead for days. His name was right on my lips. I almost whispered it aloud. Instead, I gripped my skul with both hands and tried to think about something that wouldn't hurt. Not the girl, and not Diego. It didn't work very wel . â€Å"Shouldn't we move away from her?† the human whispered roughly, breaking my concentration. My eyes snapped back to her. Her skin was so thin and soft. I could see the pulse in her neck. â€Å"We have to stay here,† said the vampire she was clinging to. â€Å"They are coming to the north end of the clearing now.† They? I glanced to the north, but there was nothing but smoke. Did he mean Riley and my creator? I felt a new thril of panic, fol owed by a little spasm of hope. There was no way she and Riley could stand against these vampires who had kil ed so many of us, was there? Even if the howly ones were gone, Jasper alone looked capable of dealing with the two of them. Or did he mean this mysterious Volturi? The wind teased the girl's scent across my face again, and my thoughts scattered. I glared at her thirstily. The girl met my stare, but her expression was so different from what it should have been. Though I could feel that my lips were curled back from my teeth, though I trembled with the effort to stop myself from springing at her, she did not look afraid of me. Instead she seemed fascinated. It almost looked like she wanted to speak to me – like she had a question she wanted me to answer. Then Carlisle and Jasper began to back away from the fire – and me – closing ranks with the others and the human. They al were staring past me into the smoke, so whatever they were afraid of was closer to me than it was to them. I huddled tighter to the smoke in spite of the nearby flames. Should I make a run for it? Were they distracted enough that I could escape? Where would I go? To Fred? Off on my own? To find Riley and make him pay for what he'd done to Diego? As I hesitated, mesmerized by that last idea, the moment passed. I heard movement to the north and knew I was sandwiched between the yel ow-eyes and whatever was coming. â€Å"Hmm,† a dead voice said from behind the smoke. In that one syl able I knew exactly who it was, and if I hadn't been frozen solid with mindless terror I would have bolted. It was the dark-cloaks. What did this mean? Would a new battle begin now? I knew that the dark-cloaked vampires had wanted my creator to succeed in destroying these yel ow-eyes. My creator had clearly failed. Did that mean they would kil her? Or would they kil Carlisle and Esme and the rest here instead? If it had been my choice, I knew who I would want destroyed, and it wasn't my captors. The dark-cloaks ghosted through the vapor to face the yel ow-eyes. None of them looked in my direction. I held absolutely stil . There were only four of them, like last time. But it didn't make a difference that there were seven of the yel ow-eyes. I could tel that they were as wary of these dark-cloaks as Riley and my creator had been. There was something more to them than I could see, but I could definitely feel it. These were the punishers, and they didn't lose. â€Å"Welcome, Jane,† said the yel ow-eyed one who held the human. They knew each other. But the redhead's voice was not friendly – nor was it weak and eager to please like Riley's had been, or furiously terrified like my creator's. His voice was simply cold and polite and unsurprised. Were the dark-cloaks this Volturi, then? The smal vampire who led the dark-cloaks – Jane, apparently – slowly scanned across the seven yel ow-eyes and the human, and then final y turned her head toward me. I glimpsed her face for the first time. She was younger than me, but much older, too, I guessed. Her eyes were the velvet color of dark red roses. Knowing it was too late to escape notice, I put my head down, covering it with my hands. Maybe if it were clear that I didn't want to fight, Jane would treat me as Carlisle had. I didn't feel much hope of that, though. â€Å"I don't understand.† Jane's dead voice betrayed a hint of annoyance.