Project Scope and Charter Essay

The first phase of any project is the initiation phase. This phase commences when some type of business issue or opportunity is identified bringing about a proposal project to solve or address the issue or opportunity. The main deliverable of this phase is the project charter, which contains a broad view of what the project is about, who is involved, why the project is being conducted and how & when the project will be carried out. (Hughes Lecture, 2013) Once the charter is approved the project can move into the planning phase, which is where the charter is used to identify the scope of the project. This paper will examine the relationship between project scope and charter and highlight the benefits of each. Project Charter The project charter is a short document that serves as an informal contract between the project team and the sponsor of the project. (Kloppenberg, 2012, pg 84) This document contains only enough detail to get the project approved so it can move into the planning phase. Project Management Professional, Ritchie Hughes describes the charter as a representation of the â€Å"view from 3000 meters†. The project charter is usually drawn up by the Project Manager and team, or, in instances where a Project Manager has not yet been assigned, the project sponsor will complete the charter. Hughes explains that the functions of the â€Å"why† section of the charter are to ensure: the correct individuals will be consulted (e.g. stakeholders and governance), projects that are linked or dependent on the project in question are identified, the organization has enough resources (internally or externally) to complete the project, a business case for the organization is conveyed and that all the information is provided to support the executive team. (Hughes Lecture, 2013) Approval of the charter grants authority to the project manager to go through with the project and utilize the allotted budget or resources for the project activity. As the charter approval is the â€Å"Go/No Go† decision for the project, a non-approval means termination of the project. (Hughes Lecture, 2013) Scope Approval of the project charter signifies the transition into the planning phase of the project. A critical part of the planning phase is identifying the scope of the project. Project scope is defined as â€Å"the work that must be performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.† (Kloppenberg, 2012, pg. 142) Ritchie Hughes explained that scope can also mean â€Å"the sum of products, services and results to be provided as a project.† The benefits of scope are that the work to be performed is clarified, listed and any work not to be completed (outside the project’s scope) is identified. Scope is also a useful tool in managing expectations and avoiding assumptions among stakeholders and the project team. (Hughes Lecture, 2013) Scope Creep A common issue when managing a project’s scope is dealing with scope creep. Scope creep can be defined as â€Å"the extra deliverables that can creep into a project.† (Collegiate Projects, 2013, pg. 1) These â€Å"project improvements† can be very hard to avoid but may have a major effect on the project’s budget, timing or quality. Projects that may be susceptible to scope creep should have a scope change management plan that contains: a definition of scope change for the project, a process for submitting and reviewing scope changes, documentation needed for the change process and a tool to track change requests and their resolutions. (Collegiate Projects, 2013, pg. 2,3) An understanding by both parties (project team and sponsor) of scope creep and its effects on the project, and an organized management plan will help avoid scope creep that may negatively affect the project’s success. Conclusion In the early stages of project management, two very important aspects are the project charter and scope of the project. Not all projects need a charter but understanding and managing the scope of a project will help the project team effectively complete the project in time and budget without â€Å"Gold Plating†. References Kloppenborg, T. J. (2012). Contemporary project management: organize, plan, perform (2nd ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. (2013). Managing Scope Creep. Collegiate Project Services, 1, 1-3. Hughes, R. (Director) (2013, January 31). Project Initiation: Scope & Charters. Bus 427. Lecture conducted from Tom Rippon, Victoria.

The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle Chapter Twelve

A voice spoke as Elena reached for a can on the store shelf. â€Å"Cranberry sauce already?† Elena looked up. â€Å"Hi, Matt. Yes, Aunt Judith likes to do a preview the Sunday before Thanksgiving, remember? If she practices, there's less chance she'll do something terrible.† â€Å"Like forgetting to buy the cranberry sauce until fifteen minutes before dinner?† â€Å"Until five minutes before dinner,† said Elena, consulting her watch, and Matt laughed. It was a good sound, and one Elena hadn't heard for too long. She moved on toward the check-out stand, but after she'd paid for her purchase she hesitated, looking back. Matt was standing by the magazine rack, apparently absorbed, but there was something about the slope of his shoulders that made her want to go to him. She poked a finger at his magazine. â€Å"What areyou doing for dinner?† she said. When he glanced uncertainly toward the front of the store, she added, â€Å"Bonnie's waiting out in the car; she'll be there. Other than that it's just the family. And Robert, of course; he should be there by now.† She meant that Stefan wasn't coming. She still wasn't sure how things were between Matt and Stefan these days. At least they spoke to each other. â€Å"I'm fending for myself tonight; Mom's not feeling so hot,† he said. But then, as if to change the subject, he went on, â€Å"Where's Meredith?† â€Å"With her family, visiting some relatives or something.† Elena was vague because Meredith had been Aunt Judith's cooking?† â€Å"For old times' sake?† â€Å"For oldfriends' sake,† said Elena after a moment's hesitation, and smiled at him. He blinked and looked away. â€Å"How can I refuse an invitation like that?† he said in an oddly muted voice. But when he put the magazine back and followed her out he was smiling, too. Bonnie greeted him cheerfully, and when they got home Aunt Judith looked pleased to see him come into the kitchen. â€Å"Dinner's almost ready,† she said, taking the grocery bag from Elena. â€Å"Robert got here a few minutes ago. Why don't you go straight on back to the dining room? Oh, and get another chair, Elena. Matt makes seven.† â€Å"Six, Aunt Judith,† said Elena, amused. â€Å"You and Robert, me and Margaret, Matt and Bonnie.† â€Å"Yes, dear, but Robert's brought a guest, too. They're already sitting down.† Elena registered the words just as she stepped through the dining room door, but there was an instant's delay before her mind reacted to them. Even so, sheknew; stepping through that door, she somehow knew what was waiting for her. Robert was standing there, fiddling with a bottle of white wine and looking jovial. And sitting at the table, on the far side of the autumn centerpiece and the tall lighted candles, was Damon. Elena realized she'd stopped moving when Bonnie ran into her from behind. Then she forced her legs into action. Her mind wasn't as obedient; it remained frozen. â€Å"Ah, Elena,† Robert said, holding out a hand. â€Å"This is Elena, the girl I was telling you about,† he said to Damon. â€Å"Elena, this is Damon†¦ ah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Smith,† said Damon. â€Å"Oh, yes. He's from my alma mater, William and Mary, and I just ran into him outside the drugstore. Since he was looking for some place to eat, I invited him along here for a home-cooked meal. Damon, these are some friends of Elena's, Matt and Bonnie.† â€Å"Hi,† said Matt. Bonnie just stared; then, she swung enormous eyes on Elena. Elena was trying to get a grip on herself. She didn't know whether to shriek, march out of the room, or throw the glass of wine Robert was pouring in Damon's face. She was too angry, for the moment, to be frightened. Matt went to bring in a chair from the living room. Elena wondered at his casual acceptance of Damon, and then realized he hadn't been at Alaric's party. He wouldn't know what had happened there between Stefan and the â€Å"visitor from college.† Bonnie, though, looked ready to panic. She was gazing at Elena imploringly. Damon had risen and was Before Elena could come up with a response, she heard Margaret's high little voice in the doorway. â€Å"Matt, do you want to see my kitty? Aunt Judith says I can keep her. I'm going to call her Snowball.† Elena turned, fired with an idea. â€Å"She's cute,† Matt was saying obligingly, bending over the little mound of white fur in Margaret's arms. He looked startled as Elena unceremoniously grabbed the kitten from under his nose. â€Å"Here, Margaret, let's show your kitty to Robert's friend,† she said, and thrust the fluffy bundle into Damon's face, all but throwing it at him. Pandemonium ensued. Snowball swelled to twice her normal size as her fur stood on end. She made a noise like water dropped on a red-hot griddle and then she was a snarling, spitting cyclone that clawed Elena, swiped at Damon, and ricocheted off the walls before tearing out of the room. For an instant, Elena had the satisfaction of seeing Damon's night black eyes slightly wider than usual. Then the lids drooped down, hooding them again, and Elena turned to face the reaction of the other occupants of the room. Margaret was just opening her mouth for a steam engine wail. Robert was trying to forestall it, hustling her off to find the cat. Bonnie had her back pressed flat against the wall, looking desperate. Matt and Aunt Judith, who was peering in from the kitchen, just looked appalled. â€Å"I guess you don't have a way with animals,† she said to Damon, and took her seat at the table. She nodded to Bonnie who reluctantly peeled herself off the wall and scuttled for her own seat before Damon could touch the chair. Bonnie's brown eyes slid around to follow him as he sat down in turn. After a few minutes, Robert reappeared with a tear-stained Margaret and frowned sternly at Elena. Matt pushed his own chair in silently although his eyebrows were in his hair. As Aunt Judith arrived and the meal began, Elena looked up and down the table. A bright haze seemed to lie over everything, and she had a feeling of unreality, but the scene itself looked almost unbelievably wholesome, like something out of a commercial. Just your average family sitting down to eat turkey, she thought. One slightly flustered maiden aunt, worried that the peas will be mushy and the rolls burnt, one comfortable uncle-to-be, one golden-haired teenage niece and her tow-headed baby sister. One blue-eyed boy-next-door type, one spritely girlfriend, one gorgeous vampire passing the candied yams. A typical American household. Bonnie spent the first half of the meal telegraphing â€Å"What do I do?† messages to Elena with her eyes. But when all Elena telegraphed back was â€Å"Nothing,† she apparently decided to abandon herself to her fate. She began to eat. Elena had no idea what to do. To be trapped tike this was an insult, a humiliation, and Damon knew it. He had Aunt Judith and Robert dazzled, though, with compliments about the meal and light chat about William and Mary. Even Margaret was smiling at him now, and soon enough Bonnie would go under. â€Å"Fell's Church is having its Founders' Day celebration next week,† Aunt Judith informed Damon, her thin cheeks faintly pink. â€Å"It would be so nice if you could come back for that.† Aunt Judith looked pleased. â€Å"And this year Elena has a big part in it. She's been chosen to represent the Spirit of Fell's Church.† â€Å"You must be proud of her,† said Damon. â€Å"Oh, we are,† Aunt Judith said. â€Å"So you'll try to come then?† Elena broke in, buttering a roll furiously. â€Å"I've heard some news about Vickie,† she said. â€Å"You remember, the girl who was attacked.† She looked pointedly at Damon. There was a short silence. Then Damon said, â€Å"I'm afraid I don't know her.† â€Å"Oh, I'm sure you do. About my height, brown eyes, light brown hair†¦ anyway, she's getting worse.† â€Å"Oh, dear,† said Aunt Judith. â€Å"Yes, apparently the doctors can't understand it. She just keeps getting worse and worse, as if the attack was still going on.† Elena kept her eyes on Damon's face as she spoke, but he displayed only a courteous interest. â€Å"Have some more stuffing,† she finished, propelling a bowl at him. â€Å"No thank you. I'll have some more of this, though.† He held a spoonful of jellied cranberry sauce up to one of the candles so that light shone through it. â€Å"It's such a tantalizing color.† Bonnie, like the rest of the people at the table, looked up at the candle when he did this. But Elena noticed she didn't look down again. She remained gazing into the dancing flame, and slowly all expression disappeared from her face. Oh,no , thought Elena, as a tingle of apprehension crept through her limbs. She'd seen that look before. She tried to get Bonnie's attention, but the other girl seemed to see nothing but the candle. â€Å"†¦ and then the elementary children put on a pageant about the town's history,† Aunt Judith was saying to Damon. â€Å"But the ending ceremony is done by older students. Elena, how many seniors will be doing the readings this year?† â€Å"Just three of us.† Elena had to turn to address her aunt, and it was while she was looking at Aunt Judith's smiling face that she heard the voice. â€Å"Death.† Aunt Judith gasped. Robert paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. Elena wished, wildly and absolutely hopelessly, for Meredith. â€Å"Death,† said the voice again. â€Å"Death is in this house.† Elena looked around the table and saw that there was no one to help her. They were all staring at Bonnie, motionless as subjects in a photograph. Bonnie herself was staring into the candle flame. Her face was blank, her eyes wide, as they had been before when this voice spoke through her. Now, those sightless eyes turned toward Elena. â€Å"Your death,† shoulders, lifting her. Bonnie's skin had gone bluish-white, her eyes were closed. Aunt Judith fluttered around her, dabbing at her face with a damp napkin. Damon watched with thoughtful, narrowed eyes. â€Å"She's all right,† Robert said, looking up in obvious relief. â€Å"I think she just fainted. It must have been some kind of hysterical attack.† But Elena didn't breathe again until Bonnie opened groggy eyes and asked what everyone was staring at. It put an effective end to the dinner. Robert insisted that Bonnie be taken home at once, and in the activity that followed Elena found time for a whispered word with Damon. â€Å"Get out!† He raised his eyebrows. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I said, get out! Now! Go. Or I'll tell them you're the killer.† He looked reproachful. â€Å"Don't you think a guest deserves a little more consideration?† he said, but at her expression he shrugged and smiled. â€Å"Thank you for having me for dinner,† he said aloud to Aunt Judith, who was walking past carrying a blanket to the car. â€Å"I hope I can return the favor sometime.† To Elena he added, â€Å"Be seeing you.† Well,that was clear enough, Elena thought, as Robert drove away with a somber Matt and a sleepy Bonnie. Aunt Judith was on the phone with Mrs. McCullough. â€Å"I don't know what it is with these girls, either,† she said. â€Å"First Vickie, now Bonnie†¦ and Elena has not been herself lately†¦Ã¢â‚¬  While Aunt Judith talked and Margaret searched for the missing Snowball, Elena paced. She would have to call Stefan. That was all there was to it. She wasn't worried about Bonnie; the other times this had happened hadn't seemed to do permanent damage. And Damon would have better things to do than harass Elena's friends tonight. He was coming here, to collect for the â€Å"favor† he'd done her. She knew without a doubt that that was the meaning of his final words. And it meant she would have to tell Stefan everything, because she needed him tonight, needed his protection. Only, what could Stefan do? Despite all her pleas and arguments last week, he had refused to take her blood. He'd insisted that his Powers would return without it, but Elena knew he was still vulnerable right now. Even if Stefan were here, could he stop Damon? Could he do it without being killed himself? Bonnie's house was no refuge. And Meredith was gone. There was no one to help her, no one she could trust. But the thought of waiting here alone tonight, knowing that Damon was coming, was unbearable. She heard Aunt Judith click down the receiver. Automatically, she moved toward the kitchen, Stefan's She looked at the floor to ceiling windows and at the elaborate fireplace with its beautifully scrolled molding. This room was part of the original house, the one that had almost completely burned in the Civil War. Her own bedroom was just above. A great light was beginning to dawn. Elena looked at the molding around the ceiling, at where it joined the more modern dining room. Then she almost ran toward the stairs, her heart beating fast. â€Å"Aunt Judith?† Her aunt paused on the stairway. â€Å"Aunt Judith, tell me something. Did Damon go into the living room?† â€Å"What!† Aunt Judith blinked at her in distraction. â€Å"Did Robert take Damon into the living room? Please think, Aunt Judith! I need to know.† â€Å"Why, no, I don't think so. No, he didn't. They came in and went straight to the dining room. Elena, what on earth?†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This last as Elena impulsively threw her arms around her and hugged her. â€Å"Sorry, Aunt Judith. I'm just happy,† said Elena. Smiling, she turned to go back down the stairs. â€Å"Well, I'm gladsomeone's happy, after the way dinner turned out. Although that nice boy, Damon, seemed to enjoy himself. Do you know, Elena, he seemed quite taken with you, in spite of the way you were acting.† Elena turned back around. â€Å"So?† â€Å"Well, I just thought you might give him a chance, that's all. I thought he was very pleasant. The kind of young man I like to see around here.† Elena goggled a moment, then swallowed to keep the hysterical laughter from escaping. Her aunt was suggesting that she take up Damon instead of Stefan†¦ because Damon was safer. The kind of nice young man any aunt would like. â€Å"Aunt Judith,† she began, gasping, but then she realized it was useless. She shook her head mutely, throwing her hands up in defeat, and watched her aunt go up the stairs. Usually Elena slept with her door closed. But tonight she left it open and lay on her bed gazing out into the darkened hallway. Every so often she glanced at the luminous numbers of the clock on the nightstand beside her. There was no danger that she would fall asleep. As the minutes crawled by, she almost began to wish she could. Time moved with agonizing slowness. Eleven o'clock†¦ eleven thirty†¦ midnight. Onea.m. One thirty. Two. At 2:10 she heard a sound. She listened, still lying on her bed, to the faint whisper of noise downstairs. She'd known he would find a way to get in if he wanted. If Damon was that determined, no lock would keep him out. The hallway was dark, but her eyes had had a long time to adjust. She could see the darker silhouette making its way up the stairs. When it reached the top she saw the swift, deadly glimmer of his smile. She waited, unsmiling, until he reached her and stood facing her, with only a yard of hardwood floor between them. The house was completely silent. Across the hall Margaret slept; at the end of the passage, Aunt Judith lay wrapped in dreams, unaware of what was going on outside her door. Damon said nothing, but he looked at her, his eyes taking in the long white nightgown with its high, lacy neck. Elena had chosen it because it was the most modest one she owned, but Damon obviously thought it attractive. She forced herself to stand quietly, but her mouth was dry and her heart was thudding dully. Now was the time. In another minute she would know. She backed up, without a word or gesture of invitation, leaving the doorway empty. She saw the quick flare in his bottomless eyes, and watched him come eagerly toward her. And watched him stop. He stood just outside her room, plainly disconcerted. He tried again to step forward but could not. Something seemed to be preventing him from moving any farther. On his face, surprise gave way to puzzlement and then anger. He looked up, his eyes raking over the lintel, scanning the ceiling on either side of the threshold. Then, as the full realization hit him, his lips pulled back from his teeth in an animal snarl. Safe on her side of the doorway, Elena laughed softly. It had worked. â€Å"My room and the living room below are all that's left of the old house,† she said to him. â€Å"And, of course, that was a different dwelling place. One you werenot invited into, and never will be.† His chest was heaving with anger, his nostrils dilated, his eyes wild. Waves of black rage emanated from him. He looked as if he would like to tear the walls down with his hands, which were twitching and clenching with fury. Triumph and relief made Elena giddy. â€Å"You'd better go now,† she said. â€Å"There's nothing for you here.† One minute more those menacing eyes blazed into hers, and then Damon turned around. But he didn't head for the stairway. Instead, he took one step across the hall and laid his hand on the door to Margaret's room. Elena started forward before she knew what she was doing. She stopped in the doorway, grasping the casing trim, her own breath coming hard. His head whipped around and he smiled at her, a slow, cruel smile. He twisted the doorknob slightly without looking at it. His eyes, like pools of liquid ebony, remained on Elena. â€Å"Your choice,† he said. Elena stood very still, feeling as if all of winter was inside her. Margaret was just a baby. He couldn't mean it; no one could be such a monster as to hurt a four-year-old. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. She saw Damon's hand on the doorknob; she saw those merciless eyes. She was walking through the doorway, leaving behind the only safe place she knew. Death was in the house, Bonnie had said. And now Elena had gone to meet Death of her own free will. She bowed her head to conceal the helpless tears that came to her eyes. It was over. Damon had won. She did not look up to see him advance on her. But she felt the air stir around her, making her shiver. And then she was enfolded in soft, endless blackness, which wrapped around her like a great bird's wings.

Biological oxygen demand (BOD) of water sample analysis

Biological oxygen demand (BOD) of water sample analysis Essay – The first end point colour was of a yellow colour, perhaps not light enough – Addition of starch indicator produced a grey-black solution; perhaps did not add enough indicator, however this did not pose as a problem – There was one occasion where I suspected to have added too much sodium thiosulphate, however the second trial indicated that I did not go past the end point too much To calculate the dissolved oxygen content (mg/dm ³ or ppm), we must first determine the number of mols of thiosulphate from the mean titrated volume of both samples. In this case, we will use sample A. The Winkler method indicates that the relationship between the amount of oxygen and thiosulphate is a four to one ratio. Therefore, we will divide the number of mols of thiosulphate by four to get the number of mols of oxygen. Then we convert this to milligrams per dm ³ first by multiplying by 20 to arrive with the number of mols present in 1dm ³ (because the pond water sample used was 50cm ³). Then we multiply that number by 32 (molecular mass of oxygen) to attain the number of grams of oxygen. Then finally, the number is multiplied by 1000 to be converted into milligrams. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) would therefore be the difference between the DO of sample A and sample B. Biological oxygen demand (BOD) of water sample analysis. (2017, Nov 17).

Violence in the Binding of Isaac Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Review of the Management Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Review of the Management Literature - Essay Example There are evidences regarding the differences in the attitudes and interests across these two generations, which would be found throughout the workplace. In today’s world most of the organizations face severe problems. But these problems does not relate to downsizing, foreign competition, change etc. They are having difficulty in handling various generations, which constitute the entire workforce. The generation conflict within the workforce is found to be one of the common problems for most of the organizations. This is not a minor problem and lack of attention in the generation difference would result in reduced efficiencies of the organizations. Thus, a good understanding about the generation differences for strengthening the work relationship between different employees is highly crucial. At first it becomes necessary to understand generation X and generation Y. Generation X: Individuals falling in this category are born in between 1965 to 1980. The people belong to this a ge group work very hard for the betterment of the overall performance of the organization. But at the same time, if better opportunity knocks at their door then they do not hesitate in switching their jobs. The work-life balance is an important factor for this generation. This generation also believes that people would be giving their best output if they are offered the freedom to be innovative and creative in life. People belonging to this particular generation like to explain in details the reason behind any decision making within the organization and they motivate the employees in such manner that they can easily understand all the decisions adapted and have an idea about the reason behind them as well. This generation believes in strengthening of communication within the workplace by means of email. Generation Y: Individuals belonging to this generation are born in between 1981 to 2000. The people belonging to this age group believe that they possess some brilliant ideas and as a result they just want to do give their best (Eisner, 2005; Sujansky, 2004). They believe that the results would follow the performance automatically. They like working in their respective workplaces and enjoy meeting their responsibilities until they get bored out of it. They believe that working from home is equally good like working from office as long as the work is getting completed (Allen, 2004; Johns, 2003). Texting is the best mode of remaining in touch with the generation Y member in the work place. Main problem arising in the work place Generation Y takes more time taking direction for completing their work as compared to Generation X. The Generation Y employees possess a high sense of morality, are sociable and ready to fight for independence. These individuals have high values for their friends and family. These individuals prefer taking intellectual challenges and strive for making differences in themselves (Martin and Tulgan, 2006). They prefer their employers to have such skills, which would help them in their professional development (Brown, 2004). This generation does not get highly motivated by the objective of making good deal of money (Francis-Smith, 2004). They believe in doing meaningful work and want to be appreciated for their performances (Zemke Raines and Filipczak, 2000). Setting personal goals as well as achieving those matters to a great extent to these generation individuals. Moreover,

Multinationals,asian success and Gloobal econmy Essay

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(Economics) - Assignment Example The ban of a product hurts the consumer markets especially if the good was used by a lot of people. When vendors smuggle the goods and bring them to the marketplace illegally society benefits because these goods are providing a utility that is needed for the consumers. I believe that US citizens should boycott companies that abuse its workers in less developed countries. The only way for these companies to stop these unethical practices is for the customers to take proactive action to boycott these types of establishments. A full boycott of an item that is offered at much lower prices might hurt consumers that cannot afford to pay higher prices. Due to the different in opinions of customers it would be hard to implement a full boycott. Country A should produce toys, while country B should produce pineapples. Country A must trade toys for pineapples and country B must trade pineapples for toys. In general country A produces less toys or pineapples than country B. Their competitive advantage is in toys because country B can produce more than twice the amount of pineapples than country A. Since country B can produce 900 pineapples per day this country should concentrate on producing pineapples. The competitive advantage of country B in pineapples is 2.25 to

MARKETING YOURSELF AS A PROFESSIONAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

MARKETING YOURSELF AS A PROFESSIONAL - Essay Example As a student in Cal State Fullerton, I have the privilege to absorb as much knowledge as I possibly can, especially since this school is the most famed of all of the business majors in this district. Taking more business courses could greatly increase my chances when competing with other applicants for job opportunities. MKTG353 Marketing Info Technology will be my first choice to take as a marketing course. This course requires students to learn the information tools and the databases for decision making. Also, it helps students to gain the knowledge of profit analysis, sales forecasting, advertising media selection, and market segmentation. Moreover, students will improve their skills in using electronic spreadsheets, which will improve my electronic technique skills for preparing accounting statements. Specifically, I will gain I.T skills that will enable me to gather a wide range of information on all aspects of business. For accountancy and other jobs, the course will give me a deeper understanding of the processes and the relationships between buyers and sellers. KTG465 Â   Managing Services Marketing will be a particularly important course for a business major student, giving the opportunity to expand knowledge and practice, something many students may not have experienced. This course mainly concentrates on the skills of communication with customers. With approximately 76% of our labor force working in the service sector, the chances are, we will be there, too. As entry level, front line employees of an organization, we will mostly deal with the customers directly. Therefore, communication skills will benefit anyone just entering working society. Service industries may have legal and financial strictures. They are highly competitive. I hope to learn to recognize and deal with specific challenges, such as understanding schedules, budgets, quality control and competitive strategies, a good background for my future career. The course will

Inroduction to property law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Inroduction to property law - Essay Example legal right to the property could have been rightfully established, however in the absence of this legal claim, his rights must be established through proprietary estoppel. The commonly accepted definition of proprietary estoppel is as provided by Oliver J in the case of Taylors Fashions Ltd v Liverpool Victoria Trustees Co Ltd2 is that proprietary estoppel may be established in this cases where â€Å"it would be unconscionable for a party to be permitted to deny that, which, knowingly or unknowingly, he has allowed or encouraged another to assume to his detriment.† Therefore, in applying this to the case of Derek, it may be possible to establish that it would be unconscionable for Pam as the legal title holder, to now sell the house and ask Derek to move into an old people’s home to his detriment, when the house was supposed to be a home for all of them, and Derek has been making mortgage payments all the while on the basis of this assumption. Moreover, at the time of purchase of the house, the main objective was not only to provide a home for them but also to enable Derek to be able to take in lodgers so that he could be provided with an income in his old age, which is also the reason why Derek has assumed the primary financial burden in making mortgage payments on the house. Hence, it would be unconscionable to now expect him to vacate the house and move into an old age home. The objective of proprietary estoppel is to establish interest and proprietary interest in providing a remedy in the event of a property transfer where legal formalities fall just short of what is required3. Proprietary estoppel was invoked in the case of Yaxley and Gotts v Another4 in providing just such a remedy. The issue in this case was the dispute over whether an oral contract did indeed exist between the parties and whether this could provide justification for the issue of a remedy. However, as pointed out by Justice Robert Walker in his judgment, proprietary estoppel was

Foregrounding Techniques in the Yellow Dog by Martin Amis Essay Example for Free

Foregrounding Techniques in the Yellow Dog by Martin Amis Essay The second half of the XX century is defined as the Postmodern Era in the development of civilization. It has been singled out into a separate period because of certain changes in human thought, world view and mode of living. The world has changed much since the beginning of the twentieth century – there has occurred a rapid development in contemporary technology which revolutionized our way of thinking. Postmodern literature, like postmodernism as a whole, is hard to define and there is little agreement on the exact characteristics, scope, and importance of postmodern literature. However, unifying features often coincide with Jean-Francois Lyotard’s concept of the ‘meta-narrative’ and ‘little narrative,’ Jacques Derrida’s concept of ‘play,’ and Jean Baudrillard’s ‘simulacra. ’ For example, instead of the modernist quest for meaning in a chaotic world, the postmodern author eschews, often playfully, the possibility of meaning, and the postmodern novel is often a parody of this quest. This distrust of totalizing mechanisms extends even to the author; thus postmodern writers often celebrate chance over craft and employ metafiction to undermine the authors ‘univocal’ control (the control of only one voice). The distinction between high and low culture is also attacked with the employment of pastiche, the combination of multiple cultural elements including subjects and genres not previously deemed fit for literature. A list of postmodern authors often varies; the following are some names of authors often so classified, most of them belonging to the generation born in the interwar period. Her father was a barrister and later a judge; her mother was a former elementary schoolteacher, neurotic and frustrated, angrily unhappy at being a full-time housewife. Both came from working-class families but had studied at Cambridge, and the household was one of books, book talk, and slamming doors. Many comparisons are possible in discussions of these novellas, both comparisons of the novellas to each other and of one or both to other works by A. S. Byatt. The Victorian setting, not paralleled here by a modern setting as it is in Possession, may stimulate discussion of the strengths and shortcomings of [pic]Victorian society and how it compares to modern society. The double voice of postmodern fiction presents a challenge because it requires that we question the way we read and interpret not only postmodern literature but also literature as a whole.

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay Elderly abuse has been prevalent in our society and it has not been discussed frequently as compared to other issues in our society and not much research has been done on elder abuse in Singapore. Due to such limitations present in the study of elderly abuse, this creates an impression that elderly abuse is a rare occurrence and is not a potential threat to our society. With the reports on real life elderly abuse cases, it is evident that elderly abuse does exist and is not a rare occurrence in Singapore as most of the time, such incidences go underreported. Furthermore, it is often difficult to detect elderly abuse as in the first place, there is a lack of awareness as to what actually comprises elderly abuse. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, minister for community youth and sports, at the annual family violence symposium in the year 2009, cautioned that as Singapore comprises one of the fastest ageing populations in the world, we have to be prepared and expect an increase in the number of c ases involving elder abuse. ( straits Times). What is more worrying that majority of the elders suffer abuse under the hands of their own children due to the stress induced on them from care giving. Hence, elderly abuse has become one of the most important compelling social issues which have to be addressed due to the nature of Singapores demographic trends which consists an increasing proportion of elderly. Thus, in this paper, the social issue of my focus would be elderly abuse in Singapore. A common problem faced with regards to the discussion of elderly abuse would be the issue about what exactly constitutes elder abuse. As a result, many cases of elder abuse go unreported. ( pg 28, say no to elder abuse).The Golden Life Workgroup on Elder Abuse Prevention formed in Singapore in the year, 2002, adheres to the World Health Organization (WHO)s definition of elder abuse. It defines elder abuse in its report presented to the government as A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust or duty of care, which causes harm or distress to an older person. (Golden life workgroup on elder abuse, 2004 PG 16, World Health Organization 2002) CITE PROPERLY The Ministry of Community Youth and Sports (MCYS) categorises elderly abuse into 5 main groups such as financial, neglect, abandonment, physical and psychological abuse. (Understanding Elder Abuse and Neglect pg 8 check year 2004?). The ageing trends of Singapore suggests that with increase in life expectancy, the elderly would now require more long term care than before and there will be an increasing level of dependency on their children to support them. With declining birth rates, there would be fewer care givers in the family. This creates ample opportunity for elderly abuse to take place. (UN Secretary-Generals Report, March 2002). The percentage of elderly who are aged above 65, in 2009 was 8.80% and the projected percentage of elderly in the year 2030 is expected to rise to 18.7%. (Statistical Indicators on the Elderly, MCYS) .The United Nations uses the dependency ratio as a marker of the potential dependency burden to predict the amount of burden which has to be carried by the working population. (Source: Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat 2007 http://www.un.org/ageing/popageing.html). In the case of Singapore, as the old-age dependency ratio is in creasing each year whereby in the year 2008 it was 11.9 per 100 and in the year 2010 it increased to 12.2 per 100. (Department of Statistics, 2011). This has serious implications for Singapore, as the working population has to shoulder the burden of care giving and financial support. Now, it becomes even more challenging with the rising number of singles and married couples choosing not to have any children or just having one child . Such situations have serious repercussions as the future trend will be such that care giving on the elderly will be solely shouldered by the only child and this creates an increasing amount of stress and pressure on the sole caregiver which in return causes them to abuse the elderly. It was reported in the Straits times that each year a total of about 178 cases of elderly abuse were being reported and out these 178 cases reported about 120 cases of the elderly were abused by their own children. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore) October 22, 200 9 Thursday). There are various theories to explain the reasons for the occurrence of elderly abuse. The social exchange theory seeks to further explain the reasons for elderly to experience violence from their perpetrators using the concept of social resources such as power, financial stability and status. ( Quote : social work textbook pg 324), Pillemer, 1989 refer to no eldlerly abuse book behind). Increasing level of dependency on children creates a potential environment for abuse to take place, as the elderly authority is now diminished due to lack of power and necessary resources which the potential caregiver has. Hence, such a power dimension with regards to the availability of resources creates imbalance and strain in the relationship between the elderly and the caregiver. Another instance whereby an elderly abuse can take place can be explained through another theory known as the ecological theory, is when the caregiver of the elderly themselves might be undergoing several problems for in stance they themselves might have financial difficulties or could be suffering from some health conditions. Thus, looking after an elderly may induce stress on the caregiver whereby in some situations, as a form of coping mechanism they might vent out their frustrations on the elderly under their care through verbal and physical abuse and this causes the elderly to be in a greater exposure to abuse. (MCYS , booklet). An example to illustrate such a case which was cited in a Straits times article will be about an unmarried son who was in his forties who had to give up his job to look after his mother who was bedridden and suffering from dementia. Not being able to handle the stress that he was going through, he used to hit his mother frequently. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore October 22, 2009 Thursday). Most of the times , the victims of elderly abuse tend to be elderly who are completely dependent on their children in terms of financial and healthcare aspects and therefo re the perpetrators of elderly abuse are usually their children or someone they dependent on.( Quote: The Pattern of Elderly Abuse Presenting to an Emergency Department, G W M Cham, E Seow, 2004, pg 571). Although, the number of elderly abuse and neglect cases are less than 200, it should not be taken at face value that the elderly abuse is a rare phenomenon. Coming from an Asian society, especially in a region whereby Confucian values are prevailing, since most of the perpetrators are their own children, the elderly seldom report about them being abused as they do not want to be embarrassed or do not want to be judged upon, looked down for raising children who are abusive. ( Penhale 1993, british journal of social work, 23,2) . For other elderly, they might choose to suffer under the hands of their children rather than reporting them as they are increasingly dependent on their children to fulfil their basic needs, they fear of losing them or they fear of the future consequences such as intensified level of abuse from the perpetrator when they resort to reporting them.(Lee and Pang, 2003, pang 2000). Due to such underreporting and the denial of being abused further heightens this soci al issue as the elderly tend to suffer in silence. The social issue of elderly abuse should be viewed in terms of a micro and macro level. (social work)From the examples cited in this paper, it can be seen that most of the Elderly abuse which is one form of family violence was initially seen to be a private affair which was confined to and occurred usually in the family sphere which is the micro level. When the issue of the elder abuse is also being experienced by majority of the citizens in Singapore as well, with the increasing number of cases of elder abuse being cited in the newspapers and with the fast paced ageing population in Singapore, this issue of elder abuse now becomes a public and national issue which the state has to address. (textboo) For instance, in the earlier years when it came to issues about abuse more attention had been given to child and spousal abuse but not elderly abuse.(say no elderl abuse) Currently as more cases of elderly abuses are coming to the limelight, it is an issue which is worthy of concern. The refore, elderly abuse and neglect is a social issue which not only affects the elderly but it also the rest of the population who now have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the elderly. There are many perspectives with regards to the issue of elderly abuse and how it should be tackled. Firstly from the states point of view, it strictly adopts a non-welfare approach .The state believes that various social safety nets such as the community, social services and non-profit organizations have to come together to tackle the social issue of elderly abuse. The state mainly uses the legal approach and tertiary intervention in the form of laws to tackle elder abuse and neglect. For example the Womens charter seeks to deal with family violence and protect family members including the elderly who are being abused. The financial neglect of elderly is being handled under the Maintenance of Parents Act which allows the parents to demand financial support from their children through the Tribunal court. ( say no to elder). The Maintenance of Parents Act although allows parents to demand for financial provison from their children. This solution can help the elderly to seek financial support from their reluctant children especially when they have no one to turn to. Unfortutantely, this is only a temporary solution as the law only address the financial neglect aspect and does not address the emotional aspect of the elderly. It is because the law cannot mandate children to be loving towards their parents .This present solution posses certain shortfalls, for instance, ,many parents may not want use this maintenance act in order not cause further trouble for their children. Another problem with this solution is that many of the elderly are not even aware about the existence of such legal framework. From the medical doctors and healthcare professionals perspective, there has been increasing concern with regards to elderly abuse and neglect. Hospitals now see an increasing number of care givers committing suicide due to not being able to handle the pressures of care giving and some even result to abusing their parents under their care not because of the intention of abusing them but because they do not know who to handle the situation.( srraits times) In a recent stratis time a doctor in the article mentioned that one of her patientss daughter who was the sole care giver would force feed her until the patient had to be treated in hospital for malnutrition and despite continuously being admitted into the hospital, she was not told where to get help and the caregiver by chance found out that there is a centre which provides help in care giving. ( straits Times). From the health care professionals view, they feel that the state can come up with even more rigourous legal framework an d the state could help in creating a strong network between hospitals and various caregiving centres so that the patients are able to get revelant help to cope with the demanding tasks of care giving. Furthermore, health care professionals can play a key role in detecting elderly abuse. The emergency department is one important place whereby elderly who are abused are being isolated and it can be the only appropriate situation to detect cases of elderly abuse. (W S Pang, 2000).The health care professionals face a dilemma when they encounter or suspect that their elderly patients might have been abused. It is because there are no specific laws addressing elderly abuse or neglect which results in not having a clear focus of what actually constititues an elderly abuse. (Quote pg 50). There are efforts to implement laws such as Maintenance of Parents Act by the state to protect elderly in some ways however, there is no laws which calls for mandatory reporting of elderly abuse cases. Hen ce this creates a predicament on part of the doctors as to whether or not to report cases of abuse. Due to the absence of a clear and proper framework or solution for the hospital professionals to strictly adhere to, such a situation causes an elderly to be trap in a vicious cycle of abuse. This has underlying consequences in the future as more cases of elderly abuse may become undetected. From the social workers and policy makers perspective, they believe that more can be done in training healthcare professionals and social workers in terms of understanding and detecting elderly abuse. In addition, they believe that more care giving centers can be set up to reduce stress of the care givers and serve as an intervention for abuse cases. This solution is can be very useful in the long run as it helps to protect elderly and helps to consell and educating the stressed caregiver which eventually helps to prevent the elderly from being further abused. However, one area of concern would be that the availability and increasing number of caregiving centers and residential homes can also create a room for misuse whereby children of the elderly for their convenience and in order to discard their responsibility as they might use such places to dump their parents there. Thus, there has be stricter regulations with regards to the admission into the caregiving centers. After considering all the different perspectives being offered pertaining to elderly abuse, in my view, I would support and favour health professionals, social workers and policy makers view especially with the view that the state has to adopt stricter and harsher laws when it comes to elderly abuse. The absence of mandotary reporting of elderly abuse, creates the main problem for allowing elderly abuse cases to go unreported. Furthermore with the absence of a clear framework of what actually constitutes elder abuse or how this social issue can be tackled it creates a form of helplessness on the part of the healthcare and social work professionals as they are not being able to intervene in elderly abuse cases promptly. In my view once the state has come up with a clear set of laws specifically addressing to elderly abuse and once there is an the implementation of mandatory reporting then it becomes easier for the healthcare professionals and social workers to be better equipped in in tervening in elderly abuse cases. In conclusion, as discussed in this paper, elderly abuse is one of the key social issues which the states has to constantly look into as elderly abuse requires lots of intervention programmes, training and education of the public and social work professionals. Elderly abuse can have serious consequences on the mental health of the elderly and they might lose their dignity in living as a normal human and their basic human rights such as the freedom to fight against any abuse and discrimination against them is being lost. Therefore it becomes a necessity to ensure that these group of elderly not just will have the proper healthcare facilities but it is also our societys outermost duty to ensure that the elderly age with dignity and they spent their last years in a protected and non abusive family environment. .

Influences on Emotional Expression Essay -- Psychology, Emotions

Emotions play a significant part in our daily lives, especially to our overall wellbeing whenever we share these experiences with other people. The ability to express and interpret emotions is an important skill that everyone can improve on that would greatly benefit their interpersonal communication. Our expressions accompany our emotions; they serve as windows that allow other people to know what we are feeling inside. There are several factors that influence how we communicate our feelings. The primary explanation for the differences in how people express their emotions rests on biology. First of all, our biological sex is the best predictor of the ability to detect and interpret emotional expressions (Swenson & Casmir, 1998). Our gender can shape how receptive we are of other people’s feelings, whether that person is of the same or different sex as us. Usually, people are generally better at recognizing the emotions of the member of the same sex (Adler, Rosenfeld, Proctor, 2007). The definition of being a man or a woman is also influenced by the culture one grows up in. Typically, most boys are taught to be tough even at a young age and are even encouraged by most fathers to play roughly with other boys their age. Crying is one emotion that is greatly discouraged because it is seen as a sign of weakness. On the contrary, it is acceptable for girls since society teaches them to be gentle and nurturing. This probably explains why males are usually more aggressive and competitive than females. These also go hand in hand with the social roles of men and women in society. Our occupations can also get in the way of expressing our emotions, as we are expected to act pleasant even though we don’t really feel that way. For example, ... ...t functions in our everyday life and relationships. Our culture is a good determinant of how we may act and show our feelings around people. The social conventions in our culture also serves as a guide as to what is supposed to be proper behavior when we are playing our social roles in the society we live in. There are times when people would choose to present artificial emotions because of the anxious situations that they are dealing with, hence refusing to disclose their feelings to others. A person’s personality also has huge influence on how they understand and convey expressions; just as our personality shapes our emotions, in turn our emotions also affect our personality. The people that we often socialize with can influence our feelings as we do the same with them. As has been noted, these are all the factors that influence the expression of our emotions.

Does a Violent Media create a Violent Society? Essay -- social issues

Does a Violent Media create a Violent Society? This issue is one of constant debate, with no real solution. There are many things society as a whole and individuals can do to appease or inflame the issue, however each argument has a counter argument and a counter argument will exist for that and so on. Because it is an issue of such heated debate with no answer or possibility of an answer should we just leave the issue be and choose not to address it further? Or should we make the issue widely known so society is more aware of the role the media can play. Or perhaps we should leave it to the media to publicise that. After all the media does have a strong influence. Take the late 1980's film Terminator, one of the highest grossing films of the 80's. This means millions of people worldwide have been to see it at the movies, and then most probably, rented it out on video. Have these millions of people gone out and killed their arch enemies? I think not. However the file Terminator may have inspired, planted the idea, or conceptualised the seed of an idea in someone's mind. And one or, possibly more murders can be associated with the movie Terminator, a certain method of killing perhaps mimicked in a psychos' rage. Yet isn't it more than likely that the ONLY aspect of the murder affected by Terminator and such films may have been just the technique used. I believe it is more than likely the killer/murderer/stalker would have performed his duties anyway. I s... Does a Violent Media create a Violent Society? Essay -- social issues Does a Violent Media create a Violent Society? This issue is one of constant debate, with no real solution. There are many things society as a whole and individuals can do to appease or inflame the issue, however each argument has a counter argument and a counter argument will exist for that and so on. Because it is an issue of such heated debate with no answer or possibility of an answer should we just leave the issue be and choose not to address it further? Or should we make the issue widely known so society is more aware of the role the media can play. Or perhaps we should leave it to the media to publicise that. After all the media does have a strong influence. Take the late 1980's film Terminator, one of the highest grossing films of the 80's. This means millions of people worldwide have been to see it at the movies, and then most probably, rented it out on video. Have these millions of people gone out and killed their arch enemies? I think not. However the file Terminator may have inspired, planted the idea, or conceptualised the seed of an idea in someone's mind. And one or, possibly more murders can be associated with the movie Terminator, a certain method of killing perhaps mimicked in a psychos' rage. Yet isn't it more than likely that the ONLY aspect of the murder affected by Terminator and such films may have been just the technique used. I believe it is more than likely the killer/murderer/stalker would have performed his duties anyway. I s...

Gender Equity Essay -- essays papers

Gender Equity From the day that individuals are born stereotypes of males and females are impressed upon them. Most people believe that males are supposed to be competitive, aggressive and logical thinkers among other masculine traits. Females on the other hand should be sociable, passive and emotional thinkers. People all over the world accept all of these stereotypes of females and males. These stereotypes also carry over into the way teachers conduct their classrooms. In education both genders have advantages and disadvantages in different areas. Most people believe that boys receive more attention then girls. Male students seem to talk more then females during class. They also tend to call out answers and therefore are given more attention in one perspective. Teachers also do not correct girls as frequently because teachers think that it will hurt girls’ feelings. When teachers give boys more constructive criticism this stimulates more intellectual growth, (Kleinfield and Yerian, 1995). Female students favor to collaborate during conversations and like to build on other’s ideas. Females always seem to lag behind boys in two school subjects, math and science. For some reason our society have greatly stereotyped women as being inadequate and incapable of possessing these skills. Girls do not become independent problem solvers and do not do well in high-level cognitive tasks. In result girls develop a bad attitude towards math and science and think of it as a male domain (Silvey and Smart, 1982). Teachers also can contribute to this loss of interest in these subjects. Sometimes teachers tend to assist girls with difficult problems to avoid feelings of disappointment. Teachers also seem to call on boys to answer more cha... ...ereotypes about boys and girls, such as mathematics being a male domain. Students should realize that no mater what sex they are anything is possible if they set their mind to it. If students believe these stereotypes and yet they do not fit into that particular mold they might try to hide their strengths of weaknesses. Sometimes students can use these stereotypes as an excuse not to do well in a particular subject or area. Bibliography Barrs, Myra, and Sue Pidgeon. Reading the Difference. Maine: Stenhouse, 1994. Coleman, James S. Equality and Achievement in Education. San Francisco:Westview, 1990. Klienfield, Judith S., and Suzanne Yerian. Gender Tales. New York: St. Martin’s, 1995. Shapiro, June, et al. Equal Their Chances. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1981. Silvey, Linda, and James R. Smart. Mathematics for the Middle Grades. Virginia: Reston, 1982

Reality TV shows Essay

Reality TV shows have become very popular on the small screen nowadays. There are many realities TV shows out there that can relate to anybody watching them. There are a lot of topics about how reality TV shows gives out different characteristics to the viewers. For example in the article â€Å"The Distorting Mirror of Reality TV† Sarah Coleman focuses on all the different characteristics that many reality TV shows provide for the people watching. In this paper I am going to talk about two characteristics that the reality show Hoarders provides to the viewers. The first characteristic is that it can promote stereotypes. The second is that it is informative. Finally I will decide whether or not Hoarders provides these characteristics or not. The first characteristic that I noticed on Reality TV is stereotypes. For example on â€Å"The Distorting Mirror of Reality TV† by Sarah Coleman, she states that reality TV perpetuates stereotypes. Her article also explains why stereotypes are constantly being used in many reality shows. â€Å"To make shows more dramatic† this is one of Coleman strongest reason why many reality TV perpetuates stereotypes. Another subject that Coleman mentions in the article is that Reality TV shows want to make real people interesting, so they give people characters to play. Reality TV shows are now more scripture than just showing people how â€Å"real† people actually act. In the Reality TV show Hoarders stereotypes is the first characteristic I noticed that was shown. This reality show, shows to the viewer how a hoarder lives and how their home looks like. The stereotype given towards the hoarder will always be someone that is depressed, sad, or hopeless. For example on Lisa’s episode, her hoarding problem started when she first lost her husband. Losing her marriage made Lisa depressed and hopeless. After her daughter left Lisa because of her hoarding problems, Lisa became worst. Lisa felt incomplete without anybody, but herself. She continued hoarding things because it made her feel like she had something and made her feel complete. The stereotype show that hoarders are always people that might has had a really bad lost in the family or has had a hard time in their lives. Showing this type of stereotypes to the viewers can show them that hoarding can be a problem that can happen to anybody in the world. Hoarders clearly want to show to the viewers some of the problems real people face in the real world  and what type to people are the ones facing this problems.

Humor within Leadership Theory Essay

The key to the success of any venture is strong leadership (Howe 1994). Courage, vision, and humor are key ingredients in the formula for success. Service to the community or communities also plays a critical role in the development of leadership potential. The importance of humor in this model is fundamental. Every leader has some selfdoubt, but using humor and spiritual authenticity to overcome self-doubt will lead to success and prosperity. And what is said for leaders also can be said for those who are led. Muslim humor is famous all over the Western world. There is an almost endless number of collections, anthologies, and treasuries of Muslim humor, bulging with tens of thousands of Muslim jokes and anecdotes. That the humor of every ethnic group mirrors its conditions of life, its economic, political, and social circumstances, its position vis-a-vis other population groups, is so self-evident that it needs but passing mention. What is perhaps not so apparent is that the jokes, the anecdotes, and the other manifestations of humor are keys to understanding the life of the people in question and can serve as peepholes through which we can look into otherwise hidden corners of existence. As far as muslim communities are concerned, treasuries of Muslim humor can and should be used, and humor should be applied to make the West more likable and admired by the young muslim communities of the world. The techniques and strategies of humor are equally relevant at several levels of living systems, as well as between levels. Thus, the study of humor in multicultural society is interdisciplinary and is becoming a discipline in its own right. The current work is toward methods of negotiation with humor in which the objectives are to obtain a more cooperative long-term relationship and a more rewarding substantive outcome for young muslim communities. Muslim humor is second to no other product of the Muslim mind in revealing the mental state of the Muslims in any given place and at any given time. Whether it contains selfcriticism, directing its barbs at a Muslim group from which the humorist wishes to distance himself, or whether it compares the Muslims and the Gentiles, most often to the latter’s detriment, the Muslim joke is a manifestation of Muslim thinking and feeling about the in-group and various categories of out-groups. For example, the actor Sasha Cohen in the movie Borat makes young muslims laugh by making fun of Israel, despite him being Muslim himself. It would be ridiculous to pretend that none of the people who found Sasha Cohen funny were laughing at him for the wrong reasons. Some would have been laughing at what they took to be his imitation, others at one further remove, were probably laughing at the black parts of his monstrous hybrid. They laughed louder and longer because he revealed it to be alien, eccentric, and absurd in its snobbery, stupidity, and perverse attachment to numerous forms of destructive hierarchy-class, race, religion. Those dismal qualities were not being exposed from the outside by a stranger but explored from the inside in a daring act of patriotic love. That laughter does not intersperse loathing and self-hatred with manic elation. It helps instead to cultivate the everyday, ordinary virtue involved in managing healthier relationships with otherness that are not deformed by fear, anxiety, and violence. The most powerful weapon for creative mind stretching and therefore for reconstruction is humor, especially when it is self-directed rather than outward bound. Humor directed at another serves to break the lifelong habits of a sickly (symbiotic) relationship between people. Self-directed humor is a real mind healer: By flooding the anxious mind with grotesquely exaggerated fears, it banishes phobias and obsessions. In general, it drastically corrects in the mind and in behavior habitual neurotic (self-sabotaging and destructive) patterns. Humor is a technique involves any action one take to cause the proposals, ideas, or values of another to be rejected in favor of own by getting group members to laugh at, ridicule, or scorn the other person’s proposals (Duncan, 1990). Rationalization is founded on trust and respect, and if respect is lost, so too is much of power. While power may abhor a vacuum, it equally abhors scorn. Without respect, dominance cannot be maintained. Getting others to laugh at or denigrate in any way the proposals of others that one oppose is another way to exercise power in the organization. Perhaps the ultimate in withdrawal of consent is laughter. Nyberg (1981) proposes that laughter, not revolution, is more common in overthrowing a regime. Authority fears rejection more than any other threat to its legitimacy. Especially in informal organizations, if the leader loses the respect of the fellows he or she is incapable of securing their compliance in even nominal organizational transactions. Humor is a motivated process of communication between living systems with the goal of reaching agreement about certain joint or reciprocal acts. These acts may involve management of conflict, exchange of resources, or cooperation on actions directed at the mutual environment. Behavior within a system is normally regulated by the template of that system. Internal conflict may indicate a need to amend the template. Humor can be used to modify the template so as to remove the source of conflict. For instance, when negotiation occurs between components or subsystems of a system, as in talks to manage conflict between two divisions of a corporation, the resulting humor may modify the template with respect to the roles and required behavior of the divisions. Three general stances facilitate reflexive humor: not-knowing, curious, and collaborative. They provide a way for individuals to explore, express, and share the views and meanings of situations that, otherwise, can drive them apart. Let us examine each in turn. Not-knowing Stance This stance involves taking the nonexpert position of not knowing. Taking this stance encourages humor by levelling the hierarchies of position and knowledge. While hierarchies exist in all organizations, emphasizing them discourages humor; deemphasizing them encourages humor. Reflexive humor emphasizes equal participation rather than hierarchical power, thereby bringing about a shift from hierarchy to collaboration. Humor is characterized by content and relationship aspects. We all are aware of the content aspect of communication – the information that a message is intended to convey. The egalitarian ethic of reflexive humor eliminates the positions of hierarchy and power in the humor. A not-knowing stance conveys the message that everyone is equally qualified to generate ideas, opinions, and perspectives about a situation or a problem. This means that the manager enters into the dialogue without any preconceived notions or ideas. The not-knowing stance also encourages listeners to attend to both the â€Å"outer† humor of others as well as to their own â€Å"inner† humor. This egalitarian approach encourages each participant to contribute to the mutual exploration of ideas. Curious Stance The curious stance simply means that one expresses one’s ideas in a funny manner. A dogmatic or assertive expression of ideas often hinders the creative process, but a comic mode of expression encourages others to take, leave, or develop ideas at will without vesting or territoriality. This climate encourages the free exchange of ideas on their own merit and without threat of penalty. Taking this stance helps to multiply varying perspectives on a problem and, naturally, leads to an evolved solution. A final advantage is that emergent solutions are usually not only the best thought-out and most fitting but also explored and designed by the individuals who will implement them. Collaborative Stance This stance is the result of the two preceding stances. The shared perspectives, ideas, and meanings contributed by the conversants evolve into common knowledge. This process filters many levels of perceptions and triggers deep involvement among participants making possible the co-construction of a jointly-owned outcome. They bring about better understanding among individuals whose culture and gender may create varying perceptions of the same reality. There is nothing simple about dealing with diversity. Diversity is one of the most complex and refracted areas of management because it involves the intimacy of the self with the impersonality. The first step in implementing reflexive humor in university setting is to form small, voluntary, diverse groups. Participants can come from either the same class or a variety of divisions. There are only two rules for membership in the group – commitment and confidentiality. One quickly comes to realize that the premises and stances of reflexive humor are not part of normal communication repertoire. People have learned to function in the hierarchical worlds of home, school, and, the university. In these settings they do not always relate to one another on an egalitarian basis. Much less accepted is the practice of communicating with others, whether colleagues or superiors, from a curious or not-knowing stance. Furthermore, assuming a collaborative stance in their dealings with one another is not an everyday occurrence either. One achieves competence in reflexive humor through learnable skills that require practice. One trains individuals in reflexive humor by introducing each premise and stance and allowing time for practice. The individual being trained acquires the command of one skill before moving on to the next. It may be difficult to begin the training by talking about diversity issues. To create a conducive climate, groups might begin by discussing study-related or other relatively neutral matters because such topics are more familiar and potentially less explosive. Reflexive humor is a general theory that lends itself to any communication context. Therefore, in any setting or on any topic, the process of reflexive humor will evoke multiple points of view and generate mutual self-awareness for the participants. Jointly concentrating on common tasks is an excellent way to begin diversity training. With practice, the process of reflexive humor will engender a sense of trust among its participants. The structure of reflexive humor creates an environment wherein participants can freely exchange their views and, eventually, communicate with one another on deeper and more meaningful levels. Trust and synergy. †¢ Trust reduces the amount of time and energy wasted in suspicion and politics. This time and effort can therefore be better deployed on added-value activities that help to deliver the purpose and vision. †¢ When trust, competence and alignment come together we can achieve synergy, and unlock high performance. †¢ To develop into an attuned team the members of the group have to be able to trust each other. Reflexive humor is a new approach to face-to-face communication. It offers a process by which one can access the uniqueness of each individual as well as each individual’s cultural paradigm. Through this approach, individuals can better generate information and co-construct those mutual realities that lead to enhanced problem solving. Reflexive humor is particularly useful to individuals from different cultures who wish to establish a common ground for mutual understanding and action. Humor is not just joking, and management is not just the bloodless supervision of humans in the machine-like achievement of goals. Human emotions and feelings are involved in many issues, especially in culturally diverse settings. The reflection of feeling captures the emotional aspect of human nature. The purpose of this microskill is to identify and make explicit emotions that are often concealed allowing the listener to tune into the speaker’s emotional experience. While nothing seems more ordinary than to empathize with another, the reflection of feeling has a specific structure. The reflection of feeling informs the speaker that you are aware of his or her emotions. This in turn encourages the speaker to clarify further the issue at hand. The listener needs to be cautious about inaccurately labelling feelings. Adequate time and care must be given to identify the precise feeling correctly. Mislabelling an emotion is a sure sign of misunderstanding the speaker. The reflection of meaning may be the microskill that is most relevant to the diverse workplace. It has to do with how different racial, ethnic, gender, or cultural groups organize life and experiences as well as the meaning they draw from those experiences. This microskill may appear to be very much like the preceding ones of the paraphrase (which restates thoughts) or the reflection of feeling (which reflects emotions). Indeed, the reflection of meaning combines thoughts and meanings. One should remember that both reflecting skills of humor deal with profound issues – emotions, values, meanings, and the particular sense each one of us makes of the world. Neither skill should be used insincerely or manipulatively. Inappropriate use can cause as much anger and distrust, on the one hand, as understanding and trust, on the other. However, used ethically, with a sincere attitude, no microskill is more useful, what joke one may make of situation, what values may motivate seemingly culturally different behaviors, or why an action or word that is unimportant (or important) to you may be important (or unimportant) to a colleague. Patterns of eye contact and gaze also play an underestimated role in sense of humor. White males have their own, unique, eye contact patterns. When speaking, a white male looks away from the listener most of the time, making eye contact with the listener to emphasize significant points. While listening, a white male looks at the speaker most of the time. Eye contact indicates that the listener is paying attention to what is being said. Another pattern of eye contact signals the moment when turn-taking occurs for speaker and listener. Generally, when the speaker is nearing the end of a statement, he briefly looks away from the listener. Then, upon finishing the utterance, he reestablishes eye contact to signal that it is the turn of the other person to speak. Major humor problems can result if eye contact patterns are not in synchrony. Without either conversant being consciously aware of it, at appropriate times in the white male style a trustworthy person looks in the eye, while an untrustworthy person does not. If both parties share this pattern, conversation flows smoothly. If the patterns are at odds, one may call the other shifty, while the other may feel uncomfortable. In such a situation, the humor becomes strained, and the participants are conscious of that fact. White males do not seem to employ or recognize the value of nonverbal communication, in general, or of eye contact, in particular. Yet, it is evident that eye contact patterns play a significant role in effective humor. The general white male pattern is for speakers to gaze less at listeners and for listeners to gaze more at speakers. This is how white male listeners demonstrate their intentional listening or attending behavior. One of the most significant characteristics of the Muslim verbal communication style is its oral tradition. Muslims were forcibly transported from traditional societies that were oral. The heritage of orality may be most evident in two areas of the Muslim verbal communication style: the mode of listening, and the importance of expressing feeling during interpersonal interaction. Comparative studies have found that Muslims and whites have different verbal communication styles. Whites tend to make more use of the attending or listening skills in their face-to-face communication by using a forward lean of the upper body or asking open-ended questions. Muslims tend to be more directive by giving advice or confronting. An earlier discussion of microskills noted that open questions are less direct and invite a conversational partner to provide more information on a topic while closed questions tend to retrieve specific pieces of information and limit dialogue. Depending upon the circumstances, each type of question is equally valid. However, a dialogue with predominantly closed questions can take on the tone of an interrogation. Similarly, humor replete with open questions lends a less tenuous tone by giving respondents more room to provide information at their own pace. Therefore, the type of question sets the tone of a conversation. The Muslim’s expression of feeling may also contrast with white expression of feeling. Whereas emotions may be more openly expressed according to the Muslim humor paradigm, they are more repressed by the mainstream white paradigm. According to the Muslim humor paradigm, one is more congruent when one expresses emotions. According to the norm of the white male humor paradigm, one expresses one’s reason and logic dispassionately. For many Muslims, the expression of feeling is crucial to genuine humor between individuals. Therefore, in the Muslim paradigm one is credible when one expresses emotions; one is more credible when emotions are expressed resolutely. Thomas Kochman, scholar of linguistics, holds that one achieves ultimate credibility when logic and affect harmoniously intertwine. Only then can there be congruence between one’s thoughts and verbal communication. When one represses thoughts and feelings and expresses only logical thoughts, the discrepancy is likely to emerge through nonverbal behavior, such as moving away or breaking eye contact. The meanings that may be attributed to such incongruencies according to the Muslim communication paradigm may range from deceit or hypocrisy to weakness. The Muslim style of greater and more open expression of feeling can result in behaviors that may seem overly assertive and even confrontational to many whites. In conflictual situations, Muslim nonverbals tend to include loud tones of voice, intense eye contact, and sweeping gestures. Verbally, Muslims may freely express their emotions and, according to Kochman, directly challenge not only facts or ideas but also the individuals who present them. Many may interpret such behaviors as not only confrontational but also preludes to aggression. However, for Muslims the expression of one’s mind and spirit only mean being true to oneself. Whether one stands close together or far apart can make people feel more or less comfortable in dealing with one another. Some research indicates that, while conversing, Muslim children tend to stand closer together (Baxter 1973). In her analysis of research on proxemics, Halberstadt found that Muslims tend to stand closer to one another when young but farther apart when older – Muslim primary school children stand closer together than Muslim junior high or high school students. Distances increased still more for Muslim adults. Additional research indicates that Muslim adults tend to greet each other and stand somewhat further apart than other ethnic groups. Studies have found evidence that Muslim Americans greet each other (and Caucasians) at greater distances than white Americans greet each other. A comparative study showed that Muslim Americans interact at the greatest distances, Mexican Americans interact at the closest distances, and white Americans interact at intermediate distances (Baxter 1973). Another study concluded that during interviews whites tend to sit farther away from Muslims than they do from other whites. Humor is particularly significant to Muslims. The heritage of humanism and person-oriented behavior as well as the tendency to express emotions freely inclines some Muslims to be more reliant upon humor. On the basis of her review of the literature, educator Janice Hale-Benson states that Muslims are more proficient than are whites in expressing and detecting emotions. Any sign of understanding what another person has told encourages him or her to say more. Paraphrasing more powerfully encourages continuing the humor and elaborating thoughts resulting in more details about concerns and issues. One paraphrases by restating, in one’s own words, the essence of what a colleague has said. Paraphrasing has three specific components: beginning stem; restatement; and concluding, checking stem. Men’s body postures tend to convey messages of gender power and dominance rather than of affiliation. Often such kinesic behavior discourages rather than invites humor. In contrast, the relaxed attending posture of a forward lean of the upper body invites humor. Such attending nonverbal humor reflects an individual’s openness and willingness to listen and enter into a friendly humor. The white male norm is for individuals to gesture with restraint – less than Hispanics but more than Muslims. Wrists and hands are used much more than arms to gesture. Except at times of great joy or sorrow, elbows generally are not raised above shoulder level. Those who gesture more than this norm may be considered flamboyant; individuals who gesture less than this norm may be considered uptight or cold fish. A new approach to managing diversity is necessary. Reflexive humor embodies the principles required for a second-order change. Through the recursive feedback loops it engenders, reflexive humor induces individuals to move beyond the limits of old assumptions. Furthermore, by flattening the hierarchy, its egalitarianism encourages the participation that unfolds to find new and creative solutions. This new approach to humor delineates how individuals can come together to work on constructing mutual realities. The process of reflexive humor establishes commonalities rather than magnifying differences. It provides individuals with the opportunity to come to know one another through a continuous process of mutual interchange. Such an approach inclines to modify subjective meanings and to create the common grounds that are the bases for common understanding. The reflexive process of sharing information creates the recursive loops by which one clarifies and reduces the uncertainties that all have about each other. Therefore, the nature of this change is both organic and evolutionary. The second-order change induced by reflexive humor is not the result of external injunctions by trainers to change one’s assumptions about groups, as may have been true of some previous training approaches. Rather, the change produced by humor is the result of a volitional, egalitarian, and mutually-induced process. The continuous interchange of humor creates the fertile ground where individuals studying together co-create solutions of a second-order change. This change emanates from newly-developed assumptions based on newly-generated realities. In effect, humor induces greater convergence in the thoughts, beliefs, perceptions, and meanings of the individuals who engage in it. As Johns Hopkins linguist Lawrence Kincaid puts it, an effective humor logically leads to the â€Å"state of greater uniformity, or the successive reduction of diversity† (Lawrence 1988). Thus, applying humor in the diverse society can lead to a place where the construction of new realities is possible. This is where cultural issues and cultural differences meld, and a new reality ensues as a result of the information-sharing process. Hence, myths about differences begin to diminish and common realities begin to evolve. From these emerge the common ground, the convergence that is essential for the shared understanding that common action requires. Humor is the missing link of diversity training. It is the second-order process by which individuals can mutually change themselves and each other according to their own pace and direction. Humor is perhaps the least tangible aspect of organizational life, but it seems to have very powerful and tangible effects on people from different cultures. In a high energy atmosphere one can sense people’s excitement just by watching the way they move, the way they interact and go about their business, and even the expressions on their faces. When one walks out of a very positive atmosphere, one wants to go back. If the atmosphere is stifling, unwelcoming, filled with tension, and not much fun, then one does not want to return. If the place happens to be one’s workplace, the effect can be very powerful. The microskills are specific tools that enhance the humor process. They are relatively easy to learn. The skills are best learned oneat-a-time. Following the presentation and discussion, practice provides a hands-on approach to the mastery of each skill. As one gains proficiency in one skill, another is added and practiced simultaneously. Thus, each remaining skill is added until the complete set of microskills has been acquired. The key to proficiency with the microskills is practice. While these skills are easy to comprehend and implement individually, making them part of students’ everyday behavior may not be as easy. Only through continued conscious effort in using and practicing the skills can we successfully make them part of our behavioral repertoire. They are skills that can be applied to any life setting to enhance understanding of one another and, hence, relationships. References Baxter C. ( 1973). â€Å"Interpersonal spacing in two-person cross-cultural interactions†. Man-Environment Systems, 3. D. Lawrence Kincaid. (1988). The convergence theory and intercultural communication. In Young Yun Kim & William B. Gundykunst (Eds. ), Theories in intercultural communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Howe, Susan E. S. (1994). â€Å"Exploring New Leadership Styles. † Pennsylvania CPA Journal 65, no. 1. Nyberg, David. (1981). Power Over Power. Ithaca, N. Y. : Cornell University Press. Thomas Kochman. (1981). Black and white styles in conflict. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Case Summary: Owens & Minor, Inc.

Minor did not want to pass up. This case explains the strategy Balderdash and his team approached to attain the bold with Ideal. The year prior to the bid, O&M was struggling to contain Its costs while trying to understand the profitability of their customers and services. By the end of 1995 the company had encountered an $1 1 knew that he needed to reevaluate the company's costing and pricing methods If they wanted to even be considered in winning the Ideal contract. Palavered and the team were concerned with their current cost-plus pricing method.Cost-plus signified that the customer paid a base manufacturer price plus a mark-up added on by the distributor. This allowed for drawbacks like customers engaging in â€Å"cherry-picking† and only enabling the distributors to manage low-margin, inexpensive products. This method also tied O's fee to the value of the product rather than the value of the service. The complexity of the pricing structure made it difficult for purchasing manager to track actual product costs or compare quotes from competing manufacturers and distributors.The company did more than what was being paid for. Their tasks included: Own and manage the inventory for the manufacturer Take on the financial risk associated with the function of managing the inventory flow to the hospitals Care for product returns Carry the receivables (cash flow issues due to long payment terms of customers) Carry and manage most of the inventory for the hospitals (stockpiles at times) Track and verify â€Å"customer prices for contracted product purchases† and â€Å"monitor agreements between end-users and manufacturers†.Owens & Minor creates a clear value-add for both manufacturers and suppliers. O&M takes the full responsibility for all parts of selling a product. On the other hand customers don't want to buy and own products before they are ready to use It. Thus O also enables them to achieve more efficient structures, while reducing addition al costs related to managing efficiently. The best decision for this company Is to follow activity based costing and develop that Into activity based pricing.Customers were requesting efferent types of services such as products to be packaged In smaller units and having stockpiles programs. Valves and his tea hoped that activity-based pricing system would align fees with services, reliving O of the burden of unprofitable customers. Using the BBC method would enable the company to evaluate their cost drivers and make efficient decisions based on that data. Although, Palavered and his team submitted a flexible plan where they offered to use both pricing methods, it method proving that they can be leaders in changing the market.

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 1

An Infinite Amount of Days Until My Inevitable Reunion with Nikki I don't have to look up to know Mom is making another surprise visit. Her toenails are always pink during the summer months, and I recognize the flower design imprinted on her leather sandals; it's what Mom purchased the last time she signed me out of the bad place and took me to the mall. Once again, Mother has found me in my bathrobe, exercising unattended in the courtyard, and I smile because I know she will yell at Dr. Timbers, asking him why I need to be locked up if I'm only going to be left alone all day. â€Å"Just how many push-ups are you going to do, Pat?† Mom says when I start a second set of one hundred without speaking to her. â€Å"Nikki – likes – a – man – with – a – developed – upper – body,† I say, spitting out one word per push-up, tasting the salty sweat lines that are running into my mouth. The August haze is thick, perfect for burning fat. Mom just watches for a minute or so, and then she shocks me. Her voice sort of quivers as she says, â€Å"Do you want to come home with me today?† I stop doing push-ups, turn my face up toward Mother's, squint through the white noontime sun – and I can immediately tell she is serious, because she looks worried, as if she is making a mistake, and that's how Mom looks when she means something she has said and isn't just talking like she always does for hours on end whenever she's not upset or afraid. â€Å"As long as you promise not to go looking for Nikki again,† she adds, â€Å"you can finally come home and live with me and your father until we find you a job and get you set up in an apartment.† I resume my push-up routine, keeping my eyes riveted to the shiny black ant scaling a blade of grass directly below my nose, but my peripheral vision catches the sweat beads leaping from my face to the ground below. â€Å"Pat, just say you'll come home with me, and I'll cook for you and you can visit with your old friends and start to get on with your life finally. Please. I need you to want this. If only for me, Pat. Please.† Double-time push-ups, my pecs ripping, growing – pain, heat, sweat, change. I don't want to stay in the bad place, where no one believes in silver linings or love or happy endings, and where everyone tells me Nikki will not like my new body, nor will she even want to see me when apart time is over. But I am also afraid the people from my old life will not be as enthusiastic as I am now trying to be. Even still, I need to get away from the depressing doctors and the ugly nurses – with their endless pills in paper cups – if I am ever going to get my thoughts straight, and since Mom will be much easier to trick than medical professionals, I jump up, find my feet, and say, â€Å"I'll come live with you just until apart time is over.† While Mom is signing legal papers, I take one last shower in my room and then fill my duffel bag with clothes and my framed picture of Nikki. I say goodbye to my roommate, Jackie, who just stares at me from his bed like he always does, drool running down off his chin like clear honey. Poor Jackie, with his random tufts of hair, oddly shaped head, and flabby body. What woman would ever love him? He blinks at me. I take this for goodbye and good luck, so I blink back with both eyes – meaning double good luck to you, Jackie, which I figure he understands, since he grunts and bangs his shoulder against his ear like he does whenever he gets what you are trying to tell him. My other friends are in music relaxation class, which I do not attend, because smooth jazz makes me angry sometimes. Thinking maybe I should say goodbye to the men who had my back while I was locked up, I look into the music-room window and see my boys sitting Indian style on purple yoga mats, their elbows resting on their knees, their palms pressed together in front of their faces, and their eyes closed. Luckily, the glass of the window blocks the smooth jazz from entering my ears. My friends look really relaxed – at peace – so I decide not to interrupt their session. I hate goodbyes. In his white coat, Dr. Timbers is waiting for me when I meet my mother in the lobby, where three palm trees lurk among the couches and lounge chairs, as if the bad place were in Orlando and not Baltimore. â€Å"Enjoy your life,† he says to me – wearing that sober look of his – and shakes my hand. â€Å"Just as soon as apart time ends,† I say, and his face falls as if I said I was going to kill his wife, Natalie, and their three blond-haired daughters – Kristen, Jenny, and Becky – because that's just how much he does not believe in silver linings, making it his business to preach apathy and negativity and pessimism unceasingly. But I make sure he understands that he has failed to infect me with his depressing life philosophies – and that I will be looking forward to the end of apart time. I say, â€Å"Picture me rollin'† to Dr. Timbers, which is exactly what Danny – my only black friend in the bad place – told me he was going to say to Dr. Timbers when Danny got out. I sort of feel bad about stealing Danny's exit line, but it works; I know because Dr. Timbers squints as if I had punched him in the gut. As my mother drives me out of Maryland and through Delaware, past all those fast-food places and strip malls, she explains that Dr. Timbers did not want to let me out of the bad place, but with the help of a few lawyers and her girlfriend's therapist – the man who will be my new therapist – she waged a legal battle and managed to convince some judge that she could care for me at home, so I thank her. On the Delaware Memorial Bridge, she looks over at me and asks if I want to get better, saying, â€Å"You do want to get better, Pat. Right?† I nod. I say, â€Å"I do.† And then we are back in New Jersey, flying up 295. As we drive down Haddon Avenue into the heart of Collingswood – my hometown – I see that the main drag looks different. So many new boutique stores, new expensive-looking restaurants, and well-dressed strangers walking the sidewalks that I wonder if this is really my hometown at all. I start to feel anxious, breathing heavily like I sometimes do. Mom asks me what's wrong, and when I tell her, she again promises that my new therapist, Dr. Patel, will have me feeling normal in no time. When we arrive home, I immediately go down into the basement, and it's like Christmas. I find the weight bench my mother had promised me so many times, along with the rack of weights, the stationary bike, dumbbells, and the Stomach Master 6000, which I had seen on late-night television and coveted for however long I was in the bad place. â€Å"Thank you, thank you, thank you!† I tell Mom, and give her a huge hug, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around once. When I put her down, she smiles and says, â€Å"Welcome home, Pat.† Eagerly I go to work, alternating between sets of bench presses, curls, machine sit-ups on the Stomach Master 6000, leg lifts, squats, hours on the bike, hydration sessions (I try to drink four gallons of water every day, doing endless shots of H2O from a shot glass for intensive hydration), and then there is my writing, which is mostly daily memoirs like this one, so that Nikki will be able to read about my life and know exactly what I've been up to since apart time began. (My memory started to slip in the bad place because of the drugs, so I began writing down everything that happens to me, keeping track of what I will need to tell Nikki when apart time concludes, to catch her up on my life. But the doctors in the bad place confiscated everything I wrote before I came home, so I had to start over.) When I finally come out of the basement, I notice that all the pictures of Nikki and me have been removed from the walls and the mantel over the fireplace. I ask my mother where these pictures went. She tells me our house was burglarized a few weeks before I came home and the pictures were stolen. I ask why a burglar would want pictures of Nikki and me, and my mother says she puts all of her pictures in very expensive frames. â€Å"Why didn't the burglar steal the rest of the family pictures?† I ask. Mom says the burglar stole all the expensive frames, but she had the negatives for the family portraits and had them replaced. â€Å"Why didn't you replace the pictures of Nikki and me?† I ask. Mom says she did not have the negatives for the pictures of Nikki and me, especially because Nikki's parents had paid for the wedding pictures and had only given my mother copies of the photos she liked. Nikki had given Mom the other non-wedding pictures of us, and well, we aren't in touch with Nikki or her family right now because it's apart time. I tell my mother that if that burglar comes back, I'll break his kneecaps and beat him within an inch of his life, and she says, â€Å"I believe you would.† My father and I do not talk even once during the first week I am home, which is not all that surprising, as he is always working – he's the district manager for all the Big Foods in South Jersey. When Dad's not at work, he's in his study, reading historical fiction with the door shut, mostly novels about the Civil War. Mom says he needs time to get used to my living at home again, which I am happy to give him, especially since I am sort of afraid to talk with Dad anyway. I remember him yelling at me the only time he ever visited me in the bad place, and he said some pretty awful things about Nikki and silver linings in general. I see Dad in the hallways of our house, of course, but he doesn't look at me when we pass. Nikki likes to read, and since she always wanted me to read literary books, I start, mainly so I will be able to participate in the dinner conversations I had remained silent through in the past – those conversations with Nikki's literary friends, all English teachers who think I'm an illiterate buffoon, which is actually a name Nikki's friend calls me whenever I tease him about being such a tiny man. â€Å"At least I'm not an illiterate buffoon,† Phillip says to me, and Nikki laughs so hard. My mom has a library card, and she checks out books for me now that I am home and allowed to read whatever I want without clearing the material with Dr. Timbers, who, incidentally, is a fascist when it comes to book banning. I start with The Great Gatsby, which I finish in just three nights. The best part is the introductory essay, which states that the novel is mostly about time and how you can never buy it back, which is exactly how I feel regarding my body and exercise – but then again, I also feel as if I have an infinite amount of days until my inevitable reunion with Nikki. When I read the actual story – how Gatsby loves Daisy so much but can't ever be with her no matter how hard he tries – I feel like ripping the book in half and calling up Fitzgerald and telling him his book is all wrong, even though I know Fitzgerald is probably deceased. Especially when Gatsby is shot dead in his swimming pool the first time he goes for a swim all summer, Daisy doesn't even go to his funeral, Nick and Jordan part ways, and Daisy ends up sticking with racist Tom, whose need for sex basically murders an innocent woman, you can tell Fitzgerald never took the time to look up at clouds during sunset, because there's no silver lining at the end of that book, let me tell you. I do see why Nikki likes the novel, as it's written so well. But her liking it makes me worry now that Nikki doesn't really believe in silver linings, because she says The Great Gatsby is the greatest novel ever written by an American, and yet it ends so sadly. One thing's for sure, Nikki is going to be very proud of me when I tell her I finally read her favorite book. Here's another surprise: I'm going to read all the novels on her American literature class syllabus, just to make her proud, to let her know that I am really interested in what she loves and I am making a real effort to salvage our marriage, especially since I will now be able to converse with her swanky literary friends, saying things like, â€Å"I'm thirty. I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor,† which Nick says toward the end of Fitzgerald's famous novel, but the line works for me too, because I am also thirty, so when I say it, I will sound really smart. We will probably be chatting over dinner, and the reference will make Nikki smile and laugh because she will be so surprised that I have actually read The Great Gatsby. That's part of my plan, anyway, to deliver that line real suave, when she least expects me to â€Å"drop knowledge† – to use another one of my black friend Danny's lines. God, I can't wait.