Job Outsourcing’s Effects on the Economic Growth

The outsourcing of Jobs affects the economic growth of a country both positively and actively, for capitalists it is a welcoming deed but for a common citizen, still it is a nightmare. Outsourcing in Canada creates many controversies about Canadian economic growth. Mainly IT companies and auto mobile companies are outsourcing their Jobs in Canada, banking sectors are also doing the same. When it comes to economy of the country, these business organizations which are doing outsourcing can contribute more revenue to the government. But, always a good economic stability can be achieved by ensuring the economic status of a common citizen.In those terms, we can't say that outsourcing always shows a positive sign to the economic development of a country. According to the Dun & Broadsheet barometer of global outsourcing, more than 30 cents of every outsourcing dollar is related with information technology expenses. Based on their survey, in 1999 IT field spent more than $7 billion for its o wn outsourcing only. This shows an increment of 10 % or $700 million than the year 1998 (Joanne, Mar R, 1998). This sort of increments in spending on outsourcing shows that, companies are interested to subcontracting their Jobs, which means they are profitable by this deed.It improves the revenue of he company in low investments, this revenue hike may result in the Canadian economic growth and in a long run government of Canada also become the beneficiaries of this income in terms of taxes and insurance (Unknown, 2014). But the remarkable thing is that, this income may not be able to maintain the Gross National Product of the country. If we apply the principle of virtuous cycle in this case, we can identify that the companies which are outsourcing their Jobs are working on the basis of virtuous cycle.In less payment they are making more money and automatically the government also become a part of this virtuous cycle. For example, Sears Canada Ltd. Outsource their telemarketing and c all centre services to an American company called Dial America Inc. Since 1995 and they also give the same Jobs to Philippines, according to the company's vision, they improved their customer services and telemarketing functions in a cost effective manner. This process improved the financial status and customer satisfaction of the company, eventually it reflects in the economic growth of Canada (Dotson, Sandy, 1997).On the other hands, outsourcing is a threat to the economic growth of the country, mainly in the case of unemployment. The recent surveys show that the rate unemployment has been increased than the rate in 2009 recession. One of the major reasons for this joblessness is outsourcing. A lion share of the works of Canadian banks and Canadian financial services were done by Indian information technologists, Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada and AD Canada trust are the major clients of Indian IT tycoons such as ‘Gate and DATA consultancy services (Unknown, 2014) Unifier Swan, 2013).This kind of over outsourcing results in unemployment and naturally it affects the standard of living of the common people in the country. According to the words of Ermine Willingly, a senior economist, found that, a number of people were earn an average annual income of $30000 to $60000, but due to the outsourcing they lose their income quickly and all those people fell in a jeopardy. Those people may suffer homelessness and bankruptcy; it will put a citizen into trouble, and the economic status of this kind of people may affect the total economy of the country Unifier Swan, 2013).For example, last year 41 employees in Canadian imperial bank of commerce (CIVIC) lost their Job due to IT outsourcing. In the same way AD bank also announces the replacement of its 100 employees and RIB also were in the same risk in the case of 45 employees (CB News, 2013). Along with that, several problems such as slackening of managerial control, hidden cost in production or servic es and the quality problems are the another demerits of Job outsourcing.Security and confidentiality threat is the another major disadvantages of job outsourcing, for example, a new concept, design of a products, documents of employees etc. (Buick, 2014). These all disadvantages may affect a country economic stability directly or indirectly. When it comes to the application of virtuous cycle in his case, it will not work well with the unemployed community in the country. Because, here in this case, people lost their Jobs and they don't have the capacity to enjoy the facilities or customer services that provided by the multinational firms.This means, most of the Canadian companies are accepting subcontracts to increase their productivity by cost cutting, and they are trying to reach their product to common people, but most of this citizens are the persons who were thrown out from these companies. In that manner they don't have the capacity to avail the services provided by these comp anies. So, still the principle of virtuous cycle is works with the firms and it works opposite to the Canadian community. To put it in a nut shell, outsourcing can make both the positive and negative effects in the economic development of a country.

Kudler Fine Food Essay

Kudler Fine Food is the fast growing fine food specialty business that was established in 1998, and at each of their stores the company first initially selected Microsoft Access as their AIS to track employees, customer, inventory, orders, and sales. Kudler’s products have perishable inventory that must be properly tracked. This brief will evaluate database tables from an accounting perspective. In addition, gives recommendations for improvement, pivot table, and entity relationship diagram will help the company have a better decision-making process. Assessment of the design elements of the data tables from an accounting perspective. Data Table analysis is vital to the success of the business, the data given in these tables is available for the end user to determine how much inventory is available and when it require to order more inventory. The purpose of the data tables will arranges the financial data into department, financial codes, items, and sums of total amount of transaction. Data table get the most out of the informational and visual presentation for the financial data. The user of the data can easily to identify the item belongs to certain department and how many items were received at the given cost for a certain period. In addition, the data allows in finding quantity and total amount on hand for an item and calculating average price of the item. Kudler Fine Foods data tables the company has now, organized per department and location by a general codes in a general ledger. For example the codes differentiated per department, product, and locations, in addition, the first two digits show the location (10) La Jolla, (11) Del Mar, (12) Encinitas, the second show the department (15) Bakery, (16) Meat & Seafood, (17) Produce, (18) Cheese & dairy, (19) Wine. Last, the two digits will show the product (20) imported cheeses, and in the ledger codes each location inventory will be broken down into different department. The inventory data table and general ledger use will not give enough information to the end user of the total cost remaining from the inventory list. The user that is preparing to order items will not know how much inventory is available to order (Wiley & Sons, 2004). An Entity relationship diagram will show the hierarchy of how data reviewed by the end users, and the information represented the entity relationship diagrams includes the company entities and relationship among them. Entity relationship diagrams have for symbols: the entities are represented by a diamonds to describe relationship, the entity is described by ovals, characteristics, and connecting lines illustrates relationships. The entity relationship diagram will demonstrate the hierarchy shapes presented by rectangles, ovals, diamonds, and connecting lines. As an example of (Code: 021520) location Del Mar department is (18) Cheese & dairy, and the product is imported cheeses. The code number will give the purchaser, inventory item, summary item, and the total amount available in the inventory of the item. The data table gives the company accurate information needed for the company to sell the item. The recommendation for improvements to the Kudler Fine Foods data tables, the pivot table is a two-dimensional statistical summary of database information. The database information can be improved by arranging the codes, and categorize the data by compiling the list of product inventory levels. This improvement will simplify the monitoring of items for a department that has different product to sell. Data sorting should allow visualizing of the data faster and finding the information management need to make effective decisions ((Wiley & Sons, 2004). In addition, the improvement of the data tables will give more information to the end users. The data table needs to give substantial information for the decision-making process from management. The improved data-base needs to have the cost and quantity available for effective decisions to be made by management. As an example Del Mar Kudler Fine Food location has $700 of inventory of cheeses available the code is 021520, however it is unknown on the exact quantity. The improvements of the data-base will include the quantity, cost of each unit, and the total available. Creating accurate information will help management know if the stock is low or high with accurate information makes effective decision-making for the company (Wiley & Sons, 2004). Conclusion Presently Kudler’s advised some improvement required to their nventory data table and Kudler’s should update the database with data tables that allow them easily to access and calculate optimal inventory levels for each store. The upgrade will provide quality of data and eliminate redundant information. Kudler Fine Foods values the level customer service that the company has strived to give a high level. Data tables will be monitored to elevate errors, improve accuracy for the company success in growth. Improvements of the data-base are essential for management to make effective decisions for effective customer satisfaction. Pivot tables will allow quick access to vital data.

Amazon.com

Amazon’s model is not suited for their perpetual growth in coming years. Amazon must consider investing some of its substantial cash reserves to diversify its portfolio of businesses to help protect them against the ever-changing technological and consumer patterns by creating new avenues for revenue growth. Amazon posted a small but unexpected loss in the second quarter of 2013, as it continues to spend heavily on fulfillment centers and digital content. Amazon.com lost $7 million, 2 cents a share, after earning $7 million, 2 cents a share, a year earlier. Amazon can roll out an online payments option that lets shoppers make purchases on websites by logging in with their regular Amazon accounts. Their very own service such as PayPal. By doing this they will benefit their company the most because in the past customers had to separately enter their account details for each purchase made at one of Amazons third-party retailers. Now, Amazon could enable companies to make millions of Amazon customers their customers by inviting online shoppers with Amazon credentials to access their account information safely and securely with a single login. This alternative will also enable Amazon to have a better control on their customer base. The only drawback of this alternative is that Amazon will encounter competition from services such as PayPal.

Garbology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Garbology - Essay Example However taken as a whole they portray an unappealing picture about our priorities and lifestyle. The trash indicates that we can be wasteful at time and lazy since some of the disposed things can be reused in the future. Focusing on the female premises, we note that their trash is composed of mainly food remains that are collected from grocery stores and the food stalls. There are less trashes that indicate cases of alcohol or other drugs. The level of trash is high and this indicates that they hold social gathering at their premises. The female students are cautious and there is minimal trace of recyclable containers on their garbage. In the premises occupied by male students, I found evidence of fast food remains and various remains of foods from food stalls. The trash entails of sugar papers, coffee containers, and alcohol bottles, this indicates that the students consume alcohol. From the trash collected from both premises, we note that the socioeconomic class of the occupants is low since they are students. There are no valuable items collected from the trash unless for foods and other necessities such as body oil containers, and remains of soaps. There were cans of drinks that were not fully emptied, and many candy papers. Many containers from the garbage could be recycled but students opt to throw them away. In the female premises, there are birth control containers, and this indicated that the occupants were sexually active. From the male premises, there was an increase in alcohol cans, large amount of coffee containers and cigarettes. This indicates that the students used drugs. Two occupants occupied the premises and from the amount of food remains and increase in drinks can were too much for a single household. An increase in rubbish from the premises indicates that the occupants usually have some guests in the rooms. In conclusion, the economic culture of the occupants is developed since there are no ancient items discovered from the trash. It is

Human Rights in Turkey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Human Rights in Turkey - Essay Example In 2007, there were about 2830 applications lodged against the Republic of Turkey at the ECHR, and consequently, the court handed down 331 judgments on the merits issued confirming 319 contraventions and 9 non-violations (European Commission 4). Turkey remains under the control of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as per Article 46 of the ECHR. The international human rights laws represent the body of international laws structured to foster and safeguard human rights at domestic, regional, and international levels. The international human rights law comprises of treaties agreements struck between states fashioned at binding legal effect between parties as per the norms in international law (White 71). The republic of Turkey has entered into diverse human rights commitments, some of which remain well elaborated in the Turkish Constitution. Part Two of the Turkish constitution guarantees â€Å"fundamental rights and freedoms† such as right to property, security of person , and right to life. Turkey has ratified several treaties including International Bill of Human Rights, Regional Conventions, Terrorism and Human Rights, Protocol 5-8 of the ECHR, Protocol 9-12 of the ECHR, Protection from Torture, III-Treatment and Disappearance, and Women’s Human Rights (European Commission) (Straw 104). Current situation and conflict in Turkey with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Turkey is home to a considerable Kurdish population comprising of 15% of Turkey’s 73 million people. Close to half of the Kurdish population lives within cities within the western Turkey. The Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK)/ Kurdish Workers’ Party (established in the late 1970s) has been waging a guerrilla war for Kurdish sovereignty or autonomy within southeastern Turkey since... This essay stresses that Human rights in Turkey are safeguarded by a series of international law treaties that take precedence over domestic legislation as per Article 90 of the constitution. The issue of human rights is of significance for Turkey’s negotiations with the European Union (EU). Acute human rights issues that feature in Turkey’s case entail the status of Kurds within Turkey. The Kurdish-Turkish conflict has yielded to numerous human rights violations over the years. Presently, there is an ongoing debate within Turkey based on guaranteeing fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression, right to life, and protection against torture, as well as freedoms of assembly, religion, and association. Much of the promised constitutional and other legal reforms have not yet taken place. Moreover, thousand of the prosecutions presented under the flawed anti-terrorism have largely failed to pass fair trial standards. This paper makes a conclusion that the violent crackdown by the police to quell the protests through the use of tear gas against peaceful protesters has been accompanied by massive violation of human rights. The use of violence by police on a large scale appears to be fashioned to refuse the right to peaceful protest and encourage others from engaging in peaceful protests. Tear-gassing of the protesters assembled in Taksim Square is unlikely to end the crisis, and if Turkey is to be considered as a rights-respecting country, the police brutality has to end, and the government should engage the protesters.

Physics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Physics - Essay Example Besides this, he had inventions that made him unique among other physicists. In 1951, Bardeen left Bell Laboratories and went ahead to carry out his own research at Illinois. It is here that he won two major Nobel prizes in physics. His first Nobel Prize was the transistor in which he shared with William Shockley and Walter Brattain. The second Nobel Prize was for explanation of the theoretical concept of superconductivity. He shared this prize with Leon Cooper and Bob Schrieffer. The microscopic theory of superconductivity was also known as the â€Å"BCS Theory†. They were the first ones to give â€Å"a coherent explanation at the microscopic level of a wide range of intricate and fascinating phenomena in metals at low temperature, known as and related to superconductivity† (Bruus and Flensberg 325). Besides the two Nobel prizes making him different from the other scientific geniuses in physics of the twentieth century, his â€Å"remarkable modesty, his deep interest in the application of science, and his genuine ability to collaborate easily with experimentalist and theorist alike† added to his being distinguished (Bardeen 288). Nick Holonyak, his first electrical engineering graduate student did develop the light-emitting diode thus honoring John Bardeen. Ernest Rutherford was a British physicist born in 1871 in New Zealand (Marshall Cavendish Corporation 1501). According to Eve and Wilson, Rutherford was â€Å"one of the most eminent physicists ever, and earned his scientific reputation primarily by his pioneering contributions to radioactivity and nuclear physics† (Kragh 1). In 1907 in Canada, he was greatly involved in research at Mc Gill University where he discovered atomic nucleus or radioactivity. At Victoria University of Manchester (known as university of Manchester today) together with Thomas Royds, they were able to differentiate and name the alpha and the beta radiation. They did prove that the alpha radiation is the helium

Strengths and weaknesses of quasi-experimental designs Assignment

Strengths and weaknesses of quasi-experimental designs - Assignment Example The design is also able to apply selective control on the investigated variables in circumstances where experimental design cannot. The design also has strength in its ability to counter the emerging trend of resistance to randomization. This is particularly applicable when people are involved as participants with consideration of the principle of free consent. While participants would resist randomization into a control group, quasi-experimental design does not involve randomization and is therefore easily acceptable to people. Consequently, sample generation and sampling is easier in a quasi-experimental design (Polit and beck, 2007). Further, the design allows some level of control in the research process that may be used to control expected threats. A researcher can for example control when to collect data to allow room for sufficient treatment effect (Evans and Keenan, 2009). The design, however, has a number of weaknesses. It for example considers many sets of hypotheses that must be investigated by the researcher. This therefore makes it more hectic and probably time consuming than other designs. This is because other possibilities must be explored to consider effects of lack of control. Another significant weakness of the quasi-experimental design, which originates from its lack of a control set up, is its susceptibility to confounds that a researcher cannot explain or account for. In the presence of a control set up, a researcher can identify variations in the control group to make appropriate adjustments to the treatment group and therefore account for the possible confounds. This therefore means that the observed results in the quasi-experimental designs are possibly influenced by confounds. As a result, there is loss of confidence over validity and reliability of results from quasi-experimental designs (Polit and beck,

Counterterrorism and Public Perception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Counterterrorism and Public Perception - Essay Example Since the September 11 tragedy, the federal government of the U.S. has been on the watch out for any suspicious activities that may be a security threat to the state and the general public at large. This process of ensuring public and national security is sometimes made even harder in cases where the information is leaked or made available to the public. Presently, information sharing is handled by multiple sharing environments that are intended at serving a handful of agencies: defense, intelligence, foreign affairs, law enforcement and homeland security (Homeland Security Council, 2007). The role of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) in the Federal Government is to analyze all information and intelligence related to terror activities and to provide support to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This includes other agencies in the same field to fulfill their tasks to disseminate information that is related to terrorism (Homeland Security Council, 2007). Through a secure network, NCTC Online, the information is shared by NCTC and the whole federal community by producing comprehensive analytical products that are federally coordinated; thus the information reaches numerous users in the whole Federal Counterterrorism community. The Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group formed within NCTC is aimed at facilitating the production of information related to terrorism that is federally coordinated with intention to disseminate it to the State, local, tribal and the private sector (Magumi, Wood, Mileti, and Bourque, 2008). In order to stop or warn about an impending terror attack, information has to be available about the action. According to Homeland Security Policy (2009), this type of information is usually gathered by the State, local and tribal government officials during their normal law enforcement duties. These governments perform their counterterrorism duties within a broader context

Wall Mart's Strategic Planning Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wall Mart's Strategic Planning - Case Study Example Simultaneously Walton set up two other enterprises called Ben Franklin franchises and Wall - Mart Discount City. The former expanded into 15 more stores by 1962. In 1969 the company became Walt Mart Stores inc. with 15 Ben Franklin stores, 18 Wall Mart spread through out Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. To-day with combined revenue reaching to 44 billions and spread through out the 42 central and southern states the company has 1720 Wall-Marts, 208 Sam's Whole sale club, and 6 Wall Mart Supercentres in addition to two stores in joint ventures in Mexico. The company has a strategy of identifying areas with under population of 50,000 to open a store and gradually expanded by setting up distribution centres at some place closer to the store with a view to facilitate supply to all the other stores also within a day. The excellent success of the company is considered to be the result of 19 such distribution centres today. The other factor of the success of the company is treating the employees as associate partners having access to complete information about the costs, freight charges, and profit margin. The associates play a major role in the overall and individual success of stores and achieving the company's goals. It will be worthwhile to note here that each of the stores operates independently of the other. This kind of relationship in the organization components known as "pooled interdependence". If there is poor customer service at one store and how the customers view it will have ripple effect on the Wall-Mart as a whole. Basis of establishment of the Strategy: The management of the company prominently relies on the goals achieved. It is treated as a part of the planning process. The top management provides guidelines about the profits and growth. These become the basis of setting of goals. The individual stores provide their own inputs as they have their own annual goals to achieve. However, specific tactical goals are evolved at the division and the stores level. These are then forwarded to the top corporate level for further dissemination, evaluation and measurement for formulating a strategic over all policy. It will be interesting to note a typical target set for an annual goal: Opening 160 new stores; 45 new Sam's Whole sale clubs; 12 - 15 new Wall Mart Super centre; Increasing sales to more than 54 billions; Pursuing a "Buy American" plan to give preference to stocking merchandise manufactured in the United States. The individual stores have a target to achieve a sales increase of 10% over the previous period. Once the goals are established the process of action planning is commenced to provide an outline as to how the goals are to be achieved. It is done at every level. The associates also get a share of the profit above the goals set for every stores. Monitoring: Throughout the year goals achieved are monitored as laid out. But if the Wall Mart has not been satisfied of the result those stores are sold out. The Ben Franklin stores were closed in 1976 and Wall Mart stores were replaced with it. A chain of Helen's Arts and Crafts, the DOT discount drug chain met the same fate. Despite all the evaluation, assessment, dissemination of the in formations and monitoring quite a few of the ventures have failed. Financial aspect: Of interest

International Language Essay Example for Free

International Language Essay Across 294 countries in the world, there are about 6,500 languages are commonly using in the daily life. The domination of English has been proved as an international language all across with the coming of globalization in future, English is the language of diplomacy and international communications for the use of business, tourism, education, science, computer technology, media, Internet and etc. Without language, all the things couldn’t happen and stay in place like today. People nowadays who stand in the marketplace ordinarily using English as an international language for the purpose of fulfilling communicative needs, a common language to facilitate trade and communication seems unavoidable. Some people think that globalization will become a big threat to the national, cultural and even religious identities as using only a single language and ultimatum to the development of a country. Posses single language may lead to cultural corrosion, a loss of local linguistic knowledge, and mainly will cause to losing of own language which is the carrier of all their cultural values identity is the first thought of conservative minded while they firstly expose to the word of globalization. However, in my opinion, it is possible to use an official international language and still retain theirs own languages with their own cultures values identity. I presented to support that having a single language as an international official language not only provides the opportunities for social mobility and modernity but also removes the probability of losing the national language the carrier of identity by helping people to be identified to the whole world as they are given voices. It is getting involved in international interactions and communications is required. Therefore, to be an active participant in globalized relations, it is necessary to adopt the international language. Using an international language provides opportunities for people to make contributions to the formation and development of that language to lead to scientific and cultural independence. Language is only the instrument of communication for people around the world. Many countries had been adapted to the cultural with an official language or languages. In any country where there are innumerable languages spoken, there is a need for official languages to ensure the flow of communication between different sections of the population and the different states. Above all, international language is important as a common language for people, without language, there will be absence of interaction between people, while there will be a link occurred to no communication to no trading and etc. It’s also important in every aspect for the world. Nowadays, English is considered the universal language for business, international communications, entertainment, tourism, trade and technology. The majority of all resources on the internet are all in English, affecting people to learn English to take full advantage of it. More important, learning English is significant for human to being able for information exchange and connecting to others. In the prevalent globalization there is no doubt that an international language is unavoidability. While trading a business, language is playing an important role of people, if human found difficult in the activation of a common in language spoken, they cannot trade in business. In this sense, not only is an international language inevitable, but also a necessary for trading, commerce and economic expansion by the turn of the century. The criticism to opposing the using of an international official language contends that it would lead to cultural corrosion and a loss of cultural values identity. However, the use of an international official language does not mean that their local languages will disappear. If English already functions as a kind of unofficial international language but this doesn’t mean that people only converse in using English or they ignore their own languages. English is used in specific contexts such as trade, business, etc. and native languages are used for everyday instruction.

Different Alternatives To Imprisonment Criminology Essay

Different Alternatives To Imprisonment Criminology Essay 1. INTRODUCTION Alternatives to imprisonment are a new approach globally in corrections. Following the World War II, penal authorities began to doubt the wisdom of keeping the prison alone as the primary correctional strategies. According to Todd, Clear Braga, (Todd, 1995, p. 80) provides that community-Based Correctional approaches grow in become common for second and third time criminals to receive sentences of probation with certain conditions established by the court and where the same felons is on the community service programs. The focus here is on alternatives to imprisonment by looking it through internationally accepted standards. The authors of this paper will focus on the following alternatives to imprisonment: community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole. 2. DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES TO IMPRISONMENT 2.1 Community Service Community Service is an alternative the court may use when it has decided that a persons offence is serious and that he/she is suitable for making compensation by productive unpaid work in the community. Community Service should be physically and emotionally demanding of the offender in that it is a restriction of freedom, involves self-discipline and a respect for others and should engage the offender in tasks or situations that challenge his/her attitude, experience and ability. Community service can therefore be a positive way of making an offender compensate for offences and it can encourage personal growth and self-respect. It shows the offender that the community is affected by criminality and the community can see that offenders can make a constructive rather than destructive contribution to the community. (ZNCCS Service, 1997, p. 4) Legal framework for alternative non-custodial sanctions is highlighted in international guidelines and national legislation as provided by Bukurura (Bukurura, 2003, p. 82). On international level it is provided for in the United Nations Standards Minimum Rules for non-custodial measures (Nations, 1990). In the United States of America for instance, community-based sanctions are crucial of the United States criminal justice system. Professionals have constantly demonstrated their willingness to adopt evidence based practice. According to (Melvor, 2004) who described community service in Belgium, Netherlands, Scotland and Spain in co-operate perspective by stating that, current criminological research is particularly interested to know if they are not witnessing a punitive turn which seems to western democracies today than few decades ago. The new punitive literature and study on the culture of control have fuelled an ongoing debate and research on this question. Community service order was for the benefit of the community as it was introduced in Spanish legislation with the 1995 criminal code of that country. The Uganda Correctional Service also introduced the Uganda Community Service Bill, 1998, with its main objectives to provide community service for persons who commit minor offences, in order to reduce overcrowding in Prisons, to rehabilitate prisoners in the communities by doing productive work and to prevent minor offenders mixing with hard core criminals. The bill further seeks to empower a court which convicts a person of a minor offence, to direct the offender, with consent of the offender to perform community service as an alternative to imprisonment. (Service, 1998, p. 1) The first initiatives in the Community Service Orders started with National sensitization seminar that was held in 2002 and attended by Regional Governors, line Ministries, Home Affairs, and Justice, Prisons and Correctional Service and heads of Criminal Justice System. (Coordinator, Consultative Visit Report, 2002, p. 1) The proposed Bill on Community Service Orders in Namibia introduces various provisions that may facilitate the implementation of Community Service Orders in the country. It is important to note that from sentencing point of view, Community Service Orders is an option employed in appropriate cases to keep an offender out of prison. Accordingly a relationship exists between the imprisonment that might have been imposed and the Community Service Order that is to be served instead. (Coordinator, Namibia Community Service Orders, Manual, 2005, p. 5) 2.2 Periodical Imprisonment The court can direct an offender to stay in Prison on weekends or at night between 18h00 and 06h00. A sentence of periodic imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment during which the committed person may be released for periods of time during the day or night or for periods of days, or both, or if convicted of a felony, other than first degree murder, a Class X or Class 1 felony, committed to any county, municipal, or regional correctional or detention institution or facility in this State for such periods of time as the court may direct. Unless the court orders otherwise, the particular times and conditions of release shall be determined by the Department of Corrections, the sheriff, or the Superintendent of the house of corrections, who is administering the program. (b) A sentence of periodic imprisonment may be imposed to permit the defendant to: (1) Seek employment (2) Work (3) Conduct a business or other self-employed (4) Attend to family needs (5) Attend an educational institution With regards to periodical imprisonment, the Namibian Correctional System is line with abovementioned definition. 2.3 Correctional Supervision It is a sentence which is served within the community and not in the Prison. A person who is serving a sentence of Correctional supervision is known as a probationer. The aim of Correctional supervision is to provide a means of rehabilitation within the community, thus preserving the important links which the offender may have with his or her family or community. Correctional supervision allows, or encourages the offender to be employed. While imprisonment results in a loss of employment and the offenders failure to support his or her dependants and result in additional costs for the State. Since offenders are in the community, they are able to make decisions and take responsibility for their life. Offenders are also encouraged to take steps towards correcting their criminal behaviour through participation in rehabilitative programmes. A person sentenced to correctional supervision remains under the supervision and control of the Department of Correctional Services until the sentence expires. Supervision takes the form of direct monitoring of the offenders movements and compliance with the sentences conditions, as well as regular support sessions with social workers. Conditions of the sentence may include a period of house arrest; the requirement that the person be home between specified hours of the day; that he or she attends a treatment programme; self-restraint from alcohol or drugs; prohibition from leaving a magisterial district; or a certain number of hours of community service. Any or all of these conditions may be imposed. (Dissel, 1997, p. 4) Diversion is endorsed by Section 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and can be used where the offence committed is relatively minor. (Justice, 1977, p. 76). When the offender has admitted responsibility for the offence, the prosecutor can suspend the prosecution of the case upon fulfillment of certain conditions. This is usually on the condition that the offender attends a particular treatment programme. Charges are withdrawn after the conditions have been fulfilled. The Namibian legislation makes provision in the Prisons Act 17 of 1998 (Gazzette, 1998, p. 83) Section 96 and 97 that inmates be release on parole or probation on conditions as may be determined by the Zonal Release Board. 2.4 House arrest/electronic monitoring Home detention can be seen as an alternative to imprisonment and aims to reduce re-offending while also coping with increasing prison numbers and rising costs. It allows suitable offenders to retain or seek employment, maintain family relationships and responsibilities and attend rehabilitative programs that contribute towards addressing the causes of their offending. The terms of house arrest can differ, but offenders are rarely confined to their houses 24 hours a day. Most programs allow employed offenders to continue to work, and only confine them during non-working hours. They can leave their homes for specific, predetermined purposes; for example visits to the probation officer or police station, religious exceptions and medical appointments. (Spohn, 2008, p. 52). Many programmes also allow the offender to leave the home during regular, pre-approved times in order to carry out general household tasks such as shopping, church services, performing Community Services or attending authorised activities. (Stinchcomb, 2005, p. 99) House arrest in some countries such as Canada and New Zealand is often enforced through the use of technology products or services. An electronic sensor is sometimes locked to the offenders ankle known as an ankle monitor. A small portable monitoring unit that pick-up radio signals generated by offenders ankle or arm bracelet which is linked to a central computer system provides verification of an offenders whereabouts. (Champion, 2008) The electronic sensor transmits a GPS signal to a base handset. The base handset is connected to police or a monitoring service. If the offender with the sensor moves too far from home, the violation is recorded and the right authorities are summoned. Many ankle monitors can now detect attempted removal; this is to discourage tampering. The monitoring service is often contracted out to private companies, which assign employees to electronically monitor many convicts simultaneously. If the sensors detect a violation, the monitoring service calls the convicts probation officer. The electronic surveillance together with frequent contact with their probation officer and checks by the security guards provides for a secure environment. (Collins, 1974, p. 79) Another method to ensure house arrest are the use of automated calling services that require no human contact to check on the offender. Random calls are made to the residence and the respondents answer is recorded and compared to the offenders voice pattern. Authorities are notified only if the call is not answered or if the recorded answer does not match the offenders voice pattern. (Allen, 1986, p. 36). Currently, the Namibian Criminal Justice System is not making use of house arrest/ electronic monitoring. 2.5 Day Parole It is a management mechanism preceding the parole phase to gradually assist an offender to be released into the community at his own responsibility under controlled circumstances. Day parole implies the temporary release of an offender from Prison or a Correctional institution such as a halfway house to work or study, followed by re-confinement during non- work or non-school hours. During working hours offender work for an employer and are paid for the work. (Bruyns, An overview of the Criminal Justice System and Community-Based sentences, 2011). Currently, the Namibian Criminal Justice System is not making use of day parole. FINDINGS Based on the literature review and own understanding of the subject area, the authors of this paper found that there is a great need for alternatives to imprisonment. Community Service as a community-based sentence, a pilot projects in the Northern region of the country has proved that it is a success in Namibia. The Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) have a draft Community Service Order Bill which stipulates clearly the conditions under which an offender had to perform Community Service. Political or religious groups must not benefit from the work allocated to inmates. (Bruyns, The impact of prison reform on the inmate population of swaziland, 2007, p. 60). An offender who has not committed a serious crime or developed a criminal lifestyle, in the community will be able to access community support systems to assist him in rehabilitation, with the hope of preventing his re-offending. The findings also have it on good authority that the rationale for community-based sentences is to keep offenders out of the Prison, and rather send them to serve their sentences in the community. This simply means that offenders remain in their communities to perform productive work in order to support themselves and their families, in other words the alternatives to imprisonment were found to be promoting family cohesion. Through serving their sentences in the community the offenders also repay victims (retribution) for losses suffered. With regards to the effectiveness of community-based sentences, the advantages and disadvantages were also thoroughly scrutinised and it is found that its advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Alternatives to imprisonment were found to be the process of reducing prison population (overcrowding). Overcrowding is found to be a general situation in Prisons when the total number of inmates in prison is beyond the authorised holding capacity. In order t o address this ever increasing problem within our Correctional facilities the authors of this paper found that alternatives to imprisonment is a suitable answer to overcrowding. Alternatives to imprisonment is also found to be promoting community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offenders other than locking them up in prisons. A good example is, when a professional such as a Medical doctor is sentence to an alternative to imprisonment the skills possessed by that particular Medical doctor can be utilised to the great benefit of the community, rather than locking him/her up in Prison, which will serve no purpose. Community based sentences in comparison with imprisonment was found to be much cheaper. This finding is evident from the fact that offenders incarcerated have to be provided with food, bedding, clothing, water and electricity and so forth through government expenditure. On the other hand the offenders serving community-based sentence remains in the community and is responsible for his needs. Community-based sentence is furthermore found to have positive impact on recidivism in a sense that offenders are given chance to remain and serve their sentence in the community. In other words their chances of reoffending are very slim contrary to those incarcerated, while offenders who are imprisoned are mixing with hard core criminals and the programme officers do not have enough time complete rehabilitation programmes, especially when they serving short term imprisonment. 4. CONCLUSION It is evident from the findings that alternative sentences outweigh imprisonment in terms of maintaining offenders dignity, reducing of prison population (overcrowding), promoting community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offender other than locking them up in prisons, saving government expenditure and promoting family cohesion, and reduction of recidivism. Apart from serving all abovementioned good purposes, alternatives sentences also served as a way of avoiding mixing of the first offenders with hardcore criminals in the prisons. The offenders who are serving alternative sentences will perform positive unpaid work within their areas of home and do the kind of reparation to the community rather than ending up in Prisons. Imagine, locking up offender who committed minor offence such as shoplifting together with hard core murderer or rapist would result in that offenders become more criminal than rehabilitated. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS Against this backdrop, it is strongly recommended that alternative sentences to imprisonment such as community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole be considered by Correctional Services, particularly, Namibian Correctional Service. After studying the pros and cons of alternatives to imprisonment, this type of sentencing is just one of the positive ways of dealing with offenders. Against this background the authors of this paper strongly recommends these other alternatives as follows: The Court sentence offenders with minor offences to alternative as such community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole. This type of alternatives aims to achieve and involve the reintegration of the offender as law-abiding citizens back into the community by; enforcing unpaid work, ensuring reparation to the community, reduce a risk of recidivism or repeat offending, increased chance of rehabilitating the offender to acceptable social standards. Secondly, periodical imprisonment is recommended to be used as alternative to imprisonment as it promotes community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offenders other than locking them up in prisons. Thirdly correctional supervision is recommend by the authors as alternative to imprisonment based on the reasoning that this type of alternative aims to provide a means of rehabilitation within the community, thus maintaining the important links which the offender may have with his or her family or community. Furthermore correctional supervision allows, or encourages the offender to be employed. Correctional supervision as an alternative to imprisonment ensure that the offender remain employed and thus able to support his or her dependents and do not result in additional costs for the State. Since offenders are in the community, they are able to make decisions and take responsibility for their life. Offenders are also encouraged to take steps towards correcting their criminal behaviour through participation in rehabilitative programmes. Fourthly, house arrest/ electronic monitoring is recommended not to be a viable alternative to imprisonment in Namibia as this may not be in concurrence with the Constitutional provisions such as respect of human dignity and freedom of movement provided for in articles 8 and 21 respectively of the Namibian Constitution. (Government N. , 2010) page number. Lastly day parole is strongly recommended by the authors as a viable alternative to imprisonment since it gradually assist an offender to be released into the community at his own responsibility under controlled circumstances. Day parole implies the temporary release of an offender from Prison or a Correctional institution such as a halfway house to work or study, followed by re-confinement during non- work or non-school hours. During working hours offender work for an employer and are paid.

The Role of Fashion Promotion Within the Fashion Industry Essay

The Role of Fashion Promotion Within the Fashion Industry I am going to write about what the role of fashion promotion is within the fashion industry and discuss how it might develop in the next five years. To do this I shall review what fashion promotion is by defining it and finding out how, when and where it started. To understand what fashion promotion really is in a contemporary context I shall broadly look at how it is used and what many forms it has taken since the beginning up until the present day. To look at how fashion promotion may develop in the next five years I shall analyse and critique specific examples in more detail, such as finding out how these specific types of fashion promotions are used, by whom and for what purposes. I shall discuss the benefits and shortcomings and compare and contrast the examples to extract the implications of their usage. It is difficult to predict fashion's future but researching its history and development, identifying reasons why and how things have happened to make it what it is today, and analysing the pace at which it is developing, will help us to think about and envisage where fashion may progress in the next five years. Designers and manufacturers design and produce garments; promoters and communicators then deal with the next steps, such as: image concept or brand to either an audience or market. The Oxford English Dictionary states that fashion is "a popular trend, especially in dress" and "the production and marketing of new styles of clothing and cosmetics." It states that promotion is an "activity that supports or encourages", "the publicizing of a product or celebrity", "(promotions) the activity or business of organizing such publicity" and "elevation to a hig... ...ning what is happening today culturally, socially and economically. By applying our research, we can improve our forecasts of what may happen next in fashion promotion but there is much greater variability in the factors affecting fashion trends today, which makes prediction even more difficult. The usual measures do not necessarily suggest the next fashion styles. This allows more extreme fashion to become more main stream as fashion buyers will take greater risks to surprise the competition in the hope of establishing a new order through strong brand differentiation. Bibliography The Times. Fairtrade seeks  £50m for expansion, Sarah Butler, 24/02/07) The Oxford English Dictionary Bruzzi S. & Church Gibson P. (eds). 2000. P.96 H.Radner (2000) in S.Bruzzi & P.Church Gibson Fashion Cultures: Theories, Explorations & Analysis, London: Routledge, pp. 128-134)

Some Surrender :: English Literature

Some Surrender I have recently reviewed the short story â€Å"Some Surrender† written by Bernard MacLaverty. It deals with the relationship between the father and the son however wider issues including bigotry and prejudice are also incorporated into the story. Maclaverty choose to set the story in Belfast and the strained relationship between the father and son. The two men are meeting to celebrate the fathers 75th birthday. They meet on a local hill on the outskirts of Belfast. We see the symbolic relationship between the struggle up the hill and the men’s relationship. â€Å"†¦.The steep angle of the hill†¦.† They have not been speaking to each other for the last 20 years and only in recent times have the met. We soon discover the source of the struggling and damaged relationship is the mother. After marrying a roman catholic and having a baby with his wife before they were married he was shunned from his family as his actions conflicted with his mothers strong sectarian beliefs. The father also mentions â€Å"†¦.done this climb since you were small†¦.† This shows that much time has passed and also that the characters are familiar with the setting. The son based a book he has created of photos taken in Belfast this also shows that the son has returned to Belfast in the past but not to be with his family. The title of the book is â€Å"Some Surrender† which is based on the protestant slogan â€Å"No Surrender.† The story is divided into four parts during which we learn about the characters and plot. It is also told in present tense. The first part forms the climb of their journey. We learn about the background of the two men their secret meetings and the son’s alienation from the mother. The story is told in the dialog of the two men through which we see humour, honesty, strain etc between the two characters. They are celebrating the fathers 75th birthday and are reminiscing and catching up with each other. The main focus is on Roy we hear of the broken relationship with his mother and the damaged relationship with his father. We learn that Roy is a photographer with some success. â€Å"I see your postcards all over the place. Supermarkets even.† He lives in Dublin and is now separated from his wife. We also her how much is his mother disapproved of the son’s marriage. â€Å"She wasn’t even a good catholic.† It is evident that bigotry is the main cause of the problems. In the second part we hear again through the humour and dialog of the characters the problems that exist in Ireland and why each thinks the

John Adams :: essays papers

John Adams "The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution." In three remarkable careers--as a foe of British oppression and champion of Independence (1761-77), as an American diplomat in Europe (1778-88), and as the first vice-president (1789-97) and then the second president (1797-1801) of the United States--John Adams was a founder of the United States. Perhaps equally important, however, was the life of his mind and spirit; in a pungent diary, vivid letters, learned tracts, and patriotic speeches he revealed himself as a quintessential Puritan, patriarch of an illustrious family, tough-minded philosopher of the republic, sage, and sometimes a vain, stubborn, and vitriolic partisan. John Adams was born in Braintree (now Quincy), Mass., on Oct. 30, 1735, in a small saltbox house still standing and open to visitors. His father, John Adams, a deacon and a fifth-generation Massachusetts farmer, and his mother, the former Suzanna Boylston, were, their son wrote, "both fond of reading"; so they resolved to give bookishly inclined John a good education. He became the first of his family to go to college when he entered Harvard in 1751. There, and in six further years of intensive reading while he taught school and studied law in Worcester and Boston, he mastered the technicalities of his profession and the literature and learning of his day. By 1762, when he began 14 years of increasingly successful legal practice, he was well informed, ambitious, and public spirited. His most notable good fortune, however, occurred in 1764 when he married Abigail Smith. John Adams's marriage of 54 years to this wise, learned, strong-willed, passionate, and patriotic woman began the brilliant phase of Adams family history that produced their son John Quincy, his son Charles Francis, his sons Henry and Brooks, and numerous other distinguished progeny. In 1761, John Adams began to think and write and act against British measures that he believed infringed on colonial liberties and the right of Massachusetts and the other colonies to self-government. A pamphlet entitled A Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law and town instructions denouncing the Stamp Act (1765) marked him as a vigorous, patriotic penman, and, holding various local offices, he soon became a leader among Massachusetts radicals. Although he never wavered in his devotion to colonial rights and early committed himself to independence as an unwelcome last resort, Adams's innate conservatism made him determined in 1770 that the British soldiers

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 22

â€Å"What about Seth?† I asked stiffly. I waited then for the shouts, for the accusations. Any of them would have been understandable. What I didn't expect were tears building up in her eyes. â€Å"I think†¦I think something's wrong. I think he's trying to let me down easy or something.† â€Å"Why would you think that?† I channeled Grace and Mei, keeping my face as still and expressionless as theirs. â€Å"He's just†¦I don't know. He's been so distracted lately.† â€Å"Seth's always distracted. You know how he is with his books.† â€Å"Yeah, I know. And it drives me crazy sometimes.† I remembered her disappointment at Casey's party. â€Å"But this is something different, I can feel it. Only, I don't know what it is. He's not around much, and when he is, it's like he's with me but not with me. He always says nothing's wrong, but it doesn't feel right. And we haven't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Haven't what?† I asked, guessing the answer. A deep pink blush blossomed on her cheeks. â€Å"We haven't been having sex. Each time I even kind of suggest it, he's just not†¦well, he doesn't really seem into it.† Talking about their sex life was one of the most painful conversation topics I could imagine, short of her realizing I was to blame for its problems. So, I kept up with my pokerfaced therapist mode. â€Å"How long has it been going on?† â€Å"About a week.† Yup, that made sense. That was right around the time my stasis had begun. Here I'd been expecting Maddie to come after me, to pick up on one of the covert looks Seth and I had shared. But she hadn't. It had never even crossed her mind to suspect me of anything duplicitous. In fact, she'd come to me for help because I was one of the few people she trusted with something like this. And that made it all the worse when I had to lie to her. In any other situation, I would have advised a friend to take control of her relationship, to corner her man and not be used. And maybe†¦maybe I should have. If I advised her to break up with Seth, that would clear the way for us. Did I want that again? I didn't know. I still wasn't thinking past the day I would turn into a succubus again. I was living irresponsibly, focusing on the now, and continued that here with Maddie. My next words were spoken so winningly, so convincingly that there was no way she could ever think I didn't have her best interests at heart. I might have been relying on my succubus abilities to smooth my hair all this time, but charming and persuading people was a core part of my personality. She never stood a chance. â€Å"A week?† I gave her a gentle smile. â€Å"That's not very long. You can't really base a major crisis on that yet-especially when you consider who you're dealing with. I mean, like you said, you've seen him get so busy with work that he cancels or even forgets things, right?† â€Å"Yeah,† she said, sniffling in a continued attempt to keep back her tears. â€Å"It's just never been like this. I don't know. I've never had a serious relationship. I don't know how it's supposed to work.† â€Å"You guys have only been going out for, like, four months. It takes longer than that to really get to know someone's patterns.† With a pang, I realized she and Seth had dated longer than he and I had. â€Å"This may be one you've got to get used to. He's probably stressed, and sex is the last thing on his mind-as hard as that is to believe. Give him some time. If it keeps happening, then it might be time to worry. But it's too soon now.† I could tell by her face that my words had given her hope. â€Å"Yeah†¦you're probably right. But†¦do you think†¦do you think I'm doing something wrong? Should I do something different? Act differently? Dress sexier?† Oh God. I so did not want to be advising Maddie on how to seduce Seth. â€Å"Well†¦I wouldn't worry about any of that quite yet. Overthinking it'll just stress you out more. Just wait a little bit. If something's on his mind, it may take him some time to work through it.† She'd defeated her tears and now adopted a resolute look. â€Å"Sometimes I don't know if I'm fooling myself, like that I'm just caught up in my first big romance. But, seriously, some days, I feel like I've found the one. Like if he wanted to run off right now, I'd do it.† The love on her face was like a bullet through my heart. â€Å"If something's wrong, I want to help him through it.† â€Å"I know, I know, but you still don't know what ‘it' is. If it's a writing thing, he's got to work it out. If it's something else†¦well, I'm sure he'll come talk about it when he's ready.† Her dark eyes were contemplative, looking at me without seeing me while she processed all of this. â€Å"You're probably right,† she said at last. She gave me a small, rueful smile and shook her head. â€Å"God, I feel kind of stupid. Look at me. Some kind of champion for strong women, huh? Did I mess up my makeup? And oh God, did I really just ask that?† â€Å"No, it's fine. And you're not stupid. Your feelings are normal.† I stood up, needing to get out of here. The room was making me claustrophobic. I had to get away from her, away from her trust. â€Å"I'm going to go do a sweep. They should be opening any minute.† She rose as well and ran a hand over her eyes one last time. â€Å"Yeah, I've got things to do too. Thanks for listening to me.† Before I could open the door, she gave me a small, fierce hug. â€Å"I'm glad you're my friend.† With that, she left to tend to her work. Meanwhile, I wished a hole would open on the floor and swallow me up. I almost wished Nanette would show up and end my misery. Thankfully, I only had two hours until I was meeting Roman. Then I'd be free of this misery and self-loathing that Maddie was unknowingly stirring up in me. But if I'd hoped store business would prove a distraction, I was wrong. A half-hour later, an errand to the caf? ¦ brought me face-to-face with Seth. He sat at a table with his laptop and looked up as though he could sense that I was nearby. He smiled, and my heart raced. I smiled back before I could stop myself. He looked like he wanted me to come over, yet I worried about attracting attention or tipping others off. Of course, it might actually look more suspicious if I didn't talk to him, I realized. Long ago, it was perfectly common for me to stop by and chat with him. No one had ever perceived it as anything more than friendly banter. So, after dropping off some books, I strolled over and sat across from him. â€Å"Hey,† I said, feeling warm under his gaze. â€Å"Hey,† he replied. â€Å"You look beautiful today.† I glanced down and laughed. Along with my limited wardrobe, I was also discovering that not doing laundry decreased my clothing options even further. I was in jeans and a plain black T-shirt today, and my hair had been lucky to get a quick brushing, let alone any real styling. I'd overslept and figured beachcombing didn't require much primping anyway. â€Å"Liar,† I said. â€Å"I practically rolled out of bed this morning.† â€Å"You forget that I've seen you in just about every state imaginable. You don't have to have every detail primped and perfect. You're beautiful even when you're disheveled. Sometimes more so.† â€Å"Hey! Are you saying I'm disheveled now?† â€Å"No, you're somewhere in the middle of primped and disheveled. And you still look beautiful.† I received compliments all the time, but from him, they were golden and wonderful. Even the smallest ones. â€Å"And you,† I said, â€Å"seem to try to be disheveled.† He ran a hand over his slightly messy hair. I think his intent was to smooth it, but he only mussed it further. â€Å"People spend fortunes on hair gel to get this look, you know.† â€Å"And fortunes on shirts like that,† I said, gesturing to his vintage Ovaltine T-shirt. â€Å"There are collectors who'd pay a lot of money for that on eBay.† â€Å"I am one of those people.† I laughed. â€Å"There's a treasure trove of T-shirts waiting for you in Vancouver, you know. I kept seeing them and thinking of you.† With each moment that passed, I fell further and further into that electric, consuming connection between us. Love for him filled me, made me feel complete. Leaving him would have been agonizing just then, and I saw a similar sentiment for me on his face. I'd sat down, feeling guilty and conflicted over Maddie, but once I was with him†¦well, it was selfish and horrible, but I couldn't help but stay. And honestly, it became hard for me to fret too much over her feelings because I was too caught up in my own for him. I wanted him. I wanted him to be mine. I wanted him to love me. And yet, I knew as soon as I left the table, I'd feel bad about her again. There was no way this could end well. â€Å"Do you have any more trips scheduled up there?† He lowered his voice, the flirty look now gone and replaced by concern. â€Å"No, I think I'm done with my international travel. I've just got to figure out things here now†¦or, well, they'll be figured out for me in another day or so. Things are going to return to normal with or without Jerome soon.† His expression grew troubled, and he glanced away from me to stare out the window. We'd both known the inevitable was coming from the beginning, yet neither of us had been able to talk about it then. It looked like we still couldn't talk about it now. There were a million things we should be discussing, but all we could think about was each other. All we wanted was each other. We'd spent so much of our time with boundaries between us that now that there were none, we just wanted to childishly lose ourselves in our longings and not think about the consequences-even though the consequences would be catching up with us any day now. â€Å"Well,† Seth said finally. â€Å"I just hope you stay safe. Are you any closer to finding him?† I hesitated. Roman had told me not to trust anyone. I was pretty sure that Seth wasn't going to go run off to any demons in the area and report what I said. I also suspected, however, that Seth wouldn't be happy to find out Roman was in my life again, no matter how altruistic Roman claimed to be right now. Seth wouldn't trust him. Hell, I didn't trust him. â€Å"I've got a few promising leads,† I said finally. I thought about Grace. â€Å"Some more promising than others†¦I'm just not sure if I can do anything with them.† â€Å"Still traipsing beaches? Do you need me and Kayla again?† â€Å"I thought she had something going on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The look on his face said he would do anything for me. â€Å"Yeah, but if you really needed her, I could try to pull some strings. If you wanted.† Oh, did I. A pleasant, aching yearning gathered in my chest. There was nothing I'd love more than to spend another afternoon with the two of them, even if it was searching for rocks. It had let me indulge in the illusion of being a family. â€Å"No, I'm fine.† Reluctantly, I let the image go. As much as I wanted to be with them again, Roman was the better partner on my hunts now. I would rather put him at risk than Kayla, and anyway, he was more likely to be able to know what to do if we actually found what we were looking for. I glanced at the clock. â€Å"In fact, I need to finish up my work here. My shift's over soon, and I can't be late.† Seth's face was a mixture of worry and disappointment. â€Å"No lunch, huh?† I couldn't be certain, but I suspected lunch with him would have involved both food and sex in some surreptitious location. Damn. I wanted both. Sadly, I shook my head. â€Å"I wish I could†¦but this comes first. I'm sorry.† For half a second, I remembered Maddie in the office, so sad and heartbroken. I even thought about Dante and his compulsive spending. If I had any scrap of morality left in my damned soul, I'd tell Seth that we needed to end this, right now. But like every other time I'd told myself that, I never listened. â€Å"Maybe†¦maybe tonight, though†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Roman and I would be done searching. Dante might be around, but well†¦I'd deal with that later. I felt confident I could dodge any plans he might want to make. Details like that didn't matter. Only being alone with Seth again did. How could being around him affect me like this? He nodded, as eager as me. â€Å"Call me when you're free.† I started to joke that I'd never be free, but that wasn't what he'd meant. Standing up, I hoped I looked like I was leaving a platonic conversation and that I wasn't actually struggling with the temptation to kiss him good-bye. We stared at each other for a few heavy moments, and with his eyes, Seth said a million things, both sweet and indecent. Walking away, I was certain that anyone who'd seen us would instantly realize what was going on-but no one seemed to be paying attention to us. My shift wound down rapidly after that, and as I walked home afterward, I heard invisible footsteps walking along with me. â€Å"I know you're there,† I said under my breath. I didn't want anyone thinking I was crazy. â€Å"Glad to see your voyeur ways haven't changed.† My car was parked behind my building today, and as I rounded the corner onto a quiet block, Roman materialized beside me. He looked gorgeous, smug, and dangerous. The usual. â€Å"I hope you had an entertaining time following me around.† I took my keys out. â€Å"You should be a reality show,† he said. â€Å"It's that good. And you know, I might be a totally unstable former assassin, but man. You manage to shock even me.† â€Å"Oh, be quiet,† I snapped. I unlocked the car doors and slid into the driver's side. â€Å"Your snarky commentary is neither wanted nor appreciated.† â€Å"It's not commentary. It's me thinking aloud. It has nothing to do with you, really, nor does it require any response on your part.† â€Å"This is it, isn't it?† I asked, pulling out of the parking spot. â€Å"This is why you aren't going to kill me. You're going to just torture me for the rest of eternity. Long suffering, right?† He grinned, flashing perfect white teeth against his tanned skin. It triggered a memory in me, how I'd once found that so attractive. Now, though, my fear and unease blocked any sort of desire. â€Å"I suppose that's one way of looking at it. And besides, don't act like there isn't some part of you that secretly enjoys playing this eternally woeful, tormented role. If you were happy, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself.† â€Å"That's not true.† I was surprised to feel myself blushing. â€Å"Stop trying to fuck with me.† â€Å"I'm just intrigued, that's all. You wear this mask of moral superiority. So does Mortensen. Yet, here you two are, sneaking around.† â€Å"You don't understand. We're in love.† The wry look Roman gave me immediately made me regret my words. â€Å"Oh, I understand. Believe me, I do.† I kept my eyes on the road. He had once told me he loved me, and I'd thrown it back in his face. â€Å"If you guys were so in love, why'd you break up in the first place? You were fawning all over each other the last time I saw you.† â€Å"For a lot of reasons,† I mused. â€Å"It's complicated.† â€Å"It always is.† I sighed. Edmonds was about twenty five minutes away. This was going to be a long drive. â€Å"Well, not that it's any of your business, but I mean, there were a lot of things going on. We were having communication problems, for one thing.† â€Å"How terribly mundane.† â€Å"And I was starting to freak out-you know, about how he could die. I didn't think I could handle that.† I waited for Roman's snide response to that, but there was none. â€Å"And, of course†¦I mean, there was always sex. I wouldn't do it. I couldn't stand the thought of stealing part of his life away. Our love wasn't dependent on sex†¦but well, it still muddled things up.† â€Å"And now you have no problem with sex.† â€Å"Because I can't hurt him now! Look, I can't help the timing-or the fact that we still care about each other.† â€Å"Or the fact that each of you have significant others.† Now I stayed silent. Roman tipped his head back against the seat thoughtfully. â€Å"In all my observations this week, I've got to admit, I like Maddie.† â€Å"I like her too,† I said quietly. â€Å"But that guy you're dating? Well, I think you can do better.† â€Å"I'm almost starting to wish you'd kill me.† â€Å"Oh, I've thought about it,† he said. To my dismay, the joking was gone from his voice. Again, I refused to look at him. â€Å"I'm sorry†¦about Helena. I never meant for that to happen.† Roman gave a laugh that sounded like it choked him. â€Å"Oh? What did you think would happen, then? A slap on the wrist? I survived it, and I was still in pretty bad shape.† â€Å"You said you were going to kill Carter. And I didn't know who else you'd go after,† I said quietly. â€Å"I didn't know what else to do. There was no easy option for me.† â€Å"There would have been if you'd really loved me like you said you did,† he replied bitterly. â€Å"And I told you I'd leave the rest of them alone.† â€Å"It was too late when you told me that. By then, I'd already called for help.† I didn't add that in a way, I really had loved him. It had been different from the way I loved Seth, but it had been love nonetheless. â€Å"Well, whatever. It's not relevant now. Finding Jerome is what's important.† Out of the side of my eye, I saw him study my profile. â€Å"Of course, I'm surprised you've been so eager†¦it's going to put an end to your little affair.† â€Å"It's going to come to an end anyway. I'd rather have Jerome in my life afterward than some other demon.† In my mind, I could see Seth's kind eyes and gentle smile. I could almost feel the way his hands touched my body. â€Å"I'll have the memories, at least. They'll stay with me.† â€Å"Memories.† Roman shook his head. â€Å"How the hell can someone who fucks random men for a living be such a romantic idiot?† I didn't answer that, and the rest of our drive contained little conversation. The place we were going to in Edmonds was another park. Funny, I thought, that humans kept sectioning off these magical places and preserving them. I wondered if they sensed that power on some inherent level. I'd read up a little on this park and how it had some significance to Native Americans in the area. Surely that was promising. It was a small beach flanked by a woodsy area with picnic tables. Children ran around while their mothers watched. â€Å"This place isn't very strong,† said Roman, once we were out of the car. â€Å"There's a little magic in the earth but not much. I can't imagine they'd hide Jerome here-they'd want a lot more to mask it.† I refused to let that drag me down. â€Å"We have to look. We don't know anything for sure.† The park wasn't huge. I suspected it would take us less time to search it than it would to drive back. Just as we'd stepped out of the parking lot, my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number. â€Å"Go on without me,† I told Roman. When I answered, the voice was no one I recognized. â€Å"Is this Letha, also known as Georgina Kincaid?† I grimaced. Only high-up hellish employees called me by my original name. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"This is Ephraim, from Internal Affairs.† The demon's voice was clipped and hurried, giving the impression that I was the one who'd called him and interrupted something. I found it amusing that he'd called me rather than speak in person. More efficient, I guessed. I sat down at a picnic table. â€Å"What can I do for you?† â€Å"Nothing, I'm sure. But I've been instructed to interview all lesser immortals in the area about The Jerome Situation.† I could hear the capitalized letters in his voice, kind of like The Manhattan Project. â€Å"First, I'd like to know where you were when Jerome disappeared.† â€Å"On my way to Canada. Jerome had been lending me out to help Cedric.† There was a moment's pause. â€Å"My records say that Cedric was in Seattle when Jerome disappeared.† â€Å"Well, when I left, Cedric was still up there, yeah. But then when the Army of Darkness did their thing on the Space Needle, I called Cedric because I figured he'd want to know. I thought that was when he came down here.† â€Å"Did you say Army of Darkness?† â€Å"Um, yeah. It's this cult in Vancouver that was doing embarrassing things.† â€Å"Ah. The ones with the spray paint.† â€Å"Yup. I'd been helping Cedric with them, and when he heard they were down here, I guess he came to talk to Jerome and do some damage control so Jerome wouldn't think he'd sent them.† â€Å"Your information's incorrect. Cedric never met with Jerome.† â€Å"What?† I frowned, thinking back to my conversation with Kristin. I'd asked if Cedric had come to talk to Jerome, and while she'd confirmed that he'd been down here, she hadn't mentioned them actually speaking. â€Å"When Cedric came, Jerome was already missing. He and Mei attempted to find him, and when the lesser immortals began showing the effects of the summoning, we knew what had happened.† Ephraim's words were still brisk. Clearly, he had no interest in discussing what he already knew. I was close to something here-so, so close. Had Jerome been summoned before Cedric arrived? That would rule him out as the summoner. Of course, if Ephraim had received his information from Cedric, then it could have been a lie. Maybe Cedric was being framed. Maybe he'd actually been here the exact moment Jerome was summoned. Mentioning Mei meant that she had probably corroborated Cedric's story. Which meant what, exactly? Was she in on this too? I knew Grace was involved already. It was possible Mei and Cedric were working with her, but that meant three demons were in the conspiracy now. There was only one reward in Seattle, and I couldn't see how they'd all benefit. Getting a large group of demons to organize was hard. Getting them to do it when it offered no advantage for all of them? Impossible. Ephraim was eager to get back on track. He asked me a few more questions about Jerome's disappearance and a bit about my day-to-day affairs. He never asked for my opinion about who should replace Jerome or what I thought of other demons. That wasn't particularly surprising, however. As my friends and I had discussed, our input probably wouldn't play a large role here. I hung up and went to find Roman. I expected him to have practically finished the search, but instead, I found him playing ball with some kids over in a clearing near the trees. They were pretty little, and there wasn't much to the game. Mostly everyone stood in a circle and tossed the ball back and forth. Roman's throws were gentle and carefully aimed so as to make it easy for the kids to catch the ball. I stood off to the side, watching them in wonder. He actually seemed pretty into it, and the oddity of a sociopathic half-angelic bastard playing with small children wasn't lost on me. Roman caught sight of me watching them and tossed the ball over to a little girl. He left the circle to approach me, much to the dismay of the kids left behind. They entreated him to stay, but he merely waved and told them he had to go. â€Å"Maybe we can come back later,† he said jovially. â€Å"I can't decide if that was cute or creepy,† I told him. â€Å"Maybe a little of both.† â€Å"Why creepy? I only kill immortal beings. Not kids.† â€Å"The fact that you just said all that with a straight face is proof enough.† I gestured around. â€Å"Did you check this place out?† â€Å"Nope. Didn't want to steal the fun from you. Who was on the phone?† We started walking along the beach, and I recapped what Ephraim had told me. â€Å"I almost told him what I knew about Grace,† I admitted. â€Å"No, better that you didn't,† said Roman. â€Å"We still need more information.† â€Å"We're running out of time,† I grumbled. â€Å"There's not much more info we can get. And there's something there†¦something weird about the day Jerome was summoned. I just can't-† I froze, staring off down the beach. â€Å"Roman. Look.† He followed my gaze. There, near a trash can, was a patch of small, rough rocks mixed in with the sand. Gray and white. I ran off down the beach, ignoring the sand filling my shoes. Holy shit. After all these fruitless searches, after relying on all these sketchy half-assed clues, we'd actually found something. We'd found Jerome, and not a moment too soon. Ignoring the looks of some startled kids, I knelt down near the rocks and began pushing them aside, digging through the sand. I realized then I should have brought a spade or something. A few moments later, Roman arrived and stood over me. â€Å"Well, what are you doing?† I demanded. â€Å"Help me.† â€Å"He's not here, Georgina.† â€Å"He has to be! We're near salt water. There's sand. There's white stones. For the rest of the seal's camouflage to work, he's buried here somewhere.† â€Å"I can't sense anything. He's not here.† The rocks were cutting my hands as I dug, and I felt tears stinging my eyes. Until that moment, I didn't realize just how horribly and truly afraid I'd been of Jerome not returning. My time as a succubus had been filled with upheaval. I liked the small piece of tranquility I'd carved out here in Seattle. I didn't want that to change. I couldn't let it change, not after everything else I'd been through recently. â€Å"The whole point of the seal imprinting its magic was to mask Jerome's prison! Of course you wouldn't feel it.† â€Å"The seal hides it from anyone not actively seeking it. I am, and I'm telling you it's not here.† â€Å"Maybe it's because you're not strong enough.† With a sigh, Roman knelt down behind me. â€Å"Georgina, stop.† â€Å"Damn it! He has to be here!† Roman reached from behind me and grabbed my arms. I struggled, but he was too strong. â€Å"Georgina, enough. Jerome isn't here. The only thing unusual about this spot is the smell from the garbage can. I'm sorry.† I struggled against him a little bit more and finally gave up. Apparently feeling certain I wouldn't fight anymore, Roman released me. I turned and looked at him, swallowing back my tears. â€Å"This was our last chance,† I said softly. â€Å"We don't have any time left.† Roman studied me with his sea-green eyes. I saw no anger or threat on his face, only compassion. â€Å"I'm sorry. And you don't know for sure that it's too late.† â€Å"Ephraim will finish his assessment anytime now. And where are we going to go next? The Olympic Peninsula? Wenatchee? Hitting places at random was one thing when they were in our backyard. These others are too far away. We choose the wrong one, and that's it. Game over. We won't have time for anything else.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† he repeated. From his face, I could see that he spoke the truth. â€Å"I want to find him as much as you do.† I stared beyond him out at the blue-gray water and the circling gulls. â€Å"Why? Why do you want to find someone who tried to kill you?† Roman smiled. â€Å"Why do you cling to a romantic ideal when everything in your life has pretty much shown you that it's impossible?† I think he'd spoken rhetorically and seemed surprised when I dragged my eyes from the water to look at him and answer. â€Å"Because of a dream.† He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"What dream?† I took a deep breath, and like that, the images flashed through my mind, just as vivid and real as they'd been the first time. â€Å"Awhile ago†¦Nyx was here.† He looked startled. â€Å"What, the mother of time and chaos?† â€Å"Yeah. Long story.† â€Å"What is it about this city?† â€Å"Beats me. Anyway, she was preying on my energy and distracting me by sending me these dreams. They were so real, Roman. You can't even imagine.† My voice was small as I spoke. â€Å"I was washing dishes in a kitchen, and ‘Sweet Home Alabama' was playing. In the other room, there was this little girl sitting on a blanket. She hurt herself, and I came in there to comfort her. She was maybe two or three, and she was mine . My daughter. Not someone else's. Not adopted. The daughter of my body. Aubrey was there too and this tortie and-â€Å" â€Å"A what?† â€Å"A tortie. A tortoiseshell cat.† I waited, but his expression was still blank. â€Å"It's like a calico, but without any white. Just brown and orange patches. How can you be millennia old and not know that?† â€Å"Because I don't subscribe to Cat Fancy magazine. And I can't believe you remember things like cat breed and background music.† â€Å"It was so real,† I said quietly. â€Å"More real than my own life. I remember everything.† Whatever snarky retort was on his lips disappeared, and he turned serious again. â€Å"I'm sorry I interrupted. So, what happened then? With you, the girl, and the cattery?† â€Å"We were just all there together, warm and happy. Then a car pulled up outside, and I carried the girl out to look. A man was getting out, and he was the one . My lover, my husband, her father. The one my life centered around.† â€Å"Who was he?† Roman asked, face intent. I shook my head. â€Å"I don't know. I couldn't see his face. It was dark out, and it was snowing. I just know that I loved him, and that he and the girl completed my life.† Roman didn't answer right away as he turned my words over. â€Å"But it was a dream.† â€Å"I don't know. Nyx can show the future†¦she showed others theirs. She claimed this was mine, but it's impossible. I can't have any of that. And yet†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦and yet, you secretly hope it might be true.† â€Å"Yeah. And when this whole stasis thing happened, I thought maybe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Again, Roman completed my words. â€Å"†¦maybe it could be true. After all, you could suddenly touch Seth. Maybe you could have a kid too?† He'd guessed my secret hope. â€Å"I didn't know. I still don't. Maybe I can get pregnant. I mean, my body is kinda sorta human, right?† â€Å"Yes. But not enough. I don't know every detail of this whole demonic hierarchy and the way they channel their powers, but I know you can't have kids. Even if you seem human, you're still immortal. You still belong to Hell. I'm sorry.† I held his eyes for a moment and then looked down. â€Å"Well. I guess I can't really be surprised by that, huh? And I have no reason to trust Nyx anyway. Not after what she did.† There it was. No kids. Another piece of the dream had slipped away from me. All I had left was the faceless man, the man I wanted to be Seth, and even that seemed unlikely now. Roman tugged me up. â€Å"Come on. Let's head back before the rain comes. We'll get some ice cream. Maybe that'll cheer you up.† â€Å"I'm not really sure ice cream can fix my failed hopes and dreams or an impending demonic takeover.† â€Å"Probably not. But it'll help.†

Why gun laws are important to the U.S.A

As the only country that guns are legalized, the United States of America has given the liberty to its people to own guns in order to protect themselves in case of emergency. Hence, to own a gun is considered to be an American right to be a citizen of the U. S. A. This right was protected by The Second Amendment of the united States constitution, where It Is mentioned that people do have right to possess and use fire arms and ammunitions.However, in order to have restriction on gun owners, government has introduced Federal Gun Laws as well as the State laws for gun extraction, in comparison of two laws, the federal laws seemed to be completed and have more restrictions on the behavior of people, where as the state laws do vary from state to states, and most of the state laws are not too strict. Second Amendment, 2014) When the citizenry gain control on fire arms, the safety of the individual house hold tend to increase, in the detail paragraphs more will be discussed on the same topi c. Despite all the gun caused tragedies, I believe that gun possession should not be held responsible of death caused in the general public, as UN Is not the only tool that causes tragedy, therefore It Is merely a ways but not the solely cause. Further more, due to legalization of guns In the U. S. He sales of guns have always being a Income for the country, hence denying the right to own guns can be as bad as denying the Income of the government; In addition, some of the heavy industries that are mainly in to the production of firearms faces bankruptcy in times that the nation do not need that much of weapons; hence due the consumption abilities generated by the citizens of the United States of America(Annually overspent receives $6 billions estimated revenue on firearms etc), this country is not likely to be affected by situations as such.In other aspect the income can be positively maintained while avoiding such tragic situation. (Sunburn, J, 2012) There are plenty of reasons to encourage the Second Amendment of the United States of America, the fore and most important factor of legalization of guns Is to protect people sudden dangers and unexpected circumstances In which people will expose to dangers that can be as bad as ruling their lives while unable to do anything about it.The fundamental theory or ideology for this idea to thrive is that, it is not that everybody can get a body guard or a police man to stay with you 24, 7. Therefore, if a burglar broke into your house and was about to harm your family, and if you call the police, they would need time to come to you, but the problem is on their arrival it would be too late to save anybody, therefore if you possess a gun, it would mean a lot, at least you can scare off the burglar.Similarly, in this society, people may face different problems that may cause them to be mentally ill, hence hey might start a mass shooting scene, however, if other people could have guns with them, then they could stop the m ad man before he could hurt anyone. On the other hand, I do believe that firearms are not the fundamental cause of violence, because It Is not true that people can get killed only by guns, and gun Itself can not kill. Therefore, the orally of the violence Is not on fire weapons and ammunitions, but people.According too news published on Forbes in the year 201 3 Jan 1st by inappropriate. According to Swinger's analysis, the rights that are granted for the tizzies should not be denied because another one has committed a crime while using that right, because everyone of us is unique and would not lead a life of another existing living body, hence it is not Just and wrong for the government to intervene in such situation, as in a man's life the only thing that you can deprive him of is the liberty that he has, and rights are considered to be liberty.Secondly, Swanker also argued that a concealed pistol would do no harm to anybody around it, unless it is drawn and used, therefore if any one would own a gun for safety reposes, it is not an evidence that can be taken to charge the owner that he or she is going to committee a crime with that weapon. (Swanker, H, 2013) In addition to the benefits of gun legalization, the economy of the country can be maintained its statues which is lucrative to become even better. According to relevant studies done by P.Brad who has had written an article on Washington post, in the year 2012 the United States of America's gun industry expects a profit approximately $998 million to be deposited for the country, which really matters a lot or a country development. As a result, we can see that when possession, purchase and usage of firearms are declared to be constitute, the economy of the country would gradually expand, therefore I myself can not see any drawbacks may caused due to this decision by all means.Statically it is too proven that, out of 100% of the firearm products, 15% would belong to the law enforcement and 25% belong to th e military purposes, while other 60% of the market was distributed among the citizens in the USA, hence we are clear that citizens indeed need guns for their own retention, and at the same time the US government could also thrive. (P.Brad, 2012) In order to finish up with this assignment, I would like to emphasis again that the fundamental cause of legalization of gun is for the protection purpose of the individuals, as when they are exposed to urgent danger, and time would not be sufficient to wait for the police officer to arrive. Hence, it is very practical to own a gun to deal with such situations.However, I insist that firearms are tools for people to achieve certain deeds, and it can not kill or harm anybody by itself, in case that regarded may be caused by firearms, I believe that it is mainly caused by ill intentioned people, and it is the only situation that it may harm people. But though people may use guns to do crimes but guns are not responsible for such situation becau se the real wrongness is with people.In short, there are plenty of rights and benefits that worth preserve by encourage the legalization of firearms. Finally, I appeal that citizenry should not be blamed with others wrong doing, and gun possession is their right, which should not be denied or abandoned, as it is their right to protect!

Grand Canyon Essay Essay

Although not a more prominent theme, the theme of things happening for a reason and changing your life was also shown in the movie Grand Canyon. Through my own life experiences and the through the experiences of others I too have learned that things do happen with reason and that things may not seem good right at the moment, but things will turn out right in the end. To me, the movie showed this theme, but more subliminally then up front. When times do look bad, have faith and know that things will turn out for the better and that there’s a reason for why things are the way they are. In the beginning of the movie we see that Mack gets into car trouble in the wrong side of town. As Mack is beginning to be harassed by a couple of gangsters, Simon comes to the rescue. Simon, the tow-truck driver tells the gangsters to back off, thus saving Mack’s life. Mack is therefore grateful of what Simon has done. Despite the fact that Mack could’ve gotten himself killed, Mack wised up and made a new friend. In another part in the movie Simon’s sister’s house was shot at (they live in the wrong part of town). At first, his sister decides to just stay there, but later moves into an apartment that Mack suggested they get. Then there was the part where Simon and Jane, a girl Mack set up with Simon hit it off right away after their first date. If you think real hard about it, all those things that happened never would’ve happened if that night Simon and Mack had not met. Even though it was a bad way to meet, things did turn out right. Everyone involved learned more about each other and themselves and everything did turn out for the better. As did the case with Mack’s wife, Claire. One day on one of Claire’s daily jogs she literally finds a baby behind some bushes. Claire takes the baby into her care and later plans to adopt the child. The child seems to be what Claire was missing all this time. The baby seemed to fill an emptiness she had. As these situations in the movie shows, there is reason for why things are the way they are and that in turn changes our lives completely. In my own life experiences, I’ve come to terms with my faith in God and the belief that things happen with reason and that God would not abandon you. My mom has also taught me and instilled that belief in me. In the past couple of years things have been on the rough for my family and I. Four years ago  my dad lost his stable job of about 10 years. During and throughout that period of about a year, money was somewhat a problem and with each new day my dad became more and more depressed as each job interview passed with no reply. During that time my mom, told us to believe and kept telling us that bad things do happen, but they only happen when something better is to come. About 2 years ago, Bell Canada employed my dad. His office was even closer than the old one and his new office was larger and my dad loved his new job. My mom was right. But that’s not where it all ends. A year and a half ago, my dad was transferred to a Mississauga branch. My dad hated the commute each morning and you could tell he wasn’t liking it there. They were understaffed there so he always worked overtime, and that meant leaving later from his already far workplace. He was stressed a whole lot. Once again, my mom told us that this is just a period of time that tests us and that things would turn out for the best. About a year ago today, my dad was transferred to one of Bell Canada’s downtown branches. My dad now works right in the Eaton Centre and my dad is so happy. Through just that whole ordeal I’ve learned first, how powerful prayer really is and second, that things do happen for a reason. When my dad first moved to Mississauga he was thinking of quitting and looking for a new job, if he had done that he wouldn’t have ended up where he was today. Through many other experiences I have learned that something very little can change your life forever and that God only gives you things He knows you can handle. It may seem like through my experiences I’ve learned two different things, but to me they go together. God communicates to us through many different ways, so does fate. The littlest things like going to the mall or going home can change our lives forever. More recently, was the terrorist attack in the U.S. In the news and from various other sources you hear stories about people who missed their train or slept in that morning and therefore missing out on the Trade Centre collapsing. Just missing out by a few seconds how just by being late could change your life forever. It also shows the power of fate, it wasn’t your time to pass on. As little as something may seem, it can alter your life in more ways than one. When your life seems out of place or when you’re going through rough times,  you’ve got to just remember that things always turn out for the better. If something good has passed you by now, something better for you is bound to be coming soon. Though you may not be optimistic something better is coming, you’ve got to believe so. That something better may not come big, but it will change your life forever.