Free Essays on High School

My High School Experience High school, what a long strange trip it's been. Grades, boys, stress, homework, friends, fashion, English papers, PSAT’s, math formulas, dissections, the elements of high school that can make a girl go completely insane! Sometimes, I just feel like life’s a roller coaster and I am not strapped in, a little extreme to say, but very true. I’m sure it wasn’t always that way, but when high school comes around, and we’re all just supposed to immediately assume responsibility and mature, the stress we students endure goes way up. Some of those lucky people in this world, accepted the transition into â€Å"adulthood†, let’s say, quite easily and others, myself for example, struggled. Yes, it was a constant struggle to shed those years of fooling around and grow and hard shell of reality, but it is something we all must do in order to succeed. Realizing this now doesn’t really change my many passed mistakes, but it will change my futur e. My trip started with volleyball, and I guess it all just went downhill from there. At the end of my summer vacation, going into ninth grade I decided to try out for Varsity Volleyball. During the summer, I had a huge ego, and thought my volleyball skills were next to godly. Sadly enough, the coaches did not recognize my obvious talent for the game, so I was demoted to a starter position on the Junior Varity (cough cough loser ahem cough) team. Being the pompous jerk that I was, I felt that my position on JV was unacceptable. I considered myself to be irreplaceable, and took JV for granted. I mouthed off to the coaches, skipped practices, ignored the other players, and did whatever I pleased thinking nothing of the consequences. By the second game, my coaches took notice of my direct negativity and disrespect. As a punishment, they didn’t start me the third game; in fact I was benched for almost the whole time. Of course, at that time in my life I was very immature... Free Essays on High School Free Essays on High School My High School Experience High school, what a long strange trip it's been. Grades, boys, stress, homework, friends, fashion, English papers, PSAT’s, math formulas, dissections, the elements of high school that can make a girl go completely insane! Sometimes, I just feel like life’s a roller coaster and I am not strapped in, a little extreme to say, but very true. I’m sure it wasn’t always that way, but when high school comes around, and we’re all just supposed to immediately assume responsibility and mature, the stress we students endure goes way up. Some of those lucky people in this world, accepted the transition into â€Å"adulthood†, let’s say, quite easily and others, myself for example, struggled. Yes, it was a constant struggle to shed those years of fooling around and grow and hard shell of reality, but it is something we all must do in order to succeed. Realizing this now doesn’t really change my many passed mistakes, but it will change my futur e. My trip started with volleyball, and I guess it all just went downhill from there. At the end of my summer vacation, going into ninth grade I decided to try out for Varsity Volleyball. During the summer, I had a huge ego, and thought my volleyball skills were next to godly. Sadly enough, the coaches did not recognize my obvious talent for the game, so I was demoted to a starter position on the Junior Varity (cough cough loser ahem cough) team. Being the pompous jerk that I was, I felt that my position on JV was unacceptable. I considered myself to be irreplaceable, and took JV for granted. I mouthed off to the coaches, skipped practices, ignored the other players, and did whatever I pleased thinking nothing of the consequences. By the second game, my coaches took notice of my direct negativity and disrespect. As a punishment, they didn’t start me the third game; in fact I was benched for almost the whole time. Of course, at that time in my life I was very immature...

Radishes and Radicals

Radishes and Radicals Radishes and Radicals Radishes and Radicals By Maeve Maddox Both words, radish and radical, derive from the Latin word for root (radix). The vegetable we call a radish is an edible root. Radical, functioning as both noun and adjective, is used with multiple meanings, depending upon context. Its earliest use in the context of politics and political thought and action dates from the late eighteenth century: That the omnipotence of the state is not lodged, by the constitution, with the people, but with the whole legislative body in parliament assembled, was a radical doctrine of this obnoxious ministry.- OED citation dated 1783 â€Å"A radical doctrine† is one that would strike at the root of an established political or social norm. A radical is â€Å"a person who advocates radical or far-reaching political or social reform.† The earliest OED citations for the noun radical are dated 1822: Love is a great leveller; a perfect Radical. General Scott said Archer was a Radical and inclined to be Jacobinical. Note: As a political term, Jacobin derives from a French political club established in 1789 with the purpose of propagating the principles of extreme democracy and absolute equality. By 1800, the word Jacobin was used to refer to any political reformer. Every society is rooted in specific institutions and conventions. At the time that radical acquired its political meanings, European society was rooted in the model of a landed elite supported by a disenfranchised working class. In the early nineteenth century, efforts to accomplish the following were seen as radical ideas in Britain and the United States: end the employment of children in factories and mines extend the vote to all men extend the vote to women end imprisonment for debt end the slave trade grant full civil rights to Catholics and Jews provide elementary schools for the children of the working classes provide humane treatment for the mentally ill The verb radicalize in the sense of â€Å"to make radical, especially politically; to imbue with radical principles† appears early in the nineteenth century (1825). The earliest citation for the noun radicalization- â€Å"the action or process of making or becoming radical, especially in political outlook†- is 1867. Among the OED citations for radicalize and the noun radicalization are references to soldiers who were radicalized by witnessing the horrors of war and to â€Å"radicalized students of the late 1960s.† These political terms have been used to describe different degrees of radicalism, as indicated in this definition of the adjective radical in the OED: radical adjective: Advocating thorough or far-reaching political or social reform; representing or supporting an extreme section of a party; specifically (also with capital initial)   (a) British belonging to, supporting, or associated with the extreme wing of the Liberal Party which called for a reform of the social and parliamentary system in the late 18th and early 19th century.  (b) U.S. belonging to a faction of the Republican Party seeking extreme action against the South during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Now more generally: revolutionary, especially, left-wing. Although in the past, radical belief was sometimes accompanied with violent behavior- e.g., John Brown, Carrie Nation, the French Revolution- it was more often contained and acted on within a framework of constitutional or parliamentary changes. A â€Å"radical† could be any person who regarded some aspect of society as unfair or undesirable and believed that the way to change it was to overturn or uproot existing norms. In that sense, suffragettes and abolitionists were radicals. Nowadays, radical, radicalize, and radicalization have come to carry connotations of a type of extremism closely association with violence. This is how The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines radicalization and radical: radicalization At its root, radicalization takes the basic tenets of a faith or a political movement and carries them to extremes, extremes that often are drastic enough to adopt violence to intimidate others into accepting those extremes or to punish those who will not accept the extremes, and that process carries across lines of nationality or religion, from Mohammad Atta to Timothy McVeigh. radical The FBIdefines radical individuals as persons who encourage, endorse, condone, justify, or support the commission of a violent act or other crimes against the U.S. government, its citizens, or its allies for political, social, or economic ends. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 "Home" Idioms and ExpressionsSocial vs. SocietalWhen to Spell Out Numbers

Cloud Computing Security Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cloud Computing Security Policy - Essay Example The private network shall be hosted off the premises of SNPO-MC but will be managed by both the cloud vendor and IT staff from SNPO-MC. The shall effect cloud bursting between the public and private cloud. Cloud computing services comprise of an infrastructure, resources and applications that SNPO-MC can access over the Internet. Large companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon provide these resources so that they can be readily and cheaply available to people. Most of the cloud services provide support for communication, data storage, data analysis, data processing, project management, and scheduling. Cloud services will be very easy for the staff and executives of SNPO-MC to use since they are readily accessible to workstations, tablets, smartphones and laptops via the Internet. Despite the numerous advantages of the cloud, security is a primary concern especially on the public cloud where unauthorized access of organizations data can compromise the operations of an organization and bring a lot of losses. SNPO-MC should verify before entering into an agreement with the cloud vendor that it complies with standards from Federal Information Processing (FIPS) and NIST Special Publications (SP). The standards include: A chief IT manager shall be appointed and will be responsible for all cloud service negotiations with cloud vendors. The IT manager will overview the implementation of all security policies that involve both the general staff and the executive. The IT manager in consultancy with the company lawyer will monitor compliance with SNPO-MC cloud policies with the required government standards. No individual department or manager in SNPO-MC shall be allowed to procure cloud services for the daily operations of the organization. Data and information stored in the cloud databases are owned by the creator of the data. In this case SNPO-MC organization. The cloud provider shall not in any case alter,

My Role in Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My Role in Leadership - Essay Example Few concepts are more crucial to the human organization than leadership. Efficient leadership helps organizations in times of peril, making the set up more successful and receptive to change. Doing things effectively while influencing others enables the fulfilling of the set down objectives. It is essentially the backbone of productivity. The absence of efficiency in leadership proves to have dramatic effects. Because of good leadership skills, it is not easy to lose track of what is important. Much of the challenges that are associated with leadership success lies with decision making and implies that complete and accurate decision making ensures prosperity. What are you going to do next? What issues, questions, and dilemmas are you going to explore further? Why and how? How will this influence who you are and how you relate to others? It will be important to influence the thoughts, attitudes, behavior and inspire others as a good leader. As a leader, I will set directions for my peers and help them focus on what lies ahead. Through this forecasting, a good visualization of what is achievable will be evident. Without this visualization of the benefits associated with the good leadership, it is likely that our way of organizing things will easily degenerate into conflict and argument. An effective execution of leadership will ensure that my personal perception by others is greatly influenced by the enormous benefits of respect.   This is a good way of staying relevant to my peers as encourage and instill positive values in them.

Globalization Process Essay Example for Free

Globalization Process Essay Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture.[1][2] Globalization describes the interplay across cultures of macro-social forces. These forces include religion, politics, and economics. Your shirt was made in Mexico and your shoes in China. Your CD player comes from Japan. You can travel to Moscow and eat a Big Mac there and you can watch an American film in Rome. Today goods are made and sold all over the world, thanks to globalization. Globalization lets countries move closer to each other. People, companies and organizations in different countries can live and work together. We can exchange goods , money and ideas faster and cheaper than ever before. Modern communication and technology, like the Internet, cell phones or satellite TV help us in our daily lives. Globalization is growing quickly. A German company can produce cars in Argentina and then sell them in the United States. A businessman in Great Britain can buy a part of a company in Indonesia on one day and sell parts of another business in China the next, thanks to globalization. Fast food companies open shops around the world almost every day. Advantages * Globalization lets countries do what they can do best. If, for example, you buy cheap steel from another country you don’t have to make your own steel. You can focus on computers or other things. * Globalization gives you a larger market. You can sell more goods and make more money. You cancreate more jobs. * Consumers also profit from globalization. Products become cheaper and you can get new goods more quickly. Disadvantages * Globalization causes unemployment in industrialized countries because firms move their factories to places where they can get cheaper workers. * Globalization may lead to more environmental problems. A company may want to build factories in other countries because environmental laws are not as strict as they are at home. Poor countries in the Third World may have to cut down more trees so that they can sell wood to richer countries. * Globalization can lead to financial problems. In the 1970s and 80s countries like Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia or Brazil got a lot of money from investors who hoped they could build up new businesses there. These new companies often didn’t work, so they had to close down and investors pulled out their money. * Some of the poorest countries in the world, especially in Africa, may get even poorer. Their population is not as educated as in developed countries and they don’t have the new technology that we do. * Human, animal and plant diseas es can spread more quickly through globalization.

Dropping the Atomic Bombs :: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On August 6, 1945 a 9,000-pound bomb was loaded on the Enola Gay. At exactly 8:15:30 in the morning the massive bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. The after math left 71,000 people dead and 68,000 injured. A second bomb was dropped three days later. Nagasaki was the target this time, killing 36,000 people and injuring another 40,000. The question is why the two bombs were dropped?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Japanese government was expected to put up a fight until the very end. Which they did and that is why President Harry S. Truman wanted a quick end to the war. With a threat from the Red Army, also known as the Soviets’, to enter the war between the US and Japan it gave him all the more reason to drop these devastating bombs. Greek Mythology By Scott Martin Could you imagine yourself as being the most powerful person on the face of the earth? With an ability to summon the dead or wail lightning bolts at the snap of your fingers. Well this is how it was back during the time of Greek Mythology. I’m going to tell you about the most powerful of all the god’s and his two brothers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Zeus and his brothers drew lost of their share of the universe. Zeus came out as the supreme ruler. He was Lord of the Sky, the Rain-god, and the Cloud-gather, who welded the awful thunderbolt. However, he did not always know everything and most certainly did not see everything.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He is represented as falling in love with one woman after another. Using all kinds of tricks to hide the woman of lust from his wife. His breastplate was the aegis, a beauty to behold. His bird was the eagle and the mighty oak was his tree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poseidon was the ruler of the seas, Zeus’ brother and second only to him in eminence. His wife, Amphitrite was the granddaughter to the Titan Ocean. It is told that when he drove in his golden car over the waters, the thunder of the waves sank into a stillness and tranquil peace. Commonly called the â€Å"Earth-shaker† he was always seen carrying his trident, a three-pronged spear that would shake and shatter whatever he pleased.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third brother among the Olympians, who drew his share the underworld and rule over the dead is Hades. Hades is also called Pluto, the God of Wealth. Both Roman’s and Greek’s call him by that name, but they often translate it to Dis, which is Latin for rich.

Swot Analysis of Netflix

SWOT analysis for Netflix: Strengths: 1. Proprietary technology. Netflix has proprietary technology system to stream TV shows and movies and also including processing delivery and return DVDs. This specific system makes the business in Netflix more efficiency. 2. Goodwill and brand value. Netflix is a company with reputation. It has 15 years experiences and has a good deal of loyal consumers. 3. Competitive price. The service is in expensive in Netflix. It just cost 8 dollar per month and subscribers can enjoy unlimited viewing. 4. Simple service process.The service process in Netflix is simple. There are no commercials, no commitments, no contracts which can save consumer’s time and make the service more efficiency. 5. Open-minded managers. They continuously receive feedback from their consumers to change their strategy which makes the company more profitable and prevent many risks. 6. Good user experience. With just a little bit of timing, customers can have movies coming an d going so as to almost always have a movie ready to watch. Which generating loyal and enthusiastic customers. Weakness: 1.Third-party logistics or third-party device. Netflix have to rely on third-party logistics or third-party device, which mean if consumers lose confident with US mail system or some devices company, it will have bad effect on the reputation of Netflix. 2. Laws and government regulations. As an industry rely on internet, Netflix has to keep continual attention to laws and government regulations and make a quick reaction if something changed. 3. Pricing power. It has to accept the rates and delivery schedules set by the U. S. postal service, as well as the rates set by streaming providers. . Weak of internet system. As the main service of Netflix is completed on internet, there has the chance that the system to be attacked by hacker and it will bring tremendous negative effect on Netflix. 5. Debts. Netflix have issued $400 million in debt offerings and may incur ad ditional debt in the future, which may adversely affect their financial condition and future financial results. 6. Content distribution. These are not exclusive, which allowing competitors access to the same movies and television shows, leaving the way open for competition. Opportunities 1.Branding value. Netflix can become the first thing people think of for watching movies at home, just like â€Å"Google† is the first thing many think of for searching. There's been at least one instance of using the word â€Å"Netflix† as a verb, so this could be the beginning. 2. Technology changing. As the technology changing fast, Netflix can use continuously strategy changing to take the first mover advantage. 3. The big and increasing market. There have over 30 million members in over 50 countries enjoying over a billion hours of TV show and movies from Netflix every month.As the market is still increasing, there has a big opportunity for Netflix. 4. International expanding. As Netflix will expanding its domain outside United States, it will face many opportunities and challenges. 5. Distribution. As more subscribers come aboard, the value of Netflix as a distributor of content for studios goes up, leading to more pricing power for Netflix and less for the content producers. Threats 1. Competitors. That existing or new competitor  in the same domain, for example Google,YouTube and Amazon is the next most serious threat after Hulu. 2. Free ad-supported TV shows and movies. If large market segment bring for this kind of free TV shows and movies, the rate of growth in Netflix could be decline. 3. The liability for negligence, copyright or patent. Face the potential liability for content uploaded from their users. Netflix have the possible to be litigation if their consumers upload some videos illegal, which will cost Netflix a lot and will have negative results of their operation work. 4. The Copyright law change. If U.S. Copyright law were altered to amend or eliminate the First Sale Doctrine or if studios were to release or distribute titles on DVD in a manner that attempts to circumvent or limit the effects of the First Sale Doctrine, their business could be adversely affected. 5. Increasingly cost of their acquisition of DVD content and the logistic company. They are unable to negotiate with the studios because of consumers have lists and they have to buy the movies on the list. As labors cost more and more expensive the delivery DVDs cost is increasing. Risk 1.If Netflix efforts to attract and retain subscribers are not successful, their business will be adversely affected. 2. If Netflix unable to successfully or profitably compete with current and new competitors, programs and technologies, their business will be adversely affected, and they may not be able to increase or maintain market share, revenues or profitability. 3. If Netflix are unable to continue to recover from the negative consumer reaction to their price change and other announcements made during the third quarter of 2011, their business will be adversely affected. . If Netflix cannot foresee the consumer viewing habits exactly maybe it will make some wrong strategy and have adversely affected. 5. Many of their systems and operational practices were implemented when Netflix at a smaller scale of operations and they are undertaking efforts to migrate the vast majority of their systems to cloud-based processors. If they are not able to manage the growing complexity of their business, including improving, refining or revising our systems and operational practices, their business may be adversely affected. . The big portion of goodwill in its total asset is also a risk. If they cannot provide good service and make consumers satisfied, it will suffer a very bad influence for its profit. If they are unable to protect their domain names, their reputation and brand could be adversely affected. 7. Delayed availability of new release DVDs for rental co uld adversely affect Netflix’s business. In January 2012, Warner Home Entertainment announced it was increasing the period of delay to fifty-six days.If other studios were to increase the period of delay and /or if their subscriber satisfaction is negatively impacted by this increase in the Warner delay, their business could be adversely impacted. 8. Proprietary technology to stream TV shows and movies and to manage other aspects of their operations, including processing delivery and return of their DVDs to their subscribers, and the failure of this technology to operate effectively could adversely affect their business. . In the event of an earthquake or other natural or man-made disaster, Netflix’s operations could be adversely affected. They may not be able to effectively shift their fulfillment and delivery operations to handle disruptions in service arising from these events. 10. They could be subject to economic, political, regulatory and other risks arising from their international operations. 11. They may lose key employees or may be unable to hire qualified employees.

Elisa Allen: A Mystified Identity Essay

John Steinbeck’s short story â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† is centered on the protagonist named Elisa Allen. The vivid portrayal of her character in different parts of the story makes the reader wonder who she really is. Steinbeck started by portraying her as a strong and knowledgeable gardener, with a sense of masculinity, following which she is portrayed as someone who yearns for sexual attention in her sensual encounter with the tinker, and concluded with her being described as a beautiful, feminine lady, and then back to her masculine self all within a span of a few hours. The evolution in the expressions, emotions, and the portrayal of Elisa Allen is an important element of Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chyrsanthemums. † Firstly, Elisa Allen is described and presented in a very masculine manner. The words â€Å"strong†, â€Å"a man’s black hat† and â€Å"heavy leather gloves† showcase the masculinity. Additionally, her features described as, â€Å"her face was eager and mature and handsome†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦over-powerful. † lend substance to her masculinity. Interestingly, this description of Elisa is in stark contrast to the societal perception of females in that era who are meant to be more feminine. The fact that she is she is thirty five years old and has no children also de-emphasizes her femininity. However, this presentation of masculinity augurs well with her acuity for business which is demonstrated in her interest in knowing more about the conversation of her husband, Henry Allen with the men in business suits. Also, her negotiation skills with the tinker showcase the business acuity of Elisa that has gone unnoticed by Henry. The societal norms have dictated that she carry out her role as a gardener with penchant. As a result, Elisa devotes all of her energy to maintaining her house and garden. Although she rightly brags about her green thumb, Elisa’s connection to nature seems rather coerced and not something that comes as naturally as she claims. She knows a great deal about plants, most likely because as a woman, gardening is the only thing she has to think about. This constant tussle between her femininity and her masculinity lend an interesting insight into Elisa’s character. Next, Elisa is been demonstrated as a woman who lives an unsatisfying, under stimulated and frustrated life who looks to the tinker for a stimulating conversation and even sex. Her physical attraction to the tinker and her flirtatious, witty conversation with him bring out the poet in Elisa. The phrases, â€Å"she shakes out her dark pretty hair and with her eyes shining, she admits the stranger into her yard. She strips off her protective gloves†, â€Å"she looks deep into his eyes, searchingly† and â€Å"She was kneeling on the ground looking up at him. Her breast swelled passionately. † describe the sensual encounter of Elisa with the tinker. During this encounter, there is also evidence of how unsatisfied Elisa is with her life when she says the following, â€Å"I’ve never lived as you do, but I know what you mean. When the night is dark—why, the stars are sharp-pointed, and there’s quiet. Why, you rise up and up! Every pointed star gets driven into your body. It’s like that. Hot and sharp and—lovely. † This statement also showcases the poet in Elisa. Besides the poetic conversation, it symbolizes the level of incompleteness in her life. It seemed that she got carried away in the heat of the moment, and realized at a later point and felt ashamed of what she did and had been saying. After the sensual encounter with the tinker, the femininity is showcased of Elisa is showcased at its fullest by the narrator. Firstly, when she tries to dress up and present herself as a beautiful lady. This is seen in the following narration of the scenario, â€Å"After a while she began to dress, slowly. She put on her newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress which was the symbol of her prettiness. She worked carefully on her hair, penciled her eyebrows and rouged her lips. † Following the dressing up, and showing up in front of Henry, the conversation that the couple have is nothing less than hilarious. Evidently, Henry is not used to seeing Elisa dress up and presents her in the feminine manner that she did. The banter that takes place between Henry and Elisa, especially when describing her as â€Å"strong and happy† and â€Å"You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee, happy enough to eat it like a watermelon† was amusing. This conversation clearly showed that Henry did not know how to react to Elisa’s femininity, supporting the fact that Elisa could have been unsatisfied with her current relationship with Henry, and hence seeking an escape in her encounter with the tinker who seemed to be more receptive and appreciative to her. However, the conversation that took place while in the caravan negated the short burst of feminism in Elisa and was overpowered with a sense of masculinity by the topics of their conversation which included: â€Å"wine over dinner,† and â€Å"women going to fights. † This could be because of the realization that nothing has changed. She is still the same lady who was gardening a few hours ago. The tinker, despite showing interest and stimulating her, was only concerned in his profit, and was manipulative to say the least. Interestingly, in the final sentence of the story, the narrator describes Elisa as a â€Å"weak, old woman. † In conclusion, the narration has been so vivid that the reader could see the emotions and the constant tussle that Elisa faces as a woman and a wife. Her life as a woman has been confined to her duties as a gardener, with no affection and love been shown by her husband Henry. This incompleteness in her life leads her to seek solace in her encounter with the tinker where she sees a ray of hope to experience her feminine self. However, this feel-good experience is short-lived when she says her chrysanthemums that she gifted to the tinker lying on the road. This shattered her dreams of being a free woman, and brings her back to reality. The reality of course is that she is confined to her reserved, unfulfilling, monotonous life as a wife with no children. The pace at which she experienced the highs and lows of her life, in a span of a few hours is note-worthy and adds to the literary value of Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums. †

The most common fears and their reasons

The most common fears and their reasons Every day is a day of decision-making. From the smallest decision of what to wear, to more important decisions at work, and, on some occasions, some really big decisions, we try to weigh alternatives and make the best one. We decide on college majors; we buy cars and homes; we make huge decisions about career choices and relationships. But what happens when we cannot make decisions or we make poor choices because we are afraid. While the reasons for our fear may differ, one thing psychologists tell us is true. Fear can become so debilitating that we are just stuck we cant act at all. And that of itself is actually a decision a decision to do nothing. And those decisions to do nothing heavily affect our lives. Here are 4 of the most common fears and their impact. Fear of Failure You have been very comfortable in your job and you do it well. All of a sudden an opportunity comes up for quite a promotion, and your boss thinks you are the perfect candidate. You are flattered, but then the fear grips you. This new position means supervising lots of people; there are more responsibilities and new things to learn; you will be blamed if things go wrong. Now you have the weekend to make a decision, and you are thrown into anxiety and panic attacks. Monday morning comes, and you turn down the promotion, feeling a great sense of relief. Fear of failure can impact all aspects of our lives, and it keeps us from taking up new challenges that mean personal and professional growth. Fear of Criticism or Disapproval This fear is a direct result of low self-esteem, because it means that we fail to make decisions based upon our own desires and goals. We worry instead about what others may say or think. You are in college and studying pre-med. You come from a family of doctors, and it is just a given that this will be your career choice too. You have been groomed for this for years. But now, you really hate pre-med and you have begun a love affair with computer science, taking as many elective courses in the field as possible. You want to change your major but you know how your parents and relatives will react, and you do not want to disappoint them. So, you stick it out and ultimately enter a field for which you do not have real passion. You then lead a life of wondering if you might have been the next Bill Gates of Steve Jobs. Fear of Change/Risk We all have our comfort zones, and they are nice secure places. We really want to stay in them, but often life tries to push us out of those zones and into new unchartered territory. You have a comfortable job with an adequate income. You are truly talented in web design and have done an outstanding job creating the websites for some friends. A colleague approaches you and thinks that two of you could start your own web design business and make a killing. He already has several clients lined up and just needs you as the creative arm of the business. Suddenly you are faced with making a huge change a change that will really pull you out of your comfort zone. You have a mortgage and maybe a car payment. You might have to go into your savings for a while. You just cannot do it, and you have to tell your colleague no. Several years later, that colleague and his partner are highly successful, setting their own schedules and having fun in their work. You are still in your 9-5 comfort zon e, trying to tell yourself that you made the right choices while looking upon them with envy. Fear of Success Yes, thats right. This is a mindset that says, Once I reach the goals that I have told everyone about, what do I do next? Can I move to the next level without failing? Fear of success is really fear of failure, and what it does is keep us from achieving the current goals we have set. Its just so much easier to keep saying we are working on them and never actually get there. Others will admire us they will applaud our perseverance. And well gladly take all of that praise, and keep plugging along. And, we never have to make the next life decision where do we go next? Fear stunts our growth. Whether it is the fear of moving into a new relationships, the fear of a new job, the fear of taking risks to follow our dreams, or the fear of dis-pleasing others, we end up living, as Thoreau used to call them, lives of quiet desperation, always wondering what could have been had we not be afraid. So, if you have fears that are holding you back, identify them and face them head on. Then get some help with them. Overcoming fear is a process, but it can be done.

The History of Elevators From Top to Bottom

The History of Elevators From Top to Bottom By definition, an elevator is a platform or an enclosure raised and lowered in a vertical shaft to transport people and freight. The shaft contains the operating equipment, motor, cables, and accessories. Primitive elevators were in use as early as the third century B.C.E. and were  operated by human, animal, or water wheel power. In 1743, a counter-weighted, man-powered personal elevator was built for King Louis XV, connecting his apartment in Versailles with that of his mistress, Madame de Chà ¢teauroux, whose quarters were one floor above his own. 19th Century Elevators From about the middle of the 19th century, elevators were powered, often steam-operated,  and were used for transporting materials in factories, mines, and warehouses. In 1823, two architects named Burton and Homer built an ascending room, as they called it. This crude elevator was used to lift paying tourists to a platform for a panoramic view of London. In 1835, architects Frost and Stuart built the Teagle, a belt-driven, counter-weighted and steam-driven lift was developed in England. In 1846, Sir William Armstrong introduced the hydraulic crane and by the early 1870s, hydraulic machines began to replace the steam-powered elevator. The hydraulic elevator is supported by a heavy piston, moving in a cylinder and is operated by the water (or oil) pressure produced by pumps. The Elevator Brakes of Elisha Otis In 1852, American inventor Elisha Otis moved to Yonkers, New York  to work for the bedstead firm of Maize Burns. It was the owner of the company, Josiah Maize, that inspired Otis to start designing elevators.  Maize needed a new hoisting device to lift heavy equipment to the upper floor of his factory. In 1853, Otis demonstrated a freight elevator equipped with a safety device to prevent falling in case a supporting cable broke. This increased public confidence in such devices. In 1853, Otis established a company for manufacturing elevators and patented a steam elevator. For Josiah Maize, Otis invented something he called an  Improvement in Hoisting Apparatus Elevator Brake and demonstrated his new invention to the public  at the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York  in 1854. During the demonstration, Otis hoisted the elevator car to the top of the building and  then deliberately cut the elevator hoisting cables. However, instead of crashing, the elevator car was stopped because of the brakes that Otis had invented. While Otis did not actually invent the first elevator, his brakes, used in modern elevators, made skyscrapers a practical reality. In 1857, Otis and the Otis Elevator Company began manufacturing passenger elevators. A steam-powered passenger elevator was installed by the Otis Brothers in a five-story department store owned by E.W.  Haughtwhat Company of Manhattan. It was the worlds first public elevator. Elisha Otis Biography Elisha Otis was born on Aug. 3, 1811, in Halifax, Vermont, the youngest of six children. At the age of twenty, Otis moved to Troy, New York and worked as a wagon driver. In 1834, he married Susan A. Houghton and had two sons with her. Unfortunately, his wife died, leaving Otis a young widower with two small children.In 1845, Otis moved to Albany, New York after marrying his second wife, Elizabeth A. Boyd. Otis found a job as a master mechanic making bedsteads for Otis Tingley Company. It was here that Otis first began inventing. Among his first inventions were a railway safety brake, rail turners for speeding the making of rails for four-poster beds and the improved turbine wheel.Otis died of diphtheria on April 8th, 1861 in Yonkers, New York. Electric Elevators Electric elevators came into  use toward the end of the 19th century. The first one was built by the German inventor Werner von Siemens in 1880. Black inventor, Alexander Miles patented an electric elevator (U.S. pat#371,207) on Oct. 11, 1887.

Bayesian Networks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Bayesian Networks - Essay Example BNs are graphical models that set probabilistic relationships among variables of interest. They depict the relationships between causes and effects. The BNs are strong knowledge representation and reasoning tool under conditions of uncertainty. The BNs are a directed acyclic graph having nodes and arcs with a conditional probability distribution linked for each node. Nodes stand for domain variables, and arcs between nodes stand for probabilistic dependencies. Set of nodes and a set of directed links between them must not form a cycle. Each node represents a random variable that can take discrete or continuous finite, mutually exclusive values. These values depend on a probability distribution, which can be different for each node. Each link states probabilistic cause-effect relations among the linked variables. A link is shown by an arc starting from the affecting variable (parent node) and ending on the affected variable (child node). We will use BNs to represent risk. For example, Figure 3.1 shows BN for "Decreased profits" risk. By linking together different risks we can model multiple risks in a project and we will look at this property in Chapter 5. Bayes' Theorem was developed after Rev. Thomas Bayes, an 18th century mathematician and theologian. Bayes set out his theory of probability in Essay towards solving a problem in the doctrine of chances published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London in 1764. Richard Price, a friend of Bayes' sent the paper to the Royal Society and wrote: I now send you an essay which I have found among the papers of our deceased friend Mr Bayes, and which, in my opinion, has great merit... In an introduction which he has writ to this Essay, he says, that his design at first in thinking on the subject of it was, to find out a method by which we might judge concerning the probability that an event has to happen, in given circumstances, upon supposition that we know nothing concerning it but that, under the same circumstances, it has happened a certain number of times, and failed a certain other number of times. (Hogben 1970) Laplace accepted Bayes's results in a 1781 memoir and Condorcet rediscovered them (as Laplace mentions). They stayed accepted until Boole doubted them in the Laws of Thought . Mathematically Bayes theorem is stated as: Where it is possible to update our belief in hypothesis H given the additional evidence E. The left-hand term, P(H|E) is known as the "posterior probability," or the probability of H after considering the effect of E. The term P(H) is called the "prior probability" of H. The term P(E|H) is called the "likelihood" and gives the probability of the evidence assuming the hypothesis H is true. Finally, the last term P(E) is free of H and can be viewed as a normalizing or scaling factor. The power of Bayes' theorem is that in many situations where we actually want to calculate p(H|E) it turns out that it is hard to do so directly, yet we might have direct information about the likelihood, p(E|H). Bayes' theorem allows us to calculate p(H|E) in terms of p(E|H). 1.3 The Bayesian Approach to Probability and Statistics Understanding of the Bayesian method to probability and statistics helps to know BNs and related learning techniques. The

Operations Management - An Integrated Approach Case Study - 4

Operations Management - An Integrated Approach - Case Study Example The bank is concentrating on a customer-based change, in a bid to exacerbate its competitive advantage. Staffing, layout, and facilities are the critical targeted aspects in the customer service pursuit (Dan Reid & Sanders, 2005). The operations management should further account for an all-around treatment of operations components. These are quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, and cost (Dan Reid & Sanders, 2005). Since the bank is concerned with the customer aspect, the cost factor does not count in the required changes. However, it is important for the management to ensure that the bank operates within budget. The bank’s strategy to enhance its competitive advantage should target quality of its financial services, the speed of service at all levels, institutional dependability and flexibility of financial services to suit the different customers served. Facility upgrades will also complement these undertakings. A strategy tailored towards cutting costs rather than promoting customer service would require operational adjustments and re-adjustments where possible. Cutting on costs means that no additional costs can be incurred, and the already observed budget should be on the verge of declining. The improvements aforementioned in question two may need to be re-evaluated. The primary concern would be to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of the already functioning system in the bank. Facility upgrades may not be employed, but the quality, speed, dependability and flexibility aspects can be redesigned to become more efficient at the current or even lesser  budget.