Sexual Harassment in the Workplace :: Workplace Harassment Essays

According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) the definition of sexual harassment is â€Å"Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.† Regardless of position in company or type of candidate it is against the law to make passes or harass one because of their sex or gender. In order to harass a person it does not have to necessarily be physical contact but this regulation also includes any offensive verbal context that anyone may say towards a person’s sex and/or gender. Also, a lot of times sexual harassment is based on personal opinion, meaning what may come off as offensive to one person another may be fine with working. A good example is if a woman is wearing a blue dress and makes a random comment of saying â€Å"I really do love the color blue on women.† All depending how the woman wearing a blue dress perceives the comment will depend on whether or not she feel the person was looking at her and how the comment was said in her eyes. Sex and/ or Gender play absolutely no role in whether or not you can be sexually harassed any side of sexual harassment can be played by any sex and/or gender. A third party of someone that heard or saw the sexual harassment also has the right to file sexual harassment charges, so technically that person does not have to be involved in the situation directly. With sexual harassment there is a very gray area because unfortunately it does not allow teasing, general comments and minuet one on one problem. Harassment is so serious it is a criminal offense, but it also creates a terrible environment for productivity and plays a vital role many times in position movement in the company or organization. Sexual harassment is a form of sexual bigotry and is written into law with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To be specific this title only extends to that employer of 15 or more workers and is included for everyone from federal governments to employment agencies. Sexual harassment cases are inspected by the EEOC on a case-by-case basis usually after the victim has told or made it obvious that the harasser should stop.

Melbourne, Australia :: essays research papers

Melbourne, one of the most beautiful city's in the world. I have traveled through the USA, Canada & the Bahamas, and still, I find Melbourne is the greatest. In 1981 I was born in a New South Wales mid-coast town of Port Macquarie. I lived there until I was the age of four, and that's when we made the move to Victoria.I grew up in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, not far from the actual city. Most of my family lived there, and was the main cause for the move. I went to school and met lots of friends. Nearly every night my friends and I would get together and go to the local car park and roller-blade for a few hours before going to 7-11 for a Slurpee.I look back at those days, and see how Melbourne was in the 80's and early 90's. Old buildings and great friendly people. Still, Melbourne has all of this, as well as new developments, such as new multi-million dollar entertainment complex's. Over the past 5 years, Melbourne have brought us the all new Exhibition Building and of course, the Crown Casino. This was a great move for the Kennett government, as it proved to be successful with the un-employment problem. It didn't stop the problem, but it sure did help it. The casino complex is not only for gambling, it is also a great place for teenager's to go the movies or even the special area for arcade games, sort of a side show alley. Crown also contains 2 nightclubs and is host to many international bands. In 1997, the decision was made to start construction of the Docklands stadium, for football and cricket, much bigger then the MCG. Construction is underway and it should be complete in the year 2000.As well as all these new constructions, Melbourne is home to a lot of well known events. The Ford Australian Tennis Open, is one of the biggest with thousands of international visitors annually. Biggest of them all, has got to be the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was only a few years ago that Melbourne got this wonderful event, as it used to be held in the streets of Adelaide. It is now located along the banks of Albert Park Lake. Moomba is an event which every Victorian, cant wait for. Its an annual event, held at the same time as the Grand Prix, and has been biggest festival since around the early 60's. Melbourne, Australia :: essays research papers Melbourne, one of the most beautiful city's in the world. I have traveled through the USA, Canada & the Bahamas, and still, I find Melbourne is the greatest. In 1981 I was born in a New South Wales mid-coast town of Port Macquarie. I lived there until I was the age of four, and that's when we made the move to Victoria.I grew up in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, not far from the actual city. Most of my family lived there, and was the main cause for the move. I went to school and met lots of friends. Nearly every night my friends and I would get together and go to the local car park and roller-blade for a few hours before going to 7-11 for a Slurpee.I look back at those days, and see how Melbourne was in the 80's and early 90's. Old buildings and great friendly people. Still, Melbourne has all of this, as well as new developments, such as new multi-million dollar entertainment complex's. Over the past 5 years, Melbourne have brought us the all new Exhibition Building and of course, the Crown Casino. This was a great move for the Kennett government, as it proved to be successful with the un-employment problem. It didn't stop the problem, but it sure did help it. The casino complex is not only for gambling, it is also a great place for teenager's to go the movies or even the special area for arcade games, sort of a side show alley. Crown also contains 2 nightclubs and is host to many international bands. In 1997, the decision was made to start construction of the Docklands stadium, for football and cricket, much bigger then the MCG. Construction is underway and it should be complete in the year 2000.As well as all these new constructions, Melbourne is home to a lot of well known events. The Ford Australian Tennis Open, is one of the biggest with thousands of international visitors annually. Biggest of them all, has got to be the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was only a few years ago that Melbourne got this wonderful event, as it used to be held in the streets of Adelaide. It is now located along the banks of Albert Park Lake. Moomba is an event which every Victorian, cant wait for. Its an annual event, held at the same time as the Grand Prix, and has been biggest festival since around the early 60's.

Magnifying and Obscuring Essay

The stories of John Updike’s â€Å"A&P† and William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† both make use of the first person point of view in narration but with very different and quite powerful effects that also affect other elements of the story. The ways in which these two stories play with the individual elements of a piece of fiction show just how important it is to make sure that these individual elements are all taken cared of and built-up with equal care and attention, because a problem with one element can result into a problem with the entire story; the elements must all be able to work together to support each other and to weave a tight story. â€Å"A&P† uses the first person, non-omniscient, singular point of view (POV) narration to build rapport with the main character, Sammy [for example: â€Å"I’m in the third check-out slot, with my back to the door, so I don’t see them until they’re over by the bread; I could see Lengel in my place in the slot, checking the sheep through. † (Updike 560)]. This connection with Sammy is a very important one because it is pretty much the driving force of the story; learning of what’s going on in a teenage boy’s head while there are half-naked girls walking about can make an interesting read. This point of view is really what helps push the reader on along as she or he plods through the â€Å"A&P† plot. With â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, on the other hand, we are given the first person, non-omniscient, plural point of view. Obviously, because it is plural it cannot be the view of the main character, Miss Emily Grierson. Instead we seem to have the entire story narrated to us by the entire town [â€Å"When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral; for a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin† (Faulkner)]. This works to increase the mystery that surrounds Miss Emily and her house because we never really knew what she is thinking or feeling. This point of view, giving an air of mystery, again, helps push the reader on to discover what happens throughout the story. Relating with the use of the POV are the different story plots. Here, we can see a great difference between â€Å"A&P† and â€Å"A Rose for Emily† because we find that one is mainly character-driven while the other has a strong plot that keeps the readers going through the story. It is â€Å"A&P† that is, obviously, character-driven because of its simple plot of a boy wanting to elicit the attention of some pretty girls, which is quite common. Even the events in the story and the simple chronological way that it folds are quite ordinary; it is really Sammy – his thoughts and his feelings – that make a reader interested in the story. And, even up to the ending, readers are all interested only in Sammy’s fate and no one else’s [â€Å"I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter† (Updike 564)]. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, on the other hand, we have a story with a strong plot, aided by the effective point of view narration, which moves the story along. The story hooks readers into the plot by making them curious about who Miss Emily Grierson is from the very beginning – readers are wondering why she is a â€Å"fallen monument† and what is so interesting about the â€Å"inside of her house† (Faulkner). The non-linear timeline that the story follows also strengthens the mystery of Miss Emily because the building block to her life must be pieced together slowly and with a certain amount of intuition, at first. Now, the characters of the two stories are also very different – one is as open to us as a book laid flat-open, while the other is mystery to the very end. With Sammy of â€Å"A&P†, we never seem to see a concrete glimpse of in terms of physical appearance but the readers would all know him if they met him. The first person narration lets us in on all the things that makes Sammy think and tick with that little grocery stop. In his observation of the girls, we find a young man with a keen eye and, also, an eye for beauty. He also shows us the ability of a good imagination when he imagines how the girls behave and how their relationships with each other must be like as when he describes the tall girl as: â€Å"a tall one, with black hair that hadn’t quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes, and a chin that was too long — you know, the kind of girl other girls think is very â€Å"striking† and â€Å"attractive† but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much. † (Updike 561) Sammy, as we can surmise, is a boy that is very much in-touch with his surroundings and his imagination. The characterization of Miss Emily, in contrast, is one that is left murky and shadowy. Because we only see her through the townspeople’s eyes, we never really see her clearly; we can only watch her through the stories, the memories, and the patchwork guesses that these observers give us. But even from this blurry view of Miss Emily through a window, we can see how guarded and closed-off she is from her environment [as when she acted ignorant of Colonel Sartoris’ death (Faulkner)] – the total opposite of Sammy. In â€Å"A&P†, we are set-up in a small grocery store that effectively concentrates our attention on no one and nothing else but Sammy and his current preoccupation. The A&P grocery store acts as the perfect magnifying glass to help us focus on our main character and how he deals with the current situation. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is set-up up throughout decades of a life and in different places of the town; this manner of a setting makes for even more mystery as the reader tries to fill in all the gaps between the years that the narrators had no contact nor any knowledge of what went on in Miss Emily’s life. The vast setting diffuses the readers’ minds and it wanders across time and space, searching for a complete picture of Miss Emily Grierson. These two stories, perhaps more different than alike, prove that good stories don’t need to follow a certain pattern to mold in order to be good; it is in the writer and the dedication to his work that makes a story count. Works Cited Faulkner, William. â€Å"A Rose For Emily. † 16 February 2008. Fu Jen University: Department of English Language and Literature. 26 June 2009 Updike, John. â€Å"A&P†. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature Eighth Edition. Ed.

Bloodlines Chapter Fifteen

ADRIAN SLEPT for a lot of the way back to Palm Springs. Apparently, his late-night partying with Carla and Krissy had resulted in very little rest. Thinking about it made me uncomfortable. Thinking about Jill experiencing it through him made me ill. There'd been little we could do for Carla and Krissy except offer our sympathies. Strigoi attacks happened. It was tragic and terrible, but the only way most Moroi could protect themselves was to exercise caution, keep their whereabouts secure, and stay with guardians if possible. For non-royal Moroi living and going to school in the world like Carla and Krissy were, guardians weren't an option. Plenty of Moroi got by like that; they just had to be careful. The two of them thought the circumstances surrounding their friend's death were awful. That was true. They were. But neither girl thought much past that or felt there was anything odd about the throat-slitting. I wouldn't have either if I hadn't heard Clarence's account of his niece's death. I brought Adrian back to Amberwood with me and signed him in briefly as a guest, figuring Jill would feel better about seeing him in the flesh. Sure enough, she was already waiting for us in the dorm when we arrived. She hugged him and flashed me a grateful look. Eddie was with her, and though he said nothing, there was a look of exasperation on his face that said I wasn't the only one who thought Adrian had behaved ridiculously. â€Å"I was so worried,† Jill said. Adrian ruffled her hair, which made her duck away. â€Å"Nothing to worry about, Jailbait. So long as the wrinkles come out of this shirt, there's no harm done.† No harm done, I thought, feeling anger kindle within me. No harm except Jill has to watch Adrian hook up with other girls and endure his drinking binges. It didn't matter if Lee had supplanted her old crush on Adrian. She was just too young to witness anything like that. Adrian had been selfish. â€Å"Now,† Adrian continued, â€Å"if Sage would be kind enough to keep playing chauffeur, I'll take us all out to lunch.† â€Å"I thought you didn't have any money,† I pointed out. â€Å"I said I don't have very much money.† Jill and Eddie exchanged looks. â€Å"We, um, were going to meet Micah for lunch,† Jill said. â€Å"Bring him along,† said Adrian. â€Å"He can meet the family.† Micah showed up shortly thereafter and was happy to meet our other â€Å"brother.† He shook Adrian's hand and smiled. â€Å"Now I see some family resemblance. I was starting to wonder if Jill was adopted, but you two kind of look like each other.† â€Å"So does our mailman back in North Dakota,† said Adrian. â€Å"South,† I corrected. Fortunately, Micah didn't seem to think there was anything weird about the slip. â€Å"Right,† said Adrian. He studied Micah thoughtfully. â€Å"There's something familiar about you. Have we met?† Micah shook his head. â€Å"I've never been to South Dakota.† I was pretty sure I heard Adrian murmur, â€Å"That makes two of us.† â€Å"We should go,† said Eddie hastily, moving toward our dorm's door. â€Å"I've got some homework to catch up on later.† I frowned, puzzled by the attitude change. Eddie wasn't a bad student by any means, but it had been obvious to me since coming to Amberwood that he didn't take the same interest in the school that I did. This was a repeated year for him, and he was content to just play along and only do what was necessary to stay in good standing. If anyone else thought his behavior was odd, they didn't show it. Micah was already talking to Jill about something, and Adrian still looked like he was trying to place Micah. Adrian's generous offer to buy lunch only extended to fast food, so our meal was quick. After a week of dorm food, though, I appreciated the change, and Adrian had long since made his views clear on Dorothy's â€Å"healthy† cooking. â€Å"You should've just gotten a kids' meal,† Adrian told me, pointing to my half-eaten burger and fries. â€Å"You could have saved me a lot of money. And gotten a toy.† ‘†A lot' is kind of an exaggeration,† I said. â€Å"Besides, now you have leftovers to help get you by.† He rolled his eyes and stole a fry off my plate. â€Å"You're the one who should take the leftovers home. How do you even function on so little food?† he demanded. â€Å"One of these days, you're just going to blow away.† â€Å"Stop it,† I said. â€Å"Just telling it like it is,† he said with a shrug. â€Å"You could stand to gain about ten pounds.† I stared at him incredulously, too shocked to even come up with a response. What did a Moroi know about weight gain? They had perfect figures. They didn't know what it was like to look in the mirror and see inadequacy, to never feel good enough. It was effortless for them, whereas no matter how hard I worked, I never seemed to match their inhuman perfection. Adrian's eyes drifted over to where Jill, Eddie, and Micah were animatedly talking about practicing more self-defense together. â€Å"They're kind of cute,† said Adrian in a voice pitched just for my ears. He played with his straw as he studied the group. â€Å"Maybe Castile was on to something about letting her date at the school.† â€Å"Adrian,† I groaned. â€Å"Kidding,† he said. â€Å"Lee would probably challenge him to a duel. He couldn't stop talking about her, you know. When we got back from mini-golfing, Lee just kept going on with, ‘When can we all go out again?' And yet, he dropped off the face of the earth when he was in LA and I needed him.† â€Å"Had you made plans to meet up?† I asked. â€Å"Had he agreed to take you home?† â€Å"No,† Adrian admitted. â€Å"But what else was he really doing?† Just then, a gray-haired man passed by, bumping into Jill's chair as he balanced a tray of burgers and sodas. Nothing spilled, but Eddie jumped to his feet with lightning speed, ready to fly across the table and defend her. The man backed up and mumbled an apology. Adrian shook his head in amazement. â€Å"Just send him as a chaperone with whoever she goes out with, and we'll never have to worry.† Knowing what I knew now about Adrian and Jill's bond, I was able to regard Eddie's protectiveness in a different light. Oh, sure, I knew his guardian training had instilled that nature into him, but there always seemed to be something a little stronger there. Something almost†¦ personal. At first, I'd wondered if maybe it was because Jill was just part of his larger circle of friends, like Rose. Now, I kept thinking it might go further than that. Jill had said Eddie had been the only one to try to protect her the night of the attack. He'd failed, most likely through timing and not because of a lack of skill. But what kind of mark must that have left on him? He was someone whose sole purpose in life was to defend others – and he'd had to watch someone die on his watch. Now that Adrian had brought her back to life, was it almost like a second chance for Eddie? An opportunity to redeem himself? Maybe that's why he was so vigilant. â€Å"You look confused,† said Adrian. I shook my head and sighed. â€Å"I think I'm just overthinking things.† He nodded solemnly. â€Å"That's why I try to never do it.† An earlier question popped into my head. â€Å"Hey, how come you told those girls your name was Jet?† â€Å"Standard practice if you don't want chicks to find you later, Sage. Besides, I figured I was protecting our operation here.† â€Å"Yeah, but why Jet? Why not†¦ I don't know†¦ Travis or John?† Adrian gave me a look that said I was wasting his time. â€Å"Because Jet sounds badass.† After lunch, we returned Adrian to Clarence's, and the rest of us went back to Amberwood. Jill and Micah went off to do their own thing, and I convinced Eddie to go to the library with me. There, we staked out a table, and I brought out my laptop. â€Å"So, we found out something interesting when I picked up Adrian today,† I told Eddie, keeping my voice library soft. Eddie gave me a wry look. â€Å"I'm guessing the whole experience of picking up Adrian was interesting – at least from what Jill told me.† â€Å"It could've been worse,† I speculated. â€Å"At least he was dressed when I got there. And there were only two other Moroi there. I didn't stumble into a sorority house full of them or anything.† That made him laugh. â€Å"You might have had a harder time getting Adrian out of there if that was the case.† My laptop screen flared to life, and I began the complicated process of logging into the Alchemists' mega-secure database. â€Å"Well, as we were leaving, the girls he was with found out that a friend of theirs was killed by Strigoi the other night.† All humor vanished from Eddie's face. His eyes went hard. â€Å"Where?† â€Å"In LA, not here,† I added. I should've known better than to open up the conversation like that without clearly stating beforehand that he didn't need to be on the lookout for Strigoi on campus. â€Å"As far as we know, everyone's right – Strigoi don't want to hang out in Palm Springs.† Eddie became about one percent less tense. â€Å"Here's the thing,† I continued. â€Å"This Moroi girl – this friend of theirs – was allegedly killed like Clarence's niece.† Eddie's eyebrows rose. â€Å"With the slit throat?† I nodded. â€Å"That's weird. Are you sure that's what happened – to either of them? I mean, we're just going off of Clarence's report, right?† Eddie drummed a pencil against the table as he pondered this. â€Å"Clarence is nice enough, but come on. We all know he's not quite there.† â€Å"That's why I brought you here. And why I wanted to check this database. We keep track of most Strigoi-related deaths.† Eddie peered over my shoulder as I brought up an entry on Tamara Donahue from five years ago. Sure enough, she'd been found with a cut throat. Another search on Melody Croft – Krissy and Carla's friend – also turned up a report from last night. My people had been on the scene and quick to log the information. Melody too had had her throat slit. There had been other reported Strigoi murders in LA – it was a big city, after all – but only two matched this profile. â€Å"Are you still thinking about what Clarence said – about vampire hunters?† Eddie asked me. â€Å"I don't know. I just thought it was worth checking these out.† â€Å"Guardians weighed in on both of these cases,† said Eddie, pointing at the screen. â€Å"They also declared them Strigoi attacks – there was blood taken from both girls. That's what a Strigoi does. I don't know what a vampire hunter does, but I just don't see drinking blood as part of their goal.† â€Å"I wouldn't think so either. But neither of these girls was drained.† â€Å"Strigoi don't always finish drinking from their victims. Especially if they're interrupted. This girl Melody was killed near a club, right? I mean, if her killer heard someone coming, they'd just take off.† â€Å"I suppose. But what about the throat-slitting?† Eddie shrugged. â€Å"We have tons of accounts of Strigoi doing crazy things. Just look at Keith and his eye. They're evil. You can't apply logic to them.† â€Å"Um, let's leave his eye out of this.† Keith wasn't a case I wanted brought up. I sat back in my chair and sighed. â€Å"There's just something bugging me about all the killings. The half-drinking. The throat-slitting. They're both strange things happening together. And I don't like strange things.† â€Å"Then you're in the wrong profession,† said Eddie, his smile returning. I smiled back, my mind still turning everything over. â€Å"I suppose so.† When I didn't say anything else, he gave me a surprised look. â€Å"You're not actually†¦ you don't think there are vampire hunters, do you?† â€Å"No, not really. We have no evidence to think they exist.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eddie prompted. â€Å"But,† I said. â€Å"Doesn't the idea freak you out a little? I mean, right now, you know who to look out for. Other Moroi. Strigoi. They stand out. But a human vampire hunter?† I gestured to the students gathered and working in the library. â€Å"You wouldn't know who's a threat.† Eddie shook his head. â€Å"It's pretty easy, actually. I just treat everyone as a threat.† I couldn't decide if that made me feel better or not. When I returned to my dorm later, Mrs. Weathers flagged me down. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger dropped something off for you.† â€Å"She brought me something?† I asked in surprise. â€Å"It's not money, is it?† So far, none of my coffee purchases had been reimbursed. By way of answer, Mrs. Weathers handed over a leather-covered book. At first, I thought it was the one I'd just finished. Then I looked more closely at the cover and read Volume 2. A yellow sticky note attached to the book had Ms. Terwilliger's spidery writing on it: Next. I sighed and thanked Mrs. Weathers. I'd do any task my teacher asked of me, but I was kind of hoping she'd assign me a book that was more of a historical account than recipes for spells. As I was walking down my hall, I heard a few exclamations of alarm from the far end. I could see an open door and a few people huddled around it. Hurrying past my own room, I went to see what the problem was. It was Julia and Kristin's room. Although I wasn't sure I really had the right, I pushed my way past some of the frightened onlookers. No one stopped me. I found Kristin lying on her bed, twitching violently. She was sweating profusely, and her pupils were so large, there was hardly any discernible iris. Julia sat near her on the bed, as did a couple girls I didn't know so well. She looked up at my approach, her face filled with fear. â€Å"Kristin?† I cried. â€Å"Kristin, are you okay?† When no response came, I turned to the others. â€Å"What's the matter with her?† Julia anxiously refolded a wet cloth and placed it on Kristin's forehead. â€Å"We don't know. She's been like this since this morning.† I stared incredulously. â€Å"Then she needs to see a doctor! We need to call someone now. I'll get Mrs. Weathers – â€Å" â€Å"No!† Julia jumped up and caught hold of my arm. â€Å"You can't. The reason she's like this†¦ well, we think it's because of the tattoo.† â€Å"Tattoo?† One of the other girls caught hold of Kristin's wrist and turned it so that I could see the inside. There, tattooed in glittering coppery ink on her dusky skin, was a daisy. I remembered Kristin pining for a celestial tattoo, but last I knew, she couldn't afford it. â€Å"When did she get this?† â€Å"Earlier today,† said Julia. She looked abashed. â€Å"I lent her the money.† I stared at that sparkling flower, so pretty and seemingly harmless. I had no doubt it was what was causing this fit. Whatever was mixed with the ink to provide the high wasn't reacting correctly with her system. â€Å"She needs a doctor,† I said firmly. â€Å"You can't. We'll have to tell them about the tattoos,† said the girl who had been holding Kristin's hand. â€Å"No one believed Trey, but if they saw something like this†¦ well, everything at Nevermore could be shut down.† Good! I thought. But to my astonishment, her words were met with nods from the other gathered girls. Were they crazy? How many of them had those ridiculous tattoos? And was protecting them really more important than Kristin's life? Julia swallowed and sat back down on the edge of the bed. â€Å"We were hoping this might pass. Maybe she needs a little time to adjust.† Kristin moaned. One of her legs trembled like it was having a muscle spasm and then stilled. Her eyes and their large pupils stared off blankly, and her breathing was shallow. â€Å"She's had all day!† I pointed out. â€Å"You guys, she could die.† â€Å"How do you know?† asked Julia in astonishment. I didn't, not for sure. But every once in a while, Alchemist tattoos didn't take either. In ninety-nine percent of the cases, human bodies accepted the vampire blood used in an Alchemist tattoo, allowing its properties to infuse with our own, kind of like a low-grade dhampir. We gained good stamina and long life, though hardly got the amazing physical abilities dhampirs received. The blood was too diluted for that. Even so, there was always the occasional person who got sick from an Alchemist tattoo. The blood poisoned them. It was made worse because the gold and other chemicals worked to keep the blood infused in the skin, so it never had a chance to leave. Those left untreated died. Vampire blood wouldn't cause a euphoric high, so I didn't believe there was any in this tattoo. But the treatment we used for Alchemist tattoos relied on breaking down the metallic components of the tattoo in order to release the blood, allowing the body then to clear it naturally. I had to assume the same principle would work here. Only, I didn't know the exact formula for the Alchemist compound and wasn't even sure it would break down copper like it did gold. I bit my lip, thinking, and finally made a decision. â€Å"I'll be right back,† I told them, racing to my room. All the while, an inner voice chastised me for foolishness. I had no business attempting what I was about to. I should go straight to Mrs. Weathers. Instead, I opened my room door and found Jill with her laptop. â€Å"Hey, Sydney,† she said, smiling. â€Å"I'm IM-ing with Lee and – † She did a double take. â€Å"What's wrong?† I turned on my own laptop and set it on the bed. While it booted up, I reached for a small metal suitcase I'd carefully packed but never expected to use. â€Å"Can you go get me some water? Quickly?† Jill hesitated only a moment before nodding. â€Å"Be right back,† she said, jumping off her bed. While she was gone, I unlocked the case with a key I always kept on me. Inside it were small amounts of dozens of Alchemist compounds, the kinds of substances we mixed together and used as part of our jobs. Some ingredients – like the ones I used to dissolve Strigoi bodies – I had lots of. Others, I had only a sampling of. My laptop finished booting up, and I logged onto the Alchemist database. A few searches and I soon had the formula for antitattoo treatment pulled up. Jill returned then, carrying a cup brimming with water. â€Å"Is this enough? If we were in any other climate, I could've pulled it straight from the air.† â€Å"It's fine,† I said, glad the climate had kept her from magic. I scanned the formula, analyzing which ingredients did what. I mentally deleted the ones I was certain were specific to gold. A couple I didn't even have, but I was pretty sure they were simply for skin comfort and weren't requisite. I began pulling out ingredients from my kit, carefully measuring them – though still moving as quickly as possible – into another cup. I made substitutions where necessary and added an ingredient I was certain would break down copper, though the amount required was only a guess on my part. When I finished, I took the water from Jill and added the same amount that was in the original instructions. The final result was a liquid that reminded me of iodine. I lifted it up and felt a little like a mad scientist. Jill had watched me without comment the entire time, sensing the urgency. Her face was filled with concern, but she was biting back all the questions I knew she had. She followed me when I left the room and headed back to Kristin's. More girls were there than before, and it was honestly a wonder Mrs. Weathers didn't just hear the racket. For a group so intent on protecting their precious tattoos, they weren't being particularly covert. I returned to Kristin's bedside, finding her unchanged. â€Å"Expose her wrist again, and hold her arm as still as possible for me.† I didn't direct the command to anyone but put enough force into it that I felt certain someone would obey. I was right. â€Å"If this doesn't work, we get a doctor.† My voice left no room for argument. Julia looked paler than Jill but gave a weak a nod of acceptance. I took the washcloth she'd been using and dipped it into my cup. I'd never actually seen this done and had to guess about how to apply it. I made a silent prayer and then pressed the washcloth against the tattoo on Kristin's wrist. She let out a strangled cry, and her whole body bucked up. A couple nearby girls instinctively helped hold her down. Tendrils of smoke curled up from where I was holding the washcloth against her, and I smelled a sharp, acrid odor. Waiting what I hoped was an acceptable amount of time, I finally removed the washcloth. The pretty little daisy was mutating before our eyes. Its clean lines began to run and blur. The coppery color began to shift, darkening into a bluish green. Before long, the design was unrecognizable. It was an amorphous blob. Around it, red welts appeared on her skin, though they seemed to be more of a superficial irritation than anything dire. Still, the whole thing looked terrible, and I stared in horror. What had I done? Everyone else was silent, no one knowing what to do. A couple minutes passed, but they felt like hours. Abruptly, Kristin stopped twitching. Her breathing still seemed labored, but she blinked, her eyes focusing as though suddenly seeing the world for the first time. Her pupils were still huge, but she managed to look around and at last focus on me. â€Å"Sydney,† gasped out Kristin. â€Å"Thank you.†

Healthy lifestyle Essay

In my everyday life, I come across many fears. One of the constant fears is of leaving a negative impact on people with whom I deal on regular basis. These people are not my family members as I have a cocooned family life and I am hundred percent sure of my loved ones’ unconditional support to me always. It is the people like neighbors, peers etc. whose approval I seek the most and fear that they might hold a negative impression of my personality in their minds. This fear affects my everyday life drastically. Though I make sure that I appear calm and composed in front of others, I feel extremely conscious from within about the way in which I am coming across to people. This means most of my conversations during my interpersonal communications are not spontaneous. I think a lot before speaking as I do not want to hurt any body’s feelings and at the same time I try to safeguard my own self-esteem by being good in the eyes of others. This fear has made me an excellent observer of not only verbal but also non verbal communication. I am able to observe certain things that everyone cannot. I read eye contacts, different types of smiles, the way one nods ones head, the way one reacts on seeing me, the warmth of the handshake etc. to confirm whether all is well in one’s mind and heart as far as my image is considered. This is a trait that sometimes irritates me as even in informal chats I am always alert and feel that I am on a mission to present myself in the eyes of others as beautifully as possible. After trying to intrinsically understand this aspect of my personality I have come to a conclusion that I am extremely protective of my self image and would find it really difficult to combat any personal attacks like use of bad words or hurtful gestures as I am vulnerable from within. My fear truly represents my love for being considered a respectable member of the society and being acknowledged by everyone as a wonderful person. Another factor that affects my behavior is the fear of gaining weight. This fear is so strong that whenever I eat something good, I feel guilty of eating it. I love food but always keep on doing calculations of how many calories I might earn by indulging in satisfying my taste buds. As a result eating is not as much fun as it used to be in my childhood days. A simple activity like eating has become a complicated task for me. Not only this, I spend a substantial amount of time in looking at myself from all angles in the mirror. I want to ensure that I am fit and attractive. As a result I keep on asking my family members whether I look attractive or not. The worst part is that whatever the answer is, I somehow do not believe in it completely. This means that if some one says that I look great and my figure is good enough, I do not completely believe in him / her as I feel that he / she is saying this just to make me happy. On the other hand if someone points out a little defect in my figure for example slightly large buttocks or thighs etc. , I feel that he / she is being too sarcastic. I start arguing that after all; that does not mar my attractive personality in any way. This behavior of mine has really affected my personal relationships as my near and dear ones are really at their wits end to find out a way of providing an answer that satisfies me. I know that they love me the way I am and my appearance really does not matter to them much but my overindulgence of making sure that my outward personality is attractive puts them off sometimes and strains the conversations on many occasions. I want to get out of this fear induced behavior but have not gained any success so far. I feel that this behavior again represents how conscious I am of my self image. In addition to my inner qualities I also want to gain praises and acceptance of my appearance and looks. I want everyone to be mesmerized by my qualities and I am extremely conscious of it always. These two fears represent that I want to be a wonderful person from all aspects. Another fear that affects me and my behavior is the fear of loosing a dear one. I always fear that people whom I love the most might suffer a fatal accident or might get diagnosed with an incurable disease. This fear has affected my behavior a lot. I not only openly shower my love to the people I am close to, but also tell them to be as careful with their health and well being as possible. I advise them a lot on how to cross the roads, how to drive or how to lead and adopt a healthy lifestyle. This is something that all my family members are aware of but I still keep on reminding them about the negative results of being careless. A positive way in which my behavior has got affected due to my fear is that I have become very cautious with money. I think a lot before spending extravagantly as I feel that money should be saved for hard times like dealing with a loved one’s ill health. I keep track of all the measures that can be taken to prevent certain common diseases like high / low blood pressure level, high / low cholesterol level, Type 1 / Type 2 diabetes etc. I keep on reading self help books on how to keep oneself fit and keep on insisting to my family members that they should always exercise and take care of their bodies. If they miss out on their daily exercise routine then I let them know my dislike instantly and sometimes even behave rudely with them which puts them off. I try to take things lightly but get very rigid if my loved ones show any sign of being lazy in their health related matters. I also lecture them a lot on their spending habits and try to make them understand that health is the most important wealth they possess and they should save money for hard times. Thus all the three forms of fear represent the different ways in which I treasure the gift of life that God has bestowed upon me. I want to lead life to the fullest by conserving and taking good care of all the natural assets that I am born with as well as the ones that I have attained through hard work in order to lead a wholesome life in company of my loving family members and approving acquaintances. I fear of parting away from all that I have.

Improving Organizational Performance Essay

Celsey Evans, of Airdevils, has hired Peter Mallow, of Dream Teamworks, to address the problems currently existing in and affecting the Airdevils Company. These problems consist of dissatisfaction among customers, less wins at award ceremonies, a high turnover rate, and low job satisfaction among employees. Surveys, amongst other factors, determined that job dissatisfaction is particularly high among the stunt performers. With the stunt performers as the target group of the study, Celsey and Peter will identify the reasons for psychological underpinnings of low job satisfaction in the company. Using motivational and behavioral approaches and making adjustments to the core reasons for employee dissatisfaction will help Airdevils attain the status that they seem to have lost. Determining the underlying causes, implementing interventions, creating a team for preparing innovating stunts, and reducing stress among employees are the keys to catapulting Airdevils back to the status it deser ves. According to the JDI and JIG (survey) scores for Airdevils’ employees the stunt performers are the least satisfied in general, but all of the employees are dissatisfied below acceptable levels in Promotion (infrequencies) and Pay (too low). Supervision and Work are also low with stunt performers but higher than â€Å"good† among other employees. If one were to rely on this information alone, one would determine that pay and promotion needs to be examined and adjusted. Further information provided, blogs and profiles, show that there are issues with ‘holier than thou’ attitudes among E8’s, less time at home with family members, low salaries, and drudge routines. After examining these factors one can determine generally that the main cause of low job satisfaction among stunt performers at Airdevils is that the stunts lack exciting challenges. Because the members of Airdevils performing teams were put into hierarchal positions, they were placed into spe cialized stunt routines. This created a more rigid organizational structure. * Though the budget does not allow a perfect overhaul to Celsey’s organization, many interventions can be chosen to be simply delayed. Recommended for the Airdevils immediately are allow participation in open competitions, entering in a new line of stunts, rotation in industry meets, and offering performance-based incentives in salaries. Allowing performers to perform outside work and cross-training are factors that should be considered quickly. After implementation of these interventions there proves to be a marked increase in the company’s performance and there is an improvement in job satisfaction. * In the next phase of the reorganization, Celsey wants to create a group of three people to begin preparing innovative stunts for the regular customers of the Airdevils. Should this idea work well, the customers will like the plans and will want to spend extra money for stunts consultation. In this case, the Airdevils will form a stunts consultancy division. Given seven excellent candidates for this three person team the three chosen by Dream Teamwork’s for Celsey’s team are Cari, Charlie, and Alverta because of their combined work experience, enthusiasm for the job, personalities, and high probability of achievement. Applying this decision is successful. The mixture of experience, high skill levels, and high emotional stability prove to be an excellent combination to make a powerful team for the Airdevils. * In the next phase, Dream Teamworks helps Celsey choose what measures should be taken by the Airdevils to reduce stress among the support crewmembers. After considerations of the measures available to the Airdevils those that would most benefit the company and its staff are relaxation training, stress-inoculation training, software training, modifying team structure, offering transportation services, establishing a code of conduct, and allowing a flexi ble work schedule. These are the best measure possible to reduce stress levels among crewmembers. The results are lower absenteeism, less stress, more teamwork, more personal time with family, and a better ability to cope with stressors from work (Britt & Jex, 2008). Absenteeism, turnover, job performance, and counter-productive behavior can be addressed through motivation. Based on the situation illustrated in the simulation the theories of employee motivation that could be used by Celsey and the management team of the Airdevils team to tackle issues are need-based theories, cognitive process theories, self-determination theory, and job-based theories. A need-based theory such as need for achievement would be an effective place to start. Need-based theories propose that achievement and power are needs evoked by different stimuli in the environment (Britt & Jex, 2008). Maslow’s need hierarchy does explain that the higher one gets on their hierarchy pyramid, from physiological to self-actualization, the more content a person becomes. This could explain why Airdevils has a need to reorganize their corporation. Making employees content in more factions of their lives makes more productive employees. ERG is another needs-based theory that could be considered. ERG allows for the possibility that the stunt performers in the Airdevils may be regressing because their needs at the most basic level of their work are not satisfied. They are too concerned with the issues that the they may have with the redundancy of the routines and personality issues. Also, they are not allowed to experiment and show their own individuality and true colors and feel as thpugh they are failing to live up to their potential. Need for achievement theory is another that could be considered for this situation. Those who have consistent distinguishing characteristics of perso ns who have a high need for achievement can describe many of the stunt performers at Airdevils. These characteristics include the tendency to set moderately difficult performance goals, seek feedback, and work long hours because they absorb themselves in work (Britt & Jex, 2008). Goal-setting, Control, and Equity theories and behavioral approaches are just some examples of further applications that can be studied for this case. Many theories could be applied to the Airdevils’ situation. Should Celsey and Peter go through each of the theories that could be applied to their situation, they may find that each theory will touch on a subject currently adversely affecting the company and its profits. Through examining them all, they could reach conclusions on correcting behaviors throughout the company. Knowledge of human behavior, cognition, and affect can be used to enhance relationships in the workplace. Understanding how people interact with each other and why can help management can place people together in teams accordingly. It can also prepare the company for behavioral changes among the employees. This knowledge can help solve problems, create stress free workplace environments, and create productive and powerful teams. Employee workplace stressors can be reduced by organizations. By paying attention to the results of surveys, blogs written by employees, and general complaints throughout the company any organization can come to understand what particular stressors affect their particular employees. Clear definitions of job titles and descriptions of jobs would assist an organization from having role stressors. Workloads should be studied and divided amongst employees according to ability and pay to alleviate workload stressors. Independent control over their own workloads could be considered. For example, in regard to Airdevils, allowing more team members freedom to decide on adjustments to routines could reduce stress levels there. Alleviating interpersonal conflict by teaming like members together is one way that companies like the Airdevils can control stressors. Reducing organizational constraints is another example. In the case of the Airdevils’ organizational constraints, they do not allow their employees to participate in open competitions or rotate in industry meets. Releasing these constraints could strengthen the organizations relationships with their employees as well as relieve some of the stressors they face. Perceived control and work-family conflict are further stressors that should be examined. Making adjustments to schedules, pay, and employees behaviors will relieve many organizational conflicts and stressors and benefit the company greatly. Job security, layoffs, mergers and acquisitions are not currently affecting Airdevils but do affect other organizations. Stress management training, adjusting work schedules, providing telecommuting options, offering family-friendly benefits, and offering health and fitness programs are further ways that an organization can combat stress among its employees (Britt & Jex, 2008). Careful consideration of each aspect by the organization will ensure that they can make informed decisions regarding each stressor. After analysis of survey, employee blogs, and paying attention to the behaviors of its employees, Celsey and Peter can make the changes that Airdevils desperately needs to survive and grow. The company has a superb foundation and understands that changes must be made to achieve success. By applying studying and understanding employees’ behaviors, cognition, and applying relevant theories Dream Teamworks and Airdevils can create a prospering work environment for Airdevils’ employees and will find more satisfied employees, be subject to less turnover, win more awards, and satisfy customers better than they ever have. Reference Britt, T. W., & Jex, S. M. (2008). Organizational psychology: A scientist-practitioner approach. (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons

Role of secretariat of the United Nations Research Paper

Role of secretariat of the United Nations - Research Paper Example Workers hired on a contract for less than a year sum up to around 30000 from 180 states. The Secretariat ascertains general guiding principles and offers overall regulation to the Organization. Its headquarters are situated in New York, with regional offices all over the world. Table of Contents Introduction The United Nations Secretariat - a global workforce functioning at duty stations all over the world - performs a number of tasks for the Organization. It facilitates the other major bodies of the United Nations in administering the plans and strategies. The role played by the Secretariat is as varied as the issues that the United Nations faces. These issues include, but are not limited to; (1) managing peacekeeping functions, (2) arbitrating global arguments, (3) studying fiscal as well as societal drifts and difficulties, and (4) organizing forums on constitutional rights and sustainable growth. Secretariat staff is also responsible for regularly updating the media regarding the work of the United Nations; arrange international discussions on subjects of global distress; and understand speeches and translate documents into the official languages (English and French) of the Organization (Meisler, 2011, p. 21). From the time of its foundation, the Secretariat has gone through extensive restructuring. During the first quarter of year 2005, Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended quite a lot of transformations for the Secretariat. He declared his targets of hiring a technical consultant, forming a peace-maintaining support group, set up a cabinet-style executive system, and make the conciliation task stronger. He moreover requested the legislative body to (1) provide suitable finances for a â€Å"one-time staff buyout† (Zacklin, 2010, p. 102); (2) to support him in modifying budgetary as well as human resources regulations; (3) to give the Secretary-General additional decision-making power as well as flexibility; (4) to support the ‘Office of Int ernal Oversight Services’; and (5) to evaluate all directives that are more than five years old to notice whether the activities concerned are still actually required or whether the funds allocated to them can be transferred latest emerging challenges. Hypothesis Recently, the Secretariat of United Nations is becoming more and more involved in global peacekeeping issues and this increased involvement modifying the core operations of the organization. The Evolving Role of UN Secretariat The role of the UN Secretariat is generally administrative and incorporates the translation of papers in addition to the organization of conferences. It guarantees that the UN as well as its agencies operates efficiently. Besides, the Secretariat can as well intervene in global arguments and study fiscal and social drifts. It is also in charge for correspondence with the media. The Secretariat is formed â€Å"exclusively of civilians (approximately 250) and has some 40,000 staff members around the world† (Negroponte, 2012, p. 122). As international civil servants, employees and the Secretary-General respond to the United Nations only for their actions and take a pledge not to look for or accept orders from any Government or external power. According to the Charter, â€Å"each member state undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and to refrain from seeking to influence them improperly in the discharge of their duties†