Free

Free Trade and American Clothing Industry Essay A representative of the American clothing industry recently made the following statement: â€Å"Workers in Asia often work in sweatshop conditions earning only pennies an hour. American workers are more productive and as a result earn higher wages. In order to preserve the dignity of the American workplace, the government should enact legislation banning imports of low-wage Asian clothing. † Answer the following: (10 points) a. Which parts of this quote are positive statements? Which parts are normative statements? . Would such a policy make some Americans better off without making any other Americans worse off? Explain who and why. c. Would low-wage Asian workers benefit from or be hurt by such a policy and why? . Referring to the same situation in question 1, but instead of legislation banning the imports, assume that the government enacts a special tax on imported clothing that is so high that the selling price of the imports would be equal to the selling price of the same clothing made in America.  This kind of tax is called a tariff and is enacted to protect domestic producers of the same items that can be imported at much lower costs. Answer the following: (10 points) a. What would shoppers see when they shopped in Wal-Mart and the other â€Å"big box† stores that sell so many imported items? b. Would this tax policy have a better effect, worse effect, or no different effect on American workers than the legislation banning the imports discussed in question 1? What kind of effect would the tax have on the Asian workers? A growing economy means that the economy is producing more and more â€Å"stuff†, either because it has more resources (workers), or uses those resources more productively (smarter, better workers, working with better machines and systems). A growing economy that produces more and more â€Å"stuff† normally means that the people have a higher and higher standard of living. If the government adopts a â€Å"free trade† policy towards all imports, including the low cost clothing of question 1 and 2, in which it places no barriers to importing items, can that action help the economy to grow? Explain your answer.

Organizational Change And Innovation

Organizational Change And Innovation Organizational change and innovation are essential for an organizations growth and development. Upon understanding the importance organizational change and innovation, many researchers have formulated theories related to change management. Theories have critically analysed with an example of British Airways. Compare strategies with the external and internal environment. The changes taking place in British Airways explores the understanding of change management is implemented in organizations. The case study explains the dimensions of business travel and tourism and its social, economic and environmental consequences. The case study elaborates the easier approach of organizational change in right method with mutual trust and obligation between the employee and employer. Strategy: Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a challenging business environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. Johnson and Scholes (Exploring Corporate Strategy) Organizational Strategic planning process: According to the todays high rivalry in business environment, the large corporations not only follow the budged-oriented planning and forecast-based planning methods to survive and prosperity, but also engage in strategic planning which clearly describes objectives and assess the both internal and external situation to formulate strategy, implement the strategy, evaluate the progress, and make adjustments to make necessary to stay on track. Mission Objectives: The organizations mission is expressed in the form of a mission statement that projects the organization image to the consumers. Organizational leaders can define measurable financial and strategic objectives guided by the business vision. Environmental Scan: Scanning of the internal and external environment of an organisation is known as environmental scanning. The internal analysis reveals strengths and weaknesses and the external analysis reveals opportunities and threats of an organisation. Strategy formulation: Once the clear representation of an organisation has been achieved, specific strategy can be devised. Michael Porter identified cost leadership, differentiation and focus as three generic strategies can be used while formulating strategy. Strategy Implementation: For effective implementation, high level intangible terms and priority of strategy needs to be translated into more detailed policies for clear understanding at functional level of organization. Evaluation Control: After implantation, the results need to be measured and evaluated, with necessary changes made as required to keep on track. SWOT Analysis: SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method, which helps organizations in identifying and understanding their strengths and weaknesses, explore opportunities and minimise threats. It is helpful in identifying areas of development in any business. Strengths: Organizational strengths are skills and capabilities which makes possible to conceive of and implement its strategies. Examples include strong tie-ups with the suppliers, healthy relations with the customers, reputed brand name, etc. Weaknesses: Organizational weakness is deemed as an opposite of strength, which is important to overcome their weaknesses as it is highest importance to strive in the market. Examples include weak tie-ups with the suppliers and distributors, poor reputation among customers, weak brand name, etc. Opportunities: Opportunities are favourable circumstances, an area or duration in which an organization can work towards higher performance and profits. Examples include unfulfilled customer needs, up to date with new technologies, favourable changes in the international trading regulations, etc. Threats: Threats are unfavourable changes in the internal and external environment. Examples include new regulations, not able to manage the new technologies; products are not able to reach the customer satisfaction level, trade barriers, etc. By utilizing the SWOT analysis in strategic planning towards the organizational growth, a matrix can be developed which provides an accurate understanding of organizations strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT Matrix Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities S-O strategies W-O strategies Threats S-T strategies W-T strategies In conclusion, SWOT analysis is the most important method in analysing and formulating strategy. With this, the managers can assess the internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats for overall development of the organization. (Ricky Griffin, 2008) (http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/) Micro Macro Environment: PESTEL Analysis: PESTEL analysis means analysing the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal factors, which may play a big role in an organisation processes. Using these key factors organizations can identify the attractiveness of a particular industry for investment, customers expectations, recognise the strategic gap and opportunities in the market. Political factors include political stability, taxation policies, legislation and regulation, government grants and fiscal incentives, and environmental regulations, and etc. Economic factors include interest rates, inflation rate, currency exchange rates, globalization, economic growth, and etc. Social factors include demographic change, emphasis on safety, lifestyle development, healthy management, and etc. Technological factors include research and development activity, communication technologies, automation, operation technologies, and etc. Environmental factors include climate, weather, and etc. Legal factors include discrimination law, consumer law, employment law, health and safety law, and etc. In conclusion, PESTEL analysis is a method of understanding external environment in which an organization operates and this is very important for overall development and success of an organisation. (Ricky W. Griffin, 2007) Change Management: Change management is an organized, systematic application of the knowledge, tools and resources of change that provides organizations with as key process to achieve their business strategy. (http://www.lamarsh.com/approach/managed) Michael E. Porter developed a five forces tool called porters five forces to understand the industry in which a firm operates. According to the Michael E. Porter, competition is often looked at too narrowly by managers and the five forces say that competing with direct competitors. The five forces give a holistic way of looking any industry and understanding the structural underlining drivers of profitability and drivers. With clear understanding of this model, an organisation can develop the competitive edge over its rivals and identify whether new products or businesses have the potential to be benefit or not. The five forces are supplier power, buyer power, competitive rivalry, threat of substitution, and threat of new entry. These five competitive forces give a frame work for identifying the most important industry developments and for foreseeing their impact on industry attractiveness. Michael E. Porter (On Competition) Source (http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/pix/porter-five-forces.png) Framework for Change: The job role of senior managers is to take decisions in favour of achieving the goals and make sure that the formulating strategies are implemented in the appropriate manner. The above-mentioned theories help the senior managers to approach change in a more structured way. Nevertheless, rather than sticking of organisational theories, managers have a broad range of choice and prudence. Resistance in Change: Change tends to be resisted when it affects interpersonal and job relations, but the manner of change is often important than the change itself. Change will not be effective unless the affected areas are committed to change. By creating supportive atmosphere, close working with affected areas by the change must work out a new value system we can reach the goal of successful change. According to the Lewins model, change means three stages: unfreezing, transition and refreezing. Unfreeze supporting people to replace the old behaviour with new one, which provides a sense of psychological safety and motivated to change. Transition people start looking at things in a different way and may learn new concepts or behavioural models in this stage. Refreeze stabilization of change via integration of changed behaviour into the normal way of doing things. Change will fall back to prior level unless the change is internalized and institutionalized after execution. Some of the organisational resistance factors are inactive structure, inactive group, threat to expertise, poor power relations, and limited forces of change. (http://www.consultpivotal.com/lewins.htm) There are number of organizations in the world in which there has been constant change and innovation. British Airways is one such organisation that has constantly changes in its strategy, structure, culture, management and technology. It has also employed various techniques to deal with such changes. Case Study: Background Information: In 1919, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (ATT) launched worlds first daily international air service. In 1924, four major airline companies in Britain Handley Page, Instone, ATT and British Air Marine Navigation merged together into a single airlines company called Imperial Airways. This airline grew in size and gained rapid reputation. The airlines not only dominated the operations in Britain, but also dominated across the different parts in the world encircling routes to Australia and Canada. In 1935, British Airways Ltd was formed with the merger of three airlines and extremely competed with the Imperial Airways. However, in 1939, British government nationalised the two airlines and formed British Overseas Airways Corporation. The BOAC separated into two entities as British European Airways (operates within Europe) and BOAC (operates rest of the world). With the rising oil prices and industrial concerns, BOAC and British European Airways decided to m erge into British Airways in 1976 and a Concord was introduced. This was referred as to as the new supersonic era. In April 1984, British Airways was made into British Airways Plc by shares offered to public. Now, British Airways is the United Kingdoms largest international scheduled airlines and operates more than 550 destinations across the world. British Airways has more than 280 aircrafts and has more than 40,000 employees. The corporate headquarter is located in London and its main hubs are Heathrow and Gatwick. British Airways has owned around 240,000 shareholders including 50% of shares owned by the BAs existing employees. (http://www.britishairways.com/travel/history) Strategies of British Airways: New strategies were adopted at each level of the organisation. British Airways top managers are certainly reviewing their strategies to identify the areas of improvement. Functional strategies aim at providing British Airways products with competitive advantages in terms of superior quality, innovation, efficiency and customer responsiveness. In airline industry, formal corporate strategy was that of vertical integration with lack of independent providers for specialized activities brought about the creation of in-house services with secure markets, therefore lacking up-to-date technology or cost efficiency. With the new corporate strategy, outsourcing activities to reduce costs and elevate competitiveness, and on developing partnerships with major airlines to increase the use of each partners assets and better serve customers. SWOT Analysis of British Airways: Strengths: British Airways strength includes purchased fast-rate new fleet of aircrafts to praise comfortable travelling of customers. British Airways operational research declared that level of knowledge and analytical skills performed by the organization and employees becomes it strength. Strong focus in customer areas while in purchasing high-end technology for air service strengthens the business orientation. Weaknesses: Lacking marketing strategy is one of many weaknesses on organizations business and service. Even though the great infrastructure hosted British Airways need to attract more customers with better market schemes. Furthermore limited knowledge of simulation technology, knowledge lost through internal staff moves, and difficulty to enhance specialist airline technology are the weaknesses. Threats: Threats are seen in centralized management, bureaucratic system and poor decision making. Rapid changes on technology and customer behaviour can also be a threat if not interpreted quickly. Major threats are trade union strikes. Opportunities: Availability of vast services and products create an opportunity to utilize them properly. In British Airways virtual reality could provide a new use for simulation, getting network software and sharing knowledge through special groups are opportunities, which can be utilized further enhance the companys growth. Online check-in for families with Fast Bag Drop facility, introducing baggage policies by standardizing the size of baggage to reduce queue time in airports are some of opportunities for British Airways. (http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/companies/british-airways) Porters five forces model applied to British Airways external environment High Risk of Entry Considerable start-up capital High financial risks Large economies of scale Control through Airport slots Low Power of Supplies BA sets terms and conditions, e.g. takes 130 days to pay suppliers High Rivalry Rises with Industry stakeout and operators will complete on cost and differentiation High Power of Buyers Due to a weaker demand while the number of operator stabilises Substitute Products Eurostar, new communication means, e.g. teleconferencing Political-legal Technological Macro-economic socio-cultural Source: Adapted from Michael Porters model. Change Management British Airways By signing the joint business agreement in revenue and cost sharing and with Iberia British Airways spread the choice of air timings, better connections and short journey timings for customers travelling between London and Spain. British Airways has changed the uniform for more than 25000 staff and the new uniform will cost 30% less than the previous one, which continues to generate long term cost savings while bringing a new smart look to the staff. Expanding the operations through launching BA CityFlyer and operating from the Docklands to six UK and European destinations in 2007. In 2008, introduced Online Boarding Pass (OBP) along with technology enabled PDF with e-fax and mail services to customers convenience and time saving. Formerly, passengers would need to have access to a printer at the time of online check-in to produce their boarding pass. The Online Boarding Pass facility helped the customers in a great way as they did not have to wait in queue. Now they can take advantage of the freedom of online check-in. British Airways also aims on cutting down 95% of energy consumption on air handling by installing in-flight stimulator cells at its training centre in Heathrow Airport and new technology equipment also being used to reduce the noise emission. Cost cutting on staff pay Nearly 7,000 British Airways staff have taken an early opportunity to apply for voluntary pay cuts in support of the airlines cost reduction programme. Of the 40,000-strong workforce, 6,940 employees had volunteered for unpaid leave, part-time working or unpaid work by June 24. Their actions will save the company up to  £10 million. Willie Walsh, British Airways chief executive, said: This is a fantastic first response. I want to thank everyone who has volunteered to help us pull through this difficult period. This response clearly shows the significant difference individuals can make. Options were made available for staff to volunteer for between one and four weeks unpaid leave or unpaid work, with the pay deduction spread over three or six months. The options also included switches to part-time working or longer periods of unpaid leave. Staff will have further opportunities to take part in the programme later in the year. Contingency plan British Airways is to increase its flying schedule for the period of Unites strikes as larger volumes of cabin crew call the airline to offer to work in support of the companys contingency operation. Following Unites decision to call strikes for March 20, 21 and 22, the airline published its flying schedules for the affected period on Monday, aiming to fly 60 per cent of its customers as planned. Since Monday, the number of cabin crew offering to work as normal has increased significantly and is expected to grow further. British Airways is also pleased that the number of other airlines offering their help for the strike period through charters or provision of spare seats has increased from 50 on Monday to more than 60. These developments have enabled the airline to reinstate some previously cancelled flights and provide extra capacity for both longhaul and shorthaul destinations. For example, this will allow the airline to fly home more competitors and supporters from the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver. Willie Walsh, British Airways chief executive, said: The determination of our colleagues across the whole business to keep the flag flying this weekend is increasing. I am delighted by the numbers of cabin crew who have been getting in touch with us to express their disillusion with Unites position. Our crews just want to work as normal, do their usual terrific job and look after our customers. We will now have the potential to fly more than 4,000 additional customers per day and serve more destinations. We believe this is a helpful move at a time when customers are facing rising fares with alternative carriers. Morale among our operations teams is high. Yesterday was our most punctual day at Heathrow for months, thanks to the efforts of all parts of the airline. Technological changes and innovation have been witnessed in British Airways from the past five years. British Airways has invested large amounts in new technology and terminal facilities. Exploring the knowledge and facilitation commencements in British Airways supported the decisions and management process. Another major technological change introduced by British Airways was implementation of management solutions from Calidris in 2007, which helped to create industrys first Order Data Stores (ODS), which stores the customers information in improving the level of customer service and minimising the duplicate bookings. Conclusion:

Lady Macbeth Essay -- essays research papers

Term Paper On Lady Macbeth William Shakespeare created a dynamic character called lady Macbeth; she was the total opposite of what women of the Shakespearian era were supposed to be. Despite qualities women were supposed to have in Shakespeare’s time, Lady Macbeth defied the way most women of her time acted. Lady Macbeth defied the ways of women of her time by being manipulative, ambitious, and ruthless. Women’s lifestyles back in Shakespeare’s time period was very different from the modern day women’s lifestyles of today. The characteristics for women of that time was that women should be uneducated, should follow chastity, take care of the home and should not join a profession or get a job. Most women were denied the chance to be schooled beyond the basics of simple reading and very little writing. Some women of the upper class were schooled but they were not looked upon as educated women but were instead welcomed to the company of men. Women would not be able to enter professions because of the lack of education and the fact that they were women. For the poor women their work was spinning and weaving. The best job that they could get was to be an overworked nurse. The only real profession that women at this time could get into was marriage. In marriage women were expected to only take care of the home and anything that would benefit the home. When entering mar riage women were further endorsed by the law. The law said that when entering marriage women became property of the men and all their belongings were the mans property now and the man could do whatever he wanted with these belongings such as selling them. A woman was generally fail and soft, which proved their overall weakness. A good woman of that time was supposed to be practice obedience, patience, chastity, modesty, and virtue. Women who didn’t live up to these expectations were considered to be â€Å"bad women†. During their free time Elizabethan women would sing, dance, and write letters. (Papp and Kirkland) Lady Macbeth defied many if not all the ways of women of the time period. She was very ambitious in achieving her goals. Lady Macbeth took charge in the murder of Duncan. Macbeth was in shock when he killed Duncan and Lady Macbeth said to Macbeth: My hands are of your color, but I shame To wear a heart so white. [Knocking within.] I hear knocking At the south entry: —retire we to our chamber.... ...o persuade him against his will. She tells things just how she sees them fit and tells it like it is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lady Macbeth is by far the total opposite of what a Shakespearian woman is supposed to be. She is bold, ambitious, ruthless, cold hearted, vicious and manipulative. A true woman of the Elizabethan era would be humble stand by he husband and take care of the house and would not resemble any of the things that lady Macbeth resembles. All of her actions and decisions prove her to be different from woman of that time. Lady Macbeth is truly unique and an epic character in literature that will always be remembered for how ruthless and different from a true Shakespearian woman really was suppose to be. Work Cited Coriat, Isador. â€Å"The Hysteria of Lady Macbeth†. (Internet) Available at www.galenet.com. November 25 2003 Epstein, Norrie. â€Å"Lady Macbeth†. N.Y.: Thomas & Thomas Publishing, 1993 Papp, Joseph and Kirkland, Elizabeth. â€Å"The Status of Women in Shakespeare’s Time†. (Internet) Available at www.galenet.com. November 25, 2003 Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. (Internet). Available at www.sparknotes.com. November 29, 2003

Comparing Creons Metamorphosis in Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedi

Creon's Metamorphosis in Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus      Ã‚  Ã‚   Temptation is ever present in our society and always has been throughout human history. When a person gives into temptation, this is seen as a sign of weakness. Usually, after a person has given into temptation once, that person will find each successive temptation easier and easier to give in to. Before realizing it, this person has changed into a completely false, morally lacking being. Over the course of Sophocles' three plays Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus, Creon gradually changes from a moral, just king into a morally corrupt and deceptive character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the opening of the first Theban play, Oedipus the King, Creon is a neutral character. He informs Oedipus that the city of Thebes is suffering from a great sickness, and he even goes to Apollo to acquire information as to how this plague may be stopped. Oedipus proclaims Creon's trustworthy nature when he states "I sent Creon,/ my wife's own brother, to Delphi- / Apollo the Prophet's oracle-to learn / what I might do or say to save our city" (Lines 81-84). Oedipus later relies on Creon to arrange a meeting with Teirisias, the blind prophet who sees all things and is usually found within the city limits of Thebes.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Later on in the play Oedipus accuses Creon of conspiring with Tiresias against Oedipus' kingship. It is at this point in the play where Creon serves as the voice of reason and logic. Dodging Oedipus' insane accusations, Creon derives at many logical, unarguable explanations in his defense. Creon argues,    Who in his right mind would rather rule And live in anxiety than sleep in peace? Particularly ... ... Ode on Man in Sophocles' Antigone." In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Herodotus.   The Histories. Translated by Aubrey de Selincourt. England: Penguin Books, 1972.    Jaeger, Werner. "Sophocles' Mastery of Character Development." In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    Segal, Charles. Oedipus at Colonus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.    "Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi

The Health Benefits of Exercise :: Physical Exercise Fitness Health

The first group of people to utilize the benefits of exercise were the Greeks. It was Aristotle a famous philosopher of the time who brought this concept to the people at the time. The word exercise means "Bodily exertion for the sake of developing and maintaining physical fitness." In today’s world you find people from all walks of life, age and sex exercising in some form or another. Whether it be running in a park or lifting weights in a gym, let’s face its here to stay. There are basically three types of exercise. First we have aerobic meaning with oxygen, this type uses oxygenated blood produced by the heart and lungs to supply the body with energy. This type is long in duration, an example of an exercise would be jogging. Next we have anaerobic meaning without oxygen it uses the stored energy in the muscles only and is short in duration an example would be the 200m hurdles. Finally we come to crosstraining. It encompasses both aerobic and anaerobic styles to make maximum use of all systems this would be accomplished by starting and stopping at different intervals. For example you could go running down a path then stop do push-ups then repeat the cycle again and again. Some of the benefits that can be achieved through exercise are lower blood pressure and an increase in stroke volume. Blood pressure (the force that the blood exerts on the vessel wall). Stroke volume ( the amount of blood that passes through the heart in one beat).By doing this the heart will become more efficient and will be able to recover faster after exercise is over. Remember the heart is a muscle the harder you work it the stronger it becomes. By working the muscles of the body they will naturally become stronger. They will be able to do more work for longer periods of time without fatigue or injury occurring. You will have a greater sense of mental awareness (a clear head). You will feel more attentive about what is gong on around you, as well as feeling less stress from daily problems which brings us back again to less stain on the heart. The benefits to be had by the aging population are unbelievable. People who stay active (exercise) through their life live longer than those who are sedentary (don’t exercise) "Most of the decline we associate with aging is really the result of inactivity.

Creative writing – A Christmas to remember

For the first time in her life, Catherine Benson faced the prospect of spending Christmas alone. With a mixture of fond thoughts of the past and the sadness, she recalled the Christmas's of her childhood happy times full of love, laughter and family togetherness. However, this year, her parents were spending Christmas with her brother, who was happily married and with a family of his own. He lived In Wales. Of course, ever since college there had been Anthony. But even thinking the name now bought pain of sadness and loneliness. Anthony and Catherine had been inseparable. They has so many plans for the future. They'd shared dreams and so she thought, they shared lives. But that had all crumbled to dust in the last few months. The love she thought would last forever had failed to stand the first major test of their relationship. Sighing, she draped the last piece of tinsel over the branches of her small tree and stepped back to cast a critical eye upon it. It barely seemed worth the effort just for herself. Some how the tree and the fireplace, served only to make her situation seem little more worthwhile. If only she could get Anthony McBride out of her mind as effectively as he had removed himself from her life. But he crept into her thoughts at the most weirdest times and though it had been several hard painful weeks since they had split up, she'd been unable to let go of her deep feelings for him, she couldn't ignore them. â€Å"We're having a couple of friends over for Christmas Eve. Catherine please say you'll come.† Louise Andrews enticed at work the next day. New friends and a new job had given her something to focus on after Anthony. But, unused to being single, and still nursing her broken heart, Catherine had shied away from taking up a social life again. â€Å"I don't know, Louise.† She said answered cautiously. â€Å"Come on.† Her friend replied joyfully. â€Å"It's Christmas-the last of the century! It'll only be a small gathering I promise.† Smiling, Catherine allowed herself to be persuaded. Perhaps Louise was right. With the millennium coming up, it was time to cast off the past and to look forward to the future with hope and new years resolutions. So on the night before Christmas, she found herself hovering anxiously outside the door of the flat that Louise shared with her fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, Dominic. Very nervously she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. â€Å"Catherine I'm so glad you decided to come.† Louise greeted her with a warm smile. â€Å"These are for you† Catherine handed over a bottle of wine and a big box of chocolates. â€Å"Sorry it's not very original.† â€Å"They're lovely! Let me take your coat and get you a drink, then I can introduce you to everyone.† Catherine hesitated in the doorway of the nicely decorated living room. Soft relaxing music played in the background, and half a dozen people stood in small groups, chatting and laughing. â€Å"You'll soon relax and find everyone really friendly. Dominic has invited a friend from the gym. He'll be feeling just as nervous as you, trying to get back into the swing of things as a single person after the break up of a long-term relationship.† â€Å"Now I hope you're not matchmaking.† Catherine protested with an anxious smile. â€Å"Maybe just a bit.† Louise teased. â€Å"Dominic says his friend is funny, generous and compassionate, and if he's half as good looking as I've been lead to believe, you'll be thanking me before the evening is over.† Catherine doubted it, but she held her tongue. Slipping her wine, she curbed the sudden instinct to run. She had to face some people some time. â€Å"I thought you'd ducked out on me.† Dominic greeted his guest when the door opened. â€Å"I did wonder about coming, but I knew if I didn't I would never hear the end of it. Sorry if I'm late.† â€Å"That's okay. It's only a buffet supper and we haven't started yet. Come and meet the others, what will you have to drink?† â€Å"Beer if you have it, thanks.† He replied. Stepping intensively inside the flat. Anthony asked himself for the hundredth time what he was doing here. Parties weren't his thing; he'd tended to shy away from social gatherings of any kind in the last few weeks, turning himself into work and sport instead. Following Dominic into the kitchen, he leaned on the counter and watched as his friend poured the drinks. â€Å"Louise has bought a friend from the bank I think you should meet.† Dominic said cautiously. Anthony's heart sank. â€Å"I don't want to meet anyone, not like that anyway.† â€Å"She's lovely Anthony, she's been hurt badly herself, so she knows how difficult it is to take the plunge and meet new people. Give her a chance; she's funny and intelligent. You'll like her.† Strongly wishing he hadn't come, but unable to walk away, Anthony followed his friend through to the other room. The sound of the lively conversation daunted on him for a moment, and he hesitated on the threshold. As soon as he entered the room, a tingle of awareness caught him by surprise. He scanned the room, and then he saw her. Catherine. His breath caught in his throat. Suddenly, it was as if the last painful, lonely weeks had been stripped away. She was here, in the same room, looking as lovely as ever, but unapproachable and out of his reach. Before he could retreat, Catherine turned and saw him. Shock registered on her face. His mouth tightened, just as she had been shutting him out in the last few weeks they'd been together. â€Å"Come and meet Carolyn† Dominic suggested. â€Å"No†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..I..† His friend brushed his protest aside. â€Å"She was very broken up over the split with her fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. But she told Louise that he just never listened to her.† Dominic confided quietly. Catherine had said that? Stunned, Anthony didn't resist as Dominic steered him across the room. Catherine couldn't believe that Anthony was here. What a disaster. Just the sight of him had brought back all the pain and heartache and it had taken only a second to confirm her worst fears. Despite everything, she still loved him. â€Å"That's the friend of Dominic's I was telling you about.† Louise whispered, pushing her forward. They met in the middle of the room. If it hadn't have been so embarrassing it would have been funny. But she was too hurt, too shocked to laugh. And it was clear that Louise and Dominic had no idea what was happening. â€Å"We'll leave you to get to know each other.† Louise smiled. â€Å"You have so much in common.† Dominic said innocently. Louise and Dominic sneaked off quietly. â€Å"I didn't think I would ever see you again.† Catherine managed to say after a tense moment. â€Å"How have you been?† Anthony said awkwardly. â€Å"Not good.† She admitted. â€Å"You?† â€Å"The same.† Anthony absorbed everything about her, every single feature of her was the same, except the fact that she was thinner and her complexion had lost the happy healthy glow that it was had. â€Å"Did you really say that I never listened to you?† Dominic enquired. She nodded, her hands nervously fiddling in front of her. â€Å"Well you thought that I didn't need you anymore.† Catherine replied. â€Å"You shut me out!† â€Å"No I never, you weren't interested you were always so busy with work, you never had time for me. You never took time to really listen to me, not like used to.† Anthony took a step back, remembering all the silly quarrels that had taken their toll on their relationship. Catherine realized that neither of them had listened to each other. Everyone regrouped to enjoy the buffet supper. Neither of them ate anything, they were too busy thinking about what they had said to each other. And what now, did he still care for her as she cared for him? She met his gaze across the room. How could she loved him so much and not realize how he was feeling? Was there a chance they could get back together, could he forgive her? Anthony tried to mix with the other guests, but he couldn't stop thinking about Catherine. Could she forgive him for all the hurt and pain he had caused her? The weeks without her had been dreadful, and seeing her again had only made him realize how much he really needed her. Was it too late? At last the gathering broke up. Anthony said goodbye and left the flat, but instead of going straight home, he waited outside for Catherine to appear. â€Å"Thank you for this evening.† Catherine murmured. She slipped on her coat and left. As she was leaving the building she felt disappointed that Anthony had left and nothing happened between them. A figure emerged from the shadows as she left the building and stepped onto the pavement. â€Å"Oh.† She gasped. â€Å"I thought you had gone.† She said. Relieved with the fact the he had waited for her. â€Å"Can I walk you home?† Anthony asked. â€Å"Thank you I'd like that.† They walked side by side. Catherine felt nervous, uncertain what to say, but scared if she said nothing at all. Just being near her made him feel better. He didn't want this chance to slip, but could he find the right words to say? They began to walk slower and slower and gradually they came to a halt, where they turned to each other. â€Å"I'm sorry.† They said in harmony along with a nervous smile. Anthony reached out a tentative hand to take one of hers. â€Å"I've missed you, Catherine.† He whispered. â€Å"I've been so miserable without you.† She replied. Very slowly they drew together and hugged. â€Å"We haven't been very clever.† They agreed with each other. â€Å"Will you take me back, give me a second chance?† Anthony questioned. â€Å"Only if you will. Look it's snowing.† Across the road the church bell struck midnight. Christmas day. â€Å"Shall we go in?† Anthony asked. â€Å"Yes please, we have so much to give thanks for.† She agreed. Behind them another couple strolled slowly towards the church. â€Å"They'll be alright now.† Louise pronounced with satisfaction. â€Å"Shall we tell them we knew all along?† Dominic asked. â€Å"Maybe one day, but not just yet.† Squeezing her hand as they walked up the steps, Dominic knew he was equally lucky in the love that he had. â€Å"Happy Christmas, Louise†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Physical Education Is Important

DyEsha Robinson EDU 460 Motivational Paper September 23, 2009 Educators across the country are worried that kids aren't getting enough physical fitness. Kids in elementary school may be getting a lot of their activity on the playground at recess instead of P. E. classes. Most grade schools don't have P. E. teachers. Regular teachers can teach the kids physical education, but the state says many of them don't feel equipped to do that. Statistics prove more kids are becoming inactive and overweight. Among youth six to 19 years old, 16-percent are overweight. That's more than 9-million kids across the country. To compound the problem, state officials say as schools strive to meet intense academic standards with programs like â€Å"No Child Left Behind†, schools are de-emphasizing P. E. P. E. encourages kids to find something active they love to do, like dancing, swimming, hiking, even skateboarding, because then they're more likely to develop healthy habits. Put simply, at a time when every penny is being pinched by every school in every district in every county in every state, physical education is taking a beating. The experts and educators say there is no doubt that the erosion of P. E. has been a major contributor to the skyrocketing obesity rates. And, of course, the more kids are unhealthy, the less they can exercise. This is their circle of life. Improving children's health may not be a convincing rationale for school administrators. A big argument for cutting back on P. E. is that it wastes time that kids need to be spending in academics, and that it will reduce test scores, which is the death knell for schools. But a studies show that spending more time in P. E. does not interfere with academic achievement. In fact, in some studies, including ours, there is some evidence that it might even improve academic achievement. Other studies have shown that P. E. boosts brainpower (attention, test-score fanatics) if it's done right. That may be the key to fighting obesity as well—instead of just changing the amount of P. E. kids get, change the type. Learning to manage children's behavior in the outdoor environment might help with classroom management inside. Going outside and participating in a physical activity provides a break from the brain drain of sitting in the desk, so perhaps the teacher benefits as much as the students and everyone goes back in more refreshed and with a more positive attitude. The U. S. Department of Education contends in a newly released study that 99 percent of public elementary schools have some type of physical education built into their curriculum in 2005. But how often students actually engaged in physical activity varies widely. Between 17 and 22 percent of students attended P. E. each school day. Another 11 to 14 percent scheduled P. E. three or four days a week and 22 percent scheduled P. E. one day a week. Exercise creates more alertness in a classroom situation. It stimulates more of the natural uppers in brain, like dopamine, and it improves working memory and problem solving skills. Sources http://www. cnn. com/2006/HEALTH/08/20/PE. NCLB/index. html http://www. newsweek. com/id/130621? digg=1 http://rwjf. org/pr/product. jsp? id=20811 http://help. senate. gov/Hearings/2004_10_05/destefano. http://sports. espn. go. com/espn/otl/news/story? id=4015831