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Monomaniac's â€Å"Games For Change Keynote† lecture is about how much of an influence games have on society and the impact it can bring. Her two main questions to answer during this lecture are â€Å"What can games change? † and â€Å"What do games change? † MacDougal presents a list of some people's twitter responses to what games do for them. The first few responses refer to ones emotional state. People with Initial negative emotions such as sadness and anxiety can play games and end up feeling much better. Another change she presents Is â€Å"mental resilience†.This refers too arson's mindset and how it Is altered with games. It Is possible for people's confidence and performance levels to Increase after some time playing games. The next thing MacDougal talks about Is â€Å"social resilience†. How people socialize and Interact with the people around them can change with game play as well. For example, many of the games In the present day are mul tilayer and present an option to connect with players around the world. This creates socializing and Interacting with other online players who may even be real life friends.Before she alas about the science and data behind her lecture she gives us a list of how we can measure these changes when playing games. The list includes analyzing emotional, mental, neurological, social, self-efficacy, and engagement levels. In more general terms, MacDougal believes that â€Å"games can change your life. † MacDougal talks about an interesting mission of hers for this talk, which is to â€Å"increase the lifespan of everyone in this room by seven and a half minutes† and even provides a formula to show where she got that specific number.A good point she brings up is that on our deathbeds, many people may end up regretting all the time they devoted to playing games. Many people will say that the time spent in front of a game console or computer controlling a virtual character could have been used more wisely. She presents to the audience a list of the top five regrets people have. These regrets are working too hard, not staying in touch with friends, not allowing yourself to be happier, not truly expressing yourself, and not living the life that stayed true to your ideas. MacDougal goes on to say that each one of these regrets can be answered by laying games.The first regret of working too hard can be because people wish they had spent more time with their family and kids. Games are the perfect solution for this regret. Playing games with friends and family can definitely strengthen bonds and relationships. The second regret of not keeping in touch with friends can also be fixed through social games. MacDougal gives the example of social games such as Words with Friends and Formative that keeps people connected with others. The benefit games also produce Is that no matter how distant two people are, they canInteract with each other by these games. Games are al so scientifically proven to fix the third regret, which is not letting yourself be happier. MacDougal provides data from an East Carolina university stating that online games have actually outperformed clinical activities of depression when It comes to making someone happier. The fourth regret of not expressing yourself more can be solved by creating virtual avatars and characters that can be molded and shaped Into whoever you desire. The last regret on the list is not living a life true to your dreams.

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 1. ENGAGED

No one is staring at you,I promised myself. No one is staring at you. No one is staring at you. But, because I couldn't lie convincingly even to myself, I had to check. As I sat waiting for one of the three traffic lights in town to turn green, I peeked to the right – in her minivan, Mrs. Weber had turned her whole torso in my direction. Her eyes bored into mine, and I flinched back, wondering why she didn't drop her gaze or look ashamed. It was still considered rude to stare at people, wasn't it? Didn't that apply to me anymore? Then I remembered that these windows were so darkly tinted that she probably had no idea if it was even me in here, let alone that I'd caught her looking. I tried to take some comfort in the fact that she wasn't really staring at me, just the car. Mycar. Sigh. I glanced to the left and groaned. Two pedestrians were frozen on the sidewalk, missing their chance to cross as they stared. Behind them, Mr. Marshall was gawking through the plate-glass window of his little souvenir shop. At least he didn't have his nose pressed up against the glass. Yet. The light turned green and, in my hurry to escape, I stomped on the gas pedal without thinking – the normal way I would have punched it to get my ancient Chevy truck moving. Engine snarling like a hunting panther, the car jolted forward so fast that my body slammed into the black leather seat and my stomach flattened against my spine. â€Å"Arg!† I gasped as I fumbled for the brake. Keeping my head, I merely tapped the pedal. The car lurched to an absolute standstill anyway. I couldn't bear to look around at the reaction. If there had been any doubt as to who was driving this car before, it was gone now. With the toe of my shoe, I gently nudged the gas pedal down one half millimeter, and the car shot forward again. I managed to reach my goal, the gas station. If I hadn't been running on vapors, I wouldn't have come into town at all. I was going without a lot of things these days, like Pop-Tarts and shoelaces, to avoid spending time in public. Moving as if I were in a race, I got the hatch open, the cap off, the card scanned, and the nozzle in the tank within seconds. Of course, there was nothing I could do to make the numbers on the gauge pick up the pace. They ticked by sluggishly, almost as if they were doing it just to annoy me. It wasn't bright out – a typical drizzly day in Forks, Washington – but I still felt like a spotlight was trained on me, drawing attention to the delicate ring on my left hand. At times like this, sensing the eyes on my back, it felt as if the ring were pulsing like a neon sign: Look at me, look at me. It was stupid to be so self-conscious, and I knew that. Besides my dad and mom, did it really matter what people were saying about my engagement? About my new car? About my mysterious acceptance into an Ivy League college? About the shiny black credit card that felt red-hot in my back pocket right now? â€Å"Yeah, who cares what they think,† I muttered under my breath. â€Å"Urn, miss?† a man's voice called. I turned, and then wished I hadn't. Two men stood beside a fancy SUV with brand-new kayaks tied to the top. Neither of them was looking at me; they both were staring at the car. Personally, I didn't get it. But then, I was just proud I could distinguish between the symbols for Toyota, Ford, and Chevy. This car was glossy black, sleek, and pretty, but it was still just a car to me. â€Å"I'm sorry to bother you, but could you tell me what kind of car you're driving?† the tall one asked. â€Å"Urn, a Mercedes, right?† â€Å"Yes,† the man said politely while his shorter friend rolled his eyes at my answer. â€Å"I know. But I was wondering, is that†¦ are you driving a Mercedes Guardian?† The man said the name with reverence. I had a feeling this guy would get along well with Edward Cullen, my†¦ my fiance (there really was no getting around that truth with the wedding just days away). â€Å"They aren't supposed to be available in Europe yet,† the man went on, â€Å"let alone here.† While his eyes traced the contours of my car – it didn't look much different from any other Mercedes sedan to me, but what did I know? – I briefly contemplated my issues with words like fiance, wedding, husband, etc. I just couldn't put it together in my head. On the one hand, I had been raised to cringe at the very thought of poofy white dresses and bouquets. But more than that, I just couldn't reconcile a staid, respectable, dull concept like husband with my concept of Edward. It was like casting an archangel as an accountant; I couldn't visualize him in any commonplace role. Like always, as soon as I started thinking about Edward I was caught up in a dizzy spin of fantasies. The stranger had to clear his throat to get my attention; he was still waiting for an answer about the car's make and model. â€Å"I don't know,† I told him honestly. â€Å"Do you mind if I take a picture with it?† It took me a second to process that. â€Å"Really? You want to take a picture with the car?† â€Å"Sure – nobody is going to believe me if I don't get proof.† â€Å"Urn. Okay. Fine.† I swiftly put away the nozzle and crept into the front seat to hide while the enthusiast dug a huge professional-looking camera out of his backpack. He and his friend took turns posing by the hood, and then they went to take pictures at the back end. â€Å"I miss my truck,† I whimpered to myself. Very, very convenient – too convenient – that my truck would wheeze its last wheeze just weeks after Edward and I had agreed to our lopsided compromise, one detail of which was that he be allowed to replace my truck when it passed on. Edward swore it was only to be expected; my truck had lived a long, full life and then expired of natural causes. According to him. And, of course, I had no way to verify his story or to try to raise my truck from the dead on my own. My favorite mechanic – I stopped that thought cold, refusing to let it come to a conclusion. Instead, I listened to the men's voices outside, muted by the car walls. â€Å"†¦ went at it with a flamethrower in the online video. Didn't even pucker the paint.† â€Å"Of course not. You could roll a tank over this baby. Not much of a market for one over here. Designed for Middle East diplomats, arms dealers, and drug lords mostly.† â€Å"Think she's something?† the short one asked in a softer voice. I ducked my head, cheeks flaming. â€Å"Huh,† the tall one said. â€Å"Maybe. Can't imagine what you'd need missile-proof glass and four thousand pounds of body armor for around here. Must be headed somewhere more hazardous.† Body armor. Four thousand pounds of body armor. And missile-proof glass? Nice. What had happened to good old-fashioned bulletproof? Well, at least this made some sense – if you had a twisted sense of humor. It wasn't like I hadn't expected Edward to take advantage of our deal, to weight it on his side so that he could give so much more than he would receive. I'd agreed that he could replace my truck when it needed replacing, not expecting that moment to come quite so soon, of course. When I'd been forced to admit that the truck had become no more than a still-life tribute to classic Chevys on my curb, I knew his idea of a replacement was probably going to embarrass me. Make me the focus of stares and whispers. I'd been right about that part. But even in my darkest imaginings I had not foreseen that he would get me two cars. The â€Å"before† car and the â€Å"after† car, he'd explained when I'd flipped out. This was just the â€Å"before† car. He'd told me it was a loaner and promised that he was returning it after the wedding. It all had made absolutely no sense to me. Until now. Ha ha. Because I was so fragilely human, so accident-prone, so much a victim to my own dangerous bad luck, apparently I needed a tank-resistant car to keep me safe. Hilarious. I was sure he and his brothers had enjoyed the joke quite a bit behind my back. Or maybe, just maybe,a small voice whispered in my head, it's not a joke, silly. Maybe he's really that worried about you. This wouldn't be the first time he's gone a little overboard trying to protect you. I sighed. I hadn't seen the â€Å"after† car yet. It was hidden under a sheet in the deepest corner of the Cullens' garage. I knew most people would have peeked by now, but I really didn't want to know. Probably no body armor on that car – because I wouldn't need it after the honeymoon. Virtual indestructibility was just one of the many perks I was looking forward to. The best parts about being a Cullen were not expensive cars and impressive credit cards. â€Å"Hey,† the tall man called, cupping his hands to the glass in an effort to peer in. â€Å"We're done now. Thanks a lot!† â€Å"You're welcome,† I called back, and then tensed as I started the engine and eased the pedal – ever so gently – down___ No matter how many times I drove down the familiar road home, I still couldn't make the rain-faded flyers fade into the background. Each one of them, stapled to telephone poles and taped to street signs, was like a fresh slap in the face. A well-deserved slap in the face. My mind was sucked back into the thought I'd interrupted so immediately before. I couldn't avoid it on this road. Not with pictures of my favorite mechanic flashing past me at regular intervals. My best friend. My Jacob. Thehave you SEENthis boy? posters were not Jacob's father's idea. It had been my father, Charlie, who'd printed up the flyers and spread them all over town. And not just Forks, but Port Angeles and Sequim and Hoquiam and Aberdeen and every other town in the Olympic Peninsula. He'd made sure that all the police stations in the state of Washington had the same flyer hanging on the wall, too. His own station had a whole corkboard dedicated to finding Jacob. A corkboard that was mostly empty, much to his disappointment and frustration. My dad was disappointed with more than the lack of response. He was most disappointed with Billy, Jacob's father – and Charlie's closest friend. For Billy's not being more involved with the search for his sixteen-year-old â€Å"runaway.† For Billy's refusing to put up the flyers in La Push, the reservation on the coast that was Jacob's home. For his seeming resigned to Jacob's disappearance, as if there was nothing he could do. For his saying, â€Å"Jacob's grown up now. He'll come home if he wants to.† And he was frustrated with me, for taking Billy's side. I wouldn't put up posters, either. Because both Billy and I knew where Jacob was, roughly speaking, and we also knew that no one had seen this boy. The flyers put the usual big, fat lump in my throat, the usual stinging tears in my eyes, and I was glad Edward was out hunting this Saturday. If Edward saw my reaction, it would only make him feel terrible, too. Of course, there were drawbacks to it being Saturday. As I turned slowly and carefully onto my street, I could see my dad's police cruiser in the driveway of our home. He'd skipped fishing again today. Still sulking about the wedding. So I wouldn't be able to use the phone inside. But I had to call___ I parked on the curb behind the Chevy sculpture and pulled the cell phone Edward had given me for emergencies out of the glove compartment. I dialed, keeping my finger on the â€Å"end† button as the phone rang. Just in case. â€Å"Hello?† Seth Clearwater answered, and I sighed in relief. I was way too chicken to speak to his older sister, Leah. The phrase â€Å"bite my head off was not entirely a figure of speech when it came to Leah. â€Å"Hey, Seth, it's Bella.† â€Å"Oh, hiya, Bella! How are you?† Choked up. Desperate for reassurance. â€Å"Fine.† â€Å"Calling for an update?† â€Å"You're psychic.† â€Å"Not hardly. I'm no Alice – you're just predictable,† he joked. Among the Quileute pack down at La Push, only Seth was comfortable even mentioning the Cullens by name, let alone joking about things like my nearly omniscient sister-in-law-to-be. â€Å"I know I am.† I hesitated for a minute. â€Å"How is he?† Seth sighed. â€Å"Same as ever. He won't talk, though we know he hears us. He's trying not to think human, you know. Just going with his instincts.† â€Å"Do you know where he is now?† â€Å"Somewhere in northern Canada. I can't tell you which province. He doesn't pay much attention to state lines.† â€Å"Any hint that he might†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He's not coming home, Bella. Sorry.† I swallowed. â€Å"S'okay, Seth. I knew before I asked. I just can't help wishing.† â€Å"Yeah. We all feel the same way.† â€Å"Thanks for putting up with me, Seth. I know the others must give you a hard time.† â€Å"They're not your hugest fans,† he agreed cheerfully. â€Å"Kind of lame, I think. Jacob made his choices, you made yours. Jake doesn't like their attitude about it. ‘Course, he isn't super thrilled that you're checking up on him, either.† I gasped. â€Å"I thought he wasn't talking to you?† â€Å"He can't hide everything from us, hard as he's trying.† So Jacob knew I was worried. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Well, at least he knew I hadn't skipped off into the sunset and forgotten him completely. He might have imagined me capable of that. â€Å"I guess I'll see you at the†¦ wedding,† I said, forcing the word out through my teeth. â€Å"Yeah, me and my mom will be there. It was cool of you to ask us.† I smiled at the enthusiasm in his voice. Though inviting the Clearwaters had been Edward's idea, I was glad he'd thought of it. Having Seth there would be nice – a link, however tenuous, to my missing best man. â€Å"It wouldn't be the same without you.† â€Å"Tell Edward I said hi, ‘kay?† â€Å"Sure thing.† I shook my head. The friendship that had sprung up between Edward and Seth was something that still boggled my mind. It was proof, though, that things didn't have to be this way. That vampires and werewolves could get along just fine, thank you very much, if they were of a mind to. Not everybody liked this idea. â€Å"Ah,† Seth said, his voice cracking up an octave. â€Å"Er, Leah's home.† â€Å"Oh! Bye!† The phone went dead. I left it on the seat and prepared myself mentally to go inside the house, where Charlie would be waiting. My poor dad had so much to deal with right now. Jacob-the-runaway was just one of the straws on his overburdened back. He was almost as worried about me, his barely-a-legal-adult daughter who was about to become a Mrs. in just a few days' time. I walked slowly through the light rain, remembering the night we'd told him___ As the sound of Charlie's cruiser announced his return, the ring suddenly weighed a hundred pounds on my finger. I wanted to shove my left hand in a pocket, or maybe sit on it, but Edward's cool, firm grasp kept it front and center. â€Å"Stop fidgeting, Bella. Please try to remember that you're not confessing to a murder here.† â€Å"Easy for you to say.† I listened to the ominous sound of my father's boots clomping up the sidewalk. The key rattled in the already open door. The sound reminded me of that part of the horror movie when the victim realizes she's forgotten to lock herdeadbolt. â€Å"Calm down, Bella,† Edward whispered, listening to the acceleration of my heart. The door slammed against the wall, and I flinched like I'd been Tasered. â€Å"Hey, Charlie,† Edward called, entirely relaxed. â€Å"No!† I protested under my breath. â€Å"What?† Edward whispered back. â€Å"Wait till he hangs his gun up!† Edward chuckled and ran his free hand through his tousled bronze hair. Charlie came around the corner, still in his uniform, still armed, and tried not to make a face when he spied us sitting together on the loveseat. Lately, he'd been putting forth a lot of effort to like Edward more. Of course, this revelation was sure to end that effort immediately. â€Å"Hey, kids. What's up?† â€Å"We'd like to talk to you,† Edward said, so serene. â€Å"We have some good news.† Charlie's expression went from strained friendliness to black suspicion in a second. â€Å"Good news?† Charlie growled, looking straight at me. â€Å"Have a seat, Dad.† He raised one eyebrow, stared at me for five seconds, then stomped to the recliner and sat down on the very edge, his back ramrod straight. â€Å"Don't get worked up, Dad,† I said after a moment of loaded silence. â€Å"Everything's okay.† Edward grimaced, and I knew it was in objection to the word okay. He probably would have used something more like wonderful or perfect or glorious. â€Å"Sure it is, Bella, sure it is. If everything is so great, then why are you sweating bullets?† â€Å"I'm not sweating,† I lied. I leaned away from his fierce scowl, cringing into Edward, and instinctively wiped the back of my right hand across my forehead to remove the evidence. â€Å"You're pregnant!† Charlie exploded. â€Å"You're pregnant, aren't you?† Though the question was clearly meant for me, he was glaring at Edward now, and I could have sworn I saw his hand twitch toward the gun. â€Å"No! Of course I'm not!† I wanted to elbow Edward in the ribs, but I knew that move would only give me a bruise. I'd told Edward that people would immediately jump to this conclusion! What other possible reason would sane people have for getting married at eighteen? (His answer then had made me roll my eyes. Love. Right.) Charlie's glower lightened a shade. It was usually pretty clear on my face when I was telling the truth, and he believed me now. â€Å"Oh. Sorry.† â€Å"Apology accepted.† There was a long pause. After a moment, I realized everyone was waiting for me to say something. I looked up at Edward, panic-stricken. There was no way I was going to get the words out. He smiled at me and then squared his shoulders and turned to my father. â€Å"Charlie, I realize that I've gone about this out of order. Traditionally, I should have asked you first. I mean no disrespect, but since Bella has already said yes and I don't want to diminish her choice in the matter, instead of asking you for her hand, I'm asking you for your blessing. We're getting married, Charlie. I love her more than anything in the world, more than my own life, and – by some miracle – she loves me that way, too. Will you give us your blessing?† He sounded so sure, so calm. For just an instant, listening to the absolute confidence in his voice, I experienced a rare moment of insight, i could see, fleetingly, the way the world looked to him. For the length of one heartbeat, this news made perfect sense. And then I caught sight of the expression on Charlie's face, his eyes now locked on the ring. I held my breath while his skin changed colors – fair to red, red to purple, purple to blue. I started to get up – I'm not sure what I planned to do; maybe use the Heimlich maneuver to make sure he wasn't choking – but Edward squeezed my hand and murmured â€Å"Give him a minute† so low that only I could hear. The silence was much longer this time. Then, gradually, shade by shade, Charlie's color returned to normal. His lips pursed, and his eyebrows furrowed; I recognized his â€Å"deep in thought† expression. He studied the two of us for a long moment, and I felt Edward relax at my side. â€Å"Guess I'm not that surprised,† Charlie grumbled. â€Å"Knew I'd have to deal with something like this soon enough.† I exhaled. â€Å"You sure about this?† Charlie demanded, glaring at me. â€Å"I'm one hundred percent sure about Edward,† I told him without missing a beat. â€Å"Getting married, though? What's the rush?† He eyed me suspiciously again. The rush was due to the fact that I was getting closer to nineteen every stinking day, while Edward stayed frozen in all his seventeen-year-old perfection, as he had for over ninety years. Not that this fact necessitated marriage in my book, but the wedding was required due to the delicate and tangled compromise Edward and I had made to finally get to this point, the brink of my transformation from mortal to immortal. These weren't things I could explain to Charlie. â€Å"We're going away to Dartmouth together in the fall, Charlie,† Edward reminded him. â€Å"I'd like to do that, well, the right way. It's how I was raised.† He shrugged. He wasn't exaggerating; they'd been big on old-fashioned morals during World War I. Charlie's mouth twisted to the side. Looking for an angle to argue from. But what could he say? I'd prefer you live in sin first? He was a dad; his hands were tied. â€Å"Knew this was coming,† he muttered to himself, frowning. Then, suddenly, his face went perfectly smooth and blank. â€Å"Dad?† I asked anxiously. I glanced at Edward, but I couldn't read his face, either, as he watched Charlie. â€Å"Ha!† Charlie exploded. I jumped in my seat. â€Å"Ha, ha, ha!† I stared incredulously as Charlie doubled over in laughter; his whole body shook with it. I looked at Edward for a translation, but Edward had his lips pressed tightly together, like he was trying to hold back laughter himself. â€Å"Okay, fine,† Charlie choked out. â€Å"Get married.† Another roll of laughter shook through him. â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But what?† I demanded. â€Å"But you have to tell your mom! I'm not saying one word to Renee! That's all yours!† He busted into loud guffaws. I paused with my hand on the doorknob, smiling. Sure, at the time, Charlie's words had terrified me. The ultimate doom: telling Renee. Early marriage was higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies. Who could have foreseen her response? Not me. Certainly not Charlie. Maybe Alice, but I hadn't thought to ask her. â€Å"Well, Bella,† Renee had said after I'd choked and stuttered out the impossible words: /Worn, I'm marrying Edward. Tm a little miffed that you waited so long to tell me. Plane tickets only get more expensive. Oooh,† she'd fretted. â€Å"Do you think Phil's cast will be off by then? It will spoil the pictures if he's not in a tux – â€Å" â€Å"Back up a second, Mom.† I'd gasped. â€Å"What do you mean, waited so long? I just got en-en . . .† – I'd been unable to force out the word engaged – â€Å"things settled, you know, today.† â€Å"Today? Really? That is a surprise. I assumed †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What did you assume? When did you assume?† â€Å"Well, when you came to visit me in April, it looked like things were pretty much sewn up, if you know what I mean. You're not very hard to read, sweetie. But I didn't say anything because I knew it wouldn't do any good. You're exactly like Charlie.† She'd sighed, resigned. â€Å"Once you make up your mind, there is no reasoning with you. Of course, exactly like Charlie, you stick by your decisions, too.† And then she'd said the last thing that I'd ever expected to hear from my mother. â€Å"You're not making my mistakes, Bella. You sound like you're scared silly, and I'm guessing it's because you're afraid of me.† She'd giggled. â€Å"Of what I'm going to think. And I know I've said a lot of things about marriage and stupidity – and I'm not taking them back – but you need to realize that those things specifically applied to me. You're a completely different person than I am. You make your own kinds of mistakes, and I'm sure you'll have your share of regrets in life. But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better chance of making this work than most forty-year-olds I know.† Renee had laughed again. â€Å"My little middle-aged child. Luckily, you seem to have found another old soul.† â€Å"You're not†¦ mad? You don't think I'm making a humongous mistake?† â€Å"Well, sure, I wish you'd wait a few more years. I mean, do I look old enough to be a mother-in-law to you? Don't answer that. But this isn't about me. This is about you. Are you happy?† â€Å"I don't know. I'm having an out-of-body experience right now.† Renee had chuckled. â€Å"Does he make you happy, Bella?† â€Å"Yes, but – â€Å" â€Å"Are you ever going to want anyone else?† â€Å"No, but – â€Å" â€Å"But what?† â€Å"But aren't you going to say that I sound exactly like every other infatuated teenager since the dawn of time?† â€Å"You've never been a teenager, sweetie. You know what's best for you.† For the last few weeks, Renee had unexpectedly immersed herself in wedding plans. She'd spent hours every day on the phone with Edward's mother, Esme – no worries about the in-laws getting along. Renee adored Esme, but then, I doubted anyone could help responding that way to my lovable almost-mother-in-law. It let me right off the hook. Edward's family and my family were taking care of the nuptials together without my having to do or know or think too hard about any of it. Charlie was furious, of course, but the sweet part was that he wasn't furious at me. Renee was the traitor. He'd counted on her to play the heavy. What could he do now, when his ultimate threat – telling Mom – had turned out to be utterly empty? He had nothing, and he knew it. So he moped around the house, muttering things about not being able to trust anyone in this world___ â€Å"Dad?† I called as I pushed open the front door. â€Å"I'm home.† â€Å"Hold on, Bells, stay right there.† â€Å"Huh?† I asked, pausing automatically. â€Å"Gimme a second. Ouch, you got me, Alice.† Alice? â€Å"Sorry, Charlie,† Alice's trilling voice responded. â€Å"How's that?† â€Å"I'm bleeding on it.† â€Å"You're fine. Didn't break the skin – trust me.† â€Å"What's going on?† I demanded, hesitating in the doorway. â€Å"Thirty seconds, please, Bella,† Alice told me. â€Å"Your patience will be rewarded.† â€Å"Humph,† Charlie added. I tapped my foot, counting each beat. Before I got to thirty, Alice said, â€Å"Okay, Bella, come in!† Moving with caution, I rounded the little corner into our living room. â€Å"Oh,† I huffed. â€Å"Aw. Dad. Don't you look – â€Å" â€Å"Silly?† Charlie interrupted. â€Å"I was thinking more like debonair† Charlie blushed. Alice took his elbow and tugged him around into a slow spin to showcase the pale gray tux. â€Å"Now cut that out, Alice. I look like an idiot.† â€Å"No one dressed by me ever looks like an idiot.† â€Å"She's right, Dad. You look fabulous! What's the occasion?† Alice rolled her eyes. â€Å"It's the final check on the fit. For both of you.† I peeled my gaze off the unusually elegant Charlie for the first time and saw the dreaded white garment bag laid carefully across the sofa. â€Å"Aaah.† â€Å"Go to your happy place, Bella. It won't take long.† I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. Keeping them shut, I stumbled my way up the stairs to my room. I stripped down to my underwear and held my arms straight out. â€Å"You'd think I was shoving bamboo splinters under your nails,† Alice muttered to herself as she followed me in. I paid no attention to her. I was in my happy place. In my happy place, the whole wedding mess was over and done. Behind me. Already repressed and forgotten. We were alone, just Edward and me. The setting was fuzzy and constantly in flux – it morphed from misty forest to cloud-covered city to arctic night – because Edward was keeping the location of our honeymoon a secret to surprise me. But I wasn't especially concerned about the where part. Edward and I were together, and I'd fulfilled my side of our compromise perfectly. I'd married him. That was the big one. But I'd also accepted all his outrageous gifts and was registered, however futilely, to attend Dartmouth College in the fall. Now it was his turn. Before he turned me into a vampire – his big compromise – he had one other stipulation to make good on. Edward had an obsessive sort of concern over the human things that I would be giving up, the experiences he didn't want me to miss. Most of them – like the prom, for example – seemed silly to me. There was only one human experience I worried about missing. Of course it would be the one he wished I would forget completely. Here was the thing, though. I knew a little about what I was going to be like when I wasn't human anymore. I'd seen newborn vampires firsthand, and I'd heard all my family-to-be's stories about those wild early days. For several years, my biggest personality trait was going to be thirsty, it would take some time before I could be me again. And even when I was in control of myself, I would never feel exactly the way I felt now. Human†¦ and passionately in love. I wanted the complete experience before I traded in my warm, breakable, pheromone-riddled body for something beautiful, strong†¦ and unknown. I wanted a real honeymoon with Edward. And, despite the danger he feared this would put me in, he'd agreed to try. I was only vaguely aware of Alice and the slip and slide of satin over my skin. I didn't care, for the moment, that the whole town was talking about me. I didn't think about the spectacle I would have to star in much too soon. I didn't worry about tripping on my train or giggling at the wrong moment or being too young or the staring audience or even the empty seat where my best friend should be. I was with Edward in my happy place.

Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Assignments - Essay Example uthful audience, the Japanese Silkscreen painting focuses on some cultural heritage of some community somewhere-the writings on the images tell it all. It does take long to conceptualize the image-especially in terms of theme and the target audience. The background and the respective contents of the images help in contextualizing the contents and the theme of the images and this can be realized immediately you see the images. The Tag Body Spray ad is very lively while the Japanese Silkscreen painting is dull-in regards to images coloring. Generally, the difference in temporalities between these two images is based on the fact that the Tag Body Spray ad is a photo image while the Japanese Silkscreen image is a painting image. Crow considers Warhol to be three in one person. The first Warhol is attributed to his life; the 2nd is in relation to his complex of interests, skills, sentiments passions and passion for art while the 3rd is attributed to experiments in nonelite culture far beyond the world of art. According to Crow, the works of Warhol were characterized by the impersonality of the images he chose and their presentation, the suspension in his work of any clear authorial voice and the passivity in the face of a media-saturated reality (Thomas, 5). The success of Warhol was highly increased by the fact that he was able to control the interpretation of his own work. Crow main argument was that Warhol produced his most powerful work through dramatization of the breakdown of commodity exchange despite the fact that his art was based on the ubiquity of the packaged commodity. In this essay, Crow tries to understand the works of Warhol and how he developed his paintings. According to Crow, Warhol used his painting works to send-out different messages. The paintings of Warhol were for different seasons, for political reasons, community based and socio-economic in nature (Thomas, 9). For instance, Crow argued that Warhol painted the image of Elizabeth Taylor to

Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economy - Essay Example Thus, this chapter discusses both the supply-side and demand-side factors that lead to differences in occupations and earnings. The authors, based on statistical analysis, note here that occupational segregation has declined over the past 30-40 years as women increasingly aspire for better education and have become more competitive than before. They however warn that despite these latest trends, gender disparity continues to be noticeable among different occupations. For example, Women comprised over 95% of nurses and constituted over four-fifths of all schoolteachers during the mid-nineties. Men, on the other hand, were dominant in the manufacturing sector. Blau et al note that gender and wage differences have remained existent for long periods as both groups have restricted themselves to such specific professions. They further attribute gender differences as the primary reason for discrepancies in job hierarchies, promotions and pay and analyze these factors to highlight their indi vidual and collective impact on the male and female workforce. Chapter 6: Differences in Occupations and Earnings: The Human Capital Model This chapter introduces the role of various factors like educational attainment, productivity and training in narrowing the gap in pay based on gender differences. The authors contend that rising educational qualifications among women has resulted in subtle cracks in the glass ceiling that is apparent in most corporate organizations, and explain it using the Human Capital Model. The authors study the relationship between labor longevity and investment in higher education and argue that women tend to invest in the latter as they see better prospects for staying within the workforce for longer durations. They further noted that women prefer on-the-job training citing better employment prospects and as a way to reduce any potential barriers to career advancement. These trends reflect on declining barriers to career opportunities besides throwing lig ht on changing practices among educational institutions with regards to admission policies and inclusion of a higher percentage of women. The authors also cite several legislations such as the Title IX of 1972 as additional reasons for reduction in gender-based discrimination among educational establishments. For instance, the percentage of women in institutions of higher education has risen from a meager 7% during the 1960s to as much as 35-40% across all professional fields and courses of study. The authors also discuss in length about the ‘Index of Segregation’, which measures the extent of segregation on the basis of gender across several hundred occupations. Numerically, this index estimates the percentage of each sex who must change jobs in order for the professional distribution amongst the two groups to reach equilibrium. Over the years, the Index has reduced from a massive 67% (in terms of women) to nearly half by the turn of the century. Chapter 7: Differences in Occupations and Earnings: The Role of Labor Market Discrimination Through this chapter, the authors primary demonstrate that discrimination within the labor market does exist when two similar individuals with equal qualifications, experience and profiles are

Information system management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Information system management - Assignment Example ferrous forgings (e.g. pressure vessels, satellite rings, aero plane undercarriages, chemical plant etc.) is performing their activities by connecting every area of it so that the whole system works together. Currently the issue is with the performance of IT system and its coordination with the business management. Any business that is established cannot proceed or grow unless there is proper integration of the divisions that are set in order to carry business. IT system and the business are two other ways, both work in their own manner and both have different ways of solving their problems and issues. Business focuses more on goals where as IT deals with the use of appropriate software’s and hardware’s. For organization’s it is difficult to bring the IT system and the management to one platform in order to bring sustainability to the business. This can only be done when there is proper communication of information between both divisions. Being a manager I know t hat the dissimilarity actually breakdowns the system and due to this the alignment of the business and the IT also get disturbs. Business success comes when there is understanding between both areas because the working ways and conditions are different of business and IT. Management can all the time be informed with the IT issues by communication and the involvement of IT specialists in the board meetings. Creating value in business is impossible unless the latest trends are not followed. Because of the changing trends and environment, businesses are creating shifts in order to bring sustainability and uniqueness in the services and operations. IT is one and the best way of providing customer service, establishing convenient distribution channels, and information regarding the products and rescheduling business boundaries. Business managers should see IT as the major component and a wheel of the business. To develop any business activity it is important to give required significance to the IT system of the firm whereas, IT plays a very important role in performing the business activities. This report will present the tools and techniques and the strategies that can be used for performing and fixing up the issues that are currently faced by this company regarding the performance of IT and the cost related issued with IT infrastructure. It furthers demonstrate the solutions to such problems to adhere the further adverse effects of IT on the organization. This report also illustrates that why this enterprise failed to follow the use of IT effectively whereas today the need of IT is rapidly increasing but due to the mismanagement and improper coordination of IT and business management it is bringing difficulties for them to manage their rapid growing costs of IT. Key Issues Following are the issues that are generally faced by the company related to IT as management failed to identify the issues and couldn’t create the solutions to it The issue that manageme nt faces consistently about IT is the change over time. As IT has moved into the strange era where the needs and demands of the market change over time and this causes IT to change their strategy whereas the strategies and working processes of the management also change. So it gets difficult for both the functions to work on one platform. Another issue is that whosoever is working in IT division need to keep themselves update and should be well

Organisational Analysis (case study) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organisational Analysis (case study) - Essay Example With the intense competition, the customers’ alternative sources of supply increase along with the threshold level of acceptable quality in terms of product and service. Therefore, product quality, innovation, delivery reliability and shorter lead times have become prerequisites in business world rather than competitive advantages. Thus, the importance of streamlining internal processes and aligning the organisational structure to act as a combined force becomes a key necessity. Agility in organisational process in responding to market demands can only be achieved through organisational structures, which are well-integrated, less bureaucratic and collectively aligned towards achieving the organisational objectives (Thomson & Strickland 2003). The case study analyses the current issues being faced by Rondell Data Corporation, a well established manufacturer of Data Transmission units and electronic Testing Equipments, with regards to its internal business operations, especially pertaining to the interdepartmental conflicts leading to reduced productivity and profitability resulting from mismatch in its organisational design and structure with the required business process. The analysis will take in to account the current status of the operations with the use of contingency models and identify the problem areas being encountered by Rondell. The insight gained from the analysis will aid in explaining the past background and how the company has developed to its current stage as well as what the future may hold if the organisation proceed without interventions. Lastly the analysis will also provide suggestions and recommendations for intervention and creating change at Rondell Rondell Data Corporation which has been incorporated in 1930 has grows steadily over the decades with a dedicated team of employees who are mainly from engineering background. The company

Patient, Who is Dying of Leukemia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 15

Patient, Who is Dying of Leukemia - Essay Example This case relates to the ethics, which refers to application of values and moral rules to human activities. In order to determine whether the nurse was acting morally, there is a need to focus on the subsection of ethics, which are a part of applied ethics and the use of ethical principles in making a decision. In this case, ethics can be applied in seeking reasoned, consistent and defensible solutions to moral issues; thus, the Clinical bioethical reasoning is the primary base of the case. Moreover, the clinical practice depends of the general rules and case-based experiences, bioethical reasoning that relies on learned and accepted moral rules. Therefore, bioethical decisions are derived from manifestation and recognition of factors in a certain situation, which differentiates the cases. In the case, nurse L decided to share the information with the patient concerning the alternative therapies, but this was against the bioethical rules in the hospital. Therefore, nurse L was not mo rally correct because she fail to apply the Clinical bioethical reasoning by focusing on the rules as she made the decision of disclosing to the patient about alternative therapies. In this situation, nurse L was not obligated to make patient-centered, value-driven ethical decision; instead, she should have focused on the bioethical reasoning in relation to the morally accepted rules in the hospital. There are laws stems from legislative statues, administrative agency rules and court decisions, which varies in various ways and they are enforced by different jurisdiction.  

Projectile Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Projectile - Lab Report Example . The ball was then pushed into the back making sure it does not move forward. A test shot was then made to determine where the ball lands after which a carbon paper was placed on the white sheet. The ball was then fired 6 different times and the distance travelled by the ball from where the ball leaves the launcher recorded.The position of the launcher was made in such a way that the launcher launches the ball at 200 the steps in part A were then repeated and data recorded in table 2 If the velocity is increased, the time taken for the ball to reach the ground will be more than the calculated speed. Considering the velocity equation, it’s clear that velocity is directly proportional to time thus an increase in velocity consequently increases the time. Trajectory labeled C has the longest hang time. This is because the distance travelled by the projectile is longer as compared to the other two i.e. A & B since distance travelled is directly proportional to hang time The experiment was successful since from the measured distance, it was possible to calculate the both the time and the velocity of the projectile

Compare and contrast the work of illustrators Aubrey Beardsley and Essay

Compare and contrast the work of illustrators Aubrey Beardsley and Edward Gorey - Essay Example He began the art of illustrating in 1892 in Paris where Parisian fashion influenced his style of illustrations. This paper outlines the comparison and contrast between Edward Gorey and Aubrey Beardsley in their works as illustrators. Comparisons Both artists represented the high caliber of creativity and artistic brilliance. Edward on his side is the most imaginative artist of all time in America while Aubrey on the other side was an indispensable artist because he influenced his age and gave huge knowledge throughout Europe and America. Illustrators Gorey and Beardsley were both identified with artwork that had similar form in expressing skills and techniques though in different ways. Their work clearly expresses the value of illustrations in artistic work and shows how they should be correctly executed. They clearly bring out the understanding of each illustration including the shape and form that ensures the genre is understood in the present and future. Both were best known illus trators with detailed illustrations and stories. There works have inspired many people. They both used ink in their drawings and writing. Aubrey in drawing his images used ink, the large dark areas had contrasted with the large blank areas while other areas did not contrast at all. Gorey’s signature pen and ink as illustrated in his work and the use of strange and horrible words made him to be considered as America’s most imaginative and strange artist of all time. They played with both text and pictures i.e. Gorey was best known for his fantastic drawings especially the use of children such as (The Gashlycrumb Tinies, (1963), Alice in wonderland) and amusing, odd/unpredictable stories. Beardsley on the other hand wrote a book, â€Å"Under the Hill† an incomplete erotic tale and many other short stories plus several letters. Most of his work though are illustrated. Some of his famous illustrations include The Stomach Dance, 1894, The Peacock Skirt, 1894, Der Pud erquast, 1893, Masquerade among many others. Beardsley and Gorey’s artistic works were based on the same subject. They both dealt on; costume and fashion, collections, book illustrations, botanicals, education, world culture and others. Their artistic style was also the same and include; photography, fine and vintage. This kind creativity promoted their work and also made them memorable to date. Both created works with different degrees of realism, employing imagery, forms and motifs from flora and fauna. Their work was rated as the most innovative and progressive which attracted many international critics. Gorey's most books are of humor and cartoon sections of most bookstores, although a book such as The Object Lesson earned serious respect in the society, it was full of animation and humor. Contrasts: Gorey's books/work were popular with kids but he never associated them with kids it is believed that he had no fondness for them. Maybe it is because he was never married and he specifically confessed to have less interest in romance as indicated in the book The Strange Case of Edward Gorey. During interviews, he never discussed anything about romance. At one point during an interview he said â€Å"I'm neither one thing nor the other particulars. I am fortunate in that I am apparently reasonably undersexed or something  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ I've never said that I was gay and I've never said that I wasn't

Organizing at Dell Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizing at Dell Computers - Essay Example In 2005, Dell Company was valued at over $ 100 billion, which was double the market value of HP and Apple (Edwards, 2009). Today, its market worth is less than 1/3 of the proportion that market rivals control with an estimated value of $ 30 billion. Dell has struggled to find its place back as a centre of technology. Michael Dell, the founder and owner of the company has undertaken radical measures to change its now sinking company. By identifying the challenges that led to the failures and counteracting them with positive reinforcements, Dell can transform his company back to its former glory. The company has faced stiff competition in the recent past. Their market presence has reduced drastically over the years since modern technology products engineered by their competitors have overtaken most of their merchandise. As such, it needs to improve by increasing their market presence within the global setting. This means adapting to new manufacturing processes that are client specific and addressing growth at the management level (Burrows, 2005). The company also experiences challenges pertaining to the slow purchase of its key products such as the personal computers in an already saturated market. A majority of the Personal Computers (PCs) in the United States are replaced by technological upgrade and development of new items. The company should focus on strengthening relationships with suppliers and product customization (Ricadela, 2009). Another challenge is strengthening the declining customer service. Indeed, Dell prides itself in superior customer service but it should strengthen and maintain their customer service and relation (Ricadela, 2009). The company should consider forming mergers with other strong companies. This will increase their capital base as well as expand their products variety. Merger of companies will offer a mutual benefit to both companies as

The 3 stages of memory Essay Example for Free

The 3 stages of memory Essay Sensory Memory is the earliest stage of memory. Information from our surroundings is stored for a short period of time for auditory information. Short-Term Memory is information that we are aware of or information that we think about. Most of the information that is stored in our short-term memory for a longer period of time than the Sensory Memory. Long-Term Memory has information that is largely outside of our awareness and can be called into our working memory to be used when needed. Some information can easily be recalled while other information cannot. Knowing how our memory works can help us learn better by writing down our thoughts so that we dont forget them. For instance, during my down time at work, I may decide to work on a discussion question and can easily get distracted by questions from my teammates or writing out an email. It would be to my advantage to write down what Im thinking at the moment and refer to it when I need it. From the study that I have taken in the text on page 212. It stated that I was mainly and sound type of learner. I can see where they can get this as a results for the study and I do agree that I do some of my learning from hearing what is being said about a task that I am doing, But I would have to say that I do not really agree with the study. I know that I am a visual learner, I do my best work If I have some one to show me what types of things that need to be done for a certain task. If I had to go along with the study because I do think that maybe half of my task skills come from listening to a task. I think that I would use it at all times. I know when I am working I would use this memory style to work with the patients that I am looking after that day and every day, there are also the nurses and other staff that I am working around. I think that there are people that like to  work in certain ways and having the memory this will help to talk with them to know that their likes and dislikes are. This will help me to improve my skill and help make the people around me and the patients happy to want to be working with me. Also using these skills for school will be a big thing for me because there are things that I have to know to complete the task that are due for my assignments. With the sound memory skills I think that this would be better for me because there are a lot of task that I have went through that have a video of some sort to listen to so that I can gather information. This is helping because I can focus on what some one is saying so that I can get the information that I am going to need for that assignment or for the course. I think that there are a lot of different ways that I use to learn and listening to some one explain things is one of my skills. I think that that I have a good memory and I am a fast learner so I think with all my skills put together I have a easier time at learning the skills that I am going to need to learn. I have learned so many things in my life by observing someone else doing it, but the one that stays in my mind is learning how to drive. I remember watching my father turn the wheel, keep it steady, and watched his foot hit the gas petal as well as the brake. I use to practice driving by sitting in a chair with a plate and turn it right, left, and steady. Since I watched my father drive for many years I thought it was my time to show them what I have learned without taking any lessons. Everyone was so impressed with what I knew by only watching my father drive and without any help from a seasoned driver. You can learn a lot just from watching another person, and I am proof of that. Paying attention really pays off and saves a lot of time. The difference between classical and operant conditioning is that classical is more the natural behavior of a subject when exposed to a specific stimulus whereas operant conditioning tries to create a certain reaction by using certain stimulants. The response of the subject in classical conditioning is not learned it is just what comes naturally in a situation, however, the stimulus added to the equation then makes the subject have the same effect to only the stimulus. Operant conditioning aims to produce the desired reaction of the subject by using reinforcement or punishment. One example of operant conditioning is when I first got my Pomeranian and was paper training her. We had to watch her constantly and whenever she went on the pad we laid out for her we would reward her with a, â€Å"Good girl,† and a treat. When she failed to make it on the pad, we would scold her and make her sit there while we cleaned up the mess. After a few weeks, she was able to successfully go on her pad whenever she needed to go even if we were not there to praise her. An example of classical training is similar to my other example. My friend had already trained his dog to go outside to use the bathroom; however, she would just sit there until someone saw her so if everyone was in another room she could have been sitting there for hours. He installed a cow bell at the bottom of the door and when he noticed her sitting at the door, he would tap the bell himself to ring it and then open the door for her. Eventually she realized that the ringing of the bell meant that the door was going to open. Classical conditioning occurs when a controlled stimulus is offered to elicit a response. In the case of Pavlovs dogs, the bell elicited salvation. This was only after Pavlov fed the dogs after each time he rang the bell. The rules of classical conditioning are that: 1. A controlled stimulus must be presented before an uncontrolled stimulus. 2. The controlled stimulus and the uncontrolled stimulus have to be timed closely together. 3. The neutral stimulus has to be partnered with the uncontrolled stimulus many times before the conditioning can happen. 4. The controlled stimulus is unique from the other stimulus. When I was younger I would only drink Dr Pepper. When I got pregnant with my first child, Dr Pepper started making me queasy. After several months of realizing I was feeling sick to my stomach every time I drank Dr Pepper, I quit drinking it. To this day I will get sick to my stomach if I drink Dr Pepper.

Alternatives to Proprietary Digital Forensics for SMEs

Alternatives to Proprietary Digital Forensics for SMEs Realistic alternative to expensive  Proprietary Digital Forensics  and Security products for SMEs. Alan David Blais Abstract Organisations have recently developed an awareness about the necessity of having their systems secure and protected from external as well as internal threats. This sudden awareness is believed to be due to recent major events about breaches and security issues faced by many organisations. The consequences of these breaches and security issues had so many negative impacts that it has created a real awareness. Although the UK is among the leading countries in this regard Europe, it still has a long way to go, according to training director for the Sans Securing The Human Program, Lance Spitzner. (Cybersecurity Awareness SANS 2015) Many organisations have already invested very considerable amount of money into making their systems securer while other are still thinking whether investing money in security has a return on investment (ROI) or not. On the other hand, for small and medium enterprises (SME), it is an entirely different story, with the world financial crisis, it is already particularly difficult for SME to survive, and some of them are struggling to keep their companies running and many of them cannot afford the cost for improving the security of their system as it should be. Most of them, try to use short-term fix like cheap firewall and anti-virus, free patches and updates despite knowing that having a single/some layer/s of security is not enough. Some of the SMEs also uses free available tools and applications but most of these tools are specialised in only one aspect of security, thus several different applications are needed to provide better security. It is difficult to manage several different tools and applications at the same time. This projects aims at finding a solution to solve the above mentioned problem by designing a software/platform for managing different tools and applications remotely using the designed software/platform. 1. Background – 2 Pages 1.1 Introduction According to a new study on the main causes of European privacy, breaches come from organisations own errors, insider abuse and other internal mismanagement issues. The director of the study, P. Howard believe that only 41% of the incidents reported are external attacks by hackers and that 57% of the incidents which were caused by administrative error, exposed online, insiders or caused by missing hardware configuration. (Most European Breaches Caused by Organizational Error, Insider Attacks 2015) Based on the above study findings, we can therefore assume that having proper internal security mechanism within an organisation can significantly reduce the number of incidents. Despite knowing that, some organisations are still not improving their security as it should be. The main reason is the cost associated to security; some people at management level still think that investing on security has no direct impact on the main objective of business which is to make profit. It is true that many organisations awareness about security have recently changed due to the consequences of breaches on other organisations but Cyber Security awareness is still in its infancy in most organisations and not all organisations can afford the cost associated to security, Small and medium enterprises are generally not able to afford it. Moreover, much of the software available on the market focus on one particular aspect of security rather than having a single platform that caters for different aspect of security at an affordable price for SMEs. It seems that a growing trend is growing within SMEs, which is the use of open source software (An evaluation of open source software adoption by UK SMEs in the IT industry.) such as Volatility. But even that, it is not an efficient way to manage several applications all at the same time. A possible solution would be to use an application as a platform for using other open source software with the capability of managing all these remotely. This project is about designing that platform to provide incident response, digital forensics, host and network security as well as malware analysis capability. The platform will provide all the above mentioned capability remotely and having a server-client architecture. 1.2 Relevant past and current work Alien Vault has a software which provides a platform to manage different aspect of security all on one platform called Unified Security Management (USM). The software is a commercial one and provides the management of tools which themselves are commercial software whereas this project aims at using available free software and in-house built features to provide a platform for managing different aspects of security at an affordable price. Below is the management features available in Alien Vault USM and other traditional SIEM. As we can see from both screen capture, many traditional SIEM require 3rd party product to provide some features. Below are the security features provided by alien vault. The USM provides a single platform for managing and monitoring different aspect of security. 2. Project Description – 1 Page 2.1 Project Overview This project aims at designing a platform for managing open source and free applications/tools as well as providing in-house built features. The platform will be dealing with different aspect of security such as incident response, digital forensics, host and network security and malware analysis. The digital forensics capability will be the central part of the project from which incident response and malware analysis will be derived from. The host and network security will be on top of the base structure which comprises the three other aspects. The digital forensics and malware analysis can be split further at a high level view as we can see from the diagram to the left side. Live and static forensics for digital forensics on the other hand Static and dynamic analysis for malware analysis. 2.2 Importance of this project Security should be the concern of everybody, SMEs should be given alternative option to expensive security products to enable them to provide more secure services to clients, which in-directly or directly can affects anybody. This project aims at providing a cost effective solution by providing a platform to manage open source tools and application. The main assumption will be, despite knowing that free applications and tools have limitations, it is a better option than having no security at all or limited one due to having a limited budget for security. 2.3 Aims and Objectives It is important in a project to properly design the aims and objectives since it allows the setting up of the directionthe direction in which the project must go through. Objectives allow us to measure and assess the outcome of the project. Please refer to Appendix A for the aims and objectives. 3. Programme and methodology – 3 Pages 3.1 Spiral Methodology The spiral methodology seems to be the best option to suit the project. The spiral methodology as compared to waterfall methodology has the advantage of demonstrating that development projects work best when they are both incremental and iterative, where the development is able to start small and benefit from enlightened trial and error along the way. The spiral methodology reflects the relationship of tasks with rapid prototyping, increased parallelism, and concurrency in designing and building activities. The spiral method should still be planned methodically, with tasks and deliverables identified for each step in the spiral. Throughout the entire project we are going to use the spiral methodology for the design and development of the software/platform. The next part of this section will be the planning of tasks and deliverables as well as expected Milestone. Why do you think the spiral best suits your project? Not the other methodology give concrete examples. 3.2 Project Management 3.2.1 Budget Planning 3.2.1.1 Milestone The table below is just an estimation of how much time each task will take and gives us enough information to plan the project in a more realistic way. Generally tasks will be performed in parallel rather than in a linear way which has its advantages and disadvantage such as time saving and whereby some tasks must be completed prior to some other tasks. 3.2.1.2 Gantt Chart Please find below a Gantt chart representing the planned tasks over the budget allocated to us. 3.3 Project Approach The first part of the project will focus on the literature review where we are going to analyse tools, applications and process/features which are relevant to the project. The next part, we will be talking about why the features/applications/tools might be important for SMEs and their security from a technical and non-technical perspective. The third step will be to developed the features and integrate the tools/applications within the designed platform. The final step will be the testing and documenting of the results obtained and makes sure that the aims and objectives are satisfied. 4. Ethical and Legal Consideration – 1 page Before starting a project, it is crucial to properly understand the internal policies of the organisation you are developing something for and any local laws that might apply to the project. Some features of the project might invade the privacy of the users which in our case will be employees. It is a good practise to have policies about the possibility of company’s resources being monitored and might be investigated without prior notice or user permission but this might not be enough in a trial. One alternative would be to make sure the company where we are going to implement this project displays a well-defined warning banner. Without a banner, the right to investigate or monitor a system used by employees might conflict with user’s expectation of privacy. The EU and its member nations which include UK impose a strict fine for information that crosses national boundaries without the person’s consent. 4.1 Law in UK According to the UK Government’s website (https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-your-business/monitoring-staff-at-work), it is possible for employer to monitor employees at workplace if the below conditions are met: Be clear about the reasons for monitoring staff and the benefits that this will bring. Identify any negative effects the monitoring may have on staff. This is called an impact assessment. Consider whether there are any, less intrusive, alternatives to monitoring. Work out whether the monitoring is justified, taking into account all of the above. Monitoring employees’ activities on a computer system is cover by the data protection act. Data protection law doesnt prevent monitoring in the workplace. However, it does set down rules about the circumstances and the way in which monitoring should be carried out. Based on UK law, it is also for employers to monitor their employees without their consent for specific reasons. (Please refer to Appendix B for the reasons) 4.2 Ethics The question about whether it is ethical to monitor or investigate on employees can be debate on different point of view which can include the privacy of users, the need to protect client’s data, to provide reliable and trustful services to client by minimising the risks of external as well as internal threats such as insiders. But at the end of the day, the majority always win over the minority, what would be more ethical? Monitoring hundreds of employees or having more than one million client’s credit card details unprotected from insiders? 5. Impact 0.5 – 0.75 page 5.1 National Importance Services provided by SMEs such as data storage, client’s data management, POS information management, companies’ secret industrial process and many others will be more secure since the SMEs will improve on their security using a cost saving solution and providing several layers of security. Risks associated to insiders will be minimised. 5.2 Commercial Impact The platform could be sold at an affordable price or via a donation mechanism. The money can then be used for developing new features, improves existing features and provide upgrades. 5.3 Academic Impact This project can provide a platform for further research opportunity such as: Research can be done about why despite knowing that security is crucial still SMEs are not improving their security? Cost associated with security products? The assessment of the impacts on security in general if security products were cheaper and easily available for on SMEs. Does security improved if managed and monitored using a single platform rather than using several different security products (Efficiency and conflict arise when using several security products). References Cyber security awareness still in its infancy, says Sans Institute. 2015.Cyber security awareness still in its infancy, says Sans Institute. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240234932/Cyber-security-awareness-still-in-its-infancy-says-SANS-Institute. [Accessed 18 May 2015]. Information Security Awareness Training | Cybersecurity Awareness | SANS. 2015.Information Security Awareness Training | Cybersecurity Awareness | SANS. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.securingthehuman.org/. [Accessed 18 May 2015]. Study Finds Most European Breaches Caused by Organizational Error, Insider Attacks | The State of Security. 2015.Study Finds Most European Breaches Caused by Organizational Error, Insider Attacks | The State of Security. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/latest-security-news/study-finds-most-european-breaches-caused-by-organizational-error-insider-attacks/. [Accessed 18 May 2015]. Brunel University Research Archive: An evaluation of open source software adoption by UK SMEs in the IT industry. 2015.Brunel University Research Archive: An evaluation of open source software adoption by UK SMEs in the IT industry. [ONLINE] Available at:http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4509. [Accessed 18 May 2015]. Brian Buffett, UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2014)Factors influencing open source software adoption in public sector national and international statistical organisations, [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/documents/ece/ces/ge.50/2014/Topic_1_UNESCO.pdf [Accessed: 18 May 2015]. SME’s help Governments make huge IT savings. — PretaGov. 2015.SME’s help Governments make huge IT savings. — PretaGov. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.pretagov.co.uk/news/sme2019s-help-governments-make-huge-it-savings. [Accessed 18 May 2015]. How SMEs can drive growth through new technologies. 2015.How SMEs can drive growth through new technologies. [ONLINE] Available at:http://yourbetterbusiness.co.uk/how-smes-can-drive-growth-through-new-technologies/. [Accessed 18 May 2015]. Unified Security Management (USM) Platform. 2015.Unified Security Management (USM) Platform. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.alienvault.com/products. [Accessed 19 May 2015]. James R. Chapman 1997, Software Development Methodology, Project Management Training. [ONLINE] Available: http://www.hyperthot.com/pm_sdm.htm [Accessed 19 May 2015] NELSON, B., PHILLIPS, A. ET STEUART, C , 2010. Guide to Computer Forensics and Investigations. 4th Edition. Course Technology Data protection and your business GOV.UK. 2015.Data protection and your business GOV.UK. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-your-business/monitoring-staff-at-work. [Accessed 20 May 2015]. Monitoring at work Citizens Advice . 2015.Monitoring at work Citizens Advice. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/rights-at-work/monitoring-at-work/. [Accessed 21 May 2015]. Appendix – A A1 Aims of the project Please find below the aims of the project: Provide a cost effective IT Security solution. Provide security in its different aspects all under one platform. Provide remote management capability. A2 Objectives of the project Please find below the objectives of the project: Secure communication between server and clients. Ability to monitor and detect suspected behaviour/activities. Ability to remotely manage clients from server (Platform). Ability to capture relevant information from clients to server for investigation. Ability to provide Confidentiality and integrity on clients. More detailed and technical objectives are to be derived at a later stage of the project, which will in-turn be translated into features that will be provided by the platform. Appendix – B B1 – Reasons for monitoring employees To establish facts which are relevant to the business, to check that procedures are being followed, or to check standards, for example, listening in to phone-calls to assess the quality of your work To prevent or detect crime. To check for unauthorised use of telecommunications systems, such as whether you are using the internet or email for personal use. To make sure electronic systems are operating effectively, for example, to prevent computer viruses entering the system. To check whether a communication you have received, such as an email or phone-call is relevant to the business. In this case, your employer can open up your emails or listen to voice-mails but is not allowed to record your calls. To check calls to confidential help lines. In this case, your employer can listen in, but is not allowed to record these calls in the interests of national security.

Human Gait Analysis and Recognition

Human Gait Analysis and Recognition Gait, as a promising unintrusive biometric, has attracted several researchers in recent years. In intelligent surveillance, the advantage of accessibility at a distance makes gait a promising behavior characteristic for recognition. Human identification from arbitrary views may be a terribly very drawback, particularly once one is walking at a distance. Over the previous couple of years, recognizing identity from gait patterns has become a well-liked space of analysis in life science and pc vision, and one among the foremost made applications of image analysis and understanding. Also, gait recognition is being thought of as a next-generation recognition identification technology , with pertinence to several civilian and high security environments like airports, banks, military bases, car parks, railway stations etc. For these application situations, its unimaginable to capture the frontal face, and is of low resolution. therefore most of ancient approaches used for face recognition fail; but, many studies have shown that its doable to spot human notwithstanding frontal face isnt visible, and its doable to ascertain the identity of the person victimization bound static and dynamic cues from face, ear, walking vog ue, hand motion throughout walking etc. If automatic identification systems may be engineered supported victimization these identity specific cues, itll be a good contribution to police work and security space. And our aim is to ascertain identity by victimization long vary gait biometric in conelike read points. Gait may be a behavioural biometric thats superior in person’s authentication. The attractiveness of gait as a biometric arises from the very fact that its nonintrusive and might be detected and measured even in low resolution video. Gait as a biometric technique has some blessings like being troublesome to cover, steal, or fake. what is more, gait may be recognizable from distance. However, most alternative life science may be captured solely by physical contact or at an in depth distance from the recording probe. Moreover, users dont ought to unveil extra info concerning them apart from already obtainable. Despite the benefits enjoyed by gait, it faces several chal lenges that the present gait identification strategies ar sensitive to such as: variety of garments, illumination changes, persons speed and directions. we tend to use human gait skeleton recognition system the peak of someone as another modality Windows 7 or Windows 8 (32 or 64 bit) Processor: 2.5 GHz (1.8 GHz recommended) 4 GB RAM (2 GB RAM recommended) High-speed USB 3.0 recommended Kinect XBOX 360 Sensor Camera Features: The Kinect works as a 3D camera by capturing a stream of colored pixels with data concerning the depth of every pixel. every component within the image contains a value that represents the space from the sensing element to an object therein direction. This hardware feature offer developers the means that for making a touch-less and immersive user expertise through voice, movement and gesture management though it doesnt inherently perform any chase or recognition operations, feat all such process to package. Skeleton chase is usually handled by the SDK with gesture recognition left to the developer, although multiple libraries exist to help in recognition of gestures. additionally, speech recognition is finished by external SDKs like the Microsoft Speech Platform. The Kinect sensor as shown in Figure 6.1 has the following properties and functions: An RGB Camera that stores three channel data in a 1280960 resolution at 30Hz. The camera.s field of view as specified by Microsoft is 43 ¢X vertical by 57 ¢X horizontal. The system can measure distance from a 500mm to 3500mm. An infrared (IR) emitter and an IR depth sensor used for capturing depth image. An array of four microphones to capture positioned sounds. A tilt motor which allows the camera angle to be changed without physical interaction and a three-axis accelerometer which can be used to determine the current orientation of the Kinect. Hardware Interface The sensor interface with the PC via a standard USB 2.0 port; however an additional power supply is needed because the USB port cannot directly support the sensors power consumption. Hardware and Software Requirements According to Microsoft, the PC that is to be used with the Kinect sensor must have the following minimum capabilities: (a) 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processors,(b) Dual-core, 2.66-GHz or faster processor,(c) USB 2.0 bus dedicated to the Kinect, and (d) 2 GB of RAM. To access Kinectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s capabilities, the following software is also required to be installed on the developerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s PC: Microsoft Visual Studio 2010/2012 Express or other Visual Studio edition. The development programming languages that can be used include C++, C# (C-Sharp), and Visual Basic. Software Requirements Operating System: Windows 7 or Windows 8 Programming Tool: Mat lab MATLAB MATLAB may be a superior language for technical computing. It integrates computation, visual image, associate degreed programming in an easy-to-use surroundings wherever issues and solutions area unit expressed in acquainted notation. Typical uses include: Math and computation Algorithm development Data acquisition Modeling, simulation, and prototyping Data analysis, exploration, and visual image Scientific and engineering graphics Application development, together with graphical program building MATLAB is associate degree interactive system whose basic information component is associate degree array that doesnt need orientating. this enables you to unravel several technical computing issues, particularly those with matrix and vector formulations, during a fraction of the time it might desire write a program during a scalar no interactive language like C or algebraic language. The name MATLAB stands for matrix laboratory. MATLAB was originally written to supply easy accessibility to matrix computer code developed by the LINPACK and EISPACK comes. Today, MATLAB engines incorporate the LAPACK and BLAS libraries, embedding the state of the art in computer code for matrix computation. MATLAB has evolved over a amount of years with input from several users. In university environments, its the quality educational tool for introductory and advanced courses in arithmetic, engineering, and science. In trade, MATLAB is that the tool of selection for high-productivity analysis, development, and analysis. Image Acquisition Toolbox Acquire images and video from industry-standard hardware Image Acquisition Toolboxâ„ ¢ permits us to accumulate pictures and video from cameras and frame grabbers directly into MATLAB ® and Simulink ®. youll notice hardware mechanically and piece hardware properties. Advanced workflows allow you to trigger acquisition whereas process in-the-loop, perform background acquisition, and synchronize sampling across many multimodal devices. With support for multiple hardware vendors and business standards, youll be able to use imaging devices starting from cheap net cameras to high-end scientific and industrial devices that meet low-light, high-speed, and alternative difficult necessities. Together, MATLAB, Image Acquisition toolbox, and Image process Toolboxâ„ ¢ (and, optionally, Video and Image process Block setâ„ ¢) offer an entire atmosphere for developing custom-made imaging solutions. will acquire pictures and video, visualize information, develop process algorithms and analysis techniques, and build GUIs. Key Features Support for common OS interfaces for webcams, as well as Direct Show, QuickTime, and video4linux2. Support for a variety of business and scientific hardware vendors. Multiple acquisition modes and buffer management choices. Synchronization of multimodal acquisition devices with hardware triggering. Interactive tool for fast hardware configuration, image acquisition, and live video previewing. Support for C code generation in Simulink. Graphical Interface for Image and Video Acquisition The Image Acquisition Tool could be a graphical interface for operating with image and video acquisition devices and is similar temperament for interactive configuration of cameras. youll browse all hardware devices out there on your laptop, amendment device settings, choose an Region Of Interest (ROI), preview a buying deal, acquire pictures and video, and record knowledge. A preview window helps verify and optimize your acquisition parameters by mechanically reflective any changes created to camera properties within the video stream. The Image Acquisition Tool is a place to begin within the development of automatic and custom image acquisition and process systems. Image Acquisition in MATLAB Image Acquisition toolbox provides graphical tools and a programmatic interface to assist to figure with image acquisition hardware in MATLAB. youll modify repetitive tasks, produce workflows combined with tasks like image process, and build standalone feasible that acquire pictures and video with MATLAB Compilerâ„ ¢. The toolbox allows you to customize the acquisition method to incorporate integration image process practicality to spot objects, enhance imagination, or construct mosaics and birds-eye views because the information is acquired. Connecting to Hardware Image Acquisition toolbox mechanically detects compatible image and video acquisition devices. every device affiliation is encapsulated as associate object, providing associate interface for configuration and acquisition. youll be able to produce multiple affiliation objects for coinciding acquisition from as several devices as your laptop and imaging hardware support. Image Acquisition tool chest are often used on Windows ®, Linux ®, and Macintosh ® systems, sanctioning you to recycle code once connecting to an equivalent camera in several operational systems. Acquiring Image Data Image Acquisition toolbox supports many modes, together with background acquisition and continuous acquisition, whereas process the noninheritable information. The chest mechanically buffers information into memory, handles memory and buffer management, and allows acquisition from an ROI. The image acquisition engine is meant to accumulate imagination as quick as your camera and laptop will support, sanctioning analysis and process of high-speed imaging applications. Data are often noninheritable during a wide selection of information sorts, together with signed or unsigned 8-, 16-bit and 32-bit integers and single- or double-precision floating purpose. The chest supports any color area provided by the image acquisition device together with RGB, YUV, or grayscale. Raw sensing element information during a pain pill pattern are often mechanically born-again into RGB information. Performing Image Acquisition in Simulink Simulink could be a block-diagram based mostly setting unremarkably used for video system style and multi domain simulations. Image Acquisition tool case provides a Simulink block that allows you to capture pictures and video knowledge directly from any device supported by the tool case to be used in imaging system styles. Combined with Video and Image process Block set, the tool case helps you to perform simulation and verification of image or video process system styles with live image or video knowledge. Code Generation Image Acquisition toolbox enables you to generate a C code interface to a deployable library for the Simulink block. this permits you to style a video system and integrate acquisition practicality into your own applications while not having to perform low-level writing with hardware drivers. Code generation conjointly permits Simulink speedy Accelerator modes, that speed up simulations by providing higher performance and frame rates for image and video process simulations. Triggering and Acquisition Customizations Image Acquisition toolbox supports multiple trigger varieties to customise the acquisition process: immediate, manual, and hardware. Initiating a sale with a manual trigger offers in depth management over once to start acquisition. In some applications, youll need to record at a high frame rate, perform acquisition only Associate in Nursing object is detected, or once a proximity warning is issued as a trigger. In these things, youll write MATLAB code to form the logic to activate a manual trigger that may be controlled by the tool chest. Hardware triggers, that ar device-specific, allow you to synchronize your acquisition among many multimodal devices to an external signal. this allows you to record imagery together with alternative analog and digital input sources.

Animation in the 1920s :: essays research papers

Animation in the 1920’s   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the science of technology rose into entertainment, not even Hollywood could compete with the new stars of animation. The first broadcast ever was in 1928 and the technology used for the broadcasts consisted of a turntable, which was solely used to be the base for the Felix the Cat figurine and propped him up for the shoot; studio lights, which helped transmit the picture and they also needed to be constant; an actor was needed and had to be impervious to heat, cheap, and also constant. In turn, the use of a Felix figurine was perfect for the job not only because of these reasons, but also because the picture was black and white, and Felix was a black and white cat. A scanning disk was also needed since it was the part of the equipment that actually made the broadcast, so was an electric kinescope receiver and a rotoscope. A rotoscope was needed to trace images of the characters on paper frame by frame and was invented by Max Fleischer in 1915. (Felixthecat.com) In the history of animation there were many directors and famous characters. The most famous of them were those of the 1920’s. This includes Otto Messmer and his character Felix the Cat, Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, and finally Grim Natwick and his character Betty Boop.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Felix the Cat was created by Otto Messmer, but didn’t start as a cartoon like i mentioned earlier on. Felix was first a 13† paper mache figure. His first appearance was as the first broadcast ever on television. When displayed on the screen Felix the 13† figure became Felix the 2† figure. His first broadcast lasted for two hours but he went on to become the official figure used in a decade of television experiments. When Felix made the transition into a cartoon he was drawn by the famous cartoonist, Pat Sullivan. In later years to come Joe Oriolo became his drafter and after Joe came his son Don Oriolo. Felix’s cartoon was printed and enjoyed by all people in 250 different newspaper companies across the world. When Felix the cat got big in the newspapers he later went on to be produced in his own shows, and his first show ever was made in the 1919. The first show was called â€Å"Feline Follies† and lasted the time period of four minutes and ten seconds.

Doing Business in Italy Essay -- International Business

Doing business in Italy is very different than in the United States. â€Å"Set to move onto a slow, but steady, path of economic growth;† Italy, at first glance, seems to be a promising business environment with projected increases in GDP per capita in the coming years, according to Business Monitor International (â€Å"Italy Autos Report† 30). However, there are many cultural, administrative, geographic and economic differences that make the business environment much different than that in the US. Generally dominated by domestic carmakers, mainly Fiat S.p.A., the auto industry in Italy doesn’t look very appealing for new firms because of the high barriers to entry. However, foreign carmakers like Ford have managed to penetrate the Italian market, with vehicles like the Fiesta, by focusing on small fuel efficient cars. Furthermore, Italy faces many problems that makes it a less attractive place for business; such as â€Å"low business productivity, insuff icient investment in high technology industries, disadvantageous demographics, and the labour market.(â€Å"Italy Autos Report† 31)† Although the automotive market in Italy doesn’t show much room for sales growth as shown by a high car ownership per capita. In 2009, mostly due to government incentives, the auto market saw a more moderate drop in sales than in the previous year (fig. 1). According to the Business Monitor International total auto sales is forecasted to surpass 2.58 million units by 2014 (â€Å"Italy Autos Report† 27). Taking into account Ghemawat’s four dimensions of distance; culture, administrative, geographic and economic shows that while there are costs and risks associated with doing business in Italy there are also advantages. English is taught early as a secondary languag... ... both advantages and disadvantages. The current auto market, mostly dominated by domestic players due to the consumers loyalty toward domestic brands, shows very little appeal for new entrants. Some foreign carmakers, Ford for example, are showing signs of growth in this market. Ford has been able to do this by appealing to the consumers desire, for small affordable cars. Works Cited "Italy Autos Report - Q1 2010. " Italy Autos Report 1 Jan. 2010: ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry, ProQuest. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. Italy - Labor. Encyclopedia of the Nations. 28 Feb. 2014. . Potesta, Sandra. How to do Business in Italy. Feb. 2007. 28 Feb. 2014. . Welcome to Italy. 28 Feb. 2014. .

Major Market Structures Essays -- Economics

During the initial phase of starting up a business, there are many factors to weigh in. If you desire a particular kind of lifestyle, then one of the major factors to consider is what kind of market you would like to be in. There are four major market structures, perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. All of these markets have positive and negative attributes, including but not limited to, barriers to entry, how many sellers are in a particular market, and the stress of running a business while keeping a keen eye on product pricing. Many entrepreneurs may not want to agonize over anything at all, and participate in a perfect competition market where they know exactly what the prices are and what they expect to make at all times. Then there are some investors that enjoy the competition and would rather be in a monopolistic competition market. However, it’s no secret that the majority of the public, if given the absolute choice, would choos e to be in a monopoly. This kind of market of course, is very hard to acquire, so a very fine choice would be an oligopoly. Both a monopoly and an oligopoly are at the top of the list as far as profit is concerned. No matter which market one chooses to participate in, they all have similar goals, and that is to minimize costs and maximize profits. In a monopoly, there is only vendor with a product or service, meaning there are no close substitutes, so there is no competition to be concerned about and the barrier for others to enter is virtually inaccessible. One may have an exceptionally large control on the market, and can also dictate it as much as they would like, other than being limited by market demand, depending on the elasticity of one’s product... ...& 211†. Mason, OH. : CENGAGE Learning. Bade, Robin; Michael Parkin (2001). â€Å"Foundations of Microeconomics†. Boston, Massachusetts. : Addison-Wesley. Colander, David (2008). â€Å"Microeconomics, 7th Edition†. New York, NY. : McGraw-Hill Paperback. Eaton, B. Curtis; Eaton, Diane F.; and Douglas W. Allen (2002). â€Å"Microeconomics, 5th Edition†. Saddle River, NJ. : Prentice Hall. Frank, Robert A. (2006). â€Å"Microeconomics and Behavior, 6th Edition†. New York, NY : McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Mankiw, N. Gregory. (2000). â€Å"Principles of Microeconomics, 2nd Edition†. Oklahoma City, OK. : South-Western Pub. Pindyck, Robert S.; and Daniel L. Rubinfeld. (2008). â€Å"Microeconomics, 7th Edition†. Saddle River, NJ. : Prentice Hall. Ruffin, Roy J.; and Paul R. Gregory. (2000). â€Å"Principles of Microeconomics, 7th Edition†. Boston, Massachusetts. : Addison-Wesley.

Television Programme

ogrmI am someone who doesn't watch TV at all. But there is one show that I just can't afford to miss ‘the fresh prince of bel air'. This show got me hooked the first time I watched it, my brother was watching TV and I was there in the living room reading a book. I like reading a lot. I did not realize when I stopped reading and started watching the show instead. The fresh prince of bel air is an American comedy sitcom, with a big star will smith.It was originally aired in 1990s. So the main character is obviously will smith. He is the fresh prince from west Philadelphia sent by his mother to California to live with his aunty, uncle and cousins. The story is about how his life is changed and how he changes their life. This is a show from 90s but I am watching the reruns now. Can't believe I missed out on a show like this. I really think the 90s show were more entertaining than the shows we have today.I don't like reality shows because I think they are not real at all and its all scripted. I like comedy and so I like this show and the only thing I watch on TV at the moment. The best thing I like about this show is that its very well written. It sends a good message by the use of comedy. The show makes you think, makes you cry and makes you laugh a lot. what makes it even better is the acting by all the actors especially will smith and Alfonso Ribeiro. All characters are very likeable and well developed.My dilemma is I can't choose between will and Carlton, (Alfonso Ribeiro) both are equally as good. So I would say they are both my favourite characters as their humour and sarcasm is awesome. The chemistry between the two is amazing. I like how will is always cracking jokes about Carlton's height and Carlton makes fun of will's low intellect. The best thing about Carlton is the funny dance he does, nobody can do it better, it really makes me laugh a lot. Another character that I really like is Hillary ( Karyn parsons).She is as dumb as a donkey, which is what makes her really funny. She has a very bubbly personality, and is shown to be very shallow all she cares about is her appearance. Uncle Phill, aunty Vivian and Ashley are the least humorous out of them all but still are really good at their character. This is the only show that I love watching and know that I will not get tired of watching it. This is the best show ever according to me great fun and laughs for the whole family.