Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Two

I woke up with a headache even worse than the one I'd gotten shooting tequila on the night of Luisa's birth. Pain thudded to a steady drumbeat in my head, though at the same time, my senses felt foggy as a boring plaster ceiling slowly came into focus above me. Nausea welled up in my stomach, and I worried I was going to get sick. It had happened the last time I'd come crashing through the worlds. And speaking of the worlds†¦where was I? Easy enough to figure out, my groggy brain quickly realized. I'd been pulled out from the Otherworld, which meant I could either have been sent to the Underworld or the human world. The fact that I was still alive indicated I'd gone onto the latter. Why on earth would Abigail summon me to-fuck. There it was: the nausea again. I bit my lip and tried to sit up, not wanting to choke on my own vomit. Only, when I tried to rise, I didn't get very far. My hands were stretched above my head, tied to the headboard of the bed I lay on. No, not tied-cuffed. Cuffed with heavy steel, industrial-strength handcuffs. Bound or no, I did manage some semblance of sitting, just as my stomach betrayed me. A bowl got shoved under my face right at that moment, and I was grateful to spare the bedding and my clothes. I threw up twice before my benefactor gently asked, â€Å"Any more?† â€Å"I don't think so.† I squinted up and found myself looking into the face of a young girl, heavily freckled and brown-haired, with a nose a bit too small for the rest of her facial features. She was still cute enough, though, and-she was a gentry. For a moment, I wondered if I'd gotten confused about the banishment. Was I still in the Otherworld? No. This was definitely the human world. I could sense it. There was a way that magic hung in the air-or, rather, didn't hang in the air around here. The girl took the bowl away and returned with a damp cloth. She wiped my face with it and then my mouth. A moment later, she returned with a glass of water, which I drank gratefully. All of her movements were gentle and graceful. â€Å"What's your name?† I asked. â€Å"Cariena.† â€Å"That's really pretty. Where am I, Cariena?† I asked, tugging at the handcuffs. Those things weren't going to budge. The girl sat down on a chair in the corner. â€Å"In the world of the humans.† â€Å"I know that.† I tried hard not to let my tone get harsh. My leather from the fight was gone; I wore a T-shirt and underwear. â€Å"But where? What is this place?† She glanced around, as though the room might offer some secret insight. The walls were painted pale gray and matched the bedspread, a pattern of purple and grayish blue flowers. There was a small dresser in the corner, along with her chair, as well as the narrow twin bed I lay in. There wasn't a lot of space here-and no windows at all. â€Å"The Red Snake Man's house.† â€Å"The Red Snake-son of a bitch. Art.† My mind was still fuzzy, and I had a hard time grasping all the details of what had happened. I remembered bits and pieces of the fight. I remembered chasing the soldier and then Abigail banishing me†¦ But it was all still disjointed, and I had no recollection of how I'd gotten here. It was possible that was simply from the trauma of tearing through the worlds. Someone could have smacked me upside the head too, but the pain throbbing in my skull wasn't that type. As I'd noted earlier, it was more like the hangover type. Only worse. â€Å"Where is he now?† I asked. Cariena shook her head. â€Å"I don't know. He doesn't explain his activities to us.† â€Å"Us? Are there†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Again, my addled brain tried to remember what I already knew. Why couldn't I line up my thoughts? It was like I had both the buzz and the hangover from drinking, all wrapped up into one. Us. Art. Red Snake Man. â€Å"Are there†¦others like you here? Other girls?† She nodded. â€Å"How many?† â€Å"Five-no, four. They took Fara yesterday. Isanna's next.† â€Å"They who?† â€Å"One of the men. They come sometimes. They look at us. Sometimes they just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She looked away, unwilling to meet my eyes. â€Å"Sometimes they just†¦visit. But sometimes they make a deal with the Red Snake Man to take one of us.† â€Å"Art,† I murmured. â€Å"His name is Art. Red Snake Man seems to give him some semblance of respect.† I started to rub my eyes and then realized I couldn't with the cuffs. â€Å"Are the other girls chained up too?† â€Å"Only the ones who resist.† â€Å"Well, yeah, I guess that would include me. I take it you're not one?† â€Å"Not anymore.† â€Å"Why don't you leave? You must have some magic†¦even a little.† Cariena held up her hands. She didn't have handcuffs like me, but snug iron bracelets hugged each wrist, each with a tiny lock. The skin was red and swollen where the iron touched. â€Å"Jesus†¦so you're blocked from your magic. But, I mean, can't you just walk out the door?† â€Å"There's iron†¦iron everywhere. The windows, the doors. They're all bound with iron and spells. And locks. Besides†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her blue eyes widened slightly. â€Å"I don't know where I would go†¦not in this world†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Home,† I said fiercely. â€Å"You'll go home. I'll take you there.† She shook her head, face sad. â€Å"There's no escape from here. Not even for you.† I eyed her curiously. â€Å"Do you know who I am?† â€Å"You are the Thorn Queen. Storm King's daughter. You are my sovereign.† She gave a deferential nod of respect. â€Å"And I know you are a great warrior and magic user. But if the Red Snake Man caught even you, then there's no hope for any of us. Moria tried to escape, and she died out there.† â€Å"Moria did escape. She didn't die, and-† I stopped. Why was my brain such mush? Why was I thinking so slowly? A great warrior and magic user. I didn't need my hands to get out of here. I had my magic. The iron and steel that stunted Cariena's magic had hardly any effect on me, and I would have had enough time by now to rebuild my stores of power. I reached into myself and then to the world around, seeking water and air, though not certain what I'd do with them. Blow the headboard apart? Oxidize the handcuffs? The decision turned out not to matter. Nothing happened. I felt nothing. I felt†¦well, human. I felt as I had for years, long before I'd had any clue I could touch any sort of Otherworldly magic. I was cut off. My mind touched only empty space. â€Å"What's wrong with me?† I asked, true panic starting to unravel in me. â€Å"My magic's gone. The steel shouldn't affect me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's not the steel,† a voice suddenly said. â€Å"It's the nightshade. And I think you're overdue.† Art strolled into the room, looking as dashing as ever with his tanned skin and movie-star smile. I had nothing but contempt for him and instinctually tried to break the cuffs. Nightshade†¦nightshade. Where had I heard that before? Rurik, I realized. He'd advised something called a tincture of nightshade to completely cut off Jasmine from her magic. Was that what I'd been given? He'd said it was the most effective†¦but that it made those with human blood feel dazed and sick. All of a sudden, I knew this fuzzy hangover feeling didn't have anything to do with me being banished. There was no real purpose in discussing nightshade with Art, so I got right to the point. â€Å"I'm going to kill you.† Art laughed that hearty, deep laugh I'd once found endearing. â€Å"Forgive me if I'm not scared.† He turned to Cariena. â€Å"Go get some more nightshade for Eugenie. And make sure Isanna is dressed and ready to go when Abigail returns.† Cariena was practically out of the room before he finished speaking. â€Å"I can't believe it,† I said. â€Å"It's really true. When I first started putting together this fairy sex-trade theory, I thought it was as crazy as Roland thought it was. But it's really true. Where's this Isanna going? Is Abigail taking her to her new owner?† He leaned back and crossed his legs. â€Å"I suppose you could say that. I like to think of it as her new loving home. The man who bought her is very eager to welcome her.† â€Å"You're a fucking bastard,† I growled. â€Å"Selling them like they're property.† â€Å"Might as well be. And if it makes you feel better, I don't sell all of them. Cariena there†¦hmm, well, she's not pretty enough to get a good price. Easier to keep her around for house calls.† â€Å"House calls.† I started to feel sick again, and it had nothing to do with the nightshade. â€Å"Basically, you're whoring her out. You sell sex slaves and run a brothel-and yet, all the while, you play hero shaman like you're doing the world a good deed. Roland couldn't say enough nice things about you.† Art straightened up, feet hitting the floor as a flash of anger shone in his eyes. â€Å"I am doing the world a good deed-this world. Those girls? They're nothing. They aren't human. And you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"You're one to talk about image. You play hero shaman too, when in reality you're off commanding gentry armies. Does Roland know? Does he know what you really are? I'm sure he has to know you're a half-breed mongrel, but does he really know the extent of it?† White-hot rage burned within the drug-induced haze of my mind. â€Å"I think you forgot the part where I'm going to kill you.† â€Å"And you forgot the part where I said I'm not worried.† Cariena returned holding a coffee mug. I eyed it warily. â€Å"What are you going to do with me?† I demanded. â€Å"You would have killed me already if you could, yet you probably aren't going to let me go now that I know your dirty secret. Are you going to sell me off too? Keep me for yourself since you don't like gentry?† Art shook his head and approached my bed. â€Å"Eugenie, you couldn't pay me enough to keep you around. I'd take one of these idiot girls any day. Turn on the microwave, and they're so scared that they'll stay docile for weeks.† He gestured Cariena to his side and reached down to hold my head in place. I realized what he was going to do and began thrashing. With one hand he tried to keep me still, and with the other he partially held my mouth open. â€Å"Do it,† he said. Obediently, Cariena poured the liquid from the mug into my half-open mouth. As she did, she mouthed, I'm sorry. The stuff tasted horrible, and I gagged on it. I tried to spit it out, but Art promptly covered my mouth until I had to swallow. That bitterness flowed down my throat, and I could feel a new wave of numbness start to sweep over me. â€Å"Yes,† said Art, almost cheerfully. â€Å"You're trouble. I don't want you. I don't know any human who would. But fortunately, we got an offer from someone who isn't.† I think he was smiling that stupid smile again, but I could never say for sure. The force of the nightshade flooded through me, pulling me into fuzziness, then darkness, and then sleep. I immediately noticed two things when I came to later. One was that Art was still in the room, though I think he'd just returned and hadn't been watching me sleep. The other thing I noticed was that I was uncuffed. I didn't waste any time. I promptly leapt out of the bed and charged him. Unfortunately, I didn't really make it off the bed so well. The nightshade was chugging along in my system, and my limbs barely had the energy to stay upright. I fell off the bed and collapsed into an ungraceful pile on the floor. Cariena was there too, holding a bundle of clothing, and started to come help me. Art shook his head, and she froze. â€Å"Looks like you won't be killing me today,† he said. â€Å"You fucking bastard,† I said, tossing one arm on the bed and attempting to pull myself up. â€Å"How long was I out?† â€Å"Oh, an hour or so. That's usually the worst part of it for humans. Now that you're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Cariena's going to help you look respectable.† I glared at him. I didn't know who'd stripped me down to this T-shirt and underwear, but if it had been him, he'd die extra slow. The scathing look he gave me suggested, however, that he found as little pleasure in me as I did in him. â€Å"You can't keep me here,† I warned, managing at last to sit back on the bed. â€Å"Someone's going to come looking for me.† â€Å"Who?† he asked. â€Å"You were the idiot who wandered off from your people. None of them saw you taken. None of them saw me or any of my companions-well, except for your two meager guards, and they won't say anything to anyone ever again.† With a sinking feeling, I knew he was right. Nobody knew what had happened to me. I'd mentioned the Yellow River theory off and on to a few of my friends, but none of them had any reason to suspect that was connected to my post-battle disappearance. If anything, they'd probably think there'd been another demon on the loose. â€Å"Who the hell were your companions anyway?† I demanded, recalling the trained fighters. â€Å"Did you hire a mercenary army or something?† Art only smiled. â€Å"Cariena, get her dressed.† To me, he said, â€Å"Cooperate, or she'll be the one who suffers for your disobedience.† He left, shutting the door behind him. I heard the snick of a lock. Across the room, Cariena watched me with big, terrified eyes. She feared both me and Art. I sighed. â€Å"It's okay. I'll get dressed. I don't want to run around in my underwear anyway.† Visibly relieved, she stepped forward and unfurled what she held: a dress. A gentry-style dress. â€Å"You have got to be kidding me,† I said. â€Å"Isn't there something else?† Cariena cringed. â€Å"It's all he gave me.† I eyed the bedspread, almost wondering if I could go all Scarlett O'Hara and make something for myself. Then, seeing Cariena's pale face, I yielded again. I wouldn't let Art beat her or give her to some guy because of me. I took the dress from her but discovered I couldn't put it on without help, not with my weak muscles and groggy motor control. Being in that state infuriated me. I hated being helpless. More upsetting still was that I was essentially free, unbound and able to move about†¦but I had no means to fight or defend myself. I could barely even stand. I was a prisoner in my own body. The dress was a mix of lavender and pale blue. I guess you'd call it periwinkle, which I'd always thought was a dorky name. It was made of smooth, clingy velvet that hugged my body and laced up the back corset-style. The sleeves were long and form-fitting, and the scoop neckline was much lower than my usual style. I'd only wear something that showed that much cleavage if I was going on a date with Kiyo-or trying to coax a favor from Dorian. Kiyo and Dorian. It sounded pathetic and all damsel-in-distress, but I would have given anything to have them here right now. Cariena clasped her hands and studied me almost adoringly. â€Å"You look beautiful, your majesty. I see now why you have so many suitors back in our world.† Our world. â€Å"Well, I don't think my beauty plays quite as much a role as you think.† She produced a brush and undid the knotted ponytail in my hair. â€Å"I don't know if I want to be beautiful or not. I used to think I did. But since I'm not, no one will take me from here.† She sounded grateful. â€Å"You are beautiful,† I said sharply, angry at what Art had said. â€Å"And someone is going to take you from here-me.† Cariena gave me a small, sad smile, but for the first time, I thought there might be something like hope in her eyes. A knock at the door startled her back into timid mode as she leapt up from where she'd sat beside me. â€Å"Oh! He's here.† â€Å"Who?† I asked. Surely Art wouldn't have knocked. The lock clicked, and the door opened. Leith walked in. â€Å"Leith!† I exclaimed. He looked as I'd seen him before, clad in a red and white silk shirt, dark hair glossy and swept from his face in a ponytail. I wanted to jump up but knew I'd fall to the floor again. â€Å"Thank God.† Someone did know I was here. I wasn't lost forever. I wanted to tell Cariena we were on the verge of freedom, but she was already scurrying out of the room and hastily shutting the door. â€Å"Eugenie,† breathed Leith, striding toward me. He knelt on the ground and caught hold of my hands where I sat. â€Å"You are stunning†¦as beautiful as I remember. No, more so. You can't imagine how I've missed you.† A chill crept along my spine. Something was very, very wrong here. â€Å"Leith†¦we have to get out of here. You have to help me-and these girls. There are horrible things going on here.† â€Å"We can leave,† he said. â€Å"But not quite yet. Not until everything's settled.† I tested his hand to see if I could free mine. I couldn't. â€Å"Until what's settled?† â€Å"Until then,† he continued, as though I hadn't spoken, â€Å"you'll have to stay here where no one can find you. But I promise I'll visit you every day.† â€Å"I can't stay here! I have to get back to†¦anywhere that's not here. Tucson. The Thorn Land. Anywhere! Leith, what the hell is going on? Why are you here?† â€Å"Because you are. Because Art got you for me.† That chill down my spine spread to the rest of my body until I felt cold all over. I tried jerking my hand away again but didn't possess the strength. â€Å"How do you know Art? Oh God. Please tell me you aren't working with him.† He shrugged. â€Å"It's a mutually beneficial relationship. I help him collect girls in our-in the Otherworld.† â€Å"Girls from my kingdom,† I said, the realization coming suddenly. â€Å"That's why none of yours were ever taken.† Leith had the grace to look sheepish. â€Å"I don't take important ones, Eugenie. Just peasants. No one notices they're missing.† â€Å"Their parents do.† â€Å"Look, it doesn't matter. My soldiers help round them up, and I bring them to Art and Abigail to do what it is they do.† My soldiers. The soldiers who always wore red, just like Leith did now. Normally, red shirts made me think of Star Trek extras, but in this case, it was in tribute to the Rowan Land's flag and emblem. The soldiers Jasmine and others had seen weren't Aeson's deserters. They'd been sent by Leith to help Art and Abigail with their abductions. â€Å"They sell them, Leith! How can you stand by and enable that? They sell those girls to horny guys against their will. What can you possibly get out of it to justify having that on your conscience?† â€Å"This.† He gestured around. â€Å"Art and Abigail share things with me†¦their knowledge from this world. I take it back to mine.† I stared in disbelief. â€Å"And then you pass it off as your own. That's why everyone thinks you're such a technological genius. Did you really devise those irrigation plans for me yourself?† â€Å"No,† he admitted. â€Å"I had help. But does it really matter? Look, you don't know what it's like. You're strong. Your magic grows more powerful every day. But me? I'm a joke. I can't inherit. Proving myself with my ‘genius' was the only way to get any respect†¦and even that wouldn't be good enough to let me inherit. Until I met you.† â€Å"Leith-â€Å" â€Å"I know what you said, but my feelings haven't changed. I love you. And I know if you just spend a little more time with me, you'll love me too. We connect. There's something between us. It's more than just about power.† I leaned back. It was the only way I could put distance between us. â€Å"I'm not so sure about that. You think I'm your meal ticket to holding on to the Rowan Land.† â€Å"Not just that land, but all the lands! This world too. Eugenie, when you bear my son, you'll see that I'm right.† There was a zealous glow in his eyes, and I couldn't decide if he was crazy or just really, really believed these things would be true if he said them. Maybe there wasn't a difference. â€Å"I can make you happy-and I know you can make me happy. You're so beautiful†¦.† He moved up to sit beside me on the bed and ran one hand along my velvet-covered leg. â€Å"Leith†¦don't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I just need to get you pregnant,† he said earnestly. â€Å"Don't you understand? If I bring you back to our world carrying my child, everything will be solved. Art told me†¦he told me how you stop yourself from conceiving. How you take some potion every day.† His hand moved up to my hip while his other touched my face and stroked my hair. I tried to back away, but his grip was too strong in my addled state. â€Å"He said if you're away from it long enough that you'll be able to have a baby†¦.† I swallowed. My heart was threatening to pound out of my chest. â€Å"No†¦it won't work. You can't get me pregnant-because I already am.† His caresses froze. â€Å"What?† â€Å"You were right before about me being involved with Dorian. Kiyo was a cover. He's not worthy-he's no one I'd want to father my child. Dorian and I have been lovers for a long time now in secret. We were afraid of what his enemies would do if they found out. I've been pregnant for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What wouldn't show? â€Å"†¦two months. It's too late for you, Leith.† He had gone perfectly still, save for his eyes, which were searching my face thoroughly. â€Å"I don't believe you. You're lying. Everyone knows how you bicker with the Oak King. You aren't lovers.† â€Å"We are. He'll kill you when he finds out.† Leith shook his head and slid his hand from my hip to my stomach. â€Å"There's nothing here. Not yet.† Panic flooded me, and for a moment I couldn't breathe. Every other time I'd come close to being raped flashed through my mind-and there had been far more of those times than I would have liked. And every time, I had escaped the situation. Yet that never made the next time any less terrifying. This was no exception. â€Å"Leith, please don't do this.† His hand moved fumblingly to my breast, and then he pushed me back against the bed. â€Å"It's okay,† he said, speaking as one would to a child. â€Å"It'll be okay. You'll like it. I promise.† â€Å"Don't do this!† His mouth was on my neck, and lovesick boy or no, there was definitely a man's sexual need there. I struggled against him, trying desperately to free myself, but I might as well have truly been a child. With that fucking drug in me, both my body and brain were a mess. My body had none of its ability to fight him or stop him from pushing up my skirt. My brain had no clever ways to talk him out of this. And as he took off his own clothes and laid his body on top of mine, pressing me down, I realized he needed no handcuffs to keep me subdued. The strength of his hands pinning my wrists was more than enough.

Narrative on a Special Place Essay

My love for Africa Hello everyone my name is Tulsi Amin and I attend South University at the West Palm Beach Campus in Florida. I have been to many different places in my life and in fact I have stayed in three different continents as of now. I was born in India moved to Kenya when I was two and final destination is America since the age of 10. Africa is where I consider my childhood where I learned to play with butterflies saw talking parrots and was visited by wild monkeys frequently in my courtyard. With my experiences with people in the Western world and their depiction of Africa being like the â€Å"Jungle Book† I wish I can take them all there to see the reality of this beautiful continent. I lived in Nairobi, Kenya the capital city of that country. There are no lions, tigers or giraffes on the street as I have heard many people ask me. We do have high rise buildings, malls, public transportation and homes built out of brick. Although I lived there from the age of two to eight I remember many things that are very special to me today. I remember having an aunt that lived in a town called Thompson Falls that was on the Equator and the weather was always perfect there. I used to go there many summers and go down waterfalls and see huge hippos basting in the river. I met the local tribes that are called Masais and learned to make tribal necklaces out of gemstones. Africa is a country that is full of culture and having been lived there has made me appreciate many things in life that are scarce resources that we take for granted elsewhere. When I moved to America in 1993 and started school in New Jersey I was so excited when I saw a few black students in my class. I went up to them and started speaking in Swahili and they looked at me and replied â€Å"I am sorry we are not Indian† So I told them no this is your language. All the students looked at me and said our language is English. That’s when I learned that African Americans do not speak Swahili the native language of Kenya. As I learned more about history and slavery and saw how many African Americans lost their roots to their homeland it was a rude awakening for me. I am glad that this is a rich part of my life and will always be a special place for me. Although many people got a colorful depiction of Africa and the safaris through Disney’s Lion King the real safari is even more exciting to see. I do remember traveling to other smaller towns that were on the outskirts on our way we would zebras grazing in this vast open green land. Many times we have seen giraffes, antelopes and elephants just enjoying their natural habitat. These memories and sightings are something that I will never forget. I love that country and am delighted that it is part of my life. I will love sharing these memories with my children and hoping to take them one day to see Kenya, Africa. Over the years I thought how I may make people appreciate other countries and their culture. America is known as the â€Å"melting pot† where many different cultures come to make a living yet are we so ignorant to learn about all these cultures. As a child when I attended school I was taught about all major religions and how to respect others and their beliefs. As they say education and manners are taught young and school is where this appreciation for other cultures should be taught. Modern day education needs to implement the positive aspects of the other countries such as teaching students about their culture, economy, what these countries are famous for. I learned about slavery which is a big part of part history but now it is time to teach and appreciate where the slaves came from. They left their roots so far behind that many of them do not know where they came from in Africa. We live in a modern day world where everyone around us comes from different backgrounds, values and beliefs. We all have special meaning for the places where we come from and I think we deserve for others to respect these places. There are problems everywhere but despite them when they place is special to any one of us we tend to overlook the problems. We need to have an open mind and room to explore and learn about other countries and cultures.

Drama coursework Essay

The two pieces I have chosen to compare are; ‘Twelfth Night’, written by Shakespeare and another piece ‘Complications’, devised by my group about confusion. I recognise that ‘Twelfth Night’ being such an old play has been presented and performed in various ways and I am focusing on just one film and play therefore some of the information may be irrelevant to some particular portrayals of the play. The pieces show similar story lines however being set in to very different eras they also show some vast differences. Our modern version of the piece was set in the 21st century; and ‘Twelfth Night’ was set in the 16th century (Shakespearean times). This already implies that both plays will show very different views and perceptions to the characters, their personalities and approaches, also they may show different reactions to situations. Both pieces are about two siblings and confusion of them and who they are. In ‘Twelfth Night’ both characters knew of their existence however at that time did not recognise each other and did not know who they were, however in our piece both characters although knowing each other did not know of their relationship with one another (being twins). ‘Twelfth Night’ forced the ‘sister’, Viola to dress up as a man in order to get a job to seek her brother however, in the modern version, sexism is not an issue now as they are both girls and they are both accepted for their diverse characters. Nowadays parents in a relationship both parents are often of the same status and importance, for example: job recognition, how they are treated by society; something that was not common in the past. In focus of culture, ‘Twelfth Night’ portrays Viola and Sebastian of having alike behaviour, this could be due to the fact that they were brought up together in the same circumstances however the behaviour of the two sisters in our play are completely opposite. One character is quiet and does not argue back whereas the other sister argues and is very feisty. The characters in our play ‘confusion’ are also brought up with different types of parents; one set of parents quiet and calm towards each other, the other a single mother in a ‘high flying’ job. This contrasts with ‘Twelfth Night’ as there women could not get a job and this mother has a great busy job, continuously dressed in suits. Even now; business people are still stereotypically thought of as being men however it has evolved considerably in the last 20 years. In our play there is the role of ‘the other women’ whom the father went off with when the original mother and father split up. This would be frowned upon in the 16th century as they are expected to put up with any grief or misery they encounter, not saying that all of them were unhappy; however now in the 21st century it is seen as acceptable and people believe that nobody should be treated differently and have more priority in a relationship and it is about both people regardless of their sex. People in the 16th century were expected to live with their husbands and act under and listen to whatever they said however now times have developed and changed considerably; women are much more independent; even though most society portrays a certain perspective there are always the odd character, in ‘Twelfth Night’ Olivia shows great independence and has the confidence to live her life alone however as society views women differently and inferior she felt the need to dress up as a man in order to get a job; and in ‘complications’ the ‘other woman’ shown is not as independent as the original mother. ‘Twelfth Night’ is a comedy, some characters more comical than others as with any drama; however our play ‘Complications’ although some comical events occur the drama is more of a serious nature, it was a play that showed the change of two young girls; when they found out that their parents had lied to them and there was more to them than what they were presented, for example the existence of their other twin and mother and father. In the plays there were some unrealistic scenarios given for example; if you saw your sister that you had spent your whole childhood with, dressed up as a boy you would be able to tell; as in ‘Twelfth Night’ and it is not very likely that your divorced parents would meet up and the father would not notice the same house when approaching it. Although not always realistic both story lines are effective and do have other meanings throughout them and still keep us gripped to the situation happening. Costumes in both plays are not similar but do reflect the times they were devised in. ‘Twelfth Night’ has costumes such as tights and long socks for men, something that you would not see in modern times and tight dresses for the women, finished with a big hairstyle and occasionally a hat; although this is seen now the dresses would not curve in as much at the waist nowadays. Mostly the people are dressed similarly to their stereotypical characters, following traditions of men in shirts and trousers, the butlers dressed in suits; similarly to modern times; maids dressed in petticoats, hair in a bun, and slightly ‘tatty’ clothing. In ‘Complications’ the children both dress according to their personal interests; this meaning one dressing in black, ‘punk’ clothing, the other in simple clothing without a particular ‘statement’ which is common in modern children. The mother; a high flying business woman, clothed in posh suits and her mobile phone an accessory to her outfit; the other mother and father mostly stick to jeans and smart clothing as well. That is another difference; in the 16th century a women would not be seen in trousers, a very common item of clothing nowadays. It is seen that the clothing worn by the characters also reflect their statuses and personalities. The themes in both plays are that two siblings are split up and at the end unite together; this is identical in both pieces. They also both use butlers of similar characteristics, although the sister whom the butler works for in ‘Complications’ is rather unpleasant to the butler, the well behaved, polite twin sister is very kind to him; similar to in ‘Twelfth Night’ in which Olivia and her butler get along however many of the other characters have a problem with him. In conclusion one could say that both drama performances have similarities and differences but it is what makes them both individual pieces, they also show different aspects of life and show different events very effectively. For example; ‘Twelfth Night’ shows many comical events as when Malvolio gets taken into a mental institute after being tricked by the other characters, and in ‘Complications’ when the twin living with the ‘step-mother’ confronts her, it is a very emotional scene but it is one that could happen in real life.

Federal courts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Federal courts - Assignment Example Sole proprietorships in business have unlimited liability, which means that their owners are normally held responsible personally for the business’ obligations and debts (Dine & Koutsias, 2012). Thus, lenders may seize the personal assets of the owner in order to effect payment for the debts and obligations. The website and the advertisement resulted in an express warranty, indicating that all expenses would include a queen sized bed, three daily meals, and all expenses. The contract was entered into on the basis of mistaken material fact that the hotel was aware of being untrue. Finally, written disclaimers under the UCC require all disclaimers to be displayed conspicuously for them to be held as valid (Dine & Koutsias, 2012). The common law deals with employment contracts, intangible assets, insurance, service, and real estate. On the other hand, UCC deals with transactions involving the sale of goods, contracts, leases, and borrowing money. UCC mainly covers commercial tran sactions carried out between the states in the US and US territories. The court is most likely to apply UCC because offers made by companies cannot be revoked if in writing, especially when common law disallows option contract revocation (Dine & Koutsias, 2012). In addition, whereas contracts under UCC can be modified in the absence of any more consideration, under common law, contracts are only modified with additional consideration. Negligence refers to harm caused to other parties by failing to utilize reasonable care.

Birkman Team Strengths Reflection Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Birkman Team Strengths Reflection - Case Study Example This report is prepared with the aim of evaluating the strengths, diversity, motivation factors and effectiveness of a team from the point of view of organizational behavior through the use of the Birkman Assessment framework. Teams are essential components of any organization. The functioning of individual teams in a company adds up to form the total capability of an organization in terms of performance, efficiency and effectiveness. It is essential to capitalize on the diversity, personality and strengths of the teams within a company to ensure that the company is able to attain the maximum possible performance targets. Developing an understanding of the present situations and dynamics of the teams operating within a company can be greatly advantageous for the overall organizational setting and culture and fro developing future organization behavior strategies and solutions within a business. A team consisting of four to six members is selected and analyzed through the use of the organizational focus based on color bars and the interest based grid coordinates developed by the Birkman international Inc. This analysis encompasses an identification and evaluation of the motivations, strengths, weaknesses, diversity as well as the areas of interest and lack within the team. This helps to gauge the effectiveness and capacity of the team to perform in a value adding manner as well as add to the overall capabilities and performance levels of the organization (Gundry, Kickul and Prather, 2004, p.44). An understanding and insight into the different types of factors that directly or indirectly impact the behavior and capability of a team helps a company to promote innovation, foster creativity, improve the organizational performance levels and take suitable business and corporate decisions (Thompson, 2003, pp.96-109). The Birkman’s lifestyle grid of

The Problem of Evil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Problem of Evil - Essay Example There are people with numerous doubts, but others hold on to their faith in God. The paper establishes a discussion of the topic though a description, analysis and evaluation of arguments by various philosophers, and it will also establish the stance of the paper concerning the topic. Emmanuel Levinas is one of the philosophers who asserts that evil influences people into doing the wrong things; thus, he seeks to develop a discussion that accounts for evil. In fact, his argument is based on the role of rationality through the propagation of evil, which seems to be underestimated (Katz, 2005). Moreover, he argues that evil is infused in everyday transformation of temptations that are forbidden concerning impulse of good. Furthermore, his approach to the problem of evil is based on the discount of the conventional perception of theodicy that is considered a justification or rationalization of evil along with suffering inflicted on people. The other philosopher is Morilyn McCord Adams w ith an argument that the problem of evil relates to problem of reconciling existence of horrendous evils with God’s existence, which is suitable for people. In fact, Adams offers proposals as solutions of the problems, whereby she appeals to various forms of intimacy with God. Furthermore, this intimacy is focused on participants of horrendous evils (Earl, 2011). ... However, Kant fails to clarify the propensity of evil; thus, there is need to focus on interpretation of the propensity of evil and association with claims of evil of humanity (Duncan, 2011). Nevertheless, there are features that distinguish interpretation of the issue, whereby there are commentators who have ignorance of the issue. Moreover, there is serious analogy drawn by Kant concerning the propensity of evil and addiction. In this case, Kant has plausible argument regarding the assertion of human race, and it is reasonable. 2. Description and analysis of philosophers' views Levinas's views offer a chance of creating a perception of evil in a different light, whereby he considers evil as a disregard of acts and not a destruction of life, and he considered the source of evil to be inability of attuning to other. In fact, this form of evil offers a capacity of detachment from humanity, whereby people fail to see their responsibility. Therefore, this leads to an assertion that ther e is a precondition of other forms of evil. On the other hand, Levinas raises claims that indicate that evil makes people stand suffering, whereby one may seek to invert the relationship between suffering and evil. Furthermore, he poses a rejection of the conception of suffering, whereby he considers suffering to be a substantial component of the meaning of human life. Adams focuses on worry associated with respect to horrendous evil concerning the way God would defeat horrendous evil, which is in the context of participant’s lifetime. In fact, she argues that God would be supporting good people suffering from horrendous evil, thereby allowing their lives to subdue to evil (Swinburne, 2012). Therefore, her

News Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

News Assignment - Essay Example highlight his innovative leadership traits, paving the way to his appointment to the rank of the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (Beltran, 2009). Story on the appointment of Charles Beck can not be completed without conducting an interview with the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, who made the selection of Beck very judiciously. He will be inquired on his selection parameters while consulting various stakeholders of the Los Angeles society, including business, religious and community leaders who offered the Mayor their recommendations to select Beck as the next Police Chief, as the various communities in LA expected in their next Chief of Police. His discussion with high profile dignitaries will form part of the interview for the critical inputs given by them to justify the name of Beck to the highest post of LA Police Department (Beltran, 2009). Reading the message of Beck about three years later on the overall situation of LA, one feels satisfied that the Mayor has selected a right person to the highest post of the Police Department (Beck, 2012). Ewton, Z. (2007, Apr 14). How to write a news lead: craft a lead that will hook readers and wont let go. Yahoo! Contributor Network. Retrieved from

Accounting Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accounting Question - Essay Example In addition, it is essential in the recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets in relation to future tax consequences. On the contrary, the latter’s objective is to give the financial information which is very useful to the potential investors and creditors in making decisions about investing or providing resources to that particular organization (Kieso, 2013). For this reason, financial reports are meant for the public consumption because they show what the company can offer should they wish to make investments with them. Qn. 2. The Health of Ontario Pension Plan is of the view that pension plans are very useful because they encourage most employees to save and be certain about the future. In this context, defined-contribution and defined-benefit types of pension plans will form a major part of the discussion. Defined-benefit plan is where factors like salary, period of employment and personal history determine the benefits an employee gets. On the contrary, defined-contribution plan is where a company specifies a certain percentage of money each year that is of benefit to the employee. Defined-benefit plan’s advantages; it offers income security to the employee, shields employees from uncertainties in investment risks, allows employees to estimate their future pensions among others. However, its main disadvantages are it offers inaccuracy in the estimates, difficult in summing up all the assumptions under the DB plan, and lastly it has got many issues revolving around the off-balance sheet pe nsion accounting. The defined-contribution pension plan is important because employers are relieved from paying tax, contributions made by employees are transferred to the next of kin should the die before getting a share and contributions are voluntary. Its disadvantages are it only offers security on savings while ignoring the income, it leaves members liable to the investment risk, and members cannot estimate their total contributions and

An Energy Management or Efficiency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Energy Management or Efficiency - Essay Example In today’s world, thanks to the great technological strides; wind turbines have been developed to wring electricity from the breeze. Thus as more and more people resort to wind energy over the past decade: wind turbine use has increased at more than twenty five percent a year-though only still proving a fraction of the world’s energy. Undoubtedly, most wind energy comes from turbines that can be as tall as a twenty story building and have three 200- foot- long (60-meter-long) blades. These contraptions look like giant airplane propellers on a massive stick. The wind spins the blades, which turns a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity. Other turbines work on the same principle, but the turbine rests on a vertical axis (Burton, 2011, 57). Interestingly, the biggest wind turbines generate enough electricity to supply about 600 United States homes. Furthermore wind farms can contain tens and sometimes hundreds of these turbines lined up together in particular windy spots, for example along a ridge where the wind is blowing strong. However smaller turbines erected in a back-yard can produce electricity enough to power a single home or meet power needs of a small business. Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution. Interestingly since the wind is free, there are minimal if not, nearly zero operational costs once a turbine is erected. Mass production coupled with technology advances are making turbines cheaper, and many governments are offering tax incentives to spur wind-energy development. Even so, not all people look at wind energy favorably. Some think that the turbines look ugly and complain about the noise generated by the machine. The slowly rotating blades can also kill birds and bats. But this cannot be compared to road carnage, destruction by power lines, and high-rise buildings. The wind is also variable in

Measuring student attitudes ....ect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Measuring student attitudes ....ect - Essay Example However, it is more efficient for instructors to have a clear idea about students’ backgrounds, conceptions, misconceptions and attitudes toward Statistics. Another issue is that some students come from different colleges and they do not have enough knowledge about statistics. Measuring student attitudes towards introductory statistics course for non- specialist gives us a good idea about how we can develop their statistical conception and achievement. A lot of studies exploring and investigating the relationship between attitudes toward statistics and achievements have been carried out and some of them involve Wise (1985), Katz &Tomazic (1988), Toto (1992). However, there has not been enough research to address the issue of conception and misconceptions in statistics (Garfield &Alhgren, 1988; Mevarech, 1988; Lasser, 1994; Barkley, 1995). For instance, Barkley (1995) points that understanding and correcting students’ misconceptions in statistics, would help statistics’ instructors to decide the best corrective activity to eliminate misconceptions. Apart from the studies that have been carried related to the research area, there has not been enough research to address the issue of conception and misconceptions in statistics (Garfield &Alhgren, 1988; Mevarech, 1988; Lasser, 1994; Barkley, 1995). Also, there is lack of research about measuring student attitudes, conceptions and achievements towards statistic course for non statistician students in Saudi Arabia. The researcher will use the questionnaire as the first method to collect data from non-specialist students who have studied the introductory undergraduate statistics course in different colleges of the universities. The second method interview, will be used to gather data from the teachers who teach introductory undergraduate statistics course in these colleges. This study will be carried in the northern

Political Trials And What Can They Tell Us About The Relationship Essay

Political Trials And What Can They Tell Us About The Relationship Between Law And Politics - Essay Example Sometimes, there are no political officials used in these trials. In such cases, the fact that these trials address political agendas becomes the differentiating factor (Aegis 2009, p.57). Political trials either fall in any of the four categories. This paper addresses the description of the four categories. Most of these trials fall in the partisan trial category. The partisan category is the most common of the four. The law defines the partisan trial as a trial in which criminal legal proceedings get sanctioned by a government in power with the hope of crushing any arising opposition. This helps to reinforce and consolidate this government’s power (Aristotle 2006, p.177). The officials chosen to try these cases are normally affiliates of the government. In addition, they tend to share the same ideologies with the government in question. Therefore, from these two characteristics defining these trials, it becomes rather obvious that political trials are unjust, discriminatory and biased (Stephen 2008, p. 176). Political trials are also common in totalitarian forms of governments, ruled by leaders who are dictators. These forms of government require docility from its subjects and unquestionable co-operation for it to function. Therefore, any form of disobedience noted among the subjects; be it passive or active, leads to setting up of courts by the government comprising of political officials. The government always emerges victorious in these trials because of the biased nature of the legal proceedings (Perry 1990, p.190). Karl Marx, a prominent, sociologist advances in his conflict theory that conflict results from the ruling class’ need to hold on to their power and rule over their subordinates (Christenson 1999, p.69). Marx’s theory helps to explain why a government in power sets up biased, criminal legal proceedings in the attempt to squash opposition from the subordinates. These trials instill fear through the consequences that result f rom the political officials’ ruling. A historical perspective provides examples of partisan trials. Adolf Hitler, Mussolini and Joseph Stalin among other dictators sanctioned many partisan trials during their reign. They used them to control their subjects (Grigsby 2011, p.77). Those found guilty received harsh, inhumane treatment. They served as examples to other subjects who wanted to oppose the existing government. Prosecution of religious and political rebels driven by their conscience and moral obligations to the cause they fight for and believe in; is another political trial. Unlike partisan trials, these trials’ main characteristic includes the trying of defendants with impartial court officials. These trails are also acutely sensitive and can either reflect negatively or positively on the government (Laughland 2008, p.256). For example, if the government publicizes the court proceedings, these rebels are likely to challenge the legitimacy of the laws they the g overnment is accusing them of breaking, therefore, attracting a public spectacle. On the other hand, the government cannot look the other way and avoid dealing with the unlawful rebels. This is because the government’s subjects will perceive it as weak and incapable of proper leadership. Therefore, the government understands that the rebels driving force lies in their beliefs. It also considers the fact that they have many supporters making them hugely influential. Therefore, they pose a significant risk to the governments. Thus, the use of impartial court officials proves to be the best strategy the government can use. This is because it prevents future, negative public opinion which might work against

Children literacy Essay Example for Free

Children literacy Essay The purpose of this story is to improve children literacy. This story helps children to learn different animal names and different things. User can listen and read to story as well. Audience: The audience of this story are children age 4 7 and this story will help them to learn names of different things and animals and will improve their grammar. I found that by reading the story and it also has been mentioned on the website. The purpose of final product is to provide entertainment so I will need to include this feature however I will make sure that the text on my animation is appropriate and simple so that the audience can understand it easily. Techniques used: This animation has used a number of techniques to make it professional and attractive which eventually makes it successful. The animation has used buttons to navigate from scene to other by clicking the story bear or next. Users can start the story again if by clicking back to the start. This buttons are very useful as it allows the user to skip the scene or start the story again if they have missed any scene. I will also make that I use buttons on my animation so that user have some flexibility and can navigate easily. These features will make my animation professional and suitable for my audience. At the start of the animation there are two options to watch the story with sound or without sound. This is the technique used by most professional websites, it helps user to understand the story more easily and make the animation suitable for its purpose. This animation asks user to click on different things, when user click on an object the next scene can be watch. This means this animation has used different objects on different scenes as a button. I will use this technique on my animation as it will allow user to interact with the animation which will keep the user interested in the animation. This technique also makes the animation very professional which is a positive aspect about this animation. The object to click on An effect has been added to some objects so when a user is going to click on it and pointer is on it. The appearance of the object will change; a white border will surround this object. This technique will help users to show that this is the right object to click on to watch next scene. This technique is shown on the above screen shot. In this animation the objects has been used as buttons to make it interactive I will use this technique in my animation. I will also use objects or characters as buttons, which will allow users to watch next scene. I will use buttons on my animation and add effect so that the appearance of these buttons can be change when the pointer is on it. This technique will make my animation more eye-catching and aesthetic. The zoom in and out technique has been used several times in this animation. This technique helps user to see the close of the objects which will help them to understand the story. This is a very useful technique as it clearly shows what is happening in the story. I will use this technique where it is important. This will help me to meet the professional standard. This animation has used clouds and question mark to show that the characters are thinking. The face expression also shows that the characters are thinking because of the eye movement and hands position. Below the screen shots shows the two different characters of the story thinking. This animation is very professional because it shows the face expressions. The face of the Micky becomes red when he is angry. Below the screen shots are showing two different emotions. This is a high quality technique as this makes the story interesting and realistic. I will use this technique in my animation; I will show the facial expression of my characters to make my animation attractive to its audience and professional. This animation used a lot of motion tweens to show the movements. The legs of the characters move forward to show the walking effects, hands move to show that they are talking and thinking. At the start of the story the leaves are falling down. The birds beak is moving to show the talking effect, the eye balls of almost all characters are moving and the story bear is moving his one foot while thinking. This is a positive aspect on this animation as it makes the animation more interesting and realistic. I will definitely use motion tweens in my animation to show the characters walking and playing and to show the movements of objects. This will help me to create a realistic and appealing final product. Navigation and interaction: This animation is users friendly as its navigation is very effective. To watch the next scene users have to click next or story bear button, this button will also helps user to skip scene. There is another button start the story again which allow user to watch the story again. This gives the user some flexibility. This animation interacts with the users a lot as user have to click the button to watch the next scene and it also asks user to click on different objects. This animation allow user to get involve in the story which will keep their interest till the end. Strengths: Techniques: There are number of good points about this story. These strengths make the animation suitable for its purpose and audience. First of all the animation has used range of techniques. Such as motion tweens, zoom in, face expressions and user interaction. These techniques made the story interesting and professional. This animation also uses clouds to show what the characters are thinking. I will be using some of these techniques to ensure that my product is to the best possible standard. Another good point about this animation is that the scenes flow in a sequence which makes it suitable for its audience, as it is very easy for its audience to understand what is going in the story. I will make sure that the sequence of scenes of my animation is easy to understand and appropriate for my target audience so that they can enjoy the story. Characters and objects: This animation has got six different characters and used a lot of objects. The number of characters are appropriate as they not too much which makes the animation crowdy and audience would not be able to understand whats happening in the story or there not very few characters which makes the story boring. I will also make sure that the number of characters in my animation is appropriate so that my animation is not boring or crowded. This will make my animation suitable for its audience. Sound and text: The story has an option which allow user to listen to the story as well as reading. This is a good point of this animation because it makes the animation suitable for the purpose it has made for by improving their listening skills. The text of this animation is appropriate for its audience and help to keep the users interest till the end. I will include sound and text on my animation so that the users can understand the story easily by listening or reading it. This will give users some flexibility. I will also include some other sounds for example sound of a ball kick to make my animation vibrant and professional.

Scientific Concept of Magnetism

Scientific Concept of Magnetism There are two essential requirements for generating a magnetic field which are magnetic material and current. The magnetic field is a region in which the magnetic effect due to electric current or of a magnet is precipitated. When small magnet is brought in the vicinity then torque will be experienced on the test magnet up to this magnet becomes oriented in a particular direction. The magnitude of this torque is nothing but measurement of the strength of the magnetic field and the shown direction of orientation which is the direction of the field. Magnetism means it is a physical phenomenon involving magnetic fields and whose effects upon materials. The magnetic fields may be set by electric currents or by magnets. In the magnetic material, the individual atoms cause magnetic fields when whose electrons have a net magnetic moment due to their angular momentum. Due to angular momentum of charged particle a magnetic moment arises whose cooperative effect acquires the macroscopic magnetic field of a permanent magnet. Hence only one kind of magnetism was known until 1821which was produced by iron magnets. It was proved that when an electric current flows in a wire then needle of compass moves nearby it. This new phenomenon was studied by Ampere, concluded that the nature of magnetism which was quite different from basically a force between electric currents. The two parallel currents which are in the same direction attract each other and on the other hand, the two parallel currents in opposite direction repel each other. According to the modern theory, magnetism in solids arises due to spins and orbital motion of electrons and also due to the spin of the nuclei of an atom. Due to motion of electrons, the magnetic effects produced in magnetic materials. The magnetic moments associated with the atoms are due to three types of motions which are, one is the electron orbital motion, second is the change in orbital motion caused by an external magnetic field and third one is the spin of the electrons. In most of the atoms the electrons occur in pairs. When electron pair spins in opposite directions then they cancel each other means there is no net magnetic fields exist. In magnetic materials with some unpaired electrons show a net magnetic field and which react more to an external field. The major contribution is due to spin of unpaired valance electrons in magnetic field of the magnetic materials. These unpaired valence electrons produce permanent electronic magnetic moments. The nature of magnetization produced depends on presence of the number of unpaired valence electrons in the atoms of the solid and on the relative orientations of the neighboring magne tic moments. For the generation of net non-zero magnetic moment, number of such magnetic dipoles may align parallel to each other, with or without the application of magnetic field. As a magnetic material is kept in a magnetic field then it becomes magnetized. It means that the material itself becomes a magnet. Hence the intensity of the induced magnetism is called the magnetization. The magnetization is also called as the magnetic moment per unit volume of the material. The magnetic force anywhere in space of magnetic field is described by a vector field .It is also called the magnetic induction. Let H Magnetic field M Intensity of magnetization B Magnetic induction Then the magnetic induction B is given by, B =  µ0 (H+M) Where  µ0 is the permeability of free space. The magnetic field produces due to motion of an electric charge. The electrons in a bar magnet about atomic nuclei are in constant motion. The motion of charge creates a tiny current, hence produces a magnetic field that means every spinning electron is a tiny magnet. When two electrons which are spinning in the same direction creates a stronger magnetic field. When a pair of electrons is spinning in opposite direction then their net effect cancel each other, hence there is no magnetic field which occurs in substances such as rubber, wood and plastics etc. When magnetic field is applied then materials turn magnetic field, they acquire a nonzero magnetization. On the basis of magnetic property as per the application of an external field, magnetic materials are divided into temporary and permanent magnets. In case of temporary magnets after the removal of the applied field will lose whose all or most of their magnetic properties. On the other hand in permanent magnet magnetic propertie s will retain or keep for a very long time. These temporary magnets are made from the materials such as iron, nickel and cobalt. Hence, these materials are called as soft magnetic materials that mean outside a strong magnetic field they usually do not retain their magnetism. The total energy of the crystal is determined by the distribution of cations in a given spinel oxide. This parameter depends on other factors such as the size of ions, the limited space between the repulsive forces , Coulomb interactions between charges of these ions, effects of polarisation and ordering of cations. With the help of spontaneous magnetization Ferromagnets are characterized. In the absence of field, ferromagnets attain saturation magnetization in each of the domains. But the magnetization curve shows that an unmagnetized ferromagnetic sample displays no overall magnetization in zero fields. However, it requires an appreciable field to produce saturation magnetization value. Weiss domain hypothesis explained this discrepancy in between the theory and the observation. According to Weiss domain hypothesis, a ferromagnet of macroscopic size consists numerous regions is known as magnetic domains in the demagnetized state. In each domain all the atomic moments are aligned in same easy direction. In orders to minimize the magneto static energy, the direction of the spontaneous magnetization varies from domain to domain. The multi domains are formed, if the ferromagnetic grains are subdivided into many domains with walls between them. When the grain size which is in the order of the wall thickness, hence it is a single domain grain. The difference between multi domain and single domain grain is that the multi domain grains possesses a net zero magnetic moment due to different directions of the individual domain magnetization, but the single domain grains are always show the saturation intensity below its curie temperature. The single domain size range would be from less than 1OOOA ° which is less than the lattice constant of the material and hence these grains are also called as fine particles. The hysteresis behavior of these particles shows reversible magnetization curves. In this case there is a zero value of the remenance and the coercive force. The multi domain particles require a much larger magnetic field than single domain particle and hence super paramagnetic particles acquire saturated magnetization. When the changes in appropriate temperature, the hysteresis loop of single domain and due to super paramagnetic particles are interchangeable. However the m ulti domain particles are independent of temperature. In magnetism the major contribution comes from the spin of unpaired valance electrons which produces permanent electronic magnetic moments.

The Customer Segmentation In Indian Banking System Business Essay

The Customer Segmentation In Indian Banking System Business Essay About two decades ago, when private players started rolling out their services, the state-run banks, who had in their grip almost entire retail customers in India, sensed it could be the beginning of a change, but probably never realised it would come with so much force and hit them hard. And they sure had no idea that after moving at an elephants pace for so many decades, they might be forced to change quickly and probably beyond recognition. The arrival of private banks, and in a limited way the foreign banks, changed the way banking was done in India. They changed retail customers expectations and the preferences and now in a fiercely competitive space, every bank wants to get a handle on the rapidly changing consumers taste and raise its service to retain and gain the market share. Our study conducted on educated middle-class working professionals in New Delhi offers an insight into how todays customers are picking their banks and ending contacts with those, which fail to satisfy them. The surveys findings underline the traditional services such as prompt and courteous services at branches are still important for bank customers. The study clearly highlights that customers value banks with bigger network of branches and ATMs as they consider it more reliable. Customers do prefer to have an account with a bank where their family members already have one. They also put a premium on a range of so-called new range of services: lower call waiting and the ability of the customer care staff to quickly understand their problem and connect them to the right executive.   Another interesting outcome was that most customers had more than one bank account and thus could pick bank for specific services. Introduction: India is on the path to become a global economy. Financial Institution specially banking industry plays a very important part in Indias growth. Banking in India originated in the last decades  of the 18th century. The oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank  of India, a government owned bank  that traces its origins back  to June 1806. Central banking is the responsibility of the Reserve Bank of India, which in 1935 formally  took over  these responsibilities from the then Imperial Bank of  India.  After Indias independence, the Reserve  Bank was given broader  powers. In 1969 the government nationalized the 14 largest commercial  banks; another six banks were nationalised in 1980. Currently, India has 88 scheduled commercial banks  (SCBs)- 27 public sector  banks,  33 private  banks and 38 foreign  banks. They have a combined network of  over 53,000 branches and 17,000 ATMs network. Banking In India can be divided into three distinctive time period as described below. Pre-Nationalization Era: Private banks with individual holding were present in pre-nationalization era and Lockout of Banks were the reality in those days. With very little security regulatory mechanism Banks were functioning as discrete assets and there is very little presence of consumer services and security of assets. Post-Nationalization Era: With the backdrop of large no of incident regarding lock out of banks, Central Government had to take a drastic step and they had done the same by nationalization of Banks. Due to involvement of the Government, credibility of banks increased many fold and banking as a sector has started to grow in India. Due to very low or no competition at all government owned banks had started to function like monopolistic services with very little focus on customer services. IT-enabled era: After 1991 private banks with sound security mechanism were again allowed to enter into the banking segment. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank started their operation with state of the art IT infrastructure, which enable them with better service delivery and meet consumer expectation. Following the same trend and due to Government regulation Government owned banks like SBI, PNB, BOB had also started providing customer services through IT enablement. Due to some recent development like non-regularization of interest rate some banks had also gone ahead and started to offer differentiated product to make the banking more interesting. Recently government has started to think for allowing business houses for having the banking license. This can really be a game changer for Banking industry as more no of bank will open and try to fetch customers from the competitors with focus on customer preferences. As far as the customer segmentation in Indian Banking system is concerned, it is divided into three broad segments. Corporate: B2B transactions are covered in this segment Mid-Corporate: Transactions with SME is considered under this segment. Retail: Small individual customers are covered under this segment The opening of the banking sector to the private players and Indias rapid economic growth in the past decade has dramatically changed the financial sector landscape in the country. The keen competition brought customers to the centre-stage something unimaginable till about two decades ago when the state-run banks held monopoly and customers convenience was barely on their agenda. The power has now clearly shifted from banks to the customers, as private players scrambled to gain market share by raising service level, introducing innovative products and deploying technology at an unprecedented scale to woo customers. The expansion of foreign players, though limited, raised the consumers expectation and fuelled further competition. To match the private players, leading state-run banks initially, followed by regional banks, have raised the game and now probably every player is willing to give an arm and a leg to get an insight into the consumers behaviour. We have limited our research to educated working middle class in New Delhi a retail sub-segment that is attractive to banks because of paucity of time and resources. The findings cannot be generalized for the entire country. Review of Literature The Ernst Young Global Banking Consumers Survey 2011 has highlighted how customers were increasingly switching banks and preferring transparency to loyalty. The report said pricing was critical to customer satisfaction, although most customers had no idea how much they pay each year for services. Transparency over pricing and service promises is vital if banks are to deliver something customers value. An under-delivery of promised service was a big turn off for customers. Uppal, R. K. (2010), analysed in his study the complaints against Indian Public sector, private and foreign banks. The majority of complaints received were against the public sector banks and the complaints were related to deposit, credit cards and housing loans, clearly showing how state-run firms were unable to raise the quality of services. The study recommends the strategy to mitigate the complaints. RBI Report, Committee on Customer Service in Banks (2011), analysed evaluation of customer services in Indian Banking History. The main objective of the study was to find existing customer services in the Indian Banking system and future roadmap on the same. Authors have emphasized on customer education, involvement of stakeholders for launching any new services, comprehensive banking regulation. Focus on technology will also become major indicator for rolling out and success of services such as Internet Banking. Performance Assurance scheme for enforcing the banks to follow strict performance guideline is also mentioned in the report. Various other improvement aspects like issuing Photo ATM card and fraud detection procedure were also listed in the report. In his research on customers preference (2012), Md Nur-E-Alam Siddique of ASA University in Bangladesh has concluded that the most important factors influencing customers in selecting a private banks are speed and quality of customer services, image of the bank and quality online banking facility. The customers, however, chose a nationalized bank mainly due to low interest rate on loan, safety of deposits and convenient location, the report said. Mosad Zineldin, an Associate Professor at Stockholm University, brought forth some interesting trends in his research on bank customers preferences. The study said the price and advertising had a minor effect in a bank selection, while functional quality such as friendliness and helpfulness of staff, accuracy in account transaction management, efficiency in correcting mistakes were the major determinants of bank selection. Kannan. P., et al. (2012), emphasized in their study that service quality was an interesting field to evaluate the customer satisfaction. The main objective of the study was to examine the consumer preference towards the banking services in rural areas on the basis of (i) demography (ii) type of banks (public, private and cooperative bank). (iii) customers preferences. This study concluded that the satisfaction level of the rural customer was good. Research Methodology: We have adopted Descriptive Research Design for conducting the Research. Under Descriptive Research design we have conducted cross-sectional design, where data have been collected only once from the target audience. Another important point for emphasis in the research design part is that Indian Banks segment its customer mostly in three major category i.e. Retail, Mid- Corporate Corporate. For the purpose of this research project we will only consider the retail segment or the individual customer. As we have only followed the Convenience Sampling method for collection of data that too only for a segment of consumers, so it will not be possible for generalizing the result across the other segment. After reviewing the literature we have segmented customer preference in five key segments as shown below in the picture. Skill, responsiveness, friendliness Variety, cost, suitability Credibility, Technological efficiency Processes, Rules, Waiting time, Speed Network, location, phone/online Among the 5 segments shown above, image and personal of a Banking System is very difficult to change. Access of the banking system is majorly related to the investment that the Bank can undertake for improving its IT backbone. Product and services are can easily be changed if the entire infrastructure is already available with the bank. Survey questionnaire was designed based on the five key factor of customer effectiveness, as shown above. Flow of the questionnaire is described in the diagram below. Questionnaire was designed in the Google spreadsheet and link of the survey was shared in the mail for the sake of convenience. Another important aspect of data collection through Google spread sheet is that, a high amount of data integrity check is already built into the system as user can not pick up any alternative other than mentioned in the web format. Conclusion:- The research findings have brought good news for the banks. Most respondents (81 percent) are happy with customer services at banks, thereby giving the existing banks a pat on their back, while signaling that new entrants will find it extremely difficult to find a toehold in the fiercely competitive banking market once the RBI were to issue new licences. Family again has come to the rescue of the banks in India as majority of our respondents prefer a bank if their family members already have an account there. Banks with greater network of branches and ATMs are preferred over those with smaller networks. Customers see high value and reliability in dealing with large-network banks. Customers naturally also value lower service charges. So for any new entrant in the Indian Banking Sector has to offer low cost services to consumer for attracting them in their fold.

Background Info - creating an IT system. :: Computer Science

Background Info - creating an IT system. BACKGROUND INFO --------------- Sir Alex Ferguson is the manager of Manchester United Football club. As in any football club transfers play a big part. Clubs usually contact each other to enquire about the availability of certain players and to request the transfer prices. Being Manchester United, one of the best football clubs in the world, several calls are received each day about players, since all the players are such high quality. The way the system currently works is that all calls regarding transfers are sent to Sir Alex, since all the players are his and he has to deal with the transfer request, which involves him having to contact the other clubs back with transfer prices and answers about the availability of certain players. PROBLEM Sir Alex is tired of other clubs hassling him all the time to find out about his players and feels he is wasting a lot of precious time dealing with transfers. He is especially getting annoyed because a lot of transfers are set up and then broken down. Sir Alex is looking for a way for the managers of other clubs to find out about his players without continually bothering him so he can concentrate more on things like training and tactics so that Manchester United can try and have a successful campaign. This is where I come into it. Sir Alex Ferguson and the Manchester United board have hired me to come up with a new more efficient system that would allow the managers of other clubs to find out information about the availability of his players and the transfer prices, which would allow them to make their own decisions and then they can contact the club when they feel they are certain they want a certain player. The end users are the managers of other clubs. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS So after discussions with the board and Sir Alex, I come up with a few possible solutions: Hiring new staff as representatives for the club, to talk to all the other clubs: The way this would work is Sir Alex would make notes about which players are available and give a transfer price for each player. New staff would then be hired to operate the telephones and would all possess a copy of these notes made by Sir Alex. When a club then rang to enquire about certain players they would then use the notes to inform the other club if the player they want is available and give their transfer price. If a club is totally serious about making a bud for the player the call will then be transferred to Sir

Geothermal Energy is the Solution to the Energy Crisis Essay examples -

Geothermal Energy: A Solution to the Energy Crisis Abstract So far, scientists have not found a successful substitute for fossil fuels that can handle both the large demand for energy and solve the global warming problem. I propose that geothermal energy is a clean, widely available, and renewable alternative to the usage of fossil fuels. In this paper, I will explain how use of geothermal resources can be energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective. I believe that the US government should increase funding for geothermal energy research. This may be the solution to our present energy crisis and global warming. Introduction There is a call of action to solve today’s energy crisis. What we need urgently is a clean, abundant, and reliable source of energy. Geothermal energy may be the solution. Geothermal energy does not produce CO2 and is inexpensive compared to the unbelievably high gas prices. This type of energy is also renewable so it can continue to feed the growing population of the world. â€Å"New [geothermal] facilities can produce electricity for being between 4.5 and 7.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, making it competitive with new conventional fossil fuel-fired power plants.† (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2) This shows that if there is more research focused onto this topic, geothermal energy may become the solution to our energy crisis. Current Energy Consumption Currently, the energy consumption has been increasing exponentially. Energy consumption increases by 2% each year causing a doubling in only 35 years. As of 2003, the energy consumptions in quadrillion BTU (British Thermal Unit= 1055.06 Joules) are: North America- 118.3, Europe- 127.4, Asia- 120.2, Middle East- 19.6, Central/South America- 21.9, ... ...y source." 22 Jan. 2007. 27 June 2008 . Moore, Bill. "Sustainble Iceland: Geothermal Wonderland." 25 July 2008 . Sandoval, Steve. "Valles Caldera Geothermal focus of talk Thursday at Laboratory's Bradbury Science Museum." 26 July 2008 . Solar4Scholars. "Geothermal Energy." 25 July 2008 . Union of Concerned Scientists. How Geothermal Energy Works. 21 July 2008 . World Chancing Team. ""Hot Rocks" for Home Energy." Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future. 21 July 2008 .

Mgt/230 Week 1 Assignment

Mgt/230 Week 1 Decision Making Process Paper University of Phoenix People should make decisions every day, some of those decisions are easy to make, while others are quite difficult to implement. An appropriately combined and organized decision-making process will help to control this issue and bring a positive outcome for those involved. The decision-making process may become challenging for people due to â€Å"the lack of structure and entail risk, uncertainly and conflict† (Bateman and Snell, 2012, p. 86).That is why people trying to make important personal or professional decisions should have an appropriate model to follow in order to avoid these challenges. Bateman and Snell identified six steps or stages of decision-making process which may be attached to any problem or decision. First, it is necessary to identify and analyze the problem. The problem at hand for me was the necessity to purchase my own home. In 2002 I was renting a home in a small city with my husband an d son living there as well. The house was also shared with my Mother-in-Law, and it was too small for all four of us to share.My husband and I realized after a short period of time that this living situation was not going to work out and that we should start looking for a place of our own. Since I am an animal lover and was the owner of one horse and one dog at that time, finding a home that also had a small amount of acreage was also necessary to accommodate us all. Generating and evaluating alternative solutions (steps 2 and 3 in the decision making process) was really not an option for us as we knew exactly what we would have to do if we were to obtain the right place for all of us to live.The only alternative solution in this situation would have been to rent a large piece of property with a larger home and we had come to a point in our lives where purchasing seemed like the better investment. Step 4 in the decision making process is, making the choice. We searched around for ju st the right place to purchase. It took several months of searching before we happened upon the home we ultimately chose. The house wasn’t quite as big as we were hoping for but we thought we could build an addition and do some remodeling to make it perfect.The property attached to the house was large enough to house my horse and our dog, and for my son to play. The decision was made, we were purchasing this house. Step 5 in the process is implementing the decision. After the decision was made to purchase our new home, we set up meetings and appointments with the realtor, our bank and our lawyer to finalize paperwork on the loan and other necessities. All paperwork was signed and keys were handed over to us about a month later. Once the house was ours we quickly made the necessary changes so that it would accommodate our entire family, by adding an extra room and re-painting the entire house.We built a barn to house the horse and put in a shed for storage. We thought it was p erfect. Step 6 in the process is evaluating the decision. Shortly after purchasing our home and property everything was going well, and this continued for many years to come, even though it was probably more work than we had initially expected, we were happy with our decision. Living in the country on our own farm with barely a neighbor to be seen was definitely the way to go. Looking back on this decision some 10 years later, I still believe I made the right decision even though my life has completely changed since that time.The house and property suited us very well up until about 4 years ago after my divorce. I see now that the house is not nearly large enough for my even larger family. Since my divorce I have had two more children and am getting re-married and this home is not nearly large enough for five people, especially if we have guests over for holidays or birthdays. We are currently in the decision making process once again, that being the possible purchase of yet another , larger, home and more acreage as the number of farm animals has grown over the past 10 years as well.Having the information that I do now, in our readings, I am going to go through the steps one by one and be sure that my ultimate decision will be the right one and that this new place (if we purchase one) will be perfect for more than 10 years. References Bateman, T. S. , & Snell, S. A. (2010). Management: leading & collaborating in a competitive world (9th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Summary

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, the main character, Stephen Dedalus has a life long desire to find a father figure. Not finding it within his own home he is forced to look out among the other men who play intricate roles in his life. Some of the men that Stephen looks to as father figures include; his dad, the dean of his school, the Jesuit priest of the retreat, his friend Cranly, and Daedelus of a Greek mythology. Again and again Stephen is faced with the disappointment of a potential father figure letting him down. It is not until all others have failed him that he finds a father figure that fulfills his life. Throughout Stephen’s life he and his father grow apart. As a child Stephen adores his father. Stephen remembers the story his father use to tell him about the moocow (1). Stephen’s memory of this story shows he put complete focus into his father whenever his father was around. Stephen’s father seems gentle and benevolent when he puts the sauce on Stephen’s plate after everyone else denies the sauce (19). As Stephen gets older he loses his bond with his father. Stephen believes his father is in a lot of trouble. Before Stephen’s family moves to Dublin he hears his father tell his uncle that he has enemies and some sort of fight is going to happen (45). This news puts a lot of pressure of Stephen and it makes Stephen pull away from his father. Stephen feels that the information that he learned makes him a part of the fight (45). Stephen’s bonds breaks even more when his father makes fun of him. Stephen’s father talked to the dean from Stephen’s school and learned that Stephen made a huge deal out of getting pandied (50). When Stephen learns they laughed about it he become very ashamed and he starts to dislike his father (50). As Stephen matures his father means less and less to him. Stephen feels ashamed of his father’s drinking so he tries to avoid the reality of the situation (65). Stephen begins to become ashamed of all of the things his father does (67). Stephen feels his father has failed him in being a role model to him. Stephen’s dad fails Stephen in the role of a father figure. This leads Stephen to look for a father figure outside of his family. Throughout his life Stephen looks to some of the religious leaders as father figures. Those father figures include the rector of his school and the Jesuit priest from the retreat. The rector of Stephen’s school is looked to as a father figure. Stephen believes his is of good intelligence and is not judgmental. After Stephen is pandied for no reason, Stephen looks to the Rector (36). Stephen believes he has been wronged and is very mad that Father Arnell did not stand up for him (35). Stephen shows great courage when he goes up to the rector’s room to complain about Father Dolan’s pandying. All of his fellow classmates are cheering him on to talk to the rector (36). At the beginning of Stephen and the rector’s conversation the rector show great care for Stephen. The rector just listens to Stephen and the problem he is having (38). When the rector starts to deny Father Dolan’s mistake Stephen becomes a little frustrated (39). The rector sees this frustration and tells Stephen he will talk to Father Dolan the next day (39). Stephen’s view of the rector as a father figure starts to change after the confrontation. The Rector really fails Stephen when Stephen learns that the Rector and Father Dolan have been talking about him, especially when he hears they laughed about him (50). Another father figure of Stephen’s fails. Even though the rector fails Stephen he provided some philosophy to Stephen’s life. The Jesuit priest from the retreat also provides a father figure to Stephen for a short period of time. The Jesuit priest puts fear into Stephen. During the three day retreat Stephen is told all of the bad things that sins do in your life (77). The Jesuit priest makes Stephen long for direction and he hopes he can live a sinless life after the retreat (103). When Stephen tries to live a sin free life he doubts himself that he is not completely redeemed (109). Even though the Jesuit priest scares Stephen into religion he fails Stephen as a father figure. Stephen feels he cannot trust the Jesuit, so he goes to a private church to pray (104). The religious leaders fail Stephen in giving him the father figure he is searching for. Stephen also looks to Cranly, his friend, in college as a father figure. Cranly gives Stephen advice on life and helps Stephen in choices. Cranly provides Stephen with philosophy in his attempt to be a father figure to Stephen. Stephen really likes Cranly (128). Stephen talks about remembering Cranly by his face and not what the rest of him looks like (128). Stephen looks to Cranly for help about a problem he is having. Stephen’s mom wants him to go to the Easter service, but Stephen does not feel the religious faith he once felt (167). Cranly tells Stephen he should go because a mother’s love is more important than Stephen’s religious doubts (167). Stephen and Cranly’s acquaintance ends when Stephen says his is going to leave the country to explore his artistic ability (169). Cranly warns him this may be the wrong choice, but Stephen ignores him. Cranly fails Stephen as a father figure. Stephen does not agree with Cranly in the end and that makes Stephen’s idea of Cranly as a father figure disappears. The one person that successfully provides Stephen a father figure is Daedelus from Greek mythology. Daedelus provides Stephen with inspiration to be a better person and to express his artistic ability (124). Even though Daedelus was not a successful father figure to his son Icarus, Stephen still feels that Daedelus is the prefect father figure. Since Daedelus is just in Stephen’s mind, Stephen is his own father. When Stephen leaves Ireland he become his own role model in that he is Daedelus in his mind and he is not leaving anything important behind (156). Stephen puts a lot of faith into Daedelus. In Stephen’s journal entry on April 27 he calls Daedelus the great creator; which also refers to Stephen being a great creator because Daedelus is in Stephen’s mind (185). Daedelus is the only man that provides Stephen with a father figure. Daedelus is Stephen’s perfect father in his mind. Stephen’s search for a father figure is throughout A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Even though Stephen takes a long time to find his perfect father figure, he does. Stephen searched his whole life for a father figure and then he realizes he is his own father and he is the only thing he needs. The father figures are a very important idea in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Microplastic Pollution

Microplastic pollution is an increasing problem in the marine environment. This study had five research objectives: establish if seagrass habitats are accumulating microplastics compared to sandy habits in the Florida Keys, identify if there are any microplastics present in field collected sea cucumbers in the Florida Keys, determine the number of microplastics in Pensacola Beach sediment, determine the number of microplastics in St. Joseph Bay sediment, analyze field collected sand dollars in the Panhandle of Florida for microplastics, and conduct a laboratory experiment on the sand dollar, Mellita tenuis, to determine if they are selecting for microplastics. Microplastics were extracted from samples using a saturated CaCl2 solution, and visual examination. Both seagrass beds and sandy areas in the Florida Keys contained microplastics. Sediment in Pensacola and St. Joseph Bay both contained microplastics. Sea cucumbers collected in the Florida Keys, and sand dollars collected in the Panhandle of Florida, had microplastics as part of their gut content, suggesting they may make useful animals for monitoring nearshore environments for microplastic pollution. In the laboratory, M. tenuis ingested microplastics in slightly lower proportions compared to surrounding sediment. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Microplastics Plastic production has been increasing worldwide for the last sixty years, with manufacturing increasing about 9% each year. In 2007, 260 million tons of plastic were produced (PlasticsEurope 2008). The high durability, low cost, and light weight have made plastic the material of choice in creating many products (Andrady and Neal 2009; Thompson et al. 2009). The incredible success of the plastic industry was unexpected, thus when plastics were first introduced, dangers to the environment were ignored (Stefatos et al. 1999; Derraik 2002). In 2010, between 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the marine environment, and the amount is increasing each year (Jambeck et al. 2015). The consequences of plastic entering the marine environment has only been recently recognized, and is still not well understood. The combination of the long time it takes for plastic to degrade, its ability to concentrate contaminants, and the ingestion by marine organisms are collectively raising concerns for the health of the marine environment. Microplastics are defined as plastic pieces less than 5 mm in size (Arthur et al. 2009; Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015), although different studies have contrasting definitions of microplastics making comparisons difficult (Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015). Primary microplastics are intentionally made 5 mm or less for use in cosmetics, cleaners, and industrial scrubbers. Microplastic pellets are the raw plastic material from which larger plastic items are made (Wilber 1987; Costa et al. 2010). Secondary microplastics are derived from larger plastic sources by mechanical, photolytic, or chemical degradation (Mathalon and Hill 2014; Alomar et al. 2016). Examples of secondary microplastics include irregular fragments from macroplastics, and fibers from clothes and nets. Plastics enter the ocean from sources on land and on the sea. About 75% – 90% of plastic debris is land-based coming from littering, and improperly maintained landfills. Areas with higher river input have a higher concentration of microplastics (Vianello et al. 2013; Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015). The other 10% – 25% come from direct inputs to the ocean, such as shipping, dumping garbage, and fishing (Wessel et al. 2016). Human population density is a large contributing factor in the distribution of microplastics in the ocean and on shorelines and, not surprisingly, heavily populated areas have higher concentrations of debris compared to areas of low population density (Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015). Beaches near urbanized areas may have 3.3% of the sediment composed of microplastics by weight compared to 0.12% in more isolated areas (Carson et al. 2011; Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015). With human population growth, more waste is entering the oceans via sewage outfalls, rivers, littering, and industrial discharge (Claessens et al. 2011; Derraik 2002). Over 90% of the variation in the abundance of microplastics on shorelines can be explained by the population density near the area being sampled (Barnes 2005; Browne et al. 2010). Population size and waste management systems largely determine which countries contribute the greatest amount of plastic marine debris into the ocean. If waste management does not improve, there will be an order of magnitude increase in the amount of plastic entering the ocean by 2025 (Jambeck et al. 2015). Documentation of microplastics in the marine environment began in the 1970's when they were first described in the water column (Carpenter and Smith 1972; Carpenter et al. 1972), and on shorelines (Gregory 1977; Gregory 1978; Shiber 1979; Shiber 1982). Thirty years later occurrence of microplastics in the sediment was first described (Thompson et al. 2004). Types of microplastics in the environment include: fibers, fragments, films, and microbeads found in the water column, along shorelines, and in sediment in every marine environment (Wright et al. 2013b; Alomar et al. 2016). Fibers are the most abundant type of microplastic found by many studies, and may be composed of nylon, polyvinyl alcohol, and polypropylene (Browne et al. 2010; Claessens et al. 2011; Alomar et al. 2016; Taylor et al. 2016). Nylon fibers come from clothes, carpets, ropes, and nets. Polyvinyl alcohol fibers are from fishing gear such as fishing lines. Polypropylene fibers are derived from ropes and carpets (Claessens et al. 2011). Washing a single piece of clothing produces around 1,900 fibers that may be released into the environment, thus fiber pollution is often greatest in areas near sewage outfalls (Browne et al. 2011; Alomar et al. 2016). More than four microplastic fibers per gram of sediment have been found in samples taken from areas where sewage is discharged into the ocean (Browne et al. 2010). The ability to determine if a fiber is plastic, or some other type of material, is crucial for accurate estimates of the amount of plastic in the environment. A study in the English Channel found that over half of the fibers ingested by fish were made of cellulose compounds (Lusher et al. 2013)Fragments are usually broken down from larger materials that may be made out of a variety of polymers including polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, polyester, nylon and polyamide (Browne et al. 2010). Polyethylene and polypropylene are found in plastics like bottle caps, fishing line, wrappers, cigarette butts, and straws (Wessel et al. 2016). Polyethylene and polypropylene production uses half of the oil consumed for plastic production (Browne et al. 2010). Plastic films are used in products such as balloons, frozen food packaging, and medical supplies (Claessens et al. 2011). These one-use plastics degrade over time becoming microplastics. Microbeads function as scrubbing agents in face washes and cleansers, and are made from polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene (Claessens et al. 2011). Presence of microbeads in Nieuwpoort Harbor, Belgium, the largest yacht harbor in Northern Europe, was ascribed to transport by several rivers flowing into the harbor (Claessens et al. 2011). Castaà ±eda et al. (2014) found a high concentration of microbeads in the Saint Lawrence River coming from industrial sewage. Microbeads have a higher density than many plastics, so it is hypothesized that microbeads settle to the bottom before being transported further offshore. While this type of microplastic is not normally the most abundant in the environment, microbeads have been used in many laboratory experiments, and marine organisms are known to ingest them (Setà ¤là ¤ et al. 2016).