Reasons for Unemployment Among Graduates free essay sample

Malaysian universities are not producing â€Å"work-ready† graduates because the country’s education system is too exam-oriented (Fong 2004; Henwood 2007). They produce graduates who are competent theory-wise but have no sufficient practical exposure. Finally, another common relevant reason is related to the mismatch between what the universities are producing and what the Malaysian job-market seeks (Asma and Lim, 2000; Yogeeswaran, 2005; Vijan, 2007). Finally, This unemployment dilemma might also be the result of the nature of computer science where skills are always changing and dynamic or, as Hesketh (2000) terms, as ‘converging’. This phenomenon has caused a commotion in Malaysia where local society is starting to accept that there is no guarantee of employment after a degree. This has made graduates automatically enroll themselves for postgraduate programmes; parents become more concerned about the courses their children are signing up for or is it their children’s’ employment at the end of the study period and educators no longer stress educational excellence only but have started to recognize that skills need to be taught. We will write a custom essay sample on Reasons for Unemployment Among Graduates or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Reacting to the problem, the Malaysian Government has taken crucial steps to face this problem. Examples of three such steps taken by the Government are the training scheme for unemployed graduates, teaching more subjects in English at school level, and the introduction of the Electronic Labour Exchange System (ELX) which are detailed below: 1 The training scheme for unemployed graduates: The objective of the Graduate Training Scheme 2005 is to assist and equip unemployed graduates with specialised skills to enhance employability, including English Language. It is targeted at degree or diploma graduates from 2002 onwards. The Government sponsors the programme fee, which is a generous monthly allowance of RM500. 2 More subjects at school level taught in English. : In 2002, the Government announced that from 2003 onwards, the teaching of Science and Mathematics would be carried out in English, in order to ensure that Malaysia will not be left behind in a world that was rapidly becoming globalised. In addition, this programme aims to arrest the declining command of the language among students. All public universities were urged to change the medium of instruction from Malay to English in science and technology subjects in 2005. 3 The Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX) project: This project was officially launched by the Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Dr. Fong Chan Onn on 30 May 2006. It acts as a one-stop centre for labour market information, and is accessible to government agencies, the private sector and the general public. The Job Clearing System offers free-of-charge job matching services for the Malaysian public and employers. The Government hopes that the objectives of improving the mobilisation of the nations human resources and optimising the utilisation of manpower through the systematic matching of job seekers to job vacancies can be achieved. Finally, the Prime Minister’s Department in the Economic Planning Unit FAQ webpage states the short and long term measures implemented by the government on the issue of unemployed graduates in the country as the following: i) Review the curriculum of the university to ensure graduates are equipped with skills and knowledge required by the industry and employers. In this regard, soft skill subjects such as communication, problem-solving and language skills especially English, have been introduced. The usage of English as learning and teaching medium was also strengthened. ii) Double major subjects will also be introduced to ensure graduates possess broader knowledge. iii) Introduce Entrepreneurship Programmes to encourage graduates to be self-employed. iv) Conduct studies and findings of the studies will be used as inputs for government in formulating comprehensive policies and programmes.

Psychological egoism Essay Example

Psychological egoism Paper Psychological egoism claims that human nature is such that we cannot help but pursue our self-interest, we are biologically and psychologically disposed to behave in this way. It is a fact that we automatically act to promote our own interest and we cannot do otherwise. This theory highlights a strength of egoism as a whole, and it also explains ethical motivation. I act morally because it benefits me, and furthers my own life. It places human actions firmly and consistently within the natural world: like all plants and creatures, we seek or own good. This is a convincing answer to the question why be moral? , and this theory also agreements with the statement expressed in the question. Psychological egoism claims that even if something is morally right, we have no motive to perform it unless it benefits us and furthers our own life. However, it could be argued that being moral simply requires us to conform with moral rules or be a virtuous character and there is nothing to specifically say that following moral rules or being virtuous will not be of benefit for us. An example could be used is the moral rule that it is wrong for us to steal a psychological egoist may claim that it is in our best interest to steal as it enables us to have anything whenever we want, but then it could be said that it is in our interest not to steal (therefore conforming with moral rules) so we do not go to prison if we are caught. As an illustration in relation to being virtuous, imagine a soldier on the front line who gives his life in order to save others although this would be seen by the majority of people as a good or virtuous action, it does not help him to be happy or flourish. We will write a custom essay sample on Psychological egoism specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Psychological egoism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Psychological egoism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In order for psychological egoism to maintain its theory regarding an incident like the soldier, the situation and circumstances would have to be stretched so far as to say in the spur of the moment, the soldier was in fact not thinking about the welfare of others, but instead something along the lines of if I give my life, then I might be in the newspaper tomorrow this is undeniably absurd, why would the soldier even consider what the newspapers might say about him if he would be dead anyway? This is where virtue ethics comes into play, however opponents of virtue ethics may argue that the soldier could have already flourished or reached eudaimonia (a theory made famous by Aristotle, which I will mention later) when he made the decision, although this may also be countered by saying that there is no way of knowing when you have become virtuous, and that all of your choices are moral. On the other hand, it could be said that virtue ethics provides a better and more true-to-life way of looking at the situation of the soldier giving his life for others, and virtue ethics as opposed to egoism disagrees with the statement that is put forward in the question, and famous philosophers like Plato and Aristotle believe that something being morally right does give us motive to perform it. They believe this because virtue ethics claims that our main aim in life is to be truly happy, but we will only be able to do this if we are completely balanced. Our true happiness comes with the conviction that by being moral we will achieve a flouring and fulfilling life, as well as the knowledge that we are contributing to a flourishing community. They believe we are happier around positive and supportive people but an egoist would not be able to do this. For Aristotle, there is an aim (or telos in Greek) for everything that we do. Like by me writing this essay, my telos is that you will gain a clear understanding of whether something being moral gives you a motive to perform it. According to Aristotle, we have two types of aims: superior aims and subordinate aims. An illustration that could be used is that attending my lessons at college (which is my subordinate aim) will get me good A-level results and those results will help me to get into the university of my choice which will help me to be happy, and for Aristotle everyones final, superior aim is happiness. However the word we should use for happiness in Aristotles theory is eudaimonia, which could be described as living well or flourishing, not just for yourself but for society. He also believed in moral virtues such as courage, temperance, ambition, truthfulness and modesty. He believed that for all of these virtues, that if you had too much or too little of them then you had a problem. For example, having too much courage could be linked back to the soldier situation from earlier on although it could be said the soldier had too much courage anyway to join the army, he also had too much courage (therefore being rash) in the situation and did not think before he decided to give his life for others and did not think about what impact it may have on himself or e. . his family. Aristotle uses the term The Golden Mean to suggest the idea we should follow some kind of middle way between too much and too little of the virtues. Aristotle also believes in intellectual virtues, which are: technical skill, scientific knowledge, practical wisdom (how we actually do things), intelligence and wisdom (which is like the finished intellectual virtue where great experience combines with understanding). What he is saying is, if we try to practise the moral virtues and we learn the intellectual virtues, we will become virtuous (good) people who make the right decisions for ourselves and the community that we live in, and we will achieve eudaimonia for ourselves and others in our community, which is why virtue ethics may give a better explanation as to why the soldier may give his life for others, he may truly believe he has become virtuous although again, it could be argued there is no way of truly knowing when you have reached eudaimonia, there is nothing such as a criteria to determine whether you have reached it or not, which is a critique of virtue ethics. Virtue ethics states that we should act morally to balance out or harmonize our inner self, however if you dont have the correct balance of character (such as honesty), arent you just doing things to benefit yourself regardless of any possible benefit to your balance? It could be argued that nothing within virtue ethics can be truly altruistic although it is said being altruistic helps you to balance, surely balancing yourself is benefiting yourself as well? Egoism provides a better theory as to explaining why we are motivated to do things. Although virtue ethics provides a better explanation as to why the soldier may give up his life for others, it seems more plausible that we do things to benefit ourselves as opposed to others in most other situations. It cannot be denied that at that specific moment, the soldier was put in to a position where he could not think properly about the situation and the implications it may have although technically he could have been being virtuous or altruistic, in another way you could say he was not being altruistic at all as his family and friends back home would be affected negatively by the decision he made. It appears that a large majority of people would not act morally just because it is the right thing to do, when put in the situation that the soldier was put in it is most likely that a majority of people who still had something to live for (e. g. family, wealth etc. ) would allow somebody else to give up their life rather than them giving up theirs. As stated earlier, egoism provides a better theory as to explaining why we are motivated to do things) it is human nature that we will do things to benefit ourselves and allow ourselves to carry on living.

HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM ESSAY WRITING SERVICE

HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM ESSAY WRITING SERVICE With thousands of essay writing web-sites on the web, we consider ourselves to be number one web-site. Why are we determined to be the best? There are several reasons for that. First we are determined to satisfy our clients’ needs for high quality papers. Second, our online project was created by a team of people who like what they do and work hard as one team to create high quality custom essay writing service. Third we are determined to bring online writing service to a completely new level where written papers will be delivered within shortest deadline with high level of writing style and grammar. With essays written from the scratch, you are able to order a paper on any subject of your choice. History and geography, computer technologies and economics, media and communication, business and marketing, advertising and culture, financing and accounting, English and literature, sociology and politics, philosophy and psychology, physics and math, etc. We are able to come with appropriate solution for every client we have.

The Plan †Creative Writing Paper

The Plan – Creative Writing Paper Free Online Research Papers The Plan Creative Writing Paper Part One â€Å"Forget it Josh† â€Å"What’s so difficult about it? All we have to do is get past them.† â€Å"And you don’t think that’s difficult? Jeez, sometimes I think you’re out of your mind.† Kevin paced around the room, wondering what to think. â€Å"What’s the problem? Why are you so uptight about this? We have Grant.† â€Å"Are you an idiot, Josh? Do you not remember what happened to my dad when he tried to pull this off? Josh thought for a moment, the skin on his forehead wrinkling like a pile of disregarded clothes. Then he gave up. â€Å"I have no idea what you’re talking about.† â€Å"God, you have the memory of an 80-year-old sewer rat. He was expelled from all public high schools in the area, it went on his criminal record, he lost almost all of his friends and look how it screwed up his life. He serves gas and cigarettes to Ginos on their way to loiter outside strip clubs.† â€Å"Hey, as my uncle Ted always said, ‘Don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it.’ Of course, he did die of food poisoning three years ago, but the point is, you never know if something is really that bad if you don’t put yourself in that position,† said Josh, trying to convince his friend. â€Å"All the more reason that we should try this.† â€Å"And end up like Uncle Ted? Josh, do you have any idea what the odds of slipping this past them are?† asked Kevin, franticly. â€Å"I have done my research and we are skating on thin ice with a skateboard if we go ahead.† â€Å"Dude, you’re over-reacting. It’s not that difficult. Trust me on this one.† â€Å"Josh, you are about as dependable as a bike with no handlebars. I have never trusted you before and I’m not about to start now.† â€Å"You and your metaphors,† muttered Josh â€Å"They’re similes, dumbass,† replied Kevin. â€Å"You see? You’re a brainiac! There is no way this mission could fail, what with your smarts and my looks and clever remarks. And mechanical skills too.† â€Å"Your looks and wit have nothing to do with this situation. It’ll all depend on my brains and, quite frankly, I don’t think there are enough of them. I can’t believe I’m even having this conversation with you!† â€Å"Oh, come on, Kevin. We both know that there is nothing in this town that the two of us can’t handle. I mean, do you really think it will be that hard to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Shhh!† interrupted Kevin. â€Å"Someone might be listening to us!† â€Å"In your bedroom?† said Josh. â€Å"Paranoid too. That could come in handy. I don’t know how, but it might.† â€Å"I am not paranoid, and if you start to call me Android, I will kick your ass,† Kevin said aggressively. â€Å"Whatever, Android,† mumbled Josh. â€Å"Stop it!† whined Kevin. â€Å"There is no way I am going through with this, and that’s all there is to it.† Part Two â€Å"Alright, I’ll do it.† After an excruciating three hours of convincing from Josh, Kevin had caved. Josh looked like he had just won the lottery. He let out a cry of victory. â€Å"Yes! I knew you would. It took a little more persuasion than I had anticipated, but I did it.† â€Å"Would you get over yourself?† Kevin said sarcastically. â€Å"We might as well start planning it out.† Josh brought out a pad of paper. The boys started in on their work. The next morning, Josh awoke to the sound of Nelly Furtado on his radio singing â€Å"I’m Like a Bird†, a song he hated almost as much as men’s field hockey. â€Å"No, no!† he shouted in a half-awaken state. â€Å"Shut up!† He reached over and slammed his fist on the oversized snooze button. He heard a crack. Oh crap, he thought. I broke my stupid, cheap alarm clock. Mom’s going to kill me. He half opened his eyes and saw that there was not even a scratch on his digital clock radio. He examined it further and saw that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. He looked a little closer and saw that his clock read 8:30 am. â€Å"Eight-thirty!† he exclaimed. He jumped out of bed and threw on some pants and a tee-shirt reading ‘Chess Club ‘99’. â€Å"Why do I have Kevin’s shirt?† he mumbled to himself. He tore it off and grabbed another one. This one said ‘Your Mom Is Hot’ in red letters. â€Å"Much better.† â€Å"Josh let’s go! We’re going to be late for school!† shouted Kevin from downstairs. He must have been waiting for fifteen minutes, thought Josh. He didn’t feel badly though. Kevin had stood him up many a time en route to school. Josh grabbed his socks and raced down the stairs. â€Å"Thank God for Nutri-Grain bars† Josh said to Kevin as he grabbed a cereal bar. â€Å"I just have to put on my shoes and we can leave. How long have you been waiting here?† â€Å"About two minutes, and by the way, I think I broke your door when I came in. It made a huge crack when I closed it.† â€Å"That would explain the whole cracking thing,† replied Josh. â€Å"Let’s go,† said an anxious Kevin. Kevin always wanted to get to school on time, if not early. Today, it looked like his Mom forgot to wake him up on time. The boys grabbed their bags and headed out. â€Å"Ian changed my radio station last night. I woke up to Nelly Furtado.† Ian was Josh’s little brother. He loved to tag along with Kevin and Josh and whenever they were mean to him or shut him down, Ian always found some little way to get back at his older brother. Josh found this extremely annoying. It was a lose-lose situation. â€Å"I don’t mind Nelly Furtado† â€Å"I know you don’t. But I do,† said Josh, â€Å"Anyway, when are we going to do this stupid thing?† â€Å"We can’t talk about it in public, Kevin. I thought you were smarter than that.† â€Å"I didn’t say what it was,† Kevin defended himself. â€Å"Yet,† replied Josh. â€Å"To answer your question, I don’t know. We’ll get there.† Part Three â€Å"Now can anyone tell me what the difference is between a subordinate clause and a phrase? Anyone?† Mr. Grant’s English class. His voice was like listening to a continuous, low humming sound for an hour and a half. He always talked in the same dull monotonous way. After a while you learned to tune out in his class because all he ever did was talk and ask questions which no one paid any attention to. You just came in, sat down, copied down the homework and semi fell asleep. However, Mr. Grant was Josh and Kevin’s ticket to success. He was one of the nicer teachers at Newton High School. He was also gullible and not the sharpest knife in the drawer. They had tried extra hard to stay awake in his classes. This attempt crashed and burned the moment Mr. Grant started talking. Finally the bell rang, a wake up call for all students. â€Å"Alright, class, pack up and move on to your next class.† This was the cue for Josh and Kevin. They approached him nervously, hoping that he would not guess what they were up to. â€Å"Mr. Grant?† Kevin asked tentatively. â€Å"Could we talk to you for a moment?† â€Å"Certainly boys. But I must ask you, do you think that that shirt is appropriate for school, Mr. Evans?† Josh didn’t think that there was anything wrong with his shirt and was about to speak his mind when he felt a subtle elbow hit his ribs. He got the message. Any derogatory remark towards a teacher could damage their chances of getting the information they needed. â€Å"No sir,† he replied softly. â€Å"I’ll change it as soon as I get home, sir.† â€Å"Good. Now what was it you boys wanted to see me about?† â€Å"We were wondering about access to the boiler room sir,† Kevin proceeded. â€Å"Do you know if it is open to students?† â€Å"Maybe you should speak to Mr. Kijifusu about this. It would be more up his alley,† started Mr. Grant as he picked up his telephone. â€Å"No, no!† exclaimed Josh in a sudden panic. Yosoko Kijifusu was the schools chief caretaker. All the students hated him and the feeling was more than mutual. â€Å"Uh, we’ve already talked to him about it.† Kevin covered for his friend’s unexpected outburst. â€Å"He thought we should talk to you about it because, uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You know more about water than he does,† blurted Josh. At this remark both Kevin and Grant looked confused, although Kevin looked more stunned and had turned a tint of green. â€Å"He said that?† asked a puzzled Mr. Grant. Kevin had lost all use of his tongue. â€Å"Yeah,† managed Josh, thinking that he had ruined the whole operation. â€Å"Well that was kind of him,† Grant continued as if nothing awkward had happened. â€Å"No boys, the boiler room is only accessible to caretakers and a selected group of staff. What do you need that room for?† he asked. Now that Kevin had regained his speech, he could respond to the question. â€Å"It’s for a Geography project. We have to find a place in the school and explain its geographical qualities,† said a now confident Kevin. â€Å"Well, you’re in luck. I am one of those selected staff members because my father was a plumber and I grew up around water.† The boys now knew why he had accepted Josh’s lame excuse. â€Å"You can borrow my key for this week if you like.† â€Å"That would be great, Mr. Grant,† said a relieved Josh. â€Å"Oh and by the way, sir, exciting lesson today.† â€Å"Glad you liked it, Mr. Evans,† said Mr. Grant sounding more dead than ever. The boys left for their next class with Mr. Grant’s key, talking about their performance. â€Å"I had no idea his dad was a plumber.† â€Å"It was just a wild guess?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"I was so scared.† â€Å"I know! Dude, you should’ve seen your face! It went green for a second.† â€Å"That was unbelievable. Nice job, Evans.† â€Å"You too, Young.† They shook hands and headed down the stairs. Part Four The halls of Newton High at lunch were as crammed as the 404 on a Friday at rush hour with a fire-truck blocking off all four lanes. It was hard to move at all, much less walk, which meant that no matter where you turned, you always slammed into someone trying to get somewhere. Groups of friends bunched up by their lockers, clogging the way for everyone. Teachers would try to go to their classes to prepare for their next lesson. The football team would barge through, making their way to practice. The science and environment clubs would be trying to get to the lab, or the outside garden. Then there were the innocent bystanders who were just trying to get to their lockers to get their books or lunches. Everyone thought that what they were doing was more important and that the other people should be the ones to move which, of course, kept people pretty well stationary until the bell rang and everyone went their separate ways. It was hectic. Everyone pretty well hated lunch brea k because of it, and if you were smart, you would get out of the building and go out or home for lunch as soon as possible. There was only one student in the whole school who didn’t have to worry about this mess. It was Trent O’Leary. He was the tallest, biggest, most muscular, best looking, most popular and quite possibly the meanest kid the school had ever seen. He was in his senior year and stood at 6’5, weighing 227 pounds, pure muscle. It was no surprise that he was captain of every sports team. He had thick, red hair, deep blue eyes and a faint Irish accent. Every girl in the high school swooned as he passed and when he spoke, even more so. He was the sweetest guy you could ask for around the ladies, with his smooth talking and his charming smile. However, around males it was a completely different story. He loved to show that he was dominant in every sense of the word. If you bumped into him in the halls, it was bad news for you. This is why people went out of their way to make a path for Trent O’Leary when he walked by. But if there was one aspect of life that Trent was lacking in it was brains. Sure, he was charming, funny and even a little sarcastic at times, but academically, he was horrible. Maybe it was because he didn’t try, maybe because he was just flat out stupid, but for whatever reason, he stank in school. He had no reason to fear for his athletic position though. It was common knowledge that he was once brought into the principal’s office to be told he couldn’t play sports anymore until he lifted his grades. When the news was broken to him, O’Leary decided to take matters into his own hands (and by matters I mean, of course, Principal Gordon’s neck) and tell the principal how strongly he felt about the subject. He did a fantastic job of convincing Principal Gordon to let him play on his numerous teams, for Gordon never mentioned the matter again. This was just one of many incidents that had proved O’Leary’s toughness. Sometimes he liked to bump into people on purpose just so that he could have an excuse to beat them up. Kevin Young seemed to be a magnet to O’Leary. As a result, Kevin got much tougher himself. He had always accepted this as part of everyday life. But when it started to happen more frequently, Kevin got bitter. There was no way of avoiding O’Leary and there was certainly no way of stopping these daily beatings with Kevin’s strength nor with the strength of Kevin and ten other averagely built guys combined. The only level at which O’Leary could be challenged was at that of the intellectual. So, with some excessive persuasion from his friend Josh Evans, Kevin had agreed to seize his revenge with a plot so original, crafty and, above all, daring that it had only ever been tried by one man before. This man was Kevin’s father who came out worse in the scheme. He was expelled from not only Newton High, but all schools in the residential area. He lost all r espect from former friends and comrades and he developed a small criminal record, which made it difficult for him to get a decent job. All of these facts made it even more daring than it was the first time around. The plan had to do with tampering with the water system and making O’Leary look like the biggest goof in the world, which was not against the law. At least, it wasn’t written in the school rules. The boys hoped and prayed that they could pull this off, because if they failed they would be doomed to a life of loneliness, guilt and solitude. Part Five â€Å"Can I come too?† asked a whiny little voice. â€Å"No, Ian! Leave us alone!† replied a harsh one. â€Å"I never get to do anything exciting,† said Ian â€Å"Ian, there are always people in life that aren’t going to want you to come with them. You should thank us for preparing you for that,† said a condescending Kevin. â€Å"Shut up Kevin. Nobody asked you.† â€Å"Ian,† Josh said. â€Å"Shut your ugly face and leave us alone.† â€Å"You’ll regret this, Josh. You’re going to pay big time for this one.† â€Å"What are you going to do, you little shrimp. You got nothing on me.† With that, Kevin and Josh hopped on their bikes and rode off into the darkness. â€Å"That’s what you think, Josh. Keep dreaming,† whispered Ian to himself. Josh looked around. There was no one in sight. He looked back to Kevin and nodded. Kevin opened the school door cautiously so that it didn’t make a sound. He crept inside as Josh caught up to him. The boys had a flashlight and a headlamp each and they were completely dressed in black. Making their way through the halls as silently as they could, they jumped at every noise they heard. These noises, however, were usually them scuffing their shoes on the ground. They found the staircase that led to the basement and made their way down. â€Å"I can’t believe I’m doing this,† mumbled Kevin. â€Å"Shhh!† They couldn’t afford to make any noise at all. Shining their lights on the doors of the basement, looking at the names of the rooms, they came across their headquarters: the boiler room. There must’ve been a million pipes in the tiny room, only one of which needed to be cut. â€Å"Which one is the one under his desk?† asked Josh. â€Å"I don’t know,† whispered a suddenly panicked Kevin. â€Å"You have the plans in your left jacket pocket, Kevin.† â€Å"Oh yeah,† replied Kevin. He pulled out the pad of paper that he and Josh had written the complicated procedure on. â€Å"It’s the one that’s seven pipes in from the window wall and nineteen in from the wall to the left of that. It’s the really thick one with the one-inch bolts.† â€Å"Found it,† whispered Josh. â€Å"Where is the wrench? We forgot the wrench! We’re screwed!† panicked Kevin. â€Å"Dude, calm down. I have the wrench in my hand. God, sometimes I wonder about your stability,† whispered Josh calmly. He then proceeded to loosen the bolts on the tube. It felt hot, meaning that there was hot water pumping through it at that very moment. This was good news for the mission. He got the nut just to the edge of the bolt so that any movement from above would take it right off and water would spurt up through the hardwood floor when he nearly fell off his feet. â€Å"Don’t take it all the way off!† Kevin had nearly screamed this last remark. â€Å"I know, doofus! Would you shut up? Someone’s going to hear us,† said Josh angrily. â€Å"Alright, I’m done. Let’s get out of here.† â€Å"I wholeheartedly agree,† said a relieved Kevin. They left exactly the way they had come, back up the stairs, out the side door to their bikes where they got on and rode off. Suddenly they heard someone shout, â€Å"There they are!† Thoughts raced through the heads of the boys as their legs raced around the pedals of their eighteen speeds. Voices behind them called out, telling them to stop. They didn’t stop. They didn’t even turn around to see who it was. Their legs flew like frightened birds as they steered in and out of corners as fast as they could, trying to outpace their enemies. Kevin’s wheel hit a twig in the road and he went flying. Josh turned around instantly to go back for his friend who waved his hand signalling for him to leave. â€Å"No way man. I got you into this, now I’m going to get you out.† â€Å"Just go!† shouted Josh. Now they could hear their pursuers in the background. Josh was getting frantic, wondering what to do. He picked up Kevin and put him on the handlebars or his bike. â€Å"What the hell are you doing?† asked Kevin as they rode off. â€Å"Trying not to get us caught.† The followers were within a block now. They were going slower and slower. Josh put all of his strength into every pedal. They were still catching up. Josh had no plan of defeat, though, and he turned a very sharp corner, which threw off the enemy completely. They finally arrived at Josh’s house, exhausted and nervous but nonetheless triumphant. â€Å"Did you get a glimpse of who they were?† asked Josh in between breathes. â€Å"Yeah,† replied an incredulous Kevin. â€Å"They were the cops!† Part Six Josh looked completely flabbergasted. All that time he had been running from the cops? Why wouldn’t they have taken a car? Probably because they didn’t want to let the intruders know that they were there. But how did they know they were there? That was the biggest question there was. How did they know? No one knew. Not parents, not siblings†¦wait a minute†¦Ian! But Ian didn’t know where they were going, did he? How would he know? Anyway, he wouldn’t have the guts to tell the cops. Maybe parents, but certainly not cops. Kevin was sitting on the couch, nursing a badly cut left leg. If the cops knew who they were, this would be bad news for their mission and, more importantly, horrible news for their future. â€Å"Do you think Ian tipped them off?† whispered Josh. â€Å"No. He wouldn’t know what was going on,† replied Kevin. He was dabbing a wet sponge on his leg. â€Å"Even if he did, he wouldn’t tip off the cops.† Kevin seemed pretty confident about this, which was not normal for him. It was probably because he was injured and in a sort of shock, but Josh let the subject rest for a while. â€Å"Whoever it was obviously didn’t know how serious this was,† he whispered after a minute or two. â€Å"Or they did know how serious it was and they wanted to completely ruin us.† â€Å"Well, the cops have your bike now and let’s hope they can’t trace it back to you,† said a worried Josh. Usually it was the other way around; Kevin was the worried one and Josh was the relaxed one. Josh couldn’t understand why Kevin was this laid back after this sort of incident. â€Å"Why are you so calm, man?† he asked. â€Å"I’m completely in shock. I tore up my leg, I lost my bike, I created a major scandal, I broke a bunch of laws, and there are going to be plenty of questions. It would be a miracle if I didn’t get caught and yet I don’t feel much like anything. I’m not by any means relaxed, but I’m more so than I would regularly be in this sort of situation.† â€Å"They’ve probably figured out what we did in there by now and tightened the nut again,† Josh said. It sounded like he was disappointed that he had run all that risk for nothing, and rightly so. â€Å"It’ll probably be better this way, though.† â€Å"How is it better?† asked Kevin. â€Å"Well, this way†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Josh started. Then he stopped and said, â€Å"I don’t know. All I’m saying is that things happen for a reason, and no matter what you do, Nature either agrees with you or disagrees and you better hope it agrees, because if it doesn’t, you’re pretty well screwed. Sooner or later, Nature will prevail.† â€Å"Those are some pretty wise words for a guy whose tee-shirts say ‘Your Mom Is Hot’.† â€Å"Yeah, well that’s better than ‘Chess Club ‘99’, pal,† laughed Josh. They may have been in an awkward situation, but they had been friends for a long time and whatever happened to them, they could always be themselves and have fun. Part Seven The house was practically empty. Only Ian was home playing his PlayStation when the doorbell rang. He ignored it, thinking it was Josh just being too lazy to get out his key. Then it rang again and it was once again ignored. It rang again, and finally Ian got the message. It was not Josh at all, he discovered. It was a police detective. â€Å"Can I help you?† asked the nervous little kid. â€Å"Yes. We received a tip from this address with regards to two teenagers breaking into a school late last night. Are your parents home?† said the officer. â€Å"No, actually, it’s just me here and, uh, I really don’t know what you’re talking about, so maybe you could come back later and talk to my† Ian was speaking in rapid fire. It was so obvious that he knew something about this that the officer stepped inside and sat down on the couch in the living room. â€Å"Son, I know that you know something,† said the cool detective. â€Å"And the quicker you tell us what it is, the quicker we can both relax. Now why don’t you tell me what’s going on.† When Ian had told the police about this, he had no idea what kind of offence he was laying on his brother and his friend. He had just overheard them talking in Josh’s bedroom. He never meant any harm to anyone. He just wanted to show Josh that he could do whatever he felt like doing, thus proving to be tough. Now, he felt like he had to get his brother out of whatever trouble he had gotten him into. As for Kevin, he could fend for himself. â€Å"Sir, it’s my brother’s friend. He came over one day and told Josh, that’s my brother, that he was going to get revenge on this bully at school and asked him to help out. Josh said that he would have nothing to do with Kevin’s plan and so Kevin called up someone else. That’s all I know, sir,† lied Ian. He felt like he had done a good thing for his brother. â€Å"And I have Kevin’s address too.† Ian went and got the address book for the detective and gave him that of Kevin Young. Ian had no idea what he was setting up for Kevin nor did he know that his brother would have been happy to take all of the blame for his friend. All he knew was that he and his brother were off the hook. â€Å"It was beautiful! I don’t think Trent O’Leary will ever move his desk again,† laughed Josh. â€Å"I never dreamed that I would ever, ever beat that oversized goon. Now I know that we can do anything.† Josh and Kevin had never looked so jolly in their whole lives. The look on their faces was one of pure mirth. The moment that the floor under the jock’s desk had erupted with water, they couldn’t help but burst with laughter. Fortunately, neither could anyone else in the class, which covered for them. Trent O’Leary finally knew what it was like to be the one everyone laughed at, not with, but at. His desk lifted a foot off the ground and he flew up into the air before landing right back down on the gaping hole in the floor, gushing with water. The water was warm, which made it a little more tolerable for O’Leary. Their plan had worked perfectly. â€Å"They didn’t even notice. I bet they looked for hours and couldn’t find anything wrong,† commented Kevin. â€Å"That was so sweet.† â€Å"I will never lose the image of the look on his face when he was three feet in the air!† beamed Josh. â€Å"Amazing.† â€Å"Who was right about this whole thing, Kevin?† asked a proud Josh. â€Å"I have to give credit where credit’s due,† said Kevin. â€Å"It was all you, my friend. Nature likes us, Josh. Nature agreed.† â€Å"You said it, man. Well put.† Part Eight â€Å"You did WHAT?† When Josh walked in the door to his house, Ian greeted him with the news that he had laid all the blame on Kevin. â€Å"First of all, how could you tell the cops about what we were doing? Do you know how stupid that was? I ought to beat the crap out of you! And secondly, why did you peg Kevin with all the responsibility? Do you know what’s going to happen to him now? He’s going to end up just like his father! You don’t know his father, do you? You don’t understand what he’s up against! He doesn’t have a chance! You are going to pay for this one, you little bastard! You are going to pay big time!† Josh yelled. Ian started to whimper a little. His whimpers then turned into sobs and tears streamed down his face. â€Å"Don’t cry to me. You’re not getting any sympathy from me so don’t waste your time.† Josh walked off in a mood so furious that it could only be described as indescribable. â€Å"I’m sorry, Josh!† sobbed Ian. â€Å"I just wanted to help! I’m sorry!† Josh reluctantly walked back into the room to comfort his desolate brother. â€Å"Hey, look buddy. We all make mistakes. We can’t help it. But you have to be careful what you say. It could end up destroying someone’s whole life, and that’s something you can’t get back. Sure, you screwed up. You’re only human.† Josh was now speaking in a soft, understanding voice. Then he snapped out of it a bit. â€Å"This whole speech doesn’t mean that I’m not mad at you, don’t kid yourself.† He walked off, still angry but a little more subdued. Kevin got home and saw a police car outside his house. He immediately dropped his books and ran in a blind panic. He didn’t get far, though, because there was another cruiser just down the street. They put him in the back seat and told him to wait there. He looked out the window and saw his mother in tears at the doorway of his house as a police officer explained what had happened. The officer came back to the car and they drove to the police station, which was a concrete box that had been hollowed out and put windows into the walls. They took him inside and put him in an isolated room, the kind with the fake mirror in it. They then came in and asked him questions like who was with him that night. He was loyal, of course, and said that he was with his cousin who lived in Idaho. He went on to say how he thought up the whole thing because O’Leary had bullied him. â€Å"It’s not like I pulled a Columbine on him. I never would. I never even had a toy gun as a kid,† said Kevin when he was asked if he realised how serious his actions were. â€Å"He wasn’t even hurt at all. He was just a little soggy.† They told him that he would have to stay there overnight in one of the cells. He was allowed one phone call and one visit. He called Josh and told him to come and see him. â€Å"Hey,† he said when he arrived. â€Å"Hey.† There was an awkward pause in which not a word was said. â€Å"Ian ratted us out, eh?† asked Kevin. â€Å"Yeah. Then he tried to get me out of it by saying that you asked me to do it and I said no,† said Josh. â€Å"I yelled at him for it and he cracked. He feels pretty terrible about it.† â€Å"He should,† Kevin said bitterly. â€Å"Once he starts feeling better I’ll kick the stuffing out of him for you,† promised Josh. Kevin nodded. A tear dribbled down his face. â€Å"Hey, man, you’re going to be fine. You can do this. We can do this. I can help, you know.† â€Å"But my Dad†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You are not your Dad, Kevin. You are a completely different person. A stronger one. You know how to stand up for yourself, otherwise you wouldn’t have gone along with the plan. Even if you do get in trouble for it, we’ll always have the joy of looking back on O’Leary’s misfortune. That’s something no one can take away from us, alright?† â€Å"Yeah, I guess,† said Kevin as he wiped the tears from his eyes. â€Å"That was pretty cool, eh?† â€Å"Sure as hell was, man,† replied Josh. The guard came in and told them to wrap it up. â€Å"Say hey to my parents for me, will you?† asked Kevin. He was starting to break up again. Josh nodded that he would. Then he turned around and walked towards the door. â€Å"Hey Josh.† Josh stopped and turned back around. â€Å"Seems like Nature has mixed feelings about us,† said Kevin as he tried to smile. â€Å"No way, man,† Josh replied. â€Å"Nature loves us. You’ll see.† He grinned knowingly and walked out the door. The End Research Papers on The Plan - Creative Writing PaperTrailblazing by Eric AndersonHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayHip-Hop is ArtBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenResearch Process Part OneAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaThe Effects of Illegal Immigration

Christian Expression Vocation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Christian Expression Vocation - Essay Example Third, Christian vocation may connote gifts and leadership in readiness for lasting service. In view of this, Cooling (19-31) indicates an individual is self-conscious of his or her own gifts and capacities and to exhibit a fairly focused sagacity of the manner in which God wants these qualities to be employed to the advantage and betterment of the general world. Abraham is one of God’s servants who exercised utmost faith in the Creator by following all the commands of God. After the death of his father, Abram was instructed by God to abandon his homeland for another place where He would direct him (Eslinger 189-193). The faithful took his household of three including his wife Sara and Lot and followed God’s commands to what is today Israel-Palestine land. Despite the fortunes in the rich land, Abraham never built a home in this new environment but led a nomadic life, moving from one place to another to earn a living. The immense faith demonstrated by Abraham led him into securing his descendents the rich land. Additionally, God altered his name from Abram to Abraham and his wifes from Sara to Sarah. This is a clear manifestation of the strong faith he had in God. Few would agree to change their name in favour of a new beginning. According to Eslinger (192-207), God tempted Abrahams faith in Him by instructing him to offer his only son, Isaac for sacrifice. This event was imperative on two grounds: if the Isaac was sacrificed Abram would not have any heir to take over the land that God had assured Abraham. If Abraham successfully offered his son to God as sacrifice, he must have had faith in the coming back to life of the departed. Once God witnessed the seriousness of Abraham, in regarding the sacrifice of his son, He set forth and offered him a ram instead, to offer in the occasion.

Kellogg's Market analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kellogg's Market analysis - Essay Example This has provided a good opportunity to companies like Kellogg’s. Similar emphasis is being placed on products which can provide good nutritional values and energy and are easily portable. Jaffer (2008) points out that with such considerations gaining ground Kellogg’s has repositioned its K-bar as an energy bar. This bar was traditionally positioned as an alternative to its breakfast cereal line, but now it focuses on the consumer’s demand for more natural energy. The company recorded revenues worth $11,776 million during the FY2007, an increase of 8% over FY2006. The key areas in which Kellogg’s operates has been primarily divided into four major segments like North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. This helps the company in devising segment specific strategies for these geographical regions. For example, in India Kellogg’s launched an SMS advertising campaign to tie in with its offline advertising for corn flake brands (Media Asia, 2004). With use of mobile phones increasing and the growing number of mobile users in the billion strong markets, mobile branding is one of the innovative techniques that are being used by this American MNC. Being a leader in the business, the company has been able to take advantage of its strategic placement and alliance in different markets to successfully experiment with new initiatives. One of the key focus areas for Kellogg’s is the ‘Children segment’. This prompted the company to enter into a multi-year global relationship with Disney in 2002. Some of the st rengths and weaknesses of Kellogg’s can be summarised as follows; Strong Brand Identity: Having a glorious past of more than 100 years Kellogg’s is a well known brand in many parts of the world. The portfolio of product brands offering corn flakes, Keebler, Chocos, Pop-Tarts, Eggo, Cheez-It, Nutri-Grain, Rice Krispies, Special K, Murray, Austin, Morningstar

Hardware Components Essay Example for Free

Hardware Components Essay There are several types of hardware storage devices invented and designed to facilitate encoded and retrieved data storage in computers. Some of the examples of these storage devices include the ff. : the hard disk, floppy disk, RAM, CD ROM, and tape. Furthermore, these storage devices together with hardware component of clock speed play their distinct roles to determine the speed and speed rate of a computer (MSD, 2006). Body First, introduced in 1956 and developed during 1973, by the IBM company, the hard disk, or â€Å"hard disk drive† as mentioned, is one example of a stable and reliable secondary hardware storage device that efficiently facilitates speed. It functions as some kind of an optimal and purposeful storeroom which saves accumulated and encoded numeric and digital data, and it is also appropriate for running application programs on spinning magnet-plated platters that is performed by execution and command by the user. Hard disk drives were created for personal computer usage. It has features like audio playing, video gaming, video recording, etc (MSD, 2006). Second, the role of hard disks in determining the speed of a computer is very significant because with the use of hard disk, it can makes the access of files easier and faster as it runs or rotates. The bigger the platters or dishes used by the hard disk to run, the faster its speed and the smaller the platters, the lower the capacity of the computer to run, work, or access files faster. The number of disks in a specific computer may vary at a minimum number of 3 disks to a maximum number of 5 running disks revolving 60 per second. Most hard disk drives make use of removable cartridges while some do not. Most people create back up from the files they saved from the disk since the recent hard disk is created with such a sensitive feature. It can store data from 20 M up to 40 M (MSD, 2006). Third, a floppy disk coming in two sizes: 5 ? and 3 ? inches, is a detachable or unfixed storage device which is already obsolete. It is secondary as compared to the huge capacity of hard disk when it comes to data storage memory. The uses of floppy disks though, become popular for it is much cheaper than the cost of a hard disk. Moreover, it is more convenient to carry floppy disks wherever you go and save data for the use of backup purposes. Moreover, floppy disks make use of the delicate, magnetic and bendable disk which is film-like in color and enclosed in a protective plastic shield or case. The roles of floppy disks portray no role in determining the speed of a computer—speed is determined by the Central Processing unit and its memory rather. For practical reasons, hard disks are favored over floppy disks especially when the cost of the first (hard disks) becomes more inexpensive than the latter. Further, floppy disks are really essentially slower and more sensitive than hard disk that is why it is more prone to damage (MSD, 2006). Fourth, random access memory (RAM) is the primarily appropriate for storage of data that occurs in the computer’s memory and is stored directly at the computer’s Central Processing Unit (CPU). The two types of RAM are the SRAM and the DRAM. SRAM stands for Static RAM and the latter meaning, Dynamic RAM (DRAM). With the use of RAM, user can program the CPU to read, write, and locate data. The role of RAM is to carry out and execute calculations at high speed which is made possible by the said feature of RAM or computer memory that operates random to locate items or applications in the computer system (MC, 2008). Fifth, with the use of compact disks, the CD-ROM operates and exemplifies the use of read-only memory for sharing and sending applications like music files, games, and other multimedia files and desktop applications. The capacity of CD-ROM when it comes to data storage is up to 650 M. Recently, CD-ROMs tend to be much cheaper than other storage devices. CD-ROM is appropriate for expansion of one’s personalized computer system. In addition, CD-ROM does not play a role in determining the speed of a computer. In fact, user retrieves data slower than any other available data computer storage device in the market if the computer is not supported by CD-ROM’s â€Å"data transfer speed (MSD, 2006). † Sixth, tape is a thin strip of plastic, magnetic coated device used mainly for recording and it is known to be appropriate for secondary data storage or backup. Moreover, this tape is most appropriate for the purpose of calculations or â€Å"personal computing. † There is a no role that a tape plays in order to determine speed in a particular computer; further, data access is slower than expected together with its inconvenience for the required retrieval of data in orderly and chronological manner (MSD, 2006). Lastly, clock speed—as measured in megahertz (MHz), is the â€Å"speed of the internal clock of microprocessor. † Clock speed is appropriate for functioning in operation in the internal processing of a computer. The clock speed plays an important role in determining the speed of a computer and it affects the overall performance of the computer (MSD, 2006). Conclusion Several types of hardware storage devices are invented for data storage in computers: the hard disk, floppy disk, RAM, CD ROM, and tape. All mediums except for the floppy disks, CD-ROM, and tape play a role in determining the speed of a computer. These devices except for the other three are hardware components that determine the speed and performance of a computer.