Los Angeles Abrasion Value

LOS ANGELES ABRASION VALUE This method describes the procedure for the determination of the Los Angeles Abrasion Value of aggregate APPARATUS Australian Standard sieves (Grade B) as required. 1 2 A thermostatically controlled oven with good air ventilation capable of maintaining a temperature within the range of 105Â °C to 110Â °C. 3 Sieve brushes. 4 Balance readable and accurate to at least one gram. 5 Sample divider of the multiple slot type. A suitable design is shown in Figure 1. 6 Los Angeles Machine essential dimensions complying with Figure 2.Worksheet, MRD 1165 (recommendation only) 7. PROCEDURE 1 Obtain a test sample taken in accordance with Test Method WA200. 1. 2 Select a grading defined in Table 1 appropriate to the particle size distribution of the test sample. 3 Wash the test sample by agitation under running water for approximately ten minutes. 5 Dry the test sample to constant mass (Note a), in an oven at a temperature within the range of 105Â °C to 110Â °C, cool to room temperature and sieve it on the appropriate sieves until a sufficient mass of each fraction has been obtained.Adjust the mass of material so obtained for each sieve fraction by quartering or riffling, if necessary, to within two percent of the relevant mass shown in Table. 1. Determine the mass of each fraction and combine the sieve fractions to form a test portion ), to at least the nearest 1g, of the test portion. Place it, together with the appropriate ball charge defined in Table 1, in the Los Angeles Machine. Rotate the machine for 500 or 1 000 revolutions as required in Table 1 (Note b).

Does “Assassin’s Creed” Influence a Teen’s Mind Essay

Imagine a world where everything that happened was secretly controlled by a large organization of people. Every day you are constantly recorded and monitored. Everything that you do is secretly planned out in advance, yet you think that everything you’re doing is by your own free will. Everyone including your family, your friends, and the government are all controlled by this organization, and you can’t even tell. While you blithely and involuntarily follow the path planned out for you, another organization is secretly and quietly trying to put a stop to the evil plans of the organization that wants to control your every move. This is the plotline of a very popular videogame known as Assassin’s Creed. Assassin’s Creed is a great game that has influenced and challenged people’s view on government and democracy. The game Assassin’s Creed influences people’s minds by making them think more outside the box, and by aiding there curiosity of conspiracy theories. Assassin’s Creed take places in 2012, following the life of Desmond Miles, a bartender who is a descendant of several Assassins. Although Desmond was raised as an Assassin, he fled his nomadic family to seek out a more common lifestyle. While enjoying his freedom he is kidnapped by an evil company known as Abstergo Industries, the modern-day face of the Knights Templar who are aware of Desmond’s ancestry. Templars want to control everyone, and they believe in absolute order similar to totalitarianism. Desmond is forced to use a device known as an â€Å"Animus† which allows him to experience his assassin ancestral memories. Abstergo is seeking to discover the location of several artifacts, known as â€Å"Pieces of Eden,† in order to obtain great power and control mankind and alter its fate, bringing humanity into a single unified group. Later Desmond escapes Abstergo due to the help of some modern-day Assassins who he later ends up working with. Desmond uses their version of the Animus (Animus 2.0) to continue to re-live the memories of his ancestors and discover the locations of the Pieces of Eden before Abstergo can do so. Desmond relives the events of his Assassin ancestors who live in worlds full of chaos, injustice, and indirect captivity. Doesn’t this seem similar to the way the world is today? Several countries have yet to establish a government system where people have a say in what they want the government to do for them. There are even more countries that have yet to abolish their governing laws on slavery. Our own government is hiding secrets from us (trying to protect us), yet causing more accidents and tragedies that could be avoided if only we had access to their classified information. Assassin’s Creed is a completely made up story, but it has a lot of interesting and intuitive facts to its plot. In fact, the majority of it seems plausible, and many others within my age group seem to think the sa me after playing this game. Along with the several games that my peers play that can relate to Assassin’s Creed, there are also several books that are similar. Assassin’s Creed got its inspiration from the novel Alamut written by a Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol, which is what inspired most of the first game’s plot. Another story very similar to the plotline of Assassin’s Creed is The Traveler written by John Twelve Hawks. The book takes place in the future and lays out a world where the power lies not with people or governments, but in the hands of a secret organization who call themselves â€Å"the Brethren.† Their enemies refer to them as â€Å"the Tabula†. The Tabula are an ancient secret society who thinks that control and stability are an absolute necessity, similar to extreme Utilitarianism. The Tabula gets the majority of their influence from the ideas of philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The Tabula wish to enforce a Virtual Panopticon which is a society where all i ndividuals become accustomed to being watched and monitored and they act at all times as if they are being observed; making them more afraid to do immoral things. The Tabula’s sole objective is to kill all Travelers. Travelers are people with the special ability to â€Å"cross-over†, which is often inherited from an ancestor. Crossing-over can be defined as your spirit leaving your body and going off to another realm, and then returning. Upon this return, most Travelers would have experienced a different perspective of our world. Many Travelers become religious prophets, or enemies of the Tabula who have hunted them almost to extinction. Harlequins are a warrior group sworn to defend the Travelers from the Tabula. The Harlequins are opposed to the Tabula, and the two sides spent centuries fighting over control and power which allowed the Tabula to gain control and almost completely exterminate the Travelers and Harlequins. Despite the nobility and self-sacrifice of their cause, the Harlequins are cold and cruel figures who dedicate their lives to fighting and killing without remorse or hesitation. Sound familiar? Due to its graphic, plausible, and suspenseful storyline, Assassins Creed has become a big hit to gamers, historians, and conspiracy theorist alike; causing them to have a current series of five games in all, selling millions of copies worldwide. The series has been a big success and has won a number of awards. All of the Assassin’s Creeds make an adolescent see the world they live in differently. I wouldn’t even have considered governmental control, Templars & Tabula, or Assassins & Harlequins as being realistic, but now I’m starting to have second thoughts (I also know of several friends in the same state as me). Reading books similar to The Traveler and playing videogames similar to Assassin’s Creed makes one think a little more outside the box and take into cons ideration other conspiracy theories and stories.

American Identity Construction In Raising Victor Vargas English Literature Essay

American Identity Construction In Raising Victor Vargas English Literature Essay Peter Sollet’s 2002 movie â€Å"Raising Victor Vargas†, is a fascinating piece of cinematic work because it has the incredible ability to transport an audience member from the movie theatre and place him or her behind main character Victor, thus becoming an eye witness of his daily actions in the barrio. By taking this approach, Sollet gives the audience the opportunity to analyze the negotiation and construction of Dominican self-identification in the United States. The movie is set in New York City’s Lower East Side and a majority of the main characters are members of the working class Vargas family. The head of the household is grandmother Anna Guzman, who is a first generation immigrant from the Dominican Republic. She has the responsibility to raise her three grandchildren named Victor, Vicki and Nino. Victor is a real ladies’ man and the central narrative of the movie revolves around his attempts to seduce popular neighborhood girl Judy Ramirez. His involvement with Judy is a desperate effort to rescue his reputation as Victor’s friends assume that he has slept with â€Å"Fat Donna.† Over the course of his seduction process, Victor gets both his brother and sister tangled up in his actions which makes raising victor vargas a mission impossible for his traditional grandmother. Both the general audience and critics appreciate the movie. It faired well at the box office and it received many positive critical reviews, including one from popular Chicago-Sun Times critic Roger Ebert who gave it three and a half stars out of four. â€Å"Raising Victor Vargas† also won several prizes including the Grand Special Prize at Deauville Film Festival and the Made in Spanish award at San Sebastian International Film Festival. Reasons for its success may lie in the fact that it is not a typical teenage comedy, since it not merely touches upon teens’ experiences with relationships. It also raises issues concerning th e search for an Dominican-American identity, the defining of race through language, the acceptance of generational tensions and the existence of cultural differences. All of these issues give a glimpse of how ethnic-racial identities are played out in New York City’s Lower East Side. By analyzing the construction of an ethnic-racial identity in â€Å"Raising Victor Vargas† by means of the previously listed topics, this paper will demonstrate how the existence of fluid identities encompasses feelings of inclusion and exclusion that are able to dominate lives within an urban minority community. The academic discussion on identity construction in Latino communities in New York City mostly focuses on the existence of panethnicity among Latinos and how this affects integration into American society. According to scholars Josà © Itzigsohn and Carlos Dore-Carbal, the existence of panethnicity â€Å"refers to the expansion of ethnic group boundaries to include different nati onal or ethnic groups that share a common language, a common culture, or a common regional origin into an encompassing identity.† This panethnicity has been examined as a secondary identity that coexists with national identifications. In addition, the link between America’s racial classification system and panethnic identity has also been researched extensively. Overall, research has drawn the conclusion that separate racial and ethnic categories are able to construct panethnic identities, yet they can also create panethnic identities together.

Globalization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Globalization - Research Paper Example I support the concept of globalization because it helps a company to grow and expand its wings. The various ways by which globalization helps a company to spread widely are cited below. The process of globalization incorporates the regional economies, culture and society, through a global network of execution and communication which helps the company to communicate with a larger group of consumers. It refers to the reduction and removal of national barriers in order to maintain the flow of goods and services which as a result unites different nations It is a trend for the countries to move forward and join together economically. The concept is to view the whole world as one nation Globalization gives consumers an exposure to the world of various goods and services according to their need (Bergen, 2004). Recommendation for John and Deborah’s corporation From the inception of the business in 2002 till 2006, John and Deborah had made good progress. Due to the sub-prime crisis and economic slowdown in US, the housing marketing is facing setback, so the sales of furniture have gone down. They are also threatened from the high end brands that are marketing aggressively and also creating lines for the popular retail stores. Seeing this scenario it would be advisable that John and Deborah’s corporation should think of expansion to other countries. The company should proceed globally as they possess certain strengths such as in house designers, exceptional customer service and superior quality of furniture. As their primary source of revenue is from catalogue sales online, they can expand their business by stating on their homepage that the company welcomes inquiries from any country in the world. They should also mention that they are willing to ship outside United States. The company should diligently deal with the customers by using cash advance, letter of credit or using a freight forwarder. The pricing will be high if they exports as they are already dealing with expensive products. So they can consider alternative way i.e. to have manufacturing unit in the target market to meet their demand. As the company has in-house designer, so they will not face problem regarding the designing and also there is the flexibility of rapidly changing the designs as per the requirement of the market. At the same time they are providing the customers an exceptional service for which they are well known. Impact of globalization Due to globalization, the size and pace of trade and commerce is increasing. This is possible because of the dramatic reduction in communication and transportation cost. The expansion of trade is the one important aspect of globalization. Other major indicators that can be considered in this case are the foreign direct investment and growth of international capital market. The companies and individual have paved the way by which the organizations can cope up with the risks associated with foreign currency and interest rate . They can also make investments speculatively (Lerman & Schmidt, n.d.). Globalization has a positive impact in case of creating employment in different countries by giving rise to emerging industries, but certain demerits are there too. For example the developed countries dominate the developing or under-developed countries. The employees may have to move from one country to another due to globalization. In that case the workers

Parental Perceptions of educational services provided for children Thesis

Parental Perceptions of educational services provided for children with autism - Thesis Example Furthermore the cost of provision of health care is highly expensive. Coupled with the fact that the children with autism tend to display a range of mild to severe social and behavioural disabilities, the inability to access full health care and appropriate educational services could be daunting for the parents. This study aims to evaluate the various difficulties and challenges faced by the parents and their perceptions about the educational services for children with autism in the UAE. This study aims to critically evaluate the parental perceptions of services provided for children with Autism in the UAE. The findings indicate that there is indeed a gap between the need and demand for such services and the availability of the same. Although the government has and continue to implement appropriate measures including introduction of laws that enable children with special educational needs to be accommodated in mainstream schools and provision of funding to parents to enable proper tr eatment for such children, there still is a huge gap between the need for special support services for such children and the availability of the same. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a range of complex neurodevelopmental disorders that tend to disrupt social lives of people with Autism severely affects and limits their communication ability, making it difficult for such people to properly communicate and interact with those around them. Such impaired social interaction further causes learning difficulties. Hence children with ASD are likely to fail in executing routine everyday tasks as simple as responding to their own names when called, interpret things or events around them and understand or grasp social cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice etc. (National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke, 2015). The combination of the three critical impairments, which include impaired

Discuss the importance of sibling rivalry in Everyday Use or First Research Paper

Discuss the importance of sibling rivalry in Everyday Use or First Confession - Research Paper Example But this does not apply in the novel. Maggie, who is younger the Dee feels neglected while her elder sister, Dee is well cared of. This creates a rivalry between the two. The elder sister is also attractive than her younger sister because Maggie has some scary marks from the fire incidence when she was young. The hatred strengthens Maggie since she does her own things without depending on fellow family members. Dee on the other hand is over dependent on her parent (mama). Sibling rivalry promotes responsibility among family members, more so the children. Dee is known to be lazy, despite being stronger and healthier than her younger sister who was once a fire accident victim (Borden, 49). Dee cannot even make her own bed nor clean up. But when the parents are away, she is forced to depend on herself since the younger sister; Maggie does not tolerate her laziness. The irony in the novel that Maggie, the youngest in the family is more active than her elder sister, Dee. Maggie feels offe nded when Dee orders Hakim around the house like she has no hands or limbs. Dee is ever seated while everything is done to her. Maggie is more responsible despite her tender age and weakness from the fire incident. ... Dee down looks her mother despite all the attention she gets. There is a point her mother tries to explain how her name came about. Dee is named after her respected aunt. Instead of her appreciating having named after an important society member, she despises her mother and walks away (Faber, 29). Maggie avoids associating with her sister at all cost. She does her thing on her own because she thinks Dee is favored but she still remains disobedient to the mother. There is a point Maggie wish she was the eldest so that she could her sister some lessons. Maggie and Hakim do most of the house chores while the elder sister makes orders like some kind of boss. As a reader, one later learns that Dee is not favored by her mother (mama) but the later tries her to reunite Dee with other family members. Dee is tough and masculine according to her mother’s verdict. The story talks about how her mother used some encouraging and pleasant phrases to place so that she would appreciate other f amily members, but all is in vain. Dee continues her independent life and does not involve any family members in her decisions. It takes mama great effort to make Dee appreciate kitchen as a woman’s territory, instead the latter uses her robust energy to butcher cows as well as hogs. This makes the character different from other women in the novel. Dee later changes her name to ‘Wangero’, an African name. This offends her mother and Maggie is regarded as the family caretaker instead. We come to learn the real character of Dee. The mother is having no favors but just tries to convince the role of women in the society. Sibling conflict makes on learn how the other sibling feels or think of her or him. Dee knows very well

Types of Consumer Behaviour and their Impacts Case Study

Types of Consumer Behaviour and their Impacts - Case Study Example There are different ways in which consumers behave when buying goods and services hence forming four classes of consumer behaviour. Some consumers are described as opportunistic stop buyers and such have no specific place of buying their products but rather they get them from any vendor or service provider they meet. In comparison to the financial sector, these consumers are not patriotic to a specific bank or microfinance but their transactions are made at any bank or financial service provider that has advertised its services in an appealing way. It has been reported that consumers exhibit this behaviour in the financial sector due to the high interest rates charged in banks. Such companies should take into consideration the fact that if interest rates charged on borrowed loans continues to raise uncontrollably the customers will flee to banks that offer manageable rates. They should also be honest and give their customers any accumulated dividends and shares. Other customers will exhibit opportunistic store buying whereby they also have no specific preference of a certain brand but their unique character is that they buy products through partnering with other stakeholders who act as intermediaries. Their difference with opportunistic spot buyer is that they buy their products in bulk whereby the intermediary subsidizes the prices.

Cultural Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Cultural Studies - Essay Example From the essay it is clear images, sounds and various types of spectacles form the foundation of media culture and in turn influence our everyday life closely. It dominates the leisure time of individuals, influences political opinions, social behavior and provides materials out of which people create their identity. Different types of media resources like radio, television and films particular focus over the materials that emphasis over the aspects of gender discrimination on sexual grounds. At the same time the ideas of being successful or unsuccessful, powerful or powerless are also determined by the media. As the report declares media is also one of the major sources for providing the indications with the help of which an individual identifies his class, ethnicity, race, nationality and a concept of us and them. It is through such prevailing influence media not only determines culture but also outlook of the world. In the context of determining right or wrong act, morality and immorality, the role of media is undeniable. At the same time it is media culture which determines what is good and what is bad, positive and negative, moral or immoral. The various issues portrayed by the media helps in constructing various symbols, myths which in turn constitutes a common culture for the larger part of the population. It should be noted that it is the various materials of the media which gives an individual the basis to locate himself within a technically advanced capitalist society and which in turn gives rise to a new type of global culture.

The Cost Accounting System of Bagalot PLC Coursework

The Cost Accounting System of Bagalot PLC - Coursework Example On the overall analysis, it can be stated that the cost system in Bagalot PLC is not appropriate and it requires certain changes. To justify this, light can be thrown on the findings of the internal team, which is appointed to study the overhead costs in both the plants. The findings can be summarised and demonstrated as follows: The above outcomes signify the importance of the production and post-production related activities. If the overhead cost of a product is calculated based on the production-run direct labor, then the other activities will be surely ignored. It implies that the adopted mechanism for the cost calculation is not effective as it takes into account only the partial costs. Based on the above explanation, it can be recommended to the Bagalot management to bring certain transformation in the host system or to change the method of the cost estimation. In this note, the management can be proposed to adopt ‘Activity-Based Costing’ (ABC). In this case, one question can crop up that whether both the plants should adopt the technique or not. It is true that variations in the activities are less in the Bath plant, but the mechanism of estimating overhead expenses is similar. Therefore, it will be better if ABC method can be applied to both the plants. There are several activities in Bristol plant and few activities in Bath plant. The activities are ‘receiving and production control’, ‘packaging and shipping’, ‘plant management and facilities’ and most importantly ‘set up labor’. By implementing ABC method, the organization will be able to monitor each activity that has a contribution in direct overhead. It will result in effective cost structure as well as transparent mechanism. In the last part, cost of each product of Bagalot has been calculated according to the activity-based costing method. In this portion of the paper, the profitability of the Briefcases based on the new approach (ABC method) will be computed. A comparative analysis of the old and new methods can be presented in a tabular format to figure out the best approach.

Marketing Packaging and Labeling Essay Example for Free

Marketing Packaging and Labeling Essay Packaging and Labeling What you’ll learn . . . †¢ The principal functions of product packaging †¢ The main functions of labels Packaging †¢ The physical container or wrapping for a product. Functions of Packaging †¢ Promoting and Selling the Product Functions of Packaging †¢ Defining Product Identity – invokes prestige, convenience, or status Functions of Packaging †¢ Provides Information – UPC symbols, contents, guarantees, nutritional value, potential hazards Functions of Packaging †¢ Meeting Customer Needs – various sizes, snack kits, etc. Functions of Packaging †¢ Ensuring Safe Use – plastic instead of glass, tamperresistant packaging, blisterpacks, childproof containers To read about the Tylenol murders in 1982, and the resulting invention of the tamperproof package, click on the Tylenol box above. Functions of Packaging †¢ Protecting the Product – during shipping, storage, and display. Protects food from spoilage. Helps prevent shoplifting Contemporary Packaging Issues †¢ Aseptic Packaging – Incorporates a technology that keeps foods fresh without refrigeration for extended periods Contemporary Packaging Issues †¢ Environmental Packaging – reusable, recyclable, less wasteful, and safer for the environment Contemporary Packaging Issues †¢ Cause Packaging – to promote non-product issues such as social and political causes Ex: Body Shop, Ben Jerry’s Click on the ice cream carton to learn about cause packaging at Ben and Jerry’s Labeling †¢ A label is an information tag, wrapper, seal, or imprinted message attached to a product A labels main function is to inform about contents and give directions Brand Label – gives the brand name, etc. Descriptive Label †¢ Information about product use, care, other features Grade Label †¢ States the quality – AA, A, B Labeling Laws †¢ Many package labels must meet local, state, and federal standards †¢ FDA – Federal Food and Drug Administration – requires nutritional info, regulates health claims and defines descriptive terms such as â€Å"light,† â€Å"free,† â€Å"low,† and â€Å"reduced† to make them consistent on all products †¢ FTC – Federal Trade Commission – monitors for deceptive advertising that is false or misleading, including guidelines for environmental claims like â€Å"recycled† or â€Å"biodegradable.†

Difficult Obstacle In Learning English English Language Essay

Difficult Obstacle In Learning English English Language Essay Vocabulary is the most difficult obstacle in learning English. However, English word formation is an effective way to learn English, because it can help us to correctly identify the word form, part of speech, and to understand the meaning of the word, and to rapidly expand our vocabulary. Among them, affixation is the strongest one, and it forms the largest number of words, and it is considered to be one of the best ways to learn English. Besides, compounding, conversion, blending, clipping, acronymy, back-formation are also the efficient ways of learning English. In the paper, the ways and characteristics of word formation are analyzed in affixation, compounding and conversion. Keywords: English word formation, affixation, compounding, conversion 1. Introduction Learning a language must to learn the speech, grammar and vocabulary. In these three elements, vocabulary occupies a pivotal position. Well-known scholar Wilkins said, without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed. Vocabulary scientist McCarthy said more simply, no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully he masters the sounds of a L2, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in that language cannot happen in any meaningful way. So many teachers and students pay a lot attention to the vocabulary learning. And the expansion of vocabulary in modern English depends chiefly on word formation. There is a variety of means being at work now. The most productive are affixation, compounding and conversion. Talking about word-forming patterns means dealing with rules. But not all words which are produced by applying the rule are acceptable. The acceptability is gained only when the words have gain ed an institutional currency in the language. Therefore, rules only provide a constant set of models from which new words are created from day to day. Rules themselves are not fixed but undergo changes to a certain extent. For instance, affixes and compounding processes may become productive at one time or lose their productivity. By word formation processes, we concentrate on productive or on productive rules. While applying the rules, we should keep in mind that there are always exceptions. Then I will analyze the ways and characteristics of word formation in affixation, compounding and conversion. 2. Affixation Affixation is generally defined as the formation of words by adding word-forming or derivational affixes to bases. This process is also known as derivation, by which new words are derived from old or base forms. The words that are created in this way are called derivatives. According to the positions affixes occupy in words, affixation falls into two subcategories: prefixation and suffixation. Prefixation is a way of forming new words by adding prefixes to stems. Usually, prefixes do not change the word-class of the stem but only modify its meaning. Prefixes can be divided, based on their meanings, into: negative prefixes, reversative prefixes, pejorative prefixes, prefixes of degree or size, prefixes of orientation and attitude, locative prefixes, prefixes of time and order, number prefixes, conversion prefixes, miscellaneous prefixes. For instance, negative prefixes include: 1) a-, apolitical, asexual, atypical; 2) dis-, disobey, discredit, disloyal; 3) in-, il-, ir-, im-, inaudible, illegitimate, irresistible, improbable; 4) non-, non-classical, non-smoker, non-violence; 5) un-, undemocratic, unwillingly, unbuilt. Suffixation is the process of forming new words by adding suffixes to the end of stems. Suffixes have primary function being to change the word class with a slight modification of meaning. Suffixes can be divided into noun suffixes, adjective suffixes, adverb suffixes and verb suffixes. For instance, noun suffixes include: 1) denominal nouns, -eer, -er, -age, profiteer, teenager, mileage; 2) deverbal nouns, -ant, -ent, -ing, assistant, respondent, christening; 3) de-adjective nouns, -ity, -ness, productivity, youthfulness; 4) noun and adjective suffixes, -ese, -an, -ist, Chinese, Australian, Methodist. Affixation is the strongest word formation, and it forms the largest number of words, and it is considered to be one of the best ways to learn English. Linguist David Crystal said, no matter how big your vocabulary is, only you know the range of prefixes and suffixes, and you know the main limitation of using them, your vocabulary will sharp increase soon. Famous author Lord Chesterfield said, the shortest and best way of learning a language is to know the roots of it, that is, those original primitive words of which other words are formed. Etymology scientists John Kennedy said, the stem and its value are the basis of the English language. 3. Compounding Compounding or composition is a process of word formation by which two or more stems are put together to make a new word. Words formed in this way are called compounds. So a compound is a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"lexical unit consisting of more than one base and functioning both grammatically and semantically as a single wordà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, Quirk et al said that. Compounds can be divided into noun compounds, adjective compounds and verb compounds. For instance, noun compounds include: 1) noun+ noun: moon cake, end product; 2) noun+ verb: toothache, frostbite; 3) verb+ noun: crybaby, tell-tale; 4) adjective+ noun: deadline, blueprint; 5) noun+ verb-ing: brainwashing, air-conditioning; 6) verb-ing+ noun: cleaning lady, wading bird; 7) noun+ verb-er: stockholder, crime reporter; 8) adverb+ verb: outbreak, downfall; 9) verb+ adverb: sit-in, have-not; 10)verb-ing+ adverb: going-over, carryings-on; 11) adverb+ verb-ing: up-bringing. And compounds have noticeable characteristics, such as phonolog ical features, semantic features, grammatical features and orthographical features. 4. Conversion Conversion is the formation of new words by converting words of one class to another class, without changes in morphological structures. New words are new only in a grammatical sense. For instance, the word paper as a noun has four senses: 1) material in thin sheets made from wood or cloth, 2) a newspaper, 3) a piece of writing for specialists, and 4) wallpaper. When turned into a transitive verb, it is related only to 4) as in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"She papered the room greenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. 5. Conclusion English words are difficult to learn and hard to remember, but there are internal rules can be found. If we start from word formation, we can make vocabulary learning become simple and efficient, and make it possible for the rapid expansion of vocabulary. Word formation is an efficient way and powerful weapon for English study. We should grasp the three main ways, affixation, compounding and conversion, especially for our English major students.

The Destructive Power of the Media Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive T

The Destructive Power of the Media      Ã‚  Ã‚   I have the most adorable little cousin named Alexandra, whom I love with all my heart. One day I was very disturbed when she told me that she was fat. She was 4 years old at the time. I was stunned and had no idea what to say to her, so I just told her that she is a healthy little girl and that she needs to not to worry about that. I tried to think of where she would come up with this thought, and after a while I remembered a conversation that her mother and I had. We were talking about how nice it was when we were younger and we did not have to work at being thin. Her mother said something about being fat and Alexandra must have been listening. This got me thinking about how I came to be self conscious about my body. I came to the conclusion that it is just something that every woman has to go through at least one time in her life. But why, what is it that makes every woman want "the perfect body?" I pondered this question for a while, but I was baffled. Later that day I began to read the "Cosmopolitan" and I began paying attention to the advertisements in this very popular woman's magazine; I was amused at the angle the advertisers use to try to get women to buy their product. One advertisement was for an alcoholic drink called Tequiza. The advertisement compared the calories and the fat content of that drink to the calories and fat content in another popular alcoholic beverage. I am under age, but I am a college student so I will not lie and say that I do not drink on occasion, but when I do drink I do not worry about how much fat or how many calories I am taking in. To me this advertisement was completely ridiculous and instead of making me want to buy the product I have now vowed... ... by showing us how happy it will make us. They shape our culture by telling us that we want to be married because the people advertisements are and they are incredibly happy. They also shape our culture by setting the standard for the way we look. All women at one point in their life are self-conscious because they do not look like the models in advertisements. Advertisements are the reason why women obsess about their weight and the way they look. I do not know about most people, but I do know that I do not want to live in a world where advertisements tell me what I want or how I should look.      Works Cited    "Super Bowl Clutter." Editor & Publisher. Vol. 127, Issue 6 (1994): 6. Signorielli, Nancy and Douglas McLeod. "Gender Stereotypes in MTV Commercials: The Beat Goes On." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Vol. 38, Issue 1 (1994): 91.

transgenic plants :: essays research papers

Introduction For the past 30 years Scientist have searched desperately for the answer to salt toleration within plants. The damaging effects of salt accumulation in agricultural soils have influenced both ancient and modern day civilizations alike. Worldwide, an estimated 24.7 million acres of once agriculturally productive land are being lost annually due to irrigation-induced salinity, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Thus, crop production is limited by salinity on 40% of the worlds irrigated land and on 25% of the irrigated land in the United States. These statistics indicate that the progressive loss of farmable land is on a crash course with the expanding global population, in that if something is not done to revamp the output of crop production with in the next 30 years, we will bare witness to the first world wide foot shortage in history. To solve the salt tolerance crisis, scientists have turned to genetics, an area that has been very beneficial to the Agricultural industry in the past century. In fact, thanks to the implication of genetics in the 1960à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the yield per acre of many major crop plants has doubled. This dramatic breakthrough is known as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Green Revolutionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. As a result of the Green Revolution, countries of western Europe, who used to be the worlds largest importer of food, have become self sufficient. The genetic improvement of crops worldwide played a substantial role in the recent decline in the balance of American trade. While the Green Revolution doubled the output of crops across the world, Eduardo Blumwaldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s work in the field of salt tolerance may in fact be the mother of all agricultural breakthroughs even bigger than the Green Revolution. Hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why. In order to maintain the current crop output, farmers must constantly irrigate their land. The irrigation process increases the salinity of soils and water by depositing soluble salts such as Sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulfate, and chloride that the water picks up from the soils and rocks that it has passed through. As the irrigation process is repeated, the irrigated soils accumulate salt, at levels that decrease the productivity of the crops grown there. The salt in irrigation water can prevent plants from taking in needed water through their roots, this blockage in turn leads to the death of the plant in question. In hopes overcoming the severe salt burden, Eduardo Brumwald has genetically engineered a tomato plant that can in fact grow, flower, and produce fruit in salt concentrations there were 50 times higher than normal.

The Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka Essay -- Papers Poem Poetry

The Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka The "Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka is a poem that's title is very casual and straight forward. The poem's title shows the reader that what they are meant to read is realistic and free flowing. Like most poems there is a general theme that is carried on from start to end. The "Telephone Conversation" has two main obvious themes; these are racism and the lack of education and understanding that some people may have. As the reader reads through the play they become aware that the persona is African and therefore has a darker skin tone than white skinned people. The poet has given the persona as well as the landlady different forms of speech. The persona appears to speak a little more formally than the landlady and this could perhaps be to lack of education and understanding towards the landlady or even that she feels the persona is unclear of the English language. The persona tends to be more formal and use more official ways of speaking, "Down in my passport." The speech of the landlady is written in capital letters. This could have been done deliberately by the poet to emphasize how the landlady imagines the persona to look like. "ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" This illustrates to the reader that the landlady speaks slowly and clearly to the persona as she may see the persona to be dumb and unfamiliar with the words coming out of her mouth. The poem's form is different to most other poems. The "Telephone Conversation" has been written to make the reader feel more at ease and relaxed when reading it. It is written in blank verse and therefore there is no rhyme... ...fect of sinking into the mind of the reader. It is a poem which has a real meaning that is obvious to people and can help them understand some of the problems that we face in today's society, problems like racism. The subject of this poem is not one that is only faced by one person. The poem can be used in a therapeutic way to those who have experienced the same or similar discrimination in their life. This poem helps others become more aware that they are not the only people in the world with these thoughts and feelings and that they have every right to speak up and express their feelings defensively. Not only is the effect of this poem beneficial to those who have been discriminated but also to those who are discriminating. It allows them to open their eyes and see how they are affecting the lives of innocent people.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Critique

Critique of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) Tanya Willie ENG 225: Introduction to Film Prof. Sarah Snook January 24, 2013 Critique of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), the actions that take place began with its use of storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style, and directing each part creating the masterpiece. I will reveal how the storytelling is played out, the different types of actors that is being used, how cinematography and editing’s roles take effect, and how the style and directing affect the film.In Abraham Lincoln: vampire Hunter (2012), Abraham struggled with the loss of his mother. As a young boy he fights when standing up for a friend who was being treated as a slave by stopping him from being beaten with a whip. Unknown at the time, this man was truly not a man, but a vampire. When young Abraham’s father intervenes, it creates a target on his family. It did not help when Abrahamâ€⠄¢s mother stated â€Å"until every man is free, we are all slaves† (Bekmambetov, 2012). The vampire soon after snuck into the Lincoln’s home and killed Abraham’s mother, which all takes place while he watched from his loft above.His struggle with her loss grew within him into adulthood where he finally began to plot on killing the man who took his mother from him. During his plotting, while drowning his sorrows in a bar, Abraham meets a man. This man eventually saves him when he attempts to kill Barts, the vampire that killed his mother. Henry Sturges agrees to teach Abraham to destroy, not kill, vampires as long as Abraham commits to becoming a full time vampire hunter and let go of his vengeance. Henry tells Abraham that you cannot kill that which is not dead, you must destroy them (Bekmambetov, 2012).Along Abraham’s journey he destroys many vampires with his ax coated with silver on the blade, yet not getting the privilege to hunt the main vampire he desires. In time he finds the love of a woman, Mary Todd, and his place as a political leader. All this is very much to the dismay of his mentor, Henry, being it is against the code of a vampire hunter who is damned to live a life with no friends, family, or career. These things became prominent after Abraham found out that Henry was a vampire himself. In Abraham’s politics he uses the words of his mother to guide him with his ambitions.The story is about how a boy becomes a man after the mysterious death of his mother, and how her words, â€Å"until every man is free, we are all slaves† lingered in his mind transforming him into a man (Bekmambetov, 2012). The irony of the death of his mother is that he could save his friend, but could not save his mother, leaving Abraham to struggle with the conflicting anger he contained from her being taken away so soon in his life. It takes nine years for him to realize his anger was all due to him feeling that he failed to save he r. Also he is ironically trained to destroy vampires by Henry who he later learns is also a vampire.This film used a variety of actors in order to create this masterful collection of scenes. Not only did they speak the script, but had to become the character so the audience would believe what they saw. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) starred Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln, an impersonator actor portraying a secret vampire hunter who later becomes the President of the United States. Dominic Cooper was the wild card actor, starring as Henry Sturges, Abraham’s mentor and a vampire himself. Mary Elizabeth Winstead starred as Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham’s wife.Anthony Mackie starring as Will Johnson was his close, childhood friend. Rufus Sewell starred as Adam, the father of all the American vampires. Last of all Marton Csokas starred as the one who started it all Jack Barts, the vampire who killed Abraham’s mother. Anthony, Mary, Rufus, and Marton were in the background simply character actors used as minor roles set aside from Benjamin Walker who played the leading role, impersonating a well-known historic figure making him an impersonator actor (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2011, Sec. 3. 4; para. 1). Dominic was also a leading actor.Dominic is a wild card as he had to play a man one moment and a vampire the next. The actors helped to convey the story’s meaning by using the interpretation of their characters. I find the most difficult roles to play as Will Johnson and Abraham Lincoln. Anthony has to play a boy fighting to prove he was born free, but after the long battle African American’s had to fight for freedom I am not sure I could do as good a job as he did. Benjamin Walker has the difficult task of making the viewers see him as a well know historical figure. Each actor pulled through and convinced me that they were their character, not just playing the role.Cinematography takes the actors, putting them in specific pict ures to make how the film looks using different lighting, camera angles, color types, distance and framing to bring things together creating a specific look and feel. Caleb Deschanel begins the film with a wide shot of a free nation, present time in Lincoln’s time as President, in Washington, D. C. The shot was clear and bright just how Caleb wanted the viewers to see it. This bright scene is portraying the free nation, victorious after a long struggle of dark times. Gradually the scene takes us back to the past as Lincoln begins narrating him life.His story begins with a dark and gloomy time shown by the cinematographer’s use of low-level lighting. The tint of the film changes from blues to yellows depending on the mood of the scene. The blue tints were for a sad and dreary time while the yellow tint was meant for an eerie feeling. Caleb uses different camera angles throughout the film. â€Å" When the camera looks down on a character, we may be intended to view that character as â€Å"below† us or inferior to another character in the film, in a submissive position, or simply from an objective distance† (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2011, sec. . 6; para. 2). One example is when Abraham is looking down at Barts after his first attempt to kill him. At times we are able to see what the character sees; this suggests the use of a subjective camera. The camera changes from showing the whole scene, to close-ups, the viewing things through Abraham’s eyes. All these things are put into motion by Caleb Deschanel, the cinematographer, who pictures the film scene by scene, cut by cut, and frame by frame in order to enhance how we, the viewers, feel about what we have seen.In this film it is mostly fear, anger, and victory that are being felt! The editor arranges the shots and scenes into acts, and uses different transitions to put them together. William Hay, the editor, chose each shot, putting them into order to achieve the incongruous editi ng. Even as this story begins with a present day time for Abraham Lincoln, he is narrating it from his journal venturing into his past, putting the film in a non-linear order. Direct cuts are used in this film to join shots within a scene. This type of cut is the simplest and often taken for granted.If I were not in Introduction to film learning about these details I would have never noticed this happening. According to figure 5. 1 Editing Transitions of out text, a direct cut is when â€Å"one shot instantaneously replaces another on the screen† (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2011, Sec. 5. 3; fig. 5. 1). William uses single frames with direct cuts joining them to establish a more intense scene for action shots. This gives them the opportunity to use different camera angles to stimulate the viewer, making the scene one that makes your heart race. Other shots are longer in order to create a constant feel.Editing is used to imply a battle is taking place. In the scene, in the dark thi s is used when you hear a huge battle taking place but see only darkness, but when the light comes back on Abraham and Henry are beaten and bloody implying an event took place that had not actually happened. The scene is enhanced by the sound effects creating a stronger sense that it is actually taking place. The manner in which William edits this film helps to create a belief in the actions taking place. Films in the year 2012 are dependent on the sounds so we can understand what is happening.In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) dialogue, sound effects, and music play an important role in the film. Throughout this film I found equal amounts of dialogue, sound effects, and music balancing things so evenly that without any part the film would not be as successful. Most of the dialogue is of Abraham narrating the events in his journal, but as this takes place it also shows actual conversations between the characters. This helps keep the audience’s attention by keeping it i nteresting. Sound effects are used to emphasize the battles taking place as well as encourage more than sense to be used while watching the film.For example, I not only saw Abraham’s ax swinging, but I could hear the swoosh sound as it flew through the air. Music done by Henry Jackman also plays its part by invoking an emotional response since it speeds up in action scenes and slows down to create a more morbid mood. Without the sounds of the dialogue, sound effects, and music within this film it would lose the interest of the audience quickly. Timur Bekmambetov is the director/ producer for this film and often works with action films. He has a history of working with war scenes as well as fantasy. He makes his view of this film evident through his work.His view, in my opinion, is that the film is about Abraham Lincoln having a secret identity as being a vampire hunter with the underlying meaning being about his fight for freedom. Timur shows how young Abraham fights for youn g Will’s freedom, his own freedom from anger and grief, freedom from the fear of vampires, and freedom for a nation of slavery. He does this by the many battles Abraham physically fights. It begins when he fights to help his friend, young Will, from being beat with a whip, moving on to his fight within himself in regards to him allowing his mother to die, and internal battle.It then shows his fight for survival on to his fight for freeing the nation from vampires. Last of all Abraham fights for the freedom of the slaves, standing strong by the words of his mother, â€Å"until every man is free, we are all slaves† (Bekmambetov, 2012). Timur is able to create these battles with his experience in films dealing with action and fantasy. Tim Bekmambetov is experienced in revealing his point of view within the film, making it known to the audience. This action, fantasy, horror film sends the viewer spiraling back into the past to a time when slavery was acceptable.I felt that since the director and producers, Timur Bekmambetov, Tim Burton, and Jim Lemley did such a great job setting the scene that I could believe this was a true reality for Abraham Lincoln. It touches the controversial subjects of slavery and war crossed with the belief in the supernatural. The film has such a realistic feel to hit, I find myself strangely wondering if Abraham actually fought against vampires, making me wonder, in a world full of the unknown, if vampires could have been part of this reality in the past.Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) is classified as a horror film with the subgenres being in History and Vampire. It gave a thrilling experience with the action scenes where vampires are being fought to keep them from taking over. It is a horror film due to the fear that vampires create. History is a subgenre because the film reflects a time that actually occurred in the pant, and the other subgenre is Vampire for obvious reasons. The film had my interest as soon as I saw the word â€Å"Vampire†; others may have focused on the history. It is funny that the film was more affected by society than it was on society.The violent manner used in the killings and the lack of censoring the scenes show how our society has advanced from the past when these scenes were only left up to the viewer’s imagination. Presently I pay no attention to this; but older viewers like my parents say it would never be accepted in the past. So far I found that the storytelling was clear and exciting, the acting was precise, and Caleb’s cinematography was on point. The editing by William and his direct cut transitions gave way to an exciting film set aside only by the sounds of dialogue, sound effects, and music by Henry Jackman.Overall the style and directing allowed for a film that was impacted more by society than it was on society. All these things came together to create a film full of action, fantasy and horror. References Bekmambetov, T. (Directo r/Producer). (2012). Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. [Motion Picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox. Goodykoontz, B. , & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content. ashford. edu/AUENG225. 11. 2

Lafarge Tarmac Essay

Task One 1.1 Strategic context of Lafarge Tarmac Introduction When it comes to the construction business there are two main things that come in mind noise and risks along with the high costs and professional skills. However there are some construction companies in the world that are committed to their work so much that they have found a way to do the construction in a sustainable and environmental friendly way. United Kingdom is one of finest constructed countries in the world on a macro level, and the construction companies of the UK are also very good at their work. Lafarge Tarmac is one of those names in the United Kingdom which are not for their dedication for the construction business (Lafarge, 2014). Lafarge Tarmac follows a very simple strategy make a goal and follow the direction as per the strategy in order to achieve it and remove any difficulty that comes in that way. The company is well known in the entire United Kingdom for their role in construction business. The company joined forces in the year 2013 to be an Ultimate Solution co mpany for the entire construction sector (lafargetarmac.com, 2014). Basic vision of the company is very simple and dedicated to the sustainability, along with the great dedication to the safety on the construction sites. The values of the company are very diverse but united under a common set (lafargetarmac.com, 2014). Role of strategy is very important part of the business cycle. As per the annual report of the Lafarge tarmac for the year 2013 the company stated very clearly that safety is their uttermost priority and they will focus on the safety before anything even before profits and revenue. The commitment of the company is to improve the health in the construction sector continuously by doing right things in a right way at right time. Along with the health the company is also involved with the improvement of the construction company’s performance towards the environment. Lafarge Tarmac is registered under various acts and it is their duty to maintain the standards of those acts and to make sure that all the companies they work with also follow their respective standards (Lafarge, 2014). Visions, Objectives and Goals of the company As per the marketing of the Lafarge Tarmac the company has very simple vision  that is to understand the needs of the customers and make sure that the customers get the same goods and services as they require, in order to achieve the target as per the vision of the company, the employees at the company works at their highest level, however there are some other visions of the company as well. One vision of Lafarge Tarmac is dedicated to the safety of the people at the construction sites, as per the health and safety of the company the goal of the company is to operate in such a way that it becomes a zero harm business (lafargetarmac.com, 2014). If under any case the harmful situation arises the workforce of the company is always willing to tackle it and do not walk by under any circumstances. The other objective of the company is to protect the environment, the basic vision of the companies for this is to operate in such a way that the environment get least affected due to the opera tions of the company. The company tries to prevent pollution during the construction activities and improvement in the field by any means. In case the company needs to be defined in one word Lafarge Tarmac will be known as the sustainable and sustainability is what they operate for as per the objectives of the company (lafargetarmac.com, 2014). 1.2 Issues in Strategic Planning at Lafarge Tarmac Planning is the basic duty of the manager as no activity can be done without doing a proper planning. However there are some issues for the managers during the planning processes and setting up the targets of the organization (James, n.d.). The targets for the Lafarge Tarmac are very different from any other construction company in the United Kingdom as unlike Lafarge Tarmac almost 80 percent of the construction companies just do their tasks and do not take the safety and environment as their responsibility at all. During the strategic planning of the Lafarge Tarmac the environment of the operative area is analyzed very thoroughly and plans are made according to the results. Being a construction solution provider it is also a responsibility for the company to be updated about any new technology that can improve the construction in an eco friendly manner (lafargetarmac.com, 2014). The Thinking of the company’s managers is also very important as the needs of the customers of the company are different the company will also have to make the strategy in such a way so that it can keep the advantage point to itself in the market. In order to formulate the strategic plan the  Matrix given by the Ansoff is a great tool. According to the matrix the strategy can be made by performing four activities (James, n.d.). Market penetration is done for understanding the needs of the customers and tries to grow its existing roots in the market. Lafarge tarmac has used this technique as they have tried over and over to give the best product and services by improving their products. Market Development on the other hand is done in order to enter the new markets and expand the business. Lafarge Tarmac is one of the largest construction solution providers in the United Kingdom and they have tried to reach the customers by opening up the branches in almost every part of the UK. Product Development is done for growing in the existing markets by introducing the new products and services or by re-launching the existing products and services with increased performance. One of the best example for the Lafarge Tarmac is instead of a long and lengthy process at the construction site they came up with readymade concretes th at are buy ready to be used in construction. Diversification is done to introduce in the new offers in the market. It is very important and risky stage for any company as in order to do this all three activities of the matrix needs to be done properly in order to perform the diversification. Lafarge Tarmac was started by making a deal among the American Anglo and Lafarge for the construction material supplier but now the company has made the deal with the other companies as well and soon it will be the largest producer of the cement in the world. Portfolio analysis is also an issue for the manager while making strategies for the organizations as the growth rate of the construction market is constantly changing in the market and the rate for the Lafarge Tarmac is very constant. One other major issue for the company is to decide as what kind of plan needs to be made by the organizations as there are different kind of plans like upside down plan, top down plan, bottom up plan, informal plan and every other plan in the book. However the mangers of the Lafarge Tarmac came up with something new which was a combination of every aforesaid plan. 1.3 Planning Techniques in context with Lafarge Tarmac There are many techniques that can be used by the Lafarge Tarmac in order to develop their strategic plan the following are few tools that can be used by the organization. Directional Policy Matrix According to this tool of strategy formulation there are two elements that are important for the strategy formulation, first is the position of the business in the market, which is also known as the capability of the market, broadly the company can be defined as weak, average or strong in the market (McDermott, 2014). The other element is the position of the sector under which the business is involved which can be categorized as Unattractive, average or attractive and the strategy can be formulated by using the given Matrix. For Lafarge Tarmac which is a strong competitor in the market and has the range of average and attractive products for the customers being a leader and growing in the market is a great strategy as per the directional policy matrix. Source: http://strategycapstone.ning.com/page/directional-matrix Space Matrix It is one of the best methods for reverse engineering. There are four quadrants of this strategy that defines the nature of the strategy that needs to be made, the strategies can be Aggressive, Competitive, Defensive and Conservative, it depends on the customer of the organization that what kind of strategy the company should opt for (maxi-pedia.com, n.d.). An example of the matrix for the Lafarge Tarmac is given below. As said already that Lafarge Tarmac is a leading construction solution provider and that is why it is a dominating company and being aggressive is the finest option for the company. Source: http://www.maxi-pedia.com/SPACE+matrix+model+strategic+management+method Task 2 2.1 Organizational Audit for Lafarge Tarmac Benchmarking Audit Benchmarking is the process under which the business performance and processes of an organization is compared with the best practices in the industry or market used by the other companies (Doucet, 2010). Usually the  elements of the operations like time costs and quality of the organization is measured by this kind of auditing. Under the benchmarking auditing the comparison of the company’s processes is made with the best processes which exist in the market creating a high level of opportunity for the organization to grow up. For Lafarge Tarmac the benchmark auditing is a great auditing tool as they can learn about the new ways to give the solutions to the construction sector. However it must also be noticed that Lafarge Tarmac is already a leading company as a construction solution provider so there are not many things that are better than that of what is practiced in the company. SWOT Analysis SWOT is an abbreviation for four key factors of the organizations Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths of Lafarge Tarmac are their products serving as the key solutions for the construction sector in United Kingdom, cement and ready concrete cement is best examples of the products of Lafarge Tarmac. Weaknesses of the company comes forward when it comes to the new technologies and variety in products as the company is serving one of the best quality products in the country but sometimes the demand and requirement of the consumers is completely different from others. Opportunities for the Lafarge Tarmac are countless as under the construction sector there is constant improvement in the technology so as develop the construction sector and make work easier and safer. Threats for the Lafarge Tarmac are not very much as the company already has an advantage and a very strong position in the market. The only threat that the company faces is regarding the safety on the construction and competition from the other companies. Value Chain Analysis Value chain analysis model is a very useful tool to evaluate the maximum value for the customers. I order to do the value chain analysis first of all the activities of the Lafarge Tarmac needs to be analyzed and then the value for every step in the production should be evaluated as if it is at its maximum potential, and lastly when the managers gets sure of the fact that changes can be made it needs to be identified that whether these changes would be beneficial or not. The model of the Value Chain for Lafarge Tarmac  is given following, under which the primary functions and secondary functions for Lafarge Tarmac are given and after summing up all the values in Lafarge Tarmac the margin is added for the company and the final value is given to the customers. Inbound Logistics are the raw material for the Lafarge Tarmac which is tons of Limestone for cement production in addition to this many dozens of trucks are also required for transportation. The main operation of Lafarge Tarmac is production of cement which is made by following the production plan of the company. Outbound product of Lafarge Tarmac is cement which is very high in volume but at the same time the product is very sensitive too so the warehousing is done very efficiently by Lafarge Tarmac. Marketing and sales techniques of Lafarge Tarmac facilitates the transfer of the products produced in the company to the consumers. Service is the process in which the values of the product increases as Lafarge Tarmac makes products like cement and other construction material as per the specification of the customer and what matter is that the product is delivered in the same form and quality as required by the customer. Scenario Planning Scenario planning or scenario analysis is used by the organizations in order to make the long term plans for the business, it is a very difficult kind of auditing to be done for Lafarge tarmac as the construction sector in UK is changing rapidly and new technologies are being introduced and plans cannot be made for long run on the basis of the existing technology and materials. Strategic Positioning of Lafarge Tarmac There are many tools that can be used by the organization in order to evaluate the position of the existing strategy of the company, Ansoff matrix is one of the key tools for this purpose and that can be used very effectively in case of Lafarge Tarmac. As per the Ansoff Matrix there are four tasks that are to be carried out in the market (Reeves, 2014). First is Market Penetration which is done in order to increase the share of the company in the existing markets with the existing products, it has been done very effectively by Lafarge Tarmac as it has signed the deals with Holcim  Ltd a gigantic company in cement industry so as to be the largest cement producer of the world. Second part of the matrix is market development which is done in order to expand in the new markets with the existing products and services this has been done by Lafarge Tarmac since the beginning as the company was formed by Lafarge and American Anglo so as to be the construction solution provider in UK (lafar getarmac.com, 2014). Third part of the matrix consist of Product development which means the development of existing products by launching new products in the existing markets or by re-launching the product after making improvements Making of the readymade concrete and cement was a evolution of Lafarge Tarmac as a product development. The fourth and last quarter of the matrix is diversification which in simple terms can be defined as the combination of all the other three parts of Ansoff Matrix, as of Lafarge Tarmac no bigger diversification can be expected from a company which was formed in 2013 and which becomes the largest cement producer in 2014. 2.2 Environmental Audit for Lafarge Tarmac A business has to be maintained under many environments every part of the environment is important for the business in order to make sure that the business will run smoothly. PESTLE The term PESTLE is used to define the group of environments that makes impact on every business, the given is the pestle analysis of Lafarge Tarmac. Political Environment creates a very adequate impact as any new policy for the construction sector made by the government will make impact on the business of Lafarge Tarmac for example in case the government makes some new policy of taxation for the construction sector it will make a significant impact on the company (Doucet, 2010). Economic environment is also a very crucial part of the business as the economic condition of the UK will decide how much construction work is to be done and that will decide how much business UK can generate for the Lafarge Tarmac, for example during the period of recession not much work of construction is done but at the time of boom the construction demand reaches the heights of the sky. Social environment also plays a very important role in the business as the society is the factor for which the business operates there will not be any customer for the Lafarge Tarmac if they do not consider the social environment of UK. Society is the ultimate consumer for Lafarge Tarmac and the company has understood this fact very well that is why they have set up the issue of safety at their utmost priority. Technological environment is yet another important factor for the Lafarge Tarmac as the rapid change in technology in the construction sector makes it difficult for the organization to cope up however still the company has to manage in one way or another. Any new machine for the construction sector which can reduce the costs at the construction sites can prove out to be a game changer for Lafarge Tarmac. Legal environment is a very strict environment under which all the rules and regulations are given which needs to be followed by Lafarge Tarmac. In UK there are many rules and regulations as per the Acts which are necessary to be followed by Lafarge Tarmac for example rules of taxation and rules for the Accounting records. Environment is the last factor that affects business as being the part of the environment it is the responsibility of Lafarge Tarmac to save the environment and over the time the company has been doing this brilliantly. Lafarge Tarmac has a separate policy for the environment under which the company tries extremely hard to use the resources in such a manner that it doesn’t affect the environmen (OGC, 2007)t. Porter’s Five Forces Model As per the porter’s five forces model there are five forces that affect the business, same logic applies for the Lafarge Tarmac. First force is the threat of the competition by the new entrants, being the leader by example Lafarge Tarmac turned the construction sector in its favor so as to be the leading construction solution provider. The second force is the threat of competition from the existing companies; Lafarge Tarmac has achieved so much in so little time which is why the existing companies try to take advantage over company. Third force is the bargaining power of the customer under democracy customer is the king of the market and Lafarge Tarmac has constantly tried to keep up to the expectations of the customers (Mind Tools, n.d.). Fourth force is the bargaining power of the suppliers as it has already been discussed that Lafarge Tarmac is the ultimate solution provider which means that they needs regular supply of the materials in order to make their products which is possible only when they can maintain a healthy communication with the suppliers. Last and fifth force is rivalry,  Lafarge Tarmac was started in the year 2013 and in 2014 it become the leader as construction solution providers this has created the feeling of rivalry among those companies who are in the business for years and always wanted to be in the place where Lafarge Tarmac is today. 2.3 Stakeholders Analysis Stakeholders are the people who have the keen interest in the organizational activities. Broadly stakeholders are divided into four groups which also known as the Stake holder’s significance grid, same is shown below for Lafarge Tarmac (Mind Tools, n.d.). The name of the group and the standard strategies to be opted for them are given in the above matrix strategies (Schmeer, n.d.). Stakeholders mapping is yet another technique in order to manage the stakeholders under which the stakeholders are divided into groups and then the strategies are made for them it is similar to the Stakeholders significance grid as shown above. The given is the example of Stakeholder’s Mapping (Stakeholdermap.com, n.d.). Source: http://knowhownonprofit.org/campaigns/communications/effective-communications-1/stakeholdermap.jpg/image_preview Task 3 Growth is one important factor for the organizational survival, it is important for the organization to grow in one way or another whenever possible. Broadly there are many ways under which the organization can grow in the market. In this part of the assignment various limited and Substantive growth strategies for Lafarge Tarmac has been discussed which can be tried by the company as an alternative for its current strategy (Lafarge, 2014). In the final section of this part of assignment the very best strategy out of the discussed strategies will be suggested for Lafarge Tarmac to be adopted in future. 3.1 Alternate Strategies for limited growth, Substantive Growth or retrenchment for Lafarge Tarmac Cement is the basic necessity for the growth as every time a new building or other construction sites. Growth in the cement industry has also been constant in the past few years. However for the Lafarge Tarmac the growth is not only an opportunity  it is also a form of strategy. Some of the strategies for Lafarge tarmac are based on the limited growth some are for substantive growth while at the same time some are based on the retrenchment of the growth. Strategy for Limited Growth Growth is one of the key factors in evaluations of In a rapid changing environment of construction business instant growth can turn out to be a huge risk for the Lafarge Tarmac hence it is beneficial for the company to grow as per a limit and do not take high risks instantly. Lafarge Tarmac is a new company which came in the existence in 2013 and it is a huge success for the company that in 2014 it has signed a deal with a gigantic cement company in Switzerland to be the largest cement producer of the world (Sherman, 2014). However as an alternate strategy for the company it can try to be growing as per limit so that no financial burden comes on the organization. In case the company grows by limit it will also not be a problem of costs for the organization but what is more important than the costs is that after the five or six years the organization will have more money to grow instantly than their competitive organizations. As said already Lafarge Tarmac is a new company and do not have the enough experience to handle things on a large scale so it can be very complex for them to handle the business on a large scale however it will not be a problem for the company if they opt for the Limited growth Strategy (Dransfield et al., 2004). One plus point of the current strategy of growth adopted by the Lafarge Tarmac is that it has signed to be in ventures with the two giant companies in cement industry. Joint ventures are also a technique of the limited growth as under the joint ventures different organizations share their powers. The share of the company in the venture is decided on the basis of the mutual agreement of organizations (Reader, n.d.). Strategy for Substantive Growth Substantive growth is also a very successful way to grow in the market. Substantive growth can prove out to be very beneficial for Lafarge Tarmac as it can cover up many deficiencies of the company. If Lafarge Tarmac takes on the strategy for the substantive organization the company will be having more growth opportunities as compared to the other organizations in the  future. Lafarge Tarmac is a new company it is not beneficial for it at all to stand against the giant companies of the construction sector (Reader, n.d.). Rather it is beneficial for Lafarge Tarmac to grow substantively for few years and when the organization has enough experience to tackle any other name in the construction sector they can even try to go for the instant growth. Merging and acquiring the other companies are the most commonly practiced techniques of the substantive growth. Till now the company has not acquired any other company but the decision of the company to merge with the Holcim Ltd. has been the best growth for the company as Holcim is a giant in the cement industry and after forming Lafarge Holcim it will be completely in favor of Lafarge to gain the market advantage as Holcim is already on the heights of the success. But when these two organizations will merge a new and biggest producer of the cement will emerge. Retrenchment Strategy/ Disinvestment strategy Retrenchment generally means cutting up the processes in the organizations so that the organizations can become more stable financially but for the Lafarge Tarmac costs has never been the issue, however there is one more fact that can prove out to be interest worthy for Lafarge Tarmac as the company is currently involved in every product for the construction site like concrete, cement, bricks and all (WebFinance, Inc. , 2014). However if the company will cut loose some of its products it can focus more on the cement. Merging with Holcim will make the organization more focused on the cement than any other product produced by the organization. Alternative Strategies Expansion can be made for the growth of Lafarge Tarmac; Ansoff matrix provides the best model for the growth. Diversification is the key part of the matrix as when diversification is done the organization grows automatically. Integration is yet another strategy that can be used by Lafarge Tarmac as the organization already is producing multiple products for the construction sector it can add some more products or services to their existing list of products (OGC, 2007). For example Lafarge Tarmac is a producer of cement for which limestone is a key ingredient hence the company can also start to sell the limestone to the other companies who produce  cement. Strategic Alliance is the most advantageous strategy which is based on the mutual understanding of different organizations in sharing the resources. Licensing or franchising for the branches of the organization can also prove out to be a very effective growth strategy for Lafarge Tarmac. 3.2 Appropriate Future Strategy for Lafarge Strategy Lafarge Tarmac already is under a joint venture and it has signed up to be merged with the Holcim Ltd. hence the best option for the organization will be to diversify in the countries other than UK. Hence diversification would be the best option of growth for Lafarge Tarmac. By diversification Lafarge will not only grow but at the same time the company will also gain the competitive advantage over its competitors. Diversification strategy is best suitable option for Lafarge Tarmac as under this strategy the company will be able to continue with their existing decisions and not much will be required to be changed. The strategy of diversification is highly acceptable for company like Lafarge Tarmac which has been formed under JV of two big companies, who can take high risks (Turner, 2008). Resources has not been an issue for Lafarge Tarmac so far hence it s expected that addition resources after diversification can also be available easily, which means this strategy is highly feasible for the organization (Carttar, 2014). Task 4 4.1 Roles and responsibilities for Strategic Implementations Meaning of Strategy Implementations to the Business Operations Overall there are three basic influencers of the business operations in Lafarge Tarmac, i.e. Culture, System and Structure of Lafarge Tarmac. While implementing the strategy so as to achieve the desired objectives the values of organization can change completely. The impact of the strategy on business operations has been described using the table below. Strategy Implementation Business Operations (The impact on Strategy Implementation on the operations of Business) Culture Rather than the strategy the culture of the business make more impact on the strategies of Lafarge Tarmac. By implementing the strategy the goals of the company will become more unified and oriented on one common objective. Structure There are three factors that are affected by the strategic implementation, i.e. communication, decision making and coordination among the different teams in Lafarge Tarmac. The behavior of the employees in Lafarge Tarmac is also expected to be changed in a positive way for the organization which will increase the productivity of the company. Systems Different kind of systems can be made in Lafarge Tarmac using the new strategy. This will create the impact on the output of the organization, the behavior of the employees and integrating system of the company. The Strategy Practice Model Strategists Who? Activities What? Methodologies Which? Management Committee Process Determination Evaluation for the improvements during the controlling function of management Board of Directors Defining mission Statements After taking consideration of the market position of the organization and the overall performance of market Marketing Managers Environmental Analysis Using different methods of analysis like surveys and interviews Strategic Managers Evaluation of competitive Advantage Analyzing the market on the basis of the financial reports and comparing the same with that of the organization’s Any Volunteer from the management or the manager of the team who will be affected most due to the strategy Communicating the Strategic Plan Communication in a confident level with deep understanding of the concept of the strategy. 4.2 Resource requirement in order to implement the new strategy in Lafarge Tarmac Type of Resources required Access to/ Availability of Resources Constraints to the implementation Finance Availability of finance has never been the issue of problem for Lafarge Tarmac as it is formed under the venture of two big companies, further the own assets of the organization are double the value of its liabilities During the days of recession the finance do becomes problem for the organization. IN other case where if one organization incurs losses the other company do not wish to contribute the entire share for the company with only half share in profits. Human Resources Human Resources are appointed in Lafarge Tarmac from many different ways, like through the educational institutes or from the other job offers to the experienced people The lack of interest in the new generation for the construction sector. Physical Resources Infrastructure of the organization is a highly valuable asset for Lafarge tarmac, further the raw material for the products of the company is also available to the company easily. Variety of technologies creates confusion as what to be chosen for the company, further different quality of the raw material is also a constraint as sometime the desired quality of the limestone or other raw material is unavailable with the suppliers. Time for the reaction in the organization Lafarge Tarmac tries a lot of things with its management team so it might take some time for the final results to emerge up. Sometimes the organization keeps on waiting for a positive response but as so much is  going on in the organization the loss is not even noticed by the managers and time keeps on increasing. 4.3 Targets for achievements to monitor the strategy of Lafarge Tarmac Tools of Evaluation Theoretical Standpoint Targets to be evaluated Benchmarking Compare the performance of the organization with the performance of entire construction solution providers in the industry Whether there is any company performing better in the area of evaluation and if yes then finding out how? SWOT Analysis Analyzing the strengths, opportunities and weaknesses, threats for the Lafarge Tarmac. A strategy which increases the strengths of the company is said to be a good strategy while on the other hand if it increases the weaknesses or threats then it is not working well for the company Balanced Scorecard Evaluating the starting and ending position of the organization from the plan to the till date of evaluation and comparing the same with the targets. Whether the improvements has been satisfactory due to the new strategy and if not finding out the reasons for the same. Key Performance Indicators Evaluation of every process involved in the operations of Lafarge Tarmac Finding out the key process for the organization and improving the processes which are not working well for the company. Conclusion Lafarge Tarmac is one of the most successful organizations among the construction solution providers today. The company was formed in 2013 and within one year the company is on the edge of becoming the largest cement producer of the world. Under this assignment the strategic evaluation for Lafarge Tarmac has been done, including the strategic analysis of the company using various models, the current strategy has been evaluated and  alternate strategies has also been advised for the company. In the last segment of the assignment, different affects of the strategies are shown with the help of tables and the roles of the stakeholders are made clear, in the end the tools for evaluation of the strategy has also been discussed. Bibliography Carttar, P., 2014. Strategic Planning and Evaluation: Tools for Realizing Results. [Online] Available at: http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/strategic_planning_and_evaluation_tools_for_realizing_results [Accessed 14 November 2014]. Doucet, G., 2010. TOOLS FOR STRATEGIC EVALUATION: TOOLS AND METHODS THE COHERENCY ARCHITECT SHOULD APPLY. [Online] Available at: http://coherencyarchitect.com/2010/03/15/tools-for-strategic-evaluation-tools-and-methods-the-coherency-architect-should-apply/ [Accessed 14 November 2014]. Dransfield, R. et al., 2004. Business for Foundation Degrees and Higher Awards. Jordan Hill, OX: Harcourt Education Limited. James, R., n.d. How to do Strategic Planning: A Guide for Small and Diaspora NGOs. PEER LEARNING PROGRAMME. Lafarge, 2014. Strategy. [Online] Available at: http://www.lafarge.com/wps/portal/4_3_2-Strategie [Accessed 10 November 2014]. lafargetarmac.com, 2014. OUR COMPANY. [Online] Available at: http://www.lafargetarmac.com/about-us/ [Accessed 12 Novemb er 2014]. maxi-pedia.com, n.d. SPACE Matrix Strategic Management Method. [Online] Available at: http://www.maxi-pedia.com/SPACE+matrix+model+strategic+management+method [Accessed 14 November 2014]. McDermott, M., 2014. Directional Policy Matrix. [Online] Available at: http://strategycapstone.ning.com/page/directional-matrix [Accessed 15 November 2014]. Mind Tools, n.d. Porter’s Value Chain: Understanding How Value is Created Within Organizations. [Online] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_66.htm [Accessed 12 November 2014]. Mind Tools, n.d. Stakeholder Analysis: Winning Support for Your Projects. [Online] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm [Accessed 11 November 2014]. OGC, 2007. Managing Successful Programmes. TSO.

Authentication

In addition, enhanced computer network defense (CNN) capabilities will enable DoD to teeter anticipate and prevent successful attacks on data and networks. IT procurements, coupled with the relatively low cost of IT hardware, make it possible for many entities within DoD to purchase and operate their own computing infrastructure. As a result, the DoD information environment is overly complex and susceptible to exploitation through these myriad devices, systems, and standards by malicious actors intent on causing harm to national interests.Consolidation will better enable secure mission-driven access to information and services, rendering DoD information securely accessible to all who need it and are authorized access to it. Deploying an enterprise identity, authentication, authorization, and access management service will extend security protection from the network to the data on the network, providing security controls to better enable secure information sharing.Commanders will have access to information available from all DoD resources, enabling improved command and control (CO), increasing speed of action, and enhancing the ability to coordinate across organizational boundaries or with mission partners. Individual service members and government civilians will be provided with a standard IT user experience, enabling them to do their jobs and providing them with the same look, feel, and access to information on reassignment, manipulation, or deployment. . Develop a plan to audit the three identified frameworks for compliance. Centrally manage and restrict the diversity of -?server (development and operational) platforms used throughout DoD and require all commodity hardware (e. G. , servers, server operating systems, and storage area networks) to be purchased through a limited number of consolidated contracts that leverage economies of scale to reduce total cost to the enterprise.Improve Weber security situational awareness and command and control Establish pr ocesses for granting access to networks and systems access using validated cryptographic identity credentials Detect -?anomalous behavioral inside DoD networks (e. G. , malicious software, unauthorized data movement) Establish a Core Computing infrastructure that will provide assured and ubiquitous access to vital enterprise services.Manage configurations and automate compliance monitoring and enforcement Reduce or eliminate the need to manually download information onto removable media to move it to another security domain Streamline certification and accreditation Establish processes and develop capabilities to protect and defend DoD networks as a single information environment Virtual networks were layered on top of physical networks and independent access control approaches were developed as organizations worked to protect their systems and networks.

New York Subway

A pale, misshapen face drew nearer. I could sense a vague familiarity, but it was hard to grasp. â€Å"No don't come any closer! Please no! I can't take no more! You're not alive, you're not alive!† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦fear overtook my body as I began to regain consciousness. I trembled unable to gain control over my body. I shook my head in an attempt to develop a sense of reality. It was no use. What was I doing here? I peered through the window in a desperate attempt to discover something recognisable; but despite these attempts I couldn't. The streets were overcome with people, none of them even aware they were being observed, just carrying on with their normal routines, stalking the streets leaving no space for the sidewalks to breathe. I frantically scanned the small, enclosed room in order to find something to refresh my memory. I then came across a card reading ‘with deepest sympathy†¦..' A puzzled expression was forced upon my face as I tried to make sense of it. Then I realised why I was here. A river flowed down my cheeks as I fell to the floor wishing I could go back to not knowing. It was so hard for me to accept it, I felt as if I was being suffocated with my own feelings, as if my heart had been taken from me for it was unable to feel no more. Silence. Not even the clocks could bear to tick anymore. Everything so empty and cold, leaving no reason to go on. Why did she have to die? I felt so much resent towards her. How could she do this to me? So many thoughts and questions were running through my mind. What was I saying? How could I feel so much hate and rejection to my own mother? I felt so sick and numb inside. Physically I felt dead but emotionally I felt so much pain and sorrow. It wasn't just me I had to think about though was it? What about my family? What were they going to think if I didn't go to my mother's funeral? The whole prospect made me shiver. I can imagine their remarks now. I had to go no matter how I felt, I had to say goodbye. I felt as if I was in a world of confusion. The funeral was to be in New York due to my mother being brought up there. But how could I get there? How could I afford it? I hadn't even come to terms with my mother's death and yet I was left with all these decisions. I opened my wallet to find emptiness; kind of the way I was feeling right now. I closed my eyes trying to gain a stable state of mind. Somehow I'd get there, no matter how difficult the situation is. What kind of a person would I be if I didn't go? I breathed in deeply, hoping the extra oxygen would give me an answer to my problems; it didn't. Nothing would bring her back but at least I can take her with me as a part of her will always remain in me, I can see that now. I stared at the ceiling, hoping it would give me an insight into my problems. I sighed deeply closing my eyes once again. Then I saw her face again drawing nearer, her eyes calling tome in a deep, longing desire. I couldn't stop shaking. The images just kept running through my mind like a film being played over and over again in slow motion. My eyes fixed upon the clock. Time just seemed to flow by carelessly without anything being accomplished in it. It tended to make me feel sad that I'd wasted so much. I needed to get out of here before I wasted anymore time on pointless arguments with myself! I left the hotel, frantically trying to gather any spare money that had been left around the room. There was hardly anything. I stepped out onto the sidewalk to be barged into, everyone rushing to get somewhere, not caring about anyone else. I looked up at the sky to discover tall, large buildings towering over me in an ominous way. I felt so alone yet I was surrounded by hundreds of people. I carried on walking down the sidewalk admiring the homeless, not their lifestyles but their outlook on life. They don't care about what anyone else thinks, only about the necessities. Although in their eyes I could see despair, this is not right, what was the world coming to? These menacing thoughts could not be rid of. They just kept tormenting my mind. Then I saw the answer, it was written in large bold letters entitled ‘Broadway subway.' There had been many stories about taking the subway but I didn't suppose any of them was true, besides it's cheap and it's the only way. I stepped down into a dark, dingy hole of darkness below on the earth's surface. A distinguished stench roamed the air making me feel nauseous. I went down the stairwell cautiously taking in the hell-like atmosphere. As I reached the bottom I gasped in horror at the threatening surroundings. Graffiti pierced the subway walls increasing its texture as it builds up in layers. I wanted to turn back but I knew I couldn't. Red paint stained the walls; it was almost like; oh wait it was. My face went pale as I saw the human blood splattered up the cold, hard wall, no one even bothering to remove it. I ran as fast as I could trying to escape the fears of the imagination. All around me I saw images flashing through my mind. Fear gripped my heart. Tears blocked my vision as I tried to find the token booth. I couldn't back out now; I had already come too far. I hesitated as I saw the token booth; I then approached it pulling out a dollar, the only thing I had left. I purchased the token and then waited patiently wishing it wouldn't come for then I could have an excuse. Who was I kidding? The only person I was trying to fool was myself. The train's eyes beamed out of the darkness, it was like they were trying to hypnotise their victims before they'd even begun their ghastly journey. I took the first car making sure that there were other people on it, so that I could remind myself that I wasn't the only person experiencing this catastrophe. I stared at the floor trying to avoid eye contact with any of the other passengers incase they see fear in my eyes or that I may see fear in theirs, either way I was doomed. The lights flickered on and off struggling to keep a constant setting. I often feared that they would totally go off. I didn't dare to see how anyone else was feeling. The whole car was filled with an annoying silence and irritable atmosphere. It was hard to keep sanity. No one dared speak in case of rejection or unwanted conversation. Smoke drifted through the air causing me to cough, I was unable to hold it in. I stared out of the window to see darkness and the occasional flicker of light. This was all too much. Then suddenly the train came to a screeching halt and then †¦darkness. Total darkness. My heart began to pound unexpectedly; I couldn't bear to sit like this. I felt so restrained by the silence. I felt so alone. â€Å"Hello? Is anyone there? Somebody please answer me?† I screamed unable to be silenced any longer. Then I heard a murmur in the background. â€Å"Its ok this usually happens, it only lasts a few minutes. You'll be ok.† The lights slower began to flicker, swaying form side to side before regaining total lighting. I turned around to see people smiling in relief. â€Å"Thanks† I said quietly realising that this wasn't as horrific as I thought. The fear of the subway was just in my head. Just a constant reminder of how brutal life can be. I sat back and sighed in relief before realising that I didn't know what platform to get off at. Panic. I couldn't bear to go through all this again. I decided to get off at the next platform and then get directions from there. I quickly rose and stepped off the train to find myself surrounded by emptiness. My hopes had been demolished once again. Everything came flooding back and I finally broke down. I could no longer hold in all these feelings. Tears burst from my eyes and I didn't have the strength to wipe them away. It was then a hand touched my shoulder. A shiver went down my spine as I turned around in fear. A man was stood behind me, he smiled calmly. â€Å"What's wrong?† He said I didn't want got get into everything so I just told him that I was lost and I needed to get out of the subway. He showed me to the stairwell and gave me directions. A sense of relief passed through me. Was it finally it? Was I really here? The only thing that was left to frighten me was the thought of going back. But I realised now that there was nothing to fear except being left alone with my thoughts, but maybe if I confronted them then there would be nothing left to fear; except perhaps, fear itself!