Lisa Bright And Dark :: essays research papers

When someone has a nearly "perfect" life, it’s hard to believe that person could be going out of his or her mind. Lisa Bright and Dark, by John Neufeld, explores the world of mental illness through Lisa Shilling, a sixteen year old who believes she is going crazy. Though she and her friends know this, she is unable to receive help because her parents think she is making it up. With no adult help, the problem has to be taken into the hands of Lisa and her three teenage friends. 	Lisa Shilling starts off as any normal teenager, attending school, going out with friends, and even dating. As the novel progresses, Lisa slips into dark, depressive moods on occasional days, and then into depression altogether. Lisa’s friends notice her change and take it into their own hands to give her "therapy" because Lisa’s parents are not willing to accept her sickness. As the depression progresses, many frightening incidents happen, but Lisa’s friends stick with her, helping to give strength to Lisa as well as themselves. 	Lisa’s friends stick with her when no one else will. One incident happened where Lisa went into an almost trance-like episode and then proceeded to attack one of her three friends. Even through the difficult times, Lisa’s friends would not give up on her. The basic theme of friendship is expressed throughout the novel. It is never told exactly what has caused Lisa Shilling to slip into this state of depression, which helps to make the atmosphere of the novel very mysterious. Just when it appears that Lisa is getting better, another episode occurs. The story is disturbing, being set around Lisa’s school and home. With other characters in the story, such as Lisa’s parents, causing conflicts with Lisa receiving proper treatment, the story is given a disturbing yet realistic feel. 	Instead of the story being told from the main character’s point of view, it is instead told by one of Lisa’s three friends who is trying to help. This keeps the reader from being able to tell exactly what is going on in Lisa Shilling’s head.

Human Resources department in William Hill Essay

Human Resources department in William Hill are important because they have a connection with the quality of employees and market success. William Hill will not be able to work effectively if workers are not committed to meeting corporate objectives so it is the HR management job to ensure this quality by recruiting, developing and retaining these staff. In order to do the above it is essential for HR department to look at various information internally and externally to plan for human resource. Internal and external information is important for William Hill as they need it to determine what they are doing, what they should have done, and what they are about to do. For this company to be the best and to strive to the highest levels they should make sure that they know all legislations that they need to follow in order to stay on the same side of the law. Internal in formation consist of what is happening in the business such as below: Labour Turnover This means the number of employees that leave over a period of time, are replaced and the average length of time workers stay and reason for staff wastage. This can either be advantage or become a disadvantage to William Hill. This is because it can either bring in new employees with new ideas and skills, or it can be expensive to recruit new staff. Due to high costs that it will produce, this can also become time consuming. Employees may leave because of poor career prospects, allowing little chance of promotion or simply better opportunities elsewhere. The way to measure labour turnover is: Wastage rate: No. of leavers in a period * 100 Average number of employees in the period Average No. Employees at start of period + Employees at end of period of employees: 2 Companies including William Hill can use this calculation on a yearly basis for the whole organisation or just the department. This is highly useful when used as a comparison with previous years. One disadvantage is that the equation (wastage rate) doesn’t measure the length of service of the employees that leave. Stability Index means that means how long an employee has been with the firm. It can be measure by using this formula: No. of employees with one or more years or service * 100 No. of employees at the start of the year This equation shows the stability of more loyal and settled workers. It ignores short-term workers or those most likely to leave. William Hill Labour turnover for Evelyn Street Branch is: Labour turnover = 3 * 100 = 20% 15 This result includes the amount of part time and full time workers employed in my branch. This is a really good indication that numerous workers love their job and want to stay employed in William Hill. As there is high retention levels it makes planning for human resource easier because it seems that more workers are staying. The amount of people leaving one branch would require the attention of the HR department, this is because the company can observe what is wrong and try to find ways to fix it. This would help the department as it can grow from the results of the turnover. Being able to put back into working order the things that became a problem in the past would make the company more successful from within. Age, Skills and Qualifications According to studies the older you are the more experience you would have. Analysing the age of the workers at William Hill it would show that mostly young and middle age groups are being employed. William Hill tend to take staff during night racing and hiring people around these times would be essential for the company but not for the employee, this is because in that short space of time the workers will not gain the qualifications that they need. William Hill’s most reliable staff would be the middle age groups. This is because they would be more experienced and have been in that trade for such longer period. In addition to this they will gain maximum experience and qualifications to match. Where this is rewarded by annual pay they will be more expensive to employ, their length of service may make them more expensive to make redundant. Younger staff may lack experience but they may be more receptive to change and new ideas, also they may inexpensive to recruit. When looking at the gender of William Hill you will find that most of the employees are female: FEMALE – 60% MALE – 40% There are more women on the shop floors than in the Head Office of William. Also the male population tend to be the betters and it means that the female will tend to serve them especially when it comes to individual betting shops. William Hill is a company that employ regardless of qualification or skills in providing their services to customers however it would aid employment if you had rather good maths skills, good communication skills and working with other workers as a team. But William Hill do offer training where it is needed to new or previous staff because it essential time is not wasted in not knowing what to do but being productive and offering good Customer Service. Staff Absences or sickness Staff absences cost industries in terms of money and time due to less productivity. Staff absences is not only included in absences but also bad time keeping such as arriving late and leaving early but also due to industrial accidents. Accidents at work can be avoided by the use of common sense and consideration. Hazards caused by leaving paper on the floor, having the ladder obstructing the way, blocked entrances and exits with boxes and trailing leads. So it is part of the Human Resource to keep sure that safety is kept by each shop and that appropriate planning is made for training in First Aid in case of accidents caused by other individuals. Apart from accidents the workplace can cause illness to workers in a variety of ways especially those that are doing night shift also due to constant smoking by workers and customers it may lead to further health problems in the future so this may cause absences. The staff absences in the Evelyn Branch of William Hill yearly are: Part time employees 18% Full time employees 32% Full time workers have the highest Training This can be done within the business or outside, according to the training needs of the employee. There are different types of training: Induction, Mentoring, Coaching, Apprenticeships, and Off and On the job training. Staff training is required if William Hill are to continue and to be successful to be the best in their market. The process of training is to help employees reach their maximum efficiency. William Hill will need to meet their annual targets therefore employees would need to develop their skills. At the beginning of your employment at William Hill or any other workplace you will have to have an induction. This is an introduction to the business for new employees. This can be used to familiarise the new recruits with the organisation. Based on a good induction the employee will feel at ease with the organisation and some of the employees. Your skills and qualifications may be based on your training. Your ability to gain as much knowledge as you can will be reflected in your skills to do certain jobs. Employees of William Hill will be trained to suit any area no mater what the task in question is. This will then help the company to strive to be the finest it can be. Succession and Promotion of Staff Succession is the process of staff that has left being trained and promoted although it has become common for William Hill to recruit experienced staff from outside the business it would be advantageous to start promoting those within the organisation. So in order for employees to stay and require less human resource planning it helps to encourage staff to remain loyal by giving them good career prospects. Promoting within William Hill will ensure continuity of style and culture of the organisation so that everyone watching out for each other style will still exists to continue increasing productivity. The human resource department do not always approach staff for promotion but teletexting is placed on Managers betting screen to tell staff or posters are placed out side individual LBO if they need certain staff. Nevertheless there is always that problem that internal staffs are not suitable so advertising the need for staff will have to be done for William HR department for planning for the future. External information relates to the information outside of the business and these tend to be things which are beyond William Hill’s control. So in order to overcome these problems it helps to use the PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal) analysis which looks at all aspects of the external influences which will prove crucial to the outcome of William Hill in coming years. Political With there being a stable political environment it enables William Hill to make predictions about their future because they have that degree of certainty due to knowing that the Labour government will be in power for another four years and hopefully they will stick to the same economic policies. If there was an increase in company taxation levels, this could mean that William Hill will have more cost to pay and may not be able to recruit as many staff as they previously would. For the Human Resource department it means that they may have to recruit staffs that are less ‘expensive’ such as those that don’t have as much experience as someone that may have been in the industry for 10 years. Changes to taxation levels in general would have an affect on William Hill as certain things such as concessions and incentives given to workers could increase or decrease. However some of the company expenses are tax deductible meaning that William Hill can set these off against tax burdens and may make them more willing to recruit workers if costs can be cut through not giving away company cars. The level of protectionism that the government have could affect trade and could affect demand for William Hill services hence demand for labour to supply services could fall or ascend depending on their restrictions. Economic Economic forces affect both the organisation and its customers. Depending on the sector that the business lies on the economic influences will be different. The economic environment may change, William Hill will need to understand how their suppliers and customers will be affected if they are to successfully adjust to change. Unemployment has a relationship with the demand of product or products in general. With a high unemployment level the demand for products will go down as people have less disposable income. If William Hill were to set up in an area that has low employment levels then they could make the percentage level increase thus giving the company more sales as unemployment is low. If interest rates are high then it becomes a lot more expensive for companies like William Hill to borrow money from banks, meaning that William Hill will refrain from expanding and less staff will be needed. The Human Resources Planning department may have to delayer the hierarchy of the company leaving some without a job. With high interest rates people in general will become hostile to purchasing luxury or high priced products or services therefore the demand for them will decrease. The Human Resources department would need to invent ways for this to change in their favour. Social People’s spending habits may vary during different seasons because of various races during the course of the year such as Cheltenham, The Grand National and many more. William Hill will realise this and take advantage for it. When recruiting staff WH Smith would need to think carefully on whom to take on. Taking in the knowledge that younger employees would be more responsive to change. However someone of the senior generation may offer more years of service. This will effect the HR department of WH Smith because they will need to consider a lot. Since younger people may have new skills and new ideas they may be beneficial to the company, and older employees would stay with the company longer. Technological As technology is advancing WH Smith need to move with the times by using technology They may want to make sure that their products are of the highest standards so WH Smith would use technical equipment thereby reducing the amount of staff required. If WH Smith engages in Internet sales it may also cut down the staffs that is needed. The Human Resources department will take into consideration the affect that this would have on WH Smith and they will use this to interpret the outcome for their future. Environmental Environmental issues are a very big part of all industries as everyone wants to be environmentally friendly. Some of WH Smith’s customers would like to buy recyclable products to be kind to the environment. If WH Smith were to be concerned with the environment they could buy more recyclable stationery enabling this to be part of their policy concerning the environment. There may be some customers (like me) that don’t really mind whether their goods are recyclable. To them they may think that just because they can be recycled they are not good quality, therefore they would not buy it. The HR department would need to analyse this area and make sure they know and understand the ramifications that may occur from their decisions. This could have an effect on staff as they may need to employ more people to assist with sales or not employ anyone at all. Legal All companies follow an equal opportunity policy as it is part of a legislation that all businesses should follow. For legal reasons William Hill may have to pay one employee more money than another, this would not be because one’s a man and the other is a woman, but, because one is a minor (under 16) and the other is above 18. With this policy people under 18 yrs would be paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.60 and anyone older would get à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4.20. Within this company they do not discriminate against people, this could be from sex discrimination to racial. This could effect the HR department as it could higher the cost of labour that they recruit, meaning that they would reduce the amount of staff.

Interview with Leonardo Da Vinci Essay

The Renaissance began in Italy. While it only a affected a small amount of the population, the â€Å"rebirth† of classical culture is revered today. The general idea of the renaissance is that in Ancient Greek and Roman times we were enlightened, and then lost the light in the â€Å"dark† ages, and then became enlightened again in the rebirth of classical culture. Setting: A stage with comfortable chairs, Leonardo da Vinci sitting in one chair, the host in the other. Host: Welcome to Talk Renaissance Live, I’m here with Leonardo da Vinci, the very definition of a â€Å"Renaissance man†. So tell the audience about yourself Leo. Can I call you Leo? Leo: Um sure. Well honestly I don’t know why people like me so much, I’m a terrible procrastinator. And while I’ve had a few successful paintings, a lot of my works were more of failed experiments. Host: That is still better than most of the population. And your scientific journals still have people wondering today. You had ideas, sometimes even working ideas for things that weren’t even conceived for most of the population until this last century. What was it like working for a commission? Leo: It was ok, once I had plenty of apprentices. Apprentices meant I could spend more time on enquiries of the scientific nature. Host: So why was the Mona Lisa smiling the way she was? Leo: Well now that’s something I swore I would never tell. Host: You’re no fun, and I was wondering. Why didn’t you publish and of the scientific advances you made? Leo: Well it was a different world back then. I had more respect then most people, but if I’d tried to publish my scientific thoughts then I would have been laughed out of the building. Or killed. Host: You mentioned having apprentices later in your career, how was it like being one yourself? And who were you an apprentice for? Leo: Well when I was 14 I apprenticed to the man known as Verrocchio. He taught me many things, both in theoretical and practical fields. Even after I qualified as a master artist I continued to collaborate with him, because he was a fine man. Host: That’s our time, when we come back from the break I’ll be sitting here with Johann Gutenberg. Host: And we’re back, sitting with me is Johann Gutenberg. You may not know who he is, but he was essential to both the Renaissance and what followed. Johann: Hello. Host: How about you explain to the audience about your important contributions? Johann: I brought the printing to Europe. Host: Yes, could you explain how? Johann: Was able to make a printing system that could mass produce books, and have it be economically viable. Host: And was it? Johann: Well it was for everyone except me really. I ended up with an enormous debt and then was sued for â€Å"misuse of funds†. Host: That’s unfortunate, did you win the court case? Johann: Of course not, and he had control of my bible printing press, and half of all bibles printed. Host: And could you explain why the printing press was important? Johann: As I understand it, it meant that books and news traveled to more people, and more quickly. It helped the Renaissance, and later facilitated the Scientific revolution. Host: Wow that was an informative interview, but now we have to go to commercial break. When we come back I will be talking with our final guest. Host: And we’re back! Now as you know with the Renaissance came the appearance of humanism. We have the father of humanism himself with us today, Francesco Petrarca! Petrarca: Hello. Host: As the father of humanism, could you explain to the audience exactly what humanism is? Petrarca: Humanism is a response to the clinical scholasticism. Humanists such as myself want to create a society where are all citizens are capable of engaging civic life, being eloquent of speech and pen. Host: I see, what is scholasticism? Petrarca: It’s something that seems to be prevalent in society today, preparing people to be â€Å"good† jobs such as doctors or lawyers. It emphasizes learning minor and unimportant details for careers that relatively few will partake in. Host: Asides from being the Father of Humanism what else have you done? Petrarca: I’m also a bit of a poet. And I came up with the concept of the Dark Ages, although that seems to have gone out of style as of late. Host: Well the thought as of late is that calling it the Dark Ages is oversimplifying. It portrays the idea that humanity was briefly enlightened, and then lost it’s way, and then was enlightened again- Petrarca: Exactly! That’s exactly the point I’m trying to make. Host: Well it doesn’t agree with what modern historians generally think. They’ve been trying to make an effort to be less Eurocentric, and to try to understand concepts of the past without changing the facts to suite our ideas of what should have happened.

My Life Timeline Activity for Kids

My Life Timeline Activity for Kids History is sometimes a hard concept for kids to grasp- not that events happened, but that they happened to real people and that to those people it wasnt history, it was the present. One of the best activities to help show your child the idea of being a part of history is to help him create My Life Timeline depicting their history and accomplishments. Note:  One thing to remember as you tackle this activity is that a child who was adopted may find this activity a little difficult, but there are ways to adapt it to make it more general. Instead of focusing on everything that happened from the time when your child was born and beyond, think about using less specific terms, like past and present. That way your child can decide what events in his â€Å"past† are of importance to him without feeling pressured to know the details of what happened in the time before he was adopted. What Your Child Will Learn (or Practice) Your child will get a sense of historical perspective while practicing sequencing and expository writing skills. Materials Needed: Roll of butcher paper  or some pieces of paper taped together to create a strip about 6 to 10 feet long.Pencils, a ruler, and markers.Pair of scissorsGlue or tapeIndex cardsPhotos commemorating events of your child’s lifetime. (They don’t have to be big events, just a good selection of photos that span his lifetime.) Starting a My Life Timeline Provide your child with some index cards and ask him to help you think about some moments in his life that are most important or memorable to him. Start by having him write his date of birth on an index card. Tell him what day of the week he was born on and the time if you know it, and ask him to add that information to the index card, too. Then, have him label the card with a phrase like Today, I was born!Challenge him to think of other days in his life that were important in his personal history. Prompt him to think about things like brothers or sisters being born, first days of school and family vacations. Ask him to write down the events and their descriptions, one on each index card, without worrying about whether they are in order.Complete this process up to the present day. The last card might say, Made a My Life Timeline.When he’s done coming up with events, have him place all the index cards the floor or on a table. Now, ask him to sequence the events according to whe n they happened, starting with the oldest (his birth date) on the left and working toward the most recent on the right. If your child is having trouble remember which events came before others, you can help him identify when something happened. Providing him with the month and year will be a big help in putting his personal history in order.Look through the photos together to try to find one to match each index card, but don’t stress if there isn’t one. Your child can always hand illustrate an event. Putting Together a My Life Timeline Lay the piece of butcher paper down on a hard work surface (the floor works best).Help your child use the ruler to draw a horizontal line in the middle of the paper from one end to the other.Start at the left end of the paper and draw a small line upward (vertically) from the middle of the paper. This mark will represent the day your child was born. Have him write his birth date above that line. Then ask him to make a similar line at the very end of the paper, writing today’s date and a little bit about himself and his life today.Have him place the index cards- in order- between those two dates, making a small line to connect each card to the line in the middle of the paper.Ask him to match the photos with the events and put each one below the correct index card (under the line on the paper). Glue or tape the pictures and index cards in place.Let your child decorate the timeline, trace the information he’s written with markers and then tell you his personal history!

The Role of Ozone in the Atmosphere and Environment

The Role of Ozone in the Atmosphere and Environment Essentially, ozone (O3) is an unstable and highly reactive form of oxygen. The ozone molecule is made up of three oxygen atoms that are bound together, whereas the oxygen we breathe (O2) contains only two oxygen atoms. From a human perspective, ozone is both helpful and harmful, both good and bad. The Benefits of Good Ozone Small concentrations of ozone occur naturally in the stratosphere, which is part of the Earth’s upper atmosphere. At that level, ozone helps to protect life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the sun, particularly UVB radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, damage crops, and destroy some types of marine life. The Origin of Good Ozone Ozone is created in the stratosphere when ultraviolet light from the sun splits an oxygen molecule into two single oxygen atoms. Each of those oxygen atoms then binds with an oxygen molecule to form an ozone molecule. Depletion of stratospheric ozone poses serious health risks for humans and environmental hazards for the planet, and many nations have banned or limited the use of chemicals, including CFC, that contribute to ozone depletion. The Origin of Bad Ozone Ozone is also found much nearer the ground, in the troposphere, the lowest level of Earth’s atmosphere. Unlike the ozone that occurs naturally in the stratosphere, tropospheric ozone is man-made, an indirect result of air pollution created by automobile exhaust and emissions from factories and power plants. When gasoline and coal are burned, nitrogen oxide gases (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) are released into the air. During the warm, sunny days of spring, summer and early fall, NOx and VOC are more likely to combine with oxygen and form ozone. During those seasons, high concentrations of ozone are often formed during the heat of the afternoon and early evening (as a component of smog) and are likely to dissipate later in the evening as the air cools. Does ozone pose a significant risk to our climate? Not really - ozone does have a small role to play in global climate change, but the majority of the risks are elsewhere. The Risks of Bad Ozone The man-made ozone that forms in the troposphere is extremely toxic and corrosive. People who inhale ozone during repeated exposure may permanently damage their lungs or suffer from respiratory infections. Ozone exposure may reduce lung function or aggravate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema or bronchitis. Ozone may also cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation or congestion. The adverse health effects of ground-level ozone are particularly dangerous for people who work, exercise, or spend a lot of time outdoors during warm weather. Seniors and children are also at greater risk than the rest of the population because people in both age groups are more likely to have reduced or not fully formed lung capacity. In addition to human health effects, ground-level ozone is also hard on plants and animals, damaging ecosystems and leading to reduced crop and forest yields. In the United States alone, for example, ground-level ozone accounts for an estimated $500 million in reduced crop production annually. Ground-level ozone also kills many seedlings and damages foliage, making trees more susceptible to diseases, pests and harsh weather. No Place is Completely Safe from Ground-Level Ozone Ground-level ozone pollution is often considered an urban problem because it is formed primarily in urban and suburban areas. Nevertheless, ground-level ozone also finds its way to rural areas, carried hundreds of miles by the wind or forming as a result of auto emissions or other sources of air pollution in those areas.​ Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Discussion Baord Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion Baord - Essay Example The increasing of drug addiction in Europe requires the new methods and laws about using drug. Usually, people who are taking drugs without distributing them, are not sentenced to imprisonment, but they get punishment of administrative and medical character (or other forms of treatment). Though many countries have laws which provide for imprisonment just for taking drugs. In cases where the delinquency, connected with drugs, was commited by the person, depended on drugs, the methods of social and medical impact are used. Treatment and imprisonment are altermative methods for the persons who are taking drugs. Many countries which are the members of EU differ the crimes connected with drugs and crimes connected with producing, transporting and distributing drugs. In case, where taking drugs is not systematic and has no negative results, the person can be just fined or gets administrative punishment (for example to hold up the driving licence or other documents). The laws of European countries concerning taking drugs differ from each other. ‘Taking drugs’ is a law notion and defines the drugs for personal use and is different from the notion of distributing, keeping, transporting or producing. Some countries of EU speak about taking drugs as about separate tort. These countries are France, Finland, Greece and Sweden. In these countries the use of drugs is qualified as a criminal offence and provides for imprisonment. But law-enforcement policy has a number of flexible approaches to such type of crime. In Belgium only the group use of drugs is forbidden and punished. Spain and Luxemburg concern only about taking drugs in public places that is punished by administrative method. The law of Ireland and Great Britain officially forbids opium taking but taking drugs â€Å"per se† is not punished. In Holland taking drugs in public places of some cities is forbidden and can be punished according to the law. Portuguese policy proposes medical

Implementing a GIS System and GPS training in rural Belize Research Paper

Implementing a GIS System and GPS training in rural Belize - Research Paper Example The area is least developed and it consists of some of the most attractive tourists sites including cave networks, a wide range of cultures including that of the early civilization Maya and beautiful lowland plains. Fishing is also a key economic activity in the region and fishermen normally make use of their traditional dugout canoes for fly fishing and catching seasonal lobsters. Besides tourism and fishing, the Toledo District also gains its prominence from small scale agriculture due to the influence of the settlers from the US Confederate who introduced farming in the region. The economy in Toledo thus heavily relies on agriculture to ensure that the local people earn a living. Some of the crops that are popular among the farmers in Toledo include corn and beans. The farmers from the region also produce rice in large scale which is usually auctioned at the District’s Big Falls Rice Mill. The Toledo Cacao Association is similarly responsible for marketing the cacao product which is normally farmed organically. The most popular output that results from the cacao value addition chain is the Maya Gold chocolate brand. Cacao is such a popular crop in the Belize District and it’s celebrated during in a chocolate festival during the Toledo Cacao Festival. Besides rice, corn, beans and cacao, the farmers in Belize also grow additional crops such as hot peppers, chili, sweet potato, yams, coffee, plantain and oranges. Just like it is the norm in variant rural districts in southern and Central America, Toledo has reserved market days at its capital P unta Gorda where the farm produce is sold. The market days include Saturday, Friday, Wednesday and Monday. Agriculture and transportation are complementary in nature and it is imperative to also identify ways through which the GIP and GPS technologies can be used to further enhance the complementary nature of the two economic activities. Complementarity in agriculture and