Library System Essay

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study. First and foremost, my utmost gratitude to Mr. Raquel V.desello the Brgy.Chairman of Street whose sincerity and encouragement I will never forget. Mr. Dominic Sales has been my inspiration as I hurdle all the obstacles in the completion this research work. My sincere thanks also goes Mrs. De Leon for offering me the summer internship opportunities in their groups and leading me working on diverse exciting projects. I thank my fellow comp.labmates in Trent Information First and other Group: Mr. Renz Paolo Cruz, Rochelle Dones for allow me to barrow her flash drive, and, for the stimulating discussions, for the rush hour we were working together before few minutes before defense, and for all the fun we have had in the last two years. Also I thank my friends in face book that gave me at least their effort to gave few sentence in my documentation Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family: my parents Mrs. Chanda Desello and Mr. Quemadge Desello, for giving birth to me at the first place and supporting me spiritually throughout my life. Same as my partner in case study Lienard Magno ABSTRACT This report describes our group’s implementation of a library Management system. We used the Entity-Relationship model to design a database that will store and organize the library’s data. We have Created the database using vb6.0 and populated it with some sample Data. The system can keep track of library cards, customers, Librarians, library locations, books, videos, and the relationships Between them. Using vb6.0 and adodb, we have Created an Internet-based graphical user interface that allows Customers and librarians to access the system remotely A simple library management system that provides following facilities login, register, add category, add / remove book, search / issue book, return book. Language used is C# and vb is been used in code. One Admin user is already there once db is installed with user name admin and password admin. Admin user has extra functionalities like add category, add/remove books. These functionalities cannot be done by simple user that registers. Password encryption – decryption has been used in project. It’s very simple project where in all the event of all forms has been handled in that acts as business and data access layer. All vB interactions are in this file only. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Now a day, in a highly technological society, human productivity is made more efficient through the development of electronic gadgets. Now, with the advent of such modernization in education, one way to globalize the process of research is to realize that technology is advancing at an incredibility fast place. Computers are not confined to being used for entertainment but its role in education is also vast. In School, reading materials are stored in libraries. Library is a place in which books and related materials are kept for use but not for sale. It is also organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution or a private individual. In addition, it is a place in which we get information in any format and from many sources. The librarian has to keep the room neat so that it is conducive for learning. The librarian is also the person who is liable for monitoring all the books that are borrowed and returned by the borrowers. The proponents will propose the Library Books borrowing and Returning System for Taytay Elementary School located at Taytay, Rizal, he Head Librarian, Ms. De Leon stated that they are currently using the Dewey Decimal Library System. They are still utilizing a manual system. The library users and the librarian still use card catalogues in searching for reading materials and use index card for the records of borrowed and returned books. The proponent’s study was what is which encounter to the Library by the user, Librarian and how the Owner or the Administrator of the said school will provide a good service to their clients to have a good feedback. The study will focus on transaction which done inside the Library like borrowing, returning of books by students, faculties and staffs. In this area, the usage of computerized library system is needed because it is easier and obviously it saves paper compare to the manual library based. Other countries such as South America and Middle East. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS library system in doing transactions with their clienteles. Specifically this study pourpost to answer the following questions: 1. How can the system helps the librarian? 2. What are the inputs needed in the system in order for the students/staff/visitors to be able to login/logout when entering and borrowing books? 3. What are the information and data needed to put up a computerized library system of (tes) Taytay Elementary School. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS SCOPE The system is create for the library except for easy way for librarian to make her work easy this is also for their customer to barrow books easy and to return also for data for clearly using it.. Delimitation The other way,this study is limits for the proposed enhancement computerized library system of Taytay Elementary School. System proposed to only one authorized person.

10 Tenets of MOT and the IT Organization Essay

A tenet is a principle based on observation, intuition, experience, and in some cases, empirical analysis. Based on a study presented in the Handbook of Technology Management by Gerard Gaynor, Ten tenets are proposed as guiding principles for an organization to operate within a technology cycle framework. These are: 1. Value diversification is a poor substitute for MOT. 2. Manufacturability must keep pace with inventiveness and marketability. 3. Quality and total productivity are inseparable concepts in managing technology. 4.  It is management’s responsibility to bring about technological change and job security for long term competitiveness. 5. Technology must be the ‘servant’ not the ‘master’; the master is still the human being. 6. The consequences of technology selection can be more serious than expected because of systematic effects. 7. Continuous education and training in a constantly changing workplace is a necessity, not a luxury. 8. Technology gradient is a dynamic component of the technology management process, to be monitored for strategic advantage. 9.  The RTC factor must be carefully analyzed and meticulously monitored for gaining the most out of any technology, particularly a new one. 10. Information linkage must keep pace with technology grow th. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay In the case of an IT Organization, the essence of the management several factors of technology are realized based on the above specified MOT principles. The following may be derived: †¢ Importance of Core Technologies and Core Competencies. Analysis of the competencies and technological capability of an IT Organization will provide information on the inherent competitive ability of the organization, or the absence of such. This is a step towards active management of technology. †¢ Inventiveness versus Market Drive. For an IT Organization, this translates to building an output-driven innovative culture versus customizing products and processes based on Market-demand. †¢ Total Quality Management. Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures are essential to monitor processes and the process improvement practice within an organization. †¢ Initiation and Management of Technological Change. Conscious effort to improve current technology should e a consistent activity in an IT Organization. This may be a result of observed updates in the industry or an internal effort to innovate and update according to changing business needs. †¢ Security for Competitiveness. As an industry with established processes, functions and professional track, job security through skills-based retention and promotion should be encouraged. This will invite constructive competitiveness and improve the industryà ¢â‚¬â„¢s workforce. †¢ Technology is the medium and the tool, it is not the solution.  The main product for an organization that offers Information Technology as a service is the solution. The technology is the enabler, while the process is the company-specific activity that adds value to the solution. †¢ Organizational Systems and the Effect of Technology. The effect of information technology to the organization encompasses structures and organization systems. As processes and needs are updated, technologies or the manner that it is implemented should be revised complementarily. The reverse does not always follow. The Essence of Training and Education in an IT Organization. With the Human Resource as the main and sole source value and new service introduction, investment in further education is essential to an IT Organization. Technology managemet assessment: TA is the study and evaluation of new technologies. It is based on the conviction that new developments within, and discoveries by, t he scientific community are relevant for the world at large rather than just for the scientific experts themselves, and that technological progress can never be free of ethical implications. Also, technology assessment recognizes the fact that scientists normally are not trained ethicists themselves and accordingly ought to be very careful when passing ethical judgement on their own, or their colleagues, new findings, projects, or work in progress. Technology assessment assumes a global perspective and is future-oriented, not anti-technological. TA considers its task as interdisciplinary approach to solving already existing problems and preventing potential damage caused by the uncritical application and the commercialization of new technologies. Therefore any results of technology assessment studies must be published, and particular consideration must be given to communication with political decision-makers. An important problem, TA has to deal with it, is the so-called Collingridge dilemma: on the one hand, impacts of new technologies cannot be easily predicted until the technology is extensively developed and widely used; on the other hand, control or change of a technology is difficult as soon as it is widely used. Some of the major fields of TA are: information technology, hydrogen technologies, nuclear technology, molecular nanotechnology, pharmacology, organ transplants, gene technology, artificial intelligence, the Internet and many more. Health technology assessment is related, but profoundly different, despite the similarity in the name. Forms and concepts of technology assessment The following types of concepts of TA are those that are most visible and practiced. There are, however, a number of further TA forms that are only proposed as concepts in the literature or are the label used by a particular TA institution. 2] †¢ Parliamentary TA (PTA): TA activities of various kinds whose addressee is a parliament. PTA may be performed directly by members of those parliaments (e. g. in France and Finland) or on their behalf by related TA institutions (such as in the UK, in Germany and Denmark) or by organisations not directly linked to a Parliament (such as in the Netherlands and Switzerland). [3] †¢ Expert TA (often also referred to as the classical TA or traditional TA concept): TA activities carried out by (a team of) TA and technical experts. Input from stakeholders and other actors is included only via written statements, documents and interviews, but not as in participatory TA. †¢ Participatory TA (pTA): TA activities which actively, systematically and methodologically involve various kinds of social actors as assessors and discussants, such as different kinds of civil society organisations, representatives of the state systems, but characteristically also individual stakeholders and citizens (lay persons), technical scientists and technical experts. Standard pTA methods include consensus conferences, focus groups, scenario workshops etc. [4] Sometimes pTA is further divided into expert-stakeholder pTA and public pTA (including lay persons). [5] †¢ Constructive TA (CTA): This concept of TA, developed in the Netherlands, but also applied and discussed elsewhere[6] attempts to broaden the design of new technology through feedback of TA activities into the actual construction of technology. Contrary to other forms of TA, CTA is not directed toward influencing regulatory practices by assessing the impacts of technology. Instead, CTA wants to address social issues around technology by influencing design practices. †¢ Discursive TA or Argumentative TA: This type of TA wants to deepen the political and normative debate about science, technology and society. It is inspired by ethics, policy discourse analysis and the sociology of expectations in science and technology. This mode of TA aims to clarify and bring under public and political scrutiny the normative assumptions and visions that drive the actors who are socially shaping science and technology. Accordingly, argumentative TA not only addresses the side effects of technological change, but deals with both broader impacts of science and technology and the fundamental normative question of why developing a certain technology is legitimate and desirable. [7] †¢ Health TA (HTA): A specialised type of expert TA informing policy makers about efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness issues of pharmaceuticals and medical treatments, see health technology assessment.

Google's Culture is Truly Unique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Google's Culture is Truly Unique - Essay Example 2. Using the competing values framework, Google’s culture can be analyzed. The company possesses characteristics of a clan, but minimally and non invasively so. In terms of adhocracy, this is something that the company may now be too large to handle. From a market framework, Google is best viewed from the international perspective. â€Å"Googles hiring policy is aggressively non-discriminatory and favors ability over experience. The result is a staff that reflects the global audience the search engine serves† (Google, 2009). Despite its framework of easygoingness, Google is a hierarchical culture. 3. Google’s stated mission is simple, and only takes one line of company documents. â€Å"Googles mission is to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful† (Google, 2009). The culture type most associated with out of the options from the previous question, is market. This is not a hierarchical statement, but one that is centered on the resource that the company presents to the market as its primary service. The statement also shows how Google, after achieving similarly staggering growth with Microsoft, did more of a one-hundred-eighty degree turn in its internal culture: though still aggressive, the company realized that once it was an eight-hundred-pound gorilla, doing parlor tricks was more threatening than amusing. The company needs to retain its edge. 4. In terms of techniques for changing organizational culture, Google has used various methods to form its culture. Market research is important, and socio cultural considerations include how the customer perceives a large company with expensive stock like Google. Related factors of differentiation and switching costs are, as in the bargaining power of suppliers, related to this relationship. This shows how many of the forces in competition that the public sees have a symbiotic or integrated function

Henry Peach Robinson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Henry Peach Robinson - Essay Example The best-known nineteenth-century popularizer of fine-art principles among photographers was Henry Peach Robinson, an English commercial photographer who published a series of popular studio manuals introducing design concepts such as balance (of lines and mass), composition (of figures and lines), and chiaroscuro to both American and European photographers." (Brown, 187-8) Through his single most famous text, Pictorial Effect in Photography (1869), Robinson celebrated pictorialistic style which helped the development of photography in general. Therefore, Henry Peach Robinson is the most important photographer and theoretician of the nineteenth century and he is celebrated as the pioneer of pictorialist photography. An analysis of the major works by this eminent photographer and the photographic tools and processes used by him helps one in comprehending the elements of pictorialism and the pictorialistic style in detail. ... "The term pictorialism was used generally by photographers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to describe an artistic approach to the making of photographs as well as to define a number of specific groups organized to promote art photographers and their work... In 1869, Henry Peach Robinson published his Pictorial Effect in Photography, giving weight to the notion of photography as a self-conscious art form and popularizing the critical concept of pictorialism." (Peres, 103) It is essential to comprehend the definition of pictorialism exactly as the modern usage of the term has been found misleading and pictorialism original referred to any photograph that put the completed picture first and the subject second. Therefore, pictorialism also incorporated the more modern trends the photographs of this category emphasized atmosphere or viewpoint more importantly than the subject. The historical significance of the movement also helps one to realize the various aspects of pictorial ism. "Pictorialism served historically as a reaction against the flood of unexceptional and easy photographs enabled by the technical advances of the 1880s. Convenient innovations such as the dry plate hand-held camera, and flexible roll film, as well as improved camera design and optical sharpness, made camera work available to a larger group of amateurs whose primary concern was the graphic recording of information." (Peres, 103) The photographers of pictorialistic movement were disapproving of the literal representation of subjects and the scientific and commercial applications of the medium. Therefore, the formation of a group under the banner of pictorialism needs to be realized as a natural and spontaneous attempt to promote

Gender and History in Modern South Asia Term Paper - 1

Gender and History in Modern South Asia - Term Paper Example It is worth considering what other people perceive as being Chinese citizenship as opposed to the perspective of the Chinese themselves. Some of the ancient practices by Chinese people have faced stiff rejection especially over the course of the twentieth century by citizens who are believed to be from China. During the empire rulings, traditional rituals and practices were common among Chinese communities but cultural erosion has been greatly evident especially during the first half of the twentieth century. In the nineteenth century, Chinese were seen to uphold and respect their cultural practices such as marriage and burial rituals. However, things have significantly changed during the twentieth century where traditions have been greatly rejected by the Chinese. Instead, they are turning to modern life by abandoning indigenous ways of dressing and practices for the modern way of life. Chinese people have encountered a number of challenges as they try to transform from imperialism to modern way of life but by the help of educated people in the society, effective techniques have been used to liberate China from imperialism. The nation of China was a long time ago composited of small communities until when transformation took place over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The kind of leadership that was in place was quite different from the current one since centralization was in practice as opposed to decentralized leadership practiced today. The ruler of the state was an emperor the Son of Heaven who held the central position of cosmos (Harrison 2). Besides the emperor, there existed a bureaucracy education which, had characteristics that clearly portrayed the existence of modern China. However, it is worth noting the emperor was then perceived as a world but not as a country. Nevertheless, this did not mean that the Qing courts did not recognize the presence of other nations since they could have a negotiation with foreigners only that the negotiations could never be allowed to erase Chinese culture.  

The Problem With Akeem In Education. Causes And Decision Case Study - 12

The Problem With Akeem In Education. Causes And Decision - Case Study Example Kirkley further elaborates, solving a problem in some cases requires the problem solver to dynamically restructure and run their mental models of the systems to effect a particular action on a system. Developing a mental model is more practical and requires more than the declarative teaching than students such as Akeem received from their classroom. The solution would thus be aimed at making the studies a bit practical to make such students to express mental models practically rather than theoretically. Cooper & Henschkle (2001) describe andragogy as a form of learning for adults where practice in the field is supplemented with theoretical work form the class. Such an approach would help in helping children such as Akeem. The children exhibiting such behavior should be offered with an environment that stimulates practical activities. Once the area of concern is established, the students would then be encouraged to participate more in this specific area, and later when enough interest is accumulated, the student might be introduced to the theoretical aspect of the idea. The plan has to work effectively in that the plan isolates the areas of interests as portrayed by the student, and then develops these areas. In short, it is a student controlled learning instead of a teacher controlled learning. As Cooper & Henschkle (2001) elaborate, the interest and practical aspect gained would be the motivation towards learning the theoretical concept. Cooper, M.K. & Henschke, J.A., (2001). Andragogy: its research value for practice. A presentation to the Midwest Research to Practice conference, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois, Sept. 26-28, 2001.

Tort Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Tort Law - Essay Example This additional amount is known as punitive damages. Similarly, there may be situations whereby the plaintiff may file an injunction which prevents the defendant from injuring him or her or from invading one of his or her property. Tort laws are laws instituted to offer compensation to persons who have been harmed due to the irrational actions of a second or third party. The claims in tort generally involve state law, and are based on the postulation that individuals are at all times liable for their own actions, if it either directly or indirectly results in the injury of others. Tort law constitutes a branch of private law that is also characterized by contract law, property law and restitution. A tort law has a distinctive capability of transferring the problems of a victim plaintiff, to another person, the defendant2. In the tort law, the duty of care is that legal obligation that is imposed upon a person requiring that the individual stick to the standard of reasonable care in c ourse of executing any acts that can foreseeable harm other individuals. In order to establish whether there was an act of negligence in this case or not, there is need to first consider if the Healthy Organics Ltd, Maahir, Harry, the paramedics, Fred as well as the Surgeon who used a \ new non-invasive technique who can be regarded as defendants in this case, owed the plaintiffs (the affected individuals) a duty of care. In other words, are the five reasonably responsible for the injuries sustained by Syed, Maisy, Tom, Gerry, and Robert? As it is in this case, it is certain that there was a duty of care that is imposed by law that the defendants in this case breached and as provided by law such individuals are subject to liability. Exploration The article under analysis comprises of a number of cases that lie within the context of tort. The first is a scenario whereby a tort suit is applicable is in the case against Maahir, who is in possession of work man tools that aid him in eff ectively undertaking his work. As such, he is tasked with the obligation of ensuring the tools he uses are kept away safely, lest they inflict injury on any second or third party. Regrettably this is what unerringly materialized. Via a series of events made probable by laxity on the part of Maahir, Syed, an innocent child, is hurt. Explicitly, this set-up is characterized by elements of strict liability. Strict liability entails the plaintiff ascertaining, beyond a doubt, the defendant had an obligation to guarantee something was kept safe. Subsequently, the defendant failed to perform this duty, thus, leading to injury of the plaintiff. In this case, there was foreseeability as the random and careless placing of tools in an environment characterized by children was bound to eventuate in injury. In this occasion, Maahir had a liability on the injury sustained by Syed. When this case is looked into closely, there exists negligence on the part of Maahir. However, Syed must prove that he was a primary victim of negligence. In the ruling Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire3, it was ruled that primary victims only have to prove that the injury was foreseeable. Furthermore, there is no need to establish that psychiatric injury was indeed foreseeable4. As such, under this criterion then Maahir is liable for the injury sustai

High School Sports Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

High School Sports - Research Paper Example This assignment is actually aims at assembling an essay using appropriate resources, formats and tools and using sufficient supporting evidence to convey our message to our readers. According to the Longman Writer: rhetoric, reader and handbook (Judith Nadell, John Langan, Eliza Comodromos, 2005), the supporting evidence is at the heart of effective writing. Without it essays lack energy and fail to project the writer’s voice of perspective. In other words supporting evidence is like red bull, it gives the essay wings. Sports have become an integral part of high school. It is important as it adds to the physical development of the students. Participating in activities actually prepares them to be athletes in the near future if they so desire. However, as expected competitive Sports like any other widely discussed topic have positive and negative aspects. Sports boost school spirit among students and the thrill of having the support of the entire student body builds confidence for the athletes especially if they support their team through thick and thin. Also for students with low self-esteem, the best thing to do is to encourage them to take part in a sport. Therefore sports build self-esteem, not to mention it’s good physical activities. In addition, students who are involved in sports learn life-long skills that may be transferred into their chosen career path - skills such as team work, communication and time management skills. With benefits like that, it is hard to only pin-point the negatives. It is understandable that negativities will be associated with it. However, with the correct guidance of families and coaches, athletes will stay on the right track and not fall into the negativities associated with the sport. With reference to Bissinger’s article ‘Innocents Afield’, which spoke about high school sports, Bissinger addressed only the negative aspects associated with the topic. He criticized the millions

SHORT LISTENING ASSIGNMENT FORMAT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SHORT LISTENING FORMAT - Assignment Example Instruments clearly heard from the song include trumpets, reeds, bass, piano, drums, and trombones (Ellington, 1932). The sounding of these instruments blends to produces the desired jazz music impression. The drums in this case serve to establish the acts as the metronome to the band. The bass clearly sets the style of the song as well as the progression. It makes the foundation of the root note. Notably, these two, drums and the bass, play a significant role in setting the qualities of progression throughout the song. The melody is in the sax section where it goes back and forth between the Saxes and trumpets (Ellington, 1932). Bones get the melody occasionally although not more than the Saxes, trumpets and trombones that are the basic harmony instruments in this song. From listening to the song, it is clear that the piano provides the bridge linking the bass and higher pitched instruments (Ellington, 1932). The piano helps to create space for the vocals in the song. Probably, this is because the piano has the entire scale of notes and natural concert signature and hence is the teacher of the notes (Keith, 2004). From a personal perspective, this selected solo is successful because the written arrangement of the various sections merges effectively into a Swing Jazz song. The call and response between sections makes the song progressive and hence interesting to listeners (Typical Jazz Instruments, 2009). However, the solo is successful largely because it is easy to dance to the music. The musicians, actually, seem to enjoy the music. Their dancing makes them look more of entertainers than musicians (Keith, 2004). From a personal view, these qualities of Swing Jazz would not be achieved with an unsuccessful solo. In fact, this song aroused my emotions that I yearned to have lived during the era of Swing Jazz to have a real life experience with the initial

Housing Statistics Essay Example for Free

Housing Statistics Essay The regression line is also known as the best fit line for the given data. The data points may not form a straight line. The line that best fits or best describes the relationship of the given dependent and independent variables is the line that would have the minimum perpendicular distance from the given data points. This line is used to analyze the relationship of the different variables given. It can also be used to predict or estimate other data points. In this paper, the regression line of the given data will be computed using a given tool from a certain website. The data will be analyzed to help in the decision making of the owner of the construction business. With the information given above, there is no question that the number of housing starts increases as the interest rate goes down. With the predictions of financial experts that mortgage rates will continue to dip in the next coming years, the housing construction business should be prepared in the possible increase in demands. Being the owner of a housing construction business, effective project planning should be in place. The employees should be prepared with the possible increase in the demand of housing construction projects as the interest rates continue to go down. A plan should be in place covering how to approach the possible increase in demands. Risks and uncertainties should also be identified as early as possible and there should be a detailed work breakdown structure to get ready for the coming projects. The plan should also encompass all aspects of the construction business from the materials procurement, subcontractors to employees who will be working on the projects. It should also include plans for the next coming years as the trend will probably continue as forecasted by financial experts. The data given should be used to forecast demands as accurate as possible. Using the data in the forecast, accurate measures can be implemented in terms of working with subcontractors and where to source materials. Decisions to be made with regard to projects will depend a lot on the data being forecasted by experts. Reference Ramat-Gan. (2003, June 30). Interest Rate Plunge Will Continue. Lecture Notes. Waner, S. Costenoble, S. (1999). Simple Regression. Retrieved August 2, 2006 from http://people. hofstra. edu/faculty/Stefan_Waner/newgraph/regressionframes. html

Case Study Of Toyotas Vehicle Recall Management Essay

Case Study Of Toyotas Vehicle Recall Management Essay This study focuses on the risk of reputational damage from a crisis situation and uses the Toyota recall crisis as a case study. The study examines Toyotas actions as relates to preserving its reputation as more than 8 million of its motor vehicles are recalled from 2009-2010. In order to do this, Toyotas actions are benchmarked against critical risk factors identified in the Roads to Ruin report conducted by Cass Business School for Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce (AIRMIC). The findings from the case revealed that a serious breakdown in Toyotas culture and a violation of its clearly stated principles of quality and customer-focus were the root causes of its reputational decline. Upon closer examination of the Toyota case, we find that the Toyota crisis escalated majorly because the company seemed to have no plan whatsoever to prepare for a crisis of the magnitude it faced and hence failed to protect its reputation. The case goes on to highlight various risk management that can be incorporated by businesses, managers and CEOs to preserve their reputation in crisis situations and avoid common pitfalls that lead to reputational decline. Table of Figures Executive summary This paper explores the subject of corporate reputation and the risk a crisis situation poses to a companys reputation. The main objective of this study is to extract risk management lessons from a crisis situation that can be used by managers and CEOs to avoid reputational decline in similar circumstances. The paper is structured as a case study that focuses on Toyota Motor Corporation as it faced the greatest threat to its reputation the recall of its vehicles in 2009. It explores key factors that made Toyota vulnerable during the recall and explores the effects of the recall on Toyotas reputation. In order to determine the underlying risk factors that exacerbated the crisis, Toyota is benchmarked against critical risk factors identified in the Roads to Ruin report a research report on risk management by Cass Business School for AIRMIC. The report was chosen because it provides a rich source of lessons about risk, risk analysis and risk management by detailing over one hundred specific lessons about risk from different case studies of companies in reputation-damaging crisis situations. Upon closer examination of the details of the Toyota case, we find that Toyotas reputation was damaged because the company seemed to have no plan whatsoever to prepare for a crisis of the magnitude it faced and hence failed to protect its reputation. Amongst other reasons for Toyotas reputational decline were these factors: management were not communicating effectively with stakeholders during the crisis; decision making was centred in Japan where the company was head-quartered making the crisis response very slow. We also find that Toyota shelved its corporate values which made it a symbol for quality in its quest for growth. In order to understand the Toyota crisis, the paper starts off with a brief introduction of Toyota Motor Corporation, highlighting its businesses and its reputation before the recall crisis. A timeline of the recall is also included to provide an overview of the flow of events during the period under review. Literature on corporate reputation, its importance and ownership is reviewed in the second part of this study whilst chapter three sets out the methodology employed in this study. Chapter four and five represent the crux of this work examining Toyotas actions in more detail. The research work ends with important recommendations for managers for preserving reputation in a crisis situation. Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: Introduction Glass, China, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended. -Benjamin Franklin. A few years ago, if we talked about companies with good reputations, the Japanese carmaker Toyota might have been mentioned. 2008 in particular was a good year for Toyota; Toyota was arguably one of the top brands worldwide, scoring high points for reliability and product quality on various reputational studies. It was the 6th top brand in the world according to interbrands Top 100 brands in the world list and was highly reputed for its reliability, customer-focus, and world-class quality. By the 27th of February, 2009, Toyota had moved up to third place on the Worlds Most Admired list, behind only Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The company had the coveted AAA rating from Fitch and customers and car-enthusiasts alike had come to equate Toyota with quality. Even the companys philosophies, visions and advertising campaigns were unequivocal in stressing its commitment to quality However as Toyota recalled vehicle after vehicle in 2009, its pristine reputation for quality was badly damaged. Toyota literally drove into a reputational crisis like it had never seen before; the crisis was exceptionally damaging to the companys reputation as it struck its perceived core competence safety and quality. Company Background TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION is a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the automobile and financial business. The Company operates through three business divisions. The Automobile segment is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of car products including passenger cars, minivans and trucks, as well as the related parts and accessories. The Finance segment is involved in the provision of financial services related to the sale of the Companys products, as well as the leasing of vehicles and equipment. The Others segment is involved in the design, manufacture and sale of housings, as well as information and communication business. For its automotive operations which is the focus of this study- Toyota produces and sells passenger cars, minivans and commercial vehicles, such as trucks. Toyotas vehicles can be classified into two categories: conventional engine vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Toyotas product line-up includes subcompact and compact cars, mini-vehicles, mid-size, luxury, sports and specialty cars, recreational sport-utility vehicles, pickup trucks, minivans, trucks and buses. The Companys subcompact and compact cars include the four-door Corolla sedan and the Yaris. In North America, Europe and Japan, Toyotas luxury line-up consists primarily of vehicles and other luxury sport-utility vehicles sold under the Lexus brand name. Toyota sport-utility vehicles available in North America also include the Sequoia, the 4Runner, the RAV4, the Highlander, the FJ Cruiser and the Land Cruiser, and pickup trucks available are the Tacoma and Tundra. Toyota also sells the Century limousine in Japan. Toyotas product line-up includes trucks (including vans) up to a gross vehicle weight of five tons and micro-buses, which are sold in Japan and in overseas markets. Trucks and buses are also manufactured and sold by Hino, a subsidiary of Toyota. Hinos product line-up includes large trucks with a gross vehicle weight of over 11 tons, medium trucks with a gross vehicle weight of between five and 11 tons, and small trucks with a gross vehicle weight of up to five tons. More than its cars, Toyota is well known for its TOYOTA WAY a set of principles and behaviours that underlie the Toyota Motor Corporations managerial approach and production system. These principles have been taught in various business schools and adapted in various organisations. The principles are summarised in the figure below: Figure : The Toyota way (Source: Hispage TONOway) 1.2 The Recall Crisis Toyotas recall fiasco took a disastrous turn on the 28th of August 2009 in San Diego, California. According to news reports, Mark Saylor and his wife, daughter and brother-in-law (Chris Lastrella) were killed when their Lexus, on loan from a dealer, careened out of control at more than 100mph, collided with another vehicle, and crashed into a ravine, setting the car ablaze. Figure : Inset is a picture of the vehicle after the accident (Source: PowayPatch) The familys high-speed tragedy was captured via a 911 call; the fear in the caller Chris Lastrellas voice was apparent as he said there are no brakesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ we need to pray and finally, their high-pitched screams as the car crashed. Over the next six months following this incident, Toyota would issue three separate recalls related to vehicle speed control for over 8 million vehicles; costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars in sales and immeasurable reputational damage. As the crisis intensified, Toyota became the target of adverse media attention with criticisms coming from various stakeholders for its actions during this period, and for its delay in identifying the fault and recalling the affected vehicles. 1.3 Timeline This section provides a chronological flow of the events leading up to and surrounding the recall crisis 2000 A cost cutting exercise called Construction of Cost Competitiveness for the 21st Century is launched by Toyota with the aim of reducing the cost of 180 car parts by 30% and saving $10 billion by 2005. 31-12-04 Toyotas vehicles accounted for about 20% of all unintended acceleration complaints filed with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), up from 4 percent in 2000. 26-09-07 First floor mat recall in US of 55,000 vehicles to correct possible drivers floor mat causing accelerator pedal entrapment. 28-08-09 Off-duty California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor is traveling on Highway 125 in Santee, California (northeast of San Diego), with three family members, when the 2009 Lexus ES350 he is driving suddenly accelerates out of control, hits another car, tumbles down an embankment and catches fire. While the car is careening down the highway at speeds estimated to exceed 100 mph, his brother-in-law calls 911 and reports that the car has no brakes. All four are killed in the ensuing crash. 14-09-09 Preliminary reports from Toyota and local authorities indicate that the Lexus, which had been on loan from Bob Baker Lexus of San Diego, where Saylors personal Lexus vehicle was being serviced, may have had the wrong floor mats installed, interfering with the gas pedal. 29-09-09 Toyota announces it is recalling the floor mats on 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles. 2-10-09 Newly installed Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda publically apologizes to the Saylor family members killed in the accident and to every customer affected by the recall. 30-10-09 Toyota begins sending letters to owners notifying them of an unspecified upcoming recall to fix the unintended acceleration issue. In the letters Toyota says no defect exists. 2-11-09 NHTSA takes the highly unusual step of publicly rebuking Toyota, calling a company press release re-iterating the statements made in the 30 October letter to owners inaccurate and misleading, noting that the floor mat recall was an interim measure and that it does not correct the underlying defect. Toyota publicly apologizes. 02-11-09 Second floor mat recall in US of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to correct possible drivers floor mat causing accelerator pedal entrapment. 25-11-09 Second recall of 3.8 million vehicles amended to additionally reconfigure accelerator pedal. 26-12-09 A Toyota Avalon crashes into a lake in Texas after accelerating out of control. All four occupants die. Floor mats are ruled out as a cause because they are found in the trunk of the car. 21-01-10 Toyota recalls another 2.3 million Toyota-brand vehicles because of a problem with the gas pedal. Toyota says a rare set of conditions which may cause the accelerator pedal to become harder to depress, slower to return or, in the worst case, stuck in a partially depressed position. The company says the new recall is unrelated to the floor mat recall, but also announces 1.7 million Toyota vehicles would be affected by both recalls. 26-Jan-10 Toyota stops selling eight models in the US after being sanctioned by the NHTSA to halt selling vehicles with acknowledged defects. Toyota does not say why it has waited five days to stop sales after announcing the recall. 29-Jan-10 Recall extended to 1.8 million Toyotas in Europe and China. 02-Feb-10 U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sharply criticizes Toyotas response to the accelerator pedal concerns, telling the Associated press that Toyota may be a little safety deaf and that while Toyota is taking responsible action now, it unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point. 09-Feb-10 Recall of 437,000 Prius vehicles and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to correct possible faulty hybrid anti-lock brake software 23-Feb-10 Public hearings of various committees of the U.S. House of Representative regarding the Toyota safety issue. At the hearing, Toyoda publicly apologizes before Congress and pledges renewed commitment to quality and safety from Toyota. 24-Feb-10 Akio Toyoda, president and CEO of Toyota, issues the following statement at the congressional hearing: Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyotas priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers voices to make better products has weakened somewhat. We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization, and we should sincerely be mindful of that. I regret that this has resulted in the safety issues described in the recalls we face today, and I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced. Especially, I would like to extend my condolences to the members of the Saylor family, for the accident in San Diego. I would like to send my prayers again, and I w ill do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again. 1.4 Aims and Objectives The Toyota case study is an insightful one as it involves the review of management response in a crisis situation that involved major loss of lives and regulatory action. By focusing on Toyotas management response, the aim of this study is to provide useful recommendations for preserving corporate reputation in a crisis situation. The work will focus on Toyotas response, its crisis management and the effect of the crisis on the companys reputation. In so doing, the author aims to extract essential risk management lessons from the case. The objectives of this study are to: Trace the underlying cause of the crisis using the risk factors identified in the Roads to Ruin Report by Cass Business School for AIRMIC. Evaluate the impact of the incident on the ratings, profitability and reputation of the company. Evaluate the actions of the CEO, highlighting what he did well and what he did not do so well. Outline the main consequences of the crisis for shareholders and other stakeholders Outline the key risk management lessons to be learnt. Every reputational crisis is different and there is no panacea for a reputational crisis but this research work seeks to provide a valuable tool for protecting and managing reputational risk when a crisis occurs. In order to fulfil the objectives listed above, the following research questions will be answered: What made Toyota particularly vulnerable during the recall crisis? How did the recall crisis and its ensuing consequences affect the financial position and reputation of the company? How was the recall handled? How could it have been better handled? What lessons can be learnt such that a future crisis is managed better? What was the impact of failing to meet its stakeholders expectations on Toyotas reputation? CHAPTER 2: Literature Review O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, An foolish notion Robert Burns Every individual, every company, every organisation be it a large multi-national or a small food kiosk by the corner- have one thing in common; a reputation. Over time, every contact, every media mention, every rumour, every leak, every piece of gossip (whether true or not) will play its part in forming an overall impression of an organisations standing. This built up reputation not only has a significant impact on share price; but also influences the strength of the brand and determines its competitive advantage amongst its peers. As Bill Margaritis puts it: a strong corporate reputation is a life preserver in a crisis and a tailwind when you have an opportunity 2.1 Corporate Reputation: An Overview In recent years, the idea of reputation as a strong business asset has received increased recognition in management literature. Series of publications have appeared dealing with the benefits of positive corporate reputations, risks to reputation, and reputational risk management. This increased interest grew out of a realization that an organizations reputation is a major determinant for its short run and long run success and differential advantage in any business environment. Furthermore, the last decade has seen many of the worlds most admired companies descend from their once lofty positions. In light of all these, it is not a surprise that corporate reputation has started to feature prominently on Swiss Res and Aons study of the top ten risks identified by corporate executives. This emphasises the point that management and other stakeholders have started to see the importance of corporate reputation and the various factors that make up the reputation of their firm. Fomburn (1996) defines reputation as the overall estimation in which a company is held by its constituents which can be formed based on the net perception of a companys ability to meet the expectation of all its stakeholders. This perception will usually be based on both the organisations actions and inactions such that everything an organisation does, and does not do, has a direct impact on their reputation Dolphin (2004). Other authors, such as Bromley (2001) emphasize the differing nature of reputation and describe reputation as the distribution of opinions about a person or organisation A more balanced view of corporate reputation according to (Warwick, 1992) is the view that corporate reputation is in itself an aggregate evaluation made by stakeholders of how well a company is meeting stakeholders expectations based on its past behaviour. (Atkins, et al., 2006), also address corporate reputation and reputational risk from this perspective and define reputational risk as the threat to a companys reputation resulting from a failure to meet stakeholders reasonable expectations of an organisations performance or behaviour. Corporate reputation should (also) be considered in terms of its historical context, i.e. a corporations track record. A companys standing in the community and in the marketplace all help shape its reputation Fomburn (1996). A reputation is much more than brand image, and includes factors such as trust in the organisations integrity and how it will conduct itself in the future, both at the corporate level and through the actions of its management and staff. . (Atkins, et al., 2006). It is also an important form of corporate capital that determines to a large extent the companys worth, quite simply, it is an index of a companys worth or value (Bromley, 2000). In determining corporate value, most authors have come to agree that a reputation is an indicator of a companys future performance. A favourable reputation is powerful enough to convince the undecided to choose a certain product or service and dissuade existing customers from moving to a competitor; whereas a damaged reputation can be irreparable and in extreme cases, lead to a companys down fall (ORourke, 2004). In order to build a favourable reputation, four attributes need to be developed: credibility, trustworthiness, reliability and responsibili ty. Reputation is in itself intangible, untouchable and most times immeasurable. Reputation often cant be quantified, compared against hard benchmarks or analysed in the same way as financial or other numerical data. Its management requires softer skills such as sound judgement, an ability to anticipate future trends and requirements, understand stakeholder concerns, listen carefully, consider dispassionately and respond constructively. (Rayner, 2003). A good corporate reputation can take many long years to build; it can be destroyed in an instant through an ill-considered off-the-record remark, a lapse in personal behaviour, an ethical blunder in the supply chain or an inadequate response to a crisis. In the words of Warren Buffet who is considered the most successful investor of the 20th century it takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to destroy it. An area where authors share different views is as regards ownership of reputational risk. The first school of thought argues that one person or a group of people be appointed with the sole responsibility of preserving the companys reputation. It is probably due to the inefficiencies of some CEOs over the years in safeguarding reputation that some authors argue that a reputation officer or a reputation department be charged with the responsibility of handling and sustaining the corporate reputation. Others have criticised this view for various reasons, the main one been that, appointing a chief reputational office tends to remove the awareness of the importance of safeguarding corporate reputation from the Board of Directors and other top executives. Another school of thought is the one which states that every member of the organisation is responsible/accountable for the corporate reputation. As good as this argument might sound (it does make some sense for everyone in the organisation to be aware of maintaining the organisations good name), the loophole is in the danger that this leaves the accountability for corporate reputation as everyones task which in most times equals no ones task. The third school of thought argues that the responsibility for corporate reputation should rest on the CEO. According to this school, various studies have shown that CEOs understand the importance of a good reputation and hence should safeguard it. However, studies have also shown that few CEOs put any structure in place to safeguard the reputational asset of the organisation. It is disappointing to note that many CEOs who are supposed to be the custodians of the companys reputation have actually been the villains responsible for tarnishing the companys reputation. (This was certainly the case with AIGs Hank Greenberg). One important reason why CEOs should be responsible for reputational risk rests on the fact that when people think of a company, they are usually thinking of the CEO, with his actions/inactions invariably contributing to the reputation of the organisation. As Dr Leslie Gaines-Row pointed out in an interview, failure to maintain a good reputation should rest squarely on the shoulders of the CEO because in her own words: CEOs increasingly find themselves in the spotlight during crises and are without question a strategic player in reputation recovery. Their success in managing reputational difficulties is one of the determining factors in whether stakeholders retain confidence in the company and believe that reputation will eventually be restored. For this reason, failure to maintain a good reputation rests squarely on the CEOs shoulders. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Studies show) that nearly 60 percent of the blame is attributed to the CEO when crisis strikes. As the companys public face during times of crisis, and the companys chief reputation officer, the CEO should remain visible, and communicate honestly, transparently and proactively. CEOs must also present themselves to stakeholders, whether it is customers, financial analysts or employees, consistently with the companys vision, code of conduct and values. By taking responsibility, acting quickly and compassionately, listening carefully, and establishing clear priorities, the CEO can set an example for reputation recovery for the entire organization. Reputation is the most important asset entrusted to a CEO (Schreiber, 2011). Not all CEOs recognize that, but a growing number do. In a 2009 global study, AON Insurance asked 551 CEOs to rank the relative importance of 31 risk factors. Reputation was ranked No. 6. In past AON studies before the current financial crisis, reputation was the top-ranked CEO risk factor. But, what is troubling is that two-thirds of the respondents had no formal reputation risk plan in place, and that figure has not changed substantially. 2.2 Effects of a Favourable Corporate Reputation Strong reputations act as cushions in case of a crisis and have the ability to protect a company from harm caused by a crisis. A favourable prior reputation protects the organisations reputation during a crisis in two aspects: it gives the organisation the benefit of doubt, which means that if a consumer holds a general favourable view of the company, the consumer might assign the company less crisis responsibility which in turn result in less reputational damage from the crisis; secondly, it acts as a shield, which serves as a part of the larger psychological phenomenon of expectancy confirmation, emphasizing that stakeholders will focus on the positive aspects of the organisation and ignore the recent negative information created by the crisis (Coombs and Holladay). In these ways, a good prior reputation perceived by consumers has the potential to reduce attributed crisis responsibility and dismiss the impact of the crisis. Strong, trustworthy reputations will usually always mean g reater resilience in crisis situations. The occasional lapse of a reputationally strong company is likely to be regarded as a one-off aberration, because it has a solid track record and its values and business ethos are clearly understood the reaction will most probably be a shrug and a thats not like them rather than a there they go again (Rayner, 2003). A typical case is that of oil companies who were ranked rather low in public opinion. In cases where oil companies have faced major crisis, consumers have been less sympathetic with these corporate group. The BP case and the Exxon Vladez case are typical examples. A study in the late 1990s of the performance of US companies during the 1987 stock market crash found out that the shares of the ten most admired companies dropped less and recovered faster, while the shares of the ten least admired companies plunged three times as far a very strong indication that having a good corporate reputation can pay real dividends. Various authors have identified several benefits of a good corporate reputation: (Atkins, et al., 2006) state that a good reputation is highly valuable and can benefit a company enormously. Potentially, it can result in: Banks being willing to supply loans on more favourable rates and terms: Good employees being attracted to work for the organisation, and their services being retained Investors being more likely to place their capital in the firm; Improvement in sales Maintenance and enhancement of market share Public perception of the organisation as an asset to the society in which it operates (John Croft, 2003), identify similar benefits: Securing profits and future cash flows Attracting new business partners Securing investment Attracting new customers word-of-mouth In ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uencing political and legal affairs Human capital: retaining good staff and attracting the best employees Allowing easier entry to new markets and brand extensions Enabling successful mergers and acquisitions Helping to reinforce relationships with suppliers and distributors and other direct stakeholders Enhancing relationships with NGOs or corporate activists that potentially could be aligned against you 2.3 Area of Further Research One area of interest for future research work identified while carrying out this research work is on handling reputation risks from social networking sites and other online media sources the so called web 2.0. Web 2.0 allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue and the mediums include social media sites like Facebook, blogs, twitter and other mediums which allow people to freely air their opinions. This area is important because in recent times, a lot of companies have had their reputation damaged through web 2.0 mediums. What makes web 2.0 dangerous is that response time is very limited; the most time an organisation has to squelch rumours or avoid a reputational disaster is 24 hours. It would be immensely helpful if further research is done into helping companies and various organisations cope with the risks from these mediums. CHAPTER 3: Data Collection and Research Methodology 3.1 Data Collection Data has been collected from a wide range of secondary sources; newspaper articles, academic journals and online resources. This study was also based on documents from five categories of media: (i) print newspapers, (ii) online editions of print newspapers, (iii) the Associated Press newswire, (iv) Blogs, and (v) Internet forums. 3.2 Methodology The research is tailored as a case study. This method gives a multi-perspective approach, incorporating the views of direct stakeholders, indirect stakeholders and the interactions between these two groups. This case study will be based mainly on secondary data. The paper will comprise the collection of secondary data from a broad variety of sources such as business academic journals, books, reports, newspapers and internet articles on the Toyota vehicle recall crisis. All information will be taken from the public domain and the author has put into consideration the possibility of errors in press reports and other sources. The research will use various underlying risk classifications identified in the Roads to Ruin report by Cass Business School for AIRMIC to trace the underlying cause of the crisis. The Roads to Ruin report is a highly valuable guide for this research as it investigates the origins and impacts of over twenty major corporate crises of the last decade. The report was chosen because it provides a rich source of lessons about risk, risk analysis and risk management detailing over one hundred specific lessons about risk. This will be particularly helpful as I develop my recommendations on this subject. A crisis communication framework developed by (Lukaszewski, January/February 1999) would also be used to analyse Toyotas crisis response. CHAPTER 4 Review of the Recall Crisis In this chapter, the author shall in line with the research objectives, test the effectiveness of Toyotas reputational risk response to seven key risk areas identified in the Roads to Ruin report and in so doing trace the deeper cause of the crisis. According to the report, these key risks areas include: Board skill and Non-Executive Directors (NED) control risks -risks ar

I have been asked to investigate factors that affect the depreciation :: Economics

I have been asked to investigate factors that affect the depreciation of cars. I have been asked to investigate factors that affect the depreciation of cars. To do this I would ideally like to collect my own data about used cars. This would be called primary data. I would have collected data on the make, model, mileage, engine size, age, price and price when new of several hundred used cars. Unfortunately this would have taken a lot of time, but the advantage would have been that it would have been reliable data which I could trust, and I could have found out exactly the information that I wanted. It would have been impossible for me to do such a large survey, however, so I had to use secondary data that I got from the CCEA website. The advantage of this was that it was quick, cheap and easy, but I can't be sure of the accuracy of these results and I don't know if any bias was involved when it was being collected. I have also found that many of the results are incomplete. From the very start, I am sure that two of these results are wrong - a Renault Laguna which costs  £50,000, and a Renault Clio that increases in value. I have deleted these results straight away. Hypothesis 1 My first hypothesis is that cars depreciate more as they get older. I used the spreadsheet on the computer to test this hypothesis, but first I had to get the age and percentage depreciation for each car, neither of which are recorded in the table. Firstly, to get the age of the cars, I subtracted the year in which they were made from 2002, the year when the data was collected. I first created a new column on the spreadsheet and called it age. Then I typed into the first box under the title the formula for age- =2002-F2 where F2 is the column for the year the car was made. This filled the box with the age of the car. I then highlighted the box, right clicked and selected copy, before highlighting all the boxes below and selecting paste special, formula. This filled in the ages for all of the cars. Next, to get the percentage depreciation, I made another column and filled it with a more complicated formula- =(I2-H2)/I2*100 where I2 is the price when new and H2 is the price now. This filled the first box in the percentage depreciation column with the appropriate value, and I copied the formula into the other boxes as before. I then highlighted these two columns and copied them into chart 2. I have been asked to investigate factors that affect the depreciation :: Economics I have been asked to investigate factors that affect the depreciation of cars. I have been asked to investigate factors that affect the depreciation of cars. To do this I would ideally like to collect my own data about used cars. This would be called primary data. I would have collected data on the make, model, mileage, engine size, age, price and price when new of several hundred used cars. Unfortunately this would have taken a lot of time, but the advantage would have been that it would have been reliable data which I could trust, and I could have found out exactly the information that I wanted. It would have been impossible for me to do such a large survey, however, so I had to use secondary data that I got from the CCEA website. The advantage of this was that it was quick, cheap and easy, but I can't be sure of the accuracy of these results and I don't know if any bias was involved when it was being collected. I have also found that many of the results are incomplete. From the very start, I am sure that two of these results are wrong - a Renault Laguna which costs  £50,000, and a Renault Clio that increases in value. I have deleted these results straight away. Hypothesis 1 My first hypothesis is that cars depreciate more as they get older. I used the spreadsheet on the computer to test this hypothesis, but first I had to get the age and percentage depreciation for each car, neither of which are recorded in the table. Firstly, to get the age of the cars, I subtracted the year in which they were made from 2002, the year when the data was collected. I first created a new column on the spreadsheet and called it age. Then I typed into the first box under the title the formula for age- =2002-F2 where F2 is the column for the year the car was made. This filled the box with the age of the car. I then highlighted the box, right clicked and selected copy, before highlighting all the boxes below and selecting paste special, formula. This filled in the ages for all of the cars. Next, to get the percentage depreciation, I made another column and filled it with a more complicated formula- =(I2-H2)/I2*100 where I2 is the price when new and H2 is the price now. This filled the first box in the percentage depreciation column with the appropriate value, and I copied the formula into the other boxes as before. I then highlighted these two columns and copied them into chart 2.

Mitochondria :: essays research papers

Mitochondria Mitochondria are responsible for energy production. They are also the responsible location for which respiration takes place. Mitochondria contain enzymes that help convert food material into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which can be used directly by the cell as an energy source. Mitochondria tend to be concentrated near cellular structures that require large inputs of energy, such as the flagellum. The role of the mitochondria is very important in respiration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the presence of oxygen, pyruvate or fatty acids, can be further oxidized in the mitochondria. Each mitochondrion is enclosed by two membranes separated by an intermembrane space. The intermembrane space extends into the folds of the inner membrane called cristae which dramatically increase the surface area of the inner membrane. Cristae extend into a dense material called the matrix, an area which contains RNA, DNA, proteins, ribosomes and range of solutes. This is similar to the contents of the chloroplast stroma and like the chloroplast, the mitochondrion is a semi-autonomous organelles containing the machinery for the production of some of its own proteins. The main function of the mitochondrion is the oxidation of the pyruvate derived from glycolysis and related processes to produce the ATP required to perform cellular work.(Campbell 182-9)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pyruvate, or fatty acids from the breakdown of triglycerides or phospholipids, pass easily through pores in the outer mitochondrial membrane made up of a channel protein called porin. The inner membrane is a more significant barrier and specific transport proteins exist to carry pyruvate and fatty acids into the matrix. Once inside the matrix, pyruvate and fatty acids are converted to the two carbon compound acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl CoA). For pyruvate this involves a decarboxylation step which removes one of the three carbons of pyruvate as carbon dioxide. The energy released by the oxidation of pyruvate at this stage is used to reduce NAD to NADH. (185)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The C2 acetyl CoA is then taken into a sequence of reactions known as Krebs cycle which completes the oxidation of carbon and regenerates an acceptor to keep the cycle going. The oxidation of the carbon is accompanied by the reduction of electron acceptors and the production of some ATP by substrate phosphorylation. The C2 acetyl CoA is coupled to oxaloacetate, a C4 acceptor in the cycle. The product is citrate a C6 compound. This first product, citrate, is the reason the cycle is sometimes called the citric acid or ticarboxylic acid cycle, referring it after the scientist whose lab most advanced our understanding of it, Sir Hans Krebs. (Comptons 160)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two of the early reactions of the cycle are decarboxylations which shorten citrate to succinate a C4 compound.

Reflection on Reading Essay

Looking Back In Order to Move Forward As a future elementary school teacher, I have always thought the task of teaching kids could be a rewarding and gratifying experience. However, I recently realized that in order to obtain these rewarding experiences the teacher and students must work hard and with determination. Learning to read can be a very daunting task for a youngster. Therefore, as a teacher, it is your job to facilitate positive reading strategies from the start. Looking back at my experiences as an early reader, I can gain some insight as to what might help or hinder my future students. I believe that one of the most important things you can do for your child is to start reading to them at an early age. Before I even became a school aged child my mother would sit on the couch with my brother and I just after lunch and read books. Sometimes it was a favorite book that we had picked and other times they were early reader books like Dick and Jane. I remember being snuggled up on the couch helping her point to the words as she read along. Then at bed time she would read aloud from a chapter book. My brother and I would eagerly open our minds to the words as they came off the page. Some of my fondest memories as a child are listening to my mother read Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little to us. Since I consider reading to a child one the best ways to open their imagination to new worlds, I fully intend to different forms of literature into my classroom. I think by hearing an adult read aloud to a child, the child is then able to properly hear and feel the author’s intentions for tone and emotion of his or her book. I don’t think you are ever too old to sit and listen to a book, especially if you can open up a child’s mind to a book that he or she would never pick up on their own accord. I firmly believe that my mother laid the foundation for better success once I entered elementary school. My elementary school experience probably started out a little different than most kids. I lived in a little valley in East Napa County which currently has a population of 488. I sense that the population has stayed around 500 people since I was little. As I entered elementary school the class sizes were extremely small. In fact the school only had three classrooms total for grades kindergarten through eighth grade. My first teacher taught kindergarten through the 2nd grade all  in one classroom, while 3rd-5th was taught in the second classroom and 6th-8th in the last classroom. I had 4 other students in kindergarten with me at the time, a girl and three boys. Some might think this to be the ideal situation because of the attention that each student would get. However, I felt the complete opposite. The teacher was constantly busy trying to make sure the curriculum for each grade level was being taught and there was very little time for students that were struggling. I remember being put into groups and given workbook pages with very little instruction or guidance as to what was expected. Many of the boys had trouble with this approach and needed more guidance to get started in their tasks. The teacher often mistook the fact that they did not fully comprehend what was expected of them on the workbook pages as disobedience, which often lead to punishment. In order to curb the potential for punishment, the students who excelled helped those who struggled. I don’t really think this environment is particularly beneficial to children in elementary school. However, there were some great things about this learning environment that I really enjoyed. My teacher loved to sing and play the guitar and brought her love into the classroom with her. Every morning we would get into a circle and sing songs with her. Some of the songs were just plain fun songs to sing, but many of the songs taught us letter sounds, and phonics. I remember loving circle time and singing the songs to my mom when I got home from school. I believe that music can play an important part in helping children learn to read, and even though I am not a singer or musician I intend to use music in my classroom to enhance my students learning atmosphere. I feel learning the phonics of letters through the rhythms of music truly helped me as I began to sit down with my first readers. As I began applying what I was learning in the songs to some basic basal readers like Dick and Jane I was able to find patterns between the phonics in the songs and the words on the page. We had books that were themed each week with certain phonic sounds. The sound was then repeated throughout the book but in different words. We were able to take these books home and practice with our parents. I think that practice and repetition are key in continuing to recognize letters with their phonic sounds. I feel these books served the purpose of achieving good reading skills for me as a child, and continue to be helpful to children today as they learn to read. There are two other techniques that my teacher used to help teach us how to read. One I consider to be a good strategy and the other I am not too fond of. The first approach was using a tape recorder and head sets. We would sit down with a book and follow along with our finger as a voice was reading the book to us in our ear. I think this particular approach works because it releases the anxiety and stress of having to pick apart the words on a page in order to learn them. By following along they are able to develop listening skills and hear the correct pronunciation of the word and associate it with the word on the page. After listening to the book, we were asked to answer a few questions about we had just listened, which gave us our first exposure to comprehension. I feel this method works fairly well but could be enhanced by taking five to ten minutes to ask the students questions out loud about what they had just listened to, so they get accustomed to forming thoughts and speaking about books. The last tactic that my teacher used I found a little repressive. She would sit us down on the floor with sock puppets and speak to us in baby voices. Each week the puppets would present a new constant and vowel sound to us. I remember feeling a little disturbed, and telling my mom that my teacher was trying to pretend like she was on Sesame Street. My mom reminded me that I did not take too kindly to the puppets, and that I found them rather babyish. In our text book, Mosaic of Thought, Ellin writes that too often we draw negative conclusions about a child’s ability to comprehend and think at high levels when the problem is his or her ability to articulate that thinking. I believe that my teacher really underestimated her student’s ability to learn by teaching them with sock puppets. In all actuality, it really was not necessarily the sock puppets that really came into question, but the baby voices in which she used. These baby voices simulated that of someone talking to a toddler who is beginning to learn to speak. I think as children enter elementary school they want to feel important and what they are learning is significant, but I feel my teacher imposed the opposite effect on her student. She devalued the process of learning by speaking in baby voices and using puppets. After a few years my mom began to see the affects the school was having on my brother and I, and she decided to drive us thirty minutes each way to an elementary school in a nearby town. This change in atmosphere did wonders for both my brother and I, but the change did not happen until I was entering the 3rd grade. Once at this new school a whole new world opened up to me. We began reading newspapers, and sharing articles that we had read with the class. We started writing book reports and began to question what we were reading. I think the best part of the new school was having a whole classroom of students that were in the same grade. We were often separated into groups based on our reading level in order to read and discuss what we were reading. This helped my confidence tremendously. However it was not until I was in high school that the teachers began to try and teach active reading strategies, by seeking out the meaning in books like Catcher in the Rye and a Wrinkle in Time. I struggled with these new concepts, and still do as an adult. I think I could have greatly benefitted from starting this process at a younger age. As a future teacher, and parent, I firmly believe that in order for a child to become an active reader, and really learn to love books we need to unlock their minds to all possible reading strategies. We must have them begin questioning books and theories early, so that they learn to be active readers. I also believe that students need a parent who is actively in tune with the child’s learning process. When a parent shows the student how important reading is and shows gratitude towards progress being made, the child will excel in his class work. I think as a future teacher I will use some of the tried and true strategies like listening stations, and bringing words alive with music and rhythm. However I will not be afraid to deviate from the norm and experiment beyond the workbook pages in order to connect with my students. One of my greatest joys is reading, and I hope one day I can bestow that upon young children.

A view from a bridge by Arthur miller Essay

At the beginning of act 2 in â€Å"a view from a bridge† Arthur Miller creates tension in a number of ways. The first way Arthur miller creates a sense of drama by using body language eg) Eddie’s arm â€Å"jerks slightly in shock† the body language of Eddie is Eddie showing his feelings of disapproval of Katherine and Rodolpho going out together to add to Eddys anger the fact that they both come out of the bedroom together. This shows Eddies love for Katharine but he is becoming far too over protective over Katherine. Arthur Miller also creates tension through the use of short sharp sentences through the scene as well as the repetition of key phrases during the scene, eg) when Katherine says â€Å"I think I can’t stay here no more† when Eddie says â€Å"You aint goin’ nowheres† after that Katherine says: â€Å"Eddie I’m not gonna be a baby anymore† these are all extremely short sentences used within quick succession. The use of short sentences like this is to heighten the drama by showing the views that the characters are in an angry and aggressive as mood well as showing Katherine’s new fear of Eddie and that something is inevitably going to happen. Certain unexpected key events occur in this scene, which shock the audience and create a heightened dramatic impact. This is when Eddie â€Å"reaches out suddenly, draws her to him, as she strives to free herself he kisses her on the mouth† then Rodolpho tells Eddie â€Å"have respect for her† after that: â€Å"Rodolpho flies at him in attack. Eddie pins his arms, laughing and suddenly kisses him. This shows that Eddie’s feelings for Katherine are so powerful that they are uncontrollable; this causes the audience to be shocked and lose respect for Eddie. As well as these happenings, emotions are revealed in this scene, which heightens the tension. This is shown best by Katherine’s fear of Eddie because she usually shows such admiration for Eddie. Eddie crying is also eddy showing emotion â€Å"Eddie strands of tears rolling down his face as h laughs mockingly at Rodolpho. † While Katherine â€Å"is staring at him in horror† Katherine and Rodolpho are also behaving â€Å"out of character† by showing disrespect towards Eddie. Katherine usually acts childish towards him as if Eddie really is her father; and Rodolpho is usually trying to avoid conflict with Eddie as well as trying to win Eddies approval over Katherine Craig young 11vk The mix of violence, humiliation and control in this scene all help to create dramatic impact. This is shown when Rodolpho is violent towards Eddie â€Å"Rodolpho flies at him in attack. † This shows the audience how Rodolpho has changed his attitude towards Eddie. Eddie shows control by forcibly kissing Katherine and then Rodolpho. Eddie does this to show his authority over Katherine and Rodolpho, and to degrade Rodolpho by showing that he has control over him. Further more proving that, Eddie is stronger than Rodolpho. In conclusion the contrast between the events with Eddie and Katherine and the mood of Alferi’s speech at the end of the scene, also creates a sense of tension; due to the contrast between the short sharp aggressive sentences earlier on in the scene then when Alferi speaks there becomes longer calmer sentences, this contrast creates a sense of tension by making the audience think that something more is going to happen. As well as this a part of Alferi’s speech makes the audience realise that something terrible was inevitably going to happen â€Å"but I will never forget how dark the room came when he looked at me; his eyes were tunnels. I kept wanting to call the police, but nothing had happened. Nothing at all had really happened. † This shows that Alferi had the feeling that something had already happened so it seems almost certain that something would happen. A View from a Bridge by Arthur Miller Essay There are several factors which lead to Eddie’s eventual decline. The main ones were things like the influence of the society, influence of the people around him and ultimately himself highlighting his unwillingness to negotiate and his excessively close relationship with Catherine. Nearly all the characters in the story were responsible for Eddie’s eventual downfall. In page 39, Catherine says: â€Å"You wanna dance Rodolfo? † At this point Eddie freezes in obvious disapproval. Rodolfo senses that Eddie is unhappy about her dancing with him so Rodolfo replies: â€Å"No, I-I’m tired† in defense to Eddie. Beatrice makes things worse by saying: â€Å"Go ahead, dance, Rodolfo†. Eddie particularly didn’t like the fact the Catherine had put on high heels in the house, just to make a good impression on a young man (Rodolfo) before the dancing incident. Eddie says: â€Å"What’s the high heels for Garbo? † Alfieri is also to blame for the death of Eddie. In page 58-59, Alfieri and Marco have a lengthy conversation. Alfieri tries to get Marco to promise that he wouldn’t take matters in his own hands but Alfieri didn’t succeed. Alfieri says: â€Å"I’m waiting, Marco, what do you say? † then further onwards Rodolfo says: â€Å"Marco, tell the man† Marco replies: â€Å"He knows such a promise is dishonorable† Marco clearly has pride for himself which he feels that he could lose. Alfieri then promises that Marco will not harm Eddie on behalf of him but this promise was outwardly unsecure. Eddie’s attempt to always be the man of the house was a factor leading to his breakdown. Eddie’s Sicilian background inter links with his 1950’s notions of manhood because it meant that he had to be very manly and be the one who goes off to work. Eddie shows his manliness when he starts to be competitive with Marco and Rodolfo for instance when he starts to teach him Boxing. Eddie says: †well come on , I’ll teach you† and then when Marco showed Eddie that he could pick up a chair with one hand, Eddie looked grumpy because he couldn’t do it, he felt like he was beaten. Many people look up to Eddie and he knows it which is a cause to his downfall. In page 25 Louis says: â€Å"Believe me, Eddie; you got a lotta credit comin’ to you†. Eddies neighborhood motivates him a lot because he is so concerned about his respect in the neighborhood he forgets about what he is doing to the people close to him. This is shown when at the final scene he kept on demanding respect. Eddie says: †wipin the neighborhood with my name like dirty rag ; I want my name back Marco , now gimme my name and we go together to the wedding†. As a result of this Eddie died.

English Exit Exam Essay

My writing journey this semester has been a roller coaster. Since the beginning of this course I have improved in so many different areas. When I first began in this class, I didn’t have a clue how to start my essays. I wasn’t very good with being descriptive either. On top of that, revising was something I hated to do. My writing process was very messy and organization was never something I considered when writing a paper. Since taking this class my skills in organization, revision, and description have improved tremendously. I wasn’t a big fan of drafting before I started this class. My writing process has always been all over the place. I could be writing paragraph one and then skip to paragraph four for no apparent reason. Sometimes I would just write different paragraphs on different pieces of papers and then put them all together afterwards. In this class I was taught why drafting is so important to my writing process. It helped me be more organized and less stressed. My mind was in one place and on track, rather than all over the place. If drafting and organizational skills weren’t already big enough issues to deal with, then revision definitely was. In the past, I hated having to read over my paper repeatedly until it was near perfect. On top of that, event though my personality is big, it doesn’t mean I’m big on sharing my work. I was scared that if I made a simple mistake the person revising my paper would think I was stupid. After reading over some of my classmates’ papers I learned they made some of the same mistakes as me. Then I came to realize I’m only human and I’m going to make mistakes. It was something I had to get use to and I’m glad I fixed that problem in my life. Even though I did a lot of writing in my English class, there were other things we had to do also. Almost every night we had to read in our textbook. The textbook taught me a lot about the right and wrong things to do while writing. It also explained to me the different styles of writing and gave plenty of examples. Not only did I read the book, but I finished an online writing class. This Writing Class was mainly about grammar and how to correct grammar errors. Before writing class, I really didn’t know how to use commas. I would guess most of the time and hope I was right. I should have known one day it was going to catch up with me and it did. Luckily for me, I had a wonderful professor to teach me and help me with my problem. After studying my professor’s lecture and doing the online activities, I was ready to take the online quiz. When I took it, I passed it with flying colors. I really worked hard in all the subjects in Writing Class and I ended up passing all of the quizzes, even the post test. I was recently instructed to revise two of my previous essays I’ve written in class for my portfolio. I automatically knew which ones I wanted to revise. My first one was about my writing journey throughout life. I needed to be more descriptive and also had some grammatical errors to fix. The essay was based upon how I used to read to my peers in Pre-K, which led to me making my own short stories. It also tells about the time I had my poem published in high school by my teacher. Not being descriptive was the main problem I had with this essay. When I wrote my draft I didn’t paint a picture for my audience to see where I was coming from. Instead of saying â€Å"The big red chair†, I would just write, â€Å"the chair† and the difference in these two quotes are obvious and can automatically tell which one is more descriptive. With many changes made to this essay I would say I worked really hard on this one. Especially since it was a more personal subject, I put a lot of work into it. My second essay assignment was to write about a club or organization on campus. The purpose of the essay was to get new college students to join the club of my choice. I chose ROTC because I was a part of it in high school. I love the feeling I got from my lieutenant and cadets. We were all like a big family and kept up with each other a lot. From speaking to a former cadet that attends GGC, I have confirmed that ROTC is the same at this school in many aspects. When writing my draft, again, I didn’t explain things thoroughly. I needed more evidence to support my claims. In many sentences I didn’t use the right word either. Misspelled words and comma splices were all through my paper. When I took the time to revise it, I was able to fix these problems. Instead of letting Microsoft Word find my mistakes, I carefully read through it and did it myself. I reviewed the comma splice lesson and was able to find where those were in my paper. When I did more research on the club, I was able to add more details to my paper. In no time my final copy looked completely from where I started. As a child I was told hard work will definitely pay off. With all my hard work in the class I am hoping that it will surely pay off in me exiting this class early. I have learned to revise my papers, be more descriptive, correct grammatical errors, and last but not least have an organized writing process. With the skills I’ve learned in this class I will be able to succeed in my other classes. Every class in college has some form of writing so I will never get away from it. In order to succeed in my major, I will need to take my writing seriously. It is amazing how I was able to learn so much in so little time. I am glad I was able to fix my faults and write a great paper. I think you will enjoy my portfolio and be more than happy to pass me.

DNA

Long stands of double helical DNA can fit into the nucleus of a single cell because DNA is specially packaged through a series of compaction events to fit easily within cell nuclei. Even though the length of DNA per cell is about 100,000 times as long as the cell itself, it only takes up only about 10 percent of the cell’s volume. The DNA molecule, in order to condense, wraps itself around groups of histone proteins, and then the chromatin folds back on it, nucelosomes pack together to create a compact, protein-coated fiber, and the fiber coils to shorten further into an extended chromosome. Finally, the coiled fiber organizes into loops coming from a central axis, creating a condensed, X-shaped chromosome. 2.Why is a sport drink used to collect the cheek cells instead of water? Sports drink which is saline solution contains sodium chloride which makes the solution compatible with osmotic environment of the cells. The sports drink prevents the cells from breaking open and releasing their DNA before they are collected. If water was used, it would be hypotonic to the cells causing them osmosis and eventually burst. 3.What does the cell lysis solution do to the cells’ membranes? It dissolves the phospholipids bilayer of cell membrane by forming water soluble complexes with them 4.How does the DNA in the cell lysate become visible?  It becomes visible when ethanol is added. Since DNA is insoluble in ethanol, it cannot be incorporated into the liquids. Ethanol hits the cell lysate which cause the DNA to precipitate out of the solution, forming a cloud of stringy fibers at where ethanol and cell lysate meet. 5.Why can you see the extracted DNA with the naked eye?  I can see the extracted DNA with the naked

Strength in Numbers

Brandee English 111 October 8, 2012 Strength in Numbers â€Å"Hi. I’m Jordan and I’m an addict slash abuser, I guess. † I watch my son shrug his shoulders and hunch over, clasping his hands in his lap after uttering these words. He speaks the words quietly, but his apathetic tone and body language read loud and clear. He doesn’t believe the words he’s saying and is merely being cooperative. After a loud and cheerful â€Å"Hello Jordan! † the group turns their attention to me. â€Å"Hi. I’m Brandee, and I’m Jordan’s mom. † We continue like this around the circle until every patient, parent, sibling and friend has been introduced and welcomed.Despite the warm, welcoming nature of everyone here, there is nothing pleasant about this. My 15 year old son is in rehab and this is family group therapy. We sit in a large circle in cold, hard plastic chairs with shiny metal legs. The room is large and cold with white painted concrete block walls and a stage at the front end. It feels less like a hospital and more like my sons elementary school auditorium. The large banners above the stage boldly spell out the â€Å"12 Steps to Recovery† and â€Å"The Serenity Prayer† and are a harsh reminder to me that this is no place a school play would be performed.There are about 20 of us altogether: 8 or 9 teenage patients and their loved ones, as well as Matt, the head counselor for this group. Most of the kids, the patients, are wearing sweatpants and socks or slippers. There is no need for shoes since they won’t be leaving tonight with their family members. Some of them won’t be leaving for a very long time. I sit in the circle for 30 minutes or so listening to the stories. Every patient has their own story, as it’s referred to by the staff. It’s their own personal truth about their journey into drug or alcohol use and subsequent abuse.They are encouraged to own up to th ese truths and reveal them to their loved ones and the group. One boy, just slightly older than my son, is leaving the hospital tomorrow. He sits with his mom and we all listen as he reveals his fears about returning to his old environment. Matt gives him some suggestions and advice and we move on to another patient. There’s a girl without any family present for this evenings group. She’s been in and out of programs several times already at the age of 16. This time it was a court order that placed her here for treatment and it will most likely keep her here for a long time.Another boy, Keldon, is around 17 years old and sits between his dad and his older sister, with his step-mom on the other side of his dad. He looks terrified and pale. He had overdosed the night before and almost died. Fortunately his family was able to have him transferred to this facility after the immediate medical need was attended to. The stories continue with horrific and elaborate tales of ove rdoses and multiple arrests for various reasons. Some were arrested for vandalism while under the influence. Some had stolen from their parents or even from stores.All had difficulties in school. Initially, I felt a bit of relief as I began to realize that my son’s story was so much less colorful than what I was hearing. After all, he’d only been arrested once, by my own doing, for sneaking out a window when he was grounded. I almost felt out of place and began to think maybe I had gone too far by bringing him here. What were either of us supposed to gain from sitting here listening to these kids sharing horror stories? I had brought him to this place searching for answers and I was only getting more fearful for his future with every person that spoke.When my son began to speak, to tell his story, all the frustration I had felt over the past several months began to rise to the surface. There was something about the way in which he told it that actually angered me. He s poke as nonchalantly as if he were reporting the weather on the local six o’clock news. He gave his truth, but with no emotion or expression whatsoever. I desperately wanted him to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation. His choice to use and distribute drugs had been the cause of so much stress in our home and in this moment I found myself feeling almost entitled to see him express a little bit of remorse!I was already familiar with Jordan’s story. I had lived through it all first-hand. My discovery of his drug use had come via text messages and they had revealed to me far more than I had ever wanted to know. He had never thought to erase his messages, and the previous summer I had reason to confiscate his phone. Because it was unexpected, there had been a very incriminating text left on the screen when I grabbed his phone from his hands. I was compelled to read others stored on that phone and over the course of two days I read things that I don’t know to this day how to process completely.My sweet, quiet son had been living a secret double life for several months and I didn’t have a clue. How could this have been going on behind my back? Where were all the usual signs every parent reads about in parenting magazines, the ones I had always kept a watch for? I never considered myself naive and had such an open way of conversing with all three of my boys, and their friends. Ours was the house that all the kids gathered at. The core group of them had been friends since the second grade and I knew them all so well. If drugs could be brought into an equation like that, they could be brought in anywhere.Right under my nose, under my roof, on my watch, these kids began to experiment with various prescription drugs and marijuana. At the time of my discovery he was not only using drugs but was also playing the role of middle man, acquiring marijuana for his friends from some adults who were dealing in his father’s neighborhood. In this new, expanded group he was no longer the witty but quiet kid in the background. Here he was the â€Å"go to† guy and that power was something I feared would be as addicting and dangerous to him as the drugs he was involved with.A few months after the discovery, he was rushed to Riley Hospital with a spontaneous lung collapse. Thankfully, he healed quickly but we were told that he was prone to another collapse due to a condition on both of his lungs. The doctors warned him that any type of inhalation on his part would most definitely bring on another collapse and possibly even cause death. He had ignored the warning! He chose drugs and his new lifestyle over his health. He felt he had done well by cutting back on his almost daily marijuana use, but he was using alcohol as a substitute.He began binge drinking and it was a close call with alcohol poisoning that had led me to find this place. And now he sat in this circle and despite his cooperation with the program by te lling his story, he was behaving as if none of it mattered and I had overreacted. As all of this came back to me, I knew for the first time for certain that I had been right in bringing him here. My son was in denial and I no longer would doubt the certainty that I now felt about that. When he finished talking, I found myself unable to control my emotions or my words any longer.I started yelling at him and crying. â€Å"How can you sit there and behave as if this is all no big deal? †Another shoulder shrug. One thing I had noticed since we had first arrived the day before is that he would not look up at me. He would not even attempt to look me in the eye. Perhaps it was a sense of guilt he was feeling that caused this reaction, but to me it appeared he felt nothing at all. To me and everyone in the group he appeared quite apathetic. He simply could not see how any of this program applied to him.I sat there speechless, feeling completely helpless until suddenly Keldon’s step mom broke the silence and addressed Jordan directly. â€Å"What do you dream about doing, Jordan? † she asked him very gently. I wish I could say that this question tapped into something in him that made him aware of other interests and hopes and dreams that were being wasted on drugs. It didn’t. What I can say, however, is that one question, posed by a stranger, at that moment, had a profound effect on me. This woman’s son had almost died less than 12 hours prior and she was focused on reaching out to my son!The amount of genuine concern that she expressed with that one question is indescribable. The support and empathy continued to flow in our direction from other members of the group. These peoples’ stories may have advanced to a more extreme place than ours but they had all begun from almost identical places. They had all been there, done that, and completely understood the helpless feelings I had been experiencing I’ve never felt like sh aring my personal problems in a group setting would be beneficial for my own growth or healing.It seemed like an unnatural concept for complete strangers to open up to each other about their problems and feelings so readily. I, like my son, had come and participated because the program required me to do so. This place, this group, changed that perspective for me. I now know how empowering it can be to be surrounded by a group of people who understand because their stories have similar chapters as yours. I suddenly realized that the answers I had desperately hoped to find here would not come.There would be no answers given for how to get him to recognize and learn how to cope with his attachment to things that could harm him. Those were answers he would have to choose to search for when he was ready to accept them. The purpose of this group, and so many others like it that are held all over the country at any given time of day is to help people recognize they are not alone in their s earch for answers. A topic like drug and alcohol dependency is not something anyone feels comfortable discussing with even their closest friends and family.It is a subject that is dark and depressing and filled with far too many emotions to allow you to feel comfortable with openly talking about it. Unless you have been personally touched by addiction in some way there is not complete understanding of the fear and guilt combined with frustration and anger. It takes a group of strangers, brought together and sharing their stories, to bring comfort and support when there really are no answers. It took this group of strangers to show me how to accept a situation I can not change or fix and how to survive it.