My City on the Mountain :: Personal Narrative College Flagstaff Essays

My City on the Mountain Flagstaff, Arizona to me has been â€Å"The City on the Hill† with its seemingly beautiful light shining down on to me in the Valley of the Sun. I have planned my get away up the mountain (as Phoenicians refer to going to Flagstaff) as long as I can remember. Ever since I was old enough to know what a college really was I have known I was going to be attending Northern Arizona University in the fall of 2004. The thought of cool mountain air blowing against my face each morning, sure made the wall of heat that actually surrounded my body each time I stepped out side seem unbearable. Living in a place with pine tree and four seasons filled my every dream. Northern Arizona University was to be my escape from Chandler and my place for a new start. Once there I expected to find new friends, new and better classes, and a place where I could spread my wings. When the day finally came to make my big move to Flagstaff, I was more nervous than I ever imagined was possible. Questions continually came to mind. What if I forgot something important from my room? What if I didn’t like my roommate? What if I did not make friends? And the what-if’s didn’t end there, but they were softened when I finally reached campus and was warmly welcomed by those who had moved in before me. Yet, the fears of actual friendship loomed in the back of my mind. As welcome week progressed I was able to start to meet people more and more like me. Although at times it seemed unbearably hard being as shy as I can be. Through each activity I was involved in I met people I liked, and even some that really were not the type of people I was interested in. Dreams of friends were becoming a reality and the fears in the back of my mind were slowly being quieted.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif Essay

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is an amazing book (in my opinion) that was created by Rick Riordan. I enjoyed this book a lot because of all the detain that Mr. Riordan had put into the book and with all of the facts about Ancient Greek myths, I picked it out in the first place because I had became really interested in finding out about different cultures which included Greece . The main character, Percy Jackson, lives in New York city with his mother, Sally Jackson & his lazy step-father, Gabe Ugliano. Later on in the story, Percy finds himself living in Camp Half-Blood with his best friend, Grover Underwood. Camp Half-Blood is for children with Greek Godly parents. All children who go to the camp have ADHD & Dyslexia. The camp is on Long Island Sound and is funded by a strawberry farm that the camp takes care of. I think that the book is placed in the modern days. You can figure it out because in the camp, you are forbidden from bringing any electronics, such as cell phones since it can easily attract monsters. One of the main events in the book is when Percy and his class are on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History. As his history teacher, Mr.  Brunner babbles on about the museum, Ms. Dodds (a teacher who came along) pulls Percy away from the group and into the Roman & Greek center. Just after entering the room (no one else is in there), Ms. Dodds turns into this hideous monster with glowing red eyes, wings & long fingers. Obviously, she wasn’t human. Ms. Dodds lunges at Percy (who was still confused and shocked) until Mr. Brunner comes running into the room. The history teacher throws a pen at Percy and out comes a sword that Mr. Brunner used in class during special events. Percy kills Ms.  Dodds after that (she turns into gold dust) and later returns to the school bus. Nobody in his class remembers Ms. Dodds & when Percy asked Grover, he looked very nervous before replying. Obviously, something was going on. A second major event is when Percy and his mom go to Montauk & stay in a cabin at the beach where his mother and father had met. Later at night, a hurricane is starting to form & Grover suddenly shows up with (as Percy describes it) â€Å"Shag carpet pants on† . Grover urges Percy and his mom to leave immediately &the three of them hop into Sally’s car. Percy soon learns that Grover is actually a satyr though he had called him a â€Å"half-goat† at first which offended Grover. As their car speeds away from the cabin, a strike of lightening hits the car which makes the car swivel into a ditch giving them an image of a beast of some sort charging towards their car. The three of them escape the car and run (Though Grover was unconscious). The beast was actually a minotaur (half-man, half-bull) and it ‘kills’ Sally. Percy builds up his strength and pulls out it’s horn and stabs it, turning it into dust. He soon passes out. That event gave Percy the urge to go rescue is mother from the Underworld. . Later in the story, Percy finds out who his father really is. The camp decides to play capture the flag. Percy is assigned to patrol a small creek by Annabeth Chase (daughter of Athena) & is suddenly attacked by a group of Ares children, Clarisse La Rue & her siblings. They came back for revenge because he had humiliated her and her siblings by shooting toilet water in their faces just as Clarisse was about to shove his face into the toilet. Clarisse charges at Percy with her electric spear given to her as a gift and Percy stumbles into the creek. Instead of feeling weak, he suddenly feels a sudden surge of power go through his r his head. â€Å"Poseidon. . . Earth shaker, Storm binger, Father of horses, Hail Perseus Jackson. son of the Sea God. † body. â€Å"But then something happened. The water seemed to wake my senses, as if I’d just had a bag of my mom’s double-espresso jelly beans† . Percy, suddenly feeling a lot of strength, fights back against Clarisse & her siblings until they are all defeated. Percy even snaps Clarisse’s spear in half. Luke Castellan (son of Hermes) captures the flag for Percy’s team & Percy tries to step out of the water, suddenly feeling weak again. Suddenly, a â€Å"black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers† appears out of nowhere and attacks Percy, ripping through his armour. Chiron (Aka: Mr. Brunner and centaur) shoots several arrows at it and Percy staggers back into the water and an image of a trident appears ove Another main event is when Percy finds out who had stolen Zeus’ Master & Hades Helm of Darkness before returning to camp half-blood, Percy had gotten into fight with Ares, the God of War. The war God had given Percy a backpack in the beginning of his quest & inside of it was Zeus’ bolt the entire time. Ares confesses that he stole the Helm of Darkness and Lightning Bolt from the original thief, planning on making a war between Hades & Zeus. Percy and Ares get into a fight & Percy eventually wins, earning the Helm of Darkness, A helmet of Hades that was stolen from him. Percy, Annabeth & Grover fly to New York from California to return the bolt to Mt. Olympus on the top of Empire State Building. Percy returns the lightning bolt alone while Annabeth & Grover go back to the camp. After returning the bolt, Percy meets his father and who had acknowledged him as his son. Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood as a hero & at the end of summer, Luke Castellan confesses to Percy that he had stolen the bolt & helm before attempting to kill him with a scorpion. Luke runs away while Percy is saved by a group of wood nymphs . The main character is of course, Percy Jackson . He is described fairly tall, good looking with bright green eyes and jet black hair. Percy is introduced as a troubled twelve year old. His green eyes often remind his mother of his father. Percy is considered very troubled. He gets irritated when called by his first name which is ‘Perseus’ and has been expelled from every single school that he had been to. Throughout the book, Percy becomes stronger in both physical and mental ways. He becomes more brave, confident, and learns that he is a natural leader. Percy is also very willing to risk his life for others. He showed that trait by journeying to the underworld to get his mother back. Percy hopes that he can bring back Zeus’ Master Bolt & get his mother back before it’s too late. Percy is described the protagonist in the book while the antagonist isn’t exactly shown until later in the book. While Percy, Annabeth and Grover do the best they can while out on the quest, Luke Castellan was the unsuspecting villain. Luke always acted nice towards Percy, trying to get close. When he had given Percy flying shoes to help him in the quest, Luke had meant it to lead Percy to his death. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and I give it a nine out of ten. The book is filled with lots of adventure (there’s never a dull moment) comedy & things that people now a days would consider, ‘fake’ or ‘untrue’ even though it is very interesting. I recommend this book to all ages but a bit more to people ages 10 to 12, even teenagers. I recommend it around that age because that’s around the age where you start to become more curious about things out there in the world. You start to become more open and realize what you really are interested in and Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief is a great book to realize what types of book genre you’re interested in & it helps show you that there is always a hidden potential inside of you.

Understanding and Coping with Change

Understanding and Coping with Change For many years, the world of business has experienced an increasing rate of change. Alvin Toffler (1970) predicted the trend several decades ago. Toffler also noted that people exhibit a natural tendency to resist change. This resistance to change is a major organizational challenge that organizations must learn to manage.As individuals respond to change in different ways, and as variations in responses produce different outcomes the recognition of this resistance to change is an essential step in the development and implementation of effective change management strategies. Change, positive or negative, is unsettling because people seek stability. Certain individuals are more resistant to change than others, at times there can be situational characteristics such as a lack of trust in management contributing to this resistance to change.Often this resistance to change is out of self interest, at stake can be factors such as income, job security, pr estige, power, and personal convenience. Low tolerance for change, lack of trust in management, and self interest are all factors which result in resistance to change. However my experience suggests that lack of understanding of the need for change can be the single greatest contributing factor and is the factor which the organization has the greatest control over.My current employer is in the process of implementing a major change in the organizational structure. Without going into too much detail the restructure involves changes to the pay structure and changes in organizational reporting . As is the case with most organizational changes there has been a great deal of resistance involved. Previously I had suggested that lack of understanding of the need for change can be the single greatest contributing factor and the factor which the organization has the greatest control over.I believe that to be the case here, the organization has done an absolutely abysmal job in communicating what the changes will entail and why the changes are needed. As a result of this poor communication there is a great deal of apprehension and resistance to these changes. This poor communication has resulted in a lack of trust in senior management and an ever increasing sentiment that the changes are going to result in a reduction in pay and benefits. This protection of self interest is a natural eaction being that many of the individuals affected have been with the organization for several years. Over time a person's investment in a company escalates as pension funds accumulate and the allowed vacation time rises, along with their chances of being promoted or enjoying the benefits of seniority, this is known as the sunk cost doctrine. This investment in the organization can in turn lead to greater resistance to change as the employee seeks to maintain the status quo (Patti, 1974).Again it is imperative that the organization manage change through proper communications, detailing the nature of the pending changes and the need for and expectations of these changes. While this will not always ensure that all members of the organization agree with the changes or the need for them it will eliminated the apprehension that comes with the unknown. John Kotter of the Harvard Business School has built on existing models of change to create a more detailed approach for implementing change. Kotter began by listing common mistakes that organizations make when trying to initiate changes.These mistakes include the inability of the organization to create a sense of urgency about the need for change, failure to create a coalition for managing the change process, the absence of a vision for change and the ability to effectively communicate that vision, not removing obstacles that could impede the achievement of the vision, failure to provide short term and achievable goals, the tendency to declare victory too soon, and not anchoring the changes into the organization’s cu lture (Kotter, 1996).Kotter established eight sequential steps for organizations to use in overcoming and managing these problems. They are as follows; 1. Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason of why change is needed. 2. Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change. 3. Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision. 4. Communicate the vision throughout the organization. 5. Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to change and encouraging risk taking and creative problem solving 6.Plan for and create reward short term wins that move the organization toward the new vision. 7. Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make necessary adjustments in the new program. 8. Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between new behaviors and organizational success. The first four steps essentially extrapolate on the unfreezing stage. Steps 5 through 7 represent ‘movement’. And th e final step works on ‘refreezing’. When I look at the organizational structure change my current employer is going through it is clear that they have made many of the mistakes Kotter discussed.When reviewing the unfreezing stage the organization has not created any sense of urgency or new vision to direct change. As I have discussed previously the entire communication process related to these changes has been vague at best. The restructuring project is being lead by well respected senior management within the organization, however without the other components discussed respected senior management leadership of project is not enough to ensure its success. We are currently in the movement phase of the project, this phase has been filled with a great deal of uncertainty and apprehension.Individuals within the organization are concerned as to what the end result is going to look like and ultimately how their self interests are going to be affected. The final step of refree zing has not yet occurred, so it is unclear if this project will ever achieve acceptance among the member of the organization. I believe that while the organization has made many mistakes in implementing this change it is not too late for this project to be successful. While to project is currently underway, or in the movement phase, I believe the senior management can take a step back, recognize mistakes made, and implement an expedited unfreezing stage.A component of this expedited unfreezing stage needs to be recognition of initial failures followed by creating the sense of urgency and the creation of new vision that Kotter outlined. Without that I do not foresee the organization being successful in demonstrating the relationship between new behaviors and organizational success. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Patti, R. J. (1974). Organizational resistance and change: The view from below. Social Service Review, 48, 371–372. Toff ler, A. (1970). Future shock. New York: Random House.

Proprietary Versus Contract Security Essay

As an organization grows so must the security, and it has to be on the top of the list. When considering what type of security to choose, either proprietary or contact, they need to look at the value of the organization? This value within the organization will need some sort of protection to deter theft, vandalism, and destruction. The boardroom conversation could to from, â€Å"We have nice stuff† to â€Å"How are we going to protect it.† Leadership will need to decide how they will handle the issue of protecting their items that the business owns. In the process we will need to look at the pros and cons of both proprietary and contract security. Both of them have very big advantages associated with them but most of the time only one meets the needs of the organization. We have established that the organization has nice stuff, they need to protect it, we assume they have the month to support either option and they have a choice to make. This issues come down to managem ent, and cost. One option provides for maximum control whereas the other does not allow for much control. The costs are different also. One option there is a set cost, but it could be high and other option the cost could depend upon the capabilities of the office and how many people are hired for the organization. We have defined the problem and lay out the possible options. We will explore the outcomes, their advantages, and their disadvantages. It comes down to what the right fit for the organization. Additionally we will look at these differences between proprietary versus contract security as it compares to consistency, effectiveness, and obligation (COHEN (1979). Choosing Contract or Proprietary Security). The cost of proprietary security is costly. The organization is in control of reimbursing for benefits and greater salaries for their knowledgeable workers. The position of proprietary security is greater; it typically draws a higher class of sentinel. The salaries have a tendency to be lower for a contract security company in lieu of uniforms, absent leave, exercises, drills, and benefits that are enclosed by the company. Management of proprietary security workers often touch more devoted to a specific organization because of solidarity with follow workers, and has a chance for improvement and advancements. There are times when an organization may have to improve or discharge staff, which creates a problematic issue within an organization. The use of contract security, the organization has a chance to contract with staffing problems simply and swiftly. With steadiness the organization needs regular security configuration that desires to be intervened; acquiring regular proprietary security is the easiest way to go. A significant consideration is determining which sort of company to use is that irrespective of which kind of company we hand-pick, worker throughput is an option. Conditional on the location, this might be problematic that touches the security and well-being of folks within the organization. The efficiency of proprietary security workers are qualified to meet the exact needs of the organization, which aids them to become more accustomed with the framework of the organization and identify employees and personnel approaching the organization. With a higher throughput percentage, contract security sentinels are not particular friendly with the organizations workforce. This affects their devotion and obligation and unfavorably, their disadvantage, affects their advancement and performance. Obligation is a risk because when an organization chooses to accept proprietary security, it is accountable for all background checks, certifying that all candidates has the appropriate training, credentials, and qualifications for the duties. When functioning with a contract security business, we do not have to be concerned with qualifications, skills, credentials, and recruitment or background checks. It is all controlled by the contract security business. They take full liability for the officer’s action and discipline if needed. Advantages and disadvantages of Proprietary Security The advantages for hiring in-house security personnel are numerous. The first main point is that we have total control of the policies and the enforcement. We have total control or reporting and rules for the guards. Another advantage is that you can pay them as you build up the organization, so the cost is not one big payment but smaller payments. Hiring Proprietary Security personnel is another good thing. You can be sure of the character of the person that you are bringing into your organization, and you can ask the questions that we need during an interview. Proprietary Security can be compensated well enough so the business can minimize turnover. Turnover can have a down affect if the organizations is not paying security well enough based upon standards. The disadvantages of proprietary security are too varying. The main point is that you have to pay for additional training. There are rules and regulations by law that govern the type of training required based on the securities responsibly. Another key point is you have to schedule their hours to ensure that there is coverage during important times. You have additional benefits and insurance requirements for those that carry a weapon. Most important if the organization downsizes there is a chance that security will be cut whereas a contract security is funded through the year and will be maintain. Advantages and Disadvantages Contract Security The first key advantage point for an organization is that they come at a fixed price. When the bidding process is done, we pay the contract security that amount, and we are done. No additional cost to the organization. The next items you can state the statement of work with what training is required. Their major key factor is that using contract security we are responsible for ensuring there is someone on duty. Turnover is not a factor because contract security must have someone trained and ready to guard your organization. The last point and is beneficial to the overhead cost of the organization is that you do not have to worry about additional paying of benefits or insurance. The disadvantage of contract security is that you have less control of the policies and their work. You do not know if the contract security have been properly cleared and is good character for your organization. The contract security employee works for the organization and is best for that organization but wi ll be probably higher than the best interest for your organization. The finally point is a present lack of understanding or control, and you always have in the mind, who they working for. (Contract Security Guards or Proprietary (In-House) Guards, July 6, 2009) Conclusion Who is best for the organization, proprietary or contact security? There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The short answer fits best or fits with your organization. The organization must analyze all the advantages and disadvantages of determining what the best option for the organization is. The choice can be difficult because if something goes wrong it points back to you, and you could be out of a job. The key factor to determine what you need is what is being protected? There is no right answer or solution to determine what is needed for the organization. The organization must look at their needs and requirements and what each advantage or disadvantage provides (Security Officers as a Business) References COHEN (1979). Choosing Contract or Proprietary Security. https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=61691 Contract Security Guards or Proprietary (In-House) Guards, July 6, 2009 http://www.securitysourceonline.com/blog/post.cfm?e=37 Security Officers as a Business http://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/security-officers-as-a-business-strategy-1

Is Violence the Only Way to Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is Violence the Only Way to Freedom - Essay Example The essay "Is Violence the Only Way to Freedom?" discusses the Fanon's ideas regarding the ways out of colonization and a place of violence in this kind of system. Fanon suggests that violence is the only way out of colonization, which is based on the constant opposition between colonized people and colonizers. It is true that power is the main connector between colonists and colonies. This power is of violent, oppressive and humiliating character towards colonized people in order to state the victory and power of colonists. Even now the rests of the system divide each society into minorities and majorities which are often separated from one another. Fanon suggests that this â€Å"Manichean world† with the clear binary opposition can end only when colonized people collaborate and resist. He states that violent resistance with pain and blood lead people to freedom. If people have grassroots initiatives, local intellectual leaders, one program and shared vision of the future, they can steadily move to decolonization utilizing non-violent methods of opposition. Violence from colonies will be definitely interpreted as danger and threat for their metropolis. Leaders of colonists often ready to violence and human sacrifice for the sake of common freedom, as it is stated by Fanon. Violence serves as a catalyst of this conflict escalation, it attracts attention and sympathy, but it also creates a certain image of the colony, which plays against its successful chances to save their culture, identity, and dignity.

433Mod4Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

433Mod4Case - Essay Example Usability needs to be assessed on the basis of three important factors- semantics, features and operations. Semantics denotes that a particular software or tool can be considered to possess high usability if its entire approach is user friendly in nature. In relation to features usability is judged on the basis of absence or presence of certain elements in user interface. The other important component is operations and this helps in evaluating affective and performance levels of certain tasks (Usability First, 2011). Software usability needs to be analyzed from both ends that are from view point of users as well as experts. This would help in determining the overall scenario in terms of effectiveness and efficiency of software or a program. Verification and validation process in normally conducted in the final phase of software implementation. The documentation that is prepared by HCI experts comprise of various elements that defines relevant instructions associated with the software (User Interface Design and Usability, 2009). There are different assessment criteria’s for different software tools on the basis of their programming and objective. However end users are a key component in the entire evaluation process. HCI experts are involved in selecting tools and methods that would help in determining loopholes present in the software. There are two major techniques that are incorporated by users in evaluation process that are early life cycle techniques and late life cycle techniques. The early life cycle technique can be regarded as heuristic evaluation which helps to identify usability issues before implementation phase. These issues are the resolved and implemented in the iterative design process. On the other hand late life cycle technique is applied after the software implementation process has been completed (Nielsen, 2011). This technique is usually in the form of

The Millennium Development Goals of Nepal Assignment

The Millennium Development Goals of Nepal - Assignment Example The UN Millennium campaign has created partnerships with the Resident Coordinators office in various targeted countries in order to inspire and support the people all over the world for taking adequate actions, supporting the MDGs. In this regard, Nepal is deemed to be one of the most targeted and highly prioritised countries of the world. In Nepal, the Millennium campaign has a powerful interlink with the â€Å"Civil Society Organisations†, UN system and the local bodies, which tends to enhance its campaigning efforts and policy advocacy works (1United Nations Development Programme, 2014). This goal has been established in order to support the economically under-developed countries of the world wherein the people are not even able to afford the basic necessities of life such as food, which results in causing malnutrition. Therefore, in context to Nepal, the goal mainly focuses on improving the standards of living of the people as well as minimising the distance persisting between rich and poor. The target of the goal is to reduce the fraction of people in Nepal by 50 percent whose daily earnings is less than $1.25 and suffering from famine. The target is proposed to be accomplished in between 1990 and 2015 (1United Nations, 2015). In order to confirm that the above targets get accomplished within a set timeframe, the country will mainly analyse two indicators. The first indicator represents the prevailing rate of under-weighted children those who are below the age of five years and the second indicator denotes the proportion of populaces in the country who do not rece ive minimum level of diet (Shakya, 2013). This goal was designed to ensure that all the children of a country receive primary education and possess the right to enrol themselves in primary schools and complete their education. However, in relation to Nepal, the goal mainly focused on increasing the number of literacy rates in the country by providing the opportunity of primary education. As per the