Unit 48 P3

P3– Produce an Action plan for self- development and achievement of own personal goals Short-term goals Goals| How I will achieve these goals? | How long I think this will take to achieve? | Pass AS Level PE. | Do a large amount of revision and get the course work handed in by the end of term. | 2 weeks (course work)3 months (exam)| Pass AS Level Sociology. | Do revision and learn the key sociologists for each topic. | 3 months (exams)| Pass the 3 units of BTEC Level 3 Health and Social care. | Create a timetable and make deadlines for myself to get my work. | 3-4 months (coursework)| Pass my driving test. Get my coursework finished and save money to pay for lessons. | 4 months – 1 year (theory and driving test)4 months (provisional license) | Get a part time job. | Apply online for jobs and look at job vacancy boards in shopping precincts. | Waiting for a response. | Long-term goals Goals| How I will achieve this? | How long I think this will take to achieve? | Pass AS and A2. | Do a lot of studying and revision for exams. | 1 year and 3 months (exams and course work)| Get into university. | Concentrate on coursework during AS and A2 and apply for a number of universities. 2 years (depending on my grades at A-Level)| Get a degree in sport science. | Go to lectures and get work done on time. | 3-4 years (to complete Sixth form and go to university)| Get a decent paid job after university. | Graduate from university and apply for jobs such as PE teacher, Handball coach. | 4-5 years (to complete Sixth form, university and 1 year of work experience) | Have a nice house. | Save up a large amount of money and buy or rent a house or flat. | 10 years (to complete Sixth form, university, 1 year of work experience and get a job in teaching/coaching)|

High School Drop Out

Rates Are Increasing Many young adults view high school as a new territory with more advanced classes, more students, but other students only view the negative side of high school , rather than the positive. What most young adults do not understand is that when they choose to dropout of their high school, it is only stealing valuable knowledge from them. It is obvious that the high school drop out rate is increasing rapidly. Why might the rate of high school students be increasing, and why do students make such a dramatic change on their life? Also read: Should Boarding Schools Be AbolishedSome of this may result from the lack of parental guidance, bullying in our high schools, or teen pregnancy? First of all, parental guidance can be the most important element in a student’s education. Students who lack parental guidance have a greater chance of tossing his or her education away compared to those students who receive the help, support and positive guidance from their parents. Many high school students who lack a positive parental guidance to support his or her education, causing the rate of high school dropouts to increase.Not having a parental guidance causes student, to not take an education important and seriously, because they see their parents not showing any interest in their schooling as well. Parents can take action in their child’s education by keeping track of their grades, attending parent teacher conferences, or participating in more school activities. When students have parents who participate i n their child’s education that child is more likely to graduate from his or her high school. Another reason our high school dropout rates are increasing rapidly, is do to the fact of school bullying.School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs in connection with education, either inside or outside of the school. Bullying can be verbal, physical, or emotional and is usually repeated over a period of time. Bullying causes students to have a low self-esteem about themselves and may feel as if no one cares about them. School bullying can also occur in any part of a school building including, on buses, classrooms, even in sports. School bullying has become to be a serious problem in our schools system. The number one effect that bullying has on high school students, is students dropping out. Last,

Chapter 13 Madeye Moody

â€Å"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures†¦damn it, we’re still with the Slytherins†¦.† â€Å"Double Divination this afternoon,† Harry groaned, looking down. Divination was his least favorite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry’s death, which he found extremely annoying. â€Å"You should have given it up like me, shouldn’t you?† said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. â€Å"Then you’d be doing something sensible like Arithmancy.† â€Å"You’re eating again, I notice,† said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too. â€Å"I’ve decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights,† said Hermione haughtily. â€Å"Yeah†¦and you were hungry,† said Ron, grinning. There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Harry looked up, but there was no sign of white among the mass of brown and gray. The owls circled the tables, looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a parcel into his lap – Neville almost always forgot to pack something. On the other side of the Hall Draco Malfoy’s eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach, Harry returned to his porridge. Was it possible that something had happened to Hedwig, and that Sirius hadn’t even got his letter? His preoccupation lasted all the way across the sodden vegetable patch until they arrived in greenhouse three, but here he was distracted by Professor Sprout showing the class the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid. â€Å"Bubotubers,† Professor Sprout told them briskly. â€Å"They need squeezing. You will collect the pus -â€Å" â€Å"The what?† said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted. â€Å"Pus, Finnigan, pus,† said Professor Sprout, â€Å"and it’s extremely valuable, so don’t waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus.† Squeezing the bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints. â€Å"This’ll keep Madam Pomfrey happy,† said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. â€Å"An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples.† â€Å"Like poor Eloise Midgen,† said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. â€Å"She tried to curse hers off.† â€Å"Silly girl,† said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. â€Å"But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end.† A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signaling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid’s small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions. â€Å"Mornin’!† Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"Be’er wait fer the Slytherins, they won’ want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!† â€Å"Come again?† said Ron. Hagrid pointed down into the crates. â€Å"Eurgh!† squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward. â€Å"Eurgh† just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts in Harry’s opinion. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small phut, it would be propelled forward several inches. â€Å"On’y jus’ hatched,† said Hagrid proudly, â€Å"so yeh’ll be able ter raise ’em yerselves! Thought we’d make a bit of a project of it!† â€Å"And why would we want to raise them?† said a cold voice. The Slytherins had arrived. The speaker was Draco Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words. Hagrid looked stumped at the question. â€Å"I mean, what do they do?† asked Malfoy. â€Å"What is the point of them?† Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds’ pause, then he said roughly, â€Å"Tha’s next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus’ feedin’ ’em today. Now, yeh’ll wan’ ter try ’em on a few diff’rent things – I’ve never had ’em before, not sure what they’ll go fer – I got ant eggs an’ frog livers an’ a bit o’ grass snake – just try ’em out with a bit of each.† â€Å"First pus and now this,† muttered Seamus. Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron, and Hermione pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry couldn’t suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the skrewts didn’t seem to have mouths. â€Å"Ouch!† yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. â€Å"It got me.† Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious. â€Å"Its end exploded!† said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand. â€Å"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off,† said Hagrid, nodding. â€Å"Eurgh!† said Lavender Brown again. â€Å"Eurgh, Hagrid, what’s that pointy thing on it?† â€Å"Ah, some of ’em have got stings,† said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box). â€Å"I reckon they’re the males†¦.The females’ve got sorta sucker things on their bellies†¦.I think they might be ter suck blood.† â€Å"Well, I can certainly see why we’re trying to keep them alive,† said Malfoy sarcastically. â€Å"Who wouldn’t want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?† â€Å"Just because they’re not very pretty, it doesn’t mean they’re not useful,† Hermione snapped. â€Å"Dragon blood’s amazingly magical, but you wouldn’t want a dragon for a pet, would you?† Harry and Ron grinned at Hagrid, who gave them a furtive smile from behind his bushy beard. Hagrid would have liked nothing better than a pet dragon, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew only too well – he had owned one for a brief period during their first year, a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert. Hagrid simply loved monstrous creatures, the more lethal, the better. â€Å"Well, at least the skrewts are small,† said Ron as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later. â€Å"They are now,† said Hermione in an exasperated voice, â€Å"but once Hagrid’s found out what they eat, I expect they’ll be six feet long.† â€Å"Well, that won’t matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?† said Ron, grinning slyly at her. â€Å"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up,† said Hermione. â€Å"As a matter of fact I think he’s right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all.† They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Harry and Ron stared at her. â€Å"Er – is this the new stand on elf rights?† said Ron. â€Å"You’re going to make yourself puke instead?† â€Å"No,† said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. â€Å"I just want to get to the library.† â€Å"What?† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"Hermione – it’s the first day back! We haven’t even got homework yet!† Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, â€Å"See you at dinner!† and departed at high speed. When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry and Ron set off for North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived. The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Harry and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table. â€Å"Good day,† said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight. â€Å"You are preoccupied, my dear,† she said mournfully to Harry. â€Å"My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas†¦most difficult†¦I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦.and perhaps sooner than you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on poufs very close to her. â€Å"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars,† she said. â€Å"The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle†¦.† But Harry’s thoughts had drifted. The perfumed fire always made him feel sleepy and dull-witted, and Professor Trelawney’s rambling talks on fortune-telling never held him exactly spellbound – though he couldn’t help thinking about what she had just said to him. â€Å"I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Hermione was right, Harry thought irritably, Professor Trelawney really was an old fraud. He wasn’t dreading anything at the moment at all†¦well, unless you counted his fears that Sirius had been caught†¦but what did Professor Trelawney know? He had long since come to the conclusion that her brand of fortunetelling was really no more than lucky guesswork and a spooky manner. Except, of course, for that time at the end of last term, when she had made the prediction about Voldemort rising again†¦and Dumbledore himself had said that he thought that trance had been genuine, when Harry had described it to him. â€Å"Harry!† Ron muttered. â€Å"What?† Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. He sat up straight; he had been almost dozing off, lost in the heat and his thoughts. â€Å"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn,† said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words. â€Å"Born under – what, sorry?† said Harry. â€Å"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!† said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn’t riveted by this news. â€Å"I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth†¦.Your dark hair†¦your mean stature†¦tragic losses so young in life†¦I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?† â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"I was born in July.† Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough. Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. â€Å"I’ve got two Neptunes here,† said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, â€Å"that can’t be right, can it?† â€Å"Aaaaah,† said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney’s mystical whisper, â€Å"when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry†¦.† Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown – â€Å"Oh Professor, look! I think I’ve got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one’s that, Professor?† â€Å"It is Uranus, my dear,† said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart. â€Å"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?† said Ron. Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that made her give them so much homework at the end of the class. â€Å"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart,† she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. â€Å"I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses!† â€Å"Miserable old bat,† said Ron bitterly as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. â€Å"That’ll take all weekend, that will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Lots of homework?† said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. â€Å"Professor Vector didn’t give us any at all!† â€Å"Well, bully for Professor Vector,† said Ron moodily. They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the end of the line, when a loud voice rang out behind them. â€Å"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!† Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something. â€Å"What?† said Ron shortly. â€Å"Your dad’s in the paper, Weasley!† said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. â€Å"Listen to this! FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC It seems as though the Ministry of Magic’s troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.† Malfoy looked up. â€Å"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It’s almost as though he’s a complete nonentity, isn’t it?† he crowed. Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper with a flourish and read on: Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers (â€Å"policemen†) over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of â€Å"Mad-Eye† Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody’s heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene. â€Å"And there’s a picture, Weasley!† said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. â€Å"A picture of your parents outside their house – if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn’t she?† Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him. â€Å"Get stuffed, Malfoy,† said Harry. â€Å"C’mon, Ron†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren’t you, Potter?† sneered Malfoy. â€Å"So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?† â€Å"You know your mother, Malfoy?† said Harry – both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy – â€Å"that expression she’s got, like she’s got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?† Malfoy’s pale face went slightly pink. â€Å"Don’t you dare insult my mother, Potter.† â€Å"Keep your fat mouth shut, then,† said Harry, turning away. BANG! Several people screamed – Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face – he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he’d even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall. â€Å"OH NO YOU DON’T, LADDIE!† Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing. There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry – at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head. â€Å"Did he get you?† Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly. â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"missed.† â€Å"LEAVE IT!† Moody shouted. â€Å"Leave – what?† Harry said, bewildered. â€Å"Not you – him!† Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody’s rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head. Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons. â€Å"I don’t think so!† roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again – it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more. â€Å"I don’t like people who attack when their opponent’s back’s turned,† growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. â€Å"Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly. â€Å"Never – do – that – again -† said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again. â€Å"Professor Moody!† said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books. â€Å"Hello, Professor McGonagall,† said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher. â€Å"What – what are you doing?† said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret’s progress through the air. â€Å"Teaching,† said Moody. â€Å"Teach – Moody, is that a student?† shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms. â€Å"Yep,† said Moody. â€Å"No!† cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing. â€Å"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!† said Professor McGonagall wealdy. â€Å"Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?† â€Å"He might’ve mentioned it, yeah,† said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, â€Å"but I thought a good sharp shock -â€Å" â€Å"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender’s Head of House!† â€Å"I’ll do that, then,† said Moody, staring at Malfoy with great dislike. Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words â€Å"my father† were distinguishable. â€Å"Oh yeah?† said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. â€Å"Well, I know your father of old, boy†¦.You tell him Moody’s keeping a close eye on his son†¦you tell him that from me†¦.Now, your Head of House’ll be Snape, will it?† â€Å"Yes,† said Malfoy resentfully. â€Å"Another old friend,† growled Moody. â€Å"I’ve been looking forward to a chat with old Snape†¦.Come on, you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And he seized Malfoy’s upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons. Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms. â€Å"Don’t talk to me,† Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. â€Å"Why not?† said Hermione in surprise. â€Å"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,† said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. â€Å"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret.† Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates. â€Å"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though,† she said. â€Å"It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it -â€Å" â€Å"Hermione!† said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, â€Å"you’re ruining the best moment of my life!† Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again. â€Å"Don’t tell me you’re going back to the library this evening?† said Harry, watching her. â€Å"Got to,† said Hermione thickly. â€Å"Loads to do.† â€Å"But you told us Professor Vector -â€Å" â€Å"It’s not schoolwork,† she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley. â€Å"Moody!† he said. â€Å"How cool is he?† â€Å"Beyond cool,† said George, sitting down opposite Fred. â€Å"Supercool,† said the twins’ best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. â€Å"We had him this afternoon,† he told Harry and Ron. â€Å"What was it like?† said Harry eagerly. Fred, George, and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning. â€Å"Never had a lesson like it,† said Fred. â€Å"He knows, man,† said Lee. â€Å"Knows what?† said Ron, leaning forward. â€Å"Knows what it’s like to be out there doing it,† said George impressively. â€Å"Doing what?† said Harry. â€Å"Fighting the Dark Arts,† said Fred. â€Å"He’s seen it all,† said George. â€Å"‘Mazing,† said Lee. Ron dived into his bag for his schedule. â€Å"We haven’t got him till Thursday!† he said in a disappointed voice. Chapter 13 Madeye Moody â€Å"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures†¦damn it, we’re still with the Slytherins†¦.† â€Å"Double Divination this afternoon,† Harry groaned, looking down. Divination was his least favorite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry’s death, which he found extremely annoying. â€Å"You should have given it up like me, shouldn’t you?† said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. â€Å"Then you’d be doing something sensible like Arithmancy.† â€Å"You’re eating again, I notice,† said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too. â€Å"I’ve decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights,† said Hermione haughtily. â€Å"Yeah†¦and you were hungry,† said Ron, grinning. There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Harry looked up, but there was no sign of white among the mass of brown and gray. The owls circled the tables, looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a parcel into his lap – Neville almost always forgot to pack something. On the other side of the Hall Draco Malfoy’s eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach, Harry returned to his porridge. Was it possible that something had happened to Hedwig, and that Sirius hadn’t even got his letter? His preoccupation lasted all the way across the sodden vegetable patch until they arrived in greenhouse three, but here he was distracted by Professor Sprout showing the class the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid. â€Å"Bubotubers,† Professor Sprout told them briskly. â€Å"They need squeezing. You will collect the pus -â€Å" â€Å"The what?† said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted. â€Å"Pus, Finnigan, pus,† said Professor Sprout, â€Å"and it’s extremely valuable, so don’t waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus.† Squeezing the bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints. â€Å"This’ll keep Madam Pomfrey happy,† said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. â€Å"An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples.† â€Å"Like poor Eloise Midgen,† said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. â€Å"She tried to curse hers off.† â€Å"Silly girl,† said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. â€Å"But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end.† A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signaling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid’s small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions. â€Å"Mornin’!† Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"Be’er wait fer the Slytherins, they won’ want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!† â€Å"Come again?† said Ron. Hagrid pointed down into the crates. â€Å"Eurgh!† squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward. â€Å"Eurgh† just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts in Harry’s opinion. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small phut, it would be propelled forward several inches. â€Å"On’y jus’ hatched,† said Hagrid proudly, â€Å"so yeh’ll be able ter raise ’em yerselves! Thought we’d make a bit of a project of it!† â€Å"And why would we want to raise them?† said a cold voice. The Slytherins had arrived. The speaker was Draco Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words. Hagrid looked stumped at the question. â€Å"I mean, what do they do?† asked Malfoy. â€Å"What is the point of them?† Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds’ pause, then he said roughly, â€Å"Tha’s next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus’ feedin’ ’em today. Now, yeh’ll wan’ ter try ’em on a few diff’rent things – I’ve never had ’em before, not sure what they’ll go fer – I got ant eggs an’ frog livers an’ a bit o’ grass snake – just try ’em out with a bit of each.† â€Å"First pus and now this,† muttered Seamus. Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron, and Hermione pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry couldn’t suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the skrewts didn’t seem to have mouths. â€Å"Ouch!† yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. â€Å"It got me.† Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious. â€Å"Its end exploded!† said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand. â€Å"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off,† said Hagrid, nodding. â€Å"Eurgh!† said Lavender Brown again. â€Å"Eurgh, Hagrid, what’s that pointy thing on it?† â€Å"Ah, some of ’em have got stings,† said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box). â€Å"I reckon they’re the males†¦.The females’ve got sorta sucker things on their bellies†¦.I think they might be ter suck blood.† â€Å"Well, I can certainly see why we’re trying to keep them alive,† said Malfoy sarcastically. â€Å"Who wouldn’t want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?† â€Å"Just because they’re not very pretty, it doesn’t mean they’re not useful,† Hermione snapped. â€Å"Dragon blood’s amazingly magical, but you wouldn’t want a dragon for a pet, would you?† Harry and Ron grinned at Hagrid, who gave them a furtive smile from behind his bushy beard. Hagrid would have liked nothing better than a pet dragon, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew only too well – he had owned one for a brief period during their first year, a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert. Hagrid simply loved monstrous creatures, the more lethal, the better. â€Å"Well, at least the skrewts are small,† said Ron as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later. â€Å"They are now,† said Hermione in an exasperated voice, â€Å"but once Hagrid’s found out what they eat, I expect they’ll be six feet long.† â€Å"Well, that won’t matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?† said Ron, grinning slyly at her. â€Å"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up,† said Hermione. â€Å"As a matter of fact I think he’s right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all.† They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Harry and Ron stared at her. â€Å"Er – is this the new stand on elf rights?† said Ron. â€Å"You’re going to make yourself puke instead?† â€Å"No,† said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. â€Å"I just want to get to the library.† â€Å"What?† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"Hermione – it’s the first day back! We haven’t even got homework yet!† Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, â€Å"See you at dinner!† and departed at high speed. When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry and Ron set off for North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived. The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Harry and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table. â€Å"Good day,† said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight. â€Å"You are preoccupied, my dear,† she said mournfully to Harry. â€Å"My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas†¦most difficult†¦I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦.and perhaps sooner than you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on poufs very close to her. â€Å"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars,† she said. â€Å"The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle†¦.† But Harry’s thoughts had drifted. The perfumed fire always made him feel sleepy and dull-witted, and Professor Trelawney’s rambling talks on fortune-telling never held him exactly spellbound – though he couldn’t help thinking about what she had just said to him. â€Å"I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Hermione was right, Harry thought irritably, Professor Trelawney really was an old fraud. He wasn’t dreading anything at the moment at all†¦well, unless you counted his fears that Sirius had been caught†¦but what did Professor Trelawney know? He had long since come to the conclusion that her brand of fortunetelling was really no more than lucky guesswork and a spooky manner. Except, of course, for that time at the end of last term, when she had made the prediction about Voldemort rising again†¦and Dumbledore himself had said that he thought that trance had been genuine, when Harry had described it to him. â€Å"Harry!† Ron muttered. â€Å"What?† Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. He sat up straight; he had been almost dozing off, lost in the heat and his thoughts. â€Å"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn,† said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words. â€Å"Born under – what, sorry?† said Harry. â€Å"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!† said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn’t riveted by this news. â€Å"I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth†¦.Your dark hair†¦your mean stature†¦tragic losses so young in life†¦I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?† â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"I was born in July.† Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough. Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. â€Å"I’ve got two Neptunes here,† said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, â€Å"that can’t be right, can it?† â€Å"Aaaaah,† said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney’s mystical whisper, â€Å"when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry†¦.† Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown – â€Å"Oh Professor, look! I think I’ve got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one’s that, Professor?† â€Å"It is Uranus, my dear,† said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart. â€Å"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?† said Ron. Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that made her give them so much homework at the end of the class. â€Å"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart,† she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. â€Å"I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses!† â€Å"Miserable old bat,† said Ron bitterly as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. â€Å"That’ll take all weekend, that will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Lots of homework?† said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. â€Å"Professor Vector didn’t give us any at all!† â€Å"Well, bully for Professor Vector,† said Ron moodily. They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the end of the line, when a loud voice rang out behind them. â€Å"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!† Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something. â€Å"What?† said Ron shortly. â€Å"Your dad’s in the paper, Weasley!† said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. â€Å"Listen to this! FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC It seems as though the Ministry of Magic’s troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.† Malfoy looked up. â€Å"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It’s almost as though he’s a complete nonentity, isn’t it?† he crowed. Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper with a flourish and read on: Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers (â€Å"policemen†) over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of â€Å"Mad-Eye† Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody’s heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene. â€Å"And there’s a picture, Weasley!† said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. â€Å"A picture of your parents outside their house – if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn’t she?† Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him. â€Å"Get stuffed, Malfoy,† said Harry. â€Å"C’mon, Ron†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren’t you, Potter?† sneered Malfoy. â€Å"So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?† â€Å"You know your mother, Malfoy?† said Harry – both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy – â€Å"that expression she’s got, like she’s got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?† Malfoy’s pale face went slightly pink. â€Å"Don’t you dare insult my mother, Potter.† â€Å"Keep your fat mouth shut, then,† said Harry, turning away. BANG! Several people screamed – Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face – he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he’d even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall. â€Å"OH NO YOU DON’T, LADDIE!† Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing. There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry – at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head. â€Å"Did he get you?† Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly. â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"missed.† â€Å"LEAVE IT!† Moody shouted. â€Å"Leave – what?† Harry said, bewildered. â€Å"Not you – him!† Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody’s rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head. Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons. â€Å"I don’t think so!† roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again – it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more. â€Å"I don’t like people who attack when their opponent’s back’s turned,† growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. â€Å"Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly. â€Å"Never – do – that – again -† said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again. â€Å"Professor Moody!† said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books. â€Å"Hello, Professor McGonagall,† said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher. â€Å"What – what are you doing?† said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret’s progress through the air. â€Å"Teaching,† said Moody. â€Å"Teach – Moody, is that a student?† shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms. â€Å"Yep,† said Moody. â€Å"No!† cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing. â€Å"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!† said Professor McGonagall wealdy. â€Å"Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?† â€Å"He might’ve mentioned it, yeah,† said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, â€Å"but I thought a good sharp shock -â€Å" â€Å"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender’s Head of House!† â€Å"I’ll do that, then,† said Moody, staring at Malfoy with great dislike. Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words â€Å"my father† were distinguishable. â€Å"Oh yeah?† said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. â€Å"Well, I know your father of old, boy†¦.You tell him Moody’s keeping a close eye on his son†¦you tell him that from me†¦.Now, your Head of House’ll be Snape, will it?† â€Å"Yes,† said Malfoy resentfully. â€Å"Another old friend,† growled Moody. â€Å"I’ve been looking forward to a chat with old Snape†¦.Come on, you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And he seized Malfoy’s upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons. Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms. â€Å"Don’t talk to me,† Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. â€Å"Why not?† said Hermione in surprise. â€Å"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,† said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. â€Å"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret.† Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates. â€Å"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though,† she said. â€Å"It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it -â€Å" â€Å"Hermione!† said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, â€Å"you’re ruining the best moment of my life!† Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again. â€Å"Don’t tell me you’re going back to the library this evening?† said Harry, watching her. â€Å"Got to,† said Hermione thickly. â€Å"Loads to do.† â€Å"But you told us Professor Vector -â€Å" â€Å"It’s not schoolwork,† she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley. â€Å"Moody!† he said. â€Å"How cool is he?† â€Å"Beyond cool,† said George, sitting down opposite Fred. â€Å"Supercool,† said the twins’ best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. â€Å"We had him this afternoon,† he told Harry and Ron. â€Å"What was it like?† said Harry eagerly. Fred, George, and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning. â€Å"Never had a lesson like it,† said Fred. â€Å"He knows, man,† said Lee. â€Å"Knows what?† said Ron, leaning forward. â€Å"Knows what it’s like to be out there doing it,† said George impressively. â€Å"Doing what?† said Harry. â€Å"Fighting the Dark Arts,† said Fred. â€Å"He’s seen it all,† said George. â€Å"‘Mazing,† said Lee. Ron dived into his bag for his schedule. â€Å"We haven’t got him till Thursday!† he said in a disappointed voice.

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Care Plan - Assignment Example The patient is currently receiving treatment on these and has suffered bouts of pain. The treatment received by the patient relates to hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and gout. Hypercholesterolemia according to research is a condition that comes because of autosomal recessive hypercholesterolemia gene attached to the chromosomes of a human being undergoing mutations (Ashton, 2012). The fact that the patient admits to alcoholism contributes to the factors that could complicate the medication process and the side effects of the medicines. Based on the above, the symptoms are being treated and the diagnosis received treated as per the earlier prescriptions made by the doctors. The diagnostic test carried out included the following specimen: comprehensive Metabolic Panel, Cardiac Enzymes, and urinalysis, CT scan around the abdomen, chest x-ray esophagastroduodenoscopy, serum, urea breath test and fecal antigen test. These aimed at analyzing the parent to identify the state of their health over the previous condition. According to the patient, some aspects required education to enlighten them on how to go about their condition to supplement treatment. The education aspects aim at improving the chances of successful treatment through compliance of the medication. The education will include the aspects of diet modification that would include reduced purine content in foods. Based on the nutritional studies present, the body produces its own purines and the addition of the content in foods could affect the patients treatment program (Zacas & Wolinsky, 2004). The reduction in these purine rich foods will help the patient with the control of gout symptoms and the blood pressure levels registered. The patient will also require training or education in the reduction or control of stress levels to avoid increasing the effects of stress on the medications and treatment plan. Other educational aspects encouraged

Gulf War 1990-1991 war and it's affects on natural life Essay

Gulf War 1990-1991 war and it's affects on natural life - Essay Example According to United Nation Environmental Program, approximately 25-30 million barrels of crude oil was directed to sea. In addition, approximately 14 thousands tones of toxic smoke were released to the atmosphere. This led to acid rain. In addition, land spills became rampant. The Kuwait desert was left being inhabitable and people had to move to other areas. However, the water ecosystem was the most affected. Once the rain fell, all water that had oil was drained into the sea. This led to mass death of various sea inhabitants. This affected the aquatic food chain. Fish industry in Kuwait was thriving before the war. For instance, it was yielding approximately 120 thousands tones of fish each year (Finlan 92). However, this figure dropped drastically. This is because most of the fish died because of lack of adequate oxygen. In addition, plants were unable to thrive in the water because it was covered with oil. This made some fish to migrate to other areas. Other species that were als o affected by the oil spill include hawksbill turtles, dugongs, migratory birds, and sea snakes. By the time the war ended, the damage on sea was more than

How do you understand a functional approach to studying finance-growth Essay

How do you understand a functional approach to studying finance-growth nexus Explain facilitating risk management, exerting cor - Essay Example Joan Robinson however presents a complete perspective when he opines, â€Å"Where enterprise leads finance follows† (1952, 86), thus implicating that it is the nature of the country’s economic growth that creates demands for certain types of financial institutions, and the systems simply respond to these growing demands. Some economists also disregard the theory that places importance on the finance- growth. Robert Lucas in his papers contends that economists tend to â€Å"badly over-stress† the part played by the financial systems (1988, 6), while Chandavarkar (1992) in papers observes that development economists frequently overlook the role played by the financial systems in augmenting economic growth and simply ignore it (Meir and Seers, 1984). ... Financial development is the route through which nations can aim towards furthering the competencies of their present economic systems (comprising of markets and resources), banking sectors, supervising investment projects, and overall strengthening the position of the financial systems within a country. Thus, one can view financial development as a major aspect in affecting a country’s economic growth and welfare (Huang, 2006). Strong empirical evidences reaffirm the theory that finance is at the base of a state’s economic developmental curve. Modern academic scholars are increasingly putting their faith on the efficient, smoothly running financial systems, opining that these systems are essential for processing funds for use in various financial activities, and in apportioning the risks management arena to those who can bear it, thus fostering economic development, enhancing infrastructural growth chances, balanced income distribution, and alleviating poverty (World B ank 2001). While measuring the functional objectives of the financial structures and analysing the process of financial development in a country, focus must be on the financial services, like institutions and markets; understanding the factors that are causing certain sections of the market to remain underdeveloped; and segregating the potential and perceivable barriers within the financial services (Rajan and Zingales, 1998). The dimensions along with the provisions made for the financial developments of a country are assessed are the efficiency, size, and reach of the institutions, services, and markets, along with the quality and cost of the financial services availed for the economic growth of that country (ibid). Thus,

Employee Resourcing Essay Example for Free

Employee Resourcing Essay Edwards, Scott and Raju (p. 71, 2003) have defined the term recruitment as â€Å"organizational practices and policies developed for the primary purpose of motivating applicants to apply, remain in the candidate pool, and accept offers. † Recruitment has been traditionally considered to have a minor role in the hiring process. Earlier the term recruitment to the hiring managers was primarily a means to indentify and use the sources, for instance the print media, which would give the maximum output in terms of applications from promising candidates. The importance of recruitment has increased multi-fold in recent times. This has been due to trends in 1990s like the changes in market which has necessitated a need for a large work force of specialized labors, and the internet which has given a wide platform for both the recruiters and job searchers to come in contact with each other (Edwards, Scott and Raju, p. 71, 2003). As a result of these trends the organizations have come to a scenario that not many people might apply when a job is posted. Even when the organization has selected a candidate it can no longer be assumed that they would be accepting these offers. Hence, there is an increasing awareness among people who take care of a company’s recruitment that the process covers far more than merely looking out for sources where the advertisements for job openings are to be put. This report gives an overview of the recruitment trends and selection practices in recent times in UK, the factors impacting these trends and selection practices in the country. Recruitment trends in UK in recent times The recruitment practices of organizations in UK have seen a drastic change in the recent times. Various practices and conditions are seen to exist in the organizations these days, which were not present a few decades ago like provision of creches, job-sharing, part-time work, and home-working. There is also a lot of stress on gender equality by the various companies. For instance, banks are seen to be the pioneers in devising various schemes to hire and retain women. Another of these trends is also to review policies such as those which used to encourage early retirement based on various conditions (Hendry, p. 42, 1995). There have been some additional schemes like performance related pays, which brought about the appraisal management system to fore. The trends for various organizations in UK is to use systems like the 360 feedback system for performance related pays, to motivate their employees so that they stay and work with the company and see this translated to an increase in the pay packages (Anderson, p. 130, 2005). Internet boom has been seen to impact all the aspects of businesses. Recruitment is no exception, and has seen a major change in the way companies recruit people. The trend to adopt internet as a means to recruit people, has also seen in face of the increasing number of companies looking to recruit people. The ease of finding people has increased as the companies can now access databases of people living in far off places in a short time. The online recruitment activity in UK increased by 30% for August 2007, from last year August 2006 (Monster, p. 1, 2007) For the managerial vacancies, the trend is that the vacancies are filled from the internal labor market while the senior management positions are as likely filled internally as externally. This trend means that on the supply side there has been an increase in new entrants in the labor market while on the demand side the organizations have a need for new managerial recruits. Selection Practices in UK in recent times Swift and Robertson (2000) cite several surveys conducted for selection practices to point out that the employers use a wide range of selection techniques depending upon the type of jobs for which the people are being recruited. They also said that the survey showed that no one method for selection was used as a standardized or stand-alone technique in small, middle, and even large sized corporations. The most used current selection practices were found to be application forms, interviews with single interviewer, panel interviewers, personality tests, references, ability tests, selection centers, CVs, and group selection centers. Despite the many reports of unreliability and invalidity, traditional selection methods of interview, application form and references are the most popular selection practices used. Of these, personal interviews are considered to be the most widely criticized method of selection, and the third most popular toll behind reference checking and application forms. The more sophisticated techniques like the assignment centers and psychological testing are relatively less used in UK. Though there has been a rise in the number of psychometric tests used by large sized corporations while selecting new recruits, the traditional methods are still the most common tools for selection (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 60, 2004). Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley (2004) also point out that there has been a rise in the flexible working practices in UK, in particular the non-standard contracts. There has been a rise in flexible contracts related to salary packages like sharing profits, introduction of performance incentive and also flexibility in the working hours. Changing environment in UK in the last few decades Organizations in UK faced the impact of the economic changes that occurred in 1980s through the 1990s. There were changes in the economic environment, labor law, government labor market policy, demographic changes and also the political climate, all of which had an impact on the organizations and hence their personnel management policies. There was a severe recession of 1980-81, followed by a period of growth till the early 1990s and again a slump in the last quarter of 1990s when the economic growth ceased (Hendry, p. 23, 1995). Due to the recession in the country there was a need for bringing in more foreign currency, hence imports became cheaper and foreign firms were drawn to the UK market. All of these brought about a collapse in the manufacturing sector which could not keep up with the measures taken by the government to bring up the recession. The industries began to restructure and this brought about the internationalization of various firms due to acquisitions and mergers (Hendry, p. 25, 1995). The trend for internationalization was present in UK but was chiefly restricted to Europe both in terms of trade and movement of capital. But the 1980s and 1990s saw the companies expand overseas in other countries to explore newer market and / or use cheaper labor due to the inherently tight labor market (Hendry, p. 27, 1995). There were other changes for instance the demographic and social changes brought about by the education system, which meant that more people were trained in higher education, and hence the labor force fell sharply through the 1980s. However, the proportion of women entering the labor market started to rise. Politically too UK saw marked changes as the Thatcher government gave way to new governments and different work related policies as well as the overall policies (Hendry, p. 40, 1995). Effects of External Environment on Labor Markets All the changes in the UK environment affected the personnel management practices by the organizations. The section above gave a brief on some of the major environment changes while this section would be giving the impact of the changes on the labor market and the next section would give the corresponding consequences in the recruitment and selection process. The collapse of the industrial segment in UK had far reaching impacts on the labor market. There was large scale unemployment which was well over 3 million for almost five years, with large regional imbalances. There were forced redundancies and many of the units were closed down. This made the companies look out for increased measures in productivity by using flexible working practices. This also led to the sharp demarcations between the various levels of employees. The slump led to internationalization in two ways. First the people in the middle class who were traditionally the labors increasingly sent their offspring to universities for higher studies. This led to an increase in the number of people qualified tor white collar and professional jobs, and the number of labors decreased. Organizations in UK hence started looking to countries in Asia and Africa for filling this labor gap. There were also direct acquisitions which led to foreign companies acquiring stakes in UK companies, which led to internationalization. The internationalization brought people from different cultures in contact with each other on regular basis. This meant that the people needed to be culturally conditioned to blend in easily with the increasingly changing work environment. The increase in the number of women in the industry at various levels brought about massive changes in the working culture of the organizations. There were issues like employee safety and newer incentives were introduced to attract employees like facilities of creches, providing pick-up and drop facilities. Effects of External Environment on Recruitment Process The labor market in UK has traditionally being tight due to the reasons outlined above. The market was affected due to two important events foot-and-mouth disease and 9/11 crisis. These events brought about crisis in the financial markets, a fall in tourism and other related activities, thus increasing the unemployment. However, in spite of these changes the labor market remains a challenge for recruiters in terms of recruitment and selection (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 48, 2004). The recruiters need to attract people to work in their organizations, which is the first important step. The second step is to follow a rigid but effective selection process which would ensure that the right people have been selected to work in the company. Recruitment and selection process are seen to be the most important functions of Human Resource Management process. This is because an effective recruitment and selection process ensures an efficient labor force while a poor one might have negative effects to the company’s productivity which are long lasting. The companies prefer that their employees are sources both internally and externally, so that the internal employees are motivated and fresh blood is brought into the company which is necessary for innovation. The rise in technology especially the internet has seen to it that the companies can have a diverse work force. The large companies have also used software technologies to use databases to keep track of their employees for checking their performance levels which would air the process of internal recruitment. UK companies traditionally preferred to fill their positions internally especially for managerial recruitments, though this is changing in the face of internationalization. Various organizations are also seen to improve the process of re-training and provide attractive incentives like performance related packages for recruiting and retaining employees (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 0, 2004). Effects of External Environment on Selection Process After potential candidates apply for the position, the selection process must ensure that the most promising candidates are selected for the positions. This is again a challenge to the recruiters because of the increasing stress laid on the employees to excel not only in their job but also added skills like team-spirit and adapting to change. Many of the positions require that the candidate must be comfortable for working in newer locations, which was traditionally limited to people in the sales and marketing department. In addition, the potential candidates must also be abreast with the fast changing technological environment, and be able to cope up with it. All these must be the elements of the selection process, which means a high burden for people designing the process to ensure only the right candidates, are selected (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 60, 2004). As is already mentioned above, personal interview though is the most criticized, is still the most preferred by recruiters in UK. The reason for this is probably the importance the company people give to personal judgment. With the increasing number of people coming from different regions and countries, references and applications are considered to be the most important tools in the selection process. The reference checking is done with due diligence and the responses are always recorded. In many cases, the companies also go in for reference checking by employing private agencies to check up on the potential candidate. Application forms are of course the necessary input for any further steps in the selection process (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 60, 2004).

The logisitics and supply chain of Dell

The logisitics and supply chain of Dell This is the era of globalisation which means that individuals are living in one world. There are no more limitations, and boundaries are diminishing in every possible ways. Moreover, trading worldwide has become very common now. This scenario leads us to have greater and detail knowledge on managing international operations and the supply chain. The subject tends to be much more complex than it may sound. Appropriate logistics and supply chain help companies to save huge amount of costs and generate greater revenue. In this report, I have analysed, applied academic modules and put my best effort to deliver the logistics and supply chain system of Dell Inc. Dell Inc. is one of the largest IT companies providing information technology and business related services, support and solutions worldwide with 100,300 employees. It was established in 1984 with only $1,000 capital in Texas, United States. The unique strategy of Dell to sell custom built PCs (Personal Computers) directly to customers, eliminating middlemen to enhance customers savings was practiced at the initial stage of its establishment by Michael Dell. However, as per the sources, the company now operates in four global business segments; Large Enterprise, Public, Small and Medium Business, and Consumer. The focus of this case study is the supply chain management practices of Dell. Dell has been following its unique direct build-to-order sales model for more than 20 years. Customers can plan their own configuration and place orders directly with the company via the phone or its Web site. Over the years, Dells supply chain efficiencies and direct sales gave it a competitive advantage. The nature of logistics and international trade: Globalisation or international trade has become a common ground for most traders now. It is a general rule for businesses to enhance their potential growth by increasing revenues and cutting down costs. In implementation of this rule, logistics plays an important role in any kind of business operating globally or locally. However, the proper management of logistics is even more crucial when it comes to international traders. In earlier period, logistics was only described as warehousing or trucks and sheds. However, warehousing is one of the fundamental components of logistics. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) in the UK define logistics as, Getting the right product to the right place in the right quantity at the right time, in the best condition and at an acceptable cost. The above definition makes us clear that logistics involve getting everything right in the process to meet customers requirements and expectations from beginning to the point of consumption. In general, 8R are followed in order to define and implement logistics. They are; right product, right place, right quantity, right time, right customer, right way, right cost, and right quality. Our Dell Global Logistics Teams aim to develop and sustain a global transportation and logistics network that uses the most efficient and effective means for us and our transportation providers to distribute our products to our customers. Our job is to get the right stuff, to the right place, at the right time. Furthermore, our Dell Logistics Teams must do this at the right cost. We continue to optimize transportation costs while improving quality and striving to exceed the service expectations of our customers. In fiscal year 2009, many dynamic changes within the Dell fulfillment model challenged our Dell Global Logistics Teams. During the past year, our Dell Logistics Teams continued to do the following: Optimize our inbound and outbound transportation networks, focusing on using the most efficient use of air, land and ocean modes of transportation Work green initiatives that demonstrate that we recognize our roles and responsibilities in being good stewards of the environment Collaborate with the best logistics and transportation providers, who are focused on providing our customers with timely and damage-free deliveries, and operate their businesses within the principles of environmental stewardship. Supply chain strategies: Supply chain strategies are the approaches related to logistics and supply chain that are influenced or related with the organisations strategy. Corporate strategy Business Unit Strategy Functional Strategy As discussed in Pascal Renet (2010), Supply Chain is one of the most crucial parts of an organisation and its strategy lies on aligning and developing it according to the nature of an organisation. The figure below demonstrates the alignment and development of supply chain strategy. Many Supply Chain strategies are formed by using the above mentioned variables. However, there are two principle strategies practiced widely in the real world situation. They are; lean and agile. Lean strategy has been a huge success from the early years of 1930. Its main aspect is to add value (which includes efficiency and effectiveness) at each stages and steps of the process and eliminate processes that do not contribute in value adding of the system, services or product. Some of the most popular processes used in lean strategy are; Just In Time (JIT), Pull based system, Make-To-Order (MTO). Agile strategy is practiced to effectively deal with uncertainties caused by various factors, which may include terrorism, natural calamities, demand system of the market and many more that vigorously affects a business environment. The main technique in agile strategy is mass customisation which follows the production philosophy known as principle of postponement. Leagile strategy is the combination of lean and agile strategies. Michael Dell (2007) states, As we continue to grow worldwide, it is important that we increase our ability, via the direct model, to manufacture close to our customer and fully integrate our supply chain into one global organization. This will allow us to drive for even greater excellence in quality, cycle time and delivered cost. We will innovate and adapt our supply chain model to help drive differentiated product design, manufacturing and distribution models. Directs Sales The direct model refers to the fact that Dell does not use the retails channel, but sells its PCs directly to customers through its website, Dell.com, as Figure 4 shows. This way the intermediary steps that may add time and cost are eliminated, and Dell is directly linked to its customers. Indirect Distribution Channel of the PC Industry Dells Direct Distribution Channel Areti Manataki (2007), In fact, Dell sells directly to all its customers, from home-PC users to the worlds largest corporations [54]. This way it creates a direct relationship with each individual customer, which turns out to be a great source of competitive advantage. As Michael Dell has stated, this direct relationship creates valuable information about the customer, thus Dell knows who the end users are, what they have bought from Dell and what their preferences are, a fact that allows Dell to offer add-on products and services, and stay, in general, closer to the customer [27]. As Lawton et al [29] suggest, this provides Dell with a wealth of marketing and product development information. Especially in the case of large customers, the above-mentioned direct relationship is upgraded to virtual integration. With the help of information technology and traditional face-to-face human contact, customers work with Dell as partners; this means that Dell is not going to be just their PC vendor anymore, but their IT department for PCs, as Michael Dell claims. There are two main facilities that bring Dell and its customers closer: Premier Pages and Platinum Councils. Premier Pages, now called Premier.Dell.com, are customised IT procurement and support sites for big clients, which let them decide and manage their purchases from Dell, thus leaving to salespeople a more consultative role. Premier.Dell.com represents a customised sales channel and as Dell has realised how beneficiary that is, it has increased the number of Premier Pages from 1000 in 1998 to 50,000 in 2000 [36]. Platinum Councils are regional meetings of Dells largest customers, where executives, salespeople and technicians discuss their experience with Dell and their needs and expectations from technology. Additionally, Dells Customer Experience Initiative, Dell Forums [55], the Direct2Dell blog [57] and the IdeaStorm [56] illustrate the importance that Dell places on its customer relationships. in the case of Dell, a computer is built only after a customer has placed an order; then lean manufacturing and just-in-time production take place. This means that once an order is placed, configuration details are sent to the manufacturing floor and the assembly begins; once the computer is built and the requested software is downloaded, it is shipped by a 3PL to the customer. The choice of a build-to-order and JIT manufacturing procedure has several advantages for Dell. First, the level of inventories is very small, leading to low inventory costs and faster response to demand changes for instance, when a new microprocessor comes out in the market, Dell can immediately order it from its suppliers, as there is no excess inventory to get rid of first. Also, it is common that customers pay for an order before Dell pays its suppliers for the products components, thus letting Dell operate on a negative cash conversion cycle [27]. Not to forget the fact that this way customized products are offered, and instead of guessing, Dell knows exactly what its customers want before producing it. What is special in the case of Dell is its relationship to its suppliers, which also facilitates its build-to-order model. Dell fully adopts the approach of the extended enterprise by viewing its suppliers as an integral part of doing business and a key factor for its success. The supplier effectively becomes our partner, as Michael Dell states [15]. Logistics service providers: Third Party Logistics Service Providers both at global levels and local levels form major partners to manage and offer Supply Chain services and the second major factor being the internet and IT technology which helps manage information and data ahead of or along with flow of materials and goods. Dell has manufacturing facilities located in Austin-Texas, North Carolina, Miami, Florida that service US Markets. European Markets are serviced from its plants in Ireland and Poland. Asia and other sub continents are supported by its manufacturing facilities in Penang in Malaysia and Xiamen in China along with the latest factory setup in Chennai in India. South America is serviced from its Eldora do plant while the new plan in Brazil supports the African continent. One can imagine the complexities involved in designing procurement systems. Dell does not buy raw materials and components and maintain inventory. Dells vendors use third party service providers to setup logistics parks and distribution warehouses close to Dells plants and deliver materials just in time to the plant against an order for production which is triggers based on an order confirmed by the customer on the internet. Under procurement Logistics in this case, there are number of logistics service providers who play major part in ensuring smooth operations. Vendors are based out of Europe, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan etc. Our Dell Logistics Teams continued to explore the use of every mode of transportation and sought opportunities to ship more freight using modes that offer greater reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Our regional teams examined the ability to upgrade the attach rates for freight that was best moved by sea instead of by air. Feasibility studies are planned for various transportation modes, such as rail from Asia to Europe, sea/air from Asia to Europe and rail network from China to South Asia. In Asia-Pacific/Japan (APJ), the optimal mode of transport is ocean shipment to countries such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Logistics Operations in Supply Chain Network (2011). Management Study Guide. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/logistics-operations-in-supply-chain-network.htm Procurement and outsourcing: Dell outsources its supply chain reinvention 14 JUNE 2010 Guy Clapperton As part of the reinvention of its business model, the computer maker handed the support and operation of its supply chain to a third party Dell was the hardware manufacturing success story of the 1990s, thanks to such innovative business practices as selling to customers directly and assembling devices to order. The past ten years, however, have seen Dell rather lose its edge to Apple in the consumer space and to Hewlett-Packard in business. That has prompted an attempted reinvention at the company. One of the most conspicuous facets of this has been Dells acquisition of ITservice provider Perot Systems in the second half of 2009. Just as significant, though rather less visible, has been the expansion of its global supply chain to include both retailers and so-called original design manufacturers, which sell complete devices for Dell to rebadge. This transformation placed a significant new burden on Dells supplier engagement processes, and the disparate systems that supported them. The company therefore decided to outsource these processes and systems to Inovis, a US-based business-to-business outsourcing provider. http://www.information-age.com/channels/it-services/features/1261013/dell-outsources-its-supply-chain-reinvention.thtml Inventory, warehousing and materials management: Transport planning: While the shipments are in transit, the freight forwarders electronically transfer shipment information and documentations to their overseas offices or agents at the destination and keep Dell and vendors informed of the status of shipments. Freight forwarders at the destination ports file advance shipment documents with customs and on arrival of cargo, complete customs formalities and custom cleared cargo is then transported to freight forwarders warehouse or customs bonded warehouse or to another designated third party warehouse which houses all inventories meant for Dell. The third party service provider who manages the inventories in his warehouse receives the cargo, unpacks the shipments from bulk skids to individual carton level and completes inbound formalities including up dating of inventories in its system and stocks the materials in designated rack locations. Both vendors and Dell are continuously kept informed of the data regarding shipments and stocks. The warehouse stocks inventories in the name of various vendors at SKU level. Most of the times these warehouses are situated adjacent to the plant or at close proximity. Upon receiving a production order from Dell, as per Bill of Material received through DELL ERP system, items are picked up, loaded into the supply cages and trays as per pre determined design and delivered to the plant after completing documentation and system entries to remove inventory from its system held in vendors name, invoice raised and physical delivery accompanied with documents completes the supply chain cycle of Ra w material supply. The revenue recognition happens when material is transferred out of the warehouse and its system and invoiced to Dell.

Essay example --

Palmore v. Sidoti(1984),the court ruled that it was unconstitutional to transfer custody of white children to their father solely on the fact that the mother lived with a colored (black) man. The court did acknowledge the fact it may not be in the â€Å"best interest† for the child to actually live in a transracial family but held the equal protection doctrine preventing consideration that the race of a potential parent could hinder in the making of custody decisions. Around the 60’s and 70’s, other courts prohibited legal state bans on transracial, seeing them as inconsistent with equal protection doctrine. South Africa today has a related development lifting transracial adoption bans in order to move toward abolishment of racism. â€Å"The quickest cure for racism would be to have everyone in the country adopt a child of another race. No matter what your beliefs, when you hold a four-day-old infant, love him, and care for him, you don’t see skin color, you see a little person that is very much in need of your love.†(Robert Dale Morrison). In 1972 something strange happened within the U.S; a...

absolutism in europe Essay -- essays research papers

Absolutism affected the power + status of the European nobility depending on the country in which they lived. In England the power of the nobility increases due to a victory in the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution of 1658. However, in France, Louis XIV ¡Ã‚ ¯s absolutist regime decreased the powers of the noble but heightened their material status. In Russia and in Prussia, the absolutist leaders of those countries modernized their nations + the nobility underwent a change, but it retained prestige + power.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charles I considered himself to be an absolute monarch in England in the 1630 ¡Ã‚ ¯s. A large portion of the parliament dislikes him because they wanted more of a say on the government and because the Protestant of the group disagreed with his Catholicism and ruling of the Anglican Church. The English Civil War crushed, + the parliament won, however, through Cromwell ¡Ã‚ ¯s Protectorate and the return of the Stuarts, Charles II and James II, it was not until 1688 that the Glorious Revolution placed William + Mary of Orange on the throne. They signed a Bill of Rights, which gave Parliament more power, and this gave the nobles a greater influence + responsibility in the government. It also stated that new tax could not be passed w/o parliamentary consent, another example of their increased power.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However in France, the absolutist regime of Louis XIV took power away from the nobles. Although the nobles were exempt ...

Daniel Elazar, Bogus or Brilliant: A Study of Political Culture Across the American States :: Politics Political Science Essays

Daniel Elazar, Bogus or Brilliant: A Study of Political Culture Across the American States American states each have individual political cultures which are important to our understanding of their political environments, behavior, and responses to particular issues. While voters probably do not consciously think about political culture and conform to that culture on election day, they seem to form cohesive clusters in different areas of the state, creating similar group political ideologies. Because of these similarities, it is possible to measure the dominant political culture within states or areas of a state, gaining insight into the mind-set of state residents. Whatever the state culture, whether liberal or conservative, participatory or exclusive, political culture identifies dominant, state-wide trends. The question remains whether there is an accurate way to measure this political culture phenomenon in the United States. Many studies try to measure political culture within states, but some political scientists are wary of assigning state political cultures because such measurements may be of dubious empirical grounding. While the process may not be entirely empirically sound, different state political cultures seem to exist and demand further analysis. In 1966, Daniel Elazar published his now famous assessment of United States’ political cultures. His evaluation of state cultures has been the focus of much study and criticism over the past three decades. Elazar proposes that the political culture in the United States developed in different regions due to east to west migratory patterns moving across the continent. Patterns of political culture were established during the Western frontier migration, as individuals followed â€Å"lines of least resistance which generally led them due west from the immediately previous area of settlement† (Elazar, 1966: 99). As a result, like-minded indivi duals migrated together and stayed together, causing similar political ideology to transform into a dominant political culture (Elazar, 1994). Political cultures are dominant in certain areas of the country due to westward expansion. Moralism characterizes communitarian-agrarian New England and the far northern states, while the agrarianism of the middle states is individualistic. Traditionalism dominates the South and its plantation agrarianism structure. Typically, moralistic political cultures focus on agrarianism, individualism on commerce, and traditionalism on aristocratic legitimacy. These differing foci help to categorize Elazar’s political cultures in the United States (Elazar 1984: 119, 122). Elazar’s political culture typology divides state political culture into three dominant categories: moralist, individualist, and traditionalist. Moralists measure government by its commitment to the public good and concern for public welfare.