Chapter 14 Snape’s Grudge

No one in Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Black had been caught. Professor McGonagall came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped. Throughout the day, everywhere they went they saw signs of tighter security; Professor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan had been fired. His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She had been expertly restored, but was still extremely nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs. Harry couldn't help noticing that the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor remained unguarded and unblocked. It seemed that Fred and George had been right in thinking that they — and now Harry, Ron, and Hermione — were the only ones who knew about the hidden passageway within it. â€Å"D'you reckon we should tell someone?† Harry asked Ron. â€Å"We know he's not coming in through Honeyduke's,† said Ron dismissively. â€Å"We'd've heard if the shop had been broken into.† Harry was glad Ron took this view. If the one-eyed witch was boarded up too, he would never be able to go into Hogsmeade again. Ron had become an instant celebrity. For the first time in his life, people were paying more attention to him than to Harry, and it was clear that Ron was rather enjoying the experience. Though still severely shaken by the night's events, he was happy to tell anyone who asked what had happened, with a wealth of detail. â€Å"†¦ I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draft†¦I woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down†¦I rolled over†¦and I saw him standing over me†¦like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair†¦holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches†¦and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he scampered. â€Å"Why, though?† Ron added to Harry as the group of second year girls who had been listening to his chilling tale departed. â€Å"Why did he run?† Harry had been wondering the same thing. Why had Black, having got the wrong bed, not silenced Ron and proceeded to Harry? Black had proved twelve years ago that he didn't mind murdering innocent people, and this time he had been facing five unarmed boys, four of whom were asleep. â€Å"He must've known he'd have a job getting back out of the castle once you'd yelled and woken people up,† said Harry thoughtfully. â€Å"He'd've had to kill the whole house to get back through the portrait hole†¦then he would've met the teachers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Neville was in total disgrace. Professor McGonagall was so furious with him she had banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, given him a detention, and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the tower. Poor Neville was forced to wait. outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leered unpleasantly at him. None of these punishments, however, came close to matching the one his grandmother had in store for him. Two days after Black's break-in, she sent Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student could receive over breakfast — a Howler. The school owls swooped into the Great Hall carrying the mail as usual, and Neville choked as a huge barn owl landed in front of him, a scarlet envelope clutched in its beak. Harry and Ron, who were sitting opposite him, recognized the letter as a Howler at once — Ron had got one from his mother the year before. â€Å"Run for it, Neville,† Ron advised. Neville didn't need telling twice. He seized the envelope, and holding it before him like a bomb, sprinted out of the hall, while the Slytherin table exploded with laughter at the sight of him. They heard the Howler go off in the entrance hall — Neville's grandmother's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its usual volume, shrieking about how he had brought shame on the whole family. Harry was too busy feeling sorry for Neville to notice immediately that he had a letter too. Hedwig got his attention by nipping him sharply on the wrist. â€Å"Ouch! Oh — thanks, Hedwig.† Harry tore open the envelope while Hedwig helped herself to some of Neville's cornflakes. The note inside said: Dear Harry and Ron, How about having tea with me this afternoon 'round six? I'll come collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN. Cheers, Hagrid â€Å"He probably wants to hear all about Black!† said Ron. So at six o'clock that afternoon, Harry and Ron left Gryffindor Tower, passed the security trolls at a run, and headed down to the entrance hall. Hagrid was already waiting for them. â€Å"All right, Hagrid!† said Ron. â€Å"S'pose you want to hear about Saturday night, do you?† â€Å"I've already heard all abou' it,† said Hagrid, opening the front doors and leading them outside. â€Å"Oh,† said Ron, looking slightly put out. The first thing they saw on entering Hagrid's cabin was Buckbeak, who was stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of dead ferrets. Averting his eyes from this unpleasant sight, Harry saw a gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow-and-orange tie hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door. â€Å"What are they for, Hagrid?† said Harry. â€Å"Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures,† said Hagrid. â€Å"This Friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus†¦.† Harry felt a nasty pang of guilt. He had completely forgotten that Buckbeak's trial was so near, and judging by the uneasy look on Ron's face, he had too. They had also forgotten their promise about helping him prepare Buckbeak's defense; the arrival of the Firebolt had driven it clean out of their minds. Hagrid poured them tea and offered them a plate of Bath buns but they knew better than to accept; they had had too much experience with Hagrid's cooking. â€Å"I got somethin' ter discuss with you two,† said Hagrid, sitting himself between them and looking uncharacteristically serious. â€Å"What?† said Harry. â€Å"Hermione,† said Hagrid. â€Å"What about her?† said Ron. â€Å"She's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter visit me a lot since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talking to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat –â€Å" â€Å"?C ate Scabbers!† Ron interjected angrily. â€Å"Because her cat acted like all cats do,† Hagrid continued doggedly. â€Å"She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me with Buckbeak's case, mind†¦She's found some really good stuff fer me†¦reckon he'll stand a good chance now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Hagrid, we should've helped as well — sorry –† Harry began awkwardly. â€Å"I'm not blamin' yeh!† said Hagrid, waving Harry's apology aside. â€Å"Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be getting' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night — but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all.† Harry and Ron exchanged uncomfortable looks. â€Å"Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, Ron. She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you two not talkin' to her –â€Å" â€Å"If she'd just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again!† Ron said angrily. â€Å"But she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she won't hear a word against it!† â€Å"Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets,† said Hagrid wisely. Behind him, Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's pillow. They spent the rest of their visit discussing Gryffindor's improved chances for the Quidditch Cup. At nine o'clock, Hagrid walked them back up to the castle. A large group of people was bunched around the bulletin board when they returned to the common room. â€Å"Hogsmeade, next weekend!† said Ron, craning over the heads to read the new notice. â€Å"What d'you reckon?† he added quietly to Harry as they went to sit down. â€Å"Well, Filch hasn't done anything about the passage into Honeydukes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry said, even more quietly. â€Å"Harry!† said a voice in his right ear. Harry started and looked around at Hermione, who was sitting at the table right behind them and clearing a space in the wall of books that had been hiding her. â€Å"Harry, if you go into Hogsmeade again†¦I'll tell Professor McGonagall about that map!† said Hermione. â€Å"Can you hear someone talking, Harry?† growled Ron, not looking at Hermione. â€Å"Ron, how can you let him go with you? After what Sirius Black nearly did to you! I mean it, I'll tell –â€Å" â€Å"So now you're trying to get Harry expelled!† said Ron furiously. â€Å"Haven't you done enough damage this year?† Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss, Crookshanks leapt onto her lap. Hermione took one frightened look at the expression on Ron's face, gathered up Crookshanks, and hurried away toward the girls' dormitories. â€Å"So how about it?† Ron said to Harry as though there had been no interruption. â€Å"Come on, last time we went you didn't see anything. You haven't even been inside Zonko's yet!† Harry looked around to check that Hermione was well out of earshot. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"But I'm taking the Invisibility Cloak this time.† On Saturday morning, Harry packed his Invisibility Cloak in his bag, slipped the Marauder's Map into his pocket, and went down to breakfast with everyone else. Hermione kept shooting suspicious looks down the table at him, but he avoided her eye and was careful to let her see him walking back up the marble staircase in the entrance hall as everybody else proceeded to the front doors. â€Å"Bye!† Harry called to Ron. â€Å"See you when you get back!† Ron grinned and winked. Harry hurried up to the third floor, slipping the Marauder's Map out of his pocket as he went. Crouching behind the one-eyed witch, he smoothed it out. A tiny dot was moving in his direction. Harry squinted at it. The minuscule writing next to it read Neville Longbottom. Harry quickly pulled out his wand, muttered, â€Å"Dissendium!† and shoved his bag into the statue, but before he could climb in himself, Neville came around the corner. â€Å"Harry! I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!† â€Å"Hi, Neville,† said Harry, moving swiftly away from the statue and pushing the map back into his pocket. â€Å"What are you up to?† â€Å"Nothing,† shrugged Neville. â€Å"Want a game of Exploding Snap?† â€Å"Er — not now — I was going to go to the library and do that vampire essay for Lupin –â€Å" â€Å"I'll come with you!† said Neville brightly. â€Å"I haven't done it either!† â€Å"Er — hang on — yeah, I forgot, I finished it last night!† â€Å"Great, you can help me!† said Neville, his round face anxious. â€Å"I don't understand that thing about the garlic at all — do they have to eat it, or –â€Å" He broke off with a small gasp, looking over Harry's shoulder. It was Snape. Neville took a quick step behind Harry. â€Å"And what are you two doing here?† said Snape, coming to a halt and looking from one to the other. â€Å"An odd place to meet –â€Å" To Harry's immense disquiet, Snape's black eyes flicked to the doorways on either side of them, and then to the one-eyed witch. â€Å"We're not — meeting here,† said Harry. â€Å"We just — met here.† â€Å"Indeed?† said Snape. â€Å"You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Potter, and you are very rarely there for no good reason†¦I suggest the pair of you return to Gryffindor Tower, where you belong.† Harry and Neville set off without another word. As they turned the corner, Harry looked back. Snape was running one of his hands over the one-eyed witch's head, examining it closely. Harry managed to shake Neville off at the Fat Lady by telling him the password, then pretending he'd left his vampire essay in the library and doubling back. Once out of sight of the security trolls, he pulled out the map again and held it close to his nose. The third floor corridor seemed to be deserted. Harry scanned the map carefully and saw, with a leap of relief, that the tiny dot labeled Severus Snape was now back in its office. He sprinted back to the one-eyed witch, opened her hump, heaved himself inside, and slid down to meet his bag at the bottom of the stone chute. He wiped the Marauder's Map blank again, then set off at a run. Harry, completely hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, emerged into the sunlight outside Honeydukes and prodded Ron in the back. â€Å"It's me,† he muttered. â€Å"What kept you?† Ron hissed. â€Å"Snape was hanging around.† They set off up the High Street. â€Å"Where are you?† Ron kept muttering out of the corner of his mouth. â€Å"Are you still there? This feels weird†¦Ã¢â‚¬  They went to the post office; Ron pretended to be checking the price of an owl to Bill in Egypt so that Harry could have a good look around. The owls sat hooting softly down at him, at least three hundred of them; from Great Grays right down to tiny little Scops owls (â€Å"Local Deliveries Only†), which were so small they could have sat in the palm of Harry's hand. Then they visited Zonko's, which was so packed with students Harry had to exercise great care not to tread on anyone and cause a panic. There were jokes and tricks to fulfill even Fred's and George's wildest dreams; Harry gave Ron whispered orders and passed him some gold from under the cloak. They left Zonko's with their money bags considerably lighter than they had been on entering, but their pockets bulging with Dungbombs, Hiccup Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, and a Nose-Biting Teacup apiece. The day was fine and breezy, and neither of them felt like staying indoors, so they walked past the Three Broomsticks and climbed a slope to visit the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted dwelling in Britain. It stood a little way above the rest of the village, and even in daylight was slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank overgrown garden. â€Å"Even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it,† said Ron as they leaned on the fence, looking up at it. â€Å"I asked Nearly Headless Nick†¦he says he's heard a very rough crowd lives here. No one can get in. Fred and George tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry, feeling hot from their climb, was just considering taking off the cloak for a few minutes when they heard voices nearby. Someone was climbing toward the house from the other side of the hill; moments later, Malfoy had appeared, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy was speaking. â€Å"†¦should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm†¦about how I couldn't use it for three months†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. â€Å"I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend himself†¦'There's no ‘arm in ‘im, ‘onest –‘†¦That Hippogriff's as good as dead –â€Å" Malfoy suddenly caught sight of Ron. His pale face split in a malevolent grin. â€Å"What are you doing, Weasley?† Malfoy looked up at the crumbling house behind Ron. â€Å"Suppose you'd love to live here, wouldn't you, Weasley? Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your family all sleep in one room — is that true?† Harry seized the back of Ron's robes to stop him from leaping on Malfoy. â€Å"Leave him to me,† he hissed in Ron's ear. The opportunity was too perfect to miss. Harry crept silently around behind Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, bent down, and scooped a large handful of mud out of the path. â€Å"We were just discussing your friend Hagrid,† Malfoy said to Ron. â€Å"Just trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D'you think he'll cry when they cut off his Hippogriff's –â€Å" SPLAT! Malfoy's head jerked forward as the mud hit him; his silverblond hair was suddenly dripping in muck. â€Å"What the –?† Ron had to hold onto the fence to keep himself standing, he was laughing so hard. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle spun stupidly on the spot, staring wildly around, Malfoy trying to wipe his hair clean. â€Å"What was that? Who did that?† â€Å"Very haunted up here, isn't it?† said Ron, with the air of one commenting on the weather. Crabbe and Goyle were looking scared. Their bulging muscles were no use against ghosts. Malfoy was staring madly around at the deserted landscape. Harry sneaked along the path, where a particularly sloppy puddle yielded some foul-smelling, green sludge. SPLATTER! Crabbe and Goyle caught some this time. Goyle hopped furiously on the spot, trying to rub it out of his small, dull eyes. â€Å"It came from over there!† said Malfoy, wiping his face, and staring at a spot some six feet to the left of Harry. Crabbe blundered forward, his long arms outstretched like a zombie. Harry dodged around him, picked up a stick, and lobbed it at Crabbe's back. Harry doubled up with silent laughter as Crabbe did a kind of pirouette in midair, trying to see who had thrown it. As Ron was the only person Crabbe could see, it was Ron he started toward, but Harry stuck out his leg. Crabbe stumbled — and his huge, flat foot caught the hem of Harry's cloak. Harry felt a great tug, then the cloak slid off his face. For a split second, Malfoy stared at him. â€Å"AAARGH!† he yelled, pointing at Harry's head. Then he turned tail and ran, at breakneck speed, back down the hill, Crabbe and Goyle behind him. Harry tugged the cloak up again, but the damage was done. â€Å"Harry!† Ron said, stumbling forward and staring hopelessly at the point where Harry had disappeared, â€Å"you'd better run for it! If Malfoy tells anyone — you'd better get back to the castle, quick –â€Å" â€Å"See you later,† said Harry, and without another word, he tore back down the path toward Hogsmeade. Would Malfoy believe what he had seen? Would anyone believe Malfoy? Nobody knew about the Invisibility Cloak — nobody except Dumbledore. Harry's stomach turned over — Dumbledore would know exactly what had happened, if Malfoy said anything — Back into Honeydukes, back down the cellar steps, across the stone floor, through the trapdoor — Harry pulled off the cloak, tucked it under his arm, and ran, flat out, along the passage†¦Malfoy would get back first†¦ how long would it take him to find a teacher? Panting, a sharp pain in his side, Harry didn't slow down until he reached the stone slide. He would have to leave the cloak where it was, it was too much of a giveaway in case Malfoy had tipped off a teacher — he hid it in a shadowy corner, then started to climb, fast as he could, his sweaty hands slipping on the sides of the chute. He reached the inside of the witch's hump, tapped it with his wand, stuck his head through, and hoisted himself out; the hump closed, and just as Harry jumped out from behind the statue, he heard quick footsteps approaching. It was Snape. He approached Harry at a swift walk, his black robes swishing, then stopped in front of him. â€Å"So,† he said. There was a look of suppressed triumph about him. Harry tried to look innocent, all too aware of his sweaty face and his muddy hands, which he quickly hid in his pockets. â€Å"Come with me, Potter,† said Snape. Harry followed him downstairs, trying to wipe his hands clean on the inside of his robes without Snape noticing. They walked down the stairs to the dungeons and then into Snape's office. Harry had been in here only once before, and he had been in very serious trouble then too. Snape had acquired a few more slimy horrible things in jars since last time, all standing on shelves behind his desk, glinting in the firelight and adding to the threatening atmosphere. â€Å"Sit,† said Snape. Harry sat. Snape, however, remained, standing. â€Å"Mr. Malfoy has just been to see me with a strange story, Potter,† said Snape. Harry didn't say anything. â€Å"He tells me that he was up by the Shrieking Shack when he ran into Weasley — apparently alone.† Still, Harry didn't speak. â€Å"Mr. Malfoy states that he was standing talking to Weasley, when a large amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. How do you think that could have happened?† Harry tried to look mildly surprised. â€Å"I don't know, Professor.† Snape's eyes were boring into Harry's. It was exactly like trying to stare down a Hippogriff. Harry tried hard not to blink. â€Å"Mr. Malfoy then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what it might have been, Potter?† â€Å"No,† said Harry, now trying to sound innocently curious. â€Å"It was your head, Potter. Floating in midair.† There was a long silence. â€Å"Maybe he'd better go to Madam Pomfrey,† said Harry. â€Å"If he's seeing things like –â€Å" â€Å"What would your head have been doing in Hogsmeade, Potter?† said Snape softly. â€Å"Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade. No part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade.† â€Å"I know that,† said Harry, striving to keep his face free of guilt or fear. â€Å"It sounds like Malfoy's having hallucin –â€Å" â€Å"Malfoy is not having hallucinations,† snarled Snape, and he bent down, a hand on each arm of Harry's chair, so that their faces were a foot apart. â€Å"If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest of you.† â€Å"I've been up in Gryffindor Tower,† said Harry. â€Å"Like you told –â€Å" â€Å"Can anyone confirm that?† Harry didn't say anything. Snape's thin mouth curled into a horrible smile. â€Å"So,† he said, straightening up again. â€Å"Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences.† Harry stayed silent. Snape was trying to provoke him into telling the truth. He wasn't going to do it. Snape had no proof — yet. â€Å"How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter,† Snape said suddenly, his eyes glinting. â€Å"He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch field made him think he was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting around the place with his friends and admirers†¦The resemblance between you is uncanny.† â€Å"My dad didn't strut,† said Harry, before he could stop himself. â€Å"And neither do I.† â€Å"Your father didn't set much store by rules either,† Snape went on, pressing his advantage, his thin face full of malice. â€Å"Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. His head was so swollen –â€Å" â€Å"SHUT UP!† Harry was suddenly on his feet. Rage such as he had not felt since his last night in Privet Drive was coursing through him. He didn't care that Snape's face had gone rigid, the black eyes flashing dangerously. â€Å"What did you say to me, Potter?† â€Å"I told you to shut up about my dad!† Harry yelled. â€Å"I know the truth, all right? He saved your life! Dumbledore told me! You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my dad!† Snape's sallow skin had gone the color of sour milk. â€Å"And did the headmaster tell you the circumstances in which your father saved my life?† he whispered. â€Å"Or did he consider the details too unpleasant for precious Potter's delicate ears?† Harry bit his lip. He didn't know what had happened and didn't want to admit it — but Snape seemed to have guessed the truth. â€Å"I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your father, Potter,† he said, a terrible grin twisting his face. â€Å"Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you — your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn't got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave about what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts.† Snape's uneven, yellowish teeth were bared. â€Å"Turn out your pockets, Potter!† he spat suddenly. Harry didn't move. There was a pounding in his ears. â€Å"Turn out your pockets, or we go straight to the headmaster! Pull them out, Potter!† Cold with dread, Harry slowly pulled out the bag of Zonko's tricks and the Marauder's Map. Snap picked up the Zonko's bag. â€Å"Ron gave them to me,† said Harry, praying he'd get a chance to tip Ron off before Snape saw him. â€Å"He brought them back from Hogsmeade last time –â€Å" â€Å"Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very touching†¦and what is this?† Snape had picked up the map. Harry tried with all his might to keep his face impassive. â€Å"Spare bit of parchment,† he said with a shrug. Snape turned it over, his eyes on Harry. â€Å"Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?† he said. â€Å"Why don't I just — throw this away?† His hand moved toward the fire. â€Å"No!† Harry said quickly. â€Å"So!† said Snape, his long nostrils quivering. â€Å"Is this another treasured gift from Mr. Weasley? Or is it — something else? A letter, perhaps, written in invisible ink? Or — instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the Dementors?† Harry blinked. Snape's eyes gleamed. â€Å"Let me see, let me see†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he muttered, taking out his wand and smoothing the map out on his desk. â€Å"Reveal your secret!† he said, touching the wand to the parchment. Nothing happened. Harry clenched his hands to stop them from shaking. â€Å"Show yourself!† Snape said, tapping the map sharply. It stayed blank. Harry was taking deep, calming breaths. â€Å"Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!† Snape said, hitting the map with his wand. As though an invisible hand were writing upon it, words appeared on the smooth surface of the map. â€Å"Mooney presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.† Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map didn't stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first. â€Å"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Mooney and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.† It would have been very funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. And there was more †¦ â€Å"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor.† Harry closed his eyes in horror. When he'd opened them, the map had had its last word. â€Å"Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.† Harry waited for the blow to fall. â€Å"So †¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Snape softly. â€Å"We'll see about this †¦Ã¢â‚¬  He strode across to his fire, seized a fistful of glittering powder from a jar on the fireplace, and threw it into the flames. â€Å"Lupin!† Snape called into the fire. â€Å"I want a word!† Utterly bewildered, Harry stared at the fire. A large shape had appeared in it, revolving very fast. Seconds later, Professor Lupin was clambering out of the fireplace, brushing ash off his shabby robes. â€Å"You called, Severus?† said Lupin mildly. â€Å"I certainly did,† said Snape, his face contorted with fury as he strode back to his desk. â€Å"I have just asked Potter to empty his pockets. He was carrying this.† Snape pointed at the parchment, on which the words of Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were still shining. An odd, closed expression appeared on Lupin's face. â€Å"Well?† said Snape. Lupin continued to stare at the map. Harry had the impression that Lupin was doing some very quick thinking. â€Å"Well?† said Snape again. â€Å"This parchment is plainly full of Dark Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do you imagine Potter got such a thing?† Lupin looked up and, by the merest half-glance in Harry's direction, warned him not to interrupt. â€Å"Full of Dark Magic?† he repeated mildly. â€Å"Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke shop –â€Å" â€Å"Indeed?† said Snape. His jaw had gone rigid with anger. â€Å"You think a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that he got it directly from the manufacturers?† Harry didn't understand what Snape was talking about. Nor, apparently, did Lupin. â€Å"You mean, by Mr. Wormtail or one of these people?† he said. â€Å"Harry, do you know any of these men?† â€Å"No,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"You see, Severus?† said Lupin, turning back to Snape. â€Å"It looks like a Zonko product to me –â€Å" Right on cue, Ron came bursting into the office. He was completely out of breath, and stopped just short of Snape's desk, clutching the stitch in his chest and trying to speak. â€Å"I — gave — Harry — that — stuff,† he choked. â€Å"Bought — it†¦in Zonko's†¦ ages — ago†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well!† said Lupin, clapping his hands together and looking around cheerfully. â€Å"That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?† He folded the map and tucked it inside his robes. â€Å"Harry, Ron, come with me, I need a word about my vampire essay — excuse us, Severus –â€Å" Harry didn't dare look at Snape as they left his office. He. Ron, and Lupin walked all the way back into the entrance hall before speaking. Then Harry turned to Lupin. â€Å"Professor, I –â€Å" â€Å"I don't want to hear explanations,† said Lupin shortly. He glanced around the empty entrance hall and lowered his voice. â€Å"I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map,† he said as Harry and Ron looked amazed. â€Å"I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back, Harry.† Harry had expected that, and was too keen for explanations to protest. â€Å"Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?† â€Å"Because†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin hesitated, â€Å"because these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you out of school. They'd think it extremely entertaining.† â€Å"Do you know them?† said Harry, impressed. â€Å"We've met,† he said shortly. He was looking at Harry more seriously than ever before. â€Å"Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the Dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them — gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks.† He walked away, leaving Harry feeling worse by far than he had at any point in Snape's office. Slowly, he and Ron mounted the marble staircase. As Harry passed the one-eyed witch, he remembered the Invisibility Cloak — it was still down there, but he didn't dare go and get it. â€Å"It's my fault,† said Ron abruptly. â€Å"I persuaded you to go. Lupin's right, it was stupid, we shouldn't've done it –â€Å" He broke off; they reached the corridor where the security trolls were pacing, and Hermione was walking toward them. One look at her face convinced Harry that she had heard what had happened. His heart plummeted — had she told Professor McGonagall? â€Å"Come to have a good gloat?† said Ron savagely as she stopped in front of them. â€Å"Or have you just been to tell on us?† â€Å"No,† said Hermione. She was holding a letter in her hands and her lip was trembling. â€Å"I just thought you ought to know†¦Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed.†

Communication Styles Essay

Identifying with your personal style of communicating will help you in the long run to create good communication skills. There are four different communications styles which are passive, assertive, aggressive and passive aggresive that we all can identify with. Knowing about the many styles of communication can help you to adapt to others and their style of communication. Passive communication is one of the four different communication styles. Passive communication is shown when individuals fail to express their opinions, feelings, needs and show low self-esteem. I don’t identify with this style of communicating because this isn’t me. When I feel the need to express myself I do so. I always stand a hundred and ten percent behind my opinion and I never let others step over me. Aggressive communication is very different from passive communication. Being a aggressive communicator you express your feelings and opinion. Aggressive communicators can often be verbally abusive because of past situations such as they may have experienced physical and or emotional abuse or still carrying around unhealed wounds. Aggressive communicators will often try to be the dominate one and control others. They speak in a very loud demanding voice and act rudely. I myself can be aggressive from time to time in situations. For example if my boyfriend makes me mad I began to speak in a loud overbearing tone and will not listen to anything he has to say. Being an aggressive communicator will unable you to mature . Passive-aggressive communication is a style that on the outside they show to be passive but act out of anger because of feeling powerless. Passive-aggressive communicators will use sarcasm, deny that there is a problem and will sabotage you to get even. I personally cannot relate to this style of communication. If I have a problem I will gladly let you know what the issue is. Also I do not believe in sabotaging others, you will get your karma, as they say what goes around comes back around. Assertive communication is the last style of communication. It is a style in which one believe on speaking up about their opinions and feelings. Assertive communicators show high self-esteem and value everything about themselves such as their time, emotions and needs. Assertive communicators will stand up for their rights but yet be respectful about it. They also listen well and respect others and speak in a calm tone. I find myself being an assertive communicator the most especially in disagreements. I let others know how I feel but at the same time I still respect them and how they feel. Assertive communication is one of the best styles of communication because it creates an respectful environment and allows you to be mature enough to address issues as they arise.

The Singapore Consumer Purchasing Choices Between Adidas and Nike Research Paper

The Singapore Consumer Purchasing Choices Between Adidas and Nike Products - Research Paper Example The ability to reach a specific segment and market with a variety of products alters the success of a corporation. The concept of relating to the target market and building a strategy that offers a complete marketing technique makes a difference in how individuals respond to the product or service offered. The basis of success for any product is created from the perception of consumption which occurs. This results from purchase behaviors that are identified by a variety of factors, including social relationships, cultural affiliations and understanding of the product. It is noted that different purchasing choices occur in groups and segments of individuals that are interested in a given product. When looking at Singapore youth between the ages of 18 – 25, there is a specific set of trends and behaviors that are associated with purchases (Temasek, 2007: 3). This is not only defined by a variety of consumption patterns but also remains specific with types of products, such as sp orts apparel and shoe brands. An area which highlights the significance of communication toward products and results in purchase behavior is with differences in purchases of Adidas and Nike by Singapore youth. Examining this difference shows the correlation between affiliations to a product and the type of communication which is used. This research paper will examine the trends in purchases between Adidas and Nike products by Singapore youth, specifically to define purchase behaviors and how this relates to the marketing strategies and communication of a product. ... Examining this difference shows the correlation between affiliations to a product and the type of communication which is used. This research paper will examine the trends in purchases between Adidas and Nike products by Singapore youth, specifically to define purchase behaviors and how this relates to the marketing strategies and communication of a product. 1.1 Background Both Adidas and Nike products are building an international reputation based on the sports products offered by the corporation. The approach to both companies is to offer sportswear to women and men that are living more active lifestyles. This is combined with shoes, shirts and other apparel that fits with new lifestyles for each individual. This is followed by creative lines that are being developed with the products, including creative and urban wear that helps to create a sense of identity. The approach that Adidas and Nike are taking is quickly turning into products that fit with identity. When the economic down turn began, both companies altered their strategy, specifically because not as much demand was available for the shoe products. To alter this, they created and developed strategies to enhance the products with new shoe styles and marketing schemes based on having shoes that created identity for every occasion. When this began, there was an expansion into foreign markets with different approaches on how to change the revenue back into the profit while reaching individuals interested in a variety of apparel. The approach of both firms is to actively work toward new target markets that are based on cultural and social affiliations and which can begin to turn the downturn of the traditional

Disaster Risk Management (Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment) Essay

Disaster Risk Management (Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment) - Essay Example The techniques like Vulnerability and Capability Assessment (VCA) would be very effective in identifying local perceptions about the disaster and also in the evaluation of the capability of the community to face during such an catastrophe. Either well structured means - qualitative, quantitative or their combination or unstructured and participative methods could be used for proper identification of interrelationships of the local settings. The utility of using VCA for identification and quantification of vulnerability besides measuring the regional capabilities has been widely accepted. Among the various methods often adopted for undertaking the VCA process, the participatory methods have had considerable success when compared to other means of identifying the exact factors involved in most issues. When a calamity or the disaster strikes a region, the impact of these events are borne by the entire population and hence the potential of vulnerability of entire cross section of the people need to be mapped to understand the magnitude of effect. Also, the perception of the people towards these events which could be frequent would also help the policy makers and support agencies to prioritize the action process. Even in the cases considered the though the common problems perceived in the regions were water shortage. The local community in these countries not only have different perceptions on the risks but also anticipates different type of problems they might have to face due to this. Further , variation in the type of demographic profile and socio-political conditions might make all bureaucratic approaches to identify the priority programme ineffective. As in the case considered, Palestine a small country involved with continuous military interventions with the neighboring country Israel is said to have very poor infrastructure facilities like roads, power supply and also water and waste water management systems. A well structured VCA analysis, conducted using local community and organizational systems, to identify the potential hazard facing them into various aspects of the country have revealed interesting facts. The techniques adopted had a blend of different methods like interviews, focus group discussions, workshops besides separately involving children also. The method had given rich information that have helped to map the vulnerability in the region and also in the identification of their capability. Further, local level workshops to create a base awareness to help them to generate opinions and remarks too shows the extended mechanism present in these approaches for information generation. Similar approached were adopted in t he case of Afghanistan to assess the issues of food security and in the identification of potential hazards in the countries like Albania and Vietnam. In addition to identification of vulnerability spots in the society they would also help the decision makers to identify and envisage the future course of action very effectively. The regional strength of in all the cases considered in the analysis have been identified and ranked appropriately. This would help to identify the prevailing dogma in the region which other wise would have hindered the success of any developmental initiative. Also as assessment of the capability of the people and systems in these places

The Cost of Computers Over 10 Years Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Cost of Computers Over 10 Years - Essay Example (Moore, 1965). Simply put, computers have been getting exponentially more powerful since their invention. How is this important to an economic analysis of computer costs? For many years this has been a simple formula for predicting the future cost and efficiency of computers. If we compare the specifications of a computer to what consumers require in order to complete tasks, run software, surf the Internet, and much more, we can see that the advancement of integrated circuits is much faster than the requirement of users. For example, if a student required a computer 10 years ago research, write papers, surf the internet, and communicate, a standard pc of that era would be perfectly suitable. The same student today would require a computer able to perform very similar tasks to the computer of 10 years ago, ignoring the need for graphical gaming and media. Therefore, a computer with the same specifications today and one 10 years ago, or even 1 year ago, can be created with less transis tors, meaning the cost of production is less too. The second law that applies to our analysis is Metcalfe's Law. Robert Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet, stated that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of that particular system. (Metcalfe, 1993). Originally talking about telecommunications networks, this law can be applied in general to the Internet – a huge, if not the biggest, driving force of the computer. Simply put, it means that every one new user added to a particular network adds more value to that network. A common example of this is the fax machine comparison. â€Å"The first person to buy a fax machine was a fool.† (Metcalfe, 1993) A user would find it quite pointless to send themselves a fax and having no recipient,... This paper approves that the last factor regarding supply and demand is the substitution effect and alternative effect. Although each good is unique, it has substitutes – there are always other goods that can be used in place of it. Twenty years ago, it was very common to write one's letters manually and type script on a typewriter. Ten years ago, the computer was certainly very popular, although many alternatives were considered over owning a personal computer. Typewriters were still in use, Internet cafes were popular, and sharing computers was considered quite acceptable. Today, we can observe that the demand for typewriters has decreased, as it is an inferior substitute. Furthermore, the supply of typewriters is also reduced, as it is comparatively more expensive to produce than computers. In the same way, personal computers are affordable, resulting in a reduction in Internet cafes and computer sharing. Cost plays a vital role in determining which products a buyer will su bstitute in order to maintain viability. This report makes a conclusion that we can observe the many forces that have attributed to the success of the personal computer and laptop. We can perhaps look to our formula, laws, and economic models to predict the cost of the computer, or technological equivalent, in the future. Although, if in this short span of time computers have become such a ubiquitous part of our daily lives, we can only wonder as to the extent of influence it will have on us in the next 10 years.

Editing a babysitting biography I wrote Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Editing a babysitting biography I wrote - Essay Example Since childhood, I have had a special liking for the children. Being the elder sister, I have always taken good care of my younger siblings and have been a great helping hand for my mother. I have acquired the degree of Associate in Child Development (CDA). I am certified in CPR & FIRST AID. In the capacity of a certified CDA, I have worked as a Child Care Provider Assistant in a family day care center, where I babysat children for almost 7 years. I am currently doing my Associate Degree in Psychology and will graduate in the winter of 2011. I am quite fluent in English and Spanish. I am an energetic, fun-loving, punctual, reliable and friendly lady who loves and enjoys working with kids and families. I have taken care of infants, toddlers, and pre schoolers. I also have many available references. I used to charge $12-14 an hour depending upon the location in which the service was to be given. The test I have given as a babysitter comprises such activities as preparing, serving meals to the children in an appetizing way and feeding them, bathing and dressing some children while assisting the untrained children in taking bath and dressing up, changing the children’s diapers, planning activities for them and designing curriculums in accordance with the individualistic needs of different age groups. I am a born babysitter. It is not something I have adopted as a profession. It was meant to be like that since my nature has fundamentally been structured that way. I love my profession and am positive that I can take excellent care of children.

Essentials of Life-Span Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Essentials of Life-Span Development - Essay Example The researcher will begin with the statement that he was born in Miami, Florida, and has lived most of his life there. His parents are still together and very supportive of him and his siblings. They have a close-knit, loving family relationship and depend on each other for emotional support. The researcher is the middle child of four siblings that include an older sister, and, a younger sister and brother. His younger brother is still in school, a junior; however his sisters and the author all graduated from the same high school, Pine High School. Researcher’s older sister is in nursing school at Delgado Community College; his younger sister and he also attend college there. The author’s temperament is easy going; he is extroverted and friendly. He feels that one of the main reasons for this is because his family is so close and supportive. It makes it easy to face the challenges of his life knowing that people are there for him. The researcher tries hard to stay healt hy by choosing healthy meals and taking time for exercise. As well he drinks water and does his best to get enough sleep. He avoids risky behaviors as much as possible. The author knows that as he proceeds through the life cycle, his strength and endurances will decline, therefore he wants to stay strong as long as possible so he tries to take care of his body and mind by choosing healthy behaviors. The author has many hobbies that are fulfilling to him. He enjoys shopping, eating and hanging out with his sisters and friends.  

Cenozoic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cenozoic - Essay Example Solar radiation change was one of the prime causes of this glaciation during the Cenozoic Period. The later part of this glaciation took place in the high altitudes. Some of the main landforms on this planet were created during this particular period. Among them the mentionable ones are: Tibetan Plateau, Andes and the Himalayas. (Menzies 47) The Mesozoic Extinction survivors continued to live during the Cenozoic Period. This was the time when modern birds appeared for the first time during of their evolutionary journey. Savanna grasslands were seen in many parts of the world. Most of the vertebrates lived in the sea. However, there were insect eaters and herbivores in the lands. A complete extinction of the dinosaurs took place on the course of Cenozoic Period. The Scablands was the main creation in the state of Washington by the flood from Lake Missoula in the Cenozoic Period. The floodwater went to Pacific Ocean from Lake Missoula during this age. According to the records, the rate of flow of this water was 60 times more than the regular flow of Amazon water. The Eastern Washington was entirely flooded by the water which rushed throughout the land at a speed of about 50 miles per hour. Today, the 'Scablands' is the main evidence of this phase in the state of Washington. Cenozoic Period is considered as the recent most period in the world. Therefore surprises with evidences of this era are still found on our planet. One such incident took place in Denmark when a fossil of Cenozoic parrot was discovered there. The wingspan of this parrot is said to be about 20 feet. Northwestern Jutland is the place where the fossil has been discovered. According to the scientists, the fossil belongs to a time period, which is almost 55 million years from now. They have also said that this is one of the oldest parrot species that have been discovered so far. The genus of this parrot, according to the researchers, is known to be Mopsitta. However, the men who discovered it have named it "Danish Blue". (United Press International 2008) References 1. Fossils. University of Waikato, 2008, retrieved from: http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/evolution/FossilCenozoic.shtml on November 17, 2008 2. Age of Mammals: Cenozoic. Te Era, 2005, retrieved from: http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/Geology/Fossils/4/en on November 17, 2008 3. Menzies, John. Modern and Past Glacial Environments: Revised Student Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann. 2002. 4. "Cenozoic Fossil Parrot Found in Denmark". United Press Inter

Project One Case Study (Field is Business, Class is Business Policy Essay

Project One Case Study (Field is Business, Class is Business Policy and Strategy ) - Essay Example American made teddy bears- this is probably the most important core competency of the firm giving it the overall market recognition as well as acceptance at the national level. 2. Developing quality products is another important core competency of the firm given the fact that the firm due to the use of high quality American material and labor in manufacturing the teddy bears. EFAS and IFAS Matrix Factor Weight Rating Weighted Score Comments Strengths American Heritage 0.2 5 1 Firm has a rich American heritage and over the period of time has been able to achieve the success owing to the fact that it has American material and labor in preparing its products. Quality products 0.3 5 1.5 Over the period of time, firm has made quality products made directly from the American material. Weaknesses Poor Management Structure 0.3 5 1.5 Over the period of time firm has changed few CEOs. Further, board is not so active. Declining sales 0.2 5 1.5 Firm is facing declining sales since last few years owing to the structural problems. Opportunities Opportunity to sell on internet 0.3 5 1.5 Internet can offer a growing niche market for the firm to grow. Increase overall retail presence by developing different distribution channels. 0.2 5 1 Developing alternative channels of distribution will offer better opportunities to sell Threats Increased competition from firms offering gift items 0.3 5 1.5 As described the firm is not actually in the business of selling teddy bears but selling gifts. Structure and nature of industry 0.2 5 1 Overall industry is fragmented thus increasing the level of competition. SWOT Factors Considering the above discussion and facts provided in the case, following are the SWOT factors 1. Firm has a rich history and American heritage which offered the firm an opportunity to develop a niche market for itself in the local market. 2. Offering high quality services backed up by excellent customer services. 3. Firm works in a fragmented industry therefore the ov erall nature and extent of competition can be relatively higher and more intense. 4. Opportunity to develop alternative distribution channels through internet and ecommerce. Globalization Aspects Firm outsourced its materials procurement thus effectively participating in a globalized market and being affected by the forces dominating the global trade. There may some important aspects of globalization which can effectively allow the company to enjoy lower costs while at the same time enjoying same quality. This can allow the firm to become more competitive and improve its profitability besides becoming more efficient. Stakeholder Analysis Board of Directors is another stakeholder with high power but with low interest. Directors of the firm are the primary stakeholders with high interest and high power Government and other agencies may be stakeholders with high power but with low interest. Other Shareholders are another stakeholder group with high interest but low power. Decisions tak en Different strategic decisions taken are based on the fact that the firm intends to improve the profitability while at the same time improving efficiency. The decisions like retrenchment therefore are intended at ensuring that the costs remain within

March of Dimes Essay Example for Free

March of Dimes Essay March of Dimes Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was an unfortunate victim to polio, created the March of dimes in 1921. Polio started in 1916 and mostly infected children, killing thousands and paralyzing many. Though we have beat polio, March of Dimes still continues to help research to make babies healthier across America. The story behind the name â€Å"March of Dimes† is that had the idea that we should try to cover the White House lawn with dimes for polio research. Many people came from far and wide to put dimes on the White House lawn. This is were March of Dimes got it’s unique name. The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. They do this through research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies’ lives. They help through research by funding for research to find cures and new health benefits for babies. They help through community services by raising money for babies in need or the research itself. They also help through education by educating mothers-to-be on how to handle a baby with birth defects or that is premature. They also help through advocacy to save babies’ lives by saving every baby they can and never giving up on any cause. All the people who help the March of Dimes are helping more babies have a fighting chance for life. People can get involved in many different ways to help March of Dimes. People can volunteer to do community service or talk to mothers on advice. People can also donate money strait to the organization. People can also get involved in their community activities like their March for Babies, Mothers March, and other events. There are so many ways to get involved and help the community. It also makes you a hero to so many babies that you helped save their lives.

Impacts on Environmental Policies for Air Pollution

Impacts on Environmental Policies for Air Pollution Implications for the Future In Charlotte, NC a problem of environmental, is air pollution. Air pollution is the preface of a combination of solid particles and gases into the atmosphere of Earth’s. Such solid particles and gases comprise biological particulates, materials, chemicals, and additional destructive materials. Air pollution has turn out to be a foremost apprehension for residents in the Charlotte Metropolitan area, since it is one of the prime and incessantly developing metropolitan regions in the USA. As a result, the pollution in this region has an effect on the environment and virtually 2.45 million humans beings and several animals. In addition the Charlotte Metropolitan region is one of the smoggiest metropolitan areas of the United States’ (Hankins, 2013). Air pollution adds to change in climate, have an effect on the welfare of the surroundings and that of human and animals life, and have an effect on the quality of life. Several strategies subsist for endorsing constructive environmental behavior to battle air pollution, and the positive and negative outcomes of air pollution can add to pro-environmental behavior. In addition, as for innovative technologies, there are negative and positive advances that have an effect on the environment and policies of environmental having an influence on the atmosphere. Strategies for Positive Environmental Behavior Promotion â€Å"Traffic and industrial air pollution sources increase in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, particularly in populations suffering with core cardiovascular disease† (Barrett (2012), p. 1). To support positive behavior of environment as for battling the air pollution effects or reducing the quantities of mixtures of solid particles and gases into the atmosphere, several strategies exist. In particular two strategies are to fetch about social alertness of the outcomes of air pollution and taking action in opposition to the actions of discharging mixtures of solid particles and gases into the environment. Social alertness is one means of promoting constructive environmental behavior that conveys attention to the outcomes of air pollution with respect to the environmental effects and illustrates the individuals attentions with respect to informative information in relation to the health risks of an environmental problem. Once individuals turn out to be aware, that is, relating to the environmental outcomes of air pollution then there is a superior possibility that this will endorse positive environmental behavior with reference to modifying processes and behavior that add to mixtures of solid particles and gases discharging into the environment. An additional strategy to endorse positive environmental behavior is to acquire action in opposition to the processes and behavior of release mixtures solid particles and of gases into the environment. By taking action, this demonstrates the apprehension with reference to this problem of environment, and action such can certainly endorse the positive behavior of environmental of others with reference to altering the behavior and processes that add to discharging mixtures of solid particles and gases into the environment. Negative and Positive outcomes of Air Pollution add to Pro-environmental Behavior Air pollution positive and negative consequences have the capability of escalating pro-environmental behavior in exacting ways. It might not appear similar to negative consequences of air pollution can add to pro-environmental behavior other than certainly this can. Air pollution negative consequences are that it has an effect on the environment, adds to change in climate, and adds in the decline of welfare of human and animals (Brunekreef Holgate, 2002). Particularly, for human beings, air pollution adds to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, particularly for humans with core cardiovascular ailments (J.R. Barrett, (2012).). These sorts of unconstructive outcomes direct to pro-environmental actions with respect to protecting the human health and environment from the air pollution effects and the effects of change in climate. Such negative outcomes can result in endorsements for organizations and individuals that do not meet the terms to place standards in position to diminish th e release of mixtures of solid particles and gases into the atmosphere. As a result, such negative outcomes of sanctions direct to behavior that adds to stopping such negative outcomes of air pollution and directs to behavior of pro-environmental to evade from such sanctions. In regard to positive consequences escalating pro-environmental behavior, when individuals are aware of that combating the negative outcomes of air pollution directs to positive consequences for instance lessening the negative effects of air pollution with reference to the environmental and human life. As a result, this behavior endorses persons to act in pro-environmental ways to additional reduce the injuriousness connected with the undesirable outcomes of pollution of air, which directs to pro-environmental behavior. As well, such positive outcomes will persist to direct to pro-environmental behavior consecutively to not endure from additional or future outcomes of air pollution. How Technological Advancement have affected the Environment Technological progressions are making the production, processing, distribution, development, and exploration of natural resources and substitute resources extra cost effective, and protecting in regard to the environment. Technological advances provide humans a means of battling negative outcomes on the environment that are the effect of human mistake, human behavior with reference to exhaustion of natural resources, and additional human behavior that contributes to negative effects on environmental for instance air pollution. As a result, technological advancements can have positive effects on the atmosphere; on the other hand, technological advances can as well have unconstructive outcomes on the atmosphere. Quite a few positive and negative instances subsist of technological advancements that have an outcome on the surroundings. One positive instance especially is the Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV). â€Å"A Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) is a kind of electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle which merges a conservative internal combustion engine (ICE) system of propulsion with an system of electric propulsion† (S. K. Kazmi, (2012). p. 40). These kinds of vehicles restrict the effects of emissions being discharged into the environment which adds to air pollution since they make use of systems of electric propulsion that do not need the utilization of fossil fuels. On the other hand, exacting technological advancements have restrictions, and cannot meet up explicit objectives or wants of humans with reference to not influencing the surroundings. As a result, the Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) are as well negative instances of how advancements in technological influence the environment. Hybrid Electric Vehicles make use of systems of electric propulsion together with internal combustion engine (ICE) system of propulsion (S. K. Kazmi, (2012).). As a result, they yet need the utilization of fossil fuels which discharge emissions into the environment and add to negative effects on environment for instance air pollution. as well, these types of vehicles yet depend on additional fossil fuels for instance oil to grease the stirring parts of their ICE propulsion systems; as a result, the fossil fuel demand yet remains. Technological advancments can have positive outcomes on the atmosphere other than at the similar time yet influence the environment in negative means. Assessing the Environmental Policies Influence , â€Å"Environmental policies can have negative and positive effects for individuals and for a society all together† (L.Steg, (2013). p. 257). Environmental policies are individuals and organizations commitments to position policies, laws, or rules that are of the concern of sustainability of environmental and issues of environmental. As for individuals they can both acknowledge and change behavior to act in accordance with with environmental policies or turn out to be subject to the outcomes of challenging such policies. Many environmental policies can negatively have an effect on a particular person since of the outcomes of not conforming with such policies; on the other hand, such policies have constructive outcomes for the preponderance of persons (L.Steg, (2013).).). As for society, when policies of environmental are in effect absolutely have an effect on society. Organizations and Individuals have influences on executing environmental policies in expressions of how both organizations and individuals have an effect on the environment and how what happens in and to the environment influences individuals or occupants of the environment. As a result, executing environmental policies take place at diverse levels with reference to protecting, effecting and targeting individuals and organizations consecutively to safeguard the environment and its occupants (L.Steg, (2013).). Environmental policies have constructive effects for the environment since they safeguard the environment, humans, animals, ecosystems, and from the negative actions of organizations and humans. Environmental policies incessantly require changing or improving, safeguard and protect the environment and occupants of the environment. Conclusion Air pollution is a problem of environment that has an effect on the safety of the environment, contributes to change in climate, and the welfare of human beings and animals. Strategies such as bringing in relation to social alertness of the air pollution effects to the environment and taking action in opposition to the actions of discharging emissions into the environment are proficient of endorsing positive environmental actions. The positive and negative consequences of air pollution have that ability of escalating pro-environmental actions. Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) is instances of how technological advancement positively and negatively have an effect on the environment. In addition, environmental policies can have a constructive effect on the atmosphere when executing such policies. References J.R. Barrett, (2012). Air pollution intervention. Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(3), 1. B., Brunekreef, S. T. Holgate, (2002). Air pollution and health. The Lancet, 360(9341), 1233-42. M.Hankins, (2013). Charlotte Magazine. S. K. Kazmi, (2012). Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Pakistan Gulf Economist, 31(39), 40-42. L.Steg, (2013). Environmental psychology: An introduction. NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Hoboken,

Essay example --

Issue 1: Misuse of Patient Medical Information by Unauthorized Individual Usually this health monitoring system is using wireless technology. The system can transmit signals from patient to the healthcare provide when the odd signs are detected, the patient can get help immediately. Since this system transmitted data through wireless, therefore it is open to all of the wireless threats for instances eavesdropping and information theft. One of the privacy issues would be theft can easily get the patient medical information and misuse it, if there without proper authentication and patient medical information is not encrypted. So that, every pervasive system should provide strong authentication and incorporate basic encryption to protect the patient medical information. Issue 2: Prescription leakage Another issue is pharmacies or doctors transfer or sale the prescription data to third part. With the detailed information about the patient could easily portray the patient completely is avoided because it is crime, so that they sale only part of data. This raises the privacy issue of whet...

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla: Bram Stoker’s Inspiration for Dracu

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla: Bram Stoker’s Inspiration for Dracula â€Å"3 May. Bistritz. Left Munich at 8:35 p.m.† Abraham Stoker in this unassuming way begins his Gothic masterpiece, Dracula (The Annotated Dracula 1). Dracula has been called ‘imaginative’ and ‘original.’ , and Harry Ludlam calls it â€Å"the product of his own vivid imagination and imaginative research† (Senf 41). However, the originality of Stoker's Dracula is in doubt. By a similarity in the setting, characters and plot, in Bram Stoker’s Gothic work Dracula and the posthumously published short story â€Å"Dracula’s Guest,† Stoker is shown to have used Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic, Gothic, short story, â€Å"Carmilla†, as the basis and inspiration for Bram Stoker’s vampiric masterpiece, Dracula. In 1897, Abraham Stoker published Dracula, a classic Gothic novel which continues to capture the hearts and imaginations of readers after nearly a century. The novel is written as a collection of journals, which are kept in a wide array of methods, letters and newspaper clippings. Dracula opens in Eastern Europe with a young solisitor named Jonathan Harker traveling to Transylvanian castle. The castle’s owner, Count Dracula, is cruel in the manner of great evil, and uses Harker to have himself safely ferried to England and its fertile hunting ground of London. Dracula soon becomes embroiled in the lives of a small group of friends who see him for the fiend that he is. These young people, aided by the aging Dr. Van Helsing vow to see Dracula destroyed, and they succeed in driving him out of England and back to his homeland. They follow hard upon and catch him just before he reaches the safety of his castle. Within sight of safety, Jonathan Harker and Quency Morris behea... ...cula: The Vampire and the Critics. Ed. Margaret L. Carter. Studies in Speculative Fiction 19. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1988. 231-45. Leatherdale, Clive. Dracula: The Novel and The Legend. Wellingborough: Aquarian, 1985. Le Fanu, James Sheridan. â€Å"Carmilla.† Vampires: Two Centuries of Great Vampire Stories. Ed. Alan Ryan. Garden City: Doubleday, 1987. Melton, J. Gordon. The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead. Detroit: Visible Ink, 1994. Senf, Carol A. Introduction. The Critical Response to Bram Stoker. Ed. Carol A. Senf. Westport: Greenwood, 1993. 1-41. Stoker, Bram. The Annotated Dracula. Ed. Leonard Wolf. New York: Ballantine, 1975. ---. â€Å"Dracula’s Guest.† Vampires: Two Centuries of Great Vampire Stories. Ed. Alan Ryan. Garden City: Doubleday, 1987. Roth, Phyllis A. Bram Stoker. Twayne’s English Authors Series 343. Boston: Twayne, 1982.

What achieving a degree means to me :: essays research papers

â€Å"What achieving a degree means to me† Hello my name is ______________ I am a twenty nine year old married mother of two. I’ve been married for twelve years and I have an eight years old boy and a two years old girl. Since I was nineteen years old in the fall of 1991 I’ve attempted to earn a college degree attending first Tarrant County Junior College and second Weatherford College stop and starting back again several times over the years trying to reach my goal. In the summer of 1995 when my oldest was two my husband and I moved our mobile home on to new land, which required my assistance helping out financially. I started working for a great company that I loved, Auto Rail Services of Texas they are an afflation of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway were I worked part time in the evenings doing data entry. Six months later I started working full time as the assistant office manager in charge of the day-to-day operations. I was sent to Tarrant County Junior College to gain a certificate in Microsoft Offic e applications. I continued to advance with in the company and enjoyed working there but in the July of 1998 the company suffered financially when Ford Motor Company moved there business to Union Pacific Railway, which caused downsizing in the company I was laid off. I contemplated going back to school after this but couldn’t financially afford to stop working full time. The following October I became pregnant with our second child and after her birth my husband and I decided to downsize our financial situation so that I could remain home with the baby. When the child was seven months old I took a part time position in my aunts security company where I assisted in the office and was able to bring my child with me. Not long after my aunts company was forced to go out of business, which caused me to relay on unemployment compensation, threw Texas Workforce Commission there I was informed I could return to college and receive assistance with childcare. I began all the necessary proceedings for the program and was informed before I could actually get the assistance I would need to pass the TASP test a mandatory test required before you are eligible to receive a degree in the State of Texas. Having passed all but the math section of the test I decided I would take a preparatory tasp math class.

Contemporary occupational health and safety Essay

What role did the state, the employers and the workers play in establishing the contemporary occupational health and safety regime? In the 1960s workers in the United States sought state laws to compensate their disabilities due to poor working conditions that lead to Black lung disease. The workers were successful and this win was instrumental in passing the 1970s United States Occupational Health & Safety act, and subsequent policies in other countries including Canada. This paper will discuss the events that took place following this important act. workers, State and Employers role A surge in workers injuries led to young workers demanding improved health and safety conditions. Although employers initially denied the poor working conditions and rejected requests for testing of harmful substances, the workers were persistent and eventually brought awareness and reform to industrial safety concerns. A critical event in Canada’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) movement took place in 1973 when a large amount of mine workers were diagnosed with cancer from exposure to dangerous materials at work. This led to a worker strike and resulted in the mining company and workers coming to an agreement that addressed both worker and union concerns with toxic substances. The workers believed that the government should be their health and safety monitor, and felt that up until this point the government had failed to look after the workers interests. In 1974, the acting government (Progressive Conservative Party) was pressured by the New Democrat Party (NDP) and the United Steel Workers Association to establish a Royal Commission into the health and safety rights of Ontario’s workers. This led to a report that called for government action for OHS policies and legislation. conclusion There were many factors that contributed to the OHS movements, but none as important as the workers fight. Robert Storey (2005) discussed some of the  key aspects in his paper ‘Activism and the making of occupational health and safety in Ontario’: â€Å"The health and safety movement that began to take shape in the late 1960s and early to mid 70s represented a mixture of several unique ingredients. First activism was based almost exclusively in mining and secondary industry, especially steelmaking and workplaces that utilized asbestos in the fabrication of their products. Always among the most dangerous and unhealthy places to work, the attempts by employers in these sectors to speed up production were resulting in notable increases in accidents and injuries. Second the workers who took out the health and safety cause any sectors were young working class males.† He discussed as the young men became aware of their parents poor health conditions, it raised their interest towards their own health and the need for better work conditions. It was their unwillingness to accept injury, disease and death caused by poor work conditions, that led to the safety regulations that Canadian workers benefit from today. References Storey, Robert (2005) Activism and the making of occupational health and safety in Ontario, 1960s-1980 Policy and Practice in Health and Safety (pp 41-68) Essay 1.2 – Why are some workplace hazards and conditions more readily recognized than others? In particular, discuss the issues of women in the workplace and workplace pollution. Workplace Hazards A workplace hazard is a dangerous situation that exposes a worker to potentially harmful condition. Workplace hazards can be identified in several categories including physical hazards (tripping), biological hazards (exposure to viruses), chemical hazards (exposure to toxic chemical) and though it is often overlooked, psychosocial hazards (verbal abuse). Through the industrial revolution, workers were exposed to new technologies that resulted in new and increased workplace hazards. However it is not only the technology that caused these hazards, but also the competitive nature of  capitalism to minimize costs, at the cost safety and working conditions. Foster (2011, page 5) also point out that â€Å"the use of new chemicals and compounds also brings a new kind of hazard to the workplace – the occupational illness†. Women in the Workplace We often relate workplace hazards to jobs that involve large machinery and extreme working conditions. However working as a Hotel housekeeper changing bedding all day or doing data entry in an office can also be hazardous to the workers health, it is just not as easily recognized. Foster (2011, page 15) states that â€Å"In general, men and women do perform different types of work, but the differences in their reported injury rates are not because one type of work is less dangerous than the other. The discrepancies are due mainly to our gendered notions of work, danger, and the human body, and so we need to look at work and its hazards differently. Of the disabling injury claims in Alberta in 2008, only 27 percent were women even though women make up 45 percent of the workforce. Because the male dominated jobs like working construction are viewed as more dangerous, these types of jobs are more likely controlled with health and safety standards and hazards more easily recognized and reported. Workplace Pollution Workplace pollution is the presence of hazardous materials within a workplace that may get in contact with people while performing their job. Such workplace pollutants may affect both the worker’s and surrounding communities health. Foster (2011, page 10) explains that workplace pollution differs from other hazards â€Å"both in its nature and its consequences for workers†. Physical hazards (ie: falling off a platform or cutting your hand) are easily recognized, but workplace pollutants are difficult to recognize as they are often odorless, silent or invisible. Exposure to hazardous materials can occur through breathing polluted air, contact with toxic materials, accidental ingestion of toxins or excessive noise that can affect a worker’s hearing. The most common workplace pollution occurs from breathing polluted air. A large amount of workplace illnesses go unreported, as even the workers and doctors may not be able to make the connection of their illness to exposure to toxins in the workplace. What further complicates this, is when symptoms don’t appear for years after exposure.  Other issues with properly identifying the cause of illness is that the science behind a condition may be unknown or contested, or the fact that exposure to toxins can result in a variety of side effects depending on the individual. Conclusion There are several ways to improve workplace hazards for jobs that are not easily recognized as dangerous, such as the ones we discussed above. However it is not an easy solution. As women have been striving for equal rights and equal pay among many other things when it comes to our male counterparts, this sometimes comes with a catch. For example there may be specific safety concerns for a pregnant women to perform a physically demanding job, that would not be a concern for a male. By requesting special treatment for a pregnant women, it weakens women’s equality efforts. In my opinion, decreasing workplace pollution is a little more straight forward, especially with new technologies available. Monitoring equipment and laboratory testing can test for avoid workplace pollutants, that would lead to severe health issues to workers and potentially surrounding communities. As social responsibility is an increasingly important part of a company image to the social and investment community, it helps workplace hazards get the attention, funding and education required to reduce workplace hazards. References Foster, J (2011). Industrial Relations 308, Study Guide Athabasca University Unit 1 Notes Workplace Pollution. Retrieved May 5, 2013 http://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/workplace/ Workplace Hazards. Retrieved May 5, 2013 http://humanservices.alberta.ca/working-in-alberta/3109.html

The financial and economic system of Georgia

Since the 1990s, Georgia as practically all of the post-communist states started its ain way of economic reforms. Unlike the other states, nevertheless, the procedure turned particularly hard for Georgia because of economic – and more significantly – non economic factors such as 20 old ages of loyal and civil wars, an utmost rise in offense nation-wide, energy and conveyance encirclements and a revolution. It was constructing both an independent economic system and an independent province at the same clip. Through this background, it is natural that the chance of right execution of economic reforms was rather low, particularly when none of the states in the universe had the relevant experience. Previously, the Constitution of Georgia stated that the state was constructing a â€Å" societal market economic system † , but since 2003, Georgia ‘s economic reforms have become significantly â€Å" aggressive † and today the economic reforms are based upon broad and libertarian political orientations. Georgia achieved high rates of economic growing during last old ages although the Russian-Georgian war – and particularly, the planetary fiscal crisis – has caused a crisp diminution in the growing rates whilst the job of economic stabilisation and farther growing still persists.3.1. The Course of Economic Reforms of GeorgiaFrom Independence to the Rose Revolution After declaring its independency Georgia has launched the building of its province ; Georgian governments officially acknowledged that the execution of economic reforms would get down. Unfortunately nevertheless, neither the professional experience, nor the local environment provided the chance for implementing the economic reforms. The first old ages of economic reforms had tragic effects for Georgia. The putsch of 1991-92 together with economic and political encirclements, a deficiency of relevant professional staff, high corruptness, a serious condemnable state of affairs and populist motions badly hampered the execution of a consistent and stable policy of economic reforms. Georgia at the same time started fiscal stabilisation, monetary value liberalisation and the decrease of budget shortage, the execution of a rigorous recognition policy every bit good as an debut of a moderate revenue enhancement system and the decrease of province outgos. However, several of import factors were non taken into consideration. Government in general, did n't hold existent macroeconomic tools and its ain pecuniary system or existent levers to implement a tax-budgetary policy ; and alternatively of set uping such tools it started to implement new political relations without any due readying. Because of the above mentioned grounds together with belligerencies, conveyance, economic and energy encirclements, it had no important consequence in the state ‘s development. And since Georgia had no currency of its ain and, severally, no emitter, it would hold failed to take steps necessary for reforms. Neither its single experience nor its fiscal province enabled Georgia to transport out these procedures independently, therefore it applied to international fiscal organisations for aid ; in peculiar, to the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) and the World Bank ( WB ) , which mostly contributed to state ‘s policy formation. As a consequence, the province started to believe over a limitation of the monopolizer activities, although merely managed to set the anti-monopolist statute law into force several old ages subsequently. Despite the aid of international organisations, Georgia have failed to implement an effectual pecuniary policy as despite the â€Å" Cold War † with Russia during that period ( which in 2008 exploded into existent belligerencies every bit good as suspending diplomatic and other dealingss between these two states ) , it was still the dominant power for the economic system. Money supply in Georgia depended on Russia ‘s cardinal bank and, hence, one of the cardinal levers of the state ‘s economic development remained in its custodies ( Papava, 1996 ) . Although the Georgian Government was occupied with faulting Russia for its ain jobs – and such acquisitions were frequently really just – it did non anticipate that it would be unable to have currency notes from Moscow. And when eventually Russian governments suspended money supplies to Georgia in April 1993, the Georgian governments were forced to set the voucher of the National Bank of Georgia, as a impe rmanent currency note into circulation. The voucher was put into circulation as a representative of Russian ruble and was declared as the lone legal payment instrument, after Russia withdraw the disintegrated Soviet Union ‘s rouble from circulation in July-August 1993. Coupon shortly failed to execute its pecuniary maps, as its uncontrolled recognition emanation caused hyperinflation processes. The graduated tables of utilizing the Russian ruble were increasing whilst the USD besides started to increase in Georgia under conditions of a rapid lessening in the buying power of the rouble. In fact, the voucher was merely suited for paying subway menus and purchasing rationed staff of life. In 1994 a new phase of economic reforms was followed by regenerating the cooperation with international fiscal organisations together with acceptance of the anti-crisis plan. A certain success was achieved at the really get downing. The international fiscal organisations actively began to help the Georgian governments in the successful execution of the post-communist transmutation ( Papava, 2002 ) . From spring 1994, uncontrolled recognition emanation was ruled out and in fall 1994, the National Bank of Georgia abolished the limitations on taking hard currency from Bankss. As a consequence, hard currency and non hard currency money were drawn much closer. In September 1994, the monetary values on gas and electricity increased up to an international degree, while the monetary value of staff of life increased by 285 times. The metro menu besides increased significantly. The wages of public functionaries and pensions besides increased although the rate of their growing meaningly dragged behind the growing rates. These developments were followed by a important strengthening of the Georgian voucher rate. If before the addition in the monetary value of bread one dollar was equal to 5.3 million vouchers, after the addition one dollar equaled 2.4 million vouchers. This procedure continued. By the terminal of 1994, the monetary value of staff of life increased by 40 per centum which was the consequence of more stabilising the voucher rate, when one dollar was equal to 1.3 million vouchers and with this rate maintained until the terminal of its being. The procedure of the simplification of the bing licensing mechanism began from January 1995, when the quota system was abolished whilst licensing was maintained merely on little scope of merchandises. This promoted the constitution of a broad trade policy and the restriction of a corrupted environment. Together with this, it laid for the constitution of existent market dealingss in which come ining or go forthing the markets no longer depended upon any functionary. The procedure of â€Å" vaucherisation † was launched in Georgia in 1995. This can be considered as a traditional measure in the denationalization procedure which has been carried out in many post-communist states. This procedure played a farther negative function in respects to economic resurgence. Fabrication and production was non transferred to those who would be able to present and supply for the betterment of technological procedures in industry and stimulate production. Alternatively, workss and mills were given to those who were non able to pull investings for seting them into operation. Important stairss have taken towards the formation of independent economic system in Georgia in 1995. A legal model relevant to market economic rules was created, a two-tier banking system, revenue enhancement and imposts services were established ; fiscal stabilisation was achieved and eventually the national currency was introduced ; order and subject were restored, the procedure of â€Å" little denationalization † was fundamentally completed and monetary values, trade and foreign economic dealingss were liberalized. These led to the creative activity of a concern environment – finally necessary for advancing the development of entrepreneurship in Georgia – which in bend, provided farther accelerated development of the state ‘s economic system. The successful execution of pecuniary and financial reforms started with presenting Georgian national currency – the lari – in September 1995. The lari was introduced with a fixed exchange rate of 1 lari equal to 1 million vouchers, as 1 USD equal to 1.3 lari. The pecuniary reform did non reiterate the same errors as in the period of vouchers. No arrogation step was used during the reform which promoted assurance edifice amongst the people the lari gained its foothold really quickly. A month after presenting the national currency, the lari ‘s rate increased at the Tbilisi Interbank Currency Exchange from 1.3 to 1.25 against the USD. As a consequence of a flexible policy, Georgia managed to get the better of the multi-rate pattern and completed currency rate fusion. Unfortunately, 1998 was marked with certain holds in the procedure of the execution of economic reforms which reduced economic growing rates and resulted in the start of a period of stagnancy for the Georgian economic system. However, the 2003 Rose Revolution brought an terminal to this period with economic procedures, including reforms, get downing to develop really rapidly. Economic Reforms after the Rose Revolution From the beginning of 2004 Georgia had been set uping the institutional base for market economic system ordinance which was similar to those in other European provinces. Georgia has experienced extremist economic reforms which were often expressed by the abolishing of ordinance mechanisms by the province. Several province bureaus were abolished in 2004, including the Road Fund, The Ministry of Communication, Transport and Post ; the Ministry of Urbanization and Construction ; the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Economic Relations ; the Ministry of State Property Management ; the Service for Food Expertise and Monitoring ; the Service for Plant Protection, Livestock Pedigree Department of Georgia ; Precious Stones and Metals Department ; the State employment Service, Food Safety Inspection ; Phyto-Sanitary Control and the Transport Regulatory Commission, amongst others. Simultaneously, building processs were besides significantly simplified. The list of those activities which re quired licensing in Georgia besides decreased significantly from 900 activities to merely 114. Size and weight control, licence and license on veterinary activity every bit good as licence on production and trade in pesticides were abolished. An analysis of the structural alterations which were carried out in Georgia during last seven old ages shows that the end of these alterations has been full economic deregulating. A expression through the history of the development of independent Georgia ‘s economic establishments shows that National Bank of Georgia has been one of the most successful regulative establishments. The fact, that Georgia has a national currency, which maintains its places, and that the Georgian banking system has managed to get the better of a great trade of troubles is one of the virtues of the National Bank. It is highly of import to further open up the state ‘s economic policy so that investors are willing to put in Georgia. Those enterprises, which were unveiled by the President of Georgia last October, are efforts to develop events in this way.Analysis of Macroeconomic IndexsBefore the decomposition of the Soviet Union, Georgia had one of the highest criterions of life. Later, in 1990, the economic state of affairs significantly worsened. Georgian economic system had a 21.9 per centum diminution in 1991as compared to 1990. The procedure of decomposition of the Soviet Union continued in 1992, accompanied by the most serious socio-economic, condemnable internal political and other negative developments in Georgia. As a consequence the existent GDP farther decreased by 44.9 per centum as compared to 1991 and amounted to 43.47 per centum as compared to 1990. It should besides be noted that the procedure of economic diminution became irreversible from 1989. The state of affairs did n on alteration in 1993 when Georgia passed through an highly hard period of armed struggle in Abkhazia, a conveyance encirclement, the uncontrolled emanation of vouchers, hyperinflation and a farther diminution of GDP by 29.3 per centum. Finally, the GDP amounted to merely 30.73 per centum as compared to 1990. In 1990, the degree of employment reached 100 per centum in Georgia. In 1991, the official figure of unemployed was 3,500, it increased 32 times and amounted 113,000 individuals in 1992 and rose farther by 60 per centum and amounted to 180,000 individuals in 1993. Harmonizing to the current functionary informations, there are 330,000 unemployed individuals in Georgia. Harmonizing to the same official statistical informations, the rising prices rate exceeded 7,840 % in 1994, while after a 3.5 fold lessening in GDP during 1989-1993 it decreased by 10.4 per centum once more and equaled to a backward diminution by 25-30 old ages. In 1995, farther production outgo was stopped and GDP was achieved to increase by 2.6 per centum. And what is more of import, from 7,841 per centum rising prices, as it was in 1994, in 1995 it amounted 157.4 per centum merely. Particularly high rates of development is socio-economic domain was achieved in 1996-1997, when GDP increased about by 24 per centum. More convincing consequences were achieved during 1996-1997 sing rising prices, whose parametric quantities significantly determine the cardinal consequences of a state ‘s economic development. In peculiar, the rate of rising prices was 13.5 per centum in 1996 and 7.3 per centum in 1997 which was 1.1 per centum and 0.6 per centum per month, severally. All of these had a positive consequence upon set uping a favourable economic environment for concern development.Table 1. Key Macroeconomic Parameters19961997199819992000200120022003GDP at Market Prices ( million GEL )3 868,54 554,95 022,15 668,76 043,16 674,07 456,08 564,1GDP per capita ( GEL )827,6999,21 114,81 268,21 362,51 516,31 705,61 972,1GDP per capita ( USD )655,6770,2800,7629,6689,7731,8777,3919,0GDP million USD3 064,63 510,73 606,92 814,13 059,13 221,03 397,83 990,8Exchange rate ( GEL USD )1,26231,29741,39242,01441,97552,07202,19442,1459Economic Growth110,5103,1102,9101,8104,8105,5111,1GDP deflator 106,5 106,9 109,6 104,6 105,3 106,0 103,3200420052006200720082009GDP at Market Prices ( million GEL )9 824,311 620,913 789,916 993,819 074,917 948,6GDP per capita ( GEL )2 276,72 689,13 133,13 866,94 352,94 092,8GDP per capita ( USD )1 187,61 483,51 763,52 314,62 921,12 450,1GDP million USD5 124,76 411,07 761,710 171,912 800,510 744,7Exchange rate ( GEL USD )1,91701,81271,77671,67071,49021,6705Economic Growth105,9109,6109,4112,3102,396,1GDP deflator 108,1 107,9 108,5 109,7 109,7 98,0 State Debt of Georgia ( million GEL ) 4,155.5 3,509.0 2,954.2 3,015.3 4,407.4 5,927.4 Beginning: National Statistics Office of Georgia In 1998-2002, the rates of economic growing decreased to an mean 2 per centum per twelvemonth. However, despite the most hard state of affairs, in 2003, the economic growing rate exceeded 10 per centum. In the undermentioned old ages, if we do non see the period 2008-2009, the economic growing rates were highly high. As a consequence of the Russian aggression in August 2008, the state ‘s economic system still increased by 1.9 per centum, but the undermentioned twelvemonth – 2009 was distinguished by the economic lessening of 3.9 per centum for the first clip since 1995. It should be noted that province and private givers pledged 4.5 billion USD by which significantly reduced the extent of the economic recession.4Chart 1. Dynamicss of Key Macroeconomic ParametersBeginning: National Statistics Office of Georgia Monetary values were more or less stable from 1995. As for the exchange rate, if before 1995 the voucher exchange rate was equal to 1 USD against 5.3 million vouchers, the lari has been characterized with a important stableness. The inclination of the addition in its rate was seen in 2004, although the exchange rate started to fall once more from 2007.Table 2. Exchange RatessUSD/GELEUR/GELRUB/GELEnd of period Middle of period End of period Middle of period End of period Middle of period20012,0600 2,0720 1,8188 1,8573 0,0683 0,071020022,0900 2,1944 2,1763 2,0735 0,0658 0,070020032,0750 2,1459 2,5920 2,4237 0,0704 0,070020041,8250 1,9170 2,4850 2,3813 0,0658 0,066520051,7925 1,8127 2,1245 2,2600 0,0623 0,064120061,7150 1,7767 2,2545 2,2290 0,0651 0,065420071,5916 1,6707 2,3315 2,2859 0,0649 0,065320081,6670 1,4902 2,3648 2,1886 0,0567 0,060120091,6858 1,6705 2,4195 2,3307 0,0557 0,0529 Beginning: National Statistics Office of Georgia Despite theGrowth and External PerformanceEconomic recovery is acquiring stronger, with existent GDP growing of 6.6 per centum in the first half of 2010. This follows a contraction of 3.9 per centum in 2009 because of the dazes of the August 2008 struggle and the planetary economic crisis. Real economic activity is deriving strength in 2010, with growing in exports, worker remittals, existent estate minutess, building licenses and vehicle enrollments. Compared with the last twelvemonth, VAT turnover increased by 7 per centum and amounted 27 per centum. During the first half of 2010 exports were up to 40 per centum while imports amounted merely 12 per centum. At the same period private investings have benefited from a pickup in bank landing, while FDI influxs are still below pre crisis degrees, but betterments are expected. The economic system is predicted to turn by 4-5 per centum during 2011-2013, where growing is expected to come from higher exports and private investing supported by a pickup in bank loaning. Exports will be chiefly with metal merchandises, vinos, fruits and nuts, besides repaired and re-exported autos and expected to play a cardinal function in its recovery – from 29.8 per centum of GDP in 2009 to 38 per centum during 2011-2013 ; As for the services side conveyance and touristry will besides play a important function ( World Bank, 2010 ) .4. Finance and the Role of BankingIn Georgia fiscal system is chiefly based on the banking sector, which is reflected with the mobilisation of the fundss and their forma tion into investing beginnings by agencies of the banking establishments. Harmonizing to this, banking system plays an of import function in increasing the gait of Georgian economic system. The Bankss operate in conformity with modern market theoretical account in every regard. An active engagement of the Georgian Bankss helps the little and average sized concern development in the state. Georgia have done lost of success in developing its fiscal sector during last old ages after its independency, nevertheless external factors have hampered states development to some extent late, which reflected on Georgia ‘s economic system and accordingly on its fiscal sector. Nowadays, positive alterations are being implemented which gives us the possibility to assume, that the fiscal system will farther develop and advance county ‘s economic development.Development of the Financial System in GeorgiaFor the last 10 old ages, the fiscal system of Georgia has experienced important alterations. After declaring its independency, really from zero, began creative activity of fiscal substructure. The National Bank of Georgia ( NBG ) has been created ; the national currency – Georgian Lari ( GEL ) has been issued ; the commercial Bankss have been certified ( At the same clip the figure of Bankss was decreased 10 times ) . Except banking system, the fiscal system includes other fiscal establishments. In 2010 in Georgia 19 Commercial Bankss operated, from which 16 are runing with the foreign capital engagement. As for non-banking depositary establishments, there are 47 microfinance organisations ( MFO ) , 18 recognition brotherhoods ; 1,334 exchange agency ; 24 money remittal service suppliers ; 16 insurance companies ; 6 pension financess and 1 stock exchange. Among these fiscal establishments most profitable and of import for fiscal sector is the banking system.Banking in GeorgiaIn order to make the conditions for the right operation of the banking sector NBG cares about the execution of demands set by the Euro directives and Basel rules. Besides, for the straight-forward development of the banking sector, the changeless betterment of the different hazards administration mechanisms by the market participants – commercial Bankss is besides indispensable. As a whole, the present state of affairs provides maximal chances for implementing new ba nking merchandises. Banking system, sing its gait of development and inclinations, could be regarded as dynamically developing system. Compared to other sections of fiscal sector of Georgian economic system, the banking system is instead more developed. Nowadays, recognition is allocated on market footings, and the authorities does non have commercial Banks. Hence, the competition in banking domain is strong plenty. Banks try to offer as big spectrum of services as possible. The fiscal system is get downing to mend. Refer about systematic hazard has been diminished. And overall loaning conditions have started to better. We have already seen a significant sum of accommodation in our fiscal system. Leverage has declined. Banks are funding themselves more cautiously. These are necessary alterations, and there is more reconstituting in front for the fiscal sector as a whole. But a significant portion of the accommodation procedure is now behind us. Fiscal establishments constitute an of import portion of Georgian economic system.AbbreviationsNBG the National Bank of Georgia GEL Georgian Lari MFO Microfinance Organizations VAT Value Added Tax FDI Foreign Direct Investment IMF International Monetary Fund WB World Bank