Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Human Resource Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Human Resource Management - Coursework Example The need is to understand how the both Competency-Based Pay and traditional Job-Based Pay methods are bringing in value for the sake of the organizations and the aspiring employees more than anyone else. The two methods look to be different but are doing more or less the same work, yet in varied capacities which is a point that needs to be comprehended in a proper way. The Competency-Based Pay and traditional Job-Based Pay are inherently different within their work ideologies and should always be treated as such. 2. There are no easy answers to the question of what causes people to act irresponsibly. For years psychologists assumed that some employees were simply more accident prone than others, and that accident-prone people generally caused more accidents. Explain how to reduce unsafe acts through Selection and Placement, and Employee Participation. Unsafe acts that could lead to accidents within the workplace realms can be avoided if employee selection measures are handled in a pr oper way. ... This would mean that they are working to their strengths and thus given the room to exploit their own basis. This is in the form of moving ahead with the changing times. Similarly, employee participation is significant because it warrants the proper role of the employees in a quantifiable way because the quality of the employees is manifested adequately. This is the reason why employees give in their best when they are chosen correctly and the organizations in this day and age reap the rewards incessantly. The element of accidents also reduces within the realms of the organizations and the employees start giving in their cent percent day in and day out. 3. List three factors leading to job stress and identify three suggestions for reducing job stress. The three factors that lead to job stress include working beyond a certain time that is due, excess of work (both due and undue) and lastly doing work in a way that has not been asked of the individual under consideration. These thr ee factors touch upon the significant areas that lead to job stress within the organizations of today, and which lead to immense problems for the employees in essence (Minter, 1999). The there suggestions that could be given to reduce the job stress ailment is to make sure that the work is completed within the stipulated time so that there are no hangovers of the work realms in the future. Also work should be ascertained in such a manner that there is believability within its completion steps. More work means more job stress for the person who is undertaking such realms, and it is always good to estimate what kind of work he is entering into before actually going about committing the same. Also job stress could
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Critical Thinking in Homeland Security Essay Example for Free
Critical Thinking in Homeland Security Essay Critical Thinking in Homeland Security Introduction            Homeland Security is an essential part of the security organs that are very crucial in ensuring the protection of the country’s sovereignty. Just as other nations in the world, United States faces significant threats from the external and internal factors. The US established Homeland Security Department in 2003, in an effort to address the external threats and aggression like the September 11 terrorist attacks (Pruitt, 2003, â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). Therefore, the main objective of the department is to prevent terrorist attacks in the US. Additionally, the department has to minimize the exposure of the nation to terrorism and minimizing the injuries that results from the attacks, if attacks occur.            To achieve its mandate the department applies several skills. These skills are aimed at determining the likelihood of a threat and establishing the credibility of the threat as per the information provided. Among the skills used is the critical thinking. By definition, critical thinking refers to the ability by the department personnel to make clear, rational judgments (Paul Elder, 2009). This means that the decisions regarding security should be arrived through a well thought out processes (Pruitt, 2003). Critical thinking under homeland security focuses on crucial elements of thought and asking the relevant questions. This means that the department has to evaluate every piece of evidence at their disposal in order to develop appropriate security solutions to the country. The discussion put forward below will aim at establishing what critical thinking method model is appropriate for the decision-making within the structures of homeland s ecurity (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). The reason behind this inquiry is highly dependent on the fact that there are different critical thinking models. These models are very useful in the since they help to find the best and effective solution in homeland parameter. However, different models offer different results. Discussion            The September 11 attack brought about unprecedented need for good, efficient and effective security apparatus. With the introduction of the Homeland Security Department, the country was placed at a position to deal with the terrorism threats. The terrorism activities are currently very dynamic and in return there is a need for the solutions that might meet these challenges (Pruitt, 2003). As a consequence, the homeland security personnel is require to meet the ever rising need for increased demand of the security services as well as meeting the high placed accountability standards. To achieve these requirements they have to learn to become highly skilled in their level of thinking, as well as reasoning abilities.            The fundamental reason for the need to improve skills is that the employees have to analyze all the massive information, understand it, identify the problems and offer solution (Paul Elder, 2009). However, the processing of this massive information comes against the race of time. Homeland security department has to make timely decision that would help to preempt any threats that may arise or control the already existing threats (Pruitt, 2003). Additionally, the strategies employed by the terrorist are changing day in day out, and as well these changes must be encompassed in the decision which the department is undertaking. For instance, before the September 11 attack, the defense apparatus restricted themselves to biological and chemical threats. Moreover, the use of airplane as a tool to carry out terrorism strikes was covered by defense agencies like the Pentagon (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). On the other hand, the threat o f airplane strike was not addressed as the security agencies believed this would result to giving the terrorist an additional tool to their disposal.            The example about the use of airplane as a tool of terrorism indicates an ineffective manner of using the available information to mitigate the terrorist attacks. In this regard, critical thinking is very essential in manner in which the homeland security handles the information they acquire to handle security issues or threats (Paul Elder, 2009). This is mainly, because critical thinking offers the prediction and diagnosis analysis for security issues. Prediction depends chiefly on the ability of the security organs to be able to think ahead. Thinking ahead, as part of critical thinking, dictates that the security organs are able to establish the likely causes of terrorism and probable outcomes (Kiltz, 2009). Diagnosis means the analysis of previous threats which in turn helps to extrapolate the likely future events. In this regard, security organs are able to identify their past failures and in turn making amendments. Additionally, the organs are able to replicate past successes to the future. Best Critical Thinking Model            While understanding the importance of the critical thinking skills, there are several critical thinking models at the disposal of security organs to address any homeland security issues. It is very crucial to put a lot of emphasis on the fact that critical thinking is basic requirement for security decisions facing the country (Paul Elder, 2009). Therefore, to identify the best critical thinking model it would be prudent to learn the two factors that will play a very major role in determining the best model. Critical thinking in the context of homeland security is fundamentally dependent on the most important factor for good decision-making and the nature of the homeland security context (Browne Keeley, 2007). 1. Decision making            Critical thinking is fundamentally aimed at arriving at appropriate decision. Every decision made or arrived at should be able to offer solution in the context of homeland security. In this light, the decision of the security apparatus should be able to effectively prevent the threats that arise as well as minimize the damages is events occur (Kiltz, 2009). Thus, critical thinking plays a pivotal role in decision-making process. On the same note, the best decision-making model is exceedingly reliant on the right questions.            The right question are said to be the main factor that enable effective decisions to be made in all the fields of the society, security being inclusive (Kiltz, 2009). Questions are a good guiding factor while looking for the appropriate results. One, right questions create a structure that our thinking relies upon, that is to say, right questions are essential in finding the suitable materials or information that are essential to the decision or solutions. Secondly, right questions play a vital role of determining the course of our thinking. In this regard, the right questions are crucial element of individual thinking (Kiltz, 2009). This indicates that the right questions part of the homeland security parameters, in that they would help the decision makers in this context will arrive the best solutions possible to the various security challenges. 2. The nature of homeland security            The processes and the activities surrounding decision making in the parameters or the context of the homeland security are substantially complex. The complexity comes in two levels: one, there amount of data or information being processed is extremely large and second, there are a lot of dynamics and variables in homeland security decisions (Paul Elder, 2009). Therefore, the decision-making process has a higher requirement of exhaustive scrutiny of all the probable accompanying implications of any decision made. In addition, the scrutiny extends other available options prior or before the enforcing any decision passed. A good example relates to diversion tactics that are highly employed by terrorist (Davis, 2012). This is where a threat is identified in a particular location while in reality the actual threat is in another place. Without appropriate critical thinking capabilities, the security apparatus are expected to put enough emphasis on areas which are reported to have the threat while leaving the other places vulnerable.            Understanding the nature of homeland security is pegged on homeland security operations and the past failure. Past failures help to understand what part of the process failed and how efficiently and effectively did homeland rise from their falls. For instance from the example above, if the severity of a homeland security event was increased by the misjudgment stated above, in future homeland security would put all efforts at protecting all places equally while still putting emphasis on any information gathered (Paul Elder, 2009). That fact encompasses a crucial part of the critical thinking in such a security decision-making process.            In effect, the most effective critical thinking model should be all-inclusive. Inclusivity means that all the available alternatives should be taken into account while simultaneously evaluating the possible outcomes associated with each likely action. The module applied is similar to a game theory model (Davis, 2012). In such a model, the homeland security is supposed to establish every strategy available to them as well as those available to the opponents, the terrorists. This would help to preempt most, if not all, of the threats posed by various terrorists groups. Therefore, every strategy has probable action, which in turn will deliver results. It would be the aim of homeland to select the most applicable strategy and take an action that would offer the best-expected outcome (Paul Elder, 2009).            For example, through information and intelligence gathering, the security organs in the United States had all the necessary, adequate and relevant information to indicate that an attack was eminent. This information was prior to the September 11 attack, which detailed the Al Qaeda plans to attack the US. This shows that the security organs had the available strategies of the opponents. However, the organs failed to select the best strategy and their actions failed to meet the required results (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005).            The time constraints also play a critical part in undertaking any security decision. The reason behind this is that despite the large volumes of information that need to processed, the uncertainty of when a homeland security event is likely to occur needs timely decision-making. Using the September 11 example, it can be observed that the security organs failed to meet the timely decision requirement (Kiltz, 2009). Although all the information processed indicated the likelihood of a terrorism incident in United States, no timely action was taken to preempt the threats due to the argument that the decision process was at its preliminary stage.            Additionally, homeland security should be in a position to predict the opponents’ likely cause of action and also putting a lot of effort towards preventing the threats preempting the homeland actions. This is attached to diversion tactics, where the threats mature to events in places other than those indicated in the threats information. This was the strategy that was employed by the Al Qaeda to beat homeland security at their game in September 11 (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). Prior to the attack, the information gathered indicated that the threats were highly in United States departments and agencies that were beyond borders. The fact that overseas parts of homeland security were threatened, the homeland skewed its efforts towards the external offices and agencies. Consequently, the Al Qaeda anticipated the moves of homeland security and they counteracted by attacking the internal departments (â€Å"The 9/11 Commissi on,†2005). Critical thinking should help to homeland security to fill all the available loopholes that may expose their operations and the country was vast. 3. Right Questions Model            As stated earlier there are several models at the disposal of the homeland security, but among them asking the right questions takes the reign. There are several factors that have heavily tilted the odds towards the right questions model of critical thinking (Browne Keeley, 2007). First, the model plays a pivotal role in addressing the various loopholes found under the nature of homeland security. For instance the failures that were capitalized by the Al Qaeda in the September 11 attack (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). The right questions model aims at querying all the information available. The inquisitive nature of the model allows the various security issues to be determined as well as determining the necessary conclusions. The conclusions are highly dependent on the reasoning, assumptions, and clarity of words.            There are numerous benefits that accompany this essential model of right questions. To begin with the model is highly useful in offering a well detailed analysis of the decision made as well as the cause of actions undertaken. When comparing this model with the other models such as the elements of thought thinking model, right questions model outranks them all in enabling homeland to meet its objectives or targets (Browne Keeley, 2007). Furthermore, it is established that the model has other models easily inbuilt. Mainly, homeland security establishes the positive elements of the other models and encompasses them in the right questions model. As a consequence, the models offer comprehensive and well-contained solutions out of all the available alternatives.            In addition, the said model is highly interactive as it offers an all rounded analysis of the various situations. The analysis is crucial in timely and effective decision-making as well as in actualization of the actions set. Additionally, the model allows homeland to identify the instances of fallacies in reasoning (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). Well thought out decision should not be guided by a belief, myth of misconceptions. This allows homeland security process of verification and validation of evidence to be thorough and unbiased. If some essential information is missed, the model would results to different alternatives. Right questions model bases its success on availability of possible alternatives. Therefore, the model puts a lot emphasis on the available information which helps decision makers to arrive at the best possible alternative. On the other hand, the other models have some constraints in their operations (Bro wne Keeley, 2007). For instance, the Element of Thought thinking model success is highly dependent on the emphasis given to some four aspects of decision-making. Using the Model            Several failures have been seen under the dome of homeland security. These failures are highly attributed as the indirect contributors of past events like the September 11 attacks. The right questions model can easily address these past challenges (Browne Keeley, 2007). Moreover, the model is the key to providing support to the homeland security decision-making process as well as creating and enhancing the credibility of the actions undertaken by homeland security.            The right questions model is dependent on an extensive spectral analysis. This analysis is the foundation of critical thinking. As a consequence, the right questions model helps to evaluate all the possible alternatives and their accompanying actions; which aim at getting the best possible solution. The model has been extensively used under the homeland security context to eradicate and lessen threats like the September 11 attacks. For example, prior to September 11 attacks the United States intelligence had gathered that there were several threats directed towards the United States institutions outside the country (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). Lack of a wider spectral analysis, the homeland security failed in its job (Browne Keeley, 2007). In dependence to the information, the homeland security strengthened the security agencies beyond borders and failed to do so with the domestic agencies. As a consequence, the Al Qaeda use d this loophole to carry out the attacks in the US soil (The 9/11 Commission, 2005). Under right questions model, an in-depth analysis would have taken place prompting homeland security to reinforce all the security agencies across the board. Such analysis would have enabled homeland security to alleviate the September 11 attacks. The alleviation would have been achieved through the fact that the homeland security would have easily identify and eliminated all the security exposures that faced the United states at large without overemphasis on the overseas institutions (Browne Keeley, 2007). The fallacies of logic resulted to this misguided conclusions. While combating the Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, there was a belief that the US turf was safe from the Al Qaeda actions. This resulted to homeland security ignoring the domestic security need for dealing with terrorism.            Additionally, there were not efforts to fill the information gaps that were there before the attacks. There poor statistics since there limited activities that were undertaken by security agencies in the United States (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). The model selected put emphasis on identifying the missing information which in turns increases the chances of obtaining the best strategy and the appropriate cause of action to be employed. For instance, the evidence provided that an attack was imminent, but there were no prompt actions that were undertaken to mitigate these threats. Also, despite the availability of evidence that indicated that there were terrorist threats facing the US, no security actions were undertaken in time (Browne Keeley, 2007). The claims behind the lack of actions were that the decision process was still at preliminary stages, indicating the rigidity of the security operations. The selected model offers flexible and dynamic solutions to challenges. Through the right questions model, appropriate decisions would have been arrive at early enough to mitigate the threats. Conclusion            Critical thinking is crucial for the undertakings of the homeland security department. This is because there are significant complexities of the decisions and accompanying actions. The critical thinking models are several but one outranks the others; the right questions model is very essential in establishing the right decisions and cause of actions. The model employs a wider spectral analysis strategy with an aim of achieving efficient, effective and timely solutions. Looking at the applicability of the model against the events of September 11 attacks the model would achieve better-desired results (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). References Browne, M., Keeley, S. (2007). Asking the right questions. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Davis, V. (2012). Use Critical Thinking to Overcome Personal Biases. IN Homeland Security. Retrieved 22 January 2015, from http://inhomelandsecurity.com/use-critical-thinking-to-overcome-personal-biases/ Kiltz, L. (2009). Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Homeland Security and Emergency Management Courses. Journal Of Homeland Security And Emergency Management, 6(1), 1-20. Retrieved from http://www.innovative-analytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DevelopingCriticalThinking.pdf Paul, R., Elder, L. (2009). The miniature guide to critical thinking. Dillon Beach, Calif.: Foundation for Critical Thinking. Pruitt, K. (2003). Modeling Homeland Security: A Value Focused Thinking Approach (1st ed., pp. 1-236). Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio: Department of the Air Force, Air University. Retrieved from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/afit/pruitt_vft_hls.pdf The 9/11 Commission,. (2005). The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (1st ed., pp. 1-400). Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf Source document
Monday, August 5, 2019
The History Of Baggage Handling Systems
The History Of Baggage Handling Systems What was to be the worlds largest automated airport baggage handling system, became a classic story in how technology projects can go wrong. Faced with the need for greater airport capacity, the city of Denver elected to construct a new state of the art airport that would cement Denvers position as an air transportation hub. Denvers new international airport was to be the pride of the Rockies, a wonder of modern engineering [1] . It was almost twice the size of Manhattan and about 10 times the breadth of Heathrow. The airport can handle the landing of three jet planes simultaneously even in bad weather. The airports baggage-handling system was even more impressive than its girth. The coal-mine like cars ran along 21 miles of steel track. 4,000 tele-cars routed and delivered luggage between the counters, gates and claim areas of 20 different airlines [2] . A CNS of some 100 computers connected to one another and to 5,000 surveillance cameras, 400 wireless receivers and 56 bar-code scanners coordinated the safe and timely arrival of every baggage. At least that was the plan. The airports baggage handling system was a critical component in the plan. By automating the baggage handling, aircraft turnaround time was to be reduced to as little as 30 minutes. Faster turnaround meant more efficient operations and was a cornerstone of the airports competitive advantage. Despite such noble intentions the plan promptly thawed as inefficient estimation of the complexity of the project resulted in swelling problems and public mortification for everyone involved. The inauguration of the airport got delayed by 16 months because of the problem. Expenditure to maintain the empty airport and interest charges on construction loans cost the city of Denver $1.1M per day throughout the delay. Of the numerous awkward gaffes along the way one was an unplanned demonstration of the whole system to the media. It elucidated how the system crushed bags, expelled content and how two carts moving at high speed retorted when they bumped into each other. When opening day finally arrived, the system was just a silhouette of the actual plan. Rather than computerizing all 3 concourses into one stand-alone system, it was used only in one concourse, by a one airline and only for flights which were outbound. Rest of the baggage handling was implemented using standard conveyor belts and a tug and trolley system that was entirely manually operated. This was hurriedly built when it became absolutely clear that the automated baggage handling system was never going to achieve its purpose. Although the offcuts of the system survived for 10 years, the system never worked properly and in August 2005, United Airlines announced that they would forsake the system completely. The maintenance costs of $1 million per month considerably exceeded the monthly cost of a manual tug and trolley system. BASIC MODE OF FAILURE Like all other failures the problems can be observed from numerous vantage points. In its humblest form, the Denver International Airport (DIA) project botched because the key decision makers could not analyze the complexity of the project with perfection. As intended, the system was one of the most complex baggage system ever endeavored. There was an exponential growth in the complexity of the project as it was almost ten times larger than any other baggage system. The heart of the complexity was a problem related to what is known as line balancing in project management terms. To adjust system performance, empty carts had to be circulated around the airport ready to carry fresh baggage. With more than 100 pickup points, the algorithms necessary to anticipate where the empty carts should wait for new bags epitomized a hideous dream in the mathematical aspect queuing theory. This failure in anticipating the number of empty carts required led to a delay in the picking up of baggage an as a result of which the system performance slide downhill. One of the main reasons of delayed initiation of the project was failure to recognize the complexity and the risk involved. Based on the original project schedule, this delay left a little over two years for the service agreements to be signed and for the system to be designed, developed, tested and implemented. The closest analogous projects although much smaller and simpler, took two years to implement. Given the dramatic increase in terms of size and complexity, implementation the Denver system in two years was an unmanageable task. As a result of the erroneous estimation of the complexity of the baggage system, the efforts required were also underestimated. That meant that without comprehending it, the Project Management team had calculated the baggage system as the critical path of the whole airport project. To meet the airports scheduled opening date, the project needed to be accomplished in just two years. This obviously was inadequate time and that miscalculation resulted in the project being exposed to gigantic levels of schedule stress. The other succeeding problems were most likely a result of (or aggravated by) shortcuts opted by the team and the mistakes committed by them as they desperately tried to meet the schedule. KEY DECISIONS THAT LED TO DISASTER Till now what has been discussed has made the basic mode of failure pretty clear. But to reach the heart of the problem and what could have been done to differently, we need to understand how the important decisions were made which eventually hampered the whole project. Project failures typically involve a number of faulty decisions, but within those many mistakes, some specific key decisions are the generators of the sequence of proceedings that eventually lead to catastrophe. Key Decision 1 An alteration in tactics At the beginning of a project strategic decisions are made that set the projects track. In the case of DIA, a tactical blunder was made that caused flip-flop to be made part way through the project. Before requesting for bids for an integrated system in the middle of 1991, the DIAs Project Management team had expected that individual airlines would take care of their own baggage handling activities. In 1991, the DIAs Project Management team altered their strategy and realized that an integrated baggage handling system needed to be built. This forced them to take back the responsibility from the individual airlines and carry out the whole project themselves. This alteration of strategy arrived only about two years prior to the airports scheduled inauguration date. This timing of the decision played a major part behind the unnecessary schedule stress that the project was exposed to. Although the decision made sense in the way that only one integrated system would be there with the entire responsibility on the DIA authorities, the timing of the decision was not proper. This led to a delay in start of the integration project. They got two years less time to finish it. The significant point that the airports Project Management team failed to see was that the change in technology required an analogous change in the organizational accountabilities. The failure to identify that change signifies a planning failure that happened during the start of the project. Overall, the mistake made was a failure to associate the airports overall business strategy (the aim of having one of the worlds most competent airports) with the sub-strategy of building the baggage system. Key Decision 2 The decision to continue What is even more surprising is that in spite of knowing that there was insufficient time, both DIAs Project Management team and BAE wanted to go ahead with the full-scale project. Before entering into the BAE contract, there were at least three clear suggestions that the project was not feasible in two years time: Breier Neidle Patrone Associates report clearly showed that the complexity was too much for the system to be built efficaciously. The three bids received pointed out that none of the vendors could have developed the system in time before the opening date. Munich Airport warned that a much simpler version made for them took about two years to be built and around another 6 months to get rid of the bugs. BAE initially did not choose to bid for the project, but the Chief Engineer of DIA directly talked with them and managed to convince them by stating the amount of prestige that was involved with such a large scale project. Many from inside the BAE raised their concern regarding the complexity of the system to be developed and the lack of time. But all the expert advice was ignored and they went ahead with the project with a development time of 2 years. Many factors may have led them into that trap and likely issues that may have influenced the decision making. Other than the Chief Engineers perspective and BAEs interests there were other factors or beliefs which made the whole project start. Both sides would have acknowledged that they were working within a constricted timeframe and the pressure to move rapidly might have caused them to put due-diligence to one side. The inherent belief that such a large airport would not function effectively without an automated system. As a matter of fact, the airport is functioning effectively with a manual system in place. Key Decision 3 The timeline, budget and scope Deciding on the timeline, budget and scope of the project is a critical issue and even more critical is committing on them to your customer. BAE did exactly that to the DIAs project management team. The decision to give a firm promise to scope, schedule and budget transmitted substantial risk onto BAEs shoulders. This clearly shows that the top management of BAE was not at all aware of the amount of risk that they were handling. BAE and the DIAs Project Management team made an additional mistake during the consultations. They excluded the airlines (who were key stakeholders) from the negotiations. Excluding stakeholders from discussions of key project decisions is always a trailing strategy. Key Decision 4 Acknowledgement of the alteration requests BAE and DIAs Project management team could not escape from the stakeholders pressures. Although they decided during negotiations that no change requests would be entertained, they had to accept them as the pressure was on them to meet the stakeholder needs. The stakeholders in this case being the airlines, which they ignored during the original negotiations. Some of these requests forced them to make significant changes in portions where they thought work was already completed. Incorporating these changes had other troubling repercussions. They failed to realize the effect these changes might have and how they would increase the complexity of the whole system. Although some people thought about the effects, their voices did not seem to have reached the higher decision making authorities. There was big communication disarray. Key Decision 5 Treading an alternate path A public demonstration of the project was given to the press sometime in 1994 and it was a major embarrassment. It exposed all the flaws of the project and the Mayor immediately ordered for an external consultant to be hired. Mattias Franz of Logplan Consulting of Germany was asked to look into the matter [3] . Based on his report, the Mayor scraped the project and ordered for the building of a manual trolley system at an additional expenditure of about $50M USD [4] . Although the Mayor took a very intelligent decision, it revealed another major flaw with the project. By the time the Mayor took action, the project was already 6 months behind schedule and had missed a number of opening dates. The missed opening dates and the tragic demo indicate that those at the top echelon actually had almost no clue about the true status of the project. A project of such size and complexity should always have an external consultant or expert looking after it throughout the whole developmental and implementation phase. Some other failure facts While the inefficient estimation of complexity, absence of planning, fruitless communications and lowly management oversight drove the catastrophe, the project underwent many other difficulties that multiplied the problems. Some of those issues were inevitable, but others were most probably a consequence of the time crunch the project was facing. Among the additional issues that impacted the project; Failure of Risk Management Throughout its developmental and implementation phases the project faced a number of technical problems for which they had not accounted for. These things aggravated their already haphazard situation. Such problems were likely foreseeable had the team a little bit more attentive on risk management activities. Again possibly as a result of the time crunch under which they were working, suitable risk management tactics seem not to have been developed. Change in Leadership In 1992 The Chief Engineer died. He was the systems de facto guarantor and his death left the project deprived of much required leadership. According to reports, his interim replacement lacked the in-depth engineering knowledge essential to understand the system. The replacement manager also had to take care of his previous duties and it stretched him to the limits. Issues with Architecture and Design A number of reports specify that the there was an inherent problem with the design that was chosen. It was unnecessarily complicated and prone to bugs. Some of the issues were: There were more than 100 individual PCs in the system. They were all networked together. If any one of the PC failed, there could have been an outage, as there was no automatic backup taken of the data. As the nature of the design recommended a distributed structure, (with PCs scattered around the different areas), it added to the trouble of solving problems when they came up, The worst thing about the system was its inability to detect jams. So, whenever a jam occurred, it kept piling on more and more baggage and thereby worsening it. Again time crunch could have been a reason for the design problems. In such a situation people settle for the first design or solution they can think of. That is exactly what would likely have happened. In addition time crunch often forces teams to concentrate on the happy path design without spending time on devising strategies to counter the problem or make the system fault tolerant. Conclusion The DIA catastrophe is a prototype for failure a lot of other IT implementation projects have followed. As with so many other failures, DIA suffered from; The inefficient estimation of complexity An absence of proper planning resulting in consequent alterations in strategy Extreme schedule pressure Absence of due diligence Committing to public and customer in the face of enormous risks and uncertainty Inefficient management of stakeholders Communication gaps and collapses Design not failsafe Inefficient risk management Failure to understand the repercussions of change requests Absence of management oversight While the above facts denote contributors to the letdown, there is one single problem that existed in the center of it all. For a project to be successful people need to make effective decisions and that requires a number of elements. The main two elements are expertise and knowledge. None of the teams involved in developing the DIAs baggage handling system had prior experience of a developing and implementing system of this magnitude. That lack of knowledge, along with the fact that advice from experts was habitually ignored, is the epicenter of the fiasco. The original planning decisions i.e. to go ahead with a single airport wide integrated system (in spite of being too late to do so) and the firms votive commitments to scope, timeline and budget all represented decisions that were made by people who did not possess the required knowledge. The miscalculations resulting from those choices were the sparks that kindled the fire. Often we have to face situations which we have never faced before and do not know how to proceed without risks. The success or failure of such a situation depends on the way we react to it. The step should ideally be recognizing the situation and its nitty-gritties, but the whole DIA project management team and BAE managers failed to do so. Had they acknowledged their absence of knowledge and the ambiguity they were facing, measures could have been taken to reduce the uncertainty. One of them could have been taking suggestions from experts who had some kind of previous experience in that kind of projects. The cheerful side of the story is that in Feb 1995 DIA did ultimately open and in spite of using a large manual trolley based system, proved to be a great success [5] . The apprehensions of a manual system being too slow for and airport like DIA and would result in increase in the turnaround time of the aircrafts, was never proved.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
alexclo Psychological Analysis of Alex in Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange :: Clockwork Orange Essays
A Psychological Analysis of Alex in A Clockwork Orange       In A Clockwork Orange, Alex is portrayed as two different people living within the same body. As a mischievous child raping the world, he as seen as filth. His actions and blatant disrespect towards society are categorized under that of the common street bum. However, when he is away from his evening attire, he is that of suave. His clothing, his words, his overall attitude. The distinction between the two is triggered by the gentle sounds of Ludwig Van Beethoven.       The psychology of Alex would be that of a serial killer. He is a classic example of Darwin's, Skinner's, Freud's, Erikson's, and Adler's major theories.       Alex is not truly close to any other person that he comes in contact with in the film. He is using his parents for a place to live, and they show no emotion towards him, good or bad. His love for his gang is not that of a male/male platonic relationship that is common in brotherhoods. It is that of a marriage of like interests, when the parties involved loathe each other personally. Society is against him for all his mortal sins. The only living creature that he shows love for is his snake.       Darwin's theory of man having the same thought process's of animals holds an interesting bearing upon Alex. Alex's love is for his snake. Generally love is defined by an understanding, or a closeness between two items. The snake is represented by many things in the natural world today.      Freud's analyzation for the male closeness to the snake is that the person involved is questioning his sexuality, or his love towards the female gender. Alex keeps coming back to his snake after his nights on the town, and his first concern with life after he is paroled is his dear snake. This, combined with the fact that keeps his snake in a chest under his bed ( the most recognized sexual item in an average household), show's his inadequacies with his sexual performance and his penis. He feels that by keeping in contact with his snake, he will be more of a man then he already is, thus making him more noticeable and
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Water Pollution in America Essay examples -- Environmental Pollution Es
When you think of problems in the world today, water pollution isn’t one that would normally come up. In fact it is one of the worst problems in the world today. Water pollution, by definition, is the contamination of streams, lakes, underground water, bays, or oceans by any substances harmful to living things. All living things contain water and most need water to survive, so water pollution is a big problem. If severe, the pollution can kill off birds, fish, and any animals that use the water source. In some cases even killing an entire species.      Keeping the pollution to a minimal isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do. The major water pollutants are chemical, biological, or physical materials that degrade water quality. Pollutants can be classed in to eight categories, each of which presents its own set of hazards.      Petroleum products are one of the most toxic substances to the ecosystem. Oil and chemicals derived from oil get into the water mainly by means of accidental spills from ships, tanker trucks, pipelines, and leaky underground storage tanks. Many petroleum products are poisonous if ingested by animals, and spilled oil damages the feathers of birds or the fur of animals, often causing death.      Pesticides and herbicides are toxins that are used to kill of unwanted animals and plants. These may be collected by rainwater runoff and carried into steams, rivers, lakes, and e...
Friday, August 2, 2019
Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 5
What?†Thea said. This was something she could speak out about. â€Å"Blaise, are you out of your mind?†â€Å"I hope you're not saying you don't want to do spells,†Blaise said dangerously. â€Å"That's part of it, you know.†â€Å"I'm saying there's no way we can get enough blood to fill this without them noticing. What are we going to tell them? ‘I just want a little to remember you by?'†â€Å"Use your ingenuity,†Vivienne said musically, twining a red-gold strand of hair around her fingers. â€Å"In a pinch we could always use the Cup of Lethe,†Blaise added calmly. â€Å"Then no matter what we do, they won't remember.†Thea nearly fell over. What Blaise was suggesting was like using a nuclear bomb to swat a fly. â€Å"You are crazy,†she said quietly. â€Å"You know that maidens aren't allowed to use that kind of spell, and we probably won't even be able to use it when we're mothers, and probably not even when we're crones. That's stuff for the elders.†She stared at Blaise until the gray eyes dropped. â€Å"I don't believe in classifying some spells as forbidden,†Blaise said loftily, but she didn't look back at Thea and she didn't pursue the subject. As she and Dani left the patio, Thea noticed that Dani had taken one of the small vials. â€Å"Are you going to the dance?†â€Å"I guess so.†Dani shrugged lithe shoulders. â€Å"John Finkelstein from our world lit class asked me a couple weeks ago. I've never been to one of their dances before-but maybe this is the time to start.†Now what did that mean? Thea felt uneasy. â€Å"And you're planning to put a spell on him?†â€Å"You mean this?†She twisted the vial in her fingers. â€Å"I don't know. I figured I'd take it just in case†¦.†She looked up at Thea defensively. â€Å"You took one for Eric.†Thea hesitated. She hadn't talked to Dani about Eric yet. Part of her wanted to and part of her was scared. What did Dani really think of Outsiders, anyway? â€Å"After all,†Dani said, her sweet face tranquil, â€Å"they're only humans.†Saturday night Thea took a dress out of the closet. It was pale green-so pale that it almost looked white-and designed along Grecian lines. Witch clothes had to feel good as well as look good, and this dress was soft and lightweight, swirling beautifully when she turned. Blaise wasn't wearing a dress. She was wearing a tuxedo. It had a red silk bow tie and cummerbund and it looked fantastic on her. This is probably going to be the only dance in history where the most popular girl has on cufflinks, Thea thought. Eric arrived right on time. He knocked at the front door of the shop, the door that only Outsiders used. Night People came around back, to a door that was unmarked except for what looked like a bit of graffiti-a spray-painted black dahlia. Okay, Thea thought. She took a deep breath before she unlocked the door and let him in. This is business, business, business†¦. But the first moment wasn't as awkward as she'd feared. He smiled and held out a corsage of white orchids. She smiled and took it. Then she said, â€Å"You look nice.†His suit was pale fatigue brown, loose and comfortable looking. â€Å"Me? You look nice. I mean-you look wonderful. That color makes your hair look just like gold.†Then he glanced down at himself apologetically. â€Å"I don't go to many dances, I'm afraid.†â€Å"Don't you?†She'd heard girls talking about him at school. It seemed as if everyone liked him, wanted to get close to him. â€Å"No, I'm usually pretty busy. You know, working, playing sports.†He added more softly, â€Å"And I have a hard time thinking of things to say around girls.†Funny, you never seem to have a problem around me, Thea thought. She saw him looking the shop over. â€Å"It's my grandmother's store. She sells all kinds of things here, from all around the world.†She watched him closely. This was an important test. If he-a human-believed in this stuff, he was either a New Age geek or dangerously close to the truth. â€Å"It's cool,†he said, and she was happy to see that he was lying. â€Å"I mean,†he said, obviously struggling to find a polite way to praise the voodoo dolls and wand crystals, â€Å"I think people can really affect their bodies by changing their state of mind.†You don't know how right you are, Thea thought. There was a clack of high heels on wood, and Blaise came down the stairs. Her shoes appeared first, then her fitted trouser legs, then all the curves, emphasized here and there with brilliant red silk. Finally came her shoulders and head, her midnight hair half up and half down, framing her face in stormy dark curls. Thea glanced sideways at Eric. He was smiling at Blaise, but not in the goofy, dying-sheep way other guys smiled. His was just a genuine grin. â€Å"Hi, Blaise,†he said. â€Å"Going to the dance? We can take you if you need a lift.†Blaise stopped dead. Then she gave him a blistering glare. â€Å"Thank you, I have my own date. I'm just going to pick him up now.†On the way to the door, she looked hard at Thea. â€Å"You do have everything you need for tonight- don't you?†The vial was in Thea's pale green clutch purse. Thea still didn't know how she could possibly get it filled, but she nodded tightly. â€Å"Good.†Blaise swept out and got into a silver-gray Porsche that was parked at the curb. Kevin's car. But, as Thea knew, she wasn't going to pick up Kevin. â€Å"I think I made her mad,†Eric said. â€Å"Don't worry. Blaise likes being mad. Should we go now?†Business, business, business, Thea chanted to herself as they walked into the school cafeteria. It had been completely transformed from its daytime identity. The lights and music were oddly thrilling and the whirl of color out on the dance floor was strangely inviting. I'm not here to have fun, Thea told herself again. But her blood seemed to be sparkling. She saw Eric glance at her conspiratorially and she could almost feel what he was feeling-as if they were two kids standing hand in hand at the edge of some incredible carnival. â€Å"Uh, I should tell you,†Eric said. â€Å"I can't really dance-except for slow ones.†Oh, great. But of course this was what she was here to do. To put on a show of romancing Eric for Blaise. A slow song was starting that minute. Thea shut her eyes briefly and resigned herself to fate-which didn't seem all that awful as she and Eric stepped out onto the floor. Terpsichore, Muse of the Dance, help me not make a fool of myself. She'd never been so close to a human boy, and she'd never tried to dance to human music. But Eric didn't seem to notice her lack of experience. â€Å"You know, I can't believe this,†he said. His arms were around her lightly, almost reverently. As if he were afraid she'd break if he held her too hard. â€Å"What can't you believe?†â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬ He shook his head. â€Å"Everything, I guess. That I'm here with you. And that it all feels so easy. And that you always smell so good.†Thea laughed in spite of herself. â€Å"I didn't use any yemonja this time-†she began, and then she almost bit her tongue. Adrenaline washed over her in a wave of painful tingles. Was she crazy? She was blurting out spell ingredients, for Earth's sake. He was too easy to talk to, that was the problem. Every so often she'd forget he wasn't a witch. â€Å"You okay?†he said as her silence stretched on. His voice was concerned. No, I am not okay. I've got Blaise on one side and the laws of the Night World on the other, and they're both out to get me. And I don't even know if you're worth it†¦. â€Å"Can I ask you something?†she said abruptly. â€Å"Why did you knock me out of the way of that snake?†â€Å"Huh? It was in a striking coil. You could have got bit.†â€Å"But so could you.†So did you. He frowned as if stricken by one of those unsolvable mysteries of life. â€Å"Yeah†¦ but that didn't seem so bad somehow. I suppose that sounds stupid.†Thea didn't know how to answer. And she was suddenly in terrible conflict about what to do. Her body seemed to want her to lean her head against Eric's shoulder, but her mind was yelling in alarm at the very thought. At that moment she heard loud voices at the edge of the dance floor. â€Å"Get out of the way,†a guy in a blue jacket was saying. â€Å"She smiled at me, and I'm going over there.†â€Å"It was me she was smiling at, you jerk,†a guy in a gray jacket snapped back. â€Å"So just back off and let me go.†Expletives. â€Å"It was me, and you'd better get out of the way.†More expletives. â€Å"It was me, and you'd better let go.†A fistfight started. Chaperones came running. Guess who's here? Thea asked herself. She had no trouble at all locating Blaise. The red-trimmed tuxedo was surrounded by a ring of guys, which was surrounded by a ring of abandoned and angry girls. â€Å"Maybe we should go over and say hi,†Thea said. She wanted to warn Blaise about starting a riot. â€Å"Okay. She sure is popular, isn't she?†They managed to worm their way through the encircling crowd. Blaise was in her element, glorying in the adulation and confusion. â€Å"I waited for an hour and a half, but you never showed up,†a very pale Kevin was saying to her. He was wearing an immaculate white silk shirt and exquisitely tailored black pants. His eyes were hollow. â€Å"Maybe you gave me the wrong address,†Blaise said thoughtfully. â€Å"I couldn't find your house.†She had her hand tucked into the arm of a very tall guy with shoulder-length blond hair, who looked as if he worked out four or five hours a day. â€Å"Anyway, you want to dance?†Kevin looked at the blond guy, who looked back impassively, his cleft chin rock hard. â€Å"Don't mind Sergio,†Blaise said. â€Å"He was just keeping me company. Do you not want to dance?†Kevin's eyes fell. â€Å"Well, yeah, of course I want to†¦.†As Blaise detached herself from Sergio, Thea leaned forward. â€Å"You'd better not do anything too public,†she hissed in her cousin's ear. â€Å"There's already been one fight.†Blaise just gave her an amused glance and took Kevin's arm. Most of the boys followed her, and with the crowd gone, Thea saw Dani at a small table. She was wearing a sparkling gold dress and she was alone. â€Å"Let's go sit,†Eric said, before Thea could even get a word out. She threw him a grateful look. â€Å"Where's John?†Thea asked as they pulled chairs to the table. Dani nodded toward the pack following Blaise. â€Å"I don't mind, though,†she said, sipping a cup of punch philosophically. â€Å"He was kind of boring. I don't know about all this dance stuff.†Thea knew she meant it was different from Circle dances, where everyone was in harmony and there was no pairing off. You danced with the elements and with everybody else, all one big interconnected whole. Eric volunteered to get more punch. â€Å"How's it going with him?†Dani asked in a low voice when he was gone. Her velvety dark eyes searched Thea's curiously. â€Å"Everything's okay so far,†Thea said evasively. Then she looked out toward the dance floor. â€Å"I see Viv and Selene are here.†â€Å"Yeah. I think Vivienne already got her blood. She stabbed Tyrone with her corsage pin.†â€Å"How clever,†Thea said. Vivienne was wearing a black dress that made her hair look like flame, and Selene was in deep violet that showed off her blondness. They both seemed to be having a wonderful time. Dani yawned. â€Å"I think I'll probably go home early-†she began, and then she broke off. Some kind of a disturbance had begun on the other side of the room, in front of the main entrance. People were scuffling. At first, Thea thought it was just another minor fracas over Blaise-but then a figure came staggering out under the lights of the dance floor. â€Å"I want to know,†the voice said in dissonant tones that rose over the music. â€Å"I want to knoooow.†The band stopped. People turned. Something about the voice made them do that. It was so obviously abnormal, the cadence wrong even for somebody who was drunk. This was someone who was disturbed. Thea stood up. â€Å"I want to knoooow,†the figure said again, sounding lost and petulant. Then it turned and Thea felt ice down her spine. The person was wearing a Halloween mask. A kid's plastic mask of a football player, the kind held on with an elastic string. Perfectly appropriate for a Halloween dance. But at Homecoming, it was grotesque. Oh, Eileithyia, Thea thought. â€Å"Can you tell me?†the figure asked a short girl in black ruffles. She backed away, reaching for her dance partner. Mr. Adkins, Thea's physics teacher, came jogging up, his tie fluttering. None of the other chaperones seemed to be around-probably because they were out somewhere trying to control fights over Blaise, Thea thought. â€Å"Okay, let's settle; settle,†Mr. Adkins said, making motions as if the figure were an unruly class. â€Å"Let's just take it easy†¦.†The guy in the Halloween mask pulled something out of his jacket. It glinted like a rainbow under the colored dance floor lights, reflective as a mirror. â€Å"A straight razor,†Dani said in a hushed voice. â€Å"Queen Ms, where'd he get that?†Something about the weapon-maybe the fact that it was so weird, so old-fashioned-made it scarier than a knife. Thea pictured the way even a safety razor could slice flesh. Mr. Adkins was backing away, arms held out as if to protect the students behind him. His eyes were frightened. I have to stop this, Thea thought. The problem was that she had no idea how. If it had been an animal, she could have stepped out and tried mind control. But she couldn't control a person. She started walking anyway, slowly, so as not to attract attention. She skirted the edge of the crowd around the dance floor until she drew parallel with the masked guy. Who by now had switched to a new question. â€Å"Have you seen her?†he said. He kept asking it as he walked, and people kept backing away. Vivienne and Selene drew to either side with their dates. The razor glittered. Thea looked toward the opposite end of the dance floor, where Blaise was standing with Kevin Imamura. With no Buck, no Duane to protect her. But Blaise didn't look frightened. That was one thing about Blaise-she had magnificent physical courage. She was standing with one hand on her hip and Thea could tell that she knew exactly who was coming her way. In between moving couples, Thea glimpsed something else. Eric was on the other side of the dance floor, holding two cups of punch in one hand and one in the other. He was keeping pace with the masked guy, just as she was. She tried to catch his eye, but the crowd was too thick. â€Å"Have you seen her?†the masked guy asked a couple right in front of Blaise. â€Å"I want to knoooow†¦.†The couple split like bowling pins. Blaise stood exposed, tall and elegant in her black suit, lights shimmering off her midnight hair. â€Å"Here I am, Randy,†she said. â€Å"What is it you want to know?†Randy Marik stopped, panting. His breath made a muffled noise against the plastic. The rest of the huge room was eerily silent. Thea moved closer, walking silently. Eric was pulling in from the other side, and he saw her for the first time. He shook his head at her and mouthed, â€Å"Stay away.†Yeah. And you're going to tackle him armed with three party cups of punch. She gave him a look and mouthed, â€Å"You stay away.†Randy's hand was trembling, making the razor flash. His chest was heaving. â€Å"What is it, Randy?†Blaise said. The toe of one high heeled shoe tapped the floor impatiently. â€Å"I feel bad,†Randy said. It was almost a moan. Suddenly his head didn't seem well connected to his neck. â€Å"I miss you.†His voice made Thea's flesh creep. He sounded like a person with the body of an eighteen-year-old and the mind of a four-year-old. â€Å"I cry all the time,†he said. With his left hand, he pulled off the Halloween mask. Kevin recoiled. Thea herself felt a wave of horror. He was crying blood. Bloody streams ran down from each of his eyes, mingling with regular tears. A spell? Thea wondered. Then she thought, no; he's cut himself. That was it. He'd made two crescent-shaped incisions under his eyes and the blood was coming from them. The rest of his face was ghastly, too. He was white as a corpse and there was fuzzy stubble on his chin. His eyes stared wildly. And his hair, which had always been strawberry blond and silky, stood up all over his head like bleached hay. â€Å"You came all the way from New Hampshire to tell me that?†Blaise said. She rolled her eyes. Randy let out a sobbing breath. This seemed to make Kevin braver. â€Å"Look, man, I don't know who you are-but you'd better keep away from her,†he said. â€Å"Why don't you go home and sober up?†It was a mistake. The wild eyes above the bloodstained cheeks focused on him. â€Å"Who are you?†Randy said thickly, advancing a step. â€Å"Who†¦ are†¦ you?†â€Å"Kevin, move!†Thea said urgently. It was too late. The hand with the razor flashed out, lightning quick. Blood spurted from Kevin's face.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 19
Ella The next day is lighter somehow, like I've been buried in the sand and someone has finally dug me out. Micha seems happier too, although I can tell he's still hurting, so I work on keeping his mind distracted. â€Å"So what did you do to it?†I ask Micha as I circle the back end of his car with my hands on my hips, taking in the scratches and dings in the black paint, which look worse in the sunlight. â€Å"I took it for a very intense joy ride.†A lazy grin stretches across his face as he puts his head beneath the hood to examine the engine. I plant my butt on the edge where he's working and cross my leg over my knee. â€Å"At least tell me you won? And that the scratches and dings were totally worth it.†â€Å"Of course. They're always worth it,†he says with a hidden meaning that only the two of us could ever understand. Gripping the edge, I lean back over the engine and give him a peck on the cheek. He grins, tosses a greasy rag onto the ground, and pinches my ass. A squeak comes out of my mouth as I jump from the pinch and fall toward the engine. Pushing myself back up, I get grease all over my arms and backside. I hop off the hood, trying to clean the grease off with my hands, but it's only making a bigger mess. Micha laughs at me as he retrieves a new tool box from the top shelf. â€Å"That's a good look for you.†I stick out my tongue and turn to leave. â€Å"Where are you going?†he asks. I hold up my greasy hands. â€Å"Thanks to you, I have to go take a shower and wash my clothes.†A wicked look dances in his eyes. â€Å"I have grease all over me to. I think I may need to come in there with you.†My stomach flips thinking about last night. I keep backing up toward my house with my eyes on him. â€Å"I'll tell you what. If you can catch me, you can shower with me.†His eyes scroll my body as he sucks his lip ring in between his teeth. â€Å"Is that a challenge, pretty girl?†I try not to smile as I exit the garage into the sunlight, but it's too much and my lips turn upward. I take off toward my house and his footsteps head after me. I jump the fence gracefully, but by the time I reach the back door, his arms are circling my waist. He spins me around and picks me up effortlessly. Hooking my legs around his waist, he opens the door and gets us into the kitchen. He glances around the room and cocks an eyebrow. â€Å"Is Lila here?†I shake my head slowly. â€Å"She's with Ethan.†â€Å"What about your dad?†â€Å"He went to work.†His aqua eyes darken and I can't help but kiss him. I feel him walking, traveling somewhere as our tongues entwine together. I run my fingers through his hair grabbing onto as much of him as possible, shutting my fear away and basking in the moment. Without breaking his lips away from mine, he carries me into the downstairs bathroom. When I hear the shower water turn on, I pull my lips away from his. Before I can ask what he's doing, he sets me down underneath the warm water. I let out a scream as my clothes are drenched. â€Å"See, this way you're washing your clothes and taking a shower at the same time.†He grins and tips the showerhead down so it hits more of me. I seize the front of his T-shirt and yank him forward, so he stumbles into the running water. He braces his hands on the walls, and water sprays over his hair and drips down his face. I smile at him innocently and allow the water to stream down my body. â€Å"Now you're all clean too.†He shakes his head, then shoves away from the wall and jumps all the way into the shower with me. He shuts the curtain and seals us inside the steam. His jeans and T-shirt are sopping wet and beads of water drip into his eyes. I run my hand across his forehead over a spot of grease and then through his hair. He aims the shower head down on me and I tip my head back into the flow. He combs his fingers through my hair sensually and his other hand comes down on the wall behind me as he gathers some of my hair into his hand. Pulling at the roots, he leads me toward him for a deep, watery kiss. Steam surrounds us and makes the passion inside my body ignite. Panic starts screaming inside my head, but I tell it to shut up and suck the water off his lips as I find the bottom of his shirt to lift it over his head. He pulls back and helps me out, slipping it off and tossing it to the side, instantly reuniting his lips with mine. My fingers trace along the lines of his muscles and the pattern of the tattoo on his rib cage; the lyrics to the first song he ever wrote. His hands explore my hips, my waist, then up my shirt. Finally, I just take it off for him and then he unhooks my bra. Our bare chests crash together as we continue to kiss underneath the hot water. Minutes later, the rest of our clothes are in a pile by our feet and I can hardly think straight. The way he touches me, kisses me – nothing has ever felt like this before. He sucks on my breast and licks the water off my skin on my bare stomach, continuing to go down until his tongue finds the right spot. I fall back against the wall as a scream claws up my throat and I lose total control over my body. This time I don't mind. Micha After Ella comes apart, I turn the water off and grab a towel off the hook. She raises her arms above her head, keeping her eyes on me as I wrap the towel around her. â€Å"What?†I ask her, because I can tell she's thinking deeply about something. â€Å"Nothing.†She shrugs casually, but her cheeks turn a little pink. â€Å"It's just that if I would have known all along that it felt that good, I probably wouldn't have fought it so hard.†â€Å"Well, I'm glad you think I'm that good,†I tease her snatching another towel and tying it around my waist. She nibbles on her lip apprehensively as she crosses her arms and rests back against the wall. â€Å"Alright, pretty girl,†I demand. â€Å"What are you thinking about?†She lets her lip pop free. â€Å"It just doesn't seem fair that I'm the one that gets to have all the fun.†I try not to get too excited, because let's face it, she's a runner. â€Å"I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun by myself later.†She reaches forward hesitantly and yanks the towel off my waist. â€Å"That was smooth,†I say, gripping the edge of the counter, fighting to stay calm. Her eyes travel over my body. â€Å"I learned from the best.†She runs her fingers softly along my swollen cock, making me harder than I already am. â€Å"Fuck, Ella,†I say, leaning back against the door and letting go. Ella I have no idea what the hell came over me and I'm not going to over analyze it. I can finally breathe again and that's all that matters. Letting things take their course might be exactly what we both need. Micha wraps a towel around his waist looking happier than I've ever seen him. He kisses me, sucking my bottom lip gently into his mouth, before pulling away and staring into my eyes. â€Å"You're so beautiful.†Smiling, I stare down at our wet clothes balled up in the corner. â€Å"Now what do we do?†He licks his lips and braces his hands on the wall, trapping my head between his arms. â€Å"We could do it again.†I swat his chest, pretending that he's being silly, even though I do want to do it again. â€Å"I mean how do we get out of here? Our clothes are soaking wet and I'm not putting mine back on.†He shrugs and leans away. â€Å"No one's home so keep the towel on you and run upstairs.†I eye over his lean chest. â€Å"Yeah, but what about you?†â€Å"You can go get me some clothes after you get dressed†¦ if you want to.†His lips tug into a flirty grin. I start to say something, but the back door slams shut and Lila and Ethan's voices float from the kitchen. â€Å"Well, there goes that plan,†Micha says with laughter in his tone. I tighten the towel around me and we wait for them to leave, but after a while, it's clear they're not going anywhere. â€Å"I'll go out there,†Micha says and heads for the door. I pull him back by the arm. â€Å"You're in a towel.†â€Å"Obviously.†â€Å"But they'll see you and know something was up.†He cocks his head to the side, his eyes scrutinizing me. â€Å"Is that a bad thing?†I hug my arms around myself. â€Å"No, it's just that†¦ what are we going to tell them we were doing?†â€Å"I'm sure they'll figure it out,†he says. â€Å"Why is this upsetting you?†â€Å"It's not,†I reply, deciding to just be honest. â€Å"It's just that†¦ this is like the realest thing I've had in a long time and it scares me a bit.†He tucks a strand of my damp hair out of my eyes. â€Å"I know it does, but you'll be okay – we'll be okay.†I nod quickly and then move away from the wall, straightening my shoulders. â€Å"Are you coming back after you change?†He plants a kiss on my forehead. â€Å"Where else would I go?†I move out of his way and he walks out the door in his towel, like he's not embarrassed at all. He leaves the door cracked behind him and seconds later I hear the sound of Lila's shocked voice followed by the laughter of Ethan. A few seconds later footsteps head my way. â€Å"Oh Ella,†Lila says through the crack in the door. â€Å"Can I come in?†Holding the towel on, I open the door about half way. â€Å"Could you go get me some clothes, please? Mine are soaking wet.†She covers her mouth, stifling her laughter. â€Å"Sure. I'll be right back.†She comes back with a pair of red shorts and a grey tank top. I get dressed and we meet Micha and Ethan out in the garage. Micha's wearing a pair of loose fitted jeans and his favorite Pink Floyd t-shirt, and he tries not to smirk when he sees me, but Ethan doesn't hold back. â€Å"Have fun this morning?†he asks me and I punch him in the arm. â€Å"Ow,†he fakes hurt and then glances down at the engine. â€Å"Dude, you ripped this thing to shit. What the fuck did you do to it?†â€Å"I took it down to Taylor Bay and drag raced it,†he says with a shrug. â€Å"I guess I pushed it too hard.†â€Å"Then where'd the dents come from?†I question, peering underneath the hood. â€Å"I had an unfortunate run in with another car,†he says, with a twinkle in his eye as he captures my gaze. â€Å"But I still won.†Ethan sighs and slams the hood shut. â€Å"Get in and we'll take it to the shop.†We pile into the car and Micha drives it up on the grass to maneuver it around Ethan's truck parked in the center of the driveway. We drive down the road toward the shop holding hands over the console, listening to Lila and Ethan chat about their day, something so simple, but so meaningful. When Micha pauses at a stop sign, Mikey's cherry red Camaro rolls up to the side of us. He points at Micha's car and then one of his friends mockingly waves. â€Å"Fucking asshole,†Ethan mutters from the backseat. I roll down the window. â€Å"Is there a problem?†Mikey laughs and aims a finger at the hood. â€Å"What'd ya do to that poor thing? It sounds like it's dying.†â€Å"It sounds a lot better than your piece of shit car on a good day,†I retort, sitting up and sticking my head out the window. â€Å"Ella,†Lila says from the backseat, shocked. â€Å"Let her go,†Ethan says. â€Å"She's very entertaining when she gets this way.†Mikey's greasy black hair shines in the sun as he pokes his head out of the car. â€Å"You can keep talking, but it ain't going to do no good since you're both too chicken shit to race me. You guys proved that at the last race.†â€Å"Only because your small size was unimpressive,†I say with an innocent bat of my eyelashes. That pisses him off. He jumps out of the car and Micha pulls me back in and leans over the console, resting an arm around my shoulder protectively, knowing that Mikey's the kind of guy that would hit a girl. Mikey glances up the street before crouching down next to the door. â€Å"If you two think you're so tough then prove it,†he says with a venomous tone. â€Å"The Back Road, nine o'clock.†â€Å"I'm pretty sure she already explained to you that your car isn't worth our time,†Micha says evenly. â€Å"So back the fuck off and get back in your car.†â€Å"The Back Road, nine o'clock,†he repeats slowly before backing away and climbing into his car. â€Å"And I'm sure with the noises your car's making, it should be a pretty fair race.†He revs his engine, proving something, before speeding off through the intersection, leaving tire marks on the asphalt. â€Å"What a jerk,†Lila says from the backseat. â€Å"Getting in your face like that – who does that?†I turn to Micha with a guilty face. â€Å"I'm sorry.†He delicately sketches his finger along my lips and sighs. â€Å"It's okay. We'll figure something out†¦ Besides you can make it up to me later.†â€Å"We can't fix your car that fast, man.†Ethan leans over the console, shoving the sleeves of his black shirt up to his elbows, revealing several tattoos on his arms. â€Å"It's nowhere close to being in racing condition.†â€Å"I know,†Micha replies and starts driving again. â€Å"I guess we'll just have to go in there blind.†â€Å"It could fall apart if you push it too hard,†Ethan cautions. â€Å"Then you'd be back to square one with it.†â€Å"Wait a minute.†Lila holds up her hands in front of her. â€Å"You guys aren't seriously going to race him, are you?†â€Å"We have to,†Ethan and Micha say at the same time. Lila glances at me for an explanation. â€Å"Why?†Ethan slumps back in the seat and brings his knee up as he turns to Lila. â€Å"It's how things work around here. If we don't, then we'll get hounded for it for the rest of our lives.†â€Å"Okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Lila says jolting in the seat as the car hits a pothole. â€Å"What's wrong with that?†Ethan rifles for a way to explain it to her, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. â€Å"It'd be like getting picked on every day in school by everyone in the school.†Lila tucks her hands under her legs. â€Å"That doesn't sound very fun.†â€Å"Exactly, so you can understand why we have to race.†He folds his arms and directs his attention back to Micha. â€Å"Go to the shop, man and we'll see what we can get fixed before it's time to go.â€
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