Saturday, March 21, 2020

101 Intro to Research Professor Ramos Blog

101 Intro to Research Quick Write Quick Write How would you feel if someone used your ideas or work without giving you credit? Intro to Research Scholarly research is research that is published by people with specialized knowledge on what they are researching. It is peer reviewed, reviewed by other researchers and specialist in the field, and is generally trustworthy. Blogs, Newspapers, Magazines are not Scholarly but are popular sources. ProCon.org  No subscription needed. Good place to look at the main issues around a topic. Occupational Outlook Handbook  The OOH can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations. Google Scholar  Google academic database search. Great place to start. Do not use Wikipedia. Smart Searching Keywords are the words you use to search for information about a topic. Effective keywords produce good search results. Report Purpose and Topic Answer questions. Review what is already known about a subject. Report new knowledge. Quick Write Food

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Timeline and History of Chocolate and the Cocoa Bean

Timeline and History of Chocolate and the Cocoa Bean Chocolate has a long and fascinating past, as delicious as its taste. Heres a timeline of notable dates in its history! 1500 BC-400 BC: The Olmec Indians are believed to be the first to grow cocoa beans as a domestic crop.250 to 900 CE: The consumption of cocoa beans was restricted to the Mayan societys elite, in the form of an unsweetened cocoa drink made from the ground beans.AD 600: Mayans migrate into northern regions of South America establishing earliest known cocoa plantations in the Yucatan.14th Century: The drink became popular among the Aztec upper classes who usurped the cocoa beverage from the Mayans and were the first to tax the beans. The Aztecs called it xocalatl meaning warm or bitter liquid.1502: Columbus encountered a great Mayan trading canoe in Guanaja carrying cocoa beans as cargo.1519: Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez recorded the cocoa usage in the court of Emperor Montezuma.1544: Dominican friars took a delegation of Kekchi Mayan nobles to visit Prince Philip of Spain. The Mayans brought gift jars of beaten cocoa, mixed and ready to drink. Spain and Portugal did not export the beloved drink to the rest of Europe for nearly a century. 16th Century Europe: The Spanish began to add cane sugar and flavorings such as vanilla to their sweet cocoa beverages.1570: Cocoa gained popularity as a medicine and aphrodisiac.1585: First official shipments of cocoa beans began arriving in Seville from Vera Cruz, Mexico.1657: The first chocolate house was opened in London by a Frenchman. The shop was called The Coffee Mill and Tobacco Roll. Costing 10 to 15 shillings per pound, chocolate was considered a beverage for the elite class.1674: Eating solid chocolate was introduced in the form of chocolate rolls and cakes served in chocolate emporiums.1730: Cocoa beans had dropped in price from $3 per pound to a price within the financial reach of those other than the very wealthy.1732: French inventor, Monsieur Dubuisson invented a table mill for grinding cocoa beans.1753: Swedish naturalist, Carolus Linnaeus was dissatisfied with the word cocoa, so renamed it theobroma, Greek for food of the gods.1765: Chocolate was introduced to the United States when Irish chocolate-maker John Hanan imported cocoa beans from the West Indies into Dorchester, Massachusetts, to refine them with the help of American Dr. James Baker. The pair soon after built Americas first chocolate mill and by 1780, the mill was making the famous BAKERS  ® chocolate. 1795: Dr. Joseph Fry of Bristol, England, employed a steam engine for grinding cocoa beans, an invention that led to the manufacture of chocolate on a large factory scale.1800: Antoine Brutus Menier built the first industrial manufacturing facility for chocolate.1819: The pioneer of Swiss chocolate-making, Franà §ois Louis Callier, opened the first Swiss chocolate factory.1828: The invention of the cocoa press, by Conrad Van Houten, helped cut prices and improve the quality of chocolate by squeezing out some of the cocoa butter and giving the beverage a smoother consistency. Conrad Van Houten patented his invention in Amsterdam and his alkalizing process became known as Dutching. Several years earlier, Van Houten was the first to add alkaline salts to powdered cocoa to make it mix better with water.1830: A form of solid eating chocolate was developed by Joseph Fry Sons, a British chocolate maker.1847: Joseph Fry Son discovered a way to mix some of the cocoa butter back into the Du tched chocolate, and added sugar, creating a paste that could be molded. The result was the first modern chocolate bar. 1849: Joseph Fry Son and Cadbury Brothers displayed chocolates for eating at an exhibition in Bingley Hall, Birmingham, England.1851: Prince Alberts Exposition in London was the first time that Americans were introduced to bonbons, chocolate creams, hand candies (called boiled sweets), and caramels.1861: Richard Cadbury created the first known heart-shaped candy box for Valentines Day.1868: John Cadbury mass-marketed the first boxes of chocolate candies.1876: Daniel Peter of Vevey, Switzerland, experimented for eight years before finally inventing a means of making milk chocolate for eating.1879: Daniel Peter and Henri Nestlà © joined together to form the Nestlà © Company.1879: Rodolphe Lindt of Berne, Switzerland, produced smoother and creamier chocolate that melted on the tongue. He invented the conching machine. To conch meant to heat and roll chocolate in order to refine it. After chocolate had been conched for seventy-two hours and had more cocoa butter added to it, it was po ssible to create chocolate fondant and other creamy forms of chocolate. 1897: The first known published recipe for chocolate brownies appeared in the Sears and Roebuck Catalogue.1910: Canadian, Arthur Ganong marketed the first nickel chocolate bar. William Cadbury urged several English and American companies to join him in refusing to buy cacao beans from plantations with poor labor conditions.1913: Swiss confectioner  Jules Sechaud of Montreux introduced a machine process for manufacturing filled chocolates.1926: Belgian chocolatier, Joseph Draps starts the Godiva Company to compete with Hersheys and Nestles American market. Special thanks go to John Bozaan for the additional research.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Operations and Materials Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operations and Materials Management - Essay Example Companies keep on upgrading themselves to gain competitive edge and keep up with changing demands and preferences of consumers. This paper is to observe and analyze the operations and materials management of three firms- McDonalds, world wide chain of fast food restaurant; Panda Express, a fast food Asian cuisine restaurant; Wendy’s, quick service hamburger company. Â   All the three companies have a well set operations management that focuses on acquiring the raw material cost effectively; process the raw material to make it ready to bring it out to the shelf for the final use by consumer. This is typical of the Wendy’s operations and its business strategy (Stevenson, 1996). The common thing about the three large firms is that all three have well planned and strategically designed Standard Operating Procedures in addition to their indigenous solution in relation to the nature of industry they are thriving in. In order to avoid huge amount of capital investment in acqu iring and building the infrastructure, McDonalds and Panda Express sells franchisee to local investors. McDonalds is a fast food restaurant catering to all classes of consumers across its chain of set ups globally; it relies on providing fresh food to its consumers in the quickest time possible. The key to its success globally irrespective of the geographical or cultural barriers has been its use of Just In Time (JIT) inventory management system. This system keeps a complete track of the available stock against the current and future demand of the raw material. It helps avoiding overstocking and under stocking at any given time; thus, ensuring healthy and fresh food for consumers (MacDonald, 2000, p. 263). The McDonalds’ management strategically makes a decision on keeping the labor cost low by scheduling the roster as per the store rush depending on peak and non-peak hours. Scheduling of staff roster is one strategy that has been found to be common to all the three companies being analyzed. In all the cases, there is a team of trained staff, where each member is not only specialized to perform a specific task, but also trained to handle more tasks at the same time in case they are required to do so. The companies encourage multi-tasking at their establishments. It helps in scheduling the roster on the basis of peak and non-peak hours; as the staff strength is generally kept low during the non-peak hours, which requires every team member to handle more than just their specific task. On the other hand, during the non-peak hours the work force at all the three firms is so stationed that one individual handles one desk that he specializes in. The well planned and consistent operation process across their chain of establishments and trained staff ensures low cost and improve the overall efficiency. The operating systems adopted by the three firms are primarily the same irrespective of the level an employee holds in the organization. Costs associated with op erations maintenance and monitoring in a company can generally be put under five different headers, which are plant, inventory, labor, raw materials, and distribution. All the costs associated with a company can broadly be classified into two categories, fixed costs and variable costs. As the terms imply, fixed costs are the ones that are incurred irrespective of the running status of a firm and variable costs are ones that are incurred at various stages of operations, like equipment maintenances, labor costs, plant

Monday, February 3, 2020

Management and Organisational Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management and Organisational Learning - Essay Example Organisational leaders are designers, stewards and teachers and are responsible for building organisations where people continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models (Senge 1990). Senge’s concept of learning organisation also described it as, â€Å"organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people continually learn how to learn together,† (cited in Robbins et al 2003). From the above definitions, it can be noted that there is a strong correlation between the ideas of the major proponents of this concept. Both of them talk about learning in an organisation with an aim of transforming that particular organisation in order to have positive growth. For instance, in this particular case, the different levels of Senge’s concept include the following, individual level which is characterised by mental models and personal mastery then group level which is followed by organisational level which is made up of systems thinking and shared vision. Senge argues that learning organisations are innovations based on gradual convergence of all five disciplines. Learning to learn is about creativity and innovation, which is about creating positive change rather than adapting to change. This structure bears testimony that learning in an organisation is seen as something that is carefully designed with the aim of achieving particular goals. According to this definition, learning is no longer restricted to individual experience but has become teamwork which requires new and innovative ways of learning and managing performance improvement. It can thus be seen that exchange of information is central to the process of learning organisation where it should be encouraged and nurtured for positive results in improving performance. In

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Understanding The Personality Of Athletes Psychology Essay

Understanding The Personality Of Athletes Psychology Essay By 1992, more than 1,000 articles had been published on aspects of sport personality (Ruffer, 1976; Vealey, 1989, 2002). This voluminous research demonstrates how important researches and practitioners consider the role of personality to be in sports. With that in mind, this research attempted to determine if there is a relationship between types of personalities and sports preferences. Athletes from different sports and non-athletes will play a part in this particular study. The primary interest of this study is to examine their personalities and make a comparison. There are lots of concerns on does personality of an individual give way to the types of sport chosen to be played. This would trigger questions such as, is there a relationship between personality type and sport preference? How do people choose the sport they participate in? Would it be a matter of personality preference? Are certain personality types more attracted to certain sports, like in careers? Why some people pre fer individual sports over team sports? What do team players have in common? It seems reasonable to propose the idea that people will perform more to their potential if they understand themselves better and what drives their motivation. Most people do not know what they are capable of achieving. The reason is that they do not know themselves well enough. To know who we are and what we are able to do is especially important in sports. If a person knows more of his or her potentials and what they are able to accomplish, there will be a much greater chance for that person to find success. Therefore, more research should be done in this area in order to be able to help athletes and people in general to decide which sport would be best for them. This is especially relevant for young people, because they are trying to decide which sport they might play and they might even have an inspiration to turn professional later in life. This could relate to a quote by Paul Harris, which states, Personality has power to uplift, power to depress, power to curse, and power to b less. Understanding the personality of athletes also prove to be beneficial to achieve a greater achievement and success in their range of sports participation. According to Cristina Bortoni Versari (2008), her research on basketball team indicated that teams exhibit a predictable personality profile and that by understanding the psyche of the athlete, performance and team productivity can be enhanced. Interpersonal communication amongst players and coaching staff can improve; players can take advantage of their personal preferences and strengths and work on developing other areas identified in the assessment process. Optimal communication and performance can be achieved by identifying the athletes preferred learning and personality styles. Personality types are attracted to and succeed in certain sports just like they do in certain occupations. The more athletes and coaches understand about their personalities and the team profile, the more productive they can be. In their review of the relationship between sport and personality, Eysenck, Nias and Cox (1982) list a number of important conclusions. Based on the three well defined dimensions of personality, extraversion, neuroticism and psychotism, a number of findings are apparent: both average and superior sports person tend to be extraverted and tend to be lower on neuroticism but high on psychotism. On the other hand, extraverts are likely to be at a disadvantage in sports which the emphasis is on accuracy, such as rifle shooting and archery which call for calm, slow and deliberate preparation as researched by Davies (1989). By the same token, participants who are more extroverted might choose a team sport and where there is body contact and more aggressiveness. People who are introverted might be prone to an individual sport and a sport where there is no personal contact. Participants who involve themselves in an individual sport will be more egoistic. Nearly all researchers and reviewers in the area have pointed out the serious methodological shortcomings in this area. Essentially, two reasons clearly exist for this disappointing research. Most such research is weak in both conception and design. In fact, it would be surprising if the result werent contradictory and confusing. With this in mind, the researcher will conduct surveys utilizing the examination of athletes, non-athletes, gender, extroversion, neuroticism, sensation seeking, calmness, and other variables. The researchers will then compare findings and interpret the data gathered among different types of sport, and between athletes and non-athletes. All participants will have to complete a demographic questionnaire that assess gender, age, college major, sport they participate in (only for athletes) and GPA. Personality test will be conducted inclusive of Eysenck Personality Inventory (Eysenck Eysenck, 1975), Global 5 (2008) and Scale from the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personal ity Questionnaire (Zuckerman, 2002). This study is concerned with correlations between measures of personality and different sport involvement within sport participation. One focus of interest is to ascertain what personality is the best for a particular sport, enabling the athletes and non athletes to find more success and interest with the least effort. Most people do not know what they are capable of achieving. The reason is that they do not know themselves well enough. To know who we are and what we are able to do is especially important in sports. If a person knows more of his or her potentials and what they are able to accomplish, there will be a much greater chance for that person to find success. This is especially relevant for young people, because they are trying to decide which sport they might play and they might even have an inspiration to turn professional later in life. Researchers have asked for example, what causes one student to be excited about physical education class whereas others dont even bother to dress out. Researched have questioned why some exercisers stay with their fitness program whereas others lose motivation and drop out. All the lack of interest and drop outs of fitness programs could give way to greater problem for a normal average person because they may not get involved in sports anymore. This situation may have caused the alarming raise of obesity cases in Malaysians aged 18 and above, whereby the statistics showed that obesity cases had increased by 3 times from 4.4% in year 1996 to 11.6 % in year 2006. With the huge increment in obesity cases, it is rather sad to see only a slight increment of 3% for the same years taken, for Malaysians involving in sports. Therefore, the study on personality could give an indicator for a person to select the sport that best suit their behavior and with that, they could stick the regime to i mprove the quality of their life. Understanding the personality of athletes also prove to be beneficial to achieve a greater achievement and success in their range of sports participation. According to Cristina Bortoni Versari (2008), her research on basketball team indicated that teams exhibit a predictable personality profile and that by understanding the psyche of the athlete, performance and team productivity can be enhanced. Interpersonal communication amongst players and coaching staff can improve; players can take advantage of their personal preferences and strengths and work on developing other areas identified in the assessment process. Optimal communication and performance can be achieved by identifying the athletes preferred learning and personality styles. Personality types are attracted to and succeed in certain sports just like they do in certain occupations. The more athletes and coaches understand about their personalities and the team profile, the more productive they can be. This study is apparently the early attempt to study the relationship between personality type and sport preferences in Malaysia. The focus of interest in to ascertain the type of personality best suited for a particular sport, enabling athletes to find more success with the least effort. Besides that, it is easier to encourage non athletes to pick up certain physical activities or sports after their type of personality being known. This collides with the human nature whereby, whenever a person knows of his or her potential, they will further gain interest and develop deeper involvement and passion in it. This theory was originated by Sigmund Freud in 1933; with a number of psychoanalytic theorists have proposed modifications to the original theory, namely Carl Jung, Erich Fromm and Erik Erickson (Mischel, 1986). This theory is based primarily upon self analysis and extensive clinical observation of neurotics. However, this theory has had little direct impact on sport personality research, due to their clinical and psychological focus. In Freuds view, the id, ego and superego form the tripartite structure of personality; in a sense the id is the pleasure seeking mechanism. In contrast, the ego represents the conscious, logical, reality oriented aspect of the personality. The superego represents the conscience of the individual; it is the internalized moral standards of societies impressed upon the person by parental control and the process of socialization. From the view of social learning theory, human behavior is a function of social learning and the strength of the situation. An individual behaves according to how he or she has learned to behave, consistent with environmental constraints. The origin of social learning theory can be traced to Clark Hulls 1943 Theory of Learning. Hulls stimulus response theory says that an individuals behavior in any given situation is a function of his or her learned experiences. According to Bandura in the year 1977, behavior is best explained as a function of observational learning. A considerable amount of research in sport psychology has utilized the social learning approach. The basic position or factory theory is that personality can be described in terms of traits possessed by individuals. Traits are considered to be stable, enduring and consistent across a variety of differing situations. Individuals differ in each trait due to genetic differences. Among the most ardent advocates of trait psychology are psychologists such as Alport, Cattell and Eysenck. The great strength of this theory is that it allows for the easy and objective measurement of personality through the use of inventories. Conversely, the weakness of the trait approach is that it may fail to consider the whole person, since personality according to this approach is represented by a collection of specific traits.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

The Lost Duke of Wyndham Chapter Fourteen

After five years at Belgrave, Grace had become, if not accustomed, then at least aware of just what could be accomplished with a bit of prestige and a great deal of money. Nonetheless, even she was amazed at how quickly their travel plans fell into place. Within three days a private yacht had been reserved to ferry them from Liverpool to Dublin and then wait at the dock – for as long as necessary, apparently – until they were ready to return to England. One of Thomas's secretaries had been dispatched to Ireland to arrange for their stay. Grace had felt nothing but pity for the poor man as he was forced to listen to – and then repeat, twice – the dowager's copious and highly detailed instructions. She herself was used to the dowager's ways, but the secretary, accustomed to dealing with a far more reasonable employer, looked nearly ready to cry. Only the best of inns would do for such a traveling party, and of course they would expect the finest set of rooms in each establishment. If the rooms were already reserved, the innkeepers would have to make arrangements to place the other travelers elsewhere. The dowager told Grace that she liked to send someone ahead in cases like these. It was only polite to give the innkeepers a bit of notice so they could find alternate accommodations for their other guests. Grace thought it would have been more polite not to give the boot to people whose only crime was to reserve a room prior to the dowager, but all she could do was offer the poor secretary a sympathetic smile. The dowager wasn't going to change her ways, and besides, she'd already launched into her next set of instructions, which pertained to cleanliness, food, and the preferred dimensions of hand towels. Grace spent her days dashing about the castle, preparing for the voyage and passing along important messages, since the other three inhabitants seemed determined to avoid one another. The dowager was as surly and rude as ever, but now there was an underlying layer of giddiness that Grace found disconcerting. The dowager was excited about the upcoming journey. It was enough to leave even the most experienced of companions uneasy; the dowager was never excited about anything. Pleased, yes; satisfied, often (although un satisfied was a far more frequent emotion). But excited? Grace had never witnessed it. It was odd, because the dowager did not seem to like Mr. Audley very well, and it was clear that she respected him not at all. And as for Mr. Audley – he returned the sentiment in spades. He was much like Thomas in that regard. It seemed to Grace that the two men might have been fast friends had they not met under such strained circumstances. But while Thomas's dealings with the dowager were frank and direct, Mr. Audley was much more sly. He was always provoking the dowager when in her company, always ready with a comment so subtle that Grace could only be sure of his meaning when she caught his secret smile. There was always a secret smile. And it was always for her. Even now, just thinking about it, she found herself hugging her arms to her body, as if holding it tightly against her heart. When he smiled at her, she felt it – as if it were more than something to be seen. It landed upon her like a kiss, and her body responded in kind – a little flip in her stomach, pink heat on her cheeks. She maintained her composure, because that was what she'd been trained to do, and she even managed her own sort of reply – the tiniest of curves at the corners of her mouth, maybe a change in the way she held her gaze. She knew he saw it, too. He saw everything. He liked to play at being obtuse, but he had the keenest eye for observation she had ever known. And all through this, the dowager pressed forward, single-minded in her determination to wrest the title from Thomas and give it to Mr. Audley. When the dowager spoke of their upcoming journey, it was never if they found proof, it was when they found it. Already she had begun to plan how best to announce the change to the rest of society. Grace had noticed that she was not particularly discreet about it, either. What was it the dowager had said just the other day – right in front of Thomas? Something about having to redraw endless contracts to reflect the proper ducal name. She had even turned to him and asked if he thought that anything he'd signed while duke was legally binding. Grace had thought Thomas a master of restraint for not throttling her on the spot. Indeed, all he said was, â€Å"It will hardly be my problem should that come to pass.† And then, with a mocking bow in the dowager's direction, he left the room. Grace was not sure why she was so surprised that the dowager did not censor herself in front of Thomas; it wasn't as if she'd shown a care for anyone else's feelings before. But surely this qualified as extraordinary circumstances. Surely even Augusta Cavendish could see where it might be hurtful to stand in front of Thomas and talk about how she planned to go about his public humiliation. And as for Thomas – he was not himself. He was drinking too much, and when he wasn't closeted in his study, he stalked about the house like a moody lion. Grace tried to avoid him, partly because he was in such poor temper, but mostly because she felt so guilty about everything, so unconscionably disloyal for liking Mr. Audley so well. Which left him. Mr. Audley. She'd been spending too much time with him. She knew it but could not seem to help herself. And it really wasn't her fault. The dowager kept sending her on errands that put her in his sphere. Liverpool or Holyhead – which port made better sense for their departure? Surely Jack (the dowager still refused to call him Mr. Audley, and he would not respond to anything Cavendish) would know. What might they expect from the weather? Find Jack and ask his opinion. Could one obtain a decent pot of tea in Ireland? What about once they'd left the environs of Dublin? And then, after Grace had reported back with Yes and for God's sake (amended to remove the blasphemy), she was sent on her way again to determine if he even knew how to judge a tea's quality. It was almost embarrassing to ask him this. It should have been, but by that point they were bursting out laughing just at the sight of each other. It was like that all the time now. He would smile. And then she would smile. And she was reminded just how much better she liked herself when she had reason to smile. Just now the dowager had ordered her to find him for a full accounting of their proposed route through Ireland, which Grace found odd, since she would have thought the dowager had worked that out by then. But she was not about to complain, not when the task both removed her from the dowager's presence and placed her in Mr. Audley's. † Jack,† she whispered to herself. He was Jack. His name suited him perfectly, dashing and carefree. John was far too staid, and Mr. Audley too formal. She wanted him to be Jack, even though she had not allowed herself to say it aloud to him, not since their kiss. He had teased her about it – he always teased her about it. He'd prodded and cajoled and told her she must use his given name or he would not respond, but she remained steadfast. Because once she did, she was afraid she could never go back. And she was already so perilously close to losing her heart forever. It could happen. It would happen if she let it. She had only to let go. She could close her eyes and imagine a future†¦with him, and children, and so much laughter. But not here. Not at Belgrave, with him as the duke. She wanted Sillsby back. Not the house, since that could never be, but the feeling of it. The comfortable warmth, the kitchen garden that her mother had never been too important to attend. She wanted the evenings in the sitting room – the sitting room, she reminded herself, the only one. Nothing that had to be described with a color or a fabric or a location within the building. She wanted to read by the fire with her husband, pointing out bits that amused her, and laughing when he did the same. That was what she wanted, and when she had the courage to be honest with herself, she knew that she wanted it with him. But she wasn't often honest with herself. What was the point? He didn't know who he was; how could she know what to dream? She was protecting herself, holding her heart in armor until she had an answer. Because if he was the Duke of Wyndham, then she was a fool. As fine a house as Belgrave was, Jack much preferred to spend time out of doors, and now that his mount had been transferred to the Wyndham stables (where his horse was certainly wallowing in joy over the endless carrots and warm accommodations), he had taken up the habit of a ride each morning. Not that this was so very far from his prior routine; Jack usually found himself on horseback by late morning. The difference was that before he'd been going somewhere, or, on occasion, fleeing from somewhere. Now he was out and about for sport, for constitutional exercise. Strange, the life of a gentleman. Physical exertion was achieved through organized behavior, and not, as the rest of society got it, through an honest day's work. Or a dishonest one, as the case often was. He was returning to the house – it was difficult to call it a castle, even though that's what it was; it always made him want to roll his eyes – on his fourth day at Belgrave, feeling invigorated by the soft bite of the wind over the fields. As he walked up the steps to the main door, he caught himself peering this way and that, hoping for a glimpse of Grace even though it was highly unlikely she'd be out of doors. He was always hoping for a glimpse of Grace, no matter where he was. Just the sight of her made something tickle and fizz within his chest. Half the time she did not even see him, which he did not mind. He rather enjoyed watching her go about her duties. But if he stared long enough – and he always did; there was never any good reason to place his eyes anywhere else – she always sensed him. Eventually, even if he was at an odd angle, or obscured in shadows, she felt his presence, and she'd turn. He always tried to play the seducer then, to gaze at her with smoldering intensity, to see if she'd melt in a pool of whimpering desire. But he never did. Because all he could do, whenever she looked back at him, was smile like a lovesick fool. He would have been disgusted with himself, except that she always smiled in return, which never failed to turn the tickle and fizz into something even more bubbly and carefree. He pushed open the door to Belgrave's front hall, pausing for a moment once he was inside. It took a few seconds to adjust to the abrupt lack of wind, and indeed, his body gave an unprompted little shake, as if to push away the chill. This also gave him time to glance about the hall, and indeed, he was rewarded for his diligence. â€Å"Miss Eversleigh!† he called out, since she was at the far end of the long space, presumably off on another one of the dowager's ridiculous errands. â€Å"Mr. Audley,† she said, smiling as she walked toward him. He shrugged off his coat (presumably purloined from the ducal closet) and handed it to a footman, marveling, as always, at how the servants seemed to materialize from nowhere, always at the exact moment they were needed. Someone had trained them well. He was close enough to his military days to appreciate this. Grace reached his side before he had even pulled off his gloves. â€Å"Have you been out for a ride?† she asked. â€Å"Indeed. It's a perfect day for it.† â€Å"Even with all the wind?† â€Å"It's best with wind.† â€Å"I trust you were reunited with your horse?† â€Å"Indeed. Lucy and I make a fine team.† â€Å"You ride a mare?† â€Å"A gelding.† She blinked with curiosity, but not, strangely, surprise. â€Å"You named your gelding Lucy?† He gave his shrug a bit of dramatic flair. â€Å"It is one of those stories that loses something in the retelling.† In truth, it involved drink, three separate wagers, and a propensity for the contrary that he was not certain he was proud of. â€Å"I am not much of an equestrienne,† she said. It was not an apology, just a statement of fact. â€Å"By choice or circumstance?† â€Å"A bit of both,† she replied, and she looked a bit curious, as if she'd never thought to ask herself that question. â€Å"You shall have to join me sometime.† She smiled ruefully. â€Å"I hardly think that falls within the scope of my duties to the dowager.† Jack rather doubted that. He remained suspicious of the dowager's motives as pertained to Grace; she seemed to thrust Grace in his direction at every possible occasion, like some piece of ripened fruit, dangled before his nose to entice him to stay put. He found it all rather appalling, but wasn't about to deny himself the pleasure of Grace's company just to spite the old bat. â€Å"Bah,† he said. â€Å"All the best companions go riding with the houseguests.† â€Å"Oh.† So dubious. â€Å"Really.† â€Å"Well, they do in my imagination, at least.† Grace shook her head, not even trying not to smile. â€Å"Mr. Audley†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But he was looking this way and that, his manner almost comically surreptitious. â€Å"I think we're alone,† he whispered. Grace leaned in, feeling very sly. â€Å"Which means†¦?† â€Å"You can call me Jack.† She pretended to consider. â€Å"No, I don't think so.† â€Å"I won't tell.† â€Å"Mmmm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her nose scrunched, and then a matter-of-fact: â€Å"No.† â€Å"You did it once.† She pressed her lips together, suppressing not a smile, but a full-fledged laugh. â€Å"That was a mistake.† â€Å"Indeed.† Grace gasped and turned. It was Thomas. â€Å"Where the devil did he come from?† Mr. Audley murmured. From the small saloon, Grace thought miserably. The entrance was right behind them. Thomas frequently spent time there, reading or tending to his correspondence. He said he liked the afternoon light. But it wasn't afternoon. And he smelled like brandy. â€Å"A pleasant conversation,† Thomas drawled. â€Å"One of many, I assume.† â€Å"Were you eavesdropping?† Mr. Audley said mildly. â€Å"For shame.† â€Å"Your grace,† Grace began, â€Å"I – â€Å" â€Å"It's Thomas,† he cut in derisively, â€Å"or don't you recall? You've used my name far more than once.† Grace felt her cheeks grow hot. She'd not been sure how much of the conversation Thomas had heard. Apparently, most of it. â€Å"Is that so?† Mr. Audley said. â€Å"In that case, I insist you call me Jack.† He turned to Thomas and shrugged. â€Å"It's only fair.† Thomas made no verbal reply, although his thunderous expression spoke volumes. Mr. Audley turned back to her and said, â€Å"I shall call you Grace.† â€Å"You will not,† Thomas snapped. Mr. Audley remained as calm as ever. â€Å"Does he always make these decisions for you?† â€Å"This is my house,† Thomas returned. â€Å"Possibly not for long,† Mr. Audley murmured. Grace actually lurched forward, so sure was she that Thomas was going to lunge at him. But in the end Thomas only chuckled. He chuckled, but it was an awful sound. â€Å"Just so you know,† he said, looking Mr. Audley in the eye, â€Å"she doesn't come with the house.† Grace looked at him in shock. â€Å"Just what do you mean by that?† Mr. Audley inquired, and his voice was so smooth, so purposefully polite, that it was impossible not to hear the edge of steel underneath. â€Å"I think you know.† â€Å"Thomas,† Grace said, trying to intercede. â€Å"Oh, we're back to Thomas, are we?† â€Å"I think he fancies you, Miss Eversleigh,† Mr. Audley said, his tone almost cheerful. â€Å"Don't be ridiculous,† Grace said immediately. Because he didn't. He couldn't. If Thomas had – Well, he'd had years to make it known, not that anything could have come of it. Thomas crossed his arms and gave Mr. Audley a stare – the sort that sent most men scurrying for the corners. Mr. Audley merely smiled. And then he said, â€Å"I wouldn't wish to keep you from your responsibilities.† It was a dismissal, elegantly worded and undeniably rude. Grace could not believe it. No one spoke to Thomas that way. But Thomas smiled back. â€Å"Ah, now they are my responsibilities?† â€Å"While the house is still yours.† â€Å"It's not just a house, Audley.† â€Å"Do you think I don't know that?† No one spoke. Mr. Audley's voice had been a hiss, low and urgent. And scared. â€Å"Excuse me,† Thomas said abruptly, and while Grace watched in silence, he turned and walked back into the small saloon, shutting the door firmly behind him. After what felt like an eternity, just staring at the white paint on the door, Grace turned back to Mr. Audley. â€Å"You should not have provoked him.† â€Å"Oh, I should not have been provoking?† She let out a tense breath. â€Å"Surely you understand what a difficult position he is in.† â€Å"As opposed to mine,† he said, in quite the most awful voice she'd heard him use. â€Å"How I adore being kidnapped and held against my will.† â€Å"No one has a gun to your head.† â€Å"Is that what you think?† His tone was mocking, and his eyes said he could not believe her naivete. â€Å"I don't think you even want it,† Grace said. How was it this had not occurred to her before? How had she not seen it? â€Å"Want what?† he practically snapped. â€Å"The title. You don't, do you?† â€Å"The title,† he said icily, â€Å"doesn't want me.† She could only stare in horror as he turned on his heel and strode off.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Top Choices of Ielts Essay Samples of Band 9 Pdf

Top Choices of Ielts Essay Samples of Band 9 Pdf The Fight Against Ielts Essay Samples of Band 9 Pdf The examiner will count the amount of words should they think that it is beneath the word count. Make sure you stay away from these mistakes! You do have some language mistakes which make it a little hard to follow along with. Ridiculously, the majority of the test-takers lose marks not because of absence of knowledge, but due to making very simple mistakes! There aren't any grammar mistakes in the answer and there's an exceptional array of complex structures. You are the result of move into a rented apartment next month but you won't be in a position to because you have some difficulties. The only problem includes grammar problems like harmful rather than harm in the question at the start. The Little-Known Secrets to Ielts Essay Samples of Band 9 Pdf I telephoned the bank to spell out the issue, but I couldn't get through the correct department, while I waited on the line for over 30 minutes, which was extremely annoying. A significant disadvantage of an admission fee is the chance of cutting back the quantity of visitors. Do you want to know how to boost your ielts band score. If don't have any idea what an ielts essay appears like or will need to enhance your writing skills you're in the appropr iate place. Therefore don't get intimidated if you believe you can't write such essays. Remember that not one of these essays are rated by an ielts examiner. Essays term papers dissertations and a lot more. Within this book we show you the way to analyze the Task 2 question, and we explain the different kinds of essay you might be requested to write. Every answer is found in the text, you don't require any extra knowledge to be successful. Make the the majority of your writing test. Examine the model essay and read the comments. This advice will help you not just to stop certain hazards that you may face while reading eBook frequently but also facilitate you to take pleasure in the reading experience with fantastic comfort. Follow theseIELTS Reading tips and you will surely boost your score. Despite how this will mean that you will have less text on every page and increased volume of page turning, you will be able to read your desirable eBook with excellent convenience and have an outstanding reading experience with better eBook screen. By utilizing different techniques of page turn you may also boost your eBook encounter. Lesser the movement you've got to make while reading the eBook better will become your reading experience. So skim over the text and begin searching for the answers. What Does Ielts Essay Samples of Band 9 Pdf Mean? As an example, junior citizens usually ask their friends until they come to a last decision on buying a bright phone. Some people believe that we ought to use traditional strategies to address our problems, others say that we need to use modern strategies. As an example, last year an act of terror occurred because some criminals had the ability to learn to make explosives employing free info on the world wide web. For instance, it i s valid to argue that lots of young people today want to emulate the fashion styles of their idols. There are several ecofriendly technological alternatives to what society utilizes today that are not as damaging for nature. There's a frequent fallacy that the use of a single language for a lingua franca may exert a negative effect on many nations. While globalization impacts the worlds economics in an extremely positive way its negative sides. To begin with, in fact, despite the function of English as a frequent language across most nations in the world, less common languages are being preserved well at present. Ielts Essay Samples of Band 9 Pdf and Ielts Essay Samples of Band 9 Pdf - The Perfect Combination Attempt to use the mouse if you're comfortable sitting back. Consider utilizing the mouse if you're comfy sitting back. Consider utilizing the mouse if you're comfortable sitting back. Getting the Best Ielts Essay Samples of Band 9 Pdf CONCLUSION In conclusion, dis tributing information absolutely free of charge can help in some specific facets but can also be damaging to society. Some of our group will want to employ geological picks and other equipment, if at all possible. Furthermore there's the matter of the rights of the person. Also, certain kinds of information in the incorrect hands can be devastating for society.