Last Sacrifice Chapter Nine

FORTUNATELY, THEY WERE MOROI FACES. That didn't stop me from raising my stake and moving closer to Sydney. No one was attacking us, so I held my position–not that it probably mattered. As I took in more and more of the setting, I saw that we were completely surrounded by about ten people. We'd told Sydney we were good, and it was true: Dimitri and I could probably take out a group like this, though the poor fighting quarters would make it difficult. I also realized the group wasn't entirely Moroi. The ones closest to us were, but around them were dhampirs. And the light I'd thought had come from torches or flashlights was actually coming from a ball of flame held in one of the Moroi's hands. One Moroi man stepped forward, about Abe's age, with a bushy brown beard and a silver stake in his hand. Some part of me noted the stake was crudely made compared to mine, but the point held the same threat. The man's gaze passed over me and Dimitri, and the stake lowered. Sydney became the object of the guy's scrutiny, and he suddenly reached out for her. Dimitri and I moved to stop him, but other hands reached out to stop us. I could have fought them but froze when Sydney let out a strangled, â€Å"Wait.' The bearded Moroi gripped her chin and turned her head so that the light fell on her cheek, lighting up the golden tattoo. He released his hold and stepped back. â€Å"Lily-girl,' he grunted. The others relaxed very slightly, though they kept their stakes poised and still looked ready to attack if provoked. The Moroi leader turned his attention from Sydney to Dimitri and me. â€Å"You're here to join us?' he asked warily. â€Å"We need shelter,' said Sydney, lightly touching her throat. â€Å"They're being chased by–by the Tainted.' The woman holding the flame looked skeptical. â€Å"More like spies for the Tainted.' â€Å"The Tainted Queen is dead,' said Sydney. She nodded toward me. â€Å"They think she did it.' The inquisitive part of me started to speak but promptly shut up, wise enough to know this bizarre turn of events was best left in Sydney's hands. I didn't understand what she was saying. When she'd said Tainted were pursuing us, I thought she was trying to make this group think we had Strigoi after us. Now, after she'd mentioned the queen, I wasn't so sure. I also wasn't so sure identifying me as a potential murderer was that smart. For all I knew, Brown Beard would turn me in and try to score a reward. From the looks of his clothes, he could have used one. To my surprise, this brought a smile to his face. â€Å"And so, another usurper passes on. Is there a new one yet?' â€Å"No,' said Sydney. â€Å"They'll have elections soon and choose.' The group's smiles were replaced by looks of disdain and disapproving mutters about elections. I couldn't help myself. â€Å"How else would they choose a new king or queen?' â€Å"In the true way,' said a nearby dhampir. â€Å"The way it used to be, long ago. In a battle to the death.' I waited for the punch line, but the guy was clearly serious. I wanted to ask Sydney what she'd gotten us into, but by this point, we'd apparently passed inspection. Their leader turned and began walking down the path. The group followed, moving us along as they did. Listening to their conversation, I couldn't help a small frown–and not just because our lives might be on the line. I was intrigued by their accents. The motel's desk clerk had had a thick southern accent, exactly like you'd expect in this part of the country. These guys, while sounding similar, had a few other pronunciations mixed in. It almost reminded me a little of Dimitri's accent. I was so tense and anxious that I could hardly focus on how long we walked. Eventually, the path led us to what seemed like a well-hidden campground. A huge bonfire blazed in a clearing with people sitting around. Yet, there were structures scattered off to one side, stretching into the woods along the now widened path. It wasn't quite a road yet, but it gave the illusion of a town, or at least a village. The buildings were small and shabby but appeared permanent. On the other side of the fire, the land rose sharply into the Appalachians, blocking out the stars. In the flickering light, I could see a mountain's face that was textured with rough stone and scattered trees, dotted here and there with dark holes. My attention moved back to the living. The crowd gathered around the fire–a couple dozen or so–fell silent as our escort led us in. At first, all I saw were numbers. That was the warrior in me, counting opponents and planning for attack. Then, just like I had earlier, I truly took in the faces. More Moroi mixed with dhampirs. And–I was shocked to discover–humans. These weren't feeders either. Well, not in the sense that I knew feeders. Even in the dark, I could see glimpses of bite marks along some of the humans' necks, but judging by their curious expressions, I could tell these people didn't give blood regularly. They weren't high. They were mixed in among the Moroi and dhampirs, sitting, standing, talking, engaging–the whole group clearly unified in some kind of community. I wondered if these humans were like the Alchemists. Maybe they had some sort of a business relationship with my kind. The tight formation around us began to spread out, and I moved closer to Sydney. â€Å"What in God's name is all this?' â€Å"The Keepers,' she said in a low voice. â€Å"Keepers? What does that mean?' â€Å"It means,' said the bearded Moroi, â€Å"that unlike your people, we still keep the old ways, the way we truly should.' I eyed these â€Å"Keepers' in their worn clothes and the dirty, barefoot children. Reflecting upon how far we were from civilization–and based on how dark it was away from the fire–I was willing to bet they didn't have electricity. I was on the verge of saying that I didn't think this was how anyone should truly be living. Then, remembering the casual way these people had spoken about fights to the death, I decided to keep my views to myself. â€Å"Why are they here, Raymond?' asked a woman sitting by the fire. She was human but spoke to the bearded Moroi in a perfectly ordinary and familiar way. It wasn't the dreamy manner a feeder usually used with a Moroi. It wasn't even like the stilted conversations my kind had with the Alchemists. â€Å"Are they joining us?' Raymond shook his head. â€Å"No. The Tainted are after them for killing their queen.' Sydney elbowed me before I could deny the claim. I clenched my teeth, waiting to be mobbed. Instead, I was surprised to find the crowd looking at me with a mix of awe and admiration, just as our welcoming party had. â€Å"We're giving them refuge,' explained Raymond. He beamed at us, though I didn't know if his approval came from us being murderers or if he simply liked the attention he was getting. â€Å"Although, you are welcome to join us and live here. We have room in the caves.' Caves? I jerked my head toward the cliffs beyond the fire, realizing now what those black holes were. Even as I watched, a few people retiring for the night crawled off and disappeared into the dark depths of the mountain. Sydney answered while I worked to keep a look of horror off my face. â€Å"We only need to stay here †¦' She faltered, not surprising considering how sketchy our plans had become. â€Å"A couple days, probably.' â€Å"You can stay with my family,' said Raymond. â€Å"Even you.' That was directed toward Sydney, and he made it sound like quite the favor. â€Å"Thank you,' she said. â€Å"We'd be grateful to spend the night at your house.' The emphasis on the last word was for me, I realized. The wooden structures along the dusty path didn't look luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd take one over a cave any day. The village or commune or whatever was getting increasingly excited as our novelty sank in. They bombarded us with a flurry of questions, starting with ordinary things like our names but moving quickly on to specific details about how exactly I'd killed Tatiana. I was saved from having to answer when the human woman who had spoken to Raymond earlier jumped up and steered my threesome away. â€Å"Enough,' she said, chastising the others. â€Å"It's getting late, and I'm sure our guests are hungry.' I was starving, actually, but didn't know if I was in dire enough straits to eat opossum stew or whatever passed as food around here. The woman's proclamation was met with some disappointment, but she assured the others they could talk to us tomorrow. Glancing around, I saw a faint purpling of what must have been the eastern sky. Sunrise. A group of Moroi clinging to â€Å"traditional' ways would most certainly run on a nocturnal schedule, meaning these people probably only had a few more hours before bedtime. The woman said her name was Sarah and led us down the dusty path. Raymond called that he'd see us soon. As we walked, we saw other people wandering near scattered, ramshackle homes, on their way to bed or possibly woken up with all the commotion. Sarah glanced over at Sydney. â€Å"Did you bring us anything?' â€Å"No,' said Sydney. â€Å"I'm just here to escort them.' Sarah looked disappointed but nodded. â€Å"An important task.' Sydney frowned and appeared even more uneasy. â€Å"How long has it been since my people brought you anything?' â€Å"A few months,' said Sarah after a moment's thought. Sydney's expression darkened at this, but she said no more. Sarah finally took us inside one of the larger and nicer looking of the houses, though it was still plain and made of unpainted wooden boards. The inside was pitch black, and we waited as Sarah lit old-fashioned lanterns. I'd been right. No electricity. This suddenly made me wonder about plumbing. The floors were hardwood like the walls and covered in large, brightly patterned rugs. We appeared to be in some hybrid kitchen-living-dining room. There was a large fireplace in the center, a wooden table and chairs on one side, and large cushions on the other that I presumed served as sofas. Racks of drying herbs hung near the fireplace, filling the room with a spicy scent that mingled with the smell of burnt wood. There were three doors in the back wall, and Sarah nodded to one. â€Å"You can sleep in the girls' room,' she said. â€Å"Thanks,' I said, not sure I really wanted to see what our guest accommodations were like. I was already missing the MOTEL. I studied Sarah curiously. She looked to be about Raymond's age and wore a plain, knee-length blue dress. Her blond hair was pulled back and tied at her neck, and she seemed short to me the way all humans did. â€Å"Are you Raymond's housekeeper?' It was the only role I could deduce for her. She had a few bite marks but obviously wasn't a feeder. At least not a full-time one. Maybe around here, feeders doubled as household help. She smiled. â€Å"I'm his wife.' It was a mark of my self-control that I managed any sort of response. â€Å"Oh.' Sydney's sharp eyes fell on me, a warning in them: Let it go. I again clenched my jaw shut and gave her a brief nod to let her know I understood. Except, I didn't understand. Dhampirs and Moroi hooked up all the time. Dhampirs had to. More permanent liaisons were scandalous–but not completely out of the realm of possibility. But Moroi and humans? That was beyond comprehension. Those races hadn't gotten together in centuries. They'd produced dhampirs long ago, but as the modern world progressed, Moroi had completely withdrawn from intermingling (in an intimate way) with humans. We lived among them, sure. Moroi and dhampirs worked alongside humans out in the world, bought houses in their neighborhoods, and apparently had bizarre arrangements with secret societies like the Alchemists. And, of course, Moroi fed from humans–and that was the thing. If you kept a human close to you, it was because they were a feeder. That was your level of intimacy. Feeders were food, pure and simple. Well-treated food, yes, but not food you became friends with. A Moroi having sex with a dhampir? Racy. A Moroi having sex with a dhampir and drinking blood? Dirty and humiliating. A Moroi having sex with a human–with or without blood drinking? Incomprehensible. There were few things that shocked me or gave me offense. I was pretty liberal in my views when it came to romance, but the idea of human and Moroi marriage blew me away. It didn't matter if the human was a type of feeder–as Sarah appeared to be–or someone â€Å"above' that like Sydney. Humans and Moroi didn't get together. It was primitive and wrong, which was why it was no longer done. Well, at least not where I came from. Unlike your people, we still follow the old ways. The funny thing was that no matter how wrong I thought all this was, Sydney had to feel even more strongly about it with her vampire hang-ups. I supposed she'd been prepared, however, which is why she could manage that cool expression of hers. She hadn't been blindsided like Dimitri and me, because I felt with some certainty that he shared my feelings. He was just better at hiding surprise. A commotion at the door startled me out of my shock. Raymond had arrived and wasn't alone. A dhampir boy of about eight or so sat on his shoulders, and a Moroi girl about the same age scurried alongside them. A pretty Moroi woman who looked to be in her twenties followed, and behind her was a cute dhampir guy who couldn't have been more than a couple years older than me, if not exactly my age. Introductions followed. The children were Phil and Molly, and the Moroi woman was named Paulette. They all appeared to live there, but I couldn't exactly figure out the relationships, except for the guy my age. He was Raymond and Sarah's son, Joshua. He had a ready smile for all of us–especially me and Sydney–and eyes that reminded me of the piercing, crystalline blue of the Ozeras. Only, whereas Christian's family tended to have dark hair, Joshua's was a sandy blond with lighter gold highlights. I had to admit, it was an attractive combination, but that stunned part of my brain reminded me again that he'd been born from a human-Moroi hookup, not a dhampir and Moroi like me. The end product was the same, but the means were bizarre. â€Å"I'm putting them in your room,' Sarah told Paulette. â€Å"The rest of you can share the loft.' It took me a moment to realize â€Å"the rest of you' meant Paulette, Joshua, Molly, and Phil. Glancing up, I saw there was indeed what looked like a loft space covering half the house's width. It didn't look big enough for four people. â€Å"We don't want to inconvenience you,' said Dimitri, sharing my thoughts. He'd been silent for almost all of this wood-land adventure, saving his energy for actions, not words. â€Å"We'll be fine out here.' â€Å"Don't worry about it,' said Joshua, again giving me that pretty smile. â€Å"We don't mind. Angeline won't either.' â€Å"Who?' I asked. â€Å"My sister.' I repressed a grimace. Five of them crammed up there so that we could have a room. â€Å"Thank you,' said Sydney. â€Å"We appreciate it. And we really won't be staying long.' Their dislike of the vampire world aside, Alchemists could be polite and charming when they chose. â€Å"Too bad,' said Joshua. â€Å"Stop flirting, Josh,' said Sarah. â€Å"Do you three want something to eat before bed? I could warm up some stew. We had it earlier with some of Paulette's bread.' At the word stew, all my opossum fears came racing back. â€Å"No need,' I said hastily. â€Å"I'd just be fine with bread.' â€Å"Me too,' said Dimitri. I wondered if he was trying to reduce their work or if he shared my food fears. Probably not the latter. Dimitri seemed like the kind of guy you could throw into the wilderness and he would survive off anything. Paulette had apparently baked a lot of bread, and they let us have a picnic in our small little room with a full loaf and a bowl of butter that Sarah had probably churned herself. The room was about the size of my dorm room at St. Vladimir's, with two down stuffed mattresses on the floor. Quilts neatly covered them, quilts that probably hadn't been used in months with these temperatures. Munching on a piece of bread that was surprisingly good, I ran my hand over one of the quilts. â€Å"It reminds me of some of the designs I saw in Russia,' I said. Dimitri studied the pattern too. â€Å"Similar. But not quite the same.' â€Å"It's the evolution of the culture,' said Sydney. She was tired but not enough to abandon textbook mode. â€Å"Traditional Russian patterns brought over and eventually fused with a typical Americana patchwork quilt form.' Whoa. â€Å"Um, good to know.' The family had left us alone while they got ready for bed, and I eyed our cracked door warily. With the noise and activity out there, it seemed unlikely we'd be overheard, but I lowered my voice anyway. â€Å"Are you ready to explain who the hell these people are?' She shrugged. â€Å"The Keepers.' â€Å"Yeah, I got that. And we're the Tainted. Sounds like a better name for Strigoi.' â€Å"No.' Sydney leaned back against the wooden wall. â€Å"Strigoi are the Lost. You're Tainted because you joined the modern world and left behind their backward ways for your own messed up customs.' â€Å"Hey,' I retorted. â€Å"We're not the ones with overalls and banjos.' â€Å"Rose,' chastised Dimitri, with a pointed look at the door. â€Å"Be careful. And besides, we only saw one person in overalls.' â€Å"If it makes you feel better,' said Sydney, â€Å"I think your ways are better. Seeing humans mixing with all this †¦' The pleasant and professional face she had shown to the Keepers was gone. Her blunt nature was back. â€Å"It's disgusting. No offense.' â€Å"None taken,' I said with a shiver. â€Å"Trust me, I feel the same way. I can't believe †¦ I can't believe they live like that.' She nodded, seeming grateful I shared her view. â€Å"I like you guys sticking with your own kind better. Except †¦' â€Å"Except what?' I prodded. She looked sheepish. â€Å"Even if the people you come from don't marry humans, you do still interact with them and live in their cities. These guys don't.' â€Å"Which Alchemists prefer,' guessed Dimitri. â€Å"You don't approve of this group's customs, but you do like having them conveniently stashed out of mainstream society.' Sydney nodded. â€Å"The more vampires who stay off on their own in the woods, the better–even if their lifestyle is crazy. These guys keep to themselves–and keep others out.' â€Å"Through hostile means?' I asked. We'd been met by a war party, and she'd expected it. All of them had been ready to fight: Moroi, dhampir, and human. â€Å"Hopefully not too hostile,' she said evasively. â€Å"They let you through,' said Dimitri. â€Å"They know the Alchemists. Why did Sarah ask about you bringing them things?' â€Å"Because that's what we do,' she said. â€Å"Every so often for groups like these, we drop off supplies–food for everyone, medicine for the humans.' Again, I heard that derision in her voice, but then she turned uneasy. â€Å"The thing is, if Sarah's right, they could be due for an Alchemist visit. That would just be our luck to be here when that happens.' I was going to reassure her that we only needed to lie low a couple days when an earlier phrase tugged at me. â€Å"Wait. You said â€Å"groups like these.' How many of these commune things are out there?' I turned to Dimitri. â€Å"This isn't like the Alchemists, is it? Something only some of you know about that you're keeping from the rest of us?' He shook his head. â€Å"I'm as astonished by all of this as you are.' â€Å"Some of your leaders probably know about the Keepers in a vague way,' said Sydney. â€Å"But no details. No locations. These guys hide themselves pretty well and can move on a moment's notice. They stay away from your people. They don't like your people.' I sighed. â€Å"Which is why they won't turn us in. And why they're so excited I might have killed Tatiana. Thanks for that, by the way.' Sydney wasn't apologetic in the least. â€Å"It gets us protection. Such as it is.' She stifled a yawn. â€Å"But for now? I'm exhausted. I'm not going to be able to follow anyone's crazy plans–yours or Abe's–if I don't get some sleep.' I'd known she was tired, but only now did the extent of it hit me. Sydney wasn't like us. We needed sleep but had the endurance to put it off if needed. She'd been up all night and forced into some situations that were definitely outside of her comfort zone. She looked like she could fall asleep against the wall then and there. I turned to Dimitri. He was already looking at me. â€Å"Shifts?' I asked. I knew neither one of us would allow our group to stay unguarded in this place, even if we were allegedly queen-killing heroes. He nodded. â€Å"You go first, and I'll–‘ The door was flung open, and both Dimitri and I nearly leapt up to attack. A dhampir girl stood there, glaring at all of us. She was a couple years younger than me, about the age of my friend Jill Mastrano, a student back at St. Vladimir's who wanted to be a Moroi fighter. This girl looked like she did too, just by her stance alone. She possessed the strong, lean build most dhampirs had, her whole body braced like it might tackle any one of us. Her hair was stick-straight to her waist, a dark auburn that had picked up gold and copper highlights from the sun. She had the same blue eyes as Joshua. â€Å"So,' she said. â€Å"You're the big heroes taking my room.' â€Å"Angeline?' I guessed, remembering Joshua mentioning his sister. She narrowed her eyes, not liking that I knew who she was. â€Å"Yes.' She studied me unflinchingly and didn't seem to approve of what she found. That sharp gaze flicked to Dimitri next. I expected a softening, expected her to fall prey to his good looks the way most women did. But, no. He received suspicion as well. Her attention turned back to me. â€Å"I don't believe it,' she declared. â€Å"You're too soft. Too prim.' Prim? Really? I didn't feel that way, not in my battle-scarred jeans and T-shirt. Looking at her attire, I could maybe understand the attitude, though. Her clothes were clean, but her jeans had been around a while, both knees worn to threads. The shirt was a plain, off-white tank top that had a homemade feel. I didn't know if it had originally been white. Maybe I was prim by comparison. Of course, if anyone deserved the title of prim, it would be Sydney. Her clothes would've passed at a business meeting, and she hadn't been in any fights or jail-breaks recently. Angeline hadn't even given her a second glance, though. I was getting the feeling Alchemists were in a strange category around here, a different type of human from the ones who intermarried with the Keepers. Alchemists brought supplies and left. They were almost a type of feeder to these people, really, which boggled the mind. The Keepers had more respect for the types of humans my culture looked down on. Regardless, I didn't know what to say to Angeline. I didn't like being called soft or having my battle prowess called into question. A spark of my temper flared, but I refused to cause trouble by getting in a fight with our host's daughter, nor was I going to start making up details about Tatiana's murder. I simply shrugged. â€Å"Looks are deceiving,' I said. â€Å"Yes,' Angeline said coolly. â€Å"They are.' She stalked over to a small chest in the corner and pulled out what looked like a nightgown. â€Å"You better not mess up my bed,' she warned me. She glanced over at Sydney, sitting on the other mattress. â€Å"I don't care what you do to Paulette's.' â€Å"Is Paulette your sister?' I asked, still trying to put this family together. There didn't seem to be anything I could say that wouldn't offend this girl. â€Å"Of course not,' Angeline snapped, slamming the door as she left. I stared at it in astonishment. Sydney yawned and stretched out on her bed. â€Å"Paulette is probably Raymond's †¦ eh, I don't know. Mistress. Concubine.' â€Å"What?' I exclaimed. A Moroi married to a human and having an affair with a Moroi. I wasn't sure how much more I could take. â€Å"Living with his family?' â€Å"Don't ask me to explain it. I don't want to know any more about your twisted ways than I have to.' â€Å"It's not my way,' I retorted. Sarah came shortly thereafter to apologize for Angeline and see if we needed anything else. We assured her we were fine and thanked her profusely for her hospitality. Once she was gone, Dimitri and I set up sleeping shifts. I would have rather we both stayed on alert, particularly since I felt pretty sure Angeline would slit someone's throat in their sleep. But, we needed rest and knew we'd both react promptly if anyone came busting down our door. So, I let Dimitri take the first watch while I snuggled into Angeline's bed and tried not to â€Å"mess it up.' It was surprisingly comfortable. Or, maybe I was just that tired. I was able to let go of my worries about execution, lost siblings, and vampire hillbillies. Deep sleep wrapped around me, and I began to dream †¦ but not just any dream. It was a shifting of my inner world, the sense of being both in and out of reality. I was being pulled into a spirit-induced dream. Adrian! The thought excited me. I'd missed him and was eager to talk to someone directly after all that had happened at Court. There hadn't been much time to talk during my escape, and after this bizarre backwoods world I'd stumbled into, I really needed some piece of normality and civilization around me. The dream's world began to form around me, growing clearer and clearer. It was a location I'd never seen, a formal parlor with chairs and couches covered in lavender paisley cushions. Oil paintings lined the walls, and there was a large harp in the corner. I'd learned long ago that there was no predicting where Adrian would send me–or what he'd make me wear. Fortunately, I was in jeans and a T-shirt, my blue nazar hanging around my neck. I turned around anxiously, looking for him so that I could give him a giant hug. Yet, as my eyes searched the room, it wasn't Adrian's face I suddenly found myself looking into. It was Robert Doru's. And Victor Dashkov was with him.

Free Will and Conclusion

In the shooting case of Trayvor Martin, George Zimmerman should not go to prison. A significant amount of speculation exists around the shootings circumstances. There lacks an indisputable, completely factual account of the shooting and its preceding events. Without the support of concrete evidence murder can not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I intend to show the conclusion, that George Zimmerman should not go to jail, is true because the argument is sound. I think my argument is valid because of the premises that support it.The first premise being that the Stand Your Ground Law in Florida permits the use of a fire arm in self defense. There is no definite proof that George Zimmerman killed for any reason other then his personal protection. He therefore did not break the law. The second premise shows that during the altercation between Trayvor Martin and George Zimmerman, Zimmerman sustained injuries to the back of the head and nose. There severity could not be accounted for b ut their presence is undeniable insinuating the shooting was in fact an act of self defense. The third premise is based on the phone call to the police station moments before the murder.A struggle can be heard along with a voice screaming for help. The voice can not be identified without uncertainty to be that of Martin or Zimmerman. Zimmerman's defense can argue is was him calling for help and there is no way to prove or disprove that claim. The last premise illustrates that it is still unknown if Martin aggressively approached Zimmerman from behind while he was retreating to his S. U. V.. Zimmerman admitted to initially following Martin suspecting he was a hoodlum up to no good, but claims to have given up after losing track of the teenager.According to Zimmerman their next encounter consisted of Martin approaching him from behind and asking him his what his problem, Zimmerman denied having a problem, and claims Martin then reacted by punching him in the nose. Witnesses reported s eeing the two fighting in the distance, while others recount hearing whining followed by a gun shot. Consequently since no spectator observed the incident up close or in entirety, Zimmerman's version which states Martin approached and attacked him can not be disproven with total certainty.These premises support that my argument is sound and help prove my conclusion is true. George Zimmerman should not go to prison for the shooting of Trayvor Martin because of the problems of free will. The problems of free will has two premises that lead to the conclusion that no action is free. The first premise states that if an action must occur it is not free. The second premise is based on determinism and the idea that every event occurs because of antecedent events, dating back to before birth even, ensured the occurrence. Hard determinism believes both of these premises and therefore accepts the conclusion.They do not feel we are responsible for our actions because they are not free. Soft det erminism believes only the second premise, that a there is a past chain of events effecting present actions however they think our own free will is included in the chain. Therefore soft determinism do not accept the conclusion and in assuming we have some free will declare we can be held responsible for our free actions. Libertarianism supports the first premise saying that if an action must occur it is not free but denies the second premise concerning the idea of determinism. They reject the conclusion.They feel you have chance to change a decision in the early stages of deliberation, that being the case they feel we can be held responsible for our actions only when we had the opportunity to do otherwise. The position holding the most merit is soft determinism. It can be used to view the Zimmerman case. George Zimmerman could not control the events leading up to final fatal action. We have no proof denying that Martin aggressively approached him from behind and initiated the violen ce. Based on the only known information we have Zimmerman had no control over this prior event.His next action was in self defense something he could not control therefore can not be held responsible for. If he had shot Martin before the physical clash occurred he would have demonstrated using free will. Since he could not control the fights progression he is not accountable for his actions. This further proves he should not go to jail for the shooting. Morally killing in self defense is a justified action. We previously conveyed the lack of concrete evidence refuting Zimmerman's recollection of the shooting as an act of self defense.Based on this we can determine Zimmerman's killing is morally justified because as far as we know it was an act of self defense. If he had shot Martin before being physically attacked his actions would not be justified and in turn considered immoral. Morally his actions were justified as far as we can prove, adding to the reasons why he should not go to jail. In the shooting case of Trayvor Martin, George Zimmerman should not go to jail. It can not be proven without reasonable doubt that he was not acting in self defense. Disputes over the shootings circumstances provide uncertainty in the case.The arguments presented are sound and prove the conclusion, that George Zimmerman should not go to prison, is true. Bibliography http://topics. nytimes. com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/trayvon_martin/index. html http://www. nytimes. com/interactive/2012/04/02/us/the-events-leading-to-the-shooting-of-trayvon-martin. html http://www. nytimes. com/2012/04/12/us/zimmerman-to-be-charged-in-trayvon-martin-shooting. html? pagewanted=all http://www. nytimes. com/2012/04/24/us/george-zimmerman-released-after-posting-bail-in-trayvon-martin-case. html? gwh=7C04C601D11A47D31E9BF5FF98E24EF4

French Politics and Institutions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

French Politics and Institutions - Essay Example In the Toulouse shooting there were four Jews killed outside of a Jewish school, three of those dead being children. Just like in the past incident, the Toulouse shooting sparked riots in France with the society divided between those who supported Bayne and those who condemn him. Therefore, other separate incidents similar to the recent shooting should work as a highlight and a warning sign rather than being treated as a lone incident. Unlike in North America where issues affecting the Jewish community there are low birth rates, intermarriages and assimilation, in French Europe, anti-Semitism is a social phenomenon rather than just a lone incident1. The strong outspoken French public take on the two incidents has worked in highlighting the similarity between both incidents. The society seems, just like in the first incident, to be very active in taking sides - either on the side of the victims or on the side of the perpetrators. The underlying crimes are based on hate. However, there have been recent twists to this anti-Semitism in that political and economic spheres have been introduced into the debate but the fact remains that anti-Semitism just like in those periods of 1890s still is strong if not getting even stronger in France. Even scholars have been thrown into different conclusions about the recent incident in line with the Dreyfus Affair in that some like Neocon John Podhoretz are declaring an alert that â€Å"Jews are being hunted.† Though an overtone, it seeks to highlight that the recent event cannot be looked at in isolation to the 1894 anti-Semitic affair because of the similarity between them. On the contrary Leon Weiseltier termed his article â€Å"Hitler is dead.† In essence, the writer is telling the Jews in the Diaspora that they should not panic. These two authors could be taken to be social representatives in the voicing of how society in France takes up positions when these issues are brought to light in the French public dom ain2. The fact that even those denying the latest shooting incident are referring to the contrast between the two incidents only raises concerns about the similarities between the incidents which are more than 100 years apart. It is therefore not uncommon to find political leaders in search of public support or mere social debate in quest to remain relevant talking about the two events and dragging anti-Semitism into the contemporary political and economic circles. Despite the country’s enormous steps in technology, economy and political spheres, the culture of anti-Semitism has remained deeply enshrined among some parts of the society. The recent shooting does not therefore represent a separate aspect of the French population but a rather serious social phenomenon. It can also be seen as a serious social evil because the shooter in the recent Toulouse shooting definitely was not even born when the Dreyfus affair was happening. Examination of the Ability of France to Divide O ver Issues The study has already established that one similarity between the Dreyfus Affair and the recent Toulouse shooting has been the characterization of the French public to divide into two different camps when social phenomena take place. Hence, while others openly support the individuals who perform the anti-Semitic activities such as the ones noted above, others strongly condemn them in equal matters. This has historically been the French scenario. Taking the scene in

Accident investigation in industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accident investigation in industries - Essay Example Occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) department receives a huge budget allocation every year from the government. In a given year, OSHA budget ranges between five hundred to six hundred million dollars. An accident is an unforeseen occurrence that that compromises the progress of present activity causing injury to persons or destruction of property. An accident can occur without injury but the fact that it had the potential to harm means that damage or injury not caused was a mere chance. It is possible to avoid accidents if proper workplace procedures are followed. All accidents have a cause to it. In many cases, accidents happen because of human error who perpetrates an unsafe behaviour or condition. In an organisation, some departments are prone to accidents than others due to different machines or chemicals in use by such departments. Despite strict measures and procedures to curb accidents, such organisations still report a considerable number of accidents. On investigating accidents, supervisors try to find blame other than the cause of the accident. This has not helped in curbing of accidents. The first importance of investigating an accident is to find the root cause and avoid a future occurrence of a similar incident. Persons tasked to investigate the accident must understand that the exercise is not to find fault or put a finger on someone. Additionally, meaningful involvement of employees is essential because it will make them provide valuable information to the investigation. Secondly, some accidents lead to injuries making the company to spend money in the treatment of injured workers. An investigation will reveal the cost of the accident through medical bills and other damaged properties. Thirdly, by investigating an accident, a company fulfils legal requirements and safety regulations. The company will understand the extent of its compliance with the laid regulations and procedures. Fourthly, it is only

What is The Cash Flows Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

What is The Cash Flows - Essay Example The investment must be done in those opportunities where the NPV value is highest and in this situation spending money on project Alpha will result in highest NPV. The four main investment appraisal technique methods are Payback Period (PP), Accounting Rate of Return (ARR), Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The four main investment appraisal methods used are segmented into two techniques. Non-discounted cash flow technique includes PP and ARR and discounted cash flow technique includes NPV and IRR. Payback Period (PP) is the time acquired to equal the cash inflows and outflows. In the book ‘Financial Accounting for Decision Makers’ and ‘Accounting: An Introduction’ it is discussed that PBP method is important for future context and it is totally cash based. It is also mentioned that it ignores sunk cost and committed cost when applied (Atrill & McLaney, 2013). Payback period is simple to calculate and useful in the short-term and consider the cash flows of the projects which makes it easier to evaluate the liquidity position of the company and decisions about the investment proposals. It explains the management about the time during which investment will be recovered and how quick it could be utilized for another project. On the other hand, this method completely ignores the qualitative aspects of decision making. It is also not possible to analyze the useful life of the asset and does not consider how much cash flow will be generated after payback period is achieved. Payback period ignores the profitability of the company and decision taken on the basis of this method may cause the management to undertake a project which is not profitable. ARR is also known as return on investment and is used to make an analysis of a project, which may take at least a year long time.

Review of the Movie Bully Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Review of the Movie Bully - Essay Example We all know that movie making is a science in itself and the concerted effort of a team of talented and hard working individuals. Making a trailer is part of this process, in the sense that it works towards selling a movie that the team has worked hard to put together. With over 70% of the cinema industry now being dominated by Hollywood, there is also a dependence on the trailer of the movie when deciding if it is worth going spending the money to go watch a new movie or not. Therefore the trailer does play an important part and the making of the trailer can sell the movie as much as kill its revenue. We have often had the experience of coming out of a movie thinking that the movie trailer promised more than what the movie provided. That is the power of advertising. Based on this concept we can easily gauge that a trailer Has to be engaging enough to pique the curiosity of the audience. Has to give an idea of what the audience can expect from a movie. Has to be simple and easy for t he audience to relate to. Has to motivate them to go watch the movie. Based on the above, we will examine the movie trailer of â€Å"Bully†, a documentary based on the culture of bullying in schools around the United States. The documentary is directed by Lee Hirsch and was featured in the Tribeca Film festival in March 2011. The documentary takes us through many cities in the US and many elementary schools with stories of boys and girls who have been subjected to bullying and are relatively helpless in the situation. The movie project is one close to Hirsch’s heart as he himself was a victim of bullying in school. (Itman, 2011). The trailer of the movie, as seen on iTunes Movie trailers (2012) takes us through this journey in a way that is very different from what one would expect from such a powerful theme. Bullying in high schools is not a new issue; it is one that we are all familiar with, either by personal experience or association. Therefore the trailer does not need to sell the concept of bullying in schools. We already know that it is not acceptable and can have terrible consequences. Instead the trailer focuses on the reactions of the school board and the callous attitude shown towards the bullying by teachers and the school authorities. We even have a scene where there is a clipping of a child, Alex being strangled by a bully in the school bus and immediately after that is a clip where the school administrator claims that she has been on the same bus and noticed no such thing, in fact she goes further and describes them â€Å"as good as gold† (iTunes Trailer, 2012). Right there, the effect is created. There is a feeling of shocked speechlessness and the audience involuntarily gasp when watching that. â€Å"13 million kids will be bullied in the US this year† (iTunes Trailer, 2012). The trailer starts with that shocking message and then trails off into a series of interviews, reflections and demonstrations with a catchy an d happy upbeat tune in the background score, making the combination truly dramatic. It is a documentary based on a very serious and alarming issue but it seems to be focused more towards a positive theme, which children who have been bullied can relate to. There is a feeling of hope that is conveyed through the trailer. We are given a gist of the problem, a sense of the indifferent attitude of the school author

Profits and Supply and Demand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Profits and Supply and Demand - Essay Example The products consist of casual clothing of the 21st Century. It entails stylish watches, T-shirts, Leather bracelets, stylish shirts, rings, body con dresses for women and necklaces all in varieties and with the latest fashion. The products we offer are luxury fashions for both genders. The luxury items are mainly reliant on the need for the customer gain what they see and feel from the use of luxurious items. The idea is to make the consumer feel expensive and look great as well as bearing the consumers emotional speculations ‘I want people to notice me’, ‘this is a fifty dollar item’. The products supply depends on the consumer’s preferences and order basis for items above fifty dollars. The items distribution is through an online platform to allow placing orders, expressing interests and even a blog on fashion style. The product features include leather items and precious metals such as gold, silver and diamonds. Other resources needed include an online platform worth $1000, five retail outlets spread across the region targeting people in love with fashion and value. These outlets will stock of $2000 valued items each with varying stocks depending on the market flow and location. The other resources include annual marketing costs approximated to be 30% of the initial financing. These will cater for social media, print media such as magazines and other affiliate marketing options. The products supply is from wholesale outlets as well as imported, depending on the item location and perceived value of the products. The other sources of the items include buying used items from events that use them for a one-time event as well as from individuals with higher preferences. The initial financing is $14,300 to cater for startup costs. During the first year of operation, sales are targeted at $10,000, with an explicit cost of $6,000 that gives revenue of $4,000 (Boundless, 2015). The profits of the company are expected to grow with

Social Interactions (for Social Psychology) Essay

Social Interactions (for Social Psychology) - Essay Example On February 22, 2007, groups of people from Rangoon started to stage protests in the local markets. These people were only a minority, though. They started by putting up posters and shouting about the apparent abuse of the military government. The people protested on the oil price hike. They also clamored for continuous supply of electricity in the country. However, a few hours after commencement of the protests, the activists were sent to jail. However short-lived their protests were, they were able to ignite the minds of other Burmese people (Heart, 2007). The Burmese government has been run by their military forces since 1962. The country was then led by a military man named Ne-Win. The said military official enforced a Burmese version of Socialism. The government took control of major industries in the country. He argued that it was the best way to establish a economic stability for the country. The government policy worked on the concept of self-sufficiency. Soon, almost all he key positions in the local industry were occupied by military men. However, after just a few months the Burmese people found their economy falling even further. It was evident that their military men were not doing god in their new-found jobs .By 1988, Burmese people could no longer tolerate the state of their economy vis-Ã  -vis the increasing corruption brought about by monopolies and red tape in the government. The Burmese people staged protest actions in the hope of producing change in the government during those times.. They were not successful, howeve r. Shortly after the period of instability, the Burmese government which as still led by military men started to invite foreign investors to their country. After the era of being almost self-sufficient, the Burmese government decided to approach economic and political matters from the other side of the fence. However, military men still held key

(the questions shows in the PDF document) Essay

(the questions shows in the PDF document) - Essay Example The success that the House had in social reforms saw it give rise to the separist movement, which meant that it became socially acceptable for a woman to live her life and remain single or not get children, and instead develop her professional career. Jane Addams was one of the pioneers in the Hull house and would go on to become the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her social reform policies that would enable women to get basic rights including the right to vote in all the states (Legates 267). Q.2 The New Deal that was initiated by Franklin Roosevelt was to develop the economy through the great depression and it saw with it the inclusion of several programs for women. New posts were created so that women could get employment even if single. The view at the time had been that women should be married once they decide to have children and all government policy at the time was drafted on this assumption. The New Deal however acknowledged the existence of sin gle parent families specifically single mothers and widows and included them in their job creation acts even though some of Roosevelt’s cabinet members did not approve of this. ... from affluent single parent families that had been beneficiaries of the policies legislated during the Roosevelt era allowing women to work in industries even if not married. There was a development of organizations that were not of any hierarchy such as the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and the Students for a Democratic Society. The groups although were progressive did see a rise in chauvinism as some of the senior women were still assigned to basic roles as fetching refreshments or taking notes until one of the male members raised a complaint over it. There was a rise in black feminism in these organizations as was seen when the female members of the group organized a sit in to protest their side-lining. White women also criticized the SNCC for their marginalization and even drafted a paper that they presented to the then chairperson Stokeley Carmichael that said that the status of women in the organization is the same as that of the black individual hired by a corpor ation for the purpose of diversity. They are there merely to present an attractive image but do not do much in the organization (LeGates 361). Q.4 Women in the civil rights movements performed activities such as registering voters and enlisting the help of older women more so of the black community where they were viewed as the leaders of the community. The Women activists also came from religious backgrounds and unlike in the past where the community vilified them, they did receive some praise from their peers for their activism. Shulamith Firestone was one of the most notable activists of her generation with her push for the acknowledgement of the female agenda which was getting sidelined as the Vietnamese war came to an end and most of the troops were headed back home as national heroes

Business Communication Essay Example for Free

Business Communication Essay His vision to give young, fashion forward men and women a unique way to express their individuality through style resulted in millions of customers worldwide and propelled his designs to the forefront of the fashion industry. It all started in 1990, with a mere $1,100 in his bank account, Madden started crafting shoe designs from his Queens-based factory and the  Steve Madden  brand was born. With a lot of courage, years of experience in the footwear industry, and unique creative designs,  Steve Madden  formed his own successful enterprise. A year later, Madden introduced a redefined version of platform shoes, resulting in one of the most spectacular success stories in the early 1990s. Inspired by his favorite rock and roll stars of the 1970s, the thick, chunky heel became  Steve Maddens  signature and a phenomenon in womens shoes. Maddens footwear vision is continuously evolving. Steve once said, What inspires me is what I see people wearing on the streets of the world from New York to London and beyond. I get my ideas and inspiration from pounding the pavement all over the world. Today, fashion is dictated by individual style. To me, the fashion of the future is anything that a young guy or girl feels good wearing as long as  its put together in the right way. (www. stevemadden . com) Today, the  Steve Madden  brand represents a lifestyle. It is about embracing fashion while still maintaining that funky independence that first defined the brand 20 years ago. Expanding now into apparel and other accessories such as dresses, handbags, belts, sunwear, cold weather, outerwear and hosiery,  Steve Madden  is always looking toward to the future. As 2013 begins, more exciting opportunities are on the horizon including re-packaging, new store design rollout and expansion in global markets. The days when the future did not seem so bright In April 2002, Mr. Madden found that neither his investors nor federal judges take too kindly to stock manipulation and securities fraud. Steve Maddens talents as a shoe designer helped him build a 240 million dollar empire in his own name. But by his own admission, that wasnt enough he was greedy for more. His greed cost him about eight million dollars and control of the very company that brought him such riches. Madden was sentenced in 2002 to 41 months in prison for his role in a stock swindle scheme coordinated by the now-closed brokerage, Stratton Oakmont. His wrongdoings include conspiring to manipulate the stock prices of more than 20 companies, including his own. And, he did it at the expense not only of the public but his own investors who lost more than 100 million. Besides paying restitution, Madden had to resign as CEO of Steve Madden Ltd and leave the board of directors. He is also barred from holding a position as officer for seven years. However, he did retain a creative position until his prison sentence began that fall and will likely fill that capacity upon release later this spring. Meanwhile, those left to keep the company going in his absence quickly started their damage control efforts. A new board of directors was quickly assembled. Among those elected were Maddens brother and a corporate accounting guru. Once their former leader began repaying his debt to society, company heads began cleaning Steve Madden Limiteds financial house; making sure stock prices accurately reflected the health of the business. The company fully cooperated with the SECs investigation and hired an independent auditing company to keep watch over the process. Those days and even today, the companys financial practices are an open and well-kept book. Anyone could get the latest financial news from the same site by loging on to for the latest shoe designs. After heading off anymore potential legal woes, management began to focus on keeping the business itself walking tall. If the companys sales reports were any indication, not having Steve hasnt really hurt Steve Madden Limited. While the founder has been in a Florida prison, the companys management built on his vision by expanding into other areas. Steve by Steve Madden moved the company from the trendy 16 to 24 year old demographic into upscale footwear for a more mature crowd. The company licensed Candies and Unionbay footwear for men. Rather than try and replace or substitute Maddens design eye, they took what they had and introduced it to new markets. It worked. According to company reports, nearly all of the brands have increased profit margins and inventory levels. In a press release, management expressed hope that their profits would have increased in 2005 as compared 2004 (which actually happened). 2. Corporate Communication after the Bad Publicity But prison didnt break Steve Madden—or his company. Like so many of todays celebrity convicts, from Martha Stewart to Paris Hilton, Madden says he emerged a changed person. He served out his sentence, doing yardwork, teaching business classes to other inmates, reading four books a week (from The Devil Wears Prada to David McCulloughs Truman) and pumping iron obsessively. I used to wear this tank top in prison, he says. And Id stare at myself and flex. I never did that before. He even got married, to a Madden employee who came for regular visits. And when he was released in April 2005, Madden says, he was stronger physically, mentally, spiritually than hed ever been. After the return of Steve Madden from prison, he decided not to shy away from the imminent release of its namesake founder fro m prison. The company was promoting the return of its creative leader in a series of eye-catching posters and print advertisements, and is having some fun with it in the process. While the ads do not say where Madden has been, one suggests, in a wink-wink kind of way, that Mr. Madden has not been on a sabbatical, a secret mission or up the  Amazon  collecting snakes: A new meaning for the word spring time. Steve returns. Spring 2005. The company had launched a rather interesting press campaign celebrating Steve Maddens upcoming release from prison. One features a girl wearing an ankle bracelet and another features an empty pair of shoes with the words, Theres one pair of shoes thats been impossible to fill. Steve returns Spring 2005. Others allude to Madden getting sprung in Spring 2005. Financial Dynamics, the shoe retailers investor relations agency, says the campaign is a positive way of dealing with the prison sentence. It makes light of the companys troubles, sending a message that the board is over it and customers should feel the same way. Its also a sure fire way to get people talking about the brand. When it comes to sales, the only bad publicit y is no publicity. Once upon a time, a company, particularly one that sold products to the public, would shun publicity if it possibly could when a senior executive encountered legal woes. The idea that a company especially one like Steve Madden, which sells shoes mostly to teenage girls and women in their 20s would actually run ads calling attention to its leaders prison past would have flabbergasted experts in fields like brand identity, advertising and public relations. I love controversy; I love pushing the envelope, but when you have a younger customer you have a responsibility to take the law and authority seriously, said James LaForce, partner at LaForce Stevens in New York, a marketing communications agency specializing in fashion and entertainment clients. That was of course before Martha Stewart, whose public image has, by initial measures, seemingly gained in stature after her release from federal prison. A colorful paper flap decorated with a photograph of her cradling a chicken, declaring Welcome home, Martha, was attached to the cover of Aprils Martha Stewart Living magazine, published by  Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Companies like Mr. Maddens and Ms. Stewarts may also be more likely to embrace their convicted executives, since those executives have plenty of influence in the boardroom. Reticence about an executives past also predates a world in which rappers can find the sales of their music increasing in seeming lock step with the severity of their scrapes with the law. Its in now to be out, out of prison, that is, said Paul Cappelli, chief executive at the Ad Store in New York, an advertising agency that creates campaigns for brands like  JetBlue. I could see myself suggesting something like this to a client, Cappelli said, that instead of ignoring the 5,000-pound elephant in the corner, you might as well bring it out into the open and make hay of it. Robert Passikoff, who has been tracking consumer response to the Martha Stewart brand as president of Brand Keys in New York, a brand and customer-loyalty consultant, said that his index of its value had recently risen. The index has climbed to 96, Mr. Passikoff said, compared with a bottom of 62 lower than  Enron, he said before she entered prison. (The peak was 122 in May 2002. ) Is the new badge of honor, I served my time? We are not sure it doesnt ultimately hurt, even if the American public is largely forgiving when people serve their time. The campaign is trying to make him the face of the brand but who wants the face with numbers under it? Steve Madden is different from Martha Stewart, because unlike her, he was never the brand. He was the label, so a lot of people dont know who the guy was and didnt know he went to jail. That has worked to Steve Maddens advantage so far,, citing the history of the Madden brand index: It was 110 before Madden went to prison and fell only slightly, to 106. However, it is worth mentioning that consumers seem to be more forgiving about men than women. Brian Russak, a senior editor at Footwear News in New York who covers Madden, said: It seems like an obvious play to Martha Stewart, but I have to wonder whether that resonates with Maddens consumers. We often say here the target consumer doesnt know there is a Steve Madden. Trey Laird, president and executive creative director at Laird Partners in New York, an advertising agency that creates campaigns for fashion and apparel brands like DKNY and Gap, also drew distinctions between Madden and Stewart. The Madden ads are kind of cute and clever, but this is not a Martha Stewart situation, when the whole country is watching because shes a cultural icon. I dont feel most consumers know about Steve Maddens sentence, he added, or if they knew, they forgot about it. The Madden campaign can be perceived as a parody of Ms. Stewarts story meant to get people talking about the brand, Laird said, particularly because the Madden brand has never been a brand that has taken itself seriously. For instance, a recent Madden campaign featured caricatures of its customers with comically oversized heads. A statement by Financial Dynamics read: Steven Madden Ltd. looks forward to the much anticipated return of the unique talent and creative design expertise of Steve Madden in the spring of 2005. Further, the company believes the current advertising campaign embodies and enhances the Steve Madden brand. If the rise in Martha Stewart stock is any indication, getting out of prison seems to be in. The publicity generated by Maddens return could translate into increased exposure and, in turn, increase sales in the future. Plus, having him back at the head of the creative team will bring his company something it hasnt had in a while his ability to give the millions of women who buy his shoes what they want. So, If theres one thing Americans enjoy more than watching the mighty fall, its granting them forgiveness. You have to go through a process. You made your mistake, you did your time, Madden says. You have to be a little contrite to get redemption. To judge from the recent performance of his company, Maddens been forgiven—at least by that segment of the population that favors shoes with animal prints, polka dots and four-inch heels. Sales were $475. 2 million in 2006, up from $375. 8 million the year he was released, while net income more than doubled to $46. 3 million. Madden is quick to admit that hes made mistakes. But he says he wouldnt change a thing about his life. Everything Ive done has gotten me to where I am today, he says. His prison experience has clearly had an impact on his designs. The next offering from the prison groom: wedding shoes, called I Do. Its a huge market, he says. Marriage is sort of back on track. And so is Steve Madden. . The Crisis 3. 1. Chain of events In summer 2004, Maddens luck turned when he was indicted for stock fraud and money laundering in both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. According to the charges, Madden secretly purchased stock on behalf of the principals of two corrupt penny-stock brokerage firms Stratton Oakmont Securities of Lake Success, Long Island, and Monroe Parker, of Purchase, Westchester helping them manipulate 29 initial public offerings, including that of his own company. That same day, the Securities and Exchange Commission came after him with a civil suit alleging Madden had employed devices, schemes, and artifices to defraud. If convicted in either of the criminal cases, Madden would face up to more than twenty years in prison and several million dollars in fines. If he were to lose the SEC case, which was put on hold until the criminal cases were completed, he could be forced to pay millions more. Even worse, he ran the risk of being barred from serving as an officer or director of any public company, including his own. On the day of his arrest, while Madden was busy pleading not guilty to all charges and pledging his East Hampton country house and the Long Island homes of two friends in order to make bail, shares of Steve Madden Limited fell almost 15 percent to $11. 85 before nasdaq halted trading. Two days later, when the stock (which trades under the ticker SHOO) reopened, it fell to $6. 88. Though the stock has traded up as high as $13. 88 due to a recent rally in the footwear sector, it has yet to regain its pre-indictment momentum. The storys sad. Its a great story. Its a real American story. My old friends took me public, they turned out to be crooks, and Im innocent†, Madden has been quoted to say. While the indictment has severely damaged Steve Madden Limiteds standing on Wall Street – there was a consolidated class-action shareholder lawsuit pending against the company, and it has hired Bear Stearns to explore all possible strategic options, including an outright sale it hasnt tarnished Steve Maddens reputation as a design and marketing genius. He has some special knack at figuring out what teen girls want to wear, says Sanford Bernstein analyst Faye Landes. According to teen-market consultant Irma Zandl, who ranks Madden with Nike and Adidas in the top five brands that girls favor, his shoes are popular because they are fabulously over-the-top. Steve Maddens are not for the conservative girl, she says. If hes going to add leopard skin, hell do it ten times more outrageously than anybody else. Its for people who think less is less. Every week following his indictment, Madden used to get more than a thousand e-mails from his customers, only a handful of which referred to his legal predicament. In fact, the company not only refused to retrench, instead it was aggressively expanding. At that year’s Grammy Awards, the company made a bid for high-profile customers by giving out fluffy leopard-print slippers to special guests. Three days later, at the Western Shoe Association show in Las Vegas, Madden introduced his newest product line at the time: Steve Madden Mens. 3. 2. The players While Madden was working his way up in the shoe industry, his best friend, Danny Porush, was stuck in a rut. After five years at Boston University, he left without getting a degree and bounced from job to job, working for, and starting up, a variety of small businesses, including an ambulance company called SureRide Ambulette. In 1988, while watching his son in the playground of his Bayside, Queens, apartment complex, he met an unlikely mentor: a dental-school dropout and former door-to-door meat and seafood salesman named Jordan Belfort. A short, brash, young Jewish guy, Belfort boasted he was making $50,000 a month selling penny stocks out of a boiler room in Great Neck. As Porush would later testify, Belfort confided the business was half a scam, but the chance to increase his income tenfold was a siren call Porush couldnt resist. Two days after they met, he closed down SureRide and joined the firm. Using fanciful scripts, the brokers Belforts childhood friends from Queens, Porushs golf buddies, money-crazed kids recruited from Long Island college campuses sold and manipulated tiny, high-risk IPOs, according to testimony, by grossly exaggerating their prospects, boasting that they had inside information, and generally saying whatever was necessary to make a sale. Their underwritings encompassed a vast array of low-rent businesses and all had the same trading pattern the stocks would soar when they touted them but then come crashing down when the brokers unloaded their stakes. In 1992, Steve Madden made a decision that at the time seemed natural enough: He hired his best friends firm to be his banker. While Madden knew that the SEC had already accused Stratton of engaging in price manipulation and employing high-pressure sales tactics, he considered it a legitimate company. They cleared through Bear Stearns, Madden recalls, pointing out that Strattons link to the giant firm gave it an aura of respectability. Besides, Stratton was not only willing to raise capital for Steve Madden Limited in the private markets, it wanted to take the tiny, unproven company public. Like his friend Porush, Madden was going to enter the big leagues. On December 13, 1993, only seven months after the first (and, at that time, only) Steve Madden shoe store had opened on Broadway in SoHo, Stratton Oakmont took the company public at $4 a share. The most active stock on the nasdaq on the day of its offering, SHOO closed at $8 a share, a huge gain in the pre-Internet era. Just a few months later, it sunk to $3. With only $5. 3 million in sales, a net loss of $900,000, and a boom-bust trading history, the company simply seemed to be nother one of Strattons overhyped IPOs. But it wasnt. In 1994, Madden surprised his critics. With hardly any advertising, Madden increased sales by almost 40 percent. The next year, sales tripled to $39 million, prompting Madden to hire Rhonda Brown, the former merchandise president of Macys East, to become his chief of operations. Soon, Madden had celebrity customers Carmen Electra, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Neve Campbell, Alyssa Milano, Mary J. Blige. By 1997, the company was generating $59 million in total sales, operating seventeen stores, and introducing a clothing line designed for a customer who doesnt break the law but does break the rules. That spring, in a lengthy profile in  Footwear News,  Madden compared his company to an underground rock-and-roll band that gets its first hit single. Meanwhile, over in lake success, Porush and Belfort were struggling to stave off failure. While they were still raking in tens of millions a year from stock manipulations, regulators were working to put Stratton out of business. In March 1994, they nearly did: As part of a settlement with the SEC, Belfort was barred from the securities industry for life. But Porush managed to garner a lighter sanction, barred for just one year from supervising other brokers. In the wake of the ruling, Belfort continued to control the firm through Porush. Inevitably, though, the relationship between the partners soured. In January 1997, the company eventually filed for bankruptcy. By that time, Gregory Coleman, an agent in the FBIs securities-fraud squad at 26 Federal Plaza, had been investigating Stratton for several years. In 1995, under instructions from federal prosecutors, Coleman sent out a flurry of subpoenas to some of Strattons clients, including Madden, in an effort to create a panic that would culminate in a race to the governments door. One year later, U. S. Customs officers in Miami arrested a young French private banker who worked for Union Banquaire Privee in Switzerland. The arrest was made as part of an unrelated money-laundering sting operation, but hoping to win a lighter sentence, the banker began to talk. By sheer coincidence, he had two clients who were of particular interest to the government: Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush. On September 2, 1998, just a few minutes after pulling out of the driveway of his Old Brookville mansion to take his 5-year-old daughter to the video store, 36-year-old Jordan Ross Belfort was arrested for conspiracy to commit money laundering and securities fraud. The next day, 41-year-old Daniel Mark Porush was nabbed down in Boca Raton. Faced with maximum sentences of twenty years in prison, both men came to the same conclusion: After only a week in jail, they decided to flip. It was like taking down the heads of a major crime family, says former assistant U. S. ttorney Joel Cohen, the prosecutor in the indictment. But in this case, the organized crime was the brokerage business. Porush and Belfort secretly wore wires to record their friends and dragged down dozens in their wake: lawyers and accountants, bankers and brokers. 3. 3. Effects For the government, Steve Madden was one of the biggest catches in the dragnet. The shoe mogul had been a focus of the investigation for some t ime; the SEC had cited his companys IPO as one of those that had been manipulated, and believed that Madden was routinely getting, and flipping, stock in other Stratton deals. Although some of Strattons IPOs had grown into profitable businesses, only Maddens company had become a significant success. But according to Belfort, the celebrity CEO was also a rat hole, a place to hide stock. Porush, his P. S. 1 buddy, didnt hesitate to give him up either. Madden, as he recently testified at the trial of Strattons former auditor, was deep into the fraud with us. According to the Madden indictments, the designers personal connection to Stratton began in 1991, when Madden agreed to secretly buy and sell stock in Stratton deals on Porushs behalf with the understanding that he would incur no risk. (Porush, as a principal of the firm, was restricted in his ability to trade stock in these companies. ) The deal was that Madden would earn a predetermined profit on each transaction, then kick back to Porush a significant portion of the proceeds, either in cash or by purchasing stock from Stratton that was deliberately overpriced. Once Belfort was barred from the securiti es industry in 1994, Madden allegedly entered a similar agreement with him regarding the Stratton spinoff Monroe Parker. But according to the SEC, Madden wasnt only ripping off the general investing public, he was ripping off his own shareholders as well. In early 1993, the SEC alleges, Madden agreed that the IPO of his company would be a manipulation similar to previous Stratton IPO manipulations . . . such as Master Glaziers Karate International. In exchange for his agreement to follow Porush and Belforts instructions, they allegedly promised that even if SHOO . . . went bankrupt, Madden would make money on the SHOO IPO. In addition, as Belfort recently testified at the Stratton auditors trial, Belfort had a secret deal with Steve Madden to maintain control of his company after it went public. Because Belfort and his partners had financed Steve Madden Limiteds early development, they owned a majority stake in the company before it went public. But the National Association of Securities Dealers refused to list SHOO unless Belfort then under investigation for securities fraud dramatically reduced his stake. As Belfort testified, he agreed to sell his shares to a corporation controlled by Madden to placate the NASD, but it was a bo gus transaction. Under the secret deal which we had written down and legally signed, says Belfort, he was the true owner. Belfort exerted an extraordinary influence over the company. Strattons auditor, who was a friend of Belforts, also became Maddens auditor. In 1994, after Belfort was kicked out of the securities industry, he even joined SHOO as a consultant. In addition, according to Porushs testimony, key Madden employees were given stock in Stratton IPOs as part of their compensation. (A Madden spokesperson denies such an arrangement existed. ) As Porush explained, Part of the package when we recruited people for Steve Madden was . . . because youre in with us, youll make money on every new issue. In 1997, the Belfort-Madden friendship ended abruptly around the time Belfort asked Madden to sell some of the SHOO stock he secretly owned. Madden refused, and the dispute quickly turned into a bitter lawsuit, during which Belfort produced the deal they had signed. Madden admitted the signature was his but insisted he had been manipulated and tricked into signing by someone he had trusted as my friend, business associate, underwriter, and confidant. According to Madden, the demise of the friendship actually preceded the lawsuit, when Belfort started showing up stoned for work. I have no intention of allowing Jordan Belfort to ruin SMLs bright future by threatening me or by tarnishing the companys reputation, Madden vowed at the time. Ultimately, he settled the suit for $4. 3 million in cash, an outcome that favored his adversary. In the fall of 1999, around the time the government went public with the news that Porush and Belfort had been secretly cooperating, the U. S. Attorneys Office approached Maddens personal attorney, Joel Winograd, to discuss its case against his client. Soon, rumors that Madden might be indicted began wending their way around Wall Street. . Assessment As many people saw it, the fact that Madden had an account at Stratt on doesnt mean he knew what Porush and Belfort were doing, let alone that he was in any way involved. Madden was buying stock and making money, buying stock and losing money. He made more than he lost, but he didnt know what improprieties they were involved in. As Madden himself put it in the course of his lawsuit with Jordan Belfort: My strengths as a businessman lie in the design and sale of womens shoes, and I have never been comfortable with complicated or technical legal or business documents . . . I have always relied on the people around me. When asked why Madden employed Belfort as a consultant at Steve Madden Limited in 1994, after he was barred from the securities industry, his lawyer replies, Steve Madden is a loyal friend and a devoted human being. He didnt turn his back on Jordan Belfort in his time of need. And what about the $80,000 cash kickback Madden allegedly gave to a Stratton golf buddy in the locker room of the Engineers Country Club in Roslyn, Long Island? Its totally ridiculous, says Winograd. Cash? The government can explain from here to kingdom come. There is no way Steve would have had that amount of cash, and he wouldnt have had that in a bag walking around a country club. I think these fellows have watched too many spy thrillers. Lets say Steve was fooled, Mr. Madden’s lawyer summarizes. You can be savvy in business, but you may not be savvy in love and friendship. In any case, Steve will overcome, he vows. His company will continue to have record quarters of sales and earnings, and this will have a fairy-tale ending. Perhaps. But even if Madden was acquitted in both of his criminal trials, he still lost the civil case and, control of his company. For Steve Madden Limited, such an outcome might be manageable. Mr. Madden is extremely talented and a tremendous business partner, and hes wonderful, says the companys president, Rhonda Brown. But we could continue to grow our business profitably . . . whether hes on the golf course, or whatever. For Steve Madden the man, it could be devastating. My life, he says, is my company. 5. Conclusions Throughout the paper, we have researched and debated both sides of the issue and conversely presented both approaches by those involved or ever taking interest in the matter. Some say that the fashion mogul got what he deserved, bashing him for being a fraud under a publicly endearing persona, while others, close friends and devoted customers alike, stood behind him and helped if not the man, the company itself from disaster. Should a great visionary not content himself with being the image upfront and the genius behind the empire he built and instead take charge of other key areas that make a business successful rather than trusting others, trusted friends or proven experts with managing them? That may be true and perhaps this was where Mr. Madden made the biggest mistake of all. While the case was and still is controversial, the company succeeded in overcoming the crisis and continues to be among the most profitable and booming shoe fashion business in the States.

Design of Handshake Mode

Design of Handshake Mode Design Of Handshake Mode 8255A Using 8086 Introduction: 8255 is a widely used general purpose programmable devices, can be compatible with any microprocessor. The 8255 includes three programmable ports, one of which can be used for bidirectional data transfer. This is an important additional feature in comparison with the 8155 I/O ports. The 8255 has 24 I/0 pins that can be grouped primarily in two 8 bit parallel ports. A B, with the remaining eight bits as port c. the eight ports of port c can be used as individual bits or be grouped in two 4-bit ports. The figure shows all the functions of 8255, classified according to two modes: the BSR mode and I/P mode. The BSR mode is used to set or reset the bits in port c. the I/O mode is further divided into three modes : mode 0, mode 1 and mode 2. In mode 0, all the ports function as simple I/O ports. Mode 1, is a handshake mode where by ports A and/or B use bits from port C as handshake signals. In the handshake mode, two types of I/P data can be transferred implemented: status check and inter rupt. In mode 2, port A can be set up for bidirectional data transfer using handshake signals from port C, and port B can be used to set up either in mode 0 or mode 1. Programmable Parallel Ports And Handshake Input/Output: We use port devices to input data and output data to the microprocessor. Most of the available port devices such as 8255A on the sdk-86 board, contain two or three ports which can be programmed to operate in one of the several different modes. The different modes allow us to see for many common types of parallel data transfer. Various methods of parallel input data transfer are Simple Input/Output: When we need to get the digital data from a simple switch such as thermostat into a microprocessor all we do is that we connect the switch to an input port line and read it anytime. Similarly when we need to output the data to a simple output device such as an LED, all we do is to connect the led buffer on an output port pin and output the logic level required to turn on the light. The led is always there and ready, so you can send data to it at any time. Simple Strobe I/O: In many applications, valid data is present on an external device only at a certain time, so it must be read in at that time. An example of this is the ascii-encoded keyboard. When key is pressed. Circuitry on the key board sends out the ascii code for the pressed key on eight parallel data lines, and then sends out a strobe signal on another line to indicate the valid data is present on the eight data lines. As shown in fig-4.9 we can connect this strobe line to an input port line and poll it to determine when we can put valid data from the keyboard. Another alternative is to connect the strobe line to an interrupt input of the processor and have an interrupt service procedure read in the data when the processor receives an interrupt. The point here is that this transfer is time dependent. We can read the data only when a strobe pulse tells us that the data is valid. Fig 9 1b shows the timing waveforms which represent this type of operation. The sending device such as a keyboard, outputs parallel data on the data lines, and then outputs at the stb signal to let us know that the valid data is present. For low rates of data transfer such as from a keyboard to a microprocessor, a simple strobe transfer works well. However for higher data transfer speed this method does not work because there is no signal which tells the sending device when it is safe to send the next data byte. In other words, he sending system might send data bytes faster than the receiving system could read them. To prevent this problem a handshake data transfer scheme is used. Single-Handshake I/O: figure 9-2 shows the circuit connections and figure 91-c shows some example timing waveforms for a handshake data transfer from a peripheral device to a microprocessor. The peripheral outputs some parallel data and sends stb signal on a polled or interrupt basis and reads in the byte of data. Then the microprocessor sends a acknowledgement signal to the peripheral to indicate that the data has been read and the peripheral can send the next byte of data from the view point of the microprocessor this operation is referred to as handshake or strobe input. These same wave forms might represent a handshake output from a microprocessor to parallel printer. In this case the microprocessor outputs a character to the printer and asserts an stb signal to the printer to tell the printer , â€Å" here is a character for you.† When the printer is ready it answers back with ack signal to tell the microprocessor, â€Å" I got that one† send me another. The point of this handshake sche me is that the sending device or system is designed so that it does not send the next data byte until the receiving device or system indicates with an ack signal that it is ready to receive the next byte. Double-Handshake Data Transfer: For data transfers where even more coordination is required between the sending system and the receiving system a double handshake is used the sending device asserts its stb line low to ask â€Å" are you ready†? the receiving system raises its ack line high to say I m ready. The peripheral device then sends the byte of data and raises its stb line high to say I have the data thank you. And I wait your next request to send the next byte of data. For handshake output of this type from a microprocessor to a peripheral the waveforms are the same but the microprocessor sends the stb signal and the data the peripheral sends the ack signal. In the accompanying laboratory manual it is shown hoe to interface with a speech-synthesizer device using this type of handshake system. Implementing Handshake Data Transfer: For handshake data transfer a microprocessor can determine when it is time to send the next data byte on a polled or interrupt basis. The interrupt approach is usually used because it makes better use of the processors time. The stb or ack signal for these handshake transfers can be produced on a port pin by instructions in the program. However this method usually uses too much processor time, do parallel port devices such as the 8255A have been designed to automatically manage the handshake operation. The 8255A for example can be programmed to automatically receive an stb signal from a peripheral, send an interrupt signal to the processor and send the ack signal to the peripheral at the proper times. 8255A Internal Block Diagram And System Connections: The diagram shows the internal structure of the 8255A. form the diagram it is observed that there are 24 input output lines. Port A can be used as an 8 bit input port or as an output port. Like port B can be used as an 8 bit input port or as an 8 bit output port. Port C can b used as an 8 bit input output port or as 4 bit port or to produce handshake signals for ports a nd b. the signal lines used to connect to the device to the system busses. 8 data lines allow us to write data bytes to a port or the control register and to read bytes from the port or the status register under the control of the rd wr lines. The address inputs A0 and A1 allow us to selectively access one of the three ports or the control register. The internal addresses for the device are port A 00, port B, 01; port C;10; control, 11. Asserting the cs input of the 8255A enables it for reading or writing. The cs input will be connected to the output of the address decoder circuitry to select the device when it is addressed. The reset input of the 8255A is connected to the system reset line so that, when the system is reset all the port lines are initialized as input lines.this is done to prevent destruction of circuitry connected to port lines. If port lines are initialized as outputs after a power up or reset the port might try to output to the output of the device connected to the port. The possible argument between the two outputs might destroy one or both of them. Therefore all the programmable port devices initialize their port lines as inputs when reset. The given figure shows that how a 8255 can be connected to a 8086, here one 8255 is connected to the lower half of the 8086 data bus and the other is conneceted to the upper half of the 8086. This is done so that byte can be transferred by enabling one device, or a word can be transferred by enabiling both devices at the same time. According to truth table for the input output port address decoder the A40 8255A on the lower half of the data bus will be enabled for a base address of FFF8H, and the A35 8255A will be enabled for a base address of FFF9H. another point to notice is that system address line A1 is connected to the 8255A A0 inputs, and system address line A2 is connected to the 8255A A1 inputs. With these connections the system address for the three ports and the control register in the A 40 8255A will be FFF8H, FFFAH, FFFCH, FFFEH. Likewise the system address for three ports and the control register of the A 35 8255A are FFF9H, FFFBH, FFFDH, and FFFFH. 8255a Operational Modes And Initiallization: MODE 0: When we want to see the port for simple input or output without handshaking we initialize the port in mode 0. If both port A and port B are initialized in mode 0, then the two halves of port c can be used together as an additional 8-bit port or they can be used individually as two 4 bit ports. When used as outputs, the port c lines can be individually set or reset by sending a special control word to the control register address. The two halves of port C are independent so one half can be initialized as input and the other half as output. MODE 1: When we want to use port A or port B for handshake input or output operation. We initialize that the port in MODE 1. In this mode some of the pins in port C function as handshake lines. Pins PCO, PC1 and PC2 function as handshake lines for port B if it is initialized in MODE1. If port A is initialized as handshake mode input port then pins PC3,PC4,and PC5 function as handshake signals. Pins PC6 and PC7 are avalible for use as input lines and output lines. If port A is initialized as a handshake output port, then port c pins PC3,PC6,PC7 function as handshake signals. Port c pins PC4 and PC5 are available for use as input or output lines. Since the 8255 often used in mode 1. MODE 2: Only port a can be initialized in mode 2 port a can be used for bidirectional handshake data transfer. This means that data can be output or input on the same eight lines. The 8255A might be used in this mode to extend the system bus to slave microprocessor or to transfer data bytes to and from a floppy disk controller board. If port A is initialized in MODE 2 then PINS PC3 through PC7 are used as handshake lines in port A. the other three pins PC0 through PC2 can be used for input output if port B is in mode 0. The three pins will be used for port B handshake lines if port b is initialized in mode 1. Constructing And Sending 8255A Control Words: Figure 9-5 shows the formats for the two 8255A control words. Note that the msb of the control word tells the 8255A which control word your are sending it. We use the mode definition control word format to tell the device what modes we want the ports to operate in. we use the bit set /reset control word format . we want to set or reset the output on a pin of port c or when we want to enable the interrupt output signals for the handshake data transfers. Both control words are sent to the control register address of the 8255A. as usual, initializing a device such as this consists of working our way through the steps as described already. As an example for this device suppose that we want to initialize the 8255A in figure 7-8 as follows. Port B as mode 1 input Port A mode 0 output Port C upper as inputs Port C bit 3 as output The base address of the A40 8255A is FFF8H, and the control register address is FFFEH. The next step is to make up the control by figuring out what to put in each of the little boxes, one bit at a time. Figure 9-6a shows the control word which will program the 8255A as desired for this example. The figure alsi shows how we should document any control words to make for use in our programs using figure 9-5 a work our way through this word to make sure we see why each bit has the value it does. To send the control word we load the control word in AL with a MOV AL,10001110B instruction point DX at the port address with the MOV DX,0FFFEH instruction and send the control word to the 8255A control register with the out DX, AL instruction. An example of how to use the bit set/reset control word suppose that we want to output a 1 to (set) bit 3 of port c, which was initialized as an output with the mode set control word above. To set or reset a port c output pin, we use the bit set/reset control word shown in figure. Make bit d7 to 0 to identify this as a bit set/reset control word and put a 1 in bit d0 to specify that we want to set a bit of port c. bits d2 d3 and d1 are used to tell the 8255A which bit we want to act on. For this example we want to set bit 3 so we put 011 in these three bits. For simplicity and compatibility with future products make the other 3 bits of the control words 0. The result 00000111B is shown with proper documentation in the figure. To send this control word to the 8255A simply load it into AL with the MOV AL,00000111B instruction, point dx at the control register address with the MOV DX ,0FFFEH instruction if DX is not already pointing there, and send the control word with the OUT DX,AL instruction. 8255A Handshake- Interfacing To A Microcomputer- Controlled Lathe: All the machines in the machine shop of our computer controlled electronics factory operate under microcomputer. One example of these machines is a lathe which makes bolts for long rods of stainless steel. The cutting instructions of each type of bolt that we need to make are stored on  ¾ in wode teletype like metal tape. Each instruction is represented by a series of holes in the tape. A tape reader pulls the through an optical or mechanical sensor to detect the hole patterns and converts these to an 8 bit parallel code. The microcomputer reads the instruction codes for the tape reader on a handshake basis and sends the appropriate control instructions to the lathe. The microcomputer must also monitor various conditions around the lathe. It must, for example make sure the lathe has cutting lubricant oil, is not out of material to work on, and is not jammed up in some way. Machines that operate in this way are often referred to as computer numerical control or CNC machines. The figure given shows from how we might use an 8255A to interface a microcomputer to the tape reader and lathe. Our first task is to make up the control word which will initialize the 8255A In the correct modes for this application. To do this start by making a list showing how we want each port or group of pins to function. Then put in the control word bits that implement those pin functions. Port A needs to be initialized for handshake input ( mode 1 ) because instruction codes have to be read in from the tape reader on the handshake basis. Port B needs to be initialized for simple output (mode 0) no handshaking is needed here because this port is being used to output simple on or off control signals to the lathe. Port C , bits pc0 pc1 and pc2 are used for simple input of sensor signals for the lathe. Port C bits pc3 pc4 and pc5 function as the handshake signals for the data transfer from thr tape reader connected to port A. Port C bit pc6 is used for output of the stop/go signal to the tape reader. Port C bit pc7 is not used for this example. Figure 9-b shows the control word to initialize the 8255A for these pin functions. We send this word to the control register address of the 8255A.In order for the handshake input data transfer from the tape reader to work correctly , the interrupt request signal from bit pc3 has to be enabled. This is done by sending a bit set/reset control word for the appropriate bit of port c. fig 9-9 shows the port c bit that must be set to enable the interrupt output signal for each of the 8255A handshake modes. For example here port A is being used for handshake input, so according to figure 9-9 port C bit pc4 must be set to enable the interrupt output for this operation. The bit set/reset control word to do this is 00001001B. we send this bit set/reset control word to the control address of the 8255A. Handshake data transfer from the tape reader to the 8255A can be stopped by disabling the 8255A interrupt output on port C, pin c3. This is done by reseting bit pc4 with a bit set/reset control word of 00001000. As another example of 8255A interrupt output enabling suppose that we are using port B as handshake output port. According to figure 9-9 we need to set bit pc2 to enable the 8255A interrupt output signal. The bit set/reset control word to do this is 00000101. Now we see how the actual data transfer takes place in handshake mode for which the machine would operate. After initializing everything we would probably read port C, bits pc0 pc1 and pc2 to check if the lathe was ready to operate. For any 8255A mode we read port C by simplt going an input from the port C address. Then we output a start command to the tape reader on the bit pc6.this is done with a bit set/reset command. Assuming that we want to reset bit pc6 to start the tape reader, the bit set/reset control word for this is 00001100. When the tape reader receives the go command. It will start the handshake data transfer to the 8255A. The tape reader starts the process by sending out a byte of data by sending out a byte of data to port A on its eight data lines. The tape reader then asserts its stb line low to tell the 8255A that a new byte of data has been sent. In response the 8255A raises its input buffer full (IBF) signal on pc5 high to tell the tape reader that it is ready for the data. When the tape reader detects the IBF signal at a high level, it raises its stb signal high again. The rising edge of the stb signal has two effects on the 8255A. it first latches the data byte in the input latches of the 8255A. once the data is latched the tape reader can remove the data byte in preparation for sending the next data byte. This is shown by the dashed section on the right side of the data waveform in figure. The rising edge on the stb signal will cause the 8255A to output an interruot request signal in the microprocessor on bit pc3. The processors response to the interrupt request will be to go to an interrupt service procedure which reads in the byte of data latched in port A. when the RD signal from the microprocessor goes low for this read of port A, the 8255A will automatically reset its interrupt request signa on pc3. This is done so that a second interrupt cannot be caused by the sane data transfer, when the processor raises its RD signal high again at the end of the read operation, the 8255A automatically drops its IBF signal on pc5 low again. IBF going low again is the signal to the tape reader that the data transfer is complete and that it can be send the next byte of data. The time between when the 8255A sends the interrupt request signal and when the processor reads the data byte from port A depends on when the processor gets around to servicing that interrupt. The point here is that this time doesnt matter. The tape reader will not send the next byte until it detects the IBF signal has gone low again . The transfer cycle will then repeat for the next data byte. After the processor reads in the lathe control instruction byte from the tape reader, it will decode this instruction and output the appropriate control byte to the lathe on port B of the 8255A. the tape reader then sends the next instruction byte. If the instruction tape is made into a continuous loop, the lathe will keep making the specified parts until it runs out of material. The unused bit of port c , pc7 could be connected to a mechanism which loads In more material so the lathe can continue. Parallel Printer Interface—Handshake Output Example: This refers to the hardware connections and the software required to interface with a parallel printer in a system which does not have a BIOS procedure we can all to do the job. For most common printers such as IBM pc printers, the Epson dot matrix printers data to be printed is sent to the printers, and the Panasonic dot-matrix printers data printed is sent to the printer as ASCII characters on eight parallel lines. The printer receives the characters to be printed and stores them in an internal RAM buffer. When the printer detects a second carriage return, It prints out the second row of characters, etc. the process continues until all the desired characters have been printed. Transfer of the ASCII codes from a microcomputer to a printer must be done on a handshake basis because the microcomputer can send characters much faster than the printer can print them. The printer must in some way let the microcomputer know that its buffer is full and that it cannot accept any more characters until ir prints some out. A common standard for interfacing with parallel printers is the centronics parallel interface standard, named for the company that developed it. References: Microprocessors and interfacing programming and hardware second edition by Douglas V. Hall TATA McGRAW-hill edition. Microprocessor architecture, programming, and applications with the 8085 by Ramesh Gaonkar fifth edition, penram international publication Fundementals of microprocessor and microcomputers byB. Ram, Dhanpat Raipublication.