Attending University Online, Part I Essays

Attending University Online, Part I Essays Attending University Online, Part I Essay Attending University Online, Part I Essay Who would have ever imagined when I was in my twenties and graduating from college that I would someday return to school – in my living room? I can’t believe the many advances we have made since the inception of the Internet and it would have been difficult to imagine all of the things that would materialize and become possible in light of the Internet’s existence. Being online has changed the way most of us operate day to day and I’m no exception. I am one of those people who actually work at home because of my relationship with the Internet. I was a business major who worked in a traditional corporate setting until I had my children. Then, finding it difficult to balance my family and my job, I began to look at job opportunities that were available online. I was lucky and found a virtual company that was looking for someone with my background. Working from home has allowed me the flexibility to be with my children and it has opened many doors to me in te rms of what I know to be available online – including online university degree programs. I had always wanted to go back to school but to be honest I could never imagine how I would make something like that work. I worked from home because the commute and the child care of working outside of the home didn’t make sense for our family and these issues still existed in terms of me going back to school. Because, however, I make my living online I was able to see firsthand the many opportunities that were available to me for going back to school. Attending university online would allow me to continue to be at home with my kids without having to change around our schedule and I could pursue the online MBA program, giving me the degree that I had wanted for some time.

Documentos para viajar por avión dentro de EEUU

Documentos para viajar por avià ³n dentro de EEUU Si te encuentras en Estados Unidos y quieres volar dentro del paà ­s en un vuelo domà ©stico, debes conocer cul es la documentacià ³n que se acepta como identificacià ³n, conocida en inglà ©s como I.D., para que te permitan embarcar en un avià ³n. En este artà ­culo tambià ©n se explica cules son los requisitos para los nià ±os, para los extranjeros visitantes y tambià ©n, en el caso de los indocumentados, las reglas que aplican sobre sus licencias de manejar. Por à ºltimo, tambià ©n se informa sobre quà © hacer si ha habido un cambio de nombre y no coincide el del I.D. con el del boleto de avià ³n y quà © hacer si se olvida la documentacià ³n en casa. Documentacià ³n aceptada para volar dentro de Estados Unidos Las reglas bsicas las establece la Transportation Security Administration, conocido tambià ©n por sus siglas en inglà ©s de TSA. El I.D. para volar debe tener una foto de la persona y su nombre completo.   Segà ºn la TSA estos son los I.D. que los adultos, es decir, las personas mayores de 18 aà ±os, pueden utilizar para volar. Pasaporte de los Estados UnidosTarjeta de pasaporte de los Estados UnidosTarjeta del programa Trusted Traveler, tipo Global Entry, SENTRY, FAST o NEXUS.Un I.D. militar para soldados, oficiales, veteranos o sus familiares, aunque à ©stos se encuentren en el paà ­s en situacià ³n de indocumentados. Tambià ©n puede ser utilizado por  civiles empleados por el Departamento  de DefensaTarjeta de residencia permanente, tambià ©n conocida como green card.Visa lser, tambià ©n conocida como tarjeta de cruce de fronteras o BCC. Aquà ­ hay que respetar las millas que esta visa permite adentrarse dentro del territorio de Estados Unidos.Licencias de manejar reconocidas por el Departamento de Seguridad Interna (DHS) como mejoradas. Es lo que se conoce como Enhanced Drivers Licenses, que sirven para manejar, como I.D. y tambià ©n como prueba de ciudadanà ­a americana. Las emiten los estados de Michigan, Minnesota, Nueva York, Vermont y Washington.Licencia de manejar de un estado o terri torio de Estados Unidos, como por ejemplo Puerto Rico, u otras tarjetas de identificacià ³n emitidas por el Departamento de Vehà ­culos de dicho estado para ser utilizadas como I.D.   Pasaporte extranjero, si bien con las limitaciones que se explican ms abajoI.D .emitido por una de las naciones tribales de Estados UnidosLicencia de manejar de una de las provincias de Canad o de sus naciones tribales.Acreditacià ³n de trabajador en el sector del transporte (TWIC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s)I.D. emitidos por un aeropuerto o una aerolà ­nea y que cumplan con los requisitos del plan de seguridad de la TSA, la agencia federal encargada de estos asuntos.Tarjeta HSPD 12 PIV, de verificacià ³n de identidad de empleados federales. Quà © documentos no se pueden utilizar como I.D. para volar Entre otros, no pueden utilizarse los siguientes documentos. La matrà ­cula consular no est admitida expresamente en el listado de la TSA. Si bien es cierto que algunos inmigrantes aseguran haber volado con ella, especialmente hace aà ±os. Si quieres volar con una matrà ­cula consular, tienes que saber que asumes un riesgo. Para ms detalles, se recomienda leer ms abajo en la seccià ³n dedicada a migrantes indocumentados. Tampoco pueden utilizarse las licencias de armas, ni las tarjetas de bibliotecas, de universidad o de escuela, etc. Reglas para los extranjeros temporalmente en Estados Unidos Si ests en Estados Unidos como turista o temporalmente o como trabajador asegà ºrate de llevar siempre contigo el pasaporte para volar. Asegurarse de que se est en estatus legal, ya que si al verificar el I.D. el empleado de la TSA cree que ese no es el caso se puede llamar a un oficial migratorio de la CBP y pasar a una segunda inspeccià ³n  para que decida sobre la situacià ³n.   Los estudiantes deben llevar, adems del pasaporte, el documento que se conoce como I-20 y las personas con una visa de intercambio J-1 el DS-2019 ya que si no lo tienen podrà ­a impedà ­rsele volar, retrasar el vuelo o hacerle preguntas adicionales.  ¿Se puede volar con las licencias de manejar para indocumentados? Varios estados emiten licencias de manejar a inmigrantes sin estatus legal.  Algunos, los menos, son exactamente iguales a los del resto de conductores. Sin embargo, en ciertos estados esas licencias son diferentes y se emiten con limitaciones como no para uso oficial, con restricciones federales, no para uso federal y similares. En teorà ­a no se puede volar con esas licencias. Pero se est reportando que sà ­ se ha volado.  ¿Cà ³mo debe interpretarse esto? Que si se quiere intentar volar con ese tipo de I.D. hay que conocer los riesgos. En otras palabras, es posible que al llegar al aeropuerto se puede impide volar o, en casos graves, se llame a un oficial migratorio. Es decir, se puede derivar a una persona a la segunda inspeccià ³n con la CBP, tambià ©n conocida como Policà ­a fronteriza. E incluso se puede llamar al ICE, la agencia encargada de ejecutar las leyes migratorias federales. Es especialmente importante tener en consideracià ³n que los controles y la verificacià ³n del estatus migratorio es ms comà ºn en los aeropuertos cercanos a la frontera con Mà ©xico, por ejemplo McAllen, en Texas.   Tambià ©n es de gran relevancia evitar estos riesgos si previamente se ha sido deportado, ya que aquà ­ los problemas pueden ser muy graves. Cada uno debe tomar las decisiones por sà ­ mismo, conocer las posibilidades y tambià ©n los riesgos. Quiz es conveniente consultar con un abogado o una organizacià ³n de apoyo a inmigrantes. Y evitar vuelos que pasan sobre aguas o territorios internacionales, como viajes a Alaska, Hawaii o Puerto Rico. I.D. para volar en vuelos domà ©sticos para menores de 18 aà ±os Los nià ±os menores de 18 aà ±os que viajan con sus padres o tutores no necesitan I.D. Pero es recomendable llevar el certificado de nacimiento para probar la edad cuando por su aspecto fà ­sico pueda sospecharse que ya alcanzaron la mayorà ­a de edad. Adems, antes de salir para el aeropuerto comprobar con la là ­nea aà ©rea si tienen requisitos especiales para menores en cuanto a identificacià ³n. Ya que las compaà ±Ãƒ ­as puedes establecer requisitos adicionales.    ¿Quà © pasa si se ha olvidado la identificacià ³n en casa? Ser posible volar si es posible establecer la identidad de otro modo, como por ejemplo utilizando bases de datos pà ºblicas. Si no es posible, no se permitir el embarca al avià ³n.  ¿Quà © hacer cuando se ha cambiado el nombre? Uno de los requisitos para poder volar es que totalmente coincidan el nombre en el I.D. y en la tarjeta de embarque, conocido en inglà ©s como boarding pass. A veces puede suceder que no sea asà ­, por ejemplo, en casos de matrimonio con cambio de apellido. En estos casos y semejantes es necesario llevar el certificado de matrimonio o la orden judicial en la que se autoriza al cambio. De interà ©s para inmigrantes que viajan Antes de volar, asegurarse de saber quà © est permitido y prohibido llevar en el equipaje de mano. Asimismo, si se viaja al extranjero, cules son los documentos que puede utilizar un ciudadano americano para regresar a USA y cules son los requisitos para los nià ±os que viajan sin sus padres. Y, finamente, tener en cuenta que cuando volar por avià ³n no es una opcià ³n, hay que saber que tambià ©n puede haber  controles migratorios internos (retenes) en las carreteras en el interior  de Estados Unidos.

Marketing Week 4 Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing Week 4 Discussion - Assignment Example These are the fact that technology helps in providing computer-based clinical decision support systems, computer-based clinical protocols, and enhancement of electronic patient record systems and computer networks. Meanwhile, all these computer-based and electronic based systems of undertaking day to day processes within the health care sector have been guaranteed for effectiveness and efficiency (Morrisey, 2007). In a recent study, Koplan, Liverman and Kraak (2005) collected data on the weaknesses of paper based patient record and general health care delivery from 50 different health workers. The result of this study showed that there were as many as six (6) key weaknesses that paper based patient record present. These are lack of completeness, inaccuracies, lack of uniformity, slow transmission, lack of backup, and sheer physical volume (Morrisey, 2007). Meanwhile, using technology based systems helps in addressing all these issues in a single domain. Among the 50 respondents, the following results were produced as the worse affecting circumstances of absence of

Contract Law assignment question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contract Law assignment question - Essay Example When the execution of the contract was considered the duty of the promise under legal and contractual means will come under consideration. This is dealt under 1. legal duty, 2. duty arises from the contract, 3. the duty arised from the contract. According to the UK law commission recommendations the consideration of the duty must not be against the law and public policy. This point is derived from the traditional law. Under common law the term consideration is a controversial requirement for the contracts. This is considered controversial because this is not necessary in civil law systems and it is considered in law of obligations and the contexts involving the criminal offences. This controversial thing was introduced in the law because, both the parties that entered into a contract will bargain and this bargain will come to the fore or disappears when any one breaches the contract. So, in that context, if the situation does not come under civil law the consideration term is taken f or perusal. This is for avoiding unnecessary or unintentional advantage for other party. In the case of Eastwood v. Kenyon the guardian of a young girl raised loan for her education. This is in the intention of improving her marriage prospects. After her marriage the court held that the husband need not pay the loan as the loan raised for the education of the girl was a past consideration. Two parties can enter into a future contract regarding sale and purchase. When a person is having enough goods that he can sell. for reasonable profit after a certain time and a person who wants to make profit by buying certain goods after a period of time can make a future contract. The supplier must sell the goods by

Impressionism and revolution Essay Example for Free

Impressionism and revolution Essay Impressionism was started in 1860. It flourished for 3 decades. It mainly took place in Paris, France. In fact, Impressionism was against neo-classicism, which was too concentrated on academic exhibition. Impressionism was also against Romanticism. â€Å"By the second half of the eighteenth century the advancement of the individual was taking another important step forward, in that cluster of activities in art and literature generally known as Romanticism. It is emotions and feelings†. Impressionism is different than Romanticism, although romanticism also liked to use color; they focused deeply in interior feeling. Impressionism mainly focused on the light, subject matter, with broad brush stroke. People wanted a treatment of subject matter, a new approach, and commitment to the Realism. During the Impressionism Movement, twenty more color pigments were invented to provide a better chance for the artistic revolution, â€Å"After science and industrial development, people started to focus the scenario around them. More than twenty intense yellow, green, blue, red, and orange pigments were invented between 1800 and 1870. † The impressionists had more resources to express their theme and the styles through the art work. The color invention let painters to draw the paints much quicker. As a result, it brought out a new dynamic revolution, people believed in what their eyes saw, they focused on the color and form in the painting. During that time, people loved painting with Parisian scenes. Most of them were painting on the living scene of the streets. Industrial and Urbanization Revolution Impressionists depicted a lot of social scenes during the French Industrial and Urbanization revolution. â€Å"All the developments inherent in Modernism such as increasing secularism, scientific advances, new and more efficient modes of transportation and the rise of both socialism and the middle class, were factors in the changes that led to Impressionism. † From the Claude Monet’s, Saint-Lazare, Train Station, 1877 the train was actually what Monet saw, not just his imagination. The paint was full of energetic feelings from those volatile steams and smoke. Monet was excited about the color he saw at the moment. As a result, he used quick sketches in the paint. The paint showed the very early morning of the Paris Station at a time when people had already started working. The trains had a motion that were coming toward the audience. Industrial revolution was one of the biggest social impacts in the 1860. Monet was the pioneer to Impressionism into Revolution, â€Å"One certain thing about Impressionism is that it was not the sudden whim of a group of artists working in late-nineteenth-century in France, driven purely by a desire to create a revolution in painting. It was an essential part of the unfolding history of western civilization. † Monet was concerned about the effect of light in the painting. By showing the magic of the color combination, we can realize how Monet’s interest in science is visible through his drawing. He liked to have quick sketch in the paint. While he would repaint the paint again with the same angle over and over again at different time, so that the contrast of light movement could be more obvious. Impressionists also showed the urbanization revolution in France. In fact, the government had a large reconstruction in the streets and electricity systems starting 1860. In their paintings Gustavo Caillebotte, Paris: A Rainy Day, 1877 and Camille Pissarro, La Place du Theatre Francais, 1898 they provided a new dramatic city outlook for Paris. Many painters chose Paris streets to start their paintings, for example, there had so many people walking in and out of the streets. It really showed the urbanization city of Paris. â€Å"Interested in making an imperial statement through his redesign of Paris and in facilitating the movement of troops in the event of another revolution† (871). In fact, this is called â€Å"Haussmannization†. As Haussmann, the emperor of France, decided to rebuild all of Paris at that time period. The Impressionists depicted so many real Industrial and Urbanization to show the revolution in France during the Revolution period. The Industrial Revolution, which had made these technical advances possible, transformed Europe in the nineteenth century and influenced the lives and work of the Impressionists in a wide variety of ways. Railways started to proliferate mainly during the reign of Napoleon III. The growth of the railways enabled the Impressionists to visit easily and frequently those places which became closely associated with them. Monet travel around the earth. The development of gas and lightning gave Impressionists a new freedom. Thanks to the development of railroads, Monet, Sisley, Renoir and Pissarro had a chance and were living together and working together in the resorts. â€Å"The political world the first great assertion of this attitude, the French revolution, was followed by the rule of Napoleon, more autocratic and in art, the growth of feeling and sensibility apparent in the work of painters such as†¦Ã¢â‚¬  imposition of a hierarchy of subject- matter, and its general authoritarism. Shifting Social and Class of People Because of the industrial revolution, people earned a better income which led to the shift in social and economic class of people. From Georges Seurat, A Sunday on la Grande Jatte, 1884-1886. â€Å"Impressionist painters wanted to capture the rapidly changing modern world and the fleeting moods of nature. Impressionism relied on optical blending to depict the fluctuations of light and consisted largely of views of everyday middle-class life in the city and countryside of France† Seurat realized the shifting social and class relationships during the impressionism period. From his paint, on the left corner, a short sleeves worker was sitting with the middle class man and woman together. It illustrated that the social and class gap was shorten already. All Parisians from different classes gathered together. By drawing this picture, it showed a real situation in history. As France opened its import and export market to other countries in Europe, even in Japan, people can make more money. Seurat is using an analytical approach to draw this painting by using good relationship between color and line. Seurat was also avant-garde in the techniques that he used. He came up with the idea of pointillism, the using of dots to create a whole picture, and used it in all of his paintings. It fascinated the viewers of the time as it still does today. He loved pure colors and never mixed them. Instead, he would use many different color dots close together to form a different color. He was famous for using the paint straight from the tube. Monet’s brush strokes also classified him as avant-garde. His layering of oils are thick and sometimes muddled when view up close, but when the viewer stands back they are actually more unified. New Techniques in Painting by the Impressionist While pointillism and brush strokes were new innovations in painting, there were other new techniques and inventions as well. First, there were paint extenders. Something that would make the paint thicker was definitely needed. Additives to thicken the paint were used for the first time by adding stabilizers. Barium sulphate was the most common stabilizer to be used and it increased the life of the paintings. Impressionist turned their backs on the old themes of religion, mythology, and historical events as their inspiration for their paintings. Instead, they chose real scenes in nature, still life, and portraits. It was the artistic period known as Realism, and the art must match the new thoughts in literature and music. The Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and the American Civil War were just a few of the reasons that people of that time wanted to focus on things that were real. They had enough of the magical and mythical subjects offered by Romanticism. So the painters of the Impressionistic Period gave them what they wanted. There paintings weren’t just about a subject, but they told a story. Most Impressionist painters chose to move their studios outside in the natural surroundings which would become the subjects of their paintings. They wanted to be in direct contact with the subjects that they would immortalize in their art. Some wanted to be in fields, mountains, along or on water, while some moved right onto the busy streets of the city to catch everyday life as it really is. When the weather was uncooperative, painters like Monet and Renoir, and many others used glass to their advantage. In many instances their inside studios looked like glass rooms. Light was also a focus of the Impressionistic painters. They went to great lengths to ensure that they displayed the lighting at different times of day correctly. In fact they were many times more interested in the light than they were the actual subject. This led to many artist painting several different pictures of the same scene in nature. They wanted to make sure that it was captured perfectly at different times of the day, different weather, and different seasons. Another color technique used by the Impressionist painters was the use of the primary colors, blue, yellow and red, and they used them with the complementary colors of orange, green and purple. When used together, not blending, but along side of each other, they colors were created were numerous. When viewed at a distance, these colors blended perfectly, but when the viewer was close, the differences could be seen. This was a radical way to paint from the Romantics and their predecessors. Conclusion Impressionism was the first real break from traditions in the world of art. It introduced many new artists and each added his/her own variations to the art form. In fact, there were so many different types of Impressionism that is quite difficult to give a blanket definition of the art. One thing that they all had in common was that they were different from the artists of the past and they would influence artists of the future. They would directly influence the Modernist artist and those who were interested in Cubism. From their brush strokes to their fascination of light, the Impressionists were innovative. They allowed viewers of their art to look at paintings from a completely different point of view. Gone were the old days, and the new, realistic subjects were on the scene. While considered extreme at the time, most people came around in a short amount of time. Impressionistic paintings are now seen as art in its purest form. These innovative artists gave the world many new techniques that are still used around the world, not just in Europe, where Impressionism began. The use of color and their thoughts on color were unique, but made sense when the final product was done. Impressionism is the form of art that most people are familiar with. Who hasn’t heard of Monet, Renoir, or Seurat? It is amazing how an art form that was so different could go down in history as of the most admired.

Capitalists? :: Free Essays Online

Capitalists? Capitalism is the American way to create massive amounts of wealth through exploitation of helpless or naive people. When capitalism controls one’s future it becomes a noose that will control how one grows up and lives in the future. An example of this type of controlling capitalism is the new Marriott Hospitality Public Charter High School in Washington D.C. that trains mostly black*, inner city, high school students to become desk clerks, sales directors, and caterers (Hedgpeth). Washington Post Staff Writer Dana Hedgpeth in her article â€Å"If You Can’t Hire ‘Em, Train ‘Em† describes this process and the way the Marriott Company is going about creating their ‘future’. While Hedgpeth praises Marriott for its attention to underprivileged high school students, the question remains whether the attention given to these students in this school is the type of attention that will allow them â€Å"to be all they can be†? Marriott and other supporters of this school believe that what they are doing is creating a chance for a lost cause. In Washington D.C. there are plenty of poor black parents who would immediately send their child to a Marriott Charter School instead of a D.C. Public School where the classes are huge, the teachers are less inclined to care about the students, and fights or killings sometimes occur. The high school graduation rate of Washington D.C. in 1998 was approximately 57 percent, which is one of the lowest graduation rates in the country (The Manhattan Institute For Policy Research). †It’s better then having no chance at all,† says Rory Holderness, an inner city Baltimore native, who went to public school, saw fights almost everyday, and two of his friends dropped out of high school. Marriott thinks that their new charter school will be helpful to inner city high school kids that might not have a future or enough money to go to college. â€Å"The l abor market is very tight these days†¦ [These] students†¦ will take on jobs in the city’s largest industry †, said William R. Tiefel, who is the chairman of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and Emily Vetter who is the president of the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C. (Hedgpeth). Although nothing is guaranteed in life, Tiefel and Vetter have basically promised these District students that if they do not go to college from their charter school they will have secured a job in the â€Å"city’s largest industry†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Hedgpeth).

Human Resource Management in Virtual Organizations Essay

As we move into the 21st century, a number of innovations that were once merely ideas are now becoming reality. One of these is the virtual organization, where organizational members are geographically separated, but work together through computer technology. To date, much of the research and thought on virtual organizations has focused upon virtual technology and organizational design-how to link the individual members and how to design the virtual organization to carry out its work. This book takes this further in addressing the crucial question, how do you do human resource (HR) functions in the virtual organization? This question is particularly relevant when you consider that most traditional HR functions-hiring, training, evaluating performance, and rewarding (or disciplining) performance-assume there will be face-to-face interaction as the basis for carrying out that function. This book examines human resource management (HRM) in the virtual organizational in 14 chapters written by various authors and compiled into four parts. Part I as the introduction contains two chapters. Greenberger and Wang define and describe the virtual organization in the first chapter. Then Crandall and Wallace look at the difference between traditional and virtual workplaces in the second chapter. Part II examines HRM program delivery in three chapters. McClendon, Klaas, and Gainey look at HR outsourcing. Snell, Stueber, and Lepak examine HR departments, and Ulrich and Beatty describe the role of the HR professional in the virtual organization. Part III presents HRM programs in virtual organizations. Sk chapters describe job analysis (DeCaprio), staffing (Elllingson & Wiethoff), training and development (Noe & Simmering), performance management (Cleveland, Mohammed, & Skattebo), hybrid reward systems (Heneman, Tansky, & Tomlinson), and negotiation (Lewicki & Dineen). Part IV contains two case studies delineating the problems and solutions to electronic commerce (e-commerce) banking in China by Wang, and cross-functional teams cyberlinked in an orthopaedic manufacturer written by Crandall and Wallace. Finally, Part V concludes with a chapter on observations by Cardy. Most of the authors are academicians. Thus, they have a natural tendency to describe virtual organizations in terms of conceptual models, evolving  constructs, and theoretical foundations. To the authors’ credit, however, they make a concerted effort to use real virtual organizations (is that an oxymoron?) to illustrate their points, like the Technology One Alliance among BankOne, AT&T, and IBM, the networks between Walmart and its vendors, Merck’s virtual HR activities, and Lucent’s virtual product development team composed of 500 engineers operating over 13 time zones. In the first chapter, Greenberger and Wang take on the large task of trying to define exactly what a virtual organization is. They review 25 definitions from various articles and conclude that a virtual organization has several characteristics. First, there is a partnering relationship among parties either within or outside the organization. Second, there is a focus on core business activities that the virtual organization does well. Other activities are done by more traditional organizations. Third, technology connects the partners with the core business activities. Fourth, the organizational structure is flexible and fluid. Fifth, there is a focus upon virtual teams working on projects. In Chapter 2, Crandall and Wallace define the virtual workplace as â€Å"a network of people conducting business processes beyond the traditional bounds of organization, time, and space.† They contrast the traditional with the virtual organization and find that virtual organizations emphasize self-managed teams, broad-based duties, cross-functional skills, and a network orientation. One consequence is that the HR manager in a virtual organization takes on more differing roles than does the traditional HR manager. The virtual organization HR manager must be a coach delivering feedback to self-managed teams, an architect of work flows using computer technology, a designer and deliverer of innovative HR programs to fit the virtual organization, and a facilitator of teamwork in self-managed teams. The most interesting section is Part III on how to carry out HR functions within the virtual organization. The basic functions look the same as in the traditional organization, but the techniques are sometimes radically different. For example, in the virtual organization, electronic performance monitoring and online chat sessions are job analysis methods. Recruiting  occurs through Internet job boards. Hiring involves electronic resumes, online testing, and online interviewing. Training focuses upon electronic learning (e-learning) capability, communities of learning, and the use of learning portals. Performance management involves maintaining individual technological skill mixes and evaluating virtual team performance. Even pay systems need new forms because of the new types of work structures-virtual teams, alliances, and networks-and the changing perception of pay equity within these structures. One theme that underlies many of the chapters is the importance of teams in the virtual organization. The self-managed team is one of the building blocks of these organizations. Team members must possess or be trainable on traits conducive to operating in the virtual organization: communication skills, cultural sensitivity, networking ability, tolerance for ambiguity, and interpersonal adaptability. Finally, virtual negotiation is unique. Negotiation in traditional organizations is face-to-face, but virtual negotiation occurs largely through e-mail, which, on the one hand, has a greater propensity for norms of â€Å"taking turns† (e.g., waiting for an e-mail reply); but, on the other hand, there is a greater tendency for disinhibition, which may allow for rude and compulsive behavior, like â€Å"flaming.† Moreover, there is a greater tendency toward message misinterpretation in virtual negotiation e-mails that lack the nonverbal information richness of face-to-face interaction. As I read the chapters, it occurred to me that the authors make a very basic assumption, which is that the computer technology linking everything together is reliable and secure. This is particularly relevant because the combination of attacks from viruses and worms that had swept the nation in August, 2003, was still a very fresh memory as I read this book. To compound the problem, our university computer router went out at the same time. The consequence was very limited access to e-mail and the Internet as our fall semester began. It was a shock to see how much this negatively affected our teaching, research, and interaction with our colleagues. And this was within a traditional university structure. I wonder how these onslaughts of  viruses, worms, hackers, and equipment breakdowns affect virtual organizations. In the traditional organization, there are backup communication systems to the computer, such as faxes, phone messages, and even walking over to someone and talking face-to-face. What is the alternative to the very centralized role of the computer if it malfunctions in the virtual organization? In conclusion, virtual organizations are much more than merely doing e-commerce through Web pages and gaining remote access to the company computer. They involve partnerships, fluid and flexible boundaries, focused business processes, broad-based skill mixes, decentralized teams, and complex connectivity to information networks. They run the gamut from loosely coupled telecommuting relationships to intricate cybernets. As the authors state, HR for virtual organizations will be one of the challenges facing business in the 21st century. Based upon what the various chapters describe, these virtual HR activities will probably still retain the traditional names, like recruiting, hiring, and training, but their actual forms will be as different as an SUV is to a Model T. So let’s fasten our seat belts for a wild ride at Warp 4.5 into the virtual HRM reality of the virtual organization. But don’t beam me up quite yet, Scotty.