Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Three

The similarities between the fachan and nixie attacks weren't lost on me. Both types were water creatures, and all had seemed much more interested in killing Storm King's daughter than fathering her child. Recalling how Dorian had said someone powerful would have had to force them to come out to the desert, I decided that figuring out who that could be needed to move to the top of my list of priorities. Rape was horrible. Death was†¦well, final. Unfortunately, I wasn't really sure I trusted my new gentry contacts to give me unbiased advice. So I turned to my next-most relatively neutral sources. Like always, my spirit minions took a long time in answering my question. Nandi and Volusian were compelled to answer eventually, but I think they always sort of tried to wait each other out. This time, it was Nandi who finally gave in. â€Å"Mistress, there are many among the shining ones who could summon such creatures. Far too many for you to hunt down or investigate. To do so would be akin to counting grains of sand on a beach. The task is impossible. Were you to try, you would fall into a despair so dark and deep that it would undoubtedly shatter your mind and force you into insanity.† Volusian sighed loudly and shuffled so that he stood farther into the shadows of my bedroom. â€Å"Metaphors aside, mistress, she is correct. Perhaps there are not quite so many suspects but still enough to make a search difficult.† Finn, moving around my room in lazy circles, stopped his flight and scoffed. â€Å"Why are you wasting your time with all these other people? It's obvious who's doing it. Maiwenn is.† I sat cross-legged on the bed and swallowed a piece of my Milky Way. â€Å"Maiwenn can't control water. Besides,† I added bitterly, â€Å"everyone keeps going on about how weak and sickly she is lately anyway.† I honestly didn't get what the big deal was with her being so debilitated by pregnancy. I'd worked at a restaurant in high school, and there'd been a waitress there who'd stayed on her feet until the day she delivered. â€Å"Maiwenn doesn't have to do it herself,† argued Finn. â€Å"She's the mastermind. Other people hated Storm King. She's probably collaborating with them and directing them to attack you.† â€Å"That seems kind of elaborate.† I swear, Volusian almost smiled. â€Å"Spend more time around the gentry courts, mistress, and you'll find a plan like that would be childishly simplistic. Nonetheless, I find it unlikely the Willow Queen is involved. It is not in her nature. She would not kill without provocation. She is more likely to wait and observe than act on her emotions.† â€Å"Unless there was something more personal involved,† said Finn slyly. â€Å"You know, maybe a little jealousy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Apparently my romantic difficulties were no secret. Honestly, I didn't get how gossip spread so fast in the Otherworld, particularly considering how they had no telephones, TV, or Internet. I glared at him. â€Å"She has nothing to be jealous about. Not anymore.† â€Å"Agreed,† said Volusian. â€Å"Besides, the Willow Queen is not an adolescent girl who would risk her rule to take petty revenge. She – and her peers – are far too clever. And ruthless.† Finn crossed his arms and glared at Volusian. It was kind of a bold move, considering Finn looked like a cartoon character and Volusian looked like he ate the souls of small children. For all I knew, he probably did. â€Å"Of course you'd say that. You're trying to throw Odile off Maiwenn's trail. Makes it easy, doesn't it? Then Maiwenn's assassins can do your dirty work for you. We all know you're just waiting to kill her off.† Finn jerked his thumb in my direction. Volusian went rigid, his eyes narrowing to red slits. â€Å"Make no mistake. When I kill our mistress – and I will – I will not depend on some gentry to do it. I will rip her flesh and tear her soul apart myself.† Silence fell. â€Å"Truly, mistress,† Nandi said at last, â€Å"it is a wonder you even have the will to carry on.† â€Å"Enough,† I groaned, rubbing my eyes. â€Å"Being around you guys is like being on the Jerry Springer Show sometimes. As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Volusian.† Finn started to speak, and I cut him off with a gesture. â€Å"But I still want to talk to Maiwenn. If she is guilty, maybe I can find out. If she isn't, maybe she'll help me figure out who is.† â€Å"You're crazy,† exclaimed Finn. â€Å"You're playing right into her hands.† â€Å"And your opinion has been duly noted for the record. I don't need to hear it anymore.† He disappeared with a huff. I shook my head and turned to the others. â€Å"Show me where the closest crossover to her home is.† It turned out to be an hour and a half drive from Tucson, but considering how much Otherworldly travel I probably would have had to do by crossing somewhere else, I didn't mind. This proved doubly true when the crossroads in the Willow Land deposited me within eyesight of her castle. It was only a small consolation, considering it was still freezing in her land. Back home, the weather had been hot and perfect. Worst of all, today was Cinco de Mayo. I should have spent the rest of the day drinking copious amounts of tequila, followed by a blissful blackout under a table somewhere. At least there was no wind now, but the air held a sharp, biting chill. It was dry too; I could sense its lack of moisture. Ice and snow drifts glittered with crystalline beauty in the stark winter sunlight, but it was a dangerous beauty. If you stared at the blankets of white too long, you could almost get afterimages from the brightness. I trudged down the cold road, admiring the castle in spite of myself. Unlike Aeson's and Dorian's, it lacked the blocky, fortress look. It was†¦well, pretty. Graceful, fluid spires rose up, their silvery white surface gleaming and sparkling. The entire structure had a curved, almost sinuous look, like a calla lily. I wondered if this simply resulted from the difference between male and female monarchs. Maybe Maiwenn just had better taste. The guards turned rightfully alarmed when I informed them who I was. They tried to coax me inside to wait for Maiwenn's admittance, but I refused to take one step until they'd requested hospitality for me. It took awhile – during which time the number of guards circling me doubled – but Maiwenn finally sent back word that I could see her and would be under the protection of her home. A lady-in-waiting led me to Maiwenn, and she made it clear in both body language and words that I had no business disturbing her queen. She led me through twisting halls, at last leaving me in a cozy, brightly lit sitting room. Maiwenn rested in a comfy plush chair, propped up by pillows. A heavy satin dressing gown wrapped around her, and someone had tucked a blanket over her lap. Even pale-skinned and messy-haired, she looked gorgeous. She smiled at me and gestured for the servant to leave. â€Å"Lady Markham, what a pleasant surprise. Please, sit down.† Uneasily, I eased onto a delicate plush pink chair. â€Å"Call me Eugenie.† She nodded, and we both sat there awkwardly. Watching her, all I could think about was how she was carrying Kiyo's baby. It would create a lifelong bond between them that I could never share. Not that I wanted anything like that, of course. Kiyo was out of my life. Maiwenn's sense of propriety, being better than mine, soon kicked in. â€Å"I'm happy to receive you, but I suspect this isn't a social call.† â€Å"No†¦I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated, suddenly feeling foolish. What had I been thinking to come here and ask her outright if she wanted to kill me? Well, it was too late to back out. Might as well go for it. â€Å"I've had a couple of nasty attacks lately. Attacks meant to kill me. And I was wondering if†¦if maybe you knew anything about them†¦.† Her turquoise eyes regarded me knowingly. â€Å"Or more to the point, you want to know if I had anything to do with them.† I averted my eyes. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"It's no wonder Dorian likes you so much. Your bluntness must amuse him to no end.† She sighed and leaned her head back in the chair. â€Å"You may believe me or not, but the answer is no. I neither ordered nor know anything about any attempts on your life. What happened?† Figuring it couldn't hurt regardless of her involvement, I told her everything about the fachan and the nixies. Her face stayed mostly blank, though I did see surprise flash in her eyes a few times. When I finished, her response was not what I expected. â€Å"Why do you live in a desert anyway? Willingly even?† I felt surprise cross my own face. â€Å"It's my home. It's not that bad.† She shrugged. â€Å"If you say so. But Dorian is right in his assessment of getting those creatures to you in the first place. Someone powerful and motivated would have had to do it.† â€Å"Do you know who?† â€Å"No. Like I said, you have no reason to believe me, but I had nothing to do with this.† She was right. I had no reason to believe her. And yet†¦some part of me noted that Kiyo trusted her. Whatever anger I felt over his withholding of information, I had to believe he wasn't an entirely unreliable judge of character. â€Å"Could you give me names of people who could do it?† â€Å"I could give you dozens. Wouldn't do you much good.† I scowled and slouched into my chair. The same response as the spirits. â€Å"I'm sorry I can't be more help.† She sounded sincere. â€Å"I won't lie: The thought of you having Tirigan's grandson terrifies me. But I don't believe in punishing you for something that has not yet happened – especially when you are trying to not make it happen. However†¦Ã¢â‚¬  That placid expression turned hesitant. â€Å"May I ask you a question?† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"I know what you told me, and yet†¦well, I hear more and more stories about your involvement with Dorian. Kiyo said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She tripped over the name. â€Å"Kiyo said I had nothing to worry about.† â€Å"You don't. It's an act. Dorian's teaching me to use my magic, and in exchange, I play his girlfriend.† No point in mentioning our recent bargain. She considered. â€Å"So you've decided to embrace your heritage after all.† â€Å"Only enough to not do something stupid.† â€Å"You're right to do that†¦though I'd feel better if you had another teacher. Your bargain may seem safe enough for now†¦yet I doubt he'll let it stay that simple for long. Don't let his charm blind you to his agenda. He'll use you to get what he wants – and he wants the prophecy fulfilled.† â€Å"Hey, I can handle Dorian. And his charm.† â€Å"There's more to it than just that, however. Your very life may be at risk.† â€Å"From Dorian? I doubt it.† â€Å"From his enemies.† That was a new one. â€Å"I didn't really know he had any unless†¦well, you and he differ in opinion†¦and I guess he and Aeson don't get along either.† I sat up straighter. â€Å"Do you think his enemies are the ones trying to kill me? To get back at him?† â€Å"Any number of people could be trying to kill you. The list of his enemies is no shorter than the ones I referred to before. Most of his have nothing to do with where he stands on the prophecy. He's powerful, and many fear that – with good reason. When this part of the Otherworld rearranged itself, he fought to seize much more of it than he did. Only at the last minute did Katrice, queen of the Rowan Land, emerge as a contender and slice up more. The land recognized her and allowed her a portion, cutting Dorian out of larger territory.† I shivered. I had heard Roland speak of the Otherworld's sentience, how it continually changed form and boundaries. Still. The thought of it â€Å"allowing† someone to do something creeped me out. â€Å"Many know he has never accepted that outcome,† she continued. â€Å"He would like to expand, and they see you as the means of doing it. Your human powers have been feared for years. If you manifest Storm King's as well, they believe you and Dorian will conquer the other kingdoms. And possibly beyond.† â€Å"Everyone's so obsessed with conquest,† I grumbled. â€Å"Why can't they just leave things the way they are?† â€Å"Your king has grander plans than that, I'm afraid.† I wondered not for the first time who was getting the better end of this deal Dorian and I had contrived. What was it he really wanted from me? â€Å"So even people who agree with the prophecy don't necessarily like him.† She nodded. â€Å"They would rather see your son fathered by someone less ambitious – someone they could control. Those same people could very well attempt to remove Dorian. Or, others who wanted Storm King to succeed in theory secretly believe it will never happen, so now they simply worry about the immediate threat you present to the kingdoms here.† This new development, that I was a threat because I wanted to conquer the Otherworld, was almost more ludicrous than the prophecy. â€Å"Why the hell would I want to rule in this world? Haven't they noticed I'm human? Or at least half? I don't have any claim on gentry real estate. And I don't want any.† â€Å"The shining ones view things differently than humans. Humans always feel the need to point out any drop of foreign blood in a person. As far as we care, you have our blood, and that suffices. You may have a human mother, but for all other intents and purposes, most of us now regard you as one of our own.† I thought about how common â€Å"outsider† labels were back in my own world: African American, Asian American, etc. She was right. People usually called attention to â€Å"foreign† blood. â€Å"Yeah, but all that aside, I've made a career out of hunting them down. Doesn't that bother anybody or seem weird for a potential queen?† â€Å"Some, yes,† she conceded. The slightly distasteful look on her face informed me she was among them. â€Å"And they won't get over that anytime soon. But really – for everyone else – well, as I said, most consider you one of us now, and killing wantonly isn't that out of line for a powerful leader. Nothing that Tirigan or Aeson or Dorian hasn't done.† I exhaled loudly. â€Å"This doesn't make me feel better. I suddenly feel like I have more enemies than before.† â€Å"I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, Dorian's enemies may seek you out because of your connection to him, but that very connection will compel him to protect you by whatever means he can. Conniving or not, he's a powerful ally.† I remembered the nixies. â€Å"Yeah. He is.† Another uncomfortable silence descended, and we sat there watching each other. Regardless of how wussy I thought her condition was, she did look pretty exhausted. I hadn't really decided if she was an enemy or not. Honestly, I'd received more things to worry about than any sort of answers from this visit. â€Å"Well,† I said stupidly, â€Å"thanks for the†¦help. I guess I should go.† She nodded and gave me a faint, tired smile. â€Å"You're welcome here anytime.† â€Å"Thanks.† I stood up and moved to the door. My hand was on the knob when she called my name. â€Å"Eugenie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I turned. A pained look crossed her face, one that had nothing to do with her physical discomfort. â€Å"He loves you,† she said haltingly. â€Å"You should†¦you should forgive him. He didn't mean to hurt you.† I held her gaze for several painful moments and then walked out without another word. I didn't want to think about Kiyo. And then, as irony would have it, I ran into him when I was about halfway out of the keep. The universe was harsh sometimes. Whatever feelings her words had kindled in me dried up at the thought of him coming to visit her. The look on his face implied I was the last person he'd expected to see there. I forcibly kept my expression cold, trying hard not to show how much I was drinking in his appearance and presence. He was as stunning as ever with that tanned skin and silky black hair curling slightly behind his ears. I wanted to run my hands through it. The heavy coat he wore couldn't hide that graceful, athletic body. â€Å"Eugenie,† he said softly, â€Å"what are you doing here?† â€Å"I had to chat with Maiwenn. You know, girl talk.† I hoped my tone conveyed that I did not want to elaborate on our conversation. He picked up on the hint. â€Å"Well. It's good to see you. You look†¦good. How have things†¦I mean, have you been okay?† I shrugged. â€Å"The usual. Propositions. Attempts on my life. You know how it goes.† â€Å"I worry about you.† â€Å"I'm fine. I can take care of myself. Besides, I do have some help.† Those dark, caring eyes narrowed slightly. â€Å"I suppose you mean Dorian.† â€Å"He saved me from a pretty nasty attack the other day and,† I added, feeling mean, â€Å"he's going to help me go get Jasmine.† â€Å"That's a bad idea.† â€Å"Which part? Getting her or relying on Dorian?† â€Å"Both.† â€Å"Well, you knew I was going to go for her one of these days. Better sooner than later.† I started to walk past him, and he caught my arm. Even through the coat, his touch sent shock waves through my body. He leaned close to me. â€Å"I want to come with you.† â€Å"I don't need your help.† â€Å"You need all the help you can get.† â€Å"No.† I broke his hold. He moved and blocked my way again. I could feel some of that animal intensity radiating off of him. â€Å"Last time you didn't want gentry help because it hurt your pride. You're doing the same thing with me for the same reasons, and there's no point. Forget how much you hate me, and worry about what's best for the girl. I'm going with you.† He had a point about what was in Jasmine's best interests, but his attitude bothered me. â€Å"What, you think you can make something happen by just telling me it will? You're not going, so get over it.† â€Å"There's nothing to get over. If you're in danger, I protect you. I'll be there.† â€Å"Well, I guess you're going to have to go stake out Aeson's 24/7, because I'm sure as hell not letting you in on the secret planning meetings.† Some of his feral demeanor dropped, and suddenly he was relaxed, collected Kiyo again. â€Å"There are secret meetings? What are you guys now, the Superfriends?† I rolled my eyes and walked past him, back to the crossroads and the warmer weather of Arizona. That ache in my chest, the one I'd had since Beltane, burned steadily the entire time. I hated what had happened to us, but I didn't know how to fix it. I didn't know how to forgive Kiyo. I tried to get my mind on something else as I drove home, like planning the logistics of the next Jasmine rescue. Or, considering her resistance, maybe it would be more like a smash ‘n' grab. Regardless, I was eager to get it over with. Damn Dorian's clause about my magic. And his stupid nobility about sex. I was almost home when I drove past a Barnes & Noble. An idea leapt into my brain, a strange one admittedly, but one that couldn't hurt. I hadn't stopped thinking about how much potential I allegedly had with magic. For years, I'd relied on human magic – or rather the human ability to extract magic from the world. I could banish spirits and monsters. I could walk worlds. But this so-called power within me offered so much more, according to both Dorian and Maiwenn – not to mention my own barely remembered longings. I had resisted it at first, but now†¦now I wanted so badly to advance to higher levels. Dorian and I would meet tomorrow night for another session, and I hated the thought of more inactivity. He'd told me I had a lifetime to catch up on magic, but I didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to close the gap. Naturally, the store had no books on real magic. They only carried the silly and trumped-up commercial type stuff. But they did have a science section, and within that, I found a couple shelves on weather and meteorology. I doubted these books would make me a magical dominatrix overnight, but actually knowing the science behind what I worked with had to help. It was something tangible, something I had more experience with than the weird, esoteric nature of magic itself. Volusian had once commented that as a child of both worlds, I could take the best of each lineage. I was both gentry and human. Magic and technology. I spent over an hour skimming through books on storms, the atmosphere, and assorted weather phenomena. When the store made its closing announcement, I could hardly believe it. Time had flown by. Scooping up the ones I deemed most useful, I paid and went home. â€Å"Reading is hot,† Tim told me when I walked in the door with my heavy bag. I ignored him and retreated to my room. Dumping the books on the bed, I picked the most remedial-looking one and sat down at my desk, where the Eiffel Tower still lay unfinished. I hadn't had time for puzzles lately. With a wistful last look, I swept the pieces up into the box and put it away. The tower would have to wait. Shifting my legs into a comfortable position, I spread out the glossy, full-colored textbook. Flipping through the title pages and introduction, I finally found the meat of the book.

Conflict Negotiation Scenario

?Running head: CONFLICT NEGOTIATION SCENARIO Conflict Negotiation Scenario University of Phoenix HCS587 Conflict Negotiation Scenario TradeStation Securities is an online brokerage company where I was employed as the Client Service Director in charge of the Florida and Chicago Client Service Associates which, totaled 90 employees. Due to the strict rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) any employee handling brokerage accounts for customers must have their securities license known as the Series 7. When I was hired in January 2008, my contract included that within the first year of employment I needed to study and obtain this license. I also was in charge of ensuring that each employee within the Client Service Department obtained their licenses as well. My department was extremely unorganized and there were no procedures in place for the employees. My first task was to create a flow chart of the Client Service procedures and how they were linked to providing excellent customer service. I linked the procedures and showed how the procedures were linked to other departments of the company. I presented my chart at the first weekly management meeting and received approval from all department managers that were involved. Everything was going as planned until a scandal between the sales department and a client changed everything. The President of my department was also the President of the Sales Department as well and due to the issue with the sales department he was asked to resign. The Vice President of the company took over both departments until a replacement was found. I met with the Vice President and discussed with him the plan I created and how the implementation was progressing. He was concerned that I was hired without my licenses and expressed to me the importance of obtaining them. I discussed with him my contract and explained to him that I was about two weeks away from being prepared to take the exam. My motivation to succeed was noticeable and at that time I felt he knew that I was dedicated to making my department successful which would be shown by the customer service provided to our clients. I started to notice that I was not being included in important management meetings. I made an appointment to speak with the Vice President to discuss my concerns and the reasons for not being included. At that time, he explained that he was placing another director within the company as director of my department. He explained that I should not have been hired since I didn't not have my securities license and stated that this individual was going to assist me with running the department until I passed the exam. I was taken back because he never discussed this with me previously and I felt that he was attempting to push me out of the department and the company. His behavior demonstrated towards me was unprofessional and came across as cold. My employees noticed that something was transpiring and continued to ask me if something was going. I met with each employee and communicated that change would always occur but the changes were going to be effective and they needed to continue to excel in their position. I started to notice that my employees started to slip with their performance because of the negative communication that was occurring throughout the department. I decided to escalate the issue to the President of the Company. The President was well aware of my employment with his company as well as the action plan I created for my department. He was empathetic of the situation and decided to have a meeting with the Vice President and myself. I knew at this point the Vice President was going to be extremely upset because I went above his head on the situation. After a two hour meeting, the situation was under control and I felt at ease knowing that I had the President of the company agreeing with my employment and the positive changes I have made and continued to make daily with the department. I knew the Vice President was upset so I decided to give him a week to digest the situation and I made an appointment to speak with him. I expressed my loyalty to him and the company and went over my plans again ith him and asked him for his thoughts on the changes I wanted to make. I took the â€Å"team† approach when speaking with him to try and get him to see that I wanted to improve the department which would improve the overall customer satisfaction and the success of the company. He expressed his determination to continue to make the changes that he first discussed with me that didn't include me in the picture. I told him I was unfortunate to hear that he was not going to be a team player and that I expressed that I was going to continue the work that I was hired for. At that time, he also expressed that he would continue to work towards his plan. Over the next couple of weeks, I continued to make the improvements with the policies and procedures in the department even though a new director had been placed in my department. I felt like I was in a battle and saw that the employees were being affected as well as my clients due to the confusion. I asked for another meeting but this time not only with the President and Vice President. I also included the board members, the HR department manager and the legal counsel for the company. During the meeting I started from the beginning walking all of them through the timeline and the flow chart and the disruptions that had been preventing the success. All the board members, the President, the legal counsel and the HR Manager agreed that I was on the right path. The final decision was for me to continue handling my department and my department would be overseen by the President instead of the Vice President of the company. A month later, the Vice President resigned from the company because his future for the company was not aligned with the President and Board Members path.

Alice in wonderland belonging

Alice in Wonderland is a well-known film produced in 1951. A remade modern version of the movie was made in 2010. The movie is an American live action/computer animated fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, one of Hollywood’s â€Å"Big Six† film studios, and film stars including Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway. The movie is based on a nineteen year old girl named Alice going onto an audacious adventure. Alice has been confronted by an unwanted marriage proposal to a man, not knowing of how to reply, Alice gets overwhelmed and runs away following a rabbit in a blue waistcoat, and accidentally falls into a large rabbit hole, where she finds herself into another dimension called Wonderland. She gets greeted by a White Rabbit, a Dormouse, the Dodo, the Tall Flowers and Tweedledum and Tweedledee. They argue over her identity as being â€Å"the right Alice†, which legend says that she is somewhat supposed to slay the Red Queen Jabberwocky and restore the White Queen to power. Alice walks towards the Red Queen’s castle. The Red Queen welcomes Alice into her castle and shows Alice the Vorpal Sword (the only weapon capable of killing the Jabberwocky), not knowing that she is the chosen one to slay her Jabberwocky restoring peace to the land. Alice later then manages to retrieve the sword and gets caught by the Bandersnatch, a terrifying beastly creature. She runs away and hands over the sword to the White Queen. Word gets around that the White Queen has possession of the sword handed by Alice, and a rebellious war goes down. Both armies of the White Queen and The Red Queen prepare for battle. Alice later on manages to kill the Jabberwocky and peace is restored to the land. From the purple blood of the dead Jabberwocky, Alice uses it to magically return home. She promises to come back and visit again, like she had thirteen years back. Alice returns home and makes a pledge to her family to live life on her own terms. 1. There are numerous aspects of belonging being represented in the text ‘Alice in Wonderland’. One main aspect in the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’ that is being represented to belonging is, when Alice goes onto a mysterious journey in search of a destination where she truly felt she belonged as a child. Alice is being accepted in to the Wonderland which makes her feel belonged and allows her to get a better understanding about her situation in reality. The adventure she goes on, allows her to make many choices of her own and where she has to make a final decision to define who she is and who she wants to become in the real world. 2. Belonging is important to how we find our own identity within ourselves and our place with individuals. It is a connection to people, places, groups, communities and the wider world. Belonging can provide a sense of acceptance, security and completion. Nevertheless, the process of belonging may not always be depicted as a positive aspect. It can also lead to the exclusion or segregation of individuals due to obstacles that delay efforts to belong. The Depiction of belonging is similar to our core text â€Å"The Secret River†, as it has been shown throughout the whole text. An example of this is how both the Indigenous Australians and the English settlers both feel that they either own or belong to the land. As noted on page 93, â€Å"There were no signs that the blacks felt that the place belonged to them. They had no fences that said this is mine. No house that said, this is our home. There were no fields or flocks that said, we have put the labour of our hands into this place. † This quotation demonstrates how the English settlers have no understanding of ownership from the Aboriginal idea that they and the land are one. The Aboriginal people believed that the land was not something that could be retailed or negotiated away. The Indigenous Australians had cared, cherished and lived harmoniously with the land, while on the other hand, the British colonists saw no reason not to take the land and resources of the Aboriginals because they did not place any signs of them owning the land or any property. The Western had built permanent structures and plants out crops on fields as the Aborigines had not invested in the land. It was believed that someone who did not do labour on the land or developed its resources were not considered to own that land. The Indigenous Australians had felt the firmness of the land beneath their feet and knew that the land belonged to them, and that they belonged to it. The Depiction of belonging is similar to â€Å"The Secret River† as it has shown belonging in numerous ways throughout the text by demonstrating who owns the land and who does the land belong to. 3. There are many language techniques used throughout the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to communicate the idea of belonging. These would include symbolism, metaphors and similes. Symbolism is used in the text where Alice goes through a variety of absurd physical changes to her body. She feels traumatic and sorrow for never being the right size. This acts as a symbol for the changes a child may feel as her body grows and changes during puberty. Alice struggles to uphold a comfortable physical size. As stated in In Chapter 1, Well, Ill eat it, said Alice, and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so either way Ill get into the garden and I dont care which happens! She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, Which way? Which way? † holding her hand on top of her head to feel which way it was growing; and she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size. † This quotation shows that Alice is feeling miserable, frustrated and stressed when she keeps finding herself too big or too small to enter the garden. The use of symbolism used in this example demonstrates that it represents an abstract idea of Alice feeling irritated, traumatic and the act of not belonging. Another language technique that was used in the text is Metaphors. A Metaphor is a figure of speech comprising an implied contrast, in which a word or phrase normally is used of one thing is applied to another. †Down the rabbit hole† is a quotation from the film Alice in Wonderland. It is now a famous and most commonly used metaphor symbolising everything from exploring a new and unknown world to taking hallucinogenic drugs intending to explore through philosophical and existential thinking. In the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’, the rabbit hole is the place where all her adventures begins. It was Alices thoughtless decision to follow the White Rabbit that lead to all of her escapades. Lastly, the use of similes was used in the film. At the beginning of the film, Alice refers to telescopes. She wishes that she could â€Å"shut up like a telescope†, as well as other people too. The quote is intending that Alice wants to shut up, but keeps opening and shutting her mouth as to the ability to reduce a telescope’s size by collapsing its moving parts. She also expresses the craving and ability to shrink or grow as effortlessly as she would extend or contract a telescope. The use of simile is important because it conveys a distinctive and fascinating, thought to the audience by comparing it to something with which the reader is familiar of. In conclusion, the use of symbolism, metaphors and similes used in the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by the composer to communicate the idea of belonging is shown throughout the text is effective as it gives the audience a real, vivid image in their mind.

Movie review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Movie Review Example the audience to rethink their perceptions on faith healing, and want to believe the ease by which a person can be healed without the use of any form of medication. In addition, it gives non-believers the idea that faith healing is not dependent on the form of faith, but the faith itself, meaning that a person does not need religious faith to be healed; a little faith is enough. Henry Poole discovers that he has a terminal disease during a routine check-up, gives up hope in life and buys a house in the suburbs in his home area, where he can die in peace after wasting his life on drinking. This retreat into suburbia shows that Poole had given up hope on life, and all he wanted to do with his life is to waste it before he died. To ensure that he lives in solace, Poole buys a house in a busy suburb that resembles many others, and since people will be too busy minding their own business, he will not be disturbed. However, this is not to happen as he finds out that he had a nosey neighbour, Esperanza, who insists that a stain she saw in his house was the image of Jesus, and it has healing power. While dealing with Esperanza, Poole meets with Millie; the daughter of Dawn became taciturn and lost her speech when her father left them. Millie touches the stain and her speechlessness is cured, and Poole’s neighbours start insisting that he was in that house fo r a reason and the stain could heal him (Henry Poole Is Here). Poole did not believe this, and in anger, he smashes the wall due to the frustration of believers insisting on imposing their faith on him, even though there is nothing wrong with their insistence or his resistance. However, denying the apparition means that Poole consciously thinks he does not believe in faith healing, though later events in the film show that he believes but at a subconscious level. Smashing the wall intensifies Poole’s relationship with his neighbours, especially since Millie’s healing had an effect on him. He knows that he touched

Energy policy and technology (Energy in developing countries, Research Proposal

Energy policy and technology (Energy in developing countries, Thailand) - Research Proposal Example Thailand is one of the developing countries in Southeast Asia that has set a good example by introducing policies (Buranasajjawaraporn, 2014) that promote and support the production of clean energy; however, preliminary literature review (Beerepoot, Laosiripojana, Sujjakulnukij, Tippichai, & Kamsamrong, 2013) identified a few problems in its policies and structures that might create hurdles in the future. Due to this potential of Thailand to emerge as one of the leaders in solar energy production and consumption, the proposed study intends to analyse some of the significant aspects of renewable energy industry of Thailand. The Ministry of Energy of Thailand (2002) has indicated its interest in promoting not only the consumption but also the production of solar energy several times, which is also evident from introduction of various incentives and promotional policies. In this regard, the matter of solar energy is of prime importance for the government, as well as for private stakeholders that are interested in investing in the potential industry. Due to this significance, identification and analysis of barriers associated with production of solar energy resources will be helpful for policymakers, as well as investors in not only understanding the problems but also resolving these barriers for successful implementation of government’s policies and achieving the target of 10-years alternative energy development plan of 2011-2021 (Buranasajjawaraporn, 2012). For this purpose, this study aims to investigate different aspects of Thailand’s solar industry with intent to identify and analyse its potential along with barriers that are causing hurdles for the government to promote renewable energy production and consumption in the country. Particularly, the study will attempt to fulfill the following research objectives: Brief review of literature

Napoleon in egypt and his effect on education , newspaper ,edition, Essay

Napoleon in egypt and his effect on education , newspaper ,edition, military - Essay Example t the months Alexander spent in Egypt, from late October 332 till April 331, marked a psychological turning-point in his life." By right of conquest Alexander "became simultaneously god and king, incarnation and son of Ra and Osiris; he was Horus the Golden One, the mighty prince, beloved of Amen, King of Upper and Lower Egypt."2 Previously, in Macedonia, rumours of Alexander being the son of a God had circulated. His mother claimed his father was Zeus-Ammon and it was said that he had a ring as a token of this paternity. However, it was in Egypt for the first time "he learnt that he was in truth a god, and the son of a god. Greek tradition distinguished sharply between the two; Egypt did not."3 He was not merely the son of a God but a God. Over two millennia later another rising military and imperial star, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt. Like Alexander before him, Napoleon, for a host of diverse reasons, both personal and political, opportunistic and strategic, turned his eyes to the Nile delta. The campaign is regarded as one of his first defeats. However, while it may have been a failure militarily, and was followed by Bonaparte becoming First Consul, then Emperor, and it had profound consequences on European history beyond the military and strategic. The months Napoleon spent in Egypt cannot be described as a psychological turning-point in his life, as they were for Alexander. However, the fact of the matter is that, Napoleon departed for Egypt as a leading military leader and returned a candidate for Emperor. Militarily, the campaign was a defeat. The Army of Italy was shipped to Egypt and campaigned along the Nile. It won some battles and it lost some battles. Ultimately, Nelson destroyed the French fleet in Aboukir Bay and left the army stranded in Egypt. At this point Napoleon returned to France where he became First Consul. Critics argue he abandoned his army in Egypt. His advocates claim he returned to the seat of government to rescue the

Do Only What You Feel Like Doing as a Today's Philosophy of Life Research Paper

Do Only What You Feel Like Doing as a Today's Philosophy of Life - Research Paper Example People seem to be so eager to have more, that they even forget about their own lives and concentrate primarily on satisfying their material needs. It's not only about ensuring a comfortable life anymore, but it's also about luxury we are talking now, and about making things so easy, by introducing technology everywhere, that we even forget that this means "easy" and we get to think it has always been the same. Men have always had this tendency towards exaggerating, mostly when it comes to getting rich or powerful and there have always been philosophers who noticed it. Plato was one of them. He insisted on the idea that man should be moderate, should balance his desires. Moderation doesn't mean repression, but it means that you shouldn't satisfy only one need, one desire, in the detriment of other needs. The philosopher convinced that virtue is all that is relevant for happiness, is also convinced that the soul is immortal and that it comes from a world different from the material wor ld where we live with our bodies. And in the Greek philosopher's view, we should cultivate virtue and reason rather than desires that belong to the material world. According to Plato, there are two possible ideas for man's life: one which means that the ultimate purpose of life is a pleasure and the other one according to which the purpose of life is that of Good. Everyone knows that our life here is not eternal, that at a certain point, sooner or later, at a younger or older age we are going to die. So our life here ends. And then comes the question: what happens after that? When it comes to a question like that, people's opinions differ.  Some think this is all, others consider that the end of this life means the beginning of a new life, of a life beyond our senses and beyond materiality.

Prescription drugs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Prescription drugs - Research Paper Example The large numbers of emergency room admissions from prescription drug abuse in the US are a compelling argument against DTC advertising. There is the need for pharma companies to show a higher degree of restraint in such DTC advertising, keeping in mind that the messages are viewed by people with varying levels of understanding of possible side effects from improper use of prescription drugs. Key words: Prescription Drugs, DTC advertising 1. Introduction The US is the only country in the world (apart from New Zealand) that permits Television advertisements for prescription drugs. The US Federal Drugs Administration (FDA) relaxed its requirements for information content needed in such advertising in 1997. The pharma industry’s spending on DTC (direct-to-customer) advertisements has grown rapidly since the FDA rule change and reached a peak of over $ 6 billion in 2006 and 2007 before falling off due to the global economic crisis. The spending in 2012 was still a high $ 3.47 bill ion (Mack, 2013). The European Union does not permit DTC advertising by pharma companies. This was reaffirmed in December 2010 when 22 of the 27 EU countries voted against the proposal despite lobbying by the pharma industry. Instead, the new ad regulations have become even tougher with the focus â€Å"on the rights of the patient to get the information he needs and not on the rights of pharma companies to spread information† (Golby, 2010). This paper examines the arguments in favor and against DTC advertising prescription drugs. PhRMA, the pharma industry association, in its 2008 guidelines for DTC advertising lists the benefits of DTC advertising as increased patient awareness about disease and the treatment options. The ads motivate patients to contact their doctors and engage in a dialogue about health concerns and increases likelihood of receiving care for conditions that get under-diagnosed or under treated. The advertisements also help patients to continue taking the prescribed medication (PhRMA, 2008). The beneficial effects of DTC advertising based on surveys of patients and doctors are shown in the chart below (Shaw, 2008). The chart shows that 95% of the benefit is from patient awareness and better discussion the doctor can have with the patient. The question clearly is whether these benefits outweigh potential negative effects of DTC advertising. 3. Top pharma companies advertising budgets in 2012 The table below shows the 2012 advertising budgets of the top 10 global pharma companies. The tabula tion has been made from data published on 26 February 2013 in FiercePharma.com (Palmer, 2013) Pharma Ad Spend 2012 ( in $ million)                   TV Magazine Other Total   Products       Pfizer 342.7 240 39.6 622.3 Celebrex- pain drug, Viagra, Lyrica - pain drug Eli Lilly 367.3 43.4 22.7 433.4 Cymbalta for pain, Cymbalta for depression, Cialis Abbott 264 35 2.7 301.7 Humira for arthritis, AndroGel, Humira for Crohn's disease Merck 133.7 87.8 64 285.5 Shingles awareness, Nasonex, Zostavax Amgen 164 52.1 13.2 229.3 Enbrel for arthritis, Prolia, Enbrel for psoriasis Astra Zeneca 156.5 41 11.8 209.3 Nexium - stomach , Symbicort, Crestor - cholesterol Allergan 85.9 107.2 0.23 193.3 Restasis, Botox for wrinkles, Botox for migbraine Boehringer 119.6 54.7 0.36 174.7 Spiriva, Pradaxa Glaxo SmithKline 70.3 84.8 15.5 170.6 Advair Diskus - respiratory , Lovaza - cholesterol , Jalyn Otsuka 73.9 41.2 0 115.1

Why the actual budget deficit is not a good indicator of the fiscal Essay

Why the actual budget deficit is not a good indicator of the fiscal stance and suggest any other better alternatives - Essay Example The budget deficit must therefore be subjected to an intense analysis and scrutiny. Unless it is cautiously interpreted, the budget as is conventionally defined deficit can give rise to misleading conclusions regarding fiscal policy stance. Such conclusions may result in erroneous policy prescriptions that cause more harm than good to the economy (Abedian and Biggs 1998). For many years policy makers placed a lot of emphasis on limiting government’s role in the economy and lowering the budget deficit (Easterly and Schmidt-Hebbel 2004). The two were regarded as policy goals necessary to achieve equity, growth and redistribution of resources. The big question as to whether the conventional budget balance is the correct indicator of the fiscal stance however remains. It should be noted that there are several other fiscal indicators were proposed as alternatives to the conventional budget balance. These indicators are already in use successfully by international organizations such as the OECD and the IMF (Abedian and Biggs 1998). This study will aim to explore the possibility of using alternative fiscal indicators in monitoring and evaluating the sustainability of fiscal policies. A critical analysis of the actual budget balance indicates that it is not the ideal measurement instrument with regard to ascertaining the fiscal stance of a country. The term budget deficit also referred to as budget balance appears regularly in news articles, policy documents by the government that usually warn of it being very undesirable (Eisner 1999). ... The term budget deficit also referred to as budget balance appears regularly in news articles, policy documents by the government that usually warn of it being very undesirable (Eisner 1999). The budget deficit is usually blamed for several economic ills, such as high levels of inflation and discouragement of private investment (Eisner 1999). There is rarely any concrete proof produced for all these guilty assumptions. To add on to this, concerned parties pay very little attention to the objective measurement and interpretation of the budget deficit. The method of measurement of the budget balances also raises several conceptual and practical issues, which are compounded by the absence of uniformity in usage among many countries. For instance, one way of measuring the conventional budget balance is by cash basis. Another person may use the accrual/ payment order basis (Agenor and Montiel 1999). In the first instance, the balance will be the difference between fiscal revenue and total cash flow expenditure. For the second case, the balance will reflect accrued income and spending flows, regardless of whether they involve cash payments or not. The accumulation of arrears on revenue or payments is reflected by a higher balance when measured using the accrual basis as compared to the cash-based approach (Agenor and Montiel 1999). Definitions By definition, actual budget deficit is the difference between government revenues and government expenditure. Structural budget deficit is an estimation of what the government’s budget would be at full level of employment in the economy (Abedian and Biggs 1998). The cyclical budget deficit is defined as the component of

Management of change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Management of change - Essay Example ctively utilize the employees as well as suggesting suitable human resource management strategy that can be used to manage and empower the employees within the organisation. Implementing a new order in an organisation is concerned with change of the current operational system and in most cases change is met with resistance by many employees as a result of many factors. For the initiative to be successful, there is need for re-orientation of the workers through provision of basic training and development which would be closely monitored upon implementation as going to be illustrated using the lessons learned from the case study of Image Makers. The Image Makers advertising agency was founded in Switzerland in 1990 by two graduates who studied together at University. Over the years, the agency has grown and has received recognition within the industry for its innovation and creativity, particularly in the use of information technology which continued to develop tremendously. Inspired by the positive growth of the organisation, the two directors recently embarked on an initiative to establish Image Makers as an international company with offices across the globe. This was also necessitated by the organisation’s good reputation for being an innovative as well as a renowned company for attracting and retaining talented workers. However, this initiative redefined its performance history as well as its operations. This meant that some of the skilled workers were to be relocated to other countries where the organisation intended to open up offices. This led to the resignation of two managers, loss of two accounts personnel as well as some form of resistance from other employees which has led to poor performance among other things. Thus, the major aim of this essay is to suggest strategies that can be adopted and give a critical analysis of the best structure, culture, and systems that are necessary to make the change initiative work. A reflection about the action plan

Cross cultural counseling Essay Example for Free

Cross cultural counseling Essay This article focuses on how different people view culture and it affects their attitudes and perceptions to other people. The purpose for conducting this interview is to get views on what people understand by culture, how they think their culture shapes their way of thinking, how parents cultivate cultural values in their children, gender and culture and how to lessen divisions that can come up due to differences in culture. Uwe peter Gielen, Jefferson M. Fish, Juris G. (2004) Background information of the interviewees I felt that Dominic was suitable to be interviewed because he seemed to be mature, honest, and most willing to spare his time to answer my questions to the best of his knowledge. He also comes from a different country from ours hence will give us a better view of culture and its impacts since he has mixed with people who are not from his cultural setup. He also has a wide range of experience in terms of culture differences since he has been allowed to live in different countries with his parents and learn in different schools which have students who come from different communities and different social status for example the poor and the rich. Ramya, who is an Indian, is suitable for this interview since her culture and more so the aspect of religion is quite diverse from other religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Muslim. As a result, she is best suited to giving ideas and views on how people from a culture which is so diverse can adapt in other cultures. She also seemed to be very honest and also critical in giving answers to the interview questions. Uwe peter Gielen, Jefferson M. Fish, Juris G. (2004) Aim/Goal Many people are experiencing challenges on how to live in different communities and countries which have different cultures from theirs. As a result, many people fail to cope with people who are not from their cultures. In the home setup, parents are frequently being in conflict with their children because of the different values that they hold. Religion affects people’s ways of life in such a way that it affects love relationships where one is not allowed marrying a person who is not from his/her religion. My goal for carrying out this interview is to understand how people view culture and cultural changes and how they affect their life in totality. This will go a long way in assisting people from different cultures to understand one another hence live in harmony despite of their cultural differences and also help researchers in the cross cultural counseling to be aware of the issues facing people, their attitudes and how to help them cope better in different cultural settings. Shahe S. Kazarian, David R. Evans (2001). Results and discussion of the interview The interview went on successfully since the people I interviewed were willing and ready to devote their time to answer my questions to the best of their knowledge and ability. They seemed to be very free and open. I interviewed two people and these are: 1) Dominic from Jamaica 2) Ramya from India In this interview, I asked Dominic and Ramya the following questions: 1. Can you tell me your point of view on what culture is? 2. How does your culture impact on your belief systems and life experience? 3. What was considered important to your parents? 4. What expectation did your parents place on you regarding religion? 5. What was the attitude of being a female/male in your culture? 6. How does your culture shape your experiences in interacting with people in the ? a) office environment, ? b) home environment ? c) general social environment (e. g. parties and going out) 7. What are your suggestions for lessening the impact of cultural divide that may occur in Australia? Dominic viewed culture as the Culture is the values, traditions and beliefs that the society you grew up in instills in you. He believes that the culture you are brought up in is the one which moulds the beliefs that you hold and also determines how a person will behave/react to different environments and situations. His parents, who instilled the values in him hence teaching him culture, were concerned about making him know and appreciate different cultures and hence help him to fit in the society in which he lives. This concern from his parents is clearly seen when he states that they made him live in different countries, go to different schools which have pupils from all social classes for example the poor in Jamaica, be keen on politics and current affairs, see plays and read books from his country and throughout the world. The parents valued education as a way of getting joy and satisfaction in knowing and practicing what you know rather than getting employment. To him, the parents have a very great influence to the way a person believes and the values that he holds close to him. Shahe S. Kazarian, David R. Evans (2001) His parents considered it very crucial to develop strong network of his family and friends. They also taught him to take part in activities that lead to the development of the community such as being involved in politics, community activities, charity work and education. This is further evidence that parents shape the beliefs and cultural values that their children hold. Dominic in taking part in this interview shows his willingness to participate to contribute to community development a character that he was taught by his parents. However, his parents seem not to have controlled nor guided his decision as pertains to religion. He however asserts that his grandparents had a different view since they wanted him to attend the church in which they were elders. This shows how the cultural values keep on changing as generations come and go. The grandparents hold the belief that their child should go to the church they are in while the parents feel that one has a choice of which religion to follow. This age gap creates a lot of conflicts between the age groups. This issue has to be addressed in order for people to live in harmony. Dominic emphasizes that in his culture, women are the bread winners. They are supposed to start up families and also bring them up. Women in his culture are seen to be involved in activities such as putting up and owning businesses, be radio and television producers, musicians, scientists and even teachers. To him, the woman in their culture can work anywhere so long as she provides food at the table for the family and also raise children. This could be contrary to some other cultures. Dominic does not find problems in his workplace as far as cultural values are concerned since he comes from an English Caribbean island whose cultural values have quite many similarities with those in Australia. This implies that people who don’t have some common values to those in Australia are likely to have problems in the workplace. He also confesses that he has never worked in his home country. This could be the reason why he adapts easily to working in Australia since he has no experience of how it feels to work in an environment in whose culture one holds. He however admits to be facing challenges in his home environment since he married someone whose culture is different from his. This problem extends to the children who also seem to be holding different values from those held by their father. This demonstrates how culture can go to bringing conflicts to people in the same family. As a result, people need to be educated on how to avoid or overcome such conflicts when they arise. Joseph G. Ponterotto (2001). Cultural values also differ in social places and occasions. According to Dominic, social places in Australia don’t do similar things to what is done in Jamaica. To him, social occasions such as parties should be dominated by music, dancing and food. Drinking is not necessary in such parties, and even if someone wants to drink, then it should be done later. This is contrary to the Australian social occasions where people go purposefully to drink. In Jamaica, the major activities to take place are song and dance. Joseph G. Ponterotto (2001). He finally says that people need to be tolerant of all cultures and appreciate people despite their differences. People should be discriminated simply because they come from different cultures. In fact, people should try to understand other people’s cultures since they may find something good in them that they may like to learn and live by. Shahe S. Kazarian, David R. Evans (2001) Ramya begins to define the term culture by emphasizing that it is so important to the Indian people. She defines it as the way of people that has been followed for a long time. Thus, she feels that culture is acquired from the time someone is born to the end of that person’s life. She views culture as a means through one’s characters are molded. She believes that culture makes one’s life to be successful and happy. She believes that culture influences most of her decisions and that people are not supposed to compromise their cultures. She also argues that culture defines how to adapt to different environments and hence is flexible to changes which are necessary after questioning and comparing the cultures. Ramya believes that what is important to our parents may not be important to us since we are of a different generation. She goes ahead and gives examples of things which used to be of priority to our parents but no longer are to us. These include culture, family, respect, unity and love towards the family. On religion, Ramya feels that this is one of the greatest points of conflict. She views the Indian religion as much more complicated than the other religions such as Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Her concern is more on what is within a given religion. According to her, this has affected many relationships especially in situations where parents limit their children on who to play with and who to marry. Being asked to marry a certain person because he /she is from your religion or not marrying someone you love because he/she is from a different religion is what she considers critical point for the young people. This issue needs to be addressed since it is dividing people on religious lines, hence on cultural lines. Joseph G. Ponterotto (2001) In the Indian culture, women used to be considered inferior and men superior to them. Men were allowed to get better education while women were supposed to do household chores such as cooking and getting married off at a very tender age. However, this has changed as generations came up and women are being viewed as being equal to men. This shows how cultural values are changing with time hence requiring that peoples’ attitudes towards cultures different from theirs should also change. Rayma’s culture on this issue of gender is different from that of Dominic since in Dominic’s culture the woman is the bread winner. Shahe S. Kazarian, David R. Evans (2001) At the workplace, Rayma feels that culture determines how you relate to people. It gives guidelines on what to say, and what to do. It helps one cope with challenges at work. It enables understand other people and integrate them even when we don’t hold the same cultural values. That loyalty and sincerity come from learning our cultures. At home, culture is our everyday life. Home is the ground where one learns and implements his culture. People get to understand why they hold certain values hence learn to appreciate and adore them. In the social environment, culture reflects who a person is. It gives one an identity. It also gives a person an opportunity to learn other cultures and let others know the person’s culture. As a result, people get to learn, understand and appreciate each other’s culture. Rita Sommerrs-flanagan (2002). Finally, Rayma feels that cultural divide only occurs when people are narrow minded and not ready to be flexible. People should be ready and willing to accept and appreciate other people’s cultures even when some of the values seem to conflict. Rita Sommerrs-flanagan (2002) Conclusion Information obtained from the interview shows that; differences in geographical location of places where we live, gender and religion are among factors that result to cultural differences. Culture in its real sense is the set of values that guide and dictate a society’s way of life in order to live in harmony and unity. The fact that we hold different cultural values should not be a reason to cause divisions among us. We should always learn to accommodate everyone despite of their cultural values and hoe different they are from ours. This document has shown that indeed we are different but we can enjoy staying together as one so long as we appreciate each other. Counselors should look for ways of making their clients learn how to cope in different environments with different people who hold different cultural values. The people should also be made aware of the importance of learning to accommodate each other. Paul Pedersen (2002) References: 1. Paul Pedersen (2002) Counseling across cultures. 2. Rita Sommerrs-flanagan (2002) clinical interviewing. 3. Uwe peter Gielen, Jefferson M. Fish, Juris G. (2004) handbook 5. Joseph G. Ponterotto (2001) handbook of multicultural counseling 6. Ray Woolfe, Windy Dryden, Sheelagh Strawbridge (2003) handbook of counseling 7. Shahe S. Kazarian, David R. Evans (2001) handbook of cultural health psychology

The Current Macroeconomic Situation of the US Essay Example for Free

The Current Macroeconomic Situation of the US Essay In the recent years, the US economy has gradually improved. However some areas such as the housing industry have still remained negatively affected. The following paper will discuss some of the causes that led to the crisis and what the Federal Reserve should do to address the affected areas. Introduction Despite the improvement in the US economy, there is still a decrease in interest rates, depreciation of currency and unstable markets due to fluctuations. The current debt loan of the US is also big and may lead to depression of the economy resulting in minimized growth. This is mainly caused by low interest rates which encourage borrowing for the business sector and the consumers looking for homes. In order to service these loans, the government relies on foreign aid. Current Situation The current recession and economic crisis was however majorly caused by the increase of subprime adjustable rate mortgages issued, the decrease in prime mortgages issued and the made up collaterized debt obligations. In addition, bank loans were offered to people who expected an increase in housing prices leading to their default. Moreover, supply and demand, inflation due to an increase of oil market prices which led to the increase in price of some basic commodities, money supply and GDP which influence the economy were significant causes (Tyler, 2010). Thus, the US economy is still undergoing financial crisis as a result of these decreasing interest rates hence the zero interest rate bound and the major increases in government spending. This leads to the discussion of money printing against bond financing which arises since the latter creates fears of inflation. The current situation consists of a â€Å"money multiplier† which is influenced by the ratio currency/deposits and reserved/deposits. The public is practicing the C/D more by keeping money in the mattress while the banks exhibit the R/D through their preference to cash than loans and investments. US Congress and the Federal Reserve The US congress and the federal government should improve the international market in order to improve the GDP and attract more investors. Additionally they should lower interest rates in borrowing to attract the public to buy housing units (Liu, 2010). Once, the interest rates hit zero the federal government should increase the monetary base by purchasing bonds unlimitedly since it cannot be negative. This is because highly positive interest rates rely on deflation (Lemgruber, 2008). ? List of References Lemgruber, A. C. , 2008. A Monetarist Analysis of the US Macroeconomic Situation. Emerging Markets Ecomonitor. December, 7. Liu, 2010. Feature: To End or not to End. August 15. Retrieved from Xinhuanet: http://news. xinhuanet. com/english2010/indepth/2010-08/15/c_13445774. htm on August 15, 2010. Tyler, 2010. The Current Macroeconomical Situation and the Global Recession: The Cause of The Current World Crisis. Armchair Economics. March, 24.

Construction of Recombinant DNA in E Coli

Construction of Recombinant DNA in E Coli In 1973 Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer pioneered the use of recombinant DNA technology for cloning and expression of genes in foreign organisms. They cloned DNA from the Salmonella typhimurium streptomycin resistance plasmid RSF1010 into the Escherichia coli plasmid pSC101 and observed tolerance to streptomycin among the transformants (Cohen et al., 1973). The first reported production of a human recombinant protein took place a few years later when the then newly started biotech company Genentech announced that they had managed to express the gene encoding human somatostatin in E. coli (Itakura et al., 1977). The value of the resulting bioactive substance was similar to that of somatostatin extracted from the brains of 500.000 sheep. In 1982 Genentech followed up this success with the product humulin, a recombinant insulin produced in E.coli and the first recombinant biotech drug to be accepted for market by the Food and Drug Administration. Today the production of recombinant prot eins has become a huge global industry with an annual market volume exceeding $50 billion (Schmidt, 2004). At the start of the recombinant protein expression era the bacteria Escherichia coli and Bacillus spp. dominated as hosts for recombinant expression, but the realization that a protein may require a specific host physiology and biochemistry for optimal production stimulated a search for new hosts, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Parallel to this quest, recombinant DNA technology advanced tremendously thereby opening up possibilities for the use of novel organisms. As a consequence, many different expression systems for use in many different hosts are now available, including systems for use in yeasts (Gellissen et al., 2005), filamentous fungi (Nevalainen et al., 2005), insect and animal cell cultures (Wurm, 2004; Kost et al., 2005), gram-positive bacteria like Bacillus (Westers et al., 2004) and Streptomyces (Binnie et al., 1997), and gram-negative bacteria like Escherichia c oli Bacterial expression systems are the preferred choice for production of many prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins. The reasons for this lie in the cost-effectiveness of bacteria, their well-characterized genetics, and the availability of many different bacterial expression systems. Among the hosts available for recombinant expression, Escherichia coli is in an exceptional position. This stems from the many decades of intense researchon its genetics as well as the broad scope of biotechnological tools available for genetic engineering of this organism. As a host for recombinant expression, E.coli is especially valued because of its rapid growth rate, capacity for continuous fermentation, low media costs and achievable high expression levels (Yin et al., 2007). One consequence of this popularity is that about 80% of all proteins used to solve three-dimensional structures submitted to the protein data bank (PDB) in 2003 were prepared in E.coli (SÃ ¸rensen and Mortensen, 2005) and during 2003 and 2006, nine out of 31 approved therapeutic proteins were produced in E.coli (Walsh, 2006), among them important growth factors, insulins and interferons (Schmidt, 2004). Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) was isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea aequorea in 1962 (Shimomura et al., 1962) where it was found as a companion protein to aequorin, the well-known chemiluminescent protein of the same species. It was noticed that living A. aequorea tissue had an emission spectrum peaking at 508nm and looking green but pure aequorin peaked in the blue range, at 470nm (Tsien, 1998). This then led Shimomuras group to discover GFP and suggest radiation-less energy transfer as the mechanism for exciting the protein. Its structure has been determined to consist of an 11 stranded ÃŽÂ ²-barrel containing the chromophore made up of a single ÃŽÂ ± helix as shown in Figure1. Its use as a tool in molecular biology was not realised until 1992 when Prasher reported the cloning and sequence of GFP (Prasher et al., 1992). Since 1994 GFP has been used as a reporter protein (Chalfie et al., 1994) flagging its own presence and therefore also proteins under the same control, by emitting green light (ÃŽÂ »em = 508 nm) upon excitation with near ultraviolet light (around 395 nm) or blue light (around 470 nm) (Ito et al, 1999). Since then many mutations have been developed looking to improve the emission or to focus it to a single wavelength (Heim et al., 1995) or to change the color of the emitted light itself. Recombinant DNA molecules usually contain a DNA fragment inserted into a bacterial vector. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a specific gene or DNA region of interest is isolated and amplified by DNA polymerase extracted from a heat-tolerant bacteria. PCR finds the DNA region of interest (called the target DNA) by the complementary binding of specific short primers to the ends of that sequence. The long chromosome-size DNA molecules of genomic DNA must be cut into fragments of a much smaller size before they can be inserted into a vector. Most cutting is done with the use of bacterial restriction enzymes. These enzymes cut at specific DNA sequences, called restriction sites, and this property is one of the key features that make restriction enzymes suitable for DNA manipulation. These enzymes are examples of endonucleases that cleave a phosphodiester bond (Anthony, 2012). The key property of some restriction enzymes is that they make sticky ends. The restriction enzyme EcoRI (from E.coli) recognizes the following sequence of six nucleotide pairs in the DNA of any organism: 5-GAATTC-3 3-CTTAAG-5 The enzyme EcoRI makes cuts only between the G and the A nucleotides on each strand of the palindrome (Figure.2). The recombinant DNA molecules are transferred into bacterial cells, and, generally, only one recombinant molecule is taken up by each cell. The recombinant molecule is amplified along with the vector during the division of the bacterial cell. This process results in a clone of identical cells, each containing the recombinant DNA molecule, and so this technique of amplification is called DNA cloning. The next stage is to find the rare clone containing the DNA of interest. Bacterial plasmids (vectors) are small circular DNA molecules that replicate their DNA independent of the bacterial chromosome. The plasmids routinely used as vectors carry a gene for drug resistance and a gene to distinguish plasmids with and without DNA inserts. These drug-resistance genes provide a convenient way to select for bacterial cells transformed by plasmids: those cells still alive after exposure to the drug must carry the plasmid vectors. However, not all the plasmids in these transformed cells will contain DNA inserts. For this reason, it is desirable to be able to identify bacterial colonies with plasmids containing DNA inserts. Such a feature is part of the pUC18 (or pUC19) plasmid vector shown in Figure 2; DNA inserts disrupt a gene (lacZ) in the plasmid that encodes an enzyme (-galactosidase) necessary to cleave a compound added to the agar (X-gal) so that it produces a blue pigment. Thus, the colonies that contain the plasmids with the DNA insert will be white rath er than blue (they cannot cleave X-gal because they do not produce -galactosidase). The following experiment outlines the construction of recombinant protein production in E.coli strain BL21 by using a bacterial plasmid vector pUC18/19 expressing Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) to act as a recombinant protein product with the benefits of being easy to visualise and measure. Materials and Methods Materials: The experiment was carried out using the following materials and Equipments: 2Â µl EcoRI/HindIII cut and cleaned PUC19 vector, 5Â µl EcoRI/HindIII cut and cleaned GFP insert, 2Â µl 10xT4 ligase buffer, 2Â µl T4 ligase(0.5 U ml-1) , and 9Â µl sterile water (H2O) ]to make up to 20Â µl volume[ . 100Â µl of competent BL21 E.coli cells on ice, 42Â °C water bath, Ice bucket with ice, selective media plates (1.5% Luria broth (LB) Agar, 40Â µg mL-1 X-gal, .1 mM IPTG, 50Â µg mL-1 ampicillin), sterile tubes, shaking incubator, Spectrophotometer or similar device to measure optical density of the bacterial cultures, flasks, Microcentrifuge. Methods: It can be divided into three stages: Ligation Reaction stage: in this stage 2Â µl EcoRI/HindIII cut and cleaned PUC19 vector, 5Â µl EcoRI/HindIII cut and cleaned GFP insert, 2Â µl 10xT4 ligase buffer, 2Â µl T4 ligase (0.5 U ml-1) , and 9Â µl sterile water (H2O) are mixed and kept at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Transformation of ligation into cloning host stage: this stage conducted by deforesting 100Â µl of competent BL21 E.coli cells on ice (with caution do not allow to warm to room temperature), then adding 10Â µl of the ligation reaction from the first stage to BL21 E.coli cells. They are then incubated for up to 30 minutes on ice. Next step, is done by taking out the transformation mixture out of the ice and heated in water bath at 42 Â °C for almost 75 seconds, then followed by return immediately into ice for a minimum of 2 mins. Then the cells were plated out on selective media plates (1.5% Luria broth (LB) Agar, 40Â µg mL-1 X-gal, .1 mM IPTG, 50Â µg mL-1 ampicillin). Lastly, the transformation mixture is incubated at 37 Â °C for 12-18 hours afterdriedd. Picking of colonies for the protein expression stage: 2x5ml LB +50Â µg ml-1 ampicillin in 30ml sterile tubes were prepared, then 1xBlue individual colony and 1x white individual colony selected and inoculated in separate tubes. Then the tubes were incubated with shaking incubator throughout the night at 37Â °C , speed: 220rpm. Subculture and Growth of Recombinant E.coli for Protein expression: At the beginning, 2x60ml sterile Luria-Bertani (LB), in 250ml conical flask were warmed , (1 per inoculums ) at 37 Â °C, Then aseptically the ampicillin was added to a last concentration of 50Â µg ml-1 ampicillin. Next 1 ml of media was removed and was put in a cuvette to act as blank (one blank is enough for both ouh), followed by addition of 600Â µl overnight to calture of each individual colony to separate flask (1:100 inoculum), the flasks were put back to the shaking incubator and incubated at 37Â °C, speed: 200rpm , after that blank spectrophotometer was placed against media at 600nm , after 45 minutes the samples were removed aseptically from flasks, then from every flask 1x 1mL was removed and added to a fresh clean cuvette (take to next step 8) and 1x1ml was added to clean Eppendrof (take to step 9) . The OD600nm of culture in cuvette was Measured and the result of growth curve was recorded (once the cul ture has reached an OD 600nm of 0.5, IPTG was added to final concentration 1Mm stock solution. Then samples were spun down in the Eeppendrof tube at max speed in Microcentrifuge for 5 minutes , ensure centrifuge is balanced before spinning , the supernatant was removed and pellet ,then the pellet was suspended in 200Â µl Cell lysis buffer (10mMl Tris PH8.0, 300Mm Nacl , 10mg ml-1 Lysozyme). Resuspended cells were frozen at -20 c to the next day. Lastly, sampling was continued until OD600nm is no longer rising for two successive samples or until 16:30 pm. Results and discussion Although it is supposed to harvest between 30-300 colonies per plate (210- 2100 colonies for all groups), just three blue colonies were observed in plates between all groups, which mean that protein of interest (GFP protein ) was not expressed (inefficient) in BL21 E.coli cells due to some factors influenced the expression level or to some technical problems during the experiment which will be discussed. The most popular strain, BL21 and its derivatives, which are good producing protein, are descended from E.coli B and thus is deficient in the Lon protease. Additionally, the BL21 background lacks the OmpT outer membrane protease. For expression work, BL21 cells should be taken from stock cultures that performed from fresh transforms. This step is crucial to insure that the clone does not change and that each expression run gives optimal performance. Transformation frequency is affected by the purity of the DNA, how the cells are handled, and how the transformation was actually performed. In the impurities in the DNA usually spin columns can be used to purify DNA from PCR reactions, ligations, endonuclease digestions, or other treatments. In addition, the most common mistake when transforming E.coli is to put a lot of ligation mixture in the transformation. Other factors that effect transformation with BL21 are the handling and the storage of the competent cells. Competent cells need to be reserved at -70Â °C to keep them at the peak .It is worthy of noting that 5-10-fold of efficiency usually lost if tube put back in the box and place in the freezer. Moreover, Cells must be thawed on ice, and the transformation should be started immediately after the cells are thawed. Incubating on ice is necessary for chemically competent cells. If you heat shock right away, the efficiencies will be down 10-fold. If incubate for only 15 minutes, it will be down 3-fold. In addition, time of heat shock (75 second) could be not enough , thus, affect the efficiency enough to transformation of E.coli. Moreover, water bath temperature may be not equilibrated (less than 42Â °C or a higher which decrease in transformation efficiency ( Smith, et al, 1992). Also, the concentration of DNA has significant effect on the transformation efficiency , usually less amount of DNA is used. If using more, the result is fewer colonies because the impurities in the DNA will inhibit some of the cells from being transformed. There are main factors to consider during induction conditions: Vector, Host Strain, and Growth Conditions. These three factors have the biggest impact on the expression of the protein of interest. First on the list of considerations is the vector that is used to express GFP protein. The first thing should be considered after cloning, the protein of interest is still in frame. It is recommended that before any experiment is carried out the first thing is should be done is cloned plasmid (or a few different clones) sequenced. This will show if the sequence you inserted into the expression vector is still correct and is still in frame. This is especially important if the construct contains any PCR fragments. If there are any point mutations or the sequence gets out of frame by even a few bases it can have dramatic effects on the protein that expressed. Another thing to check before expressing is if the GFP protein sequence contains long stretches of rare codons. This can cause the prot ein that is expressed to be truncated or non-functional. A few rare cordons spread around the protein are OK in most cases, but if there are a number of rare codons in a row, then it can have a big effect. The third sequence related step to optimize the protein production is to make sure there is not a high GC concentration at the 5 end of GFP protein. This could potentially cause problems with the mRNAs stability, and could prevent it from being translated correctly, which would also lead to truncated or non-functional proteins. If your sequence is GC heavy at this end, you can try to make a few silent mutations to break up long stretches to try and help stability. After the plasmid is sequence verified, the next factor is the bacterial host that is used. There are almost as may hosts as there are expression vectors, with certain hosts excelling in producing different types of proteins. For example if you have a toxic protein, or a protein that could potentially cause genomic rearrangement, you will want a vector that gives you very tight control over the induction of your protein. There can be leaky expression (i.e. expression of your protein without the addition of your inducer) that can potentially have adverse effects on the cells growth or even prevent your cells from over-expressing your protein in the first place. If youre utilizing the T7 polymerase system, then look for a host containing the pLysS plasmid, as this will code for T7 lysozyme, which will suppress the T7 polymerase and can greatly reduce the level of background expression. If as stated before you have a protein that contains a large number of rare codons, then look for a h ost with the genes for the necessary tRNAs already present, which should allow your protein to express correctly. Sometimes simply changing hosts can have a dramatic effect on the amount of protein produced and the stability of the protein that is made, so if one host isnt giving you the results you need, then feel free to switch your host up. The third and final factor to consider when expressing a protein is growth conditions. When first starting out with the protein induction it is very important to run an expression time course, where you take a fresh colony from a streaked plate, and grow the culture to stationary phase. Next, dilute the overnight culture 1/100 and grow to mid log phase, then add the inducer and induce your protein for a number of hours, taking 1mL samples every hour or so. Once these samples are lysed, you can run an SDS-PAGE gel to determine your protein production levels. You might get great induction the first time, or you may have to tweak your conditions in order to get really good expression levels. Other factors that may need to be controlled for are the bacterial growth rate (determined by taking OD measurements during the induction process), and the temperature during induction. Some constructs will express perfectly fine at 37Â °C, while others need to be bumped down to 30Â °C to induce c orrectly. The concentration of the inducer too will have an effect, as many inducers (IPTG) can be toxic to the cells that they are inducing. Using freshly made inducer is good step to making sure you always have consistent results. Only through experimentation can you determine what will be best for your construct, and give you the most robust expression levels. Transformation efficiency: Transformation efficiency is a measure of the ability of cells to be transformed. Transformation efficiency is expressed as the number of transforms per microgram of pUC19. By using the following formula: Colonies on plate / ng of control DNA X 1000ng/Â µg = (transformation (T) / Â µg plasmid DNA) 100 ÃŽÂ ¼L equivalent to 0.01 ng DNA in the plate. Growth curve In general growth curve shows the S- shaped when plotted in log linear format as shown in figure 4, that separated into four phases: Lag phase; the initial period when no increase in cell number is seen. Log phase; when cells are growing at the maximumm rate. Stationary phase; growth decreases as a nutrient are depleted and waste products accumulate. Death phase; this is the result of prolonged starvation and toxicity. Conclusion The main goal for the experiment was to express the protein of interest (GFP). However, factors influencing transformation efficiency include technique errors, the temperature and length of the incubation period, the growth stage of the cells, and using the correct mass of plasmid DNA. Escherichia coli is one of the most important hosts in modern day recombinant protein production. Throughout academia and industry its uses are widespread and with sequence data available for some of the most common strains of the bacteria it has been a favourite organism for many metabolic engineering and metabolic modelling projects in the past (Berry, 1996; Koffas et al., 1999).

Casey at the Bat in depth :: essays research papers

Strike Three   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  America, and the world love sport; there are hundreds of types, but the one thing that links them all together is the emotion. For players and fans alike, the emotional involvement with the game is what draws them to it; and for Americans, there is one sport in particular that ignites their passion – baseball. Baseball has been called â€Å"America’s pastime† for a reason; the suspense, drama, and pride wrapped up in this game have captivated generations. The poem, â€Å"Casey at the Bat† effectively captures the emotion tied into the sport of baseball. â€Å"Casey at the Bat† is a poem about the last inning of a Mudville baseball game. The team is down two points, and the first two of their batters had already been sent back to the dugout. However, luck seemed to be on their side, the next two batters reached base, and the best hitter on the team was up to bat; Casey. The confident-cocky Casey let the first two balls go by; both were strikes. Then the last pitch came, the crowed held their breath as Casey took a swing; and to quote the poem, â€Å"but there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Casey has struck out.† There are two distinct psychological personalities present in this poem; these emotional beings are the audience and Casey. The actions and words of both shed light on each others personality and mental state during that final, historical inning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First and foremost, nowadays attendance rates amongst professional baseball games can be in the thousands. When that many people are grouped together, the Murakami 2 emotion of the game can have an effect on the group’s mentality. The audience in â€Å"Casey at the Bat† is no different. When people are in large groups, they begin to think and act as the same as the people around them. When more and more people begin to conform, the group itself actually becomes a separate entity; an entity with its own opinions and emotions that can act as a separate character in itself. The audience in the poem begins the inning with a sense of optimism. As with any new inning, the crowd will always be hopeful; this can be inferred within the first and second stanzas. In the second stanza, it states that, â€Å"A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game;† now in order for a let-down to occur, there must be some prior excitement, hence the optimism in the beginning of the inning.

Minorities In The Military Essay -- essays research papers

In the year 1965, the United States sent troops to Vietnam to aid the South Vietnamese against the communist Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese. As the fighting increased, the United States was in need of more troops in order to support its commitment to South Vietnam. Therefore, thousands of Selective Service registers were called and drafted. The United States also asked its closes ally the Philippines to help send troops to South Vietnam and in addition this, the United states requested for an increase of recruitment for the United States Navy in the region. Thus, the U.S. enlisted thousands of Philippine natives, including myself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My involvement started in July of 1968, when I was flown to the United States beginning my military training in San Diego. Recalling the eight weeks of hard, intensive training, I still considered myself fortunate to be enlisted in the United States Navy. Although, when I did graduate boot camp, I cherished the prize of rest and recreation for 72 hours. My short-lived vacation began with a group of my fellow Filipino recruits. We decided to catch a bus to downtown San Diego. As we boarded the bus, I stopped in confusion when I noticed a sign with â€Å"Black† written at the back section of the bus. Looking for the driver for direction, I was informed by the driver that was no longer enforced. Even with him saying this, I still sat in the middle row since my skin color fell in between black and white. As we arrived downtown, I experience culture shock. The town was colorful and filled with live entertainment. Although, I did want to spend more time exploring the place, my vacation time was up and I had to go back to the base. As our company gathered for the last day, we waited for our next order of job training. I was wondering why Filipino recruits and few African American were separated. Having the same order to attend SD â€Å"A† school (Steward), we are not aware that our General Classification Test was high enough to be qualified in other ratings. This discrimination was puzzling to me since, the Americans I knew back in the Philippines were good people and America itself is known to be the land of opportunity. Despite this slight discrimination, I had accepted my rate and still considered American as good people of good will. My very first day in steward school was a terrible and memorable one. I wa... ...aturalization Service office told me that I was not qualified for naturalization since my 6 years time in the military was a broken residency. The time, I had accumulated in the service was least than five years in Continental United States. Although I spent six years in the U S Navy, the three six-month tours in Vietnam did not count toward the requirement for naturalization. I signed up again for four year, and waited my time to sworn in for naturalization. I was now an official U.S. citizen gaining all the rights of one. Therefore, I expected my treatment to be equal to those Caucasian decent. As I look back, I still wonder the Navy allowed certain races to be assigned as stewards. Through thinking the Political science class of Professor Robert Bacon, I realized the mistake of our forefathers in writing the constitution in allowing slavery practice. Applying this to the Navy, I also realize how it was allowed that certain races were assigned to be a steward. In conclusion, I am grateful for the individual rights ruling of chief Justice Earl Warren. Through this ruling, many benefited from it especially minorities, as myself, in the United States.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Cultural Environment :: Televisions Technology Culture Essays

Cultural Environment The invention of the television and its advancement through technology in our world has affected the cultural environment significantly. It has affected the way we act, perceive things, and even changed our lives as a whole. The cultural environment in today’s society is totally different from the time period before the invention of the television. First, the television has affected the pre-existing cultural institutions. Before the television was invented most of the children all over the world would play outside with their friends after school. Children would be playing ball in the streets, buying candy at the convenience store, and so on. Ever since the television was invented, more and more children are watching television rather than playing outside after school. In today’s society, it’s even worse since children are usually glued to the television all day. This eliminates their chance for some exercise and to meet new people. The invention of the television also has changed the meaning of family night. Back before the television, families used to come together one night a week to play board games and to socialize. Ever since the television was invented, less and less families come together to play games. If they do come together, it is usually in front of the television. This changes th e meaning of family night because now families don’t socialize as much because they watch television. This technology has also affected the way people see themselves and their place in the universe. Television has become such an integral part of society that people are confusing fantasy with reality. Violence seems to be in almost every television show in today’s society. This excessive violence makes society accustom to it and therefore people don’t believe violence is as bad as it is when it happens. â€Å"Although few anti-television activists would agree that excessive television viewing can exculpate a murderer, a huge body of evidence -- including 3,000 studies before 1971 alone -- suggests a strong connection between television watching and aggression† (Stossel 3). This is concrete proof that the television has changed people’s attitudes and the way they see themselves in society.

Compare the ways in which William Wordsworth and Williams Blake Essay

Compare the ways in which William Blake and Williams Wordsworth describe London and its effects on them in their poems â€Å"Composed upon Westminster Bridge† and â€Å"London† Both â€Å"Composed† and â€Å"London† are pre 1914 romantic poetry however differ on how they are influenced by romanticism. Romanticism was a fairly new type of poetry and was developed in the 18th century and used mostly in late 18th and early 19th centuries; ideas of romanticism include: the celebration of the lower class, an idyllic world, the importance of nature, faith opposed to organised religion and freedom of expression. Blake was known as the father of romanticism and his writing is both dark (when talking about society) but beautiful (when talking about nature). Wordsworth on the other hand saw romantic ideas and beauty everywhere (including society). Life in the 18th century was all about change and revolution; some people were being more open on their views of organised religion and other areas of society – thus influencing romanticism. â€Å"Composed† is a poem about Wordsworth’s positive appreciation of London; Wordsworth grew up in Yorkshire – a land full of nature and beautiful countryside: the romantic idea of an idyllic world. This could be why Wordsworth can see the beauty and romantic views in London because he has grown on seeing so many around him. Blake however grew up in London itself therefore allowing him to see its darkness and allowing him to experience a structured and strict society. Wordsworth was an enthusiastic romantic who wrote the poem â€Å"Composed† from what he saw standing â€Å"Upon Westminster Bridge†. Wordsworth expresses his own personal view points on London; we see this as he writes in first person Wordsworth also never refers to other people suggesting that he wants London to be his own and no one else’s. Wordsworth sees freedom and innocence within the city: this can be seen when he writes that the city is â€Å"fair:† using â€Å"fair† suggests that Wordsworth sees an innocent beauty in London. Also Wordsworth uses a colon after the word â€Å"fair:† meaning that the city isn’t just beautiful but has other elements also. â€Å"Fair† is also used often in love poems, showing Wordsworth’s love of the city. Wordsworth’s love of the city is also seen when he uses personification such as â€Å"The River glideth at his own sweet will.† The use of personification identifies that Wordsworth classes the River as an equal or even higher and also shows how personal the city is to him. Differing to Wordsworth sitting and watching the city go by Blake is walking the streets at night: a time when evil is allegedly revealed, Blake choosing this time to write suggests that the poem will be negative and also dark. Blake reveals London’s late night deceptions in his poem â€Å"London†. Blake appears to see nothing in London except deception, oppression, death and depression. This is shown multiple times such as â€Å"And the hapless soldier’s sigh Runs in blood down the palace walls.† The â€Å"soldiers sigh† being the oppression and depression, the â€Å"blood down palace walls† being the death and deception. Wordsworth seems to be the opposition to these negative views, shown in his explicit positive imagery: â€Å"Never did the sun more beautifully steep†. This quotation basically means that the sun has never looked as beautiful as it does now, sunshine symbolises a fresh start and purity. Therefore suggesting the city is pure as the rays of the sun are shining on it. Purity is also suggested when Wordsworth writes that the air is â€Å"smokeless† even in the industrial city, London. The frequent use of positive imagery throughout the poem creates ideas that Wordsworth has seen London as a cathartic experience and has been enlightened by the city. Through out the poem it would appear that Wordsworth wants the reader to feel at peace with London and shows his calm and blissful visit to the city; seen in Wordsworth’s use of language: â€Å"touching†, â€Å"silent† and â€Å"asleep†. All of these words give a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere; this implies that Wordsworth feels at one with the city. Wordsworth was influenced by many different things whilst writing â€Å"Composed†; one of these influences may have been that Wordsworth was on his way to visit his daughter in France, this may have given Wordsworth positive emotions and allowing him to see London as a stepping stone on the way to see his daughter giving him hope. Hope is indicated as Wordsworth writes in the morning, a time for fresh starts and new beginnings, Wordsworth then goes on to say that the morning is â€Å"silent† and â€Å"bare† suggesting that anything can happen. All poets have reasons for writing a per civic poem â€Å"Composed† is no exception to this; Wordsworth writes the poem to show people that romantic ideas and hope can be found anywhere and that London is the heart of this. Both the language and punctuation in the poem shows hope and freedom. The purpose of the poem can also clearly be defined from the quote â€Å"This City now doth like a garment, wear The beauty of the morning; silent bare,† This quotation shows both honesty and innocence; by the words â€Å"silent bare† – both of these words suggests that the city is not hiding anything and possesses no hidden deception. Innocence is shown as the city â€Å"doth like a garment, wear they beauty of the morning;† As the morning is new and innocent and is around the city: reflecting its innocence back upon the city. The poem â€Å"London† by Blake however has a completely different purpose and is written to show that society does not express hope, romantic ideas and is in fact corrupted and full of deception. Blake uses the poem to show how society manipulates nature and faith as shown in the quotation â€Å"Every blackening church appals;† This represents how religion has been manipulated by society and is now evil unlike faith that is true and honourable. The romantic view of organised religion is that it toys with people to make them believe that they believe in God, taking away their freedom and the purity of faith and religion. Blake has always lived in London and craves freedom and an escape from what he perceives a political and oppressed society. The differences between the purposes can be clearly defined and explained, as it is not solely the views of the poets that make their poems it is also, their positions in life and London; their state of mind; experiences and previous encounters with the city and the time of day. Wordsworth uses the structure of â€Å"Composed† to further replicate freedom in London: as the poem is a sonnet (representing society and London – what most believe as ruled and structured) however uses punctuation to break up the rules and structure to enforce freedom and constant flow of life, suggested by Wordsworth’s use of only one full stop. However significant usage of the semi-colon, colon and comma in varied places rather than just at the end of a line thus creating fluency; relating to the river in the city which is free and powerful. Wordsworth’s use of enjambments is also an indication to this much like in the lines â€Å"Open unto the fields, and to the sky; All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.† The enjambments allow the reader to think about the true meaning of the line and language, encouraging them to visualise the scene. Wordsworth uses positive language when talking about London, he also uses straight forward imagery of London opposed to hidden deceptions (like in Blake’s â€Å"London†), and this reflects honesty onto the city. Wordsworth writes of freedom in London this creates hope for the people of London – giving them something to admire and aspire for. This is shown in the quotation â€Å"The river glideth at his own sweet will:† â€Å"glideth† indicates peace and harmony as gliding is a constant non aggressive pace also suggesting freedom and nature, much like a bird gliding through the air – creating hope and showing Wordsworth’s admiration for the River. Although Wordsworth writes about London in a positive way parts of his language suggest that he knows there are parts of London that are not as romantic and peaceful as he sees now. Shown in the quote â€Å"And all that mighty heart is lying still!† this last line indicates that Wordsworth believes the city can be aggressive by referring to it as â€Å"mighty heart† (mighty heart also suggests a busyness as the heart is centre of everything) however sees the city at peace so writes that the city is â€Å"lying still†. Blake also uses the river as a symbol of freedom, however Blake suggests that the river’s freedom is corrupted and restricted – still the river maintains a glimmer of hope being the cities only freedom (according to Blake’s â€Å"London†). We can see Blake’s views on the river in the line â€Å"chartered Thames does flow† First it can be suggested that Blake respects the river as he refers to it by it’s name â€Å"Thames† instead of just calling it â€Å"river† (like in â€Å"Composed†) this suggests that Blake still sees hope in the river and partly wants to be like the river. However restrictions can also be seen in the word â€Å"chartered† suggesting that someone set Thames out that way and that it can not do anything but follow the set out path. There is not only restriction but also freedom within this quote as the river â€Å"flows† this shows freedom and hope. Generally Blake’s language is very morbid and negative, which suggests constrainment leading to the Blake’s view on politics. Blake is very critical of London is the poem the complete opposite to â€Å"Composed† however just like â€Å"Composed†, â€Å"London† is made personal as Blake writes in first person and refers to some of his senses: sight and sound. â€Å"And mark in every face I meet† And â€Å"through the midnight streets I hear† both of these quotations show Blake using his senses, showing that Blake takes in everything that is happening around him. Industrialisation versus romanticism is a key theme throughout the poem; Blake is very traditional and romantic and does not fit into London because of this. Through his poem Blake suggests that the industrialisation that has consumed the city only creates depression, oppression and distinctively destroys happiness and honesty. This is made apparent by the â€Å"chimney sweepers cry† symbolising the depression of the people of London by the â€Å"cry†; however showing that they are trying to clean up the state of society as they are cleaning the dark, dismal and black ashes in the city. Blake does not just blame the city itself Blake also blames the people inside the city – people who influence industrialisation. During the fourth stanza Blake suggests that the actions that people are making now will create problems for the next generation. â€Å"Youthful harlot’s curse† symbolises the sins of the youth creating a â€Å"curse†: a word this is often used in association with witches. These sins cause â€Å"the newborn infants tear† which further exemplifies future problems the next generation will have to deal with and fix due to mistakes made by the youth of the time. The curse in stanza four is also shown by the â€Å"plagues† and the â€Å"marriage hearse† which indicates death. In the case of the â€Å"marriage hearse† this creates a link between eternity and death destroying aspects of hope and proving the impurity of the city. Blake uses imagery, alliteration and language choice to illustrate his portrayal of London; using these skills he opens the open up to his reader inviting them to have their own interpretations. The differences are very apparent between the poems and there are clear divides of attitude; the state of mind of the poets; and how society affects them. Romanticism and industrialisation are key elements in both poems however are showed in immensely different ways. Blake remains negative due to the changes that have taken away romanticism; Wordsworth however keeps positive indicating clear elements of hope.