Monday, September 30, 2019

History of Social Policy

1. Explain the meaning of the following terms: industrialisation; urbanisation; public health problems and the implications for state provisions The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and technology had an extreme effect on the society’s economic and cultural conditions. Starting in the United Kingdom, then consequently spreading throughout Europe, North America, and ultimately the world. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history. Almost every feature of daily life was influenced in some way. Most particularly, average income and population began to exhibit extraordinary sustained growth. This is known as urbanisation. Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. Rapid urbanisation took place during this period of industrialisation, many people moved from rural to urban areas to get jobs in the rapidly expanding industries in many large towns and cities. It is estimated that 1/6 of the British population visited London during the 18th century, and the most adventurous and ambitious stayed. This urbanisation had huge implications and resulted in complex societal changes which had adverse effects on the public health of communities. Diseases like typhoid and cholera were common. An outbreak of cholera in 1848 killed 14,000 in London. This was due to the housing shortages, sanitation problems, low standards of personal hygiene, polluted drinking water, exploitation of workers and widespread poverty. Great Britain in the nineteenth century was a great bastion of individualism where that unsympathetic principle of the political economists -laissez faire- dominated public opinion, and Parliament. The individualist theory of government holds that the position of state is to protect the liberty of individuals to act as they wish, as long as they do not infringe upon the liberties of others. Although there has been extended debate over whether this â€Å"age of -laissez faire† gave way to an â€Å"age of collectivism,† This is the period regarded as the source for the widespread collectivism that would ollow. Collectivism At its root is the belief that a collective is more than just individuals interacting together. It is the belief that the group is an entity itself, more important than the sum of the individuals. Put simply by John F. Kennedy â€Å"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. † And that is exactly what happened , In 1875 state intervention meant that a public health act was passed. This implemented that all new residential construction had to include running water, and an internal drainage system. Also the act meant that all towns had to have pavements and street lights. Yet there was still alot that needed to be done which meant more state intervention was necessary. The national insurance scheme introduced by the liberal government in 1911, gave most workers health insurance and unemployment benefits for workers in industries with high risks of unemployment. But by the 1920s and 1930s the economic depression and widespread unemployment meant that the national insurance scheme was paying out more that it recieved. Benefits were cut and a means test was imposed. This did not change a thing however, poverty was pervasive and particularly among the families of the unemployed. 2. Assess the relationship between laissez faire and ideas of welfare and poverty in the 19th century. Give examples including reference to the poor laws. The original people that believed in and encouraged laissez-faire were the physiocrats (political economists). The physiocrats were followers of the physiocrat school of economic thought, and were in a way the predecessors of classical economists. Although some of their more renowned ideas were very backwards, like believing that only land (physical assets) produced revenue, they certainly were the first to come up with the notion of laissez-faire. (or no government interference) In 1563 the poor of Britain were branded for the first time into deserving, and the undeserving. The elderly and the very young, the infirm, and families who irregularly found themselves in financial difficulties due to a change in circumstance were considered deserving of social support. But people who often turned to crime to make a living such as, highwaymen or pickpockets, migrant workers who roamed the country looking for work, and individuals who begged for a living, were to be treated unsympathetically. The act of 1572 introduced the first necessary poor local poor law tax, an important step acknowledging that alleviating poverty was the responsibility of local communities, in 1576 the concept of the workhouse was born, and in 1597 the post of overseer of the poor was created. The great act of 1601 combined all the previous acts and set the benchmark for the next two hundred years. The Poor Laws passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth played an essential role in the country's welfare. They signalled important progression from private charity to welfare state, where the care and supervision of the poor was embodied in law and integral to the management of each town, village and hamlet. In 1843, the newspaper The Economist was founded, and became an influential voice for laissez-faire capitalism. In response to the Irish famine of 1846–1849, in which over 1. 5 million people died of starvation, they argued that for the government to supply free food for the Irish would violate natural law. Clarendon, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, wrote, â€Å"I don't think there is another legislature in Europe that would disregard such suffering. † Laissez-faire policy was never absolute in any nation, and at the end of the 19th century, European countries again took up some economic protectionism and interventionism. France for example, started cancelling its free trade agreements with other European countries in 1890. Germany's protectionism started (again) with a December 1878 letter from Bismarck, resulting in the iron and rye tariff of 1879. 1929 was a crucial year across the globe. When the United States stock market crashed, ripples were felt across Europe. As hardship and insecurity walked hand-in-hand into the 1930s, they met increasing unemployment and poverty. As president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt took action by implementing a new economic strategy in the New Deal. This model was the â€Å"optimistic activism, experimentation, and interventionist reforms† that the country so desperately needed at the time whilst the USA committed herself to social justice and firmly held the belief of government responsibility towards its citizens, the USSR praised socialism and developed communism. The United Kingdom saw the action other global governments were taking, and decided to follow the lead. In 1935 Attlee became the new leader of the Labour Party. At that time the Conservative government feared the spread of communism from the Soviet Union to the rest of Europe. In 1940 Attlee joined the coalition government headed by Winston Churchill. He was virtually deputy Prime Minister although this post did not formally become his until 1942. It was afterwards claimed that during the Second World War Attlee worked as a restraining influence on some of Churchill's wilder schemes The Labour party published the Beveridge Report (1942), the bestselling â€Å"report (that) set out social programs to slay the ‘five giants’: Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness†. In 1945 Herbert Morrison (who was defeated by Clement Attlee for the leadership of the Labour Party in 1935) was given responsibility for drafting the Labour Party manifesto that included the blueprints for the nationalization and welfare programmes. The Labour Party was a socialist party and proud of it. As a result, the Labour government â€Å"established free medical care under a newly constituted National Health Service, created new systems of pensions, encourage better education and housing, and sought to deliver on the unambiguous commitment to ‘full employment. In 1945, the United Kingdom gave birth to the first modern welfar e state. 3. How did the political ideology of the new right wing impact on social policies under Mrs Thatcher? What is a political ideology? Alcock (2003, p. 194, original emphasis) argues that ideology is ‘a concept that refers to the systems of beliefs within which all individuals perceive all social phenomena’. He goes on to stating that ‘in this usage no one system of beliefs is more correct, or more privileged, than any other’. Heywood (2003, p. 12) suggests, an ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides the basis for organized political action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power. The new right, it is generally accepted that the political ideology of the New Right contains two interrelated but also sometimes contradictory strands of political thought: neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism. The core elements of neo-liberalism are support for individualism, laissez faire and limited government intervention in economy and society. Neo-liberals believe that individuals are rational and therefore the best judges of their own best nterests and that they should be allowed the utmost possible individual freedom to determine their own behavior subject only to the restriction that their behavior should not harm others. The core elements of neo-conservatism differ in several respects from those of neo-liberalism. Whereas classic liberals are all in favor of free individualistic decision making, conservatives put forward that this kind of individualism is a recipe for anarchy and that individual freedom, can best be guaranteed via respect for traditional norms, values and i nstitutions. They declare that traditional institutions and patterns of social behavior which have stood the test of time must have done so because they have been socially beneficial which leads neo-Conservatives to support the maintenance or at most only gradual change in the existing social order which implies support for traditional sources of authority, traditional patterns of social and economic inequality, traditional institutions and traditional values. They are therefore expected to be supporters of strong but limited government, the Monarchy and the Aristocracy, the Church, the traditional family and traditional education. Under the leadership of Mrs Thatcher the conservatives made it their duty to do away with socialism and to reduce the power of the trade unions. Thatcher’s government made changes to the N. H. S, by creating the internal market. This was down to the Griffiths reports (1983) which suggested that the N. H. S should be run like a super market. Instead of meeting patients’ needs, trusts would be run in competition with one another for patients. Administration costs in the N. H. S in 1979 were around 6%. After the introduction of the internal market these costs had doubled to 12%. this shows that Thatcher had introduced inefficiencies as a result of outsourcing and duplication of work. However, Thatcher’s intended privatisation was never carried through completely due to the backlash from the pub lic. Tebbit once described the N. H. S as the nearest thing in Britain to a â€Å"national religion†. The conservative government also contributed in making reforms to the state education system. The Conservatives' 1979 Education Act removed the requirements introduced by previous Labor Governments that Local Authorities whose secondary schools were not currently organized on comprehensive lines must prepare plans for the transition to comprehensive education. Also under the 1979 Act Local Authorities were requested to place greater emphasis on parental choice in the allocation of school places although it has been suggested that in practice this requirement had only limited practical effects. The 1980 Education Act introduced an assisted Places Scheme which subsidized students who passed an entrance examination but whose parents had limited funds to be educated at private schools in the hope that this would enable these more able students to develop their talents more fully than would be possible in the state sector of education. This policy is a sign of a Conservative belief that state schools were often incapable of developing the talents of the most gifted pupils and in effect provided a state subsidy to the private education sector which the Conservatives wished to support. An important reform was the 1986 Education Act. This abolished corporal punishment in state schools. Other than this the Thatcher lead conservative party made many more changes to the education system Under the terms of the 1988 Education Reform Act, the following education policies were introduced. A National Curriculum was introduced which was to be followed compulsorily in all mainstream state schools but remained optional for independent schools. The National Curriculum was originally to contain 10 compulsory subjects of which 3 [English, Mathematics and Science] were to be â€Å"core† subjects and 7 [History, Geography, Technology, Music, Art, PE and a modern foreign language {at key stages 3 and 4}] were to be foundation subjects. Welsh was to be a Core Subject in Welsh -speaking schools and a foundation subject in Welsh non-Welsh speaking schools. RE was to be a compulsory â€Å"basic† subject in all schools although problems would arise surrounding the precise nature of the RE curriculum which was to be primarily based around Christianity except where the ethnic/religious composition of the school population suggested that this was inappropriate. In conclusion Thatcher’s conservative party had an immense impact and made numerous reforms and changes whilst in government. After all she is not called a social policy expert (Clare Beckett: The 20 Prime Ministers of the 20th Century) for nothing.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening Chapter Nine

She was not the reincarnation of Katherine. Driving back to the boarding house in the faint lavender hush before dawn, Stefan thought about that. He'd said as much to her, and it was true, but he was only now realizing how long he'd been working toward that conclusion. He'd been aware of Elena's every breath and move for weeks, and he'd catalogued every difference. Her hair was a shade or two paler than Katherine's, and her eyebrows and lashes were darker. Katherine's had been almost silvery. And she was taller than Katherine by a good handspan. She moved with greater freedom, too; the girls of this age were more comfortable with their bodies. Even her eyes, those eyes that had transfixed him with the shock of recognition that first day, were not really the same. Katherine's eyes had usually been wide with childlike wonder, or else cast down as was proper for a young girl of the late fifteenth century. But Elena's eyes met you straight on, looked at you steadily and without flinching. And sometimes they narrowed with determination or challenge in a way Katherine's never had. In grace and beauty and sheer fascination, they were alike. But where Katherine had been a white kitten, Elena was a snow-white tigress. As he drove past the silhouettes of maple trees, Stefan cringed from the memory that sprang up suddenly. He would not think about that, he would not let himself†¦ but the images were already unreeling before him. It was as if the journal had fallen open and he could do no more than stare helplessly at the page while the story played itself out in his mind. White, Katherine had been wearing white that day. A new white gown of Venetian silk with slashed sleeves to show the fine linen chemise underneath. She had a necklace of gold and pearls about her neck and tiny pearl drop earrings in her ears. She had been so delighted with the new dress her father had commissioned especially for her. She had pirouetted in front of Stefan, lifting the full, floor-length skirt in one small hand to show the yellow brocaded underskirt beneath†¦ â€Å"You see, it is even embroidered with my initials. Papa had that done. Mein lieber Papa †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice trailed off, and she stopped twirling, one hand slowly settling to her side. â€Å"But what is wrong, Stefan? You are not smiling.† He could not even try. The sight of her there, white and gold like some ethereal vision, was a physical pain to him. If he lost her, he did not know how he could live. His fingers closed convulsively around the cool engraved metal. â€Å"Katherine, how can I smile, how can I be happy when†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"When?† â€Å"When I see how you look at Damon.† There, it was said. He continued, painfully. â€Å"Before he came home, you and I were together every day. My father and yours were pleased, and spoke of marriage plans. But now the days grow shorter, summer is almost gone-and you spend as much time with Damon as you do with me. The only reason Father allows him to stay here is that you asked it. Butwhy did you ask it, Katherine? I thought you cared for me.† Her blue eyes were dismayed. â€Å"I do care for you, Stefan. Oh, you know I do!† â€Å"Then why intercede for Damon with my father? If not for you, he'd have thrown Damon out into the street†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Which I'm sure would have pleasedyou , little brother.† The voice at the door was smooth and arrogant, but when Stefan turned he saw that Damon's eyes were smoldering. â€Å"Oh, no, that isn't true,† said Katherine. â€Å"Stefan would never wish to see you hurt.† Damon's lip quirked, and he threw Stefan a wry glance as he moved to Katherine's side. â€Å"Perhaps not,† he said to her, his voice softening slightly. â€Å"But my brother is right about one thing at least. The days grow shorter, and soon your father will be leaving Florence. And he will take you with him-unless you have a reason to stay.† Unless you have a husband to stay with . The words were unspoken, but they all heard them. The baron was too fond of his daughter to force her to marry against her will. In the end it would have to be Katherine's decision. Katherine's choice. Now that the subject was broached, Stefan could not keep silent. â€Å"Katherine knows she must leave her father sometime soon-† he began, flaunting his secret knowledge, but his brother interrupted. â€Å"Ah, yes, before the old man grows suspicious,† Damon said casually. â€Å"Even the most doting of fathers must start to wonder when his daughter comes forth only at night.† Anger and hurt swept through Stefan. It was true, then; Damon knew. Katherine had shared her secret with his brother. â€Å"Why did you tell him, Katherine? Why? What can you see in him: a man who cares for nothing but his own pleasure? How can he make you happy when he thinks only of himself?† â€Å"And how can this boy make you happy when he knows nothing of the world?† Damon interposed, his voice razor-sharp with contempt. â€Å"How will he protect you when he has never faced reality? He has spent his life among books and paintings; let him stay there.† Katherine was shaking her head in distress, her jewel-blue eyes misted with tears. â€Å"Neither of you understand,† she said. â€Å"You are thinking that I can marry and settle here like any other lady of Florence. But I cannot be like other ladies. How could I keep a household of servants who will watch my every move? How could I live in one place where the people will see that the years do not touch me? There will never be a normal life for me.† She drew a deep breath and looked at them each in turn. â€Å"Who chooses to be my husband must give up the life of sunlight,† she whispered. â€Å"He must choose to live under the moon and in the hours of darkness.† â€Å"Then you must choose someone who is not afraid of shadows,† Damon said, and Stefan was surprised by the intensity of his voice. He had never heard Damon speak so earnestly or with so little affectation. â€Å"Katherine, look at my brother: will he be able to renounce the sunlight? He is too attached to ordinary things: his friends, his family, his duty to Florence. The darkness would destroy him.† â€Å"Liar!† cried Stefan. He was seething now. â€Å"I am as strong as you are,brother , and I fear nothing in the shadows or the sunlight either. And I love Katherine more than friends or family-† â€Å"-or your duty? Do you love her enough to give that up as well?† â€Å"Yes,† Stefan said defiantly. â€Å"Enough to give up everything.† Damon gave one of his sudden, disturbing smiles. Then he turned back to Katherine. â€Å"It would seem,† he said, â€Å"that the choice is yours alone. You have two suitors for your hand; will you take one of us or neither?† Katherine slowly bowed her golden head. Then she lifted wet blue eyes to both of them. â€Å"Give me until Sunday to think. And in the meantime, do not press me with questions.† Stefan nodded reluctantly. Damon said, â€Å"And on Sunday?† â€Å"Sunday evening at twilight I will make my choice.† Twilight†¦ the violet deep darkness of twilight†¦ The velvet hues faded around Stefan, and he came to himself. It was not dusk, but dawn, that stained the sky around him. Lost in his thoughts, he had driven up to the edge of the woods. To the northwest he could see Wickery Bridge and the graveyard. New memory set his pulse pounding. He had told Damon he was willing to give up everything for Katherine. And that was just what he had done. He had renounced all claim to the sunlight, and had become a creature of darkness for her. A hunter doomed to be forever hunted himself, a thief who had to steal life to fill his own veins. And perhaps a murderer. No, they had said the girl Vickie would not die. But his next victim might. The worst thing about this last attack was that he remembered nothing of it. He remembered the weakness, the overpowering need, and he remembered staggering through the church door, but nothing after. He'd come to his senses outside with Elena's scream echoing in his ears-and he had raced to her without stopping to think about what might have happened. Elena†¦ For a moment he felt a rush of pure joy and awe, forgetting everything else. Elena, warm as sunlight, soft as morning, but with a core of steel that could not be broken. She was like fire burning in ice, like the keen edge of a silver dagger. But did he have the right to love her? His very feeling for her put her in danger. What if the next time the need took him Elena was the nearest living human, the nearest vessel filled with warm, renewing blood? I will die before touching her, he thought, making a vow of it. Before I broach her veins, I will die of thirst. And I swear she will never know ray secret. She will never have to give up the sunlight because of me. Behind him, the sky was lightening. But before he left, he sent out one probing thought, with all the force of his pain behind it, seeking for some other Power that might be near. Searching for some other solution to what had happened in the church. But there was nothing, no hint of an answer. The graveyard mocked him with silence. Elena woke with the sun shining in her window. She felt, at once, as if she'd just recovered from a long bout of the flu, and as if it were Christmas morning. Her thoughts jumbled together as she sat up. Oh. She hurt all over. But she and Stefan-that made everything right. That drunken slob Tyler†¦ But Tyler didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered except that Stefan loved her. She went downstairs in her nightgown, realizing from the light slanting in the windows that she must have slept in very late. Aunt Judith and Margaret were in the living room. â€Å"Good morning, Aunt Judith.† She gave her surprised aunt a long, hard hug. â€Å"And good morning, pumpkin.† She swept Margaret off her feet and waltzed around the room with her. â€Å"And-oh! Good morning, Robert.† A little embarrassed at her exuberance and her state of undress, she put Margaret down and hurried into the kitchen. Aunt Judith came in. Though there were dark circles under her eyes, she was smiling. â€Å"You seem in good spirits this morning.† â€Å"Oh, I am.† Elena gave her another hug, to apologize for the dark circles. â€Å"You know we have to go back to the sheriff's to talk to them about Tyler.† â€Å"Yes.† Elena got juice out of the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. â€Å"But can I go over to Vickie Bennett's house first? I know she must be upset, especially since it sounds like not everybody believes her.† â€Å"Do you believe her, Elena?† â€Å"Yes,† she said slowly, â€Å"I do believe her. And, Aunt Judith,† she added, coming to a decision, â€Å"something happened to me in the church, too. I thought-† â€Å"Elena! Bonnie and Meredith are here to see you.† Robert's voice sounded from the hallway. The mood of confidence was broken. â€Å"Oh†¦ send them in,† Elena called, and took a sip of orange juice. â€Å"I'll tell you about it later,† she promised Aunt Judith, as footsteps approached the kitchen. Bonnie and Meredith stopped in the doorway, standing with unaccustomed formality. Elena herself felt awkward, and waited until her aunt left the room again to speak. Then she cleared her throat, her eyes fixed on a worn tile in the linoleum. She sneaked a quick glance up and saw that both Bonnie and Meredith were staring at that same tile. She burst into laughter, and at the sound they both looked up. â€Å"I'm too happy to even be defensive,† Elena said, holding out her arms to them. â€Å"And I know I ought to be sorry about what I said, and Iam sorry, but I just can't be all pathetic about it. I was terrible and I deserve to be executed, and now can we just pretend it never happened?† â€Å"Youought to be sorry, running off on us like that,† Bonnie scolded as the three of them joined in a tangled embrace. â€Å"And with Tyler Smallwood, of all people,† said Meredith. â€Å"Well, I learned my lesson on that score,† Elena said, and for a moment her mood darkened. Then Bonnie trilled laughter. â€Å"And you scored the big one yourself-Stefan Salvatore! Talk about dramatic entrances. When you came in the door with him, I thought I was hallucinating. How did youdo it?† â€Å"I didn't. He just showed up, like the cavalry in one of those old movies.† â€Å"Defending your honor,† said Bonnie. â€Å"What could be more thrilling?† â€Å"I can think of one or two things,† said Meredith. â€Å"But then, maybe Elena's got those covered, too.† â€Å"I'll tell you all about it,† Elena said, releasing them and stepping back. â€Å"But first will you come over to Vickie's house with me? I want to talk to her.† â€Å"You can talk tous while you're dressing, and while we're walking, and while you're brushing your teeth for that matter,† said Bonnie firmly. â€Å"And if you leave out one tiny detail, you're going to be facing the Spanish Inquisition.† â€Å"You see,† said Meredith archly, â€Å"all Mr. Tanner's work has paid off. Bonnie now knows the Spanish Inquisition is not a rock group.† Elena was laughing with sheer ebullience as they went up the stairs. Mrs. Bennett looked pale and tired, but invited them in. â€Å"Vickie's been resting; the doctor said to keep her in bed,† she explained, with a smile that trembled slightly. Elena, Bonnie, and Meredith crowded into the narrow hallway. Mrs. Bennett tapped lightly at Vickie's door. â€Å"Vickie, sweetheart, some girls from school to see you. Don't keep her long,† she added to Elena, opening the door. â€Å"We won't,† Elena promised. She stepped into a pretty blue-and-white bedroom, the others right behind her. Vickie was lying in bed propped up on pillows, with a powder-blue comforter drawn up to her chin. Her face was paper-white against it, and her heavy-lidded eyes stared straight ahead. â€Å"That's how she looked last night,† Bonnie whispered. Elena moved to the side of the bed. â€Å"Vickie,† she said softly. Vickie went on staring, but Elena thought her breathing changed slightly. â€Å"Vickie, can you hear me? It's Elena Gilbert.† She glanced uncertainly at Bonnie and Meredith. â€Å"Looks like they gave her tranquilizers,† said Meredith. But Mrs. Bennett hadn't said they'd given her any drugs. Frowning, Elena turned back to the unresponsive girl. â€Å"Vickie, it's me, Elena. I just wanted to talk to you about last night. I want you to know that I believe you about what happened.† Elena ignored the sharp glance Meredith gave her and continued. â€Å"And I wanted to ask you-† â€Å"No!† It was a shriek, raw and piercing, torn from Vickie's throat. The body that had been as still as a wax figure exploded into violent action. Vickie's light-brown hair whipped across her cheeks as she tossed her head back and forth and her hands flailed at the empty air. â€Å"No! No!† she screamed. â€Å"Do something!† Bonnie gasped. â€Å"Mrs. Bennett! Mrs. Bennett!† Elena and Meredith were trying to hold Vickie on the bed, and she was fighting them. The shrieking went on and on. Then suddenly Vickie's mother was beside them, helping to hold her, pushing the others away. â€Å"What did you do to her?† she cried. Vickie clutched at her mother, calming down, but then the heavy-lidded eyes glimpsed Elena over Mrs. Bennett's shoulder. â€Å"You're part of it! You're evil!† she screamed hysterically at Elena. â€Å"Keep away from me!† Elena was dumbfounded. â€Å"Vickie! I only came to ask-† â€Å"I think you'd better leave now. Leave us alone,† said Mrs. Bennett, clasping her daughter protectively. â€Å"Can't you see what you're doing to her?† In stunned silence, Elena left the room. Bonnie and Meredith followed. â€Å"It must be drugs,† said Bonnie once they were out of the house. â€Å"She just went completely nonlinear.† â€Å"Did you notice her hands?† Meredith said to Elena. â€Å"When we were trying to restrain her, I got hold of one of her hands. And it was cold as ice.† Elena shook her head in bewilderment. None of it made sense, but she wouldn't let it spoil her day. She wouldn't. Desperately, she searched her mind for something that would offset the experience, that would allow her to hold on to her happiness. â€Å"I know,† she said. â€Å"The boarding house.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"I told Stefan to call me today, but why don't we walk over to the boarding house instead? It's not far from here.† â€Å"Only a twenty-minute walk,† said Bonnie. She brightened. â€Å"At least we can finally see that room of his.† â€Å"Actually,† said Elena, â€Å"I was thinking you two could wait downstairs. Well, I'll only get to see him for a few minutes,† she added, defensively, as they looked at her. It was odd, perhaps, but she didn't want to share Stefan with her friends just yet. He was so new to her that he felt almost like a secret. Their knock on the shining oak door was answered by Mrs. Flowers. She was a wrinkled little gnome of a woman with surprisingly bright black eyes. â€Å"You must be Elena,† she said. â€Å"I saw you and Stefan go out last night, and he told me your name when he came back.† â€Å"You saw us?† said Elena, startled. â€Å"I didn't see you.† â€Å"No, no you didn't,† said Mrs. Flowers, and chuckled. â€Å"What a pretty girl you are, my dear,† she added. â€Å"A very pretty girl.† She patted Elena's cheek. â€Å"Uh, thank you,† said Elena uneasily. She didn't like the way those birdlike eyes were fixed on her. She looked past Mrs. Flowers to the stairs. â€Å"Is Stefan home?† â€Å"He must be, unless he's flown off the roof!† said Mrs. Flowers, and chuckled again. Elena laughed politely. â€Å"We'll stay down here with Mrs. Flowers,† said Meredith to Elena, while Bonnie rolled her eyes in martyrdom. Hiding a grin, Elena nodded and mounted the stairs. Such a strange old house, she thought again as she located the second stairway in the bedroom. The voices below were very faint from here, and as she went up the steps they faded entirely. She was wrapped in silence, and as she reached the dimly lit door at the top, she had the feeling she had entered some other world. Her knocking sounded very timid. â€Å"Stefan?† She could hear nothing from inside, but suddenly the door swung open.Everyone must look pale and tired today , thought Elena, and then she was in his arms. Those arms tightened about her convulsively. â€Å"Elena. Oh, Elena†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then he drew back. It was just the way it had been last night; Elena could feel the chasm opening between them. She saw the cold, correct look gather in his eyes. â€Å"No,† she said, hardly aware that she spoke aloud. â€Å"I won't let you.† And she pulled his mouth down to hers. For a moment there was no response, and then he shuddered, and the kiss became searing. His fingers tangled in her hair, and the universe shrank around Elena. Nothing else existed but Stefan, and the feel of his arms around her, and the fire of his lips on hers. A few minutes or a few centuries later they separated, both shaking. But their gaze remained connected, and Elena saw that Stefan's eyes were too dilated for even this dim light; there was only a thin band of green around the dark pupils. He looked dazed, and his mouth-that mouth!-was swollen. â€Å"I think,† he said, and she could hear the control in his voice, â€Å"that we had better be careful when we do that.† Elena nodded, dazed herself. Not in public, she was thinking. And not when Bonnie and Meredith were waiting downstairs. And not when they were absolutely alone, unless†¦ â€Å"But you can just hold me,† she said. How odd, that after that passion she could feel so safe, so peaceful, in his arms. â€Å"I love you,† she whispered into the rough wool of his sweater. She felt a quiver go through him. â€Å"Elena,† he said again, and it was a sound almost of despair. She raised her head. â€Å"What's wrong with that? What could possibly be wrong with that, Stefan? Don't you love me?† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked at her, helplessly-and they heard Mrs. Flowers's voice calling faintly from the bottom of the stairs. â€Å"Boy! Boy! Stefan!† It sounded as if she were pounding on the banister with her shoe. Stefan sighed. â€Å"I'd better go see what she wants.† He slipped away from her, his face unreadable. Left alone, Elena folded her arms across her chest and shivered. It was so cold here. He ought to have a fire, she thought, eyes moving idly around the room to rest finally on the mahogany dresser she'd examined last night. The coffer. She glanced at the closed door. If he came back in and caught her†¦ She really shouldn't-but she was already moving toward the dresser. Think of Bluebeard's wife, she told herself. Curiosity killedher . But her fingers were on the iron lid. Her heart beating rapidly, she eased the lid open. In the dim light, the coffer appeared at first to be empty, and Elena gave a nervous laugh. What had she expected? Love letters from Caroline? A bloody dagger? Then she saw the thin strip of silk, folded over and over on itself neatly in one corner. She drew it out and ran it between her fingers. It was the apricot ribbon she'd lost the second day of school. Oh, Stefan. Tears stung her eyes, and in her chest love welled up helplessly, overflowing. That long ago? You cared about me that long ago? Oh, Stefan, I love you†¦ And it doesn't matter if you can't say it to me, she thought. There was a sound outside the door, and she folded the ribbon quickly and replaced it in the coffer. Then she turned toward the door, blinking tears from her eyes. It doesn't matter if you can't say it right now. I'll say it for both of us. And someday you'll learn.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Fashion and Social Media

Psychology of Clothing Youngstown State University November 21, 2013 The fashion industry is uniquely positioned to take full advantage of the power of social media. Being an exceedingly visual and expressive industry with an engaged consumer base, the increased publicity and interactivity that social media provides lends itself particularly well to brands in the industry. Twitter, one the leading social media sites. Has also established a presence at major events in the fashion world.An example is Fashion Week, where the fashion house Barberry broke barriers and instilled innovation by live-tweeting photographs of models Just before they stepped on the catwalk at London Fashion Week. It gave individuals an unparalleled look behind the scenes, which in return made â€Å"#Barberry' the second most trending topic on Twitter at that time. Other leaders within the fashion industry are taking to the idea twitter and social media as a whole to expand the relevance of the industry on their take. They are tons of professionals within our industry who can accommodate just about any individuals' style and taste.For the purpose of this paper the focus as on four leaders within the fashion industry. Cosmetic Brands M. A. C cosmetics (@MACcosmectics) and Amiability Cosmetics (@Maybelline) Creative Director of ELL Magazine Joe Zee (@mrJoezee) and finally the website and blob dedicated to everything beauty, Into the Gloss (@lntoTheGloss). Over the past several months, there were key significances with each, first M. A. C cosmetic's re launch Of VIVA Glam, since the first campaign was unveiled in 1994 which features a beautifully creamy shade of deep red where all proceeds went to aids research. But the biggest part of he re launch was when M.A. C cosmetic's revealed via twitter that Rueful was returning to front the one that started it all: Viva Glam 1. Next is Amiability New York Cosmetics, Something very admirable is that they actually reply back to their followers in rega rds to questions, concerns and the whole nine. Also they rewet pictures of individual wearing products for their line as well. Something on trend is the innovation of plums colors which are perfect for the fall and also globalization is a trend with the recent opening of a corporate branch in Lagos, Nigeria which events arm the red carpet opening party trending that night.Next is Ell Creative Director Joe Zee. I'd like to call him Fashion's Approachable Ambassador because given his status within the fashion industry he really connects with his followers by tweeting things within his every life as well as live tweet photos from front row runway shows and event parties within the fashion industry and oncoming trends and sneak peeks within ELL magazine's upcoming issues. Lastly is into the gloss, being an individual who loves makeup would preferable loved work within the beauty part of the fashion industry, I take a lot in from this twitter page, which is no secret my favorite.They are always ahead with the latest trends and innovations regarding all things beauty with an editorial feel. The instant update regarding the latest breakthrough trends are something waiting for. Using twitter in the fashion industry is a win / win for both the individuals and the fashion Houses or leaders. Brands use it to expand and reach to the specific target market using social networking sites like Twitter. Twitter and Social media in the fashion industry is important basically cuts out the middle man while creating a direct communication method between the buyer and seller.The fashion industry literally have uncovered a one of the secrets to success through consumer driving inspiration and testing trends. Which ultimately allows the ability to identify and capitalize on what's currently trending and hot in the industry early, which can make all the difference to a fashion brand or retailer's predominance in the industry, with the ability to amplify the buzz. The best thing about this twitter assignment was the ability to really identify with what part of the fashion industry o wanted to be a part of by following certain people, whether that be Journalist, photographer, marketing or beauty for example.Twitter is the ultimate form of communication with brands and leaders because, like mentioned before they really respond back to their followers creating a one-on-one feel and instilling inspiration to that follower as well, so I would suggest if anything use twitter as platform for professional reasons to get your name out there and be a part of communities full of individuals with similar interest and for that reason alone, is why I will continue to use twitter.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Sales Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sales Management - Essay Example The examples can be a deafening silence, beautiful ugly, constant variable etc. The use of oxymoron for sales ethics puts forward the meaning that sales and ethics are two opposite concepts. To explore this in detail, the phrase sales ethics is an oxymoron means that in sales there is no place for ethics. The sales persons cannot be ethical if they have to get their work done properly. The sales force has to maneuver facts, figures and details in order to sell their product and beat competition. The corporate race these days compels the companies and their sales representatives to speak positive about their product and make it appear larger than life in order to attract customer attention. In this era of increasing prices, fierce competition, the firms cannot add too much value to their products but are compelled to show a luring picture so that their sales graphs go up. These days it is all about graphs number and profits, goodwill, loyalty has taken a back seat. Having mentioned th e above general perception regarding sales and ethics, let us validate and form an opinion based on concepts and analysis. For centuries the great writers and philosophers have been trying to come up with the definition of ethics. The word ethics is a complex concept and its complexity is derived from the lack of a universal definition. Ethics is different for different people, what I believe to be ethical may be unethical for someone and vice versa. â€Å"Ethics, in fact, is all about fairness and equity, and a fine balancing act, the balancing treatment of the two parties involved, sharing of benefits and losses, and sharing of the good and bad consequences or misery imposed by calamities, natural events etc.† (Madhavan 2008, 4) The field of ethics is very subjective; it is a personalized value system and judgment that varies from person to person. It deals with a person’s emotional values along with the logical benchmark; anything below that line of ethics is unethi cal and wrong. But the fine line between being ethical and unethical has blurred over the years. More and more firms are entering into marketing gimmicks and tricks and trade of the sales games and calling it ethical because of its commonality. Having talked about personal or individual ethics let us now explore business ethics. In any organization the value and opinions are formed by the people working in it. How well an organization carries out its value and conveys it to its customers depends upon the conduct of its employees. â€Å"Business ethics is the study of business situation, activities, and decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed.† (Crane and Matten 2007, 5) The firms need to establish a morally right and wrong criteria as an ethical value system in the organization. Every individual in the organization should work towards the good of the organization and individual selfish gains should be avoided for the firm and society to prosper in an ethical m anner. However, the real world of business posses several ethical confusions and issues to the sales force putting them into an ethical dilemma.†Anyone who wants to succeed in sales should be aware of the ethical issues that can arise. For a number of reasons, activities related to sales seem to have a greater frequency and level of ethical issues.†

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Contrast and compare 'karnak cafe' and 'The day the leader was killed' Literature review

Contrast and compare 'karnak cafe' and 'The day the leader was killed' by Naghuib Mahfouz - Literature review Example The mutual interaction over delicate situations between the characters reveal in the most natural way, the convictions for which the novel stands for. This is the uniqueness of the writing style of the author. As the story develops, it becomes poignant without losing its ground and reality. Mahfouz has created a sensational and beautiful character in Qurunfula, the proprietress of Cafe. She is just like the oases in desert. The stern author becomes an entirely different man when he portrays her character. He turns a poet in adoring her qualities of head and heart. How she puts up with the vicissitudes of life is brilliantly elucidated by the author. How intelligently she detaches from her glorious past and maintains her essential dignity as a common individual, is a lesson for womenfolk in any part of the world. Contrast†¦.2 The protagonist, though entered the Cafe, by chance, he was surprised to see Qurunfula there in her new role. He describes his past relationship with her in a cryptic style. Mahfouz (2008, p.4) writes, â€Å"We had never had any kind of relationship, whether of affection, self-interest, or simply courtesy.† How and to what extent she is able to retain her past beauty of the body and nobility of soul! Here is another masterful description of the Karnak Cafe with the presence of Qurunfula. Mahfouz (p.5) writes, â€Å"Here you get to sense past and present, in a warm embrace, the sweet past and glorious present. To top it all, there is that enticement that the unknown brings.† The author has intelligently analyzed the contemporary ground realities of the Egyptian government. Though the governments change, nothing much happens to improve the social and economic conditions of the common people. The author touches upon the issues, how psychological imprisonment works in a seemingly free society, how an atmosphere of fear persists and how people are subjugated. No positive improvement is seen to break the age-old societal tradit ions, the freedom of the individuals is not guaranteed. It is a peculiar type of society of mutual suspicion. No violent or radical reactions are depicted in the novel from the side of the government or from the people, though! The discontent of the people is seething within and they are compelled to carry on with the available discipline and remain amenable to the bitter realities of the Cairo-world from where political power is unleashed. Kanak Cafe is sort of a ‘mini parliament’ of the people where a cross-section of the people meets. An attempt has been made by the author to depict the generation gap that was Contrast†¦.3 emerging in the society, the clash of the values of the old and the combustible younger generation. The legendary former dancer Qurunfula is the link, and the ambience created by her is to the liking of both the old and new, for strange reasons. Perfect human values, love and affection springs forth in that Cafe, and the people gather there, f ind psychological relief by discussing the hot political issues and by tendering varied reactions. The disappearance of the three young customers of the Cafe, create terror in the hearts of the customers. Various guesses float forth about their fates. Secret police took them to an unknown destination and they were cruelly tortured. The pleasant atmosphere in the Cafe stands vitiated due to mistrust with the fear that someone amongst them is the police informer. The heaven of

Building a supportive program for new teachers in Italy Essay

Building a supportive program for new teachers in Italy - Essay Example First group contains novice teachers in order to gain their perspective about the program, their demands and concerns. The other group would consist of mentor teachers in order to gain their perspective, developing a strategy to provide help and the best way to support beginning teachers. Also, Questionnaires will be used besides observation and note taking. Using questioners might help to supporting the findings of the case study. In Italy large number of new teachers is hired each year. Each of these new teachers is expected to assume the same responsibilities as veteran teachers on the first day of employment. With limited experience and limited support, they are expected to provide a quality educational experience for the students in their classrooms. Most schools in Italy are traditional in structure, hence each of the new teachers taught in a self-contained classroom. Novice teacher, newly experiencing the problems of teaching, are alone with their students for the majority of the day, trying to identify and satisfy the needs of several students with unique needs. This isolation limited the support and assistance that novices could gain from their more experienced colleagues and could have added to feeling of stress and anxiety. The principal, the sole administrator of the institution, had not much time available to observe the development of their newly appointed staff. Also, some administrators feel that their presence is threatening and stress provoking so they opt to allow the novice to develop on his/her own.Nowadays people are concerned with the quality of education more than ever. Why then had the supportive program for novice teachers and their concerns not been addressed? ... Educational regulations in Italy required non-tenured teachers to be observed in certain time period. Unfortunately, few received any supportive instructions in the classrooms. The principal, the sole administrator of the institution, had not much time available to observe the development of their newly appointed staff. Also, some administrators feel that their presence is threatening and stress provoking so they opt to allow the novice to develop on his/her own. Nowadays people are concerned with the quality of education more than ever. Why then had the supportive program for novice teachers and their concerns not been addressed Kilgore and Kozisek (1998) and Huling-Austin (1998) felt that educators did not view teachers' supportive program as a pressing need and are not familiar with the body of knowledge related to this area. Limited support, isolation and anxiety are realities of induction year (Fuller, 1969, 207-226). As educators, we knew that the emotional well being of a child was an important factor in their ability to learn. Did it not seem reasonable to ensure that same senses of well being to our novice teachers so that they would learn and grow into responsive and effective teachers The aim of the current paper is to outline the study of building a supportive program for novice teachers in Italy, in order to solve the problems faced by novice teachers. Problems Encountered Novice teachers, being new to the problem of teaching become isolated from the institutional environment because of the system prevailed in Italian schools. This surely limits their ability to prosper from the experience of their veteran colleagues and thereby taking lot of stress. This and lack of any supportive program throughout their earlier

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Measurement and Disclosure of Value at Risk for Mutual Fund Portfolios Research Paper

Measurement and Disclosure of Value at Risk for Mutual Fund Portfolios - Research Paper Example Investors have a natural interest in how well particular investments have done. This is true whether the investor manages his or her own portfolio or has money managed by a professional. Concern with investment performance motivates the topic of performance evaluation. In general, terms, performance evaluation focuses on assessing how well a money manager achieves high returns balanced with acceptable risks. The standard example is an evaluation of investment performance achieved by the manager of a mutual fund. Such a performance evaluation is more than an academic exercise, because its purpose is to help investors decide whether they would entrust investment funds with the manager. Our goal here is to introduce you to the primary tools used to make this assessment. The securities making up the Fund's portfolio are of the trading in such stocks, bonds, and treasury bills. The investor’s has no right to claim ownership of securities of certain inside the wallet, but is right only in the share in the portfolio as a whole gets in corresponding to the document function to it. The following defines in simplified nature of investment funds, and why have arisen and benefits of investment. The controls and the principle of disclosure under which the need to disclose the lists and financial reports for all data and accounting information necessary to give the reader an accurate picture, clear and reflect the reality of business results and financial position of the units of accounting. When talking about the benefits of investment funds' investment returns are achieved over - usually - the return that can be achieved from bank deposits. As well as studies show many that liquidity is the most important element for small investors, is no doubt that direct investments as well as the opportunities provided by commercial banks in the accounts. Futures are less liquid than investment funds open, and in many cases lower than a return, on the other hand. The liquidity for the small size of the investment costs may be high

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Strategic management Final EXAM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strategic management Final EXAM - Essay Example Strategic management can operate at corporate level or business level. A definition of strategic management at corporate level is: "the pattern of major objectives, purposes or goals and essential policies or plans for achieving those goals, stated in such a ways as to define what business the company is in or is to be in and the kind of company it is or is to be."1 One must also take into account the culture and leadership of the organisation, both of which influence corporate strategic management. For example, after the return of Steve Jobs to Apple Computers Inc a top-level decision was taken to making a major shift away from heavy investment in Research and Development (R&D) of innovative and premium-priced computers, and have invested more heavily in the highly competitive consumer electronics sector. At the business or unit level of operation, strategic management is more concerned with competition, adding value and recruiting and retaining clients. Returning to the example of Apple Computers Inc, since 2001 it has been developing products such as the iPod believing that it could add high-value, user-friendly software in a way that a pure electronics business could not. Business level strategic management has been defined as: "the match between [the organisation's] internal capabilities and its external relationships. It describes how it responds to its suppliers, its customers, its competitors and the social and economic environment within which it operates."2 This view argues that strategic management boils down to having a clear sense of the organisation's objectives and identifying how these will be achieved. However there is no universal agreement on which level the subject should be studied at: corporate or business. Therefore it is important to bear in mind that such gurus as Michael Porter tend to focus on business level strategic management. There is also another school of thought which argues against this prescriptive viewpoint. This alternative and less well-documented emergent view points out that given the impossibility of planning for an uncertain future, identifying a single strategy is a waste of time. Instead organisations should focus on finding market opportunities, experimenting and developing their competitive advantage over-time.3 The three key elements of strategic management are resources, the external environment and the organisation's capacity to add-value to its core activity. An organisation's resources include its personnel and their respective skillsets, its investment and capital. These items are important for the organisation to create and sustain competitive advantage. It could be argued that Apple Computer Inc's recent success in setting the latest standard in MP3 players was built upon the fact that it had a major brand and R&D capabilities from its niche computer business and an excellent own-brand distribution network already in place. In short Apple Computer Inc optimized existing resources. The environment refers to economic and political situation the organization finds itself in, its competitors, customers and suppliers, and increasingly to 'green' issues as concerns regarding global warming and exploitation of low-wage workers become more wide-spread. For example, IBM lost much of its initial dominance of the personal computer market when it failed

Monday, September 23, 2019

Qualitative research study using a pediatric toolkit to decrease the Thesis

Qualitative research study using a pediatric toolkit to decrease the discomfort and anxiety of a pediatric patient in an emergency department - Thesis Example This toolkit would assist them in the care of the pediatric population being treatment in the chaotic environment of a busy emergency trauma center. The toolkit would consist of distraction techniques, position changes, and advocacy for early pain management enhancing the emergency department experience for child, while simultaneously improving the satisfaction of the parents. With the 2011 health care reform bill staring health care providers in the face, patient-centered outcomes are prominently vital for reimbursement purposes. Accountability of health care providers, particularly nurses, and how the patient and their families perceive the delivery of such care greatly influence the report cards. Therefore, a dissatisfied patient or family member who documents their concerns in a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of a hospital causes great consternation. The horizon of health care is rapidly approaching with the introduction of the numerous facets healthcare reform presents. Report cards specifically honing in on patient outcome and satisfaction will greatly affect the amount of Medicare funding. Consequently, hospitals are paying a great deal of attention to improving the patient safety status and raising the bar of patient outcomes and satisfaction. Our hospital’s CEO recently received, in a one-month period of time, 3 letters to administration complaining about the lack of compassion demonstrated by Emergency Department nurses to the pediatric population. Parents of pediatric patients complained emergency department nurses were not compassionate, but rather cold and seemingly uncaring toward their ill or injured child. During mandatory Emergency Department staff meetings, this issue was discussed at great length, and a fix-it quick plan was generated. Suddenly, with the down turn of the US economy, the main

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Why we treat men and women differently Essay Example for Free

Why we treat men and women differently Essay The process of learning gender roles begins right when we are born. The first question people ask of a newborn is â€Å"Is it a boy or girl? † This question illustrates the importance of gender in organizing our expectations and perceptions of an individual. In American culture we tend to give boys and girls different types of toys to play with and dress infants according to gender. If you look at your baby pictures, you may find that you were often dressed in either blue or pink. One US study reports that 90% of the infants observed at a shopping mall were dressed in gendered colors and or styles (Shakin, Shakin Sternglanz, 1985). By the age of 3 children begin to accurately label people by sex (Fagot, Leinbach Hagen, 1986). Gender role socialization progress throughout life from various sources – parental expectations, modeling of gender roles by peers and images of males and females in the media all contribute to our ideas on what it means to be male or female. Gender role is a psychological construct that develops in children as they are socialized in their environments. As children become older, they learn specific behaviors and patterns of activities appropriate and inappropriate for their sex and they either adopt or reject those gender roles. Sandra Bem (1981) argues that gender is one of the fundamental ways we organize information and understand experiences about the world. The way we think of being male or female is a web of behaviors, attitudes, objects and conventions that are associated with being male and being female. We then use this web of preconceived notions to understand the people around us. To illustrate, lets look at the story of Stella, a senior high school student. Stella’s parents were egalitarian; they believed that gender should not hinder their daughter’s future. They wanted their daughter to grow up without the encumbrances of gender Perception of stereotypes affects our behavior Page #2 role stereotypes. They made sure that they trained her to be assertive, to be an achiever and always told her that being female should not hinder her from pursuing her dreams. True to her parents’ words, Stella was an outstanding student, had good leadership skills and had been accepted to a university that she wanted. However, Stella did not have many girl friends. She was not invited to slumber parties and girly stuff though she got along well with the boys. Then one day, she overheard the boys at school talking about her, one of them remarked that Stella was more of a boy than a girl and he wouldn’t want to go to the prom with her. Stella was stunned, she never thought of herself that way, she felt confused and hurt. The story tells us of Stella’s predicament. She was brought up to think that everyone can reach for his or her dreams and you simply have to work hard for it and this is what she did. But her peers see her as a misfit, the girls did not like her because she was not interested in girly stuff and the boys did not think of her as a girl. We can say that her peers are reluctant to accept Stella because she goes against the traditional gender roles. Majority of her peers have been socialized to think that girls should be emotional, gentle, beautiful and nurturing while boys should be tough, competitive and strong. Our preconceived notions of what a man /woman should be and what they should not be is always present in our daily interactions and in how we understand others. Children generally use the term sissy to label a boy who is not a bully and boys torment girls because they are weak and cannot keep up with them. We applaud men who are achievers, who are leaders, who can provide their family with all the comfort and luxury of life, while we scorn at women who exhibit the same traits because we think that a woman should not sacrifice her family for her career. Consequently we can observe that more and more women choose to be single or marry at Perception of stereotypes affects our behavior Page #3 a later age when they have reached their dreams. Even the sex double standard favors men over women, it is almost innate in us to be forgiving to husbands who have extramarital affairs because we rationalize that boys will always be boys. On the other end we become disgusted when we hear of a wife having extramarital affairs. Our judgment is clouded by our schemas rather than finding out the story behind the act. Gender stereotypes are actually the most ingrained and prevalent forms of stereotyping. It is present across cultures and affects all of us from birth to the day of our death. The way we relate to and are being related to is largely based on our gender. It has become a fundamental part of who we are as persons and even dictates what we become in life. Women generally pursue careers that are nurturing and man generally are in occupations that makes use of their power and authority. Stella in such an early age is confronted with her being not a typical girl and if she gives in to the pressure of being accepted by her peers then she might not become what her parents dreamed her to be. And the end question of whether gender stereotypes are negative or positive is not really the issue. Gender role socialization is a necessary function of society to maintain the status quo. Women are disadvantaged by these stereotypes because it limits their opportunity for personal growth, but at present we see a breaking away of the traditional gender roles into a more egalitarian form. More and more husbands have stayed home to care for the children, while more women are joining the work force and getting top positions in all the institutions of society. Thus, like Stella’s parents, we can dispel our gender role biases and hope that in the future our children would live their lives the way they want it to be, not because they are male or female.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Personal Experience: A Caring Occurrence

Personal Experience: A Caring Occurrence The purpose of this reflective paper is to reflect on a personal experience in which you cared for someone. Using Johns model (Johns 2006), the reflection will explore how the personal experience reflected a caring occurrence. Reflection is the appearance of experiential knowledge and as nursing students; we should begin to use reflection as our experience in the nursing field accumulates. It is both justified and recommended that Carpers work be incorporated into reflective practice since it was a key figure in widening knowledge in nursing (Heath, 1998). Reflective practice incorporates Carpers (1978) ways of knowing personal, ethical, aesthetical and empirical knowing into an individuals reflection. Reflection is a personal understanding of self and in the development of self, reflecting on relationships and interactions between two or more people. As a nurse, the relationship is between the nurse and the client, and sometimes involves the clients family as well. The experience in which I cared for someone occurred in the fall of 2009. As part of my Gr. 12 Ethics and Morals Religion Class, it was required that for an eight week period, we spent a period of our time, once a week at a retirement home with our assigned adoptive grandparent. The purpose of this assignment was to spend time with an older adult, engage in communication, participation, and enjoy the time spent with the older generation and learn from them. So once a week, I made my way to the retirement home and spent an hour and a half with my adoptive grandparent Blanche. I planned ahead of time activities that she might like to take part in such as a puzzle, a walk, a craft, or baking. Once I got there, I would ask her what she would like to do and we would go from there. Each time I went there, she had a different story to tell me; her life as a young farm girl, her teenage years, and the love of her life, her career as a teacher, her family and journeys she had been on. Each st ory had its own personal meaning to her and I sat there attentively and listened, asked probing questions and comments. As her adopted grandchild, it was my duty to entertain her, keep her spirits up and encourage her. The one week when I went there, she had physiotherapy so I could not spend much time with her on a personal level, but more of a team of caring individuals to support her, and encourage her through her therapy. Although this situation does not exactly relate to a medical need for caring for someone, I still managed to care for an individual on a personal, face-to-face encounter. This experience also helped me to learn how important the elderly patients are. When I experienced this caring situation, I was feeling worried and nervous at first. I was unsure what to expect prior to meeting my adoptive grandparent. I was worried about the fact that my grandparent might not have liked me, or would be extremely quiet and held back. Since this was one of the first times I would be put in an experience like this, I just did not know what to expect. After the first two weeks, I became more comfortable in my surroundings and each week I would then look forward to my visits with Blanche. After I became comfortable, I was happy and opened up more towards Blanche. The purpose of this experience achieved a new found friendship with a member of the older generation. It gave me the opportunity to care for an individual at the retirement home who did not have many visitors, so I became her weekly visitor and spent quality time with her and card for her in a special way. This experience helped me achieve a better respect for the elderly and enhanced my ab ility to relate to them on a personal level. Knowledge that may have informed me would be the calling for a special person who cares for the spirituality of others. Nursing is a caring profession that is honoured as the spiritual, spirit-filled practice (Vance, 2003). A caring occasion becomes transpersonal when nurse and client together with their unique life histories and perception become a focal point, in which the moment is greater than the occasion itself (Watson, 2008). The experience shared between the two becomes a deeper pattern in life. The caring moment is being in the moment. Fully present, open to other people, compassion and connection. Reflection of practice allows the nurse to observe decisions made and bring to the open the knowledge that has formed from practicing skills. Nursing students can enhance multiple ways of knowing and their understanding of caring through the process of reflecting on caring encounters (Schaefer, 2002). The foundation of nurse care is the wisdom in knowing and understanding that les sons are learned by one another to become more human in learning the identity of ourselves with others. When I cared for Blanche on a weekly basis, I acted for the best with the values that I had at the time. Although I had not dealt with many elderly patients prior to this experience, I still knew the values I had and gave Blanche my utmost respect. I treated her with the same respect that I would have liked to be treated if the positions were opposite. Caring as a nurse means the innermost of nursing, without prejudice and aims at prioritizing the patients suffering and needs (Gustafsson et al., 2007). Nursing care is the process aimed at responding to patients needs without reasoning. Quality care is the element to caring. When a nurse is caring for someone, it is best that they are not bias towards the patient, nurses should treat all patients equally, meaning not giving certain patients more attention, unless their critical situation demands it of them. This situation connects with a previous experience in which I worked at a retirement home for a few weeks in the summer. This position mainly had me as house cleaning but in the evening when everything was done, it allowed me to interact with the residents. I talked to them, played games and took them for a stroll outside. The experience in which I cared for Blanche was more connected and personal in terms of the one-on-one time I was able to spend with her. The idea of reflection is caring science learning, learning and developing a personal knowledge of caring as an art (Gustafsson et al., 2007). This helps to establish the substance and quality of caring in regards to the patient. Factors that constrain my responding in new ways is my personal confidence level, with a variation of the knowledge of my experience, which I will hope to gain from working side-by-side with experience nurse practitioners. This also relates to my level of involvement, if I increase the questions I ask if I am in doubt, I will gain more knowledge of the situation. This will also offer clarification and a deeper level of thought in regards to the situation. When I was caring for Blanche, at first I was not very confident and a little hesitant to introducing myself to a complete stranger and spending time with her once a week. After participating in this learning of a life lesson, I gained so much from it. I have more confidence in my ability to communicate with strangers; I have stepped outside the box I built up around myself and have become a more confident, strong, communicative leader. Although I may still be a little hesitant about situations, that is normal. A fear of the unknown or hesitation is another constraint to responding in new ways. This unknowing is an awareness that as a nurse does not and cannot know or understand the client when they first meet (Heath, 1998). Knowing the clients information or background prior to meeting with the patient will help make the situation a little more comfortable. Mixed groups may possibly enhance the development of skills of reflection (Heath, 1998). Working together as a team will help form and ensure actions are for the best. As a team, all sides are valued and reflection is more in-depth and has different vantage points. As a student nurse, insights that I have gained from this reflection is that my experience will grow and I can begin to understand the details of what experienced nurses know. It may only be a small portion, but I can build an understanding for the knowledge expert nurses have and benefit from it. A powerful insight is recognizing the unknown, and as a nurse, I can learn to remain alert to the clients individual viewpoint of the situation. This can best be done by listening to the client and establishing a truthful, open, working relationship, without the state of unknowing. Nurses need to be aware of the lack of empirical knowledge (Heath, 1998). This will promote an awareness to learn, research and increase practical skills. Guided reflection is a journey of self-inquiry and transformation (Johns, 2006). Reflection helps one realize their ability to care, learn and gain experience on past situations, learn from mistakes so they do not happen again. Reflection is awakening of the se lf (Johns, 2006). Did I act or be the best I could be with Blanche? I personally feel that I did the best job I could with the knowledge I had at the time. After learning about nurse- client therapeutic communication, I feel that maybe now, if I were to go back and relive the experience, I would be have a better relationship with her and gain more knowledge and become an even better adopted grandchild. I would ensure that the relationship would be more purposeful and contain a position of trust and a unique responsibility to maintain a therapeutic relationship. What would I have done differently if I was able to relive this experience to improve and make the most of this experience for both myself and Blanche? If I were to relive this experience, I would change the direction of advancing the best outcome and interest for Blanche. I would give her more attention, make more time in my schedule to spend time with her and take pleasure in the time spent together. Just because I may understand something, d oes not mean that I could change the outcome, it just means I am on my way to changing and becoming a more determined nurse. Understanding something is the first step towards changing. As John (2006) states, usually negative feelings such as anger, guilt, frustration and sadness draw our attention to the experience. These negative feelings draw specific attention because they seem disturbed and usual taken-for-granted awareness for feelings. In my situation while I was caring for my adopted grandparent, this was not the case. If anything, it was the opposite. The feelings that drew my attention to this caring situation were happiness, thoughtfulness, joy, and understanding. The smile I saw every time I walked into Blanches room and glow in her eyes every time she saw us. Our weekly visits to her brightened her days and made her feel young again. I appreciated being with her, giving her my time, my attention and my skill as a person of todays generation. It takes practice first and then reflection (Johns, 2006). It is best to practice the skills needed first, make sure they are understood and demonstrated them properly and then reflect on the occasion and what went right and what went wrong and improve the situation for the next time.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Delay Aware Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT)

Delay Aware Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) Delay Aware Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) Approach for MANET Abstract Route discovery and data transmission in Mobile Ad-Hoc networks (MANETs) are the key procedures which influence the performance of the network. The data transmission through the discovered route with in minimum delay is considered as a major problem in the MANET. Hence this paper proposed an approach called Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) approach to minimize average delay. In this approach, the broadcast has been converged to two zones after the initial broadcasting in order to minimize the broadcast delay. Based on the data size and the Time to Live (TTL), the data transmission is initiated via multipath or single path. Game theory approach (GTA) is a powerful mathematical tool for analyzing the strategic communications among several decision makers. Hence this paper utilizes the GTA for switching the path between inter-zonal and intra-zonal nodes for different source data to provide a successful data transmission. The simulation results show that the approach is efficien t in terms of delay, packet delivery ratio, and localization error when compared to the existing approaches. Keywords: Routing, MANET, MSZT, game theory approach, delay 1. Introduction A multi-hop wireless Ad hoc network (MANET) is composed of mobile nodes, which can communicate without any aid of centralized Infrastructure (T.Durga , 2015) The demand of different multimedia applications such as surveillance system and video on demand service over MANET has been increasing rapidly in recent years. However, it is not easy to support the data transmission according to the end-to-end delay requirements over MANETs. A number of routing protocols have been proposed for Ad hoc mobile networks to improve the QoS ((K.S.Dinesh , 2014). Most of the routing protocols use the minimum hop numbers as a metric of route cost while taking routing decisions. However they ignore the some important link capacity properties because of simplicity and ease of implementation. Each node in the network may have different traffic load and hence, nodes which have more active neighbors may experience more collisions (Rakesh Kumar, et, al., 2010). Uncertainly some of the over loaded nodes may fall on the minimum hop route, it may considerably introduce a longer delay, even though the number of nodes in the chosen route is minimum. In addition, if some of the over loaded nodes are congested; it may result in huge packet drop rates and consequent retransmission. This may increase the end – to – end delay between two end points. Thus in this paper Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) routing approach has been proposed in order to reduce average delay. The approach reduces the number of broadcast after the initial broadcast in the network. Multipath data transmission is enabled based on the TTL and the data size. The game theory approach is used to switch the path between inter-zonal and intra-zonal nodes for different source data, which is a powerful mathematical tool. The path switching while during the data transmission provides a successful data transmission by checking the path availability. Thus this approach enhance the QoS demanded MANET applications The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents the recent related work on the delay aware MANET. Section 3 describes the system model of the proposed Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) routing approach. The explanation of the Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) routing approach is presented in the section 4. Section 5 describes the simulation results. Finally, section 6 renders the conclusion 2. Related Work (Saad M. Adam, et, al., 2013) presents an reactive routing protocols overview in terms of QoS requirements in MANET. Due to the requirements has been fulfilled for the commercial, real-time, and multimedia applications in MANET. The delay has been considered as one of the important QoS metric to satisfy the application requirements. The delay optimization approach has been presented by the authors (Syed Jalal Ahmad, et, al., 2015) for multimedia application in MANET. The Knapsack algorithm is used for buffer management to maximize and minimize the in order and out order packets simultaneously. The buffer internals are exploited and the adjusting the buffer usage dynamically makes the node to transmit the packet in the preferred order to its successive nodes. The simulation results show that the approach transmits multimedia data packet without loss and in minimum delay. (K. Sasikala,et, al., 2014) proposed the finite state machine for queue and transmission management mechanism to minimize the packet delay time in MANET. Information about the delay for each data flow in the queue is maintained in a node. A timer is fixed to each flow in a node and it has been updated dynamically. Based on the nodes characteristics the queue is controlled to minimize the packet delay. (Obaidat, M, et, al., 2011) proposes a multipath routing protocol for MANETs. The protocol establishes the route, which having the lowest delays relied upon the communication of various layers. The performance of the protocol is compared with the AODV and AOMDV. (V. R. Budyal and S. S. Manvi, 2013) presents a clever agent based on-demand QoS routing methodology in MANET. The intelligent agent utilizes the neuro-fuzzy logic aided by Q-learning. The DSR protocol has been enhanced to discover all the multiple paths and the condition of the path from source to destination. The fuzzy membership function has been optimized by the software agents and if then rules are made to take decision in the system. A cross layer design is made for delay concerned Node Disjoint Multipath AODV in Ad Hoc Network by the author (GawasMahadev A, et,al., 2014). The channel and link information has been obtained by applying the cross layer design between the MAC and routing layer. The path status has been updated subsequently by concerning the lowest delay attained at each intermediate node. The protocol is compared with the AODV and NMDR and it perform better than the other two in terms of routing overhead and packet delivery ratio. 3. Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) The Multipath Switching Zone traversal routing approach is proposed in this paper to minimize the average delay in the network. The approach is implemented after the initial broadcast from the source. The MSZT is composed of two parts such as route discovery and path switching. 3.1 Route Discovery During the initial broadcast the source node obtains the information about the location of the destination node by using the GPS service. After the initial broadcast, the source node divides its communication range into four equal zones for further broadcasting. The node broadcast the RREQ message through one or at most 2 zones, where the broadcast should be destination oriented zone based on the location information of the destination node. Only one node must be selected in each zone for forwarding the broadcast. Alike the source node, the forwarding node also divides its communication range into four equal zones and forward the broadcast in the same manner. The process will take place until the destination node is reached. Before the data transmission via the shortest path, the Expected Transmission Time (ETT) and the TTL value has to be estimated to enable multipath through the different zones in order of increasing the packet delivery factor (PDF). Expected Transmission Time (ETT) is the time taken for transmitting a data packet successfully to the destination. The ETT is estimated based on the data size of a packet. (1) Here ETX is the expected transmission count i.e. expected number of transmissions that a node needs to transmit a packet successfully to a neighbor. The ETX can be estimated as follows (2) Where dforward is the received probes from a A dreverse is the received probes from B Where t is the average time a single data packet requires to be delivered and the t can be estimated as follows (3) The maximum Time to Live (TTL) is a timer data part in the IP header which specifies RREQ packet life time before it is discarded (Cheng-Yuan Ho,et, al., 2007). All the RREQ fields in its route cache have been maintained in order to find the route minimum Time to Live (TTL) value after TTL time expires and the information about the TTL is available in the RREP packet. If the ETT is greater than the TTL, then the packets are fragmented and then the packet has been transmitted over the multiple paths. 3.2 Path Switching Algorithm based on the Game theory Approach Game theory is a mathematical tool for analyzing and estimating how a person behaves in strategic situations. The game is composed of three fundamental components: a set of players, a set of strategies, and a set of payoffs. Nodes (players) are the decision takers in the game. The strategies are the various options available to nodes such as (TTL, node availability) (Badr Benmammar, Francine Krief, 2014). At last the utility function (payoffs) make a choice of all possible outcomes for each player. The components of the proposed game theory approach are given in the table 1. Table 1Components of the proposed Game Theory Approach After each transmission, the next hop zonal node must update the path availability (zone availability) to its predecessor node. The competition is between the multiple paths available between the source nodes to the destination node. After each successful data transmission the payoff is considered such as the availability and the TTL in order to stay on the same path otherwise path is switched to the next highest probability value of the available path. For each available path a probability value is estimated and it is formulated as follows (4) Here the total hops is the number of hops in the path and the not available hops is the number of hop which is not available for next data transmission due to the reason â€Å"the node is available for other source node in the network†. This information is updated to the source after each successful transmission. The proposed path switching algorithm based on the game theory approach is shown in the figure 1. Figure 1 Path switching algorithm based on the game theory approach 5. Simulation Results The proposed Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) routing approach make an effort to minimize average end to end delay to enhance the network performance. The NS2 simulation has been adopted to evaluate the performance of the MSZT approach and the simulation setup is shown in the table 2. The performance of the MSZT is compared with other existing approach such as Zone Tree Routing (ZTR), Path State Routing (PSR). The metrics used to measure the performance of the proposed approach are broadcast delay, localization error and packet delivery factor. Table 2 Simulation Setup A. Performance metrics Broadcast Delay: Broadcasting is the fundamental process where the probe transmission from the source to all other forwarding nodes to arrive at the destination. The broadcast delay is the difference between the packet receiving time (prt) by destination and the packet transmitted time (ptt) from the source node. (5) Localization Error: Localization error (LE) is accounted as a one of the performance metric in the scattered network and it yields the LE of a node. (6) Where EMax is the maximum LE (7) (8) Where a is the radius based on the communication range of node i in a network model and it can be determined as follows (9) Where N is the number of nodes A is the area of the network and is the connectivity order ie the number of neighbor nodes linked to the node i The average value of LE for a network can be determined as follows (10) Packet Delivery Factor Packet delivery factor is defined as the ratio of the number of packet arrived at the destinations to those transmitted data packets by the source. (11) B. Discussion In the proposed approach the broadcast delay has been minimized by converging the broadcasting to one or at most two zones. The nodes distance increases then the broadcast delay increases simultaneously. Figure 2 shows the broadcast delay concerning the distance. The broadcast delay attained by the proposed MSZT for 10 m distance is 15 ms, while the PSR and the ZTR incurred 16ms, 19ms. Figure2 Broadcast delay The localization is directed in our approach by broadcasting towards the destination oriented zones after the initial broadcast. The increase in distance between the nodes affects the localization error. Figure 3 shows the localization error concerned with the distance. The localization error attained by the proposed MSZT for 10 m distance is 2%, while PSR and ZTR attained 16%, 18%. Figure 3 Localization error The multipath switching algorithm in the proposed approach improves the packet delivery factor by considering the TTL and path availability. When the number of group (paths) involved in the data packet transmission increases then the packet delivery factor (PDF) will decrease. While in the proposed a minimum number of zones have been utilized than the existing methods in the network. Figure 4 shows the packet delivery considering the number of groups. For 2 groups the proposed approach MSZT acquired 0.94, while the PSR and ZTR incurred 0.91, 0.83. Figure 4 Packet Delivery Factor 6. Conclusion This paper proposes a Multipath Switching Zone Traversal (MSZT) routing approach for achieving a minimum average delay in a network. The number of broadcast has been converged to two zones after initial broadcast in order to minimize the broadcast delay. Multiple paths have been selected through different nodes presents in different zone. While during data transmission the TTL and the data size has been checked to provide a successful data transmission with minimum transmission delay. Furthermore a game theory approach based path switching algorithm has been proposed after each successful data transmission to improve the delay metric for each data transmission. The simulation results show that the proposed routing approach performs better than the existing approaches in terms of Localization error, broadcast delay and Packet delivery factor References 1.Syed Jalal Ahmada , V.S.K. Reddyb, A. Damodaramc and P. RadhaKrishnad, â€Å" Delay optimization using Knapsack algorithm for multimedia traffic over MANETs†, Expert Systems with Applications, Elsevier, vol 42, issue 20, pages 6819-6827. 2. K. Sasikala, Dr. R. S. D. Wahidabanu, â€Å" Adaptive packet scheduling technique to minimize the packet delay time in MANET by maintaining a Queue for each flow through FSM Mechanism†, Journal of Convergence Information Technology(JCIT), Vol 9, No 3, 2014. 3. Saad M. Adam , Rosilah Hassan, â€Å"Delay aware Reactive Routing Protocols for QoS in MANETs: a Review†, Journal of Applied Research and Technology, Elsevier, vol 11, issue 6, pages 844-850, 2013. 4. Obaidat M, Ali M.A, Obaidat M.S, Obeidat S, Shahwan I, â€Å"A Novel Multipath Routing Protocol for MANETs†, International Conference on Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing (WiCOM), pages 1-6, 2011. 5. Cheng-Yuan Ho, Yaw-Chung Chen, and Cheng-Yun Ho, â€Å"Improving Performance of Delay-Based TCPs with Rerouting†, International conference on Communication letters, IEEE, vol 11, no 1, 2007. 6. Badr Benmammar, Francine Krief, â€Å"Game theory applications in wireless networks: A survey† International Conference on Software Engineering, Applications of Information Systems in Engineering and Bioscience, 2014. 7. V. R. Budyal and S. S. Manvi, â€Å"Intelligent Agent Based Delay Aware QoS Unicast Routing in Mobile Ad hoc Networks†, International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering, vol 8, no 1, 2013. 8. GawasMahadev A, Gudino, Lucy J, Anupama K. R, Rodrigues, Joseph, â€Å"A Cross-Layer Delay-Aware Node Disjoint Multipath Routing Algorithm For Mobile Ad Hoc Networks†, International Journal of Wireless Mobile Networks, vol 6, issue 3, page 39, 2014. 11. K.S.Dinesh , â€Å"Routing Overhead Reduction and Selection of Stable Paths in MANET†, International Journal of Inventions in Computer Science and Engineering (IJICSE), vol 1, issue 9, pages 2348-3539, 2014. 12. T.Durga , â€Å"Maximizing the Network Lifetime by Using a Mobile Aware Topology Control Algorithm in MANET†, Journal of Recent Research in Engineering and Technology, pages 2349-2252, vol 2, issue 3, 2015. 13. Rakesh Kumar, Manoj Misra and Anil K. Sarje, â€Å"A Simplified Analytical Model for End-To-End Delay Analysis in MANET†, International Journal Computer Application (IJCA), no 4, article 6, 2010.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Charge of the Light Brigade :: Free Essays

The Charge of the Light Brigade October 1854, the attention of the world's most powerful empire was fixed on the territories of modern-day Ukraine. It was by no means a benevolent gaze the British Empire cast eastward. For it was the Crimean War, and at Balaclava, Britain took a beating which has been immortalized in Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade. Half a league, half a league, half a league onward - repetition is used. There is a sense of movement distance and rhythm. All in the valley of Death rode the six hundred - valley of death is a metaphorical language. 600 hundred becomes important later on. "Forward, the Light Brigade! "Charge for the guns!" he said: - this is direct speech, very adventurous. Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred - slowly building up, repetition. "Forward, the Light Brigade! " - more repetition Was there a man dismayed? - Was there a man not looking into it, all doing there duty, sense of doubt. Their's not to make reply, Their's not to reason why, Their's but to do and die: - rhythm, only concentrating on the duty. Don't reason why just do it. Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred - repetition Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volley'd and thunder'd; - sense of awareness, repetition, surroundings, danger and movement, sound and excitement. Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of hell - jaws of death is a metaphor. Speaking as if they're going into a mouth, nearly there. Excitement but much danger. Sense of hesitation. Rode the six hundred - repetition Flash'd all their sabres bare, Flash'd as they turn'd in air, - the waving of their swords. Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while all the world wonder'd: - the waving of their swords. Fighting against guns. 'ALL the world wondered', how honourable.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Terrorism Essay -- essays research papers

Terrorism and hostage taking may be as old as civilization itself. There are numerous references to abduction throughout Greek mythology. In midievil times hostages were taken for money or a guaranteed safe passage through a country. In the U.S., Indians on the western frontier terrorized settlers to frighten them away. Throughout the twentieth century, up until the 1970’s various terrorist acts were committed, yet it was not as big a problem as it is today. The new age of terrorism dawned at 4:30 in the morning of September 5, 1972. It was then that members of the Palestinian organization Black September attacked the Isreali Olympic team. Three men were killed on the spot and nine were taken captive. The terrorists demanded that 200 of their fellow Arabs be released from Isreali prisons. They also wanted Isreal disbanded and its territory returned to the Palestinian people. The results of the Munich attack were tragic. Following a gun battle between German sharpshooters and t he terrorists, which killed one German policeman, all nine hostages and five of the terrorists were killed by a hand grenade. The events at Munich proved that a single terrorist action, cleverly planned and daringly executed by a small band of people could accomplish as much as the movement of a large army. That is why the Munich attack was the dawn of a new age of terrorism. From the point of view of the terrorists, the main goal of the Munich attack was to draw attention to the Palestinian cause, a goal that was achieved through media coverage. This accomplishment was a lesson that terrorists everywhere were quick to learn. This is widely shown in that the number of terrorist acts has generally risen, with a trend toward bloodier incidents. The accumulation of terrorist attacks on innocent civilians has caused many changes around the world. There have been thousands of instances of terrorism. Just a few statistics can give one the idea of the seriousness of the problem. Robert Cla rke from the National Security Council put it perfectly when he said "organized crime groups now posses such significant resources that they can almost buy and sell governments" (Morrison 6). The Department of defense estimates that as many as 26 nations may posses chemical agents and or weapons and an additional twelve may be seeking to develop them. Between 1970 and 1977, terrorist movements thr... ...at the problem of terrorism. These new policies have clearly changed many routines and spending of money. Programs have been set up, thousands of people have been hired, and billions of dollars have been spent in order to reduce terrorism around the world. In the past decade, over 18,000 individuals in 50 nations gave been trained in counter terrorism. The U.S. alone gas trained more than 19,000 foreign law enforcement officials from more than 80 countries in such areas such as airport security, bomb detection, maritime security, VIP protection, hostage and rescue, and crisis management. The FBI is moving to reassign 500 of its agents to counter terrorism duty. It is also dramatically expanding its presence overseas. Along with hiring thousands of individuals to counter terrorism duty, governments have set up hundreds of programs to help gain intelligence. Anti-terrorism funding has been boosted by one billion dollars in over four years. In 1986, the Counter-Terrorism Center was set up to collect data about and coordinate strategies toward terrorist groups. In 1985, President Reagan set up a cabinet level commission, known as the Vice President’s Task Force on Combating Terrorism.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Dark Knight Rises

Jaime Sulkowski 3-14-2013 Ms. Schmidt Copa 251 Dark Knight Rises Essay The Dark Knight Rises was one of the top movies in the year 2012. It is all about action and thrilling scenes throughout the movie. The main stars in this movie are Christian Bale as Batman, Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as cat woman, Gary Oldham as the police commissioner of Gotham, and Joseph Gordon Levitt as Blake. The hero in this movie is obvious Bruce Wayne who is also the Batman and the villain is Bane. The Dark Knight Rises is a narrative film.This movie is telling a fictional story using a series of events and other storylines throughout the film. The Cat Woman is introduced in this movie and it added another side story to the film. Bane the villain of this movie is trying to take over the city of Gotham. Batman must come back and help the city out from potential disaster. The Batman decides that the city of Gotham needs him to stop Bane from destroying the city. A quick summary of the main parts of th e movie are that there were several events during the movie that gave Bane more power and control and eventually was able to take control over the city of Gotham.The Cat Woman fools Batman into a trap with Bane and there was no way out for the Batman to go. He tries to fight Bane, but he was too strong for him. Bane takes Batman to where he once lived at during his childhood years. This place was referred to as â€Å"Hell on Earth† The Batman was able to gather his strength back from the help of two prisoners and he was able to escape from the prison by climbing up a steep wall out of the pit. He makes his return to the city of Gotham just in the nick of time. This is when the overall climax of the movie happens with a big battle between the Gotham police and Bane’s army of men.Batman gets to Bane at the city council building and they have another showdown between each other and this time it looks like that the Batman comes out on top, but Miranda Tate stabs the Batman in the stomach. Bane was then about to finish off the Batman, until the Cat Woman comes out of nowhere and shoots Bane to his death. She saves the Batman, which wasn’t a big surprise at all. Then they are able to chase down Miranda Tate and got the bomb, but there was no time to defuse it completely, so the Batman had o make a snap decision and flies the bomb away from Gotham and it explodes in the water miles away from the city. Everyone thought the Batman was dead. There is definitely some foreshadowing going on in this movie. In the previous batman movies there was some foreshadowing being done as well. In The Dark Knight Rises Morgan Freeman’s character mentions about the clean water project, but this is a project that is all about the bomb. It is an underground secret project that has been going on for quite some time.If the bomb got into the wrong hands there was a way that they could flood the underground area where the reactor is holding the bomb to prevent a disaster from happening. Also during the movie Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred mentions to him that he will not bury him if he ended up dying somehow. That is foreshadowing that the Batman is not going to die in this movie. It is also foreshadowing when Alfred tells Bruce Wayne that he will see him one day at a place in another part of the world with a wife and will not speak to him and go about his business.This scene actually comes at the end of the movie. The hero of the movie is Batman also known as Bruce Wayne. He has a few flaws and weaknesses that are shown throughout the movie. One weakness that he has is that he can’t find another true love after his loss of Rachel when she died in The Dark Knight. Another weakness is that he has a lot of emotions. He can’t stop thinking about his loved ones that he has lost and can’t put them aside and they are always on his mind. He will not allow anyone to know about the clear water project he is afraid that it wi ll leak out to the public.It is hard for him to trust certain people. On the human side of things he needs to knee brace to not limp around anymore. At the beginning scenes of the movie it would show Bruce Wayne using a walking cane to get around the house and other places as well. There are a lot of transitions going on in this movie and they make it occur all at the same time throughout the movie. I think it that the producers and writers of the movie did a great job with all of the transitions. There are many different storylines going on, but they all have some sort of link to one another.It made the movie more thrilling to watch though. It also made the plot of the movie more interesting. This film is told in a linear story with some flashbacks, which help the audience understand what is going on better. The trilogy of Batman though is one long movie if you think about it. It was done episodically. Christopher Nolan decided to break it down into three different movies. He did a fantastic job of leaving the suspense of what is going to happen in the next movie after each one had ended.The movie mainly shot on location, but some of it was also shot in studio. The movie was shot in the United States in the cities of Pittsburgh and New York. The movie was also shot in the city of London, which is in Europe and the city of Hong Kong in China. For the bonus part, I was able to notice the Point Park book store sign; it was near Lawrence Hall on the corner of Third Avenue and Wood Street. The camera was shooting up Wood Street. The football field scene was shot at Heinz Field home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is located in the North Shore of Pittsburgh.I am pretty sure the dessert scene was shot in Hong Kong and the opening scene of the movie was shot somewhere in Europe. Towards the end of the movie when the Batman was taking the bomb to blow up away from the city, he was going over the Hudson Bay in New York towards the Atlantic Ocean. There are a few sub stories throughout this movie. They are the introduction of the Cat Woman, she starts out as an enemy towards Bruce Wayne/Batman, but in the end she becomes an ally.The next sub story is with Fox. He makes all of the Batman’s weapons and vehicles. He also helps run Wayne Enterprises. He has helped the Batman is all of the movies. Another sub story is Alfred who is Bruce Wayne’s butler. He does a lot for Bruce, but just can’t take it anymore and leaves Bruce fearing that he is going to finally fail and die. He does not think that Gotham needs him anymore and will just turn on him. A more important sub story would be the involving the officer Blake.He does not give up on believing in the Batman and towards the end of the movie it sets everything up for next movie, because Officer Blake is actually Robin, who will probably be Batman’s sidekick according to the Batman Trilogy. So it sets up an exciting way to looking forward to the next Batman movie. The last sub story that was in this movie was about Bane and Miranda Tate and how they knew each other from the prison at Hell on Earth. Bane turned out to be Miranda’s protector in jail and helped her escape from the prison.His mouth got destroyed during the struggle of her escape. So that is why Bane wears a mask to be able to control the pain. Bane is trained under the league of shadows. He ended up using Daggit to get into the tunnels and then turning on him. They try to destroy Gotham, but we all know what eventually happened to stop them from doing so. Christopher Nolan did another great job with this latest Batman film. There obvious has to be a sequel to the movie before this one which was called The Dark Knight, probably a good reason why this latest movie was called The Dark Knight Rises.He also did not want to leave the Batman as a villain and wanted to turn things for him and make him into more of a superhero. He also tried to show that evil can be taken down by the effor ts of people coming together and forgetting about the past. This is a heavy action/adventure movie, but still a powerful message can come from it though. The message he was trying to show is that evil can be taken down and forgiveness can be made for someone who may seem evil, but can actually turn out to be a true super hero if given the opportunity.

Racial Issues and Music Essay Example For Students

Racial Issues and Music Essay During the time African American performers have had a generous influence in the music business. They have ...