.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

What was the social impact of Elvis Presley?

In 1955 America underwent a social revolution, the youth of the time wanted to express themselves. Leading the way was Elvis Presley, riding on the power of television and commerciality. Source A is from a music magazine, it details Elvis' ride to fame, using words like â€Å"A winner† â€Å"Amazing and â€Å"The hottest artist†, tells us that people where buying his singles. The title â€Å"Presley hot as a $1 pistol† this gives the impression that Elvis was both dangerous and desirable. From the information in source A, Elvis Presley's impact on the US music scene in 1955 was very important he was selling records and appealing to a large audience the record companies would soon be battling to have Elvis on their books. QUESTION TWO Elvis' impact was huge; whether it was positive or negative, whether people liked him or loathed him he was everywhere. Source B is extracts from some of the most popular newspapers in the US. They are mostly taken from conservative newspapers they give a general negative opinion of Elvis, â€Å"Mr Presley has no singing ability†. Source C is from a popular broadcasting magazine it proves that people were still watching programmes that included Elvis, it doesn't however, mean that these ratings were because of Elvis' involvement in the show. Source D is a photograph of Elvis performing, it shows him gyrating explicitly, and it also shows young girls reaching out towards him. Elvis is dressed in dark clothes adding to his mysterious demeana. Source B highlights the fact that Elvis is having a huge impact on American society, source C also shows that Elvis could have been having a massive impact, source D adds further clarification to Elvis impact, he was driving people crazy having a massive effect on the young people in the 50's. Both sources support C however; they both support it in different ways. Source C shows people are watching the programmes identified in source B, source D shows the main attractions of Elvis, his moving and his outrages disregard for social expectations. This makes source C feasible he may well have â€Å"No singing ability† but that was never the attraction. QUESTION THREE The usefulness of a source is very important; to calculate the usefulness of a source we need to know the content, the reliability and the bias. Source E is three quotes from three highly influential and conservative members of the American right wing. The statements vary in ferocity, source E I is fairly mild, it likens Elvis' music to that of the black peoples of America. Source E II is possibly the most disturbing, â€Å"To do a way with this cannibalistic, Negro-loving rock and roller.† Each word as been carefully chosen to cause maximum impact and offence. Source E III fits somewhere between the two, yet all three have equal importance. Source F is a list of top selling singles for the years 1955,1956 and 1957. Source E's content is tells us what we already knew, conservative members of American society opposed Elvis. As with any development these people will disapprove of the changes. This does tell us that Elvis' impact was large enough to warrant peoples opinions. The reliability of this source is good as they are onions we assume that they are as intend by the author. This source is, however, extremely biased; all the opinions are from a similar group of people. In conclusion this source is moderate useful when determining Elvis' impact. Source F's content is factual information plotting the rise of Elvis' chart sales. Its reliability is superb as they are undoctored facts, there is some bias as the years selected where the years when Elvis was selling records, it doesn't show the years prior to 1955 or after 1957. This source is extremely useful; from this source we can learn just how big an impact Elvis had on the music industry, however as the social impact is not discussed it is not as valuable when discussing the social impact. Source F is the most useful source when looking at the impact caused by Elvis. QUESTION FOUR By 1958 attitudes to Elvis where beginning to change, one of the reasons this change occurred was because of Elvis joining the army, this provided him a with a grounding that many of his opponents reason t respect him and realise his achievements, this combined with the fact that people were getting used to Elvis lead to opposition fading. As with any social revolution, the revolutionary period will slowly be accepted as the norm, this process of slowly seducing the majority of the population can take years, however Elvis appealed to the teenage generation, as these people grew up they become they people in power, the people who three years ago had opposed Elvis. As the supporters of Elvis grew into positions of power the opposition crumbled. One of the main arguments people had with Elvis was his lack of patriotism, they believed his music belonged to the black people and he was undermining the American society by infiltrating it with this black music. These rumours were halted when Elvis enlisted in the army, anyone who fights for their country must have pride in their country, and this gave many of Elvis' opposers the opportunity to see his achievements. The new style was moving in and the old was moving on, the anti-Elvis attitudes were moving on with them, allowing Elvis to continue on his way to musical success. Another point to consider here is Elvis' style, by now he was starting to become more commercialised Elvis was a movie star and Elvis merchandise was everywhere, Elvis was a household name not only for his explicit dance moves but also for his dazzling movie career. QUESTION FIVE Without television, Elvis would never have been as famous as he was, but he was only famous because of his music and performance. The big attraction of Elvis was the fact that he is rebellious and different and exciting, his music is like nothing anyone had heard before and his dance moves were today's equilivent to sex on stage. This was the big pulling force behind Elvis. Source D shows people adoring Elvis' music and performances. Although it must be said that in order to reach the millions of people he did television was crucial. In 1950 around two-thirds of the American population had television sets. One of the most popular shows was the Ed Sullivan show. Millions tuned in to watch; there was something for everyone. I didn't take long for Elvis to realise this was the place to be; he made several appearances on the show to terrific acclaim. During Elvis' career he appeared in several films, it should be noted that Elvis was by know means a terrific television personality, more like a famous footballer who requires constant prompting and guidance, the main reason for Elvis' success on the screen was the fact eh was Elvis, people weren't coming to see Elvis act, they were coming to see Elvis. To the teenagers of the time Elvis was a god, bored of following in the steps of there parents they began to carve out identities for themselves, the invention of the â€Å"Greaser† and the â€Å"Preppie† occurred at this time. They were all united by one common cause, a need to strike back they began to slick back their hair and listen to Elvis. Elvis created the teenager with his music; it provided an outlet for the troubled teens. Elvis' success is mainly attributed to his music and performances but without the use of television the southern states would never have had to share him and he would never had reached the audiences he did.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 27~28

Chapter 27 Bridging the Boredom Half past midnight. He stood at the top of the southwest tower of the Oakland Bay Bridge, some fifty stories above the gunmetal-cold bay, thinking, Jump or dive? He wore a black silk suit and he paused for a moment, regretting that the suit would be ruined. He liked the feel and flow of silk on his skin. Oh well. Two miles away Jody was walking up Market Street wishing that she could just get drunk and pass out. I wonder, she thought, if I found someone who was really drunk and drank his blood? No, this damn system of mine would probably identify alcohol as a poison and fight the effects. So many questions. If only I'd remembered to ask them. She stopped at a phone booth and called Tommy at the store. â€Å"Marina Safeway.† â€Å"Tommy, it's me.† â€Å"Are you still mad?† â€Å"Not mad enough, I guess. I just wanted to tell you to stay in the store until after daylight. Don't go outside for any reason. And stay around the other guys if you can.† â€Å"Why? What's the matter?† â€Å"Just do as I say, Tommy.† â€Å"I cleaned up the loft. Mostly, anyway.† â€Å"We'll talk about it tomorrow night. Stay at home until I wake up, okay?† â€Å"Are you still going to be pissed?† â€Å"Probably. I'll see you then. Good-bye.† She hung up. How could he be so smart sometimes and so ignorant other times? Maybe the vampire was right, a human could never understand her. She suddenly felt very lonely. She ducked into an all-night diner and ordered a cup of coffee as rent on a booth. She still could enjoy the smell of coffee, even if she couldn't keep it down. She opened the paper she had bought from the bum with her cosmetics bag and began to read through the personals. â€Å"Men Seeking Women,† â€Å"Women Seeking Men,† â€Å"Men Seeking Men,† â€Å"Women Seeking Women,† â€Å"Men Seeking Small Fuzzy Animals†; there was a wide selection of categories. She scanned over the more mundane entries until her eye settled on one under â€Å"Support Groups.† â€Å"Are You a Vampire? You don't have to face your problem alone. Blood Drinkers Anonymous can help. Mon.-Fri. Midnight. Rm. 212 Asian Cultural Center, Non-Smoking.† It was Friday. It was midnight. She was only ten minutes from the Asian Cultural Center. Could it be this simple? The first thing she noticed when she walked into room 212 of the Asian Cultural Center is that all of the people sitting in a circle in molded plastic chairs, all twenty of them, were giving off heat signatures. They were all human. She was backing out of the door when a pear-shaped woman in a leotard and black cape intercepted her and took her hand. â€Å"Welcome,† said the woman. She sported a set of rather wicked-looking fangs that caused her to lisp. â€Å"I'm Tabitha. We're just getting ready to start. Come on in. There's coffee and cookies.† She led Jody to an orange plastic chair and urged her to sit down. â€Å"It's hard the first time, but everyone here has been where you are.† â€Å"Not bloody likely,† Jody said, wiping a speck of Tabitha's spittle from her cheek. Tabitha pointed to a plastic medallion that hung from her neck by a heavy silver chain. â€Å"See this chip? I've been clean and bloodless for six months. If I can do it, so can you. One night at a time.† Tabitha squeezed her arm, then threw her cape over her shoulder, turned dramatically, and stalked across the room to the cookie table, her cape billowing behind her. Jody looked at the other occupants of the room. All were talking, most were sneaking looks at her between sips of coffee. The men were all tall and thin with protruding Adam's apples and bad skin. Their dress ranged from business suits to jeans and flannel. They might have been a chess club out for the evening if not for the capes. To a man, they wore capes. Four of seven had fangs. Two sets of four were made of glow-in-the-dark plastic. Jody focused on two of them whispering in the corner. â€Å"I told you, this is a babe-fest. Did you see the redhead?† He sneaked a look. His partner said, â€Å"I think I saw her at Compulsive Cleaners last week.† â€Å"Compulsive Cleaners, I was going to try that. How are the odds?† â€Å"Lots of gay guys, but a few babes. Mostly they smell like Pine Sol, but it's hot if you like latex gloves.† â€Å"Cool, I'll check it out. I think I'm going to quit going to Adult Children of Alcoholics, everybody's looking to blame, no one's looking to get laid.† Jody thought, I don't know if I want to hear quiet desperation this clearly. She changed her focus to the women in the room. A six-foot-two brunette woman in a black choir robe and Kabuki-like makeup was complaining to a washed-out blonde wearing a tattered wedding dress. â€Å"They want to be tied up, I tie them up. They want to be spanked, I spank them. They want to be called names, I call them names. But try and drink a little of their blood, and they scream like babies. What about my needs?† â€Å"I know,† said the blonde. â€Å"I asked Robert to sleep in the coffin one time and he left.† â€Å"You have a coffin? I want a coffin.† Christ, Jody thought, I've got to get out of here. Tabitha clapped her hands. â€Å"Let's get the meeting started!† Those who were standing found seats. Several men tried to shove their way into the seats next to Jody. A skinny geek with peanut-butter breath leaned in to her and said, â€Å"I was on ‘Oprah' on Halloween. ‘Men who drink blood and the women who find them disgusting. If you want, you can come by my place and watch the tape after the meeting.† â€Å"I'm out of here,† Jody said. She jumped up and headed for the door. Behind her she heard Tabitha saying, â€Å"Hi, I'm Tabitha and I'm a bloodsucking fiend.† â€Å"Hi, Tabitha,† the group said in chorus. Outside Jody looked up and down the street wondering which way to go, what to do. She paused by a phone booth, realizing that there was no one she could call. Tears welled in her eyes. Why even bother to hope? The only person who had the slightest idea how she felt was the vampire who had made her. And he had made it clear that he wasn't interested in helping her – the evil fucker. I should set him up with my mother, she thought, then the two of them can look down on humanity together. The thought made her smile. Then the phone rang. She looked at it for a second, looked around for someone else who would answer it, but except for a guy standing by his car a couple of blocks away, the street was empty. She picked up the phone. â€Å"Hello.† A man's voice said, â€Å"I thought you would show up here eventually.† â€Å"Who is this?† Jody asked. The man sounded young, his voice was unfamiliar. â€Å"I can't tell you that yet.† â€Å"Okay,† Jody said. â€Å"Bye.† â€Å"Wait, wait, wait, don't hang up.† â€Å"Well?† â€Å"You're the one, aren't you? You're real. I mean, you are a real vampire.† Jody held the phone away, stared at the receiver as if it were an alien object. â€Å"Who is this?† â€Å"I don't want to tell you my name. I don't want you to be able to find me. Let's just say that I'm a friend.† â€Å"That's how most of my friends are,† Jody said. â€Å"They don't tell me their names or how to find them. It keeps my social calendar pretty clear.† Who was this guy? Who could possibly know that she was here, right now? â€Å"Okay, I guess I owe you something. I'm a med student at†¦ at a local college. I did some research on one of the bodies†¦ one of the bodies of the people you killed.† â€Å"I didn't kill anyone. I don't know what you're talking about. If I am who you think I am, how did you know I'd be here? I didn't even know I would be here until an hour ago.† â€Å"I've been waiting, watching every night for a couple of weeks. I had a theory that you wouldn't have any noticeable body heat, and you don't.† â€Å"What are you talking about? No one notices anybody's body heat.† â€Å"Look up the street. By the white Toyota. It's running, by the way. If you make a move to come toward me, I'm gone.† Jody looked more closely at the person up the street standing by a white car. The car was running. The man was holding a cell phone and looking at her through some very large binoculars. â€Å"I see you,† she said. â€Å"What do you want?† â€Å"I'm looking at you through infrared glasses. You're not giving off any body heat, so I know you're the one. My theory was right.† â€Å"Are you a cop?† â€Å"No, I told you, I'm a medical student. I don't want to turn you in. In fact, I think I might be able to help you, if you're interested in being helped.† â€Å"Talk,† Jody said. She held her hand over the phone and focused on the guy by the car. She could hear him talking into the cell phone. â€Å"They gave one of the cadavers to our department after the coroner was done with it. It was a male, about sixty years old, the third victim, I think. I noticed that there was a clean spot on his neck, as if it had been washed. The coroner hadn't put that in his report. I took a tissue sample and put it under a microscope. The tissue in that area was living. Regenerating. I cultured it and it started to die, until I added something on a hunch.† â€Å"What?† Jody asked. She didn't know what to think. This man knew she was a vampire, and strangely, she felt an urge to attack. Some protective instinct wanted her to hurt him. Kill him. She fought to stay calm. â€Å"Hemoglobin. I added some human hemoglobin and the tissue started to regenerate again. I ran it through the sequencer. It's not human DNA. It's close, but not human. It doesn't produce heat, doesn't seem to burn fuel the same way that mammalian cells do. The coroner said that he was the one that had drained the blood from the body, but he'd never done that before. And I knew that the guy had been murdered. I made a guess. I saw the ad in the Weekly for a vampire support group, so I've been watching.† Jody said, â€Å"Suppose I believe what you're saying. Suppose I believe that you believe this bullshit, how could you help me? Supposing I wanted to be helped?† â€Å"My major is gene therapy. There's a chance I could reverse the process.† â€Å"This isn't science. I'm not saying that you're right about your theory. There are a lot of things that you don't know, that can't be explained by science. If you don't know that by now, you will. What you're talking about is magic.† â€Å"Magic is just science that we don't know yet. Do you want me to help or not?† â€Å"Why would you want to do that? As far as you know, I kill people.† â€Å"So does cancer, but I still work on it. Do you have any idea what kind of competition there is for jobs in my field? It's an all-or-nothing field. I could end up getting my PhD and giving saccharine enemas to rats for five bucks an hour. What I learn from you would put my resume at the top of the stack.† Jody didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to drop the phone and go after him. Another part wanted to accept his help. She said, â€Å"What do you want me to do?† â€Å"Nothing yet. How can I get hold of you?† â€Å"I can't tell you that. I'll call you. What's your number?† â€Å"I can't tell you that.† Jody sighed. â€Å"Look, Mr. Scientific Genius, figure out something. And by the way, I really didn't kill those people.† â€Å"Then why are you even listening to me?† â€Å"I guess this conversation is over. Get in your car and get comfortable with asking rats to bend over. Good-bye.† â€Å"Wait, we could meet somewhere. Tomorrow. Someplace public.† â€Å"No, it has to be at night. Someplace private. You could have cops everywhere.† She watched him as she talked. He had put the binoculars down and she could see that he was Asian. â€Å"You're the killer here. Would you meet you someplace private and dark?† â€Å"All right. Tomorrow night. Seven o'clock, at Enrico's on Broadway. That public enough for you?† â€Å"Sure. Can I bring a blood-sample kit? Would you let me?† â€Å"Would you let me?† she asked. He didn't answer. â€Å"Just kidding,† she said. â€Å"Look, I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want to get hurt either. When you leave here, drive like hell and take an indirect route home.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because I really didn't kill those people, but I know who did, and he's been following me. If he's seen you, you're in danger.† The line was quiet for a minute, just the ghost voices of a cellular connection. Jody watched the Asian guy watching her. Finally he cleared his throat. â€Å"How many of you are there?† â€Å"I don't know,† she said. â€Å"I know that all of the victims don't change. It couldn't work. The geometric progression would have the entire human race turned to vampires in a month.† He sounded more confident now that he had brought the conversation back to science. â€Å"I'll tell you what I know tomorrow. But don't expect much. I don't know much. Or I'll tell you now if you want to talk face to face, but I don't think it's a good idea to talk about this with you on a cell phone.† â€Å"Yeah, you're right. Not now, though. Not here. You understand, don't you?† Jody nodded, exaggerating the gesture so he could see. â€Å"The longer you stand there, the better chance you have of being seen by†¦ by the other one. Tomorrow night, then. Seven o'clock.† â€Å"Will you be wearing that dress?† Jody smiled. â€Å"Do you like it? It's new.† â€Å"It's great. I didn't think you would be a woman.† â€Å"Thanks. Go now.† She watched him climb into the Toyota, the cell phone still in hand. â€Å"Promise not to try and track me down?† â€Å"I know where you'll be tomorrow night, remember?† â€Å"Oh yeah. By the way, my name's Steve.† â€Å"Hi, Steve. I'm Jody.† â€Å"‘Bye,† he said. He disconnected. Jody hung up the phone and watched him drive away. She thought, Great, another one to worry about. It hadn't occurred to her that her condition might be reversible. But then, the med student didn't know about how the body had turned to dust. Science indeed. Jump or dive, he thought. The silk suit whipped about his legs in the chill wind. The tower's aircraft warning light flashed red across his face and he could see heat swirling off it, dissolving over the bay. His name was Elijah Ben Sapir. He stood five feet ten inches tall and he had been a vampire for eight hundred years. In human life he had been an alchemist and had spent his time mixing noxious chemicals and chanting arcane incantations trying to turn lead into gold and tap the secret of eternal life. He hadn't been a particularly good alchemist. He had never been able to pull off the gold transformation, although by a bizarre miscalculation of chemistry he did manage to invent Teflon some eight hundred years before DuPont would find a use for it. (It should be noted, though, that archaeologists recently uncovered a Viking rune stone in Greenland that mentions a Jew who entered the palace of Constantine the Magnificent in 1224 selling a line of nonstick hot pokers for the Emperor's torture chamber and was promptly given the bum's rush to the city gates. The accuracy of the story has been questioned, however, as it begins, â€Å"I never believed that your letters were true until Gunn er and I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and goes on to recount the sexual exploits of two Vikings and a harem of brown-skinned Byzantine babes.) Ben Sapir's search for eternal life had been somewhat more successful. Granted, it came with the side effects of drinking human blood and staying out of sunlight, but he had gotten used to that. It was the loneliness that he couldn't abide. Perhaps, after all these years, it would end. He was afraid to hope. It had been a hundred years since a fledgling had lasted this long. She had been a Yanomamo woman in the Amazon Basin and she had hunted the jungle for three months before she returned to her village and turned her sister. The sisters declared themselves gods and demanded sacrifices from the village. He found them by the river feeding on an old woman, and he took no pleasure in killing them. Perhaps the redhead, perhaps she would be the one. Dive, he decided. He leaped away from the tower, jackknifed into a dive, and plunged fifty stories to the black water. The challenge was to avoid changing to mist before hitting the water. That was too easy. The impact of the water ripped the clothes off his back; the stitching of his shoes exploded with the pressure. He surfaced, naked except for one sock that had strangely survived the impact, and began the long swim back to his yacht thinking, I shouldn't have saved her from the sunlight. I must be desperate for entertainment. Chapter 28 Is That a Blackjack in Your Pocket? Tommy booted the Emperor out of the store at dawn. It had been a long night trying to keep the crazed ruler away from the Animals while throwing stock and trying to figure out the logistics of his meeting with Mara, all while under the influence of Dr. Drew's polio weed, which seemed to affect the part of the brain that motivates one to sit in the corner and drool while staring at one's hands. When the shift ended, he declined the Animal's invitation for beers and Frisbee in the parking lot, swiped a baguette from the bread-delivery man, and caught the bus home, intent on going straight to bed. He knew his plan was foiled when Frank, the biker/sculptor, met him outside their building holding a familiar-looking bronze turtle. â€Å"Flood, check it out.† Frank held up the turtle. â€Å"It worked!† â€Å"What worked?† Tommy asked. â€Å"Thick electroplating process. Come on in, I'll show you.† Frank turned and led Tommy through the roll-up door into the foundry. The foundry took up the entire bottom floor of the building, here was a huge furnace making a muffled rumbling sound. There were several large pits filled with sand, and plaster-of-Paris molds lay in them in various states of completion. In the back, near the only windows, stood wax figures of naked women, Indians, Buddhas, and birds, waiting to be cut up and placed in plaster of Paris. Frank said, â€Å"We've been doing a lot of statues for people's gardens. Buddhas are big with the koi-pond types. That's what we needed the turtles for. Monk already sold one of them to a woman in Pacific Heights for five hundred bucks. Sight unseen.† â€Å"My turtles?† Tommy said. He looked more closely at the bronze turtle Frank was holding. â€Å"Zelda!† â€Å"Can you believe it?† Frank said. â€Å"We did them both in less than eight hours. Lost-wax process would have taken days. I'll show you.† He led Tommy to the other side of the shop where a short, portly man in leather and denim was working beside a tall Plexi-glas tank filled with a translucent green liquid. Frank said, â€Å"Monk, this is our neighbor, Tom Flood. Flood, this is my partner Monk.† Monk grunted, not looking up from a compressor that he seemed to be having trouble with. Tommy could see how he had gotten his name. He had a large bowl-shaped bald spot with a fringe of hair around it: the Benedictine version of Easy Rider, Friar Tuck on wheels. â€Å"This,† said Frank, gesturing toward the ten-foot tank, â€Å"as far as we know, is the biggest electroplating tank on the West Coast.† Tommy didn't know quite how to react. He was still stunned by seeing the bronze likeness of Zelda. â€Å"That's just spiffy,† he said finally. â€Å"Yeah, dude. We can do anything we can find. No molds, no wax carvings. You just dunk and go. That's how we did your turtles.† Tommy was beginning to get it. â€Å"You mean that that is not a sculpture? You covered my turtles with brass?† â€Å"That's it. That liquid is supersaturated with dissolved metal. We sprayed the turtles with a thin metal-based paint that would conduct current. Then we attached a wire to them and dipped them in the tank. The current draws the metal out of the water and it fuses to the paint on the turtle. Leave it a long time and the coating gets thick enough to have structural integrity. Voila, a bronze garden turtle. I don't think anybody's ever done it before. We owe you, man.† Monk grunted in gratitude. Tommy didn't know whether to be angry or depressed. â€Å"You should have told me you were going to kill them.† â€Å"I thought you knew, man. Sorry. You can have this one, if you want.† Frank presented the bronzed Zelda. Tommy shook his head and looked away. â€Å"I don't think I could look at her.† He turned and walked away. Frank said, â€Å"C'mon, man, take it. We owe you one. If you need a favor or something†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tommy took Zelda. How would he explain to Jody? â€Å"By the way, I've turned your little friends into statues.† And this right after they'd had a big fight. He slunk up the steps feeling completely lost. Jody had left him a note on the counter: Tommy: Imperative that you are here when I wake up. If you go out you are in serious, life-threatening trouble. I mean it. I have some very important things to tell you. No time now, I'm going to go out any second. Be here when I wake up. Jody â€Å"Great,† Tommy said to Peary. â€Å"Now what do I do about Mara? Who does Jody think she is, threatening me? What does she think she's going to do if I'm not here? I can't be here. Why don't you keep her busy until I get home.† Tommy patted the chest freezer and an idea came to him. â€Å"You know, Peary, scientists have frozen vampire bats and thawed them completely unharmed. I mean, how would she know? How many times has she thought it was Tuesday when it was really Wednesday?† Tommy went to the bedroom and looked in on Jody, who had made it to bed, but not in time to change out of her black dress. Wow, Tommy thought, she never dresses like that for me. She looked so peaceful. Sexy, but peaceful. She'll be angry if she finds out, but she's angry now. It won't really hurt her. I can just take her out tomorrow morning and put her under the electric blanket. By sundown she'll be thawed out and I'll have handled the Mara thing. I can tell Mara that I'm involved. I can't start something new until this is finished. Maybe with the extra time, Jody will have chilled a little. He smiled to himself. He opened the lid of the freezer, then went into the bedroom to get Jody. He carried her into the kitchen and laid her in the freezer on top of Peary. As he tucked her into the fetal position he felt a twinge of jealousy. â€Å"You guys behave now, okay?† He tucked a few TV dinners around her nice and snug under her arms, then kissed her on the forehead and gently closed the lid. As he crawled into bed he thought, If she ever finds out about this, she's really going to be pissed. Tommy had been asleep three hours when the pounding started. He rolled out of bed, stumbled across the dark bedroom, and was blinded when he opened the door into the loft. He was just regaining his eyesight when he opened the fire door and Rivera said, â€Å"Are you Thomas Flood, Junior?† â€Å"Yes,† Tommy said, bracing himself against the doorjamb. â€Å"I'm Inspector Alphonse Rivera from the San Francisco Police Department.† He held up a badge wallet. â€Å"You're under arrest† – Rivera pulled a warrant from his jacket pocket – â€Å"for abandoning a vehicle on a public street.† â€Å"You're kidding,† Tommy said. Cavuto stepped through the door and grabbed Tommy by the shoulder, whipping him around as the big cop pulled his handcuffs from his belt. â€Å"You have the right to remain silent†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Cavuto said. Two hours later Tommy had been processed, probed, and printed, and as Cavuto had expected, Tommy's fingerprints matched those on the copy of On the Road that they had found under the dead bum. It was enough for them to get a search warrant issued for the loft. Five minutes after they entered the loft a mobile crime lab was dispatched along with a forensics team and two coroners' trucks. As far as crime scenes went, the loft in SOMA was the mother lode. Cavuto and Rivera left the crime scene to the forensics team and returned to the station, where they took Tommy from a holding cell and put him in a pleasantly pink interrogation room furnished with a metal table and two chairs. There was a mirror on one wall and a tape recorder sat on the table. Tommy sat staring at the pink wall, remembering something about how pink was supposed to calm you down. It didn't seem to be working. His stomach was tied in knots. Rivera had done dozens of interrogations with Cavuto and they always took the same roles: Cavuto was the bad cop, and Rivera was the good cop. Actually Rivera never felt like the good cop. More often he was the I-am-tired-and-overworked-and-I'm-being-nice-to-you-because-I-don't-have-the-energy-to-be-angry cop. â€Å"Would you like a smoke?† Rivera asked. â€Å"Sure,† Tommy said. Cavuto jumped in his face. â€Å"Too bad, punk. There's no smoking in here.† Cavuto took great pleasure in being the bad cop. He practiced in front of the mirror at home. Rivera shrugged. â€Å"He's right. You can't smoke.† Tommy said, â€Å"That's okay, I don't smoke.† â€Å"How about a lawyer then?† asked Rivera. â€Å"Or a phone call?† â€Å"I have to be at work at midnight,† Tommy said. â€Å"If it looks like I'm going to be late, I'll use my call then.† Cavuto was pacing the room, timing his path so he could wheel on Tommy with every statement. He wheeled. â€Å"Yeah, kid, you're going to be late, about thirty years late, if they don't fry you.† Tommy pushed back in his chair with fright. â€Å"Good one, Nick,† Rivera said. â€Å"Thanks.† Cavuto smiled around an unlit cigar and backed away from the table where Tommy sat. Rivera moved up. â€Å"Okay, kid, you don't want an attorney. Where do you want to start? We've got you hands-down on two murders and probably three. If you tell us the story, tell us everything, about all the other murders, we might be able to waive the death penalty.† â€Å"I didn't kill anybody.† â€Å"Don't be cute,† Cavuto said. â€Å"We found two bodies in your freezer. We've got your fingerprints all over a book that we found under a third body outside your apartment. We've got you staying at the motel where we found a fourth body. And we've got you with a closetful of women's clothing and eyewitnesses that put a woman near where we found a fifth body†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tommy interrupted, â€Å"Actually, there's only one body in the freezer. The other is my girlfriend.† â€Å"You sick fuck.† Cavuto drew back as if to hit Tommy. Rivera moved to restrain him. Tommy cowered in his chair. Rivera led Cavuto to the far side of the room. â€Å"Let me take this for a minute.† He left Cavuto grumbling to himself and went to the seat across from Tommy. â€Å"Look, kid, we've got you cold, so to speak, on two murders. We've got circumstantial evidence on another. You are going to jail for a very long time, and at this point, the death penalty is looking pretty good. Now if you tell us everything, and don't leave anything out, we might be able to help you out, but you have to give us enough to close all the cases. Do you understand?† Tommy nodded. â€Å"But I didn't kill anybody. I put Jody in the freezer, which I admit is inconsiderate, but I didn't kill her.† Cavuto growled. Rivera nodded in mock acceptance of the story. â€Å"Fine, but if you didn't kill them, who did? Did someone you know force you into this?† Cavuto exploded, â€Å"Oh Christ, Rivera! What do you need, a videotape? This little bastard did it.† â€Å"Nick, please. Give me a minute here.† Cavuto moved to the table and leaned over it until his face was next to Tommy's. He whispered, raspy and gruff, â€Å"Flood, don't think you can use a wiggle and a wink to get yourself out of this. That might work down on Castro, but I'm immune to it here, you got me? I'm going to leave now, but when I come back, if you haven't told my partner your story, I'm going to cause pain. Lots of it, and I won't leave a mark on you.† He stood up, smiled, then turned and left the room. Tommy looked at Rivera. â€Å"A wiggle and a wink?† â€Å"Nick thinks you're cute,† Rivera said. â€Å"He's gay?† â€Å"Completely.† Tommy shook his head. â€Å"I would have never guessed.† â€Å"He's a Shriner, too.† Rivera tapped a cigarette out of his pack and lit it. â€Å"Looks can be deceiving.† â€Å"Hey, I didn't think you were allowed to smoke in here.† Rivera blew smoke in Tommy's face. â€Å"You had two people in your freezer, and you're giving me shit about smoking.† â€Å"Good point.† Rivera sat down and leaned back in the chair. â€Å"Tommy, I'm going to give you one more chance to tell me how you killed those people, then I'm going to let Nick back in here and I'm going to leave. He really likes you. This room is soundproof, you know.† Tommy swallowed hard. â€Å"You're not going to believe me. It's a pretty fantastic story. There's supernatural stuff involved.† Rivera rubbed his temples. â€Å"Satan told you to do it?† he said wearily. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Elvis?† â€Å"I told you, it's supernatural.† â€Å"Tommy, I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone before. If you repeat it, I'll deny I said it. Five years ago I saw a white owl with a seventy-foot wingspan swoop out of the sky and pluck a demon off a hillside and take off into the sky.† â€Å"I heard that cops get the best drugs,† Tommy said. Rivera got up. â€Å"I'm going to bring Nick in.† â€Å"No, wait. I'll tell you. It was a vampire. You can thaw Jody out and ask her.† Rivera reached over and turned on the tape recorder. â€Å"Now slow down. Start at the beginning and go until we walked you into this room.† An hour later Rivera met Cavuto behind the one-way mirror. Cavuto was not happy. â€Å"You know, I'd rather you just threaten that I would beat him up.† â€Å"It worked, didn't it?† â€Å"There's nothing there we can use. Not a thing. If he sticks with that story he'll get off on insanity. It's too wild. I want to know how he got the blood out of the bodies.† â€Å"The kid thinks he's a writer. He's showing off his imagination. Let's let him sit awhile and get something to eat. I want to find the Emperor.† â€Å"That wacko?† â€Å"He's been reporting seeing a vampire for weeks. Maybe he saw the kid doing one of the murders.†

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Personal Development Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Personal Development Planning - Essay Example The idea is to allow a user to do tasks more efficiently, quickly and from any location and eventually letting the virtual office handle the routine chores for us and facilitate interaction with others. In the paragraphs below we will look at some of the functions available in a virtual office. A bulletin board can be used to share important information with a work group, posting announcements, giving contact information, posting messages, and list of jobs to be completed, announcing events and even conducting polls among workers about an issue. A travel planner can be used to make travel plans by researching and creating itineraries. It can also be used to compare flight fares and also used to save travel data for workers and their travel plans. Search engines can gather background information on any place including lodging, site seeing and customs, weather and local maps. Document sharing is an important part of any office. Now this can also be done digitally using virtual office tools. Text document and spreadsheets are central to any business. A group of people may work on a single file for a few days. Online spreadsheet and document services are available to make this possible. This utility allows the user to post a document on the net to be viewed edited and downloaded and worked on by other designated users. There is also file management and storage service available over the internet that allows you to organize files and folders and store them on the internet to be accessed by others. There are also tools facilitating online ordering of major office supplies that provides e-commerce channels to conduct business with vendors. It also provides links to major air cargo carriers and travel suppliers. One of the most useful communication tools of a virtual office is a virtual PBX. This service offers businesses all the features of a PBX without the hardware requirement or the need to install new phone lines. These services are hosted by companies for a monthly fee. This system works by assigning a toll free number and a set of extension numbers to the client. When a call is placed, the system answers with the clients customized greeting and redirects the caller according to the specifications of the client. These services also offer features like on-hold messages, music on-hold, virtual calling card, dial by name, question and answer mailbox, virtual fax etc. The most used among the virtual office tools is the web conferencing facility. While chat technology requires participants to be online at the given time, web conferencing involves either real-time conversation or presentation that can be accessed at a given time by all the conferencing members or at different times by different members. Web

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Griselda Blanco de Trujillo The Godmother of Drug Trafficking Essay

Griselda Blanco de Trujillo The Godmother of Drug Trafficking - Essay Example Griselda Blanco is one such personality who emerged and established her in the underworld so strongly that she was given the title of Godmother. It throws light on the fact that women are becoming increasingly involved in criminal activities, most importantly drug trafficking. This paper summarizes the rise and fall of Griselda Blanco. In the spring of 1975 Griselda Blanco’s Learjet arrived at the Bogota airport from Miami. As soon as the jet touched down, the runway was flocked by a cavalcade of black Limousines carrying fully armed enforcers. Blanco, the five feet tall, oval faced 32-year-old who weighed 165 pounds, was instantly escorted by her crew towards a famous night club in the Columbian capital. She was visiting her husband, Alberto Bravo, who was her confidante and her partner in crime. Together, they formed a cartel that â€Å"moved hundreds of kilos of cocaine in the US, and employed nearly 1,500 dealers â€Å"(Brown 95). That fateful day Griselda was a woman on a mission, which was to confront her husband for his wrong doings and corruption involving millions. Safely tucked inside her boot was a loaded pistol which left little doubt about her intentions. Bravo was eagerly waiting for her to assume nothing about her sudden visit to the drug-trafficking hub of America, i.e., Colombia. As they came in person, her rage alarmed him and the six guards who surrounded him. Nothing could stop this woman from the vengeance she nestled in her heart for her husband, who was the king of cocaine smuggling in Colombia. Bullets were fired from both the groups killing several guards. Bravo was killed on the spot by Griselda, who targeted his head and fired without thinking twice that this was her husband whom she wanted to eliminate. With just one careful shot, Griselda became the legendary godmother of the drug mafia in America. Griselda Blanco, the woman with a cleft chin, was hardly passable as a drug dealer, let alone the drug lord. However, this was indeed a fact that she became the undisputed queen of underworld mafia, and was the most feared one due to her ruthless tactics and aggressive approach. The surprising factor is that she was also a mysterious figure to the law enforcement agencies, and her complete criminal records were only revealed through her own kept diaries. Guy Gugliotta and Jeff Leen wrote that â€Å"in 1977 DEA agents in Medellin discovered the bookkeeping records of Griselda Blanco and began to learn of the ties between the traffickers they pursued† (Gugliotta and Leen 28). Blanco was born in a poor family on February 15, 1943 in the slums of Cartagena Columbia (Brown 96). She had a childhood and spent most of her early years in the barrio (Riano-Alcala 42). She became a prostitute at the young age of eleven to get rid of her turbulent life and abusive mother. As she belonged to the land of crime †Columbia," she was involved in various criminal acts like pocket picking, abducting children from wealthy families, robbing and shooting people for money since the age of eleven (Brown 96). Bob Polombo, US DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent said that â€Å"I just think it was inherent to Griselda Blanco. This goes back to her life, the way she was brought up. She was just a violent person† (Brown 96).   The period from 1960 to 1980 was a bountiful time for drug dealing all over

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

How changes and developments in communication and information Thesis Proposal

How changes and developments in communication and information technology may influence the coordination of firms worldwide operations - Thesis Proposal Example This essay stresses that the research methodology utilised to analyse the research data and describes the various methods used in this study. This research paper basically consists of two data sets – primary and secondary. Primary data set consists of a survey and a questionnaire administered to 40 odd ICT executives and managers at firms with overseas operations. While responses to the survey would be recorded with much more accuracy and detail, responses to the questionnaire would be sifted and collated to identify significant trends and process orientations in company decisions to adopt ICT in the changing overseas markets. Secondary data is being collected through an extensive research effort conducted both online and in libraries. The researcher extensively used the books written on the topic and also studied research journals, reports, graphs, articles, newspaper articles and so on. This report makes a conclusion that the interaction is what differentiates the direct methodology from indirect methodology. Structured interviews enable the interviewer to ask each respondent the same questions in the same way. A tightly controlled structured schedule of questions and format is used, very much like a questionnaire. The questions contained in the questionnaire were planned in advance. The interviewer has some discretion how these might be elaborated/explained but the aim is to standardize data as far as possible and to eliminate biases due to different wordings.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Media Violation on Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media Violation on Children - Essay Example Members of the media get expected to carry themselves with high levels of integrity due to the great influence that media has on society (Barbara 87). There exist various forms of media. These forms include television, radio, print media and even the film industry. Whereas all these forms have considerable amounts of influence on people, film and movies have the greatest influence. The film industry is a multibillion dollar industry that controls people’s lives. Films and movies control fashion, influence the economy, create a perception of what the society is to accept as right and wrong, and educate the greater society on different aspects of life such as religion, art and entertainment. The massive influence that these movies have on society cannot be ignored (Beatty 77). A clear indication on the extent of influence that movies have can be seen by the numbers of people who go out to watch movies when they get screened. Studies have shown that movie and cinema halls carry the bulk of the audiences as compared to other public gatherings such as churches and public lectures. The crowds that these movies pull show up because of the influence that these movies have on them (Freedman 46). Children get especially influenced by films. This is so because they do not have a sense of discernment. In the early stages of development of a child, the difference between right and wrong is not clear. They cannot tell what is of benefit to them and what will hurt them. This would explain the reason why some movies emphasize parental guidance. When the parent or guardian is not available to help the child differentiate right and wrong, the children could take up negative traits seen in the movies (Sandra 124). Recently, a child got critically injured and had to be hospitalized for months due to some form of media violation. The child, who many describe to be a fan of the Spiderman

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Automotive Production Levels - Toyota Motors Research Paper

Automotive Production Levels - Toyota Motors - Research Paper Example In the first quarter of financial year 2013, Toyota’s unit sales had jumped to 2,268,563 units amounting to sales revenue of 5,233,688 million yen. Consolidated sales increased by 85.7% in fiscal year 2013 compared to fiscal year 2012 and net revenues increased by 59.9%. These changes are indicative of a change in either Toyota’s price structure or the demand and supply forces in the market. Among other things, these changes can also be attributed to changes in the value of the yen and cost reduction measures taken by Toyota to stay afloat and efficient. Market price also plays a role here and can be calculated using a simple relationship between sales revenue and units sold. (Market price = Sales Revenue/Units Sold. According to the data presented, the price for Toyota’s products in the market in fiscal year 2012 based on the unit sales and sales revenue figures for that year can be calculated to be 2.59 million yen. For fiscal year 2013, this amounted to 2.31 m illion yen. The demand curve for a firm shows how much of a product the market is willing and able to pay for at the given price. The supply curve of a firm shows how much of a product the firm is willing and able to produce at the given. ... product is increased, demand tends to decrease and when the product price is decreased, demand tends to increase, hence establishing an inverse relationship between demand and price levels. Similarly, it can be seen from this analysis, that the aggregate market price for Toyota’s products was decreased in fiscal year 2013 which resulted in an increase in sales which depicts an increase in the demand for Toyota in the market. In the same vein, when the supply of a product is increased, its price decreases and if the supply levels in the market are decreased, the product’s price in the market increases. The equilibrium point thus keeps shifting with changes in demand and supply due to different market factors. Also relevant is the concept of spatial equilibrium (Nagurney, 2002) which speaks about how supply and demand prices result in trade flows. The figure below illustrates the aggregate demand and supply schedule for FY 2012 and 2013. Price (million Yen) 2.59(2012) 2.3 1(2013) 1,221,374 2,268,563 Quantity (units) Demand FY 2012 Supply FY 2012 Demand FY 2013 Supply FY 2013 The world economy has been going through rough times and its basic structure has been forever changed since the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Market trends have also significantly changed since then even though the market has recently picked up for the better. Toyota’s performance, measured by its sales, production, revenue and cost figures etc declined steadily in the fiscal years 2011 and 2012, however it increased its performance dramatically in fiscal year 2013 and picked up fast pace to increase its sales, production and profit levels and overall revenue levels. It also managed to decrease its production cost and reduce market price to boost its demand in the market. These maneuvers paid

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Kraft s Cadbury acquisition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Kraft s Cadbury acquisition - Essay Example This is because, the sale of a product is a factor of the perception of the consumers, as well as the inherent tastes and preferences (Cho & Padmanabhan 2005). The differences in how certain products are also consumed and distributed are also part of the dynamics in the cultural environment that could impact a companys operations, especially in overseas situations. Receptiveness to Western products. Receptiveness to Western products is one of the challenges that Kraft-Cadbury faces when it comes to the mergers operations within the Indian continent. Because consumption is a function of taste, preferences, etc., the Indians slow responsiveness when it comes to the new tastes that Westerners bring can provide serious setbacks to the companys prospect for growth in the country. This is apparent in Cadburys slow growth during the past years, although the brand is the largest in the country. For instance, in the confectionery industry chocolate is still not the top picks for Indians when it comes to snacks. Mithai, an assortment of traditional milk-made sweets, is still the most preferred snack by the Indians, which has left chocolate consumption low in the country when compared to other countries where Cadbury also sells its products – in the UK for example. If chocolates do not delight the Indian palates more than the mithai, the chances t hat Kraft in succeeding marketing its food products to compete to the more traditional local alternatives will be slim. Distribution. The unique distribution system in the country is one cultural factor that is relevant to Kraft-Cadburys operations in India. Foods are distributed in a unique distribution channel called kirana stores – small mom and pop stores that sell products for retail. 98% of foods are still distributed among these stores, although supermarkets and hypermarkets are starting to become common. This has been a part of the countrys culture, and creating a supply-chain system in order

Friday, August 23, 2019

Immanuel Kant's critique of happiness as an ethical principle Term Paper

Immanuel Kant's critique of happiness as an ethical principle - Term Paper Example Immanuel Kant's critique of happiness as an ethical principle In his deontological theory, which is based on duty, he emphasized on the pre-eminence of reason that lead to the actions. He indicates that it is a person’s duty to act morally by obeying the moral law. He mentions, â€Å"Everyone must admit that if a law is to have a moral force, that is, to be a basis of an obligation, it must carry with it absolute necessity† (Kant, 1785, p.51) ii. Kant defines duty as practical and unconditional necessity of action which holds true for all rational beings. (Kant, 1785, p. 26) Kant describes happiness as a natural purpose of life. He quotes, â€Å"All rational beings that are dependent; and thus one purpose that they not only can have but that we can assume they all do have as a matter of natural necessity. This purpose is happiness† (Kant, 1785, p. 20). Kant, however, finds happiness as an ambiguous feeling. He says, â€Å"The concept of happiness is so indefinite that, although each person wishes to attain it, he can never give a definite and self-consistent account of what it is that he wishes and wills under the heading of wanting happiness† (Kant, 1785, p. 21). A person’s perception of happiness is dependent on his experiences in life. A person might feel that wealth will give him happiness; someone else may want knowledge while those who feel that life itself gives pleasure may wish to have long life. However, they may not know with wealth comes anxiety in them and envy and maneuverings of others; which make the person unhappy. Knowledge may show a person the dreadfulness of evils which he was ignorant of and hence scare him. Long life accompanied with continuous illness is a burden more than a boon. Hence they may not feel as happy as the imagined on their achievement. Additionally, if a person pursues happiness, he can only get bits and pieces of advice which may be frugality, diet, restraints etc. and not detailed guiding principles as we have in case of moral laws. To explain the path of actual happiness, Kant (1785) mentions, â€Å"the completed idea of happiness requires the thought of an absolute whole—the thought of a maximum of well-being in my present and in every future condition† (p. 21). Kant (1785) adds, â€Å"There couldn’t be an imperative that in the strict sense commanded us to do what makes for happiness, because happiness is an ideal not of reason but of imagination, depending only on empirical grounds. (p. 22). Thus, a person will achieve what he imagines as happiness, depends on several factors that can impact his future states and that there is not even remote possibility that he will take up a single action that can deviate him from his mission of complete happiness. In any scenario, it is not possible for a human being to have the kind of foresight and capability to plan and achieve his sources of happiness in such a manner. Hence he can never be happy as understood in a common man’s language. Kant has expla ined that an action based on impulse to satisfy one’s feelings cannot always be right. Such an action that is motivated by some sort of inclination can never be based on moral laws. Also, what makes a person happy can be cause of other person’s unhappiness. It cannot be ethical to make another human being unhappy. Thus Kant has explained the meaning of happiness in a manner that it does not play any role in the ethical system. Alternatively he has chosen to define happiness as the end purpose of any human being’s life and not an ethic. He says: Humanity might survive even if

Income Taxes and Leases Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Income Taxes and Leases - Coursework Example According to Sachse (2006), all the timing differences cannot be reversed and that their tax effects cannot facilitate payment of deferred tax liability. For the advocates of the partial allocation of income tax, deferred tax liabilities would only be the portion of the comprehensive tax liability that was expected to result in the cash outflows (Sachse, 2006). Besides, this is not a conservative approach since the company management is given a leeway to choose the liabilities to recognize and those to avoid. Comprehensive allocation of income taxes This method requires that income tax expenses declared in the accounting period be affected by all transactions and be further included when calculating the pretax financial accounting revenue for that particular fiscal year. Both the GAAP and IFRS require the comprehensive allocation approach for the recognition of income taxes (Sachse, 2006). The matching argument is used in the justification of detailed allocation on grounds that the principle requires a full matching of revenue and expenses, hence the most conservative approach. Accounting for a capital-lease by the Lease The capital lease shall be recognized as an obligation, but valued as the initial lease-term’s minimum lease payment’s current value, but exclude executor expenses like maintenance, insurance and profit paid by the lessor. But in case the established amount exceeds the initial leased asset’s fair value, it may imply that obligation and asset value be considered as the fair value.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Effective Habits Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Effective Habits Worksheet Essay Review Phoenix Career Plan results of Career Plan Building Activity: Work Culture Preference, respond to the following in 50 to 100 words each: 1.Describe your ideal study environment. My ideal study environment has to be in a quit and organized place. I like to listen to soft classical music in the background while I study. My dominant intelligences is Visual, Verbal, and Interpersonal. Learning while I listen to music helps me focus. Having my desk organized, I spend less time digging through files and books to find the information I need for my studying. 2.List some of the distractions that might hinder your study progress or your performance in an online classroom. There are few distractions that can hinder anyone’s studying progress. With the online classroom, you need to go on the internet. There are many interesting pop-up ads and web site that will get your attention. Social community web sites such as Facebook can also distract your studying habit. The internet can be helpful in many ways, but it can also hinder your studying progress. 3.What actions can you take to manage and eliminate distractions? The best way to eliminate distractions is to set your homepage to the University of Phoenix web site. You should also bock any pop-up advertisement through internet options settings. Keep your desk organize for you to easily locate the things near your surroundings. This will help you focus on the subject your studying. 4.How will you apply your personal learning style? How does your personal Learning style affect your study habits? After finding out my VARK score, this gave me the best way for me to learn using different strategies. I have learned that I am better with Visual learning strategies. I will be more focused with underlining my notes, use symbols, charts, or graphs to display my notes. This will be more effective and going back to my notes will help me remember the lesson I have learned. 5.List 5 effective study strategies from this week that you will use. Explain why you selected them and why they are effective strategies for online learning. 1.Making studying into a part of my daily routine. Even with the busy schedule that I have, having it as my daily routine will allow me to go online and follow my syllabus and stay on track with my learning habit. This is also effective for online learners because, it is self-studies and you need to manage your time wisely to achieve your success. Your professors are not there to check up on you daily. 2.Collaborate with others will help me with the understanding of the topics. They can provide with the ideas that I haven’t thought of. Going into the discussion form, you can chat with others and express your own opinions to get feedbacks. This will help the online learns since they are not in the class room environment. 3.Trying to get more sleep daily. This is something I really focused this week. Sleeping will reduce your stress level and help you focus more on the topic. Online learners might be busy with their schedules. This is something they all should consider. It will improve your personal as well. 4.Following a regular exercise program is something I am going to try. Exercising is also related to stress level. It is very difficult to focus when you are stressed. The best way to release stress is to exercise. Exercise will help everyone who are studying online. 5.Getting a tutor will be something I will use later in the difficult courses. With my current busy schedule, it is very difficult keeping up with the subjects. Having a tutor will help me with the things I missed. This will help the online learners in the same way that I did. 6.Identify one change you can make immediately to increase the effectiveness of your study habits. Explain how this will help you become more effective. Making studying into a part of my daily routine will be the most effective way to increase the effectiveness of my studying. Set myself with a fixed time schedule and always committed to the studying schedules, As long as I follow the schedule well, this will change my daily routine and I will always make an appointment around my studying time. 7.How does your personal learning style relate to your ideal workplace and your personal work competencies? With my personal learning style, I am likely to gain more from visual, verbal, and interpersonal environment. With my work culture, I am better with teamwork centered and leadership intensive. This relates to my interpersonal skills and I share information with others and teach the information as well. This can also relate to my competencies strengths. I have well organizing skills which tells me that it also relates to my personal learning style, 8.How is understanding your ideal learning environment applicable to selecting your ideal workplace? Understanding you ideal learning environment, you will have the knowledge how to make it more effective and how to learn in a stress free environment. Everyone has a different ways to learn. Once you have mastered how to effectively study with you learning habit, you can look for a position which will allow you to work more effectively and produce the most profit for the company.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Individual Psychology Theory of Adler

Individual Psychology Theory of Adler ALFRED ADLER AND INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY Introduction Biography Alfred Adler was born in February 7, 1870 in the suburbs of Vienna. He was the third child and second son of a Jewish grain merchant. During his childhood, Alfred made developed rickets which limited from walking. When he was five years he nearly died from pneumonia. During this age Alfred decided to become a doctor. He was an average student and preferred playing outdoors. He was popular, outgoing and active and was known for his efforts of outdoing his elder brother. Alfred received a degree in medicine from University of Vienna in the year 1895. During his college he was attached to socialist group of students among which he met his wife Rassia Timofeyewna Epstein a social activist and an intellectual from Russia and studied in Vienna. They married in the year 1897 and they finally had four children of which tow became psychiatrists. Alfred started his medical career as an apthamologist but soon changed general practice establishing his office in the lower class region of Vienna. His clients comprised of circus people (Bottome, 1998, p. 5). He changed his career to psychiatry and in the year 1907 he was invited in a Freuds group discussion. After writing papers on organic inferiority which was compatible to views of Freud, Alfred wrote the first paper on aggression instinct which was not approved by Freud. He wrote another paper on childrens feelings of inferiority which suggested that Freuds sexual ideas should be taken more metaphorically than literally. Adler was named the president of Viennese Analytic Society by Freud and a co-editor of newsletter of the organization; he did not stop his criticism. They organized a debate between Freuds and Adlers supporters leading to Adler having nine members of the organization resigning to form another organization of the Society for Free Psychoanalysis. This organization became the Society for Individual Psychology in the next year. During the First World War, Alfred served as a physician for the Austrian Army in the childrens hospital and on Russian front. He witnessed the f irst damage did by the war which changed his thought increasingly to the concept of social interest. Alfred felt that, humanity should survive and it had to change its ways. After the First World War, Adler was involved in different projects like clinics attached to schools of the nation and teachers training. In 1926, Alfred went to the United States to lecture and he finally accepted a visiting position at Long Island College of Medicine. Alder and his family left Vienna forever in 1934. Alfred died of heart attack during his series of lecturer at Aberdeen University on May 28, 1937 (Way, 1956, p. 25). The Theory Adler suggested a motivating force or a single drive behind all peoples experiences and behaviors. By the time his theory had gelled almost in mature form, Alfred named the motivating force striving for perfection. This is the peoples desire to fulfill their potentials, come closer and closer to their ideals. This is almost familiar to the more popular self-actualization of ideas. Ideal and perfection are words which are troublesome but they are positive goals. Should not people be striving for the ideal? In psychology, people are given instead a suggestion. Ideals and perfection are practically by definition and things which cannot be reached. Many people live very painful and very sad lives while trying to be perfect. Alfred sees a negative type of idealism as a pervasive of more positive understanding. Striving for perfection was not Adlers first phrase but he used it to refer to his single motivating force. Adlers earliest phrase was aggression drive referred to the reaction peo ple have when other drives like what they want to eat, sexual satisfaction, get things done, are frustrated and be loved. This can be better called assertiveness drive since people tend to think of aggression as negative and physical. It was the idea of Adler on aggression drive which caused disagreement between him and Freud (Way, 1992, p. 102). Freud was afraid that, this disagreement would detract them from the important position of sex drive in the psychoanalytic theory. Regardless of Freuds dislike on the idea, he introduced something alike later in his life known as the death instinct. Adler also used striving to overcome or compensation to refer to the basic motivation. Since all people have problems, inferiorities and short-comings, Adler felt in his earlier writings that peoples personalities can be accounted for in a way which would compensate or to overcome the problems. The idea still plays a significant role in Adlers theory. Adler used masculine protest after noting something pretty obvious on his culture in which boys were given more preference than girls. Boys desperately wanted to be though of be thought as aggressive, strong and in control. This argument was based on the notion that, men were somehow better than women. They thought that, men had the power and education which is basically the motivation and talent required to do better things which women cannot (Handlbauer, 1998, p. 95). Adler did not see the mens assertiveness and success as a result of instinctive dominance. According to him, there was a reflection of the fact that boys were encouraged to be assertive in life which discouraged girls. Both girls and boys start their life with protest. Many people misunderstood Adler meaning that men were more assertive which led to limit of the use of his phrase. Adler also used the phrase striving for superiority. Use of this phrase reflected the philosophical root of Adlers ideas. Later Adler used striving for superiority more to refer to the neurotic or unhealthy striving. Adler in his life tried to get the concept down to the psychological level. Jan Smuts influenced Adler an approach which is known as holism. Adler decided to call his approach to psychology as individual psychology. Individual literary meant un-divided. Rather than talking about personal personality, with a traditional sense on internal traits, dynamics, structures and so on, he preferred talk ing about style of life which refers to how one deals with how they live their life, interpersonal relations and how they deal with problems. According to Adler, â€Å"the style of life of a tree is the individuality of a tree expressing itself and molding itself in an environment. People realize a style when they view it against an environment background different from what they expect since each tree has its mechanical pattern to respond to the environment (Hoffman, 1994, p. 52). Adler differed again with Freud on lifestyle. Adler viewed motivation as a matter of moving towards the future instead of being driven to the past. People are driven towards their goals, their purpose and their ideals which are known as teleology. Moving things from the past to the future has some remarkable effects. Social interest was another idea on the significance of striving for perfection. On his holism, it is easy to see that everyone who is striving for perfection can hardly do so without considering the social environment. Since people are social animals, they dont exist much less they strive without others and even most determined people-hater forms with detestation in a social context. According to him, social concern was not simply inborn or learned but a combination of both. This is to some extent an innate demonstrated on how babies and small children show sympathy on others without being taught. The aim of Adler was to avoid the idea of social interest which is a ver sion of extraversion. Some people express their social concern through a behavior of being friendly and slapping. Adler meant social concern in terms of feeling in terms of certain social behaviors but in a much broader sense as caring for the community, family, humanity and community even for life. Social concern is a matter of being helpful to others. Lack of social concern is a definition of all failures like drunkards, psychotics, problem children and criminals among others because they lack social interest (Adler, 1999, p. 34). Adler changed psychological determinance grounds from to sex to libido. He has special prominence to societal factors. He argued that, an individual has to struggle or deal with three forces known as love-related, societal and vocational forces. This disagreement determines the final nature of personality. He based his theories on the development of pre-adulthood of individual. His psychology is parallel wit the humanistic psychology of Abraham Maslow who acknowledged Adlers influence on his theories. Both humanistic psychology and individual psychology hold that, individuals who are human beings are the best determinants of their own desires, needs, growth and interests. The theory of defeat, compensation and over-compensation were derived by Adler. According to him, individuals derive their personality characteristics from the important external factors. Individual characters are formed by their reaction on their influence to compensation, resignation and over-compensation. In com pensation, when an individual suffers from any difficulty, their main objective is to bring those drawbacks to an end making them inferior to others. Those with the potential to this are successful in their lives on both individual and social basis (Dreikurs, 1994, p. 127). Resignation is for those individuals who give their drawbacks and become reconciled to them. These kinds of people are in many. The attitude of the world toward them is cool and quite uninterested understanding. Over-compensation is where some people become so obsessed with the idea of recompense for their problems. External factors are important in formation of characters. Alfred holds the main motives of human behavior and thought as individual strive for power and superiority partly in compensation for their inferiority feeling. Each individual is unique according to this view and their personality structure with the unique goals and striving ways finds an expression on their style of life which is the product of their creativity. However, individuals cannot be considered as different from the society, all important problems including general human relations, love, and occupation problems are social (Watts, 2003, p. 67). Adlers theory led to explanation of the psychological abnormality and normality although the normal person who has a well developed social interest will recompense by determining on the helpful side of life which is by contributing to the common inferiority feeling. The neurotically disposed individual is characterized by increased superiority feeling, exaggeration, underdeveloped social interest, and uncooperative superiority goal which are signs anxiety and less open aggression. This person solves problems in a private fashion, self-centered resulting in failure. All kind of maladjustments share this collection. Therapy involves offering the patient with insight on mistaken life-style through materials furnished by him in the interview with a psychiatric (Slavik and Carlson, 2005, p. 241). According to Adler, inferiority people pull towards perfection, fulfillment and self-actualization. Failures ends up being unfulfilled, being far from self-actualization and badly imperfect. Due to lack of self interest or putting something in positive form people will be excessively self-interested. According to him, being besieged by inferiority is by feeling competent, doing well, affording to think of others. All individuals suffer from inferiority like Adler suffered from organ inferiority. Many people react to organic inferiorities through compensation. People make their deficiencies in a different way. The inferiority organ can be strengthened and become stringer than others. Individuals can psychologically compensate their problems by developing particular skills or even specific personality styles. Many people are not in a position to handle their problems and they live lives of silent depression. People optimism and society which is up-to-beat seriously undervalues their n umbers. Many people have psychological inferiorities. There is also general type of inferiority mainly the natural inferiority mainly found in children. Children are naturally weaker, smaller, intellectually competent and less social compared to adults around them. Children have something in common. They have the desire to grow up, be adult and be big. This type of compensation is in fact similar to striving for perfection. Many children have the feeling that, other people always are better than them. If an individual is besieged by inferiority forces whether it is hurting the body, those people around are holding the contempt or the general difficulties are growing up. This develops inferiority complex (Adler, 1964, p. 273). According to Adler, due to inadequate social interest, different types can be differentiated using energy levels. The ruling kind which is from childhood is characterized by the tendency to be quite dominant and aggressive over others. Their energy which involves the strength to strive for their personal power is great and they push anything or anybody getting in their way. Leaning type is among those people who are sensitive and have developed a shell around themselves which is protects them but they have to depend on others to deal with problems in their life. These individuals have low level of energy and they became reliant. When they are overwhelmed, they develop what they normally think of neurotic symptoms which depend on individual lifestyle details. The avoiding type has the lowest energy level and they survive by basically avoiding life. When they are pushed to restrictions they become psychotic which finally retreats to their own worlds. The socially useful type is for th e healthy person who has both energy and social interest. Without energy, one cannot really have self interest since they are not in a position in fact do anything for anyone (Adler, 1999, p. 54). The individual psychology of Alder has some basic assumptions. The individual psychology is a system of practices and theories which is established upon cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic and existential principles. â€Å"All behavior has social meaning.† Adler was different from assumption of Freud that â€Å"human behavior is motivated by sexual instinct†. Assumption of Adler is that human behavior is aggravated by social desires and human beings are intrinsically social beings. Adler substituted interpersonal relationship form for interpersonal â€Å"id-ego-superego† personality pattern of Freud. Alder gives a humanistic and optimistic view of life which considers human beings as greatly in a position to co-operate in order to live jointly and struggle for self development, contribution to ordinary welfare and self-fulfillment. Without cooperation, people can wipe out each other. Adler based his psychology on main concept of self interest.  "Adlerian psychology is a social psychology which individuals always see and understand within the social context (Hoffman, 1994, p. 67)†. Another assumption is that, human personality has guiding and unity themes. This implies that, a person is an indivisible unit and requires understanding as a total person in which the feelings, thoughts, dreams, actions and memories are even psychology leading to the same direction. Individual is a system in which the whole greater than different from the parts. Adler sees the agreement of individual in whose behavior is a consistent theme. Another assumption is that, behavior is a function of biased insight. Developing a guiding theme is a creative and an active process in which person attributes the meaning of life experiences they have faced. They constructs out this raw materials subjective to reality to which they react. It is not experiences of childhood which is important but present understanding of these events. All behaviors are determined. Adler maintained that all behaviors is focused and goal-directed, although people may not be always deliberately conscious their moti ves. If individuals have the potential they need to develop or use, they lack an action which serves the purpose. Use is more significant than control. Persons are not submissive victims of environment and heredity but energetic constructors and interpreters of their theme (Dreikurs, 1994, p. 135). Another assumption is striving for important explanation on motivation. Adler found that, due to initial helplessness, an infant experiences inferior and struggles to conquer a feeling of incompletion by determining for higher level of growth. Inferior feeling and compensation for the feeling is the dynamic motivation principle which moves an individual from one level growth to another. This striving may continue through out our life. The procedure begins in infancy as children become aware of their insufficiency, mainly when comparing with other children and adults. Infancy experience what is described by Adler as â€Å"minus situation.† The feeling of inferiority becomes a motivation for striving towards â€Å"plus situation.† Adler held that, individuals are not always directed to their dealings by realism but always by fiction. The concept of final goal by Adler which is a fictional creation, an imagined idyllic condition which directs the present individual a proc ess known as private logic as stated by Adler (Adler, 1999, p. 45). Conclusion Individuals can develop exaggerated inferiority feeling and strive towards an imagined goal of inferiority and avoiding the real test. The community feeling and the final goals of co-operation are better than the final goal which is egocentric. This would reveal power concern, self-interest, withdrawal and avoidance. According to Adler, the approach to life with individual traits, the style if life and the unique way in which each person tries to recognize their fictional final goals and meets or avoids the three main task of life; intimate relationship, community and work. In early childhood the life style is formed and in a unique and develop the same styles. Healthy persons deal with life tasks more flexible. This can find ways of solving problems and in case one is blocked, they can choose one another and the individual who is disturbed who individually insist on one way. List of References Adler, A. (1999), The individual psychology of Alfred Adler, New York: Harper Torch books Adler, A. (1964), Superiority and social interest: a collection of later writings. H. L. Ansbacher and R. R. Ansbacher (Eds.), Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press Bottome, P., (1998), Alfred Adler a biography, G. P. Putnams Sons: New York Dreikurs, R., (1994), An introduction to individual psychology, London New York: Routledge, ISBN 0415210550 Handlbauer, B. (1998), The Freud Adler controversy, Oxford, UK: One world Hoffman, E. (1994), The drive for self: Alfred Adler and the founding of individual psychology. New York: Addison-Wesley Co Slavik, S. Carlson, J. (Eds.), (2005), Readings in the theory of individual psychology, New York: Routledge Watts, R. E. (2003), Adlerian, cognitive, and constructivist therapies: An integrative dialogue, New York: Springer Way, L., (1992), Adlers place in psychology. London: Allen Unwin Way, L., (1956), Alfred Adler An Introduction to his psychology, London: Pelican

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Doctrine of Judicial Precedent

Doctrine of Judicial Precedent The Extent the Doctrine of Judicial Precedent Allows for Judicial Law Making, In a legal parlance, judicial precedent is referred to as the tradition of judges who are bound to follow the decisions laid down in previous cases which exhibit similarity of facts. Arguably, stare decisis forms the basic tenet of judicial precedent. Ideally, the principle would mean that in practice the decisions rendered by the superior courts are supposed to bind the lower courts in subsequent cases. As a result, legal scholars have argued that this legal tradition ensures that the law promotes fairness and consistency. A good example of judicial precedent is elaborated in Donoghue v Stevenson[1] where the House of Lords reasoned that consumers were owed a duty of care by manufacturers. Subsequently, the decision laid down, bound the court in Grant v Australian Knitting Mills[2]. For the record, as a source of law, judicial precedent offers judges a reference point in future cases. On the first premise, it is important to note that a binding precedent would occur only where the factual features of the previous case resemble the current one. This decision is whats known as the Ration Decidendi, and should not be confused with the Obiter Dicta, which is persuasive in nature only. Arguably, it is from this point of view that legal scholars have concluded that the doctrine is complex in practice and open to misinterpretation. In the UK court hierarchy, courts at the bottom are bound by judgments entered by the higher courts. At the summit, lies the European Court of Justice (one should take notice that the UK has voted to leave the EU), second in superiority is the House of Lords whose decision mandatorily bounds every court below it. A second tier appeal enables the HOL to redirect law when taken a wrong turning. This is found in The Court of Appeal which possesses two divisions. Arguably, the rulings of the European Court of Justice and the House of Lords bind th ese two divisions. Also, the two divisions, are bound by their own decisions[3], although there is flexibility with respect to how the criminal division handles cases involving persons liberty[4]. The High Court together with the Divisional Courts is supposed to follow the decisions rendered by the House of Lords. However, it is worth noting that the lower courts cannot overturn these rulings, often diminishing the role of judges when in disagreement[5]. Appreciative of the facts discussed above, between the year 1898 and 1966, it was an already established tradition that the House of Lords should mandatorily follow their previous decisions. As a result, this made the law to be very consistent in their applications due to judgments rendered in London Street Tramways v London County Council[6]. Ideally, it was from this observation that Lord Gardiner LC in 1966 delivered a Practice Statement[7], noting that the rigid adherence to precedent may lead to injustice in a particular case and also unduly restrict the proper development of the law.[8] Arguably, this opinion by Lord Chancellor illustrates the doctrines limitations and lack of flexibility. A recent example of this can be found in R v R[9] whos decision only reiterated what we already know. However, be that as it may, the doctrine allows a small opportunity for judicial lawmaking through the prism of distinguishing, overruling and reversing. The two techniques appeared to be endorsed by the statements of the Lord Chancellor where he opined that the House of Lords would be permitted to depart from a previous decision when it appears right to do so.[10] This would mean that departing from previous decisions would lessen the rigidity of the principle and expand the scope of judicial precedent as a lawmaking tool. Distinguishing is used in situations where the judge draws a distinction between the current case and a previous case which ordinarily he or she would be bound by, they would then proceed by showing that the facts differ and not suffice to bind them. As a result, the judge departs from being bound by the previous decision thus allowing a new law to be created. The differences in Balfour V Balfour[11] and Merritt v Merritt[12] were so pronounced. Although the two cases pertained a wife and a husband, in Balfour v Balfour it had the characteristic of a domestic arrangement implying that legal intention did not exist. However, in Merrit v Merrit it was clear that the so-called agreement was created after the two had separated, which meant that the agreement was binding legally. Keenly looking through this window, the doctrine allows minimally for judicial lawmaking. Another scenario is overruling, where the judge rules that the judgment rendered in a past case is erroneous. Through the Practice Statement, the House of Lords has the leeway to overrule their decisions. For example, in Davis v Johnson[13] and also in Pepper v Hart[14], the House of Lords opined that parliamentary Hansard could be consulted to decipher the meaning of particular words in a legislation however this is only when so called legislation is riddled with ambiguity or absurdity[15]. Finally, reversing is where the decisions by the lower courts are overturned by a higher court. For example, the High Court rulings or judgments can be overturned by the Court of Appeal. In conclusion, the doctrine of judicial precedent has been mostly referred to as a fetter[16] in the English legal system. As demonstrated, it is this rigidity which has limited its scope to acting as a judicial lawmaking tool. Certainty in law is very critical. However, that being said, rigidity in judicial precedent negatively affects the development of the law. Looking at this perspective, one would agree with Lord Halsbury wisdom that there is more to the law than a mere process of logical deduction.[17] Table of Authorities Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571 (CA) Davis v Johnson [1978] AC 264 (HL) Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL) Grant v Australian Knitting Mills [1936] AC 85 (PC) London Street Tramways v London County Council [1898] AC 375 (HL) Merrit v Merrit [1970] 1 WLR 1211 (CA) Pepper v Hart [1992] AC 593 (HL) R v R [1992] 1 A.C. 599 (HL) Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd [1944] KB 718 (CA) Books Barker D and Padfield C, Law (1st edn, Made Simple 2002) Denning A, The Discipline Of Law (1st edn, Butterworths 1979) Walsh-Atkins P, AS UK Government Politics (1st edn, Philip Allan Updates 2010) Wilson S and Storey T, English Legal System (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2016) Journals McCormick D, Can stare decisis be abolished? (1966) 11 Juridical Review 196 Pickett C, Precedent in the Court of Appeal (1980) 43 Modern Law Review 136 [1] [1932] AC 562 (HL). [2] [1936] AC 85 (PC). [3] As seen in Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd [1944] KB 718 (CA) 719 (Lord Greene MR). [4] Wilson SR and others, English Legal System (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2016) 148 [5] Patrick Walsh-Atkins, AS UK Government Politics (1st edn, Philip Allan Updates 2010). [6][1898] AC 375 (HL). [7] Practice Statement (Judicial Precedent) [1966] 1 WLR 1234 [8] Alfred Thompson Denning, The Discipline of Law (1st edn, Butterworths 1979). [9] [1991] 1 AC 599 (HL). [10] Neil MacCormick, Can stare decisis be abolished? (1966) 11 Juridical Review 196. [11] [1919] 2 KB 571 (CA). [12] [1970] 1 WLR 1211 (CA). [13] [1978] AC 264 (HL). [14] [1992] AC 593 (HL). [15] ibid [617] (Lord Griffiths), [621] (Lord Brown Wilkinson). [16] D. L. A Barker and Colin F Padfield, Law (1st edn, Made Simple 2002). [17] McCormick (n 9).

Monday, August 19, 2019

Bowling for Columbine :: essays research papers fc

Bowling for Columbine, directed by Michael Moore, has been given numerous awards for the best documentary. For many, such as Jim Ferguson of KMSB-TV, he says, â€Å"Moore has done it again, the year’s most powerful documentary. An eye opener" (Bowling for Columbine). Yes, a real eye opener to how Moore will rely on fictitious facts and his audience’s sympathy towards certain events to get his message across. Documentaries have many different modes of presenting their material. Mockumentaries define itself as â€Å"fictional films which parody the forms and conventions of documentary, often for humorous effect† (Bowling for Columbine). While Bowling for Columbine does not exactly classify as a mockumentary, it does ridicule many of the events or people portrayed throughout the film. However, Moore shapes the viewers’ thoughts about guns during this film by appealing to their emotions with events such as the Columbine shooting, Kayla Rolland†™s murder and the issue of how the United States has the most deaths by guns. Documentaries remain neutral and only present information for the audience’s benefit or to tell history. Bowling for Columbine reflects a bias documentary because all â€Å"facts† presented are told only as Moore views it. However, these â€Å"facts†, false in nature, do not show both sides to the story. Many like Ferguson believe Bowling for Columbine to be an eye opener and true, it does open eyes to the harsh reality of the United States and how people kill each other because of they live in a â€Å"culture of fear†; however, it fails to give the complete truth to many of the events given. Works Cited Bowling for Columbine. Dir. Michael Moore.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Confinement vs. Escape in Madame Bovary :: Madame Bovary Essays

Confinement vs. Escape in Madame Bovary      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A theme throughout Flaubert's Madame Bovary is escape versus confinement. In the novel Emma Bovary attempts again and again to escape the ordinariness of her life by reading novels, having affairs, day dreaming, moving from town to town, and buying luxuries items. It is Emma's early education described for an entire chapter by Flaubert that awakens in Emma a struggle against what she perceives as confinement. Emma's education at the convent is perhaps the most significant development of the dichotomy in the novel between confinement and escape. The convent is Emma's earliest confinement, and it is the few solicitations from the outside world that intrigue Emma, the books smuggled in to the convent or the sound of a far away cab rolling along boulevards.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The chapter mirrors the structure of the book it starts as we see a satisfied women content with her confinement and conformity at the convent.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At first far from being boredom the convent, she enjoyed the company of the nuns, who, to amuse her, would take her into the chapel by way of a long corridor leading from the dining hall. She played very little during the recreation period and knew her catechism well. (Flaubert 30.)Footnote1      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The chapter is also filled with images of girls living with in the protective walls of the convent, the girls sing happily together, assemble to study, and pray. But as the chapter progresses images of escape start to dominate. But these are merely visual images and even these images are either religious in nature or of similarly confined people.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   She wished she could have lived in some old manor house, like those chatelaines in low wasted gowns who spent their days with their elbows on the stone sill of a gothic window surmounted by trefoil, chin in hand watching a white plumed rider on a black horse galloping them from far across the country. (Flaubert 32.)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the chapter progresses and Emma continues dreaming while in the convent the images she conjures up are of exotic and foreign lands. No longer are the images of precise people or event but instead they become more fuzzy and

Existentialist Perception Of The Human Condition: With Special Referenc

Existentialist Perception Of The Human Condition: With Special Reference To Sartre ABSTRACT: Existentialism lays stress on the existence of humans; Sartre believed that human existence is the result of chance or accident. There is no meaning or purpose of our lives other than what our freedom creates, therefore, we must rely on our own resources. Sartre thought that existence manifests itself in the choice of actions, anxiety and freedom of the will. In this way the responsibility of building one's future is in one's hands, but the future is uncertain and so one has no escape from anxiety and despair. We are always under the shadow of anxiety; higher responsibility leads to higher anxiety. The pursuit of being leads to an awareness of nothingness, nothingness to an awareness of freedom, freedom to bad faith and bad faith to the being of consciousness which provides the condition for its own possibility. Concluding his thought, Sartre says that existentialism is not pessimism. He says that existentialism does not aim at plunging us into despair: its final goal is to prepare us through anguish, abandonment and despair for a genuine life, and it is basically concerned with the human condition as a complete form of choice. The fundamental issue, therefore, is an authentic meaning of life. Existentialism is a contemporary trend in the sphere of Philosophy. It lays stress on the existence of man. Existentialism was a protest against the traditional notions of man. It purports to form a 'just' concept of man, rejecting underestimation or overestimation of Man's personality. The Chief tenate of existentialism is "Existence precedes essence". It thinks that the existence of the individual is the highest truth. To it existence is m... ...tialism does not ignore the human society and that in taking a decision it decides on behalf of the whole mankind. Existentialism does not aim at plunging man into despair : its final goal is to prepare man through anguish, abandonment and despair for a genuine life, it is basically concerned with the human condition as a complete form of choice. The fundamental issue, therefore, is authentic meaning of life. Notes (1) Sartre, J.P., Existentialism and Human (Methuen, London, 1948). (2) Walter Odajnyle, Marxism and Existentialism (Garden City, New York, Double day and Comp, Inc, 1965). (3) Heidegger, Martin, Being and Time (Harper Row Publisher, 1962), 68. (4) Sartre, Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness (Methuen and Company Ltd., London, 1969), 471. (5) Sartre, J.P., Nausea (Penguin Modern Classics, 1966), 238 (6) Ibid , 159-160. (7) Ibid, 25.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Managerial Functions Essay

Managers create and uphold an internal environment, commonly called the organization, so that others can work efficiently. In any organization, a manager’s job consists of planning, organizing, staffing, motivating, leading and controlling the resources of the organization. These functions also include counseling and coordinating with subordinates and peers. These resources include people, jobs or positions, technology, facilities and equipment, materials and supplies, information, and money. Managers work in an energetic environment and must foresee and adapt to challenges.† Eight Managerial Functions Planning Planning involves selecting missions and objectives and the actions to achieve them. It requires decision-making. For every organization, planning process is rational and agreeable to the scientific approach to problem solving. It consists of a logical and systematic series of steps. Managers of higher level have to follow these steps: * Define the mission. * Conduct a situation analysis by assessing strengths and weaknesses and identifying opportunities and threats. * Set goals and objectives. * Develop related strategies. * Monitor the plan. Almost every manager, junior or senior is involved in planning process, directly or indirectly.† (Principles of Management) Organizing â€Å"It is that part of managing that involves establishing an intentional structure of roles for people to fill in an enterprise. The purpose of the organizing function is to make the best use of the organization’s resources to achieve organizational goals. Organizational structure is the formal decision-making skeleton by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and harmonized. It is the extent to which the units of the organization are explicitly defined and its policies, procedures, and goals are clearly stated. It is the official organizational structure envisaged and built by top management and supervisors.† (Allen, 1998) Leading It influences people to strive willingly and passionately toward the accomplishment of organization and group goals. Since leadership involves the exercise of influence by one person over others, the quality of leadership showed by supervisors is a critical determinant of organizational success. If a manager is able to influence people to achieve the goals of the organization, without using his or her formal authority to do so, then the manager is demonstrating leadership. Thus, leading is a major part of a manager’s job. Yet a manager must also plan, organize, and control. Generally speaking, leadership deals with the interpersonal aspects of a manager’s job, whereas planning, organizing, and controlling deal with the administrative aspects. (Kevin & Jackie, 1996) Staffing Managers in all types of organizations are responsible for the human resources in their departments. Selecting competent, high-performing employees capable of supporting their performance over the long run is a competitive advantage. The Staffing consists of forecasting employment needs, recruiting candidates, interviewing applicants, and hiring employees. The managers develop a team of job candidates from which to select qualified employees. The local labor market, the type or level of position and the  size of the organization decide which source is used to find prospective job candidates.† (Allen, 1998) Coordinating Manager depends on collaboration from their employees, because without group support, the chance of achievement is slim. Effective supervisors empower employees by giving them more decision making power and by seeking ideas from every worker. He is the liaison with external constituencies such as upper management, other internal teams, customers, and suppliers. It is the supervisor’s job to build and sustain an effective team. Managers, as team leaders, share information, trust others, surrender authority, and understand when to intrude. (Likert, 1967) Motivating Since motivation influences productivity, manager understands what motivates employees to reach maximum performance. It is not an easy task to increase employee motivation because employees respond in different ways to their jobs and their organization’s practices. Motivation is the set of processes that moves a person toward a goal. Thus, motivated behaviors are intentional choices controlled by the individual employee. The supervisor (motivator) wants to influence the factors that motivate employees to higher levels of productivity. Counseling In any organization, managers use controls to help employees achieve objectives. An employee’s problem performance is often related to non-job factors. The supervisor is in the best position to spot and handle problems when they arise. He can use counseling to provide relief for the troubled employee. Counseling is a behavioral control method used by the manager to solve performance problems. As a counselor, the supervisor is a helper, discusses the employee’s private problems that are affecting his or her job performance, aiming to resolve them. The manager helps staff help themselves. Controlling â€Å"Control is the process through which standards for performance of people and processes are set, communicated, and applied. The manager observes what happens and compares that with what was supposed to happen. Efficient control systems allow managers to know how well implementation is going. Since managers are eventually held responsible for their employees’ performance, well-timed feedback on employee activity is essential.† (Allen, 1998) Expected changes in future As time and requirements of an organization change, there is always a need to change managerial functions. Mangers at all levels must anticipate and adapt to changes. In any ordinary but expanding organization the next future change might be to restructure the organization. For this purpose of course more staffing is required and the whole setup and functions will be needed to change according to the particular requirements of organization. Conclusion The job of every manager involves what is known as the functions of management: planning, organizing, staffing, motivating, leading, counseling, coordinating, and controlling. These functions are goal-directed, interrelated and interdependent. The intensity of these functions always changes with the circumstances and requirements of the organization. Works Cited Kevin Freiberg and Jackie Freiberg, 1996 Southwest Airlines Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, 1996 Bard Press Allen, Gemmy, 1998, Modern Management: Supervision. Principles of Management. McGraw Hill Likert, Rensil, 1967 New York McGraw Hill