Thursday, October 31, 2019
Bogota and Copenhagen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Bogota and Copenhagen - Essay Example The specific projects in each city that worked towards addressing transportation and mobility issues in dense urban centers where the popularization of the use of bicycles and the dedicated bus that works like a train. Copenhagen is already popular for the use of the bicycle as bicycle lanes were part of the urban design and integrated into the city. Bogota is still in the process of promoting bicycle use among its population. There is, however, one project in Bogota that differs from Copenhagen and that is the use of dedicated buses. This concept is borrowed from Brazil where there are buses that works like a train where it has its own lane and stations.These projects are definitely democratic. In Copenhagen, the use of cheap bicycles is already embedded in the societyââ¬â¢s fabric. Efforts have been done in Bogota to raise the social status of using bicycle so that nobody would be embarrassed in using a bicycle. But more than the use of bicycle, the city government of Bogota mak es sure that the use of public transportation would allow its passenger to arrive at its destination in the same time as the use of private cars. This would remove the distinction between the two modes of transportation thereby democratizing mobility. These efforts are both effective because it has achieved its objective of removing the time difference in arriving at their respective destinations. All it takes is a political will. It is not difficult to put dedicated bicycle lanes and to put dedicated lanes and stations to buses.
Monday, October 28, 2019
Beazer Homes Case Essay Example for Free
Beazer Homes Case Essay Investors were lead to believe that the company financials were healthier than they actually were, as evidenced by the changes noted when the financial statements had to be restated. As a result of doing this, investors who were under the impression of a healthier position, continued to invest in an organization that was essentially doing nothing more than stealing their money; money which could have been invested into a different enterprise rather than padding the pockets of executives that didnt earn it. As a result of having to restate financial statements, the per share price of Beazer Homes dropped from the $35/share price level in may, to approximately $11/share by the end of July. This is a significant loss in wealth for investors. In addition to the allegations against Mr. Rand for possible accounting fraud, allegations were also brought against Beazer Homes for mortgage fraud. To address the question as to which is a more serious offense, it would be our opinion that both would carry an equal weight of seriousness. On the one hand, investors were misled, as noted above, and this led to a significant loss of wealth for many, especially those individuals and/or institutions that may have held a large position. On the other hand, to address the issue of mortgage fraud, new homeowners were oftentimes cheated out of money that they paid to Beazer Homes. A example of this is when Beazer Homes would require purchasers to pay a fee for interest discount points at closing. Then Beazer Homes would keep the cash received and not lower the interest rate. This is just one example, but it can be an extremely costly one when you look at how much a . 25 percent or . 5 percent reduction in an interest rate can be over the life of a 20 or 30 year fixed rate mortgage; thats if Beazer Homes wasnt trying to convince people that an adjustable rate or hybrid mortgage would be better for their situation. Additionally, Beazer Homes ignored income requirements when making loans to unqualified purchasers, which not only put the purchaser in jeopardy of having the income needed to make their ayments, but in the event of default or foreclosure, it can have a significant impact on the home values of the neighborhood. As a result of these legal issues with Beazer Homes, the SEC issued a notice to the Beazer Homes CEO called the Wells notice. The Wells notice was created under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which states that if a firm has to restate their financial statements, the SEC can require the CEO and CFO to return any and all bonuses that were received during the period of restated financial statements. Additionally, the CEO and CFO do not need to have any knowledge of errors. The SEC issued the Wells notice to the Beazer Homes CEO, Ian J. McCarthy, on 13 November 2009, indicating that the SEC would be brining a civil case against him to collect incentive compensation. In the notice issued to the CEO, there was no indication or allegations of cover-up, or misconduct, on the part of Mr. McCarthy with respect to the financial statements or other disclosures that were published during the period in question.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Mary Shelley: The Woman Behind the Monster
Mary Shelley: The Woman Behind the Monster Though Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley experienced countless trials and tribulations throughout her life, she endured them and they in turn, shaped her into the amazing writer she came to be. Mary was not her parents first child. Her half-sister was from a past relationship between her mother and a man from England. Her father was distraught when her mother died shortly after Marys birth. Shortly after her death, he began looking for more suitable women to be his new wife because he knew he could not look after the two small girls by himself. When Mary Shelley was born, her name was Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. She was born on August 30, 1797 in Somers Town, London. She was the second child of Mary Wollstonecraft, a famed educator, writer, and philosopher. She was the first child of William Godwin, a novelist, philosopher, and journalist. She also had a half-sister Fanny, who came about as a result of her mothers past relations with a man from America. Mary was named after her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft. The original Mary had a drunker aristocrat for a father who failed at everything he attempted, and a mother who was a nondescript Irish woman. Mary first made her mark on the world when she opened a school alongside her sisters at the age of twenty-one. The school quickly failed, so Mary began traveling. She first stopped in Ireland, where she maintained a position as a governess for a time. Afterwards, she moved to London and worked for a publisher named James Johnson. After leaving London in 1792, she traveled to France to see the Revolution. Here she met Gilbert Imlay, an American man captaining a merchant ship. Mary Wollstonecraft and Gilbert Imlay moved in together and lived this way until Mary gave birth to her daughter Fanny. She gave Fanny the last name Imlay. Before long, Imlay left Mary to fend for herself and take care of little Fanny alone. Mary decided to return to England with Fanny after being deserted. She attempted suicide in her depressed state and failed. She once again started working for James Johnson and began writing novels, political essays and history pieces. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is perhaps the one piece of literature that brought Mary Wollstonecraft to fame. It was published in 1792 and she was viewed as a pioneer for womens rights from then on. In her eyes, men and women should be raised, educated, and treated as equals. She believed that they should learn to live and coexist in peace and harmony with one another so long as neither of the two forgot their place. Her belief was that it was the privilege as well as the duty of women to bear the children while the men were privileged to have a superior legal position. Mary Wollstonecrafts views led her to a meeting held by William Godwin, the man that would eventually come to be her husband. William was the son of a Nonconformist clergyman. He himself was part of the Calvinist ministry, but only for a few short years. His first book, Life of Chatham, was written after the works of some French enemies of organized religion, such as Voltaire, made him realize he wanted to take a different approach. He then became a philosopher-historian. After he wrote History of the Commonwealth of England, it was proved as sound by scholars. He also wrote a series of sermons titled Sketches of History. His most famous piece of work was Political Justice, which was published four years before baby Marys birth. He showed his literary versatility by writing not only a number of novels and a handful of plays, but when Mary was five years old he began publishing childrens books. His most popular childrens stories were the Tales from Shakespeare by his friends Mary and Charles Lamb, and his very own work Life of Chaucer. He had many followers of Godwinism, as they called his philosophy. Some of his philosophical disciples were William Hazlitt, William Wordsworth, Robert Southey, Coleridge and Lamb. Percy Bysshe Shelley, a poet, was particularly intrigued by the ideas proposed in Political Justice. He began inserting the themes of Godwinism into his poetry as well as trying to live out the principles. He was found to be a particularly devoted follower while the others eventually outshined Godwin and his philosophy. William Godwin was handsome and slender in his youth, but he eventually became overweight and balding and his vision was quickly depleting. He hardly looked like the kind of man that would effectively influence the lives of millions of people. Even his most devoted followers described him as cold, impersonal and ever remote (Gerson 4,5). He ate excessively, borrowed money from anyone who was willing, and the most anyone could say about him was that he rarely smoked a pipe and drank very little. Still to this day no one understands why his followers worshiped him so much. William Godwin was forty years old when he met thirty-six-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft in 1796. Although he was unaware of it yet, Mary was smashing his theories to pieces. The two met each other at one of Williams social gatherings regularly held at his home at 7 Evesham Buildings in Somers Town on the outskirts of London. After a short period of time, the two began attending the theater, dining, strolling through London and frequenting coffeehouses together. Their mutual friends believed their relationship originated simultaneously in their minds, if not made in heaven. Mary was perhaps one of the most intelligent women of her day, and Godwin dropped his cold aura and allowed himself to melt when he was in her presence. They began an affair in the fall of 1796 with no intention of getting married as neither of them particularly liked the restrictive terms of marriage. Mary then moved only a few doors down from him for convenience. They each wanted to maintain their independence, and they went to great lengths to do so, much to the amusement of their friends. They established separate social lives, neither one taking the other for granted. In February of 1797, Mary discovered she was pregnant and everything changed as a result. Godwins friends would suggest that William was anxious to have the ceremony performed. Although he personally was indifferent, he knew that Mary would be forsaken for birthing a child out of wedlock, and the illegitimate child would suffer. William also said he had grown fond of Marys small daughter Fanny, whom he was teaching to read, and whom he wanted to receive his last name as well. William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft were joined in holy matrimony on March 29, 1797 at the altar of Saint Pancras Church. They newly married couple tried to maintain at least the idea of their independence. They still lived in their separate houses a few doors apart, talked daily and only ate together when one of them arranged an invitation to do so. They always ate their lunches and dinners together at one of their houses, and they were completely oblivious to the fact that everyone, including their close friends, laughed at their exaggerated courtesy. Godwin knew his wife was approaching her due date, and it set him on edge. He could no longer focus on his work and the notes he wrote to her gradually got shorter and more closed-off as time went on. Marys labor was difficult enough that she had to be tended to by three physicians, one midwife, and two ladies who were close friends. The infant girl was born in the late evening of August 30, 1797. William suggested that they give her Marys name, and she agreed. Later that night, Mary started suffering complications and for the next week and a half, she was under the constant attention of the three physicians. Godwin only left the room for the purpose of comforting Fanny. On September 9, she started to rapidly lose what was left of her strength, and on September 10, 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft died. Godwin realized that he was unfit to raise a three-year-old girl and an infant by himself. Several of the couples friends volunteered to assist him, and a cook, a serving maid and a housemaid were all hired to tend to the house. Godwin realized that the only sufficient way to sufficiently solve his problem, and that was to remarry. Godwin met his first candidate in 1798- a woman by the name of Miss Harriet Lee. She was a headmistress of a girls school in Bath, and collaborated with her sister Sophia to write a childrens version of the Canterbury Tales. Godwin proposed to Harriet Lee in a letter after only a month. She ended the relationship because she understood the situation and why he was so hasty to remarry. Godwin waited no more than a month after Maria Reveley, the wife of a close friend, had been widowed before he proposed to her. However, she was a good judge of character and declined his advances. The family dynamics soon changed with Godwins marriage to Mary Jane Clairmont in 1801 (Mary Shelley 1). Godwin first met Mrs. Clairmont while they were both on an outing in the park with their two children. The four children would play together while the adults were left to sit and chat. They were married on December 21, 1801, the same year the new family had moved into the neighborhood. Fanny was unwilling to obey her stepmother at first, but she soon was made to understand that there was a particular time and place to run wild. Mary, however, had grown to hate her stepmother. The only memories of her stepmother that Mary recorded are bad ones (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 1). Mary could not deny that her stepmother took good care of her and her sister along with her own children, Charles and Jane, but she resented her nonetheless. The four children were joined by a new sibling, a little boy named William, when Mary Jane Godwin gave birth in 1803. Though her stepsister Jane was sent to a proper boarding school, Mary was never properly educated because Mary Jane Godwin saw no reason to do so. Mary had no interest in doing anything deemed a womans job. She would often burn food or let water boil over when being taught the basics of cooking because she was too busy reading. Mary read more than she did anything else. Her father had an extensive library which she often took advantage of. She could sometimes be found reading by her mothers grave, though she did not know her. She also enjoyed daydreaming- it offered her an outlet into her imagination. She quickly found another creative escape in the form of writing. According to The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft, she stated that As a child I scribbled; and my favourite pastime, during the hours given me for recreation, was to write stories.' Her first poem, Mounseer Nongtongpaw was published in 1807 through the publishing company her father started thanks to his new wife. By the time she was a teenager, Mary was in desperate need of a change of scenery as it was taking a large toll on her health. Her father arranged for her to stay with some friends in Dundee, Scotland. Little did she know that she would meet her future husband upon his return to Scotland. Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of William Godwins followers for a period of time in 1812. A year before he had become a follower of Godwinism, he had eloped with one of his sisters friends, Harriet Westbrook while they were both nineteen years old. History says that Mary Godwin met Percy Bysshe Shelley in the summer of 1813 when Mary, who was almost sixteen years old at the time, came home to London for a visit. Percy Shelley would also have been in London at that time, along with his now-pregnant wife, Harriet. It may have been possible that Mary and Percy met several times unknowingly, seeing as Percy was at Marys fathers house so often in order to further his discipleship under the famed philosopher. Percy began to fall in love with Mary, and he confessed this to her on one of their walks to Marys mothers grave at St Pancras churchyard on June 26, 1814. When Godwin found out about this on July 8, he forbade Mary to see Shelley any longer (A Biographical Sketch of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) 1). On July 18, 1814, Mary agreed to accompany Shelley in his flee to France after he threatened to commit suicide. They took Marys stepsister Jane, now calling herself Claire, with them. Mary gives birth to a premature baby girl, whom she names Clara, on February 22, 1815. The baby dies two weeks later. As a part of the healing process from the baby, Claire suggests that the two accompany her to Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Mary and Percy Shelley finally marry on December 30, 1816. After reading ghost stories together with some friends, Mary decided that she, along with the others, would write a horror story. This brings forth the birth of her most renowned book, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, published in March of 1818. She had been having nightmares about the death of her daughter, and her anxiety is what is believed to have brought this on. Mary was widowed at the age of twenty-four after a sailing accident in which Percy Shelley drowned. She later died at the age of fifty-three on February 1, 1851 due to brain cancer. She was buried at St Peters Church in Bournemouth, with the remains of her late husbands heart. Mary Shelley was born in 1797 in London, England and died in 1851. She was the daughter of two equally progressive thinkers, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, which set the cast of her persevering intellect and her advanced education (Spark 18). She married Percy Bysshe Shelley in the year of 1816 and they traveled quite a lot together. Her most famous novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, is viewed as perhaps the beginning of the science fiction genre. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley endured many struggles throughout her lifetime, but that is what has made her into such an amazing writer and that is why she is viewed so highly in the literary community today.Ã Works Cited A Biographical Sketch of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851). Victorianweb.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2017. Gerson, Noel Bertram. Daughter of Earth and Water: A Biography of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. New York: W. Morrow, 1973. Web. Mary Shelley. Biography.com. AE Networks Television, 18 Nov. 2016. Web. 06 Jan. 2017. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2017. Spark, Muriel, and Mary Wollstonecraft. Shelley. Mary Shelley: A Biography. New York: New American Library, 1988. Web. 06 Jan. 2017. Sands 10 Mary Shelley: The Woman Behind the Monster Introduction paragraph Overview of her life Her impact Early Life Family background Growing up Moving forward Meeting new people Traveling the world Writings Where it started Her impact on the literary community Conclusion paragraph Overview of her life Restate introduction paragraph
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Essay --
The Bureau of Investigation was renamed the ââ¬Å"Federal Bureau of Investigation,â⬠in 1935. The FBI became well known by American culture during the rule of John Edgar Hoover. John Edgar Hoover is unquestionably the most famous federal agent in the history of the United States. He turned an insignificant federal law enforcement agency with restricted law enforcement powers into the most esteemed law enforcement organization in the world. The FBI was seen as a crucial part of Americaââ¬â¢s win in World War II due to its efforts against espionage. In the 1950ââ¬â¢s and 1960ââ¬â¢s, Hoover increased the FBIââ¬â¢s Cold War efforts to prevent the power of Communist supporters and spies in the United States. In the 1960ââ¬â¢s and 1970ââ¬â¢s, the FBI became known as the primary agency to protect the civil rights of all citizens within the South. The FBI continued to fight against espionage throughout the Cold War. This ultimately led to the decrease in communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the late 1980ââ¬â¢s and early 1990ââ¬â¢s. The FBI also became involved with many other highly publicized cases. In the 1970ââ¬â¢s and 1980ââ¬â¢s, the FBI investigated domestic terror groups on both the left and the right wings of the political spectrum. The FBI also regarded public corruption and organized crime as very important priorities during the 1970ââ¬â¢s and 1980ââ¬â¢s. Beginning in the 1980ââ¬â¢s all the way up to present day the FBI has increasingly focused its attention on acts of terrorism. In the middle and late 1980ââ¬â¢s, several acts of terrorism were committed against Americans overseas. Terrorism remained in the spotlight during the 90ââ¬â¢s in response to numerous incidents, such as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal B... ...s it correlates to the manufacturing, distribution, and supplying of legally produced controlled substances. They are responsible for the cooperation with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials on shared drug enforcement efforts and the bettering of these efforts by means of exploitation of impending interstate and international investigations. They are also accountable for the cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies, and foreign governments in programs intended to reduce the accessibility of illegal abuse-type drugs for sale in the United States through non-enforcement techniques. In addition, they are responsible for every program related to drug law enforcement correspondents in foreign countries, and the relationship with the Interpol, United Nations, and other organizations on affairs regarding international drug control programs (DEA).
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
The novel entitled ââ¬Å" Bee Season,â⬠which is written by a great American Novelist and Musician named Myla Goldberg tells about the profound story of young girl whose intent is driven by her admirations of conquering the national spelling bee contest and her journey of facing the aftermath of her achievement.Basically, the story of this novel is bound within the limits and narrative of a family, which tackles the broad range and the various faces of domestic problems and difficulties among the family members.As for this novel, the conflict of interest within the family is considered to be one of the main aspects in the story, which dictates the progress of the novel's narrative. More so, the awareness of practicing personal autonomy, individual desire and differences in the family are of the most signifant features of the novel.On the other hand, this novel also enlightens the narrative as to how and why the young ones are affected by the various difficulties and negatives a spects of life. Thus, through the representation of Eliza Naumann, one of the main characters in the novel, the author, Myla Goldberg, provides a clear picture as to how the younger members of the family would lose their innocence and pollute their young percpetions as they slowly began to witness and face the harsh realty of life.Overall, this novel tells about the story of Saul Naumann who ââ¬Å"spends the first portion of his life as Sal Newman, son of Henry and Lisa Newman, decorator of Christmas trees and Easter eggsâ⬠(Goldberg 2000, p. 110). Eliza Naumann, a seven-year-old girl the sole member of a gifted family who remains to be classified as a typical individual in a sense that she is less fortunate in terms of academic achievements. She is very much different from that of her brother and her parents.ââ¬Å"Since being designated three years ago as a student from whom great things should not be expectedâ⬠Eliza Naumann, for a certain time, is considered as a medi ocre not just in her family but also in the academe, as per the definition and point of view of her teachers and mentors (Goldberg 2000, p. 101). With this condition, as a student and the youngest in the family, Eliza has lived her life without the favorable guidance and support of her parents and of the other members of the family.Thus, for almost the entire span of her existence, Eliza is not aware and is deprived of knowing the activities of her parents and brothers. Far from the awareness of Eliza, the majority of her family is a practicing a strict religious way of life. Her father, Saul, works as a cantor in the local House of Prayer in their community and her mother, Miriam, works as a local lawyer, while her brother is a prolific and gifted student who reads and recites Hebrew through the intensive guidance of their father.Though it seems acceptable that Eliza Naumann accepts and understands her primary stand as mediocre and less important status in the family, she still has an exceptional gift that would alter the seat she occupies in the family. Fortunately, Eliza has discovered her exceptional gift in spelling as she won in the class and school spelling bee contest, which has served to be the start of something new in her life. This incident and the series of events in the life of Eliza have brought her to a new begginng, as she slowly attracted the attention of her parents.ââ¬Å"When Eliza studies, it is like discovering her own anatomyâ⬠and it is no doubt that she has this kind of skill and gift, as she is a product of a well-rounded and gifted family. Since then on, Eliza's life has never been the same anymore. From a mediocre situation with a less signifcance in the family, Eliza's success in the spelling bee has gathered the respect and support of her father, Saul, who decided to teach her and encouraged her to study the works of religoius writers.In a sense, it can be said that through the success, which Eliza Naumann has gathered in wi nning all the preliminary spelling bee that she participated, she has lost her innocence as an ordinary young girl that belongs to a well-established and reputable family. As her success brought about an intensive attention to her family, Eliza's father has introduced her the religious way of life and belief that he has for most of his life.Thus, these changes have altered the young perception and existence of Eliza, as she has become more oriented and aware of different philosophy and beliefs with the help of her father's encouragement. More so, through the confidence and recognition that she got from winning the spelling bee in her school and in their district division, Eliza is more capable of doing and learning other things that would further enhance her awareness and knowledge as an individual, which has paved the way for her to lose her innocence.Lastly, witnessing and facing the harsh realirty of life and problems of their family, more especially with her mother ending up in the psychiatric hospital due to insanity, Eliza's innocence as a young girl has been jeopradized and sacrificed, which in the end, gave her the reason to let go of her innocence and do what she think is right and practices self autonomy.In the end, though Saul ââ¬Å"would like to think he has kept his distance in order to protect his daughter from his unfulfilled hopesâ⬠(Goldberg, 2000, p. 161). His desire in shaping his children according to his beliefs and philosophy has still affected the innocent mind and perception of Eliza Naumann, as seen in the latter pasrt of the novel when she conciously mispelled a words in their class spelling bee (Goldberg, 2000). Reference Goldberg, M. (2000). Bee Season. New York: Anchor Books.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Business Gravitas and Language
Business Gravitas and Language Business Gravitas and Language Business Gravitas and Language By Maeve Maddox Tech columnist Rob Walker questions whether anyone still has gravitas in the Internet Era. gravitas (noun): high seriousness, as in a personââ¬â¢s bearing or the treatment of a subject; seriousness of conduct, bearing, speech, temperament, etc. According to Walker, ââ¬Å"if you want to be taken seriously in our post-gravitas culture, you must demonstrate that you do not take yourself too seriously.â⬠Walker makes his case for the disdain of gravitas in the entertainment media (and that includes much of what is called ââ¬Å"news coverageâ⬠), but the pride in ignorance and love of vulgarity that dominates the popular media does not seem to apply in corporate America. The Web teems with consultants and business coaches who list gravitas as a characteristic of ââ¬Å"executive presence,â⬠an elusive quality that leads to promotion and is required in positions of leadership. According to an article at Forbes, the gravitas associated with executive presence comprises ââ¬Å"confidence, poise under pressure and decisiveness.â⬠Closely associated with this quality are speaking and writing skills. Executives who possess gravitas: do not sprinkle their speech with vulgarities. do not mumble, but enunciate their words and pronounce them conventionally. do not let their voices rise at the end of sentences that are not questions. On the other hand, they do: avoid nonstandard usage that would make them sound uneducated. speak in a pleasant rhythm and modulate their voices to avoid shrillness or nasality. express themselves coherently and grammatically, even in email. Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, and founder of Dozuki, believes that carelessness with language is symptomatic of carelessness in other areas: Grammar signifies more than just a personââ¬â¢s ability to remember high school English. Iââ¬â¢ve found that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing - like stocking shelves or labeling parts. His policy of refusing to hire anyone who cannot pass a grammar test has stirred heated controversy. His critics feel that mastery of oneââ¬â¢s native language should apply only to employees involved directly with written communication. For example, contrary to Wiens, writer John McWhorter would require the ability to tell the difference between ââ¬Å"yourâ⬠and ââ¬Å"youââ¬â¢reâ⬠only of those whose jobs require ââ¬Å"taking dictation, writing technical directions and blog entries, teaching school, etc.â⬠McWhorter even suggests that people who donââ¬â¢t demonstrate mastery of standard usage are not necessarily lazy, but are ââ¬Å"more likelyâ⬠victims of ineffective public education. Whatever the cause, a large segment of the American workforce lacks basic writing skills. A survey of 120 American corporations conducted by the National Commission on Writing, a panel established by the College Board, concluded that a third of employees in these companies wrote poorly enough to require in-house remediation costing as much as $3.1 billion annually. The tragedy of all this waste is that CEOs are not looking for people who can write like prize-winning novelists. All they want are people who can speak and write clearly enough to get their point across in a standard form of basic English skills that can be mastered by eighth-graders. TV shows and car ads may get laughs by poking fun at gravitas, but speakers who want to get ahead in the business world will master a form of standard English and know when to use it. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SDoes "Mr" Take a Period?10 Writing Exercises to Tighten Your Writing
Monday, October 21, 2019
Multicultural education Essays
Multicultural education Essays Multicultural education Essay Multicultural education Essay At the sound of multicultural education being discussed in the whims and conversational buzzes of educational conferences, it is assumed that it is defined as incorporating various cultures in the curriculum to create a respect and understanding for people of various cultural backgrounds. However, there has been an increase in the diversity of bi-/multiracial individuals such as Black/Caucasians or students who have a German/Chinese/Puerto Rican background. When multicultural education is implemented through a minimum of holidays, and heroes or customs, foods, music, and dance, what does multicultural education mean for bi-/multicultural students? What culture(s) do they embrace? Is it fair for teachers to assume that they would embrace their culture(s)? Not only is there a racial mix between black and white, but between Asians, Latinos, Native Americans, and South Asians. Interracial marriages are accounting for 5% of all marriages (Phinney Alipuria, 1996). There are some issues that may transcend across interracial groups. There is a need to understand how a multiracial individual identifies himself. Does he identify with one race more than the other or both and why? Does he identify with an ethnic group at all? An individuals social environment and physical appearance plays a major role in shaping ones identity. The focus of multicultural research has been mostly on biracials who are part Caucasian and part African-American. It has been perceived as mostly a black-white issue and the experiences of those in between have been greatly ignored. There has been a lack of research on biracial Latinos (ex. Puerto Rican-Chinese) and their experiences with multicultural educational in school. More importantly, what umbrella term do multiracial individuals fall under? Furthermore, there have been national Latino agencies such as the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) that have supported multicultural education but denounced the multiracial movement to include a multiracial category to the Census. NCLR strongly believed that a multiracial category would take away funding and power from the United States Latino population. Currently, the multiracial movement has been able to pressure the Census Bureau to allow the U.S. population to check multiple boxes in the Census 2000. There are multiracial organizations such as webzine Interracial Voice, A Place for Us, Project RACE, Famlee, and the Multiracial Activist, that have actively worked towards the full acknowledgment of Americas multiracial population; in addition to being able to acknowledge their full identity instead of part of their identity. The increase of multiracial activism has coupled with the increase in the diversity of biracial individuals. Not only is there a racial mix between black and white, but between Asians, Latinos, Native Americans, and South Asians. Interracial marriages account for 5% of all marriages (Phinney Alipuria, 1996). There are some issues that may transcend across interracial groups. One important issue is how a multiracial individual identifies himself. Does he identify with one race more than the other or both and why? Does he identify with an ethnic group at all? Phinney and Alipuria (1996) found that the individuals social environment and physical appearance played a major role in shaping ones identity. In addition, they noted that it is important to understand the ethnic makeup of the multiracial individual and assess which ethnic group is more willing to accept a multi-faceted identity. These are crucial points to consider when a teacher is constructing a multicultural curriculum based on mainstream customs, foods, music, and dance. A multicultural student who embraces both or one identity may encounter a problematic experience in going through such a curriculum. For instance, take a student who appears African-American, but is actually half Black and half Puerto Rican. There are no other Latinos in class and few African-American students. In addition, the student would have a non-Latino surname and would completely miss out on learning integral portions of his Latino heritage if a teacher assumes that she has no Latino students in class. Inclusion of multicultural education units based just on class race composition would hinder the students chances on learning about his entire identity. On the other hand, a broadly conceptualized multicultural education program would facilitate and enable the teacher to appropriately address cultural topics in the classroom as they would also be a part of the general educational experience. In accordance with this study and contrary to previous research, Phinney and Alipuria (1996) found that multiracial students were found to be able to take advantage of their ethnic background and engage in intergroup relations (Phinney Alipuria, 1996). Multiracial students were found to be the key people to bridge the gap between ethnic groups who would have never interact socially on their own (Phinney Alipuria, 1996). Furthermore, multiracial students were more ethnically androgynous and less ethnocentric than their monoethnic counterparts (Phinney Alipuria, 1996). Therefore, this trait allowed multiracial students to be open to cultures other than their own. In turn, this facilitates instruction for the teacher as multicultural students may serve to set the example for open-minded, critical learning. For instance, Flores-Gonzalez (1999), found that Latinos who are of mixed national origin were more likely to adopt a panethnic term that would be more inclusive of various Latino identities rather than a monoethnic term that would just claim a single Latin American national origin. Most of this research paints a promising future for multiracial people in society. However, there is a lack of research done on Latino multiracial students and their interaction with multicultural curriculums. Furthermore, higher education deals with issues that are totally on a different level from elementary and high schools. Issues such as affirmative action, special support programs, and scholarships for specific ethnic groups are to name a few. For instance, if a student is biracially black and white and raised in a white suburb, s/he might be less inclined or encouraged to take advantage of black academic support services or black student organizations on campus. This may be problematic when the student may actually need support through his/her academic career; especially if s/he is not embraced by the black population on the campus or does not feel welcome in utilizing black support services. Politically, the multiracial ideology has received various lashes from all sides. Spencer (1993) believes that the multiracial concept is redundant to the various ethnic populations that inhabit America due to various forms of racial mixing that occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century, such as rape. Furthermore, Spencer (1993) believes that if there were a multiracial category, it would be unnecessary for multiracial individuals to also identify themselves with a specific ethnic group(s). On the other hand, Fernandez (1992) believes that Mexican Americans have been able to successfully complete these tasks. Mexicans in the United States are aware of their mestizo heritage, and throughout history accepted racial ambiguity and mixture as normal' (Fernandez, 1992, p.139). Overall, Fernandez (1992) believes that Latinos, particularly Mexican, are key people to increase Americas awareness in regards to multiracial identity and the various facets of this concept. Therefore, Latinos would be more inclusive of the multiracial identity than then general population, due to their mestizaje and their everyday experiences. Whereas, a person, who is part Polish and part Anglo, would cater to their Polish identity on a situational basis that is consistent with the cultural dynamics of their living environment (Waters, 1990). Overall, multiracial individuals are key people to serve in leadership roles because they are more likely to be responsive to a variety of constituents rather than a specific group. Psychologically, multiracial individuals most definitely possess a positive well-being and are more likely to be open-minded. In a society where race is such an important underlying factor among everyday politics and news, I believe it will be refreshing to see a multiracial leader transform oppressing ideologies of race and ethnicity as well as the conservative thought facing multicultural education. The eradication of oppressing ideologies is a difficult challenge but it is one that is welcomed with dignity by the multiracial population.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Pi Day Activities for the Classroom
Pi Day Activities for the Classroom Everyone loves pie, but we also love Pi. Used to calculate the width of a circle, Pi is an infinitely-long number derived from complex mathematical computations. Most of us remember that Pi is close to 3.14, but many others pride themselves on remembering the first 39 digits, which is how many you need to properly calculate the spherical volume of the universe. The numbers rise to stardom seems to have come from its challenge to memorize those 39 digits, as well as the fact that is has what many of us can agree might be the best homonym, pie. Pi enthusiasts have come to embrace March 14 as Pi Day, 3.14, a unique holiday which has launched numerous educational (not to mention delicious) ways to celebrate. Some of math teachers at Milken Community Schools in Los Angeles helped me assemble a list of some of the most popular (and yummy) ways to celebrate Pi Day. Check out our list of ideas for Pi Day Activities for you to do at home or in the classroom. Pi Plates Memorizing 39 digits of Pi can be quite the challenge, and a great way to get students thinking about those numbers can be to use Pi Plates. Using paper plates, write one digit on each plate and pass them out to students. As a group, they can work together and try to get all the numbers into the right order. For younger students, teachers may wish to only use 10 digits of Pi to make the activity a little easier. Make sure you have some painterââ¬â¢s tape for adhering them to wall without damaging the paint, or you can line them up in the hallway. You can even turn this into a competition between classes or grades, by asking each teacher to time her students to see how long it takes for them to get all 39 digits in the right order. What does the winner get? A pie, of course. Pi-Loop Chains Pull out the arts and crafts supplies, because this activity requires scissors, tape or glue, and construction paper. Using a different color for each digit of Pi, students can create a paper chain to use to decorate the classroom. See how many digits your class can calculate! Pi Pie This may be one of the most beloved ways to celebrate Pi Day. Baking a pie and using the dough to spell out the 39 digits of Pi as part of the crust has quickly become a tradition at many schools. At Milken School, some of the Upper School math teachers definitely enjoy having students bring in pies to celebrate, also hosting a small party which might include some special logic puzzles to kick off the class. Pizza Pi Not everyone has a sweet tooth, so another yummy way to celebrate Pi Day is with a different type of pie, a pizza pie! If your classroom has a kitchen (or access to one) students can calculate Pi for all the circular ingredients, including the pizza dough, pepperonis, olives, and even the pizza pan itself. To top it off, students can write out the symbol for pie using their circular pizza toppings.à Pi Trivia or Scavenger Hunt Set up a trivia game that asks students to compete against each other to correctly answer questions about Pi mathematicians, the history of Pi, and the uses of the famous number in the world around them: nature, art, and even architecture. Younger students might engage in a similar activity that focuses on the history of Pi by taking part in a scavenger hunt around school to find clues to these same trivia questions. Pi Philanthropy Math classes might want to celebrate Pi Day with a more philanthropic approach. According to one teacher at Milken, there are several ideas that a classroom might consider. Baking Pi Pies and selling them at a bake sale to benefit a local charity, or donating Pi Pies to a local food bank or homeless shelter can be a sweet treat for those in need. Students can also hold a food drive challenge, aiming to gather 314 cans of food for each grade level. Bonus points if you can convince your teacher or principal to reward students for reaching that goal by agreeing to receive a whipped cream pie to the face! Simon Says Pi This is a great little game for learning and memorizing the various digits of Pi. You can do this one student at a time in front of the whole class or in groups as a way to challenge each other to remember the digits of Pi and see who gets the farthest. Whether youââ¬â¢re doing one student at a time or breaking off into pairs, the person acting as ââ¬Å"Simonâ⬠in this activity will have the number printed out on a card in hand, to ensure that the correct digits are being repeated, and will read out the digits, starting with 3.14. The second player will repeat those digits. Each time ââ¬Å"Simonâ⬠adds a number, the second player must remember and repeat all the digits that were read aloud to them. The back and forth play continues until the second player makes a mistake. See who can remember the most! As an added bonus, make this an annual activity and you can create aà specialà Pi Hall of Fame to honor the student who remembers the most digits each year. One school in Elmira, New York, Notre Dame High School, reportedly had one student remember 401 digits! Incredible! Some schools even suggest having different levels to honor how far students can go when it comes to memorization, with named groups to honor students who can remember 10-25 numbers, 26-50 numbers, and over 50 numbers. But if your students are recalling over 400 digits, you may need more levels than just three! Pi Attire Donââ¬â¢t forget to get all decked out in your very best Pi attire. Pi-tire, if you will. Teachers have long amused their students with math-themed shirts, Pi ties, and more. Bonus points if the entire math department participates! Students can get into the mathematical magic and don their own Pi digits as part of their outfits. Math Names One teacher at Milken shared this Pi-tastic tid-bit with me: ââ¬Å"My second child was born on Pi Day, and I made his middle name be Matthew (aka, MATHew).ââ¬
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Internet law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Internet law - Essay Example It is capturing that the company has already received more than 41.000 requests and even hired a department of specialists responsible for removal. The title of the innovative policy explains its cause quite clearly - a person has a private right to be anonymous which prevails public right for information. The protesters of this step, however, claim that it puts Google into a very difficult position of a censor allowing its employees to decide which information has to be shown and which has to be hidden.à Thus, European society had to face a now new stage of information privacy in the Internet development and deal with it before other continents. But the tendency spreads really fast - Yahoo and Bing have already claimed that they would follow Google`s example. Moreover, there were request to make this policy global not to concentrating on Europe solely. Japan and Canada will probably join to Europe soon. This innovation will certainly do much good to the numerous users who had their name posted in some irrelevant blog posts, social networks, and awkward advertisements. First case of removal can serve as a perfect example of what ââ¬Å"the right to be forgottenâ⬠actually means. Mario Gonzalez, Italian entrepreneur, requested deleting the advertisement of his long-resolved debt from the search engine data. Obviously, nobody wants his friends, partners or possible employers see such irrelevant and outdated information on the Internet since it can only cause harm to the reputation. à Most of us, peopleà posting something on the Internet daily, often forget that our name can appear out of nowhere in a Google search and show some negative or dubious aspect of our lives. It is much like the photos on which we look bad or funny, that we often hide. This information is personal, and the viewers can create wrong assumptions regarding our real personalities. Human brain eradicates unnecessary memories or at least puts them in the distant places of our mind. The
Friday, October 18, 2019
Executive Function Performance Test Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Executive Function Performance Test - Essay Example Reliability is the degree to which an instrument measures the same way each time it is used; it may be estimated by the agreement between examiners and its internal consistency. In the study, interrater reliability was measured using intraclass correlation coefficients and Cronbachââ¬â¢s alpha for each of the tasks, and to correlate each of the test domains with the total score. Validity is related to how close the results, based on the measurement, are related to the truth. In the present study, validity was measured by comparing the performance across the three groups, founded in the results of measurements. In addition, the scale was compared and correlated with other neuropsychological measures which are known to assess executive functions. According to the results, shown in table No 1 of the original document, the demographic characteristics were similar in the study groups. The control individuals were younger, but there was no statistical significance. Patients with moderat e stroke had higher scores in the EFPT tasks, followed by patients with mild stroke, and control individuals. Both the EFPT total score and each of the executive functions showed a similar trend. These results confirm the hypotheses of the study. The study has the strength of evaluating a scale that measures instrumental tasks and the level of assistance affected individuals need in these tasks. As with other scales, researchers are measuring important characteristics of this instrument: validity and reliability.
Nonverbal communication - observation studying Essay
Nonverbal communication - observation studying - Essay Example Moreover, a few of the women surrounding me were also observed to burst into tears due to the sudden outburst of emotion and happiness within the wedding ceremony. Additionally, I also observed that two of the attendees were having conversation from which the person who was having higher level of social status was becoming apparent. The main factor which was noticed was that a person who seemed to be having a lower social status was standing politely, listening carefully and nodding. Conversely, the person apparently having higher social status was quite comfortable to speak his mind. In terms of physical layout, the site seemed to be quite spacious and people were gathering in certain small groups as well as having conversation. This site has been selected in order to determine the variation different body movements and facial expressions of human beings epically at the time of being emotional. On the other hand, the 2nd observation site had been an extremely crowded Starbucks betwe en 8:20am to 10:00am. In accordance with the observation, it has been witnessed that different types of communication among people were taking place. The morning environment of Starbucks brought with it an abundance of mixed emotions and gestures during the process of communication. The environment was quite hurried where one of the women seemed to become quite weary after standing for a long time in the queue, which reflected in her body movement and gesture. There were certain other female guests at Starbucks who displayed a variation of gestures such as enjoyment, distraction driven nodding, formal posture and serious face and body movement. The site was quite cozy where a number of people were sitting close to each other. This site had been selected as it provided a very natural place of observation related to body movement and gesture as people were quite open in their body movements and emotions. B. DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERACTIONS OCCURRED IN BOTH THE OBSERVATIONS In relation to the 1st observation, it had been observed that there were emotionally driven communications and expressions made by the attendees in the wedding ceremony. As per the observation, three interactions have been explicitly discussed in the following section. Firstly, the interaction to be highlighted was of my Korean friend, whom I met in the wedding ceremony, but in quite a different outlook. There was a surprising change in dressing sense from the common attire and outlook she represents. In accordance with the physical expression made by her, it significantly seemed to incorporate major changes relating to her dress within the ceremony as she never used to wear white wedding dress and high-heeled black shoes. In terms of interactions driven out of surprise, a few women were gathering around her and were touching her dress as well arm. This unwanted attention of other women resulted in making my friend quite shy as she was observed to be blushing. Therefore, in this regard, it can be identified that her facial expression had changed because of the gestures and unanticipated expressions of the people surrounding her. The second interaction that has been identified in the
Aacounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Aacounting - Assignment Example From the analysis of the working capital, one can make a conclusion that the company is doing well because the working capital position of the company has improved from the 2005 to 2006. The current ratio is a measure that is used to show the ability of a company to clear its short term debts by the use of current assets. The preferred current ratio is usually 2:1 or 1.5: 1 depending on the industry that the company is found. The company is improving in performance and that shows that the company will be able to cater for its short term obligations. However, in comparison with the industryââ¬â¢s average, the company is performing the average. That means that the company has potential that it can exploit so as to be in the same level as the industry players and that would contribute to the success of the company because more investors would be attracted. The acid test ratio is used to show the ability of a company to clear its short term debts with the use of current assets but excluding inventory. Inventory may at times not be liquid and that means that it cannot be f much help in a short duration of necessity. The ratios also signify the ability of the company to cater for its short term obligation using current assts. The acid test ratio for the company is also not within the industryââ¬â¢s average. However, the company has made significant progress and that implies that if the trend continues, the company will be able to match the industryââ¬â¢s average. The return on equity is the rate at which the company is able to utilize the shareholders funds. The rate should be favorable so as to ensure that the company shareholders get a reason to always do business with the company. It shows the amount of net income that is usually returned as a percentage of the equity contributed by shareholders. The ratio is useful in the measurements of the profitability of a company because it
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Laws and Regulation for The Protection of Chicken in the United States Research Paper
Laws and Regulation for The Protection of Chicken in the United States - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that chicken has been a favorite food by man for a long time. Some of its significant uses are for food, egg production, and for research. An estimated nine billion chickens go to the marketplace and to the food table of every American yearly. Yet despite its many favorable uses, chicken welfare seems to be forgotten by the government. This animal is often subjected to wanton abuses and indiscriminate slaughters that is done to profit few companies. If proper care for this animal is not observed, the loss is unimaginable, and the spread of disease might contaminate people, like bird-flu. Animals have rights that should be protected. This is the contention of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( ASPCA), two organizations that argued there is a need to safeguard animals for sustainability purposes and to protect people from contamination of disease caused by these anima ls. PETA believes animals have rights and that they should live free from suffering and exploitation. But because they are animals they cannot represent themselves in reacting against exploitation of humans; and that animals should be given due considerations too, and a change of traditional view that animals exist only for human use. ASPCA ââ¬Ës worry is on farm animals that are caged on the modern farming technology. Accordingly, 99% of farm animals are raised in factory farms whose main objective is for profit other than animal welfare.
Individual Article Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Individual Article Analysis - Assignment Example he author moves on to also highlight the importance of recognising the needs of the staff and also engaging every member of the staff to bring out the best among them all every single day. In the current times, the author mentions, it is the teams that tend to perform better and tend to bring out the brightest stars with the help of the top performers as team leads. The three steps as the author describes in the article to bring out the best among the employees with the least investments in the current day are: With the high economic slowdown, every company aims at gaining as much as possible from every single penny that is spent on employees. The article has gone on to conclude that if small portions of the revenues are pumped into the teams to improve the teamwork, the dividend and payout of this will be very high in the form of productivity and also morale (Weightman, 2009). Based on this article and also on the various literatures that are present for employee motivation and building of employee morale, it is safe to say that ââ¬ËTeamworkââ¬â¢ plays a very important role. However it is essential that employees of a team are aware of how their individual work would affect the success of the team and thereby affect the working of the employees (Locke). Based on all of this, the following can be some factors that can be used to help inspire, motivate and recognise the work and contribution of every employee and also help in building the morale of the employees. Leadership: One of the biggest factors that affect the morale of the employees are the leaders. Motivation is like a commitment and application of people at work. But all these mainly depend on leadership. It is firstly essential for managers to follow the old saying ââ¬â Practice what you preach. Enthusiasm and Commitment to work: Managers should show enthusiasm by going and speaking to people instead of writing memos and pamphlets, papers. This however is not only for managers and is more so for all
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Aacounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Aacounting - Assignment Example From the analysis of the working capital, one can make a conclusion that the company is doing well because the working capital position of the company has improved from the 2005 to 2006. The current ratio is a measure that is used to show the ability of a company to clear its short term debts by the use of current assets. The preferred current ratio is usually 2:1 or 1.5: 1 depending on the industry that the company is found. The company is improving in performance and that shows that the company will be able to cater for its short term obligations. However, in comparison with the industryââ¬â¢s average, the company is performing the average. That means that the company has potential that it can exploit so as to be in the same level as the industry players and that would contribute to the success of the company because more investors would be attracted. The acid test ratio is used to show the ability of a company to clear its short term debts with the use of current assets but excluding inventory. Inventory may at times not be liquid and that means that it cannot be f much help in a short duration of necessity. The ratios also signify the ability of the company to cater for its short term obligation using current assts. The acid test ratio for the company is also not within the industryââ¬â¢s average. However, the company has made significant progress and that implies that if the trend continues, the company will be able to match the industryââ¬â¢s average. The return on equity is the rate at which the company is able to utilize the shareholders funds. The rate should be favorable so as to ensure that the company shareholders get a reason to always do business with the company. It shows the amount of net income that is usually returned as a percentage of the equity contributed by shareholders. The ratio is useful in the measurements of the profitability of a company because it
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Individual Article Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Individual Article Analysis - Assignment Example he author moves on to also highlight the importance of recognising the needs of the staff and also engaging every member of the staff to bring out the best among them all every single day. In the current times, the author mentions, it is the teams that tend to perform better and tend to bring out the brightest stars with the help of the top performers as team leads. The three steps as the author describes in the article to bring out the best among the employees with the least investments in the current day are: With the high economic slowdown, every company aims at gaining as much as possible from every single penny that is spent on employees. The article has gone on to conclude that if small portions of the revenues are pumped into the teams to improve the teamwork, the dividend and payout of this will be very high in the form of productivity and also morale (Weightman, 2009). Based on this article and also on the various literatures that are present for employee motivation and building of employee morale, it is safe to say that ââ¬ËTeamworkââ¬â¢ plays a very important role. However it is essential that employees of a team are aware of how their individual work would affect the success of the team and thereby affect the working of the employees (Locke). Based on all of this, the following can be some factors that can be used to help inspire, motivate and recognise the work and contribution of every employee and also help in building the morale of the employees. Leadership: One of the biggest factors that affect the morale of the employees are the leaders. Motivation is like a commitment and application of people at work. But all these mainly depend on leadership. It is firstly essential for managers to follow the old saying ââ¬â Practice what you preach. Enthusiasm and Commitment to work: Managers should show enthusiasm by going and speaking to people instead of writing memos and pamphlets, papers. This however is not only for managers and is more so for all
Dramatic devices and events used by Miller Essay Example for Free
Dramatic devices and events used by Miller Essay Youre the Devils man! When Mary finally buckles under the weight of Abigails power over her and her intelligent reaction to the situation- the accusation against Mary of witching her, she blames Proctor of witchcraft, thus condemning the whole of Salem to madness, and taking away the lives of Proctor and many other innocents. This event marks the end of any possibility of sanity in Salem, and is ruinous for the once peaceful town. The other accusation in this act is the blame placed on Abigail by Proctor that Abigail is a whore. Even though it would seem the most far-fetched and outrageous claim made in this act, it is the only truthful one. The courts justice fails to grasp this concept though, so the lies win the struggle once again. Act 3 holds the best chance Salem has had of being released from the hysteria and madness that has accumulated and multiplied, feeding upon the accusations and lies that have been propagated, but this glimmer of hope is extinguished, and the truth is once again suppressed and shunned. The truth of the girls fraud is suppressed. From the very beginning, when Proctor first speaks out against the court, Danforths questioning techniques attempt to intimidate Proctor, thus trying to suppress the truth, because his dialogue is imposing, inflexible and intimidating, thus preventing the one person who holds the key to the release of Salem, the one person who knows and can tell the truth, from doing so. If I must answer that, I will leave and not come back again. The other character key to suppressing the truth is Abigail, because she is harnessing the power of the witch trials to eliminate Elizabeth, to clear the path to her lust for Proctor, she also has an intimidating dialogue, because hers is indignant, and at times, even threatening, cleverly making out that she is innocent. She acts the part of a girl who is shocked and indignant at the charge against her, making the charge seem entirely false, when in reality it is completely accurate. She pretends to be indignant at the questions, to avoid answering the questions that Danforth poses to her, and even threatens to leave the court, showing her growing power over the adults in Salem. She also keeps looking at Mary, and uses the apparitions of the yellow bird and the icy wind, to force Mary back to her side, once again suppressing the truth from one character that could be the end of the lies. She chatters her teeth and shakes, to make the apparitions seem even more realistic. There are also events in Act 3 that also show the suppression of the truth, such as Danforth and Hathorne questioning Proctor to try to suppress the truth. In order to try to dispose of the threat that Proctor begins to pose in Act 3, Danforth and Hathorne exercise their power to invade his privacy. Even though Proctor has not yet been formally accused of witchcraft, Danforth and Hathorne, like Hale earlier, question him about his Christian morals as though he were already on trial. They hope to find in his character even the slightest deviation from Christian doctrine because they would then be able to cast him as an enemy of religion. Once thus labelled, Proctor would have virtually no chance of anyone in God-fearing Salem intervening on his behalf, therefore suppressing the truth. The court created for the witch trials was commonly believed by the villagers to be created by God. Therefore the upholding of this court becomes essential to the maintenance of social order in Salem. There is a big decision to be made by the judges in this act- to maintain social order and suppress individuals freedom, or to submit to the truth, thus condemning Salem to chaos and their reputation to breakdown. Some dramatic devices in this act are used to emphasise the issue of the decision between maintenance of social order or the truth. When Judge Danforth enters, the rest of the characters including Cheever and Parris trail him. This positioning of characters emphasises the authority that Danforth possesses. On his appearance, silence falls, again showing his power and authority as high judge of the court. He has the power to suppress the truth or to give justice, to take away the lives of innocents, or to heal Salem of the wounds it has suffered. Let you consider it then. When Hale says this sentence, the room falls silent as Proctor hands Danforth the warrant. This is a dramatic climax, when Danforth is considering Proctors evidence. This is a fulcrum, where the verdict could go either way-where social order could be maintained, or Proctors individual freedom could be granted. The silence is broken only by Marys sob, showing the importance of this moment. I have evidence for the court! we have proof for your eyes The desperate attempt by Giles, Proctor and Francis to save their respective wives exposes the extent to which the trials have become about specific individuals and institutions struggling to maintain power and authority-social order versus individual freedom. Danforth and Hathorne do not want to admit publicly that they were deceived by a group of girls, while Parris does not want the trials to end as a fraud because the scandal of having a lying daughter and niece would end his career in Salem. Because of this, Danforth react to Proctors claims by accusing him of trying to undermine the court, which, in theocratic Salem, is tantamount to undermining God himself. The issue that youre ones name is important to one, and that some are willing to die for it. There are many contextual links and quotes, from plays, books and even the bible, stating that name is important to a man. Good name in man and women, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls; who steals my purse steals trash; tis his, and has been slave to thousands; but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed This quote form the play Othello by Shakespeare shows that a name is important to a man, more important than his money or possessions. I quit this court! The stage direction of Hale slamming the door after quitting the court from which he was part of, ruins his good name and relinquishes the power he held, because he realises the injustice and lies that are holding the court up. Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name shall liveth for evermore. This quote from the bible, of St Matthew, Chapter 44, verse 9 says that if someone is dead, but has not left a name behind them, it means that they have not sinned and their name shall live on forever. Giles acted upon the same principle in this act-I cannot give you his name. Giles refuses to name someone else just so he can keep his own life, and dies for the cause. Proctor in this act also does not defile his name, because he does not confess to witchcraft when prompted, so is thrown in jail with a death sentence. He instead speaks the truth-that Salem has pulled down heaven and raised up a whore. In conclusion, in Act 3 of the crucible, Miller uses dramatic devices and events to highlight the key issues of the play, and, indeed, of the time, highlighting the problems and issues with Puritanism and the way of life in those days, and highlights the paranoia and hysteria that flourished in Salem at the time. He realises the irony of the trials, that they were supposed to be Gods will, but people were in fact using religion to their own ends. By Luke Worley (9T) 2915 words. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Overview of Famous Mathematicians
Overview of Famous Mathematicians Mathematiciansââ¬â¢ Manifesto A young man who died at the age of 32 in a foreign land he had travelled to, to pursue his craft. A clumsy eccentric who could visualize his complete work in his head before he put it to canvas. A Russian who shuns the limelight and refuses recognition for his work. A traveller who went from country to country on a whim in order to collaborate with others. A man whose scribblings inspired the life work of hundreds. A woman, who escaped the prejudices against her gender to make a name for herself. A recluse who spent close to ten years working on one piece. A revolutionary child prodigy who died in a gun duel before his twenty-first birthday. What do you picture when you read the above? Artists? Musicians? Writers? Surely not mathematicians? Srinivas Ramanujan (1887-1920) was a self-taught nobody who, in his short life-span, discovered nearly 3900 results, many of which were completely unexpected, and influenced and made entire careers for future mathematicians. In fact there is an entire journal devoted to areas of study inspired by Ramanujanââ¬â¢s work. Even trying to give an overview of his lifeââ¬â¢s work would require an entire book. Henri Poincare (1854-1912) was short-sighted and hence had to learn how to visualise all the lectures he sat through. In doing so, he developed the skill to visualise entire proofs before writing them down. Poincare is considered one of the founders of the field of Topology, a field concerned with what remains when objects are transformed. An oft-told joke about Topologists is that they canââ¬â¢t tell their donut from their coffee cup. A conjecture of Poincareââ¬â¢s, regarding the equivalent of a sphere in 4-dimensional space, was unsolved till this century when Grigori Perelman (1966- ) became the first mathematician to crack a millenium prize problem, with prize money of $1million. Perelman turned it down. He is also the only mathematician to have turned down the Fields Medal, mathematicsââ¬â¢ equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Have you heard of the Kevin Bacon number? Well mathematicians give themselves an Erdos number after Paul Erdos (1913-96) who, like Kevin Bacon, collaborated with everybody important in the field in various parts of the world. If he heard you were doing some interesting research, he would pack his bags and turn up at your doorstep. Pierre de Fermat (1601-65) was a lawyer and ââ¬Ëamateurââ¬â¢ mathematician, whose work in Number Theory has provided some of the greatest tools mathematicians have today, and are integral to very modern areas such as cryptography. He made an enigmatic comment in a margin of his copy of Diaphantusââ¬â¢ ââ¬ËArithmeticaââ¬â¢ saying: ââ¬ËIt is impossible to separate a cube into two cubes, or a fourth power into two fourth powers, or in general, any power higher than the second, into two like powers. I have discovered a truly marvellous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain.ââ¬â¢ Whether he actually had a proof is debatable, but this one comment inspired work for the next 300 years. In these intervening 300 years, one name has to be mentioned Sophie Germain (1776-1831). Germain remains one of the few women who have broken the glass ceiling and made significant contributions to mathematics. She was responsible for proving Fermatââ¬â¢s scribblings for a large amount of numbers. I apologise to Andrew Wiles (1953- ) for calling him a recluse, but he did spend close to 10 years on the proof of Fermatââ¬â¢s Last Theorem, during most of which he did not reveal his progress to anybody. Saving the best for last, Evariste Galois (1811-32), a radical republican in pre-revolutionary France, died in a duel over a woman at the age of 20. Only the night before, he had finished a manuscript with some of the most innovative and impactful results in mathematics. There is speculation that the resulting lack of sleep caused him to lose the duel. Galois developed what became a whole branch of mathematics to itself Galois Theory, a sub-discipline which connect two other subdisciplines of abstract algebra. It is the only branch of mathematics I can think of which is named after its creator (apart from Mr. Algebra and Ms. Probability). This might appear to be anecdotal evidence of the creative spirit of mathematics and mathematicians. However, the same can be said about the evidence given for Artistic genius. In fact there is research which shows that the archetype of a mad artistic genius doesnââ¬â¢t stand on firm ground. So, lets move away from exploring creative mathematicians, to the creativity of the discipline. Mathematics is a highly creative discipline, by any useful sense of the word ââ¬Ëcreative.ââ¬â¢ The study of mathematics involves speculation, risk in the sense of the willingness to follow oneââ¬â¢s chain of thought to wherever it leads, innovative arguments, exhilaration at achieving a result and many a time beauty in the result. Unlike scientists, mathematicians do not have our universe as a crutch. Elementary mathematics might be able to get inspiration from the universe, but quickly things change. Mathematicians have to invent conjectures from their imagination. Therefore, these conjectures are very tenuous. Most of them will fail to bear any fruit, but if mathematicians are unwilling to take that risk, they will lose any hope of discovery. Once mathematicians are convinced of the certainty of an argument, they have to present a rigorous proof, which nobody can poke any holes in. Once again, they are not as luck as scientists, who are happy with a statistically signific ant result or at most a result within five standard deviations. As a result of this, once you prove a mathematical theorem, your name will be associated with it for eternity. Aristotle might have been superseded by Newton and Newton by Einstein, but Euclidââ¬â¢s proof of infinite primes will always be true. As Hardy said, ââ¬Å"A mathematician, like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas.â⬠The beauty of mathematical results and proofs is a fraught terrain, but there are certain results, great masters such as Eulerââ¬â¢s identity and Euclidââ¬â¢s proof, which are almost universally accepted as aesthetically pleasing. So, why are people so afraid of mathematics? Why do they consider it to be boring and staid? Well, the easy answer is that they are taught shopkeeper mathematics. In school, you are taught to follow rules in order to arrive at an answer. In the better schools, you are encouraged to do so using blocks and toys. However, basically the only skills you are getting are those which help you in commercial transactions. At the most, you get the skills to help you in other disciplines like Economics and the Sciences. There has been a huge push in the recent past for the Arts to be taught in school ââ¬Ëfor artââ¬â¢s sake.ââ¬â¢ There would be uproar tomorrow amongst artists and the liberal elite if art class turned into replicating posters (not even creating them). There would even be a furore if the only art students did was to draw the solar system for Science class and the Taj Mahal for Social Studies. What good art classes involve is teachers introducing concepts such as particular shapes and then encouraging students to experiment and create based on those concepts. What about ââ¬Ëmaths for mathsââ¬â¢ sake?ââ¬â¢ Students should be encouraged to come up with their own conjectures based on concepts introduced by the teacher. This class would have to be closely guided by a teacher who is conceptually very strong, so that they can give examples in order to get students to come up with conjectures. They would also be required to provide students with counterexamples to any conjecture they have come up with. I am not suggesting completely doing away with the current model of mathematics education involving repeated practice of questions. Just as replication probably helps in the arts and the arts can serve as great starting points for concepts in other disciplines, repetition is important in mathematics as it helps you intuit concepts and certain mathematical concepts are important for the conceptual understanding of other disciplines and for life. So, there needs to be a blend of mathematics classes (those which teach mathematics) and shopkeeper classes (those which teach mathematical concepts for other disciplines and for life). These would not work as separate entities and might even be taught at the same time. This requires a complete overhaul of the mathematics curriculum with a much lighter load of topics so that teachers can explore concepts in depth with their students. It also requires a larger emphasis on concepts such as symmetry, graph theory and pixel geometry which are easi er to inquire into and form conjectures in than topics like calculus. Now we come to the logistics. How many teachers are there in the country who have a strong enough conceptual understanding required to engage with mathematics in this manner? I would be pleasantly surprised if that were a long list, but I suspect it isnââ¬â¢t. In order to build up this capability, the emphasis at teacher colleges and in teacher professional development has to move from dull and pointless concepts like classroom management and teaching strategies, to developing conceptual understanding, at least in Mathematics. The amount of knowledge required to teach school mathematics is not all that much. All that is required is a strong conceptual base in a few concepts along with an understanding of mathematics as an endeavor, and a disposition for the eccentricities of the discipline. Even so, this will not be easy to accomplish and will take time. In the meanwhile, wherever possible, professional mathematicians could come in to schools and work with teachers on their lesson plans. In other cases, these mathematicians could partner with educationalists and come up with material, which can more or less be put to use in any class (this is not ideal as lesson plans should be created by the teachers and evolved based on their understanding of their class, but this will have to do in the interim). Not only will this help in developing a disposition for mathematics and hopefully churn out mathematicians, but it will also help in the understanding of shopkeeper mathematics. Pedagogy and conceptual understanding are not separate entities. In fact a strong conceptual understanding is a prerequisite for effective pedagogy. Mathematics is unfortunate in its usefulness to other disciplines and the utility it provides for life. In the meanwhile, the real creative essence of the discipline is lost. I donââ¬â¢t blame students for hating mathematics in school. In fact it is completely justified. Mathematics is missing out. Who knows, one of these students would have proved the Riemann Hypothesis in an alternate reality. Artists have been very successful in campaigning for the creativity of their discipline to be an integral part of schools. Mathematicians, on the other hand, really need to pull up their socks and join the fight for the future of mathematics. In the spirit of Galois, Mathematicians of the World Unite! You have nothing to lose but the chains of countless students!
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Business Research Reactions of Employees to Performance Appraisal Essay
Appraisal Attitudes of employees towards performance appraisal system of a Transport and Contracting Company. 1.0 Introduction After the selection process the next formal assessment of the individual employee is the performance appraisal. Most organizations recognize that there is a need to monitor the effectiveness of their employees and to promote avenues for their improvement. Enormous amounts of time, energy and money have gone into the development of performance appraisal systems, but their successful implementation rests with the supervisors and managers who carry out the appraisal. Ultimately all human resource matters are matters of subjective judgment and the available research evidence suggests that assessors give more accurate ratings when they are not shown to employees and the final outcome does not involve promotion decisions. Assessors are often fearful of the negative impact of their appraisal on the individual?s pay, promotion and on the job security, as well as its potential to damage or even destroy a previously excellent working relationship. In the past most of the attention has focused on the development of appropriate measuring device and rating scales. However recent trends indicate a shift in emphasis from the procedures to the process and the dynamics of the supervisor-subordinate relationship. Employee development must be an ongoing process if organization is to retain its capacity to respond to the challenges of the future. It is an investment which pays off in the survival and growth of the organization. Employee development can only be effective if it is based on needs identified during the performance appraisal. The potentially relevant research for performance appraisal is very ... ...t will add to existing Knowledge? Existing literature and research reports that I have read concentrates more on to: use of rating in appraisal, ethical dilemmas facing performance evaluators and employees, comparing performance appraisal with total quality management, relationship between motivation and job satisfaction of the employee to the performance appraisal and relationship between productivity and performance appraisal. Since appraisal is done by a human, it can create serious motivational, ethical and legal problems in the workplace. Appraiser sometime tend to judge the work performance of others including subordinates, naturally, informally and arbitrarily. Here lie the roots for changing of attitudes of employees. In my research it will concentrate on the current working environment and the effect of determination of the issues by employees.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Analysis of Patches: Quilt and Community in Alice Walkers Everyday Use
Analysis of Patches: Quilt and Community in Alice Walker's Everyday Use In a critique titled ââ¬Å"Patches: Quilt and Community in Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËEveryday Useââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ (Short Story Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Short Fiction Writers, 1990), the authors reveal that tradition and the explanation of holiness were key elements throughout the story. The writers began the analysis by discussing the significance of a quilt; a quilt is a complete piece of artwork that is essentially made up of fragments. These patchwork quilts, when effectively put together, exposed a way of life. The Africans traditional way of life was one of sacredness and usefulness. By using scraps from old clothes they were able to create a masterpiece that could be passed down from one generation to the next. The title ââ¬Å"Everyday Useâ⬠implies that quilts, while they may be priceless heirlooms, are also made to function. The Johnsonââ¬â¢s are a typical African family that has settled in America. The mother, and narrator of the story, is a working woman who often imagines herself as someone else, someone who her children would not be ashamed to be seen with. While awaiting the arrival of Dee, her eldest daughter and a ââ¬Å"goddessâ⬠(415) in the eyes of her family, she dreams of being on a TV program where a host reunites long lost family members. As she greets her daughter who has been away at college, she is not only one hundred pounds thinner but is beautiful in the eyes of her children. Howeve...
Friday, October 11, 2019
Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Four
Whatever snide comments Dorian and Maiwenn might make, Tucson is the best place in the world to live. Standing at the desert crossroads the following evening, I paused a moment to take in my surroundings before crossing over. Dorian's kingdom was certainly beautiful, but it just wasn't the same. It wasn't home. A soft wind cut through the dry air, ruffling my hair and whispering that spring would yield to summer soon. The breeze carried all the delicious smells of the desert, and I caught the sweet scent of mesquite ââ¬â not the barbecue kind but the delicate perfume emitted by its fuzzy yellow blooms. Above me, the sun beat down without remorse, warning the weak to get the hell out. The tourist season tended to drop off with the sharp increase in temperatures, but I loved this time of year. And all around me, in this dry and unforgiving heat, I could feel the unseen water. It was in the saguaros and the cactus wrens and the mesquite trees' tap roots. There were even tiny bits in the air, despite the ostensible aridness. Everywhere there was life, there was water. Sensing it was second nature to me now. Calling it still remained a challenge. Closing my eyes, I let my mind reach through the boundaries and send me into the Otherworld. Practice really did make perfect with these transitions; they were effortless now, just like sensing water. My body slipped through, pulled toward the corresponding thin spot near Dorian's home. Before I could arrive there, however, I reached out toward the Slinky, using my stored essence as a magnet to pull me there instead of the road. Moments later, I appeared on Dorian's bed. ââ¬Å"Presumptuous,â⬠I muttered, swinging off of it and standing up. I picked up the Slinky and tossed it around, watching its rings arch and fall. ââ¬Å"Is that you, my lady?â⬠I heard a tentative voice call. Seconds later, Nia's young face peeked in from the other room. ââ¬Å"His majesty is in the conservatory. If you'll follow me?â⬠Wow. I'd never heard of anyone actually having a conservatory, outside of the game Clue. When Nia led me inside, I found Dorian standing in front of a canvas with a painter's palette and brush in his hands. Dorian, in the conservatory, with the candlestick, I thought. Er, paintbrush. He smiled when he saw me. ââ¬Å"Lady Markham, you're just in time. Perhaps you can amuse Rurik. He's become terribly unreasonable.â⬠I glanced over to the side of the room where Rurik, the massive warrior with platinum blond hair, sat on a delicate chaise lounge upholstered in lavender velvet. He wore full leather and copper armor, and the entire juxtaposition made me wince. ââ¬Å"I don't mean to be unreasonable, your majesty.â⬠He spoke through gritted teeth. ââ¬Å"But sitting here and not moving ââ¬â while in armor ââ¬â isn't all that easy.â⬠ââ¬Å"Bah, you're whining. Most unseemly for a man of your station. Why, Lady Markham can stay still for hours ââ¬â and in far more uncomfortable circumstances too, I might add.â⬠Rurik glanced at me, both startled and pleasantly intrigued. ââ¬Å"Don't move! Look back here.â⬠Rurik's leer faded as he turned back toward his king. Dorian's canvas faced away from me, so I had no idea what his masterpiece looked like. I started to walk around and check it out, but he waved me off with the brush. ââ¬Å"No, no. Not until I'm finished.â⬠Shrugging, I pulled up another lavender chair ââ¬â the entire room was that color, actually ââ¬â and slouched into it. Dorian spoke without looking up from his work. ââ¬Å"So what have you done today, my dear? Anything entertaining?â⬠ââ¬Å"Not really. Slept in. Banished a shade. I actually read for most of the day. Kind of lame.â⬠ââ¬Å"What are you reading? I really enjoy that one human's worksâ⬠¦oh, I forget his name. He was very popular for a while. Shakemore?â⬠ââ¬Å"Shakespeare?â⬠ââ¬Å"Yes, that's the one. Has he written anything new?â⬠ââ¬Å"Um, not in, like, four or five centuries.â⬠ââ¬Å"Ah, pity. So what did you read about instead?â⬠ââ¬Å"The weather.â⬠He paused midstroke. ââ¬Å"And what did you learn?â⬠ââ¬Å"Storm-formation stuff. How water molecules build up and condense, how charged particles discharge to form lightning. Oh, and there was something else about high and low pressure, but I've got to go back and reread that. Kind of confusing.â⬠Both men treated me to brief, blank looks, and then Dorian returned to his work. ââ¬Å"I see. And do you think this will facilitate your learning?â⬠ââ¬Å"Not sure. But I kind of like knowing what the end result is supposed to be.â⬠Silence fell as Dorian continued painting. Rurik persisted in looking miserable, occasionally sighing loudly to express his discontent. I'd never entirely forgiven him for the ice elemental thing, so seeing him suffer had its perks. Unfortunately, it grew boring after a while. I crossed my arms and slumped farther into the chair, catching his notice. ââ¬Å"Sire, your lady's restless. I'm sure you have more interesting things to do with her. We can work on this another time. I don't mind.â⬠ââ¬Å"Nonsense. I'm almost done.â⬠The first happy expression I'd seen since arriving showed on Rurik's face. It vanished when Dorian turned the canvas around to display his work. We stared. ââ¬Å"Sire, am Iâ⬠¦wearing a bow?â⬠I cocked my head. ââ¬Å"It does kind of look that way. But the restâ⬠¦man, that's actually pretty good. I didn't know you could do faces so well.â⬠Dorian glowed. ââ¬Å"Why, thank you. I can paint you too someday if you'd like.â⬠ââ¬Å"It's a bow,â⬠protested Rurik. Dorian glanced at the canvas, then back to the warrior. ââ¬Å"It matches the chaise. I had to add it; otherwise you would have clashed.â⬠Back in his bedroom, Dorian went through his usual motions, flinging off his silver-gray cloak and pouring a glass of wine. He drank some type of blush tonight. ââ¬Å"Ready to start?â⬠I nodded, sitting down in the chair in the middle of the room. As I'd said, I didn't really think the meteorology books would give me that much of an edge yet, but I felt more empowered after reading them. Like I was starting to take my training into my own hands. He took another drink of his wine, procured more cords, and approached me. Putting one hand on his hip, he surveyed me carefully, not unlike how he'd scrutinized his canvas. ââ¬Å"That's a very pretty shirt.â⬠I glanced down. It was a black tank top with a chain of red daisies embroidered near the top. ââ¬Å"Hmm. Let's try this.â⬠He abandoned the pastel-colored ties he held and replaced them with red and black ones. Placing my arms flat against the chair's arms, he wrapped each of mine down with black first, making X patterns. The style reminded me of the way a ballerina's slippers laced up. When that was finished, he went back over each arm with red. ââ¬Å"These are more like ribbons than your usual ones,â⬠I observed. ââ¬Å"Or maybe sashes. Do you own, like, every possible form of constraint known to man?â⬠ââ¬Å"Nearly,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"All right. Let's get started. The water's over there.â⬠He indicated a table near the window where my old friend the pitcher sat, but I'd already known it was there. Settling as comfortably as I could in the chair, I stared at the pitcher and immediately let my mind reach out to the water. It flared like a beacon to me. Beyond it, I could sense all the other water in the room too. Me and Dorian, the wine, water vapor. I directed my attention to the pitcher's water. I can feel you, now come to me. But, as many practices had already demonstrated, wanting didn't make things happen. God, that pissed me off. I honestly didn't know how Dorian could stand waiting around through all of these sessions. It had to be boring as hell. I was bored, and I actually got to do something. Sort of. No, no. That was a bad attitude. Forget the boredom. Focus on the task at hand. Hours passed again. If Dorian was still awake ââ¬â which I doubted ââ¬â I knew he'd close off the session soon. The knowledge irritated me, but I understood. I was already feeling tired, my eyes bleary. I kept blinking a lot to regain focus and keep them from drying. I think that made me notice what happened next. ââ¬Å"Dorian, look at the pitcher.â⬠He sat up right away and followed my gaze. A moment later, he walked over and touched the pitcher, brushing his fingers along its side. Water quietly ran down the ceramic surface, pooling on the table's glass surface. A slow, delighted smile spread over his face. ââ¬Å"You've seized it. It's listening to you. Now make it come farther ââ¬â all the way out of the jug.â⬠With tangible progress before me, my excitement grew. I thought hard about what I'd been doing, trying to repeat it. About a minute later, I could see water spilling down the sides of the jug, much faster and in greater amounts. The puddle on the table grew too full, dripping onto the floor. ââ¬Å"I'm ruining your carpet.â⬠ââ¬Å"Never mind the carpet. Bring it farther.â⬠I could hear the anticipation in his voice. Some logical part of me saw carpet as tough terrain to navigate, and the water's progress slowed. Soon, I decided, that was only in my head. The carpet had nothing to do with anything. Only my control of the water mattered. As soon as I made that leap, the water shot over the carpet in a curving rivulet, almost like a snake. It reached my feet, and I could feel it waiting for some further instruction. Only, I didn't know what to tell it. I simply wanted it to come to me. I'd barely given form to that thought when the water sprang up before me and hovered in the air. My mouth dropping, I watched it splinter into hundreds of drops. They hung there, suspended like strings of crystal beads. I gaped, fascinated, but had no idea what to do next. My grasp on them slipped away, and the drops disintegrated further into a fine fog. Seconds later, the cloud dispersed altogether, evaporating into the rest of the air. As they faded, so did the tingly, euphoric feeling racing through my blood. Neither Dorian nor I did anything right away. Then, I started laughing. And I couldn't stop. It was too wonderful. I wanted to do it again and again but had no more water. The wine would be too messy. An idea occurred to me. Sensing the moisture in the air, I sent my power out to the air right in front of me. Suddenly, tiny flecks of water condensed on my skin, like I'd been sprayed by a light mist. I laughed again. Dorian, grinning as broadly as me, walked over and ran his fingers over each of my cheeks. Touching his fingers together, he rubbed the water into his skin, almost as if testing it was real. ââ¬Å"I did it.â⬠ââ¬Å"You did do it.â⬠His eyes shone with unadulterated pleasure. You might have thought he'd been the one to do this. Funny that he should take such joy in this, I thought, when it was a paltry thing compared to his magic. He untied me and clasped my hands to help me rise. ââ¬Å"I think a celebration is in order.â⬠He poured another glass of wine and handed it over. We clinked our glasses together. ââ¬Å"To clever pupils.â⬠ââ¬Å"With good teachers.â⬠He took a sip. ââ¬Å"Hardly. I actually slept most of tonight.â⬠I laughed as I drank. ââ¬Å"Do youâ⬠¦when you use your magic, do you feel somethingâ⬠¦I don't know, something good burning in you? Like pleasure or exhilarationâ⬠¦and not just from, like, mental satisfaction eitherâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ I couldn't put it into words, but his face told me I didn't have to. ââ¬Å"Yes. I know exactly what you mean. Wonderful, isn't it?â⬠I drank more of the wine. ââ¬Å"Yes. Yes, it is.â⬠ââ¬Å"Just wait. You've just had a sip of it. Once you come into your full power, you won't know how you did without.â⬠I grinned at him. I felt so thoroughly pleased with myself and life, I could hardly stand it. When had I been this happy? Aside from being with Kiyo? And if I had this kind of reaction now, what would happen when I really moved into the big leagues? Dorian spoke of it like an addiction, but it sure sounded like a good one. Looking up, I saw his eyes all over me. He set his glass down and spoke in a soft voice, almost wonderingly. ââ¬Å"You shineâ⬠¦did you know that? Power suits you.â⬠He made me as happy as everything else in the world just then. Warmth built in my chest and radiated out through the rest of my body. I don't know how that feeling expressed itself on my face, but it must have conveyed something because he leaned over and kissed me. I could taste wine in that soft kiss, wine and heat. One of his hands pulled me against him while the other carefully removed my glass. Still pressing us together, he eased me onto the bed. I answered his sweet, taunting kisses with hard, demanding ones. It didn't take him long to adjust to this shift in style. He rolled me to my back and lay down on top of me, twining one hand in my hair to hold my head in place as an eager need suddenly filled his kisses. He consumed my mouth with them while his other hand slid unabashedly between my thighs, rubbing me through my jeans. My body arched up against his, and I felt an aching cry rise up in my throat, only to be lost in the pressure of his mouth on mine. I knew then it would finally happen. The dangerous allure of thisâ⬠¦the exoticness of sleeping with someone who was still such an unknown quantityâ⬠¦it all enflamed me that much more. We would do this. We would come together, and I would give myself to him. Give myself to him. A tightness seized my chest, conflicting sharply with the burning pleasure in the rest of my body. His touch made me crave more, almost made me beg for it, and yet that angry part in the back of my mind was screaming again. It told me if I made this choice, if I deliberately chose to do this with him, then I was giving in to the enemy. I didn't really know who that enemy was exactly, but it didn't matter. The instinct pulsed through me, defensive and afraid. It warred against the rest of me, against my body's needs and even against my own conscious wishes. I knew and liked Dorian. Why couldn't I overcome that base fear? In some ways, the fear was titillating. I had a feeling if I could just get over that first crest of difficulty, the problems would go away. But damn it, that was a high peak to get over. And like last time, Dorian could feel my reluctance. He broke our embrace, almost jerking away from me. Before he turned his face from mine, I saw emotions I'd never seen before. Frustration. Unhappiness. ââ¬Å"Dorianâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ I said. ââ¬Å"Dorianâ⬠¦I'm so sorryâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ He rubbed his face with both hands and exhaled. His voice was flat when he spoke. ââ¬Å"It's late, Eugenie. Too late for you to leave.â⬠He stood up and stretched, and when he finally turned around, he'd once more cleared his face of its dark expression. His cheerful countenance was also missing; he simply looked tired. ââ¬Å"I'll take the sofa in the parlor; you stay on the bed.â⬠ââ¬Å"No, I ââ¬â ââ¬Å" He gestured me off as he walked into the other room without a backward glance, saying only, ââ¬Å"Take it. It'll be the best night of sleep you've ever had.â⬠Elaborate French doors connected the two rooms. He closed them, leaving me to my own misery. I sat on his massive bed, attempting to sort out a tangle of warring emotions. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I make this work? I'd slept with guys I liked a lot less than Dorian. Why couldn't I cross this last line? Why keep fighting it? I blew out all the candles and torches in the room before taking off my jeans and sliding under the covers. Dorian was right. This had to be the most comfortable bed I'd ever been in. Unfortunately, there was no way I could sleep. I kept thinking about my magical elation, alleged desire, and subsequent breakdown. My body wanted him. My mind did too. Only my instincts still fought it. The world's most comfortable bed must have felt insulted over all the tossing and turning that followed. At least its size gave me all the fidgeting room I could want. My eyes grew accustomed to the darkness very quickly, and I could discern the shapes of furniture and corners in the partial moonlight. Outside the giant window, stars glittered ââ¬â thousands more than I'd seen the night with the astronomers. We'd lost the stars in the human world, despite our success in reaching them. Humans and gentry were almost like two sides of a coin, each supplying what the other lacked. The answer to my problems with Dorian was a long time in coming, but come it did. It was still pitch black when I finally got up and padded into the adjoining room. The doors opened silently, and I paused upon reaching him. He couldn't quite fit on the sofa, so his legs dangled off the end. He still wore the same clothes and had pulled a flimsy throw blanket over his body. He faced the direction I stood, eyes closed. One hand draped above him, and his hair spilled onto his cheek, its fiery color indiscernible in the poor lighting. He was a king, with thousands of people who answered to him, yet he lay crammed onto this couch because of me. I had hurt someone I didn't think could be hurt. I stood there thinking about this in the still, dark room before finally kneeling down beside him. I tentatively reached out a hand, but his eyes opened before I made contact. ââ¬Å"What's the matter?â⬠he asked. He sounded alert, concerned. I couldn't talk right away. Silence pooled as thick as the blackness around us. He neither spoke nor moved as I deliberated; he simply watched and waited. ââ¬Å"I want you to tie me up.â⬠That was the great thing about Dorian. Most people would have hesitated or asked questions. Not him. He followed me out to the other room and promptly retrieved the same sashes he'd used earlier in the chair. I settled on the bed, unsure where to position my body, but he gently adjusted me. He started to extend my arms up over my head but then stopped. Moving his hands down to my stomach, he caught the edges of my shirt and gave me a questioning look. I nodded, and he carefully pulled it off and over my head. Returning to my arms, he raised them above me toward the headboard and tied my wrists together, still incapable of rushing his careful bindings. With the next sash, he bound my wrists to the intricate scalloping of the headboard and then used another to reinforce the binding. When he finished, my arms lay somewhat relaxed on the pillows above me, but my hands and wrists were tightly secured. Weirdly, something inside of me eased upon realizing I was trapped. The length of the tying process surprised me. I would have thought he would want to expedite things, but his patience seemed undaunted. He settled back on his knees and studied me, just as he always did after completing one of his tie-ups. Near darkness or no, I felt exposed in just my underwear and wondered if it was my naked skin or the silk sashes that so captivated him. Probably the combination of both. He slid off the bed and stood up so he could take his own clothes off. As they fell to the ground, more and more of his body was revealed. The moonlight caught his white skin, and it practically gleamed. He reminded me of some ancient Grecian or Roman statue, all marble and smooth lines. He crawled back onto the bed, looking down on me, and my heart started racing again. Shadows bathed him now that he was away from the window's full light, and he seemed larger and more powerful compared to me. I had no means of getting out of this unless I wanted to attempt some crazy kicking maneuvers. The time and tension stretched out between us. It made me anxious yet stimulated as well. Why the delay? Why wouldn't he touch me? Why did he just keep looking at me like that? Finally, he knelt by my feet and kissed my toes. Such a small touch, but it made my body shudder after all that waiting. He alternated between both feet, his lips caressing toes and ankles before steadily moving up my legs. Kiyo had done a similar physical examination during our first night together. I wondered if there was some sort of psychological or personality analysis you could make based on whether a guy started at the top or the bottom. Up, up. Dorian's mouth moved on. My pelvic muscles tightened in anticipation, and I felt wetness growing between my thighs. But then, he simply skipped past my underwear, continuing with my stomach. He ran his hands along the smooth skin, still taking his time, cautious around the healing fachan cut. When he finished there, he moved to my neck, bypassing my breasts. My neck was pretty sensitive too, and his mouth's intensity had increased. The sensation forced my breathing into anxious, ragged gasps, but a frustrated complaint slipped out nonetheless. ââ¬Å"Why are you skipping all the good parts?â⬠He paused, just barely lifting his lips from my skin. ââ¬Å"Do you want me to go back?â⬠I bit my lip. He was trying to make me dictate the terms here, but that wasn't what I wanted. For once, I didn't want the power here. That was why I'd asked to be tied up. I wanted the choice taken away from me. I stayed quiet. He returned to my neck, moving his mouth along my collarbone and shoulder, then up to my cheek and ears. Our lips soon came together again, and I tried to channel my eagerness and passion into that kiss, as I had done earlier. But now he kept himself just out of reach, just enough to tease but not fulfill. I shifted my body upward, touching as much of his as I could. That, too, he held slightly away. It was frustrating, and in my need, I forgot about who was supposed to be in control. ââ¬Å"Okay ââ¬â go back.â⬠He complied as efficiently and quickly as he had to my initial bondage request. His hands and their delicate fingers cradled my breasts, holding them in place for his mouth. I closed my eyes and tilted my neck back, lost in those burning twirls of his tongue as he woke the nerves in my flesh and delicately sucked the nipples. When he finally broke away, I made a soft sound of protest until I realized where he went next. Looping his fingers through the sides of my panties, he pulled them down, stopping abruptly when they reached midthigh. For a moment, I thought it was more of his teasing until I suddenly grasped the situation. ââ¬Å"It's, um, called a Brazilian wax,â⬠I explained, voice still breathy. ââ¬Å"Oh.â⬠His own voice held wonder. ââ¬Å"Oh my.â⬠His fingers ran over that delicate area, both for sensuality and his own curious exploration. With a happy sigh, he removed the underwear altogether and carefully spread my thighs apart. Then, his mouth was upon me, his tongue running along that most sensitive of spots in one smooth motion. It was like a spark to a powder keg. My whole body bucked up as heat exploded throughout me, and I made some sound vaguely like a whimper. Both of his hands slid up and held me firmly in place, reminding me again that I'd given up the power here. That same conflicting mix of fear and need flared up inside of me, scared that he could do anything he wanted to me and half-hoping he would. When he grew convinced I wouldn't thrash anymore, he let one hand slide back to my thighs. His mouth had never stopped in its fervent feeding, and now his fingers moved in, pushing into me with smooth motions timed to work with his mouth. I moaned against his touch, my head thrown back and upper body arched. He had an uncanny knack for pulling back each time orgasm was about to occur. So, when he finally allowed me that release, it almost caught me by surprise. My flesh ignited, electric and glorious. I shivered as my muscles contracted, as that scorching ecstasy poured through my body. Even when that tide broke, he kept his mouth down there licking and probing until I begged him to stop, too overcome by the flood of sensation. He took his time in obeying the request, finally moving away and laying his body on top of mine. Every part of him pressed against me, hard and wonderful, and I writhed under him, yearning for more. He moved his hands back up to my arms, again firmly pinning me in place. His mouth crushed mine, forcing me to taste myself on his lips. Struggling did no good. When he released me from the kiss at last, his face moved only a fraction of an inch away from mine. ââ¬Å"I know why you're doing this,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"Why you wanted to be bound. It's because you want the decision taken out of your hands. You knew once you were here, there'd be no turning back. You wouldn't have to be burdened with the decision of willfully coming together with me. You would have no choice in the matter and hence relieve yourself of any guilt or anticipation.â⬠He kissed my cheek and then lingered on my ear a little. ââ¬Å"In a moment, I swear I can ravage and take you as much as you want, if that's what makes it easier. But your choices aren't gone yet. We can stop if you want. Or I can untie you. You can tell me you want this and join with me not in submission, but as an equal.â⬠The words were on my lips. Yes, untie me. Make love to me. Fuck me. I want to be with you. I could have said any number of things to change the balance of power. I could have gained both control and freedom again. Yet, I said or did nothing. Maybe it was because it was the only way I could go through with this. Or maybe I just wanted it this way. Maybe I even enjoyed it. Regardless, I stayed quiet, and he read the answer in that. He rose up, looming over me. He was a conqueror, coming to collect, and I was a prize, open flesh waiting to be seized. That fear lurched up in me, and I thrived on it. It was delicious. Thrilling. I gave up my power. I gave myself to him. Almost on his knees, he spread my legs apart and pushed in. I screamed, almost more from mental than physical sensation, my arms straining uselessly against the ties. He filled me, punctuating each powerful movement into me with a soft grunt in his throat I thought even he wasn't aware of. I wanted to reach up and wrap my arms around him, pull him against me. But all I could do was lay there, lay there and let him push into me over and over, the enemy I'd somehow come to crave. He shifted his body so that he was completely on top of me, still moving urgently and possessively, save that now I had even less mobility than before. He held me down, grip tight. And me? I was all aching and burning flesh, letting him take whatever he wanted from me. I floated in a warm, liquid place. It was like being wrapped in golden silk, molten bliss spreading over my body. ââ¬Å"I told you,â⬠he said through his labored breathing. ââ¬Å"I told you you'd come to me. And nowâ⬠¦now I realize I could have simply taken you the instant I'd tied you up. You didn't need any of the rest. You've had this desire and never even known itâ⬠¦this desire to simply be had in any way your lover wanted.â⬠He paused a moment, swallowing and catching his breath. ââ¬Å"I'm right, aren't I? I could move you into any position I wanted, make love to you in any place I wanted, and you'd love every moment of itâ⬠¦.â⬠I couldn't really manage any coherent answers, and most of my noises had lapsed into primal, unintelligible cries. All I wanted to focus on was us being together, the way it felt to have him pushing and rubbing, the way it must feel for him to be inside of me. I'd slid up on the bed; my head was practically in danger of hitting the headboard soon. Suddenly, he pulled out abruptly and hovered back over me. His eyes, dark in this light, watched me, and I sensed that laconic, playful expression on his face. Both of us panted. I waited for him to return, feeling irate at this interruption. I'd been on the verge of coming again. Somehow I suspected he'd known that. ââ¬Å"What are you doing?â⬠ââ¬Å"Waiting. Waiting for you to tell me to keep going.â⬠He wasn't being cruel or mean. He was teasing me, toying with me the way he so enjoyed among the people around here. ââ¬Å"You fucking bastard,â⬠I said. Somehow the profanity carried mild affection. He laughed. ââ¬Å"Should I take that to mean you want me to continue?â⬠ââ¬Å"You know I do.â⬠ââ¬Å"Then say it outright. Unless you're going to get up and take me yourself.â⬠ââ¬Å"Did I mention you're a bastard?â⬠ââ¬Å"Tell me you don't want me to stop. Beg me. Beg me, and we'll do this for the rest of the night.â⬠It was merely a game, another dimension of this power play and his dominance over me. And, much to my chagrin, it was a turn-on. ââ¬Å"Please,â⬠I whispered. ââ¬Å"Please what?â⬠ââ¬Å"Pleaseâ⬠¦don't stop. I wantâ⬠¦I want you to keepâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ââ¬Å"Keep what?â⬠I sighed. ââ¬Å"I want you to keep fucking me.â⬠He was back in me almost before the words had left my lips. I yelled out again as moments later, the delayed orgasm exploded in me. I shook and burned as that glittering sensation crackled through me. All the while, our bodies kept moving together. His face was near mine, watching with pleasure as I panted and struggled against a joy that was almost too intense. ââ¬Å"I hate you,â⬠I gasped out. He laughed and rained kisses down on my face. ââ¬Å"No, you don't.â⬠He was right.
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