The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1141 Words

The Great Gatsby Essay In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Nick – the narrator – is an incredibly observant and perceptive young man who is quick to notice the subtext hidden under people and their relationships. Nick uses the imagery of windows frequently in his descriptions of significant people and decisive events to express his observations of the unspoken truths these people and events hold. Because Nick is interested in having deep insight and observation into the lives other people lead, he often uses the imagery of windows in his narrative, allowing him to demonstrate his ability to see through people’s inner lives, particularly Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s. Nick demonstrates a profound interest in observing other humans and their lives, and uses the imagery of windows to demonstrate his ability to do so. First and foremost, he â€Å"[imagines] that in a few minutes [he] was going to enter [people’s] lives, and no one would ever know or disapprove† (56), demonstrating a desire to understand people at a non-superficial level. Furthermore, Nick describes how he was going to â€Å"become again that most limited of specialists, the ‘well-rounded man.’ This isn’t just an epigram – life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all† (4). This is the first instance in which Nick uses the imagery of looking through windows to refer to observation of human nature. He further develops this analogy on page 35; he says: â€Å"yet high over the city our line of yellowShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1393 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald was the model of the American image in the nineteen twenties. He had wealth, fame, a beautiful wife, and an adorable daughter; all seemed perfect. 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Scott Fitzgerald1155 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Gatsby The Jazz Age was an era where everything and anything seemed possible. It started with the beginning of a new age with America coming out of World War I as the most powerful nation in the world (Novel reflections on, 2007). As a result, the nation soon faced a culture-shock of material prosperity during the 1920’s. Also known as the â€Å"roaring twenties†, it was a time where life consisted of prodigality and extravagant parties. Writing based on his personal experiences, author F. ScottRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1166 Words   |  5 Pagesin the Haze F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in a time that was characterized by an unbelievable lack of substance. After the tragedy and horrors of WWI, people were focused on anything that they could that would distract from the emptiness that had swallowed them. Tangible greed tied with extreme materialism left many, by the end of this time period, disenchanted. The usage of the literary theories of both Biographical and Historical lenses provide a unique interpretation of the Great Gatsby centered aroundRead MoreThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald845 Words   |  3 PagesIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, colors represent a variety of symbols that relate back to the American Dream. The dream of being pure, innocent and perfect is frequently associated with the reality of corruption, violence, and affairs. Gatsby’s desire for achieving the American Dream is sought for through corruption (Schneider). The American Dream in the 1920s was perceived as a desire of w ealth and social standings. Social class is represented through the East Egg, the WestRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesrespecting and valuing Fitzgerald work in the twenty-first century? Fitzgerald had a hard time to profiting from his writing, but he was not successful after his first novel. There are three major point of this essay are: the background history of Fitzgerald life, the comparisons between Fitzgerald and the Gatsby from his number one book in America The Great Gatsby, and the Fitzgerald got influences of behind the writing and being a writer. From childhood to adulthood, Fitzgerald faced many good andRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2099 Words   |  9 Pagesauthor to mirror his life in his book. In his previous novels F. Scott Fitzgerald drew from his life experiences. He said that his next novel, The Great Gatsby, would be different. He said, â€Å"In my new novel I’m thrown directly on purely creative work† (F. Scott Fitzgerald). He did not realize or did not want it to appear that he was taking his own story and intertwining it within his new novel. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he imitates his lifestyle through the Buchanan family to demonstrateRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1607 Words   |  7 Pages The Great Gatsby is an American novel written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of the themes of the book is the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea in which Americans believe through hard work they can achieve success and prosperity in the free world. In F. Scott Fitzgerald s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream leads to popularity, extreme jealousy and false happiness. Jay Gatsby’s recent fortune and wealthiness helped him earn a high social position and become one of the mostRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1592 Words   |  7 PagesMcGowan English 11A, Period 4 9 January 2014 The Great Gatsby Individuals who approach life with an optimistic mindset generally have their goals established as their main priority. Driven by ambition, they are determined to fulfill their desires; without reluctance. 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Consumer Behaviour Lecture 1 by NCC - 1851 Words

Introduction - Consumer Needs, Motives and Values - Unit 1 - 1.1 Understanding Consumer Behaviour Unit 1: Introduction - Consumer Needs, Motives and Values V1.0  © NCC Education Limited Introduction - Consumer Needs, Motives and Values - Unit 1 - 1.2 Understanding Consumer Behavior Lecturer: Louis’ email: Louis L. Villar consumer.behavior@yahoo.com TA Ms. Thu Huong’s email: agomong1012@yahoo.com When you get home, please send an email to consumer.behavior@yahoo.com with cc copy to agomong1012@yahoo.com and send the following: 1. Your Full Name 2. Email address you want to receive mails from this class 3. Your mobile number V1.0  © NCC Education Limited Introduction - Consumer Needs, Motives and†¦show more content†¦Consumer Behavior, why not Customer Behavior? V1.0  © NCC Education Limited Consumer Behavior The behavior that consumers display in (1) searching for, (2) purchasing, (3) using, (4) evaluating, and (5) disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. The Female Brain $-â‚ ¬- £ Harvard University’s N E F- C . . Test . Major Influencers to Consumer Behavior Wants, Needs, Motivations, Values Personality, Concept of Self, Life Style What product needs all? Age, Gender, Social Status, Income, Level of Education Social Groups, Culture, Family, Friends Why is UCB important to MM ? Helps Put Together Segments that have the same interests (Segmentation) No UCB means no Strategies to make for MM Helps with how the Product looks like Different Brands for Different Segments Marketing Campaigns, concepts and Messages are shaped based on CB The benefits everyone is looking for The World revolves Around these Benefits Functional F Physical operative Function of anything we have now or something we want to acquire in the futureShow MoreRelatedFactors Affecting Growth of Film Industry in Africa5242 Words   |  21 Pagesthe growth of film industry in Africa. Lamenting this problem, Tichi Sitati of the Kenyan Film Commission noted: We have schools like Daystar and University of Nairobi...They teach media but concentrate heavily on journalism. They don’t have film lectures. We want people to know about art of film. Don’t just teach me journalism and camera works and expect me to translate that into film (Tichi Sitati interview with Justin Edwards 20 August 2008). African institutions that offer film and video trainingRead MoreAn Assessment of the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Nigerian Society: the Examples of Banking and Communication Industries18990 Words   |  76 PagesUniversal Journal of Marketing and Business Research Vol. 1(1) pp. 017-043, May, 2012 Available online http://www.universalresearchjournals.org/ujmbr Copyright  © 2012 Transnational Research Journals Full Length Research Paper An assessment of the impact of corporate social responsibility on Nigerian society: The examples of banking and communication industries Adeyanju, Olanrewaju David Department of Financial Studies Redeemer’s University, km 46, Lagos Ibadan Expressway Mowe, Ogun State

Blood Promise Chapter Eleven Free Essays

I stared at Mark for several long seconds. Finally, stupidly, I asked, â€Å"Did you say†¦ heal?† Mark stared at me in equal surprise. â€Å"Yes, of course. We will write a custom essay sample on Blood Promise Chapter Eleven or any similar topic only for you Order Now She can heal other things, right? Why not this?† â€Å"Because†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I frowned. â€Å"That doesn’t make any sense. The darkness†¦ all the bad side effects†¦ those come from Lissa. If she could just heal it, why wouldn’t she heal it out of herself?† â€Å"Because when it’s in her, it’s too ingrained. Too tied into her being. She can’t heal it the way she can other things. But once your bond has pulled it into you, it’s like any other sickness.† My heart was pounding in my chest. What he was suggesting was too ridiculously easy. No, it was just ridiculous, period. There was no way after all that we’d been through that Lissa could heal that rage and depression the way she could a cold or a broken leg. Victor Dashkov, despite his wicked schemes, had known an astonishing amount about spirit and had explained it to us. The other four elements were more physical in nature, but spirit came from the mind and soul. To use that much mental energy-to be able to do such powerful things-couldn’t be done without devastating side effects. We’d been fighting those side effects from the beginning, first in Lissa and then in me. They couldn’t just go away. â€Å"If that were possible,† I said quietly, â€Å"then everyone would have done it. Ms. Karp wouldn’t have lost her mind. Anna wouldn’t have committed suicide. What you’re saying is too easy.† Mark didn’t know who I was talking about, but clearly it didn’t matter for what he wanted to express. â€Å"You’re right. It’s not easy at all. It requires a careful balance, a circle of trust and strength between two people. It took Oksana and me a long time to learn†¦ many hard years†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His face darkened, and I could only imagine what those years had been like. My short time with Lissa had been bad enough. They’d had to live with this a lot longer than we had. It had to have been unbearable at times. Slowly, wonderingly, I dared to give credence to his words. â€Å"But now you guys are okay?† â€Å"Hmm.† There was a flicker of a wry smile on his lips. â€Å"I’d hardly say we’re perfectly okay. There’s only so much she can do, but it makes life manageable. She spaces out the healings as long as we can handle it, since it takes a lot out of her. It’s draining, and it limits her overall power.† â€Å"What do you mean?† He shrugged. â€Å"She can still do the other things†¦ healing, compulsion†¦ but not to the levels she would if she wasn’t always healing me.† My hope faltered. â€Å"Oh. Then†¦ I couldn’t. I couldn’t do that to Lissa.† â€Å"Compared to what she’s doing to you? Rose. I have a feeling she’d think it was a fair trade.† I thought back to our last meeting. I thought about how I’d left her there, despite her begging. I thought about the lows she’d been experiencing in my absence. I thought about how she’d refused to heal Dimitri when I’d thought there might still be hope for him. We’d both been bad friends. I shook my head. â€Å"I don’t know,† I said in a small voice. â€Å"I don’t know if she would.† Mark gave me a long, level look, but he didn’t push me on the matter. He glanced up at the sun, almost as if he could tell the time from it. He probably could. He had that surviving-in-the-wilderness kind of feel to him. â€Å"The others will wonder what happened to us. Before we go†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, plain silver ring. â€Å"Learning to heal will take time. What worries me the most right now is this vigilante mood you’re in. The darkness is only going to make it worse. Take this.† He extended the ring to me. I hesitated and then reached for it. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"Oksana infused it with spirit. It’s a healing charm.† Once again, shock ran through me. Moroi charmed objects with elements all the time. Stakes were charmed with all four of the physical elements, making them lethal to Strigoi. Victor had charmed a necklace with earth magic, using the base nature of earth to turn the necklace into a lust charm. Even Sydney’s tattoo was a charm of sorts. I supposed there was no reason that spirit couldn’t charm objects too, but it had never occurred to me, probably because Lissa’s powers were still too new and too foreign. â€Å"What’s it do? I mean, what kind of healing?† â€Å"It’ll help with your moods. It can’t get rid of them, but it’ll lessen them-help you think more clearly. Might keep you out of trouble. Oksana makes these for me to help between healings.† I started to slip it on, but he shook his head. â€Å"Save it for when you really feel out of control. The magic won’t last forever. It fades just like any other charm.† I stared at the ring, my mind suddenly open to all sorts of new possibilities. A few moments later, I slipped it into my coat pocket. Paul stuck his head out the back door. â€Å"Grandmother wants to leave now,† he told me. â€Å"She wants to know why you’re taking so long and said to ask why you’d make someone as old as her keep waiting and suffering with her back.† I recalled how fast Yeva had been walking while I struggled to keep up with my load. Her back hadn’t seemed all that bad to me, but again, I remembered that Paul was only the messenger and spared him my commentary. â€Å"Okay. I’ll be right there.† When he was gone, I shook my head. â€Å"It’s hard being worthy.† I moved toward the door, then gave Mark a backward glance, as a random thought occurred to me. â€Å"You’re telling me that going off on your own is bad†¦ but you aren’t a guardian either.† He smiled at me again, one of those sad, wry smiles. â€Å"I used to be. Then Oksana saved my life. We bonded and eventually fell in love. I couldn’t stand to be separated from her after that, and the guardians would have assigned me elsewhere. I had to go.† â€Å"Was it hard to leave them?† â€Å"Very. Our age difference made it even more scandalous.† A strange chill ran through me. Mark and Oksana were the embodiment of the two halves of my life. They fought against a shadow-kissed bond as Lissa and I did and also faced the same condemnation for their relationship that Dimitri and I had. Mark continued, â€Å"But sometimes, we have to listen to our hearts. And even though I left, I’m not out there recklessly going after Strigoi. I’m an old man living with the woman he loves and tending his garden. There’s a difference-don’t forget that.† My mind was reeling when I returned to the Belikov house. Without the bricks, the walk back had been a lot easier. It had given me a chance to ponder Mark’s words. I felt like I’d received a lifetime of information in a one-hour conversation. Olena was going about the house, doing her normal tasks of cooking and cleaning. While I would personally never want to spend my days doing those sorts of domestic duties, I had to admit there was something comforting about always having someone who was around, ready to cook and worry about me on a daily basis. I knew it was a purely selfish desire, just as I knew my own mom was doing important things with her life. I shouldn’t judge her. Still, it made me feel warm and cared for to have Olena treat me like a daughter when she hardly knew me. â€Å"Are you hungry?† she asked automatically. I think one of the greatest fears in her life was that someone might go hungry in her home. Sydney’s perpetual lack of appetite had been a nonstop worry for Olena. I hid a smile. â€Å"No, we ate at Mark and Oksana’s.† â€Å"Ah, that’s where you were? They’re good people.† â€Å"Where is everyone?† I asked. The house was unusually quiet. â€Å"Sonya and Karolina are at work. Viktoria’s out at a friend’s, but she’ll be glad you’re back.† â€Å"What about Sydney?† â€Å"She left a little while ago. She said she was going back to Saint Petersburg.† â€Å"What?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Left for good? Just like that?† Sydney had a blunt nature, but this was abrupt even for her. â€Å"The Alchemists†¦ well, they’re always on the move.† Olena handed me a piece of paper. â€Å"She left this for you.† I took the note and immediately opened it. Sydney’s handwriting was neat and precise. Somehow this didn’t surprise me. Rose, I’m sorry I had to leave so quickly, but when the Alchemists tell me to jump†¦ well, I jump. I’ve hitched a ride back to that farm town we stayed in so that I can pick up the Red Hurricane, and then I’m off to Saint Petersburg. Apparently, now that you’ve been delivered to Baia, they don’t need me to stick around anymore. I wish I could tell you more about Abe and what he wants from you. Even if I was allowed to, there isn’t much to say. In some ways, he’s as much a mystery to me as he is to you. Like I said, a lot of the business he deals in is illegal-both among humans and Moroi. The only time he gets directly involved with people is when something relates to that business-or if it’s a very, very special case. I think you’re one of those cases, and even if he doesn’t intend you harm, he might want to use you for his own purposes. It could be as simple as him wanting to contract you as a bodyguard, seeing as you’re rogue. Maybe he wants to use you to get to others. Maybe this is all part of someone else’s plan, someone who’s even more mysterious than him. Maybe he’s doing someone a favor. Zmey can be dangerous or kind, all depending on what he needs to accomplish. I never thought I’d care enough to say this to a dhampir, but be careful. I don’t know what your plans are now, but I have a feeling trouble follows you around. Call me if there’s anything I can help with, but if you go back to the big cities to hunt Strigoi, don’t leave any more bodies unattended! All the best, Sydney P.S. â€Å"The Red Hurricane† is what I named the car. P.P.S. Just because I like you, it doesn’t mean I still don’t think you’re an evil creature of the night. You are. Her cell phone number was added at the bottom, and I couldn’t help but smile. Since we’d ridden to Baia with Abe and his guardians, Sydney had had to leave the car behind, which had traumatized her almost as much as the Strigoi. I hoped the Alchemists would let her keep it. I shook my head, amused in spite of her warnings about Abe. The Red Hurricane. As I headed upstairs to my room, my smile faded. Despite her abrasive attitude, I was going to miss Sydney. She might not exactly be a friend-or was she?-but in this brief time, I’d come to regard her as a constant in my life. I didn’t have many of those left anymore. I felt adrift, unsure what to do now. I’d come here to bring peace to Dimitri and had only ended up bringing grief to his family. And if what everyone said was true, I wasn’t going to find many Strigoi here in Baia. Somehow, I couldn’t picture Dimitri, wandering the road and farms for the occasional prey. Even as a Strigoi -and it killed me to think those words-Dimitri would have a purpose. If he wasn’t returning to the familiar sights of his hometown, then he would be doing something else meaningful-inasmuch as a Strigoi could. Sydney’s comment in the note had verified what I kept hearing over and over: Strigoi were in the cities. But which one? Where would Dimitri go? Now I was the one without a purpose. On top of it all, I couldn’t help but replay Mark’s words. Was I really on an insane vigilante mission? Was I foolishly rushing to my death? Or was I foolishly rushing into†¦ nothing? Was I doomed to spend the rest of my days wandering? Alone? Sitting on my bed, I felt my mood plummet and knew I had to distract myself. I was too susceptible to dark emotions as long as Lissa used spirit; I didn’t need to further encourage them. I slipped on the ring that Mark had given me, hoping it would bring some sort of clarity and tranquility. I felt no noticeable difference, though, and decided to seek peace from that same place I always did: Lissa’s mind. She was with Adrian, and the two were practicing spirit again. After some initial bumps in the road, Adrian was proving a quick study at healing. That had been the first of Lissa’s powers to manifest, and it always irked her that he made more progress on what she had to teach him than vice versa. â€Å"I’m running out of things for you to heal,† she said, setting some tiny potted plants onto a table. â€Å"Unless we start cutting off limbs or something.† Adrian smiled. â€Å"I used to tease Rose about that, how I was going to impress her by healing amputees or something equally absurd.† â€Å"Oh, and I’m sure she had a smartass response for you each time.† â€Å"Yes, yes, she did.† His face was fond as he recalled the memory. There was a part of me that was always insanely curious to hear them talk about me†¦ yet at the same time, I always felt bad at the grief my name seemed to invoke. Lissa groaned and stretched out on the carpeted floor. They were in a dorm lounge, and curfew was swiftly approaching. â€Å"I want to talk to her, Adrian.† â€Å"You can’t,† he said. There was an unusual seriousness in his voice. â€Å"I know she still checks in on you-that’s the closest you’ll get to talking to her. And honestly? That’s not so bad. You can tell her exactly how you feel.† â€Å"Yeah, but I want to hear her talk back like you do in your dreams.† This made him smile again. â€Å"She does plenty of talking back, believe me.† Lissa sat up straight. â€Å"Do it now.† â€Å"Do what now?† â€Å"Go visit her dreams. You always try to explain it to me, but I’ve never actually seen it. Let me watch.† He stared, at a loss for words. â€Å"That’s kind of voyeuristic.† â€Å"Adrian! I want to learn this, and we’ve tried everything else. I can feel the magic around you sometimes. Just do it, okay?† He started to protest again but then bit off his comment after studying her face for a moment. Her words had been sharp and demanding-very uncharacteristic for her. â€Å"Okay. I’ll try.† The whole idea of Adrian trying to get into my head while I was watching him through Lissa’s head was surreal, to say the least. I didn’t quite know what to expect from him. I’d always wondered if he had to be asleep or at least have his eyes closed. Apparently not. He instead stared off at nothing, his eyes going vacant as his mind left the world around him. Through Lissa’s eyes, I could see some of the magic radiating off him and his aura, and she tried to analyze each strand. Then, without warning, all the magic faded. He blinked and shook his head. â€Å"Sorry. I can’t do it.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Probably because she’s awake. Did you learn anything by watching?† â€Å"A little. Probably would’ve been more useful if you’d actually made the connection.† Again, Lissa had that petulant tone. â€Å"She could be anywhere in the world, you know, on any schedule.† His words were smothered by a yawn. â€Å"Maybe we can try at different times of the day. I’ve been getting her†¦ actually, close to this time. Or sometimes I catch her really early in the day.† â€Å"She could be close by then,† said Lissa. â€Å"Or on a human daylight schedule in some other part of the world.† Her enthusiasm dropped. â€Å"Right. That too.† â€Å"How come you guys never look like you’re working?† Christian strolled into the room, looking amused at Lissa sitting on the floor and Adrian sprawling on the couch. Standing behind Christian was someone I hadn’t thought I’d see anytime soon. Adrian, who could detect women a mile away, also immediately noticed the newcomer. â€Å"Where’d you get the jailbait?† he asked. Christian shot Adrian a warning look. â€Å"This is Jill.† Jill Mastrano allowed herself to be nudged forward, her light green eyes impossibly wide as she looked around. â€Å"Jill, this is Lissa and Adrian.† Jill was one of the last people I’d expected to see here. I’d met her a little over a month ago. She was in ninth grade, which meant she’d be here on the upper campus in the fall. She had the same super-slim build that most Moroi had, but it was paired with height that was impressive even by vampiric standards. It made her look rail-thin. Her hair fell in light brown curls to the middle of her back and would be beautiful-when she learned how to style it properly. For now, it was kind of messy, and her overall impression-while cute-was kind of awkward. â€Å"H-hi,† she said, looking from face to face. As far as she was concerned, these were Moroi gold star celebrities. She’d nearly passed out when she first met me and Dimitri, thanks to our reputations. From her expression, she was in a similar state now. â€Å"Jill wants to learn how to use her power for good instead of evil,† said Christian with an exaggerated wink. That was his coy way of saying Jill wanted to learn how to fight with her magic. She’d expressed the interest to me, and I’d told her to find Christian. I was glad she’d had the courage to take me up on my advice. Christian was a campus celebrity too, albeit an infamous one. â€Å"Another recruit?† asked Lissa, shaking her head. â€Å"Think you’ll keep this one around?† Jill gave Christian a startled look. â€Å"What’s that mean?† â€Å"After the attack, lots of people said they wanted to learn to fight with magic,† Christian explained. â€Å"So they found me, and we worked together†¦ once or twice. Then everyone faded away once it got hard, and they realized they had to keep practicing.† â€Å"It doesn’t help that you’re a mean teacher,† pointed out Lissa. â€Å"And so now you’ve got to recruit among children,† said Adrian solemnly. â€Å"Hey,† said Jill indignantly. â€Å"I’m fourteen.† Immediately, she flushed at having spoken so boldly to him. He found it amusing, as he did so many other things. â€Å"My mistake,† he said. â€Å"What’s your element?† â€Å"Water.† â€Å"Fire and water, huh?† Adrian reached into his pocket and pulled out a one-hundred-dollar bill. He snapped it out straight. â€Å"Sweetheart, I’ll make you a deal. If you can make a bucket of water appear and dump over Christian’s head, I’ll give you this.† â€Å"I’ll add in ten,† laughed Lissa. Jill looked stunned, but I suspected it was because Adrian had called her â€Å"sweetheart.† I took Adrian for granted so often that it was easy to forget he really was a hot guy. Christian pushed Jill toward the door. â€Å"Ignore them. They’re just jealous because spirit users can’t go charging into battle like we can.† He knelt down to Lissa’s height on the floor and gave her a quick kiss. â€Å"We were practicing in the lounge upstairs, but I’ve got to walk her back now. I’ll see you tomorrow.† â€Å"You don’t have to,† said Jill. â€Å"I can get back there fine. I don’t want to be any trouble.† Adrian stood up. â€Å"You aren’t. If anyone’s going to step up and be the knight in shining armor here, it might as well be me. I’ll take you back and leave the lovebirds to their lovebirding.† He gave Jill a grand bow. â€Å"Shall we?† â€Å"Adrian-† said Lissa, a sharp note in her voice. â€Å"Oh, come on,† he said, rolling his eyes. â€Å"I’ve got to head back anyway-you guys are of no use once curfew comes. And honestly, give me some credit here. Even I have boundaries.† He gave Lissa a meaningful look, one that told her she was an idiot for thinking he was going to hit on Jill. Lissa held his gaze for a few moments and realized he was right. Adrian was a scoundrel at times and had never made his interest in me a secret, but walking Jill home wasn’t part of some grand seduction. He really was just being nice. â€Å"All right,† said Lissa. â€Å"I’ll see you later. Nice meeting you, Jill.† â€Å"You too,† said Jill. She dared a smile at Christian. â€Å"Thanks again.† â€Å"You better show up for our next practice,† he warned. Adrian and Jill started to step out the door, just as Avery stepped through it. â€Å"Hey, Adrian.† Avery gave Jill a once-over. â€Å"Who’s your jailbait?† â€Å"Will you guys stop calling me that?† exclaimed Jill. Adrian pointed at Avery chastisingly. â€Å"Hush. I’ll deal with you later, Lazar.† â€Å"I certainly hope so,† she said in a singsong voice. â€Å"I’ll leave the door unlocked.† Jill and Adrian left, and Avery sat down next to Lissa. She seemed animated enough to be drunk, but Lissa smelled no liquor on her. Lissa was rapidly learning that some part of Avery was always just vivacious and carefree, regardless of intoxication. â€Å"Did you really just invite Adrian to your room later?† asked Lissa. She spoke teasingly but had been secretly wondering if something was going on between them. And yeah, that made two of us who wondered. Avery shrugged. â€Å"I don’t know. Maybe. Sometimes we hang out once you guys are all tucked into bed. You aren’t going to get jealous, are you?† â€Å"No,† laughed Lissa. â€Å"Just curious. Adrian’s a good guy.† â€Å"Oh?† asked Christian. â€Å"Define ? ®good.'† Avery held up her hand and began ticking items off with each finger. â€Å"He’s devastatingly handsome, funny, rich, related to the queen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You got your wedding colors picked out?† asked Lissa, still laughing. â€Å"Not yet,† said Avery. â€Å"I’m still testing the waters. I figured he’d be an easy notch on the Avery Lazar belt, but he’s kind of hard to read.† â€Å"I really don’t want to be hearing this,† Christian said. â€Å"Sometimes he acts like a love ’em and leave ’em type. Other times, he mopes like some heartbroken romantic.† Lissa exchanged a knowing glance with Christian that Avery didn’t catch while talking. â€Å"Anyway, I’m not here to talk about him. I’m here to talk about you and me busting out of here.† Avery threw her arm around Lissa, who nearly fell over. â€Å"Out of where? The dorm?† â€Å"No. This school. We’re going off on a wild weekend to the Royal Court .† â€Å"What, this weekend?† Lissa felt like she was three steps behind, and I didn’t blame her. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because it’s Easter. And her royal majesty thought it would be ? ®lovely’ if you could join her for the holiday.† Avery’s tone was grand and high-pitched. â€Å"And, since I’ve been hanging out with you, Dad’s decided I’m on good behavior now.† â€Å"Poor oblivious bastard,† murmured Christian. â€Å"So he said I can go with you.† Avery glanced at Christian. â€Å"You can too, I guess. The queen said Lissa could bring a guest-in addition to me, of course.† Lissa looked into Avery’s radiant face and didn’t share her enthusiasm. â€Å"I hate going to Court. Tatiana just goes on and on, giving what she thinks is useful advice for me. It’s always boring and miserable now.† Lissa didn’t add that she’d once found Court fun-when I’d gone with her. â€Å"That’s because you haven’t gone with me yet. It’ll be a blast! I know where all the good stuff is. And I bet Adrian’ll come too. He can push his way into anything. It’ll be like a double date.† Slowly, Lissa began to acknowledge that this might be fun. She and I had managed to find a little of the â€Å"good stuff† that hid underneath the polished surface of Court life. Every other visit since had been just as she described-stuffy and businesslike. But now, going with Christian and wild, spontaneous Avery? That had potential. Until Christian ruined it. â€Å"Well, don’t count me in,† he said. â€Å"If you can only bring one person, bring Jill.† â€Å"Who?† asked Avery. â€Å"Jailbait,† explained Lissa. She looked at Christian in astonishment. â€Å"Why on earth would I bring Jill? I just met her.† â€Å"Because she’s actually serious about learning to defend herself. You should introduce her to Mia. They’re both water users.† â€Å"Right,† said Lissa knowingly. â€Å"And the fact that you hate it at Court has nothing to do with it?† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Christian!† Lissa was suddenly getting upset. â€Å"Why can’t you do this for me?† â€Å"Because I hate the way Queen Bitch looks at me,† he said. Lissa didn’t find this convincing. â€Å"Yeah, but when we graduate, I’ll be living there. You’ll have to go then.† â€Å"Yeah, well, then give me this small vacation first.† Lissa’s irritation grew. â€Å"Oh, I see how it is. I have to put up with your crap all the time, but you can’t go out of your way for me.† Avery glanced between them and then stood up. â€Å"I’ll leave you kids to work this out on your own. I don’t care whether Christian or Jailbait goes, as long as you’re there.† She peered down at Lissa. â€Å"You are going, right?† â€Å"Yeah. I’ll go.† If anything, Christian’s refusal had suddenly spurred Lissa more. Avery grinned. â€Å"Awesome. I’m going to head out of here, but you two had better kiss and make up when I’m gone.† Avery’s brother Reed suddenly appeared in the doorway. â€Å"Are you ready?† he asked her. Every time he spoke, it always came out as sort of a grunt. Avery flashed the others a triumphant look. â€Å"See? My gallant brother, coming to walk me back before those dorm matrons start yelling at me to leave. Now Adrian’ll have to find a new and exciting way to prove his chivalry.† Reed didn’t look very gallant or chivalrous, but I supposed it was nice of him to come walk her back to her room. His timing had been eerily perfect. Maybe she was right about him not being as bad as people always thought. As soon as Avery was gone, Lissa turned on Christian. â€Å"Are you really serious about me bringing Jill instead of you?† â€Å"Yep,† said Christian. He tried to lie back into her lap, but she pushed him away. â€Å"But I’ll count the seconds until you return.† â€Å"I can’t believe you think this is a joke.† â€Å"I don’t,† he said. â€Å"Look, I didn’t mean to get you all worked up, okay? But really†¦ I just don’t want to deal with all that Court drama. And it would be good for Jill.† He frowned. â€Å"You don’t have anything against her, do you?† â€Å"I don’t even know her,† said Lissa. She was still upset-more so than I would have expected, which was odd. Christian caught hold of Lissa’s hands, face serious. Those blue eyes she loved softened her anger a little. â€Å"Please, I’m not trying to upset you. If it’s really that important†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Like that, Lissa’s anger diffused. It was abrupt, like a switch. â€Å"No, no. I’m fine bringing Jill-though I’m not sure she should be hanging out with us and doing whatever Avery has in mind.† â€Å"Give Jill to Mia. She’ll look after her for the weekend.† Lissa nodded, wondering why he was so interested in Jill. â€Å"Okay. But you’re not doing this because you don’t like Avery, are you?† â€Å"No, I like Avery. She makes you smile more.† â€Å"You make me smile.† â€Å"That’s why I added on the ? ®more.'† Christian gently kissed Lissa’s hand. â€Å"You’ve been so sad since Rose left. I’m glad you’re hanging out with someone else-I mean, not that you can’t get everything you need from me.† â€Å"Avery’s not a Rose replacement,† said Lissa quickly. â€Å"I know. But she reminds me of her.† â€Å"What? They have nothing in common.† Christian straightened up and sat beside her, resting his face against her shoulder. â€Å"Avery’s like how Rose used to be, back before you guys left.† Both Lissa and I paused to ponder that. Was he right? Before Lissa’s spirit powers had begun showing, she and I had lived a party girl lifestyle. And yes, half the time I was the one coming up with the crazy ideas to find a good time and get us into trouble. But had I been as out there as Avery seemed sometimes? â€Å"There’ll never be another Rose,† said Lissa sadly. â€Å"No,† agreed Christian. He gave her a brief, soft kiss on the mouth. â€Å"But there will be other friends.† I knew he was right, but I couldn’t help but feel a small stab of jealousy. I also couldn’t help feel a small amount of worry. Lissa’s brief spurt of irritation had been kind of out of the blue. I could understand her wishing Christian could go, but her attitude had been a little bitchy-and her almost jealous worry over Jill was weird too. Lissa had no reason to doubt Christian’s feelings, certainly not over someone like Jill. Lissa’s moodiness reminded me too much of the old days. Most likely she was overtired, but some instinct-maybe it was part of the bonding-told me something was wrong. It was a fleeting sensation, one I couldn’t quite get a hold of, like water slipping through my fingers. Still, my instincts had been right before, and I decided I’d be checking in on Lissa more frequently. How to cite Blood Promise Chapter Eleven, Essay examples

Organizations Use of Socialization Based Tools

Question: Discuss about the Organizations Use of Socialization Based Tools. Answer: Organisations Use of Socialization-Based Tools: Decryption Selected organization is EBay and in this section, the use of socialization tools is important for socializing the knowledge management solutions. The tools are identified as meetings, group discussion, and brainstorming (Hashim et al. 2016). The tools are essential for promoting the changes in EBay, primarily, the socialization process followed with anticipated hiring process for candidates. Preliminary socialization involves the hiring process for interviews and ascertaining the good fit for candidates. Meetings Meetings should be incorporated within the smaller groups within weekly frequency for gaining important decisions about certain topic. The topic could be improvement of the performance of the stakeholders, training requirements to achieve success in certain domains, and improvement of the process as well (Schiavo et al. 2016). The meetings incorporate the supportive relationships between the stakeholders. The team meetings are important for sorting out the supports between the hierarchical dominance and stakeholder decisions. Each team members could identify the supportive characters within the meetings and offer individual support. Meetings are vital for learning about the motivations, their fears, hoping and facing troubles (Chen, Wu and Lee 2016). These points are identified during meetings so the stakeholders could mitigate them or use them to involve their potential to adjust the performance. In general, the 55% of the communication in meetings are important for conveyance of non-verbal means with reading individual opinions about their perspective to the organization. The team meetings present the safe environment with opportunity for sharing information. Meetings play a suitable role for leadership in certain perspectives as well (Lehfeldt 2016). The team leaders could use team meetings for rallying the troops, clarification of mission, and their participation in team. Leadership could be difficult in case of lesser engagement in team. The intimacy between the team members could not be replaced in team meetings. Physical meetings and conference between the personnel could not be replaced for video conferencing (Eisenbart et al. 2016). Team meetings could allow the attendants for lifting their performance to daily operations. Team meetings are important for creation of air-pocket for the attendants in focusing. The meetings are important for freeing individual spaces for feedback within right level. Group Discussion Group discussion is identified as major talking and discussion sessions in between stakeholders for gaining individual opinions for one particular agenda. Group discussions are significantly useful for selection of particular and valid points about knowledge management (Heinrich et al. 2016). For EBay, the group discussion could be an effective tool to improve the information among the people with harnessing best understanding about the agenda. Moreover, the discussion sessions reduce major confusions from opinions amongst the employees. In EBay and its knowledge management process, the group discussion session is important for sorting opinions from prioritizing it in order to execution. Major decisions could be taken with for opting the group biasness and their inclination to certain agenda support. Group discussion sessions ought to be engaged with initializing the agenda management with knowledge sharing and information passing among the team (Hashim et al. 2016). Major discussion session took out the wrong ideas and concepts from the team to form suitable conclusion so that EBay can take major outcomes from the discussion. The outcomes can be essential to identify the marketing decisions, pricing trends, business requirements, and HR initiatives to be undertaken in long run (Schiavo et al. 2016). Group discussion should be conducted within a day for frequent and distinct outcomes. Brainstorming In case of any bigger organization such as EBay, the brainstorming sessions are essential to bring creativity, fresh ideas and innovation for contribution of successful efforts. Major and effective marketing campaigns are supported with brainstorming to address the employee opinions (Chen, Wu and Lee 2016). Advertisements, slogans, and marketing sessions could be efficiently managed with brainstorming sessions with creative and appropriate ideas. In any organization, brainstorming is important for several reasons such as: Collection of different separate viewpoints is important for reduction of repetitive or stale ideas from certain plans. Encouraging critical and individual thinking for addressing the solutions as it is another major advantage for brainstorming. Getting and sharing the entire situation for solving it with stakeholders; that helps in minimizing the jumbled or vague ideas from ones head (Eisenbart et al. 2016). Sharing thoughts could increase effective decisions in giving detailed and well-shaped ideas. Brainstorming is effective for forming smaller teams and groups to emphasize over certain agendas (Lehfeldt 2016). Groups that practice brainstorming could enable the certain talents and expertise in helping the team further. References Chen, C.Y., Wu, K.W. and Lee, J.C., 2016, January. A Meeting-Oriented Process for Streamlining Business Collaboration: A Conceptual Example of Software Development Case. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering Research and Practice (SERP) (p. 224). The Steering Committee of The World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Applied Computing (WorldComp). Eisenbart, B., Garbuio, M., Mascia, D. and Morandi, F., 2016. Does scheduling matter? When unscheduled decision making results in more effective meetings. Journal of Strategy and Management, 9(1), pp.15-38. Hashim, A.T., Ariffin, A., Razalli, A.R., Shukor, A.A., NizamNasrifan, M., Ariffin, A.K., Yusof, A.B. and Yusof, N.A.A., 2016. Nominal Group Technique: a Brainstorming Tool for Identifying Learning Activities Using Musical Instruments to Enhance Creativity and Imagination of Young Children. International Advisory Board, 23, p.80. Heinrich, S., Uribe, F.L., Roes, M., Hoffmann, W., Thyrian, J.R., Wolf-Ostermann, K. and Holle, B., 2016. Knowledge management in dementia care networks: a qualitative analysis of successful information and support strategies for people with dementia living at home and their family caregivers. Public health, 131, pp.40-48. Lehfeldt, E.A., 2016. Building a Better Meeting. The Department Chair, 26(3), pp.11-12. Schiavo, G., Cappelletti, A., Mencarini, E., Stock, O. and Zancanaro, M., 2016. Influencing Participation in Group Brainstorming Through Ambient Intelligence. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 32(3), pp.258-276.

Pairnoia Essays - Pictures Of Spaceships, Alien Invasion

Pairnoia Most people believe that the first REAL proof of alien invasion was that associated with Roswell, New Mexico, but some people believe differently. Since the earliest man learned to paint, there have been pictures of spaceships and rockets on cave walls. These flying objects have supposedly brought the message that the world will end in the year 2000, but the same end of the world chaos was experienced just before the year 1000 as well. Irrelevance, however, sets in when we come to terms with the fact (as Jean Donnely would tell us) that according to the Israelites, it is one thousand, nine hundred and ninety seven years anno domini, when in reality it is a scam, and time is at least three years off anyway. So the big question that is aroused is...Does anybody care Death is inevitable, and weather it comes naturally, with emphysema, AIDS, or the end of the world, or even by means of alien abduction is irrelevant. One then cant help but be lead to believe (By Isaac Asmiov) that the real question amounts to: DO MOTHS ACTUALLY EAT THE CLOTH, OR ARE THEY JUST TRYING TO FIND THEIR WAY THROUGH?...Which sparks further interest: are moths blind? Each answer seems to rely arabesquely on the next, and it seems that if one answer were slightly miscalculated, that the whole process of human embodiment would cease to exist. For instance, if moths are blind, then why are they so drawn to the light on the other side of the cloth? Or if indeed they can see, then why don't they just fly right around? This further drives thoughts into the theory that our ?pinkie? fingers are getting smaller with evolution and will eventually lack presence, as will happen alike with every other feature of our physical body. This process will leave us in Einstein's hypothetical pinnacle-of-evolution or as the most advanced spices...a giant ball of energy with no bodies. So does Evolution really even exist? I plan on self termination before the day I care to find the answer to these unknown, leaving you back towards the beginning...Does anybody care?...NO!

Biography of Sonia Delaunay, Modernist Designer

Biography of Sonia Delaunay, Modernist Designer Sonia Delaunay (born Sophia Stern; November 14, 1885 – December 5, 1979) was one of the pioneers of abstract art at the turn of the century. She is best known for her participation in the art movement of Simultaneity (also known as Orphism), which placed vibrant contrasting colors alongside one another in order to stimulate the feeling of movement in the eye. She was also a highly successful textile and clothing designer, making a living off of the colorful dress and fabric designs she produced in her Paris studio. Early Life Sonia Delaunay was born Sophia Stern in 1885 in Ukraine. (Though she lived there only briefly, Delaunay would cite the brilliant sunsets of Ukraine as the inspiration behind her colorful textiles.) By the age of five she had moved to Saint Petersburg to live with her wealthy uncle. She was eventually adopted by their family and became Sonia Terk. (Delaunay is sometimes referred to as Sonia Delaunay-Terk.) In St. Petersburg, Delaunay lived the life of a cultured aristocrat, learning German, English, and French and traveling often. Delaunay moved to Germany to attend art school, and then eventually went on to Paris, where she enrolled in lAcadà ©mie de la Palette. While in Paris, her gallerist Wilhelm Uhde agreed to marry her as a favor, so that she could avoid moving back to Russia. Though a marriage of convenience, her association with Uhde would prove instrumental. Delaunay exhibited her art for the first time at his gallery and through him met many important figures in the Parisian art scene, including Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and her future husband, Robert Delaunay. Sonia and Robert married in 1910, after Sonia and Uhde amicably divorced. Fascination with Color In 1911, Sonia and Robert Delaunays son was born. As a baby blanket, Sonia sewed a patchwork quilt of brilliant colors, reminiscent of the bright colors of folkloric Ukrainian textiles. This quilt is an early example of the Delaunays’ commitment to Simultaneity, a way of combining contrasting colors to create a sensation of movement in the eye. Both Sonia and Robert used it in their painting to evoke the fast pace of the new world, and it became instrumental to the appeal of Sonia’s home furnishings and fashions which she would later turn into a commercial business. Twice a week, in Paris, the Delaunays attended the Bal Bullier, a fashionable nightclub and ballroom. Though she would not dance, Sonia was inspired by the movement and action of dancing figures. At the turn of the century, the world was rapidly industrializing, and artists found figurative representation to be insufficient in describing the changes they were observing. For Robert and Sonia Delaunay, saturation of color was the way to depict the electric vibrations of modernity and the best way to describe the subjectivity of the self. Sonia Delauanay, Flamenco Dancer. 1916. Oil on canvas. Private collection. WikiArt / Public Domain Advances in the science of color theory had proved that perception was inconsistent among individual perceivers. The subjectivity of color, as well the realization that vision was a state of perpetual flux, was a reflection of the unstable world of political and social change in which the only thing man could verify was his individual experience. As an expression of her subjective self, as well as due to her fascination with juxtaposing color, Sonia made the first simultaneous dresses, much like the colorful patchwork quilts she made for her son, which she wore to the Bal Bullier. Soon she was making similar items of clothing for her husband and the various poets and artists close to the couple, including a vest for poet Louis Aragon. Spain and Portugal At the outbreak of World War I, Sonia and Robert were vacationing in Spain. They decided not to return to Paris, but instead to exile themselves to the Iberian Peninsula. They successfully settled into expat life, using the isolation to focus on their work. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Sonia lost the income that she had been receiving from her aunt and uncle in St. Petersburg. Left with little means while living in Madrid, Sonia was forced to found a workshop which she named Casa Sonia (and later renamed to Boutique Simultanà ©e upon return to Paris). From Casa Sonia, she produced her increasingly popular textiles, dresses, and home goods. Through her connections with fellow Russian Sergei Diaghilev, she designed eye popping interiors for the Spanish aristocracy. Delaunay became popular at a moment in which fashion was significantly changing for young European women. The First World War demanded that women enter the workforce, and as a result, their attire had to change to accommodate their new tasks. After the war was over, it was difficult to convince these women to return to the more restrictive dress of the 1900s and 1910s. Figures like Delaunay (and, perhaps most famously, her contemporary Coco Chanel) designed for the New Woman, who was more interested in freedom of movement and expression. In this way, Delaunay’s designs, which focused on movement of the eye across their patterned surfaces, also encouraged movement of the body in their loose fits and billowing scarves, proving two-fold that Delaunay was a champion of this radically new and exciting lifestyle. (Not to mention that she was the primary breadwinner for her family, making Sonia an exemplar for New Womanhood.) An example of Delaunays beachwear. Luigi Diaz / Hulton Archives / Getty Images Collaborations Delaunay’s exuberance and interest in multimedia collaboration, as well as her creative and social friendships with artistic Parisian notables, were fruitful grounds for collaborations. In 1913, Delaunay illustrated the poem Prose du transsibà ©rien, written by the couple’s good friend, Surrealist poet Blaise Cendrars. This work, now in the collection of Britain’s Tate Modern, bridges the gap between poetry and the visual arts and uses Delaunay’s understanding of undulating form to illustrate the action of the poem. Her collaborative nature also led her to her design costumes for many stage productions, from Tristan Tzara’s play the Gas Heart to Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Delaunay’s output was defined by the fusion of creativity and production, where no element of her life was relegated to a single category. Her designs adorned the surfaces of her living space, covering the wall and furniture as wallpaper and upholstery. Even the doors in her apartment were decorated with poems scrawled by her many poet friends. An example of Delaunays painted work.   Getty Images Later Life and Legacy Sonia Delaunay’s contribution to French art and design was acknowledged by the French government in 1975 when she was named an officer of the Legion d’Honneur, the highest merit awarded to French civilians. She died in 1979 in Paris, thirty-eight years after her husbands death. Her effusiveness for art and color has had lasting appeal. She continues to be celebrated posthumously in retrospectives and group shows, independently and alongside the work of her husband Robert. Her legacy in the worlds of both art and fashion will not soon be forgotten. Sources Buck, R., ed. (1980). Sonia Delaunay: A Retrospective. Buffalo, NY: Albright-Knox Gallery.Cohen, A. (1975). Sonia Delaunay. New York: Abrams.Damase, J. (1991).Sonia Delaunay: Fashion and Fabrics. New York: Abrams.Morano, E. (1986). Sonia Delaunay: Art into Fashion. New York: George Braziller.

Procter&Gamble Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Procter&Gamble - Essay Example ledge and learning, discipline and thoroughness are part of Procter and Gamble’s ideals of best practice.By implementing profit sharing, the company reinforces loyalty for the company, mutual respect and trust between management and workers. Among the principles and values are a deep commitment towards customers’ best interests, social service, employees’ welfare and business operations that are simple, direct and transparent. (Dyer et al, 2004: ix, 46, 305). Increasing intense competition from Unilever, Johnson and Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, L’Oreal and other companies is weakening the company’s position in the share market. Further, demand for consumer goods is impacted by the soundness of the United States economy and particularly by corporate profits. Also, investigators have uncovered the fact that animal testing is being done by the company in harsh conditions for its cosmetic and drug manufacturing units (Swasy, 1994: 196). Since consumers are aware of the ethics behind production and the need for corporate social responsibility, this may affect the marketability of its products. Acquisitions such as the recent one of Gillette prove to be mutually beneficial (Hannon, 2008: 46). Further, developing the different markets which are opening up opportunities for P & G to establish itself has to be done with priority product categories, and the organization to be developed to carry out the strategies have to be planned (Conklin, 2006: 189). Technological advances have made it possible to increase the rate of production several times, thus reducing overhead costs (Swasy, 1994: 97). With the aging population all over the world increasing in proportion, as compared to a decade earlier, the growing need for skin care and pharmaceutical products along with research development has opened up new opportunities in these spheres. Competitors have been devoting more research funds to cosmetics than to detergents or other products, with higher profit margins

What is Communism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is Communism - Research Paper Example Is Communism truly a political monster to fear? This paper will serve to help define what Communism stands for in our modern world and why certain traits of Communism seem to help nations such as China achieve a prosperous status that the other economically emerging non-communist countries find hard to achieve. First of all, it is of the utmost importance that one understands the definition of Communism as a philosophy rather than an ideology. It is a method by which society leaders hope to gain economic equality for all the members of the community by imposing certain restrictions upon the wealthy and the poor. According to Hoyt (â€Å"How Communism Works†): Simply put, communism is the idea that everyone in a given society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. Communism is designed to allow the poor to rise up and attain financial and social status equal to that of the middle-class landowners. This equality is achieved once the redistribution of wealth is imposed between the upper and lower strata of society that allows the two distinct social economies to meet simply as the Middle Class. In other words, there are no poor people or rich people under a Communist regime, only people of equal economic standing. There is however, one very distinct reason or trait that allows this kind of philosophy to work in a society. There is no room for Capitalist ventures in a Communist state. Only the State is allowed to own property and thus, control the wealth from the income of the government property holdings. On other words, the State controls the wealth of the country and only the state is allowed to own and distribute the wealth amongst the citizens. This method insures that everyone who worked for that particular labor sector gets his fair share for the hard work he provided. Such a method seems to be working very well for the Chinese whose factory sector is currently booming. Under their work code, the laborers live on site and work as long as 14 hours a day. They are housed by the state and provided with food and lodging equivalent to their necessary work hours. It is a method that has proven to be quite effective in improving not only the international economic standing of their country, but the social-economic standing of their people as well. Another trait that helps Communism flourish is the fact that their social-economic structure is mainly concerned with equality and fairness. In fact, Communism is sometimes defined as a â€Å"... socio economic structure that stands for the establishment of a classless, egalitarian and stateless society. â€Å" (Prabhat â€Å"Difference Between Communism and Democracy†). This is a trait that was strongly advocated and promoted within the former Soviet Union as its classless society defined its social standing on the international world stage. Their citizens not only adhered to their Marxists principles in an almost fanatical way, but they also dressed the same both in private and in public. However, it is also important to note that the third trait of Communism is also the one trait that makes it highly feared by the Democracy ruled countries. This is the trait that vests the power over the country and its people among only a small group of people who decide the course of action for the nation and its citizens. The people's voice is not heard by the government as it is not considered central nor important in the everyday dealings of the politicians. Therefore, people are not allowed to have any elected representatives in their executive, legislative, or judicial branches of government. This is clearly seen in the method

Female Circumcision Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Female Circumcision - Research Paper Example e statistics are very important because they show the prevalence of FGM worldwide; they reveal that the fight against FGM must be waged more fiercely because it is far from over. In Kenya, for example, 38% of women have been subjected to some kind of FGM; in some parts of the country (like Kisii) this figure rises to 97% (Wangila 27). Female circumcision and the removal of female genitalia are thought to be almost 2,000 years old (Female genital mutilation: report of a WHO Technical Working Group, Geneva, 17-19 July 1995 103). In fact, some scholars speculate that it may even be older than Islam. Its exact beginnings have not been properly documented, but there is no dispute that it has been around for centuries. FGM basically involves the intentional alteration or causal of injury to parts of the female genitalia out of reasons that have no medical basis whatsoever. In the Islamic world, female circumcision is less prevalent (compared to Africa) and is limited to certain communities that try to justify it by employing the Quran. Among Jews, it has only been documented as practiced by Ethiopian Jews (Falasha), but currently it is also limited among them (Gruenbaum 93). Currently, there are few (if any) known religious sects that advocate for female circumcision anywhere in the world. This involves the forceful reduction in size (or narrowing) of the vaginal opening by creating some kind of seal to cover it (Female genital mutilation 1). This seal is created by excising and adjusting the position of the outer, or inner, labia, with or without necessarily removing the clitoris. Apart from these three procedures, there are others that are not usually classified as circumcision but also involve alteration or causal of injury to female genitalia. These include (but are not limited to) piercing, cauterizing, scraping, pricking and incising the genital area. Female circumcision can leave a girl scarred for life. The procedure is often carried out without sedation and

Malaysia Airlines Marketing Analysis

Malaysia Airlines Marketing Analysis Jump to: PEST Analysis | Marketing Mix Analysis | 5 Ps Analysis Malaysia Airlines, more commonly known as MAS was founded in 1947, as Malayan Airways. Its primary hub used for domestic and international flights is the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the secondary hub being Kota Kinabalu International Airport. Malaysia Airlines has flights that cover most of Asia and flights that go on the Kangaroo Route between Europe and Australia. They also operate transpacific flights from Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles, via Tokyo. MAS consists of two main airline subsidiaries that are MASwings and Firefly. Firefly focuses on flights to tertiary cities whereas MASwings prioritizes inter-Borneo flights. Apart from that, MAS also has a freighter fleet operated by MASKargo, which commands freighter flights as well as aircraft cargo-hold for all Malaysia Airlines passenger flights. Lastly, MASCharter operated charter flights using MAS aircrafts. 2.0 Market Environments Micro and Macro 2.1 Micro Environment Malaysian Airlines Systems (MAS) has suffered financially throughout the past decades due to many factors, just like other major full-service carrier airlines company in other countries. Due to events such as the September 11th terrorist attack, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and also the outbreak of many viruses notably the Influenza virus, the airlines companies throughout the world had suffered its consequences. In order to evaluate Malaysia Airlines microenvironment, the method used is the Porters five forces analysis which consists of Threat of New Entrants, Power of the Customer, Power of the Supplier, Substitutes and Competitive Rivalry. 2.1.1 Threat of New Entrants Malaysian Airlines Systems (MAS) has not been affected by any threats of new entrants for the international stage because the company has been in the industry for a long period of time, which makes the company more stable and mature through the service they offer in the airlines industry. Although the company may not be threaten right now, there could be possible new entrants to the market which may be created by merging two or more airlines company as one. These mergers may also offer competitive prices and services to their customers and could possibly dominate the full-service carrier market in Malaysia. For the local market, Malaysian Airlines Systems (MAS) had been threatened by the new entries to the market notably Air Asia, and a few other entrants such as Tiger Airways and Berjaya Airways. Although these companies target the low-cost carrier market, they have made a dramatic effect to Malaysia Airlines performance and operations. There could be a possible reason that this trend would continue in the future if MAS through its subsidiary company, FireFly could not be as competitive as the other company. 2.1.2 Power of the Customer The airlines industry is full of operations that fly to many locations from many other locations. In Malaysia, there are other airlines company such as Emirates Airlines and KLM Airlines which offers value for money to customers to fly overseas mainly to Europe, which affects the operations of international flights for Malaysia Airlines. The choice of the customers choosing which airlines they prefer are more open due to its variety of offerings from these flight operators with their competitive prices. Therefore, one company does not have the power to monopolize the market because of customers have power to choose and select when they want to fly at the price they are willing to pay. Based on a research, the power of the flight operators has been decreasing in the late 1990s with business airfares decreasing drastically up to 50%. 2.1.3 Power of the Supplier Aircraft maker, Boeing has been dominating the market of supplying aircraft to airlines companies throughout the world, alongside Airbus and other smaller companies. MAS has been buying planes from Boeing since the start of its operations and for this reason; supplier has the power to control the market due to limited choices for the flight operators to choose from. Most of Malaysia Airlines pilots and staff had been trained to use the Boeing systems since the majority of planes owned by Malaysia Airlines are from Boeing. Recently, Malaysia Airlines had purchased a few up to date aircrafts from Airbus, notably the Airbus A380 Jumbo, for their upgrades to their aircraft line-up. Boeing and Airbus has the power towards their customers because they have been monopolizing the market for a very long time and they produce high quality aircrafts and the safety measures they provide are excellent. 2.1.4 Substitutes For a long distance travelling, substitutes are not possible as there are no other form of transportation that can compete with what airline companies can offer which is comfort, the ease of travel, the speed of travelling and also affordability as compared to other source of travelling such as by car, train, busses or by sea. Travelling through air is also more environmentally friendly, able to save a lot of travelling time and can be considered affordable in the current time. 2.1.5 Competitive Rivalry MAS has been competing with other big competitor in the Asian flight market; one of the companies is the neighbouring airlines company, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. Singapore Airlines has been offering attractive promotions and discounts to their customers and these have affected Malaysia Airlines operations and profitability in the full-service carrier market. The only way for these companies to survive is through merging with other airlines company. 2.1.6 Prospects Malaysia Airlines has been collaborating with many other airlines operators to share international routes mainly with Australias Qantas Airways, where Malaysia Airlines can fly to more routes that provide them with more profits. Malaysia Airlines should also monitor their performance for the unprofitable routes and cut them off from their offerings so that they could avoid huge losses in the future. 2.2 Macro Environment The definition of Macro Environment is the major external and uncontrollable factors that influence an organizations decision making, and affect its performance and strategies. To evaluate the macro or external environmental factors, PEST analysis is used to provide information on the factors that relates to MAS. 2.2.1 Political Factors It is essential to consider political factors towards the airlines industry in Malaysia due to its important nature in order to determine the future growth of the company. Malaysia has been viewed as a peaceful and harmonious country to others, and has become one of the popular and famous attractions for tourist all over the world because the country is politically stable. Malaysia also has many attractive travel destinations for people to visit and it is considered safe to travel anywhere throughout these destinations. The government of Malaysia has been promoting and maintaining its tourism assets and also implements policies and legislation to protect the investors, customer and the public, so that everyone feels at ease when they are in Malaysia. 2.2.2 Economic Factors In the past decade, global financial crisis has happened notably in year 1998, 2003 and year 2008. This event has affected the performance of the airlines industry globally and most airlines companies had suffered a huge loss and bankruptcy. Malaysia Airlines is one of Airlines Company that got affected the most in this region. Malaysia has been categorised as a developing country, therefore, from the past global financial crisis, the purchasing power of the people has gone down drastically and people rather save up more for important needs rather than getting on a flight for holiday or business trip. Although Malaysia Airlines has been pressured by many other competitors in the airlines industry, they have tried to overcome it by launching their initiative plan such as, Everyday Low Fares promotion in which they offer attractive discounts to any flight that has a lot of unsold seats to attract more customers to fly with them. People prefer to fly with low-costs carriers when the glo bal financial crisis occurs. 2.2.3 Social Factors Social factors are elements which consist of demographic and cultural considerations that affect the size of potential market and the needs of its customers. These factors includes beliefs, value, attitude, opinions and lifestyles of a person which may affect the companys external environment such as cultural, ecological, demographic, religious, ethnic and educational. Government has already implemented some ways to boost the tourism and airlines industry by carrying out campaigns by investing in maintaining the attractiveness of the tourists hotspots and provides excellent hospitality towards the tourism industry. People still prefer to travel by air due to its convenience. The change in the lifestyle of the people in Malaysia will probably help boost the tourism and airlines industry in line with the increase in gross national income per capital (GDP), to indicate that more people can afford to travel by air. 2.2.4 Technological Factors Malaysia Airlines provides online services for their customers to book tickets online, and they also provide other packages such as hotel bookings, lease of car, travel insurance and other commodities. In the recent years, Malaysia Airlines has upgraded its online system in which they implement the Passenger Services System (PSS). This system ensures the smoothness of transactions made online, snappier service delivery and also loyalty programmes, namely the Enrich loyalty programme. Malaysia Airlines has also been providing excellent in-plane entertainment systems such as digitalized entertainment screen for selected seats that consists of movies, music on demand, games and interactive applications. 3.0 Marketing Targeting 3.1 Segmentation Market Targeting is a marketing concept that helps marketers to diverge the market into small units that include people of the same mind. Market segmentation can be divided into several areas such as geographic, psychographic and demographic segments. According to demographic research, the average age of Malaysia Airlines passengers is 14.6 years and mostly ranges from 25 years and above. Most passengers of Malaysia Airlines earn high income that enables them to use their services anytime and it is also seen that most of their passengers are business people that travels all the time. Geographic segmentation The Kangaroo Route that Qantas Airways provides connects flights from Europe to major Australian and New Zealand gateways via Kuala Lumpur International Airport within 5 hours. 3.2 Evaluating Market Segments 3.2.1 Segment Size and Growth Demand for flights from Asia as well as North America and Europe has increased at a high rate since 2002, which dramatically outpaced supply growth. Intra-Asian demand has increased by 40% in the same time span. The predicted Asian economic recovery ensures that MAS has a chance to profit from this excess demand. According to their Business Plan, MAS expects ASEAN passenger demand to double by the year 2020. 3.2.2 Company Objectives and Resources To properly execute their Recovery Plan, MAS intends to further develop their branded customer experience. MAS plans to put their customers as top priority and will be making investments in several tools as well as processes which will mobilize the organization and enable them to execute their vision. Also, they will undergo an overhaul which will allow them to excel on three major dimensions which are commercial effectiveness, flight operations and cost management. They plan to continually improve in areas such as revenue management, direct sales, and intend on the usage of social networking to aid in marketing. MAS also plans to make their service to a more performance-based culture. They are also going to hire more suitable people for the senior leadership of MAS and shall not hesitate to make key decisions to put that objective into action. By cutting down and creating a more limited board of leaders, decisions will be quick and they will once again become a competitive and winni ng organisation, according to their Business Plan. As MAS is to obtain 23 new aircrafts in 2012 with state-of-the-art passenger features, this will generate more sales and marketing functions focusing on the premium sector. Also, in the first half of 2012, MAS launched their new short-haul brand which is flying an entirely new Boeing 737-800 fleet. 3.2.3 Selecting a Market Segment Based on their new business plan, Malaysia Airlines plans to target the premium sector, much like the strategy of Cathay. MAS has the vision to become the preferred premium carrier which will lead to competition between them and competitors Cathay and SIA. Their focus on the premium sector is influenced by the growth in demand in the last decade for domestic as well as international flights where demand greatly outstrips supply. MAS is putting emphasis on a branded customer experience and their new premium carrier will focus on international flight destinations with high traffic rates which in turn will generate revenue at a quicker pace than before, according to their Business Turnaround Plan. 3.2.4 Choosing a Market-Coverage Strategy While Malaysia proves to be a fairly small country in comparison with other Asian countries, MAS plans to harness Malaysias geo-economic centricity in ASEAN which emphasises on their natural cost-competitiveness. In line with focusing on the premium sector, Malaysia Airlines network plans to include destinations where their premium travelers have a high demand and also expand their network to cover the worlds major economic hubs and regions. MAS plans to focus on the individual customer needs of regional premium travelers. This is brought about by the launch of their new short-haul brand which will set standards that emphasise on operational excellence, premium service and cost efficiency. Their new plan to focus on the premium sector is highly advertised with several television ads, news alerts and public service announcements which are easily accessible online, increasing the coverage of aforementioned advertising methods. 3.3 Choosing implementing a positioning strategy MAS makes sure maintenance staff, flight operation staff, and ground crew are world class trained on their technical skills, cabin crew are highly trained and committed to excellent service. Based on MAS recovery plan in 2012 they will buy 23 new aircrafts and slowly get rid of the A330-200 and B747-400 aircrafts over the next 3 years. By 2015 they will have the youngest fleet in the region, where their aircrafts would be equipped with the best hardware. MAS will redo their approach of their branding, distribution and customer loyalty. They will also restore their commercial approach towards their customers. 3.3.1 Product differentiation Service MAS focus on service quality which has earned the company the status of a top-tier global brand. In 2004 Skytrax awarded MAS Five Star. This recognition has won them the Best cabin crew for four consecutive years. MAS staff are trained in their technical skills, their cabin crew is highly trained and committed to excellent service and professionalism. Personnel MAS makes sure maintenance staff, flight operation staff and ground crew are world class in their technical skills. Cabin crew are highly trained and committed to excellent service. Location MAS estimated that 60% of their routes are not profitable on a fully cost allocated basis. To help with their recovery, they are reducing the capacity on routes that have generated losses over the years. Physical attributes MAS will be buying 23 new aircrafts in 2012, and slowly get ride of the A330=200 and B747-400 aircrafts over the next 3 years. By 2015 they will have the youngest fleet of aircrafts that will be full equipped with the best hardware. 4.0 Marketing Mix 4.1 Product In the 4Ps of Marketing Mix, the term product refers to tangible, physical and also the service provided. It characterised the direct product or service to fulfil the customers needs. Malaysia Airlines has been providing up to date products and service. One of it is the e-Ticketing service. E-Ticket service is an online service that provides electronic tickets. With the purchase of e-Tickets, customers need not have to go to physical outlets to purchase their tickets but they can make their purchases online and print the tickets as proof of purchase. It is more convenient to the customers and the airlines company also able to save handling and administrative costs. Customers only need to bring a copy of the printed tickets that indicate details such as booking reference and purchase details. To purchase the e-Ticket, customers need a valid credit card and other approved payment methods. Malaysia Airlines also provides easy payment to their customers. Currently, Malaysia Airlines accepts many different types of payment methods such as credit card (Visa/MasterCard/American Express), Local banks online banking (Maybank2U, CIMB Clicks) and also PayPal. Malaysia Airlines Engineering and Maintenance is one of Malaysia Airlines subsidiaries which are well known for its world class service. The standards of service that they provide is on par with the work carried out overseas such as top European companies in the same line of service and have been in compliance with EASA as recognition for its competency and quality standard. 4.2 Place Malaysia Airlines fly to more than one hundred destination across six continents and they would expand their routes to new attractive destination in the future. They fly domestically and also to foreign countries in North America, South America, Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and so on. Malaysia Airlines has been recognised as Asias Premier Airlines that offers intensive network to more than 100 destinations worldwide. Recently, Malaysia Airlines offers new destinations such as flying to Narita, Japan and cut off its unprofitable routes including those to Dubai, Johannesburg, Buenos Aires and Cape Town. 4.3 Pricing Malaysia Airlines is currently implementing a new micro-segmentised fare system for its domestic network which covers 23 routes. This is in line with the Flying to Win Customers aspect of the MAS Business Turnaround Plan. Apart from price flexibility, every fare segment has its own set of conditions regarding aspects like ticketing deadlines and refunds. The revised fares allow travelers the choice to combine different one-way fare flights to plan a personalized travel experience. With the new fare system, customers can enjoy cheaper air fare rates. According to the managing director of MAS, Mr Idris Jala, MAS customers will still be able to enjoy some of the lowest air fare rates globally even though the full fares for economy and business class have been raised to an average of 15% and 30% respectively. Research shows that Malaysia is behind Thailand in terms of the average fee of domestic fares. When inflation caused living cost and in turn fuel costs to hike, Malaysia Airlines to ok into consideration that their customers would want more affordable air fares. They implemented cost cutting strategies that positively affected their air fares plus the overall Business Turnaround Plan. MAS plans to remain committed to the governments plan for national integration initiatives which are currently offering trans-Malaysian fares that begin from lower rates than before 21st August 2006. They also plan to continue offering discounts to senior citizens, members of parliament and the like. Aside from these discounts, MAS has ceased to offer its previously discounted price fares. During the implementation of the new micro-segmented fare system which is currently in motion, Malaysia Airlines will still deem all transactions carried out with the previous fares valid. To ensure transparency of said transactions, all fares sold are effective immediately and this is reflected on the tickets of the customers which tallies with the recent cut over to nett fares displayed on tic kets. 4.4 Promotion MAS has strength which is derived from its global acclaim as a 5-star airline with a highly acclaimed brand supported by service orientated personnel. MAS strives to not only provide comfortable long distance service, but luxurious service. Their expertise in providing immaculate service from every aspect has had MAS named Worlds Best for 3 consecutive years. As of late, travelers have bestowed upon Malaysia Airlines the 5-Star WorldAirline Ranking in the 2006 Skytrax Passenger Survey. Participation in the MATTA-MITM Fair 2006 was part of their Business Turnaround Plan to increase revenue via their existing routes plus deliver the their brand experience to customers and business associates. Subsequently, MAS has increased its capacity to cater to the increasing number of web-surfers, Mastercard and Visa credit card users. The users can now pay for their tickets by calling and booking via the call center for flights departing from Malaysia. Customers who opt for this method of payment also enjoy the extra convenience that is the ability to obtain their tickets anytime before their determined departure date from any Malaysia Airlines ticket office in Malaysia or online. MAS has also added the ability to check-in and print your boarding pass via the internet. 5.0 Conclusion In conclusion, Malaysia Airlines has identified the factors that are hindering their growth as a company such as economical factors affecting fuel charges which in turn result in a fare price hike. To rectify this and minimize losses, they have devised a new business plan which is focused on the premium sector that is currently

The Consumption of Alcohol and its Effects on the Body :: Alcohol Health Drug Abuse Essays

The Consumption of Alcohol and its Effects on the Body Alcohol, probably the oldest drug known, has been used at least since the earliest societies for which records exist. Of the numerous types of alcohol, ethyl alcohol is the type consumed in drinking. In its pure form it is a clear substance with little odor. People drink alcohol in three main kinds of beverages: BEERS, which are made from grain through brewing and fermentation and contain from 3% to 8% alcohol; WINES, which are fermented from fruits such as grapes and contain from 8% to 12% alcohol naturally, and up to 21% when fortified by adding alcohol; and distilled beverages (spirits) such as WHISKEY, GIN, and VODKA, which on the average contain from 40% to 50% alcohol. Drinkers may become addicted to any of these beverages. Physical Effects of Alcohol The effects of alcohol on the human body depend on the amount of alcohol in the blood (blood-alcohol concentration). This varies with the rate of consumption and with the rate at which the drinker's physical system absorbs and metabolizes alcohol. The higher the alcohol content of the beverage consumed, the more alcohol will enter the bloodstream. The amount and type of food in the stomach also affect the absorption rate. Drinking when the stomach is filled is less intoxicating than when it is empty; the foods in the stomach, which contain fat and protein, delay alcohol absorption. Body weight is also a factor; the heavier the person, the slower the absorption of alcohol. After alcohol passes through the stomach, it is rapidly absorbed through the walls of the intestines into the bloodstream and carried to the various organ systems of the body, where it is metabolized. Although small amounts of alcohol are processed by the kidneys and secreted in the urine, and other small amounts are processed through the lungs and exhaled in the breath, most of the alcohol is metabolized by the liver. As the alcohol is metabolized, it gives off heat. The body metabolizes alcohol at about the rate of three-fourths of an ounce to one ounce of whiskey an hour. Technically it is possible to drink at the same rate as the alcohol is being oxidized out of the body. Most people, however, drink faster than this, and so the concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream keeps rising. Alcohol begins to impair the brain's ability to function when the blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches 0.

Evaluating Strategic Management Essay

The strategic management process result in decision that can have significant, long lasting consequences. In many organizations, strategy evaluation is simply an appraisal of how well an organization has performed. Strategy evaluation includes three basic activities: 1. Examining the underlying bases of firm strategy 2. Comparing expected result with actual result 3. Taking corrective action to ensure that performance conform to plan. Strategy evaluation is becoming increasingly difficult with the passage of time, for many reasons. domestic And world economies were more stable in years past, product life cycles were longer, product development cycles were longer, technological advancement was slower, change occurred less frequently, there were fewer competitors, foreign companies were weak, and there were more regulated industries. Other reasons why strategy evaluation is more difficult today include the following trends: 1. A dramatic increase in the environment ‘s complexity 2. The increasing difficulty of predicting the future with accuracy 3. The increasing number of variables 4. The rapid rate of obsolescence of even the best plans 5. The increase in the number of both domestic and world events affecting organizations 6. The decreasing time span for which planning can be done with any degree of certainty Four Criteria (Richard Rummelt in evaluating strategic management: †¢ Consistency Strategy should not present inconsistent goals and policies. Conflict and interdepartmental bickering symptomatic of managerial disorder and strategic inconsistency †¢ Consonance Need for strategies to examine sets of trends †¢ Adaptive response to external environment †¢ Trends are results of interactions among other trends †¢ Feasibility Neither overtax resources or create unsolvable sub problems †¢ Organizations must demonstrate the abilities, competencies, skills and talents to carry out a given strategy †¢ Advantage Creation or maintenance of competitive advantage †¢ Superiority in resources, skills, or position Nowadays, the strategy evaluation is become difficult because adjusting with the trends happened. There are some reasons for it: 1. Increase in environment’s complexity 2. Difficulty predicting future with accuracy 3. Increasing number of variables 4. Rate of obsolescence of plans 5. Domestic and global events 6. Decreasing time span for planning certainty a.Reviewing Bases of Strategy – Develop revised EFE Matrix – Develop revised IFE Matrix Review effectiveness of strategy is important to evaluate how far these strategy matches with our goals, the way are: 1. Competitors’ reaction to strategy 2. Competitors’ change in strategy 3. Competitors’ changes in strengths and weaknesses 4. Reasons for competitors’ strategic change 5. Reasons for competitors’ successful strategies 6. Competitors’ present market positions and profitability 7. Potential for competitor retaliation 8. Potential for cooperation with competitors b.Measuring Organizational Performance †¢ Comparing expected to actual results †¢ Investigating deviations from plan †¢ Evaluating individual performance †¢ Progress toward stated objectives

Beauty and the Beast Essay

Dave Barry in Beauty and the Beast states how women care more about their looks than men do. I can relate to this story because as a woman I know that we care more about looks than man do, we always try and look good for other people as well not only for our loved ones. For a woman our appearance is a big deal and we don’t like to get bad comments about our looks. Most men think of themselves as average-looking as Barry stresses, men never ask for others opinion of how they look while getting ready. Their primary form of beauty care is shaving themselves and after a while put their attention in other things, such as sports. Some theories that people believe in, that could be why women care more about their looks than men, start in childhood. Berry states examples such as when females are growing up they play with Barbie dolls. The concept of a Barbie doll is to imitate a human that has impeccable looks and it is the responsibility of the child to brush the doll and keep her looking up to professional fashion standards. On the converse end of this situation, males go through their childhood playing with action figures. These action figures are not designed to care about looks, but to care more about acting tough and being brave. Their names portray something that is cool and brave, such as the example that Berry gave, â€Å"Buzz-Off. † When little boys are playing with â€Å"Buzz-Off,† little girls are play with Barbie, which is a name of something that is neat and clean. â€Å"If you’re a man, at some point a woman will ask you how she looks. How do I look? She’ll ask. †` Barry opens his article with this statement; this immediately informs the reader that the article is going to discuss how women care about their looks. There is a contest here in New Mexico famous in the Hispanic culture that I have attended a few times, Miss Chiquitita were little girls between the ages of 8 to 12 compete against each other and make a runway shows with them modeling dresses, at the end the judges picks a winner, but I have notice that the judges always end up picking the thin little girls, in my point of view this is wrong because the rest of the contestants end up thinking they need to look a certain way in such a young age. Women always likes to be told that there beautiful at every time of the day. Women’s insecurity about their appearance is driven by competition with other women. We see this quite clearly in connection with the slender standard of attractiveness where women wish to be more slender than men find attractive. The reason, of course, is that they want to beat their competitors – other women. In general, women are much more concerned about their appearance than men are. The key reason for this is that their appearance is central to how they are evaluated by others. When women ask the men how we look we know the answer, we know that we look good but we just want to hear it from other people because we like to get complemented of our looks. In my personal experience I have the pressure to look good for other people as well because I feel that if I do not look good people will judge me for my appearance. I have noticed that when a group of girls get together they judge each other if they did not get ready, but on the other hand when men do not get ready nobody makes a big deal out of it. In this generation I think men are starting to take care of themselves more then back in the day. For instance, I have a guy friend that when we get ready to go out he takes as long as I do just to get ready. Men this days are being metro sexual and caring about their looks now a days like women do. But I think the major cause of this is the media because they always show women that look a certain way and they are good looking and famous, so we have that idea of being the definition of good looking and same for guys. In my point of view looks are important because that’s the first impression you give to other people. Like Dave Barry I agree that women do take much longer to get ready and care more about their looks than man do, but I think we have good reasons for this we just want to feel good about ourselves. It sheds light on a subject that people do not give much thought to, but when they stop to think about it, they do wonder why there is such a different conception of care of looking beautiful among the two genders. This article points out some reasons to why this might be, by identifying the thesis, giving examples to support the thesis, and then giving reasons to why people feel the way they do on the subject.

Beckett and the Apocalypse †Literature Informal Essay

Beckett and the Apocalypse – Literature Informal Essay Free Online Research Papers Beckett and the Apocalypse Literature Informal Essay The play Endgame opens up bleak and bare, a glaring introduction to its final impression on the reader or audience. We see the two windows and are almost reminded of a bare human skull. The characters are static; they do not change or progress and their general manner reflects their attitude of hopelessness and their question of meaning. Throughout its single act, the play demonstrates a dominant worldview of inevitable death and absence of meaning through absurd references to the Bible and the general meaninglessness of the characters’ lives. The term â€Å"endgame† is a word used by chess players- it signifies the last part of a chess game, wherein, although the game is not over and there are technically moves remaining, the winner has already been determined. The winner and determined end here in the play is death. In essence, the play is about four characters waiting to die. In fact, one, Nell, does die. Hamm, the owner of the setting and central character in the play, is much like the loser king in a chess match that has moved to the â€Å"endgame† sequence. He has Clov move him around meticulously, positioning him and adjusting his chair. In the end, however, this means nothing- he will die no matter what he does. Death as the inevitable end can be interpreted in two ways. We all will die, individually; upon our birth we inherit the fate of death- we are born into an endgame. However, Beckett creates a bare stage and has his characters describe the seemingly post apocalyptic state of the outside world- the lack of any people, the calm waters, the wasteland desert, etc. Here is a sweeping biblical allusion- referring not to any point in the play specifically, but a general setting and feeling that echoes the book of Revelation. This final book of the New Testament describes the end of the world similarly- at least the audience is meant to envision the state of the Earth following the Apocalypse. Here is another endgame- the end of humanity as a whole. This more universal endgame reflects Beckett’s general nihilistic worldview- that human life is meaningless and absurd. One is reminded of MacBeth’s lament in Shakespeare’s play of the same name, â€Å"Life is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.† For all the â€Å"sound† and the â€Å"fury†- i.e., all the conversation and the walking and the fetching three-legged dogs in the play, the end is the same: death. In actuality, death is accelerated when Clov is assumed to leave Hamm because they both prolong life for each other, but regardless of this final action, they will die. The inevitability of death is completely independent on any action in itself; this unavoidability compounds the absurdity of life and all of its moves. Beckett also uses the Bible to compound life’s absurdity. The general worldview of the Bible is one of hope- specifically the Gospels of the New Testament. However, when Beckett uses biblical allusions throughout a play with such a nihilistic worldview as Endgame, the hopefulness of the Bible sounds almost silly. The characters in the play do not understand the biblical allusions and thus do not understand the hopeful message of the Bible. For example, Nell’s final word is â€Å"desert!† The exclamation was directed to Clov, who explained to Hamm that, â€Å"She told me to go away, into the desert† (23). This could be an allusion to Christ’s journey into the desert to fast and get closer to God. Clov â€Å"didn’t understand† (24) Nell’s cry, just as no other characters understood any message of hope throughout the play. Although the Bible as a whole contains a hopeful message for mankind, Beckett uses the empirical evidence of t he characters’ lack of purpose and seemingly invalidates the hopefulness of the Bible. The biblical worldview mentions salvation and hope for a new life as part of its basic tenets. However, it also accounts for death, such as in the apocalyptic account of Revelation. The play Endgame uses simply the message of inevitable death found in the Bible and creates a meaningless, pathetic universe. We are treated to a barrage of senseless acts and general words that have no purpose and contribute nothing to the characters’ lives- we leave gaping, asking for more but wondering about the general meaning of our own actions. Research Papers on Beckett and the Apocalypse - Literature Informal EssayHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayThe Hockey GameComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoMind TravelCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionThe Fifth HorsemanCapital PunishmentThe Spring and Autumn