Art of Loving Response

In Response to The Art of Loving In The Art of Loving, Erich Fromm asks the question â€Å"is love an art? † In an effort to answer this question, he identifies, discusses, and analyzes the different objects of love. Fromm states that loving as an art means that one must love all objects, rather than only loving the â€Å"right† one (43). For this reason, the objects that he analyzes include brotherly love, motherly love, erotic love, self-love, and the love of God. When analyzing each object to explain his statement, Fromm tends to use broad generalizations about society, which do not cover all circumstances.In this essay, I will identify and address the areas where Fromm makes sweeping, inappropriate generalizations about society, as well as acknowledge his accurately fitting descriptions. The first object of love that Fromm identifies is brotherly love, defined as the love for all people as equals. Fromm feels that this is the most fundamental type of love because of its â€Å"lack of exclusiveness†. Fromm defines a brother to be equivalent to the neighbor mentioned in The Golden Rule from the Bible, which states, â€Å"love thy neighbor as thy self (44). Not all of society grew up learning The Golden Rule; therefore, this sweeping statement does not explain all relationships within society. Instead, Fromm should have said that brotherly love is based on one who respects and understands his neighbor and friend as an equal. This explanation could apply to many more relationships within society. Even though I was raised a Catholic, not all love relationships relate to those from the Bible. Any non-believers may also agree. This refutes Fromm’s statement that the brotherly love found within the Bible is fundamental for all relationships.Fromm defines motherly love as absolute and unconditional. He considers this love to be â€Å"the highest kind of love, and the most sacred of all emotional bonds† (Fromm 47). A mother loves t he growing child and wishes for his separation from her. She guides him and facilitates this separation so the child may flourish and grow on his own in the world (Fromm 48). Fromm goes further and relates the nurturing ability of a mother to God’s nurturing of man in the Biblical creation story (Fromm 46).Once again, not all of society grew up with a Biblical, Christian background. Those who are not familiar with the creation story or do not believe that God created the world fail to understand the correlation. Even though this is just one example, Fromm fails to sympathize with those people who come from a non-Christian background. The third type of love that Fromm very clearly and accurately discusses is erotic love. Erotic love is the â€Å"craving for complete fusion† with another person.This illusive type of love becomes easily confused with the act of â€Å"falling† in love, except it includes an act of will and physical attraction (Fromm 49). Frommâ€⠄¢s description accurately addresses the ideas that erotic love can be easily dissolved since it is based solely on attraction. I agree that true love includes more than pure physical attraction; it involves a decision, a judgment, and a promise as well as an attraction. I really appreciate Fromm’s statement that love is not just a feeling. Feelings can come and go and there is no way to promise a feeling for forever.This hints to the reason for a decision and a judgment along with the promise in marriage. This is true and evident in our society because marriages normally do not last unless there is another attraction between those in the couple besides a physical one. The next topic the Fromm discusses is self-love, which provides the idea that one must love themselves before one can love others. As Fromm states it: The affirmation of one’s own life, happiness, growth, freedom is rooted in one’s capacity to love, i. e. , in care, respect, responsibility, and kn owledge.If an individual is able to love productively, he loves himself too; if he can love only others, he cannot love at all. (55-56) He makes a point to mention that self-love and selfishness are counterparts, in that self-love creates happiness and selfishness only leads to frustration. Fromm notes that selfishness originates from the hatred of oneself and, in return, that person wants everything in the world (56). I agree with Fromm’s description that self-love is the first step in loving others, however, I disagree that selfishness is the complete opposite of self-love.Selfishness, rather, is the result of loving oneself too much to the extent that one thinks they deserve everything in the world; everything is to their disposal and no one else’s. Fromm fails to address this extreme, yet he does a justifiably sufficient job at explaining the importance of self-love. Self-love sets the basis for all relationships because it is difficult to love another person witho ut loving oneself first. The last object of love that Fromm discusses for the longest extent is the love of God.He states that there is no way of â€Å"loving† God, but rather believing in a â€Å"unity† with Him. God is a symbol of justice, love, and truth instead of an actual being (Fromm 72). Therefore, those who love God have faith in an ultimate unity (Fromm 73). Having grown up in a Catholic school, I agree with Erich Fromm’s analysis. God is not a being and the only way to discuss the reality of such a symbol is to discuss what He is not. God is not a father. God is not a mother. He loves similarly to both, but He isn’t a physical mother or father.Also, because He is not a being it is difficult to say that one can â€Å"love† Him. Therefore, believing in God is the same as loving God; however, there are different maturity levels to which one â€Å"loves† God. As one grows older and learns more about God, one may become closer to Him. This â€Å"growing closer† and â€Å"maturity† correlates to the strength of one’s belief and trust in Him. I can relate to this section since I am a raised Catholic, however, an atheist or non-Christian may not understand why this section is necessary for Fromm to discuss in order to answer his original question.Atheists, for example, do not have a being or god to love or believe in. In The Art of Loving, Erich Fromm raises the question, â€Å"is love an art? † To answer his question, Fromm identifies and analyzes the objects of love from erotic love to the love of God. In this response, I identified the areas where Fromm includes broad generalizations about society and acknowledged his appropriate analyses about love. Works Cited: Fromm, Erich. The Art of Loving. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. Print.

Journalism around the world Essay

Traditionally, the term â€Å"international conflict† referred to conflicts between different nation-states and conflicts between people and organizations in different nation-states. Increasingly, however, it also applies to inter-group conflicts within one country when one group is fighting for independence or increased social, political, or economic power (e. g. , Chechnya, Kosovo). (Ref. 1) Five years into the 21st Century a dark and sinister cloud hangs over journalism around the world. More editors, reporters and media staffs are killed, targeted, kidnapped and subject to violence than ever before. Independent media are under intolerable pressure. This pressure comes directly from ruthless terrorists, with no respect for civilisation and human rights, who have targeted and murdered journalists in all continents. In Iraq alone, more than 50 media staff have been killed by political extremists and criminals, in pursuit of a grotesque agenda of hatred. (Ref. 2) New York, May 28, 2004—Two Japanese journalists and their Iraqi translator were killed on Thursday night when their car came under attack by gunmen in Mahmoudiya, 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Baghdad, according to news reports. Bangkok-based freelancer Shinsuke Hashida and his nephew Kotaro Ogawa, also a freelancer, had been traveling to Baghdad from the southern city of Samawah, where Japan has deployed hundreds of troops, when the attack occurred. Agence France-Presse (AFP) listed the translator as Mohamed Najmedin. The Associated Press reported that both men were working for the Japanese tabloid daily Nikkan Gendai covering Japanese troops stationed in the southern city of Samawah. Japanese station NHK reported that the two journalists had also reported for several other Japanese news organizations. The Japanese foreign ministry acknowledged the incident but has not confirmed the identities of those killed. According to some press reports, the journalists’ car burst into flames after the attack. Reuters news agency reported that the car was hit by rocket propelled grenade (RPG) fire. The driver, an Iraqi, who survived the incident and spoke with Japan’s NHK News said he was able to exit the car before it exploded after the assault. Thursday’s attack occurred in the same area where two Polish journalists were killed by gunmen on May 7 and two CNN employees were gunned down in January. Hashida was an experienced journalist who had covered several conflicts as a television reporter, according to Japanese media. At least 28 journalists (not including Hashida and Ogawa) have been killed in Iraq since the US-led war in Iraq began in March 2003. At least seven other media workers have (â€Å"International Journalism†) also been killed. In other developments, U. S. television broadcaster NBC announced Friday that insurgents in Fallujah released three staffers and an Iraqi freelancer–correspondent Ned Colt, cameraman Maurice Roper, soundman Robert Colville, and journalist Ashraf al-Taie who had been kidnapped by armed insurgents on Tuesday. All four were released unharmed, and NBC said in a statement that local Iraqi leaders had mediated the releases when it was clear that the men were working as journalists. (Ref. 3) NBC said it did not previously report the abduction for security reasons. New York, December 11, 2003—Two journalists working with the U. S. newsmagazine Time were wounded today in a grenade attack in Baghdad while accompanying U. S. troops. Senior correspondent Michael Weisskopf and photographer James Nachtwey suffered undisclosed injuries when unidentified assailants threw a grenade into a Humvee the men were traveling in, Time managing editor Jim Kelly said in a written statement. Two soldiers in the Humvee were also injured in the attack, which occurred at about 9:30 p. m. The statement described both journalists as being in â€Å"stable condition† and said they were awaiting transfer to a U. S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. CPJ is seeking more details at this time. (Ref. 4) It is not unusual in conflicts to find mass media recruited to support political objectives often at the expense of professional credibility. Indeed, this holds true for almost all wars. But as peoples of one country turn against each other in ethnic conflict, journalists find themselves facing the grotesque choice of respecting their professional commitment to truth-seeking or risk being branded a traitor. In conflict situations there is always the danger that the media are conscripted by undemocratic politicians to inspire, provoke and underwrite national fears and hatreds. Journalists who lend themselves to this process abandon their professional status and become propagandists. Ethnic conflict and strife are not a new phenomenon but in recent years we have seen an ever increasing fragmentation of human society. As Harold Isaacs put it in his book ‘Idols of the Tribe’: ‘We are experiencing (†¦ ) an ingathering of people in numberless grouping of kinds – tribal, racial, linguistic, religious, national. It is a great clustering into separateness that will, it is thought, improve, assure, or extend each group’s power or place, or keep it safe or safer from the power, threat, or hostility of others’. (Ref. 5) (â€Å"International Journalism†) Towards an accurate portrayal of all groups in society One of the most important challenges faced by the journalists during international conflicts is to portray groups on both sides of the conflict accurately. It is important for the journalists to be impartial while reporting aggression and human rights violations in the conflict affected areas. The journalists should become the voice of the suppressed and worst affected group during the conflict. The main objective should be to bring out the truth through reliable sources and create an atmosphere for compromise. Threat to life from various groups and anti-social elements In covering and reporting international conflicts and warfare, journalists face threat to life from various anti-social elements and extremist groups. In their process to expose the culprit, journalists receive threats on a daily basis. The assignments are sometimes very dangerous which may involve covering the warfare and battlefield where bullets are being sprayed everywhere and shells are raining. With the international news agenda controlled by the world’s major media giants, it has become crucial to develop and strengthen media at the local level to maintain diversity of opinion. As media in many developing nations, such as Indonesia, move away from state control towards private enterprise, it is essential for local media to find their own voice and professional codes. A well developed media system with professionally trained journalists usually benefits both global and local audiences and provides a vital link to the outside world during conflict situations.

Irish history Essay

Rose Fitzgerald – wife of Joseph Kennedy, Sr. and matriarch of a U. S. political dynasty – was born of a proud Boston Irish family. Her last name however betrays origins that were other than Irish. In fact, the name â€Å"Fitz-Gerald† indicates that her first Irish ancestor to bear that name was the son of a Norman knight or nobleman who was begotten â€Å"in the wrong bed,† so to speak. Irish legends say that the island had been invaded several times before the arrival of the Celts around 250 B. C. E. (Austin, 2007). In historical times however, Ireland was virtually untouched for centuries; Romans never got to the island, nor did the early Germanic invaders that turned Romano-Celtic Britain into England starting around 450 C. E. By the time of the first Viking raid nearly 350 years later, the Celtic inhabitants of Ireland had retained their unique and ancient Celtic culture and language in a pure form for nearly a millennium. Even Christianity didn’t have a huge effect on the core culture, and there is evidence that suggests some druidic practices were integrated into early Celtic Christianity, which differed significantly from Roman Catholicism prior to the Council of Whitby (Griffin, 2000). Interestingly, Celtic languages historically are lost in the face of an invasion by a more aggressive culture. The Celtic language of Gaul was almost completely replaced by Latin, and in the face of Germanic invaders from the Continent, Brythonic (Welsh and Cornish) and Scots Gaelic retreated into the mountainous fringe of Britain. However, Scandinavians (from whom Normans were descended) invading Gaelic-speaking Ireland ultimately wound up adopting the language and the culture. This is probably due less to the durability of Irish culture than it is to Scandinavian adaptability. Wherever Scandinavian Vikings conquered and settled – from Russia to Normandy, or around the Mediterranean – they eventually became assimilated by the culture and language of those they had conquered. In the case of the early Norsemen, political conquest and colonization of Ireland was not a primary goal. For the first two centuries, raids were conducted for the purpose of booty. Only later, starting in the tenth century, did Norse Vikings begin building their port cities – Dublin, Wexford, Waterford and Cork – and begin to settle in. The purposes of the towns were to serve as bases from which raids on England could be launched. Archaeological evidence suggests that over the following two centuries, the Norse who started to spread out into the countryside around their towns were â€Å"heavily Hibernicized† (Oxford Companion, 1999). In the case of the Anglo-Normans however, there were additional factors – political, social and environmental – that led to the decline of their dominance and subsequent assimilation into Irish culture. The first Anglo-Normans in Ireland actually arrived as mercenaries two years prior to the â€Å"official† date of 1169. They had been hired by the ousted King of Leinster, Dermot MacMurrough in order to reclaim his throne. At the time, their was a great deal of internecine warfare in Ireland at the time over the throne and title of High King, providing what was basically an opportunity for the bastard offspring of Norman knights who otherwise would remain landless. Anglo-Norman intervention began in earnest with the arrival of over five hundred fighters between May of 1169 and August of 1170 (Oxford Companion, 17). Eventually – and despite attempted intervention (with papal blessing) on the part of King Henry II, Norman families such as Le Gros, Prendergast, FitzStephen, FitzGerald, FitzHenry and Le Poer had secured virtual kingdoms for themselves by 1200 (Wikipedia, 2007). Events in Ireland during the early 13th Century eventually led to the dissolution of these Norman principalities as the native Gaelic-speaking Irish began to reassert themselves. Part of the reduction of Norman influence in Ireland had to do with inheritance laws; land was divided among all sons, not just the eldest, which led to the reduction in size and power of Norman lands. Periodic famines also served to reduce Norman power in Ireland. Over the next hundred and fifty years, two additional events led to the decline of Norman power in Ireland. First was the invasion of Scottish king Edward Bruce, who rallied the Gaelic nobility against the Sassunach. The other was the Black Death 0f 1347-1350. This plague reduced the population of Europe by a third. Urban dwellers – such as the Anglo-Normans of Ireland – were affected in much greater numbers than those living in the countryside, which was the case of Gaelic-speaking Irish. As the English-controlled areas became confined to the lands in and around Dublin (called â€Å"The Pale†), the Hiberno-Norman lords in the hinterlands began to adopt the Irish language, allying themselves with the native Irish in politics and warfare, and remained Catholic despite the Reformation (Barry, 1988) . This process of â€Å"Hibernicization† was well underway by 1400; it so troubled the English authorities in Dublin that they passed laws in 1367 in an attempt to stop those of English (Norman) descent from intermarrying with the Irish and adopting the language and culture. The statutes had little effect, however because of the Dublin government’s limited authority outside of The Pale. Archaeological evidence of Norman occupation of the Irish countryside includes the remains of numerous â€Å"mottes,† or remains of castles, scattered throughout the country. However, there are some places where Normans are indicated to have lived in written records such as the Irish Annals, where remains of these â€Å"mottes† are not found. It is possible that â€Å"ringworks† – earthen forts – may have been present in these areas (McNeill, 1999). An archaeological dig at Caherguillamore in County Limerick sheds some light on daily life in Ireland during the late Middle Ages. The construction and layout of the houses discovered in this area is similar to those on feudal Norman manors one would expect to find in France and England (Barry, 1988). They appear to be long houses with a central hearth, typical of Scandinavian construction which Normans retained long after becoming culturally and linguistically French. A coin found at the site from the reign of Edward I dates the houses’ construction to the decades on either side of 1300. There does not appear to have been any sort of genre as â€Å"Norman-Irish† or â€Å"Norman-Gaelic† literature, although the latter term was used in the 1940’s by Austin Clarke to describe poetry such as Feuch fein an obair-se a Aodh , which, while strongly Irish in its subject matter and structure, bears some resemblance to the â€Å"courtly love† poems of the French troubadours, which whom most Norman nobility would have had some familiarity with (Carney, 1955). This cross-pollination seems to have gone both ways; Bebedeit’s Voyage of Saint Brendan, dedicated to the wives of Henry I, was adapted from the Irish saga Navigatio Sanctis Brendani, an account of what may have been an early Irish voyage to North America in the 5th Century (Harper-Bill, 2003). Beyond this, there is little in the way of true â€Å"Anglo-Norman-Irish† literature or prose. According to an article in The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, there were three reasons for this. First of all, the vernacular language of Ireland – Irish Gaelic – was difficult for English speakers then as now, and very few inside The Pale would have bothered to learn it. Secondly, those Norman-English living within The Pale were busy trying to hold on to what they had in the face of rebellion by the native Gaels. The Third reason has to do with the entire assimilation issue: separated from their kinsmen in England and on the Continent, surrounded by native Irish speakers, it was inevitable that the Anglo Normans living outside The Pale should be drawn away from the Anglo-French literary traditions and into the Irish Gaelic forms (Bartleby, 2005). The Scandinavian influence – particularly that of the Normans – on European history can hardly be underestimated. The Vikings and their Norman descendants were a dynamic people who, for all their violent ways, created energetic societies wherever they went. Had William the Conqueror failed in 1066, English would presently sound a great like Dutch or German, and the socio-political landscape would look very different today. This energy may be exactly what has allowed Irish culture to survive, despite seven centuries of what was often harsh, cruel and even murderous oppression on the part of the Protestant English beginning around 1600. This vigorous culture was ultimately transplanted to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the U. S. especially, people of Irish descent read like a â€Å"Who’s Who† of American history. The fact that the Irish who came to the U. S. – who were initially despised and discriminated against violently – eventually rose to prominence and produced some of the greatest political leaders and literary figures in the nation owe their energy in part to the contribution of Scandinavians and their Anglo-Norman descendants. Works Cited The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. (1907–21). (Vol. XIV). The Oxford Companion to Irish History. (1999). ). Oxford: Oxford University Press A Companion To The Anglo Norman World.(2003). ). Suffolk: Boydell Press. Norman Ireland. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved 2 April 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Norman_Ireland Barry, T. B. (1988). The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland. London: Routledge. Carney, J. (1955). Studies in Irish Literature and History. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Griffith, P. (2000). Celtic Cross Development. Retrieved 2 April 2007, from http://www. bluhorizonlines. org/cros/cros2. html Mcneill, T. (1999). Castles in Ireland: Feudal Power in a Gaelic World. London: Routledge.

Stereotypes In Childrens Storybooks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stereotypes In Childrens Storybooks - Essay Example It has been a practice that children’s book have portrayed people with disability in a negative manner. Some of these stereotypes assert that people with disability are pathetic and pitiable. In this sense, this image is widely written in children’s book, which in turn makes children develop a negative mind about disabled people. In addition, stereotypes of disability in children’s literature or book have portrayed people with disability as objects of aggression or violence. For instance, since handicapped people are not able to defend themselves, they are depicted as good victims or ploys of crime (Stuart 2006, 51). Further, disabled people such as the blind are depicted as evil or sinister. This stereotype is the most rampant stretching from fairy tales to stories of how blind people lost their sight because of sin or sinful behaviors. In turn, it leaves a negative impression that disabled people are sinful and therefore, they should not be associated. Addition ally, children's book creates an impression that people with disability should be used as atmosphere by describing them as undeveloped characters. It has been a common phenomenon that children storybooks depict disable people as â€Å"super crip† in that for them to be accepted in both society and children’s storybooks, they are placed in situations of being over-achievers (Baumeister & Bushman 2010, 41). Therefore, persons with disability are thought to be bestowed with super powers such as paraplegic detective. Children’s storybooks have depicted persons with disability as laughable. In the same manner, there exist ethnic jokes in children’s books. Children’s books make frequent or regular use of such jokes as gimmick to enhance and facilitate the plot of the book. For instance, a blind person or a visually impaired person becomes the suitable object for many jokes (Judd & Park 1993, 109-111). This shows an insensitive and unreasonable depiction of persons with

Bullying in American Schools Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Bullying in American Schools - Assignment Example According to Vossekuil et al. (2002), the analysis of school shooters in the U.S. (from 1974 to 2002) by Secret Service revealed that the shooters were the victim of chronic bullying (Espelage and Swearer 2). This shows that school violence is rooted in the experience of bullying (Espelage and Swearer 2). Moreover, the negative psychological outcomes of bullying were found to be common among all the victims and bullies (Espelage and Swearer 2). A study by Nansel et al. (2001) has revealed that there are major long term negative effects of bullying that prove detrimental for both, the victims and the bullies (Marsh et al. 66). According to Olweus, the negative outcomes of bullying like â€Å"peer rejection, delinquent behavior, criminality, depression, psychological disturbance, further violence in school† and suicidal tendency, continue in adulthood of both, the victims and perpetrators of bullying (Marsh et al. 66). This shows that bullying not only destroys the lives of the victims but also affects the lives of the perpetrators negatively. Hence, intervention at right time is essential. Intervention Studies have found that â€Å"bullying does not occur in isolation† but is a result of the complex relationship between the individual and his social elements like family, peer group, school, community, culture etc., and is encouraged by individual’s interaction with his social environment (Espelage and Swearer 3).

Disccuss Mary Cassatt's The CHild's Bath 1893 in terms of one or two Essay

Disccuss Mary Cassatt's The CHild's Bath 1893 in terms of one or two ideas - Essay Example Also, Cassett shows her interest in Japanese woodblock print which is evident in this picture. The painting of a Child Bath is based on a mother cleaning a little child's feet in a tub of water (Art Institute of Chicago). The walls behind this cozy scene are covered in a wall paper decorated with a flowery pattern. The floor appears to be a carpet of some sort: designed intricately with flowers placed inside boxes. A jug is placed to the right side of the painting. The mother is fully dressed in a long gown and has a child placed on her knee. The child is looking down and is clothed with a single white cloth. The artist has used very vibrant colors in this painting. There are no shadows and there is a very bold brushwork used by the artist. She uses an asymmetrical style (Art Access).The shape of the woman and child's head, the basin and the pitcher are circular. The image also has a symmetrical striped pattern. Thus, the entire painting is in perfect asymmetrical form. This, along with Cassatt's decision to paint from an unusual position: above. Adler speaks of how to think about art in his book. In an interview with Luckman he claims art to be a technique which uses skill or expert to produce a piece. This is exactly what Cassatt uses in her work, technique to produce a perfect painting. While this painting is n

Innovation and Global Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Innovation and Global Strategy - Assignment Example Different alternatives have been proposed by scholars that help in achieving reconciliation between exploitation and exploration at the operational level (Blarr, 2012). Yet, there is no such literature that provides a concise and clear understanding of the phenomenon how organizations develop ambidexterity capability. In this paper is has been studied how organizations use the processes of exploitation and exploration. This study leads to the discussion of how a balance can be practically achieved between the two strategies. Overview of ambidexterity Organizational ambidexterity is a term that refers to the ability of an organization to manage its business efficiently in the current business scenario and become adaptive to the changing environment so as to cope with the change in demand with time (Andriopoulos and Lewis, 2009). In the literal meaning of the term, ambidexterity is the skill of using the left as well as the right hand equally. In business terms, ambidexterity is the sk ill that all organizations need to develop to become successful in the competitive business world. Organizational ambidexterity allows the firms to use the skills of exploitation as well as exploration equally (Wang and Rafiq, 2009; Mom, Bosch and Volberda, 2009). Several terms are related to the development of ambidextrous organization. These aspects are organizational design, knowledge base of the organization and capability to learn, organizational adaptation, technological innovation and strategic management (Dyer and Nobeoka, 2000). Use of exploration and exploitation are two most relevant methods that allow an organization to improve its knowledge base and make new innovations in future. While a company innovates, it is imperative that it is capable of maintaining its stability (He and Wong, 2004). This implies that an ambidextrous organization should be able to exploit its current advantages and facilities and further develop upon them (Kortmann, 2012; Li, 2013). Different al ternatives are provided by various scholars that help to realize the process of simultaneous reconciliation between exploitation and exploration at the operational level within a firm. However, it has not been understood fully how organizations build their ambidexterity capability (Judge and Blocker, 2008). Exploitation & Exploration Exploration and exploitation are two concepts that are explained in terms of proximity of the knowledge that the company seeks. Exploitation activities help to locally search for knowledge that is familiar to the organization and is mature due to long history of work on this field. Exploration, on the other hand, refers to the search for such knowledge that is â€Å"unfamiliar, distant and remote† (Cantarello, Martini and Nosella, 2012, p. 29). Exploration Exploration includes various things like risk taking, bringing variation in knowledge, experimenting, building novelty and flexibility, discovering new methods, selection of the best method and its legitimisation. This process is radical and often tends to break the

English composition Writing Skills and Techniques db 1 Essay

English composition Writing Skills and Techniques db 1 - Essay Example This point will also address why police officer consider areas outside major urban areas as safe havens. I will also address the effects of police misconduct to both the police force and the public. Finally, I will address the future of the police force in relation to the ongoing misconduct. In this juncture, I will tackle possible consequences to the police force and relevant reforms that needs to be made in order to create a balanced police force in the United States. The purpose of this essay will depend on the interest of the reader or audience. Firstly, the essay will be an informative essay. This is because it will inform the public and relevant authorities that, police misconduct is rife despite the cover-up measures taken to conceal information. Secondly, the essay will act as a cause an effect essay since it will analyze factors that promote police misconduct and the resultant consequences (Silverman, 2009). Analyzing the cause and effects of the problem will be aimed at finding solution for the

Credit Default Swaps and Their Role in the 2008 Global Financial Essay

Credit Default Swaps and Their Role in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis - Essay Example They contributed to the financial crisis, but they were not the sole cause. Banks as well adopted the wrong investment vehicles that increased their potential risks. Further more, the interconnectedness within the financial institutions made the risks to spill over to from one financial institution to the other. Also, the manner in which assets were valued was not effective. It disregarded depreciation and other market forces affecting the prices of assets. Risk management models were not effective in helping to minimize risky lending. Changes in government regulation were also a major factor contributing to the crisis. The complexity of financial instruments and mathematical models for risk management made them ineffective. People had the wrong speculations in regard to the sustainability of high market prices for houses. The prices later dropped leading to enormous losses. Dishonesty was also a major failure in the operations of the credit rating agencies. On the other hand, there were few players in a large market, making their financial status a major determinant of the market strength. The housing policies aimed at facilitating home ownership led to a housing boom in these years. People applied for mortgage that was easily accessible especially due to the low interest rates that had been lowered in order to ensure that the low income borrowers could acquire homes through mortgage. Many people invested in them instead of the original idea of residential houses. Many subprime mortgages were issued with most of them ending up with unqualified borrowers who could not repay. The current financial crisis in the United States began back in 2007. This global financial crisis came several decades after the Great Depression that occurred between 1929 and 1941. Housing policies were put in place in 1937, with the housing act aimed at making houses affordable to the low income earners. This was to be achieved through offering long term loans at

Why immigrants are successful Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Why immigrants are successful - Essay Example Along with many countries of the world, United States has also undergone the effects of immigration. According to statistics, during the 17th and 18th centuries, few people have migrated to U.S. but this trend gradually accelerated after 1820s; however, last two decades have seen whopping migration to U.S. because the government is permitting the foreigners to work legally (Edmonston, pp. 35-75). The current scenario reflects that immigrants prove to be more successful than the U.S. citizens are. A faction of American population has a wrong impression that their government is supporting and funding the immigrants as a part of their business strategy. However, some schools of thought believe that the present status of the immigrants is solely due to their sincere hard work. It is enlightened in the following arguments. In the view point of U.S. citizens, immigrants are creating economic decline, as they do not pay taxes when compared to the facilities and benefits they acquire from th e social services. Whereas the findings of numerous researches prove that these immigrants have boosted the economy to unprecedented levels as they are high-skilled workers who are willing to work at a lower wage and works more efficiently as compared to the citizens. Moreover, it results in cheaper and better production of goods with promising profits. Though immigrants compete with the local people for low-proficiency jobs, they even sometimes get an edge on the locals through their expertise in the areas that is non-existent in a particular locality (Fairchild, pp. 237-267). American natives live such a lifestyle that they do everything according to their wishes and desires. Their upbringing is in a much-pampered way that makes them simply unaware of the meaning of struggle in life. On the other hand, immigrants such as Asians, Africans, Arabs, and Israelis come from a third world background where their entire lives had gone through economical and financial hardships, therefore, the only thing that they desire to have is money for which they migrate to U.S. where they find a gold mine waiting to be struck. As a result, their primary focus is to earn money so that they can provide their family with comfort and high-standards of living, and afford quality education for their children. Therefore, happiness for oneself becomes the last priority for any immigrant (Pratt Fairchild, pp. 237-267). It is a fact that U.S denizens have confined themselves to a shorter period of working time that is approximately 8 hours per day or 40 hours a week. Whereas, the immigrants work for a prolong duration of time that can reach up to 70-80 hours a week. Investors see a reliable scope in investing on the immigrants, as they do not fear hard work and if they receive a share in profit, they would be willing to work even harder. Immigrants realize the importance of money as they earn it by sweat of the brow. Therefore, their spending behavior is unlike the U.S. citizens. They do not believe in redundant spending on luxury. In fact, they are prudent in spending money, purchase only necessary goods, and save the rest for the rainy days. Their eventual goal is to save money as much as possible for which they look for entities that are on sale (Chiswick, pp. 28-97). Education has an utmost importance in an individual’s life as it makes an individual competent and capable of earning respectable amount of money. The immigrants always welcome education when their work demands, regardless of their age. The extensive market researches have clearly stated that the immigrants whether Asians or

Vulnerable Populations - Homeless People in Los Angeles County, Research Paper

Vulnerable Populations - Homeless People in Los Angeles County, California - Research Paper Example m homelessness problem that last for a long time having this disability which is often complicated by means of getting addicted to drugs and suffering from some physical illnesses. According to the statistics regarding Los Angeles County in California, almost one quarter of the county’s homeless population are homeless as they are chronically ill. The chronic homelessness is described as an unaccompanied disabled person who has been made homeless for more than a year or has at least suffered four periods of homelessness in last three years (National coalition for homelessness, 2009). In Los Angeles County, there is increasing number of youngsters who have become homeless and there is also growing number of homeless veterans in the area. According to the report submitted by the government of Los Angeles, cited by Burt (2011), about 18% of homeless in County are veterans which are a 3% increase from last year i.e. 2010. Even the number of male and female veteran homelessness has increased by 51% and 22% respectively. According to Einspar (2010), homelessness is described as a lack of permanent housing that usually results either from extreme poverty problem or inability to have instant access to living environment which is suitable and ideal for the people. Recently, there has been growing trend of family homelessness and the main factors that have contributed to increase in this problem are decline in rental housing as they are unable to cover the rent amounts charged to them and widening of gap between income that is earned and cost of housing for families that have low income. Almost all vulnerable populations are facing extreme poverty and are at great risk for both mental and physical illnesses (Nooe & Patterson, 2011). In Los Angeles County, families that have children have received attention from government authority as it is the rising area of population that is homeless. Most of the cases have revealed that homeless families mainly comprise of mother

Masculinity in Science Fiction Essay Example for Free

Masculinity in Science Fiction Essay Throughout the past couple of centuries science fiction has become one of the most popular genres worldwide. Thousands of people of different age, gender, racial and ethnical origin submerge into a world where the level of technological development is incredibly high, and where the machines often seem to dominate their creators, humans. To begin the essay we should first give the definition for what the science fiction is. So, the Wikipedia says that: â€Å"Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology upon society and persons as individuals. † Scientists have long been arguing about the reasons that make science fiction so popular among the readers. The realm, depicted in science fiction novels isn’t magical or fairy, like the fantasy world is. On the contrary, it’s often more cruel and merciless than our reality is. One of the main hypothesis is that people like to drift into the worlds of robots, intelligent machines and spaceships because there the easy ways to solving the emerging problems exist. In most of those books there is little attention paid to the human to human relations. On the contrary, the problems that are dealt in science fiction novels are rather more global than the relations between the individuals. The authors of this kind of books prefer to write about the rise and fall of the empires, about the giant wars, won or lost with the help of the mind, intrigues and power. For lots of people in our Western, highly individualistic world, reading science fiction books is one of the few ways to forget about the necessity to maintain and keep social relations with others. Nowadays, when the society allows us, its members, to open and develop our individuality freely, communication between the individuals becomes more and more complicated, as people, given the opportunity to develop the way they want, find more differences between each other, so that they have less in common with each passing year. This fact, combined with the absence of the defined standards of communication that existed in traditional societies, make communication a tough task for the contemporary people. It’s well known, that women adapt easier and faster than the man do, thus they experience less difficulties in adjusting to this new way of communication. On the contrary, men are those who sometimes experience severe troubles when some advanced form of social interaction is required. Thus, man read science fiction in order to transfer themselves in the world where mind and power decide a lot, and emotions are usually seen as something lateral and even useless. This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that males comprise the main auditory for the books, shows and films in this genre. In order to better understand what is science fiction about, and why is it preferred by man, we’ll research the inner genres science fiction has in it. Kay Fowler offers his classification for the genres of science fiction which is: World at Risk SF and Apocalyptic Science Fiction Political/Massive War/Doomsday Weapons Disaster Alien Invasion/Conquest of Earth Plague/Disease/Epidemic Agricultural/Ecological/Population Disasters Far Future or Ancient History-Future History . Utopias/Dystopias/and in-between Utopia near utopias; ambiguous utopias, heterotopias Dystopias Alternate Earth/Alternate History (What If?) Time Travel, Time Paradoxes, Time Patrolling, Time Wars, Alternate Time Lines Religion/Theology/Anti-religion and Science Fiction Space Opera Robots, Androids, Cyborgs, Clones and Cyberbunk/Virtual Reality, Genetic Engineering, and Nanotechnology. World Building/Terraforming/Scientific and Social Inventiveness ESP/Telepathy/Psi Powers Underwater living/ocean worlds Human Colonization/Conquest of Other Worlds Feminist Science Fiction/Alternate Sexualities/Gender Benders SF with a theme of deafness or a focus on non-oral communication (Kay Fowler, Themes/Genres in Science Fiction: An idiosyncratic and woefully incomplete list) As you can note from the list above, science fiction is mostly the literature of action, the field of action for the active people, warriors, politicians and scientists, where there is little place for emotions and emotional life. Contemporary critics say that science fiction is one of the genres whose main characteristic is reflecting and reproducing masculinity, creating the specific, sometimes even perverted image of it in the minds of those who fancy this kind of literature. Of course, some researchers of the SF literature consider that: â€Å"science fiction †¦ seem(s) also to promise more freedom than do non-genre literature to imagine alternatives to the privileged assumptions of heterosexuality and masculinity that suffuse our culture », as it is noted in The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts.   But, in the reality, the authors of the SF books put â€Å"the male as the central role and in a position of power†, as it is noted in the article Science fiction’s use of Utopian and Dystopian visions of the future in relation to challenging boundaries of gender and / or sexuality. Today, when the amount of novels, stories and tales written in this genre is enormous, science fiction authors will do anything to attract the reader’s attention to their novel. Some years ago, when the SF began its rapid development, it was new and original to make the protagonist of the story female. Unfortunately, for most of the SF writers it meant only the change of setting or decorations, not touching the key points of their writings. To attract the readers’ (and, as we can recall, those are mostly males) attention they   provide their main protagonist with huge eyes and breasts, enormously long legs and a tempting smile, but inside their â€Å"heroines† are as masculine as any male monster slayer with the huge gun is. Thus, changing the decorations for their stories, the authors evade the convictions in gender discrimination, in the same time attracting new waves of male readers who are longing to read about the long-legged half-naked amazons fighting with the evil. Thus, the heroes of science fiction novels are mostly males to the marrow of their bones, and it doesn’t depend of their physical sex. Science fiction literature usually describes conflict situations, like war, ethical, racial or cultural conflicts. The protagonists of the science fiction stories are always the people of action; those who possess notable decision-making skills, and are able to actualize their choices immediately. If we analyze current researches in the field of gender psychology, a conclusion can be deduced that those qualities characterize mostly males, while women are considered to be more of the facilitators, peace makers. Stereotypical women behavior is characterized by irrationality, which’s doesn’t belong to the features that characterize this genre. A considerable part of science fiction novels and stories are characterized by the external conflict between the protagonists of the story. Of course the existing external conflict in science fiction, like in some of the other genres, is often the reflection of the internal protagonist’s conflict, but in most science fiction stories this internal clash is moved on the background of the story. Most SF stories are written for the man to allow them to drift into the world, where power and mind is the key to solving all of the existing problems. The external conflict in the story is usually characterized by the considerable amount of power the opposing characters possess, for whether it is physical or mental. Power is the key to becoming a winner in the clash, which’s the only goal the masculine protagonists usually have in mind. Another gaze into the gender psychology study book provides us with the information that the necessity to prove one’s superiority by becoming a winner in some conflict is also mainly male characteristic. Science fiction novels are usually the stories describing concrete situations, where the plot develops, and one event causes another. To cut the long story short, SF books are usually based on logical interpretation of the events. The causal consecutive ties there are usually very strong, thus there are usually little unfinished plot lines and the events that do not have any substantional meaning to the development of the plot of the story. All the technologies used in the story are scientifically validated, the principles of their operation are usually explained or understandable to the readers, in contradiction to the principles that stipulate the usage of magic in fantasy books.   One of the reasons for which less women read science fiction than man do, is the lack of the elements of decoration that make the book â€Å"alive† in women’s opinion. In the feminine literature the event that is described or the person that appeared may be introduced only in order to help the reader to feel the atmosphere of the setting described by the author. Only few of the science fiction novels hold such seemingly useless elements in them, while in all of the others â€Å"every gun that’s hanging on the wall is going to fire†, and every person appearing, and every action been committed are the basis for some further development of the plot, as Justine Larbalestier proves in his research book The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. Science fiction novels’ protagonists are also often characterized by their orientation on victory. It’s a usual pattern of action for the SF heroes to fight the things they don’t like or don’t understand. They rarely seek for the round-abouts for reaching their goals, preferring the straight and habitual way of defeating and destroying the things that prevent them from getting the needed things. Such a way of solving the problems is also mostly male characteristic. For women the strategy would rather be to understand the enemy, to find the reasons for which he’s opposing and try to get rid of them, preferably uniting their forces with the past rivals. Women tend to understand and not to fight, as destroying diverges with the basic female ideals, while creation is their field.   But, as we can note, there are fewer science fiction novels that tell about the cooperation between the aliens and people, than of those, that describe the wars between the different races. In addition, most of the novels that actually describe that cooperation show it is based on the military, political or economic needs only. Actually, the situation with the aliens’ psycho type for lots of SF writers is the same as it is with gender appurtenant of the protagonists. The description of the aliens’ phenotype is called to create the impression in the consumer’s mind that humans in the story are contacting with the creatures totally different from them, but if the reader looks closer he begins to feel himself pigeoned, as there are the same humans under the scary carnival masks. Unfortunately, only a small amount of the writers puts an effort to design the psycho type different from the humans’ one.   Of course, most of them don’t even need it, as it’s not necessary and is even harmful to research the enemy’s psychology thoroughly, as it may summon sympathy or, which’s even worse, the desire to find the reasons for the antagonist’s inappropriate behavior. Psychologists prove this is typically masculine approach to problem-solving. That’s why only a few books describe cultural cooperation between the people and aliens. Human to human cooperation has been thoroughly researched and described, so it’s ineffective to create the â€Å"human in masks† type of aliens, while creating and designing the psychology of the race much different from humans requires lots of time and effort. Science fiction got its name because of the numerous elements of scientific research and the results of progress that characterize the books written in this genre. Science is the world of rationality, of the casual-consecutive bonds, where all the events have their reasons, and provoke certain consequences, the world where the miracle is unlikely, because it deprives that world of the reality it possesses. Introducing miracle in SF novel is the same as bringing the atomic bomb into the world of the faeries and dragons. If it is done without the proper skills only the excellent writers possess, those new elements ruin the authenticity of the imaginary world, making it look like a child’s picture with the broken proportions. SF world is primordially opposite to the woman’ irrational view of the surrounding world, the place where the content is valued and the form is neglected. Most of the science fiction worlds demand their protagonist to belong to one of the two categories, either the warrior or the scientist, in order to survive in the surrounding society. Of course there are woman whose nature is of one of this two types, but for most of the females those roles are unfamiliar and unwanted. It sometimes happens in the SF that the woman have to play those roles despite of their desires or longings in order to survive, but most writers prefer to describe the beings that feel themselves comfortable in those two roles, as only than their heroes are capable of actualizing their hidden potential and revealing some of the inner qualities.   Thus they prefer to write about males, who are naturally designed to play those roles. It is also important for the science fiction protagonist to be centered on the goals put before him by the gods, doom or just the consequences, and the science fiction writers know that man are much more suitable for this role than woman are. Realistic heroine will be distracted dozens of times a day from her high mission by the cute kitty mioving, new wrinkle appeared or the handsome man walking nearby. It is also worthy of mentioning that science fiction literature rarely describes the societies where the human’s individuality is valued. For most of the heroes their surroundings are not valued for their personal qualities, but for the things they can do, thus the notion of personality is often replaced by the notion of function in the mind of the protagonist of the SF novel. This also belongs to the typical masculine qualities, described by the gender psychologists. Te contemporary world becomes more and more feminine with each passing year, and the science fiction is often used to , distract the males’ attention from this fact. Using the example of Terminator 2, Amanda Fernbach in her article The Fetishization of Masculinity in Science Fiction: The Cyborg and the Console Cowboy says that: â€Å"Ordinary masculinity lacks, and the technological Terminator represents a fetishized, idealized masculinity that is a desirable alternative. In Terminator 2, the Terminator represents an idealized phallic masculinity heavily dependent upon technofetishes to ward off the anxieties of the male spectator faced with the prospect of a future vision of castrated masculinity. Although he learns to make jokes, the Terminator admits he could never cry. He becomes more human in every way except those that display weakness or vulnerability.† Thus we can make a conclusion that science fiction is a genre designed specially for man in order to solve some of their psychological problems and satisfy some of their needs. SF is designed for man and about them, at least most of the examples are. References Fernbach, A   2000, The Fetishization of Masculinity in Science Fiction: The Cyborg and the Console Cowboy. Science Fiction Studies, Volume 27, Part 2 Fowler. K 1999, Themes/Genres in Science Fiction:   An idiosyncratic and woefully incomplete list. Ramaro College of New-Jersey. Viewed 11 May, 2005.   http://orion.ramapo.edu/~kfowler/sfthemes.html Larbalestier, J 2002, The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. Wesleyan University Press Science fiction. Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. Viewed 11 May, 2005  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction Science fiction’s use of Utopian and Dystopian visions of the future in relation to challenging boundaries of gender and / or sexuality. 2002,   Viewed 11 May, 2005 http://www.corneredangel.com/amwess/papers/sf_gits_esca.doc. Summers. C (ed) 2004, The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts. Cleis Press.

Ulysses program in price water house coopers

Ulysses program in price water house coopers The Ulysses Program is a leadership development program that is partnering with PricewaterhouseCoopers to enhance leadership potentials. The incorporation of Ulysses to PwC has lead to emergence of a diversified team in the global field (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2000). There are several competitive challenges that motivated PwC in developing the Ulysses Program: Q1 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and other partners saw a need to initiate a new design in the leadership training that could help in bringing up executives, who would fit in the global diversity and transnational nature of the operations of the firm in late 90s (Storey 2003). The firm needed to orient people to become leaders who had a wider scoop in the leadership skills that did not only fit a particular situation but rather could handle any arising challenge across the globe. The quench to conform to this situation led to the emergence of the Ulysses Program which was perceived to incorporate most of the best traits that were needed in the partnering PwC, to bring out developmental leadership links to various communities. Ulysses was meant to instill concepts of leadership qualities among personnel in the PwC which would enable it meet its core goals (Sparrow et al., 2004). The program was initiated in the year 2001 where the firm sent a number of people to the developing countries where they were supposed to employ their leadership qualities in environments that posed different challenges. Compared to their home countries, the developing countries experienced political, social and economic challenges that called for a totally different approach in both running and management (Pless Maak 2009 pp.58). PwC therefore had to be multicultural oriented and accustomed to relatively poor technological advancements that the developing countries had. In realizing this, small teams were dispatched to operate in these fields on rotational basis, each constituting eight weeks working with NGOs, intergovernmental agencies and community based organizations. The exercise mainly comprised working to confront Aids epidemic scourge, poverty challenges, conflict and environmental degradation (CS). It was back in the year 2000 that the leadership team of the PwC drew attention to the global ever-changing trends in business running and management. PwC however lacked a global leading capacity to meet with the challenges presented by the intricate worldwide business and was at the verge of being left behind as top performing partners in leadership. Other big companies were taking a lead in the Ulysses Program in efforts to nurture leaders all over the globe through exposing them to varied environmental situations so that their leading skills are enhanced. Within a period of five years, the Ulysses Program had already dispatched 80 partners through its program and with 22 participants in the year 2006 (Marquez 2005 pp.50). In the year 2004, the firm resolved to deploy its staff in countries in Africa that were experiencing varied problems that ranged from health to economic. Most important of the teams that comprised of 18 young partners coming from different PwC boundaries was one sent to combat challenges presented by HIV/AIDS in various African countries especially in Namibia and Uganda. Other included landmine improvement in Eritrea, reintegration of ex-combatants in East Timor and the small project development in Ecuador (Hofstede, 2004) Learning activity in the Ulysses project was program to take several levels for each individual team and in the organization levels where there is cross exchange of the acquired knowledge between clients and the organization. All the members who were sent out for a particular mission were supposed to report back to the firm on their experiences during their leadership responsibilities. These briefing were critical in analyzing what was better to adopt which enabled the PwC to keep on refining the Ulysses model so as to meet the global leadership requirements in a better way (Marquez 2005 pp.51). Q2. Ulysses program has been able to make PwCs business strategy and goals successful. On its launching, the firms were more inclined towards the partners from Europe and USA only. This posed a misbalancing which Ulysses came as a solution by ensuring a multicultural and geographical diversity amongst all the teams. Its wider scoop of approximate 8000 partners from member firms of 768 cities coming from 139 countries made it possible to effectively incorporate different cultures and locations. All the participating candidates in the Ulysses project were required to have been selected from the heads of each company from respective territories. These nominations were based on excellence and thus ensured candidates with the best leadership potential per took the leadership roles (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2000). The joint PwC and Ulysses for instance applied their global business expertise in Southern Belize which turned out to be very successful. In the program, Brian McCann, a PwC client service that was a partner from Boston and who specialized in merges and acquisition, the rewards- both personal and professional, took part in the Ulysses project, was recruited and surprisingly found himself as the only member originating from the US team. This team (Belize) consisted of other colleagues from Malaysia, Sweden and Germany (Patton, 2004). The team lead in activities of leadership with Ta`axche Conservation trust (YCT) which was an NGO located in Southern Belize. The local government and the private sector were also involved in evaluating the growth and income-generating potential of the eco-tourism market in the region. The priority for the team incorporated building capacity in YCT, to ensure excellent services in meeting the needs of the local Mayan people. Economic conditions in souther n Belize were desolate, with approximately half of the population being no employed and 75% earning less than $200 a month (Patton, 2004). In spite of the tough circumstances and a short time framework, the team was able to deliver an exceptional work product for the clients. Through them, an international microgrant program looking for a local partner in Belize was put in place. They also wrote a proposal for YCT which was to offer micro funding for 100 new and on hand small businesses in the region over the following two years. The Ulysses team also started up a business training workshop for members of a Mayan womens craft center, developed a business plan for YCT and its woodworking training center, put up a computerized accounting systems for the Trust, and evaluated income generating opportunities for the Belize Forestry Department (Patton, 2004). Q3. The effectiveness of the Ulysses program can be determined through weighing on the Success of the outcomes of various projects under which were steered by Ulysses. It is therefore important to evaluate them against the programs goals which were: To recognize and build up future leaders of PwC to take on senior leadership responsibilities at national and international levels within a time span of five to ten years. To put up a global network of PwC leadership talent To enhance PwCs capacity to capitalize on its diversity and transnational nature of its operation To train leaders to guide the leadership in the global world of ambiguity and tension between diverse interests and stake holders groups To encourage the business sector to move towards a more responsible and sustainable business model In reflection towards this, Ulysses was successful in promoting a co-learning environment and openly worked with the participants on their interpersonal improvement tactics concerning to what the desired to learn from NGO partners. Further, the program was able to bring out cultural differences as an enabler as opposed to earlier perception that it was a barrier. The incorporation of diverse cultures was able to enhance on team acceptance, quality and more innovations which became part of the culture of PwC. Building relationships with clients and stakeholders across borders brought more collaboration which resulted to more success (CPID, 2005). Reports coming from PwC show that the program cycle has advanced offering the participants with wider global perspectives which are relevant to any company running its businesses all over the world (CS). Douglas Ready, a director in the International Consortium for Executive Development Research noted that the Ulysses Program has helped candidates to confront challenges that are beyond the strict confines of accounting and consultation skills. In addition, he argues that the program has instilled ideals like the community involvement that are elementary to its business culture (CRME, 2005). Ulysses has also offered a chance to partnering firms to rely on. The program has forced them to take on projects that are not in their proficiency. An example is during 2003 summer where McCann developed a business plan for an ecotourism group in Belize (Hempel Porges, 2004 p.74). This development castigated more innovation in diverse fields. McCanns most vivid memory is a dinner that he had with a Mayan farmer after spending a day discussing on a plan; Though the conditions were not favorable due to lack of electricity (CS). All PwC partners agree that theyve already put into practice their experiences to the charge of administrating people and clients. A Malaysian partner Jennifer Chang once pointed out that her team noticed a shift in her managerial style after the Belize trip. She listened more and became more flexible. According to her, it is after witnessing how other organization took long to effect decisions that one gained the patience for the people that one is working with. Ayub was among those promoted in June 2003 who became a manager of 20 partners. In his view, face-to-face conversations were better over e-mail due to the low-tech approach, building trust. The adoption of this technique made him achieve a significant progressive difference in Namibia.ÂÂ   Ulysses is even prone to be more than a expedition of personal discovery for a handful of partners. It could help build leaders capable of confronting the challenges of an increasingly global business (CS). Q4. Ulysses program presents both advantages and disadvantages in offering leadership development programs to its partners. During the short duration that candidates are enrolled in the program, they develop skills of leadership which arms them with good network as future leaders of PwC taking responsibility for longer periods of five to ten years (Evans et al., 2002). This is a relatively shorter training period as compared to other traditional ways where courses take up three to five years. On the other hand, the longer serving term takes the perspective that the world being highly ambiguous with tensions amid varied interests and stakeholders groups exists. Future PwC leaders are then predestined to forefront and shape a business model that is more accountable and sustainable and allows joint venture between business and civic societies (Dickmann Harris, 2005). The Ulysses program poses another benefit in that the concepts instilled to participants are directly related to building leaders who in return can be able to build businesses. The program thus focuses on unlocking performance and embracing diversity that makes its models well versant with global business environments and the demands related. Its can be argument reasonably that, whenever a brand is made, a sustainable business is also created to complement it (Jain 2004 pp. 13). Further, Ulysses eight-week program project in developing countries that merges NGOs and inter-governmental organizations seeks to bring a cohesive forum that is able to meet most of the challenges that a respective country may be experiencing. As opposed to the traditional ways, this program is more involving: participants are required to deliver developmental project managed by a partner organizations which moulds them to be innovative (Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al., 2005). In East Timor for instance, a UN project attempting to give ex-combatants of the independence struggle new meaning to their jobs and lives in their communities; PwC partners were drawn in to access the efficiency of the project. It was able to deploy its multinational teams and transfer them to the area to apply their capabilities and develop strategies that reflected new skills and behaviors. In additional, Ulysses participants benefit in the program, among other the GP initiative where there is a strong focus on su pport for intra-company network building (Harris et al., 2003). On the other hand, Ulysses is an expensive program that snatches away the original glamour of PwC as the enormous leading firm in training global world leaders thus a disadvantage.

Essays --

Purpose The transition from teaching-centered to learner-centered paradigms has left few corners of higher education untouched, and study abroad is no exception (Vande Berg, Connor-Linton, & Paige, 2009). This focus on learning environments, assessment, and outcome-based learning has resulted in a call for robust quantitative research in study abroad that goes beyond traditional program evaluations and anecdotal feedback from students, faculty, and parents (Vande Berg et al., 2009; Graban, 2007; Engle & Engle, 2004; Sutton & Rubin, 2004). Whalen (2009) notes that the simultaneous trends of budgetary challenges facing U.S. higher education and institutional and national calls for the expansion of study abroad have placed paramount importance on the assessment of program learning outcomes to justify what was previously assumed to be the inherent educational merits of studying abroad. The complexity of international education and study abroad, however, creates challenges in conducting research with significant and comparable findings – especially in conducting research that goes beyond simple statistical evidence of the rapid growth of study abroad participation (Wisniewski Dietrich & Olson, 2010; Engle & Engle, 2004). These complexities include both the standardization of references to terms, program types, and learning outcomes being measured (Engle & Engle, 2003). The rise in study abroad research in the last decade (Vande Berg et al., 2009) has predominantly focused on measuring acquisition of intercultural skills, language proficiency, learning within a discipline, and specific program outcomes (Braskamp & Braskamp, 2009). However, several authors note the need for more assessment in study abroad on holistic student developm... ...ative measurement of factors that contribute to holistic development of students in study abroad programs using TQ scales. The emphasis on quantitative assessment of study abroad programs and participants in recent years has largely been led by research published in Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, making it an ideal candidate for submission for publication. Several issues are still at large in the development of this proposal. Several of the questions present in the TQ scale refer to campus-specific items, which may be confusing to students being surveyed in a third-party study abroad provider model, because they are neither currently studying on a campus, and enrollment in the program is derived from multiple institutions. Additionally, approval for the number of program participants and program locations to be surveyed is still pending.

Comparing the Dominant and Feminist Readings of Shakespeares King Lear

Comparing the Dominant and Feminist Readings of King Lear      Ã‚   Shakespeare's King Lear has been the source of much contention as to the way in which the text can be read. The play originally was written for the Jacobean audience of Shakespeare's time, but since then has taken on many other readings. These new readings are produced to comment on issues in the society in which it is explored. Readings encompass a wide range of ideas - from the Dominant reading, the manner in which Shakespeare's audience would have perceived the text, to feminist ideals. The various readings are influenced by the context in which they are discussed. In particular the dominant and feminist readings of King Lear both perceive the text in different contexts; the dominant following the traditional Jacobean interpretation as it was originally written, and the feminist reading pursuing a need for the lack of a patriarchal society in the twentieth century. King Lear can be read in a variety of ways, achieving a set perspective that suits the reader.    The Jacobean reading of King Lear focuses the blame for chaos and the subsequent tragedies on Lear's foolish decision to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. Though the play is set in pre-Christian times, Shakespeare's audience was greatly influenced by Elizabethan structure and hierarchy. According to the Great Chain of Being, God was the head of the universe, and the King was established as Gods connection to people. Lear's choice of abdication would have been viewed as blasphemy towards God. The audience would now perceive Lear's tragedy as inevitable due to his decisions. The play `King Lear' can be viewed as an expression of the Jacobean period concept of so... ... focuses on Lear's downfall and the pity we feel for Lear. The feminist reading of King Lear focuses on how the portrayal of women in the play is of a negative aspect and displays women as unfit for any role of leadership, else chaos ensues. The film A Thousand Miles shows how King Lear can be interpreted as a feminist reading in a contemporary setting, revealing the text King Lear in an entirely new light - women portrayed as the victims of men. King Lear can indeed be read in a variety of ways.    Works Cited Frey, C.   Experiencing Shakespeare.   Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1988. Granville-Barker, H.   Prefaces to Shakespeare.   London: B.T. Batsford INC, 1984. Halio, J.   The Tragedy of King Lear.   Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.   Thompson, A.   King Lear Criticism.   NJ: Humanities Press International, 1988.

Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Escape From an Oppressive

Huckleberry Finn - Escape From a Cruel and Oppressive Society America... land of the free and home of the brave; the utopian society which every European citizen desired to be a part of in the 18th and 19th centuries. The revolutionary ideas of The Age of Enlightenment such as democracy and universal male suffrage were finally becoming a reality to the philosophers and scholars that so elegantly dreamt of them. America was a playground for the ideas of these enlightened men. To Europeans, and the world for that matter, America had become a kind of mirage, an idealistic version of society, a place of open opportunities. Where else on earth could a man like J. D. Rockefeller rise from the streets to become one of the richest men of his time? America stood for ideals like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. People in America had an almost unconditional freedom: freedom to worship, write, speak, and live in any manner that so pleased them. But was this freedom for everyone? Was America, the utopia for the millions of common men fro m around world, as great as the philosophers and scholars fantasized? America, as a society, as a country, and as a leader was not as picture perfect as Europeans believed. The United States, under all the gold plating, carried a burden of unsolved national problems, especially racial. The deep scar of slavery had left a dent in the seemingly impenetrable armor of the country. From the times of early colonization to the late 19th century, Africans had been brought over by the thousands in overcrowded and unsanitary slave ships. They were sold like cattle to the highest bidder, an inhumane and despicable act that America, land of the free and home of the brave, allowed to happen... ...1997. 14-17. Leavis, F. R. "Viewpoints." Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1968. 109-11. Mailloux, Steven. "Reading Huckleberry Finn." New Essays on Huckleberry Finn. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. 107-30. Marx, Leo. "Mr. Eliot, Mr. Tilling, and Huckleberry Finn." American Scholar 22. (Aut 1953): 423-40. McKay, Janet H. "An Art So High." New Essays on Huckleberry Finn. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. 61-81. Walker, Nancy. "Reformers and Young Maidens: Women and Virtue." Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1968. 76-85. Wright, James. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Great Writers of the English Language: American Classics. North Bellmore, New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1991. 12-17.

Leigh Anne Tuohy from “The Blind Side” Essay

Leigh Anne Tuohy from the movie â€Å"The Blind Side† embodies what it means to be a passionate, strong, and loving mother. She’s no bullshit, and it’s obvious on screen. When she speaks, she means it. She doesn’t want to raise spoiled, bratty kids; she knows better than that. When she gets tough, it’s not out of anger or hate. It’s coming from a deep place of love. She not only demonstrates her passionate-about-life demeanor to her children, but to everyone she comes across. She is never rude, bitchy, hateful, or disrespectful. But somehow she manages to remain a leader among everyone she meets. In the recent years, there have been some new philosophies on parenting that try to brainwash the minds of parents in need of guidance. These parents don’t want to be mean or neglect their children. They see other parents spanking and yelling with anger, and they know that’s not the right way to go. The new philosophies confirm this, but take a radical stance on an alternative: No leadership whatsoever. This sounds like something so wild and outlandish that it may actually work! Bend to the child’s every demand, and reward misbehavior. Disillusioned parents will try to look past the fact that their kids are not learning any responsibilities, demanding them around like servants, and progressing slower with behavior issues than other children their age. The scary part about it is nobody has yet seen the long-term affects of this â€Å"no discipline† parenting. Kids without strong leaders as parents are used to getting everything they need emotionally and materialistically from somebody else, and when they’re on their own, there is no emotional parental crutch to hold their hand through mature situations. Their realities go haywire, growing into selfish adults incapable of thinking about others. They’ve been raised to be the constant center of attention at all times, so considering another person’s well-being would be silly. Either that, or the child grows to be depressed about life, finding out it doesn’t work the way their parents had originally presented it to them. I could go on explaining all the reasons why that type of parenting doesn’t work, but we’re over  that. You’re smart enough to not go down that road with your kids, so now I want to guide you in the right direction. And Leigh Anne is going to help me. She is the perfect model for how CharismaticKid teaches leadership to parents, and she can be our company mascot if she wants to. (Leigh Anne, if you’re reading this†¦ call me. We’ll do lunch.) It’s in her vibe, in her tone, and in her words. And she knows words play the smallest role when it comes to teaching leadership and discipline. Remember, children’s first teacher was body language, the next was verbal communication. Charismatic parents say more with one or two words than most parents can say with a whole bucket load. 1. Respect When her charismatic kid, SJ, puts his feet up on the dashboard of her BMW, she turns from normal to â€Å"don’t even think about it† tone. â€Å"Gitchyer’ feet off my dash.† She said it calmly, as if she already knew he would comply. And he doesn’t have a second thought about it. He takes them off as if he knew he wasn’t supposed to, but forgot. â€Å"Thank you. Put on your seatbelt.† 2. Independence When her daughter, Collins, smacked the floor after trying to save the ball from hitting the ground at her high school volleyball game, she gave her mother a look of â€Å"I can’t deal with this anymore.† Leigh Anne knows that confident kids don’t come running to their parents when they encounter speed bumps. So instead of getting upset and feeling bad for her daughter, she gestures for her to get up, stop being a baby, and keep playing. â€Å"Go.† One word. Does this mean that Leigh Anne doesn’t love Collins? Does this mean she is trying to lower her confidence? Just the opposite. She is raising an independent woman, who will know how to deal with issues by herself. Strong  women breed strong women. She loves her daughter so much that she won’t stand to let her become dependent on another person. Do you think Collins will end up being a needy, desperate woman in ten years? Don’t count on it. This face is saying, â€Å"And I mean it, mister! Don’t you act like a sissy when it is your job to lead. Now LEAD!† 3. Maturity It’s obvious Leigh Anne doesn’t sugar coat life for her kids. She knows that when they grow up, nobody is going to sugar coat things for them then, so why do it now? If they grew up having a skewed view on who they are in life, reality will hit hard when they learn the truth. Leigh Anne knows this, and â€Å"keeps it real† with SJ after his performance as an American Indian in his school play. â€Å"SJ, don’t let this go to your head, but I thought you were very convincing in the role of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Indian number three?† â€Å"Yes.† It was a real compliment, and that is light years more meaningful than blowing smoke up someone’s butt. SJ will grow up to know how to react to real criticism in a confident and mature manner. He will learn to accept when he isn’t perfect, and this builds character. Someone comfortable with their vulnerabilities is the most confident person you can meet. She treats him as he wants to be treated, with sincerity. From watching the movie, it’s obvious SJ is mature for his age. Why do you think this is? Another example of teaching maturity to your children is to give them adult decisions to make that can affect the entire family. When you do this, you not only give them a sense of worth for themselves, but you are also preparing them to make important decisions as they become adults. Leigh Anne demonstrated a good example of this when she gave Collins the decision to whether the family should keep Big Mike in their home, or to let him go. Giving your child important choices to make on their own allows her to prove the maturity she wishes to show to the rest of her family. It’s funny how when you give your child a responsibility, if you expect her to follow  through, most of the time she will. 4. Compassion and Responsibility On their way home from the play, the Tuohy family saw Big Mike walking in the rain to the gym to get some warmth. He’s now homeless and has nowhere to stay. What would you do in this situation? Leigh Anne was teaching SJ a lesson in compassion when she made no argument to bring Big Mike home with them for the night. Compassion is an emotion, and the definition of an emotion is a thought that inspires action. Taking him home was the action, and to pass-up on that would be ignoring her responsibility. It is any healthy person’s responsibility to take care of others as a way of being grateful for life. It’s nice to think that we would do something like this, but would we really? That small difference is what will make your child a â€Å"giver† or a â€Å"taker† as they grow up. Notice Leigh Anne’s sternness with Mike as he is acting standoffish towards her. Notice the raised eyebrows, this is simple body language denoting â€Å"expectant of an answer†. She uses strong facial expressions, body language, and eye contact with him to let him know she is not playing games. She didn’t talk to him from the car window, but instead walked straight up to him with little introduction. She was cutting to the point. Here’s the shot of compassion. Here is her glare of responsibility. SJ sees all of this. She is saying with her face, â€Å"Don’t you dare deny that this is our responsibility.† She doesn’t ask, â€Å"Would you like to stay at our house tonight?† She knows he’d say no. That’d be a cop out for her. She can get back in the car and tell her family, â€Å"Well, I tried.† No, she knows that in order to be happy and to do the same for others, she has to take matters into her own hands. She TELLS him to come home with them. She knows it’s the right thing to do, and she knows Big Mike wants to, but is too shy. This is where her leadership skills come in as well. Most people are too scared to say how they feel. There always must be a leader in the group that calls the shots.  Leigh Anne Tuohy takes that role seriously. Watch above how she doesn’t plead with him, she just turns around KNOWING that he will follow. 4. Body Language SJ is at the age where he is getting most of the lessons, and a kid would be fed up with his mother’s discipline by now. But not SJ. Why is that? When Leigh Anne lays down the law, she doesn’t do it with anger or emotion. It is straight up unemotional discipline. She also makes sure everyone KNOWS she is in charge, so no one argues with her. SJ looks up to his mother because she is such a strong leader. Watch this clip below, and notice how her correction is quick, unemotional, and sure. SJ reacts like lightning, because Leigh Anne demands good behavior from her children, not just asks for it. Notice how the correction of SJ’s behavior did not make the relationship between him and his mother sour? Even immediately afterwards, he was cracking up at his mother’s assertive attitude towards taking Big Mike shopping. He loves her! There were no hard feelings because Leigh Anne doesn’t mix feelings with discipline. Also take note of how quickly Leigh Anne changes her demeanor from â€Å"tough-love Leigh Anne† to â€Å"cheerful perky mama† after the correction has been given. Let’s talk about the subtle body language correction itself. SJ wasn’t rebelling by putting his elbows on the table, nor did he MEAN to be disrespectful. He was simply being lazy and forgetful. Leigh Anne was acting as his temporary conscious brain reminding him of something he should already have known to do. When SJ gets older, he’ll be able to remind himself about bad body language, because he’s been given cues as a child for when to correct himself. Why correct bad body language in the first place? Because if ignored, it can turn your mood into the way it looks. Elbows on the table blocks off others from talking to you. SJ wasn’t trying to do that, but the repeated habit of it can eventually make him feel more comfortable eating without anyone bothering him. Leigh Anne is there to nip that in the bud. 5. Self-sacrificing Did I mention that charisma is about exposing your vulnerabilities? People are so caught up with the thought that confidence has something to do with  only showing your strengths, but that’s just half the equation. When you can show your weakness to others, and take it even a step further and sacrifice yourself for their benefit, you are on your way to confidence mastery. When Leigh Anne gives the famous speech to Mike on the field about protecting his family, she is putting him in a leadership role among the teammates. A leader’s job is not only to lead, but to ensure the well-being of the rest of the group. When you make the choice to protect your friends, family, or teammates, you are sacrificing the chance of your own well-being for others. This is what makes a loved leader. Notice how Leigh Anne’s expression up above is saying, â€Å"I know you have the guts to take charge of your team, Michael. So do it.† She’s not yelling at him, she is disciplining him†¦ †¦ And it’s obvious that he enjoys and respects her stern demeanor. Leigh Anne doesn’t beat around the bush, and people not only respect but enjoy such direct interaction. (Don’t confuse this with bitchiness. Some people like to be blunt in a rude and demoralizing way to others, claiming they are â€Å"just being honest.† No, they’re not being honest, just negative. This isn’t a confident trait, it’s insecurity manifested into fake confidence. Be sure not to mistake your â€Å"confidence† for anger, jealousy, or insecurity. A confident person is self-LESS, an insecure person is self-ISH.) 6. Emotionally Stable Most people in this world possess emotional instability. They get upset over things, whether big or small, and show anger towards others because of it. A confident person is always emotionally stable. There is never a time where getting upset is necessary or beneficial to a situation. It is always a deterrent to your well-being, as well as to the rest of the people in your family. When Michael had gotten into a car accident with SJ sitting in the front seat of the pickup truck that the Tuohy’s had bought for him, he knew he screwed up bad. But aside from minor cuts and bruises, SJ was fine. Leigh Anne had a choice: to use anger as a way to teach Mike a lesson, or to calmly address the situation with a peaceful mind. The problem with using anger as a method  for discipline is that it breaks the trust between you and your child. They’ll begin hiding things from you, lying to you about the party they went to last weekend, and eventually your kids will be living a secret life keeping you out of the loop when it comes to their real lives. But aside from the trust factor, choosing to live an emotionally stable life lowers your stress level to zero, and teaches your children to do the same. When you can approach each and every situation from a place of calmness, you automatically set yourself up for a confident disposition. Your family members feel more confident in following you, because your choices do not come from a place of negative emotion, but rather positivity and love.

Carrie Chapter Seventeen

That this was happening in Chamberlain, in Chamberlain, for God's sake, where he drank iced tea on his mother's sun porch and refereed PAL basketball and made one last cruise out Route 6 past The Cavalier before turning in at 2:30 every morning. His town was burning UP. Tom Quillan came out of the police station and ran down the sidewalk to Doyle's cruiser. His hair was standing up every which way, he was dressed in dirty green work fatigues and an undershirt and he had his loafers on the wrong feet, but Doyle thought he had never been so glad to see anyone in his life. Tom Quillan was as much Chamberlain as anything, and he was thereintact. ‘Holy God,' he panted. ‘Did you see that?' ‘What's been happening?' Doyle asked curtly. ‘I been monitorin' the radio,' Quillan said, ‘Motton and Westover wanted to know if they should send ambulances and I said bell yes, send everything. Hearses too. Did I do right?' ‘Yes.' Doyle ran his hands through his hair. ‘Have you seen Harry Block?' Block was the town's Commissioner of Public Utilities, and that included water. ‘Nope. But Chief Deighan says they got water in the old Rennet Block across town. They're laying hose now. I collared some kids, and they're settin' up a hospital in the police station. They're good boys, but they're gonna get blood on your floor, Otis.' Otis Doyle felt unreality surge over him. Surely this conversation couldn't be happening in Chamberlain. Couldn't. ‘That's all right, Tommy. You did right. You go back there and start calling every doctor in the phone book. I'm going over to Summer Street.' ‘Okay, Otis. If you see that crazy broad, be careful.' ‘Who?' Doyle was not a barking man, but now he did. Tom Quillan flinched back. ‘Carrie, Carrie White.' ‘Who? How do you know?' Quillan blinked slowly. ‘I dunno. It just sort of †¦ came to me.' From the national AP ticker, 11:46 Pm: CHAMBERLAIN, MAINE (AP) A DISASTER OF MAJOR PROPORTIONS HAS STRUCK THE TOWN OF CHAMBERLAIN, MAINE TONIGHT. A FIRE, BELIEVED TO HAVE BEGUN AT EWEN (U-WIN) HIGH SCHOOL DURING A SCHOOL DANCE, HAS SPREAD TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA, RESULTING IN MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS THAT HAVE LEVELLED MUCH OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA. A RESIDENTIAL AREA TO THE WEST OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS ALSO REPORTED TO BE BURNING. HOWEVER, MOST CONCERN AT THIS TIME IS OVER THE HIGH SCHOOL WHERE A JUNIOR-SENIOR PROM WAS BEING HELD. IT IS BELIEVED THAT MANY OF THE PROM-GOERS WERE TRAPPED INSIDE. AN ANDOVER FIRE OFFICIAL SUMMONED TO THE SCENE SAID THE KNOWN TOTAL OF DEAD STOOD AT SIXTY-SEVEN. MOST OF THEM HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. ASKED HOW HIGH THE TOTAL MIGHT GO HE SAID: ‘WE DON'T KNOW. WE'RE AFRAID TO GUESS. THIS IS GOING TO BE WORSE THAN THE COCONUT GROVE.' AT LAST REPORT THREE FIRES WERE RAGING OUT OF CONTROL IN THE TOWN. REPORTS OF POSSIBLE ARSON ARE UNCONFIRMED. ENDS. 11:56 PM MAY 27 8943F AP There were no more AP reports from Chamberlain. At 12:06 AM., a Jackson Avenue gas main was opened. At 12:17, an ambulance attendant from Motton tossed out a cigarette butt as the rescue vehicle sped toward Summer Street. The explosion destroyed nearly half a block at a stroke, including the offices of The Chamberlain Clarion. By 12:18 A.M.. Chamberlain was cut off from the country that slept in reason beyond. At 12:10, still seven minutes before the gas-main explosion, the telephone exchange experienced a softer explosion: a complete jam of every town phone line still in operation. The three harried girls on duty stayed at their posts but were utterly unable to cope. They worked with expressions of wooden horror on their faces, trying to place unplaceable calls. And so Chamberlain drifted into the streets. They came like an invasion from the graveyard that lay in the elbow creek formed by the intersection of The Bellsqueeze Road and Route 6; they came in white nightgowns and in robes, as if in winding shrouds. They came in pyjamas and curlers (Mrs Dawson, she of the now-deceased son who had been a very funny fellow, came in a mudpack as if dressed for a minstrel show); they came to see what happened to their town, to see if it was indeed lying burnt and bleeding. Many of them also came to die. Carlin Street was thronged with them, a riptide of them, moving downtown through the hectic light in the sky, when Carrie came out of the Carlin Street Congregational Church, where she had been praying. She had gone in only five minutes before, after opening the gas main (it had been easy; as soon as she pictured it lying there under the street it had been easy), but it seemed like hours. She had prayed long and deeply, sometimes aloud, sometimes silently. Her heart thudded and laboured. The veins on her face and neck bulged. Her mind was filled with the huge knowledge of POWERS, and of an ABYSS. She prayed in front of the altar, kneeling in her wet and torn and bloody gown, her feet bare and dirty and bleeding from a broken bottle she had stepped on. Her breath sobbed in and out of her throat, and the church was filled with groanings and swayings and sunderings as psychic energy sprang from her. Pews fell, hymnals flew, and a silver Communion set cruised silently across the vaulted darkness of the nave to crash into the far wall. She prayed and there was no answering. No one was there – or if there was, He/It was cowering from her. God had turned His face away, and why not? This horror was as much His doing as hers. And so she left the church, left it to go home and find her momma and make destruction complete. She paused on the lower step, looking at the flocks of people streaming toward the centre of town. Animals. Let them burn, then. Let the streets be filled with the smell of their sacrifice. Let this place be called racca, ichabod, wormwood. Flex And power transformers atop lightpoles bloomed into nacreous purple light, spitting catherine-wheel sparks. High-tension wires fell into the streets in pick-up-sticks tangles and some of them ran, and that was bad for them because now the whole street was littered with wires and the stink began, the burning began. People began to scream and back away and touched the cables and went into jerky electrical dances. Some had already slumped into the street, their robes and pyjamas smouldering. Carrie turned back and looked fixedly at the church she had just left. The heavy door suddenly swung shut, as if in a hurricane wind. Carrie turned towards home. From the sworn testimony of Mrs Cora Simard, taken before The State Investigatory Board (from The White Commission Report). pp. 217-218: Q. Mrs Simard, the Board, understands that you lost your daughter on Prom Night, and we sympathise with you deeply. We will make this as brief as possible. A. Thank you. I want to help if I can, of course. Q. Were you on Carlin Street at approximately 12.12 when Carietta White came out of the First Congregational Church on that street? A. Yes. Q. Why were you there? A. My husband had to be in Boston over the weekend on business and Rhonda was at the Spring Ball. I was home alone watching TV and waiting up for her. I was watching the Friday Night Movie when the town hall whistle went off, but I didn't connect that with the dance. But then the explosion †¦ I didn't know what to do. I tried to call the police but got a busy signal after the first three numbers. I †¦ I†¦Then †¦ Q. Take your time, Mrs Simard. All the time you need. A. I was getting frantic. There was a second explosion – Teddy's Amoco station, I know now – And I decided to go downtown and see what was happening. There was a glow in the sky, an awful glow. That was when Mrs Shyres pounded on the door. Q. Mrs Georgette Shyres? A. Yes, they live around the corner. 217 Willow. That's just of Carlin Street. She. was pounding and calling: ‘Cora, are you in there? Are you in there?' I went to the door. She was in her bath-robe and slippers. Her feet looked cold. She said they had called Auburn to see if they knew anything and they told her the school was on fire. I said: ‘Oh dear God, Rhonda's at the dance.' Q. Is this when you decided to go downtown with Mrs Shyres? A. We didn't decide anything. We just went. I put on a pair of slippers – Rhonda's, I think. They had little white puffballs on them. I should have worn my shoes, but I wasn't thinking. I guess I'm not thinking now. What do you want to hear about my shoes for? Q. You tell it in your own way, Mrs Simard. A. T-Thank you. I gave Mrs Shyres some old jacket that was around, and we went. Q. Were there many people walking down Carlin street? A. I don't know. I was too upset. Maybe thirty. Maybe more. Q. What happened? A. Georgette and I were walking toward Main Street, holding hands just like two little girls walking across a meadow after dark. Georgette's teeth were clicking. I remember that. I wanted to ask her to stop clicking her teeth, but I thought it would be impolite. A block and a half from the Congo Church, I saw the door open and I thought: Someone has gone in to ask God's help. But a second later I knew that wasn't true. Q. How did you know? It would be logical to assume just what you first assumed, wouldn't it? A. I just knew. Q. Did you know the person who came out of the church? A. Yes. It was Carrie White. Q. Had you ever seen Carrie White before? A. No. She was not one of my daughter's friends. Q. Had you ever seen a picture of Carrie White? A. No. Q. And in any case, it was dark and you were a block and a half from the church. A. Yes, sir. Q. Mrs Simard, how did you know it was Carrie White? A. I just knew. Q. This knowing, Mrs Simard: was it like a light going on in your head? A. No, sir. Q. What way it A. I can't tell you. It faded away the way a dream does. An hour after you get up you can only remember you had a dream. But I knew. Q. Was there an emotional feeling that went with this knowledge? A. Yes. Horror. Q. What did you do then? A. I turned to Georgette and said: There she is. Georgette said: ‘Yes, that's her.' She started to say something else, and then the whole street was lit up by a bright glow and there were crackling noises and then the power lines started to fall into the street, some of them spitting live sparks. One of them hit a man in front of us and he b-burst into flames. Another man started to run and he stepped on one of them and his body just arched backward, as if his back had turned into elastic. And then he fell down. Other people were screaming and running, just running blindly, and more and more cables fell. They were strung all over the place like snakes. And she was glad about it. Glad! I could feel her being glad. I knew I had to keep my head. The people who were running were getting electrocuted. Georgette said: ‘Quick, Cora. Oh God, I don't want to get burned alive.' I said, ‘Stop that. We have to use our heads, Georgette, or we'll never use them again.' Something foolish like that. But she wouldn't listen. She let go of my hand and started to ran for the sidewalk. I screamed at her to stop – there was one of those heavy main cables broken off right in front of us – but she didn't listen. And she †¦ she†¦ oh, I could smell her when she started to burn. Smoke just seemed to burst out of her clothes and I thought: that's what it must be like when someone gets electrocuted. The smell was sweet like pork. Have any of you ever smelled that? Sometimes I smell it in my dreams. I stood still, watching Georgette Shyres turn black. There was a big explosion over in the West End-the gas main, I suppose – but I never even noticed it. I looked around and I was all alone. Everyone else had either run away or was burning. I saw maybe six bodies. They were like piles of old rags. One of the cables had fallen on to the porch of a house to the left, and it was catching on fire. I could hear the old-fashioned shake shingles poppin g like Corn. it seemed like I stood there a long time, telling myself to keep my head. It seemed like hours. I began to be afraid that I would faint and fall on one of the cables, or that I would panic and start to run. Like †¦ like Georgette. So then I started to walk. One step at a time. ‘Me street got even brighter, because of the burning house. I stepped over two live wires and went around a body that wasn't much more than a puddle. I-I-I had to look to see where I was going. There was a wedding ring on the body's hand, but it was all black. All black. Jesus, I was Oh dear Lord. I stepped over another one and then there were three, all at once. I just stood there looking at them. I thought if I got over those I'd be all right but †¦ I didn't dare. Do you know what I kept thinking of? That game you play when you're kids, Giant Step. A voice in my mind was saying, Cora, take one giant step over the live wires in the street. And I was thinking May P May P One of the m was still spitting a few sparks, but the other two looked dead. But you can't tell. The third rail looks dead too. So I stood there, waiting for someone to come and nobody did. The house was still burning and the flames had spread to the lawn and the trees and the hedge beside it. But no fire trucks came. Of course they didn't. The whole west side was burning up by that time. And I felt so faint. And at last I knew it was take the giant step or faint and so I took it, as big a giant step as I could, and the heel of my slipper came down not an inch from the last wire. Then I got over and went around the end of one more wire and then I started to run. And that's all I remember. When morning came I was lying on a blanket in the police station with a lot of other people. Some of them – a few-were kids in their prom get-ups and I started to ask them if they had seen Rhonda. And said †¦ they s-s-said †¦ (A short recess) Q. You are personally sure that Carrie White did this? A. Yes. Q. Thank you, Mrs Simard. A. I'd like to ask a question, if you please. Q. Of course. A. What happens if there are others like her? What happens to the world? From The Shadow Exploded (p. 15 1): By 12:45 on the morning of May 28, the situation in Chamberlain was critical. The school had burned itself out on a fairly isolated piece of ground, but the entire downtown area was ablaze. Almost all the city water in that area had been tapped, but enough was available (at low pressure) from Deighan Street water mains to save the business buildings below the intersection of Main and Oak a~. The explosion of Tony's Citgo on upper Summer Street had resulted in a ferocious fire that was not to be controlled until nearly ten o'clock that morning. There was water on Summer Street, there simply were no firemen or fire-fighting equipment to utilize it. Equipment was then on its way from Lewiston, Auburn, Lisbon and Brunswick, but nothing arrived until one o'clock. On Carlin Street, an electrical fire, caused by downed power lines, had begun. It was eventually to gut the entire north side of the street, including the bungalow where Margaret White gave birth to her daughter. On the west end of town, just below what is commonly caned Brickyard Hill, the worst disaster had taken place. The explosion of a gas main and a resulting fire that raged out of control through most of the next day. And if we look at these flash points on a municipal map (see page facing), we can pick out Carrie's route – a wandering, looping path of destruction through the town, but one with an almost certain destination: home †¦ Something toppled over in the living room, and Margaret White straightened up, cocking her head to one side. The butcher knife glittered dully in the light of the flames. The electric power had gone off sometime before, and the only fight in the house came from the fire up the street. One of the pictures fell from the wall with a thump. A moment later the Black Forest cuckoo clock fell. The mechanical bird gave a small, strangled squawk and was still. From the town the sirens whooped endlessly, but she could still hear the footsteps when they turned up the walk. The door blew open. Steps in the hall. She heard the plaster plaques in the living room (CHRIST, THE UNSEEN GUEST, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO, THE HOUR DRAWETH NIGH; IF TONIGHT BECAME JUDGMENT, WOULD YOU BE READY) explode one after the other, like plaster birds in a shooting gallery. (o i've been there and seen the harlots shimmy on wooden stages) She sat up on her stool like a very bright scholar who has gone to the head of the class, but her eyes were deranged. The living-room windows blew outward. The kitchen door dammed and Carrie walked in. Her body seemed to have become twisted, shrunken, cronelike. The prom dress was in tatters and flaps, and the pig blood had began to clot and streak. There was a smudge of grease on her forehead and both knees were scraped and raw-looking. ‘Momma,' she whispered. Her eyes were preternaturally bright, hawklike, but her mouth was trembling. If someone had been them to watch, he would have been struck by the resemblance between them. Margaret White sat on her kitchen stool, the carving knife hidden among the folds of her dress in her lap. ‘I should have killed myself when he put it in me,' she said clearly. ‘After the first time, before we were married, he promised. Never again. He said we just †¦ slipped. I believed him. I fell down and I lost the baby and that was God's judgment. I felt that the sin had been expiated. By blood. But sin never dies. Sin †¦ never †¦ dies.' Her eyes glittered. ‘Momma' ‘At first it was all right. We lived sinlessly. We slept in the same bed, belly to belly sometimes, and O, I could feel the presence of the Serpent, but we never did until.' She began to grin, and it was a hard, terrible grin. ‘And that night I could see him looking at me That Way. We got down on our knees to pray for strength and he†¦ touched me. In that place. That woman place. And I sent him out of the house. He was gone for hours, and I prayed for him. I could see him in my mind's eye, walking the midnight streets, wrestling with the devil as Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord. And when he came back, my heart was filled with thanksgiving.' She paused, grinning her dry, spitless grin into the shifting shadows of the room. ‘Momma, I don't want to hear it!' Plates began to explode in the cupboards like clay pigeons. ‘It wasn't until he came in that I smelled the whiskey on his breath. And he took me. Took me! With the stink of filthy roadhouse whiskey still on him he took me †¦ and I liked it She screamed out the last words at the ceiling. ‘I liked it o all that dirty fucking and his hands on me ALL OVER ME!' ‘MOMMA!' (MOMMA!!) She broke off as if slapped and blinked at her daughter ‘I almost killed myself,' she said in a more normal tone of voice. ‘And Ralph wept and talked about atonement and I didn't and then he was dead and then I thought God had visited me with cancer; that He was turning my female parts into something as black and rotten as my sinning soul. But that would have been too easy. The Lord works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. I see that now. When the pains began I went and got a knife – this knife-‘ she held it up ‘-and waited for you to come so I could make my sacrifice. But I was weak and backsliding. I took this knife in hand again when you were three, and I backslid again. So now the devil has come home.' She held the knife up, and her eyes fastened hypnotically on the glittering hook of its blade. Carrie took a slow, blundering step forward.