Employability skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Employability skills - Essay Example The company offers a range of products to clients depending on clients needs. They run care homes, health centers, dental centers, and hospitals, offer personal and company health insurance and provide home health care, workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services including health coaching. The organization employment structure ranges from the top echelon to the bottom depending on employees skills such as professional level. As an erstwhile employee of the institution (saved as a financial adviser), I was tasked with the responsibility of marketing policies of the company to the clients. It is a position that requires certain skills and competencies as well as professionalism to effectively and efficiently deliver in terms of performance ( Bupa, 2015). Personal skills in the modern workforce especially in private institutions are considered to be profitable. There are those who subscribe to the school of thought that personal skills are generic hence its passed from one generation to the other. It is further from the truth as scientific proof show that traits can be acquired. As a financial adviser, I developed my responsibilities by grooming appropriately and in an acceptable manner to the eyes of the clients as well as to the codes and ethics of the institution. Besides that, reporting punctually to workstations would give ample time for proper preparation. Punctuality and strict time observation enable a financial adviser(FA) to identify the appropriate client prospecting methods with the sole purpose of meeting the client’s needs and convincing them into consenting on preferred products. In addition to that it enhances the self-respect, good self-management, honesty to the unit manager and team members and ones work. Ca rrying out duties responsibly boosts confidence in ones work, and that correlates with the

The American Dream Essay Example for Free

The American Dream Essay What is the American Dream? There are a myriad of aspects to it, but one general idea: the ideal life. It is making a lot of money, being respected, and triumphing difficult situations. The American Dream has been pursued by many, but only few make it all the way. One very good example of the American Dream is Andrew Carnegie, the founder of what is known as U.S. Steel. Carnegie was born in Scotland to a poor family. As a teen, he emigrated from Scotland to the United States. He was portrayed as a hard working individual who was very intelligent and disciplined. He took it upon himself to read and learn as much as he could. Carnegies first job was a telegraph messenger boy, and later upgraded to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as a telegraph operator. His persevering work allowed him to quickly advance through the company, and he became the superintendent of the Pittsburgh Division. He continued making investments and made good profits throughout the civil war, and finally left Pennsylvania Railroad and started his own iron companies, eventually Keystone Bridge Works and Union Ironworks. Carnegie saw how bad the wooden railroads were, so he proceeded to slowly replace them with iron ones. Carnegies charm, perception, and hard work led to becoming one of the worlds most famous men of the time, and led to the first corporation in the world with a market capitalization in excess of one billion when he sold his companies to John Morgan who called them United States Steel Corporation. The rise from the poor boy in Scotland to the second richest man in America. He had plenty of initiative and persevered throughout his life to become what he wanted to be. He retired as one of the most respected men in the world, and he will be in the history books forever. He was polite, educated, wealthy, intelligent, respected, and perceptive. Andrew Carnegie lived the American Dream. This still holds true today, as many immigrants come to the United States for better, more successful life. This is what the states were founded upon, and, hopefully, will never die. Life, liberty, and the p ursuit of happiness. Overcoming all obstacles, becoming someone no one else is. Everyone dreams of the American Dream.

Critical Analysis: Js Mills Defense Of Free Speech

Critical Analysis: Js Mills Defense Of Free Speech Reading J.S. Mills Defense of free Speech was a great deal of interest, education and increment of knowledge to me. I was so thrilled by his choice of words and his mechanism of analyses. It is of a great pleasure and of a great honor to me to have this opportunity to analyze and asses critically this very write up. According to J.S. Mill we see that freedom means: a) the freedom of thought, religion, speech, b) the freedom of tastes, and the freedom to plan the life in own way, and c) the freedom of assembly. Thus, Mills ideal is a possible freedom of every person for the purpose of the whole society prosperity. Mill even stated that the state should take care of own people and dont try to increase the value of own citizens with the purpose of making them obedient instruments of own projects implementation. Mill defends the right of individuals to live as he pleases. According to Mill we see that each of us is self-sufficient with respect to own health, as bodily, mental and spiritual. Social growth is the result of all the various individual initiatives. Clearly, everyones freedom finds its limits in the freedom of another. Individual shall not infringe upon the interests of others or a certain group interests, which by law or acquiescence should read as legal. He was forced to accept their re sponsibilities and the necessary sacrifices for the protection of society and its members from any sabotage and unrest. Freedom in Mills mind is the public good. Because a free person is more productive than not free person and has a better chance of happiness, advocated by the time Mill in his work. Now we have a reason to suspect that the freedom is the condition for further evolution of the individual and, more importantly, the collectivity development, i.e. culture-and sociogenesis. Survival of the human species depends on how human can think, and on his ability to modify the form of collective existence. It is possible to say without exaggeration that Mill first felt in what direction the further process of universal evolution goes or even where it should be directed for the purpose of its future continuation. It cannot be overemphasized the importance and necessity of freedom in life. It is our right to exercise our freedom. The freedom of speech in consideration here most especially is definitely needful, useful and should be unutilized or underutilized by individuals in recent times. This is one of the bases of civilization. Thinking about the liberty of thought and discussion on the governmental level we see that Mill was worried by the state censorship of individuals behavior more as a danger rather than the topic of the day. In old Europe the state interference in individuals life and the freedom of expression has not been true until Mills times. It had a place not because of big governments sympathy to personal freedom, but because of the so-called technical problems; it means that the government was still focused on other prerogatives. No one was aware of how widely it may be areas of potential individual freedom, because life was a meager content, and finally the prerogative of th e regulation of morals then belonged to the church and community in those times. First of all, I would like to have a short look at the prehistory of the book On Liberty, because it will help me to be more professional in further analysis of Mills thoughts. The book On Liberty Mill co-wrote with his wife in 1859. The author has predicted a long life to this his work by himself and thought that exactly On Liberty will survive the rest of his creations. Mill does not get tired to stress the importance for man and society as a whole in maximum diversity of characters and full freedom of human nature in a myriad of contrasting directions. Freedom does not only protect from the tyranny of power, it insures also against such kind of tyranny as the tyranny of prevailing opinion and feeling of general social trends, ideas and habits It seems to me that the freedom limits the penetration of legitimate collective wisdom of individual independence. On my opinion, treatise On Liberty is one of the fundamental works of liberal thought, as it provides the rationale unit of society, where the freedom of speech, the freedom of thought, the freedom of private life (including economic freedom) and the freedom of social and political associations were discussed. According to Mill the above numerated freedoms would become a reality in democratic governance. However, in a representative board (it is assumed in a democracy) are possible the tyranny of fashion and the tyranny of the majority. Mill considered that in a society the law and public opinion should compel people to perform certain behavioral rules. In this case the most important question is about the true essence of these rules. In every era and in every country the dominate rules and laws are perceived as unquestionable and self-evident by people. Meanwhile, this almost universal illusion is one example of the magic influence of habit. In all societies, wrote Mill, there are several principles that play an important role in the formation of behavioral rules that are imposed by the law or public opinion in the first and the foremost rate it is the interest of the ruling class. The majority of public morality is conditioned to the interests of the ruling class where one class dominates the other. The second principle, which plays an important role in the formation of the behavioral rules, lies in cringing and in desire to please masters or gods. In addition, the moral concepts were also affected by the public interest. The fact that there are in accordance to our views the presence of good government and bad government might not be one without error. This was critically emphasized in Mills write up. Mill (1859) stated that The best government has no more title to it than the worst. It is as noxious, or more noxious, when exerted in accordance with public opinion, than when in opposition to it. If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were. The opinions we bear always make us who we are. When we see the government as a bad one, it makes us a people who are led by a bad government. An opinion held by a majority or by people in power or even any individual could be erroneous. The same very opinion held by a group of people as truth and correct might be total held by the other group as completely false statement and completely incorrect. The presence of change cannot be overemphasized and does not change as different generation passes by. It is a true saying that as new generation comes, there comes a new way of life, way of thinking and many other improvements or non-improvements in processes. There have been many reformations and changes in the system of governance of any country of the world from the year 1678 to 2010. What does this point to? This means that for a rational critic to rationally criticize any government there should be detailed consideration of the time, setting and location of the criticized government. Nevertheless I still want to stipulate that there still holds some general view on the basic things expected of a government to offer its citizens and this is the freedom of speech. According to Van Belle (2000) we see that For the most part, efforts to defend press freedom have been equal to the task. In fact, if the gradual growth of press freedom around the world is any indicator, the defense an d pursuit of press freedom might even be considered to be slightly more robust overall than the effort to censor. If you mark the beginning of the fight for press freedom with the arguments for unlicensed printing put forth in John Miltons Areopagitica, scholars, philosophers, and politicians have been fighting for the freedom to publish free of government control for three and a half centuries. To make our points approved is an enviable feature and character worthy of emulation which establishes our opinion as a statement of truth. I will not but also comment on this point as it evokes the feeling and awareness to each of us and most especially the government to allow great room for criticism and evaluation of the views and beliefs held. Mill holds the view that our views and opinions despite the fact that they are value statements should have enough safe grounds of defense to it. We should always weigh our statements, opinions and views in order that they should be worthy enough for anyone to rely on. In the issue with misunderstand with a great man once lived-Socrates by the law givers in his time, was of course an act of intimidation, non-civilization and inhumanity. There is a great disharmony between the then existent way of things, judgments and opinion which nowadays is considered as a terrible one. According to Mill (1859) we read that Mankind can hardly be too often reminded, that there was once a man named Socrates, between whom and the legal authorities and public opinion of his time, there took place a memorable collision. There has been in history the execution of great men who made great differences in life only because of disagreement with what they believe by the then governing authority. It is of course not an act of justice, not an act that depicts the presence of freedom and grants full power to the government without a full rational basis. Holding of opinion is not just enough but being able to defend it to some degree is the importance of this opinion thereof. Mill (1859) wrote in accordance to previous statement that There is a class of persons (happily not quite so numerous as formerly) who think it enough if a person assents doubtingly to what they think true, though he has no knowledge whatever of the grounds of the opinion, and could not make a tenable defense of it against the most superficial objections.. In existence are yet individuals who think one should only listen to them and believe all they say. Any argument with them evokes annoyance and possibly some punishments on the arguer in a case when they are the governing body of the very societal setting. There is great truth in this in that for civilized people the weapons of battle are words; well-constructed, that portrays opinion and substantiates it and able to prove and defend it beyond all reasonable thoughts, but not to involve any physical battles. T he battle of words is a constructive civilized way of life aimed at confirming how strong a value statement could be and should even not involve any sort of punishment. The freedom of expressing ones belief is good but more especially there should also be concomitant knowledge of the opposing belief in order to rationally express the basis of this belief. The greatness you have as a propagator of a certain belief lies in your knowledge of an opposing beliefs facts and knowing and expressing a rational assertion of superiority over the opposing belief. It is political as well as rationally worthy to discuss opinions for the complete exposure of its foundational basis and meaning. Analyzing Mills position we see that Mill opposed to individual self-restraint, to restriction of individuals freedom from the societys side, and also he opposed to restrictions on freedom of the individual and society from the states side. It is obvious that Mill was well aware that the joint lives of individuals cannot exist without any restrictions of freedom. Mill said that the freedom of one ends where the freedom of another begins. The boundary of the previous Mills statement, of course, is mobile and conventional and, incidentally, is supported in the free discussion. Mill in his treatise On Liberty provides some clarification, as this border should be determined. But wherever it took place, Mill insists that the freedom is the norm, and its limitations are rationally justifiable exceptions or pathology. An individual is entitled to any vices and f ollies, if it will not cause harm to anyone except himself. Moreover, the scope of conduct, harmless to others, in Mills explanations is much extended. If the individuals behavior provokes a moral outrage and aesthetic revulsion at the neighbors, then shrugs Mill, let them leave their feelings with themselves: the freedom of public interest and public good is more important than their feelings. It could be named Mills rationalization of tolerance. One can easily agree with him that many who profess the Christian fate lack the deep knowledge of its foundation. Mill (1859) was interested To what an extent doctrines intrinsically fitted to make the deepest impression upon the mind may remain in it as dead beliefs, without being ever realized in the imagination, the feelings, or the understanding, is exemplified by the manner in which the majority of believers hold the doctrines of Christianity. To what end will it then be in general to profess something you have no full understanding concerning. It pertains not only to Christianity but other spheres of life. The concept of the whole truth is one that is farfetched especially when considering the extent of truth in the opposing doctrines. Man is not an island and his existence knowingly or unknowingly is influenced by the existence of other people, their thoughts, activities and their way of life. It of course also freely given to man, his existence here on earth and much more especially important is also his freedom to influence his surroundings. He influences all components of his surroundings and this includes the people in it, the animals that exists in it and even the climate. If our notions will actually influence others, it will do so only when it is well grounded such that the erroneous nature of it will be near zero. In the society where the lives of men and women are being led by other men and women, there should be presence of quality and capability in these leaders. It is of course worthy and respectable the fact that leaders act, make decisions, enact laws and even enforce punishments on those they believe defaulted the law, there should also be a justifiable explanation for their actions and steps. Adequacy and competency in leadership and politics therefore not only includes actions which of course should be appropriate ones but also should include their ability to communicate their decisions, intention and even their actions to those they lead. Conclusion I agree to a great degree on the write up because of expressive power portrayed concerning the fact that truth is a complex concept that takes almost eternity to completely rationally evaluated. It is worthy of understanding then that since governing powers, humans and group of individuals are bound to be erroneous, there is only a major demand on rationally expressing the reasons of actions, views, decisions and doctrines beyond all reasonable doubts that could arise against it. Lets remember that Darwin showed the man that he was an animal in some way. Mill explained how this animal is different from all others. Unlike other animals, man is able to manipulate by himself choose the lifestyle and create own character. But the person needs freedom of thought and action for the purpose of this natural human ability has been realized and it means that this freedom must be provided to the person as soon as possible. Thus, connecting Darwins and Mills works we see that their two fundamental books were published almost at one time and they were two remarkable documents of emancipation of the human person, deeply connected with each other by a common theme, as is clearly seen in our time. Darwin explained individuals retrospection on the evolution stage, and John Stuart Mills traced prospects of human further development. Machizukuri in Japan: Overview and Analysis Machizukuri in Japan: Overview and Analysis Planning in Japan has existed more than a hundred years ago (Evans, 2010) and Machizukuri is one type of planning in Japan. By the beginning of 1980s, the term Machizukuri has been extensively used (Evans, 201), but its concept is claimed, to be changing from time to time and its term is often ambiguous as it is usually used base on peoples own understanding in many different situation (Watanabe, n.d). Therefore, the origins of Machizukuri need to be explored in order to be able to determine how the concept of Machizukuri is shaped and indirectly determining the characteristics of Machizukuri that vary it from the other types of planning in Japan. Machizukuri is a type of planning which is closely related to peoples desire in creating a livable and sustainable city (Evans, 2014). It is a type of planning where the local residents work together or in cooperation with the government by doing variety of activities to make their place attractive and appropriate to live in (Evans, 2014). Machizukuri is a collaboration of two different terms Machi and Zukuri where Machi can be defined as community, but also often means small area rather than large area and Zukuri is defined as making or planning (Watanabe, 2007). In general, Machizukuri can be understood as an attempt to improve or sustain the city with the involvement of the local residents in the planning. The activities of Machizukuri include from meeting, involvement of the resident in policy making and so forth (Watanabe, 2006). The terms Machizukuri is claimed by many to be vague and ambiguous because many have used it as a catchword. However, it is not until the early of 1960s, this term started to be adopted in the field of urban planning (Evans, 2010). As an example, the term was used in Kobes municipal and ward social councils in 1965 as a slogan (Evans, 2010). However, it is very difficult to determine when and where actually Machizukuri originated, as in the past it was used often as a catchword. Watanabe (n.d) agreed with this and he pointed out that Mr. Kan Hideshima had discovered Dr Naoto Nakajima used the term Machizukuri without accompanying the actual activities in 1947, and Dr Naoto can be one example where the term Machizukuri was used as a catchword. On the contrary, Professor Shiro Masuda had used the term Machizukuri in his journal in 1952 (Watanabe, n.d). This is believed to be the earliest work that had used the term in relation its actually activity. Although he did not describe the term precisely, he used the term in relation to peoples movement. The term Machizukuri was used in his journal about Kunitachi, where at that time, was in the middle of peoples movement due to the turning of quiet and decent college town into unpleasant place for residents to live in. Some activist called their movement Machizukuri. (Watanabe, n.d) This is believed to be the birth of the term Machizukuri with refers to the activity. However, the concept of Machizukuri itself was ambiguous. In between 1960s to the end of 1970s, several factors had taken place and indirectly had helped in shaping the concept of Machizukuri (Evans, 2010). These factors are not just favor the establishment of Machizukuri but also help to develop Machizukuris concept. The first factor is the influence of the citizens movement. Citizens movement shows that the citizens are concerned and conscious about the city they lived in. This consciousness may leads to their involvement on the planning of the city, hence, resulted in Machizukuri as citizens participation is the key factor of Machizukuri (Evans, 2010). To further elaborate, in 1950s to 1960s, Japan was focusing towards the development of its economy and industries which had resulted in a dreadful pollution. This had triggered a wide environmental protest throughout Japan over the 1960s due to house shortages, traffic congestion and environmental arose that threaten residential life of the local citizen (Watanabe, 2006). The environmental movement by the local resident has indirectly led to the popularization in local participation. This movement had given way for the awareness of citizens right and growth in citizen consciousness. The second factor is the decentralization of planning powers resulted from the 1968 New City Planning Act. The replacement of 1919 city planning act with 1968 new city planning act can be considered as step towards Machizukuri. This is because the new act did mark an important step for public involvement in the planning process (Ishida cited in Evans, 2010). As stated by Evans (2010) that other important features of the 1968 New City Planning Act include the introduction of public participation. By encouraging public participation, this will provide opportunity for Machizukuri to grow and take place. Thirdly is the slowing down of urbanization also leads to Machizukuri. This can be seen from the slowdown of urbanization due to the oil crisis in 1973, which resulted in transition of a high-growth to low-growth economy in Japan (Evans, 2010). Many changes happened after the worldwide oil crisis, this caused people to stop migrating to the city, and some went back to where they came from. According to Alden and Abe (cited in Evans, 2010), net migration to metropolitan regions of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya was almost zero during 1975 to 1980. However, the central government introduced urban system where the local areas within a city prepare its own plan (Evans, 2010). By giving the role this give the local to are more involve in the planning of the local area, hence may lead to Machizukuri, as its not only the government will be handling the planning the city but also the locals. These factors are mostly had given the opportunity for the participation of the citizens and by opening opportunity for citizens participation in planning, this will give chance for the Machizukuri to take place. Therefore, these kinds of events can be considered to be the main driving forces for the establishment of Machizukuri. Although Machizukuri is often seen as the involvement of citizens in the planning, it has other distinctive characteristics, which identify the actual Machizukuri. Consequently, these characteristics vary Machizukuri from other types of planning. The term machi in Japanese term according to Watanabe often opposes the large area. Furthermore, Vogt (n.d.) described Machizukuri to normally restricted to smaller scale projects such as a park, residential neighborhood and so forth. For example in Mano district with population of only 4,739 people (Evans,2010). and also Machizukuri in Aneya lane which is a narrow 700m long street in the centre of Kyoto (Hein, 2008). This is unlike other types of planning which usually cover large scale such as Toshi Keikaku where according to Vogt (n.d) it deals with the improvement of city or larger parts of it. This can be said to be one of Machizukuris characteristics where it is focusing normally on a small-scale area. The change resulted from Machizukuri is often claimed to be slow and gradual. This can be demonstrates in a district called Mano. This district suffered from pollution and associate health problem in 1960s which led to formation of residents anti-pollution campaign. As a result from this Machizukuri school took place in 1970s where this school consists of lectures and workshops on topics related to residents campaign. In addition, Manos residents had drew up a machizukuri plan where it is a whole plan for Mano and consist of their vision, and ways to achieve this. Twenty years since, the appearance of Mano changed significantly. (Evans, 2010). This can also be seen on Sanjo Machizukuri, it took over 20 years for the Machizukuri to transform a declining wholesale area to an attractive place for shopping or dining and so forth (Hein, 2008). This is another characteristic of Machizukuri, where the change is rather slow, this is due to revitalizing a local area without uprooting the loca l population, therefore, it is incremental. Machizukuri is also seen as a method that focusing on the soft aspects of planning unlike the traditional town planning which is more towards the hard aspect such as roads and other phyical infrastructure (Evans, 2010). Machizukuri may include the hard aspect as well but it emphasis more on soft aspect such as upgrading an area. This can be seen in Sanjos Machizukuri, Kyoto, where the centre of its commerce has an unpleasant appearance. Therefore, in this case, it focused on the economic and social renewal of Sanjo Street, and this indirectly had dealt with the environmental problem (Hein, 2008). In conclusion, Machizukuri is a concept which did not understand very well by many in the previous years. Determining the origins and identifying its characteristics helped in understanding and shaped the actual concept of Machizukuri. Although, it is difficult to really determine the actual origin of Machizukuri, but the term itself has been used since the 1940s and its concept have been shaped by several events between 1960s to 1970s. Furthermore, Machizukuri has its own characteristics, which represent its peculiarities from other planning. References: Evans, N. (2010). Machi-zukuri as a new paradigm in Japanese urban planning: reality or myth?. Japan Forum. [Online] 14:3 (2002). p. 443-464. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0955580022000008745 [Accessed: 8th March 2014] Evans, N. (2014), Community Planning lecture notes distributed in Urban Japan at Kings College London, London. on 6th March 2014 Hein, C. (2008) Machi: Neighborhood and Small Town The Foundation for Urban Transformation in Japan. Journal of Urban History. [Online]. Available from http://juh.sagepub.com/content/35/1/75 [Accessed: 8th March 2014]. Vogt, S. (n.d.) From Toshikeikaku To Machizukuri Urban Planning In Tokyo With Special Reference To The Participation Of The Residents. [Online]. Available from http://www.linkclub.or.jp/~erisa-25/kosakuin/warehouse/silke01.htm [Accessed: 18th April 2014] Watanabe, S. J. (n.d.) The Historical Analysis of the Kunitachi Machizukuri Movement: Its Nature and the Role of Professor Shiro Masuda. 15th International Planning History Society Conference. [Online]. Available from: http://www.fau.usp.br/iphs/abstractsAndPapersFiles/Sessions/36/WATANABE.pdf [Accessed: 8th March 2014] Watanabe, S.J. (2006) ‘Machizukuri in Japan: a historical perspective on participatory community-building initiatives’, in Hein, C. and Pelletier, P. (eds) Cities, Autonomy, and Decentralization in Japan,[Online] London: Routledge, pp.128-138. A vailable from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bm[emailprotected]sessionmgr4001vid=1format=EBrid=1 [Accessed: 12th March 2014] Watanabe, S.J. (2007) ‘Toshi keikaku vs machizukuri’, in Sorensen, A. and Funck, C. (eds) Living Cities in Japan: Citizens’ Movements, Machizukuri and Local Environments, [Online] London: Routledge, pp.39-55. Available from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bm[emailprotected]sessionmgr4001vid=1format=EBrid=1 [Accessed: 12th March 2014]

The Oppression of Women Exposed in The Yellow Wallpaper -- The Yellow W

The Oppression of Women Exposed in The Yellow Wallpaper    Charlotte Perkins Gilman is remembered today principally for her feminist work "The Yellow Wallpaper."   It dramatizes her life and her experience with Dr. S. Weir Mitchell's now infamous "rest cure."   Commonly prescribed for women suffering from "hysteria," the rest cure altogether forbade company, art, writing, or any other form of intellectual stimulation.   When Mitchell prescribed this for Gilman, he told her to "'live a domestic life as far as possible,' to 'have but two hours' intellectual life a day,' and 'never to touch pen, brush or pencil again' as long as I lived" ("Why I Wrote . . . n.p.). It nearly drove her insane.   She began to recover only when she returned to her art and writing, and subsequently wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" to alert others to the perils of the rest cure and its attempt to stifle creativity.   It raises the question, stated by Conrad Shumaker, "What happens to the imagination when it's defined as feminine   (and thus weak) and has to face a society that values the useful and the practical and rejects anything else as nonsense?" (590).   The answer provided by Gilman is that it becomes uncontrollable and has the potential to destroy a person's sanity. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator suffers from postpartum depression, diagnosed by her husband John as "hysteria."   He recommends the rest cure for her and arranges for them to spend the summer in a country mansion.   Although his wife wants to take a downstairs room which opens out into the garden, John forces her to live upstairs in a nursery with barred windows and hideous yellow wallpaper.   She is not permitted to write, except for a journal which she keeps surreptitiously, an... ...William Day, and Sandra Waller.   New York:   Addison Wesley Longman, 1997.   299-312. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" The Forerunner October 1913:   n.p. Golden, Catherine.   "The Writing of 'The Yellow Wallpaper':   A Double Palimpsest."   Studies in American Fiction 17 (1989):   198-201. Johnson, Greg.   "Gilman's Gothic Allegory:   Rage and Redemption in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'"   Studies in Short Fiction 26 (1989): 521-30. Kasmer, Lisa "Charlotte Perkins Gilman's   'The Yellow Wallpaper':   A Symptomatic Reading."   Literature and Psychology 36.3 (1990):   1-15. MacPike, Loralee.   "Environment as Psychopathological Symbolism in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'"   American Literary Realism 8 (1975):   286-88. Shumaker, Conrad.   "Too Terribly Good to be Printed:   Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'"   American Literature 57 (1985):   588-99. The Oppression of Women Exposed in The Yellow Wallpaper -- The Yellow W The Oppression of Women Exposed in The Yellow Wallpaper    Charlotte Perkins Gilman is remembered today principally for her feminist work "The Yellow Wallpaper."   It dramatizes her life and her experience with Dr. S. Weir Mitchell's now infamous "rest cure."   Commonly prescribed for women suffering from "hysteria," the rest cure altogether forbade company, art, writing, or any other form of intellectual stimulation.   When Mitchell prescribed this for Gilman, he told her to "'live a domestic life as far as possible,' to 'have but two hours' intellectual life a day,' and 'never to touch pen, brush or pencil again' as long as I lived" ("Why I Wrote . . . n.p.). It nearly drove her insane.   She began to recover only when she returned to her art and writing, and subsequently wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" to alert others to the perils of the rest cure and its attempt to stifle creativity.   It raises the question, stated by Conrad Shumaker, "What happens to the imagination when it's defined as feminine   (and thus weak) and has to face a society that values the useful and the practical and rejects anything else as nonsense?" (590).   The answer provided by Gilman is that it becomes uncontrollable and has the potential to destroy a person's sanity. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator suffers from postpartum depression, diagnosed by her husband John as "hysteria."   He recommends the rest cure for her and arranges for them to spend the summer in a country mansion.   Although his wife wants to take a downstairs room which opens out into the garden, John forces her to live upstairs in a nursery with barred windows and hideous yellow wallpaper.   She is not permitted to write, except for a journal which she keeps surreptitiously, an... ...William Day, and Sandra Waller.   New York:   Addison Wesley Longman, 1997.   299-312. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" The Forerunner October 1913:   n.p. Golden, Catherine.   "The Writing of 'The Yellow Wallpaper':   A Double Palimpsest."   Studies in American Fiction 17 (1989):   198-201. Johnson, Greg.   "Gilman's Gothic Allegory:   Rage and Redemption in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'"   Studies in Short Fiction 26 (1989): 521-30. Kasmer, Lisa "Charlotte Perkins Gilman's   'The Yellow Wallpaper':   A Symptomatic Reading."   Literature and Psychology 36.3 (1990):   1-15. MacPike, Loralee.   "Environment as Psychopathological Symbolism in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'"   American Literary Realism 8 (1975):   286-88. Shumaker, Conrad.   "Too Terribly Good to be Printed:   Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'"   American Literature 57 (1985):   588-99.

Frostbite Chapter 18

Eighteen THE HIGH HEELS WERE STARTING to hurt me, so I took them off when I went back inside, walking barefoot through the lodge. I hadn't been to Mason's room, but I remembered him mentioning the number once and found it without difficulty. Shane, Mason's roommate, opened the door a few moments after I knocked. â€Å"Hey, Rose.† He stepped aside for me, and I walked in, peering around. Some infomercial was playing on the TV- one downside of a nocturnal life was a shortage of good programming- and empty soda cans covered nearly every flat surface. There was no sign of Mason anywhere. â€Å"Where is he?† I asked. Shane stifled a yawn. â€Å"I thought he was with you.† â€Å"I haven't seen him all day.† He yawned again, then frowned in thought. â€Å"He was throwing some stuff in a bag earlier. I figured you guys were running off for some crazy romantic getaway. Picnic or something. Hey, nice dress.† â€Å"Thanks,† I murmured, feeling a frown of my own coming on. Packing a bag? That didn't make any sense. There was nowhere to go. There was no way to go, either. This resort was as tightly guarded as the Academy. Lissa and I had only managed to break out of that place with compulsion, and it had still been a pain in the ass. Yet, why on earth would Mason pack a bag if he wasn't leaving? I asked Shane a few more questions and decided to follow up on the possibility, crazy as it seemed. I found the guardian in charge of security and scheduling. He gave me the names of those guardians who'd been on duty around the resort's borders when Mason had last been seen. Most of the names I knew, and most were off duty now, making them easy to find. Unfortunately, the first couple hadn't seen Mason around today. When they asked why I wanted to know, I gave vague answers and hurried off. The third person on my list was a guy named Alan, a guardian who usually worked the Academy's lower campus. He was just coming in after skiing, taking his equipment off near the door. Recognizing me, he smiled as I approached. â€Å"Sure, I saw him,† he said, bending down to his boots. Relief flooded over me. Until then, I hadn't realized how worried I'd been. â€Å"Do you know where he is?† â€Å"Nope. Let him and Eddie Castile†¦and, what's her name, the Rinaldi girl, out through the north gate and didn't see them after that.† I stared. Alan continued unhooking his skis as though we were discussing slope conditions. â€Å"You let Mason and Eddie †¦ and Mia out?† â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"Um †¦ why?† He finished and looked back up at me, a kind of happy and bemused look on his face. â€Å"Because they asked me.† An icy feeling started creeping through me. I found out which guardian had watched the north gate with Alan and immediately sought him out. That guardian gave me the same response. He'd let Mason, Eddie, and Mia out, no questions asked. And, like Alan, he didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with that. He appeared almost dazed. It was a look I'd seen before †¦ a look that came over people when Lissa used compulsion. In particular, I'd seen it happen when Lissa didn't want people to remember something very well. She could bury the memory in them, either erasing it all together or planting it for later. She was so good at compulsion, though, that she could just make people forget completely. For them to still have some memories meant someone who wasn't as good at compulsion had worked on them. Someone, say, like Mia. I wasn't the fainting type, but for just a moment, I felt like I could keel over. The world spun, and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I could see again, my surroundings stayed stable. Okay. No problem. I would reason this out. Mason, Eddie, and Mia had left the resort earlier today. Not only that, they had done it by using compulsion- which was utterly forbidden. They hadn't told anyone. They'd left through the north gate. I'd seen a map of the resort. The north gate guarded a driveway that connected to the only semi-major road in the area, a small highway that led to a little town about twelve miles away. The town Mason had mentioned that had buses. To Spokane. Spokane- where this traveling pack of Strigoi and their humans might be living. Spokane- where Mason could fulfill all his crazy dreams of slaying Strigoi. Spokane- which he only knew about because of me. â€Å"No, no, no,† I murmured to myself, almost running toward my room. There, I stripped off the dress and changed into heavy winter clothes: boots, jeans, and a sweater. Grabbing my coat and gloves, I hurried back toward the door and then paused. I was acting without thinking. What was I actually going to do? I needed to tell someone, obviously†¦but that would get the trio in a lot of trouble. It would also tip Dimitri off that I'd gone and gossiped about the Spokane Strigoi information he'd told me in confidence as a sign of respecting my maturity. I studied the time. It would take a while for anyone around the resort to know we were missing. If I could actually get out of the resort. A few minutes later, I found myself knocking on Christian's door. He answered, looking sleepy and cynical as usual. â€Å"If you've come to apologize for her,† he told me loftily, â€Å"you can just go ahead and- â€Å" â€Å"Oh, shut up,† I snapped. â€Å"This isn't about you.† Hastily, I relayed the details of what was going on. Even Christian didn't have a witty response for that one. â€Å"So†¦Mason, Eddie, and Mia went to Spokane to hunt Strigoi?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Holy shit. Why didn't you go with them? Seems like something you'd do.† I resisted the urge to smack him. â€Å"Because I'm not insane! But I'm going to go get them before they do something even stupider.† That was when Christian caught on. â€Å"And what do you need from me?† â€Å"I need to get off the resort's property. They got Mia to use compulsion on the guards. I need you to do the same thing. I know you've practiced it.† â€Å"I have,† he agreed. â€Å"But†¦well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  For the first time ever, he looked embarrassed. â€Å"I'm not very good at it. And doing it on dhampirs is nearly impossible. Liss is a hundred times better than me. Or probably any Moroi.† â€Å"I know. But I don't want her to get in trouble.† He snorted. â€Å"But you don't mind if I do?† I shrugged. â€Å"Not really.† â€Å"You're a piece of work, you know that?† â€Å"Yeah. I do, actually.† So, five minutes later, he and I found ourselves trekking out to the north gate. The sun was coming up, so most everyone was inside. This was a good thing, and I hoped it'd make our escape that much easier. Stupid, stupid, I kept thinking. This was going to blow up in our faces. Why had Mason done this? I knew he'd had this whole crazy vigilante attitude†¦and he'd certainly seemed upset that the guardians hadn't done anything about the recent attack. But still. Was he really that unhinged? He had to know how dangerous this was. Was it possible†¦was it possible I'd upset him so much with the making-out disaster that he'd gone off the deep end? Enough to go do this and get Mia and Eddie to join him? Not that those two would be hard to convince. Eddie would follow Mason anywhere, and Mia was almost as gung ho as Mason to kill every Strigoi in the world. Yet, out of all the questions I had about this, one thing was definitely clear. I'd told Mason about the Strigoi in Spokane. Hands down, this was my fault, and without me, none of this would have happened. â€Å"Lissa always makes eye contact,† I coached Christian as we approached the exit. â€Å"And speaks in a really, like, calm voice. I don't know what else. I mean, she concentrates a lot too, so try that. Focus on forcing your will on them.† â€Å"I know,† he snapped. â€Å"I've seen her do it.† â€Å"Fine,† I snapped back. â€Å"Just trying to help.† Squinting, I saw that only one guardian stood at the gate, a total stroke of luck. They were in between shifts. With the sun out, the risk of Strigoi had disappeared. The guardians would still continue in their duties, but they could relax just a bit. The guy on duty didn't seem particularly alarmed by our appearance. â€Å"What are you kids doing out here?† Christian swallowed. I could see the lines of tension on his face. â€Å"You're going to let us out of the gate,† he said. A note of nervousness made his voice tremble, but otherwise, he did a fair approximation of Lissa's soothing tones. Unfortunately, it had no effect on the guardian. As Christian had pointed out, using compulsion on a guardian was nearly impossible. Mia had gotten lucky. The guardian grinned at us. â€Å"What?† he asked, clearly amused. Christian tried again. â€Å"You're going to let us out.† The guy's smile faltered just a little, and I saw him blink in surprise. His eyes didn't glaze over in the same way Lissa's victims did, but Christian had done enough to briefly enthrall him. Unfortunately, I could tell right then and there that it wouldn't be enough to make him let us out and forget. Fortunately, I'd been trained to compel people without the use of magic. Sitting near his post was an enormous Maglite, two feet long and easily seven pounds. I grabbed the Maglite and clocked him on the back of the head. He grunted and crumpled to the ground. He'd barely seen me coming, and despite the horribleness of what I'd just done, I kind of wished one of my instructors had been there to grade me on such an awesome performance. â€Å"Jesus Christ,† exclaimed Christian. â€Å"You just assaulted a guardian.† â€Å"Yeah.† So much for getting the guys back without getting anyone in trouble. â€Å"I didn't know just how much you sucked at compulsion. I'll deal with the fallout later. Thanks for your help. You should head back before the next shift comes on.† He shook his head and grimaced. â€Å"No, I'm going with you on this.† â€Å"No,† I argued. â€Å"I only needed you to get through the gate. You don't have to get in trouble over this.† â€Å"I'm already in trouble!† He pointed at the guardian. â€Å"He saw my face. I'm screwed either way, so I might as well help you save the day. Stop being a bitch for a change.† We hurried off, and I cast one last, guilty glance at the guardian. I was pretty sure I hadn't hit him hard enough to cause real damage, and with the sun coming out, he wouldn't freeze or anything. After about five minutes of walking down the highway, I knew we had a problem. Despite being covered and wearing sunglasses, the sun was taking its toll on Christian. It was slowing us down, and it wouldn't take that long for someone to find the guardian I'd taken out and come after us. A car- not one of the Academy's- appeared behind us, and I made a decision. I didn't approve of hitchhiking in the least. Even someone like me knew how dangerous it was. But we needed to get to town fast, and I prayed Christian and I could take down any creepy stalker guy who tried to mess with us. Fortunately, when the car pulled over, it was just a middle-aged couple who looked more concerned than anything else. â€Å"You kids okay?† I jerked my thumb behind me. â€Å"Our car slid off the road. Can you take us to town so I can call my dad?† It worked. Fifteen minutes later, they dropped us off at a gas station. I actually had trouble getting rid of them because they wanted to help us so much. Finally, we convinced them we'd be fine, and we walked the few blocks over to the bus station. As I'd suspected, this town wasn't much of a hub for real travel. Three lines serviced the town: two that went to other ski resorts and one that went to Lowston, Idaho. From Lowston, you could go on to other places. I'd half-hoped that we might beat Mason and the others before their bus came. Then we could have hauled them back without any trouble. Unfortunately, there was no sign of them. The cheery woman at the counter knew exactly who we were talking about, too. She confirmed that all three of them had bought tickets to Spokane by way of Lowston. â€Å"Damn it,† I said. The woman raised her eyebrows at my language. I turned to Christian. â€Å"You got money for the bus?† Christian and I didn't talk much along the way, except for me to tell him he'd been an idiot about Lissa and Adrian. By the time we reached Lowston, I finally had him convinced, which was a minor miracle. He slept the rest of the way to Spokane, but I couldn't. I just kept thinking over and over that this was my fault. It was late afternoon by the time we reached Spokane. It took a few people, but we finally found someone who knew the shopping center Dimitri had mentioned. It was a long ways from the bus station, but it was walkable. My legs were stiff after almost five hours of riding a bus, and I wanted the movement. The sun was a while from setting, but it was lower and less detrimental to vampires, so Christian didn't mind the walk either. And, as often happened when I was in calm settings, I felt a tug into Lissa's head. I let myself fall into her because I wanted to know what was happening back at the resort. â€Å"I know you want to protect them, but we need to know where they are.† Lissa sat on the bed in our room while Dimitri and my mom stared her down. It was Dimitri who had spoken. Seeing him through her eyes was interesting. She had a fond respect for him, very different from the intense roller coaster of emotions I always experienced. â€Å"I told you,† said Lissa, â€Å"I don't know. I don't know what happened.† Frustration and fear for us burned through her. It saddened me to see her so anxious, but at the same time, I was glad I hadn't gotten her involved. She couldn't report what she didn't know. â€Å"I can't believe they wouldn't have told you where they were going,† said my mother. Her words sounded flat, but there were lines of worry on her face. â€Å"Especially with your†¦bond.† â€Å"It only works one way,† said Lissa sadly. â€Å"You know that.† Dimitri knelt down so he could be at Lissa's height and look her in the eye. He pretty much had to do that to look anyone in the eye. â€Å"Are you sure there's nothing? Nothing at all you can tell us? They're nowhere in town. The man at the bus station didn't see them †¦ though we're pretty sure that's where they must have gone. We need something, anything to go on.† Man at the bus station? That was another stroke of luck. The woman who'd sold us the tickets must have gone home. Her replacement wouldn't know us. Lissa gritted her teeth and glared. â€Å"Don't you think if I knew, I'd tell you? You don't think I'm worried about them too? I have no idea where they are. None. And why'd they even leave†¦ it doesn't make any sense either. Especially why they'd go with Mia, of all people.† A twinge of hurt flickered through the bond, hurt at being left out of whatever we were doing, no matter how wrong. Dimitri sighed and leaned back on his heels. From the look on his face, he obviously believed her. It was also obvious that he was worried- worried in more than a professional way. And seeing that concern- that concern for me- ate up my heart. â€Å"Rose?† Christian's voice brought me back to myself. â€Å"We're here, I think.† The plaza consisted of a wide, open area in front of a shopping center. A caf? ¦ was carved into a corner of the main building, its tables spilling out into the open area. A crowd moved in and out of the complex, busy even at this time of the day. â€Å"So, how do we find them?† asked Christian. I shrugged. â€Å"Maybe if we act like Strigoi, they'll try to stake us.† A small, reluctant smile played over his face. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd thought my joke was funny. He and I went inside. Like any mall, it was filled with familiar chains, and a selfish part of me thought that maybe if we found the group soon enough, we could still get in shopping time. Christian and I walked the length of it twice and saw no signs of our friends or anything resembling tunnels. â€Å"Maybe we're in the wrong place,† I finally said. â€Å"Or maybe they are,† suggested Christian. â€Å"They could have gone to some other- wait.† He pointed, and I followed the gesture. The three renegades sat at a table in the middle of the food court, looking dejected. They looked so miserable, I almost felt sorry for them. â€Å"I'd kill for a camera right now,† said Christian, smirking. â€Å"This isn't funny,† I told him, striding toward the group. Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. The group clearly hadn't found any Strigoi, were all still alive, and could maybe be taken back before we got in even more trouble. They didn't notice me until I was almost right next to them. Eddie's head jerked up. â€Å"Rose? What are you doing here?† â€Å"Are you out of your mind?† I yelled. A few people nearby gave us surprised looks. â€Å"Do you know how much trouble you're in? How much trouble you've gotten us in?† â€Å"How the hell did you find us?† asked Mason in a low voice, glancing anxiously around. â€Å"You guys aren't exactly criminal masterminds,† I told them. â€Å"Your informant at the bus station gave you away. That, and I figured out that you'd want to go off on your pointless Strigoi-hunting quest.† The look Mason gave me revealed he still wasn't entirely happy with me. It was Mia who replied, however. â€Å"It isn't pointless.† â€Å"Oh?† I demanded. â€Å"Did you kill any Strigoi? Did you even find any?† â€Å"No,† admitted Eddie. â€Å"Good,† I said. â€Å"You got lucky.† â€Å"Why are you so against killing Strigoi?† asked Mia hotly. â€Å"Isn't that what you train for?† â€Å"I train for sane missions, not childish stunts like this.† â€Å"It isn't childish,† she cried. â€Å"They killed my mother. And the guardians weren't doing anything. Even their information is bad. There weren't any Strigoi in the tunnels. Probably none in the whole city.† Christian looked impressed. â€Å"You found the tunnels?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Eddie. â€Å"But like she said, they were useless.† â€Å"We should see them before we go,† Christian told me. â€Å"It'd be kind of cool, and if the data was bad, there's no danger.† â€Å"No,† I snapped. â€Å"We're going home. Now.† Mason looked tired. â€Å"We're going to search the city again. Even you can't make us go back, Rose.† â€Å"No, but the school's guardians can when I call and tell them you're here.† Call it blackmailing or being a tattletale; the effect was the same. The three of them looked at me like I had just simultaneously gut-punched them all. â€Å"You'd really do that?† asked Mason. â€Å"You'd sell us out like that?† I rubbed my eyes, wondering desperately why I was trying to be the voice of reason here. Where was the girl who'd run away from school? Mason had been right. I had changed. â€Å"This isn't about selling anyone out. This is about keeping you guys alive.† â€Å"You think we're that defenseless?† asked Mia. â€Å"You think we'd get killed right away?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"Unless you've found some way to use water as a weapon?† She flushed and didn't say anything. â€Å"We brought silver stakes,† said Eddie. Fantastic. They must have stolen them. I looked at Mason pleadingly. â€Å"Mason. Please. Call this off. Let's go back.† He looked at me for a long time. Finally, he sighed. â€Å"Okay.† Eddie and Mia looked aghast, but Mason had assumed a leadership role with them, and they didn't have the initiative to go on without him. Mia seemed to take it the hardest, and I felt bad for her. She'd barely had any real time to grieve for her mother; she'd just jumped right on board with this revenge thing as a way to cope with the pain. She'd have a lot to deal with when we got back. Christian was still excited about the idea of the underground tunnels. Considering he spent all his time in an attic, I shouldn't have been all that surprised. â€Å"I saw the schedule,† he told me. â€Å"We've got a while before the next bus.† â€Å"We can't go walking into some Strigoi lair,† I argued, walking toward the mall's entrance. â€Å"There are no Strigoi there,† said Mason. â€Å"It's seriously all janitorial stuff. There was no sign of anything weird. I really do think the guardians had bad information.† â€Å"Rose,† said Christian, â€Å"let's get something fun out of this.† They all looked at me. I felt like a mom who wouldn't buy her kids candy at the grocery store. â€Å"Okay, fine. Just a peek, though.† The others led Christian and me to the opposite end of the mall, through a door marked staff only. We dodged a couple of janitors, then slipped through another door that led us to a set of stairs going down. I had a brief moment of d? ¦j? ¤ vu, recalling the steps down to Adrian's spa party. Only these stairs were dirtier and smelled pretty nasty. We reached the bottom. It wasn't so much a tunnel as a narrow corridor, lined in grime-caked cement. Ugly fluorescent lights were embedded sporadically along the walls. The passage went off to our left and right. Boxes of ordinary cleaning and electrical supplies sat around. â€Å"See?† said Mason. â€Å"Boring.† I pointed in each direction. â€Å"What's down there?† â€Å"Nothing,† sighed Mia. â€Å"We'll show you.† We walked down to the right and found more of the same. I was starting to agree with the boring assessment when we passed some black writing on one of the walls. I stopped and looked at it. It was a list of letters. D B C O T D V L D Z S I Some had lines and x marks next to them, but for the most part the message was incoherent. Mia noticed my scrutiny. â€Å"It's probably a janitor thing,† she said. â€Å"Or maybe some gang did it.† â€Å"Probably,† I said, still studying it. The others shifted restlessly, not understanding my fascination with the jumble of letters. I didn't understand my fascination either, but something in my head tugged at me to stay. Then I got it. B for Badica, Z for Zeklos, I for Ivashkov †¦ I stared. The first letter of every royal family's name was there. There were three D names, but based on the order, you could actually read the list as a size ranking. It started with the smaller families- Dragomir, Badica, Conta- and went all the way up to the giant Ivashkov clan. I didn't understand the dashes and lines beside the letters, but I quickly noticed which names had an x beside them: Badica and Drozdov. I stepped back from the wall. â€Å"We have to get out of here,† I said. My own voice scared me a little. â€Å"Right now.† The others looked at me in surprise. â€Å"Why?† asked Eddie. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"I'll tell you later. We just need to go.† Mason pointed in the direction we'd been heading. â€Å"This lets out a few blocks away. It's closer to the station.† I peered down into the dark unknown. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"We're going back the way we came.† They all looked at me like I was insane as we retraced our steps, but nobody questioned me yet. When we emerged from the mall's front, I breathed a sigh of relief to see that the sun was still out, though it was steadily sinking into the horizon and casting orange and red light onto the buildings. The remaining light would still be enough for us to get back to the bus station before we were really in any danger of seeing Strigoi. And I knew now that there really were Strigoi in Spokane. Dimitri's information had been correct. I didn't know what the list meant, but it clearly had something to do with the attacks. I needed to report it to the other guardians immediately, and I certainly couldn't tell the others what I'd realized until we were safely at the lodge. Mason was likely to go back into the tunnels if he knew what I did. Most of our walk back to the station proceeded in silence. I think my mood had cowed the others. Even Christian seemed to have run out of snide comments. Inside, my emotions swirled, oscillating between anger and guilt as I kept reexamining my role in everything. Ahead of me, Eddie stopped walking, and I nearly ran into him. He looked around. â€Å"Where are we?† Snapping out of my own thoughts, I surveyed the area too. I didn't remember these buildings. â€Å"Damn it,† I exclaimed. â€Å"Are we lost? Didn't anyone keep track of which way we went?† It was an unfair question since I clearly hadn't paid attention either, but my temper had pushed me past reason. Mason studied me for a few moments, then pointed. â€Å"This way.† We turned and walked down a narrow street between two buildings. I didn't think we were going the right way, but I didn't really have a better idea. I also didn't want to stand around debating. We hadn't gone very far when I heard the sound of an engine and squealing tires. Mia was walking in the middle of the road, and protective conditioning kicked in before I even saw what was coming. Grabbing her, I jerked her out of the street and up against one of the building walls. The boys had done the same. A large, gray van with tinted windows had rounded the corner and was headed in our direction. We pressed flat against the wall, waiting for it to go past. Only it didn't. Screeching to a halt, it stopped right in front of us, and the doors slid open. Three big guys spilled out, and again, my instincts kicked in. I had no clue who they were or what they wanted, but they clearly weren't friendly. That was all I needed to know. One of them moved toward Christian, and I struck out and punched him. The guy barely staggered but was clearly surprised to have felt it at all, I think. He probably hadn't expected someone as small as me to be much of a threat. Ignoring Christian, he moved toward me. In my peripheral vision, I saw Mason and Eddie squaring off with the other two. Mason had actually pulled out his stolen silver stake. Mia and Christian stood there, frozen. Our attackers were relying a lot on bulk. They didn't have the sort of background we had in offensive and defensive techniques. Plus, they were human, and we had dhampir strength. Unfortunately, we also had the disadvantage of being cornered against the wall. We had nowhere to retreat to. Most importantly, we had something to lose. Like Mia. The guy who'd been sparring with Mason seemed to realize this. He backed off from Mason and instead grabbed her. I barely saw the flash of his gun before its barrel was pressed against her neck. Backing off from my own adversary, I yelled at Eddie to stop. We'd all been trained to respond instantly to those kinds of orders, and he halted his attack, glancing at me questioningly When he saw Mia, his face went pale. I wanted nothing more than to keep pummeling these men- whoever they were- but I couldn't risk this guy hurting Mia. He knew it, too. He didn't even have to make the threat. He was human, but he knew enough about us to know that we'd go out of our way to protect the Moroi. Novices had a saying grilled into us from an early age: Only they matter. Everyone stopped and looked between him and me. Apparently we were the acknowledged leaders here. â€Å"What do you want?† I asked harshly. The guy pressed his gun closer to Mia's neck, and she whimpered. For all her talk about fighting, she was smaller than me and not nearly as strong. And she was too terrified to move. The man inclined his head toward the van's open door. â€Å"I want you to get inside. And don't start anything. You do, and she's gone.† I looked at Mia, the van, my other friends, and then back to the guy. Shit.

Oedipus Obstacles Essays

Oedipus Obstacles Essays Oedipus Obstacles Essay Oedipus Obstacles Essay Oedipus endured many different experiences on his search for the truth that he was not aware even lingered. Each one of these experiences had a polarity of sorts paired along with it in some way. Oedipus intellect throughout the play showed both his great strength and his ultimate downfall. Throughout the play of Oedipus the King by Sophocles, there was evidence of great polarities in his search for truth ranging from fame and shame, and sight and blindness, to ignorance and knowledge. The most dreadful of the situations was when Oedipus great fame turned bruptly into shame upon himself and his kingdom. His fame cane from him relieving the city of Thebes of the plague that so long hindered them by the Sphinx. Once Oedipus solved the Sphinxs riddle, leading her to her ultimate suicide, he received the crown due to his heroic deed. The whole kingdom adored him and would be revolted when they found out the truth. This came about when it was realized that Oedipus prophecy that he left Corinth to escape, actually came true. The fact that he killed his birth father and married his mother brought him great shame. With this shame came other things. Although Oedipus could physically see, he was blinded by the fact that he did not know the dark truth that was hovering around him. When his sight was given to him, he did not know how to react, and therefore literally took it away from himself. The shame was too great for him to endure so by voluntarily blinding himself, he thought that would be a sufficient punishment. Oedipus was unaware of his reality so when this dreadful news was brought to his attention, he needed some way to aid his grief and did so in an unruly manner. Oedipus ignorance came directly from the fact that he had no truthful knowledge of who he really was. He had left Corinth to escape the chance of letting the prophecy come true, but unbeknownst to him, it would come true because of his departure. The previous knowledge that Oedipus believed about him being from Corinth allowed him to prosper and become a highly respectable king. This ignorance that he possessed was the cause of all of the cumbersome problems he endured throughout the play. Oedipus reliance of his intellect both aided him and ultimately led him to is downfall. If all else were void, the intellect that Oedipus withheld allowed him to be a beloved king adored by the people of Thebes. After all, his intellect was the tool that allowed him to relieve the city of Thebes from the plague. When everyone actually became aware of the truth, Oedipus could not fathom his newfound intellect and performed and act of self-mutilation. It led to his wife (and mother) killing herself, him being exiled from Thebes never to see him children again, and having to give up his crown to someone who did not want the responsibility of a king. These great polarities that Oedipus faced on his Journey for the truth showed the fast opposites he endured during the various experiences. Usually had times help shape a persons character but these hard times were too much for anyone to handle. Although he was an extremely respectable leader, in the end the negatives outweighed all of the positives presented by Oedipus. When all of the puzzles pieces onto his family and kingdom. With a man who did not want any kind of kingly duties taking his throne, I do not see how things could change for the better.

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buy custom The History 1945-1992 essay Bipolarity is one of the ways in which global power is distributed among the countries of the world. It entails a situation where power is distributed only to two countries/states, which have strong economic, military, and cultural influence over countries of the world (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). After the Second World War, the USA and the USSR emerged as the worlds strongest states in terms of military and economic superiority. The USA attracted influence over democratic countries of the West, while the USSR attracted influence over many of the communist/socialist countries. Immediately after the Second World War, a conflict emerged between the democratic nations, under the influence of the USA, and the communist nations, under the influence of the USSR. The bipolarity nature of distribution of the worlds power led to emergence of the Cold War. Countries from both sides used propagandas, economic sanction, and sporadic military clashes to attack each other (Richard, Walter, J anice, 2007). As the cold war continued, the political gap between the USA and the USSR became wider. In 1950, Korea became a proxy battleground for the two superpowers due to its division along the political ideologies. The north supported political ideology of the USSR while the south supported the political ideology of the USA. The Korean War began when the USSR was able to spread its communism influence in the Far East and was able to put China under its enchantment (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). Its plan was to take over the whole Korea, both the South and North parts. Due to the impact of the war, the South Korean military superiority had reduced from over 40,000 soldiers to around 472 ill-equipped soldiers. The North Korean socialist forces thought they would take over South Korea without much defect from the USA given that its military might in South Korea was weak. In June 1950, the North Korea forces invaded South Korea and managed to capture Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. Th is is what contributed to the war between the USA and the USSR in Korea as the USA tried to recapture the Southern Korea from the USSR During the Second World War, the USA and the USSR had some form of diplomatic ties. This is because they had a common enemy: the Nazi Germany. The USA army shared the same battle font with the USSR army as they fought with the Nazi Germany. In fact, since the USA and the USSR fought as allies during the Second World War, it was thought that the two nations would become great allies after the war. However, this never happened. The kind of diplomacy and warfare tactics, which existed before 1945 ended. This happened towards the end of the war, when Truman informed Joseph Stalin that the USA had developed terrifying weapons, which it planned to use against the Japanese. Stalin was terrified for he did not know when and how the USA developed the weaponry. In return, Stalin developed strategies to expand the military might of the USSR by increasing the size of its army. By the end of the Second World War, the USA was armed with sophisticated weapons while the USSR had a vast army. This co ntributed to distrust between the two sides, and all diplomatic and warfare ties, which existed during the war broke in 1945 (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). Before 1945, the USA never used to get concerned with the problems of other nations. It had adopted an isolationist policy concerning foreign matters. Prior to 1945, the USA viewed the problems of other nations, particularly problems involving war between and among nations of the world, as own businesses of those nations, and would avoid getting involved except when its security was directly threatened. However, after 1945, the USA realized that insecurity in other nations of the world destabilized its economic activities. For this reason, the USA changed its foreign policy from isolationist to internationalist. Since then, the USA adopted a foreign policy, whose doctrines entail creation of a more secure, peaceful, and democratic world for the benefit of the Americans and the international community. In many instances, the USA has provided military and economic support to different countries of the world, in efforts to ensure economic and political stability of the world. For instan ce, in 1989, the USA developed military ties with non-NATO member countries. After the September 11 attacks, the USA has formed more non-NATO allies with countries in the Middle East region. Currently, the USA has allied ties with Egypt, Israel, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Kuwait, among other nations. The USA has other allied ties with other nations, which include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Korea, Japan, and Mexico. During the period between 1950 and 1960, the American political and economic activities operated under consensus. This consensus entailed a consultative approach to governance (Morris, n.d.). The governing political party would engage in institutionalized consultation with all the economic players in the USA. The governments priority during that time was to satisfy the economic interests of all major civil society groups. Through the socio-political consensus, the USA was able to achieve full employment and increased production in all economic sectors. However, towards the end of 1960s, the consensus ended. Studies indicate that the rise of adversarial leaders such as Heath and Gaitskell contributed to the end of the American socio-political consensus. In 1969, Heath, a radical, won the elections (Morris, n.d.). This led to restructuring of the social rights and economic framework, which had been established by Beveridge and Keynes during the era of socio-political consensus. The Uni versalists principles were replaced by redistributive principles. During the era of socio-political consensus, the incumbent governments would voluntarily accept the policies of their predecessors governments. However, this took a u-turn when Heath was elected to the government. Healths government failed to adopt the income and industrial policies, which had been established by the former government. When Wilson took power in 1974, his government also rejected the education and housing policies, which had been established by the former ruling parties. In 1976, provisions for full employment were abandoned on the national budget. The actual break-up of the socio-political consensus of the 1950 was experienced in 1979 when the Conservative Party abandoned the entire consensus, which included conciliation of trade unions, Keynesianism, and a mixed economy (Morris, n.d.). The origin of Vietnamese Nationalism can be traced to 1919, when Ho Chi, a Vietnamese socialist activist living in France during that time, presented a number of demands during the Versailles Peace Conference (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). Ho Chi demands included liberation of Vietnamese political prisoners, freedom of speech and representation of Vietnamese in the French parliament, among others. France refused to honor Ho Chi demands. This led to emergence of various communis and nationalist movements in Vietnam. Frenchs determination to counter the nationalist movements was not successful. Many of the nationalist movements were made of urban-based military groups, which rebelled against the French colonial rule. Even though these movements did not have great military might over French rule in Vietnam, they managed to create numerous enduring organizations. One of these organizations was the Vietnamese Nationalist Party, founded in 1927 (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). Apartheid in South Africa started in 1948, shortly after the Second World War. Here, a system of racial segregation was introduced whereby inhabitants of South Africa were divided into four categories: whites, Asians, colored, and natives. Residential areas were segregated where every category of inhabitants had it specific area of residence. Political representation of non-whites was abolished and all non-whites residing in South Africa were deprived their citizenry rights. The history of apartheid in South Africa can be traced to 1880 to the first Anglo-Boer War. During this time, the Boers (South Africa farmers) rebelled against the British rule. The Boers were able to restore their sovereignty. However, in 1899, the second Anglo-Boer War broke-up. The second Boer War was longer than the first war. Britain positioned large number of its troops, which captured women and children in concentration camps. This is when racial segregation of the blacks in South Africa started. However, it became apparent in 1948 when the National Party of South Africa segregated medical facilities, beaches, education, and other public facilities. The blacks would receive inferior services while the whites enjoyed superior public services (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). The Iranian revolution started in 1979. The actions of the then Western-backed Iranian leader, Shah, led to the commencement of the revolutions. Shah depicted strong support of the Western policies and close identification with Western powers, specifically the United States. Shah constantly received aid from the West in terms of military and financial aid. For instance, in 1953, Shah received military assistance from the USA through CIA, which helped him to retain his political position in Iran. Iranian-based religious and secular movements considered him a Wests puppet. Another reason for emergence of the Iranian revolutions was failure by Shah to support the Shia religious leaders. This made religious movements based on Islamic faith to rebel against him. In 1976, Shah had replaced the Islamic traditional calendar with the imperial calendar. This evoked aggression from the Islamic-based religious movements. Success of the Iranian revolution was based on self-determination and confi dence of the anti-Shah activist, Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini was able to gather support from the Iranians, and was able to convince them to support the Shia leaders. For instance, he was able to organize a 40-day street protest, which helped to strengthen anti-Shah feelings for many months (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). In 1991, after the end of the WWI, the Allied powers, the USA, Britain, Italy, and France, headed to France to prepare peace terms. They congregated at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. During the conference, France suggested that German was to be punished for instigating the war. This is what led to formation of the Versailles treaty, which provided for redrawing of national boundaries. Britain and France capture the defeated Ottoman Empire, which was previously under Germans rule, as well as all other German colonies. France and Britains action caused changes in the physical boundaries of Middle East region, hence the redrawing of the map of the Middle East. Studies indicate that the redrawing of the Middle East map was not suitable. This is because the action generated violence, political instability and dictatorship in the Middle East region. Since the physical boundaries of the region were changed, many of the Middle East countries have been experiencing political instability (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). Stalins death marked a critical moment in the history of the USSR. Stalin died on March 5, 1953. After his death, his successors tried to change the worlds image of the USSR. For instance, Stalins immediate success, Malenkov, commenced a peace offensive, indicating his intentions to slow the arms race between the USSR and the USA. Malenkov released a press statement as soon as he took office, stating that the Soviet foreign policy was to maintain international cooperation with all nations of the world. He stated that the SovietRepublic was willing to support peaceful coexistence and business cooperation between the two political systems: the communism and capitalism. Successors of Malenkov echoed improved relations between the communist countries and the capitalist countries. It is therefore clear that the death of Stalin in 1953 paved way for improvement of the foreign relations between the SovietRepublic, and other countries of the world, including the USA (Brook, 2005). Perestroika was a communist-based political party, which was established in 1980s by Mikhail Gorbachev, a Soviet leader. The term perestroika means to restructure. The aim of perestroika political movement was to restructure the economic and political systems of the SovietRepublic in order to promote the effectiveness of socialism (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). One of the economic policy perestroika was the New Economic Policy, which allowed citizens of the SovietRepublic to own private businesses in the manufacturing, service, and foreign-trade sectors. In the politics, perestroikas policies included the democratization policy, which introduced election of multi-candidates to local positions. During the mid-1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the glasnost policy. The term glasnost means openness. Glasnost policies were the policies, which Gorbachev believed that they would help end corruption in the SovietRepublic. Such policies included freedom of speech, freedom of the media, a nd radical change. The main goal of glasnost policies was to enhance transparency in the government, and open communication between the government and the citizens, through increased public debates (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). After the WWII, the USA adjusted its foreign policy towards other countries of the world. As earlier mentioned, before 1945, the USA avoided getting concerned with issues of other countries, specifically those that involved war. However, after 1945, the USA adjusted its foreign policy, to include economic and military cooperation with its allied nations of the world. This approach to foreign relations is what made the American foreign policy to coincide with the European unity. Through the American foreign policy, the USA has been supportive of European integration. Furthermore, the aim of the European Union is to ensure unity among all its member nationns of the world. Since America adopted its foreign policy of cooperating with other nations of the world, it has been accessing funds from the European Union to support economic and political integration of nations outside Europe as well as encouraging them to join the European Union, hence contributing to greater European unity (Rich ard, Walter, Janice, 2007). Among all the member states of the European Union, the United States of America, Brazil, Russia, China, and India can be said to be the current superpowers in the European Union. A nation is deemed a superpower in the European Union if it has the ability to exert economic, political, and military influence over other member states. This ability is measured by economic growth, availability of large markets, military growth, and ability to influence international policies. The United States of America is the largest superpower in the European Union. This is because its GDP over the last five decades has been growing at an increasing rate. It has also managed to maintain global military superiority as well as influence policy formulation in international affairs. However, due the current economic crisis, the USA is likely to lose its leading position as the economic superpower in the European Union to countries such as China and Brazil (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). The Chinese Nationalist Movement was based on diverse ideologies, which included Marxism, American progressivism, the Chinese traditional thinking, and the Russian thought. The movement also included ideologies of the ultra-imperialism. Often, the Chinese Nationalist movement portrayed conflicting manifestations. Some of these manifestations include the Communist Party of China, Fascist blue shirts, and three principles of the people, among others. Nevertheless, the Chinese Nationalist Party mainly supports centralization of the Chinese government. The aim of the movement is to ensure formation of a government structure, which will ensure formation of strong relationship between China and foreign powers, and among all the Chinese people (majority, minority, and overseas Chinese) (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). Illyich Lenin, the Soviet leader, and Mao Zedong, the Chinese leader, were leaders of revolutions in their respective nations. Both leaders played significant roles in revolutionizing the lives of residents in their nations through the ideologies of Karl Marx (Marxism). However, their approach to revolution was different. Studies indicate that Maos approach towards revolution was rural-based. Mao believed that revolution would not take place without the poor peasants. In addition, he believed that denying the peasants a role in the revolution process was like denying revolution. He allowed the peasants to take the leading positions during the revolution. However, he allowed the urban intellectuals to participate in the revolution through allocating them a few leadership positions (Ram, 1998). On the other hand, Lenin took a capitalist approach to revolution. According to Lenin, capitalism was a precondition for socialism (Ram, 1998). He therefore gave attention to the urban bourgeois ie during the early phases of revolution. Lenin termed peasants as mere allies to the revolution. However, after the urban bourgeoisie failed to bring revolution as desired by Lenin, he turned to the peasants, hoping that they would help him achieve his political goals. Nevertheless, Lenin still held his belief that urban workers were the central force to revolution in Russia (Ram, 1998). Deng Xiaoping was one of the Chinese leaders, who played a great role in economic and cultural revolution in China. His leadership between 1976 and 1992 was very important to China. This is because, when he emerged, immediately after the death of Mao Zedong, the economy of China was suffering a downturn. Deng introduced economic reforms aimed at developing the agriculture, defense, industry, and technology sectors (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). He replaced the commune system established by Mao with the Household Responsibility System. Under this system, every household was to give an account to the government of what it chose to produce. In additionally, all households were allowed to keep surplus produce for private use. Moreover, Deng introduced political reforms, where all political systems observed the rule of law as opposed to rule based on personal ideologies. After his retirement, he encouraged old leaders to allow the young and energetic leaders to take leadership position s (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). Many regional organizations, which are present in the world today, were established over fifty years ago, after the end of WWII. Such organizations include NATO, OPEC, EU, and WTO. These organizations were formed to ensure economic and political recovery of the nations of the world after destruction of many of the worlds economic and political systems by the world wars. However, in the current world, the role of these organizations is becoming insignificant, specifically due to the effect of globalization. Therefore, these organizations should be replaced with new organization, which has the capacity to foresee economic and political development of the countries of the world under the currently globalized environment. Over the years, the UN has been playing a critical role of organizing relief efforts across different nations of the world during emergencies. The UN has also been in the forefront in safeguarding the human rights. Through the UN charter, every human being in the world today enjoys various rights and freedoms. For these reasons, the UN stands to overcome possible abolition as compared to other organizations, which were established after WWII. However, the UN should increase its role in ensuring social, political, and economic equality and justice in the world. Currently, many individuals are suffering political, social, and economic injustices as well as inequalities, without receiving much assistance from the UN. Therefore, it should increase its participation in ensuring global justice and equality (Richard, Walter, Janice, 2007). According to various researchers and political scientists, it is likely that the world will experience another world war. Treder (2007) observes that even though the world has been experiencing long decades of peace and reduced violence, certain factors are likely to instigate a third world war. Such factors include global climatic conditions and new technologies. Treder (2007) states that more deadly, cheaper, and easily accessible and portable weapons will characterize the future of warfare. Due to rapid advancement in technologies, regional powers will emerge, causing destabilization of the current worlds superpower. Collapse of ecosystems, increased global droughts, crop failure, and increased killer storms, all because of disruption of global climate, will cause tensions among the countries of the world, resulting to regional and international uprisings (Treder, 2007). Buy custom The History 1945-1992 essay

Organizational synchronicity Essays

Organizational synchronicity Essays Organizational synchronicity Essay Organizational synchronicity Essay By definition, synchronicity means that two things are happening at the same time but having no causal relationship at all. They are said to be simultaneous and are co-incidences. According to Lundstrom, Carl Jung said that synchronicity is based on â€Å"acausal connecting principle that links mind and matter. He said this underlying connectedness manifests itself through meaningful coincidences that cannot be explained by cause and effect. Such synchronicities occur, he theorized, when a strong need arises in the psyche of an individual† (1996). For instance, a mother cooks pesto which she unusually does and her daughter comes home from school unexpectedly with a friend who craves and loves the said dish. Organizational synchronicity means that one entity works with the rest of the organization which is not necessarily of causal nature. For example, in a customer service office, an employee has prepared template answers to customer queries just at the same time as her supervisor thinks of preparing a database of template responses to clients. Another example would be in an office, where the quality checker does an impromptu check on all employees’ work areas. One worker, who normally is untidy, just a few minutes before the check, cleaned up his work station. Meanwhile in business, organizational synchronicity between products, its value and quality, as well as customer service attract more clients to patronize the product. Cultural synchronicity is when two entities of different cultures either consciously or unconsciously work together. An example would be a teacher who is an American having Asian students. The students learn the teacher’s language and grasp them while the teacher, at some level, learns the student’s humor to establish a fun learning atmosphere and good learning relationship with his/her students. Reference Lundstrom, M. (1996). A wink from the cosmos. Flowpower website. Retrieved April 8, 2008 from flowpower. com/What%20is%20Synchronicity. htm.

International Culture and Communication Assignment

International Culture and Communication - Assignment Example Be it a major MNC for small-scale business people use the Internet and communicate with various suppliers and customers across the globe to create a wider market for their business. It is evident that the work force in all officer is becoming multicultural and more diverse than ever. The HR department dealing directly with the manpower in every organization should have enough knowledge about the cross cultural factors that might affect the concerned businesses The organization should take enough measures to provide proper training regarding cross-cultural communication to their HR department. The HR department should in turn use their training to impart cultural tolerance among all the employees working in the organization. There is a very close relationship between the HR department and the culture prevalent in the organization. If the HR department adapts a culture friendly outlook, the whole organization will reflect the same mentality. Therefore it is important to encourage such a practice in all HR activities which deals directly with the employees of the organization (Jackson, 2002). The impacts of cross-cultural conflicts will usually be overcome easily or excluded if the organization encourages their workforce to get together on the basis of their personal interests and various other fun activities. The HR department should come up with such activities to promote cross-cultural communication and solve problems through a common understanding. Consider an HR department is selecting a group of people to send overseas for training or auditing. They need to ensure the people sent abroad are given enough briefing about the different culture prevalent in that particular country. Shaking hands or greeting a lady through a hug or a slight kiss is common in the Western countries. But such an act would create great misunderstanding and anger among the

Reggae into the contemporary American society Essay

Reggae into the contemporary American society - Essay Example The culture of a particular community refers to the way of life of the community. It consists of the beliefs, traditions, and customs that are unique to a given community and the achievements that are associated with and valued by the community. It also entails the incorporation of ethical codes of conduct in coexisting with the others in the society. The culture of a community is actually, what portrays their human nature and distinguishes them from other animals in nature. It is thus of some value and the community has the responsibility of ensuring that it is preserved so that the due respect is accorded to it. Regardless of the culture from which and individual hails, the common point is that a desirable culture should provide an individual with a sense of identity and the individual should be able to understand the dynamic nature of the world and be able to adjust to the changes encountered. Folk culture refers to the natural way of life that is defined by an ideal culture in a given community. This culture emphasizes on the human values like honor and the principle of reasoning and a view that the natural setting should be valued and considered wholesome. The spirit of hard work, self-discipline, and excellence are some of the aims of a folk culture, and which have currently lost grounds in the majority of the modern culture. Others include individual responsibility and loyalty to the authority. There are various ways through which communities preserve their cultural heritage to uphold their identity. The traditional cultural preservations include some ritual practices, traditional folk dances, folk tales, and folk music (Jankee, 2). The themes of the folk songs pointed out the cultural values like brevity, loyalty, and hard work. They often contained information on peaceful coexistence among the individuals in a given society. These traditional folk cultural expressions developed into the modern expressions with some deviations. Much of the human values that were emphasized by the traditional folk songs are not stressed in the modern Western cultures. The modern culture happens not to view nature as it was viewed earlier and neither does it allow nature to take control of life as in the olden days. There has also emerged a relation between the cultural expressions and grass root developments especially in the developing nations. The development of folk cultural expression in the Modern American society The different cultural expressions that are witnessed in different parts of the world are all concerned with the issue of defining the identity of the community. The need to answer the questions â€Å"Who am I?†, â€Å"Where do I come from?† or â€Å"Where I am going to?† provides an insight to the earlier developments of the folk cultural expressions. The folk tales that were used were creative tales that had symbolic meaning that reflected on the values of a given cultural community. The developments of such fo lk tales often emerged when the community was faced with some difficult situations. As they pondered to develop a solution to problems, pictures and illusions of what would work best ran across the minds of the old legends. Continuous focus on these images helped develop a complete folk tale characterized by imagery (Kleymeyer, 25). The contents of nature were often used to describe certain characters that can be of help during difficulties. For instance, in must of the traditional folk tales, a hare was often portrayed as being weak but very intelligent (Kleymeyer, 25). It would always use its wits to influence the mightier animals in the jungle or to escape some danger. On the other hand, larger animals like elephants and hippopotamus were portrayed as having a lot of energy but not intelligent enough to realize the crafty nature of hare. The picture that was

Personal Debt Crisis In the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Personal Debt Crisis In the UK - Essay Example Seeing how things have gone south economically worldwide, one can only hope that governments, the global financial industry and more importantly, the private individual had better get their acts together. Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker cited the CAB statistics as "worrying evidence" that a large and growing number of people will continue to pay the price, and will become overwhelmed by serious debt impacting adversely on their lives. He further stressed that even more worrying are the "signs that people are struggling not only to repay credit, but also to afford day-to-day essentials" (CAB, 2007). According to a study that analyzed the impact of debt advice in the UK, there seemed to be three different types of debt that can be attributed to the following causes: changing circumstances, poor money management, and creditor behaviour. Changing circumstances typically included unemployment or a change in employment, illness, bereavement and/or separation from a partner. Although the factors which brought about these changes varied, the changes were commonly interlinked and their effect was generally the same: the difficulty interviewees experienced having to manage on a reduced income caused them to fall into debt or exacerbated an existing debt (Pleasence, P. et. al, 2006). Poor money management on the other hand is largely due to a complacent attitude towards financial literacy. Finally, the so-called "rogue" creditor behavior or the unscrupulous and borderline-usurious terms and policies that take advantage of the financially disadvantaged sectors of society. Even then, no si ngular universal definition as to how the explosive debt problem came to be can be arrived at by financial experts in both the government and private sectors. Thus, the challenge in coming up with the best strategy for reliving and controlling the debt crisis continues to be a heavily-contested area of study to date. Rising Interest