The Evolution Of The World Essays (535 words) - Pseudoscience

The evolution of the world The Greek geographers of the later Roman period developed systematic calculations for the mapping and shaping of the earth. However, what would come to replace these systematic calculations? Why were the ideologies of a flat earth accepted and why were those of a spherical earth ridiculed? The answer to this question is very simple and can be answered by one clear and concise word: Religion. "Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her." (Ezekiel 5:5) This verse from the of book Ezekiel simply states that the city of Jerusalem should be in the center of all maps created. This eliminated the need for any latitude or longitude. Before hand, there had been more than six hundred maps created, not one having this holy city as the center. There was nothing new about putting "the most sacred place at the center" says Boorstin. The Hindus placed Mount Meru, a mythological 70,000 foot high mountain at the center of their map. In the Muslim faith, the Ka'bah in Mecca was the highest point on earth and the polestar showed the city of Mecca to be opposite the center of the sky. As one can clearly see, many maps, had different centers. Each map had a different center, each based on a different religion. Many years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the Greeks theorized that the earth was a globe. But after that, there was a period in history called "The Great Interruption." This period was categorized by a complete silence where people in general, forgot about the issue of whether the earth was flat or whether it was a globe. Another reason that brought the theories of a globular world to rest was because the priests told the general public that the earth was flat. Priests such as St. Augustine and others invented the Antipode theory, which stated that a world shaped like a globe is impossible because objects would be hanging downwards and growing backwards. Once again, religion played a major part in this argument that would rage on for many years to come. To conclude, much like the theories of the priests in the first 400 years after the birth of Jesus Christ, who said that Jerusalem was the center of a flat earth, one might be able to relate this period in time to a much more recent and modern one. Prior to the French Revolution in 1789, France was ruled by an absolute divine right monarchy. The institution that had the most power at the time was the Catholic church. No one in France would ever dare question the word of the Church. Everything the Church said had to be true and that was that. This is further reinforced by the church's persecution of Copernicus who later again theorized that the earth was not the center of the solar system. This illustrates that 1000 years later, religion remained the backbone of society, and to a lesser extent, the same still holds true today in certain societies.

The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl Essays

The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl Essays The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl Paper The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl Paper The Psychological Affects of the Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was an added devastation accompanying the Great Depression. It lasted from 1930 to 1939 and is sometimes referred to as the â€Å"Dirty Thirties†. (Bonnifield) Lack of crop rotation and a heavy drought caused this trying time in American history. Over one third of the United States was swallowed up by dust storms with the concentration of storms being located in northern Texas, the panhandle of Oklahoma, the entire western half of Kansas, south east Colorado, and north east New Mexico. Gazit) One psychological affect experienced as a result of this great historic disaster must have been depression. With over a decade of soil misuse and a severe drought that started in 1930 the top soil virtually turned to dust and blew away with the wind. This catastrophe could have been adverted with the practice of crop rotation. Crop rotation is a technique that has been traced back to Roman times. This method prevents the buildup of pests and/or pathogens. A known occurrence when the same crop is used season after season. Specifically the rotation of deep rooted and shallow rooted crops would have helped to prevent this era in American history. This grave agricultural mistake served to devastate a large population of people. Because of the lack of top soil crops could not grow therefore farmers and their families became stricken with poverty. Soon after the dust started blowing away it created dust storms which their most fierce covered the sky and there was little to no visibility on the ground, even worse than a blizzard of today the storms were given the name â€Å"Black Blizzard† (Gazit). Entire farm machinery virtually disappeared under a blanket of dust deposits left behind by these storms. Even with the aid of relief programs from the federal government entire families still had to pick up and leave behind their land, homes, and way of life. Most of these families were referred to as â€Å"Okies† because the majority came from Oklahoma and nearly all headed west to California to escape the storms. (Ganzel) Meeting basic human needs was a day to day struggle. Because the vast majority of the families were poor they had little to no money for food often fought over food that they may have shared with others just years earlier. Another health concern during this time was the onset of dust pneumonia which is the disproportionate exposure to dust where as dust literally fills the lungs. (Cook) The condition was so common that several musicians wrote song with the most famous being Woody Guthrie’s â€Å"Dust Pneumonia Blues†. Lack of employment was another common trauma that could easily lead to depression. Having previously been able to provide food and a place of warmth and wellbeing was no longer possible for males and single mothers of the day. The conditions were so extreme families were sometimes encouraged to give their children to government agencies so they could be better cared for. Not only did the Dust Bowl affect farmers but also white collar and professional workers who now had to fend for themselves in conditions and livelihoods they were not accustomed to. J. D. Bilbro, a child of the Dust Bowl recalls being trapped within a dust storm during a day known as â€Å"Black Sunday†. He talks about how he, a friend, and their two sisters ran through the storm and it was â€Å"black as midnight, rolling and boiling along the earth like a runaway tidal wave†. (Westbrook) The Grapes of Wrath written in 1939 by John Steinbeck and published by The Viking Press is a fictional story about a family traveling across the country to California during the Dust Bowl just in hope to find jobs as fruit pickers. In preparation for writing the book Mr. Steinbeck traveled as a migrant worker for two years so that he could get a feel and understanding for how the people of this era felt and survived. Bio) In the PBS history series American Experience: Surviving the Dust Bowl in an interview conducted in 2009 with Margie Daniel-Hooker of Oklahoma, she says that even as a child she could tell her father was depressed. She says it was noticeable by the way he would just stare off into space. In the same series Mrs. Daniel-Hooker goes on to talk about her younger brother who had pneumonia three times. She speaks about how she believes her brother caught pneumonia every time due to the dust storms. Mrs. Daniel-Hooker recalls her mother giving her little brother a spoonful of medicine each night and how the both of them sat up all night with him. Then one time as her mother was giving him a spoonful of medicine he leaned back in her arms and died. She tells how her mother screamed and held him very tightly then goes on to talk about how she had many more children but after the loss of that one child was never the same again. Mrs. Daniel-Hooker spoke about how she cried herself to sleep for an extensive period and how she will never forgive herself for bringing home the Measles and how he caught them. She explains how one could overcome pneumonia but never pneumonia and measles coupled together. Both Mrs. Daniel-Hooker, and her mother suffered long term from these experiences. As with the beginning of national media photography showed and still shows today the affects the Dust Bowl had on America. Dorothea Lange was a photographer who worked for the Farm Security Administration to document the plight of the Dust Bowl and was made famous for six pictures (one in particular) she took of Florence Owens-Thompson. (Dunn) Although the pictures accurately depicted life during this era Mrs. Thompson said she was told the pictures that were taken of her would not be published. But Ms. Lange sent the pictures to the San Francisco News and the Resettlement Administration in the nation’s capital. The most well known was entitled â€Å"The Migrant Mother†. Over forty years later the nation was enlightened as to whom the Migrant Mother was. In December 2008 Mrs. Owens-Thompson’s daughter, Katherine who was also seen in the picture at an early age publicly said the picture shamed the family because it pointed out just how poor they were. Gutierrez) Although the famous photos did much for public awareness and government change, they disturbed the family members depicted for a lifetime. As a result of the Dust Bowl and complications of the Great Depression large numbers of families lives were drastically changed. Loss of homes, jobs, and poor healthcare would have encouraged psychological complications such as depression. The day to day struggle to meet basi c family needs and difficulties arising from trying to accomplish these tasks led many Dust Bowl sufferers to develop and suffer with this depraved mental state. About The Dust Bowl. Welcome to English  « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Biography Page. Welcome to the Official Woody Guthrie Website. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Bonnifield, Paul. â€Å"May, it seemed like the wind, and dirt had been blowing for an. 1930 Dust Bowl. cimarron county chamber of commerce. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Cook, Ben, Ron Miller, and Richard Seager. Dust storms in the 1930s Dust Bowl. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory | . N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Drought in the Dust Bowl Years. Welcome to the National Drought Mitigation Center website!. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Dunn, Geoffrey. New Times San Luis Obispo Cover Story Photographic license. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Freedman, Russell. Children of the Great Depression . New York: Clarion Books, 2005. Print. Ganzel, Bill. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The Wessels Living History Farm, the Story of Agricultural Innovation. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Gazit, Chana. WGBH American Experience . Surviving the Dust Bowl . Complete Program Transcript | PBS. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Gerrig, Richard J. , and Philip G. Zimbardo. Psychology and life . 19th ed. Boston: Allyn Bacon, 2010. Print. Gutierrez, Thelma, and Wayne Drash CNN. Girl from iconic Great Depression photo: We were ashamed CNN. com. CNN. com Breaking News, U. S. , World, Weather, Entertainment Video News. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Hariman, Robert, and John Louis Lucaites. No caption needed: iconic photographs, public culture, and liberal democracy. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2007. Print. John Steinbeck Biography Biography. om. Biography. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Popper, Deborah Epstein, and Frank J. Popper. Outstanding Articles. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . RuneHQVideos. YouTube-Woody Guthrie Dust Bowl Blues . YouTube. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Steinbeck, John. The grapes of wrath . New York: Viking Press, 1939. Print. s The Dust Bowl. United States History. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . WGBH American Experience . Surviving the Dust Bowl . Timeline | PBS. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. .

World War II Timeline From 1939 to 1945

World War II Timeline From 1939 to 1945 World War II (WWII) was a long and bloody war that lasted about six years. Officially beginning on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, World War II lasted until both the Germans and the Japanese had surrendered to the Allies in 1945. Here is a timeline of major events during the war. 1939 Sept. 1 may be the official start of World War II, but it didnt start in a vacuum. Europe and Asia had been tense for years prior to 1939 because of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich in Germany, the Spanish Civil War, the Japanese invasion of China, the German annexation of Austria, and the imprisonment of thousands of Jews in concentration camps. After Germanys occupation of areas of Czechoslovakia not previously agreed to in the Munich Pact and its invasion of Poland, the rest of Europe realized it couldnt try to appease Germany any longer. The United States tried to remain neutral, and the Soviet Union invaded Finland. August 23: Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.September 1: Germany invades Poland, starting World War II.September 3: Britain and France declare war on Germany.September: Battle of the Atlantic begins. London after an air raid during the London Blitz, 15th October 1940. Central Press/Getty Images​ 1940 The first full year of the war saw Germany invading its European neighbors: Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, and Romania, and the bombing of Britain lasted for months. The Royal Air Force undertook nighttime raids in Germany in response. Germany, Italy, and Japan signed a joint military and economic agreement, and Italy invaded Egypt, which was controlled by the British, Albania, and Greece. The United States shifted to a stance of nonbelligerancy rather than neutrality so it could find ways to help the Allies, and the Lend-Lease Act (the exchange of materiel aid then for 99-year leases on property to be used for foreign military bases) was proposed late in the year. Popular opinion still didnt want Americans in another war over there. The Soviet Union, meanwhile, took part of Romania and installed Communists in the Baltic States, later annexing them. May: Auschwitz is established.May 10: Germany invades France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.May 26: Evacuation begins of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France.June 10: Italy declares war on France and Great Britain.June 22: France surrenders to Germany.July 10: Battle of Britain begins.September 16: The United States begins its first peacetime draft. German soldiers with Russian prisoners, Russia, 1941.   Print Collector/Getty Images 1941 The year 1941 was one of escalation  around the world. Italy may have been defeated in Greece, but that didnt mean that Germany wouldnt take the country. Then it was on to Yugoslavia and Russia. Germany broke its pact with the Soviet Union and invaded there, but the winter and Soviet counterattack killed many German troops. The Soviets next joined the Allies. Within a week of the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan had invaded Burma, Hong Kong (then under British control), and the Philippines, and the United States was officially in the conflict. March 11: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease bill.May 24: The British ship Hood is sunk by Germanys Bismarck.May 27: The Bismarck is sunk.June 22: Germany invades the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa).August 9: Atlantic Conference begins.September 8: Siege of Leningrad begins.December 7: The Japanese launch a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.December 11: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States; then the United States declares war on Germany and Italy. Aircraft Carrier Yorktown Being Hit by Japanese Bomber during Battle of Midway. Bettman/Getty Images   1942 U.S. troops first arrived in Britain in January 1942. Also that year, Japan captured Singapore, which was Britains last location in the Pacific, as well as islands such as Borneo and Sumatra. By the middle of the year, though, the Allies started gaining ground, with the Battle of Midway being the turning point there. Germany captured Libya, but the Allies started making gains in Africa, and Soviet counterattacks made progress as well in Stalingrad. January 20: The Wannsee ConferenceFebruary 19: Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9066, which allows the internment of Japanese Americans.April 18: The Doolittle Raid on JapanJune 3: The Battle of Midway begins.July 1: First Battle of El Alamein begins.July 6: Anne Frank and her family go into hiding.August 2: Guadalcanal Campaign begins.August 21: Battle of Stalingrad begins.October 23: Second Battle of El Alamein begins.November 8: The Allies invade North Africa (Operation Torch). German POWs in Stalingrad in 1943. Historical/Getty Images   1943 Stalingrad turned into Germanys first major defeat in 1943, and the North Africa stalemate ended, with the surrender of the Axis powers to the Allies in Tunisia. The tide was finally turning, though not fast enough for the people in the 27 merchant vessels sunk by Germany in the Atlantic in four days in March. But Bletchley codebreakers and long-range aircraft inflicted a serious toll on the U-boats, pretty much ending the Battle of the Atlantic. The autumn of the year saw the fall of Italy to Allied forces, prompting Germany to invade there. The Germans successfully rescued Mussolini, and battles in Italy between forces in the north and south drug on. In the Pacific, Allied forces gained territory in New Guinea- to attempt to protect Australia from Japanese invasion- as well as Guadalcanal. The Soviets continued expelling Germans from their territory, and the Battle of Kursk was key. The end of the year saw Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin meeting in Iran to discuss the invasion o f France. January 14: Casablanca Conference begins.February 2: The Germans surrender at Stalingrad, Soviet Union.April 19: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins.July 5: Battle of Kursk begins.July 25: Mussolini resigns.September 3: Italy surrenders.November 28: Tehran Conference begins. 1944 American troops played a big role in battles to take back France in 1944, including landings on Normandy beaches that caught the Germans by surprise. Italy was finally liberated as well, and the Soviets counterattack pushed the German soldiers back to Warsaw, Poland. Germany lost 100,000 soldiers (captured) during the battle in Minsk. The Battle of the Bulge, however, postponed the Allies marching into Germany for a while. In the Pacific, Japan gained more territory in China, but its success was limited by the Communist troops there. The Allies fought back by taking Saipan and invading the Philippines. January 27: After 900 days, the Siege of Leningrad is finally over.June 6: D-DayJune 19: Battle of the Philippine SeaJuly 20: Assassination attempt against Hitler fails.August 4: Anne Frank and her family are discovered and arrested.August 25: The Allies liberate Paris.October 23: Battle of Leyte Gulf begins.December 16: Battle of the Bulge begins. ors Survivors of Auschwitz leaving the camp at the end of World War II, Poland, February 1945. Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images 1945 Liberation of concentration camps, such as Auschwitz, made the extent of the Holocaust clearer to the Allies. Bombs still fell on London and Germany in 1945, but before April was over, two of the Axis leaders would be dead and Germanys surrender would soon follow. Franklin D. Roosevelt also died in April but of natural causes. The war in the Pacific continued, but the Allies made significant progress there through battles at Iwo Jima, the Philippines, and Okinawa, and Japan started to retreat from China. By mid-August, it was all over. Japan surrendered shortly after the second atomic bomb was unleashed on the island nation and Sept. 2, the surrender was formally signed and accepted, officially ending the conflict. Estimates put 50 million dead around the world, including 20 million Russian civilians, and 6 million Jews, one-third of their worldwide population. February 4: Yalta Conference begins.February 13: Allies begin bombing Dresden.February 19: Battle of Iwo Jima begins.April 1: Battle of Okinawa.April 12: Franklin D. Roosevelt dies.April 16: Battle of Berlin begins.April 28: Mussolini is hanged by Italian partisans.April 30: Adolf Hitler commits suicide.May 7: Germany signs an unconditional surrender.July 17: Potsdam Conference begins.August 6: The United States drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.August 9: The United States drops a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.

Brand Jordan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Brand Jordan - Essay Example Evidently, the five key attributes to Jordan could be listed as great athlete, ultra-competitive champion, well-known African-American, Handsome guy, and fascinating spokesman (‘Case Study’). The leading attribute will be the one that creates a perceptual label within a person’s mind and drags his attentions on encountering the particular personal brand. The leading attribute behind the Brand Jordan was ‘the greatest basketball player of all time’. 2. Team Jordan candidates and the brand attributes One of the candidates suggested for the Brand Jordan with so much popularity was the eminent soccer player David Beckham. He started his career from becoming a winning soccer player at the age of 14 and later was known for his youth empowerment and training programs. Brand Jordan considered Beckham to sustain the reputation of the brand as his career portrayed numerous achievements, like having a free-kick technique named after him, which could drag the att ention of customers. Besides he has been at his best with the Manchester United. Signing with Beckham would be a good start for entering the world of soccer. However, he was in his mid thirties and would be approaching the end of his career soon. Jamie Foxx was at his all time high popularity in 2006. He was an American Academy Award winning actor and a Grammy Award nominated singer and comedian. His noticeable personal attributes were attractive, athletic African-American, and good fit for the lifestyle products. However, Larry Miller, president of Brand Jordan had a second thought whether signing Foxx in a low-profile endorsement would be profitable or would detract from the brand. Another candidate for the team was a professional golfer from Hawaii, Michelle Wie, a 6-feet woman successfully driving back majority of professional women golfers. Wie had a seemingly limitless potential while commonly comparing with the Tiger Woods and Sorenstam. Wie has been eminent in her career and was an incredible athlete, but that was not all enough to decide that whether golf was the right starting point for the Brand Jordan to reach out to women. Chinese market was an important factor for the expansion of the Brand Jordan, and a best way to promote the brand over the China market was signing Liu Xiang, a 22 years old Chinese athlete who was best known for winning the 110 meters hurdles at his first IAAF Grand Prix in Lausanne. His popularity was further increased when he tied the world record of 12.91 seconds of Colin Jackson, a first time achievement of a non-African descent. Another advantage was that this endorsement would diminish the value of rival Reebok’s market. Though the Xiang has been considered the superstar in his home country in whose market the brand had a bright future, which was not all enough to get into a contract with the athlete. A big concern on selecting Xiang was about the Chinese government’s endorsement with him on a cigarette bran d. 3. Importance of celebrity endorsement Obviously, celebrity endorsements have been identified and accepted by the firms as it has direct results that influences the brand the company is trying to send through a person in a way that the customers experience a sense of similarity with the brand. Brand Jordan felt that the celebrity endorsement would be an important factor as the consumers tend more to conceive information from a celebrity whom they know than a person they do not. Besides, the celebrity has the ability to transfer their eminent and

Constructionist Model in Apple Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Constructionist Model in Apple Inc - Essay Example Individuals are driven by some forces which make them confident to buy a product after gaining full knowledge about it or the drives can often be negative which does not lead to the purchase of the product. The famous multinationals like Apple Inc. gives a lot of effort on their PR activities so that they are successful in communicating their message regarding the new products to the mass. The public relation activities by the companies involve communication of the useful ideas and the message regarding the changes and modification of the products. It also includes the launch of new products. The communication process is executed through various technologies which are mediated by the Public Medias some of which are also face to face communications. Background Brief about Apple Inc Apple Inc. which is formerly known as the Apple Computer, Inc. is a multinational corporation that is headquartered in California. It develops designs and sells, computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers. The best product line of the company is the Mac line of computers, iPhone Smartphone, iPod music player and iPad tablet computers. Its consumer software comprises the iOS and OS X operating systems, Safari web browser, iWork creativity iTunes media browser and iLife and productivity suites. The company was inaugurated on April 1, 1976 and was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 197. Apple is the second largest information technology company in the world after the famous Samsung Electronics and the third largest mobile phone makers after the established companies like Nokia and Samsung. Apple Inc. belongs to the computer hardware and software industry which have experienced incessant changes for the past five years. The changes are due to the advancement in technology and invention of new computer designs. The introduction of the new tablet computers has created huge demand for the retailers. In spite of the demand for the new technologies, sales ha ve faced erosion because of price deflation. Methodology and findings In the Part A-Portfolio-Media Analysis, the study has used multiple tasks in order to understand dimensions of advertising promotion of iPad of Apple Inc such as Placement of the advertisement, Audience Reach, Length of the advertisement, Tone and pertinent stakeholders for the advertisement. Is the study used mentioned task purely in Ad Hoc basis? Not really, because certain well defined public relation theories have guided the researcher to select the mentioned tasks. The researcher has taken help of traditional public relation theories in order to highlight role of each task within the communication cycle. Therefore, it can be said that In the Part A-Portfolio-Media Analysis, the study covered application of PR theories while key objective of this section is to make direct reference to academic text that are being the theoretical concept behind the tasks mentioned in Part A. In such backdrop, next sections of t he study will dig deep into the theoretical context of public relation and communication cycle. Public Relation (PR) Public relations (PR) can be defined as the practice of administration of the wide spread information between the organization and an individual or public. It may comprise of individual or organization which gains exposure by communicating with the audience using their interest and this activity does not require direct payment.

Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. Loan Package Essay Example for Free

Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. Loan Package Essay Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. and its branches makes and sells candy including â€Å"Andes mints, Junior Mints, Charleston Chew, Mason Dots, Sugar Daddy, and the ever popular Tootsie Roll, which has been made from the same formula for over a 100 years† (Hoovers Academics, 2012) Tootsie Roll Industry’s customers include a wide variety of supermarkets, dollar stores, discount warehouse clubs, fund-raising charitable organizations, and the United States Military (Reuters, 2012). Team â€Å"A† studied various financial statements, such as the income statements, statements of cash flows and performed a ratio analysis to look at the Financial Condition of Tootsie Roll Industries. A ratio analysis helps explain the relations between the different statements to help manage the company’s opportunity for improvement when looking at each individual financial statement (Kimmel, Weygandt, Kieso, 2009). The financial review revealed that â€Å"product sales have decreased 2.8% from the previous year in the first quarter and cost of goods sold as a percentage of net sales increased from 64.3% to 67.1%† (Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. 10-Q, 2008). As a result of higher total costs from an increase on the costs of ingredients, packaging material costs, and the Canadian dollar foreign exchange rate Fair Value of financial assets of Tootsie Roll Industries (expressed in thousands) for fiscal year 2007 was reported at $73,928. The company has tried to reduce the use of raw materials by using derivative hedging instruments to reduce the market price exposure, to swings, and increase their net profit (Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. Financial position, 2008). Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. affronts various risks in the market including the fluctuations in prices for the ingredients to make its’ candies and the cost of packaging and fuel for delivery of its products. The Canadian Dollar exchange rate increases the company’s total costs. The company needs to use Canadian dollars to buy a portion of raw and packaging materials as well as to pay for the company’s operating expenses in Canadian plants. Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. limits its’ exposure to fluctuations in the markets interest rates by investing in and generally holding securities with a maturity rate of at least three years (Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. 10-Q,  2008). After Team â€Å"A† reviewed the financial statements of Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. the team members agreed to the decision that it would be advantageous to open a factory in the United States. This strategy will create job opportunities, and decrease the negative effect of th e foreign exchange rate that the company has been experiencing with the Canadian dollar. The decision of opening a new factory promotes good will in the United States with opportunities to expand the business. Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. management and stockholders analyzed its financial statements to create the new action plan based on the company’s needs. The accountants and financial advisors completed a deep analysis of the company financial ratios, to identify, and compute the liquidity ratios to determine the company’s ability to repay the debt. The solvency ratios determine if the company will survive over a long term, and the profitability ratios predestine the operating success of the company. The profitability ratios, such as the profit margin ratio result very low 10.4% but still profitable, the debt to assets total ratio was 21. 5%, and with the new loan will increase to 31.5% which is still good for such a large company and the times interest earn ratio increased 5.2 times slightly improving the company’s solvency. The current ratio improved 3.44% demonstrating the company’s liquidity (Appendix 1) Tootsie Roll Industries is thinking about opening a factory in the United States and how this will create more job opportunities and also reduce the negative effects on the foreign exchange rate with the Canadian dollar. The best type of loan to seek is CDC/504 program. This program will allow Tootsie Roll to provide jobs for the community while also improving on its interest rates. The requirements for the loan is to provide financial statements, such as the balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flow, and retained earnings statement for the past three years. The information provided to a lender for the purpose of borrowing money to build a new facility in the United States. The amount of the loan that Tootsie Roll is asking for is $1million to purchase a facility, or build a new facility in the United States. This would be for building purchase, land, equipment, supplies, and any other soft costs needs. The loan requirements according to Small Business Administration (SBA) structure 40% of total project costs by the participating lending company, 50% covering total project costs and 10% covered by Tootsie Roll (SBA, 2012) Therefore, Tootsie  Roll meets the CDC/504 requirements for the loan by either building or renovating a building. The key is to provide new jobs to the community with the possibility of expansion in the near future. The life of the loan is 20 years at a fixed rate with 90% of financing. This type of loan does not require a balloon payment, however Tootsie Roll will be able to make monthly payments until the debt is paid off. Tootsie Roll can offer it is assets for collateral if the debt is not repaid. These assets can be the other property, plant, and equipment (SBA, 2012) Conclusions Team â€Å"A† discussed the reasons for the company to obtain a loan, and the destination benefits of the funds. Another topic discussed was the loan requirements and how to overcome those requirements with a detailed business plan and strategy to expand the business and offer new jobs to help the economy and the community development. Finally the company had to show the financial statements to present a loan package offer to the selected lender, disclosing the new debt ratio, to demonstrate the company’s ability of repayment for the loan. Present and explain how this loan will benefit the community and its benchmarking strategy to compete in the market with top performance companies and increased their market share. Even though the company is adding another debt to its liabilities, it will still help the company’s growth, and lead the industry. References: (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2012, from www.hoovers.com: www.hoovers.com/company/Tootsie_Roll_Industries../rrcsif-1.html (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2012, from www. reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?rpc=66..TR: www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?rpc=66..TR Tootsie Roll Industires From 10-Q. (2008, March 29). The United States Securities and Exchange Commision Form 10-Q. Washington, D.C. Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. and subsidiariescondensed consolidated statements of financial position. (2008, November 11). Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. 10-Q. Kimmel, P. D., Weygandt, J. J., Kieso, D. E. (2009). Accounting: Tools for business decision making. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons, Inc. www.sba.gov retrieved 12 March 2012

Moral Theories :: essays research papers

Moral Theories A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Morality comes from God. Therefore, moral behavior is that behavior that conforms to the will of God. Immoral behavior defies the will of God. The will of God is correctly interpreted by the Church. Rating: 6. I was feeling this one, until the last sentence. There are so many denominations, and the reason is that they disagree with one another. Many religions interpret what the will of God is differently, not to mention incorrectly. I do believe that a big part of morality comes from God. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Rating:1! Ahhh, the Golden Rule-you gotta love it. I suppose the only problem is like the example in the book of the African tribe that eats their dead, if I died there, they would eat me because they would want to be eaten. Very tricky. C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Be whatever you are; do whatever you want to do—just as long as you don’t hurt anybody. Rating:7. This sounds to me like humanism, although I’m not sure anymore if I know what that is. If this were something we lived our lives around, then it doesn’t sound like there would be many people helping out others, just themselves. D.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The end justifies the means. An action is â€Å"right† if it ultimately produces largely beneficial effects, â€Å"wrong† if it produces harmful effects. Rating: 2. I like this one, and I say it quite often (I’m not sure if that is good or bad). Someone used the example of war, and I agree with that. E.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is no universal morality. Moral values come from the laws and norms of the society. Therefore, what is morally right in one society could be morally wrong in another. Rating 4. Doesn’t the answer to this one really decide if you are an objectivist or realist? My husband and I argued this one, and he is a strong objectivist. I am caught in the middle because I don’t understand how you can truly impose your beliefs on people that have no idea what we consider to be right. What if people tried to do that to us? F.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People never act immorally deliberately. When a person acts immorally, it is because he or she has a mistaken notion of what is truly good. Immoral behavior is ignorance or stupidity, not wickedness. Rating 9. Whoa, do I disagree with this one. I do believe many people do wrong things because of ignorance, but there are many people who do things wrong and they do it knowing that it is wrong.

A Background on William Blake Essay

A child of the Romantic Period, William Blake was a poet born into the lively grounds of Soho, England. Since childhood, people observed in him a keen sense of imagination. This recognition then encouraged his parents to support his career path as an artist (Merriman n. p. ). Blake was largely considered as eccentric or demented by his contemporaries, causing him to be denied in his lifetime the recognition he deserved. However, literary critics now consider him an influential force in the development of Romanticism (Barker n. p. ). Blake’s works and style of writing cannot be classified into a single category or genre. However, his works showed recurring themes of knowledge and innocence, heaven and hell, external reality and internal reality, and most of all, good and evil (Merriman n. p. ). Most of his works are expressed with simplicity, except for some of his later works. With this simplicity, Blake was able to portray opposing aspects of human nature. He achieved this superbly by using one literary piece to present the negative side of another earlier literary work. Sorrow: the Antithesis of Joy This style of Blake was highlighted in his two poems Infant Joy and Infant Sorrow. Infant Joy was presented to dwell on the joys of life, childbirth, and existence. Then, in contrast, Infant Sorrow came to life to demonstrate the sadness of life and human existence. Content Comparison. In Infant Sorrow, the infant’s realization that the world is an unhappy place to live in summed up human existence. This poem renders a bleak understanding of human conditions and strongly contrasts with the earlier poem, Infant Joy. This other poem celebrates childbirth, as shown by the infant christening herself as ‘Joy. ’ The voice of her mother celebrates with her baby too. However, the poem’s too-evident joyfulness invites suspicion. The mask of exaggeration can be unfurled to reveal a deeper understanding of human existence. Both poems share similar strong emotions in describing birth, and both use little to no figurative language. However, they differ in structures and in the portrayal of human oppression. The poems both describe the sentiments that surround the birth of a child. Infant Joy portrays the happiness of an infant for being alive (Blake 4-5). There is a sense of gladness because human existence is worth celebrating. When one is born, he/she is given civil rights and freedoms that are worth being born for. Nonetheless, the infant cannot realistically even be aware of herself in such a way. A source even notes that it is still the mother who provides the infant’s voice: she merely projects herself unto her baby’s seeming happiness (Gilham 3). Still, the mother’s voice (as herself) is also present in the poem. She also feels exuberant, so she sings for her baby (Blake 11). On the other hand, Infant Sorrow depicts the infant’s feelings of lack of safety and security, as well as experiences of oppression (Blake 5). The parents in this poem also express resounding emotions, as the â€Å"mother groaned† and the â€Å"father wept† (Blake 1). This first line of the poem emphasized the parents’ sadness and misery about the baby’s birth. Thus, both poems explore the avalanche of powerful feelings that come with childbirth. Use of Figurative Language. Both poems similarly employ little to no figurative language. For Infant Sorrow, the most striking figurative language is the simile, â€Å"Like a fiend hid in the cloud† (Blake 4). This indicates that the baby is like a criminal in the clouds of happiness. The irony stands out: here is a two-day old infant who normally feels peaceful and happy, but in reality should really feel like another criminal who cannot hide anywhere, not even in the comfort of his dreams. Another figurative speech is the pun of â€Å"sulk,† instead of â€Å"suck† (Blake 8). The baby sulks in being fed by her mother, which is confounding, because there should be a natural connection between feeding and existence, a connection that is more positive than depressing. For Infant Joy, there are no evident figures of speech. This makes the poem very straightforward to some extent. Curran calls this as having no word â€Å"in excess† (6), which have made the poem a pithy rendition of childbirth happiness. Structure and Rhyming Patterns. The poems also diverge in different aspects, beginning with their dissimilar rhyming patterns. In Infant Sorrow, Blake uses a regular AABB rhyme scheme for its two stanzas, but in Infant Joy, he utilizes ABCDAC for the first stanza and ABCDDC for the second. The dissimilar rhyming patterns depict the underlying chaos behind the sweet joy of the infant. This rhyming style suggests the incongruence that exists between what is said and what is not said in Infant Joy. Furthermore, the most distinct pattern in Infant Joy is the double rhyme that recurs in lines three, six, nine, and twelve. This rhyming pattern contrasts with the more stable rhyme of Infant Sorrow. As pointed out already, this signifies an uncertainty in the voice of the mother in Infant Joy, as she wishes her child a happy life. The mother could be suppressing the reality that happiness is rarely attainable, when human existence cannot be described as joyful at all. Other Structures. Both poems possess different structures that also impact their meanings. These poems use different strategies in illustrating human oppression. Infant Joy uses two voices of happiness and the theme of innocence to mask the latent doubts of insecurity in the mother’s voice. The voices come from an infant and mother who believe that human life is joyful and so being born into it must be a cause of cheerful disposition. The poem portrays the happiness of an infant in being born: â€Å"I happy am. /Joy is my name† (Blake 4-5). The mother feels high-spirited also and she sings for her baby. The poem also celebrates innocence by repeating the phrase â€Å"sweet joy† five times over in lines 6, 8, 9, and 12. The repetition emphasizes the sweetness of being born and being so young. Infant Joy, however, somehow masks an uncertainty. The mother keeps on saying that the baby is only two days old. In a way, it indicates that this is the main reason why the baby feels too happy; she is still too young to experience the harshness of living. Furthermore, there is a tone of wishful thinking about happiness from the mother. When she says â€Å"Sweet joy befall thee! † (Blake 12), it is more of a benediction rather than a conviction (Gilham 3). In here, human innocence has resembled a mask, a charade for a mother who wishes a form of short-term happiness for her baby. Blake undermines the happiness of human existence through Infant Sorrow, which directly assaults human innocence through dark symbolism, imagery, and figurative expressions. It is quite shocking that an infant would describe a new world as dangerous, one where the infant’s parents would weep or groan, as if in terror. Parents should be happy when they see their baby, but this poem paints an extremely contrasting picture. This point of view can be explained by the fact that Blake lived in a time of war (Curran 6). Thus, in the author’s context, he was right to say that a child born in such a society only â€Å"leapt to a dangerous world† (Blake 2). An infant described as a fiend is also hardly anticipated. This image is quite perplexing, because innocence has been plunged into the murky waters of evil (Blake 4). At the same time, the infant, who has just been born, already feels â€Å"bound and weary† (Blake 7). A baby should be free of the world’s numerous worries, but this infant is like an adult who has been disillusioned by the burdens of human life. The infant even sulks upon his mother’s breast. â€Å"Sulk† is a pun for â€Å"suck,† which renders a different interpretation of depending on a mother for nurturance (Carson 150; Bender and Mellor 300). â€Å"Sulk† underscores the resistance to the passive role of the baby in society (Gilham 4). The struggles of the infant symbolize the struggles of adults against the oppression from political and economic forces of society. The â€Å"swaddling bands† indicate how people also struggle to fight the institutions that make it impossible for them to enjoy their civil liberties. Infant Sorrow, hence, takes the voice of an adult who has briskly shaken off the pretensions of modern liberties. Blake used infants as the starting point of his argument about human existence. Conclusion Infant Joy and Infant Sorrow may directly oppose each other in the choice of words, structure and rhyming pattern.  Underneath them, however, are the same strong human emotions, portrayed simply with little use of figurative language. These poems possess the voice of a weary and dissatisfied adult who wants to escape but cannot wholly leave society. The innocence and happiness was a mere mask for the realities of life. They also express inconspicuously the voice of a human being who constantly fights the battle against dominant social institutions that trample on civil liberties. Ultimately, both poems remarkably render in diverse ways, the tortures of human existence.

Night World : Huntress Chapter 8

I can't lose this fight. Suddenly that was the only thought in Jez's mind. She couldn't afford to be hurt or scared-or stupid. There was too much riding on it. And since Morgead had the advantages of telepathy and strength on her at the moment, she was going to have to come up with some clever way to beat him. It only took a moment to come up with a plan. And then Jez was carrying it out, every ounce of her concentration focused on tricking him. She stopped backing up and took a step sideways, deliberately putting herself in a position where she could make only a clumsy block. Then she gave him an opening, holding her stick awkwardly, its tip toward him but drooping too far down. You see-it's my elbow, she thought to him, knowing he couldn't hear her, but willing him to take the bait. My elbow hurts too much; I'm distracted; the stick is no longer an extension of me. My right side is unprotected. She was as good at it as any mother bird who pretends to have a broken wing to lure a predator away from her nest. And she could see the flash of triumph in Morgead's eyes. That's it; don't waste time injuring me anymore †¦ come in for the kill. He was doing it. He'd stopped trying to get her into a corner. With his handsome face intent, his eyes narrowed in concentration, he was maneuvering for a single decisive strike; a takedown to end the combat. But as he raised his fighting stick to make it, Jez pulled her own stick back as if she were afraid to block, afraid of the jarring contact. This was the moment. If he caught on now, if he realized why she was positioning her stick this way, he'd never make the move she wanted him to. He'd go back to disarming her. I'm too hurt to block properly; my arm's too weak to raise, she thought, letting her shoulders droop and her body sway tiredly. It wasn't hard to pretend. The pain in various parts of her body was real enough, and if she let herself feel it, it was very nearly disabling. Morgead fell for it. He made the strike she wanted; straight down. At that instant Jez slid her leading foot back, shifting just out of range. His stick whistled by her nose-missing. And then, before he could raise it again, while he was unguarded, Jez lunged. She put all the power of her body behind it, all her strength, slipping in between Morgead's arms and driving the stick to his midsection. The air in his lungs exploded out in a harsh gasp and he doubled over. Jez didn't hesitate. She had to finish him instantly, because in a second he would be fully recovered. By the time he was completely bent over she was already whipping her stick out and around to strike him behind the knee. Again, she put her whole weight behind the blow, following through to scoop him onto his back. Morgead landed with a thud. Before he could move, Jez snap-kicked hard, catching his wrist and knocking his stick away. It clattered across the floor, oak on oak. Then she held the pointed end of her own stick to his throat â€Å"Yield or die,† she said breathlessly, and smiled. Morgead glared up at her. He was even more breathless than she was, but there was nothing like surrender in those green eyes. He was mad. â€Å"You tricked me!† â€Å"All's fair.† He just looked at her balefully from under the disordered hair that fell across his forehead. He was sprawled flat, long legs stretched out, arms flung to either side, with the tip of the snakewood fighting stick resting snugly in the pale hollow of his throat. He was completely at her mercy-or at least that was how it seemed. Jez knew him better. She knew that he never gave up, and that when he wasn't too mad to think, he was as smart as she was. And as sneaky. Right now the helpless act was about as sincere as her wounded bird routine. So she was ready when he threw another blast of Power at her. She saw his pupils dilate like a cat's about to pounce, and she braced herself, shifting the stick minutely to push into his collarbone as she leaned forward. The energy smashed into her. She could almost see it now, with the sixth sense that was part of her vampire heritage. It was like the downrush of a nuclear cloud, the part that went flowing along the ground, destroying everything in its path, spreading in a circle from the point of impact. It seemed to be faintly green, the color of Morgead's eyes. And it packed quite a punch. Jez gritted her teeth and hung on to the fighting stick, keeping it in place, letting the Power wash through her. It blew her hair back to stream in a hot wind and it seemed to last forever. But finally it was over, and she was tingling with pain, with a metallic feeling in her teeth. And Morgead was still trapped. He hissed at her, an amazingly reptilian sound. â€Å"Got anything else?† Jez said, grinning down at him with narrowed eyes. Every bruise on her body hurt afresh in the aftermath of the blast-but she wasn't going to let him see that. â€Å"No? I didn't think so.† Morgead's upper lip lifted. â€Å"Drop dead, Jezebel.† Nobody was allowed to use her full name. â€Å"You first, Morgy,† she suggested, and leaned harder on the stick. The green eyes were beautifully luminous now, with sheer anger and hatred. â€Å"So kill me,† he said nastily. â€Å"Morgead-â€Å" â€Å"It's the only way you're going to win. Otherwise I'm just going to lie here and wait to recharge. And when I've got enough Power I'll hit you again.† â€Å"You never know when it's over, do you?† ‘It's never over.† Jez bit down on a rush of fury and exasperation. ‘I didn't want to have to do this,† she snarled, â€Å"but I will.† She didn't kill him. Instead, she hurt him. She grabbed his wrist and locked it, with her hand holding his and her stick on top of his wrist. She could use leverage here to cause severe pain- or to break the bone. â€Å"Give up, Morgead.† â€Å"Bite me.† â€Å"I'm going to break your wrist.† ‘Tine. I hope you enjoy it.† He kept glaring. Like a little kid threatening to play on the freeway, Jez thought, and suddenly, inexplicably she was almost overcome by laughter. She choked it back. She didn't want to break his wrist. But she knew she had to. And she had to do it soon, before he regenerated enough Power to hit her again. She couldn't take another of those blasts. â€Å"Morgead, give!† She put enough pressure on his wrist that it really hurt. He gave her the evil eye through dark lashes. â€Å"You're so stubborn!† Jez put on more pressure. She could tell it was hurting him. It was hurting her to keep the steady pressure up. Shooting stars of pain were zinging in her elbow. Jez's heart was beating hard and her muscles were beginning to tremble with fatigue. This was much more difficult for both of them than a clean break would have been. And he was a vampire- his wrist would heal in a few days. She wouldn't be injuring him permanently. I have to do it, she told herself. She tensed her muscles- And Morgead took a little quick breath, an indrawn hiss of pain. For just an instant his green eyes lost their gemlike clarity, unfocusing a bit as he winced. Jez let go of his wrist and collapsed to sit beside him, breathing hard. You are so stupid, her mind told her. She shook her hair out and shut her eyes, trying to deal with the fury. Beside her, Morgead sat up. â€Å"What are you doing?† â€Å"I don't know!† Jez snarled without opening her eyes. Being weak and idiotic, she answered herself. She didn't even know why she couldn't go through with it. She killed vampires-and less obnoxious ones than Morgead-all the time. â€Å"I didn't yield,† Morgead said. His voice was flat and dangerous. â€Å"So it's not over.† ‘Tine, blast me.† Tm going to.† â€Å"So do it.† â€Å"What, you like it so much?† Jez snapped. She grabbed her stick off the ground and turned to look at him for the first time since she'd sat down. â€Å"Yeah, I love it, Morgead! I'm crazy about pain! So do it, and then I'm going to hit you over your thick head so hard you won't wake up until next week!† She might have said more, but the look in his eyes stopped her. He was staring at her intently, not simply belligerently as she'd imagined. His green eyes were narrow and searching. â€Å"You're just crazy period,† he said, sitting back, his gaze still probing. In a different tone he said softly, â€Å"So why didn't you do it?† Jez lifted her shoulders and dropped them. There was a pit of anger and misery in her stomach. ‘I suppose because then I'd have to break every bone in your body, you jerk. You'd never give up, not with that new power you've got.† â€Å"I could teach it to you. The others aren't strong enough to learn it, but you are.† That forced a short laugh out of Jez. â€Å"Yeah, right.† She shut her eyes briefly, wondering what Morgead would say if she were to tell him why she could never learn it. He'd squash me like a bug, she thought, and laughed again. â€Å"You laugh weird, Jez.† â€Å"I have a twisted sense of humor.† She looked at him, blinking wetness out of her lashes. Where had that come from? There must be something in her eye. â€Å"So. Want to start this fight again?† He was staring at her hand gripping the snakewood stick. Jez tried to keep that hand steady, but she could feel the fine tremors in the muscles. She took a deep breath and clenched her teeth, making her gaze challenging. I can fight again. I can do it because I have to, and this time I won't let any stupid sympathy get in the way of beating him. I have to win. Everything depends on it. Morgead looked back at her face. â€Å"No,† he said abruptly. â€Å"We don't have to do it again. I yield.† Jez bunked in shock. It was the last thing she'd expected. Morgead's expression was cold and unreadable. Jez got mad. â€Å"Why?† she blazed at him. â€Å"Because I'm tired? Because you don't think I can take you?† She whipped the stick up, ready to split his stupid skull. â€Å"Because you're crazy!† Morgead yelled. â€Å"And because-† He stopped dead, looked furious. Then he said curtly, â€Å"Because you won fair the first time.† Jez stared at him. Slowly she lowered the stick. Morgead's expression was still distinctly unfriendly. But he'd just made an almost unbelievable admission. â€Å"You just don't want me to whop you anymore,† she said. He gave her a sideways look that would kill pigeons in midair. Jez let out her breath. Her heart was just beginning to settle down and relief was spreading through her. I did it I really did it. I'm not going to die today. â€Å"So it's over,† she said. â€Å"I'm back in.† â€Å"You're leader,† Morgead said sourly. â€Å"Enjoy it, because I'm going to be right behind you every step, just waiting for my chance.† â€Å"I wouldn't expect anything else,† Jez said. Then she blinked. â€Å"What are you doing?† â€Å"What do you think?† His face set, his eyes on the far wall, Morgead was tugging his shirt away from his neck, and leaning his head back. â€Å"I have no idea-† Then Jez realized. She went cold to the tips of her fingers. I didn't think. I should have remembered, but I didn't, and I didn't plan for this†¦. â€Å"Blood in, blood out,† Morgead said shortly. Why didn't I remember? Panic was stirring inside Jez. She couldn't see any way to get out of it. For human gangs â€Å"blood in, blood out† meant you got beat up when you were jumped in, and you didn't leave until you were dead. But for vampire gangs†¦ I can't bite him. The most frightening thing was that something inside her wanted to do it. Her entire skin was tingling, and it suddenly seemed as if it was only yesterday that she'd had her last blood meal. She could remember exactly how it felt, sinking her teeth into smooth skin, piercing it easily, feeling the warm flow start. And Morgead's blood would be dark and sweet and powerful. Vampire blood wasn't life-sustaining like human blood, but it was rich with the hidden promise of the Night World. And Morgead was one of the strongest vampires she'd ever met. His blood would be full of the mastery of that new attack, full of raw, vital young energy. But I don't drink blood. I'm not a vampire! Not anymore. Jez was trembling in shock. In the entire year since she'd stopped drinking blood, she'd never been so tempted. She had no idea why it had come on like this now, but it was almost out of her control. She pressed her tongue against one sharpening canine, trying to restrain it, trying to get some relief from the stress. Her upper and lower jaws were aching fiercely. I can't. It's unthinkable. If I do it once, I'll never be able to stop. I'll become-what I was back then. I'll be lost I can't-but I have to. I need to get back in the gang. Morgead was staring at her. â€Å"Now what's wrong with you?† â€Å"I. . .† Jez was dizzy with fear and longing and the sense of danger. She couldn't see any way out†¦. And then she saw it. â€Å"Here,† she said, unbuttoning the collar of her shirt. â€Å"You bite me.† â€Å"What?† ‘It satisfies the requirement. Blood has to be spilled. And it's the leader who does it† ‘You're the leader, idiot.† â€Å"Not until I'm back in the gang. And I'm not back in the gang until blood is spilled.† He was staring at her, his eyes hard and demanding and not amused at all. â€Å"Jez†¦ that's ridiculous. Why?† He was too smart. She didn't dare let him keep thinking about it. â€Å"Because I think it's the proper procedure. And because-I overfed last night. I don't want anymore.† She stared straight into his eyes, not allowing a muscle to quiver. Trying to force her version of the truth into his brain. Morgead blinked and looked away. Jez allowed herself to relax minutely. She had one advantage over Morgead; there was no way he could even imagine her real motives. She just hoped he wouldn't discern the human flavor to her blood. ‘If you won't tell me, I give up.† He shrugged. â€Å"So, fine. If that's the way you want it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It is.† â€Å"Whatever.† He turned back to her and reached for her shoulders. A new shock rocked Jez. Morgead never hesitated once he made up his mind, but this was a little unnerving. His grip was a bit too firm and authoritative; Jez felt out of control. And how am I going to shield myself? she thought wildly, clamping down on a new wave of fear. He's already a powerful telepath and sharing blood increases rapport How am I supposed to block that-? Everything was happening too fast; she didn't have time to plan or think. All she could do was try not to panic as Morgead drew her close. Jerk†¦ he's had too much experience at this, part of her thought furiously. At subduing any kind of prey. At gentling scared girls-human girls. He was holding her lightly and precisely; he was tilting her chin back. Jez shut her eyes and tried to blank her mind. And now she could feel the warmth of his face near her skin; she could feel his breath on her throat. She knew his canine teeth were extending, lengthening, thinning to needle points. She tried to control her breathing. She felt a swathe of warmth as he licked her throat once, and then a pain that made her own teeth ache. His teeth had pierced her skin, sharp as obsidian. Then the release of blood flowing. Her life, spilling out The instinctive twinge of fear Jez felt had nothing to do with him invading her mind. No vampire liked to make this kind of submission. Letting someone drink your blood meant you were weaker, it meant you were willingly making yourself prey. Everything inside Jez protested at just relaxing and letting Morgead do this. And maybe that was the answer, she thought suddenly. A wall of turmoil to cover her thoughts. Pretend to be too agitated to let him make contact. †¦ But his lips were surprisingly soft on her throat, and the pain was gone, and he was holding her more like a lover than like a predator. She could feel his mind all around her, strong, demanding. He wasn't trying to hurt her. He was trying to make it not-terrible for her. But I want it to be terrible. I don't want to feel like this†¦. It didn't matter. She felt as if she were being pulled by a swift current, dragged and tumbled into some place she had never been before. Sparkling lights danced behind her closed eyelids. Electricity crackled through her body. And then she felt his mouth moving gently on her throat, and the world fell away†¦.

Causesof Political violence essays

Causesof Political violence essays Political violence is like a festering wound, in that, without the aid of antibiotics the wound has the potential to depress the immune system and eventually overwhelm the individual, leading to death. In this analogy, antibiotics could represent forces that are always looking for the rogue virus's bent on the destruction of the whole body (society). I often wonder why people resort to violence, of any kind, to solve a particular problem. Questions can be asked of the individual(s) involved in carrying out the attacks, but the questions never seem to be answered in a way that will show why violence is needed to resolve conflict. Rather, excuses are rendered in the hopes that by the logic used in explaining why conflict must be resolved, this will justify the actions. This leads, though, to a sort of circular argument. For example, in the case of Saddam Hussein (put aside the fact that he is the president of a nation) is an idiot. Why exactly he felt it was justifiable to invade a cou ntry, who at the time had an OK relationship with the United States, and then think the US and/or other countries would allow him to forcibly occupy that country. Whatever his logic, his actions were not justifiable. I believe his logic was as follows: Something happened to his country (economically, socially, politically etc.) that he did not like or want to happen. Hussein decided to adopt the "eye-for-an-eye" approach to conflict resolution. Except he changed the rules and instead of responding in a like manner consistent with "eye-for-an-eye", he went over board with his reaction. He forcibly invaded a country. I use the Persian Gulf War as a recent example of reasons for why people resolve conflict not through peaceful means but through violent actions. Iraq is not the only country in the system to use this type of logic when tackling an issue that is perceived to have only one avenue of approach to resolution: war. It seems that every, or nearly e...

The easiest way to settle office grammar disputes

The easiest way to settle office grammar disputes The easiest way to settle office grammar disputes Like it or not, we all end up getting thrown into arguments about whether something weve written is correct. This could be a colleague picking you up on your apostrophes. Or it might be a subtle point of style that your manager crosses out with angry red pen. It may just be a snide Facebook comment from someone who sees correcting the grammar of strangers as the highest good in earthly existence. Seemingly minor disputes like this can blow up into major arguments and tetchy, defensive disputes. And while some people can devote over forty thousand words to debating capitalisation after a colon, for most of us this isnt the best use of our time. So how do you settle an argument over whats right and wrong as quickly as possible? Seeking the Authority The easiest thing would be to check against the correct usage in the book that says what counts as correct English. But heres the thing: there is no such book. Nor is there any individual person. There is nobody, at all, on the planet, whom you can ask for the definitive answer on whether or not a particular piece of usage is absolutely correct. But surely this is too much? Dont some things stay the same? Not really. In language, very little is safe from change. Practically every area of English has changed in some way: from fundamental aspects of grammar right down to the meaning of words. For example, the word ‘December’ originally meant ‘the tenth month of the year’. So you might want to think twice about inviting pedants to Christmas dinner – unless you want someone turning up with mince pies in October. Where does this leave us? Were all passengers on a ship without a captain. But dont worry, its fine: we dont need one. We dont need a gold standard, just a set of conventions that most people agree on – especially in professional contexts. To draw an analogy: theres no single authority to tell you that showing up to a job interview at a consulting firm in board shorts and a tank top is the wrong thing to do. And maybe in fifty years surfer chic will be de rigeur for any aspiring professional. But for the moment were happy to call this wrong. This is all very interesting, but how does it help you when you need to check which conventions to obey? And which ones to ignore? Heres a rundown of three ports of call when youre in the midst of an office argument: Single words We recommend picking a good dictionary to use across your organisation. For example, at Emphasis we use Collins English Dictionary. This allows us to spell and hyphenate words consistently. Rather than spending time debating whether or not to write coordinate or co-ordinate, we just use their first preferred variant. Grammar and punctuation rules So many of the arguments we see professionals have are based on half-remembered superstitions from school. But its best to skip this act of strained remembrance and go directly to the best available information. Some of the best ports of call here are books written by linguists whove looked into these matters in detail, and offer facts instead of conjecture. For example, Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style, which contains extremely in-depth analysis of dozens of grammar rules (or supposed rules). If someone is bringing out grammatical artillery during your discussion, Pinker is an excellent guide through the confusion. A lot of other arguments come from an over-reliance on rules of thumb about good writing (such as the golden rule that you should never use the passive voice). When you come across this kind of debate, we recommend Joseph Williams Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace and his nuanced, up-to-date analysis of what precisely makes good writing. Huge swathes of the finicky arguments that you can get into over split infinitives or starting a sentence with an And or a But can be solved by pointing people to these kinds of sources. But what if your argumentative friend continues to disagree with professors of linguistics on the matter? You may have just spotted either a lost cause, or an argument that is threatening to take up too much of your time. Points of style Some questions will never be ultimately decided. For example, the capitalisation of job titles varies considerably across organisations and contexts. So theres flexibility on this point when choosing a style for yourself or your organisation. Making decisions about these sorts of questions every time you encounter them is a big waste of time and a recipe for inconsistency across your organisation. One of the best ways round this is to get into the habit of checking style guides. Good examples are the style guides of The Economist and the Guardian. Theyve already done the work of looking into questions about grammar and usage, and tend to offer much more succinct recommendations than youll find if you trawl through the internet looking for answers. And our own style guide, The Write Stuff, is designed specifically to help you with the questions you face most in your day-to-day writing. These include questions like how to capitalise job titles or how to write common abbreviations like CEO. Youll find all the answers in one place – and you can download your free copy here. (Well be talking more about the ways style guides can help you at work next week.) Beware rabbit holes Above all, make sure that the time you spend looking into these questions is time well spent. The main problem with looking things up is it can work too well. You can easily end up spending hours reading about the tiniest points of usage and style. For example, here are over 20 blog posts, written by reasonable, informed users of English, on the differences between that and which. This is just too much information when youre trying to solve an argument quickly. Instead, we recommend taking one of the three routes above for solving each question, ending your disputes, and getting on with your life. Don’t forget: if you’d like a handy reference for resolving some of those office-based style matters, you can download a free PDF of our guide The Write Stuff here. And if you’d like our help with developing a style guide for your company, get in touch. Image credit: Junial Enterprises / Shutterstock

Is aggression in man Adaptive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is aggression in man Adaptive - Essay Example Upon sensing them, they are refined through internal adjustments brought about by learning and hormonal changes. Aggression then is actually an action driven by a programmed set of chemical responses within the body that prepares an animal to the actual or impending threat. There are eight forms of aggression according to E.O. Wilson. Territorial, dominance, sexual, parental disciplinary, weaning, moralistic, predatory, and anti-predatory aggression, are mechanisms by which animals improve their fitness for survival and reproduction (1980, p.118). For example, by demonstrating territorial aggression, an animal will protect his both habitat and his family. These programmed biological responses to various environmental threats bear high levels of heritability, according to the researches made by E.O. Wilson, which builds up its genetic nature and provides proof that aggressive behavior is adaptive. Furthermore, some species' aggressive behaviors are "specialized, stereotyped and highly predictable" (1980, p.122). This further validates aggression's adaptive nature. Humans face the same forms of aggression and, basically behave aggressively as those of animals. A human father is also protective on his house the same way as a lion is to his territory. He can become violent to a point that he would kill someone if he witnesses a thief stealing properties in his house. This is one a "fight or flight" response of humans to adverse conditions. Humans are also wary about the "external environmental contingencies," such as "encounters outside the group, food, crowding, seasonal change" (Wilson 1980, 122-123). Wilson provided an analogy between an experiment of overcrowded of cats and rats to that of people in concentration and prisoners-of-war camps wherein overcrowding caused both mentioned animals and humans to behave aggressively to each other during extreme conditions (1997, p.127). When experiencing stressful and threatening conditions, humans and animals share the same reactions. Humans also have the internal mechanisms as that of animals that results to aggressive behavior. Both have the capabilities to retain previous experiences in their brains. Though there are differences in the effects of hormonal secretions for different animals, specifically vertebrates (as in the different reactions of estrogen to different species) hormones are still responsible for the aggression of both animals and humans. A good example of this is epinephrine, a hormone that triggers the fight-or-flight response in humans. Moreover, the two modes of competition suggest that animals have devised diverse ways to gain advantage of others. While direct aggression, being the first mode, can accomplish this goal, some species executes some ways to mutually repulse each other. Some species of ants use organizational techniques in order to win the competition (Wilson, 1980). Humans have usually been engaging in competition both by direct aggression and by mutual repulsion. Many of our activities are competitive in nature and participants herein use aggression in a productive way to dominate their rivals. However, though humans experience the same inputs that causes aggression and share the same internal mechani