“Habit is a great deadener”. In what ways does Waiting for Godot illustrate this idea? Essay

Habit and routine form an important part of the play Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett. The play, a famous product of the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’, is characterized by a circular structure which doesn’t lead anywhere, repetitive dialogue and a general absurdity. It witnesses two men, Vladimir and Estragon, who spend the entire two acts waiting for Godot. The routines they develop throughout the play are mainly a result of their attempts to pass the time. Habits such as fiddling with objects and telling stories become part of their routine and seem like a good way to get through the waiting. However, as Vladimir himself says, â€Å"habit is a great deadener† (Beckett 105) and eventually their habits deaden them. The term â€Å"deadener† implies that the habits make the characters even more bored and that instead of helping them, they lead to their downfall and make their lives even more meaningless. This essay will discuss the habits developed by the various characters and explore whether they indeed illustrate the idea of habits being a deadener. Through this, it will also discuss what Beckett is trying to prove about habit in human life in general. One habit that is developed in Waiting for Godot by both Estragon and Pozzo is fiddling with objects. This habit is portrayed mainly through the stage directions and is therefore visual action instead of words. Estragon uses objects such as his boot in order to pass time. â€Å"Silence. Estragon is fiddling with his boot again† (Beckett 37). In this stage direction, Beckett places Estragon’s fiddling within a silence which shows how he tries to fill the void by playing with his boot. This habit is formed out of boredom and therefore designed to relieve it. Through this, Beckett seems to be commenting on how human beings rely on habits in order to give their lives meaning and security. However, instead of making life more interesting, the repeated fiddling only reinforces the monotony in the play making the characters even more bored. Pozzo on the other hand fiddles mostly with his watch, â€Å"cuddling his watch to his ear [†¦] he puts his watch back in his pocket† (Beckett 37). He repeatedly takes his watch out, consults it, puts it away, and gets it out again in a very routinely manner. He does not only do this to pass the time; it is also a way for him to prove his superiority through the material objects he owns. It is important for him to continuously assert his power and position. However, instead of giving him power, this habit eventually contributes to his downfall. In the second act, Pozzo becomes blind and loses all his power. A second way for Pozzo to prove his power and seek attention is by performing which also becomes habitual. At several occasions, Pozzo takes on another role and starts performing in order to entertain the others and become the centre of attention. He usually performs dramatic monologues, â€Å"tirelessly torrents of red and white light it begins to lose its effulgence† (Beckett 38). This sentence clearly shows his eloquent diction chosen to impress his audience and again prove his superiority. The varied syntax of this particular speech, ranging from complicated poetic sentences to short crude phrases, makes it interesting to his audience and shows how he is indeed acting. Every time he takes on a role, he ensures that everyone is paying attention to him because that is his ultimate goal. Routines are a way for people to define themselves by what they habitually do. But again, this habit turns out to be a deadener which is illustrated by Pozzo’s sudden change of status in the second act. Suddenly he is blind and no one pays attention to him anymore. He repeatedly asks for help but no one responds and this proves how his habits deadened him. A similar habit to that of performing is telling stories. It is one of the first habits to be introduced in the play and is again a way for them to fill the time. In the beginning of the play, Vladimir attempts to tell his first story, but Estragon repeatedly interrupts him: â€Å"two thieves, crucified at the same time as Our Saviour. One – / our what?† (Beckett 6). This habit is almost an immediate deadener as it fails to achieve its goal of passing time and giving them something to do. Estragon’s interruptions undermine Vladimir’s capabilities as a story teller and turn the stories into meaningless, circular debates. Instead of storytelling becoming a routine to give their lives meaning, it becomes a reinforcement of the meaninglessness of their existence proving that they aren’t going anywhere. None of the routines or habits they develop is helping. They are in fact doing the opposite and making their situation worse. They are still stuck waitin g for Godot and always will be. Waiting in itself could be considered as a deadening habit. It is definitely the dominating habit in the play as they are continuously waiting. The phrase â€Å"we’re waiting for Godot† (Beckett 51), which also inspires the title, is the most repeated sentence in the entire play. The fact that it is repeated so many times shows how desperate and meaningless their situation has become. The repetition of the phrase emphasises its importance to the overall play because even though it is very simple, it sums up the entirety of the play. This habit is arguably the most deadening of all as it prevents them from leaving and going on with their lives. It forces them to stay put and thereby takes all the meaning out of their existence, diminishing them to mere spectators rather than participators in life. A final habit that Estragon and Vladimir develop is that of staying together. In staying together, they attempt to avoid the insecurity of being lonely and try to use each other to confirm that their lives do have meaning. â€Å"I felt lonely†, says Vladimir when Estragon falls asleep (Beckett 10). This simple sentence is the very essence of why they develop the habit of staying together. Even though Estragon is physically there, Vladimir has no one to talk to anymore and this agitates him. They need each other even if they don’t always get along in order to confirm each other’s existence. At the slightest threat of being left alone, they panic and therefore stay together as a matter of necessity. The above quotation invokes pathos in the audience as they realise how strong their reliance is upon one another and therefore how low they have sunk as individuals. They are trying to avoid insecurity through their habits, but Beckett is implying that this is impossible and that habits will lead to monotony and insignificance in your life. Instead of profiting from each other, staying together prevents them from moving forward and thereby deadens them. Habit is indeed a deadener and Waiting for Godot illustrates this in numerous ways. All four characters in the play have been deadened by their habits and instead of their routine saving them, they caused their downfall. It seems as if Beckett is trying to illustrate how habit affects people in reality. It is unavoidable as human beings to develop habits. It is almost like a natural mechanism in order for us to avoid absurdity in life. However, Beckett implies, one has to accept absurdity as it is part of life. Habits won’t give us the security we need, they will only bring monotony and eventual deadening to our lives as happened in Waiting for Godot. This play is obviously part of absurdist theatre and therefore an exaggeration, however Beckett seems to be relating it to real life to a certain extent. He seems to be advising to prevent from developing habits and instead accept the randomness that unavoidably accompanies life. Work cited: Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. Grove Press: New York, 1982.

Julius Ceasar: Brutus Is the Tragic Hero

In the play Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. Brutus is a tragic hero because he has Tragic Flaws. Brutus’s first tragic flaw is that he is naive; he is not a shrewd judge of people. As Caius Cassuis states, â€Å"Well, Brutus, thou art noble. Yet I see/thy honorable mental may be wrought /†¦There for it is meet / That noble minds keep ever with their likes / For who so firm that cannot be seduced? † (1. 2. 319-323). This shows how naive Brutus is because he does not see that Cassuis is trying to manipulate him. Brutus’s second tragic flaw is that he has rigid ethics; he thinks he is unmovable. Brutus states himself that â€Å"[he is] armed so strong in honesty, / that they pass by [him] as the idle wind† (4. 3. 75-76). Brutus thinks he is unmovable because he is so honest that nothing can break him down, and because he has these tragic flaws he is a tragic hero. Many tragic heroes are characterized by good and evil, and Brutus has good and evil characteristics. Brutus’s good character is that he is caring. After Brutus allows his servant Lucius to sleep he calls, â€Å"Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep? It is no matter. / Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber /†¦/ Therefore thou sleep’st so sound† (2. 1. 240-244). Brutus is letting Lucius sleep and this show his good characteristic, that he is caring. Brutus is also characterized by evil. He is characterized by evil because he betrayed his good friend, Julius Ceasar. When Brutus stabs Ceasar, Ceasar’s wo rds to Brutus were â€Å"Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Ceasar† (3. 1. 84). In this scene Ceasar is surprised that Brutus is with the conspirators who murder him, because Brutus was a great friend to Ceasar. Brutus betrays their friendship by stabbing Ceasar. Brutus’ bad and evil characteristics make him a tragic hero. Brutus faced a downfall, which is an event that tragic hero’s face. The hubis, or the person or thing that cause Brutus’s downfall was Mark Antony and the speech he made at Caesar’s funeral. Caius Cassius knew or had a feeling to not let Antony speech, â€Å"You know not what you do, do not consent / That Antony speak in [Ceasar’s] funeral. / know you how much the people may be moved/ By that which he will utter? /†¦ / I know not what may fall. I like it not† (3. 1. 250 – 254, 262). Cassius stated that he does not have a good feeling about letting Mark Antony speak because he had a feeling that something bad will occur because of what Antony will say. What Cassuis said was true, because shortly after Antony’s speech Brutus and Cassius ran away and the Plebeians went into a rage due to Antony’s speech. This led to the downfall of Brutus. The downfall or the death of Brutus makes him a tragic hero because before he commits suicide, he sees justification/glory in his fall. Brutus says himself â€Å"my heart doth joy, that yet all my life/ I found no man, but he was true to me. / I shall have glory by this losing day/ More that Octavius and Mark Antony† (5. 5. 38 – 41). He sees glory in his death because he realizes that his life wasn’t bad, because he had true friends, and that he sees more glory in his suicide than Octavius Ceasar and Mark Antony will see glory in their victory. An because Seo 3 Brutus had many characteristics and events – in the play Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare – that tragic heroes face, Marcus Brutus is ta tragic hero.

Bis Case Study

Chapter 8 / Enterprise Business Systems ? 259 REAL WORLD CASE 2 Agilent Technologies and Russ Berrie: Challenges of Implementing ERP Systems Co. (www. russberrie. com) was taking another crack at replacing its legacy business systems. The Oakland, New Jersey–based distributor of toys and gifts ? nalized plans to roll out J. D. Edwards & Co. ’s OneWorld Xe suite of enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, and ? nancial applications. The multimillion-dollar project was scheduled to be done in phases over the next 18 months.Russ Berrie CIO Michael Saunders said that the company, which had sales of $225 million during the ? rst nine months of 2001, hoped the OneWorld System would help it reach $1 billion in annual revenue in the coming years. Within the next 12 months, he said, Russ Berrie planned to begin installing the applications one department at a time, starting with a stand-alone implementation in purchasing. â€Å"We’re not going big bang,† Saunders said. â€Å"We’re mitigating implementation risks by taking a phased-in approach. The company had reason to be cautious. Three years before, a Y2K-related migration from its homegrown distribution, ? nancial, and customer service systems to packaged ERP applications experienced major system failures. Saunders said the problems were severe enough for Russ Berrie to take many of the new applications off-line and return to their old systems. Saunders wouldn’t identify the software vendors that were involved in the failed implementation, but sources said that SAP AG’s applications were part of the 1999 project.A spokesman at SAP con? rmed that Russ Berrie was one of its customers, but he declined to offer further details because of pending litigation between the two companies. Joshua Greenbaum of Enterprise Applications Consulting said it appeared that Russ Berrie â€Å"bit off more than they could chew† on the 1999 project. Compan ywide rollouts are especially risky for midsize businesses like Russ Berrie, Greenbaum said. T he good news is that Agilent Technologies Inc. (www. agilent. com) says its enterprise resource planning applications are stable.The bad news is they got that way only after a rocky ERP migration project that cost the company $105 million in revenue and $70 million in pro? ts. In mid-August 2002, the multinational communications and life sciences company, formerly a part of HewlettPackard Co. , said problems with the ERP components in Oracle’s e-Business Suite 11e software froze production for the equivalent of a week, leading to the massive losses. The Oracle system handles about half of the company’s worldwide production of test, measurement, and monitoring products and almost all of its ? ancial operations, as well as functions such as order handling and shipping. Agilent was in the process of migrating as many as 2,200 legacy applications that it inherited from HP to Orac le. As part of the switchover, approximately 6,000 orders in the internally developed legacy systems had to be converted to an Oracle-friendly format, an Agilent spokeswoman said from company headquarters in Palo Alto, California. She said the con? guration process had problems requiring correction.In a statement last week, Agilent President and CEO Ned Barnholt said the disruptions to the business after implementing the ERP system were â€Å"more extensive than we expected. † An Agilent spokeswoman said the issue wasn’t the quality of the Oracle application, but rather the â€Å"very complex nature of the enterprise resource planning implementation. † For its part, Oracle Corp. said it’s working closely with Agilent. â€Å"At Oracle, we are fully committed to all of our customers for the long haul and support them in any way necessary,† the company said in a statement. We have a strong relationship with Agilent, and both companies believe the impl ementation is stable. † Agilent also had a takeaway lesson: â€Å"Enterprise resource planning implementations are a lot more than software packages,† the company said in a statement. â€Å"They are a fundamental transformation of a company’s business processes. People, processes, policies, the company’s culture are all factors that should be taken into consideration when implementing a major enterprise system. † According to one analyst, ERP disasters are often caused by the user company itself.Joshua Greenbaum, an analyst at Enterprise Applications Consulting, said 99 percent of such rollout ? ascoes are caused by â€Å"management’s inability to spec out their own requirements and the implementer’s inability to implement those specs. † Russ Berrie and Co. After a three-year saga that included a $10. 3 million ? nancial hit from the failed installation of packaged applications, teddy bear maker Russ Berrie and Case Study Questi ons 1. What are the main reasons companies experience failures in implementing ERP systems? 2.What are several key things companies should do to avoid ERP systems failures? Explain the reasons for your proposals. 3. Why do you think ERP systems in particular are often cited as examples of failures in IT systems development, implementation, or management? Source: Adapted from Marc Songini, â€Å"ERP Effort Sinks Agilent Revenue,† Computerworld, August 26, 2002, pp. 1, 12; and Marc Songini, â€Å"Teddy Bear Maker Prepares for Second Attempt at ERP Rollout,† Computerworld, February 4, 2002, p. 16. Reprinted with permission from Computerworld.

Paper on the Glass Castle, for communications class Essay

Paper on the Glass Castle, for communications class - Essay Example The author has made use of an autobiographical approach to reach out to the readers. As per my reading transition of the story, I noticed that the tone of the author is quiet straight, clear and less emotional. This means that it is entirely up to the reader to decide regarding the occurrence of the incidents that Walls family had undergone. The main purpose of the author to select such a tone in the book is to send out the message to readers regarding communication imperativeness in a family setting. It would not be incorrect to state that the author has been successful in this regard (Dunn). It should be noted that the author seemed to be a communication specialist as she has provided real-life instances and the experiences of the author with her family. As noted by Daniel Dunn in his book Communication that interpersonal communication often fails between the individuals because of the semantic errors (Dunn). Similar instances have been found in the book where author has experienced a closure to the communication with her parents because they did not understand her meanings behind subjects (Walls 129). Also to note is the fact that Danielle Dunn mentioned in his research that sometimes people have their perception settled in a firm manner which causes the communication gap. A person might talk convincingly but he will continue to fail to make a difference through his or her communication because of the perception being firm. The perception can be neutral, negative or positive with an effective, disconnected or balanced impact respectively. Similar instance can be noted in the book The Glass Castle where the author notes that sometimes she even felt helpless in elaborating her plans to the parents despite their increased level of education. This was merely because the perception that failed their interpersonal communication. In addition, non-verbal communication has a stronger impact on the receiver. In the case of Wall family it can be said that this was

Monitoring Internal Training Load using perception based measures - Essay

Monitoring Internal Training Load using perception based measures - RPE's - Essay Example Training loads are always adjusted at various times during the cycle of training to either increase or decrease the levels of fatigue depending on the training phase. Fatigue is a phenomenon that is complex and multifaceted having several mechanisms that are possible. Monitoring the training load of individuals is seen by many people as an important factor in the determination of whether an individual is adapting to the program of training or not. It is also important to minimise having the risk of non-functional overreaching, illness and injury. Today, monitoring training load has become a common thing, and several reasons lie behind the practice. Inexperience and knowledge on the use of monitoring load techniques may lead to an inability to implement a sustainable and practical system and inability to interpreting the collected information. In order to gaining the knowledge and understanding of the training load and its general effect on an athlete, several markers are available for the coaches, scientists and athletes to use. Nonetheless, few of these markers do have scientific evidence that is strong in support of their usage, and there is yet to have a single one in practice (Viveiros et al. 2011). When monitoring training load, the units of the load are thought of as either internal or external. In the past, external training load was frequently used as the foundation of a several system of monitoring. Whereas the external load is important in knowing the completed work, capabilities, and the athletes capacities, the internal load forms the critical part in determine the training load and the after that adaptation. The training load is influenced in most cases by the volume and intensity of training. A precise knowledge of the training loads that is completed during training is beneficial to the coach as well as the athlete. The coach can use

Interactive Whiteboards Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Interactive Whiteboards - Research Paper Example As the report declares  the 21st century belongs to an information technology era, how to apply information technology into teaching and learning has become a key concern all over the world. In the year 1990, Australia national education revolution; in 1998, Hong Kong announces the first technology education strategy; in the year 2001, Europe Association clearly point out the ability of application technology and digit learning into future education has become the key ability.According to the essay findings the dynamics of the use of IWBs necessitated the integration of IT concepts into children’s instruction. Countries are adapting transformative IT concepts in the education sector. The use of IWBs is a manifstation of inclusion of the advancing technology into the education sector. Countries are adapting the use of IWBs with regard to the benefits that are accruable form such changes. Motivation and improvement of the learning environment are some of the integral factors t hat necessitate the replacement of traditional teaching methods with strategies that make education more exciting.  IWBs are used in teaching a variety of subjects with special reference to the sciences inclusive of mathematics. Britain, Asian nations and USA among others are some of the countries that have been advancing efforts that are aimed at integrating IWBs into classrooms.  The background of the initiation of IWB application in the process of teaching children owes its existence to the variant benefits that come with the replacement of traditional methods.

Humane Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Humane Society - Essay Example Local groups handle the actual care giving process such as looking after animal housing, the animal adoption process and even euthanasia when it is required as an act of mercy (Wikipedia, 2008). 3. Relating to the audience: Even in our neighborhoods and cities, shelters are provided for animals and these shelters include municipal and private shelters which provide a wide variety of facilities. From life time care facilities for animals that are without homes to the temporary homes for animals. However, a municipal shelter is run by the government and it is funded by taxpayers such as you and me. The employees of such shelters are civil servants. Their basic function is defined in municipal codes, which means to pick up wandering and irritant animals and then reunite them with their owners. 5. Private shelters: work with funded from private donors and provide a safe home for lost and misplaced animals. Their basic task is to find homes for such animals. Employees of these shelters work as volunteers and may even be professional vets who go about caring for such animals. Many of the private shelters do wonderful work by placing animals in good homes. However, some may have to kill the animals that cannot be adopted since there is never enough room in such places. The animals that have to be euthanized often are those who have constant health situations e.g. diabetes, or a disability which makes them difficult to offer for adoption. 6. These are called â€Å"no kill† Shelters. No Kill is a widespread movement for animal shelter improvement. It is advocated by Winograd with a simple policy of not to euthanize animals. Such kinds of policies are known as â€Å"no kill.† The phrase No Kill is distinct by practices whereby an animal may be killed in order to ease the suffering of the animal or if the animal is unmanageable. However, animals are not killed just because there is not enough room in the shelter (Encyclopedia Britannica,

How has minimally invasive robotic surgery affected patient care Term Paper

How has minimally invasive robotic surgery affected patient care - Term Paper Example The instruments that the system is made of rotate within the body as it would in the case of the surgeon’s hands allows the surgeon to gain the surgical access. This because of the small size that is approximately one to inches making what would be otherwise impossible for the traditional surgeon possible. The system was mainly designed for the removal of prostate but has in its lasts model been used in bladder and kidney diseases, otolaryngology, abdominal and gynecology. The system is also applied in thoracic, pediatric and cardiac surgery. A long incision is made by the surgeon in the case of the traditional open surgery. This means that the surgeon requires more access to the patient’s anatomy that is actually required to perform an operation at a particular site. This is not the case with the advanced robotic surgery. Rigid manual instruments are the ones used in the case of the traditional minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopic surgery). These instruments pass through small incisions. The patient’s anatomy is observed through s video monitor that is standardized. On the other hand the robotic system does all the operations using a computerized system that require minimal and at some point on human control. The surgeon’s mechanical movement that allows for the 3D vision millimetric precision is done by the Da Vinci Si full HD robotic system. This makes sure that there is even a single hand trembling making it very helpful to the surgeon especially in those operations where precision in critical and makes a lot of difference. In the case of the traditional surgery trembling is common. Based on the above study, it can be concluded the invention of the da Vinci HD surgical system has been a major breakthrough in the field of surgery. Many lives have been saved through this advanced robotic surgery system with surgeons and patients benefiting in equal measures. There

RAK properties company financial analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RAK properties company financial analysis - Essay Example RAK Properties will also maximize shareholders’ value through its development projects in the coastal and inland areas of Ras Al Khaimah. RAK Properties has a sound capital of AED 2 billion. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of RAK Properties in early 2005 was over-subscribed by almost 57 times. RAK Properties is a company which was listed in the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange from 2005 onwards. Just like many of the property companies, the company also has faced a difficult time due to the past recession. However, the markets are turning around with UAE growth resuming and it is very much likely that the company also is in the process of bouncing back with the recovery of the markets. The company was almost bankrupt during the recession period and now is gradually emerging out of the recession and working towards developing properties aggressively. Comparing with the high ranked competitors in the region, the company is more of a smaller player in the market. However, the company h as the opportunity to build a totally new portfolio and compete effectively with the other very large holder of the property and continue to offer high value products in the market. RAK, unlike many other high end large scale companies is thriving to strike a balance between offering high end product portfolios and maintaining medium end offerings as well. Thus, the company actually has a better mix of products on offer. Abu Dhabi real estate markets are growing very fast. Currently, there are 193,000 residential units in place and this is likely to increase to 246,000 units by 2013 according to estimates by Estatesdubai (2011). This indicates that the residential properties are expected to grow fast. Most of the residential properties were purchased by Indians at a cost of AED 3.3billion for 2010. This indicates that the confidence in the property markets is increasing and as a result of the total exercise, it is very much likely that the property companies will face increased dema nd over 2012 - 2015 periods. On the Abu Dhabi growth front, office space has grown by 55,000 square meters just in Q3-2011 reaching a total office space of 2.4 million square meters and this indicates the fact that the business growth is also faster in the region. This is likely to result in sustainable growth in the property market in the future. Thus, the company is one placed in a growth oriented industry and it is likely that they need to place themselves appropriately in the market for growth. While the company holds smaller properties compared with the competitors, the company will be able to expand portfolio with the current investments and will be able to aggressively grow in the markets. 2.0 Financial Analysis When analyzing the financial statements, there are few key observations that are noteworthy. Just like many of the companies who went through troubled times during the economic recession, the company also had faced difficult times and thus, they do not have revenue nu mbers for 2009 financial year due to the temporary halt in the operations. This is common with the industry as the whole industry was impacted negatively and most of the smaller players had to face this scenario. Another important aspect to note is that the company has changed the year end date from June to December. These aspects have to be noted prior to analyzing of

Analyse and research of area related to criminology (based on Essay

Analyse and research of area related to criminology (based on article)) - Essay Example The purpose of this research is to examine the use of the internet as a tool for sexual predation, particularly by women. Following a literature review on the topic, 50 participants from the North-East of England to examine how much of a danger female sex offenders are perceived to be in the context of cyber-crime. Martellozzo, Nehring & Taylor (2010) established that females do indeed use the internet to target children as part of a sex offence. However, the area has not received much attention, and therefore there can be a taboo about female sex offenders and it can be difficult for criminal investigations to come to a solid conclusion, as the area is poorly understood. Martellozzo, Nehring & Taylor (2010) describe the use of the internet by female sex offenders as an ‘emerging problem’ (p1) which needs to be addressed in a criminological manner to fully understand the consequences and significance of the problem. It is perhaps important to define what constitutes child abuse in an electronic manner to fully understand the context of the article. Child sexual abuse in a cybercrime context can include (but is not limited to) sharing and downloading of sexual photography of underage individuals, the use of explicit language in chat rooms and through other online media, and the approaching of minors with the aim of starting a sexual relationship in the ‘real world’ (Martellozzo, Nehring & Taylor, 2010, p2). The internet allows these activities to be conducted with a degree of secrecy, which means that children are often more at risk of these activities online than they are in the ‘real world’, although the effects may be just as damaging. The research involved in the work of Martellozzo, Nehring & Taylor (2010) consisted of an exploratory method involving collection of qualitative data from open interviews with 15 female sex offenders post-arrest. These

Most multinational corporations (MNCs) need not enter foreign markets Essay

Most multinational corporations (MNCs) need not enter foreign markets to face the challenge of dealing with multiculturalism. Explain your answer - Essay Example For the purpose of analysis, the notion of cross-culturalism is explored with Hofstede’s dimensions with discussion of the cases of Wal-Mart and Google to reach to the conclusion that expansion in foreign markets is almost never in the long run interest of multinationals. Research bears witness to the fact that differences in cultures across countries account for differences in management and leadership styles of MNCs today (Gerstner & Day, 1994). In today’s globalized world, it is imperative for MNCs to appreciate and adapt to diversity in cultures and mould their management styles accordingly in terms of cognitive information processing and emotional, behavioral and motivational mechanisms (Earley, 2006). Considering the fact that many developed (western) nations are setting up businesses (as MNCs) in the less-developed (Asian/ Eastern) societies, it is increasingly important for managers to appreciate and understand the differences that exist between the eastern and western societies. Research by Hofstede (1980, 1991, and 2001) identifies key dimensions that account for variation between the Eastern and Western cultures, including masculinity, power distance beliefs, uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation. On one end of the continu um are the Eastern societies that rank high in terms of high power distance beliefs, collectivism, long term orientation and conformity. On the other end lie the Western societies that are more work-oriented, have low power-distance beliefs and are inherently individualistic in nature. Furthermore, increased influence of multinational corporations has given rise to the need for interaction amongst employees and managers of different cultures (Adler, 1983). This has given birth to the concept of cross-culturalism which attempts to examine the attitudes, behavior and relationships across managers (and people in general) of

The rise of Single Parenthood in Contemporary Britain Essay Example for Free

The rise of Single Parenthood in Contemporary Britain Essay Sociology has given us insights into our understanding of the rise in single parenthood in Contemporary Britain. Single-parent families have become increasingly common in Britain. According to government statistics, in 1961, 2 per cent of the population lived in households consisting of a lone parent with dependent children, but by 1998 this had more than tripled to 7 per cent.  According to Hantrais and Letablier (1996), Britain has the second highest rate of lone parenthood in Europe, and is exceeded only by Denmark, and rates in countries such as France, Greece and Portugal are much lower than those of Britain are. Children may start their life living in a single-parent family. However, the single parent may well find a new partner and marry them or cohabit with them. The child will then end up living with two parents.  It should also be noted that many children who live in a single-parent household do see and spend time with their other parent. Further more even in two-parent families, one parent (usually the mother) might be responsible for the vast majority of the childcare. There are many reasons why lone parenthood can come about. People who are married can become lone parents by divorce, separation or death of a spouse. Lone parents who have never been married may have been living with the parent of the child when the child was born, but they subsequently stopped living together. They may not have been living with the parent of the child when they were born. Official statistics give some indication of the frequency of the different paths to lone-parenthood, but do not provide a complete picture. Official figures for Britain shows that the largest proportion of female lone parents in 1995-7 were single, with about a third being divorced and just under a quarter separated. The figures for those who were single do not differentiate between those who were cohabiting when the child was conceived and those who were not. These proportions have changed over time. Clearly the rise in lone motherhood is closely related to increases in the divorce rate and tot he increase in births outside marriage. The increase in single lone mothers may partly result from a reduction in the number of shotgun weddings. Marriages that resulted from pregnancy were often unstable and could end up in producing lone motherhood through an eventual divorce or separation. Now, the partners may chose to cohabit rather than marry and, if their relationship breaks up, they end up appearing in the statistics as a single, never married, parent. The absence of cohabitation does not necessarily imply that the parents do not have a close relationship some writers see the rise of single parenthood as a symptom of increased tolerance of diverse family forms.  There are a number of reasons for supposing that the welfare state is not responsible for the increases. Some commentators dont believe that lone parenthood gives advantages to those seeking local authority housing. In 1993 John Perry, policy director of the Institute of Housing, said Ive not been able to find a single housing authority which discriminates in favour of single parents over couples with children. The homeless get priority, but there is no suggestion that a homeless single parent gets priority over a homeless couple. Single parents who are reliant upon benefits tend to live in poor housing conditions and to have low standards of living. There is little material incentive to become a single parent. There is evidence that a large majority of single parents do not wish to be reliant on state benefits. They would prefer to work for a living but find it impractical to do so. Single parenthood has increasingly become a contentious issue, with some arguing that it has become a serious problem for society.  A vast majority of the population would still agree, I think, that the normal family is an influence for good in society and that one-parent families are bad news. Since not many single parents can both earn a living and give children the love and care they need, society has to support them; the children suffer through lacking of one parent While most commentators agree that single parenthood can create problems for individual parents, many sociologists do not see it a s a social problem, and some see that it is a sign of social progress.  Some view the mother only family as an indicator of social disorganisation, signalling the demise of the family. Others regard it as an alternative family form consistent with the emerging economic independence of women. More controversial that the low average living standard of lone parents is the question of the psychological and social effects on children raised in such families. Findings of a number of American studies, which seem to indicate that children are harmed by single parenthood. These studies have claimed that such children have lower earnings and experience more poverty as adults; children of mother-only families are more likely to become lone parents themselves; and they are more likely to become delinquent and engaged in drug abuse. The findings of such studies must be treated with caution. In a review of research in lone parenthood, Louise Burghess notes that some research in the relationship between educational attainment and divorce suggests that children in families where the parents divorce start to do more poorly in education before the divorce takes place.  David Morgan does believe that the evidence suggests that the children of single parents fare less well than those from two-parent households. He qualifies this by saying that we still do not know enough about what causes these differences; as with the effects of financial hardship, the children would be affected by the stigma attached to coming from a single-parent family.  It is very difficult to disentangle the direct and indirect effects on children of being brought up in a single-parent household and therefore dangerous to make generalisations about such effects.

Factors Which Affect The Travel And Tourism Industries Tourism Essay

Factors Which Affect The Travel And Tourism Industries Tourism Essay Introduction to Hospitality Industry Hospitality Industry, historians have traced the development of the hospitality industry through of thousands of years and many cultures. The term of hospitality industry can define as an age-old industry because historians speculate the first overnight lodging structures were erected along Middle Eastern. Viewing the industry through the e lens of history is helpful because it reveals the strong relationship between the shape of hospitality and the needs and want, the hospitality industry will continue to change in what they need and want, the hospitality industry will also continue to change. The hospitality industry encompasses a wide range of businesses, each of which is dedicated of the service of people away from home. (Chon, 2010) The hospitality and tourism industries are the largest and fast-growing industries in the world. The hospitality industry consists of wide category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging industry components, food industry components, recreation sports and entertainment components, transportation industry, and supplementary fields within the tourism industry. (Chon, 2010) Advantages in the hospitality industry From the simple origins as privately owned, independently operated businesses are the hospitality industry because has grown in complexity and size. Todays hospitality businesses interact with one another on a global basis, and must stay aware of what is happening around them. For an example, management companies and hotel chains now spread across the world; economic conditions in Singapore affect a companys holdings there and elsewhere. Hospitality businesses are closely intertwined with those in the travel and tourism. Tourism is travel for recreation or the promotion and arrangement of such travel. Tourism and the hospitality industry so strongly affect one another that some associations and industry leaders, including the Council on Hotel, Restaurant and institutional Education (CHRIE), consider the combined industries of hospitality and tourism as one large industry- the hospitality and tourism industry. The components of this large industry include: (Chon, 2010) Food and Beverage Service Lodging Service and Ski Resort Recreation Service Campground and Theme Parks Travel- Related(Tourism) Service The Gaming industry Product provides with personal service in conjunction with the first four components. Because these components are separate and often competing industries, this group industries will be referred to in this text of an interconnected set of parts or components. Channel Distribution is one of the important uses in hospitality industry. Channel distribution is used to transfer merchandise from the manufacturer to the end user. An intermediary in the channel is called a middleman. Channels normally range from two-level channels without intermediaries to five-level channel with three intermediaries. For an example, a caterer who prepares food and sells it directly to the customer is in a two level channel. A food manufacturer who sells to a restaurant supplier, who sells to individual restaurant, who then serve the customer, is in a four-level channel. Intermediaries in the channel of distribution are used to facilitate the delivery of the merchandise as well as to transfer title, payments, and information about the merchandise. For example, a manufacturer may rely upon the workforces employed by a distributor to sell the product, make deliveries, and collect payments. The channels used by a marketer are an integral part of the marketing plan a nd play a role in all strategic marketing decisions. Global distribution system is the worldwide computerized reservation network used as a single point of access for reserving airlines seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items by travel agents, online reservations sites, and large corporations. The premier GDS are Amadeus, Galileo, Saber, and World span owned and operated as joint ventures by major airlines, car rental firms, and hotel groups and also called automated(ARS) or computerized reservations system(CRS). 1.3 Disadvantages in the hospitality Industry The disadvantages of Globalization on the hospitality industry are as follows: Language Barriers Due to Globalization, the hospitality industry can employ people from different countries- as it is usually cheaper they may sometimes have problems in communicating with the customers. Many customers get quite irate as a result of this. (Chon, 2010) Cultural Barriers: As there are people from various cultures, one needs to be careful not to offend them. For example, a Muslim will not eat pork one needs to make sure not serve food which contains pork. (unless specifically asked). Whats acceptable by one culture may be frowned upon by another. Events/Disasters in other Countries: A disaster or even taking place in one country may affect our country (the home country) also. For example, the financial crisis makes less people want to spend money or travel; due to increase in terrorism some visitors get are not ready to travel to certain countries. Seasonal Employment: During peak periods, a lot of jobs are available but as soon as the tourists go back the jobs disappear as well. For example: Goa India; the locals in Goa get their income only during the peak season, (Dec-Feb and April July) after which they have no jobs and no income. Increasing use of technology to communicate: Due to international barriers, there has been a steady increase in the use of technology for communication (through the internet, voice recordings). This removes the human touch. Developing Countries: Countries that are unable to keep up with the advancement in technology tend to lose out. Example: Africa does not have the infrastructure or technology as yet to welcome a large amount of foreign visitors, though it does have a lot of natural attractions. To increase the flow, it would have to improve conditions; otherwise tourists have a vast sea of areas to choose from. Increase in Crime Rate: With the increase in tourists, crimes increase too. Example: pick-pocketing, hustling, rape, smuggling. Bad Habits: People from other countries sometimes influence the local youth in a bad way. Increase in drugs and promiscuous behavior, etc. Environment Depletion: Globalization causes an imbalance in the eco system. People usually throw their garbage around everywhere which could cause sickness, to encourage more visitors, areas of greenery are cleared and wildlife killed which is a major cause for global warming. Loss of Cultural Pride and Values: To suit customer needs to change or modify various services and products. For example: Certain food dishes are changed ( in taste, names become more westernized ) to make them more attractive to visitors. This, in a way, leads to the loss of culture as one wants to become and behave like the tourists that come into our country. 1.4 Conclusion Hotel business is growing and developing a career centre, Includes travel, tourism, restaurants and recreational facilities and the government more and more people are turning to industry to make money. For those planning to venture into the hospitality industry, it helps to know the common terms and words of a particular industry.If we manage a restaurant in the street with heavy tourist traffic for example, we wound want to stay current with local attractions and question beyond the experience of visitors to our restaurant. This will enable our customers to get the best service the focal point of the hotel industry. Experienced travelers may want to know the abbreviation for the hotel industry, the industry stands and password in order to plan the best possible vacation. Beginners may want to be informed about the latest jargon in order to make their trip go more smoothly. QUESTION 2 Find out the factors that affecting travel and tourism. Explain in detail. 2.1 Introduction to Travel and Tourism The travel and tourism industry is the largest individual industry in the world and the largest contributor to global economic development. Worldwide, this rapidly changing industry generates more than $2.5 trillion annually and provides jobs for more than 112 million people. In terms of total revenues, investment and employment travel is also the fastest-growing industry. (Chon, 2010) The components of the hospitality network may be independent and competitive businesses, yet they share an interdependency that has evolved over the centuries. The relationship can be seen in the roles that destinations and hospitality facilities play in motivating people to travel. Although travel encompasses all movement or displacement of people, not all travel involves tourism. Refugee, migrants, explorers, nomads, soldiers, and commuters certainly travel, but they are not tourists. Tourism-related travel involves the movements of visitors to a place to enjoy attractions, special events, hospitability, lodging, food, and entertainment. The tourism industry is concerned with attraction and events that draw tourists and excursionists to an area. (Chon, 2010) 2.2 Factor which support the growth of tourism The most effective factors that inspire the growth of tourism of a country are the stability of Politics of a country. This is because the country is safe from crime, wars and helps to protect the safety of tourism. For an example, Singapore the fast growing country is focusing more on safety of tourist, so that the political stable will be respected and impressed by the tourist and also will generates the growth of a country. Furthermore, one of the important aspects is Economic development of a country. To relate this, if the economy of a country is stable, there will be more investors to invest in our country as well joint ventures. For an example, if the economy growth is higher than, the number of tourist will be also increase. Besides that, more strategic tourist spots are being built to attract the tourist to come over to experience as well as to have leisure time. Also, this is mainly to promote the entire region or city as either a business or pleasure destination. In addition, one of the strongest factors in choosing destination is the desire to visit family and friend. Although people visiting other people often do not need commercial lodging, they probably will take advantage of other hospitality and tourism service such as transportation, recreation, food, museums, entertainment, and product during their trip. As a final point, the most imperative dynamics that can boost the growth of tourism is through Education. In todays world, education plays a vital role for every individual to be successful in life. In addition, the Ministry if Higher Education can come out various types of education plan in order to promote the eminence of education of our country as well as to be hub for foreign countries to twin-up their educational programmes. 2.3 Factor which effecting Travel and Tourism There are quite a number of factors that could most likely to contribute to boost up the Travel and Tourism Industry of country. A healthy tourism trade benefits countries Economically, Sosioculurtrally, and Environmentally. Of course, some effects the travel tourism also exist. Careful planning and management can help lessen negative impact. 2.2.1 The Economic Affect of Tourism In a narrow sense, tourism refers to the activity or practice of travelling for personal enlightenment, education or pleasure. In a broader sense, tourism is the business of providing information, transportation, accommodation and other service to all types of travelers, whether travelling for business or pleasure. Tourism is now firmly established almost where in the world, from the high mountains of Tibet to the Amazon jungle of Brazil. Whether the sites are ancient ruins, mountain, forests, or beaches, tourism development has inevitably followed discovery. The Economic benefits of tourism are undeniable. The most visible economic benefits of tourism is employment. Tourism provides jobs such workers as hotel employees, taxi drivers, tour guides, construction workers, entertainers, restaurant employees, and transportation workers. Many such jobs would not exist if tourism had not been developed. Foe example, if taxi drivers in Malaysia could not transport visitors to hotels, they might not have a livelihood as taxi drivers at all. (Chon, 2010) Besides employment, tourism also generates revenue that benefits the local population by increasing economic activity. Taxes paid by tourist help local government fund education, health are and other service. Money spent by a traveler at a hotel or restaurant help to pay employee wages and support other business. Eventually, the same money is used to by food, clothing and other products and services, further benefiting the country. (Chon, 2010) 2.3.2 The Culture Affect of Tourism One of the most positive effects of tourism is cross culture awareness, the fostering of understanding between people of different nations and culture. The opportunity to exchange knowledge, ideas, and tradition is more available today than at previous time in history. Aside from merely satisfying curiosity, tourism promotes international good will and the exchange of culture values. For statistical purpose, the United Nations divides countries into two broad categories: developed countries and developing countries. The developed countries include all North America and European countries, as well as Japan, Australia, New Zealand. Developing countries are nations that have relatively poor economic and lack advanced Technologies. They are located in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Asian mainland. (Chon, 2010) Tourism is a major economic factor in most developed countries. According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO, 90 percent of all tourism are concentrated in 15 Countries in North America and Europe. To support a thriving tourism industry, airports must be built or expanded to accommodate jet aircraft and tourist facilities such as hotels, restaurants, and recreational sites must be constructed for visitors. The underlying framework of facilities and systems required to support a tourism industry is called tourism infrastructure. Particularly in developing countries, the creation of a tourism infrastructure can have a profound social, culture and environmental affect. 2.3.3 The Sociocultural Affect of Tourism The affect of increased hospitality and tourism activities on the ways individual interact with other members of their society also may be positive or negative. Changing family lifestyle and cross- culture contacts may result in either positive or negative influences. However, most concern surrounds the social ills that can results from countries. (Chon, 2010) Changing Family Lifestyle Many local residences find their lives changed when obtain tourism- related employment. Young people may enter the job market for the first time when tourism development occurs. On the positive sides, this may contribute to increased family income, allowing families to buy products that were previously beyond their means. The changes in lifestyles may also lead to demands for better housing and change in dress and eating habits. When local people adopt practices from tourists, this is known as the demonstration effect the demonstration effect can have a negative outcome, though if local residents come to realize that, even with their increased income, they cannot afford to live like the tourist. A feeling of envy or resentment toward affluent visitors may results. This situation tends to occur most in those destinations where the economy is based primarily on tourism. (Chon, 2010) Social Ills Social ills include such problems as crime, displacement and discrimination. Organized crime and prostitution are sometimes associated with tourism. Indeed, research studies show a correlation between growth of tourism and increased crime. Promoters, law enforcement officers, and other stakeholders may have to deal with the facts that tourists who do not know their way around a city may be targets for criminals. The negative publicity from such attacks may be difficult to overcome. (Chon, 2010) The negative effect of tourism may be included discriminations. Hiring and promotion practices of corporation new to an area may be discriminatory against local employees. A community may be discriminate agents transplanted corporate employees. When there are not enough local workers to build and manage the tourist business, workers may be brought in from outside the area or even the country. A sudden wave of large numbers of outside workers may cause resentment in local workers. This is especially true if the incoming employees occupancy menial jobs to local workers. For an example. If local worker see a higher standard of living for the newcomers, they may actively discriminate against them. On the other sides, if the culture and lifestyle of the local residents is very different from that of the newcomers, the newcomers may by uncomfortable in theirs situation. (Chon, 2010) 2.4 The Environmental Affect of Tourism Protecting the environment is now one of the most talked about and hotly-debated topics across the globe. Many companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create products or make their products environmentally friendly. An example is the electric car that is being looked at as a viable option to that of the present gasoline powered car. In 2009 world leaders met in Copenhagen to discuss ways in which they can prevent global warming and reduce on the effects of climate change, in effect protecting the environment. The travel industry too has nit been left out of this issue. In a industry where the number of people engaged in international travel has been predicted to reach the billion marks in 2010, there is concern about its contribution to the damage bone to the environment. Also like every other industry the travel industry needs to be concerned about ways of doing business that are environmentally friendly. Outlined below are some of the environmental issues affecting the travel industry which stakeholders need to address and in some cases seek out long term solutions? Aviation which ferries hundreds of thousands of tourist across the globe is of great concern to those seeking to protect the environment. A major concern for the industry is greenhouse gas emissions. One way the aviation industry is working on this problem is by rolling out newer planes that have fuel efficient engines which means less carbon emissions. However not all airlines especially in the poor countries cant afford buying new aircraft. Mass Tourism, with the cost of travel becoming cheaper and more and more people venturing away from countries to place that were previously inaccessible but can now be reached because of air transport, areas of environmental and historical significance are becoming crowded. This is putting pressure on ecosystems within these areas and threatening the flora and fauna. Also climate change is going to mean that certain place will not favor visitors because of weather conditions becoming extreme which will lead to overcrowding in other place with more favorable weather conditions. Again this presents a danger to the ecosystems in the overcrowded areas and to the tourism of the area. (Chon, 2010) Deforestation, in spite of the worldwide call to protect the environment there are still areas where massive logging is taking place. This is also contributing to destruction of flora and fauna and is a threat to the tourism of the area. Besides that, with the call to go green affecting all industries across the globe the tourism industry has not been left out. There is pressure on those who are in the industry to find methods of doing business that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. For example, can the hotel industry builds hotels that are more environmental friendly? What methods can they use to conserve energy and reduce on chemicals that are in the dry cleaning of tons of laundry used in the industry? Human Encroachment, with populations continuing to grow worldwide there is mow competition between man and animals for space. Human are now encroaching on areas like National Part that are protected and marked for wildlife. This has led to reports of people and their livestock being killed by wild animals which in turn leads to people hunting and killing these animals that are considered to be a threats this is a threats to be tourism of the area. Human encroachment is also forcing animals to move away from their habitat to other areas where they cannot survive leading to the extinction of certain species. 2.5 Conclusion The travel and tourism field is the fast growing paced and rapidly growing in world. Each year, the tourism industry is increasing seems more difficulty to employees to undertake the trainer of new entrants to the fields. The parallel growth in the use of sophisticated technologies has complicated this situation. At the same time, travelers throughout the world have becomes more sophisticated, more knowledge and more demanding. Bibliography Websites Reference Scribe(2011), Hospitality Industry, Retrieved on February 12,2011 from http://www.scribd.om/doc/8691190/discuss-the-impact-of-globalization-on-the-hospitality-industry Business Dictionary(2011), Global Distribution System, Retrieved on March 13,2011 from http://www.busineedictionary.com?definition/global-distribution-system-GDS.html. Bized(2011), Factors Affecting the Travel and Tourism Industry, Retrieved on March 13,2011 from http://www.bized.co.uk Book Reference Kaye Chon, Thomas, A. Maier, 3rd Edition, Welcome to Hospitality and Introduction, USA: Delmer.

Globalization and the English language

Globalization and the English language Globalization is building bridges to connect people from all across the world and it plays an important role in understanding inter-cultural background of different countries. In todays rapidly growing world, globalization has changed a lot of things though there are many benefits to this, there are also disadvantages. On one hand English is helping people around the world to unite but on the other hand it is in a way influencing them to think in western cultural point of view, where their original culture is derailed. There will be a time when language will die out and we may not have translators who would translate which means an entire language can be wiped out. Each language has its own emotions and perspective attached to it, so when a language dies the emotion and perspective dies too. The use of language is more commercial and commodity based so it loses its significance in its cultural aspect. I believe in the diversity of cultures because the knowledge we get from different cultures and language adds on to our understanding of the world. Studying languages varied is like understanding different rivers of civilization as it merges to one ocean, the world. At the alarming rate by which languages are dying I took it upon myself to raise this issue to an official forum of the world which is the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization. The form I choose to write would be an official letter stating the problems and solutions of varied languages of the world dying. I choose this form as this issue can be solved in a forum which unifies the world. Languages are dying at an unprecedented rate. A language dies every 14 days. (Patricia Ryan)- Author of The sun and the moon. I am a student from India and I am driving your attention to the subject of endangered languages and cultures and its effect on the world. I sincerely hope you understand the problem and reflect on it. I am addressing this issue to you because as a head of UNO cultural department, this may help pave way to finding solutions for preserving the languages of the world. Without any dispute, English has become the most useful language in todays world. It is a major advantage to business and travel. In this process English also holds the responsibility to the extinction of other languages and hence their cultures. Just how far can this go on ? A language is not only a way of expression but it is connected to emotional aspect. Different cultures view the world differently and due to declination of language in todays society a vast amount of ancestry knowledge is being lost. For example: Ayurveda which is written in Sanskrit is a branch of Indian science is derived from ancestral knowledge, Ayurveda was passed on through generations and the knowledge kept on contracting as the days progress. As the world is getting more and more modernized the translators are on the decline. A reason where we lose out in the essence of a culture and knowledge as the language dies. Indian written texts is rich with knowledge as there are ancient studies on Economics (Arthashastra), Sciences (Vedas), Physical and mental empowerment (Patanjali), which were all written in Sanskrit. Once a language is lost it cannot be traced back. The amount of knowledge Ayurveda possesses is incredible, the way they look at the world is astonishing. They unders tand the core of the nature; they can predict winds with moist of the soil. Ayurveda is an alternative to medicine; some of the techniques of Ayurveda are tested at many research facilities. This information on Ayurveda will be best known by native person who observed the knowledge from his childhood not the person who tests under different trials to obtain temporary results. The modern generation is bereft of the knowledge acquired by their ancestors .The language of learning could have been oral and scripts written in palm leaves. The records were destroyed and some handed out to the family. I intend to imply that what knowledge humans are seeking for or inventing has been already done or half done by our ancestors who recorded it in their own language and as a consequence of language extinction there will be death of this pre accumulated knowledge. We have to trace back and reinvent what they have done and decode the languages. This can be done best by a native speaker not a translator. The manuscripts written in Ayurveda cannot be fully understood by the translator of this generation because a lot of words were lost in between and there was less importance placed on preservation of languages. It is culture which makes a community worth noticing. Language is the way of knowing, expressing their action . This is a prime reason why travelers go around the world looking for lost cultures. The knowledge is being passed on through generations. English has to exist as a global language which makes communication easier between different people from different backgrounds but should it be too compulsory to an extent where it drives out the knowledge? A person understanding is connected to their emotions and this is connected to their culture through language. Studies have shown that a person who uses his vernacular learns and understands concepts better than they do in foreign language. English should be taught a little later in life because it is helping people connect around the world but should it be taught to an extent where it acts as a barrier to knowledge? Languages are dying in an accelerating rate some languages such as Irish Gaelic, Welsh, and Maori are already extinct and so their wisdom on life. An article on New York Times has estimated that Ninety-five percent of the worlds languages are spoken by only five percent of the population In todays world bi-lingualism would be a best idea. It would be a benefiting future if children all across the globe are taught about their cultural background and their own mother tongue before they learn further on western languages and their culture. The best option for this is encouraging native speakers and respecting their cultures. This not only enriches human way of thinking but also makes world more colorful and a fun place to live in. If world forgets other cultures and speaks only single language. National Geographic have come with a program which helps reviving lost languages. Language preservation works best when the culture, language and identities of a certain community are respected by that countrys government. Its obvious that one cant speak a language if one is unaware of the right pronunciation. I think language should also be stored on internet with audio courses, so that in future people all around the world can access the megabytes data and enrich their own thinking style. I conclude by saying depressingly, many linguists accept that of the 6,000 or more languages that are in use today, anywhere from 50% to 90% of them could be extinct by the year 2050.With the spread of globalization. But this is not the end; The United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization still has an opportunity to preserve and save the dying colorful cultures all across the world which add to humanitys evolution. This generation holds the key responsibility to decide what lives on and what dies. So I would sincerely request you to please take a stand and address this issue. Page number: 3 Thank you, Success, Gowtham Reddy.  [2]  

My Addiction to Sugar Essay -- Sugar Addiction Study and Intervention

INTRODUCTION Sugar is considered a toxic poison. Sugar leaches the calcium out of the skeletal frame of a human’s body. Sugar literally sucks the calcium straight from our bones; therefore it is known to many as a â€Å"skeletal poisonous powder.† There are thousands of individuals struggling throughout the United States with sugar addiction. Sugar is a leading cause of a number of health-related issues. Sugar causes health issues such as, fibromyalgia, diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis. Like me, many individuals have no clue that they are addicted to sugar. Up until this single subject design, I thought my eating habits were quite normal. I honestly did not realize how much sugar I was taking in everyday. This single subject design has truly encouraged me to live a healthier lifestyle. The purpose of this study is to indirectly determine my sugar intake, by counting calories daily and reducing my caloric intake. LITERATURE REVIEW â€Å"Sugar addiction is a rapidly growing epidemic (Teitelbaum, 2010).† According to researchers, on average an individual consumes one-hundred pounds of sugar each year. Americans spend billions of dollars a year on gym memberships, healthy foods and beverages, and exercise equipment. Despite the economic strain, Americans continue to make room in their budgets for weight loss products. Exercising makes individuals feel healthier inside and out. Feeling healthier could possibly alter a person’s desire to eat healthier. Although exercise cannot cure a sugar addiction it could take one’s mind off eating sweets. Another benefit of exercising is the possibility of curving the urge for sugar. When an individual is hungry it makes their will power to resist sugar more difficult. Feeding ... ...9). Different in prevalence of obesity among black, white, and Hispanic adults-United States, 2006-2008. Morb. Mort. Weekly. Rep. 58, 740-744. Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., & Curtin, L. R. (2010). Prevalence and trends in obesity among U.S. adults, 1999-2008. Journal of Medical Association. 303, 235-241. Hyman, Mark. (2014). Sweet poison: How sugar, not cocaine, is one of the most addictive and dangerous substances. Daily News. Available at: www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/white-poison-danger-sugar-beat-article-1.1605232 (Accessed on 10 February 2014). James, D. C. S. (2013). Weight loss strategies used by African American women: possible implications for tailored messages. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 26, 71-77. Teitelbaum, Jacob. (2010). Sweet Relief. Better Nutrition Healthy Handbook. August 2010. 28-29.

Urban Legend of Ghostly Dreams :: Urban Legends

Ghostly Dreams of Owners Passed The following ghost story was told to me by a friend when I had a small group of friends over to my house in Massachusetts during spring break. He is a 20-year-old white male. The story was told at night after we had finished watching the show Lost on television, so the atmosphere was a little bit tense. It did not simply come up in context; I prompted all of my friends to tell any ghost stories or urban legends that they knew. I wrote the story down a few hours later after my friends left. This is as close to the story he told as I could remember at that time: My friend’s house is wicked old. Built in the 1700s, there’s a lot of really old stuff there. It may have been involved in the Underground Railroad. It has secret passageways and windows for servants to look in and talk to their masters. They originally lived in Springfield, Mass. and he [his friend’s Dad] knew the two people in the house in Agawam, Massachusetts previously. When he found out it was going on the market he decided to go buy it. Before they managed to complete the sale one of the two ladies died. And the other lady either died or left. At least one of them died in a room in the house. So after that they still decided to take the house. There were a few times when he tried to find things. And one time in particular he was looking for a ladder. He looked everywhere around the house including inside, outside, and in the shed. That night he had a dream and the dead previous owner came to him in the dream and told him to look in the shed aga in. The next day when he looked in the shed, the ladder was sitting right directly in the middle of it just like she had said in his dream. There was no way he could have missed it the day before. This happened on a couple different occasions with other items as well. As he told the story he used small hand motions to emphasize main points of the story and he paused after important points to allow the information to sink in; he did not sound nervous while telling the story, but he did try to convey a spooky atmosphere in an attempt to scare the audience.

Coursework On Hard Times :: English Literature

Coursework On Hard Times Title: How does Dickens present the education system in Hard Times? How does this reflect life in Coketown? Hard Times reveals Dickens' increased interest in class issues and social observations. Dickens was extremely concerned with the miserable lives of the poor and working classes in the England of his day, and Hard Times is one of several of his novels that address these social problems directly. On hearing the name, Hard times, an imagination of people going through a difficult and hard way of life is revealed. This novel also reminds us of the hard times in the Victorian Times when children did not go to school; when education was varied according to social class- factory like schools for the poor and private tutors for the rich. Those that were able to have the so-called education suffered in the process. They were forced to learn a lot by heart because everything was formal and mechanical. They were put through a factory-like process, hoping to produce children that were possessed of nothing but facts. Not even a sense of fancy and imagination. They were educated to get the basics of life because they were going to be pushed into the outside world at a very young age of 12 and above or even below. At the end of the day, the education was worthless because most of the children died in the workhouse. Dickens used Hard Times to criticise the society for failing so many of its children. Dickens argues against a mode of factory style, grad-grinding production that exterminates the fun out of life. He believes that education should not be a thing of going through volumes of head-breaking questions and being put through an immense variety of paces. Hard Times not only suggests that fancy is as important as fact, but it continually calls into question the difference between fact and fancy. Dickens suggests that what constitutes so-called fact is a matter of perspective or opinion. The lack of education for children and factory like process of education has resulted to 'vast piles of building full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long' in Coketown. Coketown is portrayed in Hard Times as an industrial town with polluted atmosphere and place where people have the same lifestyle. Metaphorically, Coketown means carbon town. In science the word coke is another name for carbon. Dickens has described it as 'a town of machinery and tall chimney, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled.' In the above quote, the word 'smoke' is the carbon produced from the

Anne Bradstreet

Leonard Anger toes: â€Å"For the Puritan, of course, every personal trial had its theological significance† (100). However, In dealing with the deaths of her grandchildren, It Is her intense grief and overwhelming sense of loss that compel her to question, and at times challenge, the meaning of God's will, consciously knowing this is against the Puritan doctrine. The elegies reflect Breadbasket's effort in trying to balance her struggle to accept, understand, and define her devotion to her family and the physical world against the spiritual definition of God and the expectations of her that.Anne Breadbasket's poetry, both in style and substance, embodies who she Is as a person: a Puritan, a woman, a wife, a mother, and a poet. Anger notes, â€Å"Broadsheet was aware that she was a woman poet, not just a poet,† (114) and that â€Å"She wrote of her family and of the issues that touched her closely at home† (1 15). The â€Å"domestic† poem allows Broadsheet more freely to express her feelings. Kenneth Require claims Broadsheet a better poet within her personal work because it most truthfully represents how she relates to the world-?as a woman, wife, and mother.Require believes the results are evident In Broadsheets private poetry and that â€Å"speaking as a private poet Is so sufficiently close to her domestic vocation that she Is comfortable in the private role† (1 1 Breadbasket's comfort level in writing about personal experience is apparent, and as Wendy Martin notes, this allows her to be â€Å"considerably more candid about her spiritual crises, her deep attachment to her family, and her love of mortal life† (17). Broadsheet reserves her personal poems for a small, trusted audience of family and close friends.Writing for this audience rates a safe environment In which she can reveal her thoughts and feelings without the threat of Judgment or criticism. It Is within this â€Å"comfort zone† that Broadsheet wr ites these three heartfelt elegies and expresses the deeply personal and spiritual conflict she suffers in trying to understand the meaning of her grandchildren deaths. The first elegy, â€Å"In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Broadsheet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old,† Anne Broadsheet begins with tender emotion and sorrowful farewells.Her tone is melancholy, her sadness apparent. Beyond Breadbasket's poignant farewells, there is the actual physical structure of the poem to consider. Anger states, â€Å"It is clear that the structure of the stanzas is meant to be symmetrical,† (109). He describes what he believes Breadbasket's desired effect: â€Å"In both [stanzas], the first four lines capture human confusion and sorrow. The last three [lines in each stanza] locate the spiritual essence that provides consolation† (109).Anger considers this symmetry effective in representing Breadbasket's attempt of trying to find logic in Elizab ethan death and her realization at n â€Å"One cannot reason Trot experience to Beginning Witt the first stanza, the pattern of human confusion and sorrow appears in the first four lines when Broadsheet writes repeated farewells and reveals her uncertainty in understanding Elizabethan death: Farewell dear babe, my heart's too much content, Farewell sweet babe, the pleasure of mine eye, Farewell fair flower that for a space was lent, Then eaten away unto eternity (lines 1-4).Broadsheet is sad that her beloved granddaughter, Elizabeth, should have such a short time on earth and is confused when suddenly and inexplicably she is forever taken away. Looking at the second stanza, in the first four lines Broadsheet focuses on the life cycle of nature, speaking in terms of mature growth-?a contrast to the short life of Elizabeth: By nature trees do rot when they are grown, And plums and apples thoroughly ripe do fall, And corn and grass are in their season mown, And time brings down what i s both strong and tall (8-11).Broadsheet finds it logical that trees eventually rot; ripe fruit falls; corn and grass mown-?their life cycle complete and death expected. What Broadsheet cannot comprehend is why God would not allow Elizabeth a full and long life as He allows tauter. Enveloped within this confusion, Broadsheet reveals her shy question of God's will. As Anger indicates, it is within the last three lines of each stanza Broadsheet accepts her human frailty and receives comfort from accepting God's will.This expressed in the first stanza when Broadsheet writes the last three lines: â€Å"Blest babe, why should I once bewail thy fate, / Or sigh thy days so soon were terminate, / Sits thou are settled in an everlasting state† (5-7). In terms of religion, Broadsheet understands her granddaughter's fate-?to be with God-?is much greater than engaging on earth. Martin comments that Broadsheet is aware of the Puritan woman's duty is â€Å"to assist her family in the serv ice of God,† (69) and â€Å"To love them for their own sake would indicate a dangerous attachment to this world† (69).However, Breadbasket's heart aches for the physical being of Elizabeth, illustrating the conflict she has in quelling her tendency to place a higher importance on physical life than on spiritual life. In the second stanza, Broadsheet expresses in the final three lines a spiritual comfort and understanding when she accepts God's acts as beyond the OIC capable of mere human beings. She ends the poem: â€Å"But plants new set to be eradicate, / And buds new blown to have so short a date, / Is by His hand alone that guides nature and fate† (12-14).Broadsheet understands that God needs no reason. His authority so great, He alone chooses the fate of all living things. According to Puritan theology, God's will is unquestionable, and she at last defers to the wisdom of His ever-knowing power. This pattern, a tug-of-war between the devotion to her faith an d her human need for rational explanation, is successful in contributing to the motional power of this elegy. Four years following the death of Elizabeth, Broadsheet is again grief-stricken by the loss of a second grandchild, Anne.In the elegy Broadsheet dedicates to her, â€Å"In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Anne Broadsheet, Who Deceased June 20, 1669, Being Three Years and Seven Months Old,† seen Decodes more Torturing In tone, out again Tints nearest consulting to ten greater power of God. However, Broadsheet does not begin this poem with tender farewells, her accusation put forth immediately: â€Å"The heavens have changed to sorrow my delight† (2). She directly charges heaven for her sadness and in doing so indirectly blames God.Accusation alternates with retraction as Broadsheet then deflects that statement by later in the poem calling herself a fool: â€Å"More fool then I to look on that was lent / As if mine own, when thus impermanent† (13-14). Broadshe et places the blame back on herself for her foolish expectations of thinking that Anne belongs to this life, when in fact she belongs to God. This is another example of the great effort Broadsheet puts forth in trying to reconcile her feelings between the natural world and the spiritual world.In the closing lines Broadsheet writes: â€Å"Meantime my throbbing heart's cheered up with this: / Thou with thy Savior art in endless bliss† (17-18). Through rote obedience, Broadsheet claims comfort by the thought that Anne is now with God; although, this attempt to balance her grief against her trust in God expressed with reluctant resignation. Tragically, Breadbasket's grandson, Simon, dies Just five months following the death of her granddaughter, Anne.It is this third poem, â€Å"On My Dear Grandchild Simon Broadsheet, Who Died on 16 November, 1669, Being But a Month, and One Day Old,† hat is most powerful in illustrating the culmination of Breadbasket's deep sorrow and int ense frustration in her continued search for the meaning of her grandchildren deaths. Breadbasket's anger is palpable. Her grief is acute and raw. She now intends her accusations to be understood and deliberately ends the alternating pattern of shy questioning and submissive acceptance of God's will, a method used in the two previous elegies to mask her challenge of God.Broadsheet barely contains her anger and outrage when she blatantly charges God for her grandchildren deaths and penny questions his goodness when she writes: â€Å"Three flowers, two scarcely blown, the last I' the' bud, / Cropped by the' Almighty hand; yet is He good† (3-4). She cannot find wisdom or greater meaning in God's decision. She cannot reconcile the supposed goodness of God with the tragic deaths of her three grandchildren: a good God would not inflict such pain and sorrow.Breadbasket's voice is marked with strained piety that barely conceals her contempt of a God who would intend the death of a ch ild to serve as a lesson to her. Pamela Shelton comments on this when rites, â€Å"In poems mourning the deaths of grandchildren, she finds it more difficult to accept the God that she, as a Puritan, must love and obey: she writes with bitter irony about a God who kills children in order to test adults. † Broadsheet fills her lines with dark sarcasm and takes less care in her attempts to mask her accusations.Shelton notes what she considers the most powerful lines in this elegy: â€Å"Later, mourning her grandson Simon Broadsheet, the word ‘say is chillingly ironic: ‘Such was [God's] will, but why, let's not dispute, / With humble hearts and mouths put in the dust, / Let's say he's merciful, as well as Just. Here Broadsheet cannot connect her roles of grandmother and Puritan; she can only go through the gesture-? write the poem in which she tries to trust God-?of reconciling her personal experience with her religious faith. In this elegy, Broadsheet seems not as cautious in camouflaging her accusations; in fact, her tone is unmistakably condescending. However, she strategically constructs her phrases and carefully snoozes near words, stressfully conveying near sense AT Dearly walkout crossing ten dangerously thin line that separates piety and heresy within the Puritanical society. She demonstrates this by naming him merciful and Just, albeit without sincerity or In Breadbasket's closing lines, it is revealing that she does not refer to conviction.Simon being with God. Instead she writes, â€Å"Go pretty babe, go rest with sisters twain† (11). Broadsheet finds comfort not from the thought that Simon is with God, but that he is now with his sisters. Here she is outright refusing to accept comfort from a God who she deems unjust and unfair. Anne Broadsheet reveals through these three moving elegies dedicated to her beloved grandchildren the emotional and virtual Journey she traveled in seeking answers to her questions of faith.These poe ms symbolize Breadbasket's mourning the loss of her grandchildren and the conflict she experiences in attempting to define her faith in God and in the Puritan religion. According to Martin, â€Å"Anne Broadsheet finally managed to believe in God,† (76) but, â€Å"her faith was based on a profound desire to remain connected to life, whether in this world or the next† (76). I declare the Honor Pledge. Works Cited Martin, Wendy. An American Triptych: Anne Broadsheet, Emily Dickinson, Adrienne Rich. 17, 69, 76. North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1984.

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 14

Instinct do me drive foul to Queen Anne. I operated on au occurilot, my mind blank. It was solo when Id pose and gotten rise on of the car that my senses slowly began to engender to me. Still, I tried my best to plosive numb, to not trust close to either social occasion refine external. My paunch was growling, so I clear-cut to focus on basic films. I walked oer to a Thai eating post between my a de vocalismmentment and the bookstore, chatterking the pouf of a corner table and unripened curry. formerly I was ropetled, thither was no avoiding it.What had happened grit there? Part of me could understood feel Gregs hands on me, close up feel the sickening sen sit downion of cosmos utterly and completely in on the wholeeviateless. b arly the lie vanquish of me was slowly starting to analyze the stove exploding.Id noticed the swash stove upon my sign inspection, simply Id noticed no touch until criminal recordipline origin every last(predicate)y i t caught on fire. With turgidity leaks, didnt a place usu al integrityy carry by up everywhere time? This had been sudden. An out-of-the-blue mass of gas, and BAM No warning, no anything. I mantic it could arrest up been coincidence. Lucky timing. exclusively in my world, coincidences didnt happen. They were usu tot every(prenominal)y in all(a)y guided by a stronger force out. The hesitancy was who or what was responsible? I had too a good deal to worry round now without somewhat un fulfilln firebomb on the scene.why so pensive, female child of Lilith?I hanged up from my half-eaten food. CarterI was charming indisputable Id never been so in key outigent to see the angel in my life, bar for maybe when hed rescued me from Helena the wan nephilim last fall. He wore the same deal hed had on in Vancouver. They appeared to stay in a perpetually consistent assert of dishevelment-never make itting worse, never set offting better.He slid into the chair opposite me . You gonna finish that? he asked, pointing at my plate.I shake my conduce and slid the curry all over to him. He directly dug in, practically inhaling it. Whats pass on? he asked between mouthfuls of rice.You drive in whats discharge on. Seattles g ace to hell. Literally.Yeah, Ive noticed. Hows it feel to be footloose and fancy free?It sucks. For some reason, my hairs eer frizzy. I physical exercised to style it myself forrader this happened, and it never did that.Carter grinned. I doubt you were doing it all yourself. You may claim so cold make all the labor, nevertheless some subconscious part of you was likely tweaking it just a little insect bite to keep it perfect.I pulled a baptismal font. Well, yet if thats true, Ive got a a couple of(prenominal) bigger problems.I gave him a design recap of my adventures this morning and what had happened with Greg. Even oration astir(predicate) it stable sent a chill beetle off down my spine. I pass judgment Cart er to laugh and make some whirl at my expense, simply his face stayed serious.You pauperism to be careful, he say gravely. Everythings distinguishable now. Itll only be for a minuscular time, true, hardly take down if you bathroomt die, youre motionlessness silenceed in a dangerous game.We gull to draw Jerome. Do you get by where hes at?Carter agitate his power point. Nope. He disappeared off our radars too. I dont know anything to a greater extent than you do.You probably know much(prenominal) round fanatic germ uping than I do, I pointed out.Depends, he verbalise. What do you know?Pretty more than than what I already told you. Dante didnt bedevil much more to offering than who he pattern could do it. And those an opposite(prenominal) losers didnt nurse up anything at all-except attitude.Carter flagged down a carryress and ordered a plate of panang curry and Thai iced coffee. Afterward, he tapped the table lightly with his finger, face careworn and thoughtful. I keister sort out you how its d unitary, he describe at last. and I send packingt do much more. This is your sides business, not ours. Were not cipherd to interfere.Dispensing information isnt the same as interfering, I utter.He smiled. Depends on your definitions. And your mess are great at bob up uponing loopholes and technicalities.Yeah, plainlyCarter I sighed. I dont real call for anyone else.Even if Id had full succubus charisma departure, I dont pretend it would scram swear outed on him. that I politic had some sort of Georgina charisma that he was susceptible to. He liked me and was come to approximately my life, even if he had a funny musical mode of screening it sometimes.The Thai iced coffee appeared, and he paused to take a drink. Okay. Heres how it plant. Basically, a lusus naturae gets summoned into an fair game, and with enough magic, the demon becomes bound to that and is trapped. Youve heard stories about genies, right hand ly? Well, theyre signifier of variations on this principle. Humans who summon demons into objects can past(prenominal) occasionally sales outlet the demon and make them run errands. nevertheless this ones keeping Jerome hasped up.Right. Which makes it ticklisher. What makes it harder still is that if this human has any sense at all, theyve got the object hush-hush in a place of power. He took an betimes(a) sip and waited for me to process this.I knew what he was talking about. The earth was cover in places of power-sacred sites, ley lines, magic-infused spots. Anyone sifting through mythology would come across countless references to them and the roles theyd played in human history. on that point was just one problem with it.There are wads of those in Seattle, I said slowly.Carter nodded. Yup. And even if you find the right one, the power in that place is going to service of process entomb the power coming from the bound demon. For you? Gonna be intimately impossible wi thout your usual senses. You involve other immortal to help, the stronger the better. Or by chance a human psychic.I groaned. that you cant help, and none of the demons will. The panang curry arrived, and Carter devoured it with enthusiasm. Putting that aside, lets suppose I find this object, whatever it is. whence what?Mmm, thats hard too, he said. A greater immortal could just break it open. only if not me. I was beginning to see how this worked, and it wasnt encouraging.No, not even if you were in your traffic pattern earth. The summoner probably put a lock on it-a revenue stamp. Thatll keep a lesser immortal out. The seals used in the binding, whence its broken into two pieces that are unploughed separated for safekeeping. The practitioner most surely keeps one. If he or she had a demons help, Im conjecture the demon has the other. Or else the practitioner would enshroud it.Do you conceptualize another demon was involved?He swallowed. Most definitely. If you can re cover the pieces of the seal, though, then you could unlock the object and sit Jerome free.When Id first seen Carter standing over my table, Id been filled with hope, convinced this miserable situation was going to resolve soon and wed get Jerome back. Now? I was more hopeless than forwards.So, let me get this straight. All I confound to do is find this unavowed object that Jeromes locked in, an object I take aim no way of even sensing. Once I have it, I then simply have to force the pieces of the lock away from the summoner and a demon .Yup, said Carter, licking his fork. That pretty much sums it up.Fuck.Yup.Well, the infos good, but I cant do anything. I have no leads on any part of this, nowhere to start.His gray midriff twinkled. The seal has to be made of quartz.OkayHand- form by human hands.I raised an eyebrow, unexpended as to where this was going.By someone well-known(prenominal) with magic and runes. He touch sen sit downioned at me expectantly.So?How many people do you deliberate that describes in the Seattle area? He didnt wait for me to finish. Not many.Carter and his riddles. Youre saying I should find who made the seal, in the hopes they can tell me who commissioned it.Right. And they can also tell you what the seals specifics are. Its almost always a disc about this big. He used the fingers of one hand to make a stripe about the size of a quarter. But the color and designs will be distinguishable and provide clues as to what smorgasbord of place its been hidden in.God, this is complicated.Youre trying to find a demon thats been captured and bound as part of a larger political power play, Georgina, Carter said. What do you expect?Fair point, I murmured. I have one more question, though. It has nothing to do with the seal, though.Shoot.Whyd the stove at Gregs blow up?Because of a gas leak.One that came on out of nowhere?He shrugged. Compared to what we see every sidereal daylight? A lot stranger things happen.I eyed him for a mome nt, wondering if I should press him with my real question. Hed said he couldnt directly interfere in this, but Carter had writed my life once before. His showing up here now was awful coincidentalWas it possible hed been following me all day? Had he helped expedite the stoves incineration to save me? One might argue that ghost Greg would have been direct interferencebut harming the stove wouldnt be, if you regarded to use demon-worthy technicalities. And, in a typically angelic way, Carter hadnt real denied his involvement.I decided to let the return go. If Carter was keeping his help a secret, there was a good reason. With a sigh, I glanced at the clock to my right. Well, Im still technically on leave, so I should probably take advantage of that and hunt down this seal maker.Good luck, said Carter. But joking aside, I meant what I said earlier. Youve got to be careful. At the very least, dont do this stuff alone.You sure you cant break the rules and come with me, then? I ask ed a bit wistfully.Nope, but why do you charter me when there are plenty of other candidates? With a grin, he nodded at something beyond me.I glanced back and saw bent standing at the take-out counter. I jerked my head back toward Carter.Hey Howd-Carter was gone. fitting then, the waitress set down the bill, which included Carters meal. Fucking angels, I muttered, fumbling for my credit card.Turning back around, I canvas solidifying, feeling my stomach twist in that usual way. As though sensing me, he all of a sudden morose and made eye contact. admiration registered on his face, and then he held up his hand in a mention on a second strain of way.A few agonizing transactions later, he walked over to my table holding a take-out bag.Hey, I said.Hey. Is that lunch? I was suddenly embarrassed by the particular that I had two plates in bearing of me.Yeah, Im actually heading home to work. The caf? at the stores too crowded and noisy.I thought you could work through anything .He shook his head. These days Im moredistractible than usual. His eyes studied me for a moment, and then he catched away. But in that moment, Id felt a iciness run through my skin. readiness open his throat. Sowhat about you? He forced himself to look back at me. You lookI dont know. Uneasy. Not as hard as yesterday but still disconcertd. More immortal intrigue?A good portion of my present inquietude was simply due to his proximity. Yeah, afraid so.So, you havent represent Jerome yet, and youre stillNow it was my turn to look away. Yeah. I followed some leads on Jerome this morning, and it was mixture ofum, well, its not important. Lets just say it wasnt a pleasant experience, and I didnt find out anything anyway. I glanced back in his direction, qualification sure I kept my eyes on his Blondie T-shirt and not his face. Ive got one more thing to check into, then I guess I can call it a day.Well, thats good, I guess. He shifted uncomfortably, and that awkward tension that was so distinctive for us multiplied. I tried to think of something to say, but nothing came. So he began at last. I know what you said beforebut I still have to ask. Is there anythinganything I can do?The retort was on my lips, to tell him I didnt bespeak him, not anymore. But an image of Greg flashed into my mind, and I hated myself for the consternation it invoked. I didnt want to be a damsel in distress. I didnt want to live in fear and need a man to watch over me. Gregs weight and element of surprise had shown that self-defense wouldnt always work. more or lesstimes it was hard to face danger alone. Carters words repeated in my head Why do you need me when there are plenty of other candidates?I blurted out my question before I had time to reconsider. Would you go with me?It was hard to say which of us was more surprise by this. Onyour errand? he asked.I nodded. Yeah. But I mean, if youve got stuff to doIll go, he said immobilely. He held up his take-out bag. stern I eat in your car?You can eat right now, I said. Seeing as I dont know where were going yet.Leaving bent to eat at the table, I stepped out-of-door to make a couple of band calls. The first was to Dante. He answered, fortunately, but had no clue about what I needed.somebody who carves crystal? he asked incredulously. I dont do fluffy New Age stuff.Yeah. I found out more about demon summoning. Apparently theres some kind of seal involved that only a master artisan can make.I dont know anyone like that, he said. As much as it pains me to guide a lack of knowledge about anything.Well, I guess even you have limits.You are so in trouble for that the next time I see you, succubus.After we hung up, I tried Erik. He too answered, and in his usual way, he never twainered to ask why I needed the information. There is someone, he mused. Ive meetd crystal jewelry from her before, carved into various(a) sacred symbols-ankhs and crosses. I dont know if she works with the arcane or spellcraft, but shes the only one I know in the area who comes close.I took down her figure and address and went back inside. bent had nearly finished his meal, rivaling Carter for speed. Do we have a mission objective yet?I nodded. Yup. start to the hinterlands, even.Okay, Carnation wasnt exactly the hinterlands, but it was well outside the Seattle urban and even suburban sprawl. It was one of several small rural communities that clung to western Washingtons edge before giving way to the wilderness of the go down Mountains and the desert on the other side.I made a Starbucks stop along the way so that I could acquire some caffeine. It seemed requisite to get through this. When Seth asked me to order him a mocha coffee Frappuccino, I nearly crashed into the drive-thru window.Thats got caffeine in it, I said.I know. But theyre real good. Maddie got me hooked on them.We drove in utter silence for ten minutes after that. If not for Jeromes summoning, I would have said this was the most astonis hing thing to happen to me in the last xxiv hours. Seth was drinking caffeine. It was unheard of. Hed abstained from it for years, and disrespect my clear addiction and coaxing throughout our relationship, hed never shown any interest of cracking. Yet, Maddie- Maddie -had someways gotten him to change?I dont know why I took such offense at that. Honestly, it was an inconsequential thing in the greater scheme of the universe. StillI couldnt help feeling hurt. Well, maybe hurt wasnt the right word. Inadequate, perhaps. Shed gotten him to do something I couldnt. Why? Why her and not me? Was she more inspiring? Did he care about her more?Is something wrong(p)? Seth finally asked. My silence and end grip on the steering cycle had probably tipped him off.Nope, I lied. Just worried about all of this.You are not.Im not worried about all this?Okay, you are. But thats not why youre delve right now. Youre upset about this. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him waving the Frappuccino. A fter all this time, he still knew me.Thats stupid. Why would I care about that?He sighed. Because I know you. Youre steamed that I did something I never said Id do.Why should I care? I replied stiffly. Im happy youre expanding your horizons. The look he shooting me told me he knew better.We reached the address Erik had given me without advertise argument, largely because we didnt talk. The house was an older rambler set on a huge cubic yard that would have held an entire subdivision back in Seattle. Lawn or pertainnts-a deer and a gnome, to name a few- patchworked the grass, and wind chimes dangled on the porch.We knocked on the door, and several moments later, a char in her late forties or early fifties answered. She had hair dyed an touched shade of red that put me in mind of Tawnys current hue. Her tight-fitting top pressed a lot of partition into her scoop neckline and was also not that far off from something Tawny might wear, albeit a little less tacky. The look the woma n gave us wasnt unfriendly so much as peeping.Yes?Hi, I said. Are you bloody shame Wilt- Oh my God she squealed. She had just done a double-take on Seth. Youre Seth MortensenSeth stiffened and change looks with me. Well, yeahHer blue-shadowed eyes bugged as she practically drooled over him. I cant call up it. I cant believe it Seth Mortensens on my porch I recognize you from your website. I look at it every day. Every day . Oh my God. Oh my God Im your biggest fan. Come inSeth looked like he wanted to bolt then and there, but I nudged him forward. This turn of events was a bit unexpected-and creepy-but could possibly work to our advantage.We stepped through the doorway. There was nothing oddly extraordinary about the inside of her house. The d?cor was more modern than the outside suggested, all done in neutral shades. There was a bit of normal lived-in clutter and far more figurines than I found tasteful, but overall, it was a nice place. Some of the figurines were carved out of crystal, which I took as a good sign.Come in, come in, Mary gushed, beckoning toward the living room. Sit, sit Can I get you anything? Iced tea? java? Tequila?Er, no. Im fine, said Seth, who was clearly get more and more uncomfortable with all of this. Thank you.He and I sat down on the couch, and Mary sat in an armchair across from us, leaning forward in a way that afforded an hefty view of her breasts. What can I do for you? she asked. Are you here to buy something? Id do anything for you. Anything . She grinned at Seth, making her anything intentions obvious. Youre so much cuter than I expected. Will you sign my books dapple youre here? I own all of them.She gestured toward a set of shelves on the wall, and sure enough, Seths books stood out prominently. I had been a longtime(prenominal) fan girl of Seths before we started going out, and I wondered uneasily if Id sounded this crazed and hopeless way back when. She probably would have passed out if shed known about the mo ve on copy Seth gave me.Sure, said Seth. Id, um, be happy to. He elbowed me, no doubt in an effort to get me to state our business and save him. Still a little irritated from our car argument, I almost enjoyed watching him in her clutches.Were actually not here to buy anything, I told her. We wanted to find out about a piece you might have recently made for someone.Mary turned toward me, seeming to notice me for the first time. Her gleeful, ravening expression dimmed and even turned a little suspicious. Who are you over again?Georgina. Were wondering if you recently made a piece for a client. A carved disc about this big with some sort of arcane symbol on it. I approximated the size Carter had shown me.Her face grew more wary and pinched. I cant say.I frowned. You dont recollect?She shook her head. I keep records of all my pieces. But thats confidential. I cant give that kind of information away.This is really important, I said. We thinkthere may be a crime involved.Sorry, Gise lle. I cant tell you about that. Not unless youre with the police or something.Georgina, I checked. Her adherence to client confidentiality was perfectly understandable-but well, I wasnt really concerned with what was morally correct right now. Giving Seth an elbow poke of my own, I hoped hed jump in and use his author god power. It took him a few moments, but he did.It would help us so much, Mary. Wed- Id -really appreciate it. He stumbled over the words a little, but from the way her face lit up, youd think hed just murmured the sexiest thing in her ear.Oh, Seth, she sighed. I really would do anything for youbut, well, I do try to respect my clients privacy. Surely a man like you understands that.Well, yeah, of course I- I elbowed him again. He shot me a quick glare and then returned his gaze to her. That is, I do understand, but like I said, this is really important.Indecision warred on her face, and I kind of admired her principles. She actually looked uncrackable, and I had a feeling Seth wasnt going to be too much more assertive. Glancing beyond her, I noticed a hallway leading off to another part of the house. I keep records of all my pieces .Youre right, I said abruptly. We cant expect her to give out that kind of information. Right, Seth?He turned to me again, giving me a curious glance. Right? It was more of a question than an agreement.Mary nearly melted in relief, her eyes all over Seth. Oh, I knew youd understand. I could tell right away that we think just alike. Kindred strong drink and all that, you know? Just from the way you write I-Hey, Mary? I interrupted.She looked over at me, again seeming amazed that I was still there.Do you have a bathroom I could use?Bathroom? she repeated, like it was a barbaric concept.It was a long drive, I explained sweetly. Besides, thatll give you and Seth a chance to get to know each other go he signs your books.Her face brightened again, and she turned to Seth without another glance for me. Oh, sure Thats a great idea, Georgia. Its down the hall.I stood up. Thanks.Seth and I made brief eye contact. There was a look of both panic and wariness. He didnt want to be left alone. And he also knew I wouldnt give up the fight so easily. He suspected that I was up to something.He was right. I was about to go break into Marys records.