William Shakespeares The Tempest, was first performed in 1611 and was the last play that Shakespeare wrote Essay Example For Students

William Shakespeares The Tempest, was first performed in 1611 and was the last play that Shakespeare wrote Essay William Shakespeares The Tempest, was first performed in 1611 and was the last play that Shakespeare wrote. The main character, Prospero is thought to be a representation of Shakespeare as he controls all of the characters in the play just as Shakespeare controls the characters in his scripts also at the end of the play, Prospero asks the audiences permission to leave the stage in the epilogue, this could be seen as Shakespeare announcing his retirement: Let your indulgence set me free. The play suggests many differences between the primitive Caliban and the civilised Prospero. We see these on a number of occasions throughout the play as the two, very different personalities clash. Caliban is a portrayed as a primitive man, He acts on instinct and his basic urges to eat, sleep and reproduce. We see this when we learn why Prospero keeps Caliban as a slave. The audience would empaphise with Caliban, as he is very innocent although bestial. We will write a custom essay on William Shakespeares The Tempest, was first performed in 1611 and was the last play that Shakespeare wrote specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Whereas Caliban has no urge or desire for material possession or power, Prospero does. Prospero ideally sums up the civilised as he is educated and knows right from wrong. Prospero has lived in a world governed by laws whereas Caliban has only ever known his island, where there are no rules. Calibans first appearance on stage is in Act 1 Scene 2. As, he approaches Prospero; he immediately curses him using an image taken from nature. This shows the audience of the hate between Prospero and Caliban. We know this because Prospero previously calls Caliban a tortoise, so he is referring him to an animal, and the curses that Caliban uses: A south-west blow on ye, And blister you all oer. For Elizabethan times, the curses that Caliban directs to Prospero would be very severe and insulting. All of the curses are images taken from nature as Caliban refers to the wind, wildlife and dew on the ground. These images show that Caliban lives in harmony with nature and the island, and loves everything about wildlife: As wicked dewà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ravens feather. Prospero responds to Caliban by punishing him by threatening to order his spirits to hurt him in his sleep. Prospero treats Caliban, as a worthless creature that he feels should have no liberties, for what he tried to do to his beautiful Miranda. Even before this event though, Prospero didnt treat Caliban as equal, although he taught him about the world, he kept him as a pet. Now Caliban is forced to be a slave to Prospero who dismisses all curses Caliban and returns his own dehumanising insults: Hag-seed, henceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Abhorred slave Caliban has lived on the island all of his life as he was born there. His mother, Sycorax, who was a wickedly evil witch used to rule over the island but has since passed away. Caliban is also said to be the son of the Devil. This is why  Caliban has a disfigured appearance and has no idea of rules and boundaries. After Sycorax died had died, Caliban had become the ruler of the island, as there was just him and the spirits living there in harmony. When Prospero arrived on the island he used his magic to demand power and with this usurped the position of leader of the island from Caliban, much to the anger of the native. At first, Prospero taught Caliban language and how to understand life. Caliban was treated as if he was a pet: And teach me how to name the bigger light. As Miranda grew up there were no real clashes between Caliban and Prospero until Miranda reached her early teens. Calibans primitive, instinctive urges led him to attempting to rape Miranda. Prospero was enraged by this and ever since has forced Caliban into being a slave using the spirits to taunt him if he disobeys. Caliban is forced to live in a dark cave and has to collect food and wood for Prospero and his daughter. Caliban would feel very bitter about his and that he has lost his island: .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 , .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .postImageUrl , .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 , .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136:hover , .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136:visited , .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136:active { border:0!important; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136:active , .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136 .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u9177faf987d70b310af9ed2d770c6136:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Romeo and Juliet is about two people who love each other but, because their families are enemies, they cannot be together EssayThis islands mine by Sycorax my mother. Prospero views himself as the beautiful white European and as Caliban is indigenous, he is looked upon by Prospero as ugly and different as he is not the same as Prosperos ideal. A reason for this is colonial arrogance. During the time this play was performed many British explorers were venturing to new shores around the world and setting up new colonies using the natives as labour or use them to help themselves. Prospero is just like these explorers who tries to utilise the skills of the indigenous people. I would cast Caliban as having dark tanned skin being played by a beautiful attractive man, just to emphasise the prejudice of Prospero: Freckled whelkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Filth as thou art Caliban would wear gowns made of natural materials. E.g leaves bark. He would also wear a shawl of what once was Prosperos, to show the audience that Prospero once respected him: Thou strokst me, and made Much of me. When Caliban has a soliloquy he would speak clearly and gently, to show his sensitive side but in the presence of Prospero his anger would engulf him and he would growl and snarl. Hen would walk with a slight limp, a sign of when the spirits hurt him, and crouched, as his cave is very small and cramped: Caliban snarling Caliban cowering Caliban would always look innocent to gain sympathy from the audience. After the Tempest, the crew of the ship became washed up on the shore of the island in a number of small groups. Stephano and Trinculo believe that they could make some money out of the being back in Europe: Were I in England now As I once was  And had this fish painted: not a holiday Fool there but give a piece of silver. Shakespeare is poking fun at the Elizabethan desire for spectacle and hard-heartedness. Caliban would be in awe of the two strangers especially Stephano as Caliban views him as his new leader and as his God, who has been sent from heaven Hast thou not droppd from heaven? Caliban would throw himself at the feet of Stephano in awe as if he is a God, and Caliban a forever-loyal servant. This shows how gullible he is and Shakespeare implies how Elizabethans believed in myths and legends. Caliban would circle Stephano and distance himself from Trinculo. He would hang on Stephanos every drunken word and spit at the ground where Trinculo has stood. Trinculo feels ashamed that he was scared of the savage and now he is jealous of Caliban that Stephano is paying more attention to Caliban. Stephano feels very special and important when Caliban is being very sycophantic towards him: Ill kiss thy foot. Caliban uses imagery connecting them to the heavens as he refers to Stephano as a brave God, or deity and he views the alcohol as if it has been sent from the heavens: celestial liquor. Caliban offers his only gift to Stephano in showing him the island. He offers himself to Stephano and curses Prospero: A plague upon the tyrant that I serve. The word tyrant, implies that Prospero exercises power in a harsh, cruel manner. Caliban sings and rejoices at the thought of no longer having to be a servant to Prospero. We know that Caliban loves the island because of his knowledge of the island and the imagery of nature that he uses. We can see that he is grateful that can finally show his love for his home. In Act 3 Scene 2 Caliban plots with Stephano and Trinculo to usurp Prospero from power and leadership of the island. As this takes place though, Ariel, Prosperos spirit servant plays a trick on the scheming group. I would stage this scene as the group on one side of the stage in a huddle with Trinculo nonchalantly leaning up against a tree mimicking Calibans comments in a jealous way. On the other side of the stage there would be a large rock. Ariel would hide behind this and when he would speak he would peek his head over the top so that the audience realise that it is Ariel. Ariel would call Caliban a liar, hide behind his rock and laugh with the audience at the unfolding events. This would be a joke between Ariel and the audience but the other three wouldnt have any idea what is going on. This is effective use of dramatic irony. We learn even more of the hatred of Prospero by Caliban in this scene. Caliban calls Prospero a tyrant and claims that he cheated the island from  him. Caliban describes Prospero to Stephano and Trinculo as an evil sorcerer and he intends to kill Prospero and help Stephano to claim the island. .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 , .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .postImageUrl , .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 , .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712:hover , .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712:visited , .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712:active { border:0!important; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712:active , .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712 .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ued8dee7947a5e8057a6779384edb1712:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, 1564-1606 EssayI would stage Caliban as when he talks about Prospero to talk with bitter anguish in his voice and act very aggressively and perhaps he could punch a tree as he describes the ways that they could kill Prospero in his sleep: Batter his skull, or paunch Him with a stake, or cut, His wezand with thy knife. These acts of violence emphasise the deep hatred that Caliban has for Prospero, he even believes that the spirits dislike him. Saying this could help get the audience on Calinbans side by trying to portray Prospero as a bad person. We learn about Calibans personality in this scene as the audience are shown of his intelligence when he tells the others of the best time and way to kill Prospero, by seizing his magic books. Caliban thinks Prospero is nothing without his magic and would stand no chance against the three men. He detests how Prospero can enchant the spirits into serving him through blackmail and false hope in the case of Prospero telling Ariel he would be free from duties. Towards the end of the scene, Ariel plays a tune on his tabor and pipe. This scares Stephano and Trinculo as they can hear music that is played by nobody. Caliban reassures the men that it is normal on the island to hear delightful music and gives a speech about it using imagery of soft sleep and dreaming along with beautiful instruments and light clouds to show his sensitive side and how he lives in harmony with the island as he often enjoys the delicate sounds of the spirits. The speech shows that the island is a very beautiful, fascinating place that is full of magical goings-on. Even with Prospero ruling over the island. In conclusion, I feel that Caliban has been the most interesting character in the play through the way Shakespeare has used Calibans language use and innocence to portray a good indication of what a tamed, savage being would be. I admire Caliban as he has not lost faith in his beautiful island and he will fight for what he believes in/against, even when it involves being subjected to physical pain. He even shows how sensitive and intelligent he can be even if he is usually aggressive and can sometimes act bestial: I cried to dream again. I think that Prospero was wrong to treat Caliban as a slave and although Caliban tried to rape Miranda, Prospero treats him badly and unfairly, as Caliban knew no better than to rely on his basic, primitive urges. I agree that Caliban should have been punished so that he can learn what is right and wrong, but on not such a severe scale. Prospero views him as a Devil who cannot be changed, but  when Prospero arrived on the island he must have thought differently because he taught him the ways of life: A devil, a born devil. Caliban realises that he has chosen to worship the wrong person when Stephano is only interested in possessions where Caliban is unmaterialistic and he does not want to hurt anyone or cause suffering, he just wants his island. The Tempest, raises the issue of colonial arrogance, which is relevant today, just as it was in Elizabethan times. Still, today, there are many Prosperos, who visit different cultures and believe the natives are different and therefore do not give them or their culture a chance. We learn in the end that the prejudiced people in the world will get what they deserve as in this case, the audience sees Prospero as quite a manipulative figure.

The Crucible and Hale Essays

The Crucible and Hale Essays The Crucible and Hale Paper The Crucible and Hale Paper Essay Topic: The Crucible The Crucible Guided Viewing Questions KEY Who are Reverend Parris, Betty, and Abigail? What is their relationship? Rev. Parris is the minister of Salem, Betty is his daughter, and Abigail is his niece. Who is Tituba? What is her relationship to the family? Tituba is the Parris’s slave from Barbados.   What is wrong with Betty? Betty is unconscious after being caught by her father dancing in the woods with other girls from Salem.   Why does Parris suggest calling in Reverend Hale? Rev. Parris thinks the Devil has entered Salem and turned the girls into witches. Who are Ann and Thomas Putnam? What do they suggest is Betty’s problem? What is their motivation for suggesting this? The couple who lost all but one child, Ann. The Putnams believe that Betty is being controlled by the Devil and is suffering the same symptoms as their daughter Ruth related to withcraft.   Who is Ruth? What is her relationship to the Putnams? What is wrong with her? How do the Putnam’s tie her problem to Betty’s? Ruth is the Putnams’ daughter; she is the other girl who is unable to wake after doing black arts in the woods with Tituba.   Who is Mercy Lewis? What is her relationship to the Putnam’s? The Putnams’ servant.   What does the conversation between Abigail, Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren, and Betty reveal about their recent activities? The girls are making the idea of witchcraft up to avoid getting punished for dancing in the woods. Who is John Proctor? What is his relationship to Mary Warren? What is his relationship to Abigail? How does he feel about his relationship with Abigail? John Proctor is a landowner and a farmer, who separates him self from the town. Mary Warren is the Proctors’ servant; she replaced Abigail Williams, with whom he had an affair. Who is Elizabeth Proctor? What does Abigail think of her? How might this affect the outcome of the play? Elizabeth Proctor is John’s wife. Abigail despises Elizabeth because she dismissed her and brought suspicion on her. Abigail targets Elizabeth because she wants to take her place in John’s life.   Who is Giles Corey? Why is he introduced into the play? Giles Corey is an illiterate farmer who is a friend of John Proctor. His wife, Martha, reads books at night, and he says he â€Å"can’t pray.   Who is Rebecca Nurse? What is her role likely to be in the play? Rebecca Nurse is an elder in the town, married to Francis Nurse, who says that the â€Å"witchcraft† is just the girls’ foolishness. All of her children and grandchildren are all still alive.   Why is the issue of Parris’s salary raised? Rev. Parris required that he be given the deed to the minister’s house; he is concerned with temporal, earthly things seemingly more than heavenly things. ? 14. What is the Putnams’ grievance over land? What significance might this have in the play? Thomas Putnam feels as if he was cheated out of land by his father and is always   What do the Puritans think of books other than the Bible? How do you learn about this in Act One? Books other than the Bible are folly and possibly evil.   How does Hale confuse Tituba? What is the significance of their conversation? Hale’s questioning is loaded with biased questions – assuming Tituba’s guilt as a witch which confuses Tituba; Hale also is beating Tituba as he questions her.   How and by whom are the other villagers accused of witchcraft? What is the motivation for the girls’ accusations? What is the significance of the scene between Elizabeth and John Proctor? What does it reveal about their relationship and about each of their characters? Elizabeth and John Proctor have a strained relationship and a â€Å"cold† home due to John’s affair with Abigail. John has not forgiven himself.   What is the gift Mary Warren gives to Elizabeth? Mary Warren gives Elizabeth a poppet, a rag doll. 20. What information does Mary provide about the trials? Why does John forbid her from attending? Elizabeth’s name has been mentioned in connection witchcraft. Mary Warren is an â€Å"official of the court. † John forbids Mary from attending the trial because he knows that it’s a sham because Abigail told him that she made the â€Å"witchcraft† up.   Why does Reverend Hale come to the Proctors’ home? What does this scene reveal about Hale’s role in the trial? Hale visits the Proctors to test the Christian character of the home. Hale is the investigator trying to find the truth.   What relationship does Hale suggest exists between the church and the court? Hale believes that the relationship between the church and the court is too close together – that justice is impossible.   What does Proctor tell Hale about why the children were ill? How does he claim to know? Proctor tell Hale that the children/girls are making the â€Å"witchcraft† up; Abigail told him.   What is the point of the discussion between Hale and the Proctors about whether or not they believe in witches? The Proctors do not believe in witchcraft, this going against what the church says. What does Giles report to the Proctors? What is the significance of his revelations? Giles reports that his wife, Martha, has been arrested.   What event begins to change Hale’s opinion about the arrests? How does he feel about the court? Elizabeth Proctor is arrested based on possession of a poppet that has a needle in its body (Abigail simultaneously stabs herself with a needle). Mary Warren says she made the doll while sitting in court.   What role does Cheever play? What is revealed about his character? Cheever is the arresting officer. He says he has been ordered to do so (he does not question his orders). What do we learn about why Mary Warren gave the poppet to Elizabeth? Why is Elizabeth arrested? On what grounds? What do we learn about Mary Warren’s motives at the end of the scene? How do Proctor, Francis, and Giles plan to use Mary Warren’s testimony to prove that â€Å"Heaven is NOT speaking through the children†? What is the significance of Proctor plowing on?

Understanding Arrays in PHP

Understanding Arrays in PHP An array is a systemic arrangement of objects. Hum, what does this mean? Well in programming an array is a type of data structure. Each array can hold several pieces of information. It’s sort of like a variable in that it stores data, but not at all like a variable in that instead of storing one bit of information it can store many pieces of information. Let’s start with an example. Let’s say that you are storing information about people. You could have a variable that stored my name â€Å"Angela†. But in an array, you could store my name, my age, my height, my In this sample code, we will look at storing two bits of information at a time, the first being somebody’s name and the second being their favorite color. ?php $friend[0] Kevin; $friend[1] Bradley†; $friend[2] Alexa; $friend[3] Devin; $color[Kevin] â€Å"Teal†; $color[Bradley] â€Å"Red†; $color[Alexa] â€Å"Pink†; $color[Devin] â€Å"Red†; print My friends names are . $friend[0] . , . $friend[1] . , . $friend[2] . , and . $friend[3]; print p; print Alexa ‘s favorite color is . $color[Alexa] . .; ? In this example code, you can see that the friend array is sorted by number, and contains a list of friends. In the second array, color, instead of using numbers it uses strings to identify the different bits of information. The identifier used to retrieve data from the array is called it’s key. In our first example, the keys were integers 0, 1, 2, and 3. In our second example, the keys were strings. In both cases, we are able to access the data held in the array by using both the array’s name, and the key. Like variables, arrays always start with a dollar sign ($array) and they are case sensitive. They can not start with an underscore or a number, you must start them with a letter. So, to put it simply, an array is kind of like a variable with lots of little variables inside of it. But what exactly do you do with an array? And how is it useful to you as a PHP programmer? In practice, you will probably never create an array like the one in the example above. The most useful thing you can do with an array in PHP is to use it to hold information you get form somewhere else. Having your websites information stored in an MySQL database is not uncommon. When your website needs certain information it simply accesses your database, and wha-laa, on demand data. Let’s say you have a database of people who live in your city. You now want to search that database and print out records for anyone named â€Å"Tom†. How would you go about doing this? You would read through the database for people named Tom, and then pull their name and all the other information about them from the database, and place it in an array inside of your program. You are then able to cycle through this array, and print out the information or store it to use elsewhere in your program. On the surface, an array might not look that interesting to you, but when you do more programming and start storing more complex data structures you will find you are often writing them to arrays when they need to be used.

Summary of the law of accelerating returns Essay

Summary of the law of accelerating returns - Essay Example According to the article, ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’ evolution relates to constructive feedbacks relating to a phase of evolutionary progress is used to form the next phase. Therefore, the rate of advancement in an evolutionary process escalates exponentially over a period, which highly influences the ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’ that involves rapidity, cost-effectiveness and complete "power" of a procedure. The second phase of exponential development occurs when higher resources are organized in the direction of further advancement. ‘Biological and technological evolution’ can be referred as evolutionary processes. For an instance, transistors are incorporated within a circuit to create powerful computers, which in turn provides a prospect for exponential growth until the computers become powerful. This induces a paradigm shift, which ensures that the process of exponential growth keeps persisting at a rate, which doubles in each decade (Ku rzweil, â€Å"The Law of Accelerating Returns†). The Singularity is the technical revolution, which is so prompt as well as intense that the rate of exponential growth has become infinite and technology seems to be mounting at limitless speed. Therefore, it can be considered that the Singularity will transmute different facets of our lives socially, sensually and economically. Advanced technologies in the present day context, has been subjected to law of accelerating returns. ‘Moores Law of Integrated Circuits’ came into existence, which was highly recognized in the public as a paradigm for exponential progression in computers. The overall speed of computers has doubled each year, which has given rise to flat chips used in computers. Moores Law has extended to such a level in terms of computational power due to which exponential progression has not been viable. Thus, ‘Moores Law’ can be considered as S curve. In agreement with the

The Equality Act 2006 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Equality Act 2006 - Essay Example They are aimed at making the most of the talent in the workforce – rather than excluding or marginalizing sectors of the workforce, which was happening universally prior to government intervention in the 1970s and since: â€Å"The general duty places a proactive responsibility upon all public bodies to ensure that their services, practices and policies are developed with the different needs of women and men in mind. This will lead to a more inclusive society with high quality contemporary services - targeted to meet the specific needs of men and women.†2 Interestingly, this Act has already brought legal challenges. On 21 March 2007 the House of Lords refused to remove the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, which came into force on 30 April. Catholic adoption agencies had routinely refused to place children with gay couples. The government gave the Catholic adoption agencies an additional 21 months to prepare, but as Baroness Andrews told the House: â₠¬Å"At present there are 116 separate pieces of equality legislation in force - 35 Acts, 52 statutory instruments, 13 codes of practice, and 16 European Commission directives and recommendations. They come with 2,500 pages of guidance.†3 It is expected that a forthcoming European Union Directive will require further legislation that will seek to provide redress for those discriminated against in the provision of goods and services on the grounds of gender reassignment. "Even the most well-intentioned businesses, and there are an awful lot of them, dont know when theyve complied [with the existing laws]. Its almost impossible unless you have vast armies of bureaucrats." 4 Mr Phillips alleged that many businesses resented the waste of time and money involved in being taken to an Employment Tribunal.

Air France-KLM as Low-Cost Airline Across Europe Essay Example for Free

Air France-KLM as Low-Cost Airline Across Europe Essay Abstract Airline is an important industrial in European economy, with the liberalization and deregulation of European market, it is filled by a number of small-sized and large-sized airlines, recently, the model of low cost carriers is widely spread from America to Europe, the success attracts rivals to adjust business models to enter this market. Air France-KLM also attempts to adopt this strategy. This essay will use PESTEL and stakeholder theory, as well as corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept to analyze general environment and specific environment including customers and suppliers. Main ideas are Air France-KLM (FK) should concern CSR behavior especially including social and environmental perspective to conduct low-cost strategy rather than only consider economic perspective which is short-term financial performance, because it could not bring a sustainable development for company. Furthermore, FK should have operational resilience and strategic resilience under the uncertainty of dynamic environment, and integrate CSR as a organization culture which will become a competitive advantage. The general environment analysis could provide reference for other companies, and analysis of stakeholder theory and CSR concept will give a guidance for sustainable development of companies. Air France-KLM is owned by French airline (Air France) and Dutch airline (KLM). It is the largest airline company in the world, while the profit is continually decreasing in Europe within recent 5 years (Market Line 2014). It is positively seeking a path to maintain competitive position in European airline market. Two largest competitors are Ryanair and EasyJet in Europe who operate low-cost strategy which learn from Southwest in US, and they rapidly capture market share. Air France-KLM is planning to use same strategy to compete with them. Environment is a significant indicator that influences the operation of business. It is dynamic and complex, different elements are interrelated and interacted that bring different influence for present and future activities  of companies. Analysis of environment usually is divided into macro-environment and micro-environment, they separately cover the general environment and specific related environmental factors such as customers, suppliers and regulators (Kew and Stredwick 2005). As Europe is located in a low valley suffering debtor crisis, new business model is encouraged to stimulate the economy and transfer risks for government. This essay will evaluate and discuss the low cost strategy Air France-KLM will adopt, firstly, it will analyze the general environment using PESTEL tool, and using Five Forces model and stakeholder theory further seek the issue and factors that can help company to succeed in a long term. Especially, it will explain the importance of corporate social responsibility in business operation. Finally, it is to find the opportunities and threats that company should notice for future success to combines different factors. Air France-KLM is holding by Air France and KLM which is a Dutch airline, the alliance was formed in 2004. The headquarter is located in Paris, and it obeys the French law. Subsequently, it became the largest airplane company in terms of revenues in Europe, even over the world. However, the operating profit to Air France-KLM (FK) continually decreased from 2012 (MarketLine 2014). Air France-KLM is exploring another strategy to survive in the competitive airline industrial. As BBC reported Alexandre who is CEO of FK claimed company will adopt the Low cost carriers (LCCs) strategy to recover and sustain competitive position in airline industry (Clark 2014). Environmental analysis is an inevitable step to help company identify issues, flexibly and innovatively solve problems, also assist the strategist to improve the decision making process (Kew and Stredwick 2005). The internal and external environment analysis will be required in order to explore fitness of strategy within the whole business environment and internal capabilities; in addition, the analysis on competitive structure of industrial environment and stakeholder will deeply explore the important factors for the sustainable development rather than short-term success, especially CSR concept includes social and environmental perspective instead  of simply economic perspective which presents financial profits (Button 2014). FK will better understand the opportunities and threats under the business environment analysis. The characteristics of Low cost carriers are presented on maximum utilization for facilities and economically provide service that customers themselves need. Usually, it has a high seating density, single class configuration, point-to-point services; it frequently uses second-tier airports on cost saving (CAPA 2014). It also keeps a low maintenance and training costs, as well as eases scheduling and takes advantage of bulk purchases to obtain discounts from manufactures (Budd et al 2014). It generates profits from ancillary revenue such as meal, snack and luggage (Budd et al 2014). This model started from America Southwest Airline in 1978. Nowadays, LCCs as a strategy is widely adopted in Latin America and Europe. The combining analysis between the environment and characteristics above will evaluate the low cost strategy of Air France-KLM. PESTEL as a macro-environment analysis tool helps to understand the complex trend of environment. PESTEL includes political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental. The analysis concerns the longitudinal and cross-sectional changes in time line. Firstly, liberalization events in US market significantly impacted other countries (Fu and Oum, 2014). France has high liberalized operating environment that enable companies to flexibly run any legal business model, it provides environment that FK can practice low cost strategy instead of the whole service provided with high cost (Budd et al 2014). Liberated market will be an advantage for innovation of business and increase the market power of company. It is big opportunity that companies can expand their network, as FK is an alliance to share strengthen and risks between French and Dutch airplane company (Fu and Oum, 2014). However, high-degree liberalization inevitably bring fierce competition. Additionally, the business model of public-private partnership is dominating the European airlines (Cruz and Marques 2011), especially the privatization process of European airlines is salient, government decreased the stake for business,  as French government hold a 16% stake on FK (Stothard and Bryant 2014). As a result, company will obtain less financial support from government, government is able to bear less risk of deficit. Secondly, to considering economic factors, German and France as primary strength motivate the economic recovery of Europe, French government is gradually putting effort to diagnose economic ills (Barber 2014). European countries still have maintained the high unemployment rate since financial crisis occurred in 2008, although it slightly fell in 2014 compared to last year (Statista 2014). Inflation rate had a slight fall in November than that of October, it will be a danger for debtors due to less revenue from sales, incomes or taxes, and debt problems is serious; energy price is falling as well (BBC Nov 2014). The important social indicators is consumer behavior is gradually changing. The increasing number of customers choose the high-speed train for a short journey instead of the airplane as a result of the punctuality and similar price on same time consuming (Dobruszkes 2011). In addition, the strength of unions in this two countries is very high, labour union has strong power such as pilots or crews. The impact of technology is significant, as the big data time is coming (Mark 2014), companies own the large number of data information about consumer, which will rapidly push the innovation of business, if company can dig and utilize the meaning of data. For the most important environmental and legal analysis, climate change is as one of themes in previous G20 conference and future UN conference will hold in 2015, and it will concentrate on a new set of Sustainable Development goals and emphasize the multilateral co-operation on a range of vital issues (FT 2014), which implies France should contribute to same goal, and perhaps the more strict regulation will be adopted, for example, CO2 emission. Additionally, the terrorism is serious problem airplane companies is facing.  In macro-environment, five forces model can identify and analyze the  competitive structure of industrial environment. Forces in relation to stakeholders can be discussed upon priority. The opportunities and threats will be identified further. Firstly, the intensity of rivalry is high, the large number of competitors in Europe is divided into two strategic streams, one is the large-size airplane such as Lufthansa and British Airway which are seeking path to compete in Europe; other representative group is LCCs including Ryanair and EasyJet. Various business models are emerging under the motivation of liberalized market conditions and globalization, airline companies could seek partner including other airlines companies and airports to form network for enhancing market power; additionally, each European country can operate and switch route freely (Fu and Oum, 2014). In contrast, LCCs provide service for customers who have high elasticity for price, it rapidly captured the market share as a result of low switching costs for buyers. To considering new entrants, 77% small-size companies failed which learn from LCCs to enter market, because the established companies with strong reputation and first mover advantages, and their size do not enable them to create the economies of scale (Budd et al 2014). Stakeholder theory claims companies should notice the interests of other groups, not only do companies focus on the interests of shareholder which is financial performance (Jensen 2001). Customer have highest power and interests for company, company usually prioritize them into first post; employees second, managers third, and shareholders last, according to the hierarchy of interests (Kew and Stredwick 2005). Customers have the most power and the highest interests to organization. From production side and demand side of economic perspective, as the analysis of business environment above shows the supply is over than demand, the number of fragmented airlines is more than customers (Budd et al 2014), so that the bargaining power of buyers is powerful, also switching cost is low between airlines. Low-cost strategy of FK is not lucrative in a market with high intensity of rivalry. However, business environment is along uncertainty and dynamics, the growth of Euro area will enable companies to earn the financial obtains as economic perspective. In fact, demand-supply economic perspective is narrow, the increasing demand of LCCs will lead to tragedy of the common for suppliers, because suppliers only consider the economic returns compared to inputs, and plunge themselves into price battle ignoring value creation, the more followers will emerge, obtained profits from one unit of input will be gradually decreased with the increasing rivals, and tragedy probably occur. So only economic perspective can not achieve success. CSR thoughts will benefits the long-term development of companies. It takes account of social and environmental perspective for a sustainable success, maximizing social welfare is an important measure under social perspective, and industrial success is based on sustainable development (Button 2014). Resources is limited in the world, when managers make decisions, they should consider to increase the long-run value for firm rather than a short-run financial performance including equity, debt and stock. Ryanair cancel safety cards stuck on the back of the seats, the legal proceeding is debatable. It requires trade off through time, also among different constitutions. When companies give up present cost of a unit for receiving that at some time in the future. As costs of input come from different resources including labour, capital or material purchased. The company with CSR can attract and retain talents and establish the brand image and reputation for companies. The power of suppliers as one force represents inputs, simultaneously, they consist of important stakeholders including suppliers, employees, aircraft manufactures and fuel as well as airports. Firstly, employee as the most important internal stakeholder has high bargaining power within industrial. It is reported from BBC, the pilots of FK struck due to the reduction of their salary when low cost strategy adopted (Stothard and Bryant 2014). As above mentioned, company should not save cost from input to create short term profit, it impaired the interests of employees, employees will bring less output; on the contrary, if company can give them more care and welfare, they will create more value, such as  company can provide training and individual deportment planning to maintain enough talent pool for future development, employee also will return to company through high qual ity of services and improve the satisfaction of customers. Setting an adverse example, Foxconn as a large manufacturer adopted military management to employees and ignored their normal needs for reducing cost, as a result, employee suicide and reputation of company was impaired, likewise talents are not willing to work here under abnormal management. CSR could be employee and employer relationship, while Legal utilization for employee is only the lowest level of CSR, Low cost strategy with CSR should not only obey legal behavior, but also pursue ethical, economic and philanthropic behavior (Carroll 1991). Aircraft manufacture is another stakeholder group, low cost strategy may squeeze their price and change manufacture process, as FK wants to reduce the weight of seats and increase the intensity of seat. They should â€Å"co-production† with them rather than simply ask them to achieve requirement, otherwise, suppliers will be reluctant to change manufacturing process for FK only. For instance, IKEA uses flat-package for products from manufacturing to selling as core competitive advantage, it desires suppliers of China to satisfy the flat-package manufacturing process, it not only help to upgrade production technology, but also provide training programme for employee (Inge and Claes 2011). IKEA maintains the good relationship with suppliers. These ethical and economic CSR behavior will increase the wealth of stakeholders, simultaneously, it improves itself production efficiency in value chain. For philanthropic behavior as the highest level, company donates to communities for local better development. Company can collaborate employees to contribute this, such as employee regularly participate volunteering activities for 20 hours each year. Also, as environmental and legal analysis above, CSR perspective can stimulate the innovation and initiative of company. For low-cost strategy, FK can try to innovate new technology or operational methods, such as the use of biofuels and the improvement of CO2 emission disposing. The last force is the threat of substitute, the prevalence of high speed rail as substitute has advantages for a short route. Especially, for business  group, they can use telecommunications on high speed train, and company also spend less on business trip. So the business passengers is decreasing. The noisy and pollution are comparative less than airplane. As German Airplane adopts corporate with high speed rail to compete with LCCs. Based on analysis above, Air France-KLM (FK) adopt low cost strategy, the opportunities and threats can be identified. Liberalized market environment and rapid privatization process provide a favourable condition for development of new model, while they also achieve a high competitive market. It represents other large-sized company also can adopt this model to enter the market. Also, existed competitors with first mover advantages and rich experience, and high speed train as substitutes whose advantages are salient gradually capture the market share for a short-route trip. The pressure of legal environment on CO2 emission and labour union is heavy for operation of FK on low cost strategy. Compared to Ryanair, it ignored the CSR behaviour no matter what level about legal, ethical and philanthropic behaviour. It will be a path for long-term sustainable development for FK. CSR more concern social and environmental value that FK could create, it as a large airline company will explore and represent a new and correct path bearing CSR rather than the short development for financial performance, because it will cause tragedy of the common for the whole society, it will more take account of the interests of stakeholders. In detail, it can use biofuel and decrease the CO2 emission, also maintain good relationship with customers and employee, as well as suppliers. Catching the development of technology, FK should utilize the big data to dig needs of customers to innovate the business model. Under the turbulence of terrorism, European countries can corporate together to resist it for the whole society. French domestic CSR policy as a national competitive advantage will support this business model of FK (France Diplomatie 2014), as investment in CSR while it is difficult to receive profit in short-term, so perhaps FK could reduce the short-term financial pressure from support of government. So the policy of government is consistent with corporate strategy will be helpful. A differentiated low-cost strategy could be adopted by FK. CSR can be a culture of company as a competitive advantage to position itself in market, so that it will always stimulate the innovation and learning of organization, and maintain effective human resources management such as attracting and retaining talents. Organization should consider the knowledge management through technology to advocate CSR concept to every internal and external stakeholders in order to better achieve CSR activities. In addition, FK as one of large-size companies, it has enough experience and strengths to compete with other LCCs, even though they have first mover advantages in terms of reputation and economics of scale. On the other hand, as a large-size company has solid organizational institution and vested interested group so that the strategy change of organization is not easy. As the growth of Euro area with uncertainty lead to bigger risk FK will face (Cadman and Giles 2014), it indicates FK should concern the operational resilience and strategic resilience, once it suffers the unexpected adversity. In conclusion, under the analysis of complex and dynamic environment, Air France-KLM should adopt a differentiated low cost strategy. The economic and political market environment with high-degree liberalization and privatization will provide conditions for the development of business model, also increase the market competition due to a large number of rivals emerging under deregulation. Ryanair and EasyJet with first mover advantages have captured the large market share, also they have accumulated more experience, but the weakness of rivals and trend of environment such as regulation on CO2 emission and sustainable development indicate FK should bear responsibility to seek another path, which more concern the interests of stakeholders, CSR behaviour and activities to create long-term value such as the use of biofuel. At the same time, FK can integrate CSR as a culture, also a competitive advantage in order to continually motivate itself to innovation and learning, also improve the effectiveness of human resources management. The development of technology will require FK to utilize data to dig needs of  customers to innovate the business model in big data time. European countries also need to corporate together to resist it for common society under the turbulence of terrorism. Uncertainty of environment also require company have operational resilience and strategic resilience, once it suffers the unexpected adversity. References: Air France-KLM S.A. company profile, (2014) Market Line [Online] Available from: http://0-eds.b.ebscohost.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=172f9c2f-747f-4b99-9c37-34a375aa6a06%40sessionmgr110vid=1hid=114 [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] BBC 2014 Eurozone inflation rate falls to 0.3% BBC 28.Nov. 2014 [Online] Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30243113 [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] Barber, T., (2014) France shows courage in diagnosing its economic ills, FT, 22,Dec, 2014 [Online] Available from: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a364d628-86cd-11e4-8a51-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=uk#axzz3Nmt1hzwF [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] Button, K., (2012) Low-cost airlines: a failed business model? Transportation Journal, Vol, 5. No.2, pp197-219 [Online] Available from: http://0-muse.jhu.edu.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/journals/transportation_journal/v051/51.2.button.html [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] Budd et al (2014) Grounded: Characterising the market exit of European low cost airlines Journal of Air Transport Management Vol, 34, pp78-85 [Online] Available from:http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0969699713001129 [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] CAPA 2014 [Online] Available from: http://centreforaviation.com/profiles/hot-issues/low-cost-carriers-lccs [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] Cruz. C.O., and Marques. R.C., (2011) Contribution to the study of PPP arrangements in airport development, management and operation. Transport policy Vol.18 pp392-400 [Online] Available from http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0967070X10001460 [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] Carroll, A., (1991) The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility. Business Horizons, 42: 39-48 Kew. J. and Stredwick J. (2005) Business environment: managing in a strategic context. London: The Cromwell Press Clark. N 2014 Air France-KLM Restructuring Puts New Focus on Its Low-Cost Airline The New York Times 11. Sept. 2014 [Online] Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/business/international/air-france-klm-restructuring-puts-new-focus-on-its-low-cost-airline.html?_r=1 [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] Dobruszkes F. (2011) high-speed rail and air transport competition in western Europe: a supply-oriented perspective. Transport policy Vol.18 pp.870-879 Fu. X.W., Oum, T.H., 2014 Air Transport Liberalization and its Effects on Airline Competition and Traffic Growth – An Overview In The Economics of International Airline Transport. Vol, 4 pp11-44 [Online] Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/S2212-160920140000004000 [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] France Diplomatie 2014 [Online] Available from http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy-1/economic-diplomacy/corporate-social-responsibility/france-s-domestic-csr-policy/ [Accessed: 15 Dec 2014] Inge, I and Claes, G.A., 2011 Upgrading in global value-chains: a case study of technology-learning among IKEA-suppliers in China and Southeast Asia Journal of Economic Geography 11 (2011) pp. 731–752 Jensen. M.C., (2001) Value maximization, stakeholder theory, and the corporate objective function European financial management Vol.7 No.3 pp297-317 [Online] Available from

jesse jackson, jr :: essays research papers

Representative Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. began service in the United States House of Representatives on December 12, 1995, as he was sworn in as a member of the 104th Congress, the 91st African American ever elected to Congress. Representative Jackson currently sits on the House Appropriations Committee, serving on the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education as well as the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs. Prior to his congressional service, Representative Jackson served as the National Field Director of the National Rainbow Coalition. In this role, he instituted a national nonpartisan program that successfully registered millions of new voters. He also created a voter education program to teach citizens the importance of participating in the political process, including how to use technology to win elections and more effectively participate in politics. Having been born in the midst of the voting rights struggle on March 11, 1965, Representative Jackson spent his twenty-first birthday in a jail cell in Washington, D.C. for taking part in a protest against apartheid at the South African Embassy. He also demonstrated weekly in front of the South African Consulate in Chicago. Representative Jackson had the privilege of sharing the stage with Mr. Nelson Mandela during his historic speech to the world following a 27-year imprisonment in Cape Town. In 1987, Representative Jackson graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina A & T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management. Three years later, he earned a Master of Arts Degree in Theology from the Chicago Theological Seminary, and in 1993, received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law.

God Is love Essay

Love is the air. We breathe this air and so it is in us to love. Just like the involuntary need to breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide we need to love and be loved. It is near impossible to ignore that the presence or absence of love in someone’s life as it plays a magnificent role in all things regarding that person. God has created us diligently and therefore he has by default bestowed upon us his greatness – his loving nature. We are born with the ability to receive love, reciprocate it and the true deep desire to do both. God made us to love and I mean two things when I say that. Firstly, we were made to comprehend the love God has for us. He wants us to feel the love he feels towards each and every one of us which explains our senses. We can see the darkness, hear the depression, feel the disconnect, smell the rotting and taste the bitterness of a love deprived place. God made us to love us and so it only makes sense we try to serve our purpose. We are not here on earth to serve him as he does not require anything to continue to be himself. The beautiful construction of humans the way our minds work with our hearts allows us to receive love and understand it. For example; your mom wakes up early every morning to give you a kiss before you go to school and you take that kiss as her love. In the same way, everything you have been blessed with you can see and understand that it is God’s love. When we understand that we are truly loved, reciprocating becomes easy. Secondly, it is in our nature to reciprocate love. A simple example of how I believe reciprocation is nature; someone helps us with your homework we will most likely help them with theirs if they ask. Couples consist of two people the love each other, meaning reciprocation is happening and that is the case for almost all couples. Now in regards to the Almighty, he made us to bless us, to love us. We often assume that we were created to serve, love, and worship him. These are good and holy actions, but they are just the responses to God’s initiating act of love. He does not need anything we have to offer. A lot of us do feel this strong desire to love God back. It is evident in a lot of the things we do; religion class, going to church, being grateful, understanding the emphasis put on helping others and abiding by his rules even though we may not understand the reasons behind each. When we are aware someone loves us we cannot help but feel the need to love them back. Finally, beyond the fact that love is such a natural thing and the fact that it is something we do without much thought it is something we personally desire to do. The importance of love in life is beyond the logic of give and take. I can say everyone I have come across is on the pursuit of happiness; everyone desires to feel good regardless. Something we know, even if it is knowledge buried deep inside, is that love is blissful. We meet that bliss in our mothers’ arms, in our fathers’ words and in our lovers touch. The feeling of loneliness bugs each and every one of us at some point and we realize it is not a way we enjoy feeling. Loneliness sometimes does not leave us alone even while we are with others, however love is something that keeps us company even when we are alone. A lot of us have this void within we spend our lives trying to fill. Quite like the Prince who ran around with Cinderella’s glass slipper searching for the one who fits it perfect. Love fills our voids perfectly. We can take love, we can give it back and the essence of life is the craving to do so. God is everywhere, God is love and so love is the air. If you can breathe you can love and if you need to breathe you need to love.

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 25

I'd sworn I'd never go back into my bedroom, but just then, I needed my bed. I spent the rest of the day in it, curled up in the proverbial fetal position. Much like when I'd made Seth leave, I didn't feel anything. I was dead inside. There was nothing left, nothing in my life, nothing to keep me going. Some wise part of my brain said I should cry. I knew there was grief inside of me, grief that would eventually explode. But I was blocking it for now, afraid to acknowledge that all of this was real or face the consequences. This, I realized, was why Yasmine had screamed. It was a terrible thing to be cut off from something you loved so much. To be cut off from the thing that gave your existence meaning. Hours passed, and light and shadows moved across my bedroom as the sun began its descent. My room grew dark, but I didn't bother flipping on the lights. I didn't have the energy or motivation. I don't know how much time passed before I heard the knock. At first, I wasn't even sure that's what it was. Then, it sounded again – definitely someone knocking on my front door. I stayed in bed, not wanting to see or talk to anyone. What if it's Seth? Some small part of me clung to that hope, that maybe he'd changed his mind. The rest of me didn't believe it. I'd seen the look in his eyes. The resolve. He wasn't coming back. And if he wasn't coming back, then there was no point in being social. My visitor knocked a third time, louder still. Beside me, Aubrey turned her head toward the living room, then toward me, no doubt wondering why I wouldn't put a stop to the noise. With a sigh, I crawled out of bed and stalked toward the front of the apartment. Half-way there, I stopped. It wasn't Seth. â€Å"Georgina!† wailed a twangy soprano voice. â€Å"I know you're in there. I can sense you.† I'd sensed Tawny too, of course, which is why I'd stopped walking. I sighed again, wondering if it would be possible to ignore her. Probably not. Even if I didn't answer, she'd probably stand out there all day, now that she knew I was here. I opened the door, expecting to be barreled into with tears and fanfare. Instead, I found Tawny standing calmly outside my door, hesitant to enter. Her eyes were wet after all, but she seemed to be trying very hard to rein herself in. The trembling of her lip suggested that wasn't going to be easy. And she had a glow. â€Å"C-can I come in?† she asked. I stepped to the side and waved her in. â€Å"You want me to take you out for a drink to celebrate your conquest?† That was it. She lost it. Sobbing into her hands, she sank down on to my loveseat. Still numbed from the Seth fallout, I had no mental energy to deal with this. Not enough energy to hate her, not enough energy to pity her. I was living apathy. â€Å"Tawny, I – â€Å" â€Å"I'm sorry!† she interrupted. â€Å"I'm so, so sorry. I didn't want to. I didn't want to do it. But he told me if I did that it'd pay off for both of us, that he'd pull strings to get me faster advancement and that I'd – â€Å" â€Å"Whoa, hang on,† I said. â€Å"Who's ‘he'? Niphon?† She nodded and produced a pack of tissues from her purse. At least she traveled prepared now. She blew her nose loudly before going on. â€Å"He told me to fake it – fake being bad. I mean†¦well, actually, I am kind of bad. Okay, a lot bad. I can't flirt like you. And I really can't dance.† She paused a moment, as though this caused her particular pain. â€Å"But you were right in saying it was impossible for me to not get sex from someone. I did. I just lied and said I couldn't.† It was just as I'd suspected for a while now, but hearing her confirm it didn't really cheer me up. It was yet another reminder of all the miserable things in my life these last couple of weeks. Staring at her, I still couldn't bring myself to feel angry at her. Partially because I was still drained of feeling and partially because it just wasn't worth it. Niphon had used her to play me, but he'd played her too. â€Å"You're a good liar,† I told her finally. â€Å"I could never be sure if you were telling the truth or not – but you seemed to be. I'm usually good at reading people.† Tawny smiled, just a little, with something almost like pride. â€Å"I hustled people a lot when I was mortal. Worked some con jobs.† The smile disappeared. â€Å"Until that asshole dumped me for a cheap blond whore. She had no idea what she was doing, but did he care? No. Dick. He's sorry now. They both are.† I blinked. I hadn't expected to hear that. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear that. Suddenly, Tawny's initial desire to make men everywhere suffer made a lot more sense – as did the reason she might have sold her soul in the first place. I hoped her current appearance wasn't some weird bastardization of the cheap blond whore. Because that would just be kind of creepy. â€Å"Well, um, I'm†¦sure they are. And you know, the skills you need to hustle and con aren't that different from seduction.† Maybe it was the moving and talking, but as I sat there, my sluggish brain began to stir to life and analyze the situation. â€Å"Tawny, why are you telling me this? If you're working for Niphon, he's probably not going to appreciate you blowing his cover.† â€Å"You're right. He doesn't know I'm here. But†¦but I was afraid. I know it'll all come out if you tell, and I don't want to go down with him! I thought if I came and talked to you and told you what happened that maybe†¦maybe you could forgive me. I'm starting to like it here. I don't want to leave. And if they punish him, they'll punish me too and – â€Å" â€Å"Wait, wait. Stop again. Punish him for what? For getting you to lie?† I frowned. â€Å"And what is it I'm going to tell?† Tawny was so surprised that she forgot to sniffle. â€Å"About her.† â€Å"Her?† â€Å"That – that hag. The one who came into my dreams†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Nyx? Oh. That really is how you hid your glow. Hugh was right.† â€Å"I hated it,† said Tawny vehemently. â€Å"Every time he made me go to her so she could suck me out. And then I'd have such weird dreams.† Think, Georgina, think! It was all coming together here if I could just put my own romantic disaster off to the side of my mind for a moment. â€Å"You†¦went to Nyx willingly? To have your energy sucked out so I wouldn't find out that you were lying?† Tawny nodded. My brain hurt. â€Å"And he – Niphon – made you, and – † I stopped. â€Å"Niphon knew about Nyx. You both did. And how to find her.† â€Å"He's the one who got her to come here when she escaped. Promised her two succubi,† sniffed Tawny. She gave me a puzzled look. â€Å"I thought†¦I thought you knew all that? I heard you were there when they captured her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tawny looked a little nervous, like she was wondering if maybe she'd done the wrong thing in betraying Niphon. As for me, I was suddenly reliving the battle back in my bedroom and Nyx's offer to help me get revenge on the one who'd sent her after me†¦. Niphon. â€Å"Niphon?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Niphon sent a crazy chaos goddess after me? Why? Why does he hate me that much?† Tawny's eyes went wide, no doubt surprised at my sudden outburst. â€Å"I†¦I don't know. He just said that he wanted to make things difficult for you. Screw up your life. Maybe get you sent away.† Hugh's words came back to me. All I know is that when an imp shows up and is going to this much trouble over something, the evidence suggests it's big. My heart raced, and I grabbed hold of her hand. â€Å"Tawny. Did he ever say anything about my contract? Any contract at all?† She shook her head frantically, tousling her blond curls even more than they already were. â€Å"No, not while I was around.† â€Å"Are you sure? Think! Think of anything, anything at all he might have said to explain why he did what he did.† â€Å"No, nothing!† She broke her hand away. â€Å"I'm telling you the truth this time. He just made it sound as though†¦well, like he didn't like you. He wanted you to be unhappy. Suffer. I don't know.† Niphon. So many things could be laid at his feet. According to Tawny, he'd used her to make me look like a bad mentor (which I was, kind of) and possibly get sent away. The imp had also talked to Seth about selling his soul – despite my warnings. Seth's decision to leave me had been his own, true. But, I realized, Niphon had played a role in getting Seth to think about such things. The distraction Nyx had caused – which apparently Niphon had brought about too – had cut me off from spending time with Seth. Realizing how close he'd been to selling his soul had driven Seth away. The fear of how that would affect him and me both had been too strong – strong enough that he chose to walk away from me. â€Å"Georgina?† I made a decision then. It wasn't going to change what had happened with Seth and me, but it was going to make me feel better. â€Å"Georgina?† repeated Tawny, peering at me. â€Å"Are you okay? You aren't going to get me sent away, are you? Georgina?† I rose from my chair, surprised at how my muscles had become kinked. No longer wanting to be dressed up, I shape-shifted out of the dress and into jeans and an empire cut sweater. Black. Like my mood. I glanced over at Tawny. â€Å"You want to go to a party with me?† I drove us over to Peter and Cody's, where the â€Å"evil† holiday party was taking place. I barely noticed that it was raining again. I walked up the building's stairs like one going to her own funeral, grim and purposeful – and with enough speed that Tawny had to scurry to keep up in her stilettos. When I felt the immortal signatures within the apartment, smug relief flooded me upon discovering Niphon was still there. Peter opened the door before I finished knocking. He wore a red sweater with an appliqu? ¦ Santa on it. It matched his tree, of course. â€Å"Look at this,† he said sarcastically. â€Å"She deigns to show up and join us lowly – â€Å" I strode past him without a word. He gaped. Moving through the room, I was vaguely aware of the others there. Jerome. Cody. Hugh. But I didn't want any of them. Niphon, standing with a glass of wine, regarded me with curious amusement as I headed straight for him. Considering I usually avoided him if it all possible, my approach undoubtedly astonished him. But not as much as when I punched him. I didn't even need to shape-shift much bulk into my fist. I'd caught him by surprise. The wineglass fell out of his hand, hitting the carpet and spilling its contents like blood. The imp flew backward, hitting Peter's china cabinet with a crash. Niphon slumped to the floor, eyes wide with shock. I kept coming. Kneeling, I grabbed his designer shirt and jerked him toward me. â€Å"Stay the fuck out of my life, or I will destroy you,† I hissed. Terror filled his features. â€Å"Are you out of your fucking mind? What do you – † Suddenly, the fear disappeared. He started laughing. â€Å"He did it, didn't he? He broke up with you. I didn't know if he could do it, even after giving him the spiel about how it'd be better for both of you. Oh my. This is lovely. All your so-called charms weren't enough to – ahh!† I'd pulled him closer to me, digging my nails into him, and finally, I felt an emotion. Fury. Niphon's role had been greater than I believed. My face was mere inches from his. â€Å"Remember when you said I was nothing but a backwoods girl from some gritty fishing village? You were right. And I had to survive in gritty circumstances – in situations you'd never be able to handle. And you know what else? I spent most of my childhood gutting fish and other animals.† I ran a finger down his neck. â€Å"I can do it for you too. I could slit you from throat to stomach. I could rip you open, and you'd scream for death. You'd wish you weren't immortal. And I could do it over and over again.† That wiped the smirk off Niphon's face. Behind me, the rest of the room had come to life. â€Å"For fuck's sake,† yelled Jerome. â€Å"Get her off him.† Strong hands pulled me back, Cody and Hugh each grabbing one of my arms. I fought against them, struggling to get back to a cringing Niphon. My friends were too strong. I couldn't break free and didn't have the life left to shape-shift added bulk. â€Å"Get rid of him, Jerome!† I yelled. â€Å"Get rid of him, or I swear to God, I really will rip him apart. He set me up to fail with Tawny. He brought Nyx here, for fuck's sake! Get rid of him!† I saw my boss's face. He didn't like being yelled at or ordered around – particularly in front of others. His face was hard and angry. I could tell he was about to tell me to shut up, and then something in his expression shifted. He turned his attention back to Niphon. â€Å"Get out,† the demon said. Niphon stared open-mouthed. Very fishlike, actually. â€Å"Jerome! You can't just – â€Å" â€Å"Get out. I know what you were trying to do, but you shouldn't have done it behind my back. Go back to your hotel, and be out of town by tomorrow.† Niphon still wanted to protest. But then, he looked at Jerome, looked at me, and then looked at Jerome again. Swallowing, the imp scrambled to his feet and grabbed a briefcase sitting on the couch. With one more glance back at me, he ran out the door. Jerome's gaze fell on Tawny, who was pressing herself against the wall in a futile effort to disappear. â€Å"It's not her fault,† I said quickly. â€Å"Don't punish her.† Jerome studied her a few more moments before sighing impatiently. â€Å"Later. I'll deal with you later.† I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but the fact that he hadn't smote her on the spot was a positive sign. Judging from the grateful look on her face, she agreed. Cody and Hugh still had a death grip on me, but after several moments, they released me. I sagged with exhaustion, surprised to see I was breathing heavily. Tension filled the room. Finally, Cody said, â€Å"Where did you learn to throw a right hook?† â€Å"You don't live through the Dark Ages without learning stuff like that,† mused Peter. He glanced at the spilled wine and sighed. â€Å"Club soda's not going to get that out.† â€Å"Georgie,† said Jerome in a rumbling voice. â€Å"Do not ever speak to me like that.† I steadied my breathing and swallowed back the bloodlust coursing through me. I met Jerome's dark eyes defiantly. â€Å"Noted,† I said. Then, unable to handle my friends' looks of both astonishment and concern, I ran out of the apartment. I made it down one flight of stairs before collapsing and sitting on the landing. I buried my face in my hands and started sobbing. The grief had finally won. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Hugh sat down beside me and put his arms around me. I pressed my face to his chest and kept crying. â€Å"You'll get over this,† he said quietly. â€Å"No. I will never get over this. I'm alone. I wish I was dead.† â€Å"No, you don't. You're too wonderful and have too many people who love you.† I lifted my head and looked at him. I'd never seen his face so compassionate, so serious – except when he'd yelled at Seth during poker. I sniffed and ran a hand over my wet eyes. â€Å"We broke up. This is what you wanted. You didn't want me and Seth to be together.† Hugh shook his head. â€Å"I like Seth. I want you to be happy. If you could be together without all the heartache, I'd send you on with my blessing. But I don't think that's possible. I think this is best.† â€Å"You told him the only way I'd let him go is if he hurt me, if he was an asshole. Do you think that's why he did it? Slept with Maddie? Because only something drastic would drive me away?† Hugh looked surprised at the reference to Maddie. â€Å"I don't know, sweetie. I don't know what he was thinking.† Sighing, I leaned back into him. â€Å"I will never get over this.† â€Å"You will.† â€Å"It's going to take a lot of time.† â€Å"Well, you have a lot of time.†

Vets essays

Vets essays Veterinarians are doctors who play a major role in the health care of pets, and livestock. They use their skill to help prevent disease carried by animals, and conduct research on human and animal health problems. Most veterinarians work in a private practice and mainly treat small animals such as dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits. Some veterinarians, however dont like to work in small practices, so they work in mixed practice. In mixed practices veterinarians treat bigger animals suck as pigs, goats, and sheep. There are also some veterinarians that work in clinical practice. There veterinarians dont usually work with animals directly; however, they diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against disease such as distemper, and rabies, and the also dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about feeding and breeding their animal (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia cd-rom). Veterinarians contribute to human health as well as animal health. Some veterinarians work with physicians and scientists to research ways to prevent and treat human health problems. These problems/diseases consist of cancer, AIDS, and alcohol or drug abuse. Veterinarians who are livestock inspectors go around to farms, and check animals for transmitted disease, advise owners on treatment, and quarantine animals. Veterinarians are also product inspectors. Their role is to examine slaughtering and processing plants to make sure that the carcasses dont have any disease. They also enforce government regulations regarding food purity and sanitation. Veterinarians tend to work long hours. They usually spend 50 hours or more on the job each week. Veterinarians that work in a group practice take turns with shifts and, therefore, they dont work as many hours as private practice veterinarians. Private and solo practice veterinarians work extended hours and on weekends. They must respond to emergencies and squeez ...

Antebellum Reform Movements

During the years of 1825-1850, the United States went through many changes that impacted the United States’ economy, government, and social life style of many people especially due to the start of the Industrial Revolution. As the United States found conflict with the West as they continue to expand more further to West, the United States also found conflict within their nation with so many reform movements that were occurring in their nation. These reform movements lead many leaders to democratic ideals in the United States. Although not every reform movement was efficient, some reform movements that occur in the United States were more convenient to many citizens and immigrants. Some of the reform movements that sought to expand democratic ideals. For example, the political reform movement specifically the women’s rights reform, which gave more legal and political rights for women, after the Seneca Falls Convention was very convenient to the gender female. Also, another reform movement that impacted the social lives of many was the reform for Abolition, which like many leaders like Frederick Douglass opposed slavery and wanted it to end. In the result, the slaves would find themselves with freedom. Lastly, other reform movements that influenced the social lives of many were Utopian Communities and Education. The Utopian Communities was to create places where it freed many from poverty and greed which many people equal from each other. Also, a reform movement took a step in the United States was Education by stating that public education was available for to everyone under the leadership of Horace Mann, which gave the right for women and children to attend to school for an education.

Soda tax in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Soda tax in the US - Essay Example Statistics show that more than one third or 35.7% of adults in the US are obese and suffer from obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and coronary diseases. Obesity prevalence varies across different states whereby, in 2002, all states had a prevalence of more than 20% with the prevalence ranging from 34.7% in Louisiana to 20.5% in Colorado. Furthermore, the federal’s annual medical expense of obesity as of 2008 was $ 147 billion dollars (CDC, 2013). Prompted by the rise in obesity in the country, different researchers have hypothesizes different causes and suggested solutions aimed at mitigating the harmful social and economic effects of obesity. The soda tax is one such suggestion; however, not all agree on the possible benefits likely to result from the taxation of soft drinks. Whether or not adopting the soda tax in the US proves sufficient in reducing the obesity rate in the country remains a controversial issue for those for and against the tax policy. Proponents for the tax base their argument on credible research findings, which indicate that taxing soft drinks reduces high caloric intake minimizing an individual’s probability of developing obesity. First introduced as an abstract idea by the Director of Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (RCFPO) Kelly D. Brownell in 1994, the soda tax aimed to improve public health while simultaneously raise revenue in the US economy. Later studies done in Yale University by the RCFPO in 2011 indicated that a penny-per-ounce levy on soft drinks would function to reduce consumption by 13%, which resulted in the elimination of 8,000 calories from a regular, American’s diet annually.... inancial implication of obesity as a reason for taxing soft drinks, which many researchers have hypothesized as one of the leading causes of obesity in the US. Revenue generated from taxing soft drinks proves beneficial for the federal and state governments whereby, governmental officials can use the funds to offset financial deficits in the budget. A survey done by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services in 2012 indicated that taxing soft drinks would generate revenue of $ 14.9 billion dollars within the first fiscal year alone (Fletcher et al, 2010). Conversely, those against the tax policy sight poor lifestyle habits such as living a sedentary life and poor nutrition (high cholesterol diet) as major causes of obesity, which if not addressed would render taxing soft drinks inefficient in minimizing the obesity rate within the country. Research done by Fletcher and colleagues in 2009 aimed at examining the impact of fluctuating soda tax in different states on body mass index (BMI) revealed that soft drinks consumption accounted for 7% of total energy intake. They concluded that if taxed at the average taxation rate of tobacco (58%) the mean BMI of the US population would only decrease by 0.16 points reducing obesity in the population by 0.7% (Fletcher et al, 2010). This showed that soft drink taxes’ influence on BMI is minimal and does little to decrease obesity in the population. Furthermore, those against this policy are of the opinion that taxation of soft drinks does not limit their accessibility because many are willing to spend more money for their preferred luxury items such as soft drinks. In conclusion, it is apparent that both the public and the government stand to benefit from the soda tax. Taxing soft drinks generates revenue for the government,