‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley Essay

Compare the way the central characters are presented in ‘checking out me history’ by John Agard and ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poems ‘Checking out me History and ‘Ozymandias’ both use a wide range of various language and structure techniques to explore in great detail the central characters as well as their thoughts and feelings. The poem ‘Checking out me history’ uses various structural techniques to present the main character and to show his views, which also explains his frustration about not having a personal identity. In contrast to this, the poem ‘Ozymandias’ uses more linguistic features to describe the deteriorating decline of the statue. In the poem ‘Checking out me history’ the language used in the poem helps to create a clear image to the audience that shows the characters frustration and aggressiveness by using nonstandard English. For example, ‘Dem tell me’ imp lies that no matter how much the character is told about English history, he will continue to rebel against English society to prove how proud he is about his own culture and background by using phonetic spelling. This may help the readers to empathize with his thoughts and feelings. The non – standard English that is used throughout the poem also conveys how the character is representing himself through the language he is using. The almost sarcastic tone he uses to display his lack of interest in British history suggests that believes that black people’s history should be taught just as well as other cultures. Due to this poem not being grammatically correct, the audience are assured that the main character is unhappy with the way he has been taught through English education. The phonetic spelling shows us a rebellious side to the character as he challenges society to balance out histories of many cultures equally. However, In the poem ‘Ozymandias’ the tone created by Percy Bysshe Shelley connotes the idea of past occurrences. It can create the image that power is only temporary, and it is not long before nature takes over. The use of the words ‘frown’ and ‘wrinkled’ suggest the decline of the power that Ozymandias once had, or even ‘believed’ that he had. The use of the language throughout the poem creates a negative effect almost suggesting the significance of Ozymandias has now gone, and all that’s left is a statue. The use of the ‘!’ in the phrase ‘ye mighty,and despair!’ connotes the emphasis in the poem which helps the reader to understand how Ozymandias once expected fear from society or even envy. The poetic device of imagery is a similar comparison between both poems. In Ozymandias, Percy Shelley creates a memorable image of the statue which was once so great. The words ‘half shrunk’ and ‘shatter’d’ create the image of something that now is useless and has no significance what so ever, showing the deterioration of the statue. In addition to this, the way the poet describes ‘Ozymandias’ in such detail reveals how the audience may feel no sympathy towards Ozymandias. ‘Sneer of cold command’ suggests the characters arrogance towards society and his disapproval of the public. In contrast to this, in the poem ‘checking out me history’ the main character speaks very highly of his culture and its past, unlike Ozymandias as throughout audience can understand how Percy Shelley believes it is wrong for society to be in favour and to follow of such a self -obsessed king. The stanzas in the poem ‘Checking out me history’ shows a strong link to imagery as the historical figures from the characters background have a strong effect on the reader. An example of this is when the character talks about someone he feels is inspirational in the 9th stanza. She is described as a ‘healing star’ and a ‘yellow sunrise to the dying’ which connotes how imp ortant this woman was, and how she is worth learning about.

Reflective Paper on Gay Marriage Essay

Today many people have their own opinions and beliefs when it comes down to the topic of gay marriage. I personally feel that gay marriage should be legalized. Yes God said, â€Å"That marriage is to be between a man and a woman. † My question is, â€Å"What gives people the right to judge or tell another human-being who to love or how to love? † I personally feel it’s insulting to one’s integrity and people should be able to express their love how they see fit. For centuries the United States has been known for its civil rights and freedoms. Many Americans are angered by the idea of same-sex relationships and marriages. The biggest reason to why heterosexuals are against gay marriage is based primarily on their religious beliefs. So I’m wondering, â€Å"What’s wrong with the idea of two people being together who love and care for each other wanting to spend their lives together? † Of course the gay community is greatly misunderstood because many people who aren’t living a homosexual lifestyle just refuse to listen. Most of these individuals would rather be close-minded to the topic, rather than trying to understand the daily struggles and what it means to be gay in America or any other country for that matter. Same-sex couples aren’t asking for special treatment, but just to be treated the same as a straight couple. The ethical theory that provides the most support for same-sex marriage is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a natural way to see if an act is the right thing to do (or wrong thing to do) is to look at its results or consequences. Theories allow us the opportunity to identify the problem and then find ways on how to resolve them. One example would happen to be the ninth commandment, â€Å"Thou shall not lie. Given this statement we a human-beings, tend to lead busy lives and in order to not go against what we may have said, we’ll lie. We do this to keep from hurting one’s feelings. In doing this we as people look at the consequences of our actions to determine how we can make the situation better. It also states that there is an obvious solution that is fair and that may be one that appeals to common sense also. If we can mix races and people are allowed t o get married just because. Then why aren’t same-sex couples allowed the exact same opportunity? What makes people so against and afraid of allowing others to love and be with the person they choose? In a utilitarianism mind-set, society can’t say who should have a relationship. Much of the controversy rises from the decision on how one chooses to define or view marriage. Even though, it was between a man and a woman, man and a man, woman and a woman. Relativism is a concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity. In contrast, people who are supporters of gay marriage tend to look at the glass â€Å"half-full† instead of just basing their decisions primarily on religious beliefs. Both sides have a very valid argument when it comes down to discussing this topic. From past occasions of inequality, gay rights are the next big step to creating change and an equal society. Many people of the Republican Party feel that allowing same-sex marriages will change how people view religion and family values. A large majority of people and organizations that are for gay marriage feel that not allowing same-sex marriage to be legal feel that it’s a violation against the law of the Equal Protection Clause. It’s the clause of the 14th Amendment that prohibits states from denying any person within the jurisdiction of equal protection. So for the laws to not allow same-sex couples marry is going to create a lot of controversy and scrutiny. Homosexuality is defined as the quality of being homosexual or as the erotic activity with another of the same sex. Up until the year of 1973, being homosexual was known to be a mental disorder, which was stated as such in psychology journals. Many often feel that legalizing gay marriage will lead to the legalizing of other things. Such as pedophilia and polygamy which are controversial subjects but not as much as gay marriage. Even though comparing pedophilia and polygamy to gay marriage is a little much, people feel that allowing gay marriage goes against their morals, their views on society, lives they want for their children, and the future. For some violating same-sex couples civil right is worth it in the end only because they want to protect the value of a man-woman type marriage. To deny gays and lesbians the right to marry is in violation of their civil rights as a citizen of the United States of America. Legalizing gay marriage is not to attack how one feels and how they view things, but so that those can have a chance at equality also. Gay marriage is a very emotional topic and is going to be for years to come. So many people feel that homosexuality is wrong and not normal and therefore believe that homosexuals don’t deserve the right to be married. People are going to debate on whether gay marriage is â€Å"right or wrong†, that’s just the way it is. For most of it Christian groups have been the â€Å"chief of state† when it boils down to same-sex marriage. Growing up in a Christian faith home we were taught that God loves everyone. So answer this question, â€Å"Does that circle of people not include gays or lesbians? † The Constitution gives our rights thanks to the founding fathers of our country. As Americans is this country we have many rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and so many more. Even though there are many rights, some are limited to an extent. In today’s society are government is controlled by politicians who make a majority of the decisions. Even though we are given freedoms for some reason we are scared of using them. The U. S. seems to be huge playing field, but then we have individuals who decide to take away balls, swings, slides, etc. Why do they get to take these things away? Gay marriage will continue to be a critical topic in today’s society, that’s just fact. A recent study shows that there are approximately 2, 900,000 homosexuals living in the U. S. Some chose not to give out there sexual orientation. The only states where gay marriage is legal are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Maine, and Washington. The following countries allow gay partnerships which are Norway, Sweden, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, and Finland. A same-sex couple is not allowed to file a joint tax return in order to lower their taxes or allowed to visit a hospital if an illness was to occur. In this case only next of kin are allowed to make hospital visits. I feel that by allowing gay marriage across the country will then give equal rights for an individual. It will decrease the amount on violence among people and will bring the country together. People often ask, â€Å"Why can’t same-sex couples be fine with just the choice of civil union? † They say this because they couldn’t possibly understand the difference between marriage and civil union. Civil union is the legal status that ensures to same-sex couples specified rights and responsibilities of married couples. Marriage is the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage. Civil unions don’t allow the same assurance that marriage does. In our case marriages are known worldwide, as for civil unions they only exist in the state in which the couple live in. Marriage for same-sex couples happen to be way more beneficial in this case. Say for instance in a civil union, if one of the partners passes away, the living spouse cannot receive Social Security or any benefits from the government. This leaves that person in a financial crisis even though they had been with them for years. In a marriage, couples are entitled to receive their spouse’s Social Security or for that case any other benefits in case of death. This guarantees them definite financial security and rights that will protect them. In a marriage, as a couple you can move from state to state, or country to country and still be granted the same rights and protection. Where as in a civil union if you move to another state they’re rights are long being protected, that in which they were when they were living in the state they happened to be married in. One of the biggest benefits of marriage is the right to adoption. Several states don’t allow gay adoption or allow second parent adoption if an event such as loss or separation happened. Adoption is the act or process of adoption a child. Second parent adoption is when one person adopts the child of his or her partner. There are 16 states that definitely allow joint gay adoption which are; Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D. C. , Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. One of the most widely cited arguments that happen to be against same-sex marriage rights is that it will harm children that happen to be raised in the â€Å"silver lining† of these relationships. Studies from social science research show that the evidence from this statement is not a supported argument. Scientific literature shows that children who happen to grow up with one or two gay/or esbian parents cope as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as children raised in a heterosexual household. The optimal development seems to be influenced more by the nature of the relationship and interactions within the family, rather than by the structural form it takes. Since the year of 2002, studies have shown that children with same-sex parents do as well as children of parents of the opposite sex. This has allowed major psychological and health organizations such as (The American Psychological Association) and many more to support same-sex marriage and parenting. The word GLAAD stands for (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). This organization creates change. GLAAD amplifies the voice of the gay community in order to keep equality at the forefront of America’s cultural conversation. Their impact on newspapers, magazines, blogs, radio, television, movies, and so much more, which transforms attitudes to bring about real change. They hold the media accountable for the words and images they produce. When the media is allowed to be a platform to defame and stereotype the LGBT people, that’s when GLAAD steps in to take action. They leverage 25 years in media relationships and countless hours of media advocacy in order to send important messages against homophobia and discrimination. They strengthen other organizations so that they can leverage media, engage in local communities, and advance social change. Right at this present time GLAAD happens to be working with local organizations in more than 30 states to build support for equality. By collaborating with LGBT leaders and advocacy groups, happens to be the â€Å"key† to increasing the visibility of the gay community, changing hearts and minds, and securing full and lasting equality. Suicide is the third most leading cause of death among adolescents and non-suicidal self-harm occurs in 13-45% of individuals within this age group. This make this particular incident a major public health concern in today’s society. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth are particularly at risk for engaging in these behaviors. Even though, not much is known to what are the specific risk factors associated with suicidal ideas and self-harm behaviors within the population. A history of attempted uicide, impulsivity, and prospected LGBT victimization, and low social support were the reasons behind an increased risk of suicidal ideas. Lesbians are two times more likely to attempt suicide than straight woman, and gay men are six times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Attempts by gay and lesbian youth account up to 30% of all completed suicides. Gay teens are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers and gay youth are four times more likely to make a suicide attempt requiring medical attention. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. This organization was founded in 1998 by James Lecesne, Peggy Rajski, and Randy Stone, who are the creators behind the Academy Award winning short film called, â€Å"Trevor†. That is a timeless coming of age story about love, loss, and to learn how to be yourself. The Trevor Project is determined to end suicide among LGBTQ youth by providing life-saving and life-affirming resources. Which include 24/7 crisis intervention lifeline, digital community, and advocacy/ educational programs that create safe, supportive, and positive environment for everyone. The vision is to provide a future where the possibilities, opportunities, and dreams are the same for all youth, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Inclusiveness is one of their mantras. This organization believe that everyone should be treated like a human-being, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, religious practice, ability, or size. The Trevor Project is also a Champion of Change, an honor that was presented by the White House for their innovative work to save the lives of LGBTQ young people. In conclusion, I don’t think I’ll ever quite understand the argument on whether homosexuals should have the right to marry and live their lives the way they choose. As citizens of this country, we all deserve the right to experience and have happiness. Isn’t that normally part of forming relationships? It transpires when we fall in love and are able to love the one we have chosen to be with. Even, if our partner happens to be of the same or opposite sex. That shouldn’t matter because â€Å"love is love†, no matter how you see it. For me I feel that same-sex marriage shouldn’t have to resort in ethical controversy, it should be left alone. I feel this way because since the age of fourteen I knew that I was gay. Throughout middle school and high school I kept it a secret and didn’t tell anyone. It was very hard because I was scared that if I came out my family, friends, and my peers wouldn’t accept me. I went through phases of anxiety, anger, lonliness, depression, and an attempt of suicide. All because I kept who I truly was locked away all because the fear of rejection. That’s a very big â€Å"pill† to have to swallow. By deciding to keep this a secret I wasn’t able to live out my truth and be who I truly am. Recently at the beginning of this past year I decided that it was time to come out to my family and friends. It was one of the most hardest and scariest things that I’ve ever had to do but I know it had to be done. Now that I have the acceptance of my family and friends I’m now able to live my life and be truly happy. It’s as if I had been suffocating for so long and now I can breathe again. I can’t explain it but it’s the greatest feeling in the world. I want every teen or young adult struggling with who they are to be able to be okay and love themselves on the inside as well as the outside. There’s a saying, â€Å"God doesn’t make mistakes. † So for every person that’s ever been told that they’re a â€Å"mistake† just know that mistakes are okay because no one’s perfect, but never ever lose your passion to express and be who your are. I just feel like I’m finally able to live out my goals, dreams, and ambitions I have for my life. It’s as if I have been given this new lease on life called â€Å"joy†. I refuse to let anyone or anything take it away.

Journal Topic 2-A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal Topic 2-A - Essay Example This means that they easily change their cultural beliefs to match that of the majority. Racial or ethnic heritages are socially constructed and lead people of the same heritage to acting and undertaking activities in a certain way, or having a common way of life. National ethnic or racial identity of people of color is more likely to change than that of the white people. Though ethnic of racial identities are socially constructed, they are more flexible for the people of color than they are for the white. People of color make up the minority ethnic groups in America and therefore for them to attain the American nationality, they usually need to make changes to the group’s specific way of living and beliefs. They also need to adopt the whites’ ways and be assimilated to the white culture (Benshoff and Sean 60). They therefore adopt the white culture therefore losing their ethnic identities though the physical characteristics remain. The physical identities include the skin color and others like

Total and partial loss Marine Insurance Act 1906 Essay

Total and partial loss Marine Insurance Act 1906 - Essay Example Britain is the mistress of the seas, and its history is inextricably linked with the mastery of seamanship. The empire and its commerce were built upon transoceanic mercantilism, for which reason the UK has developed a relatively stable marine insurance law. Being well aware of the perils of the sea and the risks it poses to oceangoing vessels bearing valuable cargo, the development of marine insurance against losses due to oceanic misadventures is a natural development for a country like the UK. This paper shall treat specifically on the nature and types of losses that may be covered by marine insurance under the Marine Insurance Act 1906, and apply the provisions and jurisprudence concerning actual and constructive total loss to the case of Masefield AG (Insured) v Amlin Corporate Member Ltd (Insurer). The intention is to draw insight about the type of losses which marine insurance may or may not cover in the case of losses due to piracy. Marine Insurance Act 1906 s 56 The Marine I nsurance Act 1906 is a codification of the law of marine insurance as it existed at the turn of the century.2 It defines a contract of insurance as ‘a contract whereby the insurer undertakes to indemnify the assured in manner and to the extent thereby agreed, against marine losses, that is to say, the losses incident to marine adventure.’... (4)Where the assured brings an action for a total loss and the evidence proves only a partial loss, he may, unless the policy otherwise provides, recover for a partial loss. (5)Where goods reach their destination in specie, but by reason of obliteration of marks, or otherwise, they are incapable of identification, the loss, if any, is partial, and not total.’ 6 Actual total loss. From this enumeration, the kinds of losses which may be claimed against insurance are actual total loss, constructive total loss, and partial loss. Actual total loss is described in section 57, constructive total loss in section 60, and partial loss which is covered under sections 64 to 66, all under the Marine Insurance Act 1906. The Marine Insurance Act 1906, similar to common law, recognises only two principal kinds of loss – total loss and partial loss, pursuant to section 56 (1) and (2) of the Act. Actual total loss is defined in section 57 (1) as follows: ‘Where the subject-matter i nsured is destroyed, or so damaged as to cease to be a thing of the kind insured, or where the assured is irretrievably deprived thereof, there is an actual total loss.’7 This pertains to any subject matter insured, such as ship, cargo or freight. The first and last parts of section 57 originated from the observation by Lord Abinger made in Roux v Salvador,8 which constituted the basis of marine insurance was articulated in this manner: ‘The underwriter engages, that the object of the assurance shall arrive in safety at its destined termination. If, in the progress of the voyage, it becomes totally destroyed or annihilated, or if it be placed, by reason of the peril

Macro4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Macro4 - Essay Example By removing inflation, real GDP allows economists to make more accurate comparisons between countries and across multiple years. For example, let us consider a scenario where Nominal GDP in year N-1 was 500 and 525 in year N. The nominal GDP has grown by 5%. Now we look at three scenarios, one where inflation is 5% (country like UK), second where inflation is 1% (country like US) and the third where inflation is 10% (developing countries like India or China). If the economic policy makers were to consider only nominal GDP, all the three policy makers might consider similar fiscal policies. However, by looking at the real GDP, we are able to see that even though nominal growth of developing countries is higher, it is still lower than the inflation rate and the real GDP would actually have dropped. The goal of economic policy makers is to have low unemployment, stable prices and to stimulate growth. They have two sets of tools for this objective: 1) Fiscal policy – Government sp ending and Taxation 2) Monetary policy – Discount rate, Bank reserve ratio, and Open market operations So, the assumption made about what policy makers want to know when considering Real GDP more meaningful is the following: a) Are economic policies creating a real increase in the output? b) How much real demand is being created by government spending and taxation policy? c) Is the monetary policy able to drive growth at constant prices? 2. Why is GDP inadequate as a measure of social welfare? Can you think of any ways to make GDP a better measure of social welfare? GDP simply adds up all the products and services that are bought and sold. It makes no distinction between transactions that ass to the social welfare and those that diminish it. GDP assumes that all monetary transactions add to well-being without separating cost from benefit. For example, as a result of the recent earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, GDP would not take into account the loss caused by it but would act ually add up the cost spent in bringing things back to normal. Also, activities that actually are negative for the social welfare are added up in GDP – like lawyer fees in divorces or property damage and medical expenses due to crime. Further, GDP does not take into account some of the most important social welfare work that happens in our everyday lives – childcare, DIY home repairs, or even voluntary work. As an example of the ambiguity of GDP, if we hire someone to do the home repairs, GDP adds the income but if we do it ourselves, the DIY repair goes â€Å"unnoticed† in the GDP. In order to make GDP a better measure of social welfare, we could represent GDP like the balance sheet of a company showing separately the assets (monetary transactions that lead to social welfare and development) and the liabilities (monetary transactions that cause negative impact on social welfare or those that have been made in order to be back to normal after a disaster). The ne t of these assets and liabilities would then be a good indicator of how much actual social welfare has occurred in the country or over time. 4. a. Compute real GDP for each year. 1987 is the base year. Show your work. Year Nominal GDP GDP deflator Real GDP 1989 5 244 1,08 4 856 1990 5 514 1,13 4 880 1991 5 672 1,17 4 848 Real GDP in Year n = Nominal GDP in Year n GDP Deflator for that year Real GDP in 1989 = 5 244 / 1.08 = 4

Characteristics of unplanned economies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Characteristics of unplanned economies - Essay Example Market/unplanned economy and command/planned economies occupy the two polar extremes in the economic activity organization. The main difference is found in mechanisms used to determine prices and labor division or production factors. The market economy activity is unplanned, that is, it has no organization from the central authority and gets determined by the goods’ demand and the supply services. On the contrary, the command economy gets organized by the officials of the government who also direct and win the production factors (Meade, 2013). Currently, all modern economies are mostly pragmatic economies. The economies reject the thought function of representing, describing or mirrorring reality, but instead, they consider it as an instrument, action for problem solving. The two views of confrontation of the modern capitalism; state and neoliberal capitalism, will identify the economy of the social market that creates a new future pragmatism. Therefore, pragmatism is an indispensable and fundamental way of a rational economic management (Daniels & VanHoose,

Readings and respond Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Readings and respond - Essay Example The statement the â€Å"end of living and the beginning of survival† (Speech by Chief Seattle 1) which was quipped by Chief Seattle could mean that if the white people would continue to treat the world as their enemy, where land is to be purchased, conquered, and used; then, left with wanton disregard to its state or condition, it could simply indicate the end of life. When all living things have been exhausted for the personal use of man, as perceived to be the purpose of the white people, then, life would start to be difficult and challenging – and thus, it would signify the need to exert strenuous efforts just to survive. One strongly believes that the reliability and credibility of the information contained in the speech was validated due to the fact that it was created by a Native American, who communicated the thoughts, beliefs, and sentiments according to personal experience. As such, it was effective in winning the sympathy for Native American hardship in the 19th century due to the credibility of the speaker and the ability to impart what are the true sentiments and meaning of the land to the Native Americans. Otherwise, if someone, other than a Native American would create the speech, it would not have been as effective as

Philosophy Token vs. Dualism or New Theory Essay

Philosophy Token vs. Dualism or New Theory - Essay Example In recognition of the mental states in relation to the brain, the Token Theory of mind upholds the analogy of realizations and supposes that the individual thought is identical with the individual brain state in which it corresponds. This philosophy reasoned that if mental states is a cacophony of thought processes then most likely it is identical to the internal state of the brain. In simplified terms; it is interaction of mind and body and the interaction of physical processes in the brain and parts of the body via the nervous system and there is nothing more than physical in the way it functions. Smart (1956) said that the mental state's 'desire for a cup of coffee' would thus be nothing more than the "firing of certain neurons in certain brain regions". The mental phenomenon is then equated with the processes of the brain and is actually considered as the fundamental features of the brain. A heavy challenge under this theory would fall under the category of need. The explanation seems to relay the idea that humans regardless of affiliation feel hunger and hunger is identical to a certain brain state. Each mental state is said to be identical to an individual brain state without any categorization. ... Dualism meanwhile is a complex model that divides the human beings into two substances of matter and mind and separates the mind from the body. In Plato and Aristotle both maintained, for different reasons, "that a man's 'intelligence' (as a faculty of the mind or soul) could not be identified with, or explained in terms of his physical body". In a non-physical form, dualism exists to identify the mind as the control factor in movements along with other components. Dualism however explains the property of the physical (skin, bones and the entire system of the human body) in response to the mental (thoughts and feelings). For example, in simple dualism: a needle puncturing your finger is a physical trauma and causes you to perceive pain; as a physical response one either withdraws the hand or voice out a verbal reaction to pain. In other words there is direct physical interaction between the mind and the body. In more complex dualistic setting and explanation: when one sees a car, the input is placed on the senses and sends out signals through the senses which interpret the experience in the brain whereby a mental image is produced. Scientifically this could be acceptable, but the simplest is always the best answer when trying to find the most natural relation to a human's mind. Despite a certain initial clarity, the token identity theory is still faced with a heavy challenge in the form of the Putnam's(1967) multiple realizations. If this is a difference however, then pain cannot be identical to a certain brain state and thus the identity theory is empirically unfounded for her. It dwells on the neurological aspect of the mind and the

China Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

China - Assignment Example The emperor created an intricate bureaucracy which they used to wage imperial wars, perform public works projects and to build large temples. During the Imperial era, the states were centralized though local officials maintained limited autonomy. Artisans and self-sufficient peasant farmers ruled the economy during this period. Business was relatively frequent and it increased after the Han Dynasty after Silk Road was developed. During this period, there was an emergence of large-scale businesses and advancements in technology. Developments in technology were marked by the invention of paper, wheelbarrows and the seismograph. The Late Imperial era brought an economic revolution in China. With technological advancements, there was a rise in large-scale enterprises, waged labour and use of paper money. Trade in the overseas flourished during the Ming Dynasty. Liberalisation of capital, investment and commerce took place as technology continued to advance. At the same time, there was privatisation of government manufacturing industries. There was also emergence of urban and rural markets, whereby there was production that was geared towards consumption. The emergence of these markets was a key development during this era (Hampton & Moss, 2004, p. 37-42). Power distance refers to the extent to which people who have less powers in an organization will expect and accept power to be distributed in a different way. China is ranked 80 on power distance which is very high. This rank means that there is a big power distance between the subordinates and the management. However, that is acceptable and considered normal. Individualism is where people think with a mentality of â€Å"I† or â€Å"We†. For the American culture for example, it is mostly â€Å"I† focused. It therefore means that the Americans focus more on furthering themselves and their careers versus furthering their departments or groups. China is ranked at 91 on individualism. It therefore means

Arc of Justice Essay Example for Free

Arc of Justice Essay Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle does a lot more than tell an account of an incident in 1920s Detroit, it goes deeper into the problems of people within the city as well as the city itself. The story focuses on Ossian Sweet, a man from a small town called Bartow, Florida whose parents sent him up north so he could have a chance to make something of himself, which he did. This, however, did not change the fact that he was a black man living in early 20th century America, and moved into the city of Detroit which was known to be the most segregated city in the United States (p. 44) Boyle digs into the personal life of Sweet, as well as the lives of people around him- black and white- to give the reader a clear, realistic aspect of how life was like in 1920s Detroit. The beginning of the novel depicts Sweet’s transformation from a country boy in Florida to an up-and-coming successful doctor in the busy city of Detroit. At the mere age of thirteen, Ossian was sent from the small farm his parents Henry and Dora had to the college in Ohio by the name of Wilberforce. There Ossian began his learning on a campus that was now where near as greatly funded as the white colleges like Harvard. From there he moved on to Howard University, where Ossian got an eye opener about himself as well as the problems with race. When he began his teaching in Harvard in the late 1910s, the race riots were a constant threat, and by living in Washington DC, Ossian got to see a lot of it.

Huntington Disease: An overview

Huntington Disease: An overview Huntington Disease Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal-dominant disorder, characterized as disease of progressive brain degeneration in late adulthood with subsequent brain atrophy. The affected areas of degeneration are the basal ganglia, which play an important role in the control of movement. This degeneration causes various motor problems such as behavioral abnormality, chorea, incoordination and dystonia (Folstein, 1989). George Huntington was the first man that described HD in the 19th century in detail especially its hereditary nature of chorea (Huntington, 1872). New findings have shown that HD involves the mutant protein huntigtin. This protein is translated from a CAG repeat forming a polyglutamine strand of variable length at the N-terminus. The molecular mechanism of HD is not fully understood but new findings using animal models have provided valuable information. The gene associated with HD is termed the HD gene and can be found on the short arm of chromosome four. As the disease is autosomal dominant, only one HD gene is sufficient to cause the disorder. The HD gene is composed of a trinucleotide CAG repeats.The alleles of the HD gene are grouped as normal, intermediate or HD-causing. Each group has a characteristic number of CAG repeats. The normal alleles have 26 or fewer CAG repeats whereas intermediate alleles have 27-35 CAG repeats (Potter et al., 2004). Carriers of normal alleles and intermediate alleles are not at risk of developing HD. However, individuals with intermediate alleles are at risk of giving birth to a child with an allele of HD-causing characteristic (Semaka et al., 2006). Thus, intermediate alleles are also termed mutable alleles as they may mutate to cause HD phenotype in the offspring. The reason for the mutation lies in the instability of the replication. The longer the number of trinucleotides, the greater the insta bility. In 73% of the cases, the instability leads to an expansion of the trinucleotide repeats and thus an increase in the risk of developing HD whereas only 23% show a contraction of the number of repeats associated with a low risk of developing HD (Chattapadhyay et al., 2005; Djousse et al.,2004, MacDonald et al., 1999). HD-causing alleles usually contain 36 or more CAG repeats and pose the carrier at an increased risk of developing HD. HD-causing alleles have been categorized into two groups: Reduced-penetrance HD-causing alleles and Full-penetrance HD-causing alleles. Reduced-penetrance or incomplete HD-causing alleles are composed of 36-39 trinucleotide CAG repeats (Rubinsztein, 2003; Rubinsztein et al., 1996; McNeil et al., 1997). Carriers of this allele may be asymptomatic and not show the symptoms. On the other hand, full-penetrance HD-causing alleles are characterized by 40 or more CAG repeats and carriers of this allele have a high probability of developing HD (Rubinsztein et al., 1996; McNeil et al., 1997; Langebehn et al., 2004). The instability of the trinucleotide repeats occurs more often in males (spermatogenesis) than in females (oogenesis). This phenomenon can also be observed in the offspring with paternal inheritance of the HD gene where the onset of HD is more potent and occurs in the early youth. In addition, families with no history of HD may develop HD via new mutations arising by the amplification of trinucleotide CAG repeats and most of these new mutations come from the paternal side (Anca et al., 2004; Squitieri et al., 2003). Somatic instability of CAG repeats can also arise and have been observed in human beings as well as animal models. Furthermore, identical twins demonstrate different clinical syndromes and have almost a similar age of onset. Twins that are carriers of homozygous alleles have no difference in the age of onset (Georgiou et al., 1999). Carriers of the HD allele are clinically healthy before the onset of the HD disease symptoms. However, in the so called presymptomatic phase, there are slight changes occurring in motor skills, cognition and personality (Walker, 2007). The onset of HD disease symptoms usually occurs in the mean age of onset which is 35 to 44 years (Bates et al., 2002). In 66%, initial symptoms are abnormalities in the neurological function or psychiatric changes. Other symptoms are minor involountary movements, difficulty in mental planning, depression and slight changes in the eye movement. In 25% of HD carriers, the appearance of initial symptoms such as chorea, dysphagia and gait disturbance is delayed until after 50 years with the disease symptoms taking a more prolonged and gentle course. At the same time, the lifestyle of the affected individuals does not change and they can still continue with their current employment. The initial onset of the symptoms is followed by an increased symptomatic chorea, difficulty in controlling voluntary movement as well as exacerbation of dysarthria and dysphagia. As a result of the worsening symptoms, the affected individuals must leave employment and may require additional help to cope with some activities in their daily life. The final stage of HD demonstrates severe motor disability. The symptoms have worsened so much that so that the carriers cannot deal with their impairment at all and require the assistance of other people. The carriers are mute and incontinent and show a median survival time of 15 to 18 years after the first onset of HD related symptoms. The life expectancy is suggested to be at 54 to 55 years (Harper, 2005). The diagnosis of HD is based on mutation analysis. For this purpose, PCR based methods can be utilized which spots alleles up to about 115 CAG repeats. Likewise, southern blot is employed for alleles with more than 115 CAG (Potter et al., 2004). Such large expansions are linked with juvenile-onset of HD triggered by homozygous HD genotypes. Moderate-to-severe Huntingtons disease illustrate larger frontal horns of the lateral ventricles and deficiency in striatal volume when routine MRI and CT scans are performed (Stober et al., 1984). However, scans are not helpful for the diagnosis of early disorder. Functional MRI studies and data from PET have displayed that affected brains started to alter before the onset of symptoms (Kunig et al., 2000, Paulsen et al., 2004). Using these techniques, it is possible to recognize caudate atrophy as easrly as 11 years before the expected onset of the disease, and it is possible to recognze putaminal atrophy 9 years before the expected onset (Aylwar d et al., 2004). Tensor-based magnetic resonance morphometry demonstrates increasing loss of striatal loss in individuals who are presymptomatic carrying the HD gene and do not show evidence of progresson by clinical or neuropsychological tests over 2 years (Kipps et al., 2005). Genetic testing for HD is only considered by 5% of HD risk carriers due to family planning and employment. Many HD risk carriers do not undergo testing as there is no efficient treatment for HD available (Laccone et al., 1999). Moreover, predictive testing can have psychological consequences for HD risk carriers leading to suicide due to mental depression (Almqvist et al., 2003). Therefore, it is crucial to identify suicidal patterns in young HD risk carriers and give pretest counseling. Epidemiological studies suggest that HD is most prevalent in the white Caucasian population with 5-7 people affected per 100000. There are also exceptions in areas where the entire population is derived from a few founders such as in Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela or Tasmania (Pridmore, 1990). Across most of Asia and Africa the incidences of HD are much lower. The reason for the various distribution of HD incidence lies in the CAG repeats. White Caucasians have a much higher frequency of HD alleles that are composed of 28-35 CAG repeats (Kremer, 2002; Harper Jones, 2002). The high frequency of this HD alleles in the white population is not fully understood. The HD gene may give a health benefit as in other genetic disorders such as sickle cell trait. It is thought that the HD gene is associated with a lower risk of developing cancer, possibly due to the upregulation of TP53 in HD disease (Bae et al., 2005; DiFiglia etal., 1995). The pathogenesis of HD involving the protein huntingtin is poorly understood. Even though orthologs of that protein have been detected in zebrafish, drosophilia and slime moulds, the role of the protein is still unknown (Jones, 2002). Huntingtin has a high dominance in all human cells. Most of it is expressed in the brain and testes whereas heart, lungs and liver show moderate amounts of it (DiFiglia et al.,1995). One hypothesis suggests that happloinsufficiency plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of HD. This would mean that insufficient amounts of huntingtin protein are generated for the cells to function properly (Ambrose et al.,1994). However, this hypothesis also have been refuted by other findings which suggest that a deficiency of HD gene in man does not cause HD in man (Rubinsztein, 2003; Ambrose et al., 1994). This is also supported by transgenic mouse models. One allele of the HD gene does not cause HD in transgenic mouse models and complete absence of the HD gene is linked to mortality in mouse embryos (Squitieri et al., 2003). Thus, new findings explain the pathogenesis of HD as a toxic gain of function derived from the mutant HD gene. Likewise, this phenomenon can also be observed in other genetic diseases such as muscular atrophy or dentatorubropallidoluysian (Ambrose et al., 1994; Andrew et al., 1993). There is not sufficient evidence to support the claim of happloinsufficiency in any of these genetic disease but an accumulation of polyglutamines with subsequent neurodegeneration. This is further supported by the relationship between length of polyglutamine repeat and age of onset. Longer polyglutamine repeat chains are associated with more aggressive progression of HD disease symptoms and the juvenile onset of HD (Mahant et al., 2003; Squitieri et al., 2002; Forproud et al., 1999). The biological structure of polyglutamine gives more insight into the toxic gain of function in HD. Experiments performed in vitro show that polyglutamine aggregates by forming dimmers, trimers and oligomers. For this aggregation to be efficient, a minimum number of 37 glutamine residues in sequence is required. The rate of aggregation increases as more glutamine repeats are added to the long chain of glutamine polypeptide. This in vitro observation may be an explaination why some individuals experience late onset of HD while others have a juvenile onset of HD. Some key points have been discovered in the mechanism explaining how aggregated polyglutamine leads to neuronal dysfunction. The mutant huntingtin protein is more prone to proteleolysis than its wild type counterpart. This higher risk of protein degradation creates truncated proteins, which lead to the formation of aggregates of truncated huntingtin. Additionally, shorter glutamine repeats are less likely to form steric clashes than longer ones. It is believed that these aggregates are toxic and locate in the cell nucleus. (Saudou et al., 1998; Peter et al., 1999; Wellington et al., 2000). Eventually, the rate of aggregation overcomes the rate at which proteosomes or autophagic vacuolization degrade the proteins in the cell. This further exacerbates the formation of aggregated protein in conjunction with the ability of aggregates to recruit normal body proteins to their matrix. Examples of normal body proteins are those proteins that interact with the wild type form of huntingtin dir ectly (Mills et al., 2005). Some papers also propose that the protein huntingtin may exert not only a toxic gain of function but also a dominant negative effect on the typical function of the wild type protein huntingtin. This way, mutant huntingtin could interfere with proteins that regulate transcription, apoptosis, tumor suppression or axonal transport (Bae et al., 2005; Busch et al., 2003; Charrin et al., 2005; Gauthier et al., 2004 , Hickey Chesselet, 2003). Lastly, one other hypothesis states that mutant huntingtin may interfere in neuron-neuron interaction. This has been illustrated in mice where the mutant protein huntingtin disrupts the axonal transport and vesicle release of neurotrophic factor in neurons leading to intrinsic dysfunction of striatal neurons (Pulst et al., 1996; Komure et al., 1995). References Almqvist EW, Brinkman RR, Wiggins S, Hayden MR. Psychological consequences and predictors of adverse events in the fi rst 5 years after predictive testing for Huntingtons disease. Clin Genet 2003; 64: 300-09. Ambrose CM, Duyao MP, Barnes G, et al. Structure and expression of the Huntingtons disease gene: evidence against simple inactivation due to expanded CAG repeat. Somat Cell Mol Genet 1994; 20: 27-38. Anca MH, Gazit E, Lowewenthal R, Ostrovsky O, Frydman M, Giladi N. Diff erent phenotypic expression in monozygotic twins with Huntington disease. Am J Med Genet 2004; 124: 89-91. Andrew SE, Goldberg YP, Kremer B, et al. The relationship between trinucleotide (CAG) repeat length and clinical features of Huntingtons disease. Nat Genet 1993; 4: 398-403. Aylward EH, Sparks BF, Field KM, et al. Onset and rate of striatal atrophy in preclinical Huntington disease. Neurology 2004; 63: 66-72. Bae BI, Xu H, Igarashi S, et al. P53 mediates cellular dysfunction and behavioral abnormalities in Huntingtons disease. Neuron 2005; 47:29-41. Bates G, Harper P, Jones L (2002) Huntingtons Disease. Oxford University Press, New York. Busch A, Engemann S, Lurz R, et al. Mutant huntingtin promotes the fibrillogenesis of wild-type huntingtin: a potential mechanism for loss of huntingtin function in Huntingtons disease. J Biol Chem 2003; 278: 41452-61. Charrin BC, Saudou F, Humbert S. Axonal transport failure in neurogenerative disorders: the case of Huntingtons disease. Pathol Biol 2005; 53: 189-92. Chattapadhyay B, Baksi K, Mukhopadhyay S, Bhattacharyya NP. Modulation of age at onset of Huntingtons disease patients by variations in TP53 and human caspase activated DNase (hCAD) genes. Neurosci Lett 2005; 374: 81-86. DiFiglia M, Sapp E, Chase K, et al. Huntingtin is a cytoplasmic protein association with vesicles in human and rat brain neurons. Neuron 1995; 14: 1075-81. Djousse L, Knowlton B, Hayden MR, et al. Evidence for a modifier of onset age in Huntington disease linked to the HD gene in 4p16. Neurogenetics 2004; 5: 109-14. Foroud T, Gray J, Ivashina J, Conneally PM. Differences in duration of Huntingtons disease based on age at onset. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1999; 66: 52-56. Folstein S. Huntingtons disease: a disorder of families. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. Gauthier LR, Charrin BC, Borrell-Pages M, et al. Huntingtin controls neurotrophic support and survival of neurons by enhancing BDNF vesicular transport along microtubules. Cell 2004; 118: 127-38. Georgiou N, Bradshaw JL, Chiu E, Tudor A, OGorman L, Phillips JG. Diff erential clinical and motor control function in a pair of monozygotic twins with Huntingtons disease. Mov Disord 1999; 14:320-25. Harper PS, Jones L. Huntingtons disease: genetic and molecular studies. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 113-58. Harper B.Huntington disease.J R Soc Med.2005;98:550. Hickey MA, Chesselet MF. Apoptosis in Huntingtons disease. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2003; 27: 256-65. Huntington G. On chorea. Med Surg Rep 1872; 26: 317-21 Kipps CM, Duggins AJ, Mahant N, Gomes L, Ashburner J, McCusker EA. Progression of structural neuropathology in preclinical Huntingtons disease: a tensor based morphometry study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2005; 76: 650-55. Kunig G, Leenders KL, Sanchez-Pernaute R, et al. Benzodiazepine receptor binding in Huntingtons disease: [11C]fl umazenil uptake measured using positron emission tomography. Ann Neurol 2000; 47: 644-48. Kremer B. Clinical neurology of Huntingtons disease. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 3-27. Komure O, Sano A, Nishino N, et al. DNA analysis in hereditary dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy: correlation between CAG repeat length and phenotypic variation and the molecular basis of anticipation. Neurology 1995; 45: 143-49. Jones L. The cell biology of Huntingtons disease. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 348-62. Laccone F, Engel U, Holinski-Feder E, et al. DNA analysis of Huntingtons disease: fi ve years experience in Germany, Australia, and Switzerland. Neurology 1999; 53: 801-06. Langbehn DR, Brinkman RR, Falush D, Paulsen JS, Hayden MR.A new model for prediction of the age of onset and penetrance for Huntingtons disease based on CAG length.Clin Genet.2004;65:267-77. MacDonald ME, Vonsattel JP, Shrinidhi J, et al. Evidence for the GluR6 gene associated with younger onset of Huntingtons disease. Neurology 1999; 53: 1330-32 Mahant N, McCusker EA, Byth K, Graham S. Huntingtons disease: clinical correlates of disability and progression. Neurology 2003; 61:1085-92. McNeil SM, Novelletto A, Srinidhi J, Barnes G, Kornbluth I, Altherr MR, Wasmuth JJ, Gusella JF, MacDonald ME, Myers RH.Reduced penetrance of the Huntingtons disease mutation.Hum Mol Genet.1997;6:775-9. Mills IG, Gaughan L, Robson C, et al. Huntingtin interacting protein 1 modulates the transcriptional activity of nuclear hormone receptors. J Cell Biol 2005; 170: 191-200. Paulsen JS, Zimbelman JL, Hinton SC, et al. fMRI biomarker of early neuronal dysfunction in presymptomatic Huntingtons disease. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2004; 25: 1715-21. Peter MF, Nucifora FC Jr, Kushi J, et al. Nuclear targeting of mutant Huntingtin increases toxicity. Mol Cell Neurosci 1999; 14: 121-81. Potter NT, Spector EB, Prior TW.Technical standards and guidelines for Huntington disease testing.Genet Med.2004;6:61-5. Pridmore SA. The large Huntingtons disease family of Tasmania.Med J Aust 1990; 153: 593-95. Pulst SM, Nechiporuk A, Nechiporuk T, et al. Moderate expansion of a normally biallelic trinucelotide repeat in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. Nat Genetics 1996; 14: 237-38. Rubinsztein DC. Molecular biology of Huntingtons disease (HD) and HD-like disorders. In: Pulst S, ed. Genetics of movement disorders. California: Academic Press, 2003: 365-77. Rubinsztein DC, Leggo J, Coles R, Almqvist E, Biancalana V, Cassiman JJ, Chotai K, Connarty M, Crauford D, Curtis A, Curtis D, Davidson MJ, Differ AM, Dode C, Dodge A, Frontali M, Ranen NG, Stine OC, Sherr M, Abbott MH, Franz ML, Graham CA, Harper PS, Hedreen JC, Hayden MR.et al.Phenotypic characterization of individuals with 30-40 CAG repeats in the Huntington disease (HD) gene reveals HD cases with 36 repeats and apparently normal elderly individuals with 36-39 repeats.Am J Hum Genet.1996;59:16-22. Rubinsztein DC. Molecular biology of Huntingtons disease (HD) and HD-like disorders. In: Pulst S, ed. Genetics of movement disorders. California: Academic Press, 2003: 365-77. Rubinsztein DC, Leggo J, Coles R, et al. Phenotypic characterization of individuals with 30-40 CAG repeats in the Huntington disease (HD) gene reveals HD cases with 36 repeats and apparently normal elderly individuals with 36-39 repeats. Am J Hum Genet 1996; 59:16-22. Saudou F, Finkbeiner S, Devys D, Greenberg ME. Huntingtin acts in the nucleus to induce apoptosis but death does not correlate with the formation of intranuclear inclusions. Cell 1998; 95: 55-56. Squitieri F, Cannella M, Simonelli M. CAG mutation eff ect on rate of progression in Huntingtons disease. Neurol Sci 2002;23 (suppl 2): S107-08. Squitieri F, Gellera C, Cannella M, et al. Homozygosity for CAG mutation in Huntingtons disease is associated with a more severe clinical course. Brain 2003; 126: 946-55. Stober T, Wussow W, Schimrigk K. Bicaudate diameter: the most specifi c and simple CT parameter in the diagnosis of Huntingtons disease. Neuroradiology 1984; 26: 25-28. OHearn E, Holmes SE, Calvert PC, et al. SCA-12: tremor with cerebellar and cortical atrophy is associated with a CAG repeat expansion. Neurology 2001; 56: 299-303. Walker FO.Huntingtons disease.Lancet.2007;369:218-28. Wellington CL, Leavitt BR, Hayden MR. Huntington disease: new insights on the role of huntingtin cleavage. J Neural Transm Suppl 2000; 58: 1-17.

A Risk Neutral Framework For The Pricing Of Credit Derivatives :: Business Finance Essays

A Risk Neutral Framework For The Pricing Of Credit Derivatives 1. INTRODUCTION Considerable research effort has gone into Credit Derivatives since the early 1990’s. The roots of credit derivatives can be traced back to the notion that the credit risk of a firm can be captured by the credit rating ascribed to it. This premise is also the cornerstone of loan pricing and credit risk management models the world over, including J.P. Morgan’s CreditMetricsTM. Empirical research enables the predictability of the event of default as well as the Loss in the Event of Default (LIED). This information is expressed in terms of a ‘transition matrix’ - a matrix that traces out the probabilities the migration of a firm’s credit rating. Rating agencies such as Standard & Poor (S&P) provide transition matrices computed from periods of data about bonds - default record and post-default behaviour in the US markets. Lack of adequate data precludes the computation of such matrices in the Indian context, although it is possible to map ratings of Indian rating agencies such as CRISIL onto S&P ratings. 2. TYPES OF CREDIT DERIVATIVES Here is a brief description of some popular types of credit derivatives: 2.1 Credit Default Swaps A credit default swap provides a hedge against default on some payment, such as a bond. The counterparty buying credit protection pays the provider a certain amount in return for a guarantee to make good the loss in the event of default. 2.2 Total Return Swaps In this contract, the ‘payer’ gives a ‘receiver’ the total return on an asset in return for the returns on a benchmark asset, typically a risk-free asset. The payer has thus eliminated the risk of default in return for a lower but certain risk-free rate of return. 2.3 Credit Spread Derivatives Credit spread derivatives take the form of credit spread options, forwards or swaps. A credit spread call option, for example, is a call option written on the level of the spreads for a given bond. The option, thus increases in value as the spread increases, so that the value of the bond is protected. 3. RISK-NEUTRALITY Hypothesising the existence of a ‘risk-neutral’ world is extremely useful in the pricing of instruments whose value is derived from a stochastic process. In the real world, the present price is less than the expected net present value of the likely outcomes in future. Thus, for example, if the price of a commodity can become either Rs.

Solzhenitsyn’s Exile :: Russian European History Papers

Solzhenitsyn’s Exile missing works cited â€Å"In February 1956, the Soviet Union’s new leader, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated a period in Soviet history known as ‘The Thaw’ †¦ Millions of former political prisoners were granted amnesty, including [Aleksandr] Solzhenitsyn.† (Shattan 149) Solzhenitsyn is Russia’s most prolific writer of the 20th century was Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a man who rose to fame through his literature. It was Khrushchev’s thaw, however, that resulted in Solzhenitsyn’s exile. Solzhenitsyn made his break in literature because of Khrushchev’s thaw. Yet as time went by, the Soviet leadership became increasingly conservative after the thaw. Initially, the conservative leadership did not know what to do with Solzhenitsyn, but after deciding to take action against Solzhenitsyn, they eventually worked towards a final solution, his deportation from Russia. Had it not been for the thaw, though, Solzhenitsyn would never have made the rise to fam e, and his deportation. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn first became active in politics during his time in Rostov University prior to World War II, during which time he became â€Å"a convinced Communist - a member of the Komsomol (Young Communist League)†¦ and the proud holder of a Stalin scholarship.† (Shattan 137) After graduating in 1941, Solzhenitsyn joined up with the Russian artillery to fight the Nazi army. During this time, he began to formulate a belief that Stalin â€Å"had betrayed Leninism and was responsible for the defeats in the first phase of the war† (Shattan 140) He communicated these ideas with a friend through letters, but was caught by censors and imprisoned. During his time in prison, which would provide the material for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, it was discovered by Soviet authorities that Solzhenitsyn had a degree in physics. Because of this, he was transferred to a special science prison, where prisoners worked on Soviet experiments. In 1953, his term served, Solzhenitsyn was released from prison, but forced into an internal exile in southern Kazakhstan. However, in 1956 this exile was ended by the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, who initiated â€Å"The Thaw† by releasing millions of political prisoners. Solzhenitsyn was free to write and to travel. In a society that had repressed its writers for the last 30 years, it was extremely difficult, and quite a gamble, for an author to try to publish a book, much less one that criticized one of the only two leaders the single party state had known.

Death in the Woods, by Sherwood Anderson :: essays research papers

The story â€Å"Death in the Woods†, written by Sherwood Anderson, is a story told by a man who has told it one to many times. As a young boy in a small town he notices an older women named Grimes, who he will tell us the story about. She was the type of person that nobody noticed in town. She led a quite life and never really talked to anyone other then the butcher. The narrator then goes on to describe how she meets her husband Jack Grimes. He was a tough guy that she meets while working for an abusive German farmer. The narrator tells you a long story about how he helps her from getting way from the abusive German. They bonded after a few incidents and then got married. They had a few boys and started their own farm where just like before she fed the animals, just as she did for the German. Her husband tried to socialize with the town people but it did not work out. He then rebelled by stealing their horses. He even threatened to fight them after they would not make conversation with him. This maybe a good reason why one of his sons had been put in jail already, setting a real good example. Their family, the Grimes used to own a saw mill but, it fell through in the last couple of years so all of their money was gone which forced them to all to have to work hard. The young man narrating then tells us about his encounter with the elderly woman. One cold winter day she made her way to town to go the store. She went to butcher, ironically she and the butcher were social with each other and he gave her some extra food. On her way back through the woods she stopped for a minute to rest due the heavy bag. She feels asleep and did not wake up. She froze to death. Her dogs did find here and eat their food from her bag. This is very ironic because all she did was feed animals all her life. She did at the German’s farm, her farm/family and the dogs and now she is dead because of it. In story the young man describes how he arrived with the other men from town when they found her. He saw her frozen and dead.

Animal Farm: a Story Based on Communism

The novel â€Å"Animal Farm† is a story based on communism, and revolves around the Russian revolution and the Soviet Union, showing this by the animal’s feelings, emotions and actions of communism eventually becoming corrupt. The novel is written by George Orwell and is told by a narrator in third person, and shows how communism operates and reflects upon the characters. The main characters in Animal Farm would make a list of: Napoleon (the big fat pig), Old Major (the boar), Snowball (Napoleon’s best friend, the white pig), Squealer (Napoleon’s side kick, the pig), boxer (the horse) and Benjamin (the donkey) as the rest being pigs and sheep etc.Napoleon would be the perfect specimen for being the key character to reveal George Orwell’s important warning or theme, which is that power, corrupts. Old major, gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise, and teaches them a song called â€Å"Beasts of England,† in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm.When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer, formulate his key principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Belatedly one night, the animals manage to overpower the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, virtually forcing him to leave. They rename the property Animal Farm from Manor Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The carthorse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular fanaticism, committing his great strength to the success of the farm and adopting as a delicate maxim the support â€Å"I will work harder. Originally, Animal Farm prospers. Snowball is ever so determine to teach the animals to read, and Napoleon is the head of a group of youthful puppies to educate them in the ethics of Animalism. When Mr Jones shows unannounced to fight back for his farm, the animals defeat him once again, in what comes to be known as the Battle of the Cowshed, and take the farmer’s abandoned gun as a token of their victory. As time leads on, nevertheless, Napoleon and Snowball gradually hedge over the future of the farm, and they commence to find it hard with each other for power and influence amid the farm.Snowball concocts a scheme to build an electricity-generating windmill, except Napoleon firmly opposes the plan. When the meeting aroused for the vote on whether to take up the task, Snowball astounds everyone one with his speech. Even though Napoleon gives only a brief rejoin, he suddenly made a strange noise, and nine attack dogs, the puppies that Napoleon had confiscated in order to â€Å"educate†, rupture into the barn and hound Snowball from the farm. Napoleon ends up assuming leade rship of Animal Farm while declaring to that will be the end for any meeting.From there on, he asserts, the pigs alone will make the decisions now onwards for the good of everyone. Napoleon ends up shifting his mind about the windmill and especially Boxer, and of course with all the animals going along with it, to devote their efforts to completing it. The windmill ended up falling down from a storm. The human farmers in the area thought that the animals made the walls too thin, due to the end result. Napoleon claims that Snowball came back to sabotage the windmill.He stages a great wash out during which animals who allegedly participates in Snowball’s great plan. In other words any animal who opposes Napoleon’s uncontested leadership, convene direct death at the teeth of the attack dogs. With his leadership not answered (Boxer has taken up a second maxim, Napoleon always being correct. Napoleon begins growing his powers, rewriting history to make Snowball a villain. N apoleon begins to act more like a human being, sleeping in a bed, drinking whisky, and engaging in trade farmers.The initial Animalist principles exactly forbade such activities, but Squealer, Napoleon’s propagandist, justifies the actions to the others, whilst convincing that Napoleon is a handy leader and makes everything better for everyone, despite the fact that the common animals are cold, hungry, and pushed too far. A neighboring farmer called Mr Frederick scams some timber and then attacks the farm and dynamites the windmill, in saying that the repair was expensive.After the demolition of the windmill, a slanting battle, when boxer cops major wounds. The animals rout the farmers, but Boxer’s injuries weakened him. When he falls whilst working on the windmill. All of a sudden, Boxer is nowhere to be found. According to Squealer, Boxer is in peace after being taken to the hospital, admiring the Rebellion with Boxers very last breath. In realism, Napoleon has sold his most loyal and long suffering worker to a glue maker in order to earn money for whisky.As time passes on the farm, the pigs become and eventually act like human beings likewise, walking upright, carrying whips, and wearing clothes. In the long run, the seven principles of Animalism, known as the Seven Commandments and decorated on the side of the barn, ends up being reduced to a single principle reading, â€Å"all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others†. Napoleon entertains a human farmer named Mr. Pilkington at a dinner and declares his intent to ally himself with the human farmers against the laboring classes of both the human and animal communities.Eventually Animal Farm is returned to the name being Manor Farm, claiming that Manor Farm is correct. Looking through the farmhouse window, the common animals can no longer figure for who are the pigs or the human beings. Animal Farm is mainly famous in the West as a stinging critique of the history and rheto ric of the Russian Revolution. Retelling the story of the emergence and development of Soviet communism in the form of an animal fable.

A Framework for Marketing Image Management Review

A Framework for Marketing Image Management Review Organization Image Management Prepared by: Nur Amirah Bt Sarudian806421 A Framework for Marketing Image Management This paper focusing on company’s marketing image which include consequently, certain factors, offerings, and publics. It is important to each company to make customer’s impression of an organization. The findings of this paper show that only a systematic approach will yield useful and accurate information that a company can translate into action.Image is very important to an organization where it can described as a sum of beliefs, attitudes, and impressions that a person or group has an object. The object either is company, product, brand, place, or person. A company has many images which is depending upon the specific object being studied, the public assessed and other conditions that related with images. Every organization has a corporate image, whether it wants one or not. When properly designed and manag ed, the corporate image will accurately reflect the level of the organization's commitment to quality, excellence and relationships.The relationships with its various constituents including current and potential customers, employees and future staff, competitors, partners, governing bodies, and the general public at large. As a result, the corporate image is a critical concern for every organization, one deserving the same attention and commitment by senior management as any other vital issue. A company’s image is a dynamic and profound affirmation of the nature, culture and structure of an organization. This applies equally to corporations, businesses, government entities, and non-profit organizations.The corporate image communicates the organization's mission, the professionalism of its leadership, the caliber of its employees and its roles within the marketing environment or political landscape. All tend to have a unique image, an image that is partially deliberate and par tially accidental, partially self-created and partially exogenous. The company’s image or also known as a corporate image is important to every company because the raw materials into a tangible product, machinery use to make products or product inventory. It refers to how a company is perceived.It also a generally accepted image of what a company stands for. Typically, a company’s image is designed to be appealing to the public, so that the company can spark an interest among consumers, create share of mind, generate brand equity, and thus facilitate product sales. A company's image is not solely created by the company. Other contributors to a company's image could include news media, journalists, environmental organizations, labor unions and other Non-Government Organizations (NGO). The negative reputation is correlates with negative performance.If this happened, the company needs to direct communication as a public relations department to correct the misperception. I n general, the company needs to improve its performance and sometimes it needs to communicate its actual performance level more effectively. The image management process has four phases. It is use to make sure the process is feasible, affordable which is low cost and repeatable. The phases are design, data collection, image gap analysis and lastly, image modification actions and tracking. Design phase is when company decided needs to track such as image factors, products, publics and location.Corporate marketing research department has a task of measuring and tracking image and also to hire research agencies, collect data, analyze results, and make recommendations. The example is marketing experts who use public relations and other forms of promotion to suggest a mental picture to the public. When built a design phase, the company determines the factors, offerings, publics, and appropriate competitors to track over time. Then, the one-on-one interviews and focus group is using with considered the following the types of questions such as factors tracked like product, price, salesforce, channels, communications, service or support.This decision based on factors that most influence on the purchase decision. Then, study the offering are most important either a low market share or large revenue contributions. After the offering, company should know the different publics for three types of consumer buying decisions. Decisions in type, geographical location and other factors have to decide by company. It will focusing on the term or the mission which has been decided. Every each steps company takes, it should decide who the relevant competitors are. It includes the major competitors and competitive alternatives in customer nd distributors perception. Lastly, the question needs to think is how often the specified images be tracked. Image tracking is costly, company will try to perform a cost-benefits analysis to limit the number of attributes, competitors, and public examined in the quantitative phase which is obtained from the design phase. The information that company needs is qualitative measure of the importance of the factors in buying decision, qualitative measure of the key competitors, and qualitative research for each of the purchasers and users including in salient publics.This will avoids the possibility of a misdirected image measurement that leads to develop hypotheses to be tested in the quantitative phase. Second, data collection phase is collected by telephone surveys. Using telephone survey has several advantages and also disadvantages. The advantages is over mailed questionnaires. The information or data can be obtained faster. It also make the interviewer can clarify the questions that been asking. While the disadvantages using telephone survey is when the questionnaire is long or complex. The great action is personal interviews to collect the long or complex data from the surveys.Third, the image gap analysis phase is when th e marketing research department summarizes and analyzes the collected data, and graphically portrays the results. The image is portrayed on a set of bipolar scales. Each scales runs from one to five (poor to excellent). It has two profiles plotted over the scales which represent many different comparisons. The comparisons is two public’s views, two time periods, the company and its major competitor, two products and lastly the actual image and desired image. The collecting image data have to indicate the importance of each attribute.There is two methods to analysis data. First, the direct method includes asking the respondent to simply rank the attributes by distributing a constant sum of points over the attributes. Using rating scale also can be use in direct method. Second, the indirect method is obtained from the data using a regression or conjoint methodology. Company needs to achieve a high image rating on each attribute that is highly important to its target public. If company image is not making the best possible first impression, it really could be losing thousands of dollars, as prospects flit away to ompanies they perceive as the better company. It means, the company will lose sales to its competitors. Then, it also make company overspend on an attribute of low or less importance to the customer which not needs it. The best things to do is devote resources to the various factor which is important to the target market. The factor is usually about the public and the offerings example like excellent services, customer support, product and sales force and communications quality. The communication quality is like using brochures, advertisements, product packages and business cards that reflect company’s image.For example, a children's party planning service might create materials using bright colors and cheery images that look fun and youthful. Four, all the analysis before show that the image modification actions and tracking phase is a pic ture of the company’s major strengths and weakness as perceived by respondents. Company have to develops plan to modify any of its attribute standings; include competitors’ standings on same attributes. Then, the firm’s standing in each quadrant has different ramifications for management action.It also acknowledged that changing the perceived attribute importance is usually more difficult than changing the perceived attribute rating. When management identifies more than one image gaps either it real gaps or perception gaps, they need to be prioritized. They have to consider the five questions about the gaps. The gaps questions is the gaps influence buyer behavior, best strategy to close the gap, costs and benefits of closing gap, time to close the gap and the better to change importance ratings or attribute ratings.All the specifying strategies to close image gaps must have cost-benefit analysis which includes potential competitor responses. The cost-benefits ar e include the resources and time in improving image perception of a particular factor or attribute if competitors can close the image gap rapidly and at low cost. Closing a different image gap may reduce the possibility of competitive countermoves and result in advantageous niche positioning. After answering the question above, management will be in good positions to prepare a sound image modification strategy.Management can track the marketing image has improved in the desired direction after the action plans are implanted. Corporate image management or company image management is one of the most potent marketing and management tools to use in ensuring the viable execution of the corporate vision. It provides one of the most powerful strategic marketing weapons available in the corporate arsenal. It also process the highest level of functional control of the organization. Progressive company leaders will drive their organizations forward in victory in today's and tomorrow marketing , use management and marketing discipline.The underlining principle of the discipline is touches the customer attention to make sure they perceives company image. This fundamental perception will be the major factor that determines whether the customer will decide to conduct business with the company and the important things is enter into a long-term and mutually rewarding relationship with company. The image tracking system that used in company will used as an early warning system to identify the future and the present shits in the company’s competitive performance to be excellent organization.There greater marketing issue is corporate image management which is in growing higher competitive markets. The corporate image management will be a key marketing discipline well into the next century. Management have to determines the strength and the factors that improve its image or product with image gaps. Nowadays, the important things for winning and maintaining customer relation ships now takes place in the minds, emotions and perceptions of the customers for the company’s marketing image. |   Ã‚  Ã‚  | |

Shadow Kiss Chapter 4

FOUR IT BEGAN. At first, things weren't too different from any other day. Dhampirs and Moroi attended separate classes in the first half of the school day, then joined up after lunch. Christian had most of the same afternoon classes I'd had last semester, so it was almost like following my own schedule again. The difference was that I was no longer a student in these classes. I didn't sit at a desk or have to do any of the work. I was also a lot more uncomfortable since I had to stand at the back of the room the entire time, along with other novices who were guarding Moroi. Outside the school, this was what it was usually like. Moroi came first. Guardians were shadows. There was a strong temptation to talk to our fellow novices, particularly during times when the Moroi were working on their own and talking amongst themselves. None of us cracked, though. The pressure and adrenaline of the first day had us all on good behavior. After biology, Eddie and I started using a bodyguard technique called pair guarding. I was near guard and walked with Lissa and Christian for immediate defense. Eddie, being far guard, walked farther away and scanned the larger area for any potential threats. We followed this pattern for the rest of the day, up until the last class came around. Lissa gave Christian a quick kiss on the cheek, and I realized they were parting. â€Å"You guys don't have the same schedule this time?† I asked with dismay, stepping over to the side of the hall to stay out of student traffic. Eddie had already deduced that we were parting and had stopped far guard duties to come talk to us. I hadn't known how Lissa and Christian's schedules lined up for this new semester. Lissa took in my disappointed look and gave me a sympathetic smile. â€Å"Sorry. We're going to study together after school, but right now, I've got to go to creative writing.† â€Å"And I,† declared Christian loftily, â€Å"have to go to culinary science.† â€Å"Culinary science?† I cried. â€Å"You elected culinary science? That's like the most brainless class ever.† â€Å"It is not,† he countered. â€Å"And even if it was †¦ well, hey, it's my last semester, right?† I groaned. â€Å"Come on, Rose,† laughed Lissa. â€Å"It's just one class period. It won't be that – â€Å" She was cut off when a commotion broke out farther down the hall. We and everyone near us stopped and stared. One of my guardian instructors, Emil, had practically appeared out of nowhere and – playing Strigoi – reached for a Moroi girl. He swung her away, pressing her to his chest and exposing her neck as though he would bite her. I couldn't see who she was, just a tangle of brown hair, but her assigned protector was Shane Reyes. The attack had caught him by surprise – it was the first one of the day – but he fumbled only a little as he kicked Emil in the side and wrested the girl away. The two guys squared off, and everyone watched eagerly. A few even whistled and shouted, cheering Shane on. One of the catcallers was Ryan Aylesworth. He was so fixated on watching the fight – which Shane, wielding his practice stake, had just about won – that he didn't notice two other adult guardians sneaking up on him and Camille. Eddie and I realized it at the same time and stiffened, instinct readying both of us to spring forward. â€Å"Stay with them,† Eddie told me. He headed toward Ryan and Camille, who had just discovered they were being set upon. Ryan didn't react as well as Shane had, particularly since he faced two attackers. One of the guardians distracted Ryan while the other – Dimitri, I now saw – grabbed Camille. She screamed, not faking her fear. She apparently didn't find being in Dimitri's arms as thrilling as I did. Eddie headed toward them, approaching from behind, and landed a blow on the side of Dimitri's head. It hardly fazed Dimitri, but I was still amazed. I'd barely ever been able to land a hit on him in all our trainings. Eddie's attack forced Dimitri to release Camille and face this new threat. He spun around, graceful as a dancer, and advanced on Eddie. Meanwhile, Shane had â€Å"staked† his Strigoi and jumped in to help Eddie, moving around to Dimitri's other side. I watched, fists clenched in excitement, intrigued with the fighting in general and with watching Dimitri in particular. It amazed me that someone so deadly could be so beautiful. I wished I was part of the fray but knew I had to watch the area around me in case any â€Å"Strigoi† attacked here. But they didn't. Shane and Eddie successfully â€Å"finished off† Dimitri. Part of me was a little sad at this. I wanted Dimitri to be good at everything. However, Ryan had tried to help and failed. Dimitri had technically â€Å"killed† him, so I felt a twisted comfort in thinking that Dimitri had still been a badass Strigoi. He and Emil praised Shane for being fast on his feet and Eddie for realizing we had to treat this as a group endeavor rather than one-on-one trials. I got a nod for watching Eddie's back, and Ryan was chastised for not paying attention to his Moroi. Eddie and I grinned at each other, happy over getting high marks on this first test. I wouldn't have minded a slightly bigger role, but this wasn't a bad start to the field experience. We high-fived, and I saw Dimitri shake his head at us as he left. With the drama over, our foursome split up. Lissa gave me one last smile over her shoulder and spoke to me through the bond, Have fun in culinary science! I rolled my eyes, but she and Eddie had already rounded a corner. â€Å"Culinary science† sounded pretty impressive, but really, it was just a fancy term for what was essentially a cooking class. Despite my teasing Christian about it being brainless, I had some respect for it. I could barely boil water, after all. Still, it was a lot different from an elective like creative writing or debate, and I had no doubts Christian was taking it as a blow-off class and not because he wanted to be a chef someday. At least I might get some satisfaction out of watching him mix a cake or something. Maybe he'd even wear an apron. There were three other novices in the class who were guarding Moroi. Since the culinary science room was large and open, with lots of windows, the four of us worked together to come up with a plan to pool our efforts and secure the whole room. When I'd watched novices do their field experiences in past years, I'd only ever paid attention to the fights. I'd never noticed the teamwork and strategizing that must have been going on. Theoretically, the four of us were here to only protect our assigned Moroi, but we'd slipped into a role where we were protecting the whole class. My post was by a fire door that led outside of the school. Coincidentally, it was right by the station Christian was working at. The class normally cooked in pairs, but there was an odd number of students. Rather than work in a group of three, Christian had volunteered to be by himself. No one had seemed to mind. Many still regarded him and his family with the same prejudice that Jesse did. To my disappointment, Christian wasn't making a cake. â€Å"What is that?† I asked, watching him take out a bowl of some kind of raw, ground-up meat from the refrigerator. â€Å"Meat,† he said, dumping it onto a cutting board. â€Å"I know that, you idiot. What kind?† â€Å"Ground beef.† He pulled another container out and then another. â€Å"And this is veal. And this is pork.† â€Å"Do you have, like, a T.rex that you're going to feed?† â€Å"Only if you want some. This is for meatloaf.† I stared. â€Å"With three kinds of meat?† â€Å"Why eat something called meatloaf if you aren't actually going to get some meat out of it?† I shook my head. â€Å"I can't believe this is only the first day with you.† He glanced down, focusing on kneading his tri-meat creation together. â€Å"You sure are making a big deal out of this. Do you really hate me that much? I heard you were screaming at the top of your lungs back in the gym.† â€Å"No, I wasn't. And †¦ I don't hate you at all,† I admitted. â€Å"You're just taking it out on me because you didn't get paired with Lissa.† I didn't answer. He wasn't that far off. â€Å"You know,† he continued, â€Å"it might actually be a good idea for you to practice with someone different.† â€Å"I know. That's what Dimitri says too.† Christian put the meat into a bowl and started adding some other ingredients. â€Å"Then why question it? Belikov knows what he's doing. I'd trust anything he says. It sucks that they're going to lose him after we graduate, but I'd rather see him with Lissa.† â€Å"Me too.† He paused and looked up, meeting my eyes. We both smiled, amused at how shocked we were to have agreed with each other. A moment later, he returned to his work. â€Å"You're good too,† he said, not too grudgingly. â€Å"The way you handled yourself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He didn't finish the thought, but I knew what he was talking about. Spokane. Christian hadn't been around when I killed the Strigoi, but he'd been instrumental in helping with the escape. He and I had teamed up, using his fire magic as a means of letting me subdue our captors. We'd worked well together, all of our animosity put aside. â€Å"I guess you and I have better things to do than fight all the time,† I mused. Like worry about Victor Dashkov's trial, I realized. For a moment, I considered telling Christian what I'd learned. He'd been around the night it had all gone down with Victor last fall, but I decided not to mention the news just yet. Lissa needed to hear it first. â€Å"Yup,† Christian said, unaware of my thoughts. â€Å"Brace yourself, but we aren't that different. I mean, I'm smarter and a lot funnier, but at the end of the day, we both want to keep her safe.† He hesitated. â€Å"You know†¦I'm not going to take her away from you. I can't. No one can, not as long as you guys have that bond.† I was surprised he'd brought this up. I honestly suspected that there were two reasons he and I argued a lot. One was that we both had personalities that liked to argue. The other reason – the big one – was that we were each envious of the other's relationship with Lissa. But, as he'd said, we really had the same motives. We cared about her. â€Å"And don't think the bond will keep you guys apart,† I said. I knew the link bothered him. How could you ever get romantically close to someone when they had that kind of connection with another person, even if that other person was just a friend? â€Å"She cares about you. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I couldn't bring myself to say â€Å"loves.† â€Å"She has a whole separate place for you in her heart.† Christian put his dish in the oven. â€Å"You did not just say that. I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other.† He was trying to look disgusted at my sentiment, but I could tell he liked being told that Lissa cared about him. â€Å"I already have a nickname for you, but I'll get in trouble if I say it in class.† â€Å"Ah,† he said happily. â€Å"That's the Rose I know.† He went off to talk to another friend while his meatloaf cooked, which was probably just as well. My door was a vulnerable position, and I shouldn't have been chatting away, even if the rest of the class was. Across the room, I saw Jesse and Ralf working together. Like Christian, they'd chosen a blow-off class too. No attacks occurred, but a guardian named Dustin did come in to make notes on us novices as we held our positions. He was standing near me right when Jesse chose to stroll by. At first, I thought it was a coincidence – until Jesse spoke. â€Å"I take back what I said earlier, Rose. I figured it out. You aren't upset because of Lissa or Christian. You're upset because the rules say you have to be with a student, and Adrian Ivashkov's too old. The way I hear it, you guys have already had a lot of practice watching each other's bodies.† That joke could have been so much funnier, but I'd learned not to expect too much from Jesse. I knew for a fact that he didn't care about Adrian and me. I also suspected he didn't even believe we had anything going on. But Jesse was still bitter about me threatening him earlier, and here was his chance to get back at me. Dustin, standing within earshot, had no interest in Jesse's idiotic teasing. Dustin would probably have an interest, however, if I slammed Jesse's face into the wall. That didn't mean I had to be silent, though. Guardians talked to Moroi all the time; they just tended to be respectful and still keep an eye on their surroundings. So I gave Jesse a small smile and simply said, â€Å"Your wit is always such a delight, Mr. Zeklos. I can barely contain myself around it.† I then turned away and surveyed the rest of the room. When Jesse realized I wasn't going to do anything else, he laughed and walked away, apparently thinking he'd won some great victory. Dustin left shortly thereafter. â€Å"Asshole,† muttered Christian, returning to his station. Class had about five minutes left. My eyes followed Jesse across the room. â€Å"You know something, Christian? I'm pretty happy to be guarding you.† â€Å"If you're comparing me to Zeklos, I don't really take that as much of a compliment. But here, try this. Then you'll really be glad you're with me.† His masterpiece was finished, and he gave me a piece. I hadn't realized it, but just before the meatloaf had gone in, he'd wrapped it in bacon. â€Å"Good God,† I said. â€Å"This is the most stereotypical vampire food ever.† â€Å"Only if it was raw. What do you think?† â€Å"It's good,† I said reluctantly. Who knew that bacon would make all the difference? â€Å"Really good. I think you have a promising future as a housewife while Lissa works and makes millions of dollars.† â€Å"Funny, that's exactly my dream.† We left the class in lighter moods. Things had grown more friendly between us, and I decided that I could handle the next six weeks protecting him. He and Lissa were going to meet in the library to study – or pretend to study – but he had to stop by his dorm first. So I followed him across the quad, back into the winter air that had grown chillier since sunset seven hours ago. The snow on the paths, which had turned slushy in the sun, had now frozen up and made walking treacherous. Along the way, we were joined by Brandon Lazar, a Moroi who lived in Christian's hall. Brandon could barely contain himself, recapping a fight he'd witnessed in his math class. We listened to his rendition, all of us laughing at the thought of Alberta sneaking in through the window. â€Å"Hey, she might be old, but she could take on almost any of us,† I told them. I gave Brandon a puzzled look. He had bruises and red splotches on his face. He also had a few weird welts near his ear. â€Å"What happened to you? Have you been fighting guardians too?† His smile promptly disappeared, and he looked away from me. â€Å"Nah, just fell.† â€Å"Come on,† I said. Moroi might not train to fight like dhampirs did, but they got in brawls with each other just as often as anyone else. I tried to think of any Moroi he might have a conflict with. For the most part, Brandon was pretty likeable. â€Å"That's the lamest, most unoriginal excuse in the world.† â€Å"It's true,† he said, still avoiding my eyes. â€Å"If someone's screwing with you, I can give you a few pointers.† He turned back to me, locking eyes. â€Å"Just let it go.† He wasn't hostile or anything, but there was a firm note in his voice. It was almost like he believed saying the words alone would make me obey him. I chuckled. â€Å"What are you trying to do? Compel me – â€Å" Suddenly, I saw movement on my left. A slight shadow blending in with the dark shapes of a cluster of snowy pine trees – but moving just enough to catch my attention. Stan's face emerged from the darkness as he sprang toward us. Finally, my first test. Adrenaline shot through me just as strongly as if a real Strigoi were approaching. I reacted instantly, reaching out to grab both Brandon and Christian. That was always the first move, to throw my own life before theirs. I jerked the two guys to a halt and turned toward my attacker, reaching for my stake in order to defend the Moroi – And that's when he appeared. Mason. He stood several feet in front of me, off to Stan's right, looking just as he had last night. Translucent. Shimmering. Sad. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I froze, unable to move or finish going for my stake. I forgot about what I'd been doing and completely lost track of the people and commotion around me. The world slowed down, everything fading around me. There was only Mason – that ghostly, shimmering Mason who glowed in the dark and seemed like he so badly wanted to tell me something. The same feeling of helplessness I'd experienced in Spokane returned to me. I hadn't been able to help him then. I couldn't help him now. My stomach turned cold and hollow. I could do nothing except stand there, wondering what he was trying to say. He lifted one translucent hand and pointed off toward the other side of campus, but I didn't know what it meant. There was so much over there, and it wasn't clear what he was pointing at. I shook my head, not understanding but desperately wishing I could. The sorrow on his face seemed to grow. Suddenly, something slammed into my shoulder, and I stumbled forward. The world suddenly started up again, snapping me out of the dreamy state I'd just been in. I only barely managed to throw out my hands in time to stop myself from hitting the ground. I looked up and saw Stan standing over me. â€Å"Hathaway!† he barked. â€Å"What are you doing?† I blinked, still trying to shake off the weirdness of seeing Mason again. I felt sluggish and dazed. I looked into Stan's angry face and then glanced over at where Mason had been. He was gone. I turned my attention back to Stan and realized what had happened. In my distraction, I'd completely spaced while he'd staged his attack. He now had one arm around Christian's neck and one around Brandon's. He wasn't hurting them, but his point was made. â€Å"If I had been a Strigoi,† he growled, â€Å"these two would be dead.†