A Report on Customer Care Improvement By Robert L Fousler

Following the article in the Standard Newspaper dated 8/07/1998 on â€Å"Customer Care Improvement by Robert L Fousler (MD) Consultant s for Effective Training, I am in total agreement with him concerning the points that he has put forth concerning Customer Care within business organizations. Customer Care is an important point in management and should be carried out by any manager within any business organization irrespective of what departments he is directly of indirectly in charge of. It is important to note that a business or organization cannot effectively attract customersclients if it cannot deal with its internal clients. In any business/organization, internal clients are the employees within the organization. Mr. Fousler mentions that in Kenya, many industries in the market and developing from a â€Å"Sellers† market into a â€Å"Buyers† market. This means that the only difference between one Seller and another will be in the quality of the service rendered to them. In addition to this, the expectations and demands of clients have been increasing and have been rapidly dynamic over the past five years and in order for you to please, and indeed, maintain a client then the services rendered to them should be adequate and ready to fulfill their needs. Most service industries, if not all, are all client/customer oriented and they depend on the client to pay for their services that are intangible. With this in mind, it is in their best interest to ensure that the services they offer are useful to the client and that the Customer Support is highly advanced and effectively operational. In reference to this, it is important for organizations, particularly those in the service industry, to realize that their future success is dependant on managers viewing their staff as the most important assets they have and that everything depends on how they work as a team. He goes on to mention that Customer Care skills should not only be offered to staff in service-oriented organizations but to all organizations in general. If people can serve one another and each department serving the other, then the Customer Service skills will be extended to the â€Å"External† customer. He also highlights the importance of Customer Care in any organization and says that it is not wise to train only certain sections in the organization since everything everyone does in the organization has an impact on the client in one way or the other. Therefore, everyone must be included in Customer Care oriented seminars because they create awareness in staff of the importance of gaining such skills. After the training has been undertaken, then the most important task is to implement it. This includes maintaining a high level of outgoing commitment and insists that this can only be done by each department having â€Å"Ownership† of the process, so that Customer Care is supported by committed individuals and teams rather than just by management. He says that one way of promoting the training is to have an incentive to bolster the training that has been carried out. An example would be to give gifts or rewards to those who improve the most in the service they give to both internal and external customers. Under Evaluation, he says that it is not easy to quantify but one good approach would be to do a â€Å"Before† and â€Å"After† survey of the complaints received from External customers.

Three Stages of the Child Development

Question 2: What are three stages of child development? Maria Montessory divided the process of child development into tree stages. 1. First stage: Absorbent Mind (0-6 years) This is the period of transformation and the characteristic of this period is known as the Absorbent Mind. The child absorbs environment into himself. The child creates the person she will become once given an appropriate and specially prepared environment to work. Montessori said that during the absorbent mind, the Sensitive Periods are at the strongest and facilitates the child's learning process.This period can be divided into two sub-phases. Unconscious Absorbent Mind (0-3 years). The child cannot be dictated in this period nor can be directly influenced by the adults. The child learns unconsciously from his environment by using his senses of seeing and hearing. No formal schooling is suggested in this period however provision of a suitable environment greatly helps a child in making good early impressions o f the world around him. Children under the age of three, do not need to have lessons in order to learn, they simply absorb everything in the environment by experiencing it, being part of it.It is therefore important that the environment set up is good, nice and positive since this is what the child will absorb whether he chooses to or not. Conscious Absorbent Mind (3-6 years). Child becomes sensitive to adult influence. The period from 3 to 6 years of age is a period of conscious construction when the child takes consciously from the environment. This is the bless time to play. The child realizes the environment by the work of his hands. The child starts building personality basing on the impressions stored during first three years of his life.The sense of touch gets coordinated with the mind. Hands become a prime tool of learning. This is also a time of social development. The child wants to have company of other children and can be separated from mother for short periods of time. Children of this age are also very drawn to activities that engage the five senses. Montessori materials are designed to clearly isolate specific concepts such as length, weight, shape, size and color. Children learn to compare and contrast using their senses of smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing. 2. Second stage: Later Childhood (6-12 years)For many children, these years from six to twelve are the glory years–a time of calm and steady growth and expansion of interests. At approximately six to seven years of age, children experience a major transformation. This transformation leads from the sponge-like absorbent mind of early childhood to the reasoning, thinking adult mind. This is the period when children develop logical thinking skills. They have to think and consciously study in order to learn. During the stage of the absorbent mind, learning happened almost automatically through exposure, but the reasoning mind needs to be consciously engaged in the learning process.T his is a period of uniform growth, an intermediate period or the second stage of childhood. At this stage children are more stable, calm and of great energy. As the child has mastered most of the basic human skills, he no longer has the Absorbent mind but learn through reasoning using his imagination to explore further. It is also a period of self discovery and a period for developing characters, morals and ethics. Montessori offers an exciting idea for guiding education: â€Å"The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination.Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core. † (Montessori, 1967, pg. 15). Maria Montessori identified three primary developmental drives of the elementary years. First, the child develops a voracious appetite for facts. Second, the child enters a period of moral formation and begins to ask questions about right and wrong. Third, his imagination becomes his most powerful learning tool.To feed this hungry mind and active imagination, Maria Montessori suggests that children need a vision of the whole universe starting with the solar system, the history and geography of the earth. Only a vision of the universe offers a framework for understanding all of the component parts. On the moral level, it helps children begin to understand that they are part of an integrated whole. 3. Third stage: Transformation (12-18 years) This is a period of Transformation, both physically and psychologically. Mentally, they have developed logical thinking and do not like to be told or pressure into learning.During this time, age twelve to eighteen years others become more important. Little by little they leave the family, first emotionally then physically. This is hard on parents. Parents are asked to see the adult in the child. Parents need to change how they talk. What was appropriate before is not anymore. They see adulthood coming and are very interested in themselves. All children at this age have an inferiority complex. They are convinced they are being watched. They imagine everyone is looking at them. They don’t have a stable inside or outside anymore. It is also a very idealistic time.They need to be exposed to heroes and idealists. They want to know they have a role to play. They respond to people who make a difference. The hardest part in our society is that they are seen as useless. Society is telling them there is no place for them until they get older. The way out for this is often the arts, music and drama. This is the time that the child develops significant relationships with other adults. There is a decrease in IQ during this period. The child has a decreased interest in academic learning when they are really growing and going through great physical changes.It is a ti me to train for self-sufficiency. Connect lessons with practical, concrete experiences. This is a good time to learn about the independence and interdependence of nature. Like the first stage of development it is also divided again into two sub-phases: Puberty (12-15 years) At this stage the child is like a new born baby. His character is seldom stable and there are signs of indiscipline and rebellion. The advent of puberty indicates the end of childhood. Marked physical changes take place and the child becomes very sensitive of his self.All the confidence and joyfulness of the childhood is suddenly lost. At this stage, the child needs full emotional support of parents and teachers. Adolescence (15-18 years). This period is marked with an attitude of rebellion, discouragement, hesitation, and doubts. There is an unexpected decrease in intellectual capacity as compared to an extrovert of 6-12 years. The creativeness takes charge. The child now transforming into adulthood wants to exp lore the world. Sensitive to criticism and hates to be ridiculed. Parents and teachers need to accommodate mistakes and encourage new ideas.

Organisational Leadership and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organisational Leadership and Change - Essay Example The mission of the organization is to lead the industry, serve the people and make unique differences for the business partners. The organization became popular due to its innovative product and service differentiation (Honold, 1997, pp.22-24). However, recent financial crisis forced the organization to implement major restructuring and change process. They implemented reduction in-force strategy to overcome the impact of economic challenges. In the year 2009, the financial crisis affected the service business of Microsoft in Asia (Ang, 2012, pp.12-13). The organization terminated numerous employees like those associated as support staffs and consultants. Inadequate implementation of retrenchment theory and change management process developed several critical issues. These workplace conflicts reduced the image and reputation of the organization in global market place. This reduction-in-force strategy reduced the motivation level of the employees. This change management concept increa sed job insecurity of employees (Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt, 1984, p.8). However, after an open discussion, the organization tried to develop several sustainable strategies in order to maintain its brand image within the global market place. ... In 2009, the financial crisis occurred through all over the world. Due to of this financial crisis, many workers were laid off. The organization’s morale was all time low; even the general managers were also replaced. Employees were highly dissatisfied and de -motivated due to the strategies taken by the management. Organization takes retrenchment strategy when they have to reduce their cost. In this strategy, organizations reduce the overall size and diversity of the operations. The goal is to get a stable financial growth by cutting down the expenses. The organization follows a contraction of its activities by reducing one or more functions or eliminating the scope of business. For example, one company, as a part of retrenchment strategy, can focus only on a single segment of a business which gives it a higher revenue opportunity. For example a hospital can focus only on the special theatre and ignore the general theatre because the special theatre provides them better reven ue. During the retrenchment, the company follows change management strategies after a little discussion with the employees. It was the first time; the company reduced 20% of its workforce. The sudden workforce reduction of the company had a huge negative impact on the employees mind. The overall situation was very frustrated and uncertain. The employees were highly de-motivated that even after 6 months of the incident, the employees were talking about the workforce reduction. Significant drop was noticed in the workgroup health index (WHI). WHI is an index used to measure the employee engagement and leadership. The results of WHI indicated that Microsoft scored 76 points only and it was the record failure of the company. The company judged their leaders on the basis of

3. How does Poe use setting as a Gothic element in The Fall of the Essay

3. How does Poe use setting as a Gothic element in The Fall of the House of Usher, William Wilson, and The Tell Tale Heart - Essay Example Thus, references to ‘a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year’, ‘clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens’, ‘passing alone, on horseback’, ‘singularly dreary tract of country’, ‘the melancholy House of Usher’, etc in the story clearly indicate that the author makes use of the setting of the story as a means to create the Gothic mood. A reflective analysis of the Gothic elements in this story confirms that there is an absolute emphasis on setting – both exterior (landscape) and interior (houses and mansion). The author makes use of the fungi covered front of the mansion to create the unusual setting of the story. Similarly, Edgar Allan Poe employs savage actions in the Gothic setting in the story â€Å"William Wilson† which tells about the life and crime of the narrator. The author obviously brings out the Gothic setting of the story when he refers to ‘large, rambling, Elizabethan house, in a misty-looking village of England’, ‘vast number of gigantic and gnarled trees’, ‘dream-like and spirit-soothing place’, ‘the stillness of the dusky atmosphere’, etc. â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† by Poe is another significant example of how the author uses setting as a Gothic element. In this story, the dark, disconcerting location, death and decay, and the existence of evil and madness, etc bring about the Gothic elements and Poe’s works are celebrated for the exceptional use of medieval settings, shadowy atmospheres, and mysterious and violent

Kuder Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kuder - Assignment Example These reflect my personality as well as my upbringing. I have always been an individual who is ready to help and would not think it impossible to advance the interest and welfare of others above my own or in the interest of the greater good. In looking at specific variables in the result regarding the potential industries that I would thrive in, I realized that these are aligned with what I have been interested early on. For instance, I got high marks on health science. This was not really surprising because I have always been interested in biology in high school. I could still remember promising to be a doctor after we viewed a video lesson about avian flu and the impact of an epidemic on people. The focus of my extracurricular activities also reflected my interest in areas such as communication, technology and relationship with people. There are certain areas in the result that perplexed me a little. I scored high in education and training yet I did poorly in hospitality and tourism industries. The reason for this is that I have been considering a career in the latter cluster since I do like to cook and I am curious about the hospitality industry whereas the academe has not entered my mind as yet. But when I saw my work values I sort of understood this part. I am quite independent with a deep hunger for accomplishment: that is, I had to know and feel that I am doing something meaningful and important not just for others but also for the society. This thought also helped me understand why – according to the assessment - I might not excel in managerial and administrative positions. My ethnic background sets great importance to management position and those around me tend to believe that it is one of the ultimate objectives of any career, to be the boss. I found that I will be more successful elsewhere. With all the information I have from the Kudder and Work Values assessments, I feel I am more in the position to choose the

International financial market INDIVIDUAL2 Essay

International financial market INDIVIDUAL2 - Essay Example As a point of departure, it is imperative to note that, the USA central bank tries to attain economic stability by changing the amount of money in flow, rates and availability of credit. In addition, the bank varies the composition of the country’s national debts (Mehnert-Meland, 2005). To achieve the monetary functions, the bank uses three primary instruments, which include: Open market Operations The discount Window Reserve requirements Open market Operations The aspect of open market operations refers to the trading of government bonds by the American central bank (Mehnert-Meland, 2005). The bank buys and sells the bonds. For instance, when the bank buys the bonds, money supply is expanded, and this leads to low interests and if the bonds are sold the money supply is contracted, consequently, increase in interest rates. Reserve requirements This refers to the percentage of commercial banks’ chequering accounts (demand deposit liabilities), which should be maintained on making deposits at the Central Bank as a condition of Banking regulation. This percentage is rarely used, however, when applied it affects the money supply and level of credit conditions (Honeygold, 2009). For instance, when the reserve requirement is raised, it decreases the supply of money by necessitating a larger percentage of the banks, demand deposits to be held by Central Bank. This takes the banks and other financial institutions out of the money supply. This action is done occasionally because it is attributed to long-term alteration of the money supply. The Discount Window This is situation where the commercial banks and other financial institutions are able to have a loan of reserves from Central Bank at a certain discount rate. The rate is usually set relatively below the short-term market rates called T-bill (Honeygold, 2009). This condition enables the commercial banks to know the amount of money to give as loans. In essence, credit conditions are varied, consequent ly affecting the supply of money. This study establishes that of the three instruments, it is the Discount of Window, which the Central Bank does not have full control over. For this reason, the newly formed Rockoslovenia central bank needs to embrace these instruments because the monetary policy is fundamental in a nation’s variance in inflation, interest rates, unemployment levels and the overall economic growth (Honeygold, 2009). The Central Bank has the responsibility of creating a stable financial milieu by allowing savings and investments to occur. This expands the economy of a nation as a whole. For the purposes of efficient incorporation of the American Central Bank model into the newly formed Rockoslovenia central bank, it is essential to consider the major components of the Federal Reserve System their functions (Honeygold, 2009). The American central banking system was formed in 1913. It comprises of three primary components, which include the Board of Governors, 1 2 regional Federal Reserve Banks and the member banks. Board of Governors This body was formed as a federal government agency. The federal administration and Congress have significant influence over the appointments of the seven-member board. The president with the counsel and approval of the senate appoints the seven governors. The primary role of the Board of Governors is to oversee the whole system and wholly responsible for the monetary policy. The board influences the monetary and credit conditions in the

Freeman vs. Quicken Loans, Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Freeman vs. Quicken Loans, Inc - Essay Example RESPA’s aim is to forbid any split of offending fees between corporations in the absence of unearned fees by the beneficiary. After Freeman and other couples lost the case in the state court, they proceeded to the Supreme Court claiming that the fees imposed on them were unearned. Recently, the Supreme Court decided that the plaintiff had to indicate the existence of a split between two or several persons for the purpose of a settlement associated with violation of the RESPA act. While making a decision, the court made various aspects of section 8(b) clear (Freeman v. Quicken Loans 5). There was a clarification on the difference between free-sharing and the user transaction. In the process, the court denied the definition regarding a consumer as a person capable of awarding â€Å"a split or percentage.† The issue that section 8(b) should not hold an interpretation needing fee splitting faced objection from the court. The decision by the court had various implications: t hat there may be future misinterpretations of the part (8b), and the queries regarding the suitability of the section in dealing with the settlement of matters such as credit report prices (Freeman v. Quicken Loans 7). Works Cited Freeman v. Quicken Loans. 566. U.S. Supreme Court. 24th May 2012. Print. Blueford v. Arkansas The case involves the charging of Blueford in the Arkansas Supreme Court. The court blamed the accused for the death of a child. Accusations entailed manslaughter, murder and negligent homicide. The court had required the jury to consider three aspects of capital murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide lest doubts existed. The jury could not reach a decision, so the court affirmed a mistrial (Blueford v. Arkansas 3). The courts attempt to perform another trial for Blueford who received resistance regarding the trial as a dual jeopardy. The conduct of the court to declare the suit a mistrial was not right. The argument by the defendant indicated that in the eve nt of the jury’s failure to decide the suit, the court had a responsibility of providing a succinct decision on the issue. Arkansas law provides that the jury had to charge the defendant on both or a single felony (Blueford v. Arkansas 6). The jury failed to convict the accused of any crime; they failed to acquit him. The dual jeopardy phrase does not allow a second trial if the acquaintance of the individual existed. The clause on double jeopardy requires the questioning of the jury’s conduct. The jury failed to make convictions based on capital and first degree murder although there was a chance for the decision. Retrial faced challenges because of the possibility of defeat by the defendant. The failure to make a correct decision was due to delusion of the Arkansas law. The reaching of a mistrial was a mistake from the judge. At first, he thought the jury would come to succinct decision (Blueford v. Arkansas 6). Works Cited Blueford v. Arkansas. 566. U.S. Supreme Cou rt. 24th May 2012. Print. Holder v. Martinez Gutierrez The US Constitution allows the attorney general to perform a cancellation of the elimination of an immigrant from the country. The immigrant must be subject to a condition of permanent residence for about five years. The person must have resided for a period of 7 years after entrance. The case involves the issue of Martinez’ immigration where he entered the state illegally. His father had followed required procedures and became admitted as an LPR. However, Martinez did not attain

Article Abstract Assignments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Article Abstract Assignments - Assignment Example er media, corporations that interact with the leagues and teams, and communities that construct facilities and support local clubs as the main customers of the professional leagues (Mason 406-407). The author further observed that customers manifest their interest on the professional leagues for distinct reasons. However, the author establishes the fact that the marketing of this product harbors many problems. Indeed, it is clear that marketing problems arise when each customer seeks suitable marketing opportunities in conflict with other parties. Problems relating the marketing of the league arise for example in problematic relationship existing between sport, television, and sponsorship emanating from corporate involvement. In addition, financial disparities between clubs in the same league is a problem that affects the marketing of the league where rich teams gain a competitive advantage thus leading to uncertain results and thus hardships in maintaining the customer base (Mason 4 13-414). Subject to these marketing problems, the author recommends further research and analysis on this topic. The paper made significant contributions in that it was able to denote the business entity of the sport, highlight and discuss the main parties to a professional league, and consequently establish the possible major problems in marketing the professional leagues. The input on the distinct reasons that give various parties interest in the league was significant in addressing the research question. However, the paper falls short in providing tangible solutions to the marketing problems in a professional league. As such, the paper only recommends further analysis and research, which is not a substantial contribution to the research question. The paper seemingly forgot about the satisfaction that the league accords various parties and the need to derive value from any league. More so, the paper forgot to include the rules governing professional leagues. Mason, David. What is

Corporate & Global Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Corporate & Global Strategy - Case Study Example The study made three important findings. Firstly, Tesco unlike the competitors is focused on cost leadership, generic focus and product differentiation. This has become part of the company's culture. To the company lower cost does not mean lower quality. Secondly, the company's management emphasizes on its core values, lay emphasis on product differentiation and lower cost; that is using the cash cows and stars to reduce the company's question marks. Also, it has been argued in this paper that, the company should enter into exclusive long term relationship with suppliers, co-branding with celebrity, artist and designers to create a unique product. It should be so, because taking a lead of innovation might mean innovation in branding, innovation in product variation and innovation in other formats. Andrews (1997: p. 52) defines corporate strategy as "the pattern of decisions in a company that determines and reveals its objectives, purposes, or goals, produces the principal policies and plans for achieving those goals, and defines the range of business the company is to pursue, the kind of economic and human organisation it is or intends to be and the nature of the economic and non-economic contribution it intends to make to its shareholders, employees, customers, and communities". Corporate strategy in effect maps out the businesses in which an organisation intends to compete in a way that focuses resources to convert distinctive capabilities into competitive advantage. (Andrews, 1997). In the present challenging context of today's global competition, businesses and firms no-longer compete as individual companies but try to corporate with other businesses in their activities (Wu & Chien 2007:2). Kanter (1995:71) on his work on "Mastering Change" argues that success in the present day business is not for those companies that re-engineer the way they do things, or for those fixing the past. According to Kanter (1995) such an action will not constitute an adequate response. 1.1TESCO Corporate Strategy This paper focuses on the corporate strategy of TESCO. Founded by Jack Cohen in 1919, Tesco Plc today, has established itself as the largest super store in Europe. According to the company 2007 corporate report and the website, Tesco PLC is an international retailer. Tesco principal activities include food retailing having over 2,000 stores in the United Kingdom. The company also has stores and retail outlet in other countries like the Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and China (Tesco 2006 Review). Tesco operates 165 International Express stores. In addition it operates 39 stores in China, 111 in Japan, 13 in Malaysia, 62 in South Korea, 6 in Taiwan, 219 in Thailand, 35 in Czech Republic, 87 in Hungary, 105 in Poland, 91 in Republic of Ireland, 37 in Slovakia and 8 in Turkey. (Tesco Annual Review, 2006). It therefore operates

Compare three pre-20th Century poems about London Essay Example for Free

Compare three pre-20th Century poems about London Essay I am going to compare three very different poems about London. The first poem is London by William Blake, written around 1800. Upon Westminster bridge is the second poem , by William Wordsworth, again written around 1800. The third poem by Mary Ann Evans in the mid-19th century is called In a London drawing room. William Blake was a man of strong opinions, he was a strange person who painted horrific art and walked around naked in his garden. He was a strict Christian and wrote hymns. People disliked him for his strange ideas and strong criticism of what he felt was wrong. William Wordsworth lived in the Lake District, and wrote poems about where he live; the countryside. Whilst visiting London he wrote a poem about what he could see from Westminster bridge. Mary Ann Evans lived in London she was a tomboy by the name of George Elliot. Her father was a vicar. She moved to London to live a more interesting life. Working for a printing company she realised how mistreated women were. The story behind Upon Westminster bridge is:- London looks very beautiful. Youd be sad not to be impressed. Its about what Wordsworth sees from Westminster bridge. His theme is simple; He likes what he sees. London has a very different theme: William Blake lives in London and cant stand it. The story is very simple the poet wanders through Londons streets thinking about what he sees. In a London drawing room also has a simple story; Mary Ann Evans is in a drawing room looking out into the street. Her theme is much more complex She talks about how London through this window is dull, grey and boring. When she says this she actually means thats how she feels inside and expresses it through her poetry. Upon Westminster bridge is a sonnet because it has fourteen lines praising Londons beauty, it has only one verse. It has a regular iambic rhythm all the way through: Giving the poem a joyful sound. There is no regular rhyming pattern but some lines rhyme. London uses quatrains which means it has four equal lines into four verses. London has a regular and joyful rhythm, which is ironic because of its sad message. The rhyming follows an ACBD pattern (A rhymes with line C-B rhymes with line D.) In a London drawing room has no verses, twenty lines which have each ten syllables in them. There is no regular rhythm, because of the regular enjambment. Cutting the sky with one long line of wall Like soled Fog: Far as the eye can stretch. The enjambment causes lines to run into each other. There is no rhyme a tall in the poem. There is a lot of figurative language in Upon Westminster bridge. wear The beauty of the morning; silent bare, This a personification because the city wears the beauty of the morning like a dress. The river glideth at his own sweet will: In line twelve names the river a he. This poem has a lot of imagery, one of them mentions valley, rock and hill, putting the picture of the valleys, hills and rocks on the horizon. In a London drawing room too uses figurative language, The world seems one huge prison-house and court, this is a similar because the world seems to be like a prison-house. A metaphor would be, Cutting the sky with one long line of wall, this is calling the row of houses a wall cutting the sky. The figurative language in London are, The mind-forgd manacles I hear. Means the people in London believe they are in manacles. The metaphor at the end of the third verse is about the old war soldiers begging outside wealthy houses, And the hapless soldiers sigh Runs in blood down palace walls. In Upon Westminster bridge most of the play on words are to keep the rhyme and rhythm in a pattern. London plays on words quiet a lot compared with Upon Westminster bridge. At the end of the first verse there is an element of alliteration, Marks of weakness. Marks of woe, woe is a much more powerful word to use than sad plus it alliterates with weakness. The second verse uses in every. Four times to get the point that this is serious across more strongly. The mind-forgd manacles I hear, is an alliteration of the letter M. On the last line, the last two words are marriage and hearse (car that carries a coffin) this is called juxtaposition; because marriage is associated with beginning and hearse is associated with the end they are opposites. This is an interesting way to end the poem. The only real play on words in in a London drawing room was the last line because the three last words are the only positive words (colour, warmth and joy) in the whole poem but just before it says with lowest rate of. So they might be positive but shes saying there is no colour, warmth or joy. I feel London is the most effective poem. This is because I like the irony in the rhythm and rhyme which sounds happy but its meaning is sad. I also like the Juxtaposition in the last line Marriage hearse. He uses clever words and sentences to put down London. I dont like In a London drawing room because it drags on so as to lose its meaning. Upon Westminster bridge I quite like because its cheerful but I still prefer the way London is written because it uses good words and clever poetry.

Russian Foreign Policy Towards The Post Soviet Sphere Politics Essay

Russian Foreign Policy Towards The Post Soviet Sphere Politics Essay The relations with Russia and the fragmented post-Soviet space have been rather popular topic for some years now. But after the cyber crises, April anxiety and the attack to South Ossetia, the topic has gathered even more increasing attention. The Russian foreign policy therefore has been changed a lot and has undergone different strategies. Nowadays Russian foreign policy creation probably reminds to lot of people like building the road to the heaven. The process consists of continuous alternating compromises as well as provoking actions or signs towards the West. Sometimes the decisions of Russian foreign policy are even against its own national interest and therefore from time to time it could raise a question if Russia has even stepped out from its baby-shoes or not. During the Russian Empire times the Russian foreign policy symbolized the Orthodox Christian world and the centre of gravity for pan-Slavic movements. It was greatly based on the imperialist world order that was trying to find quick development in economic and social means. The main objective was to increase Russian living standards so it could compete with other more developed countries. But after the collapse of Soviet Union, what was according to Putin the biggest catastrophe during the 20th century, the Russian foreign policy has changed. It became more pragmatic and looked after the realization of sophisticated world. This was also visible from the Russian relations with other countries, as Russia started to communicate more closely with the more refined world. The characteristics of the different relations with different countries varied a lot- at one time Russia was acting like a full-partner while on the other times Russia took only minor roles or even opposition in cooperati ng. The changing Russian foreign policy was established on different aspects. The main objective was to formulate Russian national interests, so the foreign policy could correspond to the ones that are especially necessary and which ones are applying to the other countries on the world political field. Another objective was to tempt other countries to the agreements on subjects where its interests are not the same as Russia has. The reactions to the Russian foreign policy changes have not been easy to adapt neither for Russia nor to the post-soviet countries. The ending of the Cold War was unexpected to the both sides and the idea to totally change the ideologies of the countries policies after that, has not yet been accomplished by neither of the sides. The changes of Russian foreign policy are influenced by different features. The main influencer is probably the situation on the oil market, as Russia is one of the biggest oil providers in the region. This also affects the trade of other goods. For example after the collapse on Soviet Union the Baltic States were still a part of post-Soviet geopolitical and economic development. The party that is ruling the political decisions in Russia has also a big role to play in the influence process of Russian foreign policy. The clear difference was visible with Boriss Jeltsin and Vladimir Putin, whose tactics were different. The third aspect that influences the Russ ian foreign policy rather highly is the current Russian relations with Eurasia and Caucasus as well as with Central Asia and the situations on those countries. But to a country like Russia probably the biggest foreign policy driver is the embrace of the power and its sphere of influence- either it is local or more like global. The presentation of the change from rather Russia-centered and regional power emerged during the Putin administration. At that time Russia raised to being one of the global energy power suppliers and demanded the local currency recognition equal to the US dollar. Russian foreign policy and market economy The importance of the economics and businesses in Russian foreign policy today is considerably high. It has also been seen as a source of the state power. With the Putin presidency major changes on Russian business market were made. During the Putin administration the big oligarchs were destroyed. Putin deputized its authorities to sit on the boards of key companies so he could have a control over the businesses. He also continued to support the integration of Russia to the world economy. While during the Soviet Union times Russia was the biggest supplier on its markets, but now after the collapse of Soviet Union the markets where Russia is the biggest player are decreasing and the foreign trade is taking over. This can be considered as one of the biggest threats to Russian economy. Also as we had financial crises in the world, the unemployment rate in Russia rose significally. Russian foreign policy today When to follow the Russian foreign policy, it can actually be said that it is rather continuous and has hidden aggressiveness. The current Russia has a tendency to demonstrate new conceptual documents in foreign policy as well as in security policy. These are always welcomed with high level of attention because according to these documents the world is trying to predict the coming Russian policy  [1]  . If to be very careful and to observe closely, it can be seen that actually the changes of Russian foreign policy has built up on tactical regrouping. The biggest change between the previous and current Russian foreign policy concept is that now the foreign policy goals has to be in balance with Russian economic, intellectual and technological possibilities. Regardless to the world image of Russia according to its recent actions, Russia still seems to think of itself as the super-power. In different ways and by different actions Russia still threats the post-soviet countries and in a way Russia still treats them as a part of its colony. But there is a difference between the former soviet countries. For example the threat to Estonia is unlike and smaller than to Georgia, as Estonia is a member of the European Union. Therefore the actions or procedures how Russia can endanger Estonia is different because of the western powers, but in case of Georgia, as it was seen, there is not such a strong backup. For Russians the fact that Estonia joined the western block was a big disappointment and according to the surveys, it became apparent that Estonia is the second country that the Russians trust the less. The Russian foreign policy that we know today is a product of former superpower, which desperately tries to hold on to its power. Some histori ans even say that, now when different countries are allies, the war will begin sooner or later. The orange revolution in Ukraine during the 2004, reminded greatly the situation in Estonia after the singing revolution. After the orange revolution Ukraine seemed to be able to see the freedom, as it happened in Estonia in 1987-1988. Then in year 2007 Vladimir Putin wrote a letter to Ukraine president Viktor JuÃ…Â ¡tÃ…Â ¡enko with what Putin clearly and directly intervened to Ukraine domestic problems and policy. But the actual aim of this letter was basically to control Ukraine, as Putin saw that things are getting out of his hands. This can be considered as a clear sign of Russian wish to take over the control and basically to reunite the former Soviet Union countries in order to form a Russian Empire again. It seemed that the tactic was to take over the control at first from the inside of the country by trying to attract the people, who can be manipulated to support Russia and its ideas and plans. If that has been accomplished then it is easy to take over the country tim e by time. In year 2008 Russian president Medvedev claimed that Russian foreign policy is neither liberal nor conservative but it is driven from Russian national interests. He also said that the freedom, democracy and the protection of human rights matters a lot to Russia and in its foreign international relations. These are also the aspects that are protected the most  [2]  . Few months after that Russia took military actions against Georgia. The Russian- Georgian war was a clear sign to the West and to the rest of the world that Russia has had enough of its post-Soviet foreign policy and that some things have to be changed. Also it gave a warning to the world that Russia is not that pushed down as it may have seemed and is actually capable to amend enormous damage. The new face that Russia is showing now by demanding pragmatic relations with the west, internal country liberalization and the high turn of economical high technology is only the change of the layer, not the inside. Also if the Russia we know today does not liberalize the market economy, it may bring with it, that European Union has to use the sanctions. Meaning that basically in the end, both of the sides will lose tremendously. When in year 2009 Russia changed the foreign policy in a way so it will be more pragmatic, balanced and that it is not based on the opposition. During the same year Dmitri Medvedev said that, it is about the time when Russia should stop being so ignorant and egoistic. By this saying the world got rather surprised, as before Russia has wanted to play leading roles on different fields. Russia even wanted that its currency would be equal to dollar, meaning that it would be recognized all over the world. This thought was led by the oil prices and the fact that Russia is a considerably big supplier of the oil in the world. But this behavior that Russia admits that they should back down a little does not happen that often. Usually it is driven from the current situation on the world oil market and of how strong is Russian power at the time. The American analyzing centre Stratfor  [3]  predicts in it analyses that in coming year the Russian activities in its neighborhood will most probably increase. According to that it has been predicted that Russia will start to fight back the former Soviet Union countries and that Estonia is the country that interests Russia the most. The reason for that is argued to be easy- Estonian politics are easy to manipulate with. In addition to Estonia the other Baltic States countries Latvia and Lithuaina are probably facing the same. Such an increased attention and interest to Russia has been ever since the Baltic States joined the European Union and NATO. But the Baltic States are not the only countries to whom Russia will concentrate on year 2010. According to the forecasts the year 2010 Russia strives to weaken the influence of the West from Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The goal of this is the recreation of the political union on the territory of the former Soviet Union. The analysts are predicting that the influence of Russia will be more successful in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. When talking about Ukraine, this prediction can be derived from the fact that the new Ukraine president Viktor JuÃ…Â ¡tÃ…Â ¡enko has a pro-Russia thinking. But interesting fact with this is the promise that Juņºtņºenko gave- to unite the badly managed Ukraine with big economic potential with the West- and Centre- Europe. This of course is causing troubles with Russia, as Ukraine will then leave the traditional influence-sphere. Now in year 2010 basically all the former post-soviet countries are on a risk, meaning that all the countries are afraid that Russia will attack sooner or later. Especially after the launch of Stratfors report as with previous forecasts 90% of Stratfor reports have been right. Other facts that are backing up the Russia potential interest towards post-soviet countries and West, is the fact that during the autumn 2009 Russia was practicing the attack to Poland, that ended with penetration to Poland with 900 tanks. The same actions were made to Latvia. It is hard to say for sure if it was only a practice against a terror attack or was it a real exercising of the infiltration. Russia today After the launch of the analyses of Russian Foreign policy and its impact to the former Soviet Union countries by American forecast agency Stratfor, many of the post-soviet countries have started to worry and fear Russia even more than before. According to the Stratfor analyses Russia is trying to form its influence sphere from its neighboring countries. With a big possibility the first countries will be Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It has been predicted that most probably those countries will not show that much resistance, then all the other post-soviet countries will be forced to either accept the conditions that are suitable to Moscow or to search independently the help from the foreign countries, such as USA. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan will probably choose the first opportunity whereas Georgia and Baltics will look for the other ways. The probability that Georgia will fail to do so is rather high, as actually it was also seen in August 2008. The probability of Baltic States search for help to succeed is little higher. In case Russia should try to capture Baltic States, the chance that Russia will ruin its relations with Europe and United States is rather possible. On the other hand if Russia is going to act as predicted and target Ukraine and Georgia first, then the Baltic States could win approximately 3 years to figure out how to protect themselves. At the same time it is very important to be updated of the actions and information what is happening in Latvia as by now it is one of the weakest countries in the Baltics. The situation in Latvia is rather bad and the economy needs to be stabilized. But exactly by that reason Latvia is very sensitive to the external influences and therefore it could turn to a really good playground to the Russia. The current situation in Ukraine is still unclear as the presidentary elections are coming. That also raises the question if Ukraine has already been sold to Russia or not. It is still unclear who will win the elections and who will be appointed to be the new president. At the same time all the candidates are in a way pro-Russia, meaning that the new president of Ukraine may start to cooperate with Russia in a long-run, as Ukraine is known as a rather corrupted country and then the predicted Russian control over Ukraine will still be established. The elections still will not decide on the Ukraine final destiny, but the fact that on the current elections all the candidates are pro-Russia may send a clear signal to Russia. Once Russia recaptures Ukraine, all the other post-Soviet states will probably face the same intentions. Besides the elections and controlling the Ukraine foreign policy, Russia has one more plan with Ukraine- Russia is strongly against the Ukraine alliance with NATO and European Union. In a way Estonia is in the same situation as Ukraine, but the fact that the crossing-point of world interests is south and near-east due to the oil and heavy fuel, it leaves the Baltic Sates on the background. The near-east and the territories next to the Black Sea are with high importance to Russia. Conclusion After the recent incidents that Russia has had with different countries over the past few years, the overall image of Russia has changed a lot. In addition to that the Russian foreign policy has made through major changes after the breakdown of Soviet Union. The biggest change has been that the role of Orthodox Church that used to play a big role in the Russian foreign policy has lost its importance. Another change was the Russian- Georgian war with what Russia sent a clear sign to the world that they are tired of their current foreign policy, but they also showed how they feel about the NATO enlargement. With that step lot of the other post-Soviet countries started to fear for their independence. Besides all kind of different changes one of the mentionable is also the fact that Russia started to use its role as one of the important energy providers as a political weapon. Russia understood that they can use the energy export to improve the countrys economical and political position in the world. When looking from the post-Soviet countries viewpoint and considering the recent Stratfor analyses that predicted the high Russian attention to its neighboring states has created rather anxious feelings in post-Soviet countries. If the predictions are going to come true, it is going to cause huge changes in Russian foreign policy.

The Life of Jack London :: Essays Papers

The Life of Jack London John Griffith London, who is considered by many to be America’s finest author, was born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco, California to an unmarried mother of a wealthy background, Flora Wellman. His father is thought to have been William Chaney, a Journalist, lawyer and major figure in the development of American Astrology. Because Flora was ill, an ex-slave, Virginia Prentiss, who would remain a major maternal influence during the boy’s childhood, raised Jack through infancy. Late in 1876, Flora married John London, a disabled Civil War veteran. The family moved to Oakland, where Jack completed grade school and would develop his love of the outdoors. As a child Jack worked at various hard labor jobs, pirated for oysters on San Francisco Bay, served on a patrol to catch poachers, sailed on a sealing ship, joined Kelly’s Army of unemployed working men, was a toured the country as a hobo. Jack later returned home to attend high school at the young age of 19. During his travels he became acquainted with socialism, for which he was known as the Boy Socialist of Oakland. London would run unsuccessfully several times for mayor of Oakland on the Socialist ticket. Jack developed a love of reading and began writing to escape the horrors of his laborious childhood for which he wanted to forget. Jack became a highly disciplined writher who produced over fifty volumes of stories, novels, and political essays. Even though The Call of the Wild brought London lasting fame, many of his short stories are considered classic and also. London’s long voyage (1907-1909) across the Pacific in a small boat provided material for books and stories about Polynesian and Melanesian, which were instrumental in popularizing Hawaii as a tourist spot. London was an extremely publicized person in his day and used the media attention to his advantage. His strong support of Socialism, women’s suffrage and prohibition were often hot topics in his dealing with the press. He was also one of the first writers who worked closely with the movie industry, and had a good number of his novels made into movies. His first novel The Sea Wolf became the basis for the first full-length American movie. London was also one of the first celebrities to use his endorsement for commercial products in advertising.

moralhf Essays - The Moral Vistory in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

The Moral Vistory in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a perfect example of how one's heart and morals can change in difficult situations. Huck's journey down the Mississippi River tested him to his limits of being able to handle situations in the way which he had been raised. Huck shows that how one is raised is something that will impact them tremendously in the rest of their life and that it is hard to change from what you've been molded into. Early in the novel Huck shows how much of a rebellious and joking boy he truly is. "I put out the light and I scrambled out of the window...,"(pg. 17) says Huck. Huck, at a young age, began getting himself into many difficult situations, such as escaping from the cave in Tom Sawyer. Huck often has a hard time abiding by rules, keeping himself out of trouble, and comprehending the things he has been taught. However, he does learn one thing, that he is better than the Negroes. So, as young boys, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer spend a g ood bit of their time playing tricks on Ms. Watson's slave, Jim. "He slipped Jim's hat off his head and hung it on a limb right over him...,"(pg. 19) tricks like these which Huck is never punished for are part of what confirm the teaching that he is in fact better than blacks. This conditioning as a young child is what makes it difficult for him to deal with Jim as an equal later in life. Once on the river Huck has a much more difficult time as he not only has to deal with Jim but also the King and Duke who join them on their journey. The King and Duke's actions around Huck make him realize that he needs to change his morals. When Huck realizes that the King and Duke are impostors his learning experience begins. "It didn't take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn't no kings nor dukes at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds." This statement shows that Huck has feelings about the King and Duke that show that his morals are of the kind which will not self ishly go against other's trust.

American name David Birth name Huayi

My partner is a very dynamic Chinese guy named Hua Yi, but is known by his American name, David Birth. He is an only son and lives with his immediate family although he has other family members and relatives in South East China. His father works as a truck driver and his mother, as an airline inspector. He goes back to China to visit every two years or so. On assessment, he believes that their family belongs to the middle class economic strata. David’s parents moved to the United States nine years ago in 2000 in search of wider horizons and better earning opportunities.David believes that he left his cultural roots in China, but he has never forgotten this, and so, despite his being in the United States, he has retained his cultural identity and learned to incorporate American culture into it. He believes he has half of his heart in China and half in the United States. David is a very physical person and loves to indulge in sports and other physical activities like table tenni s, club and local golfing, as well as fishing. He values his leisure time and spends this mostly with his family and friends.He likes to watch movies and spend time learning new things and discovering new possibilities. He is also very outgoing and can handle his emotions quite well. David finished his secondary education from North Penn High School in Lansdale four years ago in 2005. He has consistently been a ‘B’ student and decided to shift from nursing to international business during his college years. He plans to pursue this degree in international business and later transfer to a ‘temple’ from his community college.He is bent on finding a job in the Philadelphia area so that he can use this job as a stepping stone to accomplish his dream of being able to travel all around the world and learn new things. In the next year, he has also made a resolve to work hard to acquire good grades to enable him to transfer to a better college. He also plans to inve st in real estate when he has the resources and buy a luxurious house for his parents. David can be very shy at times and he also has difficulty in verbalizing his emotions. He is very close to his family and so fears that one day they will acquire health problems and eventually die.INFERENTIAL SECTION: Based on the simplicity of David, and his very simple aspirations, I can easily say that he only seeks very ordinary dreams for himself and for the people around him. I think that his foremost desire would be to able to meet the basic requirements of a dignified life, hence, quite likely, in the next ten years he would be focused on building his own family, leading a good family life, maintaining a decent and good paying job, and being able to acquire residential property. Considering his Asian background, David has high hopes of moving to America.Based on his past, I can say that moving to America is a very welcome change for him and that this significant event in his life has given him a more liberal and permissive view of things, enabling him to be more decisive, more open to risks, and change. His Asian background has also given him the propensity to view things based on the oriental belief of Karma, which means that according to his own personal philosophy, he thinks that the energy you put out to the universe, which could either be good or bad, is the same kind of energy that the universe will send back to you.VALUE SECTION: As a person, my partner’s strengths are being able to maintain an open mind in all things and seek opportunities to try innovations. This mindset of his could be considered a strength because this will enable him to explore many new things in life and try out more opportunities; therefore making him a more rounded and more holistic person than he is now. David is very open to criticism and he believes that he can learn many new things from what other people say – as a strength, this can contribute to self-improvement as well as individual development.David, on the other hand, can be very shy at times. This prevents him from vocalizing his ideas and making his thoughts known to other people. This, as his weakness, can cause him to become less satisfied of certain situations because he cannot verbalize what he wants to do about these things. He may also have problems with indicating what he truly wants in many cases because not all people can read other people’s minds. Treated the other way, this shyness can be converted into a strength if it is based on the concept of being mild-mannered and composed.This particular attitude of his can work the other way and give other people the impression that he can control himself well and is not given to stray and baseless reactions and emotions. SELF-REFLECTION SECTION: As a interpersonal communicator, I believe that the most important skill that I have is the ability to listen and allow the other person to speak. Many things can be gleaned from how ano ther person reacts to our questions and I am confident that I give due attention to these subtle and discreet reactions.Another ability of mine that I consider a strength is my skill of being able to rephrase the question for clarity. This can be very helpful especially if the person I am talking to has difficulty in comprehension. I am also given to being lively and bubbly at times so this serves to keep the interest of the person I am talking to. I also tend to be very intimate when it comes to communication; maintaining eye contact, physical contact, and contact on a mental level.I avoid being too emotional when communicating to maintain objectivity. In my conversation with David he found me to be very entertaining. On the other hand, my approach to communication can be very aggressive at times and this can intimidate the person I am talking to and cause them to shrink into themselves. My being very vocal and verbal can sometimes come across as intimidating. I tend to be very pre cise at times, and this can work against me by making me sound more like an investigator than a communicator.To improve on my interpersonal communication skills, I believe that I need to expose myself to more real life situations and not treat encounters like they are opportunities to earn a good grade in the classroom. I have to learn the entertainment and knowledge value of communication and the various benefits that it can present to social relationships. Perhaps, I need to attend personality development seminars and workshops to make me more effective in interpersonal communications. To add to this, I also need to develop a certain degree of rapport with myself to be able to reflect this rapport to whoever I am communicating with.

In The Novel Heroes Robert Cormier Essay

In the novel heroes, Robert Cormier uses language and literary devices to explore the character of Larry LaSalle in terms of his physical appearance, speech patterns, reputation, public behaviour and secret actions. Heroes is a book set in, Frenchtown, America which explore the themes of secrecy, guilt, love and heroism. Cormier slowly reveals why Francis and 18 year old wants to kill, Larry LaSalle a man he once worshiped. Francis tells us in the first chapter that LaSalle is ‘the man I am going to kill.’ From the first chapter of the novel is clear that LaSalle is going to be very important throughout the story because he is mentioned as well as Nicole Renard. When Larry is introduced in the first chapter he is presented as being a charismatic man. Cormier also describes him by using and adjective ‘dazzling movie star’ which gives us the impression that LaSalle is initially presented as someone wealthy and someone to be admired. However there is a sense of foreboding as to why he does not want to be in the show business and wants to run a youth club in Frenchtown.

In Cold Blood – Creativev Writing

I was standing in one of New York's vast parks, last nights cold apparent from the white frost that lightly covered the normally green grass. My next victim stood ahead of me, silhouetted by the low, early morning, autumn sun. I made sure that I traced his steps, placing my shoes in the imprints made by his in the grass. This meant that I didn't leave my own footprints and that I also did not crunch the frozen dew on the grass, making my approach that little bit more stealthy. I was yards from him when I reached inside my black Armani raincoat, my hand grasping the gun, placed inside the holster wrapped around my shoulder, the harsh coldness of its metal handle not felt through my black leather gloves. I quickly withdrew the weapon and, with practised ease, took a fix on my target. He was much smaller than me, although most people were, and I could see the wisps of his clouded breath, fogged by the early morning chill, rising up above him. I had to aim slightly downwards to get a fix on the base of his skull. This point would kill the man instantly. I didn't realise until I slowly released it, but I had been holding my breath. I applied minimal pressure to the small piece of metal that would start the chain reaction soon to follow. The ‘phut' of the bullet leaving the barrel of the gun was hardly heard, quietened by the silencer screwed into the end of the device. Only the birds seemed to pick up on this sound as they all flocked from their morning resting grounds of a large oak tree nearby. The bullet hit the man at the point where the neck and skull met and his body and, although only momentarily, went taut; almost as if he had been expecting such a thing. His body then swiftly slumped to the ground, his life draining quickly from the new orifice in the back of his head. Blood oozed from the fresh, smoking wound and left deep, crimson stains on the ground, the white frost a great contrast to it. A bee busied itself amongst the wild flowers beside me, its monotonous drone, a testament to the normality of the day. Ahead of it, birds dodged between the trees, almost chasing each other in some game that only winged creatures could play. Above me, an aeroplane, carrying it's passengers to a paradise destination no doubt, carried on regardless. How could the day take no note to the act of violence that had been perpetrated; how could this vicious act not taint the air itself? Funny as it may seem, after delivering death upon this man, I myself considered life. As I stood in the beauty of the park, the many different colours of the leaves as they died and fell from the tree staining on my mind, I wondered, for what reason was I placed upon this Earth? What was the point of life? Was it cyclical? Is there such a thing as reincarnation? Would this dead man get his second chance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. would I? Maybe I would be given the opportunity to seek my redemption, to ask for the forgiveness that I hardly deserved, to repent my past indiscretions. If I could, would that not mean that I would spend my life paying for the awful things done in my past lives? Repaying the debt to society that I have amassed in a different time? The answer was no! I would repent my sins in this life, not having another chance, just now. I always had the feeling that my past would catch up and haunt me. I was, however, totally oblivious to just how close this time was. So what was this past that would catch up with me? I'm not going to blame my childhood for the life I now led. I grew up in Brooklyn, a poor black boy in the heart of the gang run ghetto. My mother died when I was very young, and the only memory I have, the only reason I knew that she existed, was that life was once good. After she died, my father grew distant, telling me that I was too much of a resemblance of my mother. I was an only child so had no brothers or sisters to turn to for help. Soon after this time, when I was about 7, my father would invite his ‘friends' around, they would give him things, beer, money, anything that he wanted at the time, and he would give theme. I was abused mentally, physically and sexually and my father sat back and let it occur while he gained everything and I lost my innocence and my childhood. He sold me as a possession, rented me to anyone willing to pay. This happened many times over the years- too many to count, too many to remember, too many that I could remember- until I finally ran away. I turned to killing to support myself, not because I was forced to or because of the things that had happened to me, but because I chose to. The first person I ever killed was the first man that ever laid his filthy hands on me. I can remember that day like it only happened seconds ago, I made sure that I remembered it. He was walking home, it was late at night and I seem to always remember the smell of him. Even now, to this day, the smell of whisky turns me sick. I will save you the details of exactly what I did to him but when they found him in the morning, they needed to use his dental records to discover his identity. I was only seventeen years old. I almost love that night, remember that I enjoyed that moment so much, drew it out for almost two hours, torturing and humiliating him, before finally putting him out of his misery. But why did I put him out of his misery? Did he show me the same compassion? It was, I realised, because I was ashamed of myself, what I had done to a human being. I was twenty-two when I received the news of my fathers death and had made a relatively good life for myself. Despite all the things he had done to me, I cried when I was told. To this day I'm still unaware of the reason I cried. Maybe it was relief or maybe it was grief of losing my father. But back to now, this time, back to the park where another cadaver lay, felled by my hands. I was not killing nowadays for me, but for others. They would pay me to kill their tormentors. Many people would say that I was nothing more than a ‘hired killer', but I saw myself as so much more. I would only except cases where I was killing a true fiend, although people would never know this. On the exterior, I was a successful stockbroker, rich in life, rich in money. However it was my shady interior that nobody knew about. The money I won in the stock market was used to supply my weapons. I made a killing in the stocks and through this, made a killing on the streets. I left the serene park behind me, walking at a quick enough pace to distance myself from it and yet slow enough to make it seem I was not. People walked by me on the streets and, when I reached the mail office, were happily holding doors open for me and wishing me a ‘nice day'. If only they knew of the horror I had just committed. In the mail office, I had my own personal mail box, owned by myself and under the name â€Å"Block and Wood enterprises†. This meant that I could receive information on future ‘hits' without getting my own name or address involved. There was one letter in my box, I removed it, placed it in my pocket and left. My apartment building was not harsh or an eyesore to the skyline of New York. In fact, it seemed to make it better. It was a very tall structure, with large glass windows and a sprawling lobby which was decorated with white marble and gold-look metal. Each floor housed its own apartment. I owned the apartment on the top floor, the penthouse. It had sweeping views of the whole of New York City and possibly the best view of the Statue of Liberty in the whole of Manhattan. My keys slipped into the lock and turned with the ease I expected. I threw the door open and the comforting smell of ‘home' greeted me. I placed my keys onto the small table in my hall, closed the door, hung up my raincoat and started towards the luxurious bathroom. The large living room stretched out ahead of me, my expensive furniture seemingly glowing due to the light in there. It was well lit due to many factors. Firstly I was so high up that hardly any other building could block the light, secondly, the sprawling glass windows spread around the apartment let in much light, often too much and so I had blinds installed to occasionally block the sun. I stopped suddenly, somehow aware of a presence in the apartment. My gun was swiftly out of the holster and, like I had many times before in other peoples houses, was stalking around, jumping around corners, hoping to catch the crook who was here. After a thorough search of my premises, I found nothing out of place, nothing stolen and no one in any of the rooms. I put it down to the recent hit I had performed and it was just the jitters or the ‘high' I got from killing. I made my way back toward the bathroom and noticed that the front door was still open. Had I closed it when I walked in? I was sure I had. I then remembered the letter in my coat pocket. It must have been my imagination playing tricks on myself. I closed the door, grabbed the letter from my coat pocket, settled into my reclining leather chair and began to read. â€Å"Dear Mr Johnson† it read. People were always formal even though they knew they were writing to a killer. The letter went on to describe the man I was to kill, the manner in which they would like me to do it (I never did do any personal requests) and the time and place. People always seemed to assume that I was uneducated or dim because they always told me every detail, as if I wouldn't research the hit myself. I decided to take this one on as the man to be killed was nothing short of scum. He had raped the woman asking for his death and had beaten her and stolen from her on many occasions. To make matters worse, it was her own uncle. I called the woman, from an untraceable safe cell phone, to tell her I would do the hit, not letting her say anything and hanging up as soon as I had finished. I finally had the chance to take a well deserved shower. It was a Sunday and I would not be working today. While in the shower, I thought of the new target I was to kill. Normally I didn't take on a hit so quickly yet this man was too vile to keep on this Earth any longer. I would squash this cockroach in 3 days time. A smile crept across my face as I thought of eradicating another life that shouldn't have been started at all. I slept that night, a dream filled slumber. My head was filled with memories, old and new, and some, I realise now, were thoughts of events that had not yet happened. Thoughts that would lead to my demise. It was mere hours before the job was to be done. I had followed the target for the past 2 days. His name was Attis Jones and he was, it seemed, a recluse. He lived in an old lighthouse that he had converted himself. His wife had left him many years before due to his alcoholism and his children had severed all contact with him soon after this. He drunk even more severely following this and even turned to drugs, a healthy lifestyle he was still continuing to this day. He was now only forty yet seemed much older. His white hair seemed that it hadn't seen a pair of scissors in many years as it was down to his shoulders. It was thinning on the top of his head and seemed to abandoning him, just like everyone else in his life. I was in my car driving towards the coastline where his lighthouse was situated. I had already found a way around his poor security. The chain link fence was easily climbed and although he had a security camera pointing at the drive way to the lighthouse, it was simple to avoid. In any case, I was a careful man and so parked quite a distance from the lighthouse and walked the final mile or so. I had my trusty 9mm silenced baretta in its holster around my shoulder where it was always kept. However, today I brought my colt revolver also, just because it was a secluded area and I hardly ever had the pleasure of hearing the gunshot well. It was beginning to get dark by the time I had reached the lighthouse and there was a light rain starting to fall. As I approached the tall structure, a rather stereotypical lighthouse with its red and white patterned stripes going down its shaft, I noticed that the grounds were littered with many skeletons of cars that had been left to rust. The grounds themselves, surrounding the lighthouse seemed to be in a state of disrepair, weeds choking the last of the wild flowers growing around. I also noticed, for only the second time, a small jetty. It was secluded around the back of the structure and was very neglected. This time, however, the jetty had changed for now there was a boat at it. A figure stood hunched on the deck, pouring diesel into the engine's fuel hatch. The rain, now heavier, fell on its bare skull, onto the white hair that plastered its face and shoulders, onto its black coat and black leather boots. He must have sensed me approaching for he looked up, a smile slowly spreading across his face. He was, I guessed, about 6 feet tall, with long, white, tapering fingers and pale, elongated features. In the dusk, his eyes were a deep, dark blue, bordering on black and his almost lipless mouth seemed to start just where his nostrils ended. It was, of course, Attis Jones. Diesel spilled onto the deck of the boat as he had momentary lapse in concentration. I wondered why he was smiling and it was only when I noticed the handgun in his other hand that a smile spread across mine. â€Å"Clever boy†, I shouted â€Å"Have you been expecting me? † â€Å"We all have†, was the only reply. The gun in his right hand was quickly raised an aimed at my head. I was faster however as my gun was up and releasing a bullet before he realised. It tore through his right arm, shattering it, sending the gun to the watery depths below. â€Å"You are going to die tonight, sinner†, called Attis â€Å"Your mistaken, it is you who will die, I have nothing to answer for. God did not send demons to kill the firstborn in Egypt, he sent angels. I am an angel, sent by God to clear up the mistake he made by allowing you to be born. † I was happy with this reply and was seconds from releasing another bullet, this time toward his chest when he mouthed 4 simple words to me, â€Å"Good bye, Mr Jones†. It was then that something hard struck the back of my head, leaving me sprawled across the floor. A brown shoe stamped down hard on my fingers, causing me to release the gun from my grip. It was kicked away from me and a huge weight seemed to press down on me. There were knees in my back and my face was being pushed into the mud. The water and mud burned my eyes and the weight on my back was restricting my breathing. I fought hard and managed to throw the being from my back. I quickly remembered the colt tucked into my sock. It was out and shooting my assailant before he could say, or do, anything about it. Again I was struck from behind, only this time, it was more than one person. I was thrown to the ground again and kicked and punched repeatedly. I lost the grip of the gun in my hand and this one, like the first, was kicked from my reach. I tried in vain to fight back but was overpowered by the many people around me. I was held to the floor by my captors and then Attis Jones was standing over me. Despite his right arm being splintered by the bullet from my barreta, he was standing over me with relative ease, the pain not very visible on his face. What was, however, visible on his face was the malicious look. I wondered why these people were doing this, for what reason they were holding me to the floor. â€Å"I said you would die sinner†, Attis scolded, â€Å"Just as my son and their brother died at your hands, so you shall die at ours! † With that, he knelt on my chest, placing all his weight on top of my lungs. This constricted my breathing but the cold hand around my neck restricted it further. I was staring up into the eyes of hell. All of the malignant thoughts that Attis Jones could muster were being forced to the front of his mind. I could almost see them through his eyes. Attis's grip shifted so that his thumb was pressing hard, trying to crush my Adam's apple. I was trying to free my hands but they were held tightly to the ground by Attis' Sons. I tried in vain to kick my legs but again, restrained by someone. The pressure in my head was increasing as my windpipe was constricted. My ears were filled with the roaring in my head and the laboured, spit-flecked breaths of the man who was killing me, I felt a burning pain behind my eyes, a numbness spreading from my finger. I desperately tried to free myself, but I was losing the battle, the feeling in my body. My vision was blurring and my lungs burning as the last of my life was choked from me. The only sound, apart from the steady rhythmic beat of the rain, was me, gurgling the last of my air out. Everything became dark and the last thing I remember hearing was â€Å"Take ‘im inside, we'll chop ‘im up and feed ‘im to the sharks! † Now, looking back on my life, I realised how what I had done was right. If you believed that what I did was wrong, that killing those awful people was a bad thing, your deeply mistaken. I killed those people because they were delivering pain onto others, what I did was stop them from hurting them, or any other, ever again. Attis Jones had set me up so that he could take revenge upon me for killing his son. Had I researched deeper into his background, I would have found that the web of lies I was fed were given to me in the hope that I would be led straight into the trap. It worked. I now know that his son was a certain Joshua Jones. I had killed him many years before. He was a personal call. There was no money when I killed him. There were no people who specifically asked me to kill him. I did it because I wanted to. He was grooming small children, taking them from the streets and teaching them how to become prostitutes. He was using them to gratify his own pleasure, acting like nothing more than a common pimp. For this reason I had to kill him. His family was totally oblivious to what he had done and I think that they may have reconsidered taking my life had they found out his true past. So this was my past catching up with me, it never actually haunted me, just left me for dead. There was no afterlife, no Heaven, no Hell. There was in fact, nothing. Just a black void that I seemed t float around in, left to contemplate my life and the things I had done. The hurt I had caused, the pain visited upon the innocent bystanders of the families of my victims. I also thought of the good I had done, killing all those people, taking their lives so that they could no longer harm anyone else And as I did, I realised that I wouldn't change a thing, if given a second chance at the same life, I would do it all the same as I had, doing everything the way had intended to do. I looked back and saw myself as sort of makeshift hero. Saving the common folk and helping their lives to be lived better. Maybe they would find out of my secret past and declare me a hero, or maybe call me a murderer, tell everyone that what I had done was a terrible thing. In any case, I knew that I had done right and did not care what people thought. The only part of my life that I truly hated, the one thing that stuck in my mind as the thing I would change, would be the manner in which I died. But there was nothing I could do about that now, I could only watch it over and over again, in my minds eye.

Priestley’s Paradox

It is assumed that technology has aided the increase in interpersonal communication however it important to discuss the effects of technology on modern communication. This essay briefly provides a critical opinion on modern communication and provides examples of some interpersonal communication that rely on new technology, its potential advantage and possible dilemma with the use of modern technology in interpersonal communication. The world today is a global world; we live in a global village and the world as we know it keeps decreasing due to the rapid growth of technology. The ever increasing speed at the development of new technology creates innovative ways of communicating and in more ways than one has changed the way people communicate. Although modern communication has some advantages, which include convenience, speed, dissemination, and these advantages can be overpowered by disadvantages such as lack of content, language confusion. It will be argued here that the role of modern technology provides methods that hinder interpersonal communication, therefore while there are certain advantages associated with the increase of communications technology; these are evidently outweighed by the disadvantages. Communication is important to humans and a vital part of our world; man is a social animal and therefore requires communication as an essential tool for socializing. Focusing on interpersonal communication skills, Eunson (2008, p. 86) defines this as the processes that help, distort or block communication of messages between individuals but communicating effectively requires some basic skills such as active listening, usage and interpretation of body language and facial expressions. Technology however has created different channels to enhance interpersonal communication, invention such as mobile phones, emails, social networks, has made for easier, faster and smarter ways of communicating. This has led to the internet becoming an essential instrument in the media and communication strategies of civil society (Bailey, Cammaers, Carpentier 2008, p. 98). However with such availability, communication barriers are constantly increasing, with language confusion and a vast vocabulary of ever growing internet slang. Priestley’s paradox suggests that the rapid increase in communications technology has increased the quantity but decreased the quality of contemporary communication (Eunson 2008, p. 4-5). Whether or not this statement is entirely true, it is undeniable that it is very representative of the degree to which communication has deteriorated due to the constant increase of different technologically enhanced means of communication. Communication between individuals includes both verbal and non-verbal that can be easily misunderstood depending on the medium of communication. The occurrence of misunderstanding between individuals is heightened because of the lack of personal connection and context. Emails are generally informal, unstructured with the use of colloquialisms and jargons, email has rendered irrelevant more direct and often more effective forms of communication such as using telephone, walking down the corridor and talking, or attending meetings (Eunson 2008, p. 208-215). In addition to that, some people take advantage of the accessibility of sending an email and say things they wouldn’t feel comfortable saying in face to face conversations and messages sent can be misinterpreted or misunderstood by receiver further reducing the quality of communication. Things such as body language and eye contact is non-existent when it comes to sending emails, these are very essential part of daily conversations and some people use it as an excuse to avoid face to face conversation. Many may argue that in the past few years the world has undergone radical changes with the amount of available modern communication mediums, and these appears to have caused an increase in the number of social networks. Online communications mediums, weblogs in part, are sites of author audience interaction that differ from face to face performance and traditional reader relationship (Buckingham 2000, p. 207). Most young people spend countless hours on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo creating friendships and relationships with people they meet in cyberspace. The strangeway in which so many of these interactants see the internet as both an intimate area for exchange, as well as a place for public display, challenges our perceptions of these boundaries (Buckingham & Willet 2006, p. 19). The ease at which many disclose personal information on the internet via social networking sites is alarming as they generally are exposed to risks of contact with paedophiles (e. g. via grooming in chat rooms) and often exposure to violent or racist / hate material (Buckingham & Willet 2006, p. 94). Another advantage of communicating via social network sites is that people can share ideas a nd values while maintaining anonymity. Concerns about modern communication is the

Private Peaceful

Private Peaceful†¦ Innocence, love, courage and cowardice. Michael Morpurgo is most famous for his children’s literature, such as The Butterfly Lion or War Horse, so it might seem odd that what is considered a children’s book should appear on a newspaper for students, but the truth is that this book is moving. The story is written from the point of view Thomas â€Å"Tommo† Peaceful, a young man born around the turn of the 20th century who is, for reasons unknown until the end, reliving his whole life in one night, with each chapter beginning with a different time reference and a short passage from the present before indulging us within the past.He tells the reader about his life as a child in a small English village: his school life, his family, the death of his father and the goings on up at the big house, but mainly he speaks of his admirable older brother, Charlie, and his love for his friend Molly and their growth into adulthood together. When war breaks out in Europe Charlie refuses to go and fight until he is threatened with the eviction of his family from their house, and is forced to sign up.Thomas, despite only being fifteen, signs up as well, rejecting the idea of letting his brother go and fight on his own. And so they go off to war, and the story tells of the horror of life along the front line in Belgium, of the bad guys on our side, and the good guys on theirs, from the point of view of an innocent country boy, with constant interjections form the present that build up, leaving the reading in suspense about what the dreaded morning will bring for Private Peaceful, with a climatic and beautiful finish.At its roots, Private Charlie Peaceful is an angry response towards the capital punishment of the soldiers on the front line during the First World War, however somewhere along the line Morpurgo managed to conjure up a beautiful story of brotherly love during a dark period of our history.The narrative style he adopts is touch ing and powerful in a subtle way, and his use of historical context and repetition create a believable and likable narrator and an older brother every reader wants in hard times. The imagery Morpurgo uses crafts the peace of the countryside and the madness of war perfectly, and his astounding knowledge of both the character’s social and historical background are fantastic and worthy of incredible amounts of praise.Why this book didn’t win the Whitbread Award it was shortlisted for will continue to confuse me, unless by some freak accident it was competing against the Bible and/or War and Peace. I would recommend this to any child that’s interested in action, love, war or is just looking for a good read. Morpurgo writes so many good books but by far this is the best. And I’m sorry I could not give away the ending†¦ ‘I have promises to keep. ’ Private Peaceful Private Peaceful†¦ Innocence, love, courage and cowardice. Michael Morpurgo is most famous for his children’s literature, such as The Butterfly Lion or War Horse, so it might seem odd that what is considered a children’s book should appear on a newspaper for students, but the truth is that this book is moving. The story is written from the point of view Thomas â€Å"Tommo† Peaceful, a young man born around the turn of the 20th century who is, for reasons unknown until the end, reliving his whole life in one night, with each chapter beginning with a different time reference and a short passage from the present before indulging us within the past.He tells the reader about his life as a child in a small English village: his school life, his family, the death of his father and the goings on up at the big house, but mainly he speaks of his admirable older brother, Charlie, and his love for his friend Molly and their growth into adulthood together. When war breaks out in Europe Charlie refuses to go and fight until he is threatened with the eviction of his family from their house, and is forced to sign up.Thomas, despite only being fifteen, signs up as well, rejecting the idea of letting his brother go and fight on his own. And so they go off to war, and the story tells of the horror of life along the front line in Belgium, of the bad guys on our side, and the good guys on theirs, from the point of view of an innocent country boy, with constant interjections form the present that build up, leaving the reading in suspense about what the dreaded morning will bring for Private Peaceful, with a climatic and beautiful finish.At its roots, Private Charlie Peaceful is an angry response towards the capital punishment of the soldiers on the front line during the First World War, however somewhere along the line Morpurgo managed to conjure up a beautiful story of brotherly love during a dark period of our history.The narrative style he adopts is touch ing and powerful in a subtle way, and his use of historical context and repetition create a believable and likable narrator and an older brother every reader wants in hard times. The imagery Morpurgo uses crafts the peace of the countryside and the madness of war perfectly, and his astounding knowledge of both the character’s social and historical background are fantastic and worthy of incredible amounts of praise.Why this book didn’t win the Whitbread Award it was shortlisted for will continue to confuse me, unless by some freak accident it was competing against the Bible and/or War and Peace. I would recommend this to any child that’s interested in action, love, war or is just looking for a good read. Morpurgo writes so many good books but by far this is the best. And I’m sorry I could not give away the ending†¦ ‘I have promises to keep. ’

Birchfield Bread and Breakfast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Birchfield Bread and Breakfast - Essay Example This essay stresses that there are some small lodging facilities in this region which have the blessings to be established in the beautiful places of Honolulu. Birchfield can acquire these to expand its business at a large scale. This has been recommended considering the projected increase in the tourist arrivals in the next years. Moreover, in such a way Birchfield would be able to remove some of its competition. At the same time, by acquiring these small lodging establishments it can compete against the large establishments in this region. This paper makes a conclusion that Birchfield Bed and Breakfast has been in operation for the last two years. However, recently it has been experiencing a slowdown in its guest arrivals. As a consequence, in the last year the company experienced a considerable amount of loss in its operation. It is high time for the company to pull off all its resources to enhance its services by offering its customers a comfortable luxury experience with all required amenities. Moreover, the establishment is required to be more focused on its marketing and promotional activities as the competition in this industry is real high. It is very much important to make people aware of the quality services, delicious food and beverages offered by Birchfield. The establishment must drive its resources to carry out a well developed marketing plan to retain its customer base and at the same time to ensure new arrivals.

Evaluation essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation - Essay Example The movie drew numerous reactions from Americans. For some Americans, the movie exposed what has been happening in the health care system denying the Americans the level of health care they deserve. For others, the movie is, but an exaggeration of the existing drawbacks in the health care system. A close analysis of the movie reveals that Moore addresses critical issues that need attention if the health care system is to be improved. This paper will highlight how Moore successfully exposes the frauds and the scandals in the health care system. A documentary that seeks to make a revelation of an existing failed system should present facts and accurate statistics. It is wrong to make false accusations that lack evidence of proving the claims. This is what is expected in Moore’s film. For it to qualify as a successful documentary, it is critical to analyze whether Moore uses facts and provides evidence for all the claims that he makes. In addition, the claims made by a documentary should be compelling and strong enough to influence policymaking. This is the reason why producers should look for substantial evidence that can influence policy making in the end. The purpose of the documentary should remain evident and the producer should stay from propaganda. The integration of the producer’s opinion with voices from people considered as an authority in a specific field serves to validate the claims made in the film (Moore). Moore’s film can be analyzed based on these criteria in an effort to ascertain that he succeeds in making a documentary that exposes the failure of the health care systems. Evidently, Michael Moore presents facts in his film. He uses statistics to explain the percentage of Americans who lack insurance. He also highlights that over 45 million Americans have insurance covers that prove inadequate when they need medical care

Geographies of war, occupation, resistance, and terrorism Essay

Geographies of war, occupation, resistance, and terrorism - Essay Example Unlike Britain and France, the major European powers, the US were highly recognized by Middle East as a good country with good people. Some of the key factors that improved US image in the eyes of the Middle East countries include the introduction of up-to-date medicine initiatives in the region, establishment of educational institutions, and provision of qualified petroleum engineers. As a result of the contributions of the US made in Middle East, the two regions had a strong connection prior to the Second World War. However, in the recent past, the two regions had a negative relationship that had triggered political unrest. This paper seeks to analyze the causes and solutions of the conflicts between Middle East and US. Even though Arabs and Israel have been involved in conflicts for a long period of time, the vested interest of the foreign countries, also referred to as foreign elite, has triggered the violence that led to large number of deaths in the Middle East countries. In ad dition to the US, China, Britain, Germany and Russia have also focused at controlling the oil in the Middle East countries. It is worth noting that as long as the foreign elite continue to be involved in the Middle East politics, the conflicts will remain unresolved. ... According to the Arab countries, US is the major cause of the conflict based on its political suppression, occupation of native land, military invasion as well as continued support of Israel on its political suppression against Palestine (Wu Sike 15). Additionally, Middle East countries argue that the US have negatively affected the culture of Arab countries by bringing about western values that have sabotaged the significant values of Islam community. As a result of the US invasion, the radical in the Middle East have gone to the extreme in their endeavor to resist the US control resulting to the emergence of terrorism. Another major cause of the animosity between the US and Middle East is the aim of the former to control the Middle East oil. In their efforts to expand their oil reserves, the US and other powerful states interferes with Arab-Israel conflicts with an aim of controlling the vast petroleum resources that acts as the major source of income for the Middle East countries. As a result, Arab countries have joined together to attack US interests in their countries such as the embassies, diplomats and other expatriates. In their efforts to improve their economy and intensify their control over the Middle East foreign countries have continued to sell weapons to the Arab countries an aspect that instigated conflicts in the Middle East. In this regard, it is fundamental for the UN and other international organizations to ban the sale of weapons to the Middle East countries to eliminate the war that has decapitated the economy of the Arab countries. Morris (37) argues that the emergence of corrupt and poor leadership in Middle East is one of the