The Catholic Church Through The Eyes Of Geoffrey Chaucer Essays

The Catholic Church Through The Eyes of Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer uses some of the characters in the Canterbury Tales The Prologue in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to point out his view of what was right and wrong within the Church during his time. He uses the Prioress, Monk, Friar, Summoner, and Pardoner to illustrate what he saw wrong within the Church. Chaucer uses the Clerk, Parson and the Plowman to illustrate the attributes the Church should possess. The Prioress is a nun who is probably equal to the rank of Mother Superior. She does not show the humility or dedication to God. Her compassion is shown towards animals. She makes sure her animals eat the best meats. She is more focused on natural love than agape love by the brooch she wears which says Love conquers all. She does not spend her time fasting because the author lets us know that she is fat. In correlation to the Church, the Prioress shows the Church's lack of dedication and humility towards God. The Church is more concerned with matters which do not deal with the deliverance of the human soul. Like the Prioress, the Monk does not walk in his calling. He is the monastery's outrider. This position allows him to roam the countryside at his will. Instead of being separate from the world, he is of the world. He loves to hunt and enjoys riding his horse. He does not value the teachings of his monastery because he feels they are somewhat strict. The Monk does not like to study. Why should he study, and drive himself mad, Over a book in a cloister always to pour, Or work with his hands, and labor, As St. Augustine bids? How shall the world be served? Let Augustine have his work to himself reserved (12-13). Chaucer sees the Church through the Monk as being more involved in its own affairs. The Church has gotten away from the basic Bible teachings and has instituted its own. Huburt, the Friar, like the Prioress and Monk, is not operating within his vocation. He does not spend time with the poor ministering to their phsyical needs as well as their spiritual needs. The Friar believes that because of his status he couild not spend time with these needy people. It was not fitting, considering his position, To be acquainted with sick lepers. It is not creditable, it holds no profit To deal with any such paupers (16). He spends time begging for donations from the rich farmers and other worthy women of the town. For a price he will hear confessions and give penance. He believes that ... instead of weeping and prayers, Men should give silver to the poor friars (15). This pilgram shows the Church being more concerned with the financial support for itself than the spiritual needs of the congregation. The Church has devised a way in which to collect money from it's members by promising them forgiveness with dollar signs attached to it. The Summoner is responsible for issuing summons for the Church to people who have violated Church doctrine. His position is interesting because he is handing out summons for people to appear before the Church when he himself is living in direct violation of Church doctrine. The Church seems to see what is wrong with everyone else but cannot focus on it's own violations of the doctrine taught in the Bible. The Pardoner is the most corrupt pilgram. He provides paper indulges for a price. These indulges are part of the scam the Pardoner is running. He also offers junk for sale which he says were relics of the saints. The Church has developed another mechanism for making money. It uses the selling of crosses, statues, and other trinkets which are supposed to remind us of what Christ has done for us. If these items were really to remind us of what Christ did for us they would be free, since Christ gave his life freely. The Clerk is the first pilgram Chaucer birngs into the script which has some godly attributes. He spends time in prayer and fasting because the narrator lets us know that he ...wasn't exactly fat, ...(19) and ...busily prayed for souls (20). He

Importance of Strategic Planning and Management in the Business Environment Paper Essay Example

Importance of Strategic Planning and Management in the Business Environment Paper Essay Example Importance of Strategic Planning and Management in the Business Environment Paper Essay Importance of Strategic Planning and Management in the Business Environment Paper Essay Importance of Strategic Planning and Management in the Business Environment Paper Tight Lines Sport Fishing is the vision of Captain Alex Smith to provide an outstanding and unforgettable fishing experience for his clients. With 20 years of experience fishing the local waters of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Kona coast of Hawaii Alex plans on employing all his knowledge and experience combined with the lessons he has learned from other chartering experiences to provide exceptional value to his customers. Experience and a vision will not guarantee success, a strategic plan that will provide a roadmap on how success will be measured and achieved. â€Å"Strategic management is the set of decisions and actions that result in the formulation and implementation of plans designed to achieve a company’s objectives. † (Pearce II Robinson Jr. , 2004) With several tasks required in the development of a strategic plan for Tight Lines Sport Fishing. Beginning with an outline of the company’s vision and the means by which they will go about implementing and reviewing the plans successes and failures will be required. Starting with the vision and mission statement Alex will set the foundation for Tight Lines Sport Fishing. Defining long-term objectives and strategies that will achieve the company’s goals will require the input from various levels of the organization. â€Å"Implementing the strategic choices by means of budgeted resource allocations in which the matching of tasks, people, structures, technologies, and reward systems is essential and evaluating the success of the strategic process as an input for future decision making will allow the company to adapt to changes in the market. † (Pearce II Robinson Jr. 2004) Analyzing the company’s capabilities will allow the company to maximize it resources and not over commit itself fiscally, this will take input from boat captains and deck hands. The boat captains can be looked at as the managers within the organization and the deck hands are functional leads both will valuable local experience and knowledge. With locations o n two coasts separated by a minimum of five hours of flight the first steps in the planning stages will be critical to the company’s success. As defined, management is â€Å"The process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals. (Bateman-Snell, 2007) The four functions of management are planning, leading, organizing, and controlling. Planning would have to rank at the top of any text in priorities for a successful strategic plan or project. With many variations of the project management five â€Å"P’s† Poor planning produces poor performance. In terms of defining planning, the function of defining goals, resources and budget that Alex’s team will follow to achieve a defined result. â€Å"Organizing is the function of coordinating all of the resources needed to achieve goals. (Bateman-Snell, 2007) Second only to leading, which I will cover later in this paper, organizing is one of the more challenging skills for a startup co mpany. Tight Lines will have to demonstrate they can consistently put their clients on the fish. An example of organizing organizational resources is to break down the traditional organizational charts and pull members of different areas into a team as discussed in the text. Bringing together a group of employees with different areas of expertise to attack a critical problem or plan a future direction within the organization can produce amazing results. Leading is a skill that cannot be solely taught. With many definitions of leadership; a search on a popular search engine produces over 24 million responses. A definition of leadership that captures all its qualities is â€Å"Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills† (Wickramasinghe, 2006) Providing a quality experience is a high priority for Tight Lines. Controlling or monitoring is a fundamental skill of management. The best managers use this function religiously. â€Å"Controlling is the process in which you monitor the performance of a task and make the necessary changes when required. † (Bateman-Snell, 2007) After carefully going through the planning and organizing stages of plan development a leader must monitor the progress of the plan to insure they will meet the company’s goals. For Tight Lines that will mean return customers year after year. Monitoring is the tool to identify these critical opportunities to make required changes. This is an area were technology has had the greatest impact in the business community. With numerous software templates and programs that monitor strategic plan performance, from budget to resources and major milestones required to deliver top quality results. Strategic planning is a work in progress. It starts with an idea that turns into a vision and mission statement, forming a foundation for a plan. With several traditional structures in which a strategic plan can be developed from the top down approach to a more functional team developed. Engaging resources from different levels of the organization will allow for a vast span of input and ideas when goal setting. For Tight Lines Sport Fishing the inputs of the boat captains and deckhands will be beneficial in determining short and long-term goals and milestones. Employing the four functions of management will help develop and monitor the success of a strategic plan. Following a model of the more successful companies adapting to change will be essential as Tight Lines Sport Fishing gets under way. Careful monitoring and adjusting milestones will lead to a successful launch of this new endeavor and satisfy customers on both coasts for years to come. References: Bateman-Snell. (2007). Managing . In S. A. Thomas S. Bateman, Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World (p. 19). The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. . Pearce II, J. , Robinson Jr. , R. B. (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. New York: The McGraw? Hill Companies. Wickramasinghe, D. V. (2006). Dynamic leadership in unstable and unpredictable environments. International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development , 339.

Comparing two main characters from the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Essay

Comparing two main characters from the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - Essay Example Rachel was an eldest daughter of the Price family, and the most unlikely person in the world who can bear with Africa. Incidentally, she happens to remain in the South Africa, successfully running a luxurious hotel, the Equatorial. However, she with several failed marriages was a disillusioned person. Rachel is the youngest of the wise sisters. Leah decides to live in Angola. She has her own humble family with a well-educated black man, called Anatole. Moreover, along with this, she spends her days, devoting her whole life for the needs of the native people; and her family in Africa. Though Rachel and Leah were of the same parents, and shared their childhoods together, they have different personalities and values. In addition, their approaches to overcome various hardships when they were young are dramatically different. Some of the extreme situations show Rachel as a person chasing her selfish and materialistic goal, with her superficial scope of thoughts. Leah, on the other hand was a model of what people ought to be. This gradually shapes Leah's life into a meaningful one, whereas Rachel lives a meaningless life. The beginning of the book depicts the arrival of the Price family to Congo. The way, Rachel and Leah respond to this new environment and their efforts to understand the new cultures are quite different. They are poles apart in the personalities and their perspectives of life are different from each other. Throughout their lives, they show different attitude to the issues, they encounter. Rachel, as a closed-minded newcomer, avoids the Congolese and their culture. She constantly complains about the discomforts she meets here. Her first words uttered in Congo demonstrate her closed-mindedness. "Hey, Ade, Leah, isn't you glad you use Dial Don't you wish everybody did" (26). Although she definitely knows that Congo is not like North America, and is a less civilized, she cannot help saying these impolite words. This proves her immaturity. Rachel's selfishness is highlighted in the event of the invasion of flesh-eating ants. In the middle of the chaos, she worries about, one precious thing. Something from home. Not [her] clothes, there wasn't time, and not the Bible - it didn't seem worth saving at that moment. It had to be [her] mirror .Her idiotic but knowing selfishness does not stop: in the running crowd, she immediately recalls "something she'd read once: if ever you're in a crowded theater and there's a fire, you should stick out your elbows and raise up your feet" and as consequence, she "stuck [her] elbows very hard into the ribs of the people who were crushing in around [her], and kind of wedged [herself] in" and " picked up [her] feet" (363). As an eldest of four girls, Rachel should have at least worried about her younger sisters. Instead, she chooses to worry about her mirror and decides to use other people's power to move her body along to the safe place. From these instances, a reader can conclude that Rachel's personality is immature, selfish, and superficial. Leah, in contrast shows extremely different attitude toward the new environment and her personality is clearly differs from that of Rachel. Leah is opened-minded and respects the new culture. Soon after the Price family settles in the Congo, Leah makes a friend for the first time. She describes her friend Pascal to her family as "[her] nkundi: [her] first real

Enga Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Enga Culture - Research Paper Example The Enga community connotes as one of the diverse communities, which follows the arrangement of its belief, kinship, gender and values. In spite of influence from the western society, the primary mode of subsistence has remained remarkable and unchanged. The science of plant cultivation remains the paramount subsistence activity whereby they prepare the soil for tubers, seeds and propagated plants. The community dominates Enga province located in the highlands of New Guinea (Trompf, 2006). Like people living around, they have unique body paintings formulated from oil pants, mud, clay and animal oil. They dance and sing, as well as face paint in cultural festivals and social traditions. Contrary to other cultures, the Enga community has woman managing community resources including exchange items and livestock. Consequently, there is Enga’s belief on putative, agnatic ancestry with a shadowy past related to their clansmen. The main sedentary horticultural crops include sweet potatoes and pig raisers since they use pigs as their most significant aspect in exchange system. Over the years, the Enga community has been considered an indigenous as well as a diverse society, which gives emphasis on values, beliefs, kinship and gender relationship. The adaptations present in the land enable the Enga people live in their environment peacefully with a population of between 6000 to 9000 people. The impact of agricultural subsistence on the Enga community has been diverse as, starting from their ancestors up to present generations, they believe the working at land is the best treatment (Bonnemere, 2004). As a primary means of subsistence, men perform most heavy work including clearing, ditching, fencing, deep tilting and general farming. Women, on the other hand, remain with other family chores including maintaining the lands, ensuring round planting, harvesting the food and products, not forgetting processing of coffee after harvesting. The primary mode of subsistence for the Enga community has, therefore, transformed the community defining roles for all the community members. This is imperative as the current world encourages specialization and division of labor. Horticulture, which is the main mode of primary subsistence for the Enga people, has promoted varying societal and environmental changes. This is due to the ever-changing and dynamic world which imposes limitations upon all resources. For instance, the community has developed mechanisms of controlling population as well as means of reducing various risks (Rosman, Rubel & Weisgrau 2009). Horticulture remains the main subsistence of the Enga culture; however, due caution, the community realized it could not work under perceived risks such as potato diseases. The community developed various ways such as traditional methods of preservation to help in furthering stability of horticulture. This allows the Enga people to live within the environment full of constraints. Consequently, they are able to regulate performance of societal rituals, as well as share resources

Chinese americans faceing discrimination in work and trade Essay

Chinese americans faceing discrimination in work and trade - Essay Example The first case was a judicial writ to the Supreme Court of the State of California while the second case was on appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for that district. The sheriff stated that the petitioner Yick Wo was found guilty by the Police Judges Court, No. 2 of not obeying the ordinances of the board of supervisors of that county and were rightly fined $10 and in case of non-payment, imprisonment for as many days as the fine amount in dollars according to the law. Now, let’s have a look at the ordinances. An order No. 1569 was passed on May 26, 1880, dictating the type of buildings where laundering activities may be carried. Section 1declared it mandatory to have the permission of the board of supervisors to run a laundry, exempting only brick and stone buildings from its preview. Section 2 declared it illegal to construct scaffolding for any purpose other than specified without taking permission from the supervisors. Further Section 3 of the Order provided with a punishment of one thousand dollars or six months jail or both to those found guilty of committing the offence. Another Order was passed on July 28,1880 bearing No. 1587. Sec. 68 of this Order declared it illegal to run laundry business within corporate limits of San Francisco without permission of board of supervisors except in a building made of brick and mortar. It was on record that the petitioner was a Chinese, living in California for the last twenty-two years. He had a license from the board of fire wardens. All concerned departments checked his premises OK. His license had run out on time and had to be renewed, permission of which was denied. There were at that time 320 laundries in the city of San Francisco, out of which 240 belonged to Chinese people. It was found that others were not prosecuted; only Chinese were discriminated to oust them from their dwellings where they were residing for the last many-many years and paying all taxes. This attitude was

Theories of Black Holes

Theories of Black Holes Zhiting Liu The Black Hole The first impression of a black hole may be heard like a dark and a very horrible hole. It was a big planet that you cannot ignore. It is the object that have a very strong gravitational, even the light cannot escape. When the Schwarzschild radius of the star is tiny, even the light vertical emitting to the surface also cannot escape (Schwarzschild). Then the star becomes a black hole. We said, Black, the fact is that it is like a bottomless pit of the universe, when the matter has been absorbing by black hole, it looks like cannot escape. Due to the light cannot escape a black hole, we cannot directly observe the black hole. Only by measuring the impact on the surrounding objects to speculate indirectly to its existence. In other words, although the black hole is black, but it is essentially still a star. As we classify the stars, the black hole also has many categories. It can be composed into dark energy black holes and physics black hole. If divided by physical properties, it can be: not rotating and uncharged black hole; not rotating charged black hole; uncharged rotating black hole; general black hole and the binary black hole (Wikipedia). So the black hole is composed by what? For this problem, contemporary scholars have different views. First of all, the most common and most easy to accept that a black hole is a tiny hole. It was the remains of the star, when the star was collapse. That is to say; the composition of the black hole is as same as the general stars. In recent years, however, the people who have hold different views they put forward the new ideas. They believe that the black hole is actually a large celestial bodies are composed in a particular state of the substance in the collapse process, it gradually condense to form a black hole, the same process is like the w ater into ice. This explanation provides a new idea for the study of quantum gravity theory, and the quantum theory of gravity is possible to make the Einsteins general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics in together (David). So how this amazing celestial black hole formed. In fact, the process of produces a black hole is as similar as produces the neutron star; the core of the star shrink rapidly under its weight, the in a violent blast. When all the substances in the core have become neutrons, the process of contraction would stops immediately then it be compressed into a dense planet (Wikipedia). However, in the case of a black hole, the core of a massive star is too big, it make the process of contraction on endlessly, neutron was crushed into a powder by its own gravitational attraction squeeze, and the remaining is a high-density material . The black hole like a vacuum, all of the objects will be sucked into it when close to it. Moreover, so, after the contraction it formation a new black hole. It also can be understood, the general stellar initially only hydrogen elements, hydrogen atoms inside stars collide moment, fission, and fusion. Because of the large stellar mass, fission and fusion energy contend with stellar gravity, in order to maintain the structure stability of the star. Because fission and fusion, hydrogen atoms eventually change the internal structure of the rupture and form a new element the element helium. Then, the helium atom is also involved in fission and fusion, change the structure, generate to lithium element. By the same method, from order of the periodic table, it will be generated by a beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen and other elements (Hawking). Until generated to iron element, the star will collapse. Because iron is fairly stable it cannot participate fission or fusion, however the iron is present in the interior of stellar, it will resulting the interior energy of stellar cannot contend with the stellar gravity of large stellar mass, it cau sing the star collapses, and forming a black hole (Hawking). In fact, black hole is as same as white dwarfs and neutron stars, it may also evolve by a star that are 30 times bigger than the sun. It works like, when the star is aging; its thermonuclear reaction has run out of the center fuel (hydrogen), the energy generated by the center is running out too. Thus, it does not have enough strength to bear the weight of a huge shell. Therefore, under the weight of the shell, the core began to collapse. Finally, it becomes a small and high-density stars which can re-balance the pressure (Hawking). Some of the small mass stars evolve into white dwarfs, and more massive stars are likely to form a neutron star. According to the scientists calculations, the total mass of the neutron star cannot be three times greater than the suns mass. If this value is exceeded, then there are no force can compete with its gravity, and thus lead to another Big Crunch. According to scientists suspect that in this kind of collapse, the material will march inexorably toward the center, until it becomes a small size, but have a great density. And when it once the radius of the contraction to a certain degree (must be less than the Schwarzschild radius), in such a high density, the great gravity makes even the light cannot be emitted outward, it cutting off all contact with the outside of the star and black hole was born. As scientists calculated, an object has the speed as 7.9 kilometers per second; it cannot pull by the Earths gravity, it will move like a circle. At this rate, called the first cosmic speed. If it will not go to other planets, at least have the speed of 11.2km/s, and this rate called the second cosmic velocity. This result is calculate by the size of the Earths mass and radius. It means if an object wants escape from the ground, at least to have the enough speed. However, for the other celestial body, the escape speed is not necessarily needed as big as in the earth. Quality objects that are big and have small radius, it will be more difficult to get rid of gravity, and the speed of escape need be more quickly (Khatri, Poudel, Gautam). According to this reasoning, we can think maybe there is a celestial body, it have a great quality and tiny radius, the escape speed of that celestial body areas bigger as the speed of light. In other words, the light also pull by its gravitational, cannot run out the surface. Since the light cannot run out, we cannot see and then talk about it, so it is a black. As we know the fastest speed in the universe is light, since light cannot come out from these objects, any other substance will never expect to run out. Everything like falling into a bottomless pit, such a celestial body, and people call it a black hole. In conclusion, that’s all I search and know about the black hole, when I find these information, it show me a new area that I never touched. It’s really different and mystery. I believe people will find the rule of the black in the future, and it will give us the new technology and knowledge. Reference page The New New Math of String Theory Phys.org.David Pescovitz. Web. 1 Dec. 2014 http://phys.org/news70021180.html>. â€Å"Black Hole† Wikipedia. Web. Physical Properties Part â€Å"ÃÅ"ber das Gravitationsfeld eines Massenpunktes nach der Einstein’schen Theorie.† Reimer, Berlin 1916, S. 189 ff. (Sitzungsberichte der Kà ¶niglich-Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften; 1916) â€Å"A Brief History of Time† Hawking, Stephen (1988). Bantam Books â€Å"Principles of Physics† Khatri, Poudel, Gautam, M.K., P.R., A.K. Kathmandu: Ayam Publication. 2010: 170, 171 â€Å"Neutron star† Wikipedia. Web. Introduction of Neutron star.

Macbeth Was Responsible For His Own Downfall Essay -- essays research

Macbeth is the driving force behind Macbeth’s downfall Lady Macbeth? The driving force behind Macbeth’s downfall? Certainly not. Macbeth was completely and solely responsible for all the acts of great evil which were to lead to his downfall, and to even suggest the blame can be shifted on his wife is ludicrous. From his very first meeting with the witches, Macbeth’s mind became instantly plagued with thoughts of murder and treachery. The guilty start that Banquo noticed: "Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear Things that do sound so fair?†¦" showed us that the thought of murder was already at the back of his mind. This showed us that Macbeth could not have been as honourable and trustworthy as people believed him to be, given that if he had had but a shred of integrity, murder would have been the last thing on his mind. The witches cannot corrupt the virtuous (like Banquo), they can work only on the evil that they already find in their victim’s mind. At this point, Macbeth (and everyone else), was not aware of this evil inside of him, which is why he was so horrified by the hideous imaginings that spring to mind. He was afraid of speaking of his "black and deep desires" openly, even to himself. For this reason, he sends a letter to his wife, explaining the situation, hoping that the thought of murder would cross her mind, and he won’t have to be the one to bring it up. On receiving the letter, Lady Macbeth’s first thought (as Macbeth had hoped it would be) was one of murder. She was just as ambitious, if not more so, than her husband, so much so that she would do anything, even conspire to commit murder, to get what she wanted in the end. However, she was not an evil woman, which is why she felt the need to call on the powers of darkness to aid her in what she was about to do: "†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood &q... ...ad. Earlier, she had dismissed the matter of Duncan’s murder, but now she admits to herself what she knew all along, that "All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand" In the end, she can no longer cope with the guilt, and in the words of Malcolm in the last scene of the play. "Who, as ‘tis thought, by self and violent hands Took of her life-†¦" It seems now that Lady Macbeth must have been less strong, and not as evil as Macbeth. When she took part in the planning of the murder of Duncan, she felt so guilty in the long run that she felt she had to take her own life. However, Macbeth has performed crimes that are a lot worse than the crime his wife committed, but he has not decided to do anything as drastic as taking his own life. It is in Act 5 scene 5 that Macbeth shows us the true extent of his insanity. He has lost the capacity to feel fear (for his inevitable death), and grief (for his dead wife). It is in Act 5 Scene 7 that Macbeth’s life comes to an abrupt end, and no one grieves him. He died a tyrant and a murderer, all through his own fault.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 9

â€Å"Trust me, we know the difficulties better than you. It is remarkable that you've managed to keep off the radar, so to speak, for this long. Tel me† – a hint of interest colored the monotone – â€Å"how are you doing it?† Our creator hesitated, and then spoke al in a rush. Almost as if there had been some silent intimidation. â€Å"I haven't made the decision,† she spit out. Then she added more slowly, unwil ingly, â€Å"To attack. I've never decided to do anything with them.† â€Å"Rough, but effective,† the cloaked girl said. â€Å"Unfortunately, your period of deliberation has come to a close. You must decide – now – what you wil do with your little army.† Both Diego's and my eyes widened at that word. â€Å"Otherwise, it wil be our duty to punish you as the law demands. This reprieve, however short, troubles me. It is not our way. I suggest you give us what assurances you can†¦ quickly.† â€Å"We'l go at once!† Riley volunteered anxiously, and there was a sharp hiss. â€Å"We'l go as soon as possible,† our creator amended furiously. â€Å"There is much to do. I assume you wish us to succeed? Then I must have a little time to get them trained – instructed – fed!† There was a short pause. â€Å"Five days. We wil come for you then. And there is no rock you can hide under or speed at which you can flee that wil save you. If you have not made your attack by the time we come, you wil burn.† This was said with no menace other than an absolute certainty. â€Å"And if I have made my attack?† our creator asked, shaken. â€Å"We'l see,† the cloaked girl answered in a brighter tone than she'd used yet. â€Å"I suppose that al depends on how successful you are. Work hard to please us.† The last command was given in a flat, hard pitch that made me feel a strange chil in the center of my body. â€Å"Yes,† our creator snarled. â€Å"Yes,† Riley echoed in a whisper. A second later the cloaked vampires were noiselessly exiting the house. Neither Diego nor I so much as took a breath for five minutes after they'd disappeared. Inside the house, our creator and Riley were just as quiet. Another ten minutes passed in total stil ness. I touched Diego's arm. This was our chance to get out of here. At the moment, I wasn't so afraid of Riley anymore. I wanted to get as far away as I could from those dark-cloaks. I wanted the safety of numbers waiting back in the log cabin, and I figured that was exactly how our creator felt, too. Why she'd made so many of us in the first place. There were some things out there scarier than I'd imagined. Diego hesitated, stil listening, and a second later his patience was rewarded. â€Å"Wel ,† she whispered inside the house, â€Å"now they know.† Was she talking about the cloaks or the mysterious clan? Which one was the enemy she'd mentioned before the drama? â€Å"That doesn't matter. We outnumber – â€Å" â€Å"Any warning matters!† she growled, cutting him off. â€Å"There is so much to do. Only five days!† She groaned. â€Å"No more messing around. You start tonight.† â€Å"I won't fail you!† Riley promised. Crap. Diego and I moved at the same time, leaping from our perch into the next tree over, flying back the way we'd come. Riley was in a hurry now, and if he found Diego's trail after al that had just passed with the cloaks, and no Diego there at the end of it†¦ â€Å"I've got to get back and be waiting,† Diego whispered to me as we raced. â€Å"Lucky it's not in view of the house! Don't want him to know I heard.† â€Å"We should talk to him together.† â€Å"Too late for that. He'd notice that your scent wasn't on the trail. Looks suspicious.† â€Å"Diego†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He'd trapped me into sitting this one out. We were back to the spot where he'd joined me. He spoke in a rushed whisper. â€Å"Stick to the plan, Bree. I'l tel him what I planned to tel him. It's not close to dawn, but that's just how it has to be. If he doesn't believe me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Diego shrugged. â€Å"He's got bigger things to worry about than me having an overactive imagination. Maybe he'l be more likely to listen now – looks like we need al the help we can get, and being able to move around in the day can't hurt.† â€Å"Diego†¦,† I repeated, not knowing what else to say. He looked into my eyes, and I waited for his lips to twitch into that easy smile, for him to make some joke about ninjas or BFFs. He didn't. Instead, he leaned in slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, and kissed me. His smooth lips pressed against mine for one long second while we stared at each other. Then he leaned away and sighed. â€Å"Get home, hide behind Fred, and act clueless. I'l be right behind you.† â€Å"Be careful.† I grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard, then let go. Riley had spoken of Diego affectionately. I would have to hope that affection was real. There wasn't another choice. Diego disappeared into the trees, quiet as a rustling breeze. I didn't waste time looking after him. I sprinted through the branches in a direct line back to the house. I hoped my eyes were stil bright enough from last night's meal to explain my absence. Just a quick hunt. Got lucky – found a lone hiker. Nothing out of the ordinary. The sound of the thudding music that greeted my approach was accompanied by the unmistakable sweet, smoky scent of a burning vampire. My panic went into overdrive. I could just as easily die inside the house as outside. But there was no other way. I didn't slow, just rushed down the stairs straight to the corner where I could barely make out Freaky Fred standing. Looking for something to do? Tired of sitting? I had no idea what he was up to, and I didn't care. I would stick tight to him until Riley and Diego got back. In the middle of the floor was a smoldering heap that was too big to be just a leg or an arm. So much for Riley's twentytwo. No one seemed terribly concerned about the smoking remains. The sight was too common. As I hurried closer to Fred, for once the sense of disgust didn't get stronger. Instead, it faded. He didn't seem to notice me, just went on reading the book he held. One of those I'd left him a few days ago. I had no problem seeing what he was doing now that I was close to where he was leaning against the back of the couch. I hesitated, wondering why that was. Could he turn his nausea thing off when he wanted? Did that mean we both were unprotected right now? At least Raoul wasn't home yet, thankful y, though Kevin was. For the first time ever, I real y saw what Fred looked like. He was tal, maybe six two, with the thick, curly blond hair I'd noticed once before. He was broad-shouldered and muscular. He looked older than most of the others – like a col ege student, not a high school kid. And – this was the part that surprised me most for some reason – he was good-looking. As handsome as anyone else, maybe even handsomer than most. I didn't know why that was so trippy for me. I guessed just because I always associated him with revulsion. I felt weird for staring. I glanced quickly around the room to see if anyone had noticed that Fred was normal – and pretty – for the moment. No one was looking our way. I stole a fast peek at Kevin, ready to shift my focus at once if he noticed, but his eyes were concentrated on some point to the left of where we stood. He was frowning slightly. Before I could look away, his gaze skipped right over to me and settled on my right side. His frown deepened. Like†¦ he was trying to see me and couldn't. I felt the corners of my mouth twitch into not quite a grin. There was too much to worry about to real y enjoy Kevin's blindness. I looked back at Fred, wondering if the gross-out factor would return, only to see that he was smiling with me. Smiling, he was real y spectacular. Then the moment was over, and Fred went back to his book. I didn't move for a while, waiting for something to happen. For Diego to come through the door. Or Riley with Diego. Or Raoul. Or for the nausea to hit again, or for Kevin to glare in my direction, or for the next fight to break out. Something. When nothing did, I eventual y pul ed myself together and did what I should have been doing – pretending nothing unusual was going on. I grabbed a book from the pile near Fred's feet and then sat down right there and acted like I was reading. It was probably one of the same books I'd pretended to read yesterday, but it didn't look familiar. I flipped through the pages, again taking nothing in. My mind was racing around in tight little circles. Where was Diego? How had Riley reacted to his story? What had it al meant – the talk before the cloaks, the talk after the cloaks? I worked through it, going backward, trying to assemble the pieces into a recognizable picture. The vampire world had some kind of police, and they were damn scary. This wild group of months-old vampires was supposed to be an army, and this army was somehow il egal. Our creator had an enemy. Strike that, two enemies. We were going to attack one of them in five days, or else the other ones, the scary cloaks, were going to attack her – or us, or both. We would be trained for this attack†¦ as soon as Riley got back. I snuck a glance at the door, then forced my eyes back to the page in front of me. And then the stuff before the visitors. She was worrying about some decision. She was pleased that she had so many vampires – so many soldiers. Riley was happy that Diego and I had survived†¦. He'd said he thought he'd lost two more to the sun, so that must mean he didn't know how vampires really reacted to sunlight. What she'd said was strange, though. She'd asked if he was sure. Sure Diego had survived? Or†¦ sure that Diego's story was true? The last thought frightened me. Did she already know that the sun didn't hurt us? If she did know, then why had she lied to Riley and, through him, to us? Why would she want to keep us in the dark – literal y? Was it very important to her that we stay ignorant? Important enough to get Diego in trouble? I was working myself into a real panic, frozen solid. If I stil could sweat, I would have been sweating now. I had to refocus to turn the next page, to keep my eyes down. Was Riley deceived, or was he in on it, too? When Riley'd said he thought he'd lost two more to the sun, did he mean the sun literal y†¦ or the lie about the sun? If it was the second option, then to know the truth meant being lost. Panic scattered my thoughts. I tried to be rational and make sense of it. It was harder without Diego. Having someone to talk to, to interact with, sharpened my ability to concentrate. Without that, fear sucked at the edges of my thoughts, twisted with the always-present thirst. The lure of blood was constantly close to the surface. Even now, decently wel fed, I could feel the burn and the need. Think about her, think about Riley, I told myself. I had to understand why they would lie – if they were lying – so that I could try to figure out what it would mean to them that Diego knew their secret. If they hadn't lied, if they'd just told us al that the day was as safe for us as the night, how would that change things? I imagined what it would be like if we didn't have to be contained in a blacked-out basement al day, if the twenty-one of us – maybe fewer now, depending on how the hunting parties were getting along – were free to do what we wanted whenever we wanted to. We would want to hunt. That was a given. If we didn't have to come back, if we didn't have to hide†¦ wel, many of us wouldn't come back very regularly. It was hard to focus on the return while the thirst was in charge. But Riley had dril ed so deeply into al of us the threat of burning, of a return of that hideous pain we'd al experienced once. That was the reason we could stop ourselves. Self-preservation, the only instinct stronger than thirst. So the threat kept us together. There were other hiding places, like Diego's cave, but who else thought about that kind of thing? We had a place to go, a base, so we went to it. Clear heads were not a vampire specialty. Or, at least, they weren't the specialty of young vampires. Riley was clearheaded. Diego was more clearheaded than I was. Those cloaked vampires were terrifyingly focused. I shuddered. So the routine wouldn't control us forever. What would they do when we were older, clearer? It struck me that nobody was older than Riley. Everyone here was new. She needed a bunch of us now for this mystery enemy. But what about afterward? I had a strong feeling that I didn't want to be around for that part. And I suddenly realized something stupendously obvious. It was the solution that had tickled the edges of my understanding before, when I was tracking the vampire herd to this place with Diego. I didn't have to be around for that part. I didn't have to be around for one more night. I was a statue again as I thought over this stunning idea. If Diego and I hadn't known where the gang was most likely headed, would we ever have found them? Probably not. And that was a big group leaving a wide trail. What if it were a single vampire, one who could leap up onto the land, maybe into a tree, without leaving a trail at the edge of the water†¦. Just one, or maybe two vampires who could swim as far out to sea as they wanted†¦ Who could return to land anywhere†¦ Canada, California, Chile, China†¦ You would never be able to find those two vampires. They would be gone. Disappeared like they'd gone up in smoke. We didn't have to come back the other night! We shouldn't have! Why hadn't I thought of it then? But†¦ would Diego have agreed? I was abruptly not so sure of myself. Was Diego more loyal to Riley after al ? Would he have felt it was his responsibility to stand by Riley? He'd known Riley a lot longer – he'd real y only known me a day. Was he closer to Riley than he was to me? I pondered that, frowning. Wel, I would find out as soon as we had a minute alone. And then maybe, if our secret club real y meant something, it wouldn't matter what our creator had planned for us. We could disappear, and Riley would have to make do with nineteen vampires, or make some new ones quick. Either way, not our problem. I couldn't wait to tel Diego my plan. My gut instinct was that he would feel the same. Hopeful y. Suddenly, I wondered if this was what had real y happened to Shel y and Steve and the other kids who had disappeared. I knew they hadn't burned in the sun. Had Riley only claimed he'd seen their ashes as another way to keep the rest of us afraid and dependent on him? Returning home to him every dawn? Maybe Shel y and Steve had just set off on their own. No more Raoul. No enemies or armies threatening their immediate future. Maybe that's what Riley had meant by lost to the sun. Runaways. In which case, he'd be happy that Diego hadn't bailed, right? If only Diego and I had taken off! We could be free, too, like Shel y and Steve. No rules, no fear of the sunrise. Again, I imagined the whole horde of us on the loose without a curfew. I could see Diego and me moving like ninjas through the shade. But I could also see Raoul, Kevin, and the rest, sparkling disco-bal monsters in the center of a busy downtown street, the bodies piling up, the screaming, the helicopters whirring, the soft, helpless cops with their dinky little bul ets that wouldn't make a dent, the cameras, the panic that would spread so fast as the pictures bounced swiftly around the globe. Vampires wouldn't be a secret for very long. Even Raoul couldn't kil people fast enough to keep the story from spreading. There was a chain of logic here, and I tried to grasp it before I could be distracted again. One, humans didn't know about vampires. Two, Riley encouraged us to be inconspicuous, not to attract the notice of humans and educate them otherwise. Three, Diego and I had decided that al vampires must be fol owing that guideline, or else the world would know about us. Four, they must have a reason for doing so, and it wasn't the little popguns of the human police that motivated them. Yeah, the reason must be pretty important to make al vampires hide al day long in stuffy basements. Maybe reason enough to make Riley and our creator lie to us, terrify us about the burning sun. Maybe it was a reason Riley would explain to Diego, and since it was so important and he was so responsible, Diego would promise to keep the secret and they would be cool with that. Sure they would. But what if what actual y happened to Shel y and Steve was that they'd discovered the shiny skin thing and not run? What if they'd gone to Riley? And, crap, there went the next step in my logical path. The chain dissolved and I started panicking about Diego again. As I stressed, I realized that I'd been thinking things through for a while. I could feel dawn coming on. No more than an hour away. So where was Diego? Where was Riley? As I thought this, the door opened and Raoul leaped down the stairs, laughing with his buddies. I hunched down, leaning closer to Fred. Raoul didn't notice us. He looked at the crispyfried vampire in the center of the floor and laughed harder. His eyes were bril iant red. On the nights Raoul went hunting, he never came home til he had to. He would keep feeding as long as he could. So dawn must have been even closer than I'd thought. Riley must have demanded that Diego prove his words. That was the only explanation. And they were waiting for the dawn. Only†¦ that would mean that Riley didn't know the truth, that our creator was lying to him, too. Or did it? My thoughts twisted up again. Kristie showed up minutes later with three of her gang. She reacted indifferently to the pile of ashes. I did a quick head count as two more hunters hurried through the door. Twenty vampires. Everyone was home except Diego and Riley. The sun would rise at any moment. The door at the top of the basement stairs creaked as someone opened it. I sprang to my feet. Riley entered. He shut the door behind him. He walked down the stairs. No one fol owed.

Sexuality and Gender in the Therapeutic Relationship

Sexuality and gender in the therapeutic relationship There is a minefield awaiting the counsellor who has not given much time in the study of gender issues in the therapeutic relationship. When we enter a room to see a client, we are encouraged to bring ourselves as a complete person, so we can create a relationship with the client, and thus facilitate the changes he/she needs. To bring ourselves into the relationship we bring all aspects of our identity including our sexuality and our sexual hang-ups and our pre-conceived gender notions. In spite of the fact that we are in a post-Victorian, post Irish catholic guilt, post free love time. We all carry the accumulated burden of our forefathers, educators policy makers and others. Firstly being male or female dictate how we deal with any situation. Whether its talking to our mothers to opening a can. Our gender and how we perceive ourselves in it informs our view of the world. If we look at the profession itself as a whole, counselling is defined by gender. Simply put there are more female counsellors than male by a huge factor. Also there are many more female clients than male. This tells us volumes. The profession is a caring one and is top heavy with those whose gender attract them to the caring professions. This puts a gender bias on all that psychotherapy does. Also the predominance of female clients can put the few male counsellors on their guard. This is because the person sitting opposite us in the room is our client, but also is a woman, with physical attributes and a subject of attraction to the male counsellor. Counselling is a one-to-one relationship that exists between two humans in which one is the focus ant the other is the companion or guide. The sex of the two protagonists is probably the first aspect that will impress upon either one. â€Å"The client coming for the first time might already know that she or he will be seeing a man or a woman. She might have certain expectations as result of this knowledge, for example she might expect a woman to be gentle and supportive and a man to be more judgemental and confrontational. † Palmer (1997) Therapy will tend to be dominated by the structures that society imposes on both the counsellor and the client. Once the therapist is aware of this here are two ways he/she can go. First they can try to act as if they are a â€Å"tabla rasa† or blank slate and be as neutral as possible and hope that by being counsellor first and a sexual being second. This is guaranteed to be a failure, primarily because the blank slate idiom is aspirational and not very practical. Also it goes against concreteness as the therapist will not be â€Å"there† in any real sense and wil l not function in any valid person centred way. The other alternative is â€Å"Explicit treatment†, which put gender issues at centre stage of therapy. This requires a clear understanding of the gender position of both protagonists in the therapeutic relationship. The dynamic between both is not a static situation as the initial meeting causes automatic reaction in the therapist. For example when faced with an attractive female client a male counsellor may think. â€Å"Nice smile, good legs† or â€Å"not pretty†, etc.. This gives way to â€Å"Good speaker, Lovely laugh,. † Then the presenting problem is aired and it would be hoped that the â€Å"skilled helper† mentality kicks in. But the societal hooks have dug into the therapist and may affect his relationship with the client. So until gender is expressed in some way it is hidden and can surface in an unhelpful way. There are many ways that this can be expressed. If part of the problem is self confidence issues, there would be a perfect lead in to a confidence boosting â€Å"You see yourself as ugly but you are an attractive woman with a strong personality. † for example. If the client dresses attractively it may be how she always dresses, perhaps as armour against the world. When people begin to see a counsellor they often see this as a new beginning and the attractive dress of the client might be an expression of her â€Å"newâ€Å" personality, making a strong effort to face the world more robustly, and to leave it uncommented on might do harm to her new-found confidence. Also it may be simple transference, so this should be explored in the therapeutic relationship. Other Gender Issues In our world we are also subject to the â€Å"Dominant Discourse† of our society. These are the system of statements, practices, and structures that share a common value and sustain a world view. It is so easy to let our societies be reflected in the therapy room, especially how we view gender. The best way to insure that society's dominant discourses do not alter the desired â€Å"shape† of therapy is to make gender issues explicit in the therapy dialogue when relevant to the discussion. Explicit treatment can lead to reconstructions of the dominant discourses or at least an opening up to alternative discourses. We make assumptions when we meet clients, Housewife, business man, etc.. The male therapist may feel pressured to â€Å"fix† his female clients â€Å"problems† A female therapist may feel the need when dealing with a male client to display a very strong nurturing role and may avoid challenging her client into action. Conversely the therapist may, when facing a powerful man with attitude to match may become businesslike and direct because that is what society tells us to do when we â€Å"do business†. Same sex client and counsellor can be a problem too. Two people, especially if their backgrounds are similar, can collude with one another and not challenge if the therapist is not aware of the human tendency to let a cosy cartel of collusion to develop between two people of the same sex. There also may be a frisson between two people of the opposite sex and may cause an unease between them just because they are the opposite sex and carry whatever societal burden is imposed on them. The above attitudes are â€Å"static† and can be monitored and adjusted if the counsellor is aware of their presence and their effect can be lessened by self examination, supervision and personal therapy. But there is a more insidious side to gender issues. This is a â€Å"fluid† attitude change. If a male counsellor has been out for a game of rugby with his friends he could have a more â€Å"macho† base to his personality than if he has recently left the embrace of his loving wife and family. This could affect his dealings with a client. How we interact with our fellow man is affected by our experiences immediately before meeting them. An incident while driving may put us in an emotional state where our patience with the opposite sex may be compromised. There is an unfortunate side effect in the way society loudly defines our gender and how it manifests itself. We can become so preoccupied by our gender and the its affect on us in the counselling room that by being careful about how it affects us that we cease to be effective in our dealing with another human. AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW Janet Shibley Hyde of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has reviewed evidence from studies on cognition, communication, social and personality variables, psychological well-being, motor behaviours and other variables. She has turned all these aspects of gender in to one â€Å"meta survey† and came to the conclusion that fully 78% of the much vaunted differences between me and women are small or close to zero. (Hyde, 2005). There are 3 main areas of difference. Sexuality – in particular attitudes to sex in uncommitted relationships, Aggression – Men are usually the more aggressive . Motor performance – Men are better at throwing, jumping, running and such. So why are we so hung up on our differences if there are so few between the genders? Society has painted them in lurid colours and made us believe they are intractable. Perhaps it is not our position as men or women, but our position as humans that looks for differences that are not there, to define us as people. It also reminds us that rather than accuse the nebulous â€Å"Society† of putting a bias on our view of other humans we should remember that we are society ourselves. As Hyde puts it â€Å"It is time to consider the costs of over inflated claims on gender differences. Arguably, they cause harm in numerous realms, including women’s opportunities in the workplace, couple conflict and communication, and analyses of self-esteem problems with adolescents. Most important, these claims are not consistent with the scientific data. † Hyde (2005). Also there is the concept of gender as limiting rather than defining. Judith Butler (1956-) is Professor of Comparative Literature and Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley, and is well known as a theorist of power, gender, sexuality and identity. In her most influential book Gender Trouble (1999), Butler gave the history of feminism, a much vaunted alternative to the common view of gender, and argued that they had made a mistake by trying to assert that ‘women' were a group with common characteristics and interests. That approach, Butler said, performed ‘an unwitting regulation and reification of gender relations' — and reinforced the simplistic binary view of gender, albeit from an alternative view. If there are only two sides then no matter what side we choose we still support a simple binary view. Rather than opening up possibilities for a person to form and choose their own individual identity, â€Å"masculinism† never did it and feminism has closed the options down. Butler argues that sex (male, female) is the cause of gender (masculine, feminine) which is seen to cause desire (towards the other gender). Butler's approach is basically to destroy the supposed links between these, so that gender and desire are flexible, unmoored from biology and not 'caused' by other stable factors. Butler says: ‘There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; †¦ identity is performatively constituted by the very â€Å"expressions† that are said to be its results. ‘ Butler J. (1999) . In other words, gender is a performance; it's what you do at particular times, rather than a universal who you are. In the counselling room we may be victims of this binary problem. CONCLUSION As I read back over this essay I find that I have no personal recognisable stance on the issue of gender and sexuality. Perhaps I have had the fortune to be brought up in a liberal, forward thinking household and am less affected by society’s strictures. But alternatively I may be carrying around significant biases but not realise it. Also, if Hyde is right, I may be carrying around biases for differences that in the main part do not exist and this essay is a figment of my own imagination, an illusion that I share with the rest of humanity. And if I carry such a burden, the all of my fellow human carry similar ones so perhaps they cancel each other out. If we are to be real in the counselling room and we subscribe to Ms. Butlers ideas that unless we are careful to separate from gender we continue to perform the dance that we have been trained to do for millennia. BIBLIOGRAPHY Palmer Stephen, McMahon Gladeana, (1997), â€Å"Handbook of Counselling† page 272, Routledge. New York. Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60(6), 581-92. And 590. Butler Judith (1999) â€Å"Gender Trouble† p 25. Routledge New York

Dissertation Help

Dissertation Help Dissertation Help Dissertation Help Welcome to our blog!  Read the following strategies for clear thesis dissertation writing: Stay focused on the point. It is surprising how often a sentence or a paragraph can wander aimlessly. Ask yourself, 'What is this sentence/paragraph about?' and 'What do I try to say?' Be critical, very critical, of what you write in dissertation because your dissertation examiners will be! Write in whole sentences (except for headings). Each sentence should be grammatically correct and thematically justifiable. Lack of careful dissertation editing creates an impression that many students write much worse than they speak. A good dissertation test of whether a sentence is complete is to ask yourself, 'Could I say this to an audience during the formal lecture?' Dissertation statements that are incomplete, emotional or not supported are usually not suitable for a formal lecture. Similarly, they are unlikely to be appropriate for your MBA dissertation. Use linking sentences and paragraphs. Linking sentences are useful because they build a bridge to the next paragraph and, therefore, maintain coherency and flow. Linking paragraphs are also useful at the end of a chapter, usually after a summary paragraph, inviting dissertation reader to summarize what has been just read and introduce the next chapter. Linking sentences such as 'The preceding analysis has demonstrated - can summarize your dissertation argument and build a bridge to the next dissertation section or chapter. Dissertation Proposal Avoid double negatives. While the preceding sentence is true, the accumulation of negatives makes the sentence difficult to follow. Positive statements such as 'Avoiding double negatives makes it easier to follow the flow of an argument' are much easier for dissertation reader to understand. Be aware of prescriptive language. This site is written in prescriptive language ('you should'), but dissertation papers should not be. Junior research students are often tempted to make sweeping judgments ('managers should ..., 'good researchers must ). Your dissertation writing should include more prudent language such as 'the evidence supports ... or 'such a view reinforces... or 'the divergent theories suggest ..., Broad statements invite a critical dissertation examiner to think of occasions that are not very knowledgeable on the issue. .Com You may request professional dissertation help at our site.   Out writers are capable of impressing you with depth of research, professional presenting, and diligent work. We are open for communication and we guarantee excellent results. It means that we provide qualitative dissertation help, not quantitative.   It would not be true if we say that we do not care about the number of orders, we do. However, we are focused on the quality in the first place.   We are able to provide dissertation help and we are available 24/7!

MGM625-0903A-01 Applied Finance for Decision-Making - Phase 1 Essay - 2

MGM625-0903A-01 Applied Finance for Decision-Making - Phase 1 Individual Project 2 - Essay Example difference between the current assets and the current liabilities, in other words, the assets set aside by the company in order to run the day to day operations (Samuels et al, 2000). The working capitals for the three years are computed as follows: The working capital of the firm is sufficiently higher than the current liabilities and it has remained almost steady for the three years, with a slight decrease in 2003. In case Superior Living is planning on entering new projects and investments, it will be essential to increase the current level of working capital. The current ratio of the company is the ratio of the current assets to the current liabilities. It indicates the liquidity position of the firm and its ability to cover the current liabilities with the liquid assets. The quick ratio is computed as the ratio of the ready cash assets (current assets – inventories – prepaid expenses) to the current liabilities. The liquidity ratios for Superior Living are computed as follows: It is evident that the current ratio is around 2 for the three years, indicating the strong liquidity position of the company. It is interesting to note that the inventories form a large portion of the current assets and they cannot be readily liquefied. The quick ratio is around 0.55 which is much lower than the ideal 1:1, indicating that the short term cash needs in case of solvency will not be met (Burks and Wilks, 2007). Hence the company needs to improve the cash assets. The short-term (due within a year) and long-term debts (due in more than one year) of the Superior Living are listed in the table below. The debt to equity or the gearing ratio is computed as the ratio of the long-term debt to the equity (Samuels et al, 2000). The values are tabulated below: The gearing ratio of the company is very low (2% - 3%) over the three years. Though the long-term debt has increased by $400,000 over the three years, the debt to equity ratio has not increased. The company is not

Alison Bechdel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Alison Bechdel - Essay Example The areas of focus are Alison Bechdel, her psychoanalysis ideals, fiction, comic, tale and abstraction. Introduction There remains a common perception among people that fiction has nothing to do about life’s reality. It has nothing to do about the truth, originality which lies with a person’s life (Bechdel). The comic of Alison Bechdel â€Å"are you my mother?† depicts another story. It tells that fiction do have some connection with a man’s life (Bechdel 1-5). The way the fiction gets formed does hold some colors of life of the person describing it in the fictional sense (Bechdel). Alison Bechdel who has come out as one of the popular comic writers in the cartoon comic industry is a woman of fiction bringing certain connections of her inner self and her life experiences in her abstraction. Bechdel’s writing is a demonstration which tells that fiction is a manifestation of life’s reality. It is the reflection of truth and situations which a p erson faces in his or her life periods (Bechdel 1-5). This report is going to assess the comic tale of Alison Bechdel, with an aim to find out that how fiction relates to reality (Martin). Themes here to analyze are psychoanalysis, psychodrama, fiction, comic tale and art respectively. Based on the derived thesis statement â€Å"fiction is an added color to life† and analyzing â€Å"Are you my Mother?† the report will draw certain findings, results and conclusion (Kothari). Method Adapted In cotemporary research studies, there are different methods being adapted to conduct the research. In the field of psychology, art and social sciences several authors have adapted the method of secondary research (Kothari). Secondary research is a research based on secondary sources (books, journals, news articles and periodicals), providing an explorative ground to the researcher to make the research apprehensive. In viewing the contemporary literature in arts and literature, the re searcher has adapted thematic secondary research method to analyze the Alison Bechdel’s art comic fiction effectively (Bechdel). This method adapted has made the researcher to explore several secondary sources, providing a closer and critical view on â€Å"Are you my Mother?† This method adapted will possibly lead to conclusive findings describing the comic drama in a more comprehensive way (Kothari 95). Results and Discussion The comic drama â€Å"Are you my Mother?† of Alison Bechdel opens up with the first chapter of the book in which Bechdel emphasizes on her inner eloquence that she had kept secret throughout her life’s journey (Garner 3-5). This was a book which Bechdel kept on emphasizing- an inner expression that had endured Bechdel from inside and throughout her life period (Luban 1-2). In the opening chapter when Bechdel was in conversation with her analyst, she expressed that her mother has been a looming psychic presence in her mind (Bechdel). She wanted to bring her out by writing a book which describes the story of her mother and the relationship with her as a growing daughter. Bechdel’s mother was like an ordinary mother as the comic drama explains but the relationship she kept with Bechdel was majorly different from her other children (Luban 2-3). The drama explains that when Bechdel was seven years old, her mother stopped kissing her to the good night bed. It was something disappointing for the child and definitely something which made Bechdel disturbed from inside. As â€Å"Are you my Mothe