Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 21

Five minutes after Seth left, I realized I'd made a mistake. Not about refusing him – that was the right thing to do. But I shouldn't have let him walk out like that. It was no way to end a fight. I was still angry after all these years that Andrew had died helping those people. I was still pained by his loss. To this day, I believed my stand in the garden had been correct, but nonetheless, I'd always regretted the separation that followed. Anger and pride had come between us, keeping us apart until it was almost too late. Even disagreeing with each other, we shouldn't have stayed away. We should have talked and tried to find some compromise. I refused to let this fight foster more bad communication and confusion between Seth and me. I wouldn't let it take away from the time we could have together. I had to fix things. Resolved, I grabbed my coat and purse and headed out the door after him. I half-walked, half-jogged down to the bookstore, where he'd left his car, but it was gone. I'd missed him. I stared at the empty parking lot for a few moments and then went inside. I'd finally bought Carter's stupid Secret Santa present and had left it in my office earlier. But when I went back inside and stuffed the gift in my purse, I found I didn't have the will to head back out. Instead, I sank into my chair and buried my face in my hands. How had things gotten so muddled with Seth and me? Had the shooting really given him such a new perspective on life? Would this have happened anyway? Yasmine's signature suddenly filled the room, and I looked up just in time to see her and Vincent materialize in front of me. Immediately, Seth left my mind. â€Å"Hey, Georgina,† Vincent said. â€Å"I got your mess – â€Å" â€Å"I know about Nyx,† I blurted out. Astonished silence hung in the air. I couldn't say for sure with nephilim, but I knew angels were rarely caught by surprise. Yasmine clearly had been. And, being an angel, she didn't try to deny anything about Nyx. She simply asked, â€Å"How?† â€Å"Because she's using me to do her dirty work.† Their looks of amazement grew. â€Å"Only†¦I'm not exactly sure how she's doing it.† The two of them glanced at each other, then back at me. â€Å"Start from the beginning,† said Yasmine. â€Å"That's usually the way to go.† And I did, first telling them about the dreams and the energy loss. After that, it was on to my weird knowledge of tragic events and the residual feelings of Nyx's activities. Finally, I explained how Erik and Dante had pieced it all together, linking what was happening to me with all of those unfortunate news stories. Yasmine sat down in a folding chair, tipping her head back as she thought. It was kind of like what Vincent had done in the hospital while ruminating. I wondered if it was one of those unconscious gestures couples sometimes picked up from each other. â€Å"Hmm†¦brilliant. That's how she's doing it without us finding her.† â€Å"I never would have even thought of that,† agreed Vincent, pacing. â€Å"Which, of course, is the point.† â€Å"You know what she's doing to me, then?† I asked eagerly. The not-knowing was killing me. â€Å"Yep,† said Yasmine. â€Å"But let's get the others first.† â€Å"The other – â€Å" The question faded from my lips as three figures materialized in the room: Carter, Joel, and Whitney. Angelic auras crackled around me. I couldn't help a little envy. It might take me days to hunt down higher immortals, but Yasmine could do it with a thought. Carter smiled when he saw me. Joel looked outraged. Whitney looked confused. â€Å"What's going on?† Joel demanded. He seemed as angry as the last time I'd seen him. It was a good thing he was immortal, or he probably would have died from high blood pressure ages ago. â€Å"Why have you brought us to this†¦this†¦place.† You would have thought he stood in an opium brothel, as opposed to a tiny office with badly painted walls. Yasmine leaned forward in the chair, hands clasped under her chin and elbows on her knees. Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement. â€Å"We've got her. We found her – or rather, Georgina found her.† Joel and Whitney appeared flabbergasted. Carter didn't. From the look on his face, I felt like he'd been expecting it. â€Å"I can't believe it took you this long to figure it out,† he joked. Whitney was not amused. â€Å"Explain this.† Yasmine did, and when she was finished, the others were as impressed as she and Vincent had been earlier. Even Joel looked a little less pissed off. â€Å"Ingenuous,† he murmured. â€Å"Every time she escapes, she always thinks up a new way to elude us.† I looked from face to face. My emotions were raw after the blowout with Seth, and I was really low on patience at the moment. â€Å"Will someone finally tell me how I fit into this?† Carter walked over to me. He wore a beat-up blue flannel shirt and a Mariners baseball cap that looked like it had been put through a wood chipper. He was still smiling. â€Å"You must know by now that Vincent's a psychic. He's attuned to our world and in some ways has a higher sensitivity to supernatural activity than some of us do. It happens with humans sometimes.† It was true. Angels weren't omnipotent and didn't possess all gifts. I nodded along, not letting on that I knew Vincent was actually a psychic nephilim. â€Å"Normally, he'd be able to find her trail pretty quickly. When she runs amuck feeding off mortal chaos, there's a kind of, I don't know†¦magical residue left where she's been. The energy she steals only sustains her; it isn't actually enough to obscure her. Someone like Vincent can†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vincent helped him out. â€Å"†¦sniff her out. I'm a paranormal hound.† Yasmine snickered. â€Å"He hasn't sensed anything so far,† Carter continued, â€Å"which is why we were having to do more mundane searches, like looking for telltale patterns in the news.† â€Å"So†¦she was hiding her trail.† I shrugged. â€Å"How do I fit in?† â€Å"She was using you to hide it. In a couple different ways. Kind of a fail-safe, really. In taking energy from you and human victims, she was able to double her stash. It made it easier to hide from us. When her power dipped, I think she was actually†¦hiding in you.† â€Å"Ew.† I suddenly felt violated. â€Å"How is that possible? Is she†¦is she there now?† I glanced down at my lower body, as though I might actually see something. He peered at me. â€Å"No, I don't think so. She's probably got enough energy to run loose for a while. As for how she does it†¦well, life and energy move in and out of you, and at some level, she's both of those things. You're a conduit for those forces.† â€Å"I wish people would stop calling me that. It makes me feel like a machine.† â€Å"Hardly. The merging she does with you is how you occasionally get a sense for what she's been doing. Some of the details of her mischief leak into you, though she goes to great pains to hide it – and herself.† â€Å"How?† â€Å"The dreams,† said Vincent. â€Å"She's distracting you with them. Happy, consuming dreams that you're starting to obsess on. Your subconscious is so enmeshed in them at night that you don't notice her leaching the energy while you sleep.† I leaned back in my chair, dumbfounded. I'd dealt with a lot of weird shit in my life – an exceptional amount of it occurring in the last few months, actually – but this was shooting to the top of the list. My skin crawled, and I had the surreal sense that my body was no longer my own. I was also kind of bothered by the fact that my dreams had been red herrings, meant to throw me off the path of what was going on. They were so sweet†¦so powerful. I treasured them, yet it seemed they were nothing but lies. Illusions created by a monster to hide her parasitic control of me. That knowledge cheapened the beauty of what I'd seen. I loved the little girl. I wanted to believe in her. I wanted her to be real. â€Å"Well,† said Joel brusquely, narrowed eyes fixed on me. â€Å"We've got to use the succubus to lure Nyx out.† He gestured to me. â€Å"Go. Go out and seduce some poor soul, so Nyx'll come back.† I flinched. Yasmine glared at him. â€Å"Can't you see she's upset? Show some compassion.† â€Å"Denizens of evil deserve none,† he muttered. Across the room, Whitney stood by the door. She'd spoken little, so her voice startled me. â€Å"All creatures deserve compassion.† I looked up and met her eyes. They were dark and bottomless, filled with power and emotion. I had the sensation of falling into that blackness, much like I experienced with Carter sometimes. I decided I didn't like hanging out with angels. They did a lot of soul searching – and usually it involved mine. More awkward silence fell. â€Å"Okay, okay,† I said. â€Å"We don't all have to spill our feelings and hold hands here. Tell me what you need me to do.† â€Å"You're going to be bait, Georgina,† said Carter. â€Å"I'm always bait,† I grumbled. â€Å"Why is that? Why do these things keep happening to me?† Not too long ago, I'd had to play bait for a date-raping demigod. I hadn't been any happier then than I was now. I expected a joke, but Carter's response was serious. â€Å"Because you're one of those unique individuals whom powers in the universe tend to gather around.† That was worse than being a conduit. I didn't want any of those things. I didn't want to be a target. I wanted my quiet life back where I worked in a bookstore and had a blissful, perfect relationship with my boyfriend. Okay, I'd never had such a relationship yet, but a girl can dream. Dream. Bad choice of words. â€Å"Unfortunately,† said Yasmine delicately, â€Å"Joel is right to a certain extent. We do need you to, um, replenish your energy in order to lure Nyx out.† Joel grimaced. I sighed. â€Å"I know this is important†¦I don't want her to hurt anyone else, but well, does it have to be tonight? Can we do it tomorrow? I just†¦I just don't feel up to it.† Not after Seth. Not after any of this. I was so, so mentally exhausted. Sex sounded nauseating, energy or no. Joel clenched his fists. â€Å"Don't feel up to it? This is no time for whims! Lives are at stake – â€Å" â€Å"Joel,† said Carter. It was one word, but it was hard and powerful. I'd never heard lax, sarcastic Carter speak in that sort of tone. He and Joel locked gazes. I couldn't assess higher immortals' power, but I knew Carter was pretty damned strong. Stronger than Jerome, even. â€Å"Leave her alone. Nyx only attacks when she steals more energy anyway. We should be okay for one night.† If I didn't know better, I'd say Joel was afraid of Carter. Joel looked very much like he wanted to say a lot more, but he backed down. â€Å"Fine,† he said through gritted teeth. I shot Carter a relieved glance. With the way I felt tonight, I probably would have had about as much luck trying to seduce someone as Tawny. Thinking of the other succubus, I wondered if I should mention my suspicions about Tawny being drained by Nyx too. In the end, I decided against it. That whole situation was still circumstantial. I let it go. Yasmine stood up and laid a hand on my shoulder. â€Å"Rest up. You look terrible. You need to be ready for tomorrow.† â€Å"Yikes. I can look like anything I want. When someone tells me I look terrible, it's pretty serious.† She smiled. â€Å"It's more than physical.† She vanished. Whitney and Joel did the same a few moments later. Only Carter remained with Vincent and me. â€Å"It's going to be okay,† Carter told me. â€Å"I don't know. There's a crazy chaos-eating monster flitting in and out of me,† I said. â€Å"You're going to try to frisk her out. Seems like there's a high likelihood things might end up pretty not okay.† â€Å"Ye of little faith.† He too disappeared. Vincent and I stood there for several moments. Finally, I sighed once more. â€Å"Fucking angels.† He touched my shoulder. â€Å"Let's go back home.† We ventured back into the cold and walked to my apartment, saying little. Vincent look tired and thoughtful, no doubt from all the Nyx stuff. As we approached my apartment, however, his expression began to change. At first, he simply looked puzzled. Then he grew surprised, then startled, then horrified, and finally, disgusted. We stopped on the building's steps. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked. He pointed upward. â€Å"There's something†¦evil in there.† â€Å"Like†¦my apartment? Because, you know, I'm technically evil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vincent shook his head. â€Å"No, no. It's a different kind of evil. You're evil by nature – no offense. This is something different. A created evil. It's black and wrong. Unnatural. You know of anyone else who lives in the building that plays for your side?† â€Å"No. Just me.† He grimaced. â€Å"Well, let's go in then and see where it's coming from. Ugh. To my senses, it's like†¦rotting garbage.† We went inside, and it didn't take him long to figure out where this different evil was coming from. My own apartment. â€Å"Told you I was the only evil thing in here,† I joked. But I was a little uneasy at his reaction. Vincent didn't respond and simply pushed past me, searching in a way that brought the earlier hound reference to mind. He disappeared into my bedroom and reemerged with Dante's arts and crafts project. â€Å"This,† declared Vincent, holding it at arm's length. â€Å"That?† I asked, astonished. â€Å"That's†¦nothing.† â€Å"Where did you get it?† â€Å"This guy I know made it. The one who was helping me. He's, I don't know†¦a pseudo psychic. Maybe a real psychic. Interprets dreams and claims to be a magician.† I stared at the wicker ball. â€Å"Are you saying he really is a magician?† â€Å"Oh, he's something all right. This thing is so filthy, I can't believe you can't feel it. Well, I can believe it†¦I mean, it's a different sort of magic than you're attuned to, but Jesus. It makes me feel like I just†¦I don't know, went swimming in a sewer.† â€Å"Well†¦I know he's supposed to be, like, bad†¦he and another friend have said as much. But†¦I don't know. I thought it was just hype.† â€Å"There's bad and there's bad,† Vincent said. â€Å"And this is bad. This thing's a repellent, right? Did he give it to you to keep Nyx away?† â€Å"Yeah†¦but he wasn't sure if it'd work†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh, it'd work. It'd keep about anything away. To make something like this†¦man, Georgina. It's incredible – the kind of power required. Very few humans are born with this kind of power. He certainly wasn't. This is stolen power.† â€Å"Everyone steals power,† I noted dryly. â€Å"Me, Nyx†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vincent's eyes were hard. â€Å"You and she suck it from people. This was ripped out of someone. The way you'd rip someone's heart out of their chest.† â€Å"So, what†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stared. â€Å"Are you saying Dante killed someone to make this?† â€Å"To make this specifically? Perhaps. But someone would need to already possess great power – independent of what he might put in this – to even attempt making it. And to be someone with that kind of power in the first place, he had to have done something, at some point in his life, that was bad.† â€Å"Like†¦killing someone.† â€Å"More than that. A special killing – something sacrificial. You know the kind of power those can yield.† I did. I didn't have a choice in the succubus soul-stealing thing, but I tried to keep my hands clean of other atrocities. Still, you couldn't work for Hell and not know about the full range of evils out there and how to achieve them. â€Å"And,† continued Vincent, â€Å"you know that the greater the impact – the greater the meaning – of a sacrificial killing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Right. The greater the power.† Goosebumps rose on my neck as I started to see where Vincent was going with all this. â€Å"Whatever he did to get this kind of power wasn't just some random, clean killing. It had meaning for him. And it was horrible. He would have had to turn on himself – give up part of his humanity – to get this kind of power.† I stared at the wicker ball. I couldn't sense what Vincent could, but now I too was feeling disgusted and uneasy by its presence. And suddenly, Kayla's repulsion suddenly didn't seem so strange after all. I'd had the charm in my purse when I saw her. She'd said I was ‘bad' because I was probably covered in the charm's power. What had Dante done? What act could sarcastic, laconic Dante have done to achieve the kind of power both Vincent and Hugh had said would be needed to make this kind of charm? Whatever it was, it was the reason Erik hated him. I shivered. â€Å"Can you destroy it?† Vincent nodded. â€Å"You want me to?† A tiny part of me remembered that it had the ability to repel Nyx. But it wouldn't make her disappear, and we needed her to come back if we were going to stop her for good. Swallowing, I nodded. â€Å"Yeah, go ahead.† It took only a few seconds. Green light encased the wicker sphere, then Vincent's hand was empty. I'd felt no change in power or anything, but the nephilim looked relieved. I exhaled. â€Å"Well. There's nothing to stop her now, huh?† â€Å"Nope,† he said, rubbing his hands together. â€Å"Get ready.†

Dr Traci Lynn Essay

The amazing life experiences and achievements of Dr. Traci Lynn is truly remarkable. Often times referred to as a â€Å"Success Coach†, she has touched the lives and motivated thousands of people around the globe to both overcome fear and pusue their dreams. She is an award winning Entrepreneur, Internationally Renowned Motivational speaker, Author, wife, mother, Evangelist, and TV talk show host. She also built her highly esteemed jewelry business, Traci Lynn Jewelry, from the ground up. She did so with only $200, a basement, and a dream. Her unbelievable accomplishments and mark in time as a speaker is truly inspirational and moving. Dr. Lynn states her mission is â€Å"passing the MIC†: motivate, inspire, change. My goal is to motivate people to step out of their comfort zone, inspire them to greatness, and to change their lives. It’s about letting people know that they can do anything they set their mind to if they see the bigger picture. We have the power to change our own financial future and our destiny. † â€Å"I believe in chasing the dream,† Lynn says. â€Å"I don’t chase the money. And because I chase the dream and not the money, I can love freely. I love the consultants and they know that. † I feel that Dr.  Lynn’s stress on dreams and happiness, rather than wealth speaks volumes in itself. Few times in the world today do we come across an individual with such great morals and values. In addition, Traci is also a Multiple Unit Owner in the Rita’s Italian Ices franchise. She maintains three free standing units with over sixty employees in a seasonal environment. She is first hand familiar with the day to day demands – customer service, recruiting, training, managing – of a franchise as well as the long terms goals of development – branding, increasing customer base. Being such a successful businesswoman and multi-tasker sets such a positive example of a role model for the youth and world today. The development of her employees has been key to the growth of the business. She also founded a campus chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. In doing so, she has set a standard and reinforcement of the importance of education. Dr. Traci Lynn is currently pursuing a second doctorate degree in marketing. She has opened for the master motivator Les Brown, and is now traveling across the country speaking to thousands of eople, motivating and empowering them to take charge of their future. Traci Lynn was the recipient of four prestigious awards, The Madam CJ Walker Award for entrepreneur excellence, University of Pennsylvania’s Carrier of Hope Award for her community service, the Spirit of Greatness Award for outstanding Leadership in business, and the Network Journal’s 2002, 25 most influential Women in Business Award. She is a workaholic, whom strives and fights for her goals in life. Her undergraduate and graduate work is in business and religion, along with a doctorate degree in theology. Traci Lynn was featured on Good Morning America for owning one of the top grossing businesses among young entrepreneurs, and she appeared in Essence Magazine for her innovative business success. She was recently featured in the January 2006 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine online. At the age of 15, Lynn opened a hair salon in a family-owned apartment and got her beauty-college certificate, all the while saving money for college. While in high school, she got her nursing license. It seems as though her upbringing did in fact have a direct impact on her future. â€Å"My mother had programmed me to be a physician,† Lynn says. If you asked me at age four what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d tell you that I wanted to be an OB/GYN even though I had no idea what that meant. † After majoring in medicine at the University of Michigan, she returned to business, where she earned her degree in finance. After graduating, Lynn took a job as an investor information representative at mutual-fund giant The Vanguard Group Inc. , where she eventually became manager. Climbing the ladder of success definitely seemed to be the main objective for Dr. Traci Lynn, regardless of what life threw in front of her. Dr.  Lynn then launched Traci Lynn Fashion Jewelry in Philadelphia in 1989, at the age of 25. In 1994, Essence magazine named Lynn one of the most innovative entrepreneurs under 30. I personally do not know many, if any, entrepreneurs as successful as she at such a young age. Dr. Traci Lynn was also featured on Good Morning America for owning one of the top-grossing businesses among young entrepreneurs and received the Madame CJ Walker Award for entrepreneur excellence. Dr. Lynn then decided to start a new career as a public speaker, speaking to Fortune 500 companies around the world about ttitude, leadership, and motivation. â€Å"That’s still my message today,† she says. â€Å"Attitude is everything, and I had to confront my own. I realized that I was blaming other people for my jewelry company folding, when I hadn’t really followed my instincts. I had researched the direct-sales business model, and knew I should create a catalog, but I didn’t and it cost me. † Of her many signature topics, I find a few in particular to be very inspirational. Such as â€Å"Who’s Pulling Your Strings! †,in which she addresses one’s self control over their own destiny, along with the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. In Change Your Own Attitude-Change Your Life†, Dr. Lynn uses the acronym A=Attitude, T=Talk Positive, T=Think Positive, I=Innovative Ideas, T=Think Like a Leader,U=Understand Differences, D=Don’t Resist Change, Embrace It, E=Empower Yourself, – as part of a motivational session to increase companies bottom lines. In â€Å"The Mind Of a Millionaire†, Dr. Lynn brings to light ending self-sabotage, negative thinking, and procrastination, so â€Å"you can break through those mental barriers to transform even your wildest dreams into exciting new realities. Dr Traci Lynn also speaks on development of positive powerful skills, as well as handling difficult people through various communication skills in â€Å"Powerful Leadership Skills for Women. † She is consistenly serving as a positive role model and powerful force for inspiring business women around the world. I find this to be important and recognizable because I do not know of that many successful women in the world whom have accomplished nearly half of what Dr. Traci Lynn has achieved. Dr.  Tracy Lynn also seems to be fearless in her endeavors. After many years of traveling the world as a motivational speaker, Lynn decided to relaunch Traci Lynn Fashion Jewelry in 2005. However, this time she was able to overcome the hardships and trying times she had experienced in her business years before. Her motivational message became her company’s mission, and as a result, she has transformed the lives of thousands of women who have taken advantage of the company’s business training and become entrepreneurs in their own right. For nearly 20 years, Traci Lynn Fashion Jewelry has sold high-quality, affordable fashion jewelry through a wholesale network and direct sales. Currently, products are delivered through consultants to customers via home or office shows, personal shopping, and catalog orders. Dr. Traci Lynn believes jewelry creates an opportunity for women to own their own businesses, balance their lives, and achieve financial independence doing something they love. Lynn says seeing the effect the company has had on its consultants is the most rewarding part of the business. At one of the weekend sales rallies, a 10-year-old girl stood up and read a letter that she had written me about being a witness to the changes in her mother’s life,† Lynn says. â€Å"Her mother had lost her job, and working with us enabled her to continue to provide for her family. But more importantly, this little girl talked about seeing her mother smile again and get excited about something. She read this letter aloud and there was not a dry eye in the place. † Dr. Lynn has also become a published author (Wealth Without Sorrow and The Mind of A Millionaire) and earned two doctorate degrees in Divinity and Theology. She also continued to rack up awards, earning the University of Pennsylvania’s Carrier of Hope Award for her community service and The Spirit of Greatness Award for Outstanding Leadership in Business. According to the Administrative Officer of Maryland Departments of Human Resources,Cheryl Hill, â€Å"Dr. Traci’s enthusiasm and straight-forward motivation make a tremendous impact on the employees here. She is a powerful motivation force which has inspired change not only in our workplace, but has transferred to many family members of our employees. â€Å"With great humor and charm Dr.  Traci Lynn teaches how to cultivate ideas and goals and nurture them with dedication , energy, and spirit. Dr. Traci Lynn has also inspired thousands to pursue their dreams and develop excellence in their lives. She believes that people must feed their minds with motivation to reach past their comfort zones and live the lives they envision. As part of her audience, I think that you will feel the energy of her words as she encourages you to expand your dreams and focus on the future. Dr. Lynn encourages you to think in extraordinary ways and to dare take control of your life and launch it into bold new directions.

Comparing and Contrasting Business Systems in Japan and China Essay

Comparing and Contrasting Business Systems in Japan and China - Essay Example The country’s economy is diverse unlike Japan’s which relies mostly on industries. China depends mostly on agriculture, industries and its cultural heritage (Zheng, 2013). The rate of economic change in China is relatively higher compared to that of Japan. Although Japan has had a significant growth in the late 20th century, China has improved its economic growth in the 21st century in a way that has made it among the best performers in the world. Natural disasters that have hit Japan for the last ten years have left the country at a loss in terms of its economic performance. The country, however, manages to retain a significant rate of economic growth. China has mostly relied on its population and size of the country for much of its improvement in terms of economic development (Blackford 2008, p. 25). China’s economic capabilities can be seen to be way ahead that of Japan. The country has more potential to grow into a super-economy. As mentioned earlier, the mai n challenge facing Japan remains the series of natural disasters that the country has faced. The disasters have left the country in economic turmoil considering the levels it managed to reach in the late 20th century. Japan can be seen to have employed the theory of development of management in a more efficient way than China (Zheng, 2013). This can be attributed to the capitalistic nature of the country. The theory underlines the fundamental guidelines that should be followed in order to have efficient management of businesses. This includes clearly outlining the goals of the business and distancing the business from its owner(s). The extent of owner involvement in the running of businesses in the two countries is... A business system can be defined as a methodical procedure or process used by owners of factors of production as a delivery mechanism for providing goods and services to customers. An efficient business system has the potential of accelerating economic growth in a country while still rewarding owners of the factors of production. On the other hand, a country that adopts inefficient business systems may lug behind in terms of economic growth. This calls for business systems analysts to be involved in the adoption and use of the various business systems in a country. The rate of economic change in China is relatively higher compared to that of Japan. Although Japan has had a significant growth in the late 20th century, China has improved its economic growth in the 21st century in a way that has made it among the best performers in the world. The country, however, manages to retain a significant rate of economic growth after the natural disasters. China has mostly relied on its population and size of the country for much of its improvement in terms of economic development. Japan and China are two of the leading economies in Asia. The countries have both similarities and differences in their business systems. Japan is purely a capitalistic state. China, on the other hand, is both a socialistic and capitalistic state. Although Japan’s capitalistic system has helped it achieve major economic goals, the threat posed by natural disasters still remains a major concern to the country’s economy. China, on the other hand, should adopt a purely capitalistic system in order to realize its full potential in the business sector. This is realistic considering the tremendous levels it has reached with a system that does not work efficiently in the business sector.

Business Financing and the Capital Structure Essay - 3

Business Financing and the Capital Structure - Essay Example The debt financing is welcome in many cases in which the loaned amount can be easily repaid back by the borrower. In addition to this debt also provides advantage to the companies that have opted for debt. Mostly the companies in the later stages go in for debt financing. The Equity financing method is the process in which the companies use the method of raising capital by selling company stocks to the investors. While in debt, financing the company does not have to share any ownership with the creditors but in the equity financing the shareholders are given the ownership of the shares of the company. The equity shares capital is usually opted for in the initial starting of the company when there are no cash inflows or revenues. The company to entice the investors who have an appetite for risks alongside the entrepreneur who has started the business uses equity financing. In today’s business ground where the debt is costly because the ability to repay debt is highly essential, the companies should maintain a debt to equity ratio of 1:1 or 1:2. The 1:1 ratio of debt to equity means that debt and equity should be of the same amount where as the 1:2 ratio suggests that the same amount to debt should have double amount of equity. Thus, the decision of choosing debt financing or equity financing should be based on the stage of progress of the business. If the business is in the startup stage when the cash inflows and the revenues are scarce, the company should definitely go for generation of fresh equity capital. Where as in the later stages of the company when it has started acquiring cash inflows it should opt for debt financing. There is another problem involved in the starting up position of the company where if the company does not show a strong profit creating potential then it would not attract any strong investors or venture capitalists who

W 2 OM Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W 2 OM Discussion - Essay Example Even though this system has been described by Asnis (2002) as being effective in controlling the deterioration of health cases, it has also been criticized as not being preventive in nature. This is because with this system, there must be a risk indicator before proactive interventions are sent by government. Based on the weakness with the system, it would be noted that the best way to make the system effective is to ensure that it is approached from both a preventive perspective and a curative perspective. To do this, government must deepen research that aids in the forecasting of possible health risks. With such forecasted results, it will be possible to predict some areas that are not currently prone to certain health risks but may be at risk in future. Most certainly, with such an effective preventive approach, there can be much guarantee that government spending on healthcare can be reduced (Meredith and Shafer, 2014). This is because the amount of money government have always spent on its curative duties have been more than the government have spent in preventing the escalation of health risks (Meredith and Shafer,

Globalisation and Crime ( Criminology) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Globalisation and Crime ( Criminology) - Essay Example Human trafficking is concerned only with trading of people and it does not necessarily include any kind of movement of people from one location to another. The annual international trade in relation to human trafficking constituted an amount of $31.6 billion (Anderson, 2000 ).The most popular – and fastest growing – activity of the criminal organizations that operate transnationally is that of human trafficking. According to international convention, the concept of human trafficking is related to violation of the basic human rights. It is even subjected to directive in the context of the European Union. Human trafficking can be further be defined as transport, recruitment, harbouring, selling and even receipt of people through some exploitative means such as threat, fraud, deception and force. The main forms of human trafficking comprise sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, labour exploitation, internal trafficking, organ trafficking, and child trafficking. There ha ve been policies and strategies that have been set forth by various nations, some of which are effective, but still this issue is growing and gaining more importance in the current decade. The main focus of human trafficking is in the areas of the trafficking of women. The key countries that constitute women trafficking are United Kingdom, eastern and central European countries (such as Hungary, Belarus, Lithuania or Ukraine), South East Asia, Latin America, West and East Africa. The countries in which there exists a great deal of woman trafficking are Germany, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, and countries in which such trade is moderately high are Denmark, Austria, France, Spain, Poland, UK, Switzerland, Bosnia, Poland and Kosovo. Each country where such trafficking is a very serious issue has different statistics, which cannot be considered as a reliable source to predict the consequences that some

HIP DISORDERS IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION Assignment

HIP DISORDERS IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION - Assignment Example There are three main techniques for assessing whether a child is suffering from this complication. They include Ortolani test, Barrow maneuver, and Galeazzi’s test. Hip dislocation is a prevalent physiological problem in the pediatrics, which can develop before, during or after birth, but it can be diagnosed through the Ortolani test, Barrow maneuver, and Galeazzi’s test. The Ortolani test is performed by the medical examiner placing his/her hands over the child’s knees with the thumbs on the medial thigh while the rest of the fingers apply some slight pressure on the trochanter area as well as the lateral thigh. With slow abductions being performed on these areas, the dislocated hip will often reduce with a palpable â€Å"cluck.† The intensity of instability of the hip is categorized into two depending on the results of the examination. Positive Ortolani is a situation where the hip is dislocated and reducible at the same time. Negative Ortolani implies the hip of the child is dislocated, but it is irreducible (Byrd, 2012). Barrow maneuver involves the examiner guiding the child’s hip into a kind of abduction movement by applying some mild force with his/her thumbs. In the event that the bones of the child are not stable, the femoral bone will slide over the rear rim of the acetabulum bone while producing some noticeable sensation of subluxation or dislocation. Relatively, the degree of instability is measured by the results of the test. If a dislocation is evident, then the test can be said to be positive Barrow, but if the hip is characterized by mild instability, that can be termed as a subluxation or rather a negative Barrow test (Godley, 2013). In this case, the child to be examined is made to assume a supine position while his/her legs are bent at ninety degrees with the feet being kept flat over a level surface. The practitioner will examine the child to ascertain any differences between the two

How should organisation manage psychological contracts during PR Essay

How should organisation manage psychological contracts during PR Scandals - Essay Example Thismakesitessentialfor an organization to manage Psychological contract before theyare affected by publicrelationscandals. Therefore, managingpsychologicalcontract is important during publicscandals like fundembezzlement, falseaccusations of theftorsexualabuse within theorganization (Conway, 2005). In theprocess of managingpsychologicalcontract, an organization should performsomeactions. First, theorganization should be fair to allemployees and customers in terms of promotion, work allocation, payments, forexample, salaryandallowancesand deliverance of goods and services.Employeesalsoexpect to be consulted in making organizational decisions since theyfeelmoreimportant to theorganization. In case of a publicrelationscandal like misconduct of an employee, theorganization should be fair in judging theemployee. Forinstance, theemployee can be suspendedforsometimerather than beingsacked.An example of a real life situation is a case whereby during the presidential debate, KitchenAid tweeted to it fans â€Å"Obamas gma even knew it was going 2 b bad! ‘She died 3days b4 he became president†. The tweet was immediately deleted, and an apology was posted. The apology was posted on behalf of the employee who had tweeted(Male, 2009). Secondly, in case of a publicrelationscandal like an accusation, theorganization should maintaineffectivecommunication with theaffectedparties. Communication within theorganization should flowwell. Everymanager, employee or customer,should getthecorrectinformation within therighttimeschedule. Theemployer should alsoenhanceface to facecommunicationbecausethisgivestheemployee a chance of expression (CPID, 2010). Dialoguealso is a goodway to wintheemployees’ and customers’cooperation. Some companies fail to communicate to their customers effectively hence leading to future scandals. In 2000, executives of Merck failed to recall their drugs after

Everyday language and everyday life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Everyday language and everyday life - Essay Example Oh my gosh, I’m a dork, shoot me. Laughing out loud†¦ â€Å"See you at the bar for pizza tonight!† Obviously, no parent, from his or her perspective, could interpret that perfectly! The preponderance for jargons or acronyms for texting and emailing came as a natural consequence of the need for speed in communicating messages across various medium. Further, since cell phones have virtually minute screens to contain long words and complete sentences, people who are in a hurry to send instant messages creatively designed messages in shorthand. Even businesses need to be apprised of these jargons and abbreviations to answer messages coming from diverse stakeholders. A secretary behind closed door meeting could instantly text: PEBCAK to her colleague to mean Problem Exists between Chair and Keyboard – to which the recipient could reply: FYI I’m OTP (for your information, I’m on the phone). With the basic objective of increasing the speed by which messages are sent and delivered, the emergence of abbreviated words came as a necessity and as a form of creative expression. Does it really have a negative effect on children in terms of literacy and correct usage of the English language? While viewing it’s Only a Theory from You Tube, an interesting proposition was being defended by David Crystal, a professor of linguistic from Bangor University, that â€Å"texting is good for the English language†. He disputed several myths, one of which is that kids use abbreviations in texting which leave letters out affecting their knowledge to spell. Likewise, these abbreviations continue to be used in essays and examinations which mean that adults are rearing this generation of kids that are totally illiterate. The funny thing is that Professor Crystal concluded the contentions my saying that these are all a load of chicken droppings. Texting, with all its abbreviations, when used frequently is

Meaning of life - Human Essay Example for Free

Meaning of life Human Essay I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Throughout my entire life, I have wondered what the purpose is. Why am I and every other human being even on this planet in the first place? That brings me to my next question. Is there a God? If there is, why did he put us here? Any Christian asked will say our sole purpose is to serve God. First of all, what does that even mean? And second, I must ask why? Why would a supernatural being place us strategically on this planet strictly to serve him? That sounds pretty selfish to me. There has to be something more. Something concrete. Something greater. How could there not be? All my life I have worked hard to succeed. I have challenged myself and fought to do better than my best. Why? I asked myself. Why stress so much when I’m only going to die in the end? Pessimistic, I know. Finally, I thought, maybe the meaning of life doesn’t have to be so complex. Maybe the meaning of life is whatever we want it to be. Maybe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. I do what I do because I want to do it. It’s that simple. I do it because it means something to me. Everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal. The meaning of life is never complex. The meaning of life is actually quite simple to think about. Many people help the needy. Others play sports. Both activities add meaning to those lives involved. Purposes change, but the overall meaning of life will always stay the same. The meaning of life is simply to give life a meaning. This I believe.

Analysis of Approaches to Bargaining Models

Analysis of Approaches to Bargaining Models Abstract This paper discusses the various types of approaches to bargaining models, namely indifference curves and iso-profit curves, monopoly union behaviour and efficient contracts. Then we go on to study the concept of efficiency wages in a unionised as well as a non-unionised environment and with the help of existing economic theories we develop a model and incorporate the alternative wage rate. On completion of this paper, we will be able to understand the influence of wage level, alternative wage rate and other factors on the employment level, which would be highly important to both the firms as well as the labourer’s side while framing policies. Introduction Before starting with the paper, we need to know what efficiency wages are. It is the wage that is set by the firms or the employers which is higher than the market clearing wage. There are certain implications behind this action. Doing this, it would encourage workers’ loyalty towards the employer; the firms would be able to attract higher number of talents and thereby improving the applicants’ pool, raise the morale of the workers and as a result the overall efficiency of the firms increases. In various efficiency wage models, labour productivity has a positive relationship with the wage rate. Also worth mentioning, is that the efficiency wage model is an extension from the Shapiro-Stiglitz model of efficiency wage. In this paper, we combine both the microeconomics concept of labour union and the model of Shapiro-Stiglitz to derive the various propositions. Moving ahead, we discuss the basic two models of wage rate determination for the unionised and non-unionised sector of the economy. The first would be the monopoly model, as prescribed by Oswald in 1985, assumes that the labour union sets the wage and the employer chooses the profit maximizing employment level. The second case also stated by Oswald in 1985, notes that both the employer’s side as well as the worker’s side can benefit from the monopoly outcome by jointly bargaining over the wages and employment level. Literature Review Oswald, A. (1985): â€Å"The Economic Theory of Trade Unions: An Introductory Survey† Scandinavian Journal of Economics, volume 87. Oswald assumed that the union sets the wage and the employer chooses the profit maximising employment level. He also stated that the efficient bargaining model notes that both sides can improve on the monopoly outcome by jointly bargaining over wages and employment. Brown, J. and Ashenfelter, O (1986, June): â€Å"Testing the Efficiency of Employment Contracts† Journal of Political Economy, volume 94. They used the significance of a measure of alternative wages in an employment regression as evidence for the efficient bargaining model. Stiglitz, J. (1987, March): â€Å"The Causes and Consequences of the dependence of quality on price† Journal of Economic Literature, volume 25. In relation to the efficiency wages hypothesis, Stiglitz stated that, â€Å"one motivation for this literature is to explain involuntary unemployment: If the efficiency wage is framework is valid, then firms may not lower wages even in the face of excess supplies of labour. Krueger, A. and Summers, L. (1988, March): â€Å"Efficiency wages and the inter-industry wage structure† Econometrica, volume 56 Another additional motivation of this literature is the that the empirical observation that inter-firm or inter-industry wage differentials remain even after most possible economic determinants of these differentials have been controlled. Katz, L. and Summers, L. (1989): â€Å"Industry rents: Evidence and Implications† Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Microeconomics. The wage differentials tend to lower quits and increases the length of queues of job seekers attempting to gain entry. They explained the relationship between the existences of rents associated with efficiency wages. Research Question What is the effect of general wage level and alternative wage rate on the employment level, when efficiency wages are paid both in a non-union as well as union setting? Methodology The theory of income distribution is the study of the determination of the shares of the factors of production in the total output produced in the economy over a given period of time. For simplicity, we assume two factors of production, labour and capital, their shares are defined as follows: Share of Labour = (w*L)/ X and share of capital = (r*K)/X Where w= wage rate, r= rental of capital, L=quantity of labour employed, K=quantity of capital employed and X=value of output produced in economy. With this backdrop, we proceed on to the model where we consider firms and labours perspective, in both unionised and non-unionised labour setting. Initially, labour force is unionised. As a union, three of the most commonly pursued goals are: maximization of employment, maximization of total wage bill and maximization of total gains to the union as a whole. The general conclusions derived from this microeconomic thought are firstly, if the firm buyers have no monopsonistic power, labour unions can possibly attain an increase in the wage rate at the cost of a lower level of unemployment. Secondly, if the firm buyers have monopsonistic power, the unions actions can eliminate one part of the monopsonistic exploitation and thirdly, if the firm buyers have monopsonistic power, trade unions can increase the total wage bill in most of the cases, by either increasing employment or the wage rate or both. Considering, the concept of efficiency wage hypothesis and incorporating the alternative wage rate as used by Shapiro and Stiglitz we combine this macroeconomic phenomenon with the microeconomic concept of labour union. Looking at the employment level, alternative wage rate, normal wage rate we can run a regression analysis on the employment level with various other variables and determine the significance of these and come up with propositions under different cases. Bargaining Models In the context of labour unions, there are different types of bargaining that can take place between a firm and a labour union. These methods are also applicable in many other aspects other than labour unions. Indifference Curves and Iso-profit Curves Here, we look at the union’s preferences as the preference for a single worker. We can formulate the utility of the worker as a function of consumption, C and leisure, L, i.e. U (C, L). Representing, the utility function in terms of wage rate, w and labour supplied, h, we can write it as follows: U (h, w) = U (w*h, 1-h)where C = w*h and considering time constraint L= 1 – h. An indifference curve in (h, w) space is defined by setting u as (constant) and we define w implicitly as a function of h, w (h). Therefore, we can write it as follows: U (h, w (h)) = U (w (h)*h, 1-h) = Differentiating, the above equality with respect to h and hence obtaining the slope of the indifference curve. This implies that along the labour supply curve, where MRS = w the indifference curve will have zero slope. To the left of the labour supply curve, workers work more and so MRS w and the indifference curve is upward sloping. We can reinterpret the first order condition for finding labour supply as the worker finding the highest indifference curve in (w, h) subject to the constraint that w equals the offered wage, leading to the tangency shown below. Looking at the firm’s side, its preferences are derived using the iso-cost curve. The firm’s profit function can be written as follows: ÃŽ   (E, w) = f (E) – w*E We set the price to unity and along an iso-profit curve, we set the profit equal to some constant , which implies an implicit relationship between w and E. Therefore, we can write it as f (E) – w (E)*E = . Differentiating, the above equation implicitly, we find the slope of the iso-profit curvealong the demand curve MPE = w, implying that iso-profit curves are flat when they cross the labour demand curve. Left of the demand curve, means MPE > w hence iso-profit curve is upward sloping, and right of the labour demand curve, means MPE Monopoly union Bargaining In this model, the labour union sets the wage rate, w and the firm chooses the employment level, E. Since, the firm’s objective is to maximize profits, it will set the employment level at the point where VMPE = w. Assuming the union acts like a single individual so that h = E, its problem is then Max U (w*E, 1- E)subject to MPE = w Maximizing with respect to E, and using the first order conditions we get, f’ (E) = w. The above expression implies that the indifference curve will have a negative slope while the iso-profit curve has a zero slope and to interpret the cross of the two curves it would mean inefficiency. Workers would be willing to work more at a slightly lower wage and firms would make profits hiring them. However even if unions do function this way, that does not mean they are necessarily bad workers are made better off, but these gains are smaller than the losses to firms and consumers. If the value of the redistribution to workers is considered more important than the loss to the other parties then the union may still be a good thing. However it would be better for everyone if the union and firm could find a more efficient way of bargaining. Efficient Contracts This is another model of unions which assumes that the labour union and firm will bargain in such a way that it leads to an efficient outcome. Now, any Pareto efficient outcome will be reached between two parties by guaranteeing some level of profits to the firm, and maximizing the union’s utility. Max U (w*E, 1- E)subject to f (E) – w*E = On solving, we get w = (f (E) ) / E. The first order condition can be written as follows Solving algebraically we get that the iso-profit curve and the indifference curves are tangent. It cannot be solved as to which combination of (E, w) will be chosen as there are several points- the locus of all these points represent the contract curve. Some information on profit and utility functions is necessary to determine whether the contract curve of the efficient contracts is downward or upward sloping, or vertical (the strongly efficient case). The Model General Assumptions: All the workers are identical. The worker’s choose their own level of work effort and this work effort is monitored by the firm with the help of technology. The monitoring process by the firm is not the most efficient or it is not perfect. The monitoring process can be expressed in terms of work effort as follows, q (e), >0, which implies that a worker will not be dismissed for an exogenously given level of work effort. All the workers have an identical utility function given as follows: U (w, e) = w – e2(eqn. 1) The workers are provided with unemployment insurance or they can obtain another or alternative job with wage rate. Efficiency Wages in a non-union setting Analysis: Now, if the workers are able to choose their level of work effort, which is not monitored perfectly by the firm, then the firm may pay wages above the market wage rate to ensure a higher level of efficiency or effort by the worker. The question is how would alternative wages enter an employment regression in this case? We have already assumed that the firm’s monitoring process can be expressed as a function of, q (e), suggesting that the workers are not dismissed for an exogenously given level of work effort. The workers can reduce their likelihood of getting dismissed, by the firm, by increasing their level of work effort. Implication behind this statement suggests that, q’ >0. Let n be the elasticity of q with respect to level of effort. We can therefore show that the optimal effort for the worker is e =(eqn. 2) In order to model the firm, we make another assumption of a concave revenue function, f’’ ÃŽ   = f (e*L) – w*L(eqn. 3) Using the optimization technique, the firm chooses the level of w and L, subject to the worker’s choice of e. From the equations 2 and 3, we find out that the optimal wage rate, w is twice that of the alternative wage rate,. Expressing f’ as a logarithmic form as a linear combination of various exogenous variables that affect the revenue and effective units of labour, the optimal amount of labour for the non-union firm is ln L = + ln ln w + X + ln (w ) And ln f’ = ÃŽ ±0 + ÃŽ ±1X – ÃŽ ±2 ln(e*L)(eqn. 4) X is the vector of non-labour factors affecting the marginal revenue product of labour. Interpretation of equation 4, is that the alternative wage rate, , conditional on w and X, will be negatively correlated with the actual or observed employment. Proposition: On running a regression of employment on wage level and alternative wage rate, it should yield a negative coefficient for the alternative wage if efficiency wages are paid even in the absence of efficient bargaining. Efficiency Wages in a Union setting Here, we discuss the case for efficiency wages in a unionised scenario and find the resulting demand for labour under both (a) monopoly unions and (b) efficient bargaining methods. Monopoly Unions Considering that the union comprises total of N number of workers, who are employed at the wage rate, 2. Using, the previous method discussed we calculate the optimal worker effort, e*, where e* = Each worker faces the probability of getting dismissed with a probability of q (e*). We also assume that the workers getting dismissed by the firms are replaced immediately. Now, the union’s objective is to choose w, so as to maximize the expected utility, V, of unionised worker. Let L be the employment level at the new union wage, w. Then for each wage, w, we have, V = [ q (w – e2 ) ] + if L And V = q (w – e2 ) + if L ≠¥N (eqn. 5) Now, in the case for monopoly unions, as the union raises the wage levels, it generally lowers the total employment level, hence we have L , a rising w would lead to rising employment because of increased work effort. The union balances the negative effect of wages on employment and positive effects of wages on employed members’ utility. Multiplying, equation 5 by N, the union chooses w to maximize V = Lq ((w – e2 ) (eqn. 6) Subject to f’e = w Using the optimization techniques, we solve for the monopoly union wage, w w = (eqn. 7) 2 is the measure of the slope or the steepness of the marginal revenue product curve. Higher the elasticity, n, with respect to effort, higher will be the union wage. In this model, the marginal revenue productivity condition for the monopoly model with efficiency wages is similar to the condition for non-union firms, although in this case, the unions will raise the wages and lower the total employment. This leads to the following proposition. Proposition: Under monopoly model and efficiency wages, if we run a regression of employment on X, w and and a union shift term, the coefficient on the union shift should be zero. However, in a regression that includes only the exogenous variables X and and a union shift term, the coefficient should be negative. Efficient Bargaining Here, we focus on the case where labour and the management jointly set wage rate, w and employment level, L. According to Mc. Donald and Solow, 1981, to derive the set of efficient contracts, they have suggested the necessary conditions for the contract curve. Vw / VL = Ï€w / Ï€L The subscripts represent the partial derivatives. Using equations 3 and 6, and substituting in the above contract curve relation, we get, (w – f’e) / (1 – f’ew) = (w ) > 0 (eqn. 8) As long as the union raises the wages above the non-union wage 1- f’ew > 0 and so is w – f’e. Wages exceed the marginal revenue product of labour (as already suggested by McDonald and Solow, 1981). Algebraically, solving the slope of contract curve is not possible and hence is indeterminate which leads to the next proposition. Proposition: Under efficient bargaining method and efficiency wages, if we run a regression of employment on X, w and and a union shift term, it will yield a positive coefficient for the union shift term as compared to a zero coefficient under monopoly model. However, in a regression that includes only the exogenous variables X and, the sign of the union shift coefficient is ambiguous, as compared to a negative coefficient in the monopoly model. Conclusion The results from the above classification of models suggests that traditional way of determining wage bill, i.e. labour times the wage rate, by the labour union and the employment level determination by the firm side are not the only factors that affect the decision making process of both the sides. Rather, the alternative wage rate, which is one of the factors taken up by Shapiro and Stiglitz in their â€Å"efficiency wage model†, is also instrumental in affecting the employment level. Another union shift term incorporated while running the regression, we find that it is also one of the determinants of employment determination. So, the ultimate conclusion that we can derive is that there are certain other factors as well in both wage and employment determination and these factors are statistically significant in different cases which again lead to various policy implications. Hence, modification of the theoretical microeconomic foundation and including certain other variables will show us a greater and deeper understanding of the employment determination and thereby various other policy prescriptions that both the sides can take into account while framing one. References Stiglitz, J. (1976, July): â€Å"The Efficiency Wage Hypothesis, Surplus Labour and the Distribution of Income in L.D.C.s† Oxford Economics Papers, pp.185-207. Oswald, A. (1985): â€Å"The Economic Theory of Trade Unions: An Introductory Survey† Scandinavian Journal of Economics, volume 87. Brown, J. and Ashenfelter, O (1986, June): â€Å"Testing the Efficiency of Employment Contracts† Journal of Political Economy, volume 94. Katz, L. and Summers, L. (1989): â€Å"Industry rents: Evidence and Implications† Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Microeconomics. Krueger, A. and Summers, L. (1988, March): â€Å"Efficiency wages and the inter-industry wage structure† Econometrica, volume 56 Stiglitz, J. (1987, March): â€Å"The Causes and Consequences of the dependence of quality on price† Journal of Economic Literature, volume 25. Cowell, F.A. (2004, December): â€Å"Microeconomics: Principles and Analysis† STICERD and Department of Economics, London School of Economics. Autor, D.H. (2003, November): â€Å"Lecture Note: Efficiency Wages, Shapiro-Stiglitz Model† MIT and NBER. Koutsoyiannis, A. (1979): â€Å"Modern Microeconomics† Macmillan. 1

A Holiday Deconstruction :: essays research papers

A Holiday Deconstruction By RA   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Everyone looks forward to holiday entertainment. Jordan has faithfully kept the tradition of mounting a holiday show for the entertainment of the student body, staff, and students parents. Notice how à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“communityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? does not follow à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“staff.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anyway, after watching the show A Holiday Celebration I was appalled by the misuse of Christmas themes. So many things were wrong with the show. First off, the Ghetto Holiday Skit: ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s starts off as a predictably funny opening between two half-witted burglars who take too long too enter the damn house, and when they do, they have the audacity to continue (discussing) or alluding the window. What completely destined a potentially comical skit was the sexual insinuation that shamelessly demoted those with an alternate lifestyle to objects of derision if anyone with a social conscious saw the skit; they had to notice the aforementioned.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secondly, the Santa Claus bit: Okay, I will give you this: we all need comedy in our lives. However, do we need comedy at the expense of other? Ask yourself this, how did overweight people feel about being made fun of? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Damn these childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Do we need children to be damned more than they already are. I mean, what is wrong with this? We grow up believing St. Nick exists but do we need to also believe that he is a drunk who holds grudges against kids? Think about it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Third, the models: lack of professionalism on their part. Who models their own style? (Own clothes) But hey, at least they incorporated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“bigà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two main problems with the show or any Jordan shows is the lack of diversity. Jordan is a tapestry of diverse cultures, yet only one is predominantly represented onstage. If youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re intelligent, you might figure which group of people! If we preach diversity, lets practice it, please. The other problem is the gospel singing.

Buddhism Essay examples -- Papers Religion India Essays Religious

Buddhism Works Cited Missing Buddhism is the religion of about one eighth of the world's people (Gaer 27). Buddhism is the name for a complex system of beliefs developed around the teachings of a single man. The Buddha, whose name was Siddhartha Gautama, lived 2,500 years ago in India. There are now dozens of different schools of Buddhist philosophy throughout Asia. These schools, or sects, have different writings and languages and have grown up in different cultures. There is no one single "Bible" of Buddhism, but all Buddhists share some basic beliefs. Buddhism is a Western word. The religion is known in the East as the Buddha-Dharma, or the teachings of the Buddha (Kelen 10). These teachings, based on his personal experience of Enlightenment, or Awakening, form the foundation of Buddhism. For every Buddhist the religion is both a discipline and a body of beliefs: that is, Buddhists share beliefs about the nature of the world and how to act within it. Budh in the Indian Sanskrit language means "to wake up, to know." Buddha means "the Awakened or Enlightened One," and all Buddhist teachings try to share the Buddha's experience of awakening to truth. Having led an â€Å"indulgent life as a young man,† (Stryk 15) Siddhartha Gautama decided to pursue â€Å"a course of bitter self-denialâ€Å"(Stryk 18). Yet he felt that this brought him no closer to the truth he sought than the rich life he had led. One day he felt close to reaching his truth, and he sat down under a tree now known as the Bo tree. There he attained the bliss and knowledge he had been seeking. Legend has it that, though tempted by evil demons, he sat quietly under the tree for 49 days. This became known as the Immovable Spot. Once Siddhartha Gautama was ... ... have achieved Nirvana, total bliss† (Kelen 90). He is shown as calm and loving, usually with a soft smile and radiant energy ( Kelen 93). Some scenes show the Buddha at key moments of his life, for example, sitting under the Bo tree. Others illustrate his teachings. There is a story that tells of the Buddha offering his body as food for a hungry mother tiger and her cubs because he felt that all life was sacred. This scene is a popular visual theme in the cave temples of China and Japan. Other Buddhist paintings illustrate the sacred writings, as stained glass windows were created to illustrate the Bible in many Christian churches. Since Buddhists believe that anyone can be on the path toward Enlightenment, these visual images of the Buddha along his own path are a helpful addition to the writings that people study. They make the texts more personal and inviting.

Language Modes Essay

Language arts is the term typically used by educators to describe the curriculum area that includes four modes of language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Language arts teaching constitutes a particularly important area in teacher education, since listening, speaking, reading, and writing permeate the curriculum; they are essential to learning and to the demonstration of learning in every content area. Teachers are charged with guiding students toward proficiency in these four language modes, which can be compared and contrasted in several ways. Listening and speaking involve oral language and are often referred to as primary modes since they are acquired naturally in home and community environments before children come to school. Reading and writing, the written language modes, are acquired differently. Although children from literate environments often come to school with considerable knowledge about printed language, reading and writing are widely considered to be the school’s responsibility and are formally taught. A different way of grouping the language modes is according to the processing involved in their use. Speaking and writing require constructing messages and conveying them to others through language. Thus they are â€Å"expressive† modes. Listening and reading, on the other hand, are more â€Å"receptive† modes; they involve constructing meaning from messages that come from others’ language. (For those who are deaf, visual and spatial language modes–watching and signing–replace oral language modes. When one considers how children learn and use language, however, all of these divisions become somewhat artificial. Whatever we label them, all modes involve communication and construction of meaning. In effective language arts teaching, several modes are usually used in each activity or set of related activities. For example, students in literature groups may read literature, discuss it, and write about it in response journals. In 1976 Walter Loban published a study of the language growth of 338 students who were observed from kindergarten through grade twelve. He found positive correlations among the four language modes both in terms of how students developed competency in each, and of how well students ultimately used them. His study demonstrated the inter-relationships among the four language modes and influenced educators to address and more fully integrate all four of them in classrooms. Models of Language Arts Instruction Many changes in language arts instruction have taken place in American schools since 1980. To understand these changes, one must be conversant with the three basic models that have given rise to variations in language arts curriculum over the years: the heritage model, the competencies model, and the process or student-centered model. Each model constitutes a belief system about the structure and content of instruction that leads to certain instructional approaches and methods. The heritage model, for example, reflects the belief that the purpose of language arts instruction is to transmit the values and traditions of the culture through the study of an agreed-upon body of literature. It also focuses on agreed-upon modes and genres of writing, to be mastered through guided writing experiences. The competencies model, on the other hand, emanates from the belief that the chief purpose of language arts instruction is to produce mastery of a hierarchy of language-related skills (particularly in reading and writing) in the learner. This model advocates the teaching of these skills in a predetermined sequence, generally through use of basal readers and graded language arts textbooks in which the instructional activities reflect this orientation. The majority of adults in this country probably experienced elementary level language arts instruction that was based in the competencies model, followed by high school English instruction that primarily reflected the heritage model. Instruction in both of these models depends heavily on the use of sequenced curricula, texts, and tests. The third model of language arts instruction, the process model, is quite different from the other two models. The curriculum is not determined by texts and tests; rather, this model stresses the encouragement of language processes that lead to growth in the language competencies (both written and oral) of students, as well as exposure to broad content. The interests and needs of the students, along with the knowledge and interests of the teacher, determine the specific curriculum. Thus reading materials, writing genres and topics, and discussion activities will vary from classroom to classroom and even from student to student within a classroom. Authentic† assessment is the rule in these classrooms, that is, assessment that grows from the real language work of the students rather than from formal tests. Clearly the process model leads to more flexible and varied curriculum and instruction than the other two models. While the heritage and competencies models have come under criticism for being too rigid and unresponsive to student differences, the process model has been criticized as too unstructured and inconsistent to dependably give all students sufficient grounding in language content and skills. In actuality, teachers of language arts generally strive to help their students develop proficiency in language use, develop understanding of their own and other cultures, and experience and practice the processes of reading and writing. Thus it seems that the three models are not mutually exclusive. They do, however, reflect different priorities and emphases, and most teachers, schools, and/or school systems align beliefs and practices primarily with one or another model. Focus on Outcomes From a historical perspective, marked shifts in language arts instruction have taken place. In the early twentieth century, textbooks and assigned readings, writing assignments, and tests came to dominate the language arts curriculum. Instruction was characterized by a great deal of analysis of language and texts, on the theory that practice in analyzing language and drill in â€Å"correct† forms would lead students to improved use of language and proficiency in reading, writing, and discourse. Instruction was entirely teacher-driven; literature and writing topics were selected by the teacher; spelling, grammar, and penmanship were taught as distinct subjects; and writing was vigorously corrected but seldom really taught in the sense that composition is often taught today. In the 1980s a shift toward the process model emerged in the works of many language arts theorists and the published practices of some influential teachers including Donald Graves, Lucy M. Calkins, and Nancie Atwell. In 1987 the National Council of Teachers of English and the Modern Language Association sponsored a Coalition of English Associations Conference. Educational leaders from all levels came together at the conference to discuss past and present language arts teaching and to propose directions and goals to guide the teaching of language arts in the years leading up to and moving into the twenty-first century. The conference report specified the ideal outcomes of effective language arts instruction, in terms of the language knowledge, abilities, and attitudes of students. These outcomes were largely process oriented, as illustrated by the following examples of outcomes for students leaving the elementary grades, as reported by William Teale in Stories to Grow On (1989): * They will be readers and writers, individuals who find pleasure and satisfaction in reading and writing, and who make those activities an important part of their everyday lives. * They will use language to understand themselves and others and make sense of their world. As a means of reflecting on their lives, they will engage in such activities as telling and hearing stories, reading novels and poetry, and keeping journals. Principles to guide curriculum development evolved from the conference participants’ agreed upon student outcomes, and, like the outcomes, the principles were broad and process-focused. For example, two of the original principles are: Curriculum should evolve from a sound research knowledge base and The language arts curriculum should be learner-centered. Elaborations on these and other curriculum goals deviated from earlier recommendations in that they included classroom-based ethnographic research, or action research, as well as traditional basic research in the knowledge base that informs the teaching of language arts. There was also agreement that textbooks serve best as resources for activities, but that the most effective language arts curricula are not text driven; rather they are created by individual teachers for varying communities of students.

John Dryden Translator of Virgil Essay

John Dryden translated Virgil in the late 1690’s when more than fifty Englishmen before him had tried to translate at least some Virgil and many translated after his death in the seventeenth century as John Denham and Edmund Waller. What makes Dryden’s translation the most successful version, the most read and accepted between its competitors? How did Dryden translate his Virgil and why? And what kind of response did his translation receive at the time? â€Å"Without invention a painter is but a copier, and a poet but a plagiary of others. Both are allowed sometimes to copy and translate†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Dryden stated that he used paraphrase and literal translation when translating Virgil, which allowed him the liberty of modernizing it. Dryden believes that he used what was best in matter, form and style in translating Virgil by means of paraphrasing, rephrasing, and changing some phrases which when translated word for word would produce an odd meaning of the terms. â€Å"Imitators are but a servile of cattle† says Dryden, the reason why he didn’t want just to imitate Virgil, but personalize and domesticate his translation. By doing this, Dryden transformed Virgil’s poems, and particularly the Aeneid, into autobiographical and personal statements. So, how did he do this? Dryden used the political background of the events that happened in Rome and paralleled them to recent political events to express his personal opinions. By the way of adding and modifying phrases, Dryden changes the tone of the first Eclogue from melancholy to bitter, transforming the poem to express his own depressed spirit. This spirit changes and develops further in the ninth Eclogue which has a similar background as the first. Here, Dryden makes full use of the poem to attack literally the Williamite government, where he accuses it of killing his creativity. He substitutes â€Å"the corrupt city† of Virgil by â€Å"the Court† continuing with his bitter feelings towards the Establishment with phrases like â€Å"the Bribes of Court†. Furthermore, the Virgil volume was dedicated to non- Williamite noblemen. Dryden’s loathing of William often makes him bring hostility to foreignness in Virgil. His Virgil has been seen as a Jacobite work, supporting the exiled James II. Another huge background change was the introduction of Christian universe. Dryden introduces Christian terms to the Virgil, replacing the Roman paganism. He introduces â€Å"Heaven† with all its Christian connotations, replacing Virgil’s words for the gods, the fates, and fortune. This new Christian conception changes the character and mission of the hero. Aeneas is transformed into a Christian who bears his misfortunes with patience as he is on a divine mission. â€Å"I have endeavour’d to make Virgil speak such English as he wou’d himself have spoken, if he had been born in England, and in this present Age† As to the language of translation, Dryden’s version has many identical traces with the works of many others who preceded him. Dryden is thought to have read at least forty of the previous Virgil translations. He is thought to have borrowed many of Douglas’s word translations; Chaucer’s rhymed couplets and most of all, Lauderdale’s word rhymes. Dryden â€Å"thought it fit to steer betwixt the two Extreams, of Paraphrase, and Literal Translation† and stated that â€Å"Some things too I have omitted, and sometimes added of my own†. â€Å"But by what Authority? † , asked Luke Milbourne angrily. From its first appearance, Dryden’s Virgil was canonized. His most distinguished antagonists are Swift and Wordsworth. Swift wrote â€Å"A Tale of a Tub† which takes aim at Dryden, intending his demolition but failed enormously and may have even contributed to Dryden’s sale. Wordsworth wrote â€Å"whenever Virgil can be fairly said to have had his eye upon his object, Dryden always spoils the passage. † Milbourne, in his â€Å"Notes on Dryden’s Virgil†, details objections to nearly six hundred separate passages, and supplies many alternatives of his own or Ogilby’s renderings, saying that although his words are not well placed, but they keep the original meaning of Virgil. Spence in his Polymetis , an illustrated mythology book, advances numerous objections to Dryden’s Virgil. Another attack is from E. M. W. Tillyard who objects on his crudity, vulgarity, or sometimes over-gentility. Samuel Johnson remarked that â€Å"Dryden’s faults are forgotten in the hurry of delight, and Pitt’s beauties are neglected in the languor of a cold and listless perusal. † Dryden’s style aims at the clarification of Virgil and transparency of translation. By domestication, and parallelism of the political background, Dryden was able to produce an epic which came alive after centuries, by adding to it his passions, senses and the concerns of his own age. Sources: * Dryden’s Virgil: Translation as Autobiography, Thomas H. Fujimura, University of North Carolina Press, 1983 * Dryden’s Virgil, William Frost, CL summer 1984, Volume 36, # 3. * John Dryden, Preface to Ovid’s Epistles, in Of Dramatic Poesy and Other Critical essays, ed. George Watson (London, 1962) II, p. 195. * Dryden, J ; (1956) â€Å"Preface to Ovid’s Epistles† (1680), in E. N. Hooker and H. T. Swedenberg, Jr. (eds), The works of John Dryden, vol. 1, Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. * Luke Milbourne, Notes on Dryden’s Virgil (1698 ; rpt. New York and London, 1971) pp. 32, 80, 136 * Dryden : The Critical Heritage, ed. James Kinsley and Helen Kinsley (London and New York, 1971), p. 324 * Joseph Spence, Polymetis (1747; rpt. New York and London, 1976) * The Cambridge Companion to Virgil, (ed. ) Charles Martindale: Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 31

Art History – Civil War

Two of the decade's biggest stories came early on with the New York Times' reporting of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 and the Washington Post's coverage of Watergate scandal twine 1972 and 1976. 1 The ass's displayed a trend of younger Journalists with higher ideals. Instead of simply covering the news on the government with blind-eye objectivity, Journalists began actively seeking ways to analyze and expose any type of dishonesty in its actions. 2 The Pentagon Papers scandal turned the American public against the Vietnam War and exposed the U. S.Government for its lies and false promises over the past decade. 3 Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein reporting of the Watergate scandal is considered one of the high points in American investigative journalism. By using a variety of sources and interrogating U. S. Government officials inside the White House and the FBI, Woodward and Bernstein published numerous stories showing proof of am illegal presidential cover-up and â€Å"dirty trick† politics. 4 The Watergate scandal demonstrated how new technology began to aid the delivery of the news in the sass's.Television, for example, began to take off, as people were now able to easily see and believe the news in a timely fashion, rather than simply reading about it. On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon formally reigned from the office of President in a televised broadcast. It was a defining moment in American history, as Nixon became the first president to willingly give up his position. The televised address confirmed that Americans were beginning to view television as a primary source of information. Nightly news broadcasts also expanded upon their success from the sass's.Each of the three major television networks had their own recognizable and respected Journalists helping their newscasts. For example, Walter Coronate, who was hailed as â€Å"The Most Trusted Man in America,† anchored CBS. Nab's team of John Chancellor and David Brinkley were a strong second, while BBC had a seacoast helped by Howard K. Smith. 6 Of course, the increased reliance on television in turn slightly decreased the importance of radio in the daily lives of Americans. Television and newspapers firmly became the leading news outlets during this time.Thus, because there was not as wide a variety of viable news sources (online, cable television, etc. ), audiences were not as fragmented as they are today in finding the news. 7 The ass's also brought forth economic and social changes in the lives of American citizens, which made obtaining the news even more relevant during the time. Major trends included greater cynicism of government, advancement in civil rights, increased influence of the women's movement, and environmental awareness. 8 During the course of the Vietnam War, Americans suffered through a slight depression.The news, in television and paper, became a way to constantly stay aware of national and international proceedings. 9 The war led to a heigh tened interest in daily-televised news. In turn, the Vietnam War became commonly known as the â€Å"Living Room† War, as families were able to see the violence occurring overseas. 10 In addition, the Watergate scandal, Roe v. Wade in 1973, the Fall of Saigon in 1975, among other major news stories, were all landmark historical moments-?thus making the news more culturally relevant than ever at the time.A new â€Å"norm† in Journalism also appeared during the sass's decade known as â€Å"New Journalism,† or â€Å"literary Journalism. â€Å"al The works in the new genre were characterized by adding novelistic twists to reportage. Usual standards of accuracy were usually nonexistent and were often dependent on the mood of a place or event. 12 Writers such as Truman Capote, Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and others reared a form of Journalism in which writers became more artistic and created â€Å"nonfiction novels. † The accuracy and reporting in these stor ies became the subject of controversy and caused mistrust in Journalistic integrity. 3 Traditional Journalists argued that the professional Journalistic norms of accuracy and factual verifiability discouraged the use of techniques such as inner monologue and excessive, over-the- top detail. However, the controversy of fact-and-fiction reporting in the sass's led to more established rules and guidelines for Journalists. Many major Journalistic organizations and individual news organizations established codes and standards to limit the involvement of their Journalists in activities that could potentially â€Å"embarrass their organizations. 14 Thus, while much of the ass's reflected a â€Å"crusading-yet-objective† style of Journalism, sensationalism and exaggeration were both still very much present. The relationship between the government and the media remained ever changing throughout the decade. In 1970, President Nixon created the Office of Telecommunications Policy in or der to stress the rising importance of media in new formats. 5 During this time, news coverage of the Vietnam War via television showed Americans the horrors of war overseas and public sentiment towards Nixon and the war turned sour.The Top's criticism of public broadcastings coverage of the Nixon administration, however, undermined congressional support for public broadcasting. 16 Another major development in 1970 was the creation of National Public Radio. NP began producing and distributing a variety of news programs and specials, funded by the government's Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CAB). 17 Ata time when television was gaining momentum, a variety of different government actions inhibited further progression of public broadcasting.For example, in 1975 the Public Broadcasting Financing Act was signed, forcing the CAB to apply to Congress for funding every year. Furthermore, the he Public Telecommunications Financing Act restricted the Cab's managerial and financial freed om. 18 Newspapers and magazines, however, still received a majority of their funding from advertising. However, since television began to steal more of the national audience, print magazines and papers began to move towards a more socialized advertising model. This idea became fully realized in the following decade. 9 Ultimately, the sass's brought forth a major interest in Journalism. From government mistrust to civil rights, Journalism and getting the news was a priority for a vast majority of the American public. Thousands of Baby Boomers from World War II swelled enrollment in U. S. Journalism college programs, creating a generation of journalists that would not be changed until the birth and rise of the Internet in the 21st century. 20 Works Cited Miller, Mary and Teresa Crude. A 20th Century Timeline: Classroom Use of Instructional Film, Radio, and Television.

Achieving Excellence through Unity Essay

â€Å"One is said to be the loneliest number of all. † It sounds cheesy but it does make sense. This passage though sounds good, seems different on how others understand . One in this passage, refers to the number, the volume, the physical being. One can signify being alone, solitude and seclusion, but if we would come to think of the other parallel of ONE, we might come up to these ideas : one means UNITY , one means TRIUMPH , one means TOP and one means EXCELLENCE. Our distinguished members of the board of judges, esteemed members of the academe, my fellow orators, beloved parents and friends, every day we face many moments of truth, daily choices that present us opportunities for excellent performance . But let me ask you two things, first, â€Å"Do we really have the presence of excellence in our lives? â€Å" Well, allow me to give you some points . We Filipinos are well – known for being talented an enthusiast yet, we cannot escape from the fact that we are almost at the edge of the abyss of stagnation. The poverty , the never ending conflict in Mindanao , the immortality , high rate of criminality and the continuous declining quality of our education in the past twenty years, is this what we call excellence? And here’s my next question, â€Å"Are we really helping others to gain excellence by cultivating their talents ?† We merely answer, yes, because we think that we are excellent if we have the talents , the guts, and the confidence to execute things through enhancing others’ talents, we are helping them to become excellent ones . But we are wrong ! For excellence is not about the talent alone, in fact , the major of it has nothing to do with the talent . I t is a desire to share knowledge and to build a perfect vision of competence to cope with promising future. But sometimes we failed ; we failed to teach one another the competence we need. We are untrained in excellence which makes a man passionately desire to be a perfect citizen , who knows how to rule and to obey with justice and  wisdom. Now , whom can we blame ? To whom will we point our fingers ? – TO NO ONE – but to ourselves. Yes , we are . Ask me why? It is because we are part of each other’s life. Remember, if someone was about to slip , someone else could catch him. But the question is, † Do we exert some effort?† Mesdames and Sir , please ask yourselves : How can ONE makes our lives?†

Explication of “Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood Essay

Margaret Atwood’s â€Å"Siren Song† is a lyric that consists of nine three-lined stanzas that neither possess any recognizable rhyme scheme nor rhythm. The speaker of this poem is a mythical creature, a Siren, who addresses us, the audience, when she speaks of the victims whom she lured through the enticing song she sings. The overall tone of this poem is sarcastic and quite sinister. The title itself immediately depicts the theme and speaker of the poem. The whole poem is an example of classical allusion, referring to Homer’s Odyssey. The Sirens within the Odyssey are said to be captivating women who sit on an island and lure men with their tantalizing song and beautiful voices, causing them to jump out of their ships and die. The title of the poem forewarns us, and with a name like â€Å"Siren†, the audience should comprehend its literal meaning: â€Å"Danger! Warning! Avoid if you can!†, but we, as readers, want to know more about the Siren’s song, anyway. With naà ¯ve arrogance, we approach the subject, thinking we are strong enough to turn away if things take a turn for the worse, after all, it is just a song. In the first three stanzas, the Siren introduces and briskly elaborates on her tempting song. â€Å"This is the one song everyone would like to learn: the song that is irresistible†, she says. She begins to lure us into her trap as we become curious as to why the song is so compelling. The Siren explains how men jump overboard after hearing her song, even though they see the skulls that are scattered around the island. Most would think that this is an obvious indication as to the outcome for the â€Å"squadrons [of men]† as well. Her song is one that â€Å"nobody knows because anyone who has heard it is dead†, which should also deter the audience from wanting to hear her song, but we are still, of course, tempted. These first three stanzas serve as an â€Å"alluring warning†, in a sense. Through the next five stanzas, she continues to say that if we assist her â€Å"out of [her] bird suit†, she â€Å"shall tell [us] the secret†. We are left, curiously, to find out what the secret is. The image of a â€Å"bird suit† is a symbol for the conformity the Siren endures, or rather, what she wants us to believe she endures. She says she doesn’t enjoy â€Å"squatting on [an] island, looking picturesque and mythical, with two [other] maniacs†. She makes us believe that all she wants is to be freed from being trapped in her â€Å"bird suit†. She tries to convince us to â€Å"come closer†, and continues to make us feel special, saying that we are â€Å"unique†, and that â€Å"only [we]† can help her. She insists that her song is really â€Å"a cry for help†, and that she’ll tell us her secret – all we have to do is lean in and continue to listen to her tantalizing song. â€Å"Alas it is a boring song but it works every time†, says the Siren in the final stanza. Her song, her cries for help – they all have been a ploy to lure in her next victims. Maybe, her promise to reveal her secret was kept, after all. Perhaps her secret was the fact that her song will always work. She describes her song as â€Å"boring†, and seems almost amused with the outcome of her trap, as though her devious ways are second nature. Regrettably, however, we fell victims to her conniving personality and enthralling song, even after being warned from the moment we read the title. â€Å"Siren Song† by Margaret Atwood is a beautiful poem that cleverly describes the method the Siren uses to catch her victims. The poem takes on a sinister and seductive nature, which leaves us to be quite the opposite of â€Å"unique† – another victim of the Sirens.

Property Tax Funding For Public Schools Research Paper

Property Tax Funding For Public Schools - Research Paper Example Instead of doing that, they make equal per-student funding available from their â€Å"General Tax Revenues† for all schools statewide. Most of the Americans declare that they are the supporters of the â€Å"Equal Funding† for the public schools, but the wealthy and the influential citizens often resist the attempts to remove the funding discriminations. This disagreement may be a sign of unawareness about the funding disparities, thoughtless approval of the conventional & long established methods for funding of education, and egotistical yearning to maintain the â€Å"Personal Taxes† at a low rate. The â€Å"Legal and Political† attempts to modify and remove the inequalities have been feeble at the â€Å"Federal Level†. But significant commotion has started to take place in the state courts and governing bodies. This paper ends with suggestions and policy propositions for struggling â€Å"Political and Cultural† conflict to reform. Introducti on: Property taxation and school funding are inter-linked with each other in United States. It has been known that almost half of the property tax revenue is used for funding public, elementary and secondary schools. It has become a hot topic to debate, across the United States as to which extent the public schools should be supported by the funds collected from property taxes. School funding is a controversial topic and it has become a matter to be resolved for almost every state.   It has been estimated  that independent school districts receive 96% of their tax revenues from property taxes. This makes it clear that public school funding rely more on property taxation as compare to grants collected from local government (Fisher, 2007). Whereas on the other hand, almost half of the total property tax revenue collected are also in financing public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. According to the statistics of 2004-2005, United States spent total of $488.5 billion on public elementary and secondary education, with nearly 47 percent of the funds received from state sources, 44 percent funds obtained by local sources with just 9 percent of the contributions derived from federal sources. However, it is a known fact that local funds are mainly received from taxes, primarily the property tax. Since 1952, local governments’ dependence on property taxes has dropped, whether measured as a percentage of local tax revenue, own source general revenue, or total general revenue. There have been quite many strong views on both property taxation and school finance. The strongest statements typically in general disapprove of local property taxes or their use for funding education. A latest assessment of policies in the New England states, a region that rely more greatly on property taxes than the rest of the country, faces strong criticism for this dependence, as stated by Pierce and Johnson (2006) that high property taxes along with the weigh t and perverse incentives they generate, the frenzy they create, the overall town to town school funding inequities they grow typically symbolizes a never-ending series of nightmares for New England. Thus as recommended by the authors, its has been noticed  that New England states need to restructure their  tax systems by lowering their dependency on