Spenser(protagonist)-Spenser, A Former Boxer, Is A Private Detective F

Spenser(protagonist)-Spenser, a former boxer, is a private detective from Boston. He is a very down to earth man, who likes to have fun in his work. He is very humorous and takes life as a fun ride. There is a point in the story where a larger man who attempts to intimidate Spenser, who responds by taking the large man down with one kick, all the while laughing at the man. Susan-Spenser's girlfriend who has a Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard. She is a clinical psychologist, who has been romantically involved with Spenser for many years. She often helps him on his cases when he is dealing with a disturbed or possibly dangerous person. She helps Jill Joyce overcome her problems in this novel. Jill Joyce-typical overzealous television star. She is extremely pampered and feels that it is her right to be waited upon. She has lead an extremely rough life, from abandoning her parents to having an illegitimate child. She has tried to keep this from ruining her reputation, so she is very quiet when it comes to her past. Hawk-is a large, intimidating black man who was born in a ghetto, served with the French Foreign Legion, and was a boxer during the same period as Spenser. His occupation is 'enforcer', collector for loan sharks; he will murder for money, which he makes a lot of. Plot Synopsis- Spenser is hired by Zenith Meridien Television to guard Jill Joyce. She has experienced harassment in the recent past, and the company wishes for her to feel safe on the set. Spenser finds that Jill is a troubled, alcoholic, drug addicted, egocentric annoyance that is lost in life. The morning after they meet, a Mr. Rojack and his thug, Randall try to get Jill to go with them. Jill declines their offer, at which point, Randall attempts to attack the smaller Spenser, only to find himself on the ground within moments. Later that week, Spenser tracks down Rojack, who turns out to be quite wealthy and discovers that Rojack and Jill had more or less gone steady for a couple years. He also learns of Winfred Pomroy, a man who had been "bothering" Ms. Joyce. He makes plans to visit this man, as it may provide an idea to the identity of the assailant. The following morning, Spenser and Jill discover Babe Loftus, who was Jill's stunt double, murdered in her dressing room. This provokes spenser to take quicker action, and he sets out for Pomroy's home. While he is gone, he has a friend of his, Hawk, look after the starlet. When Spenser visits Pomroy, he finds a recovered alcoholic, living with three dogs. He had been married to Jill 25 years ago and seems to be slightly obsessed with Ms. Joyce at the present. Spenser journeys to the San Diego area in search of more of Jill's past, where he finds her mother. Through her, he learns Jill conceived a daughter with a man Del Rio. Del Rio has since adopted Jill's daughter, who is now 20 years old. Spenser also tracks down Jill's father, who hasn't seen her since she was four. He briefly questions the poor, troubled man and returns home. Spenser returns to Boston only to find that Jill has run away, Then Del Rio calls and informs Spenser that Jill has escaped to see him. Spenser travels to retrieve Jill. She talks about the man harassing her. Spenser suggests they bring the father in to see Jill. Spenser then accuses him of killing Babe Loftus, the stunt-woman, to which he confesses, then tries to pull a gun on Spenser. Spenser kills him before he can do anything. Spenser and Jill return to the peaceful setting of Susan's cabin in Maine and she seems to be in hopeless condition. Susan comes, bringing the 3 dogs that Wilder Pomory had. and when they come to Jill, she responds to them, and as the story ends, she and Spenser have walked around the lake with the dogs, Jill is showing signs of emerging from her condition, where Susan may be able to help her, in fact Jill expresses interest in being treated by Susan. Opinion-This book was wonderfully written. The characters were all realistic, and they reacted as you

Nigerian Nights essays

Nigerian Nights essays Cola a foreign student from Nigeria gave a presentation over his home country. He is from Lagos where many festivals are held. The country is ethnic divided with different regions. The festivals are the Eye, Ague, and Atilogwu. The Eye festival is full of masks and people dance. The Ague festival is brought from the wives. The Atilogwu is a mournful festival, and is when someone dies. He also talked about the Durbar, which is held when important guests come to visit. There are acrobats who usually are picked by their location. Many train all of their life to become one. The King picks Mascarades. The dancing is more like a drunken slur. Christianity is the religion in the south. In the north they feel they can have as many wives as they can support. The King has many wives, but the wife with the most power is the first one. The economy is stable but has improvements. The minimum wage is $52.00 a month in American dollars. I tried the food before I left and it was di fferent. The taste was satisfying but was a very new taste. I was also able to listen to their music which had a very powerful beat and I watched in amazement while Cola was dancing. Everything about Nigeria gave me a feeling of friendliness. Everyone should attend one of their sessions because you will never leave without learning something new. ...

How to Extend (or Decline) an Invitation in French

How to Extend (or Decline) an Invitation in French There are a number of different ways to extend, accept, and refuse invitations in French, with a tone that is either formal or informal.   The verb choice, word choice, and sentence structure  all play a big part in how invitations and responses are expressed. Role of Verb Tense and Mood, Person, Tone, and Structure Formal: In more formal invitations and responses, the speakers seek the highest standards of politeness and so choose sentences using the very polite conditional mood in the main clause. Whats more, the polite vous of the main verb is preferred, and the language is more elevated throughout.  Sentences also tend to be more complex in more formal communications. Informal: In informal invitations and responses, the simple present tense in any part of the sentence or phrase  is adequate to convey the intended message, meaning, and casual mood. Whats more, the main verb uses the informal tu form, and the language is light and often breezy.  Sentences or phrases tend to be short and to the point. Extending an Invitation In the phrases that follow, the blank ___ must be filled with an infinitive in French. In English, however, youd add either an infinitive or a gerund- depending on the verb that precedes it. Again, notice the difference in sentence structure for formal versus informal invitations and responses. Vous nous feriez trà ¨s plaisir si vous pouviez nous consacrer une soirà ©e. (formal) We would be delighted if you could spend an evening with us.Nous serions trà ¨s heureux de vous accueillir chez nous. (formal)   We would be very happy to welcome you to our home.Je vous invite ___ (formal) /  Je tinvite ___  (informal)   I invite you to ___Êtes-vous libre ? (formal) /  Tu es libre ? (informal) Are you free?Avez-vous envie de ___ (formal)   Do you want to ___?Tu as envie de ___ ?  (formal)   Do you feel like ___?Ça te dit de ___ ? (informal)   How does ___ sound?Et si on (mange, voit un film)  ?  (informal)   How about (eating, seeing a movie)?Venez donc ___ (formal) /  Viens donc ___  Ã‚  Come and ___Rà ©ponse souhaità ©eRSVP  (Rà ©pondez sil vous plaà ®t) Accepting an Invitation Bonne idà ©e  ! (informal)   Good idea!Ça va à ªtre gà ©nial  ! (informal)   Thatll be cool!Ça va à ªtre sympa  ! (informal)  Ã‚  Thatll be nice!Cela me ferait grand plaisir.   I would be delighted.Cest gentil (de votre part).   Thats kind (of you).Daccord.   OK.Jaccepte avec plaisir.   I accept with pleasure. / Ill be happy to come.Je viendrai avec plaisir.   I will be glad to come.Je vous remercie. I  thank you. / Thank you.Oui, je suis libre.   Yes, Im free. Declining an Invitation Je me vois malheureusement obligà © de refuser. (formal)  Ã‚  Unfortunately, Im obliged to decline.Cest dommage, mais ___  Ã‚  Its too bad, but ___Cest gentil, mais ___  Ã‚  Thats kind, but ___Dà ©solà ©, mais ___  Ã‚  Im sorry, but ___Jai quelque chose de prà ©vu.   I have something planned.Je ne peux pas.   I cant.Je ne peux pas me libà ©rer.   Im unavoidably busyJe ne suis pas libre.   Ã‚  Im not freeJe suis occupà ©.   Im busy.Je suis pris.   Im otherwise engaged. Invitation-Related Verbs accepter (avec plaisir)   to accept  (gladly, with pleasure)  accueillir to welcomeinviter   to inviteune invitation   invitationrefuser   to decline

The Concept of the Core Executive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Concept of the Core Executive - Essay Example Prime ministerial dominance is facilitated by the predominance of leadership and leadership and prime ministerial dominance seem to be interdependent and mutually facilitatory. Hefferman claims that the dominance of the prime minister arises from the fact that the prime minister has access to many institutional and personal resources and power tools that give him a dominant role within the polity. The resources available to a minister and especially the prime minister define his power thus greater resources signify more power and fewer resources would indicate less power. Thus resources given to the core executive and the prime minister within a polity, for instance in the British polity would grant the prime minister and his cabinet with intra executive authority and influence and also help them with an opportunity to be stringer through exercising greater power. James (2004) highlights the challenges faced by the members of the core executive for steering and coordinating public activity and in undertaking strategic function of political governance in keeping with social demands. Considering the core executive within the UK government, especially the Treasury, the tools of governance could be delineated. In this case Public Service agreements or PSAs are used as unique tools of governance focused on improvement of public services. Thus core executives use specific tools to provide quality services to the public and these tools of governance are focused on information about performance, improved setting and incentive effects focused on ministers and officials through a system of performance targets in which if targets are achieved, proper performance rewards are given. The core executive thus helps in determining the level of performance as also the quality of services. The powers and priorities are now considerably focused on Prime Minister 's office and the cabinet office suggesting some sort of centralization of power within the British polity. Governance monitoring and assessment have improved considerably although there may be misleading reports on progress towards government goals. The relationship between governance, assessment of performance and expenditure concerns have opened up discussion between departments that focus on priorities although ministerial responsibility for performance has been limited. The core executive sets the target yet targets are seen as minimum pledges of performance rather than tools for improving performance. James highlights the importance of core executives suggesting that the PSA system is in danger as there are frequent changes to principles of governance and also inadequate representation of performance in certain areas of governance. Marsh et al (2003) emphasise further the concept of the core executive using the asymmetric power model to explain the British political system. They point out that the Differentiate Polity Model or DPM by Rhodes has it own flaws as it seems to overstress the diffuse nature of power. Marsh et al contend that the balance of power in the British

Michelangelo's Last Judgement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Michelangelo's Last Judgement - Essay Example In this painting, judgment day is depicted and Christ is seen as a â€Å"stern judge of the world† (Kleiner, 2009, p.474). The literary sources from which this work of art drew its theme are supposed to be, the Bible, the Divine Comedy and also many folk and traditional stories about the judgment day (Barnes, 1998, p.1). It was Pope Paul III who invited Michelangelo from Florence to Rome and entrusted him with the creation of this painting, also deciding upon the topic of this painting (Paoletti and Radke, 2005, p.501). It was under the loving insistence of the Pope (who was busily reviving the strength of Catholicism in the backdrop of Protestant Reformation) that Michelangelo left his work in Florence and came to Rome. Hence it can be said that this painting embodied the Catholic idea of salvation (Dixon, n.d.). The painting shows all the just figures inside it as ascending to heaven and all the damned figures as being taken downward into the hell (Kleiner, 2009, p.474). The purpose of this painting as seen from the eyes of the Catholic Church of that era was to tackle the ideological spread of Protestantism (Williams, 2004, p.76). The Church was getting aware of the â€Å"power of art† and was trying to â€Å"exercise some kind of control over the production and consumption images† (Williams, 2004, p.76). In this painting, Michelangelo has â€Å"used some†¦intense colors† and had paid attention to undertake perfect detailing of all the human bodies that he has drawn (Paoletti and Radke, 2005, p.501). It is observed that â€Å"each hue is powerfully distinct, yet shot through with lights of other hues† (Dixon, n.d.). The ambience created by this painting is that of great tension and apprehension. This is in accordance with the theme of the painting, which is about the judgment day. The central figure if Jesus as is in all previous judgment day paintings. The raised right hand of Jesus in the painting is supposed to repr esent the canonical saying, â€Å"(He) wrathfully damns the guilty and banishes them from his presence into eternal fire† (cited by Dixon, n.d.). But some critics (Dixon, n.d.; Kleiner, 2009) have viewed the positioning of the hand as depicting uncertainty and ambiguity. The painting is reflective of Michelangelo’s concepts about the judgment, which has roots in Dante’s notions and also in the idea that â€Å"judgment is not a matter of God's action at all ... (and) judgment is a choice of the individual soul† (Dixon, n.d.). This might be the reason why many figures in the painting even as being drawn into hell, carry signs of some internal conflict on their faces rather than a fear of being punished. It is also argued that this is why Michelangelo has not given Christ a commanding posture and instead picturized him in an ambiguous body posture (Dixon, n.d.). Critics (Paoletti and Radke, 2005) have opined that the style in this painting is a developmental progression from his previous figural style and also is reflective of Hellenistic sculpting style (p.501). By visualizing Jesus in the appearance a Greek god, Michelangelo was breaking the convention on usual depictions of Christ. The skin held by St. Bartholomew (he was skinned alive) in the painting is supposed to have a face resembling Michelangelo himself, says some analysts (Kleiner, 2009, p.474). Another curious specialty of the painting has been its lack of â€Å"

Business Report Essay Example for Free

Business Report Essay Business opportunities in NSW are impacted by internal and external factors. Internal and external factors influence the business opportunities as they determine the success and failure of opportunities in the business environment. External influences are factors which mainly influence the environment outside the business and therefore they determine what the management staff inside the business must do to adjust with the changes in the external environment. External influences include factors such as; economic, financial, geographic, social, legal, political, institutional, technological, competitive situation and markets. Internal influences are factors affecting the business from within i. e. internally. Internal influences include factors such as; product, location, management, resource management and business culture. The following business report is commissioned to examine the influence of external and internal factors of business opportunities in NSW. The economic influence includes factors which relate to changes in the wider economy i. e. booms and recessions in the economy. The benefit of a growing economy allows opportunities for a business to increase profit, so businesses are able to experience rising living standards. ‘Booms’ and ‘upswings’ benefit business opportunities as they are periods where the economy is going through a positive phase where businesses have the opportunity to increase their positive total revenue. Consequently, this will lead to a rise in employment, consumer spending and wages. On the other hand, â€Å"Busts’ and ‘downswings’ are periods where businesses are impacted negatively. An example of a business which suffered from the negative factors of the economic cycle was Harvey Norman. Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported Harvey Norman experienced a ‘downswing’ period as profits decreased from $128. 95 million to $81. 9 million and total sales had a decline of 7. 3% due to lack of consumer spending. Financial influences involve ‘deregulation’ which is the removal of government regulations from the industry in hope of improving competition. The improvement of competition allows businesses the opportunity to improve efficiency and productivity of their employers and aim to achieve their required goal. Woolworths and Coles have recently removed regulations relating to supplier payments in order to lower costs and open up opportunities to expand their business and increase profit. Geographical influences such as location will determine the growth and development of a specific business. Geographical influences impact business opportunities as it provides challenges to increase profits, sales and expansion of business. An example of expansion of business is IKEA who have expanded their business to Melbourne, Australia because of economic growth in the Australian economy. Due to dramatic increase in consumer spending, IKEA’s profit increased rapidly and therefore they were able to purchase an 80, 000 metre square warehouse. Geographical influence impacts on business opportunities as it increases employment, sales and expansion of business as seen by the actions of IKEA. Social influences provide opportunities for businesses to change or develop to meet consumer demands. Social influences such as changes in consumer tastes and preferences significantly impacts on business productivity and opportunities. Failure for a business to satisfy consumer’s wants can be detrimental to a business and therefore can lead to a decrease in profits and sales or even cessation if they fail to meet consumer demands. An example of social influence on a business is the impact of the style of clothing of AussieBum. AussieBum manufactures and sells their products via the internet and are successful as their material and style of the underwear and beach clothing is famous among society. The business is successful as the material they produce is unique. Additionally, the location of the manufacturing is based in Australia further satisfying the taste and preferences on Australian consumers. Social influences for this business includes its consumers demanding Australian manufacturers to maintain uniqueness and reflect the Australian image; and consumers demanding products to be purchased over the internet. In this case, AussieBum successfully responds to social influences by having the correct production process of manufacturing their commodities and satisfying consumer demand and preferences. Legal influences impacts on business opportunities as it sets out regulations and laws that impacts business operations. Legal influences sets out guidelines that prevents businesses from discriminating or financial rorting. Additionally, legal influences such as laws and contracts can impact businesses as they are forced to buy from specific and this affects their total revenue. An example of legal influence on a business is the investigation of Coles. A recent article published by Sydney Morning Herald states that Coles is undergoing an investigation on discrimination between suppliers based on their private label brands. This breaches statutes which include anti – discrimination laws. Legal investigation is costly and affects consumer buying and spending at this business. Hence, it is crucial for businesses to abide by legislations to take advantage of the opportunities and maintain consumer satisfaction. Political influences impact businesses as government policies can lead to business uncertainty or business confidence. Political influences impact businesses as they implement policies which can change the structure of businesses. An example of political influences on a business is the impact the carbon tax has on BHP Billiton, a company in the mining industry. The carbon tax affects the company as BHP Billiton is now in charge of paying taxes which affect the company’s total revenue as there is an increase in costs. The carbon tax affects business opportunities in BHP Billiton as they are unable to hire new efficient and productive employees due to increase in their costs. Business opportunities in NSW can also be affected by taxation that can increase business costs and therefore restrict the businesses ability to expand or increase their profit or sales. Additionally, the exchange rate can affect the volume of import and exports from global markets hence impact of the price of products. Institutional influences refer to three bodies (Federal, State, and Local) which all have factors which impact business opportunities in NSW. The regulations of institutional influences are the safety and protection of employers in the business, the compulsory minimum wage, payment of taxes, approving new development and simple business codes of conduct and abiding by the legal business laws. These factors impact business opportunities as businesses must abide by these regulations in order to continue running and the breaching of the regulations can result in penalties which may affect the business financially. A recent investigation involving Coles breaching these regulations as they demanded additional payments from their suppliers led to a decrease in profits and loss of other suppliers. These factors affected Coles as their supply of specific products is decreasing yet they have such high demand but in result aren’t able to satisfy consumers wants. Business opportunities are impacted by the institutional influences as businesses are forced to run in a certain way as it can affect their financial status as well as their reputation if they fail to do so. Technology is improving at a rapid pace and allowing businesses to produce more efficiently. Technological influences impact vehicle manufacturing businesses such as Holden. Holden’s vehicles are produced rapidly because of innovative technology. The new Holden Barina features Apple’s Siri voice command providing more features and improving the product. Additionally, technological influence can impact businesses negatively. For example, technological advancements often replace employees and this decreases the opportunity of hiring new employment contributing to unemployment. Nonetheless, technological influences provide opportunities for businesses to produce products more efficiently and in turn increase their total revenue. Competition is advantageous to both consumers and businesses as it provides opportunities for improvement and demand for consumer satisfaction. A competitive situation often influences businesses to lower prices of its products to gain consumer satisfaction. For example, Woolworths and Coles promote lower prices to compete with one another. This provides consumers with wider range of choice and preferences. More so, they promote consumer points for purchasing goods and services at their store to remain competitive. Also, Jetstar has a policy which states they will provide a 10% discount on their service if their competitive airlines (i. e. Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways) offer a cheaper price for their service.In recent times financial/capital, labour and consumers have significantly changed. Financial/capital markets have seen international financial/capital flows become more flexible and easily accessible due to globalisation. Therefore, markets are more integrated. ASX is an example of these changes as the business has now made it more easily accessible for consumers to purchase and sell shares globally over the internet. Financial/capital markets influence business opportunities as businesses in NSW are linked globally are able to communicate and operate more efficiently. However, negative economic influence can impact on domestic markets in NSW which can impede on business operations.

Working Women in the Victorian Middle-Class Essay -- Victorian Era

Working Women in the Victorian Middle-Class Charles Dickens’ character Miss Abbey Potterson is â€Å"some sixty and odd† years old, obviously unmarried (Miss), and a business owner (she owns a bar). Despite the fact that Victorian middle-class women were supposed to aspire to idleness, a growing number of women were becoming employed in the 19 th century for a number of reasons. The growing number of â€Å"redundant† (unmarried, like Miss Potterson) and widowed women were rarely in a position to be ladies of leisure (Hudson). Although these women were almost always lower middle-class, they still strived for employment above that of the laboring classes. Evidence of Working Women The census, which began to include occupations in 1841, is the most obvious source (Hudson). However this information is often inaccurate, since the classification of women’s employment was often contradictory and inconsistent. Female work in a family business was sometimes deliberately excluded from the record (Hudson). Trade directories supplement the census information. They suggest that a surprisingly high number of women ran businesses, particularly in millinery and dressmaking, in inn-keeping, provisioning, grocery trades and teaching. Trade directories from the period also reveal examples of women running businesses traditionally associated only with men (like Miss Potterson). This minority indicates the boundaries that were being pushed regarding what was proper and improper for women to do (Hudson). Work Available to Women Female employment in the 1850s, 60s and 70s was the most recorded until after World War II (Hudson). Domestic service of all kinds was the single largest employer of women, textile and clothing occupations were a close secon... ...fied: â€Å"The rampant vice in English society--all men know it, and women too, and both know the others know it--is neither fastness, immodesty, or impropriety of any kind: it is pretence. This it is that makes our society for the most part parvenu society,--burthensome, troublesome, tedious† (Cope). Works Cited Cope, Virginia. The Ladies. Retreived 16 March 2005. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ladies/ladyhome.html â€Å"Employment for Females.† The Ladies. 16 April 1872. pg.35. Retrieved 16 March 2005. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ladies/pressex.html#donkey Hudson, Pat. â€Å"Women’s Work.† BBC History. Published 1 January 2001. Retrieved 15 March 2005. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/society_culture/welfare/womens_work_01.shtml Larsen, Ashley. Victorian Women in the Work Force. Retrieved 16 March 2005. http://jamaica.u.arizona.edu/ic/mcbride/ws200/lars-hold.htm

Bystanders need to make a change and take action Essay

â€Å"You can`t wake person who is pretending to be asleep†-Navajo Proverb People act as if nothing is happening when they do not want to face the reality of the situation by pretending to be unaware or unsure despite being presented with the evidence. Many people now a days, perform actions which may seem like they are participating in an activity but in reality they are just watching. People do not focus on the situation itself, but they focus on their surroundings. They understand that they might be in a difficult position although they try to avoid it. Some situations where humans experience themselves being in one place physically and having themselves in a different spot mentally are when people are being bystanders. Bystanders are people who are present in an event or incident but do not participate or act upon it. Bystanders have always been a part of the world’s natural occurrences. The bystander effect has occurred in history intensively up to this period of t ime. The bystander effect has been present in the Holocaust, the Partition of India and Pakistan and Barack Obama being appointed as the first African-American president. The bystander effect occurred all the way back to the 1900’s, during the time of World War 2. There was a destructive event that took place, it was called The Holocaust. The Holocaust was a great devastation sacrifice completed with fire. It was systematic mass slaughter of European Jews by the Nazi government and advocators. During this period of time, 6 million lives were taken. They were at their most efficient from April to November 1942 – 250 days in 2 which they murdered two and a half million Jews (http://www.facinghistory.org).. The governments of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union even made a joint statement acknowledging the mass murders for the first time. Yet, they continued to do nothing to stop or prevent more innocent deaths (http://www.facinghistory.org). The allied nations were aware of the deaths of the millions of innocent Jews but being informed about the scenario they continued to avoid the situation. Being people with higher authorities, the allied nations could have prevented or stopped this disaster from taking place. But they did not want to get themselves into a problem and create conflicts for their own countries. They were afraid that if they did not support the bully, they would be the next  victim. As innocent people were getting murdered in Germany, in India near that same period of time innocent people were being raped. In August 1947, the partition of British India took place. This event was life altering for millions of people. After the British parted from India, the creation of two countries raised India and Pakistan. This catastrophe was known for the abduction, rape and abuse towards women. In 1950, Menon and Bhasin wrote, the â€Å"official estimate† for numbers of abducted women stood at 50,000 Muslims in India and 33,000 Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan (http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org). Women of different ethnicities, age and social classes were all victimized, raped and tormented. The men would also publicly molest the women to make them feel traumatized and disgraced, and people would just watch the awful sin like it is casual and not do anything to stop what is happening. The stories of these abductions and rapes caused panic; in many rural areas familie s reportedly killed their female children to save them from being defiled. Patel recounts numerous incidents of beheading, drowning, burning, and execution by the male head of family in order to â€Å"protect his women†Ã‚  from the threat of dishonour (http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org). People would just stand around and watch men rape women. But nobody did anything, they just stood and patrolled. They watched and encouraged, because she was the opposite religion, she was the enemy. People were discriminated based on their race, culture and religion and currently are being victimized for the same reason. On November 8, 2008 Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States. This victory introduced many hardships into Obama`s life in views of him being the first ever African-American president of the United States. Because this was a racial alteration in many people’s lives, he was verbally and emotionally attacked with racial violations. Obama has also dodged numerous racist attacks from conservative protestors and personalities. Last year, a group sang â€Å"Bye Bye Blackbird† and waved signs reading â€Å"47 percent Negro† and â€Å"Impeach the half-white Muslim† at one of his speaking events (http://www.usnews.com). In this scenario, there was persistent name calling related to colour, ethnicity, culture or faith. There were many points where hurtful behaviours, both physical and  psychological, made them feel unwelcome, powerless or worthless because of their colour, ethnicity, culture or faith. There were malicious messages and letters sent to Obama and people just continued and joined the others. They thought that since he is the first African American president in the United States, he should not deserve the same equality of right as the pervious white presidents. People trended by making fun of him, and no one did anything to stop it and it still continues to present days. There are many occurrences in life, when people just stand around and observe a situation but do not do anything to stop it, they do not act upon it. The human species is aware that  if they do not stop such catastrophes; they will give others a chance to have a negative perspective on other cultures, ethnicities, and races. Not making this okay, because it will cause many riots in the future. It is time,that bystanders start to make a change and take action for the right thing. Work Cited Brainy Quote, (2014), Navajo Proverb Quotes; Brainy Quote, Web. Feb, 24, 2014. â€Å"Holocaust Bystanders and Upstanders.† Aug 2014. Press, Web. 24 Feb. 2014. . â€Å"India-Pakistan Partition.† 14 Sep 2013. N.p., Web. 24 Feb. 2014. . â€Å"Obama racism.† 2008. United States Publishers, Web. 24 Feb. 2014. . â€Å"Obama Threat.† 2009 . N.p., Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .

Benny, the War in Europe, and Myerson’s Daughter Bella Essay

When Benny was sent overseas in the autumn of 1941 his father, Mr. Garber, thought that if he had to give up one son to the army, it might as well be Benny who was a quiet boy, and who wouldn’t push where he shouldn’t; and Mrs. Garber thought: â€Å"my Benny, he’ll take care, he’ll watch out;† and Benny’s brother Abe thought â€Å"when he comes back, I’ll have a garage of my own, you bet, and I’ll be able to give him a job.† Benny wrote every week, and every week the Garbers sent him parcels full of good things that a Jewish boy should always have, like salami and pickled herring and shtrudel. The food parcels were always the same, and the letters — coming from Camp Borden and Aldershot and Normandy and Hol ­ land — were always the same too. They began — â€Å"I hope you are all well and good† — and ended — â€Å"don’t worry, all the best to everybody, thank you for the parcel.† When Benny came home from the war in Europe, the Gar ­bers didn’t make much of a fuss. They met him at the station, of course, and they had a small dinner for him. Abe was thrilled to see Benny again. â€Å"Atta boy,† was what he kept saying all evening, â€Å"Atta boy, Benny.† â€Å"You shouldn’t go back to the factory,† Mr. Garber said. â€Å"You don’t need the old job. You can be a help to your brother Abe in his garage.† â€Å"Yes,† Benny said. â€Å"Let him be, let him rest,† Mrs. Garber said, â€Å"What’ll hap ­ pen if he doesn’t work for two weeks?†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Hey, when Artie Segal came back,† Abe said, â€Å"he said that in Italy there was nothing that guy couldn’t get for a  couple of Sweet Caps. Was he shooting me the bull, or what?† Benny had been discharged and sent home, not because the war was over, but because of the shrapnel in his leg, but he didn’t limp too badly and he didn’t talk about his wound or the war, so at first nobody noticed that he had changed. No ­ body, that is, except Myerson’s daughter Bella. Myerson was the proprietor of Pop’s Cigar & Soda, on Laurier Street, and any day of the week, you could find him there seated on a worn, peeling kitchen chair playing poker with the men of the neighbourhood. He had a glass-eye and when a player hesitated on a bet, he would take it out and polish it, a gesture that never failed to intimidate. His daugh ­ ter, Bella, worked behind the counter. She had a club-foot and mousy hair and some more hair on her face, and although she was only twenty-six, it was generally supposed that she would end up an old maid. Anyway she was the one — the first one — who noticed that the war in Europe had changed Benny. And, as a matter of fact, the very first time he came into the store after his homecoming she said to him: â€Å"What’s wrong, Benny’? Are you afraid?† â€Å"I’m all right,† he said. Benny was a quiet boy. He was short and skinny with a long narrow face, a pulpy mouth that was somewhat crooked, and soft black eyes. He had big, conspicuous hands, Thich he preferred to keep out of sight in his pockets. In fact, he seemed to want to keep out of sight altogether and whenever  possible, he stood  behind a chair or in a  light so that  people wouldn’t notice him — and, noticing  chase him  away. When he had failed the ninth grade at Baron Byng High School, his class-master, a Mr. Perkins, had sent him home with a note saying: â€Å"Benjamin is not a student, but he has all the makings of a good citizen. He is honest and at ­ tentive in class and a hard worker. I recommend that he learn a trade.†

proportional representation essays

proportional representation essays Americans continue to be disillusioned and apathetic toward politics. Cynicism about candidates and parties is common and voter turnout is low. There has been some talk for changing the election system in this country, campaign finance reform, and term limits are two of the ideas put forward. However, what some feel should we be doing is replace our present, winner-take-all election system with proportional representation (PR) elections. Leaders of most alternative parties, including the Libertarians, the Greens, and the New Party, are pushing for the change to PR. Even a Harvard Law professor, Lani Guinier* has concluded that proportional representation would be the best way to give minority voters fair representation. Proportional representation comes in many varieties, but they all share two basic characteristics. First, they use multi-member districts. Instead of electing one member of the legislature in each small district, PR uses much larger districts that elect several members at once, five or ten, for example. Second, which candidates win the seats in these multi-member districts is determined by the proportion of votes each party receives. Eliminating the problem of one winner of the district from misrepresenting the section of the population that did not vote for them. Those people would have their own representation. This system would then help ensure more balanced and fair representation to women and minorities. Under the current system there is no representation for these groups and their agenda if their candidates are not elected, as they are usually a minority and do not have the voting power. A 5 member PR district, which is populated 80% white and 20% black, if the population voted strictly along racial lines, the African American still elect one representative. Proportional representation would also eliminate the problem of gerrymandering, a problem of the single-member per district system. District ...

Suvey Unit 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Suvey Unit 1 - Essay Example Consequently, the HRM subject grew into a profession in the early 1920s. Moreover, human resource practices have transformed and organizations have assigned monetary value as well as respecting employees. The evolution of HRM creates a linkage between employee employer relationships along with strategic management as the focus (Aswathappa 5-22). The role of HR professional as strategic partners to senior leadership entails the formulation and implementation of strategies. They make senior leadership highly effective by supplying committed and competent human resources as well as aligning them with the organization’s resources. HR professionals orchestrate distinctive personalities, skills, motives and experiences of employees in facilitating interactions occurring within work teams. They also provide knowledge about the organization and tasks along with HRM goals, programmes and policies. Additionally, they create a suitable working environment and enhance the learning process among employees so as to improve performance (Aswathappa 38). The main specialty areas of HRM include employee and organizational development, employee relations, talent management, employee resourcing and, training and development. Employee development entails how value could be added to the organization and its employees whereas organizational development encompasses how skills could be obtained, developed and maintained needed by the organization both at present and in the future. Employee resourcing comprises how HR managers efficiently resource corporate strategies and the process of acquiring employees into the organization. Employee relations constitute processes, perceptions and institutions within the employer employee relationship (Connelly 13-23; Rowley and Jackson xix-xxxiii). HR generalist coordinates and administers programmes in all functional areas, advises line managers on HR matters and supervises the implementation of HR policies, as well as coordinating

A movie that deals in some way with human development or psychological Essay

A movie that deals in some way with human development or psychological issues - Essay Example She is not sure what is going to happen to her, or why, and she is subjected to a process of institutionalization. It turns out that her treatment involves talking therapy with a psychologist called Dr Wick. The film shows how Susanna responds to various female characters in different ways, starting with her suspicion of all staff and patients, and gradually leading to more acceptance and understanding of them. Dr Wicks is patient and kind, drawing out what Susanna has experienced in the past and helping her to find better ways of dealing with things. The African American nurse on the ward thinks that Susanna is just another stupid teenage girl who is not really ill, but just exaggerating. The film shows how Susanna begins to identify with the other patients, seeing herself as one of them, and thus being mentally ill starts to appear to be â€Å"normal† to her. While she is in hospital Susanna meets a number of other patients, many of whom are considerably more ill than she is . One of the most seriously ill patients is Lisa (played by Angelina Jolie) and a friendship forms between Susanna and Lisa which results in the two young women getting into trouble and resisting the authoritarian orderlies and hospital authorities. They run away and are brought back by the police. In the end Susanna is released from the hospital, but Lisa and the others remain. There are many developmental and psychological issues in this film but two of them are particularly important: peer influence in adolescence, and definitions of mental illness. The first is important because the main character in the film appears to be very impressed by Lisa, who is a sociopath, and bonds very quickly with most of the other patients. In standard psychology text books this shift from attachment to parents to close friendships with peers is a normal part of adolescence and an important stage in the development of a separate identity outside the immediate family circle. (Baron and Kalsher, 2004 ) Dramatic gestures like Susanna’s aspirin overdose, and Daisy’s self-harming by cutting herself need not necessarily be a sign of serious mental illness, since there is an element of mimicry and attention-seeking in all adolescent behaviour. The film illustrates what behavioral theory would call modelling and reinforcement as the teenagers drift into patterns of behaviour that are common in their peer group, regardless of societal norms or parental example. (Heilbron and Prinstein, 2008) Susanna feels good when she resists the establishment, and she accords Lisa high status, which she wishes to share. By taking the sociopath Lisa as a role model, Susanna risks sinking deeper into maladaptive patterns and worsening her own mental health. Working with the therapist, Susanna learns to unpackage these assumptions and begin thinking things out for herself. One of the interesting plot lines in the film is the fact that the viewer is never quite sure whether Susanna is ill o r not, and this causes the viewer to reflect on the nature of mental illness and how it is defined. A simple application of the standard diagnosis aids such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (1994) should in theory resolve this question, but in the case of Susanna’s diagnosis, namely borderline personality disorder, the definition appears to be so vague as to apply to almost anyone. DSM IV criteria define borderline personality disorder in terms as â€Å"unstable self-image,†