Does the Brutal Truth in Sonnet 130 Essay

Does the brutal truth in Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 130’ and Swift’s ‘A beautiful Young Nymph going to bed’, take away from the beauty of the two poems. Beauty and aesthetics can be defined as â€Å"Nothing more nor less, than sensitivity to the sublime and the beautiful and an aversion to the ordinary and ugly†, this means that beauty can be absolutely anything which is beautiful as long as it is not ugly or ordinary, this may seem harsh, much like the poems by William Shakespeare and Jonathan Swift. In both poems; ‘Sonnet 130’ by William Shakespeare and ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ by Jonathan Swift, aesthetic beauty is explored in a brutal and honest light. Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 130’ tells the story of a man describing his mistress intimately, yet distastefully; â€Å"†¦ why then her breasts are dun. † Whereas in ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’, Swift tells the story of a low class prostitute in London in the 18th century â€Å"Pride of Drury Lane†, and her undressing â€Å"Takes off her artificial hair†. When considering beauty and aesthetics within the poems; â€Å"Sonnet 130† and ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’, it may seem impossible to think of the poems as beautiful when they include such vulgarity and distaste towards the women within them; Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’ and Swift’s work of fiction ‘Corinna’. However, the poems are written and presented beautifully, and may be considered well deserved of their place within the canon of English Literature. The worth and value of texts within the canon of English literature â€Å"†¦ are generally characterised by complexity of plot, structure, language and ideas. † Despite the ugliness in the poems, the way the poems are written and the complexity of them, still leave the poems as classic texts to be enjoyed and appreciated. The use of metaphors, similes and the complexity of the story within both makes them eligible for the canon of English literature, showing that a poem can still be considered beautiful for the way it is written despite the contents. Sonnet 130’ may initially seem harsh; however it was not intended to disparage Shakespeare’s mistress’s looks as so many commentators have understood, what is meant is that she and her looks together do not require ridiculous comparisons to angels which are clearly unrealistic as her personality and the way she is, is attractive in itself. The term â€Å"†¦mistress†¦Ã¢â‚¬  has an ambiguous mea ning, it could refer to a husband’s wife, or as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary; â€Å"†¦ a woman loved and courted by a man; a female sweetheart† or â€Å"a woman other than his wife with whom a man has a long-lasting sexual relationship†. The poem suggests the latter meaning, supposing it to be, Shakespeare’s so-called Dark Lady. Shakespeare wrote about ‘the Dark Lady’ in many of his sonnets. Sonnets 127-152 were allegedly based on ‘the Dark Lady’ so called because the poems make it clear that she has black hair and dusky skin, â€Å"†¦breasts are dun. † Each of the poems deal with a highly personal theme, for example, in ‘Sonnet 130’ a relationship between a man and his mistress experiencing love and lust is discussed. The sonnets have an autobiographical feel, posing the question; who was Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’? Shakespeare scholar, Dr Duncan Salkeld from the University of Chichester found evidence suggesting that she was a madam called â€Å"Lucy Negro† or â€Å"Black Luce†, who ran a notorious brothel in Clerkenwell. He believes that she is â€Å"the foremost candidate for the dubious role of the â€Å"Dark Lady†. Wilson Knight said when considering the relationship between Shakespeare and the ‘Dark Lady’; that â€Å"†¦it appears to have been finer than lust and cruder than love†, here he demonstrates his doubts about them being in love. He admits that they may have had strong feelings for each other but questions whether they were in love, he does; however agree that their relationship went further than lust and the sexual side of the relationship. The fact that Shakespeare kept her identity hidden, does pose the question, did he really love her and in turn support Wilson’s quote about not being in love. It may seem romantic of Shakespeare to have kept his lover a secret, but we must remain aware that he did have a wife at home in Stratford upon Avon. The possible occupation of Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’ gives a contextual link to Swift’s poem; ‘A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed’, as the role of prostitution is explored in this poem and there are suggestions that this was the role of the Dark Lady. The purpose of satire is to show what is bad or weak about something or someone through humour and exaggeration. Jonathan Swift is known as ‘The Godfather of Satire’, Swift himself defined satire as; â€Å"satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s faces but their own’. Here, Swift explains how everyone who reads his satire will see how he is mocking everyone else, apart from themselves. The use of satire gives ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ complexity when looking at the meaning, similarly to Sonnet 130, making it eligible for the canon of English Literature, as one of the requirements to be eligible is that the work has â€Å"†¦complexity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Swift published ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ in 1734, the poem is satirical, and it satirise women’s artificiality; â€Å"Takes off her artificial hair† and their use of the male gaze. He wrote the poem in the 18th century, when around 63,000 prostitutes were working in London, a terrible time, as prostitutes became more popular and more common, sexually transmitted diseases spread rapidly. Although in his poem, he looks down upon Corinna and effectively the women who were also in her position, he also intends to satirize the wealthy men who use prostitutes and in turn cause this problem. The male voice of narration in this poem is judgemental and snobbish. This voice effectively mocks the upper classes who most likely use prostitution as they could afford it. The voice insults those upper classes who use and abuse Corinna, demonstrating the gap between the classes in society at the time. Much like Swift, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 has a separate motive, other than writing a love poem to his â€Å"†¦mistress†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . On another level, the poem might suggest that the metaphors and language that sonneteers traditionally use are often hyperbolic beyond reality. ‘Sonnet 130’ mocks the fanciful conventions of romantic poetry by subverting the conventions of Petrarchan sonnets, which wrote about idealised beauty. This poem is about Shakespeare’s relationship with the ‘dark lady’ and he speaks of her realistically but harshly posing the question; is it better to be attractive with no personality or plain with a good personality? Here Shakespeare chooses the latter and is brutally honest, rather than being complimentary. The vocabulary he uses is harsh and cold; â€Å"†¦reeks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here Shakespeare comments on his mistress’s breath, he seems rude and offensive. The implication here is that when he goes to kiss her, he is not thinking of her, but of her bad breath and this is unkind. However, this may be merely a reflection of Elizabethan dental hygiene. Shakespeare writes that â€Å"Coral is far more red†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , which is a clever simile, comparing her lips to coral is slightly over the top, as for lips to be that bright, they would have had to have been painted on and this is the type of fakery that Shakespeare is mocking. Shakespeare focuses on all of the things that would make you look at a woman sensually, her eyes, lips, breasts, skin and hair. However, in this poem these features are not appealing which is different to a conventional sonnet. A sonnet would traditionally have 14 lines, 3 quatrains and a final rhyming couplet; â€Å"†¦love as rare† and â€Å"†¦false compare†, which follows an abab rhyme scheme, ‘Sonnet 130’ follows these conventions but, a sonnet is also conventionally romantic and flattering, and this sonnet does not follow this convention at all. Undeniably, the form of a sonnet is presented charmingly and despite the harsh content, still leaves the poem to be enjoyed. He comments that he thinks his â€Å"†¦love as rare†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , however, the fact that he kept this dark lady’s identity secret shows a lack of respect and a hint of embarrassment as he did not reveal the truth. This lack of respect correlates with Swift’s ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ as he is rude, sarcastic and brutal about the fictional Corinna; â€Å"Pride of Drury Lane†. Swift tells the reader that Corinna is unpopular, â€Å"Never did Covent Garden boast† and that no one is interested in her as she returns home at â€Å"†¦ the Midnight Hour. † At the time Covent Garden and Drury Lane would both have been heavily populated by prostitutes. Swift is disgusted by women like Corinna and is not shy about showing it in this poem. He describes Corinna as offensively and nastily as he can, telling the reader about her â€Å"†¦flabby dugs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Swift links lines inside the poems to further insult Corinna; â€Å"†¦slips the Bolsters†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"Ruins†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . â€Å"Must ev’ry morn her limbs unite† she has to rebuild herself and reconstruct her beauty every morning. Ruins are what is left of an ancient building when the structure is lost, Corinna is compared to a building when Swift says â€Å"†¦and off she slips the Bolsters that supply her hips. implying that, like a building she has a structure and without it, she becomes the â€Å"Ruins of the Night†. Swift criticises artificial beauty and fakery, which has links to famous fairy tales, such as; Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. In these stories the women are beautiful for being natural; â€Å"†¦skin as white as snow†¦Ã¢â‚¬ unlike Corinna. This suggests that pale and natural skin is attr active, which links to the women of the 18th century, when the paler you were, the more beautiful you were. Corinna objectifies the opposite of 18th century beauty The brutal truth within ‘Sonnet 130’ does not take away the beauty from the poem. The beauty of Sonnet 130 is continued by the composite way it has been written and the ambiguous meanings and reasons for being written; these are what make the poem seem complex as it is filled with different ideas. The poem could be a confession of love as believed, a slightly sarcastic joke about his mistress or a complex exploration of the conventions of sonnets. The brutal truth within the poem hides Shakespeare’s true feelings for ‘the Dark Lady’. In Jonathan Swift’s ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ the appeal of the poem is continued, despite the brutal truth of the contents, by the strong concept of satire within the poem. Swift has very cleverly turned what appears to be a misogynistic attack on women to become an attack on the people who have caused this for her. The brutal truth about Corinna hides the underlying meaning and it is this complexity within the meaning and plot, which keeps the reader interested and allows Swift to broadcast his message subtly but with clarity.

Human Factor in Aviation Maintenance Essay

Abstract In the aviation industry, human error is consider as a major factor in most aviation accidents. Maintenance tasks that are performed incorrectly or are overlooked by maintenance crew would cause human errors. Examples of human errors in maintenance are installation of incorrect parts, essential checks not being performed and failed to install wanted parts. Among all aviation-related threats, errors made by maintenance crew are more difficult to detect and have the potential to remain dormant, affecting the safe operation of aircraft for longer duration. Although maintenance crews are responsible for their actions, organization problems also contributed to the threat of maintenance errors. Since it is not possible to eliminate all maintenance errors, introducing safety management systems (SMS) to aviation organizations can help identify hazards and control risk. Human factors issues in aviation maintenance Maintenance tasks may be carried out in confined spaces, at heights, under burning heat or in freezing cold and worst of all, it is also physically demanding. Good communication, coordination, clerical and focusing skills are needed to perform well in this environment. Fault analysis and rectification have to be solved quickly in order to minimize turnaround time. In addition, there would be latent emotional stress on maintenance personnel whose work has been involved in aviation accidents. However unlike aircrafts, humans do not come with a set of instructional manuals that helps us to understand their performance and capabilities. Each and every individual varies in many ways, hence one will never know how one maintenance task attributed to errors. Aviation industries become aware of many unpredictable accidents coming from human errors due to different contributing factors (Refer to Figure 1 for a graphical illustration on human error vs contributing factors) (Takahiro S, Terry L, William D, 2008)  and have taken steps to implement preventive or control measures. Factors contributing to human errors in maintenance Statistics have shown that 80% of errors are contributed due to human errors while the remaining percentage is due to mechanical or other failures. (Refer to Figure 2 for a graphical illustration on human error contribution percentile) (â€Å"Strategic program plan,† 2007) There is also a breakdown showing which type of maintenance activities having higher rate of human errors. (Refer to Table1, Frequency of Human error vs Type of maintenance activity) (Goldman, 2002) The Pear Model Four important human factors of the Pear Model (Refer to Figure 5 for graphical illustration) are: People who do the job, environment in which they work, actions they perform and resources  necessary to complete the job. People Human factors program focus on people who perform the work and attend to physical,  physiological, psychological and psychosocial factors. Organization must focus on individuals,  their physical capabilities, mental state, cognitive size and circumstances that may affect their  interaction with others. Factors like each person ‘s size, age, eyesight, strength, endurance,  experience, motivation and certification standards must be taken into consideration before each  person is tasked to work. Sufficient breaks and rest periods must be catered  to ensure each  person is not overload. Organization should encourage more teamwork and communications  between colleagues so that work accomplished will be safe and efficient. Offering educational  programs on health and fitness can help encourage good health and help reduce sick leave.  Hence, a good human factors program will consider all the limitations of humans and designs the  job accordingly. Environment Physical workplace in the hanger/shop and organization environment are environments  that are focused on human factors program. Conditions like temperature, lighting, noise control,  cleanliness, humidity and workplace design are considered physical environment. Cooperation,  mutual respect, culture of the organization, communication, leadership, shared goals and shared  values are important factors in an excellent organizational environment. Actions The standard human factors approach to identify skills, knowledge and  attitudes to  perform each task in a given job is called Job Task Analysis (JTA). It helps to identify what  instructions, tools and other resources needed to perform each task. By following exactly to the  JTA, each worker will be properly trained and each workplace will also has the necessary  equipment and other resources to perform the job. Resources Resources are viewed from a broad angle, such as anything that is needed to get the job  accomplished. Resources that are tangible are test equipment, tools, lifts, computers and  technical manuals, and so forth. Amount of time given, level of communication among people of  different levels, the number and qualifications of staff to complete a job are considered resources  that are less tangible. The most important element under resources is to identify the need for  additional resources. Accidents linked to maintenance Japan Airlines Flight 123 In August 1985, Japan Airlines flight 123 claimed the lives of 520 people when it crashed into a mountain. It was bound for a short flight from Tokyo to Osaka but at the altitude of 24,000ft, the aircraft suddenly lost control due to the failure of the rear pressure bulkhead and caused the whole cabin to suffer a sudden decompression. The impact of the escaping air caused the separation of the vertical stabilizer, rudder, hydraulic lines and four pressurized hydraulic systems. Investigations revealed that the aircraft had encountered a tail strike incident a few years ago. The repair work done on the aft bulkhead did not comply with the OEM recommended procedure as two doubler plates instead of a single plate were used to do the splice. (Refer to Figure 3 for an illustration of the repair) Eastern Airlines Flight 855 On May 5, 1983, Eastern Airlines flight 855 was on a flight from Miami, U.S. to Nassau, Bahamas. The plane carried a total of 172 people. While making a descend, the low oil pressure warning indicator on the center engine lighted up. The flight crew shut-off the center engine and decided to return back to Miami with the remaining two engines. On the way back to Miami, the aircraft’s low oil pressure warning indicators for the remaining two engines lighted up followed by flamed out within minutes. Luckily the flight crew managed to re-start the center engine again after the aircraft descended from 13,000ft to 4,000ft without any power. After the aircraft landed safely at Miami airport with one engine, no live loss or injuries were claimed. The investigation board concluded the cause of the incident was due to all three magnetic chip detectors on the engines had been installed without O-rings (Refer to Figure 4 for an illustration of the Chip) causing oil to leak from the engines during flight. This accident could be avoided if the engineers involved were discipline and carried out the maintenance tasks professionally. British Airway Flight 5390 On 10 June 1990, British Airlines flight 5390 was on a flight from Birmingham, England to Malaga, Spain. Suddenly at about 17,300ft, the left windscreen on the captain’s side of the cockpit blew out from the cockpit. The captain was sucked out of his seat with half of his body hanging out of the plane and the other half resting on the flight controls. No lives were lost on this flight, but the captain suffered frostbite, bruising, and  fractures to his right arm, left thumb and right wrist while flight attendant who aided the captain suffered a dislocated shoulder, frostbitten face and some frostbite damage to his left eye. Investigators found that the maintenance manager who worked on the windscreen had used incorrect bolts during a windscreen repair. Other issues highlighted were failed to check tolerance specification of the bolts, staffing shortage during night shift, parts storage and involvement of supervisors in hands-on maintenance work. Safety Management Systems A safety management system (SMS) is a systematic way to managing safety, policies, procedures, accountabilities, and including the necessary organisational structures. The objective of a Safety Management System is to provide a structured management approach to control safety risks in operations. Therefore in order to have an effective safety management, the organisation’s specific structures and processes related to safety of operations must be taken into account. safety management requires planning, organising, communicating and providing direction. The first step of the SMS progession begins with setting the organisational safety policy. It lay outs the strategy for achieving acceptable levels of safety within the organisation and defines the principles upon which the SMS is built and operated. In order to mitigate and limit risk during operations in the designed processes, safety planning and execution of safety management procedures are needed. Only with these controls in place, quality management techniques then can be utilised to ensure the intended objectives are met by deployment of safety assurance and if fail, evaluation processes are needed to provide continuous montioring of operations and for identifying areas of safety improvement. Furthermore, SMS also provides the organisational framework to set up and encourage the development of a positive safety culture. Finally, the implentation of SMS provides the organisation’s management a structured set of tools to meet their respomsibilites for safety defined by the regulator. Conclusion Aviation industries have realized that it is not possible to entirely eliminate maintenance errors but to take an approach to identify, correct and minimize the consequences of those errors. And with the implementation of SMS, hazards could be identify and risks could be control. In conclusion, all these human factor studies help aviation industries to make continuous improvement and implementation of solutions to reduce maintenance errors. References Strategic program plan. (2007, August 01). Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/StrategicProgramPlan.pdf Takahiro Suzuki, Terry L. Von Thaden, William D. Geibel. (2008). Influence of time pressure on aircraft maintenance errors. Informally published manuscript, University of Illinois, Retrieved from http://www.aviation.illinois.edu/avimain/papers/research/pub_pdfs/miscconf/AAvPA_suzuki_final.pdf Micheal E. Maddox. (2007). Human factors. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter1.pdf LindaWerfelman. (2008, April). Working to the limit. AeroSafety World, 3(4), 14-18. Retrieved from http://flightsafety.org/aerosafety-world-magazine/past-issues/aerosafety-world-april-2008 Colin G. Drury. (2007). Establishing a human factors/ergonomics program. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter2.pdf Hobbs, A. Australian Transport Safety Bureau, (2008). An overview of human factors in aviation maintenance (AR-2008-055). Retrieved from Australian Transport Safety Bureau website: http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/27818/ar2008055.pdf SKYbrary. (2013, September 14). Safety Management System. Retrieved from http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Safety_Management_System James T. Burnette. (2007). Workplace safety. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: Daytona Beach, FL 32114. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter3.pdf Micheal E. Maddox. (2007). Shiftwork and scheduling. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from Micheal E. Maddox. (2007). Facility design. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter5.pdf James Reason. (2007). Human error. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter14.pdf FAA. (2012). Human Factors. Retrieved from http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/media/AMT_Handbook_Addendum_Human_Factors.pdf Terrell N. Chandler. (2007). Training. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http:/ /libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter7.pdf Figure 1. Human error vs Contributing factors. (Takahiro S, Terry L, William D, 2008) Figure 2. Human error contribution percentile. (â€Å"Strategic program plan,† 2007) Table 1. Frequency of Human error vs Type of maintenance activity. (Goldman, 2002) Figure 3. Comparison of the correct and incorrect method of the doubler plate repair. (Hobbs, 2008) Figure 4. Location of O rings on magnetic chip detector. (Hobbs, 2008) Figure 5. The PEAR Model (FAA, 2012)

Analysis of Poetry Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Poetry Essay This Unit Activity will help you meet these educational goals: 21st Century Skills—You will use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and communicate effectively. Introduction In this activity, you will read and analyze three poems by different poets and examine the similarities and differences among them. __________________________________________________________________________ Directions and Analysis Task 1: Read and Analyze Poetry Read these poems, which revolve around the ideas of darkness and the night: â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† by Dylan Thomas â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† by Robert Frost â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† by Emily Dickinson Read the poems a few times, noting each one’s theme, mood, form, structure, rhyme scheme, and use of imagery and figurative language. Use the provided table to record your analysis. â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† theme Mortality Isolation To â€Å"find the light† imagery Sunrise and sunset Loneliness figurative language Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay Personification and rhyming Darkness and light mood Somber desperation Discomfort Sadness form Villanelle Iambic pentameter Lyric poem meter, structure, and rhyme scheme five three-line stanzas and a sixth stanza with four lines Terza rima, ABABCBCDCDADAA, Italian form Rhythm is similar throughout, but changes from eight and six syllable lines to seven and six syllables to seven and six syllables. Write a 250-500-word essay describing the similarities and differences you found in the poems. Address the following points in your essay: Examine how the subject of darkness is used in each of the three poems. How has each poet woven the central idea of the poem around the subject? Compare and contrast the figurative devices used in each poem. How do they affect the mood and relate to the theme of the poem? Point out the differences in style and tone, including the choice of words. Which poem do you think has the greatest overall impact on readers? Which one communicates its message most directly and effectively? Which poem appeals most to you? Give reasons to explain your answers. As with any essay, this essay should be structured into paragraphs, with a clear introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Arrange your ideas logically and group them into paragraphs, using suitable words to mark transitions between ideas. Remember to provide textual evidence from the poems for your opinions. The similar ideas of dark and night appear in works by Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, and Robert Frost, but the meaning of the two concepts in context of the literary works differ greatly. In Emily Dickinson’s â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark†, Dylan Thomas’ â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night†, and Robert Frost’s â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† the theme of night and darkness is compared and contrasted through the literary elements of point of view, imagery, and structure. The concept of darkness and night is portrayed through the use of point of view. In each of these poems, the poet writes in the first tense, giving the reader a sense that the narrator has personally experienced the presence of the symbolic â€Å"darkness† and â€Å"night†. However, while â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† is written in a plural point of view, â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† is written in a singular view, and â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night† is from the speaker point of view. This gives a differing meaning to dark and night between these poems, because although Dickinson’s plural poem encompasses humanity as a whole, showing the dark to be a natural point in life, Frost’s poem depicts the night his character is experiencing as a lonely, solitary happening, and Thomas’ poem shows loneliness and wanting for companionship. The differences in these poems help to show night as a more unnatural and depressing experience than the dark that happens to everyone. __________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation Your teacher will use these rubrics to evaluate the completeness of your work as well as the clarity of thinking you exhibit. Provides a complete and accurate analysis of each poem Exhaustively lists instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides a concise but compelling description of the mood and theme of each poem Provides a complete and largely correct analysis of each poem Lists most instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides an effective description of the mood and theme of each poem Provides a complete analysis of the poems with some inaccuracies Lists some instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides a passable description of the mood and theme of each poem Provides an incomplete analysis of the poems with some inaccuracies Lists only a few instances of figurative language and use of imagery Attempts to describe the mood and theme of the poems Thoroughly addresses all the points mentioned Effectively compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Thoroughly evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Insightfully compares the style and impact of the poems Provides strong textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay exceptionally well, has a compelling introduction and conclusion, and uses transitions to enhance the organization of ideas Consistently uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation throughout Adequately addresses most of the points mentioned Effectively compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Adequately evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Effectively compares the style and impact of the poems Provides adequate textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay well, has a meaningful introduction and conclusion, and uses transitions effectively Largely uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation Adequately addresses some of the points mentioned Compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems to some extent Compares the style and impact of the poems Provides some textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay into paragraphs, has an introduction and a conclusion, and uses transition words Makes a few mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation Marginally addresses some of the points mentioned and omits others Attempts to compare how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Inadequately describes the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Attempts to compare the style and impact of the poems Does not provide textual evidence to support opinions Does not structure the essay well and does not use transitions effectively Makes several mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation Analysis of Poetry. (2016, Apr 10). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Comparing Organization of Politics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Comparing Organization of Politics - Term Paper Example Pluralism can be defined as a kind of political theory which states that power statutorily resides with the central government, but non-governmental and independent organizations like lobbyists also exert significant influence on the final decision-making outcomes. Political pluralism is largely practiced in the United States where special-interest organizations hold some influence mainly on the members of Senate and House of Representatives whom they had financially helped during their campaign periods. In the same vein, hyper pluralism is a more dangerous situation whereby the special-interest 2 groups and lobbyists have become quite too powerful for the central government to handle or control. This can occur in a country where corruption is endemic and the executive arm of the government has been bought by the rich and mighty in the country. Hence, it has been discovered that both pluralism and hyper pluralism in political organization within a country also have a far-reaching eff ect on the citizen participation in the entire political processes of the country (Johnson 251). There are distinct differences in the regimes where pluralism and hyper pluralism political systems are in operation. However, the main similarity of these two forms of political organization is that citizens would be robbed of their rights to actually influence the governance of their country because the kind of politicians sent to the Congress (for example in America) are not the group of people that believe in their simple interests of the commoners, but they are there to satisfy the desires of their influential sponsors. Talking about a pluralistic regime, the central government’s control on the governance is still substantial. Take for instance, the current President of the United States, Barack Obama made the special-interest organizations and lobbyists the target of his presidential campaign, having realized that their interests in commerce and governmental affairs supersed e that of the public; and even though they are small in number, their interests appear to weigh in as burdens over that of ordinary Americans. These independent or non-government groups often use their money to campaign for Congress members of 3 their choice. They would do everything in their power to make sure that their candidates win the elections. And once these Congress members resume their legislative duties, the special-interest, non-governmental organizations rise up to demand for laws that would safeguard their business, ideology or political interests. Some of these lobbyists are multinational companies, non-government organizations, trade and commerce groups or associations. Since the special-interest organizations are responsible for dictating the kind of laws to be passed in the Congress, they inadvertently reduce the participation of the ordinary people in the governance process. This means that other citizens in the affected country are under their machinations, since the members of Congress or the legislative arm are only answerable to their demands, and not that of the ordinary people in the country (Johnson 163). As indicated above, the executive arm of the regime can still function properly, if the president is a person who thinks about the masses in the country—this means that the president is not aloof from people’s needs and relate with them on a personal level through his or her organized method of communication. Nowadays, presidents can chat with their citizens online or even receive comments on their online profiles.

Cultural differencies and people management Essay

Cultural differencies and people management - Essay Example Understanding the culture of host country and consideration of cultural differences is important for companies in the international arena. The importance of cultural importance has been widely studies and research on it indicates that possessing a sound knowledge of the culture of markets in which businesses operate is of paramount significance. The Importance of cultural differences At the international level, have a good understanding of the cultural differences between the global market and the national level is critical in building long-term relationships and achieving business success. For example, in majority of Asian cultures, operating business is not limited to the confines of working hours, but rather can be extended to blend into social situations such as meals where opportunities are exploited to build bonds, making understanding and appreciation of the local culture an essential factor (Morrison, 2006). Cultural differences also play a significant role in determining the type of entry mode to be adopted by a company that is thinking of venturing into international markets. An example given by Morrison (2006) that can be cited as an area where the importance is clearly defined is in joint ventures where cooperation and trust is key to maintaining long-term business success. It is important for firms that going into joint ventures in the international market to critically analyze the culture of host country and come up with ways of blending the culture of different locations into a distinctive corporate culture in order to augment the sense of corporate identity. However, international managers need to appreciate that this comes with considerable challenges especially when strong national cultures clash in the case of global mergers (Morrison, 2006). In order for strategic alliances between firms in a different cultural setting to remain successful, it is important to maintain consistent corporation that ensures risks associated with opportunistic be haviours are minimized. Therefore, there is need to develop a higher level of trust between joint ventures, and cultural difference can be effectively used a measure of the different levels of trust between among countries. For example, it has been argued that masculinity can negatively impact joint venture projects, and individualism seems to have negative effects on the voluntary joint management of a firm, depending on the national cultural setting that a company operates under (Lee et al., 2011). In addition, the cultural difference of countries can be an important factor in determining the type of wholly owned subsidiary investment to be considered by international organizations. For example, a greater level of difference in culture necessitates that firms have stronger business controls, and firms operating in such markets are more likely to prefer wholly owned subsidiary as a way of entering into international markets. Therefore, the cultural difference increases the benefits of a company by acquiring n existing firm in the new foreign market since the organization entering the market has the opportunity of learning the different norms and routines unique to the host country from the acquired subsidiary. This plays a significant role in maintaining the success of the company as it ensures that firms make sound

Market plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Market plan - Essay Example There are ample opportunities for marketers to lure tourist by designing systematic service mix. Visiting tourists spent an annual average of $25 billion on purchasing various merchandises during their stay in the country. The country has seen slow growth rate for last three years due to fluctuation of Australian dollar value. China and Indian tourism market has emerged as major threat for the Australian tourism industry. The country is trying to use its natural resources to attract nature loving tourists. Australia has unique combination of desert and sea with lush green seaside back ground. Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide are the major cities in the country. Other cities in the country also plays crucial role to generate revenue for the travel industry (Australian National Audit Office). Sustainable tourism has emerged as latest trend in the tourism industry of Australia. The country is gifted with natural resources. Tourism industry of the country is dependent on its biodiversity, cultural landscape and breathtakingly beautiful natural resources. Great Barrier Reef of the country is one of the major attractions for the tourists. Great Barrier Reef is the largest nature made reef structure in the world and it is two thousand and three hundred km long covering northeast coast of the country (Global Ministerial Environment Forum). 2.0 Sydney Sydney has been selected as location to open new hotel. Sydney is the home ground of architectural beauty of the country. The city is the unofficial capital of the country. Sydney Opera House and Sidney Harbour Bridge are major attraction for tourists. Travellers prefer the city for its cultural heritage and traditional metropolitan structure. Sydney Airport is one of the busiest one in the country. More than three million tourists visit the city annually. The city was focal point of attraction during summer Olympics in 2000. Tourists visit has increased by sixteen percent in last ten years. The government has predicted that there will be another four percent increase in the industry in next two years. The country has already submitted bid to host 2022 football world cup and government has planned to promote Sydney as game location. Government is emphasizing on infrastructural development of the city to promote it as international location capable of hosting big sports event. Darling Harbour and Olympic park are example of infrastructural development made by government. 3.0 Market background Sydney is the largest city in the country with a population of five million. It is forecasted that the population will grow more than six million by next decade. The city is the premium business and travel destination for visitors across the world. Sydney is the international gateway and business hub for the country. The city has distinctive cosmopolitan flavour with ethnical diversity. Almost thirty percent of residents in the city are come from outside the country. The city enjoys the stature of being one of the most important business hubs in the Asia pacific region. More than sixty five percent international multinational companies has

Coursework assignment for Quantitative Analysis for Managers moudel

Assignment for Quantitative Analysis for Managers moudel - Coursework Example The manufacturing cost of Kopi Lua reduces from  £ 6.00 per kg to  £ 4.83 per kg which is 19.5% lower and since the price mark-up is 30%, the actual margin is much higher. For the Costa Rica blend, however, the cost goes up from  £ 5.00 per kg to  £ 7.15 per kg causing a loss of  £ 0.65 per kg since the selling price is 5 x 1.3 =  £ 6.50 per kg. The present method of overhead allocation based on direct labour hours results in an equal allocation of  £ 1.50 per kg to each of the two blends of coffee when it is clear that the efforts in purchasing, materials handling and quality control have to be higher for processing the Costa Rica coffee in small batches of 500 kg each compared to processing Kopi Lua in batches of 10,000 kg each. Such cost anomalies could be present in each of the 40 blends that the company makes. Another significant reason to change the overhead allocation method is that the product cost would change each time the product mix made in the plant changes. This has the impact of causing variations in profitability. Activity based overhead allocation has another important advantage over the labour hour based allocation. Each element of the overhead cost can be scrutinized to see if any reduction is possible. For example, purchasing costs could reduce if the Costa Rica coffee was bought in, say, 2 batches a year in place of 4. It is not clear why the number of setups should be three per batch when the batch sizes are so different. Reducing the number of setups for Costa Rica would reduce the allocated materials handling costs. The concept of Activity Based Costing (ABC) was first defined by Robert Kaplan and William Burns in the late 1980s. Initially ABC focused on the manufacturing industry where technological developments and productivity improvements had reduced the proportion of direct labour and direct materials costs but increased the proportion of indirect or

David by Donatello, Michelangelo, Bemini Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

David by Donatello, Michelangelo, Bemini - Essay Example As the increasing pursuit for artistic excellence vividly reflects in the exquisite creations of Donatello and Michelangelo, their contemporaries were equivalently inspired to develop art forms according to the Greek and Roman concepts and this trend of innovative craftsmanship has carried on to influence even the works of Baroque sculptors like Bernini and those of the current modern artists alike. Religious themes had been immensely prevalent in the Renaissance art and David, a prominent biblical figure, became one of the famous subjects which distinguished the style and professional insights of one artist from the other as depicted in the masterpieces of Donatello, Michelangelo, and Bernini. Based on the momentous event marked by God’s will, the subject pertains to an Israelite shepherd boy who accepts the challenge and obtains triumph over the once was invincible Goliath of the Philistines. In each artist, there emerged a response of imagining how the image of David and th e projection of his heroic character may be brought to a three-dimensional interpretation that highly captures a substantial depth of detailing his major act of faith. The marble statue of David which served Donatello his first commission of the subject is apparently one that radiates naturalism in part as David’s curious look in the face seems to scrutinize the enemy at the onset of the fight. After defeat of the enemy, however, such facial expression liberates a new meaning quite transcendental, which is of Gothic effect that dissolves the initial attitude into a degree of general unaware countenance. A view of David that occurs detached from struggling emotion of having fought the gigantic adversary entails perpetual sense of conquest. Certain scholars have assumed this to be a subtle if not a humble fashion of exposing the pride and any premeditated confidence of vanquishing the enemy. When Donatello proceeded to come up with the bronze case of David in ca. 1440s, the scu lpture took on a significantly different approach from the marble pattern. Being the first freestanding nude male sculpture portraying an uncircumcised David bearing Goliath’s sword, the bronze statue wears an enigmatic smile besides the controversial effeminate positure. Commissioned by the Medici family for their palace in Florence, Donatello chose to sculpt David with a slight bend in his waist and one of his hands placed on his hip. The contrapposto pose was thought to be feminine; especially for a young man that just decapitated a giant like Goliath. David also had a look on his face that symbolized his youthful joy of his great accomplishment (Sayre 556). Both the laurelled top hat and boots add to the frail or fetish look that partly deprives it of the expected manly appearance which is rather plain to see in the crafts of Bernini and Michelangelo. Though it does not depart from the Greek idea of nakedness under contrapposto, the biblical essence is only slightly manif est in the bronze structure whereby the characteristic theme of the subject is less inclined to be prophetic than political. With the redundant appearance of a stone in David's sling and Goliath's forehead, Olszewski proposes that Donatello's use of the same stone twice indicates that David holds the loaded sling in the present tense while envisioning the stone's future placement in Goliath's head below. He further notes that this is in accordance to the scriptural account in which David responds to the Philistine giant in the future tense as he foretells what he is about to do to him (Olszewski, 1997). It was not until the 15th century, according to a review by L. Morelli, that idealized human figures

The Battle of Algiers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Battle of Algiers - Essay Example Just as in the film, the violence, which we have seen arise periodically between Muslim immigrants and French-born people since the 1970s – perhaps even earlier – begins with bias, racism, disenfranchisement of one people while favoring the well being, rights and dignity of another people. In the film, as in France, this is French nationalism and Muslims. The Battle of Algiers opens with the arrest and incarceration of a Muslim – a petty thief, taking advantage of people with an age old card game. The man, Ali, who is illiterate, experiences an epiphany of sorts during his incarceration. He is witness to the execution of a man who as been arrested, marched through the prison calling out â€Å"Ala Akbar,† (God is great), and is being led to his execution by French police. At this point in the film we do not know why the man has been arrested, it doesn’t matter, because the man’s execution is by guillotine, a gruesome and archaic death sentence that is unthinkable when you reconnect to the fact that the film is during the 1950s! It is unimaginable that during that time people were put to death in that way. This serves as Ali’s epiphany, and following the execution, Ali spends time with a religious man, who explains to Ali his connection to God and to his country. That one day, the Algerians will retake their country from the French. While French Muslims are not attempting to take France from the French, we see the French reacting to French Muslims in an equally biased and hateful way as they during the colonial period in Algeria. (Keep in mind, the uprising in the film was during the 1950s to 1960s). The violence that exploded in France, outside of Paris, in late 2005-2006, is almost the way the film opens; a response to disenfranchisement. Other images in the film are strikingly familiar to events in today’s world. The execution of the Algerian prisoner by guillotine, an archaic and horrific manner in which to execute a death

Evaluating Eighteenth Century Poetry Essay Example for Free

Evaluating Eighteenth Century Poetry Essay Evaluating eighteenth century poetry is not an easy task. After all, the use of language, the cultural references, and the metaphors used then might be a little too different from what are being used now. As such, it would be necessary to take into account the usage of the language—the construction, the idioms being used then, as well as the different expressions being used then. The following points outline several points in reading, enjoying, and evaluating poetry in the eighteenth century. I. Introduction: The authors who wrote poetry in the eighteenth century should be reviewed briefly so that a student may gain some familiarity to 18th century poetry. II. Historical Context and State of the Art. A brief description of the social situation in the period will also be in order as these would lend color and appearance to the poetic inspirations and situations depicted in the poetry then. III. Literary Devices. In evaluating poetry, the reader should be on the lookout for several literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and personification among others. These would also point to the topics and themes explored then. These literary devices can then be analyzed internally as to their effectiveness in conveying the poem’s message during the period. IV. Â  Language. The language of the eighteenth century is far different from today. As such, it would be necessary to look into the language used, the manner of sentence construction as well as the overall usage and popularity of the language then. Finally, there could also be a way to trace the legacy of these poetry to poetry today.

Management Information Systems (MIS) in Schools

Management Information Systems (MIS) in Schools INTRODUCTION These days, which we describe information era as various technologic developments have been practiced; the leading risk that an organization could obtain is to hang about tactless to change. A lot of important factors such as constant developments in information technologies, information exchange, and increasing and increasing the expectation of the society to a great extent, recent administration perceptions and applications cause organizations none over the world to develop new applications during order to remain. Because of their priority in modern societies, Information Technologies have reached an state of high main concern in learning, too. Recently, contributions of information technology to education have been among the mostly emphasized subjects. Every country aims to make available their citizens with the most existing education in the line of their monetary competence. In support of this reason, immense investment plans about the use of information systems encompass been put into action all around the world. Inside our country, too, in order to prop up Primary Education Program, 600 million $ of loan in total was taken out within World Bank on June 25, 1998 and July 26, 2004. In the first section of the line up, on least two primary schools in each of the 921 countries of Turkey were prepared in conditions of in order technologies and then activated. In commission training courses in relation to the use of computer in main education which was given to 2.250 coordinators of information technology section and 35.000 teachers were financed. In the following section of the plan ending on February 28, 2006, it is projected that information technology software are circulated to the 3.000 primary education schools just about Turkey and education doorway is established. As a result of training 600 computer teachers, in-service teaching is designed for all the primary school inspectors functioning on the pasture, and for at least 106.381 educators shaped of managers and teachers of main schools which have or will have information technology classes, on use of information technologies in learning and use of educational software, which will be ready in line with recent instruction programs School Management Information Systems Being at the commencement stage of the School Management Information Systems, mechanization of the school management is the necessary subject of todays school management. Principals have ongoing to make use of information systems in the gradually-increasing each day management staffs. Frequently speaking, the reasons to use information systems can be declared as increasing helpfulness at work by handing out information, rising managerial effectiveness by meeting the need for information and obtain supremacy in competitions by directing strategies. School management in sequence systems aim to offer maintain for the managing and educational behavior of the school managers by hand out information. Telem (1999) define the management information in his words as â€Å"an executive information system planned to match the structure, management task, instructional process and particular needs of the school†. According to board definition which defines, hand-outs of the information systems to schools can be defined as making programs more successful, making the teaching process and the changes in learning environment professional, enable teachers to swap their experiences in a more well thought-out way, working in teams, shaping the needs of the students, supporting the school managers and other staff in doing their duty, developing their performances, inefficiency and efficiencies. In other words, school management information systems increase effectiveness and efficiency by saving time and facilitate development of alternative solutions for advanced problems Information systems sustain not only information process but also make the support in innovations. Since being amendable to different changes, these systems are helpful to manage with the load for change. Therefore, school management in sequence systems improve the version of the school to the environment. They enable the school to realize and define internal and external information transfer. In this attitude, school management independently meets the demands and hopes of its inner and outside members; and ensures that school activities are arranged perfectly and on time. Beginning of school management information systems to schools have force major changes in the role as well as work styles of managers. School management information systems have changed school management in the areas of management, choice making, workload, human resource management, communication, responsibility and planning. With intent school management information systems hold up the manager in shaping the aims of the school, making long term plans for possible, distributing resources, and producing educational methods of future, seminal performances of teachers and success of the school. In this trend, school management information systems can also be used as a device to begin and use educational direction of the manager. School managers can make more better and reliable decisions when they get rectify and up-to-date information by school executive information systems (Christopher, 2003). Option making is careful as the heart of educational management and shows the significance. Every day, challenging circumstances that need decision making are based on the complex and unpredicted nature of school surroundings. For this reason, as a problem solver, the educational manager has to collect and examine information constantly. In addition to this, managers have been necessary to make more and quick decisions in short times because of the rising prospect from the educational system (Christopher, 2003). In addition, decision making become faster, more regular and more complicated in schools of in the present day. In order to make decisions under such situation, taking and collecting data that is incessant, up-to-date and that can be accessed promptly and analyzing and using this data is a commitment. Success of school development studies are frequently depends on data based decision making, though school managers are not able to use the data professionally in this side. School management information systems give information and a diversity of reports from the database in order to make decisions in line with the aim of the school and make easy controlling of the tricks to achieve the aim. Information technology helps the manager to access, manage and report the information fastly and with no trouble. While telecommunication nets offer the manager with broad resources of information that can be used in problem solving, written communication has been developed richer by means of word processors and e-mails. increased school principles, supported decisions on the stage of control and planning, improved the power of teaching programs, facilitated student-teacher communication, enlarged the skill between teachers, facilitated methodical and continuous information transfer to parents, and increased communication with more institutions and the central organization. In his study where Gurr (2000) examined possessions of information system on school manager of local school, he strong-minded that information system have generally changed the role of school manager. Managers confirmed that a manager who does not use the information systems is not able to attain his duties suitably anymore. Lastly, Anderson and Dexter (2005) in their studies inattentive that technology leadership of school managers is of more important than the backdrop in the efficient use of technology at schools. On the other pass in literature there are researches that show that school managers had troubles in using school management information systems. For example Viscera and Bloemen (1999) in their study with 195 managers and teachers work in 63 high schools in Holland found out those school management information systems were regularly used in everyday work and managers and teachers did not have enough education on the system. Managers and teachers pointed that while school management information systems had encouraging effects on estimation of efficiency of the school, progress of using sources, superiority of educational programming and in-school communication, it increased their heavy workload and caused stress. The research indicated that this stress is reduced in schools where education is sufficiently given on the system and where innovation is clearly declared as a vision. And moreover it was found that the staff that used the system had top motivation, was devoted to take more education, and adopted the vision of the school more. According to this research where Warren (1998) examined the belongings of information systems on educational decision making, he establish out that school managers have not taken enough education on efficient use of the information technologies. Crouse (1994) found that education improved the prospect to use the information systems. Also Jacops (1992) claimed that there was a relationship between the amount of education the managers took, and the use of information technologies. As a result, it can be stated that school managers had to take over the responsibility of leadership in an unknown area without adequate education. It is cleared as we can see communication and information technologies have progressively more had a role on the behavior of schools. During this era, a lot of things have been spooked and written about the significance of computers. Though there are large number researches on the role and need of information technologies in education, numerous of these are about the educational functions of information systems and just a hardly any of them are about school management. We can say that in other words, although there are countless researches on the position of information systems on class and teaching, only some studies have been done on the use of them in educational management and their effects on the managers. The objective of this learning is to look at the use of information systems in school management and to figured out ideas of managers about managerial information systems. In this aspect, following questions were searched: How are the information technology facilities in primary schools in Edirne? What are the studies done by using managerial information systems in primary schools in Edirne? What are the contributions of managerial information systems and the problems in primary schools in Edirne? METHOD Research Model: The mock-up of this research, which targets to look at the use of information systems in school management and to figure out ideas of managers regarding managerial information systems, is review model. Population: Population of this research is created of school managers working in 170 primary schools in Edirne. However managers from 98 schools responded to questionnaires. Among the school managers built-in in the research, 26 of them have worked for 1-5 years (26.5%), 25 of them for 6-10 (25.5%), 18 of them for 11-15 (18.4%), 9 of them for 16-20 (9.2%), and 14 of them have worked for 21 and more years (14.3%). 25 of the participants (25.5%) are undergraduate, 69 (25.5%) of them are graduate and just one of them (25.5%) is a post-graduate. in the middle of the school managers included in the research, six of them didnt react to question about occupational experience and three of them didnt respond to question in relation to education level. Data Collection and Analysis: A survey was urbanized as an tool of data collection. In the first part of the survey, there were some items relating to the personal information of the school managers like as vocational experience and study level. Following part tells us about, the stuff were regarding information technology facilities related to the information systems of the school and opinions of the school managers about technological facilities. The items about the number of the computers in the school and number of the computers joined to the Internet were open-ended and later, they were classifying after examining their distributions. Participants were predictable to select among the options offered for the items about the places of the computers and the ones joined to the Internet and also the softwares used. Finally, there were open-ended items related to the places to check with in case of a problem about the program and the ones related to dependability. third part of the survey shows the, there were items correlated to the studies finished with the school managing information systems and items about by whom these studies were done. This stuff was separated into two parts as the preparation of various documents, lists and statistics, and data entry. The fourth part consisted of the contributions of managing information systems to school management and problems occurred. These items were in the form of five point liker scale. Options were declared as; â€Å"Strongly disagree†, â€Å"Disagree†, â€Å"Undecided†, â€Å"Agree† and â€Å"Strongly Agree†. The answers were ordered from â€Å"Strongly Disagree† to â€Å"Strongly Agree† by ranking them from 1 to 5. The fifth part contains experiences of school managers in information systems and effects of managing information systems to the manager. In this part, school managers were asked questions about their experiences in information systems and the effects of managing information systems to their managerial efficiencies and work-related development. Options were ordered as; â€Å"Strongly disagree†, â€Å"Disagree†, â€Å"Undecided†, â€Å"Agree† and â€Å"Strongly Agree†. The answers were ordered from â€Å"Strongly Disagree† to â€Å"Strongly Agree† by giving them grading them 1 to 5. And n this part, to determine the validity of feedback form was used the technique of content-related validity according to the opinions of the experts, At the end of the study, the data were analyzed by evaluate their arithmetic average, standard deviation and frequencies and percentages. FINDINGS: The answer of the study were existing under the titles of information technology services of schools, studies done with the managing information systems in schools, contributions of managing information systems to school management, and the problems faced, information system experiences of school managers and effects of information systems to them. Information System practice of School Managers and Their outcome to the Managers Under this title information system experiences of the school managers and effects of management information systems to the managers were presented. Here are the findings about school managers experiences and frequencies of computer and the Internet use and the education they received about these subjects, which were the indicators of school managers information system experiences: the level of computer use of the %32.7 of the school managers was basic level, %54.1 of them was average and %12.4 of them was advanced. Managers stated that their frequencies of computer use (=3.58) and internet use (=3.22) were at a medium level. %81.6 of the school managers received education about working with computers. On the other hand, %77.6 of them answered the question â€Å"Would you like to receive education about computers?† as â€Å"yes†. Findings about the effects of management information systems to the managerial effectiveness of the school managers were presented in Table 10 and findings about their effects to the managers vocational development were presented in Table 11. DISCUSSION According to the outcome of this study which was regarding the usage of School Management Information Systems in primary schools and which mean to decide the viewpoints of the school managers associated to management information systems, it was experienced that the number of computers was not sufficient and there was only one computer joined to Internet in nearly all of the schools. Besides, in a small number of of these schools, there was a web page of the school. Study which was conducted by the Pelgrum (2001) in 26 countries and by Mentz and Mentz(2003) in the schools of South Africa, it was seen that one of the most common hurdles of the applications of management information systems was the insufficiency of the numbers of the computers. Due to this reason, it can be said that there was an important infrastructure problem of the recognition of school managements information systems in todays schools. As Greg rash stated (2004) the uniformity with technological improvements increased with the practice of technology. For that reason, it is compulsory to provide educators chiefly school managers with sufficient technological chances to make them accept and go with the improvements. The problems encountered demonstrate the necessity that the applications of information system should be done in the scope of a useful program. Besides, there is a vital difference among the schools in terms of having these technologies. This inequity makes us think that there is some inequality connected to the usage of these technologies opportunities not only for the manager and teachers but also for the students. This situation shows that there is a possibility of coming face to face with the problem which is discussed extensively and called â€Å"digital division† not only nationwide but also in the schools in the similar province. In addition, it was seen that there are still some school managers and assistant school managers who dont have a computer in their rooms at the schools in the scope of this study. In the middle of the school managers and assistant school managers who have a computer in their rooms, some of them use a computer without an Internet contact. Besides there are some schools whose teachers do not have the opportunity of making use of the information technologies. This is also is seen that The Ministry of Educations objective (MEB, 2002) which is supplying each staffroom with at least two computers; supplying guidance service, library, school managers with Internet access in order to talk with the central and provincial offices and also for the practice of management has not been achieved yet.

Explain the construction of the service package offered by the Lewis :: Business and Management Studies

Explain the construction of the service package offered by the Lewis Partnership at the Swan Hotel or the Moat House Hotel. 1. Define the concept of â€Å"service package† and explain the construction of the service package offered by the Lewis Partnership at the Swan Hotel or the Moat House Hotel. The Service Package is defined as: â€Å" a bundle of goods and services that is provided in some environment † 1 The Service Package is composed of the following four elements: Supporting facility, facilitating goods, explicit services and implicit services. It’s quite difficult for the service managers to identify their product. This is partly due to the intangible nature of services, but what really has a huge influence on the total service experience is the presence of the customer in the process. The service manager has to offer a total experience to the customer which is compatible with the desired service package. The four features of the service package are the base of the customer perception of the service. The Lewis Partnership, as a service company, take into account and manage all the parts of the service package. - Supporting facility: are the physical resources which a service needs to can be offered. For example a building for a restaurant, a swimming pool, etc.2 The main supporting facilities of the Moat House is the building with it’s rustic furniture. It is located in a accessible rural landscape not fare away from Stafford. With the collaboration of Lloyds TSB Corporate, Mark Lewis the General Manager of the Moat House has been able to realise big invests in the supporting facilities of the partnership. The eager of perfection and development leads to a constant evolution and improvement of the supporting facilities. - Facilitating goods: the material which the buyer purchases or or consumes, or the items provided by the customer. For example towels, skis, shampoo, etc. 3 For the Moat House the facilitating goods are part of his resources. Quality is the most important aspect of the culture of this family business, so we can find a long list of suppliers which provide excellent selection of products, like B&S Dairies, Cottage Flowers, Chartley Coffee, etc. - Explicit services: the benefits that are quickly noticed by the senses that are based on the intrinsic or essential features of the service. Examples are the relaxed feeling after a massage, the improved sound of a car after tuning, etc.4 Due to the policy of the partnership, we can find a intensive control of the Explicit Services which are the accommodation and feeding of their customers. The culture of this company is â€Å" Only the best is good enough† but his

Progressivism Essay -- History Essays Progressive Era

Progressivism The age of progressivism was a time where the middle and lower classes joined together to attack the upper crust elites. During the populist movement there was more of a separation of classes; the farmers blamed just about everyone, especially the more cosmopolitan population, for their economic loss at the end of the nineteenth century. Towards the beginning of the twentieth century however, the rich kept getting richer and the poor got poorer. When the Industrial Revolution was at its peak, the railroad owners and developers saw a large increase in their revenue. The gap between the middle class and the upper class very quickly became much larger. Small town community leaders, who were role models for their town, now had to answer to big business, starting the status revolution. The lower and middle classes were worried because democracy is now being threatened by the monopolies that controlled the economic swing of the United States. The classes fought back by t rying to win over some of the â€Å"outsiders† of the country, ie immigrants, Jews, different races. The goal was to win them over by cleaning up some of the slum areas where these populations lived. Religion played a role in which slums would be cleaned up. The Roman Catholics that emigrated from Ireland had the stereotype of being alcoholics; the Jews from Eastern Europe had the stereotype of being money grubbers. The majority of the American population, white, protestant, workers, had a hard time trusting the outsiders of the country. Many different historians compare and contrast the benefits of this time and the repercussions it had left. For some groups, it was a pivotal moment in history for them but for others, laws were mad... ... Different discriminated groups came together to forge a bond to get their voice heard in America; the middle and lower â€Å"wasp† classes teamed with the immigrants against big business and prevailed. These coalitions, helped shape the social scene for the beginning of the twentieth century. The progressive era left its mark in the United States history. Works Cited Paula Baker, â€Å"The Domestication of Politics: Women and American Political Society, 1780-1920,† The American Historical Review 89 (1984): 620-647. Peter Filene, â€Å"An Obituary For ‘The Progressive Movement’,† American Quarterly 22 (1970): 20-34. Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (New York: Vintage Books, 1955): 16-18. Richard McCormick, â€Å"The Discovery That Big Business Corrupts Politics: A Reappraisal of the Origins of Progressivism,† The American Historical Review 86 (1981): 247-274.

Antigone: Gender Conflict Essay -- essays research papers

In the play Antigone there are many references that link to the oppression of women. Creon made many convictions insulting womenkind. His convictions seemed true to a large population of men. I believe the majority of men, in the ancient Greek times believed in the undeniable domination of women. The start of the Greeks began around 2000 B.C. with the Mycenaeans. They inhabited the Greek peninsula. (Perry 40)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"If we transgress . . . we† (Beatty 61) Ismene claimed it was an outrageous thought to stand up to a man. Her view of the inferiority to men came from the many laws restricting the lives of women. Women lived most of their lives in their homes. They were allowed on the streets with the company of a man, or for the reason of a funeral or religious festival. Only the poverty stricken women were allowed to work outside the home. They were not allowed to own property. They lived their lives under the control of a male figure. (Kishlansky 75)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Women in marriage did not gain much pleasure. They married between the ages of twelve and eighteen. (Kagan 53) The marriage was arranged by their fathers. Marriages were conducted with these words, â€Å"I give this women for the procreation of legitimate children...I accept...And I give a certain amount as dowry...I am content.† Clearly the purpose of the women was to bear children. The role of the husband is vague and seems as though he doesn’t play much of a role in the household. Contact with other men was not allowed for the wives, yet for the husband it was common to pursue adulterous relationships. An Athenian male stated â€Å"Hetairai we have for our pleasure, mistresses for the refreshment of our bodies, but wives to bear us legitimate children and to look after the house faithfully.† (Spielvogel 75) â€Å"Kill your own son’s bride?...Oh, there are other fields for him to plough.† Was Creons answer to Ismene concerning his son’s marriage to Antigone. (Beatty 69)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prostitution prospered during these times. There were two classes of prostitution. There were the slaves run by citizens and the refined courtesans. (Spielvogel 100) Male prostitutes were   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  not citizens but foreigners. Female citizens were prostitutes, yet male prostitutes were not allowed. (Spielvogel 92)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ... ...te creatures. . . child.† (Kishlansky 76) In many other plays the main characters were women. This may suggest women played a more profound role in society than portrayed by law.(Kagan 53)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even some of the wisest men were blinded to the rights of women. When Socrates was sentenced to death he had sent the women away. After he swallowed poison many of the male watchers began crying. â€Å"Really my friends, what a way to behave! Why, that was my main reason for sending away the women, to prevent this sort of disturbance;† (Spielvogel 96) Creon agreed that women lacked control of their emotions â€Å"Despicable coward! No more will than a woman!† (Beatty 72)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The women of ancient Greek times suffered many hardships. They were only considered citizens for the sake of marriage and other duties to help men. They were considered evil and better off invisible. There were a few supporters of women. In many plays women were depicted as strong willed people. This leaves the likelihood that women were perceived as more than servers. It astonishes me to see some of these traditional views are still held, but luckily by a very small population. Antigone: Gender Conflict Essay -- essays research papers In the play Antigone there are many references that link to the oppression of women. Creon made many convictions insulting womenkind. His convictions seemed true to a large population of men. I believe the majority of men, in the ancient Greek times believed in the undeniable domination of women. The start of the Greeks began around 2000 B.C. with the Mycenaeans. They inhabited the Greek peninsula. (Perry 40)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"If we transgress . . . we† (Beatty 61) Ismene claimed it was an outrageous thought to stand up to a man. Her view of the inferiority to men came from the many laws restricting the lives of women. Women lived most of their lives in their homes. They were allowed on the streets with the company of a man, or for the reason of a funeral or religious festival. Only the poverty stricken women were allowed to work outside the home. They were not allowed to own property. They lived their lives under the control of a male figure. (Kishlansky 75)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Women in marriage did not gain much pleasure. They married between the ages of twelve and eighteen. (Kagan 53) The marriage was arranged by their fathers. Marriages were conducted with these words, â€Å"I give this women for the procreation of legitimate children...I accept...And I give a certain amount as dowry...I am content.† Clearly the purpose of the women was to bear children. The role of the husband is vague and seems as though he doesn’t play much of a role in the household. Contact with other men was not allowed for the wives, yet for the husband it was common to pursue adulterous relationships. An Athenian male stated â€Å"Hetairai we have for our pleasure, mistresses for the refreshment of our bodies, but wives to bear us legitimate children and to look after the house faithfully.† (Spielvogel 75) â€Å"Kill your own son’s bride?...Oh, there are other fields for him to plough.† Was Creons answer to Ismene concerning his son’s marriage to Antigone. (Beatty 69)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prostitution prospered during these times. There were two classes of prostitution. There were the slaves run by citizens and the refined courtesans. (Spielvogel 100) Male prostitutes were   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  not citizens but foreigners. Female citizens were prostitutes, yet male prostitutes were not allowed. (Spielvogel 92)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ... ...te creatures. . . child.† (Kishlansky 76) In many other plays the main characters were women. This may suggest women played a more profound role in society than portrayed by law.(Kagan 53)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even some of the wisest men were blinded to the rights of women. When Socrates was sentenced to death he had sent the women away. After he swallowed poison many of the male watchers began crying. â€Å"Really my friends, what a way to behave! Why, that was my main reason for sending away the women, to prevent this sort of disturbance;† (Spielvogel 96) Creon agreed that women lacked control of their emotions â€Å"Despicable coward! No more will than a woman!† (Beatty 72)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The women of ancient Greek times suffered many hardships. They were only considered citizens for the sake of marriage and other duties to help men. They were considered evil and better off invisible. There were a few supporters of women. In many plays women were depicted as strong willed people. This leaves the likelihood that women were perceived as more than servers. It astonishes me to see some of these traditional views are still held, but luckily by a very small population.

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 37. Contrivances

Aro did not rejoin his anxious guard waiting on the north side of the clearing; instead, he waved them forward. Edward started backing up immediately, pulling my arm and Emmett's. We hurried backward, keeping our eyes on the advancing threat. Jacob retreated slowest, the fur on his shoulders standing straight up as he bared his fangs at Aro. Renesmee grabbed the end of his tail as we retreated; she held it like a leash, forcing him to stay with us. We reached our family at the same time that the dark cloaks surrounded Aro again. Now there were only fifty yards between them and us – a distance any of us could leap in just a fraction of a second. Caius began arguing with Aro at once. â€Å"How can you abide this infamy? Why do we stand here impotently in the face of such an outrageous crime, covered by such a ridiculous deception?† He held his arms rigidly at his sides, his hands curled into claws. I wondered why he did not just touch Aro to share his opinion. Were we seeing a division in their ranks already? Could we be that lucky? â€Å"Because it's all true,† Aro told him calmly. â€Å"Every word of it. See how many witnesses stand ready to give evidence that they have seen this miraculous child grow and mature in just the short time they've known her. That they have felt the warmth of the blood that pulses in her veins.† Aro's gesture swept from Amun on one side across to Siobhan on the other. Caius reacted oddly to Aro's soothing words, starting ever so slightly at the mention of witnesses. The anger drained from his features, replaced by a cold calculation. He glanced at the Volturi witnesses with an expression that looked vaguely†¦ nervous. I glanced at the angry mob, too, and saw immediately that the description no longer applied. The frenzy for action had turned to confusion. Whispered conversations seethed through the crowd as they tried to make sense of what had happened. Caius was frowning, deep in thought. His speculative expression stoked the flames of my smoldering anger at the same time that it worried me. What if the guard acted again on some invisible signal, as they had in their march? Anxiously, I inspected my shield; it felt just as impenetrable as before. I flexed it now into a low, wide dome that arced over our company. I could feel the sharp plumes of light where my family and friends stood – each one an individual flavor that I thought I would be able to recognize with practice. I already knew Edward's – his was the very brightest of them all. The extra empty space around the shining spots bothered me; there was no physical barrier to the shield, and if any of the talented Volturi got under it, it would protect no one but me. I felt my forehead crease as I pulled the elastic armor very carefully closer. Carlisle was the farthest forward; I sucked the shield back inch by inch, trying to wrap it as exactly to his body as I could. My shield seemed to want to cooperate. It hugged his shape; when Carlisle shifted to the side to stand nearer to Tanya, the elastic stretched with him, drawn to his spark. Fascinated, I tugged in more threads of the fabric, pulling it around each glimmering shape that was a friend or ally. The shield clung to them willingly, moving as they moved. Only a second had passed; Caius was still deliberating. â€Å"The werewolves,† he murmured at last. With sudden panic, 1 realized that most of the werewolves were unprotected. I was about to reach out to them when I realize that, strangely, I could still feel their sparks. Curious, I drew the shield tighter in, until Amun and Kebi – the farthest edge of our group – were outside with the wolves. Once they were on the other side, their lights vanished. They no longer existed to that new sense. But the wolves were still bright flames – or rather, half of them were. Hmm†¦ I edged outward again, and as soon as Sam was under cover, all the wolves were brilliant sparks again. Their minds must have been more interconnected than I'd imagined. If the Alpha was inside my shield, the rest of their minds were every bit as protected as his. â€Å"Ah, brother†¦,† Aro answered Caius's statement with a pained look. â€Å"Will you defend that alliance, too, Aro?† Caius demanded. â€Å"The Children of the Moon have been our bitter enemies from the dawn of time. We have hunted them to near extinction in Europe and Asia. Yet Carlisle encourages a familiar relationship with this enormous infestation – no doubt in an attempt to overthrow us. The better to protect his warped lifestyle.† Edward cleared his throat loudly and Caius glared at him. Aro placed one thin, delicate hand over his own face as if he was embarrassed for the other ancient. â€Å"Caius, it's the middle of the day,† Edward pointed out. He gestured to Jacob. â€Å"These are not Children of the Moon, clearly. They bear no relation to your enemies on the other side of the world.† â€Å"You breed mutants here,† Caius spit back at him. Edward's jaw clenched and unclenched, then he answered evenly, â€Å"They aren't even werewolves. Aro can tell you all about it if you don't believe me.† Not werewolves? I shot a mystified look at Jacob. He lifted his huge shoulders and let them drop – a shrug. He didn't know what Edward was talking about, either. â€Å"Dear Caius, I would have warned you not to press this point if you had told me your thoughts,† Aro murmured. â€Å"Though the creatures think of themselves as werewolves, they are not. The more accurate name for them would be shape-shifters. The choice of a wolf form was purely chance. It could have been a bear or a hawk or a panther when the first change was made. These creatures truly have nothing to do with the Children of the Moon. They have merely inherited this skill from their fathers. It's genetic – they do not continue their species by infecting others the way true werewolves do.† Caius glared at Aro with irritation and something more – an accusation of betrayal, maybe. â€Å"They know our secret,† he said flatly. Edward looked about to answer this accusation, but Aro spoke faster. â€Å"They are creatures of our supernatural world, brother. Perhaps even more dependent upon secrecy than we are; they can hardly expose us. Carefully, Caius. Specious allegations get us nowhere.† Caius took a deep breath and nodded. They exchanged a long, significant glance. I thought I understood the instruction behind Aro's careful wording. False charges weren't helping convince the watching witnesses on either side; Aro was cautioning Caius to move on to the next strategy. I wondered if the reason behind the apparent strain between the two ancients – Caius's unwillingness to share his thoughts with a touch – was that Caius didn't care about the show as much as Aro did. If the coming slaughter was so much more essential to Caius than an untarnished reputation. â€Å"I want to talk to the informant,† Caius announced abruptly, and turned his glare on Irina. Irina wasn't paying attention to Caius and Aro's conversation; her face was twisted in agony, her eyes locked on her sisters, lined up to die. It was clear on her face that she knew now her accusation had been totally false. â€Å"Irina,† Caius barked, unhappy to have to address her. She looked up, startled and instantly afraid. Caius snapped his fingers. Hesitantly, she moved from the fringes of the Volturi formation to stand in front of Caius again. â€Å"So you appear to have been quite mistaken in your allegations,† Caius began. Tanya and Kate leaned forward anxiously. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Irina whispered. â€Å"I should have made sure of what I was seeing. But I had no idea___† She gestured helplessly in our direction. â€Å"Dear Caius, could you expect her to have guessed in an instant something so strange and impossible?† Aro asked. â€Å"Any of us would have made the same assumption.† Caius flicked his fingers at Aro to silence him. â€Å"We all know you made a mistake,† he said brusquely. â€Å"I meant to speak of your motivations.† Irina waited nervously for him to continue, and then repeated, â€Å"My motivations?† â€Å"Yes, for coming to spy on them in the first place.† Irina flinched at the word spy. â€Å"You were unhappy with the Cullens, were you not?† She turned her miserable eyes to Carlisle's face. â€Å"I was,† she admitted. â€Å"Because†¦ ?† Caius prompted. â€Å"Because the werewolves killed my friend,† she whispered. â€Å"And the Cullens wouldn't stand aside to let me avenge him.† â€Å"The shape-shifters,† Aro corrected quietly. â€Å"So the Cullens sided with the shape-shifters against our own kind – against the friend of a friend, even,† Caius summarized. I heard Edward make a disgusted sound under his breath. Caius was ticking down his list, looking for an accusation that would stick. Irina's shoulders stiffened. â€Å"That's how I saw it.† Caius waited again and then prompted, â€Å"If you'd like to make a formal complaint against the shape-shifters – and the Cullens for supporting their actions – now would be the time.† He smiled a tiny cruel smile, waiting for Irina to give him his next excuse. Maybe Caius didn't understand real families – relationships based on love rather than just the love of power. Maybe he overestimated the potency of vengeance. Irina's jaw jerked up, her shoulders squared. â€Å"No, I have no complaint against the wolves, or the Cullens. You came here today to destroy an immortal child. No immortal child exists. This was my mistake, and I take full responsibility for it. But the Cullens are innocent, and you have no reason to still be here. I'm so sorry,† she said to us, and then she turned her face toward the Volturi witnesses. â€Å"There was no crime. There's no valid reason for you to continue here.† Caius raised his hand as she spoke, and in it was a strange metal object, carved and ornate. This was a signal. The response was so fast that we all stared in stunned disbelief while it happened. Before there was time to react, it was over. Three of the Volturi soldiers leaped forward, and Irina was completely obscured by their gray cloaks. In the same instant, a horrible metallic screeching ripped through the clearing. Caius slithered into the center of the gray melee, and the shocking squealing sound exploded into a startling upward shower of sparks and tongues of flame. The soldiers leaped back from the sudden inferno, immediately retaking their places in the guard's perfectly straight line. Caius stood alone beside the blazing remains of Irina, the metal object in his hand still throwing a thick jet of flame into the pyre. With a small clicking sound, the fire shooting from Caius's hand disappeared. A gasp rippled through the mass of witnesses behind the Volturi. We were too aghast to make any noise at all. It was one thing to know that death was coming with fierce, unstoppable speed; it was another thing to watch it happen. Caius smiled coldly. â€Å"Now she has taken full responsibility for her actions.† His eyes flashed to our front line, touching swiftly on Tanya's and Kate's frozen forms. In that second I understood that Caius had never underestimated the ties of a true family. This was the ploy. He had not wanted Irina's complaint; he had wanted her defiance. His excuse to destroy her, to ignite the violence that filled the air like a thick, combustible mist. He had thrown a match. The strained peace of this summit already teetered more precariously than an elephant on a tightrope. Once the fight began, there would be no way to stop it. It would only escalate until one side was entirely extinct. Our side. Caius knew this. So did Edward. â€Å"Stop them!† Edward cried out, jumping to grab Tanya's arm as she lurched forward toward the smiling Caius with a maddened cry of pure rage. She couldn't shake Edward off before Carlisle had his arms locked around her waist. â€Å"It's too late to help her,† he reasoned urgently as she struggled. â€Å"Don't give him what he wants!† Kate was harder to contain. Shrieking wordlessly like Tanya, she broke into the first stride of the attack that would end with everyone's death. Rosalie was closest to her, but before Rose could clinch her in a headlock, Kate shocked her so violently that Rose crumpled to the ground. Emmett caught Kate's arm and threw her down, then staggered back, his knees giving out. Kate rolled to her feet, and it looked like no one could stop her. Garrett flung himself at her, knocking her to the ground again. He bound his arms around hers, locking his hands around his own wrists. I saw his body spasm as she shocked him. His eyes rolled back in his head, but his hold did not break. â€Å"Zafrina,† Edward shouted. Kate's eyes went blank and her screams turned to moans. Tanya stopped struggling. â€Å"Give me my sight back,† Tanya hissed. Desperately, but with all the delicacy I could manage, I pulled my shield even tighter against the sparks of my friends, peeling it back carefully from Kate while trying to keep it around Garrett, making it a thin skin between them. And then Garrett was in command of himself again, holding Kate to the snow. â€Å"If I let you up, will you knock me down again, Katie?† he whispered. She snarled in response, still thrashing blindly. â€Å"Listen to me, Tanya, Kate,† Carlisle said in a low but intense whisper. â€Å"Vengeance doesn't help her now. Irina wouldn't want you to waste your lives this way. Think about what you're doing. If you attack them, we all die.† Tanya's shoulders hunched with grief, and she leaned into Carlisle for support. Kate was finally still. Carlisle and Garrett continued to console the sisters with words too urgent to sound like comfort. And my attention returned to the weight of the stares that pressed down on our moment of chaos. From the corners of my eyes, I could see that Edward and everyone else besides Carlisle and Garrett were on their guard again as well. The heaviest glare came from Caius, staring with enraged disbelief at Kate and Garrett in the snow. Aro was watching the same two, incredulity the strongest emotion on his face. He knew what Kate could do. He had felt her potency through Edward's memories. Did he understand what was happening now – did he see that my shield had grown in strength and subtlety far beyond what Edward knew me to be capable of? Or did he think Garrett had learned his own form of immunity? The Volturi guard no longer stood at disciplined attention – they were crouched forward, waiting to spring the counterstrike the moment we attacked. Behind them, forty-three witnesses watched with very different expressions than the ones they'd worn entering the clearing. Confusion had turned to suspicion. The lightning-fast destruction of Irina had shaken them all. What had been her crime? Without the immediate attack that Caius had counted on to distract from his rash act, the Volturi witnesses were left questioning exactly what was going on here. Aro glanced back swiftly while I watched, his face betraying him with one flash of vexation. His need for an audience had backfired badly. I heard Stefan and Vladimir murmur to each other in quiet glee at Aro's discomfort. Aro was obviously concerned with keeping his white hat, as the Romanians had put it. But I didn't believe that the Volturi would leave us in peace just to save their reputation. After they finished with us, surely they would slaughter their witnesses for that purpose. I felt a strange, sudden pity for the mass of the strangers the Volturi had brought to watch us die. Demetri would hunt them until they were extinct, too. For Jacob and Renesmee, for Alice and Jasper, for Alistair, and for these strangers who had not known what today would cost them, Demetri had to die. Aro touched Caius's shoulder lightly. â€Å"Irina has been punished for bearing false witness against this child.† So that was to be their excuse. He went on. â€Å"Perhaps we should return to the matter at hand?† Caius straightened, and his expression hardened into unreadability. He stared forward, seeing nothing. His face reminded me, oddly, of a person who'd just learned he'd been demoted. Aro drifted forward, Renata, Felix, and Demetri automatically moving with him. â€Å"Just to be thorough,† he said, â€Å"I'd like to speak with a few of your witnesses. Procedure, you know.† He waved a hand dismissively. Two things happened at once. Caius's eyes focused on Aro, and the tiny cruel smile came back. And Edward hissed, his hands balling up in fists so tight it looked like the bones in his knuckles would split through his diamond-hard skin. I was desperate to ask him what was going on, but Aro was close enough to hear even the quietest breath. I saw Carlisle glance anxiously at Edward's face, and then his own face hardened. While Caius had blundered through useless accusations and injudicious attempts to trigger the fight, Aro must have been coming up with a more effective strategy. Aro ghosted across the snow to the far western end of our line, stopping about ten yards from Amun and Kebi. The nearby wolves bristled angrily but held their positions. â€Å"Ah, Amun, my southern neighbor!† Aro said warmly. â€Å"It has been so long since you've visited me.† Amun was motionless with anxiety, Kebi a statue at his side. â€Å"Time means little; I never notice its passing,† Amun said through unmoving lips. â€Å"So true,† Aro agreed. â€Å"But maybe you had another reason to stay away?† Amun said nothing. â€Å"It can be terribly time-consuming to organize newcomers into a coven. I know that well! I'm grateful I have others to deal with the tedium. I'm glad your new additions have fit in so well. I would have loved to have been introduced. I'm sure you were meaning to come to see me soon.† â€Å"Of course,† Amun said, his tone so emotionless that it was impossible to tell if there was any fear or sarcasm in his assent. â€Å"Oh well, we're all together now! Isn't it lovely?† Amun nodded, his face blank. â€Å"But the reason for your presence here is not as pleasant, unfortunately. Carlisle called on you to witness?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And what did you witness for him?† Amun spoke with the same cold lack of emotion. â€Å"I've observed the child in question. It was evident almost immediately that she was not an immortal child – â€Å" â€Å"Perhaps we should define our terminology,† Aro interrupted, â€Å"now that there seem to be new classifications. By immortal child, you mean of course a human child who had been bitten and thus transformed into a vampire.† â€Å"Yes, that's what I meant.† â€Å"What else did you observe about the child?† â€Å"The same things that you surely saw in Edward's mind. That the child is his biologically. That she grows. That she learns.† â€Å"Yes, yes,† Aro said, a hint of impatience in his otherwise amiable tone. â€Å"But specifically in your few weeks here, what did you see?† Amun's brow furrowed. â€Å"That she grows†¦ quickly.† Aro smiled. â€Å"And do you believe that she should be allowed to live?† A hiss escaped my lips, and I was not alone. Half the vampires in our line echoed my protest. The sound was a low sizzle of fury hanging in the air. Across the meadow, a few of the Volturi witnesses made the same noise. Edward stepped back and wrapped a restraining hand around my wrist. Aro did not turn to the noise, but Amun glanced around uneasily. â€Å"I did not come to make judgments,† he equivocated. Aro laughed lightly. â€Å"Just your opinion.† Amun's chin lifted. â€Å"I see no danger in the child. She learns even more swiftly than she grows.† Aro nodded, considering. After a moment, he turned away. â€Å"Aro?† Amun called. Aro whirled back. â€Å"Yes, friend?† â€Å"I gave my witness. I have no more business here. My mate and I would like to take our leave now.† Aro smiled warmly. â€Å"Of course. I'm so glad we were able to chat for a bit. And I'm sure we'll see each other again soon.† Amun's lips were a tight line as he inclined his head once, acknowledging the barely concealed threat. He touched Kebi's arm, and then the two of them ran quickly to the southern edge of the meadow and disappeared into the trees. I knew they wouldn't stop running for a very long time. Aro was gliding back along the length of our line to the east, his guards hovering tensely. He stopped when he was in front of Siobhan's massive form. â€Å"Hello, dear Siobhan. You are as lovely as ever.† Siobhan inclined her head, waiting. â€Å"And you?† he asked. â€Å"Would you answer my questions the same way Amun has?† â€Å"I would,† Siobhan said. â€Å"But I would perhaps add a little more. Renesmee understands the limitations. She's no danger to humans – she blends in better than we do. She poses no threat of exposure.† â€Å"Can you think of none?† Aro asked soberly. Edward growled, a low ripping sound deep in his throat. Caius's cloudy crimson eyes brightened. Renata reached out protectively toward her master. And Garrett freed Kate to take a step forward, ignoring Kate's hand as she tried to caution him this time. Siobhan answered slowly, â€Å"I don't think I follow you.† Aro drifted lightly back, casually, but toward the rest of his guard. Renata, Felix, and Demetri were closer than his shadow. â€Å"There is no broken law,† Aro said in a placating voice, but every one of us could hear that a qualification was coming. I fought back the rage that tried to claw its way up my throat and snarl out my defiance. I hurled the fury into my shield, thickening it, making sure everyone was protected. â€Å"No broken law,† Aro repeated. â€Å"However, does it follow then that there is no danger? No.† He shook his head gently. â€Å"That is a separate issue.† The only response was the tightening of already stretched nerves, and Maggie, at the fringes of our band of fighters, shaking her head with slow anger. Aro paced thoughtfully, looking as if he floated rather than touched the ground with his feet. I noticed every pass took him closer to the protection of his guard. â€Å"She is unique†¦ utterly, impossibly unique. Such a waste it would be, to destroy something so lovely. Especially when we could learn so much .. .† He sighed, as if unwilling to go on. â€Å"But there is danger, danger that cannot simply be ignored.† No one answered his assertion. It was dead silent as he continued in a monologue that sounded as if he spoke it for himself only. â€Å"How ironic it is that as the humans advance, as their faith in science grows and controls their world, the more free we are from discovery. Yet, as we become ever more uninhibited by their disbelief in the supernatural, they become strong enough in their technologies that, if they wished, they could actually pose a threat to us, even destroy some of us. â€Å"For thousands and thousands of years, our secrecy has been more a matter of convenience, of ease, than of actual safety. This last raw, angry century has given birth to weapons of such power that they endanger even immortals. Now our status as mere myth in truth protects us from these weak creatures we hunt. â€Å"Thisamazingchild† – he lifted his hand palm down as if to rest it on Renesmee, though he was forty yards from her now, almost within the Volturi formation again – â€Å"if we could but know her potential – know with absolute certainty that she could always remain shrouded within the obscurity that protects us. But we know nothing of what she will become! Her own parents are plagued by fears of her future. We cannot know what she will grow to be.† He paused, looking first at our witnesses, and then, meaningfully, at his own. His voice gave a good imitation of sounding torn by his words. Still looking at his own witnesses, he spoke again. â€Å"Only the known is safe. Only the known is tolerable. The unknown is†¦ a vulnerability.† Caius's smile widened viciously. â€Å"You're reaching, Aro,† Carlisle said in a bleak voice. â€Å"Peace, friend.† Aro smiled, his face as kind, his voice as gentle, as ever. â€Å"Let us not be hasty. Let us look at this from every side.† â€Å"May I offer a side to be considered?† Garrett petitioned in a level tone, taking another step forward. â€Å"Nomad,† Aro said, nodding in permission. Garrett's chin lifted. His eyes focused on the huddled mass at the end of the meadow, and he spoke directly to the Volturi witnesses. â€Å"I came here at Carlisle's request, as the others, to witness,† he said. â€Å"That is certainly no longer necessary, with regard to the child. We all see what she is. â€Å"I stayed to witness something else. You.† He jabbed his finger toward the wary vampires. â€Å"Two of you I know – Makenna, Charles – and I can see that many of you others are also wanderers, roamers like myself. Answering to none. Think carefully on what I tell you now. ‘These ancient ones did not come here for justice as they told you. We suspected as much, and now it has been proved. They came, misled, but with a valid excuse for their action. Witness now as they seek flimsy excuses to continue their true mission. Witness them struggle to find a justification for their true purpose – to destroy this family here.† He gestured toward Carlisle and Tanya. â€Å"The Volturi come to erase what they perceive as the competition. Perhaps, like me, you look at this clan's golden eyes and marvel. They are difficult to understand, it's true. But the ancient ones look and see something besides their strange choice. They see power. â€Å"I have witnessed the bonds within this family – I say family and not coven. These strange golden-eyed ones deny their very natures. But in return have they found something worth even more, perhaps, than mere gratification of desire? I've made a little study of them in my time here, and it seems to me that intrinsic to this intense family binding – that which makes them possible at all – is the peaceful character of this life of sacrifice. There is no aggression here like we all saw in the large southern clans that grew and diminished so quickly in their wild feuds. There is no thought for domination. And Aro knows this better than I do.† I watched Aro's face as Garrett's words condemned him, waiting tensely for some response. But Aro's face was only politely amused, as if waiting for a tantrum-throwing child to realize that no one was paying attention to his histrionics. â€Å"Carlisle assured us all, when he told us what was coming, that he did not call us here to fight. These witnesses† – Garrett pointed to Siobhan and Liam – â€Å"agreed to give evidence, to slow the Volturi advance with their presence so that Carlisle would get the chance to present his case. â€Å"But some of us wondered† – his eyes flashed to Eleazars face – â€Å"if Carlisle having truth on his side would be enough to stop the so-called justice. Are the Volturi here to protect the safety of our secrecy, or to protect their own power? Did they come to destroy an illegal creation, or a way of life? Could they be satisfied when the danger turned out to be no more than a misunderstanding? Or would they push the issue without the excuse of justice? â€Å"We have the answer to all these questions. We heard it in Aro's lying words – we have one with a gift of knowing such things for certain – and we see it now in Caius's eager smile. Their guard is just a mindless weapon, a tool in their masters' quest for domination. â€Å"So now there are more questions, questions that you must answer. Who rules you, nomads? Do you answer to someone's will besides your own? Are you free to choose your path, or will the Volturi decide how you will live? â€Å"I came to witness. I stay to fight. The Volturi care nothing for the death of the child. They seek the death of our free will.† He turned, then, to face the ancients. â€Å"So come, I say! Let's hear no more lying rationalizations. Be honest in your intents as we will be honest in ours. We will defend our freedom. You will or will not attack it. Choose now, and let these witnesses see the true issue debated here.† Once more he looked to the Volturi witnesses, his eyes probing each face. The power of his words was evident in their expressions. â€Å"You might consider joining us. If you think the Volturi will let you live to tell this tale, you are mistaken. We may all be destroyed† – he shrugged – â€Å"but then again, maybe not. Perhaps we are on more equal footing than they know. Perhaps the Volturi have finally met their match. I promise you this, though – if we fall, so do you.† He ended his heated speech by stepping back to Kate's side and then sliding forward in a half-crouch, prepared for the onslaught. Aro smiled. â€Å"Avery pretty speech, my revolutionary friend.† Garrett remained poised for attack. â€Å"Revolutionary?† he growled. â€Å"Who am I revolting against, might I ask? Are you my king? Do you wish me to call you master, too, like your sycophantic guard?† â€Å"Peace, Garrett,† Aro said tolerantly. â€Å"I meant only to refer to your time of birth. Still a patriot, I see.† Garrett glared back furiously. â€Å"Let us ask our witnesses,† Aro suggested. â€Å"Let us hear their thoughts before we make our decision. Tell us, friends† – and he turned his back casually on us, moving a few yards toward his mass of nervous observers hovering even closer now to the edge of the forest – â€Å"what do you think of all this? I can assure you the child is not what we feared. Do we take the risk and let the child live? Do we put our world in jeopardy to preserve their family intact? Or does earnest Garrett have the right of it? Will you join them in a fight against our sudden quest for dominion?† The witnesses met his gaze with careful faces. One, a small black-haired woman, looked briefly at the dark blond male at her side. â€Å"Are those our only choices?† she asked suddenly, gaze flashing back to Aro. â€Å"Agree with you, or fight against you?† â€Å"Of course not, most charming Makenna,† Aro said, appearing horrified that anyone could come to that conclusion. â€Å"You may go in peace, of course, as Amun did, even if you disagree with the council's decision.† Makenna looked at her mate's face again, and he nodded minutely. â€Å"We did not come here for a fight.† She paused, exhaled, then said, â€Å"We came here to witness. And our witness is that this condemned family is innocent. Everything that Garrett claimed is the truth.† â€Å"Ah,† Aro said sadly. â€Å"I'm sorry you see us in that way. But such is the nature of our work.† â€Å"It is not what I see, but what I feel,† Makenna's maize-haired mate spoke in a high, nervous voice. He glanced at Garrett. â€Å"Garrett said they have ways of knowing lies. I, too, know when I am hearing the truth, and when I am not.† With frightened eyes he moved closer to his mate, waiting for Aro's reaction. â€Å"Do not fear us, friend Charles. No doubt the patriot truly believes what he says,† Aro chuckled lightly, and Charles's eyes narrowed. â€Å"That is our witness,† Makenna said. â€Å"We're leaving now.† She and Charles backed away slowly, not turning before they were lost from view in the trees. One other stranger began to retreat the same way, then three more darted after him. I evaluated the thirty-seven vampires that stayed. A few of them appeared just too confused to make the decision. But the majority of them seemed only too aware of the direction this confrontation had taken. I guessed that they were giving up a head start in favor of knowing exactly who would be chasing after them. I was sure Aro saw the same thing I did. He turned away, walking back to his guard with a measured pace. He stopped in front of them and addressed them in a clear voice. â€Å"We are outnumbered, dearest ones,† he said. â€Å"We can expect no outside help. Should we leave this question undecided to save ourselves?† â€Å"No, master,† they whispered in unison. â€Å"Is the protection of our world worth perhaps the loss of some of our number?† â€Å"Yes,† they breathed. â€Å"We are not afraid.† Aro smiled and turned to his black-clad companions. â€Å"Brothers,† Aro said somberly, â€Å"there is much to consider here.† â€Å"Let us counsel,† Caius said eagerly. â€Å"Let us counsel,† Marcus repeated in an uninterested tone. Aro turned his back to us again, facing the other ancients. They joined hands to form a black-shrouded triangle. As soon as Aro's attention was engaged in the silent counsel, two more of their witnesses disappeared silently into the forest. I hoped, for their sakes, that they were fast. This was it. Carefully, I loosened Renesmee's arms from my neck. â€Å"You remember what I told you?† Tears welled in her eyes, but she nodded. â€Å"I love you,† she whispered. Edward was watching us now, his topaz eyes wide. Jacob stared at us from the corner of his big dark eye. â€Å"I love you, too,† I said, and then I touched her locket. â€Å"More than my own life.† I kissed her forehead. Jacob whined uneasily. I stretched up on my toes and whispered into his ear. â€Å"Wait until they're totally distracted, then run with her. Get as far from this place as you possibly can. When you've gone as far as you can on foot, she has what you need to get you in the air.† Edward's and Jacob's faces were almost identical masks of horror, despite the fact that one of them was an animal. Renesmee reached for Edward, and he took her in his arms. They hugged each other tightly. â€Å"This is what you kept from me?† he whispered over her head. â€Å"From Aro,† I breathed. â€Å"Alice?† I nodded. His face twisted with understanding and pain. Had that been the expression on my face when I'd finally put together Alice's clues? Jacob was growling quietly, a low rasp that was as even and unbroken as a purr. His hackles were stiff and his teeth exposed. Edward kissed Renesmee's forehead and both her cheeks, then he lifted her to Jacob's shoulder. She scrambled agilely onto his back, pulling herself into place with handfuls of his fur, and fit herself easily into the dip between his massive shoulder blades. Jacob turned to me, his expressive eyes full of agony, the rumbling growl still grating through his chest. â€Å"You're the only one we could ever trust her with,† I murmured to him. â€Å"If you didn't love her so much, I could never bear this. I know you can protect her, Jacob.† He whined again, and dipped his head to butt it against my shoulder. â€Å"I know,† I whispered. â€Å"I love you, too, Jake. You'll always be my best man.† A tear the size of a baseball rolled into the russet fur beneath his eye. Edward leaned his head against the same shoulder where he'd placed Renesmee. â€Å"Goodbye, Jacob, my brother†¦ my son.† The others were not oblivious to the farewell scene. Their eyes were locked on the silent black triangle, but I could tell they were listening. â€Å"Is there no hope, then?† Carlisle whispered. There was no fear in his voice. Just determination and acceptance. â€Å"There is absolutely hope,† I murmured back. It could be true, I told myself. â€Å"I only know my own fate.† Edward took my hand. He knew that he was included. When I said my fate, there was no question that I meant the two of us. We were just halves of the whole. Esme's breath was ragged behind me. She moved past us, touching our faces as she passed, to stand beside Carlisle and hold his hand. Suddenly, we were surrounded by murmured goodbyes and I love you's. â€Å"If we live through this,† Garrett whispered to Kate, â€Å"I'll follow you anywhere, woman.† â€Å"Now he tells me,† she muttered. Rosalie and Emmett kissed quickly but passionately. Tia caressed Benjamin's face. He smiled back cheerfully, catching her hand and holding it against his cheek. I didn't see all the expressions of love and pain. I was distracted by a sudden fluttering pressure against the outside of my shield. I couldn't tell where it came from, but it felt like it was directed at the edges of our group, Siobhan and Liam particularly. The pressure did no damage, and then it was gone. There was no change in the silent, still forms of the counseling ancients. But perhaps there was some signal I'd missed. â€Å"Get ready,† I whispered to the others. â€Å"It's starting.†