Sunday, December 29, 2019

Sample Comparative Essay

A comparative essay is one of the most common academic assignments in every educational institution. That is due to the fact that such papers effectively assist in discovering significant unique peculiarities, advantages, and disadvantages of two or more specific items compared to each other. A sample comparative essay involves research question, as well as the development of similarities and differences of the compared objects. This sample comparative essay is based on both these aspects for the purpose to provide students with an appropriate template of such academic works. In the recent days, education is considered one of the most significant factors that influence the creation of every society. The appropriate education system that promotes the intelligence and curiosity can affect students as soon as they enter the classroom. For example, having the largest population worldwide, China provides a versatile system of educational institutions for its citizens, including special schools for children with disabilities, public schools for the students of all ages, and the private educational establishments. Nonetheless, since the educational system in China was created under the impact of a fundamentally distinct culture, some its aspects may impress people from other countries. Therefore, it is a relevant issue to compare the educational system of China to the American one in order to reveal which of them might be more effective for the development of the nation. To begin with, the Chinese system of education includes three major levels such as primary, secondary, and post-secondary. These grade levels are divided into 3 or 6 additional sub-levels; for instance, the first and the sixth grades belong to the primary school. The seventh and ninth grades belong to the secondary school, and tenth and twelfth ones to the higher school. On the contrary, in the United States, grades are separated into every individual year. In contrast to the American education system, the compulsory education laws of China force students to study at the middle school till the age of 16 -18 years. In the United States, students graduate from the middle school mainly at the age of 13. Being at the age of 14, they can enter a higher educational institution. The learning process in Chinese and American schools is also quite different. Specifically, students in American schools move to another room for the next lesson whereas in China, students study all the disciplines in one classroom. This class organization makes learning process in Chinese schools quite routine and monotonous. Furthermore, the school day in the American educational institutions culminates approximately at 3 P. M.; in China, it can last till 5 P. M. It is also worth noting that in the United States, every individual has the right to apply for getting a higher educational degree. On the other hand, every applicant in China has to go through the complex examination procedures. Another significant distinction between American and Chinese education systems is that students in US schools are eligible to select some courses they would like to master. In China, students do not have such opportunity and all the subjects that are taught in Chinese schools are compulsory . Having compared education systems of China and the United States, it was discovered that they sufficiently differ from each other. As a result of this comparison, it becomes attainable to find that American education system is more efficient and favorable for students. That is because it is more flexible and focused on their needs, making learning process more accessible and productive. Reference Fang, A. (2016). Chinese Education System VS. U.S Education System.Blog.tutorming.com. Retrieved 12 January 2017, from http://blog.tutorming.com/expats/chinese-education-system-vs-us-education-system

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Victorian Values in Jane Eyre Essay - 2309 Words

1) The Victorian Age: Social Background There are tow dates for the beginning of the Victorian Age in England: The first date is 1837, when the Queen Victory accessed to the British throne. However the most accepted date as the start of the Victorian Age is 1832, date of the First Reform Bill. This reform allowed the entrance of urban bourgeoisie or middle-class in the Parliament because the requirements for voting were simplified; there was an increasing number of population with the right to vote. This reform also broke up the monopoly of power in hands of aristocracy and landowners in the Parliament. The end of this Age is placed in the turn of the century when Queen Victory died in 1901. The Victorian Age is usually divided†¦show more content†¦The morality about sex had a main aim: An ideal of purity based on a chastity code which emphasized the relevance of premarital continence. In order to keep this chastity code, anything related to sex was silenced in an attitude of deliberated ignorance, an attitude of rejection of sex, especially in women, who usually associated sex with a marital duty. The Victorian education tried to introduce, especially in young men, an attitude towards women based on respect. They were taught to think of women as sisters or even as angels rather than human beings. This kind of education tried to separate completely love from sex and it was not especially oriented to girls because women were supposed to not have any kind of sexual desire. Any kind of sexual expression is limited to marriage, and even, sexual relationships in marriage were only justified for procreation. The main source of this code of purity and virtue is the resurgence of Puritanism in the last decades of 18th century (Methodism and Evangelical movement). There was a revival of the old traditions which were very conservative and especially repressed of any sexual behaviour. The Victorian Ages morality also condemned any kind of sexual reference in literature. Victorian critics demanded from serious literature a didactic content and respect to the Victorian conventions which established that sexShow MoreRelated The Oppressed Female in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre886 Words   |  4 PagesThe Oppressed Female in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontà « clearly demonstrates the relationship between sexuality and morality in Victorian society through the character of Bertha Mason, the daughter of a West Indian planter and Rochesters first wife. Rochester recklessly married Bertha in his youth, and when it was discovered shortly after the marriage that Bertha was sexually promiscuous, Rochester locked her away. 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Jane Eyre, a semi-autobiography by Charlotte Brontà «, is an exemplary novel where an untraditional heroine defiesRead MoreCharlotte Bronte: The Social Critic1732 Words   |  7 PagesCharlotte Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre had a similar effect upon the mindset of Victorian society, as its publication ended the silence on social justice and set off an ‘eruption’, leading to sweeping reforms. The novel revolves around the moral and spiritual journey of Jane Eyre, an orphan who values freedom and struggles to b reak free of Victorian-era standards. Brontà « satirizes these standards through her portrayal of the lower classes, mental illness, and orphans. Jane is critical of Victorian England society’sRead MoreJane Eyre : A Feminist Novel1241 Words   |  5 PagesJane Eyre Research Paper For decades Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontà « has been considered a controversial feminist novel. The book takes place during the Victorian Era, where strict and meticulous norms were embraced and closely applied. Women had high expectations in both individual and household abilities. Through feminist ideals of equality, gender roles and sexuality, Jane Eyre is a timeless novel. Feminism is a movement that began during the late 19th century, a movement that values women s functionsRead More`` Money Makes The World Go Round `` By Jane Eyre1623 Words   |  7 Pagesaction. Elitism has a constant trend throughout history. Jane Eyre learns this lesson quite well in her life in the Victorian era. She constantly floats on the fringes of different social classes, allowing readers to see the revolution that really emphasizes the materialist nature of the book. Her journey towards independence represents her ability to free herself from the oppressive hierarchy of the patriarchal, elitist Victorian era. Jane represents the Marxist nature of the book which bases life

Friday, December 13, 2019

Interview and Modern World Free Essays

string(146) " with the different themes within the poem but underlying modern concepts of functioning can be seen by psychological manipulation of many sorts\." ‘You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly’ – notes by E S Bhavani Following is the presentation notes on Perspective IV Semester lesson ‘You will be Hearing from us Shortly’ a poem by U A Fanthrope. The presentation was made for II year JPEng class by E S Bhavani on 24 Nov. ————————————————————————————— Institutionalising the Individual An analysis of ‘You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly’ U. We will write a custom essay sample on Interview and Modern World or any similar topic only for you Order Now A. Fanthorpe (Click here for the text of the poem) A little bit about the author†¦ Ursula Aksham Fanthorpe was born in Kent. Having studied at Oxford she went on to train as a teacher becoming the Head of the Department at Cheltenham Ladies College (1962-1970) who dropped out after training as a councillor to become a clerk in a hospital for neuropsychiatry disorders. Her poems since then started reflecting experiences of the patients. Her first collection of poems were published when she was 49. Her poems seem to question authority and show compassion to people at the same time. Her most successful poems have been in monologue while others have a great deal of humour and dialogue in them unlike the usual structure of poetry we are used to. Most of her poems are of two voices. Other dominant themes in her writings are war and it’s effects on children, the nature of Englishness and the British character and history. It was in 1989 that she became a full-time writer who gives readings of her work mostly in the UK and at times abroad. She became the first woman to be nominated for the post of Oxford Professor of Poetry and has been awarded many fellowships. In 2003 she was awarded the 2003 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. An Overview: The underlying theme used to analyse the text is the concept of ‘modern’ or rather the factors that complete or contribute to a modern lifestyle. This particular theme has especially been chosen because personally I have been very fascinated with the word ‘modern’ as it has been something that quite frankly has not found an universally appeal. Ask a layman what it means to be ‘modern’ the answer can vary enough to drive a human being mad (unless that is what modernity intends to do), in a general sense perhaps one can classify being modern in terms of a time-span or choose to take another harder stance and explore. And it is in this intention that I hope to explore the text. Keeping that in mind, we will first look at the poem and try to summarize in relation to the world today with the underlying presumption that we are all evolved human beings living in a modern world. The summary will also lay the foundation to help better understand the different concepts and theories to be discussed. Having once given a common understanding of the text, it becomes necessary to find different means of being able to engage with the text and this is precisely what we shall be doing in different modes of reading. Of course, the different means provided here are not given as ultimatums rather hope to reveal scope for further models of interpreting the piece. With three different modes of reading established, our focus moves onto the dominant themes that revolve around the poem which will help appreciate the text in various forms. One of the major revelations of poetry-reading can be achieved by evaluating the title given to it from a generic sense, therefore we shall try and decipher what You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly refers to with emphasis on the word ‘shortly’ as it seems to stick to the original codes of understanding concepts of being modern in terms of time-relevance. It becomes inevitable but to look at the structuring of the text to find hidden meanings (atleast conceivable hidden meanings) once analysed focussing on the word ‘shortly’. Our concluding part of the analysis throws light on the different layers that exist within the piece aiming to break the traditional moulds of analysing a text. It seeks to prove that a particular writing can be highlighted in more ways than just one especially given the freedom in the Modern World. A Summarised Perspective: The poem showcases the concept of an interview, giving prominence to perhaps the negative aspects. The poet challenges fundamental concepts of interviewing and reveals it in a dialogic form. An interesting theory would be to understand that though it is presented in a dialogue form nowhere in the entire poem do we hear the interviewee’s voice although both their mind-sets and personalities are revealed to some extent. The interviewer focuses on several aspects of the interviewee that makes one wonder if this is the standard norms for how an interview is held. The interviewer somehow seems distracted as he goes about the interview in a manner that can be debated. Once we hear all the questions the interviewer asks we are left with a question ourselves – what is really important? And what does it take for a successful interview? Where is the emphasis given upon in this competitive world? When analysing these factors we come across the basis: that each one of them are very vulnerable to time. Every aspect that the interviewer focuses on the candidate could differ greatly at different time periods. Someone who graduated first in his class in 1996 could relatively prove â€Å"unintelligent† when compared to someone who graduated in 2006. When dealing with such a volatile situation it makes you wonder if Fanthorpe is really trying to project that these constitute the essence that makes what the modern world is and this very necessity to erase the lines drawn between one’s personal and professional life exposes domination of the modern world. We find this domination becoming crystal clear as the interviewer is able to convince the interviewee that his existence is a pity by the end of the poem. We shall understand this power-play better when we deal with the different themes within the poem but underlying modern concepts of functioning can be seen by psychological manipulation of many sorts. You read "Interview and Modern World" in category "Papers" Modes of Reading: It often occurs to me that any text is usually dealt in one particular fashion ignoring all the other possibilities. So, starting with the basics I’m hoping to introduce ways of reading the same text in distinctive patterns. Attempting this, here are three patterns my mind was able to lay out. 1. A Monologue Reading Having established very confidently that this is a dialogic poem it would be rather hard to treat it as a monologue but not unimaginable. If one chooses to treat it in this manner we are again provided with two more options; to understand it as a monologue of the interviewer or the interviewee himself. If we are considering it as a monologue of the interviewer one can assume that social restrictions do not give him the liberty of saying the things out loud and thus it can be concluded as manifestations of his own mind. What we can focus around here are the social implications that could provoke an interviewer to wonder about. Another monologue perspective could be to analyse it from the point of view of an amateur and his apprehensions about the interview. This can simply be put off as nervousness or understand it by reflecting on the causes for such apprehensions. Both of these to some level show us an unrealistic perspective and irrational fears one might have. What is crucial here is that what one might consider unrealistic can turn out to be not so and perhaps we are moving towards a rather unrealistic future. 2. The Silenced Interviewee This mode has been especially chosen due to the lack of representation of the interviewee. We find that there is no voice given to the interviewee, we are left to believe the notions made by the interviewer as the ultimate truth. What does this signify? Giving absolute power to the interviewer who represents a major part of the organization whose words we blindly believe. This casual scenario exposes personal invasion made by the modern world, where individuals are given fewer opportunities to showcase themselves from their point of view rather forced to accept it in relation to societal norms. This of course leads to what I like to call â€Å"virtual representations† of each of us. Projection of ourselves in a corporate world changes from what we are to what we are suppose to be and this hopeful process of changing reflects the virtual representations that we make of ourselves every single day. And during this struggle to meet the ideal virtual representation we encounter a loss, loss of our personal identity that seems trivial in comparison to the large organization that exists. 3. From A Young Interviewee In a rather simplistic sense one can read it as nothing but apprehensions that a young interviewee has, a reflection of general concerns that one might have before his first interview. When analysing it from this mode we are forced to consider the social pressures that lead one to dwell under such tension. I have chosen to treat it in this specific manner mainly because the idea of the poem being apprehensions of an amateur does not seem absurd but what contradicts this simple explanation is the interviewee being –married, children- in the poem. This is the intriguing aspect of which I wish to explore where perhaps it is meant to show that everyone is treated as an amateur and it does not change much for an older experienced applicant or a new-comer and how both are treated in the same manner. Either that or it could simply be seen in terms of time-relevance as mentioned in the summarized perspective. Dominant Themes: Three themes have been chosen keeping in mind the most irrelevant concepts or rather the most ignored aspects of this poem. Not claiming that no one has understood this piece of text in this manner but attempting to bring together seemingly irrelevant pieces of information to form what can be called one important perspective. 1. Power Relations â€Å"Power is everywhere†¦becomes it comes from everywhere† – Michele Focault The above quote shall serve as the foundation for the rest of my argument. It seems only obvious to pick power relations as one of the dominant themes in the poem after having mentioned everything above. The entire concept of power requires no historical background or knowledge to analyse as in every sphere of human act there have been power; of course some more preferable than the others. And power can be understood in many ways, all of which can be applied to the text. In relation to the poem, power relations needs to be understood in terms of the corporate world where hierarchy and monitored functioning are in their zenith. It would seem rather stupid to ignore such a concept in the corporate world. Power relations become interesting especially while trying to relate to the corporate or modern world from the past, as we have evolved we have evolved within ourselves the very ideals of how we use or abuse power. One such understanding can be achieved by Alvin Toffler’s theory of power in historical sense; the beginning of power can be recognized as barbaric, where man could portray his domination only in primitive expressions or in other words through violence. This of course went through many changes although even today we find this dominates our impulse and history stands as the book of truth to reveal to us how exhibition of being powerful transformed from violence to wealth. Although one can argue very confidently that for quite a long period of time they both worked closely with one another to great lengths. As time passed by, we now arrive to our present state where power is displayed through a fluid concept termed as â€Å"intelligence† otherwise known as knowledge or information. The transformation that has taken place over the years makes power relations especially a delicate topic to engage with as it has now moved from a plain one dimensional model to a three dimensional functioning aspect of a society. Where at times all the three previously mentioned tools of power are used but in greatly differing indirect means. Another mode of looking at it comes from the Classic Study by French and Raven (1959) where they ntroduced five bases of power; positional (where power is issued based on the position you hold), referent (power understood as how influential or how convincing one is able to build loyalty around him), expert (power based on the expertise one holds over a subject), coercive (in terms of primitive means, violence) and reward (if one is able to give or withheld rewards of any kind). An additional base was added a little later rightly termed as the Informational base that reflects a society in the face of an aftermath of information explosion. Thus, information becomes power and power is very generously available to anyone who chooses to find it. Understanding power relations in this mode becomes increasingly difficult to define in precise terms. We can perhaps say Foucault’s quote finally establishes itself in modern society. When everyone has equal opportunities to find the power that they want, it becomes a universal characteristic of man. Now, it becomes dangerous as trends in power change drastically leaving man completely vulnerable to the dictates of the modern world. How to cite Interview and Modern World, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Room Division Management-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Compare the Price Movement of the Hotel rates against the rates of the OTA's Web Sites and against each other. Answer: Introduction The report deals with the stating the overview of revenue yield management for the understanding of revenue/yield for InterContinental Sydney and Sir Stamford At Circular Quay. Some of the main form of the discussion of the report has been seen to be included with the various types of the components which have been seen to be associated to the explanation of what was happening in the market at this such as sporting events, holidays, conventions. Concise overview of the selected hotels InterContinental Sydney Size The InterContinental Hotels Resorts is seen to be situated across more than 60 countries and has a total overall 180 number of hotels. The hotel is further considered as world one of the most major luxury hotel and resort brand (Rosman Stuhura, 2013). Market- Jrg is seen to be appointed as a director of the board and responsible for handing the various types of needs of the customers. The hotel has spent more than 70 years in the hospitality industry and the main attraction is seen with an overall collection of luxury rooms and suits with sweeping views in the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Royal Botanic Gardens and Sydney Opera House. Location- The hotel is observed to be situated in 117 Macquarie Street, Sydney 2000 Australia. Sir Stamford at Circular Quay Size - Sir Stamford or the Raffles Hotel is identified as a colonial style luxury hotel, in the year 1887. The total number of suits supporting this hotel in Sydney is depicted as 103. The five-star hotel is further seen to consist of 105 generously sized guest rooms along with 15 hotel luxury suits. Market- The main operation of the hotel was seen to be started privately owned in Singapore and later on grew investors some other locations. The main market attraction of this hotel has been seen with its location near Sydney Harbour and Sydney Opera House. The majority of the features and seen in types of French opening doors into Ju balconies thereby offering a scenic view of the wonderful city. Location- The hotel has been seen to be situated in 93 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia (Bashir Nasir, 2013). Explanation of present market situation Based on the several types of offering of service it has been seen that recently there is a boom in the growth of Australian sector in Sydney. It has also seen that the competition has increased in the previous year. Several researchers believe that the increasing competition has led to decreased revenue in the hospitality sector. Due to the stable global economic condition the Australian tourism industry has been favourably supported with occupancy rate of more than 68% (Rosman Stuhura, 2013). The month of November and December is seen as a special attraction to the tourists visiting in Sydney due to Christmas and year ending celebration. More number of customers is seen to be pre-booking hotel rooms due to the occurrence of several types of sporting events in Sydney such as volley fest which is seen to take place between 18th November to 26th November. Some of the other types of the main events for the tourist attraction have been seen in terms of Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race wh ich is scheduled to be held on 26 December 2017 in double Bay and constructed in the waters of Sydney Harbour on the Tasmanian Sea (Alhelalat, 2015). Analysis of each reservation date and comparing the price movement of the hotel rates Intercontinental, Room Rates for 12th-14th October The comparison of the rates of both the hotels has been considered with 12th October 14th October (Week 4) and 2nd November 4th November (Week 7). (Jones, Hillier, Comfort, 2016). In the time period of 12.10.2017 to 14.10.2017, there is no such major event observed in Australia, this is identified as a lean month for the travellers. Due to this the rates at Intercontinental Sydney has been discerned to be priced lowest with only $ 307 at the hotel website directly. Among the OTAs there is no booking option available at Wotif.com. This is due to the same reason as there is no such major event in this week. Similarly Booking.com rate is slightly higher with $ 67. It has been further discerned that during the month of September there are few major events such as Family Community Day (ACT) Queens Birthday (WA) and Grand Final Friday, due to which the rates at the hotel and the OTA are considerably high. This is evident with $ 600 for the month of September in the hotel website direct ly and $ 581 in both the OTAs. Sir Stamford, Room Rates for 12th- 14th October Sir Stamford at Circular Quay is not able to offer any bookings for accommodation in the beginning of fourth week. This is mainly due to the higher amount of demand from the customers. However, booking.com is able to book hotel rooms at a much higher price of $ 584. Similarly, later in the month of October booking.com is able to book rooms at a charge of $ 531. The rates are slightly higher on booking.com on week 4 due to higher GST and Internet handling charges. It has been further seen due to similar reason the rates at booking.com is higher on 12th October with an increasing amount of $ 70. The changes in the rates of the hotel among the OTAs web sites is higher due to the tie-up with various types of travel agencies which is not seen in case of direct booking from the hotel website. It needs to be further discerned that as there is no such major event observed in Australia during 12th October to 14th October there is no availability of the of booking options in website of Sir Sta mford at circular quay and Wotif.com. However, if an individual wants he/she can book rooms through Booking.com with a charge of $ 496. This moth is identified as a lean month for the travellers. On comparing the amount with other moths such as 21.09.2017 and 28.09.2017, this rate is considerably lower. This is evident with the high rates of $ 517 in 21.09.2017 from the Sir Stamford hotel website and $ 584 from Booking.com. This is again due to similar reasons for availability of events such as Family Community Day (ACT) Queens Birthday (WA) and Grand Final Friday, due to which the rates at the hotel and the OTA are considerably high. (Mo Kwon et al., 2013). Intercontinental, Room Rates 2th-4th November As per the consideration of the room rent it has been discerned that the booking charges at Wotif.com and Booking.com is the same for InterContinental Sydney in 7th week for booking of Deluxe King Room with Eastern Harbour View. The week seven booking has shown several changes as there is more number of sports events in the month of November than October in Sydney (Jayawardena et al., 2013). However, in the month of November the other travel agencies are not seen to be having any tie-ups with car hire service henceforth, there is no possibility of splitting up the commission amount. This is evident with higher booking charges in wotif.com and booking.com with $ 422.5 and $ 437.5, as compared to only $ 411 in the online website of InterContinental Sydney. The Intercontinental hotel has not seen to available for booking on 02/11/2017, due to no major public, sports or recreational events during this time period. This has been further seen to be evident non availability of any rooms for booking at Intercontinental Sydney. However due to several events in the month of September such as Family Community Day (ACT) Queens Birthday (WA) and Grand Final Friday, the rates are competitive in nature. In the seventh week the available and the demand of the hotel room has been discerned to be the lowest. Sir Stamford, Room R/ates 2th-4th November The seventh week the OTA and the hotel is able to offer similar rates for booking of accommodation you to limited demand for Deluxe King room. This is due to increased competition and presence of holidays and sports event during that month. There have been some major events identified in the month of November, such as Recreation Day celebrated on 6 November 2017 and Melbourne Cup in 7 November 2017. However, there been no such major events during 2th-4th November, due to this Sir Stamford at circular quay is not available for booking. However the competition is stiff during the rest of the months such as October and September, due to available of several major events. Some of the similar amount of the rates has been evident with $ 479, in hotel and OTAs this due to a situation of stiff competition on 21/09/2017. The completion has been seen to be slowed during 28/09/17 and the rates have come down to $ 439. Conclusion Researchers have been seen to be of the opinion that the increasing competition has led to decreased revenue in the hospitality sector. Due to the stable global economic condition the Australian tourism industry has been favourably supported with room occupancy rate of more than 68%. The month of November and December is seen as a special attraction to the tourists visiting in Sydney due to Christmas and year ending celebration. The rational for the fluctuations in the rates of OTA and hotel online booking facility is seen with several types of tie-ups with other services such as car hire and travel agency. References Alhelalat, J. A. (2015). Hospitality and Non-Hospitality Graduate Skills Between Education and Industry. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 6(4), 4655. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=buhAN=103651138lang=desite=ehost-live Bashir, S., Nasir, M. (2013). Breach of psychological contract, organizational cynicism and union commitment: A study of hospitality industry in Pakistan. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 34(1), 6165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.02.004 Jayawardena, C. (Chandi), Pollard, A., Chort, V., Choi, C., Kibicho, W. (2013). Trends and sustainability in the Canadian tourism and hospitality industry. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 5(2), 132150. https://doi.org/10.1108/17554211311314164 Jones, P., Hillier, D., Comfort, D. (2016). Sustainability in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(1), 3667. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-11-2014-0572 Mo Kwon, J., Bae, J. (Stephanie), Blum, S. C. (2013). Mobile applications in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 4(1), 8192. https://doi.org/10.1108/17579881311302365 Rosman, R., Stuhura, K. (2013). The Implications of Social Media on Customer Relationship Management and the Hospitality Industry. Journal of Management Policy Practice, 14(3), 1826. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=bthAN=94484542site=ehost-live%5CnZ:%5CMy Dropbox%5CLiteratur%5CRosman, Stuhura (2013). The Implications of Social Media on Customer Relationship Management and the Hospitality Industry.pdf

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Think free essay sample

It is atop the shingles above my garage, next to my bedroom window, under my twin oak tree where I frequent a perch, content on my roof. A place to think, to relax, to read, to escape: my roof is steady. Facing east, I can watch the sun rise over the city skyline; facing west, I witness the sun drop into the trees, taking with it, the colors of the sky. During the day I watch the trees sway to the rhythm of the wind. My eyes follow the squirrels as they jump from tree to tree, always leaving a trail of rustling leaves. I listen to the birds’ morning songs, and I listen to the crickets’ nightly melodies. I count the stars and trace the paths of planes. Come evening with the windows open, I listen to the sizzle of my mother cooking dinner simultaneously mingle with my father’s modulated tuning of the guitar. We will write a custom essay sample on Think or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Looking up into the sky I feel small as I take in the expansive universe above me. Yet I feel content up high knowing I am a little closer the breathtaking world overhead. On this roof my thoughts are extensive, wide-ranging and sweeping as the sky. I become an observer and absorb everything around me. Watching the cars roll by, oblivious, blind to their surroundings, I pity them. Then reality catches up, and I remember society and life and responsibility take precedence, and I accept the sad fact. At the same time however, I find it consequential to take the time every once in a while to stop. To absorb the world, appreciating its quirks and wonders. I can think about everything at once and yet nothing at all on the roof. I can listen to everything and nothing. I can play Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here and Daughter’s Youth, or I can resort to nature’s sweet songs. I think about the idea of thinking, and I think about space and life and the immense size of everything. I self reflect and think about the different sides of myself. My contrasting moods and my various friends pass through my head, everything intermingling and linking in odd connections left from right, yet at the same time typifying the randomness of the world. Lately, I have been thinking about my future and its endless possibilities along with my seemingly incapability to make any decisions. At 17 years old I do not know how I am supposed to select a place to spend my next four years and prepare myself for a career I am supposed to have for the rest of my life. I wonder how to choose between my love for both the city’s commotion and chaos and my love for the natural world and its silent beauty. In the end it comes down to diligence and hard work to create opportunities and possibilities. I need to carve my path and hope for happiness; I hope for the serene content I experience on the roof and make sure I stay true to my passions, as soon as I discover what such passions are. I will continue thinking and challenging my ideas and thoughts and keep improving myself. I find that alone time on my roof where I can think is just as vital to my growth as the priceless moments and memories I create with my dearest friends and family. Thinking, breathing, living and being. This could happen anywhere, I suppose. It just so happens my roof is the perfect niche in the space I need.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Free Essays on Roman Times

From early times right down to the 3rd century A.D, the Roman army was based on its legions. A legion varied in strength from 4,000 to 6,000 men, and was subdivided onto ten cohorts. Its leader used the title of legatus. His staff officers were called tribuni. Senior non-commissioned officers were called centurions, who varied greatly in rank. The soldiers of the legion were picked men: They were all Roman citizens and received a higher pay than the auxillary troops - that is, foreigners who serve with the Roman army. A legion consisited of heavily armoured infantry (foot soldiers). The Roman infantry became a feared force, well disciplined and well trained. Their weapons were two pila or javelins each and a short thrusting gladius or sword. Cavalry was supplied by the auxilaries ( second line troops ) and was organised mainly in units 500 strong. When it was on campaigns the army was accompanied by a number of specialists. One was the camp commandant, who was responsible for the organisation of the camp. The Romans were very careful about their camps - no Roman army halted for a single night without digging a trenches and fortifying its camp. Each soldier took his share in establishing the camp and striking the camp the next day. Another specialist was the quaestor, whose duty was to look after all the money matter. then there were the engineers and all kinds of craftsmen and artisans. They were responsible for siege operations and for the rather primative Roman"artillery", which consisted of big catapults and complicated machines a little like crossbows. These were mainly used for hurling big rocks and stones at the walls of a defence place. The engineers also had to build the moveable towers that were used in sieges - the Roman soldiers went up inside these towers so that they could see over the walls of a fortified! place and shoot their stones and arrows into it. The engineers also made the scaling ladders that were used for ... Free Essays on Roman Times Free Essays on Roman Times From early times right down to the 3rd century A.D, the Roman army was based on its legions. A legion varied in strength from 4,000 to 6,000 men, and was subdivided onto ten cohorts. Its leader used the title of legatus. His staff officers were called tribuni. Senior non-commissioned officers were called centurions, who varied greatly in rank. The soldiers of the legion were picked men: They were all Roman citizens and received a higher pay than the auxillary troops - that is, foreigners who serve with the Roman army. A legion consisited of heavily armoured infantry (foot soldiers). The Roman infantry became a feared force, well disciplined and well trained. Their weapons were two pila or javelins each and a short thrusting gladius or sword. Cavalry was supplied by the auxilaries ( second line troops ) and was organised mainly in units 500 strong. When it was on campaigns the army was accompanied by a number of specialists. One was the camp commandant, who was responsible for the organisation of the camp. The Romans were very careful about their camps - no Roman army halted for a single night without digging a trenches and fortifying its camp. Each soldier took his share in establishing the camp and striking the camp the next day. Another specialist was the quaestor, whose duty was to look after all the money matter. then there were the engineers and all kinds of craftsmen and artisans. They were responsible for siege operations and for the rather primative Roman"artillery", which consisted of big catapults and complicated machines a little like crossbows. These were mainly used for hurling big rocks and stones at the walls of a defence place. The engineers also had to build the moveable towers that were used in sieges - the Roman soldiers went up inside these towers so that they could see over the walls of a fortified! place and shoot their stones and arrows into it. The engineers also made the scaling ladders that were used for ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Sharif Husayn ibn Ali achievements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sharif Husayn ibn Ali achievements - Essay Example amascus after emerging victorious against the Ottoman and German armies after motivating his army by claiming a Jihad, to fight for their sovereignty (Mehran, 2011, p. 67). Other achievements of Sharif Husayn include the use of stamps and paper money in Mecca, which promoted trade in the ports that he had captured during the war. His ability to unite different Arab clans and group is a great achievement that proved essential in the victory against Ottoman Empire. Sharif Husayn motivational skills and unity of the Arab Muslims, Jewish and Christians proved key for the coexistence of the Arabs long after his death (Stuart, Norvig & Davis, 2010, p. 97). This achievement may be controversial but it is under Sharif Husayn leadership that Arab Nationalism began. The Arabs were able to lay aside their religious beliefs to fight for their rights (Carol, Phelan, & Bierman, 2012, p. 43). Finally, the lines in the dust although they brought controversy and war, it was his negotiation skills that led to the borders that eventually became sovereign

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Constructivism in the Classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Constructivism in the Classroom - Essay Example Constructivism has been defined by researchers and educators in numerous ways. With a history that can be traced to the days of Socrates, Constructivism has become an important learning technique for all students. Jacqueline Grennon Brooks in her book Concept to Classroom Interviews (1999) states that ‘as long as there were people asking each other questions, we have had constructivist classrooms. Constructivism, the study of learning, is about how we all make sense of our world, and that really hasn’t changed’. ‘The concept of constructivism has roots in classical antiquity, going back to Socrates’s dialogues with his followers, in which he asked directed questions that led his students to realize for themselves the weaknesses in their thinking. The Socratic dialogue is still an important tool in the way constructivist educators assess their students’ learning and plan new learning experiences†¦ in this century, Jean Piaget and John Dewey developed theories of childhood development and education, what we now call Progressive Education, that led to the evolution of constructivism. According to William J. Matthews, a professor in the School Psychology Program of the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts, ‘there are numerous variations and definitions of post-modernist thought of which constructivism is a subset (e.g. , radical constructivism, social constructivism, and deconstructivism). However, Piagetian constructivism is a subset of a larger historical challenge to modernist notions. of objective reality in general and the use of empirically validated methods of teaching specifically'. As Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and Martin G. Brooks state, 'Constructivism is basically a theory - based on observation and scientific study - about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active

Monday, November 18, 2019

Human resources Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Human resources - Assignment Example He also stated that he often interacted with HR whenever he had a problem with another employee or wanted a bonus or a leave. My brother stated that his HR department recorded all information about employees starting from recruitment, selection, performance appraisal, leaves, increase in salaries, promotions, and the like. He stated that his HR mainly focused on administrative role which included recruitment and selection of employees. He did not have to interact with the HR much too often but planned to in case of any problem in future. My neighbor asserted that his HR not only kept all record of employees but also focused on assigning tasks and responsibilities to individual employees by considering the scope of project, deadline and the competency of employees. I agree with all three participants in positively perceiving about HR and its roles because HR is the most important department in a company that works to increase job satisfaction. I believe that a company should have a strong HR management system if it wants its employees to be stress free, happy and satisfied with their job status. Employees frequently enter into troubles and even if not, still they constantly need motivation to work harder while knowing that their needs will be fulfilled properly. HR takes care of that employees do not have to suffer from any prejudice (racial or gender) during and after selection; they receive rewards when they perform well; they receive enough vacations; they get enough benefits and allowances that they require; they are not bullied; and, the like. As for me, I believe that I can be a good employee advocate because I am very much interested in understanding the nature of conflicts that happen at workplace and resolving them through mediation strategies. I am also interested in assigning project tasks to individual employees since I like to learn about employees’ skills and

Friday, November 15, 2019

AirAsia Planning and Decision Making

AirAsia Planning and Decision Making This is the logo and the organization which I interested and I want to intro the planning process and Decision Making in this company. It is one of the famous company in Malaysia. Asias leading airline was established with the dream of making flying possible for everyone. Since 2001, AirAsia has swiftly broken travel norms around the globe and has risen to become the worlds best. With a route network that spans through more than 20 countries, AirAsia continues to pave the way for low-cost aviation through our innovative solutions, efficient processes and a passionate approach to business. Together with our associate companies, AirAsia X, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia, They are set to take low-cost flying to an all new high with our believe, Now Everyone Can Fly. Planning is one of the most important project management and management techniques. Planning is preparing a sequence of action steps to achieve some specific goal. If you do it effectively, you can reduce much the necessary time and effort of achieving the goal. The important of planning involves like defining organization goals, establish strategies to achieve goals,and develop plans to integrate coordinate work activities. A plan is like a map. When following a plan, you can always see how much you have progressed towards your project goal and how far you are from your destination. Knowing where you are is essential for making good decisions on where to go or what to do next. The most important to ensure that everyone is clear of what to accomplish. Planning is also crucial for meeting your needs during each action step with your time, money, or other resources. With careful planning you often can see if at some point you are likely to face a problem. It is much easier to adjust your plan to avoid or smoothen a coming crisis, rather than to deal with the crisis when it comes unexpected time. Example Air Asia plans to expand their operations in Europe, so they consultation to the Government of French . They has been granted landing rights in Paris and is awaiting further details from authorities. The mission in Air Asia got four major point. The first point is to be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family. Then the second point is create a globally recognized ASEAN brand. The third point is to attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia and the last point is Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service levels. They had achieved the goals but the second point they havent achieved it because in this strong competitive era , too many company like Malaysia Airlines and Tiger Airways also want to be the globally recognized ASEAN brand, but they will work hard to achieve their goals. Type of plan The first type of plan is strategic plans. It is long term and apply to entire organization. It also a broad plans. This type of plan is made by the top management for the whole organization such as CEO, COO, and other. This plan is usually done for 5 years and above Example, Air Asia CEO planning want to take more route in 5 years. The second type of plan is tactical plans. It is a short term goal and basically focus on the problems of resource allocation. This plan is made by middle level management such as manager. It done for a period of 1-5 years. Example, they want to buy more bigger airplane in 4 years. The third type of plan is operational plan. It is encompass particular operational area of the organization. It cover short time period. This plan developed by first line manager such as supervisor. Example, their goal is a daily capacity of 3 million. The fourth type of plan is long term plan. It is plan with time frames extending beyond 3 years. This plan usually use to making research or market research. The fifth type of plan is short term plan. It is plans that are clearly defined and no room for interpretation. Example, they promotion and discount the ticket to let more people can fly. Planning process The step one of planning process is set objectives which means establish objective and targets while taking into consideration such as mission, strategic plans/goals, environment, and availability of resources. In Air Asia have set their objective like made their ticket price more cheaper and provide better service. They step two of planning process is analyze and evaluate the environment. Once objectives are established, manager must analyze their current situation and environment (internal external)to determine what resources are available. Internal environment included such as raw material, machine/ equipments , finance ,money ,and other. External environment included PEST which is policies, economic, social, technology and competitor. Air Asia analyze and evaluate the environment after set their objectives like do survey. The step three of planning process is identify alternatives which means list down as many alternatives as possible to reach the goals. Air Asia list many alternatives like connect to other company, let their worker learn more language and upgrade their facility. The step four of planning process is evaluate the alternatives which means evaluate all alternatives to determine which combination of alternatives is the most effective and efficient to achieve the goals. For each alternatives, manager will look at the advantages or disadvantages. Air Asia will try all alternatives and identify before see which is the best. The step five of planning process is select the best solution which is select the best alternatives that gives most advantages and fewest disadvantages.Air Asia choose the best solution is upgrade their facility so that can let their customer more comfortable. The step six of planning process is implementing the plan which means decide who will be involved determine, what resources need, how the plan be evaluated and how reporting will be handled. If Air Asia want make their customer more comfortable, then the best away is buy the new and bigger airplane. The last step is controlling and evaluating the result which means monitor to ensure plan is going according to expectations and make necessary adjustment, if needed.Chart.png Factors of effective planning There are some factors of Air Asia to make an effective planning to let them success. The first is fatten the organizational hierarchy to foster development of planning skills at all level of organization. It can made the company more systematization. The other is practice MBO(management by objective) -technique that emphasize collaboration objective setting by managers and subordinates which means if CEO and other department can effective work together and strengthen their worker then the company sure will be a best company in the world. The third is encourage employees at all levels to provide feedback and suggestions for planning that means the company see their employees are treated equally. The four is develop plan that are specific but flexible which means although the company made the plan to achieve goal ,if got some problem must change and discuss, dont rigid to follow the original plan. The five is must acquire facts and information that are current and reliable to be accurate in planning that will be made the CEO accurate to made a good plan to their compan y. The last is develop contingency plans and strategies. It is the very important effective away that can be immediately correspondence when the company got some emergency. The problem of Air Asia In 2008-2009, Air Asia got many problem that made their company loss. There some issue that are involved for that company whereby they are unable to achieve their goal. The first one is mission statement objectives of organization are not clear and precise enough for planning which means the company not follow their step to achieve the goals , it will affect all organization progress, example Air Asia want charge the several fees if customer booking already the ticket but suddenly want change. Although it is rational but some time some customer change their ticket but no need charge the fees, so they not accurate and not follow the mission. The other is some managers are not experiences in planning. It is because the plans always decide by the to management , not by middle management, so if suddenly want manager to decide plan will made some mistake . Some managers have negatives thinking of planning as they think planning is costly, time consuming waste of time. Air Asia sometime will think that plans will use many costly and if the plan no success will wasting time , so in 2008 their company did not get mush profit. After the end of 2009, Air Asia made a different decision that is change a manager and CEO . The other away is set a new objective and effective to follow the goal that is the first important thing. Example they want reception customer about 100million a day. Decision Making Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice. It can making a choice from two or more alternatives. Identify problems or opportunities, developing alternatives , choosing an alternative and implementing it. Decision making also is performed by all level of management in an organization. Type of Decision The first type of decision is organizational decision which means made by managers within their authority in accordance with organizational such as goals, policies, procedures, and strategies. Example ,Air Asia wan to be a globally recognized ASEAN brand. The second type of decision is personal decision which means made based on managers personal choice and preference. Example ,the Air Asia s manager made two plan like upgrade the facility first or training the worker first, then CEO choose the one he like. The third type of decision is strategies decision which means deals with long term plans which is important for growth and survival of organization. Example , Air Asia need to plan a long term plan to achieve goals in this period of economic instability. The four type of decision is tactical decision which means deals with routine and operational activities. Example manger need to deals the operational activities such as system failure, the environment, and other . The five type of decision is programmed decision which means repetitive decision that can be handled by routine approach. It using when the problem being resolved straightforward, involve goals that are clear, and information about problem is available and complete. Example Air Asia use in policy, procedure, and rule. The last type of decision is un-programmed decision which means unique and non-recurring or generate unique responses. It use when the problem are new and unusual and when the information is incomplete. Decision Making Process Decision making process is very important to any company The step one of decision making process is identifying the problem . It is obstacle that males achieving a desired goal or purpose difficult. It also must be know that problem the organization facing and characteristics of the problem. Example Air Asia want lower fares or not . The step two of decision making process is identifying decision criteria which means factors that are important to resolving the problem. Example price, distance, customer, location ,and time. The step three of decision making process is allocating weights to the criteria. Assigning a weight to each item places the items in the correct priority order of their importance in the decision making process. Example customer is the first, then is distance , price, time, and the last is location. The step four of decision making process is developing alternatives. Alternatives are listed without evaluation that can resolve the problem. Manager look for as many alternatives to solve the problem. Example list down their competitor such as Malaysia Airlines , Tiger Airway and other. The step five of decision making process is analyzing alternatives. Analyze and evaluate each alternatives and find out their advantages or disadvantages. Example identify advantages or disadvantages of lower fares. The step six of decision making process is selecting an alternatives. Choose the best alternatives and with the highest total weight and with the most advantages fewest disadvantages. Example lower fares can make more customer come to buy , location no far than 700km, time about 2-3 hours. The step seven of decision making process is implementing the decision. Putting the chosen alternatives into action. Example Air Asia choose is lower the fares. The step eight of decision making process is evaluating decision effectiveness which means monitor or provide feedback on how well the decision has been implemented or is there any adjustment and corrective action need. Example Air Asia lower fares because can made more customer buy and increase profit. Creating Environment for Effective Decision Making The first of effective decision making is provide time for decision to be made which means manager should not rush and be pushed to make a decision, especially crucial. Negotiate more time and make good quality decision. Example when Air Asia airplane got some emergency problem , then manger should made a clear decision to solve the problem. The second of effective decision making is have self confidence which means managers must have self confidence and courage especially when making risky. Example manager must have self confidence when decide a high risk plan . The third of effective decision making is encourage others to make decision which means managers should trust subordinates and allow them to make decision. This will get their commitment when they are involved. Example manager must trust their worker or employee when they made some decision. The fourth of effective decision making is learn from past decisions which means managers should look at decision that worked and decision that did not use them as a guide. Example Air Asia need to see the decision first then decide want training their worker or not. Making Decision to be Ineffective decision The first point of making decision to be ineffective decision is time pressure which means not enough time to decision then will made mistake . The second point of making decision to be ineffective decision is limited amount of available information or incomplete information. Sometime some manager cant not get incomplete information so he will made wrong decision. The third point of making decision to be ineffective decision is higher levels of uncertainty in todays business environment. Conclusion After I research this company ,I learn more about planning and making decision. In my opinion, any company must be planning and decision making because if any company loss any one , will made the company not direction, no achieve goals, and other. And the last is must made customer happy because customer is always right. C:UsersMichaelDesktopnewINTIuc logo.jpg Name Lim Kok Hui Student ID I10005487 Program DBAD Course Code MGT1101 Section 5SS1 Lecturers Name Hardjinder Kaur A/P Balbir Singh Submission Date 14/6/2010 Aims: To help course participants consider the fundamental areas within management. Select an organization with which you are either interested or familiar with and write a 2,000 word essay on any 2 areas of the organization within the following areas: Planning and Decision Making Process

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Post-Modern Analysis Of Hr Gigers the birth machine Essay examples --

A Postmodern analysis of H.R. Giger's: "The Birth Machine" Contents 1. Introduction to Essay: Premodern, Modern and Post Modern Art 2. The Artist, Hans Rudi Giger and "The Birth Machine" 3. "The Birth Machine" 4. Picture: "The Birth Machine" 5. The Philosophical Narrative a. My chosen philosophical narrative (Postmodernism) b. Analysis of the piece through postmodernism 6. The Poem: "Der Atom Kinder" 7. Critical Evaluation 8. Conclusion 9. Picture: "Bullet Baby" and "Iron Cast Copy" 10. Bibliography Introduction: Premodern, Modern and Postmodern art forms Various styles of art change and mould to fit the times, as do their artists. It then follows that a number of eras are identifiable in history with the previous style or form of art usually being a catalyst for the next. The art often reflects not only the time in which it was created, but also the influence of the great thinkers of that time. The Premodern The premodern philosophy in relation to art can then be divided into two separate and distinct areas, namely the Hellenistic and the Medieval. The latter saw art as a mimetic actively or a second-hand reflection of the original source of meaning; that which is above man. In the biblical sense, this would refer to Yahweh or God (Kearney, 1994:115). This was followed by the belief that the imagination (and therefore that which came from the imagination) was a mere counterfeit of the original being (Kearney, 1994:117). As art could never be perfect and was always an interpretation of the imagination, the iconography (representational paintings) of Christ and the Saints had to therefore follow strict rules in order to show no emotion. This was no ensure that the icon which was being represented was being worshiped and never the painting itself. In the Hellenistic imagination, although man can be seem as an original creator of physical art pieces, the artists can never escape the feeling that it is an imitation of th... ...beautiful and artistic at the same time. Where the premodern art forms may have been too limiting on the artist and modern art a lot more reserved, postmodern art enables the artist to explore endless possibilities when it comes to expression. Perhaps too many as a lot of postmodern artists can start to claim almost any replicated image as a work of art. The imagination should be able to run freely, but should still, even in today's world on the monotonous, try to avoid too much replication. Nonetheless, Hans Rudi Giger remains a living legend along with his tortured artworks. Bibliography †¢ Kearney, R. The Wake of the Imagination Towards a postmodern Culture. London 1994 †¢ HR Giger. Giger's Necronomicon. Morpheus International. Beverley Hills. 1980 †¢ Stanislav Grof, Review of Necronomicon Mill Valley, California, January 2001. (www.ajlardim.com.br) †¢ http://webpages.charter.net/jspeyrer/necron.htm †¢ http://www.littlegiger.com/limited/ †¢ www.hrgiger.com †¢ www.giger.com

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Informative Speech Caffeine Essay

Caffeine Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the history of caffeine, how the body processes caffeine, and possible side effects of excessive caffeine consumption. Central Idea: Caffeine has been around for centuries and has been used for it energizing effects on the body . Introduction I. It’s the night before your chemistry exam and you decide to learn three weeks worth of material in one night. II. When 1:30 comes around and you can feel your eyes starting to get heavy, what do you grab to give you that extra energy to keep going? Is it coffee? Is it a Red Bull? III. Why do these types of drinks help us keep our eyes open long enough to get through that last chapter on combustion reactions? IV. The answer is caffeine. V. As college students, most of us consume caffeine every single day, so today I am going to share with you the history of caffeine, how the body processes caffeine, and possible side effects from excessive caffeine consumption. (Transition: Before I get into the many affects of caffeine on the body, lets go back in time to see where caffeine came from.) Body I. The appreciation of caffeinated beverages dates back tens of thousands of years. a. What is caffeine anyway? i. Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance that forms as an end product of nitrogen metabolism in plants. ii. It is found in more than 60 different plants species around the world, including coffee beans, tea leaves, and coco beans. b. The wild coffee bean plant originated in Ethiopia and according to Reginald Smith, author of the book A History of Coffee, cultivation of caffeine containing food and beverages from the coffee bean may have begun as early as AD575.† c. Centuries passed before coffee would reach Europe by the 17th century, but then spread uncontrollably to all parts of the world, including America. d. Coffee was brought to America in the mid 1600s. i. At this time, most Americans still preferred to drink tea, another caffeinated beverage, even though coffee houses were being built all over the country. ii. Coffee did not become America’s favorite beverage until the Boston Tea Party, when Americans revolted against Britain’s heavy tax on tea. (Transition: Now that you know where coffee came from, lets look at how the body processes it.) II. How does that morning cup of coffee wake you up and give you that added energy to get the day started? a. Well, caffeine is known to boost the effects of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, and serotonin. i. For example, dopamine is a neurotransmitter known to affect concentration. ii. Dopamine is also responsible for signaling your brain when it is time to go to bed, but when caffeine is introduced to the body, this signal is blocked. b. Caffeine also causes your body to release more adrenaline, which causes faster heart beat, more blood being pumped to muscles and organs in y our body, and adrenaline tells your liver to release sugar into the blood stream. c. When caffeine is in the blood stream, it encourages the release of more calcium ions, which in turn causes muscle to contract faster. d. The professor of nutrition at Tufts University, Susan Roberts, says that, â€Å"Research studies broadly document favorable changes such as increases in metabolic rate, increased fat oxidation, and a perception of increased physical and mental energy.† i. With all of these energy-boosting effects, it’s easy to see why we love caffeine so much. ii. Even though caffeine can make us feel invincible, consuming too much can have negative effects on our health. (Transition: Lets take a look at how much caffeine we should be consuming and what could happen if we consume too much.) III. Many people don’t know, but there are negative side effects of the overuse of caffeine. a. According to the article â€Å"Selected Health and Behavioral Effects Related to the Use of Caffeine† published in the Journal of Community Health, â€Å"Over 80% of adults consume caffeine daily in the form of coffee, tea, or soft drinks.† i. Since we consume caffeine daily, the amount we consume is important. ii. J.J Barone, author of â€Å"Caffeine Consumption†, which was published in the book Food and Chemical Toxicology, states that people should only consume 5 oz. of ground roast coffee, 5 oz. of tea, and 6 oz. of cola only a daily basis. iii. For a lot of people, this is not enough caffeine to feel the energizing  side effects, which leads to overconsumption. b. The many side effects of the overconsumption of caffeine include insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, dizziness, nausea, fast heartbeat, and muscle tremors. i. Caffeine interferes with your body’s internal signal that it is time for bed. So, caffeine causes sleep loss and decrease in quality of sleep, which in turn contributes most of the negative side effects. ii. These negative side effects can easily be stopped when the person returns to a normal routine. Conclusion I. Today we have learned where caffeine originated, how it affects the body, and side effects of overconsumption of caffeine. II. Next time you grab a cup of coffee, weather it be to wake up in the morning or so you can pull an all-nighter, thank the Ethiopians, I know I will. III. Thank you for listening.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Add your spirits of choice and stir Writing across genres Reedsy

Add your spirits of choice and stir Writing across genres Reedsy "Add your spirits of choice and stir": Jessica Bell, Independent Author Jessica Bell  has written her way across a variety of genres: in fiction, a variety of thriller and drama novels; in non-fiction, writing guides including the ’†¦in a Nutsell’; poetry; and the vignette, a form she’s resurrected with the Vine Leaves Literary Journal. So where to start? With our interview below!We talked to Jessica about being an indie author, how she works creatively, her style, and the benefits of being part of great indie associations like the ALLi! Enjoy!Jessica Bell  is Australian novelist, poet, and singer/songwriter/guitarist who lives in Athens, Greece. In addition to her novels, her poetry collections (including  Fabric, which was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2012), and her bestselling pocket writing guides (Writing in a Nutshell Series), she has published a variety of works in online and print literary journals and anthologies, including Australia’s Cordite Review. Additionally, she is the Publishing Edit or of  Vine Leaves Literary Journal, and the Coordinator of the  Writing Day Workshops  which take place throughout the United States on a rolling basis.  REEDSYWhen did you found Vine Leaves?JESSICA BELLIn late 2011, with Co-Founder Dawn Ius.REEDSYWhy vignettes? What’s attractive about them?JESSICA BELLLess rules, more freedom! â€Å"Vignette† is a word  that originally meant â€Å"something that may be written on a vine leaf.† It’s a snapshot in words. It differs from flash fiction or a short story in that its aim doesn’t lie within the traditional realms of structure or plot. Instead, the vignette focuses on one element, mood, character, setting or object. It’s descriptive, excellent for character or theme exploration and wordplay. Through a vignette, you create an atmosphere.REEDSYThrough Vine Leaves Press, it seems like you’re able to use your skills as an indie to help others release their work. What motivated you to s tart doing this?JESSICA BELLActually, I don’t really help others release their work, though I am open to answering questions if people want to reach out. As well as using it as a publishing platform for my own work, Vine Leaves Literary Journal run an annual vignette collection award. Through that we choose single-author vignette collections to publish. At the moment, that’s the extent of what the press offers. So if you want to be published by us, you need to write a vignette collection, and you need to submit it to the award. What motivated this? I want the vignette to be more recognized as a â€Å"form† rather than what some people like to call â€Å"stream of consciousness.† A vignette is so much more than a stream of consciousness and deserves some of the limelight.Oh gosh †¦ how do I answer this without sounding completely up myself? Ha! I’ve had many fabulous comments that I cherish and keep in a file on my computer for those horrible d ays that I doubt myself. One that was especially exciting was in a recent review of muted by the current Poet Laureate of Florida nominee! He said: â€Å"This utterly brilliant short work is not merely dystopian; that is too easy a label. It is a wholly organic, poetic warning of a future where a master may ‘dress his staff in false expression’ and other, more dire, imaginings. There are too many gifted turns of phrase and images for this to not be regarded as an extraordinary outpouring of poetic narrative.†REEDSYThank you for your time Jessica.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

A Quiz About Semicolons in Run-In Lists

A Quiz About Semicolons in Run-In Lists A Quiz About Semicolons in Run-In Lists A Quiz About Semicolons in Run-In Lists By Mark Nichol Replacing a semicolon functioning as a weak period (one separating two independent clauses that are so closely related that dividing them into distinct sentences weakens their impact) with a comma is a grammatically indefensible error known as a comma splice. But various strategies for replacing a semicolon deployed as a strong comma (one separating items in a run-in list that are themselves lists) with actual commas are valid and sometimes it’s necessary to correct improper use of semicolons. Devise a solution for supplanting semicolons in the following sentences with commas, and compare your revisions to mine: 1. â€Å"Issues include workplace environments; hiring, training, and promotion practices; and management styles.† 1. The order of the items in this run-in list can be altered so that the complex item (a list element that is itself a list) trails the others; the structure of the final phrase in the following revision clearly identifies it as a single item parallel in structure to the first two without semicolons as signal markers between the three larger elements: â€Å"Issues include workplace environments, management styles, and hiring, training, and promotion practices.† (However, avoid this solution if list items deliberately organized chronologically or by some other scheme of logic would be put into disarray by the revision.) 2. â€Å"Issues include workplace environments; management styles; hiring, training, and promotion practices; and outsourcing and the use of part-time and contingent workers.† This extended version of the previous example is easily modified as well, without altering the syntax of the revision shown above. Represent the simple first and second list items and the complex third item as a list, as in the example above, and insert the conjunctive phrase â€Å"as well as† before the next two items: â€Å"Issues include workplace environments, management styles, and hiring, training, and promotion practices, as well as outsourcing and the use of part-time and contingent workers. 3. â€Å"There can also be organ deformities, including heart defects; heart murmurs; genital malformations; and kidney and urinary defects.† If it weren’t for the subordinate clause â€Å"including heart defects,† no semicolon would be necessary in this sentence. So, to avoid retaining the mostly excessive semicolons, find another way to include the additional information outside of a traditional in-line list. Retain the phrase as a parenthesized phrase, but, as in the previous example, employ â€Å"as well as† and separate the remaining list elements with commas: â€Å"There can also be organ deformities (including heart defects), as well as heart murmurs, genital malformations, and kidney and urinary defects.† 4. â€Å"Damage can be minimized by shielding the testes, ovaries, and/or uterus; surgically moving ovaries out of the irradiation field; or altering the treatment schedule.† The presence of a verb at the head of each list item sufficiently distinguishes the items, so semicolons are unnecessary: â€Å"Damage can be minimized by shielding the testes, ovaries, and/or uterus, surgically moving ovaries out of the irradiation field, or altering the treatment schedule.† If the items in a semicolon-laden run-in list share a verb, try assigning a distinct verb to each item so that you can replace the semicolons with commas. 5. â€Å"The plant sucks in 785 million gallons of water a day; coal-fires it to temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to turn it into highly pressurized steam; then pipes the steam into a giant turbine that spin magnets inside wire coils to produce power.† Semicolons are employed to distinguish list items that are complex, as defined above, not those that are wordy. Despite the length of the three items in this sentence’s list, semicolons are excessive; separate the items with commas: â€Å"The plant sucks in 785 million gallons of water a day, coal-fires it to temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to turn it into highly pressurized steam, and then pipes the steam into a giant turbine that spin magnets inside wire coils to produce power.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant NamesDeck the HallsMankind vs. Humankind

Monday, November 4, 2019

Discuss this question. ( more likely to discuss the opinion and Essay

Discuss this question. ( more likely to discuss the opinion and knowledge no sources are needed) - Essay Example But mostly, relativistic has been widely used in understanding and interpreting different cultures or distant historical epochs. It begins with possible and even right premises such as we are historically and culturally different. This has again elicited the cultural wars witnessed in the world today. The suggestion that justification or truth is somehow relative would mostly have a dramatic impact on many fundamental issues about knowledge, intellectual progress, and objectivity. As such, relativism believes the relationship between a certain aspect as related to a certain culture, behaviors or moral principles in a given settings. Intuitively, they hardly believe in cross-cultures attitudes, behaviors or principles, and it is common for them to have lower tolerance. There are, however, ways that can be done to change this trend in the society. For instance, the integration of science which is universal across culture can dispel the attitude that certain justifications or truth are tied towards a particular culture. It would make everyone feel that what happens does so because of particular reason regardless of the culture associated with such behaviors. Through this, the premise of relativism stands to be

Friday, November 1, 2019

Research Report on foreign language film Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Report on foreign language film - Research Paper Example The movie revolves around a young Polish boy whom Visconti uses to incarnate beauty. He is a 14-year-old boy named Tadzio, played by Swedish Bjà ¸rn Andresen. The boy’s mother is played by Silvana Mangano, a beautiful Italian actress. Tadzio, the longhaired blond boy is the focus of attention of Gustav Von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde). An obsession of the boys beauty by Aschenbach leads to the question on the nature of the admiration (Andre 34). The main question in the movie is whether it is ethically okay in the moral standards or not. There is the mystery behind the movie in its structure and style, its symbolism and politics owing much of these to the novel by Thomas Mann’s with the same title Death in Venice, which the movie is based on. The movie is largely silent, in performance, and the actor Bogarde delivered an enlargement of meaning. The romantic suffering of Von Aschenbach manifested by his passion for Tadzio, emotional suffering on the death of his daughter. Setting Von Aschenbach on a journey of creation of beauty and purity discovered in Tadzio. The cinematography by Pasquale De Santis is also depicted in the movie. Scenes are well framed; there are lots of camera spinning from left to right allowing the observation of secondary characters. Costumes are highly stylized, and convey a Victorian look and feel, (Can 18). Can continues by making analysis on the soundtrack, which he says are echoes of one of Mahler melodies; the Adagietto of the Fifth Symphony. According to Snowball, Visconti overdid many things in the movie, which is quite evident at the end with the death of Aschenbach. He feels the movie become very boring toward the end but only saved by lovely things on the periphery. According to Snowball, he movie represents a deadly pestilence threatening both physically and represents the corruption that compromises and threatens all ideals. James feels that the Death in Venice was

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Critical reading assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical reading assignment - Essay Example The scientist argued that the Jews-Muslim convivencia had contrasting political motives or goals. Some state that Jews and Muslim existed in fully harmony that time. Others state that they were under pressure all the time, and their rights were impaired. For better understanding the Jews position, Cohen in his article used a comparative approach, and in such way explained lots of gaps. Undoubtedly, it was the period of harmony existence of the Jews and the Muslims, but nevertheless there were some restrictions and exceptions. Cohen tries to show how different were life the Jews in Islamic and Christian world. According to the article, Jews had lots of rights in Muslim world, they were well informed and took part in Muslim courts and economic life, and at the same time their position among the Christian were between the horns of dilemma (Cohen 4). According to the archives, it is possible to make a conclusion that the Jews adopted in some way the elements of culture of the Muslims. It to study the culture of Jews carefully, it is possible to find many similarities between their culture and the culture of Muslims. Those who lived in the Christian lands suffered along the whole history. Those who lived in Ashkenazic world suffered much less than historians stated in theirs book. Cohen provides in the article much approval concerning this point. He claimed that they had rights; moreover, they had integrated some Christian motives into Judaism as well. It is essential to pay attention to what attitude Islam and Christianity had to the Judaism. Speaking about religion, Islam treated Judaism much more positively than Christianity. If we read the New Testament we can find that Jews were rejected on theological basis. The Qur’an is not rejecting religious pluralism, but at the same time considers Islam to be the prevailing religion. The difference is that Islam is monotheistic religion, as opposed to the Christianity, with its Trinity. The other significant diffe rence is that Muhammad died naturally in contrast to the Christ, who was crucified. These differences caused quite different attitude to the Jews and their position among the Reconquista Spain and the Ashkenazic lands (Cohen 4). The Jews had a legal status in Muslim world. They had to pay some per year taxes, they had no restrictions on the manifestation of their religion, they only had to wear a special clothes, in order to be recognized among Muslims. They were trusted enough to hold the official positions. There was a period when both the Jews and the Christian can participate in the political life of the Islamic states. They could be translators or diplomats. Cohen in his article pays especial attention to the economic factor. The Muslims and the Christians had absolutely different approach and attitude towards the Jews. The Jews were associated with luxury, they were international traders. But later they Christians developed bad attitude towards them. Quite different attitude c ould be noticed in the Islamic world. They not only served some goods, but also had some functions, wrote letters etc â€Å"For other reasons, too, Jews occupied a more stable and enduring place in the social order of Islam than they did in northern Christian Europe. Islam, like Christendom, is a hierarchical society. Jews occupied a place on the hierarchical ladder-- a lowly place but a place nonetheless. The same was true of Christendom in the early middle

Monday, October 28, 2019

Stranger on a Train - Alfred Hitchcock Essay Example for Free

Stranger on a Train Alfred Hitchcock Essay The very first scene when Bruno meets Guy, Bruno is depicted as a baddy by having shadows of blinds cast across his face. These symbolised the bars of a prison. There also is a close up shot of his shoes, which shows them as being very expensive and posh. In Medcafe, when Guy meets his wife Miriam to have the meeting with the counsellor, it is based in a very sinister environment in a music shop. This is when Miriam cheats on Guy and says that she is going to stay married to him. When Bruno visits Guy on the evening of the murder outside Guys house, they both end up standing and talking to each other behind a barred gate from the cameras point of view. It is at this point when Guy calls Bruno crazy. Bruno begins to invade Guys life after murdering Miriam, as he wants Guy to kill his father. Bruno has a close up shot done of his hands when his mother is acting as though she is his servant and this shows that Bruno has no respect for his mother, but more than his father. This is shown when Bruno says that his mothers painting looks just like his father. Brunos mothers painting is very strange and sinister, and could symbolise that Brunos mother has a twisted mind too. While Bruno is at his house we also see him dressed in an expensive silk dressing gown, which symbolises his wealth. He also has a personalised tie and very smart suit, which he says he doesnt like but his mother bought for him so he wears it to impress her. Bruno always wears a hat but Guy never does. This is because the hat causes a shadow to be cast across his face, which shades his eyes. Bruno first meets Guys family and friends at a tennis match and he pretends he is Guys friend and his admirer. Anne Morton then begins to wonder about him as he keeps staring at Barbara and her glasses. Guy gets a package delivered to him, which contains a gun and a plan of Brunos house to show where Brunos Fathers bedroom is. Guy next sees Bruno at a party where all his friends and family and acquaintances are. Here Bruno starts a conversation with a lady about how to murder someone without other people hearing or seeing. He then says he will show her how to, and when he goes to demonstrate it he sees Barbara, who looks like Miriam and falls into a trance. Anne Morton worked out that it was Bruno who murdered Miriam and wanted to go to the police but Guy explained that he couldnt tell the police because Bruno would say that they had planned it together. Anne Morton then went to Brunos house to try and explain to Brunos mother that she had a lunatic for a son but Brunos mother would not hear a bad word against him. So Guy phoned Bruno to tell him that he would kill his father and agreed on the date as that night. When Guy arrived at Brunos House he followed the instructions to get to Brunos fathers room and once there he woke up Brunos father. Brunos father, it turned out, was not at home that night but instead, Guy found Bruno lying there and had an argument; Bruno said he would get Guy caught somehow. Guy explained this to Anne Morton and they remembered that Bruno had Guys lighter. Anne and Guy came up with a plan to give the police the slip and get to the fairground before Bruno and stop him framing Guy. The plan would only work really well they decided, if Guy won the first three sets of the tennis competition, but the plan went wrong as Guy was beginning to get tired. He finally won the tennis match and got away temporarily from the police but not successfully. The police caught up with Guy and tried to take him back to jail but Guy and Bruno started to have a fight on the merry-go-round at the fairground. Here Bruno wants revenge so much because Guy has not killed his father you can see it in his eyes and the way he acts, he is so eager to get back at Guy. The man in charge of the boating lake pointed out the man who he had seen follow Miriam onto the boating lake and the police assumed it was Guy but when the got hold of Guy the man corrected them and said it was Bruno not Guy. Even when Bruno was lying dying on the destroyed merry-go-round he was still trying to get Guy into trouble and it was only when he finally died that the police believed Guy and found Guys lighter in Brunos hand.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Armand Fernandez :: Armand Fernandez Artists Painters Essays

Armand Fernandez Born as Armand Fernandez in 1928 at Nice, the son of an antique dealer. His first lessons in painting were given him by his father. He took his Baccalaurà ©at in philosophy and mathematics in 1946 and began to study painting at the École Nationale d'Art Dà ©coratif, Nice. In 1947 he met Yves Klein and Claude Pascal in Paris and accompanied them on a hitch-hiking tour of Europe. Completing his studies in Nice in 1949, he enrolled as a student at the École du Louvre, where he concentrated on the study of archaeology and oriental art. His pictures at this time were influenced by Surrealism. In 1951 he became a teacher at the Bushido Kai Judo School. He completed his military service as a medical orderly in the Indo-Chinese War. He did abstract paintings in 1953. He took part in actions with Yves Klein, with whom he had been discussing subjects such as Zen Buddhism and astrology since 1947. He married Eliane Radigue. He was impressed by a Kurt Schwitters exhibition in Paris in 1954 which inspired him to begin his work with stamp imprints, the Cachets. He earned his living during this period through occasional jobs, selling furniture and harpoon fishing. He had his first one-man exhibitions in London and Paris in 1956. In 1957 he travelled in Persia, Turkey and Afghanistan. In 1958 he dropped the "d" in his name, inspired by a printer's error. He started his monotypes using objects, his Allures. In 1959 he did his first Accumulations and Poubelles. The Accumulations were assemblages of everyday objects and similar consumer articles displayed in boxes. The Poubelles were similar, but used collections of rubbish. In 1960 he became a founding member of the Nouveaux Rà ©alistes. Through this group he made contact with members of the Zero group. H e showed in New York and Milan in 1961 and made his sliced and smashed objects (Couples, Colà ¨res). In 1962 he showed in various European cities and also in Los Angeles, where he was assisted by Edward Kienholz. He started his so-called Combustions, or burned objects, in 1963. He also took up part-time residence in New York. In 1964 he had his first museum retrospectives at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Polyester now became his most important material. In 1965 and 1966 he was given large retrospective exhibitions in Krefeld, Lausanne, Paris, Venice and Brussels.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Result of Sin Essay -- Literary Analysis, The Scarlet Letter.

Sin is the â€Å"wrongful conduct of a moral code selected by either society or the transgressor.† Sin is one of the main themes in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. The Puritan society that Hester Prynne resides in does not accept people who deny to follow the moral code of the town. Throughout the novel three main characters are involved with the act of sin, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Adultery by definition is voluntary having sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her lawful spouse. It is part of the ten commandments and a law that the Puritan village frowns upon. During the Puritan time period, crimes for adultery ended in execution. However Hester is only forced into wearing the scarlet letter due to the unknown information of who her husband and her lover were. Through adultery Hester Prynne and her daughter are forced to reside to the outskirts of town and be neglected by the rest of society. Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter embroidered to her chest. This is to symbolize the adultery she has committed. "It [has] the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself " (Hawthorne 49). This spell, the scarlet letter is "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom" (Hawthorne 49). The scarlet letter is what separates Hester from the rest of society because it symbolizes her sin. To make up for her sin Hester â€Å"bestowed all her superfluous means in charity, on wretches less miserable than herself†. (Hawthorne 76) However, although Hester tries her best to contribute to the less fortunate than even herself citizens continue to â€Å"[insult] the hand that [feeds] them†... ...t that out of the three characters Roger Chillingworth has the darkest conscience. This is apparent considering he feels no remorse or guilt from the people he is hurting. It is obvious that Roger does not think of the impact of his actions and does things for self gratification. There are many moral lessons demonstrated in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne is able to get the point across that it is better to confess your sins rather than hide them. It may ruin ones reputation, or destroy a career, but it is better for yourself than to live in guilt forever. This is proven significantly through Hester Prynne at the end of the novel. Hester is able to overcome her sin and learn from her mistakes. She is discovered to be a woman who helps others and eventually regains the respect of the town. She is eventually is finally accepted by herself, society, and God.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 9

Fifteen minutes later I stood next to my brother at the outskirts of the dance, waiting for the music to stop. Everyone twirled around, their skirts swishing in perfect synchronicity to the music, all of them oblivious to the fact that two dangerous murderers stood among them. â€Å"Follow my lead,† Damon said out the side of his mouth. â€Å"Go to hell,† I said out the corner of mine, smiling at Margaret as she passed. â€Å"Been there. Not to my liking,† he answered, taking two glasses of champagne off a tray and handing one to me. â€Å"There you are,† Bridget squealed, running up to me. She bounced up and down with excitement, causing all of the flounces on her dress to rise and fall like a giant stinging jellyfish. She grabbed my arm. â€Å"What were you talking about all this time? Me?† I turned and looked at her. She was beautiful and completely off-putting – self-centered, immature, always vying for attention. But Bridget Sutherland didn't deserve to die. I had been responsible for enough deaths in my short time as a vampire. I could never put to right the wrongs I'd committed in those early days, but saving this family from Damon's vengeance was my responsibility. I would not have their blood on my conscience. â€Å"Yes. Yes I was,† I answered, and then I drained my drink and motioned for the waiter to bring me another. â€Å"Attention please,† Damon called out, tapping on his glass with a silver spoon. The master of the dance, Reginald Chester, squinted at Damon curiously. The orchestra, looking confused, put down their instruments. Mrs. Chester first seemed put out that someone else was taking charge of the dance – but when she saw who it was, she began to beam like Damon was her own son. The murmuring crowd turned to us: young, old, with feathers, with gems, in wide lace shawls and massive silk dresses, like a flock of tropical birds at a zoo awaiting the keeper who would scatter grain for their supper. They whispered to one another and nodded, trying to claim connection to him: â€Å"I had dinner with him last week.† â€Å"He was having drinks with the Knoxes, that's where I met him.† â€Å"I recommended my best tailor to him.† It was difficult to tell if the crowd had been charmed by Damon's natural charisma, or if there was powerful compelling at work. But I wondered again how a vampire as young as Damon could command such Power. â€Å"My new friend and I have an announcement to make,† Damon called out, assuming his fake Italian accent once more. Lydia quietly slipped to the front of the crowd, coming to stand near Damon. â€Å"Many of you know the story of the night Miss Sutherland and I first met†¦ I, a stranger to your shores, and she, a beautiful damsel in distress†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The crowd smiled adoringly. Hilda and one of her girlfriends exchanged envious looks. â€Å"And in a shocking coincidence, my friend here, Stefan Salvatore, rescued her sister, the equally beautiful and charming Bridget Sutherland, just last night. I can't speak for him,† he said, drawing close to Lydia, his glass still raised, his attention still on the crowd, â€Å"but for me, it was love at first sight. I've already spoken to her father, and so before anyone else can grab her away from me, I, Count Damon DeSangue, beg Lydia for the honor of her hand in marriage, though I have nothing to offer her beyond my good name and lifelong devotion.† He got down on one knee and whispered, â€Å"Lydia?† Lydia's face flushed prettily. She was taken off guard. Though she was not the sort of girl who really looked forward to being asked to wed in front of a large crowd, she beamed. â€Å"Of course, Damon, with all my heart!† she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. The Sutherland family stood together at the front of the crowd. The look on Margaret's face wasn't so much a scowl as disgusted shock and sheer confusion. I knew how she felt, but wondered at her response. Wasn't she under Damon's compulsion to accept him – and me – completely? Bridget's reaction was equally human, and far more horrible. Her eyes burned with pure, searing jealousy. Maybe there was a tiny bit of relief that her older sister was getting married, which meant that now in turn she could. But it was obvious that the youngest Sutherland had been dreaming her whole life of exactly how her perfect suitor would propose, and that it involved being done in public, in front of all her friends and an admiring audience. The admiring crowd clapped and then Damon's eyes flicked back toward me. Just once. Like he had the power to compel me. And in a manner of speaking, he did. I knew exactly what he wanted me to do. I drained my second champagne before stepping forward, turning toward Bridget. Here I went again. It seemed only yesterday that I was in Mystic Falls, yearning to go to school in Charlottesville, waiting out the war in the lazy, endless summer, and being forced to court Rosalyn. Each time I called upon her it was with a leaden ball in my stomach, and each visit was an exercise in frustration and despair. I never wanted to marry her – our parents wished us to marry. My father expected us to marry. And so I was forced into an engagement I didn't want, anticipating a marriage I didn't desire. Once again I was being being forced into a marriage. But perhaps this was all part of the punishment I deserved. And if it meant saving lives†¦ â€Å"Bridget.† I turned to her, bent at my waist and holding my drink out, toasting her. I was the very form of romantic etiquette, exuding Southern charm the like of which these Yankees rarely saw. â€Å"From the very moment I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Saw your near-lifeless body covered in blood in Central Park and almost finished you off. â€Å"†¦ had the fortune to come to you in the hour of your direst need, I just knew you had to be mine. And thanks to the generosity of your parents, I already feel like family. Bridget, will you make this the happiest night of my life?† With a porcine squeal Bridget threw her arms around me – after first carefully handing her glass of punch to Hilda. â€Å"Good show,† Bram clapped, his cheeks flushing even redder. â€Å"I knew you were a decent chap! I could tell right away!† The crowd exploded with cheers and thunderous applause; buckets of champagne were ordered all around. Winfield Sutherland looked so puffed up with pride and joy I feared he would explode. Mrs. Sutherland looked quietly pleased now that the last of her daughters were matched. Only Margaret shook her head angrily before freezing her face into a good show of sisterly pride. The leader of the dance had a Nebuchadnezzar of champagne brought forth, a giant glass bottle that held the equivalent of twenty bottles' worth of champagne. In an elegant display of sabrage, he took a sword from his butler and dramatically sliced along the bottle, causing the neck to fly off in a beautiful explosion of sparkling golden liquid. â€Å"Let's have the weddings this weekend!† Damon cried out, as if caught up in the general excitement. â€Å"We've waited our whole lives to find these ladies – why wait now?† Yes, why wait? I thought. Let Damon's games begin.