Biography Of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson [1830-1886] was a powerful poet of America and the â€Å"most perfect flower of New England. † She not only did occupy a pride of place in American Literature but she was considered to be an anticipator of philosophical poetry, a harbinger of Modernity and an upholder of Romanticism. In her wit she was philosophical, in her attitudes a Romantic and in her poetics a Modern. She wrote upon varied subjects though she was known to be virtually withdrawn from the outside world till she breathed her last.Her pen gave poetic touch to all issues right from Death, contemporary social scene, immortality , pain and pleasure , hope and fear, love , Nature, God, religion, virtue. Hers was a highly romantic soul that found strange beauty and startling suggestion in the simplest elements of experience—the glance of a friend ,a sentence in a book, a bee’s hum, a stone in the road or the slant of light on winter afternoons. Her poems won her a place in world liter ature because of their originality.It is really interesting to note that Emily Dickinson once wrote to Thomas Wentworth Higginson of The Atlantic Monthly sometime in 1862 â€Å"Are you too deeply occupied to say that my verse is alive? † No doubt, A. C. Ward had called her â€Å"perhaps next to Whitman the greatest American poet of the last century. † Emily Dickinson had a checkered life of love and frustration or love and a sense of loss before 1958 when she had withdrawn from the society , keeping herself cooped up in her father’s residence at Amherst, Massachusetts. She used to write and preserve the poems in small volumes,- in her own coinage ‘fascicles’.In her lifetime she was able to publish only seven to ten poems though she went on writing madly from 1858 to 1864[some say 1862]. Most of her neighbors remembered her to see wandering alone in the house dressed in spotless white. They even nicknamed her â€Å"the woman in white. † She re mained an enigma till her demise. After her death, her sister Lavinia found forty such poems in her bedroom. She sat with Mary Babel Todd , their neighbor as well as a family friend, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson they found these to be somewhat difficult to publish. Emily Dickinson even loved to share her poems through letters with her friends.Emily Dickinson used to stay in her paternal residence with her unmarried sister Lavinia till death. Her brother Austin Dickinson moved to a nearby house with his wife Susan. And it is known through the article by Emily Dickinson: Continuing Enigma by Jone Johnson Lewis [Women’s History Guide] that she used to write letters even to her closest neighbors and even with Susan and Mabel Todd she used to write regularly. She even sent poems to them through the letters. Says George Frisbie Whicher in her book This was a Poet, â€Å"A letter seemed to her to possess a spectral power.It was the disembodied mind, walking alone†¦.. The let ters that she composed during her years of seclusion are like her poems, distinguishable from them only by their greater length and variety. † It is interesting to note that Emily Dickinson used to write poems right from the days in Mount Holyoke Seminary. R. B. Sewall has it that the Book of Revelation was her favorite book of the Bible. As a schoolgirl when she wrote, †I hope the father in the skies /Will lift his little girl ,–/Old-fashioned, naughty, everything,–/Over the stile of pearl!† she seemed to echo the ideas she imbibed from her tutor, Doctor Wadsworth. But she began to mature along with the growing years, gave up the religious inclinations she had so far. From the winter of 1861—62, Emily Dickinson changed her course of thought and started to declare, â€Å"They[family members] are religious, except me† From then onwards she decided to live and breathe for her writing alone. Perhaps, she found as a poet a more satisfying ex istence than she could otherwise find as a woman. She had a horde of literary friends to whom she loved to send her poems . They were:Samuel Bowles, Josiah Gilbert Holland, Helen Hunt Jackson, Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Thomas Niles of Roberts Brothers all with a professional interest. They also were of the opinion that the reading public of the sixties and the seventies were not of the required wavelength to meet her on her own level. It might have been one reason behind her very few publications during her lifetime. Her niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi took all the responsibility to publish three authentic volumes of her poems: Further Poems of Emily Dickinson[1929],Unpublished poems of Emily Dickinson [1935]and The Poems of Emily Dickinson[1937].Emily Dickinson’s poems made a remarkable difference in understanding the modern poetry. Hence, it goes without saying that hers was a major influence upon the mature readers of that period. If from among the gems of her creation we take at least a few to judge and analyze critically we will be able to understand why the world of literature still makes room for such a rare genius! Emily Dickinson’s fascination with Death comes out in the much read and critically appreciated lines: â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death–/He kindly stopped for me-/The Carriage held but just ourselves-/And Immortality.Immortality also creeps into the lines and is pictured as the third person in the carriage ,mentioned in the first stanza. To Emily Dickinson, Death appeared in various guises. At times she treated Death as a courtly lover sometimes again as the dreadful murderer. â€Å"Because I could not†¦Ã¢â‚¬ or â€Å"A Clock Stopped† deal with the tremendous and irresistible power of Death . These poems also highlight the physical transformation and the final isolation that Death involves. Sometimes she had stressed upon the ghastly aspects of Death by her willing use of the funeral and the rel igious imagery.For example, â€Å"I heard the fly buzz when I died .. † Quite difficult ,no doubt, for the contemporary readers to understand such invincible power of Life that it goes beyond the Ultimate Barrier of Death too!! Emily Dickinson fell in love many a time . Her possible lovers, as suggested by her biographers were: Benjamin Newton, Charles Wadsworth, Emmons et al. From the early sentimental love lyrics to the religious-mystical love-utterances , we are sure to find a wide range in Emily Dickinson’s love poetry.From among her early love lyrics we get one poem starting with â€Å" I started early –Took my dog–/And visited the Sea–/The Mermaids in the Basement/Came out to look at me. † The word â€Å"Early† holds the key to the interpretation of the poem. It means that the young girl is on a journey ,un-attempted before. Gradually, the tone changes from that of childlike innocence to a mellower awareness. The newly-aroused e motions of the girl and her fear at the thought of the Sea’s complete possession of her are expressed in a verse that is suggestive of shock and renunciation of life’s prime forces: love, sex, beauty so forth,-â€Å"And He-He followed-close behind-/I felt his Silver Heel/Upon my Ankle—Then my shoes/Would overflow with pearl-/Until we met the Solid Town-/No one He seemed to know–/And bowing with a mighty look–/At me-the Sea withdrew. † Examining all the associations clustered around the Sea , beauty, freedom , haughtiness, male power coupled with shy nature of the female we assume that the poem intends to express the emotional and physical effects of a lover’s advances. The girl nearly gives in to it but her life of control and proves stronger than this short-lived temptation and she beats a retreat!Dickinson’s images are powerful, her â€Å"dash† means a lot like her lonely existence and her poems help her win an immorta l place in the hearts of her readers because of their unique and universal appeal! Works and References 1. Sewall R. B. :The Life of Emily Dickinson, Boston, 1978. 2. Whicher G. F. :This was a poet, Michigan, 1957. Other Sources 1. High Beam Encyclopedia[http://www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1E1-DickinsoE. html] 2. http://www. womenshistory. about. com/library/bio/bldickinson. htm

Equal protection and due process clauses Essay

In natural rights philosophy, a limited government is a system restricted to protecting natural rights and that does not interfere with other aspects of life. Learning from the revolution in Great Britain, colonists created this country?s limited government in an attempt to protect their country from abuse of power. Both equal protection of the law and due process of law help limited government in preventing the abuse of power. Due process of law is one of our country?s oldest constitutional principles. Taking a cue from the Magna Carta, it requires that the actions of government be conducted according to the rule of the law. It is the most important protection against arbitrary rule. Government officials were now just as accountable for their actions as anyone else. A police officer, or even the president, were now held to the same standards as the average citizen. By adding due process of law to the constitution in 1791, founders basically shot down the threat of corruption by stating that no government can be above the law. Much like due process of law, Equal protection of the law is another way of safeguarding and regulating the use of power. A requirement of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, equal protection declares that state laws may not arbitrarily discriminate against persons. Protection of the law means that no group or individual can receive special privileges or be deprived of certain rights under the law. It reiterates the belief that our rights are God-given, and government has no right to deprive us of our unalienable rights. Along with due process of law, equal protection is one of the key principles of American Constitutionalism. In reference to the 14th amendment, Senator Jacob M. Howard, one of the 14th Amendment?s authors, once stated, ?It establishes equality before the law, and it gives, to the humblest, the poorest, the most despised?the same rights and the same protection before the law as it gives to the most powerful, the most wealthy, or the most haughty?. Without this principle of equal justice to all men and equal protection under the shield of the law, there can be no republican government and none that is really worth maintaining. Together, due process and equal protection of law help check  and balance the use of power in limited government. They protect our natural rights while at the same time avoiding interference in our lives.

The Benefits of Marijuana Use for Medical Purposes

It is normal for people to feel that rules are meant to forbid. When one goes out for a short drive for instance, he or she would encounter a lot of rules to observe – speed-limits, stop-lights, pedestrian lanes, no right or left turn signals, among many others.But it is also not wrong to think that rules, while they forbid certain things to be done, are actually meant to regulate. This means that laws exists not really to stop people from doing what they so desire. Instead, they are there to regulate so that the people can live in a decent and harmonious society.Currently, the use of marijuana is forbidden by a lot of world governments, the United States included. And it is normally accepted that such prohibition stems from the desire to implement peace and order in the society. We all know for a fact that marijuana is a type of drug that, when smoked, can elicit certain psychological and physical effects.People who smoke marijuana experience a feeling of being high – i.e., they feel a sensation characterized by being relaxed or pacified, or being a dreamy or semi-conscious state. Marijuana can make a person lose control as well. This is why, many authorities have forbidden its cultivation and possession, because its use can make a person do certain things he or she do not want to.Be that as it may, I still would like to argue that authorities must start looking at the possibility of legitimizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.The use of marijuana, as mentioned, can bring about certain psychological effects. And many authorities fear that, if left unchecked, its widespread use can lead people to commit heinous crimes such as gang-wars, robbery, rape and even homicide. But in their desire to regulate the use of marijuana, in view of the noble purpose of maintaining peace and quiet within the society, many authorities have also undermined the benefits which can be gained from its use.Specifically, these governments are overlooking the fa ct that marijuana can help doctors, and all those attending to the medical needs of the patients, administer helpful ways to effectively address pain management.The hospital is a place where sick persons are treated. Most often than not, these treatments come with a very high price – i.e., these persons have to deal with the pain that comes with having to be treated with their illnesses.In a manner of speaking, doctors and medical practitioners are tasked not only with the duty to cure their patients’ sickness, but also to make sure that patients can tolerate the cure which would be given to them. There are certain cures – for instance, surgeries – which are accompanied with intolerable pain. This is why, pain management is an essential part of medical practice.In view of such need, I have reasons to think that governments can start looking into the possibility of allowing the legitimate use of marijuana, if only doctors and nurses can be helped in addres sing pain management issues. Since marijuana can make a people less conscious of their bodily sensation, a dose of which can help patients deal with the pain of certain medical cures.This is especially true after surgeries. When a patient undergoes surgery, the aftermath can be very stressful. He or she needs to put up with the grimacing pain that comes with the medical procedure. And there are even times when, because of the intense pain, patients get to be traumatized because of the intense pain that comes with their operation.The use of anesthesia to address this pain issues is a common practice in the medical field. But because any high dosage giving out of anesthesia can seriously affect bodily functions, many doctors opt to use it quite sparingly. They would rather have the patients bear their post-procedure pain, than give them medicines which can seriously impede their normal physiological functions.

Recession in the United Kingdom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Recession in the United Kingdom - Essay Example The causes of the recession in general cannot be determined but the onus falls on the administration and the financial system of the economy. (Recession, n.d.) The recession in the latter half of 2000 was severe and the effects were visible in various economies of the world. The focal point of the recession of the 2008-09 was on the USA and it soon spread to the different corners of the globe. The main reason for the recession can be attributed to the housing sector of the USA and the inability of the financial system of the USA to tackle the problem. The components of the financial system like the banks and the financial companies were many ways responsible for the origin of the recession. USA, being one of the financial epicenters of the world, had a control over the global financial system. Therefore, the effects of the recession were visible in many parts of the world and the companies were cutting their manpower to cut the costs. The global economy suffered and the Governments o f the various countries had to take severe measures to counter the effects of the recession. UK being another nerve center of the global financial world faced the severe effects of recession. Another cause for the recession in the UK was that the economy of the country was dependent on the economy of the US and after the globalization of the economy companies of the other countries started to function in the UK. The Government had to put some efforts and it had to renew the policies to control the effects of the recession. The paper will explore the issue recession in the UK with special emphasis on the impact of measures undertaken by the government to tackle the recession. As discussed in the earlier part the origin of the global recession was the USA and the reasons for the recession can be attributed to the failures of the banks and the financial companies. The sector, which contributed to the

Child abuse as a social issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Child abuse as a social issue - Essay Example A child can develop well only when he gets proper education and health care facilities. Well-being of children can be assured only when the society has the ability to protect the rights of its children and safeguard them from injury and abuse (Jack & Gill, 2010, p.82). Child welfare agencies are formed for protection of children and their all round development. These agencies make their decisions regarding their child protection policies about permanent well-being of children. These decisions are based on interviews taken of children and families who have been reported for child abuse or neglect. The efficiency of child welfare policies depends on the ability of the agencies to conduct proper investigations of the mistreatment received by the child. Only precise conclusions about safety of children derived from the information collected from such investigations can build effective case plans. Workers of these agencies who take the responsibilities of taking interviews of children mus t have the knowledge and skills to make emotional inquiries in a sensitive manner. The agencies should be able to impart necessary values and knowledge to their workers through effective training in order to fulfill their child safety missions (Pence, 2011, p.50). Over the past three decades the philosophy and strategies of determining whether intervention is necessary in situations where a child is abused or has the potential risk of being harmed or injured have altered. The traditional method of child maltreatment investigations which involved participation of criminal and juvenile laws has evolved. Now, there are more â€Å"understanding of risk and safety, political pressures, implementation of evidence-based and research-supported interventions, philosophical shifts, and other variables† (Pence, 2011, p.51). Where traditionally the agency workers used to take action based on complaints of abuse, now take necessary steps to collect correct information regarding the truth and extent of maltreatment and what case plans should be made to ensure the safety of the children and promote protective behavioral patterns in the caretakers (Pence, 2011, p.51). There are many factors that determine the shape of child welfare services – the number of children in a population who are abused or are at risk, the social and economic conditions of the families and their technological advancement, prevailing ideologies concerning the children and the other members of their families, political pressure from different groups, and the principal views about reasons behind poverty, illness and crime. One criteria that is a permanent issue of child welfare agencies is to find solution to problems of those children whose parents cannot provide proper care. Although the proposed solution is â€Å"permanency planning†, history suggests that such planning cannot abolish the need of wide-ranging public provisions for children who are poor, neglected or disabled (Mal lon & Hess, 2005, p.10). The rate of child abuse has grown significantly all over the world and is essentially evident in North America and Western Europe. Between the years 1980 to 1993, the number of children who have been subject to mistreatment has doubled. This is a grave matter which has imposed great strains on the child welfare age

Practical proposal about ATM fraud Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Practical proposal about ATM fraud - Essay Example Smart phones can be used to make withdrawals and payments in retail stores instead of credit cards. This will protect the PIN numbers and other personal information. According to Abagnale, the use of smart phones will not apply universally as this will require one to become an expert of some electronic gadget, a task that is not so easy. However, technology is just part of the inevitable change that happens as we become more civilized. The same way people got training on computers, is the same way they can get training on use of these efficient gadgets (Abagnale, 108). The investment is actually worthwhile for varied reasons. First, it is impossible to record the PIN as done on an ATM. Secondly; the same smart phone can be used to keep track of one’s expenses as it records when and where the transaction was made. This information can also be accessed through emails. Also, some of these gadgets are so advanced that they also utilize the use of genes and fingerprints. A good example in this case is the use of gene coding in most bank vaults which has proved to be safer over the

Gender Violence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Gender Violence - Research Paper Example The disparity reveals that women define violence in broader terms than men, thus creating a gap between the genders in the way in which they perceive aggressive acts. This disparity can contribute to social study on the topic of violence between the genders, in particular, violence against women, in learning how best to inform and educate on the topic of violence. In addition, social policy can be framed according to an understanding of these gaps so that more effective results in ending violence against women in order to have a more satisfied population. Differences in the definition of violence between men and women Introduction This study was conducted with the purpose of understanding the ways in which differences are observed in defining violence between men and women. Men, typically seen as a more aggressive gender, provide a contrast to the way in which women see violence. Women typically are put on alert when any aggressive action is made by a man, while men often do not inte rpret an aggressively physical action as violence. This difference may be due to the way in which men engage in sports in comparison to women or through the wider space of vulnerability that women experience in comparison to men. Studying the ways in which men and women perceive violence will allow for a greater framework for society to determine how to respond to physically aggressive actions in society. ... Through examining the results of both the qualitative and quantitative study, a discussion was made about the issue of violence and the way in which it is perceived by both genders. Research questions help to narrow the way in which a study is approached. The following research questions will be used to frame the topic of study: 1. What is the definition of violence for men? 2. What is the definition of violence for women? 3. How does a man respond to violence? 4. How does a woman respond to violence? 5. What factors contribute to the differences about the perceptions of violence between men and women? Through exploring different aspects of these questions by creating a survey instrument that studies concepts that lead towards the answers of the research question, the research can become meaningful in regard to the hypotheses. The following hypotheses provide for a null hypothesis and its alternative for which the research will be conducted. Hypotheses Null Hypothesis: Men and women define violence differently and therefore experience physically aggressive behavior differently. Alternative Hypothesis: Men and women define violence the same and therefore experience physically aggressive behavior the same. Literature Review Anderson and Taylor (2008) suggest that the inequality between genders can be explained through frameworks of sociological theories which include functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction. Anderson and Taylor (2008) state that functionalists belief that male roles as instrumental and female roles as expressive. Functional theory supports static roles for the genders, thus creating conflict with feminists who believe that static roles are limiting to women. The organization of social roles contributes to the inequality

Paradise Now Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paradise Now - Movie Review Example The movie is basically about terrorists who choose to blow themselves up for a cause or in other words who execute the suicide bombings. The director has tried his level best to explain situations which turn people into terrorists, when a person has no other option but to give up his life to prove a point such a situation is the most desperate one and only in such a situation a person becomes a terrorist. It would be very unfair to say that the director is sympathetic to murderers and is approving suicide missions through this movie, he has tried his best to bring out the root cause of why people turn to terrorism, and if we are to stop terrorism we have to understand it's root cause and we have to understand the feelings of the people who have no other option but to blow themselves up to send a message to people who do a lot of injustice to them. The movie has very interesting characters, like Khaled, Said, Suha and Jamal. Khaled and Jamal are childhood friends and share a good chem istry. They live in a town called Nablus. The most interesting character of the movie is without a doubt Said; he remains very serious and focused in the whole movie. Both Said and Khaled had no concrete work to do, so they engaged themselves in a garage and took care of the cars. This film turned many a head by being the first Palestinian film to be nominated for the Academy award in the category of the best foreign film. The film shows why people turn to terrorism, what are the various factors involved in transforming the people and making them do the unimaginable. Jamal meets Said to prepare him and his childhood friend Khaled to carry out suicide attacks in Tel Aviv, Israel. He said "We decided to answer the assassination of Abu Hazem and Um Jaber's son who died in the bombings." (Paradise now 2005). He motivates Said by saying "If you fear death, you are already dead." (Paradise now 2005). Said had a good enough motive to carry out the suicide attacks, his father was a collaborator and worked for the Israelis, he was executed by them. He quotes "I was born in a refugee camp, life here is like imprisonment. The crimes of the occupation are countless; the worst crime of all is to exploit people's weaknesses and to turn them into collaborators" (Paradise now 2005). He firmly believed that his father was a very good man but he was made weak by being a collaborator by the Israelis. He wanted to send a loud and a clear message to the Israelis by giving up his life. Both he and Khaled prepared themselves for executing the task. Suha another import ant character in the movie gets to know about all this, she convinces Khaled to back out of this mission and he convinces his friend Said to do the same. Said plays a trick on Khaled, khaled returns to his handlers but Said goes on with the plan. With an explosive belt hanging on his body, he decides to get into a bus and blow the whole bus up but he restricts himself on seeing a kid in the bus. "If there is no security for us, there will be none for them either. There power does not help them" (Paradise now 2005). Said said these lines and these lines are a good enough indication of what exactly was going on in his mind. He had a motive of revenge, which is very dangerous and a very

Security system at the United States airports Research Paper

Security system at the United States airports - Research Paper Example The FAA was mandated with the responsibility of setting the least security requirements needed to govern the airport as well as the air carriers. In addition to this, the FAA has the power to ensure the standards set are met through issuing of fine, undertaking inspections, and revoking operating certificates. The responsibilities undertaken by the air carriers were preventing unauthorized entry to the plane, screening of baggage, passengers and cargo and training of the crewmembers on emergency tactics and procedures. The airports on their part had the responsibility of ensuring ample security is provided within the airport premises by stationing of law enforcement officers. The congress is also mandated with the responsibility of legislating aviation security law and undertakes partial implementation of the same laws (Johnstone & National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, 2006, p. 24). In the past, the security policies in United States and the world at large have mainly been established after a public’s reactions to different incidents of insecurity. A good example is the use of air marshals in the 1960s by airlines due to the numerous hijacking that were taking place at that time. It was soon after, that the U.S. government established laws to tackle the air piracy. Transportation security One of the main aspects that surround the national security of United States is the transportation process from and to the United States. In addition to this transportation within the borders of the nation is also part and parcel of the national security aspects. The September 11, attacks not only indicated the weaknesses of United states air port security systems but also the role that the air transport plays in the national security of America. Privatization of airport security is said to have raised a debate in the public domain. The approach used by United States in tackling the issue of airport security is much more different as compared to its European allies. In the European nations, the security inspection is normally undertaken by private contractors, while in America government control on airport operations has become visible especially after the terrorist attacks of September 11. The mare fact that terrorists had access to the airport facilities and airlines and thus using the airlines as their weapons of mass destruction only goes on to indicate the drastic measures needed to tackle the weaknesses of our airport security systems. According to Verkuil, this airport security system has incorporated private employees who are working on the behalf of the airlines and over seen by the Federal Aviation Administration. Previously, the airlines perceived and regarded the security function as one of the item of cost control and passed on its quality measures downwards. This is one of the reasons that makes the security systems fail in their critical purposes (Verkuil, 2007, p. 57 & 58). The largest aviation system of security was implemented in 2001 in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. These terrorist attacks were not only a wakeup call to the American government but also to the world as well. The public debate still lingers on whether the government could have taken extra steps to prevent the terrorist att

Elvis Presley King of Rock and Roll Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Elvis Presley King of Rock and Roll - Essay Example nt, his reputation as the world’s greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll singer even after the sensational impact of ‘Beatlemania’ of 1964 had not declined even decades after his demise. Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in the humblest circumstances on January 8, 1935, in Mississippi. He graduated from Humes High School, in Tennessee where his parents migrated, in 1953. The young Elvis displayed a natural gift for singing and took up guitar at eleven that was given by his father as a birthday gift. Pop, country music, gospel music, and the black R&B of the time influenced him in molding his musical genius. He began his singing experimentation in the summer of 1953, when he decided to record songs, mainly out of curiosity to hear his own sound on record. The two songs ‘My Happiness’ and ‘That’s When Your Heartaches Begin’ recorded at Memphis Recording Service Studio caught attention of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips and assistant Marion Keisker recognize his â€Å"nascent talent.† (Chuck). In 1954 Phillips asked Elvis to team up with two local musicians to try out a speeded-up version of blues singer Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup’s song ‘That is All Right,’ which was released as Elvis’ first single. In 1955 his recording career was sold to RCV Records, one of the worlds biggest record companies, on the advice of Colonel Tom Parker (Andreas van Kuijk). The RCA had the necessary influence to â€Å"expose Elvis on nationally networked television† and by 1956 he was an international sensation. (Lennon and Dylan). His popular number one hits are: Heart Break Hotel (1956), Love me Tender (1956), (Let me be your) Teddy Bear-Loving You (1957), Jailhouse Rock(1957), Stuck on You-Welcome Home (1960), Are You lonesome Tonight? & All shook up (1968 come back specials), Can’t help falling in love (1961), In the Ghetto (1970), The Wonder of You (1970), and Burning Love (1973). He had a short stint with U.S army and also experimented with

Individual Economic Issues Simulation Paper Essay Example for Free

Individual Economic Issues Simulation Paper Essay Review the Health Care Economics Issues HMO Simulation exercise posted on your student web page. Follow the Wk 4 WEB LINK â€Å"Understanding Economic Issues for HMO’s†. This exercise is for your learning experience only. Do not post any screen short from the exercise as part of your assignment. Economic Issues Simulation Paper Prepare a 1,050- to ,1400 paper in which you present a profile of each company including the demographics of the employees, the health care risk factors (potential areas of high utilization), and the premiums the company is willing to pay. Apply each plan, Castor Standard and Castor Enhanced to each company, Constructit and E-editor, to determine which plan best meets the healthcare needs of the employees – ignore Dearden. As a representative of Castor insurance, your job is to maximize profit and minimize risk for the company. Based on your analysis of potential utilization, give at least two reasons why each plan could be selected for each company. Then select one of the two companies and state which plan you would select to sell to that company? What are the reasons for this decision? Why did you not select the other plan offered? Your paper should be organized so that each question serves as a subheading followed by the discussion, i.e. Two Reasons Why Each Plan Could Be Selected, Which Plan Selected and Reasons for the Decision, and Why the Other Plan Were Eliminated. Include a Title page and a Conclusion. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines as described in team the Assignment Format – Easy Version document. Follow the Wk 4 Individual  Assignment Outline document posted in the Course Materials forum located just below the Chat Room. Post your a To get this material copy and paste link to browser https://bitly.com/1wyPcrf Think about your resume from day one. Yes, you want your diploma to be the feature point of the resume. However, you also want to put anything else you can on it. Work-study, summer job or internship experience is a big plus. Also cultivate opportunities through extra-curricular activities that appeal to you. General Questions General General Questions Review the Health Care Economics Issues HMO Simulation exercise posted on your student web page. Follow the Wk 4 WEB LINK â€Å"Understanding Economic Issues for HMO’s†. This exercise is for your learning experience only. Do not post any screen short from the exercise as part of your assignment. Economic Issues Simulation Paper Prepare a 1,050- to ,1400 paper in which you present a profile of each company including the demographics of the employees, the health care risk factors (potential areas of high utilization), and the premiums the company is willing to pay. Apply each plan, Castor Standard and Castor Enhanced to each company, Constructit and E-editor, to determine which plan best meets the healthcare needs of the employees – ignore Dearden. As a representative of Castor insurance, your job is to maximize profit and minimize risk for the company. Based on your analysis of potential utilization, give at least two reasons why each plan could be selected for each company. Then select one of the two companies and state which plan you would select to sell to that company? What are the reasons for this decision? Why did you not select the other plan offered? Your paper should be organized so that each question serves as a subheading followed by the discussion, i.e. Two Reasons Why Each Plan Could Be Selected, Which Plan Selected and Reasons for the Decision, and Why the Other Plan Were Eliminated. Include a Title page and a Conclusion. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines as described in team the Assignment Format – Easy Version document. Follow the Wk 4 Individual Assignment Outline document posted in the Course Materials forum located just below the Chat Room. Post your assignment in the Assignment Section on your student web page. Post an Individual Certificate of Originality along with your assignment – do not include the Certificate as part of your assignment.

Affirmative Action Essay Example for Free

Affirmative Action Essay Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.† This statement will always ring true especially on the subject of equal opportunity when it comes to employment and education here in the United States. It’s no secret that equality has been something America has always lacked, but at the same time has always been something America stood for. In fact it can be easily inferred that equality among all men has been something America has stride for since it gained independence from the British in 1776. Our founding fathers were the first to have this initial thought, that being best portrayed in the declaration of independence, which state’s We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.(qtd. In declaration of independence) To me this means our founding fathers believed that every man from birth has the god given right to a life of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but somewhere during Americas journey as a country it forgot it’s true creed and became it’s own tyrant preventing people from reaching their full potential while also denying it’s own citizens liberty and a pursuit to happiness. And although achieving equality in this country has been nothing short of easy with countless set backs and hypocritical ideas, equality among all its citizens is still something America does strides for, and nothing brings you direct equality quit like Affirmative Action does. If you consider affirmative action for its intentional purposes than Affirmative Action is very just, its purpose being to equalize the education and economic gap between minorities and causations. Although it is not a perfect method to achieving equality in this country, it is essential to accept it for why it’s been put into place and that it is all part of a process. Of course affirmative action is far from perfect and has a fair deal of problems, like promoting reverse discrimination while backing up negative stereotypes. I researched all of these aspects while pondering the question â€Å"is affirmative action still needed in today’s society?† In this paper I will be explaining what affirmative action is. The History behind affirmative action like how it all unfolded, who made it, and the history as to why it is in effect now. I will also list some pros and cons of affirmative action, how the United States could better affirmative action for the future and f inally a conclusion, which is my opinion on the topic. But what exactly is Affrimative action? Born of the civil rights movement three decades ago, affirmative action calls for minorities and women to be given special consideration in employment and education acceptance decisions. Universities with affirmative action policies generally set goals to increase diversity. Affirmative action decisions are generally not supposed to be based on quotas, nor are they supposed to give any preference to unqualified candidates. And by no means is affirmative action supposed to harm anyone through reverse discrimination. The purpose was to create equal opportunity for the people who had been unjustly treated in the past. It was set out to correct this wrong, and make it right. But at the same time too often is Affrimative action is looked upon as a solution for a nation once ill with, but now cured of, the evil disease of racial discrimination. Some would say Affirmative action is, and should be seen as, a temporary, partial, and perhaps even flawed cure for past and continuing discrimination. But all in all affirmative action is defined as â€Å"The positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. When those steps involve preferential selection—selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity† (Fullinwider) Of course affirmative action has a very deep history to it, and to why it was put into place. Now that you understand the purpose for which it was made, le t me explain who made it and why affirmative action was created. The history of Affirmative action, the first step in affirmative action was the creation of it. President John F. Kennedy first introduced it in 1961. The following is in sections to show the timeline of affirmative action in the begging stages of its creation: * March 6, 1961 Executive Order 10925 makes the first reference to affirmative action (Timeline) President John F. Kennedy issues Executive Order 10925, which creates the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and mandates that projects financed with federal funds take affirmative action to ensure that hiring and employment practices are free of racial bias. * July 2, 1964 Civil Rights Act signed by President Lyndon Johnson The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. (Timeline) * June 4, 1965 Speech defining concept of affirmative action In an eloquent speech to the graduating class at Howard University, President Johnson frames the concept underlying affirmative action, asserting that civil rights laws alone are not enough to remedy discrimination: You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: now, you are free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please. You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, you are free to compete with all the others, and still justly believe you have been completely fair . . . This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity—not just legal equity but human ability—not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result. (Timeline) * Sept. 24,1965 Executive Order 11246 enforces affirmative action for the first time (Timeline) Issued by President Johnson, the executive order requires government contractors to take affirmative action toward prospective minority employees in all aspects of hiring and employment. The rest of the affirmative actions timeline from here on out is mainly just Supreme Court cases, which can help define what exactly it can do and what exactly it can’t do. * In the 1978 Supreme Court case University of California vs. Bakke, a white male named Allan Bakke claimed reverse discrimination because he was rejected twice from medical school while less-qualified minority students were admitted to fill a quota that required 18 out of every 100 places be filled with minorities. The Supreme Court ruled against inflexible quota systems, but did not outlaw affirmative action as a whole.(Timeline) Most of the lawsuits were against Universities since many universities also adopted affirmative action programs in the 1970s. These programs were aimed at increasing black enrollment and the number of black faculty. None more notable then Jenifer Gatz law suit again the University of Michigan â€Å"Gratz vs. Bollinger and Grutter vs. Bollinger.† It ruled that affirmative action fulfills a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body. The purpose of affirmative action policy shifted from redressing injustice to promoting values of diversity. But even after all these deciding cases on affirmative action it’s still a heated matter of dispute. After much legislation and many Supreme Court decisions, affirmative action continues to be controversial (Legal History, Ongoing Debates section, para. 1). These controversies lead to questions, which can only be answered by understanding why affirmative action was put into effect in the first place. It is important to remember affirmative action is still a work in progress to achieve something much bigger than any one individual. People tend to forget that and the history to why affirmative action was put into place. It cannot be denied that Americas history is full of mistreatment of minority individuals. Women did not have a chance to vote for nearly a century and half after the birth of the country. African Americans were captured and forced into slavery, Although the Thirteenth Amendment ended institutionalized slavery in the United States in 1865, African Americans were not treated equal to whites in the eyes of the law for nearly another century, they were considered only one third of citizen. So with the two hundred years of slavery coming to an abrupt end a new regime or prejudices was to come into effect. Of course even after the end of slavery African Americans were consistently denied employment, housing, and education. In the south discrimination was a daily routine supported by â€Å"Jim Crow laws.†(Affirmative action) Unjust social statues and norms were passed in the 1800s that establish separate, inferior, public facilities, schools, waiting rooms, railways cars, and restrooms for African Americans through out the country. This has caused a domino effect on our society that still seen today. Those outrageous social norms were practiced in America until late in the civil rights movement when president JFK finally acknowledged the struggle for equality and the idea of Affirmative Action was born. After President Kennedy’s assignation, President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It banned discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and sex in the areas of employment, public facilities, and government programs. The idea of equality in America, that every man is created equally was slowly and surly becoming more realistic, due largely to Martin Luther Kings efforts. Here are Dr. King’s own words on the idea of Affirmative action from his 1963 book â€Å"why cant we wait† King states: â€Å"Among the many vital jobs to be done, the nation must not only radically readjust its attitude toward the Negro in the compelling present, but must incorporate in its planning some compensatory consideration for the handicaps he has inherited from the past. It is impossible to create a formula for the future which does not take into account that our society has been doing something special against the Negro for hundreds of years. How then can he be absorbed into the mainstream of American life if we do not do something special for him now, in order to balance the equation and equip him to compete on a just and equal basis?† – Martin Luther King J.R (Wise) In his 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? King argued: A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him, to equip him to compete on a just and equal basis.(wise) Continuing: â€Å"†¦for Two centuries the Negro was enslaved and robbed of any wages: potential accrued wealth which would have been the legacy of his descendants. All of Americas wealth could not adequately compensate its Negroes for his centuries of exploitation and humiliation. It is an economic fact that a program such as I propose would certainly cost far less than any computation of two centuries of unpaid wages plus accumulated interest. In any case, I do not intend that this program of economic aid should apply only to the Negro: it should benefit the disadvantaged of all races.†- Martin Luther King J.R (Wise) It is clear that these are some of the reasons why Martin Luther King J.R and others thought affirmative action should be and eventually was put into effect. A large part as to why affirmative action is in effect is so Compensation can be made to those who are at a disadvantage due to past racial biases and predjedism. You should now have a better idea as to what exactly affirmative action is, what it’s intentions are, the history behind who made it and the deeper history as to why it is still in effect and why it was originally put into effect. Affirmative action is however a major controversy in the United States, ever since it’s beginning, the concept of affirmative action raised difficult questions. â€Å"Many civil rights activists see affirmative action as a necessary step in achieving equality for groups that had faced discrimination in the past. However, critics of affirmative action argued that individuals should be treated on their own merits without regard to color, national origin, or sex.†(Affirmative Action) The Benefits of Affirmative Action â€Å"The one benefit of affirmative action is to correct past discriminations such as the mistreatment of women and slavery. This remedial justification of affirmative action recognizes that wrongs have been committed in the past and acknowledges a moral obligation to set things right† (Affirmative Action Pros and Cons, The Origins Of, Legal Treatment Of, Political and Social Debates, The Future, Pros and Cons section, para. 1). It is important for injustices to be redressed. â€Å"Slavery and institutionalized racism have not been redressed yet in America and around the world. In order for justice to be served, it is necessary for the main losers of racism in America (African Americans) to be compensated for their loses through affirmative action.† (Affirmative Action) And affirmative action does just that, not in the sense of giving physical money, but through opportunities in education and in life. The following are the benefits affirmative action provides: Affirmative action has provided many opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds and income levels who ordinarily would not be considered for admission to colleges and universities. This means that the pool of talent coming out of the higher education system is larger and better able to contribute as productive members of the workforce. Affirmative action has had a profound effect on employment hiring and promoting practices. Historically, â€Å"close to 90% of all jobs are filled without being advertised, with the majority of positions going to friends, relatives, or acquaintances of company employees.†(Wise) This is often the case with a lot of jobs. Unfortunately it can boil down to whom one knows not what they know. The result of this practice is that employers often end up with employees who are not the best person for the job if it were properly advertised. Affirmative action has encouraged many companies to engage in employment practices that set minimum standards of job definition, recruiting, outreach, and evaluation that result in choosing the right person for the job. Finding the right person for the job or the promotion is critical in letting business efficiently utilize the workforce and allow each person to reach his or her full potential. Diversity in itself is desirable, it has been since the birth of this country, but it won’t always occur if left to chance. But when affirmative action is working like its initial purpose was intended too miraculous things can happen, and there are good facts to back that up. â€Å"Between 1981 and 2001, the total number of degrees awarded to Native Americans rose by 151.9% because of affirmative action policies.† (Patterns) Also, from â€Å"1982 to 1995, there has been an increase in the percent of black managers from 5 to 7 percent. Hispanics have shown a 3 percent increase from 5 percent in 1982.†(Patterns) Affirmative Action has been successful in providing minorities with opportunities. â€Å"At the same time a recent study has shown a person with a white sounding name has a 50% more change of getting a call back from a interview than those with black sounding name even when qualifications are indistinguishable.† (Tim Wise) Again equality is desirable but it won’t always occur if left to chance. â€Å"Eliminating affirmative action can lead to the re-segregation of higher education. When affirmative action was outlawed at the University of Texas in 1995, the number of black students at the UT Law School dropped from 65 in 1996 to 11 in 1997 and Latino student enrollments have been cut in half since the decision.† (Patterns) this isn’t necessarily a pro, but interesting enough. With affirmative action being banned in Texas the number of white students also dramatically increased while the number of Asians skyrocketed. I guess the best-qualified applicants where accepted. Here is a statistics that shows why affirmative action is still needed. For â€Å"every dollar earned by men, women earn 74 cents, African American women earn 63 cents and Latina women earn 57 cents.† (Patterns) This unjust statistics will continue with out the help of something like affirmative action. It is the reality inequalities like this that suggest maybe affirmative action should be left alone till equality is fully reached or a better solution is thought of.

Civil Engineering: Reflective Journal

Civil Engineering: Reflective Journal Civil Engineering Technical:  Learning Journal Stage 1: Understanding Me My first degree was in Civil Engineering. I choose the field of civil engineering because I wanted to explore and study the inner details of the structure, also my academic strengths was mathematics and I enjoyed doing civil engineering as the most of the subjects was dealt with calculation and structural concepts. I like studying at the university because of the professors were very cooperative. They give me understanding that how the difficult technical data can be easily understood which really helped me a lot when I start doing my job after the degree. I gain confidence in my university time as I always feel it difficult before my degree to be confident in myself. However, after building structural concepts in Civil engineering I wanted also to learn management skills in depth, as designing the building and running the project effectively at the site are two different fields so to cope with it I decided to take up an MSc. Construction course at Birmingham City University. While C ivil Engineering has been very effective at equipping me with the technical skills of the trade, I find it both useful and practical to be able to acquire the soft skills of management to become a good manager. I feel that in taking up this course, my career horizon would be broadened since I will not be limited only to the Engineering profession. The management component of the course would help me apply it cross functionally. It shall then open new career avenues for me as a professional. Moreover, learning questionnaire results suggests that I am pragmatist type of person according to it I can solve problem in a realistic way which suits the present conditions rather then obeying fixed theories, ideas or rules. Also my MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) results suggest that I am an INTJ (Introverted Intuition with Extraverted thinking). Stage 2: Learning from Practice Technical Knowledge The first situation which I want to share on the importance of technical knowledge was when I was assigned a new member of staff who was then tasked to handle a fairly important project even if he was new. The organisation I was working was one of the leading construction company of middle east and my role in the office was an assistant project manager. To train the new staff was quite difficult because I had to ensure that his learning curve was quite fast. If not, his project time line would be adversely affected. To be able to ably lead him, I realised that project management skills are a requisite. This necessarily meant being very familiar with the specifications of the project and be able to translate these requirements into a concrete work plan. Moreover, it is also important to be able to have the basic technical knowledge required with working within one’s industry. When the leader does not have such requisite technical knowledge, it becomes a basis for a sense of ine quity among those that he leads. For example, the staff say, ‘How come he was designated to be leader of the group, when I feel that I am even better than him? In this particular case, I felt that I exercised good project management skills since we were able to accomplish what we had set out to reach during the beginning of my assignment as interim superior. However, I was of course limited by my experience. For instance, in this particular case the project that my member of staff has been assigned with was something I was already familiar with, and so I did not have a hard time handling a similar project. In the highly technical aspects of a project, I am honest enough to approach someone who is knowledgeable in that aspect, and ask questions. I am most willing to enter into a buddy up or mentoring relationship with a senior or guru in technical areas, and for this particular situation I also seek help from one of my colleague who was working with me. I took advice from him o n particular matters and issues where I felt that I cannot dealt with it properly (Knowledge boundaries) and convey the information I gained from my colleague to the new staff who was under my supervision to enhance his skills. Organisational Knowledge In the middle of last year, my superior had to take an emergency leave for a substantially long period of time. This necessitated someone taking on the role in the interim. As a direct consequence of this appointment, I had to manage 3 staff who were formerly my equals. This introduced complexity in the way my colleagues and I related to each other. One factor which aggravated the situation was the fact that my superior did not have the time to endorse the role properly because of the flurry with which he had to leave. Although according to company procedures and rules the person who is leaving his post has to give proper understanding about the procedures of the company and the responsibilities he was dealing with to the new coming employee. At first, I felt overwhelmed with my new role, because this meant more responsibility. Moreover, I was very conscious of how my colleagues would react to my appointment. Two of the three staff who then became my staff for two months were happy w ith the arrangement; however one member of staff had very serious motivational issues that were directly brought about by my being appointed to the new post. This man had longer tenure and thus more experience in the company compared to me; a culture of entitlement which has pervaded in the company for a long time has created a strong expectation in him of being the next in line, in terms of leadership of the team. Quite obviously, I had a tough time influencing him to follow my lead to be able to accomplish the tasks in the workplan set for the month. The feelings of anxiety, ambiguity, and pressure all built up within the team. These were clearly attested to by the behaviour of the problematic staff. He had frequent absences, did not respond appropriately when called upon, and did not follow instructions as expected. It was a nightmare! What complicated the matter more was the fact that we belonged to different cultures. This colleague was from a collectivist culture (India), and this introduced peculiarities in the way he reacted to the whole situation. I had to be able comprehend why he reacted the way he did and be able to address issues from its roots. I felt that there was shortcoming in terms of clarifying the organisation that my superior has envisioned while he was absent. Given the circumstances that we were in at that time, there was little time for him to endorse the role formally and to orient my staff about my new role and what the expectations were from their end. Role ambiguity then resulted from the newly established organisation, causing conflict between me as an informal superior and the problematic employee who had aspirations of being promoted. Much had to be done from my end to be able to establish a sense of equity among the members of the team mainly through a thorough discussion of roles, tasks and expectations. First, I had to orient them about the situation, saying that this set-up was in fact only for the interim, until such time that my boss came back to lead our team again. Rapport building also had to be done so that even as the organisational structure was not formal in itself, I would have enough influen ce on them to enable me to deliver the set goals. Next, I had to call frequent meetings to be able to set clear goals. In carrying out the planning process, I ensured that each one’s objectives were specific, measurable, attainable and realistic. I also took the chance to be able to clarify the processes and procedures that we ought to follow during the 3 months that we were tasked to work together. The conflicts that I have encountered are mainly caused by personality clashes –differences in opinions and ideas that have complicated the set-up at the outset. Relationships The third situation which focuses on relationships is one in which I had to deal with the older staff who had aspirations of being promoted (same illustration as that of Organisational Knowledge). At that time, I was assigned as a team lead for 3 months, which caused conflict between the two us. Apart from the fact that he was older in terms of both age and tenure, I have also noticed that we were very different in terms of personality and this all the more aggravated the way we dealt with each other. The primary reasons for conflict were differences in the perceptions among the parties involved in the situation. For instance, I have an INTJ (Introverted Intuition with Extraverted thinking) profile, which precludes me from being expressive of my feelings and emotions. My staff turned out to be very vocal and confrontational about how they felt about the situation, and I felt it took a lot of effort on my end to be able to reach an equilibrium within the team. One of my weaknesses is not being too open to feedback and constructive criticism, which also did not help in establishing rapport with my staff. There was much that needed to be delivered during that period, by the team, and it did not help that my staff did not have the motivation to deliver these because of psychological and emotional hurdles. I tried my best to motivate them by matching tasks with people very prudently, considering both their strengths and weaknesses. I accorded them autonomy in doing things, and was only there on a consultative role, rather than dictating what they should do on a day-to-day basis. When I was asked by my boss to act as a team lead for 3 months with this difficult staff in tow, I had to make sure that I gave him and the rest of my team members effective feedback without sounding too bossy or authoritative. This was important since improving work performance and providing feedback about it should be a routine part of the performance management process. Feedback should be based on observed and/or verifiable work-related behaviours, actions, statements, and results. This type of feedback is called behavioural feedback. Effective feedback helps the employee sustain good performance, to develop new skills and to improve performance when necessary. I also ensured that each member of my team knew what I expected from him or her in terms of goals. Goals or objectives are statements of intent to achieve specific business results. I ensured that they were measurable, controllable and were directly related to such results. I realised that in setting goals or objectives, they should be specific and significant, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, time-bound, engaging, and reviewed. Apart from this, I ensured that my team should be given constant feedback to know how well they are doing their tasks. Feedback giving also increases the effectiveness of goal setting, feedback should be provided to the employee on his progress in reaching his goal. My feedback can include verbally telling my staff how he is doing, placing a chart on a wall, or displaying a certain color of light in work pace will result in goal attainment and a different color of light when the pace is too slow to reach the goal. I also learned that feedback increases performance best when it is positive and informational rather than negative and controlling. Situation outside of organizational perspective In my role as a family member, there was a time when conflict arose because of lack of role clarification. In our households, we have various roles to play which may be equally important: parent, son, father, and so on. We also have tasks to deliver to be able to sufficiently perform these roles. In one instance, my sibling and I had conflict because it was not clear who would prepare a particular family activity. Both of us were busy with our respective professions/careers and nobody seemed to have the time to prepare this social activity. They expected that I will handle all the arrangements of the activity myself as I am elder in my brother and sisters. Although I was not good in arranging and managing the big party functions at home. The matter come to critical point when at the time of the party function no formal or informal arrangements have been made for the coming guests and this create embarrassment in the family and i was made responsible for this situation. In the end, we were able to resolve the conflict by thoroughly communicating about the activity, specifying who would do what and by when. I realised through this experience the criticality of effective communication, not only within the sphere of the enterprise, but even within the realm of personal relationships. Assigning job responsibilities among participants before the time of any event is important and necessary. Wider learning and New Narrative Technical development. I have realised that one source of power and authority is the level of technical knowledge that one has. To be able to develop a stronger business sense, achievement orientation, and technical competence as well, I would like to have a mentoring relationship with a guru, or at least someone who is more senior than me who works in a field I am interested in pursuing. I want to learn both technical and soft competencies through this mentoring relationship. It would also be useful to attend seminars or workshops that focus on business acumen and strategy since these are among my weaknesses. I am also interested in pursuing classes that may sharpen my interpersonal relationship skills so that I may leverage more on my social networks and see things from a long term view. Areas which I need to develop. In the end, the situation which I have discussed above in technical, organizational knowledge and relationships has been very helpful in making me realise what I need to improve in myself. I realised that first and foremost, I must be able to understand myself to be able to better relate with others. In fact, because of the experience I got during my job, I have volunteered to take the MBTI just to provide better insight on how my personality affects the way I relate to others. Based on my personal assessment and feedback from others, my strengths as a leader (at least during the time I took on the post of my boss) include leading by example and being a strategic thinker. However, I have several areas for improvement which I may further develop, including being more imaginative and creative; being mature and developing a clear and convincing vision for the future; creating a performing organisation and team and being a team player myself; extracting val ue from social networks; pursuing goals long term; positive framing of events and people; recognizing opportunities for absorbing uncertainty; learning from all over the world; and seeing and preserving the whole venture in a long-term prospective. I am also very good at probing attested to my high score in being an investigator. However, a weakness may be not being too open to feedback and constructive criticism. Moreover, my MBTI results suggest that I am an INTJ. This suggests that I am insightful, conceptual and creative; rational, detached and objectively critical; am likely to have a clear vision of future possibilities; apt to enjoy complex challenges; am likely to value knowledge and competence; apply high standards to themselves and others; independent; trust their own judgments and perceptions more than those of others; and usually seen by others as private, reserved and hard to know. While I may be able to work more effectively with those who have the same profile, I must be able to adapt to those who have a different preference. To make this possible, I should be able to exercise situational leadership – that is, being able to assess both the needs of my staff and the circumstances to be able to manage or lead him more effectively. Many of the areas that I need to develop are not necessarily technical but have much to do with people Finally, after experiencing this situation, I have a more staunch desire to develop my leadership potential in the upcoming years. Everything that I will do or say as a leader will be greater than before in importance beyond all reason. Having the aim to develop and achieve objectives has geared me for success. I have enough motivation to exert all my best efforts to realise my capabilities and be able to use them in harnessing my skills. Aiming to be a leader entails a lot of effort; I should be responsible with my actions and be sympathetic with others. I should be prepared with radical changes in behaviours and become a critical thinker towards management affairs and issues. All people have their own abilities to lead, but not all are given the opportunity to lead, so, given the chance to lead I will definitely grab the chance of proving my capabilities in leading people and making a difference in future. After this experience, my belief that effective leaders are not born with the talent of knowing how to lead has been reinforced. To a certain extent, they absorb knowledge, they gain experience, they listen to and see the world around and beyond their organisation. They are also competent of providing the qualities of leadership required for particular conditions. There are various types of effective leaders and they are the transformational leader, the pragmatic leader and the charismatic leader; however these unique qualities can be mixed altogether in one person in different times and ways . I have learned that leaders can truly become transformational when they boost awareness of what is good, right, beautiful and important; when they facilitate to raise the needs of the followers in terms of self-actualisation and achievement; when they cultivate high moral maturity in followers; and when they push followers to go further than their self-interests for the benefit of their organisation, society or group. Embracing the theory of transformational leadership and having the objective of developing my leadership skills, I would like to see myself as a transformational leader, who can so meday rebuild and organisation without having to enforce personality but instead appeal to people, influence them and be able to gain their respect and trust ,As a leader, I would like to develop my ability to portray a clear vision, to see a realisable goal for the team’s action and efforts of accomplishing unified goals. I would like to be someone who will trust people, who will provide their needed resources and someone who will encourage them to go forward. I know I can lead, since everyone can learn how to lead by realizing the capability of each person to respond to the call of leadership and be able to make a difference. Having the will to learn, anyone can take the challenge of leadership to another level, because leadership can be practised in all aspects of life; it is a an aptitude that I can learn to broaden my perception, set goals and have a holistic understanding of human behaviour and act in full force to be able to get to where I want to be. Because of the serious time constraints which I have experienced, I realised that I should strive to live the time management principles that are taught by Stephen Covey to seriously develop my leadership potential. According to the third habit, a manager must be able to â€Å"put first things first† . In my line of work, I have to learn how to prioritize tasks based on sense of urgency and importance. Many times during that period, there were so many things, people and situations that easily distracted me from the task that I have at hand. I have observed this among the staff that I supervised. The phone ringing, emails, unnecessary breaks, among others. I am striving to make efficient use of my time by reducing if not totally avoiding activities that do are both not urgent and not important. These are activities that fall under Stephen Covey’s 4th quadrant. I also wish to emphasise those tasks which are important and yet are not urgent. In being able to constantly pri oritise these tasks, I will not have to cram or be up in a flurry all the time. Sometimes, these activities start out as not urgent, and yet because of procrastination, they eventually turn out to be urgent. This discipline of constant work (and not cramming) is important in effective time management. I should also be able to allot sufficient time for other facets of my life, including social, spiritual, and emotional facets, which are as equally important as my work or professional life Organizational structural development I have realized that organizational structure change and development needs to be effectively and constantly managed to ensure the team shall be able to deliver the results expected. I feel that it is very important for a successful leader to know how to motivate his employees. Why was the transition to my leadership difficult? The difficulty actually lies in intangible factors, particularly spelling out our team’s culture. I now learn that there is both a visible and an invisible organisation. The former focuses on the easily observable components of the organisation, including its tools, processes, roles, and other components within the formal parameters of the group. Underneath these tangibles are the more influential facets which make up our culture, namely, our customers, values, beliefs, taboos, stereotypes, traditions, language, and behaviours. In effect, when transitioning into this new set-up of leadership, I had to understand all these intangibles. If this is not done , then the leadership change would have ostensibly failed because only the formal structures have been moved for the change, but not those which are practically more important. I have seen how my staff have set goals and teams can influence work behaviour by influencing these goals. I encouraged participation in goal setting among my staff to increase commitment and acceptance of the new set-up. I also realised that individual goal setting was more effective than group goals because it is the impact of goals on intentions that is important. However, I also do realise that although participation in goal setting may increase satisfaction, it does not always lead to higher performance. As much as possible, I would strive to involve my staff in decisions that affect them and ensure that their targets are challenging enough to keep them motivated. Due to fact that the problematic employee had a different culture, I also learned that the way in which the social environment is interpreted is strongly influenced by the cultural background of the perceiver. This implies that the attributes that are seen as characteristic or prototypical for leaders may also strongly vary in different cultures. I had to exert influence and exercise leadership with prudent consideration of the culture of the staff. Finally, knowledge on the peculiarities of motivating employees from across cultures is critical if I am to espouse a multi-cultural work setting, And I will motivate people in future by keeping a deep look at their needs, for example some people get motivated if their salary is increased and some people like that their job responsibilities increase. I want to develop further my ability to create a strong sense of equity among my employees or staff in future. Through this experience, I realised that people choose the behaviour they believe will maximize their payoff. It states that people look at various actions and choose the one they believe is most likely to lead to the rewards they want the most. I learned that anticipation of rewards is important as well as the perceived contingency between the behaviours desired by the organisation and the desired rewards I also learned that since different people desire different rewards, I must, as superior, try to match rewards with what my staff want. On my end as an interim superior, it is important that I have a knowledge of the rewards that appeal to them so that I may match these with their attainment of objectives, and in future I will try to be more socialise among my employees so that I better know about their need and demands. References Bass, B. (1990). Bass Stogdills handbook of leadership: theory, research and managerial applications. New York: The Free Press. Covey, S. (2000). The 7 habits of highly effective people. Running Press Publishers. Hartog, D. N., House, R.. J., Hanges, P. J., et al. (1999). Culture specific and cross-culturally generalisable implicit leadership theories: Are attributes of charismatic/ transformational leadership universally endorsed? Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 219-256. Hofstede, G. (1983). Dimension of national cultures in fifty countries and three regions. In Deregowski, J.B., Dziurawiec, S, Annis, R.C. (eds.). Explications in Cross-Cultural Psychology. Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets and Zeitlinger. House, R. J. (1995). Leadership in the 21st century: A speculative inquiry. In Howard, A. (ed.) The changing nature of work. San Francisco Jossey-Bass. Tichy, N. M., Devanna, M. A. (1990). The transformational leader (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. Yukl, G., Van Fleet, D. D. (1992). Theory and research on leadership in organizations. In Dunette, M. Hough, L. M. (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 147-197). (2nd ed., Vol. 3). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting.

Theme of Hypocrisy in Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness, and Coppola’s, Apocalypse Now :: Literary Comparison, Analytical Essays

Both Conrad’s, â€Å"Heart of Darkness†, and Coppola’s, â€Å"Apocalypse Now†, profoundly illustrate the journey of man into their inner self and man’s encounters with their insanity, fears and demise. The novella and film are comprised of numerous pivotal themes that facilitate the understanding of the deeper meaning of both works. Fundamentally, theme is an extensive message or idea expressed by an author and is a crucial element of literature since it sheds light on universal concepts. The most striking parallels that can be formulated when comparing themes in both the novella and the film are associated with human nature. Specifically, Conrad and Coppola incorporate theme of hypocrisy in order to portray man’s incredible potential for evil. Firstly, the theme of hypocrisy is integrated in both works for the purpose of portraying man’s staggering and absurd potential for evil. In the novel, Heart of Darkness, the Europeans state that their objectives in Africa are to trade with the natives and immerse them with the light of civilization. However, their actions fail to reflect their stated motives since the Europeans take the ivory from the natives by force and they treat them inhumanely. Not to mention that the Europeans constantly refer to natives as objects such as machinery as well as suppress and eradicate them at any opportunity. Ultimately, the Europeans utilize their false words as a civilized veneer that masks their capability of being evil and savage. For instance, in Africa, Marlow states that he has familiarized himself â€Å"†¦with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly.† (pg. 81). Symbolically, the colonists are described as the devil mentioned above becau se they treat the natives with brutality even though their stated intentions are pure. Also, the colonists are foolish and tactless for they are unaware that their actions expose the evilness behind their actions. Similarly, in Coppola’s work, the United Sates affirms that they fight in the name of freedom and democracy, yet they commit senseless and violent killings. In reality, their ulterior motives were to promote capitalism and become a dominant military world power. Furthermore, the U.S. focuses on their attention on murdering their own operative instead of attempting to finish the war, which is of a higher priority when lives are at stake. Additionally, the U.S. troops are strangers in Vietnam, but they act as if posses the foreign land since they seize territory and commit murder without being incited.

The Role of Men in Adrienne Richs Of Woman Born Essay -- Adrienne Ric

The Role of Men in Of Woman Born  Ã‚   Adrienne Rich, via Of Woman Born, has created a wonderfully complex description and analysis of the condition of being a woman in our patriarchal American culture, or at least in the middle-class, white portion of it, as she acknowledges in the introduction to the 1986 edition of the book. Since I happen to fit into this category, I find this book to be very personally satisfying, although I can certainly imagine that Rich's writings wouldn't be completely applicable to all women in America. Rich examines the various issues surrounding multiple aspects of being a woman -- motherhood, relations with men, relations with children, relations with the patriarchy at large, etc. -- with a thoroughness that I find enlightening, honest-yet-hopeful, and refreshing. There were passages throughout the book that I found exciting because they confirmed or bolstered many of the ideas I've had about being a woman in this culture. I have long suspected that women and children are often fearful simply because they are the vulnerable members in a mal...

Essay --

2.2. Review related to morphological variables Noutsos, K., Koskolou, M., Barzouka, K., Bergeles, N., & Bayios, I.36 (2008) In a study performed by the researchers with the adolescent team Board Jump and volleyball players, found that the team Board Jump players were basically shorter (166.9[+ or -]4.7 cm) than the regular volleyball players (175.2[+ or -]6.3 cm). However, in the adolescent team Board Jump and volleyball players which had similar body mass and FFM. as compared to the study by, Hoffman, J.37 (2006) reported that the average height for 17-year-old American females was 163-2 cm. Therefore, adolescent team Board Jump players were slightly taller than the average American female. Kmanthropometry profile (weight, stature, sum of six skin folds, muscularity and vertical jump) of Brazilian (BCN Osasco female) volleyball athletes (age : 13 to 22 years) in 3 age groups: A-(13 to 14 yrs old), B-(15 to 17 yrs old), C- (>17 yrs old) with different training experience Gr.l (0 to 2 yrs) Gr.2 (2 to 4 yrs) and Gr.3 (>5 yrs) were studies Silva, L.R.38 (2000) One-way the scholars added the ANOVA and post hoc (Turkey) test for the collection of the statistical analysis. The study showed a significant difference was observed for most of the variables studied among the age groups and between the shorter (Gr.l) and longer (Gr.3) trained groups. Can, F.39 (2004) in the study conducted by Can, he had a purpose to describe certain morphological characteristics of women soccer players and to examine aspects of training and performance. The researchers choose twenty-two anthropometric sites were used in measurements of somatotype 49 and body composition; flexibility, agility, anaerobic power, leg muscle power and dynamic pulmonary functio... ... female hockey players, from 4 universities of Punjab. The age of player's ranged between 18 to 24 years. The stepwise regression was applied to assess the importance of different variables in predicting hockey playing ability. The result of’t’ ratio suggested that endurance run test, standing broad jump, grip strength (LH), vertical jump, wrist flexion, age, height, and weight were significantly important in evaluating the hockey performance. Also, the results failed to find support for speed as an important predictor of hockey playing ability. The result of this analysis again stresses the positive role of physical fitness components in hockey playing ability, the investigator even suggested that if we conduct proper speed training with the athletes of any event it improves their jumping performance , so it is useful for the study of the board jumpers.

Fast food Essay

Recently, fast food has been from the most popular way for a lot of people. Nowadays, people think that they don’t have plenty of time to prepare food. However, a lot of families have been addicted to that type of fast food, finding it so easy and comfortable for their busy life. Fast food should not be banned because it is a freedom of choice, it has a lot of social benefits and the government offers high taxes on those places which serves that type of food. First of all, every person has the right to choose what to eat or what to drink. It is the freedom of choice. People should be able to put whatever they want in their bodies, whether it be unhealthy or not. Fast food industries started making less harmful products and reducing obesity, but people make their own decision to eat it knowing it is bad for them. So, it is their own responsibility to take care of their own health. Yes, fast food is not doubt unhealthy for people almost all the time. But in modern life, fast food can be helpful and sometimes quite enjoyable. Engle, â€Å"Because to take away a man’s freedom of choice, even his freedom to make the wrong choice, is to manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person. † ) In United States, fast-food restaurants popularity is growing every single second. Nowadays, people can afford any a whole meal for 6 to 7 dollars each. (Bose D,N. D) fast food restaurants can provide customers with simple large meal sets with minimal cost. People admit that fast food restaurant helps them getting their life more easy, comfort and uncomplicated. For instance, if the two parents were having a lot of late work and late meetings and their kids were home without food for dinner without any cooked food, they can pull over at any near restaurant to order food before heading to their shelter. (Clark S, 2010) fast food restaurants are located nearly everywhere, providing customers with simple meals without the need to spend time travelling far distance just to purchase food. This popularity of fast food is increasing because of their main causes: low cost, fast service and restaurants is available everywhere. These are a lot of social benefits and other benefits for fast food that it leads to family gathering, giving that chance to the family to gather with their children, where a lot of these fast food restaurants have some games for those children or some luxury calm places for other families. .Otherwise, today a lot of people and teenagers hangout in a lot of fast food restaurants as a friends outing. However, a lot of people think that fast food is from the most dangerous things that should be banned due to its diseases firstly because it makes you obese; secondly it links a lot of medical problems like diabetes. Some think it leads to cancer and one of the most reasons that fast food lead to gaining of a lot of weight due to obesity. But fast food companies and industries nowadays is trying to fix that kind of problems by producing a lot of healthy choices for fast food as McDonalds, chili’s, Kfc and Papa Jones have produces a lot of diet food and drinks and healthy choices in order to satisfy all the needs needed by all ages of people with different opinions and choices. (Wolverson M. N,2009) fast food provide customers with a wide range of food to choose from. In conclusion , everything in our lives have pros and cons ,advantages and disadvantages . fast food has advantages more than its disadvangtes and at the end of discussion fast food should not be banned as a respect for the human rights as the freedom of choice . Giving people the chance to take their own choices and the decision to select their own style and their own life by eating whatever they want whether it is unhealthy or not.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 6

Chapter 6 When we got back to Nazareth we expected to find Joshua's mother hysterical with worry, but on the contrary, she had gathered Joshua's brothers and sisters outside of their house, lined them up, and was washing their faces and hands as if preparing them for the Sabbath meal. â€Å"Joshua, help me get the little ones ready, we are all going to Sepphoris.† Joshua was shocked. â€Å"We are?† â€Å"The whole village is going to ask the Romans to release Joseph.† James was the only one of the children who seemed to understand what had happened to their father. There were tear tracks on his cheeks. I put my arm around his shoulders. â€Å"He'll be fine,† I said, trying to sound cheerful. â€Å"Your father is strong, they'll have to torture him for days before he gives up the ghost.† I smiled encouragingly. James broke out of my embrace and ran into the house crying. Mary turned and glared at me. â€Å"Shouldn't you be with your family, Biff?† Oh my breaking heart, my bruised ego. Even though Mary had taken position as my emergency backup wife, I was crestfallen at her disapproval. And to my credit, not once during that time of trouble did I wish harm to come to Joseph. Not once. After all, I was still too young to take a wife, and some creepy elder would swoop Mary up before I had a chance to rescue her if Joseph died before I was fourteen. â€Å"Why don't you go get Maggie,† Joshua suggested, taking only a second from his mission of scrubbing the skin off his brother Judah's face. â€Å"Her family will want to go with us.† â€Å"Sure,† I said, and I scampered off to the blacksmith's shop in search of approval from my primary wife-to-be. When I arrived, Maggie was sitting outside of her father's shop with her brothers and sisters. She looked as frightened as she had when we first witnessed the murder. I wanted to throw my arms around her to comfort her. â€Å"We have a plan,† I said. â€Å"I mean, Joshua has a plan. Are you going to Sepphoris with everyone else?† â€Å"The whole family,† she said. â€Å"My father has made nails for Joseph, they're friends.† She tossed her head, pointing toward the open shed that housed her father's forge. Two men were working over the forge. â€Å"Go ahead, Biff. You and Joshua go on ahead. We'll be along later.† She started waving me away and mouthing words silently to me, which I didn't pick up. â€Å"What are you saying? What? What?† â€Å"And who is your friend, Maggie?† A man's voice, coming from near the forge. I looked over and suddenly realized what Maggie had been trying to tell me. â€Å"Uncle Jeremiah, this is Levi bar Alphaeus. We call him Biff. He has to go now.† I started backing away from the killer. â€Å"Yes, I have to go.† I looked at Maggie, not knowing what to do. â€Å"I'll – we – I have to – â€Å" â€Å"We'll see you in Sepphoris,† Maggie said. â€Å"Right,† I said, then I turned and dashed away, feeling more like a coward than I ever have in my life. When we got back to Sepphoris there was a large gathering of Jews, perhaps two hundred, outside of the city walls, most I recognized as being from Nazareth. No mob mentality here, more a fearful gathering. More than half of those gathered were women and children. In the middle of the crowd, a contingent of a dozen Roman soldiers pushed back the onlookers while two slaves dug a grave. Like my own people, the Romans did not dally with their dead. Unless there was a battle ongoing, Roman soldiers were often put in the ground before the corpse was cool. Joshua and I spotted Maggie standing between her father and her murderous uncle at the edge of the crowd. Joshua took off toward her. I followed, but before I got close, Joshua had taken Maggie's hand and dragged her into the midst of the crowd. I could see Jeremiah trying to follow them. I dove into the mass and crawled under people's feet until I came upon a pair of hobnail boots which indicated the lower end of a Roman soldier. The other end, equally Roman, was scowling at me. I stood up. â€Å"Semper fido,† I said in my best Latin, followed by my most charming smile. The soldier scowled further. Suddenly there was a smell of flowers in my nose and sweet, warm lips brushed my ear. â€Å"I think you just said ‘always dog,'† Maggie whispered. â€Å"That would be why he's looking so unpleasant then?† I said out the side of my charming smile. In my other ear another familiar, if not so sweet whisper, â€Å"Sing, Biff. Remember the plan,† Joshua said. â€Å"Right.† And so I let loose with one of my famous dirges. â€Å"La-la-la. Hey Roman guy, too bad about your getting stabbed. La-la-la. It's probably not a message from God or nothing. La-la-la. Telling you that maybe you should have gone home, la, la, la. Instead of oppressing the chosen people who God hisownself has said that he likes better than you. Fa, la, la, la.† The soldier didn't speak Aramaic, so the lyrics didn't move him as I had hoped. But I think the hypnotic toe-tappiness of the melody was starting to get him. I plunged into my second verse. â€Å"La-la-la, didn't we tell you that you shouldn't eat pork, la-la. Although looking at wounds in your chest, a dietary change might not have made that big a difference. Boom shaka-laka-laka-laka, boom shaka-laka-lak. Come on, you know the words!† â€Å"Enough!† The soldier was yanked aside and Gaius Justus Gallicus stood before us, flanked by two of his officers. Behind him, stretched out on the ground, was the body of the dead soldier. â€Å"Well done, Biff,† Joshua whispered. â€Å"We're offering our services as professional mourners,† I said with a grin, which the centurion was eager not to return. â€Å"That soldier doesn't need mourners, he has avengers.† A voice from the crowd. â€Å"See here, Centurion, release Joseph of Nazareth. He is no murderer.† Justus turned and the crowd parted, leaving a path between him and the man who had spoken up. It was Iban the Pharisee, standing with several other Pharisees from Nazareth. â€Å"Would you take his place?† Justus asked. The Pharisee backed away, his resolve melting quickly under the threat. â€Å"Well?† Justus stepped forward and the crowd parted around him. â€Å"You speak for your people, Pharisee. Tell them to give me a killer. Or would you rather I crucify Jews until I get the right one?† Iban was flustered now, and began jabbering a mishmash of verses from the Torah. I looked around and saw Maggie's uncle Jeremiah standing only a few paces behind me. When I caught his eye he slipped his hand under his shirt – to the haft of a knife, I had no doubt. â€Å"Joseph didn't kill that soldier!† Joshua shouted. Justus turned to him and the Pharisees took the opportunity to scramble to the back of the crowd. â€Å"I know that,† Justus said. â€Å"You do?† â€Å"Of course, boy. No carpenter killed that soldier.† â€Å"How do you know that?† I asked. Justus motioned to one of his legionnaires and the soldier came forward carrying a small basket. The centurion nodded and the soldier upended the basket. The stone effigy of Apollo's severed penis thudded to the ground in front of us. â€Å"Uh-oh,† I said. â€Å"Because it was a stonecutter,† Justus said. â€Å"My, that is impressive,† Maggie said. I noticed that Joshua was edging toward the body of the soldier. I needed to distract Justus. â€Å"Aha,† I said, â€Å"someone beat the soldier to death with a stone willie. Obviously the work of a Greek or a Samaritan – no Jew would touch such a thing.† â€Å"They wouldn't?† Maggie asked. â€Å"Jeez, Maggie.† â€Å"I think you have something to tell me, boy,† Justus said. Joshua had laid hands on the dead soldier. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I wondered where Jeremiah was now. Was he behind me, ready to silence me with a knife, or had he made his escape? Either way, I couldn't say a word. The Sicarii did not work alone. If I gave up Jeremiah I'd be dead by a Sicarii dagger before the Sabbath. â€Å"He can't tell you, Centurion, even if he knew,† said Joshua, who had moved back to Maggie's side. â€Å"For it is written in our holy books that no Jew shall rat out another Jew, regardless of what a weasel one or the other shall be.† â€Å"Is that written?† Maggie whispered. â€Å"Is now,† Joshua whispered back. â€Å"Did you just call me a weasel?† I asked. â€Å"Behold!† A woman at the front of the crowd was pointing to the dead soldier. Another screamed. The corpse was moving. Justus turned toward the commotion and I took the opportunity to look around for Jeremiah. He was still there behind me, only a few people back, but he was staring gape-jawed at the dead soldier, who was currently standing up and dusting off his tunic. Joshua was concentrating intently on the soldier, but there was none of the sweating or trembling that we had seen at the funeral in Japhia. To his credit, Justus, although he seemed frightened at first, stood his ground as the corpse ambled stiff-legged toward him. The other soldiers were backing away, along with all of the Jews except Maggie, Joshua, and me. â€Å"I need to report an attack, sir,† the once-dead soldier said, performing a very jerky Roman salute. â€Å"You're – you're dead,† Justus said. â€Å"Am not.† â€Å"You have knife wounds all over your chest.† The soldier looked down, touched the wounds gingerly, then looked back to his commander. â€Å"Seems I have been nicked, sir.† â€Å"Nicked? Nicked? You've been stabbed half a dozen times. You're dead as dirt.† â€Å"I don't think so, sir. Look, I'm not even bleeding.† â€Å"That's because you've bled out, son. You're dead.† The soldier began to stagger now, started to fall, and caught himself. â€Å"I am feeling a little woozy. I was attacked last night sir, near where they are building that Greek's house. There, he was there.† He pointed to me. â€Å"And him too.† He pointed to Joshua. â€Å"And the little girl.† â€Å"These boys attacked you?† I could hear scuffling behind me. â€Å"No, not them, that man over there.† The soldier pointed to Jeremiah, who looked around like a trapped animal. Everyone was so intent on watching the miracle of the talking corpse that they had frozen in place. The killer couldn't push his way through the crowd to get away. â€Å"Arrest him!† Justus commanded, but his soldiers were equally stunned by the resurrection of their cohort. â€Å"Now that I think of it,† the dead soldier said, â€Å"I do remember being stabbed.† No outlet from the crowd, Jeremiah turned toward his accuser and drew a blade from under his shirt. This seemed to snap the other soldiers out of their trance, and they began advancing on the killer from different angles, swords drawn. At the sight of the blade, everyone had moved away from the killer, leaving him isolated with no path open but toward us. â€Å"No master but God!† he shouted, then three quick steps and he leapt toward us, his knife raised. I dove on top of Maggie and Joshua, hoping to shield them, but even as I waited for the sharp pain between my shoulder blades, I heard the killer scream, then a grunt, then a protracted moan that ran out of air with a pathetic squeal. I rolled over to see Gaius Justus Gallicus with his short sword sunk to the hilt in the solar plexus of Jeremiah. The killer had dropped his knife and was standing there looking at the Roman's sword hand, looking somewhat offended by it. He sank to his knees. Justus yanked his sword free, then wiped the blade on Jeremiah's shirt before stepping back and letting the killer fall forward. â€Å"That was him,† the dead soldier said. â€Å"Bastard kilt me.† He fell forward next to his killer and lay still. â€Å"Much better than last time, Josh,† I said. â€Å"Yes, much better,† Maggie said. â€Å"Walking and talking. You had him going.† â€Å"I felt good, confident, but it was a team effort,† Joshua said. â€Å"I couldn't have done it without everyone giving it their all, including God.† I felt something sharp against my cheek. With the tip of his sword, Justus guided my gaze to Apollo's stone penis, which lay in the dirt next to the two corpses. â€Å"And do you want to explain how that happened?† â€Å"The pox?† I ventured. â€Å"The pox can do that,† Maggie said. â€Å"Can rot it right off.† â€Å"How do you know that?† Joshua asked her. â€Å"Just guessing. I'm sure glad that's all over.† Justus let his sword fall to his side with a sigh. â€Å"Go home. All of you. By order of Gaius Justus Gallicus, under-commander of the Sixth Legion, commander of the Third and Fourth Centuries, under authority of Emperor Tiberius and the Roman Empire, you are all commanded to go home and perpetrate no weird shit until I have gotten well drunk and had several days to sleep it off.† â€Å"So you're going to release Joseph?† Maggie asked. â€Å"He's at the barracks. Go get him and take him home.† â€Å"Amen,† said Joshua. â€Å"Semper fido,† I added in Latin. Joshua's little brother Judah, who was seven by then, ran around the Roman barracks screaming â€Å"Let my people go! Let my people go!† until he was hoarse. (Judah had decided early on that he was going to be Moses when he grew up, only this time Moses would get to enter the promised land – on a pony.) As it turned out, Joseph had been waiting for us at the Venus Gate. He looked a little confused, but otherwise unharmed. â€Å"They say that a dead man spoke,† Joseph said. Mary was ecstatic. â€Å"Yes, and walked. He pointed out his murderer, then he died again.† â€Å"Sorry,† Joshua said, â€Å"I tried to make him live on, but he only lasted a minute.† Joseph frowned. â€Å"Did everyone see what you did, Joshua?† â€Å"They didn't know it was my doing, but they saw it.† â€Å"I distracted everyone with one of my excellent dirges,† I said. â€Å"You can't risk yourself like that,† Joseph said to Joshua. â€Å"It's not the time yet.† â€Å"If not to save my father, when?† â€Å"I'm not your father.† Joseph smiled. â€Å"Yes you are.† Joshua hung his head. â€Å"But I'm not the boss of you.† Joseph's smile widened to a grin. â€Å"No, I guess not,† Joshua said. â€Å"You needn't have worried, Joseph,† I said. â€Å"If the Romans had killed you I would have taken good care of Mary and the children.† Maggie punched me in the arm. â€Å"Good to know,† Joseph said. On the road to Nazareth, I got to walk with Maggie a few paces behind Joseph and his family. Maggie's family was so distraught over what had happened to Jeremiah that they didn't even notice she wasn't with them. â€Å"He's much stronger than he was the last time,† Maggie said. â€Å"Don't worry, he'll be a mess tomorrow: ‘Oh, what did I do wrong. Oh, my faith wasn't strong enough. Oh, I am not worthy of my task.' He'll be impossible to be around for a week or so. We'll be lucky if he stops praying long enough to eat.† â€Å"You shouldn't make fun of him. He's trying very hard.† â€Å"Easy for you to say, you won't have to hang out with the village idiot until Josh gets over this.† â€Å"But aren't you touched by who he is? What he is?† â€Å"What good would that do me? If I was basking in the light of his holiness all of the time, how would I take care of him? Who would do all of his lying and cheating for him? Even Josh can't think about what he is all of the time, Maggie.† â€Å"I think about him all of the time. I pray for him all of the time.† â€Å"Really? Do you ever pray for me?† â€Å"I mentioned you in my prayers, once.† â€Å"You did? How?† â€Å"I asked God to help you not to be such a doofus, so you could watch over Joshua.† â€Å"You meant doofus in an attractive way, right?† â€Å"Of course.†