Saturday, August 31, 2019

Byzantium is short for the Byzantine Empire

Byzantium is short for the Byzantine Empire. It can also be used to refer to the capital city of the Roman Empire, later renamed Constantinople after Emperor Constantine who rebuilt the city into a modern capital of Christianity at the time. Byzantine was heavily influenced by Greece and the Greek culture. With that came the Greek mythical gods and icon culture representing ones religious beliefs. Constantinople also became the seat of the pope of the Catholic Church (â€Å"History of the Byzantine Empire†).Icons can be defined as representations of deities, saints or sacred scenes such as the crucifixion of Christ. In the Byzantine Empire these were very popular and were made from any medium including gemstones, wood, stone, marble, enamel, precious metal, and mosaic. Additionally, they ranged in size from small to huge and were even painted on walls as murals (Brookes). It was believed that these icons would bring success in battle and were often carried when troops were goi ng to war. They were also believed to bring healing to the sick and good fortune.By being in contact with the icons, it was said that one was able to directly communicate with the deity or saint represented by the icon (Brookes). As the culture of creating icons grew, it began to clash with the teachings of Christianity which had taken root as a major religion in the Byzantine Empire. The first commandment in the 10 commandments given to Moses clearly stated that there should be no graven images made as this would make the people prone to the worship of idols. As such, iconoclasm took root. The term iconoclasm means ‘image breaker’ which referred to the habit of breaking images for political or religious reasons.In ancient times, if a ruler was conquered by another, any image of that ruler was quickly broken by their successor or conqueror, hence the term. In Byzantium, iconoclasm referred to a theological debate that spanned about a century between the state and the ch urch (Brookes). As Christianity grew, the creation of icons was barred by the state and the cross was promoted as the only representation of the church. The main motivation for this was so the people would stop looking to the icons as the source of their healing, good fortune and success and start looking to Christ and by so doing discourage veneration of the icons.The issues surrounding the icons were that whereas one faction saw the icons as a representation of their faith and salvation, the other group saw them as mere idols. Their argument being that the only representation of Christ given to the church was the holy Eucharist, or Holy Communion (Trakakis). The iconoclast found a dilemma in the icons in that an image of Christ was supposed to capture the humanity of Christ without taking away the divinity. However, the Godhead could not very well be represented by an image of Christ.The Iconophile, saw it as not trying to capture the divinity or humanity of Christ but the person of Christ, which then tied the human and divine together. To the Iconophile, the fact that Christ had come in a human body made a depiction of him possible. Therefore whereas Iconoclasts were bent on depicting the spirit as superior to matter, the Iconophile so the created matter as a perfect means to see God in the created matter thus deifying the said matter. This became the crux of the controversy (Trakakis).Procopius’ book â€Å"Secret History† had been hidden for centuries until it was discovered in the Vatican library and printed in 1623 AD (Glenn). Procopius was a famous historian in the time that Justinian ruled Byzantium. Having written other texts on the Roman Empire in the 6th century, he wrote this secret book that gave the details of how Justinian and his wife Theodora a former courtesan plundered Rome and murdered millions of people. Justinian is said to have forced people into the Christian faith, while his actions remained decidedly contrary to its teac hings.He and Theodora made people pay for Justice, belittled their needs and robbed Roman citizens of their property and money. Justinian would side with priests who stole and murdered and even took property from citizens to give to the church thinking that he would have favor with God for doing so (Altwater) This book is significant because it reveals a different side of the history of Byzantium in the time of Justinian, unlike the official annals of history written for the empire. In the Byzantine Empire, Pagan art was seen as leading people to false gods. It was mainly based on the polytheistic Greek gods and was figural.As such, it was shunned by the growing Christian population. Due to the iconoclasm controversy, much of the art of the Byzantine Empire did not reflect one figural scene to avoid the said controversy. Because of the persecution that followed Christians who supported icons, Byzantine religious art shrunk to focus mainly on the cross and symbolic birds and plants ( â€Å"The Byzantine Empire†). The Byzantine Empire is an intriguing time with tales like no other. Ranging from the amphitheaters to the arena where offenders where crucified to death or torn to pieces by wild animals.The religious mix was no less intriguing and the rise of Christianity in the Byzantine Empire brought with it many controversies. Justinian became an enforcer of Christianity in the empire causing its spread, but at the same time going against the tenets of the faith according to the ‘Secret History’ by Procopius. Additionally, because of the first of the Ten Commandments, there arose a controversy as to whether icons were graven images, which were forbidden, or not. This in turn affected the way the people of Byzantium perceived pagan art, which was mainly based on pagan gods, goddesses and symbols.As such, Byzantine religious art was narrowed down to include the cross and other symbols that bespoke Christianity without compelling veneration. Works Cited Atwater, Richard. â€Å"Procopius of Caeasrea: The Secret History. † Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1961. 10 Mar. 2009 Brooks, Sarah. â€Å"Icons and Iconoclasm in Byzantium†. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. 10 Mar. 2009 Glenn, Joshua.â€Å"A Brief History of Secret Histories. † 2008. 10 Mar. 2009 â€Å"History of the Byzantine Empire. † 24 Feb. 2009. 10 Mar. 2009 â€Å"The Byzantine Empire: The Roman-Byzantine Period. † 10 Mar. 2009 Trakakis, Nick. â€Å"What was the Iconoclast Controversy About? † Theandros. 2 vols. 2004-2005. 10 Mar. 2009

Friday, August 30, 2019

Wasted life in Dockery and son

Wasted life in Dockers and son BY Molls;Walls There is a quote by Helen Keller which states: â€Å"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. † I feel that this epitomizes what Larkin was portraying in the poem ‘Dockers and Son'; a feeling of regret and a wondering of what the ‘other door' might hold. It could be seen that the older door of happiness is Larrikin youth: a time of freedom, when they could be ‘unembarrassed' and live without responsibilities; unlike the duties that Larkin portrays parents as having InAfternoons : â€Å"†¦ An estate of washing†¦ † The fact that he Is looking at this old door so long represents how others' lives have progressed, such as Dockers, who has had a child; whilst Larkin has remained free and childish – an â€Å"unhindered moon†¦ † We see the reference to the doors themselves In Dockers and Son when he â€Å"†¦ Tried the door where [he] used to live/locked†¦ † The enjambment here emphasizes the fact that the door Is Inaccessible to Larkin, suggesting he realizes that he cannot change his past. The metaphor of the train is used throughout; â€Å"l catch my train† to symbolism his life, ND the track that he is on.The sound of train tracks is rather monotonous, suggesting that Larrikin own life is restricted by a routine which is the same as when he was a child and at school. (It is interesting that he is restricted by routine, something he always criticized parents for being. ) The locked is also on a separate stanza to make it feel final ; as if Larkin has set a path for his life to follow till the end, there is a sense of finality in it. The reader can understand that Larkin has a moment where he regrets how little he has achieved when he refers to â€Å"The Lawn spreads glazing wide†¦ The lawn perhaps is symbolic of lots of pe ople, as if each blade of grass is a separate identity, and together they are resplendent (IEEE. He is stunned at the achievement of others. Achievements of blades deriving from the dazzling', also carrying symbolism of fame and a spark. ) The fact that Larkin is ‘ignored' shows that he has continued on his path, without achieving anything of note, and thus feels that he has wasted his life. Larkin continues this idea of a wasted life in ‘The Kiddies'. In the poem, the death of the pet – something most children experience – teaches them bout death and the fragility of life.It is interesting that the children accept this death unaffectedly, yet in ‘Dockers and Son' Larkin dwells on the wasted life of â€Å"†¦ Cartridge, who was killed†¦ † Suggesting that the children are yet unaware of the potential that life has (as they themselves are but â€Å"unripe acorns†); whilst Larkin Is all too The reader can understand that Larkin has a moment where he regrets how little he has achieved when he refers to â€Å"The Lawn spreads dazzling wide†¦ † The lawn perhaps Is symbolic of lots of people, as If each blade of grass Is a separate Identity, ND together they are resplendent (be. E Is stunned at the achievement of others. Achievements of blades deriving from the ‘dazzling', also carrying symbolism of fame and a spark. ) The fact that Larkin Is ‘Ignored' shows that he has continued on his path, without achieving anything of note, and thus feels that he has wasted his life. Of how he could have wasted life in having â€Å"†¦ No son, no wife, no house†¦. â€Å". The repetition of ;no' emphasizes all that Liking lacks, as opposed to what he has, supporting the idea that he feels he has achieved little. The Kiddies†s epigrammatic evolve†, creates a satirical theme; as if the rapid purchase of the pet for the children as a pacifier, has led the mother to overlook the signi ficance that the pet is a microcosm of the children's future lives and the death they will witness. This looks at the mother in a patronizing way, suggesting she is unobservant for not realizing this; supported by Larrikin view of women as ‘unskilled' drains in Afternoons. In ‘Self's the Man', Larkin also devalues women by stating â€Å"†¦ Married a woman†¦ † Suggesting that to be female is to be a figure for the use of men, as opposed to an individual.Therefore the reader can gather that Larkin does not feel that he has wasted life in having ‘†¦ No wife†¦ ‘ as Dockers insinuates. The animals in ‘The Kiddies' themselves could also be a metaphor for family life itself. In Larrikin other poems like ‘Afternoons' and ‘Self's the Man' he explores how families restrict an individual, trapping them like caged animals into lives of routine: â€Å"something is pushing them to the sides of their own lives†¦ † The ‘something' we presume to be children, unnamed as society is reluctant to admit they are a burden.Paradoxically, it is obvious that the freedom of other animals, with â€Å"†¦ Dark†¦ Dam†¦ Earth and grass† is similar to the freedom Larkin expresses as a single man in ‘Self's the Man: † ‘ †¦ I'm the better man†¦ † Emphasizing the pessimistic view he has on family life. The imperatives used by the children ‘†¦ Get us†¦ ‘ shows how the parents become puppets for their children and are restricted, something that Larkin in Dockers and Son describes as a ‘habit' which takes over their life: â€Å"hardening into all we've got†¦ † Implying the Larkin believes now that he has not wasted his life, but rather saved it.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Intolerance: Minority Group and Society Essay

Princess Diana once said, â€Å" The greatest problem in the world today is intolerance. Everyone is so intolerant of each other. † It is indeed true that intolerance is one of the greatest problems faced by the word today. Intolerance refers to lacking the capacity or willingness to recognize and respect the beliefs, practices or traits of others. In the past, there has been uncountable number of incidents of one being prejudiced against another individual who is unlike the majority of the population. For example, in the context of my society, Singapore, intolerance has been displayed towards racial minorities, religious minorities, single mothers, foreigners, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer (LGBTQ) community and many other marginalized groups. Some might argue that intolerance of these minority groups is less prevalent in my society today as compared to the past. However, I personally feel that intolerance is still widely seen in my society today, due to the conservative nature of Singaporeans, globalisation and the increasingly competitive Singaporean society. Some schools of thoughts argue that the intolerance towards those who are different is gradually being reduced today as there are greater opportunities for education that have led to increasing integration of people who are different. Education in Singapore promotes social integration among the different racial groups in Singapore. Schools in Singapore provide a common space for social integration not only among locals from various ethnic groups, but also between the local and foreign students. Schools in Singapore also place strong emphasis on Civics and Literacy education to inculcate respect and appreciation of different cultures in Singapore. For example, through the celebration of Racial Harmony Day and International Friendship Day, students are able to appreciate the different cultures of their peers better. Another aspect in which education has led to a reduction in intolerance is the alternative education pathway for children with special needs. Special education programmes that cater to these children aim to help them become independent and enable them to function well in society. This is evident through the increasing number of social enterprises that cater to those who are physically or intellectually challenged. These people gain not only a chance at being employed but also have a chance to interact with members of society on a more frequent basis, something which is not as common in the past. This is likely due to the developing special education sector in Singapore, which has seen success in public education and in helping children with special needs to integrate into mainstream society. Therefore, education has been a platform that has moved my society into a more tolerant one. Intolerance towards those who are different is gradually being reduced in my society, as there are increasingly more ground-up initiatives that have successfully raised awareness and understanding. Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Voluntary Welfare organisations (VWOs) or even individuals that have engaged in advocacy that sets out to raise public awareness about minority groups. Thus, prejudiced mindsets towards several minority groups in Singapore are gradually being eroded. An example of this is the Yellow Ribbon Project that started out in 2004, is organized by CARE network Singapore, which aims to help ex-convicts reintegrate back into society. Inmates are encouraged to sign up for skill training courses so as to be able to take up more jobs after their prison sentence. It was reported that by 2008, through awareness of the programme in Singapore, 560 new employers had registered with the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) to offer jobs to ex-offenders. Though this may not yet reflect the mindset of the entire population towards ex-convicts, it signals an opening up of attitudes that are gaining speed. Therefore, intolerance is less prevalent in my society due to the efforts undertaken by various organisations to successfully raise awareness and understanding of the public towards these marginalized groups. While there are merits in the above arguments, it is too naive for one to simply assume that with education and efforts by activist groups, intolerance towards those who are different are not as common as in the past. In fact, intolerance towards those who are different is still widely seen in Singapore today because of the fear of erosion of national values in this increasingly liberal-minded world, in turn driving us to promote our conservative beliefs with greater intensity. With globalisation, there has been an increasing influence of the Western Culture. Due to the fear of erosion of traditional family values that are the foundation of social institutions such as the family, people are becoming more intolerant of changing values and remain conservative to ensure that these traditional values are not threatened by foreign cultures and values. In order to protect traditional values and social institutions, institutionalized discrimination towards certain groups of people in society exists in the form of government policies implemented. This reveals an unwillingness to accept those who may be different and accord them with equal rights. For example, in the case of Homosexuality, section 377A of the Penal Code criminalises acts of gross indecency between men in Singapore. The Woman’s Charter also does not recognize marriages that are not between men and woman in or outside of Singapore. The refusal of the government to recognize the legitimacy of homosexual marriages reveals an unwillingness to respect the range of sexual orientations that are different from the traditional concept of sexual orientation the society may have. Another example is the Pink Dot rally on the 28 June 2014, which generated strong responses among Singaporeans. An Islamic religious teacher launched the â€Å"Wear White Campaign† in retaliation to the Pink Dot LGBTQ movement. The Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) supported this campaign whereby over 6,400 members of the church dressed in white to attend a special â€Å"family worship† service conducted by the church. This was done to protest the annual Pink Dot rally with their Senior Pastor, Lawrence Khong, who views this movement as a â€Å"decline in moral and family values. † Thus, this shows that despite the increasingly liberal and Western influenced world we live in, Singaporeans still remains a largely conservative society that is still strongly rooted to our traditional values. Therefore, intolerance is not only still largely prevalent but it has in fact intensified over the years. Next, into lerance towards those who are different is still prevalent today because the increased mobility in a borderless world today has heightened the level of interaction amongst people from different cultures. Thus, increasing the incidence of cultural clashes. Globalisation has enabled greater mobility of people and there has been an increasing migration of people to live or work in foreign lands. With more foreigners entering the country, the chances of cultural clashes between the foreigners and local  residents rises, especially when foreigners do not assimilate the local culture. An example of Singaporean’s intolerance towards foreigners is evident through the Not In My Backyard movement. In 2008 when the government announced plans for an unused technical school at Serangoon Gardens to be converted into a dormitory for foreign construction workers, residents of the Serangoon Gardens housing estate responded with an online petition, which was signed by 1,600 out of 4,000 households in the immediate vicinity. They cited fears of threats to their security, the possibility of increased crime in the area, and fears about maids hooking up with foreign workers as reasons to object the construction of the dormitory. Therefore these mindsets and prejudices towards foreigners in society reflect intolerance of those with different cultures from the local cultures in society. Lastly, in the competitive world today, the threat to one’s livelihood has made intolerance of the different still prevalent in Singapore. Singapore is seen as a land of opportunities for migrants with skills. Many foreigners are attracted to work or settle in Singapore as they can earn more in Singapore to improve their standards of living. However, many Singaporeans view the increase in the number of foreigners as a threat in terms of competition of jobs and living space. This has led to their discontentment with foreigners. An example of Singaporeans viewing migrant workers, as a threat to their livelihood is evident through a recent incident of the cancelation of the celebration of Philippines Independence Day event in Singapore. Organisers of a planned Philippines Independence Day celebration in Singapore on the 8 June 2014 decided to cancel the event altogether, owing to difficulties in getting an alternative location for the event. The event was supposed to be held at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza, in Singapore’s shopping district but this had stirred up much unhappiness among Singaporeans as they opposed to the choice of the venue. Some even threatened to resort to violence if the event were to take place. The organisers had to remove a Facebook page about the event after it dew hundreds of anti-Filipino comments. Through these actions and discontentment of Singaporeans towards such events further emphasizes the point that Singaporeans view these foreigners as threats to their lives and are thus unaccepting of the activities they carry out. Therefore, intolerance is still prevalent in the Singapore society. In conclusion, despite efforts made by the government and various activist groups to promote inclusiveness and multiculturalism and reduce intolerance towards marginalized groups of society, intolerance is still widely seen in my society today. This observation is largely attributed to the fact that our essentially conservative Asian society skews our perception of tolerance in order to maintain its position of power.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Study of the Relationship between Illegality and International Research Proposal

The Study of the Relationship between Illegality and International Commercial Arbitration with a Focus on China - Research Proposal Example The focus in this paper is on arbitration, a specially established mechanism for the final and binding determination of disputes concerning a contractual or or other relationship by independent arbitrators in accordance with procedures, structures and substantive legal or non-legal standards chosen directly in indirectly by the parties. The purpose of Arbitration is to obtain a final and binding ruling in a given case. This means that Arbitration involves the situation where two people agree to either consciously or unconsciously to use Arbitration as a method of resolving disputes that would crop up between them in a legal relationship. In other words, Arbitration involves a form of consensus that allows two parties to present their cases to an Arbitration Tribunal as and when the need comes up. Thus, it can be inferred that Arbitration is generally a situation of choice rather than an obligation. This means that Arbitration is a voluntary option rather than a compulsory one. In com parison to the default position, disagreements between parties in a legal relationship are often referred to the court and handled by the legal jurisdiction of the area in question. However, an Arbitration clause effectively excludes the courts from the resolution of conflicts in the legal relationship. In this context, the ruling of an Arbitration tribunal is of the same value as the courts of the land. Arbitration is a popular means of settling disputes in international business. (Buhring-Uhle, 2006). Arbitration is often a preferred way of resolving disputes in the international context because of the lack of a definite unified legal jurisdiction for parties with different origins (Park, 2006). This therefore means that Arbitration is used as a system of best practices in a situation where there is no clearcut legal method to solve disputes across borders. Chinese businesses rely heavily on Arbitration around the world. This is attributed to the global expansion drive of the Chin ese government which is done through various trading agglomerations in different parts of the world (Tao, 2008). China also maintains a thriving system of Arbitration which runs parallel with the legal system and supports the huge global trading structures in China today (Association of International Arbitration, 2009). 1.1 Legal Scope of Arbitration Arbitration is often viewed as an alternative dispute resolution system (Fox 2009). This is because decisions by Arbitration tribunals are immune from court interference. Fox however identifies that the courts interact with the decisions of Arbitrators in a very complex manner around the world (2009). He states four main situations in which the court could intervene with Arbitration around the globe: 1. A breach of a ruling of the court of Arbitration could be referred to a traditional court for redress. 2. The court could be called in to compel the other side of the case to engage in arbitration if they refuse to do so. 3. The court co uld force the losing party to abide by the ruling of the court of Arbitration. 4. The traditional courts can pronounce injunctions and other statutes that will become binding in Arbitration cases. The first three pointers indicate that Arbitration systems around the world form a component of the larger justice system. This means that Arbitration systems are fairly independent of the traditional courts and have a unique system that forms a part of the broader legal context. This implies that the Arbitration system is an essential part of the legal system that parties elect to utilise instead of civil or criminal courts. Thus, the Arbitration courts are independent and of an equal standing as some other courts and legal authorities. However, the fourth point indicates that the Arbitr

Managing Projects Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing Projects - Assignment Example Short of arrangement on the project’s triumph criteria, it will not be conceivable to measure its eventual success. The Tetrad principle is an addition of both the Obligation Opinion and the Achievement Principle. If the variables demonstrate not to be mutually reliable and attainable, the guarantee is neither impartial nor are essential success principles likely to be achievable (Roberts, 2011). The Management Principle institutes how it should be done and by whom. The characteristics of this management control incorporate the project’s expectations, its validation, and an orientation baseline in each of the fundamental variables as a foundation for progress quantity, comparison, and a sequencing adjustment. The above feature is an extension of the administration principle and is essential for efficient and resourceful management of the project obligation. The policy need not in any way impede the proper alteration of the information through the system of project communication stations that is requisite to incorporate all characteristics of the project. The capacity of the project supply team to produce effects both successfully and resourcefully is highly reliant on the cultural atmosphere. The cultural environment incorporates both internal and exterior project associations and standards. Project Scope contains the processes requisite to ensure that the project consists of necessary the labour essentials and only the work required, to complete the project efficiently. Project scope primarily refers to the work that should be done  to provide a product with the definite structures and functions. Q (3)-Upon institution of an entirely new project by Penny Black, it would mean a whole new transformation as well as the organization from an administrative perspective. Therefore, that would translate to a flawless coordination amid the manager and the entire workforce. The consequences would clearly be positive. In regards to risk management,

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

To what extent could it be argued that scientific management is good Essay

To what extent could it be argued that scientific management is good management - Essay Example Scientific management perspective has its origins from the work of Fredrick Winslow Taylor in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The management approach evolved during the industrial revolution when factories recognised the need for automation and mechanisation of some work processes. Some themes of industrial revolution and engineering included the need for rationality, efficiency, work ethic and standardisation of the best practices in order to eliminate waste (Taylor, 2010). Fredrick Taylor is considered the father of scientific management since he sought to introduce the ‘one best practice’ rather than allowing employee discretion in the tasks. Through ‘time and motion studies’, Taylor managed to fix job performance standards through introducing standardised ‘time, quality of work and costs’ associated with each job in the organisation (Taylor, 2010). Frank and Lillian Gilbreth advanced the fatique and motion studies that proved that proper job design and coordination of movements in the workplace reduced to efficiency through minimising time wastage and idle time. Henry Gantt introduced Gantt charts that demonstrated the priority of tasks and stages of production thus enabling employees to prioritise work and adhere with the work schedules. Thesis statement: scientific management is a good management in contemporary business environment since it increases organisational productivity and ensures efficiency in the production methods. Taylor based his scientific management on four principles that entail scientific study of work in order to determine the best efficient method of performing a specific task. Tsutsui (2001) claims that scientific study of work principle aims at replacing the ‘rule of thumb’ or common sense manner of doing jobs with a scientific manner than breaks down the job in to tasks and determines the most efficient method of doing the job in order to maximise efficiency. In this case, scienti fic management aims at enhancing workflow efficiency through redesigning the layout of the work environment in order to reduce time wastage and distractions. The second guiding principle of scientific management is the scientific selecting of workers for each job and training them to efficiently perform the tasks (Guillen, 1994). This principle is aimed at matching employees to their jobs depending of the required skills, capabilities and motivation of each individual worker in order to enhance productivity. The third principle entails monitoring worker performance, provision of job instructions and supervision in order to ensure workers are using the most efficient methods in their jobs (Taylor, 2010). In this case, Taylor advanced the notion that employee motivation is equivalent to incentive theory since employees are motivated by financial rewards. Taylor advocated that improvements in job productivity should be accompanied by equivalent increase in the piece-rate pay in order t o encourage the workers to commit more efforts and maximise their productivity. Lastly, the fourth principle of scientific management aims at dividing the wok between the managers and workers so that managers could concentrate on the application of scientific methods in designing tasks and supervision while workers can concentrate on the execution of their job according to the already established scientific methods

Monday, August 26, 2019

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Philosophy - Essay Example The film depicts the class difference in the society where the powerful manipulate the less fortunate for social and economic gains. The three categories describe human nature which Plato asserts consists of the appetite, the spirit, and the reason. The most skeptical members of the society are those who govern the rest. As portrayed in the film, they seek to manipulate their kind for the economic gains, which contravenes the dictates of ideal coexistence in the society. To achieve this, they seek mechanisms to manipulate others. The film depicts those who develop computer programs that compel the rest of the human population to be at their mercy. The programs have the ability to manipulate everyone, yet the inventors do not employ that on themselves but on others that they deem secondary (Plato, Ferrari, and Griffith 34). However, Plato and Desecrates concur that everyone possesses a quality of opposition especially on issues that they do not concur in. This is what led to the liber alization of most contemporary democracies. Regardless of their positions in the society, humans will always oppose any idea that seeks to subordinate their existence. Additionally, in his description of the state, Plato observes that the workers are always the majority in any society. They may not always have much wealth or capital, but their large number is their greatest power. The ruling class consists of a select few who often, as per the dictates of democracies, promise to protect the interest of the rest of the population. When united in an opposition, the workers topple states and governments. The film depicts this and uses the zeal to oppose oppressive regimes to develop an effective conflict... This paper approves that Plato and Desecrates concur that everyone possesses a quality of opposition especially on issues that they do not concur in. This is what led to the liberalization of most contemporary democracies. Regardless of their positions in the society, humans will always oppose any idea that seeks to subordinate their existence. Additionally, in his description of the state, Plato observes that the workers are always the majority in any society. They may not always have much wealth or capital, but their large number is their greatest power. The ruling class consists of a select few who often, as per the dictates of democracies, promise to protect the interest of the rest of the population. The film depicts this and uses the zeal to oppose oppressive regimes to develop an effective conflict that sustains the story. This paper makes a conclusion that Descartes explains the origin of science which the film also exhibits. He emphasizes the use of reason to develop science; the developers of the film employ extensive reasoning to help stretch the limits of science. Descartes asserts that philosophy is like a tree with metaphysics as the roots and physics as the trunk. All other branches of science such as physics, medicine, and ethics thus stem out of the trunk. In this assertion, Descartes explains that ethics should always govern human curiosity and result in the determination of ethical knowledge. The lack of ethics in any of such endeavors is likely to meet resistance from the disadvantaged just as the film depicts.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Business Plan Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Plan Evaluation - Essay Example Cash flow would enable the business to determine the amount of money needed to keep the business going. To strengthen the weakest link identified, methods of control should be integrated in the business plan. For example, there should be a policy control that allocated expenditures should not go over beyond 5% of the budget. Income statement should also be included as well as the initial capital outlay so the business would know how much it would compensate before it consider itself profitable. These solutions are chosen because they would strengthen the business plan and achieve the best possible outcome. They are critical for the success of the business and ensure that results would go as plan as stated in the business plan. For example, instituting control avoid costs to overshoot could make the business inefficient and less competitive if neglected. Incorporating more financial statements such as project Income Statement would enable the company to determine if its performance is consistent to the business plan or if it is underperforming. Cash flow is critical for start-up businesses such Loco Loco Dance Club because it prevents the operation of the business to run out of cash which could make stop its

Saturday, August 24, 2019

People who are under 21 should not allowed to drive Research Paper

People who are under 21 should not allowed to drive - Research Paper Example These precautions can help saving 1,700 accidental injuries and 200 deaths from speed driving in a year. Rash driving needs to be controlled, as similar driving limits also apply in countries like New Zealand, Australia, and some regions in the US as well (Triggle par. 1-3). Although overall deaths from accidents have been on the decrease but the teenage habit of listening to music while driving is a big accidental risk. This bad habit of listening to music through MP3 players and iPods while driving has been acknowledged for awareness purpose by the Tune into Traffic campaign (Triggle par. 5). Teenagers go a step ahead by not just listening to music while driving, but also texting messages, which is a relatively bigger risk on the road for causing of road accidents. Incidentally, there has been a significant check on road accidents, reaching to an all-time low, but still 2,222 deaths were reported due to road accidents the previous year (Triggle par. 5). Teenage accidents cause loss of gasoline, life, and money, as they develop a habit of driving just for the fun of driving, which is a leading cause of wastage of gasoline. Gasoline being a limited natural resource, a check on its wastage by not allowing driving licenses till they reach the age of 21 can help in saving this resource. The practice of graduated driving licensing can save many accidents from occurring. Otherwise also, road accidents cause huge loss of money as well, as a reduction in accident rates in the UK can relieve the economy from the financial burden amounting to  £890m (Triggle par. 8-11). We should stop teenagers from driving for their own benefit and for the benefit of other society stakeholders. Actually, teenagers have other alternatives to reach their destinations. Teenagers should use the available public transportation system, such as buses to reach their destination. There is no logic in going privately when buses are

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Fraud Act 2006 in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Fraud Act 2006 in the UK - Essay Example In the UK, the Fraud Act 2006 came into force during January 2007, and it substituted the deception crimes included in the Theft Acts 1968-1996 with a more general offence of fraud, which can be done in the following ways namely fraud by failing to divulge information, fraud by dishonesty or deceitful representation and fraud by misuse of position and authority. The offence under the Frauds Act 2006 is punishable if charges are proved with a fine or with an imprisonment of ten years or with both. It is punishable by a fine not in excess of the statutory maximum or sentence for a period of not exceeding six months or with both. Under tort of deceit, a person may claim damages if the fraud committed is resulted in injury to the affected party. On the ground of fraudulent misrepresentation, a contract may be voidable if it has been obtained by fraud. (Law & Martin 2009:240). Courts in England have not yet prepared to prescribe exactly what can be regarded as fraud. It is to be noted tha t the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) which was formed on the recommendation of the Roskill Report in 1984 had not taken into account the offence of fraud but recognised on an evocative manner, many fraud crimes which UK’s Home Office employs even today. (Ramage 2005:4). As on date, in UK, there exists no statutory offence of fraud and the Home Office of UK has set out some kind’s criminal activities that can be regarded as offences of fraud in â€Å"Counting Rules for Recording Crime.† According to a publication made by the Home Office in April 2003, describing the following as offences of â€Å"forgery and fraud.† Frauds by an individual include common law offence of conspiracy to defraud, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, fraudulent misappropriation of funds, obtaining a money transfer through credit card or cheque fraud under section 12 of the Theft Act 1987. (Ramage 2005:104).In Cronos Containers NV v Palatin, the defendants were Klamath Enterprises S A and Mr. and Mrs. Palatin. The shares of Klamath were owned by Mr. Palatin. In 1994, Mr.Palatin deceived the plaintiff by making five different payments from one of the Plaintiff’s clients, and the same was credited into Barclays bank account owned by Paladins. Then, such defrauded sums were employed by the defendants to renovate a property held by Klamath. (Ramage 2005:4). Conspiracy to Defraud Under Common Law It falls under consent to divest deceitfully somebody’s right or to abuse somebody’s property privilege. In Scott v Metropolitan Police Commissioner2, S agreed with workers of a cinema theatre to take copies of cinema screened in that theatre without the approval of the owner with an objective of commercial distribution held to be a conspiracy to defraud under common law. In Wai Yu-Tsang v R3, A acted in concert with bank employees to camouflage in the bank accounts the fact about dishonoring of cheques which the bank had already purchased so as to prev ent a bankruptcy by the bank, and A was held for the guilty of conspiracy to fraud. According to Lord Goff, conspiracy to fraud does not restrict to the notion of divesting somebody with something of value, but it also falls under deceit and fraud and if somebody may be discriminated in any way by the deceit or fraud. (Fionda & Bryant2000:154).  

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Hardest Victory Essay Example for Free

Hardest Victory Essay It is well known that man’s every desire comes forth, not from the mind, but from the core of his heart. It is this very heart that compels him to seek and fulfill those desires; be it moral or immoral in nature. From day one, man has sought to accomplish every single want that finds its way into his heart and he seldom offers any resistance against these. He may be all powerful and mighty when it comes to his daily hurdles but his weakness is evident in the fact that he cannot control and conquer the spirit in him that unceasingly demands more and more; the spirit against which, obtaining victory is nearly impossible. This is exactly the message Aristotle, through philosophical knowledge, has made an attempt to convey, to not only you or me but to all of us; a message stating, that the hardest victory is victory over the self. Indeed, Aristotle was right when he spoke about victory over one’s self being the hardest to obtain. Very often, it so happens, that despite the attempts made, one is unable to understand himself. He is left with no clue about who he is, where he is and most importantly, what he wants in life. This has resulted in him being uncertain and doubtful about his basic needs and so called luxuries. He is blinded by passions that may or may not be in his capability to achieve. But he is unaware that in his attempts to achieve these passions at any cost, he is loosing a battle against his greedy spirit; what he doesn’t know is that he has given himself to materialistic elements – elements that will only pull him down, making it harder for him to ‘breathe’ and live with ease – it will only make it more difficult for him to conquer that spirit, that big hurdle, that comes in his way to being truly victorious; a sight which is not all that common in the generation of today; because this present generation is a goal oriented and career driven kind that has given rise to numerous problems and various dilemmas due to its striving nature. At this point of time, it would only be right to say, that in order to be a true winner, man has got to learn that there is only one war to be fought; it is this war that determines the result of his success. This war is not symbolically a political or religious one, but signifies one that is personal and within one’s self. One must realize that in order to achieve success, it is necessary to surmount and do away with the desires of his mortal heart. Only then is he capable of acquiring the victory that was, is and will forever be the dream of scores of people who have come and are to come into this world. To conclude and leave you pondering, it would be best to impart to you a statement I happen to recall, a statement made by Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu; a statement that goes like this He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Charles Dickens Essay Example for Free

Charles Dickens Essay Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens, is one of the most popular classics of our time. Dickens novel was, some may say the work of a genius. The tale is of a boy who starts from humble beginnings and whom the story follows through to young adulthood each entering a new experience for the boy. Charles Dickens wrote the novel in 1860-61. He was born into a respected middle class family, in Charlton. He incorporated local features and happenings into his books when he could. His father went into debt and then prison after his finances collapsed. The rest of the family had to go to, so Charles spent time in prison. This is where Charles Dickens got some of his inspiration for his book. He eventually died at the age of fifty-eight from a stroke and was buried in his local churchyard. Chapter eight is an essential part of the book because it conveys a clear image of the characters personality and is a key part for the rest of the story. I will look in Chapter 8, where Pip goes to see Miss Havishams house for the first time, for a number of different techniques and devices which the writer uses to make us feel sympathy for Pip. Charles Dickens starts making the reader feel sorry for Pip when he and Mr Pumblechoke arrive at the gates, and Estella greets them. They completely over look Pip. This shows that Pip is unessential and insignificant. This, said Mrs Pumblechoke, is Pip This is Pip, is it? returned the young lady come in Oh she says, you wish to see Miss Havisham? If Miss Havisham wishes to se me. Returned Mr Pumblechoke. As you can see, from this initial conversation, Pip does not have the opportunity to introduce himself. This shows that he is considered to be insignificant, even though it was he who Miss Havisham had sent to see. This makes the reader feel condolence for Pip because it is as if people dont care about him. After the initial conversation, when Pip was marched inside with Estella, Estella starts to patronise Pip, which makes us feel sorry for him. But dont loiter, boy Though she called me boy so often, and with a carelessness that was far from complimentary, she was about my own age. She seemed much older than, of course, being a girl, and a beautiful and self-possessed; and she was as scornful of me as if she had been one and twenty, and a queen This paragraph shows us that Pip is already feeling downhearted about Estella constantly making him feel bad. Even though Estella was about the same age as Pip, she considers herself to be wiser, more mature and generally above Pips level. This is showed in the film by Estella being taller than Pip and looking down on him making her think herself bigger than him. This makes the reader feel sympathetic towards Pip because it is his first visit to Miss Havishams. He is evidently nervous and anxious, and having someone of his own age being scornful towards him, his self-confidence just breaks. The third time in chapter eight that the reader is made to feel sorry for Pip is when Pip was left in the hallway on his own with no light. Scornfully walked away, and what was worse took the candle with her. This was very uncomfortable and I was half afraid This makes the reader feel sympathetic for Pip because he is portrayed as being vulnerable. Estella leads Pip into the house and to a door, and was proclaimed by Estella to go in. Pip declines and returns with after you miss. Estella telling him not to be so stupid and scornfully walks off with the light. You would think that now Estella had gone, his situation would have improved but this is not the case. He is about to embark on his first meeting with Miss Havisham, making him hesitant and nervous. His confidence is not helped by standing outside the door in darkness, with no candle. Pip is now viewed as being vulnerable. Soon after Pip swallows his pride and opens the withered and wrecked door handle. No glimpse of daylight was to be seen in it. It was a dressing room, as I supposed from the furniture, though much of it was of forms and uses quite unknown of to me Pip enters through the door and is met by a milky white room. Although well lit by candle. There is antiqued furniture, all of which added to the mood, as if nobody had lived there for quite some time. The clocks had also stopped at twenty minutes to nine. The reader then feels sympathetic towards Pip because of his already nervous state being placed in an eerie, scary atmosphere, which seems unnatural to the poor boy. The reader once again feels sorry for Pip when he is ordered to play cards with Estella, for Miss Havishams viewing. Estella once again starts to be obnoxious towards Pip.

Online Game Defense Of The Ancients Media Essay

Online Game Defense Of The Ancients Media Essay Nowadays, game are well known by people around the world. Many people play games for many reason. Some of them play games for the sake of entertainment but there are also some people who make game as a work field. Furthermore, games give an activity besides reading a book, sport activities, and hang out. The tremendous popularity of game can be attributed, in part, to characteristic elements of games that fulfill certain societal and personal needs. Some of these elements are real-time interaction goal and stages. Increasing audience and expanding demographic point to the further evolution of video game in their ability to incorporate these elements in way that fulfills players needs. Different game elements appeal differently to people. Culture and society have a major impact on the success of game because of this ability (rabin, 2010, p 55) There are so many games which are play by poeple, it starts with nintendo, playstation, and online game. Online game already spread out over the world, because of the globalization era that use the high technology such as internet. The player of the game, also known as gamers are actually children until adults, and most of them are male. The contunuing intense interest in computer game may be een from a number of factors. The entertainment software association repotted on the popularity of computer games. The average game lplayer was found to be 35 years old and had been playing games for 12 years, furthermore, 40% of game players were found to be female. (tobias and fletcher, 2011. P. 5) One of the online game is DotA ( Defense of the ancient ) the popularity of dota is also well known for gamers in indonesia. The indonesian gamers are basically children and adults. There number is growing over time and will still increase in the next two until five years (www.ligagame.com). Dota is a short for defense of the ancient, this game can be played on-lined and offline with using LAN ( local area network). Dota is strategy game were players can choose sides and heroes. There are two sides in this game, the sentinel and the scrouge. There are 108 choice of heroes that we can choose, it is defided in 57 heroes in sentinel sides and 51 heroes in the scrouge sides, because there are alot choice of heroes, the team can created their own combos and strategy to make a powerfull line ups and beat the opponent. The purpose of this game is to destroy the opponent base. Heroes started in a level 1 and can leveled up until 25 times, hero gain level up during this game by killing oppone nt creature called creep and opponent heros. Hero gained new skill when they leveled up. This game can bey played starting one versus one up to five versus five. Dota was originally developed by map maker named eul. There was a various kind of map dota, the one whose most popular is dota allstars. Guinsoo is the dota allstars map developer, when he was retired, he substituted by icefrog until now Although this came can be played in one versus one mode, but this game can be more interesting and challenging if played in five versus five mode. The player should ncan be cooperate with the team and together create the strategy to win the game. The popularity of DotA has increase over time and got many attention from many people in the world. In June 2008, Michael Walbridge, writing for Gamasutra, stated thet DotA is likely the most popular and most-discussed free. Non-supported game mod in the world. In pointing to the strong community built around the game, Walbridge stated that DotA shows it is much easier for a community game to be maintained by the community, and this is one of the maps greatest strengths (blog dota, 2011,p2) In this paper the writer wants to observe the phenomenon of on-line game, in this case the writer will focus to discuss about the phenomenon game DotA(Defence Of The Ancients) In Sedes Sapientiae senior high school. C. FIELD OF THE STUDY The field of the study is focused on literature, especially Pop culture D. SCOPE OF THE STUDY In this case, the writer used online game Defense of the Ancient all stars (DotA) as his reasearch. Popular culture are the approaches which his choose to know how the popular of this game in Sedes Sapientiae high school. E. PROBLEM FORMULATION The writer has two major problems in this research: What makes DotA popular for students in Sedes Sapiantiae high school? What makes student in Sedes Sapiantiae start to play DotA? F. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY From the problem formulation above, the writer has two objectives to answer that problems formulation: To find the aspects/elements that make DotA is popular in Sedes Sapiantiae To find the reason that makes student play DotA G. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This research is intended to increase the knowledge about popular culture and to discuss and prove the phenomenon of the popularv culture of games Defense of the Ancient in the Sedes Sapiantiae high school student. H. DEFINITION OF TERMS In this reasearch, there arev two terms that need explanation in order to avoid confusion from the readers. Those terms are the words popular culture and on-line game. H. 1 Popular culture Popular culture is the shared knowledge and practices of a specific group a specific time. Because of its commonality, pop culture both reflects and influences the peoples way of life; because it is linked to a specific time and places, pop culture is transitory, subject to change, and often an initiator of change (EKA =salah) An obvious starting point in any attempt to define popular culture is to say that popular culture is simply culture that is widely favoured or well liked by many people (Storey, 2010, p.5) H.2 Online Game According to Gamemile.com/dictionary, online game is a game that can be run from an internet browser and requires the I-net connection. In most cases online games are freeware programs that can be used for an unlimited time and are available for free. H. 3 Phenomenon According to the American Heritage Dictionari Of The English Language, phenomenon is an accuirance, circumstance, or fact that is perceptible by the senses. H. 4 Sedes Sapientiae A senior high school in Semarang that located in Letjen MT. Hariyono street, number 908, peterongan, Semarang. REVIEW OF LITERATURE I.1 History of Game Game is of the popular culture product in the world. The first concept of games was discovered by Beaur since 1949. In 1949, a young engineer named Ralph Baer was given an assignment to build a television set. He was not suppoused to build just any television set, but one thet would be the absolute best of all television. This was not a problem for Baer, but he wanted to go beyond his original assignmet and in corporate some kind of game into the set. He didnt know excatly what kind of game he had in mind, but it didnt really matter because his manager mixed the idea. It would take another 18 years for his idea to become a reality, and by the time there would be other people to share in the glory, like Willy Higinbotham, who dwesigned an interactive tennis game played on an oscilloscoope, and Steve Russell, who programed a rudimentary space game on a DEC PDP-1 mineframe computer. And then there was also nolan bushnell, who played that space game, and dreamed of a time when fairground midweast would be field with games powered by computers. (Herman, Horwitz, Kent, and Miller, 2002. P 1 ) Through the research and some development in game, there was a bunch of variety of game such as : offline game and on-line game. The writer focusing to discuss about on-line game based on Borko Furth in 2008 online game is fairness in online games is concerned with the problem of ansuring that players perceive the game evolution in the same movement, despite different network latencies ( Furth, 2008. P. 2008) I.2 History of DotA One of the online games is dota. Dota concept and its gameplay is adopting a lot from aeon of strife. Aeon of strife also known as AOS, is a modified map that pioneered the concept of players choosing a single hero for the collective objective of destroying the opposing teams base. Defense of the ancient was originally created for warcraft III: Reign of chaos by lead progammer Eul up until the release of warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Eul did not continue the development onto the frozen Throne; and instead, made the map open source before officially shutting down development. DotA all-stars became the most popular version, and it still the most widely plyaed map today. Dota All Stars DotA all-stars is a custom map and it was development from the current version Defense of the Ancientsm or DotA for short, is a modification of warcraft 3 Frozen Throne. The current version that is a modification by the mainstream group of gamers is version 5.84c, also know as DotA Allstars ( Aziz, 2005. P 16) The Guinsoo While the true origins of DotA All-stars still remains in question today, many DotA players and community members attribute the creation of DotA All-Stars with its first mainstream developer, Guinsoo, who built a majority of the systems that make it popular today. While tbhe concept of using single heroes to accomplish an objective had previously existed (See AoS), Guinsoo created a large number of interesting and unique heroes in addition to uniquely fun item- crafting system, much of which still exist today. (Chart of Heroes) Guinsoo is atributtet to creating and running DotA smost well known clan, Clan TDA (Theme DotA All Stars). Some controversy remins to this day regarding the creation of DotA All-Stars wirth avoid players of the original DotA presenting Guinsoo for supposedly stealing the game concept, action scripts, and ideas of the original DotA. Guinsoo, for his part, maintains that the map was created from scratch (besides the map layout and based only spiritually on Euls work. While, the real reason is still in question, there are some rumors linking Guinsoos departure from the DotA community for world of Warcraft. Guinsoos last official version was version 6.01 The Icefrog Upon Guinsoos departurev shortly after the release of version 6.01 on February 28th, 2005, players. Icefrog and Neichus took over development. Neichushas since dropped from view, and Icefrog is now thec primary point for DotA All-Stars development. While the development of new heroes and items have slowed since Guinsoos development, Icefrog is primarily attributed with bug fixes, tweaks, and balances. In DotA there was a complicated game play that contain of job, role in playing game and also building item, what makes interesting. Every game is different. You buy different items, you lane against different opponents, you have different combod, you pick different heroes, you plan different attacks, etc. Variation is important to stay addicted on something. Nobody would want to do same things over and over again. (Rodriguez, 2011. P14) Role of playing game DotA is a strategy game with a bunch of development by many people in case of playing it. In this game there are some role that you must choose and suitable for your team, each role have a different job. There are Five role in playing DotA : Ganker A hero that usually had decent stunt ability, has slow, or disable, is perfect to ganking a hero. Ganker usually ganks with groups, they never gank alone. The ganker job is to mobile and gank any enemy carry (if it is possible). Carry : Sometimes called as a Hitter because their primary job is auto attack. But dont be surprised, not only Agility or Strength heroes that can be carry, intelligence heroes has some few carries like Tinker and Storm Spirit. But they dont do the auto-attack, they cast spam spells, spells, spells, and much spells. The carry job is to farm a lot. Killing, and juggling. Support An hero that helps the team, supports usually have heaking abikities, protection skills, and some supporting abilities. Support usually known as Baby Sitter, they usually laning with a carry, to let them farm meanwhile the support is covering them. Support job is to Let carry farm, Support team, and Mobile. Initiator A unique rolr. Initiator are divided into 2 more roles, they are tanker, and Nuker. Tanker job is to tank everytime war happen and to block creeps Nuker job is to spam every single spell that you can on every war and stay behind when war, the longer you can survive, the more damage you can dealt. So, the main point of initiator is, they are the war heroes. Pusher A hero that has abilities to destroy a waves of creeps in instant, or even destroying a tower in seconds. Pusher job is to mobile pushing and prevent being ganked when pushing. Build up item Playing this game is not always depend on the team, you must support your own hero with a suitable and effective equip. The equipment in this game basically has the function for : improve attack, improve defence, regeneration, supporting aura, and get special ability. Team Work Game This game need a team work. First you playing this game, is hard to blend with your team yet, when you get the chemistry you will enjoy playing this game with your team. Playing with team mates is more addicting than playing alone. J. Method of data collection and analysis J.1 Method of data collection The writer would do library reasearch book, internet, and article that related to the topic. J.2 Participant The studebts of sedes Saptentiae senior high school grade I III J.3 Procudure Firstly the writer make a questionare about the popularity of DotA of studebts in Sedes Sapiantiae senior high school. After thet the writer give it to the students, and after that the writer analyze it, and make the data. J.4 Method of analysis Analysis the game by searching in internet and search the theory in and then Calculate the answer from questionnaire and make the conclusion from that questionnaire.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Holden Caufield in Catcher In The Rye by J.D Salinger :: essays research papers

The setting of this story takes place in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. The home of Pency bording school. Pency is one of those college prep schools that advertises only the best aspects and never mentions how much the students will hate going there. On the brochure there is an unrealistic, imaginary student that does not exist playing polo. In real life Pency, there are a couple hundred spoiled little rich students whose parents do not want the burden of raising them. The point of view in this story is expressed in first person. Throughout the story Holden tells of other characters and of course his opinion of them. Always criticizing them and their decisions and labeling most of them phonies. In the beginning of the story Holden is watching the Friday night football game from atop a hill. He had just gotten back from a fencing match that had to be cut short in New York because the captain of the fencing team, which happened to be Holden left all of the equipment on the subway. Needless to say it was a long trip home for Holden. After all of this has happened Holden gets back only to learn that he has been released from Pency and placed on academic probation. Holden was not stupid by any means but if he did not desire to learn what was being taught he refused to try. The professors on the other hand did not agree with Holden’s reasoning. Therefore, he was failing all but one of his classes. Holden had a friend that was a teacher at Pency. He was perhaps the only person that halfway understood him. The only problem was that Mr. Spencer was old and senile and did not have much pull with in the school board, which meant he did not serve as much help in Holden’s current situation. Mr. Spencer was always trying to prepare Holden for life, and was always telling him that â€Å"life is a game and you have to make the right moves†. Holden rarely listened but felt obligated to say good-bye to him because he had tried to understand him, which is more than most people had ever done for him. Holden went to visit Mr. Spencer before he left. As usual he did not get much out of his usual â€Å"life is a game† lecture but he would have felt guilty if he had not gone by to say fair well.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Passivity: A Way of Life. :: Essays Papers

Passivity: A Way of Life. The life of the main character – Rukmani was filled with hardships. Happy times were a rarity, and everyday life was full of work from sunrise to sunset. Yet despite all the work, her family was in utter poverty. Nevertheless Rukmani was always optimistic, and accepted her life the way it was. Kenny, on the other hand, never understood why they accept their poverty and always tried to get them to rise up. It is Indian ideology and the belief in karma with reincarnation that led Rukmani and many other Indian people to a passive life. This passivity is seen throughout the book. However especially in the few instances after major disasters and crises this way of life stands out. At first, Rukmani couldn’t have children after her first daughter. Kenny cured her, and then she bore five sons. Afterwards, she met Kenny and proudly said â€Å"You are my benefactor†¦have I not five sons to prove it?†(p. 36) Kenny answered, â€Å"Am I to blame for your excesses?† This was a half- sarcastic remark. However, only half – sarcastic. Ok, you need sons to work in the field, two sons can manage if Nathan managed alone. You can barely provide for a few people, but the family consists of eight. Yet everything is just fine. Another instance is when the terrible storm hit the village and destroyed the rice paddy. When the storm finished, Rukmani just said that it will grow back and so did Nathan. At the time of the terrible drought the crop was destroyed, and even after cutting a deal of paying half the rent, selling clothes, and a few other things they didn’t have enough money to pay the half, Nathan wanted to sell the seed and a lot of other stuff. Rukmani pleaded with him â€Å"Let us only try,†¦ Let us keep our hope for the next harvest.†(p. 80) Again there is the optimism. Finally, she even confirms this passivity herself. When Kenny showed her the plans for the hospital, and the started to talk about the costs, Rukmani couldn’t understand why people gave so much money to help. Kenny said, â€Å"Because they have means, do no the sick die in the streets because there is no hospital for them? Are not your children born in gutters? Etc.† â€Å"You must cry out if you want help.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Serial Killers Essay -- Papers Psychology Murder Crime Essays

Serial Killers Introduction to Psychology Introduction In the past two decades, the creature known as the serial killer has captured the attention of the American culture. With the dozens of books and movies centered around serial killers the term has become a trendy catch phrase, replacing earlier terms such as "homicidal maniac". Fiction and screenwriters use the term "serial killers" with such casual abandon that is seems the meaning of the term escapes them. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family and friends for encouraging me back to school so I can one day parlay my BIZARRE interest into a bonafide career. Justification of Problem Are serial killers born or made? What stops us from killing a disloyal friend or total stranger with nice shoes? Or ? to rephrase the question ? what fails to stop some people from committing such murders? This question has baffled psychologist, sociologists and criminologists for many years, and is the very essence of trying to establish the nature of this crime. The born or made argument, known as the "Nature versus Nurture" debate, asks whether criminality is due to genetic factors, and therefore unavoidable, or whether it is the product of social situations, environmental surroundings or other external factors. While the debate is a noble one, we must first answer the question ? What is a serial killer? Literature Review On February 9, 1978, 12 year-old Kimberly Leach disappeared; she was found in the first week of April, her body discovered near Suwanee State Park. In 1609, 25 handpicked daughters of Polish nobles left home to attend instruction in social graces at the Csejthe Castle; none left alive. The body of Rose Ambramovitz was found sprawled a... ...nd just as the heroin addict?s need for a fix may drive him to steal, the serial killer?s obligation to the fantasy drives him to murder. In short, the cycle of the serial killer is no different from the cycle of any other addict, the end result being functionally the same as the heroin addict?s theft. Bibliography: References Abrahamsen, David. (1973). The Murdering Mind. New York: Harper & Row. Alexander, Bruce. (1988). "The Disease and Adaptive Models of Addiction." In Stanton Peele (ed.), Visions of Addiction. Lexington: DC Heath & Company. Rule, Ann. (1996). "The I-45 Killer". New York: New American Library. Schechter, Harold & Everitt, David. (1996). "A to Z: Encyclopedia of Serial Killers". New York: Pocket Books. U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. (1984). "Serial Murders". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office

Saturday, August 17, 2019

5.05 Works Cited

I do think that the lawsuit against Brianna LaHara was fair; she technically stole over a thousand songs. I do feel that it is a bit unfair that there was a law suit against a 12 year old, but also she needed it to be done now before she got herself into some real trouble when she was older. If it was me in this situation, I would just give myself over to them and confess what I did. I do not think it is a reasonable program at all.I am not one for having that fear constantly eating at the back of my brain, so I would rather just face the consequences. If I knew I was at such risk for arrest and lawsuits, I would turn myself in voluntarily. There are too many risks, and cases already made against this subject. According to CBS News, a woman in 2009 illegally downloaded TOO much music! She shared copyrighted music online and levied $222,000 in damages against her.She even had to pay the six record companies that sued her $9,250 for each of 24 songs they focused on in the case. WORKS C ITED: â€Å"Woman Faces The Music, Loses Download Case. † CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n. d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"12-year-old Settles Music Swap Lawsuit. † CNN. N. p. , 18 Feb. 2004. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. .

Friday, August 16, 2019

Perception paper

In these two stories you see both women being stereotyped. Christa Kilvington being stereotyped for being on government well fare. I can see why people would use that stereotype on her. A lot of the people see using the well fare system are dead beats so to speak, people that are too lazy or on drugs to go find a decent job. With Carol Paik she keeps getting the Asian stereotype where people think she looks like other Asians. I also can understand how people can make this mistake; I think every single one of us will admit that all Asian people look kind of similar and that we’ve each made the same mistake as the people in this story are making with Carol. I personally have made this mistake, even carol made it and she used to complain about people doing the same thing to her.The major factors that affect the selection of information by the people who see Christa are that she is on the welfare system and that she’s a 4.0 student. The people at grocery stores or the welfa re office see her as a lazy person who wont go get a job and make her own money. Her classmates see her as the hardworking dedicated 4.0 student. The two are very different after reading the story I see Christa more on the side of hardworking and dedicated. The major factor affecting Carol is her race. The fact that she’s Asian is the biggest reason people perceive her as someone else.The people who meet Christa organize the information they are given into two different groups. People out in public see her as the single mom that is on government welfare, from that they assume that she is a worthless, lazy woman who is coasting on government funds. People who meet Christa around college see her as the exceptional student. It would be interesting to see what her classmates would say if they knew about her being on welfare and if people out in public knew that she is a 4.0 student. People who meet Carol organize her into one category. People who meet carol confuse her with other women because the general stereotype is that all Asians look alike.The cultural views are big in theses two stories. Generally in our, or American culture, we don’t usually see 4.0 students on government welfare, we’re just not used to seeing that combination of traits from somebody. We also see in our culture that we mix up Asian people with each other. I don’t believe it’s because we are racist I think it’s that we are not raised around a lot of Asians usually so its kind of hard for us to distinguish between them sometimes.To minimize the perception problems people could use perception checking. â€Å"Perception checking is a tool for helping you understand others accurately instead of assuming that your first interpretation is correct. Because its goal is mutual understanding, perception checking is a cooperative approach to communication (Alder/Proctor II, 105).† Perception checking has three parts, description, interpretations, and a request of clarification. In this situation a request for clarification would help out both these women greatly.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Carl’s Jr. Commercial

Fried Sexuality It is funny how you can get the attention of a man’s sexual desires through a commercial. You can’t blame a man for his behavior. It’s in our nature to be who we are as men. Specifically, the kind of men that can be tricked by a mere image of a woman, in a bikini, eating a cheese burger. The advertisements in today’s world have been altered to use women as bait to reel in men and buy the product without any hesitation. If I told you that if you go to Carl’s Jr. and purchase a cheeseburger and a gorgeous model comes with the burger, would you buy it?I sure would†¦if only it were true. Carl’s Jr. is known for having its famous juicy, charbroiled, seven hundred calorie burgers. Anytime they want to promote a new burger, they use a model dressed revealingly to present the burger. They have the model eat very slowly and take big bites out of the burger to show its ingredients and condiments. At the end of the commercial there is a white background and the burger falls from the sky and lands on the white ground. End of commercial. We have sort of gotten the feeling that these advertisements tend to be repetitive and very similar.It has come to my attention that these commercials were pitched by men or a man. Only a man could use a woman as his tool and present her in front of an audience of millions to show the new way of how to unveil a new product. I have seen so many Carl’s Jr. commercials to the point where I feel like they want me to buy the model, rather than the burger. Nonetheless, having the model will not solve my hunger problem but having her for the sexual desire aspect will suffice. What appealed to me was the lack of importance of the burger in the beginning of the commercial.The commercial starts with the beautiful model at the beach. She is lying on the beach on a towel. The sun is so bright it makes her skin glow and come to life. A breeze flows through the air and has her hair dan cing with the wind. Her face so delicate and lovely. As she eats the burger, sauce drips on to her skin. As if the men weren’t aroused already, she wipes the sauce with her finger and licks it off. The newest burger from Carl’s Jr. is the Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork burger. The commercial, dare I say it, is hot.You find yourself at an annual cook-off in Memphis, Tennessee and come across stands selling food, beer, etc. This one particular stand has these two gorgeous girls flipping patties and teasing each other. They give each other menacing looks. You can feel the sexual tension rising. The camera is behind the girls and you can clearly see that they are wearing, what appeared to be, shorts. These shorts allow you to see the girls’ rear ends hanging. The heat was so unstable you can see sweat sliding down their tan, perfect bodies like children sliding down a tube at a waterpark.Remember when I said that these commercials tend to be repetitive? Well history repeat s itself because also in this commercial, one of the girls has a drop of sauce land on one of her breasts. She immediately wipes it with her finger and licks it like it was a lollipop. The table across from the girls has two men standing there, staring at them with their mouths so wide open that their jaws are touching the floor. Meanwhile, the girls have put together their burgers and are feeding each other.The men over at the other table took out their cell phones and started to take pictures, like they were teenagers recording a fight in high school. I am going out on a limb here by saying that this and many other commercials by Carl’s Jr. received generally more negative reviews than positive. Those negative reviews came from concerned and angry mothers. One mother had this to say about one of Carl’s Jr. ’s commercials: â€Å"This is absolutely the most disgusting commercial Carl's Jr has came up with so far. The women looks like she's actually getting sexu ally aroused from eating a hamburger for God sake!Not to mention she even looks as if she's fingering herself† (http://www. complaintsboard. com). Now this post received many negative comments from men and good comments from mothers. The mother goes on to say: â€Å"The FCC need's to ban this filthy commercial right off the air. There are innocent children that are being subjected to that appalling, demoralizing smut† (http://www. complaintsboard. com). Several comments to this post were very crucial and degrading. One comment said the following about the concerned mother: â€Å"Oh shut the hell up and quit your bitching.You are just pissed because she is one of the most gorgeous females walking the earth and you are probably just some fat chick who is pissed because you feel even more guilty when you go and eat at Carl's Jr every other day because you have to look at yourself in the mirror and wish you looked like her. If it bothers you that much then find a new burge r joint to fill your mouth with to gain more weight† (http://www. complaintsboard. com). I wouldn’t call that comment very â€Å"heartwarming† but what is heartwarming is the flow of endless money into your bank account after that commercial is aired in front of billions watching worldwide.I asked my mother if she remembers the burger Carl’s Jr. was advertising in the Memphis BBQ cook-off and she told me: â€Å"What? They were selling burgers? I thought they were selling prostitutes! † Well that’s my mother for you. Just another confused and possibly concerned parent. I asked my father the same question and he told me: â€Å"I got to go get that burger! † Like father, like son. Carl’s Jr. has created this new way of advertising for the same reason we have jobs. To make money and lots of it.

Zoe’s Tale PART III PROLOGUE

I lifted up my dad's PDA and counted off the seconds with the two thousand other people in the room. â€Å"Five! Four! Three! Two! One!† And then there was no noise, because everyone's attention – and I mean everyone's – was glued to the monitors peppered around the Magellan's common area. The screens, which had held starry skies in them, were blank and black, and everyone was holding their breath, waiting for what came next. A world appeared, green and blue. And we all went insane. Because it was our world. It was Roanoke, our new home. We would be the first people to land there, the first people to settle there, the first people to live our lives there. And we celebrated seeing it for that first time, we two thousand settlers of Roanoke, all crammed into that common area, hugging and kissing and singing â€Å"Auld Lang Syne,† because, well, what else do you sing when you come to a new world? A new world, new beginnings, a new year, a new life. New everything. I hugged my best friend Gretchen and we hollered into the microphone I had been using to count down the seconds, and hopped up and down like idiots. When we stopped hopping, a whisper in my ear. â€Å"So beautiful,† Enzo said. I turned to look at him, at this gorgeous, beautiful boy who I was seriously considering making my boyfriend. He was a perfect combination: heart-flutteringly pretty and apparently entirely ignorant of the fact, because he'd been spending the last week trying to charm me with his words, of all things. Words! Like he didn't get the teenage boy manual on how to be completely inarticulate around girls. I appreciated the effort. And I appreciated the fact that when he whispered his words, he was looking at me and not the planet. I glanced over at my parents about six meters away, kissing to celebrate the arrival. That seemed like a good idea. I reached my hand behind Enzo's head to draw him to me and planted one right on his lips. Our first kiss. New world, new life, new boyfriend. What can I say. I was caught up in the moment. Enzo didn't complain. â€Å"‘O brave new world, that has such people in it,'† he said, after I let him breathe again. I smiled at him, my arms still around his neck. â€Å"You've been saving that up,† I said. â€Å"Maybe,† he admitted. â€Å"I wanted you to have a quality first kiss moment.† See. Most sixteen-year-old boys would have used a kiss as an excuse to dive straight for the boobs. He used it as an excuse for Shakespeare. A girl could do worse. â€Å"You're adorable,† I said, kissed him again, then gave him a playful push and launched myself into my parents, breaking up their canoodling and demanding their attention. The two of them were our colony's leaders, and soon enough they would barely have time to breathe. It was best I get in some quality time while I could. We hugged and laughed and then Gretchen yanked me back toward her. â€Å"Look what I have,† she said, and thrust her PDA in my face. It showed a vidcap of me and Enzo kissing. â€Å"You evil little thing,† I said. â€Å"It's amazing,† Gretchen said. â€Å"It actually looks like you're trying to swallow his entire face.† â€Å"Stop it,† I said. â€Å"See? Look,† Gretchen tapped a button, and the vidcap played in slow motion. â€Å"Right there. You're mauling him. Like his lips were made of chocolate.† I was trying very hard not to laugh, because she was actually right about that. â€Å"Wench,† I said. â€Å"Give me that.† I snatched the PDA from her with one hand, erased the file, and handed it back. â€Å"There. Thank you.† â€Å"Oh, no,† Gretchen said, mildly, taking the PDA. â€Å"Learned your lesson about violating the privacy of others?† I said. â€Å"Oh, yes,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Good,† I said. â€Å"Of course, you already forwarded it to everyone we know before you showed it to me, didn't you?† â€Å"Maybe,† Gretchen said, and put her hand to her mouth, eyes wide. â€Å"Evil,† I said, admiringly. â€Å"Thank you,† Gretchen said, and curtsied. â€Å"Just remember I know where you live,† I said. â€Å"For the rest of our lives,† Gretchen said, and then we did embarrassingly girly squeals and had another hug. Living the rest of your life with the same two thousand people ran the risk of being dead-bang boring, but not with Gretchen around. We unhugged and then I looked around to see who else I wanted to celebrate with. Enzo was hovering in the background, but he was smart enough to know that I'd get back to him. I looked over and saw Savitri Guntupalli, my parents' assistant, conferring with my dad very seriously about something. Savitri: She was smart and capable and could be wicked funny, but she was always working. I got between her and Dad and demanded a hug. Yes, I was all about the hugs. But, you know, look: You only get to see your new world for the first time once. â€Å"Zoe,† Dad said, â€Å"can I have my PDA back?† I had taken Dad's PDA because he'd set the exact time the Magellan would skip from the Phoenix system to Roanoke, and used it to count off the last few minutes before the jump. I had my own PDA, of course; it was in my pocket. No doubt the vid-cap of me smooching Enzo was waiting for me in my in-box, just like it was in the in-boxes of all our friends. I made a note to myself to plot revenge against Gretchen. Sweet, merciless revenge. Involving witnesses. And farm animals. But for now I gave Dad back his PDA, gave him a peck on his cheek, and found my way back to Enzo. â€Å"So,† Enzo said, and smiled. God, he was even charming when monosyllabic. The rational part of my brain was lecturing me about how infatuation makes everything seem better than it is; the irrational part (meaning, most of me) was telling the rational part to get well and truly stuffed. â€Å"So,† I said back, not nearly as charmingly, but Enzo didn't seem to notice. â€Å"I was talking to Magdy,† Enzo said. â€Å"Uh-oh,† I said. â€Å"Magdy's not so bad,† Enzo said. â€Å"Sure, for certain values of ‘not so bad,' meaning ‘bad,'† I said. â€Å"And he said that he was talking to some of the Magellan crew,† Enzo said, forging along (charmingly). â€Å"They told him about an observation lounge on the crew level that's usually empty. He says we could get a great view of the planet there.† I glanced over Enzo's shoulder, where Magdy was talking animatedly to Gretchen (or at her, depending on one's point of view). â€Å"I don't think the planet is what he's hoping to view,† I said. Enzo glanced back. â€Å"Maybe not,† he said. â€Å"Although to be fair to Magdy, certain people aren't exactly trying hard not to be viewed.† I crooked an eyebrow at that; it was true enough, although I knew Gretchen was more into the flirting than anything else. â€Å"And what about you?† I said. â€Å"What are you hoping to see?† Enzo smiled and held up his hands, disarmingly. â€Å"Zoe,† he said. â€Å"I just got to kiss you. I think I want to work on that a little more before moving on to anything else.† â€Å"Ooh, nicely said,† I said. â€Å"Do these lines work on all the girls?† â€Å"You're the first girl I've tried them on,† Enzo said. â€Å"So you'll have to let me know.† I actually blushed, and gave him a hug. â€Å"So far, so good,† I said. â€Å"Good,† Enzo said. â€Å"Also, you know. I've seen your bodyguards. I don't think I want them to use me for target practice.† â€Å"What?† I said, mock-shocked. â€Å"You're not frightened of Hickory and Dickory, are you? They're not even here.† Actually, Enzo has a perfectly good reason to be utterly terrified of Hickory and Dickory, who were already vaguely suspicious of him and would happily cycle him out an airlock if he did anything stupid with me. But there was no reason to let him know that yet. Good rule of thumb: When your relationship is minutes old, don't freak out the new squeeze. And anyway, Hickory and Dickory were sitting out this celebration. They were aware they made most of the humans nervous. â€Å"I was actually thinking of your parents,† Enzo said. â€Å"Although they seem to be missing, too.† Enzo motioned with his head to where John and Jane had been standing a few minutes before; now neither of them were there. I saw Savitri leaving the common area as well, as if she suddenly had someplace to be. â€Å"I wonder where they went,† I said, mostly to myself. â€Å"They're the colony leaders,† Enzo said. â€Å"Maybe now they have to start working.† â€Å"Maybe,† I said. It was unusual for either John or Jane to disappear without telling me where they were going; it was just a common courtesy. I fought back the urge to message them on my PDA. â€Å"So, the observation lounge,† Enzo said, getting himself back to the topic at hand. â€Å"You want to check it out?† â€Å"It's on the crew deck,† I said. â€Å"You think we might get in trouble?† â€Å"Maybe,† Enzo said. â€Å"But what can they do? Make us walk the plank? At worst they'll just tell us to get lost. And until then we'll have a heck of a view.† â€Å"All right,† I said. â€Å"But if Magdy turns into all tentacles, I'm leaving. There are some things I don't need to see.† Enzo laughed. â€Å"Fair enough,† he said, and I snuggled into him a little. This new boyfriend thing was turning out just fine. We spent some more time celebrating with our friends and their families. Then, after things had settled down enough, we followed Magdy and Gretchen through the Magellan and toward the crew observation lounge. I thought sneaking into the crew area might be a problem; not only was it easy, but a crew member coming out of an entrance held it open for us. â€Å"Security is not a huge issue here on the Magellan,† Gretchen said, back to me and Enzo, then looked down at our clasped hands and smiled at me. She was evil, sure, but she was also happy for me. The observation lounge was where it was advertised to be, but alas for Magdy's nefarious plans, it was not empty as promised; four Magellan crew members sat at a table, intent in a conversation. I glanced over to Magdy, who looked like he had just swallowed a fork. I found this rather amusing myself. Poor, poor Magdy. Frustration became him. â€Å"Look,† Enzo said, and still holding my hand, guided me to a huge observation window. Roanoke filled the view, gorgeously green, fully illuminated with her sun behind us, more breathtaking in person than she was on the monitors. Seeing something with your own eyes makes a difference. It was the most beautiful thing I think I'd ever seen. Roanoke. Our world. â€Å"Wrong place,† I heard, barely, from the conversation at the table to the left of me. I glanced over at the table. The four Magellan crew there were so engaged in their conversation and so closed in to each other that it looked like most of their bodies were actually on the table rather than in their seats. One of the crew was sitting with his back to me, but I could see the other three, two men and a woman. The expression on their faces was grim. I have a habit of listening in to other people's conversations. It's not a bad habit unless you get caught. The way not to get caught is to make sure it looks like your attention is somewhere else. I dropped my hand from Enzo's and took a step toward the observation lounge window. This got me closer to the table while at the same time keeping Enzo from whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I kept myself visually intent on Roanoke. â€Å"You don't just miss,† one of the crew members was saying. â€Å"And the captain sure as hell doesn't. He could put the Magellan in orbit around a pebble if he wanted to.† The crew member with his back to me said something low, which I couldn't hear. â€Å"That's crap,† said the first crew member. â€Å"How many ships have actually gone missing in the last twenty years? In the last fifty? No one gets lost anymore.† â€Å"What are you thinking?† I jumped, which made Enzo jump. â€Å"Sorry,† he said, as I turned to give him an exasperated look. I put a finger to my lips to shush him, and then motioned with my eyes at the table now behind me. Enzo glanced behind me and saw the table. What? he mouthed. I shook my head a tiny bit to tell him he shouldn't distract me anymore. He gave me a strange look. I took his hand again to let him know I wasn't upset with him, but then focused my attention back to the table. † – calm. We don't know anything yet,† said another voice, this one belonging (I think) to the woman. â€Å"Who else knows about this?† Another mutter from the crew member facing away from me. â€Å"Good. We need to keep it that way,† she said. â€Å"I'll clamp down on things in my department if I hear anything, but it only works if we all do it.† â€Å"It won't stop the crew from talking,† said someone else. â€Å"No, but it'll slow down the rumors, and that's good enough until we know what's really happened,† the woman said. Yet another mutter. â€Å"Well, if it's true, then we have bigger problems, don't we?† said the woman, and all the strain she was experiencing was suddenly clear in her voice. I shuddered a little; Enzo felt it through my hand and looked at me, concerned. I gave him a serious hug. It meant losing the rest of the conversational thread, but at the moment, it's what I wanted. Priorities change. There was the sound of chairs pushing back. I turned and the crew members – it was pretty clear they were actually officers – were already heading toward the door. I broke away from Enzo to get the attention of the one closest to me, the one who had had his back to me earlier. I tapped him on the shoulder; he turned and seemed very surprised to see me. â€Å"Who are you?† he said. â€Å"Has something happened to the Magellan?† I asked. The best way to learn stuff is not to get distracted, for example, by questions relating to one's identity. The man actually scowled, which is something I'd read about but had never actually seen someone do, until now. â€Å"You were listening to our conversation.† â€Å"Is the ship lost?† I asked. â€Å"Do we know where we are? Is something wrong with the ship?† He took a step back, like the questions were actually hitting him. I should have taken a step forward and pressed him. I didn't. He regained his footing and looked past me to Enzo and Gretchen and Magdy, who were all looking at us. Then he realized who we were, and straightened up. â€Å"You kids aren't supposed to be here. Get out, or I'll have ship's security throw you out. Get back to your families.† He turned to go. I reached toward him again. â€Å"Sir, wait,† I said. He ignored me and walked out of the lounge. â€Å"What's going on?† Magdy asked me, from across the room. â€Å"I don't want to get in trouble because you've pissed off some random crew member.† I shot Magdy a look, and turned to look out the window again. Roanoke still hung there, blue and green. But suddenly not as beautiful. Suddenly unfamiliar. Suddenly threatening. Enzo put his hand on my shoulder. â€Å"What is it, Zoe?† he said. I kept staring out the window. â€Å"I think we're lost,† I said. â€Å"Why?† Gretchen asked. She had come up beside me. â€Å"What were they talking about?† â€Å"I couldn't hear it all,† I said. â€Å"But it sounded like they were saying we're not where we're supposed to be.† I pointed to the planet. â€Å"That this isn't Roanoke.† â€Å"That's crazy,† Magdy said. â€Å"Of course it's crazy,† I said. â€Å"Doesn't mean it might not be true.† I pulled out my PDA from my pocket and tried to connect with Dad. No answer. I tried connecting to Mom. No answer. â€Å"Gretchen,† I said. â€Å"Would you try calling your dad?† Gretchen's dad was on the colonial council my parents headed up. â€Å"He's not answering,† she said, after a minute. â€Å"It doesn't mean anything bad,† Enzo said. â€Å"We did just skip to a new planet. Maybe they're busy with that.† â€Å"Maybe they're still celebrating,† Magdy said. Gretchen smacked him upside the head. â€Å"You really are childish, Magdy,† she said. Magdy rubbed the side of his head and shut up. This evening was not going anything like he had planned. Gretchen turned to me. â€Å"What do you think we should do?† â€Å"I don't know,† I said. â€Å"They were talking about keeping the crew from talking. It means some of them might know what's going on. It won't take long to get to the colonists.† â€Å"It's already gotten to the colonists,† Enzo said. â€Å"We're colonists.† â€Å"We might want to tell someone,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I think your parents and my dad need to know, at least.† I glanced down at her PDA. â€Å"I think they might know already,† I said. â€Å"We should make sure,† she said. So we left the observation lounge and went looking for our parents. We didn't find them; they were in a council meeting. I did find Hickory and Dickory, or rather, they found me. â€Å"I think I should go,† Enzo said, after they'd stared at him, unblinking, for a minute. It wasn't meant as intimidation; they don't blink at all. I gave him a peck on the cheek. He and Magdy left. â€Å"I'm going to listen around,† Gretchen said. â€Å"See what people are saying.† â€Å"All right,† I said. â€Å"Me too.† I held up my PDA. â€Å"Let me know what you hear.† She left. I turned to Hickory and Dickory. â€Å"You two,† I said. â€Å"You were in your room earlier.† â€Å"We came looking for you,† Hickory said. It was the talker of the two. Dickory could talk, but it was always a surprise when it happened. â€Å"Why?† I said. â€Å"I was perfectly safe before. I've been perfectly safe since we left Phoenix Station. The Magellan is entirely threat-free. The only thing you've been good for this entire trip is scaring the crap out of Enzo. Why are you looking for me now?† â€Å"Things have changed,† Hickory said. â€Å"What do you mean?† I asked, but then my PDA vibrated. It was Gretchen. â€Å"That was fast,† I said. â€Å"I just ran into Mika,† she said. â€Å"You won't believe what she said a crew member just told her brother.† The adult colonists may have been either clueless or tight-lipped, but the Roanoke teenage rumor mill was in full swing. In the next hour, this is what we â€Å"learned†: That during the skip to Roanoke, the Magellan had wandered too close to a star and had been thrown out of the galaxy. That there was a mutiny and the first officer had relieved Captain Zane of command because of incompetence. That Captain Zane shot his own traitorous first officer right there on the bridge and said he'd shoot anyone who tried to help him. That the computer systems had failed just before the skip, and we didn't know where we were. That aliens had attacked the ship and were floating out there, deciding whether to finish us off. That Roanoke was poisonous to human life and if we landed there we'd die. That there was a core breach in the engine room, whatever that meant, and that the Magellan was this close to blowing up. That ecoterrorists had hacked into the Magellan's computer systems and sent us off in another direction so that we couldn't ruin another planet. No, wait, it was wildcat colonists-turned-pirates who hacked in, and they were planning to steal our colony supplies because their own were running low. No, wait, it was mutinous crew members who were going to steal our supplies and leave us stranded on the planet. No, wait, it wasn't thieving crew, wildcat pirates or ecoterrorists, it was just some idiot programmer who messed up the code, and now we don't know where we are. No, wait, nothing's wrong, this is just the standard operating procedure. There's not a thing wrong, now stop bothering the crew and let us work, damn it. I want to be clear about something: We knew most of this was crap and nonsense. But what was underneath all the crap and nonsense was just as important: Confusion and unease had spread through the crew of the Magellan, and from them, to us. It moved fast. It told any number of lies – not to lie but to try to make sense of something. Something that happened. Something that shouldn't have happened. Through all of this, nothing from Mom or Dad, or Gretchen's dad, or any of the colony council, all the members of which had suddenly found themselves called into a meeting. The common room, previously deserted after the new world celebrations, began to fill up again. This time people weren't celebrating. They looked confused, and concerned and tense, and some of them were beginning to look angry. â€Å"This isn't going to turn out well,† Gretchen said to me when we reunited. â€Å"How are you doing?† I said. She shrugged. â€Å"Something's happening, that's for sure. Everyone's on edge. It's putting me on edge.† â€Å"Don't go crazy on me,† I said. â€Å"Then there won't be anyone to hold me back when I lose it.† â€Å"Oh, well, for your sake then,† Gretchen said, and rolled her eyes dramatically. â€Å"Well. At least now I'm not having to fight off Magdy.† â€Å"I like how you can see the bright side of any situation,† I said. â€Å"Thanks,† she said. â€Å"How are you?† â€Å"Honestly?† I asked. She nodded. â€Å"Scared as hell.† â€Å"Thank God,† she said. â€Å"It's not only me.† She held up her thumb and finger and marked the tiny space between them. â€Å"For the last half hour I've been this close to peeing myself.† I took a step back. Gretchen laughed. The ship's intercom kicked on. â€Å"This is Captain Zane,† a man's voice said. â€Å"This is a general message for passengers and crew. All crew will assemble in their respective department conference rooms in ten minutes, 2330 ship time. All passengers will assemble in the passenger common area in ten minutes, 2330 ship time. Passengers, this is a mandatory assembly. You will be addressed by your colony leaders.† The intercom went dead. â€Å"Come on,† I said to Gretchen, and pointed to the platform where, earlier in the evening, she and I counted down the seconds until we were at our new world. â€Å"We should get a good place.† â€Å"It's going to get crowded in here,† she said. I pointed to Hickory and Dickory. â€Å"They'll be with us. You know how everyone gives them all the space they want.† Gretchen looked up at the two of them, and I realized that she wasn't terribly fond of them either. Minutes later the council came streaming in from one of the common area side doors and made their way to the platform. Gretchen and I stood in the front, Hickory and Dickory behind us, and at least five feet on every side. Alien bodyguards create their own buffer zone. A whisper in my ear. â€Å"Hey,† Enzo said. I looked over to him and smiled. â€Å"I wondered if you were going to be here,† I said. â€Å"It's an all-colonist meeting,† he said. â€Å"Not here, in general,† I said. â€Å"Here.† â€Å"Oh,† Enzo said. â€Å"I took a chance that your bodyguards wouldn't stab me.† â€Å"I'm glad you did,† I said. I took his hand. On the platform, John Perry, the colony leader, my dad, came forward and picked up the microphone that still lay there from earlier in the evening. His eyes met mine as he reached down to pick it up. Here's the thing to know about my dad. He's smart, he's good at what he does, and almost all the time, his eyes look like he's about to start laughing. He finds most things funny. He makes most things funny. When he looked at me as he picked up the microphone, his eyes were dark, and heavy, and as serious as I had ever seen them. When I saw them I was reminded, no matter how young he looked, how old he really was. For as much as he could make light of things, he was a man who had seen trouble more than once in his life. And he was seeing it again. Now, with us. For all of us. Everyone else would know it as soon as he opened his mouth to tell them, but right then was when I knew – when I saw the truth of our situation. We were lost.