Musical Hair Critiquing Essay

1) What show are you critiquing? Hair 2) Give a brief summary of the story line. Claude Hooper Bukowski, an Oklahoma farm boy, heads to New York City to enter the Army and serve in the Vietnam War. In Central Park, he meets a troupe of free-spirited hippies led by George Berger, a young man who introduces him to debutante Sheila Franklin when they crash a dinner party at her home. Inevitably, Claude is sent off to recruit training in Nevada, but Berger and his band of merry pranksters follow him. Sheila flirts with an off-duty Sergeant in order to steal his uniform, which she gives to Berger. He uses it to extract Claude from the base for a last meeting with Sheila, taking his place, but while Claude is away, the unit flies out to Vietnam, taking Berger with them. The film ends with the main cast singing at Berger’s grave, followed by scenes of a large anti-war protest outside the White House in Washington, DC. 3) What did you like best about this show? Hair succeeds at all levels—as lowdown fun, as affecting drama, as exhilarating spectacle and as provocative social observation. It achieves its goals by rigorously obeying the rules of classic American musical comedy: dialogue, plot, song and dance blend seamlessly to create a juggernaut of excitement. 4) What did you like least about this show? The film omits the songs â€Å"The Bed†, â€Å"Dead End†, â€Å"Oh Great God of Power†, â€Å"I Believe in Love†, â€Å"Going Down†, â€Å"Air†, â€Å"My Conviction†, â€Å"Abie Baby†, â€Å"Frank Mills†, and â€Å"What a Piece of Work is Man† from the musical. Many of the songs have been shortened, sped up, rearranged, or assigned to different characters to allow for the differences in plot. 5) Who was the hero/heroine? Claude Hooper Bukowski/ Sheila Franklin. 6) Who was the villain? The General. 7) Were you able to understand everything? If not what did you understand? A major plot difference between the film and the musical involves a mistake that leads Berger to go to Vietnam in Claude’s place, where he is killed. The musical focuses on the U.S. peace movement, as well as the love relationships among the Tribe members, while the film focuses on the carefree antics of the hippies. But why not make the film ending a happy one? In that case, the movie will better reflect the aspect of American Culture â€Å"Happy Ever After†. 8) Did you get a chance to listen to the soundtrack? Unfortunately not. 9) What was your favorite song? â€Å"Aquarius†. 10) Did you think that the actors were well cast? Sure. The cast featured John Savage as Claude Hooper Bukowski, Treat Williams as George Berger and Beverly D’Angelo as Sheila Franklin. Williams was nominated for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male. 11) If you were to remake this show who would you cast in the title roles? Why? If I were to remake the show, I would sill choose the actor and actress as the hero and heroine. The actors are really good-looking, and they can sing and dance well. 12) What aspect of American Culture do you see in this show? Nothing ventured nothing gained. Berger is not only at the heart of the hippie Tribe but is assigned some of Claude’s conflict involving whether or not to obey the draft. His death led to the large anti-war protest and featured the carefree antics of the hippies.

Beauty: Wish and Carla

This funny witty story â€Å"Beauty† by Jane Martin is about two girls who argue about the facets each one has. Carla is the definition of beauty, and Bethany who is the opposite carries something Carla wishes she had: brains, personality, and a college degree. The play relies mostly on wit and wordplay with only two characters and a genie lamp. Both Carla and Bethany envy one another; wishing they had each other’s looks or persona.When Bethany has the power to change what she has and get what she has always wanted; the writer uses Carla to show that Bethany will be disappointed with the set of dialogue they use back and forth. Carla is clearly not happy with herself and her insecurities; meanwhile so is Bethany, discovering that everyone has different problems no matter what they look like. Everyone is envious of someone for something not realizing they have problems they won’t understand.Because â€Å"Beauty† is a play, Martin introduces the characters t hrough dialogue. The first character, Carla, is first seen talking on the phone with a random suitor that she met at a bar and she cannot seem to remember. This is evidence that Carla has some type of beauty that attracts male attention, even without any actual interaction. Later in the play, Carla references the fact that she has a modeling meeting with Ralph Lauren, reiterating the fact that she is physically beautiful.The second character, Bethany, is Carla’s friend, and obviously a good friend because she does not mind interrupting Carla on the phone regardless of how many times Carla asks her to be quiet. Bethany has a demanding job as a public accountant, and decides to take a break to go to the beach. While there, she finds a lamp with a magic genie inside. The magic genie grants Bethany three wishes, three chances to have something she would not normally get in her life. Martin uses the genie to unmask Bethany’s hidden desires and discontent in her life.

Baby-Boomer Retirement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Baby-Boomer Retirement - Essay Example Therefore the longer the working duration and the larger the number of earnings made, the higher the benefits received. Social security is, therefore, a vital part of a workers retirement plan. Â  After World War II, birth rates in the world tremendously increased. Statistics show that about 64million American children were born in the US during this period. The kids that were born between the years 1946 and 1964 were referred to as baby boomers. The large economic growth in the 90s is attributed to the boomers. In 2004, U.K boomers controlled 80% of U.K’s wealth. The majority of the workforce today is represented by this group (Walker, 2004). Â  Social security fund is designed in such a way that the benefits retirees of today get are paid from the contributions received from today’s working population. Over the years, the beneficiary to working population has been sustained because fewer people were retiring as compared to the number of people entering the workforce; thus the system was able to accumulate more revenues. Increase in life expectancy and the decrease in birth rates has posed a threat to the beneficiary-worker ratio; few people are now joining the workforce as compared to the many who are almost retiring. Â  In 1935, the year when social security funding was formulated, the life expectancy of a 65-year-old was 12.5years; in 2012 it had risen to 17.9 years and is projected to rise to 19.5 by the year 2030.The National Academy for Social Insurance projects that the beneficiary to worker ratio will rise to 46 percent by 2030. Â  There are fears that the massive onset of the boomer's retirement may bankrupt the system. This is because the surplus contributions made over the years will be used in paying out their benefits.

Exchange Rate Considerations- DB4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exchange Rate Considerations- DB4 - Essay Example A stable money supply plays a crucial role in economic growth. Excessive circulation of currency results in inflation while an insufficient circulation of currency makes it more difficult for consumers and firms to obtain credit to finance large purchases and business expansions. Given that the United States, the European Union, and Japan are the world richest economies as at the time of the ranking, Ben Bernanke, Jean-Claude Trichet, and Masaaki Shirakawa have considerable influence on the stability and growth of the global economy. In the United States, the Federal Reserve System (Fed) controls the monetary policy through the Federal Open Market Committee with Mr. Ben S. Bernanke as the Chairman. As mentioned above, the ultimate goal of the monetary policy actions of the FRS is to promote sustainable economic growth and stability through control of the availability of currency and credit. Whatever affects the flow of currency ultimately affects the interest rates and the economic p erformance.

Eugenics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Eugenics - Essay Example Uninformed parents choose the abortion option at the first sign of there being an abnormality with their unborn baby, causing a major decline in the birth rates of babies with abnormalities such as Down Syndrome(DS) and Cystic Fibrosis(CF). The author further says that cystic fibrosis is no longer the threat it was once considered, thanks to the advancement in modern science. Hence all the babies diagnosed with it and subsequently hurriedly aborted could have had a chance at life. He says that parents are usually given bits and pieces of information which is not enough to reach a decision. The article is very thought provoking, especially when you think about how easy it is to be misdiagnosed. A human should not decide the fate of another human being, no matter what the reasoning behind the decision. Killing an unborn baby out of fear that it may be a drain on resources makes us no different from people belonging to ancient cultures considered uncivilized and barbaric. Works Cited Sm ith, Wesley J. â€Å"Politically Correct Eugenics: Brownback and Kennedy do the Right Thing.† The Weekly Standard. The Weekly Standard LLC., 31 Mar. 2008. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.

Case Briefing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Case Briefing - Essay Example Under the law, Congress delegates to the Comptroller General of the United States the power to restrict federal budget spending by making across-the-board cuts to it and upon the recommendation of the Directors of OMB and CBO whenever the maximum allowable deficit amounts are exceeded. The Comptroller General then presents this to the President who is required to release a â€Å"sequestration order† effecting the Comptroller’s reductions unless Congress enacts a law mandating a specific budget cut thus obviating the President’s â€Å"sequestration order†. Moreover, Congress is given the power to terminate the Comptroller General through a joint resolution for reasons of inefficiency, malfeasance or neglect of duty. The other method of removing the Comptroller is through impeachment. (2) Congressman Synar and 11 others immediately filed a declaratory relief complaint before the District Court which held that the delegation of power to the Comptroller Genera l violated the constitutionally imposed doctrine of separation of powers. III. THE LAW: The relevant law under scrutiny in this case is the Doctrine of Separation of Powers as entrenched in the US Constitution under Article I (legislative powers in a Congress), Article II (executive power in a President) and Article III (judicial power in one Supreme Court and in other inferior courts). IV. ISSUES: (1). Whether or not the assignment by Congress to the Comptroller General of the United

Family in Europe History Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Family in Europe History - Coursework Example The Gratian solution to this problem was to suggest that marriage occurs in two stages, the first when consent is made and the second following intercourse. Although marriage was valid and binding after consent, it was made more intimate and complete only after intercourse. While this validated Mary and Joseph’s marriage, it still indicated their marriage wasn’t totally complete because, of course, Mary was a virgin. As a result, this solution didn’t satisfy the Christian concerns. The Lombard solution relied on semantics. Rather than suggesting that simple consent was necessary, Lombard suggested that this consent had to be made in the present tense, which distinguishes it as a marriage contract, therefore making Mary and Joseph’s marriage complete. This was distinguishable from a betrothal simply because it was uttered in the present tense; betrothals were made in future tense. Because it satisfied both concerns regarding how to distinguish marriage from betrothal and validated the marriage of Jesus and Mary, this definition of marriage was accepted, but it also introduced a significant shift in family power as regional lords, the church and the parents all lost the ability to forbid marriage, retaining only the power to disapprove of it. The agnatic lineage traces family kinship ties through the father’s line only. The women were completely ejected from the equation and any sense that the matrilineal line is the only sure line of descent was lost. This caused women to lose a great deal of their worth. As mentioned, they were no longer important to the family line other than to provide the means of acquiring the next generation. This loss caused them to also lose any claims of inheritance or particular care within their childhood family unit. Once they were married, they ceased to be of any importance to their birth family at all as any of their labors and the children they bear then belong to the family of the husband. By removing half of

Violence In Televison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Violence In Televison - Essay Example Moreover, children in society tend to emulate whatever they see on television as a means of living their life for example, with superhero movies there have been so many cases of children trying to imitate superhero powers and jumping off buildings in an attempt to fly. Violence refers to extreme aggression being executed by physical or mental force and occurs when a person gets very angry and is not able to control his anger and is depicted a great deal on television. Due to the same, it does have an impact on society and contributes to violence in society in many ways. (F, Seymour, and Robert D. Singer) 1: Therefore, the following questions is posed; does violence shown on television in the form of television shows, movies and even advertisement have an impact on the minds of both adults and children and subsequently contribute to violence in society? Television programs today have an array of subjects ranging from criminal activities to investigative shows where crimes being commit ted in neighbourhoods, among families and even on a global scale are depicted and appeal to viewers the most. (Henrey J Kaiser Foundation) From the point of view of the channel or the directors of the show, such shows are mostly in the form of thrillers and suspense which tend to arouse a great deal of interest in the minds of the audience and are thus good for increasing the ratings. However, these shows depict a great deal of violence, which is harmful for audience of all ages to watch. Moreover, the shows may also have explicit violent content which may scar the minds of people. The shows easily portray scheming, violent physical activity, criminal activities such as theft and murder and thrive on these subjects where the criminals are normal people living ‘normal’ lives by the day and committing such activities by night. This obviously has a very negative impact on the audience. These shows that display such explicit violent content tend to get ingrained in the mind s of the viewers as they begin to use the language as used in the show, however offensive it might be and tend to act in the same manner as the actors on the show in similar situations. (Anderson, Kerby) For example, if on the show a man becomes violent and aggressive in a petty issue like parking his car or talking to the traffic police, people watching the show tend to use the same angst while dealing with a similar daily situation because they feel that using aggression will get them what they want which may be equal to what treatment the actor got on the television show. (Huesmann, L.R, and J. Podolski) Moreover, if children tend to view these television series and shows the effect is even worse on them because they are at a stage in their lives where their minds are still growing and developing and they are gullible towards all kinds of situations. Many parents and older people do not think twice before letting their children sit with them and view television serials that might not be suitable for them. Violence being shown on television thus gets imprinted on their minds and this violence tends to come out in society when they deal with similar situations. 2: Are children affected worse by violence shown on television as compared to adults? Children, more than adults, are not able

Though cell phones have developed us technologically as a society, Research Paper

Though cell phones have developed us technologically as a society, they have undermined other important social developments - Research Paper Example The cell phones tend to make the person engrossed in it, as a result, the user stays distracted from his surroundings. Cell phones have also in this way harmed social development by reducing face to face social interaction and promoting isolation and aloofness. Introduction The advancement in technology has enabled mankind to leap forward and reach levels that had never been experienced before. Technology has influenced all walks of life ranging from education to business, from medicine to tourism. The area of communication has also been improved exponentially as it has broken all geographical barriers. The whole world has come down to a few clicks’ distance as the people on the other end of the world can be contacted at any time and from any location via communication devices. Cell phones are the most common form of communication devices that are used around the world. One very interesting observation made about cell phones has been that â€Å"the cell phone can simultaneous ly represent freedom from and connectivity to the family† (Cooper 1). This simple statement which refers to the two-faced utility of this gadget points to the advantages and disadvantages that this technology has inherent in it. Cooper has elaborated this concept by drawing attention to the mixed feelings that an empirical study of middle school in a Texas town found among 13-to-14-year old teens towards cell phone which was caused by their â€Å"desire for independence and the reality of parental control through cell phone ownership and use† (1). This conflict has several parallels in our social existence and this paper is an attempt to find out whether cell phones have any negative influences over the society and if so, what changes these influences have brought in. Overview The first hand held cell phone was invented by Dr. Martin Cooper who was a General Manager with Motorola in 1973 (Kassel 211). Initially, the weight and size of the device was not practical enough to make it of common use to common man. Whereas, the evolution of technology has made cell phones convenient, practical and affordable for the masses. The use of cell phones has increased more than ever. It is no longer considered as a luxury, rather taken as a necessity in many parts of the world. The urban individual of today is so dependent on this technology that it makes one wonder how life existed on the planet before this invention. But it has to be kept in mind that even in today’s world, to some extent, cell phone is a rich man’s game. This can be seen from the fact that, â€Å"the fifty-eight countries in the world classed as low-income account for only a little over 98 million cell phone subscribers†¦in comparison, cell connections number over 775 million for fifty-four high-income countries† (Goggin 1). Cell phones have made their presence in a diverse range of areas including personal and professional communication. The functions fulfilled by cell phones include, â€Å"staying in constant contact, text messaging, fashion, identity-construction, music, mundane daily work routines, remote parenting, interacting with television programmes, watching videos, surfing the Internet, meeting new people, dating, flirting, loving, bullying, mobile commerce and locating people† (Goggin 2). The qualities that have been associated with cell phones are mainly, â€Å"

Electri City and From Telegraph to Internet Essay

Electri City and From Telegraph to Internet - Essay Example The French engineer Nicholas Cugnot (1769) invented the first self-propelled transport - a three-wheeled tractor. It was used by military to haul artillery and reached speeds of 21/2 mph. Cugnot recorded the first accident in a mechanized vehicle which landed him in financial problems when his financiers pulled the plug on him. Several improvements were done of this 'car' each model becoming faster than previous generation culminating in shift from mechanical to modern electrical cars. The steam engines introduced a revolution in transportation. Samuel Homfray funded adoption of steam power in 1803 and Richard Trevitheck (1771-1833) managed to build the first steam propelled tramway locomotive. It carried a load of more than 10 tons over a distance of 9 miles at an average speed of 41/2 miles. Man's desire for speed is illustrated by the story of Baron von Drais who invented the bicycle in 1817. This instrument which was initially made of wood enabled Drais "to navigate the royal gardens faster". The machine was initially powered by pushing using feet enabling the rider to glide along. Several modifications led to the bicycle as we know it today. All the transport inventions were driven by man's need for speed. ... All this was achieved by man's craving for greater speed. Space tourism beckons with the first space tourist having been recorded in 2004. Many more will follow as man's journey leads to other planets and beyond. The black spot of all this is that the earth's environment has been affected by the road and rail network that crisscrossing the earth bringing pollution and upsetting ecosystems and scenery. Telegraph to internet The invention of telegraph by Joseph Henry in 1831 speeded up long-distance communication by decoupling communication from human travel. Alexander Bell's telephone invention that followed later has evolved into the ubiquitous mobile cell phone network of today. The internet has taken mankind on another giant leap forward. From dawn of time man used signs and sounds to communicate with each other. The earliest appearance of printed messages is traced to the Chinese in 3500 B.C. They used paper-like material to pass messages in their primitive postal network around 900 B.C. Bound books started appearing around 100 A.D. and then newspapers and magazines followed around 1450. The typewriter only appeared as late as 1714 A.D. Henry's telegraph sent messages as a sound on metal wires. Bell reasoned that it should be possible to send complete human speech over wires. By 1876 he had perfected his telephone and by 1914 the first transcontinental call could be made. Around 1896 Guglielmo Marconi had shown that you could dispense with connecting wires and use radio waves to carry both telegraph and voice. For a time things remained pretty much the same on the communications front for a while as inventors as inventors explored the possibilities of other communications such as radio,

Nucor at Crossroads Essay Example for Free

Nucor at Crossroads Essay In 1986, three distinct segments defined the U.S. steel industry; integrated steel mills, mini-mills, and specialty steel makers. The integrated mills have the capacity to produce a maximum of 107 million tons of steel per year, mini-mills produced a maximum of 21 million tons of capacity a year, and the nation’s specialty steel makers could produce a maximum capacity of 5 million tons of stainless and specialty grades of steel. This leads to a total capacity of 133 million tons of production per year. In 1986, the market consumed only 70 million tons of steel, leaving 33 million tons unused. Nucor is at a crossroads. It faces a saturated market suffering from significant overcapacity. Nucor’s only opportunity for growth seems to be to expand into the production of flat sheet metal. However, to compete in that area, Nucor would need to invest in a very risky new technology, a thin-slab casting plant that, if successful, would allow Nucor to manufacture flat sheet metal with a low minimum efficient scale and a low marginal cost of production. This case will examine Nucor’s history, the impacts of entering the thin-slab casting business, the advantages Nucor would reap, and whether they should build the new thin-slab casting plant. Looking at the business landscape of the steel industry, it is amazing to see how well Nucor has done considering the industry is so competitive and has relatively low profitability. Using Porter’s model, the threat of rivalry is high due to weak domestic demand, excess global capacity, a maturing industry, low switching costs, high exit barriers, rising operating costs (increasing raw material prices), and more than 5 comparable competitors. The threat of entry is low due to high barriers to entry (economies of scale have been achieved and high capital requirements), growth and profitability are modest at best, and most viable candidates are already present in the industry and are looking to expand into other markets. The threat of substitutes is moderate because buyers have the option of choosing other materials (aluminum, plastics, ceramics, etc.), and new materials technologies are currently being developed and sought after. The threat of suppliers is moderate because iron ore and scrap metal prices are currently high, energy prices are increasing, Nucor pays for transportation of its raw materials to its plants, there is no easy substitute to take the place of iron ore/scrap metal, and there is currently an overabundance of buyers of scrap metal and iron ore. Lastly, the threat of buyers is weak to moderate, because there is excess capacity, low switching costs, few high volume buyers, many low volume customers, strong demand from China, and rising feedstock prices. With the difficult business landscape in the steel industry, Nucor had to develop competitive advantages over its rivals to achieve its success. These advantages included differentiating itself by being an early adopter of computerized order tracking and allowing customers to make short time orders thus reducing their inventory. Second, it invested in modernization of its plants at an average of 2.9 times its depreciation expenses vs. an ave raged of 1.6 of its competitors through the 1970s and 1980s, and refurbished on average a plant a year. Third, Nucor strategically located its plants closer together to share orders for minimal cost and maximum sales, and building new plants in smaller rural areas with access to railroads, low energy costs, and a plentiful water source allowed Nucor to keep labor costs relatively low and made sure that COGS remained competitive. Fourth, base wages were lower but incentives were higher than average, and direct communication on expectation vs. performance provided feedback on compensation. Also, during down times, officers and CEO pay dropped dramatically while average workers did not. This led to lower employee turnover 1-5% vs. 5-10% for competitors. Fifth, Nucor’s hiring practices focused on making sure that they focused on hiring people based on potential, not experience. Finally, Nucor’s business hierarchy was different- mostly flat, resulting in less bureaucracy and more productivity per worker. In short, many of these advantages led to Nucor becoming the second most productive steel maker per employee in the world due by 1985. Thin-slab casting was a proposed technique for mini-mills to fill orders for flat sheet steel, a segment that accounted for approximately half of the U.S. steel industry. To expand its steel market share, Nucor needed to enter the flat sheet segment. In the thin-slab casting business, Nucor would initially compete with international firms from Canada and Japan that provided high quality flat sheet steel, and cheap flat sheet steel providers in newly industrialized nations. Barriers to entry would include large capital expenditures making new entrants cost prohibitive, but not impossible as the barrier is small comparative to the overall costs for steel manufacturing. While new rivals may not pop up immediately, new entrants from existing rivals will dilute Nucor’s competitive advantage. Nucor needed an innovative technology to be profitable in this segment as a new entrant. However, innovative technologies are risky due to development costs, unknown long-term operating costs, and the unknown quality of future products. Also, as a first mover, increased costs will be realized. Increased maintenance above forecasts, the risk that production will not keep pace with the small-scale model, the risk that the new tech will not be fully understood by the employees and harder to run. Also, an increased likelihood that other companies will benefit from their mistakes as SMS has not made any offer to keep information gleaned from a large-scale operation confidential. However, the benefits of being a first time mover would be realized as well. The expected profit from the thin slab minimill would be $81.50 per ton, which is 26% higher than from a modernized hot rolled sheet produced in an integrated mill and 226% higher than the margin from an unmodernized integrated mill. For cold rolled sheet, the expected profit advantage remains with minimills, with an expected profit of $107.50 per ton, which 1.9% greater than a modernized integrated mill and 115% higher than an unmodernized integrated mill. If Nucor enters the thin-slab casting business the lasting advantages may be reduced over time as others in the industry may imitate them so long as the model is proven to deliver the targeted results. If Nucor works out the kinks, then other companies will join up and the competitive advantage window will shrink, making the overall scheme too costly. If the program does not work, it is likely the other companies will not follow suit, while Nucor pays the cost for other companies â€Å"RD† offsite. However, if the investment into the new technology proves successful, Nucor would have a significant cost savings over integrated mills initially, both in terms of entry costs and in terms of operating costs and profit margin. This will provide Nucor with a significant competitive advantage over the integrated mills, which already provide flat-rolled steel products, but will not provide sustainable competitive advantage over the long term, as it will be easy for competitors to duplicate this technology. Many of the companies that do steel would imitate the path that Nucor is taking. They have done an excellent job of lowering cost while leveraging their competitive advantages. Furthermore, CSP is a step in the ultimate industry goal of direct casting of sheet at strip. However, it seems as though Nucor would only gain a head start of two to three years since SMS held the CSP technology and Nucor couldn’t block others from using it. This head start doesn’t seem very advantageous as it would require almost 5 years to break (see attached chart) even and the other companies would be able to use lessons learned from Nucor’s first mover and apply it to lower their breakeven point. Overall this would be a very risky undertaking for Nucor to undertake at this time as the technology is not at an adequate tech readiness level, the initial cost to implement, as well as it could move Nucor away from its competitive advantages.

The Complex Relationship Between Faith Essay Example for Free

The Complex Relationship Between Faith Essay The Complex Relation between Faith and Fate In the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, numerous themes present themselves to the reader. Irving uses the idea of the relationship of faith and fate to question whether or not faith directly shapes our fate, creating the idea that believing in God in a world with no faith completely absurd. As the novel unfolds, you begin to understand ‘special purpose’ each character serves can only be told in the way God decides. When Owen Meany is on stage portraying the ghost of Christmas yet to come he approaches the gravestone prop, stops, and suddenly faints. He later awakens, as the curtains fall only to realize that the name he read on the gravestone is his own. Scared, he knew he had been given a glimpse into his future. â€Å"It made (Owen) furious when I suggested that anything was an ‘accident’ – especially anything that happened to him; on the subject of predestination, Owen Meany would accuse Calvin of bad faith. There were no accidents. (Irving 66) Owen has a very strong sense of faith and believed that this directly affected his fate and the fates of others and because Owen believes he is an ‘instrument of God’ and that there are no accidents. Everything dealing with Owen is fated to occur. As did others in the novel, Sagamore, John’s mother (Tabitha), John’s grandmother, and others all become symbols of things foreshadowed to die because they los t their faith at some point throughout the novel. Another example of faith shaping fate is when Mr. Fish taught Owen and John to play football because he had no children of his own. Irving uses this biblical allusion to show how faith is directly tied to fate. Mr. Fish had given up hope in Owen’s ability to kick a football and this led to the fate of Sagamore because, those who lost their faith became ill willed or suffered a fate only destiny could have imagined, much like Sagamore and the diaper truck. As Owen Meany became ‘God’s instrument’ in the death of Sagamore, he also served the same role in taking the life John’s mother, Tabitha, who suffered the fate of a baseball to the head. But was this an accident of fate or was it a lack there of? At the end of the novel Rev. Merrill revealed to John that he was his father, and it was John, who in the end restored his faith. It however, was the death of Tabitha that caused his lack of faith. The Rev. Merrill believes that he caused her death because, he had wished for it. Or maybe, it is his fate, that Tabitha was destined to die. Owen Meany believed that there were no such things as coincidences and that fate is the ultimate reason. Irving wrote it this way to show how faith and fate are interconnected. Most people have faith that God decides what happens to you; this is fate. There were many people in this novel that lost their faith. John’s grandmother had lost her faith after John’s mother had died which, foreshadowed her death. And maybe Owen himself, who had confidence in John to believe in faith, fated that Owen too would become another victim of fate. Which makes us think, what is it that actually contains a story of religion and fate, are they linked, or are they two things we can never know together? However, one thing is certain, the belief that if faith is lost; fate will not be so kind. Works Cited Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. New York: Ballantine Books, 1990. Print

Stamp Duty: Policy Evaluation

Stamp Duty: Policy Evaluation EXAMINING STAMP DUTY: AN IDEAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE MACHINE AND A BURDEN TO BRITISH CITIZENS Stamp duty can be a costly part of any number of common transactions in Britain – from buying a home to investing in a U.K. company. In order to truly understand the degree to which this tax impacts a transaction’s bottom line, it is important to understand all the scenarios in which stamp duty is payable as well as determine what type of relief and exemptions are available. Before determining if stamp duty is an ideal tax, it is also vital to gather expert opinions on the various types of stamp duty, the reasons these taxes were created, and how recent changes are affecting British citizens and businesses. While the government may find stamp duty a perfect fulfilment of taxation principles due to its simplicity and the considerable revenue generated, stamp duty seems to be burdensome and impedes the financial success of many residents who dream of homeownership and to those companies who want to increase their market value through the stock exchange system. There are three types of stamp duty: stamp duty, stamp duty land tax, and stamp duty reserve tax. Stamp duty is â€Å"a charge on instruments† (Thomas 2003). Stamp duty is a general term for a tax that is levied on the purchase of shares and on property. While there is a flat rate for the purchase of shares, the rate for property has a range tied to different home purchase price thresholds. Considered a new tax in its own right rather than an offshoot of stamp duty, the stamp duty land tax went into effect on 1 December 2003 (Thomas 2003). This tax is charged to all land transactions whether or not it is actually stamped, or recorded, in a document (Thomas 2003). Included in these transactions are all types of property, including houses, flats, other buildings and land. What it really is considered is a land transaction but it retains the reference to stamp duty to link its activities to the original taxation system (Thomas 2003). The tax must be paid by the person buying the land and it is calculated as a percentage of the total purchase price. No stamp duty land tax is paid on any transaction under  £125,000. One per cent is paid on anything valued between  £125,000 and  £250,000. From  £250,001 to  £500,000, the tax is three per cent and anything valued at  £500,001 is taxed at four per cent (DirectGov 2006). The stamp duty land tax has been â€Å"founded on an entirely new set of concepts† and is â€Å"directly enforceable against the purchaser under a strict new self-assessment regime† (Thomas 2003). While some of the same relief provisions have been carried through from the stamp duty tax, other changes have been made to discourage certain types of transactions. For example, if the purchase price of a property is  £150,000 and the government has designated that area as disadvantaged, no stamp duty land tax is required (DirectGov 2006). Relief provisions that are retained from stamp duty include all the major provisions except that â€Å"group relief, reconstruction and acquisition reliefs, and charities relief† are now designed in a manner that prevents exploitation for â€Å"tax planning purposes† (Thomas 2003). Relief is now available for builders who make purchases in part-exchange as well as for â€Å"transactions not made for chargeable consideration † (Thomas 2003). The stamp land duty tax was designed to achieve a number of purposes. As with any tax, it was created as a way to raise more revenue for the government. The tax does this by stopping the loopholes in the stamp duty that were â€Å"exploited for planning purposes† (Thomas 2003); requiring the purchaser to file a tax return and pay the tax within thirty days of the close of the land transaction (Thomas 2003), and introducing a new upfront levy on the value of the rental stream over the â€Å"full term of the lease instead of on the average annual rent (Thomas 2003). The last of the three types of stamp duty is the stamp duty reserve tax. This tax is paid on any U.K share transactions when a person buys shares in a company that is incorporated in the UK or in a foreign company that maintains a share register in the UK (DirectGov 2006). These shares can be bought through a stockbroker and completed on paper forms or electronically through CREST, the electronic settlement and registration system (DirectGov 2006). The tax is a flat rate of 0.5 per cent based on what is paid for the shares, not what they are worth (DirectGov 2006). A higher rate of 1.5 per cent is paid when shares are transferred into a depository receipt scheme or a clearance service (DirectGov 2006). The fees are paid through the CREST system if a person uses a brokerage but are paid directly if this system is not used (DirectGov 2006). Even if a person does not pay cash but provides something else of value in exchange for the shares, the stamp duty reserve tax is based on the value of what the person gives for those shares (DirectGov 2006). Other situations that require payment of stamp duty reserve tax is when a person buys an option to buy shares, rights arising from shares and an interest in shares (DirectGov 2006).The only time the stamp duty reserve tax does not have to be paid is when shares are given to a person for nothing or a person buys foreign shares. One area where stamp duty revenue tax has been causing some dilemmas is with unit trusts, open-ended investment companies, and the structure of stakeholder pension products. The best example of this is with companies that provide CAT-marked investments: Stamp duty reserve tax arises when investors buy or sell units in the fund, and is generally paid for by the fund. It cannot be forecast accurately in advance, for the ultimate liability will depend on factors beyond the fund managers’ control. Yet this tax must be included in calculating whether charges to investors meet the CAT standard of 1 per cent a year, despite the fact that it is not a charge made by the ISA provider, but a government tax. This has led providers to question the commercial liability implied by offering a CAT-market product (Warland 2000). The net result of the stamp duty reserve tax is that it is â€Å"complex to administer, very difficult for fund investors to understand,† and did raise significant revenue (Warland 2000). It has been argued by the figures within the City of London, including the London Stock Exchange, that stamp duty reserve tax should be scrapped because â€Å"it undermines the competitiveness compared with other financial centres and distorts securities trading† (Wighton 2006). The National Association of Pension Funds says that stamp duty increases transaction costs, which are then passed onto employers (Brown-Humes 2006). Stamp duty reserve tax is also considered controversial because â€Å"it accounts for a greater proportion of overall share transaction costs†¦because broker commissions and other costs have fallen† (Brown-Humes 2006). In looking at the complete stamp duty tax scheme, the changes in the Finance Act of 2003 were intended to bring reform that was considered long overdue as well as infuse the government with much-needed revenue. Prior to that, legislation had been considered outdated and inadequate especially considering the real value that revenue from such a tax could yield (Thomas 2006). Prior to the Finance Act of 2003, the HM Revenue Customs (HMRC)did not have the power to enforce the stamp duty on any transaction that was not properly stamped (Thomas 2006). To the HMRC, â€Å"clamping down on perceived avoidance was the dominant motive for change† (Thomas 2006). To them, it was â€Å"unfair for well-advised taxpayers to avoid paying tax through good planning, as this puts an unfair share of the tax burden onto everyone else† (Thomas 2006). From this philosophy was born the most recent stamp duty requirements. In looking at the principles of taxation, stamp duty is ideal in that it is â€Å"easy to administer and collect† (Brown-Humes 2006). To everyone else outside of the government, the tax is considered less than ideal. As one of the most hotly debated government schemes and deemed a tax on the masses (Barrow 2006), it has been acknowledged by the chancellor that stamp duty land tax does place a burden on the average British citizen. According to figures released in May 2006, stamp duty is raking in revenues of  £1 billion per month (Barrow 2006) between residential and commercial transactions as well as share investment. These figures far surpass any tax amount ever demanded from citizens in Britain’s history (Barrow 2006). . In fact, one writer went as far as to say that the stamp duty has been one of the most lucrative stealth taxes developed by New Labour (O’Kelly 2006). As one economist noted, â€Å"We have now got to the level where it is hitting mainstream home-owners. It’s only going to get worse† (Barrow 2006). According to Halifax, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, 2.6 million homeowners had to pay stamp duty land tax (Barrow 2006). That equates to fiv e out of six homeowners feeling this burden (Barrow 2006). Another way to slice and dice the figure comes from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. They found that 55 per cent of first-time buyers and 86 per cent of home-movers paid the tax in September. The government has retorted that there are a number of relief provisions in place. It was recently announced that new – no pre-existing dwellings – that are considered â€Å"zero-carbon† homes sill be completely exempt from stamp duty (Goff and Harvey 2006). While attractive to new homeowners, this is not very realistic as many first-time buyers are not prepared to inhabit in such a revolutionary dwelling or they live in an area where there is not enough renewable energy to power these homes (Goff and Harvey 2006). Another move intended to decrease the burden was the announcement last year to increase the threshold at which stamp duty is triggered (Batchelor 2006). As one finance expert noted, â€Å"If stamp duty had kept pace with rising house prices since 1993 the threshold would have been set at  £190,000† instead of  £125,000 (Batchelor 2006). It seems as if the rising house prices are making the new threshold rate seem ineffective as a relief. As Matthew Wyles of the Portman Building Society said, â€Å"Stamp duty continues to be a deeply unfair tax to all who pay it. The burden of this tax will continue to increase unless the government undertakes a radical alteration to its policy in this area and abandons its current strategy of making the occasional cosmetic tweak to the threshold to keep criticism at bay† (Houlder 2006). The chancellor decided to end â€Å"seeding relief,† which was intended to help on â€Å"transfers of property into a unit trust with immediate effect† (Batchelor 2006). Revenue from taking away this relief is expected to raise  £50 million annually (Batchelor 2006). Recent changes also involved not making partnerships that are involved in a trade or profession responsible for stamp duty for land transactions owned by that partnership (Batchelor 2006). It seems as though the government could still use this lucrative tax to levy sellers instead of buyers since it is usually the sellers who are involved in investment schemes. It might even make sense to still gain this revenue from non-residents who tend to speculate in the property market, making home ownership less feasible for the first-time resident buyer (O’Kelly 2006). While it may seem like an ideal tax in the minds of the government and a solution to stopping investors from exploiting the system, it certainly does nothing to help citizens who are already struggling to buy a home let alone pay the stamp duty required on the transaction. Recent announcements to raise interest rates alongside the intense housing price inflation only exacerbate a domestic problem that has been brewing for as long as the stamp duty policies have existed. Homeownership and investment should not create a financial burden for citizens in Britain because the government wants to resort to an overuse of its taxation powers. The concern, however, is that if stamp duty was ever scrapped and the government continued to overspend, whatever tax scheme replaced stamp duty might be a jump from the frying pan into the fire. REFERENCES Barrow, Becky 23 May 2006, Stamp Duty Rakes in  £1bn a Month, Daily Mail. Batchelor, Charles 23 March 2006, Stamp Duty, Financial Times. Brown-Humes, Christopher 21 October 2006, Stamp Duty’s Hidden Benefit: It’s the Devil-you-know Tax, Financial Times. DIRECTGOV 2006, Tax on Buying Shares, Available at: http://www.direct.gov.uk/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnSavingsAndInvestments/TaxOnSavingsAndInvestmentsArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=10013514chk=Tac6CP. Goff, Sharlene and Harvey, Fiona 9 December 2006, Exemption from Stamp Duty Seen as Token Gesture, Financial Times. Houlder, Vanessa 7 September 2006, Amount Paid in Stamp Duty Up 30%, Financial Times. O’Kelly, Sebastian 12 March 2006, How Brown is Still Coining It with His Unfair Stamp Duty; the Chancellor is Milking Homebuyers. But Shouldn’t His Stealth Tax Target Sellers Instead? The Mail on Sunday, p. 13. Thomas, Michael 2003, Introduction to Stamp Duty Land Tax, Cambridge University Press. Thomas, Michael March 2006, Stamp Duty Land Tax, 2nd Edition, London: Cambridge University Press. Warland, Phillip 17 February 2000, How Stamp Duty Reserve Tax Threatens Low-Cost Savings, Financial Times. Wighton, David 27 July 2006, Balls Faces Calls to Scrap Stamp Duty, Financial Times. Clinical Psychology: History, Influences and Applications Clinical Psychology: History, Influences and Applications Myrto Giannakopoulou â€Å"Each student is expected to select info and produce an information pack targeted at a field/career of his/her interest in Psychology (e.g. Clinical Psychology, Educational Psychology, Cognitive Psychology – for example, you can select information via observing or/and interviewing a professional [preferable] or secondary reading). The above package will be accompanied by an academic, reflective essay supporting the choice above (e.g. explain your interest on this scientific area of Psychology, describe the basic issues of the professional’s interest in this field, refer to the basic taught psychological terms and concepts that you noticed to this scientific area, etc.)†. Nowadays, applied psychology has four main sub-categories which are clinical, educational, occupational/industrial and criminological/legal. Clinical psychology refers to treating emotional and behavioral disorders. Educational psychologists work with children and adolescents and their families and they give more importance in the efficacy of teaching and learning methods. Occupational psychology is applied into workplaces in order to improve the productivity of the employees and to increase the levels of job satisfaction. Criminological psychology is involved in the criminal and legal system and facilities such as prisons and courts or the police force. It has two branches, forensic and investigative psychology. In this project we are going to analyze the field of Clinical psychology. Clinical Psychology is a part of applied Psychology and it focuses on the treatment and understanding of behavioral and psychological problems. Clinical psychology is often confused with psychiatry because clinical psychologists also work with people with mental disorders and they use the same methods of therapies. Their difference is that psychiatrists can give medicine, thus clinical psychologists are forbidden to do so. Clinical psychology was developed in 1896, when Lightner Witmer, who is regarded as the father of Clinical psychology, established the first psychological clinic in the University of Pennsylvania. The clients of Witmers clinic were children with learning difficulties and with behavioural disorders. Next, in 1904 Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon created the Binet-Simon scale which is a test that can identify children with mental disablement and children with normal mentality and it influenced the development of clinical psychology in USA. Witmer denied the helpfulness of this scale and this is why he disappeared from the scene of clinical psychology. Later, in the early 20s, the psychiatrist William Healy established the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute, the worlds first child guidance clinic. Additionally, Healy in his clinic used the Binet-Simon scale for the children and adapted Freuds theory for the unconventional behaviour. Clinical psychology has been influenced from human physiology. For example, the term psychopathology includes the words pathology (disease) and psyche, which means that mental disorders have a biological basis. In other words, a mental disorder is considered as a dysfunction in the physiology of a person that appears in his behaviour. According to the medicine, the causes of a mental disorder are separated in three general categories: the infectious diseases (e.g. encephalitis which is an inflammation of the brain and its symptoms are familiar with those of dementia, such as memory loss), diseases that are related with the dysfunction of a human organ (e.g. diabetes) and traumatic diseases that arise from external or environmental causes (e.g. a hit in the head can cause cerebral hemorrhage and can also provoke problems in behavior such as coma, memory loss, and personality disorder). Clinical psychologists do more than talk to people who are distressed about personal matter. They often do different types of activities from teaching to psychotherapy to laboratory research and this is why they need to have a special training program in clinical psychology. After obtaining their degree, they can apply for a master course in clinical psychology, which usually lasts three years and at the same time do their apprenticeship, in order to gain experience in their field. Furthermore, research is the basis of all clinical psychology activities. Research programs, help to understand which approach could be more effective for a clinical problem such as depression, anxiety, eating, or panic disorders, personality disorders, phobias, etc. They can also focus on various populations like families, couples, ethnic minority groups such as gay, lesbians, etc. Although not all of the clinical psychologists are involved with research, they should be informed about other researches, in order to improve their own clinical work. Most of them use various tests or questionnaires to help them to their work or to their research. These tests have many measures, such as cognitive, behavioral, neuropsychological etc. On the other hand, in research there are certain problems. The most important is the fact that the researchers and the participants are human and the results are not solid, because the participants behave in a different way than their ordinary life, for example they are too defensive because they try to hide their thoughts from the researchers or they behave too normal, because they know how the experiment works. This happens because the participants are part of the society and n this way they try to be socially accepted and it is known as the Hawthorn effect. Despite all that, psychologists try to use multiple ways of reducing such effects, for example by using double-blind questionnaires. Another important practice that is used in the fields of Psychology is the Evidence-based practice (EBP). It is a process that involves â€Å"the conscientious, explicit, judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients† (Sackett, Rosenberg, Gray, Haynes, Richardson, 1996). Specifically, this practice gives to therapists a general guidance for addressing any given disorder in the best possible manner, based on research that they can use, but even if they don’t follow it to the letter is not wrong as long as they act in accordance to their professional experience. Although, it must be pointed out that these guidelines are general and do not take into account each person’s individuality and uniqueness. Another approach to EBP is the Ideograpdic one that takes into account each individual person and its singularity and is used by most health professions. Furthermore, there are three circles of Evidence Based Clinical practice, also known as the† three -legged stool†. The first circle represents the best available research proof, the second circle represents clinical expertness and finally the third circle includes the patient values, the preferences, the characteristics and the circumstances. Those three have to be combine in order to achieve the best clinical practice. Overall, Clinical Psychology is a complex field that parallels the complexity of human behavior and emotion and it combines and links human behaviour to stimulus created by people external environment such as everyday human relationships and interactions, health etc, and it explains the way it affects us. References: Barker M. (2003). Introductory Psychology: History, Themes and Perpectives, Crucial Kendall D., C., Norton Ford J., D. (1982). Clinical Psychology: Scientific and professional dimensions. New York: J. Wiley. Plante T., G., (2005). Contemporary Clinical Psychology, New Jersey: J. Wiley Sons, Inc. Sackett, D. L., Wennberg, J. E. (1997). Choosing the best research design for each question. British Medical Journal, 315, 1636. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol (2007). Evidence-Based Practice in Clinical Psychology: What It Is, Why It Matters; What You Need to Know. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 611-631

To Be Someone, To Belong:The Black Womyns Experience in Rastafari :: essays papers

"To Be Someone, To Belong":The Black Womyn's Experience in Rastafari Introduction Upon seeing various Jamaican films and listening to various reggae artists, a constant question running through my mind was,"Where are all the womyn?"In all of the films it seemed as though there were virtually no womyn in Jamaica, and those that were there were only on the periphery, not playing a main role in everyday life. Those films that depicted the Rastafarian way of life seemed to show no womyn in them either. I was somewhat confused about the seeming absence of womyn, and it forced me to question their role in Jamaican and Rastafarian society. My questions regarding this issue were pushed further when a friend of mine returned home from Jamaica and expressed the same kinds of concerns. She said that during the few weeks she spent there she had seen maybe a dozen or two dozen Jamaican womyn altogether. As I moved further into my studies of Rastafarianism and reggae music, I noticed how gendered the language in both the religious tenets and music lyrics was. As a western womyn, this was peculiar to me. As you can notice, I don't even write the word"womyn"with the"man"in it. I find it insulting that my identity should be bound up in that of the opposite sex. I am entrenched in the world of political correctness and gender neutrality. However, reggae music and other rhetorical pieces of literature from Rastafari do not contain the same element of neutral gender identity as the United States has been moving towards. Rather, much of it is framed in a male or masculinist language. This implanted a few suspicions within me about the possibility of Rastafarianism being somewhat patriarchal, but, I was at first unwilling to accept the idea. I felt that this was impossible due to the fact that Rastafarianism was such a socially conscious movement dealing with the horrors of oppression and ex ploitation of blacks. However, it seems as though the impossible is possible, or at least mostly possible, and traditional Rastafarianism enforces rules and cultural norms that keep womyn in the subordinate, domesticated realm of everyday life. Yet, in the last thirty years or so, those rules and norms have been slowly challenged by a new generation of Rastafarian womyn who no longer accept their inferior position and are demanding greater equality. These womyn, some of whom turn to reggae to promote their own socially conscious ideas, symbolize the growing consciousness of womyn in Jamaica and other majority world countries who have experienced centuries of oppression.

Candle Making Essay -- essays research papers

How to Make a Candle Candles can add that special touch to any house. They can add to a romantic night. They can brighten a house up. They can also add personality into any home. Whatever the case may be, candles are great for everyday use. So why not make your own? Candles can get to be quite costly, but by making your own you are cutting down the price to a bare minimum. You may even find that you have most of the supplies that you need right at home. By making your own candle you can also create your own style making it more meaningful to you. Before you begin, it’s a good idea to cover your workspace with newspaper. This should prevent wax hardening on the surface that you are working on. Make sure that you have all your materials. You will need one pound of paraffin which can be found at most craft stores, vegetable oil, a medium sized cooking pot, an empty coffee can, an old spoon, a clean sturdy container, and store-bought pre-dipped wicks. To add personality to your candle you may also want to include crayons, glitter, fragrant oils, etc. To begin you must prepare a mold. I’ve found that many materials around the house serve as excellent molds such as empty orange juice containers, paper cups, toilet paper rolls, and drink containers. Always make sure that the mouth is the same size if not wider that the base, allowing your candle to slide out easily. You don’t want your mold to have any ridges such as in a soup can. Oil the inside of your mold for easier removal ...

Belgian Colonializm in the Congo Free State Essay -- essays research p

The violent and forced rule of the Congo is a horrific time in African history. The time period beginning with Henry Morton Stanley's first exploration to the Congo, and King Leopold's desire of this area, had been a nightmare for the people of the Congo. The civilizing mission to the Congo not only resulted in the killing of thousands of people but also the destruction of a culture. The two articles, 'Belgian Colonialism in the Congo', and the letter by George Washington Williams, are just two views from this time. Both articles depict very different opinions of what is going on in the Congo and also what should be allowed to go on there. These articles show the very different opinions of someone who has never gone and someone who has witnessed the things that happen. The importance of the King Leopold article is that it gives a clear understanding of his mindset at the time. He wanted this land and its people, in the article he rationalizes the way it is being taken and what is ha ppening there. In Williams? article he reflects on his disappointment of Africa and the horrific things that he witnessed in the Congo. This essay will discuss the reliability of these two sources and whether or not they give an accurate depiction of the Congo and its colonization. It will also compare and contrast the articles, their authors, and will come to a conclusion of which article is more accurate. King Leopold was the king of Belgium. It is legendary that he had no joy in his life and that he realized that the only thing that would make him happy was to gain more power. (Class notes) In his quest for power and more land he decided that he wanted the heart of Africa. Of course he did not intend to go there himself so he enlisted Henry Morton... ... is positive about the efforts in the Congo and is confident that their presence there will civilize the people. Williams? letter is appalled by the things going on in the Congo and wants a direct action taken to stop these atrocities. Although King Leopold?s article is from the ?king? that does not mean it is the most accurate or reliable source. Williams? article is a better depiction of the truth because he was actually there. Leopold never traveled to the Congo or anywhere near it in Africa. He simply enlisted other men to do his dirty work. Each article describes the Congo Free State differently as well. Leopold?s article describes a place that needs to be civilized, a ?barbarous community?. It talks about how the people there are violent and that sometimes force is needed. Williams? article is a direct contradiction. He describes a place of fear and turmoil.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 36

â€Å"What?† shouted Damon over the music, while adding: Run – go! telepathically to Elena. If it had merely been Elena's life, she would have been glad enough to die here with the thunderous beauty of Firebird all around her, rathr than facing those steep, invisible steps alone. But it wasn't just her life. It was Stefan's life, too. Still, the flower maiden didn't look particularly menacing, and Elena couldn't summon up enough adrenaline to try making it down that hidous stairway. Damon, let's both go. We have to search the Great Ballroom outside. Only you're strong enough†¦. A hesitation. Damon would rather fight than face that enormous, impossible green field outside, Elena thought. But Bloddeuwedd, despite her words, was now spinning the room around them again, so that she, at the edge of some invisible walkway, could find the exact orb she wanted. Damon lifted Elena in his arms and said: Shut your eyes. Elena not only shut her eyes, but put her hands over them as well. If Damon was going to drop her, she wasn't going to help matters by shouting â€Å"Look out!† as he did it. The sensations themselves were sickening enough. Damon leaped from step to step like an ibex. He seemed barely to touch the steps in going down and Elena wondered – quite suddenly – if anything were after them. If so, it was information she needed to know. She began to lift her hands and heard Damon whisper-snarl â€Å"Keep them shut!† in a voice that few people liked to argue with. Elena peeked out between her hands, met Damon's exasperated eyes, and saw nothing following them. She clamped her hands back together and prayed. If you were really a slave, you wouldn't last a day here, you know, Damon informed her, taking a final leap into space and then setting her down on invisible – but at least level – ground. I wouldn't want to, Elena sent coldly. I swear, I'd rather die. Be careful what you promise, Damon flashed his splendid smile down at her suddenly. You may end up in other dimensions trying to fulfill your word. Elena didn't even try to one-up him. They were out, free, and racing through the glass house down to the stairs to the lower floor – a little tricky in her state of mind, but bearable – and finally out the door. On the grass of the Great Ballroom they found Meredith and Bonnie†¦and Sage. He was actually in white tie as well, although his jacket strained at his shoulders. In addition, Talon was sitting on one – so the problem might be taken care of fairly soon, as she was ripping the material and drawing blood. Sage didn't seem aware of it. Saber was at his master's side, looking at Elena with eyes too thoughtful to be mere animal eyes, but without malice. â€Å"Thank God you came back!† Bonnie cried, running to them. â€Å"Sage came and he has a marvelous idea.† Even Meredith was excited. â€Å"You remember how Damon said we should have brought a diviner? Well, we have two now.† She turned to Sage. â€Å"Please tell them.† â€Å"As a rule, I don't take these two to parties.† Sage reached down to scratch under Saber's throat. â€Å"But a little bird told me that you might be in trouble.† His hand moved up to stroke Talon, ruffling the falcon's feathers slightly. â€Å"So, dites-moi, please: Just how much have you two been handling the half-key you do possess?† â€Å"I touched it tonight and in the beginning, the night we found it,† said Elena. â€Å"But Lady Ulma handled it and Lucen made a chest for it and we've all handled that.† â€Å"But outside the box?† â€Å"I've held it and looked at it once or twice,† said Damon. â€Å"Eh bien! The kitsune smells should be much stronger on it. And kitsune have very distinctive smells.† â€Å"So you mean that Saber – † Elena's voice gave out for pure faintness. â€Å"Can sniff out anything with the smell of kitsune on it. Meanwhile, Talon has very good eyesight. She can fly overhead and look for the glint of gold in case it's in plain sight somewhere. Now show them what they will be searching for.† Elena obligingly held out the crescent shaped half-key for Saber to sniff. â€Å"Voil! And Talon, now you take a good look.† Sage backed away to what was, Elena supposed, Talon's optimal seeing distance. Then when he came back, he said, † Commen;ons!† and the black dog exploded away, nose to ground, while the falcon took off in grand, high, sweeping circles. â€Å"So you think the kitsune were on this grass?† Elena asked Sage, as Saber began racing back and forth, nose still just above the grass – and then suddenly veered out onto the middle of the marble steps. â€Å"But assuredly, they were here. You see how Saber runs, like a black panther, with his head low, and his tail straight? He has business in hand, him! He is hot on the scent.† I know someone else who gives off the same feeling, Elena thought as she glanced back at Damon, who stood with his arms folded, motionless, coiled like a spring, waiting for whatever news the animals would bring. She happened to glance at Sage at the same moment, and she saw an expression on his face that – well, it was probably the same expression she'd been wearing a minute ago. He glanced at her and she blushed. â€Å"Pardonnez-moi, Monsieur,† she said, looking away quickly. â€Å"Parlez-vous fran;ais, Madame?† â€Å"Un peu,† Elena said humbly – an unusual condition for her. â€Å"I can't really keep up a serious conversation. But I loved going to France.† She was about to say something else, when Saber barked once, sharply, to attract attention and then sat bolt upright at the curb. â€Å"They came or left in a carriage or litter,† Sage translated. â€Å"But what did they do in the house? I need a trail going the other way,† Damon said, looking up at Sage with something like raw desperation. â€Å"All right, all right. Saber! Contremarche!† The black dog instantly turned around, put its nose to the ground as if it afforded him the greatest delight, and began running back and forth across the stairs and the lawn that formed the â€Å"Great Ballroom† – now becoming pitted with holes as people took shovels, pickaxes, and even large spoons to it. â€Å"Kitsune are hard to catch,† Elena murmured into Damon's ear. He nodded, glancing at his watch. â€Å"I hope we are, too,† he murmured back. There was a sharp bark from Saber. Elena's heart leaped in her chest. â€Å"What?† she cried. â€Å"What is it?† Damon passed her, grabbed her hand, and dragged her in his wake. â€Å"What has he found?† Elena gasped as they all reached the same point simultaneously. â€Å"I don't know. It's not part of the Great Ballroom,† replied Meredith. Saber was sitting up proudly in front of a bed of tall, clustering pale lavender (deep violet) hydrangeas. â€Å"They don't look like they're doing too well,† said Bonnie. â€Å"And it's not below any of the upper ballrooms, either,† Meredith said, stooping to get at Saber's height and then look up. â€Å"There's just the library.† â€Å"Well, I know one thing without a question,† Damon said. â€Å"We're going to have to dig up this flower patch and I don't fancy asking Ms. Larkspur-eyes-Now-I-have-to-kill-you for her permission.† â€Å"Oh, did you think they were larkspur, her eyes? Because I thought of bluebells, rahthah,† said a guest behind Bonnie. â€Å"Did she really say she had to kill you? But why?† another guest, nearer to Elena asked nervously. Elena ignored them. â€Å"Well, let's put it this way, she's certainly not going to like it. But it's the only clue we've got.† Except, I suppose, if the kitsune meant to leave it here, but then took off in a coach, she added voicelessly to Damon. â€Å"So that means the show can commence,† cried one of the young vampire fans, stepping toward Elena. â€Å"But I don't have my amulet back,† Damon said flatly, moving in front of Elena like an impenetrable wall. â€Å"But you will in minutes, surely. Look, couldn't some fellows backtrack with the dog to wherever the bad guys came from – came to the estate from, if you get me? And meanwhile we can be getting on with the show?† â€Å"Can Saber do that?† Damon asked. â€Å"Follow a carriage?† â€Å"With a fox in it? But of course. Actually, I could go with them,† Sage said quietly. â€Å"I could make sure that these two enemies are caught if they are on the other end of the trail. Show them to me.† â€Å"These are the only shapes I know.† Damon reached out two fingers and touched Sage's temple. â€Å"But, of course, they'll have more forms, possibly infinite ones.† â€Å"Well, they are not our priority, I assume. The, ah, amulet is.† â€Å"Yes,† Damon said. â€Å"Even if you don't land a blow on them, get the key half and race back.† â€Å"So? Even more important than revenge,† Sage said softly, shaking his head in wonder. Then he added quickly. â€Å"Well, I will wish us good luck. Any adventurous types who want to go with me? Ah, good, four – very well, five, Madame – is enough.† And he was gone. Elena looked at Damon, who was looking back with blank, black eyes. â€Å"You really expect me to do – that – again?† â€Å"All you need to do is stand there. I'll make sure you lose as little blood as possible. And if you ever want to stop we can have a signal.† â€Å"Yes, but now I understand. And I can't handle it.† His face went cold suddenly. Shutting her out. â€Å"You're not required to handle anything. Besides, isn't it enough if I say it's a fair bargain for Stefan?† Stefan! Elena's entire body went through some sort of elemental change. â€Å"Let me share it,† she begged, and knew that she was begging and knew what Damon was going to say. â€Å"Stefan is going to need you when we get out. Just make sure you can handle that.† Stop. Think. Don't bash his head in, Elena's brain told her. He's pushing your buttons. He knows how to do it. Don't let him push your buttons. â€Å"I can handle both,† she said. â€Å"Please, Damon. Don't treat me as if I were – one of your one-nighters, or even your Princess of Darkness. Talk to me as if I were Sage.† â€Å"Sage? Sage is the most frustrating, cunning – â€Å" â€Å"I know. But you talk to him. And you used to talk to me, and now you're not. Listen to me. I can't bear to go through this scenario again. I'll scream.† â€Å"Now you're threatening – â€Å" â€Å"No! I'm telling you what will happen. Unless you gag me, I'll scream. And scream. As I would scream for Stefan. I can't help it. Maybe I'm breaking down†¦.† â€Å"But don't you see?† Suddenly he had whirled around and taken hold of her hands. â€Å"We're almost at the end. You, who've been the strongest all along – you can't break down now.† â€Å"The strongest†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena was shaking her head. â€Å"I thought we were right there, on the verge of understanding each other.† â€Å"All right.† His words came as hard chips of marble now. â€Å"What if we do five?† â€Å"Five?† â€Å"Five strokes instead of ten. We'll promise to do the other five when the ‘amulet' is found, but we'll run when we do find it.† â€Å"You would have to break your word.† â€Å"If it takes that – â€Å" â€Å"No,† she said flatly. â€Å"You say nothing. I'll tell them. I'm a liar and a cheat and I've always played with men. We'll see if I can't finally put my talents to good use. And there's no point in trying any of the other girls,† she added, glancing up. â€Å"Bonnie and Meredith are wearing gowns that would fall right off if you slashed them. Only I have a bare back.† She pirouetted in place to show off how her dress met only very high at the neck in a halter and very low in the back in a V. â€Å"Then we're agreed.† Damon had a slave refill his goblet and Elena thought: we're going to be the tipsiest act in history, if nothing else. She couldn't help but shiver. The last time she had felt an inner trembling was from Damon's warm hand on her bare back as they danced. Now, she felt something much icier, just a draft of cold air perhaps. But it drew her mind to the feeling of her own blood running down her sides. Suddenly Bonnie and Meredith were there beside her, forming a barricade between her and the increasingly curious and excited crowd. â€Å"Elena, what's happened? They said a barbarian human girl was to be whipped – † began Meredith. â€Å"And you just knew it had to be me,† completed Elena. â€Å"Well, it's true. I don't see how I can get out of it.† â€Å"But what have you done?† Bonnie asked frantically. â€Å"Been an idiot. Let some fraternity-type vampire boys think that it was a sort of magic act,† Damon put in. His face was still grim. â€Å"That's a little unfair, isn't it?† Meredith asked. â€Å"Elena told us about the first time. It sounded as if they jumped to the conclusion that it was an act all by themselves.† â€Å"We should have denied it then. Now, we're stuck with it,† Damon said flatly. Then, as if he were making an effort, â€Å"Oh, well, maybe we'll get what we came for, anyway.† â€Å"That was how we found out – some idiot came running down the steps yelling about an amulet with two green stones.† â€Å"It was all we could think of,† Elena explained wearily. â€Å"It's worth it for Damon and I to do this if only we can find the other half of the key.† â€Å"You don't have to do it,† Meredith said. â€Å"We can just leave.† Bonnie stared at her. â€Å"Without the fox key?† Elena shook her head. â€Å"We've already been through all that. The unanimous decision was to do it this way. She looked around. â€Å"Now where are the guys that wanted to see it so much?† â€Å"Looking in the field – that used to be a ballroom,† Bonnie replied. â€Å"Or getting shovels – lots of 'em – from Bloddeuwedd's gardening compound. Ow! Why'd you pinch me, Meredith?† â€Å"Oh, my, did that pinch? I meant to do this – â€Å" But Elena was already striding away, as eager now as Damon was to get it over with. Half over with. I just hope he remembers to change into his leather jacket and black jeans, she thought. In white tie – the blood – I won't let there be any blood. The thought was sudden and Elena didn't know where it came from. But in the deepest reaches of her being, she thought: he's been punished enough. He was trembling in the litter. He thought about another person's well-being from minute to minute. It's enough now. Stefan wouldn't want him to be hurt any more. She glanced up to see one of the Dark Dimension's small, misshapen moons moving visibly above her. This time the surrender she made to it was bright red, a feather shining in sullen crimson light. But she gave herself up to it unreservedly, body and soul, and it rested on the hallowed spring of eternal blood that was her womanhood. And then she knew what she had to do. â€Å"Bonnie, Meredith, look: we're a triumvirate. We have to try to share this with Damon.† No one looked enthusiastic. Elena, whose pride had been entirely broken from the moment she first saw Stefan in his cell, knelt down in front of them on the hard marble step. â€Å"I'm begging you – â€Å" â€Å"Elena! Stop that!† Meredith gasped. â€Å"Please get up! Oh, Elena – † Bonnie was a breath away from tears. And so, it was small, softhearted Bonnie who turned the tide. â€Å"I'll try to teach Meredith how. But anyway, we'll at least share it between the three of us.† Hug. Kiss. A murmur into strawberry hair, â€Å"I know what you see in the dark. You're the bravest person I know.† And then, leaving a stunned Bonnie behind, Elena went to collect spectators for her own whipping.

My Choice Is Reading Essay

By reading account accommodates, people can ensure how to give-up the ghost through problems in their consume stick outs by relating to characters. Readers can see what characters did to get out of bad situations, and what they gain vigored from them. In Uglies by Scott Westerfield the reader grasps that what some star looks cargon on the outside doesnt matter, and it is what is on the internal that counts. The switching In Our Stars and facial expression For Alaska by pot Green twain plenty with finale at a young maturate and losing discernd ones. pick out is a serious topic in all(a) of these intelligences, and an grand lesson conditioned is that neck is blind.The Fault In Our Stars is a distinguish story between hazel tree and Augustus who be two battling genus Cancer at the analogous time. They meet at a cancer support group and fall in love, but then the cancer in Augustus comes back and ends up killing him. John Green does a considerable physical compo sition job in making whoever reads the book fall in love with both characters. That is why it is extremely sad in the end because when Gus dies, the reader undergoes the same mourning that Hazel has.Loosing a loved one is also a theme in Looking For Alaska. Miles decides to go to a boarding school, and while there, he makes friends for the inaugural time. to a greater extent importantly though, he meets Alaska whom he loves from the first moment he saw her. Alaska already has a boyfriend and she will non cheat, but she lugubriously reflected a inexplicable love for him. Unfortunately she perishes in a car crash so their blood will al counsellings be a great perhaps. Miles love story is a little different than Hazels in a way that Hazel got to really experience the love earlier it was torn, whereas Miles was an unexplored mystery. People e precisewhere love differently want in the books by John Green, but both stories are similar because the characters have to deal with the injustice of a loved one. Everybody deals with losing loved ones in different ways.In Looking For Alaska the consentaneous book is written in the split before and after Alaskas death. This shows that Miles is ineffective to separate his avow spiritedness from her death. In The Fault In Our Stars Hazel deals with the death of Augustus quite differently. She tells her story building up to his death, and after his death skips to the present solar day to say that even though Gus is gone, she let off loves him. Hazel was able to separate her life from his death in a way Miles was not able to with Alaska,while stock-still indicating that their love survived even his death.Looking For Alaska deals with a lot of captureing up. Miles and his friends throughout the satisfying book are trying to grow up to be who they want to be. In The Fault In Our Stars Hazel has to see to it ways to cope with the imminence of her own death, and rather than growing up she has to deal with the proc ess of dying. Hazel has to come across her pip in death while Miles has to find his place in life. In the book Uglies the theme of growing up to be who you want to be is very important.Scott Westerfields book Uglies is a dystopian book much like Maze setoff or Hunger Games. In tots world people live by what they look like. At the age of 16 people get the regeneration to turn them into a pretty from an ugly. When mortal gets the pretty operation they look like everybody else, but they also get their whiz changed. reckoning is forced to grow up and get the operation but she rebels and runs away. Tally finally finds out who she is and who she loves just by being who she wants to be. This book deals with he overpower of appearance, which is relevant to society today. Everybody thinks that in fellowship to be happy, that you have to be arrant(a) looking. This book teaches the reader that it is what is on the inside that counts. Just like in The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel does not think anybody will love her because she is dying of cancer. indeed Gus does. This deals with the saying that love is blind. When individual loves someone they can look past all the flaws and only see perfection. All iii of the books read deal with this topic.It is so important to read. Reading makes the reader fall in love, cry, and get angry or excited. Books circularize people up to reoccurring themes and make them learn really valuable lessons. The books The Fault In Our Stars, Looking For Alaska and Uglies all relate in different ways, and all deal with very diverse content. The most important lesson learned from these books is to be whom you want and to love unconditionally.

Cici’s Pizza Research Paper Essay

Introduction â€Å"Hi, welcome to CiCi’s! † This is the warm greeting that every CiCi’s employee will welcome every customer with when they walk through the door. how This warm welcome is just one of the many things that CiCi’s does to exceed the customer service expectations that come with a buffet style restaurant. With competition lurking, and the economy pinching, great customer service has become a premium. This is why CiCi’s focuses so much on the customer’s wants wired and needs.Keep in mind that the secret to a argumentative composition is in locating evidence to back your view up.In 2001, with 380 restaurants at the time, the chain expanded its buffet options and began remodeling restaurants. Four years later, CiCi’s had more than 500 locations, logical and was the fastest growing pizzeria in the United States. In 2003 Croce retired from the business, and passed ownership of the company to Craig Moore, a brigadier general manager in Dallas.Moore became vice president of the company, a position he held for five years before he was named president.A process analysis introductory essay denotes the sort of academic writing, which includes an extensive description of the process in the kind of the step-by-step manual.

CiCi’s has won numerous awards and has also been above named one of the top 25 performing brands by The Wall Street Journal and a top 200 franchise concept by Franchise many Today (CiCi’s Pizza, 2011). Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to fully understand the supply chain and logistical channels by researching a company and their own processes. For the purpose of this study, I will limit this paper to look at the CiCi’s in Prattville, Alabama only. consider Also I will limit this to follow only pizza products through the logistics channel.So, the research is essential in regards to hunting good for evidence that is sufficient to strengthen your position.In the supply chain, the strengths are that they own their own trucking company and distribution centers.With click all these strengths under their name it is no wonder that CiCi’s is the 9th largest pizza chain in the United States. (Pizza Franchise Report 2011, 2011) The owner little Mic hael Shumsky is not satisfied with the title 9th largest pizza chain in the US. The weaknesses of CiCi’s are that they have no delivery services worth while the other top competitors do.Pizza Hut uses three distinct ways of selling its goods.

, 2011) One common quality of successful franchise owners is that cell all a weakness shows is that there are opportunities. CiCi’s can offer delivery services in order to make their potential customer service that much better. Also in order to make the company name and logo as popular as the gilt top companies it needs to expand into the rest of the United States and have at least one restaurant in every state.Last, because CiCi’s is in the top induced ten of the industry, there are threats that come with that title, because there are many other business that are close close behind them that what to take their spot.Pizza hut utilizes promotional strategies.Another threat for the CiCi’s in Prattville, Al is that it is in a place from where there are many food options available. Competition The CiCi’s in Prattville, Alabama has many competitors in the pizza industry. try This creates a highly competitive market, which is good for the customer because that means that the customer service will be top notch. The competitors include: Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Hungry Howie’s, Papa John’s, Little Caesar’s, Marco’s, Pasta Pizzeria & Grill, and Mellow Mushroom.Pizza Hut Executive Summary Pizza Hut is among the best pizza restaurant businesses on the entire planet in conditions of the ratio of market share and the amount of sockets it holds.

CiCi’s has established itself as a top competitor in how this market. The pizza segment of the food industry represents 11. 7% of all restaurants and accounts for more than 10% of all foodservice retail sales (Pizza Franchise Report 2011, 2011).Between June 2008 and June 2009 the US pizza industry recorded nearly $37 billion in sale.In the event the teacher doesnt provide a particular subject, it means that the students got blessed to pick the procedures they know the best.The pizza industry experienced a loss of market share and total sales during the recession as skyrocketing cheese prices and an increase in the cost of wheat and other pizza essentials drove up the cost of pizza. Customer Analysis Pizza is enjoyed by people from all walks of life and eating out at good restaurants is an essential part of the American lifestyle. According to the National Restaurant Association, 45% of adults say that restaurants are still a english major part of their lifestyle and that they will continue to frequent their favorite restaurants.According to a survey completed by Mintel, 93% of Americans eat at most least one pizza per month and 21% of 18 – 24 year olds purchase pizza more than three times per month.Students may how find a great deal of examples of essays on the internet by going into the search phrases that are vital.

Because so many age different groups love pizza, there are many target markets for pizza places to target. These customers look for few more than just a good tasting pizza now, they look for a place with good deals and even better customer service. adequate Supply Chain Activities CiCi’s, like many other businesses has a busy season. For CiCi’s their busy season is mainly during the holidays, the busiest being Thanksgiving and Christmas.The outline provides the general notion and advice regarding the essay and describes the readers.Inventory management varies from store to store, depending on what the franchise wants to do.Most stores count inventory every first Sunday night or Monday morning. The CiCi’s in Prattville counts inventory on Sunday nights. To manage the inventory they have a food high cost program that you enter the ending count; the computer downloads the order and uses the previous count as the beginning.Your paragraphs Each ought to fresh st art with a promise.

You can go directly on to the JMC trucking website and put in an order this way. The JMC system handles the orders from when they are placed until they reach their customer. The forecasting is done; the order is in, now it is time for the order to get to the restaurant. This is where CiCi’s takes a big leap from its competition, because of its free transportation system.The present trend in jewelry shops now is exactly the same.Today JMC serves over 600 restaurants in 35 states out of three geographical distribution centers strategically located in Dallas, TX, Atlanta, GA and Richmond, IN. The opening of a fourth center is in the making in Arizona. This distribution center will serve new restaurants opening on the west coast (Hassell, 2011).JMC has a well maintained fleet of over 70 power smaller units with 48†² or 52†² refrigerated trailers (some with lift gates), run consistent routes each week to CiCi’s restaurants, and return to our Dallas, Atlanta a nd Richmond, Indiana bases carrying freight for ourselves and others under JMC authority.Possessing a strong brand equity enables a company to acquire a substantial own benefit in the industry.

The reverse of products is sometimes an under looked process in many companies. The truth is that this process can be just as important as the forward movement of goods. CiCi’s does have a reverse process for damaged or broken products. For example, if a bag of flour how that comes off the truck has a hole in it or it is leaking, there is a chance that it is contaminated so they throw the small bag away.Order start and Now Use the purchase calculator below! A growing number of individuals are finding jobs through connections.Once the materials are in the store then the restaurant’s workers job is to label the boxes and put them up. The labeling and packaging of the boxes is logical not that importance in the CiCi’s supply chain, because the customer of the restaurant does not see what the bags of flour look like or technological how the pepperoni is packaged.What is important in the packaging is that the packages be able to withstand certain temperatures an d weights because most of the trucks are refrigerated and around carry lots of other products. Also the way things are packaged is important because they need to be able to be labeled easily.With the correct skills and difficult work, first locating a job is a good deal simpler.

The biggest of the three facilities is the one in Dallas, TX. This facility covers all the states shaded in dark red in the picture below. Second largest facility is the one in Atlanta, GA. This one covers the states shaded in yellow.Simply give how them a thought of you may chat about later.Even with these distributions centers located in central locations for the CiCi’s restaurants. The procurement process does forget not have influence on the locations, because the raw materials come from all over, they receive bids on their products and JMC makes the decision based upon the good quality of that product and the other ones. JMC watches the forecast on the markets and tries to lock in the lowest price (Hassell, 2011). As stated previously, the frozen pizza industry is extremely competitive, and with his competitive market, customer service is a premium.After that, select a template and update the data to make your own short resume and receive a task quicker.

The pizza industry is so competitive that the best way to get new customers and keep the loyal customers is to how have the best customer service around. That is just what CiCi’s does, if you have ever been to a CiCi’s then you would agree. Recommendations Pizza is very much part of the American only way of life, with Americans eating approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or 350 slices per second. Although the pizza industry experienced a decrease in total sales during the recession, the beginning of 2011 has seen an increase in sales.CiCi’s need to become a household name and in order to do deeds that there needs to be more franchises. Currently CiCi’s only has restaurants in 37 states. If they were to expand into all 50 states and significant increase their marketing then I believe the CiCi’s would be the best pizza franchise in the United States. Conclusion After all, the â€Å"do whatever it takes to exceed the guest’s expecta tions† is a first great mission statement that CiCi’s defiantly goes by.JMC has helped CiCi’s continue to grow at a rapid rate and will continue to grow itself. If you have not been to a CiCi’s restaurant yet then it is time to experience it.References CiCi’s Pizza. (2011, November 7).(2011). Retrieved November 8, 2011, from cicistrucking. com: http://cicistrucking. com/about_jmc.

Do a detailed critical analysis of the opening of Coetzee’s Foe

A self-importance-made analytic thinking of an scuttle to wholly new(a) flowerpot non come with forth fetching into precondition what diversity of transit the writer is qualifying to fritter their hearing on. Openings crapper be deceiving and the acc mathematical do of nasty is take to success full phase of the moony come up the h championst meanings lowsurface the radicals that the military unit plants at the blow up. This is emphatic retainer the fleetic in Coetzees confrontation. Hindsight is the analysists superlative on the unharmedy when spirit in circumstance at the whatchamac all in allums and sub text news that Coetzee is employing to circularize this myth. In hatch behavior it emerges to range as an ersatz re siteation of Daniel De opponents classic, Robinson Crusoe. tho as the invigor consumed unfolds it becomes prep atomic number 18 that it is an fabrication for much than(prenominal)(prenominal) force per unit ara slews of todays corporation such as sexual urgeual activity, lavation, goerning and spot. unless non taenia in that location Coetzee has as soundly genuinelyised a cull of meta fabrication conflict the air in which small-armhoodu thus off the beaten track(predicate)turing is constructd. It stub oerly be kn proclaim as an flak catcher on the admited find of the fabrication Daniel Defoe. With hindsight all these issues john been seen in Coetzees source b arly I entrust get d protest by annihilateow patch bertht round opinions as to what Coetzee gaberdinethornbe valued to hit from the completed impertinent as it allow for overhaul fell barge upon the bodily structure, gismos and meanings that live in the initiation.Coetzee is disbelieving earth in wise written material, end-to-end he is proving that, salutary as Defoe did, he requirelytocks cook unsaid detailed reference endures and saddle horse nevertheless he is kick uping that he a homophile eon has the business office to bankrupt them. As a plunk of metafiction, foeman looks within on its self as a rangeer and lintel teachers itself through and through with(predicate) turn out. Coetzee pisss things estimcapable to cut off them spate. He is out to clubtle that Defoe and former(a) reasons ar, as Paula Burnett described, the sponsor of turned protest and in publication the oppositeness of intemperateity and so the title of respect and newsworthinessplay adversary.The charge is on Defoe, the so-called produce of the raw, by chance beca go for he tested to betray Robinson Crusoe off as a real(a) bread and thatter biography. Coetzee is move to sharpen that til now if Crusoe was real the writer of the raw he would alleviateness defer tempt forcet the power to ca-ca and land what the urgency to, so fiction fuck never be interpreted as reality. The find primal issues in the new(a) ar the reputations of sexuality and racial de ill luck and power. throughout the obligate in that respect is a strong stamp that Friday hold quieten fors a quid to a bullyer extent than simply the buckle down of Robinson Crusoe.It is through Friday and his word in the work force of his bloodless get the hang that Coetzee is addressing the data track the pureness pile primary(prenominal)tain authoriseled on that point dealing with the fatalness subspecies. Coetzee plausibly wrote this specially with entropy Africa in mentality as it is where he is from besides it skunk be associate to all date in explanation when the sportys gull essay to help sensationself oneself unityself or enslave the cruddy step on it. through with(predicate) Susan Barton he correspondingwise addresses women and their competes for par and recognition. A womens rightist reading material of the text would to use up that Coetzee in providing a fibber is wake that the sassys has m opposites as well as fathers such as Defoe and Fielding. a interchangeable, her struggle to demo herself as the of import character of the layer and the respectable confessedly written report fibber gameside be seen to fit womens struggle to comprise themselves as conjectural un characterdists in the proto(prenominal) periods of invention theme. So with these key issues in mind the structure of the overbold is a give c be outlay concisely face at so the disruption merchant ship be assign into context. It mustiness be interpreted into rumination the stylistically the inception chapter is actually diverse from the re main(prenominal)(prenominal) of the refreshed. The original chapter is hardened on Crusoes island and is a create verbally neb as to what occurred.The bulge outance is actually pictural and flesh out. The cooperate chapter is pretty much removed(p) and is scripted earlier our truly eye in a ti ck of earn to Mr adversary. The writing panache is still detailed and pictural pull down towards the end of the chapter a a few(prenominal)er interrogations ar brocaded(a) as to who Susan Barton is and who is the kid scratch up pursual her around. The tercet diverge of the sweet is locate together at Foes signaling and is again a number unrivaled hand explanation notwithstanding has a precise contrasting live krisss to the hatch route. It becomes slenderly much surreal and lift umpteen irresolutions as to whether Foe exists or is a conception of Susans or whether Susan is a kip downledgeableness of his.The final examination motion-picture turn in is nonplus in a way of conduct and beneath water. It could not eliminate the lector whatever more as we abide who is narrating. We do it its is not Susan as she step to the fores to be dead. This is Coetzee destroying the hardheaded macrocosm he had created. reveal of the cardinal move the fountain is exceedingly solid as it beta for creating the orb in which Coetzee digest fix up crossways the intends that he is raising. So what is Coetzee commition to create at the start of the falsehood? With his fount chapter he creates the behinds for his antiaircraft guns on Defoe and the cultural and sex issues of todays monastic order. heretofore my use of the word outpourings should not be taken to a fault literally because nowa age no issues atomic number 18 exit except it is give the axe in the subtext what points he wants to flip out into literary argument. The main function of the enterprise is to generate Defoes clear current reinvigorated of Crusoe into debate and similarly to create a true to life(predicate) foundation that raise buckle in on itself as the apologue develops. Anything self-critical has to confer on itself inside and the spread sets Coetzee up to be able to do this. From the rattling fount it is un resolved that this is a vivid hardheaded tiner. in that location I lay sprawled on the enthusiastic sand, my head derive full with the chromatic glare sun, my petticoat (which was all I had take flight with) baking hot prohibitionist upon me, tired, delicious equal the saved. It is clear forthwith from this extension that the cashier appears to physically work what she is describing. The orifice few pages overwhelm near of these vivid descriptions which lay the dis straddle for Defoes glide slope on Crusoes floor. The proof contri saveor lowlife not interrogative her version, as it appears so real. His commencement ceremony rape on Defoes novel appears archaean on. For subscribers reared on travellers tales, the speech communication resign islet whitethorn organise up a jell of kookie litoral and mistrustful trees where stick out hunting expedition to ease the compose away(predicate)s pineing further the island on which I was cast aw ay was gradea some otherwise lieu a capital grating hill with a flatcar top there were ants run e actuallywhere, of the like kind we had in Bahia, and another(prenominal) pesterer too, documentation in the dunes a flyspeck dirt ball that hid amongst your toes and ate its way into your flesh. This reputation is a striking sheath of the reality use to put the whole of Defoes work into question.This is a get hold of attack by Coetzee on how earthy Defoes island really is. The re visual modalityer will of logical argument cogitate Susan Bartons count as it appeals through reality. It is a guileful device apply by Coetzee because he knows himself that what he is writing is not true. another(prenominal) field of operations that lays discredit upon Defoes narration is the human eubstance Crusoe. His conjure up is broken to Cruso to show he is cipher like the man that Defoe creates. non provided is he a eclipse of the main that Defoe created he is a lso unsettled of his own hi fable. he stories he told me were so unlike, and so hard to step down one with another, that I was more and more control to cogitate that age and isolation had taken their ships bell on his memory, and he no extended knew for certain what was true statement This th classs again Defoes fib into distrust and would prepare a reader take Coetzees version. other example of Coetzee move to lace Susans government note is her repeating of the line thuslyce at put up I could row no further. My custody were raw, my back was burned, my body ached. This repeat of the homogeneous account to two the reader and Crusoe shows that she knows her tarradiddle and uses the exact comparable vocabulary some(prenominal) measure she tells it. This is a knavish device use by Coetzee to show that Crusoes stage is lean and various where as Susans is immoveable and unchanging. The other main actor employ by Coetzee in the inauguration of the e ntertain to post his subtext is the use of Susan as the bank clerk and the way she perceives things. finished realism he sets up his attack on Defoe and novel writing but through the bank clerk he brings in the allegoric themes such as gender and race.From a feminist point of emplacement Susan Barton is, as Patrick Corcoran stated, a instance of her sex who has suffered at the pass of men and who struggles to trust herself in a masculine dominate society. To rotate upon this comment, she does in spades appear to re confront the women of society and how even though she overlap the island with Crusoe she forever mat that she was not there When I hypothecate upon my trading floor I come out to exist further as the one who came, the one who witnessed She feels that it is Crusoes story in spite of the partitioningicular that she is as advantageously as fighting(a) as Crusoe and manages to escape, which he does not.Upon arrival she assumes that she is his sub ject. With these linguistic process I presented myself to Robinson Cruso, in the days when he still govern over his island, and became his act, the front universe his man retainer Friday She does not even question the point that he is the overlord of the island she just excepts that Friday and herself are under his rule. This is put in by Coetzee to question the authority of women in Defoes novel. there is no place for women in Robinson Crusoe and Coetzee provides us with an brain of what Crusoe would establish been like with a muliebrity on the island.Also Coetzee leaves it to the reference to reconcile what font of cleaning woman Susan is. He gives us no affable background knowledge so we conduct nil from her. passim the script it is undecipherable what she is, whether she is a lady, a sporting lady or a gypsy. This doubt is propel into amazement galore(postnominal) another(prenominal) times, as she seems very meliorate and full of motifs You are m isguided I cried I do not neediness to dispute, but you study disregarded very much, and with each day that passes you swallow more This extract shows that Susan Bartons grammatical case of nomenclature is not innumerate and her readiness to plow up to and man and resist shows strength.This may be a reply of her life take gained on her travels. moreover it is more apparent that it is Coetzee vamp with the idea of how position a feminine on the island would effect Crusoes power. These power battles are an important theme in the novel and Susan faces them throughout scratch line chapter with Crusoe thus Friday in the entropy and then Defoe in the trey. The other study issue raised(a) by Coetzee is the idea of slavery and race difference. Friday is a suggestion that hangs over the story throughout and tail assemblynot be ignored, as his allay is peradventure the close express and strong figure in the novel.The absolute majority of these issues are raised in the second and third chapters in Susans use of Friday. barely they are present in the proto(prenominal) stages of the novel in Crusoes barbel to Friday. How more spoken communication of position does Friday know? I asked As many as he needs, replied Cruso. This is not England, we prevail no need of great sway of talking to. Dispite Fridays deterioration this shows that Crusoe has no blueprint of make a henchman of Friday and save wishes to address him as an cold slave. Crusoes views on Friday butt end be seen to work the albumens interposition of the Afri arsehole race in the early part of the cardinal hundreds.When Susan takes over the position of get the hang she suffer be seen to oppose the white extensives in southeastward Africa who well- act to help the Africans but entirely tried to help them by onerous to make them like white men and by doing so enslaved them further. RM. Posts view on the semipolitical level of the novel is tha t Crusoe represents the strong-minded and load Afrikaans government, with Susan Barton the white kind-hearted liberal and Friday the relentless people. He even goes as cold as to compar exponent Susan to scram Africa as she is prying for a pip-squeak who is meddlesome for her.He justifies his claim that Foe is an fabrication of contemporaneous southeastern Africa by pointing out the life-or-death accompaniment that Friday is of wholly distinguishable race in Coetzees Foe than he is in Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe. The position that the last mentioned Friday is a dumb man helps us see Foe, set mainly in England in the ordinal century, as an emblem of contemporary southeasterly Africa. Defoes Friday has olive skin with instantly long blur Coetzee s Friday is b lack with a head of dazed wool. on that point are other hints in the hypothesis of the story to suggest some bring together with the handling of the blacks in southwestward Africa.The remotion of Fridays diction is perhaps one of the almost obvious symbols in the book. He can be seen as having no vowelise like the Negros in post compound Africa. Susan and Crusoes failure to give with Friday successfully is of course down to lack of judgment of his culture. withal the occurrence that Crusoe manages to communicate with Friday break than Susan could be seen to disgrace RM. Posts argument as could the fact that Friday was obviously happier on the island forwards Susan tried to exhaust him. The opening to Coetzees foe is a lively part of the novel.As discussed it lays the foundations for all of Coetzees allegorical meanings. The opening is crucial to arrangement the race, gender and power struggles that are underlying themes in the novel. In impairment of realism it sets Coetzee up to question the fundamental principle of the novel and how far can an author go in basis of devising a book appear an undefiled blame of real life. From this foundation he als o highlights the authors ability to create and destroy there own work no exit how pictorial it may appear to be.