Should College Athletes Be Paid - 2005 Words

One of the many controversial issues regarding college sports is whether athletes should be paid or not. The argument against paying college athletes is often that they are already paid in the form of full ride scholarships for a free education, for one, and two that college is for amateurs and to pay them would mean that they are professionals and not student-athletes. But as a college student myself I can tell you a scholarship does not cover all the expenses of college. College sports is big business there is no question about it, but how is a non-profit able to generate billions of dollars on the backs of athletes who never see that money? Karl Marx would call this an exploitation of labor. The essential issue here is that, given the measure of cash that is put into school sports and the enormous benefits that big time college athletics create, would we be able to truly say that the players are amateurs? Or are they just slaves working for the universities? In Dorfman s article , Pay College Athletes? They re Already Paid Up To $125,000 Per Year, he supports that athletes should not be paid. On the other hand, in Nocera s article, Here s How TO Pay Up Now, he defends that athletes deserve to be paid as well as Taylor Branch’s article in The Atlantic titled The Shame of College Sports. In this essay a connection will be made between Karl Marx s views and their implications on college athletics. Jeffrey Dorfman, a professor of economics at The University of GeorgiaShow MoreRelatedShould College Athletes Be Paid?1578 Words   |  7 PagesAshay Mehta Nou Per 8 Should College Athletes Be Paid? One of the hottest debates in the sports industry is if college athletes should be paid. If you want to pay these athletes, how would the college determine the dollar amount that should be paid? Should the basketball team make more than the football team? Should the the soccer team be paid as well? Cheerleading? Chess team? Should everyone on the team get a salary? What if your college is good at football and your basketball team is awfulRead MoreShould College Athletes Be Paid?1398 Words   |  6 Pagesbelieve that college athletes at the highest performing schools are better treated than others. Although they do not get paid, they do receive some benefits for being athletes that other students would not get. One advantage for playing a sport is access to scholarships that some schools reserve for their athletes. Depending on the school and the athlete’s performance, money towards tuition is often given. Only some schools are willing to grant â€Å"full-ride† scholar ships for certain athletes. AccordingRead MoreShould College Athletes Be Paid?1364 Words   |  6 PagesHave you paid attention to all of the news that has been surfacing about collegiate sports lately? It is a big topic now days in the world of sports on weather college athletes should be getting paid to play sports. College athletics have gained great popularity of the past few decades, and have brought schools lots of revenue. A lot of college athletes think they should be getting paid for their services they do for their school. College sports like basketball and football generate over six billionRead MoreShould College Athletes Be Paid?1289 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout the years college sports have been about the love of the game, filled with adrenaline moments. However, the following question still remains: Should college athletes get paid to play sports in college? Seemingly, this debate has been endless, yet the questions have gone unanswered. The National Collegiate At hletics Association (NCAA) plays a vital role in this debate. The NCAA is a billion dollar industry, but yet sees that the athlete should get paid for their hard work and dedicationRead MoreShould College Athletes Be Paid?1130 Words   |  5 PagesWhat college athlete would not want to be paid to play the sport that he or she loves? The real question is, though, should college athletes be paid for their roles in a college’s athletics? They are many points to each side of this recent controversial topic, which is why this has been made into such a hot debate in the past couple of years. As of right now, these athletes are not getting paid, but many of them truly believe that they should. Others believe that they already are being paid throughRead MoreShould College Athletes Be Paid?1334 Words   |  6 Pagesrising to the surface is â€Å"Should college athletes be paid?†. This has become a burning question. The NCAA is a multibillion-dollar industry, that makes milli ons, if not billions, in revenue. Yet it’s still maintains the non-profit status meaning that the industry is not set on making a profit and none of the revenue that is made is distributed to its members, managers, or officers. While most players who play in college sports are under a scholarship, that pays for the college tuition, books, and housingRead MoreShould College Athletes Be Paid?1239 Words   |  5 PagesLindsey Simmerman Speech 102 T/Th 1:00-2:15 October 25, 2016 Should college athletes be paid to play? Specific Purpose: To persuade the class to agree with my stance on paying college athletes to play sports Thesis: College football is the hours players spend practicing and performing, the number of injuries the players face, and the persona these athletes must portray every day all the while watching their schools, coaches, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) get all the compensationRead MoreCollege Athletes Should Be Paid1254 Words   |  6 PagesSome college athletic departments are as wealthy as professional sports teams. The NCAA has an average annual revenue of $10.6 billion dollars. College athletes should be paid because of the amount of revenue that they bring to their college. Each individual college should pay its athletes based on how much revenue they bring to the college in which they attend. The colleges that win their Division title, their Conference title, or the National championship, give bonuses to the Head coach of thatRead MoreShould College Athletes Be Paid?986 Words   |  4 PagesPaying the College Athlete The college athlete has steadily grown in popularity in the United States over the span of the past decades. Monetarily speaking, this increased publicity has been extremely beneficial for National Athletic Association (NCAA) and all the colleges involved in athletics which has sparked the dispute of whether or not the athlete should be paid for their hard work and dedication on the field and to their school or if the athletic scholarship is more than enough. College athletesRead MoreCollege Athletes Should Not Be Paid1558 Words   |  7 Pagesstudent-athletes participate in a variety of different sports, and currently they do not receive paychecks for their performances. College athletics have attained an extensive popularity increase among Americans over the past few decades. This has resulted into increased revenues for the National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] and the participating colleges, which has fuelled the debate of whether or not college athletes should colle ct an income. College athletes should not be paid to play

St. Augustine Confessions Free Essays

St. Augustine’s Confessions St. Augustine lived during a period in which the Roman Empire was in deep decline and Christianity was taking root as the official religion. We will write a custom essay sample on St. Augustine Confessions or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was a time of great political stress and widespread religious concern. The Confessions reveals much about his formative years, when he strove to overcome his sensual desires, find faith, and understand religious and philosophical doctrines. Augustine treats this autobiography as much more than an opportunity to narrate his life, however, and there is hardly an event mentioned in his autobiography that does not have an accompanying religious or philosophical clarification. St. Augustine’s confessions also provide one with a critical aspect of the Christian Bible. Augustine’s confessions form a work that corresponds closely to its content and achieves what it set out to achieve, which is redemption from sins for Augustine and a revelation for the readers. His writing is basically an idea of the return of creation to God; its aim is to inspire others to actively seek this return and to believe in the creation of God. The relationship St. Augustine has with love and God is undeniably irrevocable due to the fact that he cannot distinguish love and God with out one another. Augustine often experiences darkness, blindness, and confusion while attempting to find truth in God, but he knows that when he eventually finds him his confused heart will be redeemed. Augustine started out in childhood with a state of confusion because he had to live in two different worlds. These two worlds consisted of that of his mother’s (Monica) religious faith and teachings, and the rest of the outside world. The two worlds confused Augustine as a child because his mother praised Christ and Christianity and about the almighty God who helps humans to go to heaven. In the outside world, it was completely nonreligious. The talk was about striving to achieve. In Carthage, while successfully pursuing his studies, he abandoned his Christian moral teachings of his early years and took in a mistress, with whom he lived with for 10 years. Augustine’s relation to his mistress focuses primarily on the problem of restless love, while showing that Augustine had the desire to love and wanted to be loved. Many young men stayed with a woman until the time came to marry them back then. This is what Augustine performed. He states that, â€Å"In those days I lived with a oman, not my lawful wedded wife but a mistress whom I had chosen for no special reason but that my restless passions had alighted on her. But she was the only one and I was faithful to her† (Confessions, IV). This is just one of the many aspects in his life that he considered sinful. Later in his writings, when Augustine talks about his conversation to Neo-Platonism (all actions a re considered good or evil) and then Christianity that he classifies his previous behavior as sinful and regrets many of his previous actions. By the time he converted, he viewed every act in which he put himself ahead of God as sinful. One sin that he mourns greatly and faults himself for is allowing him to be sexually free and having various partners. Although Augustine was regretful for his sin, he also mentions that it was the hardest sin to give up when he was trying to determine if he wanted to convert to Christianity completely. Augustine also attempts to provide another explanation for his previous actions by speculating that his actions were a result of his love for God being somehow misleading; â€Å"To him I was led by thee without my knowledge, that by him I might be led to thee in full knowledge† (Confessions, XIII). One of the biggest struggles that Augustine faced was his belief in God and how God exists. His concern was how we can seek God without really knowing what he is or what we’re exactly looking for. â€Å"Within me I had a dearth of that inner food which thyself, my God—although that dearth caused me no hunger† (Confessions, I). He constantly questions the existence of God and his belief in Him. Asking God to â€Å"come into me†, Augustine again questions what that phrase could really mean when expressed to God. Later on in the writing, Augustine came across a book, in which he referred to as â€Å"books of eloquence† (Confessions, IV), called Hortensius by Cicero. He admired this book very much and its philosophical ways which he proclaims it â€Å"changed my whole attitude and turned my prayers toward thee, O Lord, and gave me new hope and new desires† (Confessions, IV). The reading caused him to reach toward God, even though he had only learned of God seriously through Monica, his mother whom was of Christian faith. It helped him to develop a different outlook on God and take life more seriously. Furthermore, the death of Augustine’s friend made him realize that all love should be rooted in God. His friend became very ill with a fever and eventually passed away. Augustine felt extreme grief and sorrow for his friend’s death. He believes that the main cause of his misery lies in the fact that he loves his friend with the type of love that should have been reserved for God alone. Therefore, he felt that all human love is going to fade unless this love is grounded in the eternal God who never changes and will always remain. While love exists between two souls with whom we want to be with, this type of love will always have a basis from God. Throughout the Confessions, love and wisdom, his desire to love and be loved, are all driving forces for Augustine’s desire to find peace in God. Augustine often experiences darkness, blindness, and confusion while attempting to find peace in God and peace within himself, but he knows that when he eventually finds him his restless heart will be saved. Augustine felt that love might help him have a solid purpose in life and would guide him through his time of conversion. Love is a natural feeling for human race and becomes a necessity for all people. For Augustine, the first love has to be for the love of God. It must come before all others. He states that â€Å"the thought of you stirs him so deeply that he cannot be content unless he praises you, because you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you† (Confessions, I). Holding God as love’s priority, it helped Augustine to shape his life, his mind and his beliefs. He never realized what a big difference it makes in one’s life when it is opened up to love and to love Christ. For Augustine, the answer to his questions and confusion lies in God’s grace. These answers are to the most difficult questions on life and faith. Throughout his writing, there was no time where he had been without love, but he had loved in pieces, hidden, and conflicting ways. He had loved his mother, Monica, from the beginning. He had also loved the name and image of Christ, but was in state of confusion many times therefore doubting his faith and beliefs. Through the Confessions, Augustine leaves himself and his past to praising God and loving him because he felt guilty with himself and his importance of God in his life. He found a place in God that he never imagined could happen. His guilty mind and heart finally found rest in God. Love also played a significant role during his conversion. It helped guide him towards God and Christ in a positive way that influenced the rest of his life. All these various themes of love helped and guided Augustine through his conversion. This formation was the discovery of a new self and the discovery of the new world he sees now through his conversion. The conversion taught him truth and to believe in God. His desire to understand wisdom, which was through the readings by Cicero, brought about a new view for Christ. Though he converted, Augustine’s full connection with the love of Christ was still yet incomplete for him. His mind was not satisfied with any one direction. The most critical and influential form of love that Augustine had was love for God and the love for Christ. It was almost as if he was exposed to a new realm and he opened up his life up to God more and more each day by praising him, telling God how much he loves him now. Augustine states, â€Å"then, O Lord, you laid your most gentle, most merciful finger on my heart and set my thoughts in order, for I began to realize that I believed countless things which I had never seen or which I had taken place when I was not there to see† (Confessions, VI). The Confessions tells a story in the form of a long conversion with God. Through this conversion to Catholic Christianity, Augustine encounters many aspects of love. These forms of love guide him towards an ultimate relationship with God. His restless heart finally finds peace and rest in God after the conversion. Augustine finds many ways in which he can find peace in God. He is genuinely sorry for having turned away from God, the one source of peace and happiness. Augustine is extremely thankful for having been given the opportunity to live with God. Augustine uses love as his gate to God’s grace. All in all, the Confessions can be read as Augustine’s way of redemption from his sins and his revelation of love to God and Christ. Augustine’s transition from a sinner to a faithful Christian was also evidence to God’s greatness. Even though Augustine committed unacceptable sins, it was a good thing for him in that he found the strength to believe and love God. This is because of what he has obtained from analyzing texts, such as Cicero’s writings, and Christian philosophy and the fact that he can truly understand the root causes of his sins that he committed instead of simply implying them based on what a book says. How to cite St. Augustine Confessions, Papers

How does Priestley make a drama out of the theme of social responsibility Essay Example For Students

How does Priestley make a drama out of the theme of social responsibility Essay J. B. Priestley wrote the play An Inspector Calls, in 1945. The play was set in Brumley, a fictitious town in the midlands. An Inspector Calls is about how a nouveou riche family is responsible for the suicide death of a young woman named Eva Smith. This play by J. B. Priestley was written to say to everyone that we all have social responsibility, we all are responsible for one another, and that we are all intertwined with everyone elses life. Thats the message this play is trying to convey. The play was set in 1910-1912; this was the period when life was segregated into classes. It was set in the Edwardian era, where women had no rights, and were not allowed to vote. It was extremely difficult for women to acquire jobs, mostly because men had first priority. Eva Smith was lucky to receive a job at Milwards, but most women worked in factories for little pay. There was a gap between the upper class and the lower class. The middle class was not much different to the upper class. In 1945 Labour came to power. They introduced the NHS, which would provide free health treatment for everyone. The Welfare State was also brought about thanks to the first Labour party; this would provide a net to catch people like Eva Smith, to help them get back up. Cases like Eva should not happen today thanks to benefits. The Welfare State is like friendly fishermen. They would catch the fish that need help, help them and lead them back into the river, so they can swim to the sea. The play consists of all classes. Gerald Croft is from the upper class who is well spoken in the play. The Birlings are the middle class because they are nouveau riche. You can tell this by the way Mr. Birling especially speaks. It is obvious, because he speaks informal sometimes. Finally, Eva Smith is the lower class as she has had the hardest life, in terms of least money, jobs and not being able to have much pleasure. The main message of the Inspector is that we dont live alone and if that lesson isnt learnt then we will be taught in fire and blood and anguish. Whatever we do has a chain of events afterwards; We are responsible for each other. What we do around others affects them. You cant shut the world out of your lives, and look after only yourselves and your families. This message is also applied into todays world. The president of the United States has been taught in fire and blood and anguish when the Twin Towers was destroyed. America tried to block the rest of the world from themselves but didnt succeed. They didnt help the countries that needed them, or helping to find environmentally friendly materials. Their punishment, for their selfishness, was the destruction of their Twin Towers and their Pentagon. Unlike the Inspector, Mr. Birling sees the world differently. We have gathered Mr. Birling comes from a poor background, at least not an upper class one. Coming from a poor family, you would expect him to understand that people need to help one another, like the Inspector does. Unfortunately, Mr. Birling sees the world in a rather different perspective, more like, the other way round. He thinks in order to proceed in life, a man has to make his own way, meaning if dont help anyone else, or talk to anyone else, then you wont get in trouble. He also is very complacent due to the fact that he is hard-headed business man. He tried to assume the future with what little information he had possessed. For example, he talks about transport, which then brings him on to the titanic. The Titanic absolutely unsinkable. This is a good case of dramatic irony, because the characters in the play talk about something in the future, which we know about. Of course, we know that the titanic sank on its maiden voyage. Another example is when Mr. Birling talks about the World War and how its never going to happen. A few German officers have too much to drink and begin talking nonsense. People think, Wars inevitable. Mr. Birling thinks fiddlesticks of those ideas. Therefore, because of these wrong accusations the audience get the impression that Mr. Birling is untrustworthy, ignorant and complacent. Just before the Inspector comes, Mr. Birling was talking about how a man has to look after himself in order to be at the top. Mr. Birling thinks thats how people make it to the top. He only thinks to look after yourself and your family only. Everybody has to look after everyone else which Mr. Birling thinks is untrue, and is trying to provide this false prophecy of his to Gerald and Eric. This is a significant time when the Inspector arrives because this is the lesson the Inspector is going to prove wrong, and hopefully, create a permanent lesson in them. When we see the inspector for the first time, Mr. Birling treats him as anyone would casually and friendly. At first he thinks the Inspector is there because of a police warrant. However, after he finds what he is really there for about a young woman who had just died he reacts in a cold-hearted way, he spoke his next words rather impatiently, more or less a so-what reaction. Which is unlike Eric whose response was my God! Which is enough evidence to say that Eric is concerned. Mr. Birling plays an important part in changing this helpless womans life. He also started the domino effect in pushing Eva into her death. He is a factory owner, and being an owner, he believes in high profits and lower costs, and also the minimum wage. Women in 1910-12 were as Ive said before, had no priority over men. Therefore the dirty work was left for them in places like factories. As there was nowhere else to work people like Eva had no choice but to work for little pay, or be forced onto the streets. People like Mr. Birling probably suited the job, as he didnt have any sympathy for any women in that terrible state. The reason for Mr. Birling sacking Eva from her job was not because she didnt do her work, it was because he wouldnt allow a raise from twenty-two and six a week which was the minimum wage allowed to twenty five shillings a week. Which is the equivalent of just over a pound in Sterling, which is not a lot. Also, for asking for the raise he sacked Eva Smith. Except the four or five ring-leaders told them to clear out Eva Smith, was one of them. Drama Portfolio Essay PaperThis is shown towards the end, after the characters find out about the Inspector is a fake. She and Eric wont accept that nothing has happened which is wrong, whereas the rest are triumphantly and smiling. Sheila, instead of being childish, accepts responsibility and takes charge when her parents and Gerald sweeping the dirt under the carpet. Dont lets start dodging and pretending now, she says to her father. Its as though Sheila and her parents roles have been reversed. Sheila and Eric are the only people who have learnt the Inspectors message; she is probably going to change for the rest of her life because of this incident. As the war was going to happen soon after the set time in the play, she would have become a nurse to help the wounded. Sheila was the only person who really connected with the Inspector; he seemed to understand her feelings. After Gerald couldnt figure out what Sheila was feeling, the Inspector took charge and told Gerald what she felt. I dont understand about you, Sheila was amazed and thats when her and the Inspector connected. They shared this connection throughout. Sheila was the first to realise that the Inspector was indirectly saying that Eric was the father, but making Mrs. Birlings double standards show. She tried to warn her mother about it, with sudden alarm she said, Mother stop stop! An Inspector Calls has a few bad points about it through no fault of its own, and a few good points which has made this an extremely intensifying play. Priestley twists the characters word to either reveal the truth about their personalities or to reveal the truth about the situation. When Mrs. Birling was answering the questions from the Inspector, the Inspector was twisting the questions around to prove what Mrs. Birling really thinks of the father of Eva Smiths child. For example, the Inspector responds when Mrs. Birling insults the father of the child. So hes the chief culprit? the Inspector says, and to which Mrs. Birling, certainly. The Inspector has twisted the questions to prove the cruelty of Mrs. Birling. Also, the end of Act 2 creates a lot of tension, only because of a simple entrance when the parents realise that Eric is the father. Eric enters at the end of the act and looks extremely pale and everyone I giving him inquiring stares. This effortless entrance creates an excellent cliffhanger to lure the reader to read more. Priestley, instead of using special effects like modern day plays, uses simple but effective techniques such as dramatic irony. Its been used throughout the play but is used best in one incident to Mrs. Birling. Mrs. Birling is a spiteful, narrow-minded, heartless woman. Using the Inspectors knowledge from Evas diary, the Inspector uses dramatic irony on Mrs. Birling to convey her true image and feelings. We end up finding out that Eric is the father when Sheila hysterically cries out, But dont you see? As she has realised the truth, Mrs. Birling ignores Sheilas attempts to save her and continues about how she blames the young man who is a drunken young idler. After Mrs. Birling realises the truth, she is shocked and never thought the father was Eric, I never dreamt, she has double standards. When she realised, she changed her attitude completely towards the father. It changed from the drunk-fool, to the your not the type attitude. The play has such a satisfying ending due to the change of moods so suddenly. The mood changes from the happy, celebrating mood at the beginning, to the sad mood whilst the Inspector was there, back to happy, because of Gerald, who helps realise that the Inspector is a fake. Mr. Birling excitedly says, By Jingo! A fake! Which carries on while everyone is feeling triumphant and saying things eagerly. However, everyone and Mr. Birlings mood is unexpectedly changed by a single phone call from the hospital. When the hospital informed them of the real death of Eva, everyone looks dumbfounded and look guilty. As well as the mood changing, the roles of the parents and children change as well. The lesson of social responsibility was not learnt by the older generation i. e. Mr. And Mrs. Birling and Gerald. Whereas it was learnt by Eric and Sheila. This is odd, because the older generation is meant to be more mature and understanding than the younger generation, but in this case, its the other way round. J. B. Priestley is radical by undermining the two most important characters, the Inspector and Eva. This is a risky technique to use, because it could ruin the whole play. He has done so much to build up the Inspector up, but decides to destroy him by a phone call. Fortunately, this works out for an advantage for J. B. Priestley, as this changes the mood for Mr. And Mrs. Birling and Gerald, which is a contrast from the sad, miserable mood everyone was in before the Inspector left. Also, Eva Smiths character was being built up throughout the play, as we found out more about her, but at the end was removed from the play by another single phone call, this time to the hospital, to find out if Eva has really died. However, this works again well with the tension. Then we get another phone a call, from the hospital to say a girl really has died, and an Inspector will be on his way. This repeated cycle of the Inspector coming at the end also adds to the cliffhanger effect. Overall it was a risky technique, but worked well to improve the tension. The play is like a murder mystery, because of the Inspector being present. In this case, it is not a murder, but a suicide. Consequently, it is the inspection of their actions to drive Eva to her death, rather than them actually killing her. J. B. Priestleys An Inspector Calls is a successful play, teaching people about social responsibility and how you cant get away from it. J. B. Priestley tried to make the plays theme of social responsibility and did exceedingly well. However, only the majority of the people learn that lesson. Some people even in todays world still havent learnt that lesson. Hopefully, another play will help to teach them.

The 54th Massachusetts The Doomed Assault On Fort Wagner Essay Sample free essay sample

The Assault on Fort Wagner has long been the topic of many treatments on the Civil War and is featured conspicuously in all books that have been written about the Civil War. The Assault on Fort Wagner has even been immortalized in the onscreen version entitledGlory. While there has been a batch of treatment with respect to the success of the 54ThursdayMassachusetts. which figured conspicuously in the Assault on Fort Wagner. the fact is that the assault was doomed from the beginning and that the Assault on Fort Wagner was unsuccessful ( Duncan 1999 ) . This short discourse will discourse why such an onslaught was unsuccessful and therefore demoing why the Assault by the 54ThursdayMassachusetts was doomed from the start. To better understand why the assault of the 54ThursdayMassachusetts on Fort Wagner was doomed it is of import to hold a brief treatment of the some of the events that transpired on that fatal twenty-four hours. We will write a custom essay sample on The 54th Massachusetts: The Doomed Assault On Fort Wagner Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page July 18. 1863. It was July 18. 1863 when General Quincy Gilmore decided to get down the assault against Fort Wagner on Morris Island ( Duncan 1999 ) . This was a important location because it guarded the Southern attacks to Charleston Harbor. The Fort was hard to assail straight because it was held by a fort of Confederate Infantry and Artillery and the Fort itself was protected by a narrow attack up the beach. To do affairs worse. the base on balls was constricted by a marshy brook which funneled the soldiers onto a strip of sand a few 100 pess broad doing them vulnerable to enemy fire. The Assault on Fort Wagner was led by the 54th Massachusetts. which was an experimental black regiment of free work forces from the North. This regiment was selected to ramp the forepart with the bayonets and rifles ( Duncan 1999 ) . The 54Thursdaywas suffered monolithic losingss because of their failure in destructing the sandbagged gun emplacements of the Fort. The assault led by the 54ThursdayMassachusetts was besides made more hard by the fact that they were under heavy fire from the heavy heavy weapon and the massed musketry. Soon after. the first S. C. Artillery positioned itself on the right wing of the garrison. in the sand dunes. in order to be able to brush the forepart wall of the Fort with Cannister. The drawn-out manus to manus contending that ensued was fierce after which the Federal military personnels were ordered to retreat because of the heavy losingss that they suffered. The backdown of the Federal Troops left Fort Wagner in the custodies of the Confederates ( Wise 1994 ) . At this point it becomes clear that the Assault on Fort Wagner was sick conceived and ill planned as manifested. non merely by the immense losingss that were suffered but besides by subsequent backdown of the Federal Troops ( Wise 1994 ) . There are two chief grounds why the assault of the 54ThursdayMassachusetts failed. There was a failure to appreciate the fact that Fort Wagner was strategically located and thereby leting a comparatively little force in comparing to support it against the foot and there was the failure to supply more support for the doomed 54ThursdayMassachusetts ( Wise 1994 ) . The first ground was that Fort Wagner was a to the full enclosed and good defended garrison. It spanned 250 by 100 paces and covered the full southern cervix of Cumming’s Point from the Atlantic on the Eastern side to an unpassable swamp on the Western side ( Emilio 1894 ) . The garrison was an baronial figure as its sloping sand and earthen parapets rose about 30 ( 30 ) pess above the beach degree and each side was bolstered by palmetto logs and sandbags. The defences of Fort Wagner included 14 ( 14 ) cannons. the largest of which was a 10-inch Columbiad that fired a 128-pound shell ( Emilio 1894 ) . The chief characteristic that made any land assault on the garrison hard was the fact that the fort’s land face. which was the lone topographic point where any Union assault would come from. was screened by a water-filled ditch. which was 10 pess broad and 5 pess deep. There were besides land mines that were buried along the attack and the razor-sharp palmetto bets that we re set up provided extra obstructions. This made any foot assault on the Fort doomed from the start ( Emilio 1894 ) . This was the bloody lesson that General Gilmore learned as it took about two months of uninterrupted combat and changeless barrage before Fort Wagner was eventually surrendered by the Confederates. Any direct assault on the Fort. such as the one initiated by the 54ThursdayMassachusetts. would be mostly ineffective against such a good defended location that besides had the geographical advantage ( Emilio 1894 ) . The 2nd ground for the failure of the assault of the 54ThursdayMassachusetts was the fact that they were the front line against a enemy that was non yet weakened ( Cox 1891 ) . While there was artillery support from the SSNew Ironsides.which was a virtually a natation gun platform encased in Fe. the narrow attack to the garrison made any direct assault upon it virtually doomed. The 54Thursdaywas the vanguard of the Union onslaught force and as such was expected to endure the most casualties. The heavy weapon barrage that had commenced before had made any promotion by the 54Thursdayhighly hard as the fosse was now filled with sand. while elsewhere the H2O was knee- to-waist-deep ( Cox 1891 ) . The 54Thursdaywas hence up against all odds and the lone ground why the full regiment was non decimated is a testament to the character and strength of those courageous soldiers. The assault on Fort Wagner by the 54ThursdayMassachusetts was doomed from the start. As the vanguard for the Union. this regiment was expected to absorb the brunt of the guardians onslaughts. They were commissioned and positioned to endure most of the losingss. The heavy weapon barrage that was meant to impart support was ineffective at that point in the assault and merely served to do things more hard of the 54Thursday. The garrison was besides excessively good defended and had the strategic advantage of higher land and holding merely a individual narrow attack that could easy be defended against any direct onslaught which was shown by the failure of the 54ThursdayMassachusetts. Mentions Cox. Clinton ( 1891 ) .Undying Glory: The narrative of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment. Boston: The Boston Book Company. 1891 Duncan. Russell ( 1999 ) .Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. University of Georgia Press. 1999. Emilio. Luis F. ( 1894 ) .A Brave Black Regiment: The History of the 54th Massachusetts. 1863-1865. Da Capo Press. 1894. Wise. Stephen R. ( 1994 ) .â€Å"Gate of Hell. Campaign for Charleston Harbor. 1863† .U. S. C. Press. 1994.

The Chief Justices Prepositional Slip

The Chief Justices Prepositional Slip The Chief Justices Prepositional Slip The Chief Justices Prepositional Slip By Maeve Maddox Most of the comments about the Chief Justices verbal stumble while administering the Presidential oath focus on the adverb faithfully. Not many pundits talk about the changing of of to to in the phrase President of the United States. Heres the Presidential oath as prescribed by law: I, (So and So), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The formula so help me God is traditionally added. Heres the mixed-up line that that Roberts modeled for the President-elect: will execute the office of President to the United States faithfully. Its one thing to move the faithfully. Its something else to alter the preposition in the familiar and immutable phrasing of President of the United States. The phrase President of the United States is not open to variation. In what context would we ever say President to the United States? One can speak of an ambassador to the United States or an ambassador of the United States. In the first instance, to makes it clear that the ambassador belongs somewhere else. He may be attached to the United States, but its as an outsider. In the second instance, the of makes it clear that the ambassador is carrying on the work of the United States. So why would Chief Justice Roberts come up with the unprecedented President to the United States while delivering the oath of office? Could it have been an example of parapraxis? parapraxis [pÄÆ'rÉ™-prÄÆ'ksÄ ­s]: a verbal mistake that is thought to reveal an unconscious belief, thought, or emotion. Parapraxis is more commonly known as a Freudian slip. As senator, Obama objected to the appointment of Roberts to the Supreme Court. Its not unreasonable to think that Roberts was less than happy to have the task of swearing Obama in as President. Heres a possible interpretation of the substitution of to for of. Both of and to have myriad applications in English, but in these two phrases, of has the force of joining, while to has the effect of distancing. Could there have been an unconscious wish to distance Obama from the office? The preposition switch may not be evidence of parapraxis, but the fact remains that Roberts did mess up the oath. Poor guy! Hes earned himself forever the distinction of being the first justice to to stumble over the 35-word oath in the course of sixty-four years and eleven Presidents. Afterthoughts 1. Some commentators put the blame on Obama for jumping in after his name, but G.H.W. Bush did the same thing and Justice Rehnquist didnt miss a beat. 2. To be on the safe side, Roberts re-administered the oath in private, the day after the inaugural ceremony. Two other Presidents have received a double dose of the oath: Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886) and Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), both Vice-Presidents succeeding a deceased President. Arthur took the oath in his own home, at midnight, upon receiving word that President Garfield was dead. N.Y. Supreme Court justice John R. Brady administered it, but two days later Arthur swore the oath a second time. Calvin Coolidge was in Vermont when President Harding died in California. Coolidges father, a notary public, administered the oath at 2:47 a.m. Next day Coolidge returned to Washington where he repeated the oath before Justice A. A. Hoehling. You may enjoy watching this video of Presidents from FDR to G.W. Bush taking the oath. Notice that LBJ, being sworn in while still in shock, said I do solemnly swear without inserting his name after the I. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Farther vs. FurtherWhat to Do When Words Appear Twice in a RowDissatisfied vs. Unsatisfied

Bill French Case

1. What are the assumptions implicit in Bill French’s determination of his company’s break-even point? He has assumed that there is only one break-even point for the firm’s three products by taking the average. Labor Union will not affect the product prices no effect on the break-even analysis. Constant dividends were given to stockholders. Production of product â€Å"A† will be decreased and the other hand product â€Å"C† capacity will be increased. Sales price will be constant. 2. On the basis of French’s revised information, what does next year look-like: a. What is the break-even point? Break-even point for product â€Å"C† is 354,545. 45 and overall is 1,035,688. 31. b. What level of operations must be achieved to pay the extra dividend, ignoring union demands? In order to pay the 50% extra dividend and to retain $150,000 profit the firm needs $600,000 profit after taxes and because half of the profit goes through the government the firm needs profit before taxes of ,200,000. c. What level of operations must be achieved to meet the union demands, ignoring break-even points? FC + Union Demands/Unit Contribution to Sales Union Demands = (6,750,000 x10%) = 675,000 2,970,000 + 675,000/. 375 $9,720,000 d. What level of operations must be achieved to meet both dividends and expected union requirements? FC + Target Dividend + Union Demands/Unit Contribution to Sales 2,970,000 + 450,000= (300,000(300,00050%) +675,000/. 375 $10,920,000 3. Can the break-even analysis help the company decide whether to alter the existing product emphasis? What can the company afford to invest for additional â€Å"c† capacity? Considering per unit dollar contribution of product â€Å"C† to â€Å"A† is higher, the other factor is sales. And variable income to sales price is higher than C compensated by its lower sales. Increase in production of product â€Å"c† must not incur $300,000 of cost. 4. Calculate each of the three products’ break-even points using the data in exhibit 3. Why is the sum of these three volumes not equal to the 1,100,000 units’ aggregate break-even volume? It’s different because each of the products has different contribution margins, fixed cost, and volume sales. 5. Is this type of analysis of any value? For what it can be used? It allows differentiation of profits especially if the business is not engaged only on a single product. It helps business to identify how much still they have to sell/hurdle to earn profit. A tool that may help an entity set its sales or production target.

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP) Research Paper

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP) - Research Paper Example ddition ‘by proxy’ means ‘through a substitute’ denoting that it is a parent/ adult/ guardian caretaker who is inflicting symptoms in a child and not on themselves. It is a form of child abuse, and a mental disorder that warrants speedy treatment due to its deadliness. Research indicates a 6-10% mortality rate amongst MSbp victims, thus making it perhaps the most lethal form of abuse (Eminson & Postlethwaite, 2000). Munchausen by proxy differs from the Munchausen syndrome in that whereas in Munchausen by proxy, symptoms are deliberately induced in another separate individual, Munchausen syndrome on the other hand occurs when one pretends to be sick or injured on purpose. They hurt themselves, make up symptoms, push for risky operations or try to rig laboratory reports in order to gain attention. In Munchausen by proxy, the caretaker can deliberately harm the child for example by poisoning, medication, falsifying fever, withholding food, suffocation, infections, physical injury, manipulating laboratory results to indicate serious illness in order to gain attention of the medical practitioners and perpetuate a medical relationship. It is not done to achieve a concrete benefit such as financial gain. Munchausen syndromes belong to a group of conditions called factitious disorders, of which they are the most severe and chronic. Factitious disorders are either made up in another person or inflicted on self and can either be psychological or physical (Schreier & Libow, 1993). In approximately 85% of all cases of MSbp, the mother is often the culprit responsible for inflicting the illness or symptoms. However, it also possible but rare to have cases of MSbp induced by non-relatives for instance, medical professionals for a hospitalized patient, for other reasons. Most of the cases involve pre-scholars with a roughly equal number of girl and boy victims though there have been reports of Munchausen by proxy victims in children up to 16 years old. Experts believe

Nursing Care Plan of Skin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nursing Care Plan of Skin - Essay Example Benito was asked how long he has had the growth on his back. He responded by indicating that the swelling had been there for a period of about six months. The next assessment involved asking Mr. Benito some few questions to help in carrying out the characteristic assessment. The patient was asked if the growth had been bothering him in any way to which he responded that it did not. However it as noticed that the growth was releasing some kind of fluid. The patient further stated that the mole was dark in colour and oddly shaped. There was also an assessment of aggravating factors but none was found. The next course of action in the procedure was to carry out background check on the patient. This is normally done to find out the patients lifestyle or any other complication that he might have had so that this could be taken in to consideration when deciding on the treatment to be given to the patient. It was found out that the patient was a competitive athlete who spends a lot of hours of the day training. He also indicated that he does not wear any kind of skin protection because he believed that his dark skin cannot be hugely affected by the rays of the sun. In addition, he said that he usually goes to Hawaii for windsurfing and to relax in the each. After the above discussed assessments that were done, the next one was now the skin assessment test which involved physical examination of the growth that was on the patients back. The A B C D E method was used to check and examine the growth on Benito’s back. The A in the above method stands for asymmetry. This is used to check if half of a mole does not match the other half. It was found that the mole was irregular in shape. The B stands for Borders and it involves examining the borders of the mole with the finding being that it did not have any regular edge, but rather it had several notch areas. The C stands for Changes in colour. For the case of Melanoma, which Benito

Apologia Marine Essay Example for Free

Apologia Marine Essay 1. Definitions a. Metabolism- The process by whichc a living organism takes energy from its surroundings and uses it to sustain itself, develop and grow. b. Photosynthesis-the process by which an organism uses the energy from the sun to produce its own food c. Autotrophs- organisms that are able to produce their own food d. Heterotrophs- organisms that cannot make their own food and must obtain it from other organisms e. respiration the process by which food is converted into usable energy for life functions f. homeostasis the tendency of living organisms to control or regulate changes in their internal environment g. diffusion the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration h. osmosis the diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane i. osmoconformer and organisms that allows its internal concentration of salts to change in order to match the external concentration of salts in the surrounding water j. Osmo regulator an organism that regulates its internal concentration of salts k. Poikilotherm- an organism whose body temperature changes with its surrounding environment l. ectotherm an organism whose body temperature is controlled by its surrounding environment m. homeotherm- an animal that maintains a controlled internal body temperature using its own heating and cooling of mechanisms n. Endotherm- an animal whose internal body temperature is a result of internal sources of heat o. a sexual reproduction reproduction accomplished by a single organism p. sexual reproduction reproduction that involves the union of gametes from two organisms: a male and a female q. binomial nomenclature identifying an organism by a genus and species name 2. carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids 3. oxygen levels would be lower at night than during the day 4. no, they must feed on extra material made by photos synthesizing plants 5. no, both groups containing organisms like that 6. population 7. water will travel through osmosis to the outside 8. the body fluids would change. There would be more concentration of  dissolved substances in the body 9. no. They could have warm blood if their environment is warm 10. yes 11. no 12. the plant from the cutting 13. the cell with 24 chromosomes 14. the cell with 12 chromosomes 15. yes

Male and Female Roles in Sexual Selection :: Biology

Missing results graphs Why It Matters Sexual selection occurs across all species and is a key part of evolution. It allows animals to increase their fitness. Here are several interesting examples of cryptic female choice and male competition: 1) Males may perform courtship dances to show off their good genes. One species in which courtship dances can be observed are jumping spiders. Male spiders of this species wave their legs and arms to show females their abilities. Females choose a mate after seeing the dances. 2) One way for females to find a suitable mate is based on the resources a male will be able to provide. For instance, in the case of elephant seals, males fight over territories to win over a female. The â€Å"winner† of the fight shows the female that he has a territory and that he will be able to defend the offspring. 3) Additionally, in peacocks, the males have elaborate tails that attract females. Females choose a mate based on the ability of a male to show off his tail. The tail indicates to a female that a male has â€Å"good† genes to contribute to offspring. 4) In some animals, the roles of the genders may be switched. In seahorses, the males are responsible for giving birth and raising the offspring. In this case, males have more at stake and so the males are the â€Å"choosier† mate. They choose a female mate based on the female’s characteristics. 5) These ideas of sexual selection and cryptic female choice can be applied to humans. Women choose mates based on career perspectives, attractiveness, and resources. All these allow her to ensure her children will be healthy and successful. As you can see, it is important to research sexual selection across various species’. Similar mechanisms of selection are present in all animals. By learning how these mechanisms act in one species, it is possible to gain insight into the behavior of all animals, including human beings. Introduction Male Competition Versus Female Choice†¦ The sexual â€Å"arms race† is constantly going on within members of a species. While both male and female are trying to pass on their genes to the next generation, they both try to do this in a different way. Females are attempting to obtain genetic material from the best possible male in order to produce the fittest offspring, while males are trying solely to pass their own genes on to the next generation.

Jacksonian Democrats Dbq

The election of 1828 is viewed by many as a revolution. Just as the French Revolution marked the end of aristocratic rule and the ascent of the lower classes, the election of Andrew Jackson as the seventh president of the United States likewise marked the end of the aristocratic â€Å"Virginia Dynasty† and the ascent of the common man. While Jackson was a hero of the people, having routed the British at the Battle of New Orleans and having clawed his way from poverty to wealth, he was elected primarily because his followers believed he stood for certain ideals. The Jacksonian Democrats were self-styled guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity. As a strict constitutional constructionist, Jackson indeed guarded what he considered the spirit of the constitution. This is borne out in his handling of South Carolina’s Nullification Crisis. By passing the â€Å"force bill,† Jackson made a statement that the position of John C. Calhoun and his home state was unconstitutional, and that he, as president, was prepared to back his ideals with force if necessary. Jackson further advanced his strict constructionist position through his handling of the â€Å"Bank War. † Nowhere in Article I, section 8 of the Constitution is the authority to create a national bank given to congress. By allowing Roger B. Taney to assist in withdrawing the federal treasury from the Bank of the U. S. and subsequently depositing the funds into regional â€Å"pet banks,† Jackson effectively disassembled what he viewed as a â€Å"monopoly of the foreign and domestic exchange† which was not â€Å"compatible with justice, with sound policy, or with the Constitution of our country. (B) Jackson’s position on the Bank of the United States also illustrates his commitment to political democracy. The Bank re-charter of 1832, though designed by Webster and Clay to embarrass Jackson publicly, backfired on the opponent Whigs. In his bank veto message of 1832, he pointed out the dangers of control of the institution by foreigners and the American mone y-elite. After all, Jackson noted, â€Å"[i]s there not danger to our liberty and independence in a bank that in its nature has so little to bind it to our country†? B) This grassroots commitment resulted in a surge in reform movements throughout the nation. The Working Men’s Party, for example, espoused the enlightenment philosophy of the Declaration of Independence in its belief that â€Å"all men are created equal. †(A) Harriet Martineau, a social observer, was indeed shocked at the absurdity of the debate â€Å"’whether the people should be encouraged to govern themselves, or whether the wise should save them from themselves. ’† Her amazement stemmed from the fact that she had observed â€Å"every man in the towns an independent citizen; every man in the country a landowner. (D) Political democracy, after all, had swept the nation. Just as his bank veto message had made apparent his support of political democracy, it also established Ja ckson as a champion of individual liberty; still, it must be made clear, that the only individuals who were beneficiaries of liberty were, in fact, white male â€Å"citizens. † The painting â€Å"The Trail of Tears† serves as a painful reminder of Jackson’s prejudiced policy of Indian Removal and the Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia cases. G) Ironically, Jackson’s reputation as a hero and champion of the people stems, in part, from his legendary Indian battles such as Horseshoe Bend and those with Chief Osceola and the Seminole nation. The Seneca Falls convention, while accomplishing little in the way of reform, sadly points out the inequity which existed for American women. Philip Hone, a member of the opposition party, the Whigs, points out the inequality of immigrants. He recorded in his diary â€Å"the disgraceful scene which commenced the warfare†¦. A band of Irishmen of the lowest class came out†¦armed with clubs, and commenced a savage attack upon all†¦. †(E) Perhaps the most tragic disgrace of all—the enslavement African Americans—is pointed out by the Acts and Resolutions of South Carolina. The legislature of South Carolina requested that federal laws be passed to make it illegal to print or distribute material which had the â€Å"tendency to excite the slaves of the southern states to insurrection and revolt. (F) The final ideal of which Jacksonian Democrats considered themselves champions was equality of economic opportunity. Jackson’s veto of the Bank Bill vividly illustrates this point. â€Å"It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. †(B) While Daniel Webster, a Whig opponent, publicly denounced Jackson’s veto as â€Å"executive pretension,†Ã‚ © Jackson firmly believed â€Å"that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people. (B) Jacksonian commitment to equality of economic opportunity is further espoused in the opinion of Jackson’s Supreme Court appointee, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, in the Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge case. While Jackson’s arch-nemesis John Marshall had cleared the way for competition in Gibbons v. Ogden, Taney pointed out in characteristic Jacksonian fashion, that charters, like the Constitution, must be interpreted strictly. â€Å"There is no exclusive privilege given to them over the waters of Charles River†¦. (H) Here, surely, is commitment to equal economic opportunity. So powerful was the figure Andrew Jackson that an entire era of American history bears his name. His administration marks a fundamental paradigm shift in American ideals. Despite his opponent’s branding him a tyrant and labeling him with suc h unflattering monikers as â€Å"King Andrew,† President Jackson left an indelible mark on history as a champion of the U. S. Constitution, defender of political democracy and—to some extent—personal liberty, and equality of economic opportunity.

How to Respond to Conflicts with Colleagues in Working Environment Essay

At my work placement, I had a conflict with a teaching assistant at the school. I was working two days per week, in year 4 with teaching assistant Mrs X, where she was continuously belittling me and at the same time discouraging me by working against me rather than working with me in assisting the children with their learning. For example, if I was working with the children on a group task, she would suddenly ask me to get her something unimportant. Which would not only interrupt the task and the children’s learning but their concentration as well. On another occasion, she contradicted me by giving another set of instructions to a group of children I was working with, to the instructions I had given to them earlier. It confused the group and they were unsure how the task was going to be carried out. Though she knew I was working with that particular group and I had already discussed the task with them. There were almost every days several occasions when I could feel the tension between us. At first I thought that as Mrs X was more experienced, she would know better and so I accepted the situation as it was. And being a trainee TA, I felt that she was genuinely correcting my ways to assist children in their learning. Secondly I also thought that I might be reading the situation wrongly and I might have misunderstood her. But as the days went by, the situation deteriorated further. And I began to realise that I was being picked upon by Mrs X for no particular reasons. At this point I decided to raise the matter with my mentor. I explained the situation to her. She was quite considerate and listened to me carefully. I was careful to explain the situation in a way, in case if my mentor took any action or decided to talk to Mrs X, than any bad feelings didn’t persist afterwards between us. After few days, my mentor got back to me and told me that she had a word with the class teacher of Mrs X and now on wards, I would directly be taking instructions and giving feedback to the class teacher only so that I had less and less interaction with Mrs X in the class room. It worked for me for some time, though luckily, I was asked by the Head teacher to start working with another year class where I was needed. I think I tried to resolve the conflict, with my colleague, amicably and constructively. I did so by first, not allowing it to go on for longer. Secondly, giving due time and consideration, to analyse the situation carefully, and then deciding to talk to my mentor in utmost cautious way so that no bad feelings persist afterwards with Mrs X, and that it’s on record with my mentor as well.

How To Make A Content Development Process To Save Time

How To Make A Content Development Process To Save Time Ive been a big fan of trying all sorts of beer ever since I took a trip to Germany for seven months back in 2008. To me, that stuff was going to be the best Id ever taste with the classic pilsners, bocks, and wheat beers. And when I got back to Minnesota, I tried some of the well domestics. Those macrobreweries definitely had their processes down to produce massive quantities of light-bodied stuff. But when I started exploring craft beer- the idea that smaller breweries could produce what I considered to be better quality than most commercial brands- it really got me thinking. Just because big companies are competing with you in your niche, it doesnt mean they are necessarily better at it than you are. Just because big companies compete with you, theyre not better than the quality you produce.And you can apply that idea to your content marketing. Here is how to improve your content development process to take control of your workflow to create content quickly, hit  every deadline, and improve every piece of content you publish to grow your audience. And you can do it all with a scrappy, iterative process that helps startups and small businesses like microbreweries achieve some pretty tasty results. (See what I did there?) How To Rock A Content Development Process That Will Save You Tons Of Time #marketing Get the Templates You Need to Save Time Developing Content Apply the advice in this post with this trio of templates: Content Development Process Guide to build your process, step by step. Blog Post Outline Template to write better blog posts more easily. Content Editing Checklist to self-edit your own work with fewer mistakes. Define The Roles You Need To Develop  Content In Kristi Hines' post on content marketing team structure, she mentions a variety of roles you could include in your content development: Content marketing strategists set the stage with the entire marketing strategy, helping your team understand your audience, the topics you'll cover, and the goals you're shooting for. Content strategists turn the strategy into a game plan complete with understanding what content and channels your team will  use to reach your audience. These people  fill up your editorial calendar with the content your team will develop. Idea contributors are exactly what you'd expect: These are the folks who are listening to your audience and help with unique angles. They have the stories you want to tell, and the ones your audience really cares about. These people could be anyone within your company or even your customers and subscribers. Content creators are the linchpins  responsible for executing your  content strategist's game plan. They are your designers, writers, videographers, and podcasters (among possible others). They are making your content. Content editors make sure your creators fulfill  your content strategist's expectations. They focus on editing for the story of your content, and also on the nitty-gritty grammar stuff. Editors are the ones using your editorial calendar every day, keeping your creators on task, and publishing content as you expect. Content promoters are the magical creatures who amplify what you created to inspire interest in your content. If your content is the party, these folks send the invitations to attend. They use social media, email, forums, and tons of other content promotion tactics to increase your traffic. Community managers monitor the ensuing conversation your content creates. They respond to social media mentions and comments, and help build a strong network of brand advocates. Content analysts check out the stats behind the scenes to know how your content contributes to your goals. They'll check out Google Analytics and Kissmetrics (or whatever analytics tools you use) to help your content strategist plan even better content. This is where that iterative approach- the secret ingredient to your content development process- really comes into play. Now, that may seem like a lot of people. But what you're really looking at here is roles, not titles. These roles make for a very solid content development process, so now you can choose which roles are necessary for your own process and who among your team will fill these roles. A solo marketer could do all of these, or you could divvy them up among your team. Jay Acunzo  recently published a super entertaining post about marketing team structure and how it kind of... well... sucks sometimes. Here's a memorable quote: ...team be huge, team be slow, team is gonna totally blow. As a former Googler, he mentions how Google's sales team is organized into pods to capture the talents of folks  with tons of different skill sets.  And I loved this thought to find the right people for your team  to kick off your content development process in the right direction. Jay says teams should be: Small to be nimble, quick, and focus on developing content  instead wasting time on  office bureaucracy. Complementary to have multiple skills for the different parts of the process. Singular to have one clear goal instead of tons.  Finally get some focus to understand why you're developing content  to collaborate and celebrate when you reach your goal! Shared to work together toward a common mission or purpose. In the end, Jay recommends narrowing the list of roles down to three players, as he calls them: A strategist to provide the vision, lead the team, look at analytics, and plan the content. A producer to be "the artist, because God knows, SOMEONE has to care about quality, craft, creativity, and emotional or intellectual resonance with the audience." I had to include that quote. :) A marketer to promote the content, generate interest, and convert traffic into subscribers and customers. I'm with Jay: We do a lot with a small team  leading our content marketing efforts at right now, and Jay's suggestions  are similar to the roles  we have on our  team.  It helps us move super fast to publish quickly, on time, and consistently. Takeaways: Download the worksheet and choose who among your team will fill each role. Cross off the roles you won't have in your content development process. Meet with your team and their supervisors to help everyone understand their roles and responsibilities, and how you will  improve your processes with this new approach. A Quick Note on Upper Management Getting All Up in Your Business The goal of figuring out â€Å"who does what† specifically curtails upper management from messing with your projects and deadlines. By agreeing as a group of doers and getting your  supervisors all on the same page, y’all agree to give the power to publish  to your strategists. Seth Godin writes about this concept a lot  in his awesome book, Linch Pin  (which you should seriously buy right now if you've never read it): Write down the due date. This is the date you will publish- whether the content's  done or not. Capture every idea about your project, inviting anyone who wants to contribute. Seth says, "This is their big chance." Record every idea in a way everyone can see, ask them to check it out, and let them know this is it- after you get approval, there's no going back. Organize everything into a comprehensive outline of the project now that it's completely approved. This is your project blueprint from start to finish. Take that blueprint to the big guns in your company and final approval from the people with sign-off control. Then ask them, "If I deliver what you approved, on budget and on time, will you ship it?" Don't move forward until they say yes. No maybes, no "I'll know when I see it", nothing other than your yes. Nice job, linchpin. Choose Task-Based Workflows Over Status-Based Workflows Now that you know who on your team will serve in specific roles to help you create your content- and how you'll publish quickly while avoiding office bureaucracy- it's time to develop your workflows. Essentially, you want to meet with your team you just defined to understand how you'll work together to create consistent content that will always hit your deadlines. This is the actual planning of your content development process- understanding exactly how you’ll do this with the resources available to you. Since we’re talking through the experience of an agile startup, keep it simple to error on the side of shipping rather than too many steps that slow down your publishing. Err on the side of publishing  rather than processes that slow you down. #contentmarketingStatus-based workflows make it nearly impossible to understand every task that you and your team need to check off your to-do list before you publish your content. Just think of the typical statuses you see in WordPress: How will you know who is responsible for each status, and what exactly they’re supposed to be working on? Who has the final say before you schedule your content to publish? Nah, there has to be a better way. And there is. Task-based workflows help you dissect all the work that goes into creating a piece of content- whatever it is (blog posts, e-books, webinars, you name it)- to help you choose a specific person accountable for each task, along with deadlines for every task. By dissecting your content into tasks, you can provide a ton of direction to your team to avoid any confusion about who’s doing what and when they need to have their work done. Here’s what a simple task-based workflow looks like any blog post we publish at : When you look at this, it’s helpful in a ton of  different ways: Begin every task with a verb that demands action. Make your tasks super clear by highlighting exactly what the task entails, while also being brief. Assign each task to a specific person who clearly knows they are responsible for helping you create some part of your content. Send  a notification that specifically communicates with each member of your team when you assign them a new task. Set clear deadlines for when you expect each task to be complete. Understand the difference between deadlines and your publish dates. Help your team understand the date on your marketing calendar is the publish date for when your content will be 100% complete, while assigning tasks with deadlines for days or even weeks before the content is set to publish. Remind your team before their tasks are due. Unless you’re that chick from Ex Machina, your team is full of humans. Subtle reminders of task due dates help  those busybodies know when their tasks are due so they don’t forget and accidentally cause your project to miss its deadline. Task-based workflows are especially helpful so you can have multiple team members working on different tasks at the same time, which is slightly lost with status-based workflows. Those steps above are exactly how we do it at , too, and it really works for us. Communicate Efficiently With An Agreed-Upon Tool The five  parts of  your task-based workflow may sound like a lot of manual work. But it really depends on the tools you use as a team to manage your content development process. When Raven Tools wanted to improve their process to eliminate endless emails, they focused on implementing one clear source for communication. Spoiler alert: That source- as a marketing project management tool- is . Task manager: Define as many workflows as you need for the different types of content you use in your marketing strategy. You can then easily assign those tasks out to your entire team with clear deadlines super fast. Comments: Raven Tools was able to send 75% fewer emails  because of . Comments keep your project record right in the tool you’re using for your content development process, which helps you work even more efficiently. Notifications and reminders: When you assign tasks or leave comments, your marketing calendar pushes an email notification to remind your team to check on the project. The day before any task is due, your calendar automatically sends an email to remind your team members to knock out their tasks. Dashboard: It’s rare that you’ll only work on one project at a time. So it’s nice to see a dashboard of all the comments and tasks that are due on specific days to keep a to-do list of your projects right in your marketing calendar. When you use one tool for communication, you avoid endless emails, maintain a calendar of record, and generally quit herding cats. While using as your marketing calendar  is a great way to manage your content development process, you can rock this advice with any project management tool: Agree as a team to communicate with tools that help everyone stay involved and see your progress. Avoid long email forwards to prevent missing copying someone and eliminate confusion overall. Because, seriously, those get crazy. Maintain one version of the truth for your marketing projects. Consolidate your project management tools and content calendars to better understand your deadlines, manage multiple projects at once, and easily see your progress toward completion. Manage Multiple Projects At Once While Nailing Every Deadline You experience  a learning curve every time you take on a new project. For example, if you’re adding blogging to your list of marketing tactics, you have an entirely new process to learn as you get started. So take your time. When you start any new project, quantity isn’t the goal. Consistency isn’t important if what you’re publishing is junk. Here's how we do it at : Do one thing well. Actually,  as we like  to joke, "Don't half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing." It's silly, but there's a lot of truth to that. Set your deadlines like Seth Godin suggested earlier, ship on time, then reflect on what worked, what you could do better next time, and what you should stop doing. Once you have your process  ironed out for that one thing, add in another project. And do it slowly, just like you perfected your first project. Plan time to reflect on your growing pains as you add more projects to your to-do list, reviewing again what's going well, what you could improve, and what you should quit doing. So start slow and build your publishing momentum as you learn something new, building toward publishing more content consistently. At first, you’re perfecting your content and workflow process to build the expertise you need to publish even more. Recommended Reading: How to Learn New Marketing Skills in 11 Simple Steps (Backed By Science) Organize Your Content Development And  Naming Conventions While everyone on your team could create content differently, it’s much more efficient to have one version of the truth for the tools you use in your content development process. You might be a bit surprised that a huge majority of the team at doesn’t even have Microsoft Word on our computers, so we opt for Evernote instead. Here are a few reasons why Evernote is awesome for blogging and marketing: You can use Evernote for anything. We use different notebooks for marketing strategy, managing larger projects like new feature releases, and actually creating our content. It’s so dynamic that we use one tool for so many use cases that we decided to integrate Evernote right into to help other marketers like us plan and create content better than ever. You can capture your content ideas and inspiration wherever you are. Use Web Clipper and Evernote Helper to save ideas from the content you’re perusing on the Web, rock Skitch to take screenshots and mark them up with text and arrows, email your thoughts directly into notes and notebooks with the syntax "Note Name @Notebook Name #Tag Name !YYYY/MM/DD", scan handwritten notes right into Evernote notes, send pictures from your phone into Evernote, and even highlight text in Kindle and see the quotes you highlighted right in Evernote. Whew! Evernote is perfect for distraction-free writing to help you write blog posts faster than ever. I’m writing this post in Evernote right now with instant messaging and emails turned off, social media shut down, and really no apps to distract me from getting these ideas out of my head. I love to open up the posts I’ll reference in tons of tabs before I start writing to have inspiration at my fingertips, and then I'll turn off the Internet to avoid  getting sidetracked with anything else other than writing. Evernote is helping me do just that. Oh yeah, and I’m on an airplane- so I can use Evernote  anywhere, online or off. Takeaways: Narrow your content development tools down to a few your entire team has access to. Choose the tools that match well with your team’s working styles (ex. if your team is always on the go, that means you need tools that don’t require immediate Internet access and are mobile-friendly). From here, Meghan Frazer has some great advice to help you in your file and folder naming conventions. The ultimate goal is simplicity and helping you and your team find the information you need when you need it. So Megan suggests avoiding special characters other than hyphens or underscores, using the ISO date standard for dating your file names (YYYY-MM-DD), and using descriptive keywords to be able to find your information quickly. This is an example of what Meghan says a great file name might look like: 2015-10-31-ContentDevelopmentProcessHalloweenDiagram.jpg I’d take this a step further with a couple common conventions SEOs use for naming their files:  Lowercase every word while separating every one with a hyphen and no underscores. If you don’t need the date, eliminate it, and focus purely on the keyword of the file itself. content-development-process-halloween-diagram.jpg Whatever you decide for your naming conventions the point is this: Collaborate on a team and understand where you save content and how you name your files, folders, and notebooks so everyone can easily find the information they need quickly. Tip: Use  tags in Evernote for similes of  the keyword you use in your note name. When you search, tags will help you find the information faster. Ex. "passwords" could also be "logins". Plan  To Develop  Better Content Than Anyone Else In Your Niche Well, that’s kind of a scary headline. But Brian Dean and Austin Kleon have some awesome advice that will help you do just that! Austin is an author who  has an awesome approach when it comes to creating content: Steal like an artist.

Strategic Planning at Chronicle Gazette Term Paper

Strategic Planning at Chronicle Gazette - Term Paper Example planning will help the organisations in meeting varying situations; their managers can be able to assess external threats to developing strategies (Bashir Ahmad Fida, 482). Strategic planning helps in developing feasible strategies as per interlinking operational policies and resources. Current consulting report predict the potential environmental changes like economic, business, political, governmental, social aspects. The report develops strategies according to the threats that The Chronicle Gazette is facing. New set of strategies are developed for Susan and her team to meet the unstable business environment in the newspaper industry (Colley 256). Economic crisis affected print media industry as they reported reducing revenues and number of publication. The U.S. based newspaper industry is facing the challenge from the magazines. Daily publishing newspapers are facing constant downfall rates. During the year 2011, newspaper market of the US reported with 1,392 dailies. However, the market was reported with almost 1700 dailies during the year 1985 (Stateofthemedia). Newspaper industry is facing another problem as the advertisement is reducing. From the table, it is observed that the print media advertisement reduced in a continuous manner during the last 10 years. In the year 2003, it reported as $44941 and in 2012 as $19943. On the contrary, online or digital media advertising increased a lot. Online advertising reported as $1216 in the year 2003 and it increased to $3375 in the year 2012 (Stateofthemedia.org). USA based newspaper market share is controlled by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. These two organisations are also facing the threats of the global economic recessions. New York Times reported daily circulation of 1,379,806 and weekend circulation reported with 1,321,207 in the year 2014. Revenue rate of the newspaper reported as US$37.33M or 22% during the year 2013, whereas, revenue reported as US$30M in the year 2012. However, the

Article Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article Review - Essay Example Mr. Cowell admitted to Prosecutor Sean Berkowitz that he illegally manipulated the reported income of the company. Lay and Skilling stated that there is no fraudulent activities in the company after they were being contend by the prosecutor, regarding their knowledge of illegal accounting scheme to support the unstable condition of the company, months before it landed to bankruptcy. Further, Mr. Cowell testified for the half million dollars he paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to resolve civil accusation pertaining to the illegal accounting of the company's income. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Cowell was also involved in other plans such as increasing the book value of one oil and gas company to appear that target quarterly earning was being achieved, and the hiding of million of dollars losses through the company's trading activities. Similarly, beyond expected trading profits were set aside, to be reported in the coming quarters and give the company an image of success. In view of the above article, the following questions may be raised, how much confidence do investors need to place in their trusted business How can they ensure that company reports like balance sheet reflects the true financial condition of the business, and not one of those balance cheat Financial scandals, breach of integrity and system deregulations are not new in the business world, however they

Trust Can Make or Unmake Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trust Can Make or Unmake Organizations - Essay Example Hong Kong had been a bastion of capitalism for so long, hopping and prospering in a nearly unbridled free enterprise system that it looked at mainland China as untrustworthy as the new lord and master of a freedom and fun-loving group of people. China was of course known for its regimented economic and political life as well as its severe, heavy-handed style of communist rule. Their minds made up on the undesirability of Chinese control, many business interests fled Hong Kong before the Chinese took over. But just as many companies stayed - and found that the earlier fears and feelings of distrust by the others were unfounded. The Chinese let the former British colony live the way it used to and in fact opened up mainland China to fresh winds of reforms. What happened in Hong Kong was an example of how lack of trust and full understanding of how trust operates can blindside people and in the process erode the level of economic activity and the quality of life desired for everyone. This is one of the reasons why the formal study of trust is attracting a lot of interest among scholars in the fields of international relations, political science, psychology and sociology, management and economics, and conflict analysis. Results of the initial studies confirm that people suspect or mistrust others based on surface impressions. More important, they cannot work together as a group without each appreciating the value of trust. Tr Trust Trust is a key enabler of cooperative human actions (D'Amico, L., 2003). The intensified studies on trust in many relevant fields in effect recognize the importance of cooperative behavior to the success of any human endeavor and, consequently, to the success or failure of an organization. It was found that trust leads two other basic mechanisms by which such cooperation can be achieved in human behavior, the other two being power and the market. These mechanisms come into play through three types of trust: Type A - The relationship between two parties is based on a system of sanctions or incentives, which could be economic (fines, rewards, etc.) or social (black listing or alienation), put up to ensure that one does not abuse the trust of the other. Type B - Confidence is based on personal relations or trust. Thus, John would not abuse Joe's trust because to do so would damage their friendship and John believes that Joe values such friendship. Type C - The relationship is hinged on abstract systems (money tokens, for example) and social institutions (professional and trade associations) and hence avails of market forces. Lewis & Weigert define trust as "a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that extends to both the personal and impersonal, and to situational and across-situational contexts." This means that trusting or depending on another is based on a given situation, such that the decision to trust is formed tentatively and conditionally until the other person or institution proves to be unworthy of the trust. The other way around happened to the companies that opted to stay in Hong Kong despite earlier misgivings about the fair-mindedness of Chinese decision-makers. In time, China proved worthy of said companies' trust . In the concept of trust set by Harrison, et al. trust can be a behavior, an expectancy, an attitude, a confidence, a belief or set of beliefs, and a situational, dispositional, structural or interpersonal variable. To trust

Social Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Insurance - Essay Example The drawback is that government funding also means government control which may not be as efficient as private control. In fact, government spending and legislative work on social insurance in America has been criticized by many who think that social insurance programs such as social security, unemployment insurance, workers compensation and Medicare may not be enough for the needs of future Americans. On the other hand, the current situation of these programs allows the government to distribute goods and services to a lot of people who would otherwise have to go without them. Amendments and changes to the way social insurance programs operate in America have been widely suggested and the government has been pushed to focus on these programs. While the government tries to assure the people that the money they have put into social insurance programs will help them in the future, many individuals believe that the expenses of the government and the current expenditure on the social insurance programs themselves will mean that the trusts guiding the programs will go bankrupt

Parallels of 1984 to Today

Parallels of 1984 to Today Andrew West Q: George Orwell’s novel 1984 describes a dystopian future in which the government controls its citizens through the use of constant surveillance. What parallels can be drawn from this novel and the use of surveillance with our culture today? A: George Orwells â€Å"1984† which was first published in 1949 is a fictional novel that shows what the world would be like if the government overextended its powers and controlled every facet of its citizen’s lives through manipulation of language and constant surveillance. Even in its own day the novel was considered visionary and futuristic for its predictions about the future of surveillance. Even though â€Å"1984† is science fiction novel that was written over 60 years ago, it still contains a lot of significance for people and society as a whole today. Science fiction as a genre has always been about the future and what might happen if events and practices at the time the novel was written were allowed to continue and become more prevalent. One of 1984s main themes is that of perpetual war and how it can be used to control people through fear of the â€Å"Other† and the concept of taking away freedoms under the guise of keeping its citizens safe. A s the book was written only 5 years after the end of war world two the fear of another war, let alone a perpetual one would have prevalent in the minds of the people at the time. George Orwell used this fear to create a sort of end game conclusion to where these practices might lead. His writings lead to the creation of the term Orwellian which is a word used to describe a totalitarian society. Many of Orwells ideas, particularly in regards to totalitarianism and the tendency of modern governments to want to watch and control its people, ideas that were once considered the stuff of science fiction have now in this modern age become so much more than that. While it would be an exaggeration to say that our world has turned into the totalitarian state outlined in the book, we can draw many parallels between surveillance practices used in the novel and ones that are used today. ‘9/11 brought to the surface and accelerated a number of surveillance trends that had been developing quietly and largely unnoticed for previous decades’ (Lyon, D, (2003) Surveillance after 9/11) After the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the world trade centre, Americas surveillance practices changed dramatically. With the general populace fearing another terrorist attack, the American government was able to use the peoples fear to pass a large number of draconian laws that increased spying on American citizens under the illusion of keeping them safe. The most damaging of these laws was the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was a law passed by the United States Congress on October 26, 2001, at the request of then President George Bush in response to the terrorist acts of September 11. The law gave controversial new powers to the Justice Department in terms of domestic and international surveillance of American citizens and anyone else within its jurisdiction (Its jurisdiction would grow and change over the years). According to the main sponsors of the law, the Patriot Act was necessary to address the growing problem of terrorism within the US borders and the need to appreh end and prosecute them before they acted. Many Opponents of the Act, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, say that the Act was far too broad and would unnecessarily endanger privacy, civil liberties and discourage free speech. Among the powers that the Act grants are the ability of the government to legally tap telephone lines and the ability to intercept any Internet date including emails and private messages that they wanted. Theoretically this meant that the government had the ability to intercept any data that they considered â€Å"relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation which was a much lower standard than the previous legal guidelines which stated that a crime had to have been committed before data mining is allowed to take place. The very broad guidelines of the Act allowed the government to apply surveillance to the metadata of all American citizens and not just the data of suspected terrorists. In 2007 the NSA (National Security Agency) launched the â€Å"PRISM† program which was a clandestine anti-terrorism mass electronic surveillance data mining program. This program allowed the NSA to These events are strikingly similar to events contained in â€Å"1984†. In the book the government of Oceania uses the threat of war to pass restrictive laws and abolish freedoms so that the people are easier to control. One of the key elements of â€Å"1984† is the term doublethink which is defined as the power to hold two completely contradictory beliefs in ones mind simultaneously, and accept both of them. If we look at the use of language used in the name of the law, The Patriot Act, we can see a perfect example of this. The use of the word â€Å"Patriot† meaning that this law is expressing patriotism and values that are good for America and if you don’t agree with everything the government is doing then you hate America and want the terrorists to win. But this law does not express the values that America was founded upon (which are freedom and liberty for all), in fact the opposite is true as it greatly restricts them. Using these laws the government of Oceania slowly began to invade the privacy of its citizens more and more until they began to control every facet of their lives. Constant surveillance and thought crimes became the normalcy, with the government monitoring its citizens through the use of tele-screens within the person’s home so as to quash any rebellious thoughts. So in conclusion what parallels can be draw between the book â€Å"1984† and the surveillance practices of today. As I previously stated our world is much different than the oppressive totalitarian state described in the book but only because the government hasn’t been given the opportunity. Is the government collecting your Metadata and then using it to quash any rebellion or speech against them any different than how the government controls its citizens in â€Å"1984†. What about allowing corporations to use our data to track what we are doing online so they can sell it to the government or us it to sell us stuff, is this any different than â€Å"Big brother is watching you†. Looking at past and current surveillance practices by the government we can conclude that if given the chance the government would turn the world into that of â€Å"1984† but the reason that hasn’t quite come to pass is because we have fought against the suppressive ac ts of the government to try to curtail our freedoms but this is not enough. We cannot stand ideally by while they slowly take away every last freedom we have, our indifference is what the governments wants. They want us to slowly give away our privacy ever so gradually, sometimes willingly like with social media sites like Facebook and other times forcible without out knowledge like with the NSA spying program. Governments and corporations want to make no reasonable expectation of privacy the new norm because it makes it easier to control and manipulate. We have to draw a line in the sand and say that we don’t want to be spied upon when we are on line because if we continue to remain indifferent to what is going on with regards current surveillance practices then we will have only ourselves to blame. First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. (Niemà ¶ller, M, (1950), Poem about the Holocaust) Joe Austin, 2010. Youth Culture Available at http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Wh-Z-and-other-topics/Youth-Culture.html [Accessed November 10th 2013] Fornas, J., 1995. Youth Culture in Late Modernity. London: Sage Publication Ltd. 1

History in Film :: Movie Film Movies History Essays

History in Film Introduction [1] Who owns history? When portraying a historical figure, specifically a female figure (of which there is a distinct lack due to either scarcity of existence or insufficiency of acknowledgment in society), film has a responsibility to accurately represent the historical figure whose reputation is at stake. As a medium relating past to present, film possesses the incredible capacity to take ownership of history; the director holds the key to making history real or reel. Film has the power to exalt or distort historical figures to fit the mold of present day ideals. Maria Luisa Bemberg, director of Yo, la Peor de Todas (I, the Worst of All), embraces history and film in an attempt to bring enlightenment to the public. However, this movie has yet to infiltrate mainstream western culture in the United States or abroad. In contrast, Luc Besson, director of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, manipulates the story of Joan of Arc to fit the demands of a culture that feeds on action-packed, blood-gushing movies. We will take a look at both these directors, the films, how the films present their characters, what manipulation in film does to influence people’s idea of the historical figures, and how the movies are created to fit present-day ideals. History of Directors and Film Intro [2] Herself involved in a field not known for women of her time, Argentinean director Maria Luisa Bemberg tackles the biography of Sor Juana Inà ©s de la Cruz, a narrative much like her own. Growing up during the 1920’s in upper-class Buenos Aires, Bemberg never acquired a high school or college diploma but received an informal education under the guidance of a governess. Surviving in an age in which men still held the dominant hand, Bemberg lived out the first three decades of her adult life a married woman raising four children and suppressing a lifelong dream of delving into film. But at the age of 56, after going through a divorce and becoming a grandmother, Bemberg caves in to the â€Å"curse of an inquiring mind† and creates films that document â€Å"women that are vertical, autonomous, independent, thoughtful, courageous† (Bemberg as quoted in Bach). After having her life’s path determined for her by her controlling father and after being st ifled by her older brothers, Bemberg is able to relate to Sor Juana’s struggle to find an open forum for her voice to be heard.

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 6. DISTRACTIONS

My entertainment became the number-one priority on isle Esme. We snorkeled (well, I snorkeled while he flaunted his ability to go without oxygen indefinitely). We explored the small jungle that ringed the rocky little peak. We visited the parrots that lived in the canopy on the south end of the island. We watched the sunset from the rocky western cove. We swam with the porpoises that played in the warm, shallow waters there. Or at least I did; when Edward was in the water, the porpoises disappeared as if a shark was near. I knew what was going on. He was trying to keep me busy, distracted, so I that wouldn't continue badgering him about the sex thing. Whenever I tried to talk him into taking it easy with one of the million DVDs under the big-screen plasma TV, he would lure me out of the house with magic words like coral reefs and submerged caves and sea turtles. We were going, going, going all day, so that I found myself completely famished and exhausted when the sun eventually set. I drooped over my plate after I finished dinner every night; once I'd actually fallen asleep right at the table and he'd had to carry me to bed. Part of it was that Edward always made too much food for one, but I was so hungry after swimming and climbing all day that I ate most of it. Then, full and worn out, I could barely keep my eyes open. All part of the plan, no doubt. Exhaustion didn't help much with my attempts at persuasion. But I didn't give up. I tried reasoning, pleading, and grouching, all to no avail. I was usually unconscious before I could really press my case far. And then my dreams felt so real – nightmares mostly, made more vivid, I guessed, by the too-bright colors of the island – that I woke up tired no matter how long I slept. About a week or so after we'd gotten to the island, I decided to try compromise. It had worked for us in the past. I was sleeping in the blue room now. The cleaning crew wasn't due until the next day, and so the white room still had a snowy blanket of down. The blue room was smaller, the bed more reasonably proportioned. The walls were dark, paneled in teak, and the fittings were all luxurious blue silk. I'd taken to wearing some of Alice's lingerie collection to sleep in at night – which weren't so revealing compared to the scanty bikinis she'd packed for me when it came right down to it. I wondered if she'd seen a vision of why I would want such things, and then shuddered, embarrassed by that thought. I'd started out slow with innocent ivory satins, worried that revealing more of my skin would be the opposite of helpful, but ready to try anything. Edward seemed to notice nothing, as if I were wearing the same ratty old sweats I wore at home. The bruises were much better now – yellowing in some places and disappearing altogether in others – so tonight I pulled out one of the scarier pieces as I got ready in the paneled bathroom. It was black, lacy, and embarrassing to look at even when it wasn't on. I was careful not to look in the mirror before I went back to the bedroom. I didn't want to lose my nerve. I had the satisfaction of watching his eyes pop open wide for just a second before he controlled his expression. â€Å"What do you think?† I asked, pirouetting so that he could see every angle. He cleared his throat. â€Å"You look beautiful. You always do.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said a bit sourly. I was too tired to resist climbing quickly into the soft bed. He put his arms around me and pulled me against his chest, but this was routine – it was too hot to sleep without his cool body close. â€Å"I'll make you a deal,† I said sleepily. â€Å"I will not make any deals with you,† he answered. â€Å"You haven't even heard what I'm offering.† â€Å"It doesn't matter.† I sighed. â€Å"Dang it. And I really wanted†¦ Oh well.† He rolled his eyes. I closed mine and let the bait sit there. I yawned. It took only a minute – not long enough for me to zonk out. â€Å"All right. What is it you want?† I gritted my teeth for a second, fighting a smile. If there was one thing he couldn't resist, it was an opportunity to give me something. â€Å"Well, I was thinking†¦ I know that the whole Dartmouth thing was just supposed to be a cover story, but honestly, one semester of college probably wouldn't kill me,† I said, echoing his words from long ago, when he'd tried to persuade me to put off becoming a vampire. â€Å"Charlie would get a thrill out of Dartmouth stories, I bet. Sure, it might be embarrassing if I can't keep up with all the brainiacs. Still†¦ eighteen, nineteen. It's really not such a big difference. It's not like I'm going to get crow's feet in the next year.† He was silent for a long moment. Then, in a low voice, he said, â€Å"You would wait. You would stay human.† I held my tongue, letting the offer sink in. â€Å"Why are you doing this to me?† he said through his teeth, his tone suddenly angry. â€Å"Isn't it hard enough without all of this?† He grabbed a handful of lace that was ruffled on my thigh. For a moment, I thought he was going to rip it from the seam. Then his hand relaxed. â€Å"It doesn't matter. I won't make any deals with you.† â€Å"I want to goto college.† â€Å"No, you don't. And there is nothing that is worth risking your life again. That's worth hurting you.† â€Å"But I do want to go. Well, it's not college as much as it's that I want – I want to be human a little while longer.† He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. â€Å"You are making me insane, Bella. Haven't we had this argument a million times, you always begging to be a vampire without delay?† â€Å"Yes, but†¦ well, I have a reason to be human that I didn't have before.† â€Å"What's that?† â€Å"Guess,† I said, and I dragged myself off the pillows to kiss him. He kissed me back, but not in a way that made me think I was winning. It was more like he was being careful not to hurt my feelings; he was completely, maddeningly in control of himself. Gently, he pulled me away after a moment and cradled me against his chest. â€Å"You are so human, Bella. Ruled by your hormones.† He chuckled. â€Å"That's the whole point, Edward. I like this part of being human. I don't want to give it up yet. I don't want to wait through years of being a blood-crazed newborn for some part of this to come back to me.† I yawned, and he smiled. â€Å"You're tired. Sleep, love.† He started humming the lullaby he'd composed for me when we first met. â€Å"I wonder why I'm so tired,† I muttered sarcastically. â€Å"That couldn't be part of your scheme or anything.† He just chuckled once and went back to humming. â€Å"For as tired as I've been, you'd think I'd sleep better.† The song broke off. â€Å"You've been sleeping like the dead, Bella. You haven't said a word in your sleep since we got here. If it weren't for the snoring, I'd worry you were slipping into a coma.† I ignored the snoring jibe; I didn't snore. â€Å"I haven't been tossing? That's weird. Usually I'm all over the bed when I'm having nightmares. And shouting.† â€Å"You've been having nightmares?† â€Å"Vivid ones. They make me so tired.† I yawned. â€Å"I can't believe I haven't been babbling about them all night.† â€Å"What are they about?† â€Å"Different things – but the same, you know, because of the colors.† â€Å"Colors?† â€Å"It's all so bright and real. Usually, when I'm dreaming, I know that I am. With these, I don't know I'm asleep. It makes them scarier.† He sounded disturbed when he spoke again. â€Å"What is frightening you?† I shuddered slightly. â€Å"Mostly †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated. â€Å"Mostly?† he prompted. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't want to tell him about the child in my recurring nightmare; there was something private about that particular horror. So, instead of giving him the full description, I gave him just one element. Certainly enough to frighten me or anyone else. â€Å"The Volturi,† I whispered. He hugged me tighter. â€Å"They aren't going to bother us anymore. You'll be immortal soon, and they'll have no reason.† I let him comfort me, feeling a little guilty that he'd misunderstood. The nightmares weren't like that, exactly. It wasn't that I was afraid for myself – I was afraid for the boy. He wasn't the same boy as that first dream – the vampire child with the bloodred eyes who sat on a pile of dead people I loved. This boy I'd dreamed of four times in the last week was definitely human; his cheeks were flushed and his wide eyes were a soft green. But just like the other child, he shook with fear and desperation as the Volturi closed in on us. In this dream that was both new and old, I simply had to protect the unknown child. There was no other option. At the same time, I knew that I would fail. He saw the desolation on my face. â€Å"What can I do to help?† I shook it off. â€Å"They're just dreams, Edward.† â€Å"Do you want me to sing to you? Ill sing all night if it will keep the bad dreams away.† â€Å"They're not all bad. Some are nice. So†¦ colorful. Underwater, with the fish and the coral. It all seems like it's really happening – I don't know that I'm dreaming. Maybe this island is the problem. It's really bright here.† â€Å"Do you want to go home?† â€Å"No. No, not yet. Can't we stay awhile longer?† â€Å"We can stay as long as you want, Bella,† he promised me. â€Å"When does the semester start? I wasn't paying attention before.† He sighed. He may have started humming again, too, but I was under before I could be sure. Later, when I awoke in the dark, it was with shock. The dream had been so very real†¦ so vivid, so sensory†¦. I gasped aloud, now, disoriented by the dark room. Only a second ago, it seemed, I had been under the brilliant sun. â€Å"Bella?† Edward whispered, his arms tight around me, shaking me gently. â€Å"Are you all right, sweetheart?† â€Å"Oh,† I gasped again. Just a dream. Not real. To my utter astonishment, tears overflowed from my eyes without warning, gushing down my face. â€Å"Bella!† he said – louder, alarmed now. â€Å"What's wrong?† He wiped the tears from my hot cheeks with cold, frantic fingers, but others followed. â€Å"It was only a dream.† I couldn't contain the low sob that broke in my voice. The senseless tears were disturbing, but I couldn't get control of the staggering grief that gripped me. I wanted so badly for the dream to be real. â€Å"It's okay, love, you're fine. I'm here.† He rocked me back and forth, a little too fast to soothe. â€Å"Did you have another nightmare? It wasn't real, it wasn't real.† â€Å"Not a nightmare.† I shook my head, scrubbing the back of my hand against my eyes. â€Å"It was a good dream.† My voice broke again. â€Å"Then why are you crying?† he asked, bewildered. â€Å"Because I woke up,† I wailed, wrapping my arms around his neck in a chokehold and sobbing into his throat. He laughed once at my logic, but the sound was tense with concern. â€Å"Everything's all right, Bella. Take deep breaths.† â€Å"It was so real,† I cried. â€Å"I wanted it to be real.† â€Å"Tell me about it,† he urged. â€Å"Maybe that will help.† â€Å"We were on the beach. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I trailed off, pulling back to look with tear-filled eyes at his anxious angel's face, dim in the darkness. I stared at him broodingly as the unreasonable grief began to ebb. â€Å"And?† he finally prompted. I blinked the tears out of my eyes, torn. â€Å"Oh, Edward †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Tell me, Bella,† he pleaded, eyes wild with worry at the pain in my voice. But I couldn't. Instead I clutched my arms around his neck again and locked my mouth with his feverishly. It wasn't desire at all – it was need, acute to the point of pain. His response was instant but quickly followed by his rebuff. He struggled with me as gently as he could in his surprise, holding me away, grasping my shoulders. â€Å"No, Bella,† he insisted, looking at me as if he was worried that I'd lost my mind. My arms dropped, defeated, the bizarre tears spilling in a fresh torrent down my face, a new sob rising in my throat. He was right – I must be crazy. He stared at me with confused, anguished eyes. â€Å"I'm s-s-s-orry,† I mumbled. But he pulled me to him then, hugging me tightly to his marble chest. â€Å"I can't, Bella, I can't!† His moan was agonized. â€Å"Please,† I said, my plea muffled against his skin. â€Å"Please, Edward?† I couldn't tell if he was moved by the tears trembling in my voice, or if he was unprepared to deal with the suddenness of my attack, or if his need was simply as unbearable in that moment as my own. But whatever the reason, he pulled my lips back to his, surrendering with a groan. And we began where my dream had left off. I stayed very still when I woke up in the morning and tried to keep my breathing even. I was afraid to open my eyes. I was lying across Edward's chest, but he was very still and his arms were not wrapped around me. That was a bad sign. I was afraid to admit I was awake and face his anger – no matter whom it was directed at today. Carefully, I peeked through my eyelashes. He was staring up at the dark ceiling, his arms behind his head. I pulled myself up on my elbow so that I could see his face better. It was smooth, expressionless. â€Å"How much trouble am I in?† I asked in a small voice. â€Å"Heaps,† he said, but turned his head and smirked at me. I breathed a sigh of relief. â€Å"I am sorry,† I said. â€Å"I didn't mean†¦ Well, I don't know exactly what that was last night.† I shook my head at the memory of the irrational tears, the crushing grief. â€Å"You never did tell me what your dream was about.† â€Å"I guess I didn't – but I sort of showed you what it was about.† I laughed nervously. â€Å"Oh,† he said. His eyes widened, and then he blinked. â€Å"Interesting.† â€Å"It was a very good dream,† I murmured. He didn't comment, so a few seconds later I asked, â€Å"Am I forgiven?† â€Å"I'm thinking about it.† I sat up, planning to examine myself – there didn't seem to be any feathers, at least. But as I moved, an odd wave of vertigo hit. I swayed and fell back against the pillows. â€Å"Whoa†¦ head rush.† His arms were around me then. â€Å"You slept for a long time. Twelve hours.† â€Å"Twelve?†How strange. I gave myself a quick once-over while I spoke, trying to be inconspicuous about it. I looked fine. The bruises on my arms were still a week old, yellowing. I stretched experimentally. I felt fine, too. Well, better than fine, actually. â€Å"Is the inventory complete?† I nodded sheepishly. â€Å"The pillows all appear to have survived.† â€Å"Unfortunately, I can't say the same for your, er, nightgown.† He nodded toward the foot of the bed, where several scraps of black lace were strewn across the silk sheets. â€Å"That's too bad,† I said. â€Å"I liked that one.† â€Å"I did, too.† â€Å"Were there any other casualties?† I asked timidly. â€Å"I'll have to buy Esme a new bed frame,† he confessed, glancing over his shoulder. I followed his gaze and was shocked to see that large chunks of wood had apparently been gouged from the left side of the headboard. â€Å"Hmm.† I frowned. â€Å"You'd think I would have heard that.† â€Å"You seem to be extraordinarily unobservant when your attention is otherwise involved.† â€Å"I was a bit absorbed,† I admitted, blushing a deep red. He touched my burning cheek and sighed. â€Å"I'm really going to miss that.† I stared at his face, searching for any signs of the anger or remorse I feared. He gazed back at me evenly, his expression calm but otherwise unreadable. â€Å"How are you feeling?'7 He laughed. â€Å"What?† I demanded. â€Å"You look so guilty – like you've committed a crime.† â€Å"I feel guilty,† I muttered. â€Å"So you seduced your all-too-willing husband. That's not a capital offense.† He seemed to be teasing. My cheeks got hotter. â€Å"The word seduced implies a certain amount of premeditation.† â€Å"Maybe that was the wrong word,† he allowed. â€Å"You're not angry?† He smiled ruefully. Tm not angry.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Well. . .† He paused. â€Å"I didn't hurt you, for one thing. It was easier this time, to control myself, to channel the excesses.† His eyes flickered to the damaged frame again. â€Å"Maybe because I had a better idea of what to expect.† A hopeful smile started to spread across my face. â€Å"I told you that it was all about practice.† He rolled his eyes. My stomach growled, and he laughed. â€Å"Breakfast time for the human?† he asked. â€Å"Please,† I said, hopping out of bed. I moved too quickly, though, and had to stagger drunkenly to regain my balance. He caught me before I could stumble into the dresser. â€Å"Are you all right?† â€Å"If I don't have a better sense of equilibrium in my next life, I'm demanding a refund.† I cooked this morning, frying up some eggs – too hungry to do anything more elaborate. Impatient, I flipped them onto a plate after just a few minutes. â€Å"Since when do you eat eggs sunny-side up?† he asked. â€Å"Since now.† â€Å"Do you know how many eggs you've gone through in the last week?† He pulled the trash bin out from under the sink – it was full of empty blue cartons. â€Å"Weird,† I said after swallowing a scorching bite. â€Å"This place is messing with my appetite.† And my dreams, and my already dubious balance. â€Å"But I like it here. Well probably have to leave soon, though, won't we, to make it to Dartmouth in time? Wow, I guess we need to find a place to live and stuff, too.† He sat down next to me. â€Å"You can give up the college pretense now – you've gotten what you wanted. And we didn't agree to a deal, so there are no strings attached.† I snorted. â€Å"It wasn't a pretense, Edward. I don't spend my free time plotting like some people do. What can we do to wear Bella out today?† I said in a poor impression of his voice. He laughed, unashamed. â€Å"I really do want a little more time being human.† I leaned over to run my hand across his bare chest. â€Å"I have not had enough.† He gave me a dubious look. â€Å"For this?† he asked, catching my hand as it moved down his stomach. â€Å"Sex was the key all along?† He rolled his eyes. â€Å"Why didn't i think of that?† he muttered sarcastically. â€Å"I could have saved myself a lot of arguments.† I laughed. â€Å"Yeah, probably.† â€Å"You are so human,† he said again. â€Å"I know.† A hint of a smile pulled at his lips. â€Å"We're going to Dartmouth? Really?† â€Å"I'll probably fail out in one semester.† â€Å"I'll tutor you.† The smile was wide now. â€Å"You're going to love college.† â€Å"Do you think we can find an apartment this late?† He grimaced, looking guilty. â€Å"Well, we sort of already have a house there. You know, just in case.† â€Å"You bought a house?† â€Å"Real estate is a good investment.† I raised one eyebrow and then let it go. â€Å"So we're ready, then.† â€Å"I'll have to see if we can keep your ‘before' car for a little longer___† â€Å"Yes, heaven forbid I not be protected from tanks.† He grinned. â€Å"How much longer can we stay?† I asked. â€Å"We're fine on time. A few more weeks, if you want. And then we can visit Charlie before we go to New Hampshire. We could spend Christmas with Renee___† His words painted a very happy immediate future, one free of pain for everyone involved. The Jacob-drawer, all but forgotten, rattled, and i amended the thought – for almost everyone. This wasn't getting any easier. Now that I'd discovered exactly how good being human could be, it was tempting to let my plans drift. Eighteen or nineteen, nineteen or twenty†¦ Did it really matter? I wouldn't change so much in a year. And being human with Edward†¦ The choice got trickier every day. â€Å"A few weeks,† I agreed. And then, because there never seemed to be enough time, I added, â€Å"So I was thinking – you know what I was saying about practice before?† He laughed. â€Å"Can you hold on to that thought? I hear a boat. The cleaning crew must be here.† He wanted me to hold on to that thought. So did that mean he was not going to give me any more trouble about practicing? I smiled. â€Å"Let me explain the mess in the white room to Gustavo, and then we can go out. There's a place in the jungle on the south – â€Å" â€Å"I don't want to go out. i am not hiking all over the island today. I want to stay here and watch a movie.† He pursed his lips, trying not to laugh at my disgruntled tone. â€Å"All right, whatever you'd like. Why don't you pick one out while I get the door?† â€Å"I didn't hear a knock.† He cocked his head to the side, listening. A half second later, a faint, timid rap on the door sounded. He grinned and turned for the hallway. I wandered over to the shelves under the big TV and started scanning through the titles. It was hard to decide where to begin. They had more DVDs than a rental store. I could hear Edward's low, velvet voice as he came back down the hall, conversing fluidly in what I assumed was perfect Portuguese. Another, harsher, human voice answered in the same tongue. Edward led them into the room, pointing toward the kitchen on his way. The two Brazilians looked incredibly short and dark next to him. One was a round man, the other a slight female, both their faces creased with lines. Edward gestured to me with a proud smile, and I heard my name mixed in with a flurry of unfamiliar words. I flushed a little as I thought of the downy mess in the white room, which they would soon encounter. The little man smiled at me politely. But the tiny coffee-skinned woman didn't smile. She stared at me with a mixture of shock, worry, and most of all, wide-eyed fear. Before I could react, Edward motioned for them to follow him toward the chicken coop, and they were gone. When he reappeared, he was alone. He walked swiftly to my side and wrapped his arms around me. â€Å"What's with her?† I whispered urgently, remembering her panicked expression. He shrugged, unperturbed. â€Å"Kaure's part Ticuna Indian. She was raised to be more superstitious – or you could call it more aware – than those who live in the modern world. She suspects what I am, or close enough.† He still didn't sound worried. â€Å"They have their own legends here. The Libishomen – a blood-drinking demon who preys exclusively on beautiful women.† He leered at me. Beautiful women only? Well, that was kind of flattering. â€Å"She looked terrified,† I said. â€Å"She is – but mostly she's worried about you.† â€Å"Me?† â€Å"She's afraid of why I have you here, all alone.† He chuckled darkly and then looked toward the wall of movies. â€Å"Oh well, why don't you choose something for us to watch? That's an acceptably human thing to do.† â€Å"Yes, I'm sure a movie will convince her that you're human.† I laughed and clasped my arms securely around his neck, stretching up on my tiptoes. He leaned down so that I could kiss him, and then his arms tightened around me, lifting me off the floor so he didn't have to bend. â€Å"Movie, schmovie,† I muttered as his lips moved down my throat, twisting my fingers in his bronze hair. Then I heard a gasp, and he put me down abruptly. Kaure stood frozen in the hallway, feathers in her black hair, a large sack of more feathers in her arms, an expression of horror on her face. She stared at me, her eyes bugging out, as I blushed and looked down. Then she recovered herself and murmured something that, even in an unfamiliar language, was clearly an apology. Edward smiled and answered in a friendly tone. She turned her dark eyes away and continued down the hall. â€Å"She was thinking what I think she was thinking, wasn't she?† I muttered. He laughed at my convoluted sentence. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Here,† I said, reaching out at random and grabbing a movie. â€Å"Put this on and we can pretend to watch it.† It was an old musical with smiling faces and fluffy dresses on the front. â€Å"Very honeymoonish,† Edward approved. While actors on the screen danced their way through a perky introduction song, I lolled on the sofa, snuggled into Edward's arms. â€Å"Will we move back into the white room now?† I wondered idly. â€Å"I don't know†¦. I've already mangled the headboard in the other room beyond repair – maybe if we limit the destruction to one area of the house, Esme might invite us back someday.† I smiled widely. â€Å"So there will be more destruction?† He laughed at my expression. â€Å"I think it might be safer if it's premeditated, rather than if I wait for you to assault me again.† â€Å"It would only be a matter of time,† I agreed casually, but my pulse was racing in my veins. â€Å"Is there something the matter with your heart?† â€Å"Nope. Healthy as a horse.† I paused. â€Å"Did you want to go survey the demolition zone now?† â€Å"Maybe it would be more polite to wait until we're alone. You may not notice me tearing the furniture apart, but it would probably scare them.† In truth, I'd already forgotten the people in the other room. â€Å"Right. Drat.† Gustavo and Kaure moved quietly through the house while I waited impatiently for them to finish and tried to pay attention to the happily-ever-after on the screen. I was starting to get sleepy – though, according to Edward, I'd slept half the day – when a rough voice startled me. Edward sat up, keeping me cradled against him, and answered Gustavo in flowing Portuguese. Gustavo nodded and walked quietly toward the front door. â€Å"They're finished,† Edward told me. â€Å"So that would mean that we're alone now?† â€Å"How about lunch first?† he suggested. I bit my lip, torn by the dilemma. I was pretty hungry. With a smile, he took my hand and led me to the kitchen. He knew my face so well, it didn't matter that he couldn't read my mind. â€Å"This is getting out of hand,† I complained when I finally felt full. â€Å"Do you want to swim with the dolphins this afternoon – burn off the calories?† he asked. â€Å"Maybe later. I had another idea for burning calories.† â€Å"And what was that?† â€Å"Well, there's an awful lot of headboard left – â€Å" But I didn't finish. He'd already swept me up into his arms, and his lips silenced mine as he carried me with inhuman speed to the blue room.