Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 21

Five minutes after Seth left, I realized I'd made a mistake. Not about refusing him – that was the right thing to do. But I shouldn't have let him walk out like that. It was no way to end a fight. I was still angry after all these years that Andrew had died helping those people. I was still pained by his loss. To this day, I believed my stand in the garden had been correct, but nonetheless, I'd always regretted the separation that followed. Anger and pride had come between us, keeping us apart until it was almost too late. Even disagreeing with each other, we shouldn't have stayed away. We should have talked and tried to find some compromise. I refused to let this fight foster more bad communication and confusion between Seth and me. I wouldn't let it take away from the time we could have together. I had to fix things. Resolved, I grabbed my coat and purse and headed out the door after him. I half-walked, half-jogged down to the bookstore, where he'd left his car, but it was gone. I'd missed him. I stared at the empty parking lot for a few moments and then went inside. I'd finally bought Carter's stupid Secret Santa present and had left it in my office earlier. But when I went back inside and stuffed the gift in my purse, I found I didn't have the will to head back out. Instead, I sank into my chair and buried my face in my hands. How had things gotten so muddled with Seth and me? Had the shooting really given him such a new perspective on life? Would this have happened anyway? Yasmine's signature suddenly filled the room, and I looked up just in time to see her and Vincent materialize in front of me. Immediately, Seth left my mind. â€Å"Hey, Georgina,† Vincent said. â€Å"I got your mess – â€Å" â€Å"I know about Nyx,† I blurted out. Astonished silence hung in the air. I couldn't say for sure with nephilim, but I knew angels were rarely caught by surprise. Yasmine clearly had been. And, being an angel, she didn't try to deny anything about Nyx. She simply asked, â€Å"How?† â€Å"Because she's using me to do her dirty work.† Their looks of amazement grew. â€Å"Only†¦I'm not exactly sure how she's doing it.† The two of them glanced at each other, then back at me. â€Å"Start from the beginning,† said Yasmine. â€Å"That's usually the way to go.† And I did, first telling them about the dreams and the energy loss. After that, it was on to my weird knowledge of tragic events and the residual feelings of Nyx's activities. Finally, I explained how Erik and Dante had pieced it all together, linking what was happening to me with all of those unfortunate news stories. Yasmine sat down in a folding chair, tipping her head back as she thought. It was kind of like what Vincent had done in the hospital while ruminating. I wondered if it was one of those unconscious gestures couples sometimes picked up from each other. â€Å"Hmm†¦brilliant. That's how she's doing it without us finding her.† â€Å"I never would have even thought of that,† agreed Vincent, pacing. â€Å"Which, of course, is the point.† â€Å"You know what she's doing to me, then?† I asked eagerly. The not-knowing was killing me. â€Å"Yep,† said Yasmine. â€Å"But let's get the others first.† â€Å"The other – â€Å" The question faded from my lips as three figures materialized in the room: Carter, Joel, and Whitney. Angelic auras crackled around me. I couldn't help a little envy. It might take me days to hunt down higher immortals, but Yasmine could do it with a thought. Carter smiled when he saw me. Joel looked outraged. Whitney looked confused. â€Å"What's going on?† Joel demanded. He seemed as angry as the last time I'd seen him. It was a good thing he was immortal, or he probably would have died from high blood pressure ages ago. â€Å"Why have you brought us to this†¦this†¦place.† You would have thought he stood in an opium brothel, as opposed to a tiny office with badly painted walls. Yasmine leaned forward in the chair, hands clasped under her chin and elbows on her knees. Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement. â€Å"We've got her. We found her – or rather, Georgina found her.† Joel and Whitney appeared flabbergasted. Carter didn't. From the look on his face, I felt like he'd been expecting it. â€Å"I can't believe it took you this long to figure it out,† he joked. Whitney was not amused. â€Å"Explain this.† Yasmine did, and when she was finished, the others were as impressed as she and Vincent had been earlier. Even Joel looked a little less pissed off. â€Å"Ingenuous,† he murmured. â€Å"Every time she escapes, she always thinks up a new way to elude us.† I looked from face to face. My emotions were raw after the blowout with Seth, and I was really low on patience at the moment. â€Å"Will someone finally tell me how I fit into this?† Carter walked over to me. He wore a beat-up blue flannel shirt and a Mariners baseball cap that looked like it had been put through a wood chipper. He was still smiling. â€Å"You must know by now that Vincent's a psychic. He's attuned to our world and in some ways has a higher sensitivity to supernatural activity than some of us do. It happens with humans sometimes.† It was true. Angels weren't omnipotent and didn't possess all gifts. I nodded along, not letting on that I knew Vincent was actually a psychic nephilim. â€Å"Normally, he'd be able to find her trail pretty quickly. When she runs amuck feeding off mortal chaos, there's a kind of, I don't know†¦magical residue left where she's been. The energy she steals only sustains her; it isn't actually enough to obscure her. Someone like Vincent can†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vincent helped him out. â€Å"†¦sniff her out. I'm a paranormal hound.† Yasmine snickered. â€Å"He hasn't sensed anything so far,† Carter continued, â€Å"which is why we were having to do more mundane searches, like looking for telltale patterns in the news.† â€Å"So†¦she was hiding her trail.† I shrugged. â€Å"How do I fit in?† â€Å"She was using you to hide it. In a couple different ways. Kind of a fail-safe, really. In taking energy from you and human victims, she was able to double her stash. It made it easier to hide from us. When her power dipped, I think she was actually†¦hiding in you.† â€Å"Ew.† I suddenly felt violated. â€Å"How is that possible? Is she†¦is she there now?† I glanced down at my lower body, as though I might actually see something. He peered at me. â€Å"No, I don't think so. She's probably got enough energy to run loose for a while. As for how she does it†¦well, life and energy move in and out of you, and at some level, she's both of those things. You're a conduit for those forces.† â€Å"I wish people would stop calling me that. It makes me feel like a machine.† â€Å"Hardly. The merging she does with you is how you occasionally get a sense for what she's been doing. Some of the details of her mischief leak into you, though she goes to great pains to hide it – and herself.† â€Å"How?† â€Å"The dreams,† said Vincent. â€Å"She's distracting you with them. Happy, consuming dreams that you're starting to obsess on. Your subconscious is so enmeshed in them at night that you don't notice her leaching the energy while you sleep.† I leaned back in my chair, dumbfounded. I'd dealt with a lot of weird shit in my life – an exceptional amount of it occurring in the last few months, actually – but this was shooting to the top of the list. My skin crawled, and I had the surreal sense that my body was no longer my own. I was also kind of bothered by the fact that my dreams had been red herrings, meant to throw me off the path of what was going on. They were so sweet†¦so powerful. I treasured them, yet it seemed they were nothing but lies. Illusions created by a monster to hide her parasitic control of me. That knowledge cheapened the beauty of what I'd seen. I loved the little girl. I wanted to believe in her. I wanted her to be real. â€Å"Well,† said Joel brusquely, narrowed eyes fixed on me. â€Å"We've got to use the succubus to lure Nyx out.† He gestured to me. â€Å"Go. Go out and seduce some poor soul, so Nyx'll come back.† I flinched. Yasmine glared at him. â€Å"Can't you see she's upset? Show some compassion.† â€Å"Denizens of evil deserve none,† he muttered. Across the room, Whitney stood by the door. She'd spoken little, so her voice startled me. â€Å"All creatures deserve compassion.† I looked up and met her eyes. They were dark and bottomless, filled with power and emotion. I had the sensation of falling into that blackness, much like I experienced with Carter sometimes. I decided I didn't like hanging out with angels. They did a lot of soul searching – and usually it involved mine. More awkward silence fell. â€Å"Okay, okay,† I said. â€Å"We don't all have to spill our feelings and hold hands here. Tell me what you need me to do.† â€Å"You're going to be bait, Georgina,† said Carter. â€Å"I'm always bait,† I grumbled. â€Å"Why is that? Why do these things keep happening to me?† Not too long ago, I'd had to play bait for a date-raping demigod. I hadn't been any happier then than I was now. I expected a joke, but Carter's response was serious. â€Å"Because you're one of those unique individuals whom powers in the universe tend to gather around.† That was worse than being a conduit. I didn't want any of those things. I didn't want to be a target. I wanted my quiet life back where I worked in a bookstore and had a blissful, perfect relationship with my boyfriend. Okay, I'd never had such a relationship yet, but a girl can dream. Dream. Bad choice of words. â€Å"Unfortunately,† said Yasmine delicately, â€Å"Joel is right to a certain extent. We do need you to, um, replenish your energy in order to lure Nyx out.† Joel grimaced. I sighed. â€Å"I know this is important†¦I don't want her to hurt anyone else, but well, does it have to be tonight? Can we do it tomorrow? I just†¦I just don't feel up to it.† Not after Seth. Not after any of this. I was so, so mentally exhausted. Sex sounded nauseating, energy or no. Joel clenched his fists. â€Å"Don't feel up to it? This is no time for whims! Lives are at stake – â€Å" â€Å"Joel,† said Carter. It was one word, but it was hard and powerful. I'd never heard lax, sarcastic Carter speak in that sort of tone. He and Joel locked gazes. I couldn't assess higher immortals' power, but I knew Carter was pretty damned strong. Stronger than Jerome, even. â€Å"Leave her alone. Nyx only attacks when she steals more energy anyway. We should be okay for one night.† If I didn't know better, I'd say Joel was afraid of Carter. Joel looked very much like he wanted to say a lot more, but he backed down. â€Å"Fine,† he said through gritted teeth. I shot Carter a relieved glance. With the way I felt tonight, I probably would have had about as much luck trying to seduce someone as Tawny. Thinking of the other succubus, I wondered if I should mention my suspicions about Tawny being drained by Nyx too. In the end, I decided against it. That whole situation was still circumstantial. I let it go. Yasmine stood up and laid a hand on my shoulder. â€Å"Rest up. You look terrible. You need to be ready for tomorrow.† â€Å"Yikes. I can look like anything I want. When someone tells me I look terrible, it's pretty serious.† She smiled. â€Å"It's more than physical.† She vanished. Whitney and Joel did the same a few moments later. Only Carter remained with Vincent and me. â€Å"It's going to be okay,† Carter told me. â€Å"I don't know. There's a crazy chaos-eating monster flitting in and out of me,† I said. â€Å"You're going to try to frisk her out. Seems like there's a high likelihood things might end up pretty not okay.† â€Å"Ye of little faith.† He too disappeared. Vincent and I stood there for several moments. Finally, I sighed once more. â€Å"Fucking angels.† He touched my shoulder. â€Å"Let's go back home.† We ventured back into the cold and walked to my apartment, saying little. Vincent look tired and thoughtful, no doubt from all the Nyx stuff. As we approached my apartment, however, his expression began to change. At first, he simply looked puzzled. Then he grew surprised, then startled, then horrified, and finally, disgusted. We stopped on the building's steps. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked. He pointed upward. â€Å"There's something†¦evil in there.† â€Å"Like†¦my apartment? Because, you know, I'm technically evil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vincent shook his head. â€Å"No, no. It's a different kind of evil. You're evil by nature – no offense. This is something different. A created evil. It's black and wrong. Unnatural. You know of anyone else who lives in the building that plays for your side?† â€Å"No. Just me.† He grimaced. â€Å"Well, let's go in then and see where it's coming from. Ugh. To my senses, it's like†¦rotting garbage.† We went inside, and it didn't take him long to figure out where this different evil was coming from. My own apartment. â€Å"Told you I was the only evil thing in here,† I joked. But I was a little uneasy at his reaction. Vincent didn't respond and simply pushed past me, searching in a way that brought the earlier hound reference to mind. He disappeared into my bedroom and reemerged with Dante's arts and crafts project. â€Å"This,† declared Vincent, holding it at arm's length. â€Å"That?† I asked, astonished. â€Å"That's†¦nothing.† â€Å"Where did you get it?† â€Å"This guy I know made it. The one who was helping me. He's, I don't know†¦a pseudo psychic. Maybe a real psychic. Interprets dreams and claims to be a magician.† I stared at the wicker ball. â€Å"Are you saying he really is a magician?† â€Å"Oh, he's something all right. This thing is so filthy, I can't believe you can't feel it. Well, I can believe it†¦I mean, it's a different sort of magic than you're attuned to, but Jesus. It makes me feel like I just†¦I don't know, went swimming in a sewer.† â€Å"Well†¦I know he's supposed to be, like, bad†¦he and another friend have said as much. But†¦I don't know. I thought it was just hype.† â€Å"There's bad and there's bad,† Vincent said. â€Å"And this is bad. This thing's a repellent, right? Did he give it to you to keep Nyx away?† â€Å"Yeah†¦but he wasn't sure if it'd work†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh, it'd work. It'd keep about anything away. To make something like this†¦man, Georgina. It's incredible – the kind of power required. Very few humans are born with this kind of power. He certainly wasn't. This is stolen power.† â€Å"Everyone steals power,† I noted dryly. â€Å"Me, Nyx†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vincent's eyes were hard. â€Å"You and she suck it from people. This was ripped out of someone. The way you'd rip someone's heart out of their chest.† â€Å"So, what†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stared. â€Å"Are you saying Dante killed someone to make this?† â€Å"To make this specifically? Perhaps. But someone would need to already possess great power – independent of what he might put in this – to even attempt making it. And to be someone with that kind of power in the first place, he had to have done something, at some point in his life, that was bad.† â€Å"Like†¦killing someone.† â€Å"More than that. A special killing – something sacrificial. You know the kind of power those can yield.† I did. I didn't have a choice in the succubus soul-stealing thing, but I tried to keep my hands clean of other atrocities. Still, you couldn't work for Hell and not know about the full range of evils out there and how to achieve them. â€Å"And,† continued Vincent, â€Å"you know that the greater the impact – the greater the meaning – of a sacrificial killing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Right. The greater the power.† Goosebumps rose on my neck as I started to see where Vincent was going with all this. â€Å"Whatever he did to get this kind of power wasn't just some random, clean killing. It had meaning for him. And it was horrible. He would have had to turn on himself – give up part of his humanity – to get this kind of power.† I stared at the wicker ball. I couldn't sense what Vincent could, but now I too was feeling disgusted and uneasy by its presence. And suddenly, Kayla's repulsion suddenly didn't seem so strange after all. I'd had the charm in my purse when I saw her. She'd said I was ‘bad' because I was probably covered in the charm's power. What had Dante done? What act could sarcastic, laconic Dante have done to achieve the kind of power both Vincent and Hugh had said would be needed to make this kind of charm? Whatever it was, it was the reason Erik hated him. I shivered. â€Å"Can you destroy it?† Vincent nodded. â€Å"You want me to?† A tiny part of me remembered that it had the ability to repel Nyx. But it wouldn't make her disappear, and we needed her to come back if we were going to stop her for good. Swallowing, I nodded. â€Å"Yeah, go ahead.† It took only a few seconds. Green light encased the wicker sphere, then Vincent's hand was empty. I'd felt no change in power or anything, but the nephilim looked relieved. I exhaled. â€Å"Well. There's nothing to stop her now, huh?† â€Å"Nope,† he said, rubbing his hands together. â€Å"Get ready.†

Green Computing Research Project Essay

Introduction: Currently many organizations are depending upon the computing environment to manage the process within the work place and become stabilized across different market group. Although most of them are not aware how far the computing environment is impacting the outer area but still to fulfill the requirements it is very much essential for them to go for it. Keeping these things in mind, we have come up with a new project called â€Å"Green Computing Research Project† that mainly aims to improve the computing technology by guiding the organization through better approaches (Deepak, 2005). This project mainly aims to enhance the work functionality by providing many new opportunities in the current market. By getting into this project, the organization will look into more software solutions to reduce energy, improving the performance and efficiency of data centers and focused towards green technology. Requirements: The project will drive each organization towards success path, but the only thing required is cooperation which will ensure a strong motivation for the project development team. As long as the teams support the development team, it will be easy for the organization to get more ideas and gain more techniques to create long term scenario for â€Å"Green Computing Research Project†. Secondly budget is needed timely to avoid any kind of discrepancy in the project development, in fact I will say if the project development has to be mother, it is necessary for all sponsors to look at the situation on regular basis (Stevens, 2002). Apart from that resourcing also plays vital role in deciding the play strategy for the project; a strong resource will take the best approach to make the project success at all possible points and draw the attention of each sponsors. As per the previous discussion, Ben is one of the sponsors for this project and the organization has selected Peter as the p roject manager. Looking at the previous experience of Peter, it is quite obvious to say that Peter could take the opportunity and the five member team led by Peter will have the better scope to manage the vision of this project. It is responsibility of Peter to ensure the correct strategy is made for each resource and they are capable enough to take up the challenges ahead. Here under is official documentation of the project requirements: Stakeholders : Ben ( Sponsor), Peter James (Project Manager), Steve Arnold ( IT support), Kelly Adams ( Researcher ), Sherry Michaels ( Researcher), Antony Gabbot (Researcher), Mohamed (Publisher and researcher) , Amr ( Expert Editor). Project Description: The Main output is to produce are a serious of research reports –one of each green computing technologies listed earlier plus one final report including all data. Also formal project proposal will be demonstrated for the best four recommendations for implementing some of these technologies. Challenges: Working in virtual environment where the whole team works together from different locations. Since different stakeholders will have different views of the requirements, so it is a good idea to create a requirements traceability matrix to trace each developed feature back to the person, group or entity that requested it during the requirements gathering . Test cases and previous project references are used in this RTM. ET is abbreviation to Environmental Technologies program , and GP is abbreviation to Green Computing projects . Questions for Sponsor: For every development activities, sponsors play vital role because they have to provide complete support to take the project ahead and create better opportunities for all major stake holders. It may not be correct to say that sponsors always look for the success because their investment does not allow them to look for failure situation; based on that they try to find out the resources to lead the project activity. For â€Å"Green Computing Research Project† Ben has taken the major sponsors role, in that case peter has to approach with certain questions that will clarify all confusions between development team as well as the sponsors. And also Peter must take few steps to go ahead with some proposal from the users because it will be benefitted for all those people who are fully dependent upon computing environment. The questions for sponsors are described below: What is expectation level from â€Å"Green Computing Research Project† Will you provide a complete support during any of the major disaster period Provide a complete description of your availability for this project What kind of priority you have for this project How will you accept the project result and make it use for other stake holders Will you facilitate proper problem solving skills Scope Statement: The project â€Å"Green Computing Research Project† will bear all necessary terms and conditions before being released to deliverable stage. We as in development expect the users will be facilitated with necessary information  to take the project in right way so that there won’t be any kind of miss understanding (Kousholt, 2007). After the entire project aims to provide opportunities to all stake holders who are dependent upon the computing environment. A. Deliverables: A complete structured wise computing environment to stabilize the computing activities and provide better opportunities to grab new opportunities A fine technology where the organization can create the base to run the process Highly efficiency and compatible devices to take up the major load activities across all units Technical guidance along with other support to ensure the safe installation B. Milestones: Project approved—Jan 1st Foundation poured—Jan 2nd QC and other parallel activities- Jan15th-Jun16th Final Inspection- May 16th-June 4th C. Technical Requirements: All stake holders must have complete knowledge about the project surrounding Technical experts must be available for any emergency Complete R&D support Additional Training programs for the developer Solid computing platform for conducting frequent test D. Limits and Exclusions: Team will be strict to the design as per the prior decision Continuous support must be needed during any of the emergency Measuring device will not be placed in the project Development team reserves all rights to ask if anything goes beyond contract Project manager is responsible for entire quality measure Working hours is limited From Mon-Fri 8.30 AM to 5.30 PM E. Final Review: CIO and Ben Organization will review four recommendations out of 20 projects. Proposal for recommended project Included documented researches, test cases, and Business case for each project. References: Khazanchi, Deepak (2005). Patterns of Effective Project Management in Virtual Projects: An Exploratory Study. Project Management Institute. ISBN 9781930699830, Retrieved from: http://www.pmi.org/en/Knowledge-Center/Research-Completed-Research/Patterns-of-Effective-Project-Management-in-Virtual-Projects.aspx Martin,Stevens (2002). Project Management Pathways: Association for Project Management. APM Publishing Limited, 2002 ISBN 1-903494-01-X, Retrieved from: http://books.google.co.in/books/about/Project_Management_Pathways.html?id=UaIuQpPM4yMC&redir_esc=y Bjarne, Kousholt (2007): Project Management: Theory and practice. Nyt Teknisk Forlag. ISBN 87-571-2603-8, Retrieved from: http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Bjarne-Kousholt/1780174067

3 Doors Down The Search For The

3 Doors Down ; The Search For The Better Life Essay, Research Paper 3 DOORS DOWN: THE QUEST FOR THE BETTER LIFE We spend our lives seeking for that something or person that can make full the nothingness and makes life # 8217 ; s tests endurable. The motive for the freshers album from 3 Doors Down trades with this thought of happening # 8220 ; The Better Life. # 8221 ; Tracks 1, 3, and 5, titled # 8220 ; Kryptonite, # 8221 ; # 8220 ; Duck and Run, # 8221 ; and # 8220 ; Be Like That, # 8221 ; utilize the thought of the quest for the better life to explicate the motive contained throughout the album. The three paths discuss three different thoughts of accomplishing the better life ; happen your true love, calculating out how to acquire someplace in this universe, and our desire to walk in person else # 8217 ; s places. # 8220 ; Kryptonite, # 8221 ; the album # 8217 ; s first path, is about a adult male who is seeking to happen person to be at that place for him through midst and thin. It focuses on the thought that in this universe no 1 will stand by your side unless you are # 8220 ; superman. # 8221 ; The wordss discuss a relationship in which he is chew overing whether she # 8217 ; ll be at that place for him even in the tough times: # 8220 ; If I go brainsick so will you still name me Superman? If I # 8217 ; m alive and good, will you be at that place keeping my hand. # 8221 ; He unluckily discovers that though he is altruistic in giving, she will non be the one to stand by his side during the tough times: # 8220 ; You took for granted all the times I neer let you down. # 8221 ; The vocal ends with his realisation that he must go on on his quest to happen that person that will assist him happen his # 8220 ; Better Life. # 8221 ; The 3rd path on the album, # 8220 ; Duck and Run, # 8221 ; embodies the thought that the universe is non a nice topographic point and things are non ever merely and just. The set discusses their thoughts that it is difficult to acquire anyplace in this universe ; the thought that the harder you work, the less you see from it. He says: # 8220 ; All my work and eternal steps neer seem to acquire me really far. Walk a stat mi merely to travel an inch now, even though I # 8217 ; m seeking so bloody difficult, I # 8217 ; m seeking so hard.† This path ends on an optimistic note, saying that he will non allow the universe bring him down: â€Å"And I won’t duck and run, do I’m non built that way.† â€Å"Duck and Run† leaves us with the impression that no affair how difficult life get, you can non give up because Oklahoman or subsequently you will see the benefits of your difficult work. # 8220 ; Be Like That, # 8221 ; the 5th path on the album trades with the manner we all want to hold person else # 8217 ; s life. As the clich? goes, the grass is greener on the other side. The opening poetry of the song trades with one adult male # 8217 ; s dream of one twenty-four hours accomplishing the Hollywood life: # 8220 ; He spends his darks in California, watching the stars on the large screen. Then he lies awake and admirations, why can # 8217 ; t that be me? Cause in his life he # 8217 ; s filled with all these good intentions. # 8221 ; Though he has all these good purposes in his life, it seems nil of all time turns out the manner he wants it to. The 2nd poetry negotiations about a miss who watches people walk by, and wishes that her life could be every bit perfect as theirs appear to be. She wants person that will be at that place by her side: # 8220 ; She spends her yearss up in the North park, watching the people as they pass # 8230 ; all she wants is merely that something to keep onto, that # 8217 ; s all she needs. # 8221 ; # 8220 ; Be Like That # 8221 ; embraces the thought that we all want what person else has, or in most instances what person else merely appears to hold. In analyzing these three paths from # 8220 ; The Better Life, # 8221 ; the first album from 3 Doors Down, we find that the motive of the album is the treatment of the thought that in some signifier or another we are all looking for a better life. Some of us want a better occupation, some wish to happen their true love, and some want merely to be able to walk in person else # 8217 ; s places that we think has achieved the better life. The album leaves you with a rejuvenated spirit and a sense that possibly someday in the close hereafter you will happen that something or person to give you # 8220 ; The Better Life. # 8221 ;

Law of Evidence Burden of Proof Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Law of Evidence Burden of Proof - Assignment Example The burden of persuasion also focuses on the party that introduces a fact and aims at convincing the judge or jury to favors the party on the facts while the burden of proof relates to the truth despite the party that introduces it. Another significant distinction is the duty of a party. Burden of proof must be proved beyond reasonable doubt and establishes a basis for decisions on criminal charges, unlike burden of persuasion. Further, burden of persuasion relates to a limited scope of a proceeding, as it is an element of burden of proof (Ingram 47). One of the bases for distinction between the roles of a judge and roles of a jury are on the actual activities that the two parties perform in a judicial process. The judge plays a technical role of determining admissibility evidence in a case and therefore influences bases for decisions in determination of cases. The jury however undertakes the role of listening to and evaluating admissible evidence and makes decisions on cases. The judge also determines evidence that can be used in a case while the jury establishes significance of admissible evidence and the extent to which a piece of evidence can be relied upon in determining a case. Another difference between roles of a judge and roles of a jury is based on the foundations of the roles. While legal provisions influence roles of a judge, roles of a jury are based on presented facts before it. The roles of a judge in a criminal trial are also limited to legal issues while those of a jury are limited to issues of facts (Emanuel and Friedman 1). A judge also has a wider jurisdiction and can perform the roles of a jury, if a party to a case wave the right to a jury trial while the jury’s role is limited and cannot cover the roles of a judge in a trial. Dependence of the jury on the judge for legal counsel informs the difference (Goldman and Sigismond 38). The burden of proof at a preliminary hearing is lower than the actual burden in a formal

Applied statistics for economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Applied statistics for economics - Essay Example Consistent with the research predictions, the study found out that standard & poor 500 indexes are more likely to release good news forecasts following larger stock price declines. Moreover, as expected there is no association between the likelihood of releasing good news forecasts and the magnitude of an exogenous stock price increase. Also to be illustrated in this report is the potential of Time-frequency Representation (TFR) techniques, for the analysis of stock markets data and compare their performances. It is for this reason that we seek to analyze the behavior of the stock market price over the period from 2002 to 2007. MAIN OBJECTIVES/BROAD PURPOSES OF THE PROJECT This report aims at investigating the following objectives; i) To investigate whether all the investors are risk averse and measure risk in terms of the standard deviation in a portfolio’s return. ii) To investigate whether all investors have a common time horizon for investment decisions (e.g., a year). iii ) To investigate whether all investors have identical subjective estimates of future returns and risks for all securities. iv) To investigate whether there exists a risk-free asset and all investors may borrow or lend an unlimited amount at the risk free nominal rate of interest. v) To investigate whether all securities are completely divisible, there are no transactions costs or differential taxes, and there are no restrictions on short-selling. vi) To investigate whether information is freely and simultaneously available to all investors. We could summarize the above by stating that all individuals are price-takers and that markets are perfectly competitive. OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT Comparing... Applied Statistics For Economics A time series can be said to collection of data yt (t=1,2,†¦,T), with the interval between yt and yt+1 being fixed and constant. Time series analysis is the estimation of difference equations containing stochastic (error) terms (Enders 2010). Time series forecasting takes the analysis from the time series data and tries to predict what the data may be in the near future, based on what it has been in the past. This is especially important in the field of stock market investment, as traders want to make the right moves at the right times to maximize financial profit. But because there are many factors influencing the fluctuation of the stock market, creating an accurate forecast based on the analysis alone is difficult. Therefore, many approaches and models have been developed to utilize the time series analysis and provide an accurate prediction of what is to come in the stock market. Standard & Poor 500 indices are designed to reflect the U.S. equity markets and, through the mar kets, the U.S. economy. The Standard & Poor 500 index focuses on the large-cap sector of the market; however, since it includes a significant portion of the total value of the market, it also represents the market. Companies in the Standard & Poor 500 index are considered leading companies in leading industries. Comparing the mean of dly and that of dlsap, we observe that the end of week mean price for the logarithm of share price for a particular stock (denoted dly) is lower compared to the end of week mean for the logarithm of Standard & Poor 500 index.

Football speech Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Football speech - Coursework Example This will enable them to comprehend how the professional sport is actually played, as well as apprise them of the global nuances, changes and aspirations that are shaping up with the passage of time. I am sure that the England team can rise way above my expectations if the young ones of today are given a chance to showcase their true talents as the country is filled with immense talent, skills and abilities. Why not tap the same? I ask you, why? Let’s go ahead with it and achieve success at full throttle. This is indeed possible, my dear ladies and gentlemen! The professional coaching in schools will allow us to succeed as and when we wish to have it within our ranks. I am certain that this professional football education would pave the way for talented stars to come up in the near future. The forming up of training academies would be a better initiative that the English football authorities can undertake because this will resolve quite a few issues. There is a dire need to se t things right and that too within the shortest time frame possible, so that success can be attained quickly. The youth training academies should be such that these inculcate pure value more than anything else. There is this shortfall of professional players coming on the English horizon and this can only be met with adequate levels of coaching and professionalism, and I am sure if steps are taken in the right direction, positive results will arrive sooner rather than later. I am sure that the academies must be given the resources that are required by them. If these academies are given the resources, they will come up with solid and long-lasting results. These results would win immense happiness for all of us, who want to see the sport of football thrive and our crowds roar whenever our team is playing well. My dear ladies and gentlemen, I may add here again that the professional coaching domains could only be harnessed upon if the right mix of coaches are employed, so that they can make sure that the players who are the most talented amongst the lot get selected and represent the different clubs so that they can make it to the top echelon, i.e. the England football team. Many stars within the England team represent pure talent and variety in the sheerest form and I am sure if given a proper chance to the up and coming players, there is no reason why they cannot be hailed as the very best, in fact even the greatest, in the times to come. Only thing lacking is an understanding that commitment and professionalism are inter-linked, and both of these tangents need to be touched upon deeply so as to extract maximum value. The football starting line-up within the clubs must have at least three English youth players so that their essence has a long-lasting value on building up the other players who are there within the clubs. These players will feel that they are playing on the big stage and are thus a part of something big (Sutherland, 1996, 45). They will even be g rateful if the English youth players take the time out to represent them, so that success for the sake of these clubs is manifested at the end of the day. This is such an important proposition that one can only wish for this to happen. And happen for the right reasons too, without any doubt let me tell you. I believe that the English youth players would bring with them the much required experience and

APPLIED MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS Research Questions Paper

APPLIED MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS Questions - Research Paper Example c) Mathematical formulae for production system of The Village Inn Y1 a11 a12 a13 a14 X1 Y2 = a21 a22 a23 a24 x X2 Y3 a31 a32 a33 a34 X3 X4 It could be assumed that, Y1 = buttermilk pancakes Y2 = Skillets Y3 = Crepes Thus, X1 = Milk, X2 = Butter, X3 = Wheat and X4 = Eggs Lastly, aij are the weights that are associated with each input for the production of each item and, their values range between 0 and 1; i, j = 1 ... 4 d) According to the Law of Diminishing Returns, the productivity of a factor with other factors remaining unchanged tends to diminish over time. In the above example, if any of the components are added in excess of the rest, they cannot help in producing an extra unit of output, so that increase in quantity only diminishes its productivity. Answer to Question 2 a) A department store generally deals with a large number of items under a single roof and simultaneously has to employ a large number of salespersons. In this case, productivity of each employee implies the add itional number of commodities that the person is able to sale over time. In order to calculate the average productivity per employee thus, it is necessary to calculate the gross sales that the company made and divide it with the total number of transactions. b) Technical efficiency implies the efficiency with which inputs could be converted into output. Normally, the greater the volume of output that could be created with a given volume of input, higher is the efficiency of the concerned firm. In retail stores, this could be implies by the speed with which the sales are taking place. An ideal method to measure the same could be through estimating the number of days that a commodity stays in the inventory shelf. If the number of days is found to be higher than the average, technical efficiency of the company might be regarded as falling and vice-versa. Moreover, greater the technical efficiency is, lower is the per unit production cost incurred and greater is the profit generated. c) Economic efficiency is the extent to which the retail store can compromise their shelf space occupied by one commodity with that of another. In order to optimise the same, it is very important for them to be informed about the commodities which are highly demanded compared to those which are not. In case that they are able to make the substitution successfully, i.e., there is Pareto Optimality, the average cost of the company falls and its profit rises. Answer to Question 3 In the present case, the retired couple have to capture a part of the market that is largely served by the nearby chain restaurant. However, the difference between the two is that while the couple plans to establish a lunch-only restaurant, the nearby chain is a full-fledged one. Thus, the strategy that they must be adopting should be that like an oligopolistic market, where their strategies should be highly dependent upon the ones being adopted by the existing players of the industry. Four economic factors that they need to consider while determining their pricing strategy are – Firstly, the market is characterised by another major player who is already experiencing the advantage of being a first mover. Generally, in an oligopolistic

Cyberslacking and the Procrastination Superhighway Article

Cyberslacking and the Procrastination Superhighway - Article Example The authors have used different studies to elaborate on the subject. The evidence is given from both strands of thoughts on the use of technology. Some believe that technology is useful for teens while others are against this view. The use of the internet in the workplace is also discussed and relevant studies are cited to highlight the negative effect of the internet on the productivity of employees. The tone of the article is academic in nature. The author has refrained from using opinions and subjective comments on the subjects. Everything that is mentioned in the article is backed by appropriate evidence which is good. The topic is also studied in depth and different aspects of the subject are highlighted. It can be safely said that authors have done justice with the subject. The article is also very informative and is written in a simple manner. Basic level English is used and flowery words are avoided. Authors are also ‘to the point’ when talking about internet procrastination. Emotions are also not used to explain anything in the article and everything is evidenced. The target audience of the article is the general academic and students of information technology. The article is not too technical therefore any internet using teenager can understand it. The way with which authors have conducted their research is also admirable since they have given all relevant information in a way that is understandable to everyone. Data was collected through the internet and email. Participants were required to fill a survey questionnaire and then filled questionnaires were studied for results. The survey was also filled voluntarily by participants, therefore, results should be considered objective.  

Interest Rate Risk Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interest Rate Risk Assignment - Essay Example Indeed, the credit was sold to the customer at a lower price (lower interest rate) than it could have been if it had been sold at a later time. Certainly, this is one of the simple examples, but we must consider that the value of the bank itself can be directly affected by the interest rate risk, through changes in its overall assets and liabilities values2 and given the time value of money. The repricing gap model is one of the simplest used by banks to determine the amount of exposure for their assets and is based on "the net differences between interest rate sensitive assets and liabilities maturing at different times"3). Within established time bands (one day, 1 day 3 months, 3-6 months etc. up to assets and liabilities with maturities of over 5 years), total liability values are subtracted from total asset values to evaluate a gap between the two. Each gap value thus obtained can be multiplied by a the assumed change in interest rates in order to obtain the potential numerical expression of the impact the change in interest rates will have on the value of that respective bandwidth (evaluated as the gap between assets and liabilities). ... Despite the fact that the repricing gap model is simple enough to be used by almost everybody, one of its biggest disadvantages refers exactly to this simplicity of the model. Indeed, there is practically no other variable being taking into consideration other than the difference in value between assets and liabilities within a time band. The market conditions generally impose multiple variable, such as different maturing and repricing periods4 or payments that need to be taken into consideration, so we may point out towards the fact that this model is only an approximation of the level of exposure of a bank to the interest rate risk. The duration gap analysis is somewhat more complex and provides more answers for a proper interest rate exposure analysis. It "focuses on managing NII or the market value of equity, recognizing the timing of cash flows"5, which is something that the repricing gap model ignored. According to the same source (Koch and MacDonald), an effective duration gap analysis will include three main steps. First of all, the bank management and analysis department will need to develop a forecast for the future levels of interest rate. Subsequently, the management determined the market value for all the assets and liabilities held by the bank. Third of all, an estimation of the weighted duration of assets and of the weighted duration of liabilities is made. In order to be able to hedge the market value of the bank's equity, the management will evaluate the difference between the weighted duration of assets and the weighted duration of liabilities and will set the condition that this equals to 0. Upon calculation, the bank management's conclusion will hold either an adjustment of either asset or liability weighted duration. 3.a)

Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Language - Essay Example Kincaid finds displeasure in the speech incompetence of the Antigua young people and the island at large for adopting the language of its colonizers. Baldwin highlights the development of Black English and the role it plays in society. This paper will compare the view of the two authors concerning the role of language. Baldwin’s essay draws the attention of the reader. He elaborates the situations preceding the development of Black English. He offers background information about the status of people of color as slaves. Slavery brought them together in the American continent. These slaves came from different parts of Africa. Because of their diversity, they spoke different languages. These slaves shared only one thing and this was the sad reality about the plights due to slavery. Slavery presented them with a need to communicate. The white man was not willing to educate the people of color unless it was for his benefit. There was a dire need for people to learn a language that would promote communication. Circumstances of being under slavery presented them with similar interests. They needed to have one voice for them to conquer the wits of the white people. They had to develop a unique form of communication so that the white man could not automatically understand. As Baldwin explains, any word spoken, revealed a lot about an individual’s life. ... The black people used language to express their grievances. In the unique language that resulted, blacks used expressions that depicted the passion for living life despite the circumstances that they were facing. For example, the author elaborates one of the words they used that had great significance in later years. The word jazz resulted from the black man’s creativity and was essentially applicable in sexual contexts. It was a unique way of the black man’s expression. In addition, Baldwin illustrates the effect of Black English among the white people. The word ‘jazz’ mentioned above influenced the music of an entire era. White Americans used the word to define the musical in which jazz music was common. They referred to it as the jazz age. Black English proved its potential to influence the culture of the white people. It was initially a language used by the oppressed to express their experience, but it delved deeper into influencing both the black and w hite culture. With time, whites borrowed words from this language to include in their culture. From the essay, it becomes evident that the core role of language is to present its speakers with a mode of communication that enables them to describe their experience. A society without language cannot achieve common goals. According to Baldwin, it is obvious that if the slaves brought to America could speak a similar language, history would be different. The slavery era would have been shorter. Baldwin reckons the reader to examine the role played by Black English. It has built the black community in the United States binding them closely. Through a common language, they have written history of slavery and described their struggle for liberty. Evidently, one

Team Model Essay Example for Free

Team Model Essay Forming: Roles and responsibilities not clear, everyone unknown to each other. Meeting group members. Storming : everyone has different point of views on different issues. Then they decide which one to choose. People complete for consideration. Norming : Develop a mutual plan, create guidelines in order to make rule for themselves. Performing: Achieving the goals the group has set. Adjourning: Finishes task. Tuckman’s Model of Team Formation Some overlap between the stages Tuckman’s model is linear; many others say the process he describes is cyclical. The model below takes into account movement back and forth through the stages. Small teams do seem to follow a predictable path. MODEL 2 Gersick’s Theory of Group Development Punctuated Equilibrium – (from Evolution theory) This model of team development does allow for gauging time which is a significant difference between it and Tuckman’s model. The Gersick model focuses on successive stages which are characterized by even increasing focus on task performance and completion as time becomes a factor. Each model assumes the individuals will strive for success in accomplishing the team’s set goals. The PE model is characterized by periods of stopping and re-planning when we recognize the time restrictions as we go through Gersick’s stages. Gersick’s theory they all of a sudden realize that they have a time limit. This is the difference between these two models. STAR Model Strengths- individuals in a group identify and develop strengths. Teamwork- come together and build relationships. Aligns – team leader assists group to achieve goals. Results- obtain results that are meaningful. (ACHIEVEMENT) Difference Gersick’s model: they suddenly realize that they have a deadline. Tuckman’s model has specific stages. Gersick’s model is mainly based on time. Gersick focuses more on task performance and completion Tuckman’s model is more specific and divides the group development into five distinguished stages, Gersick’s Lot of reforming of goals, sometimes 3 or 4 times. Similarities Both working towards a specific goal. Mainly all the work is done on the midway of the process.

Operant Conditioning Paper Essay Example for Free

Operant Conditioning Paper Essay The theory of operant conditioning was thought of by B.F. Skinner. Skinner came up with this theory based on the work of Thorndike (1905). The theory of operant conditioning states that organisms learn to act or behave in a way which obtains or gets a reward yet avoids a punishment. It is an instrumental type of conditioning. Type R conditioning is also known as operant conditioning. Type R conditioning is shown by the response rate. Type S conditioning is determined by the amount of the conditioned response. Skinners R conditioning is similar to Thorndike’s instrumental conditioning, and Skinners S conditioning is very similar to Pavlov’s classical conditioning (Olson Hergenhahn, 2009). The focus in operant conditioning is on a behavior and the consequences surrounding that behavior. The organism must behave in a way to cause stimulus reinforcement. This is also known as contingent or dependent reinforcement because getting the reinforcement or reward is based on a particular behavior or performance by the organism. An example of this would be, if a dog wants a treat, he must do a new trick hew has been taught. Positive reinforcements are those which cause a behavior to be repeated. An example would be a child crying at night (when they should be sleeping) and knowing that when he or she cries someone will come. This may be a positive reinforcement for the young child or baby because the child is being comforted and getting attention like he or she wants whenever they cry. The positive reinforcement is the person coming. On the other hand it could be negative for the person getting awakened. They do not want to have to get up in the middle of the night. They may eventually just let the child self soothe. Then eventually the person, if he or she decided not to respond to the child would not come anymore. This would be a negative reinforcement for the child because they are not getting a reward or what he or she thought of as a reward any longer. If the child did learn to stop crying in middle of the night, then the person getting up would have the positive reinforcement of silence instead of noise in the middle of the night. I think the form of reinforcement that is most effective is the dependent or contingent reinforcement. I reward my children with doing things they like if they do well in their school since they are homeschooled. If they know ahead of time that they will get special stuff, be able to go somewhere, or do something they like, they are more likely to try harder on their school work and act better. I will try operant conditioning with our dogs. Training a dog with the reward system is a good way to start or stop a certain behavior. The dog will perform the behavior habitually for a long time, and if it ever has to have reinforcement, it is only once in a while. I will try this with my dogs when taking them outside every day for the next two weeks at least three times a day. I will let them go off leash, because we have a non-fenced in yard, and I am trying to get them to stay within their bounds without leaving our property area. I have decided that if I take treats outside with me for the three out of the five times a day they are taken out, and offer it to them when I call them as they start to go out of their area, while at the same time telling them no and calling their name, they will learn where their boundaries or parameter is in our yard. I will do it gradually less and less so the reinforcement, which is the treats, eventually does not have to be used. The behavior will just become natural to the dogs, and eventually they will know where they can and cannot go. References Olson, M.H. Hergenhahn, B.R. (2009). An introduction to theories of learning (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall

Roald Dahl In 1954 English Literature Essay

Roald Dahl In 1954 English Literature Essay Born in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander. He rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the worlds bestselling authors. His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his childrens books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour. Some of his better-known works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches, and The Big Friendly Giant. ] Early life Roald Dahl was born at Villa Marie, Fairwater Road, Llandaff, Glamorgan, in 1916, to Norwegian parents, Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Dahl (nà ©e Hesselberg).[3] Dahls father had moved from Sarpsborg in Norway and settled in Cardiff in the 1880s. His mother came over to marry his father in 1911. Dahl was named after the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, a national hero in Norway at the time. He spoke Norwegian at home with his parents and sisters, Astri, Alfhild, and Else. Dahl and his sisters were christened at the Norwegian Church, Cardiff, where their parents worshipped. In 1920, when Dahl was still three years old, his seven-year-old sister, Astri, died from appendicitis. Weeks later, his father died of pneumonia at the age of 57. With the option of returning to Norway to live with relatives, Dahls mother decided to remain in Wales, because her husband had wished to have their children educated in British schools, which he considered the worlds best. Dahl first attended The Cathedral School, Llandaff. At the age of eight, he and four of his friends (one named Thwaites) were caned by the headmaster after putting a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers at the local sweet shop, which was owned by a mean and loathsome old woman called Mrs Pratchett. This was known amongst the five boys as the Great Mouse Plot of 1924. This was Roalds own idea. Thereafter, he transferred to a boarding school in England: Saint PeterHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_PetersHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peterss in Weston-super-Mare. Roalds parents had wanted him to be educated at a British public school and, at the time, because of a then regular ferry link across the Bristol Channel, this proved to be the nearest. His time at Saint Peters was an unpleasant experience for him. He was very homesick and wrote to his mother every week, but never revealed to her his unhappiness, being under the pressure of school censorship. Only after her death in 1967 did he find out that she had saved every single one of his letters, in small bundles held together with green tape.[4] Dahl wrote about his time at St. Peters in his autobiography Boy: Tales of Childhood.[5] From 1929, he attended Repton School in Derbyshire, where, according to Boy: Tales of Childhood, a friend named Michael was viciously caned by headmaster Geoffrey Fisher, the man who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury and crowned the Queen in 1953. (However, according to Dahls biographer Jeremy Treglown,[6] the caning took place in May 1933, a year after Fisher had left Repton. The headmaster concerned was in fact J.T. Christie, Fishers successor.) This caused Dahl to have doubts about religion and even about God.[7] He was never seen as a particularly talented writer in his school years, with one of his English teachers writing in his school report I have never met anybody who so persistently writes words meaning the exact opposite of what is intended,[8] Dahl was exceptionally tall, reaching 6  ft  6  in (1.98  m) in adult life.[9] He excelled at sports, being made captain of the school fives and squash teams, and also playing for the football team. He developed an i nterest in photography. During his years at Repton, Cadbury, the chocolate company, would occasionally send boxes of new chocolates to the school to be tested by the pupils. Dahl apparently used to dream of inventing a new chocolate bar that would win the praise of Mr. Cadbury himself, and this proved the inspiration for him to write his third book for children, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1963) and include references to chocolate in other books for children.[10] Throughout his childhood and adolescent years, Dahl spent his summer holidays with his mothers family in their native Norway. His childhood and first job selling kerosene in Midsomer Norton and surrounding villages in Somerset are subjects in Boy: Tales of Childhood. The main child character in his 1983 book The Witches is British-born but of Norwegian origin; his grandmother is still living in Norway.[11] After finishing his schooling, he spent three weeks hiking through Newfoundland with the Public Schools Exploring Society (now known as BSES Expeditions). Prewar career and fighter ace In July 1934, Dahl joined the Shell Petroleum Company. Following two years of training in the UK, he was transferred to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika (now Tanzania). Along with the only two other Shell employees in the entire territory, he lived in luxury in the Shell House outside Dar-es-Salaam, with a cook and personal servants. While out on assignments supplying oil to customers across Tanganyika, he encountered black mambas and lions, amongst other wildlife.[7] Family Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl Dahl married American actress Patricia Neal on 2 July 1953 at Trinity Church in New York City. Their marriage lasted for 30 years and they had five children: Olivia, Tessa, Theo, Ophelia, and Lucy. On 5 December 1960, four-month-old Theo Dahl was severely injured when his baby carriage was struck by a taxicab in New York City. For a time, he suffered from hydrocephalus, and as a result, his father became involved in the development of what became known as the Wade-Dahl-Till (or WDT) valve, a device to alleviate the condition.[22]HYPERLINK #cite_note-larner-22[23] In November 1962, Olivia Dahl died of measles encephalitis at age seven. Dahl subsequently became a proponent of immunization[24] and dedicated his 1982 book The BFG to his deceased daughter. In 1965, wife Patricia Neal suffered three burst cerebral aneurysms while pregnant with their fifth child, Lucy; Dahl took control of her rehabilitation and she eventually relearned to talk and walk, and even returned to her acting career.[25] Following a divorce from Neal in 1983, Dahl married Felicity Liccy Crosland the same year at Brixton town hall, and with whom he was in a relationship before that.[26] According to a biographer, Donald Sturrock, Liccy gave up her job and moved into his home, Gipsy House, with Roald and his children. He is the father of the author Tessa Dahl, grandfather of author, cookbook writer, and former model Sophie Dahl and father-in-law to actor Julian Holloway (son of actor Stanley Holloway). Death and legacy Dahls gravestone Roald Dahl died on 23 November 1990, at the age of 74 of a blood disease, myelodysplastic syndrome, in Oxford,[27] and was buried in the cemetery at St. Peter and St. PaulHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter_and_St._Pauls_ChurchHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter_and_St._Pauls_Churchs Church in Great Missenden. According to his granddaughter, the family gave him a sort of Viking funeral. He was buried with his snooker cues, some very good burgundy, chocolates, HB pencils and a power saw. In his honour, the Roald Dahl ChildrenHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl_Childrens_GalleryHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl_Childrens_Gallerys Gallery was opened at Buckinghamshire County Museum in nearby Aylesbury. In 2002, one of Cardiff Bays modern landmarks, the historic Oval Basin plaza, was re-christened Roald Dahl Plass. Plass means place or square in Norwegian, referring to the acclaimed late writers Norwegian roots. There have also been calls from the public for a permanent statue of him to be erected in the city[28] Dahls charitable commitments in the fields of neurology and haematology have been continued by his widow since his death, through Roald Dahls Marvellous Childrens Charity, formerly known as the Roald Dahl Foundation.[29] In June 2005, the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre opened in Great Missenden to celebrate the work of Roald Dahl and advance his work in literacy education. In 2008, the UK charity Booktrust and ChildrenHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childrens_LaureateHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childrens_Laureates Laureate Michael Rosen inaugurated The Roald Dahl Funny Prize, an annual award to authors of humorous childrens fiction.[30] In 2008, The Times ranked Roald Dahl sixteenth on their list of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945.[31] On 14 September 2009 (the day after what would have been Dahls 93rd birthday) the first blue plaque in his honour was unveiled in Llandaff, Cardiff. Rather than commemorating his place of birth, however, the plaque was erected on the wall of the former sweet shop (and site of The Great Mouse Plot of 1924) that features in the first part of his autobiography Boy. It was unveiled by his widow Felicity and son Theo.[32] In his honour, Gibraltar Post issued a set of four stamps in 2010 featuring Quentin Blakes original illustrations for four of the childrens books written by Dahl during his long career; The BFG, The Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda.[33] Roald Dahl Day The anniversary of Dahls birthday on 13 September is celebrated as Roald Dahl Writing Roald Dahls story The Devious Bachelor was illustrated by Frederick Siebel when it was published in CollierHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colliers_WeeklyHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colliers_Weeklys (September 1953). Dahls first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was A Piece Of Cake. The story, about his wartime adventures, was bought by The Saturday Evening Post for $1000 and published under the title Shot Down Over Libya. The shot down title was inaccurate, as he simply ran out of fuel. His first childrens book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. All the RAF pilots blamed the gremlins for all the problems with the plane. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved childrens stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_and_the_Chocolate_FactoryFactory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach and Georges Marvellous Medicine. He also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour and a surprise ending. Many were originally written for American magazines such as CollierHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colliers_WeeklyHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colliers_Weeklys, Ladies Home Journal, HarperHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers_MagazineHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers_Magazines, Playboy and The New Yorker. Works such as Kiss Kiss subsequently collected Dahls stories into anthologies, gaining worldwide acclaim. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories; they have appeared in numerous collections, some only being published in book form after his death (See List of Roald Dahl short stories). His stories also brought him three Edgar Awards: in 1954, for the collection Someone Like You; in 1959, for the story The Landlady; and in 1980, for the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on Skin. One of his more famous adult stories, The Smoker (also known as Man From the South), was filmed twice as both 1960 and 1985 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and also adapted into Quentin Tarantinos segment of the 1995 film Four Rooms. This bizarre, oft-anthologised suspense classic concerns a man residing in Jamaica who wagers with visitors in an attempt to claim the fingers from their hands. The 1960 Hitchcock version stars Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre. His short story collection Tales of the Unexpected was adapted to a successful TV series of the same name, beginning with Man From the South. When the stock of Dahls own original stories was exhausted, the series continued by adapting stories by authors that were written in Dahls style, including the writers John Collier and Stanley Ellin. He acquired a traditional Romanichal Gypsy wagon in the 1960s, and the family used it as a playhouse for his children. He later used the vardo as a writing room, where he wrote the book Danny, the Champion of the World.[36] A number of his short stories are supposed to be extracts from the diary of his (fictional) Uncle Oswald, a rich gentleman whose sexual exploits form the subject of these stories. In his novel My Uncle Oswald the uncle engages a temptress to seduce 20th Century geniuses and royalty with a love potion secretly added to chocolate truffles made by Dahls favourite chocolate shop, Prestat of Piccadilly. Memories with Food at Gipsy House, written with his wife Felicity and published posthumously in 1991, was a mixture of recipes, family reminiscences and Dahls musings on favourite subjects such as chocolate, onions, and claret. Dahl ranks amongst the worldHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_fiction_authorsHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_fiction_authorss bestselling fiction authors, with sales estimated at 100  million.[37]HYPERLINK #cite_note-37[38] Childrens fiction Dahls childrens works are usually told from the point of view of a child. They typically involve adult villains or villainesses who hate and mistreat children, and feature at least one good adult to counteract the villain(s). These stock characters are possibly a reference to the abuse that Dahl stated that he experienced in the boarding schools he attended. They usually contain a lot of black humour and grotesque scenarios, including gruesome violence. The Witches, GeorgeHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Marvellous_MedicineHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Marvellous_Medicines Marvellous Medicine and Matilda are examples of this formula. The BFG follows it in a more analogous way with the good giant (the BFG or Big Friendly Giant) representing the good adult archetype and the other giants being the bad adults. This formula is also somewhat evident in Dahls film script for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Class-conscious themes ranging from the thinly veiled to the blatant also surface in works such as Fantastic Mr Fox and Danny, the Champion of the World. Dahl also features in his books characters that are very fat, usually children. Augustus Gloop, Bruce Bogtrotter, and Bruno Jenkins are a few of these characters, although an enormous woman named Aunt Sponge is featured in James and The Giant Peach and the nasty farmer Boggis in Fantastic Mr Fox features as an enormously fat character. All of these characters (with the possible exception of Bruce Bogtrotter) are either villains or simply unpleasant gluttons. They are usually punished for this: Augustus Gloop drinks from Willy Wonkas chocolate river, disregarding the adults who tell him not to, and falls in, getting sucked up a pipe and nearly being turned into fudge. Bruce Bogtrotter steals cake from the evil headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and is forced to eat a gigantic chocolate cake in front of the school. Bruno Jenkins is turned into a mouse by witches who lure him to their convention with the promise of chocolate, and, it is speculated, possibly disowned or even killed by his pa rents because of this. Aunt Sponge is flattened by a giant peach.) Dahls mother used to tell him and his sisters tales about trolls and other mythical Norwegian creatures and some of his childrens books contain references or elements inspired by these stories, such as the giants in The BFG, the fox family in Fantastic Mr Fox and the trolls in The Minpins. Screenplays For a brief period in the 1960s, Dahl wrote screenplays. Two the James Bond film You Only Live Twice and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang were adaptations of novels by Ian Fleming, though both were rewritten and completed by other writers. Dahl also began adapting his own novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was completed and rewritten by David Seltzer after Dahl failed to meet deadlines, and produced as the film Willy Wonka HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka__the_Chocolate_FactoryHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka__the_Chocolate_Factory the Chocolate Factory (1971). Dahl later disowned the film, saying he was disappointed because he thought it placed too much emphasis on Willy Wonka and not enough on Charlie.[39] He was also infuriated by the deviations in the plot devised by David Seltzer in his draft of the screenplay. This resulted in his refusal for any more versions of the book to be made in his lifetime.[40] Influences Not surprisingly, a major part of Dahls literary influences stemmed from his childhood. In his younger days, he was an avid reader, especially awed by fantastic tales of heroism and triumph. Amongst his favourite authors were Rudyard Kipling, William Thackeray, Frederick Marryat and Charles Dickens and their works went on to make a lasting mark on his life and writing. Dahl was also a huge fan of ghost stories and claimed that Trolls by Jonas Lie was one of the finest ghost stories ever written. While he was still a youngster, his mother, Sofie Dahl, would relate traditional Norwegian myths and legends from her native homeland to Dahl and his sisters. Dahl always maintained that his mother and her stories had a strong influence on his writing. In one interview he mentioned, She was a great teller of tales. Her memory was prodigious and nothing that ever happened to her in her life was forgotten. When Dahl started writing and publishing his famous books for children, he created a gran dmother character in The Witches and later stated that she was based directly on his own mother as a tribute.[1]HYPERLINK #cite_note-40[41] ] Way Out In 1961, Dahl hosted and wrote for a science fiction and horror television anthology series called Way Out, which preceded the Twilight Zone series on the CBS network for 14 episodes[42] from March to July. Dahls comedic monologues rounded off the episodes, frequently explaining exactly how to murder ones spouse without getting caught. In one introduction, Dahl ruminated about the popularity of the crewcut at the time and how it seemed to make some men feel tougher. The former fighter pilot dryly observed that .it really doesnt help when the chips are down, though, does it? One of the last dramatic network shows shot in New York City, the entire series is available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media in New York City and Los Angeles. Tales of the Unexpected Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series that originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. The series was an anthology of different tales, initially based on short stories, at one time compiled in a book of the same title, by the author Roald Dahl. The stories were sometimes sinister, sometimes wryly comedic, and usually had a twist ending. Dahl introduced on camera all the episodes of the first two series, which bore the full title Roald Dahls Tales Of The Unexpected. Dahl also chose the stories not written by him to be adapted for the second series, and a small number of additional Dahl stories were adapted for the third series onwards following his departure. [List of works [Childrens stories The Gremlins(1943) James and the Giant Peach(1961) Film: James and the Giant Peach(live-action/animated) (1996) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(1964)[nn 1]- Films: Willy Wonka HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka__the_Chocolate_FactoryHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka__the_Chocolate_Factorythe Chocolate Factory(1971) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(2005) The Magic Finger(1 June 1966) Fantastic Mr Fox(9 December 1970) Film: Fantastic Mr. Fox(animated) (2009) Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator(9 January 1972)[nn 1]A sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Danny, the Champion of the World(30 October 1975) Film: Danny the Champion of the World(TV movie) (1989) The Enormous Crocodile(24 August 1978) The Twits(17 December 1980) GeorgeHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Marvellous_MedicineHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Marvellous_Medicines Marvellous Medicine(21 May 1981) The BFG(14 October 1982) Film: The BFG(animated) (1989) The Witches(27 October 1983) Film: The Witches(1990) The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me(26 September 1985) Matilda(21 April 1988) Film: Matilda(1996) Esio Trot(19 April 1989) The Vicar of Nibbleswicke(9 May 1990) The Minpins(8 August 1991) Childrens poetry Revolting Rhymes(10 June 1982) Dirty Beasts(25 October 1984) Rhyme Stew(21 September 1989) [Adult fiction Novels Sometime Never: A Fable for Supermen(1948) My Uncle Oswald(1979) Short story collections Over To You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying(1946) Someone Like You(1953) Lamb to the Slaughter(1953) Kiss Kiss(1960) Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl(1969) Switch Bitch(1974) The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More(1977) The Best of Roald Dahl(1978) Tales of the Unexpected(1979) More Tales of the Unexpected(1980) Roald DahlHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roald_Dahls_Book_of_Ghost_Storiesaction=editredlink=1HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roald_Dahls_Book_of_Ghost_Storiesaction=editredlink=1s Book of Ghost Stories(1983). Edited with an introduction by Dahl. The Roald Dahl Omnibus(Dorset Press, 1986) Two Fables(1986). Princess and the Poacherand Princess Mammalia. Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life: The Country Stories of Roald Dahl(1989) The Collected Short Stories of Dahl(1991) The Roald Dahl Treasury(1997) The Great Automatic Grammatizator(1997). (Known in the USA as The Umbrella Man and Other Stories). Skin And Other Stories(2000) Roald Dahl: Collected Stories(2006) See the alphabetical List of Roald Dahl short stories. See also Roald Dahl: Collected Storiesfor a complete, chronological listing. Non-fiction The Mildenhall Treasure(1946, 1977, 1999) Boy Tales of Childhood(1984) Recollections up to the age of 20, looking particularly at schooling in Britainin the early part of the 20th century. Going Solo(1986) Continuation of his autobiography, in which he goes to work for Shelland spends some time working in Tanzaniabefore joining the war effort and becoming one of the last Alliedpilots to withdraw from Greece during the German invasion. Measles, a Dangerous Illness(1986)[43] Memories with Food at Gipsy House(1991) Roald DahlHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahls_Guide_to_Railway_SafetyHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahls_Guide_to_Railway_Safetys Guide to Railway Safety(1991) My Year(1993) Roald Dahls Revolting Recipesby Felicity Dahl, et al.(1994), a collection of recipes based on and inspired by food in Dahls books, created by Roald Felicity Dahl, and Josie Fison Roald Dahls Even More Revolting Recipesby Felicity Dahl, et al.(2001) Plays The Honeys(1955) Produced at the Longacre Theater on Broadway. [] Film scripts The Gremlins(1943) 36 Hours(1965) You Only Live Twice(1967) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(1968) The Night Digger(1971) Willy Wonka HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka__the_Chocolate_FactoryHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka__the_Chocolate_Factorythe Chocolate Factory(1971) [edit] Television Way Out(1961) Horror series hosted by Roald Dahl and produced by David Susskind Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Lamb to the Slaughter(1958) Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Dip in the Pool(1958) Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Poison(1958) Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Man from the South(1960) with Steve McQueenand Peter Lorre Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Mrs. Bixby and the ColonelHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._Bixby_and_the_Colonels_CoatHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._Bixby_and_the_Colonels_Coats Coat(1960) Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Landlady(1961) Tales of the Unexpected(1979-88), episodes written and introduced by Dahl ^ a b Published in 1978 in an omnibus edition titled The Complete Adventures of Charlie and Willy Wonka ] Controversies In 1983 Dahl reviewed Tony Cliftons God Cried, a picture book about the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon depicting Israelis killing thousands of Beirut inhabitants by bombing civilian targets. Dahls review stated that this invasion was when we all started hating Israel, and that the book would make readers violently anti-Israeli, writing, I am not anti-Semitic. I am anti-Israel.[44] Dahl told a reporter in 1983, Theres a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity I mean there is always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere; even a stinker like Hitler didnt just pick on them for no reason.[44] Dahl maintained friendships with a number of Jews, including philosopher Isaiah Berlin, who said, I thought he might say anything. Could have been pro-Arab or pro-Jew. There was no consistent line. He was a man who followed whims, which meant he would blow up in one direction, so to speak.[44] In later years, Dahl included a sympathetic episode about German-Jewish refugees in his book Going Solo, and professed to be opposed to injustice, not Jews.[44]

Coleriges The Eolian Harp Essay -- essays research papers

A single inanimate object, The Eolian Harp, sends Coleridge flitting in, out, over and through introspection. The trajectory of the poem may be plotted as follows: terrestrial observations, fixation upon single terrestrial item (i.e. the harp), exulting single item into transcendence, an astral purview of the terrestrial via the item, reassessment of mind frame, guilt and denunciation of transcendent thought, and finally, remorse and dismissal of all preceding drivel (as to adequately and respectfully embrace the noumenal realm). Coleridge’s brain waves wend in a circuitous manner, however, the final result is a sentiment-shift regarding man’s position before (or, as Coleridge concludes, beneath) God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stanza one proffers an apostrophic dupe, as Coleridge calls out to his â€Å"pensive Sara†. Pedestrian predictability would indicate an amorous ode, perhaps asserting (due regard given to the title) that Sara is a form of caution thrown to the wind, thus generating sweet music from aforementioned harp. This is immediately proven incorrect, as seen in the succeeding lines. The first stanza curtails with a descriptive rant, offering a sense of conviction, as though it be a poem unto itself. Lines 10 through 12 read: Snatched from yon bean-field! and the world so hushed!/The stilly murmur of the distant sea/Tells us of silence/. The barrage of exclamation in concomitance with mentions of silence serve as a paradox which ultimately muzzles narration. â€Å"Silence† is apropos in halting a poem, as logic indicates that once a poem reaches its end, the mind ceases churning and goes â€Å"silent†. However, in this instance, it may be construed as poe tic device. Acknowledging that the poem (both literally and figuratively) chimes on, the remaining syllables curiously missing from line 12 are transferred to line 13: /And that simplest lute,/. Coleridge once again takes possession of his narrative, linking the two stanzas with a conjunction. Moreover, this line seethes with audible sound, the only tangibly present noun being â€Å"lute†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Here, with the commencement of Stanza 2, Coleridge begins to divest himself of earthly bodies as to become engrossed in the harp’s presence. First, the harp is only stationed atop the window’s sill. Gradually, Coleridge introduces the components necessary for the harp to function. At line 20... ...with a return to that with which he began: â€Å"/Peace, and this cot, and thee, heart-honored Maid!/. As asserted by the preceding lines, the so coined ‘holier-than-thou’ God is responsible for all fortunes bestowed upon Coleridge. He has also chosen to reveal to the reader that the entire poem was, in fact, an address to his â€Å"heart-honored Maid†. Conceivably, Coleridge has addressed her as such in order to absolve himself of any perceived wrong-doing; specifically in Line 15: /Like some coy maid half yielding to her lover,/. Distinguishing between â€Å"maids†, (one being a trollop, the other a lady of virtue) is a final attempt to get himself ‘off the hook’, colloquially speaking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As delineated in paragraph one, Coleridge’s poetic field is one rampant with erratic thought and ultimate change. The proposed subject of the poem, an eolian harp, is virtually abandoned and replaced with veneration of a God as well as a lover. One would think that such a fickle publication would be kept isolated by its author. Although, Coleridge may have staked importance in showing his adoration for God publicly. Hence, the ingress and resultant revocation of the Eolian Harp. Coleriges The Eolian Harp Essay -- essays research papers A single inanimate object, The Eolian Harp, sends Coleridge flitting in, out, over and through introspection. The trajectory of the poem may be plotted as follows: terrestrial observations, fixation upon single terrestrial item (i.e. the harp), exulting single item into transcendence, an astral purview of the terrestrial via the item, reassessment of mind frame, guilt and denunciation of transcendent thought, and finally, remorse and dismissal of all preceding drivel (as to adequately and respectfully embrace the noumenal realm). Coleridge’s brain waves wend in a circuitous manner, however, the final result is a sentiment-shift regarding man’s position before (or, as Coleridge concludes, beneath) God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stanza one proffers an apostrophic dupe, as Coleridge calls out to his â€Å"pensive Sara†. Pedestrian predictability would indicate an amorous ode, perhaps asserting (due regard given to the title) that Sara is a form of caution thrown to the wind, thus generating sweet music from aforementioned harp. This is immediately proven incorrect, as seen in the succeeding lines. The first stanza curtails with a descriptive rant, offering a sense of conviction, as though it be a poem unto itself. Lines 10 through 12 read: Snatched from yon bean-field! and the world so hushed!/The stilly murmur of the distant sea/Tells us of silence/. The barrage of exclamation in concomitance with mentions of silence serve as a paradox which ultimately muzzles narration. â€Å"Silence† is apropos in halting a poem, as logic indicates that once a poem reaches its end, the mind ceases churning and goes â€Å"silent†. However, in this instance, it may be construed as poe tic device. Acknowledging that the poem (both literally and figuratively) chimes on, the remaining syllables curiously missing from line 12 are transferred to line 13: /And that simplest lute,/. Coleridge once again takes possession of his narrative, linking the two stanzas with a conjunction. Moreover, this line seethes with audible sound, the only tangibly present noun being â€Å"lute†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Here, with the commencement of Stanza 2, Coleridge begins to divest himself of earthly bodies as to become engrossed in the harp’s presence. First, the harp is only stationed atop the window’s sill. Gradually, Coleridge introduces the components necessary for the harp to function. At line 20... ...with a return to that with which he began: â€Å"/Peace, and this cot, and thee, heart-honored Maid!/. As asserted by the preceding lines, the so coined ‘holier-than-thou’ God is responsible for all fortunes bestowed upon Coleridge. He has also chosen to reveal to the reader that the entire poem was, in fact, an address to his â€Å"heart-honored Maid†. Conceivably, Coleridge has addressed her as such in order to absolve himself of any perceived wrong-doing; specifically in Line 15: /Like some coy maid half yielding to her lover,/. Distinguishing between â€Å"maids†, (one being a trollop, the other a lady of virtue) is a final attempt to get himself ‘off the hook’, colloquially speaking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As delineated in paragraph one, Coleridge’s poetic field is one rampant with erratic thought and ultimate change. The proposed subject of the poem, an eolian harp, is virtually abandoned and replaced with veneration of a God as well as a lover. One would think that such a fickle publication would be kept isolated by its author. Although, Coleridge may have staked importance in showing his adoration for God publicly. Hence, the ingress and resultant revocation of the Eolian Harp.

Salem Witch Trials Essay -- essays research papers

The Salem witch trials began with the accusation of people in Salem of being witches. But the concept of witchcraft started far before these trials and false accusations occurred. In the early Christian centuries, the church was relatively tolerant of magical practices. Those who were proved to have engaged in witchcraft were required only to do penance. But in the late Middle Ages (13th century to 14th century) opposition to alleged witchcraft hardened as a result of the growing belief that all magic and miracles that did not come unambiguously from God came from the Devil and were therefore manifestations of evil. Those who practiced simple sorcery, such as village wise women, were increasingly regarded as practitioners of diabolical witchcraft. They came to be viewed as individuals in league with Satan. Nearly all those who fell under suspicion of witchcraft were women, evidently regarded by witch-hunters as especially vulnerable to the Devil’s blandishments. A lurid picture of the activities of witches emerged in the popular mind, including covens, or gatherings over which Satan presided; pacts with the Devil; flying broomsticks; and animal accomplices, or familiars. Although a few of these elements may represent leftovers of pre-Christian religion, the old religion probably did not persist in any organized form beyond the 14th century. The popular image of witchcraft, perhaps inspired by features of occultism or ceremonial magic as well as by theology concerning the Devil and his works of darkness, was given shape by the inflamed imagination of inquisitors and was confirmed by statements obtained under torture. The late medieval and early modern picture of diabolical witchcraft can be attributed to several causes. First, the church’s experience with such dissident religious movements as the Albigenses and Cathari, who believed in a radical dualism of good and evil, led to the belief that certain people had allied themselves with Satan. As a result of confrontations with such heresy, the Inquisition was established by a series of papal decrees between 1227 and 1235. Pope Innocent IV authorized the use of torture in 1252, and Pope Alexander IV gave the Inquisition authority over all cases of sorcery involving heresy, although local courts carried out most actual prosecution of witches. At the same time, other developments created a climate in which alle... ...urse was accused as well, but found not guilty in the trial. Over 40 friends and neighbors testified in her favor, telling of her good faith and character. But the verdict from the jury caused such an outcry of fear, that the jury was asked to re-consider and she was then found guilty and hung. Mary Esty, Rebecca Nurses sister was also accused of being a witch, but she argued her case so well and in such a convincing manner, that the girls relented and she was found not guilty. She was released, a first in the witch-trials, but before long she was arrested once again on the claim that the girls had been haunted by her ghost. She was convicted and hung on September 22, 1692. Although all of the "witches" were hung, a certain man named Giles Cory was killed in a traditional English manner. He was pressed, pressing was where they would place heavy stones on a person till they died. Cory died two days later, crushed. 25 lives were taken during these Salem trials. 19 "w itches" were hung at Gallows hill. One was tortured to death by pressing. And five others died in prison, including an infant. The Salem witch trials were mainly caused by these two girls imagination.

Physics of Avalanches Essay -- physics avalanche snow

Avalanches kill back country recreationalists every year, including skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers, and snowmachiners. All back country users should have knowledge of the basic physics of avalanches to help them evaluate local and regional potential for slides. The foundation of this knowledge comes from understanding how the surrounding environmental conditions in previous weeks, previous days, and the day in question all contribute to snow stability or instability, and how specific factors affect snow on a micro-scale, which determines how snow slopes will behave on a macro-scale. There are two major types of avalanches (excluding debris avalanches from broken cornices and ice formations). These are point releases, or loose snow slides, and slab avalanches. While point releases can be dangerous and should be avoided, slab avalanches are much more catastrophic and account for most of the backcountry avalanche disasters involving humans. Basic physics of point releases are discussed here, followed by a discussion on the basic physics of slab avalanches, and how external factors contribute to the stability or instability of a snow covered slope. BASIC PHYSICS OF POINT RELEASE AVALANCHES Point release avalanches, or loose snow slides, begin at one point on a slope and get progressively wider as they proceed down the slope. A fundamental characteristic that must be present for this type of avalanche to occur is a surface layer of cohesionless, or nearly cohesionless, snow (University of Colorado IBS 1975; Fredston and Fesler 1994). An initially small amount of snow begins to move downward when the force of gravity is greater than the forces of cohesion at a particular angle or when debris from above starts the s... ...ditional weight of one skier crossing at a time. BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR "THE PHYSICS OF AVALANCHES" Daffern, T. 1983. Avalanche safety for skiers and climbers. Alpenbooks, Seattle, WA. Fredston, J.A., and D. Fesler. 1994. Snow sense: a guide to evaluating snow avalanche hazard. Alaska Mountain Safety Center, Anchorage, AK. Graydon, D., and K. Hanson, editors. 1997. Mountaineering: the freedom of the hills, sixth edition. The Mountaineers, Seattle, WA. Perla, R.I., and M. Martinelli. 1976. Avalanche handbook. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 489. University of Colorado IBS (Institute of Behavioral Science). 1975. Snow avalanche hazard in the United States: a research assessment. Assessment of Research on Natural Hazards, Program on Technology, Environment, and Man, Monograph NSF-RA-E-75-017. Physics of Avalanches Essay -- physics avalanche snow Avalanches kill back country recreationalists every year, including skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers, and snowmachiners. All back country users should have knowledge of the basic physics of avalanches to help them evaluate local and regional potential for slides. The foundation of this knowledge comes from understanding how the surrounding environmental conditions in previous weeks, previous days, and the day in question all contribute to snow stability or instability, and how specific factors affect snow on a micro-scale, which determines how snow slopes will behave on a macro-scale. There are two major types of avalanches (excluding debris avalanches from broken cornices and ice formations). These are point releases, or loose snow slides, and slab avalanches. While point releases can be dangerous and should be avoided, slab avalanches are much more catastrophic and account for most of the backcountry avalanche disasters involving humans. Basic physics of point releases are discussed here, followed by a discussion on the basic physics of slab avalanches, and how external factors contribute to the stability or instability of a snow covered slope. BASIC PHYSICS OF POINT RELEASE AVALANCHES Point release avalanches, or loose snow slides, begin at one point on a slope and get progressively wider as they proceed down the slope. A fundamental characteristic that must be present for this type of avalanche to occur is a surface layer of cohesionless, or nearly cohesionless, snow (University of Colorado IBS 1975; Fredston and Fesler 1994). An initially small amount of snow begins to move downward when the force of gravity is greater than the forces of cohesion at a particular angle or when debris from above starts the s... ...ditional weight of one skier crossing at a time. BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR "THE PHYSICS OF AVALANCHES" Daffern, T. 1983. Avalanche safety for skiers and climbers. Alpenbooks, Seattle, WA. Fredston, J.A., and D. Fesler. 1994. Snow sense: a guide to evaluating snow avalanche hazard. Alaska Mountain Safety Center, Anchorage, AK. Graydon, D., and K. Hanson, editors. 1997. Mountaineering: the freedom of the hills, sixth edition. The Mountaineers, Seattle, WA. Perla, R.I., and M. Martinelli. 1976. Avalanche handbook. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 489. University of Colorado IBS (Institute of Behavioral Science). 1975. Snow avalanche hazard in the United States: a research assessment. Assessment of Research on Natural Hazards, Program on Technology, Environment, and Man, Monograph NSF-RA-E-75-017.

Factors Influencing Employee Performance Essay

1. Introduction 1.1 Background of the study There are many challenges which hinder the delivery of public service reforms in Africa (Lienert, 2003). The factors include those relating to human resources like manpower deficiencies and lack of psychological dispositions and shortage of financial and material resources necessary for effective delivery of services. The problems of accountability as well as ethical issues also continue to affect effective delivery of public service. In an effort to mitigate some of these challenges, the Government of Kenya (GOK) has in the past launched several reform programs to improve service delivery. Some of these reform efforts include the Civil Service Reform Program (CSRP) (GOK, 1993) whose aim was to enhance public service efficiency and productivity. The program was designed to contain costs, improve performance in the public sector, and consolidate and sustain the gains made by reform initiatives (Opiyo, 2006). The other reform initiatives included the implementation of Results – Based Management that was guided by Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment creation (GOK, 2003) whose strategies included developing benchmarks and evaluating the performance of public institutions. In order to enhance the performance of public officers, the government introduced a program where rewards and sanctions were to be used to encourage provision of quality services in the public sector. This paved way for the piloting of the process of in state corporations in 2003 which saw the introduction and implementation of performance appraisals in the entire public sector. Most firms in Kenya now employ some performance appraisal system (GOK, 2009). The Performance Appraisal System (PAS) was introduced by the GOK to refocus the mind of the public from a culture of inward looking to a culture of businesslike environment, focused on the customer and results in addition to improving service delivery (Obong’o, 2009). According to the new PAS, the evaluation of staff performance is supposed to run concurrently with the duration of ministerial performance contracts and the Government Financial year. Targets should meet acceptable quality standards and benchmarks as determined in each category of service delivery; the system should be supported by training of staff, particularly those with managerial and supervisory responsibility; and the process should be regarded as interactive, for mutual agreement between supervisors and appraisers (GOK, 2009). Longenecker and Goff (1992), observed that managers and human resource professionals belief that a PAS is a good tool for human resource management and performance improvement. If well designed and implemented it can benefit both the employees and the organizations (Coens and Jenkins, 2000). According to GOK (2009), the PAS has caused a cultural transformation within the public service from a baseline of extremely poor performance before 2003. The GOK has in the past made some efforts in launching and implementing Public Service Reform initiatives aimed at improving the performance of public servants in service delivery (GOK, 1993; GOK, 2003). However, these reforms have not achieved the envisaged results (AAPAM, 2005; Opiyo, 2006). The introduction of the new PAS (GOK, 2006) is yet another attempt by the Government to manage and improve performance of the Civil Service and Local Authorities by enabling a higher level of staff participation and involvement in planning, delivery and evaluation of work performance. Despite the successful roll out of the program, there is evidence of room for improvement in the process (GOK, 2009) and a lack of knowledge on the factors that influence the PAS in the Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, (MoSPA) Nyamira district, Kenya. Specifically, this study addresses this gap by: (a) Establishing how the implementation process of the PAS in the public sector influences the system; (b) Determining how rater and ratee interpersonal relationship in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; (c) Determining how psychometric rater accuracy in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; (d) Determining how the level of information exchange between the rater and the ratee in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; and (e) Establishing how the attitudes of employees towards the last PAS rating, towards the rater and towards the PAS influence the system in the public sector.