High Remarks for Hybrid Cars

QUESTION: Describe the different types of hybrid cars and how they are improving fuel efficiency. What are other pros and cons of driving a hybrid? —————————————————————————————————- High Remarks for Hybrid Cars It is no secret that one of the most popular trends in today's society is â€Å"going green† to help the economy, save the world, and so on. It is also no secret that gasoline prices have steadily increased over the years, and four dollars a gallon does not exactly agree with our wallets.In an effort to â€Å"go green† and save money on gasoline, hybrid cars have recently become a great option for those interested in getting high gas mileage and saving lots of money†¦ or so they think. Although hybrid cars have high gas mileage an d extend the time between visits to the pump, reviewing the raw facts about hybrid cars while asking the question â€Å"Do hybrid cars seem like a money-saving solution? † is a wise decision. While there are many different kinds of hybrid cars, they all share one common trait: a traditional, gasoline-powered motor and a new electric, battery-powered motor are both found within the vehicles.These vehicles use both motors at different times when on the go: the electric motor powers the vehicle when going less than 40 miles per hour, while the gas motor powers the vehicle at speeds greater than 40 miles per hour. While the functions of both motors may seem unimportant to some, consider stop-and-go rush hour traffic. Not only does the electric motor reduce smog levels due to its exhaust-free trait, but it also helps to save gasoline that is wasted when frequently pressing the accelerator.Another plausible scenario to consider is living in a small town where the speed limit rarely exceeds 40 miles per hour; traveling through these towns on electric energy can save gallons of gas, giving our wallets time to become more plump between each visit to the pump. The efficiency of hybrids are found in the vehicles' aero dynamics, weight reduction, and less powerful gas engine, making hybrid cars the most gasoline efficient vehicles on the market; these vehicles get an outstanding average of 48 to 60 miles per gallon.Although hybrid cars seem like the most logical way to go, a closer look at the cons of these vehicles can make anyone think twice. Because hybrids have both a gasoline-powered motor and a battery-powered motor, they are more likely to break down or malfunction due to the complexity of the system as a whole. These malfunctions can easily put the vehicle in an auto shop, causing an inconvenience on our schedules and our wallets. While hybrid cars do save gas when caught in stop-and-go traffic or driving through low-speed areas, the total savings aren't ex actly tremendous.Comparing a Honda Insight (hybrid car) and a Honda Civic (regular car), the annual difference between the fuel bills is only $230. While this may seem like a decent amount to save each year, take a closer look at the price of the two cars. Because hybrid cars are new, popular, and â€Å"money savers† (such as the Honda Insight), they costs a significant amount more than the standard cars equipped for saving gas (such as the Honda Civic); hybrid cars range from about $19,000 to $25,000, while gas-saving cars range from $14,000 to $17,000.People purchase these cars because the companies who sell them claim to save the consumers a fortune in gasoline expenses, however this doesn't seem to be the case when closely looking at these numbers. Over a ten year time period, a hybrid car would save approximately $2,300 in fuel expenses, but this amount of money fails to cover the payment difference for the car itself as opposed to a regular, strictly gasoline car (the d ifference between the cars being anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000). Hybrid cars also claim to get anywhere from 48 to 60 miles per gallon, which is a plus.However, this gas mileage is only about 20% to 35% better than a gas saving vehicle; gas saving vehicles, such as the Honda Civic, still get a decent average of 36 miles per gallon. After reviewing the price difference between the hybrid and a gas saving vehicle, the inability of the hybrid to replenish the money difference between itself and gas saving vehicles, the small amount of savings the hybrid annually provides at the pump, and the minuscule difference between gas mileage, an answer shouldn't be difficult to reach: Do hybrid cars seem like a money-saving solution?

linguistic feature in fairy tale

Once upon a time†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..these four little words reverberates in the souls of the children and flies their little mind into the imaginative world of magic, fairies, demons, witches, talking wolf who is always ready to capture small and pretty children in its enthralling and devilish jaws. These words squeeze the heart of the children while taking them into the world of fantasy. These words are the starting point of the fairy tales that children love to hear and enjoys every moment of it. They have a universal appeal and are timeless, though depicting the culture of the time in which they are written. The fairy tales are unique in themselves and their uniqueness lies in the distinctive and thematic appeal with which they carry themselves. Despite their typical approach there is an ample scope for creativity and inculcate within children the values that are landed from generation to generation in their innocent world. Several types of narrative styles and techniques form the part of fairy tails, yet all are distinct especially in the relationship which is developed between writer and audience. The genre lies in teaching the children and adults alike putting them into the textual journey before it starts. The basic characteristic of the fairy tale lies in the approach which the writers take in exploiting the narrative and linguistic features to the full capacity. The traditional folk tales which used to belong to oral traditions used to depend on their exceptional characteristics like prosodic phonology, intonation, the use of pauses, rhythm, the different qualities of voice, as well as on paralinguistic codes, among which gestures, mimicry, eye contact etc. Though written narratives cannot imply all these yet have developed their own independent style of narration. (Bruti, â€Å"Which narrative features†, 1999, para.17) The narrative form is encoded in a linguistic form by the use of the initial/final fixed phrases. (Bruti, â€Å"Which narrative features†, 1999, para.16). The linguistic forms further depend in the genre and on the readers for which they are written. The main role of the linguistic form is to provide information with evidences in form of tales. One of the fixed phrases lies in the tradition of the opening and closing formula, a typical example of which is â€Å"Once upon a time† and â€Å"lived happily ever after†. These expressions associate the closeness between writer and children. It creates enthusiasm among the readers and suspends their disbelief in world of fantasy in which the writer is taking them, for e.g. talking of animals, princess turning into frog unless Prince comes to kiss her and bring her to original human form etc. Besides these ritual formulas, the linguistic features include the maximum use of repetitions for making expressions and for the events to unfold. The repetition helps in the easy understanding of the texts, which reflects the mark of the oral tradition.   Other basic linguistic features are the redundant structures and they also found similarity to the oral narratives.   Ellipsis and co-ordination is the characteristic feature of redundant structure, which evolves due to the fact that writers write the stories from the children angle and organizes the information in such a manner that they brings out the actual knowledge that should be imbibed to the children. The other beauty of the fairly tale is the absence of detailed description. The physical description of characters is given more prominence then going deep into their nature and inner attributes. This is done to give semantic clarity and uniqueness. And in many fairy tales characters never change physically for e.g. If the y are young, they will ever remain young. The author can give in many cases some spatial or temporal information, for e.g. The case of hyperbolic distances like, he rode on a horse for thousands miles. Writers also have full scope for temporal deviations that means they can temporarily deviate from the original path to put the excitement and enthusiasm among the readers with the help of creating the impact of visualizations. Another feature that gives punch to the story is the impulse of the protagonists that is directly heard, and which derives him or her to comment and unfold the events taking place to create the influence on the readers. This feature is called as a Conative function, which according to dictionary means mental process or behavior directed towards action or change and including impulse, desire, volition, and striving. The tenses are used frequently in the narration. The Tenses may be either â€Å"commutative† or â€Å"narrative†: A commutative attitude comes with the involvement of the speaker, and his addressees. Narrative verb brings about detached attitude. Tenses are also classified into two categories, the retrospective, which depicts the past events, and the perspective, which takes the readers to the future. Then the verbs are also used to describe the background actions. In fairy tales, that exclusively needs to be notified is about the content or we call the theme which is ordinary i.e. it shows the reality of the life and reality of the world but its beauty lies in the context of fiction and fantasy where it is fitted which makes it more interesting and enthusiastic for the readers. It implies on the ordinary daily objects too like a mirror in which we look at ourselves. It shows the beauty of the princess but this mirror is used in a Snow White as a magic mirror having powers to show the witch her ugliness and update her about the Snow white. In many fairy tales like in the Danish fantastic tales for children, which as told in , Den fantastiske fortà ¦lling i dansk borne literatur 1967 – 2003 , there is an extensive use of figurative language, specially natural metaphors and playing with the popular phrases and clichà ©s. There is also distinguish between two traditions in fantastic tales, one is content oriented epic tradition and the other is language oriented experimental tradition.   The first trend is more communicative and the second trend included language that is easily grasped and makes an exclusive sense to the readers. There are also linguistic games and digressions, meta-linguistic elements, which more focus on the communicative style but not the content. (Centre for Children's Literature, Denmark). Fairy tales are part of the children's lives, and their world. They immerse in the children the sense of belongingness to the Supernatural elements and rejuvenate their souls and give them encouragement. Though the prince, snow white, little red ridding hood, tough princess are all fictions but are part of the children's life so the language of these fairy tales is the language of the children. References 1. Bruti Silvia, November 1999. Approaching Writing Skills through Fairy Tales, The Internet,   TESL Journal Vol. V, No. 11, (Online). Available:  Ã‚  (11 March 2007) 2. Centre for Children's Literature, Denmark. Center for bornelitteratur. (Online). Available: http://www.cfb.dk/site.aspx?p=766 (11 March 2007) 3. Godard Barbara, 1979. Crawford's Fairy Tales, SCL/ELC Volume 4.1 1979 (Online). Available:   http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/SCL/bin/get.cgi?directory=vol4_1/;filename=godard.htmhttp://ww (11 March 2007) 4. Hà ©bert Louis, 2006. The Functions of Language, in Louis Hà ©bert, (dir.), Signo [on-line]         Ã‚  Ã‚  Rimouski (Quebec), (Online). Available: http://www.signosemio.com. (11 March 2007) ;

Challenges faced by Technology Business-Free-Samples for Students

Tech organizations are bigger and more varied as compared to the others. This rapidly growing and expansive field attracts the investors and venture capitalists. However, I found that the technology companies face various unique challenges that the start-ups of other companies may not have to face.   Major challenges faced by the tech companies are as follows – Continuous change – continuous changes in the technology as compared to other industries lead to the start-up issues. Lot of pressures are there for quick move and beating the competitor for finding a solution. Owing to these factors, investors think twice before investing in tech companies. Partnership decisions – as the new business partnership with any other company from the same field may sound great. However, as the stakes are comparatively higher for the start-up of tech companies the operations can be ruined easily if the mainstream technologies become obsolete. Therefore, as the chances of financial losses are higher, most of the investors do not find the tech companies as profitable investment option. I found that sometimes the tech start-ups find it difficult for using the start-up loan or bank loan as the funding option. It may take long time for a platform or app for becoming profitable. For instance, Twitter, one of the widely used social network still making loss in each year. Some funding options for tech companies are as follows – Bootstrapping – this is a funding option that will use my own resources for generating a product that is minimum viable and releasing that in the market as early as possible and thereafter, feedback from the audience will be taken for improving and refining the product (Jonsson and Lindbergh 2013). Instead of investing too much money and time for creation of a product that I feel is perfect, it will be a wise decision to create a product as per the requirement of the potential customer. The main advantage of this funding is I will be able to work more efficiently for the final product and gain customers those may assist in generating profit in initial stages (Albert et al. 2014). Crowd funding – this type of funding is divided into reward-based crowd funding and equity crowd funding. Under equity option, the investors will invest their money for my business and will get equity as return (Mollick 2014). On the other hand, under reward-based option, people invest their money in my business and will receive reward in return. The main advantage of this form of funding is that with the reward-based option, I will have full control and under the equity-based option I can offer the investor exactly the same that I will feel comfortable with. It will also assist me in showcasing the fact that there is an active market for my proposal (Sahm et al. 2014). However, the crowd funding is considerably time consuming and requires big commitment for success Albert, M., Bartlett, J., Johnston, R.N., Schacter, B. and Watson, P., 2014. Biobank bootstrapping: is biobank sustainability possible through cost recovery?.  Biopreservation and biobanking,  12(6), pp.374-380. Jonsson, S. and Lindbergh, J., 2013. The development of social capital and financing of entrepreneurial firms: From financial bootstrapping to bank funding.  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice,  37(4), pp.661-686. Mollick, E., 2014. The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study.  Journal of business venturing,  29(1), pp.1-16. Sahm, M., Belleflamme, P., Lambert, T. and Schwienbacher, A., 2014. Corrigendum to â€Å"Crowdfunding: Tapping the right crowd†.  Journal of Business Venturing,  29(5), pp.610-611.

Statistics Project, Political Science Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

, Political Science - Statistics Project Example The essay analyzes international politics comprehends state sovereignty, globalisation and international security, nuclear proliferation, ecological sustainability and nationalism, global finance and economic development, organised crime and terrorism, human security, human rights and foreign interventionism. The discussion highlights that the independent variable that was prevalent in these data sets was distribution of power in the global system. The dependent variable that stood out was foreign policy decision. The data sets could be found online by simply typing the name of the database and specify your topic later inside the site. The hypotheses developed include that states, all the times, act in line with their national interest/concern, or the interests/concerns of that state; the world is a dangerous place; a state’s main interest is self-protection; there is no overarching power, which can impose international rules and/or punish unlawfulness; ethical behaviour is extremely risky since it can affect a state’s capacity to safeguard itself; the global system itself influences states to apply military force; global institution and law have no force or power; they exist only provided that states acknowledge them, and; the wide ties among countries have both made it har d to describe national interest and diminished the worth of military power.This paper finds that distribution of power is negatively affected by international politics. This is because some nations seek to be above others.

Week Two Participation Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week Two Participation Questions - Essay Example Due to the current economic slowdown companies even if they wanted could not invest their limited cash flow into renewable energy technologies. The program will enable companies to develop electric and hybrid cars that can stand out and provide the types of benefits Americans seek. A preview of the potential of the technology is already here. GM will launch in 2010 the Volt 230 model, a vehicle with the capabilities of giving 230 miles per gallon. I agree with your perspective that in order for organizational change to occur the changes have to start at the top of the food chain. The executive and managerial staff is the stakeholder group responsible for any transformational change initiative. Their leadership and guidance are essential in order to influence behavioral changes throughout the organization. Changes in the corporate culture must occur simultaneously with organizational change. As you said sometimes this process is difficult, but in order for the changes to occur the managers have to be persistent and allow sufficient time for the employees and other stakeholder groups to accept the changes. The first sentence of your response claims that change cannot be delegated. I disagree with your statement because in order for change to occur the manager must delegate part of the responsibility to other employees that are respected leaders within the workforce. These leaders can influence the behavior of the other workers better in certain aspects than a manager because the employees view these persons as equals within the organizational hierarchy. The example you provided about change within your organization was very insightful. It showed that change is inevitable, but that it takes time to manifest itself. According to your estimates you notice that noticeable change occurred every five years. A manager that thinks he/she can implement organizational change in a matter of months is doomed to fail. Three concepts that you

Merchant of venice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Merchant of venice - Essay Example Thus, it can be argued that Shakespeare was not being anti-Semitic when he placed a Jew as a usurer in his play, rather that he was using historical fact as a basis for writing his play. To have written anything else would have been entirely out of historical context. Shakespeare, the greatest dramatist of all time, was not concerned with the issue of anti-Semitism, rather he used the fact that Shylock was a Jew as a tool, through which he was able to explore the issues he wished to discuss in this play – the play, read in this way, is not itself anti-Semitic, rather, it is a play about anti-Semitism, about the similarities and differences one encounters when dealing with people of different religions. Throughout all of Shakespeare’s writing, he uses characters as tools with which to build his story, and entertain his viewers/readers - The Merchant of Venice is no exception to this rule, and so according to this reading of Shakespeare’s motives, this interpretation of the play can be argued to be valid. Shakespeare’s creation of a character as multi-faceted as Shylock is a testament to his skills as a writer – at times we sympathize with Shylock, at times we simply cannot understand his methods or motives; this is because Shakespeare wanted to create a ‘larger than life’ villainous character, who would entertain us through his actions. He is an eternally fascinating character, he keeps us, the viewer/reader, captivated. The fact that Shylock is a Jew is incidental to the drama; Shakespeare wanted to design a character through which he could develop the action of his play, and it is testament to Shakespeare’s skills as a dramatist that he created such a memorable character, that leaves the reader asking so many questions. At times we dislike Shylock, at times we sympathize with the things he is going through; at all times, he arrests us with his depth and his evident selfishness; he is captivating as a

Marriage and Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marriage and Ethnicity - Essay Example A young, beautiful single female, is seeking a partnership between the ages of 26-32. Your culture is immaterial since I wouldn’t mind sharing experience from other cultures as well as getting to learn and integrate. He should be ready to raise a family. He should be about 5’5 tall. Have a muscular body, be handsome, generous and with a good sense of humor.He should be ready to settle in the southern part of the continent in the country of their choice. He should be kind, understanding loving and financially stable. Should not be so much bound to traditions; only the most important. Of great importance is that should be ready for a long lasting relationship.Dancing should be part of his hobbies to complement what I love doing most. A lady single from the Navajo community is seeking a partner. Age 20, he should be a good warrior. Should be able to fend for his family and lay food on the table on a daily basis despite all odds. He should have the ability to make jewelry as well as his own weapons that he would use for various purposes such as hunting and tending farms. In connection to that, he should be able to tend well to his farm and livestock and ensure a good harvest and proper storage for future use. He should be a man of respect always being the first greet his elders and in-laws especially if meeting for the first time. To prove that he can care for his family the man should have a history of successful leadership experience. He should be a good storyteller, as well as having good dancing skills. ... Age 20, he should be a good warrior. Should be able to fend for his family and lay food on the table on a daily basis despite all odds. He should have the ability to make jewellery as well as his own weapons that he would use for various purposes such as hunting and tending farms. In connection to that he should be able to tend well to his farm and livestock, and ensure good harvest and proper storage for future use. He should be a man of respect always being the first greet his elders and in-laws especially if meeting for the first time. To prove that he can care for his family the man should have a history of successful leadership experience. He should be a good story teller, as well as having good dancing skills. Being a member of the community council or hailing from an honourable and respected family would be an added advantage. After marriage we should settle on his parents’ home to raise a family. Marriage and the Social Aspect   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Betwe en a man and a woman marriage is considered as  the strongest bond in any relationship. Most people do not marry from their own clans and  therefore  when two people are getting into a union, each one of them is expectant of the other since they are from different cultures. The different aspects of their culture immediately manifest at the wedding where all the parties are involved a have a say to what they feel is a good wedding in line with their culture. Every Individual has different expectations and assumptions that are deeply rooted within them. They should  therefore  be brought out in the open and be discussed for the success of the marriage  (Michael, 1987). The cultural heritage possessed by an individual will form their views towards different

The History of the Animal Testing Controversy Essay

The History of the Animal Testing Controversy - Essay Example animal testing stated that scientists are mislead by the statements that the body of animals is different and that the suffering of pain has a different impact on animals. O’Meara had also commented about the ethical issues associated with animal testing, the gain made by human beings and the extent of harm to animals. But in 1865, Claude Bernand known as the prince of vivisection and father of physiology states that "the science of life is a superb and dazzlingly lighted hall which may be reached only by passing through a long and ghastly kitchen" (qtd in The history of animal testing). Bernand indicates that there should be no consideration on animals that they have feeling, get hurt, and are entitled to live (The history of animal testing). William Harvey is an English physician of the early seventeenth century. He is known for vivisection and related findings about the circulation of blood and his work was mainly aimed to discredit the beliefs of Galen. The same century saw the uprising of anti-vivisectionist agitation. Edmund O’Meara from Ireland and Jean Riolan Jr. exposed the violent and painful death of vivisected animals (there was no anesthesia during those times) and the exposure of animals to an unnatural state that could delver only misleading theory about the functioning of a vivisected animal (Vivisection – An Ancient History). There is a growing controversy about the authenticity of animal testing because animals are not humans and products tested for response from animal need not necessarily result in the same response from human beings. Hence cruelty and torture towards animal by injecting products into animals, rubbing products on the skin, forceful inhalation and spraying products into eyes cannot be justified. The latest controversies are generated by the Animal Welfare Act that demands companies to state, the number of animals used for testing. Since birds, mice and rats are excluded from the list of animals it has become simple for

Properties, plant, and equipment in accounting theory Essay

Properties, plant, and equipment in accounting theory - Essay Example 2) Group costing (recording the cost as 800,000 for all the equipment together) affects the costing of the equipment in two ways. First, it is challenging to depreciate the items because they have different depreciation rates (Liapis & Christodoulopoulou, 2011). However, this risk may be eliminated in case their depreciation rate is the same. Second, it creates a reporting and cost allocation challenge, as the cost accountant cannot allocate costs effectively with group costing. Operational costs on the assets become hard to allocate. However, costing the items independently (single costing) will facilitate reporting because some of the equipment should be capitalized (fixed assets) while some would be expensed (inventory). 3) Group costing reduces the profit of the business. First, it increases the depreciation expense, which has a negative effect on the profit of the business. Group costing also eliminates gain on sale of the expenses assets (Herrmann, Thomas & Saudagaran, 2011). Introduction of unwarranted depreciation also affects the value of the assets as it lowers the item values in the end. However, single costing does not affect the value of the assets and maintains the profit of the business high, as the gains on sale are included in sales while the depreciation expense is removed. 4) The first problem imminent from the transaction is the possibility of double costing. In case the items are recorded as lump sum amount means that in case some of them are sold, they may be recorded again in sales without expensing them creating a double accounting problem (Weiss, 2012). Depreciation problem may also arise from the transactions. An accountant will find challenges in treatment of depreciation for the difference between the market value and purchase price. From the transaction, taxation challenges can also arise. When the transaction is taxed, the amount to be taxed may challenge the accountant. The

Company Law shareholders Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Company Law shareholders - Case Study Example Remedies available to Samantha are bringing action section 994 (old459) of the Companies Act meant for Minority Shareholders' petitions against the directors' misrule etc. and also a derivative action. From time immemorial, minority shareholder has been discouraged to take action against the directors on the grounds of company being run on majority concept and on the basis of action if any should be taken only by the Company on the directors and not the shareholder in individual capacity. In Foss v Harbottle1, it was observed by the court that minority should rather take necessary action through the internal forum of company meetings. Wigram VC stated that in view of the majority rule, any unlawful conduct of the directors was capable of being ratified by the majority and that it was not possible for the court to intervene. The only exception to the rule as observed by Jenkins LJ in Edwards v Halliwell(1950)2, could be that the minority shareholder should show that the directors accused of fraud were actually in control of the company rather than merely maintaining that majority could not lawfully ratify the wrong acts of the directors.3 In Ebrahimi v Westbourne Galleries Ltd4, th e minority shareholder Ebrahimi sued on the basis oppression of minority and winding up on just and equitable grounds. The second one was accepted by the court holding that individual's rights should be respected and the rights were not necessarily submerged by the artificial corporate entity context. The minority shareholder Samantha is of the opinion that the purchase of the property of Pastry Products for 450,000 by Filo Ltd is prejudicial to its interests and now she has learnt that both the directors are together holding 44%(each 22%) of shares of that company and the proceeds of the sale of the property have been used for payment of that company's dividends. Regulation 81(a) of Table A of Articles Filo Ltd has adopted, governs removal of directors along with other regulations from 81(b) to (e). Regulation 81(a) says "the office of a director shall be vacated if-(a) he ceases to be a director by virtue of any provision of the Act or he becomes prohibited by law from being a director"5 Besides, a director enjoys immunity as per regulation 118 which indemnifies every director against liability incurred by way of defence to any civil or criminal proceedings in case of judgment or reliefs in his favour. On the other hand a person conducting shareholder litigation has to meet costs from his own sources in case of the derivative claim being rejected by the court. As per the new Act's section 172 which came into force from October 1, 2007, directors must "promote the success of the company for the benefit of the members as a whole"6 as against the earlier parallel provision that they should act "in the best interests" of the company. Government has clarified that "to promote the success" means "long-term increase in value" though this is subject to being confronted by a competing definition from potential litigants. Under Section 175 of the new Act, director has duty to avoid conflict of interests. There should not be a situation involving exploitation of any property, information, or opportunity whether or not they are advantageous to the company. The acquisitioning of the property by Filo Limited from Pastry Products in which both of the directors hold 44% of shares falls under this section. Further it has been stated that

Nobel prize Essay Example for Free

Nobel prize Essay The study of economics is a science. And like all sciences, it is firmly based upon the scientific method. It is important to remember this concept in the paper as it would be discussing implications of a paradigm shift in economics towards new schools of thought and applications of various methodologies. Economics, being a science, through trial and error and the application of the said scientific method, has evolved over the years since its original inception and has even garnered a certain place in the Nobel prize awards. Also, since the original conceptions of the early theories of economics which have been formulated by Smith, Ricardo, and Marshall, economics has come a long way and has integrated many discussions that belonged originally to other related disciplines and fields and employed its use under its own wing. However, as many have pointed out and as is becoming evident especially in todays modern age of financial crisis and market crashes, the science and discipline needs a new paradigm shift with respect to its application, understanding, and even methodological processes. Recently, BusinessWeek has published a story regarding the current failure of economists to not only predict the current financial crisis in the United States and the global economy, but also were not able to solve these issues using existing tools in economics. The disciplined then faces the question of whether or not economics needs a new paradigm shift. The objective of this paper is to explain, through analysis and understanding the basic frameworks of economics and how they work, why economics does not need a paradigm shift. In order to do this, the paper would be approaching the problem by understanding modern microeconomic and macro economic theory. It would also be the objective of this paper to understand the various anomalies on why such recent commentary has been made on the science and what are the probable ways in order to integrate such anomalies into the discipline in modern times. Towards the end of this paper, it is the hope that the reader is convinced that the science does not need a paradigm shift but rather merely needs to integrate such new problems into the current paradigm and framework in approaching the discipline and the problems that it tries to address. From the realm and point of view of microeconomics, there are various essential founding concepts that eventually launch into the more complicated discussions under microeconomics. Recent cutting edge microeconomic studies focus on game theory, simultaneous equilibria methods for consumers and producers, and even quantification of human behavior. In fact, if the paper was to summarize all recent activity under the academic wing and discussion of microeconomics, it would fill volumes and volumes of pages. However, what is important for the reader to realize is that even the most complicated microeconomic theories involving long mathematical equations and difficult matrix solutions are basically captured and can be derived from its founding theories such as utility maximization, the theory of consumer behavior, and understanding of perfect markets. Again, however, many have commented that the basic precepts that revolve around these founding microeconomic theories eventually produce anomalies that might as well create a new paradigm for approaching economic analysis because such founding theories do not actually reflect in the real world. Let us first take for example the discussions of utility maximization. The demand and supply framework which is the basic foundation of economics could be further distilled to understanding utility theory and the way consumers and producers are able to meet in the market by maximizing the levels of their happiness. In utility theory, there is the marginal utility curve which is a locus of points comparing the trade-off advantages and disadvantages between two goods any given set up. The tangency of this utility curve with a budget line of consumers eventually dictate areas which they choose to consume. Basically, standard utility theory in economics has the underlying principle and essential nature of perfect consumer rationality and consumer choice. Recently, however, social scientists, and even economists in some schools of thought, have pointed out that consumers are far from rational and could not conceivably draw a perfect utility curve that becomes the basic foundation for microeconomics. As such anomaly and arguments have pointed out, studies have reflected that consumers in the real world do not reflect perfect rationality because of the inability of human beings to perfectly compute various opportunity cost trade-offs simultaneously considering other variables. Furthermore, critics of utility theory have pointed out that the assumption of all things held constant that is ever so important in constructing basic microeconomic consumer choice is not actually applicable in real world situations. Therefore, as these detractors of modern economic theory point out, there must be a paradigm shift in the discipline.

Ethical Theories In Human Rights Philosophy Essay

Ethical Theories In Human Rights Philosophy Essay underlying the currently influential business and management theories. Ethics may be viewed as the study of human conduct with an emphasis on determination of right and wrong (Fraedrich and Ferrell, 1992). Together with this, it is the assumption that management must adhere to a narrow version of positivism that excludes any reference to intention (Ghoshal, 2005). According to (Mallor et al., 2010), for centuries, religious and secular scholars have explored the meaning of human existence and attempted to define a good life. Ethical theories and principles are the foundations of ethical analysis because they are the viewpoints from which guidance can be obtained along the pathway to a decision. The four ethical theories according to the text are rights theory, justice theory, utilitarianism, and profit maximization. The rights theory covers a range of ethical philosophies that holds that certain human rights are important and must be respected by other society and her rights. Rights are also considered to be ethically correct and legitimate given that a large or ruling population endorses them. Few rights theorists are stringent deontologists, and one of the few is the 18th century philosopher by name Immanuel Kant and his theory is known as the Kantianism. Kant viewed humans as moral actors that are free to make choices and he also believed that humans are able to judge the morality of any action by applying his famous categorical imperative. One of his formulations of the categorical imperative is Act only on that maxim whereby at the same time you can will that it shall become a universal law. The meaning of it is that we judge an action by applying it universally. The most important strength of rights theory is that it protects fundamental rights, unless some greater right takes precedence. A major criticism of the rights theory deal with the near absolute yet relative value of the rights protected, making it difficult to articulate and administer a comprehensive rights theory. The Justice theory which came into limelight by John Rawls in 1971 when he published his book entitled: A theory of Justice, the philosophical underpinning for the bureaucratic welfare state. He reasoned that it was right for governments to redistribute wealth in order to assist the poor and the destitute. Furthermore, Rawls expressed this philosophy in his Greatest Equal Liberty Principle: each person has an equal right to basic rights and liberties. He further limited the principle with the Difference Principle: social inequalities are acceptable only if they cannot be eliminated without making the worst-off class even worse off. Rawlss justice theory has application in the business context which requires decision makers to be guided by fairness and impartiality. The strength of Rawlss justice theory lies in its basic premise, the protection of those who are least advantaged in society. The ethical dilemma for managers is to determine the fair rules and procedures for distributing outcomes to stakeholders. Managers must not give people they like bigger raises than they give to people they do not like, for example, or bend the rules to help their favorites. On the other hand, if employees want managers to act fairly toward them, then employees need to act fairly toward their companies and work hard and be loyal. Similarly, customers need to act fairly toward a company if they expect it to be fair to them-something people who illegally copy digital media should consider. The criticism that justice theory with the rights theory is that it treats equality as an absolute, without examining the costs of producing equality, including reduced incentives for innovation, entrepreneurship and production. Utilitarianism entails a decision maker to maximize utility for society as a whole. Maximizing utility means achieving the highest level of satisfactions over dissatisfactions which means that a person must consider the benefits and costs of her actions to everyone in society. A utilitarian will take action only if the benefits of the action to society outweigh the societal costs of the action. There are two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism judges each act separately, assessing a single acts benefit and its cost to societys members. Rule utilitarianism judges actions by a rule that over the long run maximizes benefits over cost. The strength of utilitarianism as a guide for ethical conduct is that it is easy to articulate the standard of conduct; which coincides with values of most modern countries like the USA who is capitalist in nature by focusing on total social satisfactions, benefits, wealth and welfare. In general under ca pitalism, the interests of shareholders are put above those of employees, so production will move abroad. This is generally regarded as being an ethical choice because in the long run, the alternative, domestic production might cause the business to collapse and go bankrupt. If this happens, all of the companys stakeholders will suffer-not just its employees. According to the utilitarian view, the decision that produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people is best. In this case, that means outsourcing the jobs. The criticism of utilitarianism is that it is difficult to measure ones own pleasures, pains, satisfaction and dissatisfaction, let alone those of all of societys members. Profit maximization as an ethical theory requires a decision maker to maximize a businesss long-run profits within the limits of the law. This has been based on the laissez faire theory of capitalism first expressed by Adam Smith in the 18th century and more recently promoted by economists such as Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell. Profit maximization is closely related to utilitarianism, but it varies essentially in how ethical decisions are made. Profit maximization optimizes total social utility by narrowing the actors focus, requiring the decision maker to make a decision that merely maximizes profits for himself or his organization. The strengths of profit maximization results in ethical conduct because it requires societys members to act within the constraints of the law and a profit maximizer, therefore, acts ethically by complying with societys mores as expressed in its laws. The criticism of profit maximizer is that if profit maximization results in an efficient allocation o f societys resources and maximization of total social welfare, it does not concern itself with how wealth is allocated within Society. An ethical theory that was not found in the text is that of rationalism, which this ethical theory focuses mainly on norms. The moral rationalism is that in which the decisive factor of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive, and it has its major proponent in Emmanuel Kant (Llano, 2002). Mr. Kant attempted to change our everyday, clear, rational knowledge of morality into philosophical knowledge. He went after a technique of using practical reason to reach conclusions which are able to be useful to the world of experience. Kant is also known for his theory that there is a single moral obligation which he called the Categorical Imperative, and derived from the perception of duty. He further stated that these moral norms must be obeyed in all situations and circumstances if our behavior is to observe the moral law. In a way to improve corporate governance and corporate social responsibilities, according to Mallor et al., 2010, one can modify the corporate governance model to educate, motivate, and supervise executives and thereby improve corporate social responsibility. Corporate governance is the structure used to direct and manage business and affairs of the company towards enhancing prosperity and corporate accountability. Corporate critics however did propose a wide rang of cures, all of which have been implemented to some degree and with varying degrees of success. Ethical codes: Ethic codes in a way have been adopted by many large corporations and several industries to guide executives and other employees. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act required that a public company discloses whether it has adopted a code of ethics for senior financial officers, and to disclose any changes in the code or waiver of the codes application. The codes can be viewed in two ways; one sees the codes as genuine efforts to foster ethical behavior within a firm or an industry while others view regards them as thinly disguised attempts to make the firm function better, to mislead the public into believing the firm behaves ethically, to prevent the passage of legislation that would impose stricter constraints on business, or to limit competition under the veil of ethical standards. Better ethical codes make clear that the corporation expects employees not to violate the law in a mistaken belief that loyalty to the corporation requires it. These kinds of codes work best, however, when a corporation also gives its employees an outlet for dealing with a superiors request to do an unethical act. Ethical instruction: Some corporate organizations require their employees to enroll in classes that teach ethical decision-making. The idea is that a manager trained in ethical conduct will recognize unethical actions before they are taken and deter herself and the corporation from the unethical acts. Majority of corporations in this present day express their dedication to ethical decision-making by an ethics officer who is not only responsible for ethical instruction, but also in charge of ethical supervision. The ethics officer tends to be a mentor or sounding board for all employees who face ethical issues. Greater Shareholder Role in Corporations: As shareholders are the vital stakeholders in a corporation in a capitalist economy, several corporate critics argue that businesses should be more attuned to shareholders ethical values and that shareholder control of the board of directors and executives should be increased. Evidence suggests that sources of ethical dilemmas will continue to increase. To understand this assessment, it will be useful to look at four categories of conditions influencing ethical behavior: global, social, organizational and individual. Global: A variety of global conditions affect our lives and our society; many are well-known to all of us. They include the increasing influence of cultural values substantially different from those of our Anglo-Saxon heritage; impacts of a complex global economy on local economic structures; and our rapidly increasing technological capacity to communicate and interact with the global community. Within the past few years we have watched the beginning of the development of a new world order that will be substantially different from our sense of world order developed over the last half century. Among the implications resulting from this picture, two are especially important: (1) we as a people no longer have a secure sense of our role in the world or our control over it; and (2) it has become increasingly acceptable, and even logical, to admit that we simply dont know what the appropriate response is. This era of rapid change has an indirect but important influence on our sense of ethi cal appropriateness. Social: A more direct source of ethical conflicts is social change. Change has been so rapid that some have argued that we have lost our sense of values or that we must seek better mechanisms to resolve value conflicts. This line of reasoning is incorrect for several reasons. First, value conflicts (and, therefore, ethical dilemmas) reflect our social and cultural fabric. Second, stakeholders have a relatively easy time gaining access to our policy making system; therefore, value conflicts are very visible and, frequently, cause our problem-solving process to forge slow, painful compromises. These processes continue to represent one of the great comparative advantages of our society and should not be changed without sober reflection. Organizational: Thirdly, we are witnessing rapid change in the nature and role of the public organization and concepts about administrative behavior. Organizational values are vital influence on the majority of us; thus far our organizational lives are becoming increasingly participatory, open, communicative and interactive. While I believe that the decline of organization hierarchy is among the more positive aspects of our society, it also signals a decline in another source of behavioral guidelines. Individual judgment, group dynamics and social interactions are replacing traditional rules of behavior dictated by the organization. We are also facing increasing conflicts between the bureaucratic ethos and the democratic ethos (Hejka-Ekins, 1998). The bureaucratic ethos includes such traditional organizational standards as efficiency, competence, loyalty and accountability. Individual: lastly, ethical anxieties are caused by changes at the individual level. In particular, individualism and materialism are at the present celebrated within major social institutions and have become a dominate ethos of the baby bust generation. Self-indulgence, greed, self-interest, and privatism are accepted components of the ethos of this generation (Frederickson, 1982). In order to improve the ethical climate of an organization, management must effectively communicate proper ethical behavior throughout the organization. Wimbush and Shephard (1984: 637-647) reported that businesses annually spend an estimated $40 billion on the ethical behavior problems. Thus, pointing to the fact that ethical dimension of employees behavior has a clear impact on the profitability of the company. It is generally accepted that customer satisfaction is one of the most important factors in successful business strategy. Although a company must continue to develop, alter and adapt products to keep pace with customers changing desires and preferences. It must also seek to develop long-term relationships with customers and its stakeholders. By focusing on customer satisfaction, a company continually deepens the customers dependence on the company, and as the customers confidence grows, the firm gains a better understanding of how to serve the customer so the relationship ma y endure. Successful businesses provide an opportunity for customer feedback, which can engage the customer in a cooperative problem solving. As is often pointed out, a happy customer will come back, but a disgruntled customer will tell others about his or her dissatisfaction with a company and discourage friends from dealing with it. When an organization has a strong ethical environment, it usually focuses on the core value of placing customers interest first. An ethical culture that focuses on customers incorporates the interests of all employees, suppliers, and other interested parties in decisions and actions. Employees working in an ethical environment support and contribute to the process of understanding customers demands and concerns. Ethical conduct towards customers builds a strong competitive position that has been shown to affect business performance and product innovation positively.

Three ways that stress is conceptualised by psychologists

Three ways that stress is conceptualised by psychologists Researchers define stress as a physical, mental, or emotional response to events that cause bodily or mental tension. Therefore, stress is a disruptive condition that occurs in response to internal or external environments and affects the body or mind. Depending on the stressors and the types of events being dealt with, stress can manifest itself physically, emotionally or mentally. Physical stress occurs when the body starts to suffer resulting from stressful situation and symptoms show in a range of ways and vary in their seriousness. Emotional stress is a response by the mind when affected by things like anxiety, anger, depression, irritability, frustration or over-reaction to everyday problems. Psychological stress result when an individual is exposed to long-term stress and the symptoms may include withdrawal from society, phobias, compulsive behaviours, eating disorders and night terrors. The concept of stress has been viewed in different ways: An internal body response nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it. This is a state of psychological and physical tension produced when there is a mismatch between the perceived demands of a situation and an individuals perceived ability to cope. This leads to either adaptive or maladaptive state of tension. An external stimuli This is an event that triggers the stress response as it throws the body out of balance and forces it to respond. It can be a life event or a set of circumstances that arouses physiologic reactions that may increase an individuals vulnerability to illness. A transaction includes a set of cognitive, affective and adaptive (coping) responses that arise out of person environment transaction. People perceive threats to their well-being which they may be unable to meet. There are several ways in which the term stress is conceptualised by psychologists: The general adaptation syndrome (GAS) Hans Selye (1936, 1950) conducted a research on stress. He reported that the rats that he was experimenting on showed physiological changes that were directly related to the injections they received during the experiments, but what was actually being injected was less important than the fact that they were being injected. The rats were then exposed to harmful agents like cold, surgical injury, excessive exercise, severing the spinal cord or doses of drugs. A typical syndrome appeared and the same symptoms appeared in response to all of the stimuli including (over time), development of stomach ulcers. He argued that stress can be adaptive in the short term because it enables one to cope with environment demands (fight or flight) but long term stress can be damaging. This led him to make the statement that stress is the non-specific response of the body to any demand. Selye noticed that rats and hospital patients all seemed to show a similar pattern of bodily response which he called General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), because it represented the bodys attempt to cope in an adaptive way with stress. He argued that GAS consisted of three stages; alarm reaction, resistance and exhaustion. After alarm reaction, the individual adapts and returns to normal functioning but after prolonged stress exhaustion occurs which can lead to development of stress-related illnesses. Alarm reaction stage: This stage deals with acute stressors and involves part of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The activity in sympathetic adrenal medullary system (SAM) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA) increases. This is controlled by electrical impulses through nerves. Selye however emphasized the role of HPA in his account and argued that the alarm reaction develops 6-48 hours after stress and includes muscular tone loss, drop in body temperature and decrease in liver and spleen size. Resistance stage: In this stage the body adapts to the demands of the environment. As it proceeds however, the parasympathetic nervous system requires more careful use of body resources in order to cope. This stage is initially marked by an increase in the size of the adrenal glands and a decrease in some pituitary activity like the production of growth hormone. If the stress is not too much then the body returns to a near-normal state. Exhaustion stage: If the stress is prolonged, the physiological systems used in alarm reaction and resistance stage become ineffective and the initial symptoms like increased heart rate, and sweating re-appear. In extreme cases, the damaged adrenal cortex leads to failure of the parasympathetic system and collapse of the bodys immune system leading to likelihood of stress related diseases like high blood pressure, asthma and heart disease. Selyes research identified major components of stress response and he alerted medicine to the importance of stress and disease. Previous researchers had not properly appreciated the damaging effects of prolonged exposure to stress. There are limitations with this research however, as Selye did not pay much attention to SAM system, and he did not understand fully the relationship between HPA and SAM systems. He also exaggerated when he stated that stress always produces the same physiological pattern. Selye has been criticised for using animals to support his research on human responses to stress. He also assumed that people respond in a passive way to stress but Mason (1975) argued that there is an active process of psychological appraisal when people confront a stressor. Workplace stress Marmot et al.s (1997) study aimed to investigate the negative correlation between job control and stress-related illness in male and female civil servants. It was assumed that job control is negatively correlated with stress-related illnesses. 10,308 civil servants between 35 and 55 years were investigated over three years and job control was measured through self-report survey and independent assessment by personnel managers. Job control was assessed on two occasions, three years apart and records of stress related illnesses kept and then a correlational analysis carried out. It was found out that those with low jobs control were four times likely to die of heart attack than those with high job control. They were also more likely to suffer from other stress-related disorders. On both occasions that job control was measured, the findings were consistent and there was a considerable association even after other factors like job demands, social support employment grade and risk factors for coronary heart disease had been accounted for. As indicated by the number of stress-related illnesses, it shows that low job control is associated with high stress. As the job control decreases, the illness increases, that is, there is an opposite social gradient in stress-related illness (negatively correlated). This however does not fully support the job-strain model because it does not show that high demand is linked to illness and the jobs performed by those high and low in job control also differed in several ways other than simply control. The self-report method is vulnerable to investigator effects and participant reactivity bias and also weaknesses of the correlational method mean that there is no control over job control as a variable and this makes interpretation difficult as the cause and effect cannot be inferred. Personality factors, including Type A behaviour Friedman and Rosemans (1974) carried out a study to test if there was any association between Type A behaviour and Coronary heart disease (CHD). They wanted to test their observations as cardiologists that their patients displayed a common behaviour pattern consisting of impatience, competitiveness and hostility. Around 3200 healthy men of 39-59 years from California were selected and assessed over 8 Â ½ years. They were interviewed, observed and personality type and current health status assessed. There was a follow-up 8 years later when CHD was recorded and a correlation analysis was carried out. 257 participants of the original sample of 3200 had developed CHD during the 8 Â ½ years 70% of whom had been classified as type A, nearly twice as many as Type Bs. This remained the same even when other factors associated with heart disease like smoking, obesity and blood pressure were taken into account. This research shows that the Type A behaviour pattern is linked to CHD and they concluded that this pattern increases the individuals experience of stress which increases physiological reactivity hence high vulnerability to CHD. The high levels of stress hormones indicate that Type A person experience more stress than Type B. The evidence has successfully been applied for example Friedman, Tordoff and Ramirez (1986) reported on the Recurrent Coronary Prevention project which aimed to modify type A behaviour and so reduce CHD in participants who had experienced a heart attack. This study has a limitation however, in that it was an experimental study and so the cause and effect cannot be established; other studies have failed to show the link between Type A and CHD. It has also proved fairly difficult to repeat the findings of Friedman and Rosenman (1974). All the above three areas show that there is a direct link between stress and illness. Stress affects people through cognitive and behavioural which lead to physiology of stress in the body hence weakened immune system and likelihood of illnesses.

Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper -- short story analysis

　　"If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression -- a slight hysterical tendency -- what is one to do?" (Gilman). Many women in the 1800's and 1900's faced hardship when it came to standing up for themselves to their fathers, brothers and then husbands. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator of the story, is married to physician, who rented a house for the summer to nurse her back to health after her husband think she has neurasthenia but actually suffers from postpartum depression. He suggested the 'rest cure'. She should not be doing any sort of mental of major physical activity, her only job was to relax and not worry about anything. Charlotte was a writer and missed writing. "The Yellow Wallpaper" is significant to literature in the sense that, the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman addresses the issue of the rest cure that Dr. George Miller prescri bed for patients especially to women with neurasthenia, is ineffective and leads to severe depression. This paper in...

Globalisation: Friend Or Foe :: essays research papers

Dramatic Changes have taken place in Sydney’s cultural and economic landscapes during the past two decades. These changing landscapes have been linked in both political discourse and the popular press to Sydney’s emerging role as a ‘global city’. Evidence supporting this theory has come from some academic analyses of globalisation in the 1990s. Global cities are identified by their role as command centers for organising the global economy. Such cities have been characterised by their openness to global flows of commodities, money, ideas and information. They have become destinations for both national and international migration of skilled information workers, but also magnets for new streams of global labor migration. The Asia-Pacific Rim has been one of the primary sources of these new flows of international migration into Sydney (Fagan, 2000, pg. 144). The aim of this essay is to gauge the impact of the said globalisations on the various landscapes of Syd ney, as globalisation has effected different areas of Sydney in different ways. The principle areas discussed in this paper are Leichardt, Chinatown, Cabramatta, Darling Harbour, the CBD and Pyrmont. The impacts of cultural globalisations will be discussed first, followed by those of economic globalisations. Economic globalisation will be divided into 2 parts: primary impacts and subsequent impacts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Migrant communities are an attribute of many large western cities and particularly of global cities. In the case of Leichardt, however, Italian settlement occurred prior to Sydney’s emergence as a Global City. The display of the symbols of Italian settlement in the form of signage, businesses and social organisations is a cultural attribute of Sydney’s global city status (Searle, 1996). The maintenance and marketing of this ‘heritage status’ for urban planners and tourism authorities is a key feature of global cities (Searle, 1996). A primary example of the developers and tourism authorities attempting to capitalise on the heritage value of Leichardt is illustrated in Plate 1. Resident Italian-Australians, and tourists alike, can be seen dining and shopping among the Italian Forum in the foreground and middle distance of the photograph.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The situation of Chinatown is similar to that of Leichardt in terms of its heritage value. Chinatown, like Leichardt, was established prior to Sydney’s global city status. Its heritage is a magnet for Chinese-Australians and tourists alike as seen the central foreground of Plate 2. The Pallou Plaza is lined with specialty Chinese shops, conference centers/social clubs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cabramatta is one of the direct results of Sydney’s global city status.

Comical and Satirized Characters in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and S

Jane Austen's use of satire in her novels, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, break from the boundaries of sentimental writing. This left Austen open to a lifetime of criticism, only to be hailed after her time as one of the greatest writers of the English language. Much of Austen?s social commentary on Regency England was done through flat comical characters such as Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine, Mrs. Jennings, and others. All of which are amusingly oblivious to anything deeper than the rules and aspirations set by society. The dialogue of their interactions and the irony of their situations add humor as well as reinforce the idiocy presented by the very first line of Pride and Prejudice, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" (Austen 3). Mrs. Bennet?s actions as a mother are not unjustified. Because the Bennet estate was entailed, the marriage of her daughters was necessary for their secured wellbeing. In Chapter 20 Elizabeth refuses Mr. Collins marriage proposal. Her mother, who views the match as advantageous, is outraged and expresses her grief to Mr. Bennet, ?Nobody can tell what I suffer! - But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied? (Austen 130). Austen?s criticism is clarified by Mrs. Bennet?s obsession with marriage, ?The business of her life was to get her daughters married? (Austen 6). ?Happy for all her maternal feelings was the day on which Mrs. Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters? (Austen 432). Mrs. Bennet?s ideas of marriage fully overlook love of the person. They settle in her foundations that happiness with another person is provided by an improvement in wealth or social st... ...zzle, the characters Jane Austen satirizes would fall short in fitting everything together. Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine, Mrs. Jennings, and all the other comedic characters in the novels appear only to see the shape of people. They focus on wealth, status, and connections. Even when the outline of the pieces fit, they fail to any make sense when put together. The reason being the characters Austen pokes fun at are so focus on the externals. They are ignorant to the individual image inside each piece. Austen uses flat satirical characters to add interest and humor to her works, but also to comment on the faults in peoples? attitudes toward society, marriage, possessions, and position. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Norwalk: The Easton Press, 2007. Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. New York: Barnes and Noble Inc., 2006.

Countenance Evaluation Model

Robert E. Stake’s the â€Å"Countenance Model of Evaluation† in Education Evaluation is an important aspect of program development to come up with improvement plan to achieve competitiveness, depending on the judgment of the one who evaluates, or the evaluators. Education being complex is associated with contingencies with consideration to congruence (intentions and observations).This needs adequate scrutiny, rendering both cost measurement and estimation of outcomes since education is a crucial part of society and economy, and its greater effectiveness per unit cost is of high consideration, especially on a given resource constraint, is desirable (Mathison, 2005, p. 90). The so-called Countenance Model of Evaluation, formulated by Robert E. Stake, is a model focusing on the qualitative influences to the traditional quantitative designs, with judgment being maintained as the major function of the one who evaluates.The heart of this model is on the decisions that are com e up with during the evaluation. There are three important phases of program development where this model revolves: antecedent, transaction, and outcome. In the antecedent phase, the consideration is the environmental factors that might affect program outcomes. The effectiveness of the program during implementation is being considered by in the transaction phase on the other hand. When the program has already achieved completion, its effects are being examined in the outcome phase.The evaluation procedure must take into account both judgment and descriptions, both relying on quantitative and qualitative observations. The description may either be absolute or comparative (Snyder, Acker-Hocevar, and Snyder, 2008, pp. 167-168). The strength of this model is that it allows thorough evaluation since it requires the evaluator to give a description of the situations (events, activities, conditions, etc. ) before, during, and after the program implementation (Snyder, Acker-Hocevar, and Snyd er, 2008, p. 168). It is really a helpful feature of this model that it offers flexibility in operation.The approach is holistic in nature, rather than atomistic, with each part being emphasized. Factors are all given attention, with the importance of each factor imposed and selected to gain sensitivity (Burgess, Galloway, and Morrison, 1993, p. 36). References Burgess, Robert G. , Sheila Galloway, and Marlene Morrison. (1993). Implementing In-service Education and Training. Retrieved September 18, 2008, from http://books. google. com/books? id=t949AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA36&dq=countenance+evaluation+model+in+education&as_brr=3&sig=ACfU3U1p1htWqqCorrsxmE_4op-nJA40mAMathison, Sandra. (2005). Encyclopedia of Evaluation. Retrieved September 18, 2008, from http://books. google. com/books? id=sCibBf4Ni1QC&pg=PA167&dq=countenance+evaluation+model&as_brr=3&sig=ACfU3U3JfsrxoDJqDLQ-djt_50iTpK99vQ#PPA167,M1 Snyder, Karolyn J. , Michelle Acker-Hocevar, and Kristen M. Snyder. (2008). Living on the Edge o f Chaos: Leading Schools into the Global Age. Retrieved September 18, 2008, from http://books. google. com/books? id=nmv5mSHlXKQC&pg=PA90&dq=countenance+evaluation+model&as_brr=3&sig=ACfU3U2pfiSKzcKZz7laTIzdLnRjUjd31Q

Girl with a Pearl Earring

One of Johannes Vermeer’s mysterious artworks which are universally recognized is the Girl with a Pearl Earring. This piece of artwork still poses a few unanswered questions and wonders after more than a century of studies. The identity of the sitter in the portrait, who is she? What significance did the pearl earring have? When was the exact date of the painting? Vermeer was born and raised in the Dutch town, Delft and began his genre paintings in the late 1650s. Although Vermeer produced only 36 paintings in his lifetime, he had a different approach to his artworks. Dutch paintings were very popular as it captures the everyday experiences and the affection of the land and homes in the town. Paintings celebrate and record the facts of life enhancing the intense consideration of warmth and cooler qualities of light. Vermeer adapted the expressive scenes taking on a timeless presence to impart them as extraordinary dignity and moral gravity. Girl with a Pearl Earring has been called as The Dutch Mona Lisa during the Golden Age. She is young, delicate and has an appealing and questioning look on her face with her head slightly turned towards us. She is wearing a rich golden robe with a white collar, a blue turban with yellow falling behind her. She is set against a dark defined background which dominates the space of the scene. Vermeer discovered the skill behind optics and light to capture what the audience sees. The uneven and spotted dark background enhance the three-dimensional effect of the figure as light illuminates something delicate which takes us to the pearl earring as a focal point. Pearls in the17th Century was a status symbol and conveys a sense of purity and innocence which together make a representation of a timeless beauty. Over many centuries, the young girl with sympathetic eyes starring over her shoulder holds no attributes that identify her and her age Vermeer is known for painting religious and mythological themes and the evident interest of the female presence and activity. This encourages the audience to understand Vermeer’s challenge to explore the intimate aspects of female nature as well as their relation to social context. It is the lack of historic and iconographic framework that conveys such immediacy to all who view her. Identities of the sitter’s in most of Vermeer’s paintings have ever been recognized, including the girl in Girl with a Pearl Earring. It has believed she may have been Vermeer’s first daughter; Maria aged about 12 or 13 between 1665 and1667. The painting was not seen as a portrait but a tronie, and considers the model in Vermeer’s Art of Painting. Contemporary scholars do not agree with the subject as they believe the painting is an idealized study and reveals Vermeer’s classical tendencies. Even though his artworks seem so realistic, modification to scale and shape have been made to achieve balance in the composition and strength. The mixtures of colours used by Vermeer suggest the intensity of light and tonal values. His paint build-up through brushwork creates uneven and granular effects and captures the attention of the audience. There are studies which explore the number of aspects of Vermeer’s painting techniques and materials although it is difficult to describe as his methods is complicated by the artist experimenting different techniques throughout his career. It has been detected that the use of chalk, charcoal, tempera and oil paints in various tones were used with the initial drawing of the figure. One of the most important stages in his procedure is the underpainting after the initial drawing was complete to ensure the accuracy of lights and darks, composition, volume and substances to the form to create an effect illumination. Colours used in underpainting include warm browns, black and white. The next stage was to give correct colouring and fix the final contours of the forms. This procedure is called working-up. Each area of the painting corresponded to a distinct visual experience to render the illusionistic visual experience as convincing as possible. As you can see, the girl’s face was illuminated with the work-up procedure with two layers of thin flesh tone using a badger. As artist had very few colours in the days, glazing was used to create the vibrant colours. For example, blue and red were glazed over each other to create purple. There were two areas in which Vermeer used glazing. The blue part of the turban with ultramarine blue and white and then a thin transparent layer of ultramarine once the first layer was dry to add depth and chromatic power to the underlying opaque blue. While Vermeer’s painting techniques was never a fixed technique, his artworks show that his use of methods and materials were those used by contemporaries. His work shows a sense of realistic impression, sensuous quality and mystery. This enables the audiences to understand the sophisticated perspective and his used of innovative ways to create a sense of space and awareness of its psychological impact.

Autobiography of a Classroom Essay

I am a very big classroom in a well-known public school. I cater to needs of the kindergarten class of the school, accommodating I think about eighty five children, a big number isn’t it? I understand that I am the best looking room in the school as, the very small children study here. I am very attractively decorated so that the little ones like to come here every day. The room that is me – is decorated with beautiful coloured pictures. The walls are a blend of some colours I do not know the names of. The furniture that is placed in the length and breadth of the room consists of small round tables to seat four children on each table, and the chairs are also tiny. That is not all, all the furniture is a mixture of many colours. When the children come inside the class they almost fight to sit on certain chairs. That makes me understand that they like the colours and fight for their favourite colours to sit on. At the top two ends of the length of the classroom there are two bigger tables and full size chairs for the teachers to sit. Since there are so many children there are two teachers while in other classes there is only one each. I am a treat for everyone to see. My pleasure knows no bounds when everyone who comes inside the class, admires me, appreciates my get up and the colours that don me. I have the twin advantage of being the most beautiful room in the school and also having the cutest of children coming to spend their time with me. Thus, my life is full of beauty, colour, noise and laughter and at times of course also crying and howling of the children. At times some new entrants to the school come to me with their mothers and, cry as if they had come to the slaughter house to be butchered. At such moments even by heart cries for the little ones and I wonder why man makes these little children come to study if they do not want to. I of course do not know how important studies are for human children, I only feel sad seeing the children cry. My life is full of a very busy schedule though very interesting. The routine of my daily life is so busy that, I do not get any relief for quite long hours. In the morning as early as 6 a. m.two sweepers come open the lock of my room or rather me, and off they start working on me. They sweep my floor, squab it, dust each and every piece of the furniture in me. Thus, I get alerted as soon the room is unlocked. It is not even 8 a. m. when the little brats start pouring inside my body’s doors. At times they enter with so much noise that my whole body feels the rattle of it all. Their movements are so loud that now, I cannot even think of any rest. School bags get flung, tiffin boxes are strewn all about, water bottles are kept just anywhere and there is a lot of commotion all over. Soon the maid enters the room and keeps everything in order and my appearance at once improves and I look tidy and well kept. For these small ones the school hours are just three from, 8 a. m. to 11 a. m. These three hours is my duty time, and just is the time when I also get the day’s entertainment. Being a classroom for the Kindergarten children I get a great chance of hearing conversations between the teachers and the parents. Since this is the first time their children have entered school, parents devote a lot of time to talking about the school and its standards. At times I find that some parents are just too critical and, inspite of getting all the best in this school they always seem to be unhappy and dissatisfied with something or the other in the school. Such parents keep lecturing about things missing in the classroom, the school or even in the playground. When I hear such complaints, my heart sinks and I wonder if they will allow or not allow their children to come to me any more,. For such conversations I have understood that, these days parents pamper the children too much, and it seems that they can never yes, never be satisfied. I am quite surprised to see the vast difference in opinions. While on the one hand I, and also many parents think that I am very beautiful, well kept, and decorated, others of the same clan are always complaining of many defects in my appearance. This gives me a feeling of depression and I do wonder if I can do anything in the matter. After some thinking bouts, I realize that, I can do nothing to satisfy these unhappy parents. I am just here in the hands of the school authorities and stand here as and how they keep me. My working hours are just six, from 6 a. m. when sweepers enter to say 12 noon when I am locked after all children go. After my duty hours I just relax but also feel lonely. No matter what is said about me, I am thoroughly enjoying my life in the cute company of little children. Their company makes me also feel young though now I am quite old. Every summer vacation I am painted afresh, my furniture is painted, and, I am ready to welcome my little friends, new and old with a new look, new enthusiasm and renewed vigour. I pray that my life is forever allowed to remain so interesting and so relaxed. I just love all the children and teachers who come here to me, to work and play in the restricted area within my four walls.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 10

Damon was making his way up the beautiful rose-covered trel is below the window of the bedchamber of M. le Princess Jessalyn D'Aubigne, a very wealthy, beautiful, and much-admired girl who had the bluest blood of any vampire in the Dark Dimension, according to the books he'd bought. In fact, he'd listened to the locals and it was rumored that Sage himself had changed her two years ago, and had given her this bijoux castle to live in. Delicate gem that it appeared, though, the little castle had already presented Damon with several problems. There had been that razor-wire fence, on which he ripped his leather jacket; an unusual y dexterous and stubborn guard whom it had real y been a pity to strangle; an inner moat that had almost taken him unawares; and a few dogs that he had treated with the Saber-tranquilizer routine – using Mrs. Flowers's sleeping powder, which he'd brought with him from Earth. It would have been easier to poison them, but Jessalyn was reputed to have a very soft heart for animals and he needed her for at least three days. That should be long enough to make him a vampire – if they did nothing else during those days. Now, as he pul ed himself silently up the trel is, he mental y added long rose thorns to the list of inconveniences. He also rehearsed his first speech to Jessalyn. She had been – was – would forever be – eighteen. But it was a young eighteen, since she had only two years'experience at being a vampire. He comforted himself with this as he climbed silently into a window. Still silently, moving slowly in case the princess had guardian animals in her bedchamber, Damon parted layer after layer of filmy, translucent black curtains that kept the blood-red light of the sun from shining into the chamber. His boots sank into the thick pile of a black rug. Making it out of the enfolding curtains, Damon saw that the entire chamber was decorated in a simple theme by a master of contrast. Jet-black and off-black. black. He liked it a lot. There was an enormous bed with more bil owing filmy black curtains almost encasing it. The only way to approach it was from the foot, where the diaphanous curtains were thinner. Standing there in the cathedral-like silence of the great chamber, Damon looked at the slight figure under the black silk sheets, among dozens of smal throw pil ows. She was a jewel like the castle. Delicate bones. A look of utter innocence as she slept. An ethereal river of fine, scarlet hair spil ing about her. He could see individual hairs straying on the black sheets. She looked a little like Bonnie. Damon was pleased. He pul ed out the same knife he had put to Elena's throat, and just for a moment hesitated – but no, this was no time to be thinking of Elena's golden warmth. Everything depended on this fragile-shouldered child in front of him. He put the point of the knife to his chest, deliberately placing it wide of his heart in case some blood had to be spil ed†¦and coughed. Nothing happened. The princess, who was wearing a black negligee that showed frail-looking arms as fine and pale as porcelain, went on sleeping. Damon noticed that the nails on her smal fingers were lacquered the exact scarlet of her hair. The two large pil ar candles set in tal black stands were giving off an enticing perfume, as wel as being clocks – the farther down they burned, the easier to tel time. The lighting was perfect – everything was perfect – except that Jessalyn was stil asleep. Damon coughed again, loudly – and bumped the bed. The princess woke, starting up and simultaneously bringing two sheathed blades out of her hair. â€Å"Who is it? Is someone there?†She was looking in every direction but the right one. â€Å"It's only me, your highness.†Damon pitched his voice low, but fraught with unrequited need. â€Å"You don't have to be afraid,†he added, now that she'd at last gotten the right direction and seen him. He knelt by the foot of her bed. He'd miscalculated a bit. The bed was so large and high that his chest and the knife were far below Jessalyn's line of sight. â€Å"Here I wil take my life,†he announced, very loudly to make sure that Jessalyn was keeping up with the program. After a moment or two the princess's head popped up over the foot of the bed. She balanced herself with hands spread wide and narrow shoulders hunched close to her. At this distance he could see that her eyes were green – a complicated green consisting of many different rings and speckles. At first she just hissed at him and lifted her knives held in hands whose fingers were tipped with nails of scarlet. Damon bore with her. She would learn in time that al this wasn't real y necessary; that in fact it had gone out of fashion in the real world decades ago and was only kept alive by pulp fiction and old movies. â€Å"Here at your feet I slay myself,†he said again, to make sure she didn't miss a syl able, or the entire point, for that matter. â€Å"You – yourself?†She was suspicious. â€Å"Who are you? How did you get here? Why would you do such a thing?† â€Å"I got here through the road of my madness. I did it out of what I know is madness I can no longer live with.† â€Å"What madness? And are you going to do it now?†the princess asked with interest. â€Å"Because if you're not, I'l have to cal my guards and – wait a minute,†she interrupted herself. She grabbed his knife before he could stop her and licked it. â€Å"This is a metal blade,†she told him, tossing it back. â€Å"I know.†Damon let his head fal so that hair curtained his eyes and said painful y: â€Å"I am†¦a human, your highness.† He was covertly watching through his lashes and he saw that Jessalyn brightened up. â€Å"I thought you were just some weak, useless vampire,†she said absently. â€Å"But now that I look at you†¦Ã¢â‚¬ A rose petal of a pink tongue came out and licked her lips. â€Å"There's no point in wasting the good stuff, is there?† She was like Bonnie. She said exactly what she thought, when she thought it. Something inside Damon wanted to laugh. He stood again, looking at the girl on the bed with al the fire and passion of which he was capable – and felt that it wasn't enough. Thinking about the real Bonnie, alone and unhappy, was†¦wel , passion-quenching. But what else could he do? Suddenly he knew what he could do. Before, when he'd stopped himself from thinking of Elena, he had cut off any genuine passion or desire. But he was doing this for Elena, as much as for himself. Elena couldn't be his Princess of Darkness if he couldn't be her Prince. This time, when he looked down at M. le Princess, it was differently. He could feel the atmosphere change. â€Å"Highness, I have no right even to speak to you,†he said, deliberately putting one booted foot on the metal scrol work that formed the frame of the bed. â€Å"You know as wel as I that you can kil me with a single blow†¦say, here† – pointing to a spot on his jaw – â€Å"but you have already slain me – â€Å" Jessalyn looked confused, but waited. † – with love. I fel in love with you the moment I saw you. You could break my neck, or – as I would say if I were permitted to touch your perfumed white hand – you could curl those fingers around my throat and strangle me. I beg you to do it.† Jessalyn was beginning to look puzzled but excited. Blushing, she held out one smal hand to Damon, but clearly without any intention of strangling him. â€Å"Please, you must,†Damon said earnestly, never taking his eyes off hers. â€Å"That is the only thing I ask of you: that you kil me yourself instead of cal ing your guards so that the last sight I see wil be your beautiful face.† â€Å"You're il ,†Jessalyn decided, stil looking flustered. â€Å"There have been other unbalanced minds who have made their way past the first wal of my castle – although never to my chambers. I'l give you to the doctors so that they can make you wel .† â€Å"Please,†said Damon, who had forged his way through the last of the filmy black hangings and was now looming over the sitting princess. â€Å"Grant me instant death, rather than leaving me to die a little each day. You don't know what I've done. I can't stop dreaming of you. I've fol owed you from shop to shop when you went out. I am already dying now as you ravish me with your nobility and radiance, knowing that I am no more than the paving stones you walk on. No doctor can change that.† Jessalyn was clearly considering. Obviously, no one had ever talked to her like this. Her green eyes fixed on his lips, the lower of which was stil bleeding. Damon gave an indifferent little laugh and said, â€Å"One of your guards caught me and very properly tried to kil me before I could reach you and disturb your sleep. I'm afraid I had to kil him to get here,†he said, standing between one pil ar candle and the girl on the bed so that his shadow was thrown over her. Jessalyn's eyes widened in approval even as the rest of her seemed more fragile than ever. â€Å"It's stil bleeding,†she whispered. â€Å"I could – â€Å" â€Å"You can do anything you want,†Damon encouraged her with a wry quirk of a smile on his lips. It was true. She could. â€Å"Then come here.†She thumped a place by the nearest pil ow on the bed. â€Å"What are you cal ed?† â€Å"Damon,†he said as he stripped off his jacket and lay down, chin propped on one elbow, with the air of one not unused to such things. â€Å"Just that? Damon?† â€Å"You can cut it stil shorter. I am nothing but Shame now,†he replied, taking another minute to think of Elena and to hold Jessalyn's eyes hypnotical y. â€Å"I was a vampire – a powerful and proud one – on Earth – but I was tricked by a kitsune†¦Ã¢â‚¬ He told her a garbled version of Stefan's story, omitting Elena or any nonsense about wanting to be human. He said that when he managed to escape the prison that had taken his vampire self, he decided to end his own human life. But at that moment, he had seen Princess Jessalyn and thought that, serving her, he would be happy with his sorry lot. Alas, he said, it only fed his disgraceful feelings for her highness. â€Å"Now my madness has driven me to actual y accost you in your own chambers. Make an example of me, your highness, that wil cause other evildoers to tremble. Burn me, have me flogged and quartered, put my head on a pike to cause those who might do you il to cast themselves into a fire first.†He was now in bed with her, leaning back a little to expose his bare throat. â€Å"Don't be sil y,†Jessalyn said, with a little catch in her voice. â€Å"Even the meanest of my servants wants to live.† â€Å"Perhaps the ones that never see you do. Scul ions, stable boys – but I cannot live, knowing that I can never have you.† The princess looked Damon over, blushed, gazed for a moment into his eyes†¦and then she bit him. â€Å"I'l get Stefan to go down to the root cel ar,†Elena said to Meredith, who was angrily thumbing tears out of her eyes. â€Å"You know we can't do that. With the police right here in the house – â€Å" â€Å"Then I'll do it – â€Å" â€Å"You can't! You know you can't, Elena, or you wouldn't have come to me!† Elena looked at her friend closely. â€Å"Meredith, you've been donating blood al along,†she whispered. â€Å"You never seemed even slightly bothered†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He only took a tiny bit – always less from me than anyone. And always from my arm. I just pretended I was having blood drawn at the doctor's. No problem. It wasn't even bad with Damon back in the Dark Dimension.† â€Å"But now†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Elena blinked. â€Å"Now – what?† â€Å"Now,†Meredith said with a faraway expression, â€Å"Stefan knows that I'm a hunter-slayer. That I even have a fighting stave. And now I have to†¦to submit to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena had gooseflesh. She felt as if the distance from her to Meredith in the room was getting larger. â€Å"A hunter-slayer?†she said, bewildered. â€Å"And what's a fighting stave?† â€Å"There's no time to explain now! Oh, Elena†¦Ã¢â‚¬  If Plan A was Meredith and Plan B was Matt, there was real y no choice. Plan C had to be Elena herself. Her blood was much stronger than anyone else's anyway, so ful of Power that Stefan would only need a – â€Å"No!†Meredith whispered right in Elena's ear, somehow managing to hiss a word without a single sibilant. â€Å"They're coming down the stairs. We have to find Stefan now! Can you tel him to meet me in the little bedroom behind the parlor?† â€Å"Yes, but – â€Å" â€Å"Do it!† And I stil don't know what a fighting stave is, Elena thought, al owing Meredith to take her arms and propel her toward the bedroom. But I know what a â€Å"hunter-slayer†sounds like, and I definitely don't like it. And that weapon – it makes a stake look like a plastic picnic knife. Stil , she sent to Stefan, who was fol owing the sheriffs downstairs: Meredith is going to donate as much blood as you need to Influence them. There's no time to argue. Come here fast and for God's sake look cheerful and reassuring. Stefan didn't sound cooperative. I can't take enough from her for our minds to touch. It might – Elena lost her temper. She was frightened; she was suspicious of one of her two best friends – a horrible feeling – and she was desperate. She needed Stefan to do just as she said. Get here fast! was al she projected, but she had the feeling that she'd hit him with al of the feelings ful force, because he suddenly turned concerned and gentle. I will, love, he said simply. While the female police officer was searching the kitchen and the male the living room, Stefan stepped into the smal first-floor guest room, with its single rumpled bed. The lamps were turned off but with his night vision he could see Elena and Meredith perfectly wel by the curtains. Meredith was holding herself as stiffly as an acrophobic bungee jumper. Take all you need without permanently harming her – and try to put her to sleep, too. And don't invade her mind too deeply – I'll take care of it. You'd better get out in the hallway, let them see at least one of us, love, Stefan replied soundlessly. Elena was obviously simultaneously frightened for and defensive about her friend and had sped right into micromanagement mode. While this was usual y a good thing, if there was one thing Stefan knew about – even if it was the only thing he knew – it was taking blood. â€Å"I want to ask for peace between our families,†he said, reaching one hand toward Meredith. She hesitated and Stefan, even trying his hardest, could not help but hearing her thoughts, like smal , scuttling creatures at the base of her mind. What was she committing herself to? In what sense did he mean family? It's really just a formality, he told her, trying to gain ground on another front: her acceptance of the touch of his thoughts to hers. Never mind it. â€Å"No,†Meredith said. â€Å"It's important. I want to trust you, Stefan. Only you, but†¦I didn't get the stave until after Klaus was dead.† He thought swiftly. â€Å"Then you didn't know what you were – â€Å" â€Å"No. I knew. But my parents were never active. It was Grandpa who told me about the stave.† Stefan felt a surge of unexpected pleasure. â€Å"So your grandfather's better now?† â€Å"No†¦sort of.†Meredith's thoughts were confusing. His voice changed, she was thinking. Stefan was truly happy that Grandpa's better. Even most humans wouldn't care – not really. â€Å"Of course I care,†Stefan said. â€Å"For one thing, he helped save al our lives – and the town. For another, he's a very brave man – he must have been – to survive an attack by an Old One.† Suddenly, Meredith's cold hand was around his wrist and words were tumbling from her lips in a rush that Stefan could barely understand. But her thoughts stood bright and clear under those words, and through them he got the meaning. â€Å"Al I can know about what happened when I was very young is what I've been told. My parents told me things. My parents changed my birthday – they actual y changed the day we celebrate my birthday on – because a vampire attacked my grandpa, and then my grandpa tried to kil me. They've always said that. But how do they know? They weren't there – that's part of what they say. And what's more likely, that my grandpa attacked me or that the vampire did?†She stopped, panting, trembling al over like a white-tailed doe caught in the forest. Caught, and thinking she was doomed, and unable to run. Stefan put out a hand that he deliberately made warm around Meredith's cold one. â€Å"I won't attack you,†he said simply. â€Å"And I won't disturb any old memories. Good enough?† Meredith nodded. After her cathartic story Stefan knew she wanted as few words as possible. â€Å"Don't be afraid,†he murmured, just as he had thought the soothing phrase into the mind of many an animal he'd chased through the Old Wood. It's all right. There's no reason to fear me. She couldn't help being afraid, but Stefan soothed her as he soothed the forest animals, drawing her into the darkest shadow of the room, calming her with soft words even as his canines screamed at him to bite. He had to fold down the side of her blouse to expose her long, olive-skinned column of neck, and as he did the calming words turned into soft endearments and the kind of reassuring noises he would use to comfort a baby. And at last, when Meredith's breathing had slowed and evened and her eyes had drifted shut, he used the greatest of care to slide his aching fangs into her artery. Meredith barely quivered. Everything was softness as he easily skimmed over the surface of her mind, too, seeing only what he already knew about her: her life with Elena and Bonnie and Caroline. Parties and school, plans and ambitions. Picnics. A swimming hole. Laughter. Tranquility that spread out like a great pool. The need for calm, for control. Al this stretching back as far as she could remember†¦ The farthest depths that she could remember were here at the center†¦where there was a sudden plunging dip. Stefan had promised himself he would not go deeply into her mind, but he was being pul ed, helpless, being dragged down by the whirlpool. The waters closed over his head and he was drawn at tremendous speed to the very depths of a second pool, this one not composed of tranquility, but of rage and fear. And then he saw what had happened, what was happening, what would forever be happening – there at Meredith's stil center.