Marketing Research Tools Paper wk 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Research Tools Paper wk 3 - Essay Example On the other hand, research areas having ample and reliable data available require use of information extracted from secondary sources. According to nature of sources and research methodology, different tools are selected and used by researchers. All these tools have their own use, advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is important for researchers to ensure that research tools are selected that are suitable for the nature of research approach i.e. primary and secondary and research methodologies i.e. quantitative and qualitative. Primary research itself consists of data collection from original resources. Primary research can employ qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and there are various tools that can be used for this research approach. Usual tools used for this research includes surveys, interviews, direct observations, experimentations, and focus groups. These tools help in collecting data that is specific to the needs of researcher. Furthermore, researcher s can levy necessary controls on the research process to maintain the integrity of data collected and using it appropriately for the purpose of research (Baker, 2012). Hence, it is possible for researchers to ensure that data collected is valid and trustworthy along with being authentic and reliable. These research tools are usually time and cost consuming however due to direct relevance to the research purpose, it is preferred for areas of research that have not been explored earlier or to corroborate with existing studies (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2008). As far as secondary research is concerned, it is use of data that is already available from existing sources. The tools available for secondary research include information available on the internet, market research conducted by government and individual market research firms, data available on firms’ websites and stock exchange, information from public and private agencies, personal records and published print sources (peer-review ed papers, books and journals) (Baker, 2012). While using secondary data, it is important to ensure that the data is appropriate for the purpose of research. Relevance of data in terms of time period is another major issue that researchers need to take care of. However, sometimes use of secondary data is beneficial as it is readily available and relatively cheap (as the original research expenses have been already incurred). While performing primary and secondary research, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies can be used depending on the nature of research. While selecting a research methodology, the purpose of research and type of information required for the research is determined which further shapes the nature of research. In quantitative research, the usual tools used for primary research are surveys, financial figures produced by the entities themselves, experiments and numerical readings produced by them, statistical modeling and examination through stratificat ion and segmentation (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2008). These tools help in acquiring first hand information which is reliable, valid and objective yet expensive to acquire. For quantitative research to be performed through secondary sources, the tools used can be numeric modeling and statistical analysis. These tools are used to perform correlational analysis of data already available through print and electronic sources. Example of it can be examination of industry performance by performing statistical examination of market

Alejandro Flores Essay Example for Free

Alejandro Flores Essay Write a 2 – 3 page paper that addresses the following: 1. How do Senor Flores, Senora Flores and Dr. Jean view this situation from totally different perspectives? 2. Why might Senora Flores have chosen to consult an espiritista rather than call the clinic when Alejandro was not getting better? 3. Which of the normative cultural values described in the Lecture might apply to Alejandro’s case? Please explain. The Puerto Rican culture has many beliefs involving individual roles within the family. Many believe that the male(s) of the family should work to provide the basic needs of the household: paying rent, bills, paying for groceries, automotive repair, and the like. Similarly, the female(s) of the house should be the primary house keeper and care giver. Familismo holds a large part in the Puerto Rican culture, and the advice of the elder family members is taken very seriously. Religion also plays an integral role in Puerto Rican culture, and some believe illness is the result of sin, punishment, or spiritual discomfort. These beliefs tie together to create culturally diverse situations regarding patients health care, and must be taken into consideration when discussing treatment plans. Senor Flores views this situation from the machismo perspective. His view is to he should be working to provide the means for his family to survive. By taking time off of work to attend Alejandro’s medical appointments, he feels that he is neglecting his cultural responsibility of working hard to meet the needs of his family as a whole. Additionally, he does not believe that the modern treatment has a positive effect on Alejandro’s condition, and he portrays that he would rather allow his mother-in-law to play a more active role in Alejandro’s care. He feels as though every time he is at the appointments, the clinical staff is ostracizing him and attacking him for smoking. Senora Flores is upset about Alejandro’s health condition, and appears to be reaching out for help in different directions. She does not want to give Alejandro all of the medicine he is prescribed, and is taking her mother’s advice by seeking the help of an espiritista. When she arrived to the appointment late, she was greeted poorly because of the tardiness, and doesn’t understand why the clinic staff is rude with her. Many Puerto Ricans believe that tardiness is accepted, even common, and that having a relaxed attitude regarding time is reasonable practice. Additionally, she is frustrated with the language barr ier that presents itself during the appointments. The clinic is providing her so much information, and she feels belittled by the staff when she may not comprehend all of the information they are providing her. She is concerned that Alejandro will be chastised due to the perception that he is weak and unhealthy. She is worried that nothing she can do will better his condition and prayers are not helping. Dr. Jean is concerned with Alejandro’s progress due to the misuse or absence of medications and the lack of Senor Flores’ interest in tobacco cessation for the sake of his child’s health. She desires to help the family, and has given her personal phone number to be accommodating, but instead Senora Flores confided in a housekeeper instead of the doctor. The family’s tardiness is an issue for Dr Jean, but this doesn’t bother her as much as not showing up for the appointment at all. Senora Flores may have consulted with the espiritista due to the lack of confidence in the medication Alejandro is prescribed. This combined with the clinical staff’s attitude toward her, and the cultural belief that illness can be caused by spiritual discomforts, could lead to Senora Flores’ visit to the spiritual healer. Espiritistas use prayers to attempt to rid the patient of spirits causing the disease. Also, Senora Flores’ mother suggested the espiritista visit, and the words and advice of the elder is highly respected in the Puerto Rican culture. All of the normative cultural values present themselves in this module, but the one that applies the most in my opinion is Fatalismo. In the study, the family seems that the fate of Alejandro’s illness is predetermined and nothing they have done or will do to ease h is symptoms will work effectively. 2010 Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics and Children’s Mercy Family Health Partners Cross Cultural Resource Guide pgs. 28-29 Retrieved on April 15, 2012 From: http://www.fhp.org/fhpdocs/CrossCulturalResourceGuide.pdf ELL Assessment for Linguistic Differences guide for Nonverbal Communication. Retrieved on April 17, 2012 From: http://www.ldldproject.net/cultures/puertorico/differences/nonverbal.html

JFK Essay -- essays research papers

Evaluation Of JFK   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through out the course of history, America has seen great Presidents. These men all exhibited characteristics which helped them to be successful in their endeavor to become the nations leader. Among those characteristics are traits such as being a good spokesperson or leader and being fair towards all which makes for a good President.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As President, one must make numerous speeches. Someone who has a phobia of making speeches in front of a large group of people, may find this job difficult. Remaining composed and in control of the situation may be crucial in gaining your viewers support. The President also must be able to convey his thoughts clearly so his nation knows where he stands on issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being President is being the leader of a great nation. If the President is afraid to step up, make the decisions and take action, then the nation as a whole may suffer. This would take confidence and some skill in sweet talking to those who are relevant, into uniting behind him. Rising to the occasion and shining when looked upon would be expected from a man with leadership.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A good President is one that is fair. The duty of making sure the Constitution is followed and obeyed is up to the President. This document should be the foundation on which our government is shaped. So he should be able to put himself in the place of those his decision will be...

Innocence and experience in Blake’s Songs Essay

A Romantic as he was, William Blake created his rather simple songs as an opposition to the poetry the eighteenth-century poets tried to impose, the so called ornated word,poetry of beautiful words saying very little. Songs of Innocence and Experience are about the â€Å"two contrary states of the human soul† as Blake put it. To confirm this he wrote some of the poems of Innocence with their pairs in Experience. Such a pair is â€Å"The Lamb† from Innocence and â€Å"The Tyger† from Experience. â€Å"The Lamb† consists of two stanzas, each one of them based on simple rhyming scheme like the children’s songs. The first stanza poses the questions while the second one is left for the answers. The questions are for the lamb, the speaker, presumably a child, asks the animal who has made it. The whole description of the animal supposes a meek and good one, the use of soft vowels makes the perception stronger. The second stanza gives the answers, although obvious, they are given in the form of a child’s puzzle, showing a bit of naivete. After a bit of a puzzle-playing the answer is crystal clear, the creator of the lamb is God. With the lines â€Å"For he is called by thy name/For he calls himself a lamb† Blake reminds the reader of the Bible and more specifically of Jes us, who after his Crucifixion becomes the Lamb of God. Following this, the lamb is a symbol of naà ¯ve innocence, also suffering one. â€Å"The Tyger† is the â€Å"experienced† poem of the pair. The lines â€Å"Did He smile His work to see?/Did He who made the lamb make thee?† may be considered a symbolic centre of the poem. The persona asks the tyger if his creator is the one who created the lamb. The questions are seeking an answer and at the same time are showing deep disbelieve, how can God who created the meek lamb create also the fierce tiger and frame his â€Å"fearful symmetry†. If innocence is naà ¯ve and suffering then experience, according to â€Å"The Tyger†, whose eyes have burnt in â€Å"distant deeps or skies†, should be dark and fierce having collected all the darkness â€Å"in the forests of the night† as is presented the life of the grown-up people in â€Å"The Tyger†. If â€Å"The Tyger† from Experience is the opposite poem to â€Å"The Lamb†, â€Å"To Tirzah† doesn’t have a particular opposite in Innocence, it may be considered as a single poem opposing the whole of Songs of Innocence. Tirzah is one of the five daughters of Zelophehad, also the name of the capital of  Israel, which is in opposition with Jerusalem, the city of God. The first stanza begins with the well-known fact that â€Å"Whate’er is born of mortal birth† dies. And ends with the question â€Å"Then what have I to do with thee?†, it seems it is directed exactly to that mortal part of humans. The second stanza is a reminder of Genesis, the fall of Adam and Eve when looking for knowledge and their curse when drown out of Heaven, men to work with sweat on their foreheads and women to cry of pain while giving birth to their children. In the third stanza Tirzah proves out to be the mother of the â€Å"mortal part† of humans and thus mother of death. The persona of the poem seems to be a young man who is angry with his mother for giving him life that inevitably ends in death. The young man may also be afraid to break the bond with his mother and live in the world of experience on his own. The last stanza opposes life on earth whose â€Å"tongue is made of clay† and life in heaven whose symbol is Jesus and his crucifixion. Experience understands the simple rules of life that what is born dies and can’t accept them, while innocence accepts and amuses in everything even in perceiving experience. The bond between innocence and experience when judged from â€Å"To Tirzah† seems to be the bond of a blissful student to his desperate teacher. Such blissful innocence is presented in the â€Å"Introduction† of Songs of Innocence. The poem begins with a piper’s song, the persona sees a child on a cloud, an ordinary symbol of blissful innocence, the child/angel is enjoying the piper’s song, which in Blakean times is considered to be the purest of all. The child nearly orders the piper to â€Å"Pipe a song about a Lamb!†, innocence enjoys the song about another blissful innocent creature – the lamb. Experience in the form of the grown-up piper praises and at the same time amuses innocence. The bond between â€Å"the two contrary states of the human soul† is a mother-child relationship. Experience teaches innocence as the piper writes down in a book the songs he knows so that â€Å"Every child may joy to hear.† But the mother also protects her child, so does experience as is clearly seen from the poem â€Å"Holy Thursday†. Children, the most common symbol of innocence, are walking two by two and â€Å"grey-headed beadles† are leading them to St. Paul’s cathedral, experience protects innocence and leads it to a place where God will guide and protect it. In the second stanza of the poem innocence is a multitude, children are like â€Å"flowers of London town†, â€Å"multitudes of lambs†, innocence is being united with nature. Following the flow of thought innocence seems to glow with its divine image as is presented in â€Å"The Divine Image† from Songs of Innocence. The first stanza of the poem states that Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love are the four most important virtues that every man prays to. The second stanza reveals that the virtues symbol of innocence and purity are God and human â€Å"His child and care†. Reading on the poem shows that man is made up of virtues and possesses the human form divine, the purest and Godly innocence. If innocence is â€Å"the human form divine† then what is experience and what have they to do with one another? Does â€Å"London† from Songs of Experience give the answer? â€Å"London† is symbol of fallen humanity, symbol of the dark face of the industrial revolution that Blake’s contemporaries so much prided on. The persona’s journey begins with â€Å"I wander†, he walks through â€Å"each chartered street†, in Blakean times charters were given to rich people as a permission to rule given city. A city, in our case London, may be chartered, but Blake uses irony when defining the river Thames as chartered because a river cannot be put under human rules. The whole city, even the river, look like prisoners that’s why the persona can observe â€Å"marks of weakness, marks of woe† on every face he meets. From the first stanza his journey seems to be a sad walk through experience. In the second stanza the poet uses repetition in order to make the impact of his words stronger. He mentions manacles that were an ordinary thing to be seen on the hands of prisoners that were sent to Australia. But Blake’s manacles are ‘mind-forged’, a symbol of moral rules and laws that restrict â€Å"civilized† people. This image is also an allusion to Rousseau’s statement that â€Å"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.† The third stanza gives more specific examples of weakness and woe. The image of the child chimney-sweeper crying is a symbol of the unlawful use of child’s labour; the second – the blackening church appalls every one, the church is blackening as a symbol of stagnation, injustice, wrongly used power of not helping those that most need its caress – the poor. And last but not least the sound of the hapless soldier’s sigh; Blake  uses hyperbole in this particular image when describing that the sigh â€Å"Runs in blood down palace walls†. Being a reminder of the French revolution the poet warns the king and the people who rule the â€Å"chartered streets† and â€Å"the chartered Thames† that the misfortunate British may rise following the example of their soul mates – the French. The action in the last stanza takes place at midnight, the time when all monsters come out to haunt the living, this is the time of full darkness, symbol of impurity. At midnight the young harlot is forced to sell her body in a society where money is God. Blake uses a rather strong oxymoron to outline her image, â€Å"marriage hearse†, there can never be such a thing or it can in a London with â€Å"chartered streets† and â€Å"blackening church†; her curse damns lost innocence that can never be returned. â€Å"London† has a simple AB rhyming scheme that is typical for nursery rhymes, its innocent representation is in ironic opposition with its content, exactly like London of Blakean time, it was considered the peak of civilization while from the inside it was rotting away. From â€Å"London† it looks like that the bond between innocence and experience is very narrow, to enter experience one just has to be aware of evil. Experience is also understanding and accepting death, most fearful of all experience. â€Å"The Fly† from Songs of Experience proves it. At first sight the poem’s theme is about destruction, the persona kills the fly; but as the speaker identifies with the fly in the third stanza he is also vulnerable to â€Å"some blind hand† that may brush him away, the hand of the inevitable, of blind providence. The perspective of the persona killing the fly is turned a bit sideways with the act of the speaker’s identification with the fly; his act of killing may be not aimed to the fly but to himself. The last two stanzas are the most enigmatic and at the same time most universal ones. The forth stanza toys with the idea that if â€Å"thought is life† meaning that knowledge is life and â€Å"the want of thought is death† – an allusion to the Bible, when Adam and Eve are repelled from Heaven for seeking knowledge, when leaving Heaven they leave innocence behind and enter experience where they learn of death. But the poet shows death as the lack of thought, the lack of life, he teaches us that the price for gaining experience is losing innocence but death may be the gate to achieving regained innocence, because if death is the lack of thought then it is the lack of experience meaning  that it is regained innocence. Experience also has its own unique form according to the â€Å"Introduction† of Songs of Experience, its voice is the voice of the ancient bard who â€Å"present, past and future sees†, its ears have heard the Holy Word that is symbol of Jesus who â€Å"walked among the ancient trees† more than 2,000 years ago. The form of Innocence is presented in â€Å"Holy Thursday† from Songs of Innocence. The most well-known symbol of Innocence is the child, on that ground children are presented in the first stanza of â€Å"Holy Thursday†, children are walking two by two and beadles are leading them to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Experience is guiding Innocence to the cathedral were Innocence is to be protected by God himself. In the second stanza the children are multitude, they are like lambs and exactly then and there Innocence is united with nature. In the last stanza the children raise their voice to Heaven and the aged men, Experience, are still there to protect Innocence. Innocence is also symbol of new life being born as is presented in â€Å"The Echoing Green† from Songs of Innocence. â€Å"Spring† in the first stanza of the poem is symbol of the new life, of new Innocence being born. The colour of Innocence, as is easy to be guessed, according to the poem is green. The second stanza presents happy old people, sitting under an oak tree, and laughing at the youths’ games. They remember their own children’s games and their Innocence returns on the echoing green. The last stanza is no more cheerful, youth is tired and everyone is returning to their homes â€Å"like birds in the nests†; the echoing green is no more, it is darkening, like a haunting experience, like a date on which Innocence will come for the last time and be gone forever. Interesting connection between innocence and experience provide also the pair of poems â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Innocence and the one from Songs of Experience. â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Innocence is Blake’s most ironic poem if he ever intended to write such. In 18th century England the chimney-sweepers were little children, most often orphans or  from poor families. Such is the case with the persona of the poem, when his mother dies his father sells him to be a chimney-sweeper and dooms him to sure early death because the chimney-sweepers from that time lived until they were seven or eight years old and died most often of respiratory problems caused by the soot. That is the story of the child-persona told in the first stanza while he walks the streets and cries â€Å"Sweep, sweep, sweep† as a kind of commercial for his job. But the misspelling of the word is not by chance, the author chose to write â€Å"Weep, weep, weepâ €  because misery is the true occupation of the child – chimney-sweeper. The story goes on in the second stanza with little Tom Dacre. His head is â€Å"curled like a lamb’s back† and that is allegory to another poem from Songs of Innocence â€Å"The Lamb†, like the lamb Tom is meek and innocent and he cries when his hair is shaved. The child-persona consoles him that when shaved the soot cannot spoil his white hair; so far innocence blinded Tom when it is â€Å"shaved† he could see the real world. So in the third stanza he is quiet and has a dream that thousands of sweepers are â€Å"locked in coffins of black†. Knowing the hard lives of England’s 18th century child-chimney-sweepers the â€Å"coffins of black† are the chimneys that buried the children. The forth stanza is left for the angel with the bright key who comes and sets all the chimney-sweepers free. But the only Angel who has such a key is the Angel of Death. Tom dreams that all are running down a green plain, washing in the river – all these are symbols of innocence. Later on the Angel tells Tom that if he is a good boy and does his work well he’ll have God for his father, meaning that he’ll return to innocence but only after his death. The children chimney-sweepers are doomed to have entered experience and the bad part of it too early and innocence is for them only a dream. â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Experience opposes the one from Songs of Innocence. â€Å"A little black thing† enters the scene, the child-chimney-sweeper has become one with the soot, he has even obtained its colour. As in Songs of Innocence the perssona cries â€Å"weep† instead of â€Å"sweep†, it sound is part of a melody whose notes are â€Å"the notes of woe†. The second stanza begins with â€Å"Because†, the child-chimney-sweeper feels that because he was happy upon the heath and smiled his parents have given him the clothes of death and give him to it. The persona is angry, he is no  longer innocent because anger is feeling of experience, so he enters experience angry. His parents think they have done him no injury and are gone to praise the Lord who cannot save the child from singing his â€Å"notes of woe†. In the last line of the poem God is frankly accused of being an alliance with church and state who â€Å"made up a heaven of our misery†. Heaven is no more a consoling place for the child-chimney-sweeper who has entered experience it is a place made up of the misery of his fellow â€Å"black things†. Blake’s Songs prove his statement that innocence and experience are â€Å"the two contrary states of the human soul†, the relationship between the two is always opposition: innocence is meek and suffering while experience is fierce and dark but experience accepts and understands life as it is while innocence amuses in everything, it is united with nature. The Godly innocence is the human form divine. Sometimes the bond between innocence and experience is very narrow, to enter experience one has to be aware of evil, experience is also understanding and accepting death. The most well-known form of experience is the grown-up while innocence is the little child, the colour of innocence is green, while those of experience is black. And last but not least the relationship between innocence and experience is that they are both states of the human soul but to the first one is given the blissful life, to the second – the angry existence.

Magic Toyshop Essay

The Magic Toyshop is the second novel of the feminist writer Angela Carter. It is one of the most popular of her early books. In Carter’s works mythological and Biblical themes often appear, and The Magic Toyshop is a good example of that. This essay is intended to discuss the introductory chapter of The Magic Toyshop, in which Carter rewrites a major Biblical story. The Magic Toyshop follows the story of a teenage girl, Melanie. She is one of three children, her younger brother is Jonathon and her five year old sister is Victoria. They live in the English countryside in a middle class family. Their house is spacious; they all have their own bedrooms. Their parents are rich, successful and the children have everything they need. The children have a middle aged governess Mrs. Rundle. She is overweight, was never married, only added the Mrs. title to her name a few years ago as a present to herself. Melanie has a fear of becoming someone like Mrs. Rundle. She does not believe in God but she prays that she would marry and have sex in her life. She is worried about her weight because she thinks she is too thin, but she would not eat too much either because then she might become fat and never marry. She already sees herself as someone’s wife; she looks at herself as a male would do. (Gamble 69) The novel tells the story of the children becoming orphans and having to leave their home. Their parents are killed in a plane crash and the three children must leave the countryside to live with their uncle in London. Uncle Phillip owns a toyshop and is a toymaker himself. The orphans do not know anything about him; Melanie’s only memory of him is that when she was a little girl he made her a jack in the box which was very scary. They do not know that the world they are about to enter is radically different from the one they lived in until now. At the beginning of the novel Melanie is a happy fifteen year old girl who is starting to discover herself. She explores her body, discovers it as a colonizer discovers the unknown land. She likes to pose in front of her mirror; she plays the roles of the characters of paintings (by male painters naturally). The novel uses the terminologies of explorers thus making us believe there is a male voice behind the words. Melanie’s only wish is to marry well. She is already getting ready for married life, she is making herself ready for a husband. She believes that marriage is the only way to have inancial and emotional security, the only way to be a respectable woman and to have a happy life. This is the only way she knows. This is what the culture, the social background of the age indoctrinated her to believe. She is dreaming of a perfect husband who is handsome, gentle, amiable, who has a good job and adequate financial background. Although she is a little worried about not getting this perfect life, not having sex, she genuinely believes that things are going to work out for the best. Melanie is planning to spend her adolescence preparing for the life that comes after. However soon enough she will realize that life is not a fairytale. She will meet and fall in love with a boy that does not fit in the image of the perfect husband she pictured for herself, a boy that she would have never thought to fell for under normal circumstances. She will realize how these circumstances can make her grow up in a few days – or even a few hours as on the train ride to London she realizes she has to be the mother of her little brother and sister – , and how they can suddenly take away all of her dreams and principles. However there is another way to interpret the beginning of the first chapter, the scene where she is exploring her body. Melanie is not only preparing herself for her future groom, but she is exploring her own sexuality too. She is in the age when she realizes that she is a woman, that she has not only grown mentally but physically too. â€Å"In Carter’s own words, Melanie ‘is very conscious of desire, she is filled with it. And that gives her power’. † (Gamble 69-70) One night Melanie decides to go further then posing in her own bedroom. Her parents are not home, they are in America. In the darkness of the night, when everyone in the house is asleep, she goes to her parent’s bedroom. She looks at their wedding photograph and starts thinking about her parents. How she cannot imagine her mother naked, as she never saw her that way – she even jokes about her mother being born with clothes on -, and how her father always wears the same suit. She wonders if her parents had sex before their wedding – this makes her believe she really is growing up if thoughts like this occur in her mind. She notices Uncle Phillip in the picture and thinks about the old jack in the box she was so afraid of. Then she goes over to her mother’s dressing table and looks into the mirror. She starts posing there too and feels that she looks different in her mother’s mirror. This moment can be understood again as a flesh of transition between childhood and becoming a woman. Being in her parent’s room is like pretending to be an adult just like they are. Posing in her mother’s mirror Melanie is trying to imagine how she will look like and feel as an adult, married woman. This moonlit night is the one when the fall happens†¦ Looking at her parent’s wedding picture Melanie decides to try on her mother’s wedding dress. She finds the dress and puts it on but it is too big. She is a little disappointed but still thinks she looks beautiful in it. She feels like a bride. â€Å"A bride. Whose bride? But she was, tonight, sufficient for herself in her own glory and did nor need a groom. † (Carter 16) Melanie decides to go out to the garden. She first feels free and excited; the night was so different from the one she imagined. The moonlit garden was like the Garden of Eden. â€Å"She was alone. In her carapace of white satin, she was the last, the only woman. † (Carter 17) This realization of loneliness soon turns into panic. She truly feels alone and feels what happening is too much. Crying she runs back to the front door but it is closed†¦ She forgot her keys. Suddenly the sweet, dark night turns into a scary land. Melanie realizes what she did was forbidden. She is frightened, she thinks there is something in the dark. After Mrs. Rundle’s cat appears in the garden, Melanie feels a little more comfortable. She starts to pull herself together and decides she will climb up the apple tree to her window. (The apple tree can be a symbol of Eden again). But she cannot do that in the wedding dress. The cat gives her so much comfort that she can take the dress off. Then something happens: she realizes her own nakedness as never before. â€Å"She was horribly conscious of her own exposed nakedness. She felt a new and final kind of nakedness, as if she had taken even her own skin off and now stood clothed in nothing, nude in the ultimate nudity of the skeleton. (Carter 21) This scene might be interpreted as the happenings in the Bible right after the Fall. The serpent deceives Eve so she and Adam both eat from the forbidden tree. â€Å"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. † (New International Bible, Genesis 3:7) The naked Melanie puts down the dress and the cat climbs on it. It scratches the dress. Melanie starts climbing up the tree, she does not know how long it takes but she finally gets to her room. She bleeds form â€Å"hundreds of cuts† but does not mind the pain. She honestly regrets what she had done that night, but cannot take it back. She ate from the forbidden fruit and knows that she deserves the consequences. Right now pain seems to be the punishment. The morning has come and when Mrs. Rundle, Jonathon and Victoria leave the house Melanie is alone in the house with her sin. Somebody is knocking on the door. It is a messenger boy with a telegram in his hand. â€Å"As soon as she saw him, she knew what the telegram contained, as if the words were printed on his forehead. (Carter 24) She runs to the bathroom and vomits. She reads the telegram and realizes what she already guessed was true. Her parents were dead. Melanie’s childhood, her fairytale life ended in this moment. She committed a sin last night and now was expelled from Eden. â€Å"This ‘wedding dress night when she married the shadows’ (Carter 77) exiles her and her younger brother and sister from their comfortable, liberal, middle-class home in the country to live in a dark, narrow house above Uncle Phillip’s toyshop in south London. (Sage 15) And what was Melanie’s fault really? As Lorna Sage says it was the â€Å"stepping over the boundary between reality and fantasy† (Sage 15) Melanie, Jonathon and Victoria are taken to their Uncle Phillip’s house. Melanie soon realizes she will have to live there in terror, in constant fear of her uncle. She has to say good bye to the magical life she had in the countryside and has to grow up sooner then expected. We can understand Uncle Phillip’s house as Purgatory. She goes through a grueling rite of passage into the state of being a woman. Whatever way she might once have grown up is simply cancelled after she arrived at Uncle Phillip’s. † (Day 25) Melanie goes through hell until one day Uncle Phillips ends this story. When he learns that his wife has a sexual relationship with her own brother, he sets the house on fire. â€Å"In the end only Melanie and Finn are left standing amongst the wreckage staring at one another in wild surmise, Adam and Eve at the beginning of a new world. †

The American Revolution Was a Major Turning Point Essays

The American Revolution Was a Major Turning Point Essays The American Revolution Was a Major Turning Point Paper The American Revolution Was a Major Turning Point Paper Alex Griffen P6 9/28/11 The American Revolution was a major turning point in American history and greatly affected Americas future. The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, to become the United States of America. It fundamentally changed the American society politically, socially and economically by the establishments of the Declaration of Independence and conflicts over stronger states rights or stronger central government, paper currency, womens rights and slavery. The American Revolution brought enormous effects on the Americans society polticially by new means of government. One major approach to endure in this change was the Declaration of Independence. George Washington declared a change in the society because he thought it was time to become independent from the Britains crown. If men were angels, no government would be necessary. This statement supports the reason of wanting independence because being under the Britains crown was unfair and Americans did not want that type of government any more. This action also led to the American colonies wanting to self-govern their own society. After the Declaration of Independence the United States of America now had to decide what type of government would watch over this new country. After the Constitution, the writers of the Constitution debated over a strong central government versus strong states. The Federalist Party supported a strong central government and was made up of mostly Northern industrialists. The Southern plantation owners mostly supported the Democratic-Republicans who stood for states rights. The Democratic-Republicans thought that a state had the right to overrule a Federal law if they thought it did agree with the state constitution. The Northern states argued that the Federal government had declared slavery illegal and the Southern states argued that they were independent of the Federal government and could make their own laws. Paper currency in American society of the time period was not established as a reliable currency for the economy. At first, the paper currency was not worth any amount at all. This was not working out because money had no value which led to confusion of the value of money. Some Americans were crying out for paper currency. This quote supports the feeling that the Americans had on paper currency because they believed if they had a printed document that states to be owned and published as their own, it would lean on toward of being independent from Britain. The First Bank of the United States, chartered in 1791, and the Coinage Act of 1792, began the era of a national American currency. The Constitution denied individual states the right to coin and print money. Another problem was that the British successfully waged economic warfare by counterfeiting Continentals on a large scale. Continentals were worth 1/40th of their face value by 1778 and this cause the currency to be worthless. The currency was soon to be taken out of circulation. Being under the Britains crown was compared to slavery and women in American society did not have many rights. Women had not rights in any part of the community unless they were widows. Women in the colonies were compared as being a dog on a leash and demanded not to speak a word unless spoken too. The women were fed up because they felt as if they should not even appear in public since they had no rights. As Molly Wallace clearly explained, ught ever to appear in so public a manner,. This shows how women in the society felt useless and unimportant because they had no roles. Also women wanted the same rights as men. Women in the society was just fed up and wanted equality. Slavery played a big role before the American Revolution in North America for mostly farmers of the south. The Britains always thought of an easier way to con duct tasks. One task they wanted to make easier was labor, which pin pointed to slavery. The British thought if slaves were placed in their society they would be free of labor and money because slaves did not need much. The Americans thought different. They felt as if all men should be created equal and have the same rights. Which this fact supports the meaning of the Declaration of Independence. The Americans exclaimed that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,. This supports the beliefs of the Americans not wanting slavery and the way they wanted to control their lands. The Revolution had contradictory consequences for slavery. In the South, slavery became more entrenched. In the North, every state freed slaves as a result of court decisions or the enactment of gradual emancipation schemes. Yet even in the North, there was strong resistance to emancipation and freeing of slaves was accompanied by the growth of a virulent form of racial prejudice. There were many factors that fundamentally changed the American society during the American Revolution. Having the Declaration of Independence, paper currency, limitation on womens rights and slavery were just a few of those factors that sculpted the American Society. Although America had found shape as an independent nation, many changes were soon to come after the American Revolution.

Abraham Lincolns Historical Thanksgiving Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln's Historical Thanksgiving Proclamation Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday in the United States until the fall of 1863  when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring that the last Thursday in November would be a day of national thanksgiving. While Lincoln issued the proclamation, credit for making Thanksgiving a national holiday should go to Sarah Josepha  Hale, the editor of Godeys Ladys Book, a popular magazine for women in 19th century America. Hales Campaign for Thanksgiving Hale, who campaigned for years to make Thanksgiving a nationally observed holiday, wrote to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, and urged him to issue a proclamation. Hale mentioned in her letter that having such a national day of Thanksgiving would establish a great Union Festival of America. With the United States in the depths of the Civil War, perhaps Lincoln was attracted to the idea of a holiday unifying the nation. At that time Lincoln was also contemplating delivering an address on the purpose of the war which would become the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln wrote a proclamation, which was issued on October 3, 1863. The New York Times published a copy of the proclamation two days later. The idea seemed to catch on, and the northern states celebrated Thanksgiving on the date noted in Lincolns proclamation, the last Thursday in November, which fell on November 26, 1863. Lincolns Thanksgiving Proclamation The text of Lincolns 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation follows: October 3, 1863By the President of the United StatesA ProclamationThe year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of pe aceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.Abraham Lincoln

Researching French-Canadian Ancestry Genealogy

Researching French-Canadian Ancestry Genealogy Even if you cant read French, tracing French-Canadian ancestors can be easier than many people expect due to the excellent record keeping of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada. Baptisms, marriages,  and burials were all dutifully recorded in the parish registers, with copies also sent to civil authorities. This, along with the incredibly high rate of French-Canadian records preservation, offers a much greater, more complete record of people living in Quebec and other parts of New France than in most other areas of North America and the world. In most cases, French-Canadian ancestry should be fairly easily traceable back to the immigrant ancestors, and you may even be able to trace some lines further back in France. Maiden Names Dit Names As in France, most French-Canadian church and civil records are recorded under a womans maiden name, making it much easier to trace both sides of your family tree. Sometimes, but not always, a womans married surname is included as well. In many areas of French-speaking Canada, families sometimes adopted an alias, or second surname in order to distinguish between different branches of the same family, especially when the families remained in the same town for generations. These alias surnames, also known as dit names, can often be found preceded by the word dit, as in Armand Hudon dit Beaulieu where Armand is the given name, Hudon is the original family surname, and Beaulieu is the dit name. Sometimes an individual even adopted the dit name as the family name and dropped the original surname. This practice was most common in France among soldiers and sailors. Dit names are important for anyone researching French-Canadian ancestors, as they necessitate searching the records under several various surname combinations. French-Canadian Rà ©pertoires (Indexes) Since the mid-nineteenth century, many French Canadians have worked to trace their families back to France and, in doing so, have created a large number of indexes to various parish records, known as rà ©pertoires or repertories. The vast majority of these published indexes or rà ©pertoires are of marriage (mariage) records, although a few exist which include baptisms (baptà ªme) and burials (sà ©pulture). Rà ©pertoires are generally arranged alphabetically by surname, while those that are organized chronologically usually include a surname index. By exploring all of the rà ©pertoires that include a particular parish (and following up in the original parish records), one can often take a French-Canadian family tree back through many generations. The majority of published rà ©pertoires are not yet available online. They can, however, often be found in major libraries with a strong French-Canadian focus, or libraries local to the parish(s) of interest. Many have been microfilmed and are available through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and Family History Centers throughout the world. Major online repertoires or databases of indexed French-Canadian marriage, baptism and burial records include: BMS2000 - This cooperative project involving over twenty genealogical societies in Quà ©bec and Ontario is one of the largest online sources of indexed baptism, marriage, and burial (sà ©pulture) records. It covers the period from the beginning of the French colony until the end of the XXth century. The Drouin Collection - Available online as a subscription database from Ancestry.com, this amazing collection includes nearly 15 million French-Canadian parish and other records of interest from Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and many U.S states with a large French-Canadian population. Indexed too! Church Records As in France, records of the Roman Catholic Church are the single best source for tracing French-Canadian families. Christening, marriage and burial records have been carefully recorded and preserved in the parish registers from 1621 to the present. Between 1679 and 1993 all parishes in Quà ©bec were required to send duplicate copies to the civil archives, which has ensured that the majority of Roman Catholic parish records in Quà ©bec still survive to this day. These baptismal, marriage and burial records are generally written in French (some earlier records may be in Latin), but often follow a standardized format which makes them easy to follow even if you know little or know French. Marriage records are an especially important source for immigrant ancestors to New France, or French-Canadian Canada because they usually document the immigrants parish and town of origin in France. The Family History Library has microfilmed the majority of Quà ©bec Catholic registers from 1621-1877, as well as most civil copies of Catholic registers between 1878 and 1899. This collection of Quà ©bec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900 has been digitized and is also available for viewing online for free through FamilySearch. There are a few indexed entries, but to access most records youll need to use the browse images link and go through them manually.

Cohabitation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cohabitation - Essay Example The leveling of the divorce rate is covering up the instability in the rising rates of cohabitation that is being passed from generation to generation. Cohabitation outside marriage sociologically changes the formation of the family unit. In a cohabitation arrangement, there is no legal commitment on the part of the spouses in regards to property and long-term child care arrangements. Because it leaves the children at risk, and due to religious and moral values, the act of cohabitation often carries a certain amount of social stigma with it. Yet, research has also shown that couples who cohabitate are significantly more likely to get divorced if the cohabitation progresses into marriage. A study by DeMaris and Rao (1992) concluded that "cohabitors have a higher hazard of dissolution at any given time since marriage. [and] cohabitors are estimated to have a hazard of dissolution that is about 46% higher than for noncohabitors" (p.183). The increased rate of divorce among previously cohabitating couples may be a product of an instability in the relationship from the beginning. According to Bumpass, Sweet, and Cherlin (1991), "About 4 0% of cohabiting unions in the United States break up without the couple getting married, and this tends to occur rather quickly. By about one and one-half years, half of cohabiting couples have either married or broken up" (p.917). Whether the cohabitation arrangement dissolves quickly, or ends in divorce after a later marriage, the prospects for a cohabitating couple are significantly worse than for a couple that marries without ever cohabitating. The rates of divorce and cohabitation have been historically measured by the Census Bureau. According to Fitch, Goeken, and Ruggles (2005), "The acronym POSSLQ-"Persons (or Partners) of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters"-was coined by Census Bureau staff in the late 1970s. POSSLQ households-termed "Unmarried Couple Households" by the Census Bureau-are composed of two unrelated adults of the opposite sex (one of whom is the householder) who share a housing unit with or without the presence of children under 15 years old" (p.2). Divorce rates in theUnited States rose sharply in the period of 1960-1980 followed Chart 1: Source (Schoen & Canudus-Romo) by a leveling off period through the year 2000 (See Chart 1). During this same period, the Percentage of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters rates have continued to rise sharply (See Chart 2). Chart 2: Source (Fitch, Goeken, & Ruggles) An interesting aspect of the divorce and cohabitation rates is that as the cohabitation rate was low and remained steady from 1960-1970, the divorce rate rose sharply. However, during the period of 1975-2005, cohabitation rates have risen dramatically, while the divorce rate has remained steady. From a psychological standpoint, it would seem that a relationship that has transgressed from a cohabitation arrangement to a marriage would have a better chance of success. The partners would be familiar with each other's living habits and the commitment to marriage would be based on a well informed couple. As would be expected, cohabitation has a higher dissolution rate than marriage, but this also extends to the couples who have married and now experience a higher divorce rate. Several studies have confirmed that couples who have

Abraham and Jacob Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abraham and Jacob - Essay Example arity between these two patriarchs rests in the strength of their faith and their obedience to the Lord, which set them apart from the other Hebrews and qualifies them as patriarchs. Abraham is the earliest Hebrew patriarch and plays an important role because God made a covenant with him, to make him the father of a great nation: â€Å"I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations.† (Genesis 17:7). God entered into a similar covenant with Jacob at Bethel to bless his offspring with good things: â€Å"†¦..all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and your offspring†¦.know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Genesis 28:15). The singular similarity between these two patriarchs is the strength of their faith, which is why they are called and chosen by God to be the patriarchs of the Jewish people. Abraham’s exemplary faith is demonstrated throughout his story, in his prompt obedience to the Lord. When God calls to him and says, â€Å"Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and†¦.offer him there as a burnt offering† (Genesis 22:2), Abraham does not hesitate to obey, even if it means sacrificing his only son. Jacob is also able to survive in an alien country on the strength of his faith in God. He enters Egypt penniless but when he leaves Egypt, he is a rich man. Despite Laban’s efforts to cheat him on several occasions, the strength of his faith ensures a steady flow of the Lord’s blessings, so that he is able to flourish and thrive and his twelve sons become the forbears of the twelve tribes of Israel. Abraham the patriarch was the flag bearer of God’s covenant with the Hebrew people. Abraham’s role as patriarch is unique in that he was the first one that God selected, promising him that He would make him the father of a great nation. It was after God established his covenant with Abraham that the requirement for circumcision was set out, which forever

Gender sexuality and law seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender sexuality and law seminar - Essay Example Non-British people who happened to be in Britain assumed a rebellious attitude and harboured notions of giving it back to the English what they had learnt in terms of equal rights, prerogatives and position in society. This is reflected to this day in modern British society as remnants of the populations who had migrated to Britain in the post colonial era continue to maintain their distinct identities and regional preferences. Although hobnobbing with on equal terms with native English, their resentment and defiance shows its colours from time to time. The author has specifically implied that historical events have a definite impact on the emergence of collective identities in human populations. According to him, the late modern democracy as an entity has emerged out of ‘selected contradictory operations of politicized identity’ (Wilson, pg. 54). Forces of global capitalism and the disciplinary-bureaucratic regimes typical of the colonial period have shaped the politica l identities of people living in the modern world. Quote 2: â€Å"The tension between particularistic ‘I’ and a universal ‘we’ in liberalism is sustainable as long as the constituent terms of the ‘I’ remain unpoliticised....† (Wilson, Pg. ... The perception of ‘I’ imparts s degree of individualism despite remaining part of the mainstream society. This prevents the formation of a politicized identity. The author has specifically illustrated this by giving examples of homosexuals and Jews, as they exist in modern society. While remaining part of the society, both these identities continue to be characterized into a specialist category due to the peculiarities of their identified characteristics. The possibility of existence of democracy has been facilitated in liberalism only due to the fact that what is considered as universal does not have either a body or content i.e. it is an abstract entity. The author believes that social identities are established in modern liberalist democratic societies through the action of liberalism’s companion powers which he names as ‘capitalism and disciplinarity’, originally identified by Marx and Focault (pg. 57). Capitalism’s endeavours in the modern society produce desires in individuals which emerge as identities and disciplinary forces regulate subjects into behaviour-based identities which are recognizable in society. The exemplary examples of such identities provided by the author are those of ‘alcoholic professionals’ and ‘crack mother’ and many more categories can be visualised under this lens. Quote 3: â€Å"Within lesbian and gay rights movements, few, if any, people believe that winning human rights will achieve equality, much less liberation (Herman, pg. 33)†: The author, in his argument entitled ‘Beyond the Rights Debate’ contends that legal academicians’ have diagrammatically opposing inferences on what are considered as ‘rights’ in

The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity Assignment

The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity - Assignment Example There were pros and cons to the process, however. They are expressed as strong and weak points of the process, positive and negative experiences as well as positive and negative feelings. The process was strong in that we all had great ideas to proffer to our project, but weak in that we had a difficult time discerning which ideas to implement. Furthermore, the positive experience was that we were able to bring it all together in the end. The negative experience was that often times some of the group was hearing the other members but not really listening to them. His elicited some negative feelings along the way. When waves off the opinions of others as unimportant, it creates feelings of opposition instead of cooperation. In the end, however, the completion of our project made everyone feel accomplished. These are some of the dualistic challenges one meets while working with others. We achieved our aims, but if I had another chance, I would like to change how we approached the recommendations. Nevertheless, I have obtained useful expertise from the project such as understanding how a major global enterprise has implemented innovation not only to survive but also to prevail in business.

Engage Parents In their Childrens Early Learning Assignment

Engage Parents In their Childrens Early Learning - Assignment Example Social barriers result from cultural institutions and structure that encroach on individuals including ethnicity and gender (Tassoni, et al., 2010). Social barriers influence the ability of parents to participate in their children’s early learning and include asylum seekers, travelers, disabled parents, foster carers, and parents located remotely from the school. While some parents find it, difficult to integrate into the school community others demonstrate reluctance or failure to attend school meetings that could affect their level of involvement in school. Cultural barriers involve lack of recognition of values that are not automatically acquainted with different cultural attitudes towards child rearing except those of the natives. Cultural barriers are common especially for immigrants, refugees, and traveling parents who find it difficult to integrate into culturally different schools. Time barriers are common especially for families with parents working, single parent, or more than one child (Smit, et al., 1999). Two working parents’ means there is a shortage of time to participate in school activities or assist children with schoolwork at home. Additionally, single parents have too much on their schedule with little or no time left for participation in children learning. (Bruce, et al., 2011) Circumstance barriers including school governance regulations create a barrier to parent involvement especially by holding regular parents meetings with parents to inform them of new school regulations (Tassoni, et al., 2010). The resulting structure of the school creates circumstances that are uncertain to the parents. Language barriers are common between schools and immigrant parents with only one language of communication (Smit, et al., 1999). In such cases, the schools do not effectively engage the parent in school activities.

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

Persuasive - Essay Example Statistics also reveal that 34% of women become pregnant at least once before the age of 20 (Teen pregnancy statistics, n.d; Facts on American, 2010; Tanne, 2005). Such unprotected or unwanted sex increases the risk of both unwanted teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (Facts on American, 2010). Additionally teenage pregnancy also affects the studies and career of the teenager and also the children born from such pregnancies suffer from problems such as low-birth weight and tend to perform less well in school compared to children born to adult mothers (Teen pregnancy statistics, n.d). While abstinence from sex is widely recommended for teenagers, many pediatricians and health counselors have also recommended that they also have access to birth control and emergency contraceptive options (Teen pregnancy statistics, n.d). Denial of access to information pertaining to sexual activity or contraceptive measures has not reduced the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies or s exually transmitted diseases according to studies (Wind, 2005). The need to educate teenagers about birth control and emergency contraception measures has been reinforced by pediatricians as they believe that preaching sexual abstinence alone will not help to reduce unwanted or unintended pregnancies. The pediatricians have suggested these updates as part of the teen pregnancy policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Teaching mere abstinence from sex will only drive the teenagers to engage in sexual acts and a lack of knowledge about safe sexual practices will only compound the issue (Tanner, 2005). Hence many pediatricians have recommended that in addition to counseling teenagers to postpone sexual activity it is also impertinent that they be educated about birth control measures and also ensure proper access to emergency contraception which would be vital in cases such as unintended or forces sexual

Engage Parents In their Childrens Early Learning Assignment

Engage Parents In their Childrens Early Learning - Assignment Example Social barriers result from cultural institutions and structure that encroach on individuals including ethnicity and gender (Tassoni, et al., 2010). Social barriers influence the ability of parents to participate in their children’s early learning and include asylum seekers, travelers, disabled parents, foster carers, and parents located remotely from the school. While some parents find it, difficult to integrate into the school community others demonstrate reluctance or failure to attend school meetings that could affect their level of involvement in school. Cultural barriers involve lack of recognition of values that are not automatically acquainted with different cultural attitudes towards child rearing except those of the natives. Cultural barriers are common especially for immigrants, refugees, and traveling parents who find it difficult to integrate into culturally different schools. Time barriers are common especially for families with parents working, single parent, or more than one child (Smit, et al., 1999). Two working parents’ means there is a shortage of time to participate in school activities or assist children with schoolwork at home. Additionally, single parents have too much on their schedule with little or no time left for participation in children learning. (Bruce, et al., 2011) Circumstance barriers including school governance regulations create a barrier to parent involvement especially by holding regular parents meetings with parents to inform them of new school regulations (Tassoni, et al., 2010). The resulting structure of the school creates circumstances that are uncertain to the parents. Language barriers are common between schools and immigrant parents with only one language of communication (Smit, et al., 1999). In such cases, the schools do not effectively engage the parent in school activities.

The short story the lottery and conformity Essay

The short story the lottery and conformity - Essay Example Conformity is valuable to the society because cohesion and smooth running of events and processes. A person who drives on the right side of the road is a good example of definition of conformity and illustrates its benefits through safe road usage. Deciding to act against the norm by driving on the wrong side of the road will however risk the life of the actor as well as the life of other road users. In the short story, the society is deeply rooted to its Lottery tradition and even though no one compels it to commit the murder act, it chooses to stand by its tradition. Even though the specific example identifies a wrong act, murder of an innocent member of the society, the author communicates the power of conformity to tradition that can help a society to achieve its objectives. Conformity therefore promotes retention of good cultural beliefs in a society and may improve resistance from negative practices from other cultures. The city residents’ resistance to abandoning their culture and assume practices or changes in other societies demonstrates this. The author uses the black box and the lottery as symbols for illustrating this role of conformity. Even though the real box was lost and the current one is old, the villagers have chosen to stick by the two symbols and this shows the power of conformity that may facilitate a society’s theme regardless of dynamism around the society (Jackson 2- 27). Conformity is also valuable to society because it allows us to adapt to the society in a normal way and for our own good so that we might not hurt ourselves later in life. Even though The Lottery only highlights the murder ritual, there could be positive values that the tradition facilitates. The society’s reaction to the lottery also suggests that such values develop naturally and the uniformity means that an individual is less likely to be in

Hamlets Characterisation Essay Example for Free

Hamlets Characterisation Essay The aspect of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that is most interesting to me is the playwright’s intimate depiction of Hamlet’s daily struggle againt the world. Through soliloquies and characterisation, we see that Hamlet’s world is a cold, political one, unreceptive to his grief, and this fundamental incompatibility is ultimately what creates and drives the play’s great drama behind his struggle, his murderous plot, uncertainty, and finally his thoughtful, accepting resolve at the end of the play. Early in the play we see this great incompatibility between Hamlet and his society emerging, as he, stricken with grief, is surrounded by cold political plotters. Shakespeare revels in his use of irony, as Claudius utters the oxymoron â€Å"lawful espials†, and Polonius, evangelising that â€Å"this above all else: to thine own self be true†, endeavours with â€Å"this bait of falsehood† to â€Å"by indirections find directions out† and thus â€Å"take this carp of truth†. Hamlet continues this tradition of fish-related metaphors in accusing Polonius of being a â€Å"fishmonger†, a claim which reflects his own struggle to comprehend how cold and contriving his society is. Hamlet even wonders how â€Å"a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer† than his mother, Gertrude, the â€Å"pernicious woman† whose â€Å"salt of most unrighteous tears† falls from merely â€Å"galled eyes†. That she could be â€Å"like Niobe† is a twisted classical allusion which adds to the sentiment of tension which Hamlet feels against his society, which, in the disillusioned wake of his grief, he has found is superficial and immoral, especially as â€Å"one may smile, and smile, and be a villain†, while â€Å"virtue itself of vice must beg† and â€Å"rank corruption†¦mining within†¦infects unseen†. Thus this great tension forms an integral part of the early part of the play and drives the drama which underlies Hamlet’s characterisation, and his struggle to find where he belongs in this morally void society. Hamlet’s soililoquy at the end of Act II reveals how this tension has acted upon his soul. He questions his own sanity, asking if it is, in fact, the â€Å"pleasing shape† of the devil, which â€Å"abuses me to damn me†. This particular tension between Hamlet and his world is what reveals several important character elements in Hamlet. That the Player could invoke such passion in such a superficial â€Å"fiction†, and â€Å"for Hecuba† at that, while Hamlet sits statically racked with indecision, is reflective of the superficiality which frustrates him and drives him to see imself as a â€Å"dull and muddy-mettled rascal†. It drives him inwards to consider what kind of person he is, and how best to resolve the tension which has evolved as a result of his society’s immorality. Yet as the soliloquy changes tone dramatically, and marked by Hamlet’s cry of â€Å"Oh, vengeance! †, the apostrophic appeal to Nemesis herself reve als an early attempt to break free from these chains of indecision and uncertainty set upon him due to his struggle. Thus the tension between him and his immoral peers is what ultimately produces this first change of heart, from â€Å"pigeon-livered† to the successful invocation of the mythical figure, the â€Å"rugged Pyrrhus†, out to â€Å"drink hot blood†, whom he struggled to portray and rehearse earlier in the scene. That the tension is so central to this first episode of self-realisation, and subsequent ascents to personal conviction, reflects how truly crucial his struggle and journey towards self-understanding is to Hamlet’s textual integrity. Hamlet’s obsession with death, beginning with the Act III soliloquy not long after, is another seeming affliction brought on by this grievous tension with the world around our hero. That the world could so easily forget a human life, and that this life was that of a king, brings on a deep sense of aporia for the young prince, as he struggles to reconcile the significance of life with the great ease with which it is forgotten when lost. His turn to â€Å"what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil† forms part of the plaintive introspection revealed by this soliloquy as he searches for truth, away from the â€Å"pangs of disprized love† for which he was informed that â€Å"to persever in obstinate condolement is†¦unmanly grief†. His obsession with death throughout the play and in this soliloquy is hence marked as a decided escape from the constant tension with his society and its many unknowable uncertainties, as portrayed by a play whose opening line is â€Å"who’s there! †. Death plays the role of the only certain, pure truth, as symbolised by the memento mori of Act V, the skull held in Hamlet’s hand which in all its graspable physicality and feeble perishability becomes a source of finality, and certainty for the young prince. His tension with society is characterised by great inaction and uncertain angst, but in death, all souls return to absolute dust. Whether they bear the â€Å"pate of a politician† or the â€Å"skull of a lawyer† is insignificant in this regard, for â€Å"e’en so†, even the great Alexander â€Å"looked o’ this fashion i’th’earth†. He finds great solace in the promise of this finality away from the contrarious moods of his â€Å"comrades†. This characterises the self-reckoning which ultimately leads him to his final resolvel and faith by which he stands ready to once more face his society and his fate, whatever it may be. With this sentiment he remarks â€Å"there is Providence in the fall of a sparrow†¦let be†. Lastly, Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship with the world reveal analogous tensions which manifest in different ways and provide interesting insights into the dramatic consequences of this tension. Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship is torn apart by Polonius’ meddling. Hamlet’s proclamation that â€Å"frailty, thy name is woman! † foreshadows the way that we soon see Ophelia being influenced to a great extent by her filial, obedient devotion to Polonius, so much so that, struggling to reconcile her personal integrity and her duty to her family, she descends into her own madness, â€Å"divided from herself and her fair judgment, without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts†. Polonius, the â€Å"fishmonger†, tells her that her love is that of â€Å"a green girl†, and her submission to such worldly expectations is what begets her destruction. Yet even in her insanity she finds a resolve which, though markedly more frenzied, mirrors Hamlet’s own. Her flowers are each symbols of denouncement of the court’s treacherous figures, whose â€Å"rue with a difference† Ophelia insists they must acknowledge for their most distressing actions. There is thus a great tension which arises out of the persistent degradation of the lovers’ relationship, and their final destruction at the hands of Laertes for Hamlet, and in the river for Ophelia. These elements are undeniably integral elements of the play which drive its enduring drama and converge to form a crucial part of Hamlet’s textual integrity. Thus we can see that the tension of the world, manipulative, cold and immoral, as it acts on the fundamentally honest, if perhaps naive prince, is the source of the great drama which underpins Hamlet’s struggle through the play to pit his own psyche against that of his peers. This tension time and time again proves to be central to a true consideration and understanding of Hamlet’s episodes of character evolution which sees him descend into the murky depths of his world’s uncertainty. It is only with the realisation and grasping of truth, whether he finds this in the finality of death or the power of fate, that Hamlet ascends once more to the safe anchorage of sanity and resolve, and finds the courage and conviction needed to face his society once more, and finally his death.

Psychopathy and Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) Essay -- What I

Stories of the ‘psychopath’ are often intriguing to individuals in the general population as they receive exhaustive media coverage and are the basis for many interesting story lines in books, television and movies. The idea of the ‘psychopath’ is usually misunderstood and merged with other dispositions such as Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD), but these concepts are two distinct entities. Defining a ‘psychopath’ is a difficult task. Frist, psychopathy is a trait and not a disorder (Strickland et al, 2013). Characterizing psychopathy using the Diagnostic Statistical Manual Fifth Edition (DSM-V) has demonstrated effective trait-based coverage in terms of psychopathy and its facets that are identifiable through the Personality Inventory for DSM-V (PID-V) (Strickland et al, 2013). The identification of psychopathy as a trait indicates that individuals with this specific trait possess patterns of thoughts, feelings or actions that are distinguishable. For example, the Five Factor Model (Costa and Wildiger, 2002) describes five broad dimensions of personality that are used to describe human personality. Individuals all possess some degree of these identifiable traits, however they are expressed in different comportments upon a continuum. Possessing the average trait has not historically bred problems (Costa and Wildiger, 2002) but, when individuals approach an extreme end of a trait (extremely low or extremely high) then there may be indication of some kind of personality disorder. Hence, the term psychopathy and ASPD are often used interchangeably as individuals that demonstrate extreme forms of psychopathy are often diagnosed with ASPD (Strickland et al, 2013). The DSM-V aims to correct this binder. The dimensional persona... ... Psychopathy Scores Predict Adolescent Inpatient Aggression. Assessment, 10(1), 102-112. Strickland, C., Drislane, L., Lucy, M., Krueger, R., & Patrick, C. (2013). Characterizing Psychopathy Using DSM-5 Personality Traits. Assessment, 20(3), 327-338 . Szalavitz, M. (n.d.). Why Do Some People Become Psychopaths?. MSN Healthy Living. Retrieved October 23, 2013, from http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wellness/why-do-some-people-become-psychopaths-1?pageart=2 Woodworth, M., & Porter, S. (2002). In cold blood: characteristics of criminal homicides as a function of psychopathy. Journal of abnormal psychology, 111(3), 436. Winko v. British Columbia (Forensic Psychiatric Institute), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625 World Health Organization. 2001b. Burden of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. http://www.who.int/whr/2001/chapter2/en/index.html (accessed March 21, 2008).

Marijuana as a Subculture Essay -- expository essay

A subculture is a group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviors that differ in some significant way from that of larger society. Marijuana smokers can be considered a subculture for many reasons. Marijuana is used by millions of people around the world, either for recreational, spiritual, or therapeutic reasons. Some call themselves the cannabis connoisseurs; people who respect cannabis and use it responsibly. Few drugs have been so politicized recently as marijuana has. It is frequently praised by one side and condemned by the other, on the basis of emotional issues rather than an objective view of research. It was 1920 when smoking began to catch on in the United States. Its recreational use was restricted to jazz musicians and people in show business. â€Å"Reefer songs† became the rage of the jazz world. Marijuana clubs, called tea pads, appeared in every major city across the country. Authorities tolerated these establishments because it was not illegal or considered a social threat. In the early 1930’s marijuana became stereotyped as a violent drug, and by 1936 was illegal in all states. Marijuana research was at a stand still and the thought of it being a violent drug faded and the idea that it was a gateway drug emerged in the late 1940’s early 1950’s. In the 1960’s marijuana became very popular among the young college crowd. This was looked at as a challenge to authority and the government. The effects of marijuana are minimal. The high has a feeling of euphoria, peacefulness and well-being. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active chemical in marijuana. It’s estimated that a person would have to ingest a dose 20,000 to 40,000 times the average dose before death would occur. In the early 1990’s sophisticated research on marijuana began. The scientists discovered THC stimulates special receptors in the brain. Researchers have now isolated a natural substance that appears to produce the same effects as THC in the brain. Recently the medical uses of marijuana are being more and more accepted, and many marijuana smokers wonder how it can be harmful if it helps/treats patients. Marijuana smokers are a subculture because they share sets of beliefs, values, language, and other things that are different from the views of the larger society. They look at things another way because they are pro marijuana, which differs from t... ... believes this to be very true. But the smokers do not want to be associated with the â€Å"pothead† stereotype. They want very much to destroy the connection of marijuana with the tie-dyed, hippy era. Society just assumes smokers are useless, lazy, uneducated bums; which is very inaccurate. There are many hard working people out there that smoke marijuana recreationally to relieve stress. First, this cannot be true because there are an inestimable amount of marijuana smokers that successfully keep their habit a secret. These people are able to blend with society, allowing them to make friends/acquaintances that don’t agree with smoking marijuana. People who use marijuana do not look negatively upon the rest of society. They relate and form bonds with the whole culture as normal people would. Marijuana smokers are a subculture for the reasons previously described above. They share a different set of values, beliefs, and etc. from the rest of society. For example, they have their own terms that describe their practices. They don’t mind society but part of society minds them, maybe one day marijuana use won’t be as frowned upon. All of these things make marijuana smokers a subculture. Marijuana as a Subculture Essay -- expository essay A subculture is a group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviors that differ in some significant way from that of larger society. Marijuana smokers can be considered a subculture for many reasons. Marijuana is used by millions of people around the world, either for recreational, spiritual, or therapeutic reasons. Some call themselves the cannabis connoisseurs; people who respect cannabis and use it responsibly. Few drugs have been so politicized recently as marijuana has. It is frequently praised by one side and condemned by the other, on the basis of emotional issues rather than an objective view of research. It was 1920 when smoking began to catch on in the United States. Its recreational use was restricted to jazz musicians and people in show business. â€Å"Reefer songs† became the rage of the jazz world. Marijuana clubs, called tea pads, appeared in every major city across the country. Authorities tolerated these establishments because it was not illegal or considered a social threat. In the early 1930’s marijuana became stereotyped as a violent drug, and by 1936 was illegal in all states. Marijuana research was at a stand still and the thought of it being a violent drug faded and the idea that it was a gateway drug emerged in the late 1940’s early 1950’s. In the 1960’s marijuana became very popular among the young college crowd. This was looked at as a challenge to authority and the government. The effects of marijuana are minimal. The high has a feeling of euphoria, peacefulness and well-being. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active chemical in marijuana. It’s estimated that a person would have to ingest a dose 20,000 to 40,000 times the average dose before death would occur. In the early 1990’s sophisticated research on marijuana began. The scientists discovered THC stimulates special receptors in the brain. Researchers have now isolated a natural substance that appears to produce the same effects as THC in the brain. Recently the medical uses of marijuana are being more and more accepted, and many marijuana smokers wonder how it can be harmful if it helps/treats patients. Marijuana smokers are a subculture because they share sets of beliefs, values, language, and other things that are different from the views of the larger society. They look at things another way because they are pro marijuana, which differs from t... ... believes this to be very true. But the smokers do not want to be associated with the â€Å"pothead† stereotype. They want very much to destroy the connection of marijuana with the tie-dyed, hippy era. Society just assumes smokers are useless, lazy, uneducated bums; which is very inaccurate. There are many hard working people out there that smoke marijuana recreationally to relieve stress. First, this cannot be true because there are an inestimable amount of marijuana smokers that successfully keep their habit a secret. These people are able to blend with society, allowing them to make friends/acquaintances that don’t agree with smoking marijuana. People who use marijuana do not look negatively upon the rest of society. They relate and form bonds with the whole culture as normal people would. Marijuana smokers are a subculture for the reasons previously described above. They share a different set of values, beliefs, and etc. from the rest of society. For example, they have their own terms that describe their practices. They don’t mind society but part of society minds them, maybe one day marijuana use won’t be as frowned upon. All of these things make marijuana smokers a subculture.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Four

Eddard The visitors poured through the castle gates in a river of gold and silver and polished steel, three hundred strong, a pride of bannermen and knights, of sworn swords and freeriders. Over their heads a dozen golden banners whipped back and forth in the northern wind, emblazoned with the crowned stag of Baratheon. Ned knew many of the riders. There came Ser Jaime Lannister with hair as bright as beaten gold, and there Sandor Clegane with his terrible burned face. The tall boy beside him could only be the crown prince, and that stunted little man behind them was surely the Imp, Tyrion Lannister. Yet the huge man at the head of the column, flanked by two knights in the snow-white cloaks of the Kingsguard, seemed almost a stranger to Ned . . . until he vaulted off the back of his warhorse with a familiar roar, and crushed him in a bone-crunching hug. â€Å"Ned! Ah, but it is good to see that frozen face of yours.† The king looked him over top to bottom, and laughed. â€Å"You have not changed at all.† Would that Ned had been able to say the same. Fifteen years past, when they had ridden forth to win a throne, the Lord of Storm's End had been clean-shaven, clear-eyed, and muscled like a maiden's fantasy. Six and a half feet tall, he towered over lesser men, and when he donned his armor and the great antlered helmet of his House, he became a veritable giant. He'd had a giant's strength too, his weapon of choice a spiked iron warhammer that Ned could scarcely lift. In those days, the smell of leather and blood had clung to him like perfume. Now it was perfume that clung to him like perfume, and he had a girth to match his height. Ned had last seen the king nine years before during Balon Greyjoy's rebellion, when the stag and the direwolf had joined to end the pretensions of the self-proclaimed King of the IronIslands. Since the night they had stood side by side in Greyjoy's fallen stronghold, where Robert had accepted the rebel lord's surrender and Ned had taken his son Theon as hostage and ward, the king had gained at least eight stone. A beard as coarse and black as iron wire covered his jaw to hide his double chin and the sag of the royal jowls, but nothing could hide his stomach or the dark circles under his eyes. Yet Robert was Ned's king now, and not just a friend, so he said only, â€Å"Your Grace. Winterfell is yours.† By then the others were dismounting as well, and grooms were coming forward for their mounts. Robert's queen, Cersei Lannister, entered on foot with her younger children. The wheelhouse in which they had ridden, a huge double-decked carriage of oiled oak and gilded metal pulled by forty heavy draft horses, was too wide to pass through the castle gate. Ned knelt in the snow to kiss the queen's ring, while Robert embraced Catelyn like a long-lost sister. Then the children had been brought forward, introduced, and approved of by both sides. No sooner had those formalities of greeting been completed than the king had said to his host, â€Å"Take me down to your crypt, Eddard. I would pay my respects.† Ned loved him for that, for remembering her still after all these years. He called for a lantern. No other words were needed. The queen had begun to protest. They had been riding since dawn, everyone was tired and cold, surely they should refresh themselves first. The dead would wait. She had said no more than that; Robert had looked at her, and her twin brother Jaime had taken her quietly by the arm, and she had said no more. They went down to the crypt together, Ned and this king he scarcely recognized. The winding stone steps were narrow. Ned went first with the lantern. â€Å"I was starting to think we would never reach Winterfell,† Robert complained as they descended. â€Å"In the south, the way they talk about my Seven Kingdoms, a man forgets that your part is as big as the other six combined.† â€Å"I trust you enjoyed the journey, Your Grace?† Robert snorted. â€Å"Bogs and forests and fields, and scarcely a decent inn north of the Neck. I've never seen such a vast emptiness. Where are all your people?† â€Å"Likely they were too shy to come out,† Ned jested. He could feel the chill coming up the stairs, a cold breath from deep within the earth. â€Å"Kings are a rare sight in the north.† Robert snorted. â€Å"More likely they were hiding under the snow. Snow, Ned!† The king put one hand on the wall to steady himself as they descended. â€Å"Late summer snows are common enough,† Ned said. â€Å"I hope they did not trouble you. They are usually mild.† â€Å"The Others take your mild snows,† Robert swore. â€Å"What will this place be like in winter? I shudder to think.† â€Å"The winters are hard,† Ned admitted. â€Å"But the Starks will endure. We always have.† â€Å"You need to come south,† Robert told him. â€Å"You need a taste of summer before it flees. In Highgarden there are fields of golden roses that stretch away as far as the eye can see. The fruits are so ripe they explode in your mouth—melons, peaches, fireplums, you've never tasted such sweetness. You'll see, I brought you some. Even at Storm's End, with that good wind off the bay, the days are so hot you can barely move. And you ought to see the towns, Ned! Flowers everywhere, the markets bursting with food, the summerwines so cheap and so good that you can get drunk just breathing the air. Everyone is fat and drunk and rich.† He laughed and slapped his own ample stomach a thump. â€Å"And the girls, Ned!† he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. â€Å"I swear, women lose all modesty in the heat. They swim naked in the river, right beneath the castle. Even in the streets, it's too damn hot for wool or fur, so they go around in these short gowns, silk if th ey have the silver and cotton if not, but it's all the same when they start sweating and the cloth sticks to their skin, they might as well be naked.† The king laughed happily. Robert Baratheon had always been a man of huge appetites, a man who knew how to take his pleasures. That was not a charge anyone could lay at the door of Eddard Stark. Yet Ned could not help but notice that those pleasures were taking a toll on the king. Robert was breathing heavily by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, his face red in the lantern light as they stepped out into the darkness of the crypt. â€Å"Your Grace,† Ned said respectfully. He swept the lantern in a wide semicircle. Shadows moved and lurched. Flickering light touched the stones underfoot and brushed against a long procession of granite pillars that marched ahead, two by two, into the dark. Between the pillars, the dead sat on their stone thrones against the walls, backs against the sepulchres that contained their mortal remains. â€Å"She is down at the end, with Father and Brandon.† He led the way between the pillars and Robert followed wordlessly, shivering in the subterranean chill. It was always cold down here. Their footsteps rang off the stones and echoed in the vault overhead as they walked among the dead of House Stark. The Lords of Winterfell watched them pass. Their likenesses were carved into the stones that sealed the tombs. In long rows they sat, blind eyes staring out into eternal darkness, while great stone direwolves curled round their feet. The shifting shadows made the stone figures seem to stir as the living passed by. By ancient custom an iron longsword had been laid across the lap of each who had been Lord of Winterfell, to keep the vengeful spirits in their crypts. The oldest had long ago rusted away to nothing, leaving only a few red stains where the metal had rested on stone. Ned wondered if that meant those ghosts were free to roam the castle now. He hoped not. The first Lords of Winterfell had been men hard as the land they ruled. In the centuries before the Dragonlords came over the sea, they had sworn allegiance to no man, styling themselves the Kings in the North. Ned stopped at last and lifted the oil lantern. The crypt continued on into darkness ahead of them, but beyond this point the tombs were empty and unsealed; black holes waiting for their dead, waiting for him and his children. Ned did not like to think on that. â€Å"Here,† he told his king. Robert nodded silently, knelt, and bowed his head. There were three tombs, side by side. Lord Rickard Stark, Ned's father, had a long, stern face. The stonemason had known him well. He sat with quiet dignity, stone fingers holding tight to the sword across his lap, but in life all swords had failed him. In two smaller sepulchres on either side were his children. Brandon had been twenty when he died, strangled by order of the Mad King Aerys Targaryen only a few short days before he was to wed Catelyn Tully of Riverrun. His father had been forced to watch him die. He was the true heir, the eldest, born to rule. Lyanna had only been sixteen, a child-woman of surpassing loveliness. Ned had loved her with all his heart. Robert had loved her even more. She was to have been his bride. â€Å"She was more beautiful than that,† the king said after a silence. His eyes lingered on Lyanna's face, as if he could will her back to life. Finally he rose, made awkward by his weight. â€Å"Ah, damn it, Ned, did you have to bury her in a place like this?† His voice was hoarse with remembered grief. â€Å"She deserved more than darkness . . . â€Å" â€Å"She was a Stark of Winterfell,† Ned said quietly. â€Å"This is her place.† â€Å"She should be on a hill somewhere, under a fruit tree, with the sun and clouds above her and the rain to wash her clean.† â€Å"I was with her when she died,† Ned reminded the king. â€Å"She wanted to come home, to rest beside Brandon and Father.† He could hear her still at times. Promise me, she had cried, in a room that smelled of blood and roses. Promise me, Ned. The fever had taken her strength and her voice had been faint as a whisper, but when he gave her his word, the fear had gone out of his sister's eyes. Ned remembered the way she had smiled then, how tightly her fingers had clutched his as she gave up her hold on life, the rose petals spilling from her palm, dead and black. After that he remembered nothing. They had found him still holding her body, silent with grief. The little crannogman, Howland Reed, had taken her hand from his. Ned could recall none of it. â€Å"I bring her flowers when I can,† he said. â€Å"Lyanna was . . . fond of flowers.† The king touched her cheek, his fingers brushing across the rough stone as gently as if it were living flesh. â€Å"I vowed to kill Rhaegar for what he did to her.† â€Å"You did,† Ned reminded him. â€Å"Only once,† Robert said bitterly. They had come together at the ford of the Trident while the battle crashed around them, Robert with his warhammer and his great antlered helm, the Targaryen prince armored all in black. On his breastplate was the three-headed dragon of his House, wrought all in rubies that flashed like fire in the sunlight. The waters of the Trident ran red around the hooves of their destriers as they circled and clashed, again and again, until at last a crushing blow from Robert's hammer stove in the dragon and the chest beneath it. When Ned had finally come on the scene, Rhaegar lay dead in the stream, while men of both armies scrabbled in the swirling waters for rubies knocked free of his armor. â€Å"In my dreams, I kill him every night,† Robert admitted. â€Å"A thousand deaths will still be less than he deserves.† There was nothing Ned could say to that. After a quiet, he said, â€Å"We should return, Your Grace. Your wife will be waiting.† â€Å"The Others take my wife,† Robert muttered sourly, but he started back the way they had come, his footsteps falling heavily. â€Å"And if I hear ‘Your Grace' once more, I'll have your head on a spike. We are more to each other than that.† â€Å"I had not forgotten,† Ned replied quietly. When the king did not answer, he said, â€Å"Tell me about Jon.† Robert shook his head. â€Å"I have never seen a man sicken so quickly. We gave a tourney on my son's name day. If you had seen Jon then, you would have sworn he would live forever. A fortnight later he was dead. The sickness was like a fire in his gut. It burned right through him.† He paused beside a pillar, before the tomb of a long-dead Stark. â€Å"I loved that old man.† â€Å"We both did.† Ned paused a moment. â€Å"Catelyn fears for her sister. How does Lysa bear her grief?† Robert's mouth gave a bitter twist. â€Å"Not well, in truth,† he admitted. â€Å"I think losing Jon has driven the woman mad, Ned. She has taken the boy back to the Eyrie. Against my wishes. I had hoped to foster him with Tywin Lannister at Casterly Rock. Jon had no brothers, no other sons. Was I supposed to leave him to be raised by women?† Ned would sooner entrust a child to a pit viper than to Lord Tywin, but he left his doubts unspoken. Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word. â€Å"The wife has lost the husband,† he said carefully. â€Å"Perhaps the mother feared to lose the son. The boy is very young.† â€Å"Six, and sickly, and Lord of the Eyrie, gods have mercy,† the king swore. â€Å"Lord Tywin had never taken a ward before. Lysa ought to have been honored. The Lannisters are a great and noble House. She refused to even hear of it. Then she left in the dead of night, without so much as a by-your-leave. Cersei was furious.† He sighed deeply. â€Å"The boy is my namesake, did you know that? Robert Arryn. I am sworn to protect him. How can I do that if his mother steals him away?† â€Å"I will take him as ward, if you wish,† Ned said. â€Å"Lysa should consent to that. She and Catelyn were close as girls, and she would be welcome here as well.† â€Å"A generous offer, my friend,† the king said, â€Å"but too late. Lord Tywin has already given his consent. Fostering the boy elsewhere would be a grievous affront to him.† â€Å"I have more concern for my nephew's welfare than I do for Lannister pride,† Ned declared. â€Å"That is because you do not sleep with a Lannister.† Robert laughed, the sound rattling among the tombs and bouncing from the vaulted ceiling. His smile was a flash of white teeth in the thicket of the huge black beard. â€Å"Ah, Ned,† he said, â€Å"you are still too serious.† He put a massive arm around Ned's shoulders. â€Å"I had planned to wait a few days to speak to you, but I see now there's no need for it. Come, walk with me.† They started back down between the pillars. Blind stone eyes seemed to follow them as they passed. The king kept his arm around Ned's shoulder. â€Å"You must have wondered why I finally came north to Winterfell, after so long.† Ned had his suspicions, but he did not give them voice. â€Å"For the joy of my company, surely,† he said lightly. â€Å"And there is the Wall. You need to see it, Your Grace, to walk along its battlements and talk to those who man it. The Night's Watch is a shadow of what it once was. Benjen says—† â€Å"No doubt I will hear what your brother says soon enough,† Robert said. â€Å"The Wall has stood for what, eight thousand years? It can keep a few days more. I have more pressing concerns. These are difficult times. I need good men about me. Men like Jon Arryn. He served as Lord of the Eyrie, as Warden of the East, as the Hand of the King. He will not be easy to replace.† â€Å"His son . . . † Ned began. â€Å"His son will succeed to the Eyrie and all its incomes,† Robert said brusquely. â€Å"No more.† That took Ned by surprise. He stopped, startled, and turned to look at his king. The words came unbidden. â€Å"The Arryns have always been Wardens of the East. The title goes with the domain.† â€Å"Perhaps when he comes of age, the honor can be restored to him,† Robert said. â€Å"I have this year to think of, and next. A six-year-old boy is no war leader, Ned.† â€Å"In peace, the title is only an honor. Let the boy keep it. For his father's sake if not his own. Surely you owe Jon that much for his service.† The king was not pleased. He took his arm from around Ned's shoulders. â€Å"Jon's service was the duty he owed his liege lord. I am not ungrateful, Ned. You of all men ought to know that. But the son is not the father. A mere boy cannot hold the east.† Then his tone softened. â€Å"Enough of this. There is a more important office to discuss, and I would not argue with you.† Robert grasped Ned by the elbow. â€Å"I have need of you, Ned.† â€Å"I am yours to command, Your Grace. Always.† They were words he had to say, and so he said them, apprehensive about what might come next. Robert scarcely seemed to hear him. â€Å"Those years we spent in the Eyrie . . . gods, those were good years. I want you at my side again, Ned. I want you down in King's Landing, not up here at the end of the world where you are no damned use to anybody.† Robert looked off into the darkness, for a moment as melancholy as a Stark. â€Å"I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one. Laws are a tedious business and counting coppers is worse. And the people . . . there is no end of them. I sit on that damnable iron chair and listen to them complain until my mind is numb and my ass is raw. They all want something, money or land or justice. The lies they tell . . . and my lords and ladies are no better. I am surrounded by flatterers and fools. It can drive a man to madness, Ned. Half of them don't dare tell me the truth, and the other half can't find it. There are nights I wish we had lost at the Trident. Ah, no, not truly, but . . . â€Å"I understand,† Ned said softly. Robert looked at him. â€Å"I think you do. If so, you are the only one, my old friend.† He smiled. â€Å"Lord Eddard Stark, I would name you the Hand of the King.† Ned dropped to one knee. The offer did not surprise him; what other reason could Robert have had for coming so far? The Hand of the King was the second-most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms. He spoke with the king's voice, commanded the king's armies, drafted the king's laws. At times he even sat upon the Iron Throne to dispense king's justice, when the king was absent, or sick, or otherwise indisposed. Robert was offering him a responsibility as large as the realm itself. It was the last thing in the world he wanted. â€Å"Your Grace,† he said. â€Å"I am not worthy of the honor.† Robert groaned with good-humored impatience. â€Å"If I wanted to honor you, I'd let you retire. I am planning to make you run the kingdom and fight the wars while I eat and drink and wench myself into an early grave.† He slapped his gut and grinned. â€Å"You know the saying, about the king and his Hand?† Ned knew the saying. â€Å"What the king dreams,† he said, â€Å"the Hand builds.† â€Å"I bedded a fishmaid once who told me the lowborn have a choicer way to put it. The king eats, they say, and the Hand takes the shit.† He threw back his head and roared his laughter. The echoes rang through the darkness, and all around them the dead of Winterfell seemed to watch with cold and disapproving eyes. Finally the laughter dwindled and stopped. Ned was still on one knee, his eyes upraised. â€Å"Damn it, Ned,† the king complained. â€Å"You might at least humor me with a smile.† â€Å"They say it grows so cold up here in winter that a man's laughter freezes in his throat and chokes him to death,† Ned said evenly. â€Å"Perhaps that is why the Starks have so little humor.† â€Å"Come south with me, and I'll teach you how to laugh again,† the king promised. â€Å"You helped me win this damnable throne, now help me hold it. We were meant to rule together. If Lyanna had lived, we should have been brothers, bound by blood as well as affection. Well, it is not too late. I have a son. You have a daughter. My Joff and your Sansa shall join our houses, as Lyanna and I might once have done.† This offer did surprise him. â€Å"Sansa is only eleven.† Robert waved an impatient hand. â€Å"Old enough for betrothal. The marriage can wait a few years.† The king smiled. â€Å"Now stand up and say yes, curse you.† â€Å"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Your Grace,† Ned answered. He hesitated. â€Å"These honors are all so unexpected. May I have some time to consider? I need to tell my wife . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes, yes, of course, tell Catelyn, sleep on it if you must.† The king reached down, clasped Ned by the hand, and pulled him roughly to his feet. â€Å"Just don't keep me waiting too long. I am not the most patient of men.† For a moment Eddard Stark was filled with a terrible sense of foreboding. This was his place, here in the north. He looked at the stone figures all around them, breathed deep in the chill silence of the crypt. He could feel the eyes of the dead. They were all listening, he knew. And winter was coming.