High School Graduation Essay

Throughout life people go through so many hardships. Whether it be good or bad there is always something that comes out of the situation. One of the most exciting but yet scariest events would be graduation. So it was the day before graduation and we were having our graduation practice. Standing outside in the line alphabetical order me and classmates talked and waited for practice to start. The sun was beating down, the smell of fresh cut grass filled out our nose. We were all just ready to get it over with. Sitting talking with my classmates discussing our future plans. Debating whether or not we will miss high school, but knowing we will definitely miss each other. So finally it came to practice walking across the stage, so the assistant principle called my name and shook my hand and handed me my mini diploma. Then it finally hit me like a speeding express train, I was about to graduate. May 18th 2012, finally it was here the day of my commencement. I can almost remember that day like it was yesterday, I awoke like on any other school day. That day was crazy, I was running errands and preparing for my graduation and after party. So the time had come for me to put on my blue and gold cap and gown with my gold cords which I had worked so hard for. I had so much sense of pride at the moment all I needed was my diploma in my hand. So the final moment had come and it was time to walk the field. The music stared and we proceeded to walk down the field to our seats. Glancing out at the packed stands I could see my family and friends. While waiting for my name to be called, I reminisced on all the good times I’ve had in high school and all the friendships I’ve made. Finally my row was directed to get up and proceed to the stage and my heart was racing. Thinking it was finally over, no more high school. I hear my name called and I hear all of my family and friends screaming and clapping for me and it made everything I had done to achieve the diploma my principle handed me after shaking my hand. As I was walking back to my seat with my diploma I was envisioning that I had just closed one chapter to my life and I was excited to embark or my next journey. Graduation is an exciting time in a person’s life, especially a high school graduation. When I think of family and friends gathering together to celebrate a joyous occasion, I feel I accomplished my strongest goal. It never occurred to me that graduation would be the end of my youth and the start of adulthood. Graduating from high school was an influential event that gave me a new outlook on life.

John Dewey’s Education Essay

The future of our civilization depends upon the widening spread and deepening hold of the scientific habit of mind. ~John Dewey Science as Subject-Matter and as Method The salient and noteworthy features that highlight the significance of educational significance from 1880 through 1920 in regards to progressive education and pragmatism can best be described as engaging not only the students in an era of academic discipline but also on the levels of teachers and administrators. The lesson of cooperation is one that is a shared in each academic approach; progressive and pragmatism thus the development of education at the turn of America’s twentieth century entailed a refreshed focus on the individual student. The following paper will analyze the commonalities and differences of progressive education and pragmatism and how progressive education has many ties with other philosophies such as humanism and liberalism. Thus, the two main but subtle theorists who will be discussed in this paper are Dewey and Plato. Although structure of Dewey’s belief of progressive education over pragmatic education is different from Plato’s pragmatism and humanism the paper will seek to show how these philosophies are shared in education but how progressive education is needed in order for the student to learn how to adapt to certain situations as well as to find their own route of learning. Education at the turn of the twentieth century must be approached through the achievement of common goals; not through students’ learning alone, but by teachers and administrators. As such, typical classroom schematics that have in that past previous to the concepts of progressive education pointed towards competition, and independent work ethic must be overruled by the more efficient cooperative small group learning dynamic which is one definition of pragmatism. Pragmatism is similar to the concept and theories involved with child psychology prevalent today. The student then with regards to pragmatism is viewed as learning by their own set of standards and by relating current progress to past mistakes. Thus, in the discipline of pragmatism, a student is judged and allowed to learn at their own pace. While other disciplines heightened learning through an array of tests and were exclusively subject oriented, pragmatism guided the student at the early turn of the twentieth century through a varied education in several genres which would ultimately be considered a type of social studies education; combining subject matter into a common arena of education. Schools that have focused on working to deprive others through competitive classroom activities initiate a win/lose strategy that only heightens the disappointment in the kids that lose instead of pointing towards the positive aspects of learning new materials that kids should be excited to learn which was the interest of other schools of thought instead of the curriculum evolution presented by pragmatism. Although pragmatism did present new ideas about citizenship, social conduct, and evolution into the classroom, there was still hesitation on the part of the American about its utilization in the classroom. Progressive education teaches that every child learns differently and must be treated as an individual, and it is through pragmatism that the individual is taught in a scientific fashion to explore their surroundings. No child learns in the same manner and thus, progressive education was essential in the split from America’s past that education was singular in nature and disconnected. Cooperation, however, is the key by which a progressive education was being presented and it is truly through cooperation that progressive education takes it role. It is thus through the individual observation of the world that pragmatism was developed in an educational way. Learning goals in regards to pragmatism can only be realized if consensus is constantly challenged. That is what is meant by ‘Do not block the way of inquiry’. By generalizing education into separate genres the sociology and interrelated issues of each subject become a chaotic discord. Through this type of group learning, individuals learn that nothing is related and that one subject cannot breach another subject. This limits the possibilities of science, math, art, etc. By interrelating subjects, one student who is not interested in a certain genre may see how their study of choice hinges upon another subject such as math calculations to art (i.e. M.C. Escher’s tessellation). Dewey brought to the foreground of early American pragmatism in the 1900’s that teachers should teach according to how the student learns. Thus, the teacher must know the interest of the student, and therefore, the student will make an effort to learn if it is something for which they already have a propensity. Unlike Herbart, Dewey taught that a teacher cannot force a child to learn or even been interested in a subject, it is something the student has to choose. There are five components by which progressive education has worked: positive interdependence, promotive interaction, individual accountability, interpersonal and small-group skills, and group processing. Each of these components teaches students and teachers that learning is not achieved through route memorization but through actively taking part in lessons and developing independent thought. Active learning should be a base by which each classroom is structured. In analysis, active learning simply means that students aren’t spoon-fed the correct answers but instead they question the subject and come up with their own hypothesis and then are allowed to check to see if it is correct: They are not handed the answers and taught to memorize but instead are taught to actively engage in each school subject and come to their own conclusions through proper problem solving techniques (this is applicable in any genre). In active learning, questions are just as important as the answers. Plato highlighted that learners need to think as well as learn for themselves and take what they learn in a classroom setting as a guideline to real life as is stated in his forms. Teachers then are given the duty of making sure they engage students in becoming active learners. Through formal and informal learning, this accomplished. Progressive education in American History is then implemented in the learning strategy of all classrooms together. Cooperation means learning with a group and giving succor to everyone participating in that group. A school then, is merely a larger extension of the classroom group which in turn is an extension of the smaller learning groups within the classroom. The focal point of pragmatism then become the welding of Fine Arts in education. That is, fine arts as the fusion between art, math, history, languages and science. It is with Dewey’s definition of pragmatism that art is a bases by which teachers teach (he considered teaching an art) and how students learn (also an art form) and thus, subject matters were understood through art concepts. Â  Congruency is a term that permeates both progressive education and pragmatism, for the students and teachers. With the diverse relation of subject matters implemented in progressive education Dewey came to identify the hands on experience, thus Dewey believed that learning was manipulative in which the learner abided by the laws of situation in order to be properly stimulated and it is through this that Plato’s system of inquiry is found. In a progressive education then, the common and ultimate goal of the entire system is to improve learning, and the avenues by which material is learned by the students. Progressive education also entailed elements of Humanism as thought of by other philosophers and educators of the time period. In the concern for the individual that pragmatists exhibited, it was only natural that Humanism be involved in the philosophy. Humanism is the value of each person and that feeling extended throughout the human race. Dewey as well as Plato’s belief in humanism was only part of the interdisciplinary status of progressive education. Another strong element within the understanding of progressivism was liberalism. That is to say that liberalism combined with progressive education formed a cohesion of social justice and advocacy consent. Progressive education should be understood within a social context, and not be misguided by ideas pertaining to Constructivism which is similar but models itself towards pupils gaining their knowledge based purely and solely on individualistic efforts, instead of the hands on experience involved with pragmatism. Progressive education, as it is involved with the education system of America from the 1880’s throughout the 1920’s was a system in which pupils were encouraged to challenge themselves with their own knowledge paired with the knowledge they gained in a classroom. Pragmatism was about finding new solutions to old problems and continually challenging those solutions to find better answers. The combining of all subjects through fine arts application was essential to the development of pragmatism in the classroom and enabled students to find interest in areas which would otherwise be off limits because of their lack of attention in subjects which they were not interested. Progressive education has its origins in pragmatism and the separation of the two is problematic to the understanding of American education during the specified time period.

Human Trafficking in Cambodia

Name: Chou David Class: Public Speaking Teacher: Kate Westbrook Assignment: Final Exam Human Trafficking Human trafficking is an illegal action that people kidnapped people to be their slavery of doing anything for money or their own good. It`s the possession or trading of humans for the purpose of engaging them in slavery and prostitution through the means of force. It’s the action that everyone is bewared of and scared of. It`s not just effect the victims but also their family, society, county and the world. Every single year the amounts of victims are increasing more and more.It`s a millions of dollars criminal which is the reason why there`re human trafficking. Human are victims every year and people who have heart do know that it`s one of the saddest things on Earth. So, have you had any relative who is the victim? Do you think that this action will ever stop? There`re many types of human trafficking. This means that they are all different. First, Women trafficking is a k ind of trafficking that people sale women as the costumer`s sex partner for money. They`re are not going to work at the same country that they used to lived because they`re going abroad to work in the sex industry.They`re not just the harm in sexual violence and rape but they were threat like the slavery. Normally, those slavery will work as waitress, refugee or prostitute for 20h/day. What cause this to be happening? Yes, because of the need of the traffickers who doesn’t really have money to manage their living situation. Also the parents whose sell their own daughter for the money to survive. But some of them might think that if their daughter still live with them, the baby or daughter will not survive and make them of selling the daughter out of the family`s bad economic issue.The lack of sex knowledge, awareness, and the percentage of illiteracy made this issue happens. This issue leads to the risk of LIFE. It leads the HIV wide-spread more and more. And also will be a b ig threat for the increasing amount of suicides. Second, Men trafficking for labor forces. This kind of trafficking is a serious problem that the international effort is underway to acknowledge and combat this situation. The majority of those victims are adult from 18-44 which has the full strength for labor forces. They were used in the purposes of criminal activities and begging.They were used to work for commonly 12 hours and more. They were threat like slavery and they were feed only one time per day. This makes the kill rate of men increase faster and faster. Since it`s a low-risk business for trafficker because they are not dealing with merchandise. It`s lower risk than drugs or weapons. Those men told themselves to fight but they can’t because they must be killing if they riot. The victim or slavery was threat like animal that they called it nightmare. The rate was increase 6% every year. The third and last type is children trafficking.How crazy they were that treat ch ildren like this? They use them to be the foreign attracter by selling normal things with unusual prize or by being beggars, children in arm force, or can be in the drug trades. Do those kids deserve better? Yes, they do. They deserve to be one of us that can stand here and study for knowledge. If there`re children trafficking, this results the end of a future. This one is an unsolvable issue that no one could think of since it starts. It results as permanent injury or death. So, what do you think about the tears of family?But some of the family sale their own kid to the trafficker to earn money to survive too. The kids will be cut off their legs or arms to look more pity that they can beg more money. If they don’t do the same thing that the trafficker said, they`ll be dead. It effects the whole life, community and the nation. What cause all of these to be happen? The biggest factor is the economic factor that I mention that it is a lower-risk high profit business. The Lack o f access to education and information. A lack of public awareness of the dangers of trafficking.The high profit potential for those engaged in the criminal activity. Gender discrimination. A lack of effective anti-trafficking legislation. These are the main causes or reasons that there`re human trafficking still exist nowadays. But how does it effect to our life? Human rights issue, Health Concerns, Equality did exist but the problem is unsolvable. So, the effects are growing more and more. The illness will widespread like HIV does. Not only HIV but others will be growing like never before. The effect to the family is a shame problem.Some family will just accept the welcome back of victims who can escape but some still think that daughter or girl who is particularly sexual exploitation will bring shame to family. So, some children who are able to escape may return home only to find that they`re rejected from the family. On another hand, the community will also taken effects of human trafficking. Children trafficking are shown to be the major effect on communities. If children are trafficked, it`ll be result that the community is corrupted or failed to protect the members.As a result, children who can escape will be lack of education that they`re less able to secure a job. Also the girls who can escape will be a difficult thing for a marriage because they bring the shame of being prostitute before. The next one is the effect to the whole nation. It results in the lost of potentially future workers. Why? Yeah, because of the injuries, illness and lack of education. And they were doing criminal activity which associate with the drugs and violent that harm the whole nation. So, it`s now known as a significant indicator of national and global security threats.Anyway, there`re ways to stop it if and only if , we join forces together in one to make sure that this will never ever happen again. One question is how? The answer is the plan that governments around the wor ld use. First, the prevention. Bringing up more of the law and educated lessons about human trafficking. Teach people not to be meant or being idiot to trafficked either children or adults. To prevent this we also need to enforcement the law by giving more punishment to trafficker and make them scared of law. Fortunately, the law enforcement of anti-trafficker is working on by the UNICEF.The project of victim assistant which begins first with the victim`s identification. It`s a project that will make sure that the children that escape the cage of nightmare will return home or other appropriate settings which means that they`re taking good care of and will never be re-trafficked again. Child or woman who is illegally trafficked and illegally work as a prostitute will be treating like a victim not the criminal. Finally, the things that I mentioned were about the cause, effects, types of human trafficking and the way to end it.U~N, UNICEF, US Department and more organizations are worki ng on this issue and will find a perfect prevention to this issue. So, I would like all of you to widespread the information to places. If you find out something unusual, you can contact to government, organizations, or the police. If you could think of a solution then you can help with that idea. Especially your idea could work for communities and nations. BEING VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING IS SLAVERY and SLAVERY WILL END SOONER OR LATER!!! Human Trafficking in Cambodia | | |Human Trafficking in Cambodia | | | | | | | | |Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1. 1 What is Human Traffiking ? 1. 2 Objective of studying ? 2. What cause Human Trafficking? 2. 1 The linkage between Migration and Human Trafficking ? 2. 2 Push factor and Pull factors 2. 3 Education 3. Propose solutions Human Trafficking 3. 1 Strenghen the Law 3. 2 Job Skill Traning For Shleter Victims 3. 3Provide Well Educated to People 4 Conclusion. 5. ReferenceIntroduction 1 What is human trafficking? Before delving into the paper, it is necessary to first understand the concept of human trafficking. â€Å"Human trafficking† is mainly defined as the illegal trade of human beings for the purpose of commercial sexual exploration or reproductive slavery. Human trafficking is considered as modern day slavery and it has increased dramatically over the year and it almost occurs at everywhere.It kind of recruitment, transportation, harboring, or taking of persons by means of threat, force, coe rcion, or deception for the purpose of exploiting them, or other form of sexual exploitation, or practice similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. Today there are many forms of human trafficking;  victims are forced to work in homes, factories, fishing boats, or in agriculture fields, for employers that keep them virtually imprisoned. Some are forced into sexual servitude, while others must beg on the streets for asking some money from walker along the street.Many victims [1]‘’are tricked, thinking they are receiving a legitimate job opportunity, only to find themselves trapped and unable to leave an exploitive situation. Others are simply bought and sold like property. They are children, women, and men – of all ages. Most of them have no way to ask for help to back home. (Naro, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, 2009)’’ 1. Objective of the studying This study seeks to examine whether existing efforts made by the govern- ment and NGOs are sufficient in helping the victims, by examining the following questions: †¢ what are the particular needs of the victims? Has the reintegration process been successful? †¢ what more can the Cambodia government, NGOs and private sector can do to help the victims? What Causes Human Trafficking? 1 The linkage between Migration and Human Trafficking [2]According to Marshall (2001), trafficking is linked to irregular migration, Sometime it happens in destination counties where an increasing number of women in particular become victims to various kinds of abusive, exploitative, and irregular forms of migration associated with trafficking. It is also known as â€Å"blind migration† and the flow of migration from such created the risk of trafficking.The relationship between human trafficking and migration has been the trend of migration that link victims vulnerability to human trafficking when they are isolated from their homes and families. 2 Push Factor and Pull Factor Poverty is an importance factor which has increase women and children’s vulnerability to human traffickers- particularly the poor and the unemployed due to their willingness to join or their low level of awareness on the dangers associated with human trafficking. The Chen Chen Lee reported in 2007 showed that the interviewees cited poverty as one of the main drivers behind their decision to migrated overseas for work. ccording to researcher claims that, the low level of education, family debt, agricultural failure, lack of land and off season work were pushing people to the big cities or to other countries as the men go to instruction, women into service and prostitution. In addition to poverty, the lack of education and unemployment there also significant social and cultural variables that contributes to human trafficking. For instance, cultural norms that perpetuate a lack of respect for women increase the likelihood of them being exploited.Poverty, broken families, landlessness, disasters, uneven economic development, relaxation of border controls, economic inequality between the rural and urban areas are also significant contributing factors to human trafficking. According to the International Organization for migration, based in Phnom Penh, in 2004 the pull factor connected to the push factor whereby people became disillusioned with their community due to extreme poverty. The pull factor is the expectation that destination countries are places better than their impoverished communities and there migrants can earn more money for remittances back home.Thus, it seen that the root causes are push and pull factors through which people who wish to seek jobs for a better living on became victim of human trafficking as well. 3 Education Low education levels contributed to higher poverty levels. Most of the trafficked victims were illiterate for families and communities, One crucial way to increase economic growth would be to emphasize the importance of education as a significant human resource development ( in term of specific skills), thereby aid in alleviating poverty.The education levels of trafficked victims also reflected the national distribution. This therefore illuminates the significant role that the Cambodian Ministry of Education should play for the betterment of the whole country. According to the Ministry of planning, a child can be safe from illiteracy if he or she has completed at least till the fourth or fifth grade if their studies. Nevertheless, a higher education level is needed to ensure a better employment prospects in the future.As stipulated in the Cambodia government’s National strategy plan, Education is the main human resource development factor in helping to alleviated poverty and increase economic growth potential Proposed Solutions Human Trafficking 1 Strengthen the Law Government should play a greater role in encouraging the private sector to work together with NGOs. Insurance cos ts and payment to trainees are currently covered by NGOs. At the end of training period the company is required to accepted the victims as employees. Most importantly, the government, NGOs and private sector must collaborate with one other.Presently NGOs have provided shelters to conduct skill training. The government can thus propose to the private sector to engage in corporate social responsibility by providing support to the victims in term of financial and job vacancies. The benefits for employers would be better skilled workers and their contribution to corporate social responsibility. The Government should put a serious law and fine them in a big amount of money to the trafficker who commits this crime in order to make them scare to commit it again in the future.Not only ordinary people who accepted this law it also apply for the authority power as well. When the law in one society is strong it can reduce the crime of human trade step by step. And it’s not really hard f or government to control it as well. 2 Job skill training for sheltered Victims: NGOs have been conducting rehabilitation programs to provide skills training and employment to ensure that victims can access various options for income generation after reintegration within their families, communities or workplaces. Table:1 Vocational |Female |Male |Job |Female |Male | |Training | | |Expectation | | | |Sewing |75% |29% |Garment |38% |21% | | | | |worker | | | |Electronics |0% |7% |Electronics |0% |7% | | | | |repairer | | | |Beauty salon |25% |0% |Beauty |25% |0% | | | |salon shop | | | |Hair cutting |0% |21% |Baber shop |0% |21% | |Car repairer |0% |7% |Car Repairer |0% |7% | |Motor repairer |0% |36% |Motor repairer |0% |36% | |English literature |25% |29% |Tailor shop |38% |7% | |Khmer literature |88% |29% |Total: |16 |14 | |Total: |16 |14 | | | |The reintegration programs provide victims with the ability to deal with stigmatization, acquire job skills and employment, health care, ed ucational support, as well as food and accommodation. The skills training plays a very importance role and it is through the crucial concept of reintegration that victims can access potential employment for better living and income conditions, It’s also a vital part helping them before being placed back in their workplaces or halfway house for victims who wish to be self-employed as well as family communities. 2. Provide well Educated to people As mentioned earlier, most of the victims possess low of education.Educations is the main human resource development component needed to improve Cambodia’s potential for economic growth. Education should be presented to the young generation in such a way that low educated is linked to issued related to poverty and other negative consequences to life and household income in the future. According to the National Economic Development (NED) policy document 2001-2005, the root cause of poverty was the result of poverty. Education sho uld also include job orientations that apply in parallel with the present job market needs, especially for those living in rural areas. The governments also play an important role in improving job opportunity. The currently rate of job creation does not support the increasing labor supply. 50,000 to 175,000 people join the labor force annually and this is expected to increase to over 200,000 by 2010 (United Nation Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region UNIAP ,2008). [3]However, according to Dr. Chap Sothearith Director of the Cambodia Institute for Cooperation and Peace, the demand for local construction labor demand is increasing in recent years. Rural Cambodia have unfortunately not realize this opportunity due to lack of information. Given this, it is therefore imperative for the government to work with the private sector, NGOS and local communities to disseminate information to the people via television, radio, council communities and villager s in order to reach out the rural and vulnerable job seekers and it also like to encourage them to start new life and dismiss what the past is. ConclusionFor my opinion it’s not easy to stop or eliminated human trafficking in one society but we can do it step by step. Government should provide good education to them to get know how to secure their life from the middle person in community. The human trafficking issues is a humanities issue which usually occurs in backward countries where it involves the poor exploited by those who initially promised income if they been accepted for work place and in accordance with the sector and where they live and narrowness needed. The poor usually have complex financial problems, and this makes them willing to place themselves in anywhere without investigating the background and basic information that what will be their job.Furthermore, they are also lack of knowledge because ignorance about their rights and the importance of understanding how to defend themselves from deceived cause they are unable to get out when hit by this problem. At the same time also, they are lack of exposure, and they are more easily cheated. Thus, measures the best solution is comprehensive, especially the involvement of government in formulating and drafting laws that can protect people from falling prey to problems. Moreover, the involvement of NGOs’ in helping the government solve this problem is appropriate and timely because the NGO’s can carry out the duties that can’t be carried out by Government.This issue will only be done if all the emphasis and direct assistance whether in terms of moral and financial, and suggestions with combating this commercial crimes. References http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Human_trafficking http://biusvspa. blogspot. com/2011/03/conclusion. html. http://cambodia. usembassy. gov/011912_pr. html http://www. rsis. edu. sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP181. pdf ———â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [1] Neth Naro 29 June 2009 ( S Rajatnam School of International Studies) www. rsis. edu. sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP181. pdf [2] Marshall, P ( Globallization, Migration and Trafficking in women and children in the Mekong Sub-region ) 8-10 May 2001 Kuala Lumpur [3] UNIAP (2008) SIREN Human Trafficking : (strategic Information Response Network, phase III. March 2008 (v. 1. 0) Cambodia.

Marrimark case(FIFO_LIFO) Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marrimark case(FIFO_LIFO) - Coursework Example The ever strengthening value of the Chinese currency which is denominated in Yuan or Renminbi against the US Dollar became another adverse factor for the company as this compounded and further elevated the increase in costs incurred by Merrimack. The flexibility in the exchange rate by Chinese authorities against US Dollar decreased from a CNY: USD ratio of 8.3:1 until mid-2005 to below 7.0:1 by early 2008. Oil prices increase further deteriorated the situation for Merrimack as this elevated shipping costs of transporting finished mowers to the United States by almost 200% with the cost of shipping a 40-foot container from Shanghai to US rising from $3,000 in 2000 to almost $9,000 by 2008. The above critical factors changed the advantage of outsourcing for Merrimack into a soul disadvantage as these cost increments did not affect Merrimack’s competitors such as The Toro Company who has its material manufacturing setup in the United States. This rival was comparatively less aff ected by the increase in manufacturing costs in Asia and indeed benefitted from the weakening dollar in export markets in which it played and competed. All these aspects shrank Merrimack’s sales margins for tractors and mowers and the projected bottom-line or net income of 2008 was lower than that of yielded in 2007 and earlier years. This was not acceptable to the stakeholders of the company and the outside directors pressurized the company’s CEO to keep growing earnings and profits otherwise which will lead to a professional manager to replace him who was not a family member of the Martinos. All these factors were taken into account but the idea of re-development and re-establishing of manufacturing operations in Nashua were dismissed by the company. Searching for another off-shore supplier was a possibility to carry out but that too not before 2009 to sustain the current trends of net income and growth of the company. These plans were not ought to be good and execut able plans until the company controller or the CFO, James Colburn, thought of varying the inventory valuation methods for tractors, mowers and parts, to boost up Merrimack’s bottom-line and satisfy its stakeholders. The CFO had an idea to change the company’s current inventory valuation method (LIFO) into FIFO which will ultimately elevate earnings but will come together with an increase in the tax payables. This was a plan which the CEO had to clearly conceive in order for it to be executed or rejected. The CEO’s concern is to enhance the earnings position of the company and satisfy its stakeholders. After hearing the CFO’s idea about changing inventory valuation method, the CEO ordered the CFO to prepare a memo and a pro-forma income statement for the year 2008 to depict the changes in the bottom-line. The CEO is studying on the drastic impact which a simple change in accounting methods can bring for a company. Effect of CFO’s suggestion on Merri mack’s financial statements The change of the inventory valuation method from LIFO to FIFO which the CFO is suggesting would have a number of effects on the company’

Business ethics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business ethics - Term Paper Example This company has segmented its geographic environment into five regions, which include the Southern, Eastern, Western and Midwestern United States and Canada. All these regions are headed by a senior vice president. The company is also run by a board of directors and a chief executive officer. In addition, Waste Management Incorporation has subsidiaries, Waste Management Recycle America and Wheelabrator Technologies Incorporation, which are headed by a president. The company provides waste gathering, transportation, and reprocessing and disposal services. Waste Management incorporation carries on its activities as the world leader in waste management that range from medical and solid waste to extremely poisonous chemical waste. This organization has in the past been experiencing growth and increase in stock prices at healthy rates (Waste Management 1). The waste management industry has numerous players, with Waste Management Incorporation being the biggest player. It has a market sha re of 32 percent in both United States and Canada. Over the past four years, the company has witnessed net income decrease from $962M to $817M (Waste Management 1). ... ME 2,020.0 1,982.0 2,082.0 2,001.0 Interest Expense -426.0 -473.0 -481.0 -488.0 Interest and Investment Income 13.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 Other Non-Operating Expenses, Total -1.0 -16.0 -35.0 -48.0 Other Non-Operating Income (Expenses) 48.0 23.0 -8.0 13.0 Merger & Restructuring Charges -50.0 2.0 -20.0 -67.0 Gain (Loss) on Sale of Investments -5.0 -- -- -16.0 Other Unusual Items, Total -78.0 132.0 -34.0 -83.0 EBT, INCLUDING UNUSUAL ITEMS 1,473.0 1,631.0 1,520.0 1,303.0 Income Tax Expense 413.0 629.0 511.0 443.0 Minority Interest in Earnings -66.0 -49.0 -48.0 -43.0 Earnings from Continuing Operations 1,060.0 1,002.0 1,009.0 860.0 NET INCOME 994.0 953.0 961.0 817.0 NET INCOME TO COMMON INCLUDING EXTRA ITEMS 994.0 953.0 961.0 817.0 NET INCOME TO COMMON EXCLUDING EXTRA ITEMS 994.0 953.0 961.0 817.0 Balance Sheet (Waste Management 1) Currency in Millions of US Dollars As of: Dec 31 2009 Dec 31 2010 Dec 31 2011 Dec 31 2012 Assets             Cash and Equivalents 1,140.0 539.0 258.0 194.0 Tradi ng Asset Securities 13.0 1.0 -- -- TOTAL CASH AND SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS 1,153.0 540.0 258.0 194.0 Accounts Receivable 1,408.0 1,510.0 1,631.0 1,737.0 Other Receivables 119.0 146.0 144.0 102.0 Inventory 110.0 130.0 153.0 174.0 Other Current Assets 104.0 116.0 115.0 140.0 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 3,010.0 2,482.0 2,379.0 2,423.0 NET PROPERTY PLANT AND EQUIPMENT 11,541.0 11,868.0 12,242.0 12,651.0 Long-Term Investments 32.0 508.0 710.0 667.0 Goodwill 5,632.0 5,726.0 6,215.0 6,291.0 Other Intangibles 238.0 295.0 457.0 397.0 Other Long-Term Assets 701.0 597.0 566.0 668.0 TOTAL ASSETS 21,154.0 21,476.0 22,569.0 23,097.0             LIABILITIES & EQUITY             Accounts Payable 567.0 692.0 838.0 842.0 Accrued Expenses 1,100.0 1,085.0 1,078.0 938.0 Current Portion of Long-Term Debt/Capital Lease 749.0

Paying for Hospital Services Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paying for Hospital Services - Assignment Example Here, patients are advantaged in a way that they enjoy the freedom to choose directly on the physician they want and generally benefit from a sufficient access to health care services. In addition, these patients can see their physicians even out of state and they do not have to wait for long to consult a specialist. The disadvantage of FFS is that, they are not quite affordable when compared to other mechanisms. Since it gives providers a strong incentive to offer more and rewarding items, FFS can be a disadvantageous tool for containing costs. Lastly, it is anticipated that the fee application plans must comprise lots of administration costs to view resources required for monitoring, adjustments, and monitoring of schedules (Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, 2010). Per Diem simply involves daily payment of services given by physicians or the hospital. It is beneficial because it encourages physicians to deliver better services. In some cases, the average per diem rate is forthright to implement and calculate since it can be founded on the total historical expenses divided by the entire number of bed-ways for a given group of services, such as maternity care. The average rate in this method can also be adjusted to mirror case-mix and patient characteristics, which may be a significant transition method, since per diem are manageably simple to implement and can be a good starting point when collecting data essential in case-based systems (Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research, 2008). According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (2009), the Diagnosis-Related Groups system classifies patients into groups basing on their economic and medical records, similar hospital resource costs and use. Here, providers are paid at a fixed rate for every discharge depending on the diagnosis, type of discharge, and treatment. For this reason, DRGs possess a

Benefits of College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Benefits of College - Essay Example â€Å"The median earnings of full-time workers with bachelor’s degrees were $55,700 in 2008 — $21,900 more than those of workers who finished only high school.† (Lewin, New York Times). While it cannot be denied that a college degree confers unequivocal advantages in terms of career prospects and financial remuneration, opponents argue that a college education is not essential for skill development and the steep costs are not justified by its benefits. On the contrary, the benefits of a college education are not only economical but also encompass tangible benefits involving health, society, family and personality. A college education contributes several health benefits. According to recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, people with a college education have an average life expectancy of 9.3 years more than those who are less educated. The percentage of women above the age of 25 who are obese is 39-43 percent for those who have not attende d college, in comparison with 25 percent for those with a bachelor’s degree. Similarly, 31 percent of adults in the age group 25 – 64 years, who hold only a High School diploma, are smokers, while only 9 percent of adults with a college degree smoke (Griesmer, College Insider). College graduates are also likely to make other healthier lifestyle choices, such as exercising. Research from the BMC Health Services shows that a higher level of education is also linked to lower blood pressure. College graduates are also at a lower risk of developing colorectal, prostate, lung and breast cancer, according to a 2008 study published in the  Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Hardy, Yahoo Education). Their higher paying jobs also ensure that graduates have better access to preventive health care. This also contributes to better health. The societal benefits of a college education are substantial. The higher income earned by graduates translates into higher taxes. The he alth benefits listed above, combined with the fact that graduates are more likely to have jobs that offer health insurance and retirement benefits, means that graduates are less dependent on government social programs, such as unemployment compensation, Medicare and Medicaid, food programs, and welfare. This results in substantial public savings. The incarceration rate for graduates is only a quarter that of those with a High School diploma, or less. Prison costs are thus reduced. Another emphatic societal benefit stems from the fact that the mission statement of all universities includes civic education. As a consequence, graduates are more likely to participate in community services. 2004 statistics show that 36 percent of graduates performed voluntary community service, in comparison with only 21 percent of High School diploma holders. Similarly, 76 percent of graduates voted in the 2000 election, while only 56 percent of High School diploma holders voted. Educational attainment stimulates public awareness and interest in community issues (Cunningham, John Carroll University). ). The multicultural and multiethnic university world also promotes racial understanding and tolerance, and encourages the belief in common values across racial divides. As such, graduates are more likely to be free of social prejudices and stereotypes than their less-educated peers. A college education benefits the family structure. Studies show that college graduates a

Ceramics Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ceramics Art - Essay Example The colours move into each other in delicate swirls from greens, browns, blues and turquoise to blacks, whites, beige and mustard. A small spout with brown and pale turquoise glaze is placed on one side of the pot, and a dome shaped lid in shades of brown fits in snugly. A tiny turquoise handle with a minuscule black button is at an angle to the spout, and extrudes out of the surface. The entire egg shape tapers down to a very tiny black foot. The irreducible essence of a teapot is its function, in terms of cultural and human ritual terms. By taking away from this teapot its utility, Swindell does not add a conceptual dimension, or vestigial elements to suggest a different meaning, in the manner of poststructural art, where the lack of function becomes a metaphor for something else in the artist's dictionary. The teapot is still just a teapot, quaint, not functional, but definitely a teapot. This teapot is indeed an example of organic art, in a class of its own. Far removed from post-modern jargon and innuendoes, its expressive criteria are not in tune with the deconstructive and discursive atmosphere of contemporary arts practice. As Bernard Kerr says, " By overly conceptualising our work we run the risk of losing the special somatic and sensual qualities that make the ceramic arts unique and special."(Kerr, 2005). When viewing Swindell's work the correct questions to ask would be whether it is a beautiful, nostalgic piece of evanescence made tangible. Swindell seems to capture the volatile charm of nature in this piece, which emerges with new, subtle meanings every time you look at it. Though out time potters have sought to create man made ceramic forms, which echo the sensibilities of nature, sometimes by mimicking nature or through stylisation and abstraction. The history of ceramics is filled with organic masterpieces. (Thames & Hudson, 2001) It does not have enforced explicit and implicit narratives, and it exists not to faithfully portray the tragedies of existence but seeks to alleviate them through beauty in art. As he himself puts it, "Although political and cultural statements have become fashionable with visual artists I do not make work with a conscious message, preferring to deal with the "abstract" qualities of Art."(Swindell, 2005) To me it is a piece that seems to shift under the eye, to ripple and move if I look at it long enough, and I want to pick it up to trace its contours to assure myself it is real. Its structure is engineered and precise, but the surface and colours bring back memories of sandy beaches, worm casts, patterns seen on sand, and lulling waves. This marriage of the man-made and natural has evolved over time, as some of his earlier exhibits have also exuded similar qualities: His vision is much broader than the size of the work initially suggests. He brings together shapes, motifs and surface qualities that simultaneously manage to be evocative of both the natural and man made worlds. (Jeffery Jones, 2003) Tea and teapots have been a comforting part of our culture ever since they were introduced in England. A teapot evokes warmth, security and reassurance, and the diminutive size reinforces this feeling of intimacy: Teapots traditionally belong in a familiar domestic environment, where potters have always had a significant role in reflecting social fashion and culture by providing ware for

The opening business in Saudi Arabia Research Paper

The opening business in Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example Before opening the business in Saudi Arabia, it is important to keep in mind that it is a conservative country and its ethics and culture are no way similar to a western country like America. In Saudi Arabia, business activities are conducted at a slower pace compared to the US and so meetings initiate slowly. My advice to my client is to keep patience during business meetings as Arabians prefer to start meetings with informal conversations like topics about family and hobbies. My American client may find the meetings disordered as it is a common scenario that Arabians do not refrain from attending phone calls or allowing other people to interrupt. Americans make it a point to switch off their phones and pay total attention to whoever is speaking. In Saudi Arabia, my client will need to take the effort to bring the meeting back on track after any disruptions. While doing business with the Arabians time is not a factor since they prefer to do business at the leisurely pace. They engag e in courtesies which are lengthy, and pleasantries are exchanged both in the beginning and even during the course of the meeting. My client should be careful to avoid asking about the other person’s female relatives. Business conversations do not start before coffee is served and they frequently fall silent which indicates not rudeness but that they are contemplating. Contrary to the Americans who are task-oriented and therefore more particular about time, the Arabian culture is more relation-driven and so they focus on timing.

The Gothic Horror genre Essay Example for Free

The Gothic Horror genre Essay With particular reference to the construction of Mr Hyde, discuss how portrayal of the character places the novella into the Gothic Horror genre. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886, a time where the Gothic Horror story was at its fullest expression, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde continues to remain one of the most well written, exciting and terrifying Gothic Horror stories to date. The Gothic Horror story has adapted over time, first being associated with dark, mysterious forces of the personality which were though of as uncivilised and therefore medieval and Gothic. However, it was then being used to describe the mysterious, the fantastic and occasionally, the horrific, appealing to the emotional side of human experience and throwing off the shackles of reason. Gothic Novels all shared similar settings, which were not just castles but anywhere that created a dark and mysterious atmosphere, and by the nineteenth century, Gothic Horror began to develop into ordinary human beings in familiar environments, to make the reader even more inclined to believe the unbelievable; that such dreadful events could actually happen; and this is exactly what Stevenson has done. Stevenson wrote Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at a time where science was still relatively new; Darwins theory of evolution had turned what was a very religious world upside-down, and that, combined with the discovery of electricity and other scientific breakthroughs, made people start to believe that anything was possible. It is this that makes the events in Stevensons novel, which consists of ordinary characters in familiar settings, that much more believable, and therefore even more terrifying. Stevensons Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde fits into this mould of a Gothic Horror story perfectly, and this is largely down to the construction and portrayal of the character of Mr Edward Hyde; the evil half of Dr Jekylls personality. Stevenson introduces the theme of their being two sides to everybodys personality with his opening description of Mr Utterson. Stevenson begins by creating a negative impression of the lawyer, that he is of a rugged countenance and that he is never lighted by a smile. This creates the impression that he is unfriendly and cold, and that he does not show his feelings, yet Stevenson manages to compensate for this by saying that Utterson is yet somehow loveable, and explains that he helped people rather than to reprove. Stevensons use a lot of pathetic fallacy throughout the novel is apparent, and this technique is a very strong and common factor displayed in a lot of Gothic Novels. Stevenson has used it to emphasise the horror that he is describing, and it helps to create a generally terrifying and Gothic atmosphere. An example of this is that Jekylls evil side only comes out at night, as this relates to Stevensons theme of good and evil, where evil is associated with darkness and mysterious atmospheres. The first we learn of Mr Hyde is through the very odd story that Enfield tells Utterson at the beginning of the novel. Utterson and Enfield are walking through a street, which Stevenson describes as having an air of invitation about it, and readers are led to believe that as they are walking, Utterson and Enfield are quite safe in their quiet, peaceful town. However when Enfield begins his odd story, it is about three oclock, of what he describes as a black winter morning. This gloomy atmosphere, where there was nothing to be seen but lamps, leads readers to believe that something odd is about to happen. The very first description of Hyde is that he is a little man who was stumping, which suggests that he is not as proper as the other characters in the novel, and that there is, perhaps, something different about him. Quickly, Stevenson lets the readers know that this inkling is right, as Hyde trampled calmly over the childs body, which is horrible enough, but readers then learn that Hyde left her screaming on the ground. This suggests that Hyde was not fazed by what he had just done, and walked off as if nothing had happened; this is almost evil. Although it is not a particularly horrific event, it gives readers a taste for what is going to come, and they can guess that this is not going to be the first of many such incidents, that can only get worse from here. When Enfield collared Hyde, Stevensons description of Hyde at this point already suggest that he is not quite human, and that although nobody can quite pinpoint it, he has a peculiar effect on all those who encounter him, and this is Stevensons way of conveying the sinister atmosphere that is so often created in a Gothic Novel. For example, Enfield describes that Hyde just gave him one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running. Also, Enfield explains that the girl Hyde knocked over was screaming not because she was in pain, but because she was frightened; and Hyde had such an effect on the doctor, Sawbones, that every time he looked at Hyde, he turned sick and white with the desire to kill him. When Utterson asks Enfield what Hyde looked like, Enfield explains that he is not easy to describe, and that he gives the strong feeling of deformity, which suggests that his appearance is enigmatic, which backs up what I have already mentioned of him having a peculiar effect on all those who encounter him, and also that he is not quite human. All of this makes Hyde a typical Gothic character and he certainly fits into the tyrannical males mould that is often used to describe such Gothic characters. The house that Hyde goes into to get the gold and the cheque Dr Jekylls house showed no window and throughout the novel there are further references to this, as well as to locked doors, barred windows and a thick, muffling fog. All of this adds to Stevensons creation of a Gothic atmosphere of secrecy and mystery. Although Utterson and Enfield agree never to refer to this again (this being Hyde), Utterson makes it his mission to seek Hyde, and try to work out the mystery regarding him and Dr Jekylls will, and after nights of waiting for Hyde to appear at the door he was first associated with, Hyde does just that. It is always night time when Utterson waits for Hyde, and this particular night was accompanied by frost in the air and was very silent and very solitary, which puts readers on guard, as throughout Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Stevenson uses dark, silent nights as the setting for horrific events, such as when Hyde trampled calmly over the childs body. This use of pathetic fallacy makes it easy for Stevenson to make events instantly terrifying, as the recognition of this setting automatically frightens readers as they know that something bad is about to happen, and it adds powerfully to the brooding and menacing atmosphere he has successfully created. Stevenson represents the beast in man by referring to Hyde in a number of animal images, and when Utterson greets Hyde, Hyde shrank back with a hissing intake of breath, which shows his momentary fear, as if he has been caught off-guard. Hyde avoids showing Utterson his face, and only does so on request; this builds up the element of mystery that is sustained throughout the novella, and readers still do not know very much about Hyde. Further on in the novel Stevenson describes Hyde as moving like a money, by which, with reference to Charles Darwins theory of evolution, Stevenson is suggesting that by turning into the ape-like Hyde, Jekyll is evolving backwards. As the pair question each other, Hyde snarled into a savage laugh, which gives Hyde an element of terror about him. When Hyde is described for the second time this time from Uttersons own point of view he has the same dwarfish stance and gives the same impression of deformity without any nameable malformation of which Enfield emphasised when he tried to describe the character, which again adds to the air of mystery surrounding the character himself. Hyde speaks with a husky whispering and a broken voice, which although readers do not yet know, Stevenson is referring to the fact that Hyde is not a whole person. Utterson continues to be confused and frightened by Hyde even after he has disappeared, as he tries to describe the unknown disgust, loathing and fear that he senses from the character, which convinces the readers that Hyde is most certainly someone or something to be feared, and this is confirmed when Utterson links Hyde with the devil by saying he says that Hydes face was marked with Satans signature. Stevenson continues to leave readers in suspense until Hydes true identity is revealed to them in the ninth chapter, although he does drop clues along the way to allow readers to try and figure the mystery for themselves. The plot is eventually exposed by Dr Laynon, who witnessed Hydes transformation back into Jekyll for himself, and recalls his account in detail in the ninth chapter; Dr Lanyons Narrative. Lanyons first task is to recover, with all its contents as they stand, the fourth drawer down in Jekylls cabinet. Stevenson uses the recurring motif of the locked door to re-enforce the atmosphere of secrecy which pervades the Gothic novel; the lock of which was so strong that it took two highly skilled men two hours to open. Of the contents, Lanyon notices in particular a blood red liquor with a highly pungent smell; Stevenson has used this to suggest that Jekyll is involved in highly dark, secretive and dangerous practices, and that the reader is soon going to be dragged further than ever before into this terrifying mystery. Lanyon is told to meet Jekylls messenger at midnight, which adds to Stevensons creation of a Gothic atmosphere and adds mystery and suspense to the story. Stevenson is using his clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ setting of it being a dark, silent night, as he has throughout the novel, to build up to the main event. Readers will recognise this familiar setting and horror will rise inside them, as they do not know what is going to happen next; only that it will be terrifying and is going to involve the evil character of Hyde. When the messenger does appear, it is instantly recognisable to readers that it is Hyde through Lanyons use of Gothic vocabulary to describe the figure. The first description of him is that he is a small man crouching against the pillars, and Lanyon describes his disgustful curiosity at the sight of the man wearing a ludicrous accoutrement of oversized clothes which was far from moving [Lanyon] to laughter. Stevenson again refers to the beast in man by demoting Hyde to a creature that is seizing, surprising and revolting. This description of Hyde is sinister and grotesque, to make him fit even better into his Gothic role as a tyrannical male, which further builds up the Gothic atmosphere of mystery and suspense that Stevenson is trying to create as readers wait for Hydes true identity to be revealed to them. Stevenson lets readers know that something dangerous is about to happen as the policeman not far off causes Hyde to make greater haste. Hyde appears to be hysterical with sombre excitement, which leaves readers terrified as to what is going to happen when Lanyon gives him the contents of the drawer. Stevenson builds up the atmosphere of excitement, mystery and suspense by building up Hydes joy; he is so excited at the prospect of Lanyon having got the drawer for him that he has to put his hand to his throat to wrestle against the approaches of hysteria. When Lanyon does reveal the package to him, Hyde sprang to it, and this suggests that the contents are very exciting, yet dangerous and leads the reader to fear for Hydes life as Lanyon does. Stevenson suggests that Hyde is pure evil when he turned a dreadful smile and then when he opens the package he uttered one loud sob which was of such immense relief that Lanyon sat petrified. This event is building up the tension, and it appears that Hyde is getting so excited that he can no longer control himself; to Stevenson uses Lanyons narration to emphasise the horror of the situation and describe just how terrified Lanyon is. In turn, this makes the reader terrified, as they know that something dreadful and horrifying is about to take place. Stevenson is building up to the main event, and is using as much Gothic description as he can to terrify readers and get them gripped for what is about to happen; this is another classic sign of a Gothic novel. On pouring the potion, Hyde gives Lanyon a choice; this is that Hyde can either go home and drink the potion on his own, or he can stay for Lanyon to watch what is about to happen. This is clearly a challenge to Lanyon and everything he represents. Hyde obviously intends to teach the doctor, Jekylls ignorant, blatant pedant, a lesson; to him this would be to settle matters. He is in total command here, recognising that Lanyons greed of curiosity controls him. It is important to remember that Lanyon is given a clear choice, and it is in his own greed that he chooses to watch Lanyon drink the potion. Jekyll is obviously proud of his scientific achievement, and teases Lanyon that he has denied the virtue of transcendental medicine and ridiculed his superiors (by whom he is referring to himself), and readers know that something amazing and exciting, but at the same time horrific and terrifying, is about to happen once Hyde says behold! Stevensons use of Gothic language to terrify readers as Hyde reacts to the potion is particularly important, as he describes how Hyde reeled and staggered; he clutched at the table; he stared with infected eyes, gasping with open mouth, and suddenly the figure standing right in front of, and staring at Lanyon is no longer Mr Hyde, but Dr Jekyll. Stevenson continues to use Gothic language to describe Hydes metamorphosis to Jekyll which will particularly terrify contemporary readers as Stevenson was writing at a time that people thought anything was possible with science, and many believed that transcendental medicine, such as Jekylls own potion, was probable; therefore contemporary readers would think that the events in Jekyll and Hyde were not that unlikely, and could be happening on their street. Therefore they would have been more terrified at Hydes transformation than modern readers, and Stevensons Gothic description of the figures face becoming suddenly black and his features seeming to melt and alter as he is now half Jekyll, half Hyde, helps readers to really imagine the metamorphosis as if they were seeing it for themselves. Lanyons petrified reaction makes readers even more scared, as he sprung to his feet, raised his arm to shield himself from the prodigy, and his mind submerged in terror. This terrifies readers as they begin to imagine Lanyons reaction as their own, and they can see the figure staggering about, his features swelling, and they suddenly realise the truth of Jekylls two personalities. Stevenson describes Lanyon to have destroyed himself, and his life has been shaken to its roots, and this makes readers realise the full extent of what they have just witnessed. Overall, I think that Stevenson has portrayed Hyde to fit in with the typical Gothic mould of the tyrannical male, not only through his use of Gothic language, but through the horrific events themselves; the chilling, secretive, mysterious atmosphere; and the after-thought to contemporary readers that something like this is entirely possible to happen. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a lot more terrifying to contemporary readers for several reasons. One reason is that at that time of scientific breakthroughs and Charles Darwins theory of evolution, the world had been turned on its head, and people thought that anything was possible with science; they certainly believed in transcendental medicine, which would take human beings from beyond the realms of normal experience. Also, Stevenson has left clues throughout the novel to allow readers to guess the plot by themselves, which would lead to all sorts of wonders in their imagination; however the story is so well known now that modern readers know the plot, the twist and all events in-between the novel, that it would neither frighten nor surprise them. Also, Stevensons use of Gothic description is particularly terrifying as it allows readers to conjure all sorts of horrific images, however the play has been re-enacted in theatre and in film now so many times that there is not much left to imagine for modern readers anyway.

Contemporary Issues in Leadership

Contemporary Issues in Leadership Leadership is the process of influencing the behavior of others to work willingly and enthusiastically for achieving predetermined goals. It may be seen in terms of relationship between a leader and his followers (individuals / groups) which arises out of their functioning for common goals. The followers work willingly to achieve goal, thus there is no coercive force which induces the followers to work. LEADERS AS Shapers of Meaning Framing Issues. Framing is a way to use language to manage meaning. Its a way for leaders to influence how events are seen and understood. Contemporary roles relating to lead team as managing the conflicts; coaching to improve team member performance; used to serve as troubleshooters. It seems to respond in a group in which they have to participate with the leader. It involves mentor who is a senior employee who sponsors and supports a less experienced employee. Leadership can be taught online as it builds trust in the working environment of the organization. Challenges facing to leadership can be on the basis of qualities attributed as leaders are intelligent, ongoing, have strong verbal skills, understanding, are aggressive and industrious. Actually they perceive or project the appearance of being a leader. Many people today are seeking to understand and many people are writing about the concept and practices of leadership.. The concept of leadership is relevant to any aspect of ensuring effectiveness in organizations and in managing change. There has been an explosion of literature about leadership lately. Leading is a very human activity were all human so there are many people who consider themselves experts on leadership. There are a great many reasons for the popularity of the topic, including that organizations are faced with changes like never before. Understanding the concept of leadership requires more than reading a few articles or fantasizing about what great leaders should be. Contemporary issues includes [1] out of the box thinking; [2]leading by example; [3]globalization;[ 4]changing group dynamics; [5]technology; [6]quick decision making; [7]dealing with change and uncertainty; [8]mentoring; [9]ethical behavior; [10] recruiting and retaining quality workers. Now, managerial and leadership effectiveness depends on the ability to gain the trust of the followers. A recent survey in U.S. employees found that only half trusted their senior manager. Also the bad practices of corporations in the U.S. like the leaders of ENRON, WORLDCOM, etc that were accused of engaging in activities like secret loans, insider trading, manipulating profit figures, evading taxes all these has lost the confidence and trust of employees and investors, supplier, customers in senior executives. Unfortunately, many people make strong assertions about leadership without ever really understanding a great deal about leadership. Leaders need basic intelligence and job related knowledge but this is not enough. They are necessary but not sufficient. It is emotional intelligence that makes him a star performer. These are: Self-awareness exhibited by self confidence, realistic self assessment and a sense of humor. Self management. Exhibited by trustworthiness, integrity, and comfort with ambiguity, openness to change. Self motivation: exhibited by strong drive to achieve, optimism, and high organizational commitment. Empathy cross cultural sensitivity, expertise in building talents. ABSTRACT: However, subsequent scientific studies find that leaders are not exceptionally brilliant, splendid speakers or highly energetic. Instead, leaders know how to forge relationships and accomplish tasks. In fact, analysts find that leaders ability to accomplish tasks is even more important than their interpersonal skills. Leadership Personalities Academic studies achieve varied results when they try to isolate the characteristics of effective leaders. In work done in 1948 that is still well-regarded, scholar Ralph Stogdill proposed that leaders have five clusters of characteristics that make them good at leading. The five are: capacity (intelligence, judgment); achievement (knowledge, scholarship); responsibility (dependability, aggressiveness, self control, and desire to excel); participation (activity, sociability, cooperation, adaptability) and status (position, popularity). In 1990, subsequent research identified five more factors that leaders have in common: they are reliable, agreeable, extroverted, and emotionally stable and open to new experiences. Current theory proposes that anyone can become a leader to some degree if he or she can: Be confident about taking action, and controlling his or her life. Use power in pro-social ways that extend beyond personal gain or narcissism. Develop personal vision by seeing the future impact of todays actions. Leaders must have vision, a future view of events. Good leaders have the ability to convey their visions and make the future unfold as they hope it will. This generally begins with writing a vision statement, a process that often goes badly. Commonly, vision statements are confusing. They tend to cite goals that are really associated with strategies and objectives, not vision. To craft an effective vision statement, write a brief, memorable declaration. Then share your vision; make it more tangible by telling stories and using metaphors. Good leaders consistently align their actions with their verbal messages. They see their followers in a positive light, and care about their well being. Strong leaders provide the proper support to help their followers accept new challenges. Leaders assist others in finding meaning in their work and in their lives. Emotional Intelligence Leaders forge relationships with groups or individuals. The individual relationships tend to be more intellectual but, in both cases, good leaders exhibit highly developed emotional or social intelligence. They are self-aware, socially skilled, disciplined and able to deal capably with other people. People with emotional intelligence think before they act, focus on their goals, understand other peoples emotions and have the skill to establish common grounds for discussion. In this instance, scholars concluded that even the most talented executive cannot succeed without emotional intelligence. Some major corporations that wanted to encourage future leaders in their ranks hired psychologists to sort out leadership characteristics. The psychologists found that leaders are smart and have solid, long-term vision, but that their emotional intelligence is twice as important as either intellect or vision. One study shows that companies where the employees have high emotional intelligence earn higher profits. The reverse is also demonstrably true. A workforce marked by a lack of emotional intelligence can mean lower profits. Leaders can learn emotional intelligence. People who know their limitations can plan to avoid stressful situations or to work around events that tug at their weaknesses. One-on-one training is the best way to learn how to improve your emotional intelligence. Such training focuses on correcting undesirable social habits, such as acting impulsively or being a bad listener. Because this process requires people to correct brain-based emotional drives, it is time-consuming. Theory of Leadership Leadership has been described as the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Alan Keith of Genentech states that, Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. According to Ken Ogbonnia effective leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals. Leadership remains one of the most relevant aspects of the organizational context. However, defining leadership has been challenging and definitions can vary depending on the situation. According to Ann Marie E. McSwain, Assistant Professor at Lincoln University, leadership is about capacity: the capacity of leaders to listen and observe, to use their expertise as a starting point to encourage dialogue between all levels of decision-making, to establish processes and transparency in decision-making, to articulate their own values and visions clearly but not impose them. Leadership is about setting and not just reacting to agendas, identifying problems, and initiating change that makes for substantive improvement rather than managing change. The following sections discuss several important aspects of leadership including a description of what leadership is and a description of several popular theories and styles of leadership. This article also discusses topics such as the role of emotions and vision, as well as leadership effectiveness and performance, leadership in different contexts, how it may differ from related concepts (i.e., management), and some critiques of leadership as generally conceived. Trait Theory Trait theory tries to describe the types of behavior and personality tendencies associated with effective leadership. In modern times, Thomas Carlyle (1841) can be considered one of the forerunners of trait theory, seeking to identify the talents, skills and physical characteristics of men who rose to power Although trait theory has an intuitive appeal, difficulties may arise in proving its tenets, and opponents frequently challenge this approach. The strongest versions of trait theory see these leadership characteristics as innate, and accordingly label some people as born leaders due to their psychological makeup. On this reading of the theory, leadership development involves identifying and measuring leadership qualities, screening potential leaders from non-leaders, then training those with potential. In response to criticisms of the trait approach, researchers have begun to assess leader attributes using the leadership attribute pattern approach. Behavioral and style Theories In response to the criticism of the trait approach, theorists began to research leadership as a set of behaviors, evaluating the behavior of successful leaders, determining behavior taxonomy and identifying broad leadership styles. David McClelland, for example, saw leadership skills, not so much as a set of traits, but as a pattern of motives. He claimed that successful leaders will tend to have a high need for power, a low need for affiliation, and a high level of what he called activity inhibition (one might call it self-control The researchers evaluated the performance of groups of eleven-year-old boys under different types of work climate. In each, the leader exercised his influence regarding the type of group decision making, praise and criticism (feedback), and the management of the group tasks (project management) Situational and contingency Theories Situational theory also appeared as a reaction to the trait theory of leadership. This theory assumes that different situations call for different characteristics; according to this group of theories, no single optimal psychographic profile of a leader exists. According to the theory, what an individual actually does when acting as a leader is in large part dependent upon characteristics of the situation in which he functions. Some theorists started to synthesize the trait and situational approaches. The descriptive models of leadership climates, defining three leadership styles and identifying in which situations each style works better. The authoritarian leadership style, for example, is approved in periods of crisis but fails to win the hearts and minds of their followers in the day-to-day management; the democratic leadership style is more adequate in situations that require consensus building; finally, the laissez faire leadership style is appreciated by the degree of freedom it provides, but as the leader does not take charge, he can be perceived as a failure in protracted or thorny organizational problems. Thus, theorists defined the style of leadership as contingent to the situation, which is sometimes classified as contingency theory. Four contingency leadership theories appear more prominently in the recent years: Fiedler contingency model, Vroom-Yetton decision model, the path-goal theory, and t he Hersey-Blanchard situational theory. Functional Theory Functional leadership theory is a particularly useful theory for addressing specific leader behaviors expected to contribute to organizational or unit effectiveness. This theory argues that the leaders main job is to see that whatever is necessary to group needs is taken care of; thus, a leader can be said to have done their job well when they have contributed to group effectiveness and cohesion (Fleishman et al., 1991; Hackman Wageman, 2005; Hackman Walton, 1986). While functional leadership theory has most often been applied to team leadership (Zaccaro, Rittman, Marks, 2001), it has also been effectively applied to broader organizational leadership as well (Zaccaro, 2001). In summarizing literature on functional leadership (see Kozlowski et al. (1996), Zaccaro et al. (2001), Hackman and Walton (1986), Hackman Wageman (2005), Morgeson (2005)), Klein, Zeigert, Knight, and Xiao (2006) observed five broad functions a leader performs when promoting organisations effectiveness. These functions include: (1) environmental monitoring, (2) organizing subordinate activities, (3) teaching and coaching subordinates, (4) motivating others, and (5) intervening actively in the groups work. Leader as a communicator the framing Framing is a way of communicating to shape meaning. Its a way for leaders to influence how others see and understand events. Selecting and highlighting one or more events while excluding others. It is the ability of the leader to influence others to act beyond their self interests Two contemporary theories of leadership with a common theme. Charismatic leadership Transformational leadership Charismatic Leadership The Charismatic Leader gathers followers through dint of personality and charm, rather than any form of external power or authority. The searchlight of attention It is interesting to watch a Charismatic Leader working the room as they move from person to person. They pay much attention to the person they are talking to at any one moment, making that person feel like they are, for that time, the most important person in the world. Charismatic Leaders pay a great deal of attention in scanning and reading their environment, and are good at picking up the moods and concerns of both individuals and larger audiences. They then will hone their actions and words to suit the situation. Pulling all of the strings Charismatic Leaders use a wide range of methods to manage their image and, if they are not naturally charismatic, may practice assiduously at developing their skills. They may engender trust through visible self-sacrifice and taking personal risks in the name of their beliefs. They will show great confidence in their followers. They are very persuasive and make very effective use of body language as well as verbal language. Deliberate charisma is played out in a theatrical sense, where the leader is playing to the house to create a desired effect. They also make effective use of storytelling, including the use of symbolism and metaphor. Many politicians use a charismatic style, as they need to gather a large number of followers. If you want to increase your charisma, studying videos of their speeches and the way they interact with others is a great source of learning. Religious leaders, too, may well use charisma, as do cult leaders. Leading the team Charismatic Leaders, who are building a group, whether it is a political party, a cult or a business team, will often focus strongly on making the group very clear and distinct, separating it from other groups. They will then build the image of the group, in particular in the minds of their followers, as being far superior to all others. The Charismatic Leader will typically attach themselves firmly to the identify of the group, such that to join the group is to become one with the leader. In doing so, they create an unchallengeable position for themselves. Key characteristics of charismatic leadership Vision and articulation; Sensitivity to the environment; Sensitivity to member needs; Personal risk taking; Performing unconventional behavior Vision and articulations Has a vision Expressed as an idealized goal The goal proposes a future better than the status quo Is able to clarify the importance of the vision in terms that are understandable to others. Personal risk Willing to take on high personal risk Incur high costs Engage in self sacrifice to achieve the vision Sensitivity to followers needs Perspective of others abilities Responsive to others needs and feelings. Unconventional behavior Engages in behaviors in behaviors that are novel and counter to norms. Personality of charismatic leaders Extraverted Self confident Achievement oriented Articulate an over arching goal Communicate high performance expectations Empathize the needs of their followers Project a powerful confident and dynamic presence Captivating and engaging voice tone Three step process of becoming a charismatic leader An individual needs to develop an aura of charisma by maintaining an optimistic view, using passion as a catalyst for generating enthusiasm and communicating with the whole body, not just with words. .An individual draws others in by creating a bond that inspires others to follows. . An individual brings out the potential in followers by tapping into their emotions. Charismatic Leadership Issues People following these leaders will be exerting extra effort, express greater satisfaction. Charismatic effectiveness and situation Charisma works best when: The followers task has an ideological component There is a lot of stress and uncertainty in the environment The leader is at the upper level of the organization Followers have low self-esteem and self-worth Dark Side of Charisma Ego-driven charismatic allow their self-interest and personal goals to override the organizations goals Very effective leaders who possess the four typical leadership traits: Individual competency Team skills Managerial competence Ability to stimulate others to high performance Plus one critical new trait A blend of personal humility and professional will Personal ego-needs are focused toward building a great company Take responsibility for failures and give credit to others for successes Prided them on developing strong leaders inside the firm who could direct the company to greater heights after they were gone. Transactional and transformational Theories The transactional leader (Burns, 1978) is given power to perform certain tasks and reward or punish for the teams performance. It gives the opportunity to the manager to lead the group and the group agrees to follow his lead to accomplish a predetermined goal in exchange for something else. Power is given to the leader to evaluate, correct and train subordinates when productivity is not up to the desired level and reward effectiveness when expected outcome is reached. The transformational leader (Burns, 1978) motivates its team to be effective and efficient. Communication is the base for goal achievement focusing the group on the final desired outcome or goal attainment. This leader is highly visible and uses chain of command to get the job done. Transformational leaders focus on the big picture, needing to be surrounded by people who take care of the details. The leader is always looking for ideas that move the organization to reach the companys vision. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Ten Lessons for Leaders and Leadership Developers In the early 1980s we set upon a quest to discover what it took to become a leader. We wanted to know the common practices of ordinary men and women when they were at their leadership bestwhen they were able to take people to places they had never been before. Strategies, tactics, skills, and practices are empty (or worse yet, manipulative and exploitative) unless we understand the fundamental human aspirations that connect leaders and constituents. Leadership is certainly not conveyed in a gene, and its most definitely not a secret code that cant be understood by ordinary folks. Our analysis of thousands of cases and surveys from over a dozen years of research has revealed a consistent pattern of exemplary leader- ship practices and fundamental constituent expectations. But knowing that the portrait emerging from the study of personal-best leadership experiences was only a partial picture, we also explored the expectations that the constituents have of people they would be willing to follow. What weve learned from studies specifically with college student leaders over the past five years has only strengthened our fundamental appreciation that Leadership is not a mysterious, mystical, or ethereal conceptone that is somehow beyond the scope and imagination of the vast majority of people. Our research has shown us that leadership is an observable, learnable set of practices. Indeed, the belief that leadership cant be learned is a far more powerful deterrent to development than is the nature of the leadership. Where Are Our Future Leaders? Who will lead us into the twenty-first century? It is time for us to decide. A generation ago the objective of African-American activists was to destroy racial segregation and integrate mainstream political and economic institutions. Instead we must recognize that one of the root causes of our divisions and social unrest is an absence of creative, dynamic leadership. Oppressed people need leaders to liberate them. Many of us accomplished these goals. But despite examples of individual success, there remains a simmering leadership crisis that can split our community apart. This common experience of racial oppression gave us a sense of solidarity and interdependence. Black physicians depended on Black patients; Black lawyers and accountants served Black clients. With desegregation, many affluent African-Americans moved from the ghetto into integrated suburbs. Graduates of Howard and Spelman now end their children to Harvard and Swarthmore. In the cities, our sense of community has gradually deteriorated. Millions of our young people are trapped in a destructive web of inferior schools, violence, drugs, and unemployment. Historically the social classes in the Black community were bound together by Jim Crow segregation laws. Blacks on welfare and Black Ph.D.s alike were ordered to the back of the bus or denied work because of their race. We cant depend on the political systemthe Democrats or Republicansor the corporate world to solve our problems; all too often their policies have contributed to them. These leaders must be women and men with vision who have the capacity to articulate the common grievances and goals of the community. How Women Can Find Mentors in a World with Few Role Models Do women have a tougher time finding mentors than men? Thats what women managers tell me, time and again. The rest must find their own mentors. Heres some advice. (Minorities and others who have trouble finding role models in upper management can learn about creative ways to build mentoring relationships, as well.) Few women hold positions of power, the story goes. Meanwhile, members of the predominant mentoring classwhite malesare too busy seeking clones of themselves. And this serves as an effective barrier to top-level jobs. So whats to be done? A number of local and even national programs are increasing mentoring opportunities for women, but they only reach a handful of those needing guidance. Wanted: Company Change Agents The most sought-after person in todays workplace is someone known as a change leader, a new breed of middle manager whos in short supply. Very different from your run-of-the-mill general managers, these mavericks get big results when you need them. They are focused, determined, willing to break rules, and great at motivating their troops. But how do you identify these people in your organization? How do you build a cadre of such quirky but essential agents of change? McKinsey Co. director Jon R. Katzenbach has some answers. For the past three years he and a team of six McKinsey partners have been studying middle-manager change agents at organizations from Compaq Computer to Mobil to the New York City Transit. The fruit of this research is the forthcoming book Real Change Leaders. Katzenbach recently sat down with Stratford Sherman, a member of Fortunes board of editors, to discuss what he learned. Why are midlevel change leaders so important to todays organizations? For some time now companies have wanted to change the behaviors and skills of large numbers of their employees. Theyre not, however, very good at that yet. I dont see many victories; I dont think even GE would claim complete victory. You can create a good program-like [former CEO] John Akerss plan in the early 1990s to transform IBMbut it doesnt work. Something goes wrong in the middle ranks of the company, and all the admonitions from the top dont get through. For large-scale transformations, you need a critical mass of change leaders in the middle of the organization. DATA TOOLS: Leadership and emotions Leadership can be perceived as a particularly emotion-laden process, with emotions entwined with the social influence process. In an organization, the leaders mood has some effects on his/her group. These effects can be described in following method: The mood of individual group members. The leaders transmit their moods to other group members through the mechanism of emotional contagion. Mood contagion may be one of the psychological mechanisms by which charismatic leaders influence followers. Group members with leaders in a positive mood experience more positive mood than do group members with leaders in a negative mood. The affective tone of the group. Group affective tone is an aggregate of the moods of the individual members of the group and refers to mood at the group level of analysis. Groups with leaders in a positive mood have a more positive affective tone than do groups with leaders in a negative mood. Group affective tone represents the consistent or homogeneous affective reactions within a group. Group processes like coordination, effort expenditure, and task strategy. Public expressions of mood impact how group members think and act. For example, expressions of positive moods by leaders signal that leaders deem progress toward goals to be good. The group members respond to those signals cognitively and behaviorally in ways that are reflected in the group processes. When people experience and express mood, they send signals to others. Leaders signal their goals, intentions, and attitudes through their expressions of moods. In research about client service, it was found that expressions of positive mood by the leader improve the performance of the group, although in other sectors there were other findings. Beyond the leaders mood, his behavior is a source for employee positive and negative emotions at work. Examples feedback giving, allocating tasks, resource distribution. Since employee behavior and productivity are directly affected by their emotional states, it is imperative to consider employee emotional responses to organizational leaders Emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage moods and emotions in the self and others, contributes to effective leadership in organizations. Leadership is about being responsible. The leader creates situations and events that lead to emotional response. Certain leader behaviors displayed during interactions with their employees are the sources of these affective events. Leaders shape workplace affective events. Leadership styles Leadership styles refer to a leaders behavior. It is the result of the philosophy, personality and experience of the leader. Dictator Autocratic Participative Laissez Fair Dictator Leaders A leader who uses fear and threats to get the jobs done. As similar with a leader who uses an autocratic style of leadership, this style of leader also makes all the decisions. Autocratic or Authoritarian Leaders Under the autocratic leadership styles, all decision-making powers are centralized in the leader as shown such leaders are dictators. They do not entertain any suggestions or initiative from subordinates. The autocratic management has been successful as it provides strong motivation to the manger. It permits quick decision-making as only one person decides for the whole group, and keeps it to them until they feel it is needed by the rest of the group. An autocratic leader does not trust anybody. Participative or Democratic Leaders The democratic leadership style favors decision-making by the group as shown, such as leader gives instruction after consulting the group. He can win the cooperation of his group and can motivate them effectively and positively. The decisions of the democratic leader are not unilateral as with the autocrat because they arise from consultation with the group members and participation by them. Laissez Faire or Free Rein Leaders A free rein leader does not lead, but leaves the group entirely to itself as shown; such a leader allows maximum freedom to subordinates. They are given a freehand in deciding their own policies and methods. Free rein leadership style is considered better than the authoritarian style. But it is not as effective as the democratic style. Transactional and Transformational Leadership Transactional Leaders Leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements Transformational Leaders Inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization; they can have a profound and extraordinary effect on followers Not opposing, but complementary, approaches to leadership Great transformational leaders must also be transactional; only one type is not enough for success Characteristics of the Two Types of Leaders Transactional Contingent Reward: Contracts exchange of rewards for effort, promises rewards for good performance, recognizes accomplishments Management by Exception: Active: Watches and searches for deviations from rules and standards, takes corrective action Passive: Intervenes only if standards are not met Laissez-Faire: Abdi

The Human Genome Project Essay -- Genetics Science Technology Papers

The Human Genome Project Almost every aspect that makes a person unique is due to genetic factors, from the color of an individual's eyes to the functions of white blood cells. The one thing that makes an individual's unique characteristics the hardest to understand is the fact that it is all composed of four bases in different patterns. These patterns of adenine, thiamine, guanine and cytosine are the only things that differ one human from the next. This genetic code is contained in every cell that is found in the human body. Gregor Mendel first discovered the foundations of inheritance in the nineteenth century. His discovery was the basis that has now made it possible for humans to learn more about the genetic code. Mendel's discovery has now turned in to a multi-billion dollar project. This project is known as the Human Genome Project (HGP). Brief History The HGP began as a joint effort between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Department of Energy's initial reason for entering the project was to was to gain a better understanding of the potential health risks that were involved in energy use and the production of energy, especially the risks involved with radiation. Two years after the DOE proposed the idea of sequencing the entire human genome the NIH joined in the effort. The foundations of the project were laid and two years later, in 1990, the project was begun. The project was originally laid out to be a fifteen-year program that would have a budget estimated at three billion dollars (1). The DOE and the NIH established five major goals for the HGP. The first goal is to identify all of the genes in human DNA. This goal is phenomenal when it is co... ...GR Announce Formation of New Genomics Company." Obtained from the WWW: http://www.tigr.org/new/press_release_may98.html 6) Website #6: Human Genome Project Information. "Facts About Genome Sequencing." Obtained from the WWW: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/faq/seqfacts.html 7) Website #7: "Tools of the Trade." Obtained from the WWW: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/publicat/tko/05_tools.html 8) Website #8: "Exploring the Genomic Landscape." Obtained from the WWW: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/publicat/tko/04_exploring.html 9) Website #9: DOE Human Genome Program Report. "Capillary Array Electrophoresis." Obtained from the WWW: http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/publicat/97pr/04g_sequ.html 10) Karanjawala, Zarir E. "Genetics in the Context of Medical Practice." The Journal of the American Medical Association. Nov. 4 1998, v280n17, p1533. Student Essay List

Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady Essay -- Portrait Lady

Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady "On her long journey from Rome her mind had been given up to vagueness; she was unable to question the future. She performed this journey with sightless eyes and took little pleasure in the countries she traversed, decked out though they were in the richest freshness of spring. Her thoughts followed their course through other countries†¹strange-looking, dimly-lighted, pathless lands, in which there was no change of seasons, but only as it seemed, a perpetual dreariness of winter. She had plenty to think about; but it was neither reflexion nor conscious purpose that filled her mind. Disconnected visions passed through it, and sudden dull gleams of memory, of expectation. The past and the future came and went at their will, but she saw them only in fitful images, which rose and fell by a logic of their own."(606) This passage, from the last chapters of The Portrait of a Lady, strikes me as one of the most brutally sad moments in the entire novel. Here Isabel, who has defied Osmond ¹s wishes that she defer to the Å’sanctity ¹ of their marriage has, with a solemn and ghostly nod to the liberty and independence that has characterized her throughout, come to be beside her cousin Ralph as he dies. What makes the passage so effectively tragic is that in its tone, language and imagery, it picks up on notes that have been sounded again and again from the beginning of the novel; at the same time, however, we cannot fail to register the differences in the workings of our heroine ¹s mind as she tries to make sense of what has become of her. Much of the poignancy of the above-quoted lines comes from the way in which they contrast with James ¹ earlier descriptions of Isabel ¹s mentality. It is surely part of... ...he would come back in her weakness..."(607)†¹James only too vividly draws the contrast between Isabel ¹s initial freedom and her eventual imprisonment within the secretly and malevolently-built structure of her marriage. It is with one word that James sums up the central tragedy of Isabel ¹s story when, fitted with this new, terrible consciousness, she concludes: "The only thing to regret was that Madame Merle had been so†¹well, so unimaginable."(607) Once again, James strikes a note that has sounded again and again over the course of our reading. Indeed, imagination is in many ways the novel ¹s primary subject, as it is our heroine ¹s ruin; by the end of this almost unspeakably cruel and sad story, we can only hope that it will be her redemption and transcendence as well. Works Cited James, Henry. A Portrait of a Lady. 1908. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1963.