Susan Glaspell’s 1916 play ‘Trifles’ – Review

Susan Glaspell's 1916 play ‘Trifles' demonstrates how gender can affect a reader's response. Gender describes the physical and social condition of being male or female. When viewing the Wrights kitchen as a text and the characters as the reader, it becomes clear how gender is an integral feature of the theory of reading. The reader response theory consists of multiple elements; it looks at how a reader interprets a text and what contributes to that interpretation. Raman Seldon et al states ‘we differ about interpretations only because our ways of reading differ'. The way we read a text will also depend on personal experience. Wolfgang Iser argues that a piece of literature contains ‘blanks',2 these are spaces in the text that only the reader can fill. If these blanks exist within an unfamiliar area, the reader is unlikely to fill them. This affects the readers' construal of the text in this case the Wrights kitchen. In the early 20th century the kitchen was a place rarely occupied by men and the County Attorney is quick to observe ‘nothing important here, nothing that would point to any motive'. The men in this scene are typical of the ‘implied reader' described by Raman Seldon et al as ‘the reader whom the text creates for itself and amounts to a network of response-inviting structures'. The theory looks at how a text projects itself to the reader, Umberto Eco's ‘the role of the reader' argues that some texts are open while others are closed, the former invites reader collaboration in the development of meaning, the latter has its meaning already determined and has anticipated the readers response. 5 Trifles' is an open text, it invites the readers, in this case the men and women to find the meaning/evidence. The men's inability to fill the blanks signifies gender issue and contributes to their ultimate failure. Another aspect of reader-orientated criticism is the ‘reception theory', Hans R Jauss, a German supporter of this theory uses the term ‘Horizon of expectation'6 to describe the criteria readers use to judge literary texts in any given period. The men of law enter the scene with a predetermined ‘horizon of expectation'. Their historical experience of similar crimes means they look for a particular set of codes in this case signs of evidence, because this case does not fit into that experience they fail to discover the evidence. They are restricted by their gender role and unable to read the text as anything other than masculine. Alongside the men, the ‘implied reader' is Mrs. Hale. According to Raman Seldon et al we can categorise her as the ‘actual reader' she ‘receives certain mental images in the process of reading',7 but the images also depend on her ‘existing stock of experience', in this case her understanding of what it is to be a woman in her time. Referring to Judith Fetterley's notion of the resisting reader, Sara Mills argues that ‘although texts may address us as males, we as females can construct a space of reading which resists the dominant reading'. 8 Mrs. Hale resists the dominant reading and participates in a feminine reading of the text; this enables her to read the scene from a female perspective. Mrs. Peters reads the text both as a man and as a woman, although she only appears to do this at a subconscious level. She is the sheriffs' wife; therefore, she has a stricter gender role to adhere to, her role of wife has almost obscured her natural femininity. Sara Mills describes the gendered reading of a text as ‘one whereby the reader comes to the process of reading with a framework of expectations which are determined by her gender, and she interacts with elements in a text in a gendered way'. 9 Mrs. Hale defines her gender role in comparison with Mrs. Wright when talking about Minnie she says ‘she didn't even belong to ladies aid'10 she accepts that they are both farmers' wives and that Minnie never fully embraced that gender role. Minnie did not get involved with other women or with organisations that would have given her freedom. The quote implies that it was the least she could have done, Mrs. Hale does however empathise with Minnie influencing Mrs. Peters to do the same. Raman Seldon et al state ‘the act of interpretation is possible because the text allows the reader access to the author's consciousness,'11 this allows the reader to think and feel what the author does. This is a significant point, the men in the play try to interpret Mrs. Wright's manner but are unable to come to any conclusions, when the women discover the untidy sewing they are able make assumptions about her mood and state of mind, they can identify with her as a woman and as a wife. Sara Mills states that ‘the reader is subject to many discursive pressures which lead her to read in particular ways. ‘. 12 Mrs. Peters avoids answering direct questions with her own opinion when asked by Mrs. Hale ‘do you think she did it? ‘ She replies with the opinions of her husband and his colleagues. She does sympathise, but what follows is an abrupt recall of her masculine implied reader response, e. . ‘I know what stillness is, but the law has got to punish crime, Mrs. Hale'. 14 A reader always takes to a text a framework into which they fit the text, this explains why the men read the scene the way they do. The men interpret the text from a masculine point of view, they only know the facts, Mr. Wright is dead and Mrs. Wright was the only other person present. It would be natural for them, taking into consideration there historical viewpoint, implied reader response and gender role, to look for obvious signs of an argument or struggle. The notion of a gendered difference is critical when analysing reader positioning. The kitchen plays an integral part in signifying the gender roles. Gainor states in her essay, ‘if the kitchen is coded as the woman's sphere, then surely the bedroom must be thought of as the male arena,'15 this is where the men spend most of their time and of course where John Wright died. Mrs. Hale and the men in the play have a contradictory view of John Wright's character. When Mrs. Peters states, ‘they say he was a good man,' she is again referring to the men's opinion. While Mrs. Hale admits that he ‘didn't drink', ‘kept his word' and ‘paid his bills', she also refers to her own impression of him as a ‘hard man'. Mrs. Hales sees beyond the masculine observations and trusts her own instincts; she describes talking to him as ‘like a raw wind that gets to the bone'. 16 The men in the play do not discuss John Wright's life or personality. The women do discuss Minnie Wright, Mrs. Hale describes her before her marriage, ‘she used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster'. 17 Mrs. Hale builds up an image of Mrs. Wright that Mrs. Peters can relate to and identify with, she later describes her as ‘like a bird herself',18 this coupled with the cold character of Mr. Wright and the discovery of the birdcage create an image of Minnie being caged herself. The discovery of the bird with its broken neck is an important moment of realisation for the two women. The extent of the sadness in Minnie Wright's life has become abundantly clear and the recognition of what this grim discovery signifies seems to set Mrs. Hales mind racing. Again, referring back to her own personal experience of Mr. Wright, Mrs. Hale states ‘No, Wright wouldn't like the bird-a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too'. 19 This statement is sufficient to make Mrs. Peters obviously uncomfortable with how the situation is unfolding. Mrs. Hale reproaches herself for not calling on Mrs. Wright occasionally; she declares ‘that was a crime, who's going to punish that? '20 This questioning adds to the inference that the murder was not the only crime that took place in the farmhouse. Ultimately, both women read the text from a gendered perspective enabling them to justify why they hide the evidence. The two women show compassion for Minnie Wright, they understand the hardships of being a woman in their time, and Mrs. Hale says ‘we all go through the same things – it's all just a different kind of the same thing'. 21 It is here the women seem united, in defense of one they feel has done wrong and been wronged, in a final act of female solidarity they hide the evidence they have found and protect Mrs. Wright. Susan Glaspell's ‘Trifles' is a play in one act that demonstrates the significance of gendered theories of reading. It achieves this by showing how the woman make their observations and unknowingly build up the circumstances surrounding the crime. They notice small details that are significant to them as women; these details enable them to identify with the text. The men in this play overlook these details because they only view the scene from a masculine perspective. They read the text within a rigid framework of ideals that do not apply in this case, to be able to interpret a variety of texts is to be able to read from a gendered point of view.

The Twilight Saga 5: Midnight Sun 21. Goodbye

There is no scent of a vampire anywhere near us, Emmett thought while looking around the darkened grounds. All clear here, Alice looked through the future. He'll show up, but he won't bother us†¦he wants her to himself. Looking out through the window of the Jeep I could see no sign of the tracker. I was secretly hoping that he wouldn't show up. Putting Bella in the line of danger was burning holes through me. â€Å"He's not here,† my voice was tense. â€Å"Let's go,† I firmly commanded. I gave Emmett a tight nod and he started unbuckling Bella's harness. I could hear her pulse start to race as her breathing became harsh and ragged. Her breath filled my lungs, reminding me forcibly of the precious creature I would be protecting this evening. She's worried†¦so human. â€Å"Don't worry, Bella,† Emmett said in an amused voice, â€Å"we'll take care of things here quickly.† Moisture was beginning to build up in Bella's eyes and in that most fleeting of seconds I wanted to take her and run ?C run thousands of miles ?C just me and her, together. That's not an option, Alice's vision swirled in her head before it went up in a wisp of smoke as I realized she was right. We should hurry, her thoughts were strained as the many smoky and shadowy figures shifted and disappeared with each decision that was being made. â€Å"Alice, Emmett,† I called. I hope he's here! This is going to be so much fun! Emmett ran away gleefully. Don't worry, Edward. We'll keep her safe. Alice slid silently into the trees. Bella was showing extraordinary strength for someone so human. I swept out of the Jeep and opened the back door to see Bella's face which was still full of sadness and my protective side took a different turn as I took her hand and brought her to my side to comfort and protect her. As the terror rose in my chest I was beginning to drag my feet reluctantly towards her door, where she would leave me to go inside. I knew the only safe place for her was in my arms. Our footsteps echoed in the silence but I was not oblivious to my surroundings as we walked; my eyes continually darting from every corner of the open space like we were in the middle of a war. I hear someone approaching, Emmett resisted the temptation to attack but his thoughts were always wildly enthusiastic about the prospect. â€Å"Fifteen minutes,† I reminded Bella while stealing a glance to look at her face, an icy surge of terror rising in the pit of my stomach. Tiny tears began seeping from beneath her eye lids as she looked up into my eyes. â€Å"I can do this,† she sniffed like she was trying to convince herself more than me. The lights on the porch were on, making her tears reflect the light as soon as we ascended the last step. She turned around to face me, bringing her warm hands to my face, sending a quivering feeling through my body in the most hostile of times. â€Å"I love you,† Bella said intensely. â€Å"I will always love you, no matter what happens now.† What did she think was going to happen to her? An odd chill ran up my spine. â€Å"Nothing is going to happen to you, Bella,† I replied fiercely. â€Å"Just follow the plan, okay? Keep Charlie safe for me. He's not going to like me very much after this, and I want to have the chance to apologize later,† she looked up at me with her tear stained face. I could feel my heart sinking as I took in her pitiful expression. Before I could show this emotion on my face I heard the thoughts of my family from the woods, distracting me again. They're here ?C only James and Victoria. Alice thought flatly. Laurent went to see Carlisle ?C or ?C to warn him. They are keeping their distance. They caught our scent. Emmett was still hoping for a fight. Well, well, well†¦ I heard James' thoughts. This is going to be a lot more fun than I realized, a laugh escaped his lips at the prospect of his new hunt. â€Å"Get inside, Bella. We have to hurry,† I said urgently while leaning over her protectively. â€Å"One more thing,† she whispered hastily. â€Å"Don't listen to another word I say tonight!† Instantly her lips were on mine, sending warmth and pleasant electric shocks through my body. I forgot where I was for a fraction of a second before she pulled away, tears still streaming down her face. Her expression changed to searing anger, she turned on her heal and kicked the front door open. â€Å"Go away, Edward!† her voice was a scream before she slammed the door in my face. I stood there looking at the door in stunned disbelief; my breath being temporarily robbed. The feelings pulsing through me were oddly disembodying. Shrugging off the sensation as best I could, I continued to look around the cool misty grounds, stealing glances through my siblings' minds along with Charlie's. James continued to keep his distance even though his thoughts were smug and optimistic to the point of foolishness. What is she doing? Emmett wondered. I underestimated her†¦ hilarious, this should be entertaining! â€Å"Bella?† Charlie called out anxiously at his daughter's angry words. â€Å"Move closer and see if you can get a better look at what's going on,† I heard James order Victoria. Better her neck than mine, James thought coldly. â€Å"Leave me alone!† Bella shouted back at Charlie. Charlie's thoughts were incoherent with panic at his daughter's obvious pain. He began pounding on her door while startling flashes of insight and thought filled my mind. â€Å"The human is fighting with her father,† Victoria told James after returning to him. This I have to see, James thought menacingly. He's on the move, Alice warned me. If he gets too close I'll take care of him, Emmett thought pleasantly. My eyes searched the forest for any sign of the tracker but came up empty. I continued to stand protectively below Bella's window. James moved in to hear the conversations going on inside the house but stayed clear of my vision. My concentration flew up fifteen feet to where Bella was. â€Å"Bella, are you okay? What's going on?† Charlie called out, frightened. â€Å"I'm going home,† she shouted angrily. It's almost believable ?C chuckle ?C this is getting good, Emmett's amusement was heightened at her acting. â€Å"Did he hurt you?† Charlie asked, disjointed anger rising in his thoughts. No†¦he protects her, James thought with great disgust. At their thoughts I snapped. I flew through the air swiftly entering her bedroom through the window, starting to grab anything and everything from her dresser in a fierce attempt to speed the process. â€Å"No!† Bella shouted back at her dad while she ran around her room, packing her belongings. She hadn't noticed my presence until she turned to her dresser. Her eyes found mine and they were full of sadness and guilt. Before I could pull her into my embrace we were interrupted. â€Å"Did he break up with you?† Charlie asked, perplexed by her sudden angst. â€Å"No!† Bella shrieked at Charlie again while shoving handfuls of clothes into her bag. Victoria is heading to our house because she knows that we plan to bring Bella there. Alice informed me. Charlie began beating on Bella's door, panic rushing his mind. â€Å"What happened, Bella?† Charlie shouted through the door. â€Å"I broke up with him!† she shouted back. She was jerking her hand on the zipper of the bag so I caught her hand gently with mine and zipped it for her. I picked up the bag and gently placed it on her shoulder. â€Å"I'll be in the truck ?C go!† I whispered and lightly pushed her towards her door, trying to press the fact that we needed to get far away from James. I jumped out of the window. â€Å"What happened?† Charlie asked when she opened her door, following her downstairs. â€Å"I thought you liked him?† â€Å"I do like him ?C that's the problem. I can't do this anymore! I can't put down anymore roots here! I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like Mom! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake she did. I hate it ?C I can't stay here another minute!† Bella yelled in a desperate attempt to convince Charlie to let her go. She's good, Emmett thought. She is setting up an escape†¦clever, but not clever enough. James thought. Things are about to get real interesting, James sneered in his head. â€Å"Bells, you can't leave now. It's nighttime,† Charlie whispered to her with pure sadness in his voice. Charlie's shocked thoughts were over powering as each word lashed at him, causing him pain. Oh yes she can. Come on little girl, come out to play. James snarled with great smugness. I resisted the temptation to whip around and attack him. That is not a good idea, Alice thought in hollow tones. Flashes of the future floated into her mind but disintegrated when I decided not to follow through with my plan. â€Å"I'll sleep in the truck if I get tired,† Bella responded to Charlie, her voice emotionless. â€Å"Just wait another week,† Charlie begged. â€Å"Rene will be back by then.† â€Å"What?† Bella stuttered. We need to get her out of there, Alice pushed. â€Å"She called while you were out.† Charlie knew he had caught her off guard. â€Å"Things aren't going so well in Florida, and if Phil doesn't get signed by the end of the week, they're going back to Arizona. The assistant coach of the Sidewinders said they might have a spot for another shortstop.† Arizona is it? Surely she wouldn't actually go there. Hum†¦ James' thoughts trailed off. â€Å"I have a key,† Bella retorted to Charlie's pitiful attempt at keeping her there. That's right. Just come outside. James was wistful. If it weren't for our presence James would have already attacked. I was instantly becoming nervous at our plan. Is this plan going to back fire? I wondered gravely. We would shortly be in her very slow truck driving several miles towards my house before she would be in the protective custody of seven vampires. â€Å"Just let me go, Charlie.† Bella said softly. â€Å"It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks!† This is really going to hurt Charlie, Alice thought sadly. Bella walked out of the house. â€Å"I'll call you tomorrow!† she yelled back to Charlie. She jumped into her truck and the engine roared to life. She backed out and squealed her tires on the asphalt as she sped away. I was running next to her truck and jumped in. She was trembling and tears were leaking out of her eye lashes in massive amounts. â€Å"Pull over,† I said softly. â€Å"I can drive,† she barely sputtered a sobbing protest. Now the fun begins! James thought while running behind us. I'm right behind you, Edward. Don't worry, he won't try anything, Alice reassured me. I looked at Bella's face and pain knotted my stomach at the thought of her grief in this moment. I wanted to do something but I couldn't think of how to comfort her. She was barely staying in between the lines on the road, probably because her vision was blinded by more tears. I grabbed her waist and put my foot on the gas pedal, moving her warm body over mine until I was the one driving. â€Å"You wouldn't be able to find the house,† I tried to explain to her in a way that wouldn't upset her anymore than she already was. The lights of the Jeep flashed across the truck and she turned to look out of the window, horror displayed in her eyes. â€Å"It's just Alice,† I immediately tried to soothe her by cradling her hand in mine. At my touch she sighed and began to relax, though her face showed a great sadness. â€Å"The tracker?† Bella whispered. †¦is running behind us. Emmett's a few steps ahead of him, Alice informed me of the situation outside the truck but I was too intent on continued to leak from her eyes as she looked up at me. â€Å"He heard the end of your performance,† I said with the deepest of loathing while remembering his thoughts. â€Å"Charlie?† she looked like she was going to choke from the word. Alice quickly began scanning for Charlie's future – which was solidly there. His future looks bright, she added. â€Å"The tracker followed us. He's running behind us now.† I continued to try and calm her nerves. â€Å"Can we outrun him?† she asked anxious and curious. In that truck? Funny, Emmett mused. â€Å"No,† I pressed the gas pedal down to the floor, emphasizing Emmett's thoughts. The truck groaned, sputtered and continued to move at its regular fifty-five. Nice try, but that truck isn't going any faster. Emmett thought before jumping in the back, highly amused by the whole situation. A high pitched scream exited Bella's parted lips and I reached up, clamping my hand across her mouth to quiet her. â€Å"It's Emmett,† I explained while removing my hand from her face. Her face was screwed up in anguish and terror so I wound my arm around her waist and brought her into my side. I felt better immediately at her closeness because this was the safest place for her to be. â€Å"It's okay Bella,† I promised, though I wasn't sure if my promise was empty. â€Å"You're going to be safe.† Her face still showed a twist of emotions: terror, panic, and sadness. Expelling all thoughts that were around me I concentrated every last particle of my mind on the one person who needed me most ?C Bella. I needed to distract her and to distract myself. I knew the best way to get her talking was to make an assumption, which she would undoubtedly correct for me – usually with a lengthy explanation. â€Å"I didn't realize you were still so bored with small-town life,† I began, looking sideways at her face. â€Å"It seemed like you were adjusting fairly well ?C especially recently. Maybe I was just flattering myself that I was making life more interesting for you.† â€Å"I wasn't being nice,† she thwarted my attempts at a diversion while gazing down. â€Å"That was the same thing my mom said when she left him. You could say I was hitting below the belt.† â€Å"Don't worry. He'll forgive you,† my lips turned up in an attempt to ease her pain. She returned her gaze to mine and her eyes were still wide with panic. â€Å"Bella, it's going to be all right.† â€Å"But it won't be all right when I'm not with you,† her lips barely let the whisper escape. â€Å"We'll be together again in a few days,† I tightened my grip on her, realizing that I didn't ever want her to leave my protective custody. â€Å"Don't forget that this was your idea.† â€Å"It was the best idea ?C of course it was mine,† she replied smugly and a smile crept up my face at the sign of a new emotion, but it was fleeting at best. â€Å"Why did this happen?† she choked. â€Å"Why me?† I stared out into the darkness realizing that it was my error. You idiot, moron! I knew that there were others in the vicinity and in a moment of happiness I forgot the dangers that could befall a human, especially one that smelled as tempting as she did. â€Å"It's my fault ?C I was a fool to expose you like that.† I replied with rage present in my voice. â€Å"That's not what I meant,† she said exasperated. â€Å"I was there, big deal. It didn't bother the other two. Why did this James decide to kill me? There're people all over the place, why me?† In my attempt to block out all thoughts one still protruded into my mind, answering the question for me. Because you are protected by seven vampires ?C something I have never come across. This is the best challenge, yet. I couldn't have asked for anything better than this! James thought hungrily for the hunt. I hesitated before answering Bella's question, trying to word it in a way that wouldn't scare her beyond her current state of terror though the cold fury that was in every line of my face was obvious to her. â€Å"I got a good look at his mind tonight,† I began in a low voice. â€Å"I'm not sure if there's anything I could have done to avoid this, once he saw you. It is partially your fault.† I looked at her reflection in the glass. â€Å"If you didn't smell so appallingly luscious, he might not have bothered. But when I defended you†¦well, that made it a lot worse. He's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life. Suddenly we've presented him with a beautiful challenge ?C a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the one vulnerable element. You wouldn't believe how euphoric he is now. It's his favorite game, and we've just made it his most exciting game ever,† I said in disgust. I will win, James's thoughts were rapt and exultant. I hesitated, trying to control the sensation that was building in my chest to pull over and attack. I controlled my urge and continued. â€Å"But if I had stood by, he would have killed you right then,† I said, frustrated. â€Å"I thought†¦I didn't smell the same to the others†¦as I do to you,† she said hesitantly. â€Å"You don't. But that doesn't mean that you aren't still a temptation to every one of them. If you had appealed to the tracker ?C or any of them ?C the same way you appeal to me, it would have meant a fight right there.† I felt her quiver. â€Å"I don't think I have any choice but to kill him now,† I muttered. â€Å"Carlisle won't like it.† â€Å"How can you kill a vampire?† she asked through her petrified sobs. Glad I'm not the one to tell her this one, Emmett chuckled and I ignored him. My focus was solely on Bella. Her gaze met mine and I could see the darkness of my face and eyes as I spoke. â€Å"The only way to be sure is to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces.† â€Å"And the other two will fight with him?† Always so full of questions, isn't she? Alice mused. â€Å"The woman will. I'm not sure about Laurent. They don't have a very strong bond ?C he's only with them for convenience. He was embarrassed by James in the meadow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But James and the woman ?C they'll try to kill you?† she choked. You silly girl! You are the fragile one, the breakable one ?C the one that is being hunted, I internally replied. â€Å"Bella, don't you dare waste time worrying about me. Your only concern is keeping yourself safe and ?C please, please ?C trying not to be reckless.† I pleaded. â€Å"Is he still following?† she asked. Yes, he's keeping his distance; he's pretty keen not to be seen. He won't come after Bella tonight, Alice informed me. â€Å"Yes. He won't attack the house, though. Not tonight.† I replied while turning onto my driveway. After the several mile drive to the house we could finally see the distant lights of the house becoming larger and clearer. I could immediately hear the thoughts of Laurent. I can't believe they live like this ?C Amazing! I can't understand why they are planning on ruining all of this for a human. Laurent thought in astonishment. He's at the forest edge, I'll grab Bella. Emmett thought while jumping out of the truck and running alongside it. When we were coming to a stop he opened the door and pulled Bella under his coat and ran her towards the house and through the front door, Alice and I at their side. Relief flowed through my veins now that she was inside, protected. Everyone stood at our arrival. I can't believe this crap, Rosalie was muttering. Oh thank heavens they are all right, Esme and Carlisle both thought, relieved. Laurent stood in the mist of my family members, his eyes a gleaming ominous red, making the difference between us and them stand out. What the hell is he doing in our house? I might get that fight after all, a feral snarl ripped up Emmett's throat, low and vibrating. He sat Bella down next to him, preparing to pounce. â€Å"He's tracking us,† I stared coldly at Laurent. â€Å"I was afraid of that,† Laurent frowned. I could hear James as he began thinking strategy in his mind, he was going to meet up with Victoria who was already waiting for him a short distance from the house. â€Å"What will he do?† Carlisle asked Laurent in chilling tones. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Laurent began. â€Å"I was afraid, when your boy there defended her, that it would set him off.† Same old games, Laurent thought angrily in his head. â€Å"Can you stop him?† Carlisle questioned. I'll stop him, Emmett roared internally. â€Å"Nothing stops James when he gets started.† Laurent answered while shaking his head in frustration. â€Å"We'll stop him,† Emmett promised him. â€Å"You can't bring him down. I've never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. He's absolutely lethal. That's why I joined his coven.† Laurent said doubtfully. His head began to shake back and forth again, this time in confusion. Why her? What is so special about this human girl that would make them want to provoke such a vicious hunter? He stole a look at Bella, and then turned back to Carlisle, perplexed by the situation. â€Å"Are you sure it's worth it?† A growl formed in my stomach and ripped up my throat so loudly that it had him cringing away from me in fear. â€Å"I'm afraid you're going to have to make a choice.† Carlisle said gravely. This is one hell of a life style to live in. But James ?C I could never defeat James. They mentioned something about a settlement in Denali. â€Å"I'm intrigued by the life you've created here. But I won't get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won't go up against James. I think I will head north ?C to that clan in Denali,† should I warn them? Oh, why not! â€Å"Don't underestimate James. He's got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He's every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won't come at you head on†¦I'm sorry for what's been unleashed here. Truly sorry.† â€Å"Go in peace,† Carlisle said quietly. Hum, I hope it is like this in Denali, Laurent wondered, looking around before sweeping out of the house, his thoughts fading with distance. Carlisle turned to meet my gaze. â€Å"How close?† I'm going to seal off all entrances to the house, Esme thought while walking over to the wall, pressing a key pad – making large metal walls creek and groan as they sealed up the glass wall. â€Å"About three miles out past the river; he's circling around to meet up with the female.† I explained. Just drop her off at the river's bank and get this over with, Rosalie sneered in her head. I ignored her thoughts. â€Å"What's the plan?† Carlisle asked. â€Å"We'll lead him off, and then Jasper and Alice will run her south.† I explained to him in a hurry. South? Interesting choice. â€Å"And then?† Carlisle asked. â€Å"As soon as Bella is clear, we hunt him.† I replied darkly. Well, we know we won't let them hurt Bella. â€Å"I guess there's no other choice,† Carlisle agreed but his lips were turned down into a frown. I turned to Rosalie. She needed to learn that Bella is now a part of our family. â€Å"Get her upstairs and trade clothes,† I commanded. Her thoughts sputtered incoherently for several seconds before anger surged through her mouth. â€Å"Why should I?† she said vehemently. â€Å"What is she to me? Except a menace ?C a danger you've chosen to inflict on all of us.† â€Å"Rose†¦,† Emmett put a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. Please ignore her, she'll come around one of these days, please, Emmett begged for Rosalie. With everything that Emmett has been doing for me lately I decided that I would do something for him. I ignored Rosalie's jibe and changed tack in the speed of light. I'll do it, Edward. Esme suggested. I turned to her, â€Å"Esme?† â€Å"Of course,† she responded immediately. Esme flew to Bella's side and without flinching brought her into her grasp and raced upstairs. Once Bella was upstairs everyone was in a hurry, running around packing their belongings or preparing for their independent trips. I continued to ignore Rosalie's thoughts as they grew meaner and more visual. â€Å"Rosalie, you will take Bella's truck. Esme will go with you,† I commanded. â€Å"You want me to ride in that†¦that†¦thing?† she barked. â€Å"Please, Rose. Do it for me,† Emmett asked softly. â€Å"I won't!† she hissed loudly. â€Å"Rosalie, Bella is part of this family and you will treat her with respect, do you understand me?† Carlisle's voice became firm. â€Å"Fine,† Rose snapped at us and then stalked away. I could feel the angry satisfaction on my face. I'm coming with you to hunt James. Maybe we can talk him out of this nonsense and can spare his life, Carlisle thought wishfully. Esme and Bella appeared down the stairs only a few minutes after they went up, both of them changed. It was an odd sensation to smell Bella all over Esme but we were in a hurry so I informed Bella of our plan. â€Å"Esme and Rosalie will be taking your truck, Bella,† I said while passing her to grab a cell phone that Carlisle was giving to each family member. â€Å"Alice, Jasper ?C take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the south.† We'll keep her safe, Edward†¦promise. I'll miss you. Alice thought while Jasper silently nodded in approval of the plan. â€Å"We're taking the Jeep,† I told Bella. â€Å"Alice,† Carlisle asked, â€Å"will they take the bait?† Alice closed her eyes while swirls of colors flashed and danced around until she solidly saw their path. â€Å"He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that† â€Å"Let's go.† I'll give you a minute, Carlisle thought but there was still a bite of impatience in his thoughts ?C we had to hurry. I rushed over to Bella, not even hesitating while I brought her into my tight embrace, letting her body warm every inch of mine. The monster, desire, was still positively, solidly there. I placed my hand under her chin, bringing her lips to mine. Euphoria splashed through my hectic nerves – calming them, though the electricity reminded me that I was doing this for her, that I would die for her – to protect her. In seconds the kiss was over and I could feel the slight tearing of my body as I placed her back on the ground. I kept her face in my hands, communicating silently the love I had for her as tears strolled down her pink cheeks, her face eloquent with despair. It was time to go, so I wretched myself away from her and then I was gone, a chill filling my stomach. I ran to the jeep, hoping into the passenger's side. Carlisle was driving and Emmett was in the back, we took off, driving north. James caught my scent easily and began chasing after us in the Jeep. I picked up the phone to call Esme. It only rang once, â€Å"Go now,† I ordered. I could still here the thoughts of Victoria as we speed away. Rosalie and Esme fired up Bella's truck and drove east. Victoria caught the smell of Bella and took off after her truck. I called Alice, even though I was positive she already knew. She answered her phone before it even rang, â€Å"Victoria is on their trail,† I informed her. â€Å"It's time.†

Critically discuss to what extent Porter’s Diamond Essay

Critically discuss to what extent Porter’s Diamond is a useful concept in explaining home and host location strategies of international business? Illustrate your answer with reference to at least two case companies. The main aim of International business is to build and sustain competitiveness for economic value creation in both domestic and overseas markets (Besanko et al. 2007). Internalization business theory however has a variety of models that can identify the environmental analysis of specific countries. These models are used for companies to internationalize and find the right location(s) overseas by taking; institutional, cultural fit and success opportunities into consideration. These models also give in-depth information on locations that the companies have chosen. A very well-known framework is the Porter’s Diamond which was found by Michael Porter in 1990. This report will discuss the advantages and disadvantages to determine a company’s home and host location decision by analyzing two high street retailers – French E.Leclerc and UK’s Sainsbury’s. Porter’s Diamond Model (1990: 73 ) states that nation’s competiveness depends on the capa city of its industry to innovate and upgrade this however depends on the productivity level of the nation. From a company’s point of view a national competitive advantage means that it would have to depend on the nation to implement a home base to improve their existing products and services such as; technology, features, quality as well as being able to compete with international industries. Therefore, the advantage of this model is that it identifies the four factors that develop the essential national environment where companies are born, grow and as mentioned above sustain competitive advantage (Porter, 1990:78). The idea of this model is useful because it allows organizations to carry out the necessary research and identify which countries would be good enough to internationalize. As you can see from the Porters Diamond diagram the first factor is the factor condition, this factor is about production such as land, raw materials, capital infrastructure etc. these are not inherited, but developed and improved by a nation for instance skilled labor (Porter, 1990:79). In order to sustain competitive advantage it will depend on the factor creation ability. For instance, E. Leclerc started as a small rented warehouse â€Å"Leclerc established a chain of outlets across the country, single-handedly changing  the landscape of shopping in France†(www.independent.co.uk) â€Å"Critical evaluation of development and role of Balanced Scorecard in production and service organizations† Excerpts from HBR-1 (1992): â€Å"The Balanced Scorecard – Measures That Drive Performance,† Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1992, pg 71-79. Page 76-77: †¦ Analog Devices, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of specialized semiconductors, expects managers to improve their customer and internal business process performance continuously. The company estimates specific rates of improvement for on-time delivery, cycle time, defect rate, and yield. †¦ †¦Over the three-year period between 1987 and 1990, a NYSE electronics company made an order-of-magnitude improvement in quality and on-time delivery performance. Outgoing defect rate dropped from 500 parts per million to 50, on-time delivery improved from 70% to 96%, and yield jumped from 26% to 51 %. Did these breakthrough improvements in quality, productivity, and customer service provide substantial benefits to the company? Unfortunately not. During the same three-year period, the company’s financial results showed little improvement, and its stock price plummeted to one-third of its July 1987 value. The considerable improvements in manufacturing capabilities had not been translated into increased profitability. Slow releases of new products and a failure to expand marketing to new and perhaps more demanding customers prevented the company from realizing the benefits of its manufacturing achievements. The operational achievements were real, but the company had failed to capitalize on them. †¦ Excerpts from HBR-2 (1993): â€Å"Putting the Balanced Scorecard to Work,† Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Harvard Business Review, September-October, 1993, pg 134-147. Page 142: †¦ Analog Devices, a semiconductor company, served as the prototype for the balanced scorecard and now uses it each year to update the targets and goals for division managers. Jerry Fishman, president of Analog, said, â€Å"At the  beginning, the scorecard drove significant and considerable change. It still does when we focus attention on particular areas, such as the gross margins on new products. But its main impact today is to help sustain programs that our people have been working on for years.† Recently, the company has been attempting to integrate the scorecard metrics with hoshin planning, a procedure that concentrates an entire company on achieving one or two key objectives each year. Analog’s hoshin objectives have included customer service and new product development, for which measures already exist on the company’s scorecard. †¦ Excerpted from JMAR (1998): Innovation Action Research: Creating New Management Theory and Practice, Robert S. Kaplan, Journal of Management Accounting Research, Vol. 10, 1998, pg. 89-118. Page 99-101 â€Å"†¦For the balanced scorecard, the initial idea also came somewhat serendipitously, but also not completely by accident. The need for improved performance measurement systems had been widely recognized during the 1980s. Many articles, books and conferences documented the limita ­tions of relying solely on financial signals for improving business perform ­ance. The adoption of total quality management, just‑in‑time production systems and synchronous manufacturing all created a demand for im ­proved performance measures that would support companies’ continuous improvement initiatives. Therefore, much work had already occurred by 1990, the time when the balanced scorecard concept initially emerged (Berliner and Brimson 1987; Howell et al. 1987; Kaplan 1990b). Much of the need for improved operational performance measurements had been satisfied by measures such as part‑per‑million defect rates, yields, cost of nonconformance, process cy cle times, manufacturing cycle effectiveness, throughput times, customer satisfaction, customer complaints and em ­ployee satisfaction. What remained missing was a theory for how the myr ­iad of nonfinancial performance measures now being used on the factory floor could be reconciled with and achieve comparable status to the finan ­cial measures that still dominated the agenda of senior company executives. Fortunately (again), a skilled practitioner, Arthur Schneiderman of Analog Devices, contacted me to assist his company with launching an activity-based costing project. In our initial  conversation, I learned that he had developed an innovative approach, the half-life system, to measure the rate of improvement of his company’s TQM program. As part of my research agenda (see step 1 in exhibit 1), I asked for and received approval to visit Analog Devices and write a case about their initiatives. During my visit, I learned that Schneiderman had also developed and implemented a corporate scorecard that senior executives were using to evaluate the company’s overall performance and rate-of-improvement . The corporate scorecard included, in addition to several traditional financial measures, some metrics on customer performance (principally operational measures related to lead times and on time delivery), internal processes (yield, quality and cost) and new product development (innovation). This corporate scorecard, evolved, as we shall see, into what came to be called the balanced scorecard. †¦ †¦ by teaching the Analog Devices case to executives, I learned quickly that Analog’s corporate scorecard was of much more interest to them than the half-life method, the original focus of the case. †¦ †¦ even more initial learning came from testing the ideas directly with a set of companies that participated in a yearlong project on performance measurement with the Nolan, Norton & Co. The project attracted senior financial and planning executives from a dozen companies who met on a bi-monthly basis throughout 1990. Analog’s corporate scorecard captured the interest of the participants. Throughout the year, they experimented with it in their organizations and reported back to us on the results. The concept proved successful in many of the pilot sites and turned out to be the prime output from the year-long research project. In the process, the original corporate scorecard, which focused mostly on operational improvements (on lead times, delivery performance, manufacturing quality and cycle times) had become transformed into a much more strategic organizational performance measurement system, characterized by four identifiable perspectives (financial, customer, internal business process and innovation and growth). †¦ Page 109: †¦ The balanced scorecard implementations being done at the end of 1995, as integrated strategic management systems, were far more advanced than the initial formulation, as a complementary nonfinancial measurement system, at Analog Devices or the companies described in our initial article (Kaplan and  Norton 1992). In six years (1990-1995), Norton and I had made three cycles around the knowledge creation cycle. The half-life of improvement of the balanced scorecard knowledge base was much shorter than for activity-based costing. †¦

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Case Study Example It is more risky and mosly concerned with starting companies. This is a speculative form of investment which helps firms and individual to gain some interest on money which could otherwise be idle. Market bonds also help firms to diversify investment in the capital market. These bonds help companies to raise finances from the public and help the government to regulate inflation. Individuals buy share from the stock market to become shareholders through investment, for example n pension and insurance schemes. The investor should always know that the value of shares can increase or fall. Stocks and shares however still provide opportunities for personal investment. Stock market is a way by which firms can raise funds. Through share, ownership of the company is exchanged with money from investors. This is a strategy which can be used by a company to regain its competitive edge in the market. Company restructuring may involve management restructuring, name restructuring and functional restructuring. Proper restructuring is a good competition strategy in a highly competitive or oligopolistic market. These are growth strategies which most firms use to reduce competition and gain bigger market share. Merger is when one firm enters in to partnership with another so that they can utilize each other’s strength for the benefit of both. Acquisition is when a firm buys another firm out of the market. Risk is a negative occurrence in the course of investment which is known with certain level of probability. Risk affects investment choices and levels in terms of capital. Return is just what is ripped from any form of investment. Net present value is an investment decision rule used by different investors to determine the worth of investment. When net present value is positive, then the investment is worth (Brown. P.G et al,

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

Evaluating - Essay Example As of December 2009, it had about not less than 2,200 retail branches in the United Kingdom through its subsidiaries, not less than 220 branches and network of business banking offices in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland and not less than 1500 retail banking offices in the United States (Reuters.com, 2009a). This paper seeks to evaluate RBS using relevant valuation models based on the company’s annual reports and other external information. This paper will analyze first the historical performance of the RBS for the past five years. This will be followed by a forecast of the short-term performance of RBS by constructing different scenarios for various competitive positions taking into consideration the current industry and company’s strategic position. This will then value cash flows beyond the forecast horizon using a continuing value by discounting cash flows to their present value using an estimated cost of capital by CAPM model. Calculation and interpretation of the results will come afterward within the strategic changes (Pearce II, Jr. and Robinson, 2004) envisioned for the firm and the required decisions that need to be taken to maximize the value of the company. Analysis of historical performance of RBS is accomplished by studying its revenue growth for the past five years or from 2005 to 2009 by understanding its profitability and efficiency, connecting the results with its liquidity and financial and financial advantage (Helfert, 2001). The same information need to be related further to other external information including that of its competitors from the financial services industry and other macroeconomic variables. The summary of the historical performance of RBS can be found in Appendix A. RBS revenues, in the form of interest income because of its nature business, showed an average annual growth of 13% for the past five years

Proposed project intervention on geriatric patients Coursework

Proposed project intervention on geriatric patients - Coursework Example The selected organization, BT Hospital, is a hospital that has a Geriatric Department that cares for older adults in its South Dublin region. In the Geriatric Department, there is a wide variety of professionals that do various tasks ranging from administrative jobs, physiotherapy, social work, dietician and other medical staff. In the Department, a Clinical Nurse that specializes in Gerontology was appointed a week ago to deal with the growing number of patients in the hospital. The hospital dates back to the 1990s and ever since, it has been expanding its size and improving the services to its clients. However since the geriatric patients require fast and convenient care, the Geriatric Department in BT Hospital suffers a great deal since the nurses may be said to not being equipped with the required competencies, knowledge and the skills that may be useful in assessing and managing the risks that the geriatric patients may face within the care setting. In as much the nurses are qua lified, they are very young and experience has been indicated to be among the finest ways of practicing acquired knowledge. The BT Hospital applies the Bureaucratic organizational structure that involves different layers of management that run from the top management to the lowest management. Yoder-Wise (2013) explains that bureaucratic organizations since bureaucratic organizations have different layers of management, the procedures in such an organization are very rigid and this structure rarely appreciates the need for change.

Cultural analysis of baha'i faith Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural analysis of baha'i faith - Assignment Example Such designations as Brahma, Yahweh, Allah, and God all talk about the same supernatural being, whose nature is inaccessible and unknowable to humanity (Kourosh and Hosoda, 445). Moreover, we study about God through his messengers, who guide and teach humanity. Bahà ¡Ãƒ ­s have faith in the oneness of all faiths or religions, as they originate from one God. The main purpose of all faiths is to educate and guide humanity. However, Bahà ¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢u’llà ¡h says that the teachings of different regions appear to divulge and differ mainly because the truths that are preserved in those religions were revealed in a way that was adapted to the limitation, conditions, and needs of those getting that revelation, just as in the famous narrative told by Budda, in which the blind men varied in their perception of the same elephant. When challenging religious beliefs, one must choose, whether deliberately or not from one of this three mismatched, central belief systems. One, that the religions are developed by man, second, that a particular religion is correct, or thirdly, all religions are part of a united whole. Without the teachings of Baha’i the latter choice has always been an issue due to the absence of a religious framework to help individuals get to know how religions can fit together. What Baha’i teaches is unity to prevail among religions. Bahà ¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢u’llà ¡h educated that women and men were like two wings of a bird and that unless both of the wings are developed equally, the bird will not be able to fly. Additionally, he taught that humankind is similar to a garden, whose utmost beauty is established in the diversity of fragrances, textures, and color, not in uniformity. These teachings bring about a main idea that the Bahà ¡Ãƒ ­ teachings do not deny different religions; the teachings are only aimed at bringing all those religions to be unified. The Bahà ¡Ãƒ ­

Evolution of Leadership Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evolution of Leadership Thinking - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that leadership practices have been diverse and dynamic throughout the years. Trends in leadership have always captured the attention of scholars in various academic fields. This follows the evolvement of leadership thinking over time. Essentially, changes and improvements in leadership perspectives are backed up by leadership theories that trace, examine, assess, evaluate, and analyze the evolution of leadership thinking. The movement from traditional to contemporary theories of leadership is aligned with the leadership needs, interests, issues, and concerns of today’s world. Notably, this movement is informed by leadership thinking evolution relative to leadership theories. Leadership perspectives have substantially changed since the 19th century. The traditional leadership theory of the Great Man regarded leadership as something which was acquired at birth. In this respect, leaders were not necessarily expected to emerge every now and then. In the light of contemporary leadership practices, this theory downplayed the skills approach to leadership but relatively upheld the trait approach. Inborn traits and personality development influenced leadership thinking within the period associated with the ‘great man’ leadership. The Great Man Theory made no provisions for learned leadership. This implies that it was not believed a person could actually learn and become a skilled leader.  

Managinh across cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managinh across cultures - Essay Example Corporations are currently enjoying the benefits of globalisation. Companies now have a large consumer base and a wide supply of labour. However, globalisation has resulted in a series of new challenges. Cultural conflict is one of the major challenges facing managers today. The issue of culture is a relatively modern problem arising from the rapid globalisation of societies. Therefore, managers are required to adopt effective cross cultural management style so as to reduce cultural conflicts and enhance business success. Cross cultural management is detrimental to the success of a business. As a management style, this new method enables managers to develop innovative means of handling intercultural communication. Moreover, cross cultural management enables companies to enhance their capacity to establish, develop and maintain their businesses in the constantly changing business environment (Velo 2011:3). Companies that effectively utilise cross cultural management enhance their position to profit in the business field. The complexity and challenges resulting from globalisation, managers need to comprehend how to work with other people and organisations around the world. Cultural competence is detrimental to the success of the business in the globalised world. There are various definitions of culture. Sigmund Feud defined culture as â€Å"The construction that hides the pulsional and libido-oriented reality governing a society (Velo 2011:3).† Herder defined culture as a way of being that members of a nation identify with. Kardurer contributed to the description by stating that â€Å"Culture is the psycho-characteristic configuration of the basis of personality (Velo 2013:3).† Hofstede’s definition of culture states that â€Å"Culture involves the mental programming of the human spirit that prohibits distinguishing of members of one category in comparison with members of another category† (Velo

21st Century Technology in Today's Classroom Essay

21st Century Technology in Today's Classroom - Essay Example Some of these reasons are pragmatic – e-learning helps ease congestion of crowded classrooms, while providing a means for those who might not have access to higher education, such as the disabled or people who live far from a university, the opportunity to gain a proper education. Other reasons are socially based, in that e-learning fosters a collaborative atmosphere where social skills are used and enhanced. E-learning offers advantages for instructors who want to use the tool as a way to reinforce concepts that are taught in the traditional lecture hall. While these are certainly advantages to e-learning, there are also potential pitfalls. The technology that this research proposal will center upon will be E-Learning. E-learning is, in a nutshell, a way for students to gain knowledge and competence by interacting with adults and peers in an on-line community (Kim & Bonk, 2002, p. 3). E-learning uses the process of collaborative learning, which â€Å"has the potential to foster interaction and social support lacking in traditional learning environments â€Å"(Kim & Bonk, 2002, p. 3). On-line learning also aids in reflective interaction, which is not encouraged in traditional classroom settings and also helps foster social interaction, which, in turn, helps build students critical thinking and perspective taking abilities (Kim & Bonk, 2002, p. 3). E-learning is important, as it distributes learning material and processes over the Internet, which can help ease the decongestion of overcrowded lecture halls, provide a way for students and teachers who live far from a university an avenue for teaching and learning, as wel l as enable specific groups of students, such as the disabled, a chance to gain an education (Ardito et al., 2006, p. 270). The principles of e-learning, and how students adapt to e-learning have a basis in educational theory in general. The learner-centered psychological principles state that there

Reflective Account Values Essay Example for Free

Reflective Account Values Essay The first part of this Reflective Account describes what influences and events in my life have helped to develop my Personal Values. My grandparents taught me most of my basic ‘Personal Values’. I learned from an early age how to be polite, have good manners and respect my elders as failure to do so would result in getting sent to bed early. In those days I did not have a television in my room so in my eyes this was the ultimate punishment! They were not deeply religious people; my grandmother attended church every Sunday and took me to Sunday school. At the age of twelve she gave me the choice as whether to attend or not. I did not attend but she still taught me the moral values of respecting myself, my body and how a female should/ should not behave in public and at home. As today’s culture climate is changing towards how some young women behave e.g. children to several partners, going out barely clothed and getting themselves into all sorts of situations, I feel she was perhaps right in her teachings but when I say this to some of my nieces they tend to tell me I’m a bit too old fashioned and they’re glad I’m not their mother. I do not have any specific religious values and I would not disagree or agree with anybody else’s views, I hold the value of everybody being entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. I have passed all of these values onto my own child over the years and feel proud when people say what a polite and thoughtful man he is. A value that changed as I got older was one of ‘First Impressions’. Again, my grandfather (who was a policeman) taught me that first impressions count but an experience in a local cafe showed me that this was untrue. An elderly gentleman who was often drunk and smelly used to come into the cafe and nobody, including myself would go near or speak to him. This day the only seat available to him was the one next to me. He started talking to me and I was astounded to realize that he was a very intelligent man, he was talking about things going on in the world and using words I had to ask the meanings of. I now use the value ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. A very important value which I learned was that of ‘Family’ values. Coming from a small dysfunctional family where there was no real closeness I married into a large family where they all lived in one another’s pockets. I learned all about honesty, trust and support in the family circle, how they were all there for each other, supporting each other through the good and bad times regardless of the consequences. When I divorced my son’s father, his family  supported both of us so my son had the best of both worlds, time with me and time with his father. I did not have this as a child, I did not see my father unless he was on a sober day and I never saw my mother until I was sixteen years old. I find this value very high on my list of personal values and have tried to pass this on to my son as he is about to become a father himself. Overall I have an open mind and I am willing to learn and compromise, maybe change a particular value or belief depending on th e role and situation I am in at the time, which takes me on to the second part of this reflective account. The second part of this reflective account describes how my personal values relate to social care values. As a social care worker I must follow the guidelines and key concepts as laid down by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). This council was formed in October 2001 by the Scottish Government and aims to raise the standards in the field of Social Care Services. They have laid down ‘Core Values’ which underpin Social Care conduct. These ‘Core values’ are Dignity, Privacy, Choice, Safety, Realising Potential and Equality and Diversity. I believe that everybody has freedom of choice. We all make choices, whether it be what we wear, eat, what career path we choose to follow. Our choices can be endless but can also be limited. Limited choices can be because of things like finances, availability or circumstances, other choices depend on health, safety and danger to ourselves or to others. In my role as a social care worker I have a service user who has complex, additional needs and also uses a wheelchair. This user has the choice to use their wheelchair and can work the back brakes managing to get around the classroom at any time. This makes it difficult for us to manage the rest of the class as the user has no sense of danger and could possibly harm or put other class members in danger. We therefore have to take away the user’s choice of chair as we need to keep them and the rest of the class and staff safe and free from harm. This example shows that conflict can arise between the ‘Core values’ of ‘Promoting Choice’ and ‘Keeping People Safe’ Privacy is not just a case of liking your own company or keeping private matters to yourself. I like my own privacy, having time to myself gives me the chance to gather my thoughts or just chill out in my own way. I can choose what I want people to know about me without fear, prejudice or being discriminated against. Privacy in Social Care often works alongside Dignity. Dignity is a value which varies from person to person. I myself on going to the bathroom would lock the door so that no one else comes in, another person might not bother, and for some people, they may be unable to do so. In Social Care a service users Privacy and Dignity must be preserved at all times. This means that when I support a user dressing/ undressing I must take them to the bathroom (as it is a school the bathroom is the only place for the user to do this as the door locks) maintaining their dignity and privacy. As well as respecting their dignity I also have to ensure that their private personal details are kept private from outside sources. Any written information such as care plans or medical records would be locked away in the filing cabinet in the Headmistresses office. Another aspect of privacy would be confidentiality. In my role as a social care worker I would hopefully have the trust of the user so’s that they could speak to me about anything, if I had any concerns that they would harm or put themselves or others

ICICI Prudential â€Multiple Channel Distribution Essay Example for Free

ICICI Prudential –Multiple Channel Distribution Essay In terms of the future of the Indian insurance industry, what do you think are the measures that can be taken/ have been taken by ICICI Pru to further strengthen its distribution system to meet the competition? Bring out the drawbacks of the existing channels and the need to explore new avenues. Distribution Scenario in the Indian insurance Market The major challenges to insurers and intermediaries in highly competitive Indian insurance market are: 1. To build faith about the company’s insurance services in its customer’s mind  2.  To develop relationship(in terms of credibility) between intermediaries and clients 3. To develop extensive network for providing best service and stay close to the customers Capturing larger segment –Rural India Except ICICI Prudential, all the insurance companies have traditionally tied agents that have been the primary channels for insurance distribution in the Indian market. In case of the public sector insurance companies such as LIC, SBI etc. they have used their branches in almost all parts of the country and have attracted local people to become their agents. While ICICI Pru has used multiple channels such as bancassurance, direct marketing and corporate agents for their insurance distribution and have covered 69 cities and towns in India. By the virtue of these multiple distribution channels, ICICI Pru became leader in Indian insurance sector in short span of time with maximum contribution form bancassurance channel. However, these channels were targeted mostly at urban customers while the 70-80% of the Indian population stays in Rural area. ICICI Pru has tried to cater rural customers by joining hands with BASIX, World vision, Dhan, Shepherd, Uttaranchal Co-operative Marketing Federation, nLog Communiaction, ITC’e eachaupal etc. But, to cover the maximum possible rural market and develop strong rural insurance market at optimum cost for ICICI Pru, according to me India Post is the best intermediary option. India Post is one of the oldest infrastructure developed in India and it would be the best channel to reach Indian rural customers at very low cost. The postman are the best friend and information source to the village people. Hence they are the best fellows to create awareness about the company’s services and to distribute different insurance products. Thus they are the best sales man to build credibility about the company in rural India. Also the postmen have basic education in terms of services, hence the company can train them for their services at a very low cost. Thus the overall cost for reaching rural customer would be lower compare to all other possible options.

Economic Effects of Immigration

Economic Effects of Immigration Moon Kyung Jung A trend that existed long time ago and still nowadays that people tend to move from one place to another in order to achieve better conditions of living and profits. Disregard the size, for many reasons immigrations occurred from several places. Of course the immigration occurs from less developed countries (LDCs) to more developed countries like the U.S. [1] As the immigration process concentrates in place such as the U.S. will affect that country in many ways. The immigrants from LDCs disproportionately have little schooling, so school system might be affected. Also, most of immigrants are mostly unskilled workers, so it would affect the low-wage labor market, but affect high-wage markets. As well as the ratio of exports and imports to GDP has risen as well, and an increasing proportion of imports have come from LDCs.[2] However, immigration does not only bring positive effects to a country, but also brings negatives at the same time such as security problems.[3] Throughout this pa per, I will focus on both positives and negatives. This paper has three sections. First section will discuss about the effects of immigration on the U.S. labor market. Second section will discuss about the effects, both on social and economic levels. And last section will discuss about the changes in politics and effects of immigration to them. Will immigration affect the markets? Yes, it definitely will because the market is a place where human interactions are happening and immigrants are part of the societies and they become to involve in the market as they revert. There are so many markets that immigrants can affect, but I will mostly focus on the labor market. There was a significant rise in immigration and trade in the U.S. since the 1960s.[4] Since then, the major impulse for the increased inflow of legal immigration from less developed countries was the 1965 Amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act.[5] There were many reasons why people sought the U.S. as a place to immigrate. The simplest reason is the huge wage differential between the U.S. and border countries like Mexico and this also increased illegal immigrants.[6] During the few decades after the Act, the U.S. faced a significant increase in the population pool that from 1970 to 1996, the number of foreign-born persons increased by 15 million, raising the foreign-born share of the U.S. to 9.3 percent in 1996.[7] Many immigrants first settled in the six main immigrant-receiving states: California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois, but soon spread out by 1990s.[8] Because of the most immigrants were in the adult population (aged 18 to 64), the effect of im migration on native labor was huge, mainly in these six states during the decades.[9] The effect on native labor depends crucially on the skill distribution between immigrants and natives. Basically, if the immigrants are skillful as the natives then both groups are in the same skill-match that there will be no change in the structure of wages. By contrast, if immigrants are not skillful as the natives, then the wages will tend to concentrate to skillful workers and will shift the distribution of income toward the more of the natives, and the opposite will happen if the immigrants are more skillful. [10] In the table from the article â€Å"How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes?† it compares the distributions of years of schooling for immigrants and natives in the U.S. and in California for 1990 and 1995. The table is showing that the distribution of immigrants by educational achievement is more spread than that of natives.[11] A disproportionately large number of immigrants have fewer than nine years of education, but also, a disproportionately high number have more than sixteen years. On average, however, immigrants have fewer years of schooling than natives. [12] As a result, the contribution of immigrants to the supply of skills has become increasingly concentrated in the lower educational categories. [13] These lower educational categories include farming occupations, service jobs, private household workers, and operators and fabricators. Immigrants are less likely than natives to work in white collar jobs and are especially underrepresented in gov ernment jobs.[14] Accordingly, this results in increasing competition in lower-skilled industries, which possibly can reduce the wage of workers while enhancing their performances. However, immigrants can just as easily work in any industries as the natives if they become skillful and second generation of these immigrants are gradually increasing their educational level so it seems that the immigrants possibly can easily acquire skillful jobs. Were the changes emerged from the immigration effect positive? This answer can vary depending upon who one stand for. If the one is a native, he/she might consider it as negative because the immigrants made the natives harder to look for a job and the competition even made the natives acquire higher education now. However, the immigrants will not think in the same way because the minimum wage they receive in the U.S. is much higher compared to their home countries, so as long as they can afford jobs they find it successful.[15] But now, let’s stay away from this sentimentalism and talk about real negatives. There are many problems emerge as more immigrants enter a country. Simply, let’s think about an example. Suppose there is a small company and due to its successful innovation, it became huge and famous. Now, more people are willing to work for this company and the company is willing to hire more workers. However, as the workers increase, the company has to create another building or make the original building larger. Also, there will be higher costs for training them. The transfer of information between divisions will cost even more. There are just so many issues pop out as the number of people grows. This logic also applies to countries that accept large number of immigrants like the U.S. However, there is a bigger problem than just about the costs. It is the security. When countries are dealing each other internationally, every single of them has dealt with excessive securitization of individual and group.[16] Because people particularly emphasized on pervasiveness of fear and mistrust among stated intentions for peace, there is an idiom like â€Å"Who wants peace must prepare for war.†[17] This idea of securitization even played a huge role during the world wars that Hitler wanted to restore and save the dignity of German, while exclude or persecute many Jews. Also, the nuclear arms race during the Cold War that the U.S. and Soviet Union wanted to get more people under their ideology by securing their members.[18] However, when it comes to a country level, it is a little bit different. There is a term called the security dilemma where â€Å"the means by which a state tries to increase its security decrease the security of others.†[19] At the social level, the immigration often creates public opposition. For the past two decades, hostility to immigration has become increasingly politicized in many regions of Western Europe and the U.S. Anti-immigrant parties often give elaborations for why an individual would object immigration or support a nativist political movement.[20] However, unsurprisingly the academics blame individuals’ nativism on lack of personal contact with immigrants, poor education, youthfulness, masculinity, a rural environment, failure to belong to a union, membership in the ethnic or linguistic majority.[21] However, the reality isn’t the same as idealism. In fact, psychological school usually gives tiny help to those seeking to reduce nativism because it is hard to determine which specific bills to pass to reduce public alienation. [22] These anti-immigration movements are honestly waste of time and resources. What is so beneficial by kicking all immigrants out of a country who are people that possibly can enhance the quality of the country through the competition which makes everything efficient?[23] I cannot find any reasonable answer for this question. Obviously, the nativists will say things that are economic self-interest.[24] Most citizens will support any political movements only if they seem like beneficial to themselves. Apparently, the immigration does not seem like beneficial to the nativists. However, as mentioned earlier, it is not true. It is beneficial to a country when there is more population because it provides greater amounts of better services, rise in productivity, and more.[25] Anti-immigration movements are not the only things that happen because of the immigration. PAGE 25à ¬Ã‚ ªÃ‚ ½ How much† Bibliography How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd http://www.jstor.org/stable/2534701?seq=2 Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma Mikhail A. Alexseev San Diego State University from Journal of Economic History http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511528064 Immigration and Politics in the New Europe Gallya Lahav State University of New York from Journal of Economic History http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511558887 Emigration from the UK, 1870-1913 and 1950-1998 Timothy J. Hatton Australian National University and University of Essex from European Review of Economic History http://ereh.oxfordjournals.org/content/8/2/149.full.pdf+html?sid=4edbd32d-8637-417b-a651-1804ac220ac2 Skilled and unskilled wage differentials and economic integration, 1870-1930 Concha Betran and Maria A. Pons Universidad de Valencia, from European Review of Economic History http://ereh.oxfordjournals.org/content/8/1/29.full.pdf+html?sid=4edbd32d-8637-417b-a651-1804ac220ac2 Economic self-interest or cultural marginality? Anti-immigration sentiment and nativist political movements in France, Germany and the USA Joel S. Fetzer Published online http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/136918300115615 [1] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [2] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [3]Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma By Mikhail A. Alexseev San Diego State University [4] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [5] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [6] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [7] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [8] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [9] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [10] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [11] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [12] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [13] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [14] How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes? George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz, John DiNardo and John M. Abowd [15] Skilled and unskilled wage differentials and economic integration, 1870-1930. Concha Betran and Maria A. Pons Universidad de Valencia, from European Review of Economic History [16] Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma. Mikhail A. Alexseev San Diego State University from Journal of Economic History [17] Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma. Mikhail A. Alexseev San Diego State University from Journal of Economic History [18] Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma. Mikhail A. Alexseev San Diego State University from Journal of Economic History [19] Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma. Mikhail A. Alexseev San Diego State University from Journal of Economic History [20] Economic self-interest or cultural marginality? Anti-immigration sentiment and nativist political movements in France, Germany and the USA. Joel S. Fetzer [21] Economic self-interest or cultural marginality? Anti-immigration sentiment and nativist political movements in France, Germany and the USA. Joel S. Fetzer [22] Economic self-interest or cultural marginality? Anti-immigration sentiment and nativist political movements in France, Germany and the USA. Joel S. Fetzer [23] Economic self-interest or cultural marginality? Anti-immigration sentiment and nativist political movements in France, Germany and the USA. Joel S. Fetzer [24] Economic self-interest or cultural marginality? Anti-immigration sentiment and nativist political movements in France, Germany and the USA. Joel S. Fetzer [25] Economic self-interest or cultural marginality? Anti-immigration sentiment and nativist political movements in France, Germany and the USA. Joel S. Fetzer

Antonin Scalia :: essays research papers fc

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was born on March 11, 1936 in Trenton, New Jersey to a Sicilian immigrant father and an Italian-American mother and was raised in Queens. He attended Catholic schools in New York City as a child and teen. Scalia then attended Georgetown University, spending his junior year at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, and graduated at the top of his class with an A.B. (Sorry, I don’t know what that means) in 1957. He also attended Harvard, serving as the editor for Law Review. Scalia graduated from Harvard in 1960. On September 10, 1960, Scalia married Maureen McCarthy, and the two went to go live in Cleveland, Ohio. While in Cleveland, Scalia was admitted to the Ohio Bar and worked for the law firm of Jones, Day, Cockley, and Reavis until 1967. The Scalias then moved to Virginia, and he was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1970. While In Virginia, Scalia taught law at the Virginia Law School until 1974. In 1971, Scalia became General Counse l of the Office of Telecommunications Policy for the White House, and from 1972 to 1974, he was the chairman of the Administrative Conference of the US. Scalia was then appointed the assistant attorney general of the Office of Legal Counsel for the Department of Justice. In 1977, Scalia returned to teaching after 6 months serving as the resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in DC. Him and his family picked up and moved again to Chicago, Illinois. While In Chicago, Scalia taught at the University of Chicago’s law school (he was also a visiting professor of law at his alma mater, Georgetown University, and also at Stanford University during that time) until President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in 1982. Scalia took his oath of office on August 17 of that year. Four years after Scalia began working at the Court of Appeals, President Reagan then chose him to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court. The Senate conf irmed Reagan’s appointment on September 17, and Scalia took his oath of office on the 26th of that month. In the year 2000, Scalia has made decisions in two Supreme Court cases, Troxel vs. Granville and California Democratic Party vs. Jones. I will discuss the Troxel vs. Granville case. Troxel vs. Granville is in violation of "The Washington Rev.

The Neoplatonist Roots of Sufi Philosophy :: Philosophers Religion Papers

The Neoplatonist Roots of Sufi Philosophy Neoplatonism strongly influenced the development of Sufism. Neoplatonism, as developed by Plotinus conceives God to be the source and goal of everything. Islam qua institution is closed to all critical and philosophical thought, but Sufism enjoys a more liberal and critical approach. It is probable that the translations of Plotinus have provided the necessary philosophical ground for Sufism. An examination of both Sufism and Neoplatonism reveals close similarities with regard to the nature of God, the soul, the body, concepts such as goodness, evil and beauty, death and life, and creation. Islamic thought was influenced by Greek philosophy, especially the ideas of Aristotle and Plato. Sufism is a sect of Islam which has rather a different way of thought. "Sufi" is applied to Muslim mystics who, as a means of achieving union with Allah, adopted ascetic practices including wearing a garment made of coarse wool called "sf". The term "sufism" comes from "sf" meaning the person, who wears "sf". But in the course of time, sufi has come to designate all Muslim believers in mystic union. In the roots of sufi philosophy there are influences other than neoplatonist philosophy. Ascetic practices within the sufi philosophy are associated with Buddhism. The notion of purification (cleaning one' s soul from all evil things and trying to reach Nirvana and to become immortal in Nirvana) plays an important role in Buddhism. The same idea shows itself in the belief of "vuslat" (communion with God) in Sufi philosophy. Sufism was also influenced by Orpheus and related beliefs, and consequently by Pythagoras and his teachings, because Pythagoras was closely interested in Orpheus beliefs. Orpheus was a poet who lived in Anatolia in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. He was believed to have divine characteristics such as being able to influence wild animals with his music. He believed that the human soul can reach the highest level only by refining itself from all passions and worldly possessions. Soul travels from body to body in order to purify itself from its sins, disabilities, and guilts, and only after passing all these levels can it reach to its highest level, to its exalted spot. Pythagoras adopted Orpheus beliefs about soul, and integrated it with his own ideas. Later, the Neopythagoreans regarded Pythagoras as the source of divinely revealed knowledge. They accepted as truth whatever appealed to them in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics The Neoplatonist Roots of Sufi Philosophy :: Philosophers Religion Papers The Neoplatonist Roots of Sufi Philosophy Neoplatonism strongly influenced the development of Sufism. Neoplatonism, as developed by Plotinus conceives God to be the source and goal of everything. Islam qua institution is closed to all critical and philosophical thought, but Sufism enjoys a more liberal and critical approach. It is probable that the translations of Plotinus have provided the necessary philosophical ground for Sufism. An examination of both Sufism and Neoplatonism reveals close similarities with regard to the nature of God, the soul, the body, concepts such as goodness, evil and beauty, death and life, and creation. Islamic thought was influenced by Greek philosophy, especially the ideas of Aristotle and Plato. Sufism is a sect of Islam which has rather a different way of thought. "Sufi" is applied to Muslim mystics who, as a means of achieving union with Allah, adopted ascetic practices including wearing a garment made of coarse wool called "sf". The term "sufism" comes from "sf" meaning the person, who wears "sf". But in the course of time, sufi has come to designate all Muslim believers in mystic union. In the roots of sufi philosophy there are influences other than neoplatonist philosophy. Ascetic practices within the sufi philosophy are associated with Buddhism. The notion of purification (cleaning one' s soul from all evil things and trying to reach Nirvana and to become immortal in Nirvana) plays an important role in Buddhism. The same idea shows itself in the belief of "vuslat" (communion with God) in Sufi philosophy. Sufism was also influenced by Orpheus and related beliefs, and consequently by Pythagoras and his teachings, because Pythagoras was closely interested in Orpheus beliefs. Orpheus was a poet who lived in Anatolia in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. He was believed to have divine characteristics such as being able to influence wild animals with his music. He believed that the human soul can reach the highest level only by refining itself from all passions and worldly possessions. Soul travels from body to body in order to purify itself from its sins, disabilities, and guilts, and only after passing all these levels can it reach to its highest level, to its exalted spot. Pythagoras adopted Orpheus beliefs about soul, and integrated it with his own ideas. Later, the Neopythagoreans regarded Pythagoras as the source of divinely revealed knowledge. They accepted as truth whatever appealed to them in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics

The Link Between Height and Personal Success :: Biology Essays Research Papers

The Link Between Height and Personal Success Your height won't influence what you earn as much as your race or gender, but it may well be significant. In Britain and America, the tallest quarter of the population earns 10% more than the shortest quarter. A white American man averages a 1.8% higher income than his counterpart an inch shorter (1). Economics is not the only area in which taller people win: out of the US's 42 presidents, only eight have been below average height for the time. Most have been significantly taller than the average for white adult males of their eras (2). Tall men are also more likely to be married and have children (3). Outside of normal height differences, people with growth deficiency are much more aware of the role height plays in their lives. A study done through a growth clinic showed that children with growth deficiency are more likely to have social problems. The problems included lower social competance, increased behavior problems, and low self-esteem. Another study found lower rates of employment and marriage when children with growth deficiency grew up (4). One theory of why tall people are more successful is that there is stigma attatched to height, and thus short people are seen as easier to dominate (2). Another theory is that evolutionarily, tall people had an advantage in hunting and such and were thus associated with positive traits (5). Perhaps we still retain this association unconciously. The third theory is that taller people have a better-self image, and this increased confidence makes them more successful (2). A factor that may influence both earnings and height is one's family background. Shorter men tend to come from bigger families with parents who have less education than those of taller men. This shorter height may be a factor of poor childhood nutrition, and parents with less education are more likely to have children who also receive less education and therefore earn less. Family background is not the only influence, though, as shorter men still earn less than taller men from the same background (2). Effects that appear to stem from one's adult height, though, may have a different cause entirely. Participants in one study were asked to report their heights at ages 7,11, 16, and 23. The height that affected one's adult earnings, it turned out, was not the adult height but the 16-year-old height.

Abraham Lincoln †Symbol of the unlimited possibilities Essay

There are few men whose characters are so extraordinary that they can be credited with saving a nation. The 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was one such man. More than one hundred years after his assassination, ‘Honest Abe’ as he has become known, shows no signs of losing his touch. He sits enshrined in his own monument with his famous words etched in stone around him. He commands respect, honour and the everlasting thanks of the American people. More than a thousand books have been published on his life and deeds. This is the man who not only freed the slaves but who held the nation together through the terror of the Civil War. His bloody assassination has become the nightmare scenario of legend. The myths that make up the story of Abraham Lincoln have been re-told many times. At their root is the story about the boy born into the Kentucky wilderness, who had less than a year in total of formal schooling. That same boy went on to become America’s most famous President. Lincoln’s rise from a poor pioneer family who taught himself to become a lawyer is the story of the American dream. From state legislator to his nomination as Presidential candidate that dream is the stuff of legends. He has become a symbol of the unlimited possibilities of American life. To appreciate the bravery and the courage that Lincoln undoubtedly showed, it is not enough to say that he saved the Union. Neither is it enough to say that he braved his critics to bring in emancipation and to end the appalling slave trade. To fully understand Lincoln’s achievements, is to try and gain an insight into American society of that time. The republic was only a matter of a few decades old. In this melting pot of nationhood and states, political feelings ran high. Lincoln, above all, saw himself and his countrymen as inheritors of a sacred trust. He believed that democracy was entrusted into his hands an d those of his countrymen. He was prepared to stand up and fight for those beliefs. The fact is as laudable as these sentiments were, there could not possibly have been a more difficult time to try and put them into practice. The issue of slavery above all others dominated the day. It would split both politics and the country as a whole. Abraham Lincoln was not in two minds about slavery. He found it abhorrent. The fact is that many states, primarily in the North, stood against slavery. Many in the South did not. They were afraid that a Republican President effectively from the North would try and abolish slavery throughout the nation. Lincoln was elected President for his first term in 1860 at the point when a huge part of the Union, threatened to break away over the issue of slavery. The situation was for Lincoln neither a reason for secession nor Civil War. In his inaugural address he spoke about the need to find a peaceful way forwards. In spite of Lincoln’s plea, the Confederacy broke away and on March 4 1861 and the country erupted into the Civil War he had feared above all else. That scenario was a nightmare of complications and strategies that had to be won inside a cauldron of dissent. There was no road map. There were no precedents for dealing with states that had succeeded. Lincoln was at heart and by trade, a lawyer. He was not a soldier. However he did not flinch from his duty, or from the task in front of him. Where lesser men might have lost heart, Lincoln began the long struggle towards unity and reunification. When he judged that the time was right, he announced the abolition of the slave trade, issuing the emancipation proclamation on January 1st 1863. The war took a heavy toll. Lincoln mourned the tragedy of lives lost on the battlefield. His speech after the battle of Gettysburg on November 19th 1863 is one of the most moving and famous of all elegies for fallen soldiers. In spite of high casualties and falling morale, when Atlanta finally fell to the Union, Lincoln was re-elected for a second term. Lincoln’s second inaugural address is according to some, one of the greatest of all his speeches. In it, he looks forwards not only to the coming end of the war but also towards the future. His plea should never be forgotten, ‘Malice towards none: Charity towards all’. Part of Abraham Lincoln’s legacy is the fact that he was very much a human figure. We know many details of his life including that of his courtship and quiet marriage to Mary Todd. Theirs was tender and loving relationship scarred by loss and tragedy. Of the four sons born to them, only one grew into adulthood. The quiet and loving home life the president enjoyed was in stark contrast to the violence and hatred that was tearing the nation apart. After the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomatox on April 9 1865, a weary nation waited to see what Lincoln’s res ponse would be. An expectant crowd gathered outside the White House. Lincoln addressed them for the last time. In his speech he tackled the thorny issues of reuniting a country split by war. In that same speech he talked about the rights of freed slaves. He now talked openly about black suffrage. Listening in that crowd was one John Wilkes Booth, a racist and a Confederate who vowed that this would be Lincoln’s last speech. Indeed it was. Booth assassinated the President on April 14th 1865. Mary his wife was sitting beside her husband as they watched a play. She was holding his hand as he was shot. She never recovered fully from his death. It was a death that Lincoln himself had reportedly foreseen in a dream some three days earlier. The assassination of Lincoln stunned the nation. His body was mourned for three weeks at it was toured through the cities of the North. Public grief was immense for perhaps the most extraordinary figure in political history. Today the image of the gaunt tall and severe man is as familiar to us as our own father’s. Indeed to many, Abraham is the Father figure of America. We can only hope, like so many before us that we too can live up to the vision and the dreams that he left for us. Behind his statue lie the famous words of the Gettysburg address, in which the president extolled, That this nation, under God shall have a new birth of freedom – and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall never perish from the earth.’ They are words that are as relevant to us today as the day on which they were first spoken. How ironic then that in the same speech the President said that the words spoken there would not long be remembered. Fortunately, for every US citizen, he was wrong! His words, his deeds and his hopes, like those of any father, are his legacy to all his children. Sources used in this speech and related information Abraham Lincoln Birthplace http://lincoln.hodgenville.net/lincoln/ Abraham Lincoln On-line http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/last.htm CV for Abraham Lincoln http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~sldavis/firstsite/index.htm