Bertrand Russell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bertrand Russell - Essay Example There are people around the world who might actually think this way. They have no concern regarding God, religion, and anything spiritual. They have no time for all this or they are simply not bothered to actually find out the evidence for Christianity. Thus, till someone has actually researched and looked into every aspect of the religion they cannot just say there is no evidence for God. Like Hitchens said regarding God that â€Å"there exists not a shred of respectable evidence† (Stokes, 2012, p. 11). Besides this, the â€Å"lack of evidence† is also an excuse for those not wanting to change their views. They just chose to believe something and therefore, they would not simply change because of some evidence they come across or are told of. They cannot be forced to believe. As Jesus said: â€Å"Seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened, ask and it will be given you.   For he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened, and to him who asks it shall be given† (Githaite, 2007, p. 211). It clearly means that God will be available to those who actually make an effort to seek him and look for him; who try to find evidence regarding his existence. God does not force Himself upon us. However, He has not even left us to our own devices for us to work out our ways. God follows us and draws us to Himself. Jesus is quoted to have said: â€Å"No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him† (Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 652). It is we who have to open up our minds and hearts to Him. God has given clues regarding his existence, he has given us a sound mind and heart and it is up to the human beings to look for them. God is visible to those who seek him while He hides away from the ones who do not. That is, â€Å"the evidence is there for those who have eyes to see† (Kreeft, 1988, p. 44). When it is said that enough evidence does not exist to prove that there is a God, it does not defini tely mean that existence of God becomes a scientific fact; rather, the present evidence just makes the Christian belief rational. Previously one major reason behind there being so many atheists was that the philosophers of those times were mostly atheists and they gave very solid arguments against God, gaining followers and making a huge impact. Now, however, the philosophers are theists and again their arguments are apparently very valid and intellectual, thus they being outspoken Christians and the belief in God. There is just too much information and evidence of the existence of God. To start with there is the Big Bang Theory according to which the universe was created out of nothing. Big Bang led to not just the formation of this universe, matter and energy but also time and space. It just does not make any sense that anything at all can be created out of nothing; it is just not possible either scientifically or philosophically. That only leaves one idea: that there is a very po werful Higher Being who formed the universe and now controls it. The Big Bang was caused by Him. In fact, the universe was not just formed but also maintained continuously and intelligently. There is scientific evidence to prove this fact. Stephen Hawking found that in case the universe had expanded less than even one part in a hundred thousand million million a second after the Big Bang, the universe would have re-collapsed into a hot fireball. It is very obvious that a great and powerful mind is

Reasons Behind Colonial Settlements in North America Essay Example for Free

Reasons Behind Colonial Settlements in North America Essay As a whole, I believe economic development had a larger impact on colonial settlement than religious concerns, but this varies with the individual colonies. Each colony had something different to offer England and a different motive for settling. New England came about because the Puritans and Separatists wanted a place to worship free the original Church of England. Virginia, on the other hand, was established at first as a trade colony and base for gold and precious metal expeditions. The Maryland colony was founded in order to further the cultivation of certain crops like tobacco. Religion was by no means pushed away in the colonies. It was a strong and meaningful force for almost all colonists; it Just wasnt always their driving force. England held economic control over all colonies and did not let anything get in the way of that. Virginia became an agricultural settlement that brought large amounts of money to Britain. Religion was important and valued higher than everything except money. The colony of Maryland was given by Charles I to George Calvert, whose son (Cecilius Calvert) allowed freedom of religion to all Christian settlers in the colony. That was the biggest difference between Maryland and Virginia, who both became agricultural societies fairly quickly. Indentured servants were shipped to work the fields, which created a populous community and a strong economy. New England was created for more than Just a place for the Puritans and Separatists to worship freely. Because of American influence in English lifestyle (mainly food), the population doubled, leading to high inflation, a very unbalanced wealth distribution, and a plummeting economy. As a result of overpopulation and poverty, people were drawn to North America. Among the attracted people were Puritans and Separatists, who could both escape poverty and start a new colony based off of their own religious beliefs. These people were rebels in the eyes of the English hierarchy, and therefore received much less funding and support from the government. New England evolved as more of a family friendly colony than the Chesapeake Bay colonies, which were more business and economically focused. The Chesapeake Bay colonies were established by the English government for the sole purpose of economic development, while New England was founded by religious leaders escaping English intolerance. The Massachusetts Bay Company was moved to New England, along with the addition of three thousand Puritans by the year of 1643. The area sprouted busy seaports in coastal towns and farms in agricultural. As the population grew, New England became more financially inclined. Compared to other European societies, English colonies were as equally everyday life centered as economically centered. They brought their culture, religion, and everyday life to North America. New England and the Chesapeake Bay colonies had different personalities and goals when it came to economic, religious, and settling beliefs. The economy was a focus point for both colonies, but especially the Chesapeake bay colonies, while religion was the founder of New England.

The Dangers of Fossil Fuel Use :: Fossil Fuels Essays

The Dangers of Fossil Fuel Use Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines the term fossil fuel as â€Å"a fuel, as coal, oil, or natural gas, that is formed in the earth from plant or animal remains.† The major fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, and natural gases. Here in the United States, and all over the world, fossil fuel functions as an extremely beneficial resource. We use gas to fuel our cars and depend on electricity produced from coal and oil to heat and cool our homes. But, these positive aspects do not come without drawbacks. Environmental health, climate change, acid rain, and air pollution are among the top problems with fossil fuel production and consumption. (http://environment.about.com/library/weekly/aa050700.htm) Fossil fuel use creates severe impact on the environment in all stages of use: recovery, transportation, preparation/refining, storage, and end use. Recovery, the first stage is basically the process of coal mining. This includes the destruction of topsoil, and the risk of gushers or accidents. Also, recovery leads to discolored local creeks and rivers because of the acidic run-off of these waters (Lecture 3/11/02). Next, these resources must be transported all over the world, where they will go into the preparation and refining stage. During this stage, there is a risk that refuse or sludge will result from coal cleaning parts (Lecture 3/11/02). Also, air and water pollution may result from the process of petroleum refining, which involves the change of the chemical composition of petroleum to produce desirable chemicals and fuels. However, that means that the undesirable results are released to pollute the atmosphere. (Lecture 2/22/02) After being properly refined, the resources are stored. This stage may cause environmental problems such as gasoline leaks in underground tanks at gas stations. Finally, end use results in the release of pollutants from combustion. These pollutants include unburnt hydrocarbons, particulate matter, such as ash or soot, and sulfur and nitrogen oxides (Lecture 3/11/02). The combination of these pollutants often results in smog, a problem most pressing in California (http://www.sparetheair.org/). Major challenges exist concerning environmental problems with fossil fuel use. One challenge is to reduce fossil fuel use, in general, while also accommodating the increasing population and industrialization (Lecture 3/18/02). A second challenge is to remember to put human life before the need for industrialization. The National Resource Defense Council states that every year, some â€Å"64,000 people may die prematurely from cardiopulmonary causes linked to particulate air pollution".

Poetry Explication on “One Art”

Loss of One Is it possible to care for one thing so much that the destruction or loss of a city can have no significance to a person? When a person loses so much on a daily basis, when does the loss start to make a difference? In the poem â€Å"One Art†, Elizabeth Bishop utilizes structure, rhyme scheme, and conceptual symbolism to portray that the loss of one's love negates the loss of everything else. To begin, the structure of this poem is entirely about the narrator attempting to convince themself of the idea that loss has no importance; then coming to the onclusion that losing one's love is of utmost importance.In the second stanza the narrator of this poem reminds themselves that to â€Å"Lose something every day. [One must] Accept the fluster† (line 4). In this quote, they are reminding themselves that losing things is common and inevitable. In the same light, this person is feverously trying to convince themself that loss is not significant. This is shown with t he repetition of the line which is found three times throughout the poem. The quote, â€Å"none of these things will bring disaster† shows that the loss of cities and rivers is not ignificant to the narrator compared to the loss of their love (line 9).Then, in the last stanza the narrator realizes that the loss of their love is a â€Å"disaster† and forces themselves to â€Å"Write it! † (line 19). With this quote the narrator finally gives up on their feeble attempts to believe that loss is insignificant and now knows that the greatest loss is the loss of love. Correspondingly, the last stanza is the longest in the poem, which shows how great the importance is to Bishop, because this is where the arrator realizes that the only disaster of losing things is when one loses their love.Bishop uses her rhyme scheme to highlight the priority of losing one's love. Correspondingly, the first stanza rhyme scheme is a b a, as the lines rhyming with master and disaster. Th rough this rhyme scheme Bishop emphasizes the importance of â€Å"disaster† (line 9) by having the majority of her poem rhyme with disaster. With this in mind, the entire poem except the last stanza of this poem is in an a b a rhyme scheme. The last stanzas rhyme scheme is a b a a which directs the reader's ttention to the last couplet because it is out of order of the a b a rhyme scheme.As a result, the reader could infer that the last couplet is the main idea of the poem. The last couplet of the poem is the narrator coming to the realization that even though losing things is not hard to do and it occurs often there are things that if they were lost the result would be a â€Å"disaster† (line 9). This proves the idea that when one loses significant things it has a larger impact that losing something insignificant would. Furthermore, Bishop utilizes conceptual symbolism to portray the significance of ach thing to be lost by labeling them with numbers.In the last three stanzas, the narrator states things they have lost throughout time and distances. Bishop uses conceptual symbolism when she begins with the loss of â€Å"three loved houses† (line 1 1); adding the number three in front of the house gives the impression that the houses are in the third rank in how great the loss is. She then continues to explain in the tittn stanza that there was a loss ot o cities† (line â€Å"two rivers† (line which makes the loss of these cities and rivers rank second.She then explains that the loss of these things was evident â€Å"but it wasn't a disaster† (line 15). Moreover, this shows that what is ranked first is of a greater loss than the loss of two cities and two life sources that are rivers. Lastly, in the last stanza Bishop described the greatest loss which was losing her love. It is established that this is greatest loss because it is in the last stanza and there isn't a number to rank it. Therefore, the loss of her love is al so considered the greatest loss because in this stanza Bishop finally states that this oss is â€Å"like disaster† (line 19).To conclude, this narrator is putting the loss of her love above all worldly things. Bishop emphasizes the word disaster in order to convince herself that Just like the inanimate objects in her life, this love is insignificant. Her contradicting thoughts are placed in a way presenting that she knows this love with a specific person cannot compare with anything else she has lost in life. The narrator knows the loss of ones love can never be compared to the loss of inanimate objects or other worldly things.

Gender and Educational Achievement

Gender and Educational Achievement a) Explain what is meant by â€Å"peer-group status†. (2 Marks) Peer-group status is being seen as â€Å"big† or important in the eyes of friends and other people around you. b) Suggest three ways in which teaching might be altered to favour boys. (6 Marks) Three ways in which teaching can be altered to favour boys are:- * Include practical work to make sure they understand the work. offering extra credit or chances unequally between males and females, favouring the males * School Topics that the school teaches such as Maths, Design Technology, Physical Education and many more are more male based subjects. c) Outline some of the factors outside the education system that have affected gender differences in school. (12 Marks) There are many factors outside the school education system that have affected gender differences in school.Firstly it can be said that parents expect more from their children to be hardworking, have responsible over their actions and behaviour towards others, to be tidy and neat. This is known as Parental Aspiration. Compared to girls, boys are more Laddish behaved which leads them to disrespect teachers in schools. Furthermore peer pressure can also affect gender difference in school; this is suggested in some case where boys impress their friends by acting like a â€Å"Cool† person, in the end not paying attention in class or to their studies.Whereas most girls are more likely to achieve better in their studies, this is more likely they stay away bad influenced people. According to Francis (2000) â€Å"boys no longer likely to consider themselves more able than girls†, this is considered to the subject choices that boys undertake, which do not require academic success, however girls think more realistic which do require academic success such as becoming an Engineer or a teacher, this makes them seem to work harder in school’s to go to University and to pursue the profess ion job.Additionally other external factors that may affect gender difference in school are crises in masculinity where women and males have equal rights to work and more women get into the well-paid jobs. d) Using information from Items A and B and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of why girls achieve better results than boys. (20 Marks) Throughout the past years girls are improving and getting better results than boys. Reasons behind these achievements that explain are â€Å"Soft and hard subjects†, parental aspiration, girls aim higher and many more reason.These examples give some idea of why the girls perform better than boys. In this essay I am going to compare on why girls achieve better results than boys. For the past many years studies have been conducted to find out the girls achievements are better than boys, also in the recent studies have been concluded as girls and young women’s attitudes towards education, marriage and work have been changed ov er the years. Sue Sharpe who is a sociologist conducted a study on working-class girls in London and their attitudes towards education.Sue Sharpe compared the attitudes of working-class girls in London schools in the early 1970’s and 1990’s. She found that the 1990’s girls were more confident, more assertive, more ambitious and more committed to gender equality. Sharpe found that the main priorities of the 1970’s girls were ‘love, marriage, husbands and children’. By 1990’s this had changed to ‘job, career and being able to support them with education being the main route to a good job. In 1994, Sue Sharpe found that girls were increasingly wary of marriage.They had seen adult relationships break up around them, and had seen women coping alone, in a ‘man’s world’. Girls were more concerned with standing on their own two feet and were more likely to see education as a means to financial independence. Furthermor e both male and female parents expect more from them in their studies; however boys now tend drift more into large peer groups and involve into gang violence, this makes the boys seem as poorly behaved in school and underachieve in their studies. On the other hand girls are more organised and meet their deadline for their given coursework.Additionally a recognition that girls were put off by what were traditionally seen as â€Å"boys subjects† or also known as hard subject such as maths, technology, physics and chemistry. This led to the introduction of equal opportunity initiatives such as Girls into Science and Technology. But Girls tend to take soft subject for A- level such as Biology, Sociology, textiles and many more, this is because they more easy subject to do. A recent report was on the new which was regarding less than 50% girls are undertaking the subject physics, which is known as a â€Å"manly subject† for A-level.In addition early research on peer-group s tatus states that the development of antischool subculture that tended to be developed by some working-class boys, particularly those placed in lower streams, bands and sets. Studies by Hargreaves (1967) and Willis (1977), for example, showed how such boys were either fatalistic in accepting school failure as inevitable and so developed anti-educational coping strategies, or sought to compensate for status frustration by gaining credibility in the eyes of their peers.To conclude girls in school achieve higher than boys in school, this is because to some of the factors in school and out of school which may affect many boys with their studies and their behaviour. Overall girls seem to be more able to concentrate in class whereas boys are more practical type and choose hard subjects such as physics, maths, Physical Education and many more.

Free Essays on Hemingway

Hemingway’s Hills â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† by Earnest Hemingway is a short story about the American and Jig’s lack of good communication. One would not understand the true meaning of this story without examining the symbolism used by the author. The story begins with a description of the setting. There were long hills, a train station, a bar, and a beaded curtain. At this point in the story, I thought that Hemingway was just trying to start another tale of his. Little did I know he was showing me, the reader, how important the setting is by talking about it first. I learned that I had to examine every physical part of the scenery to understand the story. From the beginning of â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† to the very end, Hemingway uses the various aspects of the setting as symbols to reveal things about the American, the Jig, and them as a couple. While waiting for their train, the man and woman sat outside the bar that was next to the train station. They passed the time by drinking, and the woman was observing the scenery at the same time. Jig mentions to her boyfriend â€Å"they [the hills] look like white elephants† (758). A white elephant is something that is useless. Jig is pregnant. The American boyfriend does not want her to have the baby. If she were to have the baby, it would change his lifestyle. Thus, the baby would be a white elephant to the man. This is when I learned that there is symbolism in the setting. In this case, it was in the landscape of the countryside of Spain. This is the most obvious case in the story, and it foreshadows that there is more to come. The bar in Spain that the American and Jig are sitting at is also symbolic. Hemingway mentions in the first paragraph â€Å"the American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, next to a table outside the building [the bar]† (757). He purposefully does not indicate what country the girl is from. To clarify, Hemingway is showing the ... Free Essays on Hemingway Free Essays on Hemingway Hemingway’s Hills â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† by Earnest Hemingway is a short story about the American and Jig’s lack of good communication. One would not understand the true meaning of this story without examining the symbolism used by the author. The story begins with a description of the setting. There were long hills, a train station, a bar, and a beaded curtain. At this point in the story, I thought that Hemingway was just trying to start another tale of his. Little did I know he was showing me, the reader, how important the setting is by talking about it first. I learned that I had to examine every physical part of the scenery to understand the story. From the beginning of â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† to the very end, Hemingway uses the various aspects of the setting as symbols to reveal things about the American, the Jig, and them as a couple. While waiting for their train, the man and woman sat outside the bar that was next to the train station. They passed the time by drinking, and the woman was observing the scenery at the same time. Jig mentions to her boyfriend â€Å"they [the hills] look like white elephants† (758). A white elephant is something that is useless. Jig is pregnant. The American boyfriend does not want her to have the baby. If she were to have the baby, it would change his lifestyle. Thus, the baby would be a white elephant to the man. This is when I learned that there is symbolism in the setting. In this case, it was in the landscape of the countryside of Spain. This is the most obvious case in the story, and it foreshadows that there is more to come. The bar in Spain that the American and Jig are sitting at is also symbolic. Hemingway mentions in the first paragraph â€Å"the American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, next to a table outside the building [the bar]† (757). He purposefully does not indicate what country the girl is from. To clarify, Hemingway is showing the ... Free Essays on Hemingway Throughout history there have been overthrows on governments in order to bring a new government into power. In â€Å"Chapter V† of Hemingway’s In Our Time, Hemingway implies that old governments are often replaced and a new regime ascends to power. Throughout history old governments have been deposed by a new system which is fit to rule the people of its time. In â€Å"Chapter V† Hemingway subtly hints that an old, dying government is often overthrown by a new, organized, and often militaristic regime. In â€Å"Chapter V†, Hemingway uses diction with syntax to create a gloomy, serious, and straightforward tone. The tone is important in this paragraph because it shows how Hemingway is describing this dismal scene. â€Å"There were wet dead leaves on the paving of the courtyard†(Hemingway), If this description is plugged into the symbolism of the chapter it can foreshadow what happens at the end of the passage and where it happens. Another element used in the syntax in the chapter is the word â€Å"they.† The use of the word â€Å"they† in the passage is used most when referring to the soldiers. â€Å"They† is a nameless and numberless pronoun which suggests that Hemingway wanted to keep the identity of the people who are responsible unclear. He uses this when describing the execution. â€Å"They shot the cabinet ministers at ...hospital†. This description shows how he keeps the identity of the soldiers unclear in the paragraph. Hemingway also uses the word â€Å"they† to show that the soldiers are not individuals but part of a collective and are receiving orders. Hemingway writes, â€Å"They tried to hold him up against the wall.† and continues later in the paragraphâ€Å"Finally the officer told the soldiers....†. Hemingway uses this to illustrate that â€Å"they† are following orders form a person of a higher rank. In this chapter that is important to show that the new regime is more organized than the old government. Hemingway uses ...

Tiger essays

Tiger essays On December 30, 1975, a star was born. Eldrick Tiger Woods grew up in Cypress, CA, 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Before he was a year old, golf had already grabbed him. At the age of six months, he watched and imitated his father, Earl Woods, hit golf balls into a net. When he was the young age of two, he was featured on The Mike Douglas Show hitting and putting with Bob Hope. At the age of three, he was shooting a 48 for nine holes, a score better than a lot of weekend golfers. By this point, it was probably obvious this point destined him destined for greatness. Golf Digest, the number 1 golf magazine had featured Tigers game when he was only five. He won the Optimist International Tournament six times at the ages of 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Tiger first played in a professional tournament, the Nissan Los Angeles Open, in 1992 when he was only 16. He made the 36-hole cut of the Nissan Los Angeles Open and played in three more PGA events in 1993. He tied for 34th place in the 94 Johnny Walker Asian Classic in Thailand. In 1994, he entered Stanford University. He won 10 collegiate titles including the NCAA title. He represented the US in the 1994 World Amateur Team Championships in France and the 1995 Walker Cup Match in Wales. In 1995, Tiger made the 36-hole cuts in the Masters and the British Open. He was entered in the US Open, but because of a wrist injury, he had to withdraw from competition. In the 96 British Open, he posted a score of 281 to tie the record of lowest score by an amateur in the tournament. His second round as a 66, the lowest ever by an amateur in the British Open. Woods played his first tournament as a professional in 1996 at the Greater Milwaukee Open. With only seven events left in the year, Woods barely had any time to be placed within the top 125 money winners to get his card. And he did. He won two tournaments and was placed i ...

20 Words for That Certain Something

20 Words for That Certain Something 20 Words for That Certain Something 20 Words for That Certain Something By Mark Nichol Some people have it, and some people don’t. But what, exactly, is it? Here’s a list of words describing a special quality that sets certain people apart from others, and their meanings: 1. Brio: vivaciousness (Italian, â€Å"fire, life,† perhaps from the word for vigor from a form of French) 2. Charisma: charm or personal magnetism (from the Greek word meaning â€Å"favor†) 3. Chutzpah: admirable or excessive self-confidence; this word and ginger are the only ones on this list that have both positive and negative connotations (from Hebrew by way of Yiddish; several other spellings are used, but this one is the most common) 4. Duende: charm (from Spanish dialect, meaning â€Å"ghost†) 5. Élan: enthusiasm (from the French word eslan, meaning â€Å"rush,† with the same Latin root from which lance is derived) 6. Esprit: vivacious wit (French, from the Latin term spiritus, â€Å"spirit†) 7. Flair: style, or talent or tendency (from the French word meaning â€Å"odor† or â€Å"scent,† ultimately from Latin flagrare, an alteration of fragrare, from which fragrance is derived) 8. Ginger: spirit, or temper (from the Latin term zingiberis, for the root used as a spice and a medicine, derived from the Sanskrit word srngaveram) 9. Gumption: initiative (from a Scottish word meaning â€Å"shrewdness,† perhaps from a Germanic term meaning â€Å"attention†) 10. Gusto: enthusiasm (the Italian word for â€Å"taste,† from the Latin term gustus) 11. Je ne sais quoi: a quality not easily described or expressed (a French phrase that means literally â€Å"I know not what†) 12. Knack: intuitive capacity or knowledge (originally meant â€Å"trick†; perhaps from the onomatopoeic word akin to knock) 13. Mettle: vigor, stamina (from an alternate spelling of metal) 14. Moxie: energy, enthusiasm, courage (from the brand name of a soft drink; early on, such beverages were often touted, long before the advent of energy drinks, as providing pep) 15. Panache: flamboyance; originally, a decorative plume of feathers on a helmet (from the Latin term pinnaculum, meaning â€Å"small wing,† by way of Italian and French) 16. Pizzazz: glamour, vitality (unknown etymology) 17. Savoir faire: self-assuredness, talent for knowing how to conduct oneself (from the French term savoir-faire, meaning â€Å"knowing how to do,† from the Latin words sapere, meaning â€Å"know,† and facere, meaning â€Å"do†) 18. Savoir vivre: knowledge of appropriate behavior (from the French word savoir-vivre, â€Å"knowing how to live,† from the Latin terms sapere, meaning â€Å"know,† and vivre, meaning â€Å"live†) 19. Spunk: courage, pluck (from the Gaelic word spong, meaning â€Å"tinder,† ultimately derived from the Latin term spongia, from which sponge is also derived) 20. Verve: vivacity, energy, enthusiasm (ultimately from the Latin term verbum, meaning â€Å"word,† because of the early sense of â€Å"flair for speaking or writing†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Royal Order of Adjectives Peace of Mind and A Piece of One's MindWhen Is a Question Not a Question?

Chess Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chess - Coursework Example But it is unfortunate that in countries like united Nation it was recognized in the late years. It improves the cognitive ability rational thinking and reasoning even to those children that show low performance in class. Traditional education has not reached the latent energy discovered by the chase. It farther improves logical thinking, instills in the children sense of worth and improves the communication pattern which determines the outcome of the learning process. A part from improving the communication patterns, chess teaches the values like hard work, concentration and objectivity and commitment among the pupils. The concentration level coupled with commitment and objectivity are the basic foundation for good performance. The idea of improved performance is farther supported by the empirical observation in the experiment done in Marina in which it was observed that 55% percent of the students shown significant improvement in the academic performance after smattering chess instruction. Other experiment dines on the same yields the same result. It is therefore evidenced and clearly elaborated to agree with the chess to improve performance base on the above aforementioned

Why do student cheat and what should the consequences be Research Paper

Why do student cheat and what should the consequences be - Research Paper Example Many students plagiarize and are caught. The truth is that in order to provide depth of research, a writer will need to combine primary and secondary sources. In the sciences, for example, raw data is important, but how that data has been interpreted by others, over the years, is also very significant. You need to cite that work and not merely present it as your own. It is important to use academic libraries, online databases such as ProQuest, and Google Books and Scholar, in order to find these sources and put them into action. Beware collecting or holding on to irrelevant information, which is sometimes a temptation. It is easy to get sidetracked and create a â€Å"bulge†Ã¢â‚¬â€a part or paragraph of the essay that has no real connection with the thesis. It is also easy to forget where your work starts and where someone else s begins. That is how a lot of plagiarism begins. You copy a lot of quotes into your paper hoping to use them and cite them properly, but over the week s you begin to forget what work is yours and what work is not. There are many examples of this happening to students (Richardson). An article by Sue McGowan and Margaret Lightbody provides a lot of useful information about plagiarism and its consequences. The authors of this paper are deeply concerned about it. They suggest that instead of threatening to punish students who plagiarize work, a more effective approach is to educate them about the affects and consequences of plagiarism. The authors describe an experiment to help educate accounting students. The study asked students a number of important questions relating to plagiarism. For example, when is it necessary to cite references. What does it mean to paraphrase? What are the potential punishments or disciplinary actions for performing an act of plagiarism? The authors concluded that providing students with an incentive to put references in their work is a good way to avoid acts of plagiarism. They

Finace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Finace - Essay Example licly traded company can be defined as those companies which are involved in selling its various securities like stocks, bonds, etc to the public in general. The primary role of a publicly traded company should be to work for the interest of the public and disclose information about all its company affairs to the public. It is so because all the investors and public in general would have access to same, meaningful and relevant information about the company, which would facilitate them in their decision making process. Fiduciary responsibility of the CFO or Chief Financial Officer of a company means that the CFO has the responsibility of ensuring that the company is able to achieve its missions through the money generated by the firm. The CFO of a company also ensures that the vision of the company set by the executive directors is feasible and it does not result in the bankruptcy of the company (Burns 7). The fiduciary responsibility of CFO also includes that he should work for the interest of the company and its owners. Different types of exchanges operate within the financial and futures markets like, stock exchange, foreign exchange, etc. All these exchanges plays a vital role in the financial markets by regulating, assisting and controlling the business procedures involving selling, buying and dealing with securities like stocks and derivative instruments in the market. Its primary objective is to facilitate an efficient, attractive and well regulated market for the investors, companies, and intermediaries like stock brokers. In a broader sense financial markets are the places where different sellers and buyers take part in the trading of various financial instruments like stocks, bonds, derivatives, currencies, etc. Financial markets are characterized by having a pricing system which is transparent in nature, having trading regulations, including various transaction costs and are driven by market forces that help in the determination of the prices of the

ECON WEEK 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ECON WEEK 1 - Assignment Example Macroeconomist analysts use gross domestic product figures to derive business cycles and investigate their cause. Macroeconomic analysts measure unemployment using rates that show the number of people available in the labor force who do not find work. These analysts observe that unemployment rates fall with progressive growth in the economy (Mankiw 26). Progressive economic growth manifests in the growth rate of a country’s gross domestic product. Rising gross domestic product indicates an increase in national output, hence, the need for many laborers to sustain the increased level of production. Employment reports impacts trends in different sectors of the economy including the currency and bond markets (Rittenberg 530). Inflation is the rate at which prices of goods and services in a country rise. Macroeconomic analysts measure inflation using the consumer price index and the gross domestic product deflator. The consumer price index captures the prices of a given number of goods at a given time (Mankiw 13). The gross domestic product deflator is a fraction of the nominal gross domestic product and the real gross domestic product. A rise in the prices of services and goods results from an instance where the nominal gross domestic product is bigger than the real gross domestic product. A change in the consumer price index corresponds to a change in the gross domestic product deflator with a difference of less than one percent (Rittenberg

Social Inclusion, Empowerment and Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Inclusion, Empowerment and Health - Essay Example advocacy aims at enlightening the society in a particular problem they face but unknown to them is the negative impacts on the problem (Lord & Hutchison, 1993). In an argument Lord & Hutchison (1993) empowerment and advocacy are put in place and work more effectively in cases where there is powerlessness. A group of community members’ with disabilities came up with an organization that was aimed ad advocating for their rights as disabled people. They were disabled which limited their locomotion. In addition, they could not do many of their daily duties which drove them towards poverty. They were powerless and isolated to a point they became social insignificant. In their quest to seek social care in homes for the disabled, the admission fees were high, and they could not afford. In addition, equipment such as wheelchairs was too expensive for them to acquire. For this reason, they lived in isolation for each and every day. However, with the creation of the organization their social status changed. The response from the society was exceptional as people showed up to support their campaign. At the start, the organization was just a creation in theory since they had no funds and sponsors. After volunteers had stepped up on their social responsibility, they had enough funds to support and put the organization in to practice (Lord & Hutchison, 1993). In this situation, empowerment was provided in the form of social support and funds. This form of empowerment provides an affected person with power to create strategies for advocacy. In this case, the organization has the funds to hire lawyers that would represent them in cases seeking the provision of social care and government financial support. As a marginalized group, the organization was entitled to support from social services. However, the rightful consideration was only achievable through advocacy. From funds provided by social care and the community, the organization was made a community project. It was

ECON WEEK 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ECON WEEK 1 - Assignment Example Macroeconomist analysts use gross domestic product figures to derive business cycles and investigate their cause. Macroeconomic analysts measure unemployment using rates that show the number of people available in the labor force who do not find work. These analysts observe that unemployment rates fall with progressive growth in the economy (Mankiw 26). Progressive economic growth manifests in the growth rate of a country’s gross domestic product. Rising gross domestic product indicates an increase in national output, hence, the need for many laborers to sustain the increased level of production. Employment reports impacts trends in different sectors of the economy including the currency and bond markets (Rittenberg 530). Inflation is the rate at which prices of goods and services in a country rise. Macroeconomic analysts measure inflation using the consumer price index and the gross domestic product deflator. The consumer price index captures the prices of a given number of goods at a given time (Mankiw 13). The gross domestic product deflator is a fraction of the nominal gross domestic product and the real gross domestic product. A rise in the prices of services and goods results from an instance where the nominal gross domestic product is bigger than the real gross domestic product. A change in the consumer price index corresponds to a change in the gross domestic product deflator with a difference of less than one percent (Rittenberg

List 5 notable strikes and the following factors Essay

List 5 notable strikes and the following factors - Essay Example However, during this period beginning 1890, the business started experiencing an economic downturn, as were other manufacturing companies, whereby the market price of steel products went down thereby reducing the amount of profits. As a result, the general manager, Henry Frick, proposed a plan to reduce the cost of production by lowering wages and forcing workers to break ranks with the AA, which did not go down well with the workers (Krause, 1992). Without AA’s presence, Frick felt that he would be in full control of the human resources. As a result, the employees embarked on a strike, which lasted for approximately 4 months. The workers, during this period, were involved in an armed conflict with the Pinkertons, who were armed men hired by Frick to suppress the strikers, a conflict which contributed to the death of 9 workers and 7 Pinkertons while several others suffered bullet injuries. At the end of these confrontations, the workers were defeated and they had to accept the terms set down by Frick in order to be allowed to continue working in the company while the leaders of the strike were fired and subjected to court proceedings though no one was sent to prison (Krause, 1992). The Pullman Strike of 1894 As stated earlier, the early 1890s was a period of economic downturns and most of the industries were affected (Salvatore, 1999). The Pullman Palace car Industry, based in Pullman, Illinois, was one of those companies, which suffered reduced revenues as a result of low demand for their products, which basically included train cars. As a counter measure, the management decided to cut wages and thereafter gave deaf ear to the workers complaints, which included low wages, overworking and high cost of living. As a result, more than 3000 employees of the company decided to go on strike, which was later supported by the American Railway Union, which significantly increased the number to more than 100000 individual members from 26 states, who were advised t o boycott any operations that involved cars from the Pullman industry (Salvatore, 1999). This is a strike which begun on May 11, 1894 to August 2, 1894. The reason for the conclusion of the strike was that the then president Cleveland sent in federal and state troops to crush the strike specially because it was interfering with the deliver of mail and this had begun to disgust the general public, who were shifting their support to the government. The Union leaders were arrested while more than 20 workers lost their lives in the process. Pullman employees tried to negotiate for an unconditional reinstatement to their former positions but the management refused to accept and instead forced them to sign contracts, which forbid them from joining any labor unions failure to which they would lose their jobs. The workers, while on strike, contributed to the destruction of property and loss of revenues especially for the railway line approximated to more than $4 million as per the then valu e of the dollar. The workers also lost more than $1 million in terms of wages not forgetting the magnitude of human labor dedicated by the security organs to crush the strike (Salvatore, 1999). Textile Workers Strike of 1934 The Textile Workers Strike of 1934 was an event in the US history, which was organized by the United Textile Workers of America (UTW), a union whose membership

United States Declaration of Independence Essay Example for Free

United States Declaration of Independence Essay The enlightenment era arose in the modern cultural ideology of the 18th century, as ideas among philosophers had a widespread effect among the society. The age of enlightenment, in western society, projected the rejection of traditional Christianity, western philosophy, intellectual advances, scientific, and cultural life, government legitimacy and authority. Upon the enlightenment period multiple philosophers emerged, the individuals arose to leading figures using reason to understand all aspects of human life. The motivations for the enlightenment came primarily from the Englishmen, John Locke. John Locke was a philosophical influence in both political theory and theoretical philosophy, which was embraced among the era of 1789-1914 and the concept of equal rights among men. John Locke’s writings influenced the works of multiple diplomats concerning liberty and the social contract between society and the government. Locke’s ideology of man and power was the base for the concept of separation of powers. As one of the enlightenment thinkers, John Locke wrote the Two Treatises of Government influencing the framework of his ideal vision of the nature of man and his freedom, stating that all men exist in â€Å"a state of perfect freedom† as â€Å"every man being, has been showed, naturally free. † (Primary Sources, 156) His theories involved the money value within trading systems, education ideals, the blank mind shaped by surroundings, and the framework for the American Revolution. Locke’s ideas were taken and embraced as his ideas â€Å"seemed to offer the hope of a brave new world† built on reason. † (Spielvogel 516) The enlightenment was an era of intellectual and social growth as people began to challenge and view the world changed. During the era, society began to believe all men are free people, a concept enforced by John Locke’s ideologies. John Locke believed every person was born with tabula rasa, blank mind, arguing in Essay on Human Understanding that men and women, were products of their environment, and implied that humans were molded by their surroundings. With the theory of the blank mind, John Locke presented with reason and logic that men and women could improve themselves by improving the surroundings. As John Locke rejected â€Å"authority and theory†¦ [by] showing knowledge derives from sensory perception and experience†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he impacted western philosophy and the understanding of knowledge. (Primary sources 212) Locke’s idea implied the restructure of society as by changing the environment, men would be properly influenced, and a new society created. The idea of a perfect new society was seen among the creation of the utopian community by Robert Owen. The idea of men being able to be shaped by the community is seen among Owen’s work to set up the model community. Through his works in A New View in Society Owen shows how the communitarian project achieved â€Å"moral improvement with commercial success† with the help of an orderly system to manufacture, and â€Å"inculcating the moral virtues of cleanliness, order thrift, and sobriety. † (Primary Sources 320) Owen was successful in creating the modeled community, with the idea of tabula rasa, and creating a cooperative self-contained community. The enlightenment employed the right of equality among all men. John Locke advocated natural rights of man, mainly life, liberty, and property. His avocation for men equality included the validity of governments powers should rely on consent from the citizens. The pursuit of representation from government led to the democracy in the America’s as they created the separation of powers. Locke supported the overthrow of absolute power, as he rejects the concept of royal superiority in his Second Treatise of Government. His belief in mutual consent from the people to the government is the basis of the social contract, showing how man’s â€Å"perfect freedom†¦and liberty [should give man] is able to instruct him in that law he is to govern himself. † (Primary Sources, 151) Locke’s political ideology included overthrowing government if citizens felt their rights were taken away, citizens had the duty to revolt against the tyrant. This ideology is embraced during the French Revolution as â€Å"before the revolution, French society was grounded in the inequality of rights,† among the citizens. (Spielvogel578) The French were divided into classes, having no voice among the three estates, leading to the national assembly. The national assembly, influenced by John Locke’s ideology of rejecting royal reign superiority, created the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Locke’s argument of revolution against tyranny was accepted to bring reasonable rule to the nation and citizens. The same liberalist view of overthrowing of ruler is seen during the napoleon rule. Benjamin Constant published The Principles of Politics advocating for the regulations of the generals will of the individuals liberty, â€Å"distinguishing between sovereignty, authority, and individual freedom,† right before Napoleon’s final defeat. (Primary Sources 342) Many of John Locke’s ideas were input into the Declaration of Independence, as his primary words â€Å"life, liberty† and instead of property, the pursuit of happiness, are the basis of the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Locke’s arguments concerning liberty influenced the works of James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, as his Second Treatise is imitated in the Declaration of Independence. When the founding fathers adopted the resolution for the nation’s independence, with the restating of john Locke’s theory of revolution, they opened the door to the war of American Independence. As well as Locke’s separation of powers was framework for the American democracy created after the independence from Britain and the belief of revolting is an obligation in the certain circumstances. With the fear of a concentrated power the founding fathers of America secured the rights life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, to which the government institutes the rights and derive their powers with the consent of the men. When creating the independence the people laid the foundation of separation of powers in which each branch is checked and has no overruling power among the rest of the government. With the influence of John Locke’s political ideologies, the American colonies, after the American Revolution, â€Å"proved to many Europeans that the liberal political ideas of the Enlightenment were not a vapid utterances of intellectuals. The rights of man, ideas of liberty, and equality, popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and freedom of religion†¦were not only utopian ideals. † (Spielvogel 578) The Americans had taken John Locke’s theories and made the concept of liberty reality. Consequently the American Revolution had an impact on the French revolution with the returning soldiers the influence of the American Declaration of Independence was seen among the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The French revolution was more violent than the American, but it set the political movement for the modern political world. John Locke political theories were focused on the protection of the human rights, responsibility of the government, clarifying the concept between state and man. Locke insisted on the limits towards political authorities, and believed government should be selected, not born into, by the will of the majority. This set the fundamental declaration of the French revolution. John Locke an advocate for religious tolerance, wrote the Letters Concerning Toleration, conveying reasoning for religious tolerance after the European wars of religion. Within the Letters Concerning Toleration, Locke debates for the people to understand the relationship within religion and government, and how people should know the separation of the two. Separation of Church and State was created by Thomas Jefferson, who was greatly influenced by Locke’s writings, as Locke feared that without distinction between the two, the personal beliefs will mislead the commonwealth. His advocacy for religious also influenced the freedom of religion among the Americans in the Bill of Rights, as man has the right to practice or to not practice any religion. Known for his political theories, notions on natural rights and separation of powers, John Locke also held beliefs regarding the education. Originally a letter to a friend regarding his son’s education, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, Locke suggested the best way to educate the child. His theory for education was based on the argument of human mind at birth is a tabula rasa therefore a child was able to be molded with virtues. â€Å"He attentively considers the state of a child†¦ [are] stored with plenty of ideas, that are to be the matter of his future knowledge. † (Primary Sources 214) Locke’s ideas on education involved learning from experience, and influenced the concern of public education during the 1789-1914 era. His theories and ideas on education would motivate the public school system in Britain. John Locke’s emphasis on education was seen in Robert Owen’s utopian â€Å"model community. † In Owen’s New View of Society he set his influence by Locke’s education, by stating that education was not only good for business in his utopian society, but for the nation as a whole. The influence of how the importance of education was enforced by Locke’s ideologies of the ability to shape the minds of the children to better the nation. John Locke publicized a theory of money and property in his Two Treatises on Government. Locke’s theory believes the natural right of estate. His belief in money describes that money fulfills the need for a constant measure of value and worth in a trading system. Locke argued for an economic system which could exist in the states and protection of property by the society. His ideal on a trading system influenced the merchandized 18th century industry. The eighteenth century was formed based on the growth of commercial led by John Locke’s economic system theory on trade. The â€Å"growth of commercial capitalism led to integrated markets, joint-stock trading companies, banking and stock exchange facilities,† which shaped the nations view on money. (Spielvogel 564) As the eighteenth century flourished, Locke stated gold, silver, gems never rot, and therefore with the consent of mankind they become of monetary value and are open for trading value. With his theories of trading and money, John Locke can be seen as the creator of the bourgeois capitalism. The trading system was influenced by John Locke and embraced in the European trading which gave growth of cities, prosperity within the cities, the industrialization, and the manufacturing business. The Enlightenment was period of time with great thinkers bringing radical changes to society and the world. John Locke, known for Father of Liberalism and the enlightenment thinker, had a great impact among philosophers. John Locke was advocating the freedom of the individual, systems of government, nonviolent modification of political, social, or economic institutions, and governmental guarantees of individual rights and civil liberties. Locke’s enlightenment ideas were employed during the long 19th century. â€Å"Locke’s treatises inspired the political theories of the Enlightenment. † (Primary sources 148) His philosophical ideals influenced many other philosophers, utopian societies, the upheavals against government, the protection of rights, the education system in Britain, and the basis for modern government.

The Public Information Model

The Public Information Model By the early of 1920s, the Press Agentry Model has been criticized as deception model by large corporations and started to lose credibility among the journalists (Grunig Hunt, 1984). Ivy Lee, a former journalist turned to Public Relations practitioner recognized the problem and established Declaration of Principles to journalists. By that time Public Relations has taken the changes from on accuracy in communication and more concerned with truthful information distribution than manipulating the news (Kaid, 2004). Thus, this practice has eventually contributed to the rise of Public Information Model. Public Information Model basically is to inform the public without carry any emphasizing promotion and publicity. This model does not seek to direct persuade or change the attitude of the public but is to disseminate any relevant information to them. Therefore, it is thus predicated that if the public has sufficient information that is relevant and truthful about the organization, then the public will believe and behave to what the organization desired. In Public Information Model, Public Relations practitioners often being refer as the journalist in residence, whose job is to report objectively information about their organizations to the public (Grunig Hunt, 1984). In addition, Public Information Models explained the importance of maintain and enhancing the image of the company or organizations by disseminating information to the target public. It has been characterized as a one way communication techniques used by Public Relations practitioners. Although both Press Agentry and Public Information Model has been characterized as one way communications, the Public Information model differs because the purpose is to giving out clear and factual information to the public. In fact, this model is a one way communication where the process start off with information flows from sender (PR practitioners of the organizations) to the receiver (target audience or public). This technique included press release, features story, video release or any communication related to the information of the company that is directed among the public In this model, a good Public Relations practitioner is able to disseminate the information by putting in their organizations ideas or approaches and uses it to influences their target public. Therefore in this model, Public Relations practitioner has to constructs their writing in creative and informative way. This creative can be applied into the newsletter of the company, magazine, brochures with any related information about the organizations like the products, testimonials, organizations successful background, top management people and etc. People are exposed to different kind of media messages in their daily life. Mass media are very important particular on Public Relations Practitioner for delivering their messages to the target audience. Grunig and Hunt (1984, p.223) explains that media relations is very important among Public Relations when it comes to Press Agentry and Public Information Model. Therefore, Public Relations practitioner as the third-party information endorser for the media is responsible to giving out the information that is credible and valuable to the public (Wilcox, 2005). Today, the Public Information Model can be found in mostly in government agencies, NGOs, education and health institutions or in some other businesses. In fact, the concept of this model is to give out the information to the public usually through the media by hoping someone will pay attention to the information. The example can be seen in one of the Malaysian Governments policies, 1 Malaysia Concept. Agenda setting theory explains the powerful influence in the media that able to create public awareness on important issues (Mccombs, 2002). The media cannot tell what the people to think but has the ability to inform the people what to think about (Cohen, 1963). In order word, Public Relations practitioners able to raise the importance of an issue through the repetition of news in the media. Malaysia is a multicultural society of which the population is made up by different types of ethnic groups includes Malays, Chinese, Indian and the Native. In fact, Malaysians are very sensitive to the issue that particular related to ethnicity and races. Thus, national unity has become the top agenda to the public and thus it has become a Public Relations discourse in Malaysia. In that case, PR practitioner has utilised the mainstream media to disseminate the messages and information that is associates to unity to the Malaysian citizen. Everyday Malaysian citizen and also foreigner have been bombarded by with the messages of 1 Malaysian Concept by the mainstream media. The 1 Malaysia logo and slogan is ubiquitous due to mass advertising and commercials in mainstream media (Hashim, 2011). Therefore, by observing at the very general perspective, the Public Information Model has been practiced in 1 Malaysia concept is to create the awareness on the importance of unity in the society. The Public Information Model has also been applied in the public service announcements that related to health, safety and environment. One of the examples is the Tak Nak!, an anti-smoking campaign conducted by Malaysia Ministry of Health. The purpose of this is campaign to create awareness of the dangerous and harmful effect of smoking to the public. The campaign usually associates smoking to deadly diseases such as lung cancer and heart attack. The Tak Nak! Campaign is considered as a Public Information Model because it basically provides the information about the chemical substances that can be found in the cigarettes and how it is harmful to the individuals or the people around them. In fact, Public Information Model also been practiced in some campaign like HIV prevention, Crime Awareness, or any social issues that basically aimed to educate the public. In brief, these campaigns are characterised as a one way communication, in which the PR practitioner only involves in creating a wareness and telling the information to the public. Similarly, Public Information Model also being used for crisis management. The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Southern China in November 2002 has been recognised as one of the global threats in 21th century. SARS had eventually caused hundreds of death and also bring a worldwide impact on economic and the travel industry. However, Public Information Model has been practiced by the Singapore Government and media to overcome the crisis. Information regarding the SARS outbreak was widely distributed by the media and government. The information such as the SARS knowledge, symptoms, prevention and safety precaution has been distributed to the public. The Singapore Ministry of Health has established the channels that provide sufficient and comprehensive information to the public. All types of media were used, including a public television channel, radio, newspaper and internet to ensure constant information update and keep the public informed of the risks for infec tion and preventive measures. In fact, Singapore was taken out of the official list of SARS-infected countries by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2003 due to the quick responses of Singapore Government and their media in controlling the crisis. Therefore, the above example has highlighted the importance of the Public Information Model for PR practitioners when handling the crisis management. Meanwhile, the higher education institutions have also been spotted on practicing the Public Information Model. We often can see the university and college create the publicity materials such as press release, banner, brochure, flyer or even static web content. In fact, the process usually involved is disseminating the details and information about the history, achievement, facilities, event, faculty and courses. In this context, we have selected Tunku Abdul Rahman College as one of the examples to analyse. We can see Tunku Abdul Rahman College webpage has become the channel of distributing the important information that is related to the academic, facilities, student loan, collaborative university partnership and any upcoming event in the college. In addition to this, the practice of Public Information Model can be highlighted when Tunku Abdul Rahman College provide the information through the distribution of the brochures. The brochures usually consists the information of the cours es and overseas university collaborative partnership. Therefore, the process involves the dissemination the information by putting in the college ideas or approaches and uses it to influences their target public. In recent years, private sector has started to realised the importance of providing and explaining the company policies to their stakeholder. Public Information Model plays an important role when comes to new innovation that needs to explains to the public. The diffusion of innovation theory explains the adoption of the idea, practice, culture or object that is perceived to be new in the society (Rogers, 1962). The theory explains that media as well as interpersonal communication play the important role in providing the information to influence others opinion. Similarly,

Reaction to The Reader :: Reader

Reaction to The Reader In part II, chapter eight of Bernhard Schlink's The Reader, the first-person narrator Michael describes reading the account written by a concentration camp who had survived along with her mother, the soul survivors in a large group of women who were being marched away from the camp. He says, "the book...creates distance. It does not invite one to identify with it and makes no one sympathetic..." The same could be said of The Reader. The book is written in such a way as to distance one from the characters. It prevents people from sympathizing with Hanna or Michael or anyone else, taking a sort of detached viewpoint from their problems. This can be paralleled to the efforts of the German people towards Vergangenheitsbewältigung, or "coping with the past." In coping with Germany's Nazi history, the Germans attempted to distance themselves from it and the moral implications it presented. They tried to understand it without involving themselves in it, since involving them selves could implicate them. The one person in the book who cannot distance herself, Hanna, is still unsympathetic because everyone else distances themselves from her, making it impossible to sympathize with any aspect of her plight. Hanna is symbolic of German history in this respect. As the narrator, Michael is particularly hard to sympathize with. The way he guides the story eschews emotional attachment. He himself feels detached from almost everything: "....I felt nothing: my feelings were numbed." His detachment transfers to the readers. None of his traits, or any of the situations he comes up against, makes one feel particularly sorry for him. Nothing makes one want to understand what he's going through or where he's coming from. He is simply there, dictating the story, telling us about his feelings without us getting involved. Further alienating is his tendency to fall into tangents which don't relate to the main narrative. These tangents are even harder to muster interest in than the true point of the book and don't serve any discernible purpose, in the end causing us to separate even further from the story. Michael's feelings of numbness and alienation--and, subsequently, the feelings of numbess and alienation that are produced in the book's audience--reflect the attempts made by the German people to distance themselves from the spectres of the Nazi past.

Marketing and Singapore Airlines Essay

I. Introduction Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been ranked as one of the top leading airlines in the world. Singapore Airlines began with three flights per week, and today their route network’s span is 99 destinations in 39 countries worldwide. Singapore Airlines Limited split from Malaysian Airways in 1972 and is the national airline of Singapore operating on global major routes. As stated in its website, the company is geared towards â€Å"providing air transportation services of the highest quality and to maximizing returns for the benefit of its shareholders and employees.†. It has constantly outperformed compared to many other competitive airlines and reported superior annual returns on profits. As airline is known as a mistake-free industry, Singapore Airlines has been proven its outstanding performance through its excellence services as well as being a pioneer in business strategies. Hundreds of industry awards are received by Singapore Airlines for its service quality. This report will outline in detail the fundamental issues in marketing of Singapore Airlines such as marketplace and customer needs, highlight the significant issues regarding the organization’s competitive environment as well as suggest possible enhancements for the organization. II. Body 1. Customers’ needs, wants, demand, product and market identified for Singapore Airlines. i. Customers’ needs, wants and demand.  Amstrong and Kotler (2011) defined needs as states of felt deprivation. They explained human needs comprise basic physical needs as food, clothing, warmth and safety, as well as social needs for belonging, affection, fun and relaxation. There are also esteem needs for prestige, recognition and fame, and individual needs for knowledge and self-expression.. On the other hand, wants are another sort of human needs that are influenced by culture and individual personality. Western people like Americans or Europeans would want breads for their daily meals, while eastern people from China or Vietnam would prefer rice, though they all have the same need of food. People’s wants expand throughout times. In the previous days, they might just simply want a transporting way to reach a destination. Later days they wanted a fast and safe transport. Today they also want comfort and entertainment while they are transporting. Organizations should be able to see and foresee the undiminishing wants of its customers to develop their products and services. Nevertheless, human wants are boundless, but not resources. What a person wants and what he can afford are two different matters. As described by Amstrong and Kotler, wants that are backed with buying power are called demand. For example, everyone wants to fly with a business or first class, but not all are willing to pay for those exclusive prices, thus some of the demand will go for the economy class instead. Singapore Airlines has identified there is a need of travelling, relaxation and prestige from its customers, as well as wants and demand for the aviation service and facilities. As so, Singapore Airlines offers best services in order to satisfy its customers accordingly . ii. Singapore Airlines’ products and market. Singapore Airlines mostly targets at businessmen and wealthy folds who are willing to pay a premium flight fares for a guarantee high quality service. The product line of Singapore Airlines is divided into three classes of travel: First, Raffles (Business) and Economy. First class accounted for 5% of passengers, Raffles class for 10% and economy class for 85%. The expectations of these particular customers were constantly rising and their  needs and wants keep on changing over years. Other than that, Singapore Airlines also offer many in-flight facilities and entertainment, such as free headsets, choice of meals, satellite-based inflight telephones, inflight meals from the International Culinary Panel, offer audio and video on demand capabilities on KrisWorld in all classes. They also have different luxurious lounges for different class of passengers. 2. Singapore Airlines’ market orientation. i. Market orientation According to Kohli and Jaworski (1990), the marketing concept is a business philosophy, whereas the term market orientation refers to the actual implementation of the marketing concept. Marketing management’s objective is to build profitable relationship with the target customers by designing strategies which following a certain business philosophy that the organization has chosen. There are five of them, including production concept, product concept, selling concept, marketing concept and societal marketing concepts. The newest business philosophy that has commonly been adopted by most of the large organizations nowadays, including Singapore Airlines, is the societal marketing concept. Kotler, et al. (2010:19) state that, â€Å"the societal marketing concept holds that the organization should determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets and deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that maintains or improves t he consumer’s and society’s well-being†. In brief, this concept is all about balancing three aspects of an organization’s marketing approach: company’s profitability, customer satisfaction and society’s welfare. Bhasin H. (2010) stated that the marketing concept alone sidesteps the potential conflicts among consumer wants, consumer interests, and long-run societal welfare, yet some firms and industries are criticized for satisfying consumer wants at society’s expense. This has been a reason for the societal marketing concept to be formed, which could be seen as an enlargement of the marketing concept itself. Singapore Airlines’ official website publishes that, â€Å"Singapore Airlines firmly believes that supporting programmes that benefit the communities we serve throughout the world is an essential part of being a good corporate citizen†. Singapore Airlines has been contributing to the  community in arts, sports, community welfare, and education. It supports a wide range of local and overseas community groups and charity organizations. Some of the highlighted are providing air travel for Australian social workers to Dhaka in Bangladesh for a project to prevent hearing loss in textile workers, rebated air tickets to the newly established Singapore Sports School to nurture emerging sporting talents, helping to fly the nation’s flag high in the sporting arena as the Official Airline for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore, etc. By practicing this societal marketing concept, Singapore Airlines has shown their customers that profitability is not their number one and only concern, but also to be a responsible and contributive corporate citizen. By doing so, Singapore Airlines has gained respectable reputation and favor from the customers, and boosted to a notable sales and profits. ii. Product life cycle Singapore Airlines’ product set is in a mature life cycle. The airline has done an outstanding job of differentiating itself through customer service available through any of its commercial aviation products. In this stage of the product life, Singapore Airlines must reinvent itself every few years to remain competitive in the industry and to prolong the stage period not to reach the decline stage. Singapore Airlines is constantly examining other service industries to see how they respond to customer needs and then adjusts its products accordingly. Through this strategy, Singapore Airlines generally leads the industry in innovative customer service products and initiatives. As airline is a service industry, its products are intangible, yet Singapore Airline’s commitment to its service strategy is visible in every aspect of its operations. 3. Major competitive issues facing Singapore Airlines i. Singapore Airlines’ competitive advantages Ever since the separation from Malaysian Airways, Singapore Airlines has no domestic routes to serve, hence the company has been forced to rely on the international flights and compete with other major airlines. There are three core aspects that Singapore Airlines has gained competitive advantages over other players within the industry. These comprise of the excellent service, the continuity innovation, and the technology superiority. Firstly, as  explained by Roll (2004), the airlines have begun its branding strategy on it in-flight service. The company engaged French haute-couture designer Pierre Balmain in 1972 to design a special version of the Malay Sarong Kebaya as the airline stewardess uniform and then is branded as â€Å"Singapore Girls† for providing excellent in-flight hospitality. This later becomes one of the most recognized signatures of the airline, and is one of the critical reasons why Singapore Airlines always ranked at top for the customer satisfaction sur vey about in-flight service observed by various sources such as independent institutions or online social networking sites. The second aspect that supports the Singapore Airlines’ success is their effort to always be innovative – particularly about the in-flight services. Additionally justified by Roll, Singapore Airlines has pioneered many in-flight experiential and entertainment innovations, and strived to be best in class. It was the first to introduce hot meals, free alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, hot towels with a unique and patented scent, personal entertainment systems, and video-on-demand in all cabins. The company keeps driving innovation as an important part of the brand, and the cabin ambience and combined experience are key factors of its success. Lastly, on the technology side, Roll also evaluated that Singapore Airlines still maintains the youngest fleet of aircraft among all major air carriers, and keeps to the stringent policy of replacing older aircrafts for newer, better models. It has always been first in line to take delivery of new aircraft types like Boeing 747 jumbo jets, Boeing 777, and it will become the first airline to fly the Airbus super jumbo A-380 in 2006. Even the aircrafts are sub-branded like 747-Megatop and 777-Jubilee to further distinguish SIA and its brand from competitors. Singapore Airlines also flew Concorde between Singapore and London in the late seventies in collaboration with British Airways (BA). The aircraft was painted with SIA’s colors and logos on one side, and BA’s on the other, and it carried crew from both airlines. ii. Porter’s five forces analysis of Singapore Airlines a) Suppliers power Suppliers’ power is consistently high in airlines industry. This hence will have a great impact in the company’s product and service costs, prices and profitability. However, Singapore Airlines is financially strong and has its own ground service such as baggage handling and in-flight food and beverages supply. Aircraft maintenance and servicing is also carried out by SIA Engineers. Thus the main supply for Singapore Airline is basically the aircraft manufacturers. Since the firm has been known as an airline with youngest aircraft usage, Singapore Airlines has been a significant customers and has bargaining power over the suppliers. b) Buyers power The buyer bargaining power is indeed high for Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines’ targets mostly on businessmen and people who are affordable for premiums flight fares. These types of passengers are not too sensitive to prices, but concentrating more on the flight time that is flexible for them, and also the comfortability of the provided service. However, regardless of which type of passengers, all of them might just switch to other airlines without hesitation if time and service match their demand better. Since customers are willing to pay for their enjoyment and flexibility, Singapore Airlines’ target market has a strong level of buying power. c) Substitutions Singapore Airlines generally has medium to low threat on substitution of its services. As mentioned above, Singapore Airlines’ target passengers are not cost-conscious travelers, they can afford high fares in return for their comfort and time efficiency. Hence with excellence both in ground and in-flight service quality and updated high-tech facilities, Singapore Airlines easily retain customers’ loyalty. Other substitute transport mode would not be a big threat especially for long flights or long distance travel. d) Competitive rivalry The level of rivalry is medium for Singapore Airlines. Although there are not many airlines can compete against SIA, these airlines in the entire industry share the very similar market. Most of the carriers are using differentiated strategy that focus on both booking and in-flight services. SIA with outstanding and uniqueness service offerings has helped the firm to have  lesser pressure on competition. However, Singapore Airlines has to continue on innovation and maintain and improve service quality if they do not wish to lose out. e) New entries Threat of new entrance is consider low in airline industry, since the capital investment for the industry is massive. According to Calingo (1997) it would require a lot of logistic works, highly skilled personal such as pilots, aircraft technicians and specialize managerial personnel which are often limited in resources in the industry. Limited access to airport and route are also another difficulty post to new entrant. 4. Segmenting, targeting and positioning of Singapore Airlines. i. Segmenting According to Kotler et al. (2010:199), marketing segmentation is defined as dividing a market into distinct groups who might require separate products and/or marketing mixes. The objective is to help determine marketing strategies and realistic marketing objectives by understanding customer trends and buyer behaviors. Singapore Airlines segments its market based on geographic, demographics, psychographic and behavioral. For geographic segmentation, Singapore Airlines customers are located globally with varying wants and needs thus the firm attempts to exploit this by providing airline services to major cities or routes. Evidence given is Singapore Airlines operates flights to over 90 destinations in more than 39 countries over 5 continents. Its strong presence is however still the Southeast Asia region. Demographic segment works on the basis of customer factual characteristics such as age, gender, family lifecycle, social-culture, occupation, education and income that can influence purchasing decisions. Singapore Airlines, for example, demographically segment their customers from their choice of the service class. Suite class and First class passengers are dominantly traveling on business purpose and mostly are male between 25 to 45 years old. Passengers in business class are split evenly between traveling for business and leisure. Mostly are male with average age 32. Economy class passengers are a much broader group, traveling mainly for leisure and evenly spread across most socio-economic groups and age ranges. Another approach to  segmentation is psychographic, which is an attempt to capture what is driving the customer’s behavior, such as values, personalities, attitudes, opinion, interest and lifestyle aspirations. For instance, Singapore Airlines provides variations of cabin classes (First, Business and Economy) to meet the product demand of people. Singapore Airlines employs tier membership to provide status preferences to customers. The last segment approach is behavioral which is based on observable issues on consumer behavior when purchasing the products. Characteristics include frequency of consumption, buyer readiness and commitment. The corporate market tends to be a frequent flyer that could gain benefits from Singapore Airline’s Frequent Flyer program, in return for customers’ loyalty to the airlines. Some people are â€Å"brand loyal†, they tend to stick with their preferred or familiar brands even when a competing one is on sale. ii. Targeting Market targeting, explained by Kotler et al. (2010:199), is the process of evaluating each segment’s attractiveness and selecting one or more of the market segments. Singapore Airlines uses differentiated market targeting, which refers to where firm target several segments and develops distinct products/services with separate marketing mix strategies aimed at various group approach, where they target in accordance to consumers’ needs and to their occupation. Singapore Airlines has two target markets. The first aimed at people who mostly have a high income with a high class lifestyle and prefer to seek comfort with excellent services rather than to get a cheaper price but do not get the as good facilities and services. The other target market is customary passengers who mostly just want to travel and not too demanding about the services and the facilities. For this market, Singapore Airlines owns a budget airline as well to compete, which is Tiger Airways, to meet the market needs. iii. Positioning Kotler et al also described market positioning is developing competitive positioning for the product and an appropriate marketing mix. Added by them, a product’s position is the way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes – the place the product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing product. In this specific circumstance, is how the  passengers perceive Singapore Airlines’ service compared to other major carriers, such as British Airways or Cathay Pacific. There are many different general strategies for positioning products. Attribute or benefit, quality and price, use or application, competition, high-tech and high-touch can achieve desired positioning. Market positioning is about how Singaspore Airlines wants its customers to perceive their products and services in relation to their competitors. Singapore Airlines positioning strategy is using Singapore Girl as a central ingredient in marketing its image. Personified through the girls, customers will have a sensory and emotional experience when travelling with Singapore Airlines, with its commitment to service and quality excellence. Since the traditional marketing communication has often been focus on cabin design, food, comfort and pricing, this strategy of Singapore Girl has successfully gain a positive market positioning in the customers’ heart. III. Conclusion There are concrete substantiations why Singapore Airlines has grown from a regional airline into one of the world’s top leading carriers. This paper has analyzed some of the vital marketing issues concerning the strategic way that Singapore Airlines operates to reach their upward achievement nowadays. They have always been setting their customers’ needs and wants as the first priority in order to understand and provide excellent quality service to match the growing demand of the passengers. Only with the clear comprehending and effective implementation of the organization’s selected societal marketing concept, precise identification of the competitive concerns as well as the market segmenting, targeting and positioning, Singapore Airlines has been able to successfully differentiate its brand image and endorsed its prestige status to the whole world. IV. Recommendations Performing the SWOT analysis would help Singapore Airlines to identify the key issues for enhancements in its operational strategies. Singapore Airlines needs to keep its superiority and stay on the top of the competition in the international market, by understanding the plans that being pursued by other major players such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, etc. Singapore Airlines should continue to  differentiate itself and keep on provide up scaling service quality to the customers. It is recommended for Singapore Airlines to regularly renovate its facilities as well as install new technological features. Improvement and installation of in-flight entertainment system such as latest technology electronics and DVDs, access provision to the CD music and interconnected network games with the passengers inside of the aircraft, ability to send and receive email and internet surfing on selected content, Satellite telephones can be some of the suggestions. Nevertheless, Singapore Airlines should carry on contributing more in its social responsibilities to the community well-being to remain an ethical and trust worthy corporate citizen. V. References and Bibliography Ayob, A.M (n.d.). Singapore Airlines Limited: Building a culture of service excellence. Retrieved August 5th, 2012, from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:aDhMN-GX8s8J:mahdzan.com/papers/sia/SINGAPORE_AIRLINES.pdf+singapore+airlines+marketing+strategy&hl=en&gl=sg&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjah_jaSacO-NJn77hv6rhqruT9KQnCLqiKJD4opuCV-hAT_rzvAM8eS_FMZqlhy2rmS8CRLxxhV7Jf8_p0XU-2ZaGHuzUF5I4yAOHzIGGbgCYMLq0C7pngKnOuKjFTWRAiMHID&sig=AHIEtbRwCtZUzXuAJ5G-SBBjU3CSURqkBQ Bhasin, H. (2010). Socetal Marketing Concept. Retrieved August 5th, 2012, from http://www.marketing91.com/societal-marketing-concept/ Calingo, L.M.R. (1997). Strategic management in the Asian context. Singapore Airlines: Comparative case studies of the British and Singaporean national airlines. Based on research by Douglas Sikorski. John Wiley & Sons Heracleous, L. & Wirtz, J. (2009) ‘Strategy and organization at Singapore Airlines: Achieving sustainable advantage through dual strategy’: Journal of Air Transport Management. Kotler, P. & Amstrong, G. (2011). Marketing an Introduction. (10th ed). Kotler, P., Bowen, J.T & Makens, J.C. (2010). Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism. (5th ed). Market Orientation. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 4th, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_orientation Roll, M. (2004). Singapore Airlines flying tiger. From Brandchannel. Retrieved August 6th, 2012, from http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=209 Roll, Martin. Undated. Singapore Airlines – An Excellent Asian Brand. Venture Republic Retrieved August 4th, 2012, from http://www.venturerepublic.com/resources/singapore_airlines_-_an_excellent_asian_brand.asp The critical success of Singapore Airlines. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5th, 2012, from http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/02/the-critical-success-of-singapore-airlines.html#_Toc212902244

Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Nineteen

And wouldn't you know. Something big was arranged. The Colonial Union showed up. The shuttle landed and a little green man popped out. And I thought, This seems familiar. It was even the same little green man: General Rybicki. But there were differences. The first time I saw General Rybicki, he was in my front yard, and it was just him and me. This time his shuttle landed in the grassy area right in front of Croatoan's gate, and a large chunk of the colony had turned out to see him land. He was our first visitor since we came to Roanoke, and his appearance seemed to give the idea that maybe we would finally be out of exile. General Rybicki stood in front of the shuttle and looked at the people in front of him. He waved. They cheered wildly. This went on for several minutes. It's like people had never seen someone wave before. Finally the general spoke. â€Å"Colonists of Roanoke,† he said. â€Å"I bring you good news. Your days of hiding are over.† This was interrupted by another gout of cheering. When it calmed down, the general continued. â€Å"As I speak to you, my ship above is installing your communications satellite. Soon you will be able to send messages to friends and loved ones back on your home planets. And from here on out, all the electronic and communication equipment you had been ordered to stop using will be returned to you.† This got a huge whoop from the teenage sectors of the crowd. â€Å"We know that we have asked much from you,† Rybicki said. â€Å"I am here to tell you that your sacrifice has not been wasted. We believe that very soon now the enemy that has threatened you will be contained – and not just contained, but defeated. We couldn't have done this without you. So for all of the Colonial Union, I thank you.† More cheering and nonsense. The general seemed to be enjoying his moment in the sun. â€Å"Now I must speak with your colony leaders to discuss how to reintegrate you into the Colonial Union. Some of this may take some time, so I ask you to be a little patient. But until then, let me just say this: Welcome back to civilization!† Now the crowd really went nuts. I rolled my eyes and looked down at Babar, who went with me to the landing. â€Å"This is what happens when you spend a year out in the wilderness,† I said. â€Å"Any dumb thing looks like entertainment.† Babar looked up at me and lolled his tongue out; I could tell he agreed with me. â€Å"Come on, then,† I said. And we walked through the crowd to the general, who I was supposed to escort back to my dad. General Rybicki saw Babar before he saw me. â€Å"Hey!† he said, and bent down for his slobbering, which Babar duly and enthusiastically applied. He was a good dog but not a hugely accurate judge of character. â€Å"I remember you,† he said to Babar, petting him. He looked up and saw me. â€Å"I remember you, too.† â€Å"Hello, General,† I said, politely. The crowd was still milling around us but quickly dispersing as folks raced to all corners of the colony to pass on what they were told. â€Å"You look taller,† he said. â€Å"It's been a year,† I said. â€Å"And I am a growing girl. This despite being kept in the dark all this time.† The general seemed not to catch this. â€Å"Your mother said that you would be escorting me to see them. I'm a little surprised that they didn't come out themselves,† he said. â€Å"They've had a busy couple of days,† I said. â€Å"As have we all.† â€Å"So colony life is more exciting than you thought it would be,† the general said. â€Å"Something like that,† I said, and then motioned. â€Å"I know my dad is very interested in talking to you, General. Let's not keep him waiting.† I held my PDA in my hand. There was something not quite right about it. Gretchen noticed it too. â€Å"It feels weird,† she said. â€Å"It's been so long since we carried one around. It's like I've forgotten how to do it.† â€Å"You seemed to remember pretty well when we were using the ones in the information center,† I said, reminding her of how we'd spent a fair amount of the last year. â€Å"It's different,† she said. â€Å"I didn't say I'd forgotten how to use one. I'm saying I've forgotten what it was like to carry one around. Two different things.† â€Å"You could always give it back,† I said. â€Å"I didn't say that,† Gretchen said, quickly. Then she smiled. â€Å"Still, you have to wonder. In the last year people here actually did manage to get along without them just fine. All the hootenannies and the plays and the other stuff.† She looked at her PDA. â€Å"Makes you wonder if they're all going to go away now.† â€Å"I think they're part of who we are now,† I said. â€Å"As Roanokers, I mean.† â€Å"Maybe,† Gretchen said. â€Å"It's a nice thought. We'll have to see if it's actually true.† â€Å"We could practice a new song,† I said. â€Å"Hickory says Dickory's been wanting to try something new for a while now.† â€Å"That's funny,† Gretchen said. â€Å"One of your bodyguards has become a musical fiend.† â€Å"He's a Roanoker too,† I said. â€Å"I guess he is,† Gretchen said. â€Å"That's funny, too.† My PDA blinked; something happened with Gretchen's as well. She peered at hers. â€Å"It's a message from Magdy,† she said. â€Å"This is going to be bad.† She touched the PDA to open it. â€Å"Yup,† she said, and showed me the picture. Magdy sent a short video of him mooning us. â€Å"Some people are getting back into the swing of things sooner than others,† I said. â€Å"Unfortunately,† Gretchen said. She tapped onto her PDA. â€Å"There,† she said. â€Å"I made a note to kick his ass the next time I see him.† She motioned at my PDA. â€Å"He send it to you, too?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"I think I'll refrain from opening it.† â€Å"Coward,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Well, then, what is going to be your first official act on your PDA?† â€Å"I'm going to send a message to a certain two someones,† I said. â€Å"And tell them that I want to see them alone.† â€Å"We apologize for being late,† Hickory said to me, as it and Dickory stepped into my bedroom. â€Å"Major Perry and General Rybicki gave us priority status on a data packet so that we could communicate with our government. It took some time to prepare the data.† â€Å"What did you send?† I asked. â€Å"Everything,† Hickory said. â€Å"Everything,† I said. â€Å"Every single thing you two and I did in the last year.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"A digest of events now, and a more comprehensive report as soon as we can. Our people will be desperate to know what has happened with you since they last heard from us. They need to know you are well and unharmed.† â€Å"This includes what happened last night,† I said. â€Å"All of it. Including the part where you oh so lightly mentioned your plans to murder my parents.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"We are sorry to have upset you, Zoe. We would not have wished to do that. But you offered us no alternative when you told us to speak the truth to your parents.† â€Å"And what about to me?† I asked. â€Å"We have always told you the truth,† Hickory said. â€Å"Yes, but not all of it, have you?† I said. â€Å"You told Dad that you had information about the Conclave that you didn't tell him about. But you didn't tell it to me, either. You kept secrets from me, Hickory. You and Dickory both.† â€Å"You never asked,† Hickory said. â€Å"Oh, don't give me that crap,† I said. â€Å"We're not playing word games here, Hickory. You kept us in the dark. You kept me in the dark. And the more I've thought about it, the more I realize how you acted on what you knew without telling me. All those alien races you had me and Gretchen study in the information center. All the races you trained us how to fight. Hardly any of them were in the Conclave. Because you knew that if the Conclave found us first, they'd try everything not to fight us.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Don't you think I should have known that?† I asked. â€Å"Don't you think it would have mattered to me? To all of us? To the entire colony?† â€Å"We are sorry, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"We had orders from our government not to reveal information to your parents that they did not already know, until such time as it became absolutely necessary. That would have only been if the Conclave were to appear in your sky. Until then, we were required to exercise care. If we had spoken to you about it, you would have naturally informed your parents. And so we decided that we would not bring these things up with you, unless you asked us directly about them.† â€Å"And why would I do that?† I asked. â€Å"Indeed,† Hickory said. â€Å"We regret the necessity. But we saw no other alternative.† â€Å"Listen to me, both of you,† I said, and then stopped. â€Å"You're recording this now, aren't you.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"We always record, unless you tell us otherwise. Would you like us to stop recording?† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"I actually want all of you to hear this. First, I forbid you to harm my parents in any way. Ever.† â€Å"Major Perry has already informed us that he would surrender the colony rather than destroy it,† Hickory said. â€Å"Since this is true there is no reason to harm either him or Lieutenant Sagan.† â€Å"It doesn't matter,† I said. â€Å"Who knows if there's going to be another time you decide it's going to be necessary to try to get rid of John and Jane?† â€Å"It seems unlikely,† Hickory said. â€Å"I don't care if it's more likely that I was going to sprout wings,† I said. â€Å"I didn't think it was ever possible that you might think to kill my parents, Hickory. I was wrong about that. I'm not going to be wrong about it again. So swear it. Swear you will never harm my parents.† Hickory spoke briefly to Dickory in their own language. â€Å"We swear it,† Hickory said. â€Å"Swear it for all Obin,† I said. â€Å"We cannot,† Hickory said. â€Å"That is not something we can promise. It is not within our power. But neither Dickory nor I will seek to harm your parents. And we will defend them against all those who would try to harm them. Even other Obin. This we swear to you, Zoe.† It was the last part of this that made me believe Hickory. I hadn't asked him to defend John and Jane, just not harm them. Hickory added it in. They both did. â€Å"Thank you,† I said. I felt as if I were suddenly coming unwound; until that second I didn't realize how worked up I was just sitting there, talking about this. â€Å"Thank you both. I really needed to hear that.† â€Å"You are welcome, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"Is there something else you want to ask us?† â€Å"You have files on the Conclave,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"We have already given them to Lieutenant Sagan for analysis.† That made perfect sense; Jane had been an intelligence officer when she was in the Special Forces. â€Å"I want to see them, too,† I said. â€Å"Everything you have.† â€Å"We will provide them to you,† Hickory said. â€Å"But there is a lot of information, and not all of it is easy to understand. Lieutenant Sagan is far more qualified to work with this information.† â€Å"I'm not saying give it to me and not her,† I said. â€Å"I just want to see it too.† â€Å"If you wish,† Hickory said. â€Å"And anything else that you might get from your government on the Conclave,† I said. â€Å"And I mean all of it, Hickory. None of this ‘you didn't ask directly' junk from now on. We're done with that. Do you understand me?† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"You understand that the information we receive might in itself be incomplete. We are not told everything.† â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"But you still seem to know more than we do. And I want to understand what we're up against. Or were, anyway.† â€Å"Why do you say ‘were'?† Hickory asked. â€Å"General Rybicki told the crowd today that the Conclave was about to be defeated,† I said. â€Å"Why? Do you know any different?† â€Å"We do not know any different,† Hickory said. â€Å"But we do not think that just because General Rybicki says something in public to a large crowd, it means he is telling the truth. Nor does it mean that Roanoke itself is entirely out of danger.† â€Å"But that doesn't make any sense,† I said. I held up my PDA to Hickory. â€Å"We were told we can use these again. That we can use all of our electronics again. We had stopped using them because they would give us away. If we're allowed to use them again, we don't have to worry about being given away.† â€Å"That is one interpretation of the data,† Hickory said. â€Å"There's another?† I asked. â€Å"The general did not say that the Conclave had been defeated, but that he believed they would be defeated,† Hickory said. â€Å"That is correct?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"Then it is possible that the general means for Roanoke to play a part in the defeat of the Conclave,† Hickory said. â€Å"In which case, it is not that you are being allowed to use your electronics because it is safe. You are being allowed to use them because you are now bait.† â€Å"You think the Colonial Union is leading the Conclave here,† I said, after a minute. â€Å"We offer no opinion one way or another,† Hickory said. â€Å"We note only that it is possible. And it fits what data we have.† â€Å"Have you told my dad about this?† I asked. â€Å"We have not – † Hickory began, but I was already out the door. â€Å"Close the door behind you,† Dad said. I did. â€Å"Who have you talked to about this?† he asked. â€Å"Hickory and Dickory, obviously,† I said. â€Å"No one else.† â€Å"No one?† Dad asked. â€Å"Not even Gretchen?† â€Å"No,† I said. Gretchen had gone off to harass Magdy for sending her that video. I was beginning to wish I had gone with her instead of making Hickory and Dickory come to my room. â€Å"Good,† Dad said. â€Å"Then you need to keep quiet about it, Zoe. You and the alien twins.† â€Å"You don't think what Hickory is saying is going to happen, do you?† I asked. Dad looked directly at me, and once again I was reminded how much older he was than he appeared. â€Å"It is going to happen,† he said. â€Å"The Colonial Union has laid a trap for the Conclave. We disappeared a year ago. The Conclave has been looking for us all that time, and the CU has spent all that time preparing the trap. Now it's ready, so we're being dragged back into view. When General Rybicki's ship goes back, they're going to let it leak where we are. The news will get back to the Conclave. The Conclave will send its fleet here. And the Colonial Union will destroy it. That's the plan, anyway.† â€Å"Is it going to work?† I asked. â€Å"I don't know,† Dad said. â€Å"What happens if it doesn't?† I asked. Dad laughed a very small and bitter laugh. â€Å"If it doesn't, then I don't think the Conclave is going to be in any mood for negotiations,† he said. â€Å"Oh, God,† I said. â€Å"We have to tell people, Dad.† â€Å"I know we do,† he said. â€Å"I tried keeping things from the colonists before, and it didn't work very well.† He was talking about the werewolves there, and I reminded myself that when all this was done I needed to come clean to him about my own adventures with them. â€Å"But I also don't need another panic on our hands. People have been whipsawed enough in the last couple of days. I need to figure out a way to tell people what the CU has planned without putting them in fear for their lives.† â€Å"Despite the fact they should be,† I said. â€Å"That is the catch,† Dad said, and gave another bitter chuckle. Then he looked at me. â€Å"It's not right, Zoe. This whole colony is built on a lie. Roanoke was never intended to be a real colony, a viable colony. It exists because our government needed a way to thumb its nose at the Conclave, to defy its colonization ban, and to buy time to build a trap. Now that it's had that time, the only reason our colony exists is to be a goat at a stake. The Colonial Union doesn't care about us for who we are, Zoe. It only cares about us for what we are. What we represent to them. What they can use us for. Who we are doesn't actually enter into it.† â€Å"I know the feeling,† I said. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Dad said. â€Å"I'm getting both abstract and depressed.† â€Å"It's not abstract, Dad,† I said. â€Å"You're talking to the girl whose life is a treaty point. I know what it means to be valued for what I am rather than who I am.† Dad gave me a hug. â€Å"Not here, Zoe,† he said. â€Å"We love you for you. Although if you want to tell your Obin friends to get off their asses and help us, I wouldn't mind.† â€Å"Well, I did get Hickory and Dickory to swear not to kill you,† I said. â€Å"So that's progress, at least.† â€Å"Yes, baby steps in the right direction,† Dad said. â€Å"It'll be nice not to have to worry about being knifed by members of my household.† â€Å"There's always Mom,† I said. â€Å"Trust me, if I ever annoyed her that much, she wouldn't use something as painless as a knife,† Dad said. He kissed me on the cheek. â€Å"Thanks for coming to tell me what Hickory said, Zoe,† he said. â€Å"And thanks for keeping it to yourself for now.† â€Å"You're welcome,† I said, and then headed for the door. I stopped before I turned the handle. â€Å"Dad? How long do you think it will take before the Conclave is here?† â€Å"Not long, Zoe,† he said. â€Å"Not long at all.† In fact, it took just about two weeks. In that time, we prepared. Dad found a way to tell everyone the truth without having them panic: He told them that there was still a good chance the Conclave would find us and that the Colonial Union was planning on making a stand here; that there was still danger but that we had been in danger before, and that being smart and prepared was our best defense. Colonists called up plans to build bomb shelters and other protections, and used the excavation and construction machinery we'd kept packed up before. People kept to their work and stayed optimistic and prepared themselves as best they could, readying themselves for a life on the edge of a war. I spent my time reading the stuff Hickory and Dickory gave me, watching the videos of the colony removals, and poring through the data to see what I could learn. Hickory and Dickory were right, there was just too much of it, and lots of it in formats I couldn't understand. I don't know how Jane managed to keep it all straight in her head. But what was there was enough to know a few different things. First, the Conclave was huge: Over four hundred races belonged to it, each of them pledging to work together to colonize new worlds rather than compete for them. This was a wild idea; up until now all the hundreds of races in our part of space fought with each other to grab worlds and colonize them, and then once they created a new colony they all fought tooth and nail to keep their own and wipe out everyone else's. But in the Conclave setup, creatures from all sorts of races would live on the same planet. You wouldn't have to compete. In theory, a great idea – it beats having to try to kill everyone else in the area – but whether it would actually work was still up in the air. Which brought up the second point: It was still incredibly new. General Gau, the head of the Conclave, had worked for more than twenty years to put it together, and for most of those years it kept looking like it was going to fall apart. It didn't help that the Colonial Union – us humans – and a few others expended a lot of energy to break it up even before it got together. But somehow Gau made it happen, and in the last couple of years had actually taken it from planning to practicality. That wasn't a good thing for everyone who wasn't part of the Conclave, especially when the Conclave started making decrees, like that no one who wasn't part of the Conclave could colonize any new worlds. Any argument with the Conclave was an argument with every member of the Conclave. It wasn't a one-on-one thing; it was a four-hundred-on-one thing. And General Gau made sure people knew it. When the Conclave started bringing fleets to remove those new colonies that other races planted in defiance, there was one ship in that fleet for every race in the Conclave. I tried to imagine four hundred battle cruisers suddenly popping up over Roanoke, and then remembered that if the Colonial Union's plan worked, I'd see them soon enough. I stopped trying to imagine it. It was fair to wonder if the Colonial Union was insane for trying to pick a fight with the Conclave, but as big as it was, its newness worked against it. Every one of those four hundred allies had been enemies not too long ago. Each of them came in to the Conclave with its own plans and agenda, and not all of them, it seemed, were entirely convinced this Conclave thing was going to work; when it all came down, some of them planned to scoop up the choice pieces. It was still early enough for it all to fall apart, if someone applied just the right amount of pressure. It looked like the Colonial Union was planning to do that, up above Roanoke. Only one thing was keeping it all together, and that was the third thing I learned: That this General Gau was in his way a remarkable person. He wasn't like one of those tin-pot dictators who got lucky, seized a country and gave themselves the title of Grand High Poobah or whatever. He had been an actual general for a people called the Vrenn, and had won some important battles for them when he decided that it was wasteful to fight over resources that more than one race could easily and productively share; when he started campaigning with this idea, he was thrown into jail. No one likes a troublemaker. The ruler who tossed him in jail eventually died (Gau had nothing to do with it; it was natural causes) and Gau was offered the job, but he turned it down and instead tried to get other races to sign on to the idea of the Conclave. He had the disadvantage that he didn't get the Vrenn to go along with the idea at first; all he had to his name was an idea and a small battle cruiser called the Gentle Star, which he had gotten the Vrenn to give him after they decommissioned it. From what I could read, it seemed like the Vrenn thought they were buying him off with it, as in â€Å"here, take this, thanks for your service, go away, no need to send a postcard, bye.† But he didn't go away, and despite the fact that his idea was insane and impractical and nuts and could never possibly work because every race in our universe hated every other race too much, it worked. Because this General Gau made it work, by using his own skills and personality to get people of all different races to work together. The more I read about him, the more it seemed like the guy was really admirable. And yet he was also the person who had ordered the killing of civilian colonists. Yes, he'd offered to move them and even offered to give them space in the Conclave. But when it came right down to it, if they wouldn't move and they wouldn't join, he wiped them out. Just like he would wipe us all out, if despite everything Dad told Hickory and Dickory we didn't surrender the colony – or if, should the attack the Colonial Union had planned on the Conclave fleet go wrong, the general decided that the CU needed to be taught a lesson for daring to defy the Conclave and wiped us out just on general principles. I wasn't so sure just how admirable General Gau would be, if at the end of the day he wouldn't stop from killing me and every single person I cared about. It was a puzzle. He was a puzzle. I spent those two weeks trying to sort it out. Gretchen got grumpy with me that I'd been locked away without telling her what I was up to; Hickory and Dickory had to remind me to get out and work on my training. Even Jane wondered if I might not need to get outside more. The only person not to give me much grief was Enzo; since we got back together he was actually very accommodating about my schedule. I appreciated that. I made sure he knew. He seemed to appreciate that. And then just like that we all ran out of time. The Gentle Star, General Gau's ship, appeared above our colony one afternoon, disabled our communications satellite so Gau could have some time to chat, and then sent a message to Roanoke asking to meet with the colony leaders. John replied that he would meet with him. That evening, as the sun set, they met on the ridge outside the colony, about a klick away. â€Å"Hand me the binoculars, please,† I said to Hickory, as we climbed out to the roof of the bungalow. It obliged me. â€Å"Thanks,† I said. Dickory was below us, on the ground; old habits die hard. Even with the binoculars General Gau and Dad were little more than dots. I looked anyway. I wasn't the only one; on other roofs, in Croatoan and in the homesteads, other people sat on roofs with binoculars and telescopes, looking at Dad and the general, or scanning the sky, looking in the dusk for the Gentle Star. As night finally fell, I spotted the ship myself; a tiny dot between two stars, shining unblinkingly where the other stars twinkled. â€Å"How long until the other ships arrive, do you think?† I asked Hickory. The Gentle Star always arrived first, alone, and then at Gau's command, the hundreds of other ships would appear, a not-at-all-subtle bit of showmanship to get a reluctant colony leader to agree to get his or her people to leave their homes. I had watched it on previous colony removal videos. It would happen here, too. â€Å"Not long now,† Hickory said. â€Å"By now Major Perry will have refused to surrender the colony.† I took down my binoculars and glanced over to Hickory in the gloom. â€Å"You don't seem concerned about this,† I said. â€Å"That's a different tune than you were singing before.† â€Å"Things have changed,† Hickory said. â€Å"I wish I had your confidence,† I said. â€Å"Look,† Hickory said. â€Å"It has begun.† I glanced up. New stars had begun to appear in the sky. First one or two, then small groups, and then entire constellations. So many had begun to appear it was impossible to track every single appearance. I knew there were four hundred. It seemed like thousands. â€Å"Dear God,† I said, and I was afraid. Truly afraid. â€Å"Look at them all.† â€Å"Do not fear this attack, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"We believe this plan will work.† â€Å"You know the plan?† I asked. I didn't take my eyes off the sky. â€Å"We learned of it this afternoon,† Hickory said. â€Å"Major Perry told us, as a courtesy to our government.† â€Å"You didn't tell me,† I said. â€Å"We thought you knew,† Hickory said. â€Å"You said you had spoken to Major Perry about it.† â€Å"We talked about the Colonial Union attacking the Conclave fleet,† I said. â€Å"But we didn't talk about how.† â€Å"My apologies, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"I would have told you.† â€Å"Tell me now,† I said, and then something happened in the sky. The new stars started going nova. First one or two, then small groups, and then entire constellations. So many expanded and brightened that they had begun to blend into each other, forming an arm of a small and violent galaxy. It was beautiful. And it was the worst thing I had ever seen. â€Å"Antimatter bombs,† Hickory said. â€Å"The Colonial Union learned the identity of the ships in the Conclave fleet. It assigned members of your Special Forces to locate them and plant the bombs just before the jump here. Another Special Forces member here activated them.† â€Å"Bombs on how many ships?† I asked. â€Å"All of them,† Hickory said. â€Å"All but the Gentle Star.† I tried to turn to look at Hickory but I couldn't move my eyes from the sky. â€Å"That's impossible,† I said. â€Å"No,† Hickory said. â€Å"Not impossible. Extraordinarily difficult. But not impossible.† From other roofs and from the streets of Croatoan, cheers and shouts lifted into the air. I finally turned away, and wiped the tears off my face. Hickory noticed. â€Å"You cry for the Conclave fleet,† it said. â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"For the people on those ships.† â€Å"Those ships were here to destroy the colony,† Hickory said. â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"You are sorry they were destroyed,† Hickory said. â€Å"I am sorry that we couldn't think of anything better,† I said. â€Å"I'm sorry that it had to be us or them.† â€Å"The Colonial Union believes this will be a great victory,† Hickory said. â€Å"It believes that destroying the Conclave's fleet in one engagement will cause the Conclave to collapse, ending its threat. This is what it has told my government.† â€Å"Oh,† I said. â€Å"It is to be hoped they are correct,† Hickory said. I was finally able to look away and face Hickory. The afterimages of the explosions placed blotches all around it. â€Å"Do you believe they are correct?† I asked. â€Å"Would your government believe it?† â€Å"Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"You will recall that just before you left for Roanoke, my government invited you to visit our worlds.† â€Å"I remember,† I said. â€Å"We invited you because our people longed to see you, and to see you among us,† Hickory said. â€Å"We also invited you because we believed that your government was going to use Roanoke as a ruse to open a battle against the Conclave. And while we did not know whether this ruse would be successful, we believed strongly that you would have been safer with us. There is no doubt that your life has been in danger here, Zoe, both in ways we had foreseen and in ways that we could not. We invited you, Zoe, because we feared for you. Do you understand what I am saying to you?† â€Å"I do,† I said. â€Å"You asked me if I believe the Colonial Union is correct, that this is a great victory, and if my government would believe the same,† Hickory said. â€Å"My response is to say that once again my government extends an invitation to you, Zoe, to come visit our worlds, and to travel safe among them.† I nodded, and looked back to the sky, where stars were still going nova. â€Å"And when would you want this trip to begin?† I asked. â€Å"Now,† Hickory said. â€Å"Or as close to now as possible.† I didn't say anything to that. I looked up to the sky, and then closed my eyes and for the first time, started to pray. I prayed for the crews of the ships above me. I prayed for the colonists below me. I prayed for John and Jane. For Gretchen and her father. For Magdy and for Enzo and their families. For Hickory and Dickory. I prayed for General Gau. I prayed for everyone. I prayed. â€Å"Zoe,† Hickory said. I opened my eyes. â€Å"Thank you for the invitation,† I said. â€Å"I regret I must decline.† Hickory was silent. â€Å"Thank you, Hickory,† I said. â€Å"Really, thank you. But I am right where I belong.†