Fear in Wordsworths My heart leaps up when I behold, We Are Seven, Tin

Fear in Wordsworths My heart leaps up when I discern, We Are Seven, Tintern Abbey, and Resolution and IndependenceFear in Wordsworths My heart leaps up when I behold, We Are Seven, Tintern Abbey, and Resolution and IndependenceRomantic poetry conjures in the mind of many people images of sweet, sylvan landscapes populated by picturesque citizens who live in quaint houses in rustic villages, with sheep grazing on green-swathed hills, while a young swain plights his fight to his fair young maiden, who reclines demurely amidst the clover and smiles sunnily. William Wordsworth is perhaps the archetypal Romantic poet his most famous poetry, I wandered lonely as a cloud, would await on first reading to support the traditional, one could say stereotypical, image of a Romantic poet. Even his name, Words-worth, reinforces that image. And yet, upon looking more closely and cargonfully at his works, it becomes clear that the emotions which motivate his creativity are not solely a love of n ature and pastorality.Let us consider Wordsworths My heart leaps up when I behold. The poem can be interpreted on a very simple level as a typical Romantic poem there is the glorying in and of nature that most people immediately think of when Romantic poetry is mentioned. The speaker is excite when he sees a rainbow, he was thrilled in his youth when he saw a rainbow, and when he is old he will continue to be thrilled by seeing a rainbow if he cannot be thrilled, he would rather be dead. The speakers life has a kind of continuity, of stability, through the process of memory. The reader can wipe away a tear and mumble Isnt that nice?, and switch on Threes Company this interpretation affirms our sense of what poets should fee... ...rom finding In that decrepit Man so firm a mind (line 145), finding, however temporarily, a source of courage against his fears (lines 146-147)God, said I, be my help and stay secure Ill think of the Leech-gatherer on the lonely moor. Works CitedAll quota tions are taken from the following book, references given parenthetically within the textStephen Gill, editor. The Oxford Authors William Wordsworth. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1986.o The Idiot Boy, pp. 67-80 o Michael, pp. 224-236 o My heart leaps up when I behold, pp. 246-247 o Resolution and Independence, pp. 260-264 o Tintern Abbey, pp. 131-135 o We Are Seven, p. 84 except, where indicated by Coleridge, fromDonald A. Stauffer, editor. Selected Poetry and Prose of Coleridge. Random House New York, 1951.o can An Ode, pp. 78-82

Individual and Society During the Great War Period :: Essays Papers

Individual and Society During the Great War Period The concept of nationalism amongst European countries grew throughout the19th ampere-second and was maintained during the Great War. mint began to see themselves as part of a nation, which came before the individual. As a result of this, individual freedoms, rights, and ideas were dismissed in point to solidify the nationalistic society. Nationalistic attitudes were implanted in the minds and hearts of the public by way of propaganda, education, and unification. People were under the belief that unification was necessary for the increase of their country, and were willing to give their lives for this ideal. This ultimately led to the beginning of the Great War. The imposition of national unity limited people from being individuals, separate from the whole of society, with their take beliefs, ideals, and freedoms. Nationalism purposefully limited them by creating a central norm which not all people were willing or able to adhere to. Peoples rights and freedoms were lento whittled away at by the states entrance into their lives. The state did this in many ways. The impression of a distinct language and culture were done through the occasion of schools. They also accomplished this through programs and common goals. As a result of the growing number of schools and literate people, printed materials advocating nationalism and patriotism aided in this development.(1)Patriotism and consignment to the state were instilled at an early age in the hope that the child would carry them through to adulthood. Peoples trust and dependence on the government increased during this period, change magnitude its power and influence over their lives. People believed that they were becoming unified in order to protect their common freedoms and their countrys opportunity for progression. This unification of individuals into one body gave them the competency of a common bond. This would cause them to stand behind their nation, and put it above all else. The feelings that nationalism ignited within people, such as patriotism and homage to ones country, both aided in the development of World War I, and were used as ammunition by the rulers to enhance peoples willingness to give their lives to the country through battle. People no longer viewed themselves as individuals, but rather, part of the nation. During the Great War, individual needs were set aside for the good of the nation. This was carved into the minds and hearts of the soldiers as tumefy as those that were back at home.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Taiwan Essay -- Health, Diseases

In March 2003, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (severe acute respiratory syndrome), so furthermost the most lethal infectious disease in this century, hit the world, including Taiwan. The unfortunate pandemic shattered Taiwans tourism industry and the nations image of a safe tourism destination region, thus affecting Taiwans economy. The Taiwanese government, as well as others that were affected, placed restrictions of varying stringency on domestic and international traveling due to the cases of SARS. Therefore, precautions were taken and Taiwans global travel and tourism system deteriorated. Having Japan and Hong Kong as Taiwans two main sources of tourist arrivals, this pandemic decreased a huge amount of international arrivals from these generating regions reaching a level the island had never before witnessed. Accordingly, due to the influence of SARS on tourism from Japan and Hong Kong, Taiwan had to re-establish its image as angiotensin-converting enzyme o f Asias must-see destinations.Undertaking such question in this pandemic will give a further insight into the impacts of SARS and how the tourism industry has responded in relation to the turmoil that transpired in peerless of the worst affected in the Asian region, Taiwan. The importance of this research relies vastly on the perceptions from various stakeholders that were affected by the disease, including the community, business owners and the nation as a whole. The impacts of such a turbulent disease ranged from escalating health warnings and death tolls, to economic problems including the deterioration of businesses and sales which led to loss of jobs and furthermore, the large decline in inward tourist arrivals primarily from Japan and Hong Kong (Pine and McKercher, 2004).Due to the large scale of impacts... ...s concern about SARS. Secondly, advertising and promotional campaign took place to boost willingness to travel to Taiwan. In order to obtain the numbers of Japanese t ourists during pre-SARS, the Taiwan government implemented on advertisements with the aim of giving Taiwan the image of being one of Asias must-see destinations for tourists. With the aid of these initiatives, Taiwans tourism market had restored to normal by the summer holiday season. While arrivals from Japan recovered to only 70% of pre-SARS level due to a drop off in international trips by Japanese travellers in general, growth was seen in all the other major source markets, including Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, and the U.S. The Japanese tourist arrivals did not recover completely until more than a year after Taiwan was officially removed the list of SARS affected areas (Mao, Ding, Le 2004).

Capital Punishment Essay -- Justice Law Government Morals Ethics Essay

Capital PunishmentShould we kill killers is the question to answer regarding the controversial subject of capital punishment. thither is strong support for both sides and galore(postnominal) another(prenominal) people rescue offered their opinions in writing for all of us to examine. John M. Olin, the Professor of Jurisprudence and Public policy at Fordham University, gave us his Pro-Capital Punishment opinion in the Harvard Law Review in 1986. Although his article was written more than a decade ago the argued topics have not changed. In his work The Ultimate Punishment A Defense Mr. Olin addresses why he feels capital punishment is necessary in our society and across the world. According to Olin retribution is the number one reason for capital punishment. He goes on to say that the retributive notion of punishment in general is that as a foundational matter of justice, criminals deserve punishment and punishment should be equal to the harm done. What counts as punishment e qual to harm? Olin refers to lex talionis commonly known as an eye for an eye. This idea was drawn from the Babylonian Law of Hammurabi from the 18th century. It states If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death. If it kills the son of the owner, then the son of that builder shall be put to death. Besides be totally absurd there are a couple of points to make. First, retribution cannot be uniformly applied to every harm committed. What about rapist? Should they be raped? What about those who commit mass murder? How can we make their punishment proportional? The answer is we can not. Killing one person who killed other serves no practical... ...ntly, especially if death is involved, then we need to stop, back up and say what is going on here? Criminals no doubt deserve to be punished, and punished with severity appropriate to the harm they have caused to the innocent. But severity of punishment has its limits, both by justice and basic human dignity. Too many studies have shown that a lengthy sentence of 20 to 30 years of a murderer has been proven to be sufficient. After this period of time around individuals have proven to be constructive, worthy members of society and have lived prosperous lives after being released. I do however recognize the fact that many individuals should stay in prison for the rest of their lives for the safety of all as well as retribution. For a Nation that is supposed to be founded on Christian morals and beliefs I have to wonder how they justify much of what they do.

Overcoming Gender Differences Essay -- Papers

Overcoming Gender Differences hands and wo manpower come from different worlds. Lets face it, they simply can not communicate. Take the following novel for example Tom and bloody shame were going to a party. Tom was driving and after about twenty minutes and going around the same discontinue many times, it was clear to Mary that Tom was lost. She suggested that he call for help. Tom became silent. They eventually arrived at the party, but the tension form the moment lasted the entire evening. Mary had no idea why Tom was so upset. Mary, on one hand thought that she was offering Tom help. Tom, on the other hand perceive that he was incompetent and couldnt get them there, (Gray, 20).In most instances, men and women interpret all(prenominal) other wrongly as well as attempt to moderate amends in the same mistaken manner. Communication has become the source of our problems. Men expect women to think and react the way men do. Women expect men to feel and communicate the wa y that women do. Both are mistaken. If we could understand each other better, many conflicts could be prevented. But more importantly, if we could only understand each other better, when conflicts do arise, we could overcome them a lot quicker and easier. Men and women have different values. Men and women cope with stress differently, and are motivated differently. Men and women speak different languages and commonly misunderstand each other. Finally men and women keep score differently and have different needs for support. Painful arguments, unheeding can be avoided. Understanding these differences are crucial in day to day situations, but they become even more crucial when dealing in situations when conflicts must be resolved. If we recognize and understand the difference... ...portant role due to the fact that negotiations are based solely on the need for good intercourse. With good communication along with empathy, and a little luck the connections we make and the nego tiations we encounter will be successful ones. BibliographyAuthor Unknown. The Economic and Societal Context (article from Professor Umana in section) Birkoff, Juliana. Gender, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution, 5-28-2000, *http//conflict-resolution.net/articles/birkoff.cfmplain=t* Edelman. Divorce From Pain to Peace ReaderGray, John, Ph.D. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Harper Collins New York, 1992.Tannen, Deborah. You Just Dont Understand. Balentine Books New York, 1991.Ury, William. get to Yes. Penguin Books New York, 1991.

Overcoming Gender Differences Essay -- Papers

Overcoming Gender DifferencesMen and women come from different worlds. Lets face it, they simply weed not communicate. Take the following story for display case Tom and Mary were going to a party. Tom was driving and after about twenty minutes and going around the same block galore(postnominal) times, it was clear to Mary that Tom was lost. She suggested that he call for help. Tom became silent. They eventually arrived at the party, but the tension form the moment lasted the entire evening. Mary had no idea why Tom was so upset. Mary, on one hand thought that she was offering Tom help. Tom, on the different hand heard that he was incompetent and couldnt get them there, (Gray, 20).In most instances, men and women interpret each other wrongly as well as attempt to make revise in the same mistaken manner. Communication has become the source of our problems. Men expect women to think and react the way men do. Women expect men to thumb and communicate the way that women d o. Both are mistaken. If we could understand each other better, many conflicts could be prevented. But more importantly, if we could only understand each other better, when conflicts do arise, we could overcome them a lot quicker and easier. Men and women have different values. Men and women cope with stress differently, and are motivated differently. Men and women babble different languages and commonly misunderstand each other. Finally men and women keep score differently and have different needs for support. Painful arguments, regardless can be avoided. Understanding these differences are crucial in day to day situations, but they become even more crucial when dealing in situations when conflicts must(prenominal) be resolved. If we recognize and understand the difference... ...portant role due to the fact that negotiations are based solely on the need for good communication. With good communication along with empathy, and a little luck the connections we make and the ne gotiations we encounter will be successful ones. BibliographyAuthor Unknown. The Economic and Societal Context (article from Professor Umana in section) Birkoff, Juliana. Gender, skirmish, and Conflict Resolution, 5-28-2000, *http//conflict-resolution.net/articles/birkoff.cfmplain=t* Edelman. Divorce From Pain to Peace ReaderGray, John, Ph.D. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Harper Collins freshly York, 1992.Tannen, Deborah. You Just Dont Understand. Balentine Books New York, 1991.Ury, William. Getting to Yes. Penguin Books New York, 1991.

Company Evaluation Essay

A Evaluation federation Q is a small grocery store chain drawing on organism profitable in a large city. Company Q had a couple of stores that were not profitable and were in an ara rated for higher crime, so they chose to close these two stores. The amicable office choice by Company Q was abatement, choosing to remove the stores from the negative environment (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2008). Company Q has by request, been offering high margin items, specifically organic products which are considered a health conscious choice for customers concerned with the environment. These items have to be fresh and being spoilable after being displayed for the day result in discarding or wasting by throwing the food away, which is of concern to the community. The community has a food bank which asked for donations of this organic food hoping to alleviate those in need, but Company Q turned them down and showed no real interest in helping the community with the excuse for concern over realistic thespian or employees take the food that was claimed to be for donation.The social responsibility for helping those in need is being avoided by Company Q simply because they claim concern over fraud by employees. This choice by Company Q whitethorn give them a negative reputation for the community (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2008). Job seekers may not want to work for Company Q if they see it as not being socially responsible and the possibility of being stereotyped as a possible thief just now because you work for Company Q. The employees may have lower morale because of the negative reputation and disgust towards management for the lack of trust as an excuse for being socially irresponsible towards those in need. This choice may also cause a drop in current shoppers and a choice by possible new shoppers to choose to shop elsewhere.Recommendations1. Regarding the stores that were closed in the higher crime rate section of the city due to loss in revenue, the emplo yees and customers or primordial stakeholders would be negatively affected. These individuals might not be able to find employment elsewhere and the customers may not be able to travel to some other store to remain satisfied customers. This likely beingthe case, Company Q has a social responsibility to improve this situation. They can reopen the stores, hire security employees, and lay down security cameras to discourage the theft problem. This will restore the positive attitude with the employees and customers. This will restore relations with the community and the suppliers.2. Company Q by request has do a good choice to offer the health foods, though they are high margin products. However, the customers have been asking for years for healthy foods, so the responsibility of Company Q remains that they should sell much more in the health food line. They should choose to sell as much of the lower priced items in the health food line as possible. The community wants the healthy f ood and it is an important step for Company Q to care about the health of the community as well. winning care of the community from a healthy standpoint is an important social responsibility that reaches out to the health and mental attitudes of all those who chose to take advantage of a healthy diet. The next step is to choose an ethical way to give back to the community as a social responsibility for the unsold perishable items. To relieve the concern of employee bad behavior, Company Q could draw up an agreement with the local food bank such that they would have to pick up the day-old products and sign a check sheet list of items that were accepted on the given day date.This would create accountability by the food bank military unit and eliminate the possibility for employee theft. It also would yield a positive attitude in the community for Company Q and possibly increase their bottom line fashioning it attractive to shareholders. 3. Company Q has a responsibility to their em ployees to restore relations with them, as well. Company Q might explore the possibility of donating their time through volunteerism with employees who are voluntary to sign up for a given number of hours per week at the food bank. Therefore, Company Q would be showing their concern for the community and persons who are less(prenominal) fortunate.This will restore employee trust to know that they work for a company who is socially responsible by giving back to the community and employees would appreciate the opportunity to participate in a volunteer outreach to the food bank. These changes would improve the employee morale. This will get some recognition by the community and likely, some of the secondary stakeholders including media may want to air Company Q on TV relating the donation to the food bank of the day-old food and may film theemployees donating their time to the food bank. This could help Company Q with their interest in the community and shareholders by possibly makin g their stock go up and increase their sales in all of their stores.ReferencesFerrell, O., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2008). An Overview of short letter Ethics Ethical Issues and The Institutionalization of Business Ethics. In O. Ferrell, J. Fraedrich, & L. Ferrell, Business Ethics Ethical Decision Making and Cases (pp. 4-85). Boston Houghton Mifflin Company.

The Irony in Ghana’s Agricultural Productivity

The USs prospect of establishing a military base in gold coast proves its firm image of this thriving African country. This firm control of US is also strongly app arent in Ghanas economic policy. Endowed with an abundant supply of natural resources, Ghana has long been infra US economic and social influence with international organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization.It is important to line of credit here that IMF-WB and WTO work, in the final analysis, for the benefit of those who control them which are no other than the US and other First World countries. The policies advanced by IMF-WB and WTO that Ghana faithfully adopts put the country in an inequitable relationship with the US and other powerful nations.One clear policy is the Structural Adjustments Programs (SAPs) which contain various conditionalities handle the privatization of local industries, the reductions in tariffs and trade barriers, the curtailing of agraria n reform, and the liberalization of local economies.A manifestation that the SAPs are at work in Ghana can be seen through the countrys export-oriented and import-dependent economy. What does this mean? Ghanas economy is export-oriented because its natural resources, particularly its rich agricultural resources, are taken outside the country and appropriated by the more powerful nations who control it.That is why even though Ghana is rich in agricultural resources, majority of its people experience hunger because 1) they are not the ones who benefit from what their land offers 2) the country is not yet industrialized to support a viable agricultural production process.The US, being a highly industrialized country, makes use of the natural resources it has taken from Ghana and processes these resources. The US requires less labor force in processing the natural resources it has taken from third domain of a function countries precisely because it has high-tech machines to do the work faster and more efficient.After the processing of the natural resources, Third World countries dependent on US (thanks to IMF-WB and WTO) import them. The sad irony here is that Third World countries buy and import goods that are essentially theirs.Notes1. Structural adjustment 25 July 2007. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 12 August 2007.

The Arabian Nights: The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad

Curiosity kills the cat as the old saying goes. The same involve handst did happen in the story The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad. Curiosity of the men who entered the house of the three ladies of Baghdad put their lives at risk by hard to know what they are not supposed to know. Although there had been a sworn statement between the ladies and the men, the latter broke the contract and faced the consequences. However, curiosity, if done correctly, canful also be a source of some function better than expected.The Porter and the Three Ladies in BaghdadIn the story, seven men were in the ladies house. They were a porter, a Caliph and his companions (Wazir and swordsman), and the three Kalandars. At first, the men and the ladies were merry-making. Moments later, there came two bitches chained on their neck that the eldest of the ladies slapped and tortured in front of the men. This aroused come to from the men but they just let it pass. Later on, they truism the portress (o ne of the ladies) playing the lute but to their surprise, she reacted terribly and passed kayoed after tearing her dress. The men saw the marks of the rod and whip in her back and again it added to their curiosity.It happened three times and the men were greatly astounded save the Caliphs minister. They reacted, thinking that they can easily overpower the ladies, and caught the ladies attention. The eldest asked about the commotion and the porter was tasked to tell the truth they wanted to know whats going on. But the ladies and the men had agreed beforehand that they must not talk things that are not of their concern least, they face the unpleasant. To the ladies command, 7 huge white and black men came out of the closet and tied the men. Now, because of curiosity, they had their lives in danger.Being curious can be both beneficial and risky. Curiosity kills the cat as the old saying goes. In this case, the men, especially the Kalandars, ended risking their lives because of their curiosity. We can blame them because they failed to comply with the contract. They were already told that they must not talk about things theyre not concerned with and they agreed.The men should lay down listened and did as what they were supposed to do. However, curiosity had been beneficial in the sense that it created chaos in the story. If the men didnt react, the story would have been boring. Also, another good thing is that it lengthened the story. The characters involved, especially the Kalandars and the ladies, ended sharing their stories.References The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad. Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http//xahlee.org/p/arabian_nights/an5.html

As completely as possible, sketch the supply chain for Zara from raw materials to consumer purchase Essay

Zara makes about 40% of their raw material (fabric). The remaining 60% is outsourced from within Spain, mostly from the La Curuna. figure of clothes at Zara is done by creative teams of everyplace 300 professionals at the headquarters in La Curuna, Spain. They act on the information feed to them from the stores managers.The first stage in Zaras production arrangement is cutting of fabric. The design is then sent for sewing by one of several degree centigrade local cooperatives. After sewing, the clothes are returned to Zaras facilities for ironing by an assembly line of workers. After this, the clothing items are wrapped in waxy and transported on conveyor belts to a group of giant warehouses.In the warehouse, the customised machines patterned after the equipment used by overnight parcel services, sorts, packs, labels, and solelyocates clothing items for shipment to Zaras retail stores. For Zaras retail stores within a 24-hour drive, goods are delivered by truck whereas goods meant for stores beyond 24-hour drive are delivered by cargo jets.Zara sells to customers at their make retail stores, each managed by a retail manager who gives feedback on fashion trends to the design team.1. Discuss the concepts of horizontal and vertical conflict as they repair to Zara. Channel conflict is generated when one channel members action prevent the channel from achieving its goals. It can stem from difference between channel members goals and objectives, from disagreements over the domain of responsibility and from difference in perception of the market place. Channel conflict can be vertical or horizontal.Horizontal Conflict occurs among firms at the same level of the channel. Vertical Conflict, conflicts between different levels of the same channel, is even more common.2. Which type of vertical marketing arrangement does Zara employ? List all the benefits that Zra receives by having adopted this system.The type of vertical marketing system which Zara employ is th e Corporate Vertical System which integrates successive stages of production and distribution under whiz ownership. Zara makes 40 percent of its own fabrics and produces more than half of its own clothes, rather than relying on a hodgepodge of slow-moving suppliers. New designs feed into Zara manufacturing centers, which ship excite products dirictly to 1,161 Zara stores in 68 countries, saving time, eliminating the need for warehouses, and keeping inventories low. Efective Vertical Integration makes Zara faster, more flexible, and more efficient than International competitors.3. Does Zara experience disadvantages from its fast-fashion distribution system? argon these disadvantages offset by the advantages?4. How does Zara add value for the customer through major logistic functions?Zara SystemOne of the successful organizations that use the vertical marketing system (VMS) is Zara which have a distinctive feature of business model. With the aid of the vertical integration, the comp any is allowed to develop the strong merchandising strategy that continuously led the Zara to fashion the opportunities particularly in the fast-fashion system. Because of the lack of flexibility found in traditional retailing, the organization is obliged to produce the products in varieties, amount, and frequency of the new styles. This type of system begins in the corporate areas, wherein the leaders plan the changes that will create an impact in the organization. All the plans are administered to the stores that are mostly visited by the customers.In this counsel the regular customers will know that the new products are already available for merchandise (Craig, Jones, & Nieto, 2004). The quick response of Zara in the fast-fashion system places the emphasis on apply the VMS to be very quick fashion follower than to achieve manufacturing efficiencies. The continuous product development in the retail environment enables the organization to facilitate the train f competitive adva ntage.

African American and Obama Essay

In A More Perfect Union, a lecture given by Barack Obama, there are multiple issues addressed, with race organism the biggest of them all. In Obamas speech, his main focus is the issue of racism, and he touches on the examples of racism today and how we should cope with these problems. Obama uses various tones and experiences in both his life and the lives of others as well, to portray his thoughts on the subject. Obviously in a speech about racism given by an African American man, there are deprivation to be mixed responses portrayed by the listening, and I speak up those mixed reactions are exactly what was occurring in the audience.As being part of that audience, I think Obama did an exceptional job of showing how racism is still present today, not only towards African Americans, but every other race as well. In A More Perfect Union, Obama not only talks about the conventional types of racism consisting of whites and blacks, but also that of all the other ethnicities we give in this country. As a result of doing this Obama presents all these issues fairly and unbiased, without concentrating too much on which form of racism applies to him the most, which would be racism towards African Americans.He makes a case that there is also racism towards Caucasian Americans, which is not usually thought of when dealing with prejudice amongst groups of ethnicities. By doing this, Obama really shows that he is presenting his concerns equally, and is no way biased towards a certain group or race in his speech. Obama talks about divergent types of experiences of racism in his life that some(prenominal) other young African American men and woman might have also experienced. And since he has such a rich cultural family, with legion(predicate) another(prenominal) different ethnicities, he makes his life relatable to almost every race in America.The points he uses in his speech are both realistic and appropriate towards the audience that he is addressing, which are th e voters of America. Obama had a very valid point which I think intrigued many people, when he spoke of his family situation. He explained his family background and all the different ethnicities that were intertwined within his family tree, including his white grandmother. Just like any other grandson, he loved his grandmother and she loved him no matter what her views on racism were.By presenting this background Obama made it clear that race was no boundary when it came to family life, so why could this not be the case between associates in every day life. I think this story of his grandmother is one of the most vital points in the speech. Most everyone in the audience can relate because mostly everyone in the audience would probably of had a grandmother that they loved as Obama did. Out of everyone in the audience who had a grandmother, I would almost guarantee they would love the selfsame(prenominal) even if they were a different color or race, which is the point Obama is trying to make here.While Obama was giving this speech he had a very explicit tone, which I think was made known to everyone who had heard it. Listening to the speech, I couldnt help but think of his tone as sad and disappointed. also I think it was clear that Obama was very disappointed when it came to his feelings regarding his very own Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and rightly so. When talking about active racism going on in a country like America today, there should be no feelings other than disgust and disappointment.I believe that it didnt take farseeing for the audience to pick up on Obamas tone for the speech, and henceforth this tone set the stage for the rest of the speech. Obama used his tone to his advantage when utterance and, really helped him make a more emotional speech when talking to his audience. Obama used various different tones and examples when giving his speech to the American people. The reason he did this, was to try to connect with all the different types of aud iences he was addressing.Obviously he was addressing the American people, but there are many sub groups within the American people. Obama made sure to speak of racism toward African Americans, as well as other ethnicities, including Caucasian, to eliminate any bias there was when giving the speech as an African American male. Doing this was very important when giving this speech, because if all the different different audiences werent addressed, it would automatically be assumed that this African American man, was speaking towards his race only, and therefore isnt taking into account the rest of the American people.If the audience would of reacted to this speech, I would assume they would think that Obama is not only an indispose candidate for president, but a morally challenged American as well. Obamas A More Perfect Union Speech, was not just a speech, but a message to all of the American people that we will not succumb to racism today, as we had in the past. By addressing Americ a in this way, I think he gained a give out of respect from people that otherwise wouldnt have even considered voting for him in his presidential campaign.In his speech he brings up many concerns that we had as a country, and I think that he addressed those concerns as well as anybody could of. Obama presented a lot of valid points, and showed to America that he had many insightful experiences that qualified him to be a successful leader in a country such as the United States. A More Perfect Union, really set the stage for the new movement against racism, by giving this speech Obama changed the view of many Americans on the subject of racism, and I think that is exactly what Americans needed to realize.

Liberation theology Essay

In the article, author Enrique Dussel has asserted that the use of Marxism by theologians was adequate, just and beneficial for society. It is not inconsistent with Christianity in fact it has increased popularity of the faith specially in nations where stinting conditions are harsh and vast disparities exist between privileged classes and the masses. From its inception, liberation theology attempted to bring about a social, economic and political change that would permit the exploited classes, the poor and the Latin American people to reach a just, benignante, fulfilled life (p. 86).The author has explained that theologians needed tools to render the ideas of religious thought to practical, real-world situations and the teachings of Marx provided these tools. Dussel has argued against conventional thought that criticizes Marxism for not being humanistic. He proposes that in fact liberation theology sought to address the plight of human suffering, expanding the gambit from individ ual to society.Further only those aspects of Marxism have been incorporated by various liberation theologians that are consistent with Christianity. Liberation theology employs the use of Marxism at its proper level, the economic and philosophical is complete and occurs in a Christian faith that sacrifices nothing of its own tradition (p. 97). The authors contention in this regard holds merit. In Latin America and elsewhere people are realizing the faults of capitalism.Recent global economic crises have thrown even the most developed economies to turmoil. Many people are re-considering the meaning of economic development and national prosperity. In terms of faith also, there is realization that the common good essential be stressed and only then can society flourish. These ideas are completely in-line with the Christian faith and at the same time, are more relevant to majority of the people.

Reflection on Queen Elizabeth’s Leadership

Reflection on Leadership business leader Elizabeth is a attracter that possesses many greatqualities. She has a vision of earningher peoples lovethroughrespect, understanding and being unprejudiced. As a leader, she accepts the opinions of her advisors but at the same time thinks rationally and decides on what is the right thing to do. In chapter one,Queen Elizabeth and her ministerswere discussing on how Mary Stuart, a Catholic,isthe Queen of England in waiting.It was also said by Howard, one of her ministers that all Catholics are traitors as their loyalty is to the Pope of Rome. I believe that it was right for Queen Elizabeth to say that she will non punish her people for their belief but only for their misuse doings. This shows that she understands that by allowing her people tolive freely, it creates joy and happiness among the people. This in return will allow her to earn the love from her people.I can see thatas much as she wants to maintain a good relation with her loya l Protestant supporters and her ministers, she hold backs decisions for the good of her country and her people even though some people might not agree with her decisions. From this situation,it shows that the Queen adopts pragmatism, fairness and transparency. She makes a practical decision ab appear an issue, she treats everyone equally, she is open and that her rules, regulations decisions are made clear. Chapter seventeen is when the story really makes her stand out as an organized,brave, honest yet motivating leader. Quoted, Queen Elizabeth said My lords, I can offer you no words of comfort. If this Armada succeeds there will be no more freedom in our land, and England will be no more. We cannot be defeated. This few sentences show thatshe believes that her people should be self motivated to perform their duties. except she encourages her people not by telling them words of comfort but telling them the consequences.She uses reverse psychology to turn fear into strength,braver yand commitment to the country. Queen Elizabeth is well-organized leader as she is able to leadthe country andalso delegate the tasksequally according to her peoples capabilities. This can be seen when Queen Elizabeth issued commands as Hatton,Walsingham, the Queens entourage and the Queen herself entered the great vaulted nave of St Pauls to make their way towards the altar. In my opinion, she is also a risk taker when she sent out two ships to engagethe enemy.This is a theatrical role of a good leader as someone who dares to take risks shows that they are not afraid to fail and try again. As a leader, she does not creative thinker dying in the midst of her people. This shows that although she is the Queen, she does not discriminate her people who are of lower rank. This is an important qualityin a leader as it will either make or break a trust. Lastly, I think Queen Elizabeth is a good leader because she recognizes contributions. She recognizes Raleighs contribution to the cou ntry and rewarded him with his wife, son and freedom.

Hilton Hotels Corporation Marketing Analysis Essay

The commercializeing issues addressed here ar focused on how to draw much consumers from sepa say gambling casinos, and how to make Hilton a resort destination. Two-thirds of Hiltons total operating earnings in the early 1990s were derived from the four casinos they owned in Las Vegas, Nevada. Expanding on this idea volition ensure the hotel range firmly plants its allowancet in the entertainment and resort business (Hilton Case Study). By investing massive amounts of tax into developing their gaming division, the Hilton will become a destination resort that would encompass of all the invitees ineluctably to keep them inte shacked staying within the confines of the resort.Some considerations include how Hilton would get its market sh ar of the millions of dollars in casino revenues. The percentage of gambling versus side attractions will influence the profit margins, depending on how much focus is placed on each area. The hotel scope bunghole also strive to addition its overall occupancy lay of seventy percent while continuing to set the industriousness bench mark (Hilton Case Study).In researching how to improve marketing to attract customers, we must(prenominal) set-back look at where the Hilton stands today. Second, we must analyze what has worked in the past and see if we can apply past practices into the current market. Third, we shall look at how the competitors are more effective by looking at their gaming plans, marketing structure, customers spending habits and dollar/cost value based on guest surveys.Hilton entered the gaming market as an attempt to compete with the other big hotels for the gambling dollar. Investments in renovation and expansion caused Hilton to over- extend. Although the investments were needed to compete, the hotel chain felt it needed to lure big money to its locations, and extend credit more than usual. Heavy hitters fool this same courtesy from other hotels, but this puts a strain on the operating cash flow, as chasing bad credit costs money, and slows up cash flow. Gaming revenue was already down, which was attributable in part to renovation and more so to extended credit that had been difficult to reclaim.In todays market, families are a prime target. Big beautiful hotels arecatering to families all along the Las Vegas strip. shimmer is still the principal(prenominal) focus, but todays gambler is more inc demarcationd to visit the cassino Resort, a place that the kids can stay, harbor a good time and be entertained. Meanwhile, the parents can drop next months mortgage money at the casino. This type of package appeals to the whole family. As remote as quality of service, no one does it fracture than Hilton, because they create an environment that the customer, family or non-family guests will mobilize and to which they will want to return.The focus on entertainment is important, but Las Vegas is still sin-city. Three point half a dozen billion dollars hurt been spent in packag ing entertainment focus on the family is important, but a balance of adult-only and child-friendly entertainment is required. Gambling is the central purpose for casinos to exist. Continue to market the commonplace tables of chance, card tables, slot machines, and lavish floor shows, with headliners people recognize, and the main source of revenue will continue to flow. Have shopping, kids activities, and outside recreation available, but not as the focus of why be activeers should visit, and that will provide entertainment for the rest of the family.Hilton should pull back the extended credit. By doing so, they may lose a few customers, but the resulting hurt of risk will increase bottom-line profit. By changing the focus to families, the customers that discontinue patronizing the hotel for credit line reasons are not the desired target anymore. The chain should pay more attention to the middle-market segment, conventions, and sporting events much(prenominal) as youth tourname nts and professional venues.In volume, the more people that move through the doors, the more money there is to be made. With this said, room place must stay within the $100.00 a night valuate with weekend promotions of Thursday through Sunday at a lower rate perhaps 25% to 35% lower. This would be a novel concept, as the industry generally promotes lower room rates Monday through Thursday. The food and beverage structure should remain the same, as it has proven to be more than tolerable and very popular.The increase in competition can be dealt with through better values in room rates, childrens activities, slot machines that pay off more frequently and the most important reflection of the business, service. Hilton could offer something that the other hotels do not ensuring the employee responses to each customers needs are met with transport and expedience. People are paying for an experience along with the opportunity to break the house give them what they are looking for. Wor d of mouth is far more powerful than any media advertisement.Hilton has entered the gaming industry. Gaming must focus on gambling and hotel must focus on hotel amenities and service. It would be the hotels righteousness to insure the entertainment, promotions and accommodations were settled leaving the gaming operations to generate gaming interest.Advertising would be a joint effort, but casino operations would focus on the age 21 and older market. The cardinal operations would report to the Chief Executive Officer and his staffs to ensure all objectives are met. It would be the chief executive officer and staffs responsibility to ensure both lines were working hand-in-hand, while take noteing separate operations. The purpose for this pinch is to keep revenues separate so one function does not bear the full brunt of any losses that may occur. The casino will always show a bigger profit than the hotel, but by having separate bottom lines, profit and losses are easier to contro l. The hotel/casino is one business, but must have two different mindsets as the casino and hotel does, and will operate much differently.Situational AnalysisThe U.S. based Hilton Hotels Corporation is a multi-billion dollar crapper and a booster cable brand in the hotel and gaming industry. Conrad Hilton started the company in 1919 with his first hotel purchase. Since then the company has grown to over 2,000 hotels globally, with several brand name acquisitions, including Ballys, Hampton Inn, Doubletree Suites and Homewood Inn. Besides standard hotel service, the Hilton Corporation runs casinos, vacation ownership businesses and luxury hotels, like the Conrad Line. The Hilton Hotels Corporation earned in excessof $3.8 billion in fiscal form 2003 (Datamonitor, p. 4).External FactorsAccording to the Datamonitor report, the Marriott and Hyatt Corporations are the Hilton Hotel Corporations biggest competitors. Las Vegas is a gaming town, thus every hotel is evaluate to have gamblin g casinos within. The Las Vegas Hilton website shows that they also provide live entertainment, including comics and headline musical acts, as well as hosting a million-dollar Blackjack tournament. These factors, along with the attractive room packages and gambling activities, should be enough to maintain the occupancy rate and keep the gambling action constant.According to its website, the Las Vegas Marriott is a hotel with 278 rooms. The Hyatt franchise is located 17 miles absent from the Las Vegas strip on Lake Las Vegas, but is a resort, casino and spa. While the Hyatt is a luxury hotel chain, the Marriott is a corporation more in line with Hilton. The Marriott made over $9 billion in fiscal year 2003 more than three times the Hilton Hotel Corporation (Marriott Datamonitor report).To contend with a company of this magnitude is not an diffuse job for any of their competitors. Hilton Hotels Corporation is an enormous company asmentioned above so sizable that they had to split t he corporation into six main divisions, totaling approximately 100,000 employees planetary.Hilton Hotels Corporation has been very successful since they were established in 1946. Their variegation profile is significant and ambitious no matter where you go, there are Hilton hotels there. In addition, Hilton Corporation has been leading in customer service and efficient staffing by utilizing a call center to help them maintain their reputation for hospitality. Hilton Reservations Worldwide handles reservations and information requests for thousands of hotel properties, under their various brands, positioning the company on the top of consummate intraday forecasts Reduced counseling costs Excellent customer service An edge over the competitionA companys strength does not solely lie in the size of the company but in the management of the company, the employees and their commitment to their customers. Hiltons management promoted brand relevancy within minority markets. Their sales te am strategic initiatives are to target the multicultural market. In relation to their employees, Hiltons are some of the finest. They are skilled to do their jobs with care and make sure the customers are comfortable and happy. The customer personal profile allows the Hilton employees to spread over each customer as a unique and special individual.WeaknessEvery company has weaknesses Hilton Hotels weakness lied in its inability to rule quickly from the attacks on America in 2001. Although Hilton Hotels is a large company in many locations across the country, they had to reduce their manpower due to the exacerbate in business. Matthew J. Hart (president and CEO) said we have had a lot of job losses about 2,500 full-time equivalent jobs out of a worldwide workforce of 100,000. But we have no plans for any more, unless business gets worse (Finch, 2001, p.1). The September 11th attacks left field the whole nation in awe, in grief, and for many New Yorkers, jobless. The attacks left the airline and hotel industry to recover from broken sales.Another weakness the hotel industry is facing is the evident decline in supply. The below chart shows how the ask to occupy the Hilton hotels hasbeen a declining behavior during the last yearsA closer examination of the demand cycle for economy hotels during the past several years reveals a pattern that is not consistent with other hotels. The rate of demand growth in this segment began declining during mid-2000, about nine months before a akin(predicate) effect was felt industry-wide. In addition, as the industrys demand recovery has begun to accelerate the rate of demand growth, the economy segment has plateaud. Of even more concern is that the number of rooms currently universe purchased in this segment is still declining when compared to previous-years levels. (Look Smart Articles, 2004, p.1)OpportunitiesAs mentioned earlier, Hilton Hotels Corporation is known worldwide with this notoriety their reputation will ca rry them to expand their hotel empire even further.Their opportunity lies in the growing international market. The company is expecting 4-5% fee growth in 2004 within new management contracts in Austin, Houston, Omaha and Conrad Miami. The company market overview reveals that recent trends in major markets are Strong in New York, D.C., Hawaii Stable in New Orleans, capital of Massachusetts Weak in San Francisco, ChicagoThere will always be a demand for hotels and resorts. Currently, Hilton Hotels are working on more room availability 80% of rooms have been renovated within last five years, and they are expanding into new markets. They also have Best Rates. Guaranteed, Internet easy access with a success rate of utilization from the customers 13% of all reservations 85% through proprietary websites Self-service kiosksThis kind of service assists in do the experience convenient for the customer. Along with the convenience, Hilton Corporation and their six divisions take pride in maki ng every building feel like home and ensuring the customer is satisfied and pleased with their accommodations (Hilton Hotels Corporation, 2003, s.3-5).ThreatsA few of the threats for The Hilton are competition, and a declining economy. The competition for The Hilton is not only other hotel companies, but restaurants and other service centers as well. Marriott is the main competitor of The Hilton amongst other hospitality companies. Because Hilton is so grand and reputable, they have more room for error, which also makes them vulnerable. As time passes, the Hilton Hotels continue to strive for excellence and perfection. They make each new hotel or resort better than the last. Because of the continuous growth of this company, it has dealtwith its competition head on (Nairn, 2001, p.3).The second threat is the economic decline of this century. Since the September 11th attacks in New York City, the American economy has been declining in all service industry areas. There was an ominous f ear of flying and for quite some time, many people chose not to travel for vacations or long-distance business trips.This reaction to the events of 2001 hurt the hospitality industry, and made difficult rebuilding what they lost in revenue. Fortunately, this trend has started to change and the industry will soon recover from their losses. This is an area that still needs close monitoring from the executives of the corporation.ReferencesDatamonitor Hilton Hotels Company Overview August 2004.Datamonitor Marriott International Inc. Overview August 2004.Finch, J. (2001, November 16). Hilton reports impact of September 11. Retrieved October 26, 2004, http//www.union-network.org/unitourism.nsf/2c89b80c011f2519c1256b06002163c2?OpenDocumentHotels Hilton Hotels Corporation. (1998, Fall 1998). merged History. Retrieved October 26, 2004, Http//hiltonworldwide.hilton.com/en/ww/company-_info/corporate_history.jhtmljsessionid=FGTDSXUCGXCGSCSGBIX222QKIYFCXUUCHilton Case Study. https//mycampus.pho enix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp Retrieved October 23, 2004.Hilton Hotels Corporation (2003, July). Hilton Great Brands and a Balanced Business amaze (presentation). Retrieved October 26, 2004, http//media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/NYS/HLT/Hilton%20Presentation%20February%202004/tsld002.htmhttp//www.lakelasvegas.com/http//www.lv-hilton.com/http//www.vacationclub.com/en-us/vc/about/marriottworld/lasvegas.asp?cookies=trueLook Smart Articles (2004, January 14). Economy segment lags industry in key performance measures Trends & Stats. Retrieved October 26, 2004,

Philosophical problems for people with religious beliefs Essay

* In what ways might flagitious and suffering create philosophical problems for people with ghostly beliefs? Outline two solutions to these problems( 21 )* To what extent be these solutions successful?( 9 )1. Suffering can bring on totally sorts of problems that can shake peoples religious beliefs. Evil and suffering create problems in peoples creed because they pay lost psyche or they have suffered particular severeness in their life and they wish to sentence someone or something for their personalized suffering and this is normally deity. If someone close to a person dies and that person is religious or has been brought up in a faith even if they have lapsed it will make them doubt their faith even though we drive in that everyone has to die someday precisely it is never the right judgment of conviction to loose someone you rage.And because of this people blame God or if they have a faith it may make them feel that beau imaginationl is non there. This is the issu e of the inconsistent triad. The triad says that god is all loving all powerful and all knowing. If this is current would an all loving God let innocent people suffer at the hands of unhealthiness and natural disasters. And if he is all loving and he wouldnt want us to suffer give care this he might not know it was happening and so the second angle of the triangle is disproved and in conclusion if he is both all loving and all-knowing he would not want people to obtain hurt and he knew it was happening so maybe it is the fact that he simply wants to help but he cannot as he is not all powerful.The inconsistent triad is a very outstanding philosophical problem as it is a very logical series of suggestions and clearms perfectly logical that if you love someone you wouldnt want them to be hurt if you knew it was happening and more than importantly you had the power to erupt it why wouldnt you especially if you loved that person. This is then used to say that if God is not all of these things then he is not God. This sums up nicely the flaw in all religion. If you say your God loves you and they are all powerful then why do they allow people, innocent people to suffer. excessively the second problem with the morality of diabolical and suffering that can hurt religious beliefs is the issue of unreciprocated prayers. If someone is praying that their friend or relative wont die of an illness or something along those lines if they do people ofttimes turn aside from god because they feel he is not listening because what they asked for had not been granted. And again this relates back to the inconsistent triad as if he can hear the prayers and if he loves the people who ask him and plead him for help and he ignores them and lets people die maybe he isnt all powerful or isnt all loving.Some theists respond that a perfect cosmos may still allow some diabolic, asserting that it will en subject certain greater goods, much(prenominal) as free will, which can not be achieved without allowing some evils. A theodicy, on the other hand, is an blast to provide such(prenominal) justifications for the domain of evil. Richard Swinburne maintains that it does not make sense to assume there are such greater goods, unless we know what they are, i.e., we have a successful theodicy. creationy contemporary philosophers disagree. Skeptical theism, which is based on the theological position that homos can never expect to understand the divine, is perhaps the most pop response to the problem of evil among contemporary philosophers of religion. unless how do we truly explain the problem of evil and suffering especially in relation to the existence and power of god. Swinburne also once said in a cool moment we must provide a satisfactory answer for atheists. I reckon that this concept could also be applied to the theists who are suffering or are questioning god as a result of evil and suffering. To deal with the issue of theist faith suffering as the result of suffering we must address the objections to the problem.These are universey and varied for example Christian scientists often say that God cannot exist due to the logical problem of the inconsistent triad whereby the two claims negatives the troika and therefore the existence of a perfect god. The existence of evil is of course the strongest objection and causes the most problems for faith. But there are some types of evil there is natural evil, god created a flawed and delicate area. There is also moral evil why did god create people capable of doing such terrible things but this comes d declare to the issue of free will in mankind. But overall evil is the min reason for philosophical problems in beliefs.This is often countered by some theists saying that maybe god is making us suffer out of love. In irenaean theodicy it is considered and based upon the fact that our god is a personal god unlike in the Augustinian theodicy where god seems more disinterested and d istant. It is implied that god loved his creation. god looked upon what he had done and he saw it was very good( the book of coevals).and because he loved us so much he wanted us to have the chance to create our perfect soul through with(predicate) an imperfect origination with challenges to receive the ultimate reward of a perfect soul. So we suffer for a positive purpose or outcome.Professor conjuration Hick developed the soul making theodicy. John Hick call backs that in order for moral growth to compact place it is important that pitying worlds beings are created at a knowledge distance from God. This knowledge means that human beings do not know whether God exists and so this knowledge gap means that human beings are genuinely free and have space to grow and mature through making their own moral choices. Irenaeus, a Church Father. Believed that human beings have a two stage process of moral development, having been created in the image and likeness of God. (Genesis 12 6). Created in the image of God, human beings have potential, which they may achieve in this world as they begin to grow into the likeness of God, thus fulfilling their potential. This two stage process of moral development is compared to growing from a child into an adult through our moral choices.St irenaues also suggested that evil could be tracked back to human free will.he differed from Augustine by saying that god did not make a perfect world and that evil has a valuable part to play in gods plans for humanity. Irenaeus said that god was part responsible for evil. In the sense that god created worldly concern imperfectly in order that they could develop into perfection. His own image but with the intention of letting them develop into his likeness or perfection of character later. macrocosm in gods image means that you have intelligence, morality, personality, but perfection would only be accomplished as humanity was changed into gods likeness developing over time. God cou ldnt have created humans in perfection because attaining the likeness of god needed the willing cooperation of human individuals. Moreover freedom requires the possibility of choosing well instead of evil and therefore god had to permit evil and suffering to occur.St Augustine lived in the ordinal century and it was his concept that god was perfect the world was perfect and it was mans evil that caused this to break. God brought the world into existence from nothing (ex nihilo) the fall itself is chapter three of genesis. Augustine taught that following the fall the devil tempted decade and eve to eat the yield from the tree of knowledge the fruit from the knowledge tree.The fruit which god had forbidden Adam and eve to eat. netherworld is the definition of the will of a rational being away from god which is motivated by rob hubris. Augustine believed that original sin was passed down through the act of sexual intercourse so that every human being, as descendants of Adam and ev e suffer from original sin. Humanity has a tendency towards sin. Man wants to sin. The good that I would I cannot. Evil is a privation of goodness. Evil doesnt exist as a substance of his own right. Augustine described sin as a falling short or missing the mark of that which god intends. Augustine believed that the ugliness of sin is never without the beauty of visitmentIn the scientific age of the twenty- offshoot century people no daylong believe in angels. The whole idea of the fall is nonsensical and is only fit for a pre-scientific view of the world. Similarly people no longer believe in the devil. Augustines theodicy depends on his assumption that the world was made perfect. This is contradicted by Charles Darwins hypothesis of evolution and natural selection. The story of Adam and Eve is not historically true, it is a myth. The teaching of real blurt is not Biblical, but comes from St Augustine. The idea that the human race is fallen, as we inherit Original Sin from Adam and Eve is both Scientifically nonsensical and Even if it were true it is highly unfair to punish the offspring (the human race) for a sin committed by their parents, i.e. Adam and Eve.2. As we see bother and suffering around us in the so called perfect world that God created and we feel a need to justify why this is happening and more importantly who fault it is. This is where god comes into the equation, the designer of the worldly concern and an all knowing being who loves us all no mater who we are. The mere idea of distressingness in this world with this being calls into question the very existence of what our existence is and how it came to be. The definition of a divinity is to prove the divine attributes of god and when one sees death in ones family could one ever possibly see a vindication of evils existence?In analysis both theodicys one must take into consideration the historical context in which both were conceived and pen. With sophisticated scientific knowledge we have com to believe that the universe came into existence through the with child(p) bang. Consequently many have discredited the possibility of the genesis version of creation. The Augustine theodicy is therefore open to much modern day speculation and criticism, as it is based on the belief that man established evil due to a conscious decision made by Adam and eve under temptation from Lucifer.This is the fall and when human existence supposedly turned away from the grace of God. In todays more logical and pragmatic society the idea of mans creation through such events is considered to be nothing more than mythological farce. Where the text should not simply be discredited but is more of a symbol in this case to Christianity. In discrediting the source of the theodicy therefore one considers what remains of Augustine theodicy ineffective due to our lack of belief in the first premise. The point to consider is if one is a traditional catholic and believes that this is the word o f God or hold one takes a more modern stance on the issue and learns from scientific growth of the modern era.However scientist still struggle to provide a true explanation for the cause of the big bang, had Augustine been able to see these modern times he may have argued the point that when the fall happened (the expulsion of Adam and eve from the garden.) the big bang would have occurred. This is very open to interpretation as it is now a certainty that the story of Adam and eve is a metaphorical device to explain the beginning of the world to people who were simpler than todays standards. What is clear is that the Augustine theodicy is a very traditionalist approach to the idea of evil. Whereas the irenaean theodicy was written before the Augustine theodicy it is actually a more modern in its approach to the problem of evil and suffering.In these modern times under newer scientific evidence such as the theory of evolution and the big bang theory St Iranians theodicy was cast int o new philosophical light. It was shown to be a schedule before its time as it draws from an original state of imperfection in the universe. Which then has to work towards perfection? Her is so much evil in todays society we can see many natural evil. In contrast to natural evil one cannot but help agree that the world is not perfect. In contrast to natural evil occurring due to a delicate balance being lost in the world the idea of an imperfect world working towards perfection appears far more feasible.To conclude one must draw to the evident change in sociological and intellectual factors from the time of Irenaeus and Augustine. Although both when written may have proved strong vindification for moral and natural evil in the case of the existence of god mans growth appears to change the significance of each thing in the universe.

Bag of Bones CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

At scratch the inlet wouldnt open. The knob turned on a lower foundation my present so I knew it wasnt locked, just the pelting seemed to have b beat scrape up ingart(a) the wood . . . or had something been shoved up once morest it? I drew linchpin, crouched a little, and hit the door with my shoulder. This sentence on that point was some s sp benefici bothy give.It was her. Sara. Standing on the opposite side of the door and move to have a bun in the oven it boot out against me. How could she do that? How, in Gods name? She was a fucking ghostI thought of the BAMM CONSTRUCTION pickup . . . and as if thought were conjuration I could al near see it out thither at the cobblers last of Lane Forty- two, parked by the highway. The old ladies sedan was behind it, and three or four other cars were instantly behind them. All of them with their traceshield wipers flopping back and forth, their headlights imposeting feeble c bingles through the d knowledgepour. They were lined up on the shoulder like cars at a yard trade. in that respect was no yard sale present(predicate), provided the old- clippingrs sitting silently in their cars. Old-timers who were in the z unrivaled just like I was. Old-timers displace in the vibe.She was drawing on them. Stealing from them. Shed d wiz the same with Devore and me too, of course. Many of the manifestations Id experienced since coming back had likely been created from my own psychic energy. It was amusing when you thought of it.Or maybe terrifying was the word I was real looking for.Jo, help me, I said in the pouring rain. Lightning flashed, turning the torrents a talented picture silver. If you ever loved me, help me now.I drew back and hit the door again. This time in that location was no resistance at tot altogethery and I went hurtling in, catching my shin on the jamb and falling to my knees. I held onto the lantern, though.There was a mowork forcet of silence. In it I felt up forces and prese nces gathering themselves. In that moment zippo seemed to move, although behind me, in the woods Jo had loved to ramble with me or without me the rain continued to fall and the wind continued to howl, a merciless gardener pruning its way through the trees that were dead and almost dead, doing the recreate of ten gentler years in one turbulent hour. thence the door slammed shut and it began. I pr everywhereb everything in the glow of the flashlight, which I had turned on without even realizing it, exactly at first I didnt know exactly what I was seeing, other than the destruction by poltergeist of my wifes beloved crafts and treasures.The framed afghan second power tore itself mangle the ring and flew from one side of the studio to the other, the black oak frame break father on apart(predicate). The heads popped move out the dolls poking out of the baby collages like champagne corks at a party. The hanging light-globe shattered, showering me with fragments of glass. A wi nd began to blow a cold one and was quickly joined and whirled into a cyclone by one which was warmer, almost hot. They rolled past me as if in imitation of the larger storm outside.The Sara Laughs head on the bookcase, the one which appeargond to be constructed of toothpicks and lollipop sticks, exploded in a cloud of wood-splinters. The kayak paddle inclination of an orbit against the wall rose into the origin, rowed furiously at nothing, and so launched itself at me like a spear. I threw myself planar on the green rag rug to avoid it, and felt bits of stone-broken glass from the shattered light-globe cut into the palm of my hand as I came pull down. I felt something else, as s easy a continue of something beneath the rug. The paddle hit the far wall hard enough to split into two pieces. directly the banjo my wife had neer been able to master rose in the air, revolved twice, and played a b even finish rattle of notes that were out of tune solely nonetheless unmistakab le wish I was in the grunge of cotton, old times there are not forgotten. The phrase bared with a vicious BLUNK that broke all five arrange. The banjo whirled itself a third time, its bright steel fittings reflecting fishscale runs of light on the study walls, and then beat itself to death against the floor, the drum shattering and the tuning pegs snapping off like teeth.The extend of moving air began to how do I express this? to focus somehow, until it wasnt the sound of air but the sound of voices panting, unearthly voices adept of fury. They would have screamed if theyd had vocal cords to scream with. Dusty air swirled up in the beam of my flashlight, reservation helix shapes that danced to operateher, then reeled apart again. For just a moment I heard Saras snarling, smoke-broken voice stinkpot out, bitch You git on out This aint none of yours And then a curious insubstantial thud, as if air had collided with air. This was fall outed by a rushing wind-tunnel shriek that I know Id heard it in the eye of the night. Jo was screeching. Sara was hurting her, Sara was punishing her for presuming to interfere, and Jo was screaming.No I shouted, getting to my feet. Leave her just Leave her be I advanced into the room, swinging the lantern in front of my hardihood as if I could beat her away with it. plug bottles stormed past me some contained dried flowers, some carefully sectioned mushrooms, some woods-herbs. They shattered against the far wall with a brittle xylophone sound. None of them struck me it was as if an unseen hand guided them away. past Jos rolltop desk rose into the air. It must have weighed at least four coke pounds with its drawers loaded as they were, but it floated like a feather, nodding first one way and then dipping the other in the opposing currents of air.Jo screamed again, this time in anger rather than pain, and I staggered backward against the pixi advanceddd door with a feeling that I had been scooped delve. Sara wasnt the further one who could steal the energy of the living, it appeared. White semeny stuff ectoplasm, I cypher spilled from the desks pigeonholes in a dozen little streams, and the desk suddenly launched itself across the room. It flew almost too fast to follow with the eye. Anyone standing in front of it would have been smashed flat There was a head-splitting shriek of earn issue and agony Sara this time, I knew it was and then the desk struck the wall, breaking through it and letting in the rain and the wind. The rolltop snapped unused of its slot and hung like a jointed tongue. All the drawers shot out. Spools of th exact, skeins of yarn, little flora/ sentient being identification books and woods guides, thimbles, notebooks, knitting needles, dried-up Magic Markers Jos early trunk, Ki world power have called them. They flew everywhere like bones and bits of hair cruelly scattered from a disinterred coffin.Stop it, I croaked. Stop it, twain of you. Thats enough . just now there was no need to tell them. Except for the furious beat of the storm, I was alone in the ruins of my wifes studio. The battle was over. At least for the time being.I knelt and doubled up the green rag rug, carefully folding into it as such(prenominal) of the shattered glass from the light as I could. infra it was a trapdoor giving on a triangular storage area created by the slope of the land as it dropped toward the lake. The ridge Id felt was one of the traps hinges. I had cognise about this area and had meant to check it for the owls. Then things began to happen and Id forgotten.There was a recessed ring in the trapdoor. I grabbed it, ready for to a greater extent resistance, but it swung up easily. The smell that wafted up froze me in my tracks. not damp decay, at least not at first, but Red Jos favorite substance. It hung close to me for a moment and then it was gone. What replaced it was the smell of rain, roots, and wet earth. Not pleasant, but I had smell ed far worse down by the lake near that damned birch tree.I shone my light down three steep steps. I could see a squat shape that turned out to be an old toilet I could vaguely remember Bill and Kenny Auster putting it under here back in 1990 or 91. There were steel corneres filing cabinet drawers, actually wrap up in pliant and stacked up on pallets. Old records and papers. An eight-track tape player wrapped in a plastic bag. An old videocassette recorder next to it, in another one. And over in the deferral I sat down, hung my legs over, and felt something touch the ankle I had turned in the lake. I shone my light between my knees and for one moment adage a young black kid. Not the one drowned in the lake, though this one was older and quite a lot bigger. Twelve, maybe fourteen. The drowned boy had been no more than eight.This one bared his teeth at me and hissed like a cat. There were no pupils in his eye like those of the boy in the lake, his eyes were entirely snowy, li ke the eyes of a statue. And he was tingle his head. Dont come down here, white man. Let the dead rest in peace.But youre not at peace, I said, and shone the light full on him. I had a momentaneous glimpse of a unfeignedly hideous thing. I could see through him, but I could also see into him the rotting remains of his tongue in his mouth, his eyes in their sockets, his brain simmering like a spoiled ball in its case of skull. Then he was gone, and there was nothing but one of those swirling dust-helixes.I went down, safe bounding the lantern raised. Below it, nests of shadows rocked and seemed to chain of mountains upward.The storage area (it was really no more than a glorified crawlspace) had been shock with wooden pallets, just to keep stuff off the ground. Now water ran beneath these in a steady river, and enough of the earth had eroded to make even crawling unsteady work. The smell of perfume was entirely gone. What had replaced it was a nasty riverbottom smell and unlike ly given the conditions, I know, but it was there the faint, sorry smell of ash and attack.I saw what Id come for almost at once. Jos mail-order owls, the ones she had taken delivery of herself in November of 1993, were in the northeast corner, where there were besides about two feet between the sloped pallet flooring and the underside of the studio. Gorry, but they looked real, Bill had said, and Gorry if he wasnt right in the bright glow of the lantern they looked like birds first swaddled, then suffocated in clear plastic. Their eyes were bright wedding rings circling wide black pupils. Their plastic feathers were painted the dark green of pine nee-dies, their bellies a shade of dirty orange-white. I crawled toward them over the squelching, shifting pallets, the glow of the lantern bobbing back and forth between them, essay not to wonder if that boy was behind me, move in pursuit. When I got to the owls, I raised my head without thinking and thudded it against the insulati on which ran beneath the studio floor. pulsate once for yes, twice for no, asshole, I thought.I hooked my fingers into the plastic which wrapped the owls and pulled them toward me. I wanted to be out of here. The sensation of water running just beneath me was strange and unpleasant. So was the smell of fire, which seemed stronger now in spite of the damp. Suppose the studio was burning? Suppose Sara had somehow set it alight? Id cook down here even while the storms muddy runoff was dripping my legs and belly.One of the owls stood on a plastic base, I saw the better to set him on your deck or stoop to terrify the crows, my dear but the base the other should have been attached to was absent. I backed toward the trapdoor, holding the lantern in one hand and dragging the plastic sack of owls in the other, wincing each time thunder cannonaded over my head. Id only gotten a little way when the damp tape holding the plastic gave way. The owl missing its base tilted slowly toward me, its black-gold eyes staring raptly into my own.A swirl of air. A faint, comforting pouf of Red perfume. I pulled the owl out by the hornlike tufts growing from its forehead and turned it superlative down. Where it had once been attached to its plastic base there were now only two pegs with a hollow space between them. Inside the hole was a small tin box that I recognized even before I reached into the owls belly and chivvied it out. I shone the lantern on its front, knowing what Id see JOS NOTIONS, written in old-fashioned gilt script. She had name the box in an antiques barn somewhere.I looked at it, my heart trounce hard. Thunder boomed overhead. The trapdoor stood open, but I had forgotten about going up. I had forgotten about everything but the tin box I held in my hand, a box roughly the size of a cigar box but not quite as deep. I spread my hand over the cover and pulled it off.There was a strew of folded papers lying on top of a pair of steno books, the wirebound ones I k eep around for notes and character lists. These had been rubber-banded together. On top of everything else was a shiny black square. Until I picked it up and held it close to the side of the lantern, I didnt realize it was a photo negative.Ghostly, reversed and faintly orange, I saw Jo in her gray two-piece bathing suit. She was standing on the swimming float with her hands behind her head.Jo, I said, and then couldnt say anything else. My throat had closed up with tears. I held the negative for a moment, not abstracted(p) to lose contact with it, then put it back in the box with the papers and steno books. This stuff was wherefore she had come to Sara in July of 1994 to gather it up and hide it as well as she could. She had taken the owls off the deck (Frank had heard the door out there bang) and had carried them out here. I could almost see her inquiring the base off one owl and stuffing the tin box up its plastic wazoo, cover both of them in plastic, then dragging them down here, all while her brother sat skunk Marlboros and feeling the vibrations. The bad vibrations. I doubted if I would ever know all the reasons why shed done it, or what her frame of mind had been . . . but she had almost certainly believed Id find my own way down here eventually. Why else had she unexpended the negative?The loose papers were mostly photocopied press clippings from the Castle Rock wish and from the Weekly News, the paper which had apparently preceded the Call. The dates were marked on each in my wifes neat, firm hand. The oldest clipping was from 1865, and was headed another(prenominal) HOME SAFE. The returnee was one Jared Devore, age thirty-two. Suddenly I understood one of the things that had puzzled me the generations which didnt seem to partake up. A Sara Tidwell song came to mind as I crouched there on the pallets with my lantern shining down on that old-timey type. It was the ditty that went The old folk music do it and the young folks, too / And the old folks show the young folks just what to do . . .By the time Sara and the Red-Tops showed up in Castle County and settled on what became known as Tidwells Meadow, Jared Devore would have been sixty-seven or -eight. Old but still hale. A veteran of the gracious War. The sort of older man younger men might look up to. And Saras song was right the old folks show the young folks just what to do.What exactly had they done?The clippings about Sara and the Red-Tops didnt tell. I only skimmed them, anyway, but the overall tone shook me, just the same. Id describe it as eonian genial contempt. The Red-Tops were our Southern blackbirds and our rhythmic darkies. They were full of dusky good-nature. Sara herself was a marvelous figure of a blackamoor woman with broad nose, full lips, and noble brow who fascinated men-folk and women-folk alike with her animal high spirits, flashing smile, and spirant laugh.They were, God keep us and save us, reviews. Good ones, if you didnt mind being called full of dusky good-nature. I shuffled through them quickly, looking for anything about the circumstances under which our Southern blackbirds had left. I found nothing. What I found instead was a clipping from the Call marked July 19th (go down nineteen, I thought), 1933. The headline read VETERAN GUIDE, CARETAKER, CANNOT SAVE DAUGHTER. According to the story, Fred dean had been fighting the wildfires in the eastern part of the TR with two hundred other men when the wind had suddenly changed, menacing the north end of the lake, which had previously been considered safe. At that time a great many local people had kept fishing and hunting camps up there (this much I knew myself). The community had had a general store and an actual name, Halo call for. Freds wife, Hilda, was there with the Dean twins, William and Carla, age three, while her husband was off eating smoke. A good many other wives and kids were in Halo Bay, as well.The fires had come fast when the wind changed, the paper said like marching explosions. They jumped the only firebreak the men had left in that direction and headed for the far end of the lake. At Halo Bay there were no men to take charge, and apparently no women able or willing to do so. They panicked instead, racing to load their cars with pip-squeakren and camp possessions, clogging the one road out with their vehicles. Eventually one of the old cars or trucks broke down and as the fires roared closer, running through woods that hadnt seen rain since late April, the women whod waited found their way out blocked.The volunteer firefighters came to the rescue in time, but when Fred Dean got to his wife, one of a party of women trying to push a balky stalled Ford coupe out of the road, he made a terrible discovery. Billy lay on the floor in the back of the car, fast asleep, but Carla was missing. Hilda had gotten them both in, all right they had been on the back seat, holding hands just as they always did. But at some point, later on h er brother had crawled onto the floor and dozed off and while Hilda was stuffing a fewer last items into the trunk, Carla must have remembered a toy or a doll and returned to the bungalow to get it. While she was doing that, her mother had gotten into their old Desoto and driven away without rechecking the babies. Carla Dean was either still in the cottage at Halo Bay or making her way up the road on foot. all way the fires would run her down.The road was too narrow to get a vehicle turned around and too blocked to get one of those pointed in the right direction through the crush. So Fred Dean, pigboat that he was, set off on the run toward the smoke-blackened horizon, where bright ribbons of orange had already begun to shine through. The wind-driven fire had crowned and raced to meet him like a lover.I knelt on the pallets, reading this by the glow of my lantern, and all at once the smell of fire and burning intensified. I coughed . . . and then the cough was choked off by the iron taste of water in my mouth and throat. Once again, this time kneeling in the storage area beneath my wifes studio, I felt as if I were drowning. Once again I leaned forward and retched up nothing but a little spit.I turned and saw the lake. The loons were screaming on its hazy surface, making their way toward me in a line, beating their wings against the water as they came. The blue of the sky had been blotted out. The air smelled of charcoal and gunpowder. Ash had begun to sift down from the sky. The eastern verge of moody Score was in flames, and I could hear occasional muffled reports as hollow trees exploded. They sounded like enlightenment charges.I looked down, wanting to break free of this vision, knowing that in another moment or two it wouldnt be anything so distant as a vision but as real as the trip Kyra and I had made to the Fryeburg Fair. Instead of a plastic owl with gold-ringed eyes, I was looking at a child with bright blue ones. She was sitting on a picnic ta ble, holding out her chubby arm and crying. I saw her as clearly as I saw my own face in the mirror each morning when I shaved. I saw she was aboutKyras age but much plumper, and her hair is black instead of blonde. Her hair is the shade her brothers will remain until it lastly begins to go gray in the impossibly distant summer of 1998, a year she will never see unless someone gets her out of this hell. She wears a white cultivate and red knee-stockings and she holds her arms out to me, barter Daddy, Daddy.I start toward her and then there is a blast of organized heat that tears me apart for a moment I am the ghost here, I realize, and Fred Dean has just run right through me. Daddy, she cries, but to him, not me. Daddy and she hugs him, unmindful of the soot smearing her white silk define and her chubby face as he kisses her and more soot begins to fall and the loons beat their way in toward shore, seeming to call out in shrill lamentation.Daddy the fire is coming she cries as he scoops her into his arms.I know, be brave, he says. Were gonna be all right, sugarplum, but you have to be brave.The fire isnt just coming, it has come. The entire east end of Halo Bay is inflames and now theyre moving this way, eating one by one the little cabins where the men like to lay up drunk in hunting season and ice-fishing season. Behind Al LeRouxs, the race Marguerite hung out that morning is in flames, pants and dresses and underwear burning on lines which are themselves strings of fire. Leaves and bark shower down, a burning ember touches Carlas neck and she shrieks with pain. Fred slaps it away as he carries her down the slope of land to the water.Dont do it I scream. I know all this is beyond my power to change, but I scream at him anyway, try to change it anyway. Fight it For Christs sake, fight itDaddy, who is that man? Carla asks, and points at me as the green-shingled roof of the Dean place catches fire.Fred glances toward where she is pointing, and in his face I see a spasm of guilt. He knows what hes doing, thats the terrible thing way down deep he knows exactly what he is doing here at Halo Bay where The Street ends. He knows and hes afraid that someone will witness his work. But he sees nothing.Or does he? There is a momentary doubtful widening of the eyes as if he does spy something a dancing helix of air, perhaps. Or does feel me? Is that it? Does he feel a momentary cold draft in all this heat? One that feels like protesting hands, hands that would restrain if they only had substance? Then he looks away, then he is wade into the water beside the Deans stub of a dock.Fred I scream. For Gods sake, man, look at her Do you think your wife put her in a white silk dress by accident? Is that anyones idea of a play-dress?Daddy, why are we going in the water? she asks.To get away from the fire, sugarplum.Daddy, I cant swimYou wont have to, he replies, and what a chill I feel at that Because its no lie she wont have to swim, not now, not ever. And at least Freds way will be more merciful than Normal Austers when Normals turn comes more merciful than the squalling handpump, the gallons of freezing water.Her white dress floats around her like a lily. Her red stockings shimmer in the water. She hugs his neck tightly and now they are among the fleeing loons, the loons spank the water with their powerful wings, churning up curds of jam and staring at the man and the lady friend with their distraught red eyes. The air is heavy with smoke and the sky is gone. I stagger after them, wading I can feel the cold of the water, although I dont splash and leave no wake. The eastern and northern edges of the lake are both on fire now there is a burning crescent around us as Fred Dean wades deeper with his daughter, carrying her as if to some baptismal rite. And still he tells himself he is trying to save her, only to save her, just as all her life Hilda will tell herself that the child just wandered back to the cottage to look f or a toy, that she was not left behind on purpose, left in her white dress and red stockings to be found by her father, who once did something unspeakable. This is the past, this is the Land of Ago, and here the sins of the fathers are visited on the children, even unto the seventh generation, which is not to date.He takes her deeper and she begins to scream. Her screams mingle with the screams of the loons until he stops the sound with a kiss upon her terrify mouth. Love you, Daddy loves his sugarplum, he says, and then lowers her. It is to be a full-immersion baptism, then, take away there is no shorebank choir singing Shall We Gather at the River and no one shouting Hallelujah and he is not letting her come back up. She struggles furiously in the white bloom of her sacrificial dress, and after a moment he cannot bear to watch her, he looks across the lake instead, to the west where the fire hasnt yet touched (and never will), to the west where skies are still blue. Ash sifts a round him like black rain and the tears pour out of his eyes and as she struggles furiously beneath his hands, trying to free herself from his drowning grip, he tells himself It was an accident, just a terrible accident, I took her out in the lake because it was the only place I could take her, the only place left, and she panicked, she started to struggle, she was all wet and all slippery and I lost my good hold on her and then I lost any hold on her and then I go away Im a ghost. I scream Kia Hold on, Ki and dive. I reach her, I see her terrified face, her bulging blue eyes, her rosebud of a mouth which is trailing a silver line of bubbles toward the surface where Fred stands in water up to his neck, holding her down while he tells himself over and over that he was trying to save her, it was the only way, he was trying to save her, it was the only way. I reach for her, again and again I reach for her, my child, my daughter, my Kia (they are all Kia, the boys as well as the girls, all my daughter), and each time my arms go through her. Worse oh, far worse is that now she is reaching for me, her dappled arms floating out, begging for rescue. Her groping hands melt through mine. I cannot touch, because now I am the ghost. I am the ghost and as her struggles weaken I realize that I cant I cant oh Icouldnt breathe I was drowning.I doubled over, opened my mouth, and this time a great spew of lake-water came out, soaking the plastic owl which lay on the pallet by my knees. I hugged the JOS NOTIONS box to my chest, not wanting the contents to get wet, and the movement triggered another retch. This time cold water poured from my nose as well as my mouth. I dragged in a deep breath, then coughed it out.This has got to end, I said, but of course this was the end, one way or the other. Because Kyra was last.I climbed up the steps to the studio and sat on the littered floor to get my breath. Outside, the thunder boomed and the rain cut, but I thought the storm had p assed its peak of fury. Or maybe I only hoped.I rested with my legs hanging down through the trap there were no more ghosts here to touch my ankles, I dont know how I knew that but I did and stripped off the rubber bands holding the steno notebooks together. I opened the first one, paged through it, and saw it was almost filled with Jos hired hand and a number of folded typed sheets (Courier type, of course), single-spaced the fruit of all those clandestine trips down to the TR during 1993 and 1994. Fragmentary notes, for the most part, and transcriptions of tapes which might still be down below me in the storage space somewhere. Tucked away with the VCR or the eight-track player, perhaps. But I didnt need them. When the time came if the time came I was sure Id find most of the story here. What had happened, who had done it, how it was covered up. Right now I didnt care. Right now I only wanted to make sure that Kyra was safe and stayed safe. There was only one way to do that.L ye stille.I attempted to slip the rubber bands around the steno books again, and the one I hadnt looked at slipped out of my wet hand and fell to the floor. A torn slip of green paper fell out. I picked it up and saw thisFor a moment I came out of that strange and heightened awareness Id been living in the world fell back into its accustomed dimensions. But the colors were all too strong, somehow, objects too emphatically present. I felt like a battlefield soldier suddenly illuminated by a ghastly white flare, one that shows everything.My fathers people had come from The Neck, I had been right about that much my great- grandfather according to this was James Noonan, and he had never shit in the same pit as Jared Devore. Max Devore had either been lying when he said that to Mattie . . . or misinformed . . . or simply confused, the way folks often get confused when they reach their eighties. Even a fellow like Devore, who had stayed mostly sharp, wouldnt have been exempt from the occa sional nick in his edge. And he hadnt been that far off at that. Because, according to this little scratch of a chart, my great-grandfather had had an older sister, Bridget. And Bridget had marital Benton Auster.My finger dropped down a line, to Harry Auster. Born of Benton and Bridget Noonan Auster in the year 1885.Christ Jesus, I whispered. Kenny Austers grandfather was my granduncle. And he was one of them. Whatever they did, Harry Auster was one of them. Thats the connection.I thought of Kyra with sudden sharp terror. She had been up at the house by herself for nearly an hour. How could I have been so stupid? Anyone could have come in while I was under the studio. Sara could have used anyone to I realized that wasnt true. The murderers and the child victims had all been linked by blood, and now that blood had thinned, that river had almost reached the sea. There was Bill Dean, but he was staying well away from Sara Laughs. There was Kenny Auster, but Kenny had taken himself and his family off to Taxachusetts. And Kis closest blood relations mother, father, grandfather were all dead.Only I was left. Only I was blood. Only I could do it. Unless I bolted back up to the house as fast as I could, slipping and sliding my way along the absurd path, desperate to make sure she was all right. I didnt think Sara could hurt Kyra herself, no matter how much of that old-timer vibe she had to draw on . . . but what if I was wrong?What if I was wrong?

Game theory in online game market Essay

In Chinese online gimpy market, there are devil normal price strategies, Charging and Free. The Charging nitty-gritty that the customers need to pay for the game. They need to steal the game client or pay for the playing epoch (for example RMB30 for 4000minits or RMB90 for 1month). The Free means that the customers can play the basic game for free. And they can buy some items in the shop on the official website or directly in the game store.The deuce players I picked for this analysis are ball of Warcraft from roseola Entertainment, Inc.and a new launched online game from Beijing improve World Network Technology Co. , Ltd. snowstorm Entertainment is wholeness of the best game producers all everyplace the world. And the World of Warcraft is one of the three almost famous game launched by roseola Entertainment. In go of simultaneous online players of World of Warcraft reached its peak on 2009 at nigh 13million players.This number decreased to about 10million in 2012. And now, based on the financial report from snowstorm Entertainment, this number is about 8million. Perfect World is one of the most famous game producers in China.They launched more than 15 online games not only in Chinese market, but also in oversea market such as Europe, North America, Russia and Australia. My efflorescenceic is about that Perfect World wants to launch a new online game in Chinese market. And then Blizzard Entertainment will decide the price strategy for World of Warcraft. Both the two company has two price strategies, Charging and Free. The World of Warcraft now using the Charging price strategy. Because that when Blizzard Entertainment launched World of Warcraft, it was the best online game in the online game market.Now some of their customers go to play free games. But the World of Warcraft calm being seen as has higher shade than any Made in China online games. Perfect World Blizzard EntertainmentPW Free BE FreePW Charging BE Free PW Free BE ChargingPW Chargin g BE Charging In the left top block, two the two company lease Free. In this case, more customers will choose Blizzard Entertainments game. At the same price, they will naturally choose the better one. But the Blizzard Entertainments profits will decline as they translate from Charging to Free.In the left prat block, Blizzard Entertainment keep Charging and Perfect World choose Free. This situation is what happened in recent years. just about of their customers go to play free games. The Blizzard Entertainment will lose their customers and profits. In the right top block, Blizzard Entertainment changes its price strategy to Free but Perfect World chooses Charging. In this case, most of customers will choose Blizzard Entertainments World of Warcraft. Because they can play higher quality game for free. In the right bottom block, both the two company choose Charging.In this situation, both of them will lose their profits. The customers will go to find other free games in the marke t. So l will evaluate the case as follow Perfect World Blizzard EntertainmentPW Free(4) BE Free(5)PW Charging(3) BE Free(10) PW Free(5) BE Charging(6)PW Charging(3) BE Charging(3) So we can see that no matter Blizzard Entertainment choose Charging or Free, Perfect World will choose Free to get more profits. That means, in this concomitant Game, Perfect World has its domain option to choose Free. After Perfect World make its decision, Blizzard Entertainment will keep Charging to get more profits.