Research Paper About Rizal Essay

I. Introduction My intention is to give a basic outline of the lovelife story between Josephine Bracken and Jose P. Rizal. So for reasons of this outline and other constraints it will unfortunately be necessary omit some aspects of their story in this outline report. I ask of anyone who believes that anything is incorrect. Then, should it be necessary, it can be amended. I ask that any information that is offered is factually based rather than opinion or rumour. Many Filipinos are unaware of the degree of affection that existed between Rizal and Bracken. The romanticised notion of Rizal as of a Filipino politician during his brief life with women from various parts of the world as his conquest overshadowed the real love and relationship he had with Bracken. Rizal was obviously happy in his relationship with the woman who filled in an emotional need during his lonely and boring days in exile life. Although his family was not happy about the relationship. His deep concern over Bracken is quite evident and revealing in the numerous letters he penned during the later part of his emotional, boring and lonelyness with his love life. Those were Rizal’s efforts to bring josephine bracken closer to the members of his family. Many inaccuracies and rumours relating to their have originated, persisted and been added to ever since first stepped into the stage of their lovelife. Most of these have been promulegate on the paper of evidence, or indeed in the absence of any evidence whatsoever and unfortunately in some cases by personages who really should have known better. To the best of my knowledge there is an evidence that supports the validity of that statement because rizal had been maried with josephine bracken and together they live as man and wife happily ever after.. it appears to have simply been based on deliberately details in a contemporary report yet it was given an apparent posibility by power of the love. Josà © Rizal (1861-1896) was a Filipino intellectual who fought to reform, and ultimately to oust, the Spanish colonial government. He is best known for his controversial novel, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), which, though  fictional, alluded to the corruption of the Spanish colonial government and the Catholic Church. He was eventually executed by a firing squad for the part he played in the Philippine Revolution. Rizal is still considered a revolutionary martyr in the Philippines. In 1887, Rizal published Noli Me Tangere. His gripping and controversial tale of Spanish colonial injustice awakened national consciousness among Filipinos and contributed to the rise of the Filipino independence movement. According to â€Å"Rizal Without the Overcoat† by Ambeth R. Ocampo, Josephine Braken was the illegitimate daughter of an Irishman named Joseph Bracken and an unknown Chinese mother in Hong Kong. The social stigma of being Eurasian in 19th century Hong Kong was worse than even being illigeitimate. There are many instances throughout her life where she fabricated accounts of herself, apparently, to overcome this stigma. The Jesuit Vicente Balaguer claims to have married Rizal and Josephine before his execution in the presence of one of Rizal’s sisters. However, the Rizal family denied this, and by Rizal’s own account, none of them were there on the day of the supposed marriage. Later, Josephine neither used Rizal’s name or produced a marriage certificate or other documentation to prove marriage to him. She failed to prove her claim of marriage during litigation over his library and other matters of his will. Some time after Rizal’s execution, she married Vicente Abad, the Filipino representative of Tabaclera, Hong Kong. She eventually died on March 14, 1902 in Hong Kong of ulceration of the breast/military tubercolosis†. She died penniless and was buried in a paupers grave. Dispite the weight of evidence and general belief that Rizal and Bracken were never legally married, the issue remains a controvery. The Rizal family was opposed to Josephine, and there is some reason to believe the possibility that they colluded against her after Rizals death, perhaps succeeding at what they could not accomplish during his life. II. Statement of the problem 1.) Who is Josephine Jracken and discribe based on Rizal’s discription? 2.) Who is Julio Llorente? 3.) Who is Dr. Jose p. Rizal? III. Presentation of data Josephine Bracken was born ‘Josephine MacBride Bracken’ to James Bracken and Elizabeth MacBride, in Victoria City, Hong Kong. She was later adopted by a German-American machinist from New York, George Leopold Taufer, from whom her other name â€Å"Leopoldine† was taken. Historians such as Austin Coates have scrutinized this history, and suggest that she might have been an illegitimate daughter of an Anglo-Saxon father and a Chinese mother. Josephine Bracken was said to be a person with a kind and gentle disposition, who took care of her blind father. Upon hearing rumors of an excellent Filipino doctor returning to Manila, she quickly seized the opportunity to sail to Manila to diagnose her father’s illness. On 5 February 1895, she reached Manila with her adoptive father and 40-year-old Francesca Spencer from Macau. While they were staying at #3 Ylayu St. in Tondo, she arranged a consultation for her father’s double cataract. Later on, in the same month, they sailed to Dapitan for a follow-up consultation. Discribe based on Rizals discription he said that josephine bracken was a pretty yuong Irish, with brown hair and blue eyes. Her parents ware Irish nationals, but she was born in Hongkong opn october 6,1876. Her mother died because of children delivery and that child was Josephine Bracken. He   Jolio Llorente y Abelle was born in Cebu on May 22, 1863. He born to one of the wealthiest families in Cebu. His father was Don Ceferino Llorente, a Spanish who owned several inter-island vessels and a sugar estate in Medellin.Julio Llorente’s mother, Martina Aballe, was a Cebuano from Argao, a town located south of Cebu. Llorente was educated in a private school in his hometown. He then had the opportunity to go to the city of Manila in 1876 and study at Ateneo de Manila. Afterward he left for Spain and there he obtained a degree of Doctor of Laws in 1881 at the Universidad Central de  Madrid. Llorente was then admitted to the bar and practiced law in the foreign country. It was during this time that he got acquainted with Jose Rizal and other personalities from the Propaganda Movement. He got involved with this movement through some articles he regularly contributed to La Solidaridad. He was also a member of the editorial staff of the newspaper Espaà ±a en Filipinas published by the Filipino reformists. Moreover, he was a member of the nationalist society called R.D.L.M which was founded by Jose Rizal in Paris, France. Jose Rizal was a man of incredible intellectual power, with amazing artistic talent as well. He excelled at anything that he put his mind to – medicine, poetry, sketching, architecture, sociology†¦ the list seems nearly endless. Thus, Rizal’s martyrdom by the Spanish colonial authorities while he was still quite young was a huge loss to the Philippines, and to the world at large. Today, the people of the Philippines honor him as their national hero. On June 19, 1861, Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonzo y Quintos welcomed their seventh child into the world at Calamba, Laguna. They named the boy Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda. The Mercado family were wealthy farmers who rented land from the Dominican religious order. Descendants of a Chinese immigrant named Domingo Lam-co, they changed their name to Mercado (â€Å"market†) under the pressure of anti-Chinese feeling amongst the Spanish colonizers. From an early age, Jose Rizal Mercado showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from his mother at 3, and could read and write at age 5. Jose Rizal Mercado attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, graduating at the age of 16 with highest honors. He took a post-graduate course there in land surveying. Rizal Mercado completed his surveyor’s training in 1877, and passed the licensing exam in May 1878, but could not receive a license to practice because he was only 17 years old. (He was granted a license in 1881, when he reached the age of majority.) In 1878, the young man also enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas as a medical student. He later quit the school, alleging discrimination against Filipino students by the Dominican professors. In May of 1882, Jose Rizal got on a ship to Spain without informing his parents of his intentions. He enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid. In June of 1884, he received his medical degree at the age of 23; the following year, he also graduated from the Philosophy and Letters department. Inspired by his mother’s advancing  blindness, Rizal next went to the University of Paris and then the University of Heidelberg to complete further study in the field of ophthalmology. At Heidelberg, he studied under the famed professor Otto Becker. Rizal finished his second doctorate at Heidelberg in 1887. Jose Rizal lived in Europe for 10 years. During that time, he picked up a number of languages; in fact, he could converse in more than 10 different tongues. While in Europe, the young Filipino impressed everyone who met him with his charm, his intelligence, and his mastery of an incredible range of different fields of study. Rizal excelled at martial arts, fencing, sculpture, painting, teaching, anthropology, and journalism, among other things. During his European sojourn, he also began to write novels. Rizal finished his first book, Noli Me Tangere, while living in Wilhemsfeld with the Reverend Karl Ullmer. Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere in Spanish; it was published in 1887 in Berlin. The novel is a scathing indictment of the Catholic Church and Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. This book cemented Jose Rizal on the Spanish colonial government’s list of troublemakers. When Rizal returned home for a visit, he received a summons from the Governor General, and had to defend himself from charges of disseminating subversive ideas. Although the Spanish governor accepted Rizal’s explanations, the Catholic Church was less willing to forgive. In 1891, Rizal published a sequel, titled El Filibusterismo. Both in his novels and in newspaper editorials, Jose Rizal called for a number of reforms of the Spanish colonial system in the Philippines. He advocated freedom of speech and assembly, equal rights before the law for Filipinos, and Filipino priests in place of the often-corrupt Spanish churchmen. In addition, Rizal called for the Philippines to become a province within Spain, with representation in the Spanish legislature (the Cortes Generales). Rizal never called for independence for the Philippines. Nonetheless, the colonial government considered him a dangerous radical, and declared him an enemy of the state. In 1892, Rizal returned to the Philippines. He was almost immediately accused of being involved in the brewing rebellion, and was exiled to Dapitan, on the island of Mindanao. Rizal would stay there for four years, teaching school and encouraging agricultural reforms. During that same period, the people of the Philippines grew more eager to revolt against the Spanish colonial presence. Inspired in part by Rizal’s organization, La  Liga, rebel leaders likeAndres Bonifacio began to press for military action against the Spanish regime. In Dapitan, Rizal met and fell in love with Josephine Bracken, who brought her stepfather to him for a cataract operation. The couple applied for a marriage license, but were denied by the Church (which had excommunicated Rizal). The Philippine Revolution broke out in 1896. Rizal denounced the violence, and received permission to travel to Cuba in order to tend victims of yellow fever in exchange for his freedom. Bonifacio and two associates sneaked aboard the ship to Cuba before it left the Philippines, trying to convince Rizal to escape with them, but Rizal refused. He was arrested by the Spanish on the way, taken to Barcelona, and then extradited to Manila for trial. Jose Rizal was tried by court martial, charged with conspiracy, sedition and rebellion. Despite a lack of any evidence of his complicity in the Revolution, Rizal was convicted on all counts and given the death sentence. He was allowed to marry Josephine two hours before his execution by firing squad on December 30, 1896. Jose Rizal was just 35 years old. Jose Rizal is remembered today throughout the Philippines for his brilliance, his courage, his peaceful resistance to tyranny, and his compassion. Filipino school children study his final literary work, a poem called Mi Ultimo Adios (â€Å"My Last Goodbye†), as well as his two famous novels. Spurred on by Rizal’s martyrdom, the Philippine Revolution continued until 1898. With assistance from the United States, the Philippine archipelago was able to defeat the Spanish army. The Philippines declared its independence from Spain on June 12, 1898. It was the first democratic republic in Asia.

Metacognitive Skills

Metacognition refers to learners' automatic awareness of their own knowledge and their ability to understand, control, and manipulate their own cognitive processes. 2 Metacognitive skills are important not only in school, but throughout life. For example, Mumford (1986) says that it is essential that an effective manager be a person who has learned to learn. He describes this person as one who knows the stages in the process of learning and understands his or her own preferred approaches to it – a person who can identify and overcome blocks to learning and can bring learning from off-the-job learning to on-the-job situations. As you read this section, do not worry about distinguishing between metacognitive skills and some of the other terms in this chapter. Metacognition overlaps heavily with some of these other terms. The terminology simply supplies an additional useful way to look at thought processes. Metacognition is a relatively new field, and theorists have not yet settled on conventional terminology. However, most metacognitive research falls within the following categories: 1. Metamemory. This refers to the learners' awareness of and knowledge about their own memory systems and strategies for using their memories effectively. Metamemory includes (a) awareness of different memory strategies, (b) knowledge of which strategy to use for a particular memory task, and (c) knowledge of how to use a given memory strategy most effectively. 2. Metacomprehension. This term refers to the learners' ability to monitor the degree to which they understand information being communicated to them, to recognize failures to comprehend, and to employ repair strategies when failures are identified. Learners with poor metacomprehension skills often finish reading passages without even knowing that they have not understood them. On the other hand, learners who are more adept at metacomprehension will check for confusion or inconsistency, and undertake a corrective strategy, such as rereading, relating different parts of the passage to one another, looking for topic sentences or summary paragraphs, or relating the current information to prior knowledge. (See Harris et al. , 1988; – add more) 3. Self-Regulation. This term refers to the learners' ability to make adjustments in their own learning processes in response to their perception of feedback regarding their current status of learning. The concept of self-regulation overlaps heavily with the preceding two terms; its focus is on the ability of the learners themselves to monitor their own learning (without external stimuli or persuasion) and to maintain the attitudes necessary to invoke and employ these strategies on their own. To learn most effectively, students should not only understand what strategies are available and the purposes these strategies will serve, but also become capable of adequately selecting, employing, monitoring, and evaluating their use of these strategies. (See Hallahan et al. , 1979; Graham & Harris, 1992; Reid & Harris, 1989, 1993. In addition to its obvious cognitive components, metacognition often has important affective or personality components. For example, an important part of comprehension is approaching a reading task with the attitude that the topic is important and worth comprehending. Being aware of the importance of a positive attitude and deliberately fostering such an attitude is an example of a metacognitive skill. In the preceding paragraph, metacognition has been described as a conscious awareness of one's own knowledge and the conscious ability to understand, control, and manipulate one's own cognitive processes. This is not quite accurate; but it's difficult to define metacognition more accurately. (It's easier to point out examples of metacognitive activity than to define what it is. ) It would be more accurate to say that metacognitive strategies are almost always potentially conscious and potentially controllable (Pressley, Borkowski, & Schneider, 1987). For example, good readers automatically (unconsciously) employ metacognitive strategies to focus their attention, to derive meaning, and to make adjustments when something goes wrong. They do not think about or label these skills while performing them; but if we ask them what they were doing that was successful, they can usually describe their metacognitive processes accurately. In addition, when serious problems arise – as when there is a distraction, when they encounter extremely difficult or contradictory text, or when they have to advise someone else regarding the same skill – they slow down and become consciously aware of their metacognitive activity. While it is occasionally useful to consciously reflect on one's metacognitive processes and while it useful to make learners aware of these processes while they are trying to acquire them, these skills become most effective when they become overlearned and automatic. If these skills were not automatic and unconscious, they would occupy some of the effort of the working memory; and this would have the result of making reading, listening, and other cognitive activities less efficient. Therefore, like any other skill that becomes automatic and requires minimal activity in the working memory, metacognitive skills work best when they are overlearned and can operate unconsciously. Learners with good metacognitive skills are able to monitor and direct their own learning processes. Like many other processes, metacognitive skills are learned by applying principles from almost every other chapter in this book. When learning a metacognitive skill, learners typically go through the following steps (Pressley, Borkowski, & Schneider, 1987): 1. They establish a motivation to learn a metacognitive process. This occurs when either they themselves or someone else points gives them reason to believe that there would be some benefit to knowing how to apply the process. (Motivation is discussed in chapter 5). 2. They focus their attention on what it is that they or someone else does that is metacognitively useful. This proper focusing of attention puts the necessary information into working memory (Chapter 6). Sometimes this focusing of attention can occur through modeling (Chapter 12), and sometimes it occurs during personal experience. 3. They talk to themselves about the metacognitive process. This talk can arise during their interactions with others, but it is their talk to themselves that is essential. This self talk serves several purposes: oIt enables them to understand and encode the process (Chapter 6). oIt enables them to practice the process (Chapter 3). oIt enables them to obtain feedback and to make adjustments regarding their effective use of the process (Chapters 3 and 12). oIt enables them to transfer the process to new situations beyond those in which it has already been used (Chapters 3 and 6). 4. Eventually, they begin to use the process without even being aware that they are doing so. This process usually represents a high-level implementation of the phases of learning and instruction described by Gagne and discussed in Chapter 3 of this book. When teachers intervene to help students develop a metacognitive process, they often use the scaffolded instruction strategies described in chapter 12. In addition, the techniques of cooperative learning and peer tutoring (discussed in Chapter 15) often provide opportunities for students to talk to others about their thought processes; and it is often the process of formulating thoughts in order to express them to others that leads to metacognitive development (Piaget, 1964). Finally, it is interesting to note an important relationship between the higher order skills of metacognition and the basic or factual skills that may be a part of a specific unit of instruction. Students typically learn metacognitive skills while they are involved in learning something else. If they are to do this successfully, it is extremely important that the learners have overlearned the prerequisite content knowledge for the subject matter topic being studied. If that prerequisite knowledge has not been mastered to a sufficient level of automaticity, then the working memory of the learner will be overwhelmed by the subject matter; and the result will be no time for metacognitive reflection. For example, when children who have largely mastered the prerequisite skills try to solve a word problem in arithmetic, they can afford to talk to themselves about what they are doing, because their working memory is not totally occupied with other demands. That is, well prepared children will have time for metacognitive practice. On the other hand, when children who are missing some of these prerequisite skills try to solve the same problem, their working memory is likely to be totally occupied with a frantic need to find the basic skills and facts needed to solve the problem. If this is the case, they not only have solved the problem less effectively; but they also have little or no time for practicing or developing metacognitive skills. When teachers and parents try to help students, it is important not to do too much thinking for them. By doing their thinking for the children they wish to help, adults or knowledgeable peers may make them experts at seeking help, rather than expert thinkers. On the other hand, by setting tasks at an appropriate level and prompting children to think about what they are doing as they successfully complete these tasks, adults can help children become independent and successful thinkers (Biemiller & Meichenbaum, 1992). In other words, it is often better to say, What should you do next? † and then to prompt the children as necessary, instead of simply telling them what to do. The preceding paragraph describes how the intellectual rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Knowledge of factual information and basic skills provides a foundation for developing metacognitive skills; and metacognitive skills enable students to master information and solve problems more easily. If teachers hope to help low-performing students break out of their intellectual imprisonment, they must find a way to help them develop both an automatic grasp of basic skills and effective metacognitive skills to enable self-directed learning. Misconceptions with regard to specific subject matter were discussed in Chapters 4 and 6. Wittrock (1991) notes that learners' misconceptions about learning-to-learn skills and about metacognitive strategies are also a critical source of learning problems. For example, a student who adheres to a belief that the best way to learn scientific concepts is to repeat the definitions ten times each night before going to bed is not as likely to come to an understanding of these concepts as a person who has a more effective conception of how to master these concepts. Finally, note that a major purpose of this book is to help you develop your metacognitive skills. In chapter 1 I suggested that you apply various strategies while reading this book. If you have done so, there is a good chance that by now you understand the rationale of many of these principles and can see how they contribute to your own learning. By becoming consciously aware of these strategies and how they work, you will not only be able to use these principles to teach others more effectively, you'll also be able to use them to monitor and improve your own thought processes. That's metacognition!

Origin of Country Music Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Origin of Country Music - Research Paper Example In fact, a deconstruction of the structure and histories of many genres especially the rock and metal music, which is so popular in America today although by all appearances very far, removed from the sober country music would show a connection closer than the majority would expect. I will seek to examine the origin of country music, its history and the genres from which it evolved from, its past singers. Moreover, I will evaluate the different forms in which it existed and still does the instruments that were used, its evolution and over times and the influence it has had to other genres of music today as well as their influence to it. ... They brought along with them their most prized possessions and among these were musical instruments like the fiddles from Scotland, which became so popular that the early musicians were often referred to as fiddlers. Considering the European love for telling tales; however, the songs came in very hardy since very few could read and most of the country songs tell simple and straightforward stories with easy to understand lyrics and language. The inhabitants who lived in the Appalachian Mountains and the West did not contain an easy life and their music gave them an exit to convey their adversities (Country music planet 3). However, the origins are not only European another of the most famous original instruments was the banjo brought from Africa in the slave trade. White country singers who were by the most popular were fascinated and influenced by black sounds, songs and images (Lewis p 52). The first official appearances of country music began around 1910, when John Lomax published cowboy’s songs, and Cecil Sharp later followed suit when he also published songs from the Appalachian Mountains. These two events initiated the interest in the music, and in 1922, the first record of old time music was done by Eek Robertson, a Texan fiddler (Scaruffi 1). With time, the genre took shape independently and proved quite versatile by moving away from the sentimental and love focused content of the British. The Americans customized it and unlike the British who â€Å"†¦had several themes of the mystical, loves found and lost, violent happenings and avenging spirits. In America, the songs developed into extremely biased and private, downplayed the mystical, and, in songs of offenses, highlighted the wickedness act while minimizing the jab† (Country music planet 1). During

Movie Reflection G.I. Jane (1997) Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection G.I. Jane (1997) - Movie Review Example Double standard, bad attitude and stereotypes are the issues experienced by Lieutenant Jordan ONeil. Men do not treat her seriously; she is offered to use white steps during trainings and her results are not equated to her male colleagues. Nobody wants to be in one team with ONeil because men treat her as a weak woman and they do not believe that she is able to work really hard. Even though ONeil proves that she is able to achieve the same results as men, she is sent back home because of the internal investigation where she is suspected to be homosexual. In this way, discrimination and oppression of homosexuals in the US military forces is also addressed in the film. Today women have more opportunities to build career in military forces than they had 17 years ago when the film was released. The number of women in military is still small and there are many issues like rapes in military camps or gendered attitude to female officers. All issues covered in the film still exist in reality; however, more and more people are becoming aware about them. They support equal opportunities and rights for women in military and create organizations which support females who want to join military. This film has a great impact on American society as it stands for the rights of women and challenges traditional stereotypes about male and female occupations. Obviously, it is hard to watch how ONeil suffers when Urgayle beats her in front of her team. It is shocking to see how ONeils team members refuse to give her a hand when she helps them all during the training. At the same time, ONeil motivates women to achieve their goals despite all challenges. She proves that women can train hard; they are courageous and they are ready to risk their lives for the sake of others. There is one simple truth addressed in the film; neither men nor women are ready to accept equality literally. Many women still expect that

Employment At Will Doctrine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Employment At Will Doctrine - Essay Example Under Employment-at-Will doctrine, the employer has the free will of terminating an employee’s contract term or erasing the employment terms with or without substantial grounds to do so. This is always effective and applicable provided the employee does not belong to any rights movement. The employee lacks the requisite expertise to respond competently to her duties and responsibilities. The organization has tried its best in putting her through further training in order for her to gain enough skills to enable her to do her work yet she cannot perform in a way that fulfills her responsibility. As a manager, the most important decision that is in the best interest of the company is to relieve her of her duties since she has even failed to benefit from the support and training the company has given her. She has failed to comply with the competency of her position.The fact that she knows and understands her rights does not entitle her to be irresponsible to undertake her duties d uly and as required by the policies, rules, and regulations of the company. According to the employment rule and liability, an employee ought to be responsible for her actions and be responsible for the duties she has been assigned. It is important to outline that all employees are flexible to corrections of their mistakes as observed by the management and other employees. As a manager, under the employment-at-will doctrine, I have the responsibility to terminate her employment with or without any reasonable ground to do so.... Employment-at-Will doctrine, the employer has the free will of terminating an employee’s contract term or erasing the employment terms with or without substantial grounds to do so. This is always effective and applicable provided the employee does not belong to any rights movement. In this case, the employee lacks the requisite expertise to respond competently to her duties and responsibilities. The organization has tried its best in putting her through further training in order for her to gain enough skills to enable her to do her work yet she cannot perform in a way that fulfills her responsibility. As a manager the most important decision that is in the best interest of the company is to relieve her of her duties since she has even failed to benefit from the support and training the company has given her. She has failed to comply with the competency of her position and job capacity (Cihon, 2008). Case Two The fact that she knows and understands her rights does not entitle h er to be irresponsible to undertake her duties duly and as required by the policies, rules and regulations of the company. According to the employment rule and liability an employee ought to be responsible for her actions and be responsible for the duties she has been assigned. It is important to outline that all employees are flexible to corrections of their mistakes as observed by the management and other employees (Twomey, 2010). As a manager, under the employment-at-will doctrine I have the responsibility to terminate her employment or contract with or without any reasonable ground to do so. In this case, the employee appears defiant, and threatens the top management with her acknowledgement and awareness of her rights (Twomey, 2010). There is enough ground to prove that the employee has

Politics in South East Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Politics in South East Asia - Essay Example Lastly, it is also crucial that the geo strategic essentials of the cold war are put into careful consideration. For instance, it was the colonial rule that led to the establishment of territorial boundaries and the institutions in the South East Asian countries. More over, the nationalism that later developed was responsible for the rising of new political discourse in the countries. What’s more, the advent of the cold war was important in that it helped to determine the nature of authority in the post colonial South East Asian countries. The bottom-line is that authoritarian regimes are common and widespread in South East Asia. Still, some countries are democratic. According to Hub pages, the region has for a long time struggled between military strength and democratic civilian leadership. Dictatorships were the norm for most of the countries and in some cases such as Burma, the authoritarianism still prevails to date. (2008) Cambodia is considered to be a successor state of the once powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer empire of the 11th and 14th century that ruled a huge part of the Indochinese Peninsula. In 1857, Cambodia became a French protectorate up until 1953. The French administered Cambodia as part of the colony of French Indochina. However, at some point between 1941 and 1945 Cambodia had been occupied by the Japanese. In November 9 1953, Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under king Norodom Sihanouk after gaining their independence from the French.

Critically assess the use of environmental principles in environmental Assignment

Critically assess the use of environmental principles in environmental law - Assignment Example At present, the guidelines of the international environmental law play an imperative part that imposes considerable impact upon the notion of sustainable development. Environmental evaluation is quite essential for upholding the sustainable development of society as well as useful for establishing necessary laws related to environment. Apart from the factor of global warming, the aspect of climate change also contributes largely upon affecting the natural environment by a greater extent. Since the year 1960, several environmentalists took significant initiatives for reducing pollution, cleaning up the wastes, implementing strict laws for every individual of different nation, minimizing wastage products and introducing recyclable materials for the manufacturing of new products. In the year 1969, United States National Environmental policy Act referred that every societal member must follow the environmental laws in order to mitigate the impact of global warming. The major reason for e stablishing the international environmental regulation is for addressing social as well as environmental factors that have been considered as the root cause of global warming. By taking into concern the present environmental situation, it has been apparently observed that there has been drastic increase of pollution due to huge augmentation of carrier vehicles and industrial wastes. In order to make control of all these environmental aspects, lawyers and various environmentalists implement certain effectual environmental principles in order to create awareness about preserving the nature within the community people (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, 2012). This paper intends to critically assess the execution of environmental principles in environmental law concerning different significant aspects. These aspects include the different principles relating to environmental law, environmental regulation and protection along with international and European Environmental La w. Principles of Environmental Law Polluter Pays Principle The ‘Polluter Pays Principle (PPP)’ is considered as an effectual guideline concerning the environmental policy. This policy implies that community people must take deliberate initiatives towards preventing the increased level of pollution. The major objective of the ‘PPP’ is to internalizing the external activities of environment so that every community people can become quite conscious towards maintaining the cleanliness of nature. The principle of international environmental law was initiated in the year 1972 and it is recommended by ‘Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’. OECD is recognized as a council that established the guidelines concerning international environmental law. The council stated that these guidelines should be executed for assigning the costs that are incurred for the prevention of pollution. Moreover, the council also introduced as well as implemented certain crucial initiatives with the intention of properly utilising the limited environmental resources (Lucia, 2010). The core meaning of the PPP is that any polluter should incur the costs in relation to the safeguard and the control

Black Diaspora and the Founding of Liberia Research Paper

Black Diaspora and the Founding of Liberia - Research Paper Example According to these people, the strength of the blacks lay in their own hands and not in the hands of whites. African Americans belonged to Africa and their movement from America to Liberia was expected to be the result of their freedom and not their further enslavement. The journey to the founding of Liberia is a long one and captures the vision of the elders of African America who eliminated the differences within the African community that still comprises of a variety of languages and cultures. They wanted to see Africa as a whole, united in its dream. Hence the term ‘Pan-Africanism’ has been coined. It is the ‘political project’ to allow those in African diaspora to return by way of unification of all the Africans in a single African state4 the intellectual roots of the movement strongly lie in the racial conception of Africa by its founders, the African American and the Afro-Caribbean intellectuals. Pan-Africanism aimed to challenge the anti-black racism on two fronts since it started off from the New World among the slave descendants spreading back to Africa. Firstly, in the diaspora it condemned racial domination and secondly it also challenged the colonial domination which eventually seemed to have taking a racial form in Africa alone. The great divide in the movement is mainly due to the â€Å"stresses and strains† caused by the aforementioned goals which pull it in different directions.5 Liberia eventually grew into a colony and then a commonwealth nation. It achieved independence in 1847 with the help of the American Colonization Society. It was not until the 1980 that the descendents of freed slaves, also known as Americo-Liberians, got away with the socio-political control of the... This essay declares that the journey to the founding of Liberia is a long one and captures the vision of the elders of African America who eliminated the differences within the African community that still comprises of a variety of languages and cultures. They wanted to see Africa as a whole, united in its dream. Hence the term ‘Pan-Africanism’ has been coined. It is the ‘political project’ to allow those in African diaspora to return by way of unification of all the Africans in a single African state the intellectual roots of the movement strongly lie in the racial conception of Africa by its founders, the African American and the Afro-Caribbean intellectuals. Pan-Africanism aimed to challenge the anti-black racism on two fronts since it started off from the New World among the slave descendants spreading back to Africa. This paper discusses that colonization was in many ways a missionary task which it quite a â€Å"benevolent project†. Hence the method of carrying out the plans was very much private and was done on a small scale. There was definitely a plan of colonization behind Thomas Jefferson’s plea to end slavery and allow the blacks to visit and enjoy their own lands. There was indeed evil arising from the slavery through which the Americans were benefiting. They did not know the anger they were breeding among the natives of Africa who learnt what was being done to their brothers abroad.

Two radio and two television genres Essay Example for Free

Two radio and two television genres Essay In at least one point in the day, every-one finds themselves tuned into one broadcast station or another, be it radio or television Be it for entertainment, relaxation, to be informed or merely a means of escapism. For whichever reasons it is, radio and television play an active role in our everyday life whether we are aware of it or not. Using South African examples, this assignment seeks to discuss two radio and two television genres. It is virtually impossible to discuss the issue genre before defining this term. Both the Oxford dictionary as well as Creeber (2001), defines genre as type or kind. Genres allow for the types or kinds of things to be categorised. For example in radio broadcasting, there are various different programs aired, such as talk shows, music shows, news broadcasts, drama shows and so on. Each of these shows are categorised into a particular genre based on their characteristics. The two radio genres that will be discussed are talk shows and music shows. The phenomenon of genre is not exclusive to radio and television alone. In fact according to Greeber, it [genre] has played an important role in the study of literature, theatre, film, television and other art and media forms (Creeber, G: 2001 pg.1). Radio-Talk Genre Radio stations like SAFM and 702 are almost entirely dedicated to the genre of talk show however almost every radio station incorporates this genre if not at least for a few minutes. The success of talk shows lie in participation by the audience. The audience is urged to call into the radio station and either view their opinion on the topic of discussion or pose questions to either an officiator or a panel. On SAFM for example, there was a program entitled The Life and Times of Dr. Bayers Nordea. The show was as the title implies, discussing and talking about Dr. Nordeas life. The show hosted family, colleagues and friends, who spoke about his life. Listeners also got the opportunity to add their comments, thoughts, as well as pose questions to the panel. The show was also officiated by the host or disk jockey (D.J) of the show, who not only directed most of the discussion, but also made sure that the show, ran smoothly. The nature of talk shows is such that the audience phones in either agreeing or disagreeing to the topic or question being discussed. This opens the door for others to voice their opinions. According to Barnard (2000), phone-in encourages a free flow of opinion and conversation within the safety of an artificially created community (Barnard, S: 2000). With out this element, the talk show would be deemed unsuccessful. Talk shows do not follow a particular protocol, meaning that any topic can be addressed. The mere action of a D.J. posing a question relating to any topic and receiving feedback from the audience constitutes the genre of talk show to be exercised. As any topic makes way for talk shows, it is common to find small inserts of talk show, even within a primarily music radio station. Highfeld Stereo is an example of a South African music radio station. It is common to find a situation where a D.J. poses a question and opens the lines to receive feedback. The D.J is thus officiating a talk show, within a music show. Listeners of talk shows however, are required to concentrate on the discussion if they are to understand what is being discussed, thus ones attention cannot divert from one thing to another. For example, one cannot talk to a friend on the phone, as well as remain focused on the discussion. Radio-Music Genre Although there is audience participation in the music genre, it differs from that of the talk genre. Regarding music radio, the audience is urged to call in to send dedications to friends or loved ones, choose songs they wish to hear, or vote for their favourite song rather than voice their opinions on a matter. Music as a genre is not so clear-cut like talk shows. Within the music genres, there are sub-genres, where by music is categorised according to style. Rock, rave, hip-hop and pop would all be examples of sub-genres of the music genre. The music genre requires less attention from the listener to be focused on the show. Namely, the listener can do various other activities without loosing out on the entertainment. For example, while driving a car and focusing on the road, or while working at ones desk, one can continue to listen to his or her favourite song and not be side tracked. Unlike the talk genre where if one was driving a car and focusing on the road they would more than likely loose track of what was being discussed-alternatively, they would possibly have an accident. As the genre implies, the emphasis in music shows is in fact music. Therefore it is common to find very little talking by the D.J. and more music being played. The show usually consists of popular songs in the specific sub-genre being aired. This genre also usually has a top 40 show, where the 40 most popular songs are aired. This is commonly known as contempory hit radio (Tomaselli/de Villiers: 1998). 5FM radio station for example has the Coca-Cola Top 40 music show which is aired every Sunday morning from 10:00- 14:00. Other radio stations like East Coast Radio host the Top 10 at 10 show, which airs the 10 most popular songs every Tuesday night at 22:00. These songs which make it onto the top 10 or top 40 lists, are songs which have been voted for by the public. Jacaranda FM in contrast to the mainstream radio stations of say 5FM for example would air music of a different sub-genre, however one would still find the most popular tracks of that specific sub-genre being aired, as well as top 10 shows occurring. In the music genre, the D.Js primary job is to play music and possible talk a little bit about the artist of the track, rather than being an officiator or a mediator of discussion, as is found in talk radio. Television-Documentary Genre As the term documentary implies, these shows are usually fact based and require research to be done on the particular topic being showed. Events are documented by a team of researchers and aired to the public. An example of a documentary would be found in the SABC 2 show 50/50. This is a documentary program that focuses on various aspects of the wild life. Documentaries however could focus on a variety of topics, including an event, person or idea. As the emphasis of documentaries is on information, enlightenment and facts, viewers usually watch documentaries as a means of being informed, rather than being entertained. The nature of documentaries is such that each episode is fully formed and has a definite conclusion even if left as an enquiry for the viewer to think about what they have just viewed. This allows the viewer to evaluate their knowledge of the topic against that of the show. Documentaries are also not usually serial form, as would be the case in a sitcom for example. Rather, they tend to be self-contained episodes with definite endings. Documentaries usually also adopt a narrative structure psychological relationship of the viewers to the program. The viewer is often addressed directly, in order to persuade the actual person watching at home that he or she is the you to whom the addresser is speaking (Allen,C: 1992 pg. 118). This also keeps the viewer interested in the show as well making them feel as if they actively involved in what is going on. Due to the fact that documentaries are not entertainment focused and are rather a means of transferring information, events, people or animals being documented are portrayed as realistically as possible. Animals, which are filmed in the 50/50 program, for example are filmed in their natural environments, rather than in zoos, in order to give the viewer the most realistic experience. As they are based on real occurrences, documentaries, unlike entertainment programmes such as sitcoms, do not focus as much on a specific plot. Television-Soap Opera As soap operas were originally targeted at the female audience (Brown, M: 1994), it is not surprising to find that many of the central characters within this genre are women. More importantly, they are strong, powerful and influential characters, rather than the stereotype housewife women. SABC 3 airs the soap opera Isidingo. Charel de Villiers and Leigh Haynes are two examples of strong, powerful and ambitious characters that play central roles in the show. It is important for these kinds of characters to exist, in order for the audience to which the show is targeted at to be able to relate. They [women] recognise some of there own identity in this product created by the media (Brown, M: 1994). People watch soap operas for a number of reasons. The fact that they are entertaining, allows the viewer to unwind, relax or escape from the stresses from every day life, for the duration of the show, as the audience get lost in the reality of the program (Anderson, M: 2004). Viewers could also be using the decision-making techniques and outcomes of the soap opera to work through their own issues (Anderson, M: 2004). Isidingo is an example of a program that deals with AIDS-an issue that the whole of South Africa is facing; it also provides solutions in the form of Nandipe-a married women infected with HIV. Her positive attitude allows her to live a productive life. Viewers may see Nandipe as a role model. Those viewers infected with HIV may in fact even echo her actions in order to try and increase productivity in their own lives. Characters in soap operas are usually found in the form of multiple characters (Brown, M: 1994) meaning that characters emphasize the group over the individual (Brown, M: 1994 pg 53), thus many people can relate to one specific character. This also makes way for viewers to find similarities between themselves and various other characters rather than one particular character. Brown believes that rather than relating to characters in soap operas, viewers implicate themselves to various characters, meaning that the viewer will see similarities between a particular character, or even characters, but when the character acts in a way that the viewer does not agree with, or feel comfortable with, the viewer will distance him or herself from the character (Brown, M: 1994). Soap operas adopt a visualization style, which gets the viewer to focus and identify with a specific character (Brown, M: 1994 pg. 53). On a radio talk show for example, a TV viewer called in with the opinion that the Isidingo villianess, Cherel de Villiers should be punished, as if the viewer could not differentiate between reality fiction. (Anderson, M: 2004). Apparently actors who play villainous characters are shunned offset by the public (Anderson, M: 2004). It is not only the relatable characters and entertaining style of soap operas that keep the audience hooked. It is also the continuous open-ended nature of episodes, set in the present and containing a number of alternating story lines which gives the audience sense of continuous pleasure (Brown, M: 1994, pg. 58). The fact that soap operas resists narrative closure, meaning that the story is continuous and never ending, means there is always hope for the future (Anderson, M: 2004). Thus viewers will continue to watch future episodes in order to come closer to seeing what will happen at the end (which never really comes). John Davies (1984)suggests about soap opera viewers that once hooked, they vacillate between their need to know, or the pleasure of anticipation that keeps viewers watching (Brown, M: 1994). In discussing two radio and two television genres with reference to two South African examples, it is evident that the complexities and intricacies of various broadcasts and genres are not as simple as one would imagine. As seen above, various genres and broadcasts draw in different audiences, and evoke various different responses in the viewer or listener. As technology continues to move forward, where will these broadcasts find themselves in the future? For now though, radio and television will continue to play an active part in almost all of our lives. BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, Robert C. 1992. Televisions modes of address the social context of T.V. viewing. In Channels of Discourse, reassembled. 2nd ed. Edited by Robert C. Allen. London: Routledge. Anderson, Muff. Soapies mirror SAs soul. Mail Guardian. 24 March 2004. Barnard, S. 2000. Studying Radio. New York: Arnold Hodder. Brown, Mary Ellen. 1994.Ch. 3: Soap opera and womens talk: The pleasure of resistance. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Creeber, G. (ed.). 2001. Introduction: What is genre? In Creeber, G (ed),The television genre book. London: British Film Institute, 1-7. Teer-Tomaselli, R and de Villiers, C. 1998. Radio: Theatre of the Mind. In De Beer, A (ed). Mass media toward the Millennium. Pretoria: Van Schaik, 147-175.

Internal and External Constraints Facing Venetian Ices Ltd Essay Example for Free

Internal and External Constraints Facing Venetian Ices Ltd Essay Constraints are laws, which the company must abide by. There are two different types of constraints; these are internal and external constraints. Internal constraints are those that the company controls their selves such as: * Availability of finance * Existing company policy * Peoples behaviour External constraints are decisions that are made outside the companys control such as: * Government and EC legislation * Competitors behaviour * Lack of technology * The economic environment The internal constraints facing Venetian ices include: 1.Equipment Venetian Ices need equipment in order to produce their goods and also keep the ice cream frozen. So obviously they will need equipment such as freezers (to store the ice cream), new ice cream making machines in order to produce the ice cream for the customers. They will also need a mobile van, so that customers could get ice cream in different areas. Another equipment that Venetian Ices could have is packaging, this will be for customers who would want to buy a whole tub of ice cream from them. There are some problems, which may occur when replacement or extra equipment is needed. Venetian ices could in fact find themselves in a position where they are unable to afford the equipment that they would want available to them. In the case of additional equipment there may not be enough room on the sight of enough employees to operate all the machinery. 2. Financing the development of a Franchisee operation Venetian Ices must provide finance to their franchisees in order to get them started and set up in the business world. Venetian Ices can get their finance from a number of places and ways. The first is retained profit, but that can possible prove difficult for them, as small companies such as themselves only tend to make a small profit. They can also get their finance from selling as much ice cream as they possibly can. Venetian ices would have to buy all the equipment and premised that they would require when they are setting up a business up and also paying all of the workers in their franchisee. This means that when a new franchisee joins at first Venetian Ices have to spend a lot of capital and get little back in return. 3. Staffing for Increased Production Output By increasing the number of staff it would increase the output of the company, but this will mean having to pay out more money in order to pay their new employees. Also they may have a problem with the size of the premises. There could be a problem with the amount of people allowed to work in the building, if there isnt enough room for everyone they would have to employ less people then they would like. Some External constraints that may affect Venetian Ices include: 1.Raising finance How much finance Venetian Ices can raise depends a lot on the public who purchase ice cream from them and also investors who decide to invest money in the company. This could cause a problem though because in winter ice cream is less popular and a whole lot less people would come and purchase ice cream during the cold period. This could therefore mean investors will not want to invest in an ice cream company, which for part of the reason will not raise much finance. 2. Planning Permission If Venetian Ices decided they wanted to expand their premises or decide to build new premises for their company, they would require planning permission from the local council or the government. If Venetian Ices did decide to go ahead with an extension or the building of a new building without a contract from the authorities then they could be taken to court and forced to abandon work on their new premises completely. 3. Franchising Venetian Ices do not have complete control over its franchisees, as the franchiser does not always check them on. This can mean that franchisees may run the business against the company policy and use different and methods. For example if the franchisee trains the staff in how to recruit then the staff must do exactly as they are told to, if they recruit people in a different way or people who Venetian Ices dont want. This could lead to the company having a bad reputation. 4. Law Venetian Ices must follow and work by all the laws. There has being laws set about methods of employment, training, European regulations and also food which would defiantly apply to Venetian Ices. These laws can be checked often by government inspectors. 5. Tourism Tourism is a big market for Venetian Ices as they make up a large percentage of customers in some areas where there are mobile and ice cream parlours. Tourist also often purchases goods on impulse. However, Venetian Ices cannot insure that the number of tourists in a certain area will remain the same all the time. 6. Foot and Mouth Disease Another outbreak of foot and mouth can cause serious problems for Venetian Ices. Foot and Mouth affect cows, which Venetian ices, depends on for its main ingredient, which is milk. Another foot and mouth epidemic breaking out would make it hard obtaining the milk and also getting it transported as certain areas of the countryside would be shut off, therefore making transportation hard. Foot and mouth can also cause tourism to drop in certain areas and possibly even close. This would lead Venetian Ices in an awful position in them areas affected by foot and mouth. There could possibly be people who would want to stay away from the ice cream due to foot and mouth.

Investigating The Mechanism And Impact Of Nectar Card Marketing Essay

Investigating The Mechanism And Impact Of Nectar Card Marketing Essay To explore the effectiveness of customer centric theory by the implementation of loyalty cards in retail business. To make a critical review about the operation and success of Nectar card Sainsbury in maintaining the customer relationship in current business environment. To investigate more about some practical theories used by Sainsbury for the implementation of Nectar cards in their business. To evaluate the impact of Nectar card among Sainsbury customers to point out some valuable suggestions thereby to improve the effectiveness of nectar card in business of Sainsbury. Research background In this competitive market the main factor affecting the business is the effective strategic management in the business. Information technology is the most effective factor now days. Therefore all the business organizations are to be careful in maintaining effective IT related strategies for the effective business. Sainsbury is a well established supermarket network in London. They have made a strategic approach by using the IT sector as by using the nectar card as an service to the customer where as using it as the information collector for the effective business. They mainly focus to meet customer requirements. In this proposed research I am planning to do a research on the nectar card used by the Sainsbury at Holborn, London. By using this effective strategy of management Sainsbury have achieved a wide range of customers at Holborn. As they use this card to keep an updated record of data of their customers and to keep a track of their regular customers. By this research I am focusing on the main sections on the strategic application of the information technology of the Nectar card in the business management of the Sainsbury. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND: Sainsbury, An organization with more than 140 years old opened its first showroom in the year 1869 by Mr. John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury from the time of its establishment towards Sainsbury has very well strategic planning for the instant we can very well see that Sainsbury opened its first showroom in Drury lane, it was the one of the poorest area in the in the country England and they started to sell the high quality products at the lower rate which attracted people all over the place and from the time being the rate of success of strategic decision were very high which lead to the growth of the Sainsbury from 1 store to the 800 stores by the year 2010. The other main strategy adopted by the Sainsbury was they aim to sell to product under their own brand name and first among them was the smoked bacon. The bacon was smoked in their in store under the smoking oven. Sainsbury had a very large shortage of the workers during the First World War and they started to recruit women to wo rk in their in store and many other store roles were assigned to the women. (j-sainsbury,2009) In 1950s Sainsbury our self service stores are started in the UK much before many competitors have implemented and this had made Sainsbury a different store from others continuously the strategies adopted by the company goes at higher success rate one of the result among them was the in the year 1969 their own brand products accounted for the 50% of their turn over.(j-sainsbury,2009) GOAL OF SAINSBURY: The major o goal of the Sainsbury is by providing good quality shopping experience at the convenient price with the highest quality available in the market. Sainsbury aims at the higher customer expectations for the daily lives which makes the life of the customer easier.(j-sainsbury,2009) VALUES OF SAINSBURY: Sainsbury value for the passion for the healthy, safe, fresh and tasty foods, our focuses towards delivering great products at fair prices, a history of innovation and leadership and a strong regard for the social, ethical and environmental effects of our operation have continued to stand the test of time. (j-sainsbury,2009) Five major principles followed by the Sainsbury are: Bringing the best for the food and health. Integrity in sourcing Environment respect. Marking positive effects in the community. Making working environment a better place to work. (j-sainsbury,2009) LITERATURE REVIEW: LOYALTY CARD: Loyalty card is an another marketing strategy adopted by many business organization and loyalty card is provided by different organization and marketed by different organization in different name and some among them is the Nectar card, Club card, Reward card etc. Usually loyalty card is a plastic or paper card usually looks like credit or debit card in which the name of the card holder will be imprinted in the face of the card. Loyalty card is the usual name famous in the UK region and its name varies in different region in the world. The other side of the card typically will have a magnetic strip or a barcode so that they can be easily scanned to the system when purchasing the products. (loyalty,2008). A retail firm in the in the retail industry may issue this loyalty card towards the customers or consumers which can be then used as an identification procedure in order to find the particular customer. The loyalty gives the data of the consumer regarding demography as well as the other relevant data. It gives data such as the address as well as the number of families in the home. Each and every loyalty card issued by the retail merchandise will have customer privacy statement as well as the non- disclosure data about the customers and these data will not be disclosed between the others users of the same retailing sector. These data provided by the loyalty card can be used for the both externally as well as internally. These data can be used to analyze the data such which will be better and favorite brand for the particular customer or whether the consumer is vegetarian or not.( loyalty,2008) EPOS: Electronic point of sales: EPOS data are usually used by the retailing groups like supermarkets, hypermarkets, pharmacies, chemists, convenience stores, small independent stores, petrol bunks, cash and carry, off license as well as in pubs and restaurants. Electronic point of sales data are the much useful data to the retailer like the one which when the customer swipe the card at the till of the shop all the details like what all are the things purchased by the consumer will goes towards the marketing wing and as per the data available the marketing wing can able to analyze the customer and they can provide provides rewards and loyalty program according to the taste and nature of the consumers or customers.( loyalty,2009) NECTAR CARD: Nectar card is a loyalty card as well as a loyalty reward program mainly based in the UK region supplied with the partnership of the business giants like Sainsbury, American express and BP. The nectar card was introduced into UK in later of 2002. (nectar,2009) Nectar is maintained by the private organization named Loyalty Management Group UK and now it became the part of Group aero plan. The helpline is mainly based on the Tyne and in Mumbai. Nectar card has maintained a 5 year plan from the year 2002 and thus helped to overtake the club card issued by the Tesco and by the year 2010 Nectar card has became popular 2in the UK. (nectar,2002) Sainsbury uses the data from the nectar card by the process of EPOS. Sainsbury valuate each and every customer by the process of EPOS services provided by the nectar card. At the time of billing process Sainsbury stores each data in the database through this process they can be able to analyze what all are the products which are mostly sold in the particular day and they can analyze the trends in shopping of the consumers as well as the customers. By looking over the database of each customer they can be able to analyze the taste of the consumers like whether he or she is vegetarian or non vegetarian through this analyze they can be able to provide particular offer toward for the particular products for the customers and at the same time they can be able to provide offers for the products which are not usually used by the consumer. During each seasons for example during the month of Christmas if consumer or customer consumes wines they can be able to provide seasonal offers for the p articular products at particular time. (j-sainsbury,2003). Rationale I had been employed by the firm and have found that with the advent of loyalty cards the company is capable of promoting its sales very easily. The loyalty cards have made market analysis and exploitation of customer behavior carry with nominal expenditure very effectively than any other method. Hence being from an IT background and as learning Business Management, I thought to keep me ahead in this era of technology based business. This research will horn me with more knowledge. Hypothesis Loyalty cards are the simplest ways to analysis and understand periodical customer behavior and to promote business regionally. Methodology Don Erwin says The main reason for studying research methodology is that it provides a time-tested, proven means of providing new, reliable knowledge that accumulate the growing body of knowledge.(Ethridge,2004,p.10) The methodology of research can be explained as the systematic method to solve the research problem or the scientific method of doing the research and meeting the objectives of the research. Research methods and methodology closely related parts of the research, in which the methodology has many dimensions and method can be viewed as the part of this .This makes the methodology of a research always wider than the research method. Thus in this context researcher should well aware about the research methods as well as methodology before doing a research. (Kumar, 2008, p.5) The research can be classified on the basis of a number of factors like objectives, data used, data collection methods, the use of the research, approach of the researcher etc. most of the time a research may be the combination of more than one type. So following are the classification of some major type of research in which my research is more related to. Descriptive Vs analytical research The descriptive research mainly concentrates on the descriptive approach of stating the affairs and research problems. This make use of the main research methods like survey method, observation   and other primary data collection method in spite of the secondary data which is already available. An important characteristic of this research is that it can only describe what is happened or happening and no control over the variables of the research topic. But in the case of analytical research the researcher make use of the various information and facts which is already available for the evaluation of the research topic, so that no need to collect fresh or primary data.(Kumar, 2008, p.8) My research is planned to make use of both primary and secondary types of data so my research is more related to descriptive type research than analytical type. Theoretical Vs Empirical Research In the theoretical way of doing a research the researcher primarily selects some of the theoretical facts and information from the sources like articles, journals, books etc then the researcher further analysis the research questions on the basis of this data which is mainly the secondary data. But in the case of the empirical data the research begins with the help of secondary data but latter the researcher also make use of some of the primary data for the further analysis of evaluating the hypothesis and finding the answer to the research questions. . (Schwab,2004,p.15) In the empirical research secondary data helps to make a detailed analysis of the research topic were the primary data helps to find out key ideas and values of the topic, altogether makes the research more reliable and meaning full. Because of this strong advantage I am making use of Empirical research method in my research. Explanatory Vs predictive Research Explanatory research mainly carried out in the situation in which the researcher should find out the reason behind a particular phenomenon which is already happened and is related to the research topic. In this type of approach the researcher identifies different factors or variables and analysis this variables with the help of predicted hypothesis and objectives. In this type of research the researcher can make strong interpretations on the basis of the collected data, but in the case of predictive research the researcher is making predictions regarding the various factors with the help of the collected data. (Gratton, 2004,p.9) Since in my research there is no scope for prediction of phenomenon and also requires the interpretations of collected data my research is more explanatory. Qualitative and Quantitative Research Qualitative and Quantitative is the most important classification on the basis of the date used to carry out the research. The data is mainly classified into two, one which contains narrative explanations and interpretations called qualitative data but the other contains numerical data and its analysis called the quantitative data. The researches which uses qualitative data for proceeding the research is called qualitative research, similarly research which uses quantitative data is called quantitative research. Most of the research is the combination of the quantitative and qualitative approach called the mixed approach. In my research also in making use of both type of research so its a mixed research approach. Quantitative Research This approach concentrates more on measurement and evaluates of the quality or amount, on the factors which can be expected in terms of the quality. This is more related to the quantitative phenomenon and quantifiable data. By implementing this research type the researcher can be able to analyses the topic very precisely with the help of set of procedures and rules so that the reader can get a clear picture of the issues under consideration. (Kumar, 2008,p.10) The scope and limitations of the quantitative approaches are follows. Scope of quantitative research The quantitative research is helpful to the stake holders to evaluate the performance of the company very clearly and easily. Since the analysis is strictly based on the objectives and main points the comparisons can be easily done. Quantitative approach is easily replicate and highly reliable. The authenticity of data used in this type of research can be verified easily The authenticity of quantitative data which is used in the quantitative research analysis can be easily verified. Limitations The main limitation of Qualitative type of research is that it can be effective only with the help of quantitative research. The approach holds minimum flexibility. Highly depends on the authenticity of the numerical data used in the analysis. If the data is not reliable the whole research becomes meaningless and insignificant. Highly time consuming and expensive to perform. This type of research should be planned carefully to ensure the correct destination. Qualitative research Through this type of approach the researcher can easily evaluate and illustrate human behavior and related issues.   Qualitative research is a very important in business researches because it is vey useful in the product design and sales. Through this the user can easily evaluate the preference and habits of the people and can predict the future of the product whether it is viable or not commercially. Qualitative research mainly supported by a realistic and provable hypothesis which can be analyzed to reach the research result.(experiment-resourses,n.d.) Scope of qualitative research Qualitative research is very useful if the research topic is complex with the help of hypothesis and clear objectives. Approach helps the researcher to explore and interpret the real world experiences which is impossible in the case of quantitative analysis. Depth evaluation of the topic is possible in a detailed manner so that the research will be more useful for the readers. Procedures are flexible so that new levels of research can be established very easily. Can make maximum use of the previous researches and also can point out the ignored factors in the previous researches. Limitations Highly influenced by the personal skill of the researcher so that the quality of the research cannot be ensured with the quality data and data collection methods. Systematic comparison is difficult because of the aggregative approach of the research. Low reliability and less precise when compared to the quantitative research. Since the research is more concentrated on the personal experience , general trends opinions ,judgment etc ,this can only be effective in the qualitative method of analysis. Mathematical analysis is impossible. Data collection Methods The most important step in a research is its data collection. By which the data for the research is collected. This step is much important in a research, as proper care is to be taken for the reliability of the data collecting and towards the relevance of those data. For these collecting of data there are few methods which can be classified as primary and secondary data. The main collection methods used are secondary method which includes methods like collecting data from internet, books journals etc. but in the few cases the collection of primary data may face difficulties as it is fresh and new data collected. Primary data collection methods This method is used to collect data from the area of research directly by using various primary data collecting methods. The researcher uses various methods like questionnaires, interviews, surveys etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the primary data is fully depended on the subjects and hence there is a chance of bias if the subjects are not trust worthy. In this research I am planning to do: Observation method: This is the method of data collecting by the process of observing the working environment at the area of research, in this research it is the working environment off the Sainsbury super market at Holborn, London. This collection method is done by the direct participation of the researcher. Advantages: In this method of data collection the data collected may be more reliable as the researcher has a direct personal experience in the area of research. Observation method is an effective where as an simple method by which the researcher can get a direct contact with the working environment of the area of research and can collect data effectively and easily Direct contact with the employees can be helpful for the success of the research. As they may be able to provide data much easier. Disadvantages: In few situations the information collected by the direct contact may be incomplete and may require further effort on it. The validity and reliability of the data collected by the observation method may not be confirmed. As only a proper skilled researcher can analyze the working environment of an activity effectively. As the part of collecting data in this research, I am using the observation method as I had an experience of six months in this super market and this method is mostly reliable one. Questionnaire method In this method of data collection, I am intending to prepare a collection of questions related to the research topic to find out relevant data for the research. Advantages: Questionnaire method helps to provide data according to the relevance of the research. As all the questions in the questionnaire are directly linked to the research objectives. Collection of data can be done much effectively and easily than conducting an interview. In this method of data collection it is easy to get data from a very large number of persons as the questionnaire can be supplied to them in a short period of time. Disadvantages: In this method of data collection in few situations the participants may not be ready to provide accurate data. All the questions in the questionnaire are to be answered effectively by the participant incase to do easy analysis. As there is possibility of anonymous questionnaires the participants may have a negative feel towards the questionnaire. (Cresewell,2002,p.25).   Interviewing method: This is the method by which I have to formulate a structured frame of the questions which lead me to collect the data which supports my research.   The responses towards my questions by the participants make my research much effective one. Advantages: This is a method by which the data is collected by the researcher by direct contact with the person related to the research area therefore this is much effective to collect relevant data for the research This method of data collection is an flexible one as the questions may vary according to the person. This method helps to get the primary data more easily and reliably as the interview is done with the person who can provide effective data and it is conducted by the researcher itself. Disadvantages: There may be limitations for the researcher to publish data provided by the interviewee in the interview in some situation. As the data may be much confidential related to them. This is a process which takes much time in analyzing and sorting of the data also to lead the data to the finds of the research questions I am planning to conduct a direct interview with the manager of the Sainsbury Supermarket at Holborn, London.  Ã‚   Secondary data collection methods   Secondary data collection means those data which have already be collected and published. Also can be accessible from various sources like journals, articles, books, internet etc. these data collected will   be much reliable if we take proper care in the selection of the sources we use. In this research I am intending to use various above mentioned sources which are reliable.   Advantages: The data can be easily and effectively collected in this method as the required sources are easily   accessible by the researcher through various libraries, internet etc The books which are much reliable as published and written by qualified persons makes those data more reliable and relevant. As the data collected will be already arranged or sorted by the pre-publisher the sorting of data will be easier. Disadvantages: As there are various unreliable sources it is difficult to identify the reliable one and the unreliable one. The improper updating of various websites in the internet may affect the reliability and relevance of the data. As all the data are published before there may be a tendency to copy the work done by any other person which means practicing plagiarism. Ethics in research Ethics in the research is one of the most important factors the researcher should take care of because this can create trust of the reader on the research. The ethical principles can be applied to all levels of the research like planning, evaluating, data collection conducting etc. Integrity, honesty and confidentiality are the main factors which can contribute a lot to the ethical behavior of the research. Some of the ethical standard a research should maintain is follows, Avoid the use of information which can harm environment, individual and property unnecessarily. Reliability of the information and individuals in the research should be ensured. The confidentially and privacy of the data should be preserved whenever necessary. Suitable precautions should be taken when dealing with the individuals in the research to maintain the reliability of the research. Try to avoid big economic expenses, big reward and contract for the study to avoid the falsification of information.

My Review of the Play ‘Proof’ :: Theater Essays

My Review of the Play ‘Proof’ Good acting is essential to any good performance. The actors and actresses have to try to make what the audience is seeing and hearing come alive. The four characters in the play â€Å"Proof† are able to do this. The meaning and purpose behind the play is easily understood because the actors and actresses do such a fine job in their performances. The play is about a young woman, Catherine who had been taking care of her father during his last years of life. Anne Heche plays Catherine. Prior to this play, I have never seen Anne Heche in any acting performance. I have to say she did an outstanding job in her portrayal of Catherine. She did a fantastic job of immediately drawing you into Catherine’s world. She aptly portrays the characteristics of a girl who never got a chance to grow up and the slight madness of the genius she inherited from her father. One can easily feel sad for her because after all she gave up all her dreams to take care of her ailing father. Anne Heche plays Catherine so well that it easy for you to fall in love with Catherine and desire only good things for her. The other actors and actress were just as outstanding in their performances. Len Cariou plays Robert. He is Catherine’s father in the play. In the play, he is both humorous and appealing. Len Cariou is very good at portraying Robert’s insanity and brilliance all at once. What is interesting about Robert is that he does not give up his fight against his illness. Instead, he struggles up until his death to control and conquer it. Len Cariou displays this struggle so convincingly that he is able to draw you into his struggle. He is able to stir up emotions, such as sadness and anger. Stephen Kunken plays Hal Dobbs. He is Robert’s protà ©gà ©e. Stephen Kunken is very good at portraying Hal as a geek. However, Stephen is also able to show that not all math students are 100% geek through Hal’s lines and manners. When Hal is at the party, he shows that even geeks know how to have a good time. Hal is the most normal character in the play and Stephen Kunken plays this normalcy with great accuracy and talent.

The Legal Classification of Men and Women :: Social Justice Legal Essays

Usually sex classifications were challenged by women who felt they deprived of equal legal treatment, but they were also challenged by men who felt women were given unfair legal protection. Originally, most of the gender specific legislation in the United States was passed because stereotypes regarding women pervaded the mentalities of many of our nation's lawmakers. Slowly the government realized that women had been sealed into the domestic sphere and attempted to reverse this discrimination by giving women special compensations. In some instances the treatment women received was leftover from old notions of role typing, while in others, laws directly tried to remedy harmful effects of the past. In both cases, men claimed their equal protection rights were violated by laws which separated women from men. In Stanley v. Illinois 1972, Peter Stanley challenged an Illinois statute which "automatically conferred custody on a married father and on a mother, married or unmarried, and automatically denied it to an unmarried father" after the death of a parent (Goldstein 196). Stanley claimed that his equal protection right, protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, was violated because other parents who were similarly situated, that is, women and married men, were given a benefit which he was denied. A constitutional law must demonstrate a clear goal of the state, and represent the "least restrictive means to achieve those ends" (Mezey 16). In this case, however, the Supreme Court observed "that the State registers no gain towards its goals when it separates children from the custody of fit parents" (Goldstein 199). Clearly this law is a remnant of the past when women were thought to be the only caretakers of children. The underlying motive for this law was "the theory that an unwed father is n ot a "parent" whose existing relationship with his children must be considered" (Goldstein 198). While it is common for the state to defend their stereotypical legal relics on the grounds of "administrative convenience," the Court now identifies these laws as problematic (Reed v. Reed 1971, Frontiero v. Richardson 1973). "Procedure by assumption is always cheaper and easier than individual determination(,) but when the procedure... explicitly disdains present realities in deference to past formalities... it cannot stand" (Goldstein 200). Thus, the Illinois law which automatically awarded women the custody of their children, but not similarly situated men, was declared unconstitutional, because it was grounded in outdated stereotypes. Leon Goldfarb, in Calfifano v.

Last Sacrifice Chapter Twenty-five

WE COULD ALREADY HEAR footsteps thundering through the house and knew we were seconds from the army downstairs heading up to the second floor. The three of us backed away, and to my surprise, it was Sydney who reacted first. â€Å"Get out. I'll distract them.' Her distracting them would probably just mean momentarily blocking their way until they pushed her aside, but those extra seconds could make a huge difference. Still, I couldn't stand the thought of abandoning her. Dimitri had no such reservations, particularly when we heard feet on the stairs. â€Å"Come on!' he shouted, grabbing hold of my arm. We raced down the hall to the farthest bedroom, Victor and Robert's. Just before we entered, I yelled back to Sydney, â€Å"Get Jill to Court!' I don't know if she heard because by the sounds of it, the guardians had reached her. Dimitri immediately opened the room's one large window and looked at me knowingly. As always, we needed no vocal communication. He jumped out first, no doubt wanting to take the full brunt of whatever danger waited below. I immediately followed. I dropped onto the first floor's roof, slid down it, and then made the longer drop to the ground. Dimitri caught my arm, steadying my landing–but not before one of my ankles twisted slightly in on itself. It was the same one that had taken the brunt of the fall outside Donovan's, and I winced as pain shot through me, pain I then promptly ignored. Dark figures moved toward us, emerging from evening shadows and hidden spots around the backyard. Of course. Guardians wouldn't just come busting down a door. They'd also have the place staked out. With our natural rhythm, Dimitri and I fought back-to-back against our attackers. Like usual, it was hard to incapacitate our foes without killing them. Hard, but necessary if we could manage it. I didn't want to kill my own people, people who were just doing their job to apprehend fugitives. The long dress didn't do me any favors either. My legs kept getting caught in the fabric. â€Å"The others will be out any minute,' Dimitri grunted, slamming a guardian to the ground. â€Å"We need to move–there. That gate.' I couldn't respond but followed his lead as we made our way to a door in the fence while still defending ourselves. We'd just taken out the backyard squad when more spilled from the house. We slipped through the gate, emerging onto a quiet side road flanking the Mastrano house, and ran. It soon became clear, however, that I couldn't keep up with Dimitri. My mind could ignore the pain, but my body couldn't make my injured ankle work properly. Without missing a beat, Dimitri slid his arm around me, helping me run and take the weight off the ankle. We turned off the road, cutting through yards that would make it more difficult–but not impossible–for them to track us. â€Å"We can't outrun them,' I said. â€Å"I'm slowing us down. You need to–‘ â€Å"Do not say leave you,' he interrupted. â€Å"We're doing this together.' Snick, snick. A flowerpot near us suddenly exploded into a pile of dirt and clay. â€Å"They're shooting at us,' I said incredulously. â€Å"They're actually shooting at us!' With so much hand-to-hand training, I always felt like guns were cheating. But when it came to hunting down a queen-killing murderer and her accomplice? Honor wasn't the issue. Results were. Another bullet zinged by, dangerously close. â€Å"With a silencer,' said Dimitri. â€Å"Even so, they'll be cautious. They don't want the neighborhood thinking it's under attack. We need cover. Fast.' We might've been literally dodging bullets, but my ankle wouldn't last much longer. He made another sharp turn, completely immersing us in suburban backyards. I couldn't look behind us, but I heard shouting voices that let me know we weren't free yet. â€Å"There,' said Dimitri. Ahead of us was a dark house with a large glass patio reminiscent of Sonya's. The glass door was open, though a screen blocked the way inside. Dimitri tugged on its latch. Locked. But a screen was hardly a deterrent for us. Poor, trusting family. He took out his stake and slashed a long, vertical line that we hastily slipped through. Immediately, he jerked me to the side, out of view. He put a finger to his lips, holding me close to his body, shattering me in his warmth. Seconds later, we saw guardians coming through and searching the yards. Some kept moving on in case we'd run farther. Others lingered, investigating places that made good hiding spots as the evening grew darker and darker. I glanced at the screen. The cut had been clean, not an obvious hole, but it was still something our pursuers might notice. Sensing this as well, Dimitri carefully moved off into the living room, doing his best to avoid windows and keep out of sight. We cut through to the kitchen and found a door leading to the garage. In the garage was a red Ford Mustang. â€Å"Two car family,' he murmured. â€Å"I was hoping for that.' â€Å"Or they're out for a walk and about to come home when they notice a SWAT team in their neighborhood,' I whispered. â€Å"The guardians won't let themselves be seen.' We began searching for obvious key locations. At last, I found a set hanging on the side of a cupboard and scooped them up. â€Å"Got â€Å"em,' I said. Since I had the keys, I think Dimitri actually would have let me jump into the driver's seat. Thanks to my right ankle, however, I had to toss him the keys. The universe had a sick sense of humor. â€Å"Will they spot us in this?' I asked, as Dimitri opened the garage door and backed out. â€Å"It's, uh, a bit flashier than our usual stolen car profile.' It was also awesome. Sydney, car geek that she was, would have loved it. I bit my lip, still guilty that we'd left her behind. I tried to push the thought out of my head for now. â€Å"It is,' agreed Dimitri. â€Å"But other cars will be driving down the street. Some guardians will still be searching the yards, and some will be guarding the Mastranos. They don't have infinite numbers. They can't watch everything at once, though they'll certainly try.' I held my breath anyway as we drove out of the subdivision. Twice, I thought I spotted stealthy figures by the side of the road, but Dimitri was right: they couldn't check every car in a busy suburban neighborhood. The darkness also obscured our faces. Dimitri remembered the way we'd driven in because a few turns later, we were merging onto the freeway. I knew he had no destination in mind, except foraway. With no obvious indications that we'd been followed, I shifted my body and stretched out my throbbing leg. My chest had that light, nebulous feeling you got when too much adrenaline was pumping through you. â€Å"They turned us in, didn't they?' I asked. â€Å"Victor and Robert called us in and then took off. I should have kept watch.' â€Å"I don't know,' Dimitri said. â€Å"It's possible. I saw them just before I talked to you, and everything seemed fine. They wanted to go with us to find Jill, but they knew it was only a matter of time before we turned them over to the authorities. I'm not surprised they came up with an escape plan. They could have used the feeding as a distraction to call the guardians and get rid of us.' â€Å"Crap.' I sighed and pushed my hair back, wishing I had a ponytail holder. â€Å"We should've gotten rid of them when we had the chance. What'll happen now?' Dimitri was silent for a few seconds. â€Å"The Mastranos will be questioned †¦ extensively. Well, all of them will, really. They'll lock Sonya up for investigation, like me, and Sydney will be shipped back to the Alchemists.' â€Å"And what will they do to her?' â€Å"I don't know. But I'm guessing her helping vampire fugitives won't go over well with her superiors.' â€Å"Crap,' I repeated. Everything had fallen apart. â€Å"And what are we going to do?' â€Å"Put some distance between us and those guardians. Hide somewhere. Wrap up your ankle.' I gave him a sidelong look. â€Å"Wow. You've got everything planned out.' â€Å"Not really,' he said, a small frown on his face. â€Å"That's the easy stuff. What happens after that is going to be the hard part.' My heart sank. He was right. Provided the Mastranos weren't indicted by Moroi authorities for helping criminals, Emily now had no one forcing her to acknowledge Jill's heritage. If Sydney was being hauled back to her own people–well. She couldn't help either. I was going to have to tell someone else, I realized. The next time I made contact with Adrian, I'd have to divulge the truth so that my friends could do something about Jill. We couldn't sit on this secret any longer. Dimitri took the next exit, and I tuned back into the world. â€Å"Hotel?' I asked. â€Å"Not quite,' he said. We were in a busy, commercial area, not far from Ann Arbor, I thought. One of the Detroit suburbs. Restaurants and stores lined the road, and he turned us toward a twenty-four-hour superstore that promised to carry â€Å"everything.' He parked and opened his door. â€Å"Stay here.' â€Å"But–‘ Dimitri looked meaningfully at me, and I glanced down. I'd come away from our fight more scuffed up than I realized, and the dress had torn. My ragged appearance would attract attention, as would my limping. I nodded, and he left. I spent the time turning over our problems, cursing myself for not having found a way to turn in the brothers once Robert had restored Sonya. I'd been bracing myself for betrayal in the form of some magical attack. I hadn't expected something as simple as a call to the guardians. Dimitri, ever the efficient shopper, returned soon with two large bags and something slung over his shoulder. He tossed it all in the backseat, and I peered back curiously. â€Å"What's that?' It was long and cylindrical, covered in canvas. â€Å"A tent.' â€Å"Why are we–‘ I groaned. â€Å"No hotel, huh?' â€Å"We'll be harder to find at a campground. The car will especially be harder to find. We can't get rid of it quite yet, not with your foot.' â€Å"Those poor people,' I said. â€Å"I hope their car insurance covers theft.' Back on the freeway, we soon left the urban sprawl, and it wasn't long before we saw advertisements for campgrounds and RV parks. Dimitri pulled over at a place called Peaceful Pines. He negotiated with the man working in the office and produced a number of crisp bills. That was another reason we couldn't get a hotel, I realized. Most required credit cards, and Sydney had had all those (in fake names, of course). We were living off cash now. The clerk gave us directions along a gravel road that led to a spot on the opposite end of the campground. The place was busy with vacationing families, but no one paid much attention to us. Dimitri made sure to park as close to a cluster of trees as possible, in order to obscure the car and its plates. Despite my protests, he wouldn't let me help with the tent. He claimed he could do it faster without me and that I should stay off my feet. I started to argue until he began assembling the tent. My jaw dropped a little as I watched how quickly he put it together. He didn't even need the directions. It had to be some kind of record. The tent was small and sturdy, giving us both room to sit and lie, though he had to hunch just a little when we were sitting. Once inside, I got to see the rest of his purchases. A lot of it was first aid. There was also a flashlight he propped up, a kind of makeshift lamp. â€Å"Let me see the ankle,' he ordered. I stretched out my leg, and he pushed my dress's skirt up to my knee, fingers light against my skin. I shivered as a sense of deja vu swept me. It seemed to be happening to me a lot lately. I thought back to all the times he had helped me with other injuries. We could have been right back in St. Vladimir's gym. He gently tested the ankle's mobility and did a little poking and prodding. His fingers never ceased to amaze me. They could break a man's neck, bandage a wound, and slide sensually across bare skin. â€Å"I don't think it's broken,' he said at last. He lifted his hands, and I noticed how warm I'd been while he touched me. â€Å"Just sprained.' â€Å"That kind of thing happens when you keep jumping off roofs,' I said. Jokes were my old standby to hide discomfort. â€Å"You know, we never practiced that in our training.' He smiled and took out bandaging material, wrapping the ankle until it was supported and stabilized. After that, he produced– â€Å"A bag of frozen peas?' Dimitri shrugged and rested the bag on my ankle. The coolness instantly made me feel better. â€Å"Easier than buying a full bag of ice.' â€Å"You're pretty resourceful, Belikov. What else do you have stashed away?' The rest of the bags' contents turned out to be blankets and some food. I gave him a big grin when I saw he'd gotten me sour cream potato chips and a bar of chocolate. I loved that he remembered such little details about me. My smile faded when another problem quickly popped up. â€Å"You didn't buy any clothes, did you?' â€Å"Clothes?' he asked, like it was a foreign word. I gestured to my torn dress. â€Å"I can't wear this for long. What am I going to do? Make a toga out of a blanket? You're such a guy, never thinking of this stuff.' â€Å"I was thinking of injury and survival. Fresh clothing's a luxury, not a necessity.' â€Å"Not even your duster?' I asked slyly. Dimitri froze for a moment and then swore. He'd had no need to wear his coat indoors at the Mastranos'–honestly, he didn't need to outside either–and had left it there in the ensuing fight. â€Å"Don't worry, comrade,' I teased. â€Å"Plenty more where that came from.' He spread blankets over the tent's floor and laid back on them. There was a look of woe on his face that was almost comical. Raids, bullets, criminals †¦ no problem. A missing duster? Crisis. â€Å"We'll get you another one,' I said. â€Å"You know, once we find Jill, clear my name, and save the world.' â€Å"Just those things, huh?' he asked, making both of us laugh. But when I stretched myself out beside him, both our faces sobered. â€Å"What are we going to do?' I asked. Tonight's most popular question. â€Å"Sleep,' he said, clicking off the flashlight. â€Å"Tomorrow we'll get a hold of Abe or Tasha or †¦ someone. We'll let them handle it and get Jill where she needs to be.' I was surprised how small my voice sounded when I spoke. â€Å"I feel like we failed. I was so happy back there. I thought we'd done the impossible, but it was for nothing. All this work for nothing.' â€Å"Nothing?' he asked in astonishment. â€Å"What we did †¦ this is huge. You found Lissa's sister. Another Dragomir. I don't think you still really understand the weight of that. We had almost nothing to go on, yet you pushed forward and made it happen.' â€Å"And I lost Victor Dashkov. Again.' â€Å"Well, the thing about him is that he doesn't stay hidden for long. He's one of those people who always has to be in control. He'll have to make a move eventually and when he does–we'll get him.' The smile returned to my lips, though I knew he couldn't see it. â€Å"And I thought I was the optimistic one here.' â€Å"It's contagious,' he replied. Then, to my surprise, his hand found mine in the dark. He laced our fingers together. â€Å"You did good, Roza. Very good. Now sleep.' We touched in no other way, but his hand held all the warmth in the world. This was hardly a perfect moment, like in the library, but our familiar connection and the understanding between us burned brighter than ever, and it felt good. Right. Natural. I didn't want to sleep. I just wanted to stay there and savor being with him. It wasn't cheating, I decided, thinking of Adrian. It was just enjoying this closeness. Still, sleep was essential. We worked out a schedule where each of us took shifts. He would stay awake now while I rested, and I had a feeling if I didn't sleep, he wouldn't either when the shift change came. I closed my eyes, and it wasn't my heart I had to slow down this time. It was my mind, the hamster wheel that went nowhere trying to figure out what to do next. Just get Jill to Court. Just get Jill to Court. That was all that mattered. We'd contact someone who could reach Jill. Dimitri and I would lie low, everything would soon fix itself†¦. â€Å"Thank God.' I spun around, not even realizing I'd fallen into a spirit dream. I was back in Sonya's garden with all its sunshine and color, and she sat back in a chair, looking expectant. â€Å"I was afraid you'd be up all night, watching your back,' she continued. â€Å"I would if I had my choice,' I replied, strolling over to her. She wasn't quite whom I'd expected to see in my dreams, but at least I'd made contact with the outside world. I wore the black-and-white dress here, but unlike reality, it was clean and intact. â€Å"Dimitri thinks we're in a secure location–though he's awake, of course.' â€Å"Of course.' There was a glimmer of amusement in her eyes, but it was brief. â€Å"Where are you?' I asked. â€Å"Did the guardians put you in holding?' â€Å"They didn't get me,' she said smugly. â€Å"You were their priority, and a little compulsion made sure they didn't see me. I took off †¦ I hated to leave Emily, though.' I empathized but was too excited at Sonya's escape. Good news, finally. â€Å"But you can get Jill to Court. You're free.' Sonya looked at me as those I'd just spoken French. â€Å"I can't get to Jill.' I frowned. â€Å"Is she under that much security?' â€Å"Rose,' said Sonya. â€Å"Jill isn't with the guardians at all. Victor and Robert took her.'