Counselors as Companions and Ethics in Human Services

The article from tragedy to triumph was very interesting to read. I believe that the counselor gained a lot of knowledge about himself and his counseling technique during the time that he had Steve as a client. I think the counselor was trying to come up with a solution to Steve’s problems and make his journey easier and less painful. I believe that the moral to the story is that sometimes people need to go through the tough times to discover new things about themselves and get to a comfortable place in life. By taking the longer, rougher road, Steve learned more about himself, his limitations and his strengths. This allowed for even bigger better possibilities in Steve’s life. The counselor can’t be responsible for Steve’s personal journey and guide him down the easier path. The counselor should only be along for the ride with Steve and allow Steve to experience the difficult moments. Steve had to come to the realization that he had to choose a different path and create different goals. I think that the counselor will now change the way he tries to â€Å"fix† a client’s problems, and instead allow him to experience and overcome some of the rougher more challenging things in their life. I believe that there are people that we come into contact with that teach us life lessons and change us and the way we think and do things. As we meet extraordinary people, we learn from them and in many instances strive to be like them, or maybe even not like them. Just like an infant, we are always seeing new things and meeting new people who influence us in many different ways. As a result of the relationship that Steve had with his counselor, he has learned that sometimes the goals we set for ourselves may be unattainable. However, just because a goal needs to be modified a little, it doesn’t make it any less spectacular and important. Steve has learned that life is unpredictable and as things change, the goals he sets might need to change too. The relationship was beneficial for both Steve and the counselor, because they both learned new things and grew as people and professionals. According to â€Å"National Organization of Human Services† (n. d. ), â€Å"Statement 36 Human service professionals foster self-awareness and personal growth in themselves. They recognize that when professionals are aware of their own values, attitudes, cultural background, and personal needs, the process of helping others is less likely to be negatively impacted by those factors. † Steve’s counselor started to realize that his own personal needs and thoughts were impacting the treatment process. This would be a reason to review the ethical standards and evaluate how to get back on track. It is important to follow ethical standards to protect the client’s rights, dignity, and also promote their welfare. A code of ethics also establishes a standard for all human service workers to follow. References Halstead, R.W. (2000). From Tragedy to Triumph; Counselor as Companion on the Hero’s Journey, Counseling & Values, 44(2), 100. National Organization of Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals#self

Cell Phone and driving

The purpose of the client card is for you to gain information as to what the client is using on their ace as well as any medications they may be taking that can affect the service. Do Not perform a wax service if your client is allergic to wax, taking certain medications, or using facial products that may cause their face to thin or burn while waxing. Once the consultation is complete you may now begin your waxing services. O us session. Prepare everything in advance before bring client back to the waxing area.Begin by first laying out all of your materials needed for waxing such as; hand sanitized, tweezers, eye brow comb, cotton, wax strips, scissors, and wooded applicator sticks. Briefly discuss with client the shape they are desiring. Have your client to lean back in the chair and relax. Examine the area and make your own assessment as to what the client needs. Communicate your findings and once agreed upon you may start the service. Start by sanitation your hands. Next apply pre cleaner solution to cotton balls to cleanse the brow area.Allow 3 to 5 seconds to dry, now brush brows In the direction that they grow In using the eyebrow brush/comb. Next dip the wooden stick into wax and apply underneath the brow using a thin layer of wax In the same direction of brow. Quickly apply a strip of muslin to waxed area. Rub the muslin strip with your two pointer fingers In same direction of eye brows. Hold outer corner of eye taunt and pull the strip In the opposite direction. Next repeat the waxing steps listed above for above brow, and center of brows.When finished apply wax remover to cotton balls to remove wax. Now use the brush end of comb to smooth brows. Remove any unwanted hairs that may still remain with tweezers and If needed use scissors to trim eyebrow length. Once you have achieved desired shape, apply cooling gel to eyebrows to help cool down area. At this time you may hand the mirror to the client, to let them see the finished results of their eyebrow wax service. Educate them on how often they should come back In to have them redone.Thank them for coming In and let them know that you look forward to seeing them back In 3 to 4 weeks. In conclusion eyebrow waxing may not be the most enjoyable service to have done, but when you are prepared, experienced, and customers love your work, the ending results makes It all worthwhile. Cell Phone and driving By larboard cotton balls to cleanse the brow area. Allow 3 to 5 seconds to dry, now brush brows in he direction that they grow in using the eyebrow brush/comb.Next dip the wooden stick into wax and apply underneath the brow using a thin layer of wax in the same with your two pointer fingers in same direction of eye brows. Hold outer corner of eye taunt and pull the strip in the opposite direction. Next repeat the waxing steps Remove any unwanted hairs that may still remain with tweezers and if needed use Educate them on how often they should come back in to have them redone. Thank them for coming in and let them know that you look forward to seeing them back in 3 the ending results makes it all worthwhile.

Case study of E-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Case study of E-commerce - Essay Example For valid online contracts, there should be an acknowledged set of conditions, and each party to the contract must signify to come into a lawfully binding agreement and there should be adequate considerations. An e-tailor (e-service provider) may opt that the agreement for supply or sale of services or goods to be regulated by his own typical conditions and terms. To be legally enforceable, these conditions and terms should be integrated into the online contracts by making them to the awareness of the client at the time or before the agreement comes into force. If the typical conditions and terms are not correctly included, in case of any disagreement, the court will take into recognition the conditions to oversee the agreement footed on earlier track of dealing or on the statue which could be offering less beneficial or lucrative to the e-tailor (e-service provider)1 Methods of Incorporation of Standard Terms and conditions in a Web Site Mere inclusion of conditions and terms on a w ebsite is not adequate to include them into the agreement. Both the parties to e-contract should agree to such an e-contract on the expressed terms. There are three chief courses available in which terms and conditions may be incorporated into a website for the benefit of users and incorporated into the contract, and they are â€Å"click-wrap†, â€Å"browse-wrap†, and â€Å"web-wrap† despite the fact that the distinction between these courses may not be especially clear-cut in real practice. â€Å"Browse-Wrap† connotes that the conditions are reachable through a hypertext link. â€Å"Click-wrap â€Å"connotes that constructive consent to the exhibited terms, for instance, by clicking an â€Å"I agree† button is needed. Under this, a customer is required to roll through the conditions before to click â€Å"I accept† and then continue with such business. â€Å"Web-wrap† connotes a notice trying to make an entry into and further use of website conditions posted under â€Å"terms & conditions.† Under this, there will be a hyperlink within a phrase with words to the cause of, â€Å"By ticking on the â€Å"I accept† icon, the customer acknowledges that he has read and acknowledged the conditions and terms2. By comparison with past court cases concerning with the integration of conditions into an e-contract, it is possible that a competent court would arrive at a conclusion that inclusion of either second or third condition as mentioned above will be valid as the content and existence of the conditions are obviously brought to the notice of the client before the formation of any e-contract and hence, it would be bonding on the part of the customer. However, the first option mentioned above may be held to be invalid. Despite not pinpointing of the English courts’ approach, US courts have held that â€Å"click-wrap† agreement is valid one while holding that plain mention to the conditions a nd terms as a computer-link like the first choice mentioned above or by employing a browse-wrap facility, could not be adequate to integrate conditions and terms as in such a type of e-contracts, customers are not warranted to read the terms of the e-contracts before ordering3. In William’s v America Online Inc4, the plaintiff claimed that installation of online software provided by the defendant had resulted in unauthorised changes to his computer. AOI attempted to rely on a jurisdiction clause which consisted in its terms of service

Immigration and LA part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigration and LA part 2 - Essay Example Additionally, when they moved to California, they chased away the Chinese from orchards, as well as grain and vegetable fields. Thus, the concept gave them a superior position in the American society comparable to the white frontiers. Back in the Japanese Empire, Issei pioneer thesis promoted the importance of this group of other teams. Though the white frontiers tolerated the concept of Issei pioneer thesis and Japanese rice to dominance and authority, eventually, Americans failed to agree with some of the actions of the Issei pioneers. For instance, Americans saw the efforts to co-opt immigration as a conspiratorial and subversive agenda. Thus, it created hostile relations between the two groups, which undermined the basic goals of Issei. This created a crisis, which on realizing, the pioneers of Issei recognized the need for adjustment of the Issei pioneer thesis in order to cope with the new situation. As a result, they sacrificed their association with Japan to safeguard their immediate interests in America. In the light of Los Angeles urban history, topography of race can be sued to the transformation of Los Angeles to a city. In the early days, the place was divide in terms of east and west. These two entities represented not only the geographical region, but also the social and economic status of the regions, as well as race. Additionally, the two entities are makers of race, social status, class, and even prosperity. While the east presented the low points of the society, west presented the high points. For instance, to the west were rich and influencing individuals, and the east presenting the regions containing struggling to attain rights. Similarly, the east signified those in poverty and lower social economic state. On the other hand, the west signified luxurious and affluent life. The composition described here is still seen in Los Angeles albeit in modified

Planning Disciplinary Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Planning Disciplinary Interview - Essay Example At any rate, this is a disciplinary issue and must be handled as such to ensure that it does not recur. The company holds a good record in its treatment to employees and there are regular training sessions held to keep the employees abreast the latest technical, procedural and fundamental issues. Nonetheless, the disciplinary procedure is a lengthy process and is dependant on the employee's response. If the employee's response is satisfactory, the matter will be resolved verbally and there may not be any adverse comment on his record that may reflect on his behavior in the times ahead. If his response is not satisfactory, it will become necessary to find solution that will depend on the nature of his response and if it favors the employee (Employee Discipline Policy, 2006). At the time of interview, the employee will undoubtedly be accompanied by one of the union members. The atmosphere will be relaxed but inquisitive. The interview will take place in the Human Resource Department office premises. As an officer in the HR Department, I will occupy the main chair with the table in between and John and the union member facing me. My colleague, Martin, will be seated besides me. It may be that John was in not in proper frame of mind. ... The interview will begin more or less on the following lines: "Hello John, have a seat. What is the problem" If he feigns ignorance, I will spell out the problem and say. "I have come to know you have been rude to Norman. If so, what is your reason for your behavior" It may be that John was in not in proper frame of mind. If he confesses this and expresses an apology, I will call Norman and have John express the apology to Norman and end the matter here over a cup of tea. At the same time, I will express the hope that John will take care not to repeat such behavior in future. Then for all practical purpose, the matter will end here. However, in case John does not express an apology and is firm on the argument that Norman got what he deserved there is a breakdown in communication and this will place John in an awkward position. The company's D@W is also violated and it will be necessary to give it to John in writing about his unbecoming behavior and the company's intolerance to such behavior (Colter, Carolee; Nov-Dec 1991). The company is aware John has a good employment record. The company is also aware John is an emotional person and is prone to react emotionally without realizing the consequences. The interview will make it quite clear that while the company will stand by John in his emotional weakness it will also expect improvement in John's actions in future. Consequently, the company will not fire John. John's work record is favorable. Hence, he has not committed any offence that requires his dismissal. Nonetheless, he has breached the company's D@W policy and John will be taken to task on this issue. It may consist of making a note to this effect on his record

1-Why is the GLOBE Study so important to the development of Assignment

1-Why is the GLOBE Study so important to the development of multicultural studies2- How can you develop Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Is CQ related to Emotional Intelligence (EQ) - Assignment Example The GLOBE study is significant in the development of multicultural studies since it relies on support from cultural scholars like Hofstede, Schwartz, and Smith. We can develop cultural intelligence by being curious and interested in different cultures. Devising learning strategies and finding entry points into new cultures develops cultural intelligence (Rasmussen, 2014). Developing awareness about issues relating to other cultures also develops cultural intelligence. Embracing cultural diversity and accepting people from different cultures develops cultural intelligence (Rasmussen, 2014). Developing awareness on my bias towards other cultures helps one to avoid cultural ignorance. Believing in one’s ability to adapt to culture helps in understanding different cultures that defines cultural intelligence (Rasmussen, 2014). Evidently, cultural intelligence relates to emotional intelligence in that emotional intelligence is one of the components of cultural intelligence (Earley & Mosakowski, 2004). Other components of cultural intelligence include cognitive and physical intelligence. Moreover, emotional intelligence factors that relate to social competence define cultural intelligence. As such, specific aspects of emotional intelligence relate to certain cultural intelligence factors (Earley & Mosakowski,

Resume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Resume - Essay Example Passed the English Language course (first level) held at Al Khaleej Institute (Direct English) under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, General Department of Education in Riyadh with a grade A+ (excellent) and GPA 95% (22/4/2007-6/6/2007) Passed the Communication Disorders Course for Preparing Communication Specialists held at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh over duration of 60 hours long in one month from 2/5/2010, with a general grade A+ (excellent) Completed a training program entitled â€Å"Arabic Calligraphy (Riq’a)† over duration of 12-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (24/1/2011-27/1/2011) Completed a training program entitled â€Å"Strategy of Concept Maps† over duration of 12-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (17/1/2011-20/1/2011) Completed a training program entitled â€Å"Behavior Modification† over duration of 12-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (10/1/2011-13/1/2011) Completed a training program entitled â€Å"Student Activities’ Guide for Primary Stage† over duration of 8-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (27/12/2010-28/2/2010) Accomplished a training program entitled â€Å"Court and its Applications in Education (2)† over duration of 12-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (19/12/2010-22/12/2010) Accomplished a

Writing Scientific Report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Writing Scientific Report - Coursework Example Different techniques such as RVI and NDVI will be utilised. The various sensors used will be Landsat TM, Lansat MSS and NOAA AVHRR. The Landsat TM is used for thematic imaging only and can reveal only a limited amount of information such as the availability or non avialblity of vegetation. On the other hand the Landsat MSS (multi spectral surveillance) can be used to distinguish between various kinds of vegetation too. The NOAA AVHRR sensor is used to estimate the thermal emission or cooling of the surface. The presence of vegetation modifies thermal emission rates by lowering them while the absence of vegetation speeds them up. A complete treatment of the ideas presented above is outlined below to delineate the relative strengths and weaknesses of each system. Part One Vegetation Analysis of Lake Nakuru This section deals with the vegetation analysis of Lake Nakuru using simple and advanced models to discern the patterns of vegetation. The first analysis will utilise RVI (Ratio Vege tation Index) to attempt to explain how vegetation is interpreted from an image. The RVI is a ratio between the NIR (Near Infra Red) and R (Red) from each pixel in an image. Vegetation in general tends to reflect NIR as much as possible because NIR does not contribute significantly to plant nourishment and is speculated to cause plants to overheat. (Tucker, 1979) Red is reflected far less than NIR. Water, soil and manmade features have a far more static response to both NIR and R throughout the year. (Banman, 2001) A walk through of the methodology is presented below to enhance understanding. The image supplied is for Lake Nakuru and is sized at 500 rows and 640 columns and possesses 4 bands. The red, green and blue bands have been set at 4, 4 and 2 respectively. Spectral enhancement has then been utilised to analyse the image. The ratio of NIR to R is a ratio of channel 4 to channel 3. The output sensor has been selected as Landsat TM. The output from this process is shown below (o n the left) in comparison to the actual image (on the right). The image presented above is then re-coloured using a pseudo colour system with brown and green as limits. This produces the image presented below. A simple comparison of the images presented above reveals that the first above tends to coalesce human structures and certain rocks with vegetation. The resulting image cannot be used to classify vegetation with reliability. Instead the second image produced can delineate vegetation much better as can be seen. The second image has excluded vegetation near the centre especially and around it where human made structures exist. This image may be used to delineate a few factors that control vegetation distribution but expecting a complete appraisal of factors is not possible. The NDVI method has been used next to analyse the image because it tends to produce an empirical scale between +1 and -1 which appraises vegetation cover better. NDVI is the ratio of (NIR – R) to (NIR + R). All other settings utilised are the same as the ones used for the RVI analysis. However, the sensor used here is the Landsat MSS because it is far more fitting. The output is shown below. The RVI analysed image is shown on the left while the NDVI analysed image is shown on the right. It can be clearly seen that the NDVI image is far more detailed in terms of description of vegetation. The RVI image is less descriptive and tends to combine the various bands of vegetation while the NDVI image tends to differentiate the various bands of vegetation. Next the image data for Tunisia will be analysed to determine if desertification is occurring. The analysis is NDVI while the sensor employed is the NOAA AVHRR that can compensate for time effects far better than other types of sensors. (Holben, 1986) The various

Latin america religious news Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Latin america religious news - Essay Example Cuba is also an interesting case, for the dominant Communist ideology embraced by the nation is antithetical to the doctrine of Christianity. Hence, when the key itinerary of the Pope unfolds over the coming days, it would lead to numerous talking points in news media and blogosphere. Scheduled to begin on Friday the 23th of this month, the visit could usher in a â€Å"forward-looking agenda with wiling and capable hemispheric partners.† (Farnsworth, 2012) The Huffington Post article titled The Latin American Spring, published 21st March 2012, goes on to say that â€Å"it is also an opportunity for countries in Latin America to show tangible leadership on a number of issues consistent with hemispheric expectations of representative democracy and open market economies.† (Farnsworth, 2012). This is an interesting observation, for it implies that the purported religious visit has ramifications in the realms of politics and democracy as well. It is also a measure of power w ielded by religious leaders in this region that something as sweeping as democratic and economic reforms are thought possible through directives from the Vatican. The same news item was discussed in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune of 22 March, 2012. Here, author Nicole Winfield presents some interesting insights into the role of religion in the region. ... The following passage shows the opportunities and challenges in the Cuban leg of the tour. It also indicates the potential of religion to bring about progressive change: â€Å"Cuba's single-party, Communist government never outlawed religion, but it expelled priests and closed religious schools upon Fidel Castro's takeover of Cuba in 1959. Tensions eased in the early 1990s when the government removed references to atheism in the constitution and let believers of all faiths join the Communist Party... John Paul's 1998 visit further warmed relations. But after 14 years there's no doubt that the current visit of Pope Benedict XVI will help the process of development toward democracy and will open new spaces for the church's presence and activity† (Winfield, 2012) Coming to Mexico, religion is an important social denominator in the country, where an estimated 50,000 people were killed during last five years in connection with the war on drugs. The population of the country is over whelmingly Catholic (more than 80%) and members of the cartels that perpetrate violence and terror in the region are also claiming to be Catholics. In this situation, the pontiff will try to use his religious clout over the faithful and help tackle â€Å"what the Church sees as threats to family values, as well as the rise of rival religious movements.† (The Telegraph, 2012) Cuba, on the other hand poses an interesting juxtaposition, for the country’s political culture does not promote religion and only 10 % of the population are Catholics. Nevertheless, considering that part of social work in Cuba is carried out by Catholic institutions, the Pope’s address will highlight and encourage such cooperation between opposing ideological institutions. It will also draw upon historical Christian

Offshoring Paper Essay Example for Free

Offshoring Paper Essay This article talks about a trend that started as far back as the 1980’s when companies began sending many jobs abroad mainly because of cheap labor. However, that trend is quickly changing. Companies are discovering that the wage gap is narrowing and many of the disadvantages are now starting to outweigh benefits of sending jobs abroad. One of the points mentioned in the article is that wages in china have risen 10-20% in the last 10 years, whereas wages in America and Europe have remained about the same. Also, another disadvantage of send production abroad is that shipping can be very expensive. In recent years shipping costs have gotten higher such that the cost of producing elsewhere and shipping to the US is no longer as cheap as it used to be. The time factor is also a big issue. Many times transit takes as long as six weeks which makes it hard for companies to fulfill their orders in a timely manner. In conclusion, the article makes a note that a lot of companies are now rethinking their decision about going offshore. Opinion Most of the companies went offshore to save money, and I can see where they are coming from after all the whole goal of having a business is to make profits however in my opinion many of the companies did not take the time to properly analyze the other costs involved in moving jobs offshore. Many also forgot to consider how it will affect the quality of their service when it comes to shipping time and sometimes the quality of the product. I am very happy that many jobs are coming back and I think the government needs to do more to encourage the companies. They should offer tax reductions where necessary so that America will be able to compete in the global market. I also like the point the article makes, that just because companies are tending towards reducing offshoring does not mean they will be less global, infact distributing their activities more evenly around the globe will make most companies more efficient.

A Study On Computer Aided Design

A Study On Computer Aided Design Before the 1070s, nearly every drawing produced in the world done with pencil or ink on paper. Minor changes require erasing and redrawing while major changes often meant recreating the drawing from the scratch. A change in a drawing will affect the other documents and all of these changes and recognition are done manually which is time consuming (iBM.com, 2003). The introduction of Computer Aided Design (CAD) then makes a change in the way of producing design. CAD is a software application which uses the computer technology in the process of design and design-documentation. Basically, CAD software is used to design curves and figures in two-dimensional (2D) space, curves, surfaces and solids in three-dimensional (3D) objects. CAD software enables the user to produce better streamlining design, drafting, and documentation and facilitate manufacturing process. It provides output in the form of electronic files and allows the users to get printing copy. CAD software is often used in construction, manufacturing and other industries because it can bring economy to the processes by providing convenience in conveying information in technical and engineering drawings. Examples of information which can be conveyed are materials, processes, dimensions and tolerance. The software helps to produce drafting and design for all types of buildings such as residential houses, hospitals and factories. Besides, the software is also used throughout the engineering process to produce conceptual design and layout for the products and define the strength and dynamic analysis of manufacturing components. There are many CAD software producers such as AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Pro-E Wildfire, Catia and many. CAD ORIGIN/ TERMINOLOGY There are many essential synonymous terms in CAD software. It is sometimes translated as computer-assisted, computer-aided drafting, or a similar phrase. CADD (Computer Aided Design and Drafting) and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) are other related acronyms. All of these terms have subtle differences in meaning and each is used for different purpose. CAD HISTORY Dr Patrick J. Hanratty developed the first commercial numerical-control programming system in the year 1957. He had greatly contributed to the field of CAD design and manufacturing and he was known as the Father of CAD. In year 1960, Ivan Sutherland produced a project called SKETCHPAD as the first step to CAD industry. SKETCHPAD allowed the designer to interact with computer graphically where the design can be fed into the computer by using a light pen to draw on a monitor. Thus, making it as an indispensable feature of modern CAD software. The first commercial applications of CAD were in large companies in the automotive and aerospace industries as well as in electronics. This was due to only large corporations could afford the computers capable of performing the calculations. In year 1964, Dr Patrick J. Hanratty had utilised Design Augmented by Computer (DAC-1) in his company projects. In year 1971, UNISURF was developed by Pierre BÃ ©zier at Renault. It was a pioneering surface CAD system for car body design and tooling. The founding of Manufacturing and Consulting Services Inc. (MSC) in year 1971 by Dr Patrick J. Hanratty enhanced the development of CAD. He then supplied the codes to many companies such as Control Data, Autotrol, Garber, Calma and many. The application of CAD expanded gradually when computer became affordable. The development of CAD software for personal desktop computers was the momentum for almost universal application in all areas of construction. Key points in the 1960s and 1970s such as IBM, Intergraph and Intergraph IGDS became the foundation of CAD systems. Since then, the implementation of CAD had evolved dramatically. 2D graphic was design with CAD software initially in the 1970s and limited to producing drawings similar to hand-drafted drawings. Variety applications of CAD were allowed when programming and computer hardware became advanced. In year 1982, Autodesk was founded by John Walker which then led to the 2D system AutoCAD. In year 1988, Pro/Engineer was released and required greater usages of feature based modelling methods. The development of graphics engines ShapeData and ACIS at the end of the 1980s inspired by the work of Ian Braid. The inspiration then led to the release of SolidWorks in year 1995 and SolidEdge in year 1996. Today, in 21st century, there are many CAD software products in the market. The famous CAD software producers are Autodesk, PTC, UGS Corp and many. Generally, the package of CAD software can be classified into 3 types, there are 2D drafting systems, mid-range 3D solid feature modellers and high-end 3D hybrid systems. CAD DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYSIA In Malaysia, CAD software has been on the sell since the 1980s. In the mid 1990s, the applications of sophisticated CAD tools with 3D modelling and coloured graphics enhancements had become more common. Since then, the usage of CAD has impacted the professional practice, education and the research associated with architecture tremendously. In the present time, CAD software including CAM is now widely accepted and used throughout the industry. The technology moves from costly workstations to off-the-shelf computers. 3D modelling has become a norm and it can be found even in applications for the wider industry such as house furnishing and garden planning. As the usage of CAD has become part and parcel of the daily running of architecture firms, higher-learning institutions such as universities and colleges have produced great efforts in preparing the built environment market with workforce that is equipped with the essential skills and ability to operate CAD. CAD APPLICATIONS CAD is used to design, develop and optimize products, which can be goods used by end consumers or intermediate goods used in other products. For example, buildings, mechanical and engineering tools, vehicle and transportation and many other product designs. In the field of engineering, CAD allows design and drafting of tools and machinery which are used in the manufacture components. Besides, detailed engineering of 3D models and 2D drawings of physical components can be generated easily by applying CAD. In the field of building architecture, CAD has reduced the need for manual drawing. CAD helps to generate all particulars of a building such as floor plans, sections, elevations, perspectives views and model renderings in a shorter time. The software allows drafting and design of all types of buildings. Besides designing, developing and optimizing products in building and engineering, CAD is also used for business purpose such as the followings: Testing on Conceptual Products CAD eliminates the need to test all of the product design physically. Instead of conducting physically testing, the developers can run virtual tests using CAD which can simulate the same condition. The application of virtual tests is often adopted in the aeronautical company which its testing can be ruinously time consuming and expensive. Idea Generation CAD allows flexible process of idea generation when the limiting factor of prototype manufacture is removed. The enterprises, both employees and potential customers are exposed to more open and new ideas and suggestions. The suggestions for new products then can be tested quickly at a lower cost. Augmentation CAD allows slight improvement on new product designs instantly. It is useful in investigating possible improvements to existing products. Market Testing CAD allows earlier process of market testing because virtual new products can be presented more quickly than physical prototypes and feedback can be obtained instantly. CAD can also be applied in the field of medical to manipulate medical images such as digital x-ray image (DICOM). The application of CAD in the presentation of medical images is still new compared to CAD widely used in the fields that involve with designing of the manufacturing industry products and construction field. CAD PRINCIPAL CAD is one of the many tools most used by engineers and designers. 3D Wire Frame is an extension of 2D drafting. Basically, it possesses similar fashion to the 2D system. Its final product does not have mass properties. Besides, there is no feature directly added to it such as holes. 3D Dumb Solids possesses similar fashion to the way of creating the real world object. This technology has been incorporate into programs such as AutoCAD and Cadkey 19. The principal provides draft views which can be easily generated from the models. However, the changes can only be done by deleting the object or feature and start over. Besides, its assemblies do not include tools which allow motion. 3D Parametric solid modeliling allows the operator to use what is referred to as design intent. Any future modifications to the design will depend on the original part. It may be simple, difficult or nearly impossible. This technology has been incorporate into programs such as Alibre Design, TopSolid, SolidWorks and Solid Edge. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL COMPETENCIES FOR CAD According to Duan (2006) study, CAD and design engineering users require 7 categories of skills and knowledge as the followings: General knowledge and skills English writing and speaking Communication Critical thinking Problem solving Mathematics and science skills. Interpersonal skills Basic drafting knowledge and skills Basic drafting Descriptive geometry Technical standards Coordinate systems Multiview drawings Isometric drawings Geometric dimensioning and tolerance Basic mechanical drafting Basic architectural drafting Basic civil drafting Computer knowledge and skills Computer fundamentals Computer file management Word processing Computer software Spreadsheets Basic application of internet Basic programming CAD knowledge and skills Major CAD software CAD 2D drawings CAD 3D modelling Basic CAD LISP Programming CAD design project Custimization of CAD program Basic engineering analysis and technical knowledge and skills Special knowledge and skills Design application and practices Special projects in the field Marketing and sales Basic knowledge of laws Troubleshooting skills Teamwork Leadership skills ADVANTAGES OF CAD CAD software offers several advantages which attracts many industry players. Basically, it offers benefits which then can lead to time and cost saving. Both cost and time saving are important especially in the world of business because in the view of commercial man, time is money. First of all, the software has become an important technology in ensuring lower product development costs. Before the 1070s, nearly every drawing produced in the world done with pencil or ink on paper and any change requires erasing and redrawing which will produce waste. CAD software enables the designers to develop their work on screen and allows future editing. Thus, it brings benefits in cost saving instead of redrawing due to minor changes. Besides, the software also ensures short design cycle as it eliminates the needs to redraw when minor changes happen, it brings benefits in time saving. Both cost and time saving in product development can also be achieved by eliminating the need to test all of the product design physically. Instead of conducting physically testing, the developers can run virtual tests using CAD which can simulate the same condition. The application of virtual tests is often adopted in the aeronautical company which its testing can be ruinously time consuming and expensive. Cost saving can be achieved by reducing the number of designers. By using CAD, the professional designers can do the designing work faster and eliminate the need of additional designers. Besides, cost saving also takes place when CAD software offers better and standardised drawings which then facilitate better communications. Moreover, CAD allows quickly and easy design alteration which also lead to faster product development. Faster product development then will lead to increase in productivity of the designer. The software allows understanding on how the actual product works by giving animation to the product so that immediately modifications can be made if required. CAD software helps the designer in synthesizing, analysing and documenting the design. Thus, the productivity of the designer can be improved due to fast designing, low designing cost and shorter completion times. In addition, saving in time and cost does not affect the quality of the design. In fact, CAD can improve the design quality because large number of tools is offered by the software which assists investigation and analysis of the proposed design. Beside, CAD also offers greater accuracy and errors are reduced to give a much better design. This better design can help to carry out faster manufacturing and reduce wastage due to faulty design. DISADVANTAGES OF CAD Although most of the users understand on the advantages brought by CAD, in the mean time, it comes with several disadvantages that the engineer or entrepreneur must understand. These advantages may affect the approach that getting a product on the market. The application of CAD software requires training among the users. This will then costs additional money in the staff training. Besides, its application requires expensive start up costs including hardware, software and training. Computer technology used in CAD is expensive to implement and support the software. Besides, the technology is not constant as new hardware and software programs constantly come on the market and therefore, the users need to keep up with these changes for compatibility reasons. Risk of technology failure must be taken into consideration when implementing CAD as computer used may break down. It then affects the progress of product development which is not favoured in a strict production schedule. The risk is highest when the company relies on assembly-line structure as failure will affect all points of production instead of an isolated production area. Besides, when there break down in computer, all the data saved including CAD copy will be lost. SUMMARY Before the 1070s, all of the design and drawings are produced manually which is time consuming. Thus, the introduction of Computer Aided Design (CAD) has made a change in the way of producing design. CAD is a software application which uses the computer technology in the process of design to produce two-dimensional (2D) space, curves, surfaces and solids in three-dimensional (3D) objects. It is often used in construction, manufacturing and other industries such as the engineering process to produce conceptual design and layout for the products and define the strength and dynamic analysis of manufacturing components. CAD brings advantages to the users, in the mean time, it also brings limitation or draw back. Basically, cost and time saving are the main advantages as design and drawings can be produced faster than manually. However, when there is a technology failure especially computer, it will affect the production line and cause dalay. Therefore, wise decision must be made when adopting CAD in product development and it must take into consideration of factors such as time and cost of the technology transfer as well as the expertise available.

Greek History Essay -- Essays Papers

Greek History "In this book, the result of my inquiries into history, I hope to†¦preserve the memory of the past by putting on record the astonishing achievements both of our own and of the Asiatic peoples†¦." With this "mission statement" Herodotus introduces his Histories, the first recorded history text in the western world. Using fragments of the past he reconstructs a picture of the whole; the objects of his researches included first-hand accounts and tales passed down through generations, physical remains and artifacts, and his own intelligence and creativity. Using sources such as these (though he cites nothing), Herodotus describes the foundation of the Theran colony of Cyrene, ca. 630 B.C.E.. In compiling this account, he may have used the colony's foundation decree. The facts given in this decree, which we know through a fourth century B.C.E. inscription, agree with those given in the Histories. The authenticity of this decree is strong. The decree could not have been the only source Herodotus consulted, for while certain details in the Histories agree with the foundation decree, Herodotus gives an account of Cyrene's founding containing much more description. Both accounts begin with Apollo's oracle at Delphi urging the Therans to found a new colony in Libya, on the coast of northern Africa. Already Herodotus' account goes into much more detail than the inscription. The inscription tells only that, on the oracular advice, Thera sends Battos with colonists to Libya. Herodotus, however, records how the Theran king Grinnos chose Battos, not a Theran by birth, to be the leader of the colonists. Herodotus' account continues with a description of a long delay in the found... ...Works Cited addendum to the Histories, and scholars have often maligned his work for taking many liberties with sparse evidence to flesh out the work. Such scholars can, however, use facts and artifacts known to modern archaeology to confirm his writing, and the inscription of the Theran decree does verify the Histories on several counts. Other aspects of the events related in the Histories, such as Herodotus' record of the dead at Marathon, archaeologists have proven through research and excavation. Alone the colonization decree cannot completely prove the truth of Herodotus' account, for he provides many aspects to the story which lie beyond the scope of the decree, but it does serve to reign in the skepticism with which several classicists regard the Histories. BIBLIOGRAPHY Demand, Nancy. A History of Ancient Greece. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996.

Domestic Violence: Loopholes in the Arizona Legal System Essay

The United States has a long history of domestic violence. Nearly six million American women will be battered by their spouses every year (United Way, 1998). Tradition gives men the right to control their family including their wife. Violence is tolerated under these traditional conditions as discipline (Cohen, 1996). Domestic violence is overwhelmingly committed by men ".. to discipline and coerce women" (Cohen, 1996). "Husbands use violence against their wives as a way of coercing them, establishing control, and conveying rules to regulate 'proper' female behavior (Dobash & Dobash, 1977-1978)." This type of abusive behavior often comes from the ideology that women are subordinate to men (Cohen, 1996). This way of thinking was dominant until the feminist movements when women protested for equal rights and got them. It has still been a struggle to get women's issues recognized by law, however. Domestic violence is a serious issue that needs to be thoroughly addressed, especially in border states like Arizona which have a large Mexican immigrant population, often with traditional views. To have an effective legal system which thoroughly addresses domestic violence, abusers must be held accountable by law for their a ctions and all victims need to be able to receive aid and support from the state. Currently, these requirements for an effective legal system regarding domestic violence are not met in Arizona. Every year there is some 16,000 domestic violence charges filed in the Tucson Police Department and Pima County Sheriff's Office combined (United Way, 1998). The state does have punishment for these abusers. There are many laws is Arizona regarding domestic violence, however there are problems with the... ... Social Policy, and Violence, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 70, No. 5, 1996. Moore, Roberta. Advocate for the Oasis Crisis Center, University of Arizona, 1999. Neff, James; Holamon, Bruce; Schluter, Tracy. Spousal Violence Among Alglos, Blacks, and Mexican Americans, Journal of Family Violence, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1995. Vargas, Alexia. Split Decision, Wall Street Journal, Vol. CCXXII, Nove. 18, 1998. Wabnik, Alisa. Bill Proposes Prison for 3rd Offense, Arizona Daily Star, March 16, 1998. http://www.azstarnet.com/plusb-cgi/fastw... National Research Council. Lack of Research Hampers Strategies to Stem Violence Against Women. May 1, 1996. http://www.nap.edu/bookstore/lsbn/0309054257.htm. United Way of Greater Tucson. Special Report on Domestic Violence, 1998. http://www.unitedwaytucson.org/unitedway/report/domestic.htm.

“Cat in the Rain” by Ernest Hemingway

â€Å"Cat in the Rain† by Ernest Hemingway The story under the title â€Å"Cat in the Rain† was written by Ernest Hemingway, one of the most favourite American novelists, short-story writer and essayist, whose deceptively simple prose style has influenced wide range of writers. So, the story begins with the description of the hotel where two Americans stopped. It was raining, that’s why the couple stayed in and just a cat in the rain attracted the young woman’s attention. She wanted to get the cat inside but failed and was brought another cat.The problem of the story lies very deeply and we are to uncover it. The story is written in one mood which constantly and directly increases. It starts from the beginning where it’s created by a persistent and repeated use of the â€Å"rain† with a number of phrases associating it, such as puddles, deserted square, glistening war monument. Repetition is one of the widely used and favourite stylistic devi ces of Hemingway. Here he applies it to reveal the relationship of the protagonist to the old hotel owner (she liked †¦ , she liked†¦ ).As the verb â€Å"to like† is not used to characterize relations of the wife to her husband, this contrast is full of the concealed but easily read meaning. Though the cases of repetition in the story may seem a bit obtrusive, their modifications enter into the core of the narration very organically. They carry emotional character, however penetrating the story the deep sorrow becomes evident gradually. We realize that little, as if meaningless, capricious wishes of a young woman reveal the drama of her fate, the absence of comfort in her life, comparable with the cat in the rain.The title of the story anticipates this confrontation and the fact that the cat’s image makes great play twice – just increases the total effect. In fact, the young woman pines for love, for home, for her family. And the purring cat sheâ€℠¢d like to have and to stroke is a traditional symbol of home and comfort she lacks so much. She wants warmth, attention, care, joy, happiness; however she is brought the cat – a pitiful substitution of that, what she, a young, beautiful woman needs incredibly. This is the main problem of the novel we tried to uncover.Perhaps the hotel owner didn’t get the reason of her yearnings and took her wish for whim. But dignity, deference and respectfulness of the old man are confronted to egoism and carelessness of George not occasionally. The war monument is also mentioned deliberately. The world George and his wife belong to – is uncomfortable, homeless after-war world, where the fates of young people joined with such hardships and troubles. If to speak about the text itself, it is told in the 3rd person narrative. he description is interlaced with descriptive passages and dialogues of the personages. The author makes extensive use of repetitions to render the story m ore vivid, convincing, more real and emotional. The author's style is remarkable for its powerful sweep, brilliant illustrations and deep psychological analysis. Everything he touches seems to reflect the feelings of the heroes. The story reveals the author's great knowledge of man's inner world. He penetrates into the subtlest windings of the human heart.

Spirit Bound Chapter Twelve

WHICH WAS CONFIRMED WHEN WE finally stumbled back to the Royal Court. I wasn't the only one in trouble, of course. Lissa was summoned to the queen for chastising, though I knew she'd suffer no actual punishment. Not like Eddie and me. We might be out of school, but we were technically under the jurisdiction of the official guardians now, which meant we faced as much trouble as any disobedient employee. Only Adrian escaped any consequences. He was free to do whatever he wanted. And really, my punishment wasn't as bad as it could have been. Honestly, what did I have to lose at this point? My chances of guarding Lissa had already been sketchy, and no one had wanted me as a guardian except Tasha anyway. A crazy Vegas weekend–which was our cover story–was hardly enough to dissuade her from taking me on. It was enough, however, to make some of Eddie's prospects withdraw their requests for him to be their guardian. Enough still wanted him that he was in no danger of losing a good position, but I felt horribly guilty. He didn't breathe a word to anyone about what we'd done, but each time he looked at me, I could see the condemnation in his eyes. And I saw a lot of him in the next couple days. It turned out guardians had a system in place to deal with those who were disobedient. â€Å"What you did was so irresponsible that you might as well be back in school. Hell, elementary school, even.† We were in one of the offices in the guardians' headquarters, being yelled at by Hans Croft, the guy in charge of all the guardians at Court and someone who was instrumental in guardian assignments. He was a dhampir in his early fifties, with a bushy gray-and-white mustache. He was also an asshole. The scent of cigar smoke always encircled him. Eddie and I were sitting meekly before him while he paced with his hands behind his back. â€Å"You could have gotten the last Dragomir killed–not to mention the Ivashkov boy. How do you think the queen would have reacted to the death of her great-nephew? And talk about timing! You go off party-hopping right when the guy who tried to kidnap the princess is running loose. Not that you would know that, seeing as you were probably too busy playing slot machines and using your fake IDs.† I winced at the reference to Victor, though I suppose I should have been relieved that we were above suspicion for his escape. Hans read my grimace as an admission of guilt. â€Å"You might have graduated,† he declared, â€Å"but that does not mean you are invincible.† This whole encounter reminded me of when Lissa and I had returned to St. Vladimir's, when we'd been chastised for the same thing: recklessly running off and endangering her. Only this time, there was no Dimitri to defend me. That memory made a lump form in my throat as I remembered his face, serious and gorgeous, those brown eyes intense and passionate as he spoke up for me and convinced the others of my value. But no. No Dimitri here. It was just Eddie and me alone, facing the consequences of the real world. â€Å"You.† Hans pointed a stubby finger at Eddie. â€Å"You might be lucky enough to slide out of this without too many repercussions. Sure, you'll have a black mark on your record forever. And you've totally screwed up your chances of ever having an elite royal position with other guardians to support you. You'll get some assignment though. Working alone with some minor nobility, probably.† High-ranking royals had more than one guardian, which always made protection easier. Hans's point was that Eddie's assignment would be lowly–creating more work and danger for him. Casting him a sidelong glance, I saw that hard, determined look on his face again. It seemed to say he didn't care if he had to guard a family by himself. Or even ten families. In fact, he gave off the vibe that they could drop him alone into a nest of Strigoi and he'd take them all on. â€Å"And you.† Hans's sharp voice jerked my gaze back to him. â€Å"You will be lucky to ever have a job.† Like always, I spoke without thinking. I should have taken this silently like Eddie. â€Å"Of course I'll have one. Tasha Ozera wants me. And you're too short on guardians to keep me sitting around.† Hans's eyes gleamed with bitter amusement. â€Å"Yes, we are short on guardians, but there's all sorts of work we need done–not just personal protection. Someone has to staff our offices. Someone has to sit and guard the front gates.† I froze. A desk job. Hans was threatening me with a desk job. All of my horrible imaginings had involved me guarding some random Moroi, someone I didn't know and would possibly hate. But in any of those scenarios, I would be out in the world. I would be in motion. I would be fighting and defending. But this? Hans was right. Guardians were needed for the Court's administrative jobs. True, they only kept a handful–we were too valuable–but someone had to do it. One of those someones being me was too awful to comprehend. Sitting around all day for hours and hours†¦ like the guards in Tarasov. Guardian life had all sorts of unglamorous–but necessary–tasks. It truly, truly hit me then that I was in the real world. Fear slammed into me. I'd taken on the title of guardian when I graduated, but had I really understood what it meant? Had I been playing make-believe–enjoying the perks and ignoring the consequences? I was out of school. There would be no detention for this. This was real. This was life and death. My face must have given away my feelings. Hans gave a small, cruel smile. â€Å"That's right. We've got all sorts of ways to tame troublemakers. Lucky for you, your ultimate fate's still being decided. And in the meantime, there's a lot of work that needs to be done around here that you two are going to be helping with.† That â€Å"work† over the next few days turned out to be menial manual labor. Honestly, it wasn't too different from detention, and I was pretty sure it had just been created to give wrongdoers like us something awful to do. We worked twelve hours a day, much of it outdoors hauling rocks and dirt to build some new, pretty courtyard for a set of royal town houses. Sometimes we were put on cleaning duty, scrubbing floors. I knew they had Moroi workers for these kinds of things, and probably they were being given a vacation right now. Still, it was better than the other work Hans would give us: sorting and filing mountains and mountains of paper. That gave me a new appreciation for information going digital†¦ and again made me worry about the future. Over and over, I kept thinking about that initial conversation with Hans. The threat that this could be my life. That I would never be a guardian–in the true sense–to Lissa or any other Moroi. Throughout my training, we'd always had a mantra: They come first. If I had really and truly screwed up my future, I'd have a new mantra: A comes first. Then B, C, D†¦ Those work days kept me away from Lissa, and the front-desk staff within our respective buildings went out of their way to keep us apart too. It was frustrating. I could keep track of her through the link, but I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to talk to anyone. Adrian stayed away too and didn't bother with dreams, making me wonder how he felt. We'd never had our â€Å"talk† after Las Vegas. Eddie and I often worked side by side, but he wasn't speaking to me, which left me with hours of being trapped with my own thoughts and guilt. And believe me, I had plenty of things to intensify my guilt. Around Court, people didn't really notice workers. So whether I was inside or outside, people were always talking like I wasn't there. The biggest topic was Victor. Dangerous Victor Dashkov on the loose. How could it have happened? Did he have powers no one knew about? People were afraid, some even convinced he'd show up at Court and try to kill everyone in their sleep. The â€Å"inside job† theory was running rampant, which continued to keep us above suspicion. Unfortunately, it meant a lot of people now worried about traitors within our midst. Who knew who might be working for Victor Dashkov? Spies and rebels could be lurking at Court, planning all sorts of atrocities. I knew all the stories were exaggerated, but it didn't matter. They all came from one kernel of truth: Victor Dashkov was walking the world a free man. And only I–and my accomplices–knew it was all because of me. Being seen in Las Vegas had continued to provide an alibi for the prison break and had made what we'd done seem even more rash. People were aghast that we'd let the Dragomir princess run off while there was a dangerous man on the loose–the man who'd assaulted her! Thank God, everyone said, that the queen had pulled us out of there before Victor found us. The Las Vegas trip had also opened up a whole new line of speculation–one that involved me personally. â€Å"Well, that doesn't surprise me about Vasilisa,† I overheard a woman say while I was working outdoors one day. She and some friends were strolling along toward the feeders' building and didn't even see me. â€Å"She's run away before, right? Those Dragomirs can be wild ones. She'll probably go straight back to the first party she can find, once they catch Victor Dashkov.† â€Å"You're wrong,† her friend said. â€Å"That's not why she went. She's actually pretty levelheaded. It's that dhampir that's always with her–the Hathaway girl. I heard she and Adrian Ivashkov went to Las Vegas to elope. The queen's people just barely got there in time to stop them. Tatiana's furious, especially since Hathaway declared nothing will keep her and Adrian apart.† Whoa. That was kind of a shock. I mean, I guessed it was better for people to think Adrian and I were running off than for them to accuse me of aiding and abetting a fugitive, but still†¦ I was kind of amazed at how that conclusion had come about. I hoped Tatiana hadn't heard about our so-called elopement. I was pretty sure that would ruin whatever progress she and I had made. My first real social contact came in the form of an unlikely source. I was shoveling dirt into a raised flower bed and sweating like crazy. It was nearing bedtime for Moroi, meaning the sun was out in full summer glory. We at least had a pretty site while working: the Court's giant church. I'd spent a lot of time at the Academy's chapel but had rarely visited this church since it was set far from the main buildings of the Court. It was Russian Orthodox–the predominant Moroi religion–and reminded me a lot of some of the cathedrals I'd seen while actually in Russia, though not nearly as big. It was made of beautiful red stonework, its towers topped with green-tiled domes, which were in turn topped with golden crosses. Two gardens marked the far boundaries of the church's extensive grounds, one of which we were working on. Near us was one of the Court's most remarkable sites: a giant statue of some ancient Moroi queen that was almost ten times my height. A matching statue of a king stood on the opposite side of the grounds. I could never remember their names but was pretty sure we'd gone over them in one of my history classes. They'd been visionaries, changing the Moroi world of their time. A figure appeared in my periphery, and I assumed it was Hans coming to give us another awful chore. Looking up, I was astonished to see it was Christian. â€Å"Figures,† I said. â€Å"You know you'll get in trouble if someone sees you talking to me.† Christian shrugged and sat on the edge of a partially completed stone wall. â€Å"Doubt it. You're the one who'll get into trouble, and I really don't think things can get any worse for you.† â€Å"True,† I grunted. He sat there in silence for several moments, watching me shovel pile after pile of dirt. Finally, he asked, â€Å"Okay. So how and why did you do it?† â€Å"Do what?† â€Å"You know exactly what. Your little adventure.† â€Å"We got on a plane and flew to Las Vegas. Why? Hmm. Let's think.† I paused to wipe sweat off my forehead. â€Å"Because where else are we going to find pirate-themed hotels and bartenders who don't card very much?† Christian scoffed. â€Å"Rose, don't bullshit me. You did not go to Las Vegas.† â€Å"We've got plane tickets and hotel receipts to prove it, not to mention people who saw the Dragomir princess hit it big on slot machines.† My attention was on my work, but I suspected Christian was shaking his head in exasperation. â€Å"As soon as I heard three people had broken Victor Dashkov out of prison, I knew it had to be you. Three of you gone? No question.† Not far away, I saw Eddie stiffen and glance around uneasily. I did the same. I might have been desperate for social contact, but not at the risk of dangerous parties overhearing us. Our crimes getting out would make garden labor seem like a vacation. We were alone, but I still pitched my voice low and attempted an honest face. â€Å"I heard they were humans hired by Victor.† That was yet another theory running wild, as was this one: â€Å"Actually, I think he turned Strigoi.† â€Å"Right,† Christian said snidely. He knew me too well to believe me. â€Å"And I also heard one of the guardians has no memory of what made him attack his friends. He swears he was under the control of someone. Anyone who had that kind of compulsion could probably make others see humans, mimes, kangaroos†¦.† I refused to look at him and slammed the shovel hard into the ground. I bit my lip on any angry retort. â€Å"She did it because she thinks Strigoi can be restored to their original form.† My head shot up, and I stared at Eddie in disbelief, astonished he'd spoken. â€Å"What are you doing?† â€Å"Telling the truth,† replied Eddie, never stopping his work. â€Å"He's our friend. You think he's going to report us?† No, rebel Christian Ozera was not going to report us. But that didn't mean I wanted this out. It's a fact of life: The more people who know a secret, the more likely it is to leak. Unsurprisingly, Christian's reaction was not all that different from everyone else's. â€Å"What? That's impossible. Everyone knows that.† â€Å"Not according to Victor Dashkov's brother,† said Eddie. â€Å"Will you stop it?† I exclaimed. â€Å"You can tell him or I will.† I sighed. Christian's pale blue eyes were staring at us, wide and shocked. Like most of my friends, he rolled with crazy ideas, but this was pushing the crazy line. â€Å"I thought Victor Dashkov was an only child,† Christian said. I shook my head. â€Å"Nope. His dad had an affair, so Victor's got an illegitimate half-brother. Robert. And he's a spirit user.† â€Å"Only you,† said Christian. â€Å"Only you would find something like this.† I ignored what appeared to be a return to his normal cynicism. â€Å"Robert claims to have healed a Strigoi–killed the undead part of her and brought her back to life.† â€Å"Spirit has limits, Rose. You might have been brought back, but Strigoi are gone.† â€Å"We don't know about spirit's full range,† I pointed out. â€Å"Half of it is still a mystery.† â€Å"We know about St. Vladimir. If he could restore Strigoi, don't you think a guy like him would have been doing it? I mean, if that's not miraculous, what is? Something like that would have survived in the legends,† argued Christian. â€Å"Maybe. Maybe not.† I retied my ponytail, replaying our encounter with Robert in my mind for the hundredth time. â€Å"Maybe Vlad didn't know how. It's not all that easy.† â€Å"Yeah,† agreed Eddie. â€Å"This is the good part.† â€Å"Hey,† I shot back at him. â€Å"I know you're mad at me, but with Christian here, we really don't need anyone else making snide comments.† â€Å"I don't know,† said Christian. â€Å"For something like this, you actually might need two people. Now explain how this miracle is supposedly done.† I sighed. â€Å"By adding spirit to a stake, along with the other four elements.† Spirit charms were still a new concept to Christian too. â€Å"Never thought of that. I guess spirit would shake things up†¦ but I can't imagine you staking a Strigoi with a spirit-charmed stake would be enough to bring them back.† â€Å"Well†¦ that's the thing. According to Robert, I can't do it. It has to be done by a spirit user.† More silence. I'd rendered Christian speechless yet again. At last he said, â€Å"We don't know that many spirit users. Let alone any who could fight or stake a Strigoi.† â€Å"We know two spirit users.† I frowned, recalling Oksana in Siberia and Avery locked away†¦ where? A hospital? A place like Tarasov? â€Å"No, four. Five, counting Robert. But yeah, none of them can really do it.† â€Å"It doesn't matter because it can't be done,† Eddie said. â€Å"We don't know that!† The desperation in my own voice startled me. â€Å"Robert believes it. Victor even believes.† I hesitated. â€Å"And Lissa does too.† â€Å"And she wants to do it,† Christian said, catching on quickly. â€Å"Because she would do anything for you.† â€Å"She can't.† â€Å"Because she doesn't have the ability or because you won't let her?† â€Å"Both,† I cried. â€Å"I'm not letting her anywhere near a Strigoi. She's already†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I groaned, hating to reveal what I'd discovered in our time apart through the bond. â€Å"She got a hold of a stake and is trying to charm it. So far, she hasn't had much luck, thank God.† â€Å"If this were possible,† began Christian slowly. â€Å"It could change our world. If she could learn†¦ â€Å" â€Å"What? No!† I'd been so eager to get Christian to believe me, and now I wished he hadn't. The one saving grace in all this was that with none of my friends thinking it was possible, none of them had given any thought to Lissa actually trying to fight a Strigoi. â€Å"Lissa's no warrior. No spirit user we know is, so unless we find one, I'd rather†¦ † I winced. â€Å"I'd rather Dimitri died.† That finally made Eddie stop working. He threw down his shovel. â€Å"Really? I never would have guessed that.† Sarcasm to rival my own. I spun around and strode toward him, my fists clenched. â€Å"Look, I can't take this anymore! I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. I know I screwed up. I let Dimitri get away. I let Victor get away.† â€Å"You let Victor get away?† asked Christian, startled. I ignored him and continued shouting at Eddie. â€Å"It was a mistake. With Dimitri†¦ it was a weak moment. I failed in my training. I know I did. We both know it. But you know I didn't intend the damage I caused. If you're really my friend, you have to know it. If I could take it back†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I swallowed, surprised to feel my eyes burning. â€Å"I would. I swear I would, Eddie.† His face was perfectly still. â€Å"I believe you. I am your friend, and I know†¦ I know you didn't mean for things to turn out like they did.† I sagged in relief, surprised at how truly worried I'd been about losing his respect and friendship. Looking down, I was startled to see my fists balled up. I relaxed them, unable to believe I'd been that upset. â€Å"Thank you. Thank you so much.† â€Å"What's all this shouting?† We both turned and saw Hans heading toward us. And he looked pissed off. I also noticed then that Christian had practically vanished into thin air. Just as well. â€Å"This isn't social time!† growled Hans. â€Å"You two still have another hour left today. If you're going to get distracted, then maybe you should be separated.† He beckoned to Eddie. â€Å"Come on. There's some filing with your name on it.† I shot Eddie a sympathetic look as Hans led him away. Yet I was relieved it wasn't me off to do paperwork. I continued my labors, my mind spinning with the same questions I'd had all week. I had meant what I said to Eddie. I wanted so badly for this dream of Dimitri being saved to be true. I wanted it more than anything–except Lissa risking her life. I shouldn't have hesitated. I should have just killed Dimitri. Victor wouldn't have escaped. Lissa wouldn't have given Robert's words a second thought. Thinking of Lissa pushed me into her mind. She was in her room, doing some last-minute packing before going to bed. Tomorrow was her Lehigh visit. Unsurprisingly, my invitation to go with her had been revoked in light of recent events. Her birthday–something that had been horribly overlooked in this mess–was this weekend as well, and it didn't seem right for me to be apart from her during it. We should have been celebrating together. Her thoughts were troubled, and she was so consumed by them that a sudden knock at the door made her jump. Wondering who could be visiting her at this hour, she opened the door and gasped to see Christian standing there. It was surreal to me too. Part of me still kept thinking we were in our school dorms, where rules–theoretically–kept guys and girls out of each other's rooms. But we were no longer there. We were technically adults now. He must have gone straight to her room after seeing me, I realized. It was astonishing how quickly the tension ratcheted up between them. A bundle of emotions burst into Lissa's chest, the usual mix of anger, grief, and confusion. â€Å"What are you doing here?† she demanded. The same emotions were in his face. â€Å"I wanted to talk to you.† â€Å"It's late,† she said stiffly. â€Å"Besides, I seem to remember you don't like talking.† â€Å"I want to talk about what happened with Victor and Robert.† That was enough to startle her out of her anger. She cast an anxious look into the hallway and then beckoned him inside. â€Å"How do you know about that?† she hissed, hastily shutting the door. â€Å"I just saw Rose.† â€Å"How did you get to see her? I can't see her.† Lissa was as frustrated as me over how our superiors had been keeping us apart. Christian shrugged, careful to maintain a safe distance between them in the suite's small living room. Both of them had their arms crossed defensively, though I don't think they realized how they were mirroring each other. â€Å"I snuck into her prison camp. They've got her shoveling dirt for hours.† Lissa grimaced. With the way they'd kept us separated, she hadn't known much about my activities. â€Å"Poor Rose.† â€Å"She's managing. Like always.† Christian's eyes turned toward the couch and her open suitcase, where a silver stake lay on top of a silk blouse. I doubted that shirt would survive the trip without a million wrinkles. â€Å"Interesting thing to bring on a college visit.† Lissa hastily shut the suitcase. â€Å"That's none of your business.† â€Å"Do you really believe it?† he asked, ignoring her comment. He took a step forward, his eagerness apparently making him forget about wanting to keep away. Even as distracted as she was by the situation, Lissa immediately became aware of their new proximity, the way he smelled, the way the light shone on his black hair†¦. â€Å"Do you think you could bring back a Strigoi?† She turned her attention back to the conversation and shook her head. â€Å"I don't know. I really don't. But I feel like†¦ I feel like I have to try. If nothing else, I want to know what spirit in a stake will do. That's harmless enough.† â€Å"Not according to Rose.† Lissa gave him a rueful smile, realized what she was doing, and promptly dropped it. â€Å"No. Rose doesn't want me going anywhere near this idea–even though she wants it to be real.† â€Å"Tell me the truth.† His gaze burned to her. â€Å"Do you think you have any chance of staking a Strigoi?† â€Å"No,† she admitted. â€Å"I could barely throw a punch. But†¦ like I said, I feel like I should try. I should try to learn. To stake one, I mean.† Christian pondered this for a few moments and then gestured toward the suitcase again. â€Å"You're going to Lehigh in the morning?† Lissa nodded. â€Å"And Rose got cut from the trip?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Did the queen offer to let you bring another friend?† â€Å"She did,† admitted Lissa. â€Å"In particular, she suggested Adrian. But he's sulking†¦ and I'm not really sure if I'm in the mood for him.† Christian seemed pleased by this. â€Å"Then bring me.† My poor friends. I wasn't sure how much more shock any of them could handle today. â€Å"Why the hell would I bring you?† she exclaimed. All her anger returned at his presumption. It was a sign of her agitation that she'd sworn. â€Å"Because,† he said, face calm, â€Å"I can teach you how to stake a Strigoi.†

Neoclassical Age

The 18th century is a distinguishing period in British literature. It is a timeline in which classical literary conventions in terms of the literary techniques in different genres are revived. After the Renaissance–a period of exploration and expansiveness–came a reaction in the direction of order and restraint. Generally speaking, this reaction developed in France in the mid-seventeenth century and in England thirty years later; and it dominated European literature until the last part of the eighteenth century.It is a period where counterfeiting and facades are very important; in some ways the country was trying to act like the Interregnum and English civil wars had not happened, and there is both a willful suppression of the immediate past and a glorification of the more distant, classical Roman past–which is why it is called the Neoclassical period. Neoclassical writers, such as Samuel Johnson, Moliere and Alexander Pope, sought clear, precise language.They st andardized spelling and grammar, shifted away from the complex metaphors employed by Shakespeare and simplified literary structures. Neoclassical writers often adopted a rigid view toward society. Although Renaissance writers were fascinated by rebels and the Romantics later idealized them, neoclassical writers felt that the individual should conform to social norms. Although society was probably corrupt, individual views could not stand against the truths found in the consensus of society.Principals of Neoclassic Age in Alexander Pope’s â€Å"essay on man† There are many concepts regarding literary criticism that are instantiated in the first part of Pope’s Essay: the problem of bad writing and criticism, and the greater danger of the latter to the public; the rarity of genius and taste in poets and critics respectively; the impairing of the capacity of critical judgment by unsound education; the causes for the multitude of literary critics (those who canâ€⠄¢t write, judge! ; and the critics need to know the limits of his genius, taste, and learning in the exercise of criticism. What is the basis for literary composition and the practice of criticism? What provides the common ground and gives guidance for both? For Pope, the answer was found in a specific eighteenth century understanding of the honorific term and concept of NATURE. First follow Nature and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring NATURE, still divinely bright,One clear, unchanged, and universal light, Life, force, beauty, must to all impart, At once the source, and end, and test of Art. (Lines 68-73) Nature is the ultimate authority (Williams 219) in Pope’s Essay, and is presented here as that canon or standard to which both with (creative poetic and literary expression) and critical judgment are to conform. Authors and critics are to write and to judge according to the clear, unchanged, and universal light just standards of in errant Nature.In literature and criticism, Nature is all-significant as its source, as its aim, and as its test. Art is from Nature, unto Nature, and by Nature. But what, exactly, does Pope mean by this all-encompassing concept? Williams expresses the eighteenth-century, neo-classical understanding of this doctrine in these terms. Fundamental to neo-classical thought about Nature is the conception of a cosmos which, in its order and regularity and harmony, reflects the order and harmony of the Divine Mind of its Creator. . . Man can perceive this order and rule in Nature because he has a rational soul made in the image of that Nature’s Creator. . . . In the view which prevails in the period Nature is the manifestation in the visible creation of the Order and Reason behind all things, a reflection of the medieval view that the likeness of God is imprinted in the very matter and organization of the universe (219-20). In concluding Part One of his Essay, Pope is so taken with th e natural goodness of the primeval authors that he has difficulty restraining himself in declaring their praise.The religious nature of their veneration is not only transparent, but also significant literarily. Here in worship before a common altar, divisions and sects and quarrels in criticism are forgotten as men unite in a single congregation. The learned from all climes and ages bring . . . their incense to a common shrine . . . . Pope’s verse . . . rises in full response to the inspiration his age received from a glorious past, a past which was both an inspiration, and a reproach, to the present (Williams 229).Creation, fall, redemption: this basic biblical schema provides the paradigm for Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Criticism. Just as the focus of the biblical narrative is on the salvaging of a sin-wrecked creation, so the movement of Alexander Pope’s Essay on Criticism is toward the restoration of a fallen classical poetics for eighteenth century England . This parallel supplies substance and shape to the Essay’s grand purpose and 13 design. And in both the Scriptures and in Pope, the goals of cosmic and poetic restoration are ones for which we can and must give thanks.Neoclassicism replaced the Renaissance view of man as an inherently good being capable of astounding intellectual growth by the image of man as a sinful and presumptuous creature with a limited intellectual capacity. Whereas the Renaissance had emphasized imagination and mysticism, Neoclasscisim emphasized order, reason, common sense, and conservatism. The  widely used prose literary forms were the essay, the letter, the satire, the parody, the burlesque, and the moral fable; and  in poetry, the  most renown  verse form was the rhymed couplet.Pope's heroic couplets are a prime example of this form. As reason should guide human individuals and societies, it should also direct artistic creation. Neoclassical art is not meant to seem a spontaneous outpouri ng of emotion or imagination. Emotion appears, of course; but it is consciously controlled. A work of art should be logically organized and should advocate rational norms. The Misanthrope, for example, is focused on its theme more consistently than are any of Shakespeare's plays.Its hero and his society are judged according to their conformity or lack of conformity to Reason, and its ideal, voiced by Philinte, is the reasonable one of the golden mean. The cool rationality and control characteristic of neoclassical art fostered wit, equally evident in the regular couplets of Moliere and the balanced sentences of Austen. Sharp and brilliant wit, produced within the clearly defined ideals of neoclassical art, and focused on people in their social context, make this perhaps the world's greatest age of comedy and satire.

Research Proposal Sample on Vodafone Uk Customer Satisfaction

In the business industry, it is important to gather customer to make the product and services sold. Therefore, keeping a customer is difficult in the business when it is in the starting stage. A business will find it harder to find prospective and loyal customer when operating abroad. And because of the economic problem that many countries are facing now, another challenge was revived; how to keep the customer? The Customer Satisfaction The customer satisfaction is a business term that measures how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy1. Every business’s mission is making the customers as their first priority. In accordance to this, the business must fill or serve the satisfaction of their customers according to what preferences that the market is demanding for. For an instance, if the business is in the food industry and the customers’ wants different variations of soup then, the management must look forward to create sumptuous dishes. Some business use different approach in leading their customers in the satisfactory stage like making special for their valued customer or raffle promo or making a sale for some products, anything that will catch the customers’ attention and at the end bringing the profit and customers’ trusts. The business literally promotes their product with the use of their customer because if one customer felt great to their product or enjoyed the service, he/she will make it on the broadcast among with their friends. The value of customers in the business is very high thus; the business needs to find impressions to keep them coming back to their establishment. In the case of finding such market in the other country, is like finding a needle in a vast gassy meadow. It is hard when the business is new to the eye of the customers. It is hard when the business is not prepared in approaching the customers well. It is hard when the business has many competitors in the area. The need for adjustment is highly acceptable. And because of these issues that surround the business industry, the proper guidance is highly appreciated. The Vodafone case can be a basis in catching the customer’s interest. The Vodafone Vodafone UK has more than 17 million customers and is part of the world’s largest mobile community. Vodafone’s leadership in mobile voice and data communications has continued, thanks largely to its focus on developing its brand and customer experience2. In this big company, reaching the respect of the customers is not new to them. Most especially, the Vodafone is a technology-based business and the impact of acceptance is expectedly high. But even a good business like Vodafone still needs to assess their customers and answer every question of their customer. They also consider many opinions and suggestion coming from their customers so that, the evidence in the growing customer acceptance make their gross reach the highest every year. However, the challenge is still there in every kind of business. Customer’s Challenge Vodafone is constantly looking for new ways to drive interaction and enhance the service that we offer to our customers, while at the same time making the life of our people simpler and more rewarding. However, Vodafone recognized that it was not differentiating the needs of its in-store customers or allocating store employees according to their areas of expertise. This meant waiting times could be lengthy and the level of service provided varied on the store employee’s area of expertise. So, Vodafone introduced a re-branding program aimed at improving the customer journey in store, as well as differentiating Vodafone from its competitors. Based on the macro planning principles of â€Å"Organize me, Engage me†, the key components of the refit included greater automation in-store, the option for self-service through kiosks, and footfall counters to track the volume of customers in-store and optimize the customer flow. Benefits to the Customer †¢ Improve the customer experience – customers now have more time to browse the store and choose how to purchase, so everyone benefits from faster and more efficient service, in a more relaxed atmosphere. This has led to a considerable uplift in customer satisfaction. Increase performance – optimized stores outperform other stores. Average contract volumes have increased with average upgrade volumes also increasing. †¢ Minimize business disruption – systems availability is enhanced, with a substantial reduction in support calls and improvement in first time fixes, increasing sales opportunities †¢ Maximize profit margins – self-serv ice significantly reduces the cost of sale especially amongst core pre-pay customers †¢ Enhance productivity – automation of commodity purchases enables faster transaction times and frees up resources to help other customers. The number of customers leaving stores without seeing an advisor is also declining †¢ Reduce support costs – tailoring services and removing duplicate effort and resources has cut costs, while increasing the overall level of support †¢ Optimize resource deployment – increased management information, such as customer numbers, waiting times and sales conversion figures, is helping to track and measure the customer experience in-store and enable staffing roles to be prepared to reflect store and customer requirements. The Business Case for Measuring Impacts The nature of multinational business is complex, shaped by globalization and rapid socio-economic and political change. Sustainability issues are increasingly contributing to this complexity, not least climate change, resource constraints, endemic poverty and ecosystem degradation. Committing to create a more sustainable and inclusive form of globalization and the following are the key objectives3: †¢ Develop a deeper understanding of how global issues such as poverty, the environment, demographic change and globalization affect individual companies and sectors; †¢ Use the understanding of these issues to search for more inclusive business solutions that help to address the issues at both a local and global scale; †¢ Align core business strategies with the solutions identified; †¢ Incorporate long-term measures into the definition of success, targeting profitability that is sustainable and supported by a responsible record in managing social, environmental and employment matters. The Business in Developing Countries Companies recognize the risks and opportunities their operations face in developing countries and the important role they play in influencing change. They rely on transparent legal systems, access to markets and infrastructure services, social stability, healthy and skilled employees and suppliers, as well as consumers willing and able to purchase their products and services. While these conditions are critical for business growth and success, the benefits resulting from the presence of multinational business and the associated in-flows of capital may not reach all sectors of society. The consequence can be a thriving middle and upper class while the low-income segment gets left behind. This can lead to strained relations between business and the communities associated with their activities, increased scrutiny from civil society organizations and greater levels of political pressure from local and national governments, all of which can increase commercial risks for investors3. Conclusion The importance of customer in one business can affect the operation of a multinational company most especially in the developing countries. The success of a multinational company can make an additional growth in their own economy. Getting the heart of the customers are essential to keep the business moving. Although there are many factors that can affect a business that is new in the face of the foreign country, the main strategy that the study can add is to look for a customer that has a same nationality of the business. For example, the American business is new to Japan, therefore, the business should target their very own race first before entering the Japanese culture and became part of their life.References:1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gitman, L; & McDaniel, C., (2005). The Future of Business: The Essentials. Mason, Ohio: South-Western. ISBN 0324320280. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Vodafone Case in Customer Satisfaction (n.d.). [Online] Available at: http://www.fujitsu.com/uk/casestudies/fs _vodafone-customersatisfaction.html [Accessed 14 Aug 2009].3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Impact: Beyond the Bottom Line (2008). WBCBD. [Online] Available at: http://www.wbcsd.org/web/projects/sl/MIbeyondthebottomline.pdf [Accessed 14 Aug 2009]. Read more: http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/08/research-proposal-sample-on-vodafone-uk-customer-satisfaction.html#ixzz1Es0Qh2Bk

Prepared Reading on “The House of The Spirits” Essay

She is the main protagonist of the novel, Estaban Trueba’s wife, Blanca, and the twin’s (Nicolas and Jaime) mother. She has the gift of foresight, as she is able to foresee the future, although she cannot change it. Another supernatural gift that she has is the power to speak with spirits. She is the character that binds the intertwined families together. She has a tendency to resemble that of a mute after encountering domestic problems with her husband Esteban, but her love for her family prevents her from leaving the house of Esteban. Clara’s character is static. She remains the same, calm, woman all throughout the novel—from the beginning right up to the end. Esteban Esteban is the head of Clara’s family because he is the husband of Clara. He is also the father of a number of illegitimate children at the Tres Marias because of his insatiable appetite for sexual pleasure. He co-narrates the novel along with his granddaughter Alba. He is from a class lower than that of Clara’s family, but through persistence and hard work at the mines in Tres Marias, he was able to make a fortune, thanks mostly to the efforts of the peasants at the mines whom Esteban maltreats, especially the women—as he was able to rape almost every young peasant girl in Treas Marias. Despite obsessively loving Clara, his violence has caused conflicts within the family. Alba, his granddaughter, is the only person apart from the prostitute Transito, whom he was able to get really close with. Blanca Blanca is the daughter and first born of Clara and Esteban and the mother of Alba. She is the lover of Pedro Tercero; her love for him is what describes Blanca best, despite her and Pedro Tercero not being officially together. She was once married to Jean de Satigny, a French man who was arguably more interested in gaining power in marriage than marrying out of love, but she divorced him because of his disturbing sexual practices. Pedro Tercero Pedro Tercero is Blanca’s faithful lover all throughout the novel, even if they are separated most of the time. He was a revolutionary; when the Socialist government came into power he opted to join them. Ironically, he saved Esteban’s life despite the latter hating him so much because of his relationship with Blanca. Conflict / Plot Summary The conflict of the novel is divided within the three generations of the women in the Trueba family. The main conflicts are: Clara’s conflict with her husband Esteban, Blanca’s conflict with her love for Pedro Tercero, and Alba’s conflict at the hands of Esteban Garcia. Additional conflicts which are present all throughout the novel are the conflicts of Esteban Truebo and the sociological conflicts between the socialists and the conservative parties. Esteban was not an inherently rich man. Though he was definitely a class above the peasants that he treats badly, he was far from being as rich as the del Valle (Clara’s family). Despite being significantly poorer than the del Valles, he was able to persuade the family into agreeing for their daughter to be married to him. He was supposed to marry Rosa at first, the sister of Clara, but while he was away trying to earn a fortune at the mines, she died before they were able to be wed. Wanting to fulfill his promise to his mother who just died, Esteban looked for a wife again, and he opted not too look far, thus marrying Clara. With his fortune established and his promise to his mother fulfilled, Esteban was still far from resolving all his conflicts because more would come after his wedding. After the wedding of Esteban and Clara, Ferula, Esteban’s sister, moves in with them. Clara and Ferula became really close friends, so close that Esteban was suspiciously jealous of her affections for his wife. One day, Esteban came home ahead of schedule and found Ferula sleeping on the bed of Clara. This prompted Esteban to kick Ferula out of the house. Ferula, on her way out, curses Esteban to be lonely for the rest of his life. Blanca, the first born of Clara and Esteban, was born a year after her parents’ wedding. During a trip to the Tres Marias, she met Pedro Tercero, son of Pedro Segundo, the caretaker of the Tres Marias. Blanca and Pedro Tercero fall in love. As their relationship matures, they realized that Esteban would not approve of their relationship because first, Pedro Tercero was just a son of a peasant, and second, he was a revolutionary, a fact that would not go well with Esteban because Esteban was a conservative. The conflict that the relationship of Blanca and Pedro Tercero created would result in the conflict between Clara and Esteban. Jean de Satigny, a prowling opportunist, revealed the love affair of Blanca and Pedro Tercero to Esteban. Outraged, Esteban sent Blanca away and threatened to kill Pedro Tercero. However, Esteban only managed to sever three fingers of Pedro Tercero. While in his enraged state, Esteban hit Clara. He hit Clara so hard that several of Clara’s teeth broke loose. Clara never spoke to him since but remained in the house of Esteban all her life, in a civil relationship minus the conversations. Several years after, a change in government would result into more trouble for Esteban. The socialist party won the election, and the peasants at the Tres Marias revolted, taking Esteban as a hostage in the process. Fortunately for Esteban, her daughter Blanca loved him very much despite his outrageous reactions to her relationship with Pedro Tercero. Through Blanca’s special request, Pedro Tercero was able to convince the peasants to let Esteban go. Esteban was forced to stay inside his house because the new government was looking for him. Esteban was oblivious to the fact that the new head of the government was his own grandson, Esteban Garcia. Esteban Garcia was the grandson of Pancha, one of the numerous peasant girls whom Esteban Trueba raped during his early years at the Tres Marias. Now, the grandson wanted revenge for the ill-treatment that her grandmother received. However, instead of focusing his revenge towards the real culprit, he instead harassed and molested Alba, the granddaughter of Esteban and Clara, on several occasions. When he attained power in the new government, he abducted Alba and placed her inside a concentration camp where she was raped and tortured by several men including Esteban Garcia. Esteban Trueba was able to save her thanks to the help of an old friend, Transito Soto, a prostitute that asked Esteban Trueba for money to start her own whorehouse. With Alba recovered, Esteban Trueba and Alba wrote the story of the family. Esteban Trueba died soon after, but Alba continued to write the story while pregnant with her kid. Technique Allusion to Real Life Events Although the setting of the novel was unspecified by Allende, there are events in the novel that resemble that of Chile and the events that happened before the novel’s publication. Allende alluded to these real life events in order for his novel to become partly biographical and to make it as an allegory to enable the readers, especially Chileans, to relate to the story more. The political unrest present in the novel parallels that of the conflict in Chile during the 1920’s. The 1920’s were turbulent times for Chile—strikes and collision between political parties were prevalent. Another real life event shown in the novel is based on a natural disaster. In chapter 5, a very strong earthquake is mentioned, much like the great Chilean earthquake in 1939. Even some of the characters in the novel are based on Allende’s family. Narrative Irony Irony is also present in some parts of the novel. The behavior of the two opposing classes provides the irony. The upper classes often see themselves as more civilized than the lower class, but in the novel, their behavior suggests the other way around. For instance, in the story, Esteban Trueba is a violent man, and he exploits the workers at the Tres Marias, while the peasants appear to react in a more calm and react appropriately at the face of adversity. The irony presents the characters in a more realistic way. Authorial Reticence Magical Realism uses authorial reticence in order to justify the â€Å"magic† in the text. By excluding the clear opinions of the characters towards the magical elements in the novel, the text becomes realistic while obviously fantastic. For example, Clara is clairvoyant, but nobody seems to mind or be surprised about it. On the other hand, Rosa is described to be over the top beautiful, but she had green hair, yellow eyes and transparent skin. Themes / Key Quotations One of the major themes in the novel is the oppression that women experience. Esteban Trueba is the epitome of a woman exploiter in the novel. He treated them like property, only existing for his sexual satisfaction and an object to continue on his genes. In chapter 3, when Esteban was looking for a wife, even after the de Valle family revealed to him Clara’s supernatural powers, he concluded that â€Å"none of these things posed any obstacle to bringing healthy, legitimate children into the world† (Allende, 1985, p. 88). His primary concern was to have a wife that would bear his children no matter how peculiar the qualities of Clara were. Another theme is the concept of luck. The first instance of luck was Esteban’s luck at the mines. The Tres Marias was already a shabby place when Esteban decided to gamble all his money into its renovation. Luck struck him as the mines proved to be very productive. Ironically, Alba was the luckiest of them all, as Clara claimed, â€Å"There’s no need to worry about this little girl. She will be lucky and she will be happy† (Allende, 1985, p. 223). Despite being captured, molested, and tortured by Esteban Garcia, Alba was still considered to be lucky because ultimately, she was able to escape and able to elude Esteban Garcia’s attempts to kill her. One prominent motif that appears throughout the novel is writing. The whole story is in fact, the combined writing efforts of Esteban and Alba. As Alba recalled, â€Å"it was my grandfather who had the idea that we should write this story† (Allende 1985, p. 366). Throughout the novel, the characters were involved in writing, from Clara to Alba. Reference Allende, I. (1985). The House of the Spirits (M. Bogin, Trans. ). New York: Bantam Books.