Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Dynamics between Human Activity and Nature during the Twentieth Essay

Elements between Human Activity and Nature during the Twentieth Century - Essay Example Amazon through Bezos had an objective on client utility amplification with a point of giving each item inside the letters in order. Amazon launched business in July 1995 exchanging its first book through Amazon.com, the book sold was Fluids ideas and innovative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanism of Thought by Douglas Hofstadter. Amazon experienced further extension in Delaware in the year 1996. On fifteenth May 1997, Amazon offered its first sale of stock of offers, working together under NASDAQ stock trade with their image being AMZN. The offers were exchanged at a cost of US$ 18 for every offer. The firm had a one of a kind starting field-tested strategy whereby they didn't hope to get any increases for initial four to five years. The firm has various sites for different nations around the globe (Bryers, 2009). Then again, Border Books was started in 1971 under the watch of siblings Tom and Louis Borders in Ann Arbor, Michigan while they were embraced their und ergrad and graduate projects at the University of Michigan. Later in 1976, a complimentary organization known as Book Inventory System was framed to go about as a distributer for Borders Books. It was likewise planned for giving custom stock framework to provincial free book shops which included: John Rollins, Thackeray’s, Schuler Books and Joseph-Beth Booksellers. In an offer to accomplish extension in the organization, Robert F. Diromualdo once in the past leader of Hickory Farms was welcomed ready. The underlying Borders bookshop was arranged in two rooms over 209 State Street, north of the state theater. Their underlying stock for the most part contained a mix of trade-in books. Later on the siblings migrated to Maynard House high rise which is in the southwest corner of William and Maynard Streets. They later on bought out the stock a multi year old book shop known as Wahr’s which was shutting down at 316 South State. Wahr’s significantly exchanged course b ooks and school supplies which was not the same as the brothers’ specialization. The siblings from that point moved the retail bookshop to previous Wagner and child men’s garments store which saw the business grow to huge scope. Tom Frick was doled out to deal with the old shop which had by then been renamed Charing Cross Bookshop (Thompson, 2009). In 1992, Kmart accomplished the responsibility for which by then had possessed a multi year old book chain known as Waldenbooks since 1984. Kmart consolidated the two organizations naming it Borders-Walden Group. The merger was planned for having the accomplished senior administration from Borders help rescue Waldenbooks which was floundering. Anyway this didn't fill in as a large portion of the Borders senior administration selected to leave the organization. Before the finish of the annum Kmart renamed the organization as Borders Group. Singapore turned into the principal state where the organization set up a global store; this occurred in the year 1997. The organization proceeded to additionally set up other 41 worldwide stores in United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Fringes (UK) Ltd. was begun in 1998 as part of Borders Group. It developed to get one of the significant book retailers in UK however was later sold out to a private financial specialist in 2007 because of firm rivalry in showcase. The Singapore store was pronounced the best performing among

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Task Example Mixing the grant between the sagacious accounts, the story line of this book depicts an uncommon lady who comes out strongly to challenge the unwritten codes and a few hindrances of the social chain of importance and proceeds to set out look for some proportion of individual freedom in the male-overwhelmed world. This book gives a synopsis and examination of the record case that is found in the Florentine archives1. In this book, the class distinction isn't just brilliant basing in transit that the law dealt with individuals of various social classes, yet it additionally bases on how social class was subject in taking care of issues of affection. Just similarly that class assumed a job in influencing sentiment in Renaissance Florence is likewise clear in Giovanni’s starting quest for Lusanna’ love. Giovanni begins to look all starry eyed at Lusanna in spite of the way that her significant other is as yet alive, and proceeds to attempt to begin a relationship with her. I n spite of the way that Giovanni is rich and numerous young ladies are after him, he just loves Lusanna. For this situation, the exclusively was to try to wed only to expand societal position or integrating the significant families, however not wedding each other in light of adoration. For this, social class is apparent in examination of Giovanni and Lusanna, however Giovanni contends that he needs to wed Lusenna not due to expanding social ties, but since he is profoundly infatuated with her. Social class isn't just the distinction isolating the romantic tale among Giovanni and Lusanna, however there is additionally a part of sexual orientation. Lusanna is the uncommon special case among numerous ladies of her time, and subsequently making it unrealistic to order her as in any significant jobs that ladies received in this network. Ladies of her group would be normal â€Å"chaste spouses and widows or secluded nuns,† however not energetic and driven similarly as Lusanna seeme d to be. All through this case Giovanni was resolved to demonstrate that their relationship was solid and had begun path back before the passing of Lusanna’s spouse Andrea, and that her readiness to not exclusively to take an interest in this relationship that was making her mush more joyful than her marriage holds onto the activity of arranging not quite the same as the arrangement of other ladies in her time, in that she partakes in the illegal relationship. Another angle that existed between these various classes of lives is the twofold standard existing comparable to sex. As indicated by the social standards of the network, infidelity was taboo in the Florence play. Both the common and strict laws likewise disallow and even rebuffed infidelity, for example, a similar case that Lusanna depicted while wedded to Andrea. There is likewise a part of impact in the equity framework following the class contrast. For example, Lusanna was the person who recorded a body of evidence against Giovanni for endeavoring to wed another lady while they are hitched. In this general public, rich individuals had the limit of paying off the equity framework, something that would have made Giovanni walk free. Ecclesiastical overseer Antoninus was the main head with the limit of dismissing such pay-offs and impact from the rich class in this general public, in this way fitting him to direct this case. Be that as it may, the creator expresses that a similar adjudicator would have known about Giovanni’s impact and monetary force, driving him to maintain the objection recorded by Lusanna. The status contrast that was isolating Lusanna and Giovanni is

Saturday, August 8, 2020

How the Quality Time Love Language Impacts Your Relationship

How the Quality Time Love Language Impacts Your Relationship Relationships Spouses & Partners Print How the Quality Time Love Language Impacts Your Relationship By Sherri Gordon facebook twitter Sherri Gordon is a published author and a bullying prevention expert. Learn about our editorial policy Sherri Gordon Updated on February 07, 2020 iStockphoto More in Relationships Spouses & Partners Marital Problems LGBTQ Violence and Abuse Every couple needs quality time together in order for the relationship to grow and to develop. But, what happens when one partners love language is quality time? How does that desire for time spent together impact the relationship especially when hectic lives get in the way? Heres a closer look at how expressing the love language of quality time can not only improve your relationship, but also show your quality time partner that you are fluent in their love language. Everything You Need to Know About the Five Love Languages A Closer Look at the Quality Time Love Language When it comes to Gary Chapmans five love languages, quality time is the love language that centers around togetherness. It is all about expressing your love and affection with your undivided attention. When youre with your partner, you put down the cell phone, turn off the tablet, and focus on them. And, when you do that, it touches their heart in a way that really matters. They feel important, loved, and specialâ€"like you were intentional in setting aside time just for them. Unfortunately, thanks to technology, quality time with our partners is becoming more and more scarce. Even when we are together, we are someplace elseâ€"usually in cyberspace or deep in our own thoughts. But being in close proximity to one another while doing something else does not always constitute quality time, no matter how long you sit there. And for someone whose primary love language is quality time, this lack of connectedness can leave them feeling empty and alone. Tips on How to Speak This Love Language When it comes to speaking your partners love language, it is important that you do things that will make your partner feel loved and appreciated. This means if your partners primary love language is quality time, you need to not only set aside time for your partner, but also be intentional about how you are spending that time. And, if you dont share the same love language as your partner, dont be surprised if these efforts seem a little unnatural at first. With time and effort though, you will be doing these things for your partner without a second thought. Here is an overview of some of the ways you can show your quality time partner that you love them. Make Eye Contact When it comes to quality time, eye contact is the gateway to loving your quality time partner. In fact, maintaining eye contact tells your partner that they have your full attention, which will make them feel loved, important, and understood. It also communicates that you care about what they have to say. But, when you are distracted and scrolling through your phone while your partner talks about their day, they will feel like you just dont care about what they have to say and more importantly, that you just dont care about them. Use Active Listening Skills Active listening is one of the most loving things you can do for your partner, but for many people this does not come naturally, Instead, most people think about their own thoughts and opinions more than they think about their partners. When quality time people are talking, it helps to focus on what they are saying and to even lean in slightly. Its also important to affirm what they are saying and to ask thoughtful questions. Also, avoid trying to offer advice, unless they ask for it. Quality time partners are more interested in feeling understood. They are looking for empathy and compassion and do not want to have their situations fixed. Likewise, they do not want to be evaluated and instructed. Try putting yourself in their shoes and seeing how you might feel in the same situation. Put Away Technology Nothing hurts a quality time people more than to be sharing something they feel is really important, and then to look up and realize their partner is only half paying attention while trying to answer an e-mail from a co-worker. Make it a habit to put away your phone at dinner or during a coffee break and really focus on what your partner has to say. Even though you may not discuss anything earth-shattering, you are at least making an important and loving gesture by choosing your partner over technology. Focus on Quality When it comes to quality time, its not about the amount of time you spend together but instead the quality of your interactions that count. And with so much going on in your life, carving out a few minutes for a meaningful and uninterrupted conversation can be a wonderful way to show the person you love that you care. The key is that you take the time to enjoy one anothers company, even if it is just sitting on the couch enjoying a cup of coffee before work. Remember it is not about the quantity of time you spend together, but instead about the quality of time. Plan Something While it never hurts to be spontaneous, planning to do something together can be just as fun and exciting as a last-minute dinner or movie, especially for a quality time partner. Its often too easy for married or dating couples to get in a rut after they have been together a while. Instead of settling for the same old, same old try making plans to try the new restaurant in town, schedule a bike ride on a Saturday morning, or plan a leisurely walk along the riverbank after work. It doesnt matter what you do. Taking steps to initiate quality time will mean a lot to your partner. Plus, the anticipation of spending time together will really speak love to them. Remember, just because spending time together is expected when people have been together awhile doesnt mean you cannot also be intentional about how you spend that time. Develop a Routine Look for small ways to connect with your partner on a daily basis. For instance, you could pray or meditate together every morning or read the Sunday funnies together each week. Finding a small way to connect on a regular basis will help your quality time partner feel fulfilled and appreciated. Plus, its something you can both look forward to doing together. Be There When your partner is feeling insecure or going through a tough time at work, you can really show you care by simply being there and spending some quality time together. Even though you wont be able to take all the discomfort awayâ€"nor should you be expected toâ€"you will be able to demonstrate that you are present and available whenever they need you. Stay in the Moment For people whose primary love language is quality time, they never lose sight of the fact that time is limited and tomorrow is not promised. As a result, they view time together as a priceless gift that they want to give and receive in relationships. To them, life is about being in the moment more than it is about what you are doing. Its also about prioritizing the people you love over everything else. Invite Them Everyone has days when their to-do list is a mile long. Rather than run all your errands by yourself, invite your quality time partner to come along. Even though you are doing something mundane and boring, you can sneak in some quality time. For instance, turn off the radio and talk to one another. Ask how your partners life is going and what is stressing them out right now. You can turn just about any activity into a chance to sneak in some quality time if you are creative. What to Avoid If This Is Your Partners Love Language At times, it can be hard to communicate love to your partner through quality time, especially if this is not your primary love language. But you will eventually get the hang of it. The key is to avoid a few of these common mistakes. Dont complain about the time you spend togetherResist the urge to do something else while your partner is talkingDont view your quality time partner as needyKeep your technology stowed away when you have time planned togetherDont forget to ask what your partner needs in order to feel loved A Word From Verywell When it comes to quality time as a love language, most people assume it means spending a lot of time together or going out a lot. If that were the case, trying to show your partner you care through quality time could get exhaustingâ€"and expensive. But loving a quality time partner actually has very little to do with the amount of time you are together. Its also not based on activities. Quality time is all about how you spend the time that you have together. No matter what you are doing, if you are attentive and focused, your partner will feel loved. Are You In a Healthy Relationship?

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Sexual Intercourse and Manipulative Protagonist - 1199 Words

Damaging Effects of Libertinism on the Female Psyche In Haywood’s â€Å"Fantomina,† Haywood argues against libertine practices and attitudes, because of the abject effects libertinism has on women. Her portrayal of a supremely witty and manipulative protagonist, who is unable to overcome her biological limitations while still wishing to continue seducing her mark, exemplifies women’s inability to compete in a male–oriented philandering playing field. The ironic ease of sexual surrender from the different characters, the overtly carnal descriptions from the narrator, and the protagonist’s theatricality reflect Haywood’s open critique of libertinism’s adverse ramifications on the female psyche. She designs the increasing social statuses of†¦show more content†¦Conversely, instead of seeking retribution, she may have endeavored to fall in love with Beauplaisir. If such is the case, she falls out of love, as she reads his letters to Mrs. Bloomer and Fantomina. She calls him, â€Å" Traitor!† and realizes he only says what women desire to hear. After her epiphany, her actions border on obsession. She becomes possessive of a man who she knows is unfaithful, but makes no plans to break off her escapades. Her going into labor is the only reason she must stop. The irony of her lack of sexual resistance as she changes from character to character makes the protagonist appear damaged and misguided. No matter what her objective is, she approaches it poorly and ends up causing even more emotional damage to herself. The narrator’s use of carnal descriptions, becoming more explicit as the protagonist becomes more and more sexual, characterizes the protagonist’s extreme behavior. In the beginning, the narrator’s diction is subtle. When the protagonist first dresses as Fantomina, and begins to spend time with Beauplaisir, she enjoys the time she has with him, but does not entirely think about having sex with him. This is still before the rape, so she is somewhat innocent. The narrator describes her feelings by saying, â€Å"†¦she found a vast deal of Pleasure in conversing with him in this free and unrestraind Manner† (2567). The use of â€Å"Pleasure† is intended to hint at the attraction developing between the two. She feels it, and heShow MoreRelatedAdaptation in Life of Pi and Lolita1644 Words   |  7 PagesWhereas most readers would assume that Pi’s loss of the innocence is more disturbing, because his life was under threat, Lolita’s was more upsetting because she was the victim of crime. Both of the protagonists’ loss of innocence happens during stressful moments in each story, through their developing manipulative tactics, and through their hidden instincts. In order to understand each character better, the stressed and unstressed natures of Pi and Lolita should be thoroughly examined; it is the environmentRead MoreOnce Were Warriors And Tess Of The DUrbervilles Essay1717 Words   |  7 Pagestexts and the characters they devised. Each author concludes that gender subjugation forces women to respond in drastic ways through the characterisation of their protagonists as well as through symbolism. It is Tamahori’s cinematography, and Hardy’s narrative perspective and allusion that allows audiences to empathize with the protagonists of each text. Tamahori and Hardy each use their texts to explore the notion that patriarchy entraps women in oppressive situations. The settings employed by TamahoriRead MorePerfume Character Analysis1323 Words   |  6 PagesPatrick Sà ¼skind’s seminal 1985 novel, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, achieves that rare feat of creating a main character that portrays a protagonist that lacks conventional heroic qualities or in other literature term, an anti-hero. The novel discusses the main character Grenouille, who became an infamous criminal who lived in the unhygienic and uprising rebellion in Paris, France, 18th century. He had experienced life chiefly through his highly developed sense of smell. Sà ¼skind’s did a marvelousRead MoreCompare And Contrast Othello And Iago1849 Words   |  8 Pagesinto a deceitful individual. As seen in most Shakespearean tragedies, the protagonist dies and same goes for Othello, who suicides over his impulsive actions. While it may seem that Othe llo is accountable for his actions, Iago is definitely a key contributor in his tragedy. This is because of their similar and contrasting character traits, one difference being that Othello is gullible, which Iago exploits through his manipulative nature. Despite their differences, Iago and Othello are strong-willed whichRead More Masculinity in The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale Essay2175 Words   |  9 PagesMasculinity in The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale      Ã‚   The Wife of Bath, with the energy of her vernacular and the voraciousness of her sexual appetite, is one of the most vividly developed characters of The Canterbury Tales. At 856 lines her prologue, or preambulacioun as the Summoner calls it, is the longest of any of the pilgrims, and matches the General Prologue but for a few lines. Evidently Chaucer is infatuated with Alisoun, as he plays satirically with both gender and classRead More Exploring Existentialism and the Character Leanord in the Film, Memento1993 Words   |  8 Pagescan make judgments. Essentially, we are revealed to ourselves through others, and through shame, we realize our being. Perhaps most importantly, Sartre declares that since existence precedes essence, our actions make us who we are. Mementos protagonist, Leonard Shelby, suffers from anterograde memory loss as a result of two assailants invading his home and attacking Leonard and his wife. His condition prevents him from establishing short-term memories as permanent, leaving him unfamiliar with

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Depression The Best Course of Action - 2068 Words

Depression: The Best Course of Action Many people occasionally feel â€Å"the blues†, but luckily, it is usually temporary. Unfortunately, â€Å"temporary† is not always the case. As characterized by the National Institute of Mental Health, â€Å"a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat and enjoy once-pleasurable activities† is defined as depression (â€Å"Depression†). Depression is an extremely common, widespread â€Å"psychoneurotic disorder† that affects 13 to 14 million adults in the United States each year (DeRubeis, Siegle and Hollon). Among a list of symptoms provided by the National Institute of Mental Health, difficulty in thinking, â€Å"empty† feelings, hopelessness, loss of interest, and in more severe†¦show more content†¦The FDA responded to this study in 2004, when they issued a Black Box Warning, warning antidepressant users of it’s potential harmful, or fatal, side effects (Harvard Medi cal School). Since the Black Box Warning, many people diagnosed with depression have been looking for alternative routes of treatment to take to avoid the use of prescription medication and avoid those unsafe side effects. As a response to this, several different types of therapies have emerged to counteract the need for prescription medication. Although these types of therapies have been around for the same amount of time, if not longer, they have never been truly seen as treatment for a psychological disorder such as depression. However, recent studies have proven that therapy is more effective than medication in several different aspects, such as short-term/long-term use, and on mental health. The most widely practiced therapy used for treatment of depression is cognitive-behavioral therapy. As stated by UCLA professors Hazlett-Stevens and Craske, published authors in the Handbook of Brief Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, â€Å"cognitive therapy techniques were developed and eve ntually integrated with behavioral approaches to form cognitive-behavioral treatments.† This integration formed a therapy that not only diagnoses the mental problem causing the issue, a cognitiveShow MoreRelatedA Day Away From Her Final Exam1489 Words   |  6 Pagesthe semester. She would not have expected two of her brightest students to commit such an act of dishonesty. As Dr. Lopez continues to ponder the circumstances, she recalls that there were signs of Jessica slipping into depression. As a young adult, Dr. Lopez struggled with depression, so she knows the signs and what Jessica is going through. Dr. Lopez knows the impact of failing Jessica will have on her future. However, she is very concerned about the spiraling downfall of Jessica’s mental healthRead MoreThe 1930S, Also Known As The Era Of The Great Depression,968 Words   |  4 PagesThe 1930s, also known as the era of the Great Depression, was a hard time not only in the United States, but all through out the world. However, the United States was not just struggling financially, but had conflicting morales. During the Great Depression, the United States had two different presidents, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. These two presidents have very different opinions on how to try and bring the United States out of the Depression. Herbert Hoover wanted to limit governmentRead MoreThe Ethical And Legal Dilemmas That Ms. Burrows1167 Words   |  5 Pagesintentional fraud. Another fraudulent action committed by Ms. Burrows was billing under the depression codes but not having treatment plan connected to depression. Miscoding for the purposes of billing is insurance fraud (Lane, 2014). 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In the novel, The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath utilizes the relationshipsRead MoreDepression593 Words   |  3 PagesSolicit from a health awareness pro assistance. Dont put off wanting assistance and finding out what causes depression; the longer you encounter depression, the longer it will take to battle the issue. Your specialist will first check to determine your indications are not brought about by a underlying restorative condition. Once diff erent potential outcomes have been discounted, your specialist may point you to a mental health expert who will examine your side effects with you. He will then utilizeRead MoreHigh School Diploma Should Not Required A Gym Credit949 Words   |  4 Pagesdisabilities that can limit their physical activities, which leads to some not achieving the grade that they had hoped for. Less athletic and overweight children have a higher chance of being targeted due to their actions and abilities, which can lead to bullying and possibly depression. If gym class wasn’t mandatory, more people would participate and feel comfortable. Also, there would be a friendly competition among the students because they would want to be there to participate in the games. SchoolRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman885 Words   |  4 Pageswhat was most likely post-partum depression. As the story progresses, one can see that she is not receiving proper treatment for her depression and thus it is getting worse. Gilman uses the wallpaper and what she sees in it to symbolize her desire to escape her depression and the controlling nature of the patriarchal society of the twentieth century. The story shows an inside look into the thoughts and feelings of a person with a mental illness such as depression. Gilman also uses symbolism to showcase

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Second Foundation 1. Two Men and the Mule Free Essays

string(86) " had thrown the Mule back from his policy of limitless expansion into static caution\." THE MULE – It was after the fall of the First Foundation that the constructive aspects of the Mule’s regime took shape. After the definite break-up at the first Galactic Empire, it was he who first presented history with a unified volume at space truly imperial in scope. The earlier commercial empire at the fallen Foundation had been diverse and loosely knit, despite the impalpable backing at the predictions of psycho-history. We will write a custom essay sample on Second Foundation 1. Two Men and the Mule or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was not to be compared with the tightly controlled ‘Union of Worlds’ under the Mule, comprising as it did, one-tenth the volume of the Galaxy and one-fifteenth of its population. Particularly during the era of the so-called Search†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica [1] There is much more that the Encyclopedia has to say on the subject of the Mule and his Empire but almost all of it is not germane to the issue at immediate hand, and most of it is considerably too dry for our purposes in any case. Mainly, the article concerns itself at this point with the economic conditions that led to the rise of the â€Å"First Citizen of the Union† – the Mule’s official title – and with the economic consequences thereof. If, at any time, the writer of the article is mildly astonished at the colossal haste with which the Mule rose from nothing to vast dominion in five years, he conceals it. If he is further surprised at the sudden cessation of expansion in favor of a five-year consolidation of territory, he hides the fact. We therefore abandon the Encyclopedia and continue on our own path for our own purposes and take up the history of the Great Interregnum – between the First and Second Galactic Empires – at the end of that five years of consolidation. Politically, the Union is quiet. Economically, it is prosperous. Few would care to exchange the peace of the Mule’s steady grip for the chaos that had preceded, On the worlds that five years previously had known the Foundation, there might be a nostalgic regret, but no more. The Foundation’s leaders were dead, where useless; and Converted, where useful. And of the Converted, the most useful was Han Pritcher, now lieutenant general. In the days of the Foundation, Han Pritcher had been a captain and a member of the underground Democratic Opposition. When the Foundation fell to the Mule without a fight, Pritcher fought the Mule. Until, that is, he was Converted. The Conversion was not the ordinary one brought on by the power of superior reason. Han Pritcher know that well enough. He had been changed because the Mule was a mutant with mental powers quite capable of adjusting the conditions of ordinary humans to suit himself. But that satisfied him completely. That was as it should be. The very contentment with the Conversion was a prime symptom of it, but Han Pritcher was no longer even curious about the matter. And now that he was returning from his fifth major expedition into the boundlessness of the Galaxy outside the Union, it was with something approaching artless joy that the veteran spaceman and Intelligence agent considered his approaching audience with the â€Å"First Citizen.† His hard face, gouged out of a dark, grainless wood that did not seem to be capable of smiling without cracking, didn’t show it – but the outward indications were unnecessary. The Mule could see the emotions within, down to the smallest, much as an ordinary man could see the twitch of an eyebrow. Pritcher left his air car at the old vice-regal hangars and entered the palace grounds on foot as was required. He walked one mile along the arrowed highway – which was empty and silent. Pritcher knew that over the square miles of Palace grounds, there was not one guard, not one soldier, not one armed man. The Mule had need of no protection. The Mule was his own best, all-powerful protector. Pritcher’s footsteps beat softly in his own cars, as the palace reared its gleaming, incredibly light and incredibly strong metallic walls before him in the daring, overblown, near-hectic arches that characterized the architecture of the Late Empire. It brooded strongly over the empty grounds, over the crowded city on the horizon. Within the palace was that one man – by himself – on whose inhuman mental attributes depended the new aristocracy, and the whole structure of the Union. The huge, smooth door swung massively open at the general’s approach, and he entered. He stepped on to the wide, sweeping ramp that moved upward under him. He rose swiftly in the noiseless elevator. He stood before the small plain door of the Mule’s own room in the highest glitter of the palace spires. It opened- Bail Channis was young, and Bail Channis was Unconverted. That is, in plainer language, his emotional make-up had been unadjusted by the Mule. It remained exactly as it had been formed by the original shape of its heredity and the subsequent modifications of his environment. And that satisfied him, too. At not quite thirty, he was in marvelously good odor in the capital. He was handsome and quick-witted – therefore successful in society. He was intelligent and self-possessed – therefore successful with the Mule. And he was thoroughly pleased at both successes. And now, for the first time, the Mule had summoned him to personal audience. His legs carried him down the long, glittering highway that led tautly to the sponge-aluminum spires that had been once the residence of the viceroy of Kalgan, who ruled under the old emperors; and that had been later the residence of the independent Princes of Kalgan, who ruled in their own name; and that was now the residence of the First Citizen of the Union, who ruled over an empire of his own. Channis hummed softly to himself. He did not doubt what this was all about. The Second Foundation, naturally! That all-embracing bogey, the mere consideration of which had thrown the Mule back from his policy of limitless expansion into static caution. You read "Second Foundation 1. Two Men and the Mule" in category "Essay examples" The official term was – â€Å"consolidation.† Now there were rumors – you couldn’t stop rumors. The Mule was to begin the offensive once more. The Mule had discovered the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, and would attack The Mule had come to an agreement with the Second Foundation and divided the Galaxy. The Mule had decided the Second Foundation did not exist and would take over all the Galaxy. No use listing all the varieties one heard in the anterooms. It was not even the first time such rumors had circulated. But now they seemed to have more body in them, and all the free, expansive Souls Who** thrived on war, military adventure, and political chaos and withered in times of stability and stagnant peace were joyful. Bail Channis was one of these. He did not fear the mysterious Second Foundation. For that matter, he did not fear the Mule, and boasted of it. Some, perhaps, who disapproved of one at once so young and so well-off, waited darkly for the reckoning with the gay ladies’ man who employed his wit openly at the expense of the Mule’s physical appearance and sequestered life. None dared join him and few dared laugh, but when nothing happened to him, his reputation rose accordingly. Channis was improvising words to the tune he was humming. Nonsense words with the recurrent refrain: â€Å"Second Foundation threatens the Nation and all of Creation.† He was at the palace. The huge, smooth door swung massively open at his approach and he entered. He stepped on to the wide, sweeping ramp that moved upward under him. He rose swiftly in the noiseless elevator. He stood before the small plain door of the Mule’s own room in the highest glitter of the palace spires. It opened- The man who had no name other than the Mule, and no title other than First Citizen looked out through the one-way transparency of the wall to the light and lofty city on the horizon. In the darkening twilight, the stars were emerging, and not one but owed allegiance to him. He smiled with fleeting bitterness at the thought. The allegiance they owed was to a personality few had ever seen. He was not a man to look at, the Mule – not a man to look at without derision. Not more than one hundred and twenty pounds was stretched out into his five-foot-eight length. His limbs were bony stalks that jutted out of his scrawniness in graceless angularity. And his thin face was nearly drowned out in the prominence of a fleshy beak that thrust three inches outward. Only his eyes played false with the general farce that was the Mule. In their softness – a strange softness for the Galaxy’s greatest conqueror – sadness was never entirely subdued. In the city was to be found all the gaiety of a luxurious capital on a luxurious world. He might have established his capital on the Foundation, the strongest of his now-conquered enemies, but it was far out on the very rim of the Galaxy. Kalgan, more centrally located, with a long tradition as aristocracy’s playground, suited him better – strategically. But in its traditional gaiety, enhanced by unheard-of prosperity, he found no peace. They feared him and obeyed him and, perhaps, even respected him – from a goodly distance. But who could look at him without contempt? Only those he had Converted. And of what value was their artificial loyalty? It lacked flavor. He might have adopted titles, and enforced ritual and invented elaborations, but even that would have changed nothing. Better – or at least, no worse – to be simply the First Citizen – and to hide himself. There was a sudden surge of rebellion within him – strong and brutal. Not a portion of the Galaxy must be denied him, For five years he had remained silent and buried here on Kalgan because of the eternal, misty, space-ridden menace of the unseen, unheard, unknown Second Foundation. He was thirty-two. Not old – but he felt old. His body, whatever its mutant mental powers, was physically weak. Every star! Every star he could see – and every star he couldnt see. It must all be his! Revenge on all. On a humanity of which he wasn’t a part. On a Galaxy in which he didn’t fit. The cool, overhead warning light flickered. He could follow the progress of the man who had entered the palace, and simultaneously, as though his mutant sense had been enhanced and sensitized in the lonely twilight, he felt the wash of emotional content touch the fibers of his brain. He recognized the identity without an effort. It was Pritcher. Captain Pritcher of the one-time Foundation. The Captain Pritcher who had been ignored and passed over by the bureaucrats of that decaying government. The Captain Pritcher whose job as petty spy he had wiped out and whom he had lifted from its slime. The Captain Pritcher whom he had made first colonel and then general; whose scope of activity he had made Galaxywide. The now-General Pritcher who was, iron rebel though he began, completely loyal. And yet with all that, not loyal because of benefits gained, not loyal out of gratitude, not loyal as a fair return – but loyal only through the artifice of Conversion. The Mule was conscious of that strong unalterable surface layer of loyalty and love that colored every swirl and eddy of the emotionality of Han Pritcher – the layer he had himself implanted five years before. Far underneath there were the original traces of stubborn individuality, impatience of rule, idealism – but even he, himself, could scarcely detect them any longer. The door behind him opened, and he turned. The transparency of the wall faded to opacity, and the purple evening light gave way to the whitely blazing glow of atomic power. Han Pritcher took the seat indicated. There was neither bowing, nor kneeling nor the use of honorifics in private audiences with the Mule. The Mule was merely â€Å"First Citizen.† He was addressed as â€Å"sir.† You sat in his presence, and you could turn your back on him if it so happened that you did. To Han Pritcher this was all evidence of the sure and confident power of the man. He was warmly satisfied with it. The Mule said: â€Å"Your final report reached me yesterday. I can’t deny that I find it somewhat depressing, Pritcher.† The general’s eyebrows closed upon each other: â€Å"Yes, I imagine so – but I don’t see to what other conclusions I could have come. There just isn’t any Second Foundation, sir.† Arid the Mule considered and then slowly shook his head, as he had done many a time before: â€Å"There’s the evidence of Ebling Mis. There is always the evidence of Ebling Mis.† It was not a new story. Pritcher said without qualification: â€Å"Mis may have been the greatest psychologist of the Foundation, but he was a baby compared to Hari Seldon. At the time he was investigating Seldon’s works, he was under the artificial stimulation of your own brain control. You may have pushed him too far. He might have been wrong. Sir, he must have been wrong.† The Mule sighed, his lugubrious face thrust forward on its thin stalk of a neck. â€Å"If only he had lived another minute. He was on the point of telling me where the Second Foundation was. He knew, I’m telling you. I need not have retreated. I need not have waited and waited. So much time lost. Five years gone for nothing.† Pritcher could not have been censorious over the weak longing of his ruler; his controlled mental make-up forbade that. He was disturbed instead; vaguely uneasy. He said: â€Å"But what alternative explanation can there possibly be, sir? Five times I’ve gone out. You yourself have plotted the routes. And I’ve left no asteroid unturned. It was three hundred years ago that Hari Seldon of the old Empire supposedly established two Foundations to act as nuclei of a new Empire to replace the dying old one. One hundred years after Seldon, the First Foundation – the one we know so well – was known through all the Periphery. One hundred fifty years after Seldon – at the time of the last battle with the old Empire – it was known throughout the Galaxy. And now it’s three hundred years – and where should this mysterious Second be? In no eddy of the Galactic stream has it been heard of.† â€Å"Ebling Mis said it kept itself secret. Only secrecy can turn its weakness to strength.† â€Å"Secrecy as deep as this is past possibility without nonexistence as well.† The Mule looked up, large eyes sharp and wary. â€Å"No. It does exist.† A bony finger pointed sharply. â€Å"There is going to be a slight change in tactics.† Pritcher frowned. â€Å"You plan to leave yourself? I would scarcely advise it.† â€Å"No, of course not. You will have to go out once again – one last time. But with another in joint command.† There was a silence, and Pritcher’s voice was hard, â€Å"Who, Sir?† â€Å"There’s a young man here in Kalgan. Bail Channis.† â€Å"I’ve never heard of him, Sir.† â€Å"No, I imagine not. But he’s got an agile mind, he’s ambitious – and he’s not Converted.† Pritcher’s long jaw trembled for a bare instant, â€Å"I fail to see the advantage in that.† â€Å"There is one, Pritcher. You’re a resourceful and experienced man. You have given me good service. But you are Converted. Your motivation is simply an enforced and helpless loyalty to myself. When you lost your native motivations, you lost something, some subtle drive, that I cannot possibly replace.† â€Å"I don’t feel that, Sir,† said Pritcher grimly. â€Å"I recall myself quite well as I was in the days when I was an enemy of yours. I feel none the inferior.† â€Å"Naturally not,† and the Mule’s mouth twitched into a smile. â€Å"Your judgment in this matter is scarcely objective. This Channis, now, is ambitious – for himself. He is completely trustworthy – out of no loyalty but to himself. He knows that it is on my coattails that he rides and he would do anything to increase my power that the ride might be long and far and that the destination might be glorious. If he goes with you, there is just that added push behind his seeking – that push for himself.’ â€Å"Then,† said Pritcher. still insistent, â€Å"why not remove my own Conversion, if you think that will improve me. I can scarcely be mistrusted, now.† â€Å"That never, Pritcher. While you are within arm’s reach, or blaster reach, of myself, you will remain firmly held in Conversion. If I were to release you this minute, I would be dead the next.† The general’s nostrils flared. â€Å"I am hurt that you should think so.† â€Å"I don’t mean to hurt you, but it is impossible for you to realize what your feelings would be if free to form themselves along the lines of your natural motivation. The human mind resents control. The ordinary human hypnotist cannot hypnotize a person against his will for that reason. I can, because I’m not a hypnotist, and, believe me, Pritcher, the resentment that you cannot show and do not even know you possess is something I wouldn’t want to face.† Pritcher’s head bowed. Futility wrenched him and left him gray and haggard inside. He said with an effort, â€Å"But how can you trust this man. I mean, completely – as you can trust me in my Conversion.† â€Å"Well, I suppose I can’t entirely. That is why you must go with him. You see, Pritcher,† and the Mule buried himself in the large armchair against the soft back of which he looked like an angularly animated toothpick, â€Å"if he should stumble on the Second Foundation – if it should occur to him that an arrangement with them might be more profitable than with me – You understand?† A profoundly satisfied light blazed in Pritcher’s eyes. â€Å"That is better, Sir.† â€Å"Exactly. But remember, he must have a free rein as far as possible.† â€Å"Certainly.† â€Å"And†¦ uh†¦ Pritcher. The young man is handsome, pleasant and extremely charming. Don’t let him fool you. He’s a dangerous and unscrupulous character. Don’t get in his way unless you’re prepared to meet him properly. That’s all.† The Mule was alone again. He let the lights die and the wall before him kicked to transparency again. The sky was purple now, and the city was a smudge of light on the horizon. What was it all for? And if he were the master of all there was – what then? Would it really stop men like Pritcher. from being straight and tall, self-confident, strong? Would Bail Channis lose his looks? Would he himself be other than he was? He cursed his doubts. What was he really after? The cool, overhead warning light flickered. He could follow the progress of the man who had entered the palace and, almost against his will, he felt the soft wash of emotional content touch the fibers of his brain. He recognized the identity without an effort. It was Channis. Here the Mule saw no uniformity, but the primitive diversity of a strong mind, untouched and unmolded except by the manifold disorganizations of the Universe. It writhed in floods and waves. There was caution on the surface, a thin, smoothing effect, but with touches of cynical ribaldry in the hidden eddies of it. And underneath there was the strong flow of self-interest and self-love, with a gush of cruel humor here and there, and a deep, still pool of ambition underlying all. The Mule felt that he could reach out and dam the current, wrench the pool from its basin and turn it in another course, dry up one flow and begin another. But what of it? If he could bend Channis’ curly head in the profoundest adoration, would that change his own grotesquerie that made him shun the day and love the night, that made him a recluse inside an empire that was unconditionally big? The door behind him opened, and he turned. The transparency of the wall faded to opacity, and the darkness gave way to the whitely blazing artifice of atomic power. Bail Channis sat down lightly and said: â€Å"This is a not-quite-unexpected honor, sir.† The Mule rubbed his proboscis with all four fingers at once and sounded a bit irritable in his response. â€Å"Why so, young man?† â€Å"A hunch, I suppose. Unless I want to admit that I’ve been listening to rumors.† â€Å"Rumors? Which one of the several dozen varieties are you referring to?† â€Å"Those that say a renewal of the Galactic Offensive is being planned. It is a hope with me that such is true and that I might play an appropriate part.† â€Å"Then you think there is a Second Foundation?† â€Å"Why not? It would make things so much more interesting.† â€Å"And you find interest in it as well?† â€Å"Certainly. In the very mystery of it! What better subject could you find for conjecture? The newspaper supplements are full of nothing else lately – which is probably significant. The Cosmos had one of its feature writers compose a weirdie about a world consisting of beings of pure mind – the Second Foundation, you see – who had developed mental force to energies large enough to compete with any known to physical science. Spaceships could be blasted light-years away, planets could be turned out of their orbits-â€Å" â€Å"Interesting. Yes. But do you have any notions on the subject? Do you subscribe to this mind-power notion?’ â€Å"Galaxy, no! Do you think creatures like that would stay on their own planet? No, sir. I think the Second Foundation remains hidden because it is weaker than we think.† â€Å"In that case, I can explain myself very easily. How would you like to head an expedition to locate the Second Foundation?† For a moment Channis seemed caught up by the sudden rush of events at just a little greater speed than he was prepared for. His tongue had apparently skidded to a halt in a lengthening silence. The Mule said dryly: â€Å"Well?† Channis corrugated his forehead. â€Å"Certainly. But where am I to go? Have you any information available?† â€Å"General Pritcher will be with you-â€Å" â€Å"Then I’m not to head it?† â€Å"Judge for yourself when I’m done. Listen, you’re not of the Foundation. You’re a native of Kalgan, aren’t you? Yes. Well, then, your knowledge of the Seldon plan may be vague. When the first Galactic Empire was falling, Hari Seldon and a group of psychohistorians, analyzing the future course of history by mathematical tools no longer available in these degenerate times, set up two Foundations, one at each end of the Galaxy, in such a way that the economic and sociological forces that were slowly evolving, would make them serve as foci for the Second Empire. Hari Seldon planned on a thousand years to accomplish that – and it would have taken thirty thousand without the Foundations. But he couldn’t count on me. I am a mutant and I am unpredictable by psychohistory which can only deal with the average reactions of numbers. Do you understand?† â€Å"Perfectly, sir. But how does that involve me?’ â€Å"You’ll understand shortly. I intend to unite the Galaxy now – and reach Seldon’s thousand-year goal in three hundred. One Foundation – the world of physical scientists – is still flourishing, under me. Under the prosperity and order of the Union, the atomic weapons they have developed are capable of dealing with anything in the Galaxy – except perhaps the Second Foundation. So I must know more about it. General Pritcher is of the definite opinion that it does not exist at all. I know otherwise.† Channis said delicately: â€Å"How do you know, sir?† And the Mule’s words were suddenly liquid indignation: â€Å"Because minds under my control have been interfered with. Delicately! Subtly! But not so subtly that I couldn’t notice. And these interferences are increasing, and hitting valuable men at important times. Do you wonder now that a certain discretion has kept me motionless these years? â€Å"That is your importance. General Pritcher is the best man left me, so he is no longer safe. Of course, he does not know that. But you are Unconverted and therefore not instantly detectable as a Mule’s man. You may fool the Second Foundation longer than one of my own men would – perhaps just sufficiently longer. Do you understand?† â€Å"Um-m-m. Yes. But pardon me, sir, if I question you. How are these men of yours disturbed, so that I might detect change in General Pritcher, in case any occurs. Are they Unconverted again? Do they become disloyal?† â€Å"No. I told you it was subtle. It’s more disturbing than that, because its harder to detect and sometimes I have to wait before acting, uncertain whether a key man is being normally erratic or has been tampered with. Their loyalty is left intact, but initiative and ingenuity are rubbed out. I’m left with a perfectly normal person, apparently, but one completely useless. In the last year, six have been so treated. Six of my best.† A corner of his mouth lifted. â€Å"They’re in charge of training bases now – and my most earnest wishes go with them that no emergencies come up for them to decide upon.† â€Å"Suppose, sir†¦ suppose it were not the Second Foundation. What if it were another, such as yourself – another mutant?† â€Å"The planning is too careful, too long range. A single man would be in a greater hurry. No, it is a world, and you are to be my weapon against it.† Channis’ eyes shone as he said: â€Å"I’m delighted at the chance.† But the Mule caught the sudden emotional upwelling. He said: â€Å"Yes, apparently it occurs to you, that you will perform a unique service, worthy of a unique reward – perhaps even that of being my successor. Quite so. But there are unique punishments, too, you know. My emotional gymnastics are not confined to the creation of loyalty alone.† And the little smile on his thin lips was grim, as Channis leaped out of his seat in horror. For just an instant, just one, flashing instant, Channis had felt the pang of an overwhelming grief close over him. It had slammed down with a physical pain that had blackened his mind unbearably, and then lifted. Now nothing was left but the strong wash of anger. The Mule said: â€Å"Anger won’t help†¦ yes, you’re covering it up now, aren’t you? But I can see it. So just remember – that sort of business can be made more intense and kept up. I’ve killed men by emotional control, and there’s no death crueler.† He paused: â€Å"That’s all!† The Mule was alone again. He let the lights die and the wall before him kicked to transparency again. The sky was black, and the rising body of the Galactic Lens was spreading its bespanglement across the velvet depths of space. All that haze of nebula was a mass of stars so numerous that they melted one into the other and left nothing but a cloud of light. And all to be his- And now but one last arrangement to make, and he could sleep. First Interlude The Executive Council of the Second Foundation was in session. To us they are merely voices. Neither the exact scene of the meeting nor the identity of those present are essential at the point. Nor, strictly speaking, can we even consider an exact reproduction of any part of the session – unless we wish to sacrifice completely even the minimum comprehensibility we have a right to expect. We deal here with psychologists – and not merely psychologists. Let us say, rather, scientists with a psychological orientation. That is, men whose fundamental conception of scientific philosophy is pointed in an entirely different direction from all of the orientations we know. The â€Å"psychology† of scientists brought up among the axioms deduced from the observational habits of physical science has only the vaguest relationship to PSYCHOLOGY. Which is about as far as I can go in explaining color to a blind man – with myself as blind as the audience. The point being made is that the minds assembled understood thoroughly the workings of each other, not only by general theory but by the specific application over a long period of these theories to particular individuals. Speech as known to us was unnecessary. A fragment of a sentence amounted almost to long-winded redundancy. A gesture, a grunt, the curve of a facial line – even a significantly timed pause yielded informational juice. The liberty is taken, therefore, of freely translating a small portion of the conference into the extremely specific word-combinations necessary to minds oriented from childhood to a physical science philosophy, even at the risk of losing the more delicate nuances. There was one â€Å"voice† predominant, and that belonged to the individual known simply as the First Speaker. He said: â€Å"It is apparently quite definite now as to what stopped the Mule in his first mad rush. I can’t say that the matter reflects credit upon†¦ well, upon the organization of the situation. Apparently, he almost located us, by means of the artificially heightened brain-energy of what they call a ‘psychologist’ on the First Foundation. This psychologist was killed just before he could communicate his discovery to the Mule. The events leading to that killing were completely fortuitous for all calculations below Phase Three. Suppose you take over.† It was the Fifth Speaker who was indicated by an inflection of the voice. He said, in grim nuances: â€Å"It is certain that the situation was mishandled. We are, of course, highly vulnerable under mass attack, particularly an attack led by such a mental phenomenon as the Mule. Shortly after he first achieved Galactic eminence with the conquest of the First Foundation, half a year after to be exact, he was on Trantor. Within another half year he would have been here and the odds would have been stupendously against us – 96.3 plus or minus 0.05% to be exact. We have spent considerable time analyzing the forces that stopped him. We know, of course, what was driving him on so in the first place. The internal ramifications of his physical deformity and mental uniqueness are obvious to all of us. However, it was only through penetration to Phase Three that we could determine – after the fact – tbe possibility of his anomalous action in the presence of another human b eing who had an honest affection for him. â€Å"And since such an anomalous action would depend upon the presence of such another human being at the appropriate time, to that extent the whole affair was fortuitous. Our agents are certain that it was a girl that killed the Mule’s psychologist – a girl for whom the Mule felt trust out of sentiment, and whom he, therefore, did not control mentally – simply because she liked him. â€Å"Since that event – and for those who want the details, a mathematical treatment of the subject has been drawn up for the Central Library – which warned us, we have held the Mule off by unorthodox methods with which we daily risk SeIdon’s entire scheme of history. That is all.† The First Speaker paused an instant to allow the individuals assembled to absorb the full implications. He said: â€Å"The situation is then highly unstable. With Seldon’s original scheme bent to the fracture point – and I must emphasize that we have blundered badly in this whole matter, in our horrible lack of foresight – we are faced with an irreversible breakdown of the Plan. Time is passing us by. I think there is only one solution left us – and even that is risky. â€Å"We must allow the Mule to find us – in a sense.† Another pause, in which he gathered the reactions, then: â€Å"I repeat – in a sense!† How to cite Second Foundation 1. Two Men and the Mule, Essay examples

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Company Officials and Lower-Level Employees

Questions: 1. Casting the problem as one of poor communication between company officials and lower-level employees, what steps could be taken to fill everyone in on the company's plans, goals, and activities? 2. Give examples from your own workplace regarding differences in culture and nationality that can create poor communication. 3. What strategies does your organization have in place to deal with cultural differences and communication? Answers: 1. Required steps to be taken to fill everyone in the goals, plans and activities of the company In order to establish a strong business relationship in business, it is required to have an effective communication among the employers and the employees. Wilson (2013) has stated that no matter how minor or major the lack of communication is in the organization, poor communication would certainly strain the productivity of any of the companies. It can be stated that failure to communicate efficiently most of the times leads to conflict that can harm an organization (Covello et al., 2012). In order to deal with these situations carefully, initially it is required to assess communication level. In order to do that, it is necessary to incorporate simple one-to-one weekly meetings with the employees, as this assists in help in opening the lines of effectively (Jafri, 2012). Apart from that, it can be stated that a secure intranet site in the company is ideal for publishing information, especially data of broad-cast type. Discussion regarding the goal of the company along with the upcoming plans with the employees openly and listening to their opinions as well would enhance the situation. If the employees feel valued enough in the organization, the issue of poor communication might be solved (Symon Cassell, 2012). 2. Examples regarding differences in culture and nationality that might cause poor communication Gender discrimination, race and religion discriminations are some of the most common issues that cause poor communication among the employees of the company. Apart from that, it can be seen that the international companies face language barriers and this hampers the communication system. Moreover, the open culture and conservative culture is another major constraint in case of communication in different parts of the globe. Besides languages and signs, stereotypes and prejudices are another major part that contributes in poor communication. Stereotyping can be done based on nationality, gender, race, religion, ethnicity along with age and some other factors (Covello et al., 2012). Therefore, it can be stated that Ethnocentrism must not be entertained in any of the companies, as this culture sheds light on dividing the culture as us and them. Frames of reference, political opinions, priorities to life and age are some other cultural barriers that indulge in poor communication largely i n several companies (Covello et al., 2012). 3. Strategies adopted by the company to deal with cultural differences and communications Many companies that face poor communication in the work place generally focus on several strategies that would help the company to deal with the situation. They tend to use multiple channels for the organizational communication, make the significant and the necessary messages recurring enough. Apart from that, they shed importance on listening, as this is vital during the one to one communication session (Ulmer, Sellnow Seeger, 2013). Moreover, it can be seen that the management of most of the companies getting the message across, and to do this, they are required to speak openly and honestly and be enough straightforward. Finally, the most effective strategy in this case is handling the addressed communications problems properly like conflict and difficulties on resolving the issues, misunderstanding and some others (Ulmer, Sellnow Seeger, 2013). References Covello, V. T., McCallum, D. B., Pavlova, M. T. (Eds.). (2012).Effective risk communication: the role and responsibility of government and nongovernment organizations(Vol. 4). Springer Science Business Media. Jafri, M. H. (2012). Influence of psychological contract breach on organizational citizenship behaviour and trust.Psychological Studies,57(1), 29-36. Symon, G., Cassell, C. (Eds.). (2012).Qualitative organizational research: core methods and current challenges. Sage. Ulmer, R. R., Sellnow, T. L., Seeger, M. W. (2013).Effective crisis communication: Moving from crisis to opportunity. Sage Publications. Wilson, F. M. (2013).Organizational behaviour and work: a critical introduction. Oxford University Press.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Data Analysis of American House Price Essay Example

Data Analysis of American House Price Essay 1. Terms of Reference This report is the outcome of an analysis and investigation of American house price in order to consider which factor influence the price. It is submitted as my project for Essential Data Analysis module on the Business Studies Programme. 2. Executive Summary The data was investigated using the software Minitab ver. 14. This program is very useful for analyzing big data set faster and easier. Through Minitab were created a graph for each requested point. In order o make the graph more understandable, it is provided a table with the more relevant statistic information. This allows a more comprehensive and understandable reading of the report and an easier and more efficient comparison among 2 or more variables in order to make a proper analysis. Correlation and Regression analysis was applied in order to establish the relationship between the price with the size and the distance to the nearest large town. We will write a custom essay sample on Data Analysis of American House Price specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Data Analysis of American House Price specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Data Analysis of American House Price specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The data set given as a sample to analyse contain data collected of 100 houses in America from 5 different township numbered from 1 to 5. Each house is described by its price, size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, if it has or nor a pool and a garage, the distance from the nearest large town, how desirable it is (scale of value among 1 = very undesirable to 7 = most desirable), the township of belonging and its age. The aim of this report is to assess and evaluate the distribution of house price in America in the 5 townships used as sample. A conclusion is provided to summarise all the findings, interpretations and explanations followed by suitable suggestions. This report should help an investor to have a more clear background of which factor take into consideration before buying a house. 3. Introduction House and properties are ones of the fixed assets that have shown to have an increasing trend of value. Every year house prices in America increase with the inflation and gain even more value. The same applies worldwide to most of the house values. As the value of houses tend to increase overtime, a lot of people have decided to invest in properties. However, there are more factors to take into consideration before buying a house in order to evaluate if it worth the money asked on the market and if it will keep and increase its value. 4. Statistical Analysis: Findings The Findings of the report has been dived into 3 parts: a. The overall distribution of the house prices in the survey; this take into account all the house price within the 5 township without distinguishing for any other factor such as bedrooms and bathrooms number or size. b. An examination of the proportion of the houses with a pool. This proportion was then investigated in relation to the garage and in the 5 townships. c. An investigation of possible factors affecting the price such as the presence of a pool, the relationship with its size, the possibility of a link with the desirability and the distance to the nearest large town. 4.1 Overall Distribution of the house price By lLooking at Graph 1 it appears that the overall distribution is symmetrical. This is confirmed by comparing the value of the mean with the median: as the two figures have approximately the same value, it implies that the distribution is roughly symmetrical. The mean is the sum of all values divided by the datea set, 100. The distribution of house price varies between a minimum value of $127,70 and a maximum of $284,00 with a range of $156,30. However, 25% of the houses have a price between the minimum value of $127,70 and the value of the first quartile $179,93. 25% of the houses have a value between the third quartile $221,15 and the maximum value $284,00. The graph clearly shows that there is a higher concentration of houses with a price between Q1 ($127,70) and Q3 ($221,15). These represent 50% of the overall distribution. The value of the standard deviation indicates how spread are the data is spread in respect to the mean. 4.2 Examination of house with a pool As shown in the Graph 2 above, 55% of the houses (that represent 55 out of 100 houses in the data set given) have a pool. In the Minitab output the percentage equal the count because it is out of a sample of 100. As a result, 45% of the houses analysed does not have a pool. The Graph 3 shows the proportion of the houses with a pool and a garage. By looking at the table it is clear that the majority of the houses with a pool have also a garage, with 58,18% (32 out of 55 houses with a pool); while 41,82% (23 out of 55) houses with a pool do not have a garage. However, for houses without a pool, the proportion of houses without a garage is higher than houses with a pool where 82,22% (37 out of 45 houses) do not have a pool nor a garage. It is evident from Graph 4 that the proportion of the houses with a pool is not the same in all the 5 townships. In township 5, all the houses (100%) have a pool; followed by township 4 with a 94,4% of the houses. On the other extreme there is township 1 with only 13,33% (2 out of 15 houses) have a pool, followed by township 2 with 22,22% (6 out of 27 houses). As table 4 shows the proportion of houses with a pool are in ascending order with the number of township: township 1 has the lowest percentage and township 5 has the highest. This could be a coincidence. However, on the overall distribution, township 4 has the highest percentage of houses with a pool, with 32,73% (18 out of 55 total houses with a pool). 4.3 Investigation of Factors affecting the house price The box plot clearly shows that the overall distribution of the price for the houses with a pool is higher than houses without a pool. By comparing the data from table 5 it is clear that all the values relative to the distribution (mean, median, min, 1st quartile, 3rd quartile and maximum) for houses with a pool are higher. This leads to state that the houses with a pool are generally more expensive that houses without. Moreover, by comparing the mean and the median value for both groups, it is possible to identify that the distribution for the houses without a pool is skewed to the left or negatively skewed. This indicates that there are a few extreme low values that pull down the value of the mean. However, the * indicates that there is also an extreme high value of $250,20. By comparing at in the same way the houses with a pool it emerges that the distribution is roughly symmetrical because the value of the mean and the median are very close. Another important consideration about the distribution is given by the quartiles that in the graph are represented by the lower and higher limits of the boxes. The 1st quartile of the houses with a pool ($195,90) is higher than the 3rd quartile of houses without a pool ($192,05). This implies that 75% of houses without a pool haves prices similar to the lowest 25% of houses with a pool. However, the standard deviation measures how spread the data set is. The houses with a pool have a higher standard deviation, which impliesy that they have a more variable set in which each value is more distant to each other and to the mean while they are slightly more concentrate for the houses without a pool. By comparing the values of the range and inter-quartile range in relation with the standard deviation, it is clear that the houses with a pool have a higher dispersion in price and the prices are more spread out than houses without a pool. The scatter plot in graph 6 gives an indication that there is a relationship between the house price and the size of the house. The upward trend indicates that there is a positive linear relationship as both variables are moving in the same direction: when the size rises, the price rises as well. In this case it worth to continue investigating the relationship. However, the point are scattered quite broadly, so it is necessary to analyse the value of r in order to determine how strong the relationship is. The correlation coefficient (0,65) indicates that there is a positive (given by the sign +) relationship, and not very strong given by the value being lower than 0,8. The regression equation is Price = -11,1 + 0,0979 * sqrFt However, the value of the intercept is not statistically meaningful. This is given by the value T being -0,44 and also because logically a house price cannot be negative. In spite of this, the model is still good because the value T of the gradient (or slop) is statistically significant as T = 8,46. Nevertheless, the slope is very low and it indicates in increment of $0,0979 for each extra sqrFt. The value of R-Sq suggests that only 42.2% of the house prices are explained by the size. This implies that there are other more significant factors that explain the changes in price. By eye it is also possible to estimate that the houses with a square feeootage between 1900sqrFt and 2300sqrFt are more frequent. However, it is important to consider that this graph takes in consideration the houses over the 5 townships with or without pool and with different numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms numbers. The scatter plot shows the relationship between the house price and the distance to the nearest large town. It actually clearly illustrates that there is not a relationship between the two variables. This is confirmed by the correlation coefficient equal to 0,042. Moreover, as it is explained by the R-sq value, only 0,2% of the house price is related to this relationship. It is not necessary to continue this investigation any further. 5. Conclusion The following is a summary based on the findings: 1. The overall price distribution is roughly symmetrical and there is a higher concentration (50%) of houses with a price between $127,70 (Q1) and $221,15 (Q3). (Graph 1 Table 1) 2. The proportion of houses with a pool is slightly higher than houses without a pool: 55% against 45%. (Graph 2 Table 2) 3. The majority of houses with a pool have also a garage but the highest proportion does not have neither of the two. (Graph 3 Table 2) 4. The percentage of houses with a pool increase with the township with number 1 having a minority of houses with a pool and 5 having 100% of houses with a pool. 3 out of 5 towns have a higher proportion of houses with a pool. (Graph 4 Table 4) 5. Houses with a pool are more expensive that houses without. 75% of houses without a pool have a lower price than the 25% lowest prices for houses with a pool. (Graph 5 -Table5) 6. There is a positive relationship between the price and the size of the house; although this relationship is not very strong. Per each extra square feet the price rise of $ 0,0979. There is a higher concentration of houses with square footage between 1900sqrft and 2300sqrft. (Graph 6 Table 6) 7. There is a link between the price and the desirability of a house. However, this relationship is not very strong. (Graph 7 Table 7) 8. The distance between the house and a large city does not affect the price. (Graph 8 Table 8) 6. Recommendations Based on the above conclusions of the analysis, the following are suggestions for an investor interested in buying a house in one of the 5 townships: 1. The most popular and thus more demanded price for a house is between $127,70 and $221,15. For a Luxury house the highest demand would be between $245 and $275. Over this amount the demand is very low which imply that it is very exclusive. It depends by the main aim of the investor. 2. There is a slightly higher demand for houses with a pool. 3. If the investor decides to buy a house with a pool, it is suggestible to have a garage as well. Otherwise it is more convenient to have a house without any of the two. 4. If the house is in township 3 to 5, it is highly recommend to have a pool, especially for the last one. 5. The pool will make a huge difference for the value of the house. The value will rise by about 75% if it has a pool. 6. The bigger the house is, the more it values. However, houses with less than 1900sqrft are not very demanded. There is a medium demand for houses with a bigger size. 7. Desirability scale 6 has a highest average and median price and it had a good demand. 8. It is not relevant the distance between the house and a big city. NOTES: All the figures used to refer to the price are expressed as thousands of dollars ($ ,000). In order to determinate the demand, it has been used the assumption that the higher frequency has a higher demand. For example: in township 5 all the houses have a pool. It implies that every

Thursday, March 5, 2020

15 Groovy, Awesome, Swell and Cool Words

15 Groovy, Awesome, Swell and Cool Words 15 Groovy, Awesome, Swell and Cool Words 15 Groovy, Awesome, Swell and Cool Words By Michael Whats your favorite word of compliment or admiration? How do you express approval? These are important questions for each generation of young people, who want their vocabulary to distinguish them from previous generations. Its not fool-proof: a slang expression of approval is often fashionable in one place or time but not another, and may even coming back into fashion later. A word that is fashionable in one school might be considered outdated in another. Perhaps the longest reigning compliment is Cool! after an unusual run of popularity among several generations of young people, it remains fashionable in 2019. But in the last century, dozens of similar words have come in and out of fashion. ace Meant top quality, as in the highest playing card in a standard deck. A flying ace in World War I meant a pilot who had shot down five or more planes in combat. A student who gets an A on a test can say, I aced it! But once upon a time, it was used as a positive exclamation: Ace! meant Great! awesome typical of GenX youth (those born roughly between 1961 and 1981), but also used by American preteens in 2019. Example: This popcorn is awesome! One of several contemporary uses of a stronger word in a weaker sense, awesome originally means producing terror, then full of awe or awe: The volcano erupted in an awesome shower of fire. More recently, it has been used for anything thats moderately interesting (such as rocks, socks and clocks in the Lego Movie song Everything is Awesome.) Perhaps this usage expresses a hope for a life thats more than moderately interesting, or else, youthful enthusiasm. bad An example of contrarianism in youth slang (bad means good), but still with the original connotation of rough or evil. That is, a girl would not say, Oooh, thats a bad bouquet of flowers! Thank you! Ill put them in a vase right now. bully One of the favorite adjectives of U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, meaning grand or excellent. Used in this sense in Great Britain by 1680 and revived in popularity America around 1844 (Bully for you!). Its meaning changed from the Middle Dutch boele, meaning lover or boyfriend, later probably used similarly to Ooh, your boele is really bad! I like him! to the current sense of someone who is cruel to those weaker than himself. But when Roosevelt was President (1901 to 1909), it was probably as popular as cool is today, and meant approximately the same thing. cool This word has also kept its Old English meaning of low temperature. Someone with a cool head is not hot-headed or easily angered he has control of his passions. But a dispassionate person might also lack compassion for others, an implication of cool in the 1957 musical West Side Story. In the 1940s, tenor saxophonist Lester Young popularized the word as an expression of calm approval and satisfaction. If you ask teens in the Teens if they need anything, maybe something to eat or drink, they may respond, No, Im cool or No, Im good. It has been spelled kewl, but thats now dated or ironic. crack Used in the phrase crack shot, an accurate marksman, but it means good or skilled in general. Samuel Johnsons dictionary definition involved quickness or smartness. epic Frequently used by young gamers but common among many young male Americans, meaning very cool and exciting, Originally used for important events or great objects worthy of long works of heroic poetry such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, Beowulf, and Paradise Lost. Political campaigners like to refer to the epic accomplishments of their candidate, if any, the last time her or she was in office, if ever. groovy Popular in the 1960s among surfers and hippies. It even became the title of a Los Angeles television show in 1967, live from the beach in Santa Monica. But it originated in the Jazz Era of the 1920s, from the phrase in the groove, referring to the groove on vinyl records. If you were in the groove, you were part of the latest music scene. gucci From the high-quality clothing line, used by YouTuber Matt Smith to mean high quality or good. When a former enemy becomes your friend, you can say about your relationship, Its all gucci. In a 1999 magazine interview in Harpers Bazaar, singer Lenny Kravitz calls his bedroom very Gucci. hep According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word hep was first used in 1862 to mark the cadence of a march, like this: HEP 2 3 4 HEP 2 3 4 The words Left left left-right-left served the same purpose and also made it clear which foot you should put forward when. By 1900, it had already begun to mean trendy. decades before it was adopted by beatniks and hippies. hip Originally spelled hep, this word referred to the most current-conscious residents of the 1960s. Someone who was hip knew all the latest jargon, wore the latest fashions, and understood the latest ideas. To say Im hip with that meant I know what youre talking about and I agree. So a hippie at the time was someone who was very hip. Of course, being trendy is a moving target the word was first used in this sense in 1904, and trends have changed substantially since then. mod Beginning about 1958, the mod youth culture was typified by young sharp-dressing, scooter-riding working class Londoners, but spread around the world. So in the early 1960s, if something was mod, it was trendy. Long after mod stopped being a common compliment, an American TV series called The Mod Squad debuted in 1968 and ran until 1973. Its young undercover detective stars were more hip than mod, using solid and groovy as their compliments. The word was revived effectively later according to a middle-aged GenXer, That word was so 80s. sick Another example of contrarianism in youth slang. Being ill is disagreeable, but something that is sick is attractive. In other words, calling a skateboard sick is an expression of admiration. On Mark McCrindles list of the most annoying youth phrases in Australia, fully sick is number 2. swell By 1786, a swell was a dandy, a fashionable person with a swollen sense of self-importance. But it became an exclamation of admiration. In the musical The Music Man, set in 1912, Professor Harold Hill warns parents against sinister influences on their sons: Are certain words creeping into his conversation? Words like like swell! But it was too late: by 1930, expressions such as Thats just swell! had become common in the United States. wild The theme song of The Patty Duke Show (1963-1966) says about the two main characters (both played by Patty Duke) What a wild duet! Perhaps a 1960s reaction to the staid 1950s, where wild behavior was not acceptable. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of Adjectives40 Synonyms for â€Å"Different†Types of Plots

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

The connectionist model theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The connectionist model theory - Essay Example In Experiment 2, the prime–target pairs had different main verbs. Facilitated target sentence processing was observed in both Experiments 1 and 2 when the target sentences were preceded by a prime sentence with the same syntactic structure. These results provide the first evidence of lexically independent, between-sentence structural priming in online sentence comprehension. Abstract: Strong evidence suggests that prior syntactic context affects language production (e.g., J. K. Bock, 1986). The authors report 4 experiments that used an expression–picture matching task to investigate whether it also affects ambiguity resolution in comprehension. All experiments examined the interpretation of prepositional phrases that were ambiguous between high and low attachment. After reading a prime expression with a high-attached interpretation, participants tended to interpret an ambiguous prepositional phrase in a target expression as highly attached if it contained the same verb as the prime (Experiment 1), but not if it contained a different verb (Experiment 2). They also tended to adopt the high-attached interpretation after producing a prime with the high-attached interpretation that included the same verb (Experiment 3). Finally, they were faster to adopt a high-attached interpretation after reading an expression containing the same verb that was disambiguated to the high-attached versus the low-attached interpretation (Experiment 4). Attachment during Comprehension.† Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition. 2005. Vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 468-481. 16 February 2011

Monday, February 3, 2020

Compare two Faulkner stories, A rose for Emily'' and '' Barn Burning Essay

Compare two Faulkner stories, A rose for Emily'' and '' Barn Burning '' in terms of the author's ideas and the - Essay Example The town’s people felt sorry for her after the death of her father. They were curious about her way of living and they kept a close watch on Emily. She again suffered a major blow when she got close to a newcomer in town known as Homer Borron who refused to marry her. But she found out her own way to deal with the situation and poisoned him and kept his body with her for thirty years. This was discovered in the end when she died and his body was found in her house. On the other hand Barn Burning is a story revolving around a troubled man known as Abner Snopes. Abner Snopes has always been involved in troubling other people as he is accused from the very beginning of the burning the barn of Mr Harris. Abner Snopes is presumably suffering from sort of problem because of which he cannot compromise with the circumstances of his life. He has two a son named Sartoris who has a role to play in informing the authorities about the actions of his father. After being accused Snopes is as ked to leave the city which he does in a timely manner. He joins the farm of Mr de Spain where he is again accused for ruining the rug of the owner. In the latter part of the story Snopes is again seen to be planning a fire on the barn of de Spain. His son Sartoris informs de Spain indirectly about the fire and runs away hearing gun shots in the end from the barn. The story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† presents Emily as a very stubborn lady who lives her life in her own way and finds her own ways to deal with situations. She constructs her own ways and methods to lead her life and does not care about the restrictions of society. This can be seen when Emily refuses to pay the taxes and the stubbornness she shows towards the pharmacist when she asks for arsenic without a prescription and does not abide by the rules. She also poisons Homer Barron when he refuses to marry her to keep him with her. This is against the norms of the society but she has her own way of living. Considering the other story of Barn Burning it can be seen that the character of Snopes is almost the same as that of Emily. It is seen that both characters face from some sort of difficulty in coping up with the matters of life. Emily has been left secluded all her life whereas Snopes even with a family cannot keep a control on his temper. Snopes also has a very bad temper as it can be witnessed from the story. He ends up revenging at different instances as shown by William Faulkner. He burns the barn of Mr Harris when he asked to pay a dollar for his hog entering into his premises and he attempts to burn the barn of Mr de Spain too when he accuses him of ruining the rug. This clearly shows that both the characters share certain characteristics which make them revenge. Both the characters are stubborn in their language and this can be witnessed in their actions respectively. It is because of this stubbornness that Emily ends up killing Homer Barron and Snopes hitting Sartoris. Isolation is a t heme which can be found in both the stories of William Faulkner. Sartoris is an example of a character in Barn Burning who has been living in isolation from other children of the town. Same is the case with Emily who has been living in isolation because she was never allowed to interact with the people living in the town. Both the characters underwent a change because of the isolation that they were living in. Sartoris acts in a different manner as he betrays the loyalty promised to his family whereas Emily cannot withstand

Sunday, January 26, 2020

The effects of rape on victims

The effects of rape on victims Irina Anderson explores the current rape perception of both male and female rape and whether the respondents gender affects this perception in a journal article called What is a typical rape? Effects of victims and participants gender in female and male perception which was published in The British Journal of Social Psychology. This article also investigates the cultural lag theory of male rape. The findings in this study demonstrate that, contrary to predictions made at the start of the article, when asked to describe a typical rape, male and female, it was the stranger rape stereotype that was the prevailing way most used to describe this. It was also shown that instead of lagging behind female rape according to the stranger-acquaintance dimension, male rape was conceptualized in terms of other factor, for example sexual orientation, which were often deemed homophobic. I found this journal article interesting and accessible to read. After reading the hypothesis proposed at the begi nning of the article, I was intrigued to see that many of the predictions were in fact proved false at the end of the article, for example it was predicted that when asked to describe a typical rape participants would describe an acquaintance rape where as in previous years the stranger rape stereotype was the way most described a typical rape. However the results of this study show that in fact the stranger rape stereotype is still the predominant way people imagine a typical rape. This led me to question how much rape perception has actually changed in our society. I also found that both the aims and findings of the research were clear, accurate and relevant; they were clearly laid out and overall I found the article effortless to read. In addition the acknowledgment of the limitation to the research enhanced the article. The article begins by giving a brief summary of previous studies and research which has been carried out to investigate the same research topic. The ideas of acquaintance rape, where the victim is raped by someone known to them e.g. boyfriend, date, relative, friend, and stranger rape stereotype, where the victim is raped by someone unknown to them, are introduced and the ideas surrounding them are discussed. For example acquaintance rape is usually expected to happen indoors and the victim having spent time with the perpetrator prior to the rape. In contrast stranger rape is expected to happen outdoors, usually at night where the victim is grabbed, overpowered and raped. Date rape s also briefly discussed and used to support predictions that rape perceptions has changed considerably in the last few years due to increased media coverage of the topic. The issue of male rape is then raised and questions are raised such as are men raped in the same circumstances as women? It is describe d as more frequent phenomenon than previously believed. The ignorance and disbelief surrounding male rape creates myths and misconceptions in society for example Most men who are raped are homosexuals. This makes some researchers believe that male rape perception is lagging behind that of female rape, that is current male rape perception is at the stage female rape perception was at years ago in terms of the knowledge people have of it. I believe the author has succeeded in successfully introducing the research topic and conveying the main aims of the research. The one possible fault I have for the introduction is that the author does not discuss why she feels the topic of research is important and why she decided to carry out the study. I believe this would enhance the article even more for the reader. In the method section of this article Anderson explains in detail how the study was carried out. She describes how one hundred and nineteen undergraduate students were asked to take part; she also lists their gender and ethnicity. The participants were asked to describe what they believe to be a typical rape. Both male and female were included. The gender of the participant and the gender of the victim were the independent variables. Participants were assigned randomly so that women could be assigned to either a female rape or a male rape. Similarly men could be assigned to either female rape or male rape. They were asked to include details that led to the incident, details of the incident itself and details following the rape. Characteristics of the victims and the perpetrator including feelings and thoughts were also asked for. Anderson then moves on to describe how these accounts of typical rapes given by participants were analyzed. She describes the coding manuals given to coders who must sort the participants text into text which adhere to characteristics of the stranger rape stereotype and those which describe an acquaintance rape. This is the most important section of the article; any deficiencies would undermine the validity of the results. The only deficiency I could locate in this section was the fact that all the participants were university students; however the author recognizes this as a limitation at the conclusion of the article. Overall I found this section of the article to give a very comprehensive account of how the study was carried out. It covers all aspects that are important to the aims of the article. In my opinion the results section of this article is excellent. The findings are clearly laid out for the reader. Headings help divide the finding into different sections for example testing hypothesis 1 and frequency of category use in female rape. These headings also help list the results in terms of the original research question and predictions given at the beginning of the article. Tables are also used which illustrate different types of categories of description used by participants and the number of female and male who used these categories. Direct quotations are also inserted to give the reader insight into the types of descriptions participants gave which I found very interesting e.g.: due to the physical difficulty of male rape the perpetrator would typically be larger and stronger than the victim. The author acknowledges the results do not match the predictions made at the beginning and explains the possible reasons for this by stating perhaps researchers presumption that societies rape perception has evolved is in fact false and perhaps our perceptions have not progressed as much as it was thought. The cultural lag theory of male rape was only partly supported by the findings. Although female rape was described more in terms of acquaintance rape than male rape, the other aspect of the theory, that male rape would be described in terms of stranger rape stereotype more than female rape, was not supported. In fact many other factors played a part in the description of male rape such as penetration, the rapists strength and power over the victim and the victims shame and humiliation. Thus proving that female and male rapes are conceptualized along different continuums. The results overall highlight the importance of periodically examining rape perception and the effects of gender. The discussion section addresses the main findings of the article and any new information gained which can be added onto previous information discovered in previous research. Anderson discusses the reasons behind the participants which described a typical rape in terms of the stranger rape stereotype. It is here blame attributions are discussed. Anderson notes it is a possibility that participant didnt write more about acquaintance rape as they assumed the victim would therefore be more blameworthy. This is strengthened by the fact that women, when describing a female rape, used the stranger rape theory more than men and similarly men, when describing a male rape, used the stranger rape stereotype more than women. This perhaps proves that when writing about a victim of their own gender they preferred the stranger rape stereotype as they believed it would steer the blame away from the victim. In my opinion this article contains all the key elements of a good journal article. From the beginning the author explains clearly the key arguments and main points of the text. She also includes relevant background information and makes concrete predictions. The method and results of the study are clearly laid out and are easy to follow. Another aspect covered in the text is the acknowledgment of its limitations. Any good journal article is aware of the limitations of the findings and in this article they are clear. The way in which male rape is discussed is quite interesting as it not a subject many articles discuss. The idea of the lag theory was also remarkable, that the situation of male rape perception in society today was that of female rape years ago. Also the fact that males themselves described male rape in a homophobic and mocking tone intrigued me. For example, one of the two bufties edge towards the lone man. One of the very few limitations in this text is that all the p articipants were students from one university, a population which may be more aware of rape than the general population. It is noted that a study of the perceptions of rape held by police, medical personnel and juries may enhance findings in the future. Another fault I have with this article is that I believe the author should go into more detail on why she thinks this research is important and why she decided to conduct this study. In addition, while reading the findings of this research it struck me that another reason the majority of participants chose a scenario which adheres to the stranger rape stereotype is they may feel under stress to give certain answer or they may try to please the researchers by giving the answer they believe the researchers desire. In conclusion, I found this article to be comprehensive, relevant and interesting. All main ideas are clearly stated and concrete predictions are made from the start. The results examine the effects of gender in rape conceptualization and the importance of examining male rape alongside female rape to gain further insight into the differences in gender perception. A broader source of participants is acknowledged as a future improvement that could be made to studies such as these. The results section of the paper is, to me, the most impressive section. The findings are examined in a concise manner, taking particular notice of the reasons the results contradict the predictions made at the start. Overall I think this is an excellent example of a psychological journal article, it adheres to all the guidelines which helps make a journal article impressive and overall I found it hard to fault