History Marking Scheme

Junior Certificate History Exam 2012 (Higher Level) 180 marks 150 minutes   S. 1 Pictures (15 marks) (8 ? %) 3 Pictures with 3 questions each S. 2 Documents (15 marks) (8 ? %) 2 Documents with 4/5 questions each S. 3 Short Questions (20 marks) (11 %) 20 Short Questions – Do TEN at least S. 4 People in History (40 marks – 2 x 20) (22%) N. B. DO ONE option from A & ONE option from B Section A – Ancient Civilisations/ Rome/ Early Christian Ireland/ Middle Ages/ RenaissanceSection B – Age of Revolutions/ Industrial Revolution/ Political Change in 20th Century Ireland/ S. 5 Long Document (30 marks) (16 ? %) ONLY ONE of the following sections will come up. Reformation Age of Revolutions (America, France, Ireland) Age of Exploration Industrial Revolution & 19th Century Ireland (Famine) Plantations S. 6 (60 marks) (33 1/3%) N. B. International Relations in the 20th Century (30) Political Change in 20th Century Ireland (30) (+ Two other sections from Junior Cert Course e. g. The Middle Ages/ Prehistoric Ireland) SECTION 4: PEOPLE IN HISTORY (2 x 20 marks)Do ONE OPTION from Part A & ONE OPTION from Part B Marking Scheme: SRS = Significant Relevant Statement (Each SRS = 2 marks) CM = 16 (8 x 2M) OM = Overall Mark OM = 4 VERY GOOD = 4M; GOOD = 3M; FAIR = 2M; POOR = 1M Guidelines: 1) ENSURE that you are writing from the correct perspective e. g. a supporter of a named revolutionary 2) Always include an introductory paragraph on the birth and early life of a named explorer/ reformer/ revolutionary leader etc. 3) Ensure that you STATE & EXPLAIN key concepts e. g. ‘Justification by Faith Alone’/ Republicanism/ Sailing West to reach the East Indies ) ALWAYS name & describe the widely-held beliefs of the time of the named person e. g. Church control over peoples’ religious beliefs/ Flat-Earth/ Ireland as part of the UK/ USA as a colony of England/ 5) NAME the group(s)/ organisation(s) who were founded by or supported the beliefs of the named person 6) ALWAYS NAME & DESCRIBE the impact of inventions/ innovations that aided the stated person & their beliefs/ revolution e. g. Printing Press/ Astrolabe/ Magnetic Compass/ Seed Drill/ Selective Breeding/ Factory System/ Steam Locomotive/ Home Rule/ IRB Fenianism/ Fascism/ Communism/ ) DESCRIBE & EXPLAIN how people and institutions reacted to the named person’s beliefs/ discoveries e. g. the Counter-Reformation/ superstitions of sailors during the Age of Discovery/ British refusal to accept Irish Independence/ 8) DESCRIBE the impact of the named person on later history itself: Spread of Protestantism throughout Europe/ Counter-Reformation/ Spanish Inquisition/ Discovery of American Continents/ New Colonies/ New ways of travelling/ Spread of Irish Republicanism/ Spread of Communism/ Spread of Fascism in Europe PART A OPTIONS (PEOPLE IN HISTORY) EARLY MODERN EUROPE & IRELAND A monk in an early Christian monastery in Ireland (2011/ 07/ 05) N. B. – A per son living in a named ancient civilisation OUTSIDE of Ireland. (11/ 09/ 06/ 04) N. B. – A farmer living in ancient (pre-Christian) Ireland. (08/ 05) – A named religious reformer at the time of the Reformation (2011/ 08) N. B. – An archaeologist working on a dig. (2010/ 07/ 04) – The lord or lady of a medieval castle. (2010/ 08) – A knight living in a medieval castle. (05) N. B. A named Renaissance artist from OUTSIDE of Italy. (2009) N. B. – A named Renaissance artist or sculptor (07 (PART B)/ 04) N. B. PART B OPTIONS (PEOPLE IN HISTORY) Later Modern Europe & Ireland – A named leader on a voyage during the Age of Exploration (2011/ 09/ 06 (PART A) N. B. – A native Irish landowner who lost land in a named plantation during the 16th or 17th centuries. (2011) – A settler who received land during a named plantation in Ireland during the 16th or 17th N. B. entury. (08/ 06 (PART A)/ 04) – A mine or factory worker during the Industrial Revolution. (07) N. B. – A factory or mine owner during the Industrial Revolution (05) N. B. – A named leader in the struggle for Irish independence, 1900-1921. (2011/ 07/ 05) N. B. – A named leader involved in a revolution (America, France or Ireland) during the period, 1770-1815. (2010/ 05) N. B. – A supporter of a named revolutionary leader during the period, 1770-1803. 06) N. B. – A named leader involved in one of the crises during the rise of the superpowers (Berlin Blockade; Korean War; Cuban Missile Crisis). (2010/ 06) N. B. – A named political leader in the Republic of Ireland during the period, 1960-1985. (08 ) – An old person describing changes that have occurred in communications in Ireland since 1945. (04) A – A named religious reformer at the time of the Reformation. (20 marks) A specific reformer (eg: Luther, Calvin, Henry VIII) must be named or implied, but no marks are awarded for the reformerâ⠂¬â„¢s name.If the name of the reformer is not mentioned, or is incorrect, but the material relates to a specific reformer, max. OM = 3. In the case of Luther, treat all material up to and including his ordination as ‘background’, i. e. 1 SRS max. In the case of Calvin, treat all material up to and including his conversion to Luther’s teaching as ‘background’, i. e. 1 SRS max. List of ‘abuses’, stated or explained, = 1 SRS. A belief/teaching explained = 1 SRS. A belief coupled with the relevant Catholic teaching = 1 SRS. 2 merely stated beliefs/teachings = 1 SRS. Teachings/beliefs = 3 SRSs max. ESSAY PLAN: NAME the reformer/ year of birth/ background & education – NAME & EXPLAIN the list of abuses within the Roman Church: – STATE the reformer’s beliefs and opinion of abuses in detail – NAME the steps he took to address these abuses – STATE & DESCRIBE the Church’s reaction to the reformer’s actions/ beliefs – NAME the reformer’s beliefs and EXPLAIN N. B. ***** – NAME any associates who aided the reformer – NAME any invention/ innovation that helped to spread the reformer’s beliefs – DESCRIBE the impact of the reformer’s teachings/ beliefs – DESCRIBE how the Church reacted to the reformerA – A knight living in a medieval castle. – Castle or Knight only dealt with – 1 OM. – Name of a castle feature + description / function = 1 SRS. – Mere list of castle features without description/function – 2 features = 1 SRS. ESSAY PLAN: – NAME yourself (you are the knight) – STATE who your LORD is and your allegiance to him – DESCRIBE WHAT YOUR ROLE is in the CASTLE & HOW you defend it – NAME & DESCRIBE WHERE the LORD & HIS FAMILY LIVES (KEEP) – DESCRIBE 3 DEFENSIVE FEATURES OF the castle – DESCRIBE the 3 STAGES of becoming a medieval knight â⠂¬â€œ DESCRIBE the tournaments & jousts that you regularly participate in DESCRIBE your belief in the ‘Code of CHIVALRY’ N. B. *** B – A supporter of a named revolutionary leader (USA, France, Ireland), 1770-1803. Do not award marks for naming the revolutionary leader. In the case of George Washington, treat all material prior to the First Continental Congress as ‘background’, i. e. 1 SRS max. In the case of Robespierre, treat all material prior to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 as ‘background’, i. e. 1 SRS max. In the case of Wolfe Tone, treat all material prior to the founding of the United Irishmen as ‘background, i. e. 1 SRS max.In the case of Robert Emmet, treat all material prior to his involvement with the United Irishmen as ‘background’, i. e. 1 SRS max. ESSAY PLAN: – NAME the leader who you are supporting – NAME the country & time period (1765 – 1783) – STATE YOUR REA SONS for supporting the revolutionary leader i. e. taxes/ interference from colonial power etc. – NAME the reasons why a revolution is taking place – NAME & DESCRIBE AT LEAST TWO incidents where conflict has occurred between the revolutionaries & the colonial power – DESCRIBE how the RULING POWER is reacting to THIS REVOLUTIONARY & Revolution NAME & DESCRIBE any documents or beliefs expressed by this revolutionary leader or revolutionary group – STATE what the revolutionary leader is aiming for i. e. a coming decisive battle B – A named revolutionary leader (USA, France or Ireland) No marks for the revolutionary leader’s name. – If the material clearly relates to a particular revolutionary leader without the person being named, mark on its merits. – In the case of George Washington, treat all material prior to the First Continental Congress as background, i. e. 1 SRS. In the case of Robespierre, treat all material prior to the outbreak of Revolution in1789 as background. – In the case of Wolfe Tone, treat all material prior to the founding of the United Irishmen in 1791 as background. – In the case of Robert Emmet, treat all material prior to his involvement with the United Irishmen as background. ESAY PLAN: SAME AS ABOVE EXCEPT FROM the REVOLUTIONARY LEADER’S POINT OF VIEW B – A factory/mine owner during the Industrial Revolution in Britain, c. 1850. – If the answer is exclusively from the perspective of the factory worker, Max CM = 8 Max OM =0.ESSAY PLAN: (*** YOU are the factory owner) – NAME the factory/ mine owner – STATE what type of factory/ mine you own – NAME the part of England your factory is in – DESCRIBE what your factory produces and where you sell/ exports your goods – NAME & DESCRIBE how and where you get your raw materials i. e. coal, water-power etc. – NAME the inventions that you use in your factory – DE SCRIBE how you transport your raw materials INTO your factory and how you transport your goods OUT of your factory – DESCRIBE the workers who work in your factory, what hours they work, their working conditions and pay. DESCRIBE the living conditions of your workers and HOW you have attempted to make their lives better – STATE what hobbies or leisure activities you like i. e. gambling, betting on bare-knuckle fights etc. A factory/ mine worker during the Industrial Revolution (As above EXCEPT from the WORKER’S PERSPECTIVE) B – A named leader in Irish independence struggle, 1916-1923. – No marks for the leader’s name. – Background material i. e. pre-1916 = 1 SRS; Post-1923 material = 1 SRS. ESSAY PLAN: – STATE where and when the leader was born – STATE the background of the leader i. e. education/ work etc. NAME the organisation that the leader joined and WHEN – NAME other people who the leader was associated with – STATE the political beliefs of this leader – STATE & DESCRIBE what role the leader played in the Irish Independence struggle e. g. Minister for Finance in the 1st Dail N. B. ** – STATE whether or not this leader was part of the Sinn Fein delegation to London for the Anglo-Irish Treaty Negotiations of 1921 – STATE whether this leader was PRO-TREATY or ANTI-TREATY in 1922/ 1923 – GIVE THEIR REASONS for being PRO-TREATY or ANTI-TREATY – DESCRIBE the rest of the leader’s careerSection 5 Long Document Question (30 marks) – Famine, Emigration & De-population in 19th Century Ireland (2004) – Exploration, Vespucci & Impacts on Indigenous Populations (2005) – Famine, Emigration & De-Population in 19th Century Ireland (2006) – Reformation, Papal Bull & Counter-Reformation (2007) – French & Irish Revolutions in 18th Century (2008) – Plantations in 17th Century Ireland (2009) – Exploration, Spani sh & Portuguese (2010) – Rural Ireland & Industrial England in the 19th Century (2011) Structure of Question: Part A – Answers derived from 1st Source. USE QUOTATIONS & EVIDENCE from Source (8-10 marks)Part B – Answers derived from 2nd/ 3rd Sources USE QUOTATIONS & EVIDENCE from Source or Contextual/ Background Information require on topic (8 – 10 marks) Part C – Answer ONE from 3 Options Contextual/ Background Information required on topic (10 – 12 marks) Part C: Usually requires a short paragraph answer worth 10 or 12 marks. It is important that you write at length on whatever topic you are asked e. g. ‘Problems faced by Irish Immigrants abroad’ or the ‘Counter-Reformation in Europe’.Ensure that you have at least 5 – 6 clear points of information on each of the following topics: (next page) (Check the relevant webpages on the History site under Junior Certificate History for examples of these) Part C Exampl es: †¢ Counter-Reformation †¢ Consequences of the Reformation for Ireland †¢ Urbanisation, Health, Lifestyle & Pastimes of Industrial England †¢ Impact of Famine & Problems faced by Immigrants abroad †¢ Conflict between European Powers as a consequence of Exploration †¢ Impacts on indigenous Populations by Explorations †¢ Religious, Political & Cultural Impacts of Plantations in Ireland Brehon Law, Language & Customs †¢ Causes & Impacts of French, American & Irish Rebellions/ Revolutions †¢ Reign of Terror Section 6 (60 marks) Do two options from (A), (B), (C) and (D). (2 x 30 marks) Political Developments in 20th Century Ireland Question divided into 2 or 3 parts: short questions followed by 10 or 12 mark questions. The ten mark questions to be prepared are as follows: – 1) Home Rule Crisis 1912 – 1914 2) 1916 Rising 3) 1918 General Election 4) War of Independence 1919 – 1921 5) Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 (& split in Si nn Fein) 6) Irish Civil War 1922 – 1923 7) Cumann na Gaedheal Government 1923 – 1932 ) DeValera & ‘Dismantling the Treaty’ 1932 – 1938 9) The ‘Emergency (neutrality) 1939 – 1945 10) The 1st Inter-Party Government 1948 – 1951 11) 1950’s Ireland 12) Sean Lemass & 1960’s Ireland (1st Programme for Economic Expansion) – Also Northern Ireland 1) N. Ireland during WWII 2) Civil Right Movement in late 1960’s 3) The ‘Troubles’ For key terms and short questions, check the webpage ‘Political Developments in 20th Century Ireland’ on the History website under Junior Cert. History International Relations in the 20th Century Question divided into 2 or 3 parts: short questions followed by 10 or 12 mark questions.Ten mark questions to be prepared are as follows: 1) Lenin & Russian Revolution 1917 2) Treaty of Versailles 1919 3) Mussolini’s Italy 4) Nazi Rise to Power 1927 – 1933 5) Nazi Germany 1933 – 1939 (Totalitarianism & Propaganda) 6) Hitler’s Foreign Policy 1933 – 1939 7) World War II 8) The Cold War: a) Berlin Blockade b) Korean War c) Cuban Missile Crisis For key terms and short questions, check the webpage ‘International Relations in the 20th Century’ on the website under Junior Cert. History ———————– Reformation Rural Ireland, Famine & Industrial England in 19th Century Age of Exploration Plantations Age of Revolutions

Philiosophies in Early Childhood Teaching Essay

Formal Writing Assignment: Introduction to Early Childhood Education Instructor: Ecole Morris- University of Montana-Western Goal: to develop a personal teaching philosophy of early childhood education based on research and analysis. Purpose: If someone asked you to explain your philosophy of teaching young children, what would you say? How would you begin to formulate a statement that captures the essence of your belief about teaching and learning? Teacher candidates are increasingly being asked to articulate their philosophy of teaching. This request is often in conjunction with the submission of a teaching portfolio for seeking teaching positions or dossier for promotion and tenure. A teaching philosophy is a statement of reflection about what you will do as a teacher. Your beliefs influence your action. It has been recognized by many teachers that the process of identifying a personal teaching philosophy and continuously examining, testifying, and verifying this philosophy can lead to change of teaching behaviors and ultimately enhance professional and personal growth. Assignment: For this assignment articulate your teaching philosophy in two phases. (100 points) 1. Introduction: at the beginning of the semester, you are required to write a 4-5 page paper. In it, consider the following points: * Why do you want to become an early childhood education teacher? * What type of teaching position do you hope to obtain, and why? * What are your strongest characteristics or talents as a potential early childhood educator? * What are the factors that influence your decision to pursue this career? 2. Areas to emphasize: Use the following questions to help you think about your beliefs regarding teaching young children. It is not necessary to respond to each of these questions in your written philosophy. You may also decide to comment on additional issues as well. Take some time to think about each one in some depth. * How do you view young children? What is the child’s role in his/her education? What do you belief about how young children learn? * What role does family play in your teaching? How will you include them in your classroom? * What are your views on inclusion, how will you include all children in your classroom? * How do you view the role of the teacher? How will your views influence your teaching? * What kind of environment do you hope to create in your future classroom? How does this relate to your basic beliefs about young children and learning? * What do you hope young children will become? What do you want them to achieve, accomplish, learn, feel, etc.? * What kind of feedback will you offer your students as they work? What kind of assessment will you use to be sure that students have met objectives? * Looking back at the history of early childhood education, who or what approaches have the greatest impression on you, and why? General Paper Format Suggestions: * Use present tense, in most cases. Write the paper in first-person (which is the most common and easiest for your audience to read). * Write in language and concepts that can be broadly appreciated. A general rule is that the statement should be written with the audience in mind. It may help to consider a school administrator (e.g. , school principal) as your audience. * Write a paper that will let your audience know where you stand in regard to important educational theories and practices. By including specific examples of teaching theories and approaches, you are able to let your reader take a mental â€Å"peek† of your classroom. * Make the paper memorable and unique. Think of this teaching philosophy as part of a job application where your readers are seeing many of these statements. What is going to set you apart from others? What about you are they going to remember? Create a vivid portrait of yourself as someone who is intentional about teaching and committed to his/her career. * A working draft will be developed and reviewed by a peer during the class. This working draft will be submitted with the final draft. * The personal philosophy paper must be typed, double-spaced, following APA (6th ed. ) guidelines. It must be a minimum of 4 pages not including references or appendices. A minimum of 3 references must be used. No more than 1 of these can be electronic (internet) references. A textbook bibliography can be a goldmine of references to follow up on as well.

Grapvine Communication

INTRODUCTION Grapevine communication is the informal communication network within an organization. Grapevine is used to spread information bypassing the formal communication structure. Just like the grapevine plant: it spreads in random ways and it goes where it can. It is formed by individuals and groups in an organization. The people in the groups have something in common that links them together. A person can belong to one or more groups. A grapevine communication is a form of informal communication by which people communicates each other without any formal line of communication.It’s called Grapevine because like that of a grape vine it’s impossible to find the origin of information which results in spread of rumours. Grapevine communication is a form of informal business communication, which develops within an organization. It means gossip, usually gossip that spreads and covers a lot of ground (a lot of people), much like vines do. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT At first we desir e to express our deepest sense of gratitude of almighty Allah. We are thankful to our University (Leading University, Sylhet) and the respective authorities for providing us an opportunity to take our BBA program.With profound regard we gratefully acknowledge our respected course teacher Md. Shamimul Islam for his generous help and day to day suggestion during preparation of the assignment. He is so much an inspiration and guidance to us that we are, short of words in expression our gratitude. We like to give thanks especially to our friends and many individuals, for their enthusiastic encouragements and help during the preparation of this assignment by sharing ideas regarding this subject and for their assistance in typing and proof reading this manuscript.And finally, we thank to all of our group members as they all were serious and prolific towards making this assignment. Once more time to Sir, we owe more than we can mention†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦mostly for teaching us to see the silver lining in every hard work. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY We have prepared this assignment to know about the grapevine, it’s positive and negative impact. Actually what the grapevine is and what are the impact of grapevine in any organization. We mainly tried to find out whether grapevine is helpful or it is harmful for the organization’s progress. METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDYIn this assignment we have collected different information from both primary and secondary sources of information. We collected different data from different books but mainly by browsing internet (secondary source). We paid more attention to secondary source to collect updated information. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY In this assignment we tried to find the effect of grapevine in the organization but didn’t get enough information on this topic. Because of the scarcity of information from primary sources we have to depend on secondary sources. DESCRIPTION OF THE TOPIC DefinitionIn the word of Keith Davis, à ¢â‚¬Å"Grapevine is basically a channel of horizontal communication, for its only people working at the same level of hierarchy who can informally communicate with one another with perfect ease. † Formal vs. Informal Channels of Communication Every organization has a formal communication system. This formal system provides information regarding the organization to the employees through different media. The formal network, made up of memos, reports, staff-meetings, department meetings, conferences, company newsletters, official notices, is highly documented and as such has very little chance for change.However, nearly all of the information within the grapevine is undocumented and is thereby open to change and interpretation as it moves through the network. â€Å"The informal organization is less permanent and less stable because its leaders and patterns of action change readily. † This occurs because of the dependency of the network on personalities, whereas the formal n etwork is set up through structured policies nondependent on individuals. The grapevine is flexible and personal and can spread information faster than the formal communication channels.The grapevine is also capable of penetrating even the tightest security because it cuts across organizational lines and deals directly with people in the know. Bosses who chose not to pay attention to the grapevine have 50% less credible information than those who do. It exists because of excessive structuring of formal work flows and the excessive channeling of information flows. It is fed by personal apprehension, wish fulfillment, retaliation, and gossip. Surprisingly, most researchers have found that most grapevine information is either true or has within it a kernel of truth.How Accurate is the Grapevine Allport and Postman's research indicated that â€Å"most rumors start as a report of an actual episode – that is to say, with someone's perceptual experience of an event which he deems o f sufficient interest and importance to communicate to others. Once this central theme, the actual episode, has been accepted there is a tendency to distort subsequent news or events in order to make them consistent with the central theme. However, Keith Davis reports from his research â€Å"that in normal business situations between 75 percent and 95 percent of grapevine information is correct. In general people tend to think the grapevine is less accurate than it is because its errors tend to be more dramatic and consequently are more impressed on one's memory than its day-to-day routine accuracy. In a normal work situation, upwards of 80% of the information that comes over the grapevine is accurate. While the day-to-day accuracy may be good, people believe the grapevine is less accurate because the times it is wrong are more dramatic. A communication may be 90% correct in details but that last 10% is often the most important part of the message.Messages from the grapevine are of ten lacking in all the details so that the message is subject to misinterpretation; while the grapevine generally carries the truth it seldom carries the whole truth. An interesting note about the informal communications network is that an estimated 80% of grapevine information is oriented toward the individual while 20% concerns the company. Allport and Postman discuss, in their book, the changes that occur as a rumor passes along the grapevine. The central theme may be resistant to change, however crucial details necessary for understanding the true situation keep being deleted.At the same time the most dramatic details keep being exaggerated each time the rumor is repeated. So as the rumor moves along it begins to appear as some sort of shrinking missile as it keeps getting shorter and more pointed in flight. This may sound very simple, however we should remember that â€Å"the grapevine is fast-paced and generally moves, free of organizational restraints, by word of mouth. â₠¬  Factors Affecting Grapevine's Operation Several additional factors affect the operation of the grapevine. (1) In wartime, the conditions for rumor are optimal.Military events are of the greatest importance. (2) The greater the homogeneity of the organization, the better the grapevine will operate. (3) Rumors prosper best where formal communication is poor. They thrive in an environment where employees are not kept informed about anything that may be important to them. (4) They perform best in informal social contacts but can operate as effectively as a sideline to official meetings. In a poorly managed organization they can chip away at morale and fuel anxiety, conflict, and misunderstanding. 5) People start and spread rumors to enhance their status, fill gaps in social conversations, and avoid suspense over suspected events. This activity increases during times of stress, uncertainty, and in the absence of news. Frederick Koenig, a sociologist who studies rumors, believes that people listen to and pass a rumor because it satisfies some need. This is why the nature of people involved is important. Different people have different needs and rumors†¦ a) may circulate because they are interesting or a source of diversion.The valve can be the content of the message or the state of the group. b) can pull together events and fill in the gaps to make sense and provide explanations for what is going on. c) can validate and support a point of view d) reconcile one's psychological state with what one sees as actually going on. e) are a means of getting attention. f) are a way of manipulating situations. The idea of some person or group deliberately starting a rumor to serve selfish ends is frequently suggested. Types of Grapevine Rumors can be divided into four categories.The categories are- 1. Wish fulfillment rumors 2. Bogey rumor 3. Wedge drivers rumors 4. Home stretchers rumors Wish fulfillment rumor These express the wishes and hopes of those who circulate rumors and these are the most positive and they help to stimulate the creativity of others. often solutions to work problems are a result of employees verbally expressing desire for changes. These improvements sometimes result in increased efficiency for certain departments within the organization. Even though the tone is positive they still represent employee concerns. Bogey rumorBogey rumor comes from employees' fears and anxieties causing general uneasiness among employees such as during budget crunch. In this case, employees will verbally express their fears to others. These rumors are sometimes damaging, such as a rumor about possible lay-offs, and need a formal rebuttal from management. Wedge Drivers rumor Wedge Drivers divide groups and destroy loyalties. They are motivated by aggression or even hatred. They are divisive and very negative rumors. They tend to be demeaning to a company or individual and can cause damage to the reputation of others.A wedge driver rumor may be s omeone at x Company saying that v Company serves worms in their hamburgers; or in another context, a school-age child telling friends that another child has AIDS, or some other tale, like â€Å"Louise, the office manager, was seen the other day alone with that young new accountant. They were in a car together leaving Motel Six. † or one may spread the word that â€Å"Mary got the promotion because she is sleeping with the boss. † Women are more likely to be attacked with the sexual gossip. Home stretchers rumorThese are anticipatory rumors. These rumors occur after employees have been waiting a long time for an announcement. There may be just one final thing necessary to complete the puzzle and this in effect enhances the ambiguity of the situation. Now we will look at how the message is spread and those who participate. How is the message spread Within the organization communication chains exist. The chain used by formal communication may be very rigid, following the chain of command or authority. However, the chain used by the grapevine tends to be very flexible.Four different chains/structures appear to dominate the grapevine network according to Keith Davis are: 1. Single Strand Chain 2. Gossip Chain 3. Probability Chain 4. Cluster Chain Single Strand Chain This is a simple concept to follow, A tells B, who tells C, who tells D and so on. Each person passes the information on to the next person. The longer the strand the more distortion and filtering affects the information being passed until the last person in the chain may find the information unrecognizable from the original message. Most inaccuracies occur in this chain. Gossip ChainIn this illustration A simply tells everyone with whom they come in contact. This pattern is considered to be somewhat slow in moving the information. Probability Chain In this case A makes random contact with say F and C and passes on the information. They in turn randomly contact others in accordance with la ws of probability. Some hear the information and some don't. In this structure, there is no definite pattern of communication. Information is randomly passed along to anyone willing to listen. They type of person who communicates in this manner might be a very outgoing and talkative type of individual.Cluster Chain Here A tells contacts, B and F, who may work with A. They may tell two or three other persons with whom they usually have close contact. Most predominant pattern is the cluster pattern. Selectivity is the basis for this pattern. In any organization, individuals will generally feel more comfortable with some fellow employees than with others and therefore only relay information to those in their informal social groups. This flow pattern results in information missing some individuals completely. Roles of the ParticipantsIn addition to identifying certain structured patterns, research has also given us some other facts and descriptions, It has been discovered that only 10% of all the individuals in an organization are highly active participants in the grapevine. The types of individuals relative to rumors, have been identified. The three are- 1. Bridger 2. Bagger 3. Bearer Most employees fall into one of the three basic categories as they relate to the grapevine. Bridger Bridger’s receive and pass information to others. These people are the ones primarily responsible for the success of the grapevine.Bridger’s are the passers-along; the liaisons of rumors, also called KC's, as explained by Sutton. â€Å"Key Communicator† is the term that is given to this type of individual who is responsible for initially sending information into various networks. Baggers Baggers hear rumors but do not pass them along or fail to tell others. They are called â€Å"dead-enders. † They receive information but do not pass it on or only pass it on to one or maybe two other dead-enders. Bearer Bearers are not privy to any information, do not hear the information and thus cannot pass along, a rumor.They tend to be outside the grapevine. They neither hear nor pass along the information. Each type of individual can easily be identified in the communication mains previously illustrated. It should also be noted that people are more active on the grapevine when their friends and colleagues are actively involved. After all that has been said about the grapevine the next questions that arise are: What should the company managers do about the grapevine? Is it good or bad? Should the managers participate? How do we manage the grapevine? Management's Response to the GrapevineThe key thing to remember is that the grapevine exists, William A. Delaney reminds us of this when he says the â€Å"grapevine exists, always has and always will, and you can't stop it. † So managers should accept the fact and decide how they can use it to their own benefit. Vanessa Arnold contends that â€Å"Managers interested in creating effective organi zational communication will use information from the grapevine to improve communication throughout the firm. † The real value of the grapevine should be in revealing to management those issues that generate from the grass roots.As Donald Thompson said â€Å"its usefulness is seldom acknowledged, its voice often muffled, its insights ignored. † Should Managers Participate In many cases lower and middle managers are already active participants. They hold strategic positions in the communication channel because they filter and block two-way communication between higher management and operating employees. Managers basically have three options when it comes to their participation in the grapevine: 1. Ignore the grapevine, be no part of it. This is difficult in most organizations, but can be accomplished.They do their job and let it operate unnoticed around them. In effect they become an â€Å"isolate. † 2. Participate only when it serves their purpose. In this case th ey may seek out the grapevine and tap it to learn what is being said concerning a specific situation or issue. 3. Become an active and full-time participant. Managing the Grapevine Since the grapevine cannot be held responsible for errors and is somewhat of an unknown, managers sometimes succumb to the wish that it will go away; but we have learned from experience and research that â€Å"homicide† will not work with the grapevine.It cannot be abolished, rubbed out, hidden under a basket, chopped down, tied up, or stopped. If we suppress it in one place it will pop up in another. If we cut off one of its sources, it merely moves to another one†¦ It is as hard to kill as the mythical glass snake, that, when struck, broke itself into fragments and grew a new snake out of each piece. In a sense, the grapevine is a human birthright, because whenever people congregate into groups, the grapevine is sure to develop. It may use smoke signals, jungle tom-tome, taps on a prison wal l, ordinary conversation, or some other method, but it will always be there.Organizations cannot â€Å"fire† the grapevine because they did not hire it. It is simply there. Management Options Internal rumors are generally managed differently than external rumors if for no other reason than management of a company has more control over internal formal communication than over information sent out to the external environment. Since grapevine activity increases during times of uncertainty, management must provide information through the formal system of communication about key issues and events that affect employees.Management should supply employees with a steady flow of accurate, timely information; in this way, the potential damage caused by the grapevine can be minimized. Any attempt to soften or distort a rumor to make things look good is not a good way to deal with the rumor. The longer a rumor circulates the more difficult it is to control. Facts should be released quickly . The grapevine can be controlled with prompt, clear, and accurate information on the issues important to the employees. Full facts must be presented. Formal communication lines must be kept open and the process as short as possible.Direct memos, large group announcements, and intercom systems should be used. If employees perceive management is giving them the facts, they will be less anxious and less emotional when rumors are heard. Although the preferred management option is prevention, this never works 100% of the time. In other words, there will be negative rumors and if one wants to manage them, one ought to be prepared. So when prevention doesn't work, and it won't, what can one do? Two methods are suggested. First, a four-step method, and second, a disciplined three-phase management program, Generally, in the four-step method, four steps are suggested: 1.Seek to keep employees informed about what is going on. A formal company newsletter always seems to help. 2. Heed rumors. L isten to what is being said that is 80% true. What other information source is so highly credible? 3. Act promptly. Rumors are more difficult to correct over time because they â€Å"harden†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthe details become consistent and the information becomes publicly accepted, 4. Conduct a training program for employees on the nature of rumors. Advantages of Grapevine Communication Grapevine communication creates a social bond where none existed.People like to talk to one another; whether they talk about work or family, or anything. Teams become more cohesive when members talk to one another outside of the project or assignment they may be working on. Informal communication lends itself to bonding. The grapevine fills in a gap that is left when official information is missing, especially in chaotic or changing times. Even in organizations where management is very proactive about communicating change and keeping employees informed, the grapevine helps to fill in the blanks.The gra pevine in many ways helps keep people honest; it can dissuade people from engaging on behavior that they don’t want others to know about. This is a two edge sword. On one hand, people will think twice about taking what they know is a wrong course of action. On the other hand, they may also think twice about taking a necessary risk and doing the right thing, fearful those appearances that may give rise to rumors. Disadvantages of Grapevine Communication There are some intrinsic dangers in bypassing the organizational channels to get to the facts of the matter.The main danger is that much of the information that gets spread through the grapevine is not verified. Some of the information is likely false and difficult, if not impossible, to verify. We discount information when the source is a known gossiper. But not completely†¦ Even when the source is someone known to spread rumors, we believe that where there's smoke†¦ Since we don’t know what part is fire and w hat smoke is, we accept the whole rumor. To justify our participation in spreading the rumor, we tell ourselves that part of it must be true.The main reason why we give credence to a rumor is that it seems to match what we think about the situation or person that the rumor is about. We also tend to believe the person sharing the rumor with us. Another main disadvantage of grapevine communication is that it's often used to spread more than rumors; it's used to spread gossip. The terms rumors and gossip are used sometimes interchangeably, but rumors are not quite the same as gossip. Both are pieces of information that can't be verified, but rumors tend to affect organizations or groups of people, while gossip refers to more personal matters.When gossip is being spread through the grapevine, people's reputations, careers, and lives can get destroyed very rapidly. FINDINGS While preparing our assignment we have to study a lot on this topic. From all our experience we gathered, we can co me to an end that, certain situations like insecurity of service, uncertainty over promotions, special increments to a particular employee, certain innovations in the organization likely to affect the job prospects of the employees are sure to activate the leaders of the grapevine so that very soon all kinds of rumors have spread in the organization.Whether grapevine is sour or sweet is depends on its impact on the organization. If it works for the organization to increase its quality it will be sweet. For this we will have to use grapevine efficiently. On the other hand, if it works against the organizations purpose it will be considered as sour. SUGGESTION From our study we can suggest that, to use grapevine efficiently we should follow the following ways: 1. The managers should try to spot the leaders. They should try to find out the people who are more active on the grapevine and keep them well informed so that harmful rumors do not reach the employees. . The grapevine should be used to feel the pulse of the employees. 3. If there is any false rumor, the management should immediately use the official channels to contradict and to dispel the fears of the employees. 4. Involve the workers in the decision-making process. CONCLUSION The grapevine is basically a channel of horizontal communication, for it is only people working at the same level of hierarchy who can informally communicate with one another with perfect ease.Thus the workers may have one grapevine and the first line supervisors another. But the fact is that the grapevine does not follow any set pattern and it can be effective horizontally, vertically and even diagonally. REFERENCE Secondary Source 1. Essentials of Business Communication, by: Rajendra Pal & J. S. Korlahalli 2. Business communication (Theory and Application), by: M. Omar Ali 3. www. definitions. net/definition/grapevine. 4. http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/grapevine.

Discussion in recession Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discussion in recession - Coursework Example The economic conditions are directly linked with the overall discretionary purchases undertaken by the households, while there is also a high degree of implication on the overall volume of necessity purchases. Due to the fact that all businesses are commercial organisations that have the underlying aim to increase shareholder’s wealth. It is therefore argued that recession is one of the critical downside risk facing contemporary businesses. The critics of this argument have however noted that recession can be seen as an opportunity for businesses to sharpen their business models. Drawing upon Rampini et al (2014), the businesses that have lean and agile structures develop sustainable competitive advantage that does not only help them survive through a recession but also flourish and expand their presence. The aim of this debate is therefore to critically analyse and appraise the thinking that recession is the most critical downside risk facing all businesses.†¨It can ther efore be argued that economic recession is likely to have negative impact on firms that are diversified across the industries and geographically, leading to lower than expected results on the top and bottom line of the business   My claim substantiates the overall conclusion with the help of the following set of arguments. The key risk management strategy for contemporary businesses is to use diversification strategy, where all valuable resources of the firm are not focused on achieving a single competitive advantage. According to Ai et al (2012), the multiplicity of competitive advantage and its development within multiple industries and geographic markets essentially means that if there is any systemic risk in one industry or national market, than it can be mitigated by the firm from the other industry or national market. It should be noted that in case of an economic recession, the overall demand for the products or services across the industries fall dramatically

Germany and the Germans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Germany and the Germans - Essay Example This course was filled with a lot of interesting and new information about Germany and the Germans, which changed and enlarged my knowledge about Germany. However, there were no real surprises for me, instead, it felt as if my view on Germany and the Germany has finally been completed. There are a couple of themes and subjects that I think I might pursue in my future. For instance, we have learnt a lot about German culture, German poets and German thinkers, and I would like to explore this area further. It was interesting to learn about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his impact on German culture, however, I would like to explore the current culture in Germany, especially the popular culture. Therefore, I decided to listen to some online German radio stations and to look up German songs on youtube. Finally, I want to pursue German history and culture even further, and the best way of doing so is probably to travel to Germany. The most important thing that I have learnt from taking thi s class is that I should never rely on stereotypes. It is absolutely important to always stay open minded for additional information. Although there is some truth to stereotypes, simply because they reflect, to some extent, a certain general characteristic, it is important to not be held back by those stereotypes. In addition, it is not only vital to look beyond existing stereotypes but to also look beyond and even question additional information and knowledge one might think to have.

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Final - Essay Example At one point he gets to see the hall in a repainted form and more colorful. This gift is what makes him excel in his career as a blacksmith. He takes time to be precise in what he makes; this is because he gets to see things for what they really are and not what one is used to seeing. His journeys through fairyland bring out a sense of enlightenment. When he visits fairyland he gets to visit another realm not so far apart from reality and gets to see it in their eyes. He thus gets a fresher and refined view of reality when he is teleported back to it. The question of space and time also arises with the flow of the fairy tale. It is not said how long Smith takes in his travels through this unknown land; not in terms of hours, days nor years. It seems that the time he spends in this other unknown land does not heavily affect the time in the real world. With this advantage, Smith takes his time sometimes even ages studying features of this enchanted world, a tree or even a leaf with an intention of gaining greater knowledge in the understanding of things, some of these which seemed quite strange. The perilous moments Smith gets to experience are but a representation of what he had to go through to better his skills, to get to see what he had to see thus bring the knowledge back to reality where it yielded productive results. The story of the Smith of Wootton major can be taken as an allegory of the autobiography of its writer Tolkien. In this allegory he takes the Smith to be him, privileged to get the gift of artistic works in terms of words. He uses Wootton Major and fairyland as a comparison to the real world and the world of art, literature and book writing. The character’s journey through fairyland are but a representation of his struggle and experience in his field of work and what he could manage to bring forward to his readers(the real world). Finally he ends his allegory by making the main character Smith to pass down his star to the

Finale Paper Rough Draft Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finale Paper Rough Draft - Assignment Example . and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty† (Chief Joseph, 1879). In search of new lands and natural resources, such as gold, â€Å"new† Americans invaded the territories settled by Indians which caused endless wars and isolation of the latter. Nevertheless, if in 19th century the Indian-American interaction was largely armed and conflict in nature, 20th century has brought new perspectives and possibilities to make it smoother and more legal, moving from the battles on the fields to activities in the official organizations. In this paper we aim to discuss six main events in the history of Native Americans, how they evolved since 1867 till now, and their role and impact in the US society in general. We believe that the most significant events were the Great Sioux War (1876 – 1877) as it marked the end of long-lasting military struggle between Indians and â€Å"white† Americans; 2) Dawes Severalty Act (1887) according to which it was planned to destroy the tribal system of Native Americans with its community ownership by giving every Indian a piece of private land (160 acres) and â€Å"further encourage Indians to dissociate themselves from the reservation system and to assimilate into white society (Fritz, 2005); 3) â€Å"Ghost Dance† of Wowoka (1890) who called Indian people for return to their native culture and way of life; 4) Indian Reorganization Act (1934) as it reversed Dawes Act and returned self-administration on the tribal basis to the Native Americans; 5) foundation of N ational Congress of American Indians (1944) that stood against the termination and assimilation policies pursued by the US government in reference to Indian authorities disregarding their treaty rights and sovereign status; 6) American Indian Movement (1968) which emerged to protect Native Americans indigenous rights and interests and â€Å"to free Indian people throughout the Americas from white man’s oppression and

Communicating a Strategic Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Communicating a Strategic Plan - Research Paper Example Since there are several functional areas that need to be synchronized for cohesive functioning as per the updated strategic plan, communication across entire organization becomes extremely important and necessary. Usually, a strategic plan needs to be updated and communicated from the top person of the organization such as Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer of the company to bring entire organization in a single common platform so that each functional area clearly understands how and in what way to proceed for the overall goal achievements. It is extremely important that all departments and sections of the organization perform and function in a most cohesive and synchronized way and that is possible only when the top person of the organization keeps on not only updating the strategic plan but also communicating to them its importance and likely impact on the

Derek Jarmans Blue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Derek Jarmans Blue - Essay Example Discovering he was HIV positive in 1986, it comes as no surprise that Jarman’s work passionately embraced the call of AIDS activism. Indeed, until his death from AIDS in 1994 a great amount of Jarman’s visual and sound art concerned the nature of homosexual identity and the need for increased attention to victims of this disease. While Jarman’s artistic production exhibits a considerable range of work, from stage design to writing and even conceptual pieces, it’s unquestionably his work in the filmic medium that has garnered him the most critical acclaim. While beginning with crude super 8 mm films, Jarman progressed to more elaborate film art visions. In Sebastianne (1976) Jarman is credited with producing the first British film that depicted homosexuality from a positive perspective. In the 1980s Jarman increasingly turned his attentions to questions of homosexuality and AIDS activism. These themes and style continued until Jarman eventually experienced health concerns and began constructing more paired down works. It is in this context that Jarman’s seminal film Blue was produced in 1993. During the time of its production Jarman was dying of AIDS and his sight was rapidly diminishing. The film itself consists of an entirely blue screen with text and music interspersed in a stream of conscious like narrative format. Rowland Wymer has articulated the film as, â€Å"The return to the suffering body - the blue screen representing not only an 'open door to the soul' but also an after-image on the retina left by the 'shattering bright light of the specialist's camerea' - is also a return to politics.† While the narrative contains ambiguity characteristic of Jarman’s personal artistic approach, it’s clear the film exhibits a relationship between the motif of transcendence and AIDS activism. This essay considers Derek Jarman’s Blue within this context, and attempts to situate it within the broader contex t of Queer theory, and the aural landscape of the relatively new field of sound art. Analysis In great part one detects in Derek Jarman’s Blue the interrelation between the form of the film and the underlining subtext of the film’s narrative and artistic intentions. Perhaps the most pervasive and overarching structural concerns one notes is transcendental nature of how the flow of life equals the stream of conscious flow of the narrative. In these regards one thinks of the transcendent in the Emersonian sense, as life is understood not as the singular entity of the individual, but rather as a universal oneness. This flows from Jarman’s own confrontation with morality in the film and the impending questions all individuals with AIDS must face regarding their own transitory existence. While the film returns to a number of thematic tropes, it is this underlining subtext, namely the motif of transcendence and AIDS activism, that is perhaps most prevalent throughout Jarman’s work in this film. As the film progresses these thematic concerns gradually become articulated through a number of structural means. While the predominant emphasis is on the nature of sound and text, one must also consider Jarman’s implementation of the blue background throughout the entirety of the film. Early in the film, one notes Jarman’s direct discussion of the color blue. The film states, â€Å"Blue is the universal love in which man bathes. It is the terrestrial paradise.† The film then transitions to the narrator describing himself walking along the beach in which he hears the voices of dead friends. Here the blue background represents the transcendence of the ocean and sounds of past friends. It functions as a testament to these individuals who perhaps died from AIDS, drawing attention to the

Financial Analysis 334 Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial Analysis 334 - Math Problem Example In this case, if subtract the stock from current assets, still both companies can pay off their debts quite easily as their Acid-Test Ratio is equal to or greater than 1. This shows that to pay every single dollar of debt the company has the backing of adequate current assets. However, if we look the firms through the lens of Interest Coverage Ratio and if our debt commands interest from the company than, we can clearly see that Jones company can cover much higher rates of interest. As a result, Jones Corporation won't default and will be able to pay all its debts and hence a short-term loan should be made to Jones Corporation given the two different scenarios. However, one must also state that if our loan does not command any interest, then this loan should be made to Smith Corporation. b) If we look at the profitability condition of the two companies, we can clearly see that Jones Corporation is more profitable. This can shown by the companies greater net profit over sales ratios as compared to Smith Corporation Ratios. In the light of these ratios, Jones Corporation is earning around $7 on every $100 worth of sales. Similarly, Smith Corporation is earning $4 on every $100 worth of sales.

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 21

Case Study Example 3.2 The factors that are identified by ATK while constructing the flight risk model include the age and the tenure of the employee in the organization, his marital status and the complexities of this work, relation with the other employees included in the flight risk model, any change seen in the issues that were related with benefits and seasonality. Of these factors, changes seen in the issues that provide the benefits and complexities of the work level contributed the maximum for increased turnover while marital status seemed to be the least important for voluntary turnover for the employees. 3.5 The statistical model introduced in NASA and ATK for calculating the employee turnover might have benefitted the employees there buy it is not necessary the model would do the same for other companies too. The model brought information more about the employees who were found in the bottom lines jobs. There was no information about the other employees in the hierarchy. Besides, there were less analytical skill sets in the model which would be necessary while understanding the work climate in an

Bad effects of fast food Essay Example for Free

Bad effects of fast food Essay Did you know as of January, of this year, there is about 50 million people daily that eat fast food in America. That around 1/6th of the population. The average meal for a family of four at McDonalds can cost around $27.89, with a homemade meal for four costing $13.78, or $9.26 for a vegetarian meal. People argue that it just cheaper than cooking a meal but in reality it is a lot more. Even if you just order off the $1 menu you still have to think of the other expenses like gas. Another factor is health. On average someone eat fast food a least 2 times a week so compare to someone who doesn’t eat that much can gain up to 10 more pound. If you don’t exercise daily you can become out of shape fast. People who have family members with some diseases like Diabetes and high blood pressure should not eat as much fast food as they do because just eating it 2 times a week can double the incidence of insulin resistance, a risk factor for Diabetes. There is also lots of sodium in fast food and that alone can give you high blood pressure. People who eat fast-food 4 or more times a week, up their risk of dying from heart disease by 80%. Fast foods create a much higher risk of heart disease because of the high level of saturated or transfats found in much of the food. Those fats can clog the arteries and cause high cholesterol levels. A well-balanced food contains all essential elements which are necessary for human development. Whereas fast food does not have all these elements, this type of food contains some elements in high quantity while others are absent. So just by eating out because it cheaper at the moment or quicker in the long run you are actually paying more because of medical bills it’s just a game of cause and effect.

The Theme Of Power English Literature Essay

The Theme Of Power English Literature Essay In both Like Water for Chocolate (LWC) by Laura Esquivel and A Woman at Point Zero (WPZ) by Nawal El Saadawi, the author shapes the readers opinion on the theme of power. The theme power is presented in both of the books protagonists, Mami Elena and Firdaus. Both characters show significant feminine power throughout the book as vigorous and bold characters. Mami Elenas power is expressed through the actions she inflicts on her daughters and the capability to control each of their fates. Firdauss power is portrayed as a prostitute; using her status to manipulate mens desire to her own advantage. Woman at point zero narrates the story of Firdaus, an Eqyptian female of the 20th century, born and raised within the misery of lower class and chauvinist Muslim society. For Firdaus her mindset of power is simple: men have power and women do not. By birth, I was lower classà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ My Fatherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Knew very few things in lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦How to exchange his virgin daughter for a dowry when there was still timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦How to bend over the headmans hand and pretend to kiss it, how to beat his wife and make her bite dust each nightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.  [2]  El Saadawi describes Firdaus as a powerless character since birth, described as being lower class; and also a description of power represented by her father beating her mother. Because of her misfortunate cultural position, the character is persecuted by sexual harassment and constrained submission to male desire. As a result, female suffering and oppression is clearly identified by the reader throughout t he novel. Thus creating Firdaus, a prestigious prostitute, whose interaction with society is confined within the basis of male persecution, acquiring power over them. Such an appalling vision of the male gender is generated by concurring experiences of obnoxious masculine behavior. Accordingly, man is intentionally portrayed by the author as grotesque and gruesome. The phrase like water for chocolate comes from the Spanish como agua para chocolate.  [3]  This phrase is a common expression in Spanish speaking countries and was the inspiration for Laura Esquivels novel title (the name has a double-meaning). In some Latin American countries, such as Mexico, hot chocolate is made not with milk, but with water instead. Water is boiled and chunks of milk chocolate are dropped in to melt. The saying like water for chocolate, alludes to this fact and also to the common use of the expression as a metaphor for describing a state of passion or sexual arousal. In some parts of Latin America, the saying is also equivalent to being boiling mad in anger. Laura Esquivel creates Mama Elena the tyrannical, widowed matriarch of the De La Garza clan revolves around the subjugation of her daughters. Her fierce dominion over her three daughters inspires fear within all of them. All my life I have been searching for something that would fill me with pride, make me feel superior to everyone else, including kings, princes and rulers  [4]  This quote refers to how Firdaus discovers how vulnerable men are when a prostitute refuses to sleep with them. With the status of prostitution she is overwhelmed with power and feels in complete control. Men will explode in fear and offer larger sums of money simply because they feel as if they are losing their power over women; however they do not realize it is the prostitute gaining power. When she possesses money of her own, she has power over people who slander her, and can give herself a respectable name. Her mindset was only changed until she met a high class prostitute named Sharifa. Sharifa is portrayed as a wealthy high class prostitute who manipulates mens desire for sex to her own advantage. She acts as a teacher to Firdaus, teaching her how to use her physical appearances as a tool to attract men. This is whe re her power had originated from; the teaching from Sharifa. Soon after she notices Sharifa treats her as a tool, she runs away to be an independent prostitute and applies to skills she had obtained. As Sharifa states; She is free to do what she wants, and free not to do it.  [5]  Firdaus is able to do anything she wants, after being handed tips, and lessons by Sharifa she is able to take her prostitution status to a whole new level. The method Mama Elena uses to gain control over her daughters is by using violence and cruelty against them, whether psychological or physical . Obey your Mommy and Dadd.  [6]  This quote refers to how the daughters of Mama Elena have no choice but to obey Mama Elena, since their father had passed away before. Mama Elena already starts with power unlike Firdaus who has slowly to gain her power. If she couldnt marry, was she at least allowed to experience love? Or not even that?  [7]  Tita being the youngest daughter of hers is unable to marry or have children because of the ridiculous tradition. Whatever signs of love Mama Elena sensed inside of Tita she would try to disrupt and sabotage. This root of her evil is from her previous lover who had left her, if she senses one of her daughters loving someone else she will feel overpowered and powerless. After Tita meets Pedro Mama Elena sees his affection for Tita so she conjures a plot against Tita; thus introducing Rosaura to Pe dro. Soon after Pedro decides to marry Rosaura to get closer to Tita because he realizes her fate is sealed. Tita does not know of Pedros intentions and is mentally hurt by losing her only chance of gaining true love. She suffers harshly and spends a lot of her time weeping about this incident. If Mama Elena suspects the slightest idea that Tita has no fulfilled her duties, such as when she is suspected of messing up the sewing on the wedding present, or the poison put inside the wedding cake, she physically abuses her. She is beaten harshly and is always left with scars, bruises and injuries: this teaches the daughters that not to make the same mistake again and displays the extreme power Mama Elena holds over them. When Tita attempts to blames Mami Elena for Robertos death she picks up a wooden spoon and breaks Titas nose leaving her no medical care and to slowly endure the pain. Mama Elena was merciless, killing with a single blow. But then again, not always. For Tita she had mad e an exception; she had been killing her a little at a time since she was a child, and she still hadnt finished her off.  [8]   Nacha! Dont say that. As my youngest daughter, Tita will care for me until the day I die. She wont marry.  [9]  The reason for her absurd vision of Duty and Responsibility is so that Mami Elena is able to gain full control over her daughters and not lose power. Eventually when Rosaura gives birth to Espranza Rosaura imposes the same fate on her daughter. Esquivel introduces the baby to show that even though Mami Elena had died Rosaura had still kept to the tradition even after all the treacherous things she had inflicted upon Rosaura. It shows how Mami Elena had polluted the mind of Rosaura and how her power even though she was dead overruled Rosauras self conscience I now knew that all of us were prostitutes who sold themselves at varying prices, and that an expensive prostitute was better than a cheap one.  [10]  As a prostitute Firdaus uses her power to command higher and higher prices simply by denying men of their wants. She was able to control the prices for her service showing her power over men. Men would crave for her; Firdaus would use this to her advantage to make them suffer. As she becomes powerful and notorious as prostitute money starts piling in for her. She gets this mind sense that as you have more money you also get more powerful which she had learnt from Sharifa. When the pimp comes into the picture, Firdaus sees him as a threat blocking her uprising. The pimp threatens to defame her or kill her, proving that no matter how much she had, Firdaus was still vulnerable to men because she had something to lose. Both Esquivel and El Saadawi present the theme of power effectively through the characters, Mama Elena and Firdaus using a variety of techniques. Like water for chocolate and Woman at point zero, with its blatantly sexist narrator are two novels written by two different female writers in totally different cultural circumstances; Esquivel being raised in Mexico, and El Saadawi being raised in Egypt. The reader therefore inevitably obtains a different level of insight of the protagonists however the theme of power still conforms with similarities between them. However no one can deny that both texts provide a fascinating view of the complexities and confusions of power. By Timothy Lui

The Effect Of Government Expenditure Economics Essay

The Effect Of Government Expenditure Economics Essay Pakistan stood categorized in the sixties by high rates of growth and it was widely believed that this exclusive preoccupation with growth had resulted in concentration of income in a few rich families. It has been argued that the manufacturing sector received favorable treatment at the hands of government policy thereby redistributing income from agriculture to industrial sector through over-valued exchange rate for industrial Sector, provision of cheap credit, liberal import of capital goods at below equilibrium cost of capital. The relationship between government expenditure and economic growth has continued to generate series of debate among scholars. Government performs two functions- protection (and security) and provisions of certain public goods Protection function consist of the creation of rule of law and enforcement of property rights. This helps to minimize risks of criminality, protect life and property, and the nation from external aggression. Under the provisions of pu blic goods are defense, roads, education, health, and power, to mention few. Some scholars argue that increase in government expenditure on socio-economic and physical infrastructures encourages economic growth. For example, government expenditure on health and education raises the productivity of labor and increase the growth of national output. Similarly, expenditure on infrastructure such as roads, communications, power, etc, reduces production costs, increases private sector investment and profitability of firms, thus fostering economic growth. However, some scholars did not support the claim that increasing government expenditure promotes economic growth, instead they assert that higher government expenditure may slowdown overall performance of the economy. For instance, in an attempt to finance rising expenditure, government may increase taxes and/or borrowing. Higher income tax discourages individual from working for long hours or even searching for jobs. This in turn reduces income and aggregate demand. In the same vein, higher profit tax tends to increase production costs and reduce investment expenditure as well as profitability of firms. Moreover, if government increases borrowing (especially from the banks) in order to finance its expenditure, it will compete (crowds-out) away the private sector, thus reducing private investment. Furthermore, in a bid to score cheap popularity and ensure that they continue to remain in power, politicians and governments officials sometimes increase expenditure and investment in unproductive projects or in goods that the private sector can produce more efficiently. Thus, government activity sometimes produces misallocation of resources and impedes the growth of national economy. Public Finance is to provide information to all arms of government in other to provide useful data as done for the developed nations that transferred Pubic Finance technology to developing countries. However, the public finance technological transfer has not been used in developing countries to develop their economies. One of the assumptions might have been due to culture mingled with public finance information made available to policy makers. The realities have been x-rayed by public finance and practices. Thus, ID omen citied the following: Economic growth represents the expansion of a countrys potential GDP or output. 2. OBJECTIVE: 1. Short run relationship between government expenditure and economic growth of Pakistan. 2. Long run relationship between government expenditure and economic growth of Pakistan. 3. LITERATURE REVIEW: Ranjan KD, Sharma C Examined the effect of government development expenditure on economic growth during the period 1950-2007. The authors discovered a significant positive impact of government expenditure on economic growth. They also reported the existence of co integration among the variables. Easterly and Rebelo (2009) find that public investment in transport and communications in developing countries leads to higher economic growth. Abdullah HA, 2000 analyzed the relationship between government expenditure and economic growth. The author reported that the size of government is very important in the performance of economy. He advised that government should increase its spending on Infrastructure, social and economic activities. In addition, government should encourage and support the private sector to accelerate economic growth. Ogiogio GO Revealed a long-term relationship between government expenditure and economic growth. Moreover, the authors findings showed that recurrent expenditure exerts more influence than capital expenditure on growth. On empirical research using panel data, one can cite (among others) the papers by Devarajan et al. (1996) henceforth DSZ and Gupta et al. (2005) On the composition of government expenditure and growth for a sample of developing countries. DSZ found a negative (positive) and significant relationship between the capital (current) component of public expenditure and per capita real GDP growth for 43 countries over the period 1970-1990, while Gupta et al. (2005) found quite the reverse for 39 countries between 1990 and 2000. Lee et al. (2009), commenting on Islam (2009), observe that slope heterogeneity, even when random, causes major difficulties for estimation in dynamic panels. They contend that potential heterogeneity in growth rates of different countries renders the standard fixed effects panel estimator to be biased. Given the importance of slope heterogeneity as an econometric issue (see, among others, Baltagi (1995), and Pesaran and Smith (1995), we extend the methodology implemented by DSZ by explicitly modelling the potential cross-country heterogeneity in capital and current expenditure. The fixed effects panel estimator used in DSZ assumes that all the slope coefficients, adjustment dynamics and error variances are invariant across all countries. However, these assumptions are unlikely to hold, because countries are not unanimous in their views on the role of government expenditure in fostering growth, and this largely depends on the political stance of the party in power. The importance assigned to capital and current expenditures, i.e., the 1 commitment to spend on viable long-term capital projects vis-a-vis the spending on recurrent types of expenditure like wages and salaries, subsidies and pension arrangements, also vary across countries. The potential cross-country variations in the parameters of the level and composition of public expenditure are consequently modelled as a linear function of country-specific levels of current and capital spending in this paper. Wagner says, (1999:46) That there is a positive relationship between the per capital income of the citizens in a country with government spending such that the income elasticity of government expenditure is always greater than one. However, other researchers have discovered that the relationship is not always certain because there are periods when government expenditure in relations to the national income will decline when the elasticity of income to government expenditure is less than one. Ram Rati (1986) concluded that overall impact of government size and government expenditures on growth is positive. Rostow Musgrave model (1999:46) carried out a research on growth of public expenditure and concluded that, at the early stages of economic development, the rate of growth of public expenditure will be very high because government provides the basic infrastructural facilities (social overheads) and most of these projects are capital intensive, therefore, the spending of the government will increase steadily. The investment in education, health, roads, electricity, water supply are necessities that can launch the economy from the practitioner stage to the take off stage of economic development, making government to spend and increasing amount with time in order to develop an egalitarian society. To illustrate, models with varieties of capital goods is related to technological process corresponds to an expansion of the number of capital goods, the production function Barros (1979) Tax-smoothing hypothesis says that, if the marginal cost of raising tax revenue is increasing the optimal tax rate is a martingale. This implies that changes in the tax rate will be permanent and, given their different effects on growth, under the two types of growth models, very useful in empirically distinguishing between the exogenous and endogenous models. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: According to the Keynesian there is increase in government expenditure, the country will grow, holding other things constant. Y = C + I + G+ (X-M ) Y = GDP C=consumption I= Investment (X-M)=Net exports 4. DATA AND METHODOLOGY: Data is collected on annual basis from the year 1972 to 2008 from various issues of economic survey of Pakistan and IFS (International Financial statistics) for GDP and government expenditure. That is converted into growth form. Oxmatrics software is used for estimation. Model: Y=f (GE) Where GE=Government expenditures The model is specified as Y=ÃŽ ±+ ÃŽ ² (GE) +  µ Where GE=Government expenditures  µ=error term Y = GDP growth 5.Estimation technique: Unit root Test: Both series GDP and GE are unit root. AS ADF greater than critical value so we can further proceed for co integration. Regression model: After regression disequilibrium saved the residuals , further test the residuals for stationary , so the residual is stationary it means co integration is exist between GDP and government expenditures. Unit root for disequilibrium: As ADF is less than critical value so the series is stationary and co integration exists. ERROR CORRECTION MODEL: Now check the long run relationship between government expenditures and GDP growth by ECM. This is error correction model Dgdp = + 0.9029*DLgov 0.8551*deq_1 So the value of dis equilibrium is negative and lies between 0 to 1 there exists long run relationship between two variables. 6. Policy implications: The results suggest that the economic growth can be achieved by increasing government expenditures. As we know that increase in government expenditures has also other implications for the economy and this study is limited in scope. So we suggest that government expenditures hike will increase GDP keeping other things constant.

On Achievement :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites If a comatose person were to earn an interest of 1 million USD annually on the sum paid to him as compensatory damages – would this be considered an achievement of his? To succeed to earn 1 million USD is universally judged to be an achievement. But to do so while comatose will almost as universally not be counted as one. It would seem that a person has to be both conscious and intelligent to have his achievements qualify. Even these conditions, though necessary, are not sufficient. If a totally conscious (and reasonably intelligent) person were to accidentally unearth a treasure trove and thus be transformed into a multi-billionaire – his stumbling across a fortune will not qualify as an achievement. A lucky turn of events does not an achievement make. A person must be intent on achieving to have his deeds classified as achievements. Intention is a paramount criterion in the classification of events and actions, as any intensionalist philosopher will tell you. Supposing a conscious and intelligent person has the intention to achieve a goal. He then engages in a series of absolutely random and unrelated actions, one of which yields the desired result. Will we then say that our person is an achiever? Not at all. It is not enough to intend. One must proceed to produce a plan of action, which is directly derived from the overriding goal. Such a plan of action must be seen to be reasonable and pragmatic and leading – with great probability – to the achievement. In other words: the plan must involve a prognosis, a prediction, a forecast, which can be either verified or falsified. Attaining an achievement involves the construction of an ad-hoc mini theory. Reality has to be thoroughly surveyed, models constructed, one of them selected (on empirical or aesthetic grounds), a goal formulated, an experiment performed and a negative (failure) or positive (achievement) result obtained. Only if the prediction turns out to be correct can we speak of an achievement. Our would-be achiever is thus burdened by a series of requirements. He must be conscious, must possess a well-formulated intention, must plan his steps towards the attainment of his goal, and must correctly predict the results of his actions. But planning alone is not sufficient. One must carry out one's plan of action (from mere plan to actual action).

HMOs Failing State Standards :: social issues

HMOs Failing State Standards New Yorkers may be covered by one of the nation's most comprehensive health consumer protection laws--but insurers routinely flout it, according to a report released yesterday by New York City Public Advocate Mark Green. Posing as prospective clients, Green's investigators called 12 of the region's health maintenance organizations, including some of the largest on Long Island and in Queens, to get information about their complaint records, lists of covered prescription drugs and medical procedures, and policies on confidentiality and experimental treatments. Although New York's new managed care bill of rights requires health plans to provide the information to both members and potential members, all of the HMOs flunked the test most of the time, with representatives either unwilling or unable to answer the questions. "Five out of six times the HMOs refused to tell one of our callers whether a drug was covered by the HMO," Green said. "Not to know whether the HMO you might join will cover a drug you use monthly is like a computer store refusing to tell you the memory of the computer--or an auto dealership refusing to give you the miles-per-gallon of the Pontiac." "Our callers got extremely frustrated, and their health wasn't even at risk," Greensaid. The survey was conducted in July and August, just months after the New York law went into effect in April. Kevin McGrath--a spokesman for Wellcare, the small plan that had the worst score--said that although he hasn't seen the full report, he is "suspicious" of the survey's methodology because the results were so extreme. "From the results, it looks to me that the survey may be flawed," he said. "The results are hard to believe." [CURE Comment: Not to MCL subscribers, Kevin.] Even Cigna HealthCare of New York, which scored highest on a point system devised by Green, complied with the law only one-third of the time, according to the report. Other top performers were NYLCare Health Plans of New York, which complied 15 percent of the time, and United Healthcare and Oxford, which both complied 14 percent of the time. Prudential HealthCare, MagnaCare/MagnaHealth and WellCare ranked at the bottom of the list, complying less than 5 percent of the time, Green's office said. Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, Aetna/US Healthcare and Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield ranked in the middle, complying 20 percent, 16 percent and 13 percent of the time, respectively.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Three

Daenerys Her brother held the gown up for her inspection. â€Å"This is beauty. Touch it. Go on. Caress the fabric.† Dany touched it. The cloth was so smooth that it seemed to run through her fingers like water. She could not remember ever wearing anything so soft. It frightened her. She pulled her hand away. â€Å"Is it really mine?† â€Å"A gift from the Magister Illyrio,† Viserys said, smiling. Her brother was in a high mood tonight. â€Å"The color will bring out the violet in your eyes. And you shall have gold as well, and jewels of all sorts. Illyrio has promised. Tonight you must look like a princess.† A princess, Dany thought. She had forgotten what that was like. Perhaps she had never really known. â€Å"Why does he give us so much?† she asked. â€Å"What does he want from us?† For nigh on half a year, they had lived in the magister's house, eating his food, pampered by his servants. Dany was thirteen, old enough to know that such gifts seldom come without their price, here in the free city of Pentos. â€Å"Illyrio is no fool,† Viserys said. He was a gaunt young man with nervous hands and a feverish look in his pale lilac eyes. â€Å"The magister knows that I will not forget my friends when I come into my throne.† Dany said nothing. Magister Illyrio was a dealer in spices, gemstones, dragonbone, and other, less savory things. He had friends in all of the Nine Free Cities, it was said, and even beyond, in Vaes Dothrak and the fabled lands beside the JadeSea. It was also said that he'd never had a friend he wouldn't cheerfully sell for the right price. Dany listened to the talk in the streets, and she heard these things, but she knew better than to question her brother when he wove his webs of dream. His anger was a terrible thing when roused. Viserys called it â€Å"waking the dragon.† Her brother hung the gown beside the door. â€Å"Illyrio will send the slaves to bathe you. Be sure you wash off the stink of the stables. Khal Drogo has a thousand horses, tonight he looks for a different sort of mount.† He studied her critically. â€Å"You still slouch. Straighten yourself† He pushed back her shoulders with his hands. â€Å"Let them see that you have a woman's shape now.† His fingers brushed lightly over her budding breasts and tightened on a nipple. â€Å"You will not fail me tonight. If you do, it will go hard for you. You don't want to wake the dragon, do you?† His fingers twisted her, the pinch cruelly hard through the rough fabric of her tunic. â€Å"Do you?† he repeated. â€Å"No,† Dany said meekly. Her brother smiled. â€Å"Good.† He touched her hair, almost with affection. â€Å"When they write the history of my reign, sweet sister, they will say that it began tonight.† When he was gone, Dany went to her window and looked out wistfully on the waters of the bay. The square brick towers of Pentos were black silhouettes outlined against the setting sun. Dany could hear the singing of the red priests as they lit their night fires and the shouts of ragged children playing games beyond the walls of the estate. For a moment she wished she could be out there with them, barefoot and breathless and dressed in tatters, with no past and no future and no feast to attend at Khal Drogo's manse. Somewhere beyond the sunset, across the narrow sea, lay a land of green hills and flowered plains and great rushing rivers, where towers of dark stone rose amidst magnificent blue-grey mountains, and armored knights rode to battle beneath the banners of their lords. The Dothraki called that land Rhaesh Andahli, the land of the Andals. In the Free Cities, they talked of Westeros and the SunsetKingdoms. Her brother had a simpler name. â€Å"Our land,† he called it. The words were like a prayer with him. If he said them enough, the gods were sure to hear. â€Å"Ours by blood right, taken from us by treachery, but ours still, ours forever. You do not steal from the dragon, oh, no. The dragon remembers.† And perhaps the dragon did remember, but Dany could not. She had never seen this land her brother said was theirs, this realm beyond the narrow sea. These places he talked of, Casterly Rock and the Eyrie, Highgarden and the Vale of Arryn, Dorne and the Isle of Faces, they were just words to her. Viserys had been a boy of eight when they fled King's Landing to escape the advancing armies of the Usurper, but Daenerys had been only a quickening in their mother's womb. Yet sometimes Dany would picture the way it had been, so often had her brother told her the stories. The midnight flight to Dragonstone, moonlight shimmering on the ship's black sails. Her brother Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved. The sack of King's Landing by the ones Viserys called the Usurper's dogs, the lords Lannister and Stark. Princess Elia of Dorne pleading for mercy as Rhaegar's heir was ripped from her breast and murdered before her eyes. The polished skulls of the last dragons staring down sightlessly from the walls of the throne room while the Kingslayer opened Father's throat with a golden sword. She had been born on Dragonstone nine moons after their flight, while a raging summer storm threatened to rip the island fastness apart. They said that storm was terrible. The Targaryen fleet was smashed while it lay at anchor, and huge stone blocks were ripped from the parapets and sent hurtling into the wild waters of the narrow sea. Her mother had died birthing her, and for that her brother Viserys had never forgiven her. She did not remember Dragonstone either. They had run again, just before the Usurper's brother set sail with his new-built fleet. By then only Dragonstone itself, the ancient seat of their House, had remained of the Seven Kingdoms that had once been theirs. It would not remain for long. The garrison had been prepared to sell them to the Usurper, but one night Ser Willem Darry and four loyal men had broken into the nursery and stolen them both, along with her wet nurse, and set sail under cover of darkness for the safety of the Braavosian coast. She remembered Ser Willem dimly, a great grey bear of a man, half-blind, roaring and bellowing orders from his sickbed. The servants had lived in terror of him, but he had always been kind to Dany. He called her â€Å"Little Princess† and sometimes â€Å"My Lady,† and his hands were soft as old leather. He never left his bed, though, and the smell of sickness clung to him day and night, a hot, moist, sickly sweet odor. That was when they lived in Braavos, in the big house with the red door. Dany had her own room there, with a lemon tree outside her window. After Ser Willem had died, the servants had stolen what little money they had left, and soon after they had been put out of the big house. Dany had cried when the red door closed behind them forever. They had wandered since then, from Braavos to Myr, from Myr to Tyrosh, and on to Qohor and Volantis and Lys, never staying long in any one place. Her brother would not allow it. The Usurper's hired knives were close behind them, he insisted, though Dany had never seen one. At first the magisters and archons and merchant princes were pleased to welcome the last Targaryens to their homes and tables, but as the years passed and the Usurper continued to sit upon the Iron Throne, doors closed and their lives grew meaner. Years past they had been forced to sell their last few treasures, and now even the coin they had gotten from Mother's crown had gone. In the alleys and wine sinks of Pentos, they called her brother â€Å"the beggar king.† Dany did not want to know what they called her. â€Å"We will have it all back someday, sweet sister,† he would promise her. Sometimes his hands shook when he talked about it. â€Å"The jewels and the silks, Dragonstone and King's Landing, the Iron Throne and the SevenKingdoms, all they have taken from us, we will have it back.† Viserys lived for that day. All that Daenerys wanted back was the big house with the red door, the lemon tree outside her window, the childhood she had never known. There came a soft knock on her door. â€Å"Come,† Dany said, turning away from the window. Illyrio's servants entered, bowed, and set about their business. They were slaves, a gift from one of the magister's many Dothraki friends. There was no slavery in the free city of Pentos. Nonetheless, they were slaves. The old woman, small and grey as a mouse, never said a word, but the girl made up for it. She was Illyrio's favorite, a fair-haired, blue-eyed wench of sixteen who chattered constantly as she worked. They filled her bath with hot water brought up from the kitchen and scented it with fragrant oils. The girl pulled the rough cotton tunic over Dany's head and helped her into the tub. The water was scalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean. Besides, her brother had often told her that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. â€Å"Ours is the house of the dragon,† he would say. â€Å"The fire is in our blood.† The old woman washed her long, silver-pale hair and gently combed out the snags, all in silence. The girl scrubbed her back and her feet and told her how lucky she was. â€Å"Drogo is so rich that even his slaves wear golden collars. A hundred thousand men ride in his khalasar, and his palace in Vaes Dothrak has two hundred rooms and doors of solid silver.† There was more like that, so much more, what a handsome man the khal was, so tall and fierce, fearless in battle, the best rider ever to mount a horse, a demon archer. Daenerys said nothing. She had always assumed that she would wed Viserys when she came of age. For centuries the Targaryens had married brother to sister, since Aegon the Conqueror had taken his sisters to bride. The line must be kept pure, Viserys had told her a thousand times; theirs was the kingsblood, the golden blood of old Valyria, the blood of the dragon. Dragons did not mate with the beasts of the field, and Targaryens did not mingle their blood with that of lesser men. Yet now Viserys schemed to sell her to a stranger, a barbarian. When she was clean, the slaves helped her from the water and toweled her dry. The girl brushed her hair until it shone like molten silver, while the old woman anointed her with the spiceflower perfume of the Dothraki plains, a dab on each wrist, behind her ears, on the tips of her breasts, and one last one, cool on her lips, down there between her legs. They dressed her in the wisps that Magister Illyrio had sent up, and then the gown, a deep plum silk to bring out the violet in her eyes. The girl slid the gilded sandals onto her feet, while the old woman fixed the tiara in her hair, and slid golden bracelets crusted with amethysts around her wrists. Last of all came the collar, a heavy golden torc emblazoned with ancient Valyrian glyphs. â€Å"Now you look all a princess,† the girl said breathlessly when they were done. Dany glanced at her image in the silvered looking glass that Illyrio had so thoughtfully provided. A princess, she thought, but she remembered what the girl had said, how Khal Drogo was so rich even his slaves wore golden collars. She felt a sudden chill, and gooseflesh pimpled her bare arms. Her brother was waiting in the cool of the entry hall, seated on the edge of the pool, his hand trailing in the water. He rose when she appeared and looked her over critically. â€Å"Stand there,† he told her. â€Å"Turn around. Yes. Good. You look . . . â€Å" â€Å"Regal,† Magister Illyrio said, stepping through an archway. He moved with surprising delicacy for such a massive man. Beneath loose garments of flame-colored silk, rolls of fat jiggled as he walked. Gemstones glittered on every finger, and his man had oiled his forked yellow beard until it shone like real gold. â€Å"May the Lord of Light shower you with blessings on this most fortunate day, Princess Daenerys,† the magister said as he took her hand. He bowed his head, showing a thin glimpse of crooked yellow teeth through the gold of his beard. â€Å"She is a vision, Your Grace, a vision,† he told her brother. â€Å"Drogo will be enraptured.† â€Å"She's too skinny,† Viserys said. His hair, the same silver-blond as hers, had been pulled back tightly behind his head and fastened with a dragonbone brooch. It was a severe look that emphasized the hard, gaunt lines of his face. He rested his hand on the hilt of the sword that Illyrio had lent him, and said, â€Å"Are you sure that Khal Drogo likes his women this young?† â€Å"She has had her blood. She is old enough for the khal,† Illyrio told him, not for the first time. â€Å"Look at her. That silver-gold hair, those purple eyes . . . she is the blood of old Valyria, no doubt, no doubt . . . and highborn, daughter of the old king, sister to the new, she cannot fail to entrance our Drogo.† When he released her hand, Daenerys found herself trembling. â€Å"I suppose,† her brother said doubtfully. â€Å"The savages have queer tastes. Boys, horses, sheep . . . â€Å" â€Å"Best not suggest this to Khal Drogo,† Illyrio said. Anger flashed in her brother's lilac eyes. â€Å"Do you take me for a fool?† The magister bowed slightly. â€Å"I take you for a king. Kings lack the caution of common men. My apologies if I have given offense.† He turned away and clapped his hands for his bearers. The streets of Pentos were pitch-dark when they set out in Illyrio's elaborately carved palanquin. Two servants went ahead to light their way, carrying ornate oil lanterns with panes of pale blue glass, while a dozen strong men hoisted the poles to their shoulders. It was warm and close inside behind the curtains. Dany could smell the stench of Illyrio's pallid flesh through his heavy perfumes. Her brother, sprawled out on his pillows beside her, never noticed. His mind was away across the narrow sea. â€Å"We won't need his whole khalasar,† Viserys said. His fingers toyed with the hilt of his borrowed blade, though Dany knew he had never used a sword in earnest. â€Å"Ten thousand, that would be enough, I could sweep the Seven Kingdoms with ten thousand Dothraki screamers. The realm will rise for its rightful king. Tyrell, Redwyne, Darry, Greyjoy, they have no more love for the Usurper than I do. The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children. And the smallfolk will be with us. They cry out for their king.† He looked at Illyrio anxiously. â€Å"They do, don't they?† â€Å"They are your people, and they love you well,† Magister Illyrio said amiably. â€Å"In holdfasts all across the realm, men lift secret toasts to your health while women sew dragon banners and hide them against the day of your return from across the water.† He gave a massive shrug. â€Å"Or so my agents tell me.† Dany had no agents, no way of knowing what anyone was doing or thinking across the narrow sea, but she mistrusted Illyrio's sweet words as she mistrusted everything about Illyrio. Her brother was nodding eagerly, however. â€Å"I shall kill the Usurper myself,† he promised, who had never killed anyone, â€Å"as he killed my brother Rhaegar. And Lannister too, the Kingslayer, for what he did to my father.† â€Å"That would be most fitting,† Magister Illyrio said. Dany saw the smallest hint of a smile playing around his full lips, but her brother did not notice. Nodding, he pushed back a curtain and stared off into the night, and Dany knew he was fighting the Battle of the Trident once again. The nine-towered manse of Khal Drogo sat beside the waters of the bay, its high brick walls overgrown with pale ivy. It had been given to the khal by the magisters of Pentos, Illyrio told them. The Free Cities were always generous with the horselords. â€Å"It is not that we fear these barbarians,† Illyrio would explain with a smile. â€Å"The Lord of Light would hold our city walls against a million Dothraki, or so the red priests promise . . . yet why take chances, when their friendship comes so cheap?† Their palanquin was stopped at the gate, the curtains pulled roughly back by one of the house guards. He had the copper skin and dark almond eyes of a Dothraki, but his face was hairless and he wore the spiked bronze cap of the Unsullied. He looked them over coldly. Magister Illyrio growled something to him in the rough Dothraki tongue; the guardsman replied in the same voice and waved them through the gates. Dany noticed that her brother's hand was clenched tightly around the hilt of his borrowed sword. He looked almost as frightened as she felt. â€Å"Insolent eunuch,† Viserys muttered as the palanquin lurched up toward the manse. Magister Illyrio's words were honey. â€Å"Many important men will be at the feast tonight. Such men have enemies. The khal must protect his guests, yourself chief among them, Your Grace. No doubt the Usurper would pay well for your head.† â€Å"Oh, yes,† Viserys said darkly. â€Å"He has tried, Illyrio, I promise you that. His hired knives follow us everywhere. I am the last dragon, and he will not sleep easy while I live.† The palanquin slowed and stopped. The curtains were thrown back, and a slave offered a hand to help Daenerys out. His collar, she noted, was ordinary bronze. Her brother followed, one hand still clenched hard around his sword hilt. It took two strong men to get Magister Illyrio back on his feet. Inside the manse, the air was heavy with the scent of spices, pinchfire and sweet lemon and cinnamon. They were escorted across the entry hall, where a mosaic of colored glass depicted the Doom of Valyria. Oil burned in black iron lanterns all along the walls. Beneath an arch of twining stone leaves, a eunuch sang their coming. â€Å"Viserys of the House Targaryen, the Third of his Name,† he called in a high, sweet voice, â€Å"King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the SevenKingdoms and Protector of the Realm. His sister, Daenerys Stormborn, Princess of Dragonstone. His honorable host, Illyrio Mopatis, Magister of the Free City of Pentos.† They stepped past the eunuch into a pillared courtyard overgrown in pale ivy. Moonlight painted the leaves in shades of bone and silver as the guests drifted among them. Many were Dothraki horselords, big men with red-brown skin, their drooping mustachios bound in metal rings, their black hair oiled and braided and hung with bells. Yet among them moved bravos and sellswords from Pentos and Myr and Tyrosh, a red priest even fatter than Illyrio, hairy men from the Port of Ibben, and lords from the Summer Isles with skin as black as ebony. Daenerys looked at them all in wonder . . . and realized, with a sudden start of fear, that she was the only woman there. Illyrio whispered to them. â€Å"Those three are Drogo's bloodriders, there,† he said. â€Å"By the pillar is Khal Moro, with his son Rhogoro. The man with the green beard is brother to the Archon of Tyrosh, and the man behind him is Ser Jorah Mormont.† The last name caught Daenerys. â€Å"A knight?† â€Å"No less.† Illyrio smiled through his beard. â€Å"Anointed with the seven oils by the High Septon himself.† â€Å"What is he doing here?† she blurted. â€Å"The Usurper wanted his head,† Illyrio told them. â€Å"Some trifling affront. He sold some poachers to a Tyroshi slaver instead of giving them to the Night's Watch. Absurd law. A man should be able to do as he likes with his own chattel.† â€Å"I shall wish to speak with Ser Jorah before the night is done,† her brother said. Dany found herself looking at the knight curiously. He was an older man, past forty and balding, but still strong and fit. Instead of silks and cottons, he wore wool and leather. His tunic was a dark green, embroidered with the likeness of a black bear standing on two legs. She was still looking at this strange man from the homeland she had never known when Magister Illyrio placed a moist hand on her bare shoulder. â€Å"Over there, sweet princess,† he whispered, â€Å"there is the khal himself.† Dany wanted to run and hide, but her brother was looking at her, and if she displeased him she knew she would wake the dragon. Anxiously, she turned and looked at the man Viserys hoped would ask to wed her before the night was done. The slave girl had not been far wrong, she thought. Khal Drogo was a head taller than the tallest man in the room, yet somehow light on his feet, as graceful as the panther in Illyrio's menagerie. He was younger than she'd thought, no more than thirty. His skin was the color of polished copper, his thick mustachios bound with gold and bronze rings. â€Å"I must go and make my submissions,† Magister Illyrio said. â€Å"Wait here. I shall bring him to you.† Her brother took her by the arm as Illyrio waddled over to the khal, his fingers squeezing so hard that they hurt. â€Å"Do you see his braid, sweet sister?† Drogo's braid was black as midnight and heavy with scented oil, hung with tiny bells that rang softly as he moved. It swung well past his belt, below even his buttocks, the end of it brushing against the back of his thighs. â€Å"You see how long it is?† Viserys said. â€Å"When Dothraki are defeated in combat, they cut off their braids in disgrace, so the world will know their shame. Khal Drogo has never lost a fight. He is Aegon the Dragonlord come again, and you will be his queen.† Dany looked at Khal Drogo. His face was hard and cruel, his eyes as cold and dark as onyx. Her brother hurt her sometimes, when she woke the dragon, but he did not frighten her the way this man frightened her. â€Å"I don't want to be his queen,† she heard herself say in a small, thin voice. â€Å"Please, please, Viserys, I don't want to, I want to go home.† â€Å"Home?† He kept his voice low, but she could hear the fury in his tone. â€Å"How are we to go home, sweet sister? They took our home from us!† He drew her into the shadows, out of sight, his fingers digging into her skin. â€Å"How are we to go home?† he repeated, meaning King's Landing, and Dragonstone, and all the realm they had lost. Dany had only meant their rooms in Illyrio's estate, no true home surely, though all they had, but her brother did not want to hear that. There was no home there for him. Even the big house with the red door had not been home for him. His fingers dug hard into her arm, demanding an answer. â€Å"I don't know . . . â€Å"she said at last, her voice breaking. Tears welled in her eyes. â€Å"I do,† he said sharply. â€Å"We go home with an army, sweet sister. With Khal Drogo's army, that is how we go home. And if you must wed him and bed him for that, you will.† He smiled at her. â€Å"I'd let his whole khalasar fuck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand men, and their horses too if that was what it took to get my army. Be grateful it is only Drogo. In time you may even learn to like him. Now dry your eyes. Illyrio is bringing him over, and he will not see you crying.† Dany turned and saw that it was true. Magister Illyrio, all smiles and bows, was escorting Khal Drogo over to where they stood. She brushed away unfallen tears with the back of her hand. â€Å"Smile,† Viserys whispered nervously, his hand failing to the hilt of his sword. â€Å"And stand up straight. Let him see that you have breasts. Gods know, you have little enough as is.† Daenerys smiled, and stood up straight.