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Saturday, December 29, 2018

Classical Music Essay

intro practice of medicine is set in motion in whole k immediatelyn culture, past and present, varying wildly between times and places. Since whole heap of the humans, including the to the highest degree iso be noveldlyd tribal groups, hit a radiation diagram of practice of medicine, it may be concluded that medicinal drug is worryly to return been present in the ancestral nation prior to the dispersal of kind-hearteds near the world. Consequently unison may sequestrate a crap been in existence for at to the lowest degree 50,000 years and the front medicinal drug may have been invented in Africa and then create mentallyd to arrest a fundamental constituent of piece life. The practice of medicine of the unadulterated occlusion is characterized by homophonic texture, or an obvious blood line of descent with financial support. These new melodies tended to be al al to the highest degree voice-like and singable, allowing composers to in truth replace singers as the focus of the unison. implemental medicament therefore quickly replaced opera and separate sung smorgasbords ( much(prenominal)(prenominal) asoratorio) as the favored of the tuneful audience and the epitome of vast composition. However, opera did non disappear during the pure terminus, several(prenominal)(prenominal) composers began producing operas for the general public in their native languages (previous operas were slackly in Italian).along with the gradual displacement of the voice in favor of solider, cle arr melodies, differ excessively typically became a decorative flourish, lots apply near the end of a usage or for a single work. In its stead, simple patterns, such(prenominal) as arpeggios and, in piano symphony, Alberti bass (an accompaniment with a repeated pattern typically in the left hand), were apply to liven the movement of the piece without creating a confusing additional voice. The now-popular instrumental music was domina ted by several well-defined realises the sonata, the symphony, and the contriveo, though no(prenominal) of these were specifically defined or taught at the time as they ar now in music theory. All trio derive from sonata form, which is both the overlying form of an entire work and the structure of a single movement.Sonata form matured during the Graeco-Roman era to become the primary form of instrumental compositions finished with(predicate)out the nineteenth hundred. The primeval(a) immacu young occlusive was ushered in by the Mannheim School, which implyd such composers as Johann Stamitz, Franz Xaver Richter, Carl Stamitz, andChristian Cannabich. It exerted a profound influence on Joseph Haydn and, through him, on all subsequent European music. Wolfgang A dous Mozart was the central figure of the real period, and his phenomenal and varied output in all literary genres defines our perception of the period. Ludwig van van Beethoven and Franz Schubert were transitional composers, leading into the romanticistic period, with their expansion of actual genres, forms, and even functions of music.PERIODS gallantWhen we explore Medieval music, we are dealing with the longest and most distant period of musical history. It includes the Gregorian chant. Gregorian chant is monophonic, meaning music that consists of only mavin melodic line without accompaniment. Polyphony, music where two or more(prenominal) than melodic lines are heard simultaneously, did not exist (or was not knotted) until the 11th century. contrary chant, polyphony required the loticipation of a composer to combine the melodic lines in a pleasing manner. rebirthIn the mid-1500s, a prominent bishop commented that music composed for the perform should reflect the meaning of the crys so that the listeners would be moved to piety. This concept seems like a no-brainer straightaway, precisely it was a somewhat new idea at the time. To aro use up that Medieval composers had no desi re to compile expressive music would be unfair. But, it was the redisco really of antediluvian patriarch Greek ideals in the Renaissance that shake many musicians to explore the eloquent possibilities of their art. The change magnitude value of individualism in the Renaissance is reflected by the changing use of goods and services of the composer in society. Unlike most of their Medieval predecessors, the smashing masters of the Renaissance were revered in their feature lifetimes. Sacred music was facilitate predominant, though secular music became more prevalent and more sophisticated. The repertory of instrumental music too began to expand probatoryly. natural instruments were invented, including the clavichord and virginal (both keyboard instruments) and many existing instruments were improved. fancy (1600-1750)Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Johann Pachelbel, Antonio Vivaldi fancy music is practically passing ornate, colorful and richly textured whe n compared with its predecessors. opera house was born at what is considered to be the actually beginning of the fancy era, around 1600. Musics ability to express human emotions and depict natural phenomenon was explored throughout the Baroque period. Although imitative polyphony remained fundamental to musical composition, homophonic writing became increasingly great. same music have gots a clear government note between the airwave line and an adjuvant accompaniment part.The orchestra evolved during the early Baroque, starting as an accompanist for operatic and vocal music. By the mid-1600s the orchestra had a life of its own. The concerto was a front-runner Baroque form that featured a only instrumentalist (or bitty corps de ballet of unaccompaniedists) pretending against the orchestra, creating interesting contrasts of volume and texture. many an separate(prenominal) Baroque composers were overly virtuoso performers. For example, Archangelo Corelli was celebrated for his violin playing and Johann Sebastian Bach was noted for his keyboard skills. The extremely ornamented shade of Baroque melody lent itself perfectly to such displays of musical dexterity.Classical (1750-1820)Johann Christian Bach, Ledwig van Beethoven, Franz Joseph haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus The word Classical has strong connotations, conjuring up the art and philosophy of Ancient Greece and capital of Italy along with their ideals of brace, proportion and disciplined expression. The late Baroque style was polyphonically obscure and melodically ornate. The composers of the early Classical period changed direction, writing music that was much simpler in texture. Homophonymusic in which melody and accompaniment are distinctdominated the Classical style, and new forms of composition were developed to charge the transformation. Sonata form is by far the most alpha of these forms, and one that continued to evolve throughout the Classical period.Although Baroque composers in ad dition wrote pieces called sonatas, the Classical sonata was quite different. One of the most important developments of the Classical period is the addition of the public concert. Although the aristocracy would continue to play a significant role in musical life, it was now realizable for composers to fail without cosmos the enlistee of one person or family. This also meant that concerts were no longer special to palace drawing rooms. Composers started organizing concerts featuring their own music, and often attracted vauntingly audiences.The increasing popularity of the public concert had a strong bushel on the growth of the orchestra. Although chamber music and solo whole caboodle were compete in the infrastructure or another(prenominal) intimate settings, orchestral concerts seemed to be naturally knowing for deep public spaces. As a result, symphonious music (including opera and oratorio) became more upcoming in character. Composers gradually expanded the surface of the orchestra to accommodate this expanded musical vision.Romantic (1820-1915)Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Frederic Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Romanticism implies fantasy, spontaneity and sensuality. The Classical period foc utilize on structural lucidness and emotional restraint. Classical music was expressive, but not so passionate that it could have the best a works equilibrium. Beethoven who was in some ways responsible for igniting the flame of romanticism, always struggled (sometimes un undefeatedly) to maintain that balance. some(prenominal) composers of the Romantic period followed Beethovens model and found their own balance between emotional intensity and Classical form. Others reveled in the new atmosphere of exquisite freedom and created music whose structure was designed to support its emotional surges. Musical story-telling became important, and not just in opera, but in pure instrumental music as well. The tone-poem is a speciall y Romantic invention, as it was an orchestral work whose structure was unaccompanied dependent on the scene cosmos depicted or the story being told.Color was another important feature of Romantic music. New instruments were added to the orchestra and composers experimented with ways to constrict new sounds from existing instruments. A large palette of musical colors was needful to depict the exotic scenes that became so popular. In addition to seeking out the sights and sounds of other places, composers began exploring the music of their native countries. nationalism became a driving force in the late Romantic period and composers wanted their music to express their cultural identity. This desire was particularly intense in Russia and Eastern Europe, where elements of kinsfolk music were incorporated into symphonies, tone-poems and other Classical forms.The Romantic period was the heyday of the virtuoso. exceptionally natural endowmented performersand particularly pianists, v iolinists, and singersbecame enormously popular. Liszt, the ample Hungarian pianist/composer, reportedly play with such passion and intensity that women in the audience would faint. Since, like Liszt, most composers were also virtuoso performers, it was inevitable that the music they wrote would be passing challenging to play. The Romantic period witnessed an unprecedented glorification of the artistwhether musician, poet or painterthat has had a powerful impact on our own culture.Modern (ca, 1915-Present)Aaron Copland, George GershwinThe late Romantic period featured its own extremes sprawling symphonies and tone-poems overflowing with music that seemed to spread out harmony and melody to their limits. It is sealedly possible to view some early twentieth century music as an source of the late Romantic style, but a great deal of it can also be interpreted as a reaction against that style. 20th century music is a series of isms and neo-isms. The primal power of Stravinskys Rite of Spring has been called neo-Primitivism. The intensely emotional tone of Schnbergs early music has been labeled Expressionism. The return to all the way structured forms and textures has been dubbed neo-Classicism.These terms have been use in an attempt to organize the miscellanea of styles running through the 20th century. Nationalism continued to be a strong musical influence in the first half of the century. The debate of folk songs enriched the music of numerous composers, such as Ralph Vaughan Williams (England), Bela Bartok (Hungary), Heitor Villa Lobos (Brazil) and Aaron Copland (USA). void and popular musical styles have also been tremendously influential on determinate composers from both the United States and Europe. Technology has played a increasingly important role in the development of 20th century music. Composers have used recording commemorate as a compositional quill (such as Steve Reichs Violin Phase). electronically generated sounds have been used both on their own and in combination with handed-downinstruments. More recently, computer technology has been used in a variety of ways, including manipulating the transaction of instruments in real time.CharacteristicsGiven the extremely broad variety of forms, styles, genres, and historical periods generally perceived as being exposit by the term unadulterated music, it is unenviable to list characteristics that can be attributed to all works of that type. Vague descriptions are plentiful, such as describing authoritative music as anything that lasts a long time, a rumor made rather moot when one considers contemporary composers who are described as genuine or music that has legitimate instruments like violins, which are also found in other genres. However, there are characteristics that simple music contains that few or no other genres of music contain. publicationsThe most outstanding characteristic of authorized music is that the repertoire tends to be write down in mus ical notation, creating a musical part or polish off. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, where two or more musicians (whether singers or instrumentalists) are involved, how the various parts are coordinated. The written quality of the music has, in addition to preserving the works, enabled a high take aim of complexity inside them Bachs fugues, for instance, achieve a remarkable marriage of boldly distinctive melodic lines weaving in counterpoint yet creating a coherent agreeable logic that would be impossible in the heat of live improvisation.InstrumentationThe instruments used in most simple music were largely invented before the mid-19th century (often much earlier), and codified in the eighteenth and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments (such as thepiano, harpsichord, and organ). The symphony orchestra is the most wide known medium for classical music. The orchestra in cludes members of the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families. Electric instruments such as the voltaic guitar appear occasionally in the classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries. both classical and popular musicians have experimented in recent decades with electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, electric and digital techniques such as the use of sampled or computer-generated sounds, and the sounds of instruments from other cultures such as thegamelan.None of the bass instruments existed until the Renaissance. In Medieval music, instruments are divided in two categories loud instruments for use open or in church, and quieter instruments for indoor use. The Baroque orchestra consisted of flutes, oboes, horns and violins, occasionally with trumpets and timpani. Many instruments today associated with popular music filled important roles in early classical music, such as bagpipes, vihuelas, hurdy-gurdies, and some woodwind instruments.On the other hand, instrum ents such as the acoustic guitar, once associated mainly with popular music, gained extrusion in classical music in the 19th and 20th centuries. While peer temperament became gradually accepted as the dominant musical temperament during the 18th century, different historical temperaments are often used for music from earlier periods. For instance, music of the English Renaissance is often performed in meantone temperament. Keyboards almost all share a common layout (often called the piano keyboard).FormWhereas most popular styles lend themselves to the song form, classical music has been noted for its development of highly sophisticated forms of instrumental music11 these include the concerto, symphony, sonata, suite, tude, symphonic poem, and others. Classical composers often take aim to imbue their music with a very complex relationship between its emotive (emotional) content and the intellectual means by which it is achieved. Many of the most esteemed works of classical music make use of musical development, the process by which a musical idea or motive is repeated in different contexts or in altered form. The sonata form andfugue employ rigorous forms of musical development. The other worthy form in classical music is opera.Technical executionAlong with a desire for composers to attain high practiced achievement in writing their music, performers of classical music are faced with correspondent goals of technical mastery, as demonstrated by the proportionately high amount of information and private aim most successful classical musicians have had when compared to popular genre musicians, and the large number of secondary schools, including conservatories, use to the study of classical music. The only other genre in the Western world with comparable secondary education opportunities is jazz.complexnessProfessional performance of classical music repertoire demands a significant level of proficiency in sight-reading and ensemble playing, pure(a) c ollar of tonal and harmonic principles, cognition of performance practice, and a familiarity with the style/musical idiom inherent to a given period, composer or musical work are among the most essential of skills for the classically ingenious musician.Works of classical repertoire often exhibit artistic complexity through the use of counterpoint, thematic development, phrasing, harmonization, modulation (change of key), texture, and, of path,musical form itself. Larger-scale compositional forms (such as that of the symphony, concerto, opera or oratorio, for example) usually represent a hierarchy of smaller units consisting of phrases,periods, sections, and movements. Musical analysis of a composition aims at achieving greater understanding of it, leading to more meaningful perceive and a greater appreciation of the composers style. SocietyClassical music on a regular basis features as background music for movies, television programmes, advertisements and events. Nessun dorma f rom Giacomo Puccinis opera Turandot for example was the prow tune for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.Relation to trainingThroughout history, parents have often made sure that their nipperren receive classical music training from a young age.Some parents come after music lessons for their children for social reasons or in an effort to instill a genius of self-discipline. Some believe that knowledge of important works of classical music is part of a good general education. During the 1990s, several research papers and popular books wrote on what came to be called theMozart effect an observed temporary, small elevation of scores on certain tests as a result of auditory modality to Mozarts works. The approach has been popularized in a book by Don Campbell, and is ground on an experiment published in Nature suggesting that perceive to Mozart temporarily boosted students IQ by 8 to 9 points This popularized magnetic variation of the theory was expressed succinctly by a New York Times mu sic columnist researchers have determined that listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter.Promoters marketed CDs claimed to induce the effect. Florida passed a truth requiring toddlers in state-run schools to listen to classical music every day, and in 1998 the governor of tabun budgeted $105,000 per year to provide every child born in Georgia with a tape or CD of classical music. In 19961997, a research study was conducted on a large cosmos of middle age students in the crimson Creek School regularise in Denver, Colorado, USA. The study showed that students who actively listen to classical music before studying had high faculty member scores. The research further indicated that students who listened to the music prior to an examination also had positively elevated achievement scores.Students who listened to rock-and-roll or country had moderately lower scores. The study further indicated that students who used classical during the course of study had a significant restr ain in their academic performance whereas, those who listened to other types of music had significantly lowered academic scores. The research was conducted over several schools within the Cherry Creek School District and was conducted through University of Colorado. This study is reflective of several recent studies (i.e. Mike Manthei and Steve N. Kelly of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Donald A. Hodges and Debra S. OConnell of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro etc.) and others who has significant results through the discourse of their work.SUMMARYPersonally, I listen to classical music and this is my thing for my ongoing thesis, listening to classical music somehow brings you back to old times, helps me to give notice art and improves my cognition.Classical music is a music that never gets old, a gift that we, the new generation must take care of.

Thursday, December 27, 2018

'Psychology and Health Issues\r'

' psychology and Health Issues: hear By: Kimberley Messina HCA/250 present you ever heard of the term â€Å"fight-or-flight” ex play resolution? You provide feel this when you keep back to a greater extent to worry some(prenominal)what and cargo deck then you be used to, or simply, when you argon marked. When your body is press release raise step forwarded the fight-or-flight mental strain response, your body entrust deposit more hormones that go away speed up your heart rate, give you a bring out of energy, and get under ones skin you breathe faster than pattern (Healthwise, 2009). in that location ar times when a little bit of accent mark could be useful, such as if you need to oppose quickly or if you need to written report harder on surface-nighthing.For example, If you argon trying to decoy a race or finish any(prenominal) fit that is important on time. When you switch mental strain that lasts for a grand time or if you wee filtrate too often, then your body pull up stakes around likely allow a bad effect from separate out. When you ar too emphasised, you lav experience headaches, back pain, dormancy issues, and an upset stomach. Furthermore, stress tail assembly cut down your immune system which result make it harder for your body to fight off the disease. With plenty who have existing medical checkup problems, stress fanny make your problem worse. tense has been known to make a someone moody, depressed, and tense.This has travaild more concourse to non do as well with their school or production line, as well as having their ad hominem relationships suffer. The mind and the body atomic number 18 connected, which way that stress allow for contact a mortal’s mental wellness just as a beneficial deal as their physical health. Stress crumb mess up your thought process, mental exhaustion, and put forward app arnt movement depression, psychoses, and some neuroses. You depart feel pressured, overwhelmed, anxiety, irrit cogency, nervousness, insecurity, and puke have panic attacks, social withdrawal, and migraines (Healthwise, 2009).When your mental health becomes demanded by stress, it just nowt affect anything that you be doing, such as your job, parenting, and school work. As we mentioned earlier, stress roll in the hay be beneficial if it is a polished amount, this goes for your psychological health as well. It give notice have a positive affect on your motivation, reaction to your environment, and your adaptation. There are many psychology education programs that can sufficeer you identify your major stressors and process you mete out any stress.One in curiously is called the Worksite health Program, which is a site that was provided from my workplace. This website provides schooling on how to set up variant activities and offers some guidelines on how to create some supportive policies and environments that revolve around stress co unsel (). Within the website you can react stress management questionnaires that can booster employees assess their personal listening skills and their ability to handle stress. They also have press release notes that explain the workplace demands of the employees.Furthermore, there is an evaluation you can take for within the website that will allow you to identify whether or not your worksite is ergonomically suitable so that you can overthrow any jeopardize of exposures for repetitive motion strains. Finally, the website my job offers has handouts that you can print that will suffice the employees learn how to manage their stress at floor and within the workplace. There are many psychological health issues when it comes to stress, as I have mentioned above. The major psychological health issue with stress would have to be its ability to mentally invalidate you.What I mean by this is that when you are under an unhealthy amount of stress, it will negatively affect the wa y you recall and act. Our give slipway are made up of many decisions that we must make, and when under this amount of stress, it can become difficult to think intelligibly and make the better choice. This is because when a person is stressed, it transposes the brain and causes them to have an addiction, anxiety, or depression. Stress affects many different individuals and groups and according to the American Psychological Association, the top three causes of stress is due to the economy, work, and money.The developmental, social-cultural, and gender factors all stir stress. Developmental traits such as any behavior towards children that is abusive can cause them to have long-term abnormalities in the hypothalamus-pituitary system, which is what regulates your stress (UMMC, 2011). Also, children face stressors end-to-end school, whether it is bullying, peer pressure, and tests for classes. temper traits could also impact stress. There are people who tend to over-respond to st ressful situations, which will cause them to stress more than they should.Older adults’ response system to stress becomes more difficult. The one-time(a) a person becomes will impact their stress because they have to worry around higher(prenominal) risks for medical problems, the loss of a spouse or friends, and financial stressors (UMMC, 2011). Women, particularly working mothers, will face higher stress levels because they carry a heavier institutionalise of stress than men and other women. They are also at risk for more medical problems due to having a child. disunite or widowed people tend to have more stress than people who are married. They also tend to live shorter lives overall.Furthermore, people who are isolated or lonely, are targeted for sexual or racial discrimination, and experiencing a financial strain are impacted by stress much more then other people. There are a many risk factors related to stress. Some can be controlled while others cannot. You can co ntrol some situations to annul stress such as looking for better ways to manage your time so you can get more tasks completed without feeling pressure. Also, you can try out new ways of thinking such as stop the worry thoughts and letting go of the things you cannot switch over (UMMC).Taking good care of yourself such as getting enough rest and take well can help avoid stress because you feel better throughout your day. Finally, speak up and talk about your needs and concerns because it can cause stress if you do not. The stressors that can not be controlled are events such as a car accident or other traumatic event, and a serious biologic illness. There is no cure for stress, but there are treatment options to help you manage your stress. You can have self-care in your own home or take medical treatments.Self-care in your own home would consist of removing yourself from the stressful situation or address it, regular exercise, healthy regimen and nutrition habits, meditate, a cupuncture, and creating social support for yourself. Furthermore, you can also write in a journal, make a hobby for yourself, and take out how you are feeling with someone you trust. It is good to laugh, cry, talk, and even express your anger in healthy ways. There are medical treatments depending on the different types of symptoms you are experiencing and how spartan these symptoms are.You can receive counseling by mental health professionals and medical handling for any of the physical problems that are observed (Melissa, 11/25/12). There are a few health packaging strategies to address stress. Educating yourself is the first step in promoting good health against stress. Having the knowledge on how to handle stress when it comes your way is a good way to prepare you on how to react when it happens. When a person becomes stressed, most of the time they react in a negative way, which makes things worse.Knowing how to relax and get a grasp on the situation will help you better control your emotions and make better decisions. The next step would be to make lifestyle changes. These lifestyle changes will consist of exercise, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and using relaxation or other alternative techniques such as herbal or natural remedies (HPI, 2012). serve is a great stress management technique that distracts you from the stressful event and balances out the negative affect that stress takes on your body. You can do aerobics, take walks, go swimming, and take yoga, or tai chi.There are many options to choose from and all you have to do is pick one. Cognitive-behavioral therapy will help you identify the source of your stress, reconstruct your priorities, change your response to stress, and find different methods that will allow you to manage and avoid stress. simpleness or other alternative techniques can lower your blood pressure, respiration, and pulse, and release muscularity tension and emotional strain (HPI, 2012). These techniques would embarra ss going for a massage, meditating, acupuncture, listening to music, going on vacation, and hypnosis.Herbal and natural remedies such as aromatherapy and valerian can help with your anxiety and overall stress. All herbal and natural remedies should be talked with your doctor first. Throughout this paper, I have provided an overview of stress and how psychology plays a social function with it. Then I reviewed a on-line(prenominal) psychology education program called the Worksite Wellness Program that was provided from my employment. After that, I discussed the risk factors that can be controlled as well as how to control them, and which factors that couldn’t be controlled.Next, I discussed how developmental, socio-cultural, and gender factors impact stress. Then, I talked about the treatment options that are uncommitted to the public as well as the promotion strategies to address stress. Finally, I provided discipline on the lifestyle changes that people will need to enhan ce their health and methods to encumber stress. References: Healthwise. (October 14, 2009). Stress Management: Topic Overview. WebMD. Retrieved on November 21, 2012. From http://www. webmd. com/balance/stress-management/stress-management-topic-overview. UMMC. (2011). Stress- Risk Factors.University of Maryland medical examination Center. Retrieved on November 21, 2012. From http://www. umm. edu/patiented/articles/who_at_risk_chronic_stress_or_stress-related_diseases_000031_6. htm. Melissa Conrad Stoppler. (November 25, 2012). Stress. eMedicine Health. Retrieved on November 22, 2012. From http://www. emedicinehealth. com/stress/page6_em. htm. Health Promotion International. (2012). Lifestyle, stress and work: Strategies for health promotion. Oxford Journals. Retrieved on November 22, 2012. From http://heapro. oxfordjournals. org/content/1/3/363. abstract. [pic]\r\n'

Monday, December 24, 2018

'Limitatitons of the Accounting Code of Ethics\r'

'Professional regard ass, ethics, and attitudes. (AC 423) Group assignment QUESTION: With the favour of hindsight, what advice would you consider aband aced the Enron Board to eliminate the 2001 disaster? sort MEMBERS 1. Augustine KuparaR082559R 2. Tonderai NyamadzawoR082987G 3. Simbarashe ChakaR089613J 4 Brighton Nzvuvu R089824H 5. Walter DangerR082990X 6. Simon ChigwandaR075968L 7. Ashley MurisaR082991Y 8. Frank Garatsa R082988H 9. Presely NheweyembwaR076037L 10. Peter DonaldR055241G 11. Shingirayi GweteR089773H flat coat Enron Corporation was formed in 1985 from a merger of Houston Natural Gas and Internorth, Enron Corp.By wee 2001, Enron had grown into the 7th largest U. S. Comp each(prenominal), and the largest U. S. buyer/ trafficker of natural gas and electricity. It was heavily problematic in qualification brokering, electronic zippo trading, world(prenominal) commodity and options trading, etc. in 2001 Enron started to file major signs of trouble by announcing a considerable third-quarter loss of $618 million. On October 22, 2001, the Securities and Exchange accusation (SEC) petitionan an inquiry into Enron’s news key practices and later that family the go with filed for Bankruptcy.Key probes revealed many shortcomings which include the single-valued function of Byzantine & dubious story schemes to decrease Enron’s evaluate allowances; to inflate Enron’s in keep an eye on and profits; to inflate Enron’s convey price and credit rating; to disguise losings in off-balance-sheet subsidiaries; to engineer off-balance-sheet schemes to move m peerlessy to themselves, friends, and family; to double-dealingly misrepresent Enron’s mo scratchary Enron alike used interlocking dubious energy trading schemes for instance the â€Å"Death Star” Energy calling Strategy which was aimed at taking advantage of a loophole in the market rules administration energy trading in California.Thi s strain allow for attempt to advice the Enron Board to rescind the 2001 disaster with the advantage of hindsight by pore on the major beas in the paragraphs which hail RECOMMENDATIONS THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ITS FIDUCIARY DUTIES The Board, as the headword of the organization is speculate to execute its duties and roles professionally and accommodate veritable that the conjunction is survive efficiently and strongly. It’s supposed to economic consumption all e genuinelyplacesight over all the trading trading trading operations of the organization.These duties includes adopting of in collective strategy, annual budget and complete make-upal structure, ensuring that risk trouble structures ar in place, the fellowship is complying with the relevant laws and regulations and that adequate go overs ar in place, to puzzle aside(a) oversight over charge operations, to act as a communication channel between precaution and sh arholders and to reass ure that monetary cultivation of the organisation is reliable and credible. There is invite to ensure that the mount is properly structured so that t it adds value to the organization.This means that it was supposed to submit a chair, at least iodine the elements is monetaryly literate and virtually of its members argon non-executive directors. This would ensure that an free locating is brought into the tabular array’s operations that would realize experience and expertise to the carte The carte du jour supposed to follow its code of make in carrying emerge their duties. This ensures that all the activities it under generates atomic number 18 in the best fill of the shareholders non themselves.For showcase, in carrying out their duties, all the table members are supposed to exhibit delinquent care and diligence, to be honest and loyal, to cypher confidentiality on the organizational information and to split any conflict of absorb. Some of the tabula r array members had financial interests in the particular innovation Entities (SPEs) fashioning large profits further they did non dis belt up this conflict of interest to the carte. This would compromise their objectivity and independence in carrying out their duties.Some of the members of the board were non drill due care and diligence in their operations. They were aware of the un honourable and risky trans serve operations that were taking place deep down the organisation but they in any casek no action and did non bring it to the attention of the board. These include minutes by dint of SPEs and the salaried of wildcat bonuses to senior officials. They even connived with the fecal mattervassors to structure and fulfil some of the illegal transactions that were aimed at falsifying the effect and position of the organisation.The board is also supposed to collapse a nonher(prenominal) special(a) sub directions that are aimed at enhancing the operations of th e board in areas that need special attention. These include the clearvass military commission that is aimed at pull offing the congenital and out-of-door inspect functions and the hire commissioning that entrust be prudent for the salaries and allowances of managers and other senior officials. The role of a caller’s board of directors is to oversee corporate counsel to interests of shareholders.However, in 1999 Enron’s board waived hold dear the conflict of interest rules to allow chief financial policeman Andrew Fastow to create private partnerships to do concern with the firm? Transactions involving these partnerships concealed debts and losses that would vex had a signifi ratt wedge on Enron’s reported profits. Enron’s collapse raises the issue of how to reinforce directors’ energy and allow for to challenge questionable traffic by corporate managers. Specific questions guide self-direct or â€Å"outside” directors. monetary fund exchange rules strike that a certain(a) percentage of board members be unaffiliated with the firm and its management. ) Should the way outside directors are selected be changed or regulated? Directors are elected by shareholders, but simply in precise unusual destiny these are â€Å"Soviet-style” elections, where management’s intend of candidates receives nearly unanimous approval. Should in that respect be restrictions on indirect compensation in the form of, say, consulting contracts or donations to charities where independent board members serve?Should the personal liability of directors in oddballs of corporate fraud be step-up? Do the rules requiring members of the board’s visit committee to be â€Å"financially literate” ensure that the board will clutch the innovative and complex financial and accounting strategies employed by companies like Enron. several(prenominal) of the tender reform bills cited above would require the visit committee of a familiarity’s board of directors to take a more active role in the selection and supervision of analyse work.Enron should take over kept an element of professionalism; the board of directors should show independence in decision making. The partnership must not have got any close alliance whatsoever with its meeters. A strict and good clay of corporate plaque should have been set out , which sets out a nett system of duties of apiece director. They should have set out a system of segregation of duties that sees each director have an independent duty. canvass COMMITTEE Any issuanceive audit committee must have been in place at Enron comprising of purely independent non-executive directors.Members should have an understanding of inhering control system and financial and sustainability reporting experience. This committee reviews the accounting practices and approve the financial statements as integrated reporting. Thus the financial report s of Enron would not have been allowed to be published out front the approval of the Audit Committee. Review the effectualness of the interior control environment as hearty as oversight over the internal and extraneous audit.The Audit Committee recommend to the Board of Directors the engagement, removal and liaise the terminuss and profits with the orthogonal tender. The issue of non-audit function, it is also the responsibility of the committee to define the indemnity and approve the contracts. Hence the pure independent audit committee it would have not allow Arthur Andersen to exercise multiple roles at Enron. Reports Management are received and reviewed to clog whether in line with the approved internal Audit plan and the grapheme and imprimatur of the external audit function.Risk management is also pivotal in this committee so as to champion the fraud awareness. As an internal hearer, Sherron Watkins should have not directed her anonymous letter to the chairman of the board, Kenneth assign but to the committee which oversee the internal control system. The Chief Accounting Officer, Richard A Causey who was getting money through the Special Purpose Entities had been once an auditor at Arthur Andersen an issue which should have been closely examined. An effective Audit Committee consider confidential reporting to facilitate whistle blowing.Overall, Audit committee have a unite assurance role thus monitor the relations between internal and external audit to reduce duplication efforts as well as enhances transparency. AUDITOR ROTATION. The release Of Auditor whirling Is Of Significant To The shade Of Financial Reports. Auditors Should Be Rotated any Few Years To Prevent broad Term, Close Ties Between The Enron And The Arthur Andersen Firm. Arthur Andersen is the firm that audited Enron’s books from its inception in 1985 (it was also global crossing auditor).Also there was questionable proceeding of personnel from between the two com panies Richard A Causey, the Chief Accounting Officer had come to Enron afterwardward working on Enron audits for Andersen this creates a strong relationship, Familiarity threats and it is easy to can interact with Andersen in perpetuating double-faced activities. Time should be put at least triad old age forwards a member can join Enron from auditing firm. Long term audit client relationships significantly increase the like hood of an unqualified sagacity or significantly reduce the auditor’s willingness to qualify the audit reports.Mandatory audit rotation is ideal in maintaining the value of an audit for both the internal and external users. Although recurring auditors have got an advantage to Enron of that they will be auditing the personal line of credit they know very well its environment and internal controls thereby reducing the chances of the auditor making an audit risk which is the risk that the auditor will give a wrong credence that the financial state ments are not materially misstated when in actual fact they are materially misstated. , however the disadvantages seemingly preponderate the costs of retaining the audits. ensure to Wallace, 1980 and De Angelo (1981) audit quality is a market assessed joint probability that an auditor will both discover a breach in the client’s accounting system and report the breach. According to Shockley (1982) a extensive auditor client relationship can have the effect of complacency, lack of innovation, less rigorous audit procedures and a l earn confidence in the client may arise after long association with the client. It also gives auditor cadence to develop a close relationship with the client in this case Enron employees..After a number of years there is some kind of turning paint a picture in the auditor and client relationship which can be detrimental to the auditor’s independence. Before the decision to prove there is need to assess the quality of the audit client and this can be through in the following shipway according to Shockley and Holt 1983, firstly the perceptions of users should be analysed, the set of the audit services has to be analysed and in this case Andersen’s firm was receiving a greater percentage of its revenue from Enron indeed there is dependent on the company.The character of the audit opinion has to be analysed it has a greater impact on the combine with which we can place to the auditing firm. COMPLIANCE TO write up STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS The Enron was abstruse several accounting issues, one concerns the creation of special purpose entities (SPEs), these were established for the special purpose of covering Enron`s losses and there were also creation used to transfer debts outside of the company and would not show up on the balance sheet at year end . The SPEs were supposed to be independent companies however they were headed by Enron former employees, and backed, ultimately, by Enron stock.The second issu e was that Enron was also involved in other accounting greases for example Enron took advantage of the limitations in the standards governing the energy business therefore over wanted assets and selling some of decreasing assets to the SPEs at huge mark-ups and there realising the profits in the financial statements. As a resulted of these accounting misappropriations, Enron produced favourable financial statements leading to unapproved bonuses universe claimed by employees and directors also providing themselves with obscenely bighearted stock option grants.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) governs the activities of companies registered on the New York stock exchange. Enron`s management should follow the regulations stated by SEC and also to prepare its financial statement according to the generally received accounting principles (GAAP). The accounting information produced by Enron should have been restated to show a honorable financial position of the company. The SPEs should be liquidated no further transactions should be carried out between Enron and its related parties. In correcting its transactions Enron should other external auditors other than Arthur Andersen.These investigations should be carried confidentially so as to hold dear the manage the situation and also to protect Enron`s reputation. COMPENSATION TO EXECUTIVES AND OTHER military group Effects of over paying directors it is results in directors losing focus of their core business, that acting their stewardship and answerability functions . Through good corporate governance directors via the agency theory are responsible to the shareholders. Directors are independent form management; they are responsible for making sure management are carrying out their fiduciary duties.However if they are over compensated they are more likely to be inclined to favour management over shareholders, as they is a rise of a self-concern threat With no proper observe of the board through a remuneration committee, overpaying results bad corporate governance which hazard the companies risk management. It results in problems not been brought to light, allowing them not been addressed. As directors ignore their duties and focus on short term profits and kind of than maximising company growth in the long term, this reduces their ability to focus on strategic issues and establishment of unrealistic standards of performance.Decision-making is greatly affected as they will be they will be destruction of the authority line by the two boards who will be responsible for the overall well existence of the company. As decision making will have been affected corporate and accounting practises will greatly be affected, which will increase the chances of fraud and error. These susceptibility include recording profits earlier and recognising expenses late. Overpaying also results in changes in the estimable culture of the organisation, as the board can select bad managers to run the business because they will be sharing a common perception.Which is lack of concern for long run of the business? Rather the advice would be for Enron to have a director’s board which contains an equal mix of executive and non-executive directors. This would be to ensure independence and accountability at the highest level, this also reduces egoism threats . It allows for a board which bumps itself from the management of the business Rotation of members at frequent intervals to allow for drop-off in familiarity threats if members of the board stay for too long ,e. . more than five years they might become familiar with the management Establishment of remuneration committee which monitors the payment of executives, this ensures that directors are paid according to the tasks performed and not for un necessity duties INDEPENDENCE Independence is when one makes decisions honestly and truth full(a)y both in fact and in appearance and avoids internal and external pressures whi ch may influence the force of a decision under review.The Enron scandal showed a number of independence issues being pretermited by the management of the company and instead concentrated on fraudulent profit making strategies which should have been avoided. These fraudulent activities involved the management of the company and their external auditors (Arthur Andersen), the company’s lawyers, consultants and lenders. The advice that l would have given to the management of Enron concerning independent issues was that they should have at first allowed every employee to exercise his or her duties without influence from anyone either internally or external.The management of Enron should have exercised their duties of stewardship to their principles without paying much attention to their excessive and selfish interest of maximising wealth at the expense of their shareholders. The actions by Mr Ken recline of forcing all employees to book their corporate give-up the ghost thro ugh his sister’s go away agency was nowhere near independence but only self-interest and greed to accumulate wealth. The board members should have critically analysed the source of the monies they were receiving so as to occur facts to justify the revenues.Instead they were only concerned closely their packages and approved every idea the management would put before them without taking into affection the effects of such decisions. This was a clear threat to the board’s independency since they were to choose on whether to be ethical or satisfy their insatiable need for wealth. These high earnings were also received by most of the company’s executives, finance, legal and accounting professionals and they made them to overlook the questionable accounting practices which were yielding these huge packages.The management also needed to take note of their auditor’s operations when carrying out his mandate, there was need to single out duties between audi ting and non-auditing services. Arthur Andersen should have been engaged to one assignment only of auditing and leave the non-auditing services to other so that independent decisions could be made. The board should have rotated their auditors after a reasonable period of time to avoid familiarity and some associated threats to independence.There was need for the board to also discuss the issues of their auditor’s remuneration and other packages they offered so that they could match with the current market trends this would reduce the auditor’s dependency and force them to report any anomalies within the operations of the company. spot of Sell-Side Analysts Sell-side psychoanalysts have received considerable check for failing to provide an earlier model of problems at Enron.On October 31, 2001, just two months before the company filed for bankruptcy, the mean analyst recommendation listed on First Call (which compiles and distributes analyst recommendations) for Enr on was 1. 9 out of 5, where 1 is a â€Å"strong buy” and 5 is a â€Å"sell. ” Even after the accounting problems had been denote in October 2001, reputable institutions such as Lehman Brothers, UBS Warburg and Merrill Lynch issued â€Å"strong buy” or â€Å"buy” recommendations for Enron. Analysts should have not been backward to recognize the problems at Enron.The analysts should not have financial incentives to recommend Enron to their clients. Investment banks earned more than $125 million in underwriting fees from Enron in the period 1998 to 2000, and many of the financial analysts working at these banks received bonuses for their efforts in supporting investment banking. Sell-side analysts must be independent and avoid any self-interest threats which may arise. Corporate Culture Enron has been expound as having a culture of dignity that led people to believe that they could dole out increasingly greater risk without encountering any danger.Accor ding to Sherron Watkins, â€Å"Enron’s unspoken message was, ‘ ferment the numbers, make the numbers, make the numbersâ€if you steal, if you cheat, just don’t get caught. If you do, beg for a second chance, and you’ll get one. ’” Enron’s corporate culture did little to win the values of respect and integrity. These values were undermined through the company’s emphasis on decentralization, its employee performance appraisals, and its compensation program. Each Enron ingredient and business unit was kept separate from the others, and as a result very few people in the organization had a â€Å"big picture” emplacement of the company’s operations.Accompanying this emphasis on decentralization were insufficient operational and financial controls as well as â€Å"a distracted, hands-off chairman, a compliant board of directors, and an impotent staff of accountants, auditors, and lawyers. ” Jeff Skilling impl emented a very rigorous and threatening performance evaluation extremity for all Enron employees. know as â€Å"rank and yank,” the annual process utilized peer evaluations, and each of the company’s divisions was arbitrarily forced to burn up the lowest ranking one-fifth of its employees.Employees frequently ranked their peers lower in pose to enhance their own positions in the company. Enron’s compensation plan â€Å"seemed oriented toward enriching executives kinda than generating profits for shareholders” and encouraged people to terminate rules and inflate the value of contracts even though no actual cash was generated. Enron’s bonus program encouraged the use of non-standard accounting practices and the inflated valuation of deals on the company’s books. Indeed, deal ostentation became widespread within the company as partnerships were created solely to hide losses and avoid the consequences of owning up to problems.Conclusion I n conclusion, one can see that a variety of perspectives can be applied to the Enron scandal which could have averted the 2001 disaster. If those charged with the governance of the entity had taken necessary steps in line with what is depict in this essay, the corporation would not have collapsed. However even if Enron and its outside accountants and lawyers had done nothing improper, the sudden collapse of such a large corporation would suggest basic problems with the U. S. ystem of securities regulation, which is based on the full and accurate disclosure of all financial information that market participants need to make informed investment decisions. The overarching issue elevated by Enron is how to improve the quality of information available about public corporations. References * shilling Lyke. CRS Report RS21120, Auditing and its Regulators: Proposals for Reform After Enron. * articulatio COMMITTEE ON TAXATION, 2003 Report of investigation of Enron corporation and related entities regarding federal tax and compensation issues, and policy recommendations McLean, Bethany. 2001. â€Å"Is Enron Overpriced? ” Fortune. * capital of Minnesota D. Miller, Brief History of Enron (accessed 27 November 2012) http://www. freegrab. net/enronhist. htm * Paul M. Healy and Krishna G. Palepu, (2003) The Fall of Enron * Powers, William C. , Raymond S. Troubh and Herbert S. Winokur. 2002. â€Å"Report of probe by the Special Investigative Committee of the Board of Directors of Enron Corp. ” * Steven C. Currall Marc J. Epstein 2003. Lessons From the Rise and Fall of Enron * Watkins, S. , 2002. email to Eron Chairman Kenneth Lay,\r\n'

Thursday, December 20, 2018

'Ignorance Is Bliss\r'

'Ignorance is Bliss In Sophocles’ â€Å"Oedipus Rex” and Athol Fugard’s â€Å" overpower Har previous(a) and the Boys” we go step up the protagonists prep atomic number 18 from ignorance to experience in some(prenominal) incompatible ways. As we watch this evolution we behold two characters start at ignorance in very similar ways and part both catch very different routes they overthrow their expeditions with similar complex consequences resulted from the experience they gain on the way. In â€Å"Oedipus Rex” the protagonist, Oedipus, starts from his hex in the story at a place of ignorance.He is naive to the loyalty near his action and the terrificction it is heading. Oedipus is unaw atomic number 18 that he is King Laios’ parole and he entrust ultimately fulfill his destiny to shovel in his stupefy and follow his set out, no take what steps he or his pargonnts take it is a tidy sum they can non run from. Oedipusâ⠂¬â„¢ friendship comes only later when he realizes the truth, that he is in fact King Laios’ son and when he murdered the king along the road where the three highways meet he did in fact kill his father and go on to marry his mother (Anti 2. 192).The knowledge of the prophesier’s forecasting coming on-key leads to Oedipus’ ruin. In â€Å"Master Harold and the Boys” the protagonist is Hally the seventeen year old shop receiveers son. The reader is carryn Hally’s ignorance by how he acts with surface-to-air missile and Willie. Hally treats these men as friends, particularly with surface-to-air missile, the two are to a greater extent the likes of companions thus a gaberdine boy and black hired help. Instances of this ignorance are seen in the way they spent their snip together. Hally naively believes that him and Sam can be friends despite the place and time they are in and how is father treats them.Hally believes that since progress is seen in the world that he can hedge his fathers beliefs and that despite Sam’s none that some throng are adult and that’s just the way it is: â€Å"Hally: It doesn’t swallow to be that way. There is something called progress, you know. We befool’t assumely burn people at the stake anyto a greater extent” (482). desire Oedipus, Hally is try outing his best to fight his unavoidableness but he is only contemptible himself closer to it. Hally’s knowledge sincerely comes when he and Sam begin fighting. When Hally is disturbance he takes that out on Sam because he can.He talks to Sam in a way only previously done by his father. This entire exposure shows the realisation that Hally truly is more like his father and then he treasured to admit. Both Hally and Oedipus discover truths to the highest degree themselves that they did not like and tried to run from, and they were unable to escape their fate and last succumbed to it. Oedipu s’ truths are similar to Hally’s in some(prenominal) ways. First Hally realizes he is more like his father then he wanted to admit and in the end he just started the cycle of his fathers blackball beliefs and attitudes all over again.Oedipus like Hally is besides destined to become like his father, he follows in his fathers footsteps first by streamlet from a prophecy then ultimately following him to his own ruin. While Oedipus’ knowledge is more real(a) then Hally’s both men pluck actions that have awful consequences leading them to the truths they uncover nearly themselves. Hally’s actions of taking his anger and thwarting out on Sam causes his true ideals to come out. When he begins to act out the audience is shown just how much he really thinks like his father.patronage his best efforts to show that he believes things can change in the dynamics between neats and blacks, it is really not a strongly held idea as the beliefs of his fath er, that he as a white man is superior to his black help. The talking to he says to Sam can never be taken back and evermore shifts the relationship between him and Sam, no lasting friends they are now master and servant. Oedipus likewise deals with a similar problem. He overly commits actions that completely change the shape of his manners and can never be taken back. Like Hally Oedipus wants to change is fate.Where Hally does so by trying to be friends with Sam and Willie, Oedipus does this by leaving home putting as much distance as he can between himself and the man he believed to be his father. However like Hally, Oedipus in the end realizes that consequences for his actions. Killing King Laios and then marrying his queen are actions that have dire consequences for Oedipus and like Hally’s they can never be undone. While both Hally and Oedipus try to fight their fate and both commit actions that forever alter their futures, they come well-nigh in very different wa ys.Oedipus deals with his fate in a more literal way. Oedipus visualizes the prophecy he had feared his whole life was actually true by the acknowledgment that he did murder is father and marry his mother. These physical actions lead to Oedipus’ downfall and are permanent. Hally, on the other hand, comes to learn the truth about himself, that he is like his father, by his actions toward Sam. While no less severe they are more emotionally prejudicial and speak to the relationship Sam and he tried to have but infract up losing because of the fight.This is damaging but not quite as physical as what Oedipus went through. Throughout each story we see the evolution of the characters from their naive beginnings to the galled realization of who they truly are. Both characters come to several truths about themselves during their respective stories, in both cases their truths have significant feelings. Oedipus’ knowledge leads him to his own downfall in order to write his kingdom from certain death. Hally’s truths about himself has a more hidden topic that is very significant and the true heart and soul behind the pass.Hally’s actions during his fight with Sam causes a divide between them that is irreparable, it is the effect of this rift that is most significant. Throughout the play we see several instances of imagery utilize to describe the world the characters are maintenance in and here is no different. The line of credit between Hally and Sam causes the same â€Å" leap” to pass on. This dance is a symbol for the beliefs held by Hally’s father and the world they stick out in. By acting the way he did toward Sam, Hally is causing the imperfect dance to continue on.The effect of Hally’s actions causes him to start adequate more like his father then he wanted but cannot avoid. In both â€Å"Oedipus Rex” and â€Å"Master Harold and the Boys” we see several instances of the main characters mo ving from ignorance to knowledge. While they gained sagacity into themselves it came at a price. For Harold it was the loss of his artlessness and a bleak look at his future with Sam and Willie, with Oedipus it was the loss of everything he thought he had and his own painful exile.Each character tried to fight their fate, Oedipus literally by trying to flee the seer’s prophecy and Hally by doing the exact opposite of his father and befriending Sam and Willie. No matter the path they took each ultimately succumb to their destiny and was forced to learn more about themselves then they wanted. Despite the painful ending it was a journey they were meant to be on. Works Cited Fugard, Athol. â€Å"’Master Harold’…and the Boys”. capital of Massachusetts: McGraw Hill, 2006. Print. Sophocles. â€Å"Oedipus Rex”. Trans. Fitts, Dudley & Fitzgerald, Robert. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.\r\n'

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

'Why Did The Policies Of President Hoover Fail To Combat The Great Depression Effectively?\r'

'In October 1929, the the States was plunged into the sharpest recession to take place in American history. The period it lasted for became known as the Great imprint. drastic action was needed to fix the situation, and the first somebody quite a little looked to was President vacuum, who had unluckily likewisek up government viii months before the Wall Street Crash.\r\nHowever, vacuum is known for his inability to sue federal official powers to dominate the printing quickly and effectively. Some recent historians lease been to a greater extent sympathetic to wards Hoover because they take he was a victim of both his own mental capacity and of one of the most difficult to solve crises in American history.\r\nBut most believe it was his semi semipolitical public opinions and policies that stopped him agitate the Depression successfully.\r\nHoovers main vexation was that he was non willing for direct government to take place. His two central policies were self- wait on and unforced co-operation. His go a broad spirit in these represented his stay putd belief that the economy had to right itself and that changes he do would non jockstrap †â€Å"Economic clinical depression cannot be recovered(p) by legislative action or exe archive pronouncement”.\r\nIndeed, Hoover knew that the government was urgently required to take action notwithstanding the action he was willing to take was not nearly abounding to deal with the depth of the Depression, as shown through eight different areas of the Depression federal government policies were made on. These were agriculture, tariffs, repudiation of war debts, voluntarism, unemployment substitute, national Home contri only whene Bank Act, Reconstruction Finance corp (RFC) and war veterans and the ‘B warhead Army. The legislation passed in all of these areas was a failure, which lost Hoover all credibility.\r\nThe Agricultural merchandising Act was passed in 1929, creating a nin e-person Federal turn Board with funds of $500 billion to have ‘stabilisation corps, and the crops created were stock- remedytually bought back at high prices. The agricultural policy failed for two reasons: firstly because it paying US farmers artificially high prices and could not continue in the long term; secondly because it enured agriculture as a domestic, not foreign, issue. insolent foreign imports became a problem, and the answer appeared to be even higher tariffs.\r\nIn June 1930, the Hawley-Smoot tariff was enforced †and was the highest in US history. Its result was most European nations abandoning unornamented trade. Hoover could have vetoed the bill hardly chose not to.\r\nIn the repudiation of war debts, Hoover diabolical the Depression on Europe, though the situation was in fact vice versa. Europe could not move over to pay back war debts, and international trades decreased. Countries world(a) were in a more depressed state, once more a negative result.\r\nHoover placed the onus of improving the situation onto the businesses rather than the government. He told business community not to cut their workforces or hire but to maintain output and encourage buying. As the depression worsened, however, they could not afford to do this. Workers were fired and wages reduced, raising unemployment levels.\r\nSo, Hoover then secured $500 billion in 1932 from Congress to use as unemployment relief, but the amount simply wasnt enough. He also station up the Presidents Emergency Committee for Employment to help agencies organise stews, but still refused to help nowadays because of his self-help policies.\r\nAn example of this is during the 1930-31 drought, which was so severe it led to to the highest degree starvation in the South. Congress gave $47 million to be offered as loans, but Hoover still didnt want to give direct relief. He didnt believe in giving out benefits.\r\nSo unemployment relief was another failed attempt by Hoove r to fight the Depression.\r\nThe Federal Home Lon Bank Act was passed in July 1932, and was Hoovers attempt to save mortgages. A series of Federal Home Loan banks were couch up to help loan associations providing mortgages. However, they only lent 50% of the attribute value. The Act failed and was largely ineffective, and homes were repossessed.\r\nThe Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was Hoovers most radical measure to overcome the Depression and the precursor to the New Deal initiatives of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.\r\nThe RFC was established in January 1932 and could lend up to $2 billion to beef up banks, insurance companies, railroads and construction companies that were suffering. It was a measure taken to restore confidence. The loans, however, were given mainly to big banks and larger companies. The RFC eventually failed because it was giving too little too late.\r\nBy this time, Hoovers credibility was severely damaged, but the halt in the coffin was yet to co me †the sermon of the Bonus Army, which portrayed him as cold and cruel.\r\nIn 1925, Congress agreed to give veterans of WW1a ‘bonus to be pay in 1945. In June 1932, 20,000 war veterans marched to Washington to take their bonus early in order to stick up the Depression. They were told that the government could not afford to pay them, but Hoover would pay for their trip home. Feeling betrayed, the veterans set up camp. Hoover feared violence, to the extent of revolution, and called in the military. Tanks, metrical unit and tear gas destroyed the camp and drove absent the veterans. These men who had served their country were called â€Å"tramps and hoodlums with a bountiful sprinkling of Communist agitators”. Hoover was solely goddam for the dispersal of the Bonus Army, which was a major political blunder.\r\nBy now, the people of America had turned away from Hoover and were looking for answers elsewhere †Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Already frequent as Governor of New York State, Roosevelt appealed to the US people because he proposed to take the action that Hoover would not and showed flexibility. Through his time as Governor, Roosevelt showed his willingness to listen to others ideas and his belief that direct government intervention was necessary. An example of his flexibility is the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, set up in 1932. Though it was temporary, it was the first state-run relief effort in the nation.\r\nIn comparison, Hoover refused to hear ideas remotely associated with government intervention. However, some historians argue that Hoover did in fact involve the government in more areas of life than ever before, for example the expansion of federal lending and the encouragement of public works schemes. Hoover had a personal concern for those suffering the Depression. He cut his own and state officials salaries by 20% and had long working hours. On the other hand, he showed optimism in public, which led peo ple to accuse him of losing touch with reality. Although Hoover worked tirelessly to fight the Depression, his refusal to abandon his policies of self-help and voluntary co-operation prevented him from doing so successfully.\r\nIn conclusion, President Hoovers policies failed to combat the Great Depression effectively because the help they provided were very limited in the extent the Depression had gone to. Because of his beliefs in self-help and voluntary co-operation he blocked direct government intervention from his policies, driving away supporters towards Roosevelt, who won the elections of 1932 and began his ‘New deal.\r\n'

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

'Dont Actually Use This Crap Essay\r'

'I tolerate decided to research and discuss how we push aside persona heritage to ramp up a earth in direct to set up our sympathy of a ordinary humanity. In order to discuss and debate the abovementioned principal we gather up to understand some key phrases in the question. In my opinion, that would include the following key concepts, namely; * heritage, * republic and * a common land humanity. confederation Africa has bring from a turbulent past where terms much(prenominal) as heritage, nation create and a common humanity meant divergent affaires to various world groups and realistic completelyy these concepts were worlds apart for the majority of South Afri back tooths.\r\nIn order to achieve a common humanity, we draw a bead on hold of to approve solely the cultures and religions within our country. commonwealth give away and be influenced by the place and the hoi polloi around them. In a country similar South Africa some mess labor under ones sk in learned from stories t octogenarian to them. These stories carry training and ideas some life and living and sh bed customs, traditions and memories from p atomic number 18nts to children. A person’s heritage is made up of the practices, and traditions that be passed on from parents to children.\r\nHeritage is to a fault nigh what has been passed on from the family, community and place where hoi polloi sustain been raised. For example a person may cast grown up in a family of medical checkup professionals or in a proudly Zulu family where the old customs are still followed. This is part of their heritage. People also have a national heritage. A person who was born in South Africa has a South African heritage. This also factor they have an African heritage be start they were born on this continent. there are many South Africans who do non know what our Coat of Arms re rescues or the intend of our flag and anthem.\r\nIn order to be a truly successful nation we sine qua non to break more aware of these national symbols. If we achieve this it pull up stakes contri besidese to a more powerful course of instruction of nation-building. In countries with a huge variety of cultural, ethnic, racial, spiritual and other well-disposed identities, nation-building is a big take exception. This challenge has led governments to take numerous steps to pee-pee a peaceful and cropable country. In Africa the daub is made more difficult by the position that there are many identities and cultures.\r\nMandaza describes such states as ‘nation-states-in-the-making’, which are vitrineised by a lack of essence, flunk and dependency. I think that the collide withice staff of the curriculum in schools plays an infixed role in promoting an understanding of a common humanity in all three-year-old people. Researchers often make reference to the neglected role of the history curriculum in the debate on nation-building and the process of forging general citizenship in Africa. In this context, the concept ‘curriculum’ is understood from many people to be the point of view of the political caller in power.\r\nThe curriculum emerges directly from ball club and is an ideological tool as well as a vehicle of social change driven by the controlling social group. As such, it plays a commutation role in the development and reproduction of society over conviction and geographical area. Seen from this perspective, it is no wonder that the curriculum is driven by political regimes in an endeavour to promote common values and mastermind a exceptional type of citizen. We most surely can, but it takes a lot of hard work. to each(prenominal) one(prenominal) of our many cultures must(prenominal) get a small(a) space in the sun.\r\nWhat we must also acknowledge though is that some cultures are very unalike from others and that some people might find the things we may want to defend offensive. The questi on we should ask is whether our practices are more likely to cause division and friction, or whether it is going to bring people of different cultures together. What we should possibly work on is getting our country to a point where there is loyalty to the flag no matter what. We must be able to rightfully be proud of our achievements as a nation, and not vote people into office that will daunt us.\r\nIf we can all stand behind the flag, I think it will be one thing that can unite us. Look what the Rugby knowledge domain Cups and the recent 2010 Soccer World Cup did for our nation. The firm nation standing for a common cause and goal. There was a real sense of nation-building. goal is not something you are born with. It is learned from family, school, ghostlike teachings, television and media and the government of a country. Advertisements, magazines and movies are also powerful guides. For example American medication videos promote a certain style of dress, values, expressi on and location for young people.\r\nMany young people like the cool speak of American pop music rather than talking in their home language. Schools and sacred organisations also play a big role. worship has many rituals that symbolise belonging to a particular culture. South Africa has been called the rainbow nation because it has so many cultural practices. Cultural practices are how we talk and behave, the ways in which we pray, the special things we do when we have festivals, births and deaths. We have groups with different languages, religions, race, customs and traditions e. . Zulu, Ndebele, Khoisan, Hindu, Muslim and Afrikaner people. All of these people are united by being South African and all of their ways of life spring part of our country’s identity element and culture. It is eventful to promote and be proud of our South African culture and identity. This friends South Africans to understand and respect each other and to learn from each other’s cult ural practices. This is part of the heal that democracy has brought later on culture was used to divide South Africans in the past.\r\nFor this reason the government has a project called â€Å"proudly South African” that encourages South Africans to value each other and the country. The past is all around us. We stand up our lives against a rich backbonedrop of historical buildings, landscapes and other physical survivals of our past. But the historic environment is more than just a matter of material remains. It is primal to how we see ourselves and to our identity as individuals, communities and as a nation. It is a physical record of what our country is and how it came to be.\r\n build materials and styles can define region’s localities and communities. past landscapes or iconic buildings can become a focus of community identity and pride. At a more local level a historic church or park can help define a neighbourhood and create a sense of identity and belong ing. The importance that we attach to our ‘heritage’ is growing each year, and that is why events such as Heritage Day are important in enabling people to value and appreciate their local, regional and national heritage.\r\nI encourage people of all ages to take this opportunity to visit, tour and experience the buildings and streets on your doorstep and learn a little close the rich heritage of the region in which you live. larboard Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape is full of heritage. race building enables history to be rewritten, and the apartheid legacy of devaluing and erasing the heritage of char South Africans from the consciousness of the nation to be reversed, facilitating healing and further weakening the feelings of â€Å" cleanse” citizenship of one population group over the other.\r\nAttempts to reverse this and give back pride to the African, Indian and Coloured South Africans encounter support from many people. This includes government efforts t o teach children about African heroes and Africa’s contributions to world history and culture. province building is necessary to build trust, which is directly colligate with stronger economic performance. If all South Africans were passionate and believed in each other and were not divided on many issues as we are, our country would perform better financially and this would improve international investments and job opportunities.\r\nWe (South Africans) need to develop the same patriotism and passion that the Americans show to their flag and anthem. We can continue to rebuild our nation with our heritage by raising awareness. There are a lot of South Africans who do not know anything about the Heritage of our country, therefore, by having exhibitions, distributing leaflets, organising work groups (community and schools), quarterly newsletters distributed within the community, media exposure or peradventure even raising awareness by means of radio shows , talks and shows, we can continue to build our nation.\r\nOnly when all Africans own and cherish their cultural heritage, when they identify and embrace the majesty of Mapungubwe, when they speak and learn through their languages and can therefore dream, sing and move in their own languages, shall we see rapid social economic development of the people of Africa. A nation needs a history. History buys you time to get rid of emotional responses and see things rationally. The English accomplished war, for example, has taught people of Royalist descent that a normal who leeches the country for his/her personal benefits shouldn’t be tolerated.\r\nOn the other hand, descendants of Parliamentarians can see that it’s not enough just to chop off a bad king’s head. You need something good to replace him with. England had eleven years of sorrow after beheading Charles 1, and couldn’t wait to get another king. Nobody could understand that at the time because they were emotionally involved with one side or the other. It took time for both sides to overcome the hurts and prejudices, and to understand what happened, but eventually, they grew as a nation from the lessons learned.\r\nHeroes fall into twain categories. They can either be people of outstanding achievement (like Newton or Darwin) or they can reflect some aspect of national character (like Robin Hood or Scotland’s William Wallace). Heroes are people that kids can look up to, people who inspire kids to achieve something, and that all helps to form a single national identity. A common identity †the need to preserve it, promote it and keep it vital is a struggle of both individuals and many nations. Your identity is not only a current thing.\r\nIt is originates from and is parasitical upon the sum-total of your cultural heritage. All the things that your ancestors have done on the cultural front, i. e. their language, dances, rituals, dress, food and all that, contribute towards your pre sent identity. As a young South African I feel that the youth of today need to learn and understand the events of the past so we can understand how to move forward in the outperform interests of all South Africans. I consider it essential for our future that we all stand behind a common identity namely our flag and anthem.\r\nNation building is important and imperative to create a feeling of belonging and with it accountability and responsible behaviour. Efforts must be made to ensure that all cultures are respected and equal citizenship for all guaranteed. This is important because for centuries the dominant people in power aimed to diminish all culture and history of certain cultures and religions. This â€Å"past” seemingly did not use heritage to build a nation in order to promote our understanding of a common humanity.\r\n'

Monday, December 17, 2018

'Succubus Blues CHAPTER 15\r'

' entirely mosttimes you wake up from a dream. And any(prenominal)times, twain at angiotensin converting enzyme time in a go, you wake up in a dream. Thats what happened to me. I opened my eyes, puff upspring throbbing, vaguely aw atomic number 18 of something tippy and fuzzy in my arms. silk resembling sunlight dispatch me squint at first, scarcely when I could fin whollyy focus, I realized I was looking straight into the faces of Cady and ONeill.\r\nI shot up right hand, a motion my top dog did not approve of at any. genuinely I was mistaken. Surely, no… t present they were. in front me, side by side(p) to the bed I sat in, was a large oak desk surrounded by bulletin boards and white boards. Pinned to the bulletin boards were magazine cut come ons, faces and faces of people who reflected every nuance of the characters described in solidifications books. One parting was purge labeled NINAcady, displaying at least cardinal different cut come outs of slim blondes with cropped, curly hair, part some early(a) section †marked BRYANT ONEILL †displayed brooding, thirty-something work force with d admithearted hair. Some of the cutouts were from major ads I recognized, though Id neer before connected the resemblance to lots characters. Other electric s peer characters from the books also had slurs on the display, though less perceptibly so than the leads.\r\nScrawls of notes and devises filled the white boards, closely done in a bizarre stenography type of flow chart that do no sense to me. Working Title: Azure Hopes †locating l taker; Add Jonah Chap. 7; refreshed up 3-5; C&O in Tampa or Naples? Check stats; Don Markosin 8…On and on the scrawls went. I stared and stared at them, realizing I was seeing the public figure foundation of bents next novel. Part of me whispered I should look away, that I was ruining something, but the relievo of me was dealwise fascinated at glimpsing the way a no vel and its world came to life.\r\nFin some(prenominal)y, the opinion of frying bacon made me turn from bands desk, forcing me to piece to containher how Id arrived hither. I cringed, rec altogethering what an idiot Id been around Doug, Roman, and even up lot, notwithstanding my hunger won out in temporarily allaying my remorse. It seemed odd that I should olfactory modality hungry after what Id put my resist finished destination wickedness, just analogous Hughs beating, I could bounce fanny quickly.\r\nDisentangling myself from the coers and the teddy bear Id unwittingly been holding, I made my way to the bathroom to cleanse my mouth and study my popance: wild-haired and sightright teenager looking in the T- enclothe. I didnt emergency to deplete the energy to shape-shift, however, and trotted out of the bathroom, following the sounds of sizzling against a keisterground of â€Å"Radar Love” by favorable Earring.\r\nSeth s alsod in a modern, well-lit ki tchen, tending a skillet on a stove. The color plot was bright and cheery, maple wood cupboards and beams accented with clavusflower stern paint on the walls. describeing me, he dark down the music and gave me a solicitous look. His habilitate today displayed Tom and Jerry.\r\nâ€Å"Good morning. How are you jot?”\r\nâ€Å"Surprisingly well.” I made my way to a abject, two-person table and sat down, tugging the shirt to coer my thighs. â€Å"My head seems to be the scarcely casualty thus far.”\r\nâ€Å"You pauperism something for it?”\r\nâ€Å" nary(prenominal) Itll clear up.” I hesitated, detecting something through the smell of salty, greasy meat. â€Å"Is that… c onwardee?”\r\nâ€Å"Yup. Want some?”\r\nâ€Å"Regular?”\r\nâ€Å"Yup.” He walked over to a pot, poured a mug of steaming coffee, and brought it to me, along with a cherished sugar and creamer set.\r\nâ€Å"I prospect you didnt sup this stu ff.”\r\nâ€Å"I dont. I just watch over it on hand in case caffeine-crazed women wake up in my bed.”\r\nâ€Å"That happen a lot?”\r\nSeth smiled mysteriously and returned to the stove. â€Å"Are you hungry?”\r\nâ€Å"Famished.”\r\nâ€Å"How do you the similar your eggs?”\r\nâ€Å"Over hard.”\r\nâ€Å"N frosting cho folderol. You want bacon excessively? Youre not a vegetarian or anything?”\r\nâ€Å"Im an honest carnivore. I want the works… if thats not asking too a good deal.” I mat up kind of sheepish about him waiting on me, considering everything else hed al filey done. He didnt appear to mind.\r\nThe works turned out to be to a greater extent than Id envisaged: eggs, bacon, toast, two kinds of jam, coffee cake, and orange ju codswallop. I ate it all, speculateing about how jealous Peter would be, equable confined to his low- carbdiet.\r\nâ€Å"Im in a food coma,” I told Seth afterward, helping wit h the dishes. â€Å"Ill assume to go seat to bed and sleep it off. Do you eat care this every day?”\r\nâ€Å"Nah. Just when aforementioned women are hanging out. It ensures they dont leave too quickly.”\r\nâ€Å"not a problem, considering this is all I render to wear.”\r\nâ€Å" no true,” he told me, pointing toward his living room. Looking up, I saw my come up †clean †hanging on a hanger. The sheer, bikini-cut panties Id ill-defined under it had been looped around the hangers head. â€Å"It give tongue to dry-clean, but I took a chance on putting it on extra-gentle cycle in the wash. It came out okay. So did the, uh, otherwise thing.”\r\nâ€Å"Thanks,” I replied, unsure as to how I felt about him washing my underwear. â€Å"Thanks for everything. I in truth appreciate what you did for me last night †you must(prenominal) think Im a total freak †â€Å"\r\nHe shrugged. â€Å"Its no problem. But” †he glanced at a close clock †â€Å"I may need to strain out on you soon. Remember that one ships company? It starts at noon. You brush off lock up hang out here.”\r\nI turned to the same clock. Eleven forty-seven.\r\nâ€Å"high noon! Why didnt you wake me up sooner? Youll be late!”\r\nHe shrugged again, infinitely unconcerned. â€Å"I reckon you needed the sleep.”\r\nSetting down the towel Id been holding, I darted to the living room and grabbed my dress. â€Å"Ill call a cab. You go. Dont business organization about me.”\r\nâ€Å"Seriously, its no problem,” he argued. â€Å"I can give you a ride home even, or… well, if you wanted, you could come with me.”\r\nWe both froze glutinously. I didnt really ascertain up to going to some strange company. What I needed to do was get home and do damage control with Roman and Doug. Yet… Seth had been terribly nice to me, and he had wanted me to go to this thing before. Didnt I o we him? Surely I could do this for him. An afternoon party probably wouldnt even last that long.\r\nâ€Å"Would we need to pick up anything?” I asked at last. â€Å"Wine? Brie?”\r\nHe shook his head. â€Å" plausibly not. Its for my eight-year-old niece.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh. So no wine thence?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah. And I think shes more into Gouda anyway.”\r\nI looked at the dress. â€Å"Ill be overdressed. You got anything I can put on over this?”\r\nSeven minutes later, I sat in Seths car, driving toward Lake Forest Park. I had the georgette dress back on, along with a mans plaid flannel shirt in shades of white, gray, and navy.\r\nThe shirt was open save up for a couple buttons. I had cut- winded my hair in lieu of shape-shifting it into place and now frantically employ cosmetics from my purse as I rode. I pretend I had a sort of Ginger-Rogers-Joins-Nirvana look going.\r\nWe arrived at the suburban house Id dropped Seth off at a few weeks ago. Pin k balloons fluttered from the mailbox, and a sire in jeans and a sweatshirt waved arrivederci as a small misfire disappeared into the house. Said mother then returned to the massive, soccer team-carrying vehicle running in the driveway.\r\nâ€Å"Whoa,” I said, taking it all in. â€Å"Ive never been to anything like this before.”\r\nâ€Å"You must have when you were little,” Seth amended, parking across the street.\r\nâ€Å"Well, yeah,” I lied. â€Å"But its a different experience at this age.”\r\nWe approached the front limen, and he entered without breaking. Immediately, four small, blond distaff forms slammed into him, grappling onto his limbs, nearly knocking him over.\r\nâ€Å"Uncle Seth! Uncle Seth!”\r\nâ€Å"Uncle Seths here!”\r\nâ€Å"Is that for me? Is that for me?”\r\nâ€Å"Desist, before I have to belong out the tear gas,” Seth told them mildly, unclasping one who jeopardise to rip his go away arm off. \r\nOne of them, all blond curls and giant blue eyes like the others, caught sight of me. â€Å"Hi,” she said boldly, â€Å"who are you?” Before I could answer, she tore out of the foyer, yelling, â€Å"Uncle Seth brought a girl!”\r\nSeth made a face. â€Å"Thats Morgan. Shes six.” He pointed to a clone of her. â€Å"This is McKenna, her twin. Over heres Kayla, four. This one” †he paused to turn back up the tallest of the four, a motion that made her speak gleefully †â€Å"is Kendall, the birthday girl. And I imagine Brandys here somewhere, but shes too civilized to assault me like the rest.”\r\nA living room extended beyond the foyer, and another blond girl, a few age older than Kendall, watched us over the back of a couch. Other assorted children †the party guests, I presumed †ran and screamed beyond her. â€Å"Im here, Uncle Seth.”\r\nSeth set Kendall down and tousled Brandys hair, much to her chagrin. She wo re the affronted dignity moreover one on the process of adolescence could have. Morgan returned shortly at that placeafter with a tall, blond fair sex in tow. â€Å"See? See?” exclaimed the little girl. â€Å"I told you.”\r\nâ€Å"Do you eer create such a scene?” the woman asked, giving Seth a quick hug. She looked happy but exhausted. I could take why.\r\nâ€Å"I should be so lucky. My fans arent half this ravenous. Andrea, this is Georgina. Georgina, Andrea.” I shook her hand as a reasonably shorter, younger version of Seth entered the room. â€Å"And thats my chum, terrycloth.”\r\nâ€Å"Welcome to our chaos, Georgina,” terry cloth told me after Id been introduced. He glanced at all of the children, his own and others, running around the house. â€Å"Im not sure I fully understand Seths wisdom in delivery you here. Youll never come back.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey,” exclaimed Kendall to me, â€Å"isnt that the shirt we got Uncle Seth for Christmas?”\r\nAn uneasy silence trim down among us adults as we all tried to look somewhere else. Finally, Andrea cleared her pharynx and said, â€Å" only right, guys, lets fall into line and get some games going.”\r\nI had expected a childs birthday party to be wild, but what proceeded to pass that afternoon surpassed even my imaginings. Equally impressive was the way in which Seths familiar and sister-in-law managed to control the herd of screaming, jumping creatures that somehow seemed to be everywhere in the house at once. Terry and Andrea handled them all with efficient good nature while Seth and I did little more than watch, on occasion fielding random questions tossed our way. The entire experience immobilise me as a bystander; I could hardly imagine coping with it on a regular basis. It was fascinating.\r\nAt one point, catching his breath, Terry saw me altogether and struck up a conversation.\r\nâ€Å"Im glad you could come,” he said. à ¢â‚¬Å"I didnt cope Seth was seeing anyone.”\r\nâ€Å"Were just friends,” I clarified.\r\nâ€Å"Still. Its nice to see him with someone flesh and argument. Someone he didnt make up.”\r\nâ€Å"Is it true he nearly missed your wedding?”\r\nTerry grimaced by way of confirmation. â€Å"My best man, if you can believe that. video display up two minutes before the solemnity began. We were on the verge of starting without him.”\r\nI could only laugh.\r\nHe shook his head. â€Å"If you continue hanging out with him, make sure you keep him in line. My brother may be brilliant, but by God, he needs a keeper sometimes.”\r\nAfter party games came cake, and after cake came presents. Kendall lifted Seths up expertly and shook it. â€Å"Books,” she declared.\r\nBrandy, older and thus quietest of the group, glanced at me and explained, â€Å"Uncle Seth always gets us books.”\r\nThis did not seem to discompose Kendall any. She tore open the package and crowed delightedly over three books of pirate stories contained within.\r\nâ€Å"Pirates, huh?” I asked Seth. â€Å"Is that politically pay?”\r\nHis eyes danced. â€Å"She wants to be one.”\r\nAs the party appal down and guests were retrieved by parents, Kendall beseeched Seth to enjoin stories, and I followed him, the nieces, and other stragglers into the living room while the girls parents try to clean up in the kitchen. Seth read in the same compelling way he had at his signing, and I curled up in an armchair, content to just listen and watch. I was thitherfore startled when Kaylas small form scrambled up and sat on my lap.\r\nYoungest of the girls, she could shriek with the best but tended to speak very little. She studied me with her globes of eyes, touched my French braid with interest, and then snuggled into me to listen to Seth. I wondered if she understood any of what he was saying. Regardless, she was soft and warm and smelled like litt le girl. Unconsciously, I ran my fingers through the fine, corn silk strands of hair and soon began weaving it into a braid similar to mine.\r\nWhen Seth finished a story, McKenna discover what I was doing. â€Å"Me next.”\r\nâ€Å"No, me,” ordered Kendall eagerly. â€Å"Its my birthday.”\r\nI ended up braiding for all four of the younger girls. Brandy timidly demurred. Not wanting four copies of me, I select other styles for the girls, herringbones and plaits that delighted them. Seth continued to read, now and then glancing up at me and my handiwork.\r\nBy the time we were bustling to leave, I felt drained physically and emotionally. Children always made me feel a little sad; organism in close contact like this made me downright sad in a way I couldnt explain.\r\nSeth said goodbye to his brother while I lingered near the door. As I did, I noticed a small bookcase beside me. Studying the titles, I picked out Burberrys New Annotated parole: Old and New Test aments. Remembering what Roman had said about the King James Version being a bad translation, I opened this one up to Genesis 6.\r\nThe wording was nearly identical, a little cleaner and more modern appear here and there, but mostly unchanged. With one exception. In verse 4, the King James Version had read: â€Å"There were giants in the earth in those age; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men…” This version, however, said: â€Å"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also afterwards, when the sons of God went to the daughters of men…”\r\nNephilim? A superordinate number appeared by the word, and I followed it to the appropriate footnote.\r\nThe word ” nephilim” is sometimes translated as â€Å"giants ” or â€Å"fallen ones.” Sources pull up stakes in accounts of these angelic offspring, citing them sometimes simply as neighbors to the domiciliateaanites and other times as Tita n-like creatures reminiscent of Greek heroes (Harrington, 2001).\r\nFrustrated, I looked up the Harrington reference in the books bibliography, purpose it linked to Biblical Arcanaand Myth by Robert Harrington. I memorized the title and author, slipping the Bible back into its place just as Seth turned to go.\r\nWe swarm in silence, the sky graying early as Seattles overwinter loomed nearer. I might normally have interpret the quiet in the car as awkward or weird, but I found it homelike as my mind pondered the nephilim reference. I needed to get a hold of the Harrington book, I decided.\r\nâ€Å"They didnt have ice cream,” Seth suddenly noted, interrupting my thoughts.\r\nâ€Å"Huh?”\r\nâ€Å"Terry and Andrea. They had cake with no ice cream. You want to get some ice cream?”\r\nâ€Å"Not enough sugar for you already?”\r\nâ€Å"They just go together, thats all.”\r\nâ€Å"Its only about cubic decimeter out,” I warned as he pulled up nex t to an ice cream front room. Ice cream in inclement weather seemed odd to me. â€Å"And its windy.”\r\nâ€Å"Are you kidding? In Chicago, a place like this wouldnt even be open this time of year. This is balmy.”\r\nWe went inside. Seth ordered a reduplicate cone of mint chocolate chip. I ordered a more adventurous double of blueberry cheesecake and mocha almond swirl. Sitting at a table by the windows, we ate our syrupy confections in more silence.\r\nFinally, he said, â€Å"Youre quiet today.”\r\nI turned on him in wonder, pausing in my noetic dissection of nephilim. â€Å"Thats a switch.”\r\nâ€Å"What is?”\r\nâ€Å"Usually I think youre too quiet. I have to chat and talk to keep things going.”\r\nâ€Å"Ive noticed. Er, I didnt mean that like it came out. That sounded bad. You talking is a good thing. You always know what to say. Exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.”\r\nâ€Å"Not last night. I said horrible thin gs last night. To Doug and Roman both. Theyll never forgive me,” I lamented.\r\nâ€Å"Sure they will. Dougs a good guy. I dont really know Roman, but…”\r\nâ€Å"But what?”\r\nSeth suddenly looked embarrassed. â€Å"I imagine youre easy to forgive.”\r\nWe looked at each other for a moment, and warmth flushed my cheeks. Not blood boiling, get naked and jump someone warm, but just cozily warm. Like being wrapped in a blanket.\r\nâ€Å"That looks terrible, you know.”\r\nâ€Å"What does?”\r\nHe pointed at my cone. â€Å"That combination.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey, dont knock it until you try it. They actually go pretty well together.”\r\nHe looked doubtful.\r\nI slid my chair over by him and offered him a bite. â€Å"Make sure you get both flavors.”\r\nHe leaned in for the bite and managed both the blueberry cheesecake and mocha almond swirl. Unfortunately, a piece of the blueberry cheesecake scoop fell off onto his chin in the pro cess. I instinctively reached out to stop it, slip it back to his mouth. He just as automatically nabbed the wayward piece with his tongue, licking it off my fingers.\r\nA blast of eroticism coursed through me, and looking into his eyes, I knew hed shared it too. â€Å"Here,” I said hastily, reaching for a napkin, ignoring the desire to return my fingers to his mouth.\r\nSeth wiped his chin with it, but for once, he didnt let his self-consciousness get the smash of him. He stayed where he was, leaning close to me.\r\nâ€Å"You smell amazing. Like… gardenias.”\r\nâ€Å"Tuberose,” I corrected automatically, dazed by how close he was to me.\r\nâ€Å"Tuberose,” he repeated. â€Å"And incense, I think. Ive never smelled anything like it.” He leaned a hair closer.\r\nâ€Å"Its Michael by Michael Kors. You can get it at any high-end incision store.” I nearly groaned as the words left my flustered lips. What an idiotic thing to say. My ner vousness made me flippant. â€Å"Maybe Cady could start wearing it.”\r\nSeth was all seriousness. â€Å"No. This is you. Only you. It would never smell exactly the same on anyone else.”\r\nI shivered. I wore this gist because it was reminiscent of what other immortals sensed in my extraordinary signature, my aura. This is you. With just a few casual words, I felt as though Seth had uncovered some secret part of me, looked into my soul.\r\nWe sat there then, chemistry burning between us like queasy, neither of us acting. I knew he would not try to kiss me as Roman had. Seth was content simply to look at me, to make love to me with his eyes.\r\nSuddenly the wind caught the door to the diminutive restaurant, forcing it open as a huge black eye swept in. Wisps of hair blew into my face, and I slammed my hands down on the napkins that flew up from our table. Other items in the parlor had less success as more napkins and trash of paper drifted around, and a cup of pli able spoons fell off the counter, spilling its contents on the floor. The clerk undersurface the counter ran to the door, fighting against the wind to make the lock catch. When hed finally done so, he glared at the door resentfully.\r\nWith the moment †whatever it was †shattered, Seth and I picked up our things and left shortly thereafter. I asked him to drop me off at the bookstore. I hoped Doug would be there to pardon to, plus I wanted to get ahold of that Harrington book.\r\nâ€Å"You want to come in and hang out? take hi to anybody?” I somehow felt antipathetical to leave Seth now, in spite of all the things I needed to do.\r\nHe shook his head. â€Å"Sorry. Ive got to go. Im face-off someone.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh.” I felt kind of gooselike. He could have a date now for all I knew. And why shouldnt he? It wasnt like I was his only social connection, especially after my no-dating spiel. I was foolish to be reading so much into the ice cream encounte r, especially since I was supposedly crazy about Roman. â€Å"Well. Thanks again for everything. Ill make it up to you.”\r\nHe waved his hand dismissively. â€Å"It wasnt anything. Besides, you paid me back by going to the party.”\r\nNow I shook my head. â€Å"I didnt really do anything there.”\r\nSeth only smiled. â€Å"See you around.”\r\nI stepped out of the car and suddenly stuck my head back in. â€Å"Hey, I should have asked you this earlier. Do you have my book signed yet? The Glasgow Pact ? â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Oh… man. No. I cant believe I forgot about that. Its still at my place. Ill sign it and bring it soon. Im sorry.” He looked rightfully contrite.\r\nâ€Å"Okay. Its no problem.” I should have ransacked his condominium for it.\r\nWe said goodbye again, and I turned into the bookstore. If I remembered my schedule right, Paige should have opened and Doug should be here now as the late manager. Sure enough, he stood at the inf ormation desk, looking on while Tammi helped a customer.\r\nâ€Å"Hey,” I said, walking up to him, squeamishness filling me as I recalled my harsh words. â€Å"Can I talk to you for a minute?”\r\nâ€Å"No.”\r\nWhoa. Id expected him to be upset… but this?\r\nâ€Å"You need to call your friend first.”\r\nâ€Å"I †what?”\r\nâ€Å"That one guy,” Doug explained. â€Å"That plastic surgeon that hangs out with you and Cody.”\r\nâ€Å"Hugh?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, thats the one. Hes called, like, a hundred times, release messages. Hes been worried about you.” His expression turned both soft and wry as he took in my dress and flannel ensemble. â€Å"So have I.”\r\nI frowned, wondering at Hughs urgency. â€Å"Okay. Ill call him now. Come talk to me later?”\r\nDoug nodded, and I started to pull out my carrell bring forward until I remembered Id broken it last night. Retreating to the back office instead, I sat on the desks rim and called Hugh.\r\nâ€Å"Hello?”\r\nâ€Å"Hugh?”\r\nâ€Å"Jesus Christ, Georgina. Where the hell have you been?”\r\nâ€Å"I, er, nowhere…”\r\nâ€Å"Weve been trying to get ahold of you all last night and today.”\r\nâ€Å"I wasnt at home,” I explained. â€Å"And my cell phone broke. Why? Whats going on? Tell me there hasnt been another one.”\r\nâ€Å"Afraid so. Another murder this time, no more friendly beatings. When we couldnt reach you, the vampires and I thought hed got you too, even though Jerome said he could feel that you were fine.”\r\nI swallowed. â€Å"Who… who was it?”\r\nâ€Å"Are you sitting down?”\r\nâ€Å" variety show of.”\r\nI braced myself, ready for anything. Demon. Imp. Vampire. Succubus.\r\nâ€Å"Lucinda.”\r\nI blinked. â€Å"What?” All my theories of an avenger of evil shattered. â€Å"But thats impossible. Shes †shes †â€Å"\r\nà ¢â‚¬Â †an angel,” Hugh finished for me.\r\n'