Saturday, October 12, 2019

Kurt Cobain Essay example -- Psychology, Psychodynamic Model, Behavior

â€Å"A person’s behavior, whether normal or abnormal, is determined largely by underlying psychological forces of which he or she is not consciously aware.† (Comer, 2011, p. 37) The psychodynamic model is the oldest and most famously used model when diagnosing and treating abnormal behaviors; its purpose is to find the problem hidden in past events within a person’s life. In this paper I will be discussing the life of Kurt Cobain, describing his diagnosis based on the five axes of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV TR, and what his possible treatment could have been, all through a psychodynamic point of view. Throughout Cobain’s childhood he was a sickly child, suffering from bronchitis, the divorce of his parents and was living in a â€Å"depressed and dying lodging town† (Ronson, 1996). At the age of ten Cobain suffered because of loss of security and the constant moving between homes due to his parents’ divorce. (Soylent Communications, 2010) His parents were mostly absent because they were working-class people; Cobain was the â€Å"son of a mechanic and a waitress.† (Soylent Communications, 2010) Growing up the child of working-class people really put Cobain in a place where he was deprived of many things and was left fulfill his own needs, emotionally and physically. Cobain found friendship in Krist Novoselic, who had similar dreams and interests in punk music. (Soylent Communications, 2010) The depressing lodging town of Aberdeen, Washington left Cobain with nothing but scars from the repeated cases of abuse he received by the kids of his school, Cobain d ropped out of high school to pursue his dreams in his bands. Aberdeen was a dying town and nothing new was ever going on there. Cobain however did get his brea... ... be shown that we care about him and want to provide stability in his life. It’s importance for a therapist to share things about themselves and give their honest opinion in order to make the patient comfortable and trusting of them. (Comer, 2011, p. 43) I believe that although this would just the start of his therapy there may be a need for drugs later on if the free association doesn’t work, although he would have prescription drugs in rehabilitation to aid him in the process of becoming permanently clean without the painful side effects of coming off of the drug. The therapy in the beginning is a necessity in getting to the later stages of treatment, the free associating therapy would be the largest part of his recovery and it would work quite well. I can see that this therapy would give him what he never had in life, stability. Kurt Cobain Essay example -- Psychology, Psychodynamic Model, Behavior â€Å"A person’s behavior, whether normal or abnormal, is determined largely by underlying psychological forces of which he or she is not consciously aware.† (Comer, 2011, p. 37) The psychodynamic model is the oldest and most famously used model when diagnosing and treating abnormal behaviors; its purpose is to find the problem hidden in past events within a person’s life. In this paper I will be discussing the life of Kurt Cobain, describing his diagnosis based on the five axes of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV TR, and what his possible treatment could have been, all through a psychodynamic point of view. Throughout Cobain’s childhood he was a sickly child, suffering from bronchitis, the divorce of his parents and was living in a â€Å"depressed and dying lodging town† (Ronson, 1996). At the age of ten Cobain suffered because of loss of security and the constant moving between homes due to his parents’ divorce. (Soylent Communications, 2010) His parents were mostly absent because they were working-class people; Cobain was the â€Å"son of a mechanic and a waitress.† (Soylent Communications, 2010) Growing up the child of working-class people really put Cobain in a place where he was deprived of many things and was left fulfill his own needs, emotionally and physically. Cobain found friendship in Krist Novoselic, who had similar dreams and interests in punk music. (Soylent Communications, 2010) The depressing lodging town of Aberdeen, Washington left Cobain with nothing but scars from the repeated cases of abuse he received by the kids of his school, Cobain d ropped out of high school to pursue his dreams in his bands. Aberdeen was a dying town and nothing new was ever going on there. Cobain however did get his brea... ... be shown that we care about him and want to provide stability in his life. It’s importance for a therapist to share things about themselves and give their honest opinion in order to make the patient comfortable and trusting of them. (Comer, 2011, p. 43) I believe that although this would just the start of his therapy there may be a need for drugs later on if the free association doesn’t work, although he would have prescription drugs in rehabilitation to aid him in the process of becoming permanently clean without the painful side effects of coming off of the drug. The therapy in the beginning is a necessity in getting to the later stages of treatment, the free associating therapy would be the largest part of his recovery and it would work quite well. I can see that this therapy would give him what he never had in life, stability.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Companies and the Customers Who Hate Them Essay

How can customer dissatisfaction lead to higher profits for the company? Companies have found out that ill-informed customers can be beneficial for them in terms of profits. Some companies have abused their customers intentionally, however others unwittingly exploited and took advantage of them. The Slippery slope: There are two major ways in which companies make profits by misleading their customers: * Offering the customers a broad variety of services or products, which can be very confusing, especially when there is lack of transparency. Moreover, if even the information is complete for the customers, the companies can take advantages of consumers’ difficulties in predicting their needs. * Using fees and penalties for offsetting costs and discouraging undesirable customer behavior. These hostile strategies are common from banking and hotel industries to video stores and car rentals. Here particularly 3 industries will be discussed in details: cell phone industry, retail- banking industry and health club industry. Cell phone industry: When a customer signs up for a service plan, he chooses a certain pricing option with different ranges of minutes. These plans can have various restrictions and allowances. However, these varied plans are not a result of customer-centric strategy. They are rather ways to take advantage of customer’s unawareness of which plan to choose, in the result of which customers can be penalized either for using too much time or for not using enough. However, such strategies cannot always guarantee profits for the company. They can increase the dissatisfaction among customers, the proof of which can be thousands of complaints that the U. S. Federal Communications Commission gets annually. These complaints should be worrisome to companies because customers can switch toward a transparent and friendly alternative. Retail-banking industry: Another sphere in which the company-centric strategy is used is retail-banking industry. For signing up in the checking accounts people are offered dozens of alternatives. If the customers cannot precisely predict their needs, they can have losses. Here are some examples of situations when the banks take advantage over the customers’ ignorance * The customers receive less interest when the consumers’ balances are above the minimum of the balance bucket and if the alances fall below the minimum level, they have to pay some penalties. * Banks usually debit the consumers’ checks in the order of size, rather than in a chronological order, for the rest of the checks to bounce and to cause multiple overdrafts, consequently penalties. The company-centric strategy of banks led to the customers’ dissatisfaction and it became so pervasive that New York congresswoman Carolyn Maloney reintroduced the Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act to forbid banks charging overdraft protection fees, unless the customers explicitly are informed about the service. Health club industry: Health clubs tempt customers to sign long-term contracts, knowing that they will rarely visit the club. They realize that all their customers will not completely use the facility and therefore sell more memberships than they have the floor space to accommodate. Moreover, an investigation conducted by the New York City Council concluded that 41% of clubs didn’t explain their fees in writing, 81% didn’t give potential members a contract to read at home and 96% didn’t inform customers of all the ways they could legally cancel a contract. In New Jersey a lot of complaints have brought litigation against almost two dozen health clubs that provided fraudulent contracts. Health clubs require to spend more time to attract new customers because their existing ones try to find a way out. Moreover they even encourage ways to retain customers with reward points for members who work out regularly. The warning signs: According to the research most of the executives are acknowledging the negative effects of the functions described above but they mention that those actions do not represent an intentional strategy. The executives know that because of these negative practices the companies slid down the slippery slope and have difficulties for purchasing on the way back up thus becoming vulnerable for the competitors. For avoiding this practice the executives should ask themselves the questions mentioned bellow. * Are our most profitable customers those who have reasons to be dissatisfied with us? * Do we have rules we want customers to break because doing so generates profits? Do we make it difficult for customers to understand or abide by our rules, and do we actually help customers break them? * Do we depend on contracts to prevent customers from defecting? Climbing back into favor: Effective CEOs are able to recognize the opportunities and eliminate the negative effects which make the company vulnerable. The company centric strategies can cause loss of the target market and profitability in a long-term period, thus many companies prefer being economically sustainable.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Encs 282 Assignment Sheet: Rhetorical Analysis

ENCS 282 Assignment Sheet: Rhetorical Analysis The purpose of this assignment is to pick a particular rhetorical message (that is, a message that attempts to persuade you to do or to believe something) and analyze the content of that message to determine the purpose, intended audience, argument, persuasive strategies, and modes of appeal that the message employs. In order to do this, I will assign you an image/video (I call it an artifact) from science/engineering – students in Jordan’s tutorials will have to analyse this image: ttp://www. geek. com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/intel_ad_campaign_rock_stars. jpg Students in Nancy’s tutorials will analyse this commercial: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=wGSHKNacB6Q Both images/videos are attempting to persuade a particular audience. Your goal will be to understand the basic structure of an attempt at persuasion in order to see how persuasion works. Your assignment will be due on the 26th of March 2013. Please adher e to the following guidelines: ) Examine/watch your artifact carefully, and identify the main claim being made. 2) Begin your paper with an introductory paragraph which overviews the main strategies of persuasion that the artifact employs. 3) Next, you will be required to write a Toulmin’s model of warranted assent diagram to explain the attempts to persuade the reader. This includes a demonstration of the major claims made in the artifact and the warrant for those claims, as well as the implied justification of the artifact’s claims.This section should be at least two paragraphs and at most four paragraphs long. 4) Next identify the intended audience for the image/video and analyze whether or not the ways in which the argument that the media makes is uniquely fit for that particular audience. This section should be at least two paragraphs long. You should write about the article’s language, tone, and style, and how these features help define the audience. 5) Th en, you will critique each of the artifact’s justifications.This section should also be at least two paragraphs long. Why shouldn’t we agree with this claim? Is the justification offered a good one? What can the essay do better to be more persuasive? 6) Finally, craft a conclusion that reviews both your explanations of the justifications of the media’s position and your critique of those justifications. 7) Each rhetorical analysis paper should be between 3 and 5 pages long. The papers should be double-spaced and use Times New Roman font and 1† margins.

Night World : Soulmate Chapter 3

I he sleek white limousine raced through the night like a dolphin underwater, carrying Thierry Des-couedres away from the airport. It was taking him to hisLas Vegas mansion, white walls and palm trees, limpid blue fountains and tiled terraces. Rooms full of artwork and museum-quality furniture. Everything anyone could ask for. He shut his eyes and leaned back against the crimson cushions, wishing he were somewhere else. â€Å"How wasHawaii , sir?† The driver's voice came from the front seat. Thierry opened his eyes. Nilsson was a good driver. He seemed to be about Thierry's own age, around nineteen, with a neat ponytail, dark glasses despite the fact that it was nighttime, and a discreet expression. â€Å"Wet, Nilsson,† Thierry said softly. He stared out the window. â€Å"Hawaiiwas very†¦ wet.† â€Å"But you didn't find what you were looking for.† â€Å"No. I didn't find what I was looking for †¦ again.† â€Å"I'm sorry, sir.† â€Å"Thank you, Nilsson.† Thierry tried to look past his own reflection in the window. It was disturbing, seeing that young man with the white-blond hair and the old, old eyes looking back at him. He had such a pensive expression †¦ so lost and so sad. Like somebody always looking for something he can't find, Thierry thought. He turned away from the window in determination. â€Å"Everything been going all right while I've been gone?† he asked, picking up his cellular phone. Work. Work always helped. Kept you busy, kept your mind off things, kept you away from yourself, basically. â€Å"Fine, I think, sir. Mr. James and Miss Poppy are back.† â€Å"That's good. They'll make thenext Circle Daybreak meeting.† Thierry's finger hovered over a button on the phone, considering whom to call. Whose need might be the most urgent. But before he could touch it, the phone buzzed. Thierry pressed send and held it to his ear. â€Å"Thierry.† â€Å"Sir? It's me, Lupe. Can you hear me?† The voice was faint and broken by static, but distant as it was, Thierry could hear that the caller sounded weak. â€Å"Lupe? Are you all right?† â€Å"I got in a fight, sir. I'm a little torn up.† She gave a gasping chuckle. â€Å"But you should see the other wolf.† Thierry reached for a leather-bound address book and a goldMont Blanc pen. â€Å"That's not funny, Lupe. You shouldn't be fighting.† â€Å"I know, sir, but-â€Å" â€Å"You've really got to restrain yourself.† â€Å"Yes, sir, but-â€Å" â€Å"Tell me where you are, and I'll have somebody pick you up. Get you to a doctor.† Thierry made a practice mark with the pen. No ink came out. He stared at the nib of it in mild disbelief. â€Å"You buy an eight-hundred-dollar pen and then it doesn't write,† he murmured. â€Å"Sir, you're not listening to me. You don't understand. I've found her.† Thierry stopped trying to make the pen write. He stared at it, at his own long fingers holding the chunky, textured gold barrel, knowing that this sight would be impressed on his memory as if burned in with a torch. â€Å"Did you hear me, sir? I've found her.† When his voice came out at last, it was strangely distant. â€Å"Are you sure?† â€Å"Yes. Yes, sir, I'm sure. She's got the mark and everything. Her name is Hannah Snow.† Thierry reached over the front seat and grabbed the astonished Nilsson with a hand like iron. He said very quietly in the driver's ear, â€Å"Do you have a pencil?† â€Å"A pencil?† â€Å"Something that writes, Nilsson. An instrument to make marks on paper. Do you have one? Quick, because if I lose this connection, you're fired.† â€Å"I've got a pen, sir.† One-handed, Nilsson fished in his pocket and produced a Bic. â€Å"Your salary just doubled.† Thierry took the pen and sat back. â€Å"Where are you, Lupe?† â€Å"The Badlands of Montana, sir. Near a town called Medicine Rock. But there's something else, sir.† Lupe's voice seemed less steady all of a sudden. â€Å"The other wolf that fought me-he saw her, too. And he got away.† Thierry's breath caught. â€Å"I see.† â€Å"I'm sorry.† Lupe was suddenly talking quickly, in a burst of emotion. â€Å"Oh, Thierry, I'm sorry. I tried to stop him. But he got away-and now I'm afraid he's off telling†¦ her.† â€Å"You couldn't help it, Lupe. And I'll be there myself, soon. I'll be there to take care of-everything.† Thierry looked at the driver. â€Å"We've got to make some stops, Nilsson. First, the Harman store.† â€Å"The witch place?† â€Å"Exactly. You can triple your salary if you get there fast.† When Hannah got to Paul Winfield's house the next afternoon, the sheriff was there. Chris Grady was an honest-to-goodness Western sheriff, complete with boots, broad-brimmed hat, and vest. The only thing missing, Hannah thought as she walked around to the back of the house where Paul was hammering boards across the broken windows, was a horse. â€Å"Hi, Chris,† she said. The sheriff nodded, sun-weathered skin crinkling at the corners of her eyes. She took off her hat and ran a hand through shoulder-length auburn hair. â€Å"I see you found yourself a couple of giant timber wolves, Hannah. You're not hurt, are you?† Hannah shook her head no. She tried to summon up a smile but failed. â€Å"I think they were maybe wolf-dogs or something. Pure-bred wolves aren't so aggressive.† â€Å"That print wasn't made by any wolf-dog,† Chris said. On the concrete flagstones outside the window there was a paw print made in blood. It was similar to a dog's footprint, with four pads plus claw marks showing. But it was more than six inches long by just over five inches wide. â€Å"Judging from that, it's the biggest wolf ever heard of around here, bigger than the White Wolf of the Judith.† The sheriff's eyes drifted to the empty rectangles of the broken windows. â€Å"Big and mean. You people be careful. Something's going on here that I don't like. I'll let you know if we catch your wolves.† She nodded to Paul, who was sucking his finger after banging it with the hammer. Then she set her hat back on her head and strode off to her car. Hannah stared at the paw print silently. Everyone else thought there was something going on. Everyone but her. Because there can't be, she thought. Because it has to all be in my head. It has to be something I can figure out and fix quick†¦ something I can control. â€Å"Thanks for seeing me again so soon,† she said to Paul. â€Å"Oh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He gestured, tucking the hammer under his arm. â€Å"It's no trouble. I want to get to the bottom of what's upsetting you as much as you do. And,† he admitted under his breath as he let them in the house, â€Å"I don't actually have any other patients.† Hannah followed him down a hallway and into his office. It was dim inside, the boards across the windows reducing the late afternoon sunlight to separate oddly-angled shafts. She sat in the contoured chair. â€Å"The only thing is, how can we get to the bottom of it? I don't understand what's upsetting me, either. It's all too strange. I mean, on the one hand, I'm clearly insane.† She spoke flatly as Paul took his seat on the opposite side of the desk. â€Å"I have crazy dreams, I think the world is going to end, I have the feeling I'm being followed, and yesterday I started hearing voices in my head. On the other hand, me being insane doesn't explain wolves jumping through the windows.† â€Å"Voices?† Paul murmured, looking around for a pencil. Then he gave up and faced her. â€Å"Yeah, I know. I understand the temptation. Last night after having those wolves stare at me, I was about ready to believe that there had to be something†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He trailed off and shook his head, lifting papers on his desk to glance under them. â€Å"Something†¦ really strange going on. But now it's daytime, and we're all rational people, and we realize that we have to deal with things rationally. And, actually, you know, I think I may have come up with a rational explanation.† He found a pencil and with an expression of vast relief began to waggle it between his fingers. Hope stirred inside Hannah. â€Å"An explanation?† â€Å"Yeah. I mean, first of all, it's possible that your premonitions and things are entirely unconnected with the wolves. People never want to believe in coincidence, but it happens. But even if the two things are connected-well, I don't think that means that anybody's after you. It could be that there's some sort of disturbance in this area-something that's stirring up the whole ecosystem, making wolves crazy, doing who knows what to other animals†¦ and that you're somehow sensing this. You're attuned to it somehow. Maybe it's earthquake weather or-or sunspots or negative ions in the air. But whatever it is, it's causing you to think that some terrible disaster is coming. That the world is ending or that you're about to be killed.† Hannah felt the hope sink inside her, and it was more painful than not having had it at all. â€Å"I suppose that could happen,† she said. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. â€Å"But how does it explain this?† She reached into the canvas bag she carried instead of a purse and pulled out a folded slip of paper. Paul took the paper and read it. † ‘They've seen you. They're going to tell him. This is your last chance to get away.' † He stuck the pencil in his mouth. â€Å"Hmmm †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I found it this morning wrapped around my toothbrush,† Hannah said quietly. â€Å"And it's your handwriting?† She shut her eyes and nodded. â€Å"And you don't remember writing it.† â€Å"I didn't write it. I know I didn't.† She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. â€Å"The notes scare me. Everything that's happening scares me. I don't understand any of it, and I don't see how I'm supposed to fix it if I don't understand it.† Paul considered, chewing on the pencil gently. â€Å"Look-whatever's happening, whoever's writing the notes, I think your subconscious mind is trying to tell you something. The dreams are evidence of that. But it's not telling you enough. There's something I was going to suggest, something I don't exactly believe in, but that we can try anyway. Something to get to your subconscious directly so we can ask it what's going on.† Get to her subconscious directly†¦. Hannah held her breath. â€Å"Hypnosis?† Paul nodded. â€Å"I'm not a big hypnosis fan. It's not some magical trance like TV and the movies want you to believe. It's just a state of mind where you're a little more relaxed, a little more likely to be able to remember threatening things without choking up. But it's nothing you can't achieve yourself by doing breathing exercises at home.† Hannah wasn't happy. Hypnosis still seemed to mean giving up control. If not to Paul, then to her own subconscious. But what else am I supposed to do? She sat and listened to the quiet helplessness in her mind for a moment. Not a peep from the cool wind voice or the crystal voice-and that was good, as far as she was concerned. Still, it pointed up the fact that she didn't have an alternative. She looked at Paul. â€Å"Okay. Let's do it.† â€Å"Great.† He stood, then reached for a book on the corner of his desk. â€Å"Always assuming I remember how†¦. Okay, why don't you lie down on the couch?† Hannah hesitated, then shrugged. If I'm going to do it, I might as well do it right. She lay down and stared at the dark beams in the ceiling. In spite of how miserable she was feeling, she had an almost irresistible impulse to giggle. Here she was on a real psychologist's couch, waiting to be hypnotized. Her friends at school would never consider even going to a shrink-out here inMontana craziness was okay. After all, you had to be a little eccentric to be living in this hard land in the first place. What wasn't okay was admitting you couldn't deal with it on your own, paying too much attention to it, asking for help. And allowing yourself to be hypnotized was even worse. They all think I'm the most independent and together of any of them. If they could see me now. â€Å"Okay, I want you to get comfortable and shut your eyes,† Paul said. He was perched with one hip on the edge of his desk, leg swinging, book in hand. His voice was quiet and soothing-the professional voice. Hannah shut her eyes. â€Å"Now I want you to imagine yourself floating. Just floating and feeling very relaxed. There's nothing you need to think about and nowhere you need to go. And now you're seeing yourself enveloped by a beautiful violet light. It's bathing your entire body and it's making you more and more relaxed †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The couch was surprisingly comfortable. Its curves fit under her, supporting her without being intrusive. It was easy to imagine that she was floating, easy to imagine the light around her. â€Å"And now you feel yourself floating down deeper†¦ into a deeper state of relaxation†¦ and you're surrounded by a deep blue light. The blue light is all around you, shining through you, and it's making you more comfortable, more relaxed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The soft soothing voice went on, and at its direction Hannah imagined waves of colored light bathing her body. Deep blue, emerald green, golden yellow, glowing orange. Hannah saw it all. It was amazing and effortless; her mind just showed her the pictures. And as the colors came and went she felt herself becoming more and more relaxed, warm and almost weightless. She couldn't feel the couch underneath her any longer. She was floating on light. â€Å"And now you're seeing a ruby red light, very deep, very relaxing. You're so relaxed; you're calm and comfortable, and everything feels safe. Nothing will upset you; you can answer all my questions without ever feeling distressed. Do you understand me?† â€Å"Yes,† Hannah said. She was aware of saying it, but it wasn't exactly as if she had said it. She wasn't aware of planning to say it. Something within her seemed to be answering Paul using her voice. But it wasn't frightening. She still felt relaxed, floating in the ruby light. â€Å"All right. I'm now speaking to Hannah's subconscious. You will be able to remember things that Hannah's waking mind isn't aware of-even things that have been repressed. Do you understand?† â€Å"Yes.† Again, the voice seemed to come before Hannah decided to speak. â€Å"Good. Now, I've got this last note here, the one you found wrapped around your toothbrush this morning. Do you remember this note?† â€Å"Yes.† Of course. â€Å"Okay, that's good. And now I want you to go back in your mind, back to the time that this note was written.† This time Hannah was aware of a need to speak. â€Å"But how can I do that? I don't know when it was written. I didn't write-â€Å" â€Å"Just-just-just let go, Hannah,† Paul said, overriding her. His voice soothing again, he added, â€Å"Feel relaxed, feel yourself becoming very relaxed, and let your conscious mind go. Just tell yourself to go back to the time this note was written. Don't worry about how. See the ruby light and think 1 will go back.' Are you doing that?† â€Å"Yes,† Hannah said. Go back, she told herself gamely. Just relax and go back, okay? â€Å"And now, a picture is beginning to form in your mind. You are seeing something. What are you seeing?† Hannah felt something inside her give way. She seemed to be falling into the ruby right. Her ordinary mind was suspended; it seemed to have been shuttled off to the side somewhere. In this odd dreamlike state, nothing could surprise her. Paul's voice was gently insistent. â€Å"What are you seeing?† Hannah saw it. A tiny picture that seemed to open up, unfold as she stared at it. â€Å"I see myself,† she whispered. â€Å"Where are you?† â€Å"I don't know. Wait, maybe I'm in my room.† She could see herself, wearing something long and white-a nightgown. No, she was that self, she was in her bedroom, wearing her nightgown. She was in Paul's office, lying on the couch, but she was in her bedroom at the same time. How strange, she thought dimly. â€Å"All right, now the picture will get clearer. You'll begin to see things around you. Just relax and you'll begin to see them. Now, what are you doing?† Without feeling anything-except a kind of distant amusement and resignation-Hannah said, â€Å"Writing a note.† Paul muttered something that sounded like, â€Å"Aha.† But it might have been, â€Å"XJh-huh.† Then he said softly, â€Å"And why are you writing it?† â€Å"I don't know-to warn myself. I have to warn myself.† â€Å"About what?† Hannah felt herself shake her own head helplessly. â€Å"Okay†¦ what are you feeling as you write it?† â€Å"Oh †¦Ã¢â‚¬  That was easy. Paul was undoubtedly expecting her to say something like â€Å"fear† or â€Å"anxiety.† But that wasn't the strongest thing she was feeling. Not the strongest at all. â€Å"Longing,† Hannah whispered. She moved her head restlessly on the couch. â€Å"Just-longing.† â€Å"I beg your pardon?† â€Å"I want-so much †¦ I want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  . â€Å"What do you want?† â€Å"Him.† It came out as a sob. Hannah's ordinary mind watched somewhere in amazement, but Hannah's body was entirely taken over by the feeling, racked with it. â€Å"I know it's impossible. It's danger and death to me. But I don't care. I can't help it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I mean, you're feeling very relaxed. You're very calm and you can answer my questions. Who is this person that you're longing for?† â€Å"The one who comes,† Hannah said softly and hopelessly. â€Å"He's wicked and evil †¦ I know that. She explained it all to me. And I know he'll kill me. The way he always has. But I want him.† She was trembling. She could feel her own body radiating heat-and she could hear Paul swallow. Somehow in this expanded state of consciousness she seemed to be able to see him, as if she could be everywhere at once. She knew he was sitting there on the edge of the desk, looking at her dazedly, bewildered by the transformation in the young woman on his couch. She knew he could see her, her face pale and glowing from inner heat, her breath coming quickly, her body gripped by a fine muscular tremor. And she knew he was stirred-and frightened. â€Å"Oh, boy.† Paul's breath came out and he shifted on the desk. He bowed his head, then lifted it, looking for a pencil. â€Å"Okay, I have to admit, I'm lost. Let's just go back to the beginning here. You feel that somebody is after you, and that he's tried to kill you before? Some old boyfriend who's stalking you, maybe?† â€Å"No. He hasn't tried to kill me. He has killed me.† â€Å"He has killed you.† Paul bit his pencil. He muttered, â€Å"I should have known better than to have started this. I don't believe in hypnosis anyway.† â€Å"And he's going to do it again. I'll die before my seventeenth birthday. It's my punishment for loving him. It always happens that way.† â€Å"Right. Okay. Okay, let's try something really basic here†¦. Does this mystery guy have a name?† Hannah lifted a hand and let it drop. â€Å"When?† she whispered. â€Å"What?† â€Å"When?† â€Å"When what? What?† Paul shook his head. â€Å"Oh, hell-â€Å" Hannah spoke precisely. â€Å"He's used different names at different times. He's had-hundreds, I guess. But I think of him as Thierry. Thierry Descouedres. Because that's the one he's used for the last couple of lifetimes.† There was a long silence. Then Paul said, â€Å"The last couple of †¦ ?† â€Å"Lifetimes. It may still be his name now. The last time I saw him he said he wouldn't bother to change it anymore. He wouldn't bother to hide any longer.† Paul said, â€Å"Oh, God.† He stood, walked to the window, and put his head in his hands. Then he turned back to Hannah. â€Å"Are we talking about †¦ I mean, tell me we're not talking about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused and then his voice came out soft and boneless. â€Å"The Big R? You know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He winced. â€Å"Reincarnation?† A long silence. Then Hannah heard her own voice say flatly, â€Å"He hasn't been reincarnated.† â€Å"Oh.† Paul's breath came out in relief. â€Å"Well, thank God. You had me scared there for a minute.† â€Å"He's been alive all this time,† Hannah said. â€Å"He isn't human, you know.†

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Development Is Impossible Without Industrialisation Essay

Development Is Impossible Without Industrialisation - Essay Example This paper will critically examine the statement that development is impossible without industrialization. Development has been defined as the process of acquiring and securing the freedoms that we have reasons to value. They make our life richer and allow us to be fuller social persons (Amartya Sen cited by Oden 2001). Development is a complex multidimensional process which cannot be addressed by economic growth alone. It must be approached with a dynamic perspective and the process of development is not the province of one nation. Nations have to cooperate and coordinate with one another. In Africa a large number of people fall below the extreme poverty line, which affects income, education and health. Unless the problem of poverty is resolved, no development can take place. This requires effective sustainable development which translates into jobs creation, education and health amenities. Sustainable development requires efficient, established and regular institutions and processes but most importantly it requires efficient industrial sectors. History provides sufficient evidence that industrial civilization brought about sustained prosperity. The Industrial Revolution brought all the development goals set forth at the UN Conference - clean water and sanitation, the elimination of disease, plentiful food (Tracinski, 2002). Industrial capitalism could make man’s physical environment healthier. Nations with large populations demonstrate a marked transformation and higher income growth. Development may vary across nations and may also vary over time, but development is impossible without industrialization. Nations benefit when they step into industrialization. Virtually every country that has experienced rapid growth in productivity and changes in life style over the last two hundred years has done so by industrializing (Murphy, Shleifer, & Vishny, 1998). Countries like

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

American History - Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American History - Final - Essay Example This paper will focus on the importance of the stated events and how these events changed the shape of the American society. Body The attack on Pearl Harbor On the day of 7th December 1941, the Pearl Harbor which happened to be an American port was heavily bombarded by Japanese forces (Kennedy 65). The attack on the American port of Pearl Harbor was a huge set back for the American population but it let to significant changes to the society of America. Firstly, Pearl Harbor did not guarantee Japanese a success during the future war. The war even had long term impacts on the society of America, these attacks assisted America in joining hands with the Pacific area of the world and the European nations and these two portions of the world ended up being allies of America. The main positive impact of the attack of Pearl Harbor was the expansion of the military forces of US and mobilization of American individuals within the military ranks even increased. Before the attack, US and the citi zens of US were not in favor of war and believed that peace can be maintained and achieved without war. After the attack, anti war sentiments were diminished and the population of US stood behind the government during the war. Another issue that occurred due to this attack was anti-Japanese sentiments among the people of US. They started viewing Japanese population of America as terrorists and attackers. Incident of 9/11 On the day of September 11, 2001, a two American plane was hijacked by terrorists of the group of Al-Qaeda and this hijacked plane was crashed in the World Trade Center which was located in the city of New York. Another plane was hijacked by the same terrorist group which crashed into the Pentagon and the fourth hijacked plane was crashed into the grounds located in the region of Shanksville. These attacks led to heavy losses of human lives in US, people from different ethnic background and different cultures experienced death. These individuals even included those who are regarded as American Arabs. But the responsibility of the attacks was only levied on the American Arabs. This day even marked the starting point and the underlining reason of war on terror due to which US decided to launch an attack over Afghanistan. These attacks made the American citizens realize that if they want to enjoy freedom to live, and pursue happiness then they will have to fight for it. These attacks have altered and impacted United States of America and the rest of the world. These attacks had major economic impacts on United States, right after the day of attacks, the stock exchange market in New York remained closed for public trading for six days and the day it opened, the stock exchange experienced a loss. The main impact was experienced by the hospitality industry of New York. The industry experienced heavy job losses as New York no longer seemed to be a secure place to visit for tourists. Even people living in New York shifted to other areas for security. The crash of Twin towers polluted the area of lower Manhattan and people who were located quite near to the Twin Towers experienced health issues. Due to the attacks, the American government as well as governments throughout the world accepted that the world is going to experience a great deal of threat at the hands of the terrorists and decided to counter terrorism. These attacks even

Monday, October 7, 2019

Business Case Analysis for Virgin Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Case Analysis for Virgin Group - Essay Example The history and milestones of Virgin Group (Virgin) is a portrait of how companies make strategic decisions in response to change. In a lot of situation, we can see the company's management altering the course of the business operations. However, it is notable that all the changes in Virgin is in direct response to new opportunities and threats. This report will look at the major strategic changes at Virgin Group as well as their respective motives and impact. The first section will give a brief description of Virgin. In order to fully evaluate the scenarios where strategic changes are made, this paper will draw insights from the different theories and principles in strategic management. The use to these tools and techniques is expected to give an accurate account of how the company comes up with its various decisions. The paper will conclude with its findings. The origins of Virgin Group can be directly traced to the Richard Branson's foremost business endeavor in 1968, the Student Magazine. In its pursuit of saving the magazine from financial crisis, Branson ventured into selling music records which were then significantly overpriced. From this humble beginning, the company has risen to integrate 24 businesses (as of 2000) where the major lines are Virgin Travel, Virgin Atlanta, Virgin Entertainment, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Retail, Virgin Express Holdings, Virgin Direct, Virgin Direct Personal Finance, Virgin Rail, V2 Music, and Virgin Net. How the company which started as a mail order operation venture into these diverse business operations is a direct result of the strategic changes that Virgin has decided to embark in. The firm had really explored uncharted waters as it recognizes various business opportunities in other markets. The first decision which signaled the company's willingness to go into other business lines was its move to establish Virgin Retail from its mail order operation. 3.0 From Mail to Retail In 1971, the company was pressured to seek a new way of distributing its products. This dilemma was triggered by the national postal strike which plagued the whole nation. It can be seen that this event significantly threatened the firm into bankruptcy. Recognizing that Virgin needs a distribution system apart from mail ordering, Branson opted to establish a physical distribution system. Virgin rented space where clients can visit and buy records. In this decision, the company exposed itself into new challenges. It should be noted that in terms of marketing, mail order operation only requires tailoring significant strategies for the three Ps-product, promotion, and price. The creation of distribution outlet necessitates a strategic decision on the other P which is place. Basic marketing tells us that in order to efficiently market a product, companies should strike a balance among the different factors in the marketing mix. Thus, the place where Virgin's customers pick up their favorite records should compliment the products sold, the promotion launched, and the price charged for the products. The case stated how Virgin designed the distribution outlet in order for it to be appealing to its target market: "True to the