FASB Accounting Standards Codification Essay

This section deals with certain general background considerations and information related to the FASC and the answers can be found by clicking the â€Å"About the Codification† and â€Å"Notice to Constituents† sections on the FASC Welcome Page. This section is a good general source of information about the FASC and should be reviewed prior to starting to answer the specific questions set forth in all sections. The related research questions that you must answer are: (a) When did the FASC Codification become effective? †¢It was released on July 1, 2009 and became effective for Interim and Annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. (b) Did the FASC change prior GAAP? †¢No it didn’t change, it only got restructured. (c) What does the FASB expect from the new FASC structure and system? †¢The System is expected to reduce the amount of time and effort that is used to solve an accounting research issue. (d) What are the â€Å"topics† used in the ASC? †¢The General Principles †¢The Presentation †¢The Assets †¢Liabilities †¢Equity †¢Revenue †¢Expense †¢Broad Transactions †¢Industry (e) Are Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) references included in the ASC? †¢Yes It is. 2. Transfer of Receivables FASC 860-10 As the new staff person in your company’s treasury department, you have been asked to conduct research related to a proposed transfer of receivables. Your supervisor wants the authoritative sources for the following items that are discussed in the securitization agreement. Access the FASB Codification at http://asc.fasb.org/home to conduct research using the Codification Research System to prepare responses to the following items. Provide Codification references for your responses. (a) Identify relevant Codification section that addresses transfers of receivables. †¢ 860-10-05 (b) Provide definitions for the following: (i) Transfer †¢transference of a noncash financial asset by and to someone other than the issuer of that financial asset (ii) Recourse uncollectable †¢When the transferor of receivables retains the risk of uncollectability. (iii) Collateral †¢Assets that a borrower pledges as security for a loan, which the financier seizes if the borrower seizes to pay (c) Provide other examples (besides recourse and collateral) that qualify as continuing involvement. 3. Inventories FASC 330-10 Jones Co. is in a technology-intensive industry. Recently, one of its competitors introduced a new product with technology that might render obsolete some of Jones’s inventory. The accounting staff wants to follow the appropriate authoritative literature in determining the accounting for this significant market event. Access the FASB Codification at http://asc.fasb.org/home to conduct research using the Codification Research System to prepare responses to the following items. Provide Codification references for your responses. (a) Identify the primary authoritative guidance for the accounting for inventories. †¢Accounting Research Bulletins (ARB) No.43 Chapter 4. (b) List three types of goods that are classified as inventory. †¢Goods awaiting sale (finished goods) †¢Goods in the course of production (work in process), †¢Goods to used directly or indirectly in production (raw materials and supplies) What characteristic will automatically exclude an item from being classified as inventory? †¢Long-term assets that are subject to depreciation accounting †¢Goods which, when put into use, will be so classified as depreciable Assets (c) Define â€Å"market† as used in the phrase â€Å"lower-of-cost-or-market.† †¢market means current replacement cost (by purchase or by reproduction) provided that it meet the two conditions 1.Market shall not exceed the net realizable value 2.Market shall not be less than net realizable value reduced by an allowance for an approximately normal profit margin

17th Century Masters of Dutch Painting Essay

The Baroque Art Style Movement started in the 17th century. This period was characterized by complex art style which is stimulated by the urge to tap the different â€Å"emotional states† which is dramatically shown â€Å"by appealing to the senses. † The dominant characteristics of this period were â€Å"grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions† ( Pioch, 2002, â€Å"Baroque†). The Dutch were one of those who perfected this particular style and they have generated some of the critically acclaimed Baroque masterpieces in art history. Jan Vermeer, Jan Steen and Gabriel Metsu were just three of the masters of Dutch painting who have immensely contributed to the development of the arts in the Netherlands. Vermeer’s Woman Holding A Balance, Steen’s The Drawing Lesson and Metsu’s Young Woman Reading A Letter were some of the noted creations that have embodied the â€Å"novelty of genre Dutch paintings. † These art pieces were immediately accepted by the public because they resembled an â€Å"honest and materialist art† that highlighted art as an â€Å"end in itself and not as a mere vehicle for emphasizing values from other realms of human thought. † More so, these paintings focused on a common theme which is the depiction of domestic daily life wherein women where the central characters. The artists used this theme to emphasize that the homes were not merely structures but also the foundation of morals in the society. In addition, the role of women in the paintings was intended to help bring serenity to the viewers in order for them to easily adapt to the overwhelming changes that were introduced in the 17th century (cited in Janson, 2008, â€Å"The Subject Matter of Dutch Domestic Interiors†). See more: Analysis of Starbucks coffee company employees essay Jan Vermeer was an artisan who is known for his trademarks of crafty play with light and color, inclusion of graphics with poetic quality and the exploration of spatial relationships. The camera obscura was the tool he used add a realness factor to his paintings (Pioch, 2002, â€Å"Vermeer, Jan†). In Woman Holding A Balance, Jan Vermeer illustrated a young woman holding a pair of empty weighing scales who was probably going to measure the mass of the valuable materials placed on the table. Moreover, other elements were also harmoniously integrated in the artwork such as the painting of the Last Judgment which signified a Christian biblical event; the weighing scales which symbolized justice; the light coming from the window suggested spiritual enlightenment and the mirror in front of the woman represented conceitedness. All of these elements exemplified the significance of resisting temptation of material things and living moderately in order to obtain salvation (National Gallery of Art, 2008, â€Å"Vermeer†). Meanwhile, Jan Steen was branded as one of the most productive painters of the Dutch art scene. He was known for his â€Å"versatility, richness of characterization, inventiveness in composition, skillful manipulation of colors† (Janson, 2008, â€Å"Seven Dutch Masters: Jan Steen†). The Drawing Lesson captured the scene of an art instructor teaching a young male and a beautiful young lady most likely about drawing. The art studio was filled with a variety of art paraphernalia that were strewn all over the place. There were nude sculptures, paint brushes, easels and other art materials. Vanity was also represented through the presence of â€Å"a laurel wreath, a skull, wine, a fur muff, a book, a lute, and a pipe† to impart Steen’s message that popularity and life are not permanent in the physical world. This uncomplicated ordinary scene is a symbolic representation of the lives of artists and the nature of their profession (J. Paul Getty Trust, â€Å"†The Drawing Lesson†). Moreover, another Dutch painter who made a mark in the field of Baroque art was Gabriel Metsu who was also a son of a painter. He founded the Leiden painters guild where he learned to create genre scenes that showed the â€Å"influences of Nicolaes Maes, Gerrit Terborch and the Delft school. † More so, â€Å"his technique evolved from the quite broadly painted Leiden works to the meticulous fjnschilder manner of his later Amsterdam years† (Janson, 2008, â€Å"Seven Dutch Masters: Gabriel Metsu†). In Metsu’s painting of Woman Reading a Letter, shows a woman reading a letter probably from a suitor or a male correspondence. Actually, this painting is a continuation of another Metsu painting called Man Writing a Letter and when these two pieces are interconnected, a story of courtship between a man and a woman is established. Meanwhile, â€Å"the maid’s momentary movement contrasts with the concentration of the young woman who, one senses, will not move until she has finished reading the letter. † Love was also cleverly symbolized in the painting which is in the form of the seascape painting mounted on the wall which probably was directed to represent the risks involved in having relationships (Web Gallery of Art, 1996, â€Å"Metsu, Gabriel†). In terms of aesthetic qualities, the three paintings showcased a variety of distinct elements including color, light, texture, lines, and brushstrokes. In Woman Holding A Balance by Vermeer, the artist combined all aesthetic elements to produce one exquisite picture. Vermeer employed darker shades of color but accents of blue, yellow and white were visible to avoid monotony. More so, the light came from only source which was at the window that directly illuminated the serene face of the woman. Since this painting symbolically suggests living a balanced life, the compositional lines proportionally dissected the whole picture that emanated uniformity and a sense of space. The technique used by Vermeer for his brushstrokes was impasto wherein he densely put paint on the canvas to make strokes using a paintbrush finished by thin glazes. In addition, played with camera obscura â€Å"to create a specular highlight† as seen on the pearls on the table which were painted with two layers of color. Overall, these elements: the dark colors, the orthogonal lines, impasto brushstrokes, the objects that surround the woman like the balance and painting of the Last Judgement , all â€Å"reinforced the theme of spiritual moderation†(National Gallery of Art, 2008, â€Å"Vermeer†). Many different objects and elements were incorporated in The Drawing Lesson by Steen. Every object has a corresponding meaning and significance. The colors of brown, pink, grey, blue and red were delicately subdued to seamlessly mesh the variety of objects in the picture. In addition the colors, lighting and the placement of the objects were very strategic that despite the many elements present, the painting did not look cluttered. More so, each object included in the painting suggested a symbolical meaning, the viewer just needs to look closely and try to comprehend the message of Steen. â€Å"Typically Steen gives a degree of information about individual characters, but leaves the viewer to ponder the specific twists of the narrative, and to admire the artist for his clever allusions† (Wiseman, â€Å"Dutch and Flemish Art†). The focal point of the painting was the teacher and his pretty young student. The pastel colors of pink and blue contrasted by the gold and dark red colors emphasized the young woman and her dress which suggested that she is aristocratic in nature. While the art teacher was depicted in an ordinary attire to show that he is a commoner trying to break into the exclusive circle of the rich by teaching their children how to make art. In the position of the artist, the young woman and the boy, it could be drawn that there exist a special relationship between the teacher and his pupil and that the other student notices their secret â€Å"love affair. † However, this interpretation was not confirmed by Steen. He wanted his artworks to insinuate different messages depending on the viewer’s perception. For Woman Reading a Letter Metsu wanted to tell a story of love, drama and anticipation. This painting was clearly the continuation of Metsu’s other painting called Man â€Å"Writing a Letter. † Compared to the two previous artworks, this one had been brightly illuminated and the dominant colors were of light shades and hues. At first glance, one may think that this is a sublime scenario but if one would look closely and analyze the objects that surround the woman, one can realize that this painting suggests otherwise. The tranquil face of the woman reading the letter is contradicted by the chaotic seascape painting on the wall. Also, the dropped shoe and the worried position of the maid support the theory that something bad might have happened to the man who sent the letter. Every aspect of this painting had been craftily incorporated to tell a provoking story.

The Organizational Revolution in the United States Essay

The Organizational Revolution in the United States - Essay Example First and foremost, the growth of the US potential in the inter-war period cannot be underestimated, as the progress was of industrial type. It is likely that the United States could not develop by the rural model of the 19th century. A change should be weightier in the most innovative sectors of the industrial breakthrough, such as aviation and automobile building. With this in mind, a well-known and century-long American insurance industry had become too influential in the metropolitan life with huge and tall buildings in New York, Chicago and other significant cities of the US: In the first decade of the 20th century, the Metropolitan Life had insurance in force totaling over $2.2 billion, so it built and occupied, 1909—10, an immense temple in the sky which was 700 feet high, the world’s tallest for a time (Johnson 576). Hence, the organizational revolution presupposed a significant shift from mainly rural to industrial development, from isolation to acknowledgement, from illiteracy to educational breakthroughs with knowledge of markets, society, politics and economy at large. It was the time of overall discovery of the American potential from inside out. In fact, both human resources and intellectual capacity of Americans let the country improve on its performance on the verge of the 20th century. Looking at the figures of Henry Ford and Alfred P. Sloan, their contribution into machine-building industry was too high to ignore it. In fact, both made America the first in the world’s tempos of automobile building. It was they who established the American image of â€Å"biggerness† present in every part of a car. ... The thing is that when Ford tried to make a car affordable for every single American, Sloane coped with the best strategy for launching such cars: â€Å"While Ford made the product as well as he could, then looked for people to buy it, Sloane produced the widest possible range of cars for the maximum spread of customers† (Johnson 731). Hence, America had a huge market share in the world arena concerning automobile industry. With a more pragmatic and capitalist vision of American luminaries, it touched upon every field of scientific and technological progress. Besides, business owners and the richest families of the time tried to impose the spirit of progress and superiority to every American so as to show them the very picture of the future innovations and breakthrough, as might be seen in the post-war period. Thus, engineering, consumerism, investment trusts, turnaround of capital locally and in the international perspective were some of the main trends of the economical grow th as a consequence of the organizational revolution. Capitalism is always consumerism. In this vein, Americans got used to believe more in the actual goods and material amenities at their disposal, forgetting about the genuine virtues of the sound-minded society. This assumption comes as a result of the rural, small, and isolated community which the United States was at the outset of the independence and throughout the 19th century. However, the European basis of the five main social institutions was not neglected in the US. In turn it gave grounds to the economic expansion which became possible for the United States after the World War I and due to its isolation, to be precise. Different

Drugs In The World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drugs In The World - Essay Example To this end, opium planting first began in eastern Mediterranean and spread systematically to India via trade routes and eventually arriving at China by the eighth century A.D (Chouvy, 2010). On the other hand, cocaine, which is a derivative drug of the cocoa plants traces it genealogy back to the Andes region where it was cultivated by the Incas populace. Evidently, cocaine was first derived from coca in 1860 and it powerful stimulant effects became evident. To this end, the drug creates an instantaneous sense of euphoria by igniting the brain’s regulatory transmitters (Marcy, 2010). Presently, both opium and cocaine have become a global drug menace that was catalyzed through colonization and wars. During the British occupation of India in 1750, they specifically took control of Bihar and Bengal which were key opium growing districts. To this end, the British shipping company took control over the opium trade from Calcutta to China. Evidently, by 1767, the opium exports to Ch ina by the British reached a record two thousand chests per year. In addition, the British India Company created a monopoly over the opium trade and restricted the Indian poppy growers from selling the commodity to competing trading companies. In Turkey, the British Levant Company bought more than half of the opium originating from Smyrna Turkey. Furthermore, they diverted all importations strictly to the United States and Europe. During the First and Second Opium War which was precipitated by efforts to suppress opium trade by the Chinese commissioner, the British sent warships to China’s coast. To this end, the Chinese lost the war to Britain and eventually opium importation was legalized. This further proliferated the supply of opium. On the other hand, cocaine spread and proliferation began during the Spanish colonial era when it was slowly becoming entrenched as a global commodity. Furthermore, the success of Europe’s commercial revolution was also hinged on cocai ne since it assisted in lubricating the major silver mining industry of colonial Spain. Evidently, the colonial Spanish slave masters came to discover that the coca stimulant made the laborers to work harder, eat less and work for longer hours. To this end, the cocoa leaves were used as a major stimulant towards coercing the Indian worker at the Potosi mines. When cocaine alkaloid derivative was discovered, the Spanish colonial masters began an intensive cultivation of coca for cocaine cultivation. The leaves were thus traded and also transplanting of the Andean coca specimens in Asia, Australia and Africa. During World War 1 and 2 eras, importation of coca leaves and manufacturing of cocaine increased significantly. Evidently, between 1918 and 1921, Japan recorded an all time import of coca of 455,000 kg. Evidently, the trade of cocaine has been largely fuelled by notorious violence in countries such as Peru and Colombia since the late 1970’s. In the United States during Wor ld War 2, coca trades that were used in the manufacture of cocaine increased to the range of 300-400,000 lb. These were largely imports from Peru. The U. S cocaine networks during the World War 2 period exhibited features such as monopolies of cocaine processing that were assisted by the state, while leading intensive global campaigns that were against the illegal production of coca and

Advertisemnt of junk food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advertisemnt of junk food - Essay Example The advertisement of junk food has been on the increase in the many parts of the world. The advertisers use both the traditional forms and modern ways of advertisement. The traditional ways of advertisement comprise of television, radio, newspapers.The sophisticated ways of advertisement uses the internet and you tube. The promotion of the junk food through the media spells doom to the health living of an individual and the nation as a whole. Health is a major apprehension among different stakeholders in the world (Moton and Dumler, 2009). Many studies in United States indicate that American people, both the infants and the youth consume poor diets that pose a problem to their health. This therefore implies that the children and adolescents are at a precarious situation to contract health complications that come with poor diet. This is because the youth and the children ape any behavior that they perceive in the advertisement media. Promotion of good eating habits through the tools o f advertisement can greatly help to curb the imminent danger to health. Conversely, promotion of junk foods through advertisement will spell doom to the health of the American people (Insel et al, 2010). Advertising corporations in United States can help youth to reach a well-informed choice on whether to eat or not take junk foods. This can only happen when the corporations decide to advertise directly to the adolescents. Celebrities attract youth and they easily follow their mannerisms. To them it does not matter whether what they are advertising has potential dangers or not. Most advertisement in United States employs the models and the celebrities to publicize junk foods. This makes me believe that American advertisement corporation has negative impacts towards influencing decisions that youth make (Moton and Dumler, 2009). There is a significant change to the habits of consumption of foods in United States over period. Reliable sources indicate that most American youths and chi ldren take food away from their homes. This means that the children and adolescents do not get natural foods. They feed on the junk foods that contain a lot of fatty acids and added sugars. The intake of the high-fat foods poses a health danger to the children and youth. This contributes to the escalating number of overweight and obesity among the American youths and children. The data of these conditions has increased compared to the previous years. The overweight and obese children are at the danger of contracting the heart diseases. The commonest heart ailments include the hypertension and stroke. Other complications include diabetes 2. At severe cases, these disorders can lead to death (Insel et al, 2010). In addition, it puts a lot constrains to the economy of United States. This is because the government has to care for the cost of cardiac and diabetic patients. In the end, the disorders affect the productivity of the affected citizens. These Americans contribute little to the development of their economy. The appearance of skinny and slim people in the advertisement has negative impacts on the perception of youth. The youth and children perceive them as the epitomes worthy emulation. These youngsters tend to forgo food in order get the slender body. This makes the youth to experience starvation, which is detrimental to their healthy. Majority of women ands girls after viewing the thin models and actors tend to think that is the right body, which they should possess. This means that women and young girls will tend to dislike their bodies (Moton and Dumler, 2009). To resemble the models, the women will reduce the portions of their foods. This subjects the body into a very wanting situation because of lack of essential nutrients. This therefore calls for the advertising corporation to use a variety of women of varied sizes. It is a way to achieve neutrality in the advertisements of products. The advertisement of edible products influences the youth to deve lop interest to

Small Firms in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Small Firms in UK - Essay Example For these reasons, small business industry is critical to UK economic development and social cohesion. They provide a medium for retirees and other potential unemployed persons to have gainful employment and contribute fully and independently to wider society. Small businesses have been contributing to employment and manufacturing since the 1960s. The increasing rates of self-employment have been attributed to; a parallel rise in rates of unemployment (e.g., retirees, unspecialised graduates); reductions in levels of unemployment benefits and government incentives; and the increasing importance of technology in the information service industry. In the early 1970s there were changes to the industrial structure across the globe of industrialised nations. Initially, the value of the small business decreased, but by the 1970s the structure of manufacturing saw dramatic changes and small firms began to provide better quality of products and services than larger corporations, particularly in areas of rapid technological changes (e.g., electronics). Over time, small firms began again to add value to the UK economy, and among many small businesses their rates of employment increased. So that there has been a significant shift in industrial structure back to the small firm amongst industrialised nations (Landstrom, 2005).The shift brought within environmental opportunities to be exploited by entrepreneurs with their innovations and business developments. Political discourse began to focus upon entrepreneurship, receiving support from Margaret Thatcher in the mid 1980s and strong policy was introduced to support small businesses and entrepreneurship. The research interest in small business increased during this period, and social scientists began to contribute to research directions and understandings. This has led to a strong multi-disciplinary approach to small business research in the UK today. (Landstom, 2005). During the 1990s the interest become more about growth orientated established businesses. Tony Blair took a much more narrow and focused approach to reforms as compared to Thatcher, targeting technology-based firms and socially inclusive entrepreneurship as ways to bring 'life' back to weak regions of industry (Landstrom, 2005). The present government provides most of the funding for research into small business dynamics and the contributions of such entities to the growth and strength of the UK nation. However, this also biases the areas that research goes into, what interests the government and this could counter advances in knowledge and processes. However, funding from the government does require the use of empirical investigative techniques, ethical considerations and a policy focus to research endeavours. With the consolidation of small business research there was a great support for entrepreneurship.As industrialised nations shift manufacturing sectors to less developed natio ns to lower the costs of production, the likelihood of unemployment has increased. This global shift in industry structure has fostered employment opportunities for some through small businesses (AusIndustry, 2006). Current trends of redundancy for older workers, such as those in middle management positions have seen some retirees adapting self

Not for profit and public sector marketing(Charity Marketing) Essay

Not for profit and public sector marketing(Charity Marketing) - Essay Example The specific crisis has also affected the charities and the non-profits organizations; the above organizations had to update their strategies, including their marketing campaigns, in order to survive and to stabilize their performance. However, there have been business sectors on which the effects of the crisis have been quite severe. The secondhand bookselling is one of these sectors. The firms operating in this sector have suffered severe losses because of the recession; many of these businesses had to terminate their operation. These turbulences have led to the development of conflicts regarding the actual causes of the negative performance of the sector’s businesses. Oxfam has been blamed as being partially responsible for the crisis in the particular sector. The marketing strategies of the organization have been negatively criticized as threatening the businesses operating in this sector. Explanations are given on the marketing practices of the organization and their pote ntial effects on the operations of the businesses in the secondhand bookselling industry. 2. Marketing strategy of Oxfam 2.1 Overview of the problem Oxfam is the most known non-profit organization of Britain. The specific charity serves various social needs; the relevant funds are gathered through extensive fundraising schemes promoted by appropriately customized marketing techniques. Certain entrepreneurs have negatively criticized the marketing plans used by Oxfam. The problem under examination is the involvement of Oxfam in the selling of second-hand books. British booksellers – especially those dealing with the selling of second-hand books, have made complaints for the charity’s involvement in their business sector. Marc Harrison, a bookseller in Salisbury, had to close his bookshop due to the continuous decrease of profits; Mr. Harrison blames Oxfam for the damage he suffered (Riddle 2009). The accusations of Mr. Harrison are based on the fact that Oxfam has enter ed in the bookshop retail establishing its bookshops across UK. In accordance with Thomson (2009) the activities of charities can, indeed, threaten retailers, taking into consideration the fact that charities have a series of advantages – referring to the lack of financial obligations, like tax, payroll and so on. Kimmelman (2009) has stated similar concerns regarding the power of Oxfam to dominate the British secondhand bookselling industry (Kimmelman 2009). Kimmelman refers to the case of Harrison in order to highlight the practical implications of the entrance of Oxfam in the particular sector. It is noted that secondhand booksellers do not have many chances to win Oxfam (2009). The above organization has the financial power in order to support a nation-wide marketing campaign achieving a continuous increase of its profits. In the case of the above charity, marketing has been proved to have a critical role in the organization’s expansion in the particular industry. The marketing practices of the firm can be evaluated using an appropriately customized P.R. planning model, which will contain a series of proposals which can be actioned immediately – having being checked in order to be SMART. 2.2 P.R. planning model for Oxfam The marketing choices of Oxfam should be explained by using an appropriately customized P.R. planning model. The Six Points P.R. Planning model of Jefkins (1994) has been chosen in order to explain the scope of P.R. policies used by Oxfam. T

Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Book Review - Essay Example These documents are tangible proof of the manner in which governments and titans of the industry have harmed their own people. What is most shocking is the tendency of investigating agencies to later help in the cover up operations mounted by these industrial giants and the so-called protectors of the citizens of the nation. These accounts of governmental apathy and disregard for innocents raises the troubling question of how safe are we, the populace of a nation. In this summary, we shall be discussing this hand in glove attitude of people in power, who treat common individuals as guinea pigs in their quest for control over the world. Edwin Black’s IBM and the Holocaust is a painstaking episode delving into the convergence of technology and the extermination of Jews in Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1945. It is a powerful documentation of how Thomas J. Watson’s (Chief of IBM at the time) greed and his desire to monopolize the emerging market of technological possibilities led him to make covert deals with Hitler’s government. Hitler was not the first man to hate the Jews, but his terrifying objectives of wiping out Jews from Europe was aided by the â€Å"solution providers† at IBM. The IBM Hollerith D-11, card sorting machine, which identified the Jews during the 1933 census, in a way sealed their fates forever. Edwin Black lays the blame for the condition of Jews as much on Hitler as the card machines provided to the Third Reich by Thomas J Watson’s company. These machines helped in cross indexing government, church and communal records. Edwin Black juxtaposed the movement of ma chines from one Nazi occupied territory to another and uncovered that it was these machines, using punch cards, all provided by IBM, which helped in the systematic slaughter to Jews. These lists can be termed as glaring instances of corporate misconduct, because the greed of one company fed the vicious ambitions of one individual,

Computer Sciences and Information Technology Essay - 1

Computer Sciences and Information Technology - Essay Example EHRs are very quick as there is no need for any paper-work for documenting and sharing of the information and images. Thus, an EHR plays a vital role in evidence based treatment and decision-making without having to go through the manual process (Williams, 2010). These enable access to the records even from distant areas by means of online networking. The drawback with EHRs is that they are quite expensive but once implemented, they tend to be very cost-effective. Carter (2008) studied that the concept of EHRs began in 1960s â€Å"with the COSTAR system, developed by Barnett at the Laboratory of Computer Science at Massachusetts General Hospital† (p.7). According to him, the earlier efforts provided models and pseudo types on which current â€Å"hospital-based and ambulatory† EHRs are based upon. EHRs can be used as tools for continuity of care and for collaborative performance of healthcare providers. EHRs are a significant contribution to the medical industry since th ese have modernized the way patients’ data are stored. Disadvantages Research has it that despite significant advantages of EHRs, their adoption rates are progressing rather slowly. Gans et al. (2005) conducted a research on the use of EHRs and IT based tools in the health industry and concluded that most health professionals were not incorporating EHRs, especially in smaller practices. Their findings suggested that the adoption of EHRs was making progress at a snail's pace; however, the physicians planned to incorporate them in the coming years. They found that this happened because the practitioners found it difficult to choose and implement EHRs. What kept physicians from implementing EHRs in their settings was the knowledge gap. Jha et al. (2009) conducted a significant survey of a number of acute care hospitals to find out the EHR functionality and implementation. They found that out of the 63% hospitals in the US that were surveyed, only 1.5% had integrated the use of c omprehensive EHRs and 7.6% were following a basic model of EHRs. They suggested that the lower adoption rate was due to higher maintenance costs. Linder et al. (2007) conducted a retrospective cross-sectional survey to determine the relation between the use of EHRs in health centers and the quality of ambulatory heath care which they referred to as ambulatory quality indicators. They found that there was no significant performance difference between the centers that used EHRs and those which did not. Major Competitors in the Marketplace Gold (2011) writes in his updated guide about EHRs about major competitors in the marketplace that are promoting this technology. According to him, seeing the performance of EHRs, it is very likely that EHRs will be implemented in all health organizations in near future taking the place of paper documentation that has been in place for years. At present, the market leaders for EHRs include Cerner, iSoft and Emis. Cerner Cerner is the US based product and â€Å"has so far been installed across 16 trusts and more than 70 hospitals since being launched in 2004, as the preferred NPfIT software for London†, writes Gold (2011). The health organizations that have, at present, employed Cerner EHRs include Kingston Hospital, Homerton Hospital in London, Newham University Hospital trust, and Wirral University Teaching Hospital foundation trust. iSoft iSoft is an Australian company. The US IT firm, CSC, is buying it for implementation. Th

SCCT Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SCCT - Coursework Example The theories usually ensure that the reputation of the company is not dented resulting from a problem or difficulty found in an organization. A company has to communicate with its stakeholders so that they can be well aware of the things that are happening in the company. The theories to show that communication in times of a crisis should be able to maintain and construct perceptions of reality among the stakeholders involved. The response approaches that are found in SCCT include impression of management, synthesis of work, and image repair. Coombs gave four approaches for communication. The approaches include bolstering, rebuilding, denial, and diminishment. In any business, there may be a number of crises that may arise; the way the crisis is tackled will depend on the way the manager perceives and reacts to the given situation. The field of sociology usually provides a number of theories that show how a person can conduct himself in case of a crisis (Weick & Sutcliffe 2007, 42). The business field usually examines sense making ways and processes that can be used in leadership to ensure smooth flow of operations in an organization (Ramo 2009, 52). A business should be perfectly organized to ensure that any difficult situations that may arise are tackled in a perfect manner that will not interrupt with the smooth flow of business. A leader should be creative and innovative in the way he or she solves any crisis or problem that exist in the company (Sellnow, et al 2002, 201). The theories also provide a way in which an organization can cope up with the learning theory. The theory will involve the recruitment and training of new employees in a company (Martin 2009, 123). In conclusion, situational crisis communication theories should be studied to ensure that all problems arising are tackled in the appropriate manner (Ware & Linkugel 1973,

Engineering Project Management Essay Example for Free

Engineering Project Management Essay .) Why do most people get the order of development that is from objectives/constrains to scope, back the front? Does it means that they don’t know what they are doing, but rather they are going to through motions in a mechanical/ unit thinking fashion? Or are the people unaware of the components of systematic problem solving and how fit together? Answer: Most people do prepare to get the order of development that is from objectives/ constrain to scope, /back front because people wants it to have the answer of their needs and wants as directly to the point or succinctly enough to the correct answer. People seem to be very economical and time conscious as well. Also right order hinders to focus on objectives why one should make interest to the order. To people whom did order that is from objective know a lot if the program or has already that vast knowledge of the program. Related studies of the brand and Brand Communications: Understanding the relationship between consumers and brand is crucial to differentiation in word products as well as to communicate effectively with them. This course is devoted to its analysis to what the brand mean to the consumers through different career and lecture, including models that give clues on issues as investment needs and communication disciplines better suited to reach effective marketing targets. Hence, showing above examples give the idea that customer has a very good background and knowledge of the program order. Thus mostly they should have to see to it that the orders they will aim to suit their knowledge or facts they learn beforehand to ensure better development they sought to aim. The users awareness are very much acquainted with their responsibilities that’s why they are looking on orders that is sought to direct needs they wanted to have. Likewise, people all knows much the suitable problems that are suited to the systematic answer to the problem. There is no doubt have the ignorance of people to those people ordered such program. Mostly they do have already the knowledge to reach out the needs of the problem for themselves. Q2.) Consider a project with which you have been involved and consider the time horizons of the program involve. How many programs were necessary and what time horizon was used in each program? Answer: Upper level program simplified example a project involving a conference. (Work parcel names have been abbreviated because of spaces limitations – work items are simplified.) For this program example, needs to consider the time horizon involve. Considering the presentation the representation of the program having overall program, which is the major work, showed also major parcels, milestone and key resources. Then the next presentation is for a medium range program showing details over the next shorter program that follows then the daily program. By looking at the presentation there was four programs involve and can be taken into consideration each of which has different time horizon depending on the task or degree of emphasis the program to consider. There is that time constrain from the highest level down to next level. The time allotment differs like from highest rank that needs a biggest time allotted, followed by the next higher time consumption then next followed by the lowest time allotment. In the lower level, the time is given daily task compared to other program as well. Now it must to see to it that at different levels of program it has also different time horizon so that we have to make good at the start since there was that saying, the first impression last. Meaning, that the starting work program should be done perfectly so that it may issue along with the preliminary project program, a tendency will occur that entire project will develop into a detailed execution and a well-planned program. Q3.) Why do you believed there have been no negligence action brought against project managers? Do all project managers act in a reasonable industry accepted fashion? Do all project finish on schedule under cost and to better than expected quality? Answer: Project managers belong to the senior management program in a higher level. Owner per see took all the risk provided by the company. So no one dares to questions negligence action brought against the manager since he or she was the brain of the system. All the decision and moves of the manager should all followed by the subordinates. Well for humanitarian reason there were a case also that subordinates can react bad action or decision made by the manager. So probably the subordinate go against the manager and questions his personal actions maybe. So tendency the subordinates will questions the credibility of the manager. Well, we can take into accounts that manger is a human being so he has or she has that weaknesses too. But a fact that the managers are the one manages the company; the subordinates in humanitarian reason can right away react to what her or his fashion to go against the manager. Not all project finish on scheduled time of deadline were all under cost and to better than that of expected quality. If in case such situation to occur then that is one of its kind to cherish and to prioritized if ever the next project will come, it will be the best model or should to follow in the future activity. But usually if the project finishes under cost, it is expected that the results sometime below or maybe just meet the quality that is expected to come. No wonder that cost and expenses will goes hand in hand in quality products. Now a days seldom or none at all you could find under cost that has good quality. The reason is the fact that economy underwent in all aspect of society. Q4.) Why are people found it hard to define the scope and detail of the work involved in project management? Answer: People find it hard to define the scope and details of the work involve in project management since in every company has its own principle of management. In each company there is varied principle that is injected in the management of the company. The reasons of these are depending on the needs and interest of the company scope of preparation. So for us people who are just followers or subordinates just depend on the outcomes but not the makers of such. Not all people knows or knowledgeable enough to the process and what’s was going on the company itself. There is that so called hidden documents that are not supposed to be displayed on public for security purpose and reason. The same a person even how one so introvert to showed what was her or his personality will be to the public but still she or he has that attitude that only him or her knows better. Such characteristics are also present in every company to be a successful one. It should be the case to be done to hide some documents coz might be other program or company will imitate the success of one company so the identity might be duplicated and that identity of the company can be protected as well. Q5.) Tender documents usually comprise the following,   . All notice(s) to tender . All condition of tendering (including form of tender) . The general conditions of contract (to be) . The special contract (to be) . The specification . The drawings . The schedule of rates (prices)/bill of quantities of rates (if any) * List other special arrangement of which you are aware that sometimes hold during the tender period? Answer: The period of adjustment is very crucial period. This is called the tender period in which starting transaction will be done tenderly. But if with stress and plenty of commands will make it very confusing on the part of the doer. So at tender period all notices should be imparted one at a time. No overlapping and should be short and concise so confusion will be avoided. Conclusions and generalization are made to be clear and worth discussing, so the doer can easily grasp and understand the matter. Other special arrangement to considered at tender period is to put into details the rules and policies that imposed in the process so it will goes smoothly along with the rest of accompanying rules and regulation posted. Primarily these rules and regulations must be clear and understood well by every member in the company. Q6.) Is it possible to have one section of the tender documents purely related to administrative matters, and one section purely related to contractual matters/or they necessarily linked. Explain your view. Answer: In my own view, there must be a separate confidential section of tender documents that is for purely related to administrative matter and separate to contractual matter. Not necessarily that the two tender contacts link together but both must only parallel to each other. The reason why they should be separated because per records must have their own identity for the purpose but has its only one aims for the success of the project. Matters that is confidential, not proper to discuss openly to the public for discussion or what so ever. That confidential matter is only good for inner transaction that only the one concerned knows the secrecy of the documents but it should all documents parallel for the purpose of improvements and success of the program as well. In other words, it is by virtue of the fact that mangers are organizationally compelled to make a difference to the resources they combined via performing the function of planning, organizing, leading, controlling, etc., that certainly characteristics of the managing task. Lets take into consideration an example of principles. â€Å" Neo-Marxist perspective on management has emphasized the centrality of management contract in securing transformation of labor power to actual labor in context of capitalist relation of production† ( Ackroyd, Stephen. Page 38.). Reference: Realist Perspective on Management and Organization Contribution. Stephen Ackroyd- editor, Steve Fleetwood, Publisher :Routledge. Place of Publication: London. Publication Year; 2000. Page no. 38.

People Learn in Different Ways

People Learn in Different Ways We are faced with a lot of different learning experiences, which has greater impacts than others in our lives and one can chalk this down to the learning approach this is the process where individuals define information about their environment and has a different learning style, and by this I mean the way in which they absorb, analyze, and retain information which makes every one of us unique in our own special way. All individuals learn differently, some by stimulation of their five senses, and when enhanced greater learning takes place. Every individual has a method by which they learn; therefore one persons way of learning is very different from that of their peers. Understanding the learning approach of individuals consists of the question, what is a learning approach? which is the preferred way of acquiring knowledge and processing information. This approach affects how we learn, solve problems, partake in different activities and react to the environment. The original research work to the approaches of learning was carried out by F. Marton and R. Saljo (1976),where they explored an individuals approach to learning and identified two main approaches: surface and deep. Surface learning is the silent acceptance of information, memorization and unlinked facts which leads to superficial memory. Whereas deep learning involves critical analysis of new ideas, and principles, leading to the understanding and long term memory of concepts which is used for problem solving. The basis of this understanding is to identify the individual with a fixed approach to learning and an opportunity to encourage that individual to adopt a particular learning approach. Most of us are easily confused with the difference between learning and acquiring knowledge, they are different; learning is the continuous process of addition, and acquiring knowledge is memory, an idea stored up as experience. Learning as the cognitive process of acquired change in behavior, results from a learners interaction with the environment which brings about experience. Learning is the acquiring of new knowledge, skills, values, preferences and understanding. It also strengthens, organize and shape our brains. Learning effectively entails the possession four abilities: concrete experience; reflective observation; abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. These styles were developed to challenge an individuals mode of learning that seeks to reduce the potential of their intelligence. There is a lot of information about how one learns and many of us understand that each individual learns differently or has a preference to learning. David A. Kolb (1984), a pioneer in this field of experiential learning, created four learning elements and states we learn by following this cycle. Honey and Mumford (1992), defined four styles based around these four stages of Kolbs learning cycle, and these styles were developed to challenge an individuals mode of learning. Depending on an individuals preference, they are classified as: Reflectors are substituted for divergent (reflective observation), these are people who are thoughtful analyzers of situations, they listen to others before speaking, collect data and analyze before making decisions. Theorists are substituted for assimilator (abstract conceptualization), these people are objective rather than subjective, they collect, analyze and use logical approaches in developing theories concerning a given course of action, and likes theories that makes sense. Pragmatists are substituted for converger (concrete experience), these people are interested in trying out new ideas to see if they work, they like getting things done rather than seeing ideas discussed and delayed for consideration, they stick with long term activiti es if it shows promise of working or being functional. Activists are substituted for accommodators (active experimentation), they are risk- takers, are willing to try new experiences and are open-minded to new things, enjoy challenges and are bored easily with long term activities. Learning takes place through a wide variety of methods and styles, which encourages an individual to challenge new ideas, views and beliefs. The effectiveness of this approach caters to the different learning styles each individual brings to the fore. There are a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds of different people and individuals that have opportunities to learn from their peers through discussions, debates and joint study. As a Social Care student applying learning styles, these helps service users learn by structuring what works for them which supports their learning and creates character. Service users are individuals that need motivation in order to learn, which in turn develop their learning styles to help them with problem solving, exploring new ideas and issues based on their intelligences. They have to make their learning a priority and the benefits of the learning styles help them to identify with their ability to learn, which gives them an outline on the effectiveness they have learned from experience. Learning styles determine the things people learn and the methods they use to learn them. The elements of these styles are to highlight the individuals preferred learning style which will equip them to choose learning opportunities that expands their knowledge to reflect, which improves ones learning and performance, by identifying what that individual had done well and what should be improved for that same individual to become an all-round learner, which in turn makes them a success for the future.

Antony And Cleopatra Wuthering Heights And Atonement English Literature Essay

Antony And Cleopatra Wuthering Heights And Atonement English Literature Essay Duty is a social force that binds a person to a course of action through a legal or moral obligation. Duty can be represented in a variety of ways throughout literature: patriotic duty, duty to your family, partner and yourself. All three authors present this theme to have destructive qualities for the relationships of the characters. Whilst Shakespeare argues that Antonys lacking sense of duty lead to his demise, Bronte and McEwen show that the characters strong sense of duty leads to their ultimate separation. In Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra the main demonstration of destructive duty is shown in the character of Antony who is caught in a conflict between his duty to Rome as a soldier and his love and passion for Cleopatra. Whereas Cathy in Wuthering Heights is caught between her desire for social class and her desire for Heath cliff. On the other hand McEwens Atonement shows how Robbies patriotic duty separates him from his love Cecelia causing the destruction of Cecelia as a person. In his opening lines to Demetrius, Philo complains that The triple pillar of the world has transformed into a strumpets fool when Antony abandons Rome. This foreshadows future events when Antony leaves Rome to be with Cleopatra and engages in war with Rome choosing to fight by sea rather than land. Philos criticism of Antonys dotage, introduces a tension between reason and emotion that runs throughout the play. The theme of duty in Antony and Cleopatra puts a strain on their relationship as Antony has a duty to Rome and Caesar. Sophie Williams argues She has a lack of confidence in Antonys love for her and that She experiences irrational jealousy and reveals great insecurity because even though some critics may view her jealousy as being the actions of a controlling and manipulative woman and find it difficult to interpret aspects of her behaviour as those of a woman in love. Sophie Williams argues that she experiences the volatile and powerful emotions more characteristic of a young woman in love for the first time suggesting Cleopatra to be innocent, a contradiction of the common view taken by many audiences. This causes conflict between Antony and Cleopatra heightens as she becomes increasingly jealous along with their distance apart shown through her conversation with Charmain when she says That I might sleep out this great gap of time My Antony is away this suggests to the audience that she cannot bare to be apart from him. However this could also be perceived by other audiences as Cleopatras desperation in having a lack of control over Antony now that she is parted from him. Overall, this shows how although it appears as if Antony has chosen his duty to Rome above Cleopatra as on the sudden a roman thought hath struck him they are still deeply in love. Shakespeare uses this to demonstrate the destructive qualities of duty as Antony and Cleopatras relationship leads to there ultimate destruction through their deaths. Similarly to Antony and Cleopatra, McEwen uses the physical distance between Cecelia and Robbie created by the war to show the destructive qualities of duty. Whereas Jonathon cape argues The twists and turns of Ian McEwans fiction are built on a knack for sustained illusion. Tom Shone from the New York Times criticises that the young lovers follow the suit that English novelists stopped writing more than 30 years ago. McEwen shows this through the introduction of Bryonys cunning plot to get Robbie arrested, although he presents Cecilia and Robbies love affair as ongoing, ill wait for you was eternal. It was the reason he had survived. It was the ordinary way of saying she would refuse all other men. Only you. Come back. This suggests to the audience the strength of Cecilias love for Robbie is unconditional as no amount of bad art or bad faith can ever quite cheapen it. This could be perceived by some audiences as showing how duty is not a destructive force on characters relationship s as the destruction was caused by bryonys lie. However similarly to Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra McEwen represents Cecelias and Robbies love affair as ongoing through messages representing their feelings in letters which could be viewed by some audiences as a modern take on the messengers in Antony and Cleopatra. This shows how duty can lead to the destruction of characters as the introduction of bryonys lie causes them to be separated from each other and bryonys lie ultimately leads to Robbies death in the war. Meaning that if it was not for her lie the sequence of events prior to his death may not have happened and his duty to war would not have stopped their relationship from developing. Similarly to Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, in Wuthering Heights duty is also a theme that leads to the destruction of characters. Bronte introduces this through the character of Cathy as she experiences a conflict of emotions just like Antony, as Cathy marries Linton for his social status rather than love but her loyalty and her devoted passion is directed almost entirely towards Heathcliff. This is shown through desperation in trying to keep Heathcliff in her life as she announces well, if I cannot keep Heathcliff for my friend-if Edgar will be mean and jealous, ill try to break their hearts by breaking my own. That will be a prompt way of finishing all, when I am pushed to extremity this suggests to the audience the level of desperation she experiences in trying to keep Heathcliff in her life causes her to act irrationally. On the other hand some audiences many view her as trying to punish both men because she cannot obtain what she desires most. It can be argued that Instead of being compassionate and heroic, Heathcliff and Catherine are selfish and petty. This shows the destructive nature of duty as Cathys duty as her duty to Linton as his wife ensures that she cannot peruse a life with Heathcliff. Furthermore, when Antony marries Octavia to prove to Caesar that he is still loyal to Rome he is once again showing that at this point in the play his sense of duty out weighs his love and devotion towards Cleopatra. Shakespeare shows Antonys duty to Rome through their final conversation before he leaves her, quarrel no more, but be prepared to know the purpose I bare suggesting that Antony knows his duty presenting him as the strong leader and authoritive figure as he is known to be in leaving Cleopatra because his duty to Rome was much greater. It is also evident that his marriage to Octavia was a decision influenced heavily by duty rather than love which Shakespeare shows in the way they communicate with each other using through the use of Octavia in using formal language to refer to Antony as my lord and sir. Which Contrasts highly to the ways in which Antony and Cleopatra communicate in verse and use powerful and emotive language in referring to each other as Antony describes ho w age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety and when Cleopatra says o happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony!. This suggests that they do not have the level of comfort and familiarity that Shakespeare presents Antony and Cleopatra to have. Implying that even though Antony is physically parted by from Cleopatra because of his duty to Rome, it has not diminished their love. It also shows how duty compels people to do things which they would not choose to if they had a choice as Antony would not have gone to Rome and married Octavia. This shows the destruction duty has on characters because Antonys betrayal of Caesar ultimately leads to his destruction as it sparks a war between Rome and Antony where he makes the fatal mistake to fight by sea as he is heavy influenced by Cleopatra famous for her fleet of ships as even the winds are love-sick with her sails. However, as the play progresses Antonys loyalty and duty becomes greater for Cleopatra as he leaves Rome and Octavia behind to join Cleopatra in Egypt as Caesar describes him as being an obstruct between his lust and him this suggests that Antony has let his feelings towards Cleopatra effect his judgment and leads him to disregarding his duty as a soldier to Rome. Shakespeare presents this as an unusual act for Antony to do due to Caesars outrage as he believes he hath given his empire up to a whore this use of strong language shows Caesars level of disgust in Antonys actions showing how this was unusual to roman culture. Shakespeare shows Antonys shift in priorities through his disregard for Rome and the reactions of Caesar. This shows how duty is destructive as this event is a representation of a turning point in the play where Antony looses the respect of his soldiers, resulting in the abdication of Enobarbus. Similarly to Antony and Cleopatra Cathays marriage to Linton reflects the feeling of obligation rather than love. It has been suggested that Instead of being blissfully in love, Catherine marries someone else and breaks Heathcliffs heart. Too proud to tell each other their true feelings, they fight, storm and rage against each other, destroying themselves in the process. Bronte displays this through the imagery of nature where she describes her love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods and that Time will change it as she was well aware, as winter changes the trees my love for Heath cliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Suggesting that her love for Heathcliff is the foundation of her relationship with Linton. Bronte uses this to suggest the destructive qualities of duty as Cathys duty to Linton as his wife means that she is separated by an oath from her true love, Heathcliff. Also the fact it would be heavily frowned upon for a woman of her social status to converse with Heathcliff. The minor characters such as the messengers in Antony and Cleopatra also have an important duty as they are the main form of communication between the characters especially from Rome to Egypt and are used by Shakespeare to create suspense and introduce changes to the plot. The messengers are often used to introduce bad news as the nature of bad news infects the teller to Cleopatra and Antony such as when Antonys wife died and when Cleopatra learns of Antonys marriage to Octavia. The messengers often find themselves in the middle of a conflict as communicating this bad news results in them getting caught in the crossfire, leading them to a defensive outlook and constantly having to remind the emotional characters that I have done my duty. This shows how Shakespeare uses the messengers to show how the major characters conflict between duty and passion leads them to displaying outrageous act of emotions. Shakespeares presentation of duty shows a continuous conflict with love and passion which he uses essentially to create suspense and intrigue in the audiences mind as to the ongoing battle between the head and the heart which is used by many literary authors to this day. It can be argued that Antonys duty to Rome is a perfect demonstration of a persons moral obligation in conjunction with their wants and desires. Shakespeare shows in the play Antony and Cleopatra that Antonys heart; his love for Cleopatra clouded his judgment when it came to making decisions on how best to defeat Caesar. This was shown by Shakespeare through the use of minor characters such as Antonys fleet advising him that it would be more advantageous for Antony to fight by land. However, Antony allowed himself to be persuaded by his passion for Cleopatra which Shakespeare used to present the destructive nature of duty though his defeat in battle. Shakespeare shows Antonys increasing lack of duty towards Rome thro ugh the famous quote let Rome in tyber melt, and the wide arch of the ranged empire fall suggesting that Antonys prioritys have shifted from Rome to Egypt. However this dwindles in the next act when he worries about loosing himself in dotage. McEwen uses the repetition of physical windows to understand how confusion came to be a key theme within the novel as McEwens uses multi-narrative witch allows the reader to grasp the full extent of the story. McEwen uses this narration to show how duty can be destructive to characters because it allows the audience to see how bryonys mistake effects different characters from the individuals point of view in the novel through her lie she causes the newly in love Cecelia and Robbie to be separated. It also leads to the destruction of bryony herself as she is constantly trying to atone for her mistakes throughout her life and can never get the forgiveness she wanted from Robbie and Cecelia. Similarly to Antony and Cleopatra repetition is another tactic Bronte employs in organizing Wuthering Heights. However unlike Antony and Cleopatra, in Wuthering Heights, it seems that nothing ends in the world of this novel. Bronte creates the illusion of time running in cycles which she achieves through repetitive story lines, and the events of the past reoccurring in the present. Bronte introduces this through the use of the younger characters in the ways that the names of the characters are recycled organizing the novel into recurring parallels allowing the reader to make connections between the different generations. On the other hand, Shakespeare uses symbolism in referring to Antony as a cloud that changes shape as it tumbles across the sky, which reflects how Antony changes through the different acts of the play. Shakespeare shows Antonys changes through the changing shape of the clouds as sometimes we see a cloud as dragonish showing how he turns from a bear or lion, to a towered citadel, a pendent rock, suggesting that Antony can mock our eyes with air as Antony seems to change from the reputable conqueror into a debased victim. As he says to Eros, his uncharacteristic defeat, both on the battlefield and in matters of love, makes it difficult for him to hold this visible shape. In addition Antonys two attempts at battle with Caesar at sea, result in his navy being betrayed by the queens retreat which shows how Antony does not learn from his mistakes. It could be argued that if Cleopatra really loved Antony, she would not have accompanied him in the first place or she would have stood by him and realized the concequences of turning back. This demonstrates to the reader the destructive qualities of duty as although Antony has given up so much for Cleopatra; she still puts Egypt first when she realizes that Antony cannot win. this ultimately leads to the deaths of the two characters because in Antonys outrage he exclaims this foul Egyptian hath betrayed me calling her a triple-turned whore! which leads to her ordering Charmain to go tell him I have slain myself causing him to order Eros to draw his sword and kill him ultimately resulting in his own destruction. In addition, Shakespeare uses social status to demonstrate how powerful the conflict between duty and passion can be as the characters in Antony and Cleopatra are of a high status in society which Shakespeare displays through Enobarbus extravagant descriptions of the barge she sat in as being like a burnished throne that burned on the water with purple sales that were so perfumed that the winds were love-sick with them and yet they still allow themselves to be diminished though their lack of awareness when passion outweighs reason. The character of Antony appears, at first glance to be a powerful man as a leading member of the triumvirate as he was the triple pillar of the word. Shakespeare demonstrates the destructive quality of passion in contrast with duty as Antony was once a feared and respected solder with an air of authority which was diminished through his love affair with Cleopatra as a result of a combination of clouded decisions. In contrast to Antony and Cleopatra where there separation is a culmination of their mutual social status in both Wuthering Heights and Atonement it is the male characters lack of social status that results in the separation from the people they love. Bronte introduces this in Wuthering heights through Cathys considerable advance in social status over Heathcliff as she says that it would be degrading to me to marry Heathcliff now suggesting to the audience that at this time a persons social status was considerably more important than a persons happiness this was particularly prevalent in people of a higher social status as marrying as Cathys marriage to Heathcliff would simply never happen. Bronte uses this to show the destructive nature of duty as social status is used as a barrier. Similarly to Antony and Cleopatra Bronte uses the locations of thrush cross grange to represent Linton and Wuthering heights to represent heath cliff .The parallels of two warring houses, Wuthering Heights and Thrush cross Grange, represent opposing rfhth, worlds and values which further suggests to the audience the difficulty of Cathys choice due to the enormous differences between the two lifestyles. Bronte shows Cathys decision through the motif of a conflict between nature and culture shown in the descriptions of the two locations. Bronte organizes her novel by arranging its elements of characters, places, and themes into there corresponding pairs. Catherine and Heath cliff are closely matched in many ways, and see themselves as identical Hes more I than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and Lintons is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire. As she proclaims to Nelly that I am Heathcliff! hes always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, anymore than I am always a pleasure to myself but as my own being This suggests to the audience that Cathy and Heathcliff are in effect made for each other which show the audience the destructive attributes of duty because she is unable to be with him which may describe as a tragedy. The way Catherines character is divided into two warring sides creates intrigue in the novel and shows the obligation of traditional values in restraining love as Cathy says if all else perished, and he remained, should still continue to be and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger; I should not seem a part of it. This is shown through the side of Cathy that wants Edgar and the side that wants Heathcliff. As some critics argue that The entire drama is a destruction of a human soul; how love can save and damn one man. This shows the destructive nature of duty because Cathy is constantly caught between her duty to her family in marrying a man of a high social status and her desire to be with her true love, Heathcliff. In conclusion, all three writers show the destructive nature of duty through the characters fight between their head and there heart which is continuously represented in Wuthering heights and Antony and Cleopatra through the use of two locations and the limitations of their choices. Additionally all three writers show the destructive nature of duty through the physical separation of the characters from the people they love due to circumstance. In Wuthering heights this is represented through Cathy having to remain in thrush cross grange due to her marriage to Linton causing her to be separated from Heathcliff. This is also represented in atonement through Robbie being separated from Cecelia through his duty as a soldier and in Antony and Cleopatra Anthonys duty to Rome where each writer presents the failure of the characters who are in love in saving each other.

Old Messages Brought To Life Essay -- essays research papers

Old Messages Brought to Life Today's world needs to be taught the old messages of life. We have so many different religions that preach the same things. All are of one or more supreme beings and their teachings. Across this world it is the same messages and yet we fight one another, because my god of love is better then your god of love. The basic human problems are even the same we all call these situations sin. Is it possible to change the world and it beliefs? One must start with their self and realize that the basic rules for life. Laws condition the manifest universe and life on earth. There are inviolable laws of life that govern all aspects of earthly life and determine the destiny of each individual. Understanding the first three or four help you to understand the rest. They cannot be ignored without inviting negative consequences. It is therefore important that one understands these laws and observes them. The whole universe is permeated with divine presence. Therefore one should deal with every object in it as if one is dealing with oneself or with "God". Everyone's god is omnipresent and omniscient in each religious person's eyes. Everything in this universe is sacred because it is filled with the presence of this Supreme Being. Everything in this universe is therefore a divine entity and should be treated as such. Those who seek harmony and peace in life understand this principle very well and treat every thing in the worl...

I Am an American NOT of Caucasian Descent :: Personal Narrative Writing

I Am an American NOT of Caucasian Descent What does it mean to be American? What does the word â€Å"American† mean? If I say I am American, does that mean I am obligated to fight for America in a war? Does that mean I would not do anything against this country? How permanent is my status of being an American? When asked, I always say I am American, based on the fact that I was born here and that is what my birth certificate is supposed to prove. But then why don’t I also say that I am also Mexican and Indian, as my upbringings and family have been more of these cultures than of American culture? Until college, I had lived in Michigan all my life. Visiting Canadian friends the twenty-minute drive away was a regular family outing. My mother usually had the task of driving through Customs, as she, though the child of Mexican immigrants, spoke without an accent. â€Å"Citizenship?† The customs official would ask. â€Å"U.S.† My mother would reply. â€Å"All four of you?† Was the typical response, as the official would look directly at my dad, whose physical features do not hide the fact that he was born in India. â€Å"Yes,† My mother would reply, as she handed over the proper paperwork. It was not until the age of eight that I wondered enough to ask my mom why she did not reply â€Å"American† to the customs official’s question. She responded that the term â€Å"American† is vague. A person from Canada has an equal right to identify himself or herself with the term that reflects the name of our shared continent. Using the term â€Å"U.S.† is both true and specific. My mother’s opinion is just one of the many views that exist on the term. As I grew up, I began with a very chauvinistic pride in my birth country.

Destiny in Madame Bovary :: Madame Bovary Essays

Destiny in Madame Bovary      Ã‚   Destiny: the seemingly inevitable succession of events.1   Is this definition true, or do we, as people in real life or characters in novels, control our own destiny? Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary exemplifies how we hold destiny in our own hands, molding it with the actions we take and the choices we make. Flaubert uses Emma Bovary, the main character of his novel, to demonstrate this. Throughout her life, Emma makes many decisions, each one of them affecting her fate and by analyzing these decisions one could see from the beginning that Emma is destined to suffer. However, one can also pinpoint such decisions making events as her marriage, her daughter's birth, her adulterous relationship with Leon and her taking the poison, as times when, if she had made a different decision, her life would not have ended as tragically.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When we first meet Emma, the future Madame Bovary, we perceive her as being a woman who is refined perhaps a bit more than the average peasant girl living on a farm. We conclude this because she attended a boarding school where she was taught "dancing, geography, needlework and piano." (p.15) Charles, on the other hand, gives her more credit than she deserves. He regards her as well very educated, sophisticated, sensitive and loving, with the last characteristic being the one she lacks most. Soon after Emma marries Charles we see her unhappiness, and we are faced with a dilemma, why did she marry him? There are numerous possible answers to this, but the end conclusion is the same: if she had not married him it would have been better for both of them. Emma would not have been so miserable and depressed throughout her life and Charles would have found someone who would return his love and who would appreciate him. Throughout the novel Emma never expresses her appreciation for her husband. On the contrary, she often expresses her loathing for him - "Charles never seemed so disagreeable to her, his fingers never seemed so blunt, his mind so dull of his manners so crude--." (p.161)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, Emma and Charles were married. An uneventful year passed and Emma reached yet another fork in the road of life - should she have a baby now,

A Game of Thrones Chapter Thirty

Eddard I stood last vigil for him myself,† Ser Barristan Selmy said as they looked down at the body in the back of the cart. â€Å"He had no one else. A mother in the Vale, I am told.† In the pale dawn light, the young knight looked as though he were sleeping. He had not been handsome, but death had smoothed his rough-hewn features and the silent sisters had dressed him in his best velvet tunic, with a high collar to cover the ruin the lance had made of his throat. Eddard Stark looked at his face, and wondered if it had been for his sake that the boy had died. Slain by a Lannister bannerman before Ned could speak to him; could that be mere happenstance? He supposed he would never know. â€Å"Hugh was Jon Arryn's squire for four years,† Selmy went on. â€Å"The king knighted him before he rode north, in Jon's memory. The lad wanted it desperately, yet I fear he was not ready.† Ned had slept badly last night and he felt tired beyond his years. â€Å"None of us is ever ready,† he said. â€Å"For knighthood?† â€Å"For death.† Gently Ned covered the boy with his cloak, a bloodstained bit of blue bordered in crescent moons. When his mother asked why her son was dead, he reflected bitterly, they would tell her he had fought to honor the King's Hand, Eddard Stark. â€Å"This was needless. War should not be a game.† Ned turned to the woman beside the cart, shrouded in grey, face hidden but for her eyes. The silent sisters prepared men for the grave, and it was ill fortune to look on the face of death. â€Å"Send his armor home to the Vale. The mother will want to have it.† â€Å"It is worth a fair piece of silver,† Ser Barristan said. â€Å"The boy had it forged special for the tourney. Plain work, but good. I do not know if he had finished paying the smith.† â€Å"He paid yesterday, my lord, and he paid dearly,† Ned replied. And to the silent sister he said, â€Å"Send the mother the armor. I will deal with this smith.† She bowed her head. Afterward Ser Barristan walked with Ned to the king's pavilion. The camp was beginning to stir. Fat sausages sizzled and spit over firepits, spicing the air with the scents of garlic and pepper. Young squires hurried about on errands as their masters woke, yawning and stretching, to meet the day. A serving man with a goose under his arm bent his knee when he caught sight of them. â€Å"M'lords,† he muttered as the goose honked and pecked at his fingers. The shields displayed outside each tent heralded its occupant: the silver eagle of Seagard, Bryce Caron's field of nightingales, a cluster of grapes for the Redwynes, brindled boar, red ox, burning tree, white ram, triple spiral, purple unicorn, dancing maiden, blackadder, twin towers, horned owl, and last the pure white blazons of the Kingsguard, shining like the dawn. â€Å"The king means to fight in the melee today,† Ser Barristan said as they were passing Ser Meryn's shield, its paint sullied by a deep gash where Loras Tyrell's lance had scarred the wood as he drove him from his saddle. â€Å"Yes,† Ned said grimly. Jory had woken him last night to bring him that news. Small wonder he had slept so badly. Ser Barristan's look was troubled. â€Å"They say night's beauties fade at dawn, and the children of wine are oft disowned in the morning light.† â€Å"They say so,† Ned agreed, â€Å"but not of Robert.† Other men might reconsider words spoken in drunken bravado, but Robert Baratheon would remember and, remembering, would never back down. The king's pavilion was close by the water, and the morning mists off the river had wreathed it in wisps of grey. It was all of golden silk, the largest and grandest structure in the camp. Outside the entrance, Robert's warhammer was displayed beside an immense iron shield blazoned with the crowned stag of House Baratheon. Ned had hoped to discover the king still abed in a wine-soaked sleep, but luck was not with him. They found Robert drinking beer from a polished horn and roaring his displeasure at two young squires who were trying to buckle him into his armor. â€Å"Your Grace,† one was saying, almost in tears, â€Å"it's made too small, it won't go.† He fumbled, and the gorget he was trying to fit around Robert's thick neck tumbled to the ground. â€Å"Seven hells!† Robert swore. â€Å"Do I have to do it myself? Piss on the both of you. Pick it up. Don't just stand there gaping, Lancel, pick it up!† The lad jumped, and the king noticed his company. â€Å"Look at these oafs, Ned. My wife insisted I take these two to squire for me, and they're worse than useless. Can't even put a man's armor on him properly. Squires, they say. I say they're swineherds dressed up in silk.† Ned only needed a glance to understand the difficulty. â€Å"The boys are not at fault,† he told the king. â€Å"You're too fat for your armor, Robert.† Robert Baratheon took a long swallow of beer, tossed the empty horn onto his sleeping furs, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and said darkly, â€Å"Fat? Fat, is it? Is that how you speak to your king?† He let go his laughter, sudden as a storm. â€Å"Ah, damn you, Ned, why are you always right?† The squires smiled nervously until the king turned on them. â€Å"You. Yes, both of you. You heard the Hand. The king is too fat for his armor. Go find Ser Aron Santagar. Tell him I need the breastplate stretcher. Now! What are you waiting for?† The boys tripped over each other in their haste to be quit of the tent. Robert managed to keep a stern face until they were gone. Then he dropped back into a chair, shaking with laughter. Ser Barristan Selmy chuckled with him. Even Eddard Stark managed a smile. Always, though, the graver thoughts crept in. He could not help taking note of the two squires: handsome boys, fair and well made. One was Sansa's age, with long golden curls; the other perhaps fifteen, sandy-haired, with a wisp of a mustache and the emerald-green eyes of the queen. â€Å"Ah, I wish I could be there to see Santagar's face,† Robert said. â€Å"I hope he'll have the wit to send them to someone else. We ought to keep them running all day!† â€Å"Those boys,† Ned asked him. â€Å"Lannisters?† Robert nodded, wiping tears from his eyes. â€Å"Cousins. Sons of Lord Tywin's brother. One of the dead ones. Or perhaps the live one, now that I come to think on it. I don't recall. My wife comes from a very large family, Ned.† A very ambitious family, Ned thought. He had nothing against the squires, but it troubled him to see Robert surrounded by the queen's kin, waking and sleeping. The Lannister appetite for offices and honors seemed to know no bounds. â€Å"The talk is you and the queen had angry words last night.† The mirth curdled on Robert's face. â€Å"The woman tried to forbid me to fight in the melee. She's sulking in the castle now, damn her. Your sister would never have shamed me like that.† â€Å"You never knew Lyanna as I did, Robert,† Ned told him. â€Å"You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath. She would have told you that you have no business in the melee.† â€Å"You too?† The king frowned. â€Å"You are a sour man, Stark. Too long in the north, all the juices have frozen inside you. Well, mine are still running.† He slapped his chest to prove it. â€Å"You are the king,† Ned reminded him. â€Å"I sit on the damn iron seat when I must. Does that mean I don't have the same hungers as other men? A bit of wine now and again, a girl squealing in bed, the feel of a horse between my legs? Seven hells, Ned, I want to hit someone.† Ser Barristan Selmy spoke up. â€Å"Your Grace,† he said, â€Å"it is not seemly that the king should ride into the melee. It would not be a fair contest. Who would dare strike you?† Robert seemed honestly taken aback. â€Å"Why, all of them, damn it. If they can. And the last man left standing . . . â€Å" † . . . will be you,† Ned finished. He saw at once that Selmy had hit the mark. The dangers of the melee were only a savor to Robert, but this touched on his pride. â€Å"Ser Barristan is right. There's not a man in the Seven Kingdoms who would dare risk your displeasure by hurting you.† The king rose to his feet, his face flushed. â€Å"Are you telling me those prancing cravens will let me win?† â€Å"For a certainty,† Ned said, and Ser Barristan Selmy bowed his head in silent accord. For a moment Robert was so angry he could not speak. He strode across the tent, whirled, strode back, his face dark and angry. He snatched up his breastplate from the ground and threw it at Barristan Selmy in a wordless fury. Selmy dodged. â€Å"Get out,† the king said then, coldly. â€Å"Get out before I kill you.† Ser Barristan left quickly. Ned was about to follow when the king called out again. â€Å"Not you, Ned.† Ned turned back. Robert took up his horn again, filled it with beer from a barrel in the corner, and thrust it at Ned. â€Å"Drink,† he said brusquely. â€Å"I've no thirst—† â€Å"Drink. Your king commands it.† Ned took the horn and drank. The beer was black and thick, so strong it stung the eyes. Robert sat down again. â€Å"Damn you, Ned Stark. You and Jon Arryn, I loved you both. What have you done to me? You were the one should have been king, you or Jon.† â€Å"You had the better claim, Your Grace.† â€Å"I told you to drink, not to argue. You made me king, you could at least have the courtesy to listen when I talk, damn you. Look at me, Ned. Look at what kinging has done to me. Gods, too fat for my armor, how did it ever come to this?† â€Å"Robert . . . â€Å" â€Å"Drink and stay quiet, the king is talking. I swear to you, I was never so alive as when I was winning this throne, or so dead as now that I've won it. And Cersei . . . I have Jon Arryn to thank for her. I had no wish to marry after Lyanna was taken from me, but Jon said the realm needed an heir. Cersei Lannister would be a good match, he told me, she would bind Lord Tywin to me should Viserys Targaryen ever try to win back his father's throne.† The king shook his head. â€Å"I loved that old man, I swear it, but now I think he was a bigger fool than Moon Boy. Oh, Cersei is lovely to look at, truly, but cold . . . the way she guards her cunt, you'd think she had all the gold of Casterly Rock between her legs. Here, give me that beer if you won't drink it.† He took the horn, upended it, belched, wiped his mouth. â€Å"I am sorry for your girl, Ned. Truly. About the wolf, I mean. My son was lying, I'd stake my soul on it. My son . . . you love your children, don't y ou?† â€Å"With all my heart,† Ned said. â€Å"Let me tell you a secret, Ned. More than once, I have dreamed of giving up the crown. Take ship for the Free Cities with my horse and my hammer, spend my time warring and whoring, that's what I was made for. The sellsword king, how the singers would love me. You know what stops me? The thought of Joffrey on the throne, with Cersei standing behind him whispering in his ear. My son. How could I have made a son like that, Ned?† â€Å"He's only a boy,† Ned said awkwardly. He had small liking for Prince Joffrey, but he could hear the pain in Robert's voice. â€Å"Have you forgotten how wild you were at his age?† â€Å"It would not trouble me if the boy was wild, Ned. You don't know him as I do.† He sighed and shook his head. â€Å"Ah, perhaps you are right. Jon despaired of me often enough, yet I grew into a good king.† Robert looked at Ned and scowled at his silence. â€Å"You might speak up and agree now, you know.† â€Å"Your Grace . . . † Ned began, carefully. Robert slapped Ned on the back. â€Å"Ah, say that I'm a better king than Aerys and be done with it. You never could lie for love nor honor, Ned Stark. I'm still young, and now that you're here with me, things will be different. We'll make this a reign to sing of, and damn the Lannisters to seven hells. I smell bacon. Who do you think our champion will be today? Have you seen Mace Tyrell's boy? The Knight of Flowers, they call him. Now there's a son any man would be proud to own to. Last tourney, he dumped the Kingslayer on his golden rump, you ought to have seen the look on Cersei's face. I laughed till my sides hurt. Renly says he has this sister, a maid of fourteen, lovely as a dawn . . . â€Å" They broke their fast on black bread and boiled goose eggs and fish fried up with onions and bacon, at a trestle table by the river's edge. The king's melancholy melted away with the morning mist, and before long Robert was eating an orange and waxing fond about a morning at the Eyrie when they had been boys. † . . . had given Jon a barrel of oranges, remember? Only the things had gone rotten, so I flung mine across the table and hit Dacks right in the nose. You remember, Redfort's pock-faced squire? He tossed one back at me, and before Jon could so much as fart, there were oranges flying across the High Hall in every direction.† He laughed uproariously, and even Ned smiled, remembering. This was the boy he had grown up with, he thought; this was the Robert Baratheon he'd known and loved. If he could prove that the Lannisters were behind the attack on Bran, prove that they had murdered Jon Arryn, this man would listen. Then Cersei would fall, and the Kingslayer with her, and if Lord Tywin dared to rouse the west, Robert would smash him as he had smashed Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident. He could see it all so clearly. That breakfast tasted better than anything Eddard Stark had eaten in a long time, and afterward his smiles came easier and more often, until it was time for the tournament to resume. Ned walked with the king to the jousting field. He had promised to watch the final tilts with Sansa; Septa Mordane was ill today, and his daughter was determined not to miss the end of the jousting. As he saw Robert to his place, he noted that Cersei Lannister had chosen not to appear; the place beside the king was empty. That too gave Ned cause to hope. He shouldered his way to where his daughter was seated and found her as the horns blew for the day's first joust. Sansa was so engrossed she scarcely seemed to notice his arrival. Sandor Clegane was the first rider to appear. He wore an olive- green cloak over his soot-grey armor. That, and his hound's-head helm, were his only concession to ornament. â€Å"A hundred golden dragons on the Kingslayer,† Littlefinger announced loudly as Jaime Lannister entered the lists, riding an elegant blood bay destrier. The horse wore a blanket of gilded ringmail, and Jaime glittered from head to heel. Even his lance was fashioned from the golden wood of the Summer Isles. â€Å"Done,† Lord Renly shouted back. â€Å"The Hound has a hungry look about him this morning.† â€Å"Even hungry dogs know better than to bite the hand that feeds them,† Littlefinger called dryly. Sandor Clegane dropped his visor with an audible clang and took up his position. Ser Jaime tossed a kiss to some woman in the commons, gently lowered his visor, and rode to the end of the lists. Both men couched their lances. Ned Stark would have loved nothing so well as to see them both lose, but Sansa was watching it all moist-eyed and eager. The hastily erected gallery trembled as the horses broke into a gallop. The Hound leaned forward as he rode, his lance rock steady, but Jaime shifted his seat deftly in the instant before impact. Clegane's point was turned harmlessly against the golden shield with the lion blazon, while his own hit square. Wood shattered, and the Hound reeled, fighting to keep his seat. Sansa gasped. A ragged cheer went up from the commons. â€Å"I wonder how I ought spend your money,† Littlefinger called down to Lord Renly. The Hound just managed to stay in his saddle. He jerked his mount around hard and rode back to the lists for the second pass. Jaime Lannister tossed down his broken lance and snatched up a fresh one, jesting with his squire. The Hound spurred forward at a hard gallop. Lannister rode to meet him. This time, when Jaime shifted his seat, Sandor Clegane shifted with him. Both lances exploded, and by the time the splinters had settled, a riderless blood bay was trotting off in search of grass while Ser Jaime Lannister rolled in the dirt, golden and dented. Sansa said, â€Å"I knew the Hound would win.† Littlefinger overheard. â€Å"If you know who's going to win the second match, speak up now before Lord Renly plucks me clean,† he called to her. Ned smiled. â€Å"A pity the Imp is not here with us,† Lord Renly said. â€Å"I should have won twice as much.† Jaime Lannister was back on his feet, but his ornate lion helmet had been twisted around and dented in his fall, and now he could not get it off. The commons were hooting and pointing, the lords and ladies were trying to stifle their chuckles, and failing, and over it all Ned could hear King Robert laughing, louder than anyone. Finally they had to lead the Lion of Lannister off to a blacksmith, blind and stumbling. By then Ser Gregor Clegane was in position at the head of the lists. He was huge, the biggest man that Eddard Stark had ever seen. Robert Baratheon and his brothers were all big men, as was the Hound, and back at Winterfell there was a simpleminded stableboy named Hodor who dwarfed them all, but the knight they called the Mountain That Rides would have towered over Hodor. He was well over seven feet tall, closer to eight, with massive shoulders and arms thick as the trunks of small trees. His destrier seemed a pony in between his armored legs, and the lance he carried looked as small as a broom handle. Unlike his brother, Ser Gregor did not live at court. He was a solitary man who seldom left his own lands, but for wars and tourneys. He had been with Lord Tywin when King's Landing fell, a new-made knight of seventeen years, even then distinguished by his size and his implacable ferocity. Some said it had been Gregor who'd dashed the skull of the infant prince Aegon Targaryen against a wall, and whispered that afterward he had raped the mother, the Dornish princess Elia, before putting her to the sword. These things were not said in Gregor's hearing. Ned Stark could not recall ever speaking to the man, though Gregor had ridden with them during Balon Greyjoy's rebellion, one knight among thousands. He watched him with disquiet. Ned seldom put much stock in gossip, but the things said of Ser Gregor were more than ominous. He was soon to be married for the third time, and one heard dark whisperings about the deaths of his first two wives. It was said that his keep was a grim place where servants disappeared unaccountably and even the dogs were afraid to enter the hall. And there had been a sister who had died young under queer circumstances, and the fire that had disfigured his brother, and the hunting accident that had killed their father. Gregor had inherited the keep, the gold, and the family estates. His younger brother Sandor had left the same day to take service with the Lannisters as a sworn sword, and it was said that he had never returned, not even to visit. When the Knight of Flowers made his entrance, a murmur ran through the crowd, and he heard Sansa's fervent whisper, â€Å"Oh, he's so beautiful.† Ser Loras Tyrell was slender as a reed, dressed in a suit of fabulous silver armor polished to a blinding sheen and filigreed with twining black vines and tiny blue forget-me-nots. The commons realized in the same instant as Ned that the blue of the flowers came from sapphires; a gasp went up from a thousand throats. Across the boy's shoulders his cloak hung heavy. It was woven of forget-me-nots, real ones, hundreds of fresh blooms sewn to a heavy woolen cape. His courser was as slim as her rider, a beautiful grey mare, built for speed. Ser Gregor's huge stallion trumpeted as he caught her scent. The boy from Highgarden did something with his legs, and his horse pranced sideways, nimble as a dancer. Sansa clutched at his arm. â€Å"Father, don't let Ser Gregor hurt him,† she said. Ned saw she was wearing the rose that Ser Loras had given her yesterday. Jory had told him about that as well. â€Å"These are tourney lances,† he told his daughter. â€Å"They make them to splinter on impact, so no one is hurt.† Yet he remembered the dead boy in the cart with his cloak of crescent moons, and the words were raw in his throat. Ser Gregor was having trouble controlling his horse. The stallion was screaming and pawing the ground, shaking his head. The Mountain kicked at the animal savagely with an armored boot. The horse reared and almost threw him. The Knight of Flowers saluted the king, rode to the far end of the list, and couched his lance, ready. Ser Gregor brought his animal to the line, fighting with the reins. And suddenly it began. The Mountain's stallion broke in a hard gallop, plunging forward wildly, while the mare charged as smooth as a flow of silk. Ser Gregor wrenched his shield into position, juggled with his lance, and all the while fought to hold his unruly mount on a straight line, and suddenly Loras Tyrell was on him, placing the point of his lance just there, and in an eye blink the Mountain was failing. He was so huge that he took his horse down with him in a tangle of steel and flesh. Ned heard applause, cheers, whistles, shocked gasps, excited muttering, and over it all the rasping, raucous laughter of the Hound. The Knight of Flowers reined up at the end of the lists. His lance was not even broken. His sapphires winked in the sun as he raised his visor, smiling. The commons went mad for him. In the middle of the field, Ser Gregor Clegane disentangled himself and came boiling to his feet. He wrenched off his helm and slammed it down onto the ground. His face was dark with fury and his hair fell down into his eyes. â€Å"My sword,† he shouted to his squire, and the boy ran it out to him. By then his stallion was back on its feet as well. Gregor Clegane killed the horse with a single blow of such ferocity that it half severed the animal's neck. Cheers turned to shrieks in a heartbeat. The stallion went to its knees, screaming as it died. By then Gregor was striding down the lists toward Ser Loras Tyrell, his bloody sword clutched in his fist. â€Å"Stop him!† Ned shouted, but his words were lost in the roar. Everyone else was yelling as well, and Sansa was crying. It all happened so fast. The Knight of Flowers was shouting for his own sword as Ser Gregor knocked his squire aside and made a grab for the reins of his horse. The mare scented blood and reared. Loras Tyrell kept his seat, but barely. Ser Gregor swung his sword, a savage two-handed blow that took the boy in the chest and knocked him from the saddle. The courser dashed away in panic as Ser Loras lay stunned in the dirt. But as Gregor lifted his sword for the killing blow, a rasping voice warned, â€Å"Leave him be,† and a steel-clad hand wrenched him away from the boy. The Mountain pivoted in wordless fury, swinging his longsword in a killing arc with all his massive strength behind it, but the Hound caught the blow and turned it, and for what seemed an eternity the two brothers stood hammering at each other as a dazed Loras Tyrell was helped to safety. Thrice Ned saw Ser Gregor aim savage blows at the hound's-head helmet, yet not once did Sandor send a cut at his brother's unprotected face. It was the king's voice that put an end to it . . . the king's voice and twenty swords. Jon Arryn had told them that a commander needs a good battlefield voice, and Robert had proved the truth of that on the Trident. He used that voice now. â€Å"STOP THIS MADNESS,† he boomed, â€Å"IN THE NAME OF YOUR KING!† The Hound went to one knee. Ser Gregor's blow cut air, and at last he came to his senses. He dropped his sword and glared at Robert, surrounded by his Kingsguard and a dozen other knights and guardsmen. Wordlessly, he turned and strode off, shoving past Barristan Selmy. â€Å"Let him go,† Robert said, and as quickly as that, it was over. â€Å"Is the Hound the champion now?† Sansa asked Ned. â€Å"No,† he told her. â€Å"There will be one final joust, between the Hound and the Knight of Flowers.† But Sansa had the right of it after all. A few moments later Ser Loras Tyrell walked back onto the field in a simple linen doublet and said to Sandor Clegane, â€Å"I owe you my life. The day is yours, ser.† â€Å"I am no ser,† the Hound replied, but he took the victory, and the champion's purse, and, for perhaps the first time in his life, the love of the commons. They cheered him as he left the lists to return to his pavilion. As Ned walked with Sansa to the archery field, Littlefinger and Lord Renly and some of the others fell in with them. â€Å"Tyrell had to know the mare was in heat,† Littlefinger was saying. â€Å"I swear the boy planned the whole thing. Gregor has always favored huge, ill-tempered stallions with more spirit than sense.† The notion seemed to amuse him. It did not amuse Ser Barristan Selmy. â€Å"There is small honor in tricks,† the old man said stiffly. â€Å"Small honor and twenty thousand golds.† Lord Renly smiled. That afternoon a boy named Anguy, an unheralded commoner from the Dornish Marches, won the archery competition, outshooting Ser Balon Swann and Jalabhar Xho at a hundred paces after all the other bowmen had been eliminated at the shorter distances. Ned sent Alyn to seek him out and offer him a position with the Hand's guard, but the boy was flush with wine and victory and riches undreamed of, and he refused. The melee went on for three hours. Near forty men took part, freeriders and hedge knights and new-made squires in search of a reputation. They fought with blunted weapons in a chaos of mud and blood, small troops fighting together and then turning on each other as alliances formed and fractured, until only one man was left standing. The victor was the red priest, Thoros of Myr, a madman who shaved his head and fought with a flaming sword. He had won melees before; the fire sword frightened the mounts of the other riders, and nothing frightened Thoros. The final tally was three broken limbs, a shattered collarbone, a dozen smashed fingers, two horses that had to be put down, and more cuts, sprains, and bruises than anyone cared to count. Ned was desperately pleased that Robert had not taken part. That night at the feast, Eddard Stark was more hopeful than he had been in a great while. Robert was in high good humor, the Lannisters were nowhere to be seen, and even his daughters were behaving. Jory brought Arya down to join them, and Sansa spoke to her sister pleasantly. â€Å"The tournament was magnificent,† she sighed. â€Å"You should have come. How was your dancing?† â€Å"I'm sore all over,† Arya reported happily, proudly displaying a huge purple bruise on her leg. â€Å"You must be a terrible dancer,† Sansa said doubtfully. Later, while Sansa was off listening to a troupe of singers perform the complex round of interwoven ballads called the â€Å"Dance of the Dragons,† Ned inspected the bruise himself. â€Å"I hope Forel is not being too hard on you,† he said. Arya stood on one leg. She was getting much better at that of late. â€Å"Syrio says that every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better.† Ned frowned. The man Syrio Forel had come with an excellent reputation, and his flamboyant Braavosi style was well suited to Arya's slender blade, yet still . . . a few days ago, she had been wandering around with a swatch of black silk tied over her eyes. Syrio was teaching her to see with her ears and her nose and her skin, she told him. Before that, he had her doing spins and back flips. â€Å"Arya, are you certain you want to persist in this?† She nodded. â€Å"Tomorrow we're going to catch cats.† â€Å"Cats.† Ned sighed. â€Å"Perhaps it was a mistake to hire this Braavosi. If you like, I will ask Jory to take over your lessons. Or I might have a quiet word with Ser Barristan. He was the finest sword in the Seven Kingdoms in his youth.† â€Å"I don't want them,† Arya said. â€Å"I want Syrio.† Ned ran his fingers through his hair. Any decent master-at-arms could give Arya the rudiments of slash-and-parry without this nonsense of blindfolds, cartwheels, and hopping about on one leg, but he knew his youngest daughter well enough to know there was no arguing with that stubborn jut of jaw. â€Å"As you wish,† he said. Surely she would grow tired of this soon. â€Å"Try to be careful.† â€Å"I will,† she promised solemnly as she hopped smoothly from her right leg to her left. Much later, after he had taken the girls back through the city and seen them both safe in bed, Sansa with her dreams and Arya with her bruises, Ned ascended to his own chambers atop the Tower of the Hand. The day had been warm and the room was close and stuffy. Ned went to the window and unfastened the heavy shutters to let in the cool night air. Across the Great Yard, he noticed the flickering glow of candlelight from Littlefinger's windows. The hour was well past midnight. Down by the river, the revels were only now beginning to dwindle and die. He took out the dagger and studied it. Littlefinger's blade, won by Tyrion Lannister in a tourney wager, sent to slay Bran in his sleep. Why? Why would the dwarf want Bran dead? Why would anyone want Bran dead? The dagger, Bran's fall, all of it was linked somehow to the murder of Jon Arryn, he could feel it in his gut, but the truth of Jon's death remained as clouded to him as when he had started. Lord Stannis had not returned to King's Landing for the tourney. Lysa Arryn held her silence behind the high walls of the Eyrie. The squire was dead, and Jory was still searching the whorehouses. What did he have but Robert's bastard? That the armorer's sullen apprentice was the king's son, Ned had no doubt. The Baratheon look was stamped on his face, in his jaw, his eyes, that black hair. Renly was too young to have fathered a boy of that age, Stannis too cold and proud in his honor. Gendry had to be Robert's. Yet knowing all that, what had he learned? The king had other baseborn children scattered throughout the Seven Kingdoms. He had openly acknowledged one of his bastards, a boy of Bran's age whose mother was highborn. The lad was being fostered by Lord Renly's castellan at Storm's End. Ned remembered Robert's first child as well, a daughter born in the Vale when Robert was scarcely more than a boy himself. A sweet little girl; the young lord of Storm's End had doted on her. He used to make daily visits to play with the babe, long after he had lost interest in the mother. Ned was often dragged along for company, whether he willed it or not. The girl would be seventeen or eighteen now, he realized; older than Robert had been when he fathered her. A strange thought. Cersei could not have been pleased by her lord husband's by-blows, yet in the end it mattered little whether the king had one bastard or a hundred. Law and custom gave the baseborn few rights. Gendry, the girl in the Vale, the boy at Storm's End, none of them could threaten Robert's trueborn children . . . His musings were ended by a soft rap on his door. â€Å"A man to see you, my lord,† Harwin called. â€Å"He will not give his name.† â€Å"Send him in,† Ned said, wondering. The visitor was a stout man in cracked, mud-caked boots and a heavy brown robe of the coarsest roughspun, his features hidden by a cowl, his hands drawn up into voluminous sleeves. â€Å"Who are you?† Ned asked. â€Å"A friend,† the cowled man said in a strange, low voice. â€Å"We must speak alone, Lord Stark.† Curiosity was stronger than caution. â€Å"Harwin, leave us,† he commanded. Not until they were alone behind closed doors did his visitor draw back his cowl. â€Å"Lord Varys?† Ned said in astonishment. â€Å"Lord Stark,† Varys said politely, seating himself. â€Å"I wonder if I might trouble you for a drink?† Ned filled two cups with summerwine and handed one to Varys. â€Å"I might have passed within a foot of you and never recognized you,† he said, incredulous. He had never seen the eunuch dress in anything but silk and velvet and the richest damasks, and this man smelled of sweat instead of lilacs. â€Å"That was my dearest hope,† Varys said. â€Å"It would not do if certain people learned that we had spoken in private. The queen watches you closely. This wine is very choice. Thank you.† â€Å"How did you get past my other guards?† Ned asked. Porther and Cayn had been posted outside the tower, and Alyn on the stairs. â€Å"The Red Keep has ways known only to ghosts and spiders.† Varys smiled apologetically. â€Å"I will not keep you long, my lord. There are things you must know. You are the King's Hand, and the king is a fool.† The eunuch's cloying tones were gone; now his voice was thin and sharp as a whip. â€Å"Your friend, I know, yet a fool nonetheless . . . and doomed, unless you save him. Today was a near thing. They had hoped to kill him during the melee.† For a moment Ned was speechless with shock. â€Å"Who?† Varys sipped his wine. â€Å"If I truly need to tell you that, you are a bigger fool than Robert and I am on the wrong side.† â€Å"The Lannisters,† Ned said. â€Å"The queen . . . no, I will not believe that, not even of Cersei. She asked him not to fight!† â€Å"She forbade him to fight, in front of his brother, his knights, and half the court. Tell me truly, do you know any surer way to force King Robert into the melee? I ask you.† Ned had a sick feeling in his gut. The eunuch had hit upon a truth; tell Robert Baratheon he could not, should not, or must not do a thing, and it was as good as done. â€Å"Even if he'd fought, who would have dared to strike the king?† Varys shrugged. â€Å"There were forty riders in the melee. The Lannisters have many friends. Amidst all that chaos, with horses screaming and bones breaking and Thoros of Myr waving that absurd firesword of his, who could name it murder if some chance blow felled His Grace?† He went to the flagon and refilled his cup. â€Å"After the deed was done, the slayer would be beside himself with grief. I can almost hear him weeping. So sad. Yet no doubt the gracious and compassionate widow would take pity, lift the poor unfortunate to his feet, and bless him with a gentle kiss of forgiveness. Good King Joffrey would have no choice but to pardon him.† The eunuch stroked his cheek. â€Å"Or perhaps Cersei would let Ser Ilyn strike off his head. Less risk for the Lannisters that way, though quite an unpleasant surprise for their little friend.† Ned felt his anger rise. â€Å"You knew of this plot, and yet you did nothing.† â€Å"I command whisperers, not warriors.† â€Å"You might have come to me earlier.† â€Å"Oh, yes, I confess it. And you would have rushed straight to the king, yes? And when Robert heard of his peril, what would he have done? I wonder.† Ned considered that. â€Å"He would have damned them all, and fought anyway, to show he did not fear them.† Varys spread his hands. â€Å"I will make another confession, Lord Eddard. I was curious to see what you would do. Why not come to me? you ask, and I must answer, Why, because I did not trust you, my lord.† â€Å"You did not trust me?† Ned was frankly astonished. â€Å"The Red Keep shelters two sorts of people, Lord Eddard,† Varys said. â€Å"Those who are loyal to the realm, and those who are loyal only to themselves. Until this morning, I could not say which you might be . . . so I waited to see . . . and now I know, for a certainty.† He smiled a plump tight little smile, and for a moment his private face and public mask were one. â€Å"I begin to comprehend why the queen fears you so much. Oh, yes I do.† â€Å"You are the one she ought to fear,† Ned said. â€Å"No. I am what I am. The king makes use of me, but it shames him. A most puissant warrior is our Robert, and such a manly man has little love for sneaks and spies and eunuchs. If a day should come when Cersei whispers, ‘Kill that man,' Ilyn Payne will snick my head off in a twinkling, and who will mourn poor Varys then? North or south, they sing no songs for spiders.† He reached out and touched Ned with a soft hand. â€Å"But you, Lord Stark . . . I think . . . no, I know . . . he would not kill you, not even for his queen, and there may lie our salvation.† It was all too much. For a moment Eddard Stark wanted nothing so much as to return to Winterfell, to the clean simplicity of the north, where the enemies were winter and the wildlings beyond the Wall. â€Å"Surely Robert has other loyal friends,† he protested. â€Å"His brothers, his—† â€Å"—wife?† Varys finished, with a smile that cut. â€Å"His brothers hate the Lannisters, true enough, but hating the queen and loving the king are not quite the same thing, are they? Ser Barristan loves his honor, Grand Maester Pycelle loves his office, and Littlefinger loves Littlefinger.† â€Å"The Kingsguard—† â€Å"A paper shield,† the eunuch said. â€Å"Try not to look so shocked, Lord Stark. Jaime Lannister is himself a Sworn Brother of the White Swords, and we all know what his oath is worth. The days when men like Ryam Redwyne and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight wore the white cloak are gone to dust and song. Of these seven, only Ser Barristan Selmy is made of the true steel, and Selmy is old. Ser Boros and Ser Meryn are the queen's creatures to the bone, and I have deep suspicions of the others. No, my lord, when the swords come out in earnest, you will be the only true friend Robert Baratheon will have.† â€Å"Robert must be told,† Ned said. â€Å"If what you say is true, if even a part of it is true, the king must hear it for himself.† â€Å"And what proof shall we lay before him? My words against theirs? My little birds against the queen and the Kingslayer, against his brothers and his council, against the Wardens of East and West, against all the might of Casterly Rock? Pray, send for Ser Ilyn directly, it will save us all some time. I know where that road ends.† â€Å"Yet if what you say is true, they will only bide their time and make another attempt.† â€Å"Indeed they will,† said Varys, â€Å"and sooner rather than later, I do fear. You are making them most anxious, Lord Eddard. But my little birds will be listening, and together we may be able to forestall them, you and I.† He rose and pulled up his cowl so his face was hidden once more. â€Å"Thank you for the wine. We will speak again. When you see me next at council, be certain to treat me with your accustomed contempt. You should not find it difficult.† He was at the door when Ned called, â€Å"Varys.† The eunuch turned back. â€Å"How did Jon Arryn die?† â€Å"I wondered when you would get around to that.† â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"The tears of Lys, they call it. A rare and costly thing, clear and sweet as water, and it leaves no trace. I begged Lord Arryn to use a taster, in this very room I begged him, but he would not hear of it. Only one who was less than a man would even think of such a thing, he told me.† Ned had to know the rest. â€Å"Who gave him the poison?† â€Å"Some dear sweet friend who often shared meat and mead with him, no doubt. Oh, but which one? There were many such. Lord Arryn was a kindly, trusting man.† The eunuch sighed. â€Å"There was one boy. All he was, he owed Jon Arryn, but when the widow fled to the Eyrie with her household, he stayed in King's Landing and prospered. It always gladdens my heart to see the young rise in the world.† The whip was in his voice again, every word a stroke. â€Å"He must have cut a gallant figure in the tourney, him in his bright new armor, with those crescent moons on his cloak. A pity he died so untimely, before you could talk to him . . . â€Å" Ned felt half-poisoned himself. â€Å"The squire,† he said. â€Å"Ser Hugh.† Wheels within wheels within wheels. Ned's head was pounding. â€Å"Why? Why now? Jon Arryn had been Hand for fourteen years. What was he doing that they had to kill him?† â€Å"Asking questions,† Varys said, slipping out the door.