Company Analysis of T-mobile Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Company Analysis of T-mobile - Research Paper Example This year, the company acquired MetroPCS which was one of its rival companies (Coll 78). Anyone expects T-Mobile to be doing well in the market considering its investments and plans but this is not the case. In the recent past, the company has been experiencing a number of issues to the extent that spinning off looks a possibility. This situation was not expected considering how good the company was fairing in the market like the recent upgrade of its 3G wireless network, launching of new smartphines, hot marketing and its plans and strategies being of low-cost(Coll 102). Most analysts associate this situation with its parent company in Germany, Deutsche Telkom, which happens to be afraid of taking risks and is also conservative thus mirroring the operation of the company. Considering also the government owns 30% of the company, it controls the operation of the company restricting its operation (Coll 50). A good example is the latest case where the Deutsche Telkom considered a merger with its unit in US, explore an IPO or spin off, but the German carrier turned down the report (Coll 34). Despite the large number of customers T-Mobile enjoys in U.S, it reported a loss of approximately 77, 000 customers as its rivals the AT&T and Version gained millions of wireless customers (Coll 82). This implies that the company is not growing the way it is expected to. The millions of dollars that were invested in upgrading 3G network as well as its smartphones subsidies cannot be justified. Its network has also been regarded as being inferior in comparison to other wireless companies such as Sprint, Verizon and AT&

Women and Politics Essay Example for Free

Women and Politics Essay There is no doubt that over the years, men have been dominating politics of most countries in the world. But it doesn’t mean they did splendid job in what they are suppose to do? Politics has never been an easy place for any man who supposedly can’t even handle political landscape at home. Family of course. Today, most countries in the world face problems of democracy, justice, equality, social problems arising from bad governance of those in corridor of power who are mostly men. Having failed to provide good governance, when come to think of it, there is nothing wrong if women who are noted to be caring, concern, and responsible are given more chances in government for possible change in the ‘status quo. Should a woman involve in politics have always been subject of controversy over the years. But among other political posts today few women are already presidents of countries and senators, assembly members, and councilors . Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina), Dilma Rousseff (Brazil) and Joyce Banda (Malawi)- presidents of representative countries have proven that woman can own a place on the top of political settings. Woman have been viewed weak and are less interested or less knowledgeable about politics than men. Perhaps this is why women feel removed from the current political process. If women see that politics remains a men-only club then they are far less likely to participate and to put themselves forward. If they see a women leader in the political settings, it encourages them to vote, to campaign and to engage in politics. Many women cannot participate in politics because they are held back by factors such as violence, poverty, lack of access to quality education and health care, the double burden of paid and unpaid work. And because of these obstacles, we are losing a lot of good women leaders and countries and people are suffering from their absence. This is why it is so important to actively promote women’s political participation, including through affirmative measures, as appropriatee. Women’s participation is fundamental to democracy and essential to the achievement of sustainable development and peace. To show that countries with women’s leadership in the corporate sector results in improved business performance. And we know that countries with more women in parliament tend to have more equitable laws and social programmes and budgets that benefit women and children and families. In 1911, women were allowed to vote in just two countries in the world. Today, a century later, that right is virtually universal. All over the world, the cries for democracy are being amplified through new technology. With mobile phones, thanks to companies like Nokia and others, and twitter and facebook, women are making their voices heard, and there can be no real democracy without women’s full and equal participation. In every country and in every region, women want their voices to be heard. Given the challenges that we face today, we need the best leaders we can find, and many of these leaders are women. Women bring their own insights and perspectives, and diversity improves decision-making. Women tend not to be so concerned by institutional arrangements and big numbers, and focus instead on particular issues and how they affect their families. But one thing politicians know for certain is that we can only win elections if we win the support of female voters. If we look at the policy changes in paid maternity leave and family-friendly working hours, the huge increases in spending on health care and education, and the minimum wage, we can see radical change benefiting women.

Bembos Discourse on Love :: Italian Renaissance History Europe Essays

Bembo's Discourse on Love The idea of the Renaissance Gentleman. Just as it is false to see the Renaissance as a simple and sharp contrast with the Middle Ages, as did Michelet and Burckhardt, neither should it be seen as all of one piece. After the age of civic humanism came the dominance of the Medici in Florence, and in those contacts made with eastern scholars when the Council of Florence was attempting the reconciliation of the Eastern and Western Churches (a last effort to stave off the menace of the Turk) Cosimo de'Medici had been attracted to the figure of Plato. So there came his patronage of Marsilio Ficino and the birth of the Platonic Academy. Ficino became the disciple of Plato, and an advocate of neo-Platonism. Perhaps coincidentally, but as befits a court, the contemplative ideal began once more to gain over the active one. It was transmitted potently to Europe by a book that mirrored one of the noblest of Italian courts, that of Urbino. This was Baldassar Castiglione's Il cortegiano/The Book o f the Courtier). Published in 1528 (that is, after the Sack of Rome, 1527) it has a nostalgic vision of the civilisation nurtured in Urbino from the time of Federigo da Montefeltro, in one of the most beautiful of princely palaces. Apart from offering in its close the neoplatonic idea to Europe, it recommended not so much the status of the courtier, as the ideal of the gentleman. There is no other comparable book that encapsulated the ideals of the Italian Renaissance, and its European success ensured the diffusion of the message. (Penguin Hutchinson Reference Library Copyright (c) 1996 Helicon Publishing and Penguin Books Ltd) Renaissance Humanism became increasingly concerned with the self and the fashioning of the self. In Il Cortegiano (The Courtier), published in 1528, Conte Baldassare Castiglione's ideal courtier is an exponent of the latter. The education or the self-fashioning of the courtier involves almost everything under the sun. Therefore, as the courtier must learn the proper skills of war, he must also learn how to love. Love, the deportment of the courtier towards court-ladies, keeps recurring in the conversation in the court at Urbino during the discourses of all four nights and the many controversies generated by Gaspar Pallavicino, Lord Julian, and Bernard Bibiena all involve love and culminate ultimately in Pietro Bembo's inspired Platonic exposition. Here, however, are a few problems.

In this course work Essay

There is a lot of planning and direct action involved. Whereas in â€Å"The Second Bullet†, there is a sinister crime which is full of strange and baffling things but there is no direct physical action on the part of Violet Strange. She visits the crime scene, talks to the people and gathers information. She then examines the physical evidence, reconstructs what happened, and comes out with the only possible explanation. These two dissimilar roles of the detectives in the stories somehow impact their character representation. Clearly, the feminine detective has been portrayed as a non-action champion, while the male detective as an action hero! The lead character in â€Å"The Second Bullet† is Violet Strange who works for a detective agency. â€Å"Owing to some remarkable work done by the firm of –&–, the well-known private detective agency, the claim made by Mrs. George Hammond. † She is young, beautiful, and feminine, comes from an upper class family and well to do. â€Å"But you are so young and so–so–† â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Miss Strange was invariably the society belle†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ † â€Å"Simplicity again, but the simplicity of high art–the drawing-room of one rich enough to indulge in the final luxury of a highly cultivated taste, viz. : unostentatious elegance and the subjection of each carefully chosen ornament to the general effect. † However, the life as a young woman entering the society is not enough for her. She craves for an action that a woman of her class will not dare to go for; criminal investigation. It is unusual for a woman of such refinement to be in the role of a detective in the 1915’s America. As for her personal traits, she is independent, confident, unemotional and determined. She is thorough, very intelligent, has the skills of perception to solve crime, and solves the crime herself. Unlike Holmes, she does not enlist any outside help. She does not resort to any physical action in the story. She uses only her power of observation and reasoning to solve the case. In addition, she does not have a main challenger or adversary as Holmes has in his story. The great detective Sherlock Holmes in contrast is a professional who works on his own and not for any detective agency. He is male, middle aged, well educated and belongs to the upper class. He is arrogant and over-confident. In the opening scene of the story, there is a short exchange between him and Dr. Watson in which the detective’s powers of deduction and observation are displayed. Seeing, as Watson does, is different from observing. â€Å"You see, but you do not observe. † According to Watson â€Å"He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen,† Contrast to â€Å"The second Bullet†, this story has a main adversary, Irene Adler with remarkable personal qualities. She is confident, determined and clever at figuring out what is really happening. She is respected and feared. Holmes describes her as â€Å"The daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet† â€Å"I only caught a glimpse of her at the moment, but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for. † But she is more than just beautiful. She outperforms Holmes! Earlier in the story, Holmes tells Watson â€Å"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts† This tells us he is a analytical thinker but in taking a condescending attitude towards Irene Adler and in assuming too much about women in general, Holmes twist the facts to suit his theories about the opposite sex and is outsmarted by her as a result. Holmes shows personal feeling towards Irene Adler because of her high qualities. As the story ends, the king says â€Å"Would she not have made an admirable queen? Is it not a pity that she was not on my level? † For which Holmes replies coldly as follows: â€Å"From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a very different level to you Majesty,† He sees Irene Adler at a higher level with more human values than the king. To Holmes, she always remained an honourable woman. Dr. Watson observes in the opening paragraph that â€Å"It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler† He was not sexist at all but merely admired Irene for her attributes. Violet Strange on the other hand has no personal feeling about anyone. But she is sympathetic and caring when she meets Mrs. Hammond for the fist time. â€Å"Certainly you have met with two greatest losses which can come to a woman† She has an open mind. Her desire for money is shown in the opening page but she also does not want to waste her energy on a case she could not believe in. No. The sum is a good one and I could use it but I will not waste my energy on a case I do not believe in. Description, action and dialogue are main ways in which characters are revealed in stories. Both stories have a fair amount of dialogue and talk among the characters. We learn more about Holmes’ individuality and character merely by following his conversation with Dr. Watson. Non-dialogue description of thoughts and feelings are somewhat limited in the Holmes story. The syntax used in The Second Bullet is a very complicated upper class form, which is informal. For example â€Å"Husband and child both taken from her in a moment; and now, all means of living as well, unless some happy thought of yours–some inspiration of your genius–shows us a way of re-establishing her claims to the policy voided by this cry of suicide. † In â€Å"A Scandal in Bohemia† the syntax is simple in comparison and therefore is easily readable and recognizable. Both the writers have clean language; not vulgar or bad language now used by popular authors. I enjoyed reading both stories. One more line about A Scandal in Bohemia† that I believe only reflects the attitude of the male author, which I personally cannot accept. â€Å"A married woman grabs at her baby; an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box† This may be relevant to good old Victorian days but not now! Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Children properly Essay

Also it made the people in Britain more aware of what living conditions were like in the cities, foster parents were appalled at the state of the children they were looking after. This quote from source E shows how the foster parents were shocked at the children’s behaviour. â€Å"The children went round the house urinating on the walls, they stank the place to high heaven†.  Evacuation could also be seen as a success as some of the children had a positive experience in the countryside, they saw it as an adventure. Source D shows evacuees at bath time, and although the baths are crowded, all the children are smiling and look as though they are enjoying themselves. From my own knowledge I know that Eric Buchanan enjoyed his stay with his foster family, the quote â€Å"It was marvellous† shows how he thought it was wonderful being in the countryside.  Another advantage of evacuation was that it freed women up so they could help with the war work.  Evacuation can also be seen as a failure for the following reasons.  The organisation wasn’t very good as parents didn’t know where their children were and the quote â€Å"we hadn’t the slightest idea where we was going† from source C shows how the children didn’t know themselves where they were going. Many of the children had a bad experience during their evacuation. One example is Michael Cane. The quote â€Å"we came out of the cupboard and the woman hit us with a tennis racket† shows how some children were abused by their foster parents. Also some of the foster parents just did it for the money and didn’t bother to look after the children properly.  Another example of pore organisation was the fact that the children were split from their families, their siblings would often be on the other side of the countryside and the children may have never seen their families again. Some of the foster parents had not been prepared for the state in which the evacuees were. They were shocked at the state they were in and didn’t know how to cope. Two examples of this are source E and source F. The quote from source E â€Å"filthy habit of the children† and the quote from source F â€Å"common view of evacuees† show how the children were perceived as filthy, dirty and horrid children.  As a conclusion to this, I don’t think evacuation was a great success as they did not achieve a lot of what they wanted to achieve, a lot of the children had bad experiences, it was poorly organised and many of the foster parents didn’t care about how they treated their children.

Global Ethics and Business

Global Ethics and Business Free Online Research Papers Conducting global business is extremely complex and difficult. At times both countries involved may not be in agreement, but decide to conduct business anyway. For a company to conduct business in another country there is extensive research, negotiation, and compromise done before it can be finalized. Even though not all standards meet those of the United State, some companies continue to make business abroad. Some companies when investigated and found guilty of unethical behavior, blame their actions on not knowing about it or on the subcontractor or supplier. It is inevitable to avoid ethical issues when conducting global business. This is mainly because of differentiation of foreign laws, regulations, and policies. Among those there are also culture and language barriers that contribute to the origin of ethical dilemmas. More than anything cultures is one of the primary reason for why ethical issues come up amongst all others. Globalization is criticized for its practice of unethical behavior in countries where individual’s freedoms are subjective. Some of many global ethical issues that exist in today’s world include corruptions and money laundering, human rights under totalitarian regimes, workplace conditions, environmental issues, respect for local customs and cultures, and many more (LEVINE). Developing nations are more susceptible to have ethical issues than developed countries. This is mainly due to cultures, customs, norms, and poverty. Corruption and money laundering is being seen on the news across the border in Tijuana, Mexico. San Diego news is constantly reporting how the drug cartels are affecting the business in the city and stating that police are involved as well. The laundry of money has crossed the border over to San Diego, and as of the present time numerous of fictitious businesses are being questioned. The differences in cultures between countries involving possible misunderstandings relating to the traditions that require the exchange process (e.g., transactions) may be understood by one culture as bribes but in reality be an acceptable business practices in another culture. These types of traditions include gifts, monetary payments, favors, entertainment, and political contribution. This is why it is important for expatriates to study the culture and way before traveling to a foreign country. The issue of globalization and working conditions, especially in less developed countries, is a complex one. Some may argue against â€Å"sweatshop† labor and the exploitation of the working poor. Although others argue that such jobs offer good economic opportunities for workers, providing better jobs than are otherwise available to them. Again what United States consider unethical might be seen at that country as an opportunity. Globalization has led to exploitation of labor and human rights are being compromised. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods (LEVINE). Because some countries do not enforce child protections or human rights, government pays little or no attention to this type of treatment. Some high powered distance countries accept inequality, in these areas women remain disadvantaged in many areas of life, as education, employment health, and rights. Developed countries have contract out manufacturing and white-collar jobs in undeveloped countries. That means fewer jobs for their people. This has happened because manufacturing work is outsourced to developing nations where the cost of manufacturing goods and wages are lower (LEVINE). This is a main cause that results in poverty around the world. Last, manufacturing companies are affecting the environment. This is causing air pollution, contaminating the water, producing acid rain, and contributing to global warming. Manufacturing companies release chemicals that destroy the ozone layer. Depletion of the ozone layer results in loss of land developments. The loss of development discourages globalization in that some undeveloped nations have cheap labor and is less expensive to produce. Also waters are being contaminated due to manufactures operated irresponsibly were dumping of poisonous chemical wastes in the water. Undeveloped nations obtain their water from rivers and if these chemicals are dump in the water, most likely, the native people will drink the contaminated water. Individuals recognize that a countries perception is influence by culture (De George, 2006). A collectivist culture, people pay more attention to social relationships than behavior. Were putting family first is praise above all. The textbook Business Ethics gives a good example on the perception of culture differences. A New York executive explained to Asian students that his wife and him went to prison for conspiracy. Their nephew was living with them and he was selling drugs from their house. His wife and him were accused and sentenced to jail time for many years. When Asians students heard this, they were horrified. To the Asian culture, they believe that family relationships are more important than the crime. Whereas the American culture, we see nothing wrong with the punishment. This is an example of differentiation of cultures ethical perception (De George, 2006). A popular ethical dilemma that occurred with a well-known sports company was Nike. In 1996 Nike was scrutinize and criticized for child labor in Pakistan. This became known through Life magazine that illustrated a 12 year-old boy sewing a soccer ball in an offshore Nike’s company (De George, 2006). Activist started to picket and boycott Nike stores, by holding posters of the picture of the boy working. On the other hand, child labor is illegal in Pakistan but the law is not enforced. In Nike’s defense, the company stated that the company was run by a subcontractor. That Nike had no idea of what was happening. Regardless of this, Nike was held responsible and a â€Å"Boycott Nike† movement began. This movement monitored and reported Nike’s every action. Nike was also involved in another ethical dilemma around the same time the child labor incident occurred. This time it became known in 1996 through CBS’s, 48 Hours documentary. This documentary reported the working condition in Vietnam; it featured abuses toward workers who at the time were making Nike products (De George, 2006). Since then Nike has been criticize for engaging in unethical employment practices in foreign countries where employees are exploit or where government is corrupt. In both ethical dilemmas that Nike was involve the company contributed to some of the ethical issues described previously. Nike was criticize for breaking human rights, child labor, working conditions, and unethical labor practices. Nike risked its reputation and to this day is still being criticized and judged. In conclusion, globalization has changed the way societies work and the way individuals think and interact with one another. Regardless if whether we are or not in agreement with a foreign countries laws and conduct, there is little a foreign person can do. The ideal solution is for U.S. companies to do as much research about foreign countries laws, cultures to avoid being involved in unethical scandals. References De George, R. T. (2006). Business Ethics (6th ed.). Upper Sadle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. A Pearson Education Company. The LEVIN Institute . (n.d.). Globalization 101. Retrieved from globalization101.org/issue/english/ Trevino, L. K., Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing Business Ethics. Straight Talk About How To Do It Right. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-Text]. : John Wiley Sons. Retrieved from , website. Research Papers on Global Ethics and BusinessMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationPETSTEL analysis of IndiaDefinition of Export QuotasTwilight of the UAWRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

West Chester University Admissions Data

West Chester University Admissions Data West Chester University is a somewhat selective school, with an acceptance rate of less than 60 percent of those who apply. Learn more about their admissions requirements and what it takes to get into this college. About West Chester University Founded in 1871, West Chester University of Pennsylvania is a public, four-year university located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. With about 14,500 students, WCU is the fourth largest college in the Philadelphia region. It offers over 80 undergraduate and 70 master’s degree programs across its colleges of Education, Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Business and Public Affairs, and Visual and Performing Arts. Academics are supported by an 18 to 1 student/faculty ratio. On the student life front, WCU is home to a host of student clubs and organizations such as the Fencing Club, the Tai Chi Arts Club, and the Breakdancing Club, or Heavy Reign Crew. WCU also has 25 fraternities and sororities and intramural sports such as Wallyball, Wiffleball, and Squash. WCU is a member of the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with 24 mens and womens varsity teams. Will you get in if you apply? Calculate your chances of getting in with this free tool from Cappex. Admissions Data (2016) West Chester University Acceptance Rate: 64 percentGPA, SAT and ACT Graph for WCU AdmissionsTest Scores: 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 480 / 570SAT Math: 490 / 580SAT Writing: - / -What these SAT numbers meanACT Composite: 21 / 25ACT English: 20 / 25ACT Math: 20Â  / 25What these ACT numbers mean Enrollment (2016) Total Enrollment: 17,005 (14,397 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 41 percent Male / 59 percent Female89 percent Full-time Costs (2016-17) Tuition and Fees: $9,720 (in-state); $20,812 (out-of-state)Books: $1,200 (why so much?)Room and Board: $12,860Other Expenses: $2,520Total Cost: $26,300 (in-state); $37,392 (out-of-state) West Chester University of Pennsylvania Financial Aid (2015-16) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 80Â  percentPercentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 38 percentLoans: 72Â  percentAverage Amount of AidGrants: $6,064Loans: $8,450 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors: Accounting, Business Management, Elementary Education, English, Health and Physical Education, History, Liberal Studies, Marketing, Nursing, PsychologyWhat major is right for you? Sign up to take the free My Careers and Majors Quiz at Cappex. Transfer, Graduation and Retention Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 86Â  percentTransfer-out Rate: 21 percent4-Year Graduation Rate: 46Â  percent6-Year Graduation Rate: 70Â  percent Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports: Football, Swimming, Tennis, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Golf, Track and Field, Cross CountryWomens Sports: Gymnastics, Soccer, Lacrosse, Tennis, Volleyball, Basketball, Field Hockey, Softball, Swimming Interested in West Chester University? You May Like These Universities Temple University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphPennsylvania State University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphDrexel University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphLock Haven University: ProfileUniversity of Delaware: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Pittsburgh: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphArcadia University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphRowan University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphAlbright College: ProfileIndiana University of Pennsylvania: ProfileWidener University: ProfileKutztown University of Pennsylvania: Profile West Chester University of Pennsylvania Mission Statement mission statement from wcupa.edu/president/ West Chester University, a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, is a public, regional, comprehensive institution committed to providing access and offering high-quality undergraduate education, select post-baccalaureate and graduate programs, and a variety of educational and cultural resources for its students, alumni, and citizens of southeastern Pennsylvania. Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics

Chebyshevs Inequality in Probability

Chebyshev's Inequality in Probability Chebyshev’s inequality says that at least 1-1/K2 of data from a sample must fall within K standard deviations from the mean (here K is any positive real number greater than one). Any data set that is normally distributed, or in the shape of a bell curve, has several features. One of them deals with the spread of the data relative to the number of standard deviations from the mean. In a normal distribution, we know that 68% of the data is one standard deviation from the mean, 95% is two standard deviations from the mean, and approximately 99% is within three standard deviations from the mean. But if the data set is not distributed in the shape of a bell curve, then a different amount could be within one standard deviation. Chebyshev’s inequality provides a way to know what fraction of data falls within K standard deviations from the mean for any data set. Facts About the Inequality We can also state the inequality above by replacing the phrase â€Å"data from a sample† with probability distribution. This is because Chebyshev’s inequality is a result from probability, which can then be applied to statistics. It is important to note that this inequality is a result that has been proven mathematically. It is not like the empirical relationship between the mean and mode, or the rule of thumb that connects the range and standard deviation. Illustration of the Inequality To illustrate the inequality, we will look at it for a few values of K: For K 2 we have 1 – 1/K2 1 - 1/4 3/4 75%. So Chebyshev’s inequality says that at least 75% of the data values of any distribution must be within two standard deviations of the mean.For K 3 we have 1 – 1/K2 1 - 1/9 8/9 89%. So Chebyshev’s inequality says that at least 89% of the data values of any distribution must be within three standard deviations of the mean.For K 4 we have 1 – 1/K2 1 - 1/16 15/16 93.75%. So Chebyshev’s inequality says that at least 93.75% of the data values of any distribution must be within two standard deviations of the mean. Example Suppose we have sampled the weights of dogs in the local animal shelter and found that our sample has a mean of 20 pounds with a standard deviation of 3 pounds. With the use of Chebyshev’s inequality, we know that at least 75% of the dogs that we sampled have weights that are two standard deviations from the mean. Two times the standard deviation gives us 2 x 3 6. Subtract and add this from the mean of 20. This tells us that 75% of the dogs have weight from 14 pounds to 26 pounds. Use of the Inequality If we know more about the distribution that we’re working with, then we can usually guarantee that more data is a certain number of standard deviations away from the mean. For example, if we know that we have a normal distribution, then 95% of the data is two standard deviations from the mean. Chebyshev’s inequality says that in this situation we know that at least 75% of the data is two standard deviations from the mean. As we can see in this case, it could be much more than this 75%. The value of the inequality is that it gives us a â€Å"worse case† scenario in which the only things we know about our sample data (or probability distribution) is the mean and standard deviation. When we know nothing else about our data, Chebyshev’s inequality provides some additional insight into how spread out the data set is. History of the Inequality The inequality is named after the Russian mathematician Pafnuty Chebyshev, who first stated the inequality without proof in 1874. Ten years later the inequality was proved by Markov in his Ph.D. dissertation. Due to variances in how to represent the Russian alphabet in English, it is Chebyshev also spelled as Tchebysheff.

Sustainable Talent Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sustainable Talent Management - Research Paper Example † and recognize their Corporation’s talent pool. The personnel gap scrutiny helps recruiters to be exceedingly capable of delivering applicants that attain the fundamental expertise. This has been pre-established by the requirements of the position and the aims of the Corporation. It as well reveals a venture by the Corporation in the new personnel’s growth and progress, which expands a long-term affiliation of devotion and obligation (Berger & Berger, 2004). This is mutual for both the employee and the Corporation. Lost talent is expensive to restore, counter-productive to Corporation achievement so justifying the dangers linked with certifying job fit, and heartening growth and input are decisive to the achievement of the Corporation – and the worker. Creating a personnel talent management outline, which evaluates the voids amid an employee’s present performance and preferred expertise in that role, is imperative. Next, digging deep to recognize th e voids in talent all through the organization by establishing an organizational talent outline is imperative. Finally, gaining knowledge on how to control technology and compute performance at diverse levels of the firm is the final process. 2.0. Key Concepts and the Talent Review Process When people articulate aspects concerning talent pools they signify jobs, tasks or capabilities in a firm where 20 percent amplification in class or accessibility would formulate the principal difference to executive success. System for the Management of People (SMP) comprising of the talent pool growth course is centered on the notions and codes for an effectual managerial organization and administrative management, denoted to as the ‘obligatory organization’ model. Line directors will be educated in the framework of the execution and roll out of the course in their scopes of responsibility. A number of the key obligatory organization codes and perceptions regarding the talent pool s cheme are: †¢ All workers are an element of the talent pool. †¢ Individual's problem-solving capacities develop via adolescence and into adulthood, in expected patterns. This denotes that each person has an intrinsic prospective for cognitive growth after a while. The talent pool growth course is devised to side with the present and upcoming roles of personages with their personal potential. †¢ Line executives are liable for running talent, with human resources giving aid and support. †¢ The executive and manager-once-eliminated of either precise subsidiary has diverse accountabilities in regards of the current and future helpfulness of the inferiors: o The director, has a training role to make certain the worker is efficient in his/her present role. o The manager-once-eliminated, has a mentoring function to guarantee the subordinate expands to his/her complete potential. †¢ Judgments assumed as an outcome of the talent pool course are traced and moderated a mid directors and their managers-once-eliminated. Once moderated, every worker is given response on his or her growth graph to take the report of personal aspirations. †¢ Career growth plans are evaluated to guarantee these intentions are executed. Implementing the talent pool growth course in reviewing capabilities, moderating decisions and analyzing growth intentions is an annual process. 3.0. Talent Management Objectives to Measure Functional Expertise The aged

Business Data Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Business Data Analysis - Essay Example Besides, there is wide variation in the performance of different profit centers and therefore, there is a need to strengthen the operation and revenue of center 2 and 3 so that these centers can stand on their own and do not become burden on center 1 in days to come. Analysis of the cost of different options for the frequently faltering copiers have helped in taking the decision that it is better to acquire a new copier which is much more reliable even though it service cost per call is much higher. Analysis of number of calls per hour has helped in deciding the number of sales representatives Stan needs to ensure that no representative has to handle more than eight calls per hour. Further analysis of the active customers’ account size has helped in better understanding of the same. Introduction: Handy Hydraulic Industries is doing well after many changes in the corporate and operating structure. However, the managers know that one needs to excel to sustain in the current envi ronment of cut-throat competition. For excellence a business needs to evolve and execute a multipronged strategy targeting different aspects of performance and customer relationship. The aim is to become leaner on operating size to cut cost without compromising the expectations of customers. For this the managers of business need to take informed decisions and the information has to be derived from nowhere but from the data relevant to the business. It is here that statistics and probability comes to help them. Statistics is the branch of knowledge that processes data to discern hidden information, reveal patterns and extract executable results [1]. One can get lot of information by simply arranging data in frequency and relative frequency tables [2]. One can get a good idea of central tendency and dispersion of the data set. The organized dataset can also be represented pictorially as histograms, line charts etc. It is said that a picture is worth thousand words. This is because; e ven a person with common sense can see the patterns and trends in the data if the same is presented pictorially using suitable chart. Besides, statistics provides different parameters like mean, median, mode etc. to measure central tendency of data [3, 4]. But knowing merely central tendency of data is not good enough to describe a data set; one needs to quantify the dispersion of the data points around the central value [5]. This is done by means of different parameters that quantify dispersion of data points around the mean like variance, standard deviation, coefficient of variation etc. After describing a data set comparing different data set is also important. For this one needs to compare the values of mean and standard deviation etc. Using these values one can calculate value of a suitable statistics and then this value is compared with the critical value of statistics for a given significance level. This exercise helps in testing hypothesis on mean, variance etc. and hence in making decisions [6]. The concept of probability is very much the part and parcel of statistics. It relies on the assumption that

Parody of Personal Profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Parody of Personal Profile - Essay Example life-changing experience of witnessing a suicide by a lady from homo sapiens – deep reflections on the concept of the life of a moth – decision to dedicate the remaining life to disprove conventional beliefs – personal epiphany – the nature of career always to the altruistic side – the mission to make the lives of others beautiful – successful at making the dreams of lovers come true – a complex and clearer understanding of life materialized through the substantial amount of work done so far. I am a strong willed female moth blessed with impeccable physical attributes and the right amount of knowledge and experience to use it discreetly. Apart from my innumerable past experiences of unquestionable success in the courtship contests exclusively for the flying creatures, I had also been considered the best bet in espionage related works for public and private missions. I have the gift to camouflage myself among draperies and wallpapers. I had been employed by many agencies to peep into many a lady’s sweet secrets since I hide best in their floral gowns. My life had been deeply influenced by intense childhood experiences of grief and remorse after losing both my parents to fire. Though I am aware that my genes make it inevitable that I am also to be attracted to the flames of death utlimately, I am intent on using my attractive and brief life for the benefit of others. The most significant aspect of my individuality is my ability to remain silent and invisible in the background. This allows me the space and freedom to see life at close quarters, even as I remain an unobtrusive entity. My beauty can be perceived only by those who have a keen eye for minute details. The spots and designs of my personality can appeal to all those who are observant, be it someone from my own species (preferably from the opposite sex) or anyone else who cares for small things. simple and ephemeral life has some meaning. I realized it when I observed a lady from the

Business Data Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Data Analysis - Essay Example The value of correlation coefficient is positive. Therefore it can be said that as age increases so does income. The level of dissatisfaction is significantly higher in women as compared to men. There were 14 ‘extremely dissatisfied’ responses from women as compared to only 6 from men. On the other hand the positive responses were 117 as compared to only 89 from women. However almost 21 males very a little dissatisfied as compared to only 8 from women. a. Predictors: (Constant), How many promotions, if any, have you received while working for your present employer?, How many traumatic events did you experience last year?, How many hours did you work last week, at all jobs?, How many years of school have you completed?, In your household, how many family members, including yourself, were employed last year?, Age, Your pre-tax income last year ($000), Total family pre-tax income last year ($000), Since you were 16 years old, about how many years have you worked for full-time pay? The age of employees at the company varies between 69 and 18. This is a very large level of diversity. This diversity can be help in creating creativity but also can be a tough task to manage such a diverse workforce. The major workforce has their age in the mid thirties. The age of employees can affect their output. Therefore it was important to analyze the affect of employee age on different variables. The analysis revealed that as the age of employees was increases their number of hours worked were becoming less. This means that older people were working less as compared to the younger workforce. This can be due to the higher posts of senior employees and managerial roles. The increase in pretax income with an increase in age also supports this theory. As the employees get older they become senior and therefore have a better pay scale and have to put in fewer hours. The age however was totally unrelated to union membership. Therefore we can that there was an

Cross Cultural Relations Assignment (Through watching a specific Essay

Cross Cultural Relations Assignment (Through watching a specific movie- Stepford Wifes) - Essay Example On weekends, he would grab the golf clubs and hit the green after handing the wife some cash to go shopping. This was balanced by the image of the housewife, who would get up earlier than her husband so that a hot, cooked breakfast would be ready for him before he left for work. She would spend the day cleaning the house and preparing for the children to come home and then get busy with dinner. After dinner, she fussed with more housecleaning chores and devoted her every thought to the welfare of her family with never a single thought for herself. These ideas are the focal point of the story The Stepford Wives. In this film, the attempt to create a utopian society fails because of the extreme subjugation of the human spirit in favor of a narrowly focused ideal image of perfectly followed gender roles. This society left no room for difference of opinion of any kind, resorting to robotic technology as a means of artificially altering the personalities of strong women to that of the stereotypical 50s housewife – brainless, thoughtless, and completely subservient. The only way the society could work was if everyone in it accepted the rigidly defined roles they were to play. The moment these roles were questioned, the entire society fell apart. Gender identity becomes a real issue for many individuals coming out of the age of the ‘True Woman’ housewife of the 50s and entering the world of the ‘New Woman’ who is now capable of taking on the business world and winning. This is immediately set forward as being the case with the introduction of Walter and Joanna. While Joanna is seen as the high-powered executive in control of a multi-million dollar project, Walter is little more than a sycophant at the lower rungs of the ladder. His masculinity is threatened in that he is unable to call the shots at home or at work and he feels he is of

Greek Current Event Reflections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Greek Current Event Reflections - Essay Example The organizations termed as Greek because their nomenclatures consisted of Greek letters that were serving as reminder of the value of the group. Fraternities have been a significant part of the co-curricular experiences as well as the norm in Northern Arizona University. The sororities have supported university mission through promoting community services, leadership skills and to a large-scale involvement in the broad university community. Self-governance and self-control have been the backbone to good citizenship among sororities. Therefore, the elected leaders in the organizations are usually responsible for all the action and decision of their respective chapters. It means that, these leaders are responsible for setting proper moral standards for other cohorts as well as educating members existing policies that hold them together. In essence, the pursuit of academic excellence is an imperative aspect of the sorority and fraternity experience. For example, fraternities in Northern Arizona University must meet the minimum requirement stated by the university so as to graduate (NAU, P. 1-16). Since fraternities are involved in the dynamic association in life including academics and social life, Greek organizations are occasionally faced with challenges in their daily life. Social events have been noted to affect several sororities because their members attend clubs and other social functions that may influence an individual’s character. Drug abuse especially alcohol affects the health of fraternity members and most of the members usually consume it out of peer pressure. Initiation process of the new recruits and neophytes may turn out to be abusive, for example, sexual assaults, criminal behaviours and secret cults that the novice is not aware. These have led to the Greek societies getting a lot of condemnation from the public.  Moreover,  some of the parents do advise their children not to join the fraternity and

Cross Cultural Relations Assignment (Through watching a specific Essay

Cross Cultural Relations Assignment (Through watching a specific movie- Stepford Wifes) - Essay Example On weekends, he would grab the golf clubs and hit the green after handing the wife some cash to go shopping. This was balanced by the image of the housewife, who would get up earlier than her husband so that a hot, cooked breakfast would be ready for him before he left for work. She would spend the day cleaning the house and preparing for the children to come home and then get busy with dinner. After dinner, she fussed with more housecleaning chores and devoted her every thought to the welfare of her family with never a single thought for herself. These ideas are the focal point of the story The Stepford Wives. In this film, the attempt to create a utopian society fails because of the extreme subjugation of the human spirit in favor of a narrowly focused ideal image of perfectly followed gender roles. This society left no room for difference of opinion of any kind, resorting to robotic technology as a means of artificially altering the personalities of strong women to that of the stereotypical 50s housewife – brainless, thoughtless, and completely subservient. The only way the society could work was if everyone in it accepted the rigidly defined roles they were to play. The moment these roles were questioned, the entire society fell apart. Gender identity becomes a real issue for many individuals coming out of the age of the ‘True Woman’ housewife of the 50s and entering the world of the ‘New Woman’ who is now capable of taking on the business world and winning. This is immediately set forward as being the case with the introduction of Walter and Joanna. While Joanna is seen as the high-powered executive in control of a multi-million dollar project, Walter is little more than a sycophant at the lower rungs of the ladder. His masculinity is threatened in that he is unable to call the shots at home or at work and he feels he is of

Computerized provider order entry(CPOE) Assignment

Computerized provider order entry(CPOE) - Assignment Example These systems are used for various reasons in healthcare. It is worth noting that this system makes it possible for individuals in the health care industry to insert precise and detailed analytical information relating to results from medical investigations to identify presence of disease, prescription information, as well as nursing information and guidelines. This helps individuals to keep proper electronic records. CPOE is a computerized system that helps link medical practitioners with patients medical information, links a medical practitioner with his or her colleagues in the health sector, links all computerized systems in a health institution, and also links one medical unit with other units or departments. CPOE helps reduce errors in the medical field. Some of the information entered in the CPOE system include prescribed amounts of medicines, sensitivities, and patients medical history. Availability of all this information is important as it helps healthcare providers consider all the benefits and possible effects of medications and hence minimize inaccuracies. A methodical investigation conducted in Brigham and Womens Hospital focusing on the effectiveness of CPOE, there was a decline medical mistakes or inaccuracies by fifty five percent in a period of four and half years (Doolan and Bates, 2002) To understand the benefits of CPOE, it is imperative to compare it with paper-based systems. According to Doolan and Bates (2002), "The advantages of CPOE over paper-based methods include decreased transcriptions, increased accuracy and completeness, and the ability to enter orders in multiple locations" (A4). This systems also makes it possible for health care providers to make resolutions regarding the patients health status aptly and timely as all information is readily available and computerized. The implementation of CPOE improves competence and effectiveness in health delivery systems. This is

Political Issues Relating to Immigration Essay Example for Free

Political Issues Relating to Immigration Essay Reaction to the immigration problem in the United States is as diverse as the people living in the country. There are common public and political opinions on immigration; there is also factual information, which alters positions. The media plays a major role in how people react to the issue of immigration in the United States of America. There is a lot of news lately with a focus on immigration and undocumented persons in the United States. Illegal immigration has been present in the United States for a long time. The first law that the United States had against persons entering the United States was against convicts or prostitutes to enter the country. From 1892 to 1954 Ellis Island admitted over 12 million legal immigrants. Now the United States has quotas on how many can migrate to the country. Illegal immigration became more of a problem being looked at in the twentieth century. Then End Illegal Immigration group states, â€Å"Today, over one million immigrants enter our country per year, while illegal alien population rows by about five hounded thousand per year† (End Illegal Immigration, April, 2011). In May of 2011, the latest version of the DREAM Act was introduced. The DREAM Act was first introduced in March 2009. This act stands for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Acts. The Dream act would enact two major changes in current law. The first would permit some immigrant students who grew up in the United States to apply for temporary legal status and eventually obtain permanent legal status and become eligible for U.S. citizenship if they go to college or serve in the U.S. military. The second would eliminate a federal provision that penalizes states that provide in-state tuition without regard to immigration status (National Immigration Law Center, 2011). Immigration has been a constant problem politically for elected officials. There cannot  be mass deportations; we cannot control every inch of the United States borders. Presidents and Congress try their hardest to develop new ideas or to improve old ideas on how to get the border control situation unde r what it should be, under control. One article from US News states, â€Å"Why, then, have we had so many Latin Immigrants, many of the illegal? Because of the apparatus of state has proved weaker that market focus: The old INS (now the CIS) and the understaffed Border Patrol have been among our least competent federal bureaucracies. And because the family unification provisions of the 1965 act allowed legal immigrants to bring in not just young children but also other relatives (â€Å"chain migration†), and because the Fourteenth Amendment makes anyone born in the United States a citizen.† (Barone, 2007). Problems such as these could be avoided in the future. Due to this opinion, I am forced into seeing that America is forcing this problem of undocumented immigrants on itself. Many of the articles found are biased on this view. The subject is sensitive for those that are illegal immigrants as well as American persons. Most articles are biased and the majority is on the American side. An example, one article read called Adverse Impacts of Massive and Illegal immigration on the United States, Blondell states, â₠¬Å"Data has long been collected about the cost to American taxpayers from illegal immigration and the presence of low skilled immigrants (2008)† Statements like this are clearly on the side of the American people. For the most part, the author uses objective means to portray the undocumented immigrants. This article’s biasness does affect the view on how many see the undocumented immigrants. Due to the articles, some look at the immigrants as criminals, sometimes murderers, or as if they are lower than life and not worth our time. It is not fair to judge or be judged for the exact same thing the colonists came to America from England and what this country was founded. There are numerous issues revolving around undocumented immigrants being in the United States. One of the biggest concerns surrounds the fact that of the economic cost. Taxpayers see the cost as unnecessary and unjust and unfair. The many illegal immigrants put a major dent in taxpayer’s accounts when it comes to healthcare and education. The taxpayers put out approximately $15-$20 billion dollars per year to provide for illegal immigrants to have a better life in the United States. Many will argue that having the illegal immigrants pick our fruits,  vegetables and work on the farms are keeping the cost of produce down due to the fact that wages paid are much lower than minimum wage. Blondell states â€Å"For every dollar spent, just 18 cents go to the farmer and one-third of the cost, or 6 cents, goes to the migrant laborer. Even if costs for farm workers increased 40 percent, the total increase in cost per household would be about $8 a year. A $1.80 head of lettuce would increase in price by at most, 10 cents. (2008). Another issue that is felt to stem from immigrants is crime. In reality they are breaking the law by crossing the border without the official papers. There are many other laws they are breaking if one sits back and thinks about it. They are evading taxes, working without permits, and faking identities. By this, using fraudulent identification cards, social security cards or driver’s licenses. There are also environmental issues surrounding this issue. These issues include poverty and language barriers. With the language barriers, it makes it very difficult to educate these people on the way of American people. As a manager, I would want my employees to be comfortable with everything around them. I would ask them if they were comfortable and what could be done to help the situation. I feel it is important for the staff to feel safe and comfortable in the environment that they come to everyday to make a living for themselves. I would also maker sure that no hurtful statements were said and not allow stereotyping. I would want my employees to get to know each other and be open with each other. I would encourage them to respect each other and the differences we all bring to the table. As much as we do not like it, illegal immigration is here and there does not seem to be to much being done to stop it. As a country, we should be open to change, but at some point we have to close the gaits and take care of what we already have here. References Barone, M. (2007). U.S. News World Report. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/070527/4barone.htm Blondell, J. (2008). Adverse impacts on massive and illegal immigration in the United States. The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, 33(3), 328-350. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216799786?accountid=458 End Illegal Immigration. (April, 2011). History of Illegal Immigration in U.S. Retrieved from http://www.endillegalimmigration.com/history_of_Illegal_Immigration_in_US/ National Immigration Law Center. (2011, May). Dream Act: Summary. Retrieved from http://nilc.org/dreamsummary.html

Personal Narrative- Christmas Cookies Essay -- Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Christmas Cookies Although I have grown up to be entirely inept at the art of cooking, as to make even the most wretched chef ridicule my sad baking attempts, my childhood would have indicated otherwise; I was always on the countertop next to my mother’s cooking bowl, adding and mixing ingredients that would doubtlessly create a delicious food. When I was younger, cooking came intrinsically with the holiday season, which made that time of year the prime occasion for me to unite with ounces and ounces of satin dark chocolate, various other messy and gooey ingredients, numerous cooking utensils, and the assistance of my mother to cook what would soon be an edible masterpiece. The most memorable of the holiday works of art were our Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, which my mother and I first made when I was about six and are now made annually. I remember the deceitful character of the recipe the most from the first time I made Chocolate Crinkles. Being young, I didn’t understand the nature of unsweetened chocolate; it looked and smelled just like any other chocolate...

Race and Ethnicity in Social Sciences Essay examples -- Identity Gende

Use of the Terms "Race" and "Ethnicity" in the Social Sciences Defining identity can be complex and therefore we have to investigate the factors involved that make us who we are and how we are seen by others, collectively or individually. Social scientists have to consider the key elements which shape identity, the importance of social structures and agency involved. The differences and/or similarities between us are the focus that categorise and label us in society. Knowing who we are is important for many reasons including, social rights, obtaining a passport, housing, health, employment, marriage, and over all, being able to ascertain who we are, and belong. The terms ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ are central features in the process of categorisation. ‘Racial’ or ‘Ethnic’ identifications are produced as part of a social process, which is dynamic and changing. Therefore we know that identities are not static and terms such as ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ cannot cover the changing categories without being dynamic terms themselves. The use of quotation marks with these terms is adopted to emphasise that the terms are broad terms and aim to avoid discrimination or misrepresentation of groups under the umbrella term. ‘Race’ is commonly used by media and society to portray the physical differences between people, however, social scientists choose to show that the term does not refer to exact biological differences, is stereotypical, and the quotation marks emphasise the concept as ...

Discovering Themes In Poetry

IntroductionPoetry at its deepest level, communicates unspeakable aspects of human experience. It is man’s greatest invention a channel wherein he gains the power to manipulate words to better express his thoughts and feelings. It has the unique ability to delve deeply in all topics imaginable, with which language becomes the media for translation and portrayal, offering an image of a world perceived and delivered through curt and descriptive words.Poets may venture a variety of themes, with all probability that each one may create literary pieces having the same theme. Edna St. Vincent Millay’s â€Å"What Lips My Lips Have Kissed† written on 1923 and Dorothy Parker’s â€Å"Review of the Sex Situation† both touched the theme on love. What made each of their works unique and set apart from one another is the poets’ outlook towards the subject.Similarity of the Poems AnalyzedMillay and Parker’s poems both divulge a sad conclusion on love brought about by a series of unsuccessful attempts on relationships. Contrary to what is implicated in Millay’s â€Å"What Lips My Lips Have Kissed†, the poem does not implicate romance and heart-warming recollections of past relationships. It talks about a woman constantly falling in and out of love and had come to realize that love is an elusive thing:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"I cannot say what loves have come and gone,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I only know that summer sang in me  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A little while, that in me sings no more.†The last line implies resignation, a phrase which seems to have accepte d that â€Å"there is nothing more for me in this thing called love†. Summer passed her by, indicating her chances of finding her heart’s desire had come to pass as well. Further on, the last three lines implies either that she has aged and finding a man who will want her has become beyond probable or her heart has grown tired from flinging from one man to another and finding them â€Å"vanished one by one†. Parker on the other hand, seemed to be wary whether love will still bring good to her when she said:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"With this gist and sum of it,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What earthly good can come out of it?†Knowing that l ove is an unsteady and fleeting feeling, the possibility of loving someone only brings about sadness and pain. Love does not serve its purpose when it only breeds grief and unwarranted loyalty. What other purpose does love serve then given the situation? Love, according to the two poets, just seems to come and go and holding on to it and instilling in the consciousness that â€Å"Love is woman’s moon and sun† (Parker) will only be futile and will only cause more sad recollections and loneliness when â€Å"in the winter stands the lonely tree†(Millay).Parker and Millay’s sad conclusion on love was anchored on man’s fleeting emotions. Love, as Parker said, â€Å"is woman’s moon and sun† yet, â€Å"man delights in novelty† and when woman views man as her lord, â€Å"count to ten, and man is bored†. Despite showing the man how much the woman loves him, he seems to be discontented and will grow weary of the relationship. He g oes from one relationship to another, unconsciously leaving each woman behind, sad and broken hearted. Parker portrayed man as a soul discontented and never easily satisfied having one woman beside him. This then lead her to questioning whether love can still be good when man, as a partaker of love, is hardly satisfied with one. Millay seemed to have suffered from man’s uncanny ability to change heart in a short time, as a matter of fact, she had experienced quite a few of them when she opened her poem thus:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and                                                                                                         when and why,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     I have forgotten, and what arms have lain  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   under my head till morning; but in the rain  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh†¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For unremembered lads that not again  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.†The reader may convey a different image from what Millay narrated about her experiences. But the stirring in her heart proved it otherwise. The woman is clearly longing and looking for a true love, yet from all the men she had encountered, she appeared to have been used. It is an understatement that she easily responds to men who turn to her at midnight and cry hoping that in each man, there might be one who truly loves her and will stay. Millay’s experience is a confirmation of what Parker is saying when she concluded men to be easily bored and delighted in novelty.Point of Difference Found in the PoemsWhile both poets shared the same sad realization on love, the tone of the poem marked the difference with which each poet conveyed their message to their reader. Millay tells of a woman who constantly fall in and out of love and had come in full realization that not one of them really stayed long for her to remember:â€Å"I have forgotten, what arms have lain un der my head in the morning. In the end, the poem speaks of loneliness and longing, even regret for something that will never be fulfilled: â€Å"loves has come and gone†¦summer that sang in me†¦sings no more.†She likened each of her encounters to seasons and days, signifying her sadness and brief happiness as well as the gnawing loneliness as she discovered that summer ceased to sing to her. She uses strong and descriptive words that truly showed her feelings. The word vanished implied lost forever and with this she felt lonely. Each element of nature that Millay used – rain, ghosts in the night, midnight with a cry, winter and summer – amplified the strength of her longings and regrets.Parker on the one hand, is a woman who had a full grasp of the reality concerning man-woman relationship and the irony that exists between them. Her poem’s tone is that of sardonic and sarcastic, though, as a woman she still felt wary of what that realization on men implicated. Still, this made her poem less emotional than that of Millay despite the gravity of the message of her poem. Her curt portrayal of man and woman’s difference is to a point laughable yet contemplative; it makes one think for a while and comes to examine the validity of the poet’s claim. Even her concluding statement became less melodramatic:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"With this gist and sum of it,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What earthly good can come of it?†While Millay’s concluding statement:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã¢â‚¬Å"I cannot say what loves have come and gone,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     I only know that summer sang in me  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     A little while, that in me sings no more,†divulged resignation and loneliness, Parker’s seemed to challenge her women readers to ponder on the truth of her claim. Though the impact of the question is sad in that it shows love as incompetent and unreliable, it does not invoke a feeling of pity or grief. Her poem’s tone is light and humorous yet very reflective.ConclusionThe theme love is indeed a very broad topic. It covers vast array of situations conceivable in man’s day to day experiences – from sad to hatred born from deceitful love; forbidden love when one or two people di sagrees with the relationship; unrequited love, when only one person experiences the feeling; loneliness when one does not find the right one; and mockery when one seems to have lost faith in love. It can also be love of parents to child, friend to another and human to animals. Discovering varied themes in poetry is indeed very trying for though it constitutes one value, it is further broken down to specific categories whichever it is that the poet find fanciful and relevant.

A street car named desire †How do the play’s settings contribute to its dramatic effect? Essay

* The Kowalski’s flat * It’s surroundings * The wider American Context The play and its author beg the question; how does the absolute appearance of surroundings affect an audience’s compassion to the drama that the play perceptibly emits? The play unquestionably needs dramatic effects to capitalise the story and also to induce and consume an audience. If, without the use of incarcerating dramatic effects from the surroundings and manipulating them into supplying the story’s tension, then it would ultimately not receive the same desirable reaction that is needed to illuminate the play. The depicted ideas of the eminent and radiating title tempts the audience with certain evocative ideas, but are ultimately confronted with a whole new concept of a darker and more dramatic story line. The audience can automatically sense this with the contrast of the title with the melancholy and hoary surroundings of the old corner building, emancipating an ‘atmosphere of decay’, betrayal, self embrace, ugliness and death. This contrast creates a poignant conflict between ideal standards the audience had prepared themselves to see. Whilst the synchronisation between ethnic groups and the humbling sounds of the â€Å"blue piano† are heard in the opening scene, these merely act as a faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade for the troubles that evolve when Blanche Dubois arrives. It anaesthetises the â€Å"cosmopolitan† people’s perceptions whilst masquerading Blanche’s true character. As we can see, the set consists of the Kowalski’s flat. This radiates the dramatic tension emanated from the constriction and the consistency of the close proximity of the characters. However there is a curtain that restrains the utmost confrontations of the characters, but this also forms a dramatic effect because it is so unstable and the fact that it could tear at anytime guarantees a dramatic effect. The beginning scene ends on a dramatic and disconcerting candour as the polka music enhances a tense abrupt period of elusive mourning. Music and interruptions count for most of the dramatic effects as they are the manifestations of drama, in which the audience can hear and feel the fears and grasp it’s connotations through the art of melodies. Music is an important role as it acts as a catalyst for Stanley’s unwarranted tirade. The jazz music that flows from the radio exasperatingly encourages Stanley to expose his domineering wrath. With this we can see that Stanley falls back into the depths of evolution and creates a dramatic tension from the effect of the radio. The small white radio that Stanley hurls out the window is a major theme due to it coinciding with media. It is ironic because unlike the common aspect of media, that holds society and communication together, it is lost through anger. The penetrating sounds of a locomotive strengthen the dramatic effect by indicating a dramatic tension. The locomotive that preposterously, irregularly and yet ingeniously tarnishes the intense situations between exploitations, guaranties a short freedom, rendering the tense situations and the audience and characters unconscious to hear or say anything, involuntarily perfect a contaminated quietude about the area of Elysian Fields and heighten a dramatic tension due to its astounding dramatic effect. Costume also plays an important part in creating dramatic effects through out the play. When the masculine game of poker, a game full of risk, deceit and chances arise, the men wear bright silk bowling shirts which symbolise their uncouth, masculine behaviour. Primary colours symbolises the simplicity of the men’s thoughts and behaviours; illuminating desires, hatred and power. In contrast to this, Blanche wears white; an immaculate costume free from scandal, free from responsibility, guilt and blamed. It is consumed by absurd imitation jewelleries, trying to flaunt what is not there, creating a dramatic effect as everyone can see through this feeble disguise and unavoidably see the facility of her descent. In scene four, the early morning â€Å"confusion of street cries† reflects and increases the ebbing tension, but contrasts with the narcotic serenity that is; a new day. Scene nine is perturbed with precariously high realisations and intense dramatic tensions, due to an ingenious knit work of dramatic effects and story line. There is a critical moment when the audience captures a dramatic tension, when the shouts of an old Mexican woman selling â€Å"Flores† are heard. Blanche capitulates to her â€Å"regrets and recriminations,† telling her rutted tale of sorrow with the old woman expressing her formulaic dispossessions, forming with Blanche, one speech of death. Again, the music that was ostensible throughout the scene gets vociferous with the desperate need of freedom, and the slow, blue tune sets the dramatic effect to a heart rendering misdemeanour.

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 17 VISITOR

UNNATURALLY STILL AND WHITE, WITH LARGE BLACK EYES intent on my face, my visitor waited perfectly motionless in the center of the halt, beautiful beyond imagining. My knees trembled for a second, and I nearly fell. Then I hurled myself at her. â€Å"Alice, oh, Alice!† I cried, as I slammed into her. I'd forgotten how hard she was; it was like running headlong into a wall of cement. â€Å"Bella?† There was a strange mingling of relief and confusion in her voice. I locked my arms around her, gasping to inhale as much of the scent of her skin as possible. It wasn't like anything elsenot floral or spice, citrus or musk. No perfume in the world could compare. My memory hadn't done it justice. I didn't notice when the gasping turned into something elseI only realized I was sobbing when Alice dragged me to the living room couch and pulled me into her lap. It was like curling up into a cool stone, but a stone that was contoured comfortingly to the shape of my body. She rubbed my back in a gentle rhythm, waiting for me to get control of myself. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I blubbered. â€Å"I'm just so happy to see you!† â€Å"It's okay, Bella. Everything's okay.† â€Å"Yes,† I bawled. And, for once, it seemed that way. Alice sighed. â€Å"I'd forgotten how exuberant you are,† she said, and her tone was disapproving. I looked up at her through my streaming eyes. Alice's neck was tight, straining away from me, her lips pressed together firmly. Her eyes were black as pitch. â€Å"Oh,† I puffed, as I realized the problem. She was thirsty. And I smelled appetizing. It had been a while since I'd had to think about that kind of thing. â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"It's my own fault. It's been too long since I hunted. I shouldn't let myself get so thirsty. But I was in a hurry today.† The look she directed at me then was a glare. â€Å"Speaking of which, would you like to explain to me how you're alive?† That brought me up short and stopped the sobs. I realized what must have happened immediately, and why Alice was here. I swallowed loudly. â€Å"You saw me fall.† â€Å"No,† she disagreed, her eyes narrowing. â€Å"I saw you jump.† I pursed my lips as I tried to think of an explanation that wouldn't sound nuts. Alice shook her head. â€Å"I told him this would happen, but he didn't believe me. ‘Bella promised,'† her voice imitated his so perfectly that I iroze in shock while the pain ripped through my torso. â€Å"‘Don't be looking for her future, either,'† she continued to quote him. ‘†We've done enough damage.† â€Å"But just because I'm not looking, doesn't mean I don't see† she went on. â€Å"I wasn't keeping tabs on you, I swear, Bella. It's just that I'm alreacy attuned to you when I saw you jumping, I didn't think, I just got on a plane. I knew I would be too late, but I couldn't do nothing. And then I get here, thinking maybe I could help Charlie somehow, and you drive up.† She shook her head, this time in confusion. Her voice was strained. â€Å"I saw you go into the water and I waited and waited for you to come up, but you didn't. What happened? And how could you do that to Charlie? Did you stop to think what this would do to him? And my brother? Do you have any idea what Edward† I cut her off then, as soon as she said his name. I'd let her go on, even after I realized the misunderstanding she was under, just to hear the perfect bell tone of her voice. But it was time to interrupt. â€Å"Alice, I wasn't committing suicide.† She eyed me dubiously. â€Å"Are you saying you didn't jump off a cliff?† â€Å"No, but† I grimaced. â€Å"It was for recreational purposes only.† Her expression hardened. â€Å"I'd seen some of Jacob's friends cliff diving,† I insisted. â€Å"It looked like fun, and I was bored† She waited. â€Å"I didn't think about how the storm would affect the currents. Actually, I didn't think about the water much at all.† Alice didn't buy it. I could see that she still thought I had been trying to kill myself. I decided to redirect. â€Å"So if you saw me go in, why didn't you see Jacob?† She cocked her head to the side, distracted. I continued. â€Å"It's true that I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn't jumped in after me. Well, okay, there's no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out, and I guess he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out for that part. It couldn't have been more than a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn't see that?† She frowned in perplexity. â€Å"Someone pulled you out?† â€Å"Yes. Jacob saved me.† I watched curiously as an enigmatic range of emotions flitted across her face. Something was bothering herher imperfect vision? But I wasn't sure. Then she deliberately leaned in and sniffed my shoulder. I froze. â€Å"Don't be ridiculous,† she muttered, sniffing at me some more. â€Å"What are you doing?† She ignored my question. â€Å"Who was with you out there just now? It sounded like you were arguing.† â€Å"Jacob Black. He's sort of my best friend, I guess. At least, he was† I thought of Jacob's angry, betrayed face, and wondered what he was to me now. Alice nodded, seeming preoccupied. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I don't know,† she said. â€Å"I'm not sure what it means.† â€Å"Well, I'm not dead, at least.† She rolled her eyes. â€Å"He was a fool to think you could survive alone. I've never seen anyone so prone to life-threatening idiocy.† â€Å"I survived,† I pointed out. She was thinking of something else. â€Å"So, if the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?† â€Å"Jacob is strong.† She heard the reluctance in my voice, and her eyebrows rose. I gnawed on my lip for a second. Was this a secret, or not? And if it was, then who was my greatest allegiance to? Jacob, or Alice? It was too hard to keep secrets, I decided. Jacob knew everything, why not Alice, too? â€Å"See, well, he's sort of a werewolf,† I admitted in a rush. â€Å"The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. They know Carlisle from a long time ago. Were you with Carlisle back then?† Alice gawked at me for a moment, and then recovered herself, blinking rapidly. â€Å"Well, I guess that explains the smell,† she muttered. â€Å"But does it explain what I didn't see?† She frowned, her porcelain forehead creasing. â€Å"The smell?† I repeated. â€Å"You smell awful,† she said absently, still frowning. â€Å"A werewolf? Are you sure about that?† â€Å"Very sure,† I promised, wincing as I remembered Paul and Jacob fighting in the road. â€Å"I guess you weren't with Carlisle the last time there were werewolves here in Forks?† â€Å"No. I hadn't found him yet.† Alice was still lost in thought. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she turned to stare at me with a shocked expression. â€Å"Your best friend is a werewolf?† I nodded sheepishly. â€Å"How long has this been going on?† â€Å"Not long,† I said, my voice sounding defensive. â€Å"He's only been a werewolf for just a few weeks.† She glowered at me. â€Å"A young werewolf? Even worse! Edward was rightyou're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble?† â€Å"There's nothing wrong with werewolves,† I grumbled, stung by her critical tone. â€Å"Until they lose their tempers.† She shook her head sharply from side to side. â€Å"Leave it to you, Bella. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find.† I didn't want to argue with AliceI was still trembling with joy that she was really, truly here, that I could touch her marble skin and hear her wind-chime voicebut she had it all wrong. â€Å"No, Alice, the vampires didn't really leavenot all of them, anyway. That's the whole trouble. If it weren't for the werewolves, Victoria would have gotten me by now. Well, if it weren't for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten me before she could, I guess, so† â€Å"Victoria?† she hissed. â€Å"Laurent?† I nodded, a teensy bit alarmed by the expression in her black eyes. I pointed at my chest. â€Å"Danger magnet, remember?† She shook her head again. â€Å"Tell me everythingstart at the beginning.† I glossed over the beginning, skipping the motorcycles and the voices, but telling her everything else right up to today's misadventure. Alice didn't like my thin explanation about boredom and the cliffs, so I hurried on to the strange flame I'd seen on the water and what I thought it meant. Her eyes narrowed almost to slits at that part. It was strange to see her look so so dangerouslike a vampire. I swallowed hard and went on with the rest about Harry. She listened to my story without interrupting. Occasionally, she would shake her head, and the crease in her forehead deepened until it looked like it was carved permanently into the marble of her skin. She didn't speak and, finally, I fell quiet, struck again by the borrowed grief at Harry's passing. I thought of Charlie; he would be home soon. What condition would he be in? â€Å"Our leaving didn't do you any good at all, did it?† Alice murmured. I laughed onceit was a slightly hysterical sound. â€Å"That was never the point, though, was it? It's not like you left for my benefit.† Alice scowled at the floor for a moment. â€Å"Well I guess I acted impulsively today. I probably shouldn't have intruded.† I could feel the blood draining from my face. My stomach dropped. â€Å"Don't go, Alice,† I whispered. My fingers locked around the collar of her white shirt and I began to hyperventilate. â€Å"Please don't leave me.† Her eyes opened wider. â€Å"All right,† she said, enunciating each word with slow precision. â€Å"I'm not going anywhere tonight. Take a deep breath.† I tried to obey, though I couldn't quite locate my lungs. She watched my face while I concentrated on my breathing. She waited till I was calmer to comment. â€Å"You look like hell, Bella.† â€Å"I drowned today,† I reminded her. â€Å"It goes deeper than that. You're a mess.† I flinched. â€Å"Look, I'm doing my best.† â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"It hasn't been easy. I'm working on it.† She frowned. â€Å"I told him,† she said to herself. â€Å"Alice,† I sighed. â€Å"What did you think you were going to find? I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You know me better than that.† â€Å"I do. But I hoped.† â€Å"Then I guess I don't have the corner on the idiocy market.† The phone rang. â€Å"That has to be Charlie,† I said, staggering to my feet. I grabbed Alice's stone hand and dragged her with me to the kitchen. I wasn't about to let her out of my sight. â€Å"Charlie?† I answered the phone. â€Å"No, it's me,† Jacob said. â€Å"Jake!† Alice scrutinized my expression. â€Å"Just making sure you were still alive,† Jacob said sourly. â€Å"I'm fine. I told you that it wasn't† â€Å"Yeah. I got it. ‘Bye.† Jacob hung up on me. I sighed and let my head hang back, staring at the ceiling. â€Å"That's going to be a problem.† Alice squeezed my hand. â€Å"They aren't excited I'm here.† â€Å"Not especially. But it's none of their business anyway.† Alice put her arm around me. â€Å"So what do we do now?† she mused. She seemed to talk to herself for a moment. â€Å"Things to do. Loose ends to tie.† â€Å"What things to do?† Her face was suddenly careful. â€Å"I don't know for sure I need to see Carlisle.† Would she leave so soon? My stomach dropped. â€Å"Could you stay?† I begged. â€Å"Please? For just a little while. I've missed you so much.† My voice broke. â€Å"If you think that's a good idea.† Her eyes were unhappy. â€Å"I do. You can stay hereCharlie would love that.† â€Å"I have a house, Bella.† I nodded, disappointed but resigned. She hesitated, studying me. â€Å"Well, I need to go get a suitcase of clothes, at the very least.† I threw my arms around her. â€Å"Alice, you're the best!† â€Å"And I think I'll need to hunt. Immediately,† she added in a strained voice. â€Å"Oops.† I took a step back. â€Å"Can you stay out of trouble for one hour?† she asked skeptically. Then, before I could answer, she held up one finger and closed her eyes. Her face went smooth and blank for a few seconds. And then her eyes opened and she answered her own question. â€Å"Yes, you'll be fine. For tonight, anyway.† She grimaced. Even making faces, she looked like an angel. â€Å"You'll come back?† I asked in a small voice. â€Å"I promiseone hour.† I glanced at the clock over the kitchen table. She laughed and leaned in quickly to kiss me on the cheek. Then she was gone. I took a deep breath. Alice would be back. I suddenly felt so much better. I had plenty to do to keep myself busy while I waited. A shower was definitely first on the agenda. I sniffed my shoulders as I undressed, but I couldn't smell anything but the brine and seaweed scent of the ocean. I wondered what Alice had meant about me smelling bad. When I was cleaned up, I went back to the kitchen. I couldn't see any signs that Charlie ‘lad eaten recently, and he would probably be hungry when he got back. I hummed tunelessly to myself as I moved around the kitchen. While Thursday's casserole rotated in the microwave, I made up the couch with sheets and an old pillow. Alice wouldn't need it, but Charlie would need to see it. I was careful not to watch the clock. There was no reason to start myself panicking; Alice had promised. I hurried through my dinner, not tasting itjust feeling the ache as it slid down my raw throat. Mostly I was thirsty; I must have drunk a half gallon of water by the time I was finished. All the salt in my system had dehydrated me. I went to go try to watch TV while I waited. Alice was already there, sitting on her improvised bed. Her eyes were a liquid butterscotch. She smiled and patted the pillow. â€Å"Thanks.† â€Å"You're early,† I said, elated. I sat down next to her and leaned my head on her shoulder. She put her cold arms around me and sighed. â€Å"Bella. What are we going to do with you?† â€Å"I don't know,† I admitted. â€Å"I really have been trying my hardest.† â€Å"I believe you.† It was silent. â€Å"Doesdoes he† I took a deep breath. It was harder to say his name out loud, even though I was able to think it now. â€Å"Does Edward know you're here?† I couldn't help asking. It was my pain, after all. I'd deal with it when she was gone, I promised myself, and felt sick at the thought. â€Å"No.† There was only one way that could be true. â€Å"He's not with Carlisle and Esme?† â€Å"He checks in every few months.† â€Å"Oh.† He must still be out enjoying his distractions. I focused my curiosity on a safer topic. â€Å"You said you flew here Where did you come from?† â€Å"I was in Denali. Visiting Tanya's family.† â€Å"Is Jasper here? Did he come with your'† She shook her head. â€Å"He didn't approve of my interfering. We promised† she trailed off, and then her tone changed. â€Å"And you think Charlie won't mind my being here?† she asked, sounding worried. â€Å"Charlie thinks you're wonderful, Alice.† â€Å"Well, we're about to find out.† Sure enough, a few seconds later I heard the cruiser pull into the driveway. I jumped up and hurried to open the door. Charlie trudged slowly up the walk, his eyes on the ground and his shoulders slumped. I walked forward to meet him; he didn't even see me until I hugged him around the waist. He embraced me back fiercely. â€Å"I'm so sorry about Harry, Dad.† â€Å"I'm really going to miss him,† Charlie mumbled. â€Å"How's Sue doing?† â€Å"She seems dazed, like she hasn't grasped it yet. Sam's staying with her† The volume of his voice faded in and out. â€Å"Those poor kids. Leah's just a year older than you, and Seth is only fourteen† He shook his head. He kept his arms tight around me as he started toward the door again. â€Å"Um, Dad?† I figured I'd better warn him. â€Å"You'll never guess who's here.† He looked at me blankly. His head swiveled around, and he spied the Mercedes across the street, the porch light reflecting off the glossy black paint. Before he could react, Alice was in the doorway. â€Å"Hi, Charlie,† she said in a subdued voice. â€Å"I'm sorry I came at such a bad time.† â€Å"Alice Cullen?† he peered at the slight figure in front of him as if he doubted what his eyes were telling him. â€Å"Alice, is that you?† â€Å"It's me,† she confirmed. â€Å"I was in the neighborhood.† â€Å"Is Carlisle† â€Å"No, I'm alone.† Both Alice and I knew he wasn't really asking about Carlisle. His arm tightened over my shoulder. â€Å"She can stay here, can't she?† I pleaded. â€Å"I already asked her.† â€Å"Of course,† Charlie said mechanically. â€Å"We'd love to have you, Alice.† â€Å"Thank you, Charlie. I know it's horrid timing.† â€Å"No, it's fine, really. I'm going to be really busy doing what I can for Harry's family; it will be nice for Bella to have some company.† â€Å"There's dinner for you on the table, Dad,† I told him. â€Å"Thanks, Bell.† He gave me one more squeeze before he shuffled toward the kitchen. Alice went back to the couch, and I followed her. This time, she was the one to pull me against her shoulder. â€Å"You look tired.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed, and shrugged. â€Å"Near-death experiences do that to me So, what does Carlisle think of you being here?† â€Å"He doesn't know. He and Esme were on a hunting trip. I'll hear from him in a few days, when he gets back.† â€Å"You won't tell him, though when he checks in again?† I asked. She knew I didn't mean Carlisle now. â€Å"No. He'd bite my head off,† Alice said grimly. I laughed once, and then sighed. I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to stay up all night talking to Alice. And it didn't make sense for me to be tired, what with crashing on Jacob's couch all day. But drowning really had taken a lot out of me, and my eyes wouldn't stay open. I rested my head on her stone shoulder, and drifted into a more peaceful oblivion than I had any hope of. I woke early, from a deep and dreamless sleep, feeling well-rested, but stiff. I was on the couch tucked under the blankets I'd laid out for Alice, and I could hear her and Charlie talking in the kitchen. It sounded like Charlie was fixing her breakfast. â€Å"How bad was it, Charlie?† Alice asked softly, and at first I thought they were talking about the Clearwaters. Charlie sighed. â€Å"Real bad.† â€Å"Tell me about it. I want to know exactly what happened when we left.† There was a pause while a cupboard door was closed and a dial on the stove was clicked off. I waited, cringing. â€Å"I've never felt so helpless,† Charlie began slowly. â€Å"I didn't know what to do. That first weekI thought I was going to have to hospitalize her. She wouldn't eat or drink, she wouldn't move. Dr. Gerandy was throwing around words like ‘catatonic,' but I didn't let him up to see her. I was afraid it would scare her.† â€Å"She snapped out of it though?† â€Å"I had Renee come to take her to Florida. I just didn't want to be the one if she had to go to a hospital or something. I hoped being with her mother would help. But when we started packing her clothes, she woke up with a vengeance. I've never seen Bella throw a fit like that. She was never one for the tantrums, but, boy, did she fly into a fury. She threw her clothes everywhere and screamed that we couldn't make her leaveand then she finally started crying. I thought that would be the turning point. I didn't argue when she insisted on staying here and she did seem to get better at first† Charlie trailed off. It was hard listening to this, knowing how much pain I'd caused him. â€Å"But?† Alice prompted. â€Å"She went back to school and work, she ate and slept and did her homework. She answered when someone asked her a direct question. But she was empty. Her eyes were blank. There were lots of little thingsshe wouldn't listen to music anymore; I found a bunch of CDs broken in the trash. She didn't read; she wouldn't be in the same room when the TV was on, not that she watched it so much before. I finally figured it outshe was avoiding everything that might remind her of him. â€Å"We could hardly talk; I was so worried about saying something that would upset herthe littlest things would make her flinchand she never volunteered anything. She would just answer if I asked her something. â€Å"She was alone all the time. She didn't call her friends back, and after a while, they stopped calling. â€Å"It was night of the living dead around here. I still hear her screaming in her sleep† I could almost see him shuddering. I shuddered, too, remembering. And then I sighed. I hadn't fooled him at all, not for one second. â€Å"I'm so sorry, Charlie,† Alice said, voice glum. â€Å"It's not your fault.† The way he said it made it perfectly clear that he was holding someone responsible. â€Å"You were always a good friend to her.† â€Å"She seems better now, though.† â€Å"Yeah. Ever since she started hanging out with Jacob Black, I've noticed a real improvement. She has some color in her cheeks when she comes home, some light in her eyes. She's happier.† He paused, and his voice was different when he spoke again. â€Å"He's a year or so younger than her, and I know she used to think of him as a friend, but I think maybe it's something more now, or headed that direction, anyway.† Charlie said this in a tone that was almost belligerent. It was a warning, not for Alice, but for her to pass along. â€Å"Jake's old for his years,† he continued, still sounding defensive. â€Å"He's taken care of his father physically the way Bella took care of her mother emotionally. It matured him. He's a good-looking kid, tootakes after his mom's side. He's good for Bella, you know,† Charlie insisted. â€Å"Then it's good she has him,† Alice agreed. Charlie sighed out a big gust of air, folding quickly to the lack of opposition. â€Å"Okay, so I guess that's overstating things. I don't know even with Jacob, now and then I see something in her eyes, and I wonder if I've ever grasped how much pain she's really in It's not normal, Alice, and it it frightens me. Not normal at all. Not like someone left her, but like someone died.† His voice cracked. It was like someone had diedlike I had died. Because it had been more than just losing the truest of true loves, as if that were not enough to kill anyone. It was also losing a whole future, a whole familythe whole life that I'd chosen Charlie went on in a hopeless tone. â€Å"I don't know if she's going to get over itI'm not sure if it's in her nature to heal from something like this. She's always been such a constant little thing. She doesn't get past things, change her mind.† â€Å"She's one of a kind,† Alice agreed in a dry voice. â€Å"And Alice† Charlie hesitated. â€Å"Now, you know how fond I am of you, and I can tell that she's happy to see you, but I'm a little worried about what your visit will do to her.† â€Å"So am I, Charlie, so am I. I wouldn't have come if I'd had any idea. I'm sorry.† â€Å"Don't apologize, honey. Who knows? Maybe it will be good for her.† â€Å"I hope you're right.† There was a long break while forks scraped plates and Charlie chewed. I wondered where Alice was hiding the food. â€Å"Alice, I have to ask you something,† Charlie said awkwardly. Alice was calm. â€Å"Go ahead.† â€Å"He's not coming back to visit, too, is he?† I could hear the suppressed anger in Charlie's voice. Alice answered in a soft, reassuring tone. â€Å"He doesn't even know I'm here. The last time I spoke with him, he was in South America.† I stiffened as I heard this new information, and listened harder. â€Å"That's something, at least.† Charlie snorted. â€Å"Well, I hope he's enjoying himself.† For the first time, Alice's voice had a bit of steel in it. â€Å"I wouldn't make assumptions, Charlie.† I knew how her eyes would flash when she used that tone. A chair scooted from the table, scraping loudly across the floor. I pictured Charlie getting up; there was no way Alice would make that kind of noise. The faucet ran, splashing against a dish. It didn't sound like they were going to say anything more about Edward, so I decided it was time to wake up. I turned over, bouncing against the springs to make them squeak. Then I yawned loudly. All was quiet in the kitchen. I stretched and groaned. â€Å"Alice?† I asked innocently; the soreness rasping in my throat added nicely to the charade. â€Å"I'm in the kitchen, Bella,† Alice called, no hint in her voice that she suspected my eavesdropping. But she was good at hiding things like that. Charlie had to leave thenhe was helping Sue Clearwater with the funeral arrangements. It would have been a very long day without Alice. She never spoke about leaving, and I didn't ask her. I knew it was inevitable, but I put it out of my mind. Instead, we talked about her familyall but one. Carlisle was working nights in Ithaca and teaching part time at Cornell. Esme was restoring a seventeenth century house, a historical monument, in the forest north of the city. Emmett and Rosalie had gone to Europe for a few months on another honeymoon, but they were back now. Jasper was at Cornell, too, studying philosophy this time. And Alice had been doing some personal research, concerning the information I'd accidentally uncovered for her last spring. She'd successfully tracked down the asylum where she'd spent the last years of her human life. The life she had no memory of. â€Å"My name was Mary Alice Brandon,† she told me quietly. â€Å"I had a little sister named Cynthia. Her daughtermy nieceis still alive in Biloxi.† â€Å"Did you find out why they put you in that place?† What would drive parents to that extreme? Even if their daughter saw visions of the future She just shook her head, her topaz eyes thoughtful. â€Å"I couldn't find much about them. I went through all the old newspapers on microfiche. My family wasn't mentioned often; they weren't part of the social circle that made the papers. My parents' engagement was there, and Cynthia's.† The name fell uncertainly from her tongue. â€Å"My birth was announced and my death. I found my grave. I also filched my admissions sheet from the old asylum archives. The date on the admission and the date on my tombstone are the same.† I didn't know what to say, and, after a short pause, Alice moved on to lighter topics. The Cullens were reassembled now, with the one exception, spending Cornell's spring break in Denali with Tanya and her family. I listened too eagerly to even the most trivial news. She never mentioned the one I was most interested in, and for that I was grateful. It was enough to listen to the stories of the family I'd once dreamed of belonging to. Charlie didn't get back until after dark, and he looked more worn than he had the night before. He would be headed back to the reservation first thing in the morning for Harry's funeral, so he turned in early. I stayed on the couch with Alice again. Charlie was almost a stranger when he came down the stairs before the sun was up, wearing an old suit I'd never seen him in before. The jacket hung open; I guessed it was too tight to fasten the buttons. His tie was a bit wide for the current style. He tiptoed to the door, trying not to wake us up. I let him go, pretending to sleep, as Alice did on the recliner. As soon as he was out the door, Alice sat up. Under the quilt, she was fully dressed. â€Å"So, what are we doing today?† she asked. â€Å"I don't knowdo you see anything interesting happening?† She smiled and shook her head. â€Å"But it's still early.† All the time I'd been spending in La Push meant a pile of things I'd been neglecting at home, and I decided to catch up on my chores. I wanted to do something, anything that might make life easier for Charliemaybe it would make him feel just a little better to come home to a clean, organized house. I started with the bathroomit showed the most signs of neglect. While I worked, Alice leaned against the doorjamb and asked nonchalant questions about my, well, our high school friends and what they been up to since she'd left. Her face stayed casual and emotionless, but I sensed her disapproval when she realized how little I could tell her. Or maybe I just had a guilty conscience after eavesdropping on her conversation with Charlie yesterday morning. I was literally up to my elbows in Comet, scrubbing the floor of the bathtub, when the doorbell rang. I looked to Alice at once, and her expression was perplexed, almost worried, which was strange; Alice was never taken by surprise. â€Å"Hold on!† I shouted in the general direction of the front door, getting up and hurrying to the sink to rinse my arms off. â€Å"Bella,† Alice said with a trace of frustration in her voice, â€Å"I have a fairly good guess who that might be, and I think I'd better step out.† â€Å"Guess?† I echoed. Since when did Alice have to guess anything? â€Å"If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it's most likely Jacob Black or one of his friends.† I stared at her, putting it together. â€Å"You can't see werewolves?† She grimaced. â€Å"So it would seem.† She was obviously annoyed by this factvery annoyed. The doorbell rang againbuzzing twice quickly and impatiently. â€Å"You don't have go anywhere, Alice. You were here first.† She laughed her silvery little laughit had a dark edge. â€Å"Trust meit wouldn't be a good idea to have me and Jacob Black in a room together.† She kissed my cheek swiftly before she vanished through Charlie's doorand out his back window, no doubt. The doorbell rang again.