Franchise law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Franchise law - Essay Example Therefore, each of the renewal terms raised by Joe must be examined in terms of whether or not, the proposed conditions and terms constitute good faith and fair dealing grounds for refusing renewal of the expiring franchise contract. In general, Joe takes issue with the requirement to purchase meat and cheese from Hoagie Land in Philadelphia when it is more convenient for him to purchase the same from Hoagie Land in New York, the payment of what Joe considers an excessive legal fee, the payment of a renewal fee, the installation of a point of sales systems, adoption of a new sign and remodelling. The question for consideration is whether or not each of these terms and conditions can be characterized as inconsistent with the concept of fair dealing and good faith. The concept of fair dealing and good faith was considered in the case of Payne v McDonald’s Corp. In this case, the franchisor’s renewal was conditional upon the franchisee’s consent to rebuild the resta urant. The court held however, that the requirement for rebuilding was not inconsistent with the concept of good faith and fair dealing (Payne v McDonald’s Corp.). However, the facts of Joe’s case can be distinguished from the facts of Payne v McDonald’s Corp. ... The ruled in Payne that since there was no express right to renewal, the franchisor was not under a duty to renew the franchise and in deciding to do so could condition renewal on requirements that suited its business ends (Payne v McDonald’s Corp.). Some guidance is found in the case of Bresler’s 33 Flavors Franchising Corp. v Woksin. In the case, the court ruled that in order to satisfy a claim that a refusal to renew on terms and conditions that were inconsistent with the concept of fair dealing and good faith, the claimant must show that the terms and conditions were only applied to the claimant and not to any other franchisor. Specifically, when the renewal term was for remodelling, the claimant must also show that to the satisfaction of the court that remodelling would have a negative impact on profitability (Bresler’s 33 Flavors Franchising Corp. v Woksin). I would therefore advise Joe to provide as much evidence as possible demonstrating that remodelling would negatively impact profitability and that purchasing meat and cheese from Philadelphia rather than from New York would negatively impact profitability. In looking at the requirement to purchase meat from Philadelphia as opposed to New York, it is unlikely that Joe can excise this term as it appears to be applicable to all franchisees and is stated to be for quality control and for economies of scale. To begin with, it may be argued that purchasing from the Philadelphia suppliers may be more convenient for Joe since his restaurant is located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey which is nearer to Philadelphia than it is to New York. Moreover, the requirement to purchase meat and cheese from the Philadelphia supplier applies to all franchisees and does not discriminate

Tariffs, Quotas and Non-Tariff Trade Barriers Research Paper

Tariffs, Quotas and Non-Tariff Trade Barriers - Research Paper Example This paper illustrates that a tax levied by a government against certain imports, designed to raise revenue or to protect domestic firms. Although tariffs may be imposed on both imported and exported goods usually they are imposed on imported goods. Different types of tariffs are ad valorem tariff, specific tariff, revenue tariff, prohibitive tariff, a protective tariff, environmental tariff and retaliatory tariff. Tariffs restrict international trade as due to their imposition, exporters have to bear an additional cost, to which either they have to absorb which increases their approaching costs to the market and reduces their profits and causes a reduction in imports, or they have to raise their selling prices to cover the new expenses, which causes decrease in demand and resultantly imports. â€Å"Means of restricting the number of imports through import licenses, either of a certain item or from a certain country.† Its different types are a binding quota, non-binding quota, absolute quotas and tariff-rate quotas. Import quotas also restrict international trade as they limit imports to a specified level with certainty, replace market mechanism and according to Solusource, â€Å"If you are importing or exporting goods that are subject to a quota, you may have to compete with other buyers or suppliers that are attempting to negotiate similar deals† (â€Å"Identifying†). These are nonmonetary barriers to restrict imports. These are also called NTBs its common examples are embargoes, anti-dumping measures, biases against foreign company’s bids and countervailing duties etc. Although these are called nontariff trade barriers when they are implied they affect the international trade in about same way in which tariffs affect. Free trade environment leads closer to market perfection as it results in the better allocation and optimum utilization of resources, offers better and greater choices to customers and leads towards economic developm ent and customer satisfaction.

A Dolls House Analysis of Nora

A Dolls House Analysis of Nora I must stand on my own two feet if I am to find out the truth about myself and about life, To what extent is Nora a tragic heroine? -1497 words (excluding title) A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen is a modern tragedy that is centred around the life of a typical Norwegian household in the Victorian era, focusing on the trials and tribulations that face Nora Helmer in this patriarchal society. A Dolls House explores not only the status of women, but how they are victims of social forces to the extent that they are left with the role of a dollwife. During the course of this essay, I intend to study the character of Nora and to what extent she qualifies as a tragic heroine. As the curtain opens to the first act, we are introduced to Nora as an extravagant little person, a sweet little spendthrift; giving the audience the impression that she will be yet another undeveloped female character as seen in previous traditional tragedies. Ibsen uses patronizing language to portray Torvalds view of his wife, how to him she was just a sweet little skylark, the word little emphasizing Torvalds misogynistic ego, and how he uses typically loving terms but makes them seem condescending and demeaning. Aristotles description of a tragic hero as outlined in his book Poetics, is where he discusses the aspects of ones character which qualify one to be a tragic hero, ideas which have been accepted and expanded for several centuries, and often used as a mould for tragic heroes. In order to reach my conclusion and decide to what degree Nora is a tragic heroine, I will compare Noras character to some of the ideas Aristotle discussed in his book. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is a man who is a mixture of good characteristics and bad characteristics. Regardless of the requirement of being male, Nora fits this aspect of his definition perfectly as she can be seen as both the epitome of good and evil within the play, depending on ones perspective. Ibsen establishes Noras character as not purely vapid (as we perhaps thought based on our first impression of her) but a woman who gave up the necess[ities] of life and went to extreme lengths to save [her] husbands life, even though it was considered imprudent in Victorian society, where a woman was transferred from being, firstly a good daughter, secondly a good wife and finally a good mother. Consequently, Noras character can also be seen as having bad characteristics (one of Aristotles prerequisites of being a tragic hero) as she undoubtedly commit[ted] a fraud and as Krogstad says, the law cares nothing about motives, even if Nora did it for loves sake. Ibsen stated that a woman cannot be herself in modern society. It is an exclusively male society, with laws made by men with no regard to female emotions. Torvald shakes his finger at Nora and says that a songbird must have a clean beak to chirp with. Ibsens use of stage direction clearly shows Torvalds condescending behaviour towards his wife. It also shows that even after eight years of marriage, Torvald Helmer underestimates his wifes character or capabilities to the extent that it is questionable whether he knows her at all. Ibsen suggests that even though the plot unfolds in a male dominated society, those same men could be easily deceived by their wives, as shown by Torvald and Noras relationship. Even though Ibsen has followed Aristotles idea, he has left it open to interpretation as Noras actions can be interpreted as good or bad. Ibsen portrays Nora as being coquettish, using her beauty and charisma to her advantage as she play(s) with [Torvalds] coat buttons without raising her eyes to his, mere domestic, flirtatious behaviour. However, it adds complexity to Noras character, as she is manipulating her husband into giving her what she desires. Alternatively, Ibsen could be portraying that women were now breaking away from the restraints of the social norm, where before all else, [they] are a wife and a mother. As it is revealed to us that Nora saved Torvalds life, we know that she is not just a dollwife, but a woman of intellectual complexity. Ibsen adds psychological depth to Noras character, depth that was previously uncommon within female characters in drama, a prime example being Shakespeares Ophelia. The play follows Aristotles rule -the tragic hero has a tragic flaw, or hamartia, that is the cause of his downfall-, establishing Nora as a tragic heroine. Nora Helmers tragic flaw is undoubtedly her naivetà ©. As Aristotle stated, the tragedy is usually triggered by some error of judgment or some character flaw and it can be said that it is Noras innocence that inevitably leads her to her tragic fall. As I have previously discussed, Torvald consistently displays condescending and demeaning behaviour towards Nora, calling her a little featherhead and an obstinate little person, and Nora seems to perceive his abusive and controlling behaviour as a sign that Torvald is so absurdly fond of [her]. Nora regards her husband as having no moral failings, and man enough to take everything upon [him]self to the extent that he would never for a moment hesitate to give his life for [her]. Torvalds morality is what makes his actions so shocking when he refuses to save her and accuses her of hav ing no religion, no morality, no sense of duty, when in fact the reason behind her immorality was Torvald himself. Noras understanding of her hamartia permits her to reach catharsis which is a secular moment of self realisation, allowing her to therefore rectify her problem and complete her journey to be a tragic heroine. During Act II, Nora starts to realize her flaw, she starts to realize that she is not Torvalds dollwife living in his play room. This is made evident in the play as Nora disagrees with Torvald and says he has a narrow-minded way of looking at things. Even though this realization is nowhere as dramatic as it would have been in classical tragedy, Noras actions have the same effect on the audience as she voices her opinion, taking on the dominant role in their relationship. Aristotle also states that the tragic hero is someone people can relate to. Ibsen has made this possible by setting his play within a typical affluent Victorian household, and uses Nora to depict the oppression of women, and how they have been dehumanized to mere objects of entertainment, particularly in the middle-class society. George Bernard Shaw agrees that the plays domestic setting makes the characters recognizable people as their problems were familiar to the audience. Ibsen illustrates the Helmers broken marriage through Nora taking off [her] fancy dress, her changing into regular clothing symbolises the shedding of all illusions about their marriage. He uses the metaphor of a cold, wintry night to depict the frosty atmosphere of the Helmer household. Ibsen shows how Nora has existed merely to perform tricks for [Torvald] through the tarantella, a folk dance that was traditionally performed to purge oneself of poison, showing the intensity of the control Torvald has over her. Finally, Aristotle argues that the tragic hero always falls in the end, and that is why he is called a tragic hero. His tragic flaw always ends up in tragedy for himself and for those around him. The plays climaxes when Nora leaves her husband and children, which can be regarded as her fall. This can be regarded as either an assertion of her humanity or as a negligence of her most sacred duties, as she forsake(s) [her] husband and children. However, In my opinion, Nora is not abandoning any duties as even though she had borne [Torvald] three children, it was their maid Anne-Marie that catered to all the childrens needs, whereas it was great fun when [Nora] played with [the children], the children have been [her] dolls. Subsequently, it can be seen as liberation for Nora as her whole life, she was simply transferred from Papas hands to [Torvalds], allowing her to make nothing of [her] life. It is here when our little skylark finally flies away from her cage, attaining freedom. Aristot le agrees that the fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, as Nora slams the door shut on her marriage. It can be said that Ibsen uses his final stage direction to symbolise the possible decline of patriarchy, the closing of 19th century beliefs and the birth of Modernism. Throughout the play, Nora takes on many different roles, making her character difficult to compartmentalise, but as a critic says, the greatest dramatic characters have the freedom of incongruity. In A Dolls House, Ibsen presents us with a character that at first glance appears to be a featherhead, but follows the Aristotelian journey of a tragic hero, from hamartia to catharsis to her tragic fall. Aristotle says that the tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness, and even though Nora is just an ordinary Victorian housewife, it is undeniable that she does in fact possess greatness, making Nora a modern tragic heroine.

Feedback Stress: Does Auditory Feedback Negatively Affect Performance o

In his historic study, Stroop found that reading names of colors interfered with individuals’ ability to name the ink color the word was printed in when the two differed (i.e., the word â€Å"BLUE† written in red ink) (1935). However, the basis of this phenomenon can be traced back to Cattell who found that naming colors and pictures took twice as long to accomplish than reading the word these colors or pictures represented (1886). He concluded that this was due to reading being an automatic process while identifying colors or pictures requires a conscious effort (Cattell, 1886). MacLeod (1991) reflects that it was Cattell’s work which strongly influenced future psychologist including Stroop. In his experiment, Stroop investigated how the reaction time to name colors increased when it conflicted with the automatic process of reading. He broke down his experiment into three parts. In the first, he tested how reading the name of a color printed in a different ink color (i.e., BLUE) differed from reading the name of a color printed in black ink (i.e., BLUE). The difference between the name of the color and the ink color it was printed in caused a slight interference resulting in an increased reaction time of 2.3 seconds (Stroop, 1935). In the second part of his experiment, Stroop (1935) looked at reaction time differences between naming the color of solid blocks (i.e., ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"  ) versus naming the color of the ink not the name of the color (i.e., responding â€Å"RED† for BLUE). He found that participants required 74% more time to name the color of the ink when it did not agree with the name of the color (Stroop, 1935). Stroop concluded that it was the interference between the automatic process of reading the names of the colored w... ...oop: An interference task specialized for functional neuroimaging – validation study with functional MRI. Human Brain Mapping, 6(4), 270-282. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0193(1998)6:4 Cattell, J. M. (1886). The time it takes to see and name objects. Mind, 11(41), 63-65. MacLeod, C. M. (1991). Half a century of research on the Stroop Effect: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 109(2), 163-203. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.163 Richards, A., French, C. C., Johnson, W. Naparstek, J., & Williams, J. (1992). Effects of mood manipulation and anxiety on performance of an emotional Stroop task. British Journal of Psychology, 83, 479-491. Shor, R. E. (1975). An auditory analog of the Stroop test. Journal of General Psychology, 93, 281-288. Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18(6), 643-662.

A Time Series Analysis of the Adjusted Closing Stock Prices

Table of Contents 1. ?Introduction 2. ?literature review 3. ?Introduction 4. ?Methodology INTRODUCTION Google Inc. is an American multinational corporation which provides Internet-related products and services, including Internet search, cloud computing, software and advertising technologies. The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while both attended Stanford University. Google was first incorporated as a privately held company on September  4, 1998, and its initial public offering followed on August  19, 2004. The company is now listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol .The company's mission statement from the outset was â€Å"to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful†, and the company's unofficial slogan is â€Å"Don’t be evil†. In 2006, the company moved to its current headquarters in Mountain View, California. Objectives 1. To fit a multiple regression model to a data set comprising the put, call and strike prices of a stock belonging to a company listed on a known index. 2. To use the BSM Model to which provides a mathematical science for the pricing and hedging of European Call and Put options as the American Options market 3.We wanted to analyze the data for Google option prices from the S;P index over the past and present time periods in order to be able to forecast the future. Literature Review 1. Put call parity In financial mathematics, put–call parity defines a relationship between the price of a European call option and European put option in a frictionless market —both with the identical strike price and expiry, and the underlying being a liquid asset. In the absence of liquidity, the existence of a forward contract suffices.Put–call parity requires minimal assumptions and thus does not require assumptions such as those of Black–Scholes or other commonly used financial models. 2. Black-Scholes Model The Black–Schole s model or Black–Scholes-Merton is a mathematical model of a financial market containing certain derivative investment instruments. From the model, one can deduce the Black–Scholes formula, which gives the price of European-style options. The formula led to a boom in options trading and legitimized scientifically the activities of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and other options markets around the world. t is widely used by options market participants Methodology The data being analyzed consisted of daily past prices of silver traded on the S;P index since 14th May to 22 September 2012. The group was required to obtain data sets containing put, call and strike prices the data set of option expiring in more than 30 days but less than 100 The data was obtained from marketwatch. com on 14th May 2012 copied to excel and imported to R, with the stock price at $605. 23. The group chose options expiring on 22th September 2012 for the 1st data set, with 94 days to expiry.A n average of the Bid and Ask prices of both the call and put options was then calculated as shown below. The values in the columns labeled â€Å"call†; â€Å"put â€Å"were calculated as an average of the corresponding Bid ; Ask call and put prices respectively. A number of statistical methods were applied to analyze the data on the R program. We first started by importing the data to the R program; below is a table showing the data. Strike | call| put| Strikesq| Adj Close| 295| 311. 75| 0. 45| 87025| 605. 23| 300| 306. 45| 0. 425| 90000| 613. 66| 305| 303. 1| 0. 45| 93025| 609. 15| 310| 297. 6| 0. 75| 96100| 612. 79| 315| 291. 4| 0. 5| 99225| 607. 55| 320| 286. 6| 0. 55| 102400| 596. 97| 325| 282. 75| 0. 6| 105625| 611. 02| 330| 277. 85| 0. 65| 108900| 607. 26| 335| 273. 4| 0. 775| 112225| 604. 43| 340| 266. 6| 0. 7| 115600| 604. 85| 345| 262. 1| 0. 75| 119025| 614. 98| 350| 256. 7| 0. 8| 122500| 615. 47| 355| 253. 3| 0. 875| 126025| 609. 72| 360| 248. 35| 0. 875| 129600| 601. 27| 365| 243. 45| 0. 925| 133225| 597. 6| 370| 237. 35| 1| 136900| 596. 06| 375| 232. 4| 1. 05| 140625| 599. 3| 380| 227. 45| 1. 05| 144400| 607. 45| 385| 222. 55| 1. 2| 148225| 609. 57| 390| 218. 85| 1. 325| 152100| 606. 7| 395| 212. 45| 1. 45| 156025| 624. 6| 400| 207. 9| 1. 525| 160000| 651. 01| 405| 202. 95| 1. 6| 164025| 635. 96| 410| 198. 15| 1. 65| 168100| 626. 86| 415| 193. 15| 1. 825| 172225| 630. 84| 420| 188. 4| 2. 025| 176400| 632. 32| 425| 183. 6| 2. 25| 180625| 635. 15| 430| 180| 2. 375| 184900| 642. 62| 435| 175. 25| 2. 55| 189225| 646. 92| 440| 170. 3| 2. 9| 193600| 641. 24| 445| 164. 6| 3. 025| 198025| 648. 41| 450| 160. 9| 3. 3| 202500| 655. 76| 455| 155. 15| 3. 55| 207025| 647. 02| 460| 150. 6| 3. 85| 211600| 649. 33| 465| 146. 8| 4. 05| 216225| 642. 59| 470| 141. 15| 4. 55| 220900| 646. 05| 75| 137. 65| 4. 95| 225625| 639. 98| 480| 132. 05| 5. 35| 230400| 633. 49| 485| 128. 5| 5. 8| 235225| 633. 98| 490| 123. 45| 6. 2| 240100| 625. 04| 495| 118. 65| 6. 75| 2 45025| 621. 13| 500| 114. 1| 7. 4| 250000| 615. 99| 505| 110. 75| 7. 95| 255025| 617. 78| 510| 105. 65| 8. 5| 260100| 605. 15| 515| 101. 35| 9. 45| 265225| 600. 25| 520| 98| 10. 25| 270400| 607. 14| 525| 93. 15| 11. 1| 275625| 606. 8| 530| 89. 55| 11. 95| 280900| 604. 96| 535| 85. 15| 13. 05| 286225| 614. 25| 540| 80. 6| 14. 15| 291600| 621. 25| 545| 76. 85| 15. 3| 297025| 622. 4| 550| 72. 9| 16. 35| 302500| 618. 25| 555| 69. 5| 17. | 308025| 618. 39| 560| 66. 05| 19. 2| 313600| 609. 31| 565| 62. 8| 20. 75| 319225| 609. 9| 570| 59. 15| 22. 45| 324900| 606. 11| 575| 56. 5| 24. 05| 330625| 607. 94| 580| 52. 75| 26| 336400| 614| 585| 49. 7| 27. 85| 342225| 604. 64| 590| 46. 7| 29. 6| 348100| 606. 52| 595| 43. 9| 31. 9| 354025| 605. 56| 600| 40. 95| 34. 35| 360000| 609. 76| 605| 38. 45| 36. 7| 366025| 612. 2| 610| 36. 1| 38. 85| 372100| 605. 91| 615| 33. 55| 41. 35| 378225| 611. 46| 620| 31. 05| 44. 15| 384400| 609. 85| 625| 29. 5| 46. 9| 390625| 606. 77| 630| 27. 35| 49. 75| 396900| 60 9. 09| 635| 25. 3| 52. 95| 403225| 596. 33| 40| 23. 2| 56| 409600| 585. 11| 645| 21. 6| 59. 2| 416025| 580. 83| 650| 19. 95| 62. 65| 422500| 580. 11| 655| 18. 6| 66. 15| 429025| 577. 69| 660| 16. 85| 70. 1| 435600| 579. 98| 665| 15. 6| 73. 95| 442225| 568. 1| 670| 14. 4| 77. 55| 448900| 569. 49| 675| 13. 3| 81. 35| 455625| 580. 93| 680| 12. 25| 85. 55| 462400| 585. 52| 685| 11. 05| 88. 25| 469225| 585. 99| 690| 10. 05| 93. 4| 476100| 639. 57| 695| 9. 55| 96. 45| 483025| 632. 91| 700| 8. 45| 102. 25| 490000| 628. 58| 705| 7. 75| 105. 25| 497025| 624. 99| 710| 7. 1| 110. 65| 504100| 629. 64| 715| 6. 75| 114. 75| 511225| 625. 96| 720| 5. 95| 119. 5| 518400| 623. 14| 725| 5. 65| 122. 65| 525625| 622. 46| 730| 5. 05| 128. 5| 532900| 650. 02| 735| 4. 55| 131. 95| 540225| 659. 01| 740| 4. 25| 137. 6| 547600| 668. 28| 745| 3. 95| 142. 35| 555025| 665. 41| 750| 3. 5| 147| 562500| 645. 9| 755| 3. 25| 151. 7| 570025| 642. 4| 760| 2. 975| 155. 95| 577600| 639. 7| 765| 2. 725| 161. 4| 585225| 64 0. 25| 770| 2. 525| 166. 45| 592900| 633. 14| 775| 2. 2| 169. 9| 600625| 629. 7| 780| 2. 125| 174. 75| 608400| 625. 82| 785| 1. 975| 180. 55| 616225| 630. 37| 790| 1. 775| 185. 45| 624100| 621. 83| 795| 1. 65| 190. 35| 632025| 625. 96| 800| 1. 525| 195. 15| 640000| 619. 4| 810| 1. 35| 205. 05| 656100| 618. 07| 820| 1. 175| 214. 95| 672400| 625. 63| 830| 0. 975| 224. 75| 688900| 625. 39| 840| 0. 825| 234. 95| 705600| 627. 42| 850| 0. 725| 244| 722500| 616. 05| 860| 0. 65| 254. 25| 739600| 623. 39| 870| 0. 525| 265| 756900| 623. 77| 880| 0. 475| 274. 55| 774400| 625. 65| 890| 0. 425| 284. 6| 792100| 620. 36| 900| 0. 375| 293. 45| 810000| 613. 77| 910| 0. 375| 304. 7| 828100| 599. 39| 920| 0. 3| 314. 45| 846400| 582. 93| 930| 0. 3| 323. 3| 864900| 588. 19| 940| 0. 275| 333. 25| 883600| 563| 950| 0. 25| 343. 25| 902500| 570. 11| 960| 0. 25| 353. 25| 921600| 580| 970| 0. 25| 363. 25| 940900| 580. 94| Fitting a Multiple regression Model From the results shown? 0=605. 997, ? 1=0. 995, ? 2= -0. 9979. The value of the stock at that point in time wasSt=605. 23. If significant, the estimate ? 2 was to be equated to -e-r (T-t) and the value for r equated. In this formula, T-t is the time to expiry of the options (94 days in our case) and r is the interest on a daily basis (short rate), which was then supposed to be annualized. Since all the estimates were significant, ? 2= -0. 9979=-e-r(94) r=-ln0. 997994=2. 236391*10-5 Annualizing r; r=2. 236391*10-5*250=0. 05592275=5. 2275%, which is the risk. The formula call(Ct)= 605. 997+0. 995put(Pt)-0. 9979(Strike(Kt)) was the model we used to derive values of call prices in relation to the multiple regression model. A plot of these call and strike options is shown below; If significant, the estimate ? 2 was to be equated to -e-r (T-t) and the value for r equated. In this formula, T-t is the time to expiry of the options (94 days in our case) and r is the interest on a daily basis (short rate), which was then supposed to be annuali zed. PROCEDURE FOR FITTING Finally we drew a graph of Call against Strike and this was the graph obtained.The code and resulting graph are shown below, GRAPH FOR CALL AGAINST STRIKE BSM MODEL METHODS To fit the BSM Model and generate theoretical call prices, we obtained and truncated historical data from finance. yahoo. com as shown in the column labeled ‘Adj. Close’ The code snapshot below created a function â€Å"BSM73† We then computed the BSM73 by using the given the data, annualized interest rate (r), stock price, strike price and days to maturity generates the theoretical call prices. The proposed model to be fitted to fit the regression model CtSt= ? 0+? 1KSt+? 2K2St+ ? t main purpose is so as to determine the values of ? ,? 1 ; ? 2 Procedure From the results shown, we get ? 0=1. 313950 , ? 1=-1. 959886, ? 2= 0. 001195. The value of the stock at that point in time was St=605. 23. PLOT BSM CALL PRICE (Yt) AGAINST STRIKE PRICES For data analysis conducted fo r September 2012 options with T-t=94 days and r=5. 922%, the proposed model can be used in option pricing. It can be concluded from the analysis that for options with a longer time to expiry and a smaller interest rate, the proposed model prices the options more accurately than the BSM model in the price ranges where most options are traded. TIME SERIES ANALYSISThe theoretical model for a time financial time series data is given by; Xt = Trend + ARMA + GARCH + WN Where WN is the white noise in the data. We assumed that the GARCH component is equal to 0 We proceeded to investigate whether indeed the data at hand had trend in it. We used the following tools in our investigation * Box plots * ACF * Histogram * Plotting the data Time series of the data. Summary of strike price data. Box plots ACF OF GARCH NOISE Code: ;y=log(strike) ; d=diff(y) ; garch=d^2 ; acf(garch,lag=100,main=†ACF of Garch Noise†) Histogram Code: hist(strike,main=†Histogram of ADJ Closing pricesâ⠂¬ )De-trending the data After having confirmed that the data contained linear trend, we proceeded to de-trend the data by; 1. Finding the natural logarithm of the data ;y=log(strike) 2. Differencing the data ;d=diff(y) We confirmed that the data the data was actually stationery at this point by using the following techniques; * Finding the ACF of the de-trended data and Plotting the de-trended data FIT ARMA (p, q) We found that an ARIMA (2, 2, 0) was the best model for our data FORECASTING We used the ARIMA (2,2,0) model to predict the adjusted closing share prices for the next 10 days:

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 24

Once I'd assured Evan I wasn't calling him a son of a bitch, I got off the phone and turned to Roman. â€Å"The vessel's not anywhere around here. It's up in BC.† Roman's eyes had followed my finger to White Rock on the map. â€Å"Okay, you get points for the compelling name, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.† â€Å"Yes! It means everything. The Army's been a distraction from the beginning, when the seal was created, when Ephraim talked to Cedric†¦and when Jerome was summoned. They staged their event on the Space Needle- here , but they didn't actually do anything until Jerome was taken. As soon as he was, they acted out to draw Cedric's attention here, away from his own territory.† Realization lit Roman's features. Sociopath or not, he'd always been smart. â€Å"Because Grace then hid the vessel in Cedric's territory.† I nodded. â€Å"That's where it's at. She needed Cedric gone, in case he noticed its presence before it was hidden. I think he's down here for the thing with Ephraim, but if I call now and tell him-â€Å" â€Å"No,† said Roman quickly. â€Å"We can't tell anyone.† â€Å"What is up with you?† I exclaimed, standing up. â€Å"The clock's ticking. We may not have time for a leisurely drive before the stasis ends.† â€Å"Chance we've gotta take, love.† He rose as well. â€Å"Grab your keys. Let's go.† I started heading toward my bedroom, then hesitated. â€Å"Damn. I told Seth I'd consider taking him with me. Too late now.† Roman considered. â€Å"No, do it.† â€Å"Why?† I asked in surprise. â€Å"I'll go invisibly. I don't know if anyone'll notice you leaving, but if they're tracking you, better they think you're on a romantic getaway. Even masked, I don't want anyone in power seeing my face yet.† That put me in a weird situation. Roman's entire reasoning throughout all of this was increasingly bizarre. There was also the debate I'd had last night, about whether I should let the balcony date shine on us as my last beautiful moment with Seth or if I should eke out a few more seconds. Letting it end at last night would have been the poetic thing to do†¦but I was made of baser stuff. I called him as soon as I was on the road and picked him up shortly thereafter. He rode in the front with me while Roman lounged invisibly in the back, which was creepy, to say the least. Fortunately, none of my talk with Seth was sappy or romantic. He sensed the urgency crackling around me and asked questions about my reasoning for the trip. I answered as thoroughly as I could, all the while trying to drive the speed limit. I couldn't risk the delay of a ticket-or count on supernatural charms to get me off. It took a little less than two hours to get there. We'd accidentally left the atlas at home but had all but memorized the directions anyway, which were straightforward. When we'd almost reach the park where the aforementioned rock was, I had the sense to call Peter and tell him not to go outside. â€Å"You think I'm stupid?† he asked. â€Å"I know as well as you the stasis is about to end.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed. â€Å"But it might not end like you're thinking.† We disconnected. â€Å"This is it, isn't it?† asked Seth. A sign directed us to the beach's parking lot, and I turned toward it. â€Å"Yeah, I think so.† I could feel myself starting to panic. â€Å"God, I'm afraid†¦I don't know what'll happen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Seth reached over and patted my shoulder. â€Å"Easy, Thetis. This'll end the way it's supposed to. Do what you have to do, and we'll manage the best we can.† I parked the car and looked over at him. So much burned between us, it was a wonder it didn't suffocate Roman. Seth was right. This was the end, and we would face it and do what needed to be done, no matter how hard. That was one of the wonderful things about Seth. He knew what the right thing was. We got out of the car. Seth and I headed off down the beach, hand in hand. It was low tide, and the receding waters had revealed a landscape that had almost as much gravel as sand. Once you moved farther inland, though, the terrain turned green and grassy-probably the result of park maintenance crews. Semiahmoo Bay itself stretched off into a dark, choppy vastness that would have probably been blue and beautiful on a nicer day. Heavy gray clouds obscured most of the land surrounding the far sides of the bay, and I thought I heard a rumble of thunder, something that wasn't so common in the mild Pacific Northwest. I hoped we'd find what we needed soon because it looked like a storm was about to break out. Ah, metaphor. Seth interrupted my ponderings. â€Å"That,† he said, â€Å"is a white rock.† I came to a halt, turning my attention from the larger panorama to the path in front of me. There, about eighty feed ahead of us, was a white rock-a huge, white rock. And from the looks of it, Evan hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said it was about five hundred tons. â€Å"I kind of feel stupid wasting my time with scraps of white gravel,† I mused, brushing hair out of my eyes. The wind promptly whipped it back. â€Å"It was so obvious†¦and yet not. Shall we?† I nodded, and we approached the rock, our steps filled with both eagerness and apprehension. After all this time and all the failed efforts, it didn't seem possible that we'd really done it. Something was going to happen. Something had to happen. â€Å"Whoa,† I breathed, staring up at the rock's top when we reached it. It was so massive that it covered us in shadows. â€Å"I can see why people thought this came from the gods.† Seth was looking down. â€Å"Unfortunately, we've got to direct our attention to less lofty places. How are we supposed to find this? Just dig at random?† If Seth and I were alone, that would have been the method. Now, I was hoping Roman would reveal some insight about where the vessel was-if it was even here. A small part of me panicked that us ending up here might have been the biggest misdirection of all. I scanned the ground around the rock, but there was nothing indicative of a recent digging. On a beach like this, all of the ground was uneven. â€Å"Something like that,† I said, needing Roman to pick up on his cue. Seth had let go of my hand when we reached the rock, but now he caught hold of it again and pulled me to him. â€Å"Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I dragged my eyes from the ground and met his. My adrenaline was up, ready for the conclusion to this adventure†¦and yet, my heart was heavy, knowing what the consequences of this would be. I squeezed Seth's hands and stepped closer, resting my head against his chest. His heart beat heavy within. No doubt his emotions were tangled up as well. â€Å"I know,† I said softly. â€Å"I feel the same way.† He held me tight and kissed my forehead. â€Å"When we find Jerome†¦when you free him†¦it'll go quickly, won't it?† â€Å"Yeah. I don't know how long it'll take, but†¦well, I think it'll be pretty fast. That's how it was when he was taken.† â€Å"And that's it.† â€Å"I guess.† We stood there, both of us hurting and confused. I didn't think anything could be worse than when Seth had forcibly ended things back in December. I understood now that he'd done it because he thought it would be for the greater good, but it still smarted. And this†¦this was a pain of a different type. When Seth and I first kissed back at my apartment, I thought this could all be a vacation for me, just as it was for the vampires. Seth would be my sunshine, something I could have a brief fling with before returning to my dreary immortality. I could take the memories with me, and that would be enough. Only now, standing with him, I realized it wouldn't be enough. It would only hurt more now, knowing exactly what I could never have again. I would never make love with Seth again, never have these intimate moments of comfort and rapport. He wasn't mine anymore. He never could be again. â€Å"I don't know what to do,† Seth said, kissing my forehead. â€Å"What do you mean? We don't have a choice.† â€Å"We always have a choice, Thetis. After this, even when you're a succubus again†¦I don't know. I wanted so badly to protect you from all the world's hurts. I still do. But after being with you this last week, I'm starting to wonder if-â€Å" â€Å"You have got to be fucking kidding me.† Seth and I looked up in surprise. I would have expected Roman to come bust up our romantic interlude or maybe even Grace, in defense of her prize. What I was not expecting, however, was Dante. I didn't know where he'd come from. He stepped around the side of the rock like he'd been lurking behind it, but I suspected he'd just walked up to us unnoticed in our moment of lovers' angst. Anger radiated off him, and his eyes were as dark and stormy as the sea beyond us. And as soon as I saw him, I needed no drawn-out questioning, no build-up to a revelation. I didn't need to ask what he was doing there because I suddenly knew. â€Å"You're the summoner,† I said. â€Å"Of course.† There was a dismissive tone to his voice as he said that, like it was an insult that anyone else could have played that role. â€Å"Who else? I wasn't kidding when I told you I was the best in the area. I can't honestly believe you never even considered me. No, scratch that. Of course I can believe that. No matter how jaded or sorrowful you get, there's still that Pollyanna piece of you that wants to believe the best in those you care about.† â€Å"You say that like it's a bad thing,† I said, feeling my own anger grow. Being played this whole time was bad enough. But being played by my own boyfriend? Unacceptable. And yet†¦he was right. It had been stupid of me not to consider him, yet I couldn't believe he would have subjected me to all this torment. â€Å"It is a bad thing. I was hoping I could break you of it, but I guess not.† His eyes flicked to Seth's face and then back to mine. â€Å"Of course, I can't really talk about naà ¯vet? ¦ since you were screwing me over this whole time. Or, well, screwing him.† There wasn't really anything I could respond with. I could hardly say, â€Å"It's not what you think,† because†¦well, it was exactly what he thought. Regardless of his role in Jerome's summoning, the fact remained that I had cheated on Dante, and I'd been caught. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said lamely, my hand still clutching Seth's tightly. He'd taken a step forward. He wasn't blocking me from Dante, but there was definitely a protective stance going on. â€Å"Yes, yes, I know.† Dante gave an exasperated sigh. â€Å"Damn it, Georgina. What does it take with you? I never gave you shit about your job. I was trying to make a good life for us. And yet†¦you still went back to him . As soon as you could fuck him without hurting him, you jumped right on it.† â€Å"Trying to make a good life†¦is that why you did all this?† I remembered Greg's comments about how anyone assisting a demon in this affair would be getting paid in concubines and TVs. In Dante's case, it had been much more basic. He'd simply been paid in money, enough to buy me jewelry and flowers and start talking about sharing a home with me. â€Å"Succubus, what else was I supposed to do?† He was still speaking to me in a mocking tone, but I could see the raw anguish on his features. It tore at my heart. â€Å"You can enslave kings and rock stars. There was no way you were going to stick with me forever, not where I was going. The palms barely pay the bills, and the window for when my spells could really pay off has passed.† â€Å"None of that mattered,† I said resolutely. â€Å"I would have stayed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Yet, even as I spoke, I recognized the contradiction. So did Dante, as he gestured at a thus-far silent Seth. Seth seemed very intent on something. Dante rolled his eyes. â€Å"Yes. Clearly.† â€Å"I never wanted this†¦never wanted you to literally make deals with the devil.† â€Å"What did you expect from me? You know what I am. You got involved with me because you wanted to walk on the dark side. This deal was my biggest chance-the biggest payoff I was going to get for my power. She needed the best, and she could pay for my services.† â€Å"She†¦Grace.† Dante gave me a twisted smile. â€Å"I should have known you'd figured that part out too and had been sitting on it. Even when you trusted me†¦you still didn't really trust me. Maybe you aren't as oblivious as I thought. And when I got to your place and saw the atlas-well, that's when I knew I'd underestimated you. You're lucky Grace just sent me up here and didn't come herself. We might get you out of here alive after all.† Seth and I still stood close, close enough that when he spoke into my ear, he barely had to raise his voice at all. â€Å"The watch,† he breathed. â€Å"It's in the watch.† I had no time to process that further because suddenly, Seth broke from me and advanced on Dante. â€Å"Look, just leave her alone, okay? You caught her. She caught you. Call it even, and let us go.† I stared. It was uncharacteristically aggressive for him. â€Å"Even?† exclaimed Dante. â€Å"It is not even. I did what I did because I love her.† Seth's voice was level yet hard. â€Å"Love her? You got her caught up in that cult mess. You nearly got her killed by a demon.† Dante glowered and took a step toward Seth. â€Å"That wasn't supposed to happen. Jerome came up with the Canada thing on the fly. She wasn't supposed to be caught in the middle of this. The plan was for her to wait out the stasis like everyone else, and then return to normal once Grace was in power. Grace messed up when she told Nanette about her meddling, but then Grace made sure Nanette wouldn't fuck with her again. I worked to keep Georgina safe.† Cedric had told the truth. He really hadn't told Nanette about my theories; Grace had. â€Å"Yeah, you did a great job.† â€Å"It's not my fault!† yelled Dante. â€Å"Say what you want about me, my reasons were noble. Whereas hers†-he pointed at me-â€Å"were in keeping with the selfish little whore she's been her entire life.† And then†¦the unexpected truly happened. Seth sprang forward and punched Dante. I didn't know what was more surprising, that Seth would be so aggressive or that he could throw such a clean punch. He'd thrown himself at a mugger once, and while it had been wonderfully brave, it hadn't been nearly as precise or coordinated. I had no idea where he'd learned that. Dante appeared as startled as me. He staggered back from the blow and took a moment to recover. Then, with a snarl, he leapt toward Seth. Seth only partially dodged the blow-on purpose, it seemed-and fell back with the impact, causing both men to collapse to the ground. They grappled around a bit, trying to get leverage and blows in, and for a moment, I was too stunned by it all to react. Then, finally, Seth's words hit me. The watch . I hurried over to them, careful not to get hit by a flailing limb. Seth caught a glimpse of me and did his best to grab a hold of Dante's wrist and thrust it toward me. Dante kept squirming, however-I had a feeling he'd been in a few more fights in his life than Seth had-and increased his struggles once he realized what was happening. The watch. It made sense, really. Grace wore her part of the seal around her neck. Dante would want to keep his safe as well, and why not hidden in the only accessory that he-by his own admission-ever wore? At last, Seth managed to immobilize Dante's wrist just long enough for me to get my fingers under the watch's straps. I gave a hard jerk, using more strength than I thought possible, and the strap broke. The watch came away in my hand, and I scurried back as Dante yelled in rage. Seth eased up on restraining Dante, now that our goal was achieved. As soon as he was free, however, Dante came after me, and Seth shot up to catch a hold of him. I continued backing up, the watch clutched in my hand, until I hit something-or rather, someone. I turned and found myself staring into Grace's cold, hard eyes. Whereas Dante had seemed to appear out of nowhere, I knew Grace actually had. I froze, and behind me, the sounds of fighting stopped. I think the guys were just as surprised as me to see her-or maybe not. Dante had all but said he'd told Grace we were here. â€Å"Georgina,† she said. â€Å"You are such a good employee†¦and yet, you're also a bad one.† Her voice was as flat and emotionless as ever, except unlike in the past, I had a feeling she was actually planning to kill me now. â€Å"Why?† I asked, playing for time. â€Å"You had a good job under Jerome.† â€Å"Under being the operative word. I wasn't going to spend the rest of my existence as someone's second-in-command and certainly not their co-second-in-command.† â€Å"She has the seal,† I heard Dante say behind me. â€Å"I know she does,† Grace replied. â€Å"You gave it to her.† â€Å"Hey, I-â€Å" She raised her hand, and Dante screamed. Jerking my head around, I saw him writhing in pain, like he was suspended by strings that she controlled. After enduring Nanette's wrath, I knew how truly excruciating demonic torture was, and I couldn't stand to see anyone else go through that. Seth looked from me to Dante, clearly unsure what to do. Fistfights might be out of his comfort zone, though they were something he could do. But this? Totally different. â€Å"Let him go!† I said. As stupid as it was, I reached out and tried to shake her, but I would have had as much luck budging the huge glacial rock beside her. â€Å"I should never have relied on someone who was close to-â€Å" Her words were cut off when she suddenly went flying through the air, slamming into the rock. The impact seemed to surprise more than it hurt her, and mercifully, her torture of Dante stopped. She looked around, eyes wide and confused. â€Å"What the-â€Å" Roman materialized out of the air and strode toward her, fierce and frightening. Finally, I thought. Without my immortal senses, I couldn't feel his aura or signature, but something told me he was wielding a considerable chunk of his power as he advanced. Doing so was risky. It would make his identity known to any greater immortals nearby, though with all the drama in Seattle, there probably weren't any in the area to sense him. Cedric certainly wasn't around. Grace gave a sharp intake of breath. â€Å"You†¦I remember your signature.† That was all the warning she gave before fire streaked from her hands toward Roman. He didn't move or bat an eyelid, but the fire hit an invisible wall. It arced around him, leaving him unscathed. â€Å"Georgina,† he said, not taking his eyes off Grace. â€Å"The vessel's over by the north side of the stone's base.† I wasted no time in hurrying over to the spot he'd indicated. I heard Grace's outrage and caught her moving toward me in my periphery. But then, her anger turned to pain. Roman had blasted her with something, and her attention returned to him. My own attention was on the rocky ground as I began digging with my bare hands. In my zeal, I'd once again forgotten a spade. Seth was by my side in an instant, clawing at the sandy surface with me. Large, fat drops of rain began falling on us, but I didn't have time to care. â€Å"Who's stronger?† he asked as the sounds of fighting raged behind us. If Roman's appearance startled him, he was ignoring it for now. â€Å"I don't know,† I said. The ground was getting harder to dig in. It was damp and caked together from a recent rain, and I could feel it building up under my nails. â€Å"Roman can theoretically be as strong as Jerome, and I'm guessing she's less powerful than Jerome. I don't know for sure, and he might be holding back. The more power he uses, the more he alerts others that he's here.† My fingers hit something hard, and Seth and I both worked to pry it out. It was a wooden box, an old cigar case from the looks of it. I managed a good hold on it, and it began lifting out. â€Å"Here,† I said, pausing. I tossed him my purse and then immediately returned to my digging. â€Å"Get my phone. Look in the numbers, and you'll find Mei. Call her. Tell her where we're at.† The cigar box came up out of the earth. â€Å"You want me to call a demon?† he asked in shock. â€Å"We need her. Tell her where we're at. Then get away from here. Get in my car and go.† â€Å"Georgina-â€Å" â€Å"Go!† I shouted. Seth hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, then got up and ran with my purse, keeping well away from the combatants. I didn't know if Mei would react to a call from a mortal. I didn't even know if she'd answer, nor did I know if she could be trusted. I was relying on instinct-and that na;ve hope about everyone's good side-that she and Grace weren't collaborating. Roman's scream caused me to look up sharply. He was on his back, Grace advancing. What looked like lightning crackled toward him, though just with the fire, it split away. Only, it got a lot closer to him than before. He was weakening. Frantically, I scraped sand off the cigar box. It looked deceptively easy to open, but when I attempted to pry the lid up, nothing happened. It wouldn't budge, and I knew no efforts of mine would make it happen. Turning to the watch I'd taken from Dante, I peered at it. The face was a pale brown marbleized pattern-one that easily blended in with the seal. It was an ingenious hiding spot. I smashed the watch against the cigar case, and on the third try, the glass cracked. I plucked away the pieces and tried to pull up the face. It was embedded firmly. Taking a small shard of the watch's surface, I slipped it under the seal's edge, and after a few moment's pressure, everything fell apart, and†¦there was no seal. I stared. Gears, watch hands, pieces of glass, and the face†¦but no seal. Seth had been certain. I had been certain. Dante had no other place on him that he would keep it. Carter had said it was possible that the summoner might hide the seal elsewhere, and if Dante had done that, we were screwed. â€Å"Fuc-â€Å" I cut my own profanity off and stared at my wrist, at the glittering watch winking up at me. No. Surely it wasn't this obvious. Dante had given me the watch before Jerome had been summoned, and then I'd lost it right around the time of the summoning. I'd blamed it on myself, but was it possible that Dante had actually briefly taken it back†¦? Jerking the watch off my wrist, I didn't hesitate to give it the same treatment as Dante's watch. It killed me to shatter that beautiful gold-and-glass piece of work, but when the filigree face popped out, I found a piece of smoky quartz that complemented Grace's. Dante needed more credit. He'd kept the seal close to him and hidden it where no one who was looking for it-i.e., me-would ever think to search. The seal was useless, though, without the other half. Looking up, I saw that Grace had her hand around Roman's neck and was lifting him off the ground. He was completely limp. I didn't quite understand, but something told me he'd completely shut off all his power. Why? It was suicide. I wanted to scream, to run over and save him, but there was nothing I could do. Her back was to me, but I could imagine the gleam in her eyes. â€Å"When I kill you,† she hissed, â€Å"my position will be secured.† Suddenly, she jerked her head back toward me. For a moment, I thought I'd attracted her attention, but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking beside me, having sensed what I no longer could: the signature of another greater immortal. Mei stood there, hard and grim. I'd always considered her stone-faced, but the look she wore was truly terrifying, and I cringed. She and Grace locked gazes, and then a few seconds later, Grace flung Roman away. He landed with a hard thud and lay still for a moment. Then, he lifted his head and slowly began crawling across the sand toward me, every movement seeming to cause him agony. â€Å"You have seriously screwed things up,† said Mei. â€Å"I have improved my situation,† said Grace evenly. â€Å"And I can improve yours.† â€Å"I don't need your help-especially when I reveal that you were behind all this. The others will reward me. Jerome will reward me.† â€Å"You're an idiot! Do you want to spend the rest of eternity working for someone else?† â€Å"My time will come,† Mei returned smoothly. â€Å"And I'd rather work for him than you.† And without any more banter, they lunged at each other. It was a bizarre fight. Half of it seemed very human, complete with physical blows and grappling. At the same time, there was definitely a supernatural element to it, as they wielded the same kind of elements and invisible blows Grace and Roman had. The rain was pouring down, drenching both of them. With their abilities, they could have remained impervious, but they were too distracted by each other. Roman was still crawling toward me. Holding onto the seal and the box, I hesitantly moved to meet him half-way. â€Å"Can you open it?† I asked, handing him the box. His breathing was heavy and pained, but he gripped the box like I had and tried to pry the lid open. His fingers clenched the wood, and I saw exertion on his face, both of a physical and magical level. At last, he grimaced. â€Å"No. Not a greater immortal power I inherited.† I looked up at the demonesses. There was a slight shimmer around both of them. As the battle intensified, they were in danger of shifting to their true immortal forms, which would be bad for me to see. â€Å"Who's stronger?† I asked. â€Å"They're evenly matched,† said Roman, following my gaze. â€Å"Grace is a little worn down, though.† I hoped it would be enough. Hugging the box to my chest, I watched them fight, ready to look away if they totally shifted form. I'd always thought they had a hard sort of beauty, but now, it was all hardness and no beauty, and it wasn't difficult to see that under their human facades, they were truly demons of hell. I could also see what Roman meant about them being evenly matched. Each time one gained an advantage, the other took it back. Until, just when it seemed Grace might be getting the better of Mei, Mei suddenly came on full force with an attack of unseen blasts that caught Grace off-guard and made her stumble back. With inhuman speed, Mei reached forward and ripped the choker from Grace's neck. Equally fast, she threw it toward me and then turned back to block Grace, who seemed to realize the end was near. I grabbed hold of the necklace with trembling fingers and pulled off the crescent-shaped piece of the seal. I placed it next to Dante's half, unsure what to do, but as soon as they were close enough, they merged together into one whole disc. â€Å"Put it on the box,† said Roman. â€Å"Hurry.† I pressed the seal onto the box's top, and again, it seemed to know what to do, embedding itself in the wood's surface, almost like it melted. And with that, there seemed to be no other option. I opened the lid. The power that blasted out of it knocked both Roman and me backward, and at the same time, I felt a different sort of power snap into my body. The strings that bound my soul to Hell reattached. My immortal essence coursed through me, and with it, I felt all the other abilities Hell had granted me return. I felt strong. Charged. Invincible. My senses tuned back in to the unseen world, and the blast of powerful immortal auras filled the air. And there, in the rain, light and color slowly coalesced out of the box and into a man-shaped form. A few minutes later, it took on a completely human appearance. One that looked like John Cusack. Grace and Mei halted their attack, both staring. Carefully, hesitantly, Mei then took a few steps back. Jerome paid her no attention. He was focused on Grace. â€Å"Oh man,† I said softly. â€Å"You are so fucked.†

Kerry vs. Bush essays

Kerry vs. Bush essays The many tasks an American President assumes upon appointment are perhaps the most challenging roles any individual can undertake. The President is the head of state of the country and; under the U.S. constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and commander in chief of the armed forces. According to the constitution, The President of the United States must take care that the laws be faithfully executed. The President directs the executive branch of the federal government and has important legislative and judicial powers as well. The American President is often hailed as the most powerful person on earth because of the superpower status of the United States. The current occupant is often one of the worlds most prominent figures. During the Cold War, the president was sometimes referred to as the leader of the free world, a phrase that is still used today (President of the United States. Wikipedia.org. Nov. 2004) Their names are George W. Bush and John Kerry this years main candidates for the Republican and Democratic parties. President George W. Bush is a steadfast Republican, labeled a compassionate conservative. Born to New Haven, Connecticut, Bush hails Midland, Texas as his home, as he grew up there. Bush earned his bachelors degree from Yale University in 1968 and served in the Military in the Texas Air National Guard. After obtaining his masters degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1975, and helping his father in his successful campaign, he began a thriving career in the energy business even purchasing the Texas Rangers Baseball Team in 1989. Bush was then elected governor of Texas and served six years in office (1994 2000). After a campaign in which he outlined sweeping proposals to reform America's public schools, transform our national defense, provide tax relie...

Role and Reference Grammar Analysis Essay

Role and Reference Grammar Analysis Essay Role and Reference Grammar Analysis Essay Sample Role and Reference Grammar Analysis Essay Sample The paper discusses the Role and Reference Grammar (RRG) and its role in the analysis of the computer mediated communication (CMC). It researches the meaning in relation to speech situations and deals with utterance meaning. RRG provides an ideal theoretical framework to develop the central idea of current work, the view that manifests split intransitivity, which is determined by the tension between syntactic and semantic alignment, and is variously constrained by information structure. In the course of investigation, the computer mediated speech acts are analyzed from the perspectives of RRG in order to understand what is the relation between the linguistic and pragmatic expression of the utterances, and how the assist in deconstructing the meaning of the speech act, as well as the original intention of the author. Current study is tightly connected with the issue of functionally oriented theory of formal linguistic theory, which is the Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). It views language as interpersonal communication between people, rather than as an infinite set of structural descriptions of sentences. Functional linguistics is interested in the field of â€Å"grammatical competence† or â€Å"communicative competence†, which embrace both linguistic and social knowledge. The interaction of semantic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic factors plays a dominant role in creating the morph syntactic structure. It should be emphasized that in Role and Reference Grammar (RRG), â€Å"role† stands for the semantics which interacts with â€Å"reference†, which stands for pragmatics (Van Valin and LaPolla, 1997, p. 1). Semantics is the study of meaning and pragmatics â€Å"is the study of language from a functional perspective, that is, that it attempts to explain facets of lingui stic structure by reference to non-linguistic pressures and causes† (Levinson, 1983, p 7). In other words, RRG researches the interaction between syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Current work makes an attempt to investigate the role of RRG in computer mediated communication. It represents RRG as a mix of semantic and pragmatics dealing with a) the relation between signs or linguistic expressions and b) the contexts in which people use language and the behavior of speakers and listeners. RRG is supposed to assist in the process of true meaning deconstruction. Given research paper will investigate the expressive speech acts in social networks, aiming at identification of the most frequently used constructions in the expression of different emotions. It should be stated that the main idea of choosing such topic is the fact that despite the considerable amount of research, which has been devoted to the RRG topic, few attempts have been made to investigate its application for the computer-mediated communication analysis. State of the Art RRG in traditional sense comprises the study of language usage united with the study of combinational properties of words and their parts. RRG theory researches the meaning in relation to speech situations and deals with utterance meaning. RRG provides an ideal theoretical framework to develop the central idea of current work, the view that manifests split intransitivity, which is determined by the tension between syntactic and semantic alignment, and is variously constrained by information structure. RRG posits three independent levels of representation: a representation of syntactic structure, a semantic representation, and the representation of the information structure of the utterances. RRG is very persuasive in its attempts to demonstrate how semantic and pragmatic functions can be seen as a partial motivation for linguistic form, while not explaining it completely. Van Valin and LaPolla discuss RRG and state that syntactic behavior is shown to be predicted by the underlying semantics and discourse pragmatics. Van Valin and LaPolla in the work â€Å"Syntax: Structure, Meaning, and Function† (1997) accept Dik’s criterion of psychological adequacy as a goal for RRG. In RRG, features of constructions are represented by the use of construction schemes, which display the knowledge associated with construction terms of semantics, syntax, morphology, and pragmatics. They are flexible enough for the description of a great variety of construction types, as they allow for the semantics, syntax etc. slots to be filled with features to variables degrees. The first RRG collection of grammatical descriptions for various languages that emphasize the role and importa nce of construction-schemata, and the explanatory power they contain to understand grammatical phenomena at the interfaces that appear to go beyond the lexicon. Application of RRG for the computer-mediated communication is essential, as it assists in understanding how the construction of the speech meaning acts. RRG investigates how statements obtain their meaning in speech situations, through the application of semantic and syntactic structures. RRG is useful for understanding the characteristics of the groups of terms that occur in various semantic domains. In his study of syntax, Van Valin (1997) delimits continuum with verb-specific semantic roles at one end and grammatical relations at the other. Van Valin (1997) begins the analysis of verb-specific semantic roles, such as someone who speaks, someone who thinks, hears and likes. He observes that such roles form a group, which he describes as thematic relations. One who speaks is an agent, one who thinks is cognizer, one who hears is perceiver and one who likes is emoter. Characteristics of Computer Mediated Communication At first it is worth mentioning the Computer Mediated Communication, or as it is often called CMC. Such particular type of communication exists since the time of creating the first digital computer, or since the first recorded email exchange, which happened in 1969. Researcher Charles Dills defines it in his book â€Å"Instructional Development Paradigms† (1997), where he points out: â€Å"Computer mediated communication (CMC) is a generic term now commonly used for a variety of systems that enable people to communicate with other people by means of computers and networks. Well-known examples of such systems include computer conferencing, electronic mail, discussion lists, and bulletin boards† (p. 745). While discussing the methodological issues, the theory of speech acts should be mentioned. It is necessary to point out that social media provides people with an opportunity to reveal their message in its particular form of expression. When people communicate in the social networks, they use language in order to perform particular actions. In such case, the process of communication is directly linked to the theory of speech acts. In the framework of speech act theory, two persons (addressor and addressee) communicate and show the intention of their messages. Addressor sends his message to the addressee, and the latter encodes it. The famous work by scholar Austin â€Å"How to Do Things with Words† gave rise to a new outlook of language. His important realization that ‘in saying something a speaker also does something’ has been widely accepted, and his division of acts into locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary has formed the basis for development of communicative functions defined by illocutionary force. The computer-mediated communication has its own specific features. It should be taken into account that it is a kind of hybrid between the spoken and written language. It should not be treated as a single mode of communication, because every individual brings his/her specific features into it. In the virtual world a person creates his/her own personality (often different from the real one), which facilitates the communication process, removes psychological barriers, and liberates the creative â€Å"I†. Such interactive forms of mediated communication, as chat rooms, forums, and newsgroups provide the unique opportunity for self-expression. Mukesh Chaturvedi in his book â€Å"Business Communication: Concepts, Cases, and Applications† (2011) states: â€Å"Social media are popular because they allow collaboration and creativity. The audience of social media can participate by adding comments or changing the stores themselves. The empowerment and freedom of the audience to add or create new content makes social media a process and not a static medium† (p. 23). The computer-mediated communication (according to researcher Grelffenstein) is divided into two main types: synchronous and asynchronous. â€Å"Synchronous type of computer mediated communication shows more features of spoken language. The asynchronous type of CMC is closer to written language† (Grelffenstein, 2010, p. 30). Computer-mediated communication constitutes a practical resource for eliciting emotionally rich and detailed disclosures from people who might otherwise be reluctant to seek health advice from professionals directly. Grammar in CMC is characterized by colloquial and non-standard constructions, often similar to constructions found in dialects. The omission of function words like prepositions, copulas, and auxiliary verbs sometimes gives CMC a pidgin-like character. On the one hand, it can occur due to reasons of economy when users have to type fast. On the other hand, such omissions can be viewed as dialect features which have developed as the result of intense pressure to accommodate between group members. The syntactic features of CMC can reflect informal habits of speech. The Data and Method of Analysis Section CMC has its own particular register. It should be stated that the Internet has influenced not only the human way of thinking, but also the speech mode. In most cases people use the non-standard language, while communicating in social networks. The Internet register is a kind of dialect, which is understandable for Web users only. Famous linguist David Crystal once said: â€Å"On Twitter (which limits each written entry to 140 characters), you dont get the range of texting abbreviations you get in text messaging. Its a more sophisticated kind of communicative medium. You get semantic threads running through it. When you start counting thousands and thousands of messages, you suddenly realize that on the whole its a new art form in the making† (Jo Lo Dico, 2012, par.14). Tweeting and texting influence the language. There exist various viewpoints to such issue. A number of people criticize Internet language and state that it â€Å"ruins children’s ability to write correctly, leading to poor spelling, ignorance of rules of writing, and even decline of morality† (Denham and Lobeck, 2010, p. 450). It should be stated that Internet language should be perceived as new form of a language, which conveys tone and emotions. Current research aims at analyzing the linguistic peculiarities of the language used in social networks. In order to conduct it, the questionnaires and social networks’ pages of 20 young people were analyzed. Analysis In the course of current research, the analysis was divided into two parts. The first one was aimed at investigating the semantics, and the second part made an attempt to research the context and the behavior of the speakers. In such way, the study will discuss both semantics and pragmatics. For the semantic research, the feature-based graduation was applied in order to determine the argument’s activity degree for verbs of emotion. The calculus is based on three features: Cause [c]; Mental [m]; Result [r]. Moreover, the following indicators are used in order to determine the strength of the proto-agent: [c] – strong proto-agent feature; [m] – weak proto-agent feature; [r] – strong proto-patient feature (according to Nolan and Driedchsen, 2013, p. 126) Expressive Speech Acts Expressive comments are used to show the readers the addressor’s inner feelings and psychological state. In most cases the feelings are of like or dislike, love, hate, joy, and sorrow. Nearly 40% of social networks’ users apply expressive speech acts. The analysis has also revealed frequent application of such verbs as â€Å"to love†, â€Å"to like†, â€Å"to miss†, â€Å"to trust†. In most cases, the comments in the computer-mediated communication include the feelings of positive emotions only. Very rarely the people post photos, which result in the occurrence of negative feelings, and posting negative comments with the application of such emotion verbs as â€Å"to hate† or â€Å"to dislike†. While analyzing the verbs of emotion from RRG perspective, one should take into account the fact that they presuppose different types of EXPERIENCER. The TARGET or SENSATION may argument the CORRELATE. In other words, it is the state of af fairs in which the emotion is concerned. In the analysis an EXPERIECER, undergoing change of sate in concrete emotional episode is represented by the feature-value cluster [-c+m+r] (Nolan and Driedchsen, 2013, p. 127). Example: I did I miss him a whole lot!!! Love you too girl! Semantics: The representation of the verb â€Å"to love† is problematic because it can be non-episodic or episodic, according to the context. In the episodic use [r] would be [+] and would, therefore, neutralize the value of the actor-features [ ±c+m]: 2+2-4=0. The same degree of activity would be attributed to both arguments, the EXPERIENCER and the CORRELATE, thus rendering macrorole assignment undecidable. Another emotion verb applied in the speech act (to miss), is the intransitive subject-experiencer verb. In such case, the EXPERIENCER directs her emotional behavior to a point of reference, through which the unexpressed correlate may be inferred. The point of reference is represented by the feature-value-cluster [-c ±m-r], in which the EXPERIENCER shows an active emotional behavior and assumes the cluster [ ±c+m-r] with more or less controlled acting (represented by [ ±c]). Such syntactic construction is essential for the expressive speech act, as it assists the r eaders to understand the function of the comment better. Pragmatics: Such comment was applied in order to express the positive feeling of bereavement. The speaker makes an attempt to show that he still preserves positive feelings through the application of emotion verbs â€Å"to love† and â€Å"to miss†. The importance of the context for understanding a text can be further illustrated by set of items that help focus on particular hints in the utterance. As a result, the reader turns out to be able to connect the message encoded in the text to his own socio-cultural background and knowledge. In other words, the observant reader will ascertain specific signals and deconstruct the coherence of the statement. RRG helps grasp the relations between the language and the context, which are coded within the structure of the comment. In a given context, the emotion verbs â€Å"to miss† and â€Å"to love† obtain additional meaning. They serve as confirmation that the person, who is discussed in the comment, is dead. The emotion verb â€Å"to miss† performs the function of the statement â€Å"Unfortunately, he has died†. The analysis of CMC (Twitter and Facebook), have revealed the fact that the words â€Å"to love† and â€Å"to miss† are the most frequently used ones. People use them in order to express their positive feelings towards others and express their devotion. I like such dresses!!! Semantics: The EXPERIENCER seems to be less active, since she does not express subjective judgement. We can only explain macrorole assignment and PSA selection of such class if we ignore the [r] feature as we have done in the case of the EXPERIENCER of the episodic user. Pragmatics: In current case, the emotion verb â€Å"to like† acquires the meaning â€Å"to want†. The verb â€Å"to like† presupposes the meaning that he speaker actually has a desire to obtain it and wear it. Such expressive speech act was applied in order to show the speaker’s attraction by the particular item of clothing. The only man, whom I trust! [-c, -m, -r]. Semantics: The causative class separates the CAUSER and the CORRELATE, realizing a CORRELATE or a POINT OF REFERENCE as the third argument. The EXPERIENCER undergoes an episodic change of her or his emotional state. Pragmatics: The function of the emotion verb is to express the inner feeling of believing that a person says the truth. It might be stated that meaning of the emotion verb â€Å"to trust† in current case is â€Å"to rely†. He irritates me so much!!! Semantics: The statement expresses the contrast between the object EXPERIENCER verbs of emotions and marked the UNDERGOER or EXPERIENCER verbs of emotion, which are the result of the ACTOR argument. Pragmatics: The function of the emotion verb â€Å"to irritate† is to express the negative feelings tightly connected with the mode of the ACTOR’s behavior. It affects the EXPERIENCER and he applies the emotion verb in order to manifest his dislike. Current research work was aimed at revealing the application of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). RRG has become a debated issue in modern linguistics, as it postulates its own theory of phrase structure. It emphasizes the generative syntax tradition and makes an attempt to analyze the relationship macroroles. The work was aimed at uniting such progressive linguistic notion as RRG with modern computer-mediated communication. The thing is that such kind of analysis seems to be quite innovative, as it unites such popular linguistic notions as RRG and CMC. RRG recognizes the importance of constructions by using construction-schemata. It allows capturing the cross-linguistic generalizations while expressing the language-particular properties. In the course of current research, attention was paid to semantic and pragmatic aspects of RRG. The semantic representation is based on a system of lexical representation and semantic roles. It is a branch of linguistics dealing with the contexts in which people use language and the behavior of speakers and listeners. In the course of analysis, semantics revealed the role of the grammatical constructions and emotion verbs in particular, and pragmatics defined the reference for it. Expressive speech acts, as conversational agents, were chosen as the topic of the investigation. People often provide the comments to different photos and pictures in the social networks, and such comments may be treated as speech acts. They are special conversational agents in a computer-mediated environment, which are deliberately built on the notion of speech act performatives. In addition, they are tightly connected to the certain kind of communication within a functional model of grammar. Its major objective was to understand the most frequently used constructions and their contexts. In the course of research it was found out that expressive speech acts are the most frequently used constructions in computer-mediated communication. In most cases, such speech acts include the emotion verbs. Emotion verbs include different types of EXPERIENCER, and the TARGET or SENSATION may argument the CORRELATE. The investigation has shown that RRG analysis assists to deconstruct the meaning an d function of the speech act. It prioritizes cognitive over sociocultural explanation. In present work, RRG has made an extensive use of authentic data and assisted to define the theta-features and values data. Expressive speech acts are relevant for the computer-mediated communication because they express the inner thoughts of their author and provide the ability to understand him. They are tightly connected with emotion verbs, as they serve the main means of the expression. RRG assisted to understand the intentions of the speaker and deconstruct the true meaning of the expressive speech acts through the semantic and pragmatic analysis.

a night to remember Essays - English-language Films, Films, Mikey

And listened to a band play a pretty good impression of la-bam-ba and a lot of other good early hits. I hadn?t had supper or dinner yet so my friends and I head to the whispering winds and I?m in the mood for some breakfast and I get to the side of the casino where the whispering winds are at and I see that there is a line the size of one at a carnival. We all decide to head to super pumper for some kind of munchies instead of waiting in line for 2 hours. We get there walk in I go to the bathroom, when I get out I grab some a bag of dill pickle chips and a bottle of sprite, Mikey gets a bag of flaming out cheetos and a power-aid, Brandon gets a beacon cheese burger a bag of chips and a cherry coke. Go back out to the parking lot and go chill in Mikey?s hot rod red colored Cammaro and ate our food and suddenly mike gets a phone call, I can hear bits and pieces of the conversation. What I hear is ?common Mikey come pick us up? I had only one guess who it was. We are on E for gas so I d ecide to put 15$ and that gets us to about half a tank. So we head out to Waubun and go pick up Tori and raven the ones I had in mind. We tell them to hurry up before their parents see us pick them up so it?s Mikey driving me in the passenger Tori behind Mikey and raven behind me. It?s now the five of us in his small spaced Camarro so Mikey get back on the phone and tries to find out where the party is at. He gets hold of Kyle and he says it?s at his house Allison?s birthday party. Now we are driving to Kyle?s house and Tori gets a call it her friend Amy and she wants us to go pick her up as well, but the thing is we are only on 3/8s tank of gas and no one has no money so Tori talk to Amy again and asks ?if she has any money she says ?yes 10$? Mikey says ?yah ok we can go get her? well we drop Brandon off because we need the space and I drive to Naytahwaush because Mikey has his driver licenses suspended from all the driving violations he has got so he makes me drive so I?m fine wit h that because he wanted to drink and I was going to be the DD so I figured id drive the rest of the night. We get to Naytahwaush and pick up Amy. its so dark u cant see nothing out side of the lights so we could hardly find her. We head back to the party we get there and everyone is hammered drunk already so the people with me all decide to try and catch up. I?m sitting there at the fire laughing at everyone how they are falling over, stumbling, being the drunk people that they are, and I see Amy so drunk she cant walk so being the nice guy I am I go and pick her up and try and make her sober up but she is being snaky and wont listen so she?s trying to push me away while she?s falling down and I?m trying to catch her all in the same process and then Kyle?s sisters boyfriend comes up to us and he asks ?what the problem? I tell him the situation he agrees with me and decides to try and help me then his girl friend see this all go down, she decides to try and help up and thinks that A my is trying to fight and she wants her out of there. Some how Amy gets away from me and walks away and Kyle?s sister heather walks right behind her and asks ?what?s your problem? and Amy does this spinning back hand looked like a UFC fighter throwing one, hits heather along her stomach and chest area. Heather gets mad grabs her by the throat and puts

Assignment #2 Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment #2 - Statistics Project Example It depicts the representation of distinct graphical illustration of the underlying positive kurtosis. The dataset is mainly linked to the left of the mean of satisfaction depicting a general level of democracy among the populace (Goodwin, 189-239). The ordinal scales are constantly discrete in nature and is applicable to existing model of corresponding data analysis. Nominal variable are number of employees and corresponding level of democracy. The stage of democracies of the population is adversely skewed as compared to the underlying interval variable. This scatter plot offers a platform for representation of the underlying set of dataset and commonly derived prior to analysis of the linear correlation coefficient of the prevailing variants data (Goodwin, 189-239). The level of democracy is inversely proportionate to the prevailing number of the underlying workers in the company. The relationship is adversely related concerning extends of democracy. The 95% confidence level around the mean for the interval variable is 5.466553063. The upper limit of 5.466553063+ 0.095678992 whilst the lower limit is 5.466553063- 0.095678992 thus all the existing 95% contains the mean Bar chary helps in summarization of the prevailing categorical data in the exploratory data assessment of data examination to exhibit fundamental distribution of the data convenient format. This mainly represents the underlying ordinal and corresponding nominal data. Confidence 95percentage level encompasses the underlying the existing populace. The standard deviation of democracy is 206.5344828. The skewness and kurtosis of the dataset is -0.608361087 and 1.131668626

Pro Genetically Modified Foods. Only the pros not the cons Essay

Pro Genetically Modified Foods. Only the pros not the cons - Essay Example These foods benefit farmers as they realize higher yields when they grow them (Carter, Moschini & Sheldon, 2011, p. 33). Therefore, these foods promote the wellbeing of the entire society. Reduced poverty levels, for example, illustrate the importance of genetically modified foods. These foods, also, affect positively on the environment. They safeguard the environment in a number of ways, which makes the earth a better place to live in. consequently, human beings achieve peace of mind as protection of the environment assures them of the protection of future generations. Many governments around the globe advocate for the use of genetically modified foods. The United States, for example, encourages the growth of these foods (Forman, 2010, p. 26). Governments appreciate that the foods alleviate poverty in their respective countries. More to this, they encourage cultivation of these foods due to the economic implications resulting from the foods. The foods, for example, promote economic growth, given the availability of food that can be exported to other countries. The foods also save the various economies amounts that could have been used to import foods. These funds can be channeled to other development projects, thus boosting the standards of living in the nations. Environmental activists also support the use of genetically modified foods. These foods protect their interest of conserving the environment, which makes them support the implementation of these crops in their different regions (Young, 2004, pp. 2-3). Health institutions encourage the use of these foods as well. This follows the health benefits derived from growing the crops. They, for example, utilize minimal application of chemicals on the plants. Consequent to this, farmers and other farm workers experience reduced exposure to harmful chemicals. This reduces the number of health cases related to the use of the chemicals,

Leading Global Workforce Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Leading Global Workforce - Assignment Example Unlike the past era of unitary entrepreneurship practices, the present day business in the international level requires a wide range of resources and quality management to ensure profitable business. Globalization has opened the doors for investors to set up their business at preferred locations without the worries about conventional barriers of language, culture and political differences as experienced in the past. As a result, more and more companies are coming forward with their share of interest in the international economic arena and are enthusiastic to experiment all possible methods to expand their business across potential regions of the world. Even though outsourcing provides a lot of opportunities to the leaders to find and test new talents at regular intervals, it carries the risk of inconsistent performance challenge at the macro level. As Hook (n.d.) points out, the new observations of business focus on outsourcing much beyond the traditional cost-cutting benefit and fin d it as a strategic device to ensure forceful impact on economic stability and growth. As a result, the companies in America have shown a steady growth in the share of their investment in outsourcing during the past two decades. By realizing the fact that the core competency of the company’s outsourced human resource depends upon its capacity to produce the quality result within the stipulated time, managers can convert outsourcing for competitive advantage. According to Forbes report by Mourdoukoutas (2011), the instability concern about outsourcing is primarily due to the unlimited expansion possibilities before companies to find new resource destinations, which eventually creates fear among the existing employees. Thus the insertion of vision and virtues of loyalty and relationship values can guarantee the success of outsourcing to a great extent. Outsourcing is vulnerable to operational issues such as differences due to changing managerial standards, chances of

Superior Foods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Superior Foods - Essay Example As the study outlines to maintain competitiveness, 25% of daily-wage production workers had to be dismissed for next 3-4 months until the bans would remove and production process resume. The company is bound to reduce existing number of production employees because of changes in external environment; however, the old workers could be hired again once Superior Foods comes out of crisis. In this way, employees could be mentally prepared and would possibly not portray strong resistance. The communication would enable to maintain relationships, confidence and trust over employers, because they could be recruited again once the situation comes under control. From this study it is clear that it would be better to use an indirect approach to communicate negative message or news with employees working at production plants. Indeed, the reporter would start with a positive note to recall the value workers receive at Superior Foods. He would then explain all the recent market changes and reasons that have compelled the international food producer and exporter to take tough decisions to restore competitiveness in food industry. This would help making workers mentally prepared about any expected negative news from strategic planners. Then, the reporter would convey the bad news so that workers could assimilate this shock and accept the motives behind that decision. Finally, the message would end on a positive note with a reassurance to valued employees that they could rejoin Superior Foods after relaxation in bans and improvement in business prospects. As you all know that our company Superior Foods pay special attention to its valued workers an d opt for their welfare and well-being. However, we have been writing this letter to communicate recent changes that have taken place in our domestic (USA) and global markets. First, the mad cow disease has negatively affected our purchases of animals followed by reduction in supplies from partners / suppliers.

Script for radio news report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Script for radio news report - Essay Example It is an all rounded topic that is touching on the current situation in Singapore’s social and political life. THOUSANDS OF SINGAPOREANS THRONGED THE STREETS TODAY IN CELEBRATION OF SINGAPORE’S FORTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY. THE EXCITEMENT IS ALMOST TANGIBLE AMONGST THE PEOPLE WITH A NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES SET FOR THESE CELEBRATIONS. DOZENS OF SINGAPORE CITIZENS HAVE TAKEN TIME AWAY FROM THEIR DAILY ROUTINE TO CELEBRATE THE COUNTRY’S INDEPENDENCE DAY. THEY HAVE CONVERGED IN THE STREETS AS A SHOW OF THEIR PRIDE IN THE STEPS TAKEN BY THE COUNTRY SINCE IT GAINED INDEPENDENCE. ALTHOUGH THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE LEAST POSITIVE PEOPLE, A MAJORITY OF THE SINGAPOREANS WE INTEEVIEWED ARE VERY PROUD OF THE STEPS THAT THIS COUNTRY HAS TAKEN SO FAR. SOME FEEL THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN ENOUGH STEPS IN ENSURING THAT THE PEOPLE RECEIVE THE BEST SERVICES FROM MOST PUBLIC OFFICES. WHILE A FEW SINGAPOREANS FEEL THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS YET TO ATTAIN ITS FULL POTENTIAL, MOST ARE HAPPY WITH THE STEPS TAKEN SO FAR. AT THE MOMENT, ALL THAT SINGAPOREANS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO IS AN ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY FOR THE

Leading Global Workforce Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Leading Global Workforce - Assignment Example Unlike the past era of unitary entrepreneurship practices, the present day business in the international level requires a wide range of resources and quality management to ensure profitable business. Globalization has opened the doors for investors to set up their business at preferred locations without the worries about conventional barriers of language, culture and political differences as experienced in the past. As a result, more and more companies are coming forward with their share of interest in the international economic arena and are enthusiastic to experiment all possible methods to expand their business across potential regions of the world. Even though outsourcing provides a lot of opportunities to the leaders to find and test new talents at regular intervals, it carries the risk of inconsistent performance challenge at the macro level. As Hook (n.d.) points out, the new observations of business focus on outsourcing much beyond the traditional cost-cutting benefit and fin d it as a strategic device to ensure forceful impact on economic stability and growth. As a result, the companies in America have shown a steady growth in the share of their investment in outsourcing during the past two decades. By realizing the fact that the core competency of the company’s outsourced human resource depends upon its capacity to produce the quality result within the stipulated time, managers can convert outsourcing for competitive advantage. According to Forbes report by Mourdoukoutas (2011), the instability concern about outsourcing is primarily due to the unlimited expansion possibilities before companies to find new resource destinations, which eventually creates fear among the existing employees. Thus the insertion of vision and virtues of loyalty and relationship values can guarantee the success of outsourcing to a great extent. Outsourcing is vulnerable to operational issues such as differences due to changing managerial standards, chances of

Script for radio news report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Script for radio news report - Essay Example It is an all rounded topic that is touching on the current situation in Singapore’s social and political life. THOUSANDS OF SINGAPOREANS THRONGED THE STREETS TODAY IN CELEBRATION OF SINGAPORE’S FORTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY. THE EXCITEMENT IS ALMOST TANGIBLE AMONGST THE PEOPLE WITH A NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES SET FOR THESE CELEBRATIONS. DOZENS OF SINGAPORE CITIZENS HAVE TAKEN TIME AWAY FROM THEIR DAILY ROUTINE TO CELEBRATE THE COUNTRY’S INDEPENDENCE DAY. THEY HAVE CONVERGED IN THE STREETS AS A SHOW OF THEIR PRIDE IN THE STEPS TAKEN BY THE COUNTRY SINCE IT GAINED INDEPENDENCE. ALTHOUGH THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE LEAST POSITIVE PEOPLE, A MAJORITY OF THE SINGAPOREANS WE INTEEVIEWED ARE VERY PROUD OF THE STEPS THAT THIS COUNTRY HAS TAKEN SO FAR. SOME FEEL THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN ENOUGH STEPS IN ENSURING THAT THE PEOPLE RECEIVE THE BEST SERVICES FROM MOST PUBLIC OFFICES. WHILE A FEW SINGAPOREANS FEEL THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS YET TO ATTAIN ITS FULL POTENTIAL, MOST ARE HAPPY WITH THE STEPS TAKEN SO FAR. AT THE MOMENT, ALL THAT SINGAPOREANS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO IS AN ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY FOR THE

Poetry and War Essay Example for Free

Poetry and War Essay How does Owen explore the themes of war through the power of his poetry? Written by: vdg How does Owen explore the themes of war through the power of his poetry? Answer Q Owen expresses the themes of war through the unique power of poetry. Both the mental and physical brutality of war is emphasised in the poems, â€Å"The Send off,† â€Å"Anthem for doomed youth† and â€Å"Spring Offensive,† furthering the responder’s understanding of a soldier’s life on the western front. Owen employs various poetic devices such as imagery, symbolism and sound techniques, and powerful language features, together helping to convey the different aspects of war, such as the themes of ___ (maybe 4 main themes). 100 words on extract, linking to q Wilfred Owen’s, â€Å"The send-off,† illustrates the consequences of war and reveals its cynical, secretive nature through the use of poetic devices. The title, â€Å"The Send-off,† depicts two different images about the nature of war. â€Å"Send-off† could be interpreted as a farewell to soldiers, in the hope of their return, or metaphorically could convey their literal fighting till death. The composer’s use of symbolism, â€Å"darkening lane,† portrays the sinister side of war, while the alliteration, â€Å"grimly gay,† creates irony. This depicts the soldiers’ hidden fear of going into battlefield, compared with their initial excitement at â€Å"send-off. † The composer also emphasises the fact that the â€Å"typical† send-off is an emotionless, mechanical procedure for many military personal, rather than a cheerful experience. Owen’s choice of diction is used to convey the horrors and themes of war. The metaphor, â€Å"Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray. As men’s are, dead,† reinforces the concept of doom and sacrifice during war, through the onomatopoeia of â€Å"stuck† and the negative connotations associated with the word â€Å"dead†. Diction is used, â€Å"Dull porters watched them, and a casual tramp†¦staring hard, sorry to miss them†¦,† to demonstrate that most onlookers have a lack of emotion towards war. The rhetorical question, â€Å"Shall they return to beatings of great bells in wild train-loads? ,† conveys the uncertainty of war, where a soldier’s fate is unknown to many. The composer’s use of repetition â€Å"A few, a few, too few for drums and yells†, conveys a sense of loneliness, as there are only a handful of soldiers who have returned home, depicting the horrors of the aftermath of war. The composer’s use of imagery, â€Å"May creep back, silent†¦up half-known roads†, portrays the returned soldiers’ disillusioned state of mind, effectively giving the responder an insight into the consequences of war. The composer’s successful use of personification in this poem, â€Å"Then, unmoved, signals nodded† and â€Å"a lamp winked to the guard†, illustrates the secretive and cynical nature of war, and presents the mental assumptions about a typical war. Personification is also used, â€Å"So secretly, like wrongs hushed-up, they went,† to communicate the soldier’s unfair treatment at the hands of the government, while the phrase â€Å"they were not ours†, alludes to the soldier’s lack of belongingness. LINK TO Q Another poem, in which Owen uses the power of poetry to convey the themes of war, is â€Å"Anthem for doomed youth. † The title, â€Å"Anthem for doomed youth,† acts as an extended metaphor for the sacrificial and improvident consequences of war. Owen uses religious imagery, â€Å"candles† and â€Å"choirs†, alluding to the funeral ceremonies associated with such religious symbols, while also depicting the inhumane nature of killing during the war. â€Å"Doomed,† conveys a pessimistic tone and creates an image of entrapment. The opening rhetorical question, â€Å"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? †, illustrates the dehumanisation of war through the use of animal imagery. Moreover, the composer’s repetition, â€Å"only,† highlights the insufficient homage paid to death. Owen also employs alliteration and symbolism to convey the themes related with war. Alliteration, â€Å"rapid-rattle†¦,† is used to assist the responder’s knowledge of the nature of death, and heightens our aural and visual senses to these disorientating images. Another example of alliteration, â€Å"sad shires†¦,† conveys the after effects of war and its devastating consequences. Owen also tries to convey the horrifying nature of war through his vivid use of symbolism. Religious and church symbols such as â€Å"bells† and â€Å"choirs,† denote religion as a sanctuary from the horrors and evils of war. Imagery, â€Å"What candles maybe held†¦shall shine in the holy glimmers of good-byes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , transforms the mourner’s candlelight into tears and the â€Å"pallor† of mourners faces are compared to a â€Å"pall†, contrasting the different funeral images in war and peace. Also, the connotation of â€Å"each slow dusk†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , reinforces the cycle of life and death. It is evident that through the composer’s power of poetry, various themes been conveyed about war, thus heightening the responder’s understanding of the war experience. SUM UP THEMES In the final two lines of the poem, the composer makes successful use of imagery together with alliteration to convey the horrors of war, â€Å"Each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds,† revealing the end for many soldiers’ lives. LINK TO Q Through the poem, â€Å"Spring offensive†, the composer conveys the various themes about war, through contrast, imagery and simile. The positive connotation, â€Å"Spring,† reinforces the idea of rebirth and renewal, which is juxtaposed with the destructive connotations associated with â€Å"offensive†. Owen awakens the audience through the harshness of the sound â€Å"f† in the alliteration, â€Å"fearfully flashed†. In so doing, the composer provides an ominous warning on the battlefield. Owen’s vivid use of death imagery, â€Å"Knowing their feet had come to the end of the world†, portrays a rather chilling and detrimental perspective of the battlefield. Owen continues to mix the ideas of war and nature in the third stanza. Here the composer effectively juxtaposes the beauty of â€Å"buttercups† with the men’s â€Å"boots,† to emphasise war’s unnatural repulsiveness. Owen’s use of simile, â€Å"clutched to them and to them like sorrowing hands†¦,† conveys mother nature’s unwillingness to relinquish the soldier’s lives. Simile is also used, â€Å"like a cold gust†, to depict the lack of warmth and quiet beginnings of confrontation, as war commences in the fourth stanza. Owen also successfully uses vivid war imagery to convey the various concepts of war in â€Å"Spring-offensive† and thus portraying the horrors present in war. The imagery, â€Å"So soon they topped the hill, and raced together†¦instantly the whole sky burned with fury†¦,† illustrates the dark and frightening nature of war amongst this peaceful physical environment, while the unity, â€Å"together,† highlights that the men go into battlefield as a group. Finally, the composer’s use of the rhetorical question â€Å"Why speak not they of comrades that went under? †, conveys the ghastly and silent nature of the battlefield, as the battle nears to an end. LINK TO Q Consequently, it is evident Owen has been able to integrate various poetic devices and language features into his poems, to reveal numerous ideas within war. Owen has been able to successfully convey the horrors of war through his power of poetry and his influential words. ANSWER THE Q Where ever possible, LINK TO Q!!! MEMORISE â€Å"The Send-Off† is a poem written about WW1 soldiers leaving their homes to go off to war. It is set in a train station where a soldier is watching the new recruits boarding the train. You can tell it is written by an on looking soldier because in line 12 he says, â€Å"They were not ours†; where as previously he had been referring to them as â€Å"them†. In â€Å"The Send-Off†, Owen conveys his feelings about the war and the young soldiers going off to die. You can tell he has a very pessimistic attitude to the likelihood of the soldiers surviving. You can see this from his continual references to death, â€Å"Their breasts were stuck all stuck with wreath and spray/As men’s are, dead†. To convey his emotions and foretelling further he uses a range of language. The actual words that he uses are quite simple, but he uses many effects to create imagery. In line 3, Owen uses the oxymoron, â€Å"grimly gay†, this gives the impression that the soldiers know what is going to happen to them and they are scared, but they put on a brave face anyway so as not to upset their families, each-other and also, if they don’t admit their fear to themselves, then maybe it will go away. In the poem there is often para-rhym, for example, â€Å"They were not ours†¦who gave them flowers†. There is more often though just a normal rhyme. This rhyme scheme seems to have no particular pattern; it will start a pattern, and then change it. It starts off A, B, A, A, B, C, B, C, and carries on in the same sort of irregular patterns. Maybe Owen is trying to convey the mixed, uncertain feelings and lives that can change so quickly, with a mixed, uncertain rhyme scheme. This is the same with the rhythm; I think this is to represent, instead of the regular, ordered marching step that the army is renowned for, there is disorder and chaos. I think that he is trying to convey the truth of war. Analysis of The send off 2006-09-10 Added by: John Terry This poem actually conveys a message to the readers. That war is not as glorious and honourable as it is always portrayed as. The pun in the title also shows this. The send-off could mean two things. Firstly, it could mean that the soldiers were being sent off to war. However, it could also mean that the soldiers were being sent off to their deaths. This emphasizes the fact that war actually is not what it is portrayed to be. It is not glorious and honourable to fight in war but the people and soldiers going through it are actually filled with grieve and most soldiers do not survive in war. The pun has brought across this message to the reader. WAR IS not an honourable and glorious thing to be in.