The spanish company ZARA, is an example of globalization;how and why Essay

The spanish company ZARA, is an example of globalization;how and why - Essay Example Zara is one of such names as it has long been impacting the life of customers and the economies of many countries that it has maintained its business-base. This piece of research paper examines microeconomic concepts regarding economies of scale, profit strategies, effective use of resources and market forms in relation to Zara’s business and marketing landscapes. This paper aims to illustrate the global business aspects of Zara and explain how Zara has maintained sustainable business as well as competitive advantages. Zara International Inc. is the flagship brand for Europe’s fastest-growing apparel retailer, the Inditex (Industria de Diseno), one of the largest fashion and design retail groups in the world. It runs through more than 4,000 clothing stores in more than 70 countries and 400 cities worldwide (Plunkett, p. 237). Not only the retailing strategies, but also the marketing concepts and ideologies that Zara has been implementing for its business have become better business-model and academically significant strategies. Zara runs more than 200 kids shops in some 75 countries, and sells women’s, men’s and children’s apparel to its customers worldwide. (Yahoo Finance, 2011). As Tamer (p. 484) noted, Zara has emerged to be the leader in rapid-response retailing. Its in-house teams for designing and manufacturing its products produce fresh designs twice a week. The total turn-around time at Zara is just two weeks whereas its competitors have typically an 11-month lead time to move a garment from design to manufacturing. One of the main success factors that helped Zara achieve greater reputation and long term sustainable competitive advantage is that it has always been very fast and flexible in meeting market needs by integrating design, production, distribution and sales through out its own stores. The supply chain system of Zara International Inc is also lightning

The Cock and the Fox Essay Example for Free

The Cock and the Fox Essay The Cock and the Fox is one of the fables of Aesop, a learned slave in the mid-6th century BC in ancient Greece. The various collections that go under the title Aesops Fables have been enjoyed for centuries for their clever portrayal of animals in various situations speaking as humans, and for the moral lessons implicit in those tales. In the 17th century, the most famous French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine put many of Aesop’s stories to verse in his collection of Fables. This story of Chantecler and the Fox celebrates the astuteness of the cock, which gets the better of the fox in a game of wits. Its lesson seems most appropriate for our times, with its mania for ecumenism and achieving a utopist world peace. Ecumenism and the new world order plan are also traps to lure naà ¯ve Catholics from their secure traditional position and â€Å"be eaten† by the shrewd foxes – Progressivism and Freemasonry. Here is his story: A cock, perched among the branches of a lofty tree, crowed loudly. The shrillness of his voice echoed through the woods, and the well-known sound brought a fox, who was prowling in quest of prey, to the spot. The fox tries to lure Chantecler to the ground with talk of universal brotherhood| Seeing the cock at a great height in the tree above him, the fox set his wits to work to find some way of bringing him down. He greeted the bird in his gentlest voice and said, â€Å"Have you not heard, dear cousin, of the proclamation of universal peace and harmony among all the different beasts and birds? We are no longer to prey upon and devour one another, but love and friendship are to be the order of the day. Do come down, and we will talk over this great news at our leisure.† The cock, who suspected that the fox was only up to his old tricks, pretended to be watching something in the distance. The fox asked him what it was he looked at so earnestly. â€Å"Why,† said the cock, â€Å"I think I see a pack of hounds yonder.† â€Å"Oh, then,† said the fox, â€Å"I must be gone.† â€Å"Why, dear cousin,† said the cock, â€Å"pray do not go. I am just coming down. You are surely not afraid of dogs in these peaceable times.† â€Å"No, no,† said the fox. â€Å"But they may not have heard of the proclamation yet!† And off he ran in fright, frustrated. Now the English add a moral to their version: Beware sudden offers of friendship. But the incomparable La Fontaine ends his verse with this: And our cock laughed to himself at the fox’s fear, Because the pleasure is doubled when the cheater is cheated!†

Flowers for Algernon :: Free Essay Writer

Flowers for Algernon "Hurting Charlie" When was the last time you wanted something so much, you would sacrifice your life to have it; even if just for a moment? Charlie Gordon, a 37 year old man with a learning disability, did just that. In the story "Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes, Charlie gets a chance to alter his I.Q. substantially through operation. The only drawback to this is, the long-term outcomes of the operation are unknown. The operation does succeed, but later Charlie is sent on a riveting downward spiral into the life he tried to run away from. The operation hurt Charlie in every imaginable way; and did nothing to help him. Is it not better to do your best than to be the best? Charlie Gordon was a motivated man who always put forth as much effort as he could! He struggled for independence and freedom in a world he desperately wanted to be a part of. A statement such as, "Im gonna try awful hard" is often heard spoken by Charlie. Everybody notices how hard Charlie tries to be what he considers normal. Dr. Strauss described Charlie best when he said, "But most people of his low mentality are hostile and uncooperative. They are usually dull, apathetic, and hard to reach. He has a good nature. He’s interested and eager to please". If a person is doing the best they can for the circumstances, isn’t that the best? Why should a person feel pressured to be what he isn’t capable of being? After the operation, Charlie first doesn’t even want to try, then can’t remember what it means to try, and finally, doesn’t have hope enough to try. His statement changes from, "Im gonn a try awful hard" to, "maybe its just easier not to do what I say Im going to do"! the thought to try his best never even occurs. He lost one of his most valuable qualities due to his need to conform. If a man does not know of hurt and suffering, he should not have to know. Before Charlie knew the truth of his life and was able to look back on it, he didn’t know of some horrible feelings. He never had to feel ugly, unwanted, alone, and most of all, ashamed. After finding out how all of the men he thought were his friends only used him for free laughs, Charlie feels so humiliated.

Child developmental summary

There are five sub categories when looking at a child's development and although all of these are age guided, not all children reach the same area at the same time, neither do they systematically achieve each stage by a certain age, although they are achieved in order, they are there for guidance purposes only. The five Identified areas that a child develops are physical, Intellectual, social, emotional and language The first stage which has been termed by cognitive psychologist Jean Planet as the Seniority stage covers the age range from birth to 2 years of age.This Is the age range when the most dramatic and primary changes happen, with the baby transitioning from being totally dependent upon a career for all sources of their welfare and development, to exercising a very limited way of communicating to others their wants as they develop into becoming a fairly able bodied toddler who can more often than to exercise their autonomy through vocal and physical displays of preference.Dur ing the seniority stage a child learns about the world around them through the 5 senses, touch, taste, sight, sound and smell. It is through the use of these senses that the baby begins to interact with their environment, initially it is smell and sound which Is used to Identify their primary care giver normally this recognition Is In the form of bodily smells and voice.Their sight Is the next sense, developing from a black and white Image with color slowly Integrated, It Is through this process here they begin to socially develop relationships by recognition of people within their environment, especially with a great response towards the human face , this is then built upon by the fine tuning of voluntary and reciprocal expressions of both facial expressions and noises, that eventually turn smiles or cries into fully formed words, making social exchanges a two way social interaction where by autonomy is expressed.Through the use of taste and touch babies assist their exploration of their environment through the use of their mouths and tongue, this is soon over mom and exploration is then mostly practiced via the touch alone, so they grow the next area to develop Is to define their fine motor skills, beginning with holding a finger of a care giver, to a rattle, to aim for grabbing distant objects, using the pincher grip when learning to self feed, to finally having the ability to grasp objects and use them with Intentional purpose, like bang a drum or push a toy car along.These fine motor skills are not just confined to upper limb movement but also the ability to aided/ unaided to crawling to walking to running to Jumping and even attempting to inferno stairs. But social interactions within their environments are Just as important to a child's development at this very early stage as they are even later on, due to them battling internal conflicts and their abilities to grasp concepts from the world around them, therefore positive reinforcement and interactions are necessary to encourage social development.Overall by the end of the seniority stage children have developed from being totally dependent to being more environmentally and socially aware of their surroundings. The next developmental tag of a child can be classed as pre- school or as Erik Erickson termed it, the play age, with the age band of 3-5 years. Neurological connections continue to be produced at a high volume due to the need for the increase in cognitive abilities.Through this stage children become more self aware of themselves along with that of others developing a sense of individuality within their environments and are able to control and express their emotions at a more direct level whilst also being able to express empathy towards others. Their physical capabilities are becoming finer need with the ability of being able to catch a ball, move to rhythm, and hold a pencil and balance. Intellectually they are becoming more inquisitive therefore are able enquire and to a bsorb information rapidly allowing them relay it at most times a comprehensible level.Their play also begins to incorporate details of everyday life and aspects of role play begin to show. Level Weights deems this stage of proximal development important to not only the child but also the people/ peers within the child's environment as they are there as guide to help steer and influence the child's hinging acting as a ‘scaffolding in development' through encouragement of exploration. The next developmental milestone stage in child development that follows on from the ‘play age' is the age range of 5-8 years.During this stage of the child's development their development becomes more sophisticated by putting into practice all they have learnt since birth by fine tuning their speech and every movement, along with their intellectual awareness being much greater with them becoming more inquisitive about the world, their environment, who they are as a person and here they fit i nto this world due to becoming more aware of differences in all aspects of their lives.They are also at a stage where they begin to feel the need to ‘belong and fit in' with a greater personal emphasis being placed upon relationships. They are also more aware of others feelings towards themselves, making this a very vulnerable stage with personal perceptions and peer group opinions being a very important factor in this stage of development proving complimentary of Level Hoosegows theory that this stage is reliant upon the ‘scaffolding of peer relationships'.

Interior Monologue in Ulysses

Despite the various parallels and connections between Homer's Odyssey and Jockey's Ulysses, It is Jockey's determination and arrangement of his novel that sets it apart from Homers mythological poem. Dissimilar to Homers Odyssey, Ulysses Is set In the city of Dublin on the 16th of June 1904. For Joyce, this particular date held a great amount of sentimental value as it was the day of his first date with his future wife thus questioning the idea of Joyce injecting a hint of romanticism by commemorating that particular date into a novel that has been described as vulgar and a work of blasphemy.Ulysses develops over the space of twenty-four hours and despite the novels small time frame the countless events and occurrences that the characters encounter are described in-depth and often quite humorously. Jockey's main intentions for his novel were to make it, in his opinion, as realistic as possible, to ‘give a picture of Dublin so complete that If the city one day suddenly disappear ed from the earth it could be reconstructed out of my book (A Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man, pig. 0). To emphasis the element of realism Joyce described the characters as visiting authentic Dublin landmarks and establishments such as Dad Byre's pub and a Marcello Tower In Sandstone, Dublin. It Is through Jockey's element of realism, he overall structure and the multiple modes of writing of his novel that suggests Ulysses is a significant conspicuous piece of modernist literature in its own right.In Ulysses Joyce discards the traditionalist convention of maintaining a narrative throughout the entirety of his novel by persistently introducing other styles of writing episode by episode. Joyce continuously alters the narrator and the protagonist of the novel along with the style of how each chapter is written switching from a conventional narrative of maintaining one solitary hero or protagonist to swapping around the central characters throughout several episodes. Furthermore, throughout each Individual episode numerous themes are Introduced such as death. Hysterics and sexual desire. As the novel progresses and the protagonists and methods of writing change the characters' accounts of what has appeared to be everyday mundane actions, seen in the opening episodes, become more detailed and complex as they Interact more with the Inhabitants of Dublin and their surroundings. Wealth the opening episode Telemeters it would appear that the novel is following the traditional narrative writing regime as on first impressions what appears to be the protagonist of the novel, Stephen Deals is introduced.Stephen is a familiar character as he is depicted as the aging and maturing central character In Jockey's A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man. Through the opening chapters of Ulysses It would seem to be following the same routine as Jockey's previous work concerning the 1 OFF connecter AT Stephen as Ulysses Tolls Stepson's every clay, Toulouse octagons sun as eati ng breakfast and shaving, ‘He laid the brush aside and, laughing with delight†¦ Began to shave with care', (pig. ). The narrative throughout Telemeters conventionally follows A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man as Joyce is associating is narrative with internal monologue depicting Stephens inner voice and stream of consciousness as he performs everyday tasks. This is further reinforced in Nester where Stephen is undertaking his role as a teacher. Joyce is continuing his narrative through Stephens internal monologue but here a different theme is introduced.In the previous episode the reader sees Stephen and his friend Buck Mulligan undergo their morning routine but it is in Nester where Joyce introduces a catechist style of writing through Stephen teaching his class History and English declaring that history s, ‘a nightmare from which I am trying to awake', (pig. 27) to which the school headmaster Mr. Ideas responds, ‘all human history moves towards one gre at goal, the manifestation of God', (pig. 7) which ultimately refers to Stephens endless search for a father in a religious and spiritual sense noticeably mirrored with Homer's poem. Joyce remains within the inner voice consciousness that has previously been presented in the introductory episodes but it is in Calypso where the narrative is altered as an entirely different type of consciousness is presented through the character Leopold Bloom. Joyce depicts Bloom as a modernized bourgeois Odysseus developed and adapted to enhance his twentieth century revolutionary novel.Opposing to episodes such as Telemeters and Nester and characters such as Stephen and Buck, it is in Calypso where Joyce presents the reader with a more detailed account of a particular character even going to the extent of describing his innate love for food; ‘Mr. Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with crust crumbs, fried honchos' roes.Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine. ‘ (pig. 40). It is Jockey's description of Bloom's excessive appetite and love for food that initiates the awareness that Joyce is purposely making Bloom's gluttony undeniably apparent which is the first indication that the character of Bloom is to be vulgar and discourteous which further opposes Jockey's descriptions and details illustrated in the preceding episodes.As Bloom's detailed characterization continues he becomes increasingly uncouth, ‘By word and deed he frankly encouraged a nocturnal strumpet o deposit fecal and other matter in an unsanitary outhouse attached to empty premises', (pig. 369). Joyce differs from his previous style of writing by shifting the subjects to which his characters embrace, the respectable characteristics of Stephen observed and depicted in earlier episodes are disregarded as he introduc es the character of Bloom who is described as a ‘perverted Jew, (pig. 52) and the contrasting characters sexual nature and desire remain prominent throughout the course of the novel, the dark tangled curls of his bush floating, floating hair of the stream around the limp father of thousands, a languid floating flower', (pig. 3). Bloom's narrative is similar to that of Stephens in the sense that it illustrates every day actions and events in a mundane manner yet it is Bloom's account that involves complex and in-depth detail.Furthermore, it is through the altered narrative presenting Bloom's consciousness opposed to that of Stephens and through the ratter vulgar connecter AT Bloom, Joyce Is addle to tackle matters en NAS not Tormenter addressed such as bodily functions and sexual desires. Despite Bloom's vulgarity and his erotic thoughts and desires and the fact that he lacks the conventional heartsickness of Stephen it becomes evident that Bloom does have a high level of moral standing.When Bloom and Stephen are wandering through the streets of Bloom becomes a provisional father figure to Stephen during his search for a higher being as Bloom's description of Stephen, ‘l know him. He's a gentleman, a poet' (pig. 393) validates the respect and admiration the two men have for each other. Additionally, when his wife Molly is revealed as an adulterer he remains faithful and loyal to their marriage. Molly Bloom is additional character Joyce uses to depict another style of narration. Her soliloquy is illustrated in Penelope, the final episode of Jockey's Ulysses.Dissimilar to her husband and Stephen being parallel to Homer's mythological Greek characters, ironically Molly opposes the faithful and devoted character of Penelope supposedly her twentieth century counterpart. Throughout Jockey's novel it is Bloom that provides the main depiction of the character of Molly through his thoughts and opinions towards her ultimately giving the reader her characteriz ation from a male point of view, Penelope is the first encounter where Molly and Bloom's relationship is viewed from her perspective.Joyce stylists Molly's interior monologue described throughout the final eighteenth episode entirely different to those observed in the preceding episodes. Joyce composes Molly's lamentation out of eight extensive elongated sentences with barely any punctuation enabling the reader to become enthralled by her intense and exasperated thoughts revealing yet another varying from of Jockey's writing style; Yes†¦ Was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusia girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with y eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was goin g like mad and yes I said yes I will yes. ‘ (pig. 25) Jockey's style of writing in the final episode distinctively differs from other episodes in Ulysses as it offers an eagerly anticipated understanding of Molly's sentiments. During her intense dialogue she continuously alternates from one subject to another and the lack of punctuation powerfully accentuates her perception and awareness of her own character flaws. Molly constantly repeats, begins and ends with the word, yes' to which Joyce describes as the female word' ultimately giving a character that has not held her own narrative throughout the novel, but has been portrayed by other characters, the closing statement in Ulysses.At first glance the opening pages of Ulysses depict a false allusion of what is to succeed throughout the remaining pages of Jockey's paramount novel. Through what appears to be the initial protagonist Stephens interior monologue illustrating his routine and monotonous every day actions whilst wande ring in and around the City f Dublin in search of a divine being, abruptly changes with Jockey's sudden introduction of the character of Leopold Bloom.The central character shifts from straight-laced Stephen to the crude and comical Bloom. Jockey's adjustment to Bloom incorporates an entirely different style and mode of writing for he dives into Blooms conversational tongue Nils In-patent Ana meticulous ascription AT Nils credentials, social class and background. In a further change of narration Molly Bloom is appointed her own individual episode comprised of a soliloquy presented exclusively by herself exhibiting Jockey's attitude towards feminism and the female mind.It is through Jockey's multiple styles of writing and his modern interpretation of Homer's Odyssey and the insertion of realism that Ulysses is viewed as one of the greatest works of modern literature and a landmark piece of avian-garden Irish writing due to its radical subjects and incidences, specifically the descrip tions of bodily functions, explicit sexual encounters and Jockey's use of profanity. The concept of Ulysses being a profound work of literature is further reinforced by Jockey's revolt against the traditional forms of narrative prose which had been the mainstream style of writing during the literary world throughout Jockey's era.Choosing to break free from the traditionalist narrative approach Joyce presents an innovative and contemporary style of writing as each episode of the somewhat taboo novel reveals a different account of what Joyce himself describes as everyday Irish life depicted through multiple styles. It is through his multiple styles of writing demonstrated entirely differently throughout each episode that make Ulysses surpass other works of its kind. James Jockey's A Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man, Bloom, Harold. New York: Chelsea House, 1988. Ulysses, Joyce, J. The Echo Library 2009. Lecture and seminar notes have also been used.

The Meaning and Origin of Famous German Names

The Meaning and Origin of Famous German Names Have you ever wondered about some of the famous German last names youve heard or read about? Whats in a German name? The meaning and origins of names are not always what they seem to be at first glance. German surnames and place names often trace their roots back to old Germanic words that have changed their meaning or gone out of use entirely. For example, the last name of author Gà ¼nter Grass seems to be obvious. Although the German word for grass is das Gras, the German authors name really has nothing to do with grass. His last name comes from a Middle High German word with a very different meaning. People who know just enough German to be dangerous may tell you that the surname Gottschalk means Gods rogue or Gods scoundrel. Well, this name – borne by the famous German TV host Thomas Gottschalk (virtually unknown outside of the German-speaking world) and an American department store chain – actually has a much better meaning. Similar mistakes or mistranslations can arise because words (and names) change their meanings and spellings over time. The name Gottschalk goes back at least 300 years to a time when the German word Schalk had a different meaning than it has today. (More below.) Arnold Schwarzenegger is another famous person whose name is sometimes explained in a misleading and even racist way. But his name is only confusing to people who dont know German very well, and it certainly has nothing to do with black people. The correct pronunciation of his name makes that very clear: Schwarzen-egger. Learn more about these and other names in the alphabetical list below. Also, see the list of related Germanic name resources at the end. German Surnames of the Rich and/or Famous Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967) - First chancellor of West GermanyMany surnames come from a geographic location or town. In the case of Adenauer, who served in Bonn as the very first Bundeskanzler, his name comes from a small town very close to Bonn: Adenau, first listed in the records as Adenowe (1215). A person from Adenau is known as an Adenauer. The German-American Henry Kissinger is another example of German name derived from a town (see below). Johann Sebastian Bach (1770-1872) - German composerSometimes a name is exactly what it seems to be. In the case of the composer, the German word der Bach means that his ancestors lived near a small stream or brook. But the name Bache, with an added e, is related to another old word meaning smoked meat or bacon and hence a butcher. (The modern German word Bache means wild sow.) Boris Becker (1967- ) - former German tennis star. He has an occupational name far removed from how Becker gained fame: baker (der Bcker). Karl Benz (1844-1929) - German co-inventor of the automobileMany last names were once (or still are also) first or given names. Karl (also Carl) Benz has a surname that was once a nickname for either Bernhard (strong bear) or Berthold (splendid ruler).   Gottfried Wilhelm Daimler (1834-1900) - German co-inventor of the automobileOlder variations of Daimler include Deumler, Teimbler, and Teumler. Not exactly a name meaning desired by someone dealing with cars, Daimler is derived from an old southern German word (Tumler) meaning swindler, from the verb tumeln, to overcharge or cheat. In 1890, he and his partner Wilhelm Maybach founded the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG). In 1926 DMG merged with the Karl Benz company to form Daimler-Benz AG. (Also see Karl Benz above).   Thomas Gottschalk (1950- ) - German TV host (Wetten, dass...?)The name Gottschalk literally means Gods servant. Although today the word der Schalk is understood as rogue or scoundrel, its original meaning was more like der Knecht, servant, knave, or farmhand. In the early 1990s, Gottschalk and his family bought a home in Los Angeles (Malibu), where he could live without being mobbed by German fans. He still spends summers in California. Like Gottlieb (Gods love), Gottschalk was also a first name. Stefanie Steffi Graf (1969- ) - former German tennis starThe German word der Graf is the same as the English title of nobility count. Gà ¼nter Grass (1927- ) - German Nobel-prize winning authorA good example of a surname that seems obvious, but isnt the famous authors name comes from the Middle High German (1050-1350) word graz, meaning angry or intense. Once they know this, many people think the name suits the often controversial writer.   Henry Kissinger  (1923- ) - German-born former U.S. Secretary of State (1973-1977) and Nobel Peace Prize laureateHeinz Alfred Kissingers name is a place name meaning a person from Bad Kissingen, a famous spa resort town in Franconian Bavaria. Kissingers great great grandfather (Urgroßvater) derived his name from the town in 1817. Even today, a person from Bad Kissingen (pop. 21,000) is known as a Kissinger. Heidi Klum  (1973- ) - German supermodel, actressIronically, Klum is related to the old German word  klumm  (knapp, short, limited;  geldklumm, short on money) and  klamm  (klamm  sein, slang for strapped for cash). As a star model, Klums financial situation certainly does not fit her name. Helmut Kohl  (1930- ) - former German chancellor (1982-1998)The name Kohl (or Cole) is derived from an occupation: a grower or seller of cabbage (der Kohl. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  (1756-1791) - Austrian composerBaptized as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, the genius composer had a last name that comes from a term of ridicule or mockery. First recorded in the 14th century as Mozahrt in southern Germany, the name is based on the old Alemannic word  motzen, to roll in  mud. Originally a first name (with the common ending -hart), the term was used for someone who was sloppy, untidy, or dirty. Ferdinand Porsche  (1875-1951) - Austrian auto engineer and designerThe name Porsche has Slavic roots and is probably derived from a shortened form of the first name Borislav (Boris), meaning famous fighter (bor, fighting   slava, fame). Porsche designed the original Volkswagen. Maria Schell  (1926-2005) - Austrian-Swiss film actressMaximilian Schell  (1930 - ) - Austrian-Swiss film actorAnother name with Middle High German origins. The MHG  schell  meant exciting or wild. Brother and sister also both appeared in Hollywood films. Claudia Schiffer  (1970- ) - German supermodel, actressOne of Claudias ancestors was probably a sailor or ships captain (der Schiffer, skipper). Oskar Schindler  (1908-1974) - German factory owner of Schindlers list fameFrom the profession of  Schindelhauer  (shingle maker). Arnold Schwarzenegger  (1947- ) - Austrian-born actor, director, politicianNot only is the former bodybuilders name a bit long and unusual, but it is also often misunderstood. Arnolds last name is made up of two words:  schwarzen, black   egger, corner, or loosely translated, black corner (das  schwarze  Eck). His ancestors probably came from a location that was forested and seemed dark (like the Black Forest,  der Schwarzwald).   Til Schweiger  (1963- ) - German screen star, director, producerAlthough it seems related to  schweigen  (to be silent), the actors name is actually derived from Middle High German  sweige, meaning farm or dairy farm. Schweiger has also appeared in several Hollywood movies, including as a villain in  Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life  (2003). Johnny Weissmuller  (1904-1984) - U.S. Olympic swimming champ best known as TarzanAnother occupational name: wheat miller (der Weizen / Weisz  Ã‚  der Mà ¼ller / Mueller). Although he always claimed he was born in Pennsylvania, Weissmuller was  actually  born to Austrian parents in what is now Rumania.   Ruth Westheimer (Dr. Ruth)  (1928- ) - German-born sex therapistBorn in Frankfurt am Main as Karola Ruth Siegel (das Siegel, stamp, seal), Dr. Ruths last name (from her late husband Manfred Westheimer) means at home / living in the west (der West  Ã‚  heim). Books on German Family Names  (in German) Professor Udolphs Buch der Namen - Woher sie kommen, was sie bedeutenJà ¼rgen Udolph, Goldmann, paper - ISBN: 978-3442154289 Duden - Familiennamen: Herkunft und Bedeutung von 20 000 NachnamenRosa and Volker KohlheimBibliographisches Institut, Mannheim, paper - ISBN: 978-3411708529 Das große Buch der FamiliennamenHorst NaumannBassermann, 2007, paper - ISBN: 978-3809421856

20 Informative Essay Topics Discuss Controversial Redistricting Issues with Ease!

20 Informative Essay Topics Discuss Controversial Redistricting Issues with Ease! Redistricting is a political topic which deals with the segmentation of large cities into smaller districts. As this is a research topic with a big spectrum, your course instructor might be tempted to assign it. If you have been asked to write a detailed paper or essay on this topic, you can go over to our 10 facts on redistricting for an informative essay and find a lot of details on the subject. However, if you are looking for direct topics which will make your research a lot easier and narrow, here are 20 you can pick out from for your essay. Here are 20 topics regarding redistricting for your informative essay: The General History of Redistricting Vs. Current Redistricting How The Baker Vs. Carr Trial Played Part in Contemporary Redistricting The Necessity of Redistricting The Logic Behind Its Concept Discuss The Origins of the â€Å"1-Person-Equals-1-Vote† Statement The Effects of Geographical Contiguity on Redistricting A Detailed Look at Partisan Gerrymandering Its Setbacks Bipartisan Gerrymandering Its Benefits What is Biased Redistricting? History of Litigations Against Biased Redistricting What Role Does Redistricting Play In Eliminating Incumbents? Reasons Why Richard Cranwell Didn’t Run for Re-Election after Redistricting How Minority Votes are Rendered Useless in Redistricting The Strategic Dilution of The Latino Community Votes in 2003 Adverse Effects of Redistricting on Small Communities Effects of Redistricting of Regions with Certain Predominant Ethnic Populations The 92’ Race Riots Their Adverse Effects on Koreatown How States Use Legislators for Redistricting Commissions Their Reliabilities on Redistricting Backup Commision Vs. Political Commission Independent Commission Its Role in Legislations You can elaborate on these topics extensively and if you are just getting started, look at our guide on how to write an informative essay on redistricting for tips and tricks. To assist and inspire you to write the best essay, here is an example of an informative and authoritative essay. Sample Informative Essay on the History of Redistricting Redistricting is an example of how the American democratic system handles equality. This political strategy is used to adjust the population of the country to districts. Redistricting has a huge impact on our daily lives and it is important that we study its topics in detail so we can make an informed decision for our communities. Federal, state and local legislatures are elected from districts and their size is usually the same as the entire jurisdiction. For example, if we talk about the members of a school board, they may be elected from the area of the same boundaries and not the overall district of the school that the board governs. However, a lot of times, the district lines subdivide territories. This results in one city or a state controlling multiple districts. When this happens, an entity is needed that can create a system to decide where the lines are. In the colonial times, constraints of a district were defined by borders of individuals or collection of towns and counties. Legislatures were formed by assigning a particular number of representatives to each district. The 1777 New York State’s constitution, which had assigned a total of 9 representatives to the city, is a good example of this. However, because the overall population had grown exponentially, the growth was not equal; while some towns and counties grew larger, others didn’t. Some jurisdictions didn’t update their systems and as a result, there was an imbalance between the number of representative and district lines. Districts that didn’t modify their borders and number of representatives presented various reasons. While some complained about conflicting policies, others failed to follow because of personal political interests. Some states blankly refused to redistrict, as in the case of the state of Tennessee. There was also a lack in equality with regards to the size of the district because the Los Angeles county was 400 times larger than the smallest district in California. Before the 60s, there was unjust manipulation of district borders to enforce a certain political impact. Unfair drawing of district lines helped incumbents increase their likelihood to gain points in electoral campaign. After the 60s, the rules changed due to a series of Supreme Court cases and it was firmly decided that no such biases would be tolerated. Redistricting became a constitutional right of a citizen and it was imperative for the population for each district to be equal. District boundaries were then regularly adjusted so new information about the population could be accounted for. Though this is a good example of a redistricting essay, you can produce an even better one if you put your mind to it. So instead of waiting for the deadline and writing a poorly researched essay, start right away and your instructor will soon begin singing your praise. References: U.S. Const. art. I,  §2, cl. 3. See, e.g., N.Y. Const. art. III,  § 4 (setting the size of the State Senate). Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Congressional Apportionment, at http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/congApp/. Act of Aug. 8, 1911, ch. 5, Pub. L. No. 62-5, 37 Stat. 13; Reapportionment Act of June 18, 1929, ch. 28, Pub. L. No. 71-13, 46 Stat. 21, 26–27. Hanh Quach Dena Bunis, All Bow to Redistrict Architect, Orange County Register, Aug. 26, 2001. The â€Å"hand,† at the eastern end of current district 11, excised a portion of what had been Cranwell’s district 14. Lindsey Nair, Redistricting Effectively Moves Cranwell, Roanoke Times, Apr. 24, 2001. See Ill. State Board of Elections, Search Vote Totals, at elections.il.gov/electioninformation/GetVoteTotals.aspx

5 Parallelism Problems in Sentence Structure

5 Parallelism Problems in Sentence Structure 5 Parallelism Problems in Sentence Structure 5 Parallelism Problems in Sentence Structure By Mark Nichol It’s easy to produce a faultily constructed sentence by neglecting to install all the necessary parts. Each of the sentences below lacks a small but essential component that helps render the statement sturdy and structurally sound; read each discussion for an explanation of the flaw. 1. â€Å"Lifelong interest and enthusiasm for science is instilled through science literacy.† Take the phrase â€Å"and enthusiasm† out of the sentence, and you’re left with â€Å"Lifelong interest for science is instilled through science literacy.† Here, the subject is followed by the wrong preposition. Omit â€Å"and enthusiasm for,† and the result is â€Å"Lifelong interest science is instilled through science literacy.† Now, the subject lacks any preposition. The solution? Each noun in the noun phrase â€Å"interest and enthusiasm† requires its own appropriate preposition: â€Å"Lifelong interest in and enthusiasm for science is instilled through science literacy.† (Depending on emphasis desired, â€Å"and enthusiasm for† may be bracketed by a pair of commas, parentheses, or em dashes but is correct without any interruptive signals.) 2. â€Å"They’re noisy, they’re tiny, weigh fifty pounds, and can be souped up from a speed of thirty-five miles per hour.† Of the four elements in this list, two are preceded by pronouns and two aren’t. To achieve parallel compliance, all the elements must share one pronoun (â€Å"They’re noisy, tiny, weigh fifty pounds, and can be souped up from a speed of thirty-five miles per hour†), or each requires its own (â€Å"They’re noisy, they’re tiny, they weigh fifty pounds, and they can be souped up from a speed of thirty-five miles per hour†). 3. â€Å"They run farther, longer, and never get fat.† The first two elements share a verb, and the third has its own. However, just as in the apportionment of pronouns in the example above, one verb must apply to all, or each element must have its own verb (especially if a single verb is not appropriate for all the elements). In this case, the verbs must differ. Depending on the context, either revise the sentence so that farther and longer share the verb run (â€Å"They run farther and longer and never get fat†), or provide longer with its own verb (â€Å"They run farther, last longer, and never get fat†). 4. â€Å"John Smith is off the streets, sober, and has a job.† The rule set forth in the previous sentence applies for simple â€Å"to-be† verbs as well. Revise the sentence to read, â€Å"John Smith is off the streets, is sober, and has a job† or â€Å"John Smith is off the streets and sober and has a job.† 5. â€Å"That opinion was uttered not by John Doe, but one of his vice presidents.† The preposition by must be repeated at the head of the second clause to match the structure of the first clause: â€Å"That opinion was uttered not by John Doe, but by one of his vice presidents.† The sentence could be recast in active voice (â€Å"One of John Doe’s vice presidents, not Doe himself, uttered that opinion†), but the change doesn’t necessarily improve the statement. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two PeopleTop 11 Writing Apps for iOS (iPhone and iPad)When to Spell Out Numbers

Fluid mechanics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Fluid mechanics - Assignment Example (1) Continuity Equation: from the consideration of mass conservation one can show that the net volume of fluid per unit time always remains constant as the fluid is incompressible (no variation in density), giving us where HL denotes the Head Lost due to fluid resistance, and all other symbols expressing usual meanings. While the first term is known as Static Head or Pressure Head, the second term is called Velocity Head; and the third term, denoting the Potential Head is zero in our case as the height of the axis at the inlet and outlet is same. In order to verify the basic laws of fluid dynamics, we have used a Venturi Tube or Venturimeter as described in the figure above. The fluid (water in our case) is allowed to flow in through the left-hand-side valve and it goes out through the right-hand-side valve of exactly equal cross-sectional area. In between these two extreme ends, there exists 9 other locations along the axis of the Tube where capillaries are inserted to measure the Pressure Head of the fluid flow from the height of the water in each tube. Thus, one can measure pressure at 11 different locations along the axis of the Venturimeter which is assumed to be the zero Potential Energy line for the fluid. As soon as the fluid flows through the Tube, the total time taken by it to cross-over the horizontal length of the Tube is also noted using a stopwatch, to calculate the Volumetric Flow Rate after determining the total volume of water collected. Besides, the height of the water in each of the 11 different capillary tubes is also measured and tabulated in Tables 1-3 below, for 3 different volumes of inflows. We observe here as well that there exists mismatch in the Total Energy. Since the Total Energy at the inflow valve was 0.2793 and that at the outflow valve was 0.2402, the Head Lost due to fluid resistance may be calculated as Another important observation needing special mentioning is that of Head Lost due to flow

Pride And Prejudice- Enduring Appeal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pride And Prejudice- Enduring Appeal - Essay Example According to Lilian Robinson the 'great subjects' of Pride and Prejudice are 'class, love, money and marriage'. (p. 179) The producer of the television adaptation of this classic feels that 'though it's about many things, it's principally about sex, and it's about money: those are the driving motives of the plot'. (p. v) Sir Walter Scott commented in 1827, Also read again, and for the third time at least, Miss Austen's very finely written novel of Pride and Prejudice. That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements, and feelings, and characters of ordinary life, which is to me the most wonder I ever met with. The Big Bow-wow strain I can do like any now going; but the exquisite touch, which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting, from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied to me. (Gilson 475) There are several reasons that account for the enduring charm of this novel. But the main strength of the book lies in its characters that people can easily identify with. Just take away Elizabeth or Darcy from the novel, would it still enjoy the same popularity that it does today, I doubt that. There is something immensely powerful about the way characters have been sketched especially Elizabeth and Darcy. Combined with vibrant characters is the orthodox romance- and together they give us a work that simply refuses to relegate. Elizabeth is a free spirited young woman who hates to be confined by the norms of the society. Miss Bingley at one occasion describes Elizabeth's free spirit as "an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country town indifference to decorum." (26) Darcy is on the other hand a man with the world at his feet. When such a man falls in love with the otherwise plain looking Lizzy, the world has to sit up and take notice. Isn't this the story we could all relate to with its fairy-tale yet identifiable content Romance has an enduring quality about it and when presented with characters that are both lively and real, you have a deadly combination. That explains why Pride and Prejudice has never failed to attract the audiences in over two centuries. Strong vibrant characters and powerful romance make this work exceptionally outstanding for centuries. According to G.K Chesterton, Jane Austen "knew much more about men" than the Brontes or George Eliot (109). He further claimed that there was "an infallible force to her irony" and a "stunning weight to her understatements" (xv) Having said all that, the fact remains, had it not been for Lizzy's independent spirit and Darcy's arrogance, we wouldn't be obsessing over the enduring appeal of Pride and Prejudice the way we do today. Lizzy was everything that a woman in the 18h century must have hoped to become. She was intelligent and outspoken yet sensitive and loving. Regardless of what some feminist studies might reveal, Lizzy was not a feminist. She was strong and powerful because she was intelligent but she was neither against marriage nor was she above falling in love with men. Another thing that makes her absolutely irresistible is her ordinariness. Lizzy was not beautiful in the traditional sense. But she had her own beauty- beauty that comes from being original. She was a first rate version of herself at all times. Her genuine

Social media - internet forum,email and picture sharing Term Paper

Social media - internet forum,email and picture sharing - Term Paper Example At the present, almost all the business organizations are well aware of the fact that the use of the Internet can be very helpful for better serving customers and reaching into the international markets. When the size and business of a company expands the need for the distribution of these products to their target customers also increases. In this scenario, the Internet marketing is the most excellent way that offers higher potency and access to international markets for the marketing of products. On the other hand, traditional marketing and its techniques have turned out to be less efficient to defeat the need for more targeted and wide marketing. In addition, with the emergence of the Internet, the techniques of marketing not only have changed but also improved amazingly, and at the present business organization are more talented in telling their stories and carrying out their marketing communications out there (Rao, Salam and DosSantos; Summers, Gardiner and Lamb; Watson, Zinkhan and Pitt). This paper presents an overview of some of the important marketing and advertising techniques such as email, internet forums and picture sharing. The basic aim of this research is to show how these marketing techniques can play a significant role in business marketing. Changing Trend in Advertisement and Promotion As discussed in the above section, in the past few years the majority of business organizations have started making use of the Internet to reach worldwide customers and access international markets without spending a lot of money.... In addition, the Web-based nature of social networks allows the business organizations to make use of this modern tool in different forms that can take benefit of the users' personal and social data. In fact, these social networking websites have a great effect on the social life of a lot of people, even more than millions of people that make use of these web sites directly (Golbeck; Conti, Hasani and Crispo). Keeping the numerous benefits of social networks in mind, Sony Corporation took a great advantage of this wonderful technology, which has proven to be successful and effective for its business marketing. According to information given on (Facebook), â€Å"the creation of this Facebook page was aimed at allowing the consumers to engage with the product. Additionally, this advertising campaign attracted more than 173,000 Facebook users that straight away linked to the Sony VAIO Page since September 24, 2010, approximately doubling the objective of catching 90,000 users, also unt il 2011, above 380,000 people had connected to the Page† (Facebook). Figure 1Example of Social Media based Adverting, Image Source: http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/FacebookAds/Sony_Vaio_CaseStudy.pdf Online Advertising and Promotion The cost of web based marketing and advertising depends on the experience that a company is looking for. However, the standard cost for per click is about a quarter. In fact, the majority of small size businesses are spending extremely little by performing associated marketing, with other websites to bring traffic to their website. In this scenario, they just pay the host website a proportion of their corporate based on the

Thoreaus philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thoreaus philosophy - Essay Example The war that took place in the year 1846-1848 has already been forgotten but somehow in some ways it was inferred as the aftermath of Uncle Sams apprehension of Manifest Destiny. The term manifest destiny was invented by a journalist and later on became a nationalist rallying cry (Mannion). Thoreau believes that the government should only impose rules that are in line with morality and it has to take into account ethical activities that will reflect a positive image on behalf of the whole country. For him, the war was unjust since its intention was to cause harm to the Mexican people (Snyder 83). On a personal note, it is never right to lead a war; in fact, it can fuel more conflict if the war gets worst. It can cause harm, not only to the soldiers, but also to the lives of the innocent people. The Mexican War is one part in history where the hunger for power is being clearly manifested. The United States determination to enter and own a territory that was never theirs is purely an immoral act. It is immoral because it is wrongful, and it is immoral because it forced people to participate in the war through the paying of taxes although their conscience tells them not to, for the reason that the government is ordering them to do so (Cummings). The main character in this situation is the government. The government that obliges all people to follow all that is written in the law. Thoreau dreams that the universal law can be applied with the individual. Moreover, he has emphasized that "government is best which governs not all" (Snyder 83). The most prominent contribution of Tho reau to world history is his stand to fight for what he thinks is right, and that is not to support the US government in its war against Mexico. Although criticized by government for his civil disobedience, Thoreau stood by his word. Men are not blinded by the reality that wars are still occurring between nations, at present. Weapons of mass destruction are still being created to destroy

The Company Law Review was a missed opportunity to implement a model Essay

The Company Law Review was a missed opportunity to implement a model of the company better adapted to contemporary challenges.Discuss with reference to S.172 of the Companies Act,2006 - Essay Example Auditors were in hand with management and their reports were misrepresenting. Thousands of innocent people have lost their savings and investments. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) conceived that businesses in general will benefit from the new measures put forward in the proposals. There will be greater clarity on directors duties to include more attention to the interests of shareholders, but can pay regard to the long as well as the short term, taking due account of the interests of employees, suppliers, consumers and the environment. (Company law reform: UK proposals published, Out-Law News, 18/03/2005, http://www.out-law.com/page-5438, accessed on 10th April, 2009) The duty which is laid down in section 172 substitutes the common law duty of dedication. This duty of the Directors is considered as the duty to act in good faith in the interests of the company. The new duty warrants action towards the success of the company. The promotion should be for the welfare of the members as a collective body: it should not be just for the sake of the shareholders. This duty on the part of the directors is: The Company Law Review considered the following major issues in their proposals restructuring those parts of company law most relevant to small businesses, making it easier for them to understand what they need to do. The main issues are: growths in recognized best practice’ in corporate governance,1 with the outcome that it is now difficult and time consuming for directors to find out precisely what is the law applicable to the companies. In 1998, the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry determined that there should be an all-inclusive appraisal of company law. The Review was carried on by a Steering Group constituting experts from law, commerce, accountancy and academia, with the support of a generally based Consultative Group, and it brought out its concluding report in July 2001. The Government reacted to the Review Groups propositions

Thoreaus philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thoreaus philosophy - Essay Example The war that took place in the year 1846-1848 has already been forgotten but somehow in some ways it was inferred as the aftermath of Uncle Sams apprehension of Manifest Destiny. The term manifest destiny was invented by a journalist and later on became a nationalist rallying cry (Mannion). Thoreau believes that the government should only impose rules that are in line with morality and it has to take into account ethical activities that will reflect a positive image on behalf of the whole country. For him, the war was unjust since its intention was to cause harm to the Mexican people (Snyder 83). On a personal note, it is never right to lead a war; in fact, it can fuel more conflict if the war gets worst. It can cause harm, not only to the soldiers, but also to the lives of the innocent people. The Mexican War is one part in history where the hunger for power is being clearly manifested. The United States determination to enter and own a territory that was never theirs is purely an immoral act. It is immoral because it is wrongful, and it is immoral because it forced people to participate in the war through the paying of taxes although their conscience tells them not to, for the reason that the government is ordering them to do so (Cummings). The main character in this situation is the government. The government that obliges all people to follow all that is written in the law. Thoreau dreams that the universal law can be applied with the individual. Moreover, he has emphasized that "government is best which governs not all" (Snyder 83). The most prominent contribution of Tho reau to world history is his stand to fight for what he thinks is right, and that is not to support the US government in its war against Mexico. Although criticized by government for his civil disobedience, Thoreau stood by his word. Men are not blinded by the reality that wars are still occurring between nations, at present. Weapons of mass destruction are still being created to destroy

Strategic Leadership and Innovation at Apple Inc Essay

Strategic Leadership and Innovation at Apple Inc - Essay Example The researcher states that Apple Inc has had its patches of rough and dry in between, yet it has come out of the wood successfully on many occasions. The success has been a result of many factors, while some can be stretched to the excellence of the man himself Steve jobs, other to the performance of the overall unit, and the rest may contribute the success to the strategies. These strategies have been devised in form of long-term to short-term strategies. Since the departure of the legendary and visionary man, Apple needs to find the spark in some other form and some other person. A long-term strategy should be based on ensuring the continuation of the innovative models. Since Apple surpassed the rest with its feature of innovation. Performance indication is easily attainable through the scoreboard balance. It must do something to ensure that the string of first to market is not lost and at the same time, the shares in the market are equally maintained. The long-term strategy should be based on exploring other dimensions. They must not restrict themselves to the mobile phones. While other players are mainly focusing on the open source operating systems and online stores, Apple has yet to make a domino’s impression in that domain. The first element is continuity and constant innovation. If innovation is not followed by generation of new kind, it can lead to stagnation. Keeping close to the customers’ demands and responding according to the need enables maintaining effective scoreboard. Customers’ response helps to determine the market trend and the closer to the customers the better. Apple Inc cannot rely only on Apple phone in this regard. Overall sales and market share capture is far from possible with a single product. Besides, Apple Inc has yet to fix its claws firmly and completely with regard to the computer industry. While tablets might give them some presence in the market, but competitors like IBM, Microsoft, Android, all are spear head present and Apple has to create a long-term effective strategy to create a counter and come up with something like the mobile phone or tablet to give them a challenge and ultimately outsmart them. Apple Inc.

Knowledge and Heritage Essay Example for Free

Knowledge and Heritage Essay Abstract Alice Walker’s Everyday Use and Amy Tan’s â€Å"A Pair of Tickets† investigate the relationships between mothers and daughters. Both writers show a struggle, by the children, to understand the true meaning of heritage. Each story has a specific type of mother-daughter relationship. Mother and Daughter Conflict: The Struggle to Understand Heritage in First-generation Americans A key factor in Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use,† and Amy Tan’s â€Å"A Pair of Tickets,† is heritage. Throughout both stories the use of heritage can be seen easily. Walker shows Dee misunderstands her heritage while Tan shows Jing-Mei comes to an understanding. Understanding both sides of the two stories gives readers a chance to explore their own heritage and reflect on how they accept their past. By contrasting the family characters in â€Å"Everyday Use,† Walker illustrates Dee’s misunderstanding of her heritage by placing the significance of heritage solely on material objects. Walker presents Mama and Maggie, the younger daughter, as an example that heritage in both knowledge and form passing from one generation to another through a learning experience connection. Dee, the older daughter, represents a misconception of heritage as a material thing. Dee portrays a rags to riches daughter who does not understand what heritage is all about. Her definition of heritage hangs on a wall to show off, not to be used. Dee’s avoidance of heritage becomes clear when she is talking to Mama about changing her name, she says, â€Å"I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me† (Walker 746). Dee just takes another name without even understanding the true meaning behind it. She tries to explain to Mama that her name now has meaning, quality, and heritage; never realizing that the new name means nothing. Dee fails to realize that her name goes back multiple generations. Dee digs around the house for objects she can display in her own home as examples of African-American folk art. Her argument with Mama about taking quilts that were hand stitched as opposed to sewn by machine gives readers a chance to see Dee’s outlook of heritage is short lived. Dee says to Mama, â€Å"But they’re priceless. . . Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that! † (Walker 748). Mama will not allow her daughter to take the quilts because she has been saving them for Dee’s sister, Maggie, and she wants the quilts to be put into everyday use. By helping and living with Mama, Maggie uses the hand-made items in her life, experiences the life of her ancestors, and learns the history of both, exemplified by Maggie’s knowledge of the hand-made items and the people who made them—a knowledge in which Dee does not possess. Dee attempts to connect with her heritage by taking â€Å"picture after picture of me sitting there in front of the house. . . She never takes a shot without making sure the house is included† (Walker 746). Therefore showing Dee’s quest for heritage is external, wishing to have these various items in order to display them in her home. She allowed Dee to run over her enough, and now she would not allow her foolish behavior to carry on, because heritage needs to be put to everyday use and not just be hung up on a wall for people to see. Dee views her heritage as an artifact which she can possess and appreciate from a distance instead of as a process in which she is always intimately involved. She knows the items are hand-made, but she does not know the knowledge and history behind the items. Yet, Mama does know the knowledge and history and she also knows that Maggie does too. Ironically, Dee criticizes Mama for not understanding heritage when, in fact, Dee fails to understand heritage herself. Throughout the story, the true meaning of heritage is understood by two characters and avoided by one character. Dee mistakenly places heritage wholly in what she owns, not what she knows. In Amy Tan’s â€Å"A Pair of Tickets† the theme of Chinese-American life, focuses mainly on mother-daughter relationships, where the mother is an immigrant from China and the daughter is thoroughly Americanized. Tan begins her story by describing a feeling that Jing-mei, the narrator, speaks of. She says, â€Å"The minute our train leaves the Hong Kong border and enters Shenzen, China, I feel different. I can feel the skin on my forehead tingling, my blood rushing through a new course, my bones aching with a familiar old pain. And I think, my mother was right. I am becoming Chinese† (Tan 120). Tan tells a story within itself giving readers a chance to get to know the character right off the bat and also allowing an understanding of heritage to be brought out. Jing-mei has come to China to trace her Chinese roots which her mother told her she possessed, and to meet her two twin half-sisters whom her mother had to abandon on her attempt to flee from the Japanese. Readers can see that Jing-mei has waited her whole life to connect with her heritage when she says, â€Å". . . I saw myself transforming like a werewolf, a mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered, replicating into a syndrome, a cluster of telltale Chinese behaviors, all those things my mother did to embarrass me. . . . But today I realize I’ve never really known what it means to be Chinese. I am thirty-six years old. My mother is dead and I am on a train, carrying with me her dreams of coming home. I am going to China† (Tan 120). Although Jing-mei was not born in China like her mother, she now has a grasp on her life and on her mothers. By having the story take place on a train in China, helps the tracing of heritage become real for readers. Strong feelings of happiness and sorrow are felt when Jing-mei traces her Chinese roots and becomes in touch with her heritage and her past; allowing readers to place themselves in the same situation and experience the feelings are being portrayed by the characters. Learning about family heritage is something people do not always understand, like Jing-mei, people do not always want to believe their past and heritage. When coming to an understanding of their past, people can lay to rest their urging thoughts and can come closer in contact with their present life. Now that Jing-mei has met her sisters, she can now make peace in her life knowing that she has fulfilled her dreams and the dreams of her mother. Amy Tan reveals Jing-mei’s epiphany well by writing, â€Å"I look at their faces again and I see no trace of my mother in them. Yet they still look familiar. And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood. After all these years, it can finally be let go† (Tan 134). Jing-mei finally realizes that she is Chinese and that her mother was right. Jing-mei also says, â€Å"Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long cherished wish† (Tan 134), thus adding on to her realization of her heritage and past. Jing-mei can now lay to rest the thought of her mother never seeing her twin daughters again and continue on with her existing life, but now with a different perspective, a Chinese perspective. Throughout both of the stories, heritage becomes a major factor. The characters coming to an understanding of heritage helps readers to become more fascinated with the stories. Bringing out the points in Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† and Tan’s â€Å"A Pair of Tickets† gives readers a chance to see the heritage â€Å"shining through†. References Tan, A. (1999) A Pair of Tickets. In E. Kennedy and D. Gioia (7th Ed. ). Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. (p. 120-134) New York City, NY: Longman. Walker, A. (2008). Everyday Use. In R. DiYanni (6th Ed. ). Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. (p. 743-749). United States of America: McGraw Hill.

Impacts of Green Energy Production on Ireland

Impacts of Green Energy Production on Ireland An Evaluation of the Impacts of Green Energy Production on the Flora and Fauna of Ireland Introduction Green energy production has significantly increased in recent years. Its rise is primarily due to environmental concerns and the vital need to find alternative energy sources as fossil fuels supplies decline. In terms of the environment, the use of renewable energy in order to alleviate the effects of global warming is supported internationally. (Warren, et al., 2005) There are several sources of renewable energy used in Ireland today, these include; wind power, solar, hydroelectric energy and biomass etc. Global Policy and legislation: In 1992, at the Earth summit in Rio, many nations joined an international treaty, which was known as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)ÂÂ   (United Nations, 2017). This treaty was put into effect in 1994 and its main aim was to fight the challenges of climate change. In order to achieve this, they encouraged member states to keep their greenhouse gas emissions at a steady state. (United Nations, 2017). This treaty was accompanied by the Kyoto Protocol which was more successful as it committed developing countries to reduce their emissions by introducing legally binding reduction targets. (United Nations, 2017) EU policy and legislation: In 1997, the EUs renewable energy policy came about with the implementation of the White Paper which was called Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy (European Commission , 2011). This paper gave details of how gross energy consumption in terms of renewable energy needs to increase from 6% to 12% by 2010 (European Commission , 2011). Then in 2008 the Commission proposed an ambitious Climate Change and Energy Package. The European Union accepted this package in December of 2008. This energy package stated that European Union Member States must achieve the following targets: 20% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 in comparison to the 1990 levels. 20% increase in the use of renewables. 20% increase in energy efficiency. (European Commission , 2011) All EU Member States were required to draw up National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) as part of the Renewable Energy Directive (European Commission , 2011). These NREAPs outlined the way in which each Member State aimed to meet their approved share of the overall target of a 20% increase of renewables in energy consumption by 2020. Additionally, the NREAP must also describe the steps that will be taken to improve and grow the use of renewable energy. Examples of this include improving conditions to allow more access to electricity gird lines as well as having less administrative barriers. (European Commission , 2011). Irelands Policy and Legislation: Irelands renewable energy policy and legislation is entirely based on the context of European legal responsibilities. Our policies and legislations are specified in numerous Directives and Regulations, as well as in many international and national targets (Dineen, et al., 2015). In terms of the NREAP, Ireland submitted its final plan to the European Commission at the end June in 2010. We submitted our initial progress report in the January of 2012 followed by the second report two years later in February 2014 (Dineen, et al., 2015). There are many schemes that are carried out nationally to meet the EUs 2020 targets. Irelands Strategy for Renewable Energy: 2012 2020, proposed an ambitious statement which stated that Ireland could become a world-wide leader in the research and progress of renewable energy and other associated technologies (Dineen, et al., 2015). Irelands strategy for renewable energy recognises five goals, some of which include; an increase in both onshore and offshore wind; the construction of a sustainable bioenergy sector and building robust and efficient electricity networks etc. (Dineen, et al., 2015). Under the European Union Directive 2012 on energy efficiency all member states, including Ireland must have a NREAP. The European Energy Directive placed energy efficiency at the forefront of the EU Energy 2020 strategy. It became a part of the law in Ireland through the SI 426 of 2014 and SI 131 of 2014 (Dineen, et al., 2015). The directive is aimed at keeping energy use from economic growth separate as well as setting out a mutual framework of measures to meet the European Unions 20% target in energy efficiency by 2020 (Dineen, et al., 2015). It is obligatory that all member states submit three National Energy Efficiency Action Plans to the European Commission over a seven-year period. The action plans should detail the measures planned to meet the 20-20 targets (Dineen, et al., 2015). Irelands initial National Energy Efficiency Action Plan was available in May 2009. It reiterated the target which was originally included in 2007 in the White Paper on energy efficiency. This target aimed to save approximately 20% of the average primary energy used from a period of 2001 2005, with this target being reached by 2020 (Dineen, et al., 2015). In terms of Irelands legislation on the protection of flora and fauna, the protection of biodiversity on an international front comes from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in the form of an extensive strategy towards sustainable development. The CBD has three main aims which include; To conserve biodiversity. To sustainably use the components of biodiversity. To share the benefits that come from the use of genetic resources in a just and impartial way. (A, et al., 2005) Irelands main policy to protect the flora and fauna is included in the National biodiversity plan Actions for Biodiversity. This action plan outlines how Ireland plans to conserve and protect its biodiversity. This policy is supported by the following legislation; Birds Directive 1979 Habitats Directive 1992 (Natura 2000 sites) Wildlife Act 1976, plus amendment Act 2000 Irish Flora Protection Order 2015 (Scheer, et al., 2016) Discussion Currently there are numerous different types of renewable energy available in Ireland, which include; wind power, solar, hydroelectric energy and biomass etc. This section is going to focus on just wind and hydroelectric energy. Wind Power background: Wind power began to draw interest just after the oil shocks in the 1970s and it only started to grow during the 1990s (Warren, et al., 2005). Today, wind energy is at the forefront in terms of renewable energy as it has emerged as one of the cleanest, safest and cheapest sources of energy. Since the 90s the capacity of wind generating energy has been doubling approximately every three years and the production costs have been decreasing thus making it a favourable source of energy. In Ireland, the first operational windfarm came about in 1992 and as of 2015 there were 228 operational windfarms present across 27 counties (Irish Wind Energy Association, 2017). These windfarms are producing a wind capacity of 3025 megawatts. It is estimated that the value of 1MW can provide energy for approximately 650 homes, therefore the capacity of 3025MW is providing enough energy for 1.97 million homes in Ireland (Irish Wind Energy Association, 2017). However, for these windfarms to be effective it is vital that they are located in open, exposed areas where wind speed is high. Thus, the uplands, coastal and offshore areas are generally proposed (Drewitt Langsto, 2006). Impacts: From a report carried out by BirdLife (BirdLife Europe , 2011), wind power energy was classified as a medium risk technology, therefore meaning that it can have negative impacts i.e. habitat disturbance especially in terms of sensitive species. However, if the correct framework policies are in place and if they are strategically organised then they can be developed without any negative impacts (BirdLife Europe , 2011). Areas such as the uplands, coastal and offshore are important habitats for migratory, breeding and wintering birds and therefore their habitats may be affected by the development of windfarms. However, the impact of wind farms on bird populations can vary and depend on different aspects including; the habitats that are affected, the species that are present, the topography of the adjacent land and finally the biogeographic range of a species (Drewitt Langsto, 2006). At numerous poorly sited wind farms (specifically at offshore sites) collision mortality has had a significant effect on population level (BirdLife Europe , 2011). In addition, more indirect effects such as access to remote areas i.e. tracks may lead to an increased level of disturbance or an increased risk of predation. Cumulative mortality may contribute to the decline in more susceptible species due to other environmental or anthropogenic pressures (BirdLife Europe , 2011). Thus, impacts that are site specific in addition to effects on the local wildlife populations are in fact relevant apprehensions if windfarms are not developed properly. To mitigate the effects of developing windfarms there are two directives under EU environmental legislation that are directly applicable to the development of wind farms. These directives include; SEA Directive (Strategic Environmental Assessments) EIA Directive (Environmental Impact Assessments) (European Commission , 2011) Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) are assessments that authorities use to improve spatial plans for various infrastructure needs such as; energy installations (BirdLife Europe , 2011). These assessments include the process of analysing as well as allowing the publics input to combine the analysis of environmental protection into plans and to encourage sustainability through investment programmes (BirdLife Europe , 2011). Furthermore, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are carried out by developers with the aim of avoiding, reducing and mitigating the impacts of projects. They then consider their findings in the planning decisions (BirdLife Europe , 2011) Hydroelectricity background: Hydroelectricity is another major source of renewable energy and it is made from the movement of water. It is currently the worlds most extensively used source of renewable energy (O Rourke, et al., 2009). Three different categories of hydroelectric plants occur which include; Impoundment -ÂÂ   most prevalent and known kind of hydroelectric plant. It uses a dam to keep the water in a reservoir and a turbine releases the water, therefore generating electricity. Diversion the water is diverted/transferred from the river over a canal which turns the turbine. Pumped storage water is pumped from a low reservoir into a higher reservoir when the electricity demand is low. Thus, electricity is generated when the electricity demand is high and the water is released. (O Rourke, et al., 2009) In terms of Ireland, hydroelectric energy is our second greatest source of renewable energy, just behind wind. The development of this energy will increase with more focus on the smaller scale hydroelectricity plants. Currently the ESB oversee the larger-scale plants and they have stated that these plants supply approximately 6% of our electricity (O Rourke, et al., 2009). Impacts: Hydroelectric plants can have numerous negative impacts on both the land and in terms of wildlife. Firstly, hydroelectricity plants can have a significant effect on aquatic ecosystems. For example, fish and several other species can be wounded or killed by the turbine blades, however there has been numerous mitigation methods to minimize these impacts e.g. fish ladders and in-take screens (UCS, 2017). As mentioned above the most common types of hydroelectric power plants use a dam and a reservoir and they generally can hinder the migration patterns of fish, thus affecting their population. These plants can also have an impact on the flow of the river and on the water temperature i.e. the temperature not being consistent. These changes can have a significant effect on the native flora and fauna in the river and on the land (Environment and Ecology , 2017). Wildlife impacts can also occur within the dammed reservoir in addition to downstream from the plant. Water from a reservoir is ge nerally more stationary compared to normal river water (UCS, 2017). As a result, it would be expected for the reservoir to have a higher amount of sediment and nutrients, which in turn would promote a surplus amount of algae and other aquatic weeds (UCS, 2017). This then allows the weeds to crowd out additional flora and fauna that exist in the river. (UCS, 2017). Conclusion Irelands Current State: Ireland has made significant progress towards achieving the energy efficiency and renewable energy targets. From a report carried out by SEAI (Scheer, et al., 2016) in 2016 they stated that to date Ireland has done the following; In terms of our energy efficiency target, Ireland has energy efficiency savings relating to about half of the countrys 2020 energy efficiency target (Scheer, et al., 2016). In terms of meeting our 2020 renewable energy target, we are also just over half way with 8.6% of our gross final consumption coming from renewables in 2014 (Scheer, et al., 2016). This has been achieved due to more than 40,000 homes and more than 550 businesses using some form of renewable energy. In terms of heat, 6.6% of the national 12% heat target has been achieved by end 2014 (Scheer, et al., 2016). Additionally, since 2003 around 190 wind farms, linked across 24 counties, have been developed. This compares to 2,375 MW of renewable electricity capacity. In total, over 6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions have been avoided each year through using energy efficient and renewable energy technologies (Scheer, et al., 2016). In terms of wind power energy, with careful development they can prove to be successful as they dont produce greenhouse gas emissions, pollutants, effluent or waste. In addition, its a natural source of energy. Hydroelectricity also has potential as a source of energy, as stated above it currentlyprovides approximately 6% of our electricity. However, Ireland is limited to a small number of large-scale of hydro sites for the generation of power. (O Rourke, et al., 2009). References A, Z., C, M. D, B., 2005. The Convention on Biodiversity and Its Potential Implications for the Agricultural Sector in Europe, s.l.: Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) . BirdLife Europe , 2011. Meeting europes renewable energy targets in harmony with nature , Sandy, U.K: The RSPB. Dineen, D. D., Howley, M. Holland, M., 2015. Renewable Energy in Ireland 2013, s.l.: SEAI. Drewitt, A. L. Langsto, R. H., 2006. Assessing the impacts of wind farms on birds. International journal of Avian science , 148(S1), pp. 29-42. Environment and Ecology , 2017. Hydropower and the Environment. [Online] Available at: http://environment-ecology.com/energy-and-environment/100-hydropower-and-the-environment.html[Accessed 30 January 2017]. European Commission , 2011. Wind Energy developments and natura 2000, Luxembourg: European Union. Irish Wind Energy Association , 2017. Irish Wind Energy Association Environmental Impacts. [Online] Available at: http://www.iwea.com/environmentalimpacts[Accessed 30 January 2017]. Irish Wind Energy Association, 2017. Irish Wind Energy Association. [Online] Available at: http://www.iwea.com/index.cfm/page/windenergyfaqs?#q19[Accessed 28 January 2017]. O Rourke, F., Boyle, F. Reynolds, A., 2009. Renewable energy sources and technologies applicable to Ireland. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews , Volume 13, pp. 1975-1984. Scheer, J., Clancy, M. Gaffney, F., 2016. Irelands Energy Targets, Progress, Ambition Impacts, s.l.: SEAI Energy. UCS, 2017. Environmental Impacts of Hydroelectric Power. [Online] Available at: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/environmental-impacts-hydroelectric-power.html#.WI-UvfmLTIU[Accessed 30 January 2017]. United Nations, 2017. The UN and climate change. [Online] Available at: http://www.un.org/climatechange/towards-a-climate-agreement/[Accessed 10 February 2017]. Warren, C. R., Lumsden, C., ODowd, S. Birnie, R. V., 2005. Green On Green: Public Perceptions of. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Volume 48, pp. 853-875.

Romeo and Juliet Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Physical separation is a powerful obstacle that is sometimes faced by those bound to each other in love. It brings about intense emotional pain and can hinder any relationship with which true love is at its core. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 56 involved two lovers that experienced physical separation as a stumbling block in their kinship. The â€Å"sad interim† with which the lovers found themselves suffering caused the intensity of their love to vanish. With their love fading quickly, the two desired for â€Å"sweet love† to â€Å"renew thy force.† They wanted their love for each other to be â€Å"blunter be than appetite, / Which but today by feeding is allayed, / Tomorrow sharpened in his former might.† They wished for a love like hunger, constantly returning and needing to be quenched. However, due to their separation, the people’s â€Å"spirit of love† had become â€Å"a perpetual dullness.† The â€Å"hungry eyes† of their love would â€Å"wink with fullness† and had lost its potency and strength. In order to repair the love that had waned, the lovers longed to â€Å"Come daily to the banks† of the ocean so that the â€Å"Return of love† could come to their relationship, and they desired â€Å"this sad interim† to be â€Å"winter, which being full of care / Makes summer’s welcome thrice more wish’d.† Sonnet 56 was a sad story in which separation caused two people’s love to become dull and boring. The obstacle of separation was also evident in the relationship between Hero and Claudio found in the play, Much Ado About Nothing. At the beginning of the play, Don Pedro and some of his men returned to Messina after battling in war. One of the men that Don Pedro brought with him was young Claudio. Claudio was highly respected in the eyes of Don Pedro and had exceptional war performan... ...(RJ 3. 5. 197). Juliet was so disgusted with the thought of marrying Paris that she would rather â€Å"make the bridal bed / In that dim monument where Tybalt lies† (RJ 3. 5. 212-213). Out of desperation to prevent the wedding, Juliet went â€Å"to the Friar to know his remedy† (RJ 3. 5. 254). She told that Friar that she â€Å"long[s] to die / If what thou speak’st speak not of remedy† (RJ 3. 5. 67-68). The Friar provided Juliet with a poison that would cause â€Å"The roses in [her] lips and cheeks fade / To paly ashes, [her] eyes’ windows fall / Like when he shuts up the day of life† (RJ 4. 1. 101-103). Though Paris was taken by Juliet, Juliet had no desire to marry Paris. Their love was completely one sided. Paris desired the love of Juliet but Juliet did not grant the love in return. The obstacle of non-mutual love will prevent any relationship from being successful.

Critically discuss the function of structure within the therapeutic relationship Essay

Extensive literature shows no significant differences in therapeutic outcomes between therapeutic approaches, but yet, these approaches differ to varying degrees in regards to values, techniques and emphasis on structure. This then poses an equivalence paradox with clearly non-equivalent techniques. The explanation for this commonality in therapeutic outcome between therapeutic approaches is the client-therapist relationship also known as the therapeutic alliance. The therapeutic alliance is a more encompassing term for the underlying interpersonal interactions and the collaborative nature of the partnership between a therapist and a client. Meta analytic research studies show that the therapeutic relationship counts for . 21 in effect size, while in combinations with technical focus, the effect size is . 76. While not equally as effective as technique alone with an effect size of . 55, it is significant in its contributions to therapeutic outcome and has been worth the focus on how it develops over time and the subsequent development of a generic structure to establish and maintain across all theoretical approaches. This essay will aim to explore this partnership and the necessary steps or requirements on the part of the therapist in order to establish it and the ways client preferences and goals are incorporated into treatment, in other words, structure required for the establishment and maintenance of the relationship as there is research evidence to support the establishment of this alliance early for stronger therapeutic outcome. Generally, work with clients usually have a preparatory phase: a first phone call perhaps, and introduction on both parts to the tasks and goals ahead. A beginning phase that involves the face-to-face meet up, initial greeting an outline of the therapist’s agenda, contracting, negotiating and setting and summary of goals. A middle phase: the therapist is concerned with facilitating learning and change congruent with therapeutic goals and assumptions about change. The ending phase also involves process goals in order to seek resolution of client issues, consolidate learning and change and evaluate therapeutic outcome. There’s evidence to show that therapeutic alliance needs to be formed within the first three sessions for a good therapeutic outcome. Regardless of the therapeutic approach, there is evidence that certain generic skills are important and required for the establishment of a structure within therapeutic alliance. These generic skills include basic communication skills, but also more complex skills which the therapist needs. They can be learnt and practiced as techniques but the therapeutic use of them with the client depends not only on the communication skill but on the attitude and intention of the therapist, an inside energy of sorts, that comes from commitment to understand the person from their frame of reference and the therapists internal supervision, awareness and self-review. The following macro and micro skills ensure the therapist emphases the importance of inner work alongside their practice. 1) Making Psychological contact This is an intangible personal process that changes from moment to moment, a psychological exchange of energy between human beings. It is dependent on the skills, experience, attitudes and emotions that each brings to the situation and it presents itself on a spectrum. It ranges from clients who make no contact at all to those who invade the therapist’s personal space and on the other side, the therapist’s ability to make contact could be influenced by how they perceive new clients and other factors such as culture, class, race, gender, age and sexual orientation. The therapist’s experience of initial interpersonal contact can be developed by self-reflection. Impartial witnessing: The observation of inner processes without judgement. Awareness of how others experience the therapist’s psychological contact e. g. Is it warm or cool, intrusive or distant etc? And finally, skills of greeting appropriately and starting the interaction with particular adjustments made after attention is paid to and sensitivity of culture, age, gender etc. 2) Effecting Intake and Assessment In an interview or a formal assessment, specific skills are needed. They include: Asking for information: It is imperative that the client is made to understand the purpose of the questions and what will happen with the records. Purpose stating: What the therapist wants to happen and must happen. This helps to set the scene of openness to clients so that they know the therapist’s intentions or purpose and also to experience the therapist as congruent. Preference stating: What the therapist would like to happen  with an element of choice for the client. Knowing when to say â€Å"no† to a client and knowing how to communicate this congruently, respectfully and empathically. 3) Introducing tape recording This is something therapist’s approach with trepidation and technical skill and appropriate equipment is required to execute. The therapist requires confidence and conviction to obtain permission from the client and it needs to be part of the initial contract. 4) Contracting and clarifying therapy Negotiating a contract with a client requires particularly the multiple skills of active listening, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, summarizing, asking questions, purpose and preference stating, a balance between assertion and flexibility. 5) Beginning to build a relationship The ability to communicate empathic understanding of the client, to show unconditional respect, and to be perceived as congruent, requires inner and outer, receptive and responding skills. The client needs to hear that the therapist understands him from his point of view, accepting and not judging him, and is openly present for him and genuine in the role. This openness conveyed by the therapist may vary with the orientation: Skills required to communicate this are: 1) Attention giving: The non-verbal show of accessibility, receptivity and presence which are all influenced by an inner attitude dependent on the awareness and sensitivity of the therapist. 2) Observing: Knowing what non-verbal and verbal cues to look out for. For example; posture, facial expression, tone and volume of voice, responsiveness etc. These clues are sought to begin to understand the client’s internal frame of reference. Also, the therapist needs to scan their own body for clues and observe how the client makes them feel. 3) Listening and Hearing. The former is merely the inner sensory activity that involves picking up sounds while the latter is the same inner sensory activity aligned with attention giving. When clients feel really listened to, they are encouraged to talk and reveal themselves. Accurate listening can help clients to increase self-awareness and reduce defensiveness and direct focus towards their own behaviour. It provides psychological space and support for client’s self-exploration. The use of a combination of the above skills to focus the therapist and client at appropriate points in the interaction. It can be used as a check for understanding, pulling together thoughts, bridge to help client move on, return to something significant and to structure the interaction if the therapist or the client is getting lost. 5) Responding or facilitating skills: Also known as active listening skills. These demonstrate and communicate empathy and acceptance and facilitate exploration. They are sometimes referred to as first level empathy, distinguishing them from deeper empathy. The latter is used when there is deeper understanding of the client’s inner world. Using advanced empathy too soon, exposes a risk of inaccuracy and poses too much of a challenge for the client. First level empathy consists of paraphrasing and reflecting feelings. Paraphrasing is picking up the meaning of the client’s words and having and extensive vocabulary to put it back to him reflecting accurately the feeling and meaning in a tentative way to check understanding. It is not parroting and using jargon or over technical terms. Done well, it enables clients to hear and understand themselves afresh. Reflecting feelings is identifying what the client is feeling often mainly from non-verbals like tone of voice, bodily expression and therapist’s own bodily resonance. Therapist’s need to be sensitive to different cultural subtleties as inaccurate reflections may neutralize the intensity of the client’s feelings. All these skills are the beginning blocks for building a relationship and for helping clients explore what they want from a therapist and therapy. In the main they are supportive skills. Skills which continue to build the relationship and develop the interaction will be considered next. These skills are challenging, both for the client and therapist. Development and maintenance of the therapeutic relationship: Moving the client forward As mentioned above, the skills discussed so far can be considered as supportive – helping clients feel safe enough to begin to explore themselves and their situation. To move on in the relationship and the interaction requires skills which will challenge the client to explore further – to gain new perspective and new frameworks and see the world in a different way. How the client will receive the challenge will depend on the relationship which has been built and how it is maintained and developed; all the supportive skills will still be needed, appropriately interspersed with the challenging ones. Inner skills: Challenging a client requires the inner skill of the therapist in examining their own feelings about challenging others. The therapist needs to know how comfortable they are with challenging a client. This skill is should be applied tentatively and timing is crucial. A therapist needs to be able to gauge implicitly and explicitly when and how to challenge a client and which of these interactions are based on theories of counselling and psychotherapy. This skill really requires an inner awareness and careful attention to personal development is required. This is where tape recording and supervision are important in the review and identifications of values, beliefs, thoughts, feelings and sensations guiding the choices made. Outer skills: Responsible challenging requires well-practised communication skills. Focusing. The therapist needs to help clients focus, if they are to move forward. Summarizing. As mentioned above, summarizing provides bridges, draws themes together and is used for keeping track. It is a useful skill that requires accurate listening, ability to filter relevant thoughts and feelings and ability to communicate them clearly. Both summarising and focusing provide challenge to clients Concrete examples. Sometimes it can be useful to ask clients for more specific thoughts, experiences and feelings. Communicating deeper empathy. The ability to pick up the real meaning behind the words, thoughts and feelings of the client which are buried, out of reach or implied and which may come to the therapist as a hunch. The skill is to put it into appropriate words when the timing is right. Challenging. Gently confronting clients to change their perspective, see a bigger picture, recognize strengths they are not using, note discrepancies between verbal and non-verbal behaviour or identify behaviour that is destructive to them and others. Self-disclosure. Here there are two types; the therapist disclosing past experience or the disclosure of thoughts and feelings about the client’s thoughts or experiences. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. Timing and discrimination of content disclosed is important. It could help as a model for the clients and help build the relationship or it may be perceived by the client as maladjustment and hence reduce confidence or the increased intimacy may be threatening to them. It is unhelpful at the beginning stages of therapy as the therapist should be concentrating on staying with the client’s experience. Disclosure needs a sufficiently secure relationship and should be used selectively at the later stages of therapy. Immediacy. Discussing directly and openly what is happening between therapist and client. It involves awareness of what’s going on inside the therapist and what is imagined as going on within the client and what is happening between the two. It is quite complex and challenging to do well, but when executed properly provides client with insight as to how their behaviours affect others. It involves competence in support skills as well as self-involving statements. It requires assertion and is very helpful to build or repair a therapeutic relationship, identify issues with class, age, gender, race, sexuality etc and in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic practice, identify transference and countertransference. All the skills so far require a lot of practice with feedback for development and lead to the final section. Monitoring self within the therapeutic process, evaluation and development of own work. This requires all the previous skills as well as the additional self-management skills which are: developing a caring acceptance of self, impartially witnessing of internal processes, identifying and using resources to meets learning, emotional, physical needs, ongoing identification and checking of belief and theories, planning ongoing training and personal development, reflecting, review of recordings and supervision, reviewing with clients and asking for feedback from clients Summary Both supporting and challenging skills, regardless of theoretical approach are necessary for the establishment of structure within a therapeutic relationship. This structure and framework is important in ensuring that therapists are mindful of what is required to provide a supportive base to establish trust and rapport and then in the later stages more challenging skill are utilized to provide the necessary challenge that is required to guide clients into awareness and positive change. Another possibly useful generic skill would be a termination skill to help the therapist during the end phases of therapy help the client consolidate learning and evaluate outcome and prepare for possible relapse prevention and management and finally, client autonomy. Theoretical considerations There is no denying that the generic skills discussed above have built around and extended from the conditions identified by Carl Rogers in person centred therapy, to reiterate, they would be the maintenance of an attitude of acceptance or unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding, as well as personal congruence or integration. Being a non-directive therapeutic approach that typically places emphasis on the above, supportive skills would be utilized mainly. Challenge skills, less so, but on occasion, as onus is placed on the client directing the therapy. Cognitive behaviour therapy utilizes an active-directive collaborative style. In its very nature, it is quite structured. In reductionist terms, it occurs in the following four stages: the assessment, cognitive, behavioural and learning stages. The therapeutic alliance needs to occur in the assessment stage, usually in the first session because quite rapidly after, from the cognitive stage, negative automatic thoughts are identified and challenged. This means, supportive skills and challenge skills are introduced quite rapidly and interwoven up till the learning stage and termination. In Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches, a distinction is made between the real relationship, transference and counter transference and a working alliance. The real relationship would be akin to the therapeutic relationship as defined earlier and would only be encountered after transference and counter transference because they are considered to be more of a contamination to the real relationship and would need to be worked through and resolved. Meaning the therapist would take a more reticent stance, utilizing mostly support skills initially and challenge skills only during the working alliance, (the alignment of the client’s reasonable self or ego and the therapist’s analysing self or ego for the purpose of therapy) towards the later stages of therapy where interpretation of unconscious conflicts, defence mechanisms and resistances take place. Other considerations Having a framework is important in the development and establishment of rapport and therapeutic alliance but there are salient points to factor in. The therapist needs to have a level of awareness of the similarities and differences between them and their prospective clients to avoid the traps of varying degrees of gender inequality, ageism, disability and social class discrimination, homophobia and other sexual orientation based discrimination, religion, spiritual, agnostic and atheist discrimination, and also, racial, cultural and ethnical discrimination. Regardless of how well a therapist conceptualizes how to establish therapeutic alliance, lack of knowledge and experience on these socio economic and socio cultural factors could prove counterproductive.