Fiscal Policy Paper Essay

The United States has been known as a powerhouse throughout the world and as having a good reputation with other countries. With the deficit, surplus and a high debt has caused the United States to lose some of its stature on an international level. The national debt has three parts concerning fiscal policies, prevailing economic conditions, public policy, and demographic changes. The United States has had annual deficits spending a lot more than the Department of Treasury has collected. This has occurred almost every year since the nation has been around. This is what has established the United States as a preeminent global power that it is right now. (â€Å"Financial Regulations†, 2012). If the deficit and debts continue in a downward spiral this will have an effect on the strength and status of the United States bargaining power. While the United States could faces inflation, on the international level it could cause the American dollar to depreciate and this would harm the United Stated international competitive power. If this happens the reputation of the United States would diminish on an international level as well. When the United State is importing goods, an Italian clothing company can reap the benefits. If Italy’s economy is strong enough when the United States runs a trade deficit, an Italian clothing company will continue to grow and produce jobs for the people in Italy. It is opposite if the United States runs a trade surplus, this can cause an Italian clothing company to shut down because the company will not be producing the goods that the United States need. When there is a debt in the United States and a demand for Italian clothing company to import their products, the United States must sell off assets at a lower value to cover the demand of the products. (According to â€Å"Research and Data† 2011). If the United States does not have any assets to sell they will have to borrow the product from the company and pay them back at a later time. This will make their debt larger because they will have to pay back the debt plus interest on the total price. Today the unemployme nt rate is a serious problem in parts of our country. People who are unemployed are not paying taxes. Unemployment is a huge part of the deficit. A large amount of people go from employed to unemployment at a fast rate. People are losing their jobs for many  reasons which push them to the unemployment line. Unemployment benefits are designed to help people until they can find employment. When jobs are lost, salaries stop, taxes are not being paid, and the government is paying out unemployment benefits to people who are not working. There has to be some kind of solutions to help curve the unemployment problems. Creating training programs for high demand positions should be offered to unemployed clients to get them back to work. Most students rely on Student loans, Pell grants and any assistance they can get from the government to help them further their education. In February, there was a threatened sequester and education funds were affected. Education was one of the areas that was in the line of fire and was talks of cuts ensued. This would hurt many students because it would decide if they would be able to continue attending school. It would also hurt the universities because some had already experienced cuts within the system. President Obama spoke about funding for education and how important it is to continue. To keep the Pell Grants safe, other areas were targeted. The Leap grants, subsidized loans, Trio program, and Perkins loan were all at risk. It all comes down to the economy. Money has to be moved ar ound and often causes problem for many. In the end students will see interest rates on loans rising and higher payment to repay after graduation. Taxpayers suffer from the debt and deficit because taxes are raised to offset the deficit and debt. If the debt is high concerns on how the debt is going to get paid grows. The debt is what owed by the federal government. Since the government continues to borrow funds from the Social Security Trust Fund, future Social Security is in jeopardy. It’s predicted that over the next 20 years the social security fund will not have enough to cover the benefits of the baby boomers that will be ready to retire. These benefits will have to be paid so taxes will have to be raised and other government programs will have to be cut. With the future predication of more social security recipients it leaves fewer workers to pay into the system. Future social security and Medicare users depend on the surplus to fund their benefits. For years Social security had a huge surplus because it collected more in taxes than what was paid out. Beginning in 2010 Social Security started paying out more in benefits causing a need for concern. Raising taxes is one way to increase the social security fund. It is highly unlikely that Social Security and  Medicare will be cut because both are funded by employees, employers and t hose self-employed (taxpayers), As long as people are working and paying taxes Medicare and Social Security will always have funding. It’s important to understand that a considerable part of the loss in U.S. manufacturing jobs has not just been a story of higher productivity leading to fewer jobs—as was the case with the transformation of the U.S. agricultural sector over the last century. It’s been more a story of decline in output due to a loss of international competitiveness. This is why the decline of U.S. manufacturing merits a serious policy response. Look at Detroit for example the decline of car industry and factory jobs have been in constant decline because of the way this country sends jobs to other countries for cheaper labor. So in essence why would a foreign country buy cars from the U.S. when they know what it cost to make them? And more than likely we are in debt to them which would in part make us sell cheaper than what we want just because of it. The debt affects the deficit in three ways. First, the debt actually gives a better indication of the true deficit each year. You can more accurately gauge the deficit by comparing each year’s debt to last year’s debt. That is because the budget deficit, as reported in each year’s budget, does not include the amount owed to the Social Security Fund. However, this is a debt that will need to be repaid one day, and so the amount borrowed from it is a more accurate description of each year’s government liabilities than the reported budget deficit. As one can imagine economic production and growth and what GDP represents, has a large impact on nearly everyone within that economy. For example, when the economy is healthy, you will typically see low unemployment and wage increases as businesses demand labor to meet the growing economy. A significant change in GDP, whether up or down, usually has a significant effect on the stock market. It’s not hard to understand why a bad economy usually means lower profits for companies, which in turn means lower stock prices. Investors really worry about negative GDP growth, which is one of the factors economists use to determine whether an economy is in a recession. ? References St. Louise Federal Reserve, Deficit, Debts and Trust Funds, August 2006) http://www.investopedia.com/articles/ useconomy.about.com Fiscal Policy Financial Regulations. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org research and data. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.phil.frb.org Colander, D. C. (2010). Macroeconomics (8th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Vodafone AirTouch’s bid for Mannesmann

First of all, one has to mention that it is always difficult to evaluate a company. There is no single measure/calculation who can give you the valuation of a company. The value of a company can be different for every single human being. For instance, Vodafone Air Touch will try to calculate a very low valuation of the company because it wants to pay as less as possible, and Mannesmann a very high valuation, because it wants to get as much money as possible. As a result, it often depends on the interest of the different persons who evaluate a company. In October 1999, Mannesmann offered shares around 157. â‚ ¬. This was before the acquisition of Orange PLC, a competitor of Vodafone Air Touch in the UK market. After the acquisition, Vodafone offered 266â‚ ¬ per share, 68% more than the 157. 8â‚ ¬ per share Mannesmann offered few weeks before. Despite, this very high premium, Mannesmann’s CEO evaluated his company 350â‚ ¬ per share. Here in this case, I think that the main reason for this high price differences is that with time, Mannesmann’s bargaining position changed. In the beginning, their position was not as strong as in the end when they achieved to acquire Orange Plc, a telecommunication company in the U. K. which was growing faster than Vodafone. As a result, Mannesmann became a stronger competitor for Vodafone and Mannesmann’s CEO knew that. As a consequence, he increased the valuation of his company. The reason why for instance an analyst from Julius Baar valuated Mannesmann between 250â‚ ¬ and 350â‚ ¬ per share and many other analysts between 174â‚ ¬ and 250â‚ ¬ per share may have some reasons. The main reason is that, as anticipated before, it is very difficult to evaluate a company. Furthermore, it is even more difficult to evaluate how many synergies Vodafone Air Touch would benefit from this takeover. So it is very difficult to evaluate how much this Mannesmann takeover could be worth for Vodafone Air Touch. Moreover, one has to check which analysts own stocks of Mannesmann or Vodafone because this may also influence the different evaluations. (2) In your opinion, in general, when a company is the target of a hostile takeover bid, who should decide whether the terms and conditions of this bid are acceptable? The Chief Executive Officer (or the equivalent) of the target company? Or its Chairperson (if another person than the CEO)? Its board of directors? Its shareholders ? If the shareholders, how practically should they make their decision? In my opinion, only the shareholders should take this type of decision. They are the one who own the company, and they should decide if they accept the takeover bid or not. If 50 % + X agree with the bid price, then the takeover should take place. Of course, before taking the decision, they should listen to the opinion of the CEO, the Chairperson, some analysts, as well as the Board of Directors. However, in my opinion, none of these key persons should take part of the decision making process. In my opinion, the shareholders are the one who own the company, and they should decide what should happen with their investment. For instance, let us assume the employees would take part of decision making process. Then, in most of the cases, the employees would vote against a take over, because they fear about their jobs. They would never take a neutral decision, but a decision which is the best for them, not caring about the fact that the shareholders loose a high premium. They, as well as the trade unions, would vote against an takeover because they fear for the jobs. However, they never think about the fact, that if the company is not taken over, the company who made a mid remains a competitor. And this competitor could increase its market share in spite of the smaller company that did not accept the takeover. And in this case, the employees of the smaller company would even risk to loose more jobs. The CEO and the the Chairperson should never take this type of decisions. Because, they are only in charge of the operations of the company, but they do not own the company. As a result, they should not decide about the matter. 3) In the case of the Vodafone AirTouch bid for Mannesmann, who should have made the decision ? (Please take into account the fact that Mannesmann had two boards, the supervisory board, and the management board) What do you think of the sentence in the fourth paragraph of page 5 of the case: â€Å"Esser rejected the offer on the grounds that it was inadequate† ? As stated before the shareholders should have taken this de cision. They own the company and if 50 % + X is in favour of Vodadone AirTouch’s bid, then the company should accept the bid. Let’s assume that you invested 50 000 â‚ ¬ in Mannesmann’s shares and now somebody is offering you 80 000 â‚ ¬ for the shares. Then you should decide if you accept this money, or if you think that your shares are much worthier in some months/years. In that case you vote against the hostile takeover. I think that this system makes the decision making also very rapid and efficient. In fact, if one would also ask the employees, some analysts and so on, then the decision making process would be much longer. As a result, I think that the shareholders should take the decision, after having listened to the different opinions of the CEO, employees, analysts,.. However, I think it inacceptable that Esser as the CEO of the company, who does not own many shares, rejects the offer in the name of all the investors. This cannot be tolerated. In fact, he is like an employee of Meeresmann, he does not own the company, and he should take the best decisions for his shareholders who in some way gave him this job as CEO. As a result, I think that he cannot take the decision to refuse a bid without having spoken with any shareholder of the company. This is not a personal decision, but a decision which influences all the stakeholders of the company. It is unacceptable that he takes the decision on behalf of all the share- and stakeholders. (4) If you had been a shareholder of Mannesmann on December 17, 1999, what would you have liked to say to Klaus Esser ? What would you have like to say to Chris Gent ? If you had had the opportunity to vote to accept or not Vodafone's bid, how would you have voted (please ignore the subsequent events not described in the case) ? As a shareholder of Mannesmann, I would liked to ask him why he refused an offer of 266â‚ ¬ per share, which is a premium of 72. 2 % compared to Mannesmann’s closing price on October 18th. I would blame him for not having asked the shareholder what they thought about the offer. He took a decision about something which did not own him, but where I owned a fraction. Finally, I would ask him if he could guarantee me that the share price of Meeresmann would be as high as the Vodafone AirTouch’s offer in the future. Only if this is the case, the Esser would be partly excused. I mention only partly, because even if he thinks that the share price of Meeresmann will be higher in the near future, then he should have explained that to the shareholders. And then, if the majority of the shareholders would agree, then he could refuse the offer. As a shareholder of Mannesmann, I would ask him what would be the strategy of Vodafone AirTouch after the acquisition of Meeresmann. This is important to me, because I will have to make an important decision if the hostile takeover is agreed: either I keep the Vodafone shares or I sell all the shares the day of the take over. In that way, I would gild the premium. I would definitely have accepted the deal. During that time, it was quite sure that a consolidation of the telecommunication market would happen. As a result, I think that it would have been very difficult for Meeresmann, as one of the smaller companies, to survive in that market environment. Furthermore, the offered premium was so high, that I could not deny this offer.

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

ART - Essay Example The work was completed between 1495 and 1498. The original work, not a â€Å"true fresco (Olga’s, 2006),† because the artist did not work in the definition of that tradition, and did not apply the combination of oil and tempera he worked with to wet plaster (Olga’s, 2006). Rather, Leonardo applied a resin of pitch and gesso chalk to the plaster to seal the porous material (Olga’s, 2006). This would create a smoother surface upon which to apply the combination of oil and tempera the artist worked with, but did not create a surface that would sustain the work during the passage of time (Olga’s, 2006). The style in which Leonardo worked did allow him to create a bright, textured work â€Å"in exquisite detail (Olga’s, 2006).† The work, in a deteriorating condition, was later transferred to canvas, restored, and it is that restoration process that reflects what people commonly think of when they think of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. It is the moment now to look at that as a work of art in more detail. Da Vinci’s Last Supper might be compared to the 12th century fresco found at the Church of San Baudelio near Berlanga, Spain (MFA Boston, 2006). What immediately strikes the observer in comparing the works, is that the earlier 12th century unknown artist of t he Spanish work used a very different placement of the key people depicted in the work. In the 12th century work, Judas, whom Jesus does not mention by name, but nonetheless advises His disciples that one of them will betray Him; is in front of the table, set apart from the other disciples by his position in front of the table. This depiction of Judas at the front of the table, rather than as Leonardo presents Judas, sitting at the table; is considered the â€Å"traditional† depiction of Judas (MFA, 2006). What we also note about the earlier artist’s interpretation is that the disciples are haloed, except for Judas, of course. This, too, is

Management Of Health Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Of Health Programs - Essay Example The above definition exemplifies the pivotal role a leader plays in any kind of organisation. The burden of responsibility is only multiplied when it comes to the precarious field of Healthcare Management. Apart from closely scrutinising the organisational growth, a Healthcare manager is expected to cater successfully to the needs and expectations of the patients, to be sentient to the advanced medical technologies and to ensure the safety and authenticity of various medical procedures and drugs. In the demanding health care sector, a health care manager's responsibilities extend beyond mere managerial duties. The biggest challenge faced by health care executives in present day scenario is restricting health care costs. The global health industry is already reeling under high costs, and thus a true leader should be able to devise a cost efficient method to provide enhanced treatment to patients at affordable prices. He must judicially utilise the available resources and also include technology as one of the major tools of development. The ability to envision and inviegle people into sharing the same vision is one of the vital traits of an efficient leader. According to a survey conducted by the EPIC-MRA (2007) , more than one-third (36%) of the respondents valued an envisioned leader. This attribute is even more significant in the healthcare field where the manager has to make some rather grueling decisions with a human life at stake. This foresight along with a deep knowledge of the limitations of his staff can help a healthcare manager to explore hitherto unknown ideas to solve problems as and when they arise. Given the unpredictable nature of the field, where emergencies develop by the minute, a healthcare manager should be able to juggle his resources around dexterously to achieve maximum success rate. A positive work environment is essential for tapping the full potential of the employees in any field. With unpredictable hours and stressful subject matter, the healthcare field is particularly demanding. The healthcare manager's role, thus, becomes crucial. He must be successsful in creating a constructive atmosphere, which would in turn increase proficiency and restrict failure causing elements. A manager must involve, and get involved with the staff and promote a free flow of ideas and thoughts. The manager should also seek feedback on his own performance, while encouraging that of his staff. Assigning challenging responsibilities tailored according to the individual staff members can significantly improve job satisfaction. A leader must recognize the individualistic traits of his staff and give them duties accordingly. A leader must possess strong communicative skills, in almost every field. Due to the very nature of the job, a manager is required to deal with people on multiple levels. A manager must have the necessary cognitive skills to converse not only with his immediate employees, but also with seniors and clients. In the healthcare field, the manager's job becomes even more challenging since he has to deal with patients and their families too, who can be quite pressing and demanding. Additionally, the manager also has to correspond with the pharmaceutical suppliers, public health agencies,

H.R.111 Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2011 Research Paper

H.R.111 Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2011 - Research Paper Example The bill aims to ensure that insurance coverage be provided for the inpatient hospital stay for a minimum period post mastectomy and for outpatient stay in lumpectomy. Conflicting arguments prevent a consensus on the bill. On one hand it is claimed that post breast surgery the patient need physical care, guidance as well as psychological counseling. On the other hand researchers provide evidence in favor of ambulatory breast surgery. The current paper presents a comprehensive view of the various aspects of H. R. 111 bill and its impact on nurse’s role if enacted. H.R.111 BREAST CANCER PATIENT PROTECTION ACT OF 2009 BACKGROUND BREAST CANCER Cancer involves formation of lump or ‘tumor’ within a specific organ due to uncontrolled division of cells. Breast cancers effects lobules in breasts and have been defined as â€Å"the cancer of tissues of the breast, usually the ducts and lobules. It occurs in both male and female breast; although male breast cancer is rareâ⠂¬ . (National Cancer Institute, 2011) Breasts are modified skin glands located between the clavicles and sixth to eighth rib on the chest wall, and develop from the mammary ridge in the embryo. The gland tissue or lobules in the breast are responsible for milk production and are connected by ducts to the nipples. Besides the lobules and the ducts, breast also comprises of fatty, connective and lymphatic tissue. Recent studies provide evidence for the presence of more than 20 lobes or segments comprising of major lactiferous ducts involved in conducting milk to the nipples from the lobules. Each lobule, also known as the terminal portion of the duct system; comprises of multiple ductules that form its glandular acini, and the specialized connective tissue enveloping it. The rest of the breast comprises of stromal connective tissues that are histologically distinct. The terminal duct along with its lobular unit; is termed as terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU), and is usually the poin ts of origin of lung cancer. It has been hypothesized that this area possesses stem cells which are responsible for the tumor formation (Kopans, 2007). In situ breast cancer includes cancers restricted to ducts (ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS), and lobules (lobular carcinoma in situ or LCIS); i.e. the tumor remains within its place of origin. In contrast invasive cancer refers to tumor spread beyond the place of origin, the severity of which is determined by the level of invasiveness. The cancers are diagnosed through needle or surgical biopsy. INCIDENCES OF BREAST CANCER Breasts cancers are the second most prevalent form of cancer next to skin cancer affecting women in US. During the year 2008, 40,480 women and 450 men were reported to have died from breast cancer. In the same year 182,460 and 1990 new cases of invasive breast cancer were reported for women and men respectively. With changes in life style patterns, and reproductive behavior the risks for occurrence of breast canc er are expected to rise. On the basis of data for the occurrence of breast cancer in the period spanning 1995-2007, it has been estimated that during the year 2011 a total of 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 75,650 additional cases of in situ breast cancer will be diagnosed. Further 39,520 women are expected to suffer death due to breast cancer making it the second major cancer in terms of mortality (next to lung cancer). Women become more vulnerable to breast cancer with advancing age; the threat rising sharply

Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management - Research Paper Example The main aim relating to TQM and also its success depended upon successfully implementing customer satisfaction, internal and external as well as removing the barriers that exists in between the departments. TQM implementation resulted in tremendous success in terms of growth and market share. Also, TQM leads to reduction of wastage. The product quality improvements also lead to reduction of competition as more customers are willing to take up the products. TQM has a lasting benefit for not only the organization but the entire hierarchy of people in the organization. TQM (Total Quality Management) is a process for continuous improvement. To tackle the ever changing global business environment mere implementation of TQM in a company is not enough. They have look for ways to continuously upgrade and expand the way TQM has been implemented. TQM implementation requires a collaborated effort from entire organization. The cost of quality in implementing TQM is certainly a small matter when compared to the benefits that can be derived from TQM implementation and expansion. At Gillette, the customer satisfaction and collaborated effort from entire organizational support is given priority. Therefore to expand on the present TQM process, some tools of quality improvement can be implemented. A cause and effect analysis could be implemented to understand the customer view point and the effect it can generate to the company, if it is implemented. To tackle market competition a brainstorming session has to be practiced to understand the strengths and weakness es of the competitors and devise the TQM accordingly. The employee and the customers are two main stakeholders of Gillette. So, to implement their viewpoint a focus group survey by interview and employee survey can be implemented. Value engineering method has to be used. This will help in improving the value of products and goods produced. Value engineering implementation can help the company to

Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Taxation - Essay Example However, this can only be possible if the public participate in funding the state in order to purchase necessary weapons and also employ the disciplinary forces. The benefit enjoyed by the public in terms of services due to their tax contribution is immeasurable. It is; therefore, appropriate to suggest that Chancellor Osborne is right when he relays the state’s perceptive of tax evasion. The Shaban Mahamood of Shadow exchequer secretary, comments on the state of living being higher than the standard expectation. From his comments, it is clear that, Shaban expects the state to make the cost of living to that level where each of the citizens living United Kingdom can afford. He has held the state at ransom for not playing its role in reducing the cost of living to its general public. Shaban’s comments clearly indicate that the state then has all the rights to demand and even place criminal charges to people evading taxation. The reason behind the support of the state is that, it will only be in a position to provide the so said services if the public plays its rightful role of paying taxes (Davidson 2011). offshore has been compared to a criminal act. The state has even gone further to formulate policies that strengths the taxman. In addition, the people who willingly provide the state with information regarding the evasion of tax by others will be rewarded heftily. As though this is not enough, the UK state has promised to cooperate with the rest of countries that are fighting tax evasion. In the new criminal act targeting the tax evaders, the state has included harsher punishment, longer jail terms and double payment of the evaded taxes. Furthermore, the state continues to quote the amount of recovered taxes in the past two state budget years. As was of rubberstamping the essence of paying taxes, the politician has also used the issue in their campaigns. It is clear from

Christian view Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Christian view - Essay Example The process of creation of the world is described in the Book of Genesis. It features main elements, like Days of Creation, as well as aftermath such as life of Adam and Eve. However, this text also has some important implications for the contemporary Christians. Thus, it was argued that â€Å"the notion that humanity has the â€Å"responsibility† to exercise care over the earth from its higher position often results not so much in â€Å"stewardship† that guards the earth as in domination and exploitation† (Chopp and Taylor 6). Indeed, other than being the most perfect creature, a human being is a creature with â€Å"responsibility†. Some might go as far as saying that the concept of the Original Sin should be focused on exclusively on eating the fruits of the forbidden tree, but rather on abandoning the above mentioned â€Å"responsibility†.Creation and the TrinityAs it often happens in the Bible some earlier parts of it are related to the later on e. In other words, the Bible is a set of interconnected books, though they were written in different times. That is why some scholars point that there is a strong relationship between Genesis which is the first book of the Bible and the doctrine of Trinity which is something that appeared much later. For example, it is explained that â€Å"Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer [the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity]†¦ these terms refer †¦ to God’s relations with the creation† (Hanson 42). In other words, one of the characteristic features of God the Father was the creation of the world.

Suicide and Friend Essay Example for Free

Suicide and Friend Essay Teen suicide is something we all know about; some of us more than others. It is a horrible murderer that takes away our friends, brothers, sisters, cousins†¦and what does it leave behind? The sad memory and wonder of if we could have helped is all that lingers when it takes away the ones close to us. Only two months ago, there was a girl that is known to most teenagers in Georgia. She was outgoing, friendly, helpful, sweet, hilarious, and seemed to light up a room. I never had the pleasure of actually becoming close to her. This girl and I maybe talked twice and she reminded me of myself. She was a bubbly girl, but behind the mask of happiness and a bouncy girl. was the face of a sad girl wanting help. Maybe that’s why I could relate to her. I, too, was like that when we’d talked. Just as I was reaching my breaking point, the girl reached hers. Rachel was her name. She’d attempted to take her life and, two weeks later, died on October 29th, 2009. Like all teen suicides, it affected everyone. Her parents were destroyed, her ex-boyfriend felt guilty to the point of which he wanted to die, her friends missed her and took their anger out on all the wrong people, and it resulted it horrible events. The reason I chose this topic of teen suicide isn’t because it is the 3rd leading cause of death for teens or because of mere stories of it. I chose this because not only do I know the facts, I’ve personally experienced situations where I almost lost a friend and I did lose a girl that could have been like a sister to me. When teens want to die, almost nothing will stop them . It may seem selfish to say, â€Å"Live for me† when they had to live through pain, but what they don’t understand is the pain will pass. There’s an organization especially made for teaching the teenagers that there’s something to live for. It is called, To Write Love On Her Arms. The name has it’s own story behind it, as does the reasoning for the organization being founded, and it’s helped many teens escape the choking grip of suicide. A hotline I had used was an easy one to remember. It was 1-800-SUICIDE. The hotline gave me two operators and they personally helped me. My friend was considering suicide and this hotline helped him. Before you down the idea, let me tell you about it. The friend was given the help he needed and talked down without being taken to the mental institute. Just because someone is suicidal, it doesn’t mean they’re crazy. Think of this: 27% of teens at one high school admitted to secretly wanting to commit suicide and 8% of them did it. That’s proof that suicidal teens are not crazy teens. Why else would a teen commit suicide every 100 minutes? Does that mean that the world is full of lunatics? No. It means that the world is full of teenagers with problems and no answers to them As some of you take teen suicide as a joke, others take it as a personal stab to the heart. We’ve lost friends and family to this horrid killer, but there is only one way to stop it. We have to be understanding, yet helpful . Your friend may get mad if you try to help, but would you rather have the friend dislike you for a little while and be alive or have them love you and dead? As for those that are suicidal, don’t think that the world will be better without you because it won’t. In this world, you are one of a kind. Each and every one of us is unique. If you’re gone, people WILL miss you. It may seem to be the end to your problems, but it’s the beginning to others’ pain.

Historical Roots Behind Refrigeration History Essay

Historical Roots Behind Refrigeration History Essay The refrigeration technology is an important technology in that it slows down the growth of bacteria. In doing this, it lowers the risks of diseases. This is because bacteria exist all around us including in the foods that we eat. When the bacteria are supplied with enough nutrients and favorable climatic conditions, they grow rapidly and hence can cause illnesses. Refrigeration technology comes in hardy to stop the rapid multiplication of the bacteria and this is a benefit to the society in that its chances of falling ill from Bacteria illnesses are reduced (Bauer, 1998) Historical roots behind refrigeration. The very first artificial refrigeration known was the demonstration presented at the University of Glasgow by William Cullen in 1748. This discovery however was not use for any practical purpose. The first refrigerator was designed by Oliver Evans, an American inventor in 1748. But the first practical refrigerator was built in 1834 by Jacob Perkins. This refrigerator used vapor in a vapor compression cycle. John Gorrie an American physician built a refrigerator in 1844 based on Evans design. This refrigerator was built with the aim of making ice to cool the air for the yellow fever patients that he was treating. Carl Von Linden, a German engineer patented, in 1976 the process of liquefying gas but not the refrigerator (Burstall, 65). Gas liquefaction is the basic part of refrigeration technology. The first refrigerators were made of wood cabinet and a compressor that was cooled with water. Steel and porcelain cabinets emerged in 1920s to replace the wooden refrigerators which were le ss effective. The evolutions of the refrigerators continue to improve in the 50s and 60s and they became better to suit the needs of the customers. Automatic ice makers and automatic defrost were added in the refrigerator with the aim of making them user friendly and reduce the maintenance. The modern day refrigeration technology is aimed at making the refrigerators more environments friendly (About.Com) The refrigeration process has not stopped evolving. The early refrigerators of 1800 used toxic gas like ammonia, methyl chloride and sulfur dioxide as the refrigerant. These were used up to 1929. In the 1920s, there are many fatal accidents which occurred. This was caused by the leaking of methyl chloride from the refrigerators. It was after this that 3 American corporations embarked on intensive research to come up with a less dangerous method of refrigeration. Their efforts led to the use of Freon which became a standard for all refrigerators. Freon was changed in 1996 and it was replaced with HFC 134a. This was done so as to comply with The Regulatory Clean Air Act. The replacement was done because HFC 134a was less injurious to the environment and the Ozone as compared to Freon. The effectiveness of HFC 134a was just the same as Freon and the users of refrigerators did not notice any difference. The table below shows the milestones achieved in the refrigeration technology. Milestones: BC 1000 The Chinese cut and stored ice 500  Ã‚   Egyptians and Indians made ice on cold nights by setting water out in earthenware pots AD 1700 In England, servants collected ice in the winter and put it into icehouses for use in the summer 1720 Dr. William Cullen, a Scotsman, studied the evaporation of liquids in a vacuum 1805 Oliver Evans of Pennsylvania, compressed ether machine, the machine is never built 1820 Michael Faraday, a Londoner, liquefied ammonia to cause cooling 1834 Jacob Perkins, ether vapor compression cycle, Ice Making Machine 1844 James Harrison of Australia invents compressed ether machine 1850 Edmond Carre of France, invents an absorption process machine 1852 William Thomson James Prescott cooling increases in proportion to the pressure difference 1855 Dr. John Gorrie builds compression refrigeration system based on Faradays experiments. 1856 James Harrison commissioned by a brewery to build a machine that cooled beer. 1859 Ferdinand Carre of France, developed the first ammonia/water refrigeration machine 1871 Carl von Linde of Germany published an essay on improved refrigeration techniques 1873 Carl von Linde first practical and portable compressor refrigeration machine was built in Munich 1874 Raoul Pictet of Switzerland, a compressor system using sulfur dioxide instead of ammonia 1876 Carl von Linde, early models he used methyl ether, but changed to an ammonia cycle 1878 von Linde starts Lindes Eismaschinen AG, (Society for Lindes Ice Machines), now Linde AG 1881 Edmund J. Copeland and Arnold H. Gross start Leonard Refrigerator Company 1894 Linde developed a new method (Linde technique) for the liquefaction of large quantities of air. 1894 Linde AG installs refrigerator at the Guinness brewery in Dublin, Ireland 1895 Carl von Linde produced large amounts of liquid air using the Thomson-Joule effect 1901 Patent # 665,814 issued January 10, for a Refridgeator (Ice Box) invented by Henry Trost. 1911 General Electric company unveiled a refrigerator invented by a French monk. Abbe Audiffren 1913 Fred W. Wolf Jr.of the Domelre Company (DOMestic Electric Refrigerator) 1914 Leonard Refrigerator Company renamed Electro-Automatic Refrigerating Company 1915 Alfred Mellowes starts Guardian Frigerato to build first self-container refrigerator for home use 1916 Servel models compressors were generally driven by motors located in the basement 1916 Henry Joy of Packard Motor Car Co. purchased the Fred W. Wolf refrigerator rights 1918 Guardian Frigerato purchased by General Motors and renamed Frigidaire 1918 Electro-Automatic Refrigerating Company renamed Kelvinator 1920 there were some 200 different refrigerator models on the market. 1922 Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters introduce absorption process refrigerator 1923 Kelvinator held 80 percent of the market for electric refrigerators 1923 AB Arctic.begins production of refrigerators based on Platen-Munters invention 1925 Electrolux purchases AB Arctic and launches the D-fridge on the world market 1925 Steel and porcelain cabinets began appearing in the mid-20s 1927 first refrigerator to see widespread use was the General Electric Monitor-Top refrigerator. 1930 first built-in refrigerator is launched by Electrolux 1931 Dupont produced commercial quantities of R-12, trademarked as Freon 1931 the first air-cooled refrigerator introduced by Electrolux 1932 Gibson, then owned by Frank Gibson, manufactured its own line of refrigerators. 1934 an innovation, the Shelvador refrigerator, was introduced by the Crosley Radio Corporation 1936 Albert Henne synthesizes refrigerant R-134a 1937 more than 2 million Americans owned refrigerators. 1939 refrigerator with one section for frozen food and a second for chilled food, introduced by G. E. 1946 Mass production of modern refrigerators didnt get started until after World War II. 1947 GE two-door refrigerator-freezer combination 1955 80% of American homes now have refrigerators 2005 A domestic refrigerator is present in 99.5% of American homes   Table 1. Source: The Great Idea Finder Is refrigeration an old or a new technology. Refrigeration is an old technology that started a long time ago. Refrigeration concept can be said to originate from the prehistoric times. During this period, man found that the meat he had hunted lasted longer when stored in the cool areas of the cave or when packed in snow. The early man found that when he stored his game in cold temperatures, it lasted for long. He therefore hunted excess game which he kept in cold temperatures and he would eat this meat when the food was in short supply. As the early man progressed, he started using ice which he harvested in winter to use in summer. Ice was also harvested from lakes and rivers to be used for the purpose of refrigeration. Adding chemicals like sodium and potassium nitrate to water so as to lower its temperatures was the next stage in the history of refrigeration. It is recorded that this method was used to cool wine in 1550. The use of mechanical refrigeration started in the last quarter of the 19th century. This evolution was a long slow process (Trevor, 1978) Has refrigeration led to any type of social change? The refrigeration technology can be said to have a great impact to women in particular. This is because women are viewed as the domestic worker (Cowan, 137-138). Though this mentality has changed in the modern world, there is still the thought that the domestic world belongs to women. The refrigerators can be seen to symbolize the freedom of house wives. They have saved women from preserving foods in the old fashioned ways of salting, smoking or dehydrating. The air conditioning has contributed immensely to the development of the hot and humid areas both socially and economically. This has been achieved through creation of habitable environments with desired temperatures and humidity levels in office buildings and private homes (Barbara, 2003) Benefits of refrigeration to the society Refrigeration has changed the lifestyles of the society in various ways. One can buy food for a whole week without fear of it getting spoiled after refrigeration. Cooked food can also be stored for long without getting spoilt. Salting of food as a method of preservation is long forgotten. The food preserved using this method did not even last for a long time. One can also get a cold drink during the hottest summer and this seemed like a dream before refrigeration wad invented. Fruits, vegetables and even flowers can be kept fresh for a long period of time with refrigeration. The modern life is in the fast lane. This has called for most people to be working for long hours or working two jobs. In homes both partners may be busy for up to a whole week and hence no time for everyday cooking. With refrigeration, they can cook as much food as possible when they are free and storing it in refrigerators and they can eat it throughout the week. This saves them much time which could have been wasted ion cooking after work. With refrigeration, the temperature of the food is lowered and thus the food can be kept for long to be used later without getting spoiled (Shephard, 29) Refrigeration is also widely used for the purposes of air conditioning in homes, public buildings and restaurants. It is also used for refrigeration of foodstuffs in restaurants and also in large storage warehouses. Refrigerators have become very common in the United States. Most American homes started using refrigerators a long time ago. More than 80 % of the rural American and more than 90% of urban American homes used owned a refrigerator by the year 1950 (Historychannel.com) Refrigeration is also used commercially and in manufacturing industries. It is used to liquefy gases including oxygen, nitrogen, propane, and methane. It is used to compress and condense water vapor in compressed air purification. This process is aimed at reducing the moisture content of compressed air. In industries like petrochemical, refineries and chemical plants, refrigeration is important as it is used for the maintenance of certain chemical processes and reactions at low temperatures. An example is in the production of high octane gasoline component where the alkylations of butanes and butane is done at low temperatures (Noor, 2009) Refrigeration is therefore a vital technology in many sectors of the economy like the dairy industry, the meat industry, fish and pork industry and also in the fruits and vegetables sector. In the non food sectors, refrigeration is used in school laboratories to store chemicals, samples and cultures. It is also the technology that is used to preserver corpses in morgues. Detrimental effects of refrigeration to the society. The refrigerant used in refrigerators has a negative effect on the environment. Though the use of CFC has been banned, some manufactures may sell the old stocks of refrigerators which use CFC. These are detrimental to the ozone layer. The HFCs being used on modern refrigerators are strong green house gas emitters. Though they do not harm the ozone, they destroy the environment that we live-in. Refrigeration contributes to the global warming. Though HFCs were seen as the solution to refrigeration, it has a very high potential of global warming. This contribution is due to direct emissions of the refrigerant gases. Most of these emissions are due to leakage of the refrigerant into the environment either due to poor maintenance and containment. Freon was seen as been safer to the consumer though it had negative impacts on the environment. Clean Air Act was passed in 1990 and it restricted use of CFCs. Many industries had no other choice than to be forced to phase out CFCs in their produ cts (Gopalnarayanan, 19) Refrigeration as a symbol of growth. Refrigeration has allowed many families and industries to keep food fresh for long periods of time. It is a symbol of growth in that most families are small and they occupy a small piece of land and hence there is no space for keeping livestock and growing different varieties of fruits and vegetables. Also most modern families live in towns and cities where there are no gardens for growing fruits and vegetables or keeping animals. This does not therefore mean that because these families are limited by these factors, they cannot enjoy a varied and balanced diet. Supermarkets have stocked all types of me4at, eggs, vegetables and eggs in their refrigerated shelves. These customers come and buy the same and stock it in their refrigerators. The fish, poultry, dairy products and vegetables can be kept in the same space of the refrigerator within the kitchen. Refrigeration is an important symbol of growth and societal progress in that the society can enjoy a variety of salads, fruits and vegetables all year long without having and tilling their own garden. The society can also enjoy dairy products without having their own dairy animals, meat products without owning beef cattle, egg products without rearing their own poultry and all kinds of fish without having a fish pond all year round. Also other types of foods from far off countries are madder available to the society. These food products are shipped or delivered by air under refrigeration. Refrigeration allows purchase of goods in large scale and in bulk. With regard to economies of scale, this saves on money. It has become possible to enjoy ice cream which may have been produced from abroad unlike in the past where ice cream was eaten on the spot at the place of manufacture. Through refrigeration world trade has been opened up and refrigerated goods from one country can be easily market in another without the fear of spoilage. Refrigeration technology has acted as a source of employment to many people. The direct employees include the refrigeration experts, technicians; mechanics and installers. These are mainly people employed by air conditioning, plumbing and heating contractors and companies. Indirect employment involve people in other sectors e.g. in shops that sell the refrigeration equipments, dairy farmers, fishermen and fruits and vegetable farmers. How government institutions helped shape refrigeration. Government as a regulator- the government through the Environmental Protection Agency has set standards for monitoring and regulating refrigerant leaks. There are other regulations and strict standards that have been set by the government regarding green house emissions from the refrigerants. The government has identified CFCs, HCFCs, and PFCs as ozone depleting gases (ODS) and also global warming gases and has therefore prohibited their use as refrigerants. These are the gases commonly used for HVAC and in AC units. Many US states have increased the demand for a detailed refrigerant reporting requirement (Stouffer, 1998). Government as consumer- many government buildings, both central and federal government, is installed with air conditioners, refrigerators and other heating and cooling systems that use the refrigeration technology. Also government hospitals and other governmental organizations are installed with refrigeration systems. This is evident that the government is a major consumer of the refrigeration technology. Is refrigeration an example of deterministic technology or socially constructed technology. In my opinion, refrigeration is a socially constructed technology. Refrigeration does not determine the human actions but rather it is the human actions that have shaped refrigeration. The need for fresh products has resulted into the invention of the refrigeration technology. Human beings actions are such that they are very busy either in work places or in school and hence have no time to cook fresh foods every day. This has led to the development of the refrigeration technology. With its development, the human beings are now able to cook more food whenever they are free which they can refrigerate and eat them for a long period of time. Abstract Refrigeration can be said to the process of heat removal from substances. It is done with the aim of lowering the temperature of the substance and maintaining that low temperature. Refrigeration in food is done to reduce the risk of bacteria survival. Bacteria are responsible for most of the illnesses. The technology of refrigeration can be said to have started a long time ago. Its evolution is still continuing as we seek to find the best refrigerant that can be safe to us and to our environment. Refrigeration has been associated with a lot of benefits in our homes and in the society at large. Many homes in the United States are now equipped with a refrigerator. Important words used :refrigerator, fridge, fridgerator, refrigeration, Carl Linde, Carl von Linde, William Cullen, Oliver Evans, Fred Wolf, Linde, William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, James Prescott Joule,   invention, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, CFC, HCFC, ODS,AC, HAVC.

Public Expenditure on Education in India

Public Expenditure on Education in India Abstract Prioritizing amongst the competing ends for the government treasury is a big challenge for a developing country like India. Poverty eradication, health and other crucial social needs compete with education and create fiscal pressures. But an investment in education is considered inevitable. This research paper compares public expenditure on education in India in 2005-06 and 2010-11. As observed, government spent more on revenue account than capital account. Share of the State and Union territories in public expenditure on education was more than that of the Centre. States/UTs spending were highest for Non-plan expenditure across all categories of public expenditure on education. Spending was almost double in 2010-11 as compared to 2005-06 in absolute terms but the relative shares between categories hardly changed. Share of expenditure on education was highest for elementary education followed by secondary education, university education higher education, technical education and then adult education. Key words Public expenditure, education, plan, non-plan, revenue, capital, India INTRODUCTION There are primarily three sources of financing the education in India i.e. financing through central government, state government and non-government sector (including parents, non-government organizations, banks, philanthropic contributions and as a part of corporate social responsibility activities amongst others). Government is expected to shoulder greater responsibility in providing for education due to the social returns associated with education. The central and state financing is further bifurcated in Revenue account and capital account and Plan and Non-plan expenditure. Expenditures on capital account are long-term in nature. They are used for acquiring fixed assets such as land, building, machinery and equipment. Other items that also fall under this category include loans and advances sanctioned by the Centre to the State governments, union territories and public sector undertakings. However, expenditures incurred for the routine functioning of the government departments and various other services, largely not associated with acquisition of assets such as subsidies, salaries, interest, etc. incurred by the government are referred to as revenue expenditure. Plan expenditure refers to the expenditure devoted towards the funding of the plans by the government. On the other hand, non-plan expenditure refers to the expenditures other than those devoted for the plans of government. Plan and non-plan expenditure are incurred on capital and revenue accounts. The objective of this paper is to analyze in detail the contributions made by the Centre and the State governments towards expenditure on education in 2005-06 and 2010-11 and observe the changes thereby. The selected years were chosen due to the availability of comparable data. Data for actual expenditure, revised estimates of budgeted expenditure and budgeted estimates were available, but for the purpose of analysis the data related to actual expenditure incurred was only considered. Henceforth State would refer to State and Union territories combine, CAPITAL AND REVENUE EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION In absolute terms the budgeted expenditure on education and other departments by Central and State governments in 2005-06 accounted for INR 1,14,389 crores out of which the expenditure on revenue account was about INR 1,13,229 crores (98.99%), on capital account was about INR 1,143 crores (1%) and on loans and advances was about INR 17 crores (0.01%). Similarly for 2010-11 the total expenditure accounted for INR 2,97,311 crores out of which the expenditure on revenue account was about INR 2,93,478 crores (98.71%), on capital account was about INR 3,776 crores (1.27%) and on loans and advances was about INR 57 crores (0.02%). While the absolute budgeted expenditure on education almost increased 2.5 times over the period of five years, the relative share of revenue account, capital account and loans and advances almost remained same. There was just a shift of 0.27% from revenue to capital account. It was further observed that the entire contribution on capital account came from the Sta tes with no share at all from the Centre. As can be observed the share of revenue account left almost negligible share for capital account and loans and advances from the total expenditure. Since capital expenditures are incurred on procurement of fixed assets, the data indicated that lesser expenditure was incurred in acquiring land, building, machinery and equipment. Growth in education would be difficult if it was not duly supported by a growth in acquisition of assets. It can also be observed that the contribution for expenditure on salaries, subsidies and interest payments through revenue account was high. PLAN AND NON-PLAN EXPENDITURE While plan and non-plan expenditure were also incurred on capital account, the amount being comparatively meager, plan and non-plan expenditure on revenue account only had been analyzed. The total budgeted Plan and Non-plan expenditure by education and other departments on revenue account were INR 1,13,229 in 2005-06 and INR 2,93,478 in 2010-11 as suggested in the previous section. In 2005-06 Plan expenditure accounted for 27.9% and Non-plan expenditure accounted for 72.1% of the total budgeted expenditure on revenue account. Similarly in 2010-11 Plan expenditure accounted for 33.2% and Non-plan expenditure accounted for 66.8% of the total budgeted expenditure on revenue account. Therefore over a period of five years about 5% of the share of Non-plan expenditure was shifted to Plan expenditure. For 2005-06 and 2010-11 the Plan expenditure for Center was more and Non-plan expenditure of State was more. Across the total budgeted Plan and Non-plan revenue expenditure the highest share was of Non-plan expenditure by States. The Non-plan expenditure by States accounted for 67% of the total revenue expenditure in 2005-06 and 59% in 2010-11 respectively as can be seen in figure 1. Figure 1: Budgeted Plan and Non Plan Expenditure on Revenue account for Center and State for 2005-06 and 2010-11 Source: MHRD (2008, 2014) Hence it can be concluded that the budgeted expenditure on education was incurred most on the revenue account and of the revenue account the contribution of the non-plan expenditure by the State was highest. EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP Expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP is a globally accepted criterion which is widely used for international comparisons of financing of education. Figure 2 depicts public expenditure on various sectors of education namely elementary, secondary, university higher, technical education as a percentage of GDP. Expenditure of Adult education was nominal and so has not been included. Public expenditure included the expenditure incurred by education department and other departments and ministries respectively for various sectors. India being a developing nation highest public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was incurred on elementary education in 2005-06 (1.61) and in 2010-11 (1.7). It was followed by expenditure on secondary education, university and higher education and technical education for 2005-06 as well as 2009-10. In comparison with 2005-06 public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was incurred more in 2010-11 across all levels of education. Expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP by states was highest for elementary education followed by secondary education, university higher education and technical education for 2005-06 and 2010-11. But the expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP by Centre was highest for elementary education, and was followed by university and higher education, technical education instead of secondary education, that got the least share. Compared to 2005-06 in 2010-11 the commitment by the Centre increased for university higher education and technical education with little left for secondary education. The contribution by the Centre almost doubled for university and higher education and more than doubled for technical education. For secondary education there was a fall in the public expenditure on education from 0.7% to 0.1% of the GDP from 20 05-06 to 2010-11. It can be further observed that the contribution of state for all levels of education was more than that for Centre for both the years 2005-06 to 2010-11 as can be observed in figure 3. While not much change could be observed in the share of State and Centre as a percentage of GDP in 2005-06 and 2010-11 for elementary and secondary education, a dramatic rise in the share of the Centre as compared to State could be observed for university higher education and technical education for the same period. Figure 3: Sector-wise share of State and Centre in Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP for 2005-06 and 2010-11 Source: MHRD (2008, 2014) The share of State (76.4%) and Centre (23.6%) for elementary education in 2005-06 almost remained stagnant as observed for State (74.7%) and Centre’s share (25.3%) in the GDP in 2009-10. Similarly the share of State (92.2%) and Centre (7.8%) for secondary education in 2005-06 was almost the same for State (89.9%) and Centre (10.1%) in 2009-10. Share of Centre for university and higher education in public expenditure as a percentage of GDP increased from 23.9% to 38.4% and that of the States decreased from 76.1% to 61.6%. Likewise the share of Centre for technical education increased from 33.3% to 50% and that of the States decreased from 66.7% to 50% from 2005-06 to 2010-11. Therefore the shift from the Centre to State in the share of university and higher education was to the tune of about 15% and for technical education it was about 17%. CONCLUSION The present scenario calls for serious action in support of financing the higher education access in India. A bigger financial commitment surpassing the inflationary conditions both by the central and the state government is warranted. A larger share as a percentage of GDP should be allocated for the expenditure on education to enhance the access to education. Higher funds would be required to address the expenditures on revenue account, like that for filling the vacant faculty positions. On the other side, the expenditure on capital account like raising the qualitative learning infrastructure would be obligatory to achieve a higher rate of enrolments. Access to equitable and qualitative higher education is the need of the hour for a country like India aspiring to excel in the economic growth and development. The commitment from government and private sector towards the investments in developing human capital will determine if the demographic advantage will be a dividend or a liability. Governments today increasingly face the limitation to raise means owing to the fiscal pressures, increased demand for access to education, rising costs, expectations for improvement in infrastructure, increasing the resources, enhancing, quality and competing prioritized demands on the government treasury. For a developing country like India, it is difficult to assume that government alone would be able to achieve the mammoth task of assuring access to education for the masses. Higher efficiencies can be achieved by the allocation of the funds on the criterion of ‘performance based funding’. Increased accountability should be accompanie d by increased autonomy to raise funds at the institutional level, with wisdom to assure the opportunity of access to quality education for anyone willing to pursue the same. The government through necessary regulatory changes should incentivize philanthropic and alumni contributions by allowing tax rebates on incurring such expenditures by individuals. Income generated through consultancies, research and development and providing training workshops in the area of expertise should be appreciated and encouraged. Considering the present and future demand for higher education in India, it cannot be denied that financing remains a serious challenge. To achieve this mammoth task, all possible sources of funding will have to be explored to assure a qualitative and equitable access to higher education.

Essay on Themes Pride and Prejudice: :: Pride Prejudice Essays

Essay on Themes Pride and Prejudice:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this novel, the title describes the underlying theme to the book. Pride and prejudice were both influences on the characters and their relationships. Darcy alienated himself from the others at first because of his intense pride. His prejudice against the Bennet's because of their poverty was also something that he would have to overcome. For Elizabeth, her prejudice against Darcy came from his snobbery. It caused her to not see his feelings for her and to believe whatever Wickman said.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Darcy's fierce pride often alienated him from others. For example, he acted so snobby and superior at the first ball with the Bennet's that they were all turned off by him. His eventual love, Elizabeth, was disgusted at his behavior and formed a prejudice against him. Even after he fell in love with her and proposed to Elizabeth, he completely debased her family. Darcy realized eventually that he was going to have to change. He tried to look at his behavior and analyze why he acted as he did. In the end, he fought his intense pride so that he and Elizabeth could be happy together.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prejudice was also an issue for Darcy in that he disliked Elizabeth in the beginning because of her low social status, poverty, and socially inept family. Darcy was forced to deal with his prejudice when he fell in love with Elizabeth. This was not easy for him to do but it was necessary. His snobbery was countered by his love for Elizabeth. In the end, he overcame his pride and gave in to his feelings by marrying her in spite of her and her family's shortcomings.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Elizabeth had her own issues with prejudice with which to deal. Darcy's cold arrogance and snobbery prejudiced her from him from the beginning and it took Elizabeth a lot longer time to overcome her prejudices than it did Darcy. This was because Elizabeth was a very caring person and did not like the things that Darcy had said about her and her family. When given the chance, Elizabeth loved to hear about how awful Darcy was, such as when she met Wickman, who was eager to slander Darcy. Essay on Themes Pride and Prejudice: :: Pride Prejudice Essays Essay on Themes Pride and Prejudice:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this novel, the title describes the underlying theme to the book. Pride and prejudice were both influences on the characters and their relationships. Darcy alienated himself from the others at first because of his intense pride. His prejudice against the Bennet's because of their poverty was also something that he would have to overcome. For Elizabeth, her prejudice against Darcy came from his snobbery. It caused her to not see his feelings for her and to believe whatever Wickman said.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Darcy's fierce pride often alienated him from others. For example, he acted so snobby and superior at the first ball with the Bennet's that they were all turned off by him. His eventual love, Elizabeth, was disgusted at his behavior and formed a prejudice against him. Even after he fell in love with her and proposed to Elizabeth, he completely debased her family. Darcy realized eventually that he was going to have to change. He tried to look at his behavior and analyze why he acted as he did. In the end, he fought his intense pride so that he and Elizabeth could be happy together.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prejudice was also an issue for Darcy in that he disliked Elizabeth in the beginning because of her low social status, poverty, and socially inept family. Darcy was forced to deal with his prejudice when he fell in love with Elizabeth. This was not easy for him to do but it was necessary. His snobbery was countered by his love for Elizabeth. In the end, he overcame his pride and gave in to his feelings by marrying her in spite of her and her family's shortcomings.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Elizabeth had her own issues with prejudice with which to deal. Darcy's cold arrogance and snobbery prejudiced her from him from the beginning and it took Elizabeth a lot longer time to overcome her prejudices than it did Darcy. This was because Elizabeth was a very caring person and did not like the things that Darcy had said about her and her family. When given the chance, Elizabeth loved to hear about how awful Darcy was, such as when she met Wickman, who was eager to slander Darcy.

Free Siddhartha Essays: The River and the Mind/Body Dichotomy :: Hesse Siddhartha Essays

The River and the Mind/Body Dichotomy in Siddhartha In Herman Hesse's work Siddhartha, the primary physical symbol of division is the river. One side of the river represents "geist", or a realm concerned with the spiritual world. The second side represents "natur", the natural world where the flesh is engorged with pleasure and earthly satisfaction. Siddhartha begins on the spiritual side of the river. He is in training to become an excellent Brahmin like his father, much is expected of this intelligent and attractive young man. Yet Siddhartha feels a rumbling in his body and mind. His soul is not satisfied with the answers that he has received about problems in life. He feels the need to live his home in order to find these answers. He is willing to sacrifice security for insecurity and danger. His travels renew and strengthen his spirit. The structure of the story is centered around the apparatus of "iterative-durative time", a technique in which the author follows a loose linear chronlogy, with each part covering approximately twenty years, while only about one or two of those years are described in any detail. The effect easily lulls the reader into a perception of the passing time. He first spends time with a roving band of asceitics, forest-dwelling nomads that prefer to live a life of extreme sacrifice and self-denial. Siddhartha masters their art and goals, but shortly decides to move on after only a few years. He is not able to find his quest for salvation and understanding on such a path. Throughout his journey, his friend Govinda stays by his side. He decides to leave the town with him, come with him and practice with the ascetics, and then agrees to leave with him to seek out the Illustrious One, Gotama. Siddhartha does not find the answers to his spiritual queries here either, and decides to move on again. This time Govinda, his "shadow", decides to stay and make a niche for himself. Siddhartha strikes out on his own, crossing the center symbol of the river with the help of the boatman Vasudeva. After crossing the river he encounters an Indian woman who encourages him and allows him to kiss her nipple. His experience with the "natur" world has begun, hi s experiences of the sense being heightened and readied for a sensual deluge. He remains on the sensual side of the river for twenty years and in that time impregnates his seductive teacher and partner Kamala.

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Four

Meredith tilted an ironic glance at Matt. â€Å"Hmm,† she said. â€Å"Now, who do you think Elena would call in time of trouble?† Bonnie's grin gave way to a twinge of guilt at Matt's expression. It wasn't fair to tease him about this. â€Å"Elena said that the killer is too strong for us and that's why we need help,† she told Matt. â€Å"And I can think of only one person Elena knows who could fight off a psychic killer.† Slowly, Matt nodded. Bonnie couldn't tell what he was feeling. He and Stefan had been best friends once, even after Elena had chosen Stefan over Matt. But that had been before Matt found out what Stefan was, and what kind of violence he was capable of. In his rage and grief over Elena's death Stefan had nearly killed Tyler Smallwood and five other guys. Could Matt really forget that? Could he even deal with Stefan coming back to Fell's Church? Matt's square-jawed face gave no sign now, and Meredith was talking again. â€Å"So all we need to do is let some blood and cut some hair. You won't miss a curl or two, will you, Bonnie?† Bonnie was so abstracted that she almost missed this. Then she shook her head. â€Å"No, no, no. It isn't our blood and hair we need. We need it from the person we want to summon.† â€Å"What? But that's ridiculous. If we had Stefan's blood and hair we wouldn't need to summon him, would we?† â€Å"I didn't think of that,† Bonnie admitted. â€Å"Usually with a summoning spell you get the stuff beforehand and use it when you want to call a person back. What are we going to do, Meredith? It's impossible.† Meredith's brows were drawn together. â€Å"Why would Elena ask it if it were impossible?† â€Å"Elena asked lots of impossible things,† Bonnie said darkly. â€Å"Don't look like that, Matt; you know she did. She wasn't a saint.† â€Å"Maybe, but this one isn't impossible,† Matt said. â€Å"I can think of one place where Stefan's blood has got to be, and if we're lucky some of his hair, too. In the crypt.† Bonnie flinched, but Meredith simply nodded. â€Å"Of course,† she said. â€Å"While Stefan was tied up there, he must have bled all over the place. And in that kind of fight he might have lost some hair. If only everything down there has been left undisturbed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I don't think anybody's been down there since Elena died,† Matt said. â€Å"The police investigated and then left it. But there's only one way to find out.† I was wrong, Bonnie thought. I was worrying about whether Matt could deal with Stefan coming back, and here he is doing everything he can to help us summon him. â€Å"Matt, I could kiss you!† she said. â€Å"All the girls say that,† he replied calmly at last, with a shrug of mock resignation. It was as close as he'd gotten to lightheartedness all day. Meredith, however, was serious. â€Å"Let's go. We've got a lot to do, and the last thing we want is to get stuck in the crypt after dark.† The crypt was beneath the ruined church that stood on a hill in the cemetery. It's only late afternoon, plenty of light left, Bonnie kept telling herself as they walked up the hill, but goose-flesh broke out on her arms anyway. The modern cemetery on one side was bad enough, but the old graveyard on the other side was downright spooky even in daylight. There were so many crumbling headstones tilting crazily in the overgrown grass, representing so many young men killed in the Civil War. You didn't have to be psychic to feel their presence. â€Å"Unquiet spirits,† she muttered. â€Å"Hmm?† said Meredith as she stepped over the pile of rubble that was one wall of the ruined church. â€Å"Look, the lid of the tomb's still off. That's good news; I don't think we would have been able to lift it.† Bonnie's eyes lingered wistfully on the white marble statues carved on the displaced lid. Hon-oria Fell lay there with her husband, hands folded on her breast, looking as gentle and sad as ever. But Bonnie knew there would be no more help from that quarter. Honoria's duties as protector of the town she'd founded were done. Leaving Elena holding the bag, Bonnie thought grimly, looking down into the rectangular hole that led to the crypt. Iron rungs disappeared into darkness. Even with the help of Meredith's flashlight it was hard to climb down into that underground room. Inside, it was dank and silent, the walls faced with polished stone. Bonnie tried not to shiver. â€Å"Look,† said Meredith quietly. Matt had the flashlight trained on the iron gate that separated the anteroom of the crypt from its main chamber. The stone below was stained black with blood in several places. Looking at the puddles and rivulets of dried gore made Bonnie feel dizzy. â€Å"We know Damon was hurt the worst,† Meredith said, moving forward. She sounded calm, but Bonnie could hear the tight control in her voice. â€Å"So he must have been on this side where there's the most blood. Stefan said Elena was in the center. That means Stefan himself must have been†¦ here.† She bent down. â€Å"I'll do it,† Matt said gruffly. â€Å"You hold the light.† With a plastic picnic knife from Meredith's car he scraped at the encrusted stone. Bonnie swallowed, glad she'd had only tea for lunch. Blood was all right in the abstract, but when you were actually confronted with so much of it-especially when it was the blood of a friend who'd been tortured†¦ And then, thought Bonnie, she faked her own death to get Stefan and Damon to stop fighting over her. But it didn't work. They hated each other more than ever, and she hated both of them for that. She'd gone back to the vampire who made her, and over the years she'd turned as evil as he was. Until at last all she wanted to do was destroy the brothers she had once loved. She'd lured them both to Fell's Church to kill them, and this room was where she'd almost succeeded in doing it. Elena had died stopping her. â€Å"There,† Matt said, and Bonnie blinked and came back to herself. Matt was standing with a paper napkin that now held flakes of Stefan's blood in its folds. â€Å"Now the hair,† he said. They swept the floor with their fingers, finding dust and bits of leaves and fragments of things Bonnie didn't want to identify. Among the detritus were long strands of pale gold hair. Elena's-or Katherine's, Bonnie thought. They had looked much alike. There were also shorter strands of dark hair, crisp with a slight wave. Stefan's. It was slow, finicky work sorting through it all and putting the right hairs in another napkin. Matt did most of it. When they were through, they were all tired and the light sifting down through the rectangular opening in the ceiling was dim blue. But Meredith smiled tigerishly. â€Å"We've got it,† she said. â€Å"Tyler wants Stefan back; well, we'll give him Stefan back.† And Bonnie, who had been only half paying attention to what she was doing, still lost in her own thoughts, froze. She'd been thinking about other things entirely, nothing to do with Tyler, but at the mention of his name something had winked on in her mind. Something she'd realized in the parking lot and then forgotten afterward in the heat of arguing. Meredith's words had triggered it and now it was suddenly all clear again. How had he known! she wondered, heart racing. â€Å"Bonnie? What's the matter?† â€Å"Meredith,† she said softly, â€Å"did you tell the police specifically that we were in the living room when everything was going on upstairs with Sue?† â€Å"No, I think I just said we were downstairs. Why?† â€Å"Bonnie, if you're trying to suggest Tyler was the murderer, it just won't wash. He's not smart enough to organize a killing spree, for one thing,† Meredith said. â€Å"But there's something else. Meredith, last year at the Junior Prom, Tyler touched me on my bare shoulder. I'll never forget it. His hand was big, and meaty, and hot, and damp.† Bonnie shivered at the recollection. â€Å"Just like the hand that grabbed me last night.† But Meredith was shaking her head, and even Matt looked unconvinced. â€Å"Elena's sure wasting her time asking us to bring back Stefan, then,† he said. â€Å"I could take care of Tyler with a couple of right hooks.† â€Å"Think about it, Bonnie,† Meredith added. â€Å"Does Tyler have the psychic power to move a Ouija board or come into your dreams? Does he?† He didn't. Psychically speaking, Tyler was as much a dud as Caroline. Bonnie couldn't deny it. But she couldn't deny her intuition, either. It didn't make sense, but she still felt Tyler had been in the house last night. â€Å"We'd better get moving,† Meredith said. â€Å"It's dark, and your father's going to be furious.† They were all silent on the ride home. Bonnie was still thinking about Tyler. Once at her house they smuggled the napkins upstairs and began looking through Bonnie's books on Druids and Celtic magic. Ever since she'd discovered that she was descended from the ancient race of magic workers, Bonnie had been interested in the Druids. And in one of the books she found a ritual for a summoning spell. â€Å"We need to buy candles,† she said. â€Å"And pure water-better get some bottled,† she said to Meredith. â€Å"And chalk to draw a circle on the floor, and something to make a small fire in. I can find those in the house. There's no hurry; the spell has to be done at midnight.† Midnight was a long time coming. Meredith bought the necessary items at a grocery store and brought them back. They ate dinner with Bonnie's family, though no one had much of an appetite. By eleven o'clock Bonnie had the circle drawn on the hardwood floor of her bedroom and all the other ingredients on a low bench inside the circle. On the stroke of twelve she started. With Matt and Meredith watching, she made a small fire in an earthenware bowl. Three candles were burning behind the bowl; she stuck a pin halfway down the one in the center. Then she unfolded a napkin and carefully stirred the dried flakes of blood into a wineglass of water. It turned rusty pink. She opened the other napkin. Three pinches of dark hair went into the fire, sizzling with a terrible smell. Then three drops of the stained water, hissing. Swift on the heel thou comest, Thrice summoned by my spell, Thrice troubled by my burning. Come to me without delay. She read the words aloud slowly, three times. Then she sat back on her heels. The fire went on burning smokily. The candle flames danced. â€Å"And now what?† Matt said. â€Å"I don't know. It just says wait for the middle candle to burn down to the pin.† â€Å"And what then?† â€Å"I guess we'll find out when it happens.† In Florence, it was dawn. Stefan watched the girl move down the stairway, one hand resting lightly on the banister to keep her balance. Her movements were slow and slightly dreamlike, as if she were floating. Suddenly, she swayed and clutched at the banister more tightly. Stefan moved quickly behind her and put a hand under her elbow. â€Å"Are you all right?† She looked up at him with the same dreaminess. She was very pretty. Her expensive clothes were the latest fashion and her stylishly disarrayed hair was blond. A tourist. He knew she was American before she spoke. â€Å"Yes†¦ I think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her brown eyes were unfocused. â€Å"Do you have a way to get home? Where are you staying?† â€Å"On Via dei Conti, near the Medici chapel. I'm with the Gonzaga in Florence program.† Damn! Not a tourist, then; a student. And that meant she'd be carrying this story back with her, telling her classmates about the handsome Italian guy she'd met last night. The one with night-dark eyes. The one who took her back to his exclusive place on Via Tornabuoni and wined her and dined her and then, in the moonlight, maybe, in his room or out in the enclosed courtyard, leaned close to look into her eyes and†¦ Stefan's gaze slid away from the girl's throat with its two reddened puncture wounds. He'd seen marks like that so often-how could they still have the power to disturb him? But they did; they sickened him and set a slow burning in his gut. â€Å"What's your name?† â€Å"Rachael. With an a.† She spelled it. â€Å"All right, Rachael. Look at me. You will go back to your pensione and you won't remember anything about last night. You don't know where you went or who you saw. And you've never seen me before, either. Repeat.† â€Å"Good. Do you have money to get back? Here.† Stefan pulled a fistful of crumpled lire-mostly 50,000 and 100,000 notes-out of his pocket and led her outside. When she was safely in a cab, he went back inside and made straight for Damon's bedroom. Damon was lounging near the window, peeling an orange, not even dressed yet. He looked up, annoyed, as Stefan entered. â€Å"It's customary to knock,† he said. â€Å"Where'd you meet her?† said Stefan. And then, when Damon turned a blank stare on him, he added, â€Å"That girl. Rachael.† â€Å"Was that her name? I don't think I bothered to ask. At Bar Gilli. Or perhaps it was Bar Mario. Why?† Stefan struggled to contain his anger. â€Å"That's not the only thing you didn't bother to do. You didn't bother to influence her to forget you, either. Do you want to get caught, Damon?† Damon's lips curved in a smile and he twisted off a curlicue of orange peel. â€Å"I am never caught, little brother,† he said. â€Å"So what are you going to do when they come after you? When somebody realizes, ‘My God, there's a bloodsucking monster on Via Tornabuoni'? Kill them all? Wait until they break down the front door and then melt away into darkness?† Damon met his gaze directly, challengingly, that faint smile still clinging about his lips. â€Å"Why not?† he said. â€Å"Damn you!† said Stefan. â€Å"Listen to me, Damon. This has got to stop.† â€Å"I'm touched at your concern for my safety.† â€Å"It isn't fair, Damon. To take an unwilling girl like that-â€Å" â€Å"Oh, she was willing, brother. She was very, very willing.† â€Å"Did you tell her what you were going to do? Did you warn her about the consequences of exchanging blood with a vampire? The nightmares, the psychic visions? Was she willing for that?† Damon clearly wasn't going to reply, so he went on. â€Å"You know it's wrong.† â€Å"As a matter of fact, I do.† With that, Damon gave one of his sudden, unnerving smiles, turning it on and off instantly. Damon tossed away the orange. His tone was silky, persuasive. â€Å"Little brother, the world is full of what you call ‘wrong,' † he said. â€Å"Why not relax and join the winning side? It's much more fun, I assure you.† Stefan felt himself go hot with anger. â€Å"How can you even say that?† he flashed back. â€Å"Didn't you learn anything from Katherine? She chose ‘the winning side.' â€Å" â€Å"Katherine died too quickly,† said Damon. He was smiling again, but his eyes were cold. â€Å"And now all you can think about is revenge.† Looking at his brother, Stefan felt a crushing weight settle on his own chest. â€Å"That and your own pleasure,† he said. â€Å"What else is there? Pleasure is the only reality, little brother-pleasure and power. And you're a hunter by nature, just as much as I am,† Damon said. He added, â€Å"I don't remember inviting you to come to Florence with me, anyway. Since you're not enjoying yourself, why don't you just leave?† The weight in Stefan's chest tightened suddenly, unbearably, but his gaze, locked with Damon's, did not waver. â€Å"You know why,† he said quietly. And at last he had the satisfaction of seeing Damon's eyes drop. Stefan himself could hear Elena's words in his mind. She'd been dying then, and her voice had been weak, but he'd heard her clearly. You have to take care of each other. Stefan, will you promise? Promise to take care of each other? And he had promised, and he would keep his word. No matter what. â€Å"You know why I don't leave,† he said again to Damon, who wouldn't look at him. â€Å"You can pretend you don't care. You can fool the whole world. But I know differently.† It would have been kindest at this point to leave Damon alone, but Stefan wasn't in a kind mood. â€Å"You know that girl you picked up, Rachael?† he added. â€Å"The hair was all right, but her eyes were the wrong color. Elena's eyes were blue.† With that he turned, meaning to leave Damon here to think it over-if Damon would do anything so constructive, of course. But he never made it to the door. â€Å"It's there!† said Meredith sharply, her eyes on the candle flame and the pin. Bonnie sucked in her breath. Something was opening in front of her like a silver thread, a silver tunnel of communication. She was rushing along it, with no way to stop herself or check her speed. Oh, God, she thought, when I reach the end and hit – The flash in Stefan's head was soundless, lightless, and powerful as a thunderclap. At the same time he felt a violent, wrenching tug. An urge to follow- something. This was not like Katherine's sly subliminal nudging to go somewhere; this was a psychic shout. A command that could not be disobeyed. Inside the flash he sensed a presence, but he could scarcely believe who it was. this was a psychic shout. A command that could not be disobeyed. Inside the flash he sensed a presence, but he could scarcely believe who it was. Stefan! It's you! It worked! Bonnie, what have you done? Elena told me to. Honestly, Stefan, she did. We're in trouble and we need- And that was it. The communication collapsed, caving in on itself, dwindling to a pinpoint. It was gone, and in its aftermath the room vibrated with Power. Stefan and his brother were left staring at each other. Bonnie let out a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and opened her eyes, though she didn't remember closing them. She was lying on her back. Matt and Meredith were crouched over her, looking alarmed. â€Å"What happened? Did it work?† Meredith demanded. â€Å"It worked.† She let them help her up. â€Å"I made contact with Stefan. I talked to him. Now all we can do is wait and see if he's coming or not.† â€Å"Did you mention Elena?† Matt asked. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Then he's coming.†

Fiction in Henry James “Paste”

Fiction in Henry James`s â€Å"Paste† Table of Contents 1. Introduction3 2. American Modernism4 3. Henry James (1843-1916)5 4. Paste8 5. Fiction in Henry James10 6. Paste analysis12 6. Conclusion14 7. Bibliography15 1. Introduction In my term paper I will primarily discuss Henry James and his short story Paste. Firstly, I will focus on the time he wrote the story and than I will describe his life and his three major writing phrases. Next, I will go on with giving the most important of the story touching the most important point of its sources and who influenced James to such a work. The next section in the term paper is one of the most important ones because it touches all the most important things connected with fiction in James`s short story which will be a guide towards the analysis of Paste. In the analysis I will examine the narrative techniques and I will connect the discourse with the story. Finally, the term paper ends with an conclusion summing up all the relative points. 2. American Modernism The large cultural wave of Modernism, which gradually emerged in Europe and the United States in the early years of the 20th century, expressed a sense of modern life through art as a sharp break from the past, as well as from Western civilization's classical traditions. Modern life seemed radically different from traditional life — more scientific, faster, more technological, and more mechanized. Modernism embraced these changes. Technological innovation in the world of factories and machines inspired new attentiveness to technique in the arts. To take one example: Light, particularly electrical light, fascinated modern artists and writers. Posters and advertisements of the period are full of images of floodlit skyscrapers and light rays shooting out from automobile headlights, moviehouses, and watchtowers to illumine a forbidding outer darkness suggesting ignorance and old-fashioned tradition. The way the story was told became as important as the story itself. Form and structure became more important than content. Henry James, William Faulkner, and many other American writers experimented with fictional points of view. Vision and viewpoint became an essential aspect of the modernist novel as well. No longer was it sufficient to write a straightforward third-person narrative or (worse yet) use a pointlessly intrusive narrator. The way the story was told became as important as the story itself. 3. Henry James (1843-1916) [pic] Life: Henry James was born in New York City into a wealthy family. His father, Henry James Sr. , was one of the best-known intellectuals in mid-nineteenth-century America, whose friends included Thoreau, Emerson and Hawthorne. In his youth James traveled back and forth between Europe and America. From an early age James had read the classics of English, American, French and German literature, and Russian classics in translation. He studied with tutors in Geneva, London, Paris, Bologna and Bonn. At the age of nineteen he briefly attended Harvard Law School, but was more interested in literature than studying law. James published his first short story, A Tragedy of Errors two years later, and then devoted himself to literature. In 1866-69 and 1871-72 he was contributor to the Nation and Atlantic Monthly where his first novel, Watch and Ward (1871) was published. James wrote it while he was traveling through Venice and Paris. After living in Paris, where James was contributor to the New York Tribune, he moved to England, living first in London and then in Rye, Sussex. During his first years in Europe James wrote novels that portrayed Americans living abroad. James's years in England were uneventful. In 1905 he visited America for the first time in twenty-five year, and wrote ‘Jolly Corner'. It was based on his observations of New York, but also a nightmare of a man, who is haunted by a doppelganger. Between 1906 and 1910 James revised many of his tales and novels for the so-called New York Edition of his complete works. It was published by Charles Scribner's Sons. His autobiography, A small boy and others (1913) was continued in Notes of a son and brother (1914). The third volume, The middle years, appeared posthumously in 1917. The outbreak of World War I was a shock for James and in 1915 he became a British citizen as a loyalty to his adopted country and in protest against the US's refusal to enter the war. James suffered a stroke on December 2, 1915. He expected to die and exclaimed: â€Å"So this is it at last, the distinguished thing! † However, James died three months later in Rye on February 28, 1916. Two novels, The Ivory Tower and The sense of the past(1917), were left unfinished at his death. James`s three writing phases after his Biographer Leon Edel: James's first, or â€Å"international,† phase encompassed such works as Transatlantic Sketches (travel pieces, 1875), The American (1877), Daisy Miller (1879), and a masterpiece, The Portrait of a Lady (1881). James's second period was experimental. He exploited new subject matters — feminism and social reform in The Bostonians (1886) and political intrigue in The Princess Casamassima (1885). He also attempted to write for the theater, but failed embarrassingly when his play Guy Domville (1895) was booed on the first night. In his third, or â€Å"major,† phase James eturned to international subjects, but treated them with increasing sophistication and psychological penetration. The complex and almost mythical The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) (which James felt was his best novel), and The Golden Bowl (1904) date from this major period. In James, only self-awareness and clear perceptio n of others yields wisdom and self-sacrificing love. Characteristic for James novels are understanding and sensitively drawn lady portraits; James himself was a homosexual, but sensitive to basic sexual differences and the fact that he was a male. His main themes were the innocence of the New World in conflict with corruption and wisdom of the Old. In James's later works, the most important events are all psychological — usually moments of intense illumination that show characters their previous blindness. Apart from writing fiction, James made important contributions to the genre of literary theories, especially through his famous essay, The Art of Fiction, 1884. g. In his early critics James considered British and American novels dull and formless and French fiction â€Å"intolerably unclean†. â€Å"M. Zola is magnificent, but he strikes an English reader as ignorant; he has an air of working in the dark; if he had as much light as energy, his results would be of the highest value. † (from The Art of Fiction) 4. Paste Two weeks after his fathers death Arthur Prime lost also his stepmother, an former actress Miss Bradshaw. After his stepmothers funeral Arthur told his cousin Charlotte to select and take some of the jewelry her aunt left. Charlotte selected a pearl necklace which seemed to her as real. Arthur felt deeply insulted with the thought that they were real and the way his stepmother as an actress could got such pearls. Charlotte apologizes and agrees with Arthur that they are paste and takes them s back to Bleet where she worked as governess. Once at a party, Mrs. Guy noticed the pearls, recognizes them as genuine and with Charlottes approval wears the string at the party. When Charlotte noticed that everybody at the party assumed they were real she insisted at the idea to return them to her cousine Arthur who still pretends to believe that they were pasteand later writes to her that he smashed them to destroy any false slur upon his family. Later however, Charlotte sees Mrs. Guz wearing a beautiful pearl string. She explained to Charlotte she bought it from a dealer to whom Arthur sold them. Charlotte was disappointed how her cousin could be so deceitful. The origin of â€Å"Paste† is rather more expressible, since it was to consist but of the ingenious thought of transposing the terms of one of Guy de Maupassant's admirable stories. The story originated from the idea of reversing the situation of de Maupassant`s La Parure, in which a supposedly genuine necklace is found to be false, by centering the action on a string of perals, thought to worthless but proved to be real. In â€Å"La Parure† a poor young woman, under â€Å"social† stress, the need of making an appearance on an important occasion, borrows from an old school friend, not much richer than herself, a pearl necklace which she has the appalling misfortune to lose by some mischance never afterwards cleared up. Her life and her pride, as well as her husband's with them, become subject, from the hour of the awful accident, to the redemption of their debt; which, effort by effort, sacrifice by sacrifice, excuses, a rage of desperate explanation of their failure to restore the missing object, they finally obliterate–all to find that their whole consciousness and life have been convulsed, that the pearls were an â€Å"imitation† and that their passionate apology has ruined them for nothing. According to Henry James and his theory of fiction Guy de Mauppasant holds that we have no universal measure of the truth and that there are many different classes of fiction which help us to understand that the particular way we see the world is our particular illusion about it. 5. Fiction in Paste and Henry James Henry James`s conception of writing fiction is defined in these words: â€Å"A novel is, in its broadest definition, a personal, a direct impression of life, that, to begin with, constitutes its value, which is greater or less according to the intensity of the impression. But there will be no intensity at all, and therefore, no value, unless there is freedom to feel and say. † In his treatment of subject matter, James felt that no aspect of life should be excluded. He said that â€Å"the province of art is all life, all feeling, all observation, all vision †¦ it is all experience. That is a sufficient answer to those who maintain that it must not touch the sad things of life †¦ † James's style of writing is magnificent and his canvas is broad – encompassing both Europe and America. He is a master of character portrayal and has extensively used the â€Å"stream of consciousness† method in his fictional writing. Julie Rivkin explains the term as a radiating luminous intelligence which integrated the â€Å"felt life† into fiction. Perhaps more than any previous writer, James refined the technique of narrating a novel from the point of view of a character, thereby laying the foundations of modern stream of consciousness fiction. Henry James produced one hundred and twelve stories and majority of them have been ignored or dismissed as a tributary to the mainstream of his novels. James creative energies were devoted equally into his novels, essays and his short stories, which means that also the stories deserved critical research as his novels or essays. James wrote about Guy de Maupassant that he will be remembered because of his more than hundred tales he wrote and not on his half a dozen novels meaning probably that he wanted to state that his whish would be to remember him himself also because of his novels and his short stories. 6. Paste analysis Henry James is grappling with the idea of keeping the story under 7,000 words. Part of this struggle develops from his idea seemingly having too much to say, but the notebook entry also leans towards the difficulty of being able to create a diverse enough idea to actually have a story within this space. James seems to be attempting to begin answering what is the short story: â€Å"†¦but to do anything worth while with it I must †¦ be very clear as to what it is in it and what I wish to get out of it. †¦ It must be a picture; it must illustrate something. † This also refers back to that that the writer needs to avoid a simple summary of events and the reader must encounter a story within the sketch structure. Within James’ description of the story he intends to work on, he places a great deal of emphasis on contrast to relay his story. Paste is one of the few tales in which James successfully approaches Maupassant`s technique, allowing the objective action of the tale to reveal all its characters and values. The plot is swiftly set in motion, on the day of his stepmothers` funeral , Arthur allows his cousin Charlotte to take one peace of stage jewelry, she picks out some paste pearls which she honorably returns to Arthur when she founds out they are real. Arthur being a prudish stepson is greedy enough to sell the pearls , while he wrote her cousin he destroyed them. As so often in this tales, the professional virtuous are exposed as utterly fraudulent and the decent people as Charlotte as selfless fools. Only Mrs. Guy which with her name remembers us on Guy de Maupassant is one of James`s innumerable versions of the Madame Merle- type competent wordly woman with an innocent look and a strong authority manages to a short while to win the reader`s thoughts. Paste is told by an omniscient third-person narrator, who refrains from judging the characters or their actions. The narrator does have access to the characters' thoughts, but for the most part, the narrator simply describes the events of the story, leaving it up to the reader to determine the nature of the characters through their actions. Most of all, the narrator is concerned with Charlotte Prime. The moral dimension is most obvious in what appears to be James`s confident insistence on the reality of moral evil, motivated by egoism and by self-sacriface, especially sacrifice of own happiness. Charlotte insisted on the problem of sacrifice and she does not act for her own good, she wants to be fair and returns the pearls to her greedy cousin and when she founds out that he sold them she asks her self why was she so moral and truthful James`s characters, especially Charlotte, are presented as they having a very difficult time to simply trying to understand what they most need to understand- their own and others intentions or motives. The major themes in the story are paste, greed, losing moral values, truth vs. lie. All the themes are connected with a symbol in the story. Paste meaning the farce which Arthur plays toward his cousin, implying that things are not always what they seem to be. All the themes are connected with transition from innocence and naivety to experience. Development of Charlotte Prime in Paste Charlotte Prime is a governess in a little town called Bleet and the role of a governess in Victorian times was not a popular figure in Victorian England. The governess did not have a social position worthy of attention. The problem existed in them that aristocrats and middle-class Victorians were not sure how to treat the governess because she was in many cases also from the same class as they were, but her lack of financial stability made them view her as she were from the lower class. To work as a governess in Victorian times was justified by the society only if she found herself in financial distress or had no relatives to give her support. From the story it is noticeable that Charlotte Prime was also working as a governess because her bad financial situation 6. Conclusion The main aim of this research paper was to show how James dealt with fiction in his short stories, especially in Paste. James was fascinated to be challenged with writing short stories. He knew that had to take one single incident and his fiction does not generally lend itself to a close examination or its values are diffuse, the structure is often loose, its effects depend on stock devices and responses. That means that a plot need be no more than a string of stock devices for arousing stock responses of concern and excitement in the reader. The reader’s interest may be captured t the outset by the promise of conflicts or mysteries or frustrations that will eventually be resolved, and he will gladly—so strong is his desire to be moved or entertained—suspend criticism of even the most trite modes of resolution. 7. Bibliography 1. Baldev Vaid, Krishna (1964). Technique in the tales of Henry James. Cambridge: HUP Press 2. Gale L. , Robert (1965). Plots and Characte rs in the Fiction of Henry James. Hamden:The Shoe String 3. Pippin, Robert B. ( 2000). Henry James and modern moral life. Cambridge: HUP 4. Putt, S. Gorley (1966). Henry James. A reader`s Guide. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.