If I Would Marry Them From City Hall - 937 Words

They asked me if I would marry them. My friends Paul and Natasha finally planned to marry after so many years, and they asked me if I would perform the ceremony. I was their mutual friend and had known them as a couple almost as long as they had known each other. They are not members of a church, and wanted to be married by someone who knew them personally, rather than a justice of the peace direct from city hall. I do have a voice that could project, but other than that my qualifications to marry them were non-existent -- I was neither clergy nor public official. I was flattered and a little nervous. I had expected to be a jovial guest at their wedding, munching the hors d oeuvres, drinking the Champagne. The last thing I d pictured†¦show more content†¦I was to stand on the front lines of marriage. People would be listening to my sage words if I could come up with any. Things I said would be remembered, even videotaped. I started to sweat. The three of us spent hours together trying to figure out how the ceremony should proceed. It was a difficult process. Both partners, especially Paul, bristle at the slightest sign of sentimentality. This ceremony had to be honest. Authentic. As Natasha and I pored over anthologies of poetry, Paul kept racing off to look up obscure Russian writers on the Internet whose works Natasha s Russian-speaking mother could translate for us. I think he was dealing with a few jitters. We made almost no progress despite several planning sessions. Two days before the wedding, we met again. My role was clear. As their minister, their oracle, their soothsayer, I had to hammer the ceremony plan home that night. No one was leaving the room until the order of the day was complete, the vows were decided upon and the readings chosen. It worked. We selected several stanzas from The Ivy Crown by William Carlos Williams and a reading from the Book of Psalms. The music had been chosen by their friend Ann, a professional opera singer who would perform on the day. We planned the order of the ceremony and I helped them decide on their vows, honest and forthright. I left that night feeling useful. We were all a

Essay about Postmodernism in Pulp Fiction - 1681 Words

The film Pulp Fiction was an immediate box office success when it was released in 1994 and it was also well received by the critics, and celebrated for the way it appeared to capture exactly a certain pre-millennial angst and dislocation in Western capitalist societies. The term post-modernist, often used to refer to art and architecture, was applied to this film. The pulp fiction refers to popular novels which are bought in large numbers by less well educated people and enjoyed for their entertainment value. The implication is that the film concerns topics of interest to this low culture, but as this essay will show, in fact, the title is ironic and the film is a very intellectual presentation of issues at the heart of contemporary†¦show more content†¦On another level the film plays with the cultural connections that the actor John Travolta has with the 1950s. The musical film Grease which is perhaps Travolta’s most famous film, takes place in this kind of setting. When Travolta’s character in Pulp Fiction encounters this scene, playing a much older character in a much more adult and violent film, it causes an ironic ripple. The audience makes an instinctive connection with what they know outside the film, and this explodes the usual time and action frame of film. In Pulp Fiction Vegas begins to dance and this again brings in a whole host of meanings related to the famous dance between Travolta and Olivia Newton John in Grease. In the later film, however, this is no innocent flirting between teenagers. The new context is a dangerous flirtation with the wife of a deadly killer, and both of the participants are adults who know the consequences of their actions. Critics have noted that this, also is ironic, quoting elements of older film styles: â€Å"The story of the flirtatious boss’s wife draws on established elements from the gangster genre, while her overdose provides an unexpected Gothic reference.† The trickle of dark blood from the pale body of Mia (Uma Thurma) is what recalls the Gothic horror genre. These evocative touches characterise Tarantino’s exuberant style. The scene where Vincent takes Mia toShow MoreRelatedPulp Fiction: Hyperreal Violence and Postmodernism2180 Words   |  9 PagesPulp Fiction: Hyperreal Violence and Postmodernism Pulp Fiction is an iconic early 1990s film directed by the unparalleled Quentin Tarantino. The title of the film pays homage to mid-20th century crime novels. In this way and others, the title is revealing of the content of the film. The film follows a very postmodern style that often distracts the plot to focus instead on developing the characters. 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Streams of Silver 9. There is No Honor Free Essays

â€Å"Why do you approach the city before the light of dawn?† the Nightkeeper of the North Gate asked the emissary for the merchant caravan that had pulled up outside Luskan’s wall. Jierdan, in his post beside the Nightkeeper, watched with special interest, certain that this troupe had come from Ten-Towns. â€Å"We would not impose upon the regulations of the city if our business were not urgent,† answered the spokesman. We will write a custom essay sample on Streams of Silver 9. There is No Honor or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"We have not rested for two days.† Another man emerged from the cluster of wagons, a body limp across his shoulders. â€Å"Murdered on the road,† explained the spokesman. â€Å"And another of the party taken. Catti-brie, daughter of Bruenor Battlehammer himself!† â€Å"A dwarf-maid?† Jierdan blurted out, suspecting otherwise, but masking his excitement for fear that it might implicate him. â€Å"Nay, no dwarf. A woman,† lamented the spokeman. â€Å"Fairest in all the dale, maybe in all the north. The dwarf took her in as an orphaned child and claimed her as his own.† â€Å"Orcs?† asked the Nightkeeper, more concerned with potential hazards on the road than with the fate of a single woman. â€Å"This was not the work of orcs,† replied the spokesman. â€Å"Stealth and cunning took Catti-brie from us and killed the driver. We did not even discover the foul deed until the next morn.† Jierdan needed no further information, not even a more complete description of Catti-brie, to put the pieces together. Her connection to Bruenor explained Entreri’s interest in her. Jierdan looked to the eastern horizon and the first rays of the coming dawn, anxious to be cleared of his duties on the wall so that he could go report his findings to Dendybar. This little piece of news should help to alleviate the mottled wizard’s anger at him for losing the drow’s trail on the docks. * * * â€Å"He has not found them?† Dendybar hissed at Sydney. â€Å"He has found nothing but a cold trail,† the younger mage replied. â€Å"If they are on the docks yet, they are well disguised.† Dendybar paused to consider his apprentice’s report. Something was out of place with this scenario. Four distinctive characters simply could not have vanished. â€Å"Have you learned anything of the assassin, then, or of his companion?† â€Å"The vagabonds in the alleys fear him. Even the ruffians give him a respectfully wide berth.† â€Å"So our friend is known among the bowel-dwellers,† Dendybar mused. â€Å"A hired killer, I would guess,† reasoned Sydney. â€Å"Probably from the south – Waterdeep, perhaps, though we should have heard more of him if that were the case. Perhaps even farther south, from the lands beyond our vision.† â€Å"Interesting,† replied Dendybar, trying to formulate some theory to satisfy all the variables. â€Å"And the girl?† Sydney shrugged. â€Å"I do not believe that she follows him willingly, though she has made no move to be free of him. And when you saw him in Morkai’s vision, he was riding alone.† â€Å"He acquired her,† came an unexpected reply from the doorway. Jierdan entered the room. â€Å"What? Unannounced?† sneered Dendybar. â€Å"I have news – it could not wait,† Jierdan replied boldly. â€Å"Have they left the city?† Sydney prompted, voicing her suspicions to heighten the anger she read on the mottled wizard’s pallid face. Sydney well understood the dangers and the difficulties of the docks, and almost pitied Jierdan for incurring the wrath of the merciless Dendybar in a situation beyond his control. But Jierdan remained her competition for the mottled wizard’s favor, and she wouldn’t let sympathy stand in the way of her ambitions. â€Å"No,† Jierdan snapped at her. â€Å"My news does not concern the drow’s party.† He looked back to Dendybar. â€Å"A caravan arrived in Luskan today – in search of the woman.† â€Å"Who is she?† asked Dendybar, suddenly very interested and forgetting his anger at the intrusion. â€Å"The adopted daughter of Bruenor Battlehamer,† Jierdan replied. â€Å"Cat – â€Å" â€Å"Catti-brie! Of course!† hissed Dendybar, himself familiar with most of the prominent people in Ten-Towns. â€Å"I should have guessed!† He turned to Sydney. â€Å"My respect for our mysterious rider grows each day. Find him and bring him back to me!† Sydney nodded, though she feared that Dendybar’s request would prove more difficult than the mottled wizard believed, probably even beyond her skills altogether. She spent that night, until the early hours of the following morning, searching the alleyways and meeting places of the dockside area. But even using her contacts on the docks and all the magical tricks at her disposal, she found no sign of Entreri and Catti-brie, and no one willing or able to pass along any information that might help her in her search. Tired and frustrated, she returned to the Hosttower the next day, passing the corridor to Dendybar’s room, even though he had ordered her to report to him directly upon her return. Sydney was in no mood to listen to the mottled wizard’s ranting about her failure. She entered her small room, just off the main trunk of the Hosttower on the northern branch, below the rooms of the Master of the North Spire, and bolted the doors, further sealing them against unwelcomed intrusion with a magical spell. She had barely fallen into her bed when the surface of her coveted scrying mirror began to swirl and glow. â€Å"Damn you, Dendybar,† she growled, assuming that the disturbance was her master’s doing. Dragging her weary body to the mirror, she stared deeply into it, attuning her mind to the swirl to bring the image clearer. It was not Dendybar that she faced, to her relief, but a wizard from a distant town, a would-be suitor that the passionless Sydney kept dangling by a thread of hope so that she could manipulate him as she needed. â€Å"Greetings, fair Sydney,† the mage said. â€Å"I pray I did not disturb your sleep, but I have exciting news!† Normally, Sydney would have tactfully listened to the mage, feigned interest in the story, and politely excused herself from the encounter. But now, with Dendybar’s pressing demands lying squarely across her shoulders, she had no patience for distractions. â€Å"This is not the time!† she snapped. The mage, so caught up in his own news, seemed not to notice her definitive tone. â€Å"The most marvelous thing has happened in our town,† he rambled. â€Å"Harkle!† Sydney cried to break his babbling momentum. The mage halted, crestfallen. â€Å"But, Sydney,† he said. â€Å"Another time,† she insisted. â€Å"But how often in this day does one actually see and speak with a drow elf?† Harkle persisted. â€Å"I cannot – † Sydney stopped short, digesting Harkle’s last words. â€Å"A drow elf?† she stammered. â€Å"Yes,† Harkle beamed proudly, thrilled that his news had apparently impressed his beloved Sydney. â€Å"Drizzt Do’Urden, by name. He left Longsaddle just two days ago. I would have told you earlier, but the mansion has just been astir about the whole thing!† â€Å"Tell me more, dear Harkle,† Sydney purred enticingly. â€Å"Do tell me everything.† * * * â€Å"I am in need of information.† Whisper froze at the sound of the unexpected voice, guessing the speaker immediately. She knew that he was in town, and knew, too, that he was the only one who could have slipped through her defenses to get into her secret chambers. â€Å"Information,† Entreri said again, moving out from the shadows behind a dressing screen. Whisper slid the jar of healing unguent into her pocket and took a good measure of the man. Rumors spoke of him as the deadliest of assassins, and she, all too familiar with killers, knew at once that the rumors rang with truth. She sensed Entreri’s power, and the easy coordination of his movements. â€Å"Men do not come to my room uninvited,† she warned bravely. Entreri moved to a better vantage point to study the bold woman. He had heard of her as well, a survivor of the rough streets, beautiful and deadly. But apparently Whisper had lost an encounter. Her nose was broken and disjointed, splayed across her cheek. Whisper understood the scrutiny. She squared her shoulders and threw her head back proudly. â€Å"An unfortunate accident,† she hissed. â€Å"It is not my concern,† Entreri came back. â€Å"I have come for information.† Whisper turned away to go about her routine, trying to appear unbothered. â€Å"My price is high,† she said coolly. She turned back to Entreri, the intense but frighteningly calm look on his face telling her beyond doubt that her life would be the only reward for cooperation. â€Å"I seek four companions,† said Entreri. â€Å"A dwarf, a drow, a young man, and a halfling.† Whisper was unused to such situations. No crossbows supported her now, no bodyguards waited for her signal behind a nearby secret door. She tried to remain calm, but Entreri knew the depth of her fear. She chuckled and pointed to her broken nose. â€Å"I have met your dwarf, and your drow, Artemis Entreri.† She emphasized his name as she spoke it, hoping that her recognition would put him back on the defensive. â€Å"Where are they?† Entreri asked, still in control. â€Å"And what did they request of you?† Whisper shrugged. â€Å"If they remain in Luskan, I do not know where. Most probably they are gone; the dwarf has a map of the northland.† Entreri considered the words. â€Å"Your reputation speaks more highly of you,† he said sarcastically. â€Å"You accept such a wound and let them slip through your grasp?† Whisper’s eyes narrowed in anger. â€Å"I choose my fights carefully,† she hissed. â€Å"The four are too dangerous for actions of frivolous vengeance. Let them go where they will. I want no business with them again.† Entreri’s calm visage sagged a bit. He had already been to the Cutlass and heard of Wulfgar’s exploits. And now this. A woman like Whisper was not easily cowed. Perhaps he should indeed re-evaluate the strength of his opponents. â€Å"Fearless is the dwarf,† Whisper offered, sensing his dismay and taking pleasure in furthering his discomfort. â€Å"And ware the drow, Artemis Entreri,† she hissed pointedly, attempting to relegate him to a similar level of respect for the companions with the grimness of her tone. â€Å"He walks in shadows that we cannot see, and strikes from the darkness. He conjures a demon in the form of a great cat and – â€Å" Entreri turned and started away, having no intention of allowing Whisper to gain any more of an advantage. Reveling in her victory, Whisper couldn’t resist the temptation to throw one final dart. â€Å"Men do not come to my room uninvited,† she said again. Entreri passed into an adjoining room and Whisper heard the door to the alley close. â€Å"I choose my fights carefully,† she whispered to the emptiness of the room, regaining a measure of her pride with the threat. She turned back to a small dressing table and took out the jar of unguent, quite pleased with herself. She examined her wound in the table’s mirror. Not too bad. The salve would erase it as it had erased so many scars from the trials of her profession. She understood her stupidity when she saw the shadow slip past her reflection in the mirror, and felt the brush of air at her back. Her business allowed no tolerance for errors, and offered no second chance. For the first and last time in her life, Whisper had let her pride rise above her judgment. A final groan escaped her as the jeweled dagger sunk deeply into her back. â€Å"I, too, choose my fights with care,† Entreri whispered into her ear. * * * The next morning found Entreri outside a place he did not want to enter: the Hosttower of the Arcane. He knew that he was running out of options. Convinced now that the companions had long since left Luskan, the assassin needed some magical assistance to heat up the trail again. It had taken him nearly two years to sniff out the halfling in Ten-Towns, and his patience was wearing thin. Catti-brie reluctantly but obediently at his side, he approached the structure, and was promptly escorted to Dendybar’s audience hall, where the mottled wizard and Sydney waited to greet him. â€Å"They have left the city,† Entreri said bluntly, before any exchange of greetings. Dendybar smiled to show Entreri that he had the upper hand this time. â€Å"As long as a week ago,† he replied calmly. â€Å"And you know where they are,† Entreri reasoned. Dendybar nodded, the smile still curling into his hollow cheeks. The assassin didn’t enjoy the game. He spent a long moment measuring his counterpart, searching for some hint of the wizard’s intentions. Dendybar did likewise, still very much interested in an alliance with the formidable killer – but only on favorable terms. â€Å"The price of the information?† Entreri asked. â€Å"I do not even know your name,† was Dendybar’s reply. Fair enough, the assassin thought. He bowed low. â€Å"Artemis Entreri,† he said, confident enough to speak truthfully. â€Å"And why do you seek the companions, carrying the dwarf’s daughter in tow?† Dendybar pressed, playing his hand out to give the cocky assassin something to worry about. â€Å"That is my own care,† hissed Entreri, the narrowing of his eyes the only indication that Dendybar’s knowledge had perturbed him. â€Å"It is mine, as well, if we are to be allies in this!† shouted Dendybar, rising to stand tall and ominous and intimidate Entreri. The assassin, though, cared little for the wizard’s continuing antics, too engrossed in assessing the value of such an alliance. â€Å"I ask nothing of your business with them,† Entreri replied at length. â€Å"Tell me only which one of the four it concerns.† It was Dendybar’s turn to ponder. He wanted Entreri in his court, if for no other reason than he feared having the assassin working against him. And he liked the notion that he would not have to disclose anything about the artifact that he sought to this very dangerous man. â€Å"The drow has something of mine, or knowledge of where I can find it,† he said. â€Å"I want it back.† â€Å"And the halfling is mine,† Entreri demanded. â€Å"Where are they?† Dendybar motioned to Sydney. â€Å"They have passed through Longsaddle,† she said. â€Å"And are headed to Silverymoon, more than two weeks to the east.† The names were unknown to Catti-brie, but she was glad that her friends had a good lead. She needed time to sort out a plan, though she wondered how effective she could be surrounded by such powerful captors. â€Å"And what do you propose?† Entreri asked. â€Å"An alliance,† replied Dendybar. â€Å"But I have the information I need,† Entreri laughed. â€Å"What do I gain in an alliance with you?† â€Å"My powers can get you to them, and can aid in defeating them. They are not a weak force. Consider it of mutual benefit.† â€Å"You and I on the road? You seem more fitted to a book and a desk, wizard.† Dendybar locked an unblinking glare on the arrogant assassin. â€Å"I assure you that I can get wherever I desire more effectively than you ever could imagine,† he growled. He let go of his anger quickly, though, being more interested in completing business. â€Å"But I shall remain here. Sydney will go in my stead, and Jierdan, the soldier, will be her escort.† Entreri did not like the idea of traveling with Jierdan, but he decided not to press the point. It might be interesting, and helpful, in sharing the hunt with the Hosttower of the Arcane. He agreed to the terms. â€Å"And what of her?† Sydney asked, pointing to Catti-brie. â€Å"She goes with me,† Entreri was quick to answer. â€Å"Of course,† agreed Dendybar. â€Å"No purpose in wasting such a valuable hostage.† â€Å"We are three against five,† Sydney reasoned. â€Å"If things do not work out as easily as the two of you seem to expect, the girl may prove to be our downfall.† â€Å"She goes!† demanded Entreri. Dendybar had the solution already worked out. He turned a wry smile at Sydney. â€Å"Take Bok,† he chuckled. Sydney’s face drooped, at the suggestion, as though Dendybar’s command had stolen her desire for the hunt. Entreri wasn’t sure if he liked this new development or not. Sensing the assassin’s discomfort, Dendybar motioned Sydney to a curtained closet at the side of the room. â€Å"Bok,† she called softly when she got there, the hint of a tremble in her voice. It stepped through the curtain. Fully eight feet tall and three wide at the shoulders, the monster strode stiffly to the woman’s side. A huge man, it seemed, and indeed the wizard had used pieces of human bodies for many of its parts. Bok was bigger and more square than any man living, nearly the size of a giant, and had been magically empowered with strength beyond the measures of the natural world. â€Å"A golem,† Dendybar proudly explained. â€Å"My own creation. Bok could kill us all right now. Even your fell blade would be of little use against it, Artemis Entreri.† The assassin wasn’t so convinced, but he could not completely mask his intimidation. Dendybar had obviously tipped the scales of their partnership in his own favor, but Entreri knew that if he backed away from the bargain now he would be aligning the mottled wizard and his minions against him, and in direct competition with him for the dwarf’s party. Furthermore, it would take him weeks, perhaps even months to catch the travelers by normal means and he did not doubt that Dendybar could get there faster. Catti-brie shared the same uncomfortable thoughts. She had no desire to travel with the gruesome monster, but she wondered what carnage she would find when she finally caught up to Bruenor and the others if Entreri decided to break away from the alliance. â€Å"Fear not,† Dendybar comforted. â€Å"Bok is harmless, incapable of any independent thought, for, you see, Bok has no mind. The golem answers to my commands, or to Sydney’s, and would walk into a fire to be consumed if we merely asked it to do so!† â€Å"I have business to finish in the city,† Entreri said, not doubting Dendybar’s words and having little desire to hear any more about the golem. â€Å"When do we depart?† â€Å"Night would be best,† reasoned Dendybar. â€Å"Come back to the green outside the Hosttower when the sun is down. We shall meet there and get you on your way.† Alone in his chamber, save for Bok, Dendybar stroked the golem’s muscled shoulders with deep affection. Bok was his hidden trump, his protection against the resistance of the companions, or the treachery of Artemis Entreri. But Dendybar did not part with the monster easily, for it played a powerful role, as well, in protecting him from would-be successors in the Hosttower. Dendybar had subtly but definitely passed along the warning to other wizards that any of them striking against him would have to deal with Bok, even if Dendybar were dead. But the road ahead might be long, and the Master of the North Spire could not forsake his duties and expect to hold his title. Especially not with the Archmage just looking for any excuse to be rid of him, understanding the dangers of Dendybar’s outspoken aspirations to the central tower. â€Å"Nothing can stop you, my pet,† Dendybar told the monster. In truth, he was simply reaffirming his own fears about his choice to send the inexperienced mage in his stead. He didn’t doubt her loyalty, nor Jierdan’s, but Entreri and the heroes from Icewind Dale were not to be taken lightly. â€Å"I have given you the hunting power,† Dendybar explained, as he tossed the scroll tube and the now-useless parchment to the floor. â€Å"The drow is your purpose and you can now sense his presence from any distance. Find him! Do not return to me without Drizzt Do’Urden!† A guttural roar issued from Bok’s blue lips, the only sound the unthinking instrument was capable of uttering. Entreri and Catti-brie found the wizard’s party already assembled when they arrived at the Hosttower later that night. Jierdan stood alone, off to the side, apparently none too thrilled about partaking in the adventure, but having little choice. The soldier feared the golem, and had no love, or trust, for Entreri. He feared Dendybar more, though, and his uneasiness about the potential dangers on the road did not measure up against the certain dangers he would face at the hands of the mottled wizard if he refused to go. Sydney broke away from Bok and Dendybar and walked across the way to meet her companions. â€Å"Greetings,† she offered, more interested in appeasement now than competition with her formidable partner. â€Å"Dendybar prepares our mounts. The ride to Silverymoon shall be swift indeed!† Entreri and Catti-brie looked to the mottled wizard. Bok stood beside him, holding an unrolled parchment out in view while Dendybar poured a smoky liquid from a beaker over a white feather and chanted the runes of the spell. A mist grew at the wizard’s feet, swirling and thickening into something with a definite shape. Dendybar left it to its transformation and moved to repeat the ritual a short way off. By the time the first magical horse had appeared, the wizard was creating the fourth and final one. Entreri raised his brow. â€Å"Four?† he asked Sydney. â€Å"We are now five.† â€Å"Bok could not ride,† she replied, amused at the notion. â€Å"It will run.† She turned and headed back toward Dendybar, leaving Entreri with the thought. â€Å"Of course,† Entreri muttered to himself, somehow less thrilled than ever about the presence of the unnatural thing. But Catti-brie had begun to view things a bit differently. Dendybar had obviously sent Bok along more to gain an advantage over Entreri than to ensure victory over her friends. Entreri must have known it, too. Without realizing it, the wizard had set up just the type of nervous environment that Catti-brie hoped for, a tense situation that she might find a way to exploit. How to cite Streams of Silver 9. There is No Honor, Essay examples

Management of IT Services Free Sample for Students

Question Discss about the Implementation of IT Services in Delta Lloyd a Ductch Insurance Bank. Answer: Introduction Delta Lloyd is a Dutch insurance bank that has implemented IT4IT. Adoption or implementation of IT4IT is not possible in a day. The CEO of Delta Lloyd said that before implementation of IT4IT, they started with a different architecture framework and used it to build up an IT setup. During the use of that IT system, the company faced a number of issues related to handling of complex business operations. Moreover, the system response time was very long and it significantly delayed the overall business operations. As a result, the company lagged behind in terms of business and its operations. They came across IT4IT that provided them with a new reference architecture. With the help of this reference framework, the problems with the business operations were significantly reduced and the complex operations were simplified. IT4IT also provided duplicate tools for inconsistent IT processors and significantly reduced the system response time. This report deals with the details of implementation of IT4IT in Delta Lloyd. Case Study Analysis: IT4IT at Delta Lloyd Background of IT4IT IT4IT is a reference architecture standard that provides different guidelines for implementing value chain-based operating model for the IT systems in business organizations. IT4IT provides sufficient guidelines for procurement, design and implementation of successful IT setups for the business organizations. Before the development of IT4IT, IT systems were implemented by business organizations at high cost as well as complex configurations. As a result, the implementations were extremely expensive and the general employees were not able of manage and maintain the IT systems. However, after the development of IT4IT, these issues were solved and the IT systems became simplified. Many organizations have implemented IT4IT for accelerating their development of IT systems. One of these companies is Delta Lloyd, a Dutch insurance bank. Justification of IT4IT Adoption The Delta Lloyd CEO justified the adoption of IT4IT by the following points. IT4IT organizes the value chain IT system for benefiting other important aspects of business organizations like human resource (HR), finances and others. Since IT4IT is data-driven, it helps the organization to decrease the overall response time and also helps the IT system to focus on the organizational goals and the end results. It helps in simplifying the complex business activities that deal with several business entities at once. IT4IT enhances the capability of the IT system to manage all the business suppliers within the specific service lifecycle. IT4IT provides a reference framework to build up a suitable IT system that will be able to handle all the complex business operations of the organization. Moreover, it not only provides support for the building phase it supports the IT development throughout its entire lifecycle. Adoption Road Map Adoption or implementation of IT4IT is not possible in a day. The CEO of Delta Lloyd said that before implementation of IT4IT, they started with a different architecture framework and used it to build up an IT setup. During the use of that IT system, the company faced a number of issues related to handling of complex business operations. Moreover, the system response time was very long and it significantly delayed the overall business operations. As a result, the company lagged behind in terms of business and its operations. In order to solve these issues, they initially studying the whole IT system and identified the reasons why the system was not performing according to the requirements. After identification of the issues, they searched for a new reference architecture that would solve their issues and enhance their IT performance. Then they came across IT4IT that provided them with a new reference architecture. With the help of this reference framework, the problems with the busin ess operations were significantly reduced and the complex operations were simplified. IT4IT also provided duplicate tools for inconsistent IT processors and significantly reduced the system response time. Hence, the business of Delta Lloyd flourished due to IT4IT implementation. Challenges Encountered by Delta Lloyd Challenges encountered by Delta Lloyd during the implementation of IT4IT were as follows. The main challenge encountered by Delta Lloyd was that there were already a huge number of business management tools available and at a cheaper price. Moreover, most of these were easy to use and have their own advantages and disadvantages. On the other hand, Delta Lloyd implemented IT4IT that was expensive and complex in terms of maintenance. Unless this proved to be superior to all other business management tools, the implementation would fail positively. Hence, this was a necessary risk they had to take in order to enhance their business performance. Another challenge the company faced was customer review. Since Delta Lloyd was always a successful business organization, the customers wanted to know why the company needed to make such significant changes in their existing IT setup. They debated that the existing system was sufficiently successful and moreover, the clients were accustomed with the existing system. According to them, introduction of new system will mean that there will be huge change in an existing system and the customers themselves will take some significant time to get accustomed to the system. However, the CEO explained that this was a necessary risk to be taken and that if implemented correctly, this would be able to enhance their existing business system significantly. Outcomes of IT4IT adoption in Delta Lloyd Being data-driven, IT4IT helped Delta Lloyd to decrease the overall response time and also helped the IT system to focus on the organizational goals and the end results. It helped in simplifying the complex business activities that dealt with several business entities at once. IT4IT organized the value chain IT system for benefiting other important aspects of business organizations like human resource (HR), finances and others. IT4IT enhanced the capability of the IT system of Delta Lloyd to manage all the business suppliers within the specific service lifecycle. Moreover, it provided support for the building phase it supported the IT development of the company throughout its entire lifecycle. The main challenge encountered by Delta Lloyd was that there were already a huge number of business management tools available and at a cheaper price. Moreover, most of these were easy to use and have their own advantages and disadvantages. On the other hand, Delta Lloyd implemented IT4IT that was expensive and complex in terms of maintenance. However, IT4IT provided a reference framework to build up a suitable IT system that was able to handle all the complex business operations of Delta Lloyd. Conclusion IT4IT organizes the value chain IT system for benefiting other important aspects of business organizations like human resource (HR), finances and others. Since IT4IT is data-driven, it helps the organization to decrease the overall response time and also helps the IT system to focus on the organizational goals and the end results. It helps in simplifying the complex business activities that deal with several business entities at once. IT4IT enhances the capability of the IT system to manage all the business suppliers within the specific service lifecycle. IT4IT provides a reference framework to build up a suitable IT system that will be able to handle all the complex business operations of the organization. Moreover, it not only provides support for the building phase it supports the IT development throughout its entire lifecycle. Recommendations The following recommendations can be provided to Delta Lloyd regarding implementation of IT4IT. Change Management Due to implementation of IT4IT, a huge change is brought over the existing business and IT setup of the company. Hence, a suitable change management plan is needed to incorporate all the changes in a proper manner so that there is no negative impact of the business operations. System Security With the involvement of cloud computing in IT4IT, there comes the issue of system security. Cloud computing comes with significant chances of cyber security attacks and hence, suitable cyber and system security measures must be taken. Bibliography Adhari, H., Dreibholz, T., Werner, S., Rathgeb, E. P. 2015, September. Eclipse: A New Dynamic Delay-based Congestion Control Algorithm for Background Traffic. InNetwork-Based Information Systems (NBiS), 2015 18th International Conference on(pp. 115-123). IEEE. Betz, C. 2016. Implications of digital transformation, Agile, and DevOps for IT curricula and pedagogy. Hashim, E.W.A., Hammood, M.O.A. Al-azraqe, M.T.I., 2016. A Cloud Computing System based Laborites Learning universities: Case study of Bayan universitys Laborites-Erbil.BOOK OF PROCEEDING, p.538. Ijaa, W., 2014.Agent-based bidding application for mobile phones(Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi). Kekkonen, A., Arasmo, S. 2016. Future Trends of Service Desk. Kurz, S., Maaser, N., Napel, S., Weber, M. 2015. Mostly sunny: a forecast of tomorrow's power index research. Rashbaum, K.N., Borden, B.B. Beaumont, T.H., 2014. Outrun the lions: a practical framework for analysis of legal issues in the evolution of cloud computing.Ave Maria L. Rev.,12, p.71. Ruotsalainen, P. S., Blobel, B., Seppl, A., Nyknen, P. 2013. Trust information-based privacy architecture for ubiquitous health.JMIR mHealth and uHealth,1(2), e23. Silic, M. Back, A., 2014. Shadow ITA view from behind the curtain.Computers and Security,45, pp.274-283. Singh, R. Kaur, P.J., 2016. Analyzing performance of Apache Tez and MapReduce with hadoop multinode cluster on Amazon cloud.Journal of Big Data,3(1), p.19. Spark, J., 2013. The Environing Air: A Meditation on Communications Structures in Natural Environments.PhaenEx,8(1), pp.185-207. Strzelczak, S. 2014. Core ontology for manufacturing and logistics.Zeszyty Naukowe. Organizacja i Zarz?dzanie/Politechnika ?l?ska, (73), 603-618. Venkatraman, I. Shantapriyan, P.T., 2015. Understanding and Evaluating IT Budgets Funding. InEngineering Asset Management-Systems, Professional Practices Certification(pp. 1315-1324). Springer International Publishing.

Race Relations during the Progressive Era

The progressive era is a period covering the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century (Kirby 2). During this period, Americans faced a lot of problems. The need to solve the problems led to the emergence of pro-reform groups. These groups had been labeled populists just before the beginning of the progressive era. The progressive era was characterized by agitation for social, political, economic, and legal reforms.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Race Relations during the Progressive Era specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More During this era, the American constitution was amended several times to accommodate the reforms. Political debate revolved around the need for reforms. However, these reforms did not immediately reach all sections of the American society that needed to be reformed. For instance, racial relations continued to be strained. This paper will examine racial relations in America during the progressive era. Racial relations received little attention during the progressive period. As the reformers agitated for social reforms, the gains that had been made with regard to racial relations appeared to deteriorate. The abolition of slave trade had ushered in a new era in America. The progressive era coincided with the era of great immigration into the United States of America. Some reformers were not comfortable with the idea of maintaining an open door policy to immigrants. They proposed a careful selection of the immigrants by the government to reduce the possibility of immigrants outbreeding the native whites. Majority of the immigrants during this period were of Italian, Slavic, and Asian descent. The proponents of racial selection thought that these races were inferior. They feared that immigrants could adapt more easily to urban life than the ‘native’ whites. Therefore, vetting would ensure that only a few immigrants entered America. Blacks and the so cal led colored people did not obtain a lot of benefits from the reforms. It was during this era that some controversial laws were enforced in some states. The Jim Crow laws allowed racial segregation. In this arrangement, black people were to be separated from white people. This meant that black people attended separate schools, visited separate hospitals, and travelled in separate buses from the ones used by white people (Washington 380). This was worsened by a court ruling that upheld the laws. The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation was not a big problem as long as all races were accorded equal opportunities. This meant that African Americans could not get good jobs. In addition, black people were often attacked or lynched especially in the southern states during the era (Kirby 70). During the era, black people were not granted equal opportunity to participate in national politics. This significantly hindered their ability to better themselves.Advertising Looking for es say on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The reforms were intended to solve problems that slowed progress. The major problems that progressives sought to solve included poverty, illness, and ignorance. However, these problems could only be solved if all members of the American society were granted equal access to opportunities. Denying African Americans and immigrants of certain races equal opportunity meant that these problems would persist in a section of the American society. Therefore, the so called progressive era did not have a significant impact on members of the ‘lesser races’. This paper examined racial relations during the progressive era. During this era, reformers desired to solve problems inflicting the American society. Some Americans like African Americans were not given sufficient opportunity to better themselves during this period. Works Cited Kirby, Jack,  Darkness at the Dawning: Race and Re form in the Progressive South, Philadelphia: J. P. Lippincott, 1972. Print. Washington, Booker, A New Negro For a New Century, Miami: Mnemosyne Publishing, 1969. Print. This essay on Race Relations during the Progressive Era was written and submitted by user Gibson A. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Like Serves Nouns and Pronouns, Not Verbs

Like Serves Nouns and Pronouns, Not Verbs â€Å"Like† Serves Nouns and Pronouns, Not Verbs â€Å"Like† Serves Nouns and Pronouns, Not Verbs By Daniel Scocco Like is associated with various uncouth usages â€Å"They were, like, all over the place†; â€Å"I was, like, ‘Really?’† common in speech but easily avoided (except for comic effect) in writing, but many people are unaware that another widespread usage is considered improper in formal writing. As a preposition meaning â€Å"similar to,† like is associated with nouns (â€Å"She entered the room like an empress†) and pronouns (â€Å"I don’t know anyone like him†). However, when the word connects one clause (a segment of a sentence that includes a subject and a verb) to another, it impersonates a conjunction: â€Å"He started dancing like his pants were on fire†; â€Å"I arranged the furniture like it had appeared before.† Note, though, that this usage, though ubiquitous in conversation and in informal writing, is not considered acceptable in formal writing; like should be replaced, respectively, by â€Å"as if† (He started dancing as if his pants were on fire†) or as: (â€Å"I arranged the furniture as it had appeared before†). Replacing as with â€Å"the way† is also acceptable: â€Å"I arranged the furniture the way it had appeared before.† (But beware of hypercorrection; as is erroneous when, with the same intent, it precedes a noun: â€Å"She entered the room as an empress† means that the subject literally became, rather than merely resembled, royalty. But â€Å"She entered the room as an empress would† is correct, because the emphasis is then on the subject’s action, not on the type of person the subject is compared to.) In the case of a sentence such as â€Å"Like many first-time visitors do, I stared, dumbstruck, at the vista before me,† either change like to as (â€Å"As many first-time visitors do, I stared, dumbstruck, at the vista before me†) or delete the verb at the end of the introductory phrase (â€Å"Like many first-time visitors, I stared, dumbstruck, at the vista before me†). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers50 Idioms About Fruits and VegetablesAppropriate vs. Apropos vs. Apt

Diganostic Radiography Image Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Diganostic Radiography Image Evaluation - Essay Example plate, a good quality image would need to fulfill certain physical criteria for an accurate diagnostic yield, although some parts of it are contributed to by technical soundness of the process of imaging and some are contributed to by the factors essentially related to the patient. Whatever may be the reason, a poor image quality compromises the diagnostic yield, and in some cases, a reading or a diagnosis is not possible, where the radiographic plate needs to be rejected, and re-examination is mandated (Beutel et al., 2000). In this assignment, an evaluatory report of a radiographic image will be presented with a critical discussion about the reasons for it being discarded and a re-examination being recommended. While evaluating an image, it must be borne in mind that evaluation of image is dependent on human vision as related to the examiner. Since radiographic images are essentially black and white, it is to be considered that ideal white light has flat spectrum in which all wavelengths of lights are present. In practice white light sources approximates this property. The light which has no colour or is achromatic such as in radiographic plates has only one descriptor, which is its brightness or grey value. This light has a saturation of 0% and it contains only white light. However, when the saturation varies, it becomes difficult to differentiate between two adjacent differing shades of gray which are considered to be mixtures of varying blacks and whites. Therefore, it is also to be noted that equal distances in physical intensity are not perceived as equal distances in brightness. This occurs due to the fact that intensity levels are dynamic and hence must be measured and indicated log arithmically. Intensity levels must be spaced logarithmically rather than linearly to accomplish equal steps in perceived brightness (Dougeni et al., 2007). The most important parameter of an image is its resolution. The perceived resolution is also determined by the imaging

Truth in Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Truth in Politics - Essay Example For Machiavelli, 'virtu' or skill as wielded by a ruler would make for a state that would thrive and protect itself from the machinations of enemy-states. War for Plato is essentially unjust and the only justification for it is for defending the state, while for Machiavelli a state exists to wage war against other states - thus, war, is a natural condition in a state's existence. Plato and Machiavelli also lived in different eras. For the former, philosophy is concerned with the truth, as embodied by principles and how things should be, and this concern would naturally result in a perfect society. For the latter, philosophy is allied with the realities of power, in how things are as they are. Philosophers in Plato's Republic are the only ones ideal to rule (and become kings) because they love and search for the truth - as opposed to the other two classes, the people who are mainly concerned with honor, and the masses, who are concerned with money and the indulgence of physical appetites. The philosopher-kings possess the quality of truthfulness who "will never intentionally receive into their minds falsehood, which is their detestation, and they will love the truth." Truth as conceived by Plato is absolute, dealing with the eternal and the unchanging, the "forms" opposed to the fickle, the merely seen and experienced.

Student Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Student Plan - Research Paper Example Nonetheless, in order to achieve my goals in each course unit and overall academics, I have to come up with a plan on how I will go about it in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Nonetheless, this paper is a purpose plan that will explore the goals that I have as far as my academics and profession is concerned. As a learner, I desire to achieve academic excellence, however, this narrows down to various aspects. In addition, as a professional, I desire to perform well in my profession, and experience a higher level of satisfaction. Nonetheless, this paper will address these issues in a more specific manner. Furthermore, this will be discussed in relation to this course, including the knowledge I have gained, and how this influences positively to my career and my level of knowledge. As an individual in the teaching profession, I consider a purpose plan important for my teaching practice. The reason I came up with the idea of a purpose plan is to help me enhance my profession, inclu ding my performance. I realized that I needed some sort of a direction to guide me through the journey to the achievement of my professional goals. Another factor that contributed to my development of a purpose plan is the desire to achieve academic excellence. ... Mainly, I have a purpose of improving my teaching methods. This will help me to ensure positive results in my learners, as well as in myself, especially with regard to performance and job satisfaction. With regard to my academics, I also have a purpose of ensuring positive outcome, thus excellent results. This therefore, includes an aim for high scores in this course unit, as well as the others. Apart from the excellent performance in academics, I also have a purpose of ensuring that I have learnt and mastered major skills that are related to academics. This mainly includes research, writing skills, communication skills, and report writing skill, among many others. Although I have learnt these skills, I have a purpose of ensuring that I have perfected in them. Professional Development Specifically, with regard to my professional development, I wish to accumulate different skills and a wide body of knowledge. According to Riley (2010), wide knowledge enables one to solve various chall enging situations that they experience in their profession. Nonetheless, through the study topics I have tackled in this course, I purpose to ensure professional development by attaining the advanced knowledge, values, and skills, which are all paramount for the development and advancement of my career. I also purpose to experience professional development through this course by gaining the skill of teamwork. With teamwork, I will be able to work effectively on collaborative tasks with my colleagues. In this course, I have had the opportunity to meet different people with whom I have worked and interacted with. Therefore, I should learn this and

Research: Buying behaviour and culture

Research: Buying behaviour and culture Data Analysis The following chapter aims to provide the reader with the results generated form the questionnaire distributed manually. The analysis and discussion is focused on evaluating the primary data in the line with objectives of the proposed study which is about Buying behaviour and culture. Respondent to Questionnaire: There are total of 80 Questionnaire was given to people belong to Pakistani community and only 33 Questionnaires are returned which is 41 % of total and taken for further research. Overall there are 59 % Questionnaires was not respondent and could not include for analysis. Feels Happy in Cultural Clothes: The below chart shows that females and males of almost all the category of ages considerably have strong point of view that it give them feelings of happiness when they wear their cultural clothes because it create a difference and also it gives them feeling of belonging to the traditional cultural as well. Cultural Clothes as Identity: The below Graph is showing that females of age 26-35 and also females of age 18-25 are significant believes that cultural clothes are their identity and the Males of middle age 36-49 and above 50 believes that cultural clothes are their identity. Here the difference between the Females and Males age difference shows that Female of Young age are more concern about their cultural identity as compared to Males because they mostly do not bother about clothing as cultural identity. Peer Group and Reference Group influencing: The below graph shows that females of age group 18-25 and age 26-35 consider the compliments of the family and friends for the destining and also males of age 18-25 and 26-35 believes that opinion of the family and friends are important follow for choice clothing. It shows tat Overall males and females of Pakistani community is influenced by the reference groups compliments and opinions. According to the studies about the Pakistani community it was observed that they have strong influences of peer group specially the family and parents who always give them guidance and opinion about their behaviour and culture. Cultural Influences for shopping of Clothes: The below Graph is about the point of view when Pakistani community looking for shopping .When people are going for clothes shopping they consider the cultural they belong as this graph shows that females of the community between age group of 18-25, 26-35 and 36-49 consider that culture influences the shopping for clothing but males have not shows the large impact of cultural for their shopping. According to studies carried for Pakistani community also discussed that people have strong feeling and believes about the culture and also feel happy when they do something depending on their culture. Western and Eastern Clothes Likeness between Old and New Generations: The below graph shows that New generation Strong believed that western clothes are good to wear and they like it. It show that Female and male of age between 18-25 and 26-35 are significantly agreed that they likes the western clothes and it is important for Marketers to know that this segment have strong view point about likeness of Western clothes. The blow graph shows that Old Generation likes the Eastern Clothes. If we look at graph it clearly shows that Females and Males of middle age 36-49 are more interested towards the eastern clothes and hey have strong believe that eastern clothes are good to wear. If we look at old and new generations Likeness about eastern and western clothes we can analysis that new generation likes more western clothes and they follow the western clothing trend as compared to old generation which is still following the eastern cultural clothes and fashion. It show that old generation have more impact of the cultural believes and values on them as compared to new generation. Religious Gathering and Traditional Clothes: The below graph show that females of all age consider that traditional clothing is important for religious gathering and they prefer to dress up according to the gathering requirements on this preference of traditional clothing males have not show he significant impact of gathering and traditional clothes which shows that females are more concerned about the traditional clothing as compared to males for the religious gathering. According to the Studies shows that Pakistani Community have strong religious, traditional, beliefs, Rituals which reflects in their buying behaviour which seen in research carried out as secondary research. If Western Brands Offer Eastern Clothes: The below graph shows that Pakistani community will feel happy if they can find eastern clothes in western brand shops like Asda and next etc. Females and males of young to middle age are strongly believed that it would be pleasure to shop when they can buy eastern clothes in western brands shopping. It is important to know about this segment point of view about this and Asda is already considering this eastern clothing for this segment and they are working good and people also showed their interest in this research (secondary research about Asda). If Eastern Shops Start selling Western Clothes: The below graph showing that people are somehow interested to buy western clothes if eastern shops start selling. But their point of view about this in both gender males and females are not significant considerably so it is telling about that they feel more happy to busy western clothes from western brand shops rather than eastern. It is important for marketers to know about this to start any new product for this community. Quality is more important than Price: The below Graph shows that Pakistani community have strong believe that quality is more important than price. Females and males both consider this that quality is more important and also this graph shows that young and middle age people are always considering quality as important factor to buy clothes. It shows that old age people are still not that much aware about the quality product they still try to consider the price and it is also social class factor that people look for the low price even if the quality is not good and it was seen in secondary research as well. According to secondary research about the Pakistani community also shown that people are brand lover yet they are still conscious about price as well because of exchange rate but as far as young generation they are not that much price conscious they are brand lover and take brand as status symbol it can be the reason that they are born here. Research Ethics: Research ethics is the appropriateness of how the researcher behaves in relation to the rights of the respondents who become the subject of the researchers work, or are affected by it (saunder et all 2003), Throughout the whole research there will need to be a consideration of the ethical issues. Ethnical responsibilities like honestly and with integrated work have been taken care. Fraud has been avoided to bring new finding by the research. Data analysis has been done on in right direction by using excel sheet. Conclusion: According to the secondary research and the result of primary research which is done by questionnaire shows that Pakistani community Have strong believes, values and ritual consideration when they are buying Clothes. They consider their culture as important factor and have strong influence towards shopping for dresses. Growth Prospects And Outcomes: Due to increase in Pakistani population and their economic status as leading high earning community with huge expenditure capacity, marketer should study more cultural and consumer buying Behavior of this community in UK market, by forming Pakistani consumer market segment, targeting and Positioning Pakistani consumer in UK to make business more profitable, expandable and providing better customer services. Currently there are few branded shops target perfectly the Pakistani consumer, but still to marketers need to understand the Pakistani consumer and explore their cultural influences to make this segment important. Further Research Due to limited resource of manpower and time, Research can be further carried out on larger scale, more geographically, aged group and big target consumer. Further researched is needed on Pakistani consumer buying Behaviour, understanding cultural and social characteristics and its implication. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens | Analysis Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens | Analysis Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Given the reputation and gravity of Oliver Twist, it is sometimes difficult to recall that this was only Dickens’ second novel, written and serialised in 1838. Moreover, it was a risky project because Dickens had won massive popular acclaim on the basis of his preceding novel, The Pickwick Papers (1836), which could not have been more different in its comic recording of the adventures of the ‘Pickwick Club’. Nevertheless, Dickens’ novel of the pauper child’s struggles in the wickedness of London’s thieves’ kitchens was to become one of his most enduring, popular successes, adapted for stage and screen multiple times since its inception and as popular today as when it was first published. When Dickens began Oliver Twist, he was a young man with a mission: to expose the evils of society’s treatment of such children as Oliver represents and expose the invidiousness of the contentious Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. From his birth in the workhouse, where he is ‘badged and ticketed’, Oliver is the essence of all that Dickens believes to be wrong with Victorian Society. Indeed, the author believed that by making his readers care about one such boy, he could make them care about many. Though it may be ‘a mistake to think of Oliver Twist as a realistic story’ it nevertheless contains enduring truths and such descriptions as ‘the paupers funeral in Chapter Five [were] also historically accurate’. The novel concerns the story of a child, born out of wedlock in the workhouse of ‘a certain town’. By refusing to name the town, Dickens is not only dismissive of all such places as not worth the ‘trouble’ of mentioning but also imposing a comprehensively applicable generic, as he is on the emblematic child himself. After a series of early struggles, set pieces, such as Oliver’s asking for ‘more’, having become so powerfully entrenched in the public consciousness as to make them almost clichà ©d,   Oliver becomes so desperate that he walks to London and is immediately sucked into the world of thieves and vagabonds which so powerfully populate the novel. A palpable concern with these characters, such as Fagin and Sikes, is that they are, in common with many of Dickens’ villains, more charismatic than the benevolent and certainly, one of the reasons readers continue to be drawn to the story is the evil genius that is Fagin, persis tently referred to as ‘the Jew’. This is in itself problematic in contemporary society, as the inherent anti-Semitism which attaches to Dickens’ descriptions of him are difficult for the modern reader to dispassionately assimilate. Yet, ‘in his rendering of Fagins gang and their surroundings, Dickens intended a realism that he felt was lacking in the popular crime fiction of the time, the so called ‘Newgate Novels’. Oliver finds some solace in the company of the urchin robbers, such as Dodger, nurtured by Fagin and in this the reader perceives a connection with Dickens’ own early struggles alone in London. When the intricacies of the plot deliver Oliver back and forth between what we later learn is his ‘natural’ environment, that of the upper-class Brownlow et al, a certain energy is removed from the novel until, via Nancy and Bill’s violent relationship and her betrayal of him to save the child, the appalling vitality of the story reappears. This complex relationship is in fact possibly one of the more contemporaneously resonant within the novel. Indeed, it is said that Dickens, when acting out the scene of Sikes murder of Nancy, frequently came close to physical collapse since this, combined with the insidious malevolence of Fagin that urged Sikes to it, is one of the more terrifying yet gripping moments in the book. Its potent appeal, indeed, may cause the reader to question his own moral sensibility in finding such wickedness such a compelling draw. It is, indeed, interesting to note that when David Lean filmed the novel so brilliantly in 1948, possibly due to censorship, he cut away from the violence to focus on Sikes’ dog desperately trying to escape. Nancy remains one of the finer and more subtle creations in a novel teeming with emblematic caricatures, her pain at betraying Bill fully revealed in her ‘confession’ to the character of whom she is in many ways the inverse, Rose, who cannot understand her compulsion to return to Sikes any more than Nancy can herself: ‘I dont know what it is, answered the girl; I only know that it is so, and not with me alone, but with hundreds of others as bad and wretched as myself. I must go back. Whether it is God’s wrath for the wrong I have done, I do not know; but I am drawn back to him through every suffering and ill usage; and I should be, I believe, if I knew that I was to die by his hand at last.’ Nancy is describing the purest of loves and by rendering a prostitute capable of such delicacy and depth of feeling Dickens was yet again giving a voice to those that had none. Both in his fiction and in his life, indeed, Dickens spoke out time and time again for those whom society, for one reason or another, ‘cast out’. In the final analysis, Dickens’ achievement in Oliver Twist is fundamental to its continuing appeal. It has, within its pages, the evocation of both the era in which it was set and the possibility of the perpetuation of evil which continues to dwell within mankind. Historically, one cannot imagine the possibility of a realisation of social iniquity which is beyond or above that realised in Oliver’s story and in this, the child does indeed, as Dickens intended, represent the small voice of the innocent against   the power and invidiousness of an uncaring mass. As an enduring emblem of the many, this one, lonely child, Oliver Twist, became, both contemporaneously and for future generations, a symbol of both the deep despair and profound hope he definitively embodies. Bibliography: Peter Ackroyd, Dickens, (Sinclair Stevenson, London, 1990). Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1999). John Forster, The Life of Charles Dickens in Two Volumes, (J.M. Dent Sons, London, 1966). Ruth Glancy, Student Companion to Charles Dickens, (Greenwood Press, Westport CT, 1999). F. Hopkinson Smith, In Dickenss London, (Charles Scribers Sons, New York, 1916). John Manning, Dickens on Education, (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1959). Steven Marcus, Dickens, from Pickwick to Dombey, (Basic Books, New York, 1965). John R. Reed, Dickens and Thackeray: Punishment and Forgiveness, (Ohio University Press, Athens, OH, 1995). Paul Schlicke, Dickens and Popular Entertainment, (Unwin Hyman, London, 1988). Types of Neighbourhoods: Exam Revision Types of Neighbourhoods: Exam Revision Malachi-Chaim Robinson Jason Rhodes Essay Exam 1 Part 1- Short Answer: Jacobs to contend there are only three types of neighborhoods: (1) the street neighborhood, (2) districts of 100,000 people or more, and (3) the city as a whole. This ideas definitely reflect in the idea of city planning. It is noteworthy to note that Jacobs considers these to be the ideal take on what a neighborhood to have in order to not be dependent on economics and that these three types of neighborhoods enable people to come together in unity and harmony and that is when the neighborhood is most successful. And also she believes that the continuity these neighborhood bring definelty help foster the social interactions among the people to have a healthy and safe environment. These three types are also related as they describe that the planning of a city needs to take place from the street level perspective and the goal needs to support and promote the vitality of city streets. And the biggest thing of how these are related is that the city is organized in a complex fashion. Thus , everything is interrelated and everything is related to everything. So any attempts to simplify anything hurts the people of the city and planning. Kevin Lynch was able to introduce urban designers to a new idea about the urbanism of a city. He focused on how the people in the city used and perceived the physical environment and not the traditional way by the use of learning about the city through maps. Lynch was able to gather his research after a five year long examination of the most important elements of the city perceived by the residents in that area and his goal reflected his vision of identifying the most important features to the people in that area. His core concept was the idea of â€Å"legibility† which is how easy the paths of the cityscape can be organized into a recognizable pattern. He conducted his research in three cities and identified the five key elements that make up the perceived elements of the city: path, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. The path consists of the channels along which the observer moves. This includes streets, paths, routes and this the single most important mechanism in the idea of promoting urban legibility because this is how people experience the city. And the idea that people are using paths constructed in their mental capacity demonstrates the idea of the promotion of legibility as they are able to recognize the paths of the cityscape. Landmarks are point references which are similar to nodes. Contrasting nodes, landmarks are external features to the individuals and where they enter during their travels. They are often physical structures and is extensive. Landmarks help promote the idea of urban legibility as they are used by people to help better understand and navigate the environment that was built. In â€Å"Building American Cityscapes,† Edward Muller argues that the American urban landscape reflects â€Å"a unifying consensus founded on a capitalistic economy and liberal social philosophy† (304). Basically, in lament terms, Muller is arguing that the characteristics of the American system ideals is written into the landscape and is shaped differently from other cities and countries. An example of this in the text is when he argues that ideally, the transformation of the American system has been transformed and impacted by the change from the original urban settlements in North America that reflected the derivative transplants of European societies (304). The furtherization from the idea of the founding roots built the nationwide enterprise of the current state and premise of which Muller argues of the capitalistic economy. The liberal social philosophy stresses the freedom and rights of the individual marked by the government protecting these fundamental rights. An example of this is in the text is when Muller said: â€Å"Substantial infusionsofdiverse immigrant groups have testedthissocial vision,butageneral adherenceto theliberal philosophyin agrowingeconomy diminished rigid class stratification, effected a sharing of the power and wealth with upwardly mobile generations, and produced a dynamic yet untidy social geography (304). Thus, changes and marks have impacted the environment and changed the way in how the environment is looked and perceived as the current American urban landscape according to Muller. And due to the new center of the economics at the center of the American landscape, these changes have been reflected the consequences by the geographical nature. Part 2- Essay Answer to Question 1: More and more people have been moving to the suburbia since the 1950’s and it has become the place to live. But, also to geographers it has become and study and a huge cultural discussion. Geographers have researched and tried to create a set of definitions or a criteria that defines a suburbia. In fact, contrary to popular belief while researching and trying to determine the suburb is from different approaches and cultural angles, it has been found that the concept and idea of the suburbia is a hotly discussed and popular issue among geographers. So many definitions are proposed for the suburbia, but geographers do agree on the fact there are few people who even understand the idea and concept in this world as to what a suburbia truly is. So what exactly is a suburbia? The urban settings are inside of the main city and urban areas have high population densities and lots of businesses that are centralized in that area in order for people and there is some stress on interpersonal relationships because of overcrowding. On the contrast, rural settings are completely different and are far from the city and the density of the population in the rural settings is low. Few businesses can cater to the people. The suburbia is the level between the rural and urban areas. It consists of neighborhoods that surrounds the city but not located in the centralized location of where people go or congregate to. The suburbia exists really on the outer edge districts and is characterized by housing area, some shopping avenues, and some schools. In James Howard Kunstler’s TED talk, he basically is able to dictate that public places should be inspired by the centers of civil life and the idea of common good. Also, he argues that he believes that there are locations or places in America that should not be worth caring about. Kunstler is a sense relates to the ideas and concepts proposed by Jane Jacobs. Jane Jacobs was an urbanist pioneer that examined how planners plan the city and the various concerns that arise when planning the city. She even researches as to what factors directly lead to the success of neighborhoods, sidewalks, and such. She has even contributed this success because of the rising demand for diversity. In Kunstler’s view we see his fear of the trust in the suburbia because no one cares to know each other and develop social interactions. People keep to themselves and there is a sense of a lack of trust in the eyes of the community among neighbors. This critique reflected the idea of Jacobs in s ense. Both agree that lack of trust and fear is evident among urbanism and both agree that if this problem is captured it can be definitely changed and impacted. Kunstler believes that if you get to know the people and environment around you, this can definitely have an impact on how the fear can be resolved in a sense. Jacobs, on the other hand argues for the development of surveillance. Even though the two have different solutions, both can agree on the concept that neighborhoods become successful when the problem is identified and fixed in the best way possible. Another concept that be realized is that both Jacobs and Kunstler agree on the fact that a change in the planning of the city needs to be in order to bring continuity in order to have social interactions in order to foster a healthy and safe environment, which Kunstler argues. In James Howard Kunstler’s TED talk, he basically is able to dictate that public places should be inspired by the centers of civil life and the idea of common good. Also, he argues that he believes that there are locations or places in America that should not be worth caring about. Kunstler is a sense relates to the ideas and concepts proposed by Kevin Lynch. Lynch was an urban farmer that was able to research and dissect on the perceptions and the navigation of the environment by the people in relation to city planning. He is able to examine how the external factors of the environment affects the people along with space and time. Lynch says that specific and definite elements such as the path, district, landmark, edge, and node exists in the complexity in every structure. Kunstler’s ideas as a stretched part on my end also reveals a want for the city to be transformed into an imageable landscape which is similar to Lynch. In fact, both can agree on the fact that the ci ty can be transformed into different view by considering the environment. If this is done, both also agree the people in that community can perceive the place with different perceptions and meanings. Thus, change can impact the people living in that area. Both Kunstler and Lynch both definitely share the idea that there needs to be a change in the development and planning of the city. Both Lynch and Kunstler stems from different backgrounds and different approaches ideally, but both argue on the same premise that the environment needs to be altered in order to impact the people around it. In a sense, the landscape of the environment are being shaped and reshaped by the social interactions and perceptions of what it should be in that particular area. It seems as if both Lynch and Kunstler seems to grasp the concept of the urban life and environmental images. In conclusion, Kunstler ideas seems to relate back to the pioneers of the great field of urbanism in this subject. There is a definite parallel of Kunstler’s work to Jane Jacobs and Kevin Lynch. Kunstler is definitely able to cover the history and development of the planning of specific cities and suburbs. He is able to critically examine how land have been used and misused, rather than for the collective group effort. Kunstler definitely blames the fall of suburbia due to the automobile industry and the destruction on the idea of what a community is in the idea of an urban sprawl. Kunstler definitely has some good points to show how history has shaped the ideas of neighborhoods. The fact alone is that Kunstler is a controversial figure. Reflection: Human Resources and CSR Reflection: Human Resources and CSR This essay would cover three major aspects of human resource management in my previous employment. HRM in my organization HRM and CSR HRM policies during recession Human resource management can be described as an approach to management that consider people as its key resources. For every organization their employees are the key resource for success. Without co-operation or commitment from employees, organizations cant achieve heights. In a broader sense HRM is defined as the part of management process that specializes in the management of people in work organizations.HRM emphasizes that employees are critical in achieving sustainable competitive advantage, that human resource specialists help organizational controllers to meet both efficiency and equity objectives'(The human resource management:Theory and Practice pg11) HRM in my organization In my limited experience I have seen a range of HRM activities by HRM professional in my organization.HR managers are considered as single point of contact for employees for all the HR related issues.HRM holds a significant role in managing employees in an organization. Behaviour theorists suggests that behaviour and performance of the human resource is a function of at least four variables: ability, motivation, role perception and situational contingencies.(McShane,1995). Strategic management of people has been considered as a primary goal for HRM. Strategies has been formulated at the organizational level by the senior management and then it has been distributed to the Business level and then to Functional level.HR managers has to leverage the organizational strategy to the line managers.HR managers has to motivate employees to achieve the common goal or the organizational strategy. HRM activities includes a range of activities from recruitment, training, appraisal and rewards.HR managers are linked to an employee from the time he joins the organization to the time he leaves the organization. An HR manager has to keep record of all the employees working in the particular organization. In my experience HR team conducts recruitment based on the requirement from each business unit to carry out a project.HR team first analyze the available internal work force and then if not found enough resources, then conduct recruitments. Appropriate candidates are shortlisted and then interviewed.HR manager role also includes planning induction training for the new joiners, creating training plan from the employees, making a buffer pool to manage surplus employees in the organization and also to take care of employee separation processes. In my personal view my previous employer Tech Mahindra limited follows Guest model of HRM. According to Guest model of HRM core set of HRM practices can achieve superior individual and organizational performance. The central hypothesis of HRM is that if an integrated set of HRM practices are applied in a coherent fashion with a view to achieving normative goals of high commitment, high quality and task flexibility then superior individual performance will result.(Braton, Gold : Human Resource Management:Theory and Practice pg21).In Techmahindra HR practices are performed in such a way that employees are given proper training and are rewarded properly so that their commitment to the organization will increase. They are made aware of the organizational strategy and the organizational goals. By doing like that each employee will work towards achieving that common goal. We also had a forum call JOSH which represents fun and entertainment of employees in the organization. JOSH club will o rganize events throughout the year so that employees can participate in those events and can relax from the work load. This will create a good work environment for the employees. I consider this as a good HR strategy to give employee a warm feeling in the organization. Picture adapted from Lecture2 hand out. I can clearly say that in my previous employment the HRM cycle was similar to the HRM Cycle developed by Fomburn(1984).Once the employee is selected to the organization then he will be evaluated yearly based on his performance. Manager will assign goals to employee that needs to be achieved during the financial year. At the end of financial year appraisal discussion will take place between employee and manager and will review how far the employee achieved his/her goals. Based on that if required manager will ask the employee to attend training programmes or if the employee performs exceptionally then he/she will be nominated for a reward and will receive a hike in his/her pay. HRM and CSR Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate conscience, corporate citizenship or corporate social performance, is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model.(Source: Wood, D. (1991)). CSR focused business promotes public interest by encouraging community growth and development and eliminating practices that harm public sphere regardless of legality. All major multinational firms have CSR policy associated with their organizational policy. All organization has a responsibility to the society. Many organizations follow different procedures for CSR.CSR based business promotes public interest by encouraging community growth and development. Organizations focus on growth of the community and society by implementing several welfare schemes.CSR is also considered as a welfare policy that each multinational firms or organization dedicate to the society. In my previous employment we had several schemes included in the CSR policy. In my organization it was considered as an initiative which is voluntarily undertaken by every employee to improve quality of life in the society.CSR reflects organizations brand and value by addressing societies most complex problems and try to bring a sustainable solution(source:TechMahindra website). HR policies are tailored in such a way that organizational and project goals are not affected by employee participation in CSR activities. Several issues that a society faces include lack of proper education in villages, lack of computer in some schools etc. So these issues are taken as part of CSR and each organization with the help of their employees tries to find out a solution. In my previous employment we have taken care of an orphanage. We have supplied them with all the necessary food, provided education and invited them for all the celebrations that we conducted in our office. All employees who are actively involved in the CSR spend valuable time with them when they visited our office. Similarly we have also conducted tree plantation and also implemented Go Green policy in office premises. We have taken up a rural village and provided education for women and children. Employees can actively participate in these programs during their free time and on weekends. We have Techmahindra foundation to help and support Education in rural areas, women empowerment and to support the needy. HR policies are made in such a way that employees can provide support to the foundation by giving donations or being a volunteer of the foundation to help and support the CSR activities. HR Policies during recession Every organization has a change in their organizational strategy during the economic recession time. Senior management has asked HR professionals to come up with a new HR strategy to deal with the financial crisis. The primary objective of senior management was to reduce cost and maintain financial stability in the organization. Due to financial crisis many organizations had to shut down their operations, many employees lost their job and those organizations that survived the crisis are due to proper organizational and HR strategies. Creative human resource management is necessary during the recession period. HRM function has to develop new ideas to bring change to HRM process. These changes bring change in the procedure in which an organization works. The main idea behind brining in new procedures is to reduce cost of the organization. Usually recession period is not considered as a good time to bring HRM Innovations. For most organizations during recession their policies and practices should be base lined on cost cutting In my previous employment, during recession period HR professional came up with a strategic plan to find out number of employees that are currently working on projects and employees that are not allocated to any projects. As cost cutting was one of the main objectives HR professionals implemented job rotation scheme so that employees that are working on a project is given an opportunity to work on another project where the organization was actually looking for an external resource. When they found that by job rotation the requirement of external candidate is not required as the internal employee was able to manage the new challenge. Another HR policy was to identify real key employees in the organization. This was done to ensure that key employees dont leave the organization during the recession time. They were made intact to the organization.HR professionals has also implemented some policies to find out employees that are not performing up to the expectation. Those employees were put in a job pool and have given opportunity to develop their skills and apply for new roles outside the organization. Most organizations were following lay-off scheme during the recession time as an easy way of cost cutting. In my organization we valued commitment of employees to the organization. So instead of relieving employees they were given a nominal amount as salary and a space to develop their skills. If an employee shows his/her skills then he/she will be taken back into project with the normal pay. During recession period HR officials were forced to revisit the training plans and make suitable arrangements so that trainings will not incur heavy cost for the organization. CONCLUSION I could clearly state that in my previous employment the HR strategy was intact with the organisational strategy, where the strategy was driven by HR. Resource based view of strategy was given more importance.HRM policies and practices should be tailored by considering employees as their key resources.

Cut by sylvia Plath Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Cut† Sylvia Plath Persona In terms of content the persona in â€Å"Cut† is Sylvia Plath herself. Plath was one of the first American women writers to refuse to conceal her true emotions. In articulating her aggression, hostility and despair in her art, she effectively challenged the traditional literary prioritization of female experience. Plath has experienced much melancholy and depression in her life. Scenario The scenario of the poem starts off in a seemingly domestic scene, perhaps preparing for dinner and develops into this amazing association and blurring of the physical and emotional senses, where a great joy has been found in an ‘accident’. Plath dedicates â€Å"Cut† to her new au pair (nanny), Susan O’Neill Roe as a â€Å"welcome to the family† gesture. It is most likely the au pairs thumb, which has been cut however Plath refers to it as her own thumb as a sign of empathy/psychosis. In the poem, Plath describes the feelings and sensations of deliberate self mutilation and the emotional release it brings. The cutting of the thumb can be viewed in a Freudian manner in which the incident occurred accidentally â€Å"on purpose† a parapraxis, having the effect of building up tension. Context The context in which the poem is taking place is in England, isolated away from all her family and friends, during the 1950's where Plath was the victim of a male-orientated sexist society and her poetry a choreography of female wounds. Values portrayed through â€Å"Cut† are Plath’s life of hardships from separation, divorce and as a single mother and poet. Through the remarkable consistent images that all â€Å"flow† from her very ordinary â€Å"accident† it is evident that this poem showcases a history of bloodshed through war, death, injury and maiming in the Western world and Plath’s family history Story The story of â€Å"Cut† is a rapid succession/conglomeration off sensations and images of violence and bloodshed throught history and its emotional relief. Plath chooses to use an ongoing metaphor of a battle between two armies. She is possibly one soldier who has lost much, while fighting the depression battle. This poem demonstrates Plath’s disconnection from humanity as for example she disassociates the thumb as being part of the body. The fact that she relates her cut to onions, with cooking as a household duty displaying her discontentment with her role as a housewife and mot... ...rill-â€Å" creates a colloquial level of language, where in this case an exclamation mark could have been used. Sounds A variety of language devices are employed to create tone for the poem. Sounds such as assonance is used in the line â€Å"a flap like a hat† with an emphasis on ‘t’ and taken off on ‘a’ coupled with dental ‘t’ and plosive ‘p’ evoking and mirroring the on/off nature of a hat, in reference to the skin that has been cut on her thumb. Internal assonance and consonance appear and disappear with unpredictability. This demonstrates signs of Plath’s mental illness. Also there is assonance in â€Å"little pilgrim, the Indian’s axed your scalp† where the chopping sounds evoke the movement. In conclusion, there is more than one implication of the word alone â€Å"cut† [hurt,injured,rejected,excluded]these are to mean: physically injured, rejected or wounded by people, excluded by living on own and bleeding in all senses and self mutilation. In the poem â€Å"Cut† by Sylvia Plath there is more to the poem than moods and feelings through the use of context and technique. For instance images,sounds,tones,rhythm,rhyme and form which all add up to an effective poem with textual integrity.

Democracy in Nigeria Essay

By May 2009, Nigeria’s nascent democracy should have been a decade. Thus, the thrust of this paper is an in depth analysis of the possibility of sustaining democratic values beyond any sudden reversal. The. paper however, takes a cursory look at the daunting challenges ahead and infers that unless the government increases social expenditure and truncate the current brazen corruption, the hope of democratic consolidation may eventually be a mirage. Key words: democracy, nascent, corruption, state law and order As rightly collated by Decalo1, the events in Africa took scholars by surprise, since most doubted Africa could move towards democracy. Even in the mid-1980’s, one argued that by reason of their poverty or the violence of their politics, African states were unlikely to move in a democratic direction. Another adding that â€Å"to have expected democracy to flourish would have been historical blindness†3, since ‘outside the core (industrialized states) democracy is a rarity, support for Tilly’s thesis ‘why Europe will not occur again – with a few exceptions, the limits of democratic development in the world may well have been reached4. However, despite the doubts and skepticisms openly expressed by scholars, Nigeria, like several other African countries, became democratic. On May 29, 1999 Nigeria became a ‘democratic’ state. Prior to 1999 political transition, Nigeria was under firm military autocracy and absolutism for close to 29 years (since 1966), when the military made their first incursion into Nigeria’s government and politics, following the collapse of the first republic5. It is vital to note that authoritarian governments were interrupted only by a brief period of civilian rule in the Second Republic (1979-1983)6. Thus, Nigeria’s march to constitutional democracy was a chequered one marked by anti-colonial struggles, crises, coups, counter-coups, and a thirty-month agonizing civil war between 1967 and 1970. So far, Nigeria has passed through several phases in her democratization bid viz: (a) era of colonial autocracy and absolutism, that is, period of formal colonialism till October 1st 1960, when the country gained ‘flag’ independence; (b) emergence of constitutional democracy – (1960-1966), (c) the return of military autocracy and absolutism – (1966-1979); (d) restoration of constitutional democracy – (1979-1983); and (e) the second coming of military autocracy and absolutism – (1983-1989) . 7 Since 1989, that Nwabueze made that observation, the polity has added more phases to her democratization bid. With the inglorious ‘stepping aside’ of General Ibrahim Babangida’s administration in 1993, an Interim National Government (ING) was put in place, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, handpicked by an unelected military President (General Babangida), thereby making the ING suffer a serious legitimacy crisis ab initio6. The interim contraption collapsed after eighty-two days, following the declaration that it was illegal by a Lagos High Court in a suit instituted by the assumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election – Chief M.  K. 0. Abiola. Cashing-in on the court verdict, General Sani Abacha staged a coup d’etat, dissolved all the extant democratic structures retained by the ING, and once again, returned the country to a fiilJ blown military dictatorship. It was in this state of confusion that Gen. Abacha died in June 8,’ 1998 in a mysterious circumstance. Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, who took over after the demise of Gen. Abacha, who h ad a transition programme reputed to be the shortest in the annals of military-midwife political transitions in Nigeria. Eventually, barring all odds, Gen. Abubakar handed over the reins of government to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (a retired general) in 1999. With the inauguration of Chief Obasanjo’s civilian administration in 1999, hopes were high once again that democracy would be sustained and consolidated. But alas, the military background of Chief Obasanjo became a serious liability on the system when the supposedly democratic government became a replica of dictatorship in its entire facet. By 2003, after the expiration of his first term, his administration conducted a general election, and handed over to itself. This election was generally perceived to have been massively rigged. 9 In 2007, at the expiration of his administration’s constitutionally mandated second term, another general election was conducted to usher in another civil government. This election was remarkable in a number of ways. First, it was after eight tumultuous years of democracy – the longest period since independence from the United Kingdom in I960. 0 Secondly, for the first time in the history of the country, there was a civilian-civilian transfer of power. It would have been even more remarkable if there had been a transfer of power from the ruling party to the opposition. † Meanwhile, the thrust of this paper is an indepth analysis of the major challenges facing the nascent democracy in Nigeria to prevent it from the threats of authoritarian repression or what David Beetham calls â€Å"reverse waves†. 2 It is to these anti-democratic forces that could lead to democratic reverse which had taken place in Mauritania recently via a military coup d’etat that we now turn to. (A) As I have argued elsewhere13, quantitative cross-national research on the economic determinants of democracy and democratization generally consistently reveals that a country’s level of economic development is associated positively and strongly with the extent to which the political systems manifest properties of democracy. There is, therefore, a two-way causal relationship between the economy and sustainable democracy; the state of the economy is the determinant of enduring democracy, but democracy is a key pre-requisite for sustainable economic transformation. The message is: ‘oroad-based economic prosperity sustains democracy, whereas widespread poverty and ignorance undermine it. To mimic President Clinton of U. S. when he was running for office in 1992, ‘it is the economy, full stop! ’14 No doubt. Nigeria is potentially Africa’s largest economy. Every year, the country produces over 200,000 graduates of tertiary institutions (including 65 universities), has the 6th largest gas reserves in the world, eighth largest oil producer (with abundant, but largely untapped natural resources – gold, limestone, among others), and with 60 percent of its arable land lying fallqw. In the words of Soludo (2005), Nigeria has also millions of its citizens in Diaspora (with estimated 100,000 Nigerian medical doctors and scientists abroad). Unfortunately, was not lucky in the first 40 years of its independence with sustained good political governance. In his perceptive public lecture, Charles Soludo, Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor,16 noted further that democracy has not been endured in Nigeria simply because the economic numbers did not add up; whereas, democracy and indeed any form of government must deliver tangible economic benefits to the generality of the citizenry to be credible and sustainable. In a seminal article on ‘What Makes Democracy Endure’, Prezeworski found the empirical evidence that: Once a country has a democratic regime; its level of economic development has a very strong effect on the probability that democracy will survive †¦ emocracy can be expected to last an average of about 8. 5 years in a country with per capita income under $2,000; 33 years between $2,000-$4,000 and 100 years between $4,000-$6,000 †¦ Above $6,000 democracies are to live forever. No democratic system has fallen in a country where per capita income exceeds $6,033. 17 Be that as it may, most African states have few economic potentials of any significance (many literally nothing) that could attract foreign risk capital, which is why entrepreneurs did not flock into them in the past, irrespective of ideology or level of democracy! And to rely on local capital to fuel development is to foredoom many to perpetual marginality. 18 Taking a cue from the same line of argument, Akintunde19, while rationalizing the reasons for the demise of democracy in the first republic, postulated that a democracy which is not founded upon a secure economic base is not likely to succeed because it lacks an essential condition of efficiency. It is unable to fulfill the expectations of its citizens; in the common parlance, it cannot deliver goods. So significant is the economic base that many people have surmised that even communist countries, as they become wealthier, will come to resemble western democracy more and more20. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, as in most of the developing countries, due largely to the poor economic base, the middle class is a very small minority of the population. Western democracy is, therefore, not securely founded because it lacks one of the essential ingredients of success – an influential middle class. This fact, which is sometimes a surprise to African leaders21, was well known to Aristotle more than two thousand years ago. According to Aristotle, ‘when democracies have no middle class and the poor are greatly superior in number, trouble ensues and they are speedily ruined’. The nexus between democracy and the strength of the economy reveals that those who are not rich usually confined to mere voting, political career thus become the privilege of those who are wealthy enough to afford the leisure to devote to politics in most western countries, until the advent of Trade Union M.  Ps. 23Thus, while blaming the politicians, it is worth repeating that, by embarking on western democracy on an inadequate economic base, the Fourth Republic was set on a death course, it was bound to be corrupt. 24 The same scenario is playing itself out in Nigeria presently. No doubt, it is a daunting task in the face of the aforementioned historical evidence to sustain democracy in an economy like Nigeria, where per capita income has been below the $1,000 mark. That, according to Prezeworsk25, poses a serious threat. Considering the nexus between democracy and the economy vis-a-vis the expectation of an average African, Claude Ake (of blessed memory) averred that: The ordinary people of Africa are supporting democracy as a second independence. This time they want independence not from the colonial masters, but from indigenous leaders. They want independence from leaders whose misrule has intensified their poverty and exploitation to the point of being life threatening. And they are convinced that they cannot now get material improvement without securing political empowerment and being better placed to bring public policy closer to social needs. [Nonetheless] democracy is being interpreted and supported in ways that defeat those aspirations and manifest no sensitivity to the social conditions of the ordinary people of Africa. Generally, the political elites who support democratization are those with no access to power and they invariably have no feeling for democratic values. They support democratization largely as a strategy of power†¦Ã‚  The people can (only) choose between oppressors and by the appearance of choice legitimize what is really their disempowerment. 26 In line with the above postulations, Jerry Gana (a one-time Information Minister) admitted, too, that: You know the mentality of our people. If democracy does not produce clean water, if democracy does not produce good roads, transform agriculture, cultivate industrial development, sanitise society, give us power supply, democracy will lose credibility and they may say, na democracy we go chop? 7 The caveat is that where democratic processes do not yield economic returns, a regression to dictatorship cannot be ruled out. This point is clearly stated by Larry Diamond thus: †¦ Many new democracies in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa will probably breakdown in the medium to long run unless they can reduce their often appalling levels of poverty, inequality, and social injustice, and through market oriented reforms lay the basis for sustainable growth. When this is juxtaposed with the admittance by the Central Bank in its 2008 firs’; quarter report released to the public29, the economy is in perpetual crisis. The Apex Bank attributed the high rate of inflation in the country to the erratic power supply. According to the report, the inflation rate on a year to year basis was 7. 8 percent, compared to 6. 6 percent and 5. 2 percent recorded in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2007. The report noted further that inflation rate on a 12-month roving average basis for the first quarter was 5. 8 percent compared with 5. percent recorded in the preceding quarter. Indeed, nothing can be more soothing to the nation’s debilitating power crisis, largely fingered for stunting the economy, rendering it comatose and occasioning a declining industrial sector, whose capacity utilization nosedived to a paltry 20 percent by the end of 2006. Epileptic power supply, a very prohibitive business climate and in consistency in government policies, have combined to smother the country’s industrial sector leading to the closure of multinationals, like Michelin, Panalpina, and other notable firms. The shrinking of the textile sector from 170 in the 60s, 70s, and 80s to 10 in the 90s, also evinces the acute nature of the problem. The recent disclosure by the House of Representatives Committee on Power, which probed the power sector that the country now generates less than a pitiable 1,000 megawatts, makes mockery of the country’s vision of becoming one of the 20 largest and most resilient economies by 2020, compared to South Africa, a country of 42 million people, which generates over 42,000 megawatts. Much of Nigeria’s investment in the power sector has been enmeshed in corruption and enthralled in the lust of the political elite for primitive accumulation. 31 The concomitant effect of poor economy is lingering with the poverty problem. Nigeria’s poverty conundrum has assumed a frightening dimension. In the words of Dr. Magnus Kpakol, Senior Special Assistant to the President and National Coordinator of National Poverty Eradication Program, in a public lecture entitled â€Å"Poverty Solution: The Role of Government in Poverty Eradication† declared that: The number of poor Nigerians could be, put at an estimated figure of 70 million †¦ n 1980, the figure was 28. 1 million. 1985, 46. 3 million; 1992, 42. 7 million; 1996, 65. 6 million and 1999,70. 0 million, 2004,54. 4 million. 32 He gave the statistical breakdown along the six regional levels to be â€Å"North-East, 72. 2 percent; South-East, 26. 7 percent; South-South 31. 5 percent; South-West 43. 1 perc ent; North-Central 67. 0 percent; and North-West, 71. 2 percent†. 33 Undoubtedly, something must be wrong somewhere, for a critical official poverty statistics, which revealed that over half of Nigeria’s 150 million population are poor, is unexplainable going by the abundant human and material resources in the country. The economy was so gloomy that 2007/2008 United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) Human Development Index (HDI) ratings placed Nigeria at 158th position out of 177 countries. 34 No doubt, democracy is endangered in Nigeria more than ever before. Poverty, want, and squalor are anti-democratic forces in the polity. The only exception is Indian democracy, which has long baffled theorists of democracy. Democratic theory holds that poverty, widespread illiteracy, and a deeply hierarchical social structure are inhospitable conditions for the functioning of democracy. But the historical novelty of Indian democracy was noted by Barrington Moore: Economically (India) remains in the pre-industrial age †¦ But as a political specie, it does belong to the modern world. At the time of Nehru’s death in 1964, political democracy had existed for seventeen years. If imperfect, the democracy was no more sham †¦ Political democracy may seem strange both in an Asian setting and one without an industrial revolution. 36 To avert recapitulation, my earlier work glaringly with empirical data proved the pathetic downslide of Nigeria’s economy over the years with the attendant threat to democratic sustenance. 7 Bruce Baker too in his perceptive piece emphasized much the strength of the economy and sustainable democracy. As a corollary to the aforementioned weak economy, the state, in terms of being weak or strong, matters to the study of threats to democracy both from within and without, as well as one of the common modes of failure of democracy and democratization. 39 Perhaps, the greatest manifestation of a weak state vis-avis sustainable democracy is that it cannot successfully administer a true and fair credible election which is the kernel of democracy. No doubt, one of the. fundamental problems that post-colonial African states are facing is that of how to sustain and consolidate democracy through credible elections. 40 In the whole continent of Africa, few states could lay claim to having genuinely conducted free and fair elections as universally perceived. Hence, election administration that will attain governmental legitimacy after polls has always been a serious concern to electoral scholars. 41 The reason for this is not far-fetched. It is well known that most new states in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are too weak for the assignment. This is why state capacity is one of the major prerequisites for democratic nurturing, sustenance, and consolidation. In the extant literature on democratization and state capacity generally, five elements are crucial to the strength of the state vis: (a) monopoly of the coercive power of society, that is, control of instrument of coercion; (b) the right to improve tax and collect revenue; (c) the power of legal enactment, that is, power to make laws; (d) sovereignty over territory and society; and (e) control of the institutions of the state or state apparatus, i. . bureaucracy. 42 These five elements taken together constitutes the basis of state power and they endow the state with the status of statehood. However, it needs be emphasized that nation states which qualify for the status of statehood may differ in their degree of stateness; some are strong states, and others are weak. No doubt, Nigeria falls into the category of weak or soft states. Like others in her category, Nigeria runs a system, one in which formal rules (laws, officially stated administrative rules and practices, etc. are applied copiously and in a lax manner rather than rigorously and consistently. It is one in which private advantage can be gained and private bargains struck concerning the enforcement or non-enforcement of the rules as when a businessman bribes a tax official. Besides money, another inducement is kinship sentiment while another is the favour of superiors. The consequential effect is that in several cases, individuals may be too powerful than the state in which the rule of law is abused with impunity. Cases of such were too numerous to be mentioned during the last Nigeria’s general elections in April 2007. 43 In a nutshell, the stronger the state in all ramifications, the better for deepening of democratic values in Nigeria. This can be achieved via the entrenchment of state institutions cum congruent political behaviour by the political elite. Perhaps the most crucial of all imperatives for the consolidation of Nigeria’s nascent democracy is the restructuring of the lopsided and structurally imbalance federal arrangement. As rightly noted by Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth: At the heart of the several conflicts plaguing the Nigerian state today is the consequence of the failure of the practice of true federalism. The power shift debate that characterized the politics of transition from military to civil rule and which has persisted several months after, rose largely out of the frustration of large segments of the population with the structure of the political system that has shut significant sections out of the corridors of power for most of the post-independence period. 4 With Nigeria being one of the most complex societies in Africa, federalism was adopted to integrate the plural and divided societies. This is in line with the perception of early generation of students of inter-group relations or plural societies, which considered federalism an effective way of achieving and preserving both integration and stability in deeply divided societies. Whenever events seemed to demand that a compromise is affected between the necessity for unity and cooperation on a wide territorial basis, â€Å"the temptation is to proffer catch all management formula, such as federalism .. >>45 This tendency to see federalism as a magic wand that can channel irreconcilable inter-ethnic hostility into conciliation and federal cooperation was subscribed to by Carnell, thus: â€Å"in tropical area characterized by extreme cultural and ethnic diversity †¦ federalism comes as something of a political panacea†. 4 In a nutshell, federalism is considered the most appropriate framework for governing multi-ethnic societies. However, recent events in Nigeria clearly demonstrate that the polity is far from being a federation, or alternatively as has been suggested, that Nigeria is not a true or real federation. 47 Since 1954, when the foundation of classical federation for Nigeria was laid,48 the system is still far from being problem-free. The story is that of both ‘political and governmental instability’. 49 Worst still, Nigeria’s ethnic make-up remains what Furnival calls â€Å"in the strictest sense a medley (of people) for they mix but do not combine†.