Press Censorship Essays - Censorship, Historical Revisionism

Press Censorship There are many kinds of censorship within our school system. Such as press Censorship, we aren't aloud to express freely among our school's newspaper nor yearbook. I believe that we should be able to write anything that the student wants to see on the newspaper. Equivalent to the yearbook, students should be able to have the right tosay whatever they want for a SENIOR quote. Freedom of the press ensures Americans great freedom of choice in what they can read and see. This should also apply to our community public schools, we should be given the right inside school just as much as outside. Its like a fellow classmate said today in class, "Its like we are not in America anymore when we step onto school grounds." I believe in this point that he made because it is just like that. Our freedoms are limited in a way to where we can barely express ourselves within the school newspapers and yearbook. One type of publication that has never been given First Amendment protection is obscenity. This is one thing that I can agree with; certain things are absolutely immoral and inappropriate, such as pornography and foul language to an extent. However, the rules and regulations of our schools newspaper and yearbook need to be a little more just, to fit our rights of press. I would like our school to be among the first to allow the students almost every right to print whatever they would like to write about. But, not every freedom is absolute.... If they were, our school system would be in total chaos.

The Race

The Race Descriptive-Narrative Essay The day had come! I had won, crossing the sprayed white finish line on the scorching black rubber track. My high sense of excitement warred against the total fatigue of my body. Time suspended itself in a single frame, trapped in a perfect crystal. This day seemed mystical and felt like it could only be accomplished in the most vivid of dreams.May 22, 2000 contained the greatest event of the entire track season, the Mid Miami League Championship. To even compete in this historic event proved that a track runner deserved to be remembered forever in the history books. I was a part of the proud few chosen to represent our school, the Miamisburg Vikings. I was ready to do battle for my school, like a devoted soldier ready to defend his country. Annihilation of all competition in the one hundred meter hurtles remained my only objective.Aerial view of Miamisburg, a city in southern Mont...The one hundred-meter hurtles stretched before my gaze. There were ten- bl ack and white, perfectly spaced, their peeling structures showing their age over the years. They rested upon the burning hot serpent that displayed its distinctive white lines running parallel down its black skin. The competition seemed grim and desolate. I knew this race was mine until I saw the evil one destined to bring my doom.His name, Randy Smith. Stone cold gray eyes and wild jet-black hair instantly put a fear in my body greater than that of the dark. His body, strong and lean, looked as if chiseled from a rare diamond of a supernatural realm. I watched as he paced back and forth with an unholy look of determination in his eyes. He turned to see me studying him and arrogantly walked over. With authority he said, "Hey Chris, you better be feeling good today,

Understanding Splinter Words in English Grammar

Understanding Splinter Words in English Grammar In  the branch of linguistics known as morphology, a splinter is defined as a fragment of a word used in the formation of new words. Examples of splinters include  -tarian  and -terian (from vegetarian, as in the coinages eggitarian,  fisheterian, and meatatarian)  and -holic (shopaholic, chocoholic, textaholic, foodaholic). The splinter is formally identical to a clipping, but whereas clippings function as full words, splinters do not (Concise Encyclopedia of Semantics, 2009). The morphological term splinter was  coined by linguist J.M. Berman in Contribution on Blending in  Zeitschrift fà ¼r Anglistik und Amerikanistik, 1961. Examples and Observations English has lots of splinters, among them tastic, as in funktastic or fishtastic, which is used to form mostly ironic words meaning excellent or great in reference to X, originally from fantastic, or licious, as in bagelicious or bootielicious, which is used to form words meaning appealing in reference to X, originally from the word delicious. The difference between a splinter and a true suffix is that speakers understand splinters  in relation to the original word from which the ending splits off. If these bits survive and continue to give rise to new forms, though, they might someday be real suffixes!(Rochelle Lieber,  Introducing Morphology, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2016)Blends, unlike regular compounds, are . . . based on analogy rather than on rules. For instance, the occurrence of the splinter -licious (from delicious) in beaulicious and bootylicious has attracted some new coinages: e.g. Girlicious (a musical lady trio), Kittylicious (referring to Hello Kitty mov ies), and Lehrers (2007) jocular blendalicious.(Elisa Mattiello, Extra-Grammatical Morphology in English: Abbreviations, Blends, Reduplicatives, and Related  Phenomena. Walter de Gruyter, 2013) What Happens to SplintersSplinters arise through the process of blending . . .. Thus, -nomics in Thatchernomics is a splinter, recurring in Reaganomics, Rogernomics, Nixonomics, etc.Splinters may have any one of three possible fates. They may disappear. I suspect that this is what has happened to -teria (a splinter from cafeteria which had a brief flourishing in words like washeteria but now seem to have become unavailable). They may become productive affixes. This appears to be what has happened with -nomics, cited above, although it is of very low productivity. They may become independent words. This is what has happened to burger, originally a reanalysis from hamburger which shows up in beefburger and cheeseburger.Since splinters may turn into affixes or words, we appear to have a situation where it is not clear whether new forms using the splinter will be derivatives or compounds. The -scape which emerged from landscape might be a case in point, though the Oxford English Dictiona ry lists so many instances of its being used independently that there can be little doubt as to its status as a word now. On the other hand, if we believe the Oxford English Dictionary, -cade (from cavalcade into motorcade) has become an affix.(Laurie Bauer, The Borderline Between Derivation and Compounding, in Morphology and Its Demarcations, ed. by Wolfgang U. Dressler. John Benjamins, 2005) Splinters in Blends[Blends] may be composed of two elements called splinters (ballute from balloon and parachute), or only one element is a splinter and the other element is a full word (escalift from escalator and lift, needcessity from need and necessity). . . . A special punning effect is achieved when one constituent echoes in some way the word or word-fragment it replaces, for example, foolosopher echoing philosopher, or fakesimile, echoing facsimile.(Pavol Ã…  tekauer, English Word-Formation: A History of Research, 1960-1995. Narr, 2000)

New Public Management in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

New Public Management in the UK - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the traditional model ÃŽ ¿f public administration is based on the bureaucracy theory. It is characterized as "an administration under the formal control ÃŽ ¿f the political leadership, based on a strictly hierarchical model ÃŽ ¿f bureaucracy, staffed by permanent, neutral and anonymous officials, motivated only by the public interest, serving any governing party equally, and not contributing to policy but merely administrating those policies decided by the politicians." The traditional model ÃŽ ¿f administration was an improvement compared to the earlier one, which was regarded as the replacement ÃŽ ¿f personal administration with an impersonal system based on rules. Indeed these were central concerns ÃŽ ¿f philosophers such as Aristotle in ancient Greece, Confucius in ancient China, and Machiavelli in medieval Italy. But the conception ÃŽ ¿f the activist, bureaucratic state, despite its earlier parallels, is in practice an essentially twentieth century phenomenon. The characteristics ÃŽ ¿f this bureaucratic state were set out most clearly by the German sociologist Max Weber in 1920, with strong echoes ÃŽ ¿f earlier writings by the American Woodrow Wilson: "There should be a clear separation between politics and administration, and therefore distinct roles for political leaders (normally elected) and state officials (normally appointed)."Administration should be continuous and predictable, operating on the basis ÃŽ ¿f written, unambiguous rules.... These principles were easily adapted to bureaucratic structures. A final addition to the traditional model was the application f the insights f social psychology, in a 'human relations' approach which is often contrasted with the scientific management approach, but in practice sought to achieve greater efficiency f performance too, though by paying attention to the need to motivate workers rather than merely control and direct them (Hughes, 1998, 35-6). Unfortunately, the ideal bureaucracy model had never happened in the real life. The critique f the traditional model is based in a comparison f the 'ideal' model f bureaucracy with what happens in real systems f public administration. Due to the limitations, the practice f traditional model resulted in the overlarge government constitution and inefficient political operation in the late 1970's in most developed countries such as UK and USA. Associated with the new development f economic and organizational theories, the idea f New Public Management" (NPM) became more and more popular. Those theories are coherent challenging with the problem f traditional model. The first challenge comes from the market economic aspect, which is concerned with the public choice. The public choice theory argues who is able to make the best choice, the government or the individual Public choice advocates the maximisation f choice by individuals for both individual freedom and efficiency reasons. Dunleavy (1986) describes people are "rational actors" because they always seek the biggest possible benefits and the least costs in their decisions. Meanwhile the bureaucrats in the traditional model will attempt to

Gulf War 1990-1991 war and it's affects on natural life Essay

Gulf War 1990-1991 war and it's affects on natural life - Essay Example According to United Nation Environmental Program, approximately 25-30 million barrels of crude oil was directed to sea. In addition, approximately 14 thousands tones of toxic smoke were released to the atmosphere. This led to acid rain. In addition, land spills became rampant. The Kuwait desert was left being inhabitable and people had to move to other areas. However, the water ecosystem was the most affected. Once the rain fell, all water that had oil was drained into the sea. This led to mass death of various sea inhabitants. This affected the aquatic food chain. Fish industry in Kuwait was thriving before the war. For instance, it was yielding approximately 120 thousands tones of fish each year (Finlan 92). However, this figure dropped drastically. This is because most of the fish died because of lack of adequate oxygen. In addition, plants were unable to thrive in the water because it was covered with oil. This made some fish to migrate to other areas. Other species that were als o affected by the oil spill include hawksbill turtles, dugongs, migratory birds, and sea snakes. By the time the war ended, the damage on sea was more than

Ferdinand and Miranda Essay Example for Free

Ferdinand and Miranda Essay How does Shakespeare present the encounter between Ferdinand and Miranda from lines 450-499? The encounter between Miranda and Ferdinand in lines 450-499 of The Tempest is presented using three characters, Miranda, Ferdinand, and Prospero. Miranda and Ferdinand have fallen in love at first sight to Prosperos delight, though he doesnt want them to fall in love too quickly or interfere with his plans, so he lies to Miranda about Ferdinands unworthiness and then charms Ferdinand from moving. Miranda is presented as a helpless damsel distressed by the way her father handled this situation. If the ill spirit have so fair a house, Good things will strive to dwell witht These are Mirandas first words in these lines saying that physical beauty is a sign of proper morals and righteousness. This was an axiom during the renaissance period, hinting that she is only wise enough to state the obvious argument. After Ferdinand is charmed from moving she says, Hes gentle and not fearful. This sounding like she believes he is courageous, but more likely she is emphasizing his gentleness and compassion. These short interjections present Miranda as useless to the entire dispute. There are only three lines of verbal exchange between Miranda and Ferdinand, My father is of a better nature, sir, Than he appears by speech. This is unwonted Which now came from him. This shows Mirandas inexperience with men as she is almost too shy to say anything at all. Ferdinand is depicted as a good-looking man, with the normal qualities that come along with royalty such as courage, and a heroic nature. I will resist such entertainment (treatment) Till mine enemy has more power. This expresses Ferdinands royal nature, as he is accustomed to overpowering all enemies. After prospero commands his attention, accuses him of falsely bearing the title of the prince of Naples, and asks for him to obey his every word, Ferdinand says, No, as I am a man. This explains Ferdinand is used to getting what he wants and being adored by all and has previously given out orders rather than taken them. Finally, Ferdinand gives up arguing prospero, Might I but through my prison one a day Behold this maid He pledges his heart to Miranda saying that he doesnt care if he gets punished as long as he can see this girl. But both of these characters are dwarfed by Prosperos powers and wisdom. Prospero is the centre of all talk in these lines, as both of the younger characters are pleading to Prospero to let them live out their love for one another, though neither can match the sorcerers power, Come from they ward, For I can here disarm thee with this stick And make thy weapon drop. Here is the suggestion that prospero is the mightiest of all men, as his stick can defeat any armed man. His wisdom is also expressed through the use of proverbs, What, I say, my foot my tutor? This asserts Prosperos paternal control over Miranda as well as proving that prospero is a man of great intellect. All of Prosperos aside passages allow the audience to see through his eyes, (aside) They are both in eithers powers, but this swift Business I must uneasy make. Here we are told that prospero, despite the fact that he is pleased with his daughters love, is planning to put Ferdinand through menial tests, possibly to keep him from disturbing his plans. Seeing this passage through Prosperos eyes gives the audience a sense that he overwhelms the others in power and wisdom. Shakespeare has made Prospero the key to the presentation of this encounter.

Educational Goals and Philosophy :: Teaching Teachers Education Essays

Educational Goals and Philosophy My idea of the perfect teacher is one that gets the right message across to all students. The perfect teacher would show his or her students good morals and ethics, and still yet deliver to the students what is in the text. The teacher would not necessarily have to teach straight from the book, but just getting the message across is the key. That might even involve a field trip or a hands-on activity, as long as students learn the best way. The best way to learn in my classroom will be the fun way. I will try my best to be as close to the perfect teacher that I can be. I will look at teaching through three of the four philosophical standpoints: idealism, realism, and pragmatism. The most emphasis will be placed on idealism. This is because I want to look at myself as a role model for the children. I also don’t believe in sending students to the office unless it is absolutely necessary. Kids this day in time don’t mind being sent to the office because they don’t want to do the class work anyway. It would only be doing them a favor to send them to the office. I am about half and half on realism. Some of the realist strategies would be very useful in the classroom but there are some I absolutely don’t agree with. I would really like to incorporate technology into the classroom because it is necessary for all children to master technology in the age we live in today. The rules and regulations will also be posted in the class at the beginning of the school year. However, students will not be grouped according to how good their test scores are. From pragmatism I will look at the classroom as a community of learners and apply problem-solving techniques. The students will also learn by engaging in activities first-hand, they do this because when the students start to get bored with what they are doing they quit learning.

Week 6 Individual Project

Week 6 Individual Project Introduction A new innovative warehouse system it is been introduced to ease the movement of items in warehouses this system includes autonomous mobile vehicles which will move quickly through the warehouse and load and move orders to the fulfilment platform. An entrepreneur, Dr Ryan O'Neal, and an investor, Jeff Hoffman investing $12 million in this project as a startup capital, Dr O'Neal have a good deal of experience in mobile robotics while Jeff Hoffman is an investor with a rich experience in warehouse management, supply chain management, and fulfillment technologies.As mentioned PMBOK Guide that usually project initiated to achieve organization strategy plans like market demands, business opportunities, technological advancements and customer requests (PMBOK 2008 p. 10) Mission of statement: Sturata Inc. mission is to be the market leader in making innovative operating systems in production warehouses. That will enable our client’s quality produ ction and profitability. And also to concentrate on delivering the best advanced innovative technology with a vision of building up a relationship between humans and machine through our systems and technology. Company goals:With rapid pace of technology business our company Sturata Inc. vision is to be engaged in cooperated global research and building up networks for the development of global markets. Our employees are our main assets to achieve our goals therefore collaborated culture is designed to encourage, develop and enhance their creative ideas to cope up with the fast changing technology business. Company Objectives: The project objective is to launch the product within 10 months from the start of the project. To fulfil the requirement of committed customers in the U. S. in order secure future venture funding. Company philosophy:Our plan to create learning environment to embrace our values and diversity at Sturata Inc. have clear goals and objectives to everybody and encour age collaboration and cooperation among the team members in order to engage them to achieve company goals and objectives. Project Statement To create the start-up company for production and installing autonomous mobile vehicles within 10 months from the start date and the required production operation at a rate of 50 units per week . Company name: Sturata Inc. Company business: Manufacturing and supplier of autonomous mobile vehicles. Company type: joint venture.Company organization structure: functional organization structure. Company location: Vermont, USA Sturata Inc. Company will be setup in Vermont, USA. The initial market for the new company will be inside the United States after that there is an idea of opening a production centre in China. Organization structure: The purpose of the Staffing (resource) management plan is to know and determine the required resources types and quantity for the project (Sanghera, 2010). 1. President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Jeff Hoffman strong background in warehouse management, supply chain management. 2.Vice president, engineering and the CTO (Chief Technical Officer) Dr Ryan O'Neal is an expert in mobile robotics 3. Project manager COO (Chief Operating Officer) YNJ has experience in managing projects under different organisational structures as functional, matrix and projectized structures. 4. CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Vacant. 5. VP, Administration. Miss Yamaguchi has earlier experience of setting up two start-ups in cross-cultural configurations. 6. Design and development team which will be contracted through small company called Ryoichi in Tokyo, Japan will be responsible for the design of the autonomous vehicles. . Human resources department. 8. Safety health and environment department 9. Technical and designing department taking care of the quality issues too. 10. Assembling team 11. Finance department 12. Administration and legal department 13. Logistics department 14. Marketing department As stated in PMBOK Guide that â€Å"organizational structure is an enterprise environmental factor which can affect the availability of resources and influence how projects are conducted† (PMBOK 2008 p. 8) so it is vital process in the beginning of any project to build up the right organization structure. I’d rather used projectized structures because such organization supports the direction of this project as indicated by Meredith, J. R. ; Mantel, Jr. , S. J. (2009) that project oriented organization supports the need of fast respond to market, new product development and the confidence of stakeholders in their understanding of their roles , responsibility and the activity control within the organization. In order to integrated the Ryoichi employees into Sturata Inc. rganization two things very important need to be communicated to the team as mentioned by A ; C Black (2007)   * 1st the purpose and the objectives of the team need to be clearly defined and adopted by all team mem bers. * 2nd functions tasks and role of each individual need to be agreed and made clear to him. Sharing the objectives of the company and clarifying the roles and responsibilities for the new team members as a project manager will build up trust between you and the team manages expectations and help in communications too. Schedule 1.Phase 1) Research, Design and Development 2. Phase 2) Production. And production will lag during the first phase. 3. The product needs to be extensively tested in a live warehouse environment before it can be rolled out to the customer sites. 4. The project team needs to be assembled. So employment of project staff needs to start quickly and as soon as they get hired they should start contributing to project work. 5. 1,000 staff-months. will be needed for technical and engineering work. 6. Supply chain management set up should be in place by the end of Phase A.Change ; Risk Management In rapid changing business environment is important to set up a syste m to control all kind of changes that could happen in the project, Baca indicated that there are three different elements related to change management 1st the authority level of the project manager 2nd setting up environment among the project team to accept and know how to deal with change 3rd setting up a change control system involves tracking the change request and how handle all kind of conflicts related to it.. (Baca, C. 2005). Unresolved conflicts can be destructive† as stated by A. ; C. Black. So in order to resolve the conflict between Jeff Hoffman and Dr. O'Neal about Ryoichi first not to personalize the subject, clarify the issue and make the necessary investigation to find the root cause and then make your action plan forward to resolve the conflict. (A & C Black 2007) One of the risks that involved in such project is stress therefor project manager should manage team stress as stated in Emerald Insight Staff. (2005) â€Å"A practical three-step process for managin g workplace stress is: 1.Assess the workplace for factors that contribute to harmful stress. 2. Implement stress. Stress management measures to reduce workplace 3. Monitor the progress and implement adjustments as appropriate. (Cal/OSHA, 1998)† PM has to deal with his stress and his team stress as above mentioned in order not to let it affect his and theirs performance which will lead to project disturbance. Communication plan: In order to manage the project and the team successfully a communication plan should be set to ease the flow of information among the project team members as indicated by A. amp; C. Black â€Å"in your role as team leader it is your responsibility to get everyone pulling in the same direction â€Å"and this can happen when you set some elements like free flow of information, open communication, frequent feedback, meetings and building up a listening culture. (A & C Black 2007) Below is sample of communications styles and frequency should be used throu ghout the project. Stakeholder| Communication style| Frequency| Owners and Sponsor| Progress reports: email| Daily|Sponsor, client and project team| Product reviews meeting| Scheduled | Sponsor, client and project team| Questions/answers: email and cell phone| when needed| Sponsor, client and project team| Progress reports: email| Weekly| Quality plan Product needs to be extensively tested in a live warehouse environment before it can be rolled out to the customers so a well-defined quality plan needs to be established it is important for the company reputation not to hand over bad quality product as stated by Wysocki â€Å"A sound quality management program with processes in place that monitor the work in a project is a good investment.Not only does it contribute to client satisfaction, it helps organizations use their resources more effectively and efficiently by reducing waste and revisions† (Wysocki, 2009 p. 10) Conclusion It is very important to set the right processes a nd clear out company strategies in order to support smooth operation of the company. as such industry are accompanied with continues changes so setting up management and change processes is crucial to the success of the project. References:- * Project Management Institute. 2008) a guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK ® guide). 4th Ed * Sangerah, P. (2010) PMP in Depth: Project Management Professional Study Guide for the PMP Exam: 2nd Edn. Boston:Course Technology * Wysocki, R. K. (2009) Effective Project Management –Traditional, Agile, Extreme. 5th Edn. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing Inc. * Meredith & Mantel, J. R. & Mantel, S. J. Jr. (2009) Project management: A managerial approach. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. * Baca, Claudia. 2005 Project Manager's Spotlight on Change Management.University of Liverpool Online Library [On line] Available from http://site. ebrary. com/id/10131902? ppg=16 (Accessed: 15 March 2013). * A ; C Black (2007) Steps t o Success: Manage Teams Successfully University of Liverpool Online Library [On line] Available from http://site. ebrary. com/id/10196621? ppg=12 (Accessed: 16 Feb 2013). * Emerald Insight Staff. (2005) Stress management. University of Liverpool Online Library [Online]. Pp. 61-65. Available from: http://site. ebrary. com. ezproxy. liv. ac. uk/lib/liverpool/docDetail. action? docID=10149898 (Accessed: 21 March 2013).

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 6

The room was fil ed with a sudden blaze, and I felt the warmth on my leg in the same instant that I realized there wasn't enough room for me to pin Diego to the wal without some part of myself touching the sunlight. â€Å"Bree!† he gasped. I twisted away from him automatical y, rol ing myself tight against the wal . It took less than a second, and the whole time I was waiting for the pain to get me. For the flames to hit and then spread like the night I'd met her, only faster. The dazzling flash of light was gone. It was just the pil ar of sun again. I looked at Diego's face – his eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open. He was total y stil, a sure sign of alarm. I wanted to look down at my leg, but I was afraid to see what was left. This wasn't like Jen ripping my arm off, though that had hurt more. I wasn't going to be able to fix this. Stil no pain yet. â€Å"Bree, did you see that?† I shook my head once quickly. â€Å"How bad is it?† â€Å"Bad?† â€Å"My leg,† I said through my teeth. â€Å"Just tel me what's left.† â€Å"Your leg looks fine to me.† I glanced down quickly, and sure enough, there was my foot and my calf, just like before. I wiggled my toes. Fine. â€Å"Does it hurt?† he asked. I pul ed myself off the ground, onto my knees. â€Å"Not yet.† â€Å"Did you see what happened? The light?† I shook my head. â€Å"Watch this,† he said, kneeling in front of the beam of sunshine again. â€Å"And don't shove me out of the way this time. You already proved I'm right.† He put his hand out. It was almost as hard to watch this time, even if my leg felt normal. The second his fingers entered the beam, the cave was fil ed with a mil ion bril iant rainbow reflections. It was bright as noon in a glass room – light everywhere. I flinched and then shuddered. There was sunlight all over me. â€Å"Unreal,† Diego whispered. He put the rest of his hand into the beam, and the cave somehow got even brighter. He rol ed his hand over to look at the back, then turned it palm up again. The reflections danced like he was spinning a prism. There was no smel of burning, and he clearly wasn't in pain. I looked closely at his hand, and it seemed like there were a zil ion tiny mirrors in the surface, too smal to distinguish separately, al shining back the light with double the intensity of a regular mirror. â€Å"Come here, Bree – you have to try this.† I couldn't think of a reason to refuse, and I was curious, but I was also stil reluctant as I slid to his side. â€Å"No burn?† â€Å"None. Light doesn't burn us, it just†¦ reflects off of us. I guess that's kind of an understatement.† Slow as a human, I reluctantly stretched my fingers into the light. Immediately, reflections blazed away from my skin, making the room so bright that the day outside would look dark in comparison. They weren't exactly reflections, though, because the light was bent and colored, more like crystal. I stuck my whole hand in, and the room got brighter. â€Å"Do you think Riley knows?† I whispered. â€Å"Maybe. Maybe not.† â€Å"Why wouldn't he tel us if he did? What would be the point? So we're walking disco bal s.† I shrugged. Diego laughed. â€Å"I can see where the stories come from. Imagine if you saw this when you were human. Wouldn't you think that the guy over there just burst into flames?† â€Å"If he didn't hang around to chat. Maybe.† â€Å"This is incredible,† Diego said. With one finger he traced a line across my glowing palm. Then he jumped to his feet right under the sunbeam, and the room went crazy with light. â€Å"C'mon, let's get out of here.† He reached up and pul ed himself toward the hole he'd cut to the surface. You'd think I would have been over it, but I was stil nervous to fol ow. Not wanting to seem like a total chicken, I stayed close on his heels, but I was cringing inside the whole way. Riley had real y made his point about burning in the sun; in my mind it was linked to that horrific time of burning as I became a vampire, and I couldn't escape the instinctive panic that fil ed me every time I thought of it. Then Diego was out of the hole, and I was next to him half a second later. We stood on a smal patch of wild grass, only a few feet from the trees that covered the island. Behind us, it was just a couple of yards to a low bluff, and then the water. Everything around us blazed in the color and light shining off of us. â€Å"Wow,† I muttered. Diego grinned at me, his face beautiful with light, and suddenly, with a deep lurch in my stomach, I realized that the whole BFF thing was way off the mark. For me, anyway. It was just that fast. His grin softened a little bit into just the hint of a smile. His eyes were wide like mine. Al awe and lights. He touched my face, the way he'd touched my hand, as if he was trying to understand the shine. â€Å"So pretty,† he said. He left his hand against my cheek. I'm not sure how long we stood there, smiling like total idiots, blazing away like glass torches. The inlet was empty of boats, which was probably good. No way even a mud-eyed human would have missed us. Not that they could have done anything to us, but I wasn't thirsty, and al the screaming would have ruined the mood. Eventual y a thick cloud drifted in front of the sun. Suddenly we were just us again, though stil slightly luminous. Not enough that anyone with eyes dul er than a vampire's would notice. As soon as the shine was gone, my thoughts cleared up and I could think about what was coming next. But even though Diego looked like his normal self again – not made of blazing light, anyway – I knew he would never look the same to me. That tingly sensation in the pit of my stomach was stil there. I had the feeling it might be there permanently. â€Å"Do we tel Riley? Do we think he doesn't know?† I asked. Diego sighed and dropped his hand. â€Å"I don't know. Let's think about this while we track them.† â€Å"We're going to have to be careful, tracking them in the day. We're kind of noticeable in the sunlight, you know.† He grinned. â€Å"Let's be ninjas.† I nodded. â€Å"Super-secret ninja club sounds way cooler than the whole BFF thing.† â€Å"Definitely better.† It didn't take us more than a few seconds to find the point from which the whole gang had left the island. That was the easy part. Finding where they'd touched ground on the mainland was a whole other problem. We briefly discussed splitting up, then vetoed that idea unanimously. Our logic was real y sound – after al, if one of us found something, how would we tel the other? – but mostly I just didn't want to leave him, and I could see he felt the same. Both of us had been without any kind of good companionship our whole lives, and it was just too sweet to waste a minute of it. There were so many options as to where they could have gone. To the mainland of the peninsula, or to another island, or back to the outskirts of Seattle, or north to Canada. Whenever we pul ed down or burned down one of our houses, Riley was always prepared – he always seemed to know exactly where to go next. He must have planned ahead for that stuff, but he didn't let any of us in on the plan. They could have been anywhere. Ducking in and out of the water to avoid boats and people real y slowed us down. We spent al day with no luck, but neither of us minded. We were having the most fun we'd ever had. It was such a strange day. Instead of sitting miserably in the darkness trying to tune out the mayhem and swal ow my disgust at my hiding place, I was playing ninja with my new best friend, or maybe something more. We laughed a lot while we moved through the patches of shade, throwing rocks at each other like they were Chinese stars. Then the sun set, and suddenly I was stressed. Would Riley look for us? Would he assume we were fried? Did he know better? We started moving faster. A lot faster. We'd already circled al the nearby islands, so now we concentrated on the mainland. About an hour after sundown, I caught a familiar scent, and within seconds we were on their trail. Once we found the path of the smel, it was as easy as fol owing a herd of elephants through fresh snow. We talked about what to do, more serious now as we ran. â€Å"I don't think we should tel Riley,† I said. â€Å"Let's say we spent al day in your cave before we went looking for them.† As I spoke, my paranoia started to grow. â€Å"Better yet, let's tel them your cave was fil ed with water. We couldn't even talk.† â€Å"You think Riley's a bad dude, don't you?† he asked quietly after a minute. As he spoke, he took my hand. â€Å"I don't know. But I'd rather act like he was, just in case.† I hesitated, then said, â€Å"You don't want to think he's bad.† â€Å"No,† Diego admitted. â€Å"He's kind of my friend. I mean, not like you're my friend.† He squeezed my fingers. â€Å"But more than anyone else. I don't want to think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Diego didn't finish his sentence. I squeezed his fingers back. â€Å"Maybe he's total y decent. Our being careful doesn't change who he is.† â€Å"True. Okay, the underwater cave story it is. At least at first†¦ I could talk to him about the sun later. I'd rather do it during the day, anyway, when I can prove what I'm claiming right away. And just in case he already knows, but there's some good reason why he told us something else, I should tel him when we're alone. Grab him at dawn, when he's coming back from wherever it is he goes†¦.† I noticed a ton of I's rather than we's going on in Diego's little speech, and it bothered me. But at the same time, I didn't want much to do with educating Riley. I didn't have the same faith in him Diego did. â€Å"Ninja attack at dawn!† I said to make him laugh. It worked. We started joking again as we tracked our herd of vampires, but I could tel he was thinking serious stuff under the teasing, just like I was. And I only got more anxious as we ran. Because we were running fast, and there was no way we had the wrong trail, but it was taking too long. We were real y getting away from the coast, up and over the closest mountains, off into new territory. This wasn't the normal pattern. Every house we'd borrowed, whether it was up a mountain or on an island or hidden on a big farm, had a few things in common. The dead owners, the remote locale, and one other thing. They al were sort of focused on Seattle. Oriented around the big city like orbiting moons. Seattle was always the hub, always the target. We were out of orbit now, and it felt wrong. Maybe it meant nothing, maybe it was just that so many things were changing today. Al the truths I'd accepted had been turned upside down and I wasn't in the mood for any other upheavals. Why couldn't Riley have just picked someplace normal? â€Å"Funny they're this far out,† Diego murmured, and I could hear the edge in his voice. â€Å"Or scary,† I muttered. He squeezed my hand. â€Å"It's cool. The ninja club can handle anything.† â€Å"You got a secret handshake yet?† â€Å"Working on it,† he promised. Something started to bug me. It was like I could feel this strange blind spot – I knew there was something I wasn't seeing, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Something obvious†¦ And then, about sixty miles farther west than our usual perimeter, we found the house. It was impossible to mistake the noise. The boom boom boom of the bass, the video-game soundtrack, the snarling. Total y our crowd. I pul ed my hand free, and Diego looked at me. â€Å"Hey, I don't even know you,† I said in a joking tone. â€Å"I haven't had one conversation with you, what with al that water we sat in al day. You could be a ninja or a vampire for al I know.† He grinned. â€Å"Same goes for you, stranger.† Then low and fast, â€Å"Just do the same things you did yesterday. Tomorrow night we'l get out together. Maybe do some reconnaissance, figure out more of what's going on.† â€Å"Sounds like a plan. Mum's the word.† He ducked close and kissed me – just a peck, but right on the lips. The shock of it zinged through my whole body. Then he said, â€Å"Let's do this,† and headed down the side of the mountain toward the source of the raucous noise without looking back. Already playing the part. A little stunned, I fol owed from a few yards behind, remembering to put the distance between us that I would put between myself and anyone else.

Walt WHitman essays

Walt WHitman essays Walt Whitman was looked upon as the forerunner of 20th Century poetry, praising democracy, and becoming a proclaimed poet of American democracy. He was known as the Son of Long Island, and he loved his country and everything about it. (Current, Williams, Freidel- page 292-293). Whitman lived during the time of the Civil War; a fact that increased his patriotism. Whitman was considered one of the most important American Poets of the 19th Century. (Encyclopedia of World Biography- page 249). He influenced the direction of 20th Century poets such as Erza Pound, William Carlos Williams, Carlos Sandberg, and Allen Ginsberg. Whitman praised democracy and spoke of the flesh as well as the spirit. (Encyclopedia of Biography- page 249). He rejected the normal rhyme and meter of poetry and wrote in free verse, relying on Native American language. In general, Whitman's poetry is idealistic and romantic. Whitman identified strongly with the outcasts of society. He said to one outcast, Not till the sun excludes you do I exclude you. (Lowen, Nancy- page 11) People hailed him as the most authentic voice of the United States of America. Edgar Allen Poe had said, The vitality and variety of his life was the mere reflection of the vitality and variety of the United States of America. Walter Whitman was born into a family of nine children and he had a rough childhood. The Whitman family first settled in the Huntington area by the middle of the seventeenth century. This helped him to write two of the worlds greatest literary works, There was a Child Went Forth and Song to Myself. (Lowen, Nancy- page 6). There was a Child Went Forth was about his siblings and his childhood. Out of nine children, only four survived to live to old age. He spoke of how his siblings died and how it affected his family. Whitman had one sibling who was insane, one who was se...

Birds in the Poetry of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats

Birds in the Poetry of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats The Birds of Romance By definition, freedom is the absence of subjection to foreign domination. Some of the most liberated beings in the world are found in nature. In nature, plants and animals are not suppressed by the constraints of man. These human boundaries include time, money and physical restraints. Birds, are commonly viewed as the most liberated animals to have ever existed. The popular phrase, â€Å"free as a bird† has been coined as a result of the large amount of freedom possessed by birds. Not everyone can understand the full magnitude of what birds truly symbolize. However, birds have provided inspiration to several intellectuals over the years. In fact, the romantic period was a time when birds were a major staple of freedom and liberty. The followers of the romantic era were devout believers in becoming one with nature and discovering enlightenment within oneself. Some of the greatest influences and minds of the romantic era were poets and writers. These romantic writers included William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats. For all of these romantic poets, birds represented different aspects of life and their poetry reflected their different views. During the romantic era, poets used birds as a symbol of freedom and they expressed the meaning of this symbol in their own unique way. Based on the poetry readings and personal background information about the romantic poets previously listed, one can view the meanings and purposes of birds during the romantic era. On April 7 of 1770, the second child of John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson was born. This child’s name was William Wordsworth and he would grow up to be one of the greatest poets of all time. Wordsworth grew up in Cockermouth, Cumberland, which is part of a northwestern area in England known as the Lake District. Wordsworth grew up with several individuals that provided him with encouragement for his literary prowess. In fact, Wordsworth’s mother â€Å"had been his first teacher, giving him instruction in reading, while his father made him learn by heart passages from Shakespeare, Milton and Spenser† (Legouis 18). However, Wordsworth was still plagued with negativity in his life time, such as losing his brother and being separated from his lover as well as his daughter during the â€Å"French Revolution†. Wordsworth overcame his trials by finding solace in nature, much like a bird finds refuge in the wilderness. Writer Margaret Wanless stated that â€Å"Na ture was to Wordsworth a great, wonderful passion, beautiful in itself alone†, meaning that Wordsworth drew most of his inspiration from the natural elements (Wanless 4). While being inspired by nature, Wordsworth was also fond of birds and other forms of natural wildlife. In one of his more popular poems â€Å"To the Cuckoo† Wordsworth describes his journey into a valley by exclaiming â€Å"O blithe New-comer! I have heard, I hear thee and rejoice. O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird, Or but a wandering Voice?† (Cuckoo-Wordsworth 1). He goes on to say â€Å"The same whom in my school-boy days I listened to; that Cry Which made me look a thousand ways In bush, and tree, and sky† (Cuckoo-Wordsworth 20). This line explains that the nostalgic sound of the cuckoo reminded Wordsworth of his childhood and the large sense of wonder that birds and other animals gave him. Wordsworth has written other poem such as â€Å"Lines Written in Early Spring†, which has been â€Å"Often dismissed as a dogmatic display of ingenuous nature-worship, this poem nevertheless reveals an unsuspected thematic complexity in its portrayal of the relationship between nature and human society† (McKusick 34). According to his writings, Wordsworth is emotionally attached to nature and the freedom that nature contains. Wordsworth had a close friend that was also a literary genius in his own unique way. His friends name was Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge himself was not exempt from worldly issues and matters beyond his control. Coleridge was born on the 21st of October in 1772, in Ottery St Mary, a town in Devon, England. The struggles that Coleridge faced included his father’s death, his childhood illnesses and his strong addiction to opium. While spending time with nature, Coleridge gained an almost spiritual knowledge and his writing reflected his intellect. One of his most popular pieces of writing was titled â€Å"The Rime of The Ancient Mariner†, which was â€Å"a connection beyond the force of his human responsibilities, whether conventional or personal, either of which can seem arbitrary† (Fischer 183). This poem focuses on a man who has killed an albatross while at sea. An albatross is a large bird that spends most of its time at sea. The main character of the poe m, â€Å"The Mariner† recalls an old memory and shares it with a wedding guest while they were attending a wedding ceremony. â€Å"The Mariner† tells the wedding guest about his sea journey and states â€Å"At length did cross an Albatross, Thorough the fog it came; As if it had been a Christian soul, We hailed it in Gods name†, as if the large bird was a sign from God himself (Coleridge Part 1). Later on in the poem â€Å"The Mariner† states that â€Å"With my cross-bow I shot the ALBATROSS† (Coleridge Part 1). In a sense, â€Å"The Mariner† was shooting at a divine spirit of some sort. It is speculated that â€Å"He thus may have killed the bird not to radicalize his distance from it, as suggested earlier, but to silence the birds claim upon him† (Fischer 183). According to Coleridge, the albatross represented more than a large bird. The Albatross also stood as a â€Å"Christ figure† in the sense of dying because of wrongful actions. Percy Bysshe Shelley was an interesting figure during the â€Å"Romantic Era†, because he did not reach any major fame until after his death. Shelly’s life was surrounded by complications during his adolescent years. Shelly would also find himself confined within an unhealthy marriage after eloping himself with Harriet Westbrook. After Shelley’s passing, several of his poems became popular. One of his most memorable pieces of writing was called â€Å"To a Skylark† and in it Shelley â€Å"brings the attention of bird and teaches us to enjoy natural attitude of it† (Sofi 82). In this poem, Shelley asks for wisdom from the Skylark by saying â€Å"Teach me half the gladness That thy brain must know, such harmonious madness from my lips would flow the world should listen then, as I am listening now† (Shelley 105). Shelly believes that the skylark can bestow enlightenment upon him and teach him about becoming one with nature. Over time â€Å"She lley accepts that natural (fountains, fields, waves, mountains etc.) things are the source of happiness. He feels human beings are beyond the happiness of this bird. If they give up hate, pride, fear and sorrow they will reach the steeps of joy like Skylark† (Sofi 83). John Keats was one of the main figure heads for the second wave of the â€Å"Romantic Era†. Keats’ work was published only a few years before his death. However, Keats died at the young age of twenty-five. Keats was â€Å"well-loved by all poets, especia1ly by those of his own era, and has been termed the bard of beauty (Wanless 20). One of the most popular poems that Keats wrote is named â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale†. In it, he mentions his incredible drowsiness when he states â€Å"My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains. My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains† (Keats 1). Keats later goes on and speaks of happiness by saying â€Å"Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, But being too happy in thine happiness,— That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees In some melodious plot† (Keats 5). Keats exclaims that he is extremely overjoyed for the happiness of the nightingale and he would also like to understand why the nightingale is so happy. The peculiar thing about Keats â€Å"was alert to the least little sight or sound in; nature, so much so that with the help of his wonderful imagery, his readers senses are awakened just as his were and we have before us a glorious world that some of us have never seen or heard or smelt before† (Wanless 20). Keats understood that birds also possessed these senses of enlightenment. The poets of the â€Å"Romantic Era† deeply understood the symbolic importance of birds and what they represented in nature. The â€Å"Romantics† and their love for birds can even be seen at a scientific level â€Å"with the use of pleasure in poems by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, and Keats. This link between the poetic and the scientific in Romantic natural history also reveals aspects of our current cultural sense of the interrelatedness of human and nonhuman nature† (Bartram 1). Susan Wolfson once said that â€Å"in theory and practice, Romanticism addressed, debated, tested, and contested fundamental questions about what is at stake in poetic forming of language† (Wolfson 1). That statement goes on to say that â€Å"The Romantic Poets† can completely grasp the concept of freedom and so much more. During the â€Å"Romantic Era†, poets use birds as inspiration and for a symbol for freedom and nature. Each poet understood that birds rep resent liberty, but each poet searched for liberty in their own unique fashion. It can be an albatross, a nightingale, cuckoo or even a skylark. Each of these birds has the ability to spread their wings and soar towards freedom.

Strategic Planning for South County Hospital in making it a ACO Term Paper

Strategic Planning for South County Hospital in making it a ACO - Term Paper Example Low profitability of the hospital has placed it at the bottom of the reimbursement. South Rhode hospital intends to solve this situation by joining a heath service provider system such as Care New England. This would make it an Accountable Care Organization benefiting from the merger with other hospital. This would assist the hospital toward continuity of their mission and achieving their vision (Cleverley et.al 288). The merger with other hospitals would help South Rhodes hospital to acquire better bargaining power in procuring services and other requirements. It would also enable SCH to refer some of the severe case to other hospitals within the system. Section One Strategic focus Aim of the plan This plans to improve the financial position of the sc hospital, increase net income and overall profitability. This will lead to sustainable improvement in financial performance and continued growth in cash flow by improving debt ratios; continued growth in inpatient and surgical volumes; continued gains in liquidity Mission statement; Enriching the quality of life for the southern Rhode Island community and visitors through delivery of quality affordable health care services Developing cooperative relationship with other care providers and promotion of wellness through health education and community involvement Vision statement: To achieve a healthy southern Rhode Island community through provision of quality and affordable health services to all our clients To have a community that is informed on health care services, their rights and responsibilities by creation of health care awareness. Long term objectives The south Rhodes hospital through this strategic plan aims at achieving the following objectives: Improve the reimbursement position for the hospital Increase affordability of services to clients Increase treatment opportunities to clients through merger with other hospital Diversify means for paying for the services give hence increase profitability Key orga nizational competences In order to achieve the above set objectives the hospital management needs to have a competent financial management team that will look into the financial crisis in the hospital. Vigorous marketing campaign shall be necessary to market the new hospital policies and improvement on service delivery, the marketing department should be set out to perform this role. The marketing campaign will also be essential in marketing the services of the hospital as this created consumer awareness. Consumer awareness attracts customers into the organization which then will lead to increase customer turnover and sales or revenues. Organizational values The south county hospital holds the following values in their operations toward achieving the strategic plan goals: humility, honesty, diligence and accountability. Performance objectives The performance objectives below will form the basis of determining the hospital’s performance score. This will be a tool to measure pr ogress towards the achievement of the objectives set in the strategic plan. Performance area Performance Measures Target Time Frame Financial management Biannual income figures and profit calculations Increase in income position and profitability Achieve a 5% increase in the profits 1 year Client and market progress Client turn up record and analysis of trends: repeated subsequent visits by clients