Relationships Essay -- essays research papers

How have three texts you have studied enhanced your understanding of relationships? Refer to Maestro and two other texts of your choosing? Relationships are a complex part of today’s society and affect all areas. All relationships are different, and they influence the decisions made by people and others around them. The three texts ‘Maestro’ by Peter Goldsworthy, ‘Dead Poets Society’ directed by Peter Weir and ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ by Michelle Magorian all enhance the understanding of relationships. These three texts, all show various types of relationships, are all presented in various ways. The main relationship presented in ‘Maestro’ involves the unlikely friendship developed between a teacher (Keller) and his student (Paul). The main relationship in ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ is rather similar and involves the relationship between an elderly man (Tom) and an evacuee he was forced to take on- a young boy (Willie). Finally the main relationship exposed in ‘Dead Poets Society’ is between a teacher (John Keating) and his pupils including Neil and Todd. All of these relationships in these texts enhance ones understanding of relationships by techniques used. ‘Maestro’s’ unique technique, is not only the use of first person, but how the whole story is a combination of flashbacks and memories by the narrator Paul of when ‘he was only a child’. From this perspective, the narrator reflects back on this enchanted period of childhood and adolescence. His relationship with Keller is very cold at first, and we know this is misleading through the first line when Paul quotes ‘First Impressions? Misleading, of course. As always’. The first chapter is about Paul and Keller, and how they do not get along. Through the first line, we know that this is a false impression of their relationship and that it will improve. This line that Paul recites, generally describes all relationships. They are false on first impressions, as the person is not familiar to you. ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ has a traditional layout, with chronological chapters, and written in third person. When Tom first meets Willie, it is an awkward experience for Tom, and a frightening experience for Willie as to Willie Mr Tom ‘was a towering giant with skin like coarse, wrinkled brown paper and a voice like thunder’. However as one continues through the book it is recognized that William Beech and his relationship with Mr.... ...es, moreover, he truly believes that he is not able to write poetry. However, John Keating neither gives him an "F" nor lets him sit down however makes Todd believe in himself. He says: "Mr. Anderson thinks that everything inside of him is worthless and embarrassing, isn't that right Todd, isn't that your worst fear? Well, I think you're wrong, I think you have something inside of you that is worth a great deal." Saying this was enough to make Todd believe that he is just as any other students of his class is able to write a poem. When individuals experience success, they grow in self-confidence and as their self-esteem grows, they will feel more comfortable to face new challenges. Weir tries to convey that sometimes to achieve that confidence, a mentor is required, someone who can bring you up when you are down. The novels ‘Maestro’ by Peter Goldsworthy, ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ by Michelle Magorian and ‘Dead Poets Society’ directed by Peter Weir all convey various messages to enhance the understanding of relationships. Through the use of various techniques such as characterization, themes, and music, these texts emphasize the importance and value of relationships.

The Last Tea Dorothy Parker

The Last Tea By Dorothy Parker The story submitted to the consideration is called â€Å"The Last Tea† and is written by Dorothy Parker. As for the writer, I have to mention that Dorothy Parker  was an  American  poet, short story writer, critic and  satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles. Concerning the title of the story it is thought-provoking and made me read the story. At first glance it seems fairly simple, but with the development of the story is surprisingly complex. The last tea is a story that is addressed to women and deals with 2 main topics: men`s attention and loneliness.This is a bitter story written in a cruel way. Now I’d like to reconstruct the events. The young man and the girl met somewhere at the cafe for a cup of tea. He told her about another woman whom he was delighted by. While he was telling about that woman, the girl heard him out with patience and even with some positive commentaries. At th e end of their conversation he suggested to pay the check and put her on a bus. Instead she refused and said with the irony that he wanted to call up his friend. And he without any suspicion said goodbye to her and gave her the best wishes.Speaking about the theme of the story I’d like to pin down the relationships between a man and a woman. As for the idea, it is the nonmutual love as the result of not having much in common, misunderstanding within sexes. The story presents an interesting example of the indirect characterization. The author does not say directly that the girl is lonely but let her act and leaves the reader draw his own conclusion. The story begins with the description of the young man and the girl who are the main characters of the story.There in not any preface of the story: we know nothing about the past of the people. The author shows the characters in a certain period of their lives. The plot is trivial and the characters are really true to life. The tex t is homogeneous. It`s almost consists of the characters` dialogues, where you can find numerous words and phrases of informal style. E. g:  « That`s good »,  «the poor boy »,  «poor sick thing »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Also interjection  «Oh, Ah, goodness » introducing some of the passages which normally occurs in oral speech. The sentences have free and careless structures.From the very beginning we come across a witty satire. Such stylistic device is used by the author to draw our attention and to make us commiserate to the girl. E. g.  «The girl with the artificial camellia had been sitting for 40 minutes » but she said  «I was late myself »  «I haven`t been here more than a minute ». She tries to be polite and to show the great care to the man. E. g.  «I`m ruined » he said.  «Ah the poor boy »  «Ah and you came way up here to meet me! You shouldn`t have done that »    â€Å"I would have understood. Ah just think of it coming all the way up here when it `s so sick! – She said. But the man begins talking about another woman Carol McCall. The man considered her to be perfect. He said  «that`s what I call a girl ». This part can be regarded as a climax of the story. To conclude it all up, I’m to say that the problems presented in this text are very topical in our every-day life. People often don’t notice those who are near them, who care about them, who are devoted to them. The best we can do is to pay tribute to the author’s vision of life and to her ability of creating the atmosphere of being entirely involved in the process of the story.

Attrition Rate in the Call Center Industry

Attrition has been an evident problem for every organization due to either jack of appreciation or lack of proper job sculpting. But what is attrition? Simply put, it is the reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation, etc. Attrition affects two things: 1) the morale of other employees; and 2) the financial position of the organization. The group chose this topic because we are greatly interested in such field. The group is curious as to why the rate of turnover in the call center agency is high and what is the effect of this to the call center organizations.Why do these employees leave their jobs as call center agents? Is it because of the unjust compensation that these call centers are providing or is it because call center agents in general are not happy with what they do? We can draw many conclusions but at the end of the day, conducting a research would give us peace of mind. B. Significance of the Study The significance of the study is to be able to giv e emphasis as to why the rate of turnover in the call center industry is high. The group will only focus on the causes and the effects of attrition in the said industry.The study would serve as a guide and would be of great help to call center organizations in maintaining employees in their company. Furthermore, the study would be able to show the importance of the call center industry in the city of Manila. C. Problem and Objectives Problem: What are the causes Of attrition and how does it affect the call center industry? Objectives: To explain what attrition is and its difference from turnover To give emphasis on why call center agents resign To determine the factors of attrition To show how attrition affects the call center industry To present the facts obtained through out the whole research D.Assumption and Hypotheses Call center agents resign from their currents posts because they are not pappy with what they do. There will always be that feeling of being unsatisfied and it wi ll always bother them. Some would think to themselves, â€Å"Why am I doing this when can do so much better. † Most fresh graduates or undergraduates who are in need of fast cash apply at call centers to have something to do for the mean time but after a while, they move on, leaving the organization to find quick replacements at which before that can do so, the financial position Of the company will be affected.E. Scope and Limitations This study focuses on the cause and impact of attrition in the call center industry with regard to the turnover rate of employees, why call center agents leave call centers, and how the loss of employees affect these call centers. The study will only gather respondents that are call center agents that are employed within the jurisdiction of the city of Manila. F. Definition of Terms Attrition – a reduction in the number of employees or participants that occurs when people leave because they resign, retire, etc. And are not replaced Burno ut -? physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress Call center – an office set up to handle a large volume of telephone calls, especially or taking orders and providing customer service Call center agent -? basic employee of a call center Compensation – something awarded to someone Customer service -? provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase; a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation Economy -? consists of the production, distribution or trade, and consumption of limited goods and services by different agents in a given geographical location

The Printing Press

The Printing Press There have been many important inventions over the past millennium. Many of them have helped shape society into what it is today. None however have contributed as much to the world as the printing press has. The printing press was invented in the year 1440 by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany. The printing press consisted of a large press which held plates where movable type could be inserted to spell out entire books page by page. The press was either operated by a large screw or lever which pressed the inked letters onto the sheet of paper.Once done the letters had to be rearranged to make the next page and then repeated for each new page in the book. This process however slow was much faster than the old method of hand writing the books and great deal cheaper as well. The invention of the printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it spread ideas throughout Europe, forever altered modern society and it gave the common people power and the chance to become literate. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it allowed many important ideas and opinions to be more easily widespread to the general public.The printing press helped the spread of ideas through the production of books. The ability to mass produce books and pamphlets helped many political leaders spread their views to the public more easily. These views of the political leaders, good or bad were now accessible to the general public. The ability to read leader’s views and form public opinions helped shape the world into what it is today. Printed books also explored ideas on science and technology which helped bring forth scientific knowledge that shaped the scientific revolution.The press gave freedom to the general public in a new form of expression of thought. People now had a new way of recording their thoughts and sharing it with others. This freedom of expressive print was very liberating for o nes message could reach many in a short time. The printing press invention was important to people in many fields for it allowed the political powers to continue to expand, it provides the opportunity to share scientific knowledge and it allowed the public freedom to share in print format. Modern society was affected in many crucial ways because of the printing press.One of the ways that society is affected by this invention from so many years ago is that it brought about the standardization of spelling and grammar. This was and still is important because it brought about the awareness that in order to properly communicate there would need to be a standardized form of spelling and spelling rules. This set standard form of spelling shaped many languages and made the written communication of them easy in the past and still today. The second way that its affects are noted still today is it helped spread religious views to various corners of the world in print format.The importance of t his is that this source of books such as the bible or other religious books allowed religious views to be read about and shared in the home rather than just being a message listened to at church. It provided common written messages and because of this many religions such as Christianity could be spread easier throughout the world. These religious writings formed a common base for religion to be prevalent today. Another way in which society was affected by the printing press is that it helped the world’s technology advance faster.People could afford to buy factual books and educate themselves through reading. The more educated that people became, the more they searched for ways to make life better with their knowledge they had acquired from reading books. Today’s society still largely relies on written print as a way to gain knowledge. Modern society and its advancement in written language structure religious followings and technologies advancement are rooted in the his tory of the printing press and would look much different today if the printing press had not been invented.The invention of the printing press allowed many ordinary citizens the chance to own a book and learn to read. Before the invention of the printing press the cost and time to make a book limited the owning of a book to the very wealthy. However with the invention of the printing press as well as the newly found knowledge of how to make paper from the Arabs printing books became rather inexpensive and much less time consuming. These important advancements made it so average people could now afford to buy books, people began to learn how to read and therefore more opinions and ideas were spread.Literacy rates improved and with this knowledge it allowed the common peasants power to understand what was happening in their country. This power of being literate was important because it provided them opportunity to plan to make life better for oneself. Today books still have an importa nce for having books and being literate is important because if one can read and understand things in their world it gives one choices of how they can interact with others. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium.Its effects were important in 1440 to spread political, scientific and technological ideas. Its effects are still important today in spelling and grammar, religion and in nonfiction education. It gave people power to be owners of printed material and it promoted a desire to learn to educate oneself to read. The printing press was crucial in the advancement of society. Power in written form is a document to learn from and expand from. The printing press allowed societies historical events and ideas to be documented and allowed man to learn from the past to progress the future. The Printing Press The Printing Press There have been many important inventions over the past millennium. Many of them have helped shape society into what it is today. None however have contributed as much to the world as the printing press has. The printing press was invented in the year 1440 by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany. The printing press consisted of a large press which held plates where movable type could be inserted to spell out entire books page by page. The press was either operated by a large screw or lever which pressed the inked letters onto the sheet of paper.Once done the letters had to be rearranged to make the next page and then repeated for each new page in the book. This process however slow was much faster than the old method of hand writing the books and great deal cheaper as well. The invention of the printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it spread ideas throughout Europe, forever altered modern society and it gave the common people power and the chance to become literate. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it allowed many important ideas and opinions to be more easily widespread to the general public.The printing press helped the spread of ideas through the production of books. The ability to mass produce books and pamphlets helped many political leaders spread their views to the public more easily. These views of the political leaders, good or bad were now accessible to the general public. The ability to read leader’s views and form public opinions helped shape the world into what it is today. Printed books also explored ideas on science and technology which helped bring forth scientific knowledge that shaped the scientific revolution.The press gave freedom to the general public in a new form of expression of thought. People now had a new way of recording their thoughts and sharing it with others. This freedom of expressive print was very liberating for o nes message could reach many in a short time. The printing press invention was important to people in many fields for it allowed the political powers to continue to expand, it provides the opportunity to share scientific knowledge and it allowed the public freedom to share in print format. Modern society was affected in many crucial ways because of the printing press.One of the ways that society is affected by this invention from so many years ago is that it brought about the standardization of spelling and grammar. This was and still is important because it brought about the awareness that in order to properly communicate there would need to be a standardized form of spelling and spelling rules. This set standard form of spelling shaped many languages and made the written communication of them easy in the past and still today. The second way that its affects are noted still today is it helped spread religious views to various corners of the world in print format.The importance of t his is that this source of books such as the bible or other religious books allowed religious views to be read about and shared in the home rather than just being a message listened to at church. It provided common written messages and because of this many religions such as Christianity could be spread easier throughout the world. These religious writings formed a common base for religion to be prevalent today. Another way in which society was affected by the printing press is that it helped the world’s technology advance faster.People could afford to buy factual books and educate themselves through reading. The more educated that people became, the more they searched for ways to make life better with their knowledge they had acquired from reading books. Today’s society still largely relies on written print as a way to gain knowledge. Modern society and its advancement in written language structure religious followings and technologies advancement are rooted in the his tory of the printing press and would look much different today if the printing press had not been invented.The invention of the printing press allowed many ordinary citizens the chance to own a book and learn to read. Before the invention of the printing press the cost and time to make a book limited the owning of a book to the very wealthy. However with the invention of the printing press as well as the newly found knowledge of how to make paper from the Arabs printing books became rather inexpensive and much less time consuming. These important advancements made it so average people could now afford to buy books, people began to learn how to read and therefore more opinions and ideas were spread.Literacy rates improved and with this knowledge it allowed the common peasants power to understand what was happening in their country. This power of being literate was important because it provided them opportunity to plan to make life better for oneself. Today books still have an importa nce for having books and being literate is important because if one can read and understand things in their world it gives one choices of how they can interact with others. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium.Its effects were important in 1440 to spread political, scientific and technological ideas. Its effects are still important today in spelling and grammar, religion and in nonfiction education. It gave people power to be owners of printed material and it promoted a desire to learn to educate oneself to read. The printing press was crucial in the advancement of society. Power in written form is a document to learn from and expand from. The printing press allowed societies historical events and ideas to be documented and allowed man to learn from the past to progress the future.

Angels Demons Chapter 20-23

20 Phase two, the Hassassin thought, striding into the darkened tunnel. The torch in his hand was overkill. He knew that. But it was for effect. Effect was everything. Fear, he had learned, was his ally. Fear cripples faster than any implement of war. There was no mirror in the passage to admire his disguise, but he could sense from the shadow of his billowing robe that he was perfect. Blending in was part of the plan†¦ part of the depravity of the plot. In his wildest dreams he had never imagined playing this part. Two weeks ago, he would have considered the task awaiting him at the far end of this tunnel impossible. A suicide mission. Walking naked into a lion's lair. But Janus had changed the definition of impossible. The secrets Janus had shared with the Hassassin in the last two weeks had been numerous†¦ this very tunnel being one of them. Ancient, and yet still perfectly passable. As he drew closer to his enemy, the Hassassin wondered if what awaited him inside would be as easy as Janus had promised. Janus had assured him someone on the inside would make the necessary arrangements. Someone on the inside. Incredible. The more he considered it, the more he realized it was child's play. Wahad†¦ tintain†¦ thalatha†¦ arbaa, he said to himself in Arabic as he neared the end. One†¦ two†¦ three†¦ four†¦ 21 â€Å"I sense you've heard of antimatter, Mr. Langdon?† Vittoria was studying him, her dark skin in stark contrast to the white lab. Langdon looked up. He felt suddenly dumb. â€Å"Yes. Well†¦ sort of.† A faint smile crossed her lips. â€Å"You watch Star Trek.† Langdon flushed. â€Å"Well, my students enjoy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He frowned. â€Å"Isn't antimatter what fuels the U.S.S. Enterprise?† She nodded. â€Å"Good science fiction has its roots in good science.† â€Å"So antimatter is real?† â€Å"A fact of nature. Everything has an opposite. Protons have electrons. Up-quarks have down-quarks. There is a cosmic symmetry at the subatomic level. Antimatter is yin to matter's yang. It balances the physical equation.† Langdon thought of Galileo's belief of duality. â€Å"Scientists have known since 1918,† Vittoria said, â€Å"that two kinds of matter were created in the Big Bang. One matter is the kind we see here on earth, making up rocks, trees, people. The other is its inverse – identical to matter in all respects except that the charges of its particles are reversed.† Kohler spoke as though emerging from a fog. His voice sounded suddenly precarious. â€Å"But there are enormous technological barriers to actually storing antimatter. What about neutralization?† â€Å"My father built a reverse polarity vacuum to pull the antimatter positrons out of the accelerator before they could decay.† Kohler scowled. â€Å"But a vacuum would pull out the matter also. There would be no way to separate the particles.† â€Å"He applied a magnetic field. Matter arced right, and antimatter arced left. They are polar opposites.† At that instant, Kohler's wall of doubt seemed to crack. He looked up at Vittoria in clear astonishment and then without warning was overcome by a fit of coughing. â€Å"Incred†¦ ible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he said, wiping his mouth, â€Å"and yet†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It seemed his logic was still resisting. â€Å"Yet even if the vacuum worked, these canisters are made of matter. Antimatter cannot be stored inside canisters made out of matter. The antimatter would instantly react with – â€Å" â€Å"The specimen is not touching the canister,† Vittoria said, apparently expecting the question. â€Å"The antimatter is suspended. The canisters are called ‘antimatter traps' because they literally trap the antimatter in the center of the canister, suspending it at a safe distance from the sides and bottom.† â€Å"Suspended? But†¦ how?† â€Å"Between two intersecting magnetic fields. Here, have a look.† Vittoria walked across the room and retrieved a large electronic apparatus. The contraption reminded Langdon of some sort of cartoon ray gun – a wide cannonlike barrel with a sighting scope on top and a tangle of electronics dangling below. Vittoria aligned the scope with one of the canisters, peered into the eyepiece, and calibrated some knobs. Then she stepped away, offering Kohler a look. Kohler looked nonplussed. â€Å"You collected visible amounts?† â€Å"Five thousand nanograms,† Vittoria said. â€Å"A liquid plasma containing millions of positrons.† â€Å"Millions? But a few particles is all anyone has ever detected†¦ anywhere.† â€Å"Xenon,† Vittoria said flatly. â€Å"He accelerated the particle beam through a jet of xenon, stripping away the electrons. He insisted on keeping the exact procedure a secret, but it involved simultaneously injecting raw electrons into the accelerator.† Langdon felt lost, wondering if their conversation was still in English. Kohler paused, the lines in his brow deepening. Suddenly he drew a short breath. He slumped like he'd been hit with a bullet. â€Å"Technically that would leave†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vittoria nodded. â€Å"Yes. Lots of it.† Kohler returned his gaze to the canister before him. With a look of uncertainty, he hoisted himself in his chair and placed his eye to the viewer, peering inside. He stared a long time without saying anything. When he finally sat down, his forehead was covered with sweat. The lines on his face had disappeared. His voice was a whisper. â€Å"My God†¦ you really did it.† Vittoria nodded. â€Å"My father did it.† â€Å"I†¦ I don't know what to say.† Vittoria turned to Langdon. â€Å"Would you like a look?† She motioned to the viewing device. Uncertain what to expect, Langdon moved forward. From two feet away, the canister appeared empty. Whatever was inside was infinitesimal. Langdon placed his eye to the viewer. It took a moment for the image before him to come into focus. Then he saw it. The object was not on the bottom of the container as he expected, but rather it was floating in the center – suspended in midair – a shimmering globule of mercurylike liquid. Hovering as if by magic, the liquid tumbled in space. Metallic wavelets rippled across the droplet's surface. The suspended fluid reminded Langdon of a video he had once seen of a water droplet in zero G. Although he knew the globule was microscopic, he could see every changing gorge and undulation as the ball of plasma rolled slowly in suspension. â€Å"It's†¦ floating,† he said. â€Å"It had better be,† Vittoria replied. â€Å"Antimatter is highly unstable. Energetically speaking, antimatter is the mirror image of matter, so the two instantly cancel each other out if they come in contact. Keeping antimatter isolated from matter is a challenge, of course, because everything on earth is made of matter. The samples have to be stored without ever touching anything at all – even air.† Langdon was amazed. Talk about working in a vacuum. â€Å"These antimatter traps?† Kohler interrupted, looking amazed as he ran a pallid finger around one's base. â€Å"They are your father's design?† â€Å"Actually,† she said, â€Å"they are mine.† Kohler looked up. Vittoria's voice was unassuming. â€Å"My father produced the first particles of antimatter but was stymied by how to store them. I suggested these. Airtight nanocomposite shells with opposing electromagnets at each end.† â€Å"It seems your father's genius has rubbed off.† â€Å"Not really. I borrowed the idea from nature. Portuguese man-o'-wars trap fish between their tentacles using nematocystic charges. Same principle here. Each canister has two electromagnets, one at each end. Their opposing magnetic fields intersect in the center of the canister and hold the antimatter there, suspended in midvacuum.† Langdon looked again at the canister. Antimatter floating in a vacuum, not touching anything at all. Kohler was right. It was genius. â€Å"Where's the power source for the magnets?† Kohler asked. Vittoria pointed. â€Å"In the pillar beneath the trap. The canisters are screwed into a docking port that continuously recharges them so the magnets never fail.† â€Å"And if the field fails?† â€Å"The obvious. The antimatter falls out of suspension, hits the bottom of the trap, and we see an annihilation.† Langdon's ears pricked up. â€Å"Annihilation?† He didn't like the sound of it. Vittoria looked unconcerned. â€Å"Yes. If antimatter and matter make contact, both are destroyed instantly. Physicists call the process ‘annihilation.' â€Å" Langdon nodded. â€Å"Oh.† â€Å"It is nature's simplest reaction. A particle of matter and a particle of antimatter combine to release two new particles – called photons. A photon is effectively a tiny puff of light.† Langdon had read about photons – light particles – the purest form of energy. He decided to refrain from asking about Captain Kirk's use of photon torpedoes against the Klingons. â€Å"So if the antimatter falls, we see a tiny puff of light?† Vittoria shrugged. â€Å"Depends what you call tiny. Here, let me demonstrate.† She reached for the canister and started to unscrew it from its charging podium. Without warning, Kohler let out a cry of terror and lunged forward, knocking her hands away. â€Å"Vittoria! Are you insane?† 22 Kohler, incredibly, was standing for a moment, teetering on two withered legs. His face was white with fear. â€Å"Vittoria! You can't remove that trap!† Langdon watched, bewildered by the director's sudden panic. â€Å"Five hundred nanograms!† Kohler said. â€Å"If you break the magnetic field – â€Å" â€Å"Director,† Vittoria assured, â€Å"it's perfectly safe. Every trap has a failsafe – a back-up battery in case it is removed from its recharger. The specimen remains suspended even if I remove the canister.† Kohler looked uncertain. Then, hesitantly, he settled back into his chair. â€Å"The batteries activate automatically,† Vittoria said, â€Å"when the trap is moved from the recharger. They work for twenty-four hours. Like a reserve tank of gas.† She turned to Langdon, as if sensing his discomfort. â€Å"Antimatter has some astonishing characteristics, Mr. Langdon, which make it quite dangerous. A ten milligram sample – the volume of a grain of sand – is hypothesized to hold as much energy as about two hundred metric tons of conventional rocket fuel.† Langdon's head was spinning again. â€Å"It is the energy source of tomorrow. A thousand times more powerful than nuclear energy. One hundred percent efficient. No byproducts. No radiation. No pollution. A few grams could power a major city for a week.† Grams? Langdon stepped uneasily back from the podium. â€Å"Don't worry,† Vittoria said. â€Å"These samples are minuscule fractions of a gram – millionths. Relatively harmless.† She reached for the canister again and twisted it from its docking platform. Kohler twitched but did not interfere. As the trap came free, there was a sharp beep, and a small LED display activated near the base of the trap. The red digits blinked, counting down from twenty-four hours. 24:00:00†¦ 23:59:59†¦ 23:59:58†¦ Langdon studied the descending counter and decided it looked unsettlingly like a time bomb. â€Å"The battery,† Vittoria explained, â€Å"will run for the full twenty-four hours before dying. It can be recharged by placing the trap back on the podium. It's designed as a safety measure, but it's also convenient for transport.† â€Å"Transport?† Kohler looked thunderstruck. â€Å"You take this stuff out of the lab?† â€Å"Of course not,† Vittoria said. â€Å"But the mobility allows us to study it.† Vittoria led Langdon and Kohler to the far end of the room. She pulled a curtain aside to reveal a window, beyond which was a large room. The walls, floors, and ceiling were entirely plated in steel. The room reminded Langdon of the holding tank of an oil freighter he had once taken to Papua New Guinea to study Hanta body graffiti. â€Å"It's an annihilation tank,† Vittoria declared. Kohler looked up. â€Å"You actually observe annihilations?† â€Å"My father was fascinated with the physics of the Big Bang – large amounts of energy from minuscule kernels of matter.† Vittoria pulled open a steel drawer beneath the window. She placed the trap inside the drawer and closed it. Then she pulled a lever beside the drawer. A moment later, the trap appeared on the other side of the glass, rolling smoothly in a wide arc across the metal floor until it came to a stop near the center of the room. Vittoria gave a tight smile. â€Å"You're about to witness your first antimatter-matter annihilation. A few millionths of a gram. A relatively minuscule specimen.† Langdon looked out at the antimatter trap sitting alone on the floor of the enormous tank. Kohler also turned toward the window, looking uncertain. â€Å"Normally,† Vittoria explained, â€Å"we'd have to wait the full twenty-four hours until the batteries died, but this chamber contains magnets beneath the floor that can override the trap, pulling the antimatter out of suspension. And when the matter and antimatter touch†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Annihilation,† Kohler whispered. â€Å"One more thing,† Vittoria said. â€Å"Antimatter releases pure energy. A one hundred percent conversion of mass to photons. So don't look directly at the sample. Shield your eyes.† Langdon was wary, but he now sensed Vittoria was being overly dramatic. Don't look directly at the canister? The device was more than thirty yards away, behind an ultrathick wall of tinted Plexiglas. Moreover, the speck in the canister was invisible, microscopic. Shield my eyes? Langdon thought. How much energy could that speck possibly – Vittoria pressed the button. Instantly, Langdon was blinded. A brilliant point of light shone in the canister and then exploded outward in a shock wave of light that radiated in all directions, erupting against the window before him with thunderous force. He stumbled back as the detonation rocked the vault. The light burned bright for a moment, searing, and then, after an instant, it rushed back inward, absorbing in on itself, and collapsing into a tiny speck that disappeared to nothing. Langdon blinked in pain, slowly recovering his eyesight. He squinted into the smoldering chamber. The canister on the floor had entirely disappeared. Vaporized. Not a trace. He stared in wonder. â€Å"G†¦ God.† Vittoria nodded sadly. â€Å"That's precisely what my father said.† 23 Kohler was staring into the annihilation chamber with a look of utter amazement at the spectacle he had just seen. Robert Langdon was beside him, looking even more dazed. â€Å"I want to see my father,† Vittoria demanded. â€Å"I showed you the lab. Now I want to see my father.† Kohler turned slowly, apparently not hearing her. â€Å"Why did you wait so long, Vittoria? You and your father should have told me about this discovery immediately.† Vittoria stared at him. How many reasons do you want? â€Å"Director, we can argue about this later. Right now, I want to see my father.† â€Å"Do you know what this technology implies?† â€Å"Sure,† Vittoria shot back. â€Å"Revenue for CERN. A lot of it. Now I want – â€Å" â€Å"Is that why you kept it secret?† Kohler demanded, clearly baiting her. â€Å"Because you feared the board and I would vote to license it out?† â€Å"It should be licensed,† Vittoria fired back, feeling herself dragged into the argument. â€Å"Antimatter is important technology. But it's also dangerous. My father and I wanted time to refine the procedures and make it safe.† â€Å"In other words, you didn't trust the board of directors to place prudent science before financial greed.† Vittoria was surprised with the indifference in Kohler's tone. â€Å"There were other issues as well,† she said. â€Å"My father wanted time to present antimatter in the appropriate light.† â€Å"Meaning?† What do you think I mean? â€Å"Matter from energy? Something from nothing? It's practically proof that Genesis is a scientific possibility.† â€Å"So he didn't want the religious implications of his discovery lost in an onslaught of commercialism?† â€Å"In a manner of speaking.† â€Å"And you?† Vittoria's concerns, ironically, were somewhat the opposite. Commercialism was critical for the success of any new energy source. Although antimatter technology had staggering potential as an efficient and nonpolluting energy source – if unveiled prematurely, antimatter ran the risk of being vilified by the politics and PR fiascoes that had killed nuclear and solar power. Nuclear had proliferated before it was safe, and there were accidents. Solar had proliferated before it was efficient, and people lost money. Both technologies got bad reputations and withered on the vine. â€Å"My interests,† Vittoria said, â€Å"were a bit less lofty than uniting science and religion.† â€Å"The environment,† Kohler ventured assuredly. â€Å"Limitless energy. No strip mining. No pollution. No radiation. Antimatter technology could save the planet.† â€Å"Or destroy it,† Kohler quipped. â€Å"Depending on who uses it for what.† Vittoria felt a chill emanating from Kohler's crippled form. â€Å"Who else knew about this?† he asked. â€Å"No one,† Vittoria said. â€Å"I told you that.† â€Å"Then why do you think your father was killed?† Vittoria's muscles tightened. â€Å"I have no idea. He had enemies here at CERN, you know that, but it couldn't have had anything to do with antimatter. We swore to each other to keep it between us for another few months, until we were ready.† â€Å"And you're certain your father kept his vow of silence?† Now Vittoria was getting mad. â€Å"My father has kept tougher vows than that!† â€Å"And you told no one?† â€Å"Of course not!† Kohler exhaled. He paused, as though choosing his next words carefully. â€Å"Suppose someone did find out. And suppose someone gained access to this lab. What do you imagine they would be after? Did your father have notes down here? Documentation of his processes?† â€Å"Director, I've been patient. I need some answers now. You keep talking about a break-in, but you saw the retina scan. My father has been vigilant about secrecy and security.† â€Å"Humor me,† Kohler snapped, startling her. â€Å"What would be missing?† â€Å"I have no idea.† Vittoria angrily scanned the lab. All the antimatter specimens were accounted for. Her father's work area looked in order. â€Å"Nobody came in here,† she declared. â€Å"Everything up here looks fine.† Kohler looked surprised. â€Å"Up here?† Vittoria had said it instinctively. â€Å"Yes, here in the upper lab.† â€Å"You're using the lower lab too?† â€Å"For storage.† Kohler rolled toward her, coughing again. â€Å"You're using the Haz-Mat chamber for storage? Storage of what?† Hazardous material, what else! Vittoria was losing her patience. â€Å"Antimatter.† Kohler lifted himself on the arms of his chair. â€Å"There are other specimens? Why the hell didn't you tell me!† â€Å"I just did,† Vittoria fired back. â€Å"And you've barely given me a chance!† â€Å"We need to check those specimens,† Kohler said. â€Å"Now.† â€Å"Specimen,† Vittoria corrected. â€Å"Singular. And it's fine. Nobody could ever – â€Å" â€Å"Only one?† Kohler hesitated. â€Å"Why isn't it up here?† â€Å"My father wanted it below the bedrock as a precaution. It's larger than the others.† The look of alarm that shot between Kohler and Langdon was not lost on Vittoria. Kohler rolled toward her again. â€Å"You created a specimen larger than five hundred nanograms?† â€Å"A necessity,† Vittoria defended. â€Å"We had to prove the input/yield threshold could be safely crossed.† The question with new fuel sources, she knew, was always one of input vs. yield – how much money one had to expend to harvest the fuel. Building an oil rig to yield a single barrel of oil was a losing endeavor. However, if that same rig, with minimal added expense, could deliver millions of barrels, then you were in business. Antimatter was the same way. Firing up sixteen miles of electromagnets to create a tiny specimen of antimatter expended more energy than the resulting antimatter contained. In order to prove antimatter efficient and viable, one had to create specimens of a larger magnitude. Although Vittoria's father had been hesitant to create a large specimen, Vittoria had pushed him hard. She argued that in order for antimatter to be taken seriously, she and her father had to prove two things. First, that cost-effective amounts could be produced. And second, that the specimens could be safely stored. In the end she had won, and her father had acquiesced against his better judgment. Not, however, without some firm guidelines regarding secrecy and access. The antimatter, her father had insisted, would be stored in Haz-Mat – a small granite hollow, an additional seventy-five feet below ground. The specimen would be their secret. And only the two of them would have access. â€Å"Vittoria?† Kohler insisted, his voice tense. â€Å"How large a specimen did you and your father create?† Vittoria felt a wry pleasure inside. She knew the amount would stun even the great Maximilian Kohler. She pictured the antimatter below. An incredible sight. Suspended inside the trap, perfectly visible to the naked eye, danced a tiny sphere of antimatter. This was no microscopic speck. This was a droplet the size of a BB. Vittoria took a deep breath. â€Å"A full quarter of a gram.† The blood drained from Kohler's face. â€Å"What!† He broke into a fit of coughing. â€Å"A quarter of a gram? That converts to†¦ almost five kilotons!† Kilotons. Vittoria hated the word. It was one she and her father never used. A kiloton was equal to 1,000 metric tons of TNT. Kilotons were for weaponry. Payload. Destructive power. She and her father spoke in electron volts and joules – constructive energy output. â€Å"That much antimatter could literally liquidate everything in a half-mile radius!† Kohler exclaimed. â€Å"Yes, if annihilated all at once,† Vittoria shot back, â€Å"which nobody would ever do!† â€Å"Except someone who didn't know better. Or if your power source failed!† Kohler was already heading for the elevator. â€Å"Which is why my father kept it in Haz-Mat under a fail-safe power and a redundant security system.† Kohler turned, looking hopeful. â€Å"You have additional security on Haz-Mat?† â€Å"Yes. A second retina-scan.† Kohler spoke only two words. â€Å"Downstairs. Now.† The freight elevator dropped like a rock. Another seventy-five feet into the earth. Vittoria was certain she sensed fear in both men as the elevator fell deeper. Kohler's usually emotionless face was taut. I know, Vittoria thought, the sample is enormous, but the precautions we've taken are – They reached the bottom. The elevator opened, and Vittoria led the way down the dimly lit corridor. Up ahead the corridor dead-ended at a huge steel door. HAZ-MAT. The retina scan device beside the door was identical to the one upstairs. She approached. Carefully, she aligned her eye with the lens. She pulled back. Something was wrong. The usually spotless lens was spattered†¦ smeared with something that looked like†¦ blood? Confused she turned to the two men, but her gaze met waxen faces. Both Kohler and Langdon were white, their eyes fixed on the floor at her feet. Vittoria followed their line of sight†¦ down. â€Å"No!† Langdon yelled, reaching for her. But it was too late. Vittoria's vision locked on the object on the floor. It was both utterly foreign and intimately familiar to her. It took only an instant. Then, with a reeling horror, she knew. Staring up at her from the floor, discarded like a piece of trash, was an eyeball. She would have recognized that shade of hazel anywhere.

Woman Hollering Creed

Morgan Sneed ENGL2006 Sandra Cisneros is an American writer best known for her first novel The House on Mango Street and her subsequent short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. Her work experiments with literary forms and investigates emerging subject positions, which Cisneros herself attributes to growing up in a context of cultural hybridity and economic inequality that endowed her with unique stories to tell.Cisneros's early life provided many experiences she would later draw on as a writer: â€Å"born in Chicago, the child of a Mexican father and a Mexican American mother, Cisneros spent parts of her childhood in Texas and Mexico (1130). † Cisneros's work deals with the formation of Chicana identity, exploring the challenges of finding herself caught between Mexican and American cultures, facing the misogynist attitudes present in both these cultures, and experiencing poverty. For her insightful social critique and powerful prose style, Cisneros has achieved recognition far beyond Chicano and Latino communities.Using her position as an educator and writer, she began â€Å"to champion Chicana feminism, especially as this movement combines cultural issues with women’s concerns (1131)†. In Woman Hollering Creek, Cisneros â€Å"cultivates a sense of warmth and naive humor for her protagonists, qualities that are evident in introductory parts (1130). † This short story collection deals with the issues that young women faced. â€Å"What remains constant is the author’s view that by romanticizing sexual relations women cooperate with a male view that can be oppressive, even physically destructive†¦Ciseneros is ‘caught between here and there’.Yet ‘here’ and ‘there’ are not as dichotomous as young versus old, female versus male, or Mexico versus the United States (1130). † Woman Hollering Creek is a tale of tragedy and triumph. The story, told from the third person, begins by showing us the foreknowledge our protagonist Cleofilas’s father held concerning her fate. â€Å"†¦ Already did he divine the morning his daughter would raise her hand over her eyes, look south, and dream of returning to the chores that never ended, six good-for-nothing brothers, and one old man’s complaints (1131). Cleofilas is preparing to marry a Texas man, Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez. If a critic were to take into account, external historical and social considerations when interpreting Sandra Cisneros's â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek†, his initial natural prejudice might be to view the modern Untied States more likely to provide women liberation from oppressive masculinity than Mexico. However, a closer reading of â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek† reveals the opposite true in this case. The U. S. own, which Cleofilas moves with her new husband, casts a distorted mirror image of the town from whence she came. This juxtaposition in the se tting, as well as the characters, symbols, and point of view, all combine to amass their weight toward one conclusion: life in the United States is less liberating for the Mexican woman than life in Mexico. The United States town, steeped in masculinity, is evidenced by the symbolism of the setting as well as by the characters. The primary character that takes an active part in Cleofilas's life, her husband, is masculine.Across the street is Maximiliano, so macho that he â€Å"was said to have killed his wife in an ice-house brawl† (1136). There is no feminine identity for Cleofilas to relate to in her neighbors; Dolores is no longer a mother and Soledad is no longer a wife. Dolores's garden, rather than being tranquil and feminine, serves to reinforce masculine dominance by showing the â€Å"red cockscombs, fringed and bleeding a thick menstrual color† (1133) foreshadow the abuse that would soon leave Cleofilas's lip split open so that it â€Å"bled an orchid of bloo d† (1134).The town has a city hall, an image of masculine rule, outside of which rests a large bronze pecan. In effect, it is a brass nut, an obviously masculine symbol for which the town possesses a â€Å"silly pride† (1135). Each of these components of setting and character has their feminine mirror in the Mexican town, which is therefore more hospitable to women. The primary character who takes a part in Cleofilas's life there is her father who seems to have taken over the mothering role of Cleofilas's deceased mother, making a promise, â€Å"I am your father I will never abandon you† (1131).All of her neighbors are women, and all have a sense of identity. â€Å"In the town where she grew up, there isn’t much to do except accompany the aunts and godmothers to the house of one or the other to play cards (1131). † Instead of a city hall, the town has a town center, which implies not masculine competition and rule but feminine cooperation. Instead o f a bronze pecan outside of the city hall, there is a â€Å"leafy zocalo in the center of town† (1135), suggesting fertility and femininity.In addition to providing a contrast between the feminine and the masculine, the relative setting of the towns also create a contrast between independence and dependence, â€Å"because the towns in the U. S. are built so that you have to depend on husbands†(1135). In the church in Mexico she could meet with other women and engage in â€Å"huddled whispering† (1135), but in the United States â€Å"the whispering begins at sunset at the icehouse instead† and she must sit â€Å"mute beside their conversation† (1135).TV and cinema are both readily available to Cleofilas in Mexico, but in Seguin, she has no TV, and can only glimpse a â€Å"few episodes† of her telenovela at Soledad's house. Even her one solid contact with a world outside her own, her book, is thrown by her husband â€Å"from across the roomâ €  (1136). Not only does the Mexican town provide more opportunities for independent action than the U. S. town, but it also provides alternatives for dependency. In Mexico, Cleofilas can depend on her father, brothers, aunts, and godmothers.In the United States, however, she has no such option, as the doctor says, â€Å"her family's all in Mexico† (1138). These contrasts between the dependence on the masculine necessitated by the U. S. town and the independence, or at least the variety of dependencies, afforded by the Mexican town become clearer as the story progresses. Initially, the narrator's point of view expresses a feeling of limitation in the Mexican town: In the town where she grew up, there is not very much to do except accompany the aunts and godmothers to the house of one or the other to play cards.Or walk to the cinema to see this week's film again, speckled and with one hair quivering annoyingly on the screen. Or to the center of town to order a milk shake th at will appear in a day and a half as a pimple on her backside. Or to the girlfriend's house to watch the latest telenovela episode and try to copy the way the women comb their hair, wear there makeup (1131). The language of this passage makes the town appear dull and limiting until compared with the language of a similar passage describing the northern town. â€Å"There is no place to go.Unless one counts the neighbor ladies. Soledad on one side, Dolores on the other. Or the creek† (1136). By contrasting these passages, we can see the narrator's point of view. The Mexican town is not limited compared to the United States town. There are variety of options. The narrator's point of view becomes abundantly clear as Cleofilas crosses Woman Hollering Creek on her way home to Mexico. Initially, the point of view is negative. When moving to her new home with her husband, Cleofilas wants to know whether â€Å"the woman has hollered from anger or pain† (1133).Crossing that riv er to her new home is like crossing into a world of both anger and pain. However, leaving that world, and crossing the river returning to her father endows Cleofilas with a fresh perspective. Her companion hollers when they cross the river, but not in either anger or pain. She hollers â€Å"like Tarzan† (1138). Cleofilas had expected â€Å"pain or rage, perhaps, but not a hoot like the one Felice had just let go† (1139). Therefore, â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek†, becomes a triumphant return to a home of peace and love and an escape from what her father had known all along.

Information Searches Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Information Searches - Research Paper Example Level of involvement is used to reflect how personally important somebody is in consuming product and how much you need to make the decision. The involvement of purchasing a product varies by consumer not the product. Low involvement decisions are decisions that are made by consumers on typical products that do not pose high risk to them if they purchase those products. The consumers in this level make automatic purchase decision based on limited information they have gathered on the product. Middle involvement purchase is the in which consumers don’t rush in making purchase decisions but rather they gather information that enables them think and make appropriate decisions regarding the product. They choose the product of middle classes and not ones that are expensive in nature. High involvement purchases are that which carries a higher risk to consumer if they fail to buy the complex, with higher price tags of goods. Buyers don’t engage in in routine response when purc hasing high involvement products. The purchasing power of consumer in this level of purchase is determined by the price of the product to be purchased. Consumers in this level of purchase only consider purchasing goods of high prices or luxurious goods. Discussion Marketing action planning helps producers to market their product and services effectively. The best way to plan for your market action is by one researching about their customers so that they can understand how best their products and services can hit the market target. The scheduling system one uses doesn’t matter as long as it is consistent and it can work better for your purchasing plan. For one to actual be successful in purchasing strategy he/she should consider the following three marketing actions: The on-going marketing ;action The one-time marketing actions The idea generation actions The on-going marketing action The on-going marketing activities are that which deals with normal day-day business actions. Examples are; Advertising, direct mail activities, writing blog posts, networking on a social network such as twitter. The main purpose of marketing actions and strategies is to result in making the required product available and can satisfy customers need and interest while making profit for those companies. The daily actions taken by the business does not give customers to find enough time to research about the products they want to acquire, but through the channel of advertisement and mailing they can have some recommended knowledge about the product he wants to consume. The one-time marketing action This is an action that is done by business on need basis. They are always carried out once in a while especially when there is a development of a new product or an introduction of a new product in the market. Example of such actions is; developing a workshop, creating a new product or service, setting up an affiliated program. This kind of action gives the customer/consumer a rough i dea but one that can be relied upon when buying the upcoming product. This action is always more appropriate to the medium level involvement purchasers who require some rough ideas about the product to be consumed. Idea generation action Is organising and scheduling some safe time for cropping new ideas that is relevant to your market and the influence of consumable products. This provides you with additional opportunities to increase your income. The action is always considered by big investors such as the real estate