The Most Common Stereotypes - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1104 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/04/12 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Stereotypes Essay Did you like this example? Does anyone really like to be stereotyped in any way, shape or form? Does anyone want to be looked at and automatically judged just because of the way they look, by their skin color, their hair type, or even the type of clothing they choose to wear? Now, you might ask, well, what is even the correct definition of a stereotype? According to United Nations Human Rights, the correct definition of a stereotype is the generalized view or preconception about attributes or characteristics that are or ought to be possessed by members of a particular social group or the roles that are or should be performed by, members of a particular social group. According to United Nations Human Rights, a stereotype is harmful when it limits womens or mens capacity to develop their personal abilities, pursue their professional careers and make choices about their lives and life plans. Throughout the film, Finding Forrester, directed by Gus Van Sant, based on my own personal opinion, it is a film that perpetuates a variety of different and even harsh stereotypes. It is quite clear throughout the majority of the film, the two shared their differences, there was quite a series of controversy based on Jamals race and his intelligence. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Most Common Stereotypes" essay for you Create order In the article, Sex and Temperament written by Margaret Mead, she describes how the roles of males and females are conditioned by that persons given culture. Mead describes the research done to see if cultures contribute to the shaping of a person. The research involves three primitive groups: the Arapesh, the Mundugumor and the Tchambuli. Through each of these groups with the roles of sexes, both male and female, they were based on the culture conditioning rather genetics or heredity; for example, culture conditioning is the way a newborn child is shaped or raised into its given culture. Race is a major issue throughout society today, but race is also a major issue in the film along with the many different other stereotypes that are created. Take for example Corey Stewart, a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Virginia. Last year in September, Stewart used a well-known social media platform, Facebook, to further share his opinions regarding racial stereotypes pointed towards NFL players. As stated on CNN under the political category, Stewart said, A lot of these guys, I mean, theyre thugs, they are beating up their girlfriends and their wives, you know, theyve got, you know, children all over the place that they dont pay attention to, dont father, with many different women, they are womanizers. These are not people that we should have our sons, or any of our children look up to. We need to have our children look up to real role models. What does raising a child or even being a role model to a child have anything to do with playing football professionally? Stewart is obviously stereotyping black men based off the false stereotype of the general population of black men, lack of evidence and past history of racial incidences with people of color. It is also quite clear that Stewart is not acknowledging that other men or even women of different ethnicities have engaged in either the same or similar acts. Jamal Wallace is introduced in the film as a typical black teenage male who goes to a low-class high school in the Bronx, but very much so excels on the court as a basketball player. Jamal is dared by his friends to go into the apartment that they like to call The Widows House, of a recluse who watches Jamal and his friends play basketball through binoculars, but Jamal gets caught trespassing and runs away in fright. Not too many people thought of Jamal as being anything more than just that, especially due to the fact that Jamal was making second-rate grades at his high school in the Bronx, he simply just does what he can to get by and maintain a C average. Jamal did not push himself any harder in the classroom than he ever needed to. Jamals passion was always writing, so when Jamal broke into the mans apartment, he met an old famous writer named William Forrester, but he did not quite know exactly who he was yet until later on in the film and little did they know that when they first met what a great difference they each eventually made for each other. William is the first person who was genuine and sincerely cared to help Jamal on his writing by mostly teaching him discipline. Even though Williams main goal when it came to helping Jamal with his writing, he also helped Jamal find himself throughout each of his own personal writings. Throughout the film, you can see that Williams goal was accomp lished, and Jamal prospers into be quite a good writer. It is said that our parents, whether they were either right or wrong, shaped our lives into the human beings that we are all today and will be from our days moving forward. Each and every single one of us developed numerous habits that had eventually become apart of our daily routines in our everyday lives ever since the day we were all welcomed into this great, big world, and it helped us each to express ourselves within our world. I, myself, am no exception for the human being I am today, though in a much greater portion, because of my mother and father. As I grew up and even presently to this day, my own mind was nearly always on the same page as each of my parents: there is nothing I could not accomplish nor achieve; however, at this rather impressionable age, I began to notice certain habits only existed because of my parents and that certain tasks were not universally done by one another. As time went on, it became quite clear that my parents did not share the same roles or opi nions as I had once thought they always did, whether it was about duties being performed around the house or whether it was about the positions of being a role model when it came to guidance, senses of perspective and aspirations. If there is one thing I learned about this film, it is that, no matter where we go or what we do, there are challenges that lie ahead of us. You need to meet those challenges head on with your head held high and your heart open wide, because it is not enough to simply try and get by with your life. That does not move the world forward, nor yourself for that matter.

Essay on Life of Frederick Douglass Book Review - 1383 Words

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is written by the ex-slave Frederick Douglass and recounts his life as a slave and his ambition to become a free man. This edition is edited with an introduction by David W. Blight, an American History teacher. Blight was born in 1949 and raised in Flint, Michigan. After achieving his undergraduate degree he taught for seven years in a public high school, before he received his PhD at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985. After teaching at Harvard and North Central College, Blight was a professor of American History at Yale University and Director of the Gilder-Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition. Blight was also a professor of History at Amherst College,†¦show more content†¦Sophia and Hugh Auld become crueler toward him, but Douglass still prefers Baltimore and teaches himself to read with the help of local boys. Douglass becomes more aware of the evils of slavery and of the existence of the abolitionist, or antislavery, movement and resolves to eventually escape to the North. Over the years, Douglass is rented out to other owners, until he eventually returns to Balitimore to work for Hugh Auld again and learn the skills of ship caulking. Here Douglass experiences strained race relations and while white workers have been working alongside free black workers, the whites fear that the increase of free blacks will take their jobs. Douglass is just an apprentice, and still a slave, but he experiences violent intimidation from his white coworkers and must switch shipyards where he quickly learns the trade of caulking. Douglass turns over all his wages to his master, however he eventually receives permission from Auld to rent out his excess time, and begins to save up for his escape to New York. At the age of 20, he flees, and changes his name from Bailey to Douglass for fear of recapture. After, he marries Anna Murray, a free woman he met in Baltimore and they move up to Massachusetts, where Douglass becomes highly involved with the abolitionist movement, as a writer and orator. In his memoir, Douglass acts as both narrator and the protagonist, and comes across veryShow MoreRelatedAnnotated Bibliography Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Essay858 Words   |  4 PagesAnnotated Bibliography Boxill, Bernard. Frederick Douglass’s Patriotism. Journal of Ethics 13.4 (2009): 301-317. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct 2015. Bernard argues that Frederick Douglass always was a patriot even throughout slavery. He states that most Americans are patriots even if they do not agree with the politics, but rather just a love for their country. It talks about Americans who give selfless amounts of time toward the improvement of America. Buccola, Nicholas. Each for All and All for Each:Read MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1257 Words   |  6 PagesBook Review By Mary Elizabeth Ralls Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: An autobiography written by Frederick Douglass Millennium publication, 1945edition 75 pages Frederick Douglass whose real name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey approximately birthdate is in1818, the month or day is not known, he died in 1895. He is one of the most famous advocates and the greatest leaders of anti-slavery in the past 200 or so years.Read More Response of Fredrick Douglass to Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe964 Words   |  4 PagesFredrick Douglass Response to Uncle Toms Cabin      Ã‚   Frederick Douglass was arguably the most prominent African American abolitionist during the mid-19th century. He established his notoriety through his narrative entitled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave published in 1845. Frederick Douglass also produced an African American newspaper, Frederick Douglass Paper, which highlighted the reception and critiques of Harriet Beecher Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin. FrederickRead MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1068 Words   |  5 Pages Frederick Douglass: Narrative Of The Life Of F.D Frederick Douglass wrote several books, but one of his best selling books was: The narrative life of Frederick Douglass. This book talks about how crucial Frederick’s life was since a child. His mother was Harriet bailey, a dark skinned women who was a pure breed African. His Father was a white man, rumors were circling that his master was his father. Since a newborn he was separated from his mother, which means that he couldn’t remember how herRead MoreThe Life of A Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs Essay1272 Words   |  6 Pagesseparate books or articles most slaves were born in the last years of the slave regime or during the Civil War. Some Slaves told about their experiences on plantations, in cities, and on small farms. Slave narratives are one of the only ways that people today know about the way slaves lived, what they did each day, and what they went through. There are three famous slave narratives in history, Incidents in The Life of A Slave Girl by Harrie t A. Jacobs, Narrative of The Life of Frederick DouglassRead MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave1251 Words   |  6 PagesJustine Boonstra Frey- Period 1 MAJOR WORKS REVIEW AP Lang Version GENERAL 1. Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. 1845. New York: Fine, 2003. Print. 2. Autobiography STRUCTURE 1. Point of View: First Person, the narrator Frederick Douglass 2. Relationship of POV to meaning: 3. Plot Structure a. Exposition: Douglass describes that his mother was a black slave, and his father was a white man. Thus, he was born into slavery and was sent off toRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Douglass s The Great Gatsby 1208 Words   |  5 PagesMessage: Douglass wants his audience, the American public, to know that he earned his freedom. Freedom is something that each of us must look for in order to be truly â€Å"free.† Through the personal experiences of his own life as a slave and his perseverance to become educated, Douglass shows us that it requires persistence and bravery to look for freedom. He also illustrates to the audience that there is no real end in this search for freedom until slavery is fully abolished. Purpose: Douglass wroteRead More The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave1267 Words   |  6 PagesThe Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave was written by Frederick Douglass himself. He was born into slavery in Tuckahoe, Maryland in approximately 1817. He has, †¦no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it (47). He became known as an eloquent speaker for the cause of the abolitionists. Having himself been kept as a slave until he escaped from Maryland in 1838Read MoreThe Autobiography By Frederick Douglass1632 Words   |  7 Pagesby Frederick Douglass is very interesting. It talks about his life and his contribution to the abolition movement. This is an incredible tell perseverance to be with his love that is free in the north and to help others that have been in captivity. Before the book starts he gives a pretty face by William Lloyd Garrison and a letter from Wend ale Phillips. He s done this because he wants people to know that he is a runaway slave that is smart and able to write in his book is his own book. AndRead MoreRay Bradburys Fahrenheit 4511020 Words   |  5 Pagesowning books is illegal, and the penalty for their possession—to watch them combust into ashes. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, illustrates just such a society. Bradbury wrote his science fiction in 1951 depicting a society of modern age with technology abundant in this day and age—even though such technology was unheard of in his day. Electronics such as headphones, wall-sized television sets, and automatic doors were all a significant part of Bradbury’s description of humanity. Human life styles

Deception Point Page 43 Free Essays

Norah took a final look up the incline, grateful for the illuminated pathway home. As she looked out, though, something odd occurred. For an instant, one of the nearest flares entirely disappeared from view. We will write a custom essay sample on Deception Point Page 43 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Before Norah could worry that it was dying out, the flare reappeared. If Norah didn’t know better, she would assume something had passed between the flare and her location. Certainly nobody else was out here†¦ unless of course the administrator had started to feel guilty and sent a NASA team out after them. Somehow Norah doubted it. Probably nothing, she decided. A gust of wind had momentarily killed the flame. Norah returned to the GPR. â€Å"All lined up?† Tolland shrugged. â€Å"I think so.† Norah went over to the control device on the sled and pressed a button. A sharp buzz emanated from the GPR and then stopped. â€Å"Okay,† she said. â€Å"Done.† â€Å"That’s it?† Corky said. â€Å"All the work is in setup. The actual shot takes only a second.† Onboard the sled, the heat-transfer printer had already begun to hum and click. The printer was enclosed in a clear plastic covering and was slowly ejecting a heavy, curled paper. Norah waited until the device had completed printing, and then she reached up under the plastic and removed the printout. They’ll see, she thought, carrying the printout over to the flare so that everyone could see it. There won’t be any saltwater. Everyone gathered around as Norah stood over the flare, clutching the printout tightly in her gloves. She took a deep breath and uncurled the paper to examine the data. The image on the paper made her recoil in horror. â€Å"Oh, God!† Norah stared, unable to believe what she was looking at. As expected, the printout revealed a clear cross section of the water-filled meteorite shaft. But what Norah had never expected to see was the hazy grayish outline of a humanoid form floating halfway down the shaft. Her blood turned to ice. â€Å"Oh God†¦ there’s a body in the extraction pit.† Everyone stared in stunned silence. The ghostlike body was floating head down in the narrow shaft. Billowing around the corpse like some sort of cape was an eerie shroudlike aura. Norah now realized what the aura was. The GPR had captured a faint trace of the victim’s heavy coat, what could only be a familiar, long, dense camel hair. â€Å"It’s†¦ Ming,† she said in a whisper. â€Å"He must have slipped†¦.† Norah Mangor never imagined that seeing Ming’s body in the extraction pit would be the lesser of the two shocks the printout would reveal, but as her eyes traced downward in the shaft, she saw something else. The ice beneath the extraction shaft†¦ Norah stared. Her first thought was that something had gone wrong with the scan. Then, as she studied the image more closely, an unsettling realization began to grow, like the storm gathering around them. The paper’s edges flapped wildly in the wind as she turned and looked more intently at the printout. But†¦ that’s impossible! Suddenly, the truth came crashing down. The realization felt like it was going to bury her. She forgot all about Ming. Norah now understood. The saltwater in the shaft! She fell to her knees in the snow beside the flare. She could barely breathe. Still clutching the paper in her hands, she began trembling. My God†¦ it didn’t even occur to me. Then, with a sudden eruption of rage, she spun her head in the direction of the NASA habisphere. â€Å"You bastards!† she screamed, her voice trailing off in the wind. â€Å"You goddamned bastards!† In the darkness, only fifty yards away, Delta-One held his CrypTalk device to his mouth and spoke only two words to his controller. â€Å"They know.† 49 Norah Mangor was still kneeling on the ice when the bewildered Michael Tolland pulled the Ground Penetrating Radar’s printout from her trembling hands. Shaken from seeing the floating body of Ming, Tolland tried to gather his thoughts and decipher the image before him. He saw the cross section of the meteorite shaft descending from the surface down to two hundred feet into the ice. He saw Ming’s body floating in the shaft. Tolland’s eyes drifted lower now, and he sensed something was amiss. Directly beneath the extraction shaft, a dark column of sea ice extended downward to the open ocean below. The vertical pillar of saltwater ice was massive-the same diameter as the shaft. â€Å"My God!† Rachel yelled, looking over Tolland’s shoulder. â€Å"It looks like the meteorite shaft continues all the way through the ice shelf into the ocean!† Tolland stood transfixed, his brain unable to accept what he knew to be the only logical explanation. Corky looked equally alarmed. Norah shouted, â€Å"Someone drilled up under the shelf!† Her eyes were wild with rage. â€Å"Someone intentionally inserted that rock from underneath the ice!† Although the idealist in Tolland wanted to reject Norah’s words, the scientist in him knew she could easily be right. The Milne Ice Shelf was floating over the ocean with plenty of clearance for a submersible. Because everything weighed significantly less underwater, even a small submersible not much bigger than Tolland’s one-man research Triton easily could have transported the meteorite in its payload arms. The sub could have approached from the ocean, submerged beneath the ice shelf, and drilled upward into the ice. Then, it could have used an extending payload arm or inflatable balloons to push the meteorite up into the shaft. Once the meteorite was in place, the ocean water that had risen into the shaft behind the meteorite would begin to freeze. As soon as the shaft closed enough to hold the meteorite in place, the sub could retract its arm and disappear, leaving Mother Nature to seal the remainder of the tunnel and erase all traces of the deception. â€Å"But why?† Rachel demanded, taking the printout from Tolland and studying it. â€Å"Why would someone do that? Are you sure your GPR is working?† â€Å"Of course, I’m sure! And the printout perfectly explains the presence of phosphorescent bacteria in the water!† Tolland had to admit, Norah’s logic was chillingly sound. Phosphorescent dinoflagellates would have followed instinct and swum upward into the meteorite shaft, becoming trapped just beneath the meteorite and freezing into the ice. Later, when Norah heated the meteorite, the ice directly beneath would have melted, releasing the plankton. Again, they would swim upward, this time reaching the surface inside the habisphere, where they would eventually die for lack of saltwater. â€Å"This is crazy!† Corky yelled. â€Å"NASA has a meteorite with extraterrestrial fossils in it. Why would they care where it’s found? Why would they go to the trouble to bury it under an ice shelf?† â€Å"Who the hell knows,† Norah fired back, â€Å"but GPR printouts don’t lie. We were tricked. That meteorite isn’t part of the Jungersol Fall. It was inserted in the ice recently. Within the last year, or the plankton would be dead!† She was already packing up her GPR gear on the sled and fastening it down. â€Å"We’ve to get back and tell someone! The President is about to go public with all the wrong data! NASA tricked him!† â€Å"Wait a minute!† Rachel yelled. â€Å"We should at least run another scan to make sure. None of this makes sense. Who will believe it?† â€Å"Everyone,† Norah said, preparing her sled. â€Å"When I march into the habisphere and drill another core sample out of the bottom of the meteorite shaft and it comes up as saltwater ice, I guarantee you everyone will believe this!† Norah disengaged the brakes on the equipment sled, redirected it toward the habisphere, and started back up the slope, digging her crampons into the ice and pulling the sled behind her with surprising ease. She was a woman on a mission. How to cite Deception Point Page 43, Essay examples

Role of Colour in Impressionism Essay Example For Students

Role of Colour in Impressionism Essay In this essay, I shall try to examine how great a role colour played in the evolution of Impressionism. Impressionism in itself can be seen as a linkage in a long chain of procedures, which led the art to the point it is today. In order to do so, colour in Impressionism needs to be placed within an art-historical context for us to see more clearly the role it has played in the evolution of modern painting. In the late eighteenth century, for example, ancient Greek and Roman examples provided the classical sources in art. At the same time, there was a revolt against the formalism of Neo-Classicism. The accepted style was characterised by appeal to reason and intellect, with a demand for a well-disciplined order and restraint in the work. The decisive Romantic movement emphasized the individual’s right in self-expression, in which imagination and emotion were given free reign and stressed colour rather than line; colour can be seen as the expression for emotion, whereas line is the expression of rationality. Their style was painterly rather than linear; colour offered a freedom that line denied. Among the Romanticists who had a strong influence on Impressionism were Joseph Mallord William Turner and Eugne Delacroix. In Turner’s works, colour took precedence over the realistic portrayal of form; Delacroix led the way for the Impressionists to use unmixed hues. The transition between Romanticism and Impressionism was provided by a small group of artists who lived and worked at the village of Barbizon. Their naturalistic style was based entirely on their observation and painting of nature in the open air. In their natural landscape subjects, they paid careful attention to the colourful expression of light and atmosphere. For them, colour was as important as composition, and this visual approach, with its appeal to emotion, gradually displaced the more studied and forma, with its appeal to reason. Impressionism grew out of and followed immediately after the Barbizon school. A distinctive feature of the work of the Impressionists was the application of paint in touches of mostly pure colour rather than blended; their pictures appeared more luminous and colourful even than the work of Delacroix, from whom they had learned the technique. To the modern eye, the accepted paintings of the salon artists of the day seem pale and dull. Like the paintings of the Barbizon school, much of their painting was done outdoors, in an attempt to capture the fleeting impression of the play of light at a certain moment. The first Impressionist Exhibition was held in 1874. Prominent among the Impressionists were Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Paul Czanne, Eugne Boudin, and Gustave Caillebotte. Impressionism is thought to be ‘†¦the fruit of the scientific thought and research of the nineteenth century’ . One of the principles of the movement was that they substituted the natural chiaroscuro of the colour that was based on the solar spectrum for one that was based more on tones of black and white. It was this principle that has affected painting ever since and most profoundly . It was accompanied by the shock of discovering something new, although earlier paintings, such as those of the Barbizon School had been heading towards the same direction. Most people, even today, relate light with the colour white and darkness with black. Painters of the past have used black in an effort to dim a specific colour, and white to order to lighten it. Scientific knowledge has left us with a complete understanding of how the human eye works, and optics has given painters the opportunity to manipulate light more effortlessly. Thus, we have learnt that white light can be resolved into a scale of colours ranging from violet to red, that black is the reversal of the colour due to its ability to absorb all rays of colour, and that pure white and black exist only in theory . Even a surface that appears to be white to us has the slightest tint of yellow, purple or red; likewise, even the dimmest black has tints of colour in it. It was the awareness of all these details that led the Impressionists into excluding black from their

Sun Country Airlines Leadership Style

Introduction In modern contemporary business environments, change is inevitable; change is defined as a strategic process that involves transitions that move an organization from its current state to a desired state; the objectives of change vary with situation, however, the main goal of a change process is to improve business processes, products, and strategies.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Sun Country Airlines Leadership Style specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Leaders in a change management system have the mandate of managing the new strategies so that their organizations can integrate and adapt new business model in the minimum period without destructing the normal operations. Scholars are of the opinion that managing change is all about managing old habits of the people; it a people management issue that involves motivating, influencing, and shaping organizational behavior to the desired line. Inve ntion of airline and increased globalization has necessitated the growth of airline companies; the increase number taking different approaches has resulted to an increased competition; to remain competitive, companies in the industry has to keep changing and adjusting their processes (Ashkanasy, 2011). In the United States, being the world largest economy has embarked on massive invention in airline industry; one of the most successful companies in the industry is Sun Country Airlines. The success of the company has been attributed to its effective management styles where leaders’ manager changes in the industry effectively (Sun Country Airlines official cite, 2011). This report is from an interview conducted with Stanley J. Gadek, Sun Countries chief executive officer, it will discuss various issues as undertaken in the company. The history of the Sun Country Airlines Sun Country is one of the youngest airline companies in the United States; it was founded after misfortune a nd failure of Braniff International Airport in 1982. The main shareholders of the company were the pilots who were working in the fallen company and MLT Vacations, which owned 51%; it has its head quarters at Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Mendota Heights, Minnesota.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The company concentrates in low cost airline business with its main countries as United States (Domestic), United Kingdom, Mexico, and Caribbean; its main operating port is Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). The initial approach of the company was small with only one airplane, Air Florida Boeing 727–227, however nine year down the line, it was one of the fastest growing industries in the United States; in 1991, and the company recorded an income of $9.7 million (Sun Country Airlines official cite, 2011). It has among the most current technologicall y developed Boeing 737 Next-Generation airplanes; when in high season, the company leases some planes from other companies. Currently the company’s chief executive officer is Mr. Gadded; the company has not gone this far without some hassles, in 1999, after doubling its operations and increased staffs numbers, it was faced by operation issues resulting from the September 11th United States bombing, the company has to suspend operations (Sun Country Airlines official cite, 2011).. Stanley J. Gadek has been in the airline industry for more than 20 years, he started his career in 1977 with Ernst Young LLP; he served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of AirTran Airways Inc. from 2000 to April 30, 2000, before taking the role of Chief Executive Office of Sun Country Airlines at Petters Group Worldwide. Leadership Style Demonstrated by Stanley J. Gadek Stanley J. Gadek is a charisma leader who adopts a democratic leadership skill, a style where he involves staffs and ot her subordinates in decision-making. Despite the fact that staffs are involved in decision-making, the manager is aware that he holds the responsibility of the decision thus he leads the team to an effective, responsive, and timely decisions. He is leader who led by example and understands that he should be in the forefront guiding their team to the desired destination; he has to develop the strategies and synergies to see Sun Country succeed. The self-drive is not enough, they should be able to motivate their team members to come out and use their energies and powers to the benefit of a company (Jakupec Garrick, 2002).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Sun Country Airlines Leadership Style specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When comforted by an issue, the manager makes to it that he has diagnosed the condition and situation to ensure that the right decision has been reached; staffs with the experience and profession to come up with the correct decision are involved in the process. Despite the approach, the manager understands that some decision are better made with no consultation; he does so in the right time and the best method. Qualities, characteristics, and skills of Stanley J. Gadek According to Fielder’s and Contingency Model of leadership, no one distinct method of leadership that can apply to all situations; different teams need different leadership approaches, however some common characteristics that team managers should posses, they include: Visionary Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s Leadership continuum model, is of the opinion that leaders have the main role of leading their teams to great heights, they should be seeing the future and have the strategies to move there. Stanley J. Gadek has the main role of being the business strategic and devises the pathway that the airline will follow. This theory embraces contingency, which argues that behavior of leaders varie s along continuum, the behavior should be seen to evolve for the good of the company. It states that participatory and involvement in decision making of an individual increase as one deviates from autocratic extremes. Four leaderships styles attributed to this model includes autocratic, consultative, persuasive and democratic; whichever the style that a leader adopts, it should be seen to be developing and adding value to the company. To make the visions right, and come up with the right decision, Stanley J. Gadek involves his team members in the decision making process; this assists in building effective teams and managing of situations. For example in the September 11 2001 bombing, the company was at the risk of losing business, however, with the involvement of staffs, the company was able to come out clean (Xiao-Ping, 2011). Decisiveness Stanley J. Gadek makes effective decisions when needed; the decision are timely and respond to the need at hand; Leaders should have the motivat ion and capacity to add value to their company; they should be willing to go the extra mile for the benefit of the company.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When operating in a team, managers should be vibrant and willing to look for better ways in handing issues; they should aim at adding value to their organization as well as maintain a high record of events. The success of Sun Country is based on the quality of decisions made by its management and the involvement of ream players. Effective leaders use most of their time communicating; communicating does not mean giving instructions or orders , but means a person who is able to involve his peers and team members in making sound decisions. He accepts inputs of his juniors but is willing to take full responsibility of a decision. Good Interpersonal skills An effective leader should be able to create a good environment in amongst members of his team; he is expected to create an environment that allows sharing of information, the bossy attitude should not be created so as team members can be able to approach him effectively. Team members may have some personal issues that might affect the performance of the team; a team leader should be empathetic with them and never be sympathetic. This will assist in assist in making decisions among the team and creating a favorable working environment; Stanley J. Gadek interacts feely with his juniors and seniors to make sure they jointly work for the good of the company. There are different areas that are changing in the airline industry; Stanley J. Gadek acts as the change agent in the company; to translate effectively his company top its desired level, he has to coach his subordinates and affect knowledge on them. Teams’ skills and professionalism can only be boosted if the team leader can be able to coach his team members on areas that need to be improved. Coaching takes the form of daily guidance, training and mentoring when need be; leaders should have the skills and the approach to coach his team members. In times of change, a leader who coaches his people on different areas always have an easy time moving his team from one level to another. Coach and Team player An orchestrate team can only be developed by leaders who have excellence team building skill; the major difference between effective and effective leaders is the way they teams; an effective leader has the role of developing a team from a group. An effective leader has the role of combining the different talents, strengths and weakness for the benefits of the company. Motivational and empowerment strategies adopted at Sun Country Sun Country’s Airline human capital can broadly be divided into flying crew and administration; the management has the role of ensuring that all the members are highly motivated and dedicated to carry out their roles effectiveness. Gadek as the chief executive officer has the role of creating favorable environment to the company that will enable motivation among the team members. Human resources management department has the role of ensuring their teams are highly motivated through human resources poli cies and other policies within the organization. The company is divided into departments and sections; every section is seen as a team; in-group management, effective leaders adopt the spirit of delegation, delegation can be redefined as a strategic approach of diving role and empowering subordinates to do certain tasks that were done by those higher in the authority. The spirit of delegation is highly advocated for the company as one for of improving the performance of human resources and as a way of growing leaders and facilitating innovation in the company. When tasks have been delegated, human resources feel that there is higher confidence and trust that the company has on him and he gets highly motivated. Within Sun country teams, team leaders need to develop the talents, skills and grow the leadership skills within the group, the most effective way of growing team members and ensuring that they are highly motivated is through strategic delegations. For example, in the flying c rew, the leader of the team per every fright has the role of ensuring that any concern raised by employees has been addressed; they also delegate their supervision tasks to some other members of the crew. Gadek himself when off duty or on a place far from his office, he delegates power and gives the assistance the much needed support for effective business. When members are given a major role to play, they feel appreciated and they get motivated, it also grows the spirit of teamwork. When it comes to empowerments, it follows the same approach with delegation however, empowerment is more concerned about making decisions which the team member could not have made initially; note than in delegation, the team leader is still responsible of the outcome of the delegated role since he has offered directions to be followed. In empowerment, the staff empowered is given the full control of a project and is held accountable of the outcomes. Another approach that the company uses to motivate its team members is through mentorship, training and coaching; every manager has the role of shaping his staffs focus and improving their skills. In day-to-day operations, it is the role of the manager to nurture talents and grow leadership in an organization. The leaders understand that aspiring leaders should look for situations that they work under the guidance of a successful leader, at work places, supervisors and leaders have the role of mentoring their team members as a way of developing them. Mentoring differs with coaching in that it is seen as a continuous process that takes place daily in working environment. Counseling on the other hand is offering warnings and trying to solve some personal issues, beliefs and cultures that might hinder the development of a leader in an aspiring leader. To attract and maintain high caber staffs, Sun Country ensures that it has an effective wage and compensation policy; they have their salaries above the average salary rate. Other than respe cting international and national labor laws, the company has its own internal wages and compensation policy that allows for monetary and non-monetary compensations. Wages have emotional and psychological effects on employees, they communicate on the value that an employee have in the company as well as the willingness of the employer to retain his employees. The company’s wages are linked to the performance of employee; when wages are linked to performance, employees will be willing to go out of their way to better their performance in anticipation of higher returns. When employees are aware that their employer will reward their efforts, they get motivated to work harder in anticipation of high returns. High compensation for efforts made creates a system of mutual benefit where the employee gains on one side and the employer benefits from the other. Wages and compensation in the company takes the form of salaries, promotions, medical covers, insurance, and pension limited to the pensionable employees), education policies, team buildings, and paid leaves. The role of leaders (Stanley J. Gadek) in managing change Managers are important players in the change process in their organizations; they have the vision for the desired destination of their company, managers stand a better position to understand the past, present and the future thus when they are managing change, they do it from the informed angle. Managers are change agents in their departments and thus entrusted with the responsibility of managing change in a way that their employees can easily cope. The managers are the facilitators of change and must enable change in their respective departments. Sun Country has undergone through a number of changes, they are mostly strategy changes that needed to be handled with utmost care, for example in 1986, the company had to change its model and adopt first wide-body aircraft, a 380-seat DC-10-40, to assist it in improving its businesses. One time that the management of Stanley J. Gadek was put to test was in 2001 and 2002; it was the time that Northwest Airlines had accelerated its operations offering the company high competition, this was coupled with September 11 United States terror attacks; during 2001 summer, Sun Country was bleeding of financial help. It had also 737-8Q8 N800SY, N802SY, N803SY and a 737-7Q8, N710SY model of planes in the time. In time of change, transformational leadership model is of great importance, the leader must be seen as the changing agent and works to develop an effective change strategy. The transformation can only be attained when there is emotional intelligence and good cohesion within the team; the way teams adopt to change can be interpolated as a behavior that they have to adopt, it of great importance to have an effective change process, since change is inevitable. As change agents, the managers play the following roles in implementing change. The following are the roles that Gadek has played i n managing change: For an effective change, employees must support the change implemented; managers have the role of managing change in resistance in the organization, leaders play the role of a detective. As detectives, managers play the role of digging deep into the dynamics of employees’ behaviors to find clues to planned efforts to prevent change and thus determine appropriate measures for removing the obstacles; they aim at offering an atmosphere that allows an effective change. Leaders understand the direction and the organization needs to follow; for example in the wake of global financial crisis, they have to make changes that reduce the effects of the crisis to their businesses, they act as advocators of change. Managers are the vehicles of change in their departments. As an advocate of change, the manager plays the role of campaigning for change in his department and mobilizing employees to participate in the change process. Change can be to improve the current cond itions, take a complete strategy or adopt a different way of doing things. Change management is a process where the management learns, understand and critically think about alterations they are supposed to make in an organization. However, for an effective change process, change should not be imposed to employees but they should be involved in the change system. When undertaking a change, the employees are the immediate people who will be affected and thus they need to be engaged from the earliest stage. In transitional period the leaders is the one who guides subordinates to the desired path. They jointly make rules and policies to be followed in attaining the goals. The role of the leader in this case is to oversee the performance of the roles of subordinates and giving guidance in various areas. They should use the power they have to have pioneer change and motivate people to adopt change effectively (Wynbrandt, 2004). Strategies the leader used to address resistance to change an d implement rapid change. When implementing a change, one of the strongest hindrances to its fast and quick implementation is employee’s resistance. Resistance has been faced at Sun Country as the manager tend to implement new policies and approaches to the business; when an Sun Country is implementing a change, the most important feature that Stanley J. Gadek ensures is that there is effective change communication strategy. When a change is to be implemented, the Stanley J. Gadek himself communicates the change down the power structure and incase there is a need to call for staffs meeting, he does not hesitate to. In this communications, he ensures that staffs are free to air their views and give their input to the issue at hand. One most interesting aspect of change communication is that it appears across the entire process and pegged on communication within an organization. An effective communication in an organization means that issues and progress of the business are dis cussed in a way that the target group gets the intended message. In the case of a management that does not maintain good relations that facilitate communication, then when change comers will be seen as a move by the management to make things happen At Sun Country, communication is the system through which management and the teams transfer information; it also covers how employees communicate with each other. It is the company’s policy that change should be gradual and should not be affected before all the employees to be affected by the change fully understand and discuss the policy. One of the strongest pillars of this approach to change resistance is the flexibility and facilitated input by staffs, sometimes manager may be seeing things from a different plat from since they are not on the ground: when they involve staffs, their plans are enriched and change made better. When making changes that involve services Stanley J. Gadek ensures that he gets the inputs of his flying crew since they stand a better chance to understand what the operation are like and how they should be improved (Thompson, Strickland Gamble, 2010). When there is no effective communication, people are not being willing to come from their status quo and adopt the change but they will be willing to fight the change. Resistance to change when there is no communication is even higher when groups in the organization join hands together to repel the change. There will be no one who really understands the need for the change since they are a distance with the management. For example incase an organization want to establish a computer network in its flying operations, the employees may feel they the change is coming to replace them. They are likely to refuse change. The approach of change resistance management has been effective at Sun Country, the company has been able to move from a single plane company to multibillion companies, and on the other hand, the company was able to become pro fitable after the 2011 disaster after the changes implemented by the managers were managed effectively. Services of the company has continued been gauged among the top ten because of acceptance of the changes adopted in the section (Parker, 2009). Literature Review; the management approach by Stanley J. Gadek Literature agrees that no single management style can dominate an entire organization and make it outstanding; however, for an outstanding performance, a combination of leadership styles is needed. The most dominant style as adopted by Stanley J. Gadek is the democratic leadership approach. Sun country employs a democratic leadership style; the style is favored by organizational culture. The company has a freelance leadership style that encourages each person to contribute to decision making. When making a certain decision on a touching a certain department, Stanley J. Gadek calls for managers meetings where the head of the department comes and discusses the issue at hand. He r espects that they are better situated to understand the situation thus consulting them is paramount. For example in the wake of low cost planes, the manager has to consult the flying crew if they thought continuing to offer snacks and food bites in the planes was good for the company; they accepted (Margerison, 2002). In a democratic organization, leaders and employees interact freely. Employee’s views are considered in making managerial decisions however, there are decisions that are left to the management entirely an example of decision left to the management is on the strategic alliance that the company will engage in. To bring an issue up the management, the company has a well-set structure for this effect where junior employees give their views to line managers who are then responsible of escalating the problem if they cannot solve it at their level. Targets that employees are expected to meet are set by the management but their attainability is considered. The style of management follows a Hersey-Blanchard Model of leadership; it situational perspective of leadership where it argues that development of a leader is dependent of subordinates and therefore playas every important role in determining which leadership style. Under the model, managers can only be effective if they have their subordinates at heart and consult them when needed. It is based on task and relationship behavior and it therefore depends on the maturity of the followers. Three conditions that define best the situation are task behavior, relationship behavior and maturity of the followers. The model results in to four leadership styles as stated by Blanchard, which Include directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. In a democratic leadership style, manager’s delegate powers, empowers and nurtures their employees to become better managers in the future. The main strength that improves the human capital motivation is involvement and delegation of power (Black, 2003). How democratic leadership skill is seen at Sun Country When Stanley J. Gadek is communicating with his subordinates, they are free to share jokes and they freely consult each other. They work as a team and team spirit can be seen all along their operations. When there is a need, a meeting is conducted where they seek the way forward; as an organizational culture, employees believe that everything happening to the organization happens for their benefit thus they engage and participate in decision making actively. The value of democratic leadership can be seen when flying crews are planning their day out, they always have a meeting before they take off where they discuss an issue or two pertaining the journey ahead. The crew leader is seen as the chairperson of the briefing while other players are asked to participate in the decision-making. This attribute has been borrowed from Stanley J. Gadek. In board meeting, the Stanley J. Gadek acts as the secretary and has the task of initiating communication and information sharing pertaining the issue at hand (Ricky, 2004) Conclusion The success that Sun Country has attained in the fast competitive airline industry can be attributed to its effective management team led by Stanley J. Gadek; he is the strategist of the company. He has been able to create a winning organizational culture that responds fast and positively to change. Change in the airline industry is brought about by globalization, competition, customer behavior changes, and industrial changes. To manage resistance to change, Sun Country Airlines adopts a change communication strategy, assisted with the leadership style adopted by the management; employees have always entertained change. They see change as an improvement of current business situation for their gain. Stanley J. Gadek has managed to develop a freelance organizational culture where managers and employees interact freely; the culture supports staffs involvement in decision-making. Before making a strategic decision that is likely to affect the organization, leaders at different levels are expected to communicate the strategy to their subordinates and entrain any reaction from them; the approach has facilitated gradual growth in the company. References Ashkanasy, M. (2011). Leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(3),1099-1379. Black, R.(2003). Organisational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success. Boston: Boston Universal publishers. Jakupec, V., Garrick, J. (2002). Flexible learning, human resource and organizational development: Putting theory to work. London: Rutledge. Marge Rison, C. (2002). Team leadership. Gale: Engage Learning. Parker, G. (2009).Team Leadership: 20 Proven Tools for Success. New Jersey: Human Resource Development Press. Ricky W. (2004). Fundamentals of Management. New York: Cengage Publishing Company. Sun Country Airlines official cite.(2011). Sun Country Airlines. Web. Thompson, A.., Strickland, A.J., Gamble, J.E. (20 10). Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage: Concepts and cases: 2009 custom edition (17th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill-Irwin. Wynbrandt, J. (2004). Flying High. New York: John Wiley Sons Inc. Xiao-Ping, C. (2011). Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115 (1), 1-144. This research paper on Sun Country Airlines Leadership Style was written and submitted by user Shane Winters to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Herman Ebbinghaus Place in Psychological History essays

Herman Ebbinghaus Place in Psychological History essays During the late 1800's a new science was emerging in Europe. Psychology's roots can be traced back to Germany and a man by the name of William Wunt. Following Wunt other psychologists began emerging in different fields. Of these pioneers Herman Ebbinghaus was one, and his field of study was memory. He performed the first experiments in 1885 in Germany and the following is a background on the man and his Herman Ebbinghaus was born in 1850 in Germany and died there in 1909. He received his formal education at the Universities of Bonn, Halle, and Berlin (Gale, 1996). Ebbinghaus received degrees in philosophy and history from these universities (Gale, 1996). Ebbinghaus went on to teach at the Universities of Berlin, Poland, Breslaw and Halle (Gale, 1996). These experiences combined with later experiences with memory combine to give Ebbinghaus a curiosity about memory greater than most of his time. Memory can be defined as your amount of learning or your stored information. The process of storing and retreving information from the brain that is central to learning and thinking (Microsoft Encarta, [MSE], 1997). According to Myers (1998) memory is "any indication that learning has persisted over time". There are also four types of memory classified: recollection, recall, recognition, and relearning. Recollection is the reconstruction of facts based on clues that serve as reminders; recall is the active remembering of something from the past without help; recognition is the ability to identify previous stimuli as familiar; relearning is material that seems to be easier to remember than others as if it has been learned before (MSE, 1997). These four types of memory together help all people to remember anything from the states' capitals to your best friends birthday party from second grade. Some researchers say that there are specific sites dedicated to memory while others say that a...

Electronic monitoring is interesting technology but has no real value Research Paper

Electronic monitoring is interesting technology but has no real value in community corrections - Research Paper Example Crowe, Sydney, Bancroft, and Lawrence (2002) identify that electronic monitoring and the systems designed to support this surveillance effort do not provide the necessary community corrections due to media representation of these systems to the general public. The authors offer an interesting case study of electronic monitoring in the Northeast U.S. in which the ratio of re-arrest for criminal activities was significantly lower for monitored offenders than those who were not monitored electronically. However, media involvement became a community-wide and organization-wide problem when one participant in the electronic monitoring program committed manslaughter during the period when they were being supervised. Media influence seemed to make the community lose faith in electronic monitoring and even served to scrap a successful electronic monitoring program in the process. This particular case study and acknowledgement of media influence causing problems with these systems tends to show that media involvement can make these programs unsuccessful even if they are providing superior statistical results related to re-arrest. Because media is a large part of the American culture, influencing everything from fashion to politics, how the community reacts to different media portrayal of corrections programs such as electronic monitoring will greatly impact their success. This represents that electronic monitoring may have unintended social forces, such as media and community expectations, which can greatly contribute to failure. Since in the case study negative media ended the program, then many communities may find that their own correction system is at risk in the event that offenders conduct further criminal behavior while on the monitoring system and social outcry is created that is spread by global media. There is also evidence that some

Netflix & Comcast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Netflix & Comcast - Essay Example Therefore, in illustrating the point, a professor brought in as a resource personnel told the USA Now program how it works. In explaining the process, the professor identified a ban on neutrality as a US federal law that was meant to prevent anti-trust activities and provide equal opportunities for entities around the United States (Roger para 3). However, after a reversal of the ban, Netflix can pay Comcast in order to get Comcast to grant them a larger bandwidth so that their consumers can get faster downloads. This is naturally because of the fact that Netflix customers download DVDs and other large files that can be painfully slow. Therefore, it might be a necessity for Netflix to pay for faster downloads. The downside of this is that it clearly affects competition for other entities that might need to use Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Also, the fact that entities can pay for these services will increase competition which might be financially motivated. This might lead to higher prices that will be transferred to consumers. Clearly, there is a conflict between the two ideologies and concepts. There is a tension about different classes of stakeholders, like Netflix consumers who might justify this as a necessity against the general set of service providers who need faster internet services from ISPs and consumers who do not want to be forced to pay more for Internet because of this competition. The media has taken sides from different angles in order to present their views. This has caused different media houses to tilt towards the two different schools of thought. This essay examines Independent news media networks are balanced media houses that provide a balanced reportage on the subject (Haus 28; Freedom House 302). Other biased entities or alternative news sources try to take a stand on the subject (Haus 29). This paper examines

Turkey political system Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Turkey political system - Term Paper Example One of the non-Muslim communities is the Greek community. Another community is the Armenian community. A third community is the Jewish community. Recognition of these communities is in line with Turkey’s compliance with the Lausanne Treaty. The Turkey nation includes other homogenous communities. The community includes the 15 million member Kurdish community. Furthermore, the other Turkish groups included immigrant communities. One of the communities is the Circassian community. A second community is the Albanian community. A third community is the Bosnian community. Georgia is another community. Moreover, the Turkish community is ruled by several political parties. One of the parties is the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The Islamic AKP party is a conservative party that espouses democratic ideals. The AKP government’s cultural and societal policies implements democratic religious concepts. Mustaf Kemal â€Å"Ataturk† and his Turkey-based concepts (Ataturk Movement) Mustafa Kemal or Ataturk is recognized as one of Turkey’s well known leaders. He founded the Republic of Turkey (Crossland, 1). Ataturk did not espouse the philosophical theories of Karl Marx. He did not propagate the political theories of Lenin. In fact, Ataturk did not directly espouse any philosophical theories. He never borrowed any philosopher’s theories. Moreover, Ataturk did not even create his own unique philosophies. Ataturk was more of a manager than a thinker. Ataturk was more of a pragmatist. Further, Ataturk did not imitate some of the Brazil government leaders’ positivism philosophies. A pragmatist is a person who decides on a case to case basis, not based on standard policies, theories, philosophies or procedures. Ataturk was a down to earth or practical leader. Ataturk... Turkey today is embroiled in a territorial dispute with the neighboring Cyprus government. The issue arose between the Greek government leaders and Turkey’s AKP government leaders, in terms of their Eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbon mining. The Greece government ordered the establishment of an exclusive economic zone. Turkey’s AKP government felt the establishment of the zone was economically disadvantageous to the Turkish nation. Mining quarrel focused on the drilling of oil in the area. The democracy will produce de-bureaucratization and de-securitization of the Greek and other foreign issues. Further, Turkey’s AKP government prioritized creating cooperation and camaraderie with its Muslim neighbors. Turkey contributed its share to the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. Turkey’s President Sezer visited Damascus to create close ties with its neighbors. The AKP government’s beneficial relations with Syria irked the United States.

Educational Social Policy In Britain After WW11

Educational Social Policy In Britain After WW11 The following essay will attempt to analyse and highlight the development of educational social policy in Britain after the post-second world war era. It will be important for the essay to illustrate how the secondary school system was changed by the 1944 Education Act, and how this impacted on secondary schooling in the decades that followed. The essay will attempt to illustrate and highlight the key developments within the education system such as the move back from local authority to more centralized government control. Finally, the essay will analyse social policy implemented by New Labour and in particular how the policy changes have affected secondary schools in the most deprived areas of the country. The essay will also focus on the continuation of specialist schools from the Conservative party to New Labour and aim to review the criticisms on the schools. After the Second World War in 1945, Clement Attlees (1945-1951) Labour government implemented the Education Act 1944 which created a three tier school system involving secondary schools, and for the first time in Britain ensured the provision of free education for all children. The new system of secondary schools would cater for children aged between the ages of 11 to 15 years old, and divide the children in to three distinct types of schooling. These were Grammar, Technical and Secondary modern schools, entry to the schools would be determined via a universal examination, known as the eleven-plus (Bochel et al, 2009, p.238). In theory this would allow children to be allocated the school which best suited their academic ability. So a pupil who scored highly in the eleven plus would go to the grammar school and the pupil who was more suited to a technical career would go to the technical school, the others would be sent to the secondary modern schools. Essentially the Education Act of 1944 allowed the Labour Government to provide the provision of financial support to local authorities, thus allowing the local authorities to control the education in their areas and gave them the freedom to manage their schools as they wished. Within these schools there was to be a sense of academic balance. But in reality, there were few technical schools, which meant the system was more two tiered rather than three tiered. Since grammar schools were selective, and secondary moderns took the rest, there was never a sense of academic balance. According to Bochel et al (2009, p. 239) during the 1960s Labour government policy changed and they began to introduce non-selective or as they were known comprehensive schools gradually. The arguments for comprehensives are they reduce the likelihood of discrimination or disadvantage on the basis of class, and that they improve the prospects of children of middling ability. The main argument against is that the selective system may be more consistent with the idea of equality of opportunity. Working class children who went to grammar schools did better than those who go now to comprehensive schools. Another factor that contributed towards the transformation of secondary schooling between the 1940s and the 1970s was due to the fact that Britain did not want to fall behind in terms of economic reasons. Hence, the rise of technical school in order to compete against her European neighbors in the job markets. By 1979 the Conservative government had gained power in Britain and Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, during this period Britain had been suffering from an economic slump. Improving the state of Britains economy was the fundamental and overriding pledge of the Conservative government during this period. The Conservative based it principles on the Neoliberal or New right as it commonly known, consisted of believing that job of education should mainly be concerned with promoting economic growth through improving the basic skills of the future work force. This could be achieved by encouraging competition in the educational market place, which in theory would raise schools in regards to efficiency and educational standards (Blackmore Griggs, 2007, p.139). According to Bochel et al (2009, p. 241) the first educational policy the Conservatives put in place was the Education Act 1980 which gave the local authority the freedom to introduce the Assisted Places Scheme and not continue with the comprehensive education system of secondary schooling. The Assisted Places Scheme allowed high academic attaining children from poor family backgrounds to be eligible to attend fee-paying private schools. However, the biggest change in educational social policy under the Conservative government came in 1988 with implementation of the Education Act 1988. In contrast with the 1940s social democratic Labour government thinking which gave the freedom to local authorities to develop their own plans on how to manage schools in their area, and the funding to support those ideas. The Conservative government of the late 1980s centralized control of state schools by the process of Grant maintained schools. The concept involved allowing state schools to opt out of local authority control if the enough parents voted to support his move. The idea behind this concept was to free up schools and allow them to specialize in subjects or attract higher achieving pupils. The Conservatives hoped this would offer a real choice for parents, and encourage schools to compete in the educational marketplace (Baldock et al, 2007, p391). As well as, offering schools to opt out of local authority control, the Education Act 1988 also gave parents the right to send their children to the school of their. Once again the Conservatives believed that Open enrolment would encourage a marketplace in which schools would have to compete against each other and improve their results. In conjunction with this piece of legislation was another piece of legislation which identified that under the new system the financing of schools would be dictated by the number of pupils that had enrolled there. For example, schools that were seen as being successful would attract larger numbers of pupils thus they would receive more funding. This would in theory act as a boost to underachieving schools to improve (Alcock, 2008, p.43). In order for parents to ascertain which secondary schools were the most successful it was necessary for government to instigate a way of testing and assessing how the school were performing. The Education Act 1988 policy makers developed the national curriculum in order for the results to be published and establish league tables to help provide information to parents so they could make an informed choice. In 1997 the Labour government came back in to power under the reinvented name of New Labour, one of New Labours manifesto pledges was Education, Education, Education. New Labour have developed and built on the Conservatives 1988 Education Act. New Labour were influenced by their socialist roots and in 1998 decided to develop the Education Action Zones which were set up to help raise educational standards and combat social exclusion in some of Britains most deprived areas (Ellison Pierson, 2003, p.186). In order to help alleviate this social inequality, Labour decided to design academies to replace failing comprehensive schools in lower income and inner city areas. This social policy had been devised to dramatically improve the educational standards within these deprived areas, the academies work by being sponsored by wealthy individuals, religious faiths, charities, businesses and by city education authorities (Ellison Pierson, 2003, p.186). Although, there have been some improvements in GCSEs at the academies, there has been some strong criticisms levelled against them. There have been reports of academies taking less students with special or students with behavioural problems. Another criticism made against the academies involves the influence of sponsors, how far can a sponsor dictate what the school can teach or not teach? Would a deeply religious sponsor allow certain scientific ideology to be taught if they conflicted with the sponsors beliefs? As well as developing the inner city academies, New Labour also continued to use Conservatives policy on grant maintained schools, as they also believed it would provide diversity and choice within the educational market-place. Labour social policy believed in schools specializing in particular subject areas rather then a single type of school for everyone. For a state school to attain specialist status it would need to raise  £50,000 in funding from the private sector sponsors. In 2005, the House of Commons Select Committee on Education and Skills published a report on a two-year study in to secondary education. The study showed that specialist schools tend to have a higher ratio of middle-class pupils than non-specialist schools. So this may account for their better results. The report also highlighted schools in low income areas have difficulty in raising funds to become a specialist school. Research also indicates that some specialist schools will select those they view as being the most able students in order to enhance their results, and these students tend to come from a middle class background and not from a poorer background. In conclusion, the development of education during the last six-five years has seen dramatic changes. The post-second world war establishment of the tripartite school system; broke the mould in Britain by offering free access to secondary school to all children aged 11-15 years old. It was conceived to offer children a chance to fulfil their potential by way of dividing them in to the appropriate category according to their abilities. But this was shown to be a divisive system and catered only for children who had shown some academic ability whilst taking the eleven plus exam. It eventually highlighted the inequalities within the tripartite system due to the fact there were few technical schools, and most children who were not academic high fliers were consigned to study at secondary modern schools. This was also coupled with the fact that the exclusive grammar school were selecting on high academic potential. During the Conservative era of power and especially in the Education Act of 1988 again highlights the inequalities of educational social policy. Making schools publish their exam results in league tables would further establish the haves and the have not within society. Although, the league table would offer parents a better insight in to the better performing schools, this would also have a negative effect on the poorly performing schools. As the best schools would have an enormous amount of people trying to enrol in to them, it would only harm the least performing schools in as much as that the more students you could have at the school the more funding the school would receiving from the local authority. When New Labour came in to power in 1997, the nation expected the dismantling of the Conservative policy on education; but New Labour continued to use certain aspects of the Education Act 1988. One of the policies that they have continued is setting up specialists schools, but this has also been shown to up the inequality between student enrolments. As the 2005 House of Commons Selective Committee has eluded to that the high rankings in the league tables could be due to the fact that are more likely to admit pupils from middle class backgrounds than working class backgrounds. New Labour policies on raising educational standards in the more deprived areas of major inner cities by implementing academy status on failing secondary comprehensive schools does seemed to have worked in small amounts. Although, there is some concern that sponsorship of the academies could be divisive due to fact that it really does depend on who the sponsor is and what they want to add on to the curriculum.

Essay --

Paul Jobs was raised in Germantown, Wisconsin and became a Coast Guard in World War II. He made a bet with his friends that he would be able to find a wife within two weeks. He met Clara Hagopian, who was born in New Jersey after her parents fled the Turks in Armenia, and the couple was engaged within ten days. Clara realized that she could not have children, so the married couple looked at adoption (Issacson 28-29). Joanna Schieble was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin. She lived within a strict household where her father was extremely strict about dating. When Joanna met Abdulfattah Jandali, a Muslim teaching assistant from Syria, her father threatened to disown her. She went with Abdulfattah to Syria and two months later when they returned, found out she was pregnant. Keeping the baby and abortion were not options the couple considered. When Joanna found out the adoptive couple were Paul and Clara Jobs, she made them promise that they would keep a college fund fo r the baby. Steve Jobs was born on February 24th, 1955. After some reluctance, Joanna signed the adoption papers and gave Steve Jobs to his new parents (Issacson 30-31). Steve Jobs knew from a young age that he was adopted. Many of his close friends believe that the awareness that he was given up as a baby made him into the independent person he grew up to be (Issacson 32). Jobs has said that he knows people say that the reason why he has worked so hard was because he wanted his biological parents to want him back, but Steve said that is not true. (Issacson 33). Steve’s father is the person that introduced Steve to technology. Paul worked on cars often, and although Steve did not like to get his hands dirty, he loved doing whatever he could to help h... ...nd Swainey). The students at this school probably have no idea who Steve Jobs is, but he caused their school to be picked as one of the most advanced in technology because of Jobs. Amy Heimerl is a teachers that works at Park Avenue Elementary School in Auburn, Maine. She works in a school district that encompasses iPads in the classroom. Her class consists of 22 students. She formed an individual learning experience for each student by putting the same library of applications on each student’s iPad and then moved certain applications to each student’s folder. The students have easy access to learning materials that help them progress faster. The iPad stimulated students to think individually and they were more apt to share what they learned with others (â€Å"See Inspiration†). Steve Jobs has changed the way the world uses technology in everyday life.

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 22. FIRE AND ICE

THE WIND SHOOK THE TENT AGAIN, AND I SHOOK WITH IT. The temperature was dropping. I could feel it through the down bag, through my jacket. I was fully dressed, my hiking boots still laced into place. It didn't make any difference. How could it be so cold? How could it keep getting colder? It had to bottom out sometime, didn't it? â€Å"W-w-w-w-w-what t-t-t-t-time is it?† I forced the words through my rattling teeth. â€Å"Two,† Edward answered. Edward sat as far from me as possible in the cramped space, afraid to even breathe on me when I was already so cold. It was too dark to see his face, but his voice was wild with worry, indecision, and frustration. â€Å"Maybe . . .† â€Å"No, I'm f-f-f-f-f-fine, r-r-r-really. I don't w-w-w-want to g-go outside.† He'd tried to talk me into making a run for it a dozen times already, but I was terrified of leaving my shelter. If it was this cold in here, protected from the raging wind, I could imagine how bad it would be if we were running through it. And it would waste all our efforts this afternoon. Would we have enough time to reset ourselves when the storm was over? What if it didn't end? It made no sense to move now. I could shiver my way through one night. I was worried that the trail I had laid would be lost, but he promised that it would still be plain to the coming monsters. â€Å"What can I do?† he almost begged. I just shook my head. Out in the snow, Jacob whined unhappily. â€Å"G-g-g-get out of h-h-h-ere,† I ordered, again. â€Å"He's just worried about you,† Edward translated. â€Å"He's fine. His body is equipped to deal with this.† â€Å"H-h-h-h-h-h.† I wanted to say that he should still leave, but I couldn't get it past my teeth. I nearly bit my tongue off trying. At least Jacob did seem to be well equipped for the snow, better even than the others in his pack with his thicker, longer, shaggy russet fur. I wondered why that was. Jacob whimpered, a high-pitched, grating sound of complaint. â€Å"What do you want me to do?† Edward growled, too anxious to bother with politeness anymore. â€Å"Carry her through that? I don't see you making yourself useful. Why don't you go fetch a space heater or something?† â€Å"I'm ok-k-k-k-k-k-kay,† I protested. Judging from Edward's groan and the muted growl outside the tent, I hadn't convinced anyone. The wind rocked the tent roughly, and I shuddered in harmony with it. A sudden howl ripped through the roar of the wind, and I covered my ears against the noise. Edward scowled. â€Å"That was hardly necessary,† he muttered. â€Å"And that's the worst idea I've ever heard,† he called more loudly. â€Å"Better than anything you've come up with,† Jacob answered, his human voice startling me. â€Å"Go fetch a space heater,† he grumbled. â€Å"I'm not a St. Bernard.† I heard the sound of the zipper around the tent door pulling swiftly down. Jacob slid through the smallest opening he could manage, while the arctic air flowed in around him, a few flecks of snow falling to the floor of the tent. I shivered so hard it was a convulsion. â€Å"I don't like this,† Edward hissed as Jake zipped the tent door shut. â€Å"Just give her the coat and get out.† My eyes were adjusted enough to see shapes – Jacob was carrying the parka that had been hanging on a tree next to the tent. I tried to ask what they were talking about, but all that came out of my mouth was, â€Å"W-w-w-w-w-w,† as the shivering made me stutter uncontrollably. â€Å"The parka's for tomorrow – she's too cold to warm it up by herself. It's frozen.† He dropped it by the door. â€Å"You said she needed a space heater, and here I am.† Jacob held his arms as wide as the tent allowed. As usual, when he'd been running around as a wolf, he'd only thrown on the bare essentials – just a pair of sweats, no shirt, no shoes. â€Å"J-J-J-J-Jake, you'll f-f-f-freez-z-z-ze,† I tried to complain. â€Å"Not me,† he said cheerfully. â€Å"I run at a toasty one-oh-eight point nine these days. I'll have you sweating in no time.† Edward snarled, but Jacob didn't even look at him. Instead, he crawled to my side and started unzipping my sleeping bag. Edward's hand was suddenly hard on his shoulder, restraining, snow white against the dark skin. Jacob's jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring, his body recoiling from the cold touch. The long muscles in his arms flexed automatically. â€Å"Get your hand off of me,† he growled through his teeth. â€Å"Keep your hands off of her,† Edward answered blackly. â€Å"D-d-d-don't f-f-f-f-fight,† I pleaded. Another tremor rocked through me. It felt like my teeth were going to shatter, they were slamming together so hard. â€Å"I'm sure she'll thank you for this when her toes turn black and drop off,† Jacob snapped. Edward hesitated, then his hand fell away and he slid back to his position in the corner. His voice was flat and frightening. â€Å"Watch yourself.† Jacob chuckled. â€Å"Scoot over, Bella,† he said, zipping the sleeping bag open farther. I stared at him in outrage. No wonder Edward was reacting this way. â€Å"N-n-n-n-n,† I tried to protest. â€Å"Don't be stupid,† he said, exasperated. â€Å"Don't you like having ten toes?† He crammed his body into the nonexistent space, forcing the zipper up behind himself. And then I couldn't object – I didn't want to anymore. He was so warm. His arms constricted around me, holding me snugly against his bare chest. The heat was irresistible, like air after being underwater for too long. He cringed when I pressed my icy fingers eagerly against his skin. â€Å"Jeez, you're freezing, Bella,† he complained. â€Å"S-s-s-s-sorry,† I stuttered. â€Å"Try to relax,† he suggested as another shiver rippled through me violently. â€Å"You'll be warm in a minute. Of course, you'd warm up faster if you took your clothes off.† Edward growled sharply. â€Å"That's just a simple fact,† Jacob defended himself. â€Å"Survival one-oh-one.† â€Å"C-c-cut it out, Jake,† I said angrily, though my body refused to even try to pull away from him. â€Å"N-n-n- nobody really n-n-n-n-needs all ten t-t-t-toes.† â€Å"Don't worry about the bloodsucker,† Jacob suggested, and his tone was smug. â€Å"He's just jealous.† â€Å"Of course I am.† Edward's voice was velvet again, under control, a musical murmur in the darkness. â€Å"You don't have the faintest idea how much I wish I could do what you're doing for her, mongrel.† â€Å"Those are the breaks,† Jacob said lightly, but then his tone soured. â€Å"At least you know she wishes it was you.† â€Å"True,† Edward agreed. The shuddering slowed, became bearable while they wrangled. â€Å"There,† Jacob said, pleased. â€Å"Feeling better?† I was finally able to speak clearly. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Your lips are still blue,† he mused. â€Å"Want me to warm those up for you, too? You only have to ask.† Edward sighed heavily. â€Å"Behave yourself,† I muttered, pressing my face against his shoulder. He flinched again when my cold skin touched his, and I smiled with slightly vindictive satisfaction. It was already warm and snug inside the sleeping bag. Jacob's body heat seemed to radiate from every side – maybe because there was so much of him. I kicked my boots off, and pushed my toes against his legs. He jumped slightly, and then leaned his head down to press his hot cheek against my numb ear. I noticed that Jacob's skin had a woodsy, musky scent – it fit the setting, here in the middle of the forest. It was nice. I wondered if the Cullens and the Quileutes weren't just playing up that whole odor issue because of their prejudices. Everyone smelled fine to me. The storm howled like an animal attacking the tent, but it didn't worry me now. Jacob was out of the cold, and so was I. Plus, I was simply too exhausted to worry about anything – tired from just staying awake so late, and aching from the muscle spasms. My body relaxed slowly as I thawed, piece by frozen piece, and then turned limp. â€Å"Jake?† I mumbled sleepily. â€Å"Can I ask you something? I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, I'm honestly curious.† They were the same words he'd used in my kitchen . . . how long ago was it now? â€Å"Sure,† he chuckled, remembering. â€Å"Why are you so much furrier than your friends? You don't have to answer if I'm being rude.† I didn't know the rules for etiquette as they applied to werewolf culture. â€Å"Because my hair is longer,† he said, amused – my question hadn't offended him, at least. He shook his head so that his unkempt hair – grown out to his chin now – tickled my cheek. â€Å"Oh.† I was surprised, but it made sense. So that was why they'd all cropped their hair in the beginning, when they joined the pack. â€Å"Then why don't you cut it? Do you like to be shaggy?† He didn't answer right away this time, and Edward laughed under his breath. â€Å"Sorry,† I said, pausing to yawn. â€Å"I didn't mean to pry. You don't have to tell me.† Jacob made an annoyed sound. â€Å"Oh, he'll tell you anyway, so I might as well. . . . I was growing my hair out because . . . it seemed like you liked it better long.† â€Å"Oh.† I felt awkward. â€Å"I, er, like it both ways, Jake. You don't need to be . . . inconvenienced.† He shrugged. â€Å"Turns out it was very convenient tonight, so don't worry about it.† I didn't have anything else to say. As the silence lengthened, my eyelids drooped and shut, and my breathing grew slower, more even. â€Å"That's right, honey, go to sleep,† Jacob whispered. I sighed, content, already half-unconscious. â€Å"Seth is here,† Edward muttered to Jacob, and I suddenly understood the point of the howling. â€Å"Perfect. Now you can keep an eye on everything else, while I take care of your girlfriend for you.† Edward didn't answer, but I groaned groggily. â€Å"Stop it,† I muttered. It was quiet then, inside at least. Outside, the wind shrieked insanely through the trees. The shimmying of the tent made it hard to sleep. The poles would suddenly jerk and quiver, pulling me back from the edge of unconsciousness each time I was close to slipping under. I felt so bad for the wolf, the boy that was stuck outside in the snow. My mind wandered as I waited for sleep to find me. This warm little space made me think of the early days with Jacob, and I remembered how it used to be when he was my replacement sun, the warmth that made my empty life livable. It had been a while since I'd thought of Jake that way, but here he was, warming me again. â€Å"Please!† Edward hissed. â€Å"Do you mind!† â€Å"What?† Jacob whispered back, his tone surprised. â€Å"Do you think you could attempt to control your thoughts?† Edward's low whisper was furious. â€Å"No one said you had to listen,† Jacob muttered, defiant, yet still embarrassed. â€Å"Get out of my head.† â€Å"I wish I could. You have no idea how loud your little fantasies are. It's like you're shouting them at me.† â€Å"I'll try to keep it down,† Jacob whispered sarcastically. There was a brief moment of silence. â€Å"Yes,† Edward answered an unspoken thought in a murmur so low I barely made it out. â€Å"I'm jealous of that, too.† â€Å"I figured it was like that,† Jacob whispered smugly. â€Å"Sort of evens the playing field up a little, doesn't it?† Edward chuckled. â€Å"In your dreams.† â€Å"You know, she could still change her mind,† Jacob taunted him. â€Å"Considering all the things I could do with her that you can't. At least, not without killing her, that is.† â€Å"Go to sleep, Jacob,† Edward murmured. â€Å"You're starting to get on my nerves.† â€Å"I think I will. I'm really very comfortable.† Edward didn't answer. I was too far gone to ask them to stop talking about me like I wasn't there. The conversation had taken on a dreamlike quality to me, and I wasn't sure I was really awake. â€Å"Maybe I would,† Edward said after a moment, answering a question I hadn't heard. â€Å"But would you be honest?† â€Å"You can always ask and see.† Edward's tone made me wonder if I was missing out on a joke. â€Å"Well, you see inside my head – let me see inside yours tonight, it's only fair,† Jacob said. â€Å"Your head is full of questions. Which one do you want me to answer?† â€Å"The jealousy . . . it has to be eating at you. You can't be as sure of yourself as you seem. Unless you have no emotions at all.† â€Å"Of course it is,† Edward agreed, no longer amused. â€Å"Right now it's so bad that I can barely control my voice. Of course, it's even worse when she's away from me, with you, and I can't see her.† â€Å"Do you think about it all the time?† Jacob whispered. â€Å"Does it make it hard to concentrate when she's not with you?† â€Å"Yes and no,† Edward said; he seemed determined to answer honestly. â€Å"My mind doesn't work quite the same as yours. I can think of many more things at one time. Of course, that means that I'm always able to think of you, always able to wonder if that's where her mind is, when she's quiet and thoughtful.† They were both still for a minute. â€Å"Yes, I would guess that she thinks about you often,† Edward murmured in response to Jacob's thoughts. â€Å"More often than I like. She worries that you're unhappy. Not that you don't know that. Not that you don't use that.† â€Å"I have to use whatever I can,† Jacob muttered. â€Å"I'm not working with your advantages – advantages like her knowing she's in love with you.† â€Å"That helps,† Edward agreed in a mild tone. Jacob was defiant. â€Å"She's in love with me, too, you know.† Edward didn't answer. Jacob sighed. â€Å"But she doesn't know it.† â€Å"I can't tell you if you're right.† â€Å"Does that bother you? Do you wish you could see what she's thinking, too?† â€Å"Yes . . . and no, again. She likes it better this way, and, though it sometimes drives me insane, I'd rather she was happy.† The wind ripped around the tent, shaking it like an earthquake. Jacob's arms tightened around me protectively. â€Å"Thank you,† Edward whispered. â€Å"Odd as this might sound, I suppose I'm glad you're here, Jacob.† â€Å"You mean, ‘as much as I'd love to kill you, I'm glad she's warm,' right?† â€Å"It's an uncomfortable truce, isn't it?† Jacob's whisper was suddenly smug. â€Å"I knew you were just as crazy jealous as I am.† â€Å"I'm not such a fool as to wear it on my sleeve like you do. It doesn't help your case, you know.† â€Å"You have more patience than I do.† â€Å"I should. I've had a hundred years to gain it. A hundred years of waiting for her.† â€Å"So . . . at what point did you decide to play the very patient good guy?† â€Å"When I saw how much it was hurting her to make her choose. It's not usually this difficult to control. I can smother the . . . less civilized feelings I may have for you fairly easily most of the time. Sometimes I think she sees through me, but I can't be sure.† â€Å"I think you were just worried that if you really forced her to choose, she might not choose you.† Edward didn't answer right away. â€Å"That was a part of it,† he finally admitted. â€Å"But only a small part. We all have our moments of doubt. Mostly I was worried that she'd hurt herself trying to sneak away to see you. After I'd accepted that she was more or less safe with you – as safe as Bella ever is – it seemed best to stop driving her to extremes.† Jacob sighed. â€Å"I'd tell her all of this, but she'd never believe me.† â€Å"I know.† It sounded like Edward was smiling. â€Å"You think you know everything,† Jacob muttered. â€Å"I don't know the future,† Edward said, his voice suddenly unsure. There was a long pause. â€Å"What would you do if she changed her mind?† Jacob asked. â€Å"I don't know that either.† Jacob chuckled quietly. â€Å"Would you try to kill me?† Sarcastic again, as if doubting Edward's ability to do it. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Why not?† Jacob's tone was still jeering. â€Å"Do you really think I would hurt her that way?† Jacob hesitated for a second, and then sighed. â€Å"Yeah, you're right. I know that's right. But sometimes . . .† â€Å"Sometimes it's an intriguing idea.† Jacob pressed his face into the sleeping bag to muffle his laugher. â€Å"Exactly,† he eventually agreed. What a strange dream this was. I wondered if it was the relentless wind that made me imagine all the whispering. Only the wind was screaming rather than whispering . . . â€Å"What is it like? Losing her?† Jacob asked after a quiet moment, and there was no hint of humor in his suddenly hoarse voice. â€Å"When you thought that you'd lost her forever? How did you . . . cope?† â€Å"That's very difficult for me to talk about.† Jacob waited. â€Å"There were two different times that I thought that.† Edward spoke each word just a little slower than normal. â€Å"The first time, when I thought I could leave her . . . that was . . . almost bearable. Because I thought she would forget me and it would be like I hadn't touched her life. For over six months I was able to stay away, to keep my promise that I wouldn't interfere again. It was getting close – I was fighting but I knew I wasn't going to win; I would have come back . . . just to check on her. That's what I would have told myself, anyway. And if I'd found her reasonably happy . . . I like to think that I could have gone away again. â€Å"But she wasn't happy. And I would have stayed. That's how she convinced me to stay with her tomorrow, of course. You were wondering about that before, what could possibly motivate me . . . what she was feeling so needlessly guilty about. She reminded me of what it did to her when I left – what it still does to her when I leave. She feels horrible about bringing that up, but she's right. I'll never be able to make up for that, but I'll never stop trying anyway.† Jacob didn't respond for a moment, listening to the storm or digesting what he'd heard, I didn't know which. â€Å"And the other time – when you thought she was dead?† Jacob whispered roughly. â€Å"Yes.† Edward answered a different question. â€Å"It will probably feel like that to you, won't it? The way you perceive us, you might not be able to see her as Bella anymore. But that's who she'll be.† â€Å"That's not what I asked.† Edward's voice came back fast and hard. â€Å"I can't tell you how it felt. There aren't words.† Jacob's arms flexed around me. â€Å"But you left because you didn't want to make her a bloodsucker. You want her to be human.† Edward spoke slowly. â€Å"Jacob, from the second that I realized that I loved her, I knew there were only four possibilities. The first alternative, the best one for Bella, would be if she didn't feel as strongly for me – if she got over me and moved on. I would accept that, though it would never change the way I felt. You think of me as a . . . living stone – hard and cold. That's true. We are set the way we are, and it is very rare for us to experience a real change. When that happens, as when Bella entered my life, it is a permanent change. There's no going back. . . . â€Å"The second alternative, the one I'd originally chosen, was to stay with her throughout her human life. It wasn't a good option for her, to waste her life with someone who couldn't be human with her, but it was the alternative I could most easily face. Knowing all along that, when she died, I would find a way to die, too. Sixty years, seventy years – it would seem like a very, very short time to me. . . . But then it proved much too dangerous for her to live in such close proximity with my world. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did. Or hung over us . . . waiting to go wrong. I was terrified that I wouldn't get those sixty years if I stayed near her while she was human. â€Å"So I chose option three. Which turned out to be the worst mistake of my very long life, as you know. I chose to take myself out of her world, hoping to force her into the first alternative. It didn't work, and it very nearly killed us both. â€Å"What do I have left but the fourth option? It's what she wants – at least, she thinks she does. I've been trying to delay her, to give her time to find a reason to change her mind, but she's very . . . stubborn. You know that. I'll be lucky to stretch this out a few more months. She has a horror of getting older, and her birthday is in September. . . .† â€Å"I like option one,† Jacob muttered. Edward didn't respond. â€Å"You know exactly how much I hate to accept this,† Jacob whispered slowly, â€Å"but I can see that you do love her . . . in your way. I can't argue with that anymore. â€Å"Given that, I don't think you should give up on the first alternative, not yet. I think there's a very good chance that she would be okay. After time. You know, if she hadn't jumped off a cliff in March . . . and if you'd waited another six months to check on her. . . . Well, you might have found her reasonably happy. I had a game plan.† Edward chuckled. â€Å"Maybe it would have worked. It was a well thought-out plan.† â€Å"Yeah.† Jake sighed. â€Å"But . . . ,† suddenly he was whispering so fast the words got tangled, â€Å"give me a year, bl – Edward. I really think I could make her happy. She's stubborn, no one knows that better than I do, but she's capable of healing. She would have healed before. And she could be human, with Charlie and Rene, and she could grow up, and have kids and . . . be Bella. â€Å"You love her enough that you have to see the advantages of that plan. She thinks you're very unselfish . . . are you really? Can you consider the idea that I might be better for her than you are?† â€Å"I have considered it,† Edward answered quietly. â€Å"In some ways, you would be better suited for her than another human. Bella takes some looking after, and you're strong enough that you could protect her from herself, and from everything that conspires against her. You have done that already, and I'll owe you for that for as long as I live – forever – whichever comes first. . . . â€Å"I even asked Alice if she could see that – see if Bella would be better off with you. She couldn't, of course. She can't see you, and then Bella's sure of her course, for now. â€Å"But I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistake I made before, Jacob. I won't try to force her into that first option again. As long as she wants me, I'm here.† â€Å"And if she were to decide that she wanted me?† Jacob challenged. â€Å"Okay, it's a long shot, I'll give you that.† â€Å"I would let her go.† â€Å"Just like that?† â€Å"In the sense that I'd never show her how hard it was for me, yes. But I would keep watch. You see, Jacob, you might leave her someday. Like Sam and Emily, you wouldn't have a choice. I would always be waiting in the wings, hoping for that to happen.† Jacob snorted quietly. â€Å"Well, you've been much more honest than I had any right to expect . . . Edward. Thanks for letting me in your head.† â€Å"As I said, I'm feeling oddly grateful for your presence in her life tonight. It was the least I could do. . . . You know, Jacob, if it weren't for the fact that we're natural enemies and that you're also trying to steal away the reason for my existence, I might actually like you.† â€Å"Maybe . . . if you weren't a disgusting vampire who was planning to suck out the life of the girl I love . . . well, no, not even then.† Edward chuckled. â€Å"Can I ask you something?† Edward said after a moment. â€Å"Why would you have to ask?† â€Å"I can only hear if you think of it. It's just a story that Bella seemed reluctant to tell me about the other day. Something about a third wife . . . ?† â€Å"What about it?† Edward didn't answer, listening to the story in Jacob's head. I heard his low hiss in the darkness. â€Å"What?† Jacob demanded again. â€Å"Of course,† Edward seethed. â€Å"Of course! I rather wish your elders had kept that story to themselves, Jacob.† â€Å"You don't like the leeches being painted as the bad guys?† Jacob mocked. â€Å"You know, they are. Then and now.† â€Å"I really couldn't care less about that part. Can't you guess which character Bella would identify with?† It took Jacob a minute. â€Å"Oh. Ugh. The third wife. Okay, I see your point.† â€Å"She wants to be there in the clearing. To do what little she can, as she puts it.† He sighed. â€Å"That was the secondary reason for my staying with her tomorrow. She's quite inventive when she wants something.† â€Å"You know, your military brother gave her the idea just as much as the story did.† â€Å"Neither side meant any harm,† Edward whispered, peace-making now. â€Å"And when does this little truce end?† Jacob asked. â€Å"First light? Or do we wait until after the fight?† There was a pause as they both considered. â€Å"First light,† they whispered together, and then laughed quietly. â€Å"Sleep well, Jacob,† Edward murmured. â€Å"Enjoy the moment.† It was quiet again, and the tent held still for a few minutes. The wind seemed to have decided that it wasn't going to flatten us after all, and was giving up the fight. Edward groaned softly. â€Å"I didn't mean that quite so literally.† â€Å"Sorry,† Jacob whispered. â€Å"You could leave, you know – give us a little privacy.† â€Å"Would you like me to help you sleep, Jacob?† Edward offered. â€Å"You could try,† Jacob said, unconcerned. â€Å"It would be interesting to see who walked away, wouldn't it?† â€Å"Don't tempt me too far, wolf. My patience isn't that perfect.† Jacob whispered a laugh. â€Å"I'd rather not move just now, if you don't mind.† Edward started humming to himself, louder than usual – trying to drown out Jacob's thoughts, I assumed. But it was my lullaby he hummed, and, despite my growing discomfort with this whispered dream, I sank deeper into unconsciousness . . . into other dreams that made better sense. . . .