Alliances Balancing and Bandwagoning

Stephen M. Walt’s main purpose in his work is to assert his explanations for the actions done by states in the international arena with regard to their alliances as a response to a certain factor or condition that affects or influences the very well being and situation of a state.The entire point of Stephen M. Walt revolves around the reaction of states when engaged or met with external threat. His analysis illustrates the possible behavioural patterns of states by explaining what kind of actions these states make and why.He thus caters two concepts; balancing and bandwagoning, stating that states tend to either balance or bandwagon depending on where these states perceive that they best fit or may benefit from. Therefore, he develops his analysis by proposing that the states two primary options or actions are to either ally in opposition of an external threat or to ally with the external threat itself. Stephen M. Walt holds that these two concepts are dependent upon the type and level of external threat manifested to them.This is not to discount the fact that the state’s influence, power or how the international community perceives it must also be taken into consideration; whether a state is considered as a strong state or a weak state.In a nutshell, Stephen M. Walt submits that a state may ally with other states in the face of an existing threat or it may arrange itself with this threat. He thus primarily asserts that as part of the natural behavioural pattern of a state, other theorists may say that balancing shall be the more convenient or expected action by a state rather than bandwagoning.It is fundamental to hypothesize that a strong state shall have the automatic tendency to balance. While the weak states may also choose to balance but this is only as a response to other weak states. When the conflict is between a weak and a strong state, it is another story.It is but natural in such a situation for a weak state to bandwagon when respondin g to a threat posed by a strong state. Stephen M. Walt’s alliance theory explains that a state’s action when responding to an external threat is the phenomenon of knowing when will such a state form an alliance and what will influence the state’s choice in making an alliance.This phenomenon is an expected behavioural pattern and a normal reaction. The focal area of concern with regard to this phenomenon is focused mainly on the each state’s duty and responsibility to protect itself. As a means of security, the state will be expected to put its safety as the first priority when an external threat is lurking around.The decision that follows shall take in consideration the state as a whole and how it is perceived by the international community. Primarily, the argument that pushes the theory of Stephen M. Walt falls largely on the shoulders of the two concepts of balancing and bandwagoning.As mentioned earlier, balancing is about allying with other states aga inst the external threat. In other words, states form an alliance against another state or group of states that pose the dominant and greater threat.This is simply a way for a state to deal with another state which is a threat because of its greater aggregate power. A determining factor here is hinged on a state’s capability, particularly its military capability. However, the type of military capability that is in question is on a state’s offensive capability which poses the threat to other states.The defensive military capability is not much given attention due to the fact that such capability will not be a threat unless provoked or initiated by another state. But having a strong and threatening offensive capability is not the only distress and apprehension of other states.The level or aggressiveness of a particular state is definitely taken into account. Each state regardless of their capabilities has their own way of responding and not responding to threats and issu es they encounter. Moreover, alliances formed under the concept of balancing are somewhat situational or circumstantial.Although alliances are forged heavily to answer the call of threat, these alliances change dramatically when that threat is conquered or disposed of. Wars seem to be the common cause of most states to form an alliance but the moment the war ends, the alliance breaks as well. As much as alliance through balancing is very much evident and supported by past occurrences, the opposite concept of bandwagoning is as much evident and present as seen during the Cold War. It is therefore asserted that bandwagoning is most likely to happen than balancing.Stephen M. Walt even stresses that any need for a legitimate justification to be involved in international territories or issues can be covered by bandwagoning. Furthermore, bandwagoning is also used as a means of increasing a state’s military capacity.Proponents of bandwagoning see the logic in this concept by simply knowing that the greater a state’s aggregate capability and offensive capability the more likely it is for other states to form an alliance with it. Even the geographical location is taken into consideration.The states that are located near a powerful state shall have a greater tendency of forming an alliance with the powerful state. The location of states geographically in relation to another state particularly with the stronger state is very important especially in times of conflict.This because the issues on borders and the time it takes to send help and information to an ally will largely depend of their positions. And being the opposite of balancing, the states will not align against the powerful state because of its aggressive perceived intentions.And also, the alliances formed against the greater state will disintegrate as a response to a serious obstacle that they realize is already beyond them. Stephen M. Walt states his theory by deducing it from rational and histor ically based assumptions and behavioural patterns which states have already done to point out that what states will most possibly be doing. The past shows times of numerous instances in international relations which act as an example or as a guide in predicting not necessarily the end result but the processes of interactions between states.Stephen M. Walt cites numerous occasions and incidents in the World War and the Cold War as an example for proving his theory. He thus bases his conclusions and hypotheses knowing that there are only limited possible steps or actions that a state can actually make.The assertion of Stephen M. Walt’s theory by quantifying and qualifying a state’s action to form an alliance as a response to an external threat through balancing and bandwagoning as supported by historical bases makes it logically sound.The argument that is proposed takes root in the rational and natural assessment of how exactly a state will respond to the situation prese nted. In other words, the theory is an anticipation of an expected probable outcome.The explanation is implicated in the concepts of balancing and bandwagoning which are two polar manifestations that show that for every action taken or not taken, there is also another option which is the alternative or opposite action taken or not taken.For example, as stated earlier in balancing, the greater the threatening state’s aggregate power, the greater the tendency of others to align against it. While in bandwagoning, the greater the threatening state’s aggregate power, the greater the tendency of others to align with it.The cause and effect implication is simply related to the relationship between one state’s relation with another, a state’s capability and the other state’s capability and most importantly, one’s external threat confronted by a state as manifested by another state.The threat is the absolute indicator or the absolute cause of how a s tate will react. The level of threat will influence every consideration that a state will take into. Technically speaking, in consideration of the cause and effect analysis, it becomes quite obvious that this theory of Stephen M. Walt is a primary response or a better description and explanation of the forming of alliances of states. It is asserted by other theorists that the overlying source for the alliances formed by states is founded on the power relations between states.Thus, the balancing or bandwagoning of states are simply actions to balance the power in the prevailing status quo of the international sphere. But Stephen M. Walt sees that the states do not seek security from power but rather, states seek security from threat.Power can be threat but it can also not be threat. Power is a neutral factor and cannot be seen as a threat unless used as one. While threat on the other hand is a concept that poses danger and concern to a state making it more definite and ideal to thoro ughly and greatly influence the state’s actions.

The Fall of the House of Usher

Madeline of the House of Usher Role-playing games are a great past time for literature enthusiasts. A player sits down, creates a character with quirks and a personality, usually special abilities, and meets with other people who have done the same. They sit at tables, in couches, on porches all around the world. They sit down to hear and participate in a story, a story told by the storyteller. The storyteller creates a scenario, a background, extra characters (NPCs), and certain rules. Once the story begins, control is a relative term.The storyteller knows the story, but the characters are free to move about and unknowingly change the story as they go. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† the storyteller and characters interact in a very strange way. The storyteller tries to maintain control and the characters try to free themselves. It is a struggle against two aspects, the oppressor and the oppressed, masculine and feminine. Madeli ne Usher, the sole female character in the story, is kept in the background, but holds her own by being the main drive for much of the plot.Roderick Usher, the male descendant of the Usher household, has qualities of the feminine, but introduces a powerfully masculine identity into the house. The line of triumph of the oppressed feminine over the oppressive masculine is blurry and leaves much to be desired. The first key to the house as a story and backdrop is the connection often attributed to Roderick and the house. The idea that the house deteriorates with the last wielder of the Usher name has been argued before. Roderick’s slow descent into madness is marked by cracks in the foundation of the house.This theory holds good merit from textual evidence. The story itself follows that line; Roderick describes the house as having â€Å"an effect which the physique of the gray walls and turrets, and of the dim tarn into which they all looked down, had, at length, brought about upon the morale of his existence† (119). But this is just one influence the characters have over the plot and vice versa. This view of the house and the connection to the family is shaded by a masculine identity. Surely the last male heir of the Usher house must be the cause for the decay, regardless of the feminine Usher remaining.It is easy to label Madeline Usher as a weak character. Not only is her lack of presence in the story noted, but her physical descriptions are that of a weak girl. Roderick explains to the narrator that she suffers from an unknown disease, â€Å"[a] settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (119). Madeline suffers from an unknown illness and is kept indoors in case she becomes the victim of her own frailty.The narrator sees her only briefly before her burial later in the story, and soon after her appearance, she is confined to her bed. The char acter of Madeline Usher is subjugated. She is kept in the background. Her family line is given to Roderick, her twin brother, as was the custom at the time. Within the story, she could be representative of other women in the nineteenth century: left in the home with no rights. Madeline can also represent one of the more important aspects of the feminine as a whole, the idea of death and rebirth in her premature burial and subsequent escape from her tomb.Beverly Voloshin makes note of another point of Madeline’s femininity through color association. â€Å"Madeline matches her brother’s pallor, but her special mark is red†¦blood red being the token of both life and death† (14). Not only is she often introduced with the color red, a generally accepted color for the feminine, but her actions in the story speak directly to the idea brought about by that color. Madeline is, essentially, the feminine half of the Usher family. Roderick Usher, Madeline’s twin and the masculine half of the Usher family, is the initial, obvious oppressor.As Leila May explains as historical background in her essay, â€Å"’Sympathies of a Scarcely Intelligible Nature': The Brother-Sister Bond in Poe's ‘Fall of the House of Usher’,† the social and political authority over the household was given to the men (389). As far as the outside world is concerned, Roderick is the head of the household, putting him in a legal and social position over his sister. Diane Hoevler makes some very sound arguments for the idea of Roderick as an oppressor in her essay â€Å"The Hidden God and the Abjected Woman in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. She points out Poe’s own frustration with women and the idea that Roderick strives for a world, a â€Å"purely masculine universe, a fortress where males engage in discourse without the intrusion of the female in any form –living or dead: ‘Us’ versus ‘her†™: ‘Us/her’† (388). Legally, Roderick is the superior half of the last vestiges of the Usher family. It was Roderick, after all, who invited the male narrator to the house. The narrator explains that the two had been friends before and Roderick had recently sent a letter insisting that he come to the house (Poe 114).It is Roderick’s decision in the story to entomb his deceased sister in the vaults underneath the house before her burial. This burial can be viewed as an attempt by the masculine identity to rid itself of the female identity, Roderick making a final struggle against his sister. However, as Cynthia Jordan argues, â€Å"he is but a character in the story himself, and his actions are at least in part the product of his narrator’s construction† (6). The idea of plot control being in the narrator’s hands puts the narrator in the sole position of masculine oppressor and not just over Madeline Usher.The narrator in â€Å"The Fa ll of the House of Usher† views, or at least tries to explain, everything from a distanced point-of-view. His logical take on what happens at the house paints a picture with traditionally masculine tones. He also is focused on the masculine half of the Usher twins. His focus is so centered on Roderick that he would as soon dismiss Madeline from his story entirely. Jordan notes this striving towards sole masculinity influence in her essay â€Å"Poe’s Re-Vision†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : â€Å"The narrator’s first encounter with Madeline confirms the conflict between the male storyteller and the lady of the house† (7).His first encounter with Madeline is almost half way through the story. He describes her briefly, almost as a wraith, when Roderick mentions her. â€Å"I regarded her with an utter astonishment not unmingled with dread; and yet I found it impossible to account for such feelings† (Poe 119). His reaction to the feminine aspect of the Usher household is obviously negative, describing his emotions of shock and fear in the face of Roderick’s sister. After this brief mention, he leaves her out of the story once again, citing that she succumbed to her bed after his almost encounter and that he would not see her again alive (120).Jordan notes that this absence of Madeline is an attempt on the narrator’s part to keep Madeline out of the story: â€Å"the narrator uses language covertly to relegate Madeline to a passive position in relation to himself† (7). Roderick, in this case is not the masculine oppressor; the narrator is. The irony of the situation, though, is that in trying to suppress Madeline, the female twin and the object that the narrator prescribes to femininity, he lets that feminine essence flourish. By the end of the story, the narrator is forced to face that he cannot create a solely masculine story.As Raymond Benoit, a voice in Explicator’s long series of essays on â€Å"Usher,† point s out, the narrator is forced to face the feminine through the reading of â€Å"Mad Trist† at the end of the story: â€Å"a mad story that parallels what is occurring in the house and reflects and even enables the awakening of the feminine side thought to have been laid to rest in the philosophy and literature of the Enlightenment and by Roderick/narrator† (80). The narrator cannot ignore the strong feminine influence in the house, much as he tries.Perhaps this is because the source of the feminine influence is sitting beside him. Throughout the story, Roderick appears as a romantic and an artist. He reads romance and gothic novels and is emotional to the point of hysteria at times. Beverly Voloshin enters her theory in the series shared with Benoit and others on â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† in Explicator. Her theory follows the lines of Roderick being the feminine half of the Usher twins. â€Å"Roderick is associated with the abstract, atemporal, and ideal† (14). These attributes are generally feminine in nature, gentle and imaginative.In a usually feminine role, Roderick’s actions are often reactions to other characters, showing subordination. His madness is spurred by the supposed death of Madeline, an irrational and emotional reaction to an action of another character. Roderick’s death, often attributed with the ultimate fall of the house itself, is a reaction to the return and death of Madeline. His death is a reaction to the death of a feminine character, which gives power to the feminine over the masculine. Poe is known to have sickly seraph types in his stories, but these seemingly weak female characters speak to his fondness for women.Poe’s life was filled with women who were taken away by illness, making them physically weak: his mother, his cousin and wife. But the women in Poe’s life were often the source of his strength, making them spiritually and often mentally strong. The experien ce of physically weak, spiritually strong women in his life greatly influenced his portrayal of women in his stories and poetry; Anabelle Lee comes to mind. Similarly, Madeline follows the guidelines for Poe’s memory of women. In a strange way, Poe often put these women on pedestals.Madeline’s presence is very rarely in the foreground of Poe’s short story, but the times when she does appear, it is her appearance that changes the mood of the scene. Madeline owns every scene in which she appears. Her actions are catalysts. The character is weak, but Poe puts her in a position of power beyond character; Poe gives Madeline a position of power over the plot. While the ultimate portrayal of Madeline might be a slap in the face against feminists, her role in the story is large enough to create a strong female influence.Poe follows his own guidelines in the character of Madeline Usher. She fits his ideal for true beauty. John H. Timmerman helps lead the way towards view ing Madeline in this light by explaining Poe’s reasoning. He explains Poe’s drive towards creating beauty in his writing, a beauty that he believed could only be achieved through sadness (232). Because of this connection and his past with women, Poe comes to the conclusion that â€Å"the most sad thing, and therefore the most beautiful, is the death of a beautiful woman† (232).Madeline, though pale and sickly, is one of these beautiful women. Her death, then, is a thing of beauty in Poe’s eyes. The concept is not a very enthusiastic one, nor is it useful in citing Poe as an advocate for women, but that he put emphasis on women is a step in the right direction. From his idea that a beautiful woman’s death is indeed the most beautiful occurrence in nature, he spurned the male characters in his stories to help reclaim the feminine within his stories. The male counterparts to these tragic women are the main argument for Cythia Jordan.In her essay †Å"Poe's Re-Vision: The Recovery of the Second Story,† Jordan argues that Roderick Usher and C. Auguste Dupin are male characters who attempt to bring to light the feminine or â€Å"second† story. While the narrator has ultimate control over the plot of â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† Jordan points out times when Roderick tries to wrestle that control from him and reassert Madeline as a prominent figure in the story. The final scene of â€Å"Usher† is where Roderick gets that victory, â€Å"Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door! † (130).Jordan explains that this marks a moment in which Roderick takes control of the narrative long enough to call the narrator out on his oppression and to bring Madeline out into the spotlight (11). Roderick proves again that he is not the male oppressor but is instead a supporter if not aspect of the feminine. The question becomes, then, why would Roderick want to bring Madeline to the forefront ? The sole reason being that she is his twin is likely not enough. The idea of them being two aspects of the same being, or two sides of the same face is more concrete.But consider that Roderick is an artist, not only placing him in a feminine role, which would be cause enough to help the feminine thrive, but as an artist he must meet that ultimate goal that Poe put forth for himself: to create beauty. If Poe’s characters follow his own guidelines, then, Roderick’s only way to express that which is most beautiful in the world is to bring his beautiful sister’s death to the forefront of the story. Thus, in Roderick’s moment of control over the plot, in revealing the â€Å"second story† of Madeline, he follows those rules of an artist so avidly produced by his own author.The end result is not just Poe’s ideal of beauty, it also gives voice to the silenced feminine within the story –both Madeline’s and possibly Roderick’s o wn. The connection between Madeline and Roderick as twins is an interesting part of their mixed and almost non-existent gender roles. It has been suggested that their relationship is an incestuous affair, bringing together that mixed-gendered ambiguity into an even more scrambled position. Voloshin and others regard the twin connection, Voloshin looking specifically at the dichotomies apparent within that connection. †¦[T]he Usher twins also represent the duality of culture and nature, or more precisely, that they correspond to many cultural constructions of masculine and feminine, which divide the genders along the axis of culture and nature† (14). The fact that Poe decided to use twins pushes the idea that such dichotomies exist. Roderick, similar to Madeline, is afflicted with an ailment, one that is â€Å"a constitutional and a family evil, and one for which he despaired to find a remedy –a mere nervous affection† (118). This nervous condition is display ed throughout the story in his outbursts and personality shifts.It is suggested that the ailment, being a family curse, is close to if not the same as Madeline’s. Madeline, however, shows strength in that she did not succumb to the illness before the narrator arrives. Madeline is given credit for being the stronger of the two, a masculine trait. The dichotomy does not fit what society would expect from gender roles. The male is the feminine and the female is the masculine. It has been suggested that Roderick and Madeline are the same person, or aspects of the same person. Hoeveler plays with this idea in her essay on the â€Å"Abjected Woman. She discusses the idea that Madeline is in fact the feminine half of Roderick that has escaped to become an alter-ego (391). Not only would physical evidence within the text dispute that idea –the fact that the narrator sees Madeline during a conversation with Roderick –but why, then, would Roderick assume so many feminine traits of his own? And why would Madeline seem to uphold those traits generally accepted as masculine? The rest of the essay is another key: the idea of dualities in religion, the goddess and the god. The duality returns to the twin idea, and the twin concept requires a semblance of balance.If Roderick is the feminine role, Madeline must step in to play the role of the masculine. Traditionally, in feminist readings, the masculine identity can be discovered by its subjugation and subordination of the feminine identity. Madeline is buried in the vault, making her symbolically subordinated, but in the end, it is she who buries Roderick: â€Å"†¦with a low moaning cry, fell heavily upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated† (Poe 131).The first item of note is the fact that Roderick’s name is not mentioned once in his death scene. Roderick is placed in the passive part of the sentence, â€Å"upon the person of her brother,† rather than given an active death. His name is not mentioned, instead he is listed as the brother of Madeline. He is also noted as being a victim, a position often associated with the feminine. Here, Roderick is not only stripped of identity of his own, but is made the passive victim of a violent force against him. The idea of Madeline as a violent or at least controlling force over Roderick is used in the somewhat popular vampire theory.Lyle Kendall discusses this theory and cites examples from the text to help prove it. He suggests that Roderick asks the narrator to come to the house to aid him in the destruction of his oppressor, the vampire, Madeline (451). J. O. Bailey goes into more depth, citing the history and mythology behind the vampire theory. He, however, notes that both of the twins seem to exhibit traits of one who has been attacked by a vampire, but that Madeline was the one whose body is inhabited by a vampiric entity (Bailey 458).Vampires in stories have been male and female –there is no prescription for the sex of these mythological creatures. The idea of the vampire, though, of one who comes and sucks the life out of others fits the mold for a control aspect. The masculine identity is the controlling identity, and if Madeline is indeed a vampire, then she becomes that controlling identity; Madeline becomes the oppressor and Roderick the oppressed. Another supposedly masculine trait is the sense of structure and order.Robinson brings the dichotomy of order/disorder into play in his formalist reading of the short story in his essay â€Å"Order and Sentience in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. † Robinson writes, â€Å"[t]he progress of the story sees Usher, his house, and his sister Madeline changing from an organized to a disorganized state, until finally all sink together† (69). Robinson also brings to light the notion that Madel ine’s physical senses dim through the story while Usher’s heighten (75). Roderick becomes more sensitive where his sister becomes less so.Their traits become intermingled, masculine and feminine twisting their positions to the opposite sex until finally it all comes back together into a union. The final union between the masculine and the feminine is the destruction of the house, according to Robinson, when the house and the story fall into a state of disorganization. The final scene in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† seems to be a culmination of all that is feminine within the work. Roderick sits and listens to his favorite romantic story, â€Å"Mad Trist,† which brings the feminine back into the plot.During this reading, Roderick comes into a position to speak against the narrator, for the narrator, when he calls him a â€Å"madman,† and reveals Madeline standing outside the door. When Madeline appears for her final scene, her coup de grace , she is in her burial shroud with blood on her, a symbol of rebirth. The walking symbol of the feminine falls upon Usher, who without a fight, falls to the ground, and the two die. The narrator flees the fall of the house of Usher, and watches as the house behind him is mysteriously destroyed.The story comes together, finally, with a seeming grand finale of femininity. Symbols, romanticism, disorganization, all of those ideals that have been attributed to feminism culminate. But looking back once again on Roderick’s death, there is the passivity. Madeline, in the midst of this fantastic moment of feminine symbolism, takes on the role of a masculine identity, pressing Roderick beneath her and putting him into a passive state. Are the symbols enough for this story to triumph over masculine influence?Or has the narrator put his foot down on the final scene to ensure that some semblance of masculine oppressiveness remained in the story? Regardless of masculine or feminine traits , at the end of the story, as the world of the narrator collapses into romantic idealism, it is the woman, the female half of the Usher family, that finally oppresses the man. Madeline triumphs, but only when put into a masculine gender role. Leo Spitzer, author of â€Å"A Reinterpretation of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’,† also notes the near necessity for the two to die as one.He first shines light on the importance of Madeline, citing her as a deuteragonist and pointing out the eerie timing of her appearances, and he goes on to say that â€Å"Roderick and Madeline, twins chained to each other by incestuous love, suffering separately but dying together, represent the male and the female principle in that decaying family whose members, by the law of sterility and destruction which rules them, must exterminate each other† (352). They do destroy one another at the end, leaving the narrator to escape.And, as Jordan points out, the narrator gets the last w ord, â€Å"for his final act of ‘sentencing’ is to dispatch Madeline and her too-familiar twin into the ‘silent tarn,’ out of mind and out of language one last time† (12). Despite this triumphant climax for Madeline and Roderick, the narrator clings tightly to his story. The narrator, or storyteller, in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† fights for control over the characters within the story, both female and feminine. He takes on, ultimately, the role of masculinity.Whether, within the house, Madeline was oppressed or Roderick was matters very little –their aspects were in sync with on another and bound to come together eventually. But their ultimate victory and freedom from the masculine narrator is achieved only in their deaths, and the storyteller condemns the last vestiges of the feminine. In this story at least, the victory of femininity is short-lived and ultimately futile. Works Cited Bailey, J. O. â€Å"What Happens in â₠¬Ëœthe Fall of the House of Usher'? † American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 35. (1964): 445-66. Benoit, Raymond. â€Å"Poe's ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † Explicator 58. 2 (2000): 79-81. Hoeveler, Diane Long. â€Å"The Hidden God and the Abjected Woman in the Fall of the House of Usher. † Studies in Short Fiction 29. 3 (1992): 385-95. Jordan, Cynthia S. â€Å"Poe's Re-Vision: The Recovery of the Second Story. † American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 59. 1 (1987): 1-19. Kendall, Lyle H. ,Jr. â€Å"The Vampire Motif in ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † College English 24. 6 (1963): 450-3. May, Leila S. ‘Sympathies of a Scarcely Intelligible Nature': The Brother-Sister Bond in Poe's ‘Fall of the House of Usher'. † Studies in Short Fiction 30. 3 (1993): 387-96. Robinson, E. Arthur. â€Å"Order and Sentience in â€Å"the Fall of the House of Usher†. † PMLA 76. 1 (1961): 68-81. . Spitzer, Leo. â€Å"A Reinterpretation of â€Å"the Fall of the House of Usher†. † Comparative Literature 4. 4 (1952): 351-63. . Timmerman, John H. â€Å"House of Mirrors: Edgar Allan Poe's ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † Papers on Language and Literature: A Journal for Scholars and Critics of Language and Literature 39. (2003): 227-44. Voloshin, Beverly R. â€Å"Poe's ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † Explicator 46. 3 (1988): 13-5. Works Referenced Obuchowski, Peter. â€Å"Unity of Effect in Poe's ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † Studies in Short Fiction 12 (1975): 407-12. . Peeples, Scott. â€Å"Poe's ‘Constructiveness' and ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Kevin J. Hayes. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP, 2002. 178-190. Stein, William Bysshe. â€Å"The Twin Motif in ‘the Fall of the Hou se of Usher'. † Modern Language Notes 75. 2 (1960): 109-11. .

Using language translation services and patient outcomes Essay

Using language translation services and patient outcomes - Essay Example Language translation service is the mechanism that most organizations use to translate information from one language to another. However, most organizations have different perception relating to the language translation service. For instance, health centers are the likely places that can employ this service because it serves individuals from every corner of the world, and these people speak different languages. However, not all health centers use this mechanism in their workplaces. There is those that find the mechanism challenging and not reliable means of communication between the patient and the nurses or doctors (Anderman & Rogers, 2003). On the other hand, there are hospitals that are providing this technique of language translation service in their organizations. With the difference from language translation service, the two types of health centers are currently operating differently in terms of service provision to their clients. For the case of the of the health centers that are using the language translation service, they are attending to patients from across the world who speak different languages. It is because of the aid of the language translation mechanism. On the other hand, the health centers that are not using the service are mostly treating the local patients. That is, the patients who use English as their first language (Schaffner, 2000). However, the use or misuse of the service between the two kinds of health centers has its own merits and demerits. However, the research shows that, the health center that uses the language translation services have more advantages as compared to the one that does not use the language translation service. The research explains this through analyzing the flow of patients to the two kinds of health centers within a particular period. Service translation is the process of translating a message from one language to the other. Health centers are social places that all are

Medicine in islam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medicine in islam - Research Paper Example Through such an analysis is the hope of this author that the reader will be able to gain a more informed and rational understanding with regard to the many different developments within different fields that Islam was able to contribute to the world at large. Moreover, as a direct result of the fact that the early Islamic Empire was able to engage different ethnic groups of different cultures and backgrounds, many of the â€Å"developments† that will be referenced will in fact be the result of syncretic adaptation and borrowing that took place within the early Islamic community. Firstly, it is oftentimes incorrectly attributed that it was early Islamic philosophers that first determined that blood circulated throughout the body. However, this myth has widely been dispelled as it is now understood that it was in fact Greeks who put forward this hypothesis several centuries prior to Islamic civilization existing. However, with that being said, it was Islamic civilization and philosophy that presented the world of medicine a greater understanding with regard to the way in which blood circulated through the body as a result of ventricles and movements of the aorta. Such a level of understanding was of course profound with respect to the manner through which it helped healthcare professionals to understand how to treat a patient (Ghaly 106). As a direct result of the way in which knowledge increases and individuals come to integrate with new technology, cauterize nation and bloodletting were substantial further developments to this particular breakthrough that w ere also engaged by the early Islamic world. Whereas it is true that bloodletting is no longer utilized, broadly speaking, within the current world of medicine, it is most certainly the case that cauterizing wounds is utilized within almost every type of surgical procedure that exists within the current era. As a means of singeing the flesh and immediately encouraging blood

Early Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Early Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper - Essay Example In the painting, the sky is clearly seen with no clouds in sight, just a little white fuzz at the right. The shadows being cast by objects indicate the sun is rising from the right side. The streets are empty with only a fire hydrant and a barber’s post appearing at the front of the shops. None of the shops are open too indicating that Edward was taking a walk quite early in the morning. The building in view is a two story building expanding across the length of the street. It seems to have residences at the top and shops at the bottom. The residences are brick red with rectangular windows both open and closed. In the windows are curtains. Some are white, while others are yellow. The shops are a darker green with large windows. Accesses to the residences are not shown. As the building ends towards the right, Edward cuts off the window at the top and the shop’s window. He intended to show that the building was still continuing. This may be true for both sides. On the top right, there is a dark shadow cast by a taller building. This may have been a newer structure and not part of the original building. It looks greatly out of place. Given the fact that the painting was painted during the time in small towns were being replaced by big cities with taller looming structures, this brings that reality to the painting. The darkness in that section is a sort of foreshadow of what will eventually happen to the small street, be replaced by taller buildings. The colours used in the painting also help in making the painting.

Submit short report that assembles the teams final results for Essay

Submit short report that assembles the teams final results for tackling a problem or creating a solution to the project - Essay Example It is affordable to all patients and readily available as the system is flexible, can move from one place to another. Congestion in hospitals by patients with fatal chronical diseases need to be at lower levels by administering health programs via PHM systems. It helps hospitals deliver a variety of health services to a greater population resulting in improvement in health conditions. A nation with improvement in health sectors obtains tremendous benefits like it readily consist of healthy individuals to provide labor. Improves country’s productivity reduces death rates to significant levels and provides the country with the chance of having innovation and creativity as well. The PHM project requires electronically intensive equipments making use of decision support systems. This reduces the manual work fatigue to medical staff if they are to perform the work, therefore; there is a reduction in workload of the medical staff. However, the system contains errors that would result in wrong medical description or diagnosis to the patients. The problems are in two classifications the system error and human errors. The system errors include the syntax and logical anomalies, which may be due to system malfunction. The errors can be because of overloading the systems or as well as unexpected errors, which would require repetition of the ongoing process to get the correct results. The human errors serve as the main setback towards achieving the set objectives of the program. The set objectives being, provision of sufficient medical attention to patients with chronic diseases. It is unfortunate and ironic that human beings have the audacity to be the factor that the project fails to be 100% successful. The significant human errors includes Although patients include false information in order to get medical treatment, it is unfortunate as there would be wrong results that can cause serious problems for both the p[patient and

Journal entries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Journal entries - Essay Example I felt good about myself after having given up my seat for the elderly lady. I felt happy and I saw the day for all the possibilities and opportunities it could give me. It was not my conscious choice to give my seat up for the elderly lady. When I saw her looking around for a seat, it was an immediate reflex on my part to offer my own. It was only when she said â€Å"bless you, child† when my act of kindness registered in my consciousness. I felt that such a reflex was a major part of my upbringing. I was taught to do the right thing by anyone, especially those who are vulnerable. I also felt that I did the act of kindness because I felt that in the future, I too might need acts of kindness from strangers. In a way, I was hoping that I too would deserve a good turn of kindness when my time to be old and feeble would come. I babysat my friend’s toddler for a few hours while she went to a job interview. Closing in on the weekend, I got a text message from a childhood friend, who was also a single mother, asking me to babysit her 2 year old daughter because she had a job interview. My friend explained that her babysitter unexpectedly came down with the flu and was unable to babysit her child. I knew the job interview was very much important to her because the burden of supporting her daughter was solely in her hands. Although I was supposed to meet up with friends at about the same time my friend issued here request, I knew that she really needed my help then. So, I said yes. I babysat her child for two hours. I basically played with her and entertained her. It was a task I was familiar with because I often played with the child whenever I visited my friend. When my friend came back, she felt relieved that all was fine with her daughter – that the baby did not act up or cry while she was a way. I also felt good about myself for having done the act of kindness for my friend. At first, I was a little bit

Philosophy essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy - Essay Example For instance, in the case of drug possession, long prison sentences are justified by deterrence theory to the extent that such sentences actually do prevent people from using drugs who otherwise would not use those drugs. That last part is important because deterrence is undermined unless it prevents what would happen if the deterrence was not implemented. Deterrence is, by definition, the removal of a cause to prevent an effect. So, considering these long prison sentences for drug possession, it is certainly possible some people are deterred simply because of the potential cost of being caught with illegal substances. In most cases, however, when someone refuses to take illegal drugs, it is not because they were deterred by drug laws and long prison sentences. Rather, it is because of other reasons not related to being caught. Being caught is not necessarily a big concern for most users of illegal drugs anyway. Therefore, it seems it is once again up to the utilitarian to decide whe ther US drug laws and long prison sentences are justified by their effects (the results of strict controls on drugs) in reality. 2. John Rawls’ so-called end-state (or distributive justice) theory of justice stands in contrast to Robert Nozick’s entitlement (or process) theory of justice. The former proposes that all persons in the â€Å"original position† (the state of nature) should agree that all social primary goods, like opportunity and income, are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all these goods is to the advantage of the least favored. For Rawls and the end-state theory, justice is â€Å"fairness†, especially when the proposed redistribution would improve social inequality. Nozick’s entitlement theory proposes that a distribution is just if it comes about by ethical acquisition from the state of nature or through fair allocation.

Chapter 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Chapter 1 - Essay Example Diagnoses by medical practitioners are also not correct, absolutely, and some conditions are misdiagnosed or are not diagnosed at all (Improvements in Healthcare p3). One of the implications of Princess Alexandra Hospital researchers’ finding is that it might reassure internet users of the reliability of Google and the internet at general in self-diagnosis. Many people are increasingly resorting to the internet to find out their possible medical conditions despite warnings about its unreliability and Google’s high success rate for diagnosis might change this perception. The other implication is that Google might now compete more favorably with other trusted internet sites used for self-diagnosis. MedLinePlus is one such site that is trusted by many online users for information because the National Library of Medicine manages it (Improvements in Healthcare p3). An important implication for Google’s 57percent success rate is that if continually refined, the internet can serve as a complementary and alternative diagnostic tool. The contemporary world has become increasingly dependent on the internet that has traversed many aspects of life and medical field is not an exception. The reservations that most medical practitioners have with the internet as a diagnostic tool should be countered by improving on its shortcomings. After all, to many, the internet is more accessible than a medical practitioner is. Medical practitioners should therefore not feel threatened by the internet. Rather, they should embrace and incorporate it in their practice (Improvements in Healthcare p3). Google’s success case demonstrates the potential of the internet in helping to provide more people with access to healthcare with minimal costs. Hospital settings are limited by space and time required to accommodate and attend to all the patients seeking treatment. These deny physicians quality time with every patient and this is something that can countered by using the internet.

The Face of the Terrorist Essay Example for Free

The Face of the Terrorist Essay A faceless enemy. It has been eights years after the September 11 attack in the United States of America. Several people died and it was also the same time when the Unites States of America government contemplate on how the terrorists look like. Terrorists had been faceless for all we know and we do not even have any idea about them until Osama bin Laden was identified by Bush. The knowledge about terrorism and terrorists has been very limited but in some occasions and in present, the internet was able to give face to the faceless enemy and as soon as Bush gave bin Laden’s name, it was the start of identifying more faces of the enemy. In this paper, the author ought to explain terrorism and the face of terrorists wherein images from online sources and references are presented by the author to justify what she was pertaining to in line with terrorist’s face. Using Racialist, Sexism and Fascism ways, the author explained her argument and gave a face to the nameless enemy. At the same time, it was not the face of the enemies alone that was tackled in this paper but also the different faces of terror which was marked when Al Qaeda, the name given to Osama bin Laden’s organization as western and media name attacked United States of America. Considering the primitive years wherein pictures are not yet existing, identification of someone, probably a suspect or a colleague is hard to do and the mind was the only one who does the job of recognizing culprits and acquaintances. In present generation, mug shots are used to identify criminals and soon after to relate them with one another to solve a certain crime. Offerings several incidents and examples, the author named and identified when a terror becomes and terror and how those who were victims became the terrorists. As she presented two faces of people, the victim and the terrorist, it seems that these two can trade places and with sacrifice and revenge present, it is not impossible to have another kind of terror from a different kind of terrorists. Stereotyping was of course an unfair act and yet, we cannot help but guard ourselves from people who have turbans on their heads and all bearded like Santa Claus, only that they were not the good ones. America might be too cautious to a person who has a diaper on their head and a fan belt in it and decide to pull them off (Engle, 2009) but we can never blame them, after all, the leader of Al Qaeda looks like that and although there are heroes presented, they should also be cautious about what they were doing because defacement is much easier than being really the good ones. Critique Karen Engle’s analysis of the faces of terrors and the terrorists allow us to understand the distinction and the stereotypes made by the people, especially those in the government to identify them as crime promoters and culprits. An analysis that gives light to the unknowns in present and the many questions arising from the attacks, both previous and recent ones, this article was informational enough to be endorsed to people of any age, except to those who were still too young to understand that in this world, safe is not safe until we are sure of the people we are dealing with. While we can consider the victims as real victims, looking on the other side of the story, we will understand that they are not victims until the end. As long as there are revenge and sacrifice, it will be easy to understand that people, terrorist or not are capable of doing anything that can terrorize people around them. This paper had served as a lesson to be learned that allows the readers to be open minded and to stop stereotyping people. List of References Engle, Karen. The Face of a Terrorist. Sage Publications. Online Version from http://csc. sagepub. com/cgi/reprint/7/4/397

Human Resourcing Planning in Global Brand

Human Resourcing Planning in Global Brand Introduction The report on Human Resource Planning focuses on the HR plan followed by one of the leaders in global IT services, the Wipro.The Company has booked itself a decent position in the niche market category of consumer goods, business process outsourcing services, product engineering services and illuminating solutions. The report tries to analyze the importance of a well structured human resource planning system in a multinational company like the Wipro.The need for a carefully constructed legal and organizational framework for the employment of staff, and the need for a very effective grievances system has been closely studied in this report. A sincere attempt has been put in to identify and understand the detailed recruitment process of staff. Wipro provides an ideal platform for organizations seeking IT solutions because of its strong human resources, superior performances and sincere commitment towards quality ensurement.It provides business and technology consultations services to a number of organizations worldwide. About the company Wipro stands for Western India vegetable Products ltd.It began its operations in 1945 as a vegetable oil manufacturer in Amalner,India.The company has its equity shares listed in India(both in National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange)and also in US(New York stock exchange) . Wipro has its services spread over wide horizon of activities. Some of which are manufacturing, media, healthcare, telecom, transportation, aerospace, automotive, communication, energy, pharmaceuticals, financial and banking services, insurance, and technology. It has over 800 plus clients and about one lakh associates from 70 different nations. It maintains more than seventy two outlets and employs ninety six thousand people over fifty five nations. Wipro is the third largest R D service provider in the world. It keeps track of all the latest developments in the technological field. It believes that such latest technological innovations has an important bearing on the competitive strength of the concern.Wipro can be termed as a leading vendor of enterprise technology. It is because of its strong brand power that Wipro is now able to reach new heights. Need Importance of Human resource planning The term human resource embraces the entire workforce in an organization form the top level to the bottom level. Human resources are considered to be the most important asset of an organization. The success of every organization depends on the efficiency of its manpower. The increasing global competition, rising customer demands, shortage of skilled and able workers has all contributed towards increasing the relevance of human resources in this era (Webb, 1989). The HR department of every organization should learn how to manage the employee performances effectively. Human resources are the power house of any organization and it is very much essential to nurture them through proper planning and management. The problem is how to utilize and manage these resources to deliver maximum results. Human resource planning is an effective technique of empowering the people with competitive skills required for business management. It is a systematic process through which the need and availability of human resources for accomplishing the organizations strategic objectives are identified and assessed (Mathis Jackson, 2007). HR planning is concerned with determining whether the organization contains the right number of employees, with right skills and competencies in the right place at the right time. The HR plan should contain a detailed study of the skills, talents, knowledge, competency, experience and creativity of its employees. This informations forms the basis for taking optimum career decisions like promotions, de-promotions, dismissals and transfers. Apart from studying the capabilities of its own employees HR plan also assesses the external environment for meeting the labor supply requirements of the organization. It involves forecasting of future manpower requirements of the company and making necessary moves to fill in the vacancies. The HR strategies must be in consistent with the organizational objectives. In any organization it is essential to link the human resource plans with its business strategies and objectives (Rothwell Kazanas, 2003). The HR plans have great impact on the strategic plans of the company. The aim of HR practitioners is to coordinate and align their efforts with the strategic planners. The business objectives can be closely related with the HR objectives as HR is an important part of the organization. Easy attainment of goals is possible only though combined human effort. HRP at Wipro HRP tries to highlight the means through which people are appointed and developed to increase the organizations efficiency (Armstrong 2006).HR plans estimates the number and kind of employees that an organization would require to perform its jobs efficiently and effectively. Following are the important HRP goals in Wipro: Determining the future staffing needs . Accepting and adopting the changes in the internal and external environment. Optimum and efficient utilization of existing workforce. Systematic procedure for advancement of employees. The figure given below shows the HR planning process followed in Wipro Estimating manpower Required Recruitment process Development and training of Selected candidate Promotions and transfers Fixing of payment scale Here the HR planning system is broken down into different phases and arranged in the hierarchical order. Recruitment process Recruitment is the process of inviting applications from suitable candidates and selecting the best candidate from amongst them. The aim of recruitment is to create a pool of applications (Aswathappa 2005).It involves searching various sources to find suitable candidates and persuading them to apply for the jobs. Recruiting is the term applied to the phase of personal management that involves reaching out and attracting a supply of people from which to select qualified candidates for job vacancies. An effort is made to attract potential employees with the necessary characteristics for the jobs available (Megginson, 1981) So recruitment means to finding and encouraging prospective applicants to fill up the vacancies in the organization. Recruitment can be made within the organization or from external environment. There are two sources for recruitment: The external source and the internal source. The internal recruitment can be done through promotions, transfers, employee recommendations and references. Whereas the external means for recruitment includes advertisement, campus recruitments, employment exchanges and agencies. In wipro the recruitment process follows three important stages. They are:- Stage I Written test, Stage II- Personal interview, (Stage II consist of two parts) (i)Interview to test the technical skills (ii) Interview to test the HR knowledge. Stage III Placements Stage I Written test Here the applicants shall be required to undergo a written test. It shall include questions to test the aptitude of the candidates. Sometimes the applicants might have to face verbal questions too. Stage II Personal interview Technical interview comes first in stage II. Technical interview is conducted to assess thee basic technical knowledge. The elimination process starts from here. The applicants shall be selected to the next stage on the basis of the performance. The next is the HR interview. Here the interviewers shall include some general questions like asking the candidates to give a self assessment, asking about their ambitions, family background, their knowledge regarding the company etc. A group discussion may also be conducted to assess the communication skills and vocabulary of the candidates. The filtering process shall be completely depending on the individual performance of the candidates in the above stages. The final stage is the placement of employees. Placement implies accepting the selected candidate and placing him in the post for which he has been appointed. It is concerned with matching the selected candidates with the jobs. Once a candidate clears all the stages the Manager (HR) shall provide him with the employee code number. He/she has to agree upon the terms and conditions of appointment and shall submit their joining letter. After recruitment the newly elected candidate must have to undergo compulsory training, to make them well equipped and familiar with the organization. The talent transformation department of Wipro takes care for this. The following illustration shows in detail the recruitment process followed in Wipro:- Recruitment process Written test Technical Interview HR Interview Placement Personal Interview Measures taken by the company to promote employee welfare Wipro considers its human resource as one of their most priced asset and hence has taken every precaution to make sure that they retain their employees and strengthen their commitment. It has launched various welfare measures for its employees. Such as educational facility for their children, medical reimbursement, housing finance, recreational facilities, insurance policies and canteen facilities. Among these, promotional opportunities play a very important role in making employees happy. Promotion means advancement from the current post to a higher post. Promotions offer better status and payment to the employees in the concern. Opportunities for advancement shall be based on the performance of the employees. Understanding grievances of employees A well structured grievance system is essential for effective identification and redressal of employee grievance. Such an efficient grievance system is a must for ensuring employee satisfaction and better labor relationship (Durai, 2010).It is a prerequisite for every organization to ensure quality employee performance. According to Wagen (2007) a grievance process should consider the following aspects: The process must be duly agreed by everyone in the company. The process must be communicated in English. The procedure followed for filing the complaint must be unambiguous. An objective approach must be followed while dealing with the complainants. Confidentiality must be followed wherever it is necessary. The entire process must be clearly documented. The grievance procedure to be followed is stated below (Selwyn 2006):- i. The employee shall specify his grievance or complaint (in writing) and a copy of the sane shall be forwarded to his employer. ii. The employer shall call upon the employee to attend the meeting where the matter is going to be discussed. The employee has to ensure his attendance. Once the meeting concludes the employer shall inform the employee about his decision with regard to the grievance. The employer must inform the employee his right to make an appeal if he is not satisfied with the judgment. iii. The employee should communicate his intention of making an appeal to his employer. Accordingly the employer shall again call a meeting to discuss on this matter. The employee should take every effort to ensure his attendance. After the hearing the employer shall convey his final decision to the employee. Wipro maintains a very effective grievance system. The grievance process followed by the company contains all the necessary ingredients as discussed above. By following such a system the company is able to easily resolve employee conflict and maintain a peaceful environment. Disciplinary process in the company Discipline is an indispensable factor in human resource planning in a large organization like Wipro.Discipline ensures strict adherence to the procedures, plans and rules of the company. Absence of discipline can bring utter chaos and confusion within the organization.Wipro follows a strict and fair disciplinary system. Following are the important questions raised during the disciplinary procedure of the company: What acts of offence, violation, misconduct have been done by the individual? Did such act amount to breach of code of conduct? The impact of the offence. Is the offence in anyway related to the job performance of the employee? In case of minor offences the employees shall be given warnings or memos. But if such act of offence has affected the company in a grave manner the employee shall be dismissed immediately. Acts of deceit, willful suppression or destruction of important information, willfull negligence of duty, causing personal injury or accidents shall invite dismissal with immediate effect. The dismissal procedure includes: 1. Issuance of sufficient show cause notices 2. Providing an optimum opportunity to be heard 3. Ensuring the presence of the individual during the hearing 4. Permitting the employee to present witnesses 5. Hearing of the witness account 6. Recording of all the procedures and decisions taken in the meeting by the officer in charge 7. Announcement of the decision It should be noted that the presiding officer be impartial and fair in his decisions. IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE WELFARE ORGANISATION What is ACAS? ACAS means Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service. It was established in the year 1975 under the Employment Protection Act. The purpose of ACAS is to ensure better working life and improve the labor relations. ACAS is directed towards solving of employee problems and raising their standard of performance by conducting quality education and training programs for them. ACAS plays three important roles in improving the employee relations (Currie 1997).They are:- 1. Advisory role: ACAS can be viewed as an advisory body as it offers advisory and consultation services to the organization and employees who feel that they have been overlooked or unfairly treated. Through the informations contained in the code of conduct issued by ACAS, it shows an organization the need to maintain a fair grievances and disciplinary system. Many organizations have adopted the principles of ACAS. 2. Role of Conciliation: Here ACAS tries to resolve employee conflicts before the issue reaches the hearing phase. The conciliation officer tries to guide and make both the parties understand the probable outcome of a tribunal. 3. Role of Arbitrator:-In common practice, the employee conflicts are solved within the organization. But the need for an arbitrator arises when the internal dialogues fail to settle the issue. Most of the organizations prefer ACAS to don the role of arbitrator. While acting under this role ACAS may appoint an arbitrator or even form an arbitration board. Such decisions shall be based on the complexity and relevance of the issue. ACAS codes and principles mainly stresses on the importance of maintaining discipline in the organization(Taylor, 2005).ACAS has set specific codes and procedures to be applied on the disciplinary system and dismissal process of the company. Following are the important points covered by the ACAS code in this respect:- Every company should maintain specific and systematic disciplinary procedures and these procedures must be kept with the company in the written form. The name and designation of the person authorized for taking disciplinary actions must be separately stated. The procedure must precisely state the grounds on which disciplinary actions shall be evoked against the defaulting employee or employer. The employee has to be informed about the complaint raised against him. And he should be provided with a reasonable opportunity of being heard. The company should have fair warning system. Proper warnings have to be raised whenever it is necessary .An opportunity must be given to the employees to correct their actions. Every employee has the right to appeal. The company should have a well structured complaint redressal committee before whom the employees shall appear. The employees have the right to representation. Any employee or member of the trade union can accompany the employee during the hearing. Hence ACAS plays a very important role in ensuring a fair and effective grievance and disciplinary system in an organization. Employment Tribunal The Employment tribunals were introduced in the year 1964 for the first time under the Industrial Training Act (Pettinger 1999). Employment tribunal is another important organization which plays a very important role in promoting employee welfare in the industry. They deal with safeguarding employee rights. The tribunal is empowered to give a fair trial to the employees who have been unfairly dismissed (Chandler, Waud 2003). If an employee is dismissed on the basis of any incorrect informations or if he has been denied the right to appeal then the employment tribunal (if the employee is able to prove his innocence) shall dismiss all the allegations against him. Person, persons or bodies like labor unions filing the case to the employment tribunal is termed applicants. And the other party (employer or the company) against whom the case has been filed is termed respondents. The applicants as well as the respondents have the right to present witnesses to their support. The tribunal may require each of the parties to produce necessary documents or evidences while conducting the trial. The decisions shall be taken on just and equitable basis. Two remedies are available to the employees who have been unfairly dismissed. One is to seek re-engagement and the other is to claim compensation. The employment tribunal has the power to issue orders for re-engagement and awarding compensation for the aggrieved employee. The tribunal has been setup to provide a platform for easy settlement of disputes between the employees and the employers (Pettinger 1999).In this manner employee tribunal tries to solve the grievance of employees in a very effective manner. It stresses on the fact that no employee shall be dismissed unless he has been given a reasonable opportunity to prove his innocence .The ultimate objective of the tribunal is to promote and protect employee welfare and rights through fair trials. Apart from the tribunal, the Trade Unions, welfare organizations formed by the employees themselves, government agencies set up under various statutes are in the continuous process of protecting the rights of employees and increasing their job satisfaction. They ensure that the employee grievances are met in a satisfactory manner and a fair and just disciplinary process is followed by the concern. SUMMARY The report on Human Resource Planning tries to highlight the importance of human resources and the need to effectively plan and manage the human resource in a large organization like the Wipro. Human resource planning is concerned with determining whether an organization has the right number of employees, in the right place at the right time. The report goes through the various phases of human resource plan followed by Wipro.The HRP goals of the organization have been clearly stated in the report. The various stages in the recruitment process of the company have been well explained with the support of a detailed illustration. The report also explains the importance of having a well planned and systematic grievance and disciplinary system in an organisation.The disciplinary process followed by the company has been studied in detail. The dismissal procedures have been clearly mentioned in the report. The report attempts to bring out the importance and impact of various employee welfare organizations like ACAS and the Employment tribunals. The principles and procedures specified by the ACAS and the tribunals must be considered while developing the grievance and disciplinary process. CONCLUSION On the basis of the report we arrive at the conclusion that Human Resource Planning is an indispensable part for any organization. An organization enjoys the following advantages of having a well built HR planning system. They are:- It helps in estimating future manpower requirements of the organization. Scarcity of employees An entity contains a number of jobs requiring highly specialized knowledge. And there is a shortage of skilled employees.HRp helps to identify such talents and ensures adequate supply of such talented employees thereby alleviating the problem of shortage in the organization. Trying to cope up with the changes With frequent changes and development in field of technology, market conditions etc, it demands more sophisticated operations. And an effective HRP tries to solve this problem by supplying the right person with right skills. Growth and development Employees leave the organization due to various reasons like death, retirement, dismissals, transfers etc, and it is necessary that these gaps have to be filled. Through proper HR planning such problems due to growth and development can be dealt effectively. It understands manpower requirements and takes suitable actions to supply the right kind of persons, considering the current business operations and future activities of the organization.

Comparing Roderick Hudson s Rowland Mallet and The Ambassadors Lambert Strether :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing Roderick Hudson 's Rowland Mallet and The Ambassador's Lambert Strether One of Henry James' outstanding qualities is that, to a greater extent than with most writers, the only way to really understand him is to simply read a great deal more of him. This statement takes one thing largely under its assumptive stride, that is that there is something to understand, something suggested and promised by, but not contained within, his immaculate and elegant prose. Again, to a greater extent than with most novelists, with Henry James it is safe to say that the real story unfolds not fully in the light thrown off by the explicit story-telling; no matter how elaborate or complete the narrative web, there is always something beyond it, a greater significance that we are pointed to by a constant inability fully to explain to ourselves, at least within its own terms, the story we are reading. Taking Roderick Hudson from the earlier years, and The Ambassadors from the later, we can trace a certain evolution in the way James handled the themes that pervaded his work as well as his life, namely, disengagement, isolation, difference. Comparing, in these two novels, the portrayal of this resigned but not fully explicated isolation, each comes to shed an enormous light into the hidden recesses of the other, and onto James' larger project as a writer of fiction. The central characters of these two books compare in interesting ways. On a certain surface Roderick's Rowland Mallet and The Ambassador's Lambert Strether are quite different. For example, in their respective relations to the opposite sex†¹an important aspect of character in analyzing James' portrayal of isolation†¹the two men appear to have quite different histories. Though he is twenty years younger than Strether, it is significant that Mallet has never married. We are given, on the very first page of the novel, the gossamer-thin reason that upon meeting the "golden fruit" that his cousin had married, he had "then and there accepted the prospect of bachelorhood."(RH, 49) When his cousin dies, leaving this woman again marriageable, Mallet's "fancy", oddly, dies a "natural death"(49). Strether, on the other hand, has married; but, having married very young, he is, at fifty-five, a long-time widower. (The circumstances of Strether's marriage, and the deaths of his wife and son, "stupidly sacrificed"(TA, 114), sound a little like the plot-line of a James short story.)

foolear The Fools in William Shakespeares King Lear :: King Lear essays

The Fools in King Lear      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare's play King Lear tells the tale of the main character who divides his kingdom between his older daughters, Goeneril and Regan, and disinherits his youngest daughter, Cordelia. The action leads to civil strife, his insanity, and his ultimate death. King Lear can be viewed as a great illustration about the struggle between good and evil. Perhaps better than any of Shakespeare's other tragedies, King Lear displays the concept of evil most strongly.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is believed that King Lear is an expansion of a British legend. The legend is as follows: Lear, King of Britain decided in his old age to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on their expressions of love for him. His two eldest daughters overwhelmed their father with expressions of love, but the youngest told her father that she loved her father as a daughter should. Enraged at his youngest daughter's reply, Lear drove her into exile and divided the kingdom between his two eldest daughters. However, his two eldest daughters infuriated him with their cruel treatment thereafter. Hence, the king went in search of his youngest daughter. His youngest daughter had married the king of France while she was gone. His youngest daughter returned with him two Britain and helped him to regain hi throne.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare utilized this British legend to create what is arguably one of the greatest tragedies of all time. Shakespeare took this British legend and conceptualized it to fit his audience. Shakespeare added the character of the Fool as a tool in better understanding Lear. The Fool exists as a metaphorical device in the King's path to better understanding himself. The Fool's bitter jests ultimately show King Lear the folly of his action. King Lear's madness and the Fool's wit and insight illustrate the theme of the play. The theme being man's inhumanity to man in the form of ingratitude.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare gives the most unlikely character, The Fool, the greatest amount of wisdom and insight. This device works well because The Fool is a peripheral character, as such, he acts as a sought of narrator pointing out the foolishness and folly going on around him. Shakespeare uses The Fool to be a commentator on the action of the play as well as a character in the play.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare uses The Fool to provide comic relief through the play as well. The Fool's role as entertainment for the king allows him to influence the king. It is believed that in the tradition of Elizabethan tragedy that the fool acts as the instructor to the king.

Skateboard Heaven :: Personal Narrative Essays

Skateboard Heaven      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I come around the corner, and a smile comes across my face.   I love it when there isn't a crowd.   Only two other people braved the chill, and had the will, to get up this early.   Upon arrival, my view is enhanced. Though I've seen it enough to burn an image into my subconscious, each visit brings new wonder.   I climb onto the lower platform, and quickly scale the small wall to the upper.   I nod at the other already standing there.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I've seen him before, but I don't need to know his name.   A silent friendship binds us that rarely needs words.   An occasional cheer or wince says more than the daily chat most are forced to endure.   The sound of the second person rolls softly in my ears. His image creeps into the corner of my eye while I inspect my shoes.   I scrub the soles back and forth on the pavement, out of habit, to insure a dry surface.   I don't bother to watch him.   I can hear him rolling smoothly down low.   His slow, relaxed warm up run tells me he probably arrived short time ago.   He makes his way up the back wall and his wheels go silent.   The other one puts his foot on his tail and effortlessly rolls his truck over the coping.   I watch him quickly drop away and coast to the hip.   He glides past it, and I start to notice the entire view before me as he blends into a larger picture.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I see grey.   Every shade of grey, in all its variety blends and curves from the lightest near whites, to a deepness rivaling black. The darkness overhead   drones with the sound of a thousand automobile tires humming on the top of the bridge.   Though designed for another purpose, it serves well as protection from the rain and weather.   The sun and light, as well as the wind, come from the sides.   The wind blows softly this morn, yet it nips at   exposed skin.   I know I will soon appreciate its soothing aspects as I warm up, so I try not to be bitter about it chilling my already cool body.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I hear the familiar pop of an ollie and my eyes automatically track

Fight Club’s Cult: Manipulation and Thought Reform

Andrew Epstein Professor Powell English 1A: 3:15 TR 18 February 2010 Fight Club’s Cult: Manipulation & Thought Reform Dr. Margaret Thaler Singer asks the question, â€Å"How many more Jonestowns and Wacos will have to occur before we realize how vulnerable all humans are to influence? †(3) With this, Singer– a clinical therapist who specialized in brainwashing and coercive persuasion, considered a giant in the field of cult behavior– brings the normallytaboo topic of cults in our society to the forefront of discussion. People must be informed and understand what a cult is, and how cults use thought-reform as a means to manipulate and control the masses. If people are left uneducated, senseless acts of self and social destruction will continue to be carried out by followers of proclaimed prophets. Shoko Asahara’s cult_ _â€Å"Aum Shinrikyo,† which translates to â€Å"teaching of the supreme truth† (Wessinger 121), an organized and violent group, has correlating similarities to Tyler Durden’s following. Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club_ _is a book about a man that creates a following in the form of a modern day cult, in which he uses its members to carry out acts of social terrorism, violence, and self-destruction by means of manipulation and thought reform. In order to understand cult behavior in Fight Club, one needs to understand the characteristics of a cult and how they are defined. â€Å"Cults are not a unique species of human group; they are the endpoints on a continuum† (Andres 1-7). A common misconception of cults is all cults are religious. Although many are, religious beliefs alone do not dictate the qualification of what a cult is. Singer describes that â€Å"cultic relationships† better define the parameters of what qualifies a cult, and that a cult can usually be identified by three factors despite its belief system (7). Of those factors, â€Å"Origin of the group and roles of the leader,† insists that most of the time there is one person in charge and in control of the decision making process for the cult and its members (Singer 8). Although cults range from a wide variety of categories and beliefs, cult leaders usually have uniform characteristics: â€Å"Cult leaders are self-appointed, persuasive persons who claim to have a special mission in life or to have special knowledge. Cult leaders tend to be determined and domineering and are often described as charismatic. Cult leaders center veneration on themselves† (Singer 8). Tyler was a party of one who had the charisma and ideology that appealed to the impressionable minds of people looking for something more. The followers of Fight Club looked at Tyler and saw everything they wanted but could not be themselves. â€Å"I love everything about Tyler Durden, his courage and his smarts. His nerve. Tyler is funny and charming and forceful and independent, and men look up to him and expect him to change their world. Tyler is capable and free, and I am not† (174). Tyler Durden is a leader, he has the ability to shape the minds of his followers through his power of persuasion. Whether it be the Fight Club, Project Mayhem, or one of Project Mayhem’s subdivisions, Tyler’s members abided by core beliefs and rules given by himself, and were eager to progress in Tyler’s self destructive behavior. Tyler believed that in order to gain enlightenment, to know who we really are, â€Å"First you must hit bottom† (76). Tyler’s followers want to be him, to think, and act as he acts. There was no questioning Tyler’s logic, his follower’s followed. â€Å"The structure or relationship between leader and followers,† states that; â€Å"Cults are authoritarian in structure. Cults appear to be innovative and exclusive. Cults tend to have a double set of ethics† (Singer 9). Even though a leader may appoint people to act in higher positions of authority to guide other members, the leader’s authority supersedes all. The cult leader offers its members something unique, something that can only be found through membership, and that in becoming one of the following makes that person â€Å"special† (Singer 9). It is normal that there are a strict set of rules, or a code of conduct between members that is not held to non-members. Whereas deceiving an outsider is completely acceptable, doing the same to a fellow member would not (Singer 9). The defining relationship of Tyler Durden in Fight Club is, without a doubt,leader to his followers. Tyler doesn’t refer to himself as a prophet or god; however, he does interpret with accuracy how his followers perceive him. â€Å"Tonight, I go to the Armory Bar and the crowds part zipper style when I walk in. To everybody there, I am Tyler Durden the Great and Powerful. God and father† (199). In order to further the development of Fight Clubs and Project Mayhem, Tyler appointed chapter leaders to instill the rules and beliefs he created. The chapter leaders obediently did as they were taught to do because in Fight Club, â€Å"You don’t ask questions,† and â€Å"you have to trust Tyler† (122,125). Interfere with Tyler’s goals, and Tyler will kill or castrate the opposition. â€Å"The coordinated program of persuasion,† is the â€Å"crucial factor in the definition of cults† (Singer 10). Cults tend to be totalistic, or all-encompassing, in controlling their members’ behavior and also ideologically totalistic, exhibiting zealotry and extremism in the worldview. Cults tend to require members to undergo a major disruption or change in life-style† (Singer 10). Cults may start similar to what could be compared to a part time job, in wh ich a member or in our example, an employee takes part in an activity or event for some sort of end result, whether it be self satisfaction or in the case of an employee, money. At some point the goal of the cult is to have its members completely invested, or a full time employee. This includes a life that can be compared to military lifestyle, in which members are often dehumanized, told when to eat, drink, sleep, and what to wear. This often results in abandoning their non-cult life completely in order to further â€Å"become immersed in the group’s major purpose† (Singer 10). Fight Club’s members transition from part time to full time, consisted of belonging to Project Mayhem or one of its several subdivisions. Tyler’s mission was to free the people from whom he thought were slaves to society. Tyler wanted to change the world, destroy the old and create a new world of a more basic need. â€Å"It's Project Mayhem that's going to save the world. A cultural ice age. A prematurely induced dark age. Project Mayhem will force humanity to go dormant or into remission long enough for the Earth to recover. † â€Å"This was the goal of Project Mayhem,† Tyler said, â€Å"the complete and right away destruction of civilization† (125). Project Mayhem’s group dubbed â€Å"space monkeys† (12) was stripped of all possessions except that which was required by Tyler. Dehumanized and stripped of their previous life identities the space monkey’s goal was to serve Tyler and membership required giving total control to the cause. â€Å"Only in death will we have our own names since only in death are we no longer part of the effort. In death we become heroes† (178). Fight Club’s members were manipulated to the point of partaking in acts of violence for recognition, and finding death for the cause to be heroic. Tyler’s control of his members is absolute and unquestioned. To begin understanding the complete and total control cults tend to have over its members, one must understand the thought-reform process. Brainwashing is the technique used by cults to strip its members of their freewill and carry out the cult leader’s ideals that define his or her cult. This includes, but are not limited to, organized acts of violence including; social terrorism, murder, and self destruction (Singer 82). The word â€Å"brainwashing,† or thought reform, was birthed in the 1950s during the Korean War when captive United States troops returned home appearing to be â€Å"converted Communists† (Taylor 3). Even when free from captivity and having no contact with any Communist interaction, theses soldiers denounced loyalty to their own country, and praised of the Communist way of life. Edward Hunter, CIA operative who investigated the reasoning behind the apparent odd behaviors for returning troops, was the first to â€Å"publicly christened† the term brainwashing said, â€Å"The intent is to change a mind radically so that its owner becomes a living puppet—a human robot—without the atrocity being visible from the outside. The aim is to create a mechanism in flesh and blood, with new beliefs and new thought processes inserted into a captive body. What that amounts to is the search for a slave race that, unlike the slaves of olden times, can be trusted never to revolt, always be amenable to orders, like an insect to its instinct† (Taylor 3). While technological advances and modernization of growing societies have changed the way thought reform is implemented, the core foundation and overall goal still has the same purpose of control. Harmful effects on cult members thought processes tend to come from the techniques of control implemented from within the cult. Utilization of these techniques is used to socialize members into the cultural environment of the cult can produce â€Å"feelings of guilt, dependency, low self-esteem, worthlessness, anxiety and hopelessness in vulnerable individuals† (Walsh). Robert Lifton was one of the early psychologists to study brainwashing and mind control. He called the method used thought reform_ _(Walsh). He identified eight processes used to alter the minds of subjects. While all of the processes have some direct content relating to Fight Club, there are three that fit best. Lifton describes â€Å" milieu control,† as â€Å" control of human communication†(Walsh). This is how the individual communicates with the outside world and how the outside world communicates to the individual, meaning like Tyler’s space monkey’s, who practices and recited Tyler’s rhetoric, these individual’s are cut off from worldly means of communication, entertainment, and normal social interaction because they are seen as corrupt. These individuals receive and transmit information through a filter of cult ideology. Lifton suggests, â€Å"Mystical manipulation is the use of an extensive personal manipulation to provoke specific patterns of behavior in a seemingly spontaneous way,† and that, â€Å"they suggest that there is an induction of dependency by manipulative and exploitive techniques of persuasion and control† (Walsh). This is best depicted in Fight Club by the way Tyler uses his charismatic personalities to influence his members that Fight Club is what they need in order be awakened from their boring lives of slavery in the corrupt consumerist world. Lifton’s Doctrine over person states, â€Å"A situation in which the doctrine of the group shapes the reality of which the member must exist† (Walsh). This makes their pre-cult lifestyle unappealing, and progresses their â€Å"new identity based on the new ideology† (Walsh). Tyler uses this idea in Fight Club to convince members that life outside of Fight Club is nothing more than a role being played to mask their true identity, eventually resulting in full recruitment in to one of Fight Clubs subdivision’s, and abandonment of their previous lifestyle completely. These methods of thought reform are commonly found in cult’s who practice radical religious beliefs and/or acts of violence in the name of its cause. Aum Shinrikyo, or â€Å"The Aum† was a cult which began operations in Japan, tried to bring world change through â€Å"techniques of guerrilla warfare† (Walsh 119-128). The Aum became a â€Å"legally registered religion in 1989† starting with approximately 4,000 members (Wessinger 130). By the mid-90s its membership had more than doubled at an estimated 10,000 members in Japan, and having expanded its reach including about 30,000 members in Russia (Wessinger 131). Aum Shinrikyo is an aggressive, highly organized, educated, extremely violent, and has the wealth to make serious impacts on society. Like Tyler’s Fight Club, â€Å"Aum Shinrikyo offered an alternative to lifetime employment in unfulfilling work† (Wessinger 131). Many of Aum Shinrikyo’s members hold positions of power, are highly educated, and have specialized skills. They include; scientists, military personnel, police officers, and political officials that contribute to the organization (Wessinger 135). Tyler’s Fight Club is similar in construction to Aum Shinrikyo, in that its members are well distributed throughout the societies in which it is established, giving the organization the power to infiltrate and execute acts of social terrorism. Shoko Asahara said, â€Å"Aum is a mighty obstacle to the evil that rules this world† (Wessinger 120). Similar to Tyler Durden, Shoko Asahara conducted the business of his following with violent measured attacks on society and anyone who was a threat to his organization or its ideals. Aum Shinrikyo’s violence began internally, beatings of members in order to become closer to â€Å"clairvoyance† expanded to attacks on enemies and society (Wessinger 123). Although different in beliefs, Aum’s pattern of progression follows a very similar structure to that of Fight Club. Similar to Fight Club’s subdivisions such as Project Mayhem, Aum Shinrikyo uses specialized member’s devoted to carrying out acts of violence towards enemies. Threats to hinder or expose any criminal aspects, or cult activities of both organizations were counteracted with acts of violence and brutality. Aum Shinrikyo assassinated defecting members, journalist, prosecutors, judges, and anyone else who opposed their endeavors (Wessinger 133). Extreme acts of violence in able to progress forward in cult behavior and goals is what directly link Aum Shirikyo and Fight Club together. In understanding the inner workings of cult behavior, it is evident to what Tyler’s following_ _is, what it does, and how it gains control of members. One can see how Fight Club’s cult behavior show uniform similarities to the characteristics that define a cult. In addition, understanding how a cult controls its members by means of manipulation and thought reform, in order to implement core beliefs, participate in acts of violence, and recruit members; one can grasp how powerful the control cults can have over their members. In looking at Aum Shinrikyo, a violent and socially destructive organization, we are able to see the consistency between Shoko Asahara’s and Tyler Durden’s following. Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club depicts the story of a man who build’s himself a clearly definable cult, in which he uses its members to carry out acts of social terrorism, violence, and self-destruction by means of manipulation and thought-reform. Works Cited Andres, Rachel, and James R. Lane. Cults & Consequences: The Definitive Handbook. Los Angeles: Jewish Federation Council, 1988. Print Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York: Norton, 1996. Print. Singer, Margaret Thaler. Cults in Our Midst: The Hidden Menace in Our Everyday Lives. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996. Print Taylor, Kathleen. Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control. Oxford: Oxford University, Print. Walsh, Yvonne. â€Å"Deconstructing ‘Brainwashing’ Within Cults as an Aid to Counselling Psychologists† Counselling Psychology Quarterly_ _June 2001: 119-128. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 March 2010 Wessinger, Catherine. How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate. New York: Steven Bridges, 2000. Print. _ _

Personal Finance Concepts Investing Essay

According to the finance researchers a portfolio refers to an appropriate collection of investments for an institution or a single individual. An investment portfolio is constructed by financial advisors or a retainer their main task involves investment analysis that are useful; during purchasing of stocks and bonds, and other business assets. . Cliff uses his present finances to determine his future holding and finance position. Cliff financial statement seems to spread in many fields, he invests in fixed assets and even before he could fully exploit his new investment strategy he is already investing in shares and bonds. Basically this is diversification and investing assets such as bonds and shares in such a scenario is exposing a high percentage of ones investment at risk (Grant 2005). Cliff is a risk taker hence he is more likely to invest in income securities and unwarranted investment such as the equities. Hence Cliff will tend to have very low cash holding and shares, in addition he is not expected to hold high levels of securities as savings since his age is allows him to have a long time to invest in most cases age is a great determinate in an individuals saving amount and investment, though Cliff will tend to save for his future plans such as his wedding plans, his marginal propensity to save will still be quite low. Since Cliff is earning an approximate of $340000 he I expected to distribute his earning to his present and future expenses, A great source of cliff’s finances is in terms of bonds and shares which are a good way to invest but the shortcoming with Cliff’s investment is the fact that he did not take a good research before imposing a big sum of his money into the investment, the investment in bonds and shares involve a high percentage of risk and for that reason if they are not carefully researched on they bring high degrees of losses or very little profits. In that light they are not included in the construction of a portfolio, instead the items that can be included in the construction of a portfolio are savings, cash at hand and revenue that is already attained or the degree of risk is not too high. Using Cliff’s example he can spread his earning such 30% of his total earnings is equities, 40% income securities, 20% sundry expenses and 10 % as savings. The assumption is that cliff is a young risk taker hence his securities will tend to be and also his savings and cash. Â  Below is an example of Cliff’s portfolio: References Frasca , R, (2006) – Personal Finances: An Integrated Planning Approach, 7th Ed – Pearson Prentiss Hall Grant, R (2005) – Contemporary Strategy Analysis – Blackwell Publishing Karnani, A (1981) – Business Portfolio: an analytical Approach – Harvard Publishing .

Conan Doyle Essay

In the â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery of a stolen diamond. The criminal in this story is a man named James Ryder. After James Ryder had stolen â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† he stuck it down a goose’s throat. The goose that had the diamond was distributed the Breckenridge Stall, then sold to a goose club at the Alpha Inn. Sherlock Holmes bumps into James Ryder outside the Breckenridge Stall. Sherlock Holmes makes the criminal confess to what he had done. Sherlock Holmes then lets him go free because he thinks that he will not commit any more crimes, because of how fearful he was. It was quite important for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create a strange atmosphere because it adds to the tension. All three stories have strange and unusual atmospheres, but each story’s atmosphere is different. In â€Å"The Red Headed League†, Conan Doyle describes the area of Saxe-Coburg Square. He shows how unpleasant and muddled the area is. â€Å"It was a pokey, little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncongenial atmosphere. † The words that are used here show the messiness and unpleasantness of the area. The words â€Å"pokey†, â€Å"little†, â€Å"shabby-genteel†, â€Å"dingy† and â€Å"smoke-laden† all give a pretty good idea that the area was quite chaotic. In â€Å"The Speckled Band† Conan Doyle created a thrilling and frightening atmosphere, as if it was a horror story. â€Å"The Speckled Band† was set at â€Å"Stoke Moran† in â€Å"Surrey†, which is where Julia Stoner was killed. At the beginning of the story when Helen Stoner is talking to Sherlock Holmes about her problems she describes how the night was when Julia was killed. â€Å"It was a wild night†, this shows that that night was unlike any ordinary night. â€Å"The wind was howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows. † This describes a lot of the atmosphere; it shows that the weather was quite stormy. This also explains why Helen couldn’t sleep. â€Å"Suddenly, amidst all the hubbub of the gale, there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman. † Conan Doyle’s intended effect was to thrill the reader; Conan Doyle has achieved this by using the words â€Å"wild†, â€Å"howling† and â€Å"beating†. Here the writer’s effect was to try and scare or thrill the reader. Whereas in â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† the atmosphere was a little different. â€Å"It was a bitter night†. Here, Conan Doyle is trying to show the reader that it is cold outside. He achieves this by describing the night as â€Å"bitter†. The reader will also know that it is cold because Holmes and Watson both put on their â€Å"ulsters† and â€Å"cravats†. â€Å"Outside, the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky†, here Conan Doyle is trying to show the reader that the area is very calm and peaceful, unlike in â€Å"The Red Headed League† where the area is busy and unpleasant. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used different ways to show that these stories take place in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Most of the time he mentions â€Å"carriages†, which were used in that time. Nowadays carriages are not used because they have been replaced by cars. In â€Å"The Red Headed League† when Sherlock Holmes is memorising all the shops at Saxe-Coburg Square he comes across a shop that makes carriages. â€Å"McFarlane’s carriage-building depot†. Here the writer intended to show the reader that this was a time where carriages were used as a form of transport. The effect on the reader is that the reader knows this story is set in the 1890’s. Conan Doyle also uses dates and newspapers to show that these stories are set in the 1880’s and 1890’s. In â€Å"The Speckled Band† and â€Å"The Red Headed league† Conan Doyle mentions the date, but he does not mention the date in â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle†. In â€Å"The Speckled Band†, right at the beginning of the story while Dr. Watson is narrating, he says â€Å"It was early in April, in the year ’83†; hear the writer is showing the reader that this story is taking place in the year 1883. In â€Å"The Red Headed League†, the note that Jabez Wilson shows to Sherlock Holmes had a date on it. The note said, â€Å"THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED. October 9, 1890. † Also when Mr. Wilson is showing Sherlock Holmes the advertisement he mentions the date on the newspaper. â€Å"It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months ago. † By saying that the newspaper was from two months ago, Conan Doyle is telling the reader that this story was set in 1890. Conan Doyle did not always use the same techniques, to show that each story was set in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Unlike â€Å"The Speckled Band† and â€Å"The Red Headed League†, in â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† there are no dates to show that the story is set in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Conan Doyle uses different techniques to show that this story is also set in that time. In â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† and â€Å"The Red Headed† Conan Doyle refers to gas-lit lamps, as gas lamps were used in the 1880’s and 1890’s. In â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† when Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were jus about to leave the Breckenridge stall, Watson narrates â€Å"Turning round we saw a little rat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of yellow light which was thrown by the swinging lamp. † He also says, â€Å"He sprang round, and I could see in the gas-light that every vestige of colour had been driven from his face. † Also in â€Å"The Red Headed League† Watson says, â€Å"We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street. † These references to gas lamps show that the stories were set in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Conan Doyle also referred to matches in â€Å"The Speckled Band†. Even though we use matches nowadays, we do not use them for the same purposes as in the 1880’s and 1890’s. In those times they were used to see in the dark or to light lanterns. When Helen stoner is talking about what happened to her sister Julia she mentions a match. â€Å"In her right hand was found the charred stump of a match, and in her left a match-box. † This shows that when Julia woke up she struck a match to see what was going on. The value of money in the 1880’s and the 1890’s was much different than the value for money now. At that time people were paid around i 4 a week, which was considered quite a lot of money. Whereas, people now are paid much more and with i 4 you cant really buy much. The social differences in those times also show that these stories were based in the 1880’s and 1890’s. If you look at Helen Stoner, she was a rich woman that lived in a big house with servants. In those times rich people were considered superior to poorer people. Nowadays you wouldn’t find servants working for rich people, because weather your rich or poor you have rights. The audience or readers would recognise the places named in the stories, which are all in England. The intended effect of the writer was to make the reader feel as if he or she was in the story itself, which would make it feel more dramatic. Conan Doyle achieves this by using areas in London that most people live in. Places such as â€Å"Holborn† and â€Å"Harrow†. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used very unusual titles for his stories to intrigue the reader. When a reader sees the title â€Å"The Speckled Band†, he or she wouldn’t think of a venomous Indian snake. The reader wouldn’t know what to think, which make them want to read the story to see what â€Å"The Speckled Band† is. The same with â€Å"The Red Headed League†, which is a very unusual title. The reader wouldn’t think that that â€Å"The Red Headed League† was a club for read headed people who were paid i 4 a week for copying the â€Å"Encyclopaedia Britannica†. Conan Doyle uses these unusual titles to throw the reader off track. In â€Å"The Speckled band† Conan Doyle makes the reader think that the gypsies are the ones that killed Julia Stoner. He makes it look like all the evidence points to them. Helen Stoner says, â€Å"†¦ perhaps to these very gypsies in the plantation. I do not know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which she used. † The effect on the reader was that he or she would be thrown off track to make the story feel more interesting. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle uses some very interesting openings to grab the reader’s attention. Also, every character that Conan Doyle introduces is different in some way, which makes the story feel more interesting and also to intrigue the reader.