“A Separate Peace” by John Knowles Essay

One of the major themes in A Separate Peace is the coming of age. The theme of maturity can be viewed as a growing realization of the war in the school (in which the students realize that they have to enlist into the war â€Å"as men†), or the private and interior crisis one goes through (such as Gene discovering his identity as the novel progresses). The training and the sudden labors that the Devon students engage in attempt to prepare the boys for their future at the war; this can be seen as the external view of maturity in the novel, whereas the â€Å"internal† view of maturity can be seen in Gene’s thoughts as he searches for his personal identity. Throughout the novel, both Gene and Finny experience important yet damaging issues in their life where they realize the need to face the reality of it or become lost forever. As Gene discovers in the end, true identity can only be reached through maturity. Gene and the students of Devon experience a sense of maturity through the sudden change in their once peaceful and war-shunning environment of the summer. In the beginning of the novel, we can see that Devon is like a â€Å"Garden of Eden†; it resembles a paradise in the center of all the wars and deaths that are happening outside Devon’s barriers. Devon is seen as a milieu within a larger milieu (the rest of America at war). It seems that the students have lived their summer in a peaceful bubble of â€Å"Eden† in contrast with the background of World War II in the rest of the world. The summer of 1942 at Devon can be symbolized as the time of freedom and the exposure of youth; this is a moment in the novel where the students can get away with breaking rules and skipping classes. Therefore, the carefree summer of 1942 represents a time of paradise, where everyone is at peace and simply enjoying life at its fullest. However, Finny’s symbolic â€Å"fall† seems to have brought an end to this delight at Devon and brings in the winter session, where there is labour, orders, discipline, darkness, and despair. This is the moment when the teachers of Devon realize that the students are just on their way of serving the army. The students begin to participate in drills and trips to the railroad and orchard to help out in every way they can. In contrast to the summer of Devon, the winter represents the burdens of maturity and adulthood, and a  time where preparation of the war replaces the joyful atmosphere that was present in the summer. The boys of Devon suddenly feel that they must be responsible and â€Å"established† in order to face whatever their future brings them in the war. They all realize that they must smarten up and become men, because it is time to face the reality of what is going on behind Devon’s peaceful barriers. The phrase â€Å"Innocence must be killed to give birth to experience† says a lot about this time in the novel. Though the teachers had given the students more freedom during the summer and allowed several rule-breakings to take place, they understand that in order for the students to be ready and prepared for the coming conflicts in the army they must stop acting like children and sacrifice their state of immaturity to gain knowledge as adults. They understand that children cannot survive in wars, but men can. Later, the students realize that they must enlist themselves to serve for the army within a short period of time. Most of them become excited about becoming a solider for army, but then the novel takes an ironic twist with the students’ beliefs of the war because they do not yet know the real dangers and certainties of the outside of the barriers of Devon (regarding the world war). An example of such â€Å"blind thinking† was Leper becoming the first to join the war, thinking that he will gain more time in the forest afterwards, but returns devastated and emotionally shattered. His confrontation with Gene proves that there is a war out there and it is horrible as well. Gene, after realizing that he may also suffer from the same mental state as Leper if he enlisted, runs away screaming, â€Å"Shut up; it has nothing to do with me so shut up!†. Here we can see that Gene realizes some truth about the war, and no matter how much he tries to deny the horrible details and evidences that Leper brings back from the outside of Devon he gains new insight and wisdom. It is in this sense as well that Gene matures through the pressures of the war in the background, and that he cannot run from it because it is reality and he has to face it when it is his turn to enlist. The presence of the war, in a sense, also serves as a background for the  emotional development of the students at Devon; the world war actually triggers the buried emotions of the boys. Gene, Finny, and Brinker (for example) become competitive in their own ways; Gene compares his academic standards with Finny’s natural talents for sports, Finny shows a â€Å"win-win† competitive nature towards Gene in the games that they have played together (though he is out of the â€Å"war† mentally)), and Brinker feels insecure about his popularity due to Finny. Each character feels unconfident and is therefore â€Å"at war† with himself. In this novel, the ability to fix these inner conflicts seems to sadly result in either death (like Finny), or insanity (like Leper). For Finny, since he is unable to face certain feelings, he ends up becoming upset at the mock trial and dies in the second accident. Leper, on the other hand, believed that by enlisting first would b ring him out from his loneliness, yet returns from the war in a far worse shape. Gene, however, goes through a more painful process by remaining in Devon to fight for salvation within himself. Because the view of maturity in an emotional development is mostly seen in Gene (as narrator, we could see his thought-process as the novel progresses), I will use his private conflicts as an example to further support my thesis. In the beginning of the book, Gene develops a close relationship with Finny, his roommate. However, Gene begins to feel a bit envious of Finny, and sees his way of thinking as the truth. This then lead to an inner conflict in Gene, in which he begins to compare himself with Finny in a â€Å"Win-Lose† way of thinking. As his thinking of â€Å"competition† continues, Gene begins to see certain â€Å"flaws† within himself that leads to his insecurity, though these â€Å"missing traits† are not really flaws. He does tend to â€Å"hold himself back† several times by repeatedly telling himself how lucky he is to have Finny as a best friend, but this excuse soon shatters because he remains selfish. This selfishness of him reveals itself in chapter three, where Finny practically saves Gene from falling, but Gene tries to protect his beliefs of â€Å"Finny being the enemy† by telling himself that it was Finny’s fault for getting him into the me ss in the first place. At the same time, Gene’s admiration for Finny’s personality prevents him from refusing to go out with  Finny; it is in this state that Gene is actually a confused young man, who does not know the true value of friendship, and cannot correct the jealousy that he feels for Finny. The jealousy continues to grow, and soon enough Gene jounces the limb in chapter five, resulting in Finny’s fall. As I have said before, Gene is then forced to review what he has done to Finny and take a good look at himself; his mind, feeling extremely guilty for his actions, pressures him so much about the accident that he is forced to grow up. We see the final stage of maturity in Gene when he realizes near the end of the novel that he needs to become a grown-up and confront his personal war face-to-face once and for all; he confesses to Finny about his part in the accident, and finally gains Finny’s forgiveness and a sense of salvation. It was in this confession that Gene is f orced to see his stupidity and selfishness behind some of his actions. His act of courage to go to Finny and confess is evidence that he has finally grown. The conflict that he feels inside (regarding his relationship with Finny) becomes the source of his final emotional development; because of the â€Å"accident† the he had committed against Finny’s fall, Gene is forced to examine his own feelings over and over again throughout the novel. This repeated painful examination of his feelings and guilt results in growth; by really looking in himself, Gene realizes that he has to be responsible for his actions. It is when Gene finally reaches his peak of maturity that he begins to see his true identity in the end of the novel. Gene has emerged from a sort of shyness into a more confident attitude; he was influenced by Finny to learn about people, events, and life in a way that he had never before. In short, Gene needed Finny in order to realize himself. And sadly, Finny’s death leads to the eulogy that Gene makes in the last chapter, where he remembers the lessons that he was taught during his personal war at Devon. The theme of maturity in A Separate Peace can be reflected from the pressures that Gene (and the others students) endures during the drills, labors, and strict rules at Devon; this can be categorized as the â€Å"external† features of the theme, as well as the background of the novel. However, the theme of coming to age can also be seen in Gene’s heart, as he participates in an emotional struggle within himself prior to Finny’s character. We can see that Gene becomes jealous and envious of Finny, but then there seems to be a development in his character as he slowly begins to realize the truth. In a sense, Gene reaches maturity and becomes an adult after Finny dies, as he realizes that his own enemy was not Finny but his ignorant heart. Both the external and internal features of maturity in this novel gives meaning to the phrase, â€Å"Innocence must be killed to give birth to experience†; the students had to leave their peaceful state in the summer of 1942 and began to get used to the rigors of war and labor to fully understand the realities of war; at the same time, if Finny had not suffered and eventually died in the end, Gene would not have reflected on himself and grow from his experiences in the past. As Gene discovered in the end, true identity can only be reached through a state of maturity. â€Å"A Separate Peace† By John Knowles Essay In â€Å"A Separate Peace† by John Knowles, it is evident that Finny and Leper undergo the most traumatic experiences from the Class of 1943. Through these experiences, both characters lose much of their innocence and naivety. Finny, upon learning of the existence of the war and Gene’s moment of hatred, learns to accept realities and perceive the world as it is, not as the perfect childlike image he wants it to be. However, when Leper enlists in the army, he quickly begins to have hallucinations because the reality is too much for him to handle. Nevertheless, he eventually overcomes his insanity and seems to be fairly mentally stable by the end of the novel. Although Finny and Leper’s traumas are the source of a major loss of purity and childhood, they are also the cause of post-tramautic growth and a necessary increase in maturity. Finny goes through several perception-changing events during the course of the novel, but the event that cements his departure from childhood is the acceptance that Gene deliberately shook Finny off the tree. This shock was caused by his own inability to accept the truth in the first place. Despite the ease of denying unwanted information and living in a dream world, it is mentally unhealthy for Finny because of the shock caused upon finally believing the truth. Immediately after Gene’s confession of jouncing the limb, Gene remarks that Finny looked â€Å"older than I had ever seen him† (62). Finny, however, does not yet comprehend feelings of jealousy and betrayal, as he has hardly had any himself and finds it difficult to think of another’s point of view; the information registers on his face, but before he has time to process it and mature he rejects the idea entirely. Gene states â€Å"it occurred to me that this could be an even deeper injury than what I ha d done before† (62). The reality of adult themes such as jealousy, betrayal, and hate is what hurts Finny most, not the crippling injury itself. Another reality that takes away from Finny’s nescience is the war (when he finally believes in its existence). The most dramatic and stunning war in recent history, World War II had a huge impact on millions of lives worldwide. Yet Phineas refused to believe in the war, and instead created a fantasy in which he was the one of the only people who knew that it was all a hoax. When Gene, in disbelief from Finny’s opinion, questions Finny on why he is the only person who is aware of the â€Å"stuffed shirts'† (107) plot to  suppress happiness, Finny emotionally bursts out it is because he has â€Å"suffered† (108). Apparently, Finny has visualized this hoax to shield himself from the disadvantages of his disability, such as enlisting. Nevertheless, Finny quickly accepts the truth of the war after seeing Leper in a mentally disturbed state of mind. The image of what the war did to someone who used to be close to him shook him out of his dream world and spurred his emotional growth. When Finny, at the end of the novel, learned to accept the realities and avoid using denial to cope with shock, he lost the last of his childhood innocence. Leper is easily one of the most naive and innocent characters during the Summer Session. His good-naturedness and passive fascination with nature is such an ideal image of innocence that it seems almost depressing to see him in the traumatized state of mind after enlisting. Even while everyone is volunteering to shovel snow to aid the war effort and discussing their plans for which division to enlist in, Leper is only concerned with the beauty of nature and skis to a beaver dam to watch the beavers develop and build their dam. He is moved to join the army not for vain images of glory and glamor like the other students, but rather for the beauty of skiing down a mountain. Obviously, he soon finds that the army is too much for him, and while absent from the ongoings at Devon he loses every shred of innocence and guilelessness that previously surrounded his character. When Gene meets him, his psyche is obviously changed to such a point that he has hallucinations and other symptoms of sc hizophrenia, caused by his rapid ascension into adult matters. He does not accept reality nearly as well as Finny does because his character was far more innocuous at the start of the novel. So many of his images of the world are shattered that it can be seen that he feels like he has little familiarity to hold onto. He grasps to every gleam of regularity and unchangeable function, which explains his preference for spending time in the dining room of his house simply because he knows that three daily meals will be served there on a consistent basis. However, his time at home seems to have given him time to cope with the images of adulthood. Upon his return to Devon, he seems mentally well and a much more decisive authority than ever before. He accurately and forcefully convicts Gene of jouncing the limb in â€Å"his new, confident†¦ voice† (166).  Gene describes Leper during the trial as â€Å"all energy† (165). Evidently, Leper has dealt with the loss of innocence caused by his abrupt initiation into adulthood and has becom e a more confident, self-assured person in spite of it. Knowles makes it apparent throughout A Separate Peace that while the loss of innocence may often seem to be a sad or tragic event, it is necessary to pave the way for maturation and a transition into adulthood. Had Finny never accepted the truth of the tragedy that occurred to him, he would have never matured beyond his carefree summer days. And had Leper kept living in his own world of vivid imaginations, he would have never developed into the sanguine individual he becomes at the end of the novel. While the loss of innocence is partly a lugubrious experience, John Knowles portrays it as a necessity – a part of maturation and growth that leads to adulthood and self-fulfillment.

The Impact of Internet on Society

The internet was thought of back in the early 1960’s as a way for scientist to share there theories, for other computer scientists to share there knowledge of the this new thing they have created. What we call the Internet today hasn’t always been called the Internet was first thought up to be a giant network. Leonard Klienrock at MIT published the very first â€Å"packet switching theory† in July 1961. Two men named Thomas Merrill, and Lawrence G. Roberts connected TX-2 computer in Mass. to the Q-32 in California, with a low speed dial-up telephone connection, in other words created the first â€Å"wide- area network†. Internet Society) From that point on the Internet was born. People all over the world were trying to get their hands in this new accomplishment and try to clam some of it for themselves. As time goes passed things are add to this network such as scientific studies, research papers of all kinds, people started to write programs to put on her e and let people talk to each other. Companies started to advertise on the Internet by making pop up adds. Companies even started to do business on the Internet. To this day the Internet is still growing.People are using the Internet to make a living, to talk to distant relatives, or even friends talking to each other. People use the Internet by shopping online, or by even selling things online. You can even find help organizations online. Email today is pretty much the Untied States Postal Service; you don’t need to buy stamps to mail somebody a letter. You can even send someone pictures, and movies over the Internet. All you need is an email address to send anyone an email. That brings me to my first good a bad point, all you need is an email address to email anyone something.You receive almost anything in an email; from receive viruses, hate mail, junk mail, and spam. Another good impact that the Internet has made on society is online auctions. One of the most recognizable online e-trade sites is Ebay. Ebay originated in 1995. Now you can find anything from nuts and blots to a 1999, BMW 3-Series. Ebay also represents stores that include Wal-Mart, Kmart, private dealers, car dealerships, and a lot of other stores. The company in the second quarter set a new net record or brings in 110 million dollars.It was 102% over the same period last year. (USA Today) This could also be very bad to the companies that are not with Ebay that are trying to make a living off of the net. Most individual businesses don’t have the money to have Internet sites. So if there is another company that sells almost the same items and they have the money to own their own web site then that can really hurt the other companies. The Internet also helps out special organizations that want to be recognized for what they do. But for some none profit organization that is very hard.It does cost quite a bit to run and host your own web site. As Curt LaBond puts it â€Å"It canâ⠂¬â„¢t only help build a stronger society, it can atomize it. † But the Internet can also put out bad publicity for these individual organizations. (LaBond) From when the Internet was introduced there has been many good things come about. There are also bad things that came from the Internet. Many people take the Internet for granite and miss the whole meaning of the Internet. People try to harm the Internet by putting viruses out there that will shut some ones computer down.

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Hunter S. Thompson - Essay Example Unlike her teeth, reality has the power to bite. So have I and here comes Lola the lesbian with the pizza. Her boots thump and stomp up the stairs, shaking but not stirring the peace, momentarily. Lola's cool. She's kind, she knows the right people to score the best stuff, she shares. Lola's lonely, an angry, aging remnant of the Women's Movement. She's discarded it, but in truth, it discarded her. She was too loud, too active, too passionate, too public. Honesty was her worst policy. So here she is with her pristine apartment and pedigree pussycat, Comfort. And me, worn out, washed-up, woozy and unpredictable. Or am I But for now, just on the edge, the brink of a life, new and shiny or corroded and crusted with the rust of broken promises "Napkins, forks, here you go, sweetie" Lola croons. "Who the fuck eats pizza that way!" - but I hold the scream inside, there are larger issues at stake. I have a duty to be nice, for now. We need each other, we share a place, a history and a hatred of Bush/Blair. I know we will get to them, come what may, never mind the pepperoni, the buzz and the Bud. Like war, it's inevitable. I hold onto the buzz, see the lights but they become the nights of 'Shock and Awe', bigger lights, more impact, you know Am I myself or somebody else, and who gives a shit I go forward with Lola to Guantanamo Bay, hearing the voices of expert salesmen. "Yes we have a nice range of used cattle-prods, or if they don't appeal, how about some out of date sodium pentathol" Now ain't that their truth, the inhuman, dehumanized leaders of the civilized world. The anger rises, then subsides, Lola and me, we think on and speak on. "And Bush tells Blair: "If I put my hand in the fire, you must do it too, to prove you are my friend. If burning ash, cinders and shit fall on innocent bystanders, why, what the hell, it's the price they pay for us showing strength." And we are right to loathe and fear these creatures from the dark side. This bullshit hurts. Lola rolls another joint and the hiss and clink of beer and glass make it easy, like Sunday morning. I eat, I drink, I feel the need to expel these bastards from the vicinity. I don't want Lola's tears to dilute the purity of my anger. The poison of these creatures is enough to keep my resolve alive. But for now, let's party with warm love. There's Lola, the cat, the lights, the grass and me. A soft breeze, the comfort of kindred spirits, all anybody needs. A muted scream from over the way brings a shadow of fear to Lola's soft face. Eyebrows raised in alarm, old memories surface, she's going weird on me. I could show her weird, but I won't, keeping my scars to myself and feeling no pain. A sweeping swarm of locusts now encircle me, are in me, and time moves me onwards to the edge. The soft murmur of her voice forms the backdrop, but cannot drown them out. No matter, I want to finish it. The tide is high but I'm holding on, and ask myself why All I have fought for, all I believe in, destroyed, denigrated and demeaned. The American dream is now my waking nightmare. I could end this and wake up elsewhere. I bought the ticket. I will take the ride. She sighs, shifts, leans to plant a kiss on my head, and leaves to sleep. Thank Jesus she's gone, it's just me and my decision. Exciting, nerve-wracking, life-changing, no, life-ending. Another slice of pizza,

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Daisy Miller (Henry James) and The Other Two (Edith Wharton) - Essay Example The paper undertakes an analysis of two works – the novella Daily Miller by Henry James and the play, ‘The Other Two’ by Edith Wharton in this light especially comparing the interaction of human nature with social traditions. The novella ‘Daisy Miller’ reveals a timeless story of an innocent and courageous American girl who does not abide by the social customs despite warnings from her friends. She reaches Switzerland with her family and meets Winterbourne through her young brother Randolph. Winterbourne is an American who lived in Italy since he was a boy. Another character, Mrs. Walker is also American, but she also has been working in Rome for years. Both of them (Winterbourne and Mrs Walker) have adapted to the values of the European society and understand the restrictions that a young girl is supposed to follow especially during the late nineteenth century Europe. Daisy is presented here as the ‘outsider’ to social customs. ... Walker tells her that she is old enough to be talked about just as she is old enough to be out in the night. Towards the end of the story, when Winterbourne finds Giovanelli and Daisy sitting at the Colosseum he gets angry with the former and tells Daisy that she is under the risk of catching Roman fever. She does not care and laughs it away. In the end she dies of the fever and Giovanelli also declares to Winterbourne that Daisy was the most innocent woman he met. The novel is a timeless novel if seen from the perspective of individuality versus social customs. Though the customs have changed but the conflict between individuality and the traditions remains the same. In contrast to Daisy the readers are introduced to the conservation aristocratic personality of Mrs. Costello who criticizes Daisy’s shamelessness in agreeing to visit places with a gentleman who she has known only for a brief time. Her innocent ignorance stands in stark contrast to the concepts of a ladylike beh avior and the bindings of the society due to which she cannot see through the intention of Giovanelli and her dream to be a part of the rich urban society carries her in the wrong direction but what makes her character significant is the brave way in which she accepts death without any repentance whatsoever for the steps taken. (James) The female central character of the play ‘The Other Two’, Mrs. Alice Waythorn according to her present status has married twice before. Mr. Waythorn has the impression from his wife’s account of her past that she has been brutally treated as it is conducive for a man to think this way, rather than the reverse. With time he notices that his wife is a liar though she seems to be extremely sophisticated and apparently sensitive to

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Assignment Reflection - Essay Example With such manoeuvres, it is more likely to attract many more customers in the market. However, a stagnant business that rarely makes changes in the management, service delivery and customer care will rarely make positive growth. In counter reactions to such situations, Nestle employs the â€Å"four pillarâ€Å"solution. This includes innovations and renovations, operational efficiency, consumer communications and delivery of goods. The case study was practically knowledgeable as it shed light on the following activities in a business. The first approach in case study on Nestle was directed at observing the current operational excellence and evaluate its effects on the business (Jackson, 2008:11). The management is concerned about all activities that are in the business and how they are conducted. This will give the people in control information on all the activities of the business and how each of the activities is affecting the business (Hitt, Duane and Hoskisson, 2012: 43). For e xample, the company is not interested in the short term profits that could jeopardise the firm’s performance in the long run (Chopra, 2009:12). This is a serious problem that could jeopardize the performance of the business (Moran, Braaten and Walsh, 2013:16). Since this is the initial stage, the manager should keenly watch the processes of supplying products and time taken before the products are dispatched to the market. In ensuring there is concrete observation of all the activities that are taking place, a manager should conduct a personal observation on all these activities (Rubin and Babbie, 2010:19). This will give first hand information. In such a manoeuvre, the manager will have unbiased information on the activities that are taking place in the business (Samii, 2004:12). In strengthening the information that is collected, the manager should then embark on collecting information from the line managers. This includes horizontal ad vertical line managers in the firm (P aul, 2011:21). This is by collecting information from the people that work in the stated departments in Nestle. Gathering such information will give concrete information that is reliable. After the observations, the manager should then try to analyze the situation. This is a situation that is affecting the supply of products and services and must have a negative impact to the business (Saunders, 2003:18). First, it is a setback to the businesses since the market will be affected in the long run (Dolley, 2011: 20). Secondly, the Nestle firm is to make a positive impact in the market. However, when the short term goals are vitalized, the company will not meet its long term goals. In such a case, the business is at a risk of losing some of its customers. After analysis the situation, a manager should look at the causative factors (Marschan-Piekkari and Welch, 2011:11). This includes focusing on the supply of materials, technological mishaps and transport preparation. Similarly, the man ager has to analyze the number of employees working on the delivery of finished goods. This will be followed by slotting various solutions and changes that could be used to rectify the problem. When the manager in Nestle comes up with various solutions to the problem, it is a preparation to ensure the situation does not affect the business (Wall and Rees, 2004:32). For example, the manager could come up with options of increasing the number of emp

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Human Dignity - Essay Example There are number of examples in the history where human dignity took priority over mishandling of humans. For example, the inhuman treatment of workers in the hands of English people made the church to take action and introduce human rights through labor unions. By this way, the human dignity became the yardstick for judging the political, moral and social aspects of a society. Nowadays the void between rich and poor is on the rise, which is contrary to human dignity. This happened due to misuse of power by the rich people. Chances of a nuclear war in different regions of the world spoiled the life of poor countries. This trend was overcome with the help of United Nations to introduce incentives and pay more attention to peaceful settlement of the human issues instead of war to restore the human dignity. Therefore, it is evident from history the human are born free and have the right to live their lives with morality and justice. Human dignity demands equal treatment of all humans in religion, sports, politics, medical and economics

Ethical Dilemmas and Cultural Issues Essay Example for Free

Ethical Dilemmas and Cultural Issues Essay 29 year old Sakura has been brought to counseling by a concerned neighbor because she believes Sakura is suffering from depression. She is listless and silent, and prone to staring in to space. During the course of the counseling sessions, it was discovered that Sakura’s husband has been violent towards her recently. Sakura is Japanese and has migrated to California two years ago, here she met and married an American husband. Sakura refuses to tell authorities because she is ashamed that her family in Japan would discover the failure of her marriage. She clearly tells the counselor that no one should know of the state of her relationship with her husband. A counselor is ethically obligated to inform authorities about the abusive nature of the relationship but she is also obligated to respect her client’s wishes. Framework for Ethical Decision Making (Velasquez, M. , Moberg, D. , Meyer, M. J. , Shanks, T. ,. McLean, M. R. , DeCosse, D. , Andre, C. , and Hanson, K. O. , 2009) Recognize an Ethical Issue Psychologists cannot break client-therapist confidentiality; Sakura has clearly expressed that her problems in marriage must be kept confidential and believes that her husband’s temperament is just being affected by his problems at work and the situation between them can be resolved. The counselor feels conflicted because the situation involves actual and potential risk for the client. Get the Facts Sakura is being verbally and physically abused when her husband is incited to anger by small things, like unwashed laundry or bland food. She sometimes gets bruises when her husband grabs he arms and shakes her or pushes her around. Sakura feels miserable at the state of her marriage but she was raised to be a loyal wife to her husband. The Japanese value a good marriage and frown upon divorce and marital problems. The Japanese believe marital problems must be resolved at home and must not be publicly acknowledged. This must be dealt with in therapy sessions sensitive to her culture and to her way of thinking. She must learn to value herself more than valuing the opinion of others. Evaluate Alternative Actions The counselor may decide to first try to convince Sakura of the unreasonable aspects of her situation. An establishment of a high sense of self-worth in therapy can ideally enable her get out of the abusive relationship by her own accord. However, when the danger is imminent and when it is clear that her husband is escalating in violence towards Sakura then the first area of concern would be to notify authorities to stop the abuse. Make a Decision and Test It The therapist can decide to tell the authorities about the nature of the situation, testing a decision can involve looking at the possible outcomes should the decision be executed. All other approaches must be considered; a useful exercise would be asking the question â€Å"what If I told someone I respect-or told a television audience-which option I have chosen, what would they say? † considering different perspectives is vital in making the choice. Act and Reflect on the Outcome Implement the decision, tell the authorities and monitor the outcome, Sakura must be guided in therapy and offered psychological support at all times. Reference: Velasquez, M. , Moberg, D. , Meyer, M. J. , Shanks, T. ,. McLean, M. R. , DeCosse, D. , Andre, C. , and Hanson, K. O. , (2009). A framework for ethical decision making. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

The Affects of Electronic Communication on Me, My Family and Society Essay Example for Free

The Affects of Electronic Communication on Me, My Family and Society Essay In this task I am going to write a report on the effects of electronic communication on me, my family and the society. I will extend my report by giving a clear explanation that includes society in general, i. e. people and situations outside of my normal experience (i. e. business). I will also include in this report the people that do not have access to electronic communication. Uses of electronic communication at home (within my experience) Computers/Laptops Computers and Laptops are both common communication items at most people’s households. There are many communication features as well as software on a laptop and computer which are helpful in a day to day lifestyle. I use my laptop a lot to complete various pieces of coursework. One of the main programs I use is the word processing packages. Using this software I can save, edit text and print many documents. Without my laptop I would have to write out each piece of coursework for a draft version and then again for my final version. This would be very time consuming. Using my laptop I can type up my draft version and then edit that version to produce my final copy. I can easily click print to have a hard copy of my work. Another useful function of the word processing package is the fact that it automatically show me if I have any spelling errors or grammatical error. One type of error which word cannot identify is homophone or apostrophe errors. There is also the synonym function. This function gives a selection of words with a similar or same meaning. Computers and Laptops have made coursework more accurate because of the spell check and grammatical function as well as it is made much neater compared to a hand-written piece of work. If I was to handwrite my work then I would have to cross out any errors I made. This would make my work messy and therefore the presentation of my work wouldn’t be presentable. There are many other programs which I use on my laptop which include; spreadsheets, publishers, local databases etc. Each of these programs has its own special features. Internet I use the internet for researching various aspects for my work and coursework, communicating with friends and family via e-mail, facebook and msn. It is also useful for checking cinema listings, train timings, elevision programme schedules etc. I used the internet for the research of my coursework. I am an A-level student and have a lot to research for my courses hence I need to carry out my study over the internet. A lot of the courses I study at college require relevant research and information therefore I need electronic communication so I can have access to the related information. If I did not have access to the internet at home then I would have to make alternate arrangements so I could access the information. These arrangements would either be the library or a friend or relatives house. This could become inconvenient as if I had to go to the library I would have to be wary of the timings or if I had to go to a friend’s house I would have to make sure they are home or available. I will soon be applying for university and hence will need to research into career prospects and courses that I would like to do at university. Also I will have to fill in the online UCAS application to ensure I have a place in university. The new online process is very effective as once the form has been submitted I would be able to track my application to see which universities have offered me a place. If I had to send my application via mail then there would be chances of the letter being lost or undelivered. The online process guarantee’s that the universities have received my application. I also use the online banking service which most banks offer. This is so I can access details of my account using electronic communication. This service is very useful as I can handle my accounts while sitting at home instead of having to go to the bank. Through electronic communication I am able to do online shopping. This service is very effective as I can order clothes over the internet and my parents can order their house hold items, i. . groceries. This saves them going to the supermarket to make these purchases. Any big supermarket offer this service (for example: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, etc). The internet also helps my family and me to find jobs. There are many websites online which help me to find a variety of jobs which suits my timings. I am able to access the information about each job and process applications for the jobs I want online making it more convenient. The online service makes it easier for my family and me as we know that the application has been received before the closing date. Using electronic communication we are able to get an immediate respond to whether any members of my family or me have been accepted for the job. Using the internet I can also find out information on bus and train transportation. I can find the running times for both services and also book train tickets online. This guarantees that I have a ticket for a certain train time instead of having to go to the train station to book the ticket. Also if I book the ticket earlier than it turns out cheaper so I am able to save money and time. Weather updates are also available via electronic communication. Many websites (i. e. bbc, metro weather, etc) contain weather updates. This is an easy service to access as we are able to check the forecast for up to 10 days online. This helps us when we want to plan days out or family events. I can also find weather for various countries and the average temperature for each month of the year. This is handy when my family wants to book a holiday abroad. Also accessible using electronic communication is holiday packages. I have researched several holiday packages online and then booked the one that suits my family. This saves time as I wouldn’t have to keep going to a travel agent to find out details about my vacation. A well known electronic communication method is via e-mail or msn. I am able to talk to friends and family through both of these services. Msn is a good online chat services for instant messaging. Using msn I can talk to my friends and family abroad. The e-mail service is good for passing a message on to someone who currently can’t talk at the same time as me. Also via e-mail I can send work to my teachers and peers. Radio Radio is another type of electronic communication. It is used to broadcast signals across the country. The advantage of these broadcasts is that these are a good variety of stations which can be picked up from one radio player. Alongside the advantages are disadvantages. These are that the signal is not always clear and as there is already a lot of stations there is no more space for more stations to open. Many messages can be announced on air, i. e. birthday wishes, news, etc. If I do not always have access to a computer or laptop then I can call the radio station and ask for a friend or family member’s birthday to be announced. Telephone/Mobile phones Mobile phones can be used for communication in many different ways; either by call or SMS (Short Message Service). Mobile phones can be used anywhere without the need of a cable. If I want to talk about something private then the best method to use is SMS as no one can hear my conversation. There are many disadvantages to using a mobile phone. I don’t always have signal or if I do it isn’t always strong making the phone calls disruptive. I use the SMS service a lot to keep in contact with my friends. It is an easy service to use and can be used at anytime of the day. The disadvantage of using the SMS service is that it can be very time consuming when I want to hold a two way conversation hence a phone call would be the easiest method. Telephones (home phones) are used to keep in contact with other members of the family as well as friends. This type of phone doesn’t always have a wire although it can only be used within a certain range. Uses of electronic communication by a business (out of my normal experience) Electronic communication is well known in businesses. There are many electronic communication items used which are essential to the business.

Facilities Management Outsourcing In The UK Information Technology Essay

Facilities Management Outsourcing In The UK Information Technology Essay Chapter One served as an introduction to the dissertation, forming the motivation for the research project on the facility management outsourcing in the UK, together with a brief discussion on factors embodied in the study. Factors such as the problem, literature review; research methodology and limitations of the study are discussed. This is the appropriate theoretical paradigm of the study, the main focus of which is to specify the facility management outsoaring trend in the UK, together with related concepts. In the next paragraphs, As per research literature author discusses the definition of outsourcing, to understand the meaning of outsourcing from different views of various authors, and thus lead to conclusions of what outsourcing means. Outsourcing is the long-term results-orientated relationship with an external service provider for activities traditionally performed within the company. Burn et al., (2002) say Outsourcing usually applies to a complete business process and implies a degree of managerial control and risk on the part of the provider. Aaratunga et al.(2008) is in the favour of FM, according to him FM helps organizations as well as employees as a whole to get the full benefit by the integration of property and user related functions. It provides dynamic facilities policies which help in the generation of corporate values. It reduces the problems of space allocation and charging. In improving the environmental condition it can be a great help. Direct and contract employment can also be improved by the introduction of FM. Facility management  is an  interdisciplinary  field primarily devoted to the maintenance and care of commercial or institutional buildings, such as  hotels,  resorts,  schools,  office complexes,  sports arenas  or  convention centres. Duties may include the care of  air conditioning,  electric,power,  plumbing  and  lighting  systems;  cleaning;  decoration;  grounds keeping  and  security. Some or all of these duties can be assisted by computer programs. These duties can be thought of as non-core or support services, because they are not the primary business (taken in the broadest sense of the word) of the owner organization (Alexander, Keith, 1996). According to Barrett (1995) there are three approaches for opting the whole of FM services or part of it namely; out-sourced, in-house or a hybrid of both. The firm can choose any of the approach in order to get the FM services. The approach taken by the firm depends on the concerns or priorities already decided by the firm. In case of support providers some organizations goes for the totally in-house option, while some are in the favour of certain main services which are possible, the third type of organization is the one who uses the combination of both. Many companies have realized that in order to add value to its customers, they must single-mindedly concentrate on their core competencies and leave the running of vital, but yet time consuming and labor intensive peripheral activities to other more qualified operators confirms Sherratt (2000). 2.2. What is outsourcing Outsourcing means to have a contract with another company or person to do a particular function. Now a day almost every organization outsources some of its departments in some way. Usually, that function is being outsourced which is considered non-core to the business. Outsourcing takes many forms. Organizations still hire service providers to handle distinct business processes (Sourcingmag, 2009). Source: MacroTechs business process outsourcing model A term often used in the context of outsourcing is vertical integration. Vertical integration refers to the level of ownership of activities either backward into the supply chain or forward towards the customers or end-user of the product and service. Vertical integration is similar to the outsourcing concept in that it is concerned with the decision on whether to perform an activity internally or source it from an external supplier. Another term that is often used in manufacturing context is make-or-buy. It is arguable at make or buy is most appropriate term in context of outsourcing as it implies that there should be an evaluation of the suitability of either internal or external supply whereas the term outsourcing implies that the decision to use an external supplier has already been made without any consideration whether is it appropriate for the organization. Its necessary for the successful application of outsourcing to analyze whether it is necessary for the organization and h ow the outsourcing process should be managed (McIvor, Ronan, 2005). 2.2.1 Reasons behind outsourcing In todays business evolution, companies seek to remain strong or gain strength in an ecommerce-enabled marketplace. Likewise the factors driving outsourcing have evolved from a focus on solving financial problems to IT or certain business processes which contribute to the competitive success of an organization through enhanced capability, improved flexibility, increased efficiency or enhanced speed to market. Outsourcing has evolved from a survival tactic to a strategic competitive tool touted by even the most respected management consultants says Van Bon (2002:249). The areas which have not run on traditional lines can be introduced by the new ideas, technologies and new findings with the help of outsourcing which has a great positional in bringing the businesslike approach. It can help in upgrading the system or skills of the workers. It has a potential in bringing the reduced cost technologies by specializations and large scale economies. Outsourcing can help in upgrading the assets (Beitz,1998). Accoring to Heath (2010) outsourcing facilities management enables an organization to focus on its core business functions. Organization can gain many value-driven and many less visible benefits including:- Flexibility Increase and decrease staffing levels as needed, without having to interview, hire, or train a new employee or be forced to lay off employees when business slows. Productivity Because you are tapping into a pool of well-trained professionals who have access to the best processes, you immediately increase your productivity. Expert Assistance Rely on experts in facilities management to ensure that your company is operating efficiently and cost effectively. Better Service By having the right personnel available to handle your facility management issues, your customers will benefit as well. The cost-savings alone can make outsourcing management an attractive idea; instead of paying salary, bonuses, benefits, and taxes, as well as the administrative costs associated with those items, organization willl simply pay a flat rate that makes it easy to budget and plan. 2.2.2 Outsourcing relationship management process (the modern outsourcing model) In the new era of outsourcing, the customer regards the vendor as a long-term asset that is a source of ongoing value to the company. An asset, time and resources are dedicated to the management of a relationship, thereby maximizing its value. The customers resources are held accountable for extracting value from the outsourcing relationship. This is a more strategic approach. Good relationship management requires thought, planning, coordination and dedication of resources to be successful. Management cannot overlook the importance of this structure and its supporting processes. Good relationship management can be used to fix many ills inherent in a sourcing transaction. While this area of expertise is relatively immature, it is nonetheless important if the promise of outsourcing is to be realized concludes Van Bon (2002). Often a person called the client contract manager of an outsourcing deal is left to determine what was just negotiated after the outsourcing contract is signed. Van Bon (2002: 258) has shown that in a lot of situations this is a recipe for disaster, when it comes to realizing the benefits of outsourcing. Fortunately in todays world, organizations realize the importance of processes and a sound governance model by the time the deal is finalized. The big questions to be asked is how does one go about building into the process and how does one operate the process after an outsourcing deal is done? When an outsourcing deal has taken place, interdependency exists between the two companies. Both the vendor and the customer therefore change, as the one affects the other. Therefore both parties must understand the cost drivers of the two infrastructures and coordinate changes so as not to introduce additional costs into the process. Both the customer and the vendor must behave as an integrated supply chain rather than as win or lose adversaries. MTW (2010) found in this research that the FM market has become increasingly characterized by closer relationships between suppliers and contractors, as greater efficiencies and lower procurement costs are sought. During 2009, several FM companies established programs specifically designed to improve supplier relationships to ensure that material and equipment suppliers were aligned with customer relationship principles and accountable for their own supply chains. 2.3. Types of outsourcing For the purpose of this study and based on the area of study on which the author is focusing, there are two types of outsourcing models identified by Greaver, F. Maurice (1999):- Total outsourcing: In this type of outsourcing, organizations outsource all of their activities. It is easiest way to in the easiest way to get good results with less effort. Service provide so same things but they produce better results, mostly organization choose it as it saves money. Selective outsourcing: Some times organization does not want to outsource all the activities of an individual, function or process. In Facility Management industry if an organization wants to outsource its whole building control but keeps automated entry exit control in their own system to make sure who come in and leaves the building and when. Most successful experiences were associated with a reasoned, incremental and selective approach to outsourcing which is increasingly reflected in the structure of the market confirms Willcocks and Fitzgerald (1994). Table 2.1 Types of Outsourcing and the risks associated with them. In-house Commitment Selective Outsourcing Total Outsourcing Total Attitude Core Strategic Asset Mixed Portfolio Non-Core Necessary Cost World Class Provision Providers IT Employees Loyal to Business the Horses for Courses Vendor Strategic Partner Emphasis Value focus Value for Money Money Added Value? Dangers High Cost Insular Unresponsive Management Overhead Exploitation by Suppliers Unbalanced Risk/Reward Innovation Source: Alexander (1996) This table 2.1 shows that all arrangements have inherent risks associated with them, in addition to the above types of outsourcing, Other types of outsourcing services as defined by Glomark-Governan (2006) include Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) which involves the transfer of management and execution of one or more complete business processes or entire business functions to an external service provider. Research done by Currie and Willcocks (1997:180) concludes that most companies chose selective outsourcing. In the United States only 8% has gone total outsourcing and in the United Kingdom only 2%. This figure as low since total outsourcing is very risky. Data collected on total outsourcing indicates a 35% failure rate. With total outsourcing, vendors build in a high switching cost. Total outsourcing should be done on a joint risk-reward basis and never on a fee-for service (time and material) contract. It is recommended that re-negotiation stages be included in the original contract of big deals. 2.4 Advantages of outsourcing Turban et al. (2002) describes following advantages of outsourcing FINANCIAL Avoid heavy capital investment, thereby releasing funds for other uses Improve cash flow and cost accountability Realize cost benefits from economies of scale, and from sharing computer housing, hardware, software and personnel Release extensive office space TECHNICAL Be free to chose software due to a wider range of hardware Achieve technological improvements more easily Have greater access to technical skills MANAGEMENT Concentrate on developing and running core business activity Eliminate need to recruit and retain competent FM staff HUMAN RESOURCES Draw on specialist skills, available from a pool of expertise, when needed Enrich career development opportunities for staff QUALITY Clearly define service levels Improve performance accountability Earn quality accreditation FLEXIBILITY Respond quickly to business demands 2.5 Disadvantages of outsourcing In spite of the numerous advantages mentioned above, there can also be less desirable consequences. Most concerns are explored further (Bucki, James. 2010). Availability: The external provider is not always available full time and may be committed to other clients. Confidentiality: The vendor will probably need to keep some of the customers records off-site while simultaneously working with competitors. Cost: The customer may perceive that unit costs for the external provider are high. Termination costs of an agreement can also be very high. Perceived lack of accountability and commitment: There is a possibility that a customer can end up with a provider that does not share the risks of the client and is committed to the agreement. 2.6 Outsourcing decision making Research done by Caruso (1996) found that the decision to outsource non-core competencies takes place at corporate level in 50% of the cases. A third takes place at the divisional level and 15% at operational level. Normally other departments such as finance, Marketing and Human Resources are also involved in the decision. These departments play a significant role in the selection process. The final decision on which vendor to use is done at corporate level. Glomark-Governans (2006) also found that the finance department is involved with the cost calculations and the Human Resources department concentrates on the smooth transition of employees. The Human Resources department is also responsible for monitoring employee moral throughout the company before, during and after the outsourcing transition has taken place. The Marketing department would then explain the new strategic relationship of the company with the vendor customer and concentrate on the benefits the customer will reap from the outsourcing arrangement. Vendors should be selected based on their total capabilities, not just price or a single aspect of what they can do. References and reputation are only two of the criteria that should be used when making the final decision on which vendor to contract. A reasonable price should be negotiated and performance measures put in place. When selecting a vendor, close attention should be paid to how candidates measure up in the areas of financial strength, business experience, business development, support services and business arrangements. Willcocks et al., (1997) also found that assessing outsourcing intangible benefits also requires a careful investigation of links between the technical, the operational, and the economic effects of the benefit. The result provides a sound framework for identifying the measurable variable needed for the economic quantification. As a simple example: Technical benefit an on-line sales force Web service enables sales professionals in a company to produce reports with key content designed for executives in their accounts. Operational benefit with the new reports available, the sales representatives can increase the number of meetings with senior managers in their accounts Economic benefit an increase in meetings with senior managers will increase the close rate. The close rate (number of orders closed as a percent of proposals presented) is the measured variable that can be used to define the benefit formula (means of economic quantification). 2.7 Facilities management outsourcing Since cresting as a trend in the mid-to-late 80s, the outsourcing of facilities management has now simply become a way of doing business. In the last decade, many facilities managers have exchanged the traditional carts and hard hats for seats in boardrooms with titles like VP of capital assets or VP of real estate. At meetings, they build strong cases for maintaining existing facilities; persuading their brethren that buildings which hold their value are as important to the core mission of their organization as developing a new product or pouring millions into new research (Helene, McEntee, 2000). Facilities management has changed significantly since the early 1990s. In the early days, such tasks were decentralized. Store or district managers made service vendor selections and managed repair decisions. Often, those providing services were relatives or friends. The corporate headquarters usually had no view into facilities issues at the store level (Barrett, P.,  Baldry, D., 2003). By the mid 1990s, centralization became the norm. Major tasks, such as procurement and new construction, became centralized at the home office to achieve buying power. Centralization also found its way to facilities management. Facility maintenance departments began to grow, adding headcount to manage the needs of multiple locations while offloading tasks from onsite managers (Barrett, P. Baldry, D., 2003). By the late 1990s, web-based management solutions emerged, known as computerized maintenance management systems (CMMSs). The promise of a CMMS was the connection of all interested parties, including the store manager, facilities manager and service vendors. Unfortunately, service providers often did not have computers and the malls were not connected to the Internet, leading to system inefficiencies (Nakayama, M. Sutcliffe, N. 2005). By about 2002, affordable Internet access and the proliferation of broadband connections led to the emergence of powerful new facility management solutions. Leveraging portals and email, facilities management was embracing modern technology to improve communications and accountability (Nakayama, M. Sutcliffe, N. 2005). Blumberg (1998) presents new viewpoint to explain the FM outsourcing in terms of its positional benefits. FM outsourcing provides the organization many benefits. It helps in reducing the cost of the organization that opt it as the service provider company provides high quality services with the comparatively low cost. It is useful in improving the operating efficiency as the workload is shared. The net effect will be on the returns, they will increase and In contrast to Bloomberg (1998) and Kotabe (1992), if organization outsource its FM sector it will lead to the loss of overall market performance. He says that innovation will be neglected in case of reliance on outsourcing. When outsourcer does not want to be innovative he outsources its FM as it is much easier in contrast to indulge in innovations. The end result is the decline in the technological advancements which is the base in the innovations in the product and process. According to Nutt (1999) FM is improving the overall efficiency of the organization. It is a huge deportment in establishing values for all the facilities seekers. Corporations, individual employees, clients, operating units are the chief facilities seekers. FM is growing day by day and because of its increasing demand this market has created a much more competitive marketplace. Different types of FM companies has been established to fulfil its increasing demand such as FM contractors, professional FM institutions, FM suppliers, FM consultants and in-house FM teams. 2.8 Developing a facilities management structure Atkin, B. Brooks, A (2009) states that for the efficient and effectively management of facilities, stout strategies must be developed in the framework of organizations strategic business plan and accommodation strategy. These strategy should include development of strategic objectives and a business plan for the FM function. The process of developing a Fm strategy is demonstrated in Figure 2.2, which shows three main stages with their elements. These three stages are:- Strategic analysis Developing solutions Strategy implementation Figure 2.2 Source: Atkin, B. Brooks, A (2009) There is no single formulation of facilities management that will fit all situations. Nonetheless, the concept of the informed client function is common to all situations. Most buildings represent substantial investments for organisations and usually have to accommodate and support a range of activities in the organisations core business, for which an appropriate environment must be created in buildings that may not have been designed for the purposes for which they are now used. Yet, no matter how well focused on organisation might be on its core business, it cannot lose sight of the supporting services the non-core business. The relationship between two is shown in the figure 2.3. Organisations may have already considered the distinction between their core business and non-core business (such as security, payroll or cleaning) as part of the drive to deliver customer satisfaction and achieve best value (Atkins, Brian Brooks, Adrian, 2009). Figure 2.3Source: Atkins, Brian Brooks, Adrian (2009). 2.9 Facilities management Information Technology History of computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) dates back to the early 1960s when space forecasting and inventory applications were first run on expensive mainframe computers by people writing their own programming codes. With the passage of time architectural planning and construction project management were added to the suite of applications running on the systems shown in figure 2.4. The number of people writing their own code based on office automation software increased dramatically with the advent of smaller computers. Islands of automation introduced in the market during 1970s and 1980s, CAFM began to be used for other applications such as furniture inventory, lease management, aqsset management, and building cost accounting CMMS application such as maintenance management, cable management and security began during late 1980s and 1990s during the end of 1980s internet was introduced and it was revolution in the automated system. Many firms created their own softwares t hose fits in their organization (National research council, 2001). Figure 2.4 Space Asset CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Inventory Management Management System) 1960sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦1970sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦1980sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.1990sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..2000s Mainframe > PC Islands > CAFM > Internet Source: National research council (2001) Today facilities managers use several software tools. Each of these tools processes and stores only specific information. Only FM specific tools are included in the following list, general tools like email, workflow, word processing belong to underlying IT base support (Redlein, Alexander, 2004). Computer Aided Facility Management Systems (CAFM) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) Building automated Systems (BA including security systems) Management Information system (MIS) (Business Data Warehouse Systems) As mentioned above, all of the tools are engaged in the day to day objective process. Even in one field one toll alone cannot handle or support all the needed processes. The following table 2.1 shows how the main basic processes of FM can be supported by the software systems (James, R. Watson, R., 2009):- Table 2.1 Main processes and IT support Support of CAFM ERP BA Maintenance Drawing, equipment location Maintenance contracts, cost accounting, billing Technical data, status of equipment Space Management Drawing, current user Cost accounting, transparency Technical data Tenant management Current user Tenancy agreement, rental fee Technical resources Sales / Marketing Visualization, adaptation to customers needs Information systems, calculation Available technical resources Source: National institute of building sciences Computer-aided facilities management system (CAFM) There are many Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) tools available today. They have become an essential tool for increasing and maintaining the efficient use of space in your buildings. As a planning tool, CAFM can help by creating trial layouts and comparing space efficiencies. CAFM helps track and control the use of assets like furniture and equipment. CAFM can help allocate asset costs to operating units and track employee movements. Many CAFM applications have options to aid in scheduling the use of shared space or maintenance routines like landscaping or snow removal. CAFM also enhances the effectiveness of facility safety and security. Following benefits could be achieved by implementing CAFM system (Teicholz, Eric, 1995) Increased Efficiency of Asset Utilization Automates space charge-backs based on your billing and reporting requirements Link architectural drawings with facilities and infrastructure data, ensuring information is always accurate Allocates space usage and reports charge-backs with accuracy to avoid external or inter-departmental billing disputes. Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP) ERP is back office software which focuses on the key business functions of manufacturing, supply chain management,  CRM, financial management and  Project Management. A well implemented ERP solution will improve the efficiency of the enterprise, reduce money tied up in stock/work in progress, and run a Just in Time inventory system (BBC, 2005). Building automated system (BA) Building automation  describes the functionality provided by the control system of a building. A building automation system (BAS) is an example of a  distributed control system. The control system is a computerized, intelligent  network  of electronic devices, designed to monitor and control the mechanical and lighting systems in a building (Redlein, Alexander, 2004). BAS core functionality keeps the building climate within a specified range, provides lighting based on an occupancy schedule, and monitors system performance and device failures and provides email and/or text notifications to building engineering staff. The BAS functionality reduces building energy and maintenance costs when compared to a non-controlled building. A building controlled by a BAS is often referred to as an intelligent building system (Daintree Networks, 2009). As it mentioned in the section 2.7 that in around 2002, affordable Internet access and the proliferation of broadband connections led to the emergence of powerful new facility management solutions. Leveraging portals and email, facilities management was embracing modern technology to improve communications and accountability (Nakayama, M. Sutcliffe, N. 2005). 2.10 The evolution of outsourcing in the FM market Companies have become more efficient at reducing costs, and this is sometimes difficult to do effectively through in-house facilities managers. They are often constrained by internal political pressures and vested interests, and often they lack the expertise to manage change. Change within a company is a major challenge to any chief executive. By outsourcing to professionals, the outsourcing company becomes the change agent and a company is able to re-engineer and reposition itself more quickly and efficiently says Jackson (1997). Figure 2.1 Trend in FM outsourcing Source: Holzhhauzen 1999:9 From traditional in-house facilities management, the trend moved towards contracting certain non-core competencies. It then developed into outsourcing non-core competencies to a number of outsourcing firms. The trend is now developing further to full facilities management, which takes the risk away form the customer and places it on the shoulders of a single vendor (Holzhhauzen 1999). Since the early 1990s FM has shows the tremendous growth, as different sectors and organizations are interested in control of operational efficiencies and cost. Now a day there is a trend in private companies to focus on the core competencies. So these companies are interested in adopting the outsourcing in order to increase the efficiency as well as output of a company (AMA Research, 2009). FM sector has shows tremendous success over the last 25 years. Many professional bodies are supporting the growing number of FM practitioners all over the world to establish this market as a worldwide brand. It has been controlled by the global network of FM educational providers who worked jointly with the professionals related to this field, they also have collaboration with the academic community which provides them with the unique and challenging ideas to develop this market. According to writer there is variety in the practice of FM but the main idea of its establishment remains the same which helps in maintaining its distinctiveness (Grimshaw, 2001). The back casting exercise provided an opportunity of reflecting on the short history of Facilities Management, charting its development and evolution. At the European Facilities Management Conference in Manchester (EFMC08) the vision of a new wave of Facilities Management was proposed in response to the context of post-industrial cities. A leading role for FM in urban sustainability was envisaged, with an emphasis on innovation and creativity, community based planning and open sourcing (EFMC, 2008). 1970s 1G Managed services, outsourcing Operational total facilities management, CAFM 1980s 2G Quality management, management agency Tactical benchmarking, FM processes, FIMS 1990s 3G Partnering, re-engineering processes, Strategic knowledge management, product innovation, sustainable facilities management 2000s 4G Business processes, open innovation, usability, Transformational service excellence, transformational outsourcing, As Facilities Management enters a fifth decade and, perhaps a fifth generation in the development of Facilities Management, what will the next generation be like? (EFMC, 2008). 2.10.1 Facilities management outsourcing trend in the world Europe is now the worlds biggest market for outsourcing. In 2004, Europe accounted for 49%

A Timeline of Major Events in the American Civil Rights Movement :: American Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movement: 1890-1900 1890: The state of Mississippi adopts poll taxes and literacy tests to discourage black voters. 1895: Booker T. Washington delivers his Atlanta Exposition speech, which accepts segregation of the races. 1896: The Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson the separate but equal treatment of the races is constitutional. 1900-1910 1900-1915: Over one thousand blacks are lynched in the states of the former Confederacy. 1905: The Niagara Movement is founded by W.E.B. du Bois and other black leaders to urge more direct action to achieve black civil rights. 1910-1920 1910: National Urban League is founded to help the conditions of urban African Americans. 1920-1930 1925: Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey is convicted of mail fraud. 1928: For the first time in the 20th century an African American is elected to Congress. 1930-1940 1931: Farrad Muhammad establishes in Detroit what will become the Black Muslim Movement. 1933: The NAACP files -and loses- its firs suit against segregation and discrimination in education. 1938: The Supreme Court orders the admission of a black applicant to the University of Missouri Law School 1941: A. Philip Randoph threatens a massive march on Washington unless the Roosevelt administration takes measures to ensure black employment in defense industries; Roosevelt agrees to establish Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC). 1942: The congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is organized in Chicago. 1943: Race riots in Detroit and Harlem cause black leaders to ask their followers to be less demanding in asserting their commitment to civil rights; A. Philip Randolph breaks ranks to call for civil disobedience against Jim Crow schools and railroads. 1946: The Supreme Court, in Morgan v. The Commonwealth of Virginia, rules that state laws requiring racial segregation on buses violates the Constitution when applied to interstate passengers. 1947: Jackie Robinson breaks the color line in major league baseball. 1947: To Secure These Rights, the report by the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, is released; the commission, appointed by President Harry S. Truman, recommends government action to secure civil rights for all Americans. 1948: President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order desegregating the armed services. 1950-1960 1950: The NAACP decides to make its legal strategy a full-scale attack on educational segregation. 1954: First White Citizens Council meeting is held in Mississippi. 1954: School year begins with the integration of 150 formerly segregated school districts in eight states; many other school districts remain segregated.

Essay --

Electrical stimulation (ES) therapy involves the transfer of electrical current across wound tissue through the two electrodes and uses three types of currents: AC, DC and Pulse DC. According to various studies, electrical stimulation therapy has shown to reduce inflammation, edema, improve wound appearance, cause a faster reduction in wound size by helping to kick start the wound healing process and is cost effective for many patients. It has generated a positive impact on patient’s comfort and convenience. Electrical stimulation therapy has provided numerous beneficial effects in wound healing demonstrated by various studies, however; further research trials are needed in order to prove the effectiveness and benefits of electrical stimulation therapy as it relates to wound healing (Cutting, 2006). Background: The clinical application of ES can be dated as far back as 1812 when Hartshorne used electricity to promote bone healing in a patient suffering a tibial nonunion, later described in an 1841 publication (Wienke & Dayton, 2011). Research stayed in focus with bone stimulation via ES therapy for many years leading to the US Food and Drug Administration approved labeling electromagnetic devices for treatment of nonunion and delayed union fractures. ES therapy in chronic wound healing became a major research trend in the mid 1960s with a multitude of successful clinical trials to follow (Isseroff & Dahle, 2012). Eventually ES use in treating chronic soft tissue wounds became widely accepted and in 2002 the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services approved ES treatment in a clinical setting for certain types of chronic wounds and pressure ulcers. Until 2003, research focus stayed with ES therapy on pressure ulcers but later ... ...rocess and is cost effective for many patients. It has also generated a positive impact on patient’s comfort and convenience. Yet still, the selection of an optimal modality remains amongst the scientific and medical communities. Further research and clinical trials to support these positive effects on wound healing may help generate that consensus and help ES therapy gain full support in the US. In reviewing the above studies the evidence of the numerous beneficial effects ES therapy has are clear, however, the evidence that the lack of consensus on standardization of parameters to devise systematic protocols for its use and the lack of uniformity in reports on ES dosages, application modes and waveforms is also clear. Further research trials are needed in order to prove the effectiveness and benefits of electrical stimulation therapy as it relates to wound healing

Medicine Men of Oglala Sioux Indians of Nebraska Essay

The  Oglala medicine men belong to the Sioux Indian Community in Manderson, Potato Creek, Kyle, Oglala, No. 4, Red Shirt Table, Wanblee. This Indian Tribe in Nebraska is watched over by a branch of the Office of Indian Affairs located within its territory. Civilizations have used different ways of curing their sick. The bible states that Jesus cured the sick by using miracles. The Chinese cure their sick using reflexology, acupuncture as well as the taking of the root of the plant ginseng. The American doctors use manufactured drugs like Tylenol or Aspirins to cure the pains of their patients. Admittedly, the different ways of curing the sick has been handed down from generation to generation. In fact, in some countries, the faith healers believe that they have the inner power to heal the sick if their patients will have faith in the doctors. Currently, many born again fellowships are centered on a pastor who cures the cancers (Aldredge-Clanton 11), diabetes, high blood and lets the invalid throw away his crutches because he can now walk. This type of healing is called miracle healing where the pastor impresses on the minds of their church members that Jesus and around and will remove their affliction. The following paragraphs explains the uniqueness of the Oglala Sioux Indians of Nebraska as they go about their daily festive activity of maintaining the community’s health by curing the ailments and the sufferings of their Indian neighbors. BODY His role in the community The role of the medical doctors or so called healers is to cure the sick and alleviate the pain of the dying Indian person. The healer brings hope the suffering and pain of their Indian neighbors. And the healers include in their medical armory the Sun Dance. The Sun Dance is the ritual part of the Indian doctors’ healing procedure. This dance is performed during the midsummer and indeed that most intricately complex part of the Indian healers curative process. Thus, their role in the community is to heal the patients using many processes. One such process is the ritual method. For, ritual and reciprocal communication between the patient and the medicine men and women is designed to start a biological and social rhythm motion through by influencing the neurophysiologial structures of the patients’ ailed body parts. Likewise, the Indian medicine man’s way of curing their patient is blanketed with myth which includes the use of the environment in the healing process (Lewis 169). To reiterate, the medicine men’s role is to keep as many of their Indian neighbors as healthy as possible. Evidently, a healthy people would spur the community’s economy to a more frantic pace. However, a population with many sick neighbors would eat away the community’s money because the government has lesser people to spice up the community’s economy. The medicine men and women here also help the community by influencing the policy makers in their community to craft laws, ordinances and statutes that focus on maintaining the health of the Oglala Indian community of Nebraska, USA (Lewis, 41). Thus, the role that these Oglala Indian medicine men play is very important. His status The status of the Oglala American Indian of Nebraska, USA’s medicine men and women here is such that they are being trusted and asked for advices in terms of health. In fact, many politicians in their community approve of the teachings and activities of the medicine. This is their way of enticing the medicine men and women to recommend to their patients, friends and every day contacts to vote for the politician and to support him or her plans and programs for the Oglala Indian community. Unquestionably, their major role is to keep the people healthy. (Lewis 71). For, these medicine men of Oglala, Nebraska exude an air of authority for what they tell their patients to do will often be done in most cases because the patients want to live longer. His knowledge The Oglala medicine men and medicine women are mostly comprised of senior citizens who started their medicine practice late or after the prime of their life. For, they had to gather enough experiences in life as well as theoretical knowledge that will give them necessary medical knowledge as they take up administrative positions in their Indian tribe. Many of the older women and men of the Oglala Sioux Indian settlement absorbed all they could to gain expertise in the field of medical practice that included the use of herbs as medicines. Specifically, many of the medical practitioners of this small United States tribe specialized in the study of the symptoms, causes and the herbal cures for various diseases. Also, some of the medicine men and women generally studied how to cure the physical and mind -related sickness (Lewis, 10). The Oglala medicine men are generally well versed in terms of which herbal plants will be very effective in alleviating many of the health risks of their constituents. Beliefs, and similar type of information that relates to the Medicine men. The people of the Oglala Indian settlement believe that some ritual songs can hasten the healing process. One such popular song is the Oglala’s Indian song. This magical song is believed to sprinkle the patients with the powder of cure. The Indian medicine men believe that this song is embodied with syncretistic and revivalist. For, this song brings out the embodiment of syncreustic and revivalistic elements of the Sioux faith and Pan –Indian movements. The Indian medicine men and women believe that the current ailments afflicting their constituents were caused by their intermingling with the White Americans. For, they believed that the normal Indian was healthy before these whites visited them and imprisoned them in Indian settlements. Thus, the present Indian sickness have been brought about by their change in lifestyles. For, The Indians freely roamed the prairie and other lands as they followed where the roaming animals would go during the pre –white days. This lifestyle had been cut because the whites placed them inside their Indian settlements for fear they Indians would endanger the lives of the Whites. The Indian healers believed that the Whites had forced them to live in log cabins. This is what caused their health to deteriorate to the level of the white’s health conditions. Also, the Indian lifestyles of free roaming of the desserts to search for their main dish of buffalo meat to their new log cabins resulted to a crowded home and school (Carter 103). Thus, their physical power to repel viruses and bacteria that is the root cause of many of the unhealthiness continues to this day. For, the Indians believed that living in their teepees ( Indian tent houses) brought them good health (Fletcher 81). Reference ceremonies or events the medicine men conducts or participates in. The medicine men and the medicine women of the Oglala Sioux Indian settlement studied how some of the herbs cropping up around their community could alleviate or even eradicate some or all their community members’ ailments. This also includes other mundane treatments of many of the diseases plaguing the Indian Territory. Also, the Oglala medicine men conducted their normal Sun Dance in their community to usher in health into their community. In addition, the medicine men and women of the Oglala United States Indian reservation included in some of their jobs to cure their fellow Indian tribesmen and tribeswomen several repertoire of what they identified as Sacred Indian songs. In fact, some of the tribe men and tribe women native doctors use a unique Indian method described as calling the healing process to start immediately. Normally, the healing process is a two way succeed. Meaning, the tribesmen and tribeswomen and their Indian patients must literally put their trust and fate in the medicine men and women to pluck them out of their pain or injustice. This trust is influenced by the strength and intensity of the medicine men, medicine women and their patients to have an unwavering conviction that their local community doctors here would cure them of their pain and suffering. Further, this only shows that the entire healing process of their local healers falls beyond man’s control and ambition. In short, the Indian healing process is classified by something clearly outside the normal realm of human control and ambitiousness. The medical training here is uniquely their own. Meaning, their medical procedures clearly run one hundred eighty degrees around the normal medical procedures that non –Indian medical practitioners use to cure or just alleviate their sick patients. Thus the long and energy sapping training that the Indians studying medicine in their local community willingly undergo in order to reach the prestigious status in their locality as a medicine man. In fact, only a few of the fresh graduates of formal schools are willing to continue their education in the new field of local Indian medicine. In contrast, many of the people studying medicine in this local United States Indian tribe in Lakotas (Faller 64) have also been introduced of the United States’ white men’s medical school among the Navajo Indians. However, this Navajo idea is not part of the wishes of the Oglala Indians because they do not aim to set up their own medicine schools. Here, the local Indians can sell their medical materials like the medicinal herbs as well as the ceremony programs. Usually, these Indian health programs allow the selling or giving of medicine materials and ceremonial disease -curing processes to be sold or given to another person needing them. The medical training of Indians aspiring to be medical practitioners includes starting out as assistant singer or drummer in a real live medical hearing process for several years. The Indian medical student must blend into the environment with their participation of much needed Sun Dance and other medicine rights so that the medicine trainees so they could increase their powers as well as reputation with their patients handled. For, the medicine men and women believe that they have reached that pinnacle in life where they could qualify as a representative of the spirit world. For the medicine men and women in this tribe normally also use the power of conjuring spirits to help them in their day to day medical practices (Lewis 39). A healing process includes consulting the parents and relatives of the sick patient in order to get a historical background the patient from the patients’ health issues as well as the sickness that the patients parents, grandparents and the like normally have. Also, the medicine men and women ask additional information from their patients’ advisers as well as intermediaries. Also, the Indian healers show the same techniques and processes as they go about curing sick patients with the same illnesses. A formal healing session always starts with the patient visiting the Indian healer several times in a casual way in order to entice the Indian healers to accept this person as a new patient. Accepting this patient is a new contract. The medicine men and women normally command the patients to first fast, to seek visions, to abstain on some things, to pray for divine healing from God, and to prepare food for inns. Accepting the new patient is then followed by the Indian healers’ full concentration of healing powers and time to a full implementation of the proper medical healing procedures to be imposed. In turn, the patient can now sit back, relax and wait for their medicine man or medicine woman to help him or her cure his or her medical condition. The medicine men and women recognize some of the medical practices of white doctors. One such belief shared by both types of doctors is that time is an ally in many medical cases. For, these Indian healers believe that time helps in their patients’ recovery process. Also, time heals some fears or phobias like what the white psychologists and psychiatrists adhere to. Naturally, the arrival of the medicine man or woman ushers in the patient a sign of relief because finally something and something will step into the painful world to extricate them from their miseries (Lewis 40). Normally, the Indian medicine man or woman’s healing repertoire includes a drama –like presentation. Meaning, the curing process includes a stage, actors as well as music. For, the patient is now transported into a world where the patient is not placed in darkness, immobility and a world of healing songs which sometimes includes dances. Consequently, the patient is healed because of the trance they enter into where the medical songs bring healing into their afflicted body part or parts (Lewis 42). This picturesque orchestra –like description of the medicine man’s or medicine woman’s work shows that he or she plays a pivotal part in the Oglala Nebraska, USA Indian community. On the other side of the United States, the Navajo Indians also use their kind of traditional healing. The medicine men here use the medical technique of gazing. The medicine men just gazes in their patients to feel the aura of the patient. For, the Navajo Indian medicine men will feel the vibrations that tell him what caused the patient to fall victim to a virus, bacteria, to succumb to high blood, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and the like. The Navajo Indian doctor then moves some of the patients’ parts like the hands and feet to confirm his first impression of what the patients’ ailment is (Davies 83). The medicine doctors of Oglala Sioux Indians of Nebraska, USA’s main role is to maintain the health of their small Indian community. The medicine men use primitive ways of curing the sick. One such way is to use the Sun Dance. The Sun dance brings health to the community because this festive dance is believed to absorb the vital elements of the environment and funnel it to the people in the community. Also, the medicine man uses the communication process as part of his healing procedures. Here, he gathers much needed information from the patient, his family and his relatives in order to come up with the cause or causes of his unhealthiness.

Medieval Women and Sexuality Essay

Dame Sirith, arguably the earliest fabliau in English, has often been interpreted as a parody on courtly love. Yet a careful analysis of the dialogues between Margery and Wilekin, the two `lovers-to-be’, exposes the alleged pervasiveness of the `courtly’ tone of Wilekin’s wooing as a construct of the critics. The poet’s main concern lies rather with the successful telling of a comic story and he relegates any `courtly’ elements to a secondary position so as not to upset the narrative balance of the tale. As a consequence, they remain subordinated to the main comic event, i.e. the trick played on the young wife by Dame Sirith and Margery’s subsequent change from a woman who would not sell herself at any price in the beginning, but who is in the end willing to pay anything to be `swyved’. The English aristocracy, like the French, laid claim to courtly conduct as a distinctive criteria for the upper class. Likewise, both the romance and the fabliau flourished among the English; the romance serving to instill courtly ideals, and the fabliau serving to show social realities. The fabliau plot frequently focuses upon infidelity, and the sexual relationship between lovers is graphically revealed, thereby devaluing the idealistic notion that courtly love remain a private matter. For example, Marjerie insists that she will not deceive her husband â€Å"on bed ne on flore†. Her direct reference to a physical consummation on â€Å"flore† or â€Å"bed† provides a sharp contrast to the removed, idealized language of courtly genres. Dame Sirith seems to be based on fundamental elements of sexual deception and the inversion of social hierarchies particularly as constructed in marriage, as it targets and highlights weak and foolish women, the title character plays a go-between for a would-be lover named Wilekin and the married lady of his dreams, Margery. Sirith devises an elaborate ruse to convince the reluctantyoung wife, whose husband is away, to accept Wilekin’s indecent proposal, a strategy that calls for a performing dog as well as a convincing  narrative. A mixture of mustard and pepper, ingested by the dog, makes it appear to weep while the accompanying narrative sets up the duping. Sirith presents the weeping dog to Margery telling her that the dog is Sirith’s daughter, who, having refused the amorous advances of a clerk, was magically transformed into the lacrimose creature standing before her: â€Å"Thenne begon the clerc to wiche / And shop mi douter til a biche†(line 353-55). The narrative is convincing and the desired result is achieved – the bawd successfully dupes the gullible Margery into an affair with her client. Margery’s character is a wife who has been left alone by her husband, the young woman’s marital status elides the marital infidelity so integral to Sirith’s trick. They show that despite the fabliaux’ apparent license, in fact they rely on the woman’s â€Å"no† and the man’s forceful masculinity to counter her resistance†¦ So the tension is great. The sexual encounter at the end of the tale is described with polite euphemisms in the analogues; in Aesop’s version, for example, we are told that the young man â€Å"fulfills his will,† and the emphasis upon the moral is highlighted. Wilkin is set to begin with like a courting sort of guy, but the audience is gently pulled towards the fact that he is a social climber indeed. On his way up the social ladder he would do anything, use all kinds of force needed. On the other hand there’s Margery and her puzzling reaction to him, her moral values and purity. He’s idealised her as a person, she’s untouchable because she’s married, it meant more in those days, like she’s forbidden. Dame Sirith shows moralistic attitudes and not fundamental human values that are at stake. To see Margery’s one set of precepts, namely `be faithful to your husband’,being abandoned†¦ in complete favour of another, obviously more fundamental one, namely `keep your human form’, need not raise a moral dilemma or cause emotional anguish to the reader? It makes me think about the power dynamics being excercised on love and desire during the end of that period in history and how the desire to control such emotions, feelings, desires, thoughts crossed with practices of witchcraft. A power witch may have to make a man desire her for unacceptable forbidden sexual activities and makes me wonder really who is blamed for the existenec of such desires? Who should be and is punished for participating in such activites? Who is excused and how? Who is the victim? Are we, as woman  today, accused of similar â€Å"powers† that excuse men of certain actions? The secrecy of the affair is considered shameful and cheap by Marjeri, as it was not in courtly literature. She is ever faithful until she learns it may effect her by witchcraft that’s when her vanity emerges. Furthermore, she claims to love her husband, and married love clearly is not part of the courtly system. Twelfth century work served to codify proper conduct for courtly lovers, specifically states that â€Å"Love cannot acknowledge any rights of his between husband and wife†and in the canonized romance, marriage is seldom an issue between lovers. You see the plot frequently focuses upon infidelity, and the sexual relationship between lovers is graphically revealed, thereby devaluing the idealistic notion that courtly love remain a private matter. Marjeri’s behavior towards Wilkin, which so clearly mimics courtly behavior, may seem especially puzzling to the reader attempting to reduce her language to univocal meaning. Perhaps she is simply too innocent to understand the implications of the language she employs. She may not be aware that her willingness to do or her statement that she is â€Å"ful fre† could be interpreted by Wilkin as a clear indication that she will grant him sexual favors. But really more likely, we should recognise Marjeri fitting the typical fabliau stereotype of a young, lusty, bourgeois wife, well aware of the plays of meaning in the language she employs. If we see her in this light, then her behavior towards Wilkin seems especially flirtatious, even a little cruel. She uses her language with him as a weapon to gain control and in fact her role as victim is minimized as she proves to be as calculating as her attacker. Certainly, a traditional courtly lover, would be more persistent and more patient, suffering over the lady’s rejection and growing pale and sickly in the process. The audience may begin to alter its expectations about the tale, from one that presents courtly ideals to one that mocks those ideals by contrasting them with social realities.Though Wilkin mimics the conventions of courtly conduct, he can never truly embody them. Rather than lamenting his loss in romance fashion, he takes a direct approach, seeking the assistance of the dame. Wilkin confesses that he is lovesick for Marjeri, and the old woman agrees to devise a trick to help him: Though courtly love in the romance may result in a sexual union, sex is always treated discreetly. The focus is upon the process of earning the  affections of a lover; not upon the physical act. However, in this fabliau, the concept of courtly love is reduced to immediate sexual gratification. The story that Dame Sirit concocts about her weeping dog is used as a trick to make Marjeri have sex with Wilkin, and the result is more akin to rape than love. As a result of the yarn, Marjeri succumbs to Wilkin against her will, for she fears being changed into a weeping bitch. It’s odd, and funny in a way, that she thinks if she gives into him and becoming perhaps a metaphorical bitch is better than being changed into a real one†¦ to do the deed instead of being turned. However her earlier flirtatious behavior indicates her awareness of the newly ironic language she employs and keeps her from seeming pitiable. Because she is aware of the slipperiness of devolved courtly language, Marjeri is able to turn the tables on these tricksters, and, ironically, to keep her dignity intact. Though Marjeri is forced to succumb to Wilkin, she is able to manipulate courtly language, asserting that the seduction is her idea and claiming that her concern is for Wilkin’s well-bei ng. Marjeri and Wilkin illustrate that, in order to be accessible to the rising bourgeoisie, the very nature of the system had to change, and its original intent was left ambiguous. As a literary device in the fabliau, courtly language devolves and becomes a source for rich irony.