Black House Chapter Eleven

11 BEEZER'S JOURNEY BEGAN with Myrtle Harrington, the loving wife of Michael Harrington, whispering down the telephone line to Richie Bumstead, on whom she has an industrial-strength crush in spite of his having been married to her second-best friend, Glad, who dropped down dead in her kitchen at the amazing age of thirty-one. For his part, Richie Bumstead has had enough macaroni-tuna casseroles and whisper-voiced phone calls from Myrtle to last him through two more lifetimes, but this is one set of whispers he's glad, even oddly relieved, to listen to, because he drives a truck for the Kingsland Brewing Company and has come to know Beezer St. Pierre and the rest of the boys, at least a little bit. At first, Richie thought the Thunder Five was a bunch of hoodlums, those big guys with scraggly shoulder-length hair and foaming beards roaring through town on their Harleys, but one Friday he happened to be standing alongside the one called Mouse in the pay-window line, and Mouse looked down at him and said something funny about how working for love never made the paycheck look bigger, and they got into a conversation that made Richie Bumstead's head spin. Two nights later he saw Beezer St. Pierre and the one called Doc shooting the breeze in the yard when he came off-shift, and after he got his rig locked down for the night he went over and got into another conversation that made him feel like he'd walked into a combination of a raunchy blues bar and a Jeopardy! championship. These guys Beezer, Mouse, Doc, Sonny, and Kaiser Bill looked like rockin', stompin', red-eyed violence, but they were smart. Beezer, it turned out, was head brewmaster in Kingsland Ale's special-projects div ision, and the other guys were just under him. They had all gone to college. They were interested in making great beer and having a good time, and Richie sort of wished he could get a bike and let it all hang out like them, but a long Saturday afternoon and evening at the Sand Bar proved that the line between a high old time and utter abandon was too fine for him. He didn't have the stamina to put away two pitchers of Kingsland, play a decent game of pool, drink two more pitchers while talking about the influences of Sherwood An-derson and Gertrude Stein on the young Hemingway, get into some serious head-butting, put down another couple of pitchers, emerge clearheaded enough to go barrel-assing through the countryside, pick up a couple of experimental Madison girls, smoke a lot of high-grade shit, and romp until dawn. You have to respect people who can do that and still hold down good jobs. As far as Richie is concerned, he has a duty to tell Beezer that the police have finally learned the whereabouts of Irma Freneau's body. That busybody Myrtle said it was a secret Richie has to keep to himself, but he's pretty sure that right after Myrtle gave him the news, she called four or five other people. Those people will call their best friends, and in no time at all half of French Landing is going to be heading over on 35 to be in on the action. Beezer has a better right to be there than most, doesn't he? Less than thirty seconds after getting rid of Myrtle Harrington, Richie Bumstead looks up Beezer St. Pierre in the directory and dials the number. â€Å"Richie, I sure hope you aren't shitting me,† Beezer says. â€Å"He called in, yeah?† Beezer wants Richie to repeat it. â€Å"That worthless piece of shit in the DARE car, the Mad Hungarian? . . . And he said the girl was where?† â€Å"Fuck, the whole town is gonna be out there,† Beezer says. â€Å"But thanks, man, thanks a lot. I owe you.† In the instant before the receiver slams down, Richie thinks he hears Beezer start to say something else that gets dissolved in a scalding rush of emotion. And in the little house on Nailhouse Row, Beezer St. Pierre swipes tears into his beard, gently moves the telephone a few inches back on the table, and turns to face Bear Girl, his common-law spouse, his old lady, Amy's mother, whose real name is Susan Osgood, and who is staring up at him from beneath her thick blond bangs, one finger holding her place in a book. â€Å"It's the Freneau girl,† he says. â€Å"I gotta go.† â€Å"Go,† Bear Girl tells him. â€Å"Take the cell phone and call me as soon as you can.† â€Å"Yeah,† he says, and plucks the cell phone from its charger and rams it into a front pocket of his jeans. Instead of moving to the door, he thrusts a hand into the huge red-brown tangle of his beard and absent-mindedly combs it with his fingers. His feet are rooted to the floor; his eyes have lost focus. â€Å"The Fisherman called 911,† he says. â€Å"Can you believe this shit? They couldn't find the Freneau girl by themselves, they needed him to tell them where to find her body.† â€Å"Listen to me,† Bear Girl says, and gets up and travels the space between them far more quickly than she seems to. She snuggles her compact little body into his massive bulk, and Beezer inhales a chestful of her clean, soothing scent, a combination of soap and fresh bread. â€Å"When you and the boys get out there, it's going to be up to you to keep them in line. So you have to keep yourself in line, Beezer. No matter how angry you are, you can't go nuts and start beating on people. Cops especially.† â€Å"I suppose you think I shouldn't go.† â€Å"You have to. I just don't want you to wind up in jail.† â€Å"Hey,† he says, â€Å"I'm a brewer, not a brawler.† â€Å"Don't forget it,† she says, and pats him on the back. â€Å"Are you going to call them?† â€Å"Street telephone.† Beezer walks to the door, bends down to pick up his helmet, and marches out. Sweat slides down his forehead and crawls through his beard. Two strides bring him to his motorcycle. He puts one hand on the saddle, wipes his forehead, and bellows, â€Å"THE FUCKING FISHERMAN TOLD THAT FUCKING HUNGARIAN COP WHERE TO FIND IRMA FRENEAU'S BODY. WHO'S COMING WITH ME?† On both sides of Nailhouse Row, bearded heads pop out of windows and loud voices shout â€Å"Wait Up!† â€Å"Holy Shit!† and â€Å"Yo!† Four vast men in leather jackets, jeans, and boots come barreling out of four front doors. Beezer almost has to smile he loves these guys, but sometimes they remind him of cartoon characters. Even before they reach him, he starts explaining about Richie Bumstead and the 911 call, and by the time he finishes, Mouse, Doc, Sonny, and Kaiser Bill are on their bikes and waiting for the signal. â€Å"But this here's the deal,† Beezer says. â€Å"Two things. We're going out there for Amy and Irma Freneau and Johnny Irkenham, not for ourselves. We want to make sure everything gets done the right way, and we're not gonna bust anybody's head open, not unless they ask for it. You got that?† The others rumble, mumble, and grumble, apparently in assent. Four tangled beards wag up and down. â€Å"And number two, when we do bust open somebody's head, it's gonna be the Fisherman's. Because we have put up with enough crap around here, and now I am pretty damn sure it's our turn to hunt down the fucking bastard who killed my little girl † Beezer's voice catches in his throat, and he raises his fist before continuing. â€Å"And dumped this other little girl in that fucking shack out on 35. Because I am going to get my hands on that fucking fuckhead, and when I do, I am gonna get RIGHTEOUS on his ass!† His boys, his crew, his posse shake their fists in the air and bellow. Five motorcycles surge noisily into life. â€Å"We'll take a look at the place from the highway and double back to the road behind Goltz's,† Beezer shouts, and charges down the road and uphill on Chase Street with the others in his slipstream. Through the middle of town they roll, Beezer in the lead, Mouse and Sonny practically on his tailpipe, Doc and the Kaiser right behind, their beards flowing in the wind. The thunder of their bikes rattles the windows in Schmitt's Allsorts and sends starlings flapping up from the marquee of the Agincourt Theater. Hanging over the bars of his Harley, Beezer looks a little bit like King Kong getting set to rip apart a jungle gym. Once they get past the 7-Eleven, Kaiser and Doc move up alongside Sonny and Mouse and take up the entire width of the highway. People driving west on 35 look at the figures charging toward them and swerve onto the shoulder; drivers who see them in their rearview mirrors drift to the side of the road, stick their arms out of their windows, and wave them on. As they near Centralia, Beezer passes about twice as many cars as really ought to be traveling down a country highway on a weekend morning. The situation is even worse than he figured it would be: Dale Gilbertson is bound to have a couple of cops blocking traffic turning in from 35, but two cops couldn't handle more than ten or twelve ghouls dead set on seeing, really seeing, the Fisherman's handiwork. French Landing doesn't have enough cops to keep a lid on all the screwballs homing in on Ed's Eats. Beezer curses, picturing himself losing control, turning a bunch of twisted Fisherman geeks into tent pegs. Losing control is exactly what he cannot afford to do, not if he expects any cooperation from Dale Gilbertson and his flunkies. Beezer leads his companions around a crapped-out old red Toyota and is visited by an idea so perfect that he forgets to strike unreasoning terror into the beater's driver by looking him in the eye and snarling, â€Å"I make Kingsland Ale, the best beer in the world, you dimwit cur.† He has done this to two drivers this morning, and neither one let him down. The people who earn this treatment by either lousy driving or the possession of a truly ugly vehicle imagine that he is threatening them with some grotesque form of sexual assault, and they freeze like rabbits, they stiffen right up. Jolly good fun, as the citizens of Emerald City sang in The Wizard of Oz. The idea that has distracted Beezer from his harmless pleasures possesses the simplicity of most valid inspirations. The best way to get cooperation is to give it. He knows exactly how to soften up Dale Gilbertson: the answer is putting on a baseball cap, grabbing its car keys, and heading out the door the answer lies al l around him. One small part of that answer sits behind the wheel of the red Toyota just being overtaken by Beezer and his jolly crew. Wendell Green earned the mock rebuke he failed to receive on both of the conventional grounds. His little car may not have been ugly to begin with, but by now it is so disfigured by multiple dents and scrapes that it resembles a rolling sneer; and Green drives with an unyielding arrogance he thinks of as â€Å"dash.† He zooms through yellow lights, changes lanes recklessly, and tailgates as a means of intimidation. Of course, he blasts his horn at the slightest provocation. Wendell is a menace. The way he handles his car perfectly expresses his character, being inconsiderate, thoughtless, and riddled with grandiosity. At the moment, he is driving even worse than usual, because as he tries to overtake every other vehicle on the road, most of his concentration is focused on the pocket tape recorder he holds up to his mouth and the golden words his equally gold en voice pours into the precious machine. (Wendell often regrets the shortsightedness of the local radio stations in devoting so much air time to fools like George Rathbun and Henry Shake, when they could move up to a new level simply by letting him give an ongoing commentary on the news for an hour or so every day.) Ah, the delicious combination of Wendell's words and Wendell's voice Edward R. Murrow in his heyday never sounded so eloquent, so resonant. Here is what he is saying: This morning I joined a virtual caravan of the shocked, the grieving, and the merely curious in a mournful pilgrimage winding eastward along bucolic Highway 35. Not for the first time, this journalist was struck, and struck deeply, by the immense contrast between the loveliness and peace of the Coulee Country's landscape and the ugliness and savagery one deranged human being has wrought in its unsuspecting bosom. New paragraph. The news had spread like wildfire. Neighbor called neighbor, friend called friend. According to a morning 911 call to the French Landing police station, the mutilated body of little Irma Freneau lies within the ruins of a former ice-cream parlor and caf? ¦ called Ed's Eats and Dawgs. And who had placed the call? Surely, some dutiful citizen. Not at all, ladies and gentlemen, not at all . . . Ladies and gentlemen, this is frontline reportage, this is the news being written while it happens, a concept that cannot but murmur â€Å"Pulitzer Prize† to an experienced journalist. The scoop had come to Wendell Green by way of his barber, Roy Royal, who heard it from his wife, Tillie Royal, who had been clued in by Myrtle Harrington herself, and Wendell Green has done his duty to his readers: he grabbed his tape recorder and his camera and ran out to his nasty little vehicle without pausing to telephone his editors at the Herald. He doesn't need a photographer; he can take all the photographs he needs with that dependable old Nikon F2A on the passenger seat. A seamless blend of words and pictures a penetrating examination of the new century's most hideous crime a thoughtful exploration into the nature of evil a compassionate portrayal of one community's suffering an unsparing expos? ¦ of one police department's ineptitude With all this going on in his mind as his mellifluous words drip one by one into the microphone of his upheld cassette recorder, is it any wonder that Wendell Green fails to hear the sound of motorcycles, or to take in the presence of the Thunder Five in any way, until he happens to glance sideways in search of the perfect phrase? Glance sideways he does, and with a spurt of panic observes, no more than two feet to his left, Beezer St. Pierre astride his roaring Harley, apparently singing, to judge from his own moving lips singing huh? Can't be, nope. In Wendell's experience, Beezer St. Pierre is far more likely to be cursing like a navvy in a waterfront brawl. When, after the death of Amy St. Pierre, Wendell, who was merely obeying the ancient rules of his trade, dropped in at 1 Nailhouse Row, and inquired of the grieving father how it felt to know that his daughter had been slaughtered like a pig and partially eaten by a monster in human form, Beezer had gripped the innocent newshound by the throat, unleashed a torrent of obscenities, and concluded by bellowing that if he should ever see Mr. Green again, he would tear off his head and use the stump as a sexual orifice. It is this threat that causes Wendell's moment of panic. He glances into his rearview mirror and sees Beezer's cohorts strung out across the road like an invading army of Goths. In his imagination, they are waving skulls on ropes made of human skin and yelling about what they are going to do to his neck after they rip his head off. Whatever he was about to dictate into the invaluable machine instantly evaporates, along with his daydreams of winning the Pulitzer Prize. His stomach clenches, and sweat bursts from every pore on his broad, ruddy face. His left hand trembles on the wheel, his right shakes the cassette recorder like a castanet. Wendell lifts his foot from the accelerator and slides down on the car seat, turning his head as far to the right as he dares. His basic desire is to curl up in the well beneath the dashboard and pretend to be a fetus. The huge roar of sound behind him grows louder, and his heart leaps in his chest like a fish. Wendell whimpers. A rank of kettledrum s batters the air beyond the fragile skin of the car door. Then the motorcycles swoop past him and race off up the highway. Wendell Green wipes his face. Slowly, he persuades his body to sit up straight. His heart ceases its attempt to escape his chest. The world on the other side of his windshield, which had contracted to the size of a housefly, expands back to its normal size. It occurs to Wendell that he was no more afraid than any normal human being would be, under the circumstances. Self-regard fills him like helium fills a balloon. Most guys he knows would have driven right off the road, he thinks; most guys would have crapped in their pants. What did Wendell Green do? He slowed down a little, that's all. He acted like a gentleman and let the ass-holes of the Thunder Five drive past him. When it comes to Beezer and his apes, Wendell thinks, being a gentleman is the better part of valor. He picks up speed, watching the bikers race on ahead. In his hand, the cassette recorder is still running. Wendell raises it to his mouth, licks his lips, and discovers that he has forgotten what he was going to say. Blank tape whirls from spool to spool. â€Å"Damn,† he says, and pushes the OFF button. An inspired phrase, a melodious cadence, has vanished into the ether, perhaps for good. But the situation is far more frustrating than that. It seems to Wendell that a whole series of logical connections has vanished with the lost phrase: he can remember seeing the shape of a vast outline for at least half a dozen penetrating articles that would go beyond the Fisherman to . . . do what? Win him the Pulitzer, for sure, but how? The area in his mind that had given him the immense outline still holds its shape, but the shape is empty. Beezer St. Pierre and his goons murdered what now seems the greatest idea Wendell Green ever had, and Wendell has no certainty that he can bring it back to life. What are these biker freaks doing out here, anyhow? The question answers itself: some creepy do-gooder thought Beezer ought to know about the Fisherman's 911 call, and now the biker freaks are headed to the ruins of Ed's, just like him. Fortunately, so many other people are going to the same place that Wendell figures he can steer clear of his nemesis. Taking no chances, he drops a couple of cars behind the bikers. The traffic thickens and slows down; up ahead, the bikers form a single line and zoom up alongside the line crawling toward the dusty old lane to Ed's place. From seventy or eighty yards back, Wendell can see two cops, a man and a woman, trying to wave the rubberneckers along. Every time a fresh car pulls up in front of them, they have to go through the same pantomine of turning its occupants away and pointing down the road. To reinforce the message, a police car is parked sideways across the lane, blocking anyone who should try to get fancy. This spectacle troubles Wendell not at all, for the press has automatic access to such scenes. Journalists are the medium, the aperture, through which otherwise prohibited places and events reach the general public. Wen-dell Green is the people's representative here, and the most distinguished journalist in western Wisconsin besides. After he has inched along another thirty feet, he sees that the cops riding herd on the traffic are Danny Tcheda and Pam Stevens, and his complacency wavers. A couple of days ago, both Tcheda and Stevens had responded to his request for information by telling him to go to hell. Pam Stevens is a know-it-all bitch anyhow, a professional ball-breaker. Why else would a reasonably okay-looking dame want to be a cop? Stevens would turn him away from the scene for the sheer hell of it she'd enjoy it! Probably, Wendell realizes, he will have to sneak in somehow. He pictures himself crawling through the fields on his belly and shivers with distaste. At least he can have the pleasure of watching the cops giving the finger to Beezer and crew. The bikers roar past another half-dozen cars without slowing down, so Wendell supposes they plan on going into a flashy, skidding turn, dodging right by those two dumbbells in blue, and zooming around the patrol car as if it didn't exist. What will the cops do then, Wendell wonders drag out their guns and try to look fierce? Fire warning shots and hit each other in the foot? Astonishingly, Beezer and his train of fellow bikers pay no attention to the cars attempting to move into the lane, to Tcheda and Stevens, or to anything else up there. They do not even turn their heads to gape up at the ruined shack, the chief's car, the pickup truck which Wendell instantly recognizes and the men standing on the beaten grass, two of whom are Dale Gilbertson and the pickup's owner, Hollywood Jack Sawyer, that snooty L.A. prick. (The third guy, who is wearing an ice-cream hat, sunglasses, and a spiffy vest, makes no sense at all, at least not to Wendell. He looks like he dropped in from some old Humphrey Bogart movie.) No, they blast on by the whole messy scene with their helmets pointed straight ahead, as if all they have in mind is cruising into Centralia and busting up the fixtures in the Sand Bar. On they go, all five of the bastards, indifferent as a pack of wild dogs. As soon as they hit open road again, the other four move into parallel formation behind Beeze r and fan out across the highway. Then, as one, they veer off to the left, send up five great plumes of dust and gravel, and spin into five U-turns. Without breaking stride without even appearing to slow down they separate into their one-two-two pattern and come streaking back westward toward the crime scene and French Landing. I'll be damned, Wendell thinks. Beezer turned tail and gave up. What a wimp. The knot of bikers grows larger and larger as it swoops toward him, and soon the amazed Wendell Green makes out Beezer St. Pierre's grim face, which beneath its helmet also gets larger and larger as it approaches. â€Å"I never figured you for a quitter,† Wendell says, watching Beezer loom ever nearer. The wind has parted his beard into two equal sections that flare out behind him on both sides of his head. Behind his goggles, Beezer's eyes look as if he is aiming down the barrel of a rifle. The thought that Beezer might turn those hunter's eyes on him makes Wendell's bowels feel dangerously loose. â€Å"Loser,† he says, not very loudly. With an ear-pounding roar, Beezer flashes past the dented Toyota. The rest of the Thunder Five hammer the air, then streak down the road. This evidence of Beezer's cowardice brightens Wendell's heart as he watches the bikers diminish in his rearview mirror, but a thought he cannot ignore begins to worm its way upward through the synapses of his brain. Wendell may not be the Edward R. Murrow of the present day, but he has been a reporter for nearly thirty years, and he has developed a few instincts. The thought winding through his mental channels sets off a series of wavelike alarms that at last push it into consciousness. Wendell gets it he sees the hidden design; he understands what's going down. â€Å"Well, hot doggy,† he says, and with a wide grin blasts his horn, cranks his wheel to the left, and jolts into a turn with only minimal damage to his fender and that of the car in front of him. â€Å"You sneaky bastard,† he says, nearly chuckling with delight. The Toyota squeezes out of the line of vehicles pointed eastward and drifts over into the westbound lanes. Clanking and farting, it shoots away in pursuit of the crafty bikers. There will be no crawling through cornfields for Wendell Green: that sneaky bastard Beezer St. Pierre knows a back way to Ed's Eats! All our star reporter has to do is hang back far enough to stay out of sight and he gets a free pass into the scene. Beautiful. Ah, the irony: Beezer gives the press a helpful hand many thanks, you arrogant thug. Wendell hardly supposes that Dale Gilbertson will give him the run of the place, but it will be harder to throw him out than to turn him away. In the time he has, he can ask a few probing questions, snap a few telling photos, and above all! soak up enough atmosphere to produce one of his legendary â€Å"color† pieces. With a cheerful heart, Wendell poodles down the highway at fifty miles per hour, letting the bikers race far ahead of him without ever letting them pass out of sight. The number of cars coming toward him thins out to widely spaced groups of two and three, then to a few single cars, then to nothing. As if they have been waiting to be unobserved, Beezer and his friends swerve across the highway and go blasting up the driveway to Goltz's space-age dome. Wendell feels an unwelcome trickle of self-doubt, but he is not about to assume that Beezer and his louts have a sudden yearning for tractor hitches and riding lawn mowers. He speeds up, wondering if they have spotted him and are trying to throw him off their trail. As far as he knows, there is nothing up on that rise except the showroom, the maintenance garage, and the parking lot. Damn place looks like a wasteland. Beyond the parking lot . . . what? On one side, he remembers a scrubby field stretching away to the horizon, on the other a bunch of trees, like a forest, only not as thick. He can see the trees from where he is now, running downhill like a windbreak. Without bothering to signal, he speeds across the oncoming lanes and into Goltz's driveway. The sound of the motorcycles is still audible but growing softer, and Wendell experiences a jolt of fear that they have somehow tricked him and are getting away, jeering at him! At the top of the rise, he zooms around the front of the showroom and drives into the big lot. Two huge yellow tractors stand in front of the equipment garage, but his is the only car in sight. At the far end of the empty lot, a low concrete wall rises to bumper height between the asphalt and the meadow bordered by trees. On the other side of the tree line, the wall ends at the swoop of asphalt drive coming around from the back of the showroom. Wendell cranks the wheel and speeds toward the far end of the wall. He can still hear the motorcycles, but they sound like a distant swarm of bees. They must be about a half mile away, Wendell thinks, and jumps out of the Toyota. He jams the cassette recorder in a jacket pocket, slings the Nikon on its strap around his neck, and runs around the low wall and into the meadow. Even before he reaches the tree line, he can see the remains of an old macadam road, broken and overgrown, cutting downhill between the trees. Wendell imagines, overestimating, that Ed's old place is about a mile distant, and he wonders if his car could go the distance on this rough, uneven surface. In some places, the macadam has fissured into tectonic plates; in others, it has crumbled away to black gravel. Sinkholes and weedy rills radiate out from the thick, snaking roots of the trees. A biker could jounce over this mess reasonably well, but Wendell sees that his legs will manage the journey better than his Toyota, so he sets off down the old track through the trees. From what he took in while he was on the highway, he still has plenty of time before the medical examiner and the evidence wagon show up. Even with the help of the famous Hollywood Sawyer, the local cops are mooning around in a daze. The sound of motorcycles grows louder as Wendell picks his way along, as if the boys stopped moving in order to talk things over when they came to the far end of the old back road. That's perfect. Wendell hopes they will keep jawing until he has nearly caught up with them; he hopes they are shouting at one another and waving their fists in the air. He wants to see them cranked to the gills on rage and adrenaline, plus God knows what else those savages might have in their saddlebags. Wendell would love to get a photograph of Beezer St. Pierre knocking out Dale Gilbertson's front teeth with a well-aimed right, or putting the choke hold on his buddy Sawyer. The photograph Wendell wants most, however, and for the sake of which he is prepared to bribe every cop, county functionary, state official, or innocent bystander capable of holding out his hand, is a good, clean, dramatic picture of Irma Freneau's naked corpse. Preferably one that leaves no doubt about the Fisherman's depredations, whatever they were. Two would be ideal one of her face for poignancy, the other a full-body shot for the perverts but he will settle for the body shot if he has to. An image like that would go around the world, generating millions as it went. The National Enquirer alone would fork over, what two hundred thousand, three? for a photo of poor little Irma sprawled out in death, mutilations clearly visible. Talk about your gold mines, talk about your Big Kahunas! When Wendell has covered about a tenth of a mile of the miserable old road, his concentration divided between gloating over all the money little Irma is going to siphon into his pockets and his fears of falling down and twisting his ankle, the uproar caused by the Thunder Five's Harleys abruptly ceases. The resulting silence seems immense, then immediately fills with other, quieter sounds. Wendell can hear his breath struggling in and out, and also some other noise, a combined rattle and thud, from behind him. He whirls around and beholds, far up the ruined road, an ancient pickup lurching toward him. It's almost funny, the way the truck rocks from side to side as one tire, then another, sinks into an invisible depression or rolls up a tilting section of road surface. That is, it would be funny if these people were not horning in on his private access route to Irma Freneau's body. Whenever the pickup climbs over a particularly muscular-looking length of tree root, the four dark heads in the cab bob like marionettes. Wendell takes a step forward, intending to send these yokels back where they came from. The truck's suspension scrapes against a flat rock, and sparks leap from the undercarriage. That thing must be thirty years old, at least, Wendell thinks it's one of the few vehicles on the road that looks even worse than his car. When the truck jolts closer to him, he sees that it is an International Harvester. Weeds and twigs decorate the rusty bumper. Does I.H. even make pickups anymore? Wendell holds up his hand like a juror taking the oath, and the truck jounces and dips over another few rutted feet before coming to a halt. Its left side sits noticeably higher than the right. In the darkness cast by the trees, Wendell cannot quite make out the faces peering at him through the windshield, but he has the feeling that at least two of them are familiar. The man behind the wheel pokes his head out of the driver's window and says, â€Å"Hidey-ho, Mr. Bigshot Reporter. They slam the front door in your face, too?† It is Teddy Runkleman, who regularly comes to Wendell's attention while he is going over the day's police reports. The other three people in the cab bray like mules at Teddy's wit. Wendell knows two of them Freddy Saknessum, part of a low-life clan that oozes in and out of various run-down shacks along the river, and Toots Billinger, a scrawny kid who somehow supports himself by scavenging scrap metal in La Riviere and French Landing. Like Runkleman, Toots has been arrested for a number of third-rate crimes but never convicted of anything. The hard-worn, scruffy woman between Freddy and Toots rings a bell too dim to identify. â€Å"Hello, Teddy,† Wendell says. â€Å"And you, Freddy and Toots. No, after I got a look at the mess out front, I decided to come in the back way.† â€Å"Hey, Wen-dell, doncha ‘member me?† the woman says, a touch pathetically. â€Å"Doodles Sanger, in case your memory's all shot to hell. I started out with a whole buncha guys in Freddy's Bel Air, and Teddy was with a whole ‘nother bunch, but after we got run off by Miss Bitch, the rest of 'em wanted to go back to their barstools.† Of course he does remember her, although the hardened face before him now only faintly resembles that of the bawdy party girl named Doodles Sanger who served up drinks at the Nelson Hotel a decade ago. Wendell thinks she got fired more for drinking too much on the job than for stealing, but God knows she did both. Back then, Wendell threw a lot of money across the bar at the Nelson Hotel. He tries to remember if he ever hopped in the sack with Doodles. He plays it safe and says, â€Å"Cripes, Doodles, how the hell could I forget a pretty little thing like you?† The boys get a big yuck out of this sally. Doodles jabs her elbow into Toots Billinger's vaporous ribs, gives Wendell a pouty little smile, and says, â€Å"Well thank-ee, kind sir.† Yep, he boffed her, all right. This would be the perfect time to order these morons back to their ratholes, but Wendell is visited by grade-A inspiration. â€Å"How would you charming people like to assist a gentleman of the press and earn fifty bucks in the process?† â€Å"Fifty each, or all together?† asks Teddy Runkleman. â€Å"Come on, all together,† Wendell says. Doodles leans forward and says, â€Å"Twenty each, all right, big-timer? If we agree to do what you want.† â€Å"Aw, you're breakin' my heart,† Wendell says, and extracts his wallet from his back pocket and removes four twenties, leaving only a ten and three singles to see him through the day. They accept their payment and, in a flash, tuck it away. â€Å"Now this is what I want you to do,† Wendell says, and leans toward the window and the four jack-o'-lantern faces in the cab.

Introduction to Michael Porters Five Forces

Michael E. Porter's five forces framework is used to evaluate the competitiveness, and hence the attractiveness and profitability of different markets and market segments. It is important for business managers to realize that a 5 forces analysis should be conducted at the level of strategic business units (SBUs), and not at the level of the whole organization. Many larger companies have several SBUs conducting business in different markets that serve many different customer segments. Likewise, these SBUs may have completely different suppliers, competitors and substituting products. Every SBU should therefore conduct its own analysis, and try to evaluate the attractiveness and profitability of its own markets and market segments. The five forces are shortly described below: Competitive Rivalry The evaluation of the rivalry between competitors helps to examine the degree of head-to-head competition in an industry. In Porter's â€Å"five forces† framework this issue is of course included, but is only seen as one of several forces that determine industry attractiveness. Commen reasons for high rivalry are depicted below:  § Low industry growth rates  § High exit barriers Undifferentiated supply of products  § Price wars to cover high fixed costs Threat of new entrants The threat of new entrants is usually based on the market entry barriers, which can be said to provide obstacles for newcomers to gain a foothold in any given industry. These barriers can take many different forms. Briefly, it can be said that entry barriers exist whenever it is difficult or not economically feasible for an outsider to copy or imitate the existing players' competitive capabilities. Common forms of entry barriers are depicted below:  § Economies of scale  § Capital requirement of entry Access to supplies and distribution channels  § Customer or supplier loyalty  § Lack of experience in industry  § Legal restrains such as trade barriers Threat of Substitute Products The threat of substitute products, depends on the relative price difference between different products that can equally satisfy the same basic customer needs. Switching costs also affect the threat of substitution – which can be defined as the costs found by buyers in switching to a rivals product or service.  § Product for products substitution (e. g. e-mail instead of postal service) New products make older products obsolete (e. g. better cars require fewer automobile services) Bargaining Power of Buyers Important determinants of buyer power are the size and the concen tration of customers. Other factors are the extent to which the buyers are informed about other vendors and suppliers, and to the extent to which buyers can quickly identify other sources of supply. Common reasons for great bargaining power of buyers are depicted below.  § Great concentration of buyers – few buyers  § The cost of switching supplier is low  § Many equally competent suppliers  § Backward integration Bargaining Power of Suppliers If there are few suppliers of e. g. raw materials, these suppliers may eventually be very strong, and able to put pressure on the buying company. Likewise, if the switching costs related to switching supplier are high, the respective supplier may be very strong, and thus be able to put pressure on the buying partner concerning e. g. prices, quantities and quality. Common reasons for great bargaining power of suppliers are depicted below.  § Great concentration of suppliers – few suppliers  § Great switching costs related to changing supplier  § Forward integration The competition and attractiveness in an industry is strongly affected by these suggested forces. The stronger the power of buyers and suppliers, and the stronger the threats of entry and substitution, the more intense competition is likely to be within the industry, where less competitive industries are seen as more attractive and profitable. Using the 5 forces framework, business managers may conduct an analysis of the attractiveness and profitability of different markets, so that business managers can evaluate different courses of strategic action, and evaluate which forces may be most important for current and future business success.

The Ancient Greek Iconoclast’s Philosophy of Education

The basic philosophical foundation that supports the Socratic philosophy of education Socrates, in The Republic, begins his query by asking how is it best to live one†s life? He suggests the best life is lived in such a fashion that is conducive to creating a just society. Such a society is the one designed that is most conducive to justice, and therefore to happiness, as opposed to pleasure. Remember that happiness for the Greeks was not a matter of individual self-fulfillment. Rather, Socrates considered happiness as fulfilling one†s most fitting vocational role in society. Socrates defined a society that is best in autocratic terms-a cobbler should not rule, and a potential ruler or philosopher should not make shoes, because this is antithetical to their natural abilities and fitness. But although Socrates advocated oligarchy as the fittest system of governance, he did not advocate aristocracy. In one of his earlier dialogues, called the â€Å"Meno,† Socrates is shown leading a slave boy through mathematical proofs. With correct prompting the boy is thus able to recover innate knowledge about the world. Thus Socrates saw intellectual gifts as intrinsic to the human mind and not necessarily based on the ability of the tutor. This is why Socrates did not charge for his teachings, unlike the Sophists. (Kemerling, 2002,†Socrates,† The Philosophy Pages) But to accept the Socratic doctrine one must also believe that potential intellectual abilities are not democratically bestowed upon individuals as suggested by the Sophists, who aimed to teach all people to rhetorically please the people in the law courts and in the political sphere, by using clever phrases. Socrates believed that there was an inherent paradox in acquring knowledge â€Å"the most fundamental questions about our own nature and function,† are actually unaswerable and undemonstratable by common rhetorical devices, therefore â€Å"it seems impossible for us to learn anything. The only escape, Socrates proposed, is to acknowledge â€Å"that we already know what we need to know.† (Kemerling, 2002, â€Å"Plato: Immortality and the Forms-Doctrine of Recollection,† Philosophy Pages) How does this philosophy define the roles of teacher? From the â€Å"Meno† cited above, it might seem that Socrates saw himself primarily as a questioner and a facilitator of the recollection innate gifts. â€Å"The dialogue form was probably invented by Plato† to portray the Socratic method, otherwise known as the dialectic.† (Huffman, 2005) The method known as the Socratic method of teaching, still practiced in many schools (particularly law schools) today, â€Å"consisted of asking questions like ‘What is courage?† of people who were confident of the answer. Socrates, claiming ignorance of the answers to the questions, would gradually show the people's beliefs to be contradictory. Socrates did not answer his questions, though much could be learned from the course of the discussion.† (Huffman, 2005) How will this philosophy guide the learning expectations in a classroom? Using questions places the teacher in some authority, as the teacher directs the discussion through involved questioning. However, it also demands a great deal of preparedness and attentiveness on the part of the student, combined with a willingness to question what the student†s society may deem to be common sense. Students of innately high ability are supposed to continually excel, to justify the teacher†s expectations of the student's gifts. Ultimately, this questioning of common sense doctrine resulted in the condemnation of Socrates for corrupting the youth of Athens and of questioning the piety of the Greek gods. (Huffman, 2005) How will this philosophy exemplify the high standards of teaching? On one hand, the Socratic dialectic may seem to be an equalizing form of philosophy. Anyone can answer the questions of the teacher. But because the method stresses student recollection, rather than the teacher†s ability to mold or impart knowledge upon a blank slate, it did not function as such in Socrates† actual practice. The Republic, the delineation of the ideal state, advances a tiered division of society, mimicking the division of the body into soul, heart, and lower regions-rulers are innately of the mind, warriors of the heart or hands, and laborers of the lower regions of the body. â€Å"Only those with a philosophical temperament, Plato supposed, are competent to judge between what merely seems to be the case and what really is, between the misleading, transient appearances of sensible objects and the the permanent reality of unchanging, abstract forms.† (Kemerling, 2002, Philsophy Pages, â€Å"Plato: Education and the Value of Justice†) How will this philosophy address public expectations concerning student achievement? Accountability? In the world of the Republic, students of high levels of ability do not necessarily have empowerment over their education. Although they are subjected to rigorous Socratic questioning, they are also kept away from members of other classes of society, and not permitted to be corrupted by fairytales and myths that could take them away from their innate gifts of purely understanding the nature of virtue and the world of the forms. â€Å"Perhaps our best alternative, Socrates held, is to suppose that virtue is a (divinely bestowed?) true opinion that merely happens to lack the sort of rational justification which would earn it the status of certain knowledge,† and therefore virtue is unteachable. (Kemerling, 2002, â€Å"Plato: Immortality and the Forms-Doctrine of Recollection,† Philosophy Pages) Student achievement thus ultimately lies in the ability of the student, and the accountability of the teacher lies in his or her ability to select the correct student for the correct form of learning, rather than his or function as a teacher in the classroom.

Sharpeville Massacre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sharpeville Massacre - Essay Example Although this event in itself acted as a turning point in the struggle of black South Africans towards restoring dignity, but there were certain events which happened before Sharpeville massacre that caused widespread frustration and resentment in the black African community. This antipathy, hatred, bitterness, resentment, frustration and loss of self-determination mustered up slowly and gradually and was the cause that strengthened the will and determination of black Africans and helped them to fight tirelessly after the incident of Sharpeville, this incident in a way helped them to open up and made them realize that this cannot go on forever. It is a natural instinct that when all is lost, courage is regained. To what went on in South Africa, Jawaharlal Nehru,the Indianprime minister commented in his speech to Lok-Sabha that "There is the racial policy of the Union of South Africa, which is in no sense different from the racial policy of Hitler, except that they have not gone to those extremes that Hitler went to." In my view the events that happened before Sharpeville massacre were the ones which caused Sharpeville incident to act as a turning point of South African history, although there were many efforts made after the incident which eventually led to liberation, but it were the events of the past which gave them the drive to carry on with their effort and face obstacles head on. In this light, we'll look at two incidents or decisions of the past which hold significance importance and are a key factor in massacre that happened on 1960. Pass laws The story starts way back in 1760, when the first pass laws in South Africa was introduced in an attempt to exclude all natives from the Cape Colony. Later on, the Native Urban Areas Act 1923 deemed urban areas in South Africa as white and forced all black African men in cities and towns to carry permits called passes. The black South Africans were required to carry these passbooks ("dom pas", meaning dumb pass) all the time whenever they went outside their designated areas or compounds as a permit or a proof that they were authorized to move or live in white South Africa. Anyone found without a pass would be arrested immediately and sent to a rural area. These laws were designed to segregate the population among black and white people and severely limit the movements of the non-white populace in urban areas. Another one of its clause stated that black Africans could not hold a higher business position within a company than the lowest white employee. This legislation was one of the dominant features of the country's apartheid system, which we will discuss shortly. These laws also affected other non-Caucasian populace like Indian people who were also barred from moving in the white South Africa. It is obvious that these discriminatory regulations were bound to spark outrage from the black population, consequence to which many demonstrations, acts of passive resistance, and uprisings were directed at the pass system. In 1930, for example, the Communist Party organized a mass burning of passes on Dingane's Day, a day celebrated in honour of the Zulu chief Dingane. A major anti-pass campaign was mounted in 1944 also.

Managing Creative People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Creative People - Essay Example Creativity means many things to many people, and it is not only found in engineering, art, and design teams within the company. It can also be found in finance and in sales and marketing, even in seemingly mundane jobs as administration, records-keeping, and logistics, now called supply chain management, a creative way of describing a complex process that is fast becoming a source of competitiveness (Tan, 1998). Creativity can be useful in developing new products, but it also helps save costs (see those suggestion boxes scattered all over the office), time, and jobs, raise revenues, increase output, motivate people, discover new customers, and keep old ones. In fact, the problem really lies not in making people exercise creativity, because they are normally eager to exercise this power that most humans possess. The real problems are: first, how to ensure that they exercise useful creativity; second, how to choose which of the 'creative' solutions will work; third, how to 'manage' the creative process so that those whose ideas are not accepted do not stop being creative; and fourth, how to turn creative ideas into profits for the company and its stockholders (Lapierre and Giroux, 2003). In this paper, we attempt to suggest concrete strategies to solve the problems of managing employee creativity with a few basic rules based on several decades of experience of what works and what do not work. We will refer to articles in journals, periodicals, and management classics from authors who have proven themselves in the past as competent managers. But before we begin, we need to keep two points very clear in our minds. First, we consider only an organization filled with people like you and me who think, breathe, move, and have the minimum of intelligence to be employed. These pointers on managing creativity may not work, for example, in a penitentiary work detail, or in a firm where the workers are "challenged" in one way or another. For examples like those, we need different models of management. Second, the creative people we want to manage are human beings whom we assume to be motivated to do well and contribute to the world by earning a decent living. Therefore, we are not talking of criminals or cult members who exercise their creativity in ways that are not considered normal. In other words, we want to discuss how to manage a group of psychologically balanced people who are intelligent and highly motivated to exercise exceptional levels of creativity in their ordinary work, a task that by itself is tough enough and guaranteed to make any well-intentioned manager challenged and equally creative. The Rules of Creative Engagement How does an ordinary manager handle creative workers We can follow a few basic rules. Don't Fake It Before he was hired as IBM's CEO, Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. was a McKinsey & Company consultant, then an executive in a company that sold credit cards (Amex), biscuits, and cigarettes (RJR Nabisco). Tapped to turn around one of the best technology companies, he admitted in his first interview for the job that he was not qualified because he lacked the technical background (Gerstner, 2002, p. 10). In fact, one of the first pieces of advice he got from his older brother (a retired IBM

Organisational Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Organisational Change Management - Essay Example Leadership is interpreted by different theories for different situations. To some, it means control; to others, it means representation. â€Å"Leadership is ‘the behavior of an individual . . . directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal’† (Yukl, 2010). Yukl’s definition suggests that leadership is the authorization to make decisions on the behalf of others. Management is a process that interconnects and transverses every aspect of the organisation. As the integrating force, the company management coordinates, synthesizes and directs the myriads of variant activities within the organisation to maximize shareholder value. According to Easterby-Smith, a manager’s tasks include: 1) organization and coordination; 2) anticipating problems and handling them to ensure the continued operations at an acceptable level; 3) effectively overcoming functional, cultural and technical obstacles and perhaps rebuilding the organization’s structure (Mark Easterby-Smith, 2012). Decisions are based upon the unique variables of a scenario. The choice and much of the success of a leadership style depends upon the character traits of the leader. Businesses suffer and eventually fail due to inadequate or improper leadership. Values have also changed; in some instances values have disappeared from company visions and missions. Neither the employee nor the customer affects decision making, just profits – and increasing shareholder value. The employee’s perception of how the organization values his or her contribution is also important. â€Å"Perceived organizational support (POS) is the degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being† (Robbins, 2011). Employees can sense how much the organization values their input. In order to achieve its goals, leaders must be multi-dimensional. â€Å"Effective leaders make frequent use of task-oriented and person-or iented behaviors† (Yukl, 2010). The key is consistency. If a leader can be found that can perform using the high-high model of leadership, he or she should be considered a highly valuable asset. The leader can effectively serve the staff only to the extent of his or her character. â€Å"The values are likely to be internalized by managers who grow up in a particular culture, and these values will influence their attitudes and behavior in ways that may not be conscious† (Yukl, 2010 In the past, management was mainly seen as a technical, functional and mechanistic activity related to effective organisation and implementation of resources. Although synthesis, coordination and direction are really important functions of managerial behaviour, it does not mean that they are homogeneous; on the contrary, managerial functions are extensively diverse (Bandura, 1982). Consistency is paramount during periods of recession. Implementation of sustainability programs must exist to ens ure the long run success of the operations. This is considered true by Fiksel (1999) in his study of strategies employed by top international corporations to maintain superior business performance Case Scenario: D2 Manufacturing (See Appendix A) The D2 car manufacturing case scenario will be analyzed by use of the ‘Appreciative Inquiry 5D framework’ method (Cooperrider & dan Whitney, 2001): a. Definition b. Discovery c. Dream d. Design e. Destiny The following questions will be

Paranormal Activity 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paranormal Activity 3 - Essay Example I think that he is not married to Julie because he is two young and he does not belief that marriage itself can reinforce the relationship between the people. He might see proof of that on his work. Toby is the main antagonist of the movie, so to speak. To begin with one should point out that it is a ghost – this is what defines his nature. In addition to that, it manifests itself is a poltergeist which means that it is responsible for creating disturbances in the house of the main characters. Keeping in mind some cruel actions that were done by him, one might conclude that he is also a demon. The reason why it plays trick on people is because it haunts them in order to scare (Montell 140). There is one point when it scratches Randi, a friend of Dennis, and this wound is clearly supernatural as it can not be explained logically. The movie does not say a lot about biological father of the girls; however, I think that he does not call them because his wife and their grandmother killed him. Speaking of the latter, her name is Lois. She wants her daughter Julie to have a son since that is the part of the system of beliefs of the witch coven that she is a part of (Ehrenreich and English 44). At the end of the movie, one might see that Grandma Lois allows Toby to kill her daughter and marry her granddaughter – that is who devoted to the coven she is. Considering the reasons why Toby stalks the babysitter, one might point out that it saw her as an obstacle that could damage its plans, so it was ready to scare her away. The reason why it put on the sheet is largely focused on the fact that prior to that scene, the babysitter put on the sheet too, pretending to be a ghost, so Toby was kind of ironic. There is no particular explanation why it appears to be roughly three feet in height, though Kristi, the only person who

The Explore Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Explore Project - Essay Example Explore Worldwide Ltd. is an adventure tour company which was established in 1981. Explore is not just a market leader but it is the most popular adventure tourism company in the UK. Explore offers various torus packages such as short breaks, family adventures, cycle tours, tailor-made tours etc. Explore has organized 40,000 tours until now and offer 400 tours across 120 countries. As mentioned above the tourism industry is growing at a rapid rate and hence there is tremendous competition. Explore’s competitors are not just local and national but also international tourism companies. This is because of the niche that Explore has established over the years by organizing tours to international tourists and has been able to build a loyal customer base. This is evident from the fact that there has been an increase in the number of trips booked by same tourist groups. The various competitors of Explore in UK are Diamond Travel, Thomas Cook, Exodus, First Choice, The Adventure Company, etc. There are various international tourism companies that compete with Explore but they all can not be analyzed in general as the competition in international market is destination oriented. In the recent years adventure tourism has grown at a fast rate and is one of the primary categories in the tourism market. This has been supported by various researches. A study by National Geographic and TIA suggested that 20% of the total leisure market is occupied by active or adventure travel (Heyniger, 2006). It was revealed in 2001 (The Mintel Report) that 25% of total European tour packages were accounted by adventure torus. The study also found out that there were a total 443,000 adventure holidays per year. It is estimated by Travel Industry Association of America that the adventure tourism is growing at a rate of 10%. Various studies have thrown light on the fact that there is an increase in the number of women who are taking up adventure tourism

The Impact of Workplace Diversity on Job Performance. (Walmart case Essay

The Impact of Workplace Diversity on Job Performance. (Walmart case study) - Essay Example Findings revealed that workforce diversity has both positive and negative impacts on job performance in Walmart and that current diversity-related issues are not that damaging yet to the strategic objectives of the company. Results also showed that the most effective strategy to counter the potential negative impact of workforce diversity in the organization is to implement evidence-based initiatives which are to be introduced in several phases. Moreover, there are multifarious benefits of workforce diversity to the company. Recommendations forwarded include continuously reinforcing positive impacts, neutralizing the negative impact, evaluating diversity profiles, revisiting policies, and soliciting feedback NOW to make sure that the gap between diversity requirements and the mechanisms that address these are limited at tolerable levels. More importantly, Walmart should sustain the momentum of its diverse workforce in bringing value to the company. Introduction: Strategic human resource management (HRM) is an integral approach aimed at reaching organizational goals. It correlates about how an institution directs the performance of its officers and workers within a targeted period to perfect the company’s relation with the market and to ensure that it’s able to achieve shareholders’ expectations based on the confluence and influential factors driven by the state of the economy. Russu (1993) posited that HRM is achieved if an organization has nurtured a formal structure of organization using its human capital in the perfection of desired performance. As such, the company must be able to (a) develop strategic approaches to motivate them in order to engage them in all necessary tasks; (b) permit the organization to function for efficiency and effectiveness of services; (c) adhere to objectives using standards and performance control or systems; (d) make some essential decisions about employment in relation to organizational effectiveness; (e) appreciation of diversity to gather leverage in the market and to make the services harmonious to market; and to nurture high productivity in its economic and corporate activities. Russu (1993) pointed that HRM is therefore about defining strategies to assure concordance in business strategy and human resources strategy. It is also interested about developing a comprehensive process in the application of policies and workplace ethics or practices by setting down the integrated human resources’ desired behaviours and nurturing commitments from workforces. The objectives of this research are to broadly investigate the

Speech example Essay Example for Free

Speech example Essay An important timeless idea in The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont, is hope. The film demonstrates how hope is so significant in life. Frank Darabont indicates the idea that hope is still important in our lives because having or lacking in hope, affects people personally, nationally and worldwide. The film techniques; narration/dialogue, symbolism and lighting were used by the director to enhance this important idea of hope. Through these film techniques the director helps the viewer think about how having or lacking hope can affect our lives and helps the viewer conclude that having hope, â€Å"is a good thing†, Andy Dufresnes conclusion as well. During the closing scene when Red finds and reads Andy’s letter, Dialogue is used as a film technique to portray the inspiring idea of hope. Dialogue helps create the effect of encouragement and comfort. Andy’s letter to Red says, â€Å"Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.† This use of dialogue is heart felt advice from someone who has experienced great hardship. Andy believes that hope is not only ever lasting; it is also the greatest possibility to aspire towards. This dialogue helped me understand the timeless idea of hope because Andy in his letter accurately writes that hope is a good thing and that good things never die (timeless/generation). Those who have the ability and the willpower to hope are those who will be redeemed. The technique of Symbolism that the director uses effectively portrays the idea of hope, through the poster of Rita Hayworth pinned to Andy’s cell wall. The poster of Rita Hayworth represents the door to freedom and Andy’s desire to escape to a normal life. The poster of Rita Hayworth not only conceals the chiselled hole but also symbolizes life outside of the prison and the hope of a normal life again. For example Rita Hayworth was one of the most popular actresses of that time desired and admired by millions of people. She represents the outside world and the American dream. Rita Hayworth helped me understand the timeless idea of hope because as an attractive famous woman she instils hope for those without hope especially Andy who is imprisoned. Often people (no matter what generation) who are  without hope find comfort in a known person. In Andy’s case his desire towards Hayworth parallels his desire to escape. Reminders of the outside world have comforted t hroughout time. Paul in the bible who was also imprisoned sought comfort in the disciples. The last technique used to emphasize the idea of hope is lighting. The director uses lighting to reveal the hopelessness of life within Shawshank prison. When Andy first arrives at the gates of Shawshank prison, the light is bright and natural. This lighting represents Andy’s last glimpse of the outside world, that of freedom. As Andy walks into the main door of Shawshank prison, the light rapidly fades into darkness. This use of fading light displays how dark and ominous Shawshank prison is, and contrasts the outside world. This scene also suggests it is the beginning of Andy’s personal hope descending. For example the dim lighting reflects Andy’s mood as he enters the prison. The emotion on his face is sadness, fear, disappointment and grief. This suggests Andy’s spiral into hopelessness. Frank Darabont helps the audience understand the lack of hope is relevant throughout time because most prisoners would feel a degree of despair knowing they are no long er free people and furthermore if they are innocent like Andy the misery and disbelief would be even more traumatic. Hope is the driving force to happiness and freedom. Without hope we will not be able to overcome great difficulty particularly when all odds are against us. The director Frank Darabont has shown us through the character Andy that his hope is intangible and unbreakable.

E-Business Versus Traditional Retailing

E-Business Versus Traditional Retailing Abstract As the Internet access becomes widespread, both businesses and consumers worldwide used web as a main tool for marketing and shopping. As a result, the impact on retailers and consumers are relatively significant with the rise of the E-business. This project looks into the advantages and disadvantages of E-business and traditional retail stores, and then by comparing the two different business modes concludes an integrated business, which is more adapted by public. Further, an analysis of Amazon.com and Wal-Mart also support the notion that multi-channel retail seems to be more satisfy the need and want of retailer and consumers. Introduction The origin of e-business was 20 years ago. In the 1990s, the definition of e-business was used by one of the first supplier, IBM, in its advertising campaign. It was defined as the transformation of key business processes through the use of Internet technologies. (Li ,2007:9) Today, the meaning of e-business is much broader. According to Cunningham (2002) E-business refers to the transactions, processes, and systems that support the act of doing business through electronic networks. Businesses in industries such as banks, automobiles, travel, and many others are undergoing a significant transformation. In the past, traditional retail stores were constrained by geography, location, and size; on the other hands, in the age of information, these are not important anymore. Although the Internet has a great influence on the growth of E-retail, there is one thing of concern, it also presents with threat and opportunity. The aim of this project is to compare and contrast E-Business and traditional business in retailing across a variety of criteria from customers and retailers perspectives, and then to analyze the two biggest retailers in the world in terms of E-retailer and physical retailer and then conclude which business is better adapted to e-commerce. Firstly, the project will consider advantages and disadvantages of E-business from retailers and consumers view, then analyses Amazon.com and Wal-Mart by the means of SWOT analysis (which can be defined as Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) and finally will forecast future retail developments. E-Business Versus Traditional Retailing There are numerous opportunities for businesses to reach new markets on the Internet across nations, lower costs, and relationship-build with customers. For most businesses, opening a virtual retail seems like to be filled with opportunities as well as challenges. The rest of this project will address these opportunities and challenges. The opportunities in E-Business Market There are a number of advantages for e-business. First, with regard to the location, it is clear that online business have the opportunity to access farther than physical stores. According to Dennis and Harris (2002), the three most important elements in retail are location, location and location. Without constraint on geography, the Internet has provided the e-retailer with a store in every home all over the world. Almost every product and service on the Internet has an opening to be sold globally. In other words, e-business sells equally well to anywhere in the country and even overseas, compared to traditional stores. Since building a business online does not need to lease a building on a specific place, which saves a great deal of money on rent. Compared to the existing stores, running a business need to situate on one street, town and country, which is the most expensive part due to paying high-priced rent monthly as well as tax. In addition to location, another factor needs to concern is size. In the past, size of stores was principal when competing with other stores. A large store has the capacity to stock as many products as it can; however, there is a limitation of quantity for those small stores. Thanks to the invention of the Internet, even a small e-business has the chance to vie with large traditional stores. Secondly, as far as the number of consumers and opening time are concerned, online business can reach a larger number of consumers than the traditional stores. Without boundary on the Internet, everyone in the world have equal chances purchasing online. Especially for overseas shoppers, could easily reach web sites in which they are interested. Additionally, with fewer barriers in both time and limitation of consumers, online businesses have a better opportunity to market their product on the Internet. In other words, the problems of time difference between nations and nations have been solved. In contrary, it is difficult for traditional stores to sell further, when considering the limitation of time and geography. In the past few existing stores are opened 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, since online business is on the web all the time, consumers with different shopping habits do not have to worry about the opening and closing hours of physical stores. There are many other advantages regarding to online business. Usually, building a traditional store need to concern the expenditure of ongoing costs, including renting, tax, electricity. In addition, for those traditional stores reaching consumers either face to face or by telephone, have to pay for a significant additional cost. On the other hand, for those businesses that open e-shops could save a great deal of money on the wages costs of face-to-face salespeople and the costs of premises. Furthermore, a virtual store may save budget on all the other needless expenses, such as additional training requirements. Many studies have shown that many online stores in the existing marketing making a big profit on account of reduced costs and increased sales. Furthermore, The Challenges in E-Business Market Generally speaking, although there are many advantages for e-business, considering about disadvantages is also needed. First of all, online business is less powerful than face-to-face selling in many ways. In the traditional stores, salesperson with high skill of convincing shopping can be a part of reasons influencing consumers to shop. For example, when going shopping we are always easy to be persuaded by people around us who support for purchasing. On the other hands, due to fewer impulse of salesperson online, it is easier to say no to a computer. Consumers are totally decide buy or not to buy. Moreover, e-Selling is also less powerful than face-to -face selling. For example, for certain products, it is difficulties with products not sold by touch, feel, and smell. E-businesses are lack of theses advantageous positions. A further disadvantage is that consumers have a perception of lower prices online. They expect online prices to be lower than prices in traditional stores. This puts pressure on margins for online business, and can lead to shoppers expecting consistent how prices in store. Looking for low prices online is one of major factors affecting consumers to shop on the Internet. However, such a perception across all product categories may be unwarranted. Only in some areas such as airline tickets and books can find much lower prices on the Internet. Also, there is a limitation for selling products online. Not everything could be selling on the Internet, such as daily products and fragile items, which limit consumers product selection. In addition, cost in Internet customer contact and maintaining technology could be expensive. Although a beneficial thing for e-business is save the costs of wages of salesperson and rent, the system requires regular maintenance to ensure customer satisfaction. Compared with traditional stores, they do not have to pay the extra maintenance fee on system due to most of they are lack a sophisticated computer system. Finally, after-care can be difficult, especially if the shopper is overseas. It is always not easy to collect those unwanted products which have been return by online shoppers. When ever any of products have technique problems, it is a trouble to return it back to e-shop, especially for those overseas customers.Because not only consumers require to pay the delivery fee but also the online shop, which is a burden for both consumers and e-retailer. Drivers of Consumers Adoption There are considerable potential benefits for consumers to shop online. The main reason for consumers to buy online is to save money. In some given products categories, online prices are significantly cheaper than existing stores. On the Internet, shoppers could always get good value of bargains. Furthermore, consumers could also save the cost of traveling to the existing stores, the cost of finding a parking space, parking, walking through the mall to the stores, finding the item in the store, waiting in line at the checkout, Internet shopping provides in-home access 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which enhances convenience by minimizing many of these costs. The other advantage for online shopping is the convenience of shopping at any time of day. On the Internet, the stores are opened 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Consumers could never worry about missing the open hours of the exiting stores. The other good thing about e-shopping is that the webs offer older consumers, those with disabilities, and those live in remote areas to access to information and services. The other motivation for people to accept shopping online is that consumers could make a purchase at home instead of leaving from house. In addition to convenience, consumers could not only save more time on the travel time, but also save the time on walking through all the stores to find what they want, especially when at the height of the holiday. Whether on booking a ticket for an event, purchasing a book, or registering and paying for a fee, the Internet saves time. With regard to breadth and depth of products, consumers could find a great variety of products on the Internet than in any one single store or mall. Rare items can be purchase easily by simply click a mouse; the web sites can take shoppers from one online store to another. The benefit of online shopping is even greater when purchasing foreign-made products. Many traditional businesses will shift a significant part of their operations and selling to the Internet. Growth in the consumer segment is likely to be slower. Security concerns regarding online transactions and the difficulty of modifying consumer behavior can explain the slower pace of growth in the business-to-consumer marketplace. Barriers to Consumers Adoption Although shopping online can by easy, there are a variety of reasons related to security deters online shoppers from making a purchase. Dennis indicated that Security fears as the number one barrier to more consumers shopping online (Dennis et al. 2002). Safety of credit card and other private information are key issues that discourage many consumers e-shopping. A study sponsored by the Better business Bureaus Online found that over 80 percent of users had some concern about security online. (Better Business bureaus, 2005) Most web sites today require users to create personal accounts and provide a lot of personal information. Some consumers are afraid that personal information may be broken in by website hackers or be access by unauthorized organization; moreover, personal accounts provided to online vendors may have a risk to be rejected due to service attacks and human error. Therefore, security of credit card information is quite negative for online consumer. The inability to talk to a live salesperson is another concern for consumers. Even though the Internet brings the world into our homes, customer may still wish to speak to someone to seek advice on the product when shopping online. Also, for older consumers, and those who are relatively new to Internet shopping, exceptionally need a live salesperson to get information they are interested in. However, many of online business have not provided customer service for online shoppers reached by phone, live chat. A report by Data Monitor (www.datamonitor.com) found that only 8 percent of the over 60000 call centers in the US were Web-enabled, and only 1 percent of Web sites currently offer live customer assistance (Venkat, 2001:307). Additionally, the difficulty in returning products is major reason for a large number of consumers not shopping online. BizRate.com, a company that measures post-purchase satisfaction found that in a survey of 9800 consumers, 89 percent said that return policies influence their decision to purchase online. (ibid: 2001:304) Above all, the reason why returns sometimes are difficult may say is because of the lack of face to face negotiations. In addition to returning, the cost of shipping is another concern for consumers. A survey by Greenfield Online revealed that 32percent of consumers surveyed mentioned high shipping costs at the reason for not shopping online (Greenfield, 2002) Most consumers perceive online prices to be lower than prices in conventional stores. It is true; however, sometimes shipping costs can negate other price advantages. Although various products sell at a discount online, when adding into the shipping rate, the consumer may end up paying more than traditional store. Many consumers are still uneasy with online shopping because they prefer to see and touch the goods. Plus, some products are difficult to buy on the Internet. Take clothing for example, it is impossible for online shoppers to feel the fabric. When buying clothes, most people still like to try them on. Online shopping provides a lower sensory stimulation (through smell, touch, music, in-store decorations, etc.) than does offline shopping. (Fernie, J. 2005:106). People incline to use five senses in developing beliefs and bias towards various products. However, on the Internet, only three of these senses can be used. Case Study of Amazon.com and Wal-Mart There are a range of criteria of SWOT Analysis about Amazon.com and Wal-Mart, and this paper will only focus on the areas related to the above sections based on current developments and future developments in how e-retail and traditional retail adapt to e-commerce. SWOT Analysis of Amazon.com With regards to strengths, according to Harris and Dennis (2002:258), Amazon as a US-based multinational e-business company, is the biggest online retailer all over the world. Over the years since it opened its online bookstore in 1995, has established a customer around 30 million people. Besides books, now has launched various products including electronics, computer software, toys, video games and home improvements, apparel, furniture, and food. In addition, Amazon has created different website pages in the USA, the UK, Europe and Far East. It also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. The major weakness for the company is that it heavily depends on external delivery companies, which may tackle a major problem. Due to the rising fuel and vehicle taxation, a potential increase costs should be concerned. As a consequence, the increasing shipping fee may lead consumers rather to visit a local retailer than purchasing online. It is realistic that the rise of Amazon.com has had a profound influence on virtually every sector of business in the world. There are many opportunities for Amazon.com to expand further. One of the priorities is to open exiting stores to solve the disadvantages of E-business. As far as threats are concerned, it is easy to attract competition on the Internet. Since Amazon.com markets similar products as physical retail, it pose a negative impact on Amazon.com within the price competition between e-business and traditional stores. SWOT Analysis of Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. It is famous for its convenience and a wide range of products all in one store. The retailing giant has annual revenues of over $ 100 billion. According to Grant (2002) the Fortune 500 ranking list, published in 2002, showed that Wal-Mart was the worlds largest public corporation by revenue. These years, Wal-mart has experienced global expansion to 3,600 stores and more than 750,000employees worldwide. Although Wal-Mart stores, Inc. has expanded to the global market, they have a presence in a relatively small number of countries Worldwide. They only focus on the market in the UK, but their competitors are grown in the other countries. Besides, Wal-Mart has a risk in the location of their stores. Since Wal-Mart is the leading physical retailer in the USA, it has a magnificent opportunity to become the largest retailer in the world. Therefore, international expansion will be a huge opportunity for Wal-Mart. Although the stores are currently only trade in relatively few overseas there are many opportunities for future business in expanding consumer markets online. A major threat to Wal-Mart is the intense price competition with online business. Being a leading retailer also represents being the target of competition locally and globally. How to compete with e-retail in the international market will be a major question for Wal-Mart. Evaluation From the SWOT Analysis, it is clear that both mazon.com and Wal-mart have its specific strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation concluded that, based on the criteria mentioned above, the e-retail has competitive advantages over e-retail stores while physical retail stores have advantages over e-retail. With regard to disadvantages, online retail faces many difficulties compared to existing stores. For online retailers, the major challenges are face-to-face interaction and immediate delivery, and this is an area where traditional stores have an advantage. On the other hand, online retail also affects opportunities of traditional retail to certain extents. Take location and opening hour, for example, E-retail outweighs traditional retail stores. Many consumers are willing to select products on the Internet, but would not want to wait for delivery. Due to the need of consumers, it stimulated the boom of multi-channel retail (physical stores plus e-retail) becoming dominant, which has both e-retail and physical retail stores components, provides consumers with a higher degree of satisfaction. Thus, more and more e-shoppers find online shopping and in-store pickup more attractive than pure E-railing and traditional retail stores. According to Harris and Dennis (2002:258), the proportion of e-shoppers preferring to shop from e-sites run by physical retail stores rather than Internet-only is soaring 9 up from 22 percent in October 2000 to 33 percent in April 2001. As a result, many E- businesses are attempted to establish physical stores, and just as traditional stores are also creating online business. That competition is not about E-business versus traditional business. Gandy (2000:122) claim Its about integrating both-pulling together the best of what is available through the physical distribution with the best of the Web world. As traditional companies begin to provide multi-channel services to combine online business and it would make sense for pure online businesses to offer services of physical stores. The example of Amazon.com and Wal-mart also support it. According to The Sunday Times, Amazon.com had planed to open existing stores to support its growing website. (Mashable, 2009) Similarly, Wal-Mart stores Inc. has continually increased the integration of its physical stores with its Internet business, in order to respond with the growing web-based stores. (Reuven, 2000) Conclusion Both e-business and traditional stores has its advantages and disadvantages in many criteria. Physical stores has the edge on criteria such as after-sell service and face-to-face selling, while e-business is beneficial on the wide-range of products, time saving and convenience. The project presented a comparative business channel to evaluate the two types of retails and concluded that whether e-retail or traditional retail stores is not in perfection, multi-channel retail stores which combine the best of e-retail and traditional retail may be more adaptable to the business environment in the future. The analysis of Amazon.com and Wal-Mart has also been highlighted, particularly with regard to integrating e-retail with existing physical stores. These can be summarized as multi-channel retail is becoming a dominant. In 1999, Andy Grove, Chairman and CEO of Intel, once have noted that all companies will be Internet companies or they will be dead. (Venkat, 2001) However, even though e-business is able to provide consumer greater service and choice in a variety of the product, the consumers adoption toward the Internet need to be concerned. It should be noted that a detailed examination of multi-channel retail lies outside the areas of this project and further work could be done in this area, which would be of particular interest to those business involved in this area.

Freudian and Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysis Theories

Freudian and Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysis Theories Literature Review Ehren Lee Sze Tseng Introduction In this assignment, I will explain the concepts of Psychoanalysis through the thoughts of perspectives of Freud, Jung, Erikson, Adler, and Horney. This review is the study of Freudian’s, includes only Freud, and Neo-Freudian’s, includes Jung, Erikson, Adler, and Horney, Theory of Psychoanalysis. By using the following 7 journals in my research, I will perform critical analysis on these following theoretical concepts. Based on my analysis, I will integrate a simple understanding among all of these researches and conclude my final thoughts. Freud’s Theory According to Jones (1910), rather than a philosopher, Freud is predominantly a man of science whereas Burrow (1917) defines the term â€Å"Freud† as a genus man of scientific observation. Freud is only observing the fact, from the perspective view of principle of science (Burrow, 1917). As represented by Karl Pearson, in the field of philosophy, Freud is almost classified as accepting scientific idealism (Jones 1910). Freud uses the term conscious to indicate the mental awareness processes of a person in any given moment whether if it is clear or unclear view. Jones (1910) justifies Freud’s view between conscious and unconscious processes are correlating with one another at every aspect but exclude the matter of awareness. The part of Freud’s psychology I would like to touch on would be regarding the significance of psychosexual trends (Jones, 1910). Freud had long acknowledged that the repression of the libido is resulted in which ego is overemphasized (Burrow, 1917). Freud reasons behind applying the term â€Å"sexual† more broadly even though it is not considered to be of a sexual nature would be because of his experience in psychical manifestations (Jones, 1910). He then justifies that the term sexual isn’t because of the definition rather but the significance of the concept. Freud sums up the unconscious desire of life into conception of sex as the principle of pleasure (Jones, 1910). Jung’s Theory Jung’s theory situation was broader compared to Freud, using primarily scientific empirical research and interests he had adopted; He sees nature behind the man struggling to organize itself. â€Å"The â€Å"mother†, conceived of concretely, disappears, therefore, in the creative instinct, and in the instincts of dependence, from which man must free himself.† (Putnam, 1917). According to Putnam (1917), the view of Jung is acceptable and interesting. Jung carries out his analysis in an old fashion conduct. Therefore it is difficult to see how he is able to fail distinguishing the value of principles that he had formerly used so extensively lead to a positive result. Jung’s hypothesis of a presexual mode which Burrow (1917) had understand is that the term presexual exist as a mode that is not only lead to the pleasure mode but it is in a general sense of a continuous sexual mode. Burrow (1917) explains that the consciousness and the unconscious significance of sexual phase are beyond the author’s imagination on the absence of this presexual phase concept. Adler’s Theory Alfred Adler studies the issues of the mental disorders with the methodology of â€Å"individual Psychological†. This method is relevantly ideal because it serves the purpose of psychoanalysis where it is to look for individual’s purpose of life. Adler’s theory on individual psychological is able to trace the past and genetic background of a person’s life where the plans of activities revolve around the individual’s life. Adler intends to avoid his study of individual psychological from over-generalizing the theory. Adler’s psychology serves a purpose in his research. Every phenomenon that happens is a preparation for an accomplishment at some point of end. Adler’s perception of his theory is where everyone including the healthy or diseased, they live for the purpose to achieve dominance in his own way of thoughts. According to Vaughan (1927), the neurotic is unable to show a single trait in the healthy individual, albeit there are certain important traits, such as egotism and anxiety, which are able to determine the characteristic of this type of person based on the expression of intense self-assertion. In Adlerian Theory, the neurotic asserts his independence. Strangely, it is traced back to unsatisfied needs, man’s nature of sexual desire. A woman on the other hand, to prevent the submission of sexual intercourse, she will show ignorance and stubbornness. For example, a female patient will display an aggression towards her male psysician, defying his order. The similarities of the neurotic focused around sex as it relates to the achievement and the control of power. A man whom is sexually impotent, he attempts to control power over other fields. The fundamental concept of power in view, the traits of neurotic fall into the line, defining a new meaning of a whole. Erikson’s Theory According to Munley (1975), Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of human development is derived from his life span developmental theory. According to Erikson’s theory, an individual has to go through eight developmental stages, which he would have to face and cope with an identity and existential crisis. According to Dunkel (2009), Erikson’s theory is regarded to be one of the most influential theories in the human development field. â€Å"Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is based on the epigenetic principle, which states that development unfolds in a series of predetermined stages, that there is an optimal time for the ascendancy of a stage, and that the resolution of early stages greatly inà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uences the outcomes of later stages† (Dunkel, 2009). In 1950, Erikson has suggested eight psychosocial tasks in his theory. The first stage of his theory is trust versus mistrust. The development of infant leans towards the basic sense of trust when the caretaker is responsive, whereby when they are not responsive, the infant development is affected in a sense of mistrust. The second stage will be autonomy versus shame. At this stage, an increase of child’s mobility enables them to explore their world developing a sense of autonomy; it happens only when caretakers is appropriately guiding and restricting the child. The third stage is initiative versus guilt. This stage starts to take notice easily when the child starts planning goals in life, sense of initiative increases with success and praise along with the purpose of strength psychologically. The fourth stage is industry versus inferiority whereby children tends to train and master a certain sets of skills. According to Dunkel (2009), the author states that the fifth stage i s considered to be the most important part in Erikson’s theory which would be identity versus confusion. It happens during the adolescent is facing the developing of self-concept, the identity of oneself. The sixth stage would be intimacy versus isolation. It represents the ability of an adult to share commitment to one another, happens in the form of romantic relationships. Love is gained throughout the sixth stage process of development. The seventh stage is generativity versus stagnation. At this stage, adults are facing the responsibility in being productive and well-shaping the future generation, often their offspring. It gains the developmental strength of care. The eighth and last stage is integrity versus despair. This is when during the later part of life, whereby a person reached old age, the person must look back previously on their lives with sense of satisfaction or regret. The psychosocial strength of this development gains wisdom along integrity. All of these s tages build up each another and the process of task involves the developmental stage in a profound way. Horney’s Theory Dr. Horney’s theory on the structure of neurotic personality relates to the basic features of cultures. Dr. Horney’s theory on neurotic personality focuses on the term anxiety. According to Pullias (1938), Dr. Horney defines and clarifies the term anxiety as the emotional state of childhood manifestation of individual life based on the cultural trend. Dr. Horney defended anxiety as the core concept of the neurotic personality structure. Dr. Horney is criticized for explaining and defending against neurosis with only a single principle which would be anxiety (Pullias, 1938). According to Pullias (1938), the author points out that Dr. Horney not at all be criticized as the contribution of her critical approach to the theories of psychoanalysis, she attempt to relate accurately the neurotic personality to culture; the author also explains that she had clearly presented her own theory of neurotic personality structure which contribute to the study of personality. Discussion between the Theory of Freudian and Neo-Freudian Adler’s and Jung’s concept of theory are much similarly contradicts with Freud’s theory. Carl Jung’s rejection of Freud’s theory was deemed to be viewed in 2 ways acceptable and pleasant or inexplicable where it is about pointless empty arguments. Freud’s point of view was focused while Jung’s point of view was broader; Jung saw more than what Freud could see in a man. Jung sees a man, well a man while Freud sees man as something which shaped into a man. Jung’s says that man’s libido is natural whereas Freud says it drives a man. Adler on the other hand, had different perspective from Freud. Adler has avoided over-generalizing his theory of study of individual psychology compared to the teaching of Freudian. Adler opposes the view of Freud on libido being the force behind the indication of neurosis. Adler view on neurosis is not the force behind it but the achievement of goal and the control of power. Secondly, Adler represents sex as a symbol in the neurosis by all the efforts is centred. Freud on the other hand, failed because he overlooked the fact that sex is merely a principle of pleasure. Horney’s theory is correlation with the Adlerian theory. The term anxiety was present in both theories but Horney focuses and defence the principle of anxiety as the core of neurotic personality. Adlerian theory on neurotic includes egotism and anxiety where the neurotic independence is displayed. Freud’s and Erikson’s Theory are quite different from each another. Freud focus mainly on the importance of libido while Erikson place more emphasis on the influence of environment and cultural. Erikson’s eight stages are linked to one another involving the coherent flow of development that builds up an individual. Conclusion In a nut shell, regarding each and everyone’s theory. Regardless of Jung, Adler, Horney, and Erikson as a Neo-Freudian, no matter what circumstances; their theories are derived from Freud. Some of them are focused more in depth of their theory. For example, Horney focuses on her theory on neurotic personality more extensively on the term anxiety. Jung has a broader perspective over Freud. Adler did not over-generalize his finding compare to Freud. I can conclude that Freud being the pioneer of psychoanalysis and they are followed by the successor, Neo-Freudian, of the whole Freudian concept. I classified them as the successor of Freudian Theory as they oppose the idea of Freud whereby they have carried out scientific empirical research to back up their theory and a vast perspective on the terms and theory. Freud on the other hand was merely just observing the facts. The concepts of these Psychoanalysts have contributed knowledge to the society. Their findings and research is deemed to be useful for mankind in their study of their conscious, unconscious and the subconscious mind. This enables us to study the present as well as the past to understand our behaviour. References Burrow, T. (1917). The theories of Freud, Jung and Adler: II. Notes with reference to Freud,Jung and Adler.The Journal Of Abnormal Psychology,12(3), 161-167. doi:10.1037/h0070901 Dunkel, C. S., Sefcek, J. A. (2009). Eriksonian lifespan theory and life history theory: An integration using the example of identity formation.Review Of General Psychology,13(1), 13-23. doi:10.1037/a0013687 Jones, E. (1910). Freuds psychology.Psychological Bulletin,7(4), 109-128. doi:10.1037/h0075780 Munley, P. H. (1975). Erik Eriksons theory of psychosocial development and vocational behavior.Journal Of Counseling Psychology,22(4), 314-319. doi:10.1037/h0076749 Pullias, E. V. (1938). Review of The Neurotic Personality of Our Time.Psychological Bulletin,35(6), 399-403. doi:10.1037/h0052682 Putnam, J. J. (1917). The theories of Freud, Jung and Adler: I. The work of Sigmund Freud.The Journal Of Abnormal Psychology,12(3), 145-160. doi:10.1037/h0071967 Vaughan, W. F. (1927). The psychology of Alfred Adler.The Journal Of Abnormal And Social Psychology,21(4), 358-371. doi:10.1037/h0068938

Heart Of Darkness :: essays research papers

Heart of Darkness By: Joseph Conrad The novel Heart of Darkness, was written by a man named Joseph Conrad in 1894. Conrad was born December 3, 1857 into a family of polish decent in the northern Ukraine. The backgrounds of his family members consisted of a father that was an avid translator of Shakespeare as well as poet, along with a mother, that while was prone to illness still was well read and very intelligent. When Conrad was five, his father was exiled into a prison camp in Northern Russia for alleged revolutionist plots against the government. Due to the harsh conditions of the prison, Conrad’s mother died within three years and his father four years later. It was the death of his father that sent Joseph into a fit of melancholy, and it was within this sadness that Joseph turned to writing to ease his grief and carried his pain and suffering into most of his novels. After finishing his education in Krakow, Poland, Joseph went to sea, and from there sailed on and off for the next twenty years. These tw enty years were the basis if not the absolute pure nautical theme that flows throughout many of his novels. Stories such as Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness are based upon true to life experiences that Joseph had while at sea. Another unique aspect of Conrad’s writing, would be the lack of simple romance within all of his novels. This lack of emotional passion is most likely due to a drastic love affair when he was 17 that ended with an attempt to end his own life. Of Conrad’s many works some include Nostromo, Typhoon, The Secret Agent, and perhaps his most famous work Chance, which made him an instant celebrity within literary circles. From his world-renowned success, Conrad became very rich, and paraded himself as the typical aristocratic high-hat, and for the most part was allowed to play this role, until his death in 1524 from a heart attack. He died and was buried at his home in Canterbury, England. Within the actual story, Heart of Darkness, Conrad takes us into the mind and morals of a sailor named Marlow as he treks through the literal "Heart of Darkness." This actual land is found deep within the dark jungles of the Congo River region of Africa, and serves as the central setting for this story.