Channel Strategies and the Value Chain Assignment

Channel Strategies and the Value Chain - Assignment Example he different channel strategies and value chain within an organization is essential in improvising the advantages of the process units with a functional or operational unit. An example is that is single input is required by different organizational units, the benefits which can be obtained here will involve creating one function to purchase, store and distribute that single unit to other business units within the organization. Further, this will aid towards cost reduction processes within the organization making the role of the channel strategies indisputable within the value chain (Osterwalder, Pigneur & Tucci, 2005). Automotive industry is affected by the effects of growth going global and supply chains. An analysis into the effects of growth going global reveals that unlike before where automotive industries would assemble their products in one place, the change towards growth going global has led to shift within the automotive industry as they now diffuse their products, services, technology and employees across national borders therefore decreasing their supply chain. When there is a reduction in the supply chain, it means a considerable reduction in the distribution strategy is realized therefore automotive industries benefits from this as their revenue is increased because of the affordability of their products to consumers. Most automotive industries therefore obtains leverage within the channel and the value chain by opening up their sub branches in different areas to help in cutting down the costs associated with such things like transport and distribution of products therefore making th eir product effective in the market as prices charged on these products are always proportional to the cost incurred in the production process (McClendon & Robinson, 2013). A good example is that increased consumption of automotive products, leads to an increase in demand to order variability in the supply chain which is being amplified as it moves up the supply chain

Possitive and Negative Influences on Growth and Development Essay Example for Free

Possitive and Negative Influences on Growth and Development Essay Income is the money that comes into the home. This could be paid through employment, savings, and investments or from benefits that will be paid by the government if a person is unemployed or who have a disability. Expenditure is money spent to provide for everyday living needs, the amount of expenditure is determined through household income. Positive If you have a high income it allows you better choices of housing, diet, education, health services and transport. Having a higher income will lead to a higher expenditure, having this it will lead to a better life style. Accommodation will be more sufficient and there will less chance of health risks, this will amount to a better quality living. Affording to pay for health care such as private care or just being able to afford for medication if you fall ill. If you have a more wealthy expenditure you will have a better source of food and more opportunities for fresh products and less processed foods. More extravagant food such as rich foods and wines are affordable and are a good boost. Being able to afford transport will allow an adult the ability to get to and from places such as further education. A steady income will produce less stress and worry if everything is under control. Negative Being able to afford heating bills will prevent illnesses such as respiratory problems, this will be caused to lack of heating and this will amount to increase in damp. Unnecessary household problems from lack of income can cause debt. More processed foods will be in the diet as they are a lot cheaper than fresh fruit and vegetables for example. Health will plummet dramatically if sufficient heating and health care is not in place. Heart attacks, stress and depression are all part of having an unhealthy life style. Having a low income makes it difficult to get about; using public transport or walking tends to be the only option, so to take part in further education it may be difficult and will put a lot of lower income family off going into further education. Housing Housing is important to every person. It is where you live and a place to make memories.

Jealousy in Shakespeares Othello Essay -- Othello essays

Jealousy in Othello Shakespeare is well for his ability to compose plays full of deceit, revenge, and jealousy. Othello, one of Shakespeare’s most recognized tragedies, was consistently evolving around the central theme of jealousy. As these lies are unraveled the central theme of his play became distinct, and clearly visible. Furthermore the theme of jealousy goes hand in hand with love, as often is the case in real life. Love consumes all those who take part in it, and in Othello's case his flaws lie in his loving Desdemona so blindly. It is for that single reason that Iago knows that such a naà ¯ve man as Othello, who loves his wife so blindly and unrealistically, can be corrupted. Just as Othello's flaws lie within his inability to see past his jealous feelings, so does many of the other characters, no matter what social ranking they are classified in. Even from the well-developed characters, such as Othello, to the lesser figures, such as Roderigo, envy and lust are feelings all of Shakespeare's characters are accountable for holding at one time or other in the play. Within each of the characters in Othello is a level of jealousy, which Iago creates by testing their pressure points for his benefit. In Act 1 scene 1, Shakespeare opens up to his audience a level of jealousy that goes hand in hand with feelings of greed. This is the moment in which Iago expresses his animosity for Othello. Iago is sub... ... Works Cited and Consulted Bradley, A. C.. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991. Di Yanni, Robert. â€Å"Character Revealed Through Dialogue.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986. Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Shakespeare. Othello. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. Rossi. New York: Longman, 1999. 312-379. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.

Organizing, Researching, and Illustrating your Materials Essay

1. Last month, four clients complained the Roanoke Branch due to low quality of work produced. 2. Three months ago, Roanoke Branch’s Art Director and Account Executive left the agency. Also, three graphic designers and four copywriters wanted to quit due to internal problems. 3. The branch accepts new clients without any form of evaluation that may affect new accounts of the workload that the branch produces. 4. The administrative group is being insensitive to the needs of its employees in terms of their benefits and good performance. The branch became focus on the internal problem of the company that manifest within their production of work. Facts and Causes: The administrative group us being insensitive to the needs of its employees in terms of their benefits and good performance. †¢ As what Mr. Forest said in his elaboration of the internal problem of the branch, some of the employees (especially those who are the branch’s best producers) left the company. †¢ Based on the surveys that were conducted, the employees were not given good benefits and opportunities once they have good performance. †¢ The most important thing in the company is profit and not on how to manage both employees and clients. Impact and Effects: Because of the company’s insensitivity to the needs of its employees, the quality of the production declined from 89% to 63% quarterly. It was seen in the survey that the employees could not have their good performances due to internal problem of the company that caused them trouble in both professional and financial problems. In terms of professional problems the case increases to 78% this year from 43% last year. When it comes to financial problems, the annual production went down to $167,000 in 2006 from $256,000 in 2005. Because of this, both professional and financial stability are having trouble due to employee and client production and communication. Solutions: 1. The administration must conduct a new philosophy when it comes to their employees’ needs and benefits because the company lives because of the employees who produce the works. 2. There must be a quarterly reviews and inspections in order to discuss the situation and problems of the company so that it could solve the problem immediately. 3. The administration should also provide any liable agreements and justifications to any form of action that they wanted to do especially if it could affect their employees to avoid circumstances and misunderstandings between them and their employees. Illustration The probable illustration that can be use in this research is table in order to compare and contrast the difference of production and cost of production from the recent years to the present year along with the employees’ performance and circulation. Work Cited Robert G. Turner. Organizing, Researching, and Illustrating your Material.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 33

â€Å"Stop!† Elena screamed. â€Å"Stefan! Stop it! You'l kil him!† Even as she said it, she realized that kil ing Damon might be exactly what Stefan's idea was here. Stefan tore at Damon with his teeth and hands, not pummeling him, but ripping feral y, with fangs and claws. Stefan, his body in a vicious primal crouch, his canines extended, his face distorted by a snarl of animal fury, had never looked more like a bloodthirsty vampire. And behind Elena as she watched them, that seductive, chil ing voice went on, tel ing Stefan that he would lose everything, just like he always lost everything. That Damon took everything from him and then tossed it carelessly, cruel y aside, because Damon simply wanted to ruin whatever Stefan had. Elena turned and, too frightened by what Stefan was doing to Damon to have any fear left of the phantom, slammed it with her fists. After a moment, Matt and Bonnie joined her. As before, mostly their hands just slid through the phantom's mist. The phantom's chest was solid, though, and Elena focused her rage on that, hitting against the hard ice there with as much power as she could. Beneath the ice of the creature's chest, a rose glowed a rich dark red. It was a beautiful flower, but deadly looking, its color reminding her of poisoned blood. Its thorny stem seemed swol en, thicker than a normal flower's. As Elena stared at it, the glow deepened and the flower's petals opened further, swel ing to ful bloom. Is that her heart? Elena wondered. Is Stefan's jealousy nourishing it? She smashed her fist against the phantom's chest again, right above the rose, and the phantom glanced at her for a moment. â€Å"Stop it,† Elena said fiercely. â€Å"Leave Stefan alone.† The phantom was real y looking at her now, and its – no, her – smile widened, her glasslike teeth sharp and shiny underneath her misty lips. In the glacial depths of her eyes, Elena thought she caught a chil y but genuine twinkle, and Elena's own heart froze. Then the phantom turned her attention back toward Stefan and Damon, and, although Elena would never have believed it possible, things got worse. â€Å"Damon,† said the phantom throatily, and Damon, who'd been limp and exhausted, eyes clenched shut, passive under Stefan's assault, shielding his face but not fighting back, opened his eyes. â€Å"Damon,† she said again, her eyes glittering. â€Å"What right does Stefan have to attack you? Whatever you tried to take from him, you were just fighting against the fact that he got everything – your father's love, the girls you wanted – and you had nothing at al . He's a sanctimonious brat, a selfloathing weakling, but he gets everything.† Damon's eyes widened as if in recognition at hearing his own deepest miseries voiced, and his face twisted with emotion. Stefan was stil clawing and biting at him, but he fel back a little as Damon snapped into action, grabbing him by the arm and wrenching it. Elena winced with horror as she heard the crunch of something – oh, God – something in Stefan's arm or shoulder breaking. Undaunted, Stefan only grimaced and then threw himself at Damon again, the hurt arm dangling awkwardly. Damon was stronger, Elena numbly noted, but exhausted; surely he wouldn't be able to keep his advantage for long. For now they seemed fairly evenly matched. They were both furious, both fighting with no reservations. A bestial, nasty snarl came from one of them, shaky, vicious laughter from the other, and Elena realized with horror that she had no idea which sound was coming from who. The phantom hissed with enjoyment. Elena flinched away from her and, out of the corner of her eye, saw Bonnie and Matt step back, too. â€Å"Don't break the lines!† Alaric shouted from the other side of†¦ where were they now, anyway? Oh, Mrs. Flowers's garage – the garage. He sounded desperate, and Elena wondered if he had been shouting for a while. There had been some background noise going on, but there hadn't been a moment to listen to it. â€Å"Elena! Bonnie! Matt! Don't break the lines!† he shouted again. â€Å"You can get out, but step over the lines careful y!† Elena glanced down. An elaborate pattern of lines in different colors was chalked beneath their feet, and she, Bonnie, Matt, and the phantom were al together in a smal circle in the innermost center of this pattern. Bonnie was the first one to clearly realize what Alaric was saying. â€Å"Come on,† she muttered, yanking at Elena's and Matt's arms. Then she picked her way, daintily but quickly, across the floor, away from the phantom and toward their friends. Matt fol owed her. He had to pause on one foot in a smal section and reach with his other foot, and there was a moment when he wobbled, one sneaker almost blurring a blue line of chalk. But he caught his balance and continued on. It took Elena, stil mostly focused on the desperately grappling figures of Damon and Stefan, a few seconds longer to realize she needed to move as wel . She was almost too late. As she poised herself to take that first step out of the inner circle, the phantom turned its glassy eyes upon her. Elena fled, jumping quickly out of the circle and just barely managing to stop herself from skidding across the diagram. The phantom took a swipe at her, but its hand stopped before crossing above a chalk line, and it growled in frustration. Alaric shakily pushed his tousled hair out of his eyes. â€Å"I wasn't sure whether that would hold her,† he admitted, â€Å"but it seems like it's working. Now, careful y, Elena, watching where you step, make your way over here.† Matt and Bonnie had already reached the wal of the garage, at a distance from where Stefan and Damon were locked in battle, and Meredith had wrapped her arms around them, her dark head buried in Matt's shoulder, Bonnie nestled against her side, her eyes as round as a frightened kitten's. Elena looked down at the complicated pattern drawn on the floor and started moving careful y between the lines, heading not for her other friends but for the two struggling vampires. â€Å"Elena! No! This way!† cal ed Alaric, but Elena ignored him. She had to get to Damon and Stefan. â€Å"Please,† she said, half sobbing, as she reached them, â€Å"Damon, Stefan, you have to stop. The phantom's doing this to you. You don't real y want to hurt each other. It's not you. Please.† Neither of them paid any attention to her. She wasn't even sure whether they could hear her. They were almost motionless now, their muscles straining in each other's grip as each tried to simultaneously attack and fend off the other. Slowly, as Elena watched, Damon began to overcome Stefan, gradual y pushing his arms aside, leaning in toward his throat, white teeth flashing. â€Å"Damon! No!† Elena screamed. She stretched out to grab his arm, to pul him off Stefan. Without even looking at her, he casual y, viciously shoved her aside, sending her flying. She landed hard on her back and slid across the floor, and it hurt, the impact jolting her teeth together, banging her head against the cement, white shocks of pain flaring behind her eyes. As she started to get up again, she saw with dismay Damon push through the last of Stefan's defenses and sink his fangs into his younger brother's neck. â€Å"No!† she screamed again. â€Å"Damon, no!† â€Å"Elena, be careful,† Alaric shouted. â€Å"You're in the diagram. Please, whatever you do, don't break any more lines.† Elena looked around. Her landing had sent her skidding through several of the chalk marks, which were now smeared al around her, smudges of color. She stiffened in terror and suppressed a whimper. Was it loose now? Had she set it free? Steeling herself, she turned toward the innermost circle. The phantom was feeling around itself with its long arms, patting up and down against some invisible wal bordering the circle that kept it contained. As Elena watched, its mouth thinned with effort and it brought its hands together in one spot and pushed. The air in the room rippled. But the phantom did not manage to break through the circle, and after a moment it stopped pushing and hissed in disappointment. Then its eyes fel on Elena, and it smiled again. â€Å"Oh, Elena,† it said, its voice soft with false compassion. â€Å"The pretty girl, the one everyone wants, the one the boys al fight over. It's so very hard being you.† The voice twisted, its tone changing to bitter mockery. â€Å"But they're not real y thinking of you, are they? The two you want, you're not the girl for them. You know why they are attracted to you. Katherine. Always Katherine. They want you because you look like her, but you're not her. The girl they loved so long ago was soft and sweet and gentle. An innocent, a victim, a foil for their fantasies. You're nothing like her. They'l find that out, you know. Once your mortal form changes – and it wil . They'l be the same forever, but you're changing and getting older every day; in a few years you'l look much older than they do – then they'l realize you're not the one they love at al . You're not Katherine, and you never wil be.† Elena's eyes stung. â€Å"Katherine was a monster,† she spat out through her teeth. â€Å"She became a monster. She started out as a sweet young girl,† the phantom corrected her. â€Å"Damon and Stefan destroyed her. Like they'l destroy you. You'l never lead a normal life. You're not like Meredith or Bonnie or Celia. They'l have chances at normalcy when they're ready, despite the way you've dragged them into your battles. But you, you'l never be normal. And you know who's to blame for that, don't you?† Elena, without thinking, looked at Damon and Stefan, just as Stefan managed to shove Damon away from him. Damon staggered backward, toward the group of humans huddling by the wal of the garage. Blood was running from his mouth and streaming down Stefan's neck from a terrible gash. â€Å"They've doomed you, just like they doomed the one they really loved,† the phantom said softly. Elena pushed herself to her feet, her heart pounding hard, heavy with misery and anger. â€Å"Elena, stop!† cal ed a powerful contralto voice, fil ed with such authority that Elena turned away from Damon and Stefan and, blinking as though she'd been woken from a dream, looked out of the diagram toward the others. Mrs. Flowers stood at the edge of the chalk lines, hands on her hips, feet planted firmly. Her lips were a straight angry line, but her eyes were clear and thoughtful. She met Elena's gaze, and Elena felt calmed and strengthened. Then Mrs. Flowers looked around at the others gathered beside her. â€Å"We must perform the banishing spel now,† she declared. â€Å"Before the phantom manages to destroy us al . Elena! Can you hear me?† A surge of purpose running through her, Elena nodded and moved back to join the others. Mrs. Flowers brought her hands sharply together, and the air rippled again. The phantom's voice broke off and it shrieked in fury, shoving at the air around it, its hands meeting resistance sooner, its invisible prison smal er. Meredith felt urgently around on the high shelf near the garage door, her hands touching and rejecting various objects. Where had Mrs. Flowers put the candles? Paintbrushes, no. Flashlights, no. Ancient can of bug spray, no. Bag of potting soil, no. Some weird metal thing that she couldn't figure out from touching what it might be, no. Bag of candles. Yes. â€Å"I've got it,† she said, pul ing it off the shelf and dumping probably a decade's worth of dust from the shelf onto her own head. â€Å"Urgh,† she sputtered. It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation, Meredith thought, that Bonnie and Elena both looked at her, head and shoulders coated in thick dust and spiderwebs, and neither giggled nor moved to brush her off. They al had more important things to worry about than a little dirt. â€Å"Okay,† she said. â€Å"First off, we need to figure out what color candle Damon would be.† Mrs. Flowers had pointed out that Damon was clearly a victim of the jealousy phantom as wel , and so would have to take part in the banishment ritual for it to work ful y. Looking at the two vampire brothers stil attempting to tear each other apart, Meredith seriously doubted whether Damon would be participating. Stefan either, for that matter. They were solely focused on inflicting as much damage as possible on each other. Stil , they would have to get the two vampires back to make the spel work. Somehow. Meredith found herself cool y wondering whether, if both Damon and Stefan died, they could safely be counted out of the ritual. Would the rest of them be able to defeat the phantom then? And if they didn't murder each other, but simply continued to fight, endangering them al , would she be able to kil them? She shoved the thought away. Stefan was her friend. And then she determinedly made herself consider kil ing him again. This was her duty. That was more important than friendship; it had to be. Yes, she could kil them today, even in the next few minutes, if it was necessary, she realized. She would regret it forever if she had to, but she could. Besides, a part of her mind noted clinical y, if things went on as they were now, Damon and Stefan would kil each other, and save her that burden. Elena had been thinking hard – or maybe zoning out, focused on what the jealousy phantom had said to her, Meredith wasn't sure – and now she spoke. â€Å"Red,† she said. â€Å"Is there a red candle for Damon?† There was a dark red candle, and also a black one. Meredith pul ed both out and showed them to Elena. â€Å"Red,† said Elena. â€Å"For blood?† asked Meredith, eyeing the fighters, now only about ten feet away. God, they were both just covered with blood now. As she watched, Damon growled like an animal and banged Stefan's head repeatedly against the wal of the garage. Meredith winced at the hol ow sound of Stefan's skul slamming against the wood and plaster of the wal . Damon had one hand around Stefan's neck, the other ripping at Stefan's chest as if Damon wanted to gouge out his heart. A soft, sinister voice was stil coming from the phantom. Meredith couldn't make out what it was saying, but its eyes were on the brothers, and it was smiling as it spoke. It looked satisfied. â€Å"For passion,† said Elena, and snatched the candle out of Meredith's hands and marched over, straight-backed and head high like a soldier's, to the line of candles Alaric was relighting at the edge of the diagram. Meredith stared after her as Elena lit the candle and dripped a puddle of hot wax to stand it upon. Stefan forced Damon backward, closer to the others and their line of candles. Damon's boots scraped against the floor as he strained against Stefan. â€Å"Okay,† Alaric said, looking at the candles apprehensively, then down at the book. â€Å"Each of us wil declare the jealousies inside ourselves – the weaknesses that the phantom is able to play on – and cast them out. If we real y mean it, if we manage, at least for the moment, to truly and sincerely cast out our jealousy, our candles wil go out and the phantom wil be weakened. The trick is to real y be able to banish the jealousies from our hearts and stop feeding the phantom, and if we al can do it at once, the phantom ought to disappear, or maybe even die.† â€Å"What if we can't? What if we try to cast out jealousy, but it doesn't go completely away?† Bonnie asked, her forehead crinkling with worry. â€Å"Then it doesn't work and the phantom stays,† said Alaric flatly. â€Å"Who wants to go first?† Stefan slammed Damon down viciously onto the cement floor, a howl of anger coming from him. They were only a few feet from the line of candles, and Alaric stepped between them and the row of tiny flames, trying to shield the candles with his body. Celia shuddered as Stefan gave a low, furious growl and lowered his head to bite at Damon's shoulder. Jealousy kept up a steady stream of venomous chatter, her eyes gleaming. Mrs. Flowers clapped her hands to get everyone else's attention, her face stern and encouraging. â€Å"Children, you wil al have to be honest and brave,† she said. â€Å"You must al truly admit to your worst selves in front of your friends, which wil be hard. And then you wil need to be strong enough to cast these worst selves of yours away, which may be even harder. But you love one another, and I promise we wil get through it.† A thump and a muffled shout of rage and pain came from a few feet away, and Alaric glanced nervously over his shoulder at the battle behind him. â€Å"Time is of the essence,† Mrs. Flowers said briskly. â€Å"Who wil go first?† Meredith was about to step forward, clutching her stave for comfort, when Bonnie spoke up. â€Å"I wil ,† she said falteringly. â€Å"Um. I've been jealous of Meredith and of Elena. I always†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She swal owed, and then spoke more firmly. â€Å"I sometimes feel like I'm only a sidekick when I'm around them. They're braver than me, and they're better fighters, and smarter and prettier, and†¦ and taller than I am. I'm jealous because I feel like people don't respect me as much as they do them and don't real y take me seriously like they do Elena and Meredith. I'm jealous because sometimes I'm standing in their shadows, which are pretty big shadows†¦ metaphorical y speaking, I mean. And I'm also jealous because I've never even had a real boyfriend, and Meredith has Alaric, and Elena has Stefan, and because Elena also has Damon, who I think is pretty amazing, but who would never notice me when I'm standing next to Elena, because she's al he can see.† Bonnie paused again, and glanced at Elena, her eyes wide and shining. â€Å"But I love Elena and Meredith. I know I need to stop comparing myself to them. I'm not just a sidekick; I'm useful and talented, too. And† – she spoke the words Alaric had given them al – â€Å"I have fed the phantom of jealousy. But now I cast my jealousy away.† In the semicircle of candles, the flame of Bonnie's pink one flickered and went out. Bonnie gave a little gasp and smiled, half-shamefaced, half-proud, at Meredith and Elena. From inside the diagram, the phantom of jealousy snapped its head around and glared at Bonnie. â€Å"Bonnie – â€Å" Meredith started to say, wanting to tel her friend that of course she wasn't a sidekick. Didn't Bonnie know how amazing she was? But then Elena stepped toward the candles and shook back her hair, head high. â€Å"I've been jealous of other people in Fel ‘s Church,† she declared. â€Å"I saw how easy it was for other couples to be together, and after al Stefan and I – and Damon, and the rest of my friends – have been through, and even after we saved Fel ‘s Church and made it normal again, everything just kept on being so hard and so weird and supernatural. I guess I've been realizing that things aren't ever going to be just easy and normal for me, and that's been tough to accept. When I watched other people and was jealous of them, I fed the phantom of jealousy. I cast that jealousy away.† Elena smiled a little. It was a strange, rueful sort of smile, and Meredith, watching her, thought that, while Elena had cast out her jealousy, she was stil haunted by regret for the easy, golden life she'd once had ahead of her and that had probably been taken away forever now. The candle was stil burning. Elena hesitated. Meredith fol owed her gaze past the line of candles to where Stefan and Damon struggled. As they watched, Damon heaved and rol ed Stefan under him, leaving a long streak of blood across the floor of the garage. Stefan's foot brushed the red candle at the end of the line, and Alaric leaped to steady it. â€Å"And I've been jealous of Katherine,† Elena said. â€Å"Damon and Stefan loved her first, and she knew them before so much happened to change them, to†¦ warp them out of who they ought to be. And even though I realize that they both know I'm not Katherine and that they love me for who I am, I haven't been able to forget that they noticed me at first because I look like her. I have fed the phantom of jealousy because of Katherine, and I cast that jealousy away.† The candle flame flickered, but did not go out. Jealousy smirked triumphantly, but then Elena went on. â€Å"I've also been jealous of Bonnie.† Bonnie's head shot up, and she stared at Elena with an expression of disbelief. â€Å"I was used to being the only human Damon cared about, the only one who he would want to save.† She looked at Bonnie with tear-fil ed eyes. â€Å"I am so, so glad that Bonnie is alive. But I was jealous that Damon cared enough to die for her. When I was jealous of Bonnie, I fed the phantom of jealousy. But now I cast my jealousy away.† The golden candle went out. Elena looked almost timidly at Bonnie, and Bonnie smiled at her, an open, loving smile, and held out her arms. Elena hugged her tightly. Other than the grief she felt over Elena's parents' deaths, Meredith had never felt sorry for Elena. Why would she? Elena was beautiful, smart, a leader, passionately loved†¦ but now Meredith couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. Sometimes it must be easier to live an everyday life than to be a heroine. Meredith glanced at the phantom. It seemed to be simmering and was now whol y focused on the humans. Alaric stepped around the candles toward the others, glancing back toward Damon and Stefan. Damon had pinned Stefan painful y against the wal behind Alaric. Stefan's face was twisted in a grimace, and they could hear the scrape of his body against the hard surface. But at least Stefan and Damon weren't endangering the candles for now. Meredith turned her attention to her boyfriend. What could Alaric be jealous of? If anything, he'd been the focus of jealousy the last week or so. He reached for Meredith and took one of her hands. â€Å"I've been jealous,† Alaric said, looking into her eyes. â€Å"Of you, Meredith. And of your friends.† Meredith reflexively arched a brow at him. What did he mean? â€Å"God.† He half laughed. â€Å"Here I am, a graduate student in parapsychology. I've been dying my whole life to prove to myself that there's something more going on in the world than what everybody knows, that some of the things we think of as supernatural are real. And then I come to this smal town in Virginia because there are rumors, rumors I don't real y believe, that there might be vampires here, and when I get here I find this amazing, beautiful, confident girl, and it turns out she comes from a family that hunts vampires. And her friends are vampires and witches and psychics and girls who come back from the dead to fight evil. They only just finished high school, but they've seen things I've never imagined. They've defeated monsters, and saved towns, and traveled to other dimensions. And, you know, I'm just this ordinary guy, and suddenly half the people I know – and the girl I love – are practical y superheroes.† He shook his head, looking at Meredith admiringly. â€Å"I've fed the phantom of jealousy. But now I cast my jealousy away. I'l just have to deal with being the boyfriend of a superhero.† Instantly, the dark green candle went out. Sealed in the inner circle, the phantom hissed and paced back and forth in the smal space like a trapped tigress. It looked angry, but not noticeably weaker. Celia spoke next. Her face was tired but calm. â€Å"I've fed the phantom of jealousy,† she proclaimed. â€Å"I've been jealous of Meredith Suarez.† She didn't say why. â€Å"But now I see that it's pointless. I've fed the phantom of jealousy, but now I cast my jealousy away.† She spoke as if she were dropping something into the trash. But stil the pale purple candle went out. Meredith opened her mouth to speak – she was clear on what she needed to say, and it wouldn't be too hard, because she'd won, hadn't she? If it had ever been a battle anywhere besides her own mind – but Matt cleared his throat and spoke first. â€Å"I have†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stumbled over his words. â€Å"I guess†¦ no, I know I've fed the phantom of jealousy. I have always been crazy about Elena Gilbert, as long as I've known her. And I've been jealous of Stefan. Al along. Even now, when Jealousy's got him trapped in this bloody battle, because he has Elena. She loves him, not me. But, wel , it doesn't matter†¦ I've also known for a long time that Elena and I together don't work, not for her, and that's not Stefan's fault. I've fed the phantom of jealousy, but now I cast my jealousy away.† He blushed and careful y did not look at Elena. The white candle went out, sending a long trail of smoke toward the ceiling. Three candles left, Meredith thought, looking at the last steady flames. Stefan's dark green, Damon's red, and her own brown. Was the phantom any weaker? From its invisible cage, the Phantom growled. If anything, it seemed to have made the space around itself bigger again, and it was once again pushing at it, seemingly feeling for a weak spot. Meredith knew she had to keep the confessions going. â€Å"I've fed the phantom of jealousy,† she said in a strong, clear voice. â€Å"I was jealous of Dr. Celia Connor. I love Alaric, but I know I'm much younger than he is, not even in col ege yet, and I've never real y been anywhere or seen anything of the world – the human world, at least – outside of where I grew up. Celia shares so much with him – experiences, education, interests – and I knew he liked her a lot. And she's beautiful and real y smart and poised. I was jealous because I was afraid she would take him from me. But if she had been able to take him, that would mean he wasn't mine to keep. You can't steal a person.† She smiled hesitantly at Celia, and after a moment, Celia smiled slightly in return. â€Å"I cast – â€Å" â€Å"Watch out!† Alaric shouted. â€Å"Damon! Stefan! Stop!† Meredith looked up. Damon and Stefan were staggering across the floor of the garage, past the line of candles, past Alaric, who grabbed at them. They broke out of his hold effortlessly without seeming to even notice his touch, shoving against each other desperately, struggling fiercely. Oblivious to anything but their battle, they were getting closer and closer to the phantom. â€Å"No!† shouted Elena. Damon shoved Stefan backward, and the heel of Stefan's boot scraped across the chalk outlining the smal circle that contained the phantom – scraped across the chalk line and smudged it, and the circle was no longer complete. With a howl of triumph, the phantom was free.

How Teachers Can Achieve Happiness

How Teachers Can Achieve Happiness The stereotype around elementary school teachers is that they are always peppy and happy and full of life. While this may hold true for some elementary school teachers, it sure does not for all teachers. As you know, having a job in the teaching profession can be quite challenging. Teachers have a lot of pressure on them. Not only do they have to learn and teach the common core standards to students, but they also have the challenging job of making sure that their students are ready to be productive citizens once they get out of school. With all of this pressure, along with the responsibilities of  lesson planning, grading, and discipline, the job can sometimes take a toll on any teacher, no matter how peppy their nature. To help relieve some of these pressures, use these tips on a daily basis to help you deal and, hopefully, bring some joy to your life.   1. Take Time for Yourself One of the best ways that you can achieve happiness is to take time for yourself. Teaching is a very selfless profession and sometimes you just need to take a moment and do something for yourself. Teachers spend so much of their free time scouring the internet looking for effective lesson plans or grading papers, that they sometimes end up neglecting their personal needs. Set aside one day of the week for lesson planning or grading, and set aside another day for yourself. Take an art class, go shopping with a friend, or try that yoga class that your friends are always trying to get you to go to.   2. Make Your Choices Wisely According to Harry K. Wong in the book â€Å"How to Be an Effective Teacher† the way a person chooses to behave (as well as their reactions) will dictate what their life will be like. He says that their are three categories of behavior that people can exhibit, they are protective behaviors, maintenance behaviors, and enhancement behaviors. Here are examples of each behavior. Protective Behavior –These are people who are full of excuses, who complain a lot, and are good at justifying their behavior. You probably always see them in the teachers’ lounge complaining about everything and anything that is happening in their classroom as well as at the school. Maintenance Behavior – These are the people who are very hardworking and who spend a lot of time wishing (I wish I won the lottery, I wish I had a bigger classroom). They tend to get along well with others, and don’t complain or put people down in the teachers’ lounge. They are concerned with their own individual survival, health, and safety. Enhancement Behavior –These individuals enjoy active learning and participating in groups. They go to every teacher conference and meeting, and are known around the school as a leader. Now that you know the three types of behavior, which category do you fall into? Which type of teacher do you want to be? The way that you decide to act can greatly increase or decrease your overall happiness and well-being. 3. Lower Your Expectations Let go of the expectation that every lesson has to go exactly as planned. As a teacher, you will always have misses along with the hits. If your lesson was a flop, try to think of it as a learning experience.  Just as you teach your students that they can learn from their mistakes, so can you. Lower your expectations and you will find that you will be much happier. 4. Do Not Compare Yourself to Anyone One of the many problems with social media is the ease with which people can present their lives in any way they wish. As a result, people tend to only portray the version of themselves and their life that they want others  to see. If you are scrolling down your Facebook news feed you may see many teachers that look like they have it all together, which can be quite intimidating and result in feelings of inadequacy. Compare yourself to no one. It’s hard not to compare yourself to others when we have Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest in our lives. But just remember that it probably takes some of these teachers hours to create the perfect-looking lesson. Do your best and try to be satisfied with the results.   5. Dress for Success Never underestimate the power of a nice outfit.   While dressing up to teach a bunch of elementary students may seem like a bad idea, research shows that it can actually make you feel happier. So the next morning that you want an instant pick-me-up, try wearing your favorite outfit to school. 6. Fake it Weve all heard the expression, Fake it til you make it. Turns out, it might actually work. Some studies that show if you smile when you are unhappy, you can trick your brain into feeling like you are happy. The next time your students are driving you crazy, try smiling- it might just turn your mood around. 7. Socialize with Friends and Colleagues Do you find that you tend to be alone a lot when you are feeling unhappy? Studies found that the more time unhappy people spent socializing with others, the better that they felt. If you’re spending a lot of time by yourself, try getting out and socializing with your friends or colleagues. Go eat lunch in the faculty lounge instead of your classroom, or go for that drink after school with your friends.   8. Pay it Forward There have been so many studies conducted that show that the more that you do for others, the better you feel about yourself. The sheer act of doing a good deed can make a huge impact on your self-esteem, as well as your happiness. The next time that you are feeling down, try doing something nice for someone else. Even if its just holding the door open for a stranger or making extra photocopies for your colleague, paying it forward can really improve your mood. 9. Listen to Music   Studies find that focused listening to music that is upbeat, or even just reading lyrics that are positive, can improve your mood.   Classical music is also said to have a mood-boosting effect on people. So the next time you’re sitting in your classroom and are in need of a pick-me-up, turn on some upbeat or classical music. Not only will it help to boost your mood, it will help your students moods as well.   Ã‚   10. Express Gratitude A lot of us spend a lot of our time focusing on what we dont have, rather than focusing our time on what we do have. When we do this, it can make you feel sad and unhappy. Try expressing gratitude and focusing all of your attention on the positive things that you have in your life. Think about what is going right in your life, and all of things that you are grateful for. Each morning before your toes even hit the ground, say three things that you are grateful for. Here are a few examples of what you can do each morning to express gratitude. Today I am grateful for: My health and the health of my familyThat I have food, clothes and a roof over my headThat I have a wonderful job that helps me provide for my family You have the ability to control how you feel. If you wake up feeling unhappy then you have the ability to change that. Use these ten tips and practice them daily. With practice, you can form lifelong habits that can increase your overall happiness.

The Holy Spirit Moves Us To Repent †Theology Essay

The Holy Spirit Moves Us To Repent – Theology Essay Free Online Research Papers The Holy Spirit Moves Us To Repent Theology Essay â€Å"That is what Pentecost is all about – freedom – from the burdens of life and the burdens of self. And if you don’t have that freedom, then you have not yet had your personal Pentecost. You have not met the risen Christ and received his power. This quote is found on page 54 of Half-Wits. Father Peter is giving a speech essentially about life and how each and every one of us can choose how to live it. There are two different states of living – the way Father Peter is living his life and the way Fitzsimmons, up until this point, has been living his life. Father Peter is living, as he says, â€Å"free from the burdens of life and the burdens of self† (54). He also says that his life has meaning and that he is a happy, joyful man (54). He has been rid of fear, despair, and anxiety all because of the â€Å"personal Pentecost† he refers to. Fitzsimmons, however, has not yet experienced that freedom or that personal Pentecost so he still experiences fear and despair, because of which he has allowed himself to become numb and had decided to close off from the world. Father Peter is different from Fitzsimmons because he has allowed himself to be open to the power of God. Father Peter realizes he is just a man. He has come to terms with the existence of evil and has turned himself over to God for help overcoming that evil. When he realized that God was the only one who could overcome the evils of the world and asked for his help, he became free from those evils and became a happier man. It isn’t until page 272 in the novel that Fitzsimmons truly experiences this: â€Å"†¦Fitzsimmons began to be aware of a tremendous sense of release. It was as if a great catharsis had taken place and all the weight of his past life had been lifted from him. He was, he knew, free of the burden of the deaths of Eileen and Sarah, and he was free of the foreboding that Sarz had caused him. He was also free, to some extent, he realized, of self.† This is where Fitzsimmons finally begins to experience his own personal Pentecost where he can be freed of all the burdens of his past, present, and future. The personal Pentecost can be achieved only once we realize God’s power and our need for his help. We learned that the divine trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – creates, redeems, and sanctifies. Through this, we can experience trinification and be made members of the Body of Christ. In addition, the Holy Spirit moves us to repent, which is related to the personal Pentecost. When we taste the Father’s pain and submit to it, we are repenting and this is essentially what Fitzsimmons finally does. He has had a lot of pain and suffering in his life and it is only once he finally gives in and submits to it that he can experience true happiness. This kind of happiness is different from what he had before with Eileen, which he says himself was shallow. Prior to this transformation in him, Fitzsimmons was guilty of sloth, one of the deadly sins. As we also learned, sins are the expression of our desire to kill Christ. Once Fitzsimmons goes through his personal Pentecost and repents, he is forgiven for his sins and can now be free from his previous bur dens. That is the true meaning of this quote. â€Å"Hey, Jay,† he said excitedly, â€Å"Blessed are the half-wits, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.† The next quote relates to what we have learned about the Beatitudes. In this quote, Tommy is relating the half-wits to what the Beatitudes say about the meek, the poor, etc. They are similar because one would probably consider a meek or a poor person to be on the same level of happiness as a half-wit. It may often be the assumption that they could never experience what we consider to be happiness. However, the Beatitudes present us with a paradox, a challenge, and a timeliness that prove this fact to be wrong. The first thing we are confronted with is the paradox of the Beatitudes. A paradox is a seeming contradiction – the statements in the Beatitudes seem crazy, but they are true. Pinckaers discusses this on page 33 of The Pursuit of Happiness: â€Å"As for ourselves, don’t we honestly think that riches, joy, health, and a good reputation will make us happy? Don’t we spontaneously seek these things and reject their opposites?† The Beatitudes are actually the opposite of what society tells us we need to be happy. Ultimately, they force us to look inside ourselves and this is when we can find the bottom rock and realize our need for God. There is also a challenge in the Beatitudes. The challenge is this: many people are living their lives on cruise control, thinking they have it all. What both the Beatitudes and the events they discuss (poverty, tragedy, etc.) force us to do is stop and think and essentially reevaluate the way we are making sense. The Beatitudes confront us with the â€Å"realities of existence and show us what lies in our own depths† (Pinckaers, 35). In this confrontation, we are sent inward and challenged to find joy and find God even in the worst situations. It dares you to believe Jesus’ seeming paradox. The Beatitudes also have a timeliness about them. Poverty, meekness, and sadness – these are all things that speak to all people of all times. They are not problems of the present or the past; they are problems all people must face. Pinckaers refers to them as â€Å"questions which have constantly recurred throughout history† (37) and this is something that will always be true, so the Beatitudes will in turn always be true. In the reading of Half-wits, Fitzsimmons is someone who seems to epitomize the Beatitudes and Tommy may have been pointing him to this in his statement. Fitzsimmons was broken and forced to look within himself in order to find meaning in his life again. When he was with his first wife, the relationship was shallow – it was not true happiness. It was only once he lost it all and experienced many of the things mentioned in the Beatitudes the he was able to start to come to terms with the bottom rock and ultimately find true happiness. On page 147 in Half-wits, we see Fitzsimmons at his ultimate low when he seems to have lost everything: â€Å"I cannot put the events in sequence. The moment I saw the blood something happened to my mental process. Perhaps I went a little mad, or maybe it was shock†. For a long period after his trauma, Fitzsimmons was walking around numb. It is only once he lets down his guard and allows himself to experience the pain and deal with it that h e can truly start to live again and find the happiness the Beatitudes are talking about. In addition, he is now in a place where he can realize his need for God and the fact that thing most worth crying over would be losing our relationship with Him. â€Å"I had second thoughts,† she said. â€Å"I was wrong.† Fitzsimmons extended his arm; she came to him and clung to him. â€Å"Thank God for second thoughts,† he said. This quote relates to what we talked about the very first day of class. The bottom rock and making sense of our lives are foundations to moral theology and Christian thought. When we go about our daily lives, we are continuously making sense. We do things such as brush our teeth or our hair and all the while we are making sense. We learned that doing this presupposes the fact that it makes sense to begin with, so this points to something beyond us, independent of our mind and will, that our making sense must lean upon. This thing is the bottom rock. The â€Å"second thoughts† mentioned in this quote come in when something in our lives interrupts our making sense. Sometimes things in our lives happen that cause us to reevaluate the way we are â€Å"making sense† – this is the activity of ethics. For Fitzsimmons, his experiences with Sarz and Amy caused him to reevaluate the way he was making sense, or have a â€Å"second thought†. Amy also stopped to reevaluate the way she was making sense. The novel itself shows us four different people, two of which know the foundation of their lives (Father Peter and Sarz), and the other two who are unsure (Amy and Fitzsimmons). The second thoughts are necessary parts of life to further connect us with the bottom rock. 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