Nationalism in the 19th century

Nationalism is a term used to identify two phenomena. First, it describes the attitude of individuals towards their nation which result to the rise of national identity. Second, it pertains to the action that members of a certain nation take in order to achieve the sustainability of self determination (Miscevic). During the era of industrialization and urbanization in Western societies, nationalism emerged as one of the most successful political forces. Nationalism became the foundation with which western societies were organized. Between the years of 1850 and 1914, the establishment of nation-states gained the support of all social classes. Hence, the equilibrium in the international political power arises. The masses were diverted towards governance that does not adhere to the class war socialist doctrine. In France, Napoleon III spearheaded the successful campaign for nationalism. During his mild dictatorship for nearly 20 years (1852 to 1870), Napoleon promoted the idea that national states and the programs provided by the government could appeal to all social classes such as the rich, the poor, the conservative, and the radical. Consequently, Napoleon’s political initiative became a landscape where national states became an avenue for the rapid changes in politics and economy (Lloyd). In 1860, Count Cavour, the nationalist leader of Sardinia unified majority of the areas in Italy. His initiative to promote nationalism resulted in Italy’s emergence as a single political state without the use of drastic actions in addressing economic and social matters. Two years after, Prussia hailed Otto von Bismarck as the country’s chief minister. Under his leadership, the states of Germany were unified into a single political state under the Prussian governance. This was only made possible after Bismarck fought three wars. The unification of the states of Germany strengthened the pride of nationalism. Likewise, the country attained an anti-liberal and conservative force (Lloyd). In order to attain national identity, the United States competed for national aspirations which eventually led to the civil war. A slave-based cotton industry in the south expanded rapidly right after new lands were utilized for industrialization. Thus, the south was able to generate much demand from cotton production. Due to this, a conflict emerged between the people from the south and the north’s urban culture and family farm agriculture. The triumph of north against the south marked the end of slavery. However, land reforms and racial discrimination were not totally addressed (Lloyd). Nationalism also played an important role in the lives of Russian. Right after the Crimean War, major reforms were put forward. In 1861, the freedom of the serfs was attained. Likewise, the government spearheaded the development of modern industries and railroads (Lloyd). As nationalism continued to grow, most of the politicians and national governments responded accordingly in order to strengthen and meet the demands of the people. Because of nationalism, most of the Western societies managed to promote reforms that appeal to all social classes. Works Cited Lloyd, Jim. â€Å"19th century nationalism.† Fresno Unified School District. 2008. 28 October  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2008 . Miscevic, Nenad. â€Å"Nationalism.† Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 24 September 2005. 28 October 2008 .   

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 17

The sweet scent of a white chocolate mocha woke me from a heavy sleep the following morning. For a few moments, as I stirred to consciousness, it was like waking up any other day. Then, as I opened my eyes and shifted position, my body's nerves came to life, reminding me what had happened yesterday. It wasn't the horrible torturous pain I'd experienced before, but I had enough aches and soreness to dissuade me from too much movement. Still, I managed to more or less sit up when Dante entered my bedroom. He held the mocha in one hand and what looked like a bakery bag tucked under his arm. In the other hand, he carried an enormous vase of blue and white hydrangeas, interspersed with orchids. I never would have pictured those particular flowers going together, but the arrangement worked. â€Å"Did you rob a florist?† I asked. Dante gave me a withering look as he handed me the mocha. â€Å"Why are you assuming the worst again?† â€Å"Because orchids aren't cheap,† I said. â€Å"They were out of crab grass, so I had to settle.† He gently placed the vase on my dresser and then freed the bakery bag. â€Å"And I beat up some kids for these.† After a long, delicious sip, I set the mocha on my bedside table and took the bag from him. Inside were chocolate croissants-my favorite kind of breakfast pastry. â€Å"All this because I got beat up?† I asked. He sat on the side of the bed. â€Å"I'm worried about you.† â€Å"I should get in fights with demons more often,† I teased, my last few words getting muffled as I bit into a croissant. Tiny flakes and crumbs fell onto my sheets, but I didn't care. â€Å"Not funny, succubus,† he said. And to my surprise, I could see that he meant it. None of his usual sardonic humor showed on his face. There was no bitter twist to his lips. â€Å"That's never happening again. And I'm going to make sure you get better, immortal healing or not.† â€Å"Never took you for a nursemaid.† â€Å"Be quiet,† he snapped. â€Å"And keep eating. Your body needs calories to heal.† Happy to oblige, I started to take another bite and then froze. â€Å"Do you think I might start putting on weight?† Calories were nothing I'd ever had to count before. I'd feared neither weight gain nor health effects from the things I ate. â€Å"I think that's the least of your worries.† I supposed he was right. I kept eating-but with a little less enthusiasm. He still looked so serious and worried that I couldn't shake my warm and fuzzy feelings. â€Å"Thank you for all of this. It's really great.† He smiled at me, and his gray eyes were lovely in the morning light. â€Å"Not many people in this world I feel deserve my help. You're in an exclusive club.† I started to make a comment about how the rest of the club members must be imaginary, but there had already been too much snark this morning. Nanette's attack had seriously shaken Dante up. â€Å"Thank you,† I said again. A thought struck me. â€Å"I might have some other way for you to help. Will you grab my purse?† He retrieved it from the living room and handed it over. Reaching inside, I was relieved to see the photo that I'd swiped from Mary was still there. I studied it for a moment, willing the medallion to yield some sort of revelation. All I saw was a translucent brown disc and runes or symbols that could easily be mistaken for a child's scribbles. With a sigh, I handed it to him. â€Å"Does this mean anything to you?† His brows knit thoughtfully as he looked it over. â€Å"No. Should it?† â€Å"I think it might be part of Jerome's summoning. Remember when I asked you about an artist who carved quartz? This is what I turned up. Supposedly, the stone and marks are clues, but I don't know what they are. I guess that's where I need people like you or Erik.† He gazed at the picture for several more moments, and to my surprise, I saw anger building in his features. Abruptly, he stood up and tossed the picture on the floor. â€Å"Son of a bitch,† he growled. â€Å"What's the matter?† I exclaimed. â€Å"This,† he said, gesturing at me and the fallen picture. â€Å"This is the matter. What good am I, succubus? I'm ten times more powerful than those people I sent you to go see. Aside from Lancaster, there's probably no one else in this fucking town who knows as much about the arcane as I do. And what good is it?† He paced around my room and ran his hand angrily through his hair. â€Å"Nothing. That's what it's good for. I can't seem to help you. I can't do a goddamned thing. I couldn't save you from that demoness. And I don't know anything about this medallion thing.† I was stunned by his reaction. â€Å"Hey, whoa. It's okay. Sit down. Don't beat yourself up.† â€Å"It's not okay.† He came to a halt. â€Å"I feel†¦powerless.† For someone who'd spent his life doing horrible things in the quest for power, I could recognize what a hard admission that was. â€Å"You're not obligated to do anything here,† I said gently. â€Å"You help me more than you realize. But this isn't your fight. This isn't your responsibility.† † You're my responsibility,† he said. â€Å"If I can't look out for you, then why do you need me?† â€Å"I'm not with you for what you can do for me.† â€Å"Yeah? You're with me for my winning personality?† The truth was, I still wasn't sure at times why I was with him. I couldn't help but recall his comments about me keeping him as a bed warmer, but true or not, now wasn't the time to bring that up. Plus, he'd been sweet lately-something I'd never expected when I'd turned to him in my post-Seth rage. â€Å"Dante, I'm serious. Don't worry about any of this. I'll take care of it and talk to my friends.† I saw from the look on his face that that wasn't quite what he'd wanted to hear. Knowing I had other people to go to seemed to make him feel more inadequate. â€Å"You shouldn't be involved in this at all,† he said. â€Å"What, in finding Jerome? Of course I have to be.† â€Å"There are others, people who are more powerful. I don't want you getting hurt again! Why can't you just lie low and keep yourself safe?† he demanded. â€Å"Because it's not what I do! And no one else is going to do it anyway. They're just letting this go. Letting Jerome go.† â€Å"Why don't you let it go?† he asked. â€Å"Would it be so bad to work under another demon? You've worked for others.† I turned and gazed out the window. The sky was blue, but something told me it was cold out. It was a quirk of Seattle weather. We often had warmer temperatures when it was cloudy out, colder ones when it was sunny. Dragging my eyes back to Dante, I said, â€Å"Yeah, I have. But this is different. This isn't right-it shouldn't have happened. I have to find Jerome.† â€Å"Yes. You do. It's written all over you. Why do you have to make everything so difficult and create these problems?† â€Å"If you're unhappy, no one's making you stick around,† I said quietly. â€Å"Of course I'm sticking around. And if there's nothing to be done for your impulsivity, I might as well help.† He snatched up the photo and glared at it. â€Å"Let me take this and ask some questions. I might not know what it is-yet-but there are resources I can tap.† There was a hard set to his face. He was a man with a mission, which I preferred to him being down on himself or ranting at me. I was about to send him off with my blessings, but something held me back. I couldn't let the picture go. â€Å"I want to keep the photo,† I told him. He stared. â€Å"You don't think I'll bring it back?† â€Å"No, I'm not worried about that. But I did a lot to get it, and besides, I want to show it to some people too. We'll make a copy of it. You can take that.† â€Å"Yeah? You got a copy machine in the bathroom?† â€Å"Can't you just draw it or something?† â€Å"Succubus.† â€Å"Well, I don't know! But if you want to do sleuthing, you're going to have to find a workaround. Until I feel like traipsing around the city with you, I want the picture to stay with me.† He glowered, looking very much like his usual bitter self. Finally, realizing I wasn't going to yield, he did a hasty trace of the medallion onto another sheet of paper. He added a few notes off to the side and did his best approximation of the symbols. He seemed miserable the entire time. â€Å"Sorry,† I said. â€Å"It's fine,† he said. â€Å"You're going now?† â€Å"If you think you'll be okay.† I assured him I would be. My phone was nearby, and I had a feeling if he stayed, he'd just grow more and more upset about how he'd let me down and about how I was putting myself at risk for reasons he didn't understand. At least this gave him a feeling of purpose. I promised to call if something happened and breathed a sigh of relief when he finally left. I stayed in bed for a while after that, consuming my calorie-laden breakfast and thinking about his extreme reaction. I hoped he'd find something out for me, and in the meantime, I needed to do some investigating of my own. First things first, though. I needed to shower. It turned out to be harder than I expected-but not impossible. I just had to move slowly when I walked to the bathroom, careful not to get too ambitious. Hugh's bandages still covered my back, and it took a fair bit of dexterity to remove them. They were soaked with blood, but underneath, the cuts showed signs of Mei's healing. They were still there, still uncomfortable, but had all scabbed over and were much smaller. I kept the water lukewarm as I showered and was careful when I toweled off to not break any of the scabs open. By the time I was sitting on my couch in the living room, I felt like I'd run a marathon. I'd never wanted shape-shifting so badly in my life. I wore loose clothes-drawstring pants and a T-shirt without a bra-but it had taken some effort to put them on. My hair I'd given up on completely, figuring combing it out would have to do. I didn't have the patience to dry it and didn't want to think about the frizziness I was inviting. Aubrey joined me on the couch as I rested from my morning labors and flipped through the channels. After cycling through twice, I gave up and left the TV on some sort of nature show about Siberian tigers. Aubrey watched it with wide eyes, but I wasn't interested. â€Å"This is your equivalent of reality television,† I observed. â€Å"The talk shows don't come on until later,† a voice suddenly said. â€Å"That's when things get good.† I sighed. â€Å"Carter. What a pleasant surprise.† The angel strolled into my line of sight and sat down on the armchair opposite me. Aubrey immediately left me and hopped onto his lap. â€Å"Traitor,† I said. He grinned and scratched her head. â€Å"Word on the street is that you had a bad day yesterday.† â€Å"I've had worse,† I said. â€Å"Marginally. You should have seen me before Mei healed me.† â€Å"Bah, demons can't heal. Not really. They lose the finesse it takes when they cross over.† â€Å"Hey, I'll take what help I can get.† I brightened. â€Å"And speaking of help, I think I've got a picture of the seal-â€Å" â€Å"No.† â€Å"No what?† â€Å"I know what you're going to ask, and the answer is no.† â€Å"You have no idea what I'm going to ask!† â€Å"You're going to ask me to help identify the seal so you can figure out where Jerome is.† I stayed silent. Damn. He rolled his eyes. â€Å"And the answer is no.† â€Å"But you could make this so much easier,† I argued. â€Å"Dante's out trying to figure out what the seal means. You could tell me right now.† â€Å"Georgina, I told you before. I can't interfere.† â€Å"Then why are you here?† â€Å"To see how you're feeling. Believe me, I wish I could interfere. I'd do a better healing job than Mei.† I fell silent, mind spinning. â€Å"Were you here yesterday?† â€Å"Doing what?† â€Å"Look, I won't consider it interfering, but just tell me if it was you.† Carter didn't look confused very often. If anything, he was usually the one messing with other people's minds. I think under normal circumstances, when the immortal state of affairs in Seattle wasn't in limbo, he would have faked it and hidden his confusion. Now, he just shook his head in exasperation. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"Someone was here after Nanette beat me up. A guy. He put me to bed and called Hugh.† â€Å"It wasn't me.† â€Å"Technically, it wouldn't even be interfering.† â€Å"Georgina,† he said sternly. â€Å"Listen. It wasn't me.† I held his gaze and shivered at the intensity in his eyes. His were gray, but whereas Dante's were like leaden clouds on a winter day, Carter's were like gleaming silver. â€Å"It wasn't you,† I said at last. He'd answered directly, with none of the half-truths and subterfuge angels normally employed. He'd answered directly, and angels couldn't lie. â€Å"I suppose you didn't blow up the stove either?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Who did, then? You said in Vancouver you'd try to protect me. I figured this was you.† â€Å"It's possible the stove blew up because of a gas leak.† â€Å"Maybe,† I grumbled. He smiled, instantly transforming him to the mocking angel I usually knew. â€Å"Believe me, Daughter of Lilith, I wish I could take credit for these things. And if it comes down to it, and I have the means and ability, I will try to protect you. For now, I've still got to stay out of this.† â€Å"House calls aside.† â€Å"Just a visit between friends.† He winked and stood up. â€Å"I really do wish I could help more, but you're going to have to find another way. Be careful, whatever you end up doing.† â€Å"You're not warning me away from all this?† He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Should I be?† â€Å"No,† I mused. â€Å"But everyone else is. They say it's dangerous.† â€Å"It is dangerous. But these are dangerous times, and honestly? You're the only one that I think has the means or desire to get us out of this mess. Good luck, Georgina. And don't leave the house without checking your hair.† He vanished. â€Å"Fucking angels.† I realized then that I was starving for real food, not sugar-filled sweets. My kitchen was sparse as usual, so I decided to risk the world and go pick up something. I was tired and certainly incapable of running a marathon, but Mei's healing really had gone a long way. I could manage the one block walk to a nearby take-out Chinese restaurant. I placed the order, and by the time I was out of my robe and out the door, the food was ready. I stopped at a convenience store as well to pick up some pop, and the whole endeavor only ended up taking about thirty minutes. From the look on Aubrey's face, you would have thought I'd been gone a whole day, but then, she just wanted my orange chicken. I changed back to my robe and relaxed with the food, pondering how to spend my day. As I'd told Dante, I didn't want to go traipsing about town, but I wanted some leads on the medallion. Erik was probably my best bet at this point, and I hoped he'd be able to ID my symbols from phone descriptions. Before I could do that, I heard a knock at my door. I expected it to be Hugh making a house call, but to my astonishment, it was Seth. â€Å"Hey,† I said, stepping aside so that he could come in. â€Å"Hey,† he returned. I stuffed my hands into the ratty robe's pockets, wishing I hadn't been so hasty to change back to casual mode. My hair was undoubtedly a lost cause, so there was no point stressing over that. â€Å"How's it going?† â€Å"Okay.† He met my eyes frankly, something he hadn't done in a while. It sent a tingle down my back. â€Å"I was just nearby and wanted to†¦well, that is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He sighed. â€Å"I just wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday†¦.† Yesterday. The kiss. Something that only a demon attack could have dwarfed. I shook my head, trying not to recall how I'd felt that kiss all the way to my toes. â€Å"You have nothing to apologize for. I think†¦I think I was as much to blame. Besides, it was nothing.† â€Å"Nothing?† he asked, looking both surprised and hurt. â€Å"I mean, not nothing ,† I amended hastily. â€Å"But we were both kind of worked up, and things got crazy, and well, like I said†¦nothing to apologize for.† â€Å"Okay†¦I'm glad you're not upset. I don't want there to be anything†¦well, anything bad between us.† I thought about all the fights and arguments. â€Å"Well, I'm not sure we've reached that state. I mean, come on, do you think things will ever be normal and friendly between us?† â€Å"Yes,† he said bluntly. â€Å"No matter what has or hasn't happened romantically, I still feel like†¦like there's something between us†¦like, a connection, I mean. I feel like we're always destined to be important in each other's lives.† You are my life , I thought and promptly looked away, as though he might have heard me. â€Å"Do you regret it?† I asked before I realized I had. â€Å"Regret?† â€Å"Ending things.† I looked back at him, fearing his answer, no matter what it was. â€Å"I regret†¦well, I don't regret saving you from future hurt. I do regret the hurt I've caused you†¦if I'd known you'd react and spiral the way you have†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You can't take that into consideration,† I said hastily. â€Å"That's not your fault.† I was surprised to be saying that, but it was true. My bad behavior these last months had been my doing. â€Å"I can't help it. I'll always worry about you. Like I said, I feel like no matter what, we're always going to be connected†¦like there's something bigger than us at work. As it is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What?† â€Å"Never mind.† I stepped forward, never taking my eyes off him. â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"As it is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shrugged. â€Å"Life is easier not dating you. But sometimes†¦it feels incomplete. Like there's a piece of me missing.† â€Å"And that's easier?† â€Å"Think of it as winning the lottery and having people waiting on all your needs, but it's at the cost of, I don't know, getting your leg amputated.† â€Å"Wow. You should be a writer with that imagery.† He smiled. â€Å"Yeah, yeah. But you know what I mean.† Except, I was missing a part of my life and things were harder, not easier. â€Å"You at least have Maddie.† â€Å"You have Dante.† â€Å"Dante's not Maddie, believe me.† â€Å"Fair enough. She's great†¦I care about her†¦love her†¦I don't know. It's all just different.† Silence fell, but it was comfortable. â€Å"Good lord. I can't believe we're discussing this rationally.† â€Å"See? Not so hard to be friends.† I had my doubts about that. â€Å"I guess.† â€Å"Don't worry. We'll keep trying. Before long, we'll be on a bowling league or something.† He spoke his words lightly, but there was a catch that belied the truth of his words. Being friends wasn't easy for Seth either. He still cared about me and was suffering just as much as me with this separation. Seeing that made something in me soften. â€Å"Hey, it's okay. We'll make this work.† I reached out to hug him, and he automatically returned it. I felt warm and safe and right in his embrace-until he casually squeezed my back. I cried out, jerking away at the pain that shot through me. We sprang apart, and he looked at me in alarm. â€Å"What's wrong? Are you okay?† â€Å"It's†¦complicated.† My standard answer to uncomfortable questions. â€Å"Georgina!† â€Å"It's nothing. Don't worry about it.† He strode toward me, reached a hand out, then pulled back. Intensity filled his face. â€Å"Are you hurt?† I tried to keep out of his reach. â€Å"Look, I got in a fight last night, and I'm sporting some, uh, residual effects. It's mostly gone, though, so there's nothing to worry about.† â€Å"You? Got in a fight? With who?† â€Å"Whom. And it was with Nanette. I told you, it's nothing.† â€Å"Who's Nanette?† â€Å"She's†¦a demon.† He gave me a level look. â€Å"A demon. A full-fledged demon.† â€Å"Something like that.† â€Å"Let me see your back.† â€Å"Seth-â€Å" â€Å"Georgina! Let me see your back.† There was anger in his words, not at me, but at the thought of someone hurting me. It reminded me a little of Dante's reaction, except that Dante always had a bit of anger in him. It was normal. To see it woken up in Seth†¦to see him so passionate and fierce†¦ Slowly, slowly, I turned around and undid the front of my robe, letting it slip halfway down my back. I heard Seth gasp at what he saw, and then a few moments later, he stepped forward and pushed my hair off my back so that he could get a better view. I shivered when his fingers touched my skin. â€Å"Georgina†¦this is horrible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It was worse before.† I spoke flippantly, hoping to deflect his worry and realizing I'd only increased it now. â€Å"Worse?† I tugged the robe up and turned back around. â€Å"Mei healed it. I'm fine.† â€Å"Yeah, it seems that way.† â€Å"Look, it's nothing you have to worry about.† â€Å"Not worry about?† His eyes were filled with incredulity. â€Å"Even when you're†¦normal†¦a demon could still kill you, right?† â€Å"Yeah.† Seth put his hand to his forehead and sighed. â€Å"This is what it's like, isn't it?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"What you went through with me. Living with the fear that I could die. Having it tear you apart.† I didn't answer right away. â€Å"You don't have to worry about me. This'll work out.† â€Å"Did this†¦did Nanette do this because of your investigating?† I nodded, then crooked him a wry smile. â€Å"Still like how brave I am?† He stepped closer to me and looked me up and down in a way that was so serious, my smile faded. â€Å"Even after this, you aren't going to stop, are you? You're going to keep pushing to find Jerome?† â€Å"Do you want me to stop?† This was almost like my earlier conversation with Dante, when he'd made it clear he thought I was a fool for continuing with my quest. Seth's answer was a long time in coming. â€Å"I don't want you to get hurt. But I understand you, and I know why you have to do this†¦and it's still part of that strange, brave nature of yours that's so†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He didn't finish, but I saw the anguish in his eyes, the worry and heartache over something happening to me. It was mingled with something else, though. Pride. Affection. I put my arms around him again, wanting to comfort him now. â€Å"Hey, hey. It's going to be okay. I'll be okay.† His hands rested on my hips, careful of my back, but honestly, I barely noticed. My attention was on his lips, pressed against my cheek. â€Å"Georgina, Georgina,† he breathed against my skin. â€Å"You are†¦incredible.† And like in the car, I don't know who exactly was to blame, but our lips met and were kissing again. Unlike before, we didn't break apart out of shock. We kept kissing. And kissing. His lips were intoxicating and felt like they'd been designed especially for mine. Our bodies pressed against one another, though his embrace was still gentle. As the kiss continued, that same sensation came back to me: this was purely a kiss. Just an expression of love between two people with no dire side effects, no soul stealing. The longer it went on, the more amazed I was. By now, as a succubus, I would have begun to taste his energy and feel his thoughts. But not now. I was alone in my own head, savoring his body and not his soul. We pulled back slightly, and he moved his hands up to the side of my face, smoothing my hair away and touching my cheek. â€Å"Georgina. You are†¦beautiful.† We kissed again, and it was so sweet, so pure, that it didn't seem possible. I hadn't had a physical experience that could really be called sweet or pure since†¦well, since my mortal days. But this was. And by pure, I didn't mean non-sexual†¦because my body was definitely awake and yearning for his. But, it was pure in the sense that there were no ulterior machinations here, just our feelings. My love for him was the turn-on, and as his hands ran down my arms and back to my hips, it was the knowledge that it was Seth that made it all so powerful. His hands carefully moved down to the robe's tie and undid the knot. He broke the kiss and studied my face as he hesitantly, almost reverently, slipped the robe off me. It hit the floor, and I stepped away from it. Seth moved with me, running his fingers along my arms, leaning down to kiss my neck. I tilted my head back as my own hands began pushing up his T-shirt. When I had it half-way, he paused to push it up the rest of the way. Then his hands were on my waist once more, sliding down and feeling the curve of my hips. I had on plain cotton panties-sexily cut, at least-and his fingertips traced the edges down along my thighs, every touch soft yet quivering with pent-up energy. I don't think I was being quite as gentle. I was hungry to touch him, eager as I ran my hands along his chest and the lean muscles of his stomach. I wanted to kiss it and taste it and lose myself in all things Seth. I began backing up toward my bedroom, and he followed, turning hesitant once we reached the bed and I started to sit. â€Å"You can't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he began. â€Å"I can lie down,† I said, doing exactly that. â€Å"I just can't slam my back down or anything.† After watching me for a moment, making sure I spoke the truth, Seth took off his jeans and lay down next to me. I rolled slightly to my side, pressing back to him. We resumed kissing, doing no more than that, just letting our nearly bare bodies wrap around each other. Having all this skin touching between us was heady. Never, never had I imagined it could really happen. Our hands explored each other, feeling every line and curve we'd always been denied. Every gesture between us was exquisite. Every caress was a prayer. We regarded each other's bodies with wonder and joy. When my hands slipped to the edges of his boxers, I found his own fingers were tugging at my panties. We hardly needed any communication, and once completely naked, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him toward me and seeking the completion with him I'd so long dreamed of. To my surprise, he pulled from my arms and scooted down the bed. â€Å"What are you doing?† I asked. â€Å"This,† he said. He smoothly pushed my legs apart, and I felt him shower my inner thighs with light, delicate kisses. Up and up his warm mouth moved until he made contact with my clit. I gasped softly at the fire that coursed through me from that light flick of the tongue. It was so light†¦yet so powerful. I'd been so intoxicated with the simple fact that we could touch that I hadn't been consciously aware of just how aroused I had grown. I ached and was wet and nearly melted at his touch. He lifted his mouth up slightly. â€Å"Do you know how long I've dreamed about this? To be able to touch you? To taste you?† I had little chance to ponder his rhetorical question because his lips returned to me, sucking and licking, somehow infinitely gentle and blazingly hot at the same time. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the pleasure of it, of Seth bringing me closer and closer to orgasm. As my muscles tightened and my cries grew more frequent, he intensified his movements, his tongue dancing and teasing harder and more rapidly. I wanted to hold off, to prolong this as I did his books, but I couldn't help it. My climax hit me hard and fast, and I moaned long and low as I came. All the while, Seth kept his mouth down there, refusing to let up as my body arched and trembled from the sparks of ecstasy that flowed through me. When my body finally quieted, he lifted himself up again and returned to my side, showering my chest with more of those tiny kisses. I brought my face to his, trading in the little kisses for one big one. His mouth tasted like me, and I opened my lips farther and farther as our tongues stroked each other. I might have come already, but I still burned between my legs and still needed him. I pressed myself against him, wrapping my legs around him so that there was almost no space between our hips. â€Å"Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he said warningly. It was another sign of how well we knew each other that I realized he wasn't worried about asking permission about what came next. He was worried about my back again. So, shifting over, I rolled him to his back and straddled him, looking down at him with a small smile. He gave me an answering one, amused by my ready solution. As we held gazes, I was again overwhelmed with the emotion of the experience, of how indescribable it was to finally touch someone I loved. I had been terrified at the thought of dying, but I realized then that I was only afraid of dying uselessly. For Seth, to save him, I would have gladly laid down my life. He was right. We were connected in something bigger than both of us. Empowered by that realization, I lowered my hips, joining us at last. I felt him enter me, felt him fill me up. We both paused then, neither breathing or moving, half-expecting something to happen or end this. Nothing did, and after that, I didn't hesitate any further. I slowly moved my hips up and down, savoring the feel of him in me and underneath me as he glided in and out. My hands were on his chest and his were on my hips. Our eyes were on each other, never wavering, never breaking contact. How to describe sex with Seth? It's difficult. It was unlike anything I'd had in my existence as a succubus. Somewhere, in the back of my head, it resonated with memories of my marriage, when my husband and I had still been happy. Every other instance after that had been lacking†¦until now. Each movement and touch with Seth was a dream, a wonder. The intensity of our lovemaking steadily increased. My need for him grew stronger and stronger, and I rode him with a ferocity that was still tender and full of the love that burned between us. I loved the feel of him, loved how I could thrust him into me, hard and deep. And yet†¦ â€Å"It's not enough,† I murmured. â€Å"We're still not close enough.† It might have been a foolish sentiment, considering we were as physically close as two people could be. But Seth understood. â€Å"I know,† he gasped. â€Å"I know. We'll never be close enough.† Joy lit his face then, and when he came, his body arched up toward mine. I leaned down and increased my rhythm and hardness, wanting so badly to be even closer and have as much of him in me as I could. His mouth parted in a soft moan that mirrored my earlier one, and when he started to instinctively close his eyes, he quickly opened them again to stay locked with my gaze. There was no looking away between us, no avoiding what we felt. As I stared into his eyes and felt his body's trembling fade, energy seemed to crackle between our souls in a way that had nothing to do with succubus soul-stealing. Carefully, I eased myself off him and lay down on my side again, draping my body over his. I was drowning in feeling and emotion. â€Å"Georgina,† he murmured, pulling me closer. â€Å"You are the world.† I'd heard that somewhere before, but I was too overwhelmed to parse it much. I was too lost in Seth. Instead, what I said was unoriginal but absolutely true: â€Å"I love you.†

Counseling Scenario

The second scenario involves children in a divorce counseling group. It is expected that emotions can and will be stirred. Surprisingly, my co-leader became angry at one of the children after the latter described how angry she is at her mother. My co-leader reacted by comparing the child with her daughter and the child’s mother to another â€Å"victim†. The reaction of my co-leader is certainly uncalled for and is beyond our professional limits as counselors. Nevertheless, there are several ways in handling the situation. The most immediate step that can be done is to control the situation. This can be achieved by directly intervening and talking things down. I can explain to the child that my co-leader has also been in the same situation as hers and that, as a consequence, her feelings can go off as well. On the other hand, I will also tell my co-leader that we should be professional in dealing with the children. I will explain to her that much is expected from us as counselors, and that we should not let our personal circumstances cloud our judgment. I will further remind her that the reason why we are counseling the children in the first place is because they need counseling and because we are in a better position to understand their experiences. It is said that â€Å"to behave in ways which are destructive to oneself or others is not only distressing and disturbing, but also ethically inadmissible† (Callender, 1998, p. 77). This particularly applies to counselors. Ethical guidelines should always be kept in mind so that counselors will act appropriately with respect to their clients (Voskuijl and Evers, 2007). It is important for us, counselors, to bear in mind our professional responsibilities. We should not let our emotions and personal circumstances get in the way of our responsibilities towards others. My co-leader should learn from the ethical guidelines of being a counselor or from plain moral sensibilities.

Critical article about LEADERSHIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critical article about LEADERSHIP - Essay Example The first part of the debate is whether leaders are born innately or if leaders are developed. Some theories point out that some people might be born with the innate ability to command and influence others. This describes what has become known as the Trait theory. With a biological basis, it states that people possess certain traits. Some of these traits in which we are born with make us more suitable leaders than others (Day p262-265). Thus, those with the correct combination of traits will become leaders in society. Also, the Great Man theory states that great leaders will be born when there is a need for them. Others point out that as we develop as humans, our natural leadership abilities require training and fostering. This is the Behavioral theory and it talks specifically how leadership is a learned process rather than an acquired trait. Since leadership can be taught, this allows the person to develop traits that he/she deems will be important in the course of leadership devel opment (Griffin & Moorhead p311-312). It is a combination of both. Rather than have just one theory explain the entire aspect, it is acceptable to take in the fact that either one could be used to describe how leadership skills are created. One of the important concepts to address regarding leadership theory is to evaluate the skills that are essential for leadership. The first and utmost important skill is in communication. Communication skills are necessary for the leader to communicate his/her ideas to his/her subordinates. This is essential if the leader and the followers are going to function together in a cohesive manner. The second important skill of leadership is the power of delegation. As a leader, it is sometimes impossible to cover goals and challenges by yourself. Teamwork and delegation are needed to solve this. Delegation involves a leader giving up some of his/her power or influence in order to ensure that multiple tasks get done. The final essential skill of leaders hip is cultural competency. In the globalized economy, leaders are constantly facing encounters with people of different races, cultures, ideals, etc. As a leader, it might be necessary to work with someone who does not share the same values as you. As a result, you need to learn to have acceptance as well as understanding which are the foundation and underlying themes of cultural competency. The first main theory is that of transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is often seen in the educational and economical context. It relies on the exchange of both punishments and reinforcements in order to attain goals (Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas p155). In psychology, punishments are meant to decrease a behavior. Positive punishment is when you increase a negative stimulus in order to decrease a certain type of behavior. Negative punishment is when you decrease a stimulus in order to cause a decrease of a certain type of behavior. For example, if an employee is late the manager can ch oose to decrease his salary in an attempt to decrease his tardiness. Reinforcements are meant to increase a behavior which a person has deemed valuable. Positive reinforcement is increasing a stimulus in order to cause an increase in desired behavior. In the educational setting, a professor will give a student who deserves a good grade an â€Å"A† and hopefully this will encourage the increased academic effort put forth by the student.

The Human Body in Renaissance Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Human Body in Renaissance Art - Essay Example As the paper stresses  the Ancient Greek and Roman arts prompted fantasy amongst the renaissance arts leading to the preoccupation with the body offered a stark in comparison to the medieval tradition. The Renaissance arts also exhibited high levels of the value of spirit as compared to flesh thus medieval artists had intensively worked in terms of abstract and two-dimensional linear model that elaborated a deemphasized corporeality.This study highlights that there had been huge dissatisfactions amongst the earlier approach thus the fifteenth-century artists borrowed intensively from the body-conscious excellence undertaken by the ancient Greek and Roman sculpture that drew intensive inspiration from the predominant portrayal of nudity and application of massive drapery that showing articulation of the body. The renaissance arts exhibited strong inclinations towards the revelation and concealing of the limbs and torso parts.  Renaissance sculptures hugely recognised the perfected classification of mathematical ratios that aided in the process of presenting beauty to the ideal beauty of ancient art. The idea created increased levels of fascination amongst the Renaissance artists. They majorly unlocked the process through the adoption of the intense analysis of the ancient texts and also creating intensive propping of survival works of art.  There are an outlined indication that Mantegna borrowed critical insights from Greek and Roman sculptures and the beauty of the ancient art.

Individual critical review report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Individual critical review report - Essay Example Some of the common changes that many students experience changes in culture, language and system of education. This was not any different in my case. The various changes experienced can be behavioral, cognitive, psychodynamic and humanistic; having an influence in personal strengths and weaknesses whose understanding is important in future career development and improvement. Personality Change Theories Philosophy, Psychology and sociology theorists and experts have always claimed that personality of a person can change in certain circumstances. Changes can occur when a person relocates to another place, which is different from the region they are used to or when they decide they are going to make changes in some things about themselves. Personality change when a person relocates to another place is based on the theories discussed hereafter. Behavioral This is simply the change of behavior of a person either towards something for improvement or change of environment. Change of environ ment especially comes with its own challenges. Things may be different in the new environment compared to the environment a person is used to. The person has to imitate the behavior and actions of the people in the new environment to fit in and survive. ... For college students, they fall under the category of young adults which according to Erikson ranges from twenty to thirty nine years. This stage is based on two characteristics, intimacy and isolation. Erikson states that this stage is important for people within that age bracket to have good relationships with other people. The consequence of this is two outcomes; intimacy or isolation. People, who learn how to connect with other people, share with them what their feelings and to appreciate their viewpoints and perspectives on different issues get intimacy. They have people they can always look up to when they need them. On the other hand, people who do not develop good relationships with other people do not have anyone to connect to or look up to. They live on their own in isolation (Schultz and Schultz, 2004). The consequences of Erikson’s theory of psychological development have a lot of impact on the people. While people who have intimate relations are usually happy and stress free, those that live in isolation are likely to be depressed making them to engage in activities that are not good for instance substance abuse. Basing on this psychological development theory by Erikson, I have learned to interact with people from across the world for the time I have been studying abroad. I have developed relations with many people that I met at the University. I believe I have understood them to the fullest and they have also understood my personality. There was a lot of fulfillment I experienced by sharing my joy, issues and challenges with the friend I have made at college. I have learned to appreciate every person as we were from different cultural, ethnic

Influences of Conformity and Obedience Paper Essay

Influences of Conformity and Obedience Paper - Essay Example But while conformity and obedience may be relatively easily defined, their incidences in various situations are not. Conformity and Obedience Defined Conformity generally entails group members changing their minds to suit the attitudes and opinions of the majority. Here we must also include the concept of compliance in understanding the nature of eventual obedience, since compliance is only slightly different from conformity in that in being compliant one must [consciously] adapt his or her actions to another’s wishes or rules. While the former has less to do with personality than choice, the latter requires of its subject a particular personality that allows them to yield. Obedience, on the other hand, requires the acknowledgment of authority and one’s acquiescence to it. Thus a compliant individual may not necessarily or automatically be inclined to conform, although studies have shown â€Å"†¦those that conform tend to be obedient and compliant† (Constabl e, Schuler, Klaber & Rakauskas 1999, par. 1-2). Solomon Asch: Group Pressure and Conformity Social psychologist Solomon Asch’s early (1951) experiments on group pressure and conformity, and ultimately his conclusions provide an interesting and sometimes disturbing clinical view of how humans pressured by the group perceive themselves in relationship to their environment and others. Much of what Asch concludes through the experiments links directly to psychological disorders prevalent in studies conducted over time. Therapies suggested for such disorders and favored by given psychologists often differ, undoubtedly due to what has been described above as differences in personalities that prompt unreasoning conformity, obedience or disobedience, or both. The conduct of Asch’s study was fairly straightforward. Ache showed students in groups of eight to ten--all of whom except one in each group had been coached beforehand to pick the wrong answer on twelve of the eighteen c ards. Each card had a group of three bar lines on the right, and one bar line. Students were asked to pick one bar from a series of three on the right that best matched the one bar on the left. Most subjects were told to deliberately give the wrong answer. Asch arranged the questioning so that most wrong answers would be given before the test subject in the group made his or her decision. The results were significant and according to Zimbardo and Gerrig (2010): â€Å"50 and 80 percent†¦conformed with the false majority estimate†¦a third†¦yielded to the majority’s wrong judgments on half or more of the critical trials† (p. 550). The results prompted Asch, according to age-of-the sage.org (n.d) to conclude: "The tendency to conformity in our society is so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white black. This is a matter of concern. It raises questions about our ways of education and about the values that gui de our conduct" (par 7). What this says about our desire not to be different, but to conform with our peers is significant. What it may say in some cases about the role of obedience in this behavior is, according to Berg and Bass (1961) citing Champney (1941), pertinent. The significance of parental attitudes and behavior on the subsequent conformity found in their children†¦suggested that when parents tend to dominate their children, restraining the children's efforts to solve some of

Hanson- understanding the text Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hanson- understanding the text - Essay Example However, he contradicts his opinion by mentioning that the large population can only be sustained by either agriculture, or starves by service production, claiming that both are unattainable (Hanson 428). This contradiction of ideas shrinks the sense in his argument. The population that lived in the 19th century made great impacts on present Californians consumption. Hanson refers to this generation as â€Å"type of Californian† and classifies it to having disappeared. Worth noting, the generation carried away with them the ideologies and traits that best suited Californians, â€Å"credo that once made us what we were† (Hanson 431). In the words Hanson classifies Californian as having adequate resources to sustain its population. Fore fathers toiled hard to better the next generation. Casual work created a better life, but the current service production such as acting movies, saving newts makes results into trauma. Therefore to Hanson, Californians can’t substitute hard work to entertainment as less toiling as the former is the source of the

Neuroscience Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Neuroscience - Article Example the center 4 tiles), the amount of time a rat spent in the center of the field (i.e. the center 4 tiles), and the number of tile crossings all indicated that rats treated with LiCl had indeed reduced risk taking, locomotor activity and exploratory behavior when undergoing the open-field test compared to sodium chloride (NaCl) treated control rats. Note, the tendency of the rat to cling and spend much time on the walls of the test apparatus indicates a high level of anxiety or fear. On the contrary, a less fearful rat portrays the tendency of greater exploration within the experiment apparatus. As such, the rats that had been injected with LiCl spent much time on the walls of the apparatus – a sign of increased fear and high level of anxiety. The results obtained in this test were in agreement with other studies previously conducted. Laboratory observations have suggested an interaction between lithium chloride (LiCl) and exploratory behavior of rats. Studies have confirmed that LiCl administration tends to suppress locomotor activity in rats (Johnson et al., 1972). An open field apparatus was used to observe the exploratory behavior and the movement of the rats one hour after the injection of LiCl. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of LiCl on risk taking, exploratory behavior, and locomotor activity of rats. The behavioral pharmacology test conducted was aimed at seeing the effectiveness of Lithium chloride on the various specimens used and their response. The experiment used Lithium Chloride as the main ingredient and sodium chloride as the control solution. The main objective of the experiment was an observation of the effects of taking against not taking Lithium chloride and on the other hand taking sodium chloride. We used an Open Field Apparatus from whence we could observe the behavior of the rat immediately after the injection with the drug.

Surreal vs. Real Life Essay Example for Free

Surreal vs. Real Life Essay Every normal human at one point in their life wishes and dreams of, and even craves the existence of a utopia, a surreal life. All (all as in reference to human beings, with a mature level of thinking) want a life that offers more of an upward stability compared to a current state of being, which in some aspect may be lacking. Where an ideal life may not include any troubles found today, and offers the cliche of clouds with a silver lining, real life includes not only troubles but also so much more, which provides many nameable contrasts between the two. In one world there is sunshine all year round, in the other a grossly challenging variety, often not wanting to be faced. In the perfect life, there is happiness and freedom from worry and hardships. Heaven on earth, long thought over and sought by many, a truly tempting mouth watering alteration of our existence that is so wanted, yet completely out of reach. Everyones daydream is comforting to dream, take them to this imaginary place where every home is of equal value, every car is built by the same manufacturer, and every family has the same number of children, and includes pets. This is where it never rains on game day, or on anyones parade. Its also the seemingly perfect place, sound economically as well as politically. A dream come true, for most, with an almost euphoric peace of mind. A world where it is safe to unlock your doors, take the bars off your windows, never fears that your car parked on the street will in some way be damaged, and go a walk well after dark. Children can play outside without fear of being viscously attacked, even by the neighbors dog. Where everything that does happens, happens for a reason, but is always beneficial. Everything is just as it should be, because another way would be unknown. All living things are never without, never wanting, never needy. There would be no competition to out do one another; no two people standing in opposite corners waiting to battle over who has greater stamina, or more power; everyone is equal. People are courteous and respectful, and have no reason for malice or greed. Grief and suffering over the loss of something, of someone, would never come, for in a utopia, there is no death, or even days filled with gloom. As a matter of fact there is nothing, and life such  as this is typical for this world from our point of view, but expected, and appreciated. Now the dream crushing normalcy, or life as we know it. Without a shadow of a doubt, life is not perfect no matter how outward appearances may seem. What is shown on the outside may be a shield to hide the turmoil within. Actors or actresses, singers, millionaires and even royalty encounter problems that they must face, and conquer just the same as the middle and lower class. Real life offers two extremes; overwhelming joy such as the birth of a baby; a marriage; a gathering of loved ones for a special celebration, and horrendous sorrow like death, loss of love, or any other unforeseen tragedy. With low-lying mediums where the day isnt any better, or isnt any worse then the preceding or possibly the following. Life brings trials and tribulations, which assist us in snapping back into the harsh reality of every day. Even the short spurts of good luck granted to us, the lost souls, are more of a burden then a pleasure, for we all know that one day all good things must come to an end. Happiness, the only comparison between real and the surreal, is merely a rock compared to the mountain of pain. Terrorist attacks, death, famine, destruction, starvation, murder, drug abuse, suicide, broken homes, just to name a few, would be a fictional horror stories told by campfire, and would never occur in the utopian world, which is why they are so different. Contrasting the surreal and the norm is like contrasting night and day. Think about it. In a utopian world everybody would literally be free of the shackles of normal life. Whereas in our lives, people are imprisoned for violent crimes committed and the masses are in a constant state of fear. Now not to be completely one sided, a surreal life and our everyday life have in common, a handful of things. We are not here to discuss the likeness, but the enormous range of differences that make a fairly tale life so desirable. Life grants everyone opportunities, but in return we must give up something, i.e., friends, family, that special someone, ECT, so either way we are, in a sense, constantly unhappiness. In a utopia we could have both. Actually we could have it all. This brings me to a question. Who would want to live in a world where everything is perfect, in a constant state of contentment? There  would never be any excitement; from a natural perspective life would be dull; boring. One must admit if given the choice to live in a perfect world described as a black and white movie or a fiction novel, or to live in a world filled with color, the choice would be carefully thought and not made in haste, and all pros and cons would be heavily weighed. Why, because the decision to live within or on a flat plane with no peaks and valleys, versus the spice if you will of reality would be difficult for some, for even though the challenge may be unwanted, there would be curiosity as to what will happen, and that is exciting. Given all aspects, most would choose to live in the world we currently inhabit, despite the drama, devastation, or glory we are never sure as to what we are going hear, of whiteness, from one day to the next, whether it is good or bad and with that we truly experience life. While it may not always be taken accordingly, it is fulfilling in all ways.

Increasing Pedestrian Safety

Increasing Pedestrian Safety 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction Intersection is the most critical place for pedestrian as they come directly into contact with the ongoing traffic. Both signalized and un-signalized intersection pose a safety concern and different measures have been taken to safely and effectively accommodate pedestrian and traffic in the intersections. To accommodate pedestrians, two common types of pedestrian phasing have been used at signalized intersections -concurrent phasing and exclusive phasing (or scramble phasing). Concurrent pedestrian phasing is the most common and used all over the world, but there are so many places where exclusive pedestrian phasing has also been used. A concurrent phasing allows pedestrian to cross parallelly with the motor vehicle traffic on any approach having green indication. Both pedestrians and vehicles share the same green phase of traffic signal which allows longer flow of traffic and pedestrians. The interaction of traffic come with the pedestrian due to right turning and left turning movements across the pedestrian crosswalk. There may be another interaction from the vehicles of right turns on red from the approach perpendicular to the crosswalk. Alternatively, an exclusive pedestrian phase is only for pedestrian crossing which stops all the vehicular movement and pedestrian can cross any direction including diagonally. This increases the overall cycle length of the signal, but ensures no interaction of pedestrian with the traffic. 2.2 Academic Research To address pedestrian safety huge amount of research has been done, but there is still much work to do and there is still scope to look from a different new perspective and analyze the safety measures. There are various factors responsible for pedestrian safety at an intersection and different studies have been done to analyze those factors and measure the importance. But, surprisingly, there have been relatively few studies performed comparing concurrent and exclusive pedestrian phase form the viewpoint of the safety benefits, number of illegal crossings, crash number and change in LOS of the intersections. After the implementation of an exclusive pedestrian phase, it is very essential to understand how users are accepting this. Any facility can be a failure if the people cannot use the way it should be used. Positive and accepting perspective is crucial for the success of an exclusive pedestrian phase as non-compliance will lead to illegal crossing which will undue the ultimate goal of exclusive pedestrian signal. McKernan et al. (2016) investigated pedestrian compliance of concurrent and exclusive pedestrian crossing at 42 signalized intersections to find whether there are differences between pedestrian compliance with exclusive pedestrian phasing and concurrent pedestrian phasing. They used binary regression model to estimate pedestrian compliance and they considered pedestrian phasing type, intersection characteristics such as vehicular and pedestrian volume, crossing distance and speed limit. They found significantly higher pedestrian compliance with concurrent pedestrian phasing t hen exclusive pedestrian phasing. But the difference was not significant when they considered exclusive pedestrian phase intersections as if it had concurrent phasing and they concluded that pedestrian treat exclusive pedestrian phase as a concurrent pedestrian phase. (McKernan, 2016). Few other researchers observed and collected data regarding pedestrian compliance with exclusive pedestrian phase. According to Lina Kattan, public showed a positive attitude toward exclusive pedestrian phase and they understood the change in the way the intersection used to work and accepted it. (Lina Kattan 2009). To get the benefits of an exclusive pedestrian phasing, it is necessary to understand pedestrian crossing behavior in such an unconventional facility. Few studies investigated the changes in pedestrian crossing behavior following the implementation of an exclusive pedestrian phase. Hediyeh et al. (2015) investigate the changed behavior using spatiotemporal gait parameters (step length and step frequency). They found both average step length and walking speed were significantly higher for diagonally crossing pedestrians compared with pedestrians crossing on the conventional crosswalks. They found pedestrians to have the tendency to increase their step length more than their step frequency to increase walking speed. They also found that, compared with men, women generally increase their walking speed by increasing their step frequency more than step length. However, when in non-compliance with signal indications, women increase their walking speed by increasing their step length more t han step frequency. (H. Hediyeh, 2015). Medina et al. also emphasized on better understanding of pedestrian behavior at locations with exclusive pedestrian phases. To do that they collected field data from a college campus at busy intersection and analyzed the individual and group crossing data. From the analysis, they found 15th percentile speeds for the diagonal and the parallel crossings were respectively 4.37ft/s and 4.49 ft./s which are higher than the 3.5 ft./s as recommended by the MUTCD. They also found, 15th percentile speeds of pedestrians traveling individually and those in free flow were significantly higher than those traveling in groups and in non-free-flowing conditions. In addition, they observed fewer pedestrian to cross diagonally than parallelly. (J. C. Medina, 2014). Hediyeh et al. (2014) has also investigated changes in pedestrian speed behavior following the implementation of an exclusive pedestrian phase. They studied pedestrian speed variations with respect t o design changes to intersection crossings. The results showed that the average crossing speed is higher after the implementation of the exclusive pedestrian phase. They found higher average crossing speed for diagonal crossing than side crosswalk crossing. They also observed pedestrians to have higher speed through the first half of the crosswalk. (Houman Hediyeh, 2014) Marsh et al. conducted a survey and an analysis of existing pedestrian and vehicle movements to find the change in patterns that would result from the inclusion of an exclusive pedestrian phase in the existing signalized intersections. He considered convenience, comfort and safety as three main requirements for pedestrian crossing and the improvement of these criteria due to the change of crossing facility. The investigation showed that the three criteria are not enhanced by the change to exclusive pedestrian control. He also found vehicular traffic is to be disadvantaged with an increase in delays, stops and longer queues at traffic signals. Again, he found an increase in pedestrian delay by varying degrees, though it reduces the distance pedestrians must travel. Using a computerized simulation, he found that exclusive pedestrian phasing would have resulted in a 5% to 7% reduction in distance traveled by pedestrians at several intersections in New Zealand. (Marsh, 1982) The main purpose of implementing an exclusive pedestrian phase is to reduce the interaction of pedestrian with the traffic. Though it is designed to meet the purpose but the filed condition is not always favorable. Various reasons may be responsible for this including illegal pedestrian crossing, red light running etc. The interaction may not always lead to a safety hazard but definitely this is crucial for the success of exclusive pedestrian phase. Zhanga et al. (2015) compared exclusive and concurrent pedestrian phasing from the perspective of severity of interaction with motor vehicles where they observed and classified pedestrian crossing and severity of interaction. From their research, they found that, pedestrian experience lower interaction severity with motor vehicles with exclusive pedestrian phase compared to crossing on the green light with concurrent pedestrian phase. They also found lower crash number in case of exclusive pedestrian phase but crash severity was high than crashes of concurrent pedestrian phase. (Yaohua Zhanga, 2015) Reducing interaction is supposed to lead in reduction of pedestrian crash number. As pedestrian phase is implemented only to accommodate pedestrian safely it was thought to reduce pedestrian crash number significantly. Different study shows different results regarding the reduction of crash frequency. Zegeer et al. (1982) studied 1296 traffic signalized intersection to determine significance of pedestrian signal indications and signal timing strategies to pedestrian accidents. From their analysis using different statistical tests, they found no significant difference in pedestrian accidents between intersections that had concurrent walk pedestrian signals compared with intersections that had no pedestrian signal indications. For exclusive pedestrian crossing, they found lower number of pedestrian crashes with moderate to high pedestrian volume. (Charles V. Zegeer, 1982). Again, Garder et al. (1989) tested the safety benefit of exclusive pedestrian crossing at three sites and found to be beneficial in small town but not in city. He found that exclusive pedestrian signal may not be effective in city due to high number of red walker in the city traffic signal intersection. He suggested that shorter waiting time will decreases the number of red walking. (Garder, 1989). As the sample size was not very large, detailed study is required to say where exclusive pedestrian phase is beneficial, in the city or in the small town. Zaidel et al. (1987) also tested the relationship between pedestrian crossing types and average number of accidents including both pedestrian and vehicle accidents. From their analyzed 5-year data from 320 signalized intersections they concluded that, pedestrian crossing type has no effect on vehicular accident and very less effect on pedestrian accident. They identified vehicle volume, pedestrian activity, and intersection complexity as the reasons behind pedestrian and vehicular accidents. But they indicated that, exclusive and concurrent pedestr ian phases may provide different degrees of pedestrian protection for different combination of vehicle and pedestrian volume. (D. M. Zaidel, 1987). Fleig and Duffy found no significant reduction in the proportion of unsafe acts or pedestrian accidents after the installation of exclusive pedestrian signals at 11 locations. Their accident data were limited to 27 accidents in the before period and 25 accidents in the after period, with each of these periods only one year in duration. The authors of the study concluded that pedestrian signals are not effective in reducing pedestrian accidents (P. Fleig, 1967). But the limited data used raise questions about the statistical validity of this conclusion. Chen et al. evaluated relative effectiveness of four signal related pedestrian countermeasures in New York City and found exclusive pedestrian phase as the second most effective countermeasure to reduce pedestrian crashes but they described it to insignificantly increase vehicle crashes. ( Li Chen, 2012). The few published evaluations of scramble signals have generally found that in cases in which vehicle volumes are high, scramble phasing has reduced crashes and traffic conflicts. Moreover, in cases with high pedestrian volume conflicting with turning vehicles, scramble phasing has been shown to be especially effective. Abrams et al. conducted a research to compare safety of pedestrians and delay of both pedestrian and vehicles for four different types of phasing facility of an intersection. The results of the study indicated that the combined pedestrian-vehicle interval will almost always minimize overall pedestrian and vehicle delay. The only exception occurs for the case in which a pedestrian-vehicle conflict causes long queues of vehicles to form in a right-turning lane (or left-turning lane on a one-way street). They suggested that, exclusive pedestrian phasing is capable of increasing pedestrian safety by completely separating pedestrian and vehicular movements; however, this benefit is canceled if pedestrian compliance is low. They emphasized that, if violations are frequent, the use of exclusive pedestrian phasing may be a safety hazard. (C. M. Abrams, 1977) Very few researchers tried to model exclusive pedestrian phase and evaluate the delay. Nash et al. carried out a modelling work to assess the efficiency of exclusive pedestrian phases at traffic signals. They examined one cross intersection and one T-intersection in the Melbourne CBD and used SIDRA software package to model the existing two-phase operation and the three-phase exclusive pedestrian crossing arrangement. They found a slight increase in pedestrian delay and significant increase in vehicular delay. (D. Nash, 2010) The main reason behind insignificant reduction of pedestrian crash number is number of illegal crossing. Since, traffic is stopped on all directions, exclusive pedestrian phasing results in longer delays for motor vehicles and pedestrians. The illegal crossing is intrigued by this long waiting time which can make pedestrian frustrated. In such case, pedestrians often do not wait for the pedestrian phase, potentially resulting in unexpected interactions between pedestrians and motor vehicles. The requested pedestrian phase may then go unused, but the drives have to wait for the phase to run its course. It also impacts them negatively and red light running may increase. Pedestrian phase is an additional phase. Few studies showed that crash frequency in a signalized intersection may change due to increase of the number of signal phases. Agbelie et al. investigated crash data of seven years from 381 intersections and concluded that, a unit increase in the number of signal phases would in crease crash frequency by 0.4. (Bismark R. D. K. Agbelie, 2014) Some researcher has got opportunity to conduct study right after the implantation of an exclusive pedestrian signal like Kattan et al. (2009), who conducted a study to evaluate the pedestrian safety of an exclusive pedestrian phase at an intersection of Canada. They collected pedestrian conflicts on that intersection for six weeks and developed poison regression model to model the number of conflicts and violations. Their findings showed decreased pedestrian-vehicle conflicts but increased pedestrian signal violations. They found 13% of the violation was safe as it was concurrent with the vehicle movement and 2% crossings were unsafe. (Lina Kattan, 2009). They continued the study to determine the longer-term effect of this operation on pedestrian safety. To do that, they collected data again one year after the implementation of exclusive pedestrian signal and developed four poison regression model to model the number of conflicts and violations. They found some changes in the results from the previous study conducted at the same location. Their results showed that the number of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts and pedestrian violations decreased significantly on weekdays but both pedestrian violations and conflicts increased significantly on weekends after implementation of the scramble operation. (Manoj Shah, 2010). Bechtel et al. (2004) conducted a similar study in the city of Oakland, California to determine the safety impacts of an exclusive pedestrian signal. They found statistically significant decrease in the number of conflicts between pedestrian and vehicle but significant increase in the number of illegal crossing. They concluded that exclusive pedestrian phase improved pedestrian safety despite the increased number of illegal crossing as those illegal crossings are concurrent to traffic flow which makes the crossing somehow safe. (Allyson K. Bechtel K. E., 2003). Several other researchers tried to measure the pedestrian- vehicle conflict level for exclus ive pedestrian signal. Yang et al. (2005) found that exclusive pedestrian phases are effective measures to reduce conflicts between pedestrians and motor vehicles at signalized intersections. (X. Yang, 2005). The main issue with implementing exclusive pedestrian phase is not having specific guidelines. For traffic signal or number of phasing there are developed guidelines to follow. But no specific guidelines for implementing exclusive pedestrian phase was found in MUTCD or similar sources. Few researchers suggested few cases when to install an exclusive pedestrian phase. According to Li Chan, exclusive pedestrian phase should be installed at intersections with many pedestrians and a modest amount of traffic. But no range was developed to follow or work on. Again, in downtown area where pedestrian accumulation is rapid, an exclusive pedestrian phase may be beneficial. Compared crash data has not covered long range of time. Previous few studies compared crash data for one to three years before and after the implementation. More detailed analysis is needed to come to the conclusion if the pedestrian safety has been improved or not. Implementation of a type of pedestrian signal is also related to the characteristics of the location and the problem that the intersection is facing. For example, increasing cycle length may not be effective in a university area, but may be needed in an area with high number of elderly people. The above-mentioned studies focused on the compliance issue, before and after crash analysis to some extent, and safety benefit, none of the studied examined the change of LOS in the intersection for different types of pedestrian facility. Again, pedestrian vehicle interaction and conflict count may be used to predict crashes. References Allyson K. Bechtel, K. E. (2003). Oakland Chinatown Pedestrian Scramble: An Evaluation. Safe Transportation Research Education Center . Allyson K. Bechtel, K. E. (2004). Pedestrian Scramble Signal in Chinatown Neighborhood of Oakland, California. Transportation Research Record , 19-26. Bismark R. D. K. Agbelie, A. M. (2014). Impacts of Signal-Related Characteristics on Crash Frequency at Urban Signalized Intersections. Journal of Transportation Safety Security, 7, 199-207. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2014.943867 C. M. Abrams, S. A. (1977). Selection of Pedestrian Signal Phasing. 56th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. Charles V. Zegeer, K. S. (1982). Effect of Pedestrian Signals and Signal Timing on Pedestrian Accidents. Transportation Research Board, 62-72. D. M. Zaidel, I. H. (1987). Safety of Pedestrian Crossings at Signalized Intersections. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1141, 1-6. D. Nash, . W. (2010). The efficiency of scramble crossings. Transport Research International Documentation. Garder, P. (1989). Pedestrian Safety at Traffic Signals: A Study Carried Out with the Help of a Traffic Conflicts Technique. Accident Analysis Prevention, 21, 435-444. H. Hediyeh, T. S. (2015). The use of gait parameters to evaluate pedestrian behavior at scramble phase signalized intersections. Journal of Advanced Transportation, 49, 523-534. doi:doi: 10.1002/atr.1284. Houman Hediyeh, T. S. (2014). Automated Analysis of Pedestrian Crossing Speed Behavior at Scramble-phase Signalized Intersections Using Computer Vision Techniques. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 8(5), 382-397. doi:10.1080/15568318.2012.708098 J. C. Medina, E. G. (2014). Analyzing Pedestrian Behavior during Exclusive Pedestrian Phases for Improved Intersection Signal Timing. TDI Congress 2014: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles . Li Chen, C. C. (2012). The relative effectiveness of signal related pedestrian countermeasures at urban intersections-Lessons from a New York City case study. Transportation Research Record. Lina Kattan, S. A. (2009). Pedestrian Scramble Operations: Pilot Study in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2140, 79-84. Manoj Shah, L. K. (2010). Follow-up Study on Pedestrian Scramble Operations in Calgary, Canada. Transportation Research Board. Marsh, D. R. (1982). Exclusive Pedestrian Control for Dunedins Cnetral Business District. Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, Transportation and Traffic Engineering Group Technical Session, 8. McKernan, K. R. (2016). A Study of Pedestrian Compliance with Traffic Signals Exclusive and Concurrent Phasing. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. P. Fleig, D. D. (1967). A Study of pedestrian Safety Behavior Using Activity Sampling. Traffic Safety,. X. Yang, W. M. (2005). Criterion of setting exclusive pedestrian phases at two-phase signalized intersections. Highway and Transportation Research and Development, 127-131. Yaohua Zhanga, S. A. (2015). Safety effects of exclusive and concurrent signal phasing for pedestrian crossing. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 26-36.

Shareholder Theory vs Stakeholder Theory

Shareholder Theory vs Stakeholder Theory

Better Find Your Loving Essay -- Literary Analysis, Allen, Gilman, Ste

Better Find Your Loving Restraints are set by parents on their children to aid with the developmental process and help with the maturity level. Restrictions and the ability to control are present in our society and our lives. We encounter restraints daily: job, doors, people, and the most frequently used and arduous become intangible. In the following stories we are seen both the tangible and intangible scenarios. The Autonomy, desires and talents spurned by the husbands in John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums and Charlotte Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† The authors are of opposite sexes who share views regarding a similar theme of male domination and imprisonment. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† involves the treatment of a depressed woman who is driven insane in a male imposed detention of her own room. On the other hand, Elisa Allen in the â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† struggles internally to find her place in a male dominated society or definite gender roles. The m irror-like situations bring upon a different reaction for both the women in different ways. The importance of symbolism, control from their husbands, and the lack of a healthy marriage will be discussed in this paper on the two different stories written by authors of different sexes. Elisa Allen and the narrator of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† are both trapped in various ways and their sexuality of a woman leads to this entrapment. Elisa feels confined and limited, â€Å"the high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world† (226). She feels trapped from the outside world that feels emotionally and spiritually inhibited. The chrysanthemums symbolize her scope of life to which she spends extra time to care off. The chrysanthemums st... ...wer that leads to lack of understanding in their marriage. The wallpaper symbolizes the trapped narrator and the strucure of the tradition. Also, Elisa’s chrysanthemums are rejected which portray the rejection of women and nothing important as housewives can be applied with the narrator. Elisa ends up â€Å"crying weakly like an old woman† and settles in for wine (233). Whereas, the narrator actions leads to the husband â€Å"fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time† (447). The narrator is insane and causes faintness in her husband, hoping that she now has an escape. To conclude, John Steinbecks â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† and Charloette Perkins â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† show two different outcomes mainly arisen due to being trapped inside an isolated house or a garden and having a limited life under a husband's control.

Chaucer and the Humor of the Canterbury Tales :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My presentation is based an article titled The Inhibited and the Uninhibited: Ironic Structure in the Miller’s Tale it s written by Earle Birney. The literary theme that Birney is discussing in his essay is structural irony. Structural irony is basically a series of ironic events and instances that finally build up to create a climax. The events and the climax the Birney chooses to focus his essay on are the events that lead towards the end when almost each character suffers an ironic event: Absolon: kisses Alisoun’s backside Nicholas: gets his backside burned John: falls from the tub and breaks his arm Ironic events and play on words were used to lead to this ironic climax. First Event Birney writes that the description of each character as sweet or using the word sweet to describe them on Chaucer’s part is ironic. Nicholas: sweet singer, sweet smelling of herbs all day & Being uninhibited. l. 97, l. 99., l. 107 Birney p. 76 middle Alisoun: naturally sweet as well as Nicholas, her mouth is described as sweet. l. 153 Birney p. 78 top. Absolon: is a contrast, he is artificially sweet, he chews spices an herbs to try to be sweet. Birney p. 79 lower. These three descriptions are the first things in Birney’s article that are beginning the ironic structure that Chaucer has carefully built. Second Event   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Next, Birney examines the irony between the rivalry of Nicholas and Absolon in order to gain Alisoun’s kiss, affection, or to have an affair with her. Nicholas: has no rivals in a way he just becomes forceful and persistant he offers himself in an aggressive manner and he gains her permission to do what he pleases to her body. l. 165-186, Birney p. 78 (before the quote).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Absolon: approaches her by going to her window at night and serenading her mind you he does not have a sweet voice (sqeaky, feminine) his approach is the most pathetic and apologetic Then he tries to woo her by giving her gifts such as waffles and sweet wine Birney argues that he should not have tried to give sweet gifts to someone who is naturally sweet. l. 245- 259, l. 270 – 272, Birney p. 79 lower –80 top & 80 middle. Third Event: The Climax Finnaly, the third event has been unraveled and anticipated, through The two first events. The greatly anticipated climax begins to unravel. Absolon: kisses Alisoun’s rear end and the vengefully burns Nicholas instead of Alisoun (he dosen’t really care).

The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, and the Moving Image Matthew Buckingham: a Man in the Crowd

A Mirrored Image of Reality Realism is a realm of art that focuses on an individual’s perspective of the real world through the use of varying mediums. In historical times artist have always and everywhere sought to expand the subject matter of their work as well as the media in which they work. It would be accurate to say that the history of political suppression of the arts from Egyptian times to Byzantium to Nazism and Zhdanovism is a manifestation of attempts to limit or abolish expansion of artistic subject matter or new forms or styles.The drive to break out of the boundaries of conventional representation arises from the need to express new experiences and perspectives. And as innovations in artistic media reflect parallel technical discoveries and inventions, so also does the drive to expand the horizons of subject matter reflecting fundamental changes in social relations, social needs, and social values and objectives. In the â€Å"Cinema Effect Illusions, Reality, a nd the Moving Image† exhibition the various artists seek to create works that integrate cinema into our perceived notion of reality.Amongst the artists featured in the exhibition is Matthew Buckingham. Matthew Buckingham does a twenty minute film based off of Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Man in the crowd† also the same name of his film. Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The man in the crowd† is a narrative and not an actual film. Buckingham after reading the narrative was struck with how the story could be a metaphor and paradigm for the question of nonfiction filmmaking itself, Buckingham’s film is a silent film produced in black and white.There are many parallels with Poe’s narrative and Buckingham’s film. Buckingham’s film provides the visual aspect of Poe’s narrative. But, Buckingham’s film is more contemporary, he changes the setting of the film from nineteenth century Paris to that of modern day Vienna. Poe didnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t know London and details are borrowed from Dickens, Poe’s London sounds more like New York versus nineteenth century London. The details that Poe uses come from a review that Poe did of a story by Dickens.Poe fictionalizes the story by saying, â€Å"they covered and crossed the edges of the city† which would have been impossible to do at that time, his description sounds more like modern day Vienna . With Poe’s â€Å"The man in the crowd† one man is following a complete stranger but it is unclear whether or not the follower is ever aware that he is being followed or if he ever acknowledges the man that follows him; the difference with Buckingham is that he adds another character, he introduces the camera as a character in the film.Edgar Allan Poe’s story is from one mans point of view, a man sits at a coffee shop and watches people walk by and describes them, of the people he sees walk by him he is intrigued by an elderly gentleman who walk s by him, and then the man in the coffee shop begins to follow him. A man simply becomes interested in another mans manner and then he commits himself to following him secretly for a twenty-four hour period in hopes to learn something about the man . In this time frame, the elderly gentleman goes through out London in a distorted fashion going from one place to another in no particular path or reason.Matthew Buckingham’s version begins with a young man dressed in a black t-shirt and dark colored pants in a cafe. In is the only portion of the film where there is some dialogue, which is heard. The young man sits at a table with a large window that pears into the downtown area of Vienna, there are many people that walk by him and catch his eye. While he sits an older man dressed in a suit walks by and catches his attention. From this point on the young man begins to follow the older gentleman in the suit.Throughout the duration of the film the younger man secretly follows the ol der gentleman. The older gentleman does not appear to sense that he is being followed, the man go to various places, there is no clear destination a parallel with Poe’s story but the older man of the two does not appear to be disoriented in any way whereas in Poe’s story the man is intrigued by the older man because of his distorted state. In the film most of the scenes only feature the older man, there are very few scenes where the man walks around crowed areas and spaces allowing the viewer to only focus on this man.There is one part in the film where the man being followed acknowledges his follower, the men are both walking through what appears to be a walking through a bush garden, at this point the man in the suit starts running as if he realizes that someone is following him, but he never turns around to acknowledge the man following him from this point on the man in the suit has disappeared from the film but he is then show in another scene. In the following sce ne this is the first time that the younger man is introduced in the film.Throughout the film only the back of the man in the suit is seen we never get a full view of either of the men, now, in this scene the camera is introduced as another character in the film. Before this point in the film is was ambiguous to know whether the younger man was also the camera guy but know it is clear that he is apart of the film as a character. The following scene begins to follow the man in the suit again but this time the viewer is able to get a closer view of him.Both men stand right next to each other and the angle of the camera shifts between the two men. There is a shift in the film the older man becomes a little more unaware and disoriented as the film continues. The man in the suit begins walks into a crowded area and he looks as if he is trying to find someone or something, at this point both men are close enough to each other to the point where they can physically embrace one another. The older man is preoccupied in his thoughts that he literally brushes past the other man and leaves the building they are in quickly.Transitioning in the film the older man goes to a train station and he at this point appears very disoriented and confused he walks in the station and looks as if he is going to board one of the trains but stops himself and leaves. At this point the man is back outside and the focus shifts from the older man as people walk in front of him and he seems lost within the crowd, night falls and the man is becomes the focus again and he continues to walk aimlessly. He then goes into a bar and he is amongst the many people in the bar, once he leaves it is completely dark and the film ends.This film exemplifies a type of realism because it depicts a realistic aspect of everyday life without exaggeration. The actual film is based on one man; the film follows him throughout one twenty-four hour period. The only unrealistic aspect of the film is the film itself, tha t someone is secretly following another person. The mans actions in the film follow everyday activity. Buckingham created a film that even allows the viewer to be superimposed within it. The film is displayed from two projectors. The projector is freestanding and has the appearance of a window, just like that of the window in the cafe where the film begins.So once we superimpose ourselves in front of the projector we are now apart of the film. The film becomes real and apart of the viewers reality because even the viewer can experience what is going on and be apart. The viewer now takes the role of the camera or the person following the man and experience what is going on. Also the man in the crowd is a relatable character we can all identify with the man in the crowd. The man that was followed was chosen randomly, he had no idea he was being followed and he had no distinguishable traits that would make he an obvious candidate. Buckingham’s film is similar to a performance by Vito Acconci.Vito Acconci does a performance similar to that of what Buckingham does in his film whereas Acconci follows a man around without his permission. Both artists push the boundaries of what art is and its interactions with life and its reality. Both artists with their work blur the line of artist and the perceived audience/subject. These works can be classified as avant-garde and how they move away from the considered standards and characteristics of art and what it should be art without a specific form and directed perception. In this same manner Matthew Buckingham’s film is similar to the photos of Jeff Wall.Jeff Wall uses photography to capture the different aspects of our reality and perceived real life. One of Jeff Wall’s photos is â€Å"A view from an Apartment†, in this photo Wall depicts an ordinary scene amongst two roommates, but he has altered the photo slightly to make the photo appear more realistic, he uses this image to depict two differ ent aspects of our reality. His work like that of Buckingham’s discusses our social ideas of the world. Like that of photography film is able to capture a moment as it happens, with technological advances in both there is the ability to go back and change or manipulate the imagery to something else.With both artist they are able to make their art appear as if it were natural and unchanged. Buckingham’s film appears natural and organic without any manipulation, but the characters of the film where all aware of each other and Buckingham’s concept and idea for this film thus making this reality artificial. There are interesting and informative accounts of art ranging from strict formalism to psychoanalysis, but that these had best be registered and tested against more general scientific theories of human society and culture.When this is done, the content of the work of art can be related to the means of scientific, realistic and empirical theories of culture and so ciety. This film addresses social concerns within society. The concept of the film and the film itself push the boundary of what is socially acceptable as art. Buckingham’s film does push the boundary of what is socially accepted for him to follow another person without their permission and to further document this as a film.

The Perfect Storm and the Titanic analysis

The Perfect Storm and the Titanic are both films that are based on true events; they also contain fictional plots and characters. This combination of fact and fiction is the main reason for these accounts becoming films rather than documentaries or other information based programme, as it includes an extra area of interest into the film which would usually be flat because of the droning historical backgrounds. To increase the tension and sympathy felt by the audience at each climatic ending, the directors both use the fictional plots. They take this fact and fiction as a n advantage, and because of this both plots are based on romance, and the people involved around the love. In the case of Jack and Rose, their love creates more tension and sympathy at the ending because it is a forbidden love across the class boundaries of rich and poor, but which seems to be so strong. Bobby and Kristina's love is open and strong. By using these romantic liaisons and including many biographical details throughout the films, it increases the depth of the emotions felt by the audience. This is clearly seen in the Perfect Storm when as the ship is beginning to sink and the camera is showing clips of the crew below deck, Murphy says to the person he is with, ‘this is gonna be hard on my son. ‘ This has a direct impact on the audience as earlier in the film he tried to explain to his son that: his mother might remarry or get a new partner; then he would be his father as well; the young boy does not like this idea and wants his father to stay. Because of this knowledge from earlier in the film it also makes the audience sad for the families of the dead because in the end the only reason they were going was because they wanted to bring in money for their families, but the skipper only wanted to go to bring up his weights in the fish market. Due to both these films developing from actual events, it is crucial for both of these films settings to be fully detailed to add emphasis to the authenticity and credibility of the films. Titanic was an extremely expensive film because of the directors adhering themselves completely to the effect authenticity could have on a film and the way it would make the fictional plot more plausible. The characters were attired in costumes of the period, also the quality of the clothes the actors wore was different to help enforce the class boundaries and the forbidden love between Jack and Rose; in the Perfect Storm the ship is strewn with copious amounts of paraphernalia required for deep sea fishing. The rugged disorganisation emits to the audience an atmosphere of frequent use which takes its toll on the boat and the crew who seem to be continuously draw to the punishment of the sea. To add emphasis to the setting and feeling of hopelessness when the Titanic begins to sink, a short clip is included. It only lasts for a couple of seconds but that is enough for it to have an impact on the audience. It shows the Titanic in all its glowing glory, in the middle of the pitch black Atlantic Ocean, the water is so dark you can't tell where the water is and where the sky is. The music in both films seems to be centred on an orchestra. During scenes when there is great suspense, tension and danger the music changes. It becomes thicker and louder, the tempo often increases and there is a contrast between the length and the pitch of notes and the instruments used. There are long, quite high pitched notes being played by wind and string instruments, with the quickening drum beats and low wind instrument blasts, which are often accompanied by clashing cymbals. This type of music occurs in both films: in the Titanic when the ship hits the iceberg; during the Perfect Storm when the helicopter crashes and while the crew attempt an about turn with the boat. During ‘tender' moment, the sound changes dramatically. For instance, when Rose and Jack are reunited, the music fades into the compassionate theme tune, which is played stridently over the top of resonating sound of the two lovers running feet. The effect of this is to emphasise the audience's awareness of the absolute love felt between them. This use of love in each film brings conflicting thoughts into the heads of the audience. For some reason, the audience feels compassionate towards the plight of the characters, almost admiring them for their bravery in the face of danger, but in both films it was clearly the decision of the individuals themselves to undertake the journeys. In the Perfect Storm this idea is again conflicted with the audience's knowledge that most of the people are only going on the voyage to raise funds so they can support their families. In the end the feeling of the audience towards the characters within the film is one of sympathy because the characters are trying to be the people they are expected to be; to live up to standards and to push the boundaries of anticipation; to provide more for their families so that they can live a better life almost to the point of foolhardiness. During the Perfect Storm when the boat reaches the eye of the storm, there are many alterations in the film to effect the mood and feelings of the audience. The music undergoes an almost undetectable metamorphosis, slipping gently between the dramatically thick, heavy use of instruments in the time of danger, slowly filtering out most of the noise to leave a lightly textured tone of long high wind and string notes. In the duration of this scene the lighting is also subtly changed. The first shot is from outside the boat, surrounded by tumbling waves and rolling dark clouds. The camera is then focused on the bridge of the Andrea Gale in an interior shot and onto the faces of William and Bobby. The bridge is surrounded by an almost glaring darkness. As they hit the eye of the storm, their faces are slowly illuminated by a rich honey coloured light. The camera changes to a shot from within the bridge of the boat. The audience's eye is lead, out over the prow of the boat onto a large zone of calm, soothingly lapping water bathed in the rich ambiance of the light from between the parted huge billowing cumulus clouds. The expressions on the faces of the crewmen change to facades of wonder. But these expressions are quickly transformed to their former selves as the subtle light fades into the darkness. At this point the audience's senses are heightened to the emotions of the characters and the audience feels a sudden heaviness which makes them sympathetic as they can see the process of realization that occurs on the crew as the find they are at the centre of the storm. This use of lighting is also used on the Titanic. The lights on the ship begin to flicker on and off soon after the collision with the iceberg. This is a successful technique as it mingles with the audience's knowledge that they already have of the historical background to the film. This makes the audience nervous as they can see the upper class going around like it was any other day on the ship, as they believe the ship to be unsinkable and do not realise the immediate danger to their lives. To add to the extent of the effect that the lighting has on the audience, many techniques are used at the same time in conjunction with one another. This is often the case with lighting and camera angles. For instance, in both films to emphasise the tremendous tragedies of each accident, series of short clips are added in the endings. In the Perfect Storm the camera quickly concludes the lives of each character below deck by focusing on them during their last moments, this takes you around the below deck area of the ship as each man seems to be in the place most familiar to them. This cutting to and from each character adds to the authenticity of each character's life as their emotions are plainly seen and have a large impact on the audience. This is also used in the Titanic, as the quartet plays out it's final ballad flashing images are shown that correspond to earlier in the film when you see the lower classes being locked below deck. The images include: two elderly people lying together on their bed saying their last goodbyes, the camera is above them to show the water rising around them; an Irish woman telling her children a bedtime story to make them sleep and try to reduce their suffering. This is almost from the perspective of the children to show how this grieves the mother: the faces of the ship stewards as they continue to try and keep the lower classes down below where they will inevitably die; Dr. Andrews standing alone on the lounge of the upper class contemplating the fate of many that he knew should this situation occur would die, the shot is sweeping and on an angle, drawing through the lounge to the dining room where the floor is completely submerged in water on which most of the furniture is floating. Throughout these clips the lighting flashes constantly or is completely cut off, surrounding the people in the darkness of their imminent expiration.