The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle Chapter One

â€Å"Damon!† Icy wind whipped Elena's hair around her face, tearing at her light sweater. Oak leaves swirled among the rows of granite headstones, and the trees lashed their branches together in frenzy. Elena's hands were cold, her lips and cheeks were numb, but she stood facing the screaming wind directly, shouting into it. â€Å"Damon!† This weather was a show of his Power, meant to frighten her away. It wouldn't work. The thought of that same Power being turned against Stefan woke a hot fury inside her that burned against the wind. If Damon had done anything to Stefan, if Damon had hurt him†¦ â€Å"Damn you, answer me!† she shouted at the oak trees that bordered the graveyard. A dead oak leaf like a withered brown hand skittered up to her foot, but there was no answer. Above, She turned – and gasped. He was just behind her, so close that her clothes brushed his as she turned. At that distance, she should have sensed another human being standing there, should have felt his body warmth or heard him. But Damon, of course, wasn't human. She reeled back a couple of steps before she could stop herself. Every instinct that had lain quiet while she shouted into the violence of the wind was now begging her to run. She clenched her fists. â€Å"Where's Stefan?† A line appeared between Damon's dark eyebrows. â€Å"Stefan who?† Elena stepped forward and slapped him. She had no thought of doing it before she did it, and afterward she could scarcely believe what she had done. But it was a good hard slap, with the full force of her body behind it, and it snapped Damon's head to one side. Her hand stung. She stood, trying to calm her breath, and watched him. He was dressed as she had first seen him, in black. Soft black boots, black jeans, black sweater, and leather jacket. And he looked like Stefan. She didn't know how she could have missed that before. He had the same dark hair, the same pale skin, the same disturbing good looks. But his hair was straight, not wavy, and his eyes were black as midnight, and his mouth was cruel. He turned his head slowly back to look at her, and she saw blood rising in the cheek she'd slapped. â€Å"Don't lie to me,† she said, her voice shaking. â€Å"I know who you are. I knowwhat you are. You killed Mr. Tanner last night. And now Stefan's disappeared.† â€Å"Has he?† â€Å"You know he has!† Damon smiled and then turned it off instantly. â€Å"I'm warning you; if you've hurt him – â€Å" â€Å"Then, what?† he said. â€Å"What will you do, Elena? Whatcan you do, against me?† Elena fell silent. For the first time, she realized that the wind had died away. The day had gone deadly quiet around them, as if they stood motionless at the center of some great circle of power. It seemed as if everything, the leaden sky, the oaks and purple beeches, the ground itself, was connected to him, as if he drew Power from all of it. He stood with his head tilted back slightly, his eyes fathomless and full of strange lights. â€Å"I don't know,† she whispered, â€Å"but I'll find something. Believe me.† â€Å"I do believe you,† he said, relaxing, looking around the graveyard. Then he turned back and held out a hand to her. â€Å"You're too good for my brother,† he said casually. Elena thought of slapping the hand away, but she didn't want to touch him again. â€Å"Tell me where he is.† â€Å"Later, possibly – for a price.† He withdrew his hand, just as Elena realized that on it he wore a ring like Stefan's: silver and lapis lazuli. Remember that, she thought fiercely. It's important. â€Å"My brother,† he went on, â€Å"is a fool. He thinks that because you look like Katherine you're weak and easily led like her. But he's wrong. I could feel your anger from the other side of town. I can feel it now, a white light like the desert sun. You have strength, Elena, even as you are. But you could be so much stronger†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stared at him, not understanding, not liking the change of subject. â€Å"I don't know what you're talking about. And what has it got to do with Stefan?† â€Å"I'm talking about Power, Elena.† Suddenly, he stepped close to her, his eyes fixed on hers, his voice soft and urgent. â€Å"You've tried everything else, and nothing has satisfied you. You're the girl who has everything, but there's always been something just out of your reach, something you need desperately and can't have. That's what I'm offering you. Power. Eternal life. And feelings you've never felt before.† Shedid understand then, and bile rose in her throat. She choked on horror and repudiation. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Why not?† he whispered. â€Å"Why not try it, Elena? Be honest. Isn't there a part of you that wants to?† His dark eyes were full of a heat and intensity that held her transfixed, unable to look away. â€Å"I can waken things inside you that have been sleeping all your life. You're strong enough to live in the dark, to glory in it. You can become a queen of the shadows. Why not take that Power, Elena? Let me help you take it.† â€Å"No,† she said, wrenching her eyes away from his. She wouldn't look at him, wouldn't let him do this to her. She wouldn't let him make her forget†¦ make her forget†¦ â€Å"It's the ultimate secret, Elena,† he said. His voice was as caressing as the fingertips that touched her throat. â€Å"You'll be happy as never before.† There was something terribly important she must remember. He was using Power to make her forget it, but she wouldn't let him make her forget†¦ â€Å"And we'll be together, you and I.† The cool fingertips stroked the side of her neck, slipping under the collar of her sweater. â€Å"Just the two of us, forever.† There was a sudden twinge of pain as his fingers brushed two tiny wounds in the flesh of her neck, and her mind cleared. Make her forget†¦Stefan. That was what he wanted to drive out of her mind. The memory of Stefan, of his green eyes and his smile that always had sadness lurking behind it. But nothing could force Stefan out of her thoughts now, â€Å"I've already found what I want,† she said brutally. â€Å"And who I want to be with forever.† Blackness welled up in his eyes, a cold rage that swept through the air between them. Looking into those eyes, Elena thought of a cobra about to strike. â€Å"Don't you be as stupid as my brother is,† he said. â€Å"Or I might have to treat you the same way.† She was frightened now. She couldn't help it, not with cold pouring into her, chilling her bones. The wind was picking up again, the branches tossing. â€Å"Tell me where he is, Damon.† â€Å"At this moment? I don't know. Can't you stop thinking about him for an instant?† â€Å"No!† She shuddered, hair lashing about her face again. â€Å"And that's your final answer, today? Be very sure you want to play this game with me, Elena. The consequences are nothing to laugh about.† â€Å"Iam sure.† She had to stop him before he got to her again. â€Å"And you can't intimidate me, Damon, or haven't you noticed? The moment Stefan told me what you were, what you'd done, you lost any power you might have had over me. Ihate you. You disgust me. And there's nothing you can do to me, not any more.† His face altered, the sensuousness twisting and freezing, becoming cruel and bitterly hard. He laughed, but this laugh went on and on. â€Å"Nothing?† he said. â€Å"I can doanything to you, and to the ones you love. You have no idea, Elena, of what I can do. But you'll learn.† He stepped back, and the wind cut through Elena like a knife. Her vision seemed to be blurring; it was as if flecks of brightness filled the air in front of her eyes. â€Å"Winter is coming, Elena,† he said, and his voice was clear and chilling even over the howl of the wind. â€Å"An unforgiving season. Before it comes, you'll have learned what I can and can't do. Before winter is here, you'll have joined me. You'll be mine.† The swirling whiteness was blinding her, and she could no longer see the dark bulk of his figure. Now even his voice was fading. She hugged herself with her arms, head bent down, her whole body shaking. She whispered, â€Å"Stefan – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, and one more thing,† Damon's voice came back. â€Å"You asked earlier about my brother. Don't bother looking for him, Elena. I killed him last night.† Her head jerked up, but there was nothing to see, only the dizzying whiteness, which burned her nose and cheeks and clogged her eyelashes. It was only then, as the fine grains settled on her skin, that she realized what they were: snowflakes. It was snowing on the first of November. Overhead, the sun was gone.

An Arguement Against Peter Singer’s Famine, Aflunity, and Influence

In his paper â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality† Peter Singer argues that a lack of benevolence from affluent countries to people suffering from poverty in other countries is unjustified and is comparable to doing nothing if one sees a baby drowning in water a few feet away. In the following paper I will discuss how residing in an affluent country does not put individuals under obligation to donate, and the efforts that are already made by individuals and governments in affluent countries are sufficient enough to be considered benevolent.I will present the following arguments to provide reasoning for this. First I will explain how singers drowning baby analogy fails to make a proper comparison to donating. Second, I will show how the assumed responsibility that affluent country should give to the needy is flawed. Third will discuss how donating may actually be counterproductive in the long term. Lastly I will give a comparison towards donating to poverty is no better or mor e beneficial to donating to crime prevention.The main concern addressed in this essay is the analogy Singer makes when he compares the ease of saving a drowning baby to the ease of making a donation to a country in poverty (Singer, par. 6). Singer’s analogy is only correct on the basis that the baby and people living in poverty are both in circumstances out of their control. The difference though, is that the baby he describes is moments away from death, while people living in poverty are mostly not on the brink of death. I believe the vast majority of people would save the baby, yet only a small percentage of people will take the time to donate.Furthermore, I rule out Singer’s argument for proximity (par. 8). Walking around a city like Toronto, one may walk right past homeless people in very dire circumstances, and many people still do not bother to give any assistance. Thus, since being in a very close proximity will usually not yield a donation, in most likelihood, witnessing someone very close to death is probably the best way to evoke enough emotion for an individual to make a donation. Another flaw in Singers paper is that he makes the argument in his thesis that affluent countries should be responsible for countries that are in poverty (par. 3).By being in a â€Å"global village† as singer puts it, then a logical thing to do is donate to country that has the most poverty. Looked at another way we already donate through the government. Foreign aid comes from our tax dollars. So, in essence we are donating, but the government takes care of all the work. I call this the apathetic donor. In contrast though, Canada is considered a very affluent country yet still has small but significant part of its population below the poverty line. An argument could easily be made that a priority should be placed towards the homeless and people living below the poverty line within Canada first.Once dealt with properly, giving the remains out to the res t of the needy world will follow. If Canada cannot take care of the suffering within its own borders, then its priorities should be reviewed. Lastly, if I was forced into a situation to give to a Canadian living in poverty or someone in a foreign country I would place a priority on someone within Canada. A consequence of giving to countries in poverty may actually cause more poverty. Singer claims that the morally right thing to do is to avoid suffering (par. 6).Yet, by donating to a country in need of food that has a significantly fast population growth rate will lead to future famine. The world simply cannot sustain continued population growth. For example Pakistan has a significant part of its population living in poverty and has a high birth rate. At the same time Pakistan has a space program in place. As a result it appears that Pakistan finds space technology is more important than feeding its poor. Additionally, many nations in Africa have been getting foreign aid for decades yet most of these countries remain poor.If donations must be made, the most good that can come from it would be to see my money go towards helping a government get itself prioritized, and certain that the money goes to where it is intended, not the corrupt politicians or leaders that have no care for the suffering. A fair extension of Singer’s argument would be to donate money to stopping violent crime or terrorism around the world. Crime results in the death of good and innocent people just like famine. Also, many people are born into crime countries or situations out of their control much like poverty.Dealing with organized crime in a poor country would certainly save lives, just as dealing with poverty. Also, an individual would be more motivated to take action to donate through fear than sympathy. As noted previously, seeing my money go towards a controllable situation such as crime within my own country of Canada would be a more worthwhile and pragmatic investment. Dona ting to crime prevention in Canada would naturally have a much more beneficial effect for me than giving my money to a foreign nation.Essentially various forms of any crime left unabated in Canada are more likely to spread out affect me at home than a person in poverty in a foreign country. In conclusion, I believe the reasons given refuting Peter Singer’s paper show that donating to people in poverty, and the need to change our moral conceptual scheme is unnecessary in our affluent society. His attempt to evoke an emotional and sympathetic response in the reader by describing the mental image of a drowning baby only hurts his attempt to convince a rational person to donate.Also, if I do choose to donate, does this make me less charitable to donate to someone within my own country, while there may someone needier in another country? Is donating at all even justifiable? especially when some countries only seem to be getting worse off with runaway birthrates, and with corrupt l eaders not doing what’s best for their nation. If I was forced into a situation to choose between putting aside money for myself, my family’s future, or giving it to someone whom I’ve never met in a situation less desirable than mine, the choice is easy and clear.

Analysis of China Airlines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Analysis of China Airlines - Essay Example The extent of political multiplicity is not necessarily relevant for understanding the global airline industry, nor is the technological environment as this is relatively homogenous for airlines utilising similar support IT such as e-commerce, on-board entertainment, social media, and software for enterprise resource planning. 1.1 Social Factors The social factors associated with the different target customer segments in the regions serviced by the global airline industry and its competitors is critical to understanding how the business maintains competitive advantages. Each regional culture maintains differing societal views that impact dimensions of service quality, marketing and promotion, and customer relationship management. Customers in Japan maintain distinctly unique cultural values from other Asian nations, scoring high in areas of masculinity as identified by Geert Hofstede. Japanese customers with high masculinity characteristics have significantly high expectations for to p quality service and in product presentation (Hofstede Center 2012). Service failures or product quality occurring on-board will be the most predictable elements of service development with this important revenue-generating market segment. Japanese customers are also recognised as being one of the most risk averse cultures on the planet (Hofstede Center 2012), therefore once a business has managed to establish brand loyalty there is little risk of brand defection (Boone and Kurtz 2007). Customers in China, however, are very hedonistic which was established on the foundation of Confucian-era values (Farh and Cheng 2000). Hedonism involves characteristics of self-indulgence and maximisation of self-utility (Lemos 2004; Overskeid 2002), borne of a collectivist culture where saving face is one of the most top valued social characteristics to achieve group affiliation (Hofstede et al. 2010). This highly collectivist culture demands more attention to achieving excellence in service which translates into a hedonistic measure of self-expansion. Influence from Chinese consumers exert new service quality pressures on labour systems charged with service delivery, thus distinguishing Chinese consumers from that of Japanese high-resource buyers. Social factors continue to impose risks on companies operating in this industry sector, forcing transparency in operations and demanding new emphasis on competency in service delivery. There are global consequences in international markets that have reached market maturity and where airline companies must utilise culturally-sensitive promotions and advertising in order to gain market attention that stresses places more emphasis on culturally-based market research to gain market prominence. 1.2 Economic Factors The fiscal situation in China is relevant for analysis since many airlines in this industry service customers from or to this destination. In 2012, China’s fiscal leadership injected 57.92 billion USD into a strugglin g economy to stabilise interest rates and influence new corporate borrowing (Safe Trading 2013). This has opened new avenues for foreign direct investment and has served to create more favourable exchange rates between Taiwanese currency values and

Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance Essay

Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance - Essay Example OCB incorporates behaviours, like volunteering to help each others at the workplace, speaking in the most favourable manner of one’s business organisation and also to the supervisor. These aspects are effective in terms of making different useful suggestions for initiating improvements at the workplace, by voluntarily putting in additional hours to meet up tight deadlines as well as sacrificing self-interests for the betterment of the entire group or the organisation. In overall terms, OCB improves the economic, social as well as psychological setting in the place of work in a way where it supports different task expertise and also can increase the group presentation (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.539). Job satisfaction and employee performance: Creation of significant level of job satisfaction and the corresponding effects on the performance of the employees of business organisations across the globe are regarded as one of the most important concepts in modern times (Williams and Anderson, 1991, p.601). There are significant amounts of research which have shown that there is a close association between the employee performance and creation of greater level of job satisfaction at the workplace (Narang and Dwivedi, 2010, p.1). The meta-analysis based on these researches has revealed the fact that there are close association between the dispositional, attitudinal and relational aspects which are again correlated with the notion of OCB. These relations are known as trait conscientiousness (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.540).... This notion is also known as the leader-member-exchange and by the job satisfaction as well. The meta-analytic research has identified the fact that job satisfaction is regarded as among the most important and the strongest correlates in respect to greater level of performance presented by the employees. In this context, the notion of trait conscientiousness is regarded as the second most important and strongest correlate of greatest level of job satisfaction. These greatest levels of job satisfaction are considered most important among â€Å"the big five personality traits, second only to neuroticism† (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.540). Empirical studies: A meta-analysis in respect to close association between creation of greater level of job satisfaction and employee performance has been conducted by Michelle T Iaffaldano, Paul M Muchinsky (1985). This research has shown that out of 74 empirical studies regarding job satisfaction and effective job performance, it has been f ound that the greater the job satisfaction among the employees, the larger will be the level of performance by the employees in any organisation (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985, p.251). Aggregated studies had been comprised of a size of the sample as 12,192 and 217 satisfaction performances have been found to be correlated. Findings of this research have also shown that, the most efficient predictor of the (measured) true population parameter, the correlation between the degree of job satisfaction and the degree of employee performance has been relatively low (0.17) (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985, p.251). This research has shown that much of this variability in the result has been obtained in the previous research conducted by the same researchers. This has been due to fact

Madeleine-Leininger Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Madeleine-Leininger - Assignment Example She highlighted that the theory had its basis on comparative culture care. The document also describes the ethnonursing research method that Leininger developed when developing her theory. In addition, models and enablers used in the ethnonursing research method are also described in depth. From this document, it becomes evident that the numerous factors, which can be categorized as both diverse and universal cultural factors that influence nursing care. From the document, the strengths of the ethnonursing research method become evident to the reader. It is intriguing to analyze Leininger’s understanding of culture care in her effort to form the foundation of transcultural nursing. All the definitions and concepts used in her theory are well explained in this overview document. A close analysis of the document helped me understand the different constructs that define the culture care theory. I also realized that transcultural nursing was the field developed by Leininger after describing her theory successfully (Madeleine-Leininger.com, 2014). This field utilizes both cultural differences and similarities in an effort to provide assistance that matches the needs of people from different cultures. The context under which Leininger developed her theory is also given attention in the document (Leininger, 2008). Doctor Madeleine Leininger calls her theory Culture Care Diversity and Universality as highlighted in the info-facts section. It is identified as the only theory that focuses on transcultural nursing (Leininger, 2008). After reading the info-facts section, I had the impression that Dr. Leininger is an experienced professional in the nursing field. She had conducted wide research in an effort to develop her theory. She has been recognized for her efforts in launching the transcultural nursing field. Notably, she is the author of 28 books, more than 300 articles, and about 60 chapters. This makes it evident that she is a resourceful

From the period of the Spanish American War through the end of World Essay - 1

From the period of the Spanish American War through the end of World War two, why does the United States move from relative isol - Essay Example Isolationism denotes to United States’ longstanding unwillingness to become engaged in European wars and alliance. Isolationists embraced the opinion that United States’ perspective upon the globe was dissimilar from that of the European cultures, and that United States could enhance the root of democracy and freedom by channels other than conflict. United States’ isolationism did not denote is entanglement from the global phase. Isolationists, thereby, were not opposed to the impression that the American should be a global player, and much further its ideological, economic, and territorial interests, predominantly within the West Hemisphere. In the 1920's, the United States is seen marinating its isolation policy all through, but also, its aspects of developing into an internationalist. United States can be equated to a jellyfish where it avoided any external involvement except for trade undertakings, and then later it advanced into a hawk- devotedly pledging fo rces to outdoor wars to gain influence and resources. America remained isolationists via factors like dismissal of the Alliance of Nations, as well as closing accesses on migration, yet occasioned internationalist actions. United States moved from a relative isolation to an internationalist when United States domestic support for Cuba independence entangled the American in a conflict with Spain upon the Cuban’s island. The United States went into war with no strategies other than sinking the Spanish convoy in Manila Anchorage and it undertook months to dispatch troops to Spain with the Spanish putting up hardly any resistance. The US was able to conquer Spain; both countries signed the Paris Treaty. The verdict to assist Cuban opposition was a key retreat from the customary United States’ way of liberal patriotism. The consequences of United States’ global involvement resulted in the Cuban sovereignty under the Paris treaty of 1898. The treaty led to the surrender of Spanish chattels to the American country. These included the Guam Island, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The American abruptly became a colonial hegemony with international dependencies. The United States colonial ac countability became a permanent undertaking and not just a temporary thing. This is seen when United States made reflective changes within its diplomatic posture. This transformation made the United States immune to the early 19th era foreign policies as the nation had transformed and it also possessed nearly all features of a prodigious power. It stood out from other nations in respect to geographic size, population, two oceans, military capability and economic resources. The negotiation of the Paris treaty and the Cuban war placed new responsibilities and duties in the palms of the United States that it vowed to execute as a ruler of nation-states. United States new way of life was a high decree and promise of civilization. The American global involvement rendered it to engage in close as well as more intricate affiliations with other global great powers. This undertaking rendered the conventional foreign policy old-fashioned. This global involvement of the United States saw it re treat from its customary isolation attitude.[4] The American policy formulators were enforced to cogitate a huger global involvement since they had to formulate new policies Asia. This began with the Monroe Policy amendment. The U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt through the Roosevelt Corollary amended the Monroe doctrine. This change was triggered by the uncertainties that the European creditor countries would utilize the unpaid dues of the Latin American countries to obtain political hegemony over them. ________________________________________________________________________ [4]Rosenberg, Emily S. Spreading the American Dream (New York: Hill and Wang, 1982), 27. The Monroe doctrine amendment gave the United States the right to exercise a universal police power in the emergence of a transgression or impotence act by any nation. The

Contemporary Issue in Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Contemporary Issue in Accounting - Essay Example Correspondingly, managers have control but possess relatively small (if any) residual claims.’(Stephen G. Marks, 10 August, 2007, page 694)1 It is said that ‘corporations are easy to create but hard to understand.’(Robert Hessen, 1999-2000)2 The working style of corporations change as such organizations become larger and larger, as only then the intricacies of its decisive feature of separation of ownership and control come to the fore. Apparently this separation of control from ownership feature is the delegation of power from shareholders to managers in best of interests of residual claimants, but this delegation of power also bring a number of complexities and disadvantages for owners that ultimate benefits from it seem so small that entire exercise appear like playing in the hands of managerial omnipotence. However ‘it is argued that separation of ownership and control and managerial omnipotence must be distinguished. While the separation of ownership and management can be explained as a result of the search for efficient capital formation, managerial omnipotence can be understood as the unintended result of government regulations originally designed to protect shareholders’ property rights from managerial opportunistic behaviors.†( Padilla, Alexandre and Kreptul, Andrei, 5 may 2004)3 In fact, ‘Adolf Berle and Gardiner Means coined the phrase ‘the separation of ownership and control’ in their landmark 1932 book The Modern Corporation and Private Property and it remained the most widely used expression in the voluminous literature on corporate governance. It refers to their observation that during the 1920s the structure of ownership in large corporations changed from traditional arrangement of owners managing their own companies to one in which shareholders had become so numerous and dispersed that they were no longer willing or able to manage the corporations they owned.’(Donald G. Margotta, Jan- Feb