Milkmans Transformation in Toni Morrisons Song of...

Milkmans Transformation in Toni Morrisons Song of Solomon Milkman experiences many changes in behavior throughout the novel Song of Solomon. Until his early thirties most would consider him self centered, or even self-loathing. Until his maturity he is spoiled by his mother Ruth and sisters Lena and Corinthian because he is a male. He is considered wealthy for the neighborhood he grew up in and he doesnt socialize because of this. As a result of his spoiled childhood Milkman takes women for granted. He doesnt consider how his actions affect them. This is shown when he realizes he is bored with his cousin Hagar, whom he has been using for his sexual pleasure for years. Instead of buying her a Christmas gift he gives her cash†¦show more content†¦They are arrested and find only human bones and rocks not gold in the bag, which essentially destroys his sense of flight. His father Macon and aunt Pilate go to the jail to get them released. Pilate performed an aunt Jemima act to assist in their release. Guitar is ashamed of her act but Milkman feels honored ?but the fact that she was both adept at it and willing to do it-for him.? [pg 209] This is when Milkman begins to reveal another side for which he begins to mature and care for others. Which leads him to Pennsylvania, in search of the gold to reach his financial independence. While on his quest for the gold Milkman discovers moral value in his family history. While in Pennsylvania he loses all of his material possessions, which enables him to realize his life shouldn?t revolve around material items and sparks an interest in his family history. From information he gathers while in Pennsylvania he believes the gold he is seeking is in Virginia. While in Virginia Milkman learns he has family history in the town of Shalimar. While in the town Milkman realizes he somehow feels connected to the people there. This is a feeling he never had in his hometown. This connections reminds him of his feelings when he is with his aunt Pilate. This opens a strong need in him to find out about his family?s past. While in Shalimar Milkman stays with a woman by the name of Sweet. They become lovers and for the first time in Milkman?s life he is able toShow MoreRelated Essay on Names in Song of Solomon1485 Words   |  6 PagesThe Importance of Names in Song of Solomon      Ã‚   Abstract:   In Toni Morrisons Song of Solomon, names have great implication.   Language is extremely personal and deeply rooted in culture.   Names are an integral part of language, and they help to establish identity, define personality, and show ownership through formal and informal usage.    Tis but thy name that is my enemy; / Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. / Whats Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, / Nor arm, nor faceRead MoreEssay on Song of Solomon: A Bildungsroman of Milkman 1092 Words   |  5 PagesIt can be said that Song of Solomon is bildungsroman which is defined by The Encyclopedia Britannica as â€Å"a class of novel that deals with the [coming-of-age or] formative years of an individual†. Furthermore, in a bildungsroman, a main protagonist usually undergoes some transformation after seeking truth or philosophical enlightenment. In Morrison’s novel, the plot follows the main protagonist Milkman as he matures within his community while developing relationships with others and discovering hisRead More Transformation in Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Essay2042 Words   |  9 Pages  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the relationships between whites and blacks are a main theme. Throughout the whole novel Morrison adds her own opinions toward the race problems that the characters of Not Doctor Street experience. Poverty is another big issue in the novel and many of the main characters struggle financially. Money becomes a means of escape for many of the characters, especially Milkman and Guitar. For both men their quests for gold leaves them empty handed, but theirRead MoreFlying: The Transformation of Heart, Mind, and Soul Essay1797 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"The fathers may soar and the children may know their names.† This was the basis of Milkman’s discovery of his past, which he would learn about in time. In Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon, Milkman goes through the early, adolescent, and middle stages of his life with little faith in himself, for he cannot fly, nor does he know flight’s true meaning. Mi lkman journeys through his life being selfish and vain because he has yet to discover his true identity. As Milkman grows, the more he experiences

An Analysis of Conflict in the Novel the Son of Neptune

Do conflicts develop our characters and help us attain our goals? Following the theme of conflict in the novel the Son of Neptune, Rick Riordan uses conflict to make the piece of writing more interesting. Riordan incorporates different types of conflict in the novel to show how the heroes must co-operate with each other to complete their quest. The conflict between the hero and his family shows a subsequent reaction further in the novel. The author is showing the hero struggling with his family which helps to form a closer bond with his friends. Riordan shows the hero separating himself from his father, Mars, the god of war, whom the hero despises, by working closer with his friends on the quest that is given to them (Son of Neptune, 151). When this meeting occurs, the hero is confronted by old memories which handicap him during the quest and needs the help of his friends to aid him on his quest. As well as mentally in conflict with his family, the hero displays common exhibits of grief for his family which is an opening to express hurt or anger from experience elsewhere (Varieties of Family Conflict in Adolescence). The author shows the hero using the death of his mother and his new-found father to inflict pain on other family members. With this much trouble in his family, Riordan shows how the hero depends on his friends to help him throughout the story. As well as being in conflict with his family, the hero is battling the thought of dying every single day.Show MoreRelatedLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesof Neptune on average is colder than 200 degrees below zero, and his sister says that its not nearly that cold, one of the two must be wrong about the facts. We know this even if we dont know the facts about Neptune. So one of the cardinal principles of logical reasoning is: Be consistent in your own reasoning and be on the lookout for inconsistency in the reasoning of others. Here is a definition of inconsistency: Definition Statements are logically inconsistent if they conflict so that

Marketing Strategy And Plan Tesla Model 3 - Free Sample

Question: Describe about the Marketing Strategy and Plan for Tesla Model 3. Answer: Introduction Tesla Model 3 is the upcoming sensation in the market of automobile industry (Tesla.com, 2016). The main aim of the company is to make ownership of the car more affordable by a huge amount of people. The marketing plan will help the organization to target the customers and the design their promotions accordingly. The strategic analysis will talk about the political, economic and social/cultural analysis of the external market will help Tesla model 3 to thrive in the competitive market. The competitor analysis will make Tesla model 3 aware of the competitors in the market so that Tesla will know about the strategies of the competitors. Tesla will be able to design their strategy accordingly. Finally, recommendations will be given based on pricing, distribution and promotional strategy that they can implement to promote the business. Potential of the product Until date, Tesla has been preferring the high-end customers who would be interested in the high priced cars manufactured by Tesla. However, with the introduction Tesla model 3, the company has planned to target a mass market. The middle-income buyers will be able to fulfill their dream to own a Tesla (Kiley, 2016). The Tesla model 3 is priced in the range of $35,000 so that the middle-income group in the society could afford it. Going by the price, it can be said that the products has the potential to make the cars affordable to the middle-income group of the country The weight of Tesla model 3 is quite light as compared to the previous Tesla models. In addition to this, the model is directed towards the family with children. It has been said that one can sleep in the car due to the extra space in the car. The rear sets could be flattened by giving a space of 66 inches in the front. The flat surface will help in turning the cabin of the car into a tent (Branman, 2016). The customers who are having small children will be able to make them rest in the car. The interior of the car will be completely silent; hence, a baby will be able to sleep peacefully in the car if required. Thus, the car has the potential to attract the family buyers. It can be said that the B2C type of business will be best suited for the Tesla model 3 Strategic analysis Political The free trade agreement by the government of Australia has been beneficial for the Tesla. They will be able to supply parts of the car from different parts of world. In addition to this, it would not be an issue to export or import final made cars to different parts of the world (Czinkota Ronkainen, 2013). However, the presence of liberal-capitalist democracy makes the government interfere in the business of the international location. The government imposes the tax on the trade that is being done between the international locations. Economic The economic condition of Australia us quite stable. Australia, being a developed country, the customers will be able to afford high-priced products. As a result, the market of Tesla Model 3 will be strong. The added advantage of the Tesla model 3 is the lower price range of the car. Social/ Cultural It can be said that Australia is a multi-cultural nations. The footfall of the immigrants from different parts of the world is quite high. The economic status of the aboriginals is rising as well as the footfalls of the migrants from some of the developed countries of the world are also high. Thus, for Tesla it would be easy to attract the people who have migrated to Australia and have tight budget to live in the country. Hence, it can be said that the presence of multi-cultural people and the migrants will be helpful for the management of Tesla. Competition Analysis Competition is one of the major factors in the external market. The three major competitors for Tesla in the market of Australia are: Holden Controlled and owned by American general motors, GM Holden Ltd is car manufacturers in Australia (Holden.com.au, 2016). Holden was at the peak of the business during 1950s. The Holden special vehicles is an official partner of Holden. The official partner helps in converting Holden Marques like Ute, Commodre and Caprice. Holden is suffering from an economic downturn. As a result, Holden might stop their production in the year, 2017. Ford Ford is one of the major automobile brands in the market of Australia. It started its operations in the year 1925 as being an associated company for the Ford Motor Company located in the United States (Ford.com.au, 2016). The best part of Ford is that it has the high-volume engines that are being manufactured by them. The Australian unit of ford mainly concentrated on the sports section. In spite of being in e of the successful company, it has been suffering financial issues since the year, 2013. Toyota The origin of Toyota is mainly in Japan with a strong presence in Australia since the year, 1958 (toyota.com.au, 2016). In the years 1978, Toyota manufactured gearboxes and engines in the factory present in Altona, Victoria. By the year, 1992, Toyota manufactured 1million cars. The number doubled in the next decade. The performance of Toyota has been able to surpass the sale Holden by 200 new cars. However, the major drawback of the company is that due to the economic issues, the factory of Toyota is Australia has been due a shutdown in the year 2017. Recommendation for the pricing strategy Pricing Strategy The pricing strategy of Tesla Model 3 should be done by keeping in mind the middle-income group (McKenzie-Mohr, 2013). Thus, the price of the cars should be cheaper than other model that have been previously manufactured by the company. Distribution Tesla should use different types of distribution strategy like: Direct to end users Using the online sites will be helpful for Tesla. The sales team would not take part in the sale but the product would be sold direct to the customers (Mols, 2013). Selling through dealer network Separating the dealers based on the geographical area. The dealer will help the company to know the choice of the customers in that area and that will help in increasing the sales of the company (Jobber Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). Promotion The principle promotional strategy that could be used by Tesla Model 3 is with the help of electronic media (Czinkota Ronkainen, 2013). Tesla should focus on the advertisements that show families travelling in the car. The extra space should be highlighted in the advertisements. In addition to this, the cheaper price of Tesla as compared to other cars should be highlighted in the advertisements. Conclusion After going through the strategic analysis of Australia and the competitors in the market, it can be concluded that Tesla will have a favorable market in Australia. The competitors of Australia have been performing well in the market. However, all the three competitors are suffering from economic downturn. Hence, Tesla model 3 should take opportunity of the downturn. The economic and social analysis reveals that the market of Australia would be perfect for Tesla to launch the model 3. The migrated population is always will prefer the car that are comparatively cheaper than other models that have been launched by the company. The two distribution strategies that have been used by the company are direct to end users and selling through dealer network. References Branman, M. (2016).TESLA MODEL 3 PERFORMANCE, SPECS, AND NEWS.Digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/tesla-model-3-performance-specs-news-rumors/ Czinkota, M. R., Ronkainen, I. A. (2013).International marketing. Cengage Learning. Ford.com.au,. (2016).Ford Australia - New Cars, SUVs, Utes Commercial vehicles..Ford.com.au. Retrieved 26 September 2016, from https://www.ford.com.au/ Holden.com.au,. (2016).Holden Australia - Discover New Possibilities.Holden.com.au. Retrieved 26 September 2016, from https://www.holden.com.au/ Jobber, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2012).Principles and practice of marketing(No. 7th). McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Kiley, D. (2016).Forbes Welcome.Forbes.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkiley5/2016/03/30/tesla-model-3-could-be-timed-perfectly-for-mass-market-electric-driving/#6d8994b22ce8 McKenzie-Mohr, D. (2013).Fostering sustainable behavior: An introduction to community-based social marketing. New society publishers. Mols, N. P. (2013). The Internet and the banks strategic distribution channel decisions.International Journal of Bank Marketing. Tesla.com,. (2016).Model 3 | Tesla Australia.Tesla.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016, from https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/model3?redirect=no toyota.com.au,. (2016).New Cars Toyota Australia: Prices, Service Centres, Dealers, Test Drives.toyota.com.au. Retrieved 26 September 2016, from https://www3.toyota.com.au/home

Like A Winding Sheet By Essays - American People Of German Descent

Like A Winding Sheet By Anne Petry Pressure from the Women In "Like a Winding Sheet" Anne Petry chooses not to fully develop the female characters of the story but still used them as a major part of the story to bring on the climax. Petry chose to do this by using each woman's appearance and in some cases their rank in society to bring out the violent doings of Johnson. Petry first used Johnson's boss as a crisis in the plot. Johnson was described as a man in pain and being tired which is assumed by the reader was from working the long hours at work. After repeatedly being late to work his boss finally scolds him for arriving so late, making her the first lady to start the conflict in the story. By Johnson's boss yelling at him he becomes angered as thoughts of striking his white, female boss enter his mind. The only things that keeps Johnson from hitting the boss was that it was extremely immoral to hit a woman, and the fact that she is a superior to him as his boss. The second woman in the story to create a complication in the story was the next young white girl who is working at the coffee shop. On his way home from work Johnson stopped at the coffee shop for the obvious cup of coffee. Johnson had waited in line for quite a while for the cup of coffee but when he finally got to the front for his coffee, the young white girl said that they were out of coffee. When she told Johnson this he didn't think that she did it in a polite manner at all. Johnson thought that he deserved more respect due to him being an elder to the girl, he felt that the girl didn't show this respect. Once again Johnson had thoughts of striking the young girl but for morality reasons, he refrained. The final woman was the one that pushed the story to its' climax. Johnson returned home a very tired and aggravated man from working and the disrespectful women through out the day. This woman happened to be his wife Mae, waiting for Johnson at home. Mae verbally abused him similarly to what his boss had done. His wife told him that he was being a "tough old nigger," and continued with similar statements. Although her meaning of the term wasn't as serious as the bosses was, it still added to Johnson's pressure. Once again the thoughts of raising a hand and striking the woman passed through his mind. This time Johnson couldn't refrain from striking his "abuser." Although the person was again a woman, the pressure on the man had been too much, and he released all of his pressure. All the women throughout the day contributed to the pressure that the man had building inside which finally became too much for Johnson to contain.

Simple Conjugations of Répéter in French

Simple Conjugations of Rà ©pà ©ter in French When you want to say repeated or repeating in French, youll use the verb  rà ©pà ©ter. Yet, to get it into the past or present tense, a conjugation is necessary. In this lesson, well introduce you to the most common and simplest forms of the verb so you can use it in a sentence. The Basic Conjugations of  Rà ©pà ©ter French verb conjugations are required in order to form complete sentences. Unlike English, which has only a few conjugations, French gives you a new form of the verb for every subject pronoun within each tense. This means that youll have more words to memorize. Rà ©pà ©ter  is a  stem-changing verb. This is apparent in the indicative mood and the present, future, and imperfect past tenses in the chart. Notice how in some forms, the second  e  remains an  Ãƒ ©Ã‚  and in others, it changes to an  Ãƒ ¨. Also, youll find that in the future tense, either option is available to you.   Other than that difference in spelling, youll find that the endings attached to the verb stem (rà ©pà ©t-) are the same used for  regular -er  verbs. In that sense, these conjugations can be easier if you already know some of those conjugations. With that, match the subject pronoun with the proper tense for your sentence. For example, I am repeating is  je rà ©pà ¨te  and we will repeat is  nous rà ©pà ©terons. Present Future Imperfect je rà ©pà ¨te rà ©pà ©terairà ©pà ¨terai rà ©pà ©tais tu rà ©pà ¨tes rà ©pà ©terasrà ©pà ¨teras rà ©pà ©tais il rà ©pà ¨te rà ©pà ©terarà ©pà ¨tera rà ©pà ©tait nous rà ©pà ©tons rà ©pà ©teronsrà ©pà ¨terons rà ©pà ©tions vous rà ©pà ©tez rà ©pà ©terezrà ©pà ¨terez rà ©pà ©tiez ils rà ©pà ¨tent rà ©pà ©terontrà ©pà ¨teront rà ©pà ©taient The Present Participle of  Rà ©pà ©ter The  present participle  of rà ©pà ©ter  also follows a regular pattern by adding an -ant  ending without a stem change. The result is the word  rà ©pà ©tant. Rà ©pà ©ter  in the Compound Past Tense In French, the compound past tense is the  passà © composà ©. This is constructed by  conjugating avoir  to the subjects present tense and following it with the  past participle  rà ©pà ©tà ©. It comes together simply with  jai rà ©pà ©tà ©Ã‚  meaning I repeated and  nous avons rà ©pà ©tà ©Ã‚  meaning we repeated. More Simple Conjugations of  Rà ©pà ©ter There will be times when you dont know if something was repeated and this is when  the subjunctive  will be useful. Then again, if something will be repeated only if something else happens, youll use  the conditional.   The passà © simple  and  the imperfect subjunctive  are literary tenses found frequently in formal writing. Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je rà ©pà ¨te rà ©pà ©teraisrà ©pà ¨terais rà ©pà ©tai rà ©pà ©tasse tu rà ©pà ¨tes rà ©pà ©teraisrà ©pà ¨terais rà ©pà ©tas rà ©pà ©tasses il rà ©pà ¨te rà ©pà ©teraitrà ©pà ¨terait rà ©pà ©ta rà ©pà ©tà ¢t nous rà ©pà ©tions rà ©pà ©terionsrà ©pà ¨terions rà ©pà ©tà ¢mes rà ©pà ©tassions vous rà ©pà ©tiez rà ©pà ©teriezrà ©pà ¨teriez rà ©pà ©tà ¢tes rà ©pà ©tassiez ils rà ©pà ¨tent rà ©pà ©teraientrà ©pà ¨teraient rà ©pà ©tà ¨rent rà ©pà ©tassent To order or request someone to Repeat! in French, use  the imperative.  When doing so, skip the subject pronoun and simply say, Rà ©pà ¨te ! Imperative (tu) rà ©pà ¨te (nous) rà ©pà ©tons (vous) rà ©pà ©tez

How Elizabeth Proctors Character Shapes The Crucible

How Elizabeth Proctor's Character Shapes The Crucible Elizabeth Proctor has a complex role in Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible,† the 1953 play that uses the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600s to criticize the witch-hunt for communists during the â€Å"Red Scare† of the 1950s. Miller could have written Elizabeth Proctor, married to the adulterous John Proctor, to be scornful, vengeful or pitiful, even. Instead, she emerges as the rare character, albeit a flawed one, in â€Å"The Crucible† with a moral compass. Her integrity influences her husband to become a more pious man. The Proctors in The Crucible Although Elizabeth Proctor is reserved, slow to complain and dutiful, as many Puritan women were described, she finds it painful that her husband committed adultery with their â€Å"strikingly beautiful† and cunning young servant, Abigail Williams. Before the affair, Elizabeth had encountered a few challenges in her marriage. A palpable distance between Elizabeth and John can be felt during the first acts of the play. â€Å"The Crucible† script never divulges Elizabeth’s true feelings about the scandalous relationship between John and Abigail. Has she forgiven her husband? Or does she just tolerate him because she has no other recourse? Readers and audience members cannot be sure. Yet, Elizabeth and John behave tenderly to each other, despite the fact that she views him with suspicion and he endures spasms of guilt and anger over his moral shortcomings. Elizabeth as Moral Compass of The Crucible Despite the uneasiness of their relationship, Elizabeth serves as Proctor’s conscience. When her husband experiences confusion or ambivalence, she prompts him onto the path of justice. When the manipulative Abigail sparks a witch-hunt in their community, of which Elizabeth becomes a target, Elizabeth urges John to put a stop to the witch trials by revealing the truth about Abigail’s sinful, destructive ways. Abigail, after all, wants to have Elizabeth arrested for practicing witchcraft because she still has feelings for John Proctor. Rather than tear Elizabeth and John apart, the witch-hunt brings the couple closer together. In Act Four of â€Å"The Crucible,† John Proctor finds himself in the most unenviable of predicaments. He must decide whether to falsely confess to witchcraft or hang from the gallows. Rather than make the decision alone, he seeks his wife’s counsel. While Elizabeth doesn’t want John to die, she doesn’t want him to submit to the demands of an unjust society either. How Important Elizabeths Words Are in The Crucible Given her function in John’s life and that she’s one of few morally upright characters in â€Å"The Crucible,† it’s fitting that her character delivers the final lines of the play. After her husband chooses to hang from the gallows instead of signing a false confession, Elizabeth stays put in jail. Even when the Rev. Parris and the Rev. Hale urge her to go and attempt to save her husband, she refuses to leave. She states, He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him! This closing line can be interpreted in several ways. However, most actresses deliver it as if Elizabeth is devastated by the loss of her husband but proud that he has, at last, made a righteous decision.

Gulf War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gulf War - Essay Example By the 6th of August, 1990, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait’s neighbour, realised that the situation was dangerous if Hussein attempted any more invasions and asked for the help of United States of America (USA).The USA immediately sent troops to Kuwait. The United Nations (UN) strongly condemned the invasion of Kuwait and gave Hussein a deadline of 16th January 1991 by which to retreat from Kuwait. Coalition troops from several countries were sent in by air the day after this deadline expired and later on 24th February 1991, ground attacks were launched. It was met by resistance from the Iraqis and several thousands were killed. On the 28th of February, all military operations were halted and a ceasefire declared. In the days that followed, Iraqi units were allowed to leave Kuwait. Negotiations between the coalition countries and Hussein allowed to stay in power but economic and trade sanctions were imposed on Iraq. No-fly zones were established and Iraq’s weapons program came un der inspection by the UN. Iraq accepted all the terms of the ceasefire and the war officially ended on the 3rd of March, 1991.

Engineering Design Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Engineering Design Process - Essay Example Among the fundamental elements of the design process are the establishment of objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing, and evaluation". (Engineering Design, 2006) problem, an existing condition in need of change, a challenge to look ahead for problematic conditions of the future, of design and construction. Because it is important for the engineers to be sure that they understand the problem thoroughly, the first step in the design process is for each group to state the problem. (Garmire, 2002) To recognise the problem requires the ability to think laterally, to anticipate the unexpected and to appreciate the aesthetics of problem solving as well as the material aspect. The aspects within which the problem is being addressed must be understood. (Eng, 2006) Because statements of problems exist within a context, they usually involve bias and often imply solutions. Effective engineers learn to observe the context and eliminate bias. They must clarify the problem statement by looking at each word or phrase and redefine it to make the statement more precise. What is the real problem (Garmire, 2002) Usually brainstorming is done in this stage and is effective enough to reach to a reasonable conclusion. option to confirm its feasibility before being formulated a... They must clarify the problem statement by looking at each word or phrase and redefine it to make the statement more precise. What is the real problem (Garmire, 2002) Usually brainstorming is done in this stage and is effective enough to reach to a reasonable conclusion. 3. Develop possible alternative solutions: Choosing the right design requires a creative team effort to identify several possible solutions, and evaluate development of the preferred option to confirm its feasibility before being formulated and made. (Eng, 2006) This enables engineers to study and analyse in detail each and every alternative solution with respect to its opportunities and drawbacks. Performance, cost control and complexity objectives must be considered and balanced during design evaluation. Example: Financial concerns might make an engineering company choose rental over equipment purchase. Specific performance objectives, that the new system must perform online data processing may result in a complex network design for which control procedures must be established. Evaluating and selecting the best design involves a balance of system objectives that will best support organisational goals. 4. Select the best solution: Out of several possible alternates, only one is chosen in the light of its effectiveness and accuracy. After choosing the final solution, the design specifications are said to be frozen, as this formal step avoid cost overruns and missed user expectations. 5. Prototype development: Prototyping acts as an iterative approach to the engineering design process. During each iteration, requirements and alternative solutions to the problems are identified and analysed, new solutions are designed, and a

Breaking Dawn Edwards Pov Essay Example for Free

Breaking Dawn Edwards Pov Essay â€Å"I miss you already.† â€Å"I don’t need to leave. I can stay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Mmm.† It was the eve of our wedding and Bella and I were lying in her narrow bed together, as was our habit. Though it was August, she was wrapped in her usual swaddling blanket, a protection against the chill of my skin. The bulky afghan did not prevent Bella’s hands from wandering about, exploring the unclothed parts of my body. If she had her way, both of us would be even less clothed. I found shirtless to be challenge enough. With Bella’s fingers probing the outlines of each muscle and bone above my waistband, her lips on mine, I was both awash in pleasure and sinking into concern. Some might call it performance anxiety and I could not deny it. When one’s performance was a matter of life and death, there was no shame in that. Bella dragged her tongue across my top lip and a surge of desire shot through me. It was all I could do to remain still and let the sensation fade. If she were a vampire, I would have rolled on top of her, stripped off the bulky afghan and pressed my entire body into hers. I would have kissed her passionately, tasting her lips, her tongue, and pulling her as close to me as the laws of physics would allow. Ahhh†¦ I groaned and retreated from her caressing hands and her delicious, warm tongue. â€Å"Wait,† Bella murmured, clutching my arms. I watched as she kicked her right leg free from the blanket and wrapped it around my waist. â€Å"Practice makes perfect.† I chuckled. I’d heard that one before. Numerous times. â€Å"Well, we should be fairly close to perfection by this point, then, shouldn’t we? Have you slept at all in the last month?† â€Å"But this is the dress rehearsal,† she protested, â€Å"and we’ve only practiced certain scenes. It’s no time for playing safe.† Playing safe. My body froze as I considered how easy it would be to break Bella’s arm, or tear out a handful of her beautiful hair, or snap her spine, or†¦ â€Å"Bella†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Don’t start this again. A deal’s a deal.† â€Å"I don’t know. It’s too hard to concentrate when you’re with me like this. I—I can’t think straight. I won’t be able to control myself. You’ll get hurt.† â€Å"I’ll be fine.† â€Å"Bella†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Shhh!† Bella put her hands on either side of my face and pressed her lips against mine. I would like to have been distracted by that, but it was too late. My mind was already elsewhere, drifting from the thousand-and-one ways I could harm Bella to enumerating all she was giving up for me†¦her family, her friends†¦her chance to be a mother, to grow old, to become something more than what she was right now. It was too much to sacrifice just to be with me. In my mounting distress, I revisited an argument that Bella and I had had repeatedly. I’d never convinced her before; I don’t know why I thought she might change her mind now. â€Å"It’s not right! I don’t want you to have to make sacrifices for me. I want to give you things, not take things away from you. I don’t want to steal your future. If I were human—† Bella stifled my objections by putting her hand over my mouth. â€Å"You are my future. Now stop. No moping, or I’m cal ling your brothers to come and get you. Maybe you need a bachelor party.† My brothers must have agreed with her, for Emmett’s thoughts suddenly interrupted my own. Maybe we’ll catch them with their clothes off! Hope so. Ha, ha! â€Å"Oh, for the love of all that’s holy!† â€Å"What’s wrong?† â€Å"You don’t have to call my brothers. Apparently Emmett and Jasper are not going to let me bow out tonight.† Bella tightened her grip for a moment before releasing me. â€Å"Have fun,† she said. Perhaps it would be better for Bella if I left. Then I wouldn’t upset her with the â€Å"cold feet† I’d told her I didn’t have. I had no second thoughts about marrying Bella—I could hardly wait to do that! My second thoughts were all about the wedding night. Yes, I should leave. Maybe she would get some sleep if I did. â€Å"If you don’t send Edward out,† Emmett threatened in his best, creepy-monster voice, â€Å"we’re coming in after him!† Bella lau ghed. â€Å"Go! Before they break my house.† Kissing her forehead, I advised, â€Å"Get to sleep. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.† â€Å"Thanks! That’s sure to help me wind down.† â€Å"I’ll meet you at the altar.† I gave her a sly smile. â€Å"I’ll be the one in white,† Bella announced nonchalantly, as if we were planning a rendezvous at the mall. I chuckled at that, considering the anxiety attacks that overcame her every time I mentioned the wedding. â€Å"Very convincing,† I tossed over my shoulder as I leaped out the window. My feet landed squarely on Emmett’s head, knocking him to the ground. â€Å"Dammit, that hurt!† Emmett stage whispered, as he jumped up and took a swing at me. I dodged the punch easily. His thoughts always gave him away. â€Å"You’d better not make him late,† I heard Bella warn my brothers. Jasper leaped up and grabbed the eaves outside Bella’s window. He turned on his soothing vibes. â€Å"Don’t worry, Bella. We’ll get him home in plenty of time.† â€Å"Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties? You’re not taking him to a strip club, are you?† she whispered to Jasper and I had to smile. As if that would be fun for me! No woman had ever affected me like Bella did. Women could dip themselves in blood and parade around naked all day and it wouldn’t do a thing for me. I should know†¦Tanya had tried such tricks many times to get me into her bed. â€Å"Don’t tell her anything!† Emmett hissed at Jasper, earning himself a friendly forearm shove that knocked him to the ground†¦again. I could never beat Emmett if we fought strength to strength, but with my mind-reading skill, he rarely got in a good punch. I laughed at his expression as he stood up and brushed the grass off his jeans. He tried to loo k casual as he readied himself for a â€Å"surprise† counterattack. Just as he launched himself at me, I took off running, knowing he couldn’t catch me at full speed. â€Å"Relax,† I heard Jasper reply to Bella. â€Å"We Cullens have our own version. Just a few mountain lions, a couple of grizzly bears. Pretty much an ordinary night out.† Jasper had told Bella the truth. We would be celebrating our boys’ night out with a hunt. I didn’t need the blood at the moment, but it was still a good idea. If I fed now, then I wouldn’t have to leave Bella to hunt for the first two weeks of our honeymoon. Besides, I only had one more day to remain chaste until Bella and I were married. I did not want to slip-up at this late date—getting out of Bella’s bed would make that a whole lot easier. Running gave me time to think about the last couple of months. As my fiancà ©, Bella had accepted the black credit card with her name on it attached to my account. Like the cell phone, I’d presented it as a â€Å"safety precaution,† but she’d started to use it for other things too, and that had been the point. Bella had quit her job at Newtons Olympic Out fitters, so she didn’t have any pocket money to speak of. I was glad that she’d quit. I preferred not giving Mike Newton the opportunity to gape at and entertain salacious thoughts about my bride-to-be as was his habit. Also, I was happy that we could spend more time together. I didn’t have to part with her company for the three or four days a week she would have worked for what I considered to be spare change. Unless she really liked the job—and I knew that she didn’t—I saw no point in sacrificing our time together. It had been a great summer. The only slight comedown had been the â€Å"father-in-law talk† Charlie had initiated with me. I haven’t encountered many people who could surprise me in the last eighty years, but Charlie was one who could. His mind was so quiet—in the sense of relatively impenetrable to me—that while I could perceive his feelings, I often couldn’t hear the inner dialogue that went with them. I didn’t like the sense of insecurity it gave me not knowing what he was thinking. I was used to having more time to consider how to react to people than I ever had with Charlie. One evening five weeks earlier, Charlie had grabbed my arm as Bella and I were leaving his house for the evening. We’d found a number of private parking spots around the area and we liked to visit them as often as possible. Because he’d surprised me, I reflexively yanked my arm out of his grip at my natural strength. Immediately, he’d put both palms up as if he was surrendering. He’d mistaken my quick reflex as a sign of anger. The interaction reminded me of the television show â€Å"Cops,† in which hooligans whirl around and punch an arresting police officer just on principle. Charlie must get that a lot. I quickly raised my palms to indicate a mutual surrender. I would have smiled if I hadn’t thought Charlie would interpret it as a taunt. Bella had missed our interaction and was continuing toward the car. â€Å"What can I do for you, Charlie?† I inquired politely. â€Å"I was just wondering what your folks think about you proposing to my daughter.† â€Å"Oh, they love her, they really do.† â€Å"That’s not exactly what I meant.† â€Å"No?† I wasn’t going to help him interrogate me. â€Å"No†¦uh†¦I meant what do they think of you getting married right out of high school?† â€Å"Oh! Well, you know they got married quite young themselves. Esme already had Jasper and Rosalie to look after when she met Carlisle. They fell in love and Carlisle wanted to help support the kids, so he proposed when Esme was younger than he might have otherwise. They’ve been extremely happy, so they don’t have any prejudice against getting married young.† â€Å"Do you think you’re old enough to handle this kind of responsibility? That’s my daughter you’re promising to support for the rest of your life. A re you one hundred percent sure that you’re ready for that?† â€Å"I will be there for Bella. I can assure you of that.† â€Å"What if you screw it up and things fall apart?† Charlie pressed. I thought about that for a moment before answering. I knew what he was referring to without having to read his thoughts. â€Å"There are many ways I could mess things up,† I admitted. â€Å"I’ve already made mistakes with Bella. I know that. I wasn’t here for her when she needed me. I swear to you, Charlie, I left because I wanted Bella to have a chance to find somebody better than me. But I found that I couldn’t live without her and so I came back. Jacob might be a better choice for her, but she still wants me and as long as she does, I won’t leave her. I don’t make the same mistakes twice.† Charlie just gave me his dark-eyed, policeman’s stare. I didn’t blame him. He’d watched Bella suffer daily after I abandoned her. Jacob had impressed upon me all the painful details he could summon about that time. â€Å"Jacob’s a good young man,† Charlie finally responded, â€Å"but I wouldn’t want him marrying her at his age, either.† I took another moment to consider my response, and then sighed, knowing I’d never convince him with words. â€Å"The only way to know whether I’ll be good for Bella is with time. I can’t offer you proof, but I love her more than my own life and I will take care of her, Charlie. I just hope that I can make her as happy as she makes me, though I hardly think it’s possible.† Charlie’s stare didn’t change, so I continued. â€Å"If it makes you feel any better, my family is behind us, and you know Carlisle well enough to know that he would never let Bella down†¦even if I did. My family would step in for me. That’s just the way my parents are. They’re great people.† â€Å"I know they are†¦Edward. I trust Carlisle and that’s why I’m not making more of a fuss about this.† I acknowledged his statement with a nod. â€Å"Just so you know, Charlie†¦Bella and I discussed eloping to Las Vegas and marrying without telling anyone. But Bella didn’t want to cut you out of her decision in that way, so we decided to make it a family event.† â€Å"I knew there was something going on!† Charlie exclaimed. â€Å"I had a feeling you two were going to take off together!† â€Å"Bella wants you there to walk her down the aisle, or the stairs, rather. I hope you can see your way clear to do that for her on her day.† Charlie nodded stiffly and I turned to follow Bella to the car. â€Å"That’s a fancy car you got my daughter.† â€Å"Yes, it’s a loaner. Carlisle called in a favor for me. It’s a very safe car.† â€Å"Well, that’s good. You can hardly get a car that’s safe enough to share the roads with all the bad drivers and drunk drivers out there.† â€Å"I agree. Goodnight, Charlie.† â€Å"’Night.† Charlie shut the front door and I saw that Bella was coming back to get me. I hurried toward her. â€Å"What was all that about?† â€Å"Charlie wanted to have a little ‘man-to-man’ talk about his precious daughter, but I told him I agreed with everything he said, so he loves me now.† I grinned and winked at Bella. She didn’t buy it. â€Å"No, what did he really want?† she demanded. â€Å"Tell me, or I’ll march right back and ask him!† I sighed. â€Å"Charlie just wanted to warn me about the dangers of marrying too young and make sure I was knew what I was doing.† â€Å"What did you say?† â€Å"I said that I was old for my age,† I replied, giving her a crooked smile. â€Å"You did not!† â€Å"Sure, why not? I am, aren’t I?† I teased. â€Å"Ancient. I should be grossed out being with you.† â€Å"Fortunately, I still look good and that’s what really counts.† We both laughed and, to my relief, Bella dropped the subject. Bella’s mother, Renee, had flown in two days earlier and Bella was sticking close to her except when our mothers worked on the wedding. It was odd behavior for a bride-to-be, but I wasn’t marrying Bella because she was like everyone else. Quite the opposite. When I’d come home two evenings previous, Renee was visiting Esme. In an attempt to demonstrate her acceptance of me as her almost son-in-law, Renee had dashed across the living room and thrown her arms around my neck. â€Å"Welcome to our family, Edward!† she’d said. I thought perhaps she was overexcited by the trip or by meeting my family. I hadn’t expected such an exuberant greeting, though she had no particular misgivings about Bella marrying me. Renee ended the hug abruptly when her arms encountered my cold, hard self. â€Å"Hmm,† she mumbled as she broke off contact. Hard body! was her thought, and I almost laughed out loud. The picture in her mind was complimentary, not lite ral. She was imagining what my upper body looked like without a shirt. I’d already gotten acquainted enough with Renee when Bella and I went to Florida that I knew she didn’t mean anything by it. A cougar†¦just like Bella, I thought, and smiled to myself. It was a little sad to meet Renee again, knowing that this was the last time Bella would see her, or possibly even talk to her on the phone. As I watched Bella over the course of the two days, I sensed that she was saying her goodbyes. If I’d had to give up Carlisle and Esme to be with Bella, I could have done it. I had given them up once before. But it was hard to accept that I could make Bella happy enough to give up seeing her parents. I’d asked her again last night whether she was prepared to do that and her response had been, â€Å"Are you trying to ditch me?† Then we’d started laughing and the question had gotten lost. My brothers and I didn’t get back from hunting until a couple of hours before the wedding. Esme collared us immediately and sent us to the back garden to hang flower garlands for Alice. It had to be done at the last minute or the August day would wilt them. Alice had prohibited me from going anywhere near where she was preparing Bella, so I headed to my third-floor room to make myself presentable. Alice had changed my old-fashioned tux just enough to convert it from â€Å"vintage† to â€Å"vintage chic,† as she put it. It did look good, I had to admit. I tried to neaten my normally unruly hair. I put some hair gel on it and convinced it to lie down in a semi-orderly fashion. After a time, Jasper came upstairs to tell me that the first guests were arriving. He and Emmett would be ushering them to their seats. Of course, Jasper could have told me that from downstairs, but Alice had specifically asked him to come get me, so that I wouldn’t be parading down the bride’s decorated stairway in full view of the guests. I walked outside through the kitchen door, telling Carlisle that I’d be waiting out back. He and Esme were standing by the front door to greet everyone as they arrived. This was the most important day of my life, but I hoped to have infinitely more wonderful days to enjoy with my Bella. I felt exceedingly fortunate that she wanted me as I wanted her. I could have lost her so easily. I heard the Denali clan arrive and recognized Tanya’s mental voice: Where’s Edward? It will be good to see that man again†¦mmm hmm! Who is this human girl? I can’t imagine Edward with a woman, not even a vampire woman. This will be interesting†¦ I smiled, glad to be escaping Tanya’s clutches for good. She’d given me a hard time when we were living in Alaska. She wasn’t used to being told â€Å"no thank you.† Neither vampires nor humans ever turned down Tanya’s advances. She was beautiful and charming, everything a man could want. She just wasn’t for me and she never could accept that. It was one of the reasons Carlisle decided to move our family farther south. He told everyone that we were too conspicuous and perhaps we were, all there together, but I’d had the chance to hear another reason in his mind—that Tanya can’t leave Edward alone. My father empathized when Tanya had set her sights on me. Carlisle had had plenty of pushy admirers. During his first few weeks at a new hospital, nurses would line up three deep to ogle him. He had to temper that initial interest by telling some number of them that he was happily married, thank you. Of course, he wore a wedding ring, but that didn’t discourage everyone. Once people met Esme, though, they usually stopped chasing Carlisle. She was simply too beautiful, inside and out, to compete with. I know Esme had always worried that I wasn’t fully mature as a man when Carlisle had changed me and that I might never find, or even wish for, a mate. It was true that I wasn’t interested in any of the Denali ladies. And after the trouble I’d had with Rosalie when she joined our family, I didn’t expect anything good could come of such interest anyway. When the Denalis met the only bachelor vampire they’d seen in years, each of them had set about seeking my affection. I didn’t blame them, particularly. Perhaps they’d gotten tired of human men and wanted someone more durable to partner with for a change. I could understand that to a certain degree. I didn’t go inside to greet the Denalis or any of the other arrivals. I couldn’t focus on anyone but Bella—it seemed like such a long time since I’d seen her. I was trying to reason myself out of an irrational fear that she wasn’t really there in our house, that she had changed her mind and would leave me standing alone at the altar. If I listened, I could hear her voice now and then, but I couldn’t hear her thoughts and that had never bothered me so much as it did at that moment. To distract myself, I listened at random to our guests’ thoughts and found that everyone was astonished by the decorations. Alice had put her all into planning this wedding and it showed. The flowers alone were beyond imagining. Exquisitely fragrant arrangements covered every surface of our living room and the reception area outside. Alice was particularly fond of flowers. I thought perhaps it was because she’d been deprived of beauty for so many years at the asylum. Whatever the reason, it was a boon for us all. Rosalie had started playing my grand piano, making the one instrument sound like several. I knew that Pachelbel’s Can on in D was my cue to enter the living room with Carlisle and stand in front of the flower-covered archway. He would come looking for me in the kitchen when the time came, so I walked back into the house. In due course, Carlisle came to retrieve me and after a final, heartfelt hug, we took our assigned places in front of the assembled crowd. I stood, frozen with emotion, and watched anxiously for my beloved to appear at the top of the stairs on her father’s arm. I had waited a lifetime to stand in front of these witnesses and declare my undying devotion to the one and only woman I would ever love. Time had stopped making sense when I finally heard the familiar C-F-F-F notes of â€Å"Here Comes the Bride.† I could not believe my eyes when an angel from heaven began to descend the stairs, one by one, her eyes lowered to watch her feet. It was only when I heard her whisper â€Å"Don’t let me fall, Dad,† that I knew for sure it was Bella†¦my Bella. I fretted for a second that my angel might fall and I readied myself to dash across the room to catch her. Seeing the groom disappear and reappear somewhere else would not go over well with anybody, though I reasoned that all of the guests would be looking at Bella, not at me. Still, perhaps we should have served champagne before the ceremony, just in case something like that did happen†¦but then, Bella was descending the final step. She lifted her face, searching for me. When our eyes finally met, a look of such utter joy crossed her face that I broke into an ecstatic smile. Bella’s feelings often were written on her face, but today her expression was utterly transparent. The adoration in her eyes was unmistakable and I was jubilant enough to break out in song†¦almost. Our eyes remained glued to each other while Bella carefully traversed the fifteen-foot aisle that Alice had kept short to give Bella a fair chance of remaining upright. With the way she looked in that dress, with that makeup, with everything†¦the glow, the scarlet blush, the prisms of tears in her eyes†¦I wanted to rush down the aisle to meet her and carry her back to the altar. But I remained patient, stretching out my palm so that Charlie could place Bella’s hand in mine. He regarded me seriously as he did so and I nodded my thank you to him for his great sacrifice. Charlie seated himself beside Renee, with Phil on her other side, and Bella and I turned to face the minister. I loved the traditional wedding ceremony with its promises and pronouncements, but on this occasion, each word resonated with newly unveiled meaning. When I declared â€Å"I do† to my beloved, I’d never been happier in my life. I wanted to repeat the words in every language I knew. My lovely new wife was overcome with emotion. When I leaned over to kiss her for the first time as her husband, Bella’s arms encircled my neck and she held on a s if she would never let me go. The audience had disappeared—she only had eyes for me. I kissed her with a swell of love and tenderness that made my eyes burn with the tears that didn’t come, and she met my passion with her own. Emotion poured from her as she clung to me, melding her lips with mine as if we were utterly alone in that moment. I did not mind in the least. Bella was happy to be married to me—I could feel it in my bones. When the guests began to titter, I eased my love’s face gently away from mine and looked into her tear-filled eyes. I felt my happiness radiate from me like the heat of a coal fire and I wondered briefly if my skin was sparkling in its glow. When Emmett cleared his throat unsubtly, I turned us both to face the loved ones who had gathered there and everyone broke into smiles and quiet laughter. I could not let go of Bella for a second. I wrapped my arm around her waist and practically carried her down the aisle when she forgot to move her feet. Fortunately, they were hidden by the length of her dress. Another detail that Alice had not overlooked. Bella was so stunningly beautiful that I wasn’t surprised to hear a number of inappropriate thoughts as the reception line shuffled slowly past us and on to the buffet. Alice had timed things well, so that the vampires would not have to step outside until twilight, just in case the sun came out. It was good that she did, because we had a beautiful wedding day with plenty of sunshine filtering through the ancient cedars. I was extraordinarily pleased that Billy Black and Sue and Seth Clearwater had come to the wedding. Despite the Cullens’ official status as â€Å"mortal enemies† of their tribe, the three of them were there in support of Bella and Charlie, and perhaps as a gesture of gratitude to Carlisle as well. Seth was there for me, too. Our friendship had not faded since we’d joined forces to battle Victoria and Riley. â€Å"Congrats, guys,† Seth said, coming toward me with his arms out. I hugged him with one arm while I held Bella tightly with the other. â€Å"It’s good to see things work out for you, man. I’m happy for you.† â€Å"Thank you, Seth. That means a lot to me.† Releasing Seth, I faced Billy and Sue with honest gratitude. I knew they were not there for me. â€Å"Thank you, as well. For letting Seth come. For supporting Bella today.† â€Å"You’re welcome,† Billy replied cordially and I hoped his attitude boded well for the change that was coming. I didn’t know how I was going to approach the Quileute wolf pack about Bella’s upcoming transformation. It was possible that if we left the area to avoid their ancient vendetta, that Jacob still would come to hunt us down. He had no motivation to let me change Bella, but I hoped that he and all the wolves would agree to the one exception to our treaty. Billy wasn’t giving anything away with his thoughts, but Sue’s mind was full of concern about being in a house with so many vampires. As the receiving line moved along, the only slightly awkward moment was introducing Tanya to Bella. â€Å"Ah, Edward, I’ve missed you,† Tanya said, pulling herself close to me in an intimate embrace. She lingered a bit too long in my one-armed hug—on purpose. I chuckled at her audacity as I employed one of Carlisle’s tricks for dealing with forward women†¦to press her shoulder away as if to admire the full length of her. â€Å"It’s been too long, Tanya. You look well.† Though Bella would never believe it, her beauty outshone Tanya’s many t imes over in my eyes. â€Å"So do you,† Tanya replied, a familiar note of longing in her voice. With a great swelling of pride, I interjected, â€Å"Let me introduce you to my wife.† Kate and Carmen giggled at the emphasis. My joy at using that word for the first time sang in my words. â€Å"Tanya, this is my Bella.† Bella had been uncertain about inviting Tanya and her coven, but I’d convinced her that as extended family—orphans, to boot—they must be included. I also wanted Tanya there specifically to underscore the point that I was officially and permanently unavailable. â€Å"Welcome to the family, Bella,† Tanya responded appropriately, if not altogether enthusiastically. â€Å"We consider ourselves Carlisles extended family, and I am sorry about the, er, recent incident when we did not behave as such. We should have met you sooner. Can you forgive us?† â€Å"Of course. It’s so nice to meet you,† Bella replied, blushing. I noted the brief flare of excitement among my cousins at the rush of blood before each of them contained it. â€Å"The Cullens are all evened up in numbers now. Perhaps it will be our t urn next, eh, Kate?† Tanya grinned. Kate’s sarcastic sense of humor kicked in. â€Å"Keep the dream alive,† she said, rolling her eyes. â€Å"Welcome, Bella.† Kate took Bella’s hand and Carmen stepped up to add hers. â€Å"I’m Carmen, this is Eleazar. We’re all so very pleased to finally meet you.† â€Å"M-me, too,† Bella stuttered. I thought she was holding up well considering she was meeting my â€Å"relatives† for the first time. â€Å"We’ll get to know each other later. We’ll have eons of time for that!† Tanya remarked, laughing. I enjoyed performing the rituals of the wedding celebration. Alice had ordered a gorgeous, artfully decorated cake, its beauty being the only aspect of it I could truly appreciate. I did not relish swallowing the chunky blob Bella pushed toward my face, but that could not be avoided with such an attentive audience. Flashbulbs popped, capturing the uncomfortable moment for all time. Bella tossed her bouquet to Angela, who blushed puce and carefully avoided the eyes of her escort, Ben, which are six inches lower than her own. When it came time to lift Bella’s skirt and remove her garter with my teeth, she blushed hotly while Jasper and Emmett guffawed at her embarrassment. I wasn’t allowed to venture too far up her dress, since she slid the garter below her knee before I got the chance. Still, it was a fun moment, biting the elastic band and dragging it slowly down her calf. After detaching it from her leg, I stretched the elastic into a slingshot, aiming for Mike Newton’s head. The garter snapped him in the forehead and his mouth dropped open.

Top Deck - The Magazine for Collectible Card Gamers :: Analysis Magazine Cards Essays

Top Deck - The Magazine for Collectible Card Gamers As a potential reader examines a shelf of magazines to buy, the reader will look for an eye-catching magazine that pertains to his or her interests. The magazine Top Deck targets an audience which ranges from pre-teenagers to mid-thirties readers who share interests such as collectible card games, RPG's (or roleplaying games), and fantasy related items. Although the main focus of the magazine is collectible card games, Top Deck attempts to also appeal to the other interests of collectible card gamers. Top Deck experiments with the layout of a normal magazine by expanding it and separating the magazine into two parts. One part of the magazine spotlights the trading card game Pokemon and the other has a majority of articles on the card game Magic: The Gathering. Depending on which portion of the magazine the reader is currently viewing, the other side of Top Deck is upside-down. Most readers would find this design strange and hard to read, but the readers of Top Deck seem to like the design. The design shows imagination and creativity, and these qualities are almost universal among collectible card gamers. It takes a good imagination to play with cards that neither talk nor move and alot of creativity to design a deck of Magic or Pokemon cards. Another thing that makes Top Deck so interesting to its audience is the sarcastic tone of writing that laces the sentences like arsenic. An article contained in the section called Top Disc, on E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) previews computer and console games that will be released for the rest of this year and possibly next year (35-45). The article is sometimes humorous to read as it tries to sum up entire games in a few sentences. When reviewing the game Quake III: Arena, Cory Herndon explains: "Point. Shoot. Die. Repeat." (35) Obviously, this is an over-simplistic comment, but it parallels the sarcastic tone of the magazine. The readers of Top Deck enjoy this style of writing because the readers themselves are sarcastic. Society today has been so serious about everything that sometimes it is refreshing to read something so totally causal and carefree. In the department called Box 707, Top Deck stretches sarcasm and humor to the limit (10*). This section is a letter section in which readers write in and someone from the magazine answers these letters. The letters are then printed within the Box 707 section of Top Deck.

Eating Disorder Research Paper Essay

Media and society are often looked at as a source of daily entertainment, gossip and news. Every day, people are constantly exposed to thousands of images of glamour, beauty, celebrities, and much more. The media is so compelling that it has the power to change what people believe in. The images that are shown repeatedly make a way into teenagers mind and they want to be a part of what the media shows. Teens feel the need to change their body to look a certain way and be like someone else. But a fact unknown to teenagers is that even celebrities’ body are not perfect. The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. People with anorexia have a huge fear of gaining weight and a change in their body shape and size (â€Å"Eating Disorders†). Anorexia has been characterized as a â€Å"rich white girl† disorder because most anorectics are white and about three-quarters of them come from households at the middle income level or above (Davidson and Fundukian). Bulimia on the other hand is when a person eats large amount of food over a short period of time then later performs activities to try to burn the calories off. Binging is the most common symptom of bulimia and it is often done when trying to get rid of the food eaten. Bulimia is thought to affect around 1% to 5% of teenage American girls and up to 3% will be bulimic at some point in their life (Arnold and Walsh 30). Studies show that â€Å"media exposure has a direct impact on disorder symptoms and indirect effects through gender role endorsement, ideal-body stereotype internalization and body satisfaction. † The covers of magazines display pictures of both men and women whose images are offered as near perfection in society. â€Å"Research has shown that even brief exposure to ads showing highly attractive models results in decreased satisfaction with one’s own appearance† (McMurray). Teenagers should know that celebrities are not magically beautiful and thin, they are made to look that way. â€Å"Today’s culture is unique in that the media is a far more powerful presence than ever before† (Derenne and Bersin). The media has been named as a causative factor for body dissatisfaction, which promotes unrealistic standards of female beauty and show images that create and reinforce cultural definitions of attractiveness. (Qtd. in Wexler). The media opens the door of eating disorders to teenagers and brainwashes them into thinking that being thin is important and necessary. The media needs to be very careful in the messages that they give to teenagers regarding body image. Dr. Bond says how â€Å"the media should be more responsible in not publishing pictures of very thin models and celebrities because young people wish to emulate them. Eating disorders are not going away, if anything they are becoming more common (Thinspiration? ). Advertisements everywhere continually expose the notion that losing weight will make people happier. Advertisements that show thin celebrities reach out to individuals telling them what they can be or become if they were thin. By looking at these advertisements, women start to feel insecure about the way they look. The NEDA reports that â€Å"women’s magazines contained 10. 5 times more advertisements and articles promoting diet and weight loss then were found in men’s magazines. It also reports that a study of 4,294 network television commercials revealed that one out of every 3. 8 commercials conveyed some sort of attractiveness message of what is or is not attractive† (Qtd. In Wexler). Many women frequently compare their bodies to those around them and the body images on advertisements lowers their self-esteem. The advertisements of celebrities affects the stereotypical idea of an ideal body which leads to eating disorders (Stice et al 5). Online, there are websites that promote anorexia. Teens with anorexia can then put up pictures of their skinny bodies for other anorectics to see and feel encouraged by. They feature pictures of celebrities such Keira Knightley and Victoria Beckham that promote 400-500 calories a day diet. In a year alone more than 500,000 people visited the sites and a 2011 EU survey found more than one in five six-to 11-year olds had been exposed to one or more sites with these â€Å"harmful content† (Thinspiration? . Teens who are anorexic feel that having an eating disorder is not a bad thing. They look upon each other for support, telling each other secrets of losing weight. The quote â€Å"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels† by Kate Moss is popular among these pro-anorexia websites (Wardrop). TV shows also send the message to be thin to whoever watches them. Disney Channel, which attracts millions of viewers, especially the young, made fun of eating disorder and actually promoted the idea of being thin. In the show Shake It Up, someone stated â€Å"I could just eat you guys up, you know, if I ate† (â€Å"Party It Up†). In another Disney show, So Random, a conversation goes on where one character tells another â€Å"Angus only eats one full meal a day† to which Angus replies â€Å"My agent’s always on me about looking my best (â€Å"Colbie Caillat†). Disney thinks about eating disorders as a joke which is not dangerous. For many kids, the people on Disney are their role models, and if kids see their role models not eating, they are going to think that it is okay to not eat. Also if Disney encourages the idea of not eating that kids will do the same thing. Demi Lovato who battled an eating disorder attacked Disney about these risky messages that they send to kids. Experts say that Lovato opened the Pandora’s Box about the dangerous effects television shows can have on the negative body image of young women (â€Å"Disney Pop Star†). Even in other TV shows, the overweight characters are most likely portrayed as lazy and the one with no friends, while thin characters are successful and popular. This also sends a message that in order to be successful in life a person has to be thin. Teenagers feel pressured into looking the way society wants them to look like. Everywhere they go, they see posters of celebrities enhanced to look â€Å"perfect. Society thinks that if someone does not look a certain way then it is not acceptable and that they should change how their body looks. From a young age, women are given the message that in order to be happy, they must be thin. Thousands of teenage girl starve themselves to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the â€Å"ideal† figure (Thompson). Society has become obsessive and prejudiced when it comes to body image. Society and media work together to get that one message across to teens today; to be thin. New diets come out every month and media spends money trying to advertise them and get celebrity endorsements. In stores, the front pages of magazines show that one celebrity that everyone looks up too. How they talk about that one diet that â€Å"changed their life† and made them â€Å"happy† again. Teens think that if these celebrities can be skinny, then why can’t they? Teens spend their times looking at websites and magazines that tell them how to be skinny. By constantly portraying â€Å"perfect† bodies in the media, it promotes unhealthy eating that can sometimes lead to death (â€Å"Disney Pop Star†). Even today, dolls like Barbie send that message to young girl to be thin. The Barbie doll is a stereotype of a woman with no flaws and a perfect body who gets to be whatever she wants. Girls who play with Barbie feel the need to look and act like her. The traditional Barbie is known for her 40-18-32 measurements (Young) which would be unproportional on human bodies (Grey). If Barbie were real, she would be 5’9†³ tall and weigh 110 pounds, about 35 pounds below the minimum healthy weight for a woman of that size (McMurray). Barbie helps to perpetuate an ideal of materialism, beauty, and being thin is happiness and since a young age, the desire to be thin is recognized by girls everywhere. But eating disorders doesn’t just affect women, it affects men also. In a study by Harvard researchers, 25% of 3,000 adults had anorexia or bulimia and 40% of binge eaters were men (Boodman). Just like women, men also feel pressured into looking a certain way. In school, boys are told to be healthy if they want to keep playing a sport. But that habit can become something more dangerous. â€Å"Studies show that gay males particularly place a higher calculation on thinness than heterosexual males, with a level of concern for thinness almost equal to that of the typical heterosexual female† (Anderson, Cohn, and Holbrook 41). Because of this many men might be afraid about coming out to the world about their eating disorder. Some people think of an eating disorder as more of a woman thing and â€Å"psychological tests for eating disorders are biased towards diagnosing women† (Anderson, Cohn, and Holbrook 41). Eating disorders are also common in the entertainment business. Celebrities and models are also under pressure to look their best. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman and fit the category of being anorexic (Thompson). Models go through plastic surgery and photos are air-brushed before going to print. The body type and images are unobtainable to the average individual and the constant force of these images on society makes teens believe that they should be. Many celebrities and models who feel that an eating disorder is something more dangerous than what everyone else seems have come out and talked about that issues. Even celebrities who once had an eating disorder spend time educating others and telling them that it is okay to get help. In 1992 after the news about Princess Diana being bulimic was released, there was a significant increase in the number of bulimia diagnoses. This effect then came known as the â€Å"Diana Effect† (Celebrities Who Battled Eating Disorders). Just like how Lucy Grealy states in her memoir Autobiography of a Face, â€Å"Beauty, as defined by society at large, seemed to be only about who was best at looking like everyone else† (187) it looks like that concept has not changed since that time. In today’s society everything is about being thin and trying to look like a model or a celebrity. Teenagers try to do everything to make themselves how society wants it but in the end they just destroy themselves. Society and media think of an eating disorder as a joke but it is a disease; a disease that has the power to take the lives of both women and men. For anybody out there who thinks that an eating disorder is not a big deal then they are wrong. People, especially the media, should know that the message they send out to teens is wrong; everything is not just about being thin. Simply by the media bringing out the concept that being beautiful and thin is necessary for a successful life is wrong. Having to look like a model to be accepted in society is wrong. All these messages have a huge negative effect on teenagers and they think down of themselves just because they do not think they are â€Å"right† for society. The fake advertisements that are shown is just another step for teens to developing a dangerous and deadly addiction that is called an eating disorder. â€Å"I think we look at society and we look at every ad that out there and everything that tells us how we’re supposed to look, and how we’re supposed to live, and how we’re supposed to be instead of saying ‘Is that how really I feel? ’, ‘Is that really what I want to do? ’, and ‘Is that really how I want to live? ’† (Ellen DeGeneres).

Revenue Assessment Essay

Thank you for the opportunity to assess your sales data in order to provide recommendations for increasing your sales. The analysis and recommendations below are based on the data you provided, which covers a period from May 2004 through June 2006. The analysis below is based on this data alone. Therefore, our recommendations should be tempered by your knowledge of business realities and your market. Please let us know if we can answer any questions concerning the analysis or the recommendations provided. Discount Analysis Analysis – An analysis was carried to understand if there is a relationship between the percentage of discount offered and the number of orders from customers or the number of items ordered by customers. Orders were grouped by the percentage discount offered, with the results seen in the below graphic. Most of the orders were placed without any discount, followed by orders placed at discounts of 5% to 25%. It can be seen that for discounts in the range 5% to 25%, there is not much of a different or a direct relationship between the discount offered and the number of orders or quantities placed by the customer. Based on this, it can be concluded that there is no significant relationship between the discount level and the extra orders by a customer. Graphic Recommendation – Based on the information above, I recommend that the company should not allow very high discounts for orders such as 20% or 25%, and it would be able to obtain the same level of sales by giving lower discount such as 5% or 10% for volume discounts. The surplus funds kept will add to the revenues and profits of the company, and can be used for other items. Revenue Share Analysis Analysis- An analysis was performed to find out which countries created the biggest market for the company and also to review each salespersons performance in relation to each other. A majority of sales come from Germany and USA, with Austria, Brazil, and France in that order followed by other countries. It would be better for the company to focus on customers in these areas. The top salesperson are Peacock followed by Leverling and Davolio. The salesmen can be identified to receive provisional training for better on going performance. Graphic Recommendation – Since markets are becoming increasingly competitive, I recommend that the company concentrate on its major markets and increase market share there. It is suggested that the company select its major markets, USA, Germany, Austria, Brazil, and France and then focus its marketing and customer management efforts in these demographics to continue success in a competitive market. Sales Trend Analysis Analysis – Revenues per month per country were considered and plotted as can be seen in the below graphic. From the graph below we can see that the company has gradually added more countries to its target areas and has shown a consistent growth in revenues. Looking at the revenue movement of two of the company’s biggest markets, USA and Germany, we can see that there is a trend of orders peaking and falling down in a span of every three to four months. This essentially shows that customers are ordering in large quantities and then not ordering for some time, and then ordering after a certain gap. One aspect that has to be examined is if these spikes and troughs are to do with discounts that are given on quality due to which customers are ordering in bulk and then not ordering at all. Graphic Recommendation – The spikes and troughs in the sales over a regular basis and time period need to be analyzed further. These spikes and troughs could be the result of price discounts that the company is offering due to which customers are buying in bulk and stocking up on products. This could lead to variability in demand, leading to excess demand or no demand that would lead to non-efficient production by the company. Root cause analysis should be performed, and if it is established that volume discounts are leading to this phenomenon, it is recommended that the company minimize discounting and work with the customers using a partnership model to ensure a steady demand. Category Analysis Analysis – About 21% of total sales come from Beverages making it the largest category of products, followed by dairy products, confections and meat/poultry. The other categories are relatively smaller and the company can see at increasing their sales and offer them as combinations with merger products that would help in increasing the category and overall sales of the company. Graphic Recommendation – To improve revenues and margins, the company will have to increase the revenue contribution of every product category. I recommend that the company go into its customer requirements and see if it can cross sell product items, so that it can get more revenue from each customer. This will ensure that the company is able to offer competitive prices to customers and grow its business using its existing customers. The excel project allowed me to fully understand and â€Å"bring together† all of our Terminal Course Objectives and apply my learned skills into a real world scenario. I believe I have a better knowledge and proficiency of MS Excel spreadsheet formulas, charts, tables, graphs and a better understanding of data analysis, then ever before.

Free Essays on Sir WIntston Churchill

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, (1874-1965), British leader. English on his father's side, American on his mother's, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill embodied and expressed the double vitality and the national qualities of both peoples. His names testify to the richness of his historic inheritance: Winston, after the Royalist family with whom the Churchills married before the English Civil War; Leonard, after his remarkable grandfather, Leonard Jerome of New York; Spencer, the married name of a daughter of the 1st duke of Marlborough, from whom the family descended; Churchill, the family name of the 1st duke, which his descendents resumed after the Battle of Waterloo. All these strands come together in a career that had no parallel in British history for richness, range, length, and achievement. Churchill took a leading part in laying the foundations of the welfare state in Britain, in preparing the Royal Navy for World War I, and in settling the political boundaries in the Middle East after the war. In WORLD WAR II emerged as the leader of the united British nation and Commonwealth to resist the German domination of Europe, as an inspirer of the resistance among free peoples, and as a prime architect of victory. In this, and in the struggle against communism afterward, he made himself an indispensable link between the British and American peoples, for he foresaw that the best defense for the free world was the coming together of the English-speaking peoples. Profoundly historically minded, he also had prophetic foresight: British-American unity was the message of his last great book, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. His dominant qualities were courage and imagination. Less obvious to the public, but no less important, was his powerful, original, and fertile intellect. He had intense loyalty, marked magnanimity and generosity, and an affectionate nature with a puckish humor. Oratory, in which he ultimately... Free Essays on Sir WIntston Churchill Free Essays on Sir WIntston Churchill SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, (1874-1965), British leader. English on his father's side, American on his mother's, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill embodied and expressed the double vitality and the national qualities of both peoples. His names testify to the richness of his historic inheritance: Winston, after the Royalist family with whom the Churchills married before the English Civil War; Leonard, after his remarkable grandfather, Leonard Jerome of New York; Spencer, the married name of a daughter of the 1st duke of Marlborough, from whom the family descended; Churchill, the family name of the 1st duke, which his descendents resumed after the Battle of Waterloo. All these strands come together in a career that had no parallel in British history for richness, range, length, and achievement. Churchill took a leading part in laying the foundations of the welfare state in Britain, in preparing the Royal Navy for World War I, and in settling the political boundaries in the Middle East after the war. In WORLD WAR II emerged as the leader of the united British nation and Commonwealth to resist the German domination of Europe, as an inspirer of the resistance among free peoples, and as a prime architect of victory. In this, and in the struggle against communism afterward, he made himself an indispensable link between the British and American peoples, for he foresaw that the best defense for the free world was the coming together of the English-speaking peoples. Profoundly historically minded, he also had prophetic foresight: British-American unity was the message of his last great book, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. His dominant qualities were courage and imagination. Less obvious to the public, but no less important, was his powerful, original, and fertile intellect. He had intense loyalty, marked magnanimity and generosity, and an affectionate nature with a puckish humor. Oratory, in which he ultimately...

The Best SAT Reading Practice Tests and Questions

The Best SAT Reading Practice Tests and Questions SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When preparing for SAT Reading, it’s crucial to use high-quality practice materials that accurately reflect the content of the real test. In this article, I will go through the best resources for SAT Reading practice materials, both online and in printed prep books. Why Are High-Quality SAT Practice Materials So Important? If you practice with low-quality materials, you’ll end up with low-quality results no matter how long you spend studying.Many test-prep companies release their own versions of SAT questions that are supposedly comparable to questions on the real test.DO NOT use these questions exclusively for practice! The SAT creates questions in a very specific standardized format, and if you’re not used to it, you could be in for a rude awakening on the test.Additionally, using mostly unofficial practice materials will invariably give you a skewed sense of your expected SAT score.You don’t want to think you’re scoring at a certain level and then be faced with a nasty surprise when your scores on the real SAT are much lower. For the Reading section, it’s doubly important to find practice materials that are high quality because there are always two components: the questions and the passages.Even if the questions are in the same format as questions on the real SAT, if the passages aren’t at the same difficulty level, you won’t be getting great practice (and vice versa). On top of using high-quality materials, you should also use realistic time constraints when you take practice tests.If you don’t time yourself accurately, you will not be able to reliably predict your scores on the real test.Time is a huge factor on the SAT, and learning to manage it properly is key to earning a high score. For the SAT Reading section, you'll have 65 minutes to answer 52 questions. In the next couple of sections, I'll list some of the best resources for SAT Reading practice materials. Free Printable Official SAT Reading Practice Tests This first set of printable official practice test PDFsaccurately reflects the material currently covered on the SAT: Practice Test 1:Questions|Answers|Answer Explanations Practice Test 2:Questions|Answers|Answer Explanations Practice Test 3:Questions|Answers|Answer Explanations Practice Test 4:Questions|Answers|Answer Explanations Practice Test 5:Questions|Answers|Answer Explanations Practice Test 6:Questions|Answers|Answer Explanations Practice Test 7:Questions|Answers|Answer Explanations Practice Test 8:Questions|Answers|Answer Explanations Practice Test 9: Questions | Answers| Answer Explanations Practice Test 10: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations You also have access to four other printable tests that are from before the 2016 SAT redesign. You can still use those if you run out of materials, but keep in mind that the test has changed significantly. Stay familiar with the most up-to-date format and content even if you use some passage-based reading questions from these old tests for practice. Note that Sentence Completion questions are no longer part of the Reading section, so you should skip over them if you're using older practice materials. Official SAT Printable Practice Test 2013-14:Questions|Solutions Official SAT Printable Practice Test 2012-13:Questions|Solutions Official SAT Printable Practice Test 2007-08:Questions|Solutions Official SAT Printable Practice Test 2004-05:Questions|Solutions Online SAT Reading Practice This section goes over the best SAT Reading practice you can find online. It includes both official and unofficial sources. The College Board Official College Board questions are the best way to practice for the SAT, so their online resources in terms of practice questions are the best ones you can find.The website gives you immediate feedback on whether you answered a question correctly as well as answer explanations (though these explanations are not always as thorough as they should be in terms of explaining why wrong answers are wrong). The automatic scoring is great, but it isn’t a substitute for taking a real timed practice test with pencil and paper,so make sure you supplement with printable tests as well. Khan Academy Khan Academy has partnered directly with the College Board, so they useofficial SAT questions to help you practice. That means the materials are some of the best you can find outside of the College Board website itself. You cansign up for a free account here. One negative for this website is that thetotal number of practice questions is limited,so you will probably have to supplement it with other resources. It's especially sparse on Reading questions for the time being. It also doesn't include test-taking strategies, and its lessons and answer explanations aren't quite as in-depth as they should be for students who don't understand the questions. However, it does include multiple videos, which some people find more helpful than written explanations. You canread more about the pros and cons of the Khan Academy program in this article. PrepScholar Not to toot our own horn, but toot.We offer a free five-day trial of our test-prep program.The program will assess your strengths and weaknesses and give you practice questions to fit the specific areas where you need improvement.Basically, it does all the hard work of SAT studying (analyzing your problem areas and zeroing in on where you make the most mistakes) for you! The downside of this is that the questions are technically unofficial, and you do have to pay to sign up for PrepScholar after the free trial. However, our test experts have worked very hard to make the questions as similar to material on the real SAT as possible, and you'll get your money back if you don't improve by 160 points or more. CrackSAT.net There are a ton of free SAT Reading practice tests on this website that you can download. It will give you answer keys along with PDFs of the tests so you can print out, take, and score everything yourself.This means you’re going to have to rely on your own hard work to understand your mistakes, which takes a little more time, but it’s rewarding in the end. Ivy Global Test-prep company Ivy Global offers two full-length unofficial SAT practice tests. Although these tests weren't made by the College Board, theystrongly resemble official SAT practice tests in both form and content.This is a great resource to use if you exhaust all official practice tests but still want some additional SAT Reading practice. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! SAT Reading Prep Books You can find further practice tests and materials in SAT prep books, although they can also get expensive. The Official SAT Study Guide ("Blue Book") The old edition of this book includes10 official SAT practice tests. If you get that version, you can practice your skills with the passage-based reading questions, which are still relevant today. The version of The Official SAT Study Guide thatwas released for the current SAT(pictured above) is not quite as helpful- it has eight practice tests, but they're already all available online for free. SAT Prep Black Book, Second Edition This book doesn't include its own practice materials, but it's full of great strategic advice for the SAT. The Black Bookreferences questions in the first four official SAT practice tests, so if you buy this book you should also download those four official SAT practice tests (for free!). The Black Book is particularly helpful on the Reading section, with a list of particular meanings of words like "anticipate" or "counter" that you'll need to know to answer Reading passage questions. Itwill also give you in-depth answer explanations for all the sections and insightful tips on how to get around the tricky wording of the questions. The Complete Guide to SAT Reading by Erica Meltzer This book is consistently one of our top picks for SAT Reading prep work.It breaks down the types of questions you’ll see, teaches you the skills you’ll need, and shows you how to consistently eliminate three out of four answers on every question.The sample passages in the book are also high quality, closely resemblingwhat you’ll see on the real SAT, so they’re great for practice! How to Get the Most From Your SAT Reading Practice Tests Now you know where to get the best SAT Reading practice tests, but you also need to know how to use them properly. Below are three tips to help you get the most out of your SAT practice tests and quizzes. Use Strict Timing It'simportant to follow official SAT time limits on practice tests. If you give yourself even just two extra minutes on the SAT Reading section, it could raise your section score significantly. Because you have more time to answer questions,your practice SAT Readingscore becomes inflated and doesn't give you an accurate indicator of your actual ability. The SAT Reading section lasts 65 minutes. That gives you about 75 seconds to answer each of the 52 Reading questions. Stick to this timing when you take practice tests! Review Your Mistakes Practice tests aren't just good for learning the format of the SAT Reading section- they're also great for helping you learn from your mistakes. For every practice SAT Reading section you take, spend time reviewing both questions you got wrong and questions you got right. If you don't know why you missed a question, don't just skip it and move on; doing so will keep you from learning what kind of mistake you made, raising your risk of making it over and over again. This habit can hamper your score pretty drastically. It's better to take three Reading sections with detailed review than 10 sections withoutreview. Don't Forget to Take a Complete SAT Although this article is specifically for SAT Reading practice, you'll want to take at least two complete SATs(and ideally four) during your study program so you'll be prepared for every section and know how well you hold up after several hours of testing. Check out our guide for free and official SAT practice tests. Summary: How to Use SAT Reading Practice Tests In preparing for SAT Reading, it's so important to use the best possible practice materials available to you.This means materials that most closely resemble what you’ll see on the real test. The best way to do this is to use mainly official SAT questions that come directly from the College Board.You can access these through a number of free printable PDFs of past full-length tests, SAT practice websites such as Khan Academy, and official prep books.If you want even more practice, you can use unofficial Reading questions, as long as you understand that these will not be as accurate as official questions. If you work on understanding your mistakes on questions that closely resemble the ones on the real test, you’ll be on your way to a great SAT Reading score! What's Next? Now that you have all these practice resources, read this articleto get some of our best tips for boosting your score on the SAT Reading section. More of a science and math person who's worried about the reading section? Take a look at my article on how to do well on SAT Reading for science- and math-oriented students. Also, read my article on the fundamental strategy of SAT Reading to learn about the #1 rule to keep in mind when answering each Reading question! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Innovation and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 2

Innovation and Change - Essay Example Today, innovative activity is a vital undertaking in determining the competitiveness of a country in the global markets as well as its economic progress. Despite the great importance that innovation bears in addition to the opportunities brought about by globalisation and new and advanced technologies; many governments around the globe are faced with difficulties in strengthening their activities in this area (Cole, 2010). This paper sets out to discuss the policy issues and challenges that face innovation and look at the ways to address these challenges. In the process of addressing these challenges; it is evident that influencers of policies regulating innovation activities are mostly governments. In addition, the major steps to be taken towards addressing most of the challenges are often within the power of the government. Today, the rise in the standards of living of people around the globe can be attributed to innovation. Today’s more productive economy can be pointed to the application of technological advances in combination with innovative and entrepreneurial approaches in the creation and distribution of commodities; both goods and services (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2009). In areas where the regulatory and market structures are favourable to the expansion of the more productive activities; the result is more economic growth and development hence; the effort of innovation in conjunction with formal research and development (R&D) remain the main themes of growth. Research opines that innovation is on the rise towards forming a major part of the economic activity (Warda et al., 2006). In the past two decades, growth in investment in machinery and equipment has been more rapid than in knowledge in most countries. In countries such as the United States and Finland, investment in knowledge is much greater than that in machinery and equipment. Furthermore, activities of R&D have intensified in most countries in the past decade but major developed n ations still remain unchanged in this area. The rate of growth of productivity is heavily influenced by improvements made in the skill composition of the workforce. More recently, the significance of innovation has been bolstered by the rapid technological advances and globalisation that have led to the establishment of new markets and new forms of competition that deliver consumers with innovative products and services. Even though these developments hasten the need for many countries to elevate the value chain; de Serres et al. (2006) opine that strengthening innovation performance is a major problem in these nations. An example is the slow progress witnessed with the Lisbon strategy of the European Union. However, a renewal of the strategy resulted in some success in helping the EU’s R&D and innovation performance – which is a key element of the Lisbon strategy; to increase the intensity of R&D in every economy. Innovation, however, is difficult to measure using R&D since for it to succeed it requires that a number of policies be implemented across extensive domains ranging from funding of the R&D, entrepreneurship, immigration, education as well as financial, product and labour market regulations. Analysis from the past decade reveals that the rapid increases in the intensity of R&D in many countries around the globe are due to a number of factors. These factors include (de Serres et al., 2006): i. Reduced anti-competitive regulations of the product market that