Equality in Women Sports

Equality in Women Sports Gender equality in sports is something women have been trying to pursue over and over again. As in professional publicity of sports, men vs. women is no competition, men blow women out of the park on this issue. Men are more dominant in the sports world, and women just live in the shadows. Women are not given the chance they deserve to prove that they are just as good, so as of now, the media presumes them to be inferior to men. The myth many people believe for this reason, is the simple answer that women are not as strong as men.Others say that women’s sports are not as popular because they are not as entertaining to watch. Many people have different reasons for why women do not get the equality that they deserve, but there are more reasons for why women should be just as successful in professional sports as men. Women in sports began with very few opportunities, until a few pioneers paved a way for the future of women sports. Such female athletes tha t paved the way for other females were Babe Didrikson and Wilma Rudolph.Babe competed in the 1932 Olympics and qualified for five events, but at the time, women were only allowed to complete in three. Babe also took up golfing and won 55 tournaments in all, with 13 consecutive in 1946. Wilma Rudolph was another admirable female athlete, whose forte was in track. Rudolph was the first women to win three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics. Her winnings allowed for more women to take part in what was previously, all male track and field events. Both of these remarkable female athletes are recognized among ESPN’S Sports Century Greatest Athletes, ranked 10th and 41st (Elyachar and Moag, n. . ). During the Olympics, at the time of Babe Didrikson and Wilma Rudolph, women were allowed to compete in various events, such as swimming diving, tennis, and short distance sprints, but were not allowed to compete in the marathons. This is because experts said women could damage their organs f rom all the destructive bouncing and long endurance that the marathon required. It was not until 1984, when women were allowed to run the marathon in the Olympics, that a woman by the name of Benoit Samuelson ran the first marathon.Benoit ran 26 miles in competitive time, proving that the female body could handle just as much as the men’s (â€Å"Joan Benoit Samuelson,† 2007. ) The universal myth that everyone assumes is the reason for why men are so much more dominant in sports than women is that they are stronger. It is commonly believed that women are not as skilled as men in sports because they lack muscle strength. According to the GenneX Heathcare Technologies, Inc. (1999), in recent studies, this myth was proven fiction.Up until this study, doctors would beg their female patients not to perform in any sports activities because they said their bodies were too weak to handle such pressures. Since women have been out of the sports scene for so long because of this m yth of weakness, men have been dominating because they have had so much more time to perfect their skills. Women now have a lot of ground to cover since they have been so inactive for so many years. The best women’s marathon time was recorded at only 10 minutes behind men’s, proving that women are catching up to men and their bodies can handle anything a man’s can.The woman who set the women’s world record marathon time in an incredible 2:15:25 was Paula Radcliffe (Msn, 2007). But there’s a catch to this recording. Since male sports have been around for so much longer, they have been recording for that much longer as well. Women; however, have only been recording since 1964, which means that since they just starting running these marathons they can easily pass the male record. According to Kevin Drum (2001), â€Å"Women might even complete evenly with men in the 100 meter dash by around 2010 or 2020, and the marathon by 2050. As of more recently, women are starting to participate in sports that were only meant for men, such as ice hockey and boxing. These extreme sports require skill and physical endurance, which if a woman can play this kind of sport, means that she is capable of playing any sport, just as good as any man. The only reason that women are lagging behind men thus far is because men have had so much more time to improve on their sports. Men have been practicing and perfecting sports ever since they were first created, women, in comparison, have had no chance to do this.If women started off at the same time as men, they would easily have the same performance and same skill level. In 1972, Title IX was passed to make women participate in sports more. Title IX was brought to the public’s attention with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 60s. This law states, â€Å"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be s ubjected to discrimination under any education programs or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. † (Elyachar and Moag, n. d. ).This law gave women the right to be athletes. It opened new opportunities to women as more colleges and high school were forced to have a certain number to sports teams. This new law paved a way for new female athletes. Men at this time were starting to form leagues of their own, while women were first starting to participate in sports. When basketball was first in existence, men were allowed to play by the rules however they liked, but women were supposed to maintain proper decorum, so female basketball players were not allowed to snatch or dribble the ball more than three times.Women basketball players also started off played three and three rather than five on five, and on half a court. Many people believed that women could not handle the pressure and strength to play like men. Females were not considered strong enough to play a full cour t game until 1971 (Rick Torbett 2007. ) Five year later in 1976, the first professional basketball league for women was formed. This league consisted of eight teams, but was not very successful. In 1997, the Woman’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded with 12 teams, six from the Eastern Conference and six from the Western Conference.The first year running attendance reach nearly one million and it had 65 million viewers, and is currently still running today. The WNBA had shed some light on women’s ability to be equal. This league has also opened opportunities for girls, as most of them look up to them as idols. Women’s basketball really sprung into popularity within the end of the 21st century. Basketball instructor Rick Torbett (2007) states, â€Å"I saw Nancy Lierbman grab, not touch, but grab the rim at 5†³9! I was 6†³3 and only jumping a little higher than her! Those girls could play, and were actually flat out better than some of t he boys. Rick Torbett, an expert at studying the tactics of basketball, states that from his studies, women show the same skill level as men. This proves that women can perform just as well as me do in this sport. At the end of his report, Tobett concluded with, â€Å"Oh yeah, there is one definite difference between boys and girls basketball, to quote my friend, Hall of Famer Rick Barry†¦ â€Å"They’re a lot prettier. † If there is absolutely no difference with men vs. women in basketball, why can’t the rest of the world notice women’s basketball more? It is just as exciting as men and involves the same exact game.As more time passes, and once more people start to realize the skill level of women, the WNBA will be just as popular as men’s. The first extremely successful women’s league was in 1943 and was called the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. This league was the most successful women’s league ever, and the major reason behind this league’s popularity is the fact that it was played during the Second World War. While America’s men were on the battlefield, America’s women were giving the rest of the country entertainment for their favorite pastime.Even during this league, women were still not given equality. These women were chosen to compete in the league had to attend charm school before to ensure the natural style of a women’s grace despite vigorous play (JSW 1999). Even then, most people were against this league because they strongly believed that this much stress and endurance would harm the female reproductive system. The movie, A League of Their Own, was based around this league, and it showed the dramatic sexist experiences these women had to go through just to play. In the end, the fans loved it, and just as much as they loved men’s.This league ended when the war did, as all the men came back to claim their sport, the women were sent back to th eir roles as housewives (Riverdeep Interactive Learning 2007). This league was at one point, the most successful and popular sport. Because a majority of the men were fighting in the Second World War, only women were left to compete in sports. The only barrier causing the problem of no women’s baseball league is the fact that no one would watch it. If the country loved this sport played by women as much as they did in the 1940s, then they can still love it today.Women should be allowed to have their own league again, and be able to build on form what they started in the 1940s. By far the most successful women’s sport is tennis. This women’s sport has gained so much popularity to viewers because women have been catching up to men. In 1973 when women’s tennis was not as prominent as men’s, Bobby Riggs challenged Billie Jean King to tennis match that became widely known as the â€Å"Battle of the Sexes. † Bobby Riggs was the world champion tenn is player in 1939, at the age of 16. Billie Jean King was the women’s lib leader at the age of 29, and had won 20 titles at Wimbledon, aking her the richest tennis player, with an income of $100,000 a year. Bobby, now at the age of 55 wanted to prove to the world that men were better athletes so he challenged a match against Billie boasting that a woman was no match for him. Bobby even went as far as wearing a men’s liberation t-shirt to the match to make matters even worse. On top of that, he even rode into the tennis courts in a carriage pulled by women. In the end Billie Jean beat Bobby in three straight sets of tennis by simply wearing him out with long rallies. The final scores were 6-4, 6-3, and 6-3. After the match Bobby stated, â€Å"She was too good, too fast.She returned all my passing shots and made a great plays off of them. † (Essortment 2002) This proves that women can out beat men, and that men do not give them enough creditability. Even though th ere was an immense age difference between the two, the winnings of Billie Jean gave women confidence that women are just as good as men. This winning set a new era for women, an era of strength and determination to be just as good. Also women did not get paid as much as men did, until now. Women are finally being recognized as equal athletes to males, and this is the first sport that women have practically gained their equality (Sportingo 2007).Besides the physical strength behind athletics that makes people think that women are not as serious in sports as men, there is the reason behind the advertisement. Women athletes are not known for their talent, they are known for their appearance. In mostly all women sport ad’s the women are beautiful, making people believe that women athletics is a joke (Carty, V 2005) For example, Nike recently came out with an ad that’s focus was to reshape the ideal female image from a fragile figure to a strong, toned build. In the ad, the re is a woman who has an oversized, muscular backside, wearing boyshort underwear.On the side, the text reads, â€Å"My butt is big, but that’s fine, those who scorn it are invited to kiss it. † (Youngblood 2007) The main purpose of this ad is to prove that women are strong and tough, but the message that it really sends out is sexualized. This ad asks the question, how should women athletes be portrayed, with strength or with femininity that sometimes pushes in exploitation of the female body? Mary Jo Kane, director of Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport stated, â€Å"Media should represent the reality of sports, combining beauty, strength and power; showing a female athlete when she fails and when she is ictorious; and accurately depicting what and who women are in sports. † (Youngblood 2007) An extreme example of female athletes putting themselves out there in the media in a non- athletes kind of way, was when German Olympic gold medalist K atarina Witt posed nude in Playboy in 1998, a decade after she won her Olympic medals. (2007) This ad in no way is going to make people recognize her for her winnings in the Olympics; instead she is going to be known as a nude model posing for the human interest. The media is a major reason that women are not taken seriously in sports.In ads for male athletes they are fully clothed and are trying to show off their skill level and achievement within the sports industry. This is not the case for women, some of the time they are showing off their skills, but most of the time they are showing off their looks and sexuality. Once females are seen for their skill, then the world will take them seriously and they can pursue their careers as professional athletes and can complete evenly with men. Women in sports have come a long way since the early 1900s. From barely competing in the Olympics to dominating in tennis, women’s sports are slowly increasing.Many people still refuse to acc ept that women’s sports are serious and successful, because of all the bumps in the road, like the media. Once the world can see a female athlete for the talented person she is, then women’s sports will be just as successful as men’s. Women have come so far in pursuing their athletic ability in comparison to men. They have done this by increasing their endurance and strength, internally and externally, and one day very soon a woman is going to break that record marathon time held by a man.Sources Eylachar, R. , & Moag, L. (n. d. ) The Growth of Women’s Sports. Retrieved September 24, 2007 from http://www. moagandcompany. com/i_a/Dec_02_womens_sports. pdf No author. (2007. ) Joan Benoit Samuelson – A Born Athlete. Retrieved October 3, 2007, from http://sports. jrank. org/pages/418/Benoit-Samuelson-Joan-Born-Athlete. html GenneX Healthcare Technologies, Inc. (1999). Men vs. Women in Sports. Retrieved September 24, 2007, from http://www. womenshealth. org/a/women_men_sports. htm MSN. (2007). Are Women

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 11

Arizona was as hot and barren a state as Elena had imagined. She and Damon drove directly to the Juniper Resort, and Elena was depressed, if not surprised, to see that Matt was not checked in. â€Å"It can't have taken him longer than us to get here,† she said, as soon as they'd been shown up to their rooms. â€Å"Unless – oh, God, Damon! Unless Shinichi caught him somehow.† Damon sat down on a bed and regarded Elena grimly. â€Å"I guess I hoped I wouldn't have to tell you this – that the jerk would at least have the courtesy to tell you himself. But I've been tracking his aura ever since he left us. It's been getting steadily farther away – in the direction of Fell's Church.† Sometimes, really bad news takes a while to sink in. â€Å"You mean,† Elena said, â€Å"that he's not going to show up here at all?† â€Å"I mean that, as the crow flies, it wasn't all that far from where we got the cars to Fell's Church. He went in that direction. And he didn't come back.† â€Å"But why?† Elena demanded, as if logic could somehow conquer fact. â€Å"Why would he go off and leave me? Especially, why would he go to Fell's Church, where they're looking for him?† â€Å"As for why he'd leave: I think he got the wrong idea about you and me – or maybe the right idea a little early† – Damon raised his eyebrows at Elena and she threw a pillow at him – â€Å"and decided to let us have some privacy. As for why Fell's Church†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Damon shrugged. â€Å"Look, you've known the guy longer than I have. But even I can tell he's the Galahad type. The parfait gentil knight, sans peur et sans reproche. If I had to say I'd say he went to meet Caroline's charges.† â€Å"Oh, no,† Elena said, going to the door as a knock sounded. â€Å"Not after I told him and told him – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, yes,† Damon said, assuming a slight crouching position. â€Å"Even with your sage advice ringing in his ears – â€Å" The door opened. It was Bonnie. Bonnie, with her petite frame, her curly strawberry hair, her wide, soulful brown eyes. Elena, in a state to disbelieve the evidence of her own eyes, and still not through with the argument with Damon, shut the door on her. â€Å"Matt's going to get lynched,† Elena almost screamed, vaguely annoyed that some knocking was going on somewhere. Damon uncrouched. He passed Elena on the way to the door, said, â€Å"I think you'd better sit down,† and then sat her down by putting her in a chair and holding her there until she stopped trying to get up again. Then he opened the door. This time it was Meredith knocking. Tall and willowy, with her hair falling in dark clouds around her shoulders, Meredith radiated the intention to go on knocking until the door stayed open. Something happened inside Elena, and she found that she could get her mind around more than one subject at once. It was Meredith. And Bonnie. In Sedona, Arizona! Elena leaped up from the chair where Damon had put her and flung her arms around Meredith, saying incoherently, â€Å"You came! You came! You knew I couldn't call you, so you came!† Bonnie edged around the embrace and said to Damon in an undertone, â€Å"Is she back to kissing everyone she meets?† â€Å"Unfortunately,† Damon said, â€Å"no. But be prepared to be squeezed to death.† Elena turned on him. â€Å"I heard that! Oh, Bonnie! I just can't believe you two are really here. I wanted to talk to you so much!† Meanwhile, she was hugging Bonnie, and Bonnie was hugging her, and Meredith was hugging both of them. Subtle velociraptor sisterhood signals were being passed from one to another at the same time – an arched eyebrow here, a slight nod there, a frown and shrug ending with a sigh. Damon didn't know it, but he had just been accused, tried, acquitted, and restored to duty – with the conclusion that extra surveillance was necessary in the future. Elena snapped out of it first. â€Å"You must have met with Matt – he had to tell you about this place.† â€Å"He did, and then he sold the Prius and we sort of packed on the run and got plane tickets here and we've been waiting – we didn't want to miss you!† Bonnie said breathlessly. â€Å"I don't suppose that would have been just about two days ago that you bought your tickets here,† Damon asked the ceiling wearily as he lounged with an elbow on Elena's chair. â€Å"Let me see – † Bonnie began, but Meredith said flatly, â€Å"Yes it was. What? It made something happen to you?† â€Å"We were trying to keep things slightly ambiguous for the enemy,† Damon said. â€Å"But as it turns out, it probably didn't matter.† No, Elena thought, because Shinichi can reach inside your brain whenever he wants and try to take away your memories and all you can do is try to fight him off. â€Å"But it does mean that Elena and I should start off right away.† Damon continued. â€Å"I have to do an errand first. Elena should pack. Take as little as you can, just the absolute essentials – but include food for two or three days.† â€Å"You said†¦starting now?† Bonnie breathed, and then she sat down abruptly on the floor. â€Å"It makes sense, if we've already lost the element of surprise,† Damon replied. â€Å"I can't believe you two came to say good-bye to me while Matt watches over the town,† Elena said. â€Å"That is so sweet!† She smiled radiantly before adding, in her own mind, And so dumb! â€Å"Well – â€Å" â€Å"Well, I still have an errand,† Damon said, waving without turning around. â€Å"Let's say we'll leave here in half an hour.† â€Å"Stingy,† Bonnie complained, when the door was safely shut behind him. â€Å"That might have only given us a few minutes to talk before we start.† â€Å"I can pack in less than five minutes,† Elena said sadly, and then got tangled up in Bonnie's previous sentence. â€Å"‘Before we start'?† â€Å"I can't pack just essentials at all,† Meredith was fretting quietly. â€Å"I couldn't store everything on my mobile, and I have no idea when I'll be able to recharge the batteries. I've got a suitcase of stuff on paper!† Elena was looking back and forth at them nervously. â€Å"Um, I'm pretty sure I'm the one who's supposed to be packing,† she said. â€Å"Because I'm the only one going†¦right?† Another look back and forth. â€Å"As if we would let you set off into some other universe without us!† Bonnie said. â€Å"You need us!† â€Å"Not another universe; only another dimension,† Meredith said. â€Å"But the same principle applies.† â€Å"But – I can't let you come with me!† â€Å"Of course you can't. I'm older than you,† Meredith said. â€Å"You don't ‘let' me do anything. But the truth is that we have a mission. We want to find Shinichi's or Misao's star ball if we can. If we could do that we think we could stop most of the stuff going on in Fell's Church immediately.† â€Å"Star ball?† Elena said blankly, while somewhere in the depths of her mind, an uneasy image stirred. â€Å"I'll explain later.† Elena was shaking her head. â€Å"But – you left Matt to deal with whatever supernatural stuff is going on? When he's a fugitive and has to hide from the police?† â€Å"Elena, even the police are scared of Fell's Church now – and frankly, if they put him in custody in Ridgemont it might be the safest place for him. But they're not going to do that. He's working with Mrs. Flowers and they're good together; they're a solid team.† Meredith stopped to take a breath, and seemed to be considering how to say something. Bonnie said it for her in a very small voice. â€Å"And I was no good, Elena. I'd started – well, I started to get hysterical and see and hear things that weren't there – or at least to imagine them and maybe even make them come true. I was scaring myself out of my mind, and I think I actually was putting people in danger. Matt's too practical to do that.† She dabbed at her eyes. â€Å"I know the Dark Dimension is pretty bad, but at least I won't be able to put houses full of innocent people in danger.† Meredith nodded. â€Å"It was all†¦going bad with Bonnie there. Even if we hadn't wanted to come with you I would have had to get her out. I don't want to be overly dramatic, but I believe that the demons there were after her. And that since Stefan's gone, Damon may be the only one who can keep them away. Or maybe you can help her, Elena?† Meredith†¦overly dramatic? But Elena could see the fine tremors running under Meredith's skin, and the light sheen of perspiration on Bonnie's forehead that was dampening her curls. Meredith touched Elena's wrist. â€Å"We haven't just gone AWOL or anything. Fell's Church is a war zone now; it's true, but we didn't leave Matt without allies. Like Dr. Alpert – she's logical – she's the best country doctor there is – and she might even convince somebody that Shinichi and the malach are real. But besides all that, the parents have taken over. Parents and psychiatrists and newshounds. And they make it almost impossible to work openly anyway. Matt's not at any disadvantage.† â€Å"But – in just a week – â€Å" â€Å"Take a look at this week's Sunday paper.† Elena took the Ridgemont Times from Meredith. It was the biggest paper in the area of Fell's Church. A banner headline read: POSSESSION IN THE 21ST CENTURY? Under the headline were many lines of gray print, but what really caught the eye was a photo of a three-way fight between girls, all of whom seemed to be undergoing seizures or contortions impossible to the human body. The expressions of two of the girls were simply those of pain and terror, but it was the third girl who froze the blood in Elena's veins. Her body was humped so that her face was upside down, and she was looking directly at the camera with her lips skinned back from her teeth. Her eyes – there was just no other way to put it – were demonic. They weren't rolled back in her head or malformed or anything. They weren't glowing eerily red. It was all in the expression. Elena had never seen eyes that made her sick to her stomach before. Bonnie said quietly, â€Å"Do you ever sort of slip and get that feeling like, ‘Oh, whoops, there goes the whole universe'?† â€Å"Constantly, since meeting Stefan,† Meredith said. â€Å"No offense meant, Elena. But the point is that all this has happened in just a couple of days; from the minute the adults who knew that there was something really going on got together.† Meredith sighed and ran fingers with perfectly manicured nails through her hair before continuing. â€Å"Those girls are what Bonnie calls possessed in the modern sense. Or maybe they're possessed by Misao – female kitsune are supposed to do that. But if we could just find these things called star balls – or even one – we could force them to clean all this up.† Elena put the newspaper down so she wouldn't have to see those upside-down eyes staring into hers. â€Å"And while all this is happening, what is your boyfriend doing during the crisis?† For the first time, Meredith looked genuinely relieved. â€Å"He may be on his way as we speak. I've written to him about everything that's happening, and he was actually the one who said to get Bonnie out.† She flashed a glance of apology at Bonnie, who simply lifted her hands and face to the heavens. â€Å"And as soon as he's finished with his work on some island called Shinmei no Uma, he's coming to Fell's Church. This kind of thing is Alaric's specialty, and he doesn't get spooked easily. So even if we're gone for weeks, Matt will have a backup.† Elena threw her own hands up in a gesture similar to Bonnie's. â€Å"There's just one thing you'd better know before we start. I can't help Bonnie. If you're counting on me to do any of the things I did when we fought Shinichi and Misao last time – well, I can't. I've tried over and over, as hard as I could, to do all my wings attacks. But nothing has ever come of it.† Meredith said slowly, â€Å"Well, then, maybe Damon knows something – â€Å" â€Å"Maybe he does, but, Meredith, don't push him right now. Not right this minute. What he knows for certain is that Shinichi can reach in and take his memories – and who knows, maybe even possess him again – â€Å" â€Å"That lying kitsune!† Bonnie spat out, sounding almost proprietory. As if, Elena thought, Damon was her boyfriend. â€Å"Shinichi swore he wouldn't – â€Å" â€Å"And he swore he'd leave Fell's Church alone, too. The only reason I have any faith at all in the clues that Misao gave me about the fox key, is that she was taunting me. She never thought we'd do a deal, and so she wasn't trying to lie or be too clever – I think.† â€Å"Well, that's why we're here with you, to get Stefan out,† Bonnie said. â€Å"And if we're lucky, to find the star balls that will let us control Shinichi. Right?† â€Å"Right!† Elena said fervently. â€Å"Right,† Meredith said solemnly. Bonnie nodded. â€Å"Velociraptor sisterhood forever!† They laid their right hands over one another's quickly, forming a three-spoked wheel. It reminded Elena of the days when there were four spokes. â€Å"And what about Caroline?† she asked. Bonnie and Meredith consulted each other with their eyes. Then Meredith shook her head. â€Å"You don't want to know. Really,† she said. â€Å"I can take it. Really,† Elena said in almost a whisper. â€Å"Meredith, I've been dead, remember? Twice.† Meredith was still shaking her head. â€Å"If you can't look at that picture, you shouldn't hear about Caroline. We went to see her twice – â€Å" â€Å"You went to see her twice,† Bonnie interrupted. â€Å"The second time I fainted and you left me by the door.† â€Å"And I realized I could have lost you for good, and I've apologized – † Meredith broke off when Bonnie put a hand on her arm and gave her a little push. â€Å"Anyway, it wasn't exactly a visit,† Meredith said. â€Å"I went running into Caroline's room ahead of her mom and found her inside her nest – never mind what that is – eating something. When she saw me, she just giggled and went on eating.† â€Å"And?† Elena said, when the tension got to be too much for her. â€Å"What was it?† â€Å"I think,† Meredith said bleakly, â€Å"that it was worms and slugs. She would stretch them up and up and they'd squirm before she bit them. But that wasn't the worst. Look, you had to have been here to appreciate it, but she just smirked at me, and said in this thick voice, ‘Have a bite?' and suddenly my mouth was filled with this wriggling mass – and it was going down my throat. So I was sick, right there on her carpet. Caroline just started laughing, and I ran down again and picked Bonnie up and ran out and we never went back. But†¦halfway down the path to the house, I realized Bonnie was suffocating. She had the – the worms and things – in her mouth and her nose. I know CPR; I managed to get most of them out before she woke up vomiting. But – â€Å" â€Å"It was an experience I would really rather not have again.† The very lack of expression in Bonnie's voice said more than any tone of horror could. Meredith said, â€Å"I've heard that Caroline's parents have moved out of that house, and I can't say I blame them. Caroline's over eighteen. All I can add is that everybody's sort of praying that somehow the werewolf blood will win out in her, because that seems at least to be less horrible than the malach or the – the demonic. But if it doesn't win out†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena rested her chin on her knees. â€Å"And Mrs. Flowers can deal with this?† â€Å"Better than Bonnie can. Mrs. Flowers is glad to have Matt around; like I said, they're a solid team. And now that she has finally spoken to the human race of the twenty-first century, I think she likes it. And she's been practicing the craft constantly.† â€Å"The craft? Oh – â€Å" â€Å"Yeah, that's what she calls witchcraft. I have no idea whether she's any good at it or not, because I don't have anything to compare her to – or with – â€Å" â€Å"Her poultices work like magic!† Bonnie said firmly just as Elena said, â€Å"Her bath salts certainly work.† Meredith smiled faintly. â€Å"Too bad she isn't here instead of us.† Elena shook her head. Now that she had reconnected with Bonnie and Meredith she knew she could never go into the Darkness without them. They were more than her hands; they were so much more to her†¦and here they were, each prepared to risk their life for Stefan and for Fell's Church. At that moment, the door to the room opened. Damon walked in, carrying a couple of brown paper bags in one hand. â€Å"So everybody's said bye-bye nicely?† he asked. He seemed to have trouble looking at either of the two visitors, so he stared particularly hard at Elena. â€Å"Well – not really. Not as such,† Elena said. She wondered if Damon was capable of throwing Meredith out a fifth-story window. Best to break it easily to him, by degrees†¦. â€Å"Because we're going with you,† Meredith said, and Bonnie said, â€Å"We forgot to pack, though.† Elena slid quickly so that she was between Damon and the others. But Damon just stared at the floor. â€Å"It's a bad idea,† he said very softly. â€Å"A very, very, very bad idea.† â€Å"Damon, don't Influence them! Please!† Elena waved both hands at him in a gesture of urgency, and Damon raised one of his hands in a gesture of negation – and somehow their hands brushed each other's – and tangled. Electric shock. But a nice one, Elena thought – although she didn't really have time to think it. She and Damon were both trying desperately to get their hands back to themselves, but didn't seem to be able to. Little shockwaves were running from Elena's palm all through her body. Finally, the disentanglement worked and then they both turned, in guilty unison, to look at Bonnie and Meredith, who were staring at them with enormous eyes. Suspicious eyes. Eyes that belonged in faces saying â€Å"Aha! What have we here?† There was a long moment when no one moved or spoke. Then Damon said seriously, â€Å"This isn't some kind of pleasure trip. We're going because there's no other choice.† â€Å"Not alone, you're not,† Meredith said in a neutral tone. â€Å"If Elena goes, we all go.† â€Å"We know it's a bad place,† Bonnie said, â€Å"but we are definitely going with you.† â€Å"Besides, we have our own agenda,† Meredith added. â€Å"A way to cleanse Fell's Church of the harm Shinichi has done – and is still doing.† Damon shook his head. â€Å"You don't understand. You won't like it,† he said tightly. He nodded at her mobile. â€Å"No electric power in there. Even owning one of those is a crime. And the punishment for just about any crime is torture and death.† He took a step toward her. Meredith refused to back away, her dark gaze fixed on his. â€Å"Look, you don't even realize what you have to do just to get in,† Damon said bleakly. â€Å"First, you need a vampire – and you're lucky to have one. Then you'll have to do all sorts of things you won't like – â€Å" â€Å"If Elena can do it, we can do it,† Meredith interrupted quietly. â€Å"I don't want either of you to get hurt. I'm going in because it's for Stefan,† Elena said hastily, speaking partly to her friends and partly to the innermost core of her being, which the shockwaves and pulses of electricity had reached at last. Such a strange, melting, throbbing sweetness for something that had started out as a shock. Such a fierce shock for simply touching another person's hand†¦. Elena manged to tear her eyes away from Damon's face and tune back into the argument that was going on. â€Å"You're going in for Stefan, yes,† Meredith was saying to her, â€Å"and we're going in with you.† â€Å"I'm telling you, you won't like it. You'll live to regret it – if you live, that is,† Damon was saying flatly, his expression dark. Bonnie simply gazed up at Damon with her brown eyes wide and pleading in her small heart-shaped face. Her hands were clasped together at the base of her throat. She looked like a picture on a Hallmark card, Elena thought. And those eyes were worth a thousand logical arguments. Finally, Damon looked back at Elena. â€Å"You're probably taking them to their deaths, you know. You, I could probably protect. But you and Stefan, and your two little teenage girlfriends†¦ I can't.† Hearing it put that way was a shock. Elena hadn't quite thought of it like that. But she could see the determined set of Meredith's jaw and the way Bonnie had gone up a little on her toes to try to look bigger. â€Å"I think it's already been decided,† she said quietly, aware that her voice shook. There was a long moment as she stared into Damon's dark eyes, and then suddenly he flashed his 250-kilowatt smile at all of them, shut it off almost before it had begun, and said, â€Å"I see. Well, in that case, I have another errand. I may not be back for quite a while, so feel free to use the room – â€Å" â€Å"Elena should come to our room,† Meredith said. â€Å"I have a lot of material to show her. And if we can't take much with us, we'll have to go over it all tonight – â€Å" â€Å"Then let's say we meet back here at dawn,† Damon said. â€Å"We'll set off for the Demon Gate from here. And remember – don't bring money; it isn't any good there. And this is not a vacation – but you'll get that idea soon enough.† With a graceful, ironic gesture, he handed Elena her bag. â€Å"The Demon Gate?† Bonnie said as they went to the elevator. Her voice shook. â€Å"Hush,† said Meredith. â€Å"It's only a name.† Elena wished she didn't know so well when Meredith was lying.

Give me liberty or give me death Essay

As the basic human right, we are all enjoying the inherent freedom since we were born. However, 200 years ago, a group of people was fighting for their freedom perseveringly. On 23rd. March, 1765, Patrick Henry, who is the leading lights of American Revolution, gave the speech in front of Virginian audience. He responded the oppressive against the control of British. he turned colonial ideas against negotiation with England and toward armed rebellion. Patrick Henry illustrates the themes of freedom in the speech to Virginia convention through the use of the statement that there is no middle ground between freedom and slavery, the experience that how British desecrates their freedom and the emphasis on the importance of freedom. The strong desire for freedom is reflected in many parts of his speech. at the beginning of the speech, Henry pointed out that there is no middle ground between freedom and slavery. â€Å"I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery†¦It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. â€Å"(Henry,88) Henry pointed out that the only way in front of them is either freedom and slavery. There is no doubt that they can not just treat coldly to their own country and their right to get freedom. He also mentions that the act of fighting for freedom is related to the responsibility to God. Later on, Henry looks back on the experience that how British desecrates their freedom. â€Å"And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. â€Å"(Henry, 89) Henry uses several rhetorical questions on the issues and uses a short answer to response them. It clearly shows that the action that they took before for getting freedom was useless under British’s rude control. Last but not least, Henry emphasis the importance of freedom. â€Å"Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! † Henry ends his speech with this famous quote. He indicates that he’d rather die for his country than living without freedom. He repeats the importance of freedom and accentuates it in the last sentence. In this whole speech, henry uses there statements to prove his themes of freedom, which are the statement that there is no middle ground between freedom and slavery, the experience that how British desecrates their freedom and the emphasis on the importance of freedom With the process of the speech, Henry’s normal voice becomes louder and louder and almost shouts in the last sentence. And it eventually causes a large number of people to willingly enter the war and fight for their freedom.

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of one schorarly definition of Essay

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of one schorarly definition of religion - Essay Example ings of psychological science and the first-hand researches of anthropologists all over the world, to develop the concept of religion from an integrated and new point of view (E.W.S, 1923). King (1992) states that he found Dr. William K. Wright’s concept of religion to be â€Å"something broad and universal, covering the whole of life† (p.384). It appeared to King that the universality and perpetuity of religion result from the fact that it â€Å"endeavours to secure the conservation of socially recognized values†. In the review by E.W.S (1923) of Dr.W.K. Wright’s book A Student’s Philosophy of Religion, Dr. Wright’s definition of religion is stated as: â€Å"Religion is the endeavour to secure the conservation of socially recognized values through specific actions that are believed to evoke some agency different from the ordinary ego of the individual, or from other merely human beings, and that imply a feeling of dependence upon this agenc y† (p.341). The Strengths in Dr. W.K. Right’s Definition of Religion: King (1992) observes that in order to determine the exact meaning of religion both the genus and the differentia of Dr. Wright’s definition have to be dealt with. In the genus of his definition of religion, the author had tried to include every conceivable form of religion to broaden the focus of the term as much as possible, and in the differentia he attempts to be sufficiently narrow and specific to exclude from the species of religion everything included within the genus which is not properly religious. Each of the separate expressions in Dr. Wright’s definition of religion is scrutinized by King (1992): By â€Å"values† many be any of a number of things depending on the level of progress achieved by the religion and of the civilization in which it appears. â€Å"Natural religions† is the term used by Dr. Wright for lower or less advanced religions: having values which are all concrete and practical wants, with belief in the supernatural. Relief

Purchasing management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Purchasing management - Essay Example tiatives, like the IT thrust by introducing supply chain management softwares to ensure regular deliveries, together with ERP implementations across the globe to support and augment these supply chain policies. There have been some delays and problems on the way but that has not changed the company’s resolves and it firmly believes that having right software in place will eventually strengthen its supply chain and give it a Purchase advantage. For the past 30 years the marketing strategy was dependant on the make to sell model. Products were made in anticipation of sales and cross fingers became a habit as change in tastes was the only constant and could not be planned for. It also left inventories that became a burden. Every manufacturer likes to evolve into make to order market. That is a segment that spells stability and a certain level of recognition in the market. It becomes more pronounced when the market is global, across geographies and cultures. Nike too had this vision. They wanted to cross frontiers with a common approach. It was a huge call and needed people to understand the conglomerate of which they were a part. It required a merger of thought, not just action, and the very vision became their clarion call, Just do it. Nike operates internationally and its Purchases have to be localized for certain items. This leaves a wide gap in demand/supply positions and can lead to delays and hold ups. It needed a strategy to overcome this situation globally. Before a company decides to go â€Å"global,† it must first show â€Å"an ability to appreciate the degree of globalization that exists in a given industry, or sector, and to provide the required strategic response. †Jeannet, Jean-Pierre,2 Centralization is the basic format of Nike’s plan. Not only product designing, but Purchasing, contracting out of manufacturing at different factories and delivery schedules are all carried out at the Head Office. In response to highly chaotic running shoes

McDonalds Business Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

McDonalds Business - Case Study Example With the growing public awareness and desire for socially responsible businesses, it is significant to note that companies consider planning for future socially responsible business operation (Kotler & Lee, 2004). An analysis on McDonald’s social responsibility evaluates an example of corporate social responsibility shown by McDonalds. McDonald is the largest company in the world that deals in hamburger food restaurants. In reference to McDonald’s corporate social responsibility, the company is taking action, maintaining openness in communication with its customers and shareholders and attaining results. The company works with its suppliers so as to promote socially responsible behaviors or practices in its supply chain as an integral part of the company’s supply chain strategy. This is part of the company’s social responsibility. In addition, the company has designed its own its code of conduct for suppliers which explains how the company desires or expec ts its suppliers to handle and treat their workers. The company has managed and succeeded in supporting suppliers who are removing sow gestation crates in supply chain. For instance, 50% of its Cargill contracted hog farms are all in new generation systems that do not apply gestation stalls for the benefit of the wider community. Additionally, McDonalds gives part of its pre-tax profits to corporate charity or philanthropy as part of its strategy to be socially responsible. The company conducts philanthropic contributions via the Ronald McDonald Houses Charities which focus to create, get and support programs that enhance and improve the well being and health of children in society. This body ensures that children in vulnerable communities can receive medication and dental treatment in order to improve their health and strengthen their respective families. This program aims to change and improve the lives of communities. As part of it being socially responsible, McDonalds has formul ated a way of engaging communities in operations through community based projects. Community based projects have become significant aspect of development assistance among world socially responsible organizations. For instance, McDonalds launched the Flagship farms initiative in Europe that aimed at employing innovative farming methods and practices across Europe and conducts research on how ethical farming practices can be included into commercial farming systems. Therefore, an economic relationship means a strategy of involving communities into business activity of the organization in order to makes sure that communities are embedded in corporate supply chain strategy so as to establish a sustainable business. Case study 2 McDonalds has got well written and designed corporate social responsibility program that it has well implemented in order to ensure that communities are integrated in its business and that it benefits from its business operation. For instance, the McDonald Compan y delivered its inaugural corporate social responsibility report in which the company sought to get extensive feedback from stakeholders and community. The company has included several things in its social responsible program that aim to make it more socially responsible. For instance, they have implemented program that aim to develop sustainable agriculture, employment policies

History of Programming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History of Programming - Essay Example The essay "History of Programming" talks about the history of programming and programming languages that took place in various periods along with examples of prominent computer languages used. Futurist Raymond Kurzweil aptly stated that â€Å"if the automobile industry had made as much progress [as computers and software] in the past fifty years, a car today would cost a hundredth of a cent and go faster than the speed of light". The idea of synthesizing available science and means to get work from machines was not a new one. For example, Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a mechanical loom to make it easier to create complex designs for textiles. However, machines which could be classified as computers and based on electronics started appearing in the late 1940s. The initial machines were large physical machines, usually as big as a room and weighing tons in weight. To program these machines, low-level machine language was used, which, by its nature, was specific to the machine. Fast forward to today, and one can use ebooks which are many orders of magnitude more powerful than the computers of earlier years and high-level languages can perform actions which could not be imagined 60 years ago. O’Reilly Media, a noted publisher of technology books, has created a visual map of programming languages as they evolved during the short and fast-paced history of computing since the 1950’s. This map has been useful in writing this paper as it provides a single snapshot and reference of developments in the area over the years.