Succubus Revealed Chapter 17

In spite of my sorrow over Seth, I was still ready for a storm. It hadn't really registered at the time, but when I woke up on New Year's Day with a wine-induced headache, I accepted the startling truth: I was challenging Hell. Who did that? No one, that's who. My friends had hinted as much, and I certainly had plenty of myths and pop culture to enlighten me about the futile human dream of thwarting Hell's will. I had my own experience to go on too. I'd signed away my soul for all eternity. There wasn't much wiggle room with that. And yet, in spite of all the things I'd seen and all the people Hell had crushed, here I was, daring to say Hell had no claim on either my soul or Seth's. I expected to hear about it immediately. I expected a huge uproar, perhaps in the form of Jerome showing up in my condo in all his brimstone glory, threatening me for my impertinence. At the very least, I expected a letter of acknowledgment from Hell, something along the lines of, Thank you very much for your inquiry. We will respond to you within 4?C6 weeks. Nothing. New Year's Day passed quietly. So did the next. I continued my pattern of packing and making Las Vegas preparations, all the while holding my breath for The Next Big Thing. I thought something would surely happen a week later, when the long-awaited bowling tournament came around. Jerome and Nanette had flipped for it, and he'd won, meaning we got to hold the match here in Seattle. It saved us from making a trip to Portland, but for the sake of fairness, Nanette got to pick the bowling alley. Rather than our dive at Burt's, she chose a more upscale place, not far from the mall I'd worked at. I hadn't seen Jerome since I'd filed the petition and was ready now to face his wrath. I didn't know if Nanette's lesser immortals would know about the request, but I felt certain she would by now. She and Jerome might be rivals of sorts, but at the end of the day, they were both committed to Hell winning. I was trying to thwart that and wouldn't have been surprised to find her sharing in Jerome's outrage. â€Å"Good luck,† Roman told me, as I prepared to leave the condo. â€Å"Remember to watch your footing.† I sighed. â€Å"I wish you were coming with me.† He offered me a small smile. â€Å"Me too. All that work, and I won't even get to see my students' final exam.† Roman could hide his nephilim signature from greater immortals, but considering the way his kind were hunted, we'd decided it would be best if he steered clear of Nanette while she was in town. Jerome's agreement to let Roman stay was both highly unusual and dangerous. If another archdemon discovered the truth, both Roman and Jerome would be in a lot of trouble. â€Å"I'm afraid of what I'll face from Jerome,† I said. â€Å"Don't be.† Roman came forward and rested his hand on my shoulder. â€Å"You're not doing anything wrong. They did. You're strong, Georgina. Stronger than them, stronger than Hell.† I leaned my head against him. â€Å"Why are you so nice to me?† â€Å"Because Carter's not your only fan.† When I looked back up, I saw Roman's green eyes were deadly serious. â€Å"You're a remarkable woman, just by your own nature. Smart. Funny. Compassionate. But what's really great is that you're so easy to underestimate. I did when we first met, you know. And Hell is now. No matter what their reaction to your appeal is, I guarantee most of them doubt you have a chance. You're going to prove them wrong. You're going to break the unbreakable. And I'll be there helping you, as much as I can.† â€Å"You've done enough,† I told him. â€Å"More than enough. More than I could have ever asked. Now you get to sit back and let me do . . . well, whatever I have to do now.† â€Å"Georgina, there's something you need to know. . . .† His face grew troubled. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"Oh God. You haven't heard something from Jerome that I haven't, have you?† â€Å"I – † He bit his lip as he paused, then shook his head. His features smoothed out. â€Å"Forget it. I'm just going to worry you over nothing. You focus on bowling tonight, okay? Show those Portlandians that . . . fuck, I don't know. That you're a force to be reckoned with in the bowling alley.† I laughed and gave him a quick hug. â€Å"I'll see what I can do. How about we talk when I get back, okay? We'll grab a drink.† I knew there was something big here he wasn't telling me, no matter how easily he'd tried to brush it off. â€Å"I'd like that. Good luck.† When I arrived at the bowling alley, Peter nearly sank in relief when he saw me. I think he'd been afraid I'd show up without my Unholy Rollers shirt. Through whatever means Hell possessed, all the other patrons in the alley were playing on one side. The other half was empty, save for two lanes occupied by my colleagues. I was the last to arrive and approached with trepidation, unsure of my welcome. Jerome was sprawled comfortably in a chair, and while it was in better shape than the ones at Burt's, I'm not really sure it deserved the thronelike airs he was putting on. Nanette sat across from him, looking equally regal. Her pale blond hair was rolled into an elegant coif, giving her kind of a Grace Kelly look. Her dress was a pale blue shift with a fuzzy gray cardigan over it, the innocence of the look clashing with the unnecessary vampish sunglasses she was wearing. â€Å"Ah, Georgie,† said Jerome. â€Å"Right on time and in team colors.† He favored Nanette with a lazy smile. â€Å"Ready for some humility?† â€Å"Yours?† she asked him. â€Å"Always.† Neither gave me much more attention than was due for the last person to fill a team spot. No mention of the contract, no mention of my petition. Glancing around and taking in the full roster here, I saw that Mei had also come to watch the spectacle. The demoness was dressed in corporate black, matching her bluntly cut black hair and heavy eyeliner. Only her red lips provided color to the palette. She most certainly knew about my situation, but like her superiors, she barely glanced my way. Carter was there, which I had not expected. Nanette and her cronies were clearly uneasy about this. Although all greater immortals, be they angels or demons, shared a certain world weariness with immortality and the Great Game, few were able to bond over it so well as Carter and Jerome. Their relationship was unique, and Nanette clearly felt no camaraderie with the angel. Whereas I received little of her attention simply because I was an underling, Carter she ignored as though he didn't even exist. He gave me a small smile as I sat down, his gray eyes full of amusement. He was sitting with my friends, perfectly at ease, while Nanette's bowling team regarded him warily. I hoped maybe his presence would throw off their game. There were four of them, just like us, though they'd actually drafted Nanette's lieutenant demon, Malachi, to play for them. Rounding them out were a succubus named Tiara, an imp named Roger, and a vampire named V. â€Å"What's the V stand for?† I asked. He just stared at me, face blank. They were an impressive-looking bunch, with deep red bowling shirts and sparkling black embroidery that read DEVIL MAY CARE on the back. â€Å"That's not even a real team name,† Peter whispered to me disapprovingly. â€Å"And those sparkles are just tacky.† Like ours, their shirts were standard button-ups with their names on the front. Only Malachi's was different, with a small designation declaring him Captain. I guess he needed to make sure his status was asserted over that of the lesser immortals. There was something lean and sinister about them, and in our baby blues, I felt downright cute and cuddly. A waitress came by with drinks, and once Jerome had a glass of scotch in hand, he deemed proceedings fit to start. There was a part of me that wouldn't have minded a gimlet or two, but I didn't think alcohol was the best call just now. It had nothing to do with team solidarity or messing up my game. When surrounded by unknown and possibly untrustworthy immortals, it was always a good idea to keep your wits about you. And when you were possibly on Hell's radar for dissension, it was an excellent idea. In my usual lucky way, I ended up having to go first. With all my worries about Seth and the contracts, my mind wasn't exactly focused on all of Roman's good instructions, but I nonetheless did my best to recall his training. I ended up hitting seven and then two pins. Not the greatest, but certainly not the worst. My teammates cheered me voraciously, both because Peter had sent us all a lengthy e-mail earlier in the day about â€Å"pep† and because with our track record, nine wasn't that bad. Tiara went after me, and as she retrieved her ball, Cody whispered to me how she'd gotten in a fight with management earlier because she'd wanted to wear stilettos on the lanes. She'd apparently conceded to wear proper bowling shoes in the end, but unless there'd been a significant trend change in the industry, she'd ended up using her shape-shifting powers to make the shoes more to her liking. They were gold and encrusted with jewels. Yet those weren't the worst part of her attire. That came in the form of her Devil May Care shirt, which I was pretty sure had shrunk about three sizes since I arrived. The buttons that were still actually fastened looked like they were about to burst. I winced as all that cleavage walked past me, and I wanted to cover my eyes when she reached the lane and bent over unnecessarily far, in order to give everyone a solid view of her ass. Her jeans were nearly as tight as the shirt. â€Å"That is not a regulation stance,† declared Peter. He studied her critically for a few moments. â€Å"I believe she's trying to distract us.† I scoffed. â€Å"Oh, you think?† â€Å"Hey!† Peter elbowed Cody and Hugh who – judging by their gaping mouths – were not catching on to Tiara's ruse as easily as the rest of us. â€Å"Focus. Remember what you're playing for: Jerome's good will.† â€Å"Nothing wrong with looking,† said Hugh. â€Å"Besides, there's no way she can hit anything with that – â€Å" His words cut off as Tiara threw. Her ball blasted into the pins and knocked all ten over. With a little smirk and a lot of hip swaying, she strutted back proudly to her seat. â€Å"Shit,† said Hugh. â€Å"Ready to focus yet?† asked Peter. The imp shook his head, still in awe. â€Å"I don't think it's going to matter, not if they all bowl like that.† â€Å"They can't all bowl like that,† countered Cody. But he didn't sound so sure. Noticing our consternation, Tiara favored us all with a glossy-lipped smile. â€Å"We can call it quits right now if you want. We can go back to my hotel and have a party.† She tossed her highlighted curls over one shoulder, and her gaze rested on me. â€Å"I can also give you some styling advice if you want.† â€Å"Oh my God,† I muttered. â€Å"This is why I hate other succubi.† I could almost give Hell credit for finding me the only appealing one in Vegas, even if it had been part of a more elaborate scheme. Tiara soon became the least of our worries as her teammates took their turns. Strikes and spares all around, quickly surpassing our mix of erratic spares and . . . whatever it was Peter threw. As we moved further into the game, I glanced over at Jerome and saw that his smile had vanished, as had his cocky good mood. At least I could feel confident it had nothing to do with my contract. V proved to be the most startling of the bowlers. Whenever his turn came, he walked up unhesitatingly, didn't even pause or aim, and threw strikes every time. Every time. He also never spoke a single world. â€Å"How is he doing that?† exclaimed Cody. He glanced at Carter, who was watching everything with quiet amusement. â€Å"Is he using some kind of power?† â€Å"No illicit ones,† said Carter. â€Å"Just his own God-given . . . er, Hell-given abilities.† I hadn't really been worried about the other team cheating or Nanette helping them. I knew Jerome would keep her in check, and Carter's angelic presence was kind of a safeguard against dishonest activity. But his words struck something within me. â€Å"Of course,† I murmured. â€Å"He's just using what he's got: enhanced reflexes and senses. He's a vampire. He's physically better at everything.† No wonder it didn't seem like he needed to aim. He probably was; he was just doing it really, really fast. I turned to Cody and Peter. â€Å"How come you guys can't do that?† Silence met me. â€Å"Cody's our best player,† pointed out Hugh. â€Å"True,† I admitted. Cody had learned very quickly, and I supposed the difference in his and V's abilities made sense simply because V had been playing a lot longer. â€Å"But how do you explain Peter?† Nobody had an answer for that, least of all Peter. Cody actually seemed to draw inspiration from V and the realization that being a vampire should provide some natural ability. Cody's already solid performance soon improved, and I wished Roman could see him. Still, it wasn't enough to save us in that first game. We lost pretty terribly. Since Jerome and Nanette had agreed to â€Å"best of three,† this meant we had two more chances for redemption. I had mixed feelings about this. Jerome's face was growing stormier, so there was some comfort in thinking we might be able to head off his wrath. On the other hand, I wouldn't have minded ending this as quickly as possible. Maybe the Devil didn't care, but I was growing increasingly sick of the other team. I was pretty sure Tiara's outfit was getting increasingly tighter and more revealing. Although he never spoke, V's smug expressions conveyed condescension levels that words never could. And yet, neither of them was as bad as Roger the imp. Every time he got a strike or a spare, he trumpeted his victory with some sort of money-related expression, such as â€Å"Jackpot !† or â€Å"A penny saved is a penny earned!† Sometimes they didn't even make any sense in the situation, like when he shouted, â€Å"It's like throwing pearls before swine!† When he started inexplicably quoting lyrics to â€Å"Can't Buy Me Love† at the start of the second game, I really thought I was going to lose it. Cody nudged me. â€Å"He's getting tired. So is Tiara.† I glanced up at the scoreboard. It was a slight change, but those two were showing fewer strikes than spares and sometimes not even getting spares. Malachi remained consistently good, and V remained unstoppable. Over on our team, Peter and I hadn't changed, but Cody had continued – and was succeeding – in trying to prove his vampire skills. Hugh was also improving slightly, a phenomenon we'd seen with Roman sometimes. It was as though the imp needed to warm up in order to remember how to avoid his arm's tendency to throw curves. I exchanged glances with Cody. â€Å"I don't know that it's enough.† â€Å"You've done better than this in practice,† he told me gently. â€Å"I know you've got a bunch of stuff going on, but try to think if Roman was here. What he'd say. Then look at Jerome's face and tell me you don't want us to come out on top.† I didn't really care about Jerome keeping his pride around Nanette, but my friends' well-being did concern me. I knew their happiness would be directly influenced by Jerome's unhappiness. Sighing, I answered Cody with a resolute nod and tried to step up my game, racking my brains for all the words of wisdom that Roman had given me over the last couple of weeks. I admit, I hadn't always been paying as much attention as I could have. Nonetheless, something started clicking for me. I was a long way from being a pro anytime soon, but between me, Cody, and Hugh, we slowly began to keep up with Nanette's team. It was so subtle and so gradual that when we won by two points, everyone – including my teammates and me – could hardly believe it had happened. We all stared at the scoreboard in stunned silence. Only Carter was able to get anything out. â€Å"That,† he told Roger exuberantly, â€Å"is how a bird in the hand gets up before the early worm.† â€Å"That doesn't make any sense,† said Roger. Carter pointed at the scoreboard. â€Å"Neither does that, but there you have it.† Nanette's cool composure had vanished. I don't know if beating Jerome meant that much to her or if people in Portland just took bowling really seriously, but she immediately demanded a five-minute break. We watched as she pulled her team to the far side of the alley and gave them a talk. Judging from her wild hand motions and occasional expletives, it didn't sound like a very heartening talk. I glanced over at Jerome, who still kind of seemed to be in disbelief. â€Å"Any words of wisdom for us, boss?† I asked. He considered. â€Å"Yes. Don't lose.† Cody was already clinging to Peter's arm. â€Å"You have to come through for us here. We barely beat them just now, and you know she's putting the fear of God in them. That alone is going to give them some improvement. If you can just . . . I don't know. Get fewer splits. Do something. We can win this, but we need you.† Peter threw up his hands. â€Å"Don't you think I would if I could?† When Nanette and friends returned, they showed us that they were adding a new strategy to their repertoire: catcalling. Every time one of the Unholy Rollers went up to play, we were serenaded with insults about everything from our appearance to our abilities to our bowling shirts. That last one really set Peter on edge, and Tiara picked up on it quickly. â€Å"Did you pick that up at a thrift store? Oh, wait, they screen their items first. They'd never take a piece of shit like that.† â€Å"What's with that color? It's like a reject from a boy's baby shower.† â€Å"If your crappy shirts are going to say ‘Unholy Rollers,' shouldn't you at least be rolling the ball? That was more of a caber toss.† Peter took it all in silence, but I could see him becoming increasingly agitated. Hugh grimaced and leaned toward me. â€Å"She's really not that funny. I'd expect better from a succubus.† â€Å"At least Peter isn't doing any worse,† I said. â€Å"He's just getting splits in new and interesting ways.† â€Å"Which aren't going to save us, though,† said Cody grimly. It was true. We were staying even with them, but just barely. And when we were halfway through the game, it became clear we were slipping. Jerome was looking pissed off again, and Nanette's confidence had returned. â€Å"Come on, you guys,† said Carter, whom I hadn't expected to become a cheerleader. â€Å"You can do this. You're better than them.† It wasn't the angel's enthusiasm that changed the course of the game, however. It was when V finally spoke. Peter had just thrown his ball and amazingly knocked down four pins, which left behind a kind of three-way split I'd never even known was possible. We were all taken back. â€Å"You are the worst vampire I've ever seen,† said V, staring at the pins wide-eyed. I don't know what it was about those words that succeeded where our encouragement and Tiara's bad fashion taunts had failed. But suddenly, Peter became a vampire. And not just any vampire. A vampire who could bowl. From that point forward, everything he threw was a strike. And much like V, Peter didn't even deliberate it. He just walked up and threw, letting his vampire reflexes do the work. He quickly surpassed everyone on our team in skill, even Cody. Really, the only person who could match him was V. But it was enough, and somehow, against all odds, we won the third game. Hugh, Cody, and I erupted into cheers and traded high fives with Carter. Peter remained much more stoic, however, and regarded the other team coolly. â€Å"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched,† he told Roger. To Tiara, Peter said, â€Å"That shade of red makes you look like you have jaundice.† He paused. â€Å"And like a whore.† To V, Peter said nothing. Nanette and Jerome promptly got in an argument, most of which involved her making outlandish claims about how unfair it was to have two vampires on one team and how best of five would be the real determining factor. Jerome bantered back with her cheerfully. He was so smug about our victory, you would have thought he had thrown every ball himself. Seeing her consternation was just icing on the cake for him. â€Å"Well,† he said at one point, â€Å"we could do two more games, but your team seems terribly worn out. Perhaps once they have some time to recover mentally and physically, we can – â€Å" Jerome stopped and cocked his head, like he was hearing music the rest of us couldn't. A strange look came over his face. â€Å"Shit,† he said. â€Å"What?† asked Nanette. She seemed to realize something other than bowling had caught his attention. Near me, Carter had gone perfectly still. â€Å"I have to go,† said Jerome. And he went. Just like that, the demon vanished. I glanced around quickly, but no humans seemed to have noticed, thanks largely to our part of the bowling alley being deserted. Still, teleporting out like that in a public place was pretty irregular behavior for a greater immortal. Even irreverent demons generally knew enough to be discreet among humans. â€Å"Well,† said Nanette. â€Å"I guess there's no such thing as good winners. Sportsmanship is a lost art.† I thought that was a stretch coming from her, particularly after her team's verbal tirade. In fact, they soon all degenerated into arguing amongst themselves, each one making a plea to Nanette about how the loss had been someone else's fault. â€Å"Georgina,† said Carter, drawing my attention back. The smile he'd worn at our victory was gone. â€Å"I think it's a good idea if you go home.† â€Å"Why?† I asked. â€Å"We should celebrate.† For the first time since the fallout with Seth, I actually felt like having fun with my friends. â€Å"We need to call Roman too.† â€Å"Let's go to my place,† said Peter. â€Å"I can make up a meze platter in no time.† â€Å"Fine, fine,† said Carter, casting a glance over at Mei. She was still in her seat, trying to observe all conversations at once. â€Å"Let's just leave now. I'll teleport you when we're in the parking lot.† I tried to protest that, but Carter was too insistent on simply getting us all out of there. Minutes later, my teammates and I were headed out to the parking lot, still crowing over our victory and how Peter was the undisputed hero of the night. â€Å"Georgina?† I came to a halt. There, standing near my car, was Seth. Even in the harsh light of the parking lamps, everything about him seemed soft and inviting. The messy hair. The way he stood with his hands in his pockets. The Flock of Seagulls shirt that I could just make out underneath his flannel coat. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked, taking a few steps forward. My friends had come to an uncertain stop behind me. They all knew about my rocky state of affairs with Seth and watched me nervously. Seth glanced at my backup and then at me. â€Å"I . . . I wanted to talk to you.† â€Å"That's not what you said the last time we talked,† I said. The harsh words were out before I could stop them. I knew I should jump on the chance to talk, on Seth's willingness to talk at last . . . but some hurt place in me responded first. â€Å"I know,† said Seth. â€Å"I probably don't deserve it. But . . . I've been thinking about a lot of things, and then there's all this weirdness going on I don't quite understand . . . like, my mom moving in with you? And do you know why all these toy ponies keep showing up on Terry's doorstep?† â€Å"Why don't you come over to our place and have your heart-to-heart there,† said Peter. â€Å"It'll go better with hummus and wine.† Staring at Seth, I felt my heart ache. This could be it, just like Carter had said at New Year's, about how Seth and I still managed to come back to each other. I swallowed, both scared and anxious. â€Å"Maybe I should meet you guys later,† I said. â€Å"Seth and I can go somewhere and talk first.† â€Å"Georgina,† said Carter anxiously, â€Å"you really need to – â€Å" The car seemed to come out of nowhere, and, considering the way things worked in my world, it might literally have done so. All I knew is that one moment we were all standing around in the dark parking lot, and the next, a car was speeding toward us. Or rather, toward me. I couldn't discern any make or model and certainly not the driver. I probably wouldn't have known him or her anyway. All I saw were rapidly approaching headlights, heading toward where I stood alone, out in the open between my friends and Seth. When the car hit me, there was an intense moment of pain that radiated through my whole body. Then I felt nothing. My sight shifted, and I had the surreal sense of looking down on my sprawled body while my friends hurried to me and the car sped away. Some were trying to talk to me, some were calling 911. Some were talking to each other. The scene began to dissolve in my vision, fading to black. And not just the scene. Me. I was dissolving. I was losing all substance. I was becoming nothing. But as I faded away, as the world faded away, I heard a few last words from my friends before their voices also faded. â€Å"Georgina! Georgina!† That was Seth, saying my name like a prayer. â€Å"She's not breathing,† said Cody. â€Å"And she doesn't have a pulse. Hugh! Do something. You're a doctor.† â€Å"I can't,† Hugh said softly. â€Å"This is beyond me. Her soul . . . her soul's not here.† â€Å"Of course it is!† said Cody. â€Å"Souls stay with their immortals.† â€Å"Not in this situation,† said Hugh. â€Å"What are you talking about?† exclaimed Seth, voice cracking. â€Å"Carter! You can fix this. You can fix anything. You have to save her.† â€Å"This is beyond me too,† said Carter. â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"There's still one thing you can do,† said Hugh. â€Å"One thing you have to do.† â€Å"Yes,† agreed Carter, voice full of sorrow. â€Å"I'll go get Roman. . . .† And then they were all gone. I was gone.

Hum week vocabulary quiz

Dogma A system of doctrines offered by some religions. It is proclaimed and accepted as true specific answers to the religion it is being offered for. 9. Monotheistic Is not a believer in unseen reality but can be spiritual without labeling themselves a certain religion. 10. Transcendent The belief that a greater power exists outside the material universe. 11. Incarnations The living embodying the divine or spirit. 12. Soul The spiritual part of the body that exist separately form the physical body. 13. AtheismThe belief that there Is no god because no proof exist. 14. Agnosticism The belief that humans cannot be able to know the existence of a higher power. 15. Rituals The repeated actions by people or groups. Some religion rituals are dancing, singing, reciting prayers and sharing food to symbolize spirituality. 16. Symbols A borrowed image that represents some form of a spiritual experience. 17. Myths Symbolic stories that used for explanations for with in the universe. 18. Orthod ox Abiding to a particular form of religion by practicing established traditions. 19. Rotationally of charismaThe Institutionalizing of religion that can damage the Inspiration of religion. 20. Absolutists Believe In traditional forms of religions as being true and unchangeable. 21 . Charisma 22. Fundamentalism Emphasizes on what form one perceives as historical in religion. 23. Phenomenology Analyzing religion practices to better understand their purpose. 24. Liberal Take a flexible and unpredicted approach to interpreting religion traditions. 25. Mysticism To believe the truth despite human belief because it was perceived directly by experience. 26. Sacred The realm of extraordinary which lies the source of the universe and its value.

Mentoring and Counseling in the Workplace Essay

Mentoring and Counseling in the Workplace - Essay Example Thus, obtaining in-group status may be a prerequisite for subordinates to receive mentoring from their supervisors (McManus). The most critical cycle for effective counseling is the 4Es cycle - Enter, Empathize, Empower and Exit. At a workplace, if people need to share their problems and if they need to go back with a sense of relief, then the most important requisite for a mentor or counselor is that the mentor or counselor needs to build a trust based relationship quickly that could actually help the aggrieved person. Some of the essential characteristics that a mentor or counselor needs to possess as an individual are strong yet effective communication, make an objective assessment of situations, the ability to call a spade a spade and communicating this reality to the person opposite in a way to empower them in their current situation and give feedback effectively. Empathy is one of the soft skills that any person would need to be an effective counselor. Empathy actually means affection clubbed with passion touched by the quality of suffering. This particular characteristic is viewed by many professionals as the most important one in a helping relationship. ... The following are the most important yet critical values that a mentor or counselor needs: 1. A professional qualification with consistently high academic performance. 2. Have the required soft skills to be an effective counselor providing support services to people. 3. Last but not least, needs to have mastered the 4E counseling cycle. Empathy is one of the soft skills that any person would need to be an effective counselor. Empathy actually means affection clubbed with passion touched by the quality of suffering. This particular characteristic is viewed by many professionals as the most important one in a helping relationship. "Empathy is often viewed as conveying sensitivity to the client and trying to understand what "walking in the other guy's shoes" may feel like. The counselor need not necessarily have undergone the experiences of a person who is actually having a problem in order to understand the former's feelings (Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning)." Genuineness is another important aspect that any person who intends to take up a counseling profession needs. Genuineness is the expression of true feelings. "To be a genuine mentor or counselor, one must avoid role playing or feeling one way and acting another. Genuine counselors do not take refuge in any specific role, such as therapist. Genuineness involves self-disclosure. It implies a willingness to be known to others (Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning)." Balanced Objectivity or Subjectivity - This refers to private, personal and unique ways of experiencing situations. Both these characteristics have their own disadvantages when not balanced properly at a workplace which actually is a collection of various kinds of

Currency crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Currency crisis - Essay Example However, his academic excellence and outstanding performance in various portfolios he has held proves his critics wrong (Blackden 2012). The responsibility of salvaging the United Kingdom’s currency crisis will be his primary responsibility as the governor of the Central Bank of England. Blackden’s article in The Telegraph highlights some of the attributes that Mark Carney possess that makes him a good choice for the position. The article clearly outlines possible ways that economists think Mark Carney would use to restore Britain’s dwindling economy. In this way, it has proved and highlighted some of the theories proposed earlier by economists in their attempts to explain the causes and ways of minimizing currency crisis. Mark Carney has been portrayed to believe in closer supervision and maintenance of high capital requirements for large financial institutions (Blackden 2012). This is opposed to what Sir Mervyn King advocates. However, it is worth noting that u nderdevelopment of the banking sector can cause a currency crisis. This is because the central bank may focus on financing the banking sector to bail them from their financial problems at the expense of maintaining the peg (Komulainen 1999). This may bring currency instability leading to a currency crisis. ... This is aimed at making the financial system safe as the economy recovery process is being conducted. It is similar to the canonical currency-crisis model. This model as proposed by Stephen Salant asserts that speculators have tendencies of holding exhaustible resources with expectations that their prices would rise. The increase in the prices of these resources will then offer the speculators a return rate equivalent to other assets (Krugman n.d.). In this way, the exchange rates would be stabilized. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehend Blackden’s assertion on the need for Mark Carney to empower British banks to hold massive capital. New-wave theories have also explained that recent currency crises affecting various countries are as a result of the weak banking systems. Therefore, holding massive capital would imply that the banks can sustain themselves and would not need bailing from the central bank (Fourcans & Franck 2003). In this scenario, the central bank will preve nt a possible currency crisis. The article also mention that Mark Carney would urge United Kingdom’s leading companies to invest in new markets such as Brazil, China and India. Opening up and venturing into new markets would help Britain a great deal since it would steer the economy to a fast-paced recovery process (Fourcans & Franck 2003). On the other hand, venturing into foreign and emerging markets would give investors the confidence that the currency is stable; thus, they would not withdraw from the British market due to fear of imminent collapse of the economy (Fane 2000). Additionally, Mark Carney’s appointment is expected to save UK from the imminent effects of the on-going Euro zone crisis. This is because the United Kingdom depends on foreign money to fund most of its pertinent

Why is the family dysfunctional (Hunger, Lan Samantha Chang) Essay

Why is the family dysfunctional (Hunger, Lan Samantha Chang) - Essay Example However, sometimes families fail to fulfill the emotional and physical needs of their children. In addition to this communication pattern of the family limits the expressions of the feeling and needs of the children. Children who grow in such families end up developing low self-esteem. They start thinking that their feelings are not important and therefore there is no need to express them, as they believe that no one will take them seriously. The end result of this is that as adults they may form unsatisfying relationships. One of the main reasons behind the dysfunction of families is that one of the parents have compulsion or addiction (e.g. alcohol, drugs, gambling, promiscuity, overeating or overworking) which has a negative influence on the family members. Sometimes one of the parents as a primary mean may also use physical violence, in order to get control. In such cases there are chances that children must have watched violence or they must have been a part of violence, like they have been forced to punish their siblings or they may also live in fright of an explosive outburst. Another reason of family dysfunction can be that parents usually threaten to withdraw their children from or are unable to provide their children with the basic physical and financial care. Similarly one of the parents may also be unsuccessful in providing emotional support to their children. Sometime one of the parents may also exert powerful authoritarian control on their child. Such families are often adhering to some particular beliefs, which may be personal, religious, political or financial. Compliance with expectations related to a specific role and with certain kind of roles is expected without any kind of flexibility. A great deal of variability is found in the ways through which dysfunctional behaviors and interaction occurs amongst families and in the severity and kinds of these dysfunctions.

Accountability of Police Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accountability of Police - Essay Example Police is the government department that guarantees through the use of force if needed, the peaceful and lawful existence of the citizens of the country. Since this department can use force to get its way through, this gets misused at many an occasion resulting in a large scale anti police sentiments. The responsibility of the police force is clearly spelt out in the law (HMSO, nd) when the force was created. This law has been undergoing rapid changes with the change in the way people worked and the level of civil and human rights that was envisaged for the people. With more relaxation in public laws and increase in the human rights consciousness, it is important for the police force also to modernize (Leigh, A., Mundy, G. and Tuffin, R. 1999). They need to change their perception in line with the needs of the civil society.Police Accountability has increased over a period of time along with the increase in civil rights movements and human rights activism. Police was and continues to be subservient to Judiciary in most of the countries. However, there are specific on site decisions that the police could take not withstanding any directions from the court. For instance, during a riot or arson, police can take a balanced decision to ensure that the peace and the property of law abiding citizens of the country are not damaged and the public property is not ransacked. However, the onus of proving that such an action was needed in order to maintain peace becomes the responsibility of the police. Such similar acts of the police mark their accountability to the public and are answerable in a court of law. It is therefore, important for the police to realise this specific feature set in law. Whether it is shooting down an 'unknown' terrorist on the tube who turns out to be an innocent migrant or when a black woman is arrested after a long drawn midnight struggle when she is repeatedly hit by three or four strong policemen, the accountability of the police come into foc us. Without reference to any race or sex, police are accountable for their actions like any other person in the country. Brixton Riots and Lord Scarman Report Brixton Riots left a long scar on the police and the administration in general. As the Scarman report pointed out, the 'complex, social and economic factors' created the violent protest that burnt the area. This was more a fight against the police, mostly, rather than the other agencies of the government. Scarman report further went ahead to say that there was a clear racial discrimination. There was a loss of confidence in the police force and in their methods of policing. There was a strong dislike among the black population for discriminatory tendencies in the police force. The report suggests that if there had been more of ethnic minorities in the police force such discriminatory tendencies would not have arisen. The accountability of the police in such an incident was pretty limited. Internal and External Discipline The police force is expected to be disciplined both internally and externally. In cases like that of the Brixton Riots where a continuous and ongoing lack of confidence in Police comes out in the form of riots, Police could not build the friendship that is required. The racial orientation of the police in Britain has long been under question. Therefore, it is only right that the police discipline themselves internally and then ensure that there is an external discipline as well. The racial prejudices that the police carry with them are inbuilt and have long significance. This cannot be offset within a matter of years or even centuries. And to set right this

Extensible Markup Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Extensible Markup Language - Essay Example change it into computer readable form or it can serialize it. It is designed in such a way so that it is user-friendly and humans can easily read it and understand it. Even application languages can be implemented in XML if the boulders of language, that is the semantic constraints are added to it. 1 An XML document can pass for being one if it has two levels of correctness within it. Firstly, the document should be consistent and following all the syntax rules that XML has in its rules book. When an XML document fulfills all syntax rules, it is called a well formed document. Secondly, the document should also be formed with care in the sense that it fulfills all semantic rules that is the language used is comprehensible and suitable to XML as well as human legible. Such documents are called valid. The company Windows specializes in making operating systems, which are one of the most essential software management programs. When it comes to .NET, it is a software component, that is a small portion of a big software package, which is a part of many Microsoft Windows operating systems. It comes with a hefty library, consisting of pre-set and coded solutions/diagnosis of the programming problems/diseases that are commonly faced by programmers. It does not just provides solutions, rather it also has the responsibility to execute the programs written for its own framework.

Personal Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Reflection - Essay Example Team Work and Project The first week, as in case of any other team, involved the formation of teams as well as members of these teams meeting for the first time and getting to know each other (Wech et al 1986, p.472). Those who are part of our team did not get a chance to attend the first session where the teams were selected, and this left all of us out. However, we were put into one group, which turned out to be lucky for us because each of the group members is remarkable in their own right. These group members include Ammarand, Katie, Kate, and me, and we were formed into a group by our teacher, Julie Foreman. We got to know each other in the following week, with each of the group members exchanging email addresses and phone numbers, to ensure that we would be able to effectively coordinate our activities. We also exchanged personal information so that we would know each other even better, especially concerning our backgrounds. In addition, we came to discuss matters which were pe rtinent to the group, and it is during these discussions that we decided on the team charter. Moreover, the priorities of our team were upon. One of the most fascinating parts of our discussions was coming up with a team name, and we eventually settled for The Green Machine. After all these had been decided, we went to meet our client, OPSMC, where we were made familiar with the activities of the organisation as well as what was expected of us. The first task, which we had to handle, was to write a response to the project brief. It was a task which required us to give information about our client, what the client needed from us, as well as all the information as well as the sources of such information  so that we would be able to complete the tasks given (Ahmad and Mahmood, 2011, p.32). All the team members were supposed to complete this first task individually. Once the entire individual work had been completed, we now started concentrating on the team work. Each of the team memb ers had to come up with ideas on how to best complete our tasks as a team. This ensured that all members felt a part of it, despite the fact that not all the ideas given were accepted by the group members. It was exceptionally easy to fit into the team because all four of us worked extremely well together, and we rarely had any disagreements among ourselves. When the team had decided on the ideas which we would work with, the time came for the Norming stage, where all the members of the team were required to complete tasks (Caprar and Neville, 2012, p.231). As we were working towards a common goal, all members of the team made decisions that were for its benefit. The first task that was assigned to the team was to make a podcast, although the podcast was supposed to be a matter of teamwork, we chose to do our own separately, and later put them together as a team. My podcast was quite difficult to make, but after many trials, I managed to come up with one which I think was almost per fect. All the videos, which we had made, were compiled and presented to our tutor. Our next task was External Environment, which the team also did extraordinarily well by sharing the various things to be done among the members. Once the work was done, it was sent to Kate, whose responsibility it was to compile

The use of a Utilitarian philosophy works best to blance a business Research Paper

The use of a Utilitarian philosophy works best to blance a business organization,s legal, societal, economic, and moral obligations - Research Paper Example How moralistic are the actions of organizations to their customers? Finally, how does the principle of Utilitarianism help put all the actions of business organizations in check? Utilitarian Philosophy or Utilitarianism can be described as a mechanism by which happiness and satisfaction in life could be made available to all people without prejudicial consideration or discrimination (Goodin, 1995). Researchers have always found it difficult to give a single definition to Utilitarianism because it encompasses all practices and processes that would provide opportunities for ordinary people in a country to enjoy equal happiness and well-being. Goodin (1995) strongly believed that Utilitarianism is a public philosophy whereby governments make laws and regulations to control the activities of all producers of goods and services within the country in a way that they will not jeopardize the well-being and state of happiness of the consumers. Definitely, governments set up ethics and codes of practices to checkmate overt desires to maximize profits, undermine people’s social and moral aptitudes and fundamental rights by requiring that business organizations carry out their business functions in a manner that would not harm people’s lives (Goodin, 1995). In this perspective, the governments are acting like checkmate system or moral agent, reminding the owners of businesses their non-negotiable responsibilities or obligations towards their customers, in assuring that their satisfaction and happiness are maintained. Governments somehow tolerate utilitarianism in order to ensure that the rights of all citizens are respected, and the governmental policies of equality are honored (Goodin, 1995). This fact alone makes it impossible for business organizations to cheat their customers and risk being sanctioned by the governments (Goodin,

Anti-Drinking Campaign in the University Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Anti-Drinking Campaign in the University - Essay Example This paper details why a total ban on alcohol cannot work citing developments that occurred during the American Prohibition era as a sample case study. Further, it explains the reasons why Community College Events should be factored in when controlling alcohol use. The next section mirrors on ways or methods which should be adopted to arrest the problem. The last section is conclusion and recommendations. This research proposal aims to achieve to a number of objectives. The overall objective is to demonstrate the importance of reducing and managing alcoholism in the University of Minnesota and how the budget of doing that can be reduced. Casaddy, Flora and Foote observe that community events are sometimes characterized by students and underage youths easily getting drunk because of availability of alcohol. About 50% of alcohol intake at community festivals is done by students or youth. These authors propose alcohol ban or restrictions in colleges or community events by curtailing sal es through policies such as ID checking or reducing the number of servings that are extended to individuals. This is their view ultimately minimizes access of alcohol by students. They further cite studies which shown that in an average event 50% those that are already intoxicated have 80% chance of buying more. Further, this kind of behavior sometimes brings about disruption, vandalism and other anti-social behaviors. In 2004 professional basketball, a number of these behaviors were witnessed with many drunken students throwing beer bottles and cups at players on the court. Thus measures such as stopping alcohol sales at some point are important in mitigating such occurrences.

A Critical Reflection on Learning Society and Learner Identities Essay Example for Free

A Critical Reflection on Learning Society and Learner Identities Essay The paper draws on the historical experiences of learning society and learner identities from the normative and sociological paradigms which have extensively determined how the experiences of learning have been shaped and how learning society should be constituted. In light of this, patterns of participation in learning process are engaged through a concise interplay between the course of life and their determinants. Focusing on examination as a key factor in the official discourse of learning society, the whole concept of learning society and learner identity can comprehensively be argued within the parameters of sociological construction through theories of human capital, functionalism, symbolic, post modern among others. Through a critical evaluation and reflection, the history of learning society as well as learner identities reveal that the underlying motivation of learning society leans on the uncalled for abstraction of economic behaviors which range from social relations to the individual learner’s participation in the lifetime process of learning. Introduction The underlying principle of learning society and leaner identity is founded within the fundamental of the predominant interplay between social capital and cultural aspects with education. Exploring the inherent meaning of education and learning in the lives of individuals typifies a particular focus on the perpetual element of learning in the social milieu of a rapidly changing society. Researchers contend that the social revolution towards a contemporary society is typical of globalization therefore, life long learning portend a relationship with learning society within the theoretical paradigm that will help in analyzing and evaluating the inherent meaning of education (Coffield, 2001). The process focus on leaving learners with options of developing their own learner identities as inspired by the learning process as well as the pedagogic approaches to education. The experiences and the hitherto identities propel a situation that determine whether the learner goes back to school and learn at least something knew; because, the whole question of the learning society is to enhance the individual’s bargaining power to better their social and economic positions in life through a clear understanding of themselves. Learning Society: A Reflection on the Influence of formal Education on Learner Identity In a multiple deprived modern global community, learning society and learner identities facilitates a broader evaluation of maximum social utility of learning guided by the pedagogical approaches used in the social construction. As a result, learning identities become created and basing on the model of community development, participants in the community development are learners who exhibit such characteristics through a learning process. They are thus encouraged to learn irrespective of age or status; all in a bid to gain accreditation of developing their own knowledge and skills. This extensively develops their leaning identities and gives them a leeway to access other learning. According to Alheit (1992), education as a national social institution can be argued to form part of the global structure. This means that information technology and largely the digital age forms the modern global infrastructure of education and thus, the learning society is inspired and directed by technology to impact on the experiences of a learner within the realms of education. Maguire (2006) further asserts that as the goal of education continues to change over the years due to the element of social integration and formation of economic advantage, many individuals who had dropped out of school or similarly stopped at some level prefer to go back and begin learning. Significantly, it is obvious that from a symbolic and conflict theoretical understanding, the concept of adult education comes into play guided by the principle of skill formation in the context of a strengthened global economic competition. Arguably, increased convergence system of education has become a trend which remarkably points the difference between the traditional attitudes of education versus the modern attitudes. The meaning of education is clearly construed in three levels which are elaborate. Firstly, learning society and learners identity is historically and sociologically explained within the efforts to understand how people use education and the resultant knowledge and skills to construct their courses in life. Secondly, the educational and learning experiences mean different phenomenon to different learners especially within the content of producing as well as forming their identities. Finally, learning society and learner identity become the epicenter of understanding significant experiences that people have with regard to different stages in their lives. This also borders the line whether those experiences originate at work, in school, during leisure time pursuits or during adult study (Antikainen et al, 1996). Accordingly, questions such as the substance, social context and formal education form the important milestones in the learning experience. From the traditional outlook, educators and many members of the society have believed that education is productive. This means that the effects of education are reflected in the experiences a learner goes through in the process of learning as well as after learning. In view of this, the experiences one endures in relation to education break down the universal function of education and somewhat give it a different understanding. Hodgson (2000) postulates that the individualized learning experiences have led scholars to hypothesize several emancipatory meaning of education. Essentially, it is plausible to argue that with the existence of life long and cultural patterns of education in the society, a learning society continues to emerge thus inspiring many individuals to go back to school and learn something new based on the social or economic significance attached to the concept that is learned. For instance, as an immigrant to the United States, there is dire need to learn English for both social communicative purposes as well as official business transactions. In light of this, although the immigrant may be an adult, he goes to learn at a mature age due to the cultural shift and social position in the society. The trends in the educational circles necessitate the learning society. In essence, the flow of information, knowledge as well as students from across regional and national borders is a contemporary trend that can serve as a typical example of westernization as well as global diffusion of local educational products (Husen, 2004). Young (2009) further outlines that globalization is key to learning society and leaner identities. To illustrate, it is evident that regardless of the age, status and racial backgrounds, individual members of the society tend to embrace a contemporary computer based approach of education to continue learning. Such cases are characteristic of E-learning, distant leaning as well as the emergence of virtual institutions; a factor that inspires the attitude for lifelong learning and shapes the identities of learners to reflect a more contemporary one as opposed to the historical approach towards learning. Every situation in the present society calls for problem solving, critical and creative thinking and apt communication skills and this deep feature of the globalised society steers individuals to be always on the search for education, skills and knowledge.

Canadian Blood Services IMC Essay Example for Free

Canadian Blood Services IMC Essay INTRODUCTION â€Å"Oscar Wilde once said that youth is wasted on the young. But investing in the future, the leaders of tomorrow, is more than just good business sense – it’s a necessity for survival and success† – Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services (Pulse Magazine, 2012). Canadian Blood Services is a not-for-profit organization that operates across Canada, excluding Quebec. The objective of Canadian Blood Services is to encourage and receive blood donations through safe and secure methods to help Canadians who need blood transfusions (Canadian Blood Services, 2013). There is an increasing need for blood and blood donations across Canada. Of the current Canadian population, â€Å"the baby boomer generation remains the most loyal in terms of donating blood, while younger generations are significantly less likely to donate on a frequent basis† (Renwick-Shields, 2013). As the baby boomers age, Canadian Blood Services must find new ways to reach the younger generations, including the fastest growing segment, the Millennials. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION How can Canadian Blood Services increase the number of BC Millennial whole blood donors by 20,000 by March 31, 2015? The target number of donors is based on the previous years’ statistics of Millennial donations (age 17-34), according the Canadian Blood Services data provided (Bird, 2014a). The target number is a percentage of half the total Millennial population of BC in 2012, as typically only half the population is eligible to donate (Renwick-Shields, 2013). The problem statement is specific to BC as a test market. The timeline is based on Canadian Blood Services’ fiscal year, beginning April 1, 2014 and ending March 31, 2015. KEY FINDINGS According to Canadian Blood Services, on average, every 60 seconds, someone in Canada requires blood or a blood product (2013). The demand for blood is not subsiding, increasing at a steady rate of 2% per year (Canadian Blood Services, 2013). To be an eligible donor, volunteers must meet many stringent requirements, including a minimum age of 17, sufficient levels of iron and hemoglobin in blood, and disclosure of health and travel history.

Issues In Sport And Touch Football Sociology Essay

Issues In Sport And Touch Football Sociology Essay This research explores the way gender is perceived and constructed within the examined roles of touch football referees, with the aim of investigating gender equity relative to the participation and experience of female referees in touch football. The key questions of this thesis emanate from concerns around the equitable distribution of officiating sports roles. This concern also extends to individuals who may want to shift from participating in sporting activities just as participants to officiating in sports. Officiating and volunteering roles in sport have typically been highly gendered, with females over-represented in lower status roles. Females have tended to dominate the non-paid volunteer positions in sporting operations, while males are typically over-represented in leadership roles. This inequity has been strongly rallied against by researchers who have adopted a gender focus in their research. This thesis contends that the sporting practice of touch football, whilst considered by many to be a sporting practice that is reflective of current societal norms and values, could benefit from a gendered analysis. In order to operationalise the research, a case study approach was adopted which examined the role of female referees officiating in a locally-based senior mixed touch football competition. The role of referees in the local touch football competition presents a number of unique factors which are highly beneficial to this study. Refereeing in the competition is open to both males and females in the mixed competition. The selection of referees is through an administrative process that involves a number of relevant processes that draw on broader gender equity issues such as credentialism and professionalism, as well as simple gender bias. Theoretically the research approach has drawn on elements of the work of Norbert Elias, in particular the concept of figurationalism, and also the post-structuralist approach from Actor Network Theory [ANT]. The methodologies and analysis explore the site of touch football in a small rural setting through engaging with the touch football participants experiences of playing and officiating in the role of referee in the competition. The research is significant for several reasons and at different levels. First, Australian Government policies such as the Active Women: National Policy for Women and Girls in Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity, 1999-2002 (1999a), and How to include Women and Girls in Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity: Strategies and Good Practice (1999b) require Australian sport institutions to foster sporting cultures that allow and value the full involvement of females in every aspect of sport. Second, societal practices that support inequities are persistent and will re-emerge as dominant forms if they are not subjected to critical examination and leadership given for just change. Third, at a game administration level, gender equity is identified as a key strategy to ensure the long-term growth of the sporting practice by ensuring equal opportunities in all aspects of the game. Fourth, at a game and individual level, the inclusion of an appropriate gender mix will help to neutralise unwanted masculine traits of overt aggression and sexist behaviour from the sport. Female participation in the referee role that is reflective of the female player cohort will arguably help to shape the sporting practice to reflect the shared values of a mixed competition, focusing on the positive social and physical benefits of the game. Last, the research area is of keen interest to the researcher and is an area of inquiry where there is prior knowledge of the location of roles within the sporting practice, and a capacity and ease for the researcher to engage with those involved at the local level. 1.2 Research hypothesis This thesis seeks to explore whether a gendered approach to examining a local touch football competition will assist in improving the outcomes of both males and females in relation to officiating within the sport. Therefore, this thesis is concerned with the equitable representation of female referees in the local mixed touch football competition. Individuals understandings of gender differences within the role of referee and applicable strategies to address gender equity will frame the thesis. This thesis is best read as a preliminary analysis of gender equity in refereeing within the sporting practice of touch football. The research is approved by the CQUniversity Human Research Ethics Committee [H12/02-019], Queensland Touch Association and Central Queensland Touch Association. 1.3 Research background 1.3.1 Key concerns in sport Sport has historically attracted considerable attention from social theorists and commentators, with approaches ranging from macro and meta-analysis of sporting behaviours and outcomes to micro approaches that examine the everyday and mundane elements of sport. This thesis adopts a gendered, post-structuralist approach to exploring the key issue of gender equity in the roles of officiating in sport. In the next section, a background will be given of the key concerns that helped shape the research process and an introduction to touch football will assist the uninitiated to the sporting practice. An elementary understanding of the sporting practice, together with a familiarity with the general history and values embedded in the sporting practice will assist in a reading of the research. 1.3.1.1 Gender in sport The research adopts a gendered approach as gender is seen as an important social construct. The construct of gender can be used to uncover and understand better sporting practices, offering an opportunity to improve the individual and collective outcomes that are associated with particular sports. The sociology of gender has developed in line with successive waves of the feminists movement and creates an intellectual endeavour in its own right (Weedon 1997). This thesis uses a working definition of gender as a system of social practices as a means to interrogate the social arrangements of touch football (Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin 1999, p. 192). The gendered social practices establish and maintain gender distinctions, differences and inequalities. Relationships between actors are organised to some extent on those distinctions, differences and inequalities. Gender represents those social, cultural and psychological traits linked to males and females through particular social contexts an d translations. Debate remains on all elements that comprise feminist theory, but basically, the consensus is that a theory is feminist if it can be used to contest a status quo that is damaging to females (Chafetz 1988; Hall 1996). Feminists work through various avenues to increase females empowerment. Feminists accept the goal of ending sexism by empowering females (Weedon 1997), though there is a great deal of disparity about how that goal can be achieved. One interpretation is that there are numerous femininities and masculinities which are more multiple than singular or bi-polar expressions of gender. Miller (2009, p. 127) contends masculinity [and femininity] is best viewed not as a property or an essence, but as a series of contingent signs and practices that exercise power over both males and females, and to know it is to shift it, not just to love it. The processes and relationships through which males and females conduct their gendered lives should be the focus of researchers (Connell 2005). Males and females cannot be defined as being a certain gender, as their gender is a fluid aspect of their identity that is not constrained to one of a finite number of gender categories. However, outcomes for males and females differ, which subsequently introduces a challenging tension with conceptualisations of gender as subjectively fluid and yet objectively presenting as correlated to differing outcomes. The demand to formulate opportunities for females to successfully compete in sport then becomes both complex and highly disputed (Hall 1996; Hargreaves 1994). This is illustrated in debates over separatist sporting activities as opposed to mixed competitions, or with regards to the imbalance in media representations of females sport compared to males sport. As a clear reminder of the relevancy of gender equity in sport, the World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap Index shows that Australia is ranked twenty-third out of one hundred and thirty-five nations on a series of gender-based disparities, with a considerable decline in the relative progress (Hausmann, Tyson, Bekhouche and Zahidi 2011). 1.4 Research approach why studying touch football is important The research involves a case study of a locally-based senior mixed touch football competition. The next section provides a contextualisation for the research by describing key elements of touch football. A brief history of the game of touch football in Australia is also presented. 1.4.1 Key elements of touch football 1.4.1.1 Getting to the field of play  [1]   1.4.1.1.1 The playing field and the ball Touch football, also known as touch rugby or touch, is typically played on a rectangular field, and measures seventy metres in length from score line to score line  [2]  and fifty metres in width (Touch Football Australia 2007). The playing surface is normally grass however, other surfaces may be used. The game is played with an oval, inflated ball slightly smaller than rugby league and rugby union balls. The official ball size is thirty-six centimetres long and fifty-five centimetres in circumference (Touch Football Australia 2007). 1.4.1.1.2 Mode of play The aim of the game of touch football is for each team to score touchdowns  [3]  and to prevent the opposition from scoring (Touch Football Australia 2007). The ball may be passed, flicked, knocked, handed or thrown [but not kicked] sideways or backwards between teammates who can run or else move with the ball in an attempt to gain territorial advantage and score (Touch Football Australia 2007). Defending players prevent the attacking team  [4]  from gaining a territorial advantage by touching  [5]  the ball carrier or attacking players may initiate touches at which point, play stops and is restarted with a roll ball  [6]  (Touch Football Australia 2007). 1.4.1.1.3 Possession Unless other rules apply, the team with the ball is entitled to six touches prior to changing possession with the opposing team (Touch Football Australia 2007). Following the sixth touch or the loss of possession due to any other means, players of the team losing possession are to hand or pass the ball to the nearest opposition player, or place the ball on the ground at the mark  [7]  without delay (Touch Football Australia 2007). Attacking players who ask for the ball are to be handed the ball. Players are not to delay the changeover procedure. 1.4.1.1.4 Defending From the tap  [8]  for the start of the game or from a penalty, the defending team must be at least ten metres from the point of the tap (Touch Football Australia 2007). After making a touch, the defending team must retreat the distance the referee marks, at least five metres from the mark where the touch occurred, and remain there until the half  [9]  touches the ball (Touch Football Australia 2007). If a player does not retreat the entire distance the referee marked, they are considered offside. If a player makes an attempt to defend whilst inside this distance, they will be penalised. 1.4.1.1.5 Scoring A touchdown is awarded when a player [without being touched and other than the half] places the ball on the ground on or over the teams attacking score line and within the boundaries of the touchdown zone  [10]  (Touch Football Australia 2007). A touchdown is worth 1 point. The team who at the end of play has scored the most touchdowns is declared the winner. In the event of neither team scoring, or in the event of both teams scoring the same number of touchdowns, a draw is declared. 1.4.1.1.6 The half The half [or acting half] is subject to a number of restrictions that do not apply to other players. If the half is touched with the ball, the attacking team loses possession. The half cannot score a touchdown since trying to do so results in a change of possession. If the half takes too long to retrieve the ball, the referee can call play on and defenders are allowed to move forward before the half has touched the ball. 1.4.1.1.7 Commencement/recommencement of play Play is started by a tap at the beginning of each half, following a touchdown and when a penalty is awarded. The tap is performed by an attacking player placing the ball on the ground at or behind the mark  [11]  , releasing both hands from the ball, touching the ball with either foot a distance of not more than one metre and retrieving the ball cleanly (Touch Football Australia 2007). The defensive team must stay at a minimum distance of ten metres from the mark during the tap, unless they are positioned on their own score line. The defensive players can move after the ball carrier has touched the ball with their foot. The player who has performed the tap may be touched without losing possession. The attacking side must be positioned behind the ball when it is tapped. The attacking side may move the ball up to ten metres directly behind the given mark when taking a penalty tap. In this case, the defending side must still remain ten metres from the original mark, not the new mark . 1.4.1.1.8 Player attire All participating players are to be correctly attired in team uniforms. Uniforms typically consist of upper apparel [t-shirts or polo shirts], shorts [or briefs for female players] and socks with footwear (Touch Football Australia 2007). Shoes with screw-in studs are not to be worn by any player. Light leather or synthetic boots with soft-moulded soles are permitted, as long as individual studs are no longer than thirteen millimetres (Touch Football Australia 2007). All players are to wear an identifying number clearly displayed on the front or rear of the upper garment (Touch Football Australia 2007). Players are not to participate in any match while wearing any item of jewellery. Long or sharp fingernails are to be trimmed or taped. 1.4.1.2 Administration of touch football 1.4.1.2.1 The referee, line judges and touchdown zone officials, and the importance of the whistle Touch football must have at least one referee to officiate the game but most major games encompass one central referee and two sideline referees, who interchange roles constantly throughout the game (Touch Football Australia 2007). The central referee is the sole judge on matters of fact and is required to arbitrate on the rules of the game during play (Touch Football Australia 2007). The central referee may impose any sanction necessary to control the match and in particular, award penalties for infringements against the rules (Touch Football Australia 2007). Line judges and touchdown zone officials assist the central referee with tasks associated with sidelines, score lines and touchdown zone lines, and other matters at the discretion of the central referee. Their normal duties include indicating the ten metres distance for taps from a penalty, controlling substitutions, matters of backplay and other advice when sought by the central referee (Touch Football Australia 2007). The central referee must have a whistle to control the game. The start of play and a touchdown are signalled by long whistle blasts. A sixth touch, short whistle blast and the end of play, a long, fluctuating whistle blast (Touch Football Australia 2007). The standard whistle in Australia is the Acme Thunderer fifty-eight point five. 1.4.1.3 Rules of the game 1.4.1.3.1 Team composition and substitution A team consists of fourteen players, no more than six of who are allowed on the field at any time (Touch Football Australia 2007). In mixed competitions, the maximum number of males allowed on the field of play is three (Touch Football Australia 2007). The minimum male requirement on the field of play is one (Touch Football Australia 2007). Players may substitute at any time during the game in keeping with the interchange procedure (Touch Football Australia 2007, p. 10). There is no limit to the number of times a player may interchange, but substitutions can only be made from players who are registered at the commencement of the game (Touch Football Australia 2007). 1.4.1.3.2 Duration The match is forty-five minutes duration, entailing two twenty minute halves. There is a five minute half time break. When time expires play is to continue until the ball next becomes dead  [12]  (Touch Football Australia 2007). Should a penalty be awarded during this period, the penalty is to be taken. 1.4.1.3.3 Competition points Points are awarded in competition matches throughout the season. Teams are awarded three points for a win or a bye, two points for a draw and one point for a loss or a forfeit (Touch Football Australia 2007). 1.4.1.3.4 Penalty A penalty is to be awarded for an infringement by any player in line with the rules of the game (Touch Football Australia 2007). For example, a penalty is awarded to the non-offending team if the ball is passed forward, a touch and pass is committed, a player does not perform the roll ball at the mark, an obstruction is committed, a defending player does not retreat in a straight line to an onside position, a player is offside [on-field player or substitute], and a player acts in contradiction of the rules or spirit of the game (Touch Football Australia 2007). 1.4.1.3.5 Positions Teams are split into three positions, two middles [the central players], two wings [the players on either edge of the field] and two links [the players between the wings and middles]. 1.4.1.3.6 Grades Touch football is normally played in four different ability categories ranging from A grade [the most competitive] through B, C and D grade [the most inexperienced and usually the least competitive]. 1.4.2 The history of touch football in Australia  [13]   Touch football has evolved over time and is now considered to be a relatively fast-paced game. Changes in the structure of the sport have enabled the development of touch football to proceed. 1.4.2.1 From humble beginnings The game of touch football has humble beginnings. Historically applied as a training model for rugby league and rugby union teams over the summer months of the 1950s and 1960s, it was originally not seen as a sport in its own right (Touch Football South Australia n.d.). Progressively more people, explicitly males over twenty-five years of age  [14]  , were recruited to touch football teams and formal competitions were established (Touch Football Western Australia 2007; Townsville Castle Hill Touch Association n.d.). The popularity of touch football was credited to the game being considered relatively safe compared to rugby league and rugby union (Touch Football Victoria 2009). Touch football was also considered to be a social activity affording the prospect for participants and supporters to gather in a relaxed sport setting. The first formal game of touch football in Australia was reportedly held in South Sydney, a strong traditional rugby league area (Touch Football Western Australia 2007). The South Sydney Touch Association was formed in 1968 and convened a competition at Pioneer Park, Malabar in that year (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). Not long after, the sport gained popularity in a number of inner-city areas of Sydney. Consequently, the New South Wales Touch Association was formed in 1972, incorporating the six regions of Southern Suns, Sydney Scorpions, Sydney Rebels, Sydney Mets, Hunter Western Hornets and Northern Eagles, and about 1,500 registered players (Shilbury and Kellett 2006; Touch Football South Australia n.d.). The first country association was in Wagga Wagga, which was formed in 1973, and womens touch football was first played at a representative level in 1979 (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). Touch football appealed to ex-rugby players retired from the game through age or injury, and to players not willing or capable of playing rugby, but interested in playing a form of rugby (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). An increased awareness in fitness in the adult population and the availability of former rugby players to take part, all served to develop the game (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). 1.4.2.2 The development of a touch football identity Subsequently, touch football later appeared in numerous other New South Wales country regions before it became an official sport in Brisbane (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). From there the game developed in every other State and Territory in Australia, and the Australian Touch Association, now trading as Touch Football Australia, was founded in November 1978 (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). With the establishment of these associations, game rules came to be standardised. However, a formal rule book was not developed until late in 1980 (Touch Football Victoria 2009). In September 1981, the sport agreed to change its name from touch football to touch  [15]  , though to many the sport has also been known as touch rugby (Touch Football Australian Capital Territory 2007). A number of other changes resulted, such as the introduction of an official touch ball, which is notably smaller than both league and union balls, and the playing field size lessened, seventy metres by fifty metres (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). Major rule changes occurred during this period, moving from seven players per side, which was implemented in 1980, to six-a-side (Touch Football Australian Capital Territory 2007; Touch Football Victoria 2009). Shortly after, the marker  [16]  was removed from the roll ball and the half was prevented from being able to s core a touchdown (Touch Football Australian Capital Territory 2007). Recently, the Australian Touch Association has rebranded the sport as touch football in an attempt to clarify that it is a sport with a ball (Touch Football South Australia n.d.). While tackles and scrums are not elements of touch football, Touch Football Victoria (2009) suggested employing the term touch rugby lends itself to an impression that the sport may be of a rough, physical nature, which is anything but reality. Touch football was originally played under rugby league laws without activities that comprised hard physical contact (Coffey 2010). The simplicity, skills-based motion and avoidance of full-contact, together with team [social and communication] benefits and minimum equipment requirements, have become distinctive elements of the modern game. 1.4.2.3 Elite competition emerges While the majority of touch football games are played at a local competition level, State level competitions have featured prominently in touch football. The earliest interstate clashes in touch football occurred when the Brisbane Touch Association representative team played the South Sydney team in 1973, 1974 and 1975 (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). In the development of a standard set of rules for the sport, there has been a history of negotiated arrangements. For example, South Sydney wanted to have interstate matches played ten-a-side but Brisbane would not allow this, and the matches were played eight-a-side on a standard-sized rugby league field, measuring one hundred and twelve to one hundred and twenty-two metres by sixty-eight metres (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). One of the games in the series was played as a curtain raiser to an interstate rugby league clash (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Tou ch Football Victoria 2009). Touch football was played as a curtain raiser to the Sydney rugby league grand final in 1976 (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Victoria 2009). In December 1980, the inaugural National Championships were organised on the Gold Coast. This was essentially a contest between New South Wales and Queensland (Touch Football South Australia n.d.). Only three divisions were contested in that year, the open mens and womens, and over thirty-five mens, and included about 700-1,000 officials and players (Touch Football South Australia n.d.; Touch Football Western Australia 2007). By 1995, the National Championships provided for eleven divisions, together with 1,500 officials and players (Touch Football Victoria 2009). Development of the game meant that by 2005 the National Touch League [formerly the National Championships] catered for open, under twenties and senior divisions (Touch Football Western Australia 2007). 1.4.2.4 The rise of Internationalism  [17]   The success of the interstate clashes sparked interest in International competitions. In 1985, the Federation of International Touch was formed in Melbourne with Papua New Guinea, Canada, the USA, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia constituting the first members (Touch Football Victoria 2009). The first recognised International game was a test series played between Australia and New Zealand at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 March 1985 (Touch Football Victoria 2009). The game has continued to expand overseas with the last World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland attracting teams from twenty-six countries, including Spain, South Africa, Japan, USA, Scotland, Singapore and the Cook Islands among others (Federation of International Touch 2011a; 2011b). Touch football was a National phenomenon based on participant skill and teamwork, with a degree of fitness thrown in at the elite level (Coffey 2010). The non-contact format that allows participation by all ages and both genders, even in mixed form has helped the sport to gain popularity. 1.5 Referee demand in touch football As mentioned earlier, the development of touch football and an associated playing code for the game has clearly established the role of officials as arbiters of the game. While there is clarity over the need for officials in the touch football competition and a playing code is well established, there is a level of ambiguity in the sporting practice which allows for negotiated changes to the playing environment and to particular interpretations of the rules of play. As is common in most sports, the performance of referees is a discussion point that can cause some levels of concern. Officiating in sports can be a difficult task, particularly in a fast-moving sport in which there is a level of interpretation and limited technological assistance at the local level to aid referees. At a sports administration level, the demand for referees at local sporting fixtures has frequently been mentioned over the past ten years (Touch Football Australian Capital Territory 2009; Touch Football Austr alia 2010b; Touch Football Victoria 2011). The unmet demand has led to the establishment of numerous broad recruitment and retention strategies. The success of these strategies varies within different levels of the sport. This thesis contends that touch football represents more than simply a new game and is in fact, an opportunity to better understand the gendered nature of sporting activities. The thesis sets about this issue through a case study of a locally-based senior mixed touch football competition. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the gendered nature of refereeing roles through personal interviews with participants, together with female referees in the competition. This gendered understanding will arguably facilitate better recruitment and retention strategies for female referees in touch football. 1.6 Structure of the thesis This thesis will explore perceptions and constructions of gender within the roles of touch football referees and suggest ideas for recruitment and retention. Chapter Two examines relevant theoretical concerns proceeding from the work of Norbert Elias and the post-structuralist works of Bruno Latour. It then reviews the literature regarding gender in sport. Chapter Three discusses the research approach that was utilised. It then describes the methods that have been chosen to explore the gendered nature of refereeing roles in touch football and the data analysis methods. It concludes by discussing ethical considerations in the research process and the limitations of the research. Chapter Four describes the findings from the research. The desktop research results are presented first. These results are presented in a quantitative format that empirically describes the gender breakdown of the sport. Second, the qualitative data that was obtained from the in-depth interviews with the eleven members of the touch organisation is presented. This data was compiled after the initial quantitative research was completed in the research process. Participant observation results are presented third. Chapter Five discusses the findings that resulted from the research. The significance of the findings is then discussed. Chapter Six, the conclusion, suggests directions for future research. CHAPTER TWO: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction In Chapter One the preliminary argument is proposed that touch football is a unique sporting practice entailing a continuum of social practices and values that are in many ways gendered. This chapter will broaden this discussion through an exploration of the sociological literature

The Chemistry of Knowledge Essay -- Philosophy Knowledge Knowing Plato

The Chemistry of Knowledge Hippeas thought he had all the answers. â€Å"I have never found any man who was my superior in anything,† he boasted. Then he meets Socrates. Though he had made thousands of public speeches about virtue, a dialogue with the wisest of Athenians leads Hippeas to confess that he â€Å"cannot even say what [virtue] is† (Hippeas 70). Lesser Hippeas discredits Hippeas but offers little more than a negative definition of knowledge. Meno, Phaedo, and the Republic provide a more comprehensive discussion of the definition, the good and the teaching of knowledge. The following pages will explore Plato’s theory of knowledge and will conclude with an examination of organic chemistry at Swarthmore College. According to Plato, knowledge requires the reasoned understanding of essences. To know the qualities something possesses, one must grasp â€Å"what something is† (Meno 60). Knowledge entails an active understanding capable of weathering the rigors of a probing discussion. In Lesser Hippeas, Socrates uncovers the knowledge deficit underlying Hippeas’ opinions and skills. Plato makes a clear distinction between Hippeas’ mastery of facts and the possession of true knowledge: â€Å"I certainly do not think I am guessing that right opinion is a different thing from knowledge† (90). Facts and opinions require little more than memorization and regurgitation. Acquiring knowledge, on the other hand, can only be done â€Å"with an effort† (Republic 776). Plato’s Cave analogy in the Republic likens the path to knowledge to the transition from a dark cave to a sunny hilltop. Plato allegorizes the â€Å"ascent of the soul† (776) from a world of shadows, reflections and half-truths into the â€Å"world of knowledge† (776). Plato maintains that cave dw... ...nt of the reason why† (90). Only knowledge boasts longevity. For me, perhaps the most disconcerting thing about organic chemistry is the rapidity with which my memory of it has faded. Some three months removed from a final exam, I recall virtually nothing. So why don’t we get knowledge, if it would serve us so much better than limited-warranty opinions? Thinking takes time. And there are only fifteen weeks to a semester. Professors need empirical measurements of student progress in finite periods of time, even when it is clear that cursory thought emasculates knowledge. After all, â€Å"All late papers will be penalized" Professor Richard Schuldenfrei Works Cited Plato. Five Dialogues : Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo. Trans G. M. A. Grube. Hackett Publishing Company, 2002. Plato. The Dialogues of Plato. Trans. B. Jowett. New York: Random House.

Jane Austens View of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Austen

Jane Austen's View of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want if a wife" This comment is humorous and satirical, but holds an underlying truth.   The fact that Jane Austen opens the novel with such a comment on marriage evidences the importance of the theme in the book.   Indeed the novel is all about marriage in society.   Austen lived in a time when marriage was the only way out for some women, or they would be forced to become a governess and lose their independence.   The way that this opening sentence is out provides another theme, satire.   Austen sees the following marriages that she writes on as amusing but they are still frowned upon, such as the marriage of Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas.   Austen sees this marriage as beneficial for both partners.   He can potter around the garden and suck up to Lady Catherine deBourgh, while Charlotte spends her time alone reading. The first marriage to be examined is that of Mr and Mrs Bennet.   This is not a marriage of love, but of vulgarity and shallow natures of both parties. Mr Bennet is of a higher class than Mrs Bennet, who is "a woman of mean understanding" contrasting Mr Bennet's "quick parts".   They have been married 23 years and at once, the Bennets realise that they have absolutely nothing in common, so they withdraw from each other.   Mr Bennet spends all day in his study retreated from Mrs Bennet and her gossip. "With a book he was regardless of time" "Mrs Bennet spends her day with tittle-tattle and idle conversation.   She is vulgar in her behaviour; the only aim for her is to get her daughters married off to someone with lots of money." Austen shows us ... ...g from the couple's opening resentment of each other - Elizabeth herself describes the "malice of Mr Darcy".   His all turns around, and we know that Darcy is the most suitable husband for Elizabeth. He is generous and intelligent, and Elizabeth is "convinced that she could have been happy with him" when she almost loses him.   In fact of course they are, and we don't need a sequel to be told that! Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Fritzer, Penelope Joan. Jane Austen and Eighteenth-Century Courtesy Books. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997. Monaghan, David. Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Rubinstein, E., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Pride and Prejudice. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Seen, Heard, and Felt Essay -- Seven Deadly Sin

The Seven Deadly Sins: Seen, Heard, and Felt  Ã‚      The play of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe concentrates very highly on ideas of evil. Marlowe uses many aspects of evil to show the downfall of the somewhat odd man, Faustus. Devices including irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism are used very effectively in the play to convey feelings of sympathy and remorse for Faustus. Actually seeing a production of this play would further assist in an understanding of exactly what Faustus was faced with in his moments of severe weakness. By actually seeing a rendition of what Faustus was faced with, members of the audience can question themselves about what they would have done if they were Faustus. Act 2, Scene 2, lines 115-117 is a very good place to help an audience feel what Faustus was feeling and seeing. Script Doctor Faustus appears as a tall lanky man, with dark brown hair, which lies close to his head, and curls up at the ends. His moustache is trimmed close to his upper lip. Faustus plays with the moustache frequently during this scene. He wears a plain black suit, a white dress shirt with a plain black necktie and polished shoes. He is adorned only with one piece of jewelry, a wristwatch. Faustus needs to be a man who looks simple enough to fall prey to the Devils' plans. He can not look too strong or stupid either, because a man of either of those qualities would not fall into the Devil's trap. He must look like an everyday sort of man in order for the audience to be able to relate to him, and to place themselves in his experience, and learn from the experience. Belzebub and Lucifer are tall, dark, lavish looking men. They have very strong shoulders and use them to make their appearances very solid and unwav... ... Sins. Explanation This version of the scene is set in the nineteen-eighties. This is done so a modern audience should be able to relate the sins more directly to themselves. If this was not done, then some members of the audience might not be able to relate at all to the play's messages. Many of the costumes used could not be relevant to members of other societies either. People living in Europe would not necessarily understand the significance of a man dressed in sloppy jeans and a t-shirt as a normal everyday sight in many American homes. Hopefully some of the images used in this version of the play will serve as a wake-up call to those people who may be falling towards "the Devil" and can avoid the bitter end that Doctor Faustus reached.    Works Cited Marlowe, Christopher. "Doctor Faustus." New York: Penguin Group, 1969.            

A POSITION PAPER ON SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS REX Essay

THE KING WEARS A SHADES AS THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT WHICH MAKES HIS DAYS DARKER AND DARKER EVERY SINGLE DAY (with some relations to the Philippine Government and setting as a whole) A POSITION PAPER ON SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS REX REGULANO, Jean Paula Bermudez 2011-05787 HUM 1 X Oedipus Rex’ knowledge, which served as his gut against the others to be the King of Thebes, is only limited to the information on his people and his environment, excluding the information about himself due to his blindness and innocence on his own identity. In the midst of the downfall of the City of Thebes, is the entrance of a great leader who will dare to make a change, held the city up despite its fall, which will do his best for his term to be progressive and be full of legacy. What is it that makes this man a King, the kind of king projected in the story of Sophocles, the King who does not know some things behind? How could he achieve his goals for his city in the future if he cannot go back and take a look of what happened in the past? The city of Thebes, the city of secrets, the city of Gods, the city full of tragic with their King are what consists the play entitles, Oedipus Rex. What made Oedipus the King of Thebes? It all started with the legend of the Sphinx, a terrible monster in the Ancient Greece, whose body is consist of a lion, with wings of an eagle, and whose head is a head of a woman which had been sent to earth by the Gods to terrorize the land of Thebes to have a revenge on the former King, Laius, who raped a prince from another kingdom. All citizens of the poor city will be asked by the Sphinx by his riddles, a mind blowing riddle, and those who cannot answer, will be sent out of the earth. This had been a continuous process until one day, a man dared to pass a gate and unseemingly, become able to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. This man is Oedipus. Since the Sphinx’ riddle was answered, that means the fiend will now stop from terrorizing the city of Thebes. With that, people  idolized Oedipus, praised him as if he was a God like Zeus and the other great Greek Gods, and then a bit later, he was declared as the new King of Thebes, primarily because of his knowledge and not because of having someone who will pass the crown and position to him, which what actually happens in the Greek times that is if we are going to put it in the current government, specifically in the Philippine Setting, is what happens with a Political Dynasty. Painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres depicting Oedipus after he solves the riddle of the Sphinx. The Walters Art Museum. Therefore, his wisdom is what he used to be  able to lead the city in downfall, to be able to be a  King, which position is always dreamt by all the  citizens because of power hungriness and desire to  have a power to do all things for their own and for their  family which makes them selfish just like what we  have in the Philippine Congress right now, the misuse  of the taxpayers’ money, the continuous planning of  white elephant projects, misallocation of budget, all  becoming part of the politician’s pocket. But, will it  really benefit the society if someone like Oedipus will take the lead? Let us examine more who Oedipus is and what it that will and will not is make him a good leader. FREE WILL VERSUS DETERMINISM The idea of free will will always settle down in the word free, freedom. Attaining freedom and the word free are extremely big words. This simply means that having our own free will is having our own choices and it is on us to consider such constraints. It is not asking others of what is best for us, for example, when choosing a dress to wear or shoes to buy. This plays a very important role in our decision making process. Determinism is also another word that is so hard to define because of its vagueness of use and application. In any way, determinism is what pushes and  pulls us to do certain things which actually will lead us to the goal and/or maybe, will give us the answer whether we are up for this or not. This is also a philosophical position, a metaphysical one, which states that for everything that happens, there are conditions such that, given these conditions, nothing else could happen. This describes, simply, a cause and effect relation in variables. The free will and determinism concepts in the play in one way can be projected in the part where in Oedipus’ leadership was carefully examined. What is really, a hidden agenda of a man to be a King of such a place? All politicians who run for a position, saying or hiding this, have their own agendum of doing so. It would be so scripted for the people or for the mass to say that their only reason for asking a position is to have a better avenue to serve them, provide their basic social needs, to return back to them what they do for their nation as part of the nationbuilding, to offer his life as to bring progress and unite the people of a specific land. Though there are really some whose objective is this, but I wonder if they are placed in position right now. Oedipus’ is fortunate enough to be able to be the King of the City of Thebes, but, how about his tragic reversal of fortune as the story starts to end? Is it attributed to his own conduct? Or will it more reflect on his fate, which means that what happened is merely because it was planned, that is it was really meant to happen, and that it was not caused by the conduct of Oedipus? In an audience point of view, what happened towards the end is mainly because of his conduct. The death of Laius is really a big issue and as the one who overtook the position of the King who passed away, Oedipus was expected to give him the justice he deserves. He called on all of the people who may give him the answer of who is the man behind the death of the former King and to somehow diminish the vagueness of the case, but then, after hearing those that were said by the concerned people, Oedipus did not believe what they have just said. Instead, he continued searching for the truth, but since it all comes back to him, that he is the murdered of the former king, he chose to disagree. If at the first place, he accepted what his people said and searched for more details, the play might have ended in a less tragic moment. If, on the other hand, he did not gave his city a  somewhat like an information black out of what is happening to Laius’ case, it might have ended in a better way. In Oedipus’ point of view, as the play ends, he still chose not to believe on the words of his people which says that it was he who is the man behind the death of the king of Thebes who passed away, used his innocence of what he is, and made it to the point that everything was dictated by fate, first, him, being fortunate enough to be able to answer the riddle and be the King of the city, to have his people listen to him and such. Since he reflects every happening to fate—both the fortunes he received and the unnecessary unfortunate events that comes to life, what happened to him is governed and not related to his conduct as a leader and as a person as well. Oedipus can have avoided the tragic ending if he chose to lay down in his people’s words regarding the death of Laius. But what Sophocles did, is he chose to give his reader a somewhat heart attack, that as the play progresses, Oedipus kept all the information in him only, because he does not want anybody recognize him as a murderer especially because he is in a position, and it was an extreme shame for him and to his family as well to be called as one, and because the one that is under investigation is the death of a big man in politics too, the former King of Thebes, Laius. Man’s behavior in the world should be governed by free will. This is what it should be. But due to many constraints brought by the society, it becomes more governed by determinism as time passes by. What brings about determinism as the one which is responsible in governing people’s behavior? The social class. The concept of discrimination. The image of religion. The colonization and existence of imperialism. These are some factors which makes man’s behavior be determined. Others have to be slave and others have to be masters. Others have to be the politicians in the Philippine government, while others have to be part of the marginalized, oppressed and powerless. Inequality, it is. INNOCENCE VERSUS GUILT Innocence is mainly due to lack of information. This causes lots of vagueness to things which happens to be difficult to understand. It affects people’s decision making and this is detrimental in coming up with something that is relevant, rational and critical. Guilt, on the other hand, is what people feel after doing something which brought something that is bad or is not advantageous to the other. It is more of a kind of reflection people usually does after a sin has been committed. This makes a people better, because as he feels guilty, he becomes more prone in the realization of what he has done and that he should not do it again or any more so as not to affect or hurt his and the other people’s life in any way. Fig. 2 Oedipus and his wife. Oedipus Killed his father and marry his mother. One of the moral question of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is that is He (Oedipus) should really be accountable for the death of Laius and for marrying his own mother? Is he innocent or if not, what makes sense? Some scholarly articles, says answers a firm no on the question of whether Oedipus was innocent on the crimes he did. â€Å"Oedipus was ignorant of the true nature of his actions and is therefore morally blameless.† (Carel, 2000) The rationale behind this is that, he cannot be held responsible because the true identity of his mother whom he married and his father who is the former king of Thebes, tragically, at that time, is different than his knowledge. Meaning, these two personas are strangers to him in the first place. But then, how can an intelligent man, holding accountable for knowing some information regarding his lineage, fail to understand the meaning of his actions towards the end of the play? In an audience point of view, Oedipus’ case of being innocent should no longer be laid under the table. He is not innocent; rather, he keeps his record on his own. As the story progresses, there is his secret that will soon be in the mouth of the public. It will all boil down to him, being regarded as an intelligent man who was able to answer the riddle of the Sphinx which happened to be the turning point of  the citizens of Thebes that later gave rise to the declaration of Oedipus as the new King who will take over the term of the old man who died in the crossroad. Therefore, if he will be regarded as innocent, then the justice for the death of Laius will not be attained, it will forever be a mystery or a case unsolved but is set aside, and it will also be possible to have more cases as such to come, which will make the city more in trouble instead of bringing the light back to them. Therefore, the daughter of Janet Napoles is then innocent for using the fund for the masses for her own stuff because she does not know that her mother is a thief, where in it is not possible for her not to ask her mom of where there billions came from or even realize what her mom does and how come she (Janet) was able to generate hundreds and hundreds of thousands per day. Another unfair thing, it is. This scenario significantly explains the importance of knowledge, a full and not partial and biased knowledge, a relevant one. Having a full knowledge on something is very important in a way that it can help himself and even other people when they encounter problems, in such way, looking and formulating solutions will never be that hard. In the story of Oedipus Rex, it is possible for him to avoid the occurrence of what had happened in the end if he just evaluated very carefully all the things the people who are knowledgeable of what happened. But it happened to be not. It is because he just contained the information that he was able to gather from the people and rejected the fact that it may be really possible to be him who is the man behind the death of the former King of Thebes. In a more clearer perspective, he already had all the resources but then, he just disregarded everything and tried to make his own process in giving the justice that should be obtained by the killed King. SIGHT VERSUS INSIGHT Darkness and light. The darkness in the play may be reflected in Oedipus’ blindness, literally and figuratively. Figuratively in a way that he is blinded from his own identity that he did not even know that he was the one who killed his King before his term, that his king happened to be his own  father, that he married a women on the age twice as he, that he did not know that it happened to be his mother. There are lots of revelations happened in the play and that made it as tragic as how Sophocles wanted it to be. This inconsistent argument brings confusion to whether Oedipus should really be held accountable for killing his father and marrying his mother. There is a point that is mentioned in earlier paragraphs that he lacked knowledge that is why, there is a mere possibility that it is really not his intention to render the crimes that had been raised against her towards the end of the play. On the other hand, light signifies the latter  part of the play where in, slowly, every single  thing turns to be a much clearer that it is in the  earlier part. It is when the vagueness of the story  started to diminish, having a brighter view of  prediction of what will happen next. In the end, it  is really true that no secret can be kept forever.  Oedipus is indeed a very intelligent king, that as he  received the responsibility of being the King  Fig. 3 Blind Oedipus embraces Antigone and Ismene  of Thebes whose primarily goal is to raise the city out of the downfall left by the former king who is killed. But then, there is really no perfect creature in the real world, though people might say that this is only a product of Sophocles’ wide imagination. Oedipus Rex’ knowledge is limited like the resources of the species in the world. It is only limited to the information on his environment, not with the information of his lineage, which set him b lind from his identity that even his behavior have no a hundred percent hold that it was governed by free will or determinism. BIBLIOGRAPHY (2010,09) Oedipus Rex: Innocence vs Guilt. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 09, 2010, from http://www. Studymode.com/essays/Oedipus-Rex-Innocence-Vs-Guilt409245.html Carrel, Havi Hannah. 2000. Secrets and Lies: What Oedipus Really Knew. Orani: Culture, Creation and Critique. France. Rueda, Edward. (n.d).Oedipus Family Circus. Texts for Craig White’s Literature Courses. University of Houston Clear Lake.