Language Essay Essay Example for Free

Language Essay Essay Introduction Language is universal way to express how a person feels. So of course, it is essential in cultures to express their individuality within life. Most of the time people do not put a lot of speculation on what mental processes may be taking place subconsciously. These mental processes allow a person to think, speak, and express their personal thoughts through language. In order to properly analyze that language, cognition must be a part of the mental processes too. In this essay, we will delve deeper into how language and cognition are associated. Language Lexicon Language is an efficient and consequential use of information, which can be both comprehended and used by all living things. It is also the communication of thoughts to language. According to Merriam-Webster (2014), cognitive psychology can be defined as, â€Å"a branch of psychology concerned with mental processes (as perception, thinking, learning, and memory) especially with respect to the internal events occurring between sensory stimulation and the overt expression of behavior.† Accordingly, when a person or animal learns to understand through the use of language, and with the capacity of that language, there can be a cognitive process that helps to separate humans from animals. Language is completely generative, dynamic, structured, and communicative. In language, a lexicon is known as the vocabulary or psychological language. A lexicon can hold many different types of words, which can also include how to pronounce a word, and the parts of speech for each word (Galotti, 2014). A lexicon is used to help a person understand words that are spoken, and their meanings. The spoken words are compared to a person’s lexicon, which is how a person can understand what the word is. It could be near impossible to understand a language or vocabulary without lexicons. The use of lexicons are a very important part of a person’s language. Key Features of Language There are many key features that make a language. The following are the main properties: generative, communicative, dynamic, and structured. Language is considered generative because, a person has an unlimited capacity as to how they build their personal languages. Language allows people to communicate with one another, and it also allows other animals to communicate within the same species as well. Language is dynamic because it is forever changing, and also develops people into having larger vocabularies. Lastly, the structure of language plainly shows exactly how convoluted it truly is. The great thing about language, is that it can adapt and expand as a person learns more information. New words can be added to a language or vocabulary, while others can be erased or updated (Galotti, 2014). Language development is different for each person. Some people are able to learn language through their cognitive functions, but sometimes, it takes more time. For an example, with children, they have to learn everything, which includes their own names, how they are feeling, how to express feeling, and objects. But they also have to learn how to use the vocabulary they are learning. Lastly, the feature that influences more cognitive processes, mainly languages that can influence thoughts. It works in a rotating structure, language helps to influence thoughts, and language also helps to regulates thoughts. A person always uses language in order to interpret their own thoughts. The main reason that language influences thought is because thoughts are when a person is consciously speaking to themselves. Levels of Language There are four different levels of language in reference to the structure and processing, phonemes, words, sentences, and texts. Phonemes are the tiniest part of sounds or units that can be used by people in order to form words. Phonemes are a person’s sounds of speech, which is similar to each letter in the alphabet. The main dilemma with phonemes are that each person’s creation of them are different. When a person studies phonetics, they are studying speech sounds and their physical properties. Words help a  person make sense of phonemes. Words are made up of by multiple spoken sounds. A sentence is, of course, a set of words which complete themselves. A sentence will also allow a person to organize their thoughts when they are preparing to speak, or to write something. A text helps a person connect sentences in order to form a small amount of information, or a paragraph. These usually help to explain a specific topic, and always have to be about one topic. All four of these structures are a crucial part of language. To put this more easily, phonemes lead to words, words lead to sentences, and sentences lead to texts (Galotti, 2014). Analyzing the Role: Language Process Cognitive Psychology In order to properly analyze the role of processing language, a person has to first understand cognitive psychology, to study mental processes. Mental processes give a person the ability to think, believe, perceive, solve problems, make decisions, remember, learn, reason, and adapt. By using these mental processes a person can begin to understand and comprehend language, and with that, the process of the language is used. If a person does not understand the language’s structure, that person will not have the capability to understand texts, sentences, words or phonemes, which all make up a language. With lack of perceptive abilities, a person may not comprehend language, with all of its entirety. Cognitive processes help determine how the language is processed within the brain. When a person begins to learn and understand language, the cognitive process is in use. Conclusion The cognitive process known as language drives a separation in between humans and other beings. The lexicon contains words in which people can use to compare other words or parts of speech. There are multiple key features of language. These key features, as stated above are, generative, communicative, dynamic, and structured. With all of these features, language can become very intricate. If a person were to completely understand each one of these key features, they will be able to understand and comprehend how necessary they are to be used within language. Also, it is crucial for a person to analyze the role that cognitive psychology plays within the process of language. Cognitive psychology is important in many aspects of a  person’s life, but especially in the language process. References: Cognitive Psychology. (2014). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/cognitive%20psychology Galotti, K. M. (2014). Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratory (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

The Supporting People Programme And Housing Problems Social Work Essay

The Supporting People Programme And Housing Problems Social Work Essay This essay examines the Supporting People programme, a scheme introduced on 1st April 2003 with the aim of addressing the housing needs of societys most vulnerable individuals (Supporting People, 2009). Firstly, the programme will be described, followed by a focus on how it actively seeks to involve individuals with disabilities and complex health and support needs to be involved in their support and care arrangements. The Supporting People programme is a decentralised programme delivered through 152 authorities and by voluntary, community, and housing associations. At any one time, the programme can be supporting as many as one million people from a range of disadvantaged groups. Service users include older people, the homeless, those with mental health issues, and women at risk of domestic violence. The Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) agreed a new core objective that would focus on service user involvement and empowerment. This objective is aimed at cutting across all core objectives and involves a commitment to supporting independence, informed choice, consulting with service users, and offering opportunities to be involved in the running of the Supporting People services. Some of the service user involvement initiatives currently underway are discussed throughout this essay. Sitra, a registered charity offering policy, training and consultancy for housing with care and support, are a charity who are working closely with central government and national bodies to ensure that the views and perspectives of the sector, and the vulnerable people that it supports are represented and understood (Sitra, 2011a, p.1). In their efforts to achieve this, they have introduced the concept of partnership working between organisations and service users. Partnership working is aimed at involving and empowering people in improving services and the experience of using them. This actively supports the governments Personalisation Agenda, which places a huge emphasis on the inclusion of service users in the design and delivery of services (Dickinson and Glasby, 2010). Sitra also run two training courses in client involvement, which are co-produced and co-delivered by staff and service users. One of the training programmes is entitled Client Engagement: Getting the Thinking Right (Sitra 2011b). This course is designed to challenge organisations to find new ways of working that encourage and actively seek to involve service users. A second training program, entitled Client Engagement: Making it a Reality, emphasises how the way staff communicate, listen, gather feedback and involve service users has an impact on service user involvement (Sitra, 2011c). Through such training programmes, organisations are provided with ideas and models for service user involvement. At a local level, Westminster have been involving service users in their support and care arrangements via the Mental Health Service Users Panel (Supporting People, 2007). The panel comprises a group of service users who work with the council in the planning and development of present and future housing projects to meet the needs of local people. Initiatives such as this one directly support the Tenants Services Authority (TSA), which has highlighted service user participation as a key component for Registered Social Landlords (TSA, 2008). Indeed, under the Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) housing related support and care providers are now required to place service users at the centre of their strategic plans in efforts to demonstrate quality service provision and achieve level A standard (i.e. evidenced examples where no standards score C). Even to achieve level C (minimum required standard), providers need to demonstrate that they have fully engaged with service users (TSA, 2010). Another local initiative demonstrating how the Supporting People programme has been working towards service user involvement is NOAH Enterprise (Gill, 2010). NOAH Enterprise is a charity based in Luton (Bedfordshire) designed to help people who are homeless or contending with issues around exclusion. Service user involvement is claimed to be an integral part of the way of life at NOAH Enterprise, with examples being that service users are involved in helping in their Welfare Centre or at retail outlets. There is also the opportunity to learn transferable skills in workshops, thus empowering service users towards independence. Every volunteer and service user who helps NOAH Enterprise over a 3-month period receives a certificate of achievement, thus demonstrating the active encouragement of service user involvement. There are also a number of events that have been organised around client involvement, including a client involvement conference to be held in mid-2011 (Sitra, 2011c). This conference has been co-organised by staff and service users, demonstrating new ways of working together in partnership being put into practice. A similar conference was held in January 2010, which included participation and presentations from both staff and service users. One problem confronted by the Supporting People programme in their service user involvement efforts has been lack of support from some tenants, especially in sheltered accommodation (Audit Commission, 2009). However, regular audits conducted since the inception of the Supporting People programme have primarily highlights the benefits of these service user involvement initiatives. Such benefits include improvements in tailored support through active service user involvement (Audit commission 2005). The Audit Commission report that the Supporting People approach to service user inclusion and staff and service user partnership has helped move many providers from a more paternalistic approach to one where service users are able to influence services. Furthermore, increased service user involvement was a key feature of those authorities who received higher inspection scores. Such findings are supported by an evaluation conducted by Cameron et al. (2007) that found that integrating service s to support people with complex needs is most effective when the service is determined by the characteristics of the service user. References Audit Commission., 2009. Supporting People Programme 2005-2009. [online]. Available from: http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Downloads/spprogramme200509acfinalreportclg.pdf [cited 03 April 2011]. Cameron, A., et al., 2007. The challenges of joint working: lessons from the Supporting People health pilot evaluation. International Journal of Integrated Care, 7, 1-9. Dickinson, H. and Glasby, J., 2010. Third Sector Research Centre Working Paper 30 The personalisation agenda: implications for the third sector. [online]. Available from: http://www.tsrc.ac.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=U8tazrnMZ%2Bs%3Dtabid=500 [cited 03 April 2011]. Gill, S., 2010. Positive outcomes and service user involvement. Bulletin. NOAH Enterprise. Sitra., 2011a. [online]. Policy and public affairs. [online]. Available from: http://www.sitra.org.uk/policy_and_public_affairs/ [cited 03 April 2011]. Sitra., 2011b. Client engagement: getting the thinking right [online]. Available from: http://www.sitra.org/1230/ [cited 03 April 2011]. Sitra., 2011c. Client involvement in housing support and care: Sharing and learning good practice. [online]. Available from: http://www.sitra.org/client_involvement_conference/ [cited 03 April 2011]. Supporting People, 2007. Supporting people newsletter. [online]. http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Supporting%20People_V6.pdf [cited 03 April 2011]. Supporting People, 2009. The Supporting People Programme. Thirteenth Report of Session 2008-09 Volume I, House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee. London: The Stationery Office Limited. Tenant Services Authority (TSA), 2010. Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) Regulatory framework for social housing in England from April 2010. [online]. Available from: http://www.tenantservicesauthority.org/server/show/ConWebDoc.20175 [cited 03 April 2011]. Tenant Services Authority (TSA), 2008. Regulatory guidance for registered social landlords. [online]. Available from: http://www.tenantservicesauthority.org/server/show/ConWebDoc.15355 [cited 03 April 2011].

Jane Eyre :: essays research papers

From the beginning, Jane possesses a sense of her self-confidence and contentment. Her integrity is continually tested over the course of the novel, and Jane must learn to balance the frequently conflicting aspects of her so as to find contentment. An orphan since early childhood, Jane feels exiled and out of favor at the beginning of the novel, and the cruel treatment she receives from her Aunt Reed and her cousins only worsens her feeling of alienation. Afraid that she will never find a true sense of home or community, Jane feels the need to belong somewhere, to find "kin," or at least "kindred spirits." This desire irritates her equally strong need for independence and free will. In her search for freedom, Jane also struggles with the question of what type of freedom will make her happy. While Rochester initially offers Jane a chance to liberate her passions, Jane comes to realize that such freedom could also mean enslavement—by living as Rochester's mistress, she would be sacrificing her dignity and integrity for the sake of her feelings. St. John Rivers offers Jane another kind of freedom: the freedom to act completely on her ethics. He opens to Jane the possibility of exercising her talents to their fullest by working and living with him in India. Jane eventually realizes, though, that this freedom would also establish a form of imprisonment, because she would be forced to keep her true feelings and her true passions always in check. When she reunites with Rochester, though based on a monetary level, she non-the-less finds herself to be equal to him. It is possible to question Jane Eyre's equality to Rochester on the grounds that Jane only becomes Rochester's full equal when he is physically in poor health and dependent on her to guide him and read to him—in other words, when he is physically incapable of mastering her. However, the thought of Jane finding herself Rochester's equal not because of the physical decline Rochester has suffered but because of the independence that Jane has attained, by coming to know herself more fully, is also possible. Jane Eyre :: essays research papers From the beginning, Jane possesses a sense of her self-confidence and contentment. Her integrity is continually tested over the course of the novel, and Jane must learn to balance the frequently conflicting aspects of her so as to find contentment. An orphan since early childhood, Jane feels exiled and out of favor at the beginning of the novel, and the cruel treatment she receives from her Aunt Reed and her cousins only worsens her feeling of alienation. Afraid that she will never find a true sense of home or community, Jane feels the need to belong somewhere, to find "kin," or at least "kindred spirits." This desire irritates her equally strong need for independence and free will. In her search for freedom, Jane also struggles with the question of what type of freedom will make her happy. While Rochester initially offers Jane a chance to liberate her passions, Jane comes to realize that such freedom could also mean enslavement—by living as Rochester's mistress, she would be sacrificing her dignity and integrity for the sake of her feelings. St. John Rivers offers Jane another kind of freedom: the freedom to act completely on her ethics. He opens to Jane the possibility of exercising her talents to their fullest by working and living with him in India. Jane eventually realizes, though, that this freedom would also establish a form of imprisonment, because she would be forced to keep her true feelings and her true passions always in check. When she reunites with Rochester, though based on a monetary level, she non-the-less finds herself to be equal to him. It is possible to question Jane Eyre's equality to Rochester on the grounds that Jane only becomes Rochester's full equal when he is physically in poor health and dependent on her to guide him and read to him—in other words, when he is physically incapable of mastering her. However, the thought of Jane finding herself Rochester's equal not because of the physical decline Rochester has suffered but because of the independence that Jane has attained, by coming to know herself more fully, is also possible.

World Wide Consortium Essay -- Expository Internet Essays

World Wide Consortium Tim Bernes-Lee in 1989 created the World Wide Web, and in 1994 he and a few others established the World Wide Consortium. (a) The World Wide Consortium’s mission is â€Å"to lead the world wide web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the web (a).† This is an international organization with a variety of members making up the organization. They all have a common goal which is to make the web standardized with rules and principles, and to date they have made over eighty recommendations.(a) The World Wide Consortium has had three long-standing goals. These are to provide universal access, a semantic web, and a web of trust. Universal access means â€Å"to make the Web accessible to all by promoting technologies that take into account the vast differences in culture, languages, education, ability, material resources, access devices, and physical limitations of users on all continents (a).† Semantic Web means to build a software setting that allows everyone to utilize the assets that are accessible on the World Wide Web. Web of trust means â€Å"to guide the Web’s development with careful consideration for the novel legal, commercial, and social issues raised by this technology (a).† In this paper I am limiting my discussion to universal access and the issues surrounding it. To help promote the three goals the consortium has also developed three design principles for the web. These principles are interoperability, evolution, and decentralization. For the web to have interoperability, a user needs to be able to use any hardware or software they want and still be able to access what’s on the web. When someone adds something to the web they need t... ...ortium and I knew nothing about the World Wide Consortium. It is good to know that there is a dedicated group setting guidelines and recommendation to achieve universal access to the web, making sure the web software is compatible o all users and is making the web a trusted way of doing business. I believe that this organization is helping the internet to continually grow successfully, and without this organization the internet probably would not be near as useful as it can be. People would probably just do what ever they felt like doing. I now realize how important it is to really think about a lot of issues when designing a website to make it universal accessible. Building a website is now not simply designing one, but also thinking about how everyone will be able to have access no matter what language they speak, how old they are, or if they have a disabled.

Assault on Precinct 13 Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Assault on Precinct 13† marks the return of the R-rated action movie. It is the dark and savvy remake of John Carpenter’s 1976 cult classic of the same name, which in turn was inspired by Howard Hawks’ 1959 Rio Bravo. French Director Francois Richet’s American filmmaking debut has done right by the cult favorite about a ragtag group of cops and criminals trapped in a police station. The thrill of this dark action flick is rightly focused on the characters, eerie setting, and tons of stripped down action and gunplay that truly brings this old school throw-down to life. The driving force of the film lies within the chemistry of the ensemble cast. In â€Å"Precinct 13† there is a fine line between the good-guys and the bad-guys, as the cops and criminals have to team up against more cops who are in fact, the bad-guys. Ethan Hawke plays Jake Roenick, a young sergeant battling the demons of his past, who is forced to team up with Bishop, a local crime lord and cop killer who is masterfully portrayed by Laurence Fishburne. Also, John Leguizamo gives a scene-stealing performance as Beck, the paranoid but articulate junkie. Platinum selling rapper Ja Rule adds a few laughs as Smiley, the counterfeiter; and actress Drea de Matteo adds a touch of sexiness to the dark film. As for the antagonist, Gabriel Byrne gives his usual grim performance as Marcus Duvall, the crooked head of Detroit’s racketeering and organized crime department out to kill everyone inside of Precinct 13. Although, ...

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 18

Elena came back to the real world slowly, fighting it all the way. She sank her nails into the leather of Damon's jacket, found herself wondering briefly if removing it would help, and then her mood was shattered again by that sound – a sharp, imperative knock. Damon raised his head and snarled. We are a pair of wolves, aren't we? Elena thought. Fighting nail and tooth. But, another part of her mind supplied, that isn't stopping the knocking. He warned those girls†¦. Those girls! Bonnie and Meredith! And he'd said not to interrupt unless the house was on fire! But, the doctor – oh, God, something's happened to that poor, wretched woman! She's dying! Damon was still snarling, a trace of blood on his lips. It was only a trace, because her second wound had really been healed just as thoroughly as the first, the one across her cheekbone. Elena had no idea how long it had been since she had pulled Damon to her to kiss this cut. But now, with her blood in his veins and his pleasure interrupted, he was like an untamed black panther in her arms. She didn't know whether she could stop him or even slow him down without using raw Power on him. â€Å"Damon!† she said aloud. â€Å"Out there – those are our friends. Remember? Bonnie and Meredith and the healer.† â€Å"Meredith,† Damon said, and again his lips peeled back, exposing terrifyingly long canines. He still wasn't in reality. If he saw Meredith now, he wouldn't be frightened, Elena thought – and, oh yes, she knew how her logical, thoughtful friend made Damon uneasy. They saw the world through such different eyes. She irked him like a pebble in his shoe. But right now he might deal with that unease in a way that would leave Meredith a savaged corpse. â€Å"Let me go see,† she said, as the knock came again – couldn't they stop that? Didn't she have enough to deal with? Damon's arms merely tightened around her. She felt a flash of heat, because she knew that, even as he restrained her, he was holding back so much of his strength. He didn't want to crush her, as he could if he used a tenth of the power in his hard muscles alone. The wave of feeling that washed over her made her shut her eyes briefly, helplessly, but she knew she had to be the voice of sanity here. â€Å"Damon! They could be warning us – or Ulma may have died.† Death got through to him. His eyes were slits, the bloodred light from the kitchen shutters throwing bars of scarlet and black across his face, making him look more handsome – and more demonic – than ever. â€Å"You'll stay here.† Damon said it flatly, with no idea of being a â€Å"master† or a â€Å"gentleman.† He was a wild beast protecting his mate, the only creature in the world that wasn't competition or food. There was no arguing with him, not in this state. Elena would stay here. Damon would go to do whatever needed to be done. And Elena would stay for as long as he thought necessary. Elena truly didn't know whose thoughts these last were. She and Damon were still trying to untangle their emotions. She decided to watch him and only if he really got out of control†¦ You don't want to see me out of control. Feeling him snap from raw animal instinct to icy, perfect mental dominance was even scarier than the animal alone. She didn't know whether Damon was the sanest person she had ever met or just the one best able to cover up his wildness. She held her torn blouse together and watched as he moved with effortless grace to the door and then, suddenly, violently, wrenched it almost off its hinges. No one fell; no one had been listening in on their private conversation. But Meredith stood, restraining Bonnie with one hand, and with the other hand raised, ready to knock again. â€Å"Yes?† Damon said in glacial tones. â€Å"I thought I told you – â€Å" â€Å"You did, and there is,† Meredith said, interrupting this Damon in an unusual attempt to commit suicide. â€Å"There is what?† Damon snarled. â€Å"There's a mob outside threatening to burn the whole building down. I don't know if they're upset about Drohzne, or about us taking Ulma, but they're enraged about something, and they've got torches. I didn't want to interrupt Elena's – treatment – but Dr. Meggar says they won't listen to him. He's a human.† â€Å"He used to be a slave,† Bonnie added, wresting free of the chokehold that Meredith had on her. She looked up at Damon with streaming brown eyes, hands outstretched. â€Å"Only you can save us,† she said, translating the message of her gaze aloud – which meant that things were really serious. â€Å"All right, all right. I'll go take care of them. You take care of Elena.† â€Å"Of course, but – â€Å" â€Å"No.† Damon had either gone reckless with the blood – and the memories that were still keeping Elena from forming a coherent sentence – or he had somehow overcome all his fear of Meredith. He put a hand on each of her shoulders. He was only one and a half or two inches taller than she was, so he had no trouble holding her eyes. â€Å"You, personally, take care of Elena. Tragedies happen here every minute of the day: unforeseeable, horrible, deadly tragedies. I do not want one happening to Elena.† Meredith looked at him for a long moment, and for once didn't consult Elena with her eyes before answering a question involving her. She simply said, â€Å"I'll protect her,† in a low voice that nevertheless carried. From her stance, from her tone, one could almost hear the unspoken addition, â€Å"with my life† – and it didn't even seem melodramatic. Damon let go of her, strode out the door, and without a backward glance disappeared from Elena's sight. But his mental voice was crystalline in her mind: You'll be safe if there is any way to save you. I swear it. If there was any way to save her. Wonderful. Elena tried to kickstart her brain. Meredith and Bonnie were both staring at her. Elena took a deep breath, automatically sucked for a moment back into the old days, when a girl fresh from a hot date could expect a long and serious debriefing. But all Bonnie said was, â€Å"Your face – it looks much better now!† â€Å"Yes,† Elena said, using the two ends of her blouse to tie a makeshift top around her. â€Å"My leg's the problem. We didn't – didn't finish it yet.† Bonnie opened her mouth, but closed it determinedly, which from Bonnie was a display of heroics similar to Meredith's promise to Damon. When she opened it again it was to say, â€Å"Take my scarf and tie it around your leg. We can fold it sideways and then tie a bow over the side that got hurt. That'll keep pressure on it.† Meredith said, â€Å"I think Dr. Meggar has finished with Ulma. Maybe he can see you.† In the other room, the doctor was once again washing his hands, using a large pump to get more water into the basin. There were deeply red-stained cloths in a pile and a smell that Elena was grateful the doctor had camouflaged with herbs. Also in a large, comfortable-looking chair there sat a woman whom Elena did not recognize. Suffering and terror could change a person, Elena knew, but she could never have realized how much – nor how much relief and freedom from pain could change a face. She had brought with her a woman who huddled until she was almost child-size in Elena's mind, and whose thin, ravaged face, twisted with agony and unrelenting dread, had seemed almost a sort of abstract drawing of a goblin hag. Her skin had been sickly gray in color, her thin hair had scarcely seemed enough to cover her head, and yet it had hung down in strands like seaweed. Everything about her screamed out that she was a slave, from the iron bands around her wrists, to her nakedness and scarred, bloody body, to her bare and rusty feet. Elena could not even have told you the color of the woman's eyes, for they had seemed as gray as the rest of her. Now Elena was confronted by a woman who was perhaps in her early-to mid-thirties. She had a lean, attractive, somehow aristocratic face, with a strong, patrician nose, dark, keen-looking eyes, and beautiful eyebrows like the wings of a flying bird. She was relaxing in the armchair, with her feet up on an ottoman, slowly brushing her hair, which was dark with occasional streaks of gray that lent an air of dignity to the simple deep blue housecoat she was wearing. Her face had wrinkles that lent it character, but overall one sensed a sort of yearning tenderness about her, perhaps because of the slight bulge in her abdomen, which she now gently laid a hand on. When she did this her face bloomed with color and her whole aspect glowed. For an instant Elena thought this must be the doctor's wife or housekeeper and she had a temptation to ask whether Ulma, the poor wreck of a slave, had died. Then she saw what one cuff of the deep blue housecoat could not quite conceal: a glimpse of an iron bracelet. This lean dark aristocratic woman was Ulma. The doctor had worked a miracle. A healer, he had called himself. It was obvious that, like Damon, he could heal wounds. No one who had been whipped as Ulma had could have come round to this state without some powerful magic. Trying to simply stitch up the bloody mess that Elena had brought in had obviously been impossible, and so Dr. Meggar had healed her. Elena had never experienced a situation like this, so she fell back upon the good manners that had been bred into her as a Virginian. â€Å"It's nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm Elena,† she said, and held out her hand. The brush fell onto the chair. The woman reached out with both hands to take Elena's into hers. Those keen dark eyes seemed to devour Elena's face. â€Å"You're the one,† she said, and then, swinging her slippered feet off the ottoman, she went down on her knees. â€Å"Oh, no, ma'am! Please! I'm sure the doctor told you to rest. It's best to sit quietly now.† â€Å"But you are the one.† For some reason, the woman seemed to need confirmation. And Elena was willing to do anything to pacify her. â€Å"I'm the one,† Elena said. â€Å"And now I think you should sit down again.† Obedience was immediate, and yet there was a sort of joyful light about everything Ulma did. Elena understood it after only a few hours of slavery. Obeying when one had a choice was entirely different from obeying because disobedience could mean death. But even as Ulma sat, she held out her arms. â€Å"Look at me! Dear seraph, goddess, Guardian – whatever you are: look at me! After three years of living as a beast I have become human again – because of you! You came like an angel of lightning and stood between me and the lash.† Ulma began to weep, but they seemed to be tears of joy. Her eyes searched Elena's face, lingering on the scarred cheekbone. â€Å"But you're no Guardian; they have magicks that protect them and they never interfere. For three years, they never interfered. I saw all my friends, my fellow slaves, fall to his whip and his rage.† She shook her head, as if physically unable to say Drohzne's name. â€Å"I'm so sorry – so sorry†¦.† Elena was fumbling. She glanced back and saw that Bonnie and Meredith were similarly stricken. â€Å"It doesn't matter. I heard your mate killed him on the street.† â€Å"I told her that,† Lakshmi said proudly. She had entered the room without anyone noticing her. â€Å"My mate?† Elena faltered. â€Å"Well, he's not my – I mean, he and I – we – â€Å" â€Å"He's our master,† Meredith said bluntly, from behind Elena. Ulma was still looking at Elena with her heart in her eyes. â€Å"Every day, I will pray for your soul to ascend from here.† Elena was startled. â€Å"Souls can ascend from here?† â€Å"Of course. Repentance and good deeds may accomplish it, and the prayers of others are always taken into consideration, I think.† You sure don't talk like a slave, Elena mused. She tried to think of a way to put it delicately, but she was confused and her leg hurt and her emotions were in turmoil. â€Å"You don't sound like – well, like what I'd expect from a slave,† she said. â€Å"Or am I just being an idiot?† She could see the tears form in Ulma's eyes. â€Å"Oh, God! Please, forget I asked. Please – â€Å" â€Å"No! There is no one I would rather tell. If you wish to hear how I came to this degraded state.† Ulma waited, watching Elena – it was clear that Elena's least wish was to Ulma, a command. Elena looked at Meredith and Bonnie. She couldn't hear any more noises of yelling outside on the street and the building certainly didn't seem to be on fire. Fortunately, at that moment, Dr. Meggar wandered in again. â€Å"Everybody getting acquainted?† he asked, his eyebrows working in opposition now; one up, one down. He had the remnants of a bottle of Black Magic in his hand. â€Å"Yes,† Elena said, â€Å"but I was just wondering if we should be trying to evacuate or anything. Apparently there was a mob – â€Å" â€Å"Elena's mate is going to give them something to think about,† Lakshmi said with relish. â€Å"They've all gone to the Meeting Place to resolve the stuff about Drohzne's property. I bet he'll bash a few heads in and be back in no time,† she added cheerfully, leaving no doubt as to he was. â€Å"Wish I was a boy so I could see it.† â€Å"You were braver than the boys; you were the one who led us here,† Elena told her. Then she consulted Meredith and Bonnie with her eyes. It sounded as if the commotion had moved on elsewhere, and Damon was a master at getting himself out of commotions. He might also†¦need to fight, to rid himself of excess energy from Elena's blood. A commotion might actually be good for him, Elena thought. She looked at Dr. Meggar. â€Å"Will my – will our master be all right, do you think?† Dr. Meggar's eyebrows went up and down. â€Å"He'll probably have to pay Old Drohzne's relatives a blood price, but it shouldn't be too high. Then he can do what he likes with the old bastard's property,† he said. â€Å"I'd say the safest place for you right now is here, away from the Meeting Place.† He went on to enforce that opinion by pouring them all glasses – liqueur glasses, Elena noted – of Black Magic wine. â€Å"Good for the nerves,† he said and took a sip. Ulma smiled her beautiful, heartwarming smile at him, as he took the tray around. â€Å"Thank you – and thank you – and thank you,† she said. â€Å"I won't bore you with my story – â€Å" â€Å"No, tell us; tell us, please!† Now that there was no immediate danger to her friends or to Damon, Elena was eager to hear the tale. Everyone else was nodding. Ulma flushed a little, but began sedately, â€Å"I was born in the reign of Kelemen II,† she said. â€Å"I'm sure that means nothing to our visitors but much to those who knew him and his – indulgences. I studied under my mother, who became a very popular designer of fashions in fabrics. My father was a designer of jewelry almost as famous as she was. They had an estate on the outskirts of the city and could afford a house as fine as many of their wealthiest customers – though they were careful not to show the true extent of their wealth. I was the young Lady Ulma then, not Ulma the hag. My parents did their best to keep me out of sight, for my own safety. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ulma – Lady Ulma, Elena thought, stopped and took a deep sip of her wine. Her eyes had changed; she was seeing the past, and trying not to upset her listeners. But just as Elena was about to ask her to stop, at least until she felt better, she continued. â€Å"But despite all their care†¦someone†¦saw me anyway and demanded my hand in marriage. Not Drohzne, he was just a furrier from the Outlands, and I never saw him until three years ago. This was a lord, a General, a demon with a terrible reputation – and my father refused his demand. They came on us in the night. I was fourteen when it happened. And that is how I became a slave.† Elena found that she was feeling emotional pain directly from Lady Ulma's mind. Oh, my God, I've done it again, she thought, hurriedly trying to tune down her psychic senses. â€Å"Please, you don't need to tell us this. Maybe another time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I would like to tell you – you – so you will know what you have done. And I would prefer to say it only once. But if you do not wish to hear it – â€Å" Politeness was warring with politeness here. â€Å"No, no, if you want – go ahead. I – I just want you to know how sorry I am.† Elena glanced at the doctor, who was patiently waiting by the table for her with the brown bottle in his hands. â€Å"And if you don't mind, I'd like to get my leg†¦healed?† She was aware that she'd said the last word doubtfully, wondering how any one being could have the power to heal Ulma like this. She was not surprised when he shook his head. â€Å"Or stitched up, rather, while you talk, if you don't mind,† she said. It took several minutes to overcome Lady Ulma's shock and distress that she had left her savior waiting, but at last Elena was on the table and the doctor was encouraging her to drink from the bottle, which smelled like cherry cough syrup. Oh, well, she might as well try the Dark Dimension version of anesthetic – especially since the stitching was bound to hurt, Elena thought. She took a sip from the bottle and felt the room reel around her. She waved away the offer of a second sip. Dr. Meggar undid Bonnie's ruined scarf, and then began to cut off her blood-soaked jeans leg above the knee. â€Å"Well – you are so good to listen,† Lady Ulma said. â€Å"But I knew you were good already. I will spare us both the painful details of my slavery. Perhaps it's enough to say that I was passed from one master to another over the years, always a slave, always going down. At last, as a joke, someone said, ‘Give her to Old Drohzne. He'll squeeze the last use out of her if anyone can.'† â€Å"God!† Elena said, and hoped that everyone would attribute it to the story and not to the bite of the cleansing solution the doctor was swabbing over her swollen flesh. Damon was so much better at this, she thought. I didn't even realize how lucky I was before. Elena tried not to wince as the doctor began to use his needle, but her grip on Meredith's hand tightened until Elena was afraid she was breaking bones. She tried to ease the grip, but Meredith squeezed back hard. Her long, smooth hand was almost like a boy's, but softer. Elena was glad to be able to squeeze as hard as she liked. â€Å"My strength has been giving out on me lately,† Lady Ulma said softly. â€Å"I thought it was that† – here she used a particularly crude expression for her owner – â€Å"that was leading me to death. Then I realized the truth.† All at once radiance changed her face, so much that Elena could see what she must have looked like when she was in her teens and so beautiful that a demon would demand her as a wife. â€Å"I knew that new life stirred within me – and I knew that Drohzne would kill it if he had the chance – â€Å" She didn't seem to recognize the expressions of astonishment and horror on the three girl's faces. Elena, however, had the feeling that she was groping through a nightmare, on the edge of a black crevasse, and that she would have to keep groping in the dark, around treacherous, unseen fissures in the ice in the Dark Dimension until she reached Stefan and got him free of this place. This casual reference to abomination wasn't the first of her steps around a crevasse, but it was the first she had recognized and counted. â€Å"You young women are very new here,† Lady Ulma said, as the silence stretched and stretched. â€Å"I did not mean to say anything out of place†¦.† â€Å"We're slaves here,† Meredith replied, picking up a length of rope. â€Å"I think the more we learn the better.† â€Å"Your master – I've never seen anyone so quick to fight Old Drohzne before. Many people clucked their tongues, but that was all most dared to do. But your master – â€Å" â€Å"We call him Damon,† Bonnie put in pointedly. It went right over Lady Ulma's head. â€Å"Master Damon – do you think he might keep me? After he pays the blood price to – to Drohzne's relatives, he will get first pick of all Drohzne's property. I am one of the few slaves he has not killed.† The hope in the woman's face was almost too painful for Elena to look at. It was only then that she consciously realized how long it had been since she'd seen Damon. How long should Damon's business be taking? She looked at Meredith anxiously. Meredith understood exactly what the look meant. She shook her head helplessly. Even if they had Lakshmi take them to the Meeting Place, what could they do? Elena bit back a wince of pain and smiled at Lady Ulma. â€Å"Why don't you tell us about when you were a girl?† she said.

Cinema: Organizational Overview

What Is the span of control of the film purchase director? [2] The film purchase director has 3 subordinates which are under his command therefore the span of control is 3. 2. How many levels of hierarchy are there In the cinema buildings department? [2] There are 4 levels of hierarchy In the cinema buildings department which are the following: Cinema Buildings Director, Regional Buildings Managers, Cinema Managers (in each country) and Cinema Staff. 3. Outline three drawbacks of a centralized structure in this business. 6] A centralized structure Is a management structure where decision making Is done at higher levels by those with a strong position that includes having combined considerable knowledge and information about what needs to be done. In a centralized organization, decisions made by higher management are typically communicated to lower organizational levels who are then expected to accept and move forward in a way consistent with those decisions. Centralization Is keeping all of the Important decision making powers within head office or the centre of the organization.The control In this kind of organization Is kept In the centre. To begin with, a centralized structure may not be very suitable to this business. With a centralized structure, there will be more supervision and less flexibility, therefore managers will have to look for permission from a superior head office If they want to change or do something dissimilar. This will be negative to the cinema since it will delay decision making and make the cinemas less responsive to changes In the market. Moreover, a centralized structure would be a negative aspect to this kind of business (the cinema) since it directly affects managers.Since managers have to follow any instructions given by the command center, there will be very little chance to get managers to make their own decisions and be Innovative. This may be a hygiene factor' stated by the theorist Herbert. Their Jobs will be less challenging and less amusing and also their duty is lower. In this case having more responsibilities and a more challenging Job would be ‘motivators' in Herbert theory. A centralized structure would be a denominator to subordinates, lower in the hierarchy of staff.Furthermore, another aspect In which centralization could be negative in this kind of cuisines could be the following. On this kind of structure, the head manager would decide on how the cinemas have to work and even deciding on opening, closing and performing times. It will also decide on what kind of films have to perform on every cinema on the business branch. This would be a negative aspect since the business could operate on more than one country meaning that there are different cultures and preferred genres of films in every country.There would be several differences in the countries that Majestic Cinema operates in; therefore some films may not be popular on some countries. This could reduce potential demand and cinemas m ight miss out on lucrative opportunities. To conclude with, it is not always a very positive aspect to have a centralized structure on different kind of businesses specially those who tend to operate on more than one country which plays with different cultures and tastes. 4. Explain how Paul might decentralized the decision making in this business. 6] Decisions are allowed to be taken away from the head managers in a decentralized organization. In this case, for Paul to decentralized the decision making in this cuisines, he has to delegate the decision-making down the hierarchy of workers to a lower rank position. By delivering the business the span of control would increase, having more managers on each level, but it would be possible to delegate. In this case it may be true that Paul may want to delayer the organization; in the case study we can see that he speculates if middle managers are fully necessary.By delivering we mean that since middle managers are useless, it could be a good idea to remove them of the process. 5. Discuss the consequences to the business and to the cinema managers of centralizing decision-making authority to them. [10] organization. For decentralization to occur, it would be necessary to delegate decision-making down the hierarchy of workers. Decentralization is the transfer of decision making it is escorted by delegation of authority to individuals at any level in the organization.Decentralization decision-making authority of the business and cinema managers can be a positive aspect or a drawback to the business and the cinema managers. To begin with, this decentralization decision could be a benefit to them since it could be an opportunity to delayer the organization. By delivering the organization, they would be able to remove middle managers which may not be essential and in this way could eventually reduce the cost of the business. Moreover, decentralization decision-making authority would mean an increase in sales the need of consultation on head officers.Since this organization operates in more than one country, globally, it is obvious that each country has different cultures. By operating differently in each country, for cultural differences, the business could not lose the sales which could hypothetically been lost if each country was treated equally. The business would be now able to set different films and food/drinks according to the wants of each country. Furthermore, the decentralization idea could also be positive to the business but specially to managers.Decentralization could include delegation and a more important role to managers on the business. This supports Herbert theory of motivators in which managers are motivated by playing a more important role in the business. Managers also tend to prefer more challenging tasks in which they feel they have an input to the business. In addition, it would also be an advantage to customers and eventually the business. Decentralization would mean that the needs of the consumers could be attended with more flexibility.If the business manages to respond quickly to needs there would be an increased customer satisfaction which could finally lead to an increase in demand. On the other hand, decentralization may not be always as positive to the business or managers. Decentralization decision-making authority could provoke an increase in short term costs of delivering. When delivering, the business is making the middle managers redundant. In this situation the business might experience redundancy costs as well as contradictions from managers. What is more, Herbert theory may not be applied to every worker in the business.It is possible that not every worker would feel attracted to delegation or an increase in responsibility. It is likely that certain workers may prefer autocratic leadership and follow simple orders and rules since they may find this path easier and more practical. Additionally, the fact that the business would have to s ell different products on each cinema in the branch would be a negative aspect. It would be in this case since the business would have to buy different food and drinks for every single cinema in the branch, depending also on the region or culture it operates in.This would terminate with the advantage of bulk buying they had if they used a centralized structure, since they are now not buying in bulk and hence not getting economies of scale. Besides, a decentralized decision -making authority structure would mean that middle managers would be cut off. This means that managers on lower skilled levels would take more important roles in the decisions of the business. Since these managers loud be less skilled they could have more errors as they have less experience and be a negative aspect to the business.To bring to a close, it is arguable that businesses decide on having a decentralized decision-making authority structure since when decentralization the business not every worker is take n into account and the inexperience and denomination of workers may finish on disastrous endings to the business. Majestic cinemas would benefit from a flexible approach which could meet the needs of the customers more effectively and eventually having a long-term profit on the business.