Cultural Event :: essays research papers

Scissors, Paper, Rock! For my first cultural event, I attended the University Performing Dancers rendition of â€Å"Scissors, Paper, Rock!†. This dance performance took place in University Hall here on campus. This performance is considered a cultural event because the game Rock, Paper, Scissors is an ancient game that many different cultures have claimed to invented.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the program handed out at the performance, Japan has claimed its origins in Janken or Roe, Sham, Boe (Rock, Paper, Scissors). The game is called Muk-chee Bah in Korea. Renditions of the hand game are also played in Indonesia, Austria, France, Canada, Yugoslavia, and elsewhere.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All these different cultures have claims to have invented the game, and it is such a popular game, somebody made a modern dance performance related to the certain aspects that Scissors, Paper, and Rock have. Scissors, cold, cutting, slicing. Paper, light, soft, airy. Rock, pebble, hard, stone. These are some of the adjectives the narrator used in the performance. There were six different dances in the performance, each one different in their own cultural way. Dances like â€Å"Oshun, Goddess of Love† were based on actual beliefs. Oshun is the goddess of the rivers, fertility, abundance, and love among the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The dance is a creative exploration of the meaning of Oshun as a force of nature. Other dances performed such as â€Å"Paper Moon† are attempts to shape the timelessness found in play, such as ritual, and performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Different dances came from different cultures in this performance. As I had said before, â€Å"Oshun, Goddess of Love†, came from Africa. It arrived in America during the slave trade and has been here ever since. â€Å"Paper Moon† came from Japan. The text from the dance came from an adaptation from â€Å"Omoiyari†, which is an ancient Japanese dance ritual.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dance is a part of every culture. Whether it is the fire dances of the native Hawaiians, or the Tango from Spain, dance is a part of every culture. This event is not an event I would usually attend. I am not into art of any kind except music. At first, there were two reasons I went to this performance.

Principal Agent Theory Essay

There are many settings in which one economic actor (the principal) delegates authority and/or responsibilities to an agent to act on his behalf. The primary reason for doing so is that the agent has an advantage in terms of expertise or information. This informational advantage, or information asymmetry, poses a problem for the principal—how can the principal be sure that the agent has in fact acted in her best interests? Can a contract be written deï ¬ ning incentives in such a way that the principal can be assured that the agent is taking just the action that she would take, had she the information available to the agent? Solving this problem is a matter of some concern for patients dealing with their doctors, clients dealing with their lawyers, etc. It is also a crucial concern for business ï ¬ rms dealing with their employees. Especially in the twenty-ï ¬ rst century, employees are often hired precisely because they have information available that is unavailable to the managers of a ï ¬ rm, who changes or implements new ways of work (Innovation), making sure that employee expertise is put to work in the interest of the ï ¬ rm can make the difference between success and bankruptcy–as illustrated by the performance of Google Corporation and their success. Principal-Agent Theory The key common aspect of all those contracting settings is that the information gap between the principal and the agent has some fundamental implications for the design of the bilateral contract they sign. In order to reach an efficient use of economic resources, this contract must elicit the agent ´s private information. This can only be done by giving up some information rent to the privately informed agent. Generally, this rent is costly to the principal. This cost or payment is what is known as Monitoring Cost, on which the Principal can limit divergences from his interest by establishing appropriate incentives for the agent and by incurring monitoring costs designed to limit the aberrant activities of the agent (Jensen, 1976, pg. 5). And just like in any other trade, the Principal is giving something in exchange of the actions and decisions of the Agent; we can say that the Monitoring Cost is an action with its own reaction:Bonding Cost. This is the Welfare the Agent is willing to take, on behalf of the Principal, to limit or restrict his own actions, therefore reducing the deviation from the Principal’s interests. These costs guarantee that the Agent will not take certain actions which would harm the principal or to ensure that the principal will be compensated if he does take such actions (Jensen, 1976, pg. 5). Nevertheless there will always be some divergence between the agent’s decisions and those decisions which would maximize the welfare of the principal. The equivalent of the reduction in welfare experienced by the principal as a result of this divergence is what we refer as the Residual Loss (Jensen, 1976, pg. 5). But as said on the beginning, this deal is because of a lack of information or expertise of the Principal in comparison with the Agent. This lead us to the Asymmetrical relationship. Asymmetrical relationship refers to the fact that the Agent may have more information than the Principal, leading to the fact that the Principal may not know to what degree are the actions of the Agent in the Principal’s own interests. Given the self-interest of the Agent, he may or may have not behaved as agreed (Eisenhardt, 1989, 61). Information is asymmetric because the agent, of course, knows which decision he is going to make (Spremann, 1987, pg. 4). This Asymmetrical relationship leads into a field of risk and uncertainty represented by the dilemma of Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection. Moral hazard is a situation where the behavior of one party may change to the detriment of another after the transaction has taken place. A party makes a decision about how much risk to take (Agent), while another party bears the costs if things go badly (Principal), and the party insulated from risk behaves differently than how it would if it were fully exposed to the risk. According to contract theory, moral hazard results from a situation in which a hidden action occurs. Bengt Holmstrà ¶m (1979) said this: It has long been recognized that a problem of moral hazard may arise when individuals engage in risk sharing under conditions such that their privately taken actions affect the probability distribution of the outcome. The non-observability of the agent’s action may then prevent an efficient resolution of this conflict of interest since a contract can never stipulate which action should be taken by the agent. In a moral hazard context, the random output aggregates the agent’s effort and the realization of pure luck. However, the principal can only design a contract based on the agent’s observable performance. Through this contract, the principal wants to induce, at a reasonable cost, a good action of the agent despite the impossibility to condition directly the agent’s reward on his action. In general, the non-observability of the agent’s effort affects the cost of implementing a given action. Moral hazard can be divided into two types when it involves asymmetric information (or lack of verifiability) of the outcome of a random event: Ex-Ante Moral and Ex-Post Moral. An ex-ante moral hazard is a change in behavior prior to the outcome of the random event, whereas ex-post involves behavior after the outcome. For example, in the case of a health insurance company insuring an individual during a specific time-period, the final health of the individual can be thought of as the outcome. The individual taking greater risks during the period would be ex-ante moral hazard whereas lying about a fictitious health problem to defraud the insurance company would be ex-post moral hazard. However, there is a second type of informational asymmetry which can also characterize principal-agent relationships. Adverse selection, anti-selection, or negative selection is a term used in economics, insurance, risk management, and statistics. It refers to a market process in which undesired results occur when buyers and sellers have. This is where the agent possesses some information prior to choosing an action which, if known by the principal, would influence the choice of action he would like the agent to make. The agent is then required to pass some message to the principal which depends on the ‘private information’ he has. Since the chosen effort, outcome and payoff to the agent may all depend on the message he transmits, the agent may have an incentive to misrepresent his information. The design of the contract will then have to take account of this problem of ‘adverse selection’. It is important to stress that, as adverse selection, moral hazard would not be an issue if the principal and the agent had the same objective function. Crucial to the agency cost arising under moral hazard is the conflict between the principal and the agent over which action should be carried out. Managing Innovation. First of all we have to define what is innovation. An Innovation is a new idea, which may be a recombination of old ideas, a scheme that challenges the present order, a formula, or a unique approach which is perceived as new by the individuals involved (Zaltman, Duncan, and Holbek 1973; Rogers 1982). As long as the idea is perceived as new to the people involved, it is an â€Å"innovation,† even though it may appear to others to be an â€Å"imitation† of something that exists elsewhere. Included in this definition are both technical innovations (new technologies, products, and services) and administrative innovations (new procedures, policies, and organizational forms). Even though innovation is always progress, it does not mean that can fit on everyone or that everyone will be happy applying it, and more because it involves changes. When we are talking about innovation in an enterprise, managers have to deal with 4 problems. This problems are reflected in a variety of questions the CEOs often raised (Van de Ven 1982).: 1. How can a large organization develop and maintain a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship? 2. What are the critical factors in successfully launching new organizations, joint ventures with other firms, or innovative projects within large organizations over time? 3. How can a manager achieve balance between inexorable pressures for specialization and proliferation of tasks, and escalating costs of achieving coordination, cooperation, and resolving conflicts? From these questions we can find three of four different factors that related to the Principal-Agent Theory, as Google did and we will explain it, to succeed in the implementation of innovation.First, there is the human problem of managing attention, second, the process problem is managing ideas into good currency so that innovative ideas are implemented and institutionalized, and finally there is the structural problem of managing part-whole relationships, which emerges from the proliferation of ideas, people and transactions as an innovation develops over time. It is often said that an innovative idea without a champion gets nowhere. People develop, carry, react to, and modify ideas. People apply different skills, energy levels and frames of reference (interpretive schemas) to ideas as a result of their backgrounds, experiences, and activities that occupy their attention. People become attached to ideas over time through a social-political process of pushing and riding their ideas into good currency, much like Donald Schon (1971) describes.Schon also states that what characteristically precipitates change in public policy is a disruptive event which threatens the social system. Here is where the Principal enters, because he needs the new ideas, so he makes a deal (contract) with the Agent to get those ideas. He (Agent) needs to respect and fulfil the contract previously made, incurring the bonding costs, so think or adapt ideas. In some way, the Principal or the contract is the pressure who makes the Agent work. A more realistic view of innovation should begin with an appreciation of the physiological limitations of human beings to pay attention to non routine issues, and their corresponding inertial forces in organizational life (Van de Ven and Hudson 1985). This make us think on the psychological aspect of the human being. You can implement innovation in your company or to your life (or someone else), it will be a new thing and our attention will be all focused on it. But when exposed over time to a set of stimuli that deteriorate very gradually, people do not perceive the gradual changes- they unconsciously adapt to the worsening conditions. Suddenly we lose our focus on the innovation and we just keep doing the same routine without even thinking why. Organizational structures and systems serve to sort attention. They focus efforts in prescribed areas and blind people to other issues by influencing perceptions, values, and beliefs. Janis (1985) states that only the vigilance pattern generally leads to decisions that meet the main criteria for sound decision making. Vigilance involves an extended search and assimilation of information, and a careful appraisal of alternatives before a choice is made. Here is where the Leader enters, setting the way where all efforts should go to. Most of the times, these directions go around the customers needs or wishes, and the manager materialize them into the new goals, ideas or direction of the innovation.In Principal- Agent language, here is where we can find the monitoring cost, the Principal pay attention into the actions of the Agent and corrects if necessary, in case that the actions of the Agent go in a different direction as they had stipulate on the contract. Proliferation of ideas, people, and transactions over time is a pervasive but little understood characteristic of the innovation process, and with it come complexity and interdependence – and the basic structural problem of managing part- whole relations. Transactions are â€Å"deals† or exchanges which tie people together within an institutional context. The relationship between the Principal and the Agent is a deal, a transaction. As the Principal wants a result but can not produce it by himself, puts him in the position of a transaction. The prevailing approach for handling this complexity and interdependence is to divide the labor among specialists (Agents) who are best qualified to perform unique tasks and then to integrate the specialized parts to recreate the whole. The objective, of course, is to develop synergy in managing complexity and interdependence with a deal design where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, where both of them obtained what they were looking for. In search of that correct synergy, John R. Commons (1951), argued that transactions are dynamic and go through three temporal stages: negotiations, agreements, and administration. The deal between Principal- Agent has to be very flexible to succeed this, without being vague and confusing. Following Ashby’s (1956) principle of requisite variety, learning is enhanced when a similar degree of complexity in the environment is built into the organizational unit. This principle is a reflection of the fact that both parts are dependant of the other (the main reason of the Principal- Agent relationship) but also a reflection of the need of being in the same ground of information, or at least on the same conditions of it (if not, there would be no deal and no need of each other). With this point and Management of Attention, the Principal can avoid and solve the problems and risk of Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection. Google case Talking about innovation and implementation, we can see Google. Google is the place to work according to Fortune magazine, which listed the top 50 companies to work for. Google appears as a top contender for most features, including unusual perks, cafeterias, health cover and work environment. Even Management guru Gary Hamel praised Google in his book The Future of Management, stating that more companies should adopt their system. The system ensures that interesting ideas—even those that aren’t obvious fits for Google’s capabilities or core business model—receive some degree of attention. Their management have 3 statements and the base of all of it: First, set and communicate clear criteria for how you make funding decisions. Make sure those criteria include quantitative elements (how big could the market be) and qualitative elements (how passionate are we about this). Second, create an â€Å"ideal† innovation portfolio that blends core improvements and new growth businesses. Finally, consciously seek ideas that provide â€Å"unique† diversification by using a new channel, reaching a new customer, or creating a new revenue stream. Every developer has 20% of their time to work on any project they want, free time if you want to see it like that, but they have also to fulfil some goals, achievements and chores. they have freedom, but still, have some responsibilities that have to accomplish. Developers have to report to their managers that they had finished all of those chores. As long as they keep doing that, the deal or transaction still valid. About those 20% of free time, everything the developers creates, is property of the company, and still have to be approved by his manager, but have a complete freedom of the way of working and develop it. In exchange of that intellectual currency, Google give their employees not only their salary, but also a lot of benefits and rewards. For example Google offers include 100% health care coverage and onsite childcare facilities, also a rule at Google is that no staff member should ever be further away than 100 feet from a source of food. That doesn’t mean that they only have access to vending machines with junk food, or that the cafeterias give out quick, easy and grease-laden meals. Chefs of the highest calibre prepare range of meals, with unique variations on everyday meals. Macaroni and cheese, for instance, comes with wild mushrooms and truffles. In Google we see that the Principal-Agent and Innovation Management concepts and ideas applied. First of all, we have to begin with the need of the Principal, the motor of the transaction. Google needs to keep on the market via innovations and new products. To fulfil those needs, Google hires new development engineers, the Agents, to create those innovations. As Bonding Cost, Google offers the engineers a payroll and to take care of their life needs, such as health, food and, in some cases, housing as an equivalent of their intellectual currency. There is no way to eliminate the Residual Loss, but in Google they try to have the smallest one. They know they are asking a lot, but give a lot as well. As an example of that, Google tries to increase the welfare of their agents at all time more than any other company in the world, by giving them a greater payroll (incentive or Bonding cost) as exchange of actions, decisions and innovations that favors both parts. We can see here the vigilance that the Principal has over his Agent, the Principal does not have a total control over the Agent, but gives him some chores to do to keep him on track and to keep his ideas flowing. This vigilance or monitoring is what we can see as Monitoring Cost. Talking about Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection, Principal and Agent are always on the same track and in a lot of communication, making their bond flexible and healthy. As we said earlier, when both Principal and Agent have the same objective function, Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection, are not an issue. Great part of their success is because they understood for who are they working for: themselves. Google hires young people, not only because their potential and innovative ideas, but also because young people are the greatest part or their market. Young people working and developing tools for young people. Who understands better their needs as themselves! Conclusion Innovation is the goal of every enterprise and person in this world: we were born to improve in any moment. And even though, it is very difficult to create it or implement it. Thankfully, the Principal-Agent help us understand how some part of the human relationships work and how we can keep a healthy staff and also to remunerate them truly. Also it is important to denote that is impossible to know at all the time what the Agent is doing or going to do, but if you create the correct synergy, and set goals that will benefit both parts, the risk of a bad decision and therefore, the vigilance, can be almost eliminated and an ambience of trust is built. Something that surprise me it’s the fact that being in the same situation for a long time doesn’t helps the Innovation, when normally one thinks that this will create experience and knowledge enough to know how to change the method or create a new one to make it better. Bibliography Jean-Jacques Laffont & David Martimort; 2001;The Theory of Incentives:The Principal-Agent Model. Merton H. Miller; Kevin Rock;1985; Dividend Policy under Asymmetric Information; The Journal of Finance, Vol. 40, No. 4. (Sep., 1985), pp. 1031-1051. Ray Rees; 1985; THE THEORY OF PRINCIPAL AND AGENT:PART 2; Bulletin of Economic Research 37:2;1985. Andrew H. Van de Ven; 1986; Central Problems in the Management of Innovation; Management Science, Vol. 32, No. 5, Organization Design (May, 1986), pp. 590-607. Michael C. Jensen,William H. Meckling; 1976; Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt; 1989; Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review. Klaus Spremann; 1987; Agency Theory, Information, and Incentives; pp. 3-38. Bengt Holmstrom; 1979; Moral Hazard and Observability; The Bell Journal of Economics, Vol. 10, No. 1, (Spring, 1979), pp. 74-91. Zaltman G., Duncan R., Holbek J; 1973; Innovations and Organizations. Rogers E.; 1982; Diffusion of Innovations. Schon D.;1971; Beyond the Stable State. Janis I., Groupthink; 1982; â€Å"Sources of Error in Strategic Decision Making,† in J. Pennings (ed.), Strategic Decision Making in Complex Organizations, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1985. Commons J.;1951; The Economics of Collection Action. Ashby W. R.; 1956; An Introduction to Cybernetics.

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 6. DISTRACTIONS

My entertainment became the number-one priority on isle Esme. We snorkeled (well, I snorkeled while he flaunted his ability to go without oxygen indefinitely). We explored the small jungle that ringed the rocky little peak. We visited the parrots that lived in the canopy on the south end of the island. We watched the sunset from the rocky western cove. We swam with the porpoises that played in the warm, shallow waters there. Or at least I did; when Edward was in the water, the porpoises disappeared as if a shark was near. I knew what was going on. He was trying to keep me busy, distracted, so I that wouldn't continue badgering him about the sex thing. Whenever I tried to talk him into taking it easy with one of the million DVDs under the big-screen plasma TV, he would lure me out of the house with magic words like coral reefs and submerged caves and sea turtles. We were going, going, going all day, so that I found myself completely famished and exhausted when the sun eventually set. I drooped over my plate after I finished dinner every night; once I'd actually fallen asleep right at the table and he'd had to carry me to bed. Part of it was that Edward always made too much food for one, but I was so hungry after swimming and climbing all day that I ate most of it. Then, full and worn out, I could barely keep my eyes open. All part of the plan, no doubt. Exhaustion didn't help much with my attempts at persuasion. But I didn't give up. I tried reasoning, pleading, and grouching, all to no avail. I was usually unconscious before I could really press my case far. And then my dreams felt so real – nightmares mostly, made more vivid, I guessed, by the too-bright colors of the island – that I woke up tired no matter how long I slept. About a week or so after we'd gotten to the island, I decided to try compromise. It had worked for us in the past. I was sleeping in the blue room now. The cleaning crew wasn't due until the next day, and so the white room still had a snowy blanket of down. The blue room was smaller, the bed more reasonably proportioned. The walls were dark, paneled in teak, and the fittings were all luxurious blue silk. I'd taken to wearing some of Alice's lingerie collection to sleep in at night – which weren't so revealing compared to the scanty bikinis she'd packed for me when it came right down to it. I wondered if she'd seen a vision of why I would want such things, and then shuddered, embarrassed by that thought. I'd started out slow with innocent ivory satins, worried that revealing more of my skin would be the opposite of helpful, but ready to try anything. Edward seemed to notice nothing, as if I were wearing the same ratty old sweats I wore at home. The bruises were much better now – yellowing in some places and disappearing altogether in others – so tonight I pulled out one of the scarier pieces as I got ready in the paneled bathroom. It was black, lacy, and embarrassing to look at even when it wasn't on. I was careful not to look in the mirror before I went back to the bedroom. I didn't want to lose my nerve. I had the satisfaction of watching his eyes pop open wide for just a second before he controlled his expression. â€Å"What do you think?† I asked, pirouetting so that he could see every angle. He cleared his throat. â€Å"You look beautiful. You always do.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said a bit sourly. I was too tired to resist climbing quickly into the soft bed. He put his arms around me and pulled me against his chest, but this was routine – it was too hot to sleep without his cool body close. â€Å"I'll make you a deal,† I said sleepily. â€Å"I will not make any deals with you,† he answered. â€Å"You haven't even heard what I'm offering.† â€Å"It doesn't matter.† I sighed. â€Å"Dang it. And I really wanted†¦ Oh well.† He rolled his eyes. I closed mine and let the bait sit there. I yawned. It took only a minute – not long enough for me to zonk out. â€Å"All right. What is it you want?† I gritted my teeth for a second, fighting a smile. If there was one thing he couldn't resist, it was an opportunity to give me something. â€Å"Well, I was thinking†¦ I know that the whole Dartmouth thing was just supposed to be a cover story, but honestly, one semester of college probably wouldn't kill me,† I said, echoing his words from long ago, when he'd tried to persuade me to put off becoming a vampire. â€Å"Charlie would get a thrill out of Dartmouth stories, I bet. Sure, it might be embarrassing if I can't keep up with all the brainiacs. Still†¦ eighteen, nineteen. It's really not such a big difference. It's not like I'm going to get crow's feet in the next year.† He was silent for a long moment. Then, in a low voice, he said, â€Å"You would wait. You would stay human.† I held my tongue, letting the offer sink in. â€Å"Why are you doing this to me?† he said through his teeth, his tone suddenly angry. â€Å"Isn't it hard enough without all of this?† He grabbed a handful of lace that was ruffled on my thigh. For a moment, I thought he was going to rip it from the seam. Then his hand relaxed. â€Å"It doesn't matter. I won't make any deals with you.† â€Å"I want to goto college.† â€Å"No, you don't. And there is nothing that is worth risking your life again. That's worth hurting you.† â€Å"But I do want to go. Well, it's not college as much as it's that I want – I want to be human a little while longer.† He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. â€Å"You are making me insane, Bella. Haven't we had this argument a million times, you always begging to be a vampire without delay?† â€Å"Yes, but†¦ well, I have a reason to be human that I didn't have before.† â€Å"What's that?† â€Å"Guess,† I said, and I dragged myself off the pillows to kiss him. He kissed me back, but not in a way that made me think I was winning. It was more like he was being careful not to hurt my feelings; he was completely, maddeningly in control of himself. Gently, he pulled me away after a moment and cradled me against his chest. â€Å"You are so human, Bella. Ruled by your hormones.† He chuckled. â€Å"That's the whole point, Edward. I like this part of being human. I don't want to give it up yet. I don't want to wait through years of being a blood-crazed newborn for some part of this to come back to me.† I yawned, and he smiled. â€Å"You're tired. Sleep, love.† He started humming the lullaby he'd composed for me when we first met. â€Å"I wonder why I'm so tired,† I muttered sarcastically. â€Å"That couldn't be part of your scheme or anything.† He just chuckled once and went back to humming. â€Å"For as tired as I've been, you'd think I'd sleep better.† The song broke off. â€Å"You've been sleeping like the dead, Bella. You haven't said a word in your sleep since we got here. If it weren't for the snoring, I'd worry you were slipping into a coma.† I ignored the snoring jibe; I didn't snore. â€Å"I haven't been tossing? That's weird. Usually I'm all over the bed when I'm having nightmares. And shouting.† â€Å"You've been having nightmares?† â€Å"Vivid ones. They make me so tired.† I yawned. â€Å"I can't believe I haven't been babbling about them all night.† â€Å"What are they about?† â€Å"Different things – but the same, you know, because of the colors.† â€Å"Colors?† â€Å"It's all so bright and real. Usually, when I'm dreaming, I know that I am. With these, I don't know I'm asleep. It makes them scarier.† He sounded disturbed when he spoke again. â€Å"What is frightening you?† I shuddered slightly. â€Å"Mostly †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated. â€Å"Mostly?† he prompted. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't want to tell him about the child in my recurring nightmare; there was something private about that particular horror. So, instead of giving him the full description, I gave him just one element. Certainly enough to frighten me or anyone else. â€Å"The Volturi,† I whispered. He hugged me tighter. â€Å"They aren't going to bother us anymore. You'll be immortal soon, and they'll have no reason.† I let him comfort me, feeling a little guilty that he'd misunderstood. The nightmares weren't like that, exactly. It wasn't that I was afraid for myself – I was afraid for the boy. He wasn't the same boy as that first dream – the vampire child with the bloodred eyes who sat on a pile of dead people I loved. This boy I'd dreamed of four times in the last week was definitely human; his cheeks were flushed and his wide eyes were a soft green. But just like the other child, he shook with fear and desperation as the Volturi closed in on us. In this dream that was both new and old, I simply had to protect the unknown child. There was no other option. At the same time, I knew that I would fail. He saw the desolation on my face. â€Å"What can I do to help?† I shook it off. â€Å"They're just dreams, Edward.† â€Å"Do you want me to sing to you? Ill sing all night if it will keep the bad dreams away.† â€Å"They're not all bad. Some are nice. So†¦ colorful. Underwater, with the fish and the coral. It all seems like it's really happening – I don't know that I'm dreaming. Maybe this island is the problem. It's really bright here.† â€Å"Do you want to go home?† â€Å"No. No, not yet. Can't we stay awhile longer?† â€Å"We can stay as long as you want, Bella,† he promised me. â€Å"When does the semester start? I wasn't paying attention before.† He sighed. He may have started humming again, too, but I was under before I could be sure. Later, when I awoke in the dark, it was with shock. The dream had been so very real†¦ so vivid, so sensory†¦. I gasped aloud, now, disoriented by the dark room. Only a second ago, it seemed, I had been under the brilliant sun. â€Å"Bella?† Edward whispered, his arms tight around me, shaking me gently. â€Å"Are you all right, sweetheart?† â€Å"Oh,† I gasped again. Just a dream. Not real. To my utter astonishment, tears overflowed from my eyes without warning, gushing down my face. â€Å"Bella!† he said – louder, alarmed now. â€Å"What's wrong?† He wiped the tears from my hot cheeks with cold, frantic fingers, but others followed. â€Å"It was only a dream.† I couldn't contain the low sob that broke in my voice. The senseless tears were disturbing, but I couldn't get control of the staggering grief that gripped me. I wanted so badly for the dream to be real. â€Å"It's okay, love, you're fine. I'm here.† He rocked me back and forth, a little too fast to soothe. â€Å"Did you have another nightmare? It wasn't real, it wasn't real.† â€Å"Not a nightmare.† I shook my head, scrubbing the back of my hand against my eyes. â€Å"It was a good dream.† My voice broke again. â€Å"Then why are you crying?† he asked, bewildered. â€Å"Because I woke up,† I wailed, wrapping my arms around his neck in a chokehold and sobbing into his throat. He laughed once at my logic, but the sound was tense with concern. â€Å"Everything's all right, Bella. Take deep breaths.† â€Å"It was so real,† I cried. â€Å"I wanted it to be real.† â€Å"Tell me about it,† he urged. â€Å"Maybe that will help.† â€Å"We were on the beach. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I trailed off, pulling back to look with tear-filled eyes at his anxious angel's face, dim in the darkness. I stared at him broodingly as the unreasonable grief began to ebb. â€Å"And?† he finally prompted. I blinked the tears out of my eyes, torn. â€Å"Oh, Edward †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Tell me, Bella,† he pleaded, eyes wild with worry at the pain in my voice. But I couldn't. Instead I clutched my arms around his neck again and locked my mouth with his feverishly. It wasn't desire at all – it was need, acute to the point of pain. His response was instant but quickly followed by his rebuff. He struggled with me as gently as he could in his surprise, holding me away, grasping my shoulders. â€Å"No, Bella,† he insisted, looking at me as if he was worried that I'd lost my mind. My arms dropped, defeated, the bizarre tears spilling in a fresh torrent down my face, a new sob rising in my throat. He was right – I must be crazy. He stared at me with confused, anguished eyes. â€Å"I'm s-s-s-orry,† I mumbled. But he pulled me to him then, hugging me tightly to his marble chest. â€Å"I can't, Bella, I can't!† His moan was agonized. â€Å"Please,† I said, my plea muffled against his skin. â€Å"Please, Edward?† I couldn't tell if he was moved by the tears trembling in my voice, or if he was unprepared to deal with the suddenness of my attack, or if his need was simply as unbearable in that moment as my own. But whatever the reason, he pulled my lips back to his, surrendering with a groan. And we began where my dream had left off. I stayed very still when I woke up in the morning and tried to keep my breathing even. I was afraid to open my eyes. I was lying across Edward's chest, but he was very still and his arms were not wrapped around me. That was a bad sign. I was afraid to admit I was awake and face his anger – no matter whom it was directed at today. Carefully, I peeked through my eyelashes. He was staring up at the dark ceiling, his arms behind his head. I pulled myself up on my elbow so that I could see his face better. It was smooth, expressionless. â€Å"How much trouble am I in?† I asked in a small voice. â€Å"Heaps,† he said, but turned his head and smirked at me. I breathed a sigh of relief. â€Å"I am sorry,† I said. â€Å"I didn't mean†¦ Well, I don't know exactly what that was last night.† I shook my head at the memory of the irrational tears, the crushing grief. â€Å"You never did tell me what your dream was about.† â€Å"I guess I didn't – but I sort of showed you what it was about.† I laughed nervously. â€Å"Oh,† he said. His eyes widened, and then he blinked. â€Å"Interesting.† â€Å"It was a very good dream,† I murmured. He didn't comment, so a few seconds later I asked, â€Å"Am I forgiven?† â€Å"I'm thinking about it.† I sat up, planning to examine myself – there didn't seem to be any feathers, at least. But as I moved, an odd wave of vertigo hit. I swayed and fell back against the pillows. â€Å"Whoa†¦ head rush.† His arms were around me then. â€Å"You slept for a long time. Twelve hours.† â€Å"Twelve?†How strange. I gave myself a quick once-over while I spoke, trying to be inconspicuous about it. I looked fine. The bruises on my arms were still a week old, yellowing. I stretched experimentally. I felt fine, too. Well, better than fine, actually. â€Å"Is the inventory complete?† I nodded sheepishly. â€Å"The pillows all appear to have survived.† â€Å"Unfortunately, I can't say the same for your, er, nightgown.† He nodded toward the foot of the bed, where several scraps of black lace were strewn across the silk sheets. â€Å"That's too bad,† I said. â€Å"I liked that one.† â€Å"I did, too.† â€Å"Were there any other casualties?† I asked timidly. â€Å"I'll have to buy Esme a new bed frame,† he confessed, glancing over his shoulder. I followed his gaze and was shocked to see that large chunks of wood had apparently been gouged from the left side of the headboard. â€Å"Hmm.† I frowned. â€Å"You'd think I would have heard that.† â€Å"You seem to be extraordinarily unobservant when your attention is otherwise involved.† â€Å"I was a bit absorbed,† I admitted, blushing a deep red. He touched my burning cheek and sighed. â€Å"I'm really going to miss that.† I stared at his face, searching for any signs of the anger or remorse I feared. He gazed back at me evenly, his expression calm but otherwise unreadable. â€Å"How are you feeling?'7 He laughed. â€Å"What?† I demanded. â€Å"You look so guilty – like you've committed a crime.† â€Å"I feel guilty,† I muttered. â€Å"So you seduced your all-too-willing husband. That's not a capital offense.† He seemed to be teasing. My cheeks got hotter. â€Å"The word seduced implies a certain amount of premeditation.† â€Å"Maybe that was the wrong word,† he allowed. â€Å"You're not angry?† He smiled ruefully. Tm not angry.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Well. . .† He paused. â€Å"I didn't hurt you, for one thing. It was easier this time, to control myself, to channel the excesses.† His eyes flickered to the damaged frame again. â€Å"Maybe because I had a better idea of what to expect.† A hopeful smile started to spread across my face. â€Å"I told you that it was all about practice.† He rolled his eyes. My stomach growled, and he laughed. â€Å"Breakfast time for the human?† he asked. â€Å"Please,† I said, hopping out of bed. I moved too quickly, though, and had to stagger drunkenly to regain my balance. He caught me before I could stumble into the dresser. â€Å"Are you all right?† â€Å"If I don't have a better sense of equilibrium in my next life, I'm demanding a refund.† I cooked this morning, frying up some eggs – too hungry to do anything more elaborate. Impatient, I flipped them onto a plate after just a few minutes. â€Å"Since when do you eat eggs sunny-side up?† he asked. â€Å"Since now.† â€Å"Do you know how many eggs you've gone through in the last week?† He pulled the trash bin out from under the sink – it was full of empty blue cartons. â€Å"Weird,† I said after swallowing a scorching bite. â€Å"This place is messing with my appetite.† And my dreams, and my already dubious balance. â€Å"But I like it here. Well probably have to leave soon, though, won't we, to make it to Dartmouth in time? Wow, I guess we need to find a place to live and stuff, too.† He sat down next to me. â€Å"You can give up the college pretense now – you've gotten what you wanted. And we didn't agree to a deal, so there are no strings attached.† I snorted. â€Å"It wasn't a pretense, Edward. I don't spend my free time plotting like some people do. What can we do to wear Bella out today?† I said in a poor impression of his voice. He laughed, unashamed. â€Å"I really do want a little more time being human.† I leaned over to run my hand across his bare chest. â€Å"I have not had enough.† He gave me a dubious look. â€Å"For this?† he asked, catching my hand as it moved down his stomach. â€Å"Sex was the key all along?† He rolled his eyes. â€Å"Why didn't i think of that?† he muttered sarcastically. â€Å"I could have saved myself a lot of arguments.† I laughed. â€Å"Yeah, probably.† â€Å"You are so human,† he said again. â€Å"I know.† A hint of a smile pulled at his lips. â€Å"We're going to Dartmouth? Really?† â€Å"I'll probably fail out in one semester.† â€Å"I'll tutor you.† The smile was wide now. â€Å"You're going to love college.† â€Å"Do you think we can find an apartment this late?† He grimaced, looking guilty. â€Å"Well, we sort of already have a house there. You know, just in case.† â€Å"You bought a house?† â€Å"Real estate is a good investment.† I raised one eyebrow and then let it go. â€Å"So we're ready, then.† â€Å"I'll have to see if we can keep your ‘before' car for a little longer___† â€Å"Yes, heaven forbid I not be protected from tanks.† He grinned. â€Å"How much longer can we stay?† I asked. â€Å"We're fine on time. A few more weeks, if you want. And then we can visit Charlie before we go to New Hampshire. We could spend Christmas with Renee___† His words painted a very happy immediate future, one free of pain for everyone involved. The Jacob-drawer, all but forgotten, rattled, and i amended the thought – for almost everyone. This wasn't getting any easier. Now that I'd discovered exactly how good being human could be, it was tempting to let my plans drift. Eighteen or nineteen, nineteen or twenty†¦ Did it really matter? I wouldn't change so much in a year. And being human with Edward†¦ The choice got trickier every day. â€Å"A few weeks,† I agreed. And then, because there never seemed to be enough time, I added, â€Å"So I was thinking – you know what I was saying about practice before?† He laughed. â€Å"Can you hold on to that thought? I hear a boat. The cleaning crew must be here.† He wanted me to hold on to that thought. So did that mean he was not going to give me any more trouble about practicing? I smiled. â€Å"Let me explain the mess in the white room to Gustavo, and then we can go out. There's a place in the jungle on the south – â€Å" â€Å"I don't want to go out. i am not hiking all over the island today. I want to stay here and watch a movie.† He pursed his lips, trying not to laugh at my disgruntled tone. â€Å"All right, whatever you'd like. Why don't you pick one out while I get the door?† â€Å"I didn't hear a knock.† He cocked his head to the side, listening. A half second later, a faint, timid rap on the door sounded. He grinned and turned for the hallway. I wandered over to the shelves under the big TV and started scanning through the titles. It was hard to decide where to begin. They had more DVDs than a rental store. I could hear Edward's low, velvet voice as he came back down the hall, conversing fluidly in what I assumed was perfect Portuguese. Another, harsher, human voice answered in the same tongue. Edward led them into the room, pointing toward the kitchen on his way. The two Brazilians looked incredibly short and dark next to him. One was a round man, the other a slight female, both their faces creased with lines. Edward gestured to me with a proud smile, and I heard my name mixed in with a flurry of unfamiliar words. I flushed a little as I thought of the downy mess in the white room, which they would soon encounter. The little man smiled at me politely. But the tiny coffee-skinned woman didn't smile. She stared at me with a mixture of shock, worry, and most of all, wide-eyed fear. Before I could react, Edward motioned for them to follow him toward the chicken coop, and they were gone. When he reappeared, he was alone. He walked swiftly to my side and wrapped his arms around me. â€Å"What's with her?† I whispered urgently, remembering her panicked expression. He shrugged, unperturbed. â€Å"Kaure's part Ticuna Indian. She was raised to be more superstitious – or you could call it more aware – than those who live in the modern world. She suspects what I am, or close enough.† He still didn't sound worried. â€Å"They have their own legends here. The Libishomen – a blood-drinking demon who preys exclusively on beautiful women.† He leered at me. Beautiful women only? Well, that was kind of flattering. â€Å"She looked terrified,† I said. â€Å"She is – but mostly she's worried about you.† â€Å"Me?† â€Å"She's afraid of why I have you here, all alone.† He chuckled darkly and then looked toward the wall of movies. â€Å"Oh well, why don't you choose something for us to watch? That's an acceptably human thing to do.† â€Å"Yes, I'm sure a movie will convince her that you're human.† I laughed and clasped my arms securely around his neck, stretching up on my tiptoes. He leaned down so that I could kiss him, and then his arms tightened around me, lifting me off the floor so he didn't have to bend. â€Å"Movie, schmovie,† I muttered as his lips moved down my throat, twisting my fingers in his bronze hair. Then I heard a gasp, and he put me down abruptly. Kaure stood frozen in the hallway, feathers in her black hair, a large sack of more feathers in her arms, an expression of horror on her face. She stared at me, her eyes bugging out, as I blushed and looked down. Then she recovered herself and murmured something that, even in an unfamiliar language, was clearly an apology. Edward smiled and answered in a friendly tone. She turned her dark eyes away and continued down the hall. â€Å"She was thinking what I think she was thinking, wasn't she?† I muttered. He laughed at my convoluted sentence. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Here,† I said, reaching out at random and grabbing a movie. â€Å"Put this on and we can pretend to watch it.† It was an old musical with smiling faces and fluffy dresses on the front. â€Å"Very honeymoonish,† Edward approved. While actors on the screen danced their way through a perky introduction song, I lolled on the sofa, snuggled into Edward's arms. â€Å"Will we move back into the white room now?† I wondered idly. â€Å"I don't know†¦. I've already mangled the headboard in the other room beyond repair – maybe if we limit the destruction to one area of the house, Esme might invite us back someday.† I smiled widely. â€Å"So there will be more destruction?† He laughed at my expression. â€Å"I think it might be safer if it's premeditated, rather than if I wait for you to assault me again.† â€Å"It would only be a matter of time,† I agreed casually, but my pulse was racing in my veins. â€Å"Is there something the matter with your heart?† â€Å"Nope. Healthy as a horse.† I paused. â€Å"Did you want to go survey the demolition zone now?† â€Å"Maybe it would be more polite to wait until we're alone. You may not notice me tearing the furniture apart, but it would probably scare them.† In truth, I'd already forgotten the people in the other room. â€Å"Right. Drat.† Gustavo and Kaure moved quietly through the house while I waited impatiently for them to finish and tried to pay attention to the happily-ever-after on the screen. I was starting to get sleepy – though, according to Edward, I'd slept half the day – when a rough voice startled me. Edward sat up, keeping me cradled against him, and answered Gustavo in flowing Portuguese. Gustavo nodded and walked quietly toward the front door. â€Å"They're finished,† Edward told me. â€Å"So that would mean that we're alone now?† â€Å"How about lunch first?† he suggested. I bit my lip, torn by the dilemma. I was pretty hungry. With a smile, he took my hand and led me to the kitchen. He knew my face so well, it didn't matter that he couldn't read my mind. â€Å"This is getting out of hand,† I complained when I finally felt full. â€Å"Do you want to swim with the dolphins this afternoon – burn off the calories?† he asked. â€Å"Maybe later. I had another idea for burning calories.† â€Å"And what was that?† â€Å"Well, there's an awful lot of headboard left – â€Å" But I didn't finish. He'd already swept me up into his arms, and his lips silenced mine as he carried me with inhuman speed to the blue room.

Boko Haram is winning so far in Nigeria Essay

Nigeria has ever faced series of security threatening challenges, but Boko haram is the most powerful sect so far. The sect claims responsibility for several bombings and snip activities in the northern and central Nigeria, thereby placing the nation at the threshold of disintegration this paper describes briefly how the Terrorists use murder, kidnapping, and bombings to pursue a political agenda. Then will introduce the rise of Boko Haram, a radical Islamist sect who is fighting to overthrow the government in Nigeria and create an Islamic state. Many questions in mind like who are this group? Who’s funding it? How they treat their prisoners? The government has been unable to put an end to it, will see at the end if he gets any help from other nations? In past years, most people thought terrorism is only happening in the Middle East countries but now terrorism is every were, even in the most powerful countries. Terrorism is more like terrible and brutal violence with only one purpose of terrified the people. It has two main purposes, to put pressure on the authorities, to spread fear and uncertainty first between the people; their action involves serious violence against a person or serious damage to property, endangers a person’s life. Second, they interfere to disrupt an electronic system, influence the government, advancing a political, religious or ideological cause. According to Rotberg, nation-states fail because they are convulsed by internal violence, and as a result are unable to provide security and positive political goods to their citizens. (2003:1). The Religion Terrorism is one of the most violent they think that dying in a terrorist act is sacred and holy; they see it as divinely commanded. Boko haram is Nigeria’s militant Islamist group which has caused havoc in Africa’s. It seems that the sect may prefer to be called â€Å"Jama’atu Ahlissunnah lidda’ awati wal Jihad† , which can be glossed â€Å"Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad† (Mu’azu 2011:17).They believe that anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors. They killed around six hundred people in various attacks in 2011, and the number of casualties doubled in the first four months of 2012 (Pothuraju 2012:1) Because they regards at the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president. Boko Haram members are fully convinced that moral and social decadence has eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian society and are resolved to rid the society of corruption and moral bankruptcy by establishing an ideal Islamic society, devoid of political corruption and moral deprivation (Akanji 2009:60) One of the most powerful factors that contribute the Boko haram is that the Islamic Republics, donations from members who links with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, During the interview, on 14 June 2010, Droukdel the leader of AQIM claimed that his â€Å"group would provide Boko Haram with weapons, training, and other support in order to expand its own reach into Sub-Saharan Africa not only to gain ‘strategic depth,’ but also to defend Muslims in Nigeria and stop the advance of a minority of Crusaders† (cited in Pham 2012:3). With funding from government, they are able to buy and train more men than most other terrorist organizations. In effect, with their financial support, Boko Haram backers have become—covertly or overtly—a part of the conspiracy to instigate war against the Nigerian state, civilians, Christians, students, and public institutions (Adesoji 2011:107). Leaders of many Christian organizations in Nigeria have out in support of the government’s decision to declare a state of emergency in the country’s northern states, Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. Many of their peoples live in a terror because of the group targets the religious minority for some of its most brutal attacks. Also, the government in Nigeria has asked its northern neighbor Niger for help in an offensive against Boko Haram insurgents. Plus, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned Boko Haram during her testimony before Congressional committees. She called it part of the same global jihadist movement as al-Qaida and Ansar al-Sharia. Finally, Boko Haram has killed thousands as it seeks to spread conservative Islamic law across Nigeria. Its frequent bombing targets include police, soldiers and Christian churches. Nigeria’s military have been involved in heavy fighting against this sect and hopefully with the help of the other nations, the government gets back the control on Nigeria. Works Cited Adesoji, Abimbola, O. 2011. Between Maitatsine and Boko Haram: Islamic Fundamentalism and the Response of the Nigerian State. Africa Today 57(4):99-119 Akanji, Olajide, 0. 2009. The Politics of Combating Domestic Terrorism in Nigeria. In Domestic Terrorism in Africa: Defining, Addressing and Understanding its impact on Human Security, edited by W. Okumu and A. Botha. Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies Mu’azu, Abubakar. 2011. Understanding the Emerging Trend of Terrorism in Nigeria: A Case Study of Boko Haram and Similar Groups. Monograph series, 16. Lagos, Nigeria: CLEEN Foundation. Pham, Peter. 2012. Boko Haram’s Evolving Threat. Africa’s Security Brief 30:1 -8 Pothurju, Babjee. 2012. Boko Haram’s Persistent Threat in Nigeria. Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis. http://www.idsa.in/system/files/ThreatlnNigeria_BabjePothuraju.pdf Rotberg, Robert. 2002. The New Nature of Nation-State Failure. The Washington Quarterly 25(3):85-96. 2003. State Failure and State Weakness in a Time of Terror. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press

Life Span Consideration Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Life Span Consideration - Case Study Example The other topic is the pharmacokinetics which is all about the dosage of her drugs based on her body weight, age and body surface area. Lastly, the other topic that will be covered will be on the measures to be taken to reduce the intake of drugs, the reduction of her health problem and lastly on ending her purchase of over the counter drugs without prescription from her primary physician which is really important based on her age which is sensitive. R. M has a history of deep vein thrombosis which makes her take Warfarin every evening which is a high dosage. She however also has a history of hypothyroidism and is constantly taking thyroid replacement hormones. The hormone treatment drugs however do not mix well with Warfarin and require a patient taking the therapy to reduce the dosage or even completely stop taking Warfarin to minimize the side effects to the patient. R. M therefore should stop purchasing her drugs without consultation with her primary physician who will advise her on which drugs to take for her deep thrombosis problem what will not affect her hypothyroidism treatment (Lilley, Collins, Harrington & Snyder, 2014). Some of the negative effects of the thyroid hormone treatment are increases heart rate and pulse as well as chest pains which are symptoms of hypertension and which she is trying to reduce with the hypertension medication. If the drug therapy for hypothyroidism treatment will increase her hypertension problem, she should seek alternative therapy rather than increase the risk of heart attack that can cause immediate death to the patient (Kahn & Olshaker, 2014). The alternative therapy will also assist with the earlier mentioned problem of deep thrombosis. In order to reduce the above discussed health risks caused by her medication intake, R. M should seek alternative therapy techniques for her different health problems other than fully relying on

Internet Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing Essay

Internet Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing - Essay Example Only few years back, one could find large numbers of online grocery stores within Florida. Having large numbers of families and elevated levels of Internet penetration, this part of US was considered to be the perfect region to offer this type of facility to the consumers. (Gralla, 2006) However, most of such Net grocers are no more existing and only little grocery sales are carried through this contemporary service. According to a research, merely 20 to 25 per cent of early online shoppers are still using this latest channel. Most of the online buyers of grocery have gone back to conventional grocery shopping. (McAulay, 2009) What exactly was not right? Why have customers rejected online grocery shopping? What features of online shopping pushed them back to conventional way of shopping? And what characteristics of conventional way of shopping attracted them back? These questions will be discussed while evaluating Internet Vulnerability and Penetration within consumers. To answer above mentioned questions, 20 American families with children were chosen. They were asked regularly over the intervening period about their experience of shopping. Some anticipated findings of this piece of research are given below. Internet penetration for shopping is anticipated to increase in the beginning. Time is a crucial reason for choosing internet for grocery shopping – which will prove to be an inadequate resource available for families with children. (Napier, 2005) Online buyers are usually fairly willing to pay little more for the offered facilities of picking and delivering groceries so that they can utilize their valuable time on activities that are more significant for them. Most of the times, internet penetration for online shopping is due to its flexibility. Online buyers think they can buy anything anytime to suit their schedule, 24 hours a day. They do not have to wait for the shop to open or re-open when they have time to shop. Online buyers usually

Watergate Scandal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Watergate Scandal - Essay Example Edward M. Kennedy and a young woman’s death. Remarkable of this incident is that it engulfed the U.S President Richard M. Nixon and many of his followers in an array range of illegal acts and hence triggered the resignation of the president who ended as â€Å"one of the sorriest spectacles in [U.S] national experience,†1 as a journalist from the New York Times put it. According to many investigations, the burglary has been carried out by five men who were later captured in the Democratic National Committee Watergate hotel. This serious incident garnered little media attention, yet it should be pointed out that two dedicated reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, both of whom were working for the Washington Post played, particularly, critical roles and managed somehow to uncover the president’s sponsored plan of espionage to discredit Democratic candidates. In addition to the reporters, another man called Sussman was directly involved in the Post’s effort to reveal and unveil the truth in the face of the general apathy by the press and the public and the White House pressures. Sussman cleverly remarked that the mass media, namely the press, was just not much concerned with the Watergate issue at the very beginning; however, the Post did its best and utmost to unearth the scandal. Sussman added that even the Congress repeatedly attempted to avoid if not ignore the Watergate Issue. He wrote that an â€Å"overwhelming number of congressmen had consistently turned their backs on Watergate until it surrounded them. They were still reluctant to deal with it, hoping Nixon would solve what was becoming their dilemma.†2 No doubt the Watergate scandal aroused considerable interest in how scandals are covered and oftentimes uncovered by the mass media. Of course, none can deny that the whys and the wherefores of Watergate have been widely investigated as many scholars conducted serious investigations and surveys about it. We can mention, in this