Monday, January 27, 2020

Commercial Entrepreneurship And Social Entrepreneurship

Commercial Entrepreneurship And Social Entrepreneurship In this session, I will discuss about the difference of commercial entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. Commonly, social entrepreneurs and commercial entrepreneurs are having similarity as well as differences. There will also certain issues regarding social entrepreneurship to be discussed in this session. This chapter will focus on the motivation factor of social entrepreneurship. There will also brief discussion about motivation of commercial entrepreneurship in order to shows the different motivation factor between two types of entrepreneurship. The first definition of entrepreneurship was defined at 250 years ago. The first crucial role of the entrepreneurship was first recognized by eighteenth century businessman Richard Cantillon (1931). He described entrepreneur as undertakers engaged in market exchange at their own risk for the purpose of making a profit. Dave Roberts and Christine Woods (2005) has defined entrepreneurship base on two perspective which included academic and practitioner. James Howard Jane (2006) stated entrepreneurship aims at creating profitable operations resulting in private gain. This contrast is, of course, overstated. Commercial entrepreneurship does benefit society in the form of new and valuable goods, services, and jobs, and can have transformative social impacts. Such transformations can even be a driving motivation for some commercial entrepreneurs. Kao (1993) has defined that Entrepreneurship is the process of adding something new [creativity] and something different [innovation] for the purpose of creating wealth for the individual and adding value to society. An entrepreneur has to be creative and innovative in order to have a sustainable growing business. In fact, entrepreneurs are considered as one of the main contributors to country economy growth. Entrepreneurial activity benefit community and society as it creates job opportunity, income, products and services with his creativity and innovation to us. 2.2.2 Role of Social Entrepreneurship Nowadays, Social entrepreneurship is likely to become more important than commercial entrepreneurship as there are many social problems occurred. Seelos and Mair (2005) defined social entrepreneur create models in order to fulfill basics human needs that existing marketing have failed to satisfy. Social entrepreneurs are having the mission to change society. James Howard Jane (2006), stated that social entrepreneurship as innovative, social value creating activity that can occur within or across the non-profit, business, or government sectors. They have further elaborated the concept for deeper understanding for the concept by developing four variables which are market failure, mission, resource mobilization, and performance measurement. To certain extend, social enterprises correct market failure whereby a problem for the commercial entrepreneur is an opportunity for the social entrepreneur. The authors have showed that proposition that market failure will create differing entrepr eneurial opportunities for social and commercial entrepreneurships. The Mission for the social entrepreneurship is aims to create social value for the public good by helping and benefits the public. Human capital for the social entrepreneurship will be a vital factor determining the success of social entrepreneurship. Usually, the economics of a social entrepreneurial venture often make it difficult to compensate staff as competitively as in commercial markets. Thus, employees who work for social enterprises often hope to receive non-financial compensation for their work. Human and financial resource mobilization will be a prevailing difference and will lead to fundamentally different approaches in managing financial and human resources. It would be difficult to measure the performance of a social enterprise just like commercial enterprise as we can measure it in terms of profitability and market share. Thus, performance measurement of social impact will remain a fundamental differe ntiator, complicating accountability and stakeholder relations. My Justice, Resource mobilization, it is not about the compensation, it is about self- willingness to work for the social enterprise. Dave and Christine (2005) have defined social entrepreneurships base on two perspective which are academic perspective and practitioner perspective. From the academic perspective, they stated that Construction, evaluation and pursuit of opportunities for social change, while walking anecdotes, with new ideas to address major problems, who are relentless in the pursuit of their vision, people who simply will not take no for an answer and who will not give up until they spread their ideas as far as they possibly can, is derived from practitioner perspective. There is no single way of characterizing socially entrepreneurial ventures (Juliet and George, 2005). Heidi Candida Elaine (2009) explained the landscape of social entrepreneurship which includes social purpose ventures and enterprising nonprofits. Regardless of profit orientation, social entrepreneurs identify opportunities to solve social problems, both people and society problems. Yohanan (N.D) has differentiated two major approaches in the explanation on social entrepreneurship. Both major approaches stress on the social desirability of the initiatives studied, but there are some different aspects. The first approach by Brown and Letts (2004) is focused on intentions and outcomes. Social entrepreneurs put innovative efforts to solve persistent social problems of poverty and marginalization that, to some extent, have been successful in increasing their impact and catalyzing social transformation. Another approach which is done by Alvy and Lees (2000) is based on opportunities and needs. People who realize where there is an opportunity to satisfy some unmet need that the state welfare system will not or cannot meet and who gather together the necessary resources. 2.2.3 Social Entrepreneurship as Profit or Non-profit Organization? In the findings done by Pomerantz (2003), he stated that social entrepreneurship as the development of innovative, mission- supporting, earned income, job creating or licensing, ventures undertaken by individual social entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, or nonprofits in association with for profits. From his point of view, a social enterprise can either be non profit or profit generating organization. For example, Margaret Cossette used a grant of $ 400 to turn a small public-sector into not-for profit enterprise which provides home care for rural seniors in America. When needs or demand is increased, Cossette didnt have enough capital to cope with the situation. A NFP organization is not qualify for bank loans. Thus, Cossette turn her venture, Missouri Home Care, into the for-profit arena in order to apply for loans to expend her services. In fact, there are many more cases that clearly lie on the for-profit side of the divide but are readily serve as social entrepreneurship by reputable commentators. Fundamentally, social enterprise is nonprofit organization which benefits society without gaining any profit. However, Gregory (1998) states that there is increasing number of nonprofits have been seeking additional revenues by behaving more like for-profit organizations. For example, Save the Children, an international development agency, sells a line of mens neckwear. Such ventures are for generating the cash in creative way. The profitability is linked with social entrepreneurship for certain cases, but the social ends still remain the dominant goal of these ventures. In conclusion, a social enterprise can be either profit making or non-profit making organization. However, profit gained for social enterprise is mainly contributed for social purpose such as helping poverty and solving social problems. 2.3 Motivation for Entrepreneurship Motivation is one of the elements in influencing the process of entrepreneurship. Shane, Locke and Collins (2003) have differentiated the motivation factors into two groups which are general factors and task-specific factors. The general motivation factors, including need for achievement, locus of control, vision, desire for independence, passion, and drive. 2.3.1 Need for Achievement McClelland (1961) stated that individuals who have higher level in need for achievement (nAch) are will have higher desire to involve in activities or tasks that have a high degree of individual responsibility for outcomes. Entrepreneurial activity involves high responsibility and high risk. In order to have great achievement, entrepreneurs will like to take the challenge to start up and grow their business successfully. Hence, McClelland also argues that entrepreneurial roles are characterized as having greater degree of risk, skill and effort, as well as feedback on performance. From the Maslows hierarchy, entrepreneurs are individuals who are in the level of self-esteem or self-actualization. They desire for self-fulfillment as to be successful entrepreneurs. 2.3.2 Locus of Control Locus of control is the belief in the degree which individuals believe their actions or personal characteristics decide the consequences. Individuals who have an external locus of control believe that the outcome of an extent is out of their control, while individual with an internal locus of control believe that their personal actions directly affect the outcome of an event (Rotter 1966). Individuals with internal locus of control will like to play entrepreneurial roles because they desire positions in which their actions have a direct impact on results. 2.3.3 Vision An individual with the vision of creating a profitable firm can be motivated to be an entrepreneur. Vision is influenced and affected by cognitive factors such as knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). The combination or integration of motivation and cognition will further create visionary action (Locke, 2000). Firstly, the entrepreneurs will need to have the knowledge regarding the sector or industry they want to invent into. Next, they will need to have the skills such as leaderships, bargaining and purchasing, market analysis, decision making, team building, planning as well as problem solving. Furthermore, the entrepreneurs need to have the abilities such as financial abilities and intelligence, too. Aligned with the KSAs, the entrepreneurs will have a realistic and achievable vision, including the strategy for the organization and manage it well. 2.3.4 Desire for Independence Individuals choose to start up their own business because they dont like to work for other people. They desire independence whereby they make decision by themselves, they choose their own path and life rather than living off the efforts of others. Many researchers have observed that the entrepreneurial role necessitates independence. First the entrepreneur takes responsibility for pursuing an opportunity did not exist before. Second, entrepreneurs are, in the end, responsible for results, whether achieved or not achieved. Further, individuals may pursue entrepreneurial careers because they desire independence. For example, in interviews with U.S. female firm founders, Hisrich (1985) found that one of the prime motivations for starting a business was a desire for independence. 2.3.5 Passion Passion is a feeling of an individual which will be converted later into action in order to show they are enthusiastic people. Shane, Locke, and Collins (2003) argued that passion is a central motive rather than motive to serve their employees and society. An entrepreneur will be passion for their work, love their work and the process of establishing an organization by their efforts and make it profitable yet successful. The reason of putting so much effort by entrepreneurs on the organization is actually come from their own interest. Passion is hardly to be measured in quantitative but can be observed and come out with qualitative analysis. Baum (2001) has develop five domains for passion which are personality, situational motivation, skills, strategy and environment. Passion has a direct impact in firm growth. 2.3.6 Drive Shane, Locke, and Collins (2003) stated that there is some relation between drive and Need for Achievement. However, the term drive is referring to broader aspect than Need for Achievement. The authors have further explained the variables for drive which includes ambition, goals, energy and stamina, and persistence. Ambition affects the level of desire for entrepreneurs to create something great, eventful and meaningful. An entrepreneur is the one with great ambition such as to be successful in life, to be the one who have great influence on others, to create something new and others. Ambition will drive entrepreneurs to set high goals for one and others. Better performance will be driven by high goals comparing to the result of low goals. When a goal is being persuading consistently, we can say it is the persistence of the entrepreneur to realize their dream. Motivation factor for individual to start up a business can be categorized into two aspects which are internal factor and external factor. Internal factor is related to individual factor such as need for achievement, locus of control, desire for independence, cognitive development and drive. External factor will be including environment factor such as market demand, economic status and peer influence. External factor will indirectly become the driver of individual to develop own passion to become an entrepreneurs. 2.4 Motivation for Social Entrepreneurship 2.4.1 Altruism An entrepreneur who is altruistic will likely to start up social enterprise. This phenomenon is due to the willingness of the entrepreneurs to contribute and sacrifice one-self in order to benefit other. According to Williams, Wee Liang, and Teck Meng(2005), there are two type of social entrepreneurs in terms of the objective. The first type of social entrepreneur is having the objective to profit only society while the second type will be profit society and himself. The first type of social entrepreneur is obviously more altruistic than second. The first type of social entrepreneur will have even more altruistic if he is willing to accept personal loss. Below are the social entrepreneurs with six descending level of altruism: (1) The person who attempts to innovatively profit society alone, in a way that involves that society, at risk of personal loss. (2) The person who attempts to innovatively profit society alone, in a way that involves that society, at risk of foregoing personal profit. (3) The person who attempts to innovatively profit society by profiting himself, in a way that involves that society, at risk of incurring personal loss. (4) The person who attempts to innovatively profit society by profiting himself, in a way that involves that society, at risk of forgoing personal profit. (5) The person who attempts to innovatively profit himself by profiting society, in a way that involves that society, at risk of personal loss. (6) The person who attempts to innovatively profit himself by profiting society, in a way that involves that society, at risk of foregoing personal profit. By Williams, Wee Liang, Teck Meng (pg, 359, 2005) The decreasing degree of altruistic in social entrepreneurship is differing in terms of risk and innovation. 2.4.2 Traits and Skills Thompson, Alvy (2000) suggest that vision and fortitude are necessary traits to implement a social venture. Boschee (1998) consider candor, passion, clarity of purpose, courage, commitment, values, customer focus, willingness to plan, ability to think like a business, strategy, and flexibility, required in social entrepreneurs as critical success factor to successfully embark on social entrepreneurial activities. Social entrepreneurs who share the same traits may differ in the social impact of their initiatives. Drayton (2002) stated that entrepreneurial quality (pg.124) is the key to distinguish the impact. Entrepreneurial quality is a very special and scarce trait. It is much more than altruistic motivation and other previously mentioned traits. It is the vital motivation to change the whole society shared by only a very small percentage of the population. 2.4.3 Behavior There are few behavioral attributes which have been associated with social entrepreneurship : courage to accept social criticism, less failure-anxiety, receptivity to others feelings, perseverance, communication skills, ability to appear trustworthy, creativity, ability to satisfy customers needs, foal oriented, and working capacity (McLeod, 1997; Prabhu, 1999). After all, these behavior can be applied to commercial entrepreneurial behavior as well. However, there is one exception which is the difference between commercial entrepreneurial behavior and social entrepreneurial behavior which is receptivity to others feeling, or in a simple word, empathy. Referring to the Websters dictionary, empathy is defined as the ability to share in anothers emotions or feelings. A social entrepreneur is caring and helpful. Mair and Noboa(2003) found that empathy can be considered as a trait (dispositional empathy) or a behavior(situational empathy). The authors then consider empathy as a cognitive and emotional antecedent. 2.4.4 Context and background In addition to traits and behaviors, context and background are also important aspects to understand entrepreneurs and their initiatives (Bird, 1988). The background and living of social entrepreneurs is having great impact on enabling the desirability for them to start up social enterprise (Prabhu, 1999). My parents raise me with the spirit of charity and giving, I felt uneasy about the problems of the poor and I am sensitive to other peoples feeling are common response of social entrepreneurs. Mair and Noboa (2003) argued that background and context explain a large part of social entrepreneurs enhanced level of loyalty to their values and philosophy, which is typically associated with an elevated level of moral judgment. A model of social entrepreneurial intentionsmodel of SE intentions.png Mair and Noboa (2003) have developed a model of social entrepreneurial intentions. They defined their independent variables as emotional: empathy (behavior), cognitive: moral judgment (Background and Context effect). These variables will then enable individual to have perceived desirability to develop behavioral intention such as receptivity for others feeling. When they have the behavior, they will have the social entrepreneurial behavior and they decide to start up social enterprise. There is another enabling factor such as self-efficacy and social support which will further develop perceived feasibility. After that, individual with perceived feasibility will enter the same routine as perceived desirability. Empathy and moral judgment are positively linked with perceived social venture desirability, while self efficacy beliefs and social support are positively linked with perceived social venture feasibility. 2.4.5 Opportunity Perception and Recognition Krueger, Kickul, Gundry, Verma, and Wilson, (2007) stated that mental models is the element that provide a set of attributes or characteristics that define what is considered as an opportunity. Perception of opportunity is categorized with two critical antecedents: (1) is the action expected to yield a net positive consequences or effects and (2) is the action actually within or beyond our control. Prevalence of needs in human society if often indentified as a major reason for the existence of social opportunity. According to Human Development report (2007,2005), there are nearly 3 billion people live below the poverty line, earning less than $2 per day. This phenomenon will bring a lot of negative effects such as starvation, increased criminal rate, and violence. For example, there are 50,000 deaths per day which are linked to poverty-related causes. (World Health Organization, 1999). The problem of poverty are observable and it creates many opportunity for social entrepreneurs. Beh avioural Theory stated that entrepreneurs aspiring to improve the quality of life are likely to identify and tackle the most prevalent problems because these problems are most sensitive to them. 2.4.6 Personal values Hemingway (2005) found that values operate at different levels and personal values act as one of the drivers of behavior. He also stated that qualitative research would be suitable in getting deeper level of understanding that how personal values may be driving social responsibility. To say that a person has a value is to say that he has an enduring prescriptive or proscriptive belief that a specific mode of behavior or end-stat of existence is preferred to an opposite mode of behavior or end-state. This belief transcends attitudes toward objective and toward situations; it is a standard that guides and determines action, attitudes toward objectives and situations, ideology, presentations of self to other, evaluations, judgments, justifications, comparisons of self with others, and attempts to influence other. Values serve as adjective, ego-defensive, knowledge and self-actualizing functions. (Rockeach, 1973, pg.25). Moreover, values is linked with ideology, which Wright stated that values will be ones guidance on differentiating what is right or wrong and finally lead to positive goals in life. (Wright, 1971). Personal Values are indentified in different levels such as individual, organizational, institutional, societal and global values (Agle and Caldwell, 1999 ). But in my studies, I will focus on individual or personal level of values.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

The Effects of Wyoming’s Aging Population Essay -- Economics Age Econo

The Effects of Wyoming’s Aging Population With new medical technology and improved knowledge about health and wellness, American’s life expectancy is longer than ever, with a better expected quality of life as well. Wyoming is the fastest aging state in the country according to the Billing’s Gazette. In addition to an already aging state, Wyoming has been named by national publications as a top place of retirement due to its tax structure and climate. In an article from the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, it is predicted that by the year 2020 Wyoming will have the highest percentage of residents over the age of 65. With the rapidly rising elderly population, Wyoming faces many challenges and difficulties in its future. One of the most apparent challenges Wyoming faces will be the additional costs and economic effects brought on by the baby-boomer generation. During an average person’s lifespan, they tend to borrow money when they are younger, as they begin to start their own lives and jobs. Once they are more economically independent, around middle-age, they begin to pay off their debts and save for retirement. Wyoming’s concerns rise when retirees begin to sell their assets and dig into their savings to finance their retirement. What worries economists is the negative impact on the economy that a loss in overall savings may have. James Poterba, an economist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also worries about the housing market. The baby-boomer generation has bought houses as investments towards retirement. If they all try to sell at the same time, Poterba worries about a possible slide in the housing market (Economist, 04). Another concern to Wyoming is Medicare costs... ... older. That number is predicted to increase to 20% in a little over a decade. Wyoming faces many challenges ahead concerning its aging population. Top issue to the state will be increased Medicare expenses, economic effects of the baby-boomers savings and spending, and the question as to who will replace the older generation in Wyoming as younger generations move out of state. It is up to Wyoming to start preparing right now. The state must prepare for these costs and also try to focus on how to gain benefits from an aging statewide population. Works Cited A Future Meltodwn? Economist, Vol.372 Issue 8391, p72-72. Retrieved March 26,2006, from EBSCO Host Database Inman, K. & Mcleod, D.M. (2002). Property Rights and Public Interests: A Wyoming Agricultural Lands Study. Growth and Change, p323-336. Retrieved March 26,2006, from EBSCO Host Database

Saturday, January 11, 2020

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 2

Damon had to wait some hours for another opportunity to feed – there were too many girls in deep sleep – and he was furious. The hunger that the manipulative creature had roused in him was real, even if it hadn't succeeded in making him its puppet. He needed blood; and he needed itsoon . Only then would he think over the implications of Caroline's strange mirror-guest: that trulydemonic demon lover who had handed her over to Damon to be killed, even while pretending to make a deal with her. NineA.M . saw him driving down the main street of the town, past an antique store, eateries, a shop for greeting cards. Wait. There it was. A new store that sold sunglasses. He parked and got out of the car with an elegance of motion born of centuries of careless movement that wasted not an erg of energy. Once again, Damon flashed the instantaneous smile, and then he turned it off, admiring himself in the dark glass of the window. Yes, no matter how you look at it, I am gorgeous, he thought absently. The door had a bell that made a tinkling sound as he entered. Inside was a plump and very pretty girl with brown hair tied back and large blue eyes. She had seen Damon and she was smiling shyly. â€Å"Hi.† And though he hadn't asked, she added, in a voice that quavered, â€Å"I'm Page.† Damon gave her a long, unhurried look that ended in a smile, slow and brilliant and complicit. â€Å"Hello, Page,† he said, drawing it out. Page swallowed. â€Å"Can I help you?† â€Å"Oh, yes,† Damon said, holding her with his eyes, â€Å"I think so.† He turned serious. â€Å"Did you know,† he said, â€Å"that you really belong as a chatelaine in a castle in the Middle Ages?† Page went white, then blushed furiously – and looked all the better for it. â€Å"I – I always wished that I'd been born back then. But how could you know that?† Damon just smiled. Elena looked at Stefan with wide eyes that were the dark blue of lapis lazuli with a scattering of gold. He'd just told her that she was going to have Visitors! In all the seven days of her life, since she had returned from the afterlife, she had never – ever – had a Visitor. First thing, right away, was to find out what a Visitor was. Fifteen minutes after entering the sunglasses shop, Damon was walking down the sidewalk, wearing a brand-new pair of Ray-Bans and whistling. Page was taking a little nap on the floor. Later, her boss would threaten to make her pay for the Ray-Bans herself. But right now she felt warm and deliriously happy – and she had a memory of ecstasy that she would never entirely forget. Damon window-shopped, although not exactly the way a human would. A sweet old woman behind the counter of the greeting cards shop†¦no. A guy at the electronics shop†¦no. But†¦something drew him back to the electronics shop. Such clever devices they were inventing these days. He had a strong urge to acquire a palm-sized video camera. Damon was used to following his urges and was not picky about donors in an emergency. Blood was blood, whatever vessel it came in. A few minutes after he'd been shown how to work the little toy, he was walking down the sidewalk with it in his pocket. He was enjoying just walking, although his fangs were aching again. Strange, he should be sated – but then, he'd had almost nothing yesterday. That must be why he still felt hungry; that and the Power he'd used on the damnable parasite in Caroline's room. But meanwhile he took pleasure in the way his muscles were working together smoothly and without effort, like a well-oiled machine, making every movement a delight. He stretched once, for the pure animal enjoyment of it, and then stopped again to examine himself in the window of the antiques store. Slightly more disheveled, but otherwise as beautiful as ever. And he'd been right; the Ray-Bans looked wicked on him. The antiques store was owned, he knew, by a widow with a very pretty, very young niece. It was dim and air-conditioned inside. â€Å"Do you know,† he asked the niece when she came to wait on him, â€Å"that you strike me as someone who would like to see a lot of foreign countries?† Some time after Stefan explained to Elena that Visitors were her friends, hergood friends, he wanted her to get dressed. Elena didn't understand why. It was hot. She had given in to wearing a Night Gown (for at least most of the night), but the daytime was even warmer, and she didn't have a Day Gown. Besides, the clothes he was offering her – a pair of his jeans rolled up at the hems and a polo shirt that would be much too big – were†¦wrong somehow. When she touched the shirt she got pictures of hundreds of women in small rooms, all using sewing machines in bad light, all working frantically. â€Å"From a sweat shop?† Stefan said, startled, when she showed him the picture in her mind.†These?† He dropped the clothes on the floor of the closet hastily. â€Å"What about this one?† Stefan handed her a different shirt. Elena studied it soberly, held it to her cheek. No sweating, frantically sewing women. â€Å"Okay?† Stefan said. But Elena had frozen. She went to the window and peered out. â€Å"What's wrong?† This time, she sent him only one picture. He recognized it immediately. Damon. Stefan felt a tightening in his chest. His older brother had been making Stefan's existence as miserable as possible for nearly half a millennium. Every time that Stefan had managed to get away from him, Damon had tracked him down, looking for†¦what? Revenge? Some final satisfaction? They had killed each other at the same instant, back in Renaissance Italy. Their fencing swords had pierced each other's hearts almost simultaneously, in a duel over a vampire girl. Things had only gone downhill from there. But he's saved your life a few times, too, Stefan thought, suddenly discomfited. And you promised you'd watch out for each other, take care of each other†¦. Stefan looked sharply at Elena.She was the one who'd made both of them take the same oath – when she was dying. Elena looked back with eyes that were limpid, deep blue pools of innocence. In any case, he had to deal with Damon, who was now parking his Ferrari beside Stefan's Porsche in front of the boardinghouse. â€Å"Stay in here and – and keep away from the window.Please ,† Stefan hastily told Elena. He dashed out of the room, shut the door, and almost ran down the steps. He found Damon standing by the Ferrari, examining the dilapidated boardinghouse's exterior – first with sunglasses on, then with them off. Damon's expression said that it didn't make a great deal of difference whichever way you looked at it. But that wasn't Stefan's first concern. It was Damon's aura and the variety of different scents lingering on him – which no human nose would ever be able to detect, much less untangle. â€Å"What have you beendoing ?† Stefan said, too shocked for even a perfunctory greeting. Damon gave him a 250-watt smile. â€Å"Antiquing,† he said, and sighed. â€Å"Oh, and I did some shopping.† He fingered a new leather belt, touched the pocket with the video camera, and pushed back his Ray-Bans. â€Å"Would you believe it, this little dust speck of a town has some pretty decent shopping. I like shopping.† â€Å"You like stealing, you mean. And that doesn't account for half of what I can smell on you. Are you dying or have you just gone crazy?† Sometimes, when a vampire had been poisoned or had succumbed to one of the few mysterious curses or illnesses that afflict their kind, they would feed feverishly, uncontrollably, on whatever – whomever – was at hand. â€Å"Just hungry,† Damon replied urbanely, still surveying the boardinghouse. â€Å"And what happened to basic civility, by the way? I drive all the way out here and do I get a  ¡Ã‚ ®Hello, Damon,' or  ¡Ã‚ ®Nice to see you, Damon'? No. Instead I hear  ¡Ã‚ ®What have you been doing, Damon?'† He gave the imitation a whining, mocking twist. â€Å"I wonder what Signore Marino would think of that, little brother?† â€Å"Signore Marino,† Stefan said through his teeth, wondering how Damon was able to get under his skin every time – today with a reference to their old tutor of etiquette and dancing – â€Å"has been dust for hundreds of years by now – as we should be, too. Which has nothing to do with this conversation, brother . I asked you what you were doing, and you know what I meant by it – you must have bled half the girls in town.† â€Å"Girls and women,† Damon reproved, holding up a finger facetiously. â€Å"We must be politically correct, after all. And maybe you should be taking a closer look at your own diet. If you drank more, you might begin to fill out. Who knows?† â€Å"If I drank more – ?† There were a number of ways to finish this sentence, but no good ones. â€Å"What a pity,† he said instead to the short, slim, and compact Damon, â€Å"thatyou'll never grow another millimeter taller however long you live. And now, why don't you tell me what you're doing here, after leaving so many messes in town for me to clean up – if I know you.† â€Å"I'm here because I want my leather jacket back,† Damon said flatly. â€Å"Why not just steal anoth – ?† Stefan broke off as he suddenly found himself flying briefly backward and then pinned against the groaning boards of the boardinghouse wall, with Damon right in his face. â€Å"I didn't steal these things,boy . I paid for them – in my own coin. Dreams, fantasies, and pleasure from beyond this world.† Damon said the last words with emphasis, since he knew they would infuriate Stefan the most. Stefanwas infuriated – and in a dilemma. He knew Damon was curious about Elena. That was bad enough. But right now he could also see a strange gleam in Damon's eyes. As if the pupils had, for a moment, reflected a flame. And whatever Damon had been doing today was abnormal. Stefan didn't know what was going on, but he knew just how Damon was going to finish this off. â€Å"But a real vampire shouldn't pay,† Damon was saying in his most taunting tones. â€Å"After all, we're so wicked that we ought to be dust. Isn't that right, little brother?† He held up the hand with the finger on which he wore the lapis lazuli ring that kept him from crumbling to dust in the golden afternoon sunlight. And then, as Stefan made a movement, Damon used that hand to pin Stefan's wrist to the wall. Stefan feinted to the left and then lunged right to break Damon's hold on him. But Damon was fast as a snake – no, faster. Much faster than usual. Fast and strong with all the energy of the life force he'd absorbed. â€Å"Damon, you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Stefan was so angry that he briefly lost his hold on rational thought and tried to swipe Damon's legs out from under him. â€Å"Yes, it's me, Damon,† Damon said with jubilant venom. â€Å"And I don't pay if I don't feel like it; I just take. Itake what I want, and I give nothing in return.† Stefan stared into those heated black-on-black eyes and again saw the tiny flicker of flame. He tried to think. Damon was always quick to attack, to take offense. Butnot like this . Stefan had known him long enough to know something was off; something was wrong. Damon seemed almost feverish. Stefan sent a small surge of Power toward his brother, like a radar sweep, trying to put his finger on what was different. â€Å"Yes, I see you've got the idea, but you'll never get anywhere that way,† Damon said wryly, and then suddenly Stefan's insides, his entire body was on fire, was in agony, as Damon lashed out with a violent whip of his own Power. And now, however bad the pain was, Stefan had to be coldly rational; he had to keepthinking , not just reacting. He made a small movement, twisting his neck to the side, looking toward the door of the boardinghouse. If only Elena would stay inside†¦ But it was hard to think with Damon still whiplashing him. He was breathing fast and hard. â€Å"That's right,† Damon said. â€Å"We vampirestake – a lesson you need to learn.† â€Å"Damon, we're supposed to take care of each other – we promised – â€Å" â€Å"Yes, and I'm going to take care ofyou right now.† And Damon bled him. It was even more painful than the lashings of Power, and Stefan held himself carefully still for it, refusing to put up a struggle. The razor-sharp teeth shouldn't have hurt as they plunged into his carotid, but Damon was holding him at an angle – now by his hair – deliberately so that they did. Then came the real pain. The agony of having blood drawn out against your will, against your resistance. That was a torture that humans compared with having their souls ripped out from their living bodies. They would do anything to avoid it. All Stefan knew was that it was one of the greatestphysical anguishes that he had ever had to endure, and that at last tears formed in his eyes and rolled down his temples and down into his wavy dark hair. Worse, for a vampire, was the humiliation of having another vampire treat you like a human, treat you likemeat . Stefan's heart was pounding in his ears as he writhed under the double carving knives of Damon's canines, trying to bear the mortification of being used this way. At least – thank God – Elena had listened to him and stayed in his room. He was beginning to wonder if Damon had truly gone insane and meant to kill him when – at last – with a shove that sent him off balance, Damon released him. Stefan tripped and fell, rolled, and looked up, only to find Damon standing over him again. He pressed his fingers to the torn flesh on his neck. â€Å"And now,† Damon said coldly, â€Å"you will go up and get me my jacket.† Stefan got up slowly. He knew Damon must be savoring this: Stefan's humiliation, Stefan's neat clothes wrinkled and covered with torn blades of grass and mud from Mrs. Flowers' scraggly flower bed. He did his best to brush them off with one hand, the other still pressed to his neck. â€Å"You're quiet,† Damon remarked, standing by his Ferrari, running his tongue over his lips and gums, his eyes narrow with pleasure. â€Å"No snappy back talk? Not even a word? I think this is a lesson I should teach you more often.† Stefan was having trouble making his legs move. Well, that went about as well as could be expected, he thought as he turned back toward the boardinghouse. Then he stopped. Elena was leaning out of the unshuttered window in his room, holding Damon's jacket. Her expression was very sober, suggesting she'd seen everything. It was a shock for Stefan, but he suspected it was an even greater shock for Damon. And then Elena whirled the jacket around once and threw it so that it made a direct landing at Damon's feet, wrapping around them. To Stefan's astonishment, Damon went pale. He picked up the jacket as if he didn't really want to touch it. His eyes were on Elena the whole time. He got in his car. â€Å"Good-bye, Damon. I can't say it's been a pleasure – â€Å" Without a word, looking for all the world like a naughty child who'd been whipped, Damon turned on the ignition. â€Å"Just leave me alone,† he said expressionlessly in a low voice. He drove off in a cloud of dust and gravel. Elena's eyes were not serene when Stefan shut the door to his room behind him. They were shining with a light that nearly stopped him in the doorway. Hehurtyou. â€Å"He hurts everyone. He doesn't seem to be able to help it. But there was something weird about him today. I don't know what. Right now, I don't care. But look at you, making sentences!† He's†¦Elena paused, and for the first time since she'd first opened her eyes back in the glade where she had been resurrected, there was a frown-wrinkle on her forehead. She couldn't make a picture. She didn't know the right words.Something inside him. Growing inside him. Like†¦cold fire, dark light, she said finally.But hidden. Fire that burns from the inside out. Stefan tried to match this up with anything he'd heard of and came up blank. He was still humiliated that Elena had seen what had happened. â€Å"AllI know that's inside him is my blood. Along with that of half the girls in town.† Elena shut her eyes and shook her head slowly. Then, as if deciding not to go any further down that path, she patted the bed beside her. Come,she ordered confidently, looking up. The gold in her eyes seemed especially lustrous.Let me†¦unhurt†¦the pain. When Stefan didn't come immediately, she held out her arms. Stefan knew he shouldn't go to them, but hewas hurt – especially in his pride. He went to her and bent down to kiss her hair.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Essay on Franklin D. Roosevelt an Influential Leader

Franklin D. Roosevelt: An Influential Leader Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was a man of unusual charm and great optimism, which he was able to communicate to others. He had a broad smile and was a charismatic optimist whose confidence helped sustain the nation through its darkest moments during crisis like the Great Depression and World War II. He became one of the most beloved of U.S. presidents for four terms in office. But beneath his outward friendliness was an inner reserve and an iron will. His admirers emphasized the way in which he met the nations problems. They praised him for insisting that the federal government must help the underprivileged and that the United States must share in the responsibility for†¦show more content†¦Roosevelt recognized that if he kept the banks open, panicked depositors would withdraw their money and more banks would fail. FDR declared a bank holiday during which time a hastily prepared emergency banking bill gave the Secretary of the Treasury the power to investigate all banks and then reopen those strong enough to survive (Boorstin 624). As the number of radios grew in the U.S., more people relied on this media for obtaining information and entertainment. During the Great Depression, when disappointment in the economy reached its peak, FDR resorted to speeches on the radio. These became known as Fireside Chats (Boorstin 624) during which FDR talked about the banking system and other economic concerns. In these chats, he could describe his actions and his reasoning so that everyone would understand what the government was doing (The Great Depression). The New Deal was a program designed to reverse the effects of the Depression. Some of the successful programs that it encompassed were ones such as the following: 1. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which provided jobs for single men between the ages of 18 and 25 and earned $1.00 each day. 2. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), which helped farmers by paying them not to produce crops; thereby, keeping their income from dropping by overproducing certain crops. Since less was being grown, the price for farm goodsShow MoreRelated Franklin D. Roosevelt: An Influential Leader Essay1305 Words   |  6 PagesFranklin D. Roosevelt: An Influential Leader Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was a man of unusual charm and great optimism, which he was able to communicate to others. He had a broad smile and was a charismatic optimist whose confidence helped sustain the nation through its darkest moments during crisis like the Great Depression and World War II. He became one of the most beloved of U.S. presidents for four terms in office. But beneath his outward friendliness was an inner reserve and an ironRead MoreFranklin D. Roosevelt : An Effective American President And Leader1509 Words   |  7 Pages1 Bernier Abby Bernier Mrs. Walden Sophomore Honors History Period 1 8 December 2014 The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt Thesis: Franklin D. Roosevelt was an effective American president and leader. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a powerful leader and one of the most highly regarded presidents in American history. He connected well with American people, had a strong character, possessed a clear vision for America, had valuable political skills, and could lead people in challenging times. With recentRead MoreFranklin Delano Roosevelt And The First President Of The United States Of America1351 Words   |  6 Pages12/18/15 5th period Mrs. Dowling FDR American Bad*** Introduction and Thesis â€Å"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.† These famous words were spoken by Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was the thirty second president of The United States of America. He served four terms as president (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945) and was a major leader in the allied powers during World War II without him the allied powers might not have been able to win the war He helped the american people regain faith in themselvesRead MoreEleanor Roosevelt : An American Diplomat886 Words   |  4 PagesEleanor Roosevelt, whose full name was Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, was born on the 11th of October in 1884 in the city of New York and passed away on the 7th of November in 1962 in Manhattan, New York. Roosevelt was born to Elliot Roosevelt and Anna Call Roosevelt. Roosevelt was known for being an American diplomat, humanitarian, and first lady. Roosevelt served as first lady in 1933-1945, she was the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt who served as the 32nd president. Dur ing Roosevelt’s time, she was oneRead MoreWhy Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a Great Man?1907 Words   |  8 PagesTheory’ it can be said that Franklin Delano Roosevelt upheld his victorious and highly regarded government through means of social, economic and political reforms, as well as ambitious personal and strategic decisions that have successfully remained influential to American society today and maintained his image as a prominent historic leader. Franklin Roosevelt was the 32nd President of America from 1933 – 1945, eminent historian Sean J Savage articulated that Roosevelt remained a central figureRead MoreGeneral Info And Early Political Career1401 Words   |  6 PagesGeneral info and Early Political Career Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in 1882 in New York to a rich family. He went to Groton School and Harvard College to get an education. He married Eleanor Roosevelt and had six children with her. His hobbies included stamp collecting and relaxing on his yacht. He started his political career in 1910 when he joined the New York State Senate and then continued on as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. He ran for vice presidentRead MoreThe Historical Measures Of Our Country1287 Words   |  6 Pagesreasons. One reason is because they helped our country become the great country it is today. Many documents, or speeches turned into documents, mark major events that helped develop our country. It is during the weaker moments when the strength of our leaders shine. Overlooking the past, there are many different documents spread out along the timeline. Some happened under pressure while others involved time and effort before the final masterpiece was finis hed. These great documents vary in a wide rangeRead MoreBorn On January 30Th, 1882, In Hyde Park, New York, Franklin1217 Words   |  5 PagesPark, New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt soon became arguably the most influential president in United States history. Roosevelt was the only president to be elected to four terms. He led the United States through some of its most difficult struggles, including the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt also was very set on expanding presidential power, which he did through his New Deal Program. Born into a rich family, a family well-known in several generations, Roosevelt was an only childRead MoreHitlers Leadership Essay923 Words   |  4 PagesAdolph Hitler is seen by many as a socialist with great wickedness that scarred the world forever however; Hitler was one of the most influential leaders of all time with great intelligence and charisma despite his unstable childhood and insecurity. 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