Last Sacrifice Chapter Thirty-one

I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE who had come to that startling conclusion. When the Moroi Court woke up several hours into our road trip, Lissa was also putting all the pieces together in her room as she prepared herself to give her pre-election speech. She'd thought of all the arguments I had, plus a few more–like how frantic Daniella had been that Adrian might be implicated with me, which would undoubtedly unravel a carefully laid out plan. There was also Daniella's offer of having her lawyer cousin, Damon Tarus, defend me. Would that have actually helped? Or would Damon have subtly worked to weaken my defense? Abe's uncouth involvement might have been a blessing. Lissa's heart pounded rapidly as she twisted her hair into a chignon. She preferred it down but thought for the coming event, she should put on a more dignified look. Her dress was matte ivory silk, long-sleeved and ruched, about knee length. Some might have thought wearing that color would make her look bridal, but when I saw her in the mirror, I knew no one would make that mistake. She looked luminous. Radiant. Queenly. â€Å"It can't be true,' she said, completing the look with pearl earrings that had belonged to her mother. She had shared her theory with Christian and Janine, who were with her now, and had half hoped they'd tell her she was crazy. They hadn't. â€Å"It makes sense,' said Christian, with none of his usual snark. â€Å"There's just no proof quite yet,' my mother said, ever practical. â€Å"Lots of circumstantial stuff.' â€Å"Aunt Tasha's checking with Ethan to see if Daniella was there the night of the murder,' said Christian. He made a slight face, still not happy about his aunt having a boyfriend. â€Å"Daniella wasn't on the official lists, but Aunt Tasha's worried some things might have been altered.' â€Å"That wouldn't surprise me. Even so, putting Daniella there at the right time builds the case but still isn't hard proof.' My mother should have been an attorney. She and Abe could have opened a law firm together. â€Å"It's as much proof as they've got for Rose!' exclaimed Lissa. â€Å"Aside from the stake,' Janine reminded her. â€Å"And people are more willing to believe sketchy evidence about Rose than Lady Daniella Ivashkov.' Lissa sighed, knowing it was all true. â€Å"If only Abe could talk to the Alchemists. We need what they know.' â€Å"He'll do it,' said my mother confidently. â€Å"It'll just take time.' â€Å"We don't have time!' The dramatic turn of events was giving spirit a nice chance to raise its ugly head, and like always, I tried to pull the darkness from Lissa. You'd think I would have learned my lesson after Victor, but well †¦ old habits died hard. They come first. ‘Marie Conta and Rufus Tarus are the only candidates left! If he wins, Daniella's going to have a lot of influence. We'll never prove Rose is innocent then.' Ariana failing the last test had come as a huge blow to everyone, smashing a future Lissa had thought was set in stone. Without Ariana, the outcome didn't look good. Marie Conta wasn't Lissa's favorite person, but Lissa felt she'd make a much better ruler than Rufus. Unfortunately, the Conta family had been quiet in politics in recent years, giving them fewer allies and friends. The numbers were leaning dangerously toward Rufus. It was frustrating. If we could get Jill there, Lissa could vote, and on a Council of twelve, even one vote would be powerful. â€Å"We have time,' my mom said calmly. â€Å"There'll be no vote today, not with the controversy you'll cause. And for every day the election is delayed, we have another chance to build our case. We're close. We can do it.' â€Å"We can't tell Adrian about this,' warned Lissa, moving toward the door. It was time to go. Christian's trademark smirk returned. â€Å"That,' he said, â€Å"is something we can all agree on.' The elaborate ballroom–yet again made a Council room for size reasons–looked like a rock concert. People were fighting for spots inside. Some, realizing that was futile, had camped outside the building, picnic style. Someone had thankfully had the brilliant idea to hook up a sound system with outdoor speakers so that those who didn't make it in could still hear the proceedings. Guardians moved through the crowds, trying to contain the chaos–particularly as the candidates arrived. Marie Conta had shown up just before Lissa, and even if she was the least-likely candidate, there were still roars and surges of excitement in the crowd. Guardians hastily–and roughly, if necessary–held the mob back so she could pass. That attention had to be scary, but Marie didn't show it. She walked proudly, smiling at supporters and non-supporters alike. Both Lissa and I recalled Christian's words: You're a queenly nominee. Act like it. You deserve this. You're the last Dragomir. A daughter of royalty. And that was exactly how she behaved. It was more than Christian's urging, too. Now that she'd passed all three tests, the gravity of the ancient procedure she was entering continued to grow. Lissa walked in, her head held high. I couldn't see her whole body, but I recognized the feel of her walk: graceful, stately. The crowd loved it, and it occurred to me that this group was particularly vocal because most weren't royal. Those gathered outside were ordinary Moroi, the ones who had come to truly love her. â€Å"Alexandra's heir!' â€Å"Bring back the dragon!' For some, it was simply enough to shout her name, adding on the titles of an old Russian folktale heroine who shared the same name: â€Å"Vasilisa the brave! Vasilisa the beautiful!' I knew no one would guess the fear she felt inside. She was that good. Christian and my mother, who had initially flanked her, fell back as one, letting Lissa walk a couple steps ahead. There was no question of Lissa's position and authority. She took each step with confidence, remembering that her grandfather had also walked this path. She tried to give the crowd a smile that was both dignified but genuine. It must have worked because they went even wilder. And when she paused to comment on a dragon banner a man had painted in support, the artist nearly passed out that someone like her would notice and compliment him. â€Å"This is unprecedented,' remarked my mom, once they'd safely made it inside. â€Å"There's never been this sort of turnout. There certainly wasn't during the last election.' â€Å"Why so great this time?' asked Lissa, who was trying to get her breathing under control. â€Å"Because there's so much sensation, between the murder and you muddling the law. That and †¦ well, the way you're winning the hearts of every non-royal out there. The dhampirs too. There's a dragon sign in one of our coffee rooms, you know. I even think some of the royals love you, though maybe it's just to spite whatever family they're feuding with. But seriously? If this were up to all of the people and not just the Council– and well, if it was a vote you were eligible for–I think you'd win.' Lissa grimaced but then reluctantly added, â€Å"Honestly? I think we should have popular votes for our leaders. Every Moroi should cast a vote, not just a handful of elite families.' â€Å"Careful there, princess,' teased Christian, putting his arm through hers. â€Å"That's the kind of talk that'll start another revolution. One at a time, okay?' The ballroom's crowd wasn't as crazy as the outside one had been–but was pretty close. The guardians were ready for the numbers this time and had made sure to keep strict control from the very beginning. They kept a tight count of how many were allowed in the room and stopped royal and non-royal squabbles. It was still intimidating, and Lissa reminded herself over and over that playing this role was helping me. For me, she would endure anything, even the fanfare. This time, fortunately, Lissa was swept up pretty quickly to the room's front, to where three chairs facing the crowd had been set up for the candidates. Rufus and Marie were already seated, speaking in low voices to a few select family members. Guardians stood around them. Lissa sat alone, of course, but nodded to nearby guards when Tasha approached. Tasha crouched beside Lissa, speaking low and keeping a wary eye on Rufus as he talked to someone. â€Å"Bad news. Well, depending on how you look at it. Ethan says Daniella was there that night. She and Tatiana met alone. He didn't realize it hadn't been put on the records. Someone else wrote those up on behalf of all the guards on duty, but he swears he saw Daniella himself.' Lissa winced. Secretly, she'd been hoping–praying, even–that she'd made a mistake, that surely Adrian's mother couldn't have done this. She gave a swift nod to show she understood. â€Å"I'm sorry,' said Tasha. â€Å"I know you liked her.' â€Å"I think I'm more worried about Adrian. I don't know how he'll take it.' â€Å"Hard,' said Tasha bluntly. After what she'd faced with Christian's parents, she knew better than anyone else what it was like to have family betray you. â€Å"But he'll make it through. And as soon as we can put all this evidence forward, we'll have Dimitri and Rose back.' Those words filled Lissa with hope, strengthening her. â€Å"I miss her so much,' she said. â€Å"I wish she was here already.' Tasha gave her a sympathetic smile and patted her shoulder. â€Å"Soon. They'll be back soon. Just get through this for now. You can do this. You can change everything.' Lissa wasn't so sure about that, but Tasha hurried off to join her â€Å"activist friends' and was replaced by–Daniella. She'd come to talk to Rufus, offering support and family love. Lissa couldn't bear to look at the older woman and felt even worse when Daniella spoke to her. â€Å"I'm not sure how you got involved with this, dear, but good luck.' Daniella's smile seemed sincere, but there was no question which candidate she supported. Her kindly expression turned to concern. â€Å"Have you seen Adrian? I thought for sure he'd be here. I know the guardians would let him in.' Excellent question. Lissa hadn't seen him in the last day or so. â€Å"I haven't. Maybe he's just running late. Doing his hair or something.' Hopefully not passed out somewhere. Daniella sighed. â€Å"I hope so.' She left, taking a seat in the audience. Once again, Adrian's father was running the session, and after several false starts, the room quieted. â€Å"In the last week,' Nathan began, speaking into a microphone, â€Å"many worthy candidates have taken the tests required to rule our people. Before us sit the final three: Rufus Tarus, Marie Conta, and Vasilisa Dragomir.' Nathan's tone sounded displeased over that last one, but thus far, the law would let her give her speech. After that, the law's inconsistency kicked in, and all hell would break loose. â€Å"These three have shown they have the ability to rule, and as their last act, before we vote, each will speak about their plans for our people.' Rufus was up first, delivering exactly the kind of speech I'd expected. He played on Moroi fears, promising extreme forms of protection–most of which involved dhampirs but didn't get into much detail. â€Å"Our safety must be our top priority,' he proclaimed. â€Å"At all costs. Will it be difficult? Yes. Will there be sacrifices? Yes. But aren't our children worth it? Don't we care about them?' Bringing children into it was just low, I decided. At least he'd left puppies out. He also used dirty politician tricks, slandering his rivals. Marie was mostly slammed for her family's lack of activity. Lissa, however, was a great target. He pushed her age, the danger of spirit, and the fact that her being there in the first place was a violation of the law. Marie's speech was much more thoughtful and detailed. She laid out very explicit plans on all sorts of issues, most of which were reasonable. I didn't agree with all she said, but she was clearly competent and didn't lower herself to mocking her competition. Unfortunately, she wasn't nearly as charismatic as Rufus, and it was a sad truth that that could make a big difference. Her monotone closing summed up not only her speech but also her personality. â€Å"Those are the reasons why I should be queen. I hope you enjoyed this talk and will vote for me when the time comes. Thank you.' She abruptly sat down. Lissa's turn came at last. Standing before her microphone, she suddenly saw the chalice's dream, where she'd faltered in front of the Council. But no, this was reality. She wouldn't fail. She would go forward. â€Å"We're a people at war,' she began, voice loud and clear. â€Å"We're constantly attacked–but not just by Strigoi. By one another. We're divided. We fight with one another. Family against family. Royal against non-royal. Moroi against dhampir. Of course the Strigoi are picking us off. They're at least united behind a goal: killing.' If I had been sitting there in that audience, I would have been leaning forward, mouth open. As it was, there were plenty of people there to do it for me. Her words were volatile. Shocking. And utterly captivating. â€Å"We are one people,' she continued. â€Å"Moroi and dhampir alike.' Yeah, that got some gasps too. â€Å"And while it's impossible for every single person to get their way, no one will get anything done if we don't come together and find ways to meet in the middle–even if it means making hard choices.' Then, extraordinarily, she explained how it could be done. True, she didn't have the time to give fine details on every single issue in our world, but she hit a lot of the big ones. And she managed to do it in a way that didn't offend anyone too badly. After all, she was right in saying not everyone could get their way. Still, she spoke about how the dhampirs were our best warriors–and would be better with a stronger voice. She spoke about how non-royals needed a greater voice too–but not at the cost of losing the exalted royal lines that defined our people. Finally, in addressing the issue of training Moroi to defend themselves, she did emphasize its importance–but not as something mandatory and not as the only method needing to be explored. Yes, she gave something to everyone and did it beautifully and charismatically. It was the kind of speech that could make people follow her anywhere. She concluded with, â€Å"We have always mixed the old with the new. We've kept magic alongside technology. We conduct these sessions with scrolls and–with these.' She smiled and tapped her microphone. â€Å"That's how we have survived. We hold onto our pasts and embrace our present. We take the best of it all and grow stronger. That's how we have survived. That's how we will survive.' Silence met her conclusion–and then the cheers began. I actually heard the roar from outside on the lawn before it started within. People I would have sworn supported others were practically in tears, and I hadn't forgotten that most of the people I had visuals on in this room were royal. Lissa herself wanted to burst into tears but instead took her due bravely. When she finely sat down, and the crowd quieted, Nathan resumed his role. â€Å"Well,' he said. â€Å"That was a very pretty speech, one we all enjoyed. But now, the time has come for the Council to vote on our next leader, and–by law–only two candidates stand ready for that position: Rufus Tarus and Marie Conta.' Two Moroi, one each from the Tarus and Conta families, came forward to join their respective candidates. Nathan's gaze fell on Lissa who had risen like the others but stood alone. â€Å"According to the election laws–laws set down since the beginning of time–each candidate must approach the Council, escorted by someone of their bloodline in order to show family strength and unity. Do you have any such person?' Lissa met his eyes unflinchingly. â€Å"No, Lord Ivashkov.' â€Å"Then I'm afraid your part in this game is over, Princess Dragomir.' He smiled. â€Å"You may sit down now.' Yup. That's when all hell broke loose. I'd always heard the expression, â€Å"And the crowd goes wild!' Now, I saw it in the flesh. Half the time, I couldn't even keep track of who was shouting or supporting what. People argued in clusters and one-on-one. A couple of Moroi in jeans challenged every well-dressed person they could find, operating under the irrational assumptions that anyone in nice clothes must be royal and that all royals hated Lissa. Their devotion to her was admirable. Creepy, but admirable. One group from the Tarus family stood face to face with a Conta group, looking prepared for either a gang fight or a dance-off. That was one of the most bizarre pairings of all since those two families were the only ones who should be in complete agreement on anything. On and on it went. People fought about whether Lissa should be eligible for the vote. They fought about having a session to change the law books right at that moment. Some fought over things I'd never even heard of before. A rush of guardians to the door made me think the outside crowd was trying to break in. My mother was among that defense, and I knew she'd been right: there'd be no vote today, not with this anarchy. They'd have to close the session and try again tomorrow. Lissa stared at the crowd, feeling numb and unable to keep up with all the activity. Her stomach twisted as something dawned on her. All this time, she'd sworn that she'd respect the dignity of the election tradition. Yet, it was because of her that things were now anything but dignified. It was all her fault. Then, her eyes fell on someone sitting in a back corner, far from the pandemonium. Ekaterina Zeklos. The old former queen caught Lissa's eye–and winked. I faded out of that room, not needing to see any more of the arguing. I returned to the car ride, a new thought in my head. Lissa's words burned in my soul. They had stirred my heart. And even if she'd given her speech as a decoy, there had been passion in them–ardent belief. If she had been eligible to be queen, she would have stood behind those words. And that's when I knew. She would be queen. I decided then and there that I would make it happen. We wouldn't bring Jill simply to give Lissa her Council vote. Jill would give Lissa the status that would allow Moroi to vote for her. And Lissa would win. Naturally, I kept these thoughts to myself. â€Å"That's a dangerous look,' said Dimitri, giving me a brief glance before returning his eyes to the road. â€Å"What look?' I asked innocently. â€Å"The one that says you just got some idea.' â€Å"I didn't just get an idea. I got a great idea.' Jokes like that used to make Jill laugh, but turning to look at her in the backseat showed me she didn't find much funny at all. â€Å"Hey, you okay?' I asked. Those jade eyes focused on me. â€Å"I'm not sure. A lot's kind of happened. And I don't really get what's going to happen next. I feel like †¦ like some kind of object that's going to be used in someone's master plan. Like a pawn.' A bit of guilt tugged at me. Victor had always used people as part of a game. Was I any different? No. I cared about Jill. â€Å"You're not an object or a pawn,' I told her. â€Å"But you're very, very important, and because of you, a lot of good things are going to happen.' â€Å"It won't be that simple though, will it?' She sounded wise beyond her years. â€Å"Things are going to get worse before they get better, aren't they?' I couldn't lie to her. â€Å"Yeah. But then you'll get to contact your mom †¦ and well, like I said, good things will happen. Guardians always say â€Å"They come first' when we're talking about Moroi. It's not exactly the same for you, but in doing this †¦ well †¦' She gave me a smile that didn't seem very happy. â€Å"Yeah, I get it. It's for the greater good, right?' Sonya had spent a lot of the ride working on a charm for me, using a silver bracelet we'd bought at a roadside gift shop. It was tacky-looking but made of real silver, which was what counted. When we were about a half hour from Greenston, she deemed it finished and handed it over. I slipped it on and looked at the others. â€Å"Well?' â€Å"I don't see anything,' said Sonya, â€Å"but then, I wouldn't.' Jill squinted. â€Å"You seem a little blurry †¦ like I just need to blink a few times.' â€Å"Same here,' said Dimitri. Sonya was pleased. â€Å"That's how it should look to people who know she's got a charm on. Hopefully, to the other guardians, she'll be wearing a different face.' It was a variation of what Lissa had made when we'd busted Victor out of prison. Only, this required less magic because Sonya only had to slightly alter my features and didn't need to obscure my race. She was also more practiced than Lissa. The restaurant I'd chosen in Greenston had long since closed when we rolled in at eleven thirty. The parking lot was nearly black, but I could make out a car in the back corner. Hopefully, it was Mikhail having gotten there early–and not a guardian hit squad. But when we parked nearby, I saw that it was indeed Mikhail who got out of the car– along with Adrian. He grinned when he saw me, pleased at the surprise. Really, I should have seen this coming when I'd told him to pass the message on to Mikhail. Adrian would have found a way to come along. My stomach rolled. No, no. Not this. I had no time to deal with my love life. Not now. I didn't even know what to say to Adrian. Fortunately, I wasn't given the chance to speak. Mikhail had come striding toward us with guardian efficiency, ready to find out what task I had in mind. He came to a screeching halt when he saw Sonya get out of our car. So did she. They both stood frozen, eyes wider than seemed physically possible. I knew then that the rest of us had ceased to exist, as had all our intrigue, missions, and †¦ well, the world. In that moment, only the two of them existed. Sonya gave a strangled cry and then ran forward. This jolted him awake, in time to wrap her in his arms as she threw herself against him. She started crying, and I could see tears on his face too. He brushed her hair back and cupped her cheeks, staring down at her and repeating over and over, â€Å"It's you †¦ it's you †¦ it's you †¦' Sonya tried to wipe her eyes, but it didn't do much good. â€Å"Mikhail–I'm sorry–I'm so sorry–‘ â€Å"It doesn't matter.' He kissed her and pulled back only enough to look into her eyes. â€Å"It doesn't matter. Nothing matters except that we're together again.' This made her cry harder. She buried her face against his chest, and his arms tightened more fiercely around her. The rest of us stood as frozen as the lovers had been earlier. It felt wrong witnessing this. It was too private; we shouldn't have been there. Yet †¦ at the same time, I just kept thinking that this was how I'd imagined my reunion with Dimitri would be when Lissa had restored him. Love. Forgiveness. Acceptance. Dimitri and I briefly locked eyes, and an uncanny sense told me he was recalling my words: You have to forgive yourself. If you can't, then you can't go on either. We can't. I glanced away from him, looking back at the happy couple so that he wouldn't see me tear up. God, I wanted what Mikhail and Sonya had. A happy ending. Forgiveness of the past. A bright future ahead. Jill sniffled beside me, and I put an arm around her. That small sound seemed to draw Mikhail back to our world. Still holding Sonya, he looked over at me. â€Å"Thank you. Thank you for this. Anything you need. Anything at all–‘ â€Å"Stop, stop,' I said, afraid I might choke up. I'd only just managed to blink away traitorous tears. â€Å"I'm glad †¦ glad to have done it, and well †¦ it wasn't really me at all.' â€Å"Still †¦' Mikhail looked down at Sonya who was smiling at him through her tears. â€Å"You've given me my world back.' â€Å"I'm so happy for you †¦ and I want you to have this, to just enjoy this right now. But I have a favor. One more favor.' Sonya and Mikhail exchanged glances in a knowing way. You never would have guessed they'd been apart for three years. She nodded, and he returned his gaze to me. â€Å"I figured that's why he brought me here.' He inclined his head toward Adrian. â€Å"I need you to get me into the hotel where the Alchemists are staying.' The small smile on Mikhail's face dropped. â€Å"Rose †¦ I can't get you into any place. You being this close to Court is dangerous enough.' I pulled the bracelet from my pocket. â€Å"I'll have a disguise. They won't know it's me. Is there a reason you'd have to see the Alchemists?' Sonya stayed in his arms, but his eyes were dark with thought. â€Å"They'll have guardians near their rooms. We could probably pass ourselves off as relief.' Dimitri nodded in agreement. â€Å"If it's too different from their scheduled shift change, it'll raise eyebrows †¦ but hopefully you'll have long enough to get in and find out what you need. The guardians are probably more worried about the Alchemists getting out than other guardians getting in.' â€Å"Absolutely,' said Mikhail. â€Å"So it's you and me, Rose?' â€Å"Yup,' I said. â€Å"The fewer, the better. Just enough to question Sydney and Ian. I guess everyone else waits here.' Sonya kissed his cheek. â€Å"I'm not going anywhere.' Adrian had strolled over by now and given Jill a light, brotherly punch in the arm. â€Å"And I'm going to stay and hear how on earth you got involved with this, Jailbait.' Jill mustered a smile for him. She had a pretty hardcore crush on him, and it was a sign of her stress that she didn't blush and go all weak-kneed. They started a conversation, and Dimitri gestured for me to follow him around the car, out of sight. â€Å"This is dangerous,' he said quietly. â€Å"If that charm fails, you probably aren't going to get out of that hotel.' There was an unspoken alive at the end of his words. â€Å"It won't fail. Sonya's good. Besides, if we're caught, maybe they'll bring me back to Court instead of killing me. Imagine how much that will slow the elections.' â€Å"Rose, I'm serious.' I caught hold of his hand. â€Å"I know, I know. This'll be easy. We should be in and out in under an hour, but if we aren't †¦' Man, I hated grim contingencies. â€Å"If we aren't, then send Adrian to Court with Jill, and you and Sonya hide out somewhere until †¦ I don't know.' â€Å"Don't worry about us,' he said. â€Å"You just be careful.' He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. â€Å"Little dhampir, are you–‘ Adrian came strolling around the car, just in time to see that small kiss. I dropped my hand from Dimitri's. None of us said anything, but in that moment, Adrian's eyes †¦ well, I saw his whole world come crashing apart. I felt sicker than if a fleet of Strigoi were around. I felt worse than a Strigoi. Honor, I thought. For real: the guardians should have taught it. Because I hadn't learned it. â€Å"Let's hurry,' said Mikhail, walking over, oblivious to the drama that had just exploded beside him. â€Å"Sonya says you guys have a ticking clock at Court too.' I swallowed, dragging my eyes from Adrian. My heart twisted within my chest. â€Å"Yeah †¦' â€Å"Go,' said Dimitri. â€Å"Remember,' I murmured to him. â€Å"Talking to him is my responsibility. Not yours.' I followed Mikhail to his car, slipping on the charmed bracelet. Before getting inside, I cast a quick glance back. Jill and Sonya were speaking together, Dimitri stood alone, and Adrian was taking out a cigarette, his back to them all. â€Å"I suck,' I said dismally, as Mikhail started the car. It was ineloquent but pretty much summed up my feelings. He didn't respond, probably because it wasn't relevant to our task. Either that, or he was still too wrapped up in the renewal of his own love life. Lucky bastard. It didn't take long to reach the hotel. There were guardians around, covertly placed so as not to draw human attention. None of them stopped us as we walked inside. One even gave Mikhail a nod of recognition. They all looked at me like †¦ well, like they didn't recognize me. Which was good. With so many guardians helping at Court, new faces were to be expected, and mine didn't look like Rose Hathaway's. No one was concerned. â€Å"Which rooms are they in?' Mikhail asked a guardian who was standing in the lobby. â€Å"We're supposed to relieve that shift.' Mikhail's manner was perfectly self-assured, enough that the guardian–while a little surprised–seemed to think this must be okay. â€Å"Only two of you? There are four up there.' I saved us on that one. â€Å"They want more back at Court. Things are getting out of hand, so just two are being assigned here now.' â€Å"Probably all we need up there,' agreed the guardian. â€Å"Third floor.' â€Å"Quick thinking,' Mikhail told me in the elevator. â€Å"That was nothing. I've talked myself out of much worse.' The rooms were easy to spot because a guardian stood outside them. The rest are inside, I realized, wondering if that would be a problem. But, with that same authoritative attitude, Mikhail told the guy that he and the others had been recalled to Court. The guardian summoned his colleagues–one from each Alchemist's rooms, though we couldn't tell whose was whose–and they gave us a brief status report before leaving, including who was in which room. When they were gone, Mikhail looked to me. â€Å"Sydney,' I said. We'd been given key cards and walked right into Sydney's room. She sat cross- legged on her bed, reading a book and looking miserable. She sighed when she saw us. â€Å"Well, what is it now?' I took off the bracelet, letting my illusion vanish. There was no jaw dropping or raised eyebrows from Sydney. Just a knowing look. â€Å"I should have guessed. Are you here to free me?' There was a hopeful note in her voice. â€Å"Um, not exactly.' I hated that Sydney was going to get punished, but smuggling her out wasn't part of the plan now. â€Å"We need to talk to Ian, and it's probably best if you're there. He knows something important. Something we need.' That got the raised eyebrow. She pointed at the door. â€Å"They won't let us talk to each other.' â€Å"They aren't out there,' I said smugly. Sydney shook her head ruefully. â€Å"Rose, you really do scare me sometimes. Just not for the reasons I originally thought you would. Come on. He's next door, but you'll have a hard time getting him to talk.' â€Å"That's where you'll help,' I said, as we walked into the hall. I slipped the bracelet back on. â€Å"He's totally into you. He'll help if you ask.' As I'd guessed, Sydney was completely oblivious to Ian's crush. â€Å"What! He does not– ‘ She shut her mouth as we entered Ian's room. He was watching TV but jumped up when he saw us. â€Å"Sydney! Are you okay?' I shot her a meaningful look. She gave me a pained one in return and then turned her attention back to Ian. â€Å"They need your help with something. Some information.' He turned his gaze on us, and it immediately went colder. â€Å"We answered your questions a hundred times.' â€Å"Not all of them,' I said. â€Å"When you were at Court, you saw a picture on the table. Of a dead man. Who was it?' Ian's lips went into a straight line. â€Å"I don't know.' â€Å"I saw–er, that is, we know you recognized him,' I argued. â€Å"You reacted.' â€Å"I actually saw that too,' admitted Sydney. His tone turned pleading. â€Å"Come on, we don't need to help them anymore. This whole hotel-prison thing is bad enough. I'm sick of their games.' I didn't blame him, really, but we needed him too much. I glanced at Sydney beseechingly, telling her that only she could get us through this. She turned back to Ian. â€Å"What's the deal with the guy in the picture? Is it †¦ is it really horrible? Something secret?' He shrugged. â€Å"No. I just don't want to help them anymore. It's irrelevant.' â€Å"Will you do it for me?' she asked sweetly. â€Å"Please? It might help me get out of trouble.' Sydney was no master of flirting, but I think just the fact she came close to it astonished him. He hesitated for several moments, glanced at us and then back to her. She smiled at him. Ian caved. â€Å"I meant what I said. I don't know who he is. He was with a Moroi woman over in the St. Louis facility one day.' â€Å"Wait,' I said, derailed. â€Å"Moroi come to your places?' â€Å"Sometimes,' said Sydney. â€Å"Just like we came to yours. Some meetings happen in person. We don't usually hold your people prisoner, though.' â€Å"I think this guy was like her bodyguard or something,' Ian said. â€Å"She was the one there on business. He just followed and stayed quiet.' â€Å"A Moroi bodyguard?' â€Å"Not uncommon for those that can't get guardians,' said Mikhail. â€Å"Abe Mazur is proof of that. He's got his own army.' â€Å"I think of them more as a mafia.' My joke aside, I was getting confused. Despite the widespread disdain about learning to fight, sometimes Moroi did have to hire Moroi security because they just couldn't obtain a guardian. Someone like Daniella Ivashkov wouldn't have that problem. In fact, I was pretty sure she'd be entitled to two guardians if she stepped outside protective borders–and she'd made it clear she didn't think Moroi should fight. Why would she travel with Moroi protection when she could have better trained guardians? It made no sense. Still †¦ if you'd killed a queen, you probably did all sorts of unorthodox things. They didn't have to make sense. â€Å"Who was she?' I asked. â€Å"The woman?' â€Å"I didn't know her either,' said Ian. â€Å"I just passed them while they were on their way to something. A meeting, maybe.' â€Å"Do you remember what she looked like?' Something. We needed something. This was on the verge of falling apart, but if Ian could identify Daniella, we might just be set. â€Å"Sure,' he said. â€Å"She's easy to remember.' The ensuing silence irritated me. â€Å"So?' I asked. â€Å"What did she look like?' He told me. The description was not what I had expected.

Gay Marriages Essay

When newer lifestyles creep into our society, inline with our thoughts and liberties, guardians of the older versions are likely to be taken back. These lifestyle changes happen in every sphere of life, like the way we eat or work. In getting along with it, we may have to abandon our traditional ways. Sometimes these may go unnoticed, as it may be beneficial to all, having none to worry about it. But other times the issues in question may be very important and fundamental, and there would be a social debate. Homosexuality and gay marriages is one such issue, which is still being debated widely. With homosexuality and gay marriages becoming increasingly present in our society, it is important that the subject be well debated and all issues projected so that it helps people to take appropriate decisions. The issue of homosexuality is not just relevant for the partners, but also to the families they are a part of, and to the society as a whole. It is therefore important that the society be well informed of the legal and social aspects of gay marriages, while being alive to the fact that evolving lifestyle issues could knock at anyone’s door. The media has a very important and responsible role in helping the larger part of the society to come to terms with evolving lifestyles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is perhaps what the film ‘The Wedding Banquet’ has attempted and succeeded. ‘The Wedding Banquet’ is a thoughtful and touching Chinese film revolving around homosexuality and family ties. The film brings into focus the perception of modern lifestyles, from the traditional point of view, and the difficulties and experiences involved in coming to terms with it (Don). The film projects homosexuality in a wider perspective. A gay relationship, in the midst of a heterosexual marriage and parenting, shows the wider realm of homosexuality and gay relationships. The film brings into focus a gay relationship between a Taiwanese expatriate Wai-Tung and his doctor boyfriend Simon. When Wai-Tung’s parents pressurize their son for his marriage, he plans to buy time by putting impossible conditions for his bride. However a dating company succeeds in finding a suitable match, when Wai-Tung strikes into a convenience marriage with his tenant Wei Wei. The marriage would help Wei Wei from being deported. It is when the parents of Wai-Tung reach America for the wedding banquet of their son, does they know of the developments in the family. The film has several turning points like when Wei Wei seduces an inebriated Wai-Tung and becomes pregnant, leading to deterioration in his relationship with Simon. Wai-Tung’s father approves of the actions of Simon, who he takes as his adopted son . His mother on the other hand is drawn affectionally to her daughter-in-law, whom his father considers as a business participant. At the end the father and mother leave for Taiwan, without any discontent. The movie definitely seems to address the issue of homosexuality in the family context. Bringing the issue of homosexuality face-to-face with traditionally heterosexual cultures, gets everyone on their toes to accept the reality. Lifestyle choices are here to stay and traditions must pave way to it and coexist. This low budget film won recognition for its director Ang Lee, who himself makes a short appearance as a banquet guest. It also won the Golden Bear award in the Berlin Film Festival of 1993 and the best film and best director awards at the 1993 Seattle International Film Festival (Berardinelli, 1993).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rights of homosexuals are increasingly gaining support with time. Homosexuals are being more welcome in our society and their rights are becoming more obvious. Gone are those days when homosexuality was considered a serious crime and homosexuals looked upon as people with sick minds. Although there are societies which still consider homosexuality a crime, it isn’t as dreadful as it once was. These developments indicate the growing perception that homosexuals are a part of our society and therefore should be accorded equal rights, equal protection and equal support from all welfare activities. The favorable trend towards homosexuals may be attributed to the general liberalization of policies in most parts of the world, broader thinking among people and the mixing of cultures and mingling of economics. But it is indeed sad that this never before support, is not extended to gay marriages. A major part of this support and backing, of homosexuality stops short of gay marriages. This indifference to gay marriage, particularly from among supporters of homosexuality stems from their perception of marriage and homosexuality. Gays are generally thought to have multiple partners and that therefore their relationships cannot be deep or emotional. The gays are considered as uncommitted and not being capable of forming lasting relationships. This description of gays cannot be challenged, as gays do have such relationships too. However, it should be noted here that such relationships also exist in heterosexual or straight society too, maybe to a small extent and that too mainly among the youth. What most people need to understand about gays is that, as gays grow and mature, they too like their straight counterparts begin to value and seek committed lasting relationships.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is important to realize the basics behind the emergence of homosexuality. Homosexuality is a naturally developing phenomenon. However, most ignorant people attribute it to a defiance of heterosexual norms and an intention to experiment.   Some people feel that gays could choose being a heterosexual if they wanted, but that, only a very few consider that they have a choice. It is only like heterosexuals being asked to choose the sex they are attracted to. It should be understood that being a gay is natural and not selected. Several gay people, both men and women recall being attracted to people of their own sex from a very young age. The sexual orientation in most people emerge at a very early age like early adolescence, even prior to any sexual experience. Homosexual orientation is a complex subject and cannot be explained by any single or a simple, plain model. No consistent results have been found from research undertaken for homosexual orientation. Despite studying evolutionary and hormonal pattern in homosexuality, scientists have not yet understood the development of homosexual orientation in an individual. Therefore it is improper to assume that homosexuals have a choice, which they have chosen to bypass. Today however, most scientists agree that sexual orientation results from an influence of environment, cognitive and biological factors. Genetic and inborn hormonal traits play an important role in deciding a person’s sexual attitude. Psychologists and psychiatrists believe that homosexuality is not due to emotional or mental disorders; and it was in 1973, when the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its official list of emotional and mental disorders, after appropriate research (APA, 2008). Research based on twin studies also indicate that male homosexuality is genetically mediated. A study with about 76 gay brothers and their families in 1993 by Dean Hamer found that gay men had more gay uncles and cousins on the maternal side compared to the paternal side. One of the most reliable finding in homosexuality adoption was reported by Blanchard and Klassen in 1997, which suggested that the odds of an individual being a gay increased by 33% correpondingly for each older brother. It has been implied that the male foetus causes a maternal immune reaction which is increasingly stronger for each successive male foetus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gay marriages are wrongly perceived by many people to alter family environment. The customary saying that marriage is an institution between a man and a woman holds no water, as there is no real and moral judgement behind it. Such definitions of marriages only raise questions on the eligibility and authenticity of the defining person or institution. Who should be the one to define marriage?. They feel that same-sex couples cannot provide the necessary environment for children’s normal growth. In continuation of this, many consider same-sex marriage as a deterrent to births and continuation of species. They don’t realise that marriages are not just directed to bearing children, as even infertile couples choose to marry or heterosexual couples sometimes choose against having children. Marriage is more about sharing, love and commitment and less about bearing children. It should be realized that gay couples are capable of raising children as much as any straight couple. The fact that there is no significant difference between the children of gay and straight couples, has been proved by research. Psychologists are of the opinion that the gender of the parent is not important in raising the child; it’s the love and commitment on the part of the parents that matter. As for the continuation of species, human species are in no danger of dwindling due to reproductive failure. In fact the population explosion is really disturbing and serious issues are at stake for the oncoming generations. Gay marriages can only help in slowing the rate of population increase, than adding to it. Gay marriages have seen results, since it has already been experimented. Denmark legalised gay marriages in 1989. Several Dutch cities have had same-sex marriage rights for many years. The clergy at first offered opposition to the Danish law and a survey conducted at that time indicated that about 72 percent of the clergy opposed the law. However another survey conducted in 1995 revealed that 89 percent of the clergy supported the law. Gay marriages have been experimented and proved to strengthen the institution of marriage and contribute to the society. Any doubts on the success of gay marriages are fully vacated and its positive impact on the society acknowledged.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interpretation of gay marriage in religion should not be ignored when considering gay marriages. Given the binding of religion and its influence on every aspect of life, people consider religious beliefs above all contemporary issues associated with gay marriages, when deciding on them. Some religions are against homosexuality and gay marriages while some do not consider it as something important to be preached upon. In the Old Testament only two passages are referred to homosexuality, among the several thousands (Piazza, 2007). Buddhism in fact attracts several homosexuals, as there isn’t any homophobia preaching in it. The Theravada Buddhism considers all relationships i.e.; gay, lesbian or straight as being personal matters bearing mutual consent (Robinson, 2008). Therefore all relationships are considered constructive and acceptable as long as both partners are happy. Many people, who believe in Christianity, oppose homosexuality and gay marriage, on the basis of the bible. It should primarily be noted here that the bible was written at a period when there was no understanding of homosexuality or psychosexual orientation. The bible therefore does not recognise people as lesbians or gays. The inference was only directed to homosexual acts committed by persons who were considered heterosexual. However, the bible has been successfully used to interpret the views of both advocates and opponents of homosexuality whenever homosexuality is deliberated. According to the Roman Catholic Church, any sex that does not lead to procreation should be avoided and thus the use of condoms and masturbation is condemned. However, it should also be noted that the church approves sex among sterile couples and sex during pregnancy, which do not lead to procreation (Corvino, 1997). An important aspect of bible interpretation is that, many Christians interpret all texts with much flexibility except when it comes to homosexuality, where  Ã‚   all references to homosexual acts are taken literally. The bible actually pays very little attention to this subject and most importantly Jesus speaks nothing on this topic, in the New Testament. This apart, most instructions and recommendations of the bible are of lesser relevance today, like avoiding pork. The teachings are subconsciously breached casually, as we go about our everyday lives. For instance, there was a prominent woman once spoke at length against homosexuality, in the course of which she broke several Biblical laws by Levitical standards (Piazza, 2007), namely speaking in church, she taught men and wore a cotton and polyester dress. The Bible interestingly has a few example of same sex love. David’s love for Jonathan was implied to be greater than his love for woman, Ruth’s deep love relationship with Naomi and Ruth’s words of pledge are used in most heterosexual weddings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though gay couples are now socially accepted like never before, they are far from equal civil rights. The withholding of civil rights to gay couples can sometimes be life ruining and even life threatening. The inconvenience and sufferings of gay couples as a consequence of these unequal rights can be endlessly said. In most American states, gay couples are not given the right to make medical decisions for their partners, during emergencies. State laws stipulate that the hospitals should reach out to the families of the hospitalised partner, thereby ignoring the gay partner’s concern. Very often, the families are not in good terms with the gay couple, and may even be without contact for a considerable long time. It is obvious that the decisions taken by such families would not be in the best interests of the couple. It is sad that the hostile family even have the right to exclude the partner from the treatment room. Even upon death, the will of the gay partner can be easily challenged and custody decisions overturned by the family (Bidstrup, 2004). Families have the right to deny the surviving partner, even a visit to his partner’s grave. There are several cases where gay couples had been extremely careful in drafting their will, which however were overturned, leaving the surviving partner literally penniless. Whenever arrested, gay couples are forced to provide evidence and testify against their partners. Most gay couples, particularly the older ones have numerous such stories of injustices meted out to their friends or acquaintances. The testimony of a gay partner is as irrelevant as the testimony of a complete stranger, in most courts. In case the partner is jailed, the right to visit the partner is denied in most cases. In matters of law, arrest or imprisonment, the whims of a hostile family and the cooperation of a homophobic judge can have devastating effects on the gay couple. The discrimination is pathetically extended even to the children of gay couples, as gay parents are not able to get parenting rights when children are brought into their family, either by birth or through adoption. These are some civil rights issues, which are in no way connected to the nature of marriages. State laws, which provide for the rights of legally married couples, are denied for gay couples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gay couples are definitely not accorded equal rights, although the situation is improving and would one day catch up with those accorded to heterosexual couples. One must not forget that African-American marriages were not allowed, till the end of civil war. Until 1967, there were at least 15 states that prohibited interracial marriages. It required a US Supreme Court decision that year to ensure inter-racial marriages throughout the United States (Robinson). Same sex marriages are recent happenings, which were earlier not permitted anywhere in the world. The law is often the deciding factor in the fate of homosexuality like in November 2003 when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court termed the ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional. Legislators have indeed played an important role in the acceptance of homosexuality and gay marriages. However there is a lot more for them to do. There are many states in the US, which have yet not legalized gay marriages. Apart from US, there are only a few countries that have recognized homosexual relationships. Social acceptance is a major struggle for homosexuality, which however can begin only after its legalization. Given the progress in acceptability of homosexuality till now, it is evident that all constitutions should and one day, would legalize homosexuality. It should be noted here that the European Union had demanded Turkey to form more liberal laws on sex, as a condition for its membership. Once homosexuality and gay marriages are legalized, the law should provide for the rights of gay couples, and for individual partners. Gay couples should be allowed to live peacefully like any other family, raise children and plan for their future. Homophobic attitudes should be better identified and punished when it attempts to hinder the rights of gay couples. Gay couples too have the responsibility to stand up against victimization rather than suffer alone in silence, fearing social stigma. It is rightly appropriate here to mention the fact that Brendan Fay had lodged a complaint against the Polish president for using his marriage images to warn his countrymen against gay marriages. Fay’s marriage to his partner Tom Moulton, and their marriage certificate was shown in his televised address to the nation. Fay said he considered it to be an insult and has complained to the Polish Consulate in New York (Salazar).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The debate on providing equal rights to same-sex couples would go on. The public support for gay couples, would gradually translate to more support for marriage rights. However it is the law, which ultimately dictates on the right to gay marriages. The right of the individual to exercise his choice on his personal matters would ultimately be given to him, to enable him to select the gender of his partner. When South Africa’s highest court recognised same-sex marriages and decided to extend legal marital rights to gay couples, it became the first country to do so in a continent, which condemns homosexuality. It must be noteworthy to mention here that South Africa’s constitution is one of world’s most advanced and progressive constitutions. Constitutional reforms are important for any society to meet its trends and demands. Conservative societies should recognise and be willing to accept newer trends and passions. Just like racist discrimination was ruled out, a new dawn awaits the universal removal of discrimination to gay marriage; a dawn when all gay couples can live happily with all rights and liberties, without any fear or discrimination. â€Å"Although we cannot find that a fundamental right to same-sex marriage exists in this state, the unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our state constitution,† said New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Barry T. Albin, while offering equal rights to same-sex couples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education too has an important role to play in understanding homosexuality. Understanding the demands and options of today’s lifestyle, is very crucial for any individual, and one should have the relevant education to take appropriate decisions. Our traditional educational policies should be revamped with the realities of today. Educators must let people know to what extent the law currently permits one to select the gender of the person he or she wishes to marry. Educators must be prepared to transform individuals as responsible persons capable of loving, marrying and raising a family, irrespective of the gender of the partner he or she would be married to. Recognition of same sex relationships as being equal to traditional marriages would drastically redefine the meaning of family (Knight, 1997). Educational policy makers should realize that they hold a sacred duty of imparting education and social skills incorporating relevance to homosexual society too. As the legalization of homosexuality and gay marriages are slowly but steadily gaining ground, one thing is clear; these steps will always progress in the same direction. Therefore education must also keep up closely in the same direction for the welfare of its beneficiaries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The legislators have a moral responsibility to provide and ensure proper implementation of the marriage rights of gay couples, as civil and partnership laws cannot provide the same benefits as that of marriage (Johnson, 2007). The educators have a responsibility of not only transforming the society to be receptive of gay marriages, but also ensuring that gay couples succeed in every aspect of life. The society as a whole should not only integrate gay couples into its fold, unconditionally, but also be fully prepared to welcome newer lifestyle changes of tomorrow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   REFERENCES Don Willmott (2004) The Wedding Banquet [Electronic version]. Retrieved on March 19, 2008 from http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/The-Wedding-Banquet Berardinelli, James (1993) The Wedding Banquet [Electronic version]. Retrieved on March 19, 2008, from http://www.reelviews.net/movies/w/wedding_ban.html Salazar C. New York man files complaint against Polish president for anti-gay marriage speech. International Herald Tribune (19 Mar, 2008) [Electronic version] from http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/19/europe/EU-GEN-Poland-Gay-Rights.php American Psychological Association. Sexuality [Electronic version]. Retrieved on March 19, 2008, from http://www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html#whatcauses   2008 Piazza M.S. Homosexuality and Christianity [Electronic version]. Retrieved on March 20, 2008, from http://www.cathedralofhope.com Robinson B.A, (2008). The Buddhist religion and homosexuality [Electronic version]. Retrieved on March 18, 2008, from http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_budd.htm Corvino John. Why shouldn’t Tommy and Jim have sex? A defence of homosexuality. Same Sex: Debating the ethics, Science and Culture of Homosexuality, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. (1997). Bidstrup Scott, (2004). Gay Marriage: The arguments and the motives [Electronic version]. Retrieved on March 18, 2008, from http://www.bidstrup.com/marriage.htm Knight Robert,. How domestic partnerships and Gay marriage threaten the family. Insight bulletin, Family Research Council. (1997) Johnson, Ramon. (2007) Gay marriage around the world. [Electronic version]. Retrieved on March 20, 2008, from http://gaylife.about.com/od/samesexmarriage/a/legalgaymarriag.htm

Counsumer Behavior Essay

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Environmental Geology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

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Lesson Plan Deconstruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lesson Plan Deconstruction - Essay Example Contents covered in the lesson are Reading various literary and informational texts and poetry, summarizing them and writing one’s own idea about the text read, learning to evaluate and organize the coherent details. The lesson also requires the students to engage in group conversations and writing sessions to develop oral and linguistic skills. Improvement of handwriting, stressing on daily reading, subject oriented research and in-depth teaching about phonetics is included in the lesson plan. Ample importance is given to improve comprehension, writing and language synthesizing skills of the students. 2. The Texas lesson plan objectives are appropriate for the students because it uses additional scaffolds to improve ELL student’s comprehension through the connected discourse strategy. It helps the ELL student’s understand the basic concepts of English in context of their own folk tales, culture, history and helps them notice the linguistic differences between both the languages too. ELLs without sufficient previous schooling experiences are also given extra support enabling them to cope up with regular school goers. 3. Instilling daily reading habits in them to improve their comprehension. The students should be taught to identify the meaning of the English word in their mother tongue, yet express it in perfect English without grammatical errors. Students should be taught to use the technology like using online dictionaries, spell check and pronunciation tools. 4. Less proficient learners especially ELLs with little or no previous English exposure needs special care which could be done with the help of their parents. Using pictures of an object, asking them to name it in their mother tongue and explaining its name in English usually helps. For example, many students do not know the right English words for several garage tools and gardening equipments. Showing the picture of the equipments, making them say the native

Communication in the 21st Century Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Communication in the 21st Century - Term Paper Example Communication is one fundamental process in human’s existence. Due to the fact that the economic and corporate environment is one of the important components of the present society, the interest regarding the process referred to as corporate communication is also an immediate concert and interest. The main objective of the study undertaken is to be able to present the issues that are related to corporate communication specifically in the 21st century. The importance of the said study can be considered based on the role of communication in different aspects of the corporate world. As in human interaction, it is also important for the different processes in the operation of organizations and participants in the corporate world. In addition, it is considered as one of the most significant resource that can be viewed as an input for the success and profitability of a company (Kitchen and Schultz 1). The objectives of the study are achieved through the determination of the differen t ways and methods that corporate communication is defined due to the fact that communication can vary through the transition of history. In addition, the elements and factors that are related to corporate communication are also defined. The different elements include the innovations and the effects that are associated upon the application of the said innovative technologies and methods to the conventional system. The importance of communication in the corporate and business context an be described on the basis of the importance.

Marketing Management Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Management Concepts - Essay Example Alternative Management Channel Techniques. One of the alternative channel management technique that People's Bank can employ is the traditional brick and mortar model where they set up their buildings to support business transactions with customers (Murphy 2003). Also, they can likewise complement their online presence with brick and mortar product distribution. This is to capture markets which do not have access to the internet. People's Bank and the Societal Marketing Technique. The societal marketing concept firmly holds that "the organisation's task is to determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors, in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer's and the society's well-being (Kotler 1994)." We can see that as People's bank utilize the best technology available and apply it to their business sector, efficiency is increased not only on the part of the customer but also to the business. However, there are some setbacks like high expenses due to high cost of energy. It can be noted that the skyrocketing costs of fuel in the world and domestic market will spill over as high energy consumption for consumers using this technology. Impact of Technology on Business.

RESPONSE PAPER#4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

RESPONSE PAPER#4 - Essay Example ction of the poem the poet discovers some new vision about the world and this alters the scenario completely and changes our perception about everything gradually. The poem holds two implications juxtaposed but held by a string of tension. The first message is that of a life almost suffocated by the mechanisms working around us and the second message pertains to the innovative commentary that he makes and where he even incorporates himself. (Christensen, 212) He attempts to destroy the trend of life centering on Delphi but also creates a kind of myth and epic out of his vision. For instance in the reading itself the poet talks about the notion of delaying and not being able to respond to situations on a timely basis. For instance if a sailor is always being obedient and cannot take any decisions by him then simple things like crossing a wet deck would involve a hesitation and hence the action would get delayed. He describes himself to be indistinguishable as a Greek in particular bec ause he has been picking up more western habits almost like an American who is usually a compilation of multi cultural practices – â€Å"No Greek will be able to discriminate my body. An American is a complex of occasions themselves a geometry of spatial nature† (Olson, 148). At the end of the section of The Maximus in the reading the poet wants the city of Gloucester to change. The poem makes an effort to build the context around the city of Gloucester. The poem itself incorporates the four characteristics of city-states across different cultural backdrops. There is a definite definition of a city, which is usually surrounded by walls and water. A city-state normally thrives to become economically self-dependent and a basic idea about sharing linguistic cultural and historical elements. At last, every polis is governed independently by its self-elected authority. The poet here urges Gloucester to change its rule or polis. The poet urges the readers to change and shed the previous

Persian Gulf Today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Persian Gulf Today - Essay Example The city fostered education and culture among the Muslim people. The period was refereed to s the golden age of the civilization in the entire Muslim world. During, this time, the Muslim world made great strides in the field of science and art. In fact, the city was made the center for museums and mosques. The British made an agreement concerning the battle with the Hashemite dynasty. The Arabian countries were at risk of losing their sovereignty to the Hashemite dynasty, which was led by the Ottoman army. The British contributed in the battle between the Ottoman army and the Arab military. The British’s influence in the war made the Arab military to win the battle. Consequently, many Arabian territories were protected. In this regard, the Faisal al-Hussein was crowned as the first King of Iraq. The British later agreed to help the Arabic countries achieve their independent status. The initiative was aimed at breaking the countries from the control of the

Black Hawk Down Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Black Hawk Down - Movie Review Example The world has witnessed numerous wars over the decades. No nation or nationality is ever prepared to witness the brutality and the horrors of the wars which annihilated millions of innocent lives. Each war is unique. Every bloody encounter is a reminder of a certain period or situation in human history. The Vietnam war, the Korean War, the two World Wars are all grim events that shaped the boundaries of the world map. Each war occurs at different moments for specific reasons. The significance of these unforgettable events will forever be inscribed on the annals of global chronicles. Reality television is popular. The vital factor which keeps it a crowd drawer is the actual footages being shown on the screen. But even with the reality format, its scenes are still being doubted just the same by many viewers. Real and reel details depict contrasting differences. It is maybe unfortunate but it's the truth. On-screen portrayals of human events are spiced up with interesting scenes to make the whole story favorable to the taste of the patronizing public. When the war movie "Black Hawk Down" has been launched in 2001, analysts project it to be a box-office hit. And it has been a blockbuster. People are often fascinated by war adventures based on actual events. Viewers know that factual twists are inserted into the movie. However, it is interesting to note that only a few brave ones come out and point out its missing parts. Production companies are in business to bring about the thrill and excitement of entertainment. Studio gurus are out to create a good story. Collaboration is an everyday process to transform an actual boring plot into an entertaining one. "The movie Black Hawk Down was a retelling of a true war story that happened back in 1993. The movie in itself was a great telling of war and the casualties of war. The action was realistic and acting this time like most war movies wasn't over done by the actors" (http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspxm=16970&mp=ur&ipp=15). Aside from the longtime critics of the United States, the only country perhaps which is unhappy with the introduction of Black Hawk Down in the movie world is Somalia. But judging from the movie itself, the African nation may have at least a reason to celebrate. The Americans have captured a couple of chief lieutenants under Somali warlord Mohamed Aidid at a price. The death of 18 U.S. soldiers may not be a major loss on the American side but the Somalis can still enjoy that victory considering that about a thousand of its countrymen douse out cold water on an elite U.S. military team to accomplish its mission. Advanced training and sophisticated weaponry cannot do it all for the American soldiers. Instead, an impoverished and ill-armed Somali group outclasses a usually highly-motivated superpower team. "As we have seen more than once in the last ten years, the involvement of the United States in military style missions is not necessarily a guarantee of success. For all their might, bravado, and desire to put the world to rights, too often they underestimate the situation" (http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgireview_id=1649). ACTUAL SETTING The action-packed movie is worthy of its portrayal about the true accounts of the 1993 Mogadishu encounter. To start with, the actual setting has been captured in Black Hawk Down. A hostile Somali crowd is present. U.S. soldiers are armed and suited well to the situation. Critics

How Psychological Research Has Helped in the Understanding of Criminal Behaviour Essay Example for Free

How Psychological Research Has Helped in the Understanding of Criminal Behaviour Essay Albert Bandura created the bobo doll experiment in 1961, the aim of this experiment was to show that if children where witnesses to aggressive displays by an adult of some sort they would imitate this behaviour when given an opportunity. The tested group contained 36 young girls and 36 young boys all aged between 4 and 5 years which was then divided into 3 groups of 24 – the aggressive condition, the non aggressive condition and the control group. The first group involved the children watching aggressive models, where the children where then subdivided by sex of the role model they were exposed to. The second group involved the children watched non aggressive models, where the children were also subdivided by the sex of the role model which they were exposed to. This left the two conditioned groups subdivided into eight experimental groups each containing 6 subjects. They were 6 boys with the same sex model, 6 boys with opposite model, 6 girls with the same sex model and 6 girls with the opposite model. With 3 different groups, Bandura had created a complicated design for the study which resulted in 3 independent variables; the conditions the children were exposed to, the sex of the child and the sex of the role model. Each child was then tested individually and the findings where then recorded. The experiment was done in an artificial environment and the researcher manipulated the independent variables into the conditions. In stage one of the experiment, the children were brought into the experimental room by the examiner. The room was set out as a nursery play room since that was the appropriate setting for the age of the children. One corner of the room had been arranged as a child’s play area consisting of a small table and chair and picture stickers. In the opposite corner of the room was where the adult models would be followed by a small table and chair, tinker toy set and a five foot bobo doll. In the aggressive condition the model began by playing with the tinker toy set but after a couple minutes the model turned its attention to the bobo doll and was aggressive towards the doll in a very distinctive way. Were as in the non aggressive condition the model ignored the bobo doll and played with the tinker toys in a gentle manner. After 10 minutes the children where then taken into new room. In stage two of the experiment the children were brought into a room with relativity attractive toys. In this room the children were to be subjected to mild aggression arousal. Once the children started to play with the toys, the experimenter took them off the children claiming they had been reserved for the other children. The children were then taken into the last and final room for stage three of the experiment. In this room the children were told they could play with any toys in there, the toys in stage three consisted of both non aggressive and aggressive toys. The children were kept in the room for 20 minutes where observations were made through a one way mirror by judges. With the observation and findings of this experiment, three measures of imitation were obtained. For this study the observers’ looked specifically for responses from the children that were very similar to the display by the adult model. They included; imitation of physical aggression, imitation of verbal aggression and imitation of non verbal aggression. With these observations, the researchers were able to consider which children imitate the models, which models the children imitated and whether the children showed a general increase of aggressive behaviour. The main findings of this study were that the children in aggressive model condition made more aggressive responses than the children in the non aggressive condition. They also found that the boys made more aggressive responses than girls, as well as the sex of the children being more aggressive if the model was of the same sex. These findings support Bandura’s social learning theory that children learn social behaviour through observation learning, which children learn through imitation. This study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as children learn through imitation and the environment which they grow up in have an effect on their behaviour. If a child has been brought up around abuse, criminal activity or consistent aggression then the child is most likely to offend by imitating their role model which could be a parent, sibling or even just a role model which they look up to. Philip Zimbardo (1971) Stanford prison experiment – Dr Philip Zimbardo created the Stanford prison experiment in 1971, the aim of this experiment was to find out the psychological effects of prison life, and to what extent can moral people be seduced to act immorally. The study consisted of 24 students selected out of 75, the roles of these 24 men were randomly assigned, 12 to play prison guards and 12 to play prisoners. The prison set up was built inside the Stanford’s psychological department, doors where taken of laboratory rooms and replaced with steel bars in order to create cells. At the end of the corridor was the small opening which became the solitary confinement for the ‘bad prisoners’. Throughout the prison there were no windows or clocks to judge the passage in time, which resulted in time distorting experiences. After only a few hours, the participants adapted to their roles well beyond expectations, the officers starting displaying authorisation and subject some of the prisoners to humiliation and torture whilst the prisoners developed passive attitudes towards the guards and accepted the physical abuse that was given to them. On the second day with surprise an unexpected rebellion broke out, reinforcement was called and more guards where to be on duty however the prisoners refused to leave their cells, barricading themselves in. This early in to the experiment the prisoners had already felt a loss of identity to the extent they started to refer to themselves as their inmate number rather than name. Even Dr Zimbardo himself started to lose sight of his role in the experiment believing he was in fact a ‘prison superintendent’ rather than a psychologist. Due to the extent of the rebellion the guards were forced to show more authority over them which led to the creation of the ‘privileged cell’. In order to break down the ‘superior’ inmates the guards placed the good prisoners in the privileged cell for a few hours, then placed the good prisoners back into the bad cells causing confusion within the inmates, breaking the trust and isolating them. Within a week the study was abandoned as the experiment was no longer a simple simulation, instead the guards saw the prisoners as troublemakers they were made out to be. In response to this they began stepping up control, surveillance and aggression whilst the prisoner started breaking down emotionally being unable to handle the situation anymore. From the observations and information given by Dr Zimbardo’s reports, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it relates to imitation and conformity. The guards imitated the behaviour of real guards adapting the role quiet quickly. The prisoners also adapted the role quickly falling into depression and conforming to each other. This also helps how a person mental state can change their behaviour, with the prisoners they soon became depressed and mentally unstable, and this shows that when put into a certain disciplinary situation the mind adapts causing them to act immorally. Solomon Ashce (1951) Conformity experiment- Solomon Ashce conducted the conformity experiment in 1951. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the extent of social pressure from a majority group can affect a person to conform. For this experiment Ashe used a lab experiment. Ashe used 8 participants for this experiment, 7 confederates and 1 naive participant. The 7 confederates had previously agreed to what their responses would be when presented with the line task. However the real participant had no knowledge of this and was led to believe that the other 7 participants were also real. With this experiment each person had to state aloud which line was most like the target line, (A, B or C). The answer was always an obvious one. The real participant always gave his or her answer last in order to see if they conformed or not. In some trials, the confederates gave the wrong answer whereas in some they gave the correct obvious answer. In the experiment there was 18 trials altogether and the confederates gave the wrong answer 12 out of the total 18. Ashce main observation was to find out if the real participant would end up conforming based on the majority views given by the other 7 participants. The results were then drawn up and out of the 18 trails, around 75% of the trials the real participant conformed even though he or she knew the answers were wrong. From the observations, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it explains that criminals may have previously been highly exposed to such aggressive behaviour causing them to conform. This shows that publicly any source of aggressive behaviour or criminal activity can lead to conformity causing more criminal behaviour. Anderson and Dill (2000) – Violence in video games study- Both Anderson and Dill conducted the relation between violence and video games study in 2000. The aim of this study was to find out how violent video games relate to aggressive behaviour. Their first study consisted of 227 students which were given a questionnaire in order to get data on their aggressive behaviour patterns. This study looked at the long-term exposure to video games and what effect it has on aggression towards people. The findings of the first study relating to the questionnaire came back with positive relations between the violence portrayed in video games and aggressive behaviour. The second study which Anderson and Dill conducted was to approach the impact that video games have on aggressive thoughts, social view and mood of a person. This study consisted of 210 students which were given a choice of 2 video games a non violent game ‘Myst’ or a violent interactive video game ‘Wolfstein 3D’. With the non violent game the objective was to travel the island of Myst, finding clues and making your own ending depending on the journey you took. With the violent game the objective was to eliminate the enemy ‘Adolf Hitler’ choosing your own hero and variety of weapons. With each game the students were allocated 3 slots for a period of 15minutes each. The findings of this study concluded Anderson and Dills knowledge and opinions that those exposed to the violent video game gained more aggressive behaviour than those who were not exposed to violence. From the observations, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it states that playing video games may increase aggressive behaviour because the violent acts are continually repeated throughout the game. Video games also encourage players to identify and interact through role play of their favourite characters causing them to imitate the character they are playing. Referring to first person in a game, it causes lead players to make their own decisions in the game affecting the actions of the character. Anderson and Dills studies show that after a limited amount of time playing violent video games, a player can start to automatically prime aggressive thoughts which can lead to aggressive behaviour. This shows that continually playing violent video games can affect a person’s thought patters leading to automatic aggressive behaviour through imitation of their favourite characters which could lead to criminal activity. Jahoda name study (1954)- Jahoda created the name study or as it is also called the self fulfilling prophecy. Jahoda studied the Ashanti tribe people who gave their boys ‘soul names’ depending on what day of the week they were born. For example, boys born a Monday were expected to be peaceful and full of good, whereas boys born on Wednesday which were called ‘Kwaku’ were expected to be aggressive and quick tempered. Jahoda found that when looking at prison and court records 13. 5% of boys that had been referred to court to court where from boys that were born on Wednesday, yet they were responsible for over 22% of violent crimes which was significantly higher than would be expected and shows that Wednesdays boys tended to live up to their reputation. However as for the boys born on Monday, they found that only 6. 9% of all juvenile cases where of minor offences. This implies that stereotypes of the boys behaviours depending on which day of the week they were born caused them to live up to expectations of their names. Jahoda concluded from all this that there was indeed nothing magical about the day of the week the boys were born on but of effect of expectations has on a person’s behaviour. From the observations and findings, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it links to the effect of rehabilitation and the study of the self fulfilling prophecy. If the offenders have the expectation that they should behave in such a way, rehabilitation may be more difficult. Overall the psychological theory of criminal behaviour suggests that negative expectations cause curtain’s to behave towards others in a specific way because their stereotypes – self fulfilling prophecy. Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) – Self fulfilling prophecy- Both Rosenthal and Jacobson also conducted a self fulfilling prophecy study and the way that people behave according to profiling or being stereotyped in 1968. Their study was conducted on students in a classroom which was also known as the ‘Pygmalion in the classroom’. The students were then put into groups of what the students think they will achieve, where they were then treated in a way that their ability group could achieve. All students completed an IQ test before the study. The findings of this study concluded Rosenthal and Jacobson’s theory that when people are put into groups or have been stereotyped into a group can cause people’s behaviour to change as they will live up to the expectations of the stereotype. The findings found were that after two years the students that were put into the group for higher levels achieved higher than the other students in any other group. These students were known to have been given additional feedback and extra attention so the finding expected had were correct. From the findings, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows that when categorised into a stereotype, people soon learn to live up to that expectation, behaving in a certain way. This also has an impact on a person’s self esteem, causing them to act undesirably and maybe even lead them to turn to crime. Eden (1990) – Self fulfilling prophecy- Eden also conducted the self fulfilling prophecy study in 1990, this study explains why some people turn to crime due to the way they have been stereotyped or labelled into a certain group. For this study, Eden looked at the training of 1000 Israeli soldiers and had them organised into 29 platoons. Some platoon trainers were told their groups were above the average potential but other trainers were told nothing. The findings of this study showed that after 10 weeks the performance of all soldiers were assessed and was found that on both the written exam and weapon test, the soldiers who had been told they were above the average potential did overall better than others, even though all soldiers were at an average level. These findings concluded Eden’s expectations that when labelled into a certain group, a person can adjust to behave according to expectations within the labelled group. This study has helped in understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows the stereotypes and labelled groups can influence a person’s self esteem leading them to behave in a certain way and if the stereotype is negative it can cause a person to turn to crime. Sheehan (1983) – TV violence and aggression Sheehan conducted the TV violence and aggression study in 1983. This study consisted of a group of middle class children aged between 5 and 10 to help find the link between children’s TV viewing and aggressive behaviour. Throughout the study data was gathered about the participants’ parents and the researchers also asked about the children’s aggressive fantasies to whether it would physically injure a person. Sheehan found that there were correlations between viewing violence and peer rated correlations for children that were aged between 8 and 10, with the correlations being stronger for the boys than the girls. The results were recorded by looking whether the child injured of irritated another person. These findings can relate to the social learning theory as he found that boys were more likely to imitate male models but overall looking at the data Sheehan collected, those who watched violent TV and films became more aggressive towards others than those who did not. This study has helped in understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows that continuously watching violent and aggressive TV programmes can affect a person’s thought patterns leading to automatic aggressive behaviour and imitation of their favourite characters which could lead to criminal activity.

Donor Services Essay Example for Free

Donor Services Essay 1. What was Joanna Reeds diagnosis of the situation in the donor services department? Sam Wilson was an American who ran the Guatemala branch of a U.S. aid agency. Joanna Reeds diagnosis of the situation in his donor services department found many problems. LEADERSHIP The biggest problem was that there was no leader who was accountable. Elena was the supervisor but she had no control. She also had no leadership skills and did not get respect because she was not bilingual and of a different religion. The supposed leader, Jose, spent almost all his time in the community services department. He did not pay attention and left things up to Elena. INEFFICIENCY IN WORK The translators mostly did clerical work even though they were bilingual. The work in the office was divided into set tasks, one done by each person, and not divided evenly. Some workers had too much paperwork while the others had spare time. Those that had spare time did not help those loaded with work. There was also lack of training in English and in work, so quality was bad. The workers did not think about the job and used many extra steps and wasted time. TRACKING The data was not shared in the department, so people had little knowledge about their job. There were no statistics about time, requests for information, or responses. There was little communication, plus there was resentment of Elena by some. Jose did not hear about problems or about good results. MORALE The agency was run by a religion and Elena was not of that religion. However, everyone was proud of the agency and the religion. But morale was low because the workers did not use or improve their skills and had only a set and boring role to do. They are frustrated with the department. GROUP DYNAMICS One translator Magdalena had experience, college education, and maturity. She had strong belief in the agency and was more professional. Three translators socialized mostly, and their leader Juana was outgoing with good oral English. Other translators had too much work. Everyones English was only fair. Supervisor Elena was left out. Elena was treated like just a watchdog. Boss Jose was not around much and paid no attention. 2. What should she recommend to Sam Wilson? (HOW) Joanna might have made these suggestions: LEADERSHIP Magdalena might be a good supervisor instead of Elena. Magdalena had experience, education, belief in the agency, maturity, and professionalism. Magdalena could keep herself from making others dislike her by keeping a distance away from them. She could also have got respect. Juana could be given more leadership roles, to use her humor and outgoingness. Elena could do a job that required the hardest work. Jose could spend all his time in the community services department. INEFFICIENCY IN WORK The working strategy was changed to divide all the work more evenly, so all workers did all jobs. They could be less bored and learn more through such training. They could work in a team environment, rather than be selfish for themselves. Joannas identified unnecessary steps, which caused the system to be slow; could be changed to a better workflow. The workers could be asked to think more about improvements. The workers could be trained more in translating, perhaps they could translate easy documents or parts of documents. Socializing could be minimized to break times. TRACKING Statistics about time, requests for information, or responses could be kept and shared with all workers. Communication about problems or about good results would be increased through meetings, talks with leaders, and newsletters. MORALE All workers could know all jobs and be given a minimum of boring work, while improving skills. The religion should be emphasized along with service to others. The department could link with community services more. Communication should be encouraged. Togetherness as a team with an important purpose whould be emphasized. GROUP DYNAMICS The leader should be respected because of English languge ability and leadership skills and be of the right religion. Theleader should also be around all the time. The secondary leader should be a team worker and skillful in communication. The workers should respect each other and work as a team. All persons should have clear authority and responsibility. The workload should be fair. REWARDS Joanna could recommend rewards to change both the workers and the managers behavior. They could get a bonus for achieving goals. They could get awards for service and efficiency. They could have a chance to go to higher positions in the agency. Perhaps they could visit the U.S.!

Sustainable Dive Tourism in the Red Sea

Sustainable Dive Tourism in the Red Sea Abstract Research has shown that the marine and coral habitats within the Red Sea are being subjected to levels of damage from the effects of diving activities in the areas that cannot be sustained in the long term. With this area of tourism set to increase dramatically within the next decade, there is an urgent need for the industry stakeholders and environment organisations to work together to develop and implement sustainable diving tourism policies that will allow the marine eco-system to recover, or at least halt the current pace of degradation. The research findings from this study show that there is a general willingness on the part of the diving consumer to accept the need for such protection policies. At present, this is not a position that is shared by all of the industry shareholders. This study highlights the fact that there is an urgent need for dive tourism stakeholders, irrespective of this individual goal, to work together in partnership in order to develop systems and policies that will preserve and protect the fascinating marine and coral life that exists beneath the Red Sea for the enjoyment of future generations. Table of Contents (Jump to) Abstract Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Aims and Objectives 1.3 Overview Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Marine tourism environmental issue 2.3 Marine environment protection 2.4 Sustainable diving tourism 2.5 The Red Sea and diving tourism 2.6 Summary Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Choice of research method 3.3 The questionnaires and interviews 3.4 Performance of the research Chapter 4 Research Findings 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Response to corporate questionnaire 4.3 Response to dive club questionnaire Chapter 5 Analysis and discussion of findings 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Research findings 5.3 Discussion Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction As most academics acknowledge, including Brown (2000), Ryan and Page (2000) and Mowforth and Munt (2003), since the liberalisation of transport in the middle part of the last century, tourism has become the world’s fastest growing and largest industry. This is evidenced by the fact that over the past two and a half decades international tourist arrivals have grown by nearly threefold (Weaver 2005, p.2) and by 2020 this figure is expected to exceed 1.6 billion. As El-Adli and Bashandy (2003) rightly observe, globalisation and technological advances, which allowed international travel to become accessible to the masses, has been partially responsible for fuelling this growth pattern. Initially, this expansion of tourism took the form of mass excursions, such as package tours with travellers flocking to the areas of beach, sea and sun, usually for a two week summer vacation. However, more recently an increasing number of tourists have become more discerning. Encouraged by media attention on exotic locations, the mass tourist sector has given way to the traveller seeking a new and more fulfilling experience, wanting to explore natural habitats that are foreign to their domestic experiences. As a result, due to the uniqueness of their climate and geographical position, the world’s developing countries have become the focus for those travellers who want to experience firsthand the wonders of nature and its exotic species of fauna and wildlife (Mowforth and Munt (2003, p.1). One area of nature that has particularly attracted the attention of this new breed of tourist is the growing interest in experiencing the beauty of marine life in its natural setting. This has led to an explosion of diving tourism throughout many areas of the world, particularly the marine reef regions off the coasts of countries like Australia, the Caribbean and the Middle East, which boast some of the worlds most unusual and exotic species of underwater plants, fishes and marine life. For many thousands of people, diving in exotic locations throughout the world is a tourism experience that cannot be equalled by any other water sport or leisure activity, hence its increasing popularity. Perhaps understandably, considering the recent increase in concerns about the damage that human activity is causing to the planet and its natural environment, it was not surprising that the explosion of marine tourism attracted the attention of environmentalists, concerned about whether the natural environment could survive the impact of this growth. This has led to a plethora of research studies during the past two decades seeking to assess the level of damage marine tourism is causing to the inhabitants of these natural environments. The consensus is that the present growth rate poses a real threat to marine life and that measures need to be adopted within the tourist industry that will reduce and reverse these risks (Weaver 2005). In other words diving tourism must move to adopt and implement a more sustainable policy. In defining what is meant by sustainable tourism, McKercher (quoted in Ryan and Page 2000, p.157) provided the following explanation: â€Å"Sustainable tourism is defined as when tourism is sustainable, the natural and cultural resources and the environmental, social and economic well-being of an area are maintained forever.† However, with the international tourism industry having effectively been given a â€Å"free reign to develop throughout the world† (El-Adli and Bashandy 2003, p.1), the difficulties being faced is how to resolve the conflicting demands of all the stakeholders within the marine destinations in order to reach agreement upon policies that will address the conflicts of over-use and environmental damage. As some academics remark, there are those who argue that the term sustainable cannot be applied to an industry that is seeing almost unparalleled growth and which, by its very nature, demands environmental damage as infrastructure is created to house these tourists (Wahab and Pigrim 1997, p.2). Others believe that it is imperative that new sustainable tourism products are designed to limit the environment damage being caused to marine destinations (Buhalis and Costa 2006, p.4). However, as these authors admit (ibid, p.230), the problem is how to resolve the dichotomy of creating pr oducts that meet tourists goals and ensure sustainable growth. It is the issue of balancing the needs of the marine environment with those of the tourism industry, particularly as it relates to diving, that has prompted this research study. To provide a focus for this research it is intended to use the Red Sea area of the Middle East as a case study. The reason for this choice can be found in Sarha et al’s (2004, p.1) overview of the area, which can be summarised as follows: The Red Sea is one of the most important repositories It has attracted a significant increase in tourist activity, particularly diving Tourism accounts for 10% of Egypt’s GDP and 4% of employment 1.2 Aims and Objectives With the concentration of this research being related to the Red Sea, the aim of the study is to identify the level of damage being caused to the marine environment within this destination and to evaluate the current level of sustainable measure that are being introduced to address these issues. From this evaluation the research will provide an assessment of the effectiveness of sustainable diving tourism in the region. To assist in focusing upon and achieving the aims outlined above, the following objectives have been set for the research being conducted: Marine environment To provide an overview of the marine environment, which will include an examination of the types and causes of the damage that is being done to this environment and the programmes designed to address this problem. Diving Tourism To provide a greater understanding of the attractions and component factors related to diving tourism, specifically its relationship to exotic locations. This will include an overview of the current standards that are applicable within this sector of the tourism industry Sustainable tourism for the diving industry To assess and evaluate the current sustainable programmes that are being recommended and introduced into diving tourism. The assessment will consider measures being considered by all stakeholders, including the diving industry, tour operators, destination managers and the international community. In all of the above objectives particularly attention will be paid to their relationship to the Red Sea marine environment in the Middle East. 1.3 Overview In chapter two a critical literature is undertaken, which is intended to focus upon the main issues that arise from the aims and objectives of the research question, namely the environmental impact of marine and coastal tourism. This review will also focus upon the contribution that diving has upon this situation and an examination of the diving tourism in the Red Sea area together with an overview of some of the actions that are being taken to address this problem. Chapter three provides an overview of the methodology used for this research, which includes and explanation of the reasons for this choice and the process by which secondary and primary data was collected, analysed and evaluated. Following on from the methodology outline, the findings from the analysis of both the secondary and primary researches are presented in chapter four and these are discussed in detail in the following chapter (5). The research is then brought to a conclusion in chapter six, where appropriate obse rvations and recommendations are made. Attached to the main body of this research is a bibliography of the resources relied upon for the study together with appendices containing other information that is considered of value. This includes copies of the primary questionnaires and interview transcripts. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction As previously mentioned, sustaining the natural habit of the marine environment in the face of its increasing attractiveness to tourists, particularly divers, has become a contentious issue. There are many stakeholders to consider when looking at the process of sustainable tourism and, achieving a balance between financial reliance and environmental protection, especially if the resort has no prior knowledge in dealing with these issues, has proved to be fraught with difficulty (Weaver 2005, p. 26 and 61). This critical literature review is intended to consider the currently published arguments and discussions that address these various issues and provide a deeper understanding of the problems that need to be resolved with all the wide variety of stakeholders. 2.2 Marine tourism environmental issue The marine environment forms an important part of the world’s eco-systems. It not only provides a source of food and other natural resources for some of the world’s population, but also is in itself a living environment that is home to wide range of underwater plants and living creatures. Each of these relies upon the other for their continued life (Cote and Reynolds 2006, Carleton Ray and McCormick-Ray 2004 and Roberts 2007). Furthermore, it also influences the CO2 levels within the atmosphere. The bio-diversity that exists beneath the oceans can therefore be seen to be important to the natural balance of the planet and any issue or activity that upsets this balance is likely to have serious consequences to the long-term health of the world and its population. Of particular importance to this research is the area of the marine environment that includes the coral reef eco-system, as this is the area that attracts the highest level of tourist involvement, attracting millions of visitors each year. As can be seen in from table Table 2 included in appendix 1, there are a number of coral reefs world wide, covering a total area of just under 285,000 km2. The eco-system of the coral reef is unique in the diverse level of services these regions perform within the biodiversity systems and the range of products it contains (see table 1). There have been countless studies over recent years that have recorded the levels of damage that can be caused to coral reef and the manner in which this affects the ability of the reefs to sustain their eco-systems in the longer term. The studies of Jameson et al (2007), Cesar (2003), and Agarwal and Shaw (2007) are amongst recent academics who warn that ignoring these issues will have serious adverse consequences. Although causes of damage have been highlighted to include such factors as increases in carbon emissions, the consequence of air and sea travel and marine faming and fishing, diving tourism has also been shown to have a direct impact on the reef in this respect. Consequently it has generated its own expanding area of research attention (Ryan and Page 2000, p.275). In general it is considered that damage from diving tourism manifests itself in the activities of several industry stakeholders: The diving fraternity Numerous academic studies have been conducted to assess the level of damage caused to the coral reef by divers (Cesar 2003, Barker and Roberts 2004 amongst others). Most have concluded that inexperience within this marine environment is one of the root causes of this damage (Barker and Roberts 2004, p.482). Hawkins and Roberts (quoted in Cesar 2003), attributed 95% of all diver coral damage being the result of misuse of fins and hands, for example by kicking or brushing against the coral or using hands to grab onto coral and propel the diver through the water. In addition, lack of care with equipment is another contributory factor. Lack of buoyancy training or knowledge will often result in a situation where a diver’s scuba equipment will knock or fall against the coral, causing breakages. These results are confirmed by other studies carried out by Barker and Roberts (2004), who recorded 261 incidences of contact being made with the coral whilst observing 353 active divers, in other words incidences were occurring in approach 74% of dives. However, the also found that when accompanied by guides, this level of accident fell by around 80% (barker and Roberts 2004, pp. 485 and 488). This proved to the authors that guided dives were an important element of marine protection policies. The destination resort Increased levels of diving tourism have had an impact upon the local infrastructure of the resorts. To meet the demands of these tourists, in some cases sand is being taken from the beaches in order to fulfil construction requirements for projects such as hotels (Gladstone 2000, p.1023). In other words, through these and other actions, â€Å"resort hotels and other service providers and retailers are damaging the reefs to provide their businesses with better opportunities† (Mowforth and Munt 2003, 282). Furthermore, the continual expansion of tourism resorts in coastal areas is creating more â€Å"sewage and other rubbish than local infrastructures can handle† (Brown 2000, p.48), which means that some of this effluence is finding its way into the seas surrounding the coral reefs. The level of waste that is being produced increases the incidence of damage caused to the fragile eco-system of the coral reefs. Tour operators Tour operators, whether these are international tour companies or local tour operators such as diving clubs are also criticised by the environment community, mainly because of the damage their methods of operations cause to marine sites. This criticism relates generally to two main issues. The first is the lack of knowledge and training that they provide to the diving tourist and indeed the lack of supervision (Agarwal and Shaw 2007). Research like that undertaken by Gladstone (2000) and Wilkinson (2006) indicates that when divers are being instructed and supervised in groups, the level of damage reduces significantly. The other criticism levelled at tour operators is aimed at those who use boats as platforms from which to commence diving excursions. As Weaver (2005, p.83) and Prior et al (1995) point out, the dropping and dragging of anchors can and does damage corals. This area of activity has increased recently because beaches have become more exclusive in some exotic areas, Restricted from beach access, independent operators have had no choice but to move their operations to sea (Hess and El-bakry2007). National and local authorities The other stakeholder who actions, or inactions, have an impact upon the marine coral reef environment are the local and national governments and authorities. The problem in this respect is often related to the condition of the national economy and that country’s position in terms of economic growth compared with other nations (Cote and Reynolds 2006). Many coral reefs are situated close to developing countries. Many governments in developing countries, either due to lack of resources and the need for the revenue produced from marine tourism, lack the â€Å"political will† or inclination to take steps to protect the marine environment, irrespective of the consequences (Wilkinson 2006 and Roberts 2007). As can be seen, the actions of all of the above contributing causes of damage are leading to the â€Å"depletion of coral reefs at sea† (Brown 2000, p.69). It is against the difficulties outlined above that marine environmentalists have needed to develop marine protection deemed acceptable by all industry stakeholders. 2.3 Marine environment protection As Cote and Reynolds (2006), Carlton-Ray and McCormick-Ray (2004) and Orams (1999) research reveals, there have been a number of proposals put forward by various interested parties that are designed to reduce the impact of diving tourism on the marine coral reef environment. Some of these measures, including more supervision, charging fees to allow tourists to take part in dives in specific areas and closer control of resort planning regulations had been directly aimed at improving other stakeholders’ behaviour. Some of these, including floating and submerged walkways (El-Adli and Bashandy 2003), are designed to improve environment use and enjoyment. However, other protection measures have been more restrictive. For example, a method of zoning is being implemented in a number of marine areas, which are seen as a means of prohibiting diving in areas that are considered particularly sensitive. Similarly, the use of mooring buoys for boats, whilst reducing the damage caused by anchors, can also be used in conjunction with zoning to direct divers away from certain marine areas (El-Adli and Bashandy 2003). 2.4 Sustainable diving tourism Tourist destinations and tour operators have all be quick to exploit the expansion of recreational diving activities in areas of marine beauty (Wahab and Pigrim 1995, p.284) and that includes enjoying their hobby in the more exotic areas of the world that include the coral reefs eco-systems (Mowforth and Munt 2003, 147). Most observers and academics and observers are of the opinion that if they wish to continue with this pleasure activity, divers and their organisations need to change their practices to a more sustainable form (Mowforth and Munt 2003, p.4). As organisations such as the Coral Reef Alliance (2008) advice suggests, many of these conservation measures are based largely on common sense. For example, perhaps the most basic aspect of advice is that which promotes the learning of skills such as buoyancy and avoiding physical contact with the reef (Kenally 2006). These skills will eliminate damage being caused either by physical or equipment contact. Another aspect of good diving is to stay clear of the sea bed and learn body control that avoids accidental contact (Coral Reef Alliance (2008). In addition to this advice for diving activities whilst in the water, the Coral Reef Alliance (2008), also provides the following recommendations for divers when they are shore-side, which consists of the following: Support coral parks and other conservation projects by: Paying user fees in recognized coral parks and conservation areas that are actively supporting coral reef conservation. Encouraging and supporting the use of dive moorings. Participating in cleanups Volunteering your skills Donating used equipment such as cameras, dive gear or reef ID books. Avoid purchasing souvenirs made from coral, turtles or other marine life -often this is illegal, and it’s never environmentally wise. Speak up; make sure your dive buddies understand these simple but important conservation practices. Source: Coral Reef Alliance (2008) 2.5 The Red Sea and diving tourism A stated previously, the increase in diving tourism is rising exponentially and there is little sign of this rate decreasing in the near future (Gladstone 2000, p. 1016). Although this endangers coral reefs throughout the world, as Prior et al (2007) and Harriott (2002), suggest, one of the most vulnerable sites has to be the Red Sea (see figure 2). As Hess (2007), also explains, because of its location in relation to Europe and other world nations, the coral reefs in the Red Sea act like a magnet in terms of attracting diving tourists, which places an additional burden upon the marine environment. Although, at least up to 2004, the condition and status of the† coral reefs bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden is generally good, with live hard coral cover averaging 20-50%† (Hassan et al 2002), research carried out since that comment was made indicates that there potential issues in terms of diving damage to be addressed in the area. Egypt is planning to continue the expansion of its tourism industry, for which it has set a target of receiving â€Å"16 million tourists by 2017† (Shaalan 2005). A segment of this increased tourist population will be attracted by diving activities, continuing a trend that has been evidenced since the turn of the century (see table 2). Already, with in excess of 250,000 dives per annum along part of the Red Sea coast, other research has revealed disturbing evidence of coral reef damage from diving activities. For example, in a survey conducted by Zakai and Chadwick-Furman (2002, p. 179), significant evidence of diver damage was reported. This survey reported the following conclusions: Around 10 incidents of coral damage per dive, ranging from sediment to contact damage. Damage levels were related directly to the frequency of diving activities, and were not affected by the geographical design of the area. Similarly, contrary to Hassan et al’s (2002) research, a similarly study carried out by Cesar (2003, p. 7), refuted claims that the coral reef remained unaffected, reporting in this case that â€Å"40% of dive sites have less than 30% coral cover, with one third having significant levels or broken and damaged corals.† The consensus of opinion amongst academics who have studied this specific location, which includes Gladstone (2000), Cesar (2003), Zakir and Chadwick-Furman (2002) and Shaalan (2005), is that without the introduction of serious levels of marine protection and diving control policies, the current levels of damage to the marine eco-system in the area will be exacerbate. This might lead to irreparable damage to this environment. As Shaalan (2005) also comment, all of the stakeholders, including the government, tour operators and resort managers and the divers themselves, have a role to play in introducing a range of policies and practices to ensure a level of sustainable tourism will be achieved and halt the current degradation to the coral environment that is taking place. These concerns are aptly summarised by Jameson et al (2007, p. 309) who state that â€Å"From a historical perspective, at the Small Giftun site from 1987 to 1996, percentage hard coral cover decreased by 43% and algal cover increased over fourfold. If the diving tourism industry is to sustain itself in the Egyptian Red Sea, every management effort must be made to minimise controllable sources of stress on the coral reef system.† 2.6 Summary From the analysis and examination of the literature indentified within this chapter, it is apparent that the marine environment is being subjected to environmental damage. Furthermore, whilst there might be some justification for those within the diving community to say that they and their activities are not solely responsible for this damage, to majority of research studied indicates that there are sufficient levels of damage being caused by this sector of the tourism industry to warrant the need for protective action. In addition, current decisions being made regarding the future of tourism in Egypt, which suggests that 55% of the future growth is anticipated to occur within coastal regions along the Red Sea (Hawkins and Roberts 1994), confirm that the urgency of need to implement sustainable practices and policies to protect the marine and coral reef environment in the region. Furthermore, it suggests that the timescale of this introduction is limited. The results of the primary research conducted for this study, which also concentrates upon the Red Sea area (see chapters 4 and 5), will provide an indication of the levels of responsibility felt by stakeholders in the diving sector and the level of their commitment to change. Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Introduction The research question chosen for this research, namely to study the impact of diving upon the marine and coral reef environment was motivated by two main situations. Firstly, it is intended to examine this issue in an area that has indicated a preparedness to increase the current levels of diving tourism within the next decade by significant numbers. Secondly, the complexities of stakeholder demands within the region suggest that the creation of marine environmental protection policies that will satisfy the needs and of all those involved. Bearing in mind these limitations, the aim of the research therefore is to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of current and future sustainable tourism policies in the region, specifically those related to the diving sector. There has been a considerable amount of research conducted into the environmental damage being caused to the marine environment and eco-systems of the coral reefs in the Red Sea. However, despite these advances, it is the author’s view that, although the plans and policies for sustainability suggested by various environmental academics are to be applauded, their successful implementation is dependent upon the views of others. Unless agreement is reached between all the stakeholders to take action any new initiative is doomed to failure. Therefore, a major part of the focus of this research project is to assess how and if the views of commercial stakeholders and diving service users, in other words the divers themselves, coincide with those of the policy makers. 3.2 Choice of research method Any study relating to issues of a commercial or economic nature can be conducted through the choice of a number of methods. The options available consists of research study using secondary data collection processes, which can combine a case study investigation with pre-existing literature of sufficient expertise to provide an extensive overview of the subject matter. Alternatively, the research can choose the more focused route of conducting questionnaire and interviews with representatives from the sector being studied. In the case of this specific research into diving in the Red Sea, it was decided that, in isolation, the independent use of one of the above would not provide sufficient depth the research project embarked upon. It was therefore the author’s decision to use a combination of both methods as this was deemed to enable the achievement of a more valued resolution to the research question (Denscombe 1998). In reaching this decision, the author also considered the limitations that can apply to these research methods. For example, one area that is often of concern with the collection of primary data is the achievement of an appropriate sampling that would serve as a sufficient representation for the industry as a whole. The issue to be aware of in this case is to ensure that, whilst the primary process can result in the revelation of data and information that might be difficult to obtain through other methods, its analysis should be kept free from personal or organisational bias. One method of ensuring the lack of bias, which contributed to the author’s choice of research method, is to use the secondary data collected for the process of cross-referencing and comparison with primary findings. This ensures that the research retains a balanced and accurate approach to the issues and results being studied. 3.3 The questionnaires and interviews In view of the issue of diving and marine conservation being studied for this project, the process of primary data collection in this case