Elizabeth George Speare’s The Witch of Blackbird Pond :: Speare Witch Blackbird Pond Essays

Elizabeth George Speare’s The Witch of Blackbird Pond Elizabeth George Speare’s The Witch of Blackbird Pond shows the maturation process of a young girl from Barbados. Kit’s life in Barbados is shattered when her grandfather dies. As a result of his death, Kit is forced to leave the island and her carefree lifestyle. She travels to Connecticut to find her only living relatives. Once she reaches Connecticut her persona evolves from an island girl, to hard worker, and finally to wife. Kit is a young island girl who is running away from her problems. She is escaping from the only home she has ever known and leaving behind her soon to be lover, Nat in order to get away from a man she does not wish to marry. Kit tells Mercy that she does not want to marry him because he is much older then she is, â€Å"He was fifty years old, and he had pudgy red fingers with too many rings on them. You see Mercy why I couldn’t write† (pg 47). She makes up her mind and runs to a family whom she has never met, without even writing to them. Once she reaches Connecticut, Kit is disappointed at the first sight of land, â€Å"The bleak line of shore surrounding the gray harbor was a disheartening contrast to the shimmering green and white that fringed the turquoise bay of Barbados which was her home.† (Pg 7) Once she reaches her aunt and uncle’s house it is a huge culture shock for her. In Connecticut everyone does his or her part and helps with the housework, where as in Barbados, there are people who do that for you. Kit must learn how to be of some use to the family. â€Å"By the end of the day the word useful had taken an alarming meaning.† (Pg 42) She also has to attend Puritan meetings regularly, something that she never had to do before. â€Å"The puritan service seems to her as plain and unlovely as the bare board walls of the meeting house† (pg 52). While at meeting she is called upon by a wealthy young man, William Ashby; once again in an attempt to fit in, she agrees to have him visit her in her uncle’s house. Although she is not interested in him, she continues seeing him because she knows that if they are married she will not have to do any chores at all.

Everything for Sale

Everything for Sale by Robert Kuttner: A Summary [Insert full name here] [Insert institutional information here] Everything for Sale by Robert Kuttner: A Summary In his book, Robert Kuttner (1999) tries to shake the dominant orthodoxy of laissez-faire economics, which he sees as the â€Å"natural form of capitalism,† by attempting to â€Å"reclaim a defensible middle ground† between when the market is â€Å"best left alone† and when it â€Å"needs help† (p. 5). Kuttner’s chief premise is that a mixed economy is necessary for a society that is civil and decent, a society where the economy is in optimum health.For Kuttner, unfettered laissez-faire economy is in conflict with mixed economy, and that their opposition is essentially a struggle between the moderate but rational dissent — the call for a mixed economy — and the prevailing orthodoxy, or the desire to retain the economic status quo. He further maintains that a mixed economy is r ealistic precisely because there is virtually no escape from politics, especially in the economic landscape where the government can influence its course by adopting certain national economic policies.Kuttner readily accepts some notable contributions of the market system. For instance, he concedes that â€Å"[m]arkets accomplish much superbly,† and that â€Å"[t]hey offer consumers broad choices† (Kuttner, 1999, p. 11). Paraphrasing Adam Smith, Kuttner (1999) states that â€Å"the great paradox of the market is that the individual pursuit of self-interest aggregates to an efficient general good† (p. 11). He reaffirms the long-held belief that markets, when left alone, can lead to a vibrant economy.Yet, Kuttner eventually notes that the free market capitalist system is not entirely a rigid structure that has an aversion to changes. He believes that, â€Å"[f]or economies to operate efficiently, drastic change or abrupt disjuncture is the exception rather than t he rule† (Kuttner, 1999, p. 12). Thus, markets may accommodate new prices, whether higher or lower than the prevailing prices. Old businesses may go insolvent, and new businesses offering the same goods or services may take their stead.Through the introduction of changes, the market is able to correct itself. In his book, however, Kuttner proposes something else. Kuttner seeks to dispel the complement notions that government interventions in the market are never successful and that markets are self-correcting and can thus work on their own. To reclaim the so-called middle ground, Kuttner offers detailed examples of how previous government interventions in the market did in fact work. He also writes about the shortcomings of the market for healthcare, the labor market, and the financial markets.By providing those examples, he then reduces the theoretical clout of contemporary laissez-faire economics, which he then deploys to draw attention to his position in favor of mixed econ omy. Kuttner further combines these examples with the premise that there are many kinds of economic and social goods that the market simply cannot provide without failing in one significant way or another. For instance, transportation and communication infrastructures are often financed by the government in association with other private and political entities.Though the funds are not entirely from the government, it cannot be doubted that the government has its share and that it is through its political efforts that the infrastructure projects are realized. Thus, for Kuttner, without the participation of the government in the economy, no matter how limited, the country will hardly be having the social and economic goods it now enjoys today. Clearly, â€Å"markets are not perfectly self-correcting† for Kuttner (1999) and, as a necessary consequence, â€Å"the only check on their excesses must be extra-market institutions† (p. 62), which is short of saying that the chec k is the government itself. Kuttner lists several areas upon which excesses have been committed. For instance, he states that even the seemingly innocent frequent-flyer program is guilty of frustrating shopping around for travel services by other airline companies since this program is designed to entice people to â€Å"stick with a favored carrier in order to earn mileage credits† (p. 261). To curb this, Kuttner (1999) states that there must be a regulated airline competition where â€Å"[r]egulators could set a zone of tolerable prices, to reflect actual costs more nearly† (p. 68). Another example is the case of the electric power market where the subsequent technological innovations in the first three decades of the mass availability of electricity led to the situation where â€Å"real prices rose dramatically between 1930 and 1933,† except that the â€Å"introduction of public power and federal regulation in the mid-1930s† brought back the â€Å"virt uous pattern of declining prices, technical advances, and increasing usage† (Kuttner, 1999, p. 272).Even the environment is not spared from the failure of a free market. Kuttner observes that the laissez-faire system has encouraged more spewing of pollutants, the manufacture of dangerous products, and others. Through regulatory measures out of broad public-policy goals, Kuttner believes that markets will have no choice but to cut down their waste discharges. The discussion cites other examples in order to illustrate the fact that the free market oftentimes finds help from the federal government.Kuttner (1999) concludes his book with a restatement of how nations â€Å"have now experienced more than two decades of the celebration of markets and denigration of government† (p. 361). Instead of continuing such prevailing notion, he reasserts that â€Å"the case for the market is much more of a mixed case than its champions insist,† especially since markets have become increasingly impulsive in breaching what used to be the province of rights.For Kuttner, the more these markets try to penetrate the province of inalienable rights in their relentless pursuit of profit, the more constraints from the government are needed. Otherwise, the whole foundation upon which the free market capitalist system stands will likewise become endangered. Reference Kuttner, R. (1999). Everything for sale: The virtues and limits of markets. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

The Hot Hand Theory Of Basketball Is A Fallacy Essay

Evidence presented throughout the last forty years has suggested that the Hot Hand theory in basketball is a â€Å"fallacy.† Evidence suggested that there is no scientific reasoning for being able to improve one’s odds of making a jump shot, if the previous three shots were made. New evidence presented by, Andrew Bocskocsky, John Ezekowitz, and Carolyn Stein, suggested that there is a better chance of making a shot if the previous three shots have been made. The authors have used equations that take into account different aspects of the game, which could influence â€Å"hotness.† Previously, these variables have not been taken into account, which could have possibly skewed the data. The evidence in the peer-reviewed journal article, has taken into account all aspects of the game that could influence the probability that a shot will, or will not go in. In the article Bocskocsky, Ezekowitz, and Stein, used a data set from 83,000 shot attempts throughout the 201 2-2013 NBA season. From each shot taken, stats were recorded regarding the different aspects of the shot. First off, shot difficulty needs to be taken into account. Who is taking the shot will influence the probability of the shot going in, depending if it is a high percentage three-point shooter taking the shot, or a center taking the three point shot. Another factor that has been taken into account is the amount of time left, and score differential. These two factors will heavily influence the mindset of theShow MoreRelatedLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pages......... 244 CHAPTER 8 Detecting Fallacies ............................................................................................... 248 Ad Hominem Fallacy ........................................................................................................................ 248 Fallacy of Circular Reasoning........................................................................................................... 250 Straw Man Fallacy..........................................Read MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages91 4 Emotions and Moods 97 What Are Emotions and Moods? 98 The Basic Emotions 100 †¢ The Basic Moods: Positive and Negative Affect 100 †¢ The Function of Emotions 102 †¢ Sources of Emotions and Moods 103 Emotional Labor 108 Affective Events Theory 110 Emotional Intelligence 112 The Case for EI 113 †¢ The Case Against EI 114 †¢ Emotion Regulation 115 OB Applications of Emotions and Moods 115 Selection 116 †¢ Decision Making 116 †¢ Creativity 116 †¢ Motivation 117 †¢ Leadership 117 †¢ Negotiation 117Read MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pages. . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Environmental Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Developing Standards and Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Forecasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Theory Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Management by Objectives (MBO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Total Quality Manage ment (TQM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Policy Making . . . . . . . . . . . . Read MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesinformation, and we are even testing Profile Boxes. Learning insights help students see how certain practices—both errors and successes—cross company lines and are prone to be either traps for the unwary or success modes. Discussion Questions and Hands-On Exercises encourage and stimulate student involvement. A recent pedagogical feature is the Team Debate Exercise, in which formal issues and options can be debated for each case. New in some cases are Devil’s Advocate exercises in which students Read MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesthat generated and were in turn fed by imperialist expansionism, one cannot begin to comprehend the causes and consequences of the Great War that began in 1914. That conflict determined the contours of the twentieth century in myriad ways. On the one hand, the war set in motion transformative processes that were clearly major departures from those that defined the nineteenth-century world order. On the other, it perversely unleashed forces that would undermine Western world dominance and greatly