The Effects of Coffee and British Imperialism on the Global Economy Research Paper

The Effects of Coffee and British Imperialism on the Global Economy from 1870 to 1910 - Research Paper Example Towards the mid 19th century, the global economy was substantially influenced by the rapid increase in the consumption of coffee in Europe and the United States and this lead to more developments in the production and trade of coffee. Production growth was not only witnessed across the vast British empire but was also evident in the Latin Americas particularly in Brazil. With the expansion of the British colonies in Africa, Asia as well as in the Pacific and Indian oceans, the British Empire came to dominate the international trade particularly the production and consumption of coffee which was key elements of the 19th century global economy. On the other hand, the ex British colonies such as in the Americas also asserted significant influence on the global economy with regard to the production of raw materials and export industry. The rise of coffee as one of the major commodities of international trade in the 19th century can be traced to the British colonial production of coffee in the Americas, Asia and Africa as well as in the Indian Ocean. The unprecedented production of coffee which was witnessed in these colonies as well the increased demand for coffee in the European countries resulted in the domination of the international market by coffee merchants and traders. The global economy of the time had not however reached the stage of market capi talism. The market size was comparatively smaller and coffee was primarily used as a luxury drink. The small size of the coffee market from 1870 to 1910 was generally attributed to the fact to the inefficient colonial production methods such as the use of coercion as opposed to the application of new technology. By the end of 1910, the British coffee colonialism had significantly declined most probably because many of the colonies gained independence. Coffee continued to play a greater role in the global economy but the role of the British Imperialism was increasingly replaced by the newly independent countries such as Brazil, Caribbean and the Spanish America. This paper focuses on the role of the British imperialism and the coffee trade in the global economy of 19th century particularly from 1870 to 1910. The contributions of the coffee industry to the Global economy of 19th century Although initially regarded as a luxury product, coffee rapidly gained popularity in the mid 19th c entury to become a mass necessity particularly in the United States and the European counties such as Britain, France and Germany2. One of the major factors that contributed to the explosion of the global demand for coffee was the industrial revolution. For example the industrial revolution not only increased the purchasing power of the ordinary persons due to the improved economies but also resulted in increased efficiency and reduced costs of coffee production thereby making it cheaper and affordable to many people in Europe and United States. After slave trade was outlawed in the 1850s, industrialization played a key role in the coffee production in several parts of the British Empire as well as in the Latin America. A number of infrastructural developed which occurred during the period were largely attributed to the coffee production and trade. In many colonies as well as former colonies that produced coffee, railways were constructed to aid coffee export. For example

A Business Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

A Business Report - Assignment Example Technology reduces workload on workers and as such, labor costs are greatly reduced alongside production duration (Orzen and Bell, 2010, p. 36). Each business strategy has its own strength and weaknesses; as such, integrating two strategies might be beneficial or harmful to the organization, depending on how the two interacts. Therefore, selecting two strategies that complements each other ensures that the weaknesses are covered up, while the strength is enhanced. According to Devane (2004, p. 66-123), Lean and Six Sigma perform optimally when implemented together, leading to improved efficiency and productivity. The best approach to performance improvement, referred to as lean management, is determined by the complex interaction among people, material, equipments and resources. Both Six Sigma and lean management gives a certain principle of organizational performance, especially in a competitive environment, which states that returns may diminish if the two programs work in isolation and this may lead to failure in achieving perfect goals (Arnheiter and Maleyeff , 2005. P. 3-14). A society that will be practicing lean Six Sigma, would be exploiting both on the strength of both lean organization and Six Sigma process. The integration of Lean and Six Sigma improvement methods is required in that; first, it brings a process into statistical control, which makes it easy to analyse various attributes of the business, which are necessary for making sound business decision. Secondly, it brings a dramatic improvement in procedure speed or reduced invested capital and reduced cost, while increasing the output; this is healthy for the business and ensures that achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives are realized. Both Six sigma and Lean differ but correlate in some ways; for instance, Six Sigma emphasizes the need to classify chances and remove flaws as per the perception of the customers, and identifies

Audit & Assurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Audit & Assurance - Essay Example Therefore US introduced the Sarbanes Oxley Act in 2002 and UK, in 2003, set up two reviews- RRAP (Regulatory Regime of Accountancy Profession) and CGAA (Coordinating Group on Audit and Accounting) (Gray & Manson, 2007, p.140). The audit committee consists of board of directors who are entrusted with the oversight of financial reports preparation and disclosures. The more reliable the information is the more it is useful and through the auditing this purpose is achieved. The shareholders of a company are its owners who appoint the stewards in the form of directors and managers to manage the company on their behalf. The problem arises when the stewards place their personal interests before the owners’ interests. And as the managers are at an advantage over shareholders in terms of information the auditing (both internal and external) functions become all the more important. The recent financial crisis has led to the requirement of enhancing the transparency on the managerâ€℠¢s activities and their risk management. The identification, analysis and management of the operational as well as strategic risk are the key to avoid failures of firms if the crises were to occur in future. The audit committee alone is not responsible to prevent the economic downturn but plays an important role by challenging the assumptions and estimates the auditors undertake as part of the audit process as the economic environment changes with time (FRC, 2011). Objectives of the Paper This paper has mainly five objectives. Firstly, to understand the rights and responsibilities of the audit committee and their importance in today’s volatile financial environment. Secondly, why firms need audit committees and what they are doing to improve audit committees’ effectiveness. Thirdly, the meaning and importance of Audit Assurance has been explained. Fourthly, there is an explanation of the audit process both internal as well as external. Fifthly, the role of regulators a nd audit firms in bringing more effectiveness in audit process and transparency in financial disclosures so that the investors able able to take informed decisions. Rights and Responsibilities of the Audit Committee The Financial Reporting Council has provided the guidelines on Audit Committees. The rights of audit committee are as follows: 1. All the directors and management staff are obligated to keep the audit committee properly informed even if not asked. They must be cooperative with the audit committee. 2. The opinions of the audit committee should be listened and discussed by both the management and the board. 3. The audit committee has a right to intervene if it finds any discrepancy in the audit and financial controls process. And if not satisfied by the explanations given by the management then it may seek independent advice. 4. The work of the audit committee gets time consuming and intensive; therefore management must provide them with the necessary resources including t he payment. There should also be a provision of induction and training of the new audit committee members in the company. The training may be continued if required. The board of the company should establish an audit committee with at least two to three members in consultation with the nomination

Extensible Business Reporting Language in India

Extensible Business Reporting Language in India Introduction XBRL XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) reporting is gaining momentum as a medium of digital financial reporting (Ogundejiet.al, 2014). It is a meta-language, based on XML and used as electronic communication of business information. The primary purpose of XBRL is to facilitate the preparation, publishing, exchange, and analysis of financial statements. In fact, using the framework of XBRL it is possible to facilitate numerous types of reports that can efficiently be parsed by computers (Vasarhelyi and Alles, 2008) and software applications available for the analysis of such information (Silveira et al., 2007). XBRL can be considered as innovation as it is becoming an internet business standardization language (Willis, 2007). A XBRL report does not only contain business and financial reporting information but it also includes attributes that describe that information. It doesn’t change the financial reporting standards but change the way in which business and financial i nformation is reported. Typically, an XBRL report consists of an XBRL instance document containing the financial facts and taxonomies that provide the information about how facts are interrelated in the financial statement. Taxonomy works as a electronic dictionary for business and financial terms within the business realm. Instance documents are business reports that are physically connected to taxonomies. It contains both numerical and non-numerical data and information about the data. XBRL in India The XBRL wave started in India in late 2007 when the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) initiated the idea digital business reporting using XBRL with different regulators in India. XBRL implementation can achieve immediate benefits for Indian companies in terms of a more efficient means to file incorporation documents online and a simplified mode of filing of returns and forms. The benefits to Indian capital market include easy access to public information for users at anytime and from anywhere, which may increase information transparency. With increased coverage, it is hoped that the XBRL data thus collected would significantly enhance the Government capability in policy formulation and regulators, corporates as well as public and investors at large. Major regulators involved in the adoption of XBRL in India are Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authori ty (IRDA). From 31st March, 2011, Ministry of Corporate Affairs mandated XBRL reporting (in phases) for companies, who would adopt the Commercial and Industrial Taxonomy developed by ICAI. In the first year (phase 1), the focus was on a certain class of companies who are listed in India, with paid up capital of Rs. 5 crore and turnover of Rs. 100 crores, would have to file their Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss in XBRL format from the FY 2010-11 onwards. The subsequent years witnessed a significant change in the regulatory reporting format and a new schedule VI for improvement in disclosure system for financial statements was enforced by the Companies Act 2013. The taxonomy architecture also underwent considerable change. Companies are also required to file their cost audit report and compliance report in XBRL format. Filers have the option to create their own XBRL documents in house or to convert their financial statements into XBRL format through outsourcing. Regardless of which approach, the first step is to tag each financial element to the published XBRL taxonomy so that accounting information can be converted into XBRL format. Once XBRL instance documents are created, filers need to validate the instance document before filing on MCA portal. Off-line process validates XBRL instance documents for business rules using the MCA off-line tool. Second, for online validation (Pre-scrutiny) the instance documents are uploaded and validated from the MCA21 system (MCA 2012). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has adopted the XBRL taxonomy for Commercial Industrial (CI) Companies. Regulators like RBI has implemented the XBRL based regulatory filings for banks using Internet and Indian Financial Network. SEBI and IRDA are in the process of implementing XBRL. But the adoption is not uniform across various sectors of businesses in India. As every organization faces some teething problems when adopting a new technology, the same holds true for XBRL. Firstly, XBRL has a steep learning curve to begin with. Therefore, there’s a big challenge for the company to bring together a workforce skilled for using this new technology. It requires training efforts and change management initiatives on the company’s part to prepare employees for such advancements. Organizations should also be careful about the probable effects of the technology adoption procedure on existing processes and people; and take necessary steps to minimize any adverse behavioral impact. Research Objective Therefore adoption of XBRL becomes a relevant research area of interest among academics and practitioners (Pinsker,2008; Muller,2013). Researches around the world are carried from various disciplines on XBRL. Further, majority of academic XBRL research has focused on the US market (Srivastava and Liu, 2012) and, therefore, there is a need to see how non-US countries have implemented XBRL. Further, little research is cited regarding end-user attitude towards XBRL adoption (Muller, 2013). Being a behavioral study, the present research has applied a technology acceptance model (TAM) to identify the predictors for attitude formation required for successful adoption of XBRL. Based on Baldwin (2006) study we classified the stakeholders for the system in four groups. The ‘Standardizer’ creates taxonomies, accounting standard, Legislator and regulator. ‘Providers’ are the companies, divisions that provide platform for creating reports. ‘Intermediaries’ are auditors, financial aggregators. ‘Addresses’ are Investors, regulators, managers. The present work attempts to analyze the acceptance of XBRL technology by ‘Intermediaries’ including auditors and company financial professionals responsible for preparation of XBRL report in Indian companies. Thus, the study has implications for auditors, as well as for firms who operate in India and in countries whose XBRL implementation reporting in mandatory. Literature Review XBRL As pointed by many researchers, XBRL is used as most advanced and rigorous standards taxonomy developed to help for a better assurance of future digital financial reports (Cohen, 2009; Lymer and Debreceny, 2003; Boritz and Wo, 2008; Plumlee and Plumlee, 2008; Shrivastava and Kogan, 2009; and Gonzalbez and Rodriguez, 2012). XBRL adoption allows organisations to report quickly (Cohenet al., 2005), and standardised data to be accessed at a lower cost with greater transparency and cheaply. With the adoption of XBRL, financial information can be optimized for creation, discovery, consumption, and reuse, and XBRL also enables supply of information for business reporting to communicate among players more efficiently (Vasal and Srivastava, 2009; Debreceny et al., 2005). Additional XBRL benefits include cost savings because of increased data processing capability, decreased data duplication and decreased cost of bookkeeping (Pinsker and Li, 2008; Yoon,2011). Alles and Piechocki (2009) develop a framework for understanding how tagged data can be used to change the way in which decisions affecting governance are made. Roohani (2007) argues that XBRL would facilitate corporate governance and provide transparency to employees, investors and creditors, and regulators. Alles and Piechocki (2009) commented that XBRL will improve corporate governance. Premuroso and Bhattacharya (2008) confirm that early and voluntary filers of financial information in XBRL format demonstrate superior corporate governance and operating performance relative to their non-adopting peers. But Doolin and Troshani (2007) believed that benefits of XBRL are not expected to be immediate but will accumulate over time. Tornatzky and Klein (1982) and Rogers (2003) suggest that the relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, and the ability to trial and observe a technology like XBRL, all play a significant role in the adoption decision. Potential adopters typically evaluate the relative advantage and benefits of new technology against the perceived costs (Doolin and Troshani, 2007; Oliver and Whymark, 2005; Premkumar et al., 1994). Adopters will weigh the initial and ongoing cost of adopting the technology (Rogers, 2003) against potential benefits such as a reduction in compliance costs and increased competitive advantage (Oliver and Whymark, 2005). The greater the perceived positive relative advantage, the more likely an organisation will adopt the technology. Chartered Accountants will be primarily responsible for the implementation of XBRL in an organization (Gauri, 2014). Current study examines the factors that influence individual decision to adopt XBRL using Davis (1989) Technology Acceptan ce Model (TAM). Technology Acceptance Due to complexity and context-sensitiveness, technology adoption required various models and which has speculated in the past two decades to specify the factors influencing organizations technology adoption (Wolfe, 1994; Jeyaraj et al., 2006; Doolin and Troshani, 2007). These include the technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989), TAM2 (Venkatesh et al., 2003), theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991), innovation diffusion theory (Rogers, 2003), and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (Venkatesh et al., 2003). Among all, TAM is the most popular model build upon a well known theory of IS (Information System) research. The literature of IT adoption relates to various Personal factors (Davis, 1989; Troshani and Doolin, 2005; Venkatesh, and Davis, 2000), Technological factors, Environmental factors and organisational factors (Troshani and Doolin, 2005). Personal factors include dimensions of TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) like perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, attitude towards technology, which were proven to be more successful in measuring the impact on technology adoption. Technological factors including relative advantage (Zaltman et al. 1973), complexity (Rogers, 1983), compatibility (Kwon and Zmud, 1987), observability (Rogers, 1983), and trial ability (Venkatesh, and Davis,2000). Technology complexity includes the current knowledge and skills of the employees in the organization (Doolin and Troshani, 2007). Davidson el al. (2006) and Rogers (2003) revealed that lack of knowledge and skills hinders the adoption of XBRL by organisation accountants. Environmental factors include e xternal pressure (Iacovou et al., 1995) and competition (Grover, 1993), Innovation Adoption (Tornatzky and Klein,1982; Rogers, 1983). Organisational factors include top management support (Rai and Howard, 1994; Thong and Yap, 1995), organisation structure (Lai and Guynes, 1994), centralisation and formalisation (Zmud, 1982; Grover and Goslar, 1993), organisation size (Grover and Teng, 1992). But with present research scope, we only examined the impact of determinants defined in Technology Acceptance Model (Davis,1989). Research Model TAM is an adaptation of theory of reasoned action by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) and was mainly designed for modeling user acceptance of information technology in the workplace (Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 1989). The positive relationship between behavioral intentions and actions is extensively described by the theory of reasoned action (Azen,1980) and the theory of planned behavior (Azen, 1991). The TAM model assumes that system use is directly determined by behavioral intention to use the system which is in turn influenced by users’ attitudes toward using the system and the perceived usefulness of the system. This model displays a high level prediction power of technology use (Goswami, 2014). The present research uses the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) model proposed by Davis (1989) to understand the acceptance in respect of perceived usefulness and ease of use dimensions. Both are most closely related to the characteristics of the XBRL system. Perceived usefulness (PU) the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance (Davidson et.al, 2006). Perceived ease of use (PEOU) is the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effort. Research Methodology The research methodology of this study is divided in following points: Source of data-The source of data collection is primary data which is collected from the professionals working in various companies and responsible for creation of XBRL reports. Sample size-as per the difficulty of finding the qualified respondents who were responsible for the XBRL based financial reporting;the sample 20professionals of Rajasthan state were selected randomly. Each author has contributed 5 the filled questionnaire and the data were collected from 12 companies as a representative sample. Sampling technique-The sampling technique used is convenient sampling. Hypothesis- as per the nature of the research two hypotheses were developed and shown under the head of data analysis. Analysing Tool: Multivariate Regression Analysis were used to analyse the data and to identify that which independent variable results change in dependent variable. Conclusion The present research begins with a clarification that global adoption of XBRL will have a large impact on financial and corporate reporting process. Indian companies can also be benefited with this technology innovation along with its inherent operational advantages. TAM has proven to be a useful acceptance model in helping to understand and explain the user behavior in XBRL implementation. The study examined the effect of perceived usefulness and ease of use on attitude of Indian financial professionals towards XBRL reporting. Change management is also a crucial step to be taken before implementing a technology like this. Employees are quite reluctant for changes in processes. This makes it imperative for companies to conduct change management which helps employees embrace the change openly. Staying up to date with current taxonomies is also essential. The implementation roadmap must be charted out with detailed planning for the technology’s adoption to be a success. It is critical to ascertain the most suitable method for your organization to implement it. Your decision to go for bolt-on, or outsource or built-in approach must be carefully thought of and minutely planned keeping in mind the organization needs. Future Research It is worth noting that whereas XBRL has exhibited capabilities to produce the digitized version financial statements, it is still unable to capture information displayed through various other sections of the financial statements and the annual reports. Particularly, the information displayed through the notes to accounts and, management discussion and analysis sections of the annual reports. This is indeed a challenging area for future research. All aspects concerning the improvement of efficiency by applying XBRL like time savings, reduced effort, and improved communication are mentioned frequently in literature but hardly any research activities could be recognized. Future researched should focus on the evaluation of productivity of financial reporting. Other potential area of research is system flexibility, which measure the cross-system compatibility and system independent processing of XBRL business and financial information. The impact of demographic factors upon the XBRL adop tion among consumers must be examined. Based on our discussions and literature review, we suggest that research focus might also be on the economic impact of XBRL. This may help to present a clear business case to the stakeholders which should contribute to the comprehensive adoption of XBRL.

Essay --

MAURICE â€Å"THE ROCKET† RICHARD Born in August 4, 1921, Maurice Richard was the eldest of eight children of Onesime and Alice Richard. Maurice’s parents moved from Gaspe region to Nouveau-Bordeaux so that his father could work as a machinist at the Canadian Pacific Railway. He started playing hockey when he was a young kid and he was good in boxing as well. In 1937, a young Maurice Richard at age16, was dropped out of school and worked with his father as a machinist and that was his only income other than some income in the winter with the senior Canadiens. The depression hits and Maurice is asked by co-workers to attend meeting to deal with issues of layoff threats but he refuses in order to play hockey instead. Management observes the conversations and tries to get information from Maurice but, he refuses to co-operate therefore was sent to garbage duty after work. Maurice was angered by this but chose to perform his duties completely and even though he used to arrive late, angry and tired for the game, he transformed his aggression into motivation and scored the winning goals that clinched the victory over their only unbeaten team. Richard got married to Lucille Norchet in 1942 against the wish of her father. Mr. Norchet felt they would be poor on a machinist salary and his injuries would ruin his chances at hockey. They married anyway and Maurice was determined to succeed without family help. Trials for the Habs went well but GM Gorman feels he is too frail for the team. But Coach Dick Irvin insists so Maurice made the team. By 1940, he had moved up to the Canadians senior team in the Quebec league. Due to his fractures, he returned and played the whole 1941-42 season for the senior Canadia... ...cted his statement. He sat out the rest of the season and playoffs, Irvin finally admits to his aggressive approach to motivate Maurice to play great hockey. Maurice goes on radio to convince French fans not to cause trouble; he will be back next year. Winters in the village of Ste. Justine were long. That time on school, church, and the hockey rink, and every boy’s hero was Montreal Canadians hockey legend Maurice Richard. Everyone wore Richard’s number 9 to honor him. They laced their skates like Richard. They even wore their hair like Richard. Maurice Richard was the hero of the French Canadian people and his dedication to his game was no different from the dedication to his family and his work and his love for the French Canadian people. He went on to win many awards in hockey and in his personal life that honored him as the role model for all French Canadian.

The journey to my grave

It was a bright Thursday afternoon and it was finally time for recess. I hade just survived double English and all my energy had been drained from trying to stay awake, let alone paying any attention to what was going on in lesson. I made my way out of the classroom and walked down the long corridors of the school building towards my locker- alone. It had only been a week and a half since I had started high school and I hadn't yet managed to make any friends but I had expected it, since I had started a month later than all the other first years. Everyone seemed to already have been divided into his or her groups. I liked keeping to myself, as it was crystal clear I wasn't needed. After placing my books in my locker I made my way to the school canteen. As always there was nothing appealing in the canteen that tempted me so I just helped myself to a chocolate muffin. Having paid for my lunch I made my way to the table in the corner of the hall where I sat everyday- alone. I placed my muffin on the table and sat down to eat. The canteen was filling up and I noticed that every table in the canteen had different types of people seated at it; the cheerleader table was at the front where all the cheerleaders sat. Beside them, was the Ashley table where Ashley's group sat, which beside herself included her two best friends. The sixteen tables behind them were where the ordinary people sat and ate their lunch. Last but not least there were the geeks who sat behind everyone else. Finally there was me and I sat alone, behind everyone else. Since the day I had started high school know one had spoken to me in a friendly manner but only teased me and called me names, so it was a huge surprise when Ashley and her group came up to my lunch table wanting to ask me something. Hey†¦ uh †¦ Megan. How are you? ‘ Oh my god I couldn't believe it. Ashley was actually talking to me. I had to reply, I mean it wasn't everyday Ashley came up to talk to me. ‘Uh †¦ yes†¦ I'm†¦ I'm fine. Thanks for asking. ‘ I could feel my face getting hot, I couldn't believe I was so tongue tied but I wasn't to blame anyone who went to my high school would have been in the state I was in. ‘ Helen can you meet us in the girls lavatory and make sure no one knows you are coming to see us. Its best if know one knows. ‘ It was the happiest days in my life. Having finished my muffin I rushed down to the girls lavatory beaming with joy. Once reaching the girls lavatory I pushed open the door and searched for Ashley and her group. There was know one there so I decided to wait. A little while later they came in and checked if all the cubicles were empty once they were satisfied Ashley asked me the most unexpected question ever. ‘Listen Helen me and the girls were thinking of making our group a foursome and who else would be better to have than you. So do you want to join us? ‘ Of course I did. Who wouldn't? ‘Yeh†¦ sure†¦ I mean I would love to be part of your group. ‘ This was the happiest day of my life, apart from the fact that she didn't know my name properly. I was going to be part of her group and not any old group but Ashley Roberts group. ‘Kool, but as you know this isn't any old group. This is my group,' she really emphasized on the word â€Å"my†, ‘and it is the best in the whole school. So you have to go through a simple initiation test, don't worry we all went through it. If you pass, it means you are worthy of joining our group and if not you go back to what you were. ‘ I should have known there would be a catch. I guess it was worth the try, if I passed I would've officially been part of the best group in the whole school. ‘All you have to do is come to my house tomorrow and stay the night. Katie and Serena' Her two best friends, ‘will also be there. We will tell you what will consist in your test tomorrow when you come round. You can go now and oh yeh I will give you my address tomorrow but remember just don't tell anyone, and I mean anyone about our little discussion. ‘ The final bell of the day rang and it was finally time to go home. I placed my books into my bag and made my way for home. After ten minutes I reached home and let myself in. I could hear my mum rattling the dishes in the kitchen and also talking to my little baby brother. ‘Hi mum, I'm home. Guess what happened today. You wont believe it. ‘ I was dying to tell her that I had made a new friend and that I might have a chance to join her group. ‘Go on tell me what happened today. ‘ ‘Well this girl, Ashley Roberts who is the popular girl in school asked me to join her group but she said I have to pass a little test to see if I am capable of being in their group so she invited me to her house tomorrow for a sleepover. Can I go? I could see the look on her face she wasn't sure about the whole idea. ‘I'm not quite sure about this test thing. ‘ she replied with a worried look on her face. I'm sorry to say this to you but I cant let you go this time I mean you hardly even know her. I'm sure she will understand. ‘ Understand. She thought she would understand. My mother had absolutely no idea about this whole thing. If I didn't get into this group my life would have been over. I would have had to stay a loner all throughout my high school life. ‘But mum' I couldn't let her win this battle not this time my whole high school life was at stake here. You can't do this. You don't understand. You have to let me go, please. ‘ my eyes were burning as tears blurred my vision. I couldn't let her see that she had won so I stormed out of the room slamming the door shut on my way out. I was enraged by my mothers decision of not letting me go to Ashley's house. She just didn't understand that I had to go. It was about my future. I had made up my mind I was going to go to Ashley's house no matter what. There was too much at stake here. I needed to make mum realise that I could take care of my self and nothing would have happened if she had let m go. The next day I came back from school and went straight to my room to pack my clothes for the sleepover. I was going to go to the sleepover no matter what. After packing my things I went downstairs to eat dinner and then told mum I was going to bed early because I was not feeling well. I went to my room and picked up my bag and plucked up the courage to sneak out of the window. I did it I was out I realised that if I stood around I would get caught so I quickly took out Ashley's address and made my way to her house. It was about 6 blocks away from where I lived and took me about twenty minutes to get there. Once I reached her house it was seven thirty. Before I could actually knock on the door Ashley came and opened the door. Without saying a word she took me to her room as if she didn't want anyone to know I had arrived. There I met both Katie and Serena too. I was told by Ashley that I had to keep my voice down as her parents weren't aware that I was present in the house. For some odd reason I began to regret that I had come to Ashley's house. I was here now and I had to go through with whatever the girls had in plan as my initiation test. Ok listen Helen. We have all decided what your test should be based upon. Let me warn you though it is going to be quite hard. The girls don't think you will be up to the challenge. ‘ It was Ashley talking. Oh no the thing I had been dreading most. Well at least I wont have to do anything in school which could embarrass me. So I guess the girls had spared me the humiliation. ‘Just tell me what you want me to do. Don't worry I'm up to it. By the way my name is Megan. ‘ I had come this far I wasn't going to let myself down now. ‘That's the spirit. Well we have decided to test how brave you are so we have decided that tonight being a Friday the thirteenth your test will be that you have to go to the near by grave yard and sit next to a grave for a whole hour, and before leaving place a flag, which we will give to you, on the surface of the grave so that we know that you actually stayed there. As proof that you did stay there for a whole hour we will give you a stop watch which you will start as soon as you sit next to the grave and bring back to us when your time is up. ‘ I got the shock of my life when I heard what I had to do. I should have stayed home and done as I was told, I guess I now realised that my mum was right. By coming here I have only landed my self into more trouble. I couldn't let myself down. I wanted to be in the group so desperately now. Ashley told me that we were going to leave at exactly eleven thirty so that we would be there a little before twelve. While I would be inside the grave yard Katie, Serena and Ashley would go back home and then come back to collect me. They also told me I had to sit next to a specific grave, it was Jack Hunters. Rumours have it that on every Friday the thirteenth anyone who sits next to Jacks grave, and is still there by midnight, has his or hers soul pulled out from their body and into jacks grave. Many people have tried to sit next to jacks grave but have never returned. ‘Come on its time to go. ‘ Called out Katie in a silent whisper. It was time for my test and no matter what I wasn't going to back out from it. The four of us crept downstairs and made our way out of the house without making a single noise. The street was dark with only a few light lamps in the far distance which shone some light on the path we were taking. We finally reached the main gates to the entrance of the grave yard. I was told to climb over the gates. When I had climbed over I realised that I was on my own from here on. Serena told me that the grave I was meant to sit next to was at the far end and will fall on my right hand side. I saw the girls making their way back and I knew I couldn't follow them. I had to lead in the opposite direction. There were still five minutes to twelve as I sat down and made my self comfortable. All this jack and the whole soul pulling thing was all made up, I knew it. How can a dead person who mind you doesn't even have a soul of his, own possibly take another persons. It was insane, it was a story which had crossed its limits. None of it was true. It couldn't be. Could it? At this stage I was talking to myself. I began questioning my own beliefs. I looked at my watch to see how much time had gone by. I couldn't believe it, only two minutes had passed since I had started the stopwatch which was given to me. All of a sudden I felt something behind me, as if it were breathing heavily onto my neck. I was too afraid to look back. I wanted to run. Run free from this place-I was being held down. Something had paralysed me, I couldn't move. I tried harder- nothing happened. In my struggle to break free from the web of danger I was in I caught a glimpse of the time and it was exactly twelve. It was happening to me. My soul was being sucked into Jacks grave. My ribs were hurting me so badly. My whole body felt as if it were being forced into a tiny hole. My whole body was overlapping it self and I could do nothing. I needed air. I was running out of air. When I tried breathing in big gashes of air to maybe prolong my death, nothing happened. All I could do was wait for my life to end. I remembered mum, I wondered what she was going to go through. I should have listened to her. She was right but I was so arrogant and selfish that I had to have my way. I hope she could forgive me as all she had in the world were me and my little brother. There it happened. Exactly on that thought. I breathed in my ounce of air. Jack finally got what he had wanted-his soul, my soul. I Megan Taylor till today regret entering the gates of the grave yard I entered three years ago, and till this day I regret it. Little did I know at the time that the friend I thought I had gained, planned this malicious act of indecency.

James Joyce †An encounter Essay

An encounter is a short story and also a part of the collection named Dubliners written by James Joyce in 1914. Dubliners is a great literary work of the 20th Century, a real masterpiece. Because of its structure and unity of themes, it can be read as a novel. The stories are based on the author’s personal experiences in Ireland. They are stories of desperate lives lived on the margins. Dublin was, to Joyce, ‘the centre of paralysis’. An encounter describes the Irish society, the prejudices and restrictions of the century, the monotony of life, and the unability of people to change their lives. In a letter to an editor, Joyce wrote: ,, I have tried to present it to the indifferent public under four of its aspects: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life. The stories are arranged in this order.’’ The main themes are: religion, the escape, freedom, journey, routine, isolation, paralysis and monotony. As a cultural background, people were looking for freedom, for new adventures tired of the routine of life. This aspect can be easily observed by the readers, in the story. The everyday life of Dubliners didn’t bring joy and excitement in their lives. One of the narrator’s confessions is: ,, But when the restraining influence of the school was at a distance I began to hunger again for wild sensations, for the escape which those chronicles of disorder alone seemed to offer me’’. So, the real adventures begin where the routine ends. Routine brings not only loneliness, but also despair, sadness and frustration. Joyce points out that routine is very dangerous, inevitable and it is seen as a trap from where you barely can get out. Joyce’s characters are looking for escape from the monotony of life, an escape that they are ashame of, but they fail and they always fall back in routine because of their inability to take actions: ,, But real adventures, I reflected, do not happen to people who remain at home: they must be sought abroad’’, says the narrator. The narration is made at the third person to describe people, places and at first person to express the psychologically complex and the thoughts of the author. The narrator and a boy called Mahony played games with cowboys and Indians, such as Wild West, which makes me believe that they see America as an icon for freedom and happiness: ,, The adventures related in the literature of the Wild West were remote from my nature but, at least, they opened doors of escape.’’ But, even the games they used to play aren’t a symbol of full freedom since they had to hide to play the games. They decided to skip a day of school and go in an adventure at the shore where they met an encounter. I think they made this choice because they were aware of the fact that they will never take part of real adventures at home. They started a disscusion about school, books, writers and ,,young sweethearts’’. I believe there is an unexpressed desire for adventures in the life of Dubliners that never turns into something concrete. This is a proof that the narrator is looking to escape from the cotidian life, but it doesn’t happen, as he and the boy return back home. They come to the conclusion that adventures don’t bring with them protection as the society does. However, even the protection offered by the Irish society was illusional. They arent’t able to escape the routine because they didn’t have time, they never made time, they were afraid of trying and experiencing something new and because freedom always brings more responsability and unknown in your life. Routine is a bad habit, a circle from where you can’t get out. Breaking the monotony of life is a challenge which if you aren’t able to take it until the end, it’s better not to take it at all. Also, An encounter reflects in a way the frustration of the Dubliners. The end of the story is ambiguous and interpretable. The encounter touches himself and talks about whipping. Some may think of the allusion of masturbation. I think Joyce wants to tell us through this character that even an adventurous life has its routine. The experience of the narrator with the old man is not the experience he would imagine to have. His expectations turned into disappointments. During the escape they find out that their image of freedom and their expectations weren’t what reality brought to them. Adventures aren’t only about happiness and freedom as the narrator believes, adventures also mean obstacles, fear and unknown paths. I find this story a little bit terrifying be cause of the character of the old man, his look and his actions. Even the discourse is  very unusual and ambiguous: ,, He began to speak on the subject of chastising boys. His mind, as if magnetized again by his speech, seemed to circle slowly round and round its new centre.†. He is percepted as a man with a sick and dirty mind. The encounter with the old man can also be seen as a meet between childhood and maturity where the purity and expectations of the young boys encounter a world less pure, safe and harmonius. It is a stage in which they face the true meanings of a matur world and begin to understand the maturity. The language is very dynamic. There are an abundance of details. Joyce uses in descriptions stylistic devices such as: epithets (,,innocent face’’, ,, wild sensations’’, ,, real adventures’’, ,, green leaves’’), comparations ( ,, he looked like some kind of an Indian’’, ,, boys like you’’, as wearisome to me as the routine’’), repetitions (,,This page or this page’’, ,,All right! All right!’’), alliterations (,,Hardly had the day dawned’’), exclamations (,,Till tomorrow, mates!’’), enumerations (,,blue and grey and even black’’). He is very ironic even through his characters that are aware of the fact they have to escape the world they live in, to seek freedom and happiness outside the society. They are aware that their world is a trap. So, their fault remains until the end their passivity. This moments of awareness ar e called by Joyce ,,epiphanies’’ and are used as structural devices in the stories. The story is like a mirror reflecting the Dublin society – a nation searching for its own identity, its darker side, its fears, but also hopes and unaccomplished desires. As Garry Leonard wrote: ,, a magic mirror converting a hard reality into a compensatory fantasy.’’ Through these short stories, the reader can notice the author’s desire to leave Dublin. He also reminds to people that they can escape the monotony of life by moving into the West and starting a new life where dreams may come true, where freedom can be manifested. Before reading Dubliners it is important to know the historical context. ,,Reading a text of Joyce’s can be compared to playing a piece of music – it can be done rapidly, skipping over  opaque or repetitious passages to gain a sense of the longer-range patterns and developments, or slowly, savouring the words, puzzling over the conundrums, following up the cross-references.’’ ( Derek Attridge) Bibliography: 1. Katherine Mullin, Cambridge Collections Online, James Joyce and the languages of modernism, Cambridge University Press, 2007 2. James Joyce, An encounter, David Campbell Publishers, 1991 3. Garry Leonard, Cambridge Collections Online, The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce,, Cambridge University Press, 2006 4. Derek Attridge, Cambridge Collections Online, Reading Joyce, Cambridge University Press, 2006 5. James R. Cope & Wendy Patrick Cope, A teacher’s guide to the Signet Classic Edition of James Joyce’s Dubliners, N.Y. : Penguin, 1994