Globalization and the Digital Divide Essay

The globalization era has been developing in recent years. The use of technology has an important role in running the business. Any information about companies can be known in a second. This condition pushes the people in business to provide the accurate, detail and trusted information which is related to the company. It also makes the company compete to improve the performance of their operational activities. To help understand how modern business development, every company definitely has an orientation to make a high profit, therefore the company tries to build a good image in public. Companies will compete to increase their success both in industry and trade field. At first, the company will be profit-oriented, but as it progresses, it is not only focused on profit-making but also focused on social responsibility to keep the company alive. Companies must think about the impact on their environment. Rapid business development drives industry growth, especially in Indonesia. An industrial activity must be related to the utilization of resources and produce valuable products. This will have a direct and indirect impact on the environment. The natural resource management industry, especially the management of non-renewable resources (petroleum, natural gas, coal industries, etc.) is a short-term industry, but it has a long-term impact on the environment. Despite having a positive impact on the economy of a country, an industrial activity also has a negative impact on the surrounding environment. Negative impacts due to activities that cause environmental damage, should be minimized first for the good of the company and the community. At the same time, governments, stock exchanges, markets, investors and the public require companies to be transparent about the goals, performance, and impacts of their sustainability. Then came the practice of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in the business world. CSR is the company’s contribution to the stakeholders towards sustainable development by minimizing the negative impact of operational activities. Now CSR is widely known and in Indonesia has many companies that apply it. In addition, the policy has been made regarding the disclosure of CSR as stipulated in Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 40 of 2007 and mentioned that a company that carries out its business activities in relation to natural resources, is obliged to carry out social and environmental responsibility. CSR is expressed in a report called Sustainability Report. As reported in www.globalreporting.org (2017), Sustainability Report is a report published by the company about the economic, environmental, and social impacts caused by daily operational activities of the company. One of the guidelines that can be used by companies in carrying out CSR activities is the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative). GRI is an international non-profit organization with network-based structure. GRI encourages the implementation of reporting with Sustainability Report as a way for companies and organizations to become more sustainable and contribute to a sustainable global economy. Companies report their activities based on principles and disclosures of standards in accordance with GRI Generation 4 (G4 Guidelines). In that way, the companies will feel the importance of CSR reporting that can improve their image, bring profit and ensure the survival of the company. However, if a company does not report CSR, it will create a conflict with stakeholders. Manufacturing is an industry whose main activity is processing or converting raw materials into finished or semi-finished goods so that goods have added value. Each processing of raw materials from manufacturers would produce waste, causes the environment to feel its impact. The large number of manufacturing companies operating in Java Island, making Java is the largest contributor of waste in Indonesia (National Geographic Indonesia, 2011). That is why covering the issue of environmental damage must be with a high skepticism. Because, besides a large number of output produced by the manufacturing company for its operational activities, it is still more output to be spent to repair environmental damage. Cases of thousands of liters of oil owned by PT Central Georgette Nusantara Printing (CGNP) that spill out pollutes Cibingbin River in Bandung, West Java makes people uneasy because the waste has been polluting the river that empties into the Sanguling Reservoir. The company’s operational activities in this area cause environmental damage and harm the people around. It also causes two hectares of paddy fields managed by local people, threatened crops failing. This condition makes people consider the environmental issues are the main ones. After getting pressure from both the government and the people around the factory, the company is ultimately responsible for the environmental pollution issue. The case above pushes the role of CSR as a business-enhancing success for a company. This research is using firm size, profitability, leverage, public ownership and industry sensitivity as independent variables and CSR disclosure which uses G4 guidelines as the dependent variable. Firm size is an indicator that can indicate a condition or characteristic (large or small) of a company. Large companies are more in demand by analysts and brokers because they tend to be easy to publish financial reports and tend to be in stable performance positions (Astuti & Nugrahanti, 2015). Profitability measures the overall effectiveness of management in generating profits with its assets (Smart & Graham, 2010, p. 66). It means to measure the activity of the company in earned net profit. Leverage provides a description of the company’s capital structure, thus it can use to see the level of risk of uncollectible debt (Fahrizqi, 2010). Public ownership is the proportion of share ownership owned by the public of the company’s shares (Arthana, 2012). Industry sensitivity ca n be interpreted as how big the influence of industrial activity that is directly related to the environment (Winarsih, 2015). The research about the determinant of CSR has been done by some researchers such as Arthana (2012) showed that public ownership and firm size have no significant effect on CSR disclosure. Meanwhile, leverage and profitability have a significant effect on CSR disclosure. However, it was a different research by Kusuma (2012). It showed that that firm size and public ownership have a significant effect on CSR disclosure and leverage does not affect the CSR disclosure. The research by Kusuma (2012) was support by Wijaya (2012), Zanirah (2012) and M. Nur & D. Priantinah (2012) showed that firm size significantly influences, but to leverage and profitability does not affect the disclosure of social responsibility. Zanirah (2012) showed that the firm size has a positive significant effect and leverage has a negative effect, while profitability has no significant effect on CSR disclosure. M. Nur & D. Priantinah (2012) showed that profitability and public ownership have no significant effect on CSR disclosure. Firm size has a positive significant effect and leverage has a negative significant effect. C. Putra (2012) has a different result compared with M. Nur & D. Priantinah (2012) and Zanirah (2012). It showed that firm size has a significant effect on CSR disclosure in manufacture companies while leverage, profitability, and public ownership have no significant effect. From earlier studies that show the different effects on CSR disclosure exhibit the research gap with different variable and different object push the researcher to retest research by C. Putra (2012) by adding a variable to improve the results about â€Å"THE EFFECT OF FIRM SIZE, PROFITABILITY, LEVERAGE, PUBLIC OWNERSHIP AND INDUSTRY SENSITIVITY ON CSR DISCLOSURE (A CASE STUDY OF MANUFACTURING COMPANIES LISTED IN INDONESIA STOCK EXCHANGE YEAR 2013-2017)† Research Questions Based on the background, the research questions that are discussed in this research are: Does firm size have a partial effect to CSR disclosure on manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017? Does profitability have a partial effect to CSR disclosure on manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017? Does leverage have a partial effect to CSR disclosure on manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017? Does public ownership have a partial effect to CSR disclosure on manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017? Does industry sensitivity have a partial effect to CSR disclosure on manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017? Do firm size, profitability, leverage, public ownership and industry sensitivity have a simultaneous effect to CSR disclosure on manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017? Research Limitation The discussion of the problem is limited to affecting some variable to CSR disclosure, which consists of firm size, profitability, leverage, public ownership and industry sensitivity. The company which is observed is manufacturing companies listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017. Research Purpose To analyze whether firm size has a partial effect to CSR disclosure to manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017. To analyze whether profitability has a partial effect to CSR disclosure to manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017. To analyze whether leverage has a partial effect to CSR disclosure to manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017. To analyze whether public ownership has a partial effect to CSR disclosure to manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017. To analyze whether industry sensitivity has a partial effect to CSR disclosure to manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017. To analyze whether firm size, profitability, leverage, public ownership and industry sensitivity have a simultaneous effect to CSR disclosure to manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange at 2013-2017. Benefit For Company This study is expected to give information for manufacturing companies in preparing meaningful sustainability reports and making steady sustainability reporting and directed to standard practice. It contributes to the understanding of determinants of CSR disclosure to improve the implementation of disclosure guidelines. This study is expected to be an input for companies in doing consideration and decision making which will be useful in providing an additional value of the company. For investor As an overview of CSR disclosure that serves as a reference for investment decision making. For accounting department As a meaningful contribution to the accounting department to develop a study of financial management especially for CSR disclosure. For student This study helps extends the scope of previous studies by introducing independent and dependent variables engage with CSR. The results of this study are expected to be a reference and comparison for further research, which is a concern with the CSR disclosure. Glossary Firm Size Firm size is the number of assets owned by the company. Thus, the large and small of a company can be seen by its assets ADDIN CSL_CITATION { â€Å"citationItems† : [ { â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"itemData† : { â€Å"DOI† : â€Å"10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004†, â€Å"ISBN† : â€Å"9788578110796†, â€Å"ISSN† : â€Å"1098-6596†, â€Å"PMID† : â€Å"25246403†, â€Å"author† : [ { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Rahman†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"Arif†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-names† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† }, { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Widyasari†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"Kurnia Nur†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-names† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† } ], â€Å"container-title† : â€Å"Jurnal Akuntansi & Auditing Indonesia†, â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"issue† : â€Å"1†, â€Å"issued† : { â€Å"date-parts† : [ [ â€Å"2008† ] ] }, â€Å"page† : â€Å"25-35†, â€Å"title† : â€Å"The analysis of company characteristic influence towards CSR disclosure: Empirical evidence of manufacturing companies listed in JSX†, â€Å"type† : â€Å"article-journal†, â€Å"volume† : â€Å"12† }, â€Å"uris† : [ â€Å"http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=ad81e84f-e72e-4aeb-998f-b3df3f96da8f† ] } ], â€Å"mendeley† : { â€Å"formattedCitation† : â€Å"(Rahman & Widyasari, 2008)†, â€Å"plainTextFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Rahman & Widyasari, 2008)†, â€Å"previouslyFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Rahman & Widyasari, 2008)† }, â€Å"propertiesâ₠¬  : { â€Å"noteIndex† : 9 }, â€Å"schema† : â€Å"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json† }(Rahman & Widyasari, 2008). Profitability Profitability measure the focus on company profits ADDIN CSL_CITATION { â€Å"citationItems† : [ { â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"itemData† : { â€Å"author† : [ { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Marcus†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"Brealey Myers†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-names† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† } ], â€Å"edition† : â€Å"Lima†, â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"issued† : { â€Å"date-parts† : [ [ â€Å"2006† ] ] }, â€Å"number-of-pages† : â€Å"372†, â€Å"publisher† : â€Å"Erlangga†, â€Å"title† : â€Å"Dasar-Dasar Manajemen Keuangan Perusahaan Jilid 2†, â€Å"type† : â€Å"book† }, â€Å"uris† : [ â€Å"http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=eaa4ed05-0031-4fc6-9f14-1d31d7503a15† ] } ], â€Å"mendeley† : { â€Å"formattedCitation† : â€Å"(Marcus, 2006)†, â€Å"manualFormatting† : â€Å"(Marcus, 2006, p. 80)†, â€Å"plainTextFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Marcus, 2006)†, â€Å"previouslyFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Marcus, 2006)† }, â€Å"properties† : { â€Å"noteIndex† : 9 }, â€Å"schema† : â€Å"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json† }(Marcus, 2006, p. 80). Big companies are expected to earn more profit than small companies. It also measures the using of the efficiency of company assets ADDIN CSL_CITATION { â€Å"citationItems† : [ { â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"itemData† : { â€Å"author† : [ { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Husnan†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"Suad†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-n ames† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† }, { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Enny Pudjiastuti†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-names† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† } ], â€Å"edition† : â€Å"Pertama†, â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"issued† : { â€Å"date-parts† : [ [ â€Å"1996† ] ] }, â€Å"publisher† : â€Å"Unit Penerbit dan Percetakan (UPP) – AMP YKPN†, â€Å"publisher-place† : â€Å"Yogyakarta†, â€Å"title† : â€Å"Dasar-Dasar Manajemen Keuangan†, â€Å"type† : â€Å"book† }, â€Å"uris† : [ â€Å"http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=561254b1-8c37-4dae-9f07-9552249e0f60† ] } ], â€Å"mendeley† : { â€Å"formattedCitation† : â€Å"(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996)â⠂¬ , â€Å"manualFormatting† : â€Å"(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996, p. 73)†, â€Å"plainTextFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996)†, â€Å"previouslyFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996)† }, â€Å"properties† : { â€Å"noteIndex† : 9 }, â€Å"schema† : â€Å"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json† }(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996, p. 73). Leverage Leverage means measuring the company’s ability to fulfill its financial obligations. It can be that leverage is measure how far the company uses debt ADDIN CSL_CITATION { â€Å"citationItems† : [ { â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"itemData† : { â€Å"author† : [ { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Husnan†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"Suad†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-names† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† }, { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Enny Pudjiastuti†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-names† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† } ], â€Å"edition† : â€Å"Pertama†, â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"issued† : { â€Å"date-parts† : [ [ â⠂¬Å"1996† ] ] }, â€Å"publisher† : â€Å"Unit Penerbit dan Percetakan (UPP) – AMP YKPN†, â€Å"publisher-place† : â€Å"Yogyakarta†, â€Å"title† : â€Å"Dasar-Dasar Manajemen Keuangan†, â€Å"type† : â€Å"book† }, â€Å"uris† : [ â€Å"http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=561254b1-8c37-4dae-9f07-9552249e0f60† ] } ], â€Å"mendeley† : { â€Å"formattedCitation† : â€Å"(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996)†, â€Å"manualFormatting† : â€Å"(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996, p. 70)†, â€Å"plainTextFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996)†, â€Å"previouslyFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996)† }, â€Å"properties† : { â€Å"noteIndex† : 9 }, â€Å"schema† : â€Å"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json† }(Husnan & Enny Pudjiastuti, 1996, p. 70). Public Ownership Public ownership is the proportion of share ownership owned by the public of the company’s shares ADDIN CSL_CITATION { â€Å"citationItems† : [ { â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"itemData† : { â€Å"author† : [ { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Arthana†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"Ronny†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-names† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† } ], â€Å"container-title† : â€Å"Jurnal Ilmiah Mahasiswa FEB UB†, â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"issue† : â€Å"2†, â€Å"issued† : { â€Å"date-parts† : [ [ â€Å"2012† ] ] }, â€Å"page† : â€Å"1-14†, â€Å"title† : â€Å"Pengaruh Karakteristik Perusahaan Terhadap Pengungkapan Tanggung Jawab Sosial Perusahaan (CSR) Pada Perusahaan Yang Terdaftar Di Indeks LQ45 Bursa Saham Indonesia (BEI)†, â€Å"type† : â€Å"article-journal†, â€Å"volume† : â€Å"1† }, â€Å"uris† : [ â€Å"http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=848daaaf-51e9-409e-b044-80ae139493e6† ] } ], â€Å"mendeley† : { â€Å"formattedCitation† : â€Å"(Arthana, 2012)†, â€Å"plainTextFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Arthana, 2012)†, â€Å"previouslyFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Arthana, 2012)† }, â€Å"properties† : { â€Å"noteIndex† : 9 }, â€Å"schema† : â€Å"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json† }(Arthana, 2012). The bigger the share which is owned by the public, the more information will be explained, the investors want to get more information about its investment and make sure that it is safely managing then the obligation will be fulfilled. Industry Sensitivity Industry sensitivity can be interpreted as how big the influence of industrial activity that is directly related to the environment ADDIN CSL_CITATION { â€Å"citationItems† : [ { â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"itemData† : { â€Å"author† : [ { â€Å"dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"family† : â€Å"Winarsih†, â€Å"given† : â€Å"Arga Mustika†, â€Å"non-dropping-particle† : â€Å"†, â€Å"parse-names† : false, â€Å"suffix† : â€Å"† } ], â€Å"id† : â€Å"ITEM-1†, â€Å"issued† : { â€Å"date-parts† : [ [ â€Å"2015† ] ] }, â€Å"title† : â€Å"Pengaruh Media Online , Sensitivitas Industri Dan Struktur Corporate Governance Terhadap Kualitas Environmental Disclosure Governance (Studi Pada Perusahaan High Profile di BEI)†, â€Å"type† : â€Å"report† }, â€Å"uris† : [ â€Å"http://www.mendeley.com/ documents/?uuid=d495d810-1aa1-41f2-8dc4-6690588eae85† ] } ], â€Å"mendeley† : { â€Å"formattedCitation† : â€Å"(Winarsih, 2015)†, â€Å"plainTextFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Winarsih, 2015)†, â€Å"previouslyFormattedCitation† : â€Å"(Winarsih, 2015)† }, â€Å"properties† : { â€Å"noteIndex† : 10 }, â€Å"schema† : â€Å"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json† }(Winarsih, 2015).

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 9

â€Å"I don't understand this,† said Seth good-naturedly. â€Å"I catch you stripping in front of other men, yet I'm the one who gets punished.† Clasping his hand, I led him onto the ice skating rink. Just like with dancing, I glided with practiced ease. Seth's movements were jerky and uncertain. Without my hand, I suspected he would have fallen already. â€Å"This is good for you, Mortensen. You sit at a desk – or table or whatever – all day. This'll get your muscles working again. Get the old blood pumping.† His teasing smile turned into a grimace, his hold on my hand turning into a death grip. â€Å"There are a hundred other ways I could do that.† â€Å"But none as fun,† I assured him. Seth was brilliant and funny, but coordinated he was not. During the early days of our acquaintance, I'd tried to teach him to dance. It had been grueling. After a very long time, he'd learned the basic steps, but the process had never been easy – or, I suspected, enjoyable – for him. I'd let him off easy since then, only making him go out dancing once. He'd grown complacent now, which was why I felt this experience would be so good for him. â€Å"Men were not meant to wear blades on their feet,† he told me as we trudged further toward the rink's center. We were outdoors, at a small park, and our breathing made frosty clouds in the air. â€Å"Women weren't meant wear to stilettos,† I told him. â€Å"But you don't hear me bitching about it.† â€Å"That's different. They do great things for your legs. This? This just makes me look stupid.† â€Å"Well, then,† I said. â€Å"You better learn. Time to take off the training wheels.† I released his hand. â€Å"Hey! What the – â€Å" But I was gone, slipping away from his grasp with a laugh. He stood there frozen while I skated away, circling the rink in graceful loops and figure eights. After a few rounds, I skated back up to him, finishing with a neat pirouette. He hadn't moved from the spot where I'd left him, but he no longer appeared annoyed. â€Å"Look at you,† he said, touching my face. â€Å"Rosy cheeks. Snowflakes in your hair. You're the Snow Queen.† â€Å"God, I hope not. That's a depressing story. Hans Christian Andersen had issues.† â€Å"All writers have issues,† he assured me. I laughed and took his arm, leading him around in more awkward skating. My legs and feet protested the slow movement, but the rest of me was happy to have quality time with Seth. â€Å"Speaking of writers with issues,† I said. â€Å"How can I get in trouble for stripping in front of other men when you have a date with another woman?† If not for the fact he would have fallen over, I suspect Seth would have elbowed me. â€Å"That's your own fault,† he said. â€Å"You made me do it, so don't get all jealous now.† â€Å"I'm not jealous – but I think Maddie does have a crush on you.† â€Å"Unlikely. It's probably just author worship.† He gave me a pointed look. â€Å"Like some people I know. If anything, she's got a crush on you.† â€Å"Oh, for God's sake, stop with the lesbian fantasy thing.† â€Å"Nah, nothing like that. She just idolizes you, that's all. You're chipping away at that insecure exterior of hers, and I think she's starting to really see how much she's capable of. You're sort of setting the example.† I hadn't considered that. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yup. Keep training her up, and we'll have a mini-Georgina on our hands.† Seth chuckled as we made a painstakingly slow turn. â€Å"Between her, that new succubus, and my nieces, you should start a Ladies Finishing School. How can you be such a good influence and have such a†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Demeaning job?† I supplied. â€Å"Something like that. Of course, I suppose it could be worse.† I gave him a sidelong glance. â€Å"Could it?† â€Å"Yeah, you could, like, sell Amway or be trying to get me to move large amounts of money out of Nigeria.† â€Å"Definite deal breakers in any relationship,† I said solemnly. He looked over at me, rather brave considering the intense attention he'd been giving his feet. Under the rink's soft lights, his expression was tender. His lips curled into a small, fond smile, and his eyes shone with an affection that almost made me go weak in the knees. Maybe it was a trick to get me to fumble my skating. It nearly worked. â€Å"For you?† he said, coming to a stop. â€Å"It might be worth it.† â€Å"Worth cleaning out your bank account?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Worth being part of a pyramid scheme?† â€Å"They say they don't do that anymore.† â€Å"What if they're lying?† â€Å"Thetis,† he said with a sigh. â€Å"I'm going to say something to you I've never said before.† â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"Be quiet.† And then he leaned down and kissed me, bringing warmth to my cold lips. Nearby, I heard children giggle at us, but I didn't care. I felt the kiss down to my toes. It was brief, like always, but when Seth pulled away, my whole body was filled with heat. Every nerve in me tingled, alive and wonderful. I barely noticed the chilly temperature or the way our breathing formed frosty clouds in the air. He laced his fingers through mine and lifted my hand to his lips. I had gloves on, but he kissed exactly where I wore his ring. â€Å"Why are you so sweet?† I asked, my voice small. My heart beat rapidly, and every star peeping through the clouds seemed to be shining just for me. â€Å"I don't think I'm that sweet. I mean, I just told you to be quiet. That's one step away from asking you to wash my laundry and make me a sandwich.† â€Å"You know what I mean.† Seth pressed another kiss to my forehead. â€Å"I'm sweet because you make it easy to be sweet.† We linked arms again and continued our circuit. I had a sappy urge to rest my head against his shoulder but figured that might be asking too much of his coordination. â€Å"What do you want for Christmas?† I asked, my thoughts spinning ahead to next week. â€Å"I don't know. There's nothing I need.† â€Å"Oh no,† I teased. â€Å"You aren't one of those, are you? One of those people who are impossible to shop – â€Å" One of Seth's feet slipped out from under him. I managed to stay upright, but he went down, his legs crumpling underneath him. â€Å"Oh my God,† I said, kneeling down. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"I think so,† he said. The tight set of his lips informed me things were a bit more painful than he was letting on. Putting my arm around his hip, I helped him up. The leg he'd fallen on started to buckle, but he managed to keep it steady in the end. â€Å"Come on,† I said, steering him toward the gate. â€Å"We should go.† â€Å"We just got here.† â€Å"Oh, suddenly you're a fan, Scott Hamilton?† â€Å"Nope, but you are. It was just a fall.† Maybe it had been just a fall, but the thought of Seth getting hurt had made my heart seize up. â€Å"No, no. Let's go. I'm hungry.† The expression on his face informed me that he knew I wasn't that hungry, but he didn't fight me anymore. When we'd shed our skates for normal shoes, I was pleased to see he didn't walk with a limp or anything. That would have really been too much: him getting hurt and having it be my fault. â€Å"I'm not made of glass,† he told me as we drove to dinner. He was remarkably good at guessing my thoughts. â€Å"You don't have to protect me.† â€Å"It's instinct,† I said, lightly. But in my mind, I recalled the grim conversation he'd had with Erik. They were mortal. They could get hurt. They could die. It was something I'd witnessed over and over throughout the centuries. Each time I grew close to a new mortal, I'd try to pretend that it wouldn't happen to him or her. But it always did, and eventually that cold reality would hit me, no matter how hard I tried to push it aside. In fact, that knowledge consumed me for the rest of my night with Seth. I knew it was stupid to make such a big deal out of one fall, but I'd seen too many small things lead to disaster in my life. Lying in bed beside him later on, I found myself thinking back to a series of events that had also started small and ended in tragedy. Several centuries ago, I lived in a small town in southern England. I'd called myself Cecily then and worn a body with flaming red hair and big, man-eating eyes the color of sapphires. Funny thing about the Middle Ages. Modern folk always harbor this image of devout, God-fearing people strictly adhering to the letter of divine law. While they were certainly devout back then, that whole adherence thing left something to be desired – even among the clergy. No, scratch that. Especially among the clergy. Powerful churchmen often lived very well in an age where commoners desperately tried to scratch out a living. Ironically, that desperation contributed to the Church's wealth since the population hoped their lots would improve in the next world and gave money accordingly. Wealth and power lead to corruption, however, and the bishop of the town I lived in was one of the most corrupt around. And I was his mistress. Ostensibly, I worked as a servant in his household, but most of my laboring occurred in bed. He fawned over me and kept me supplied with nice clothes and other trinkets, and everyone knew about our relationship. People accepted that it was technically wrong, but most just lived with it. A lot of other bishops – and popes – had mistresses too, and like I said, not everyone was as devout as modern romantics like to believe. Simply living in sin with a crooked bishop didn't satisfy my job requirements. After all, I was a real go-getter in those days, and it hadn't taken too much to lead him astray. If I hadn't done it, someone else would have. So, I slept around on him when I could, getting regular fixes and a great deal of entertainment along the way. One day of said entertainment came from two monks who pulled knives on each other after discovering I'd slept with both of them. I don't know what good they thought it would do. I hardly ever saw them anyway since their monastery lay so far outside of town. Besides, considering how mediocre both liaisons had been, I didn't have much interest in revisiting either one. Nonetheless, they fought ferociously, drawing a lot of blood until a local priest managed to separate them. I watched the conflict with an innocent face, hidden among the enthusiastic crowd. No one suspected my involvement, save the intervening priest. His name was Andrew, and I adored him. Bishops performed masses and other sacraments, but they also had administrative responsibilities. Consequently, Andrew performed a lot of day-to-day ministering. He frequently visited the house where I lived and would speak to me both as a friend and a pastor while traveling to and from his duties. â€Å"Do you hate me?† I asked him after the fight. We sat in the garden outside the bishop's house. A couple other servants tended the grounds nearby but were still too far away to overhear us. Andrew hadn't specifically cited my involvement in the fight, but he had mentioned the incident when he arrived, lamenting what a shame it was that two brothers had been driven to such extremes. Closing his eyes, he tipped his head back into the sunshine. A heavy gold cross – a gift from my bishop that Andrew continually wanted to sell – rested on his chest, gleaming in the light. â€Å"No, of course not.† I studied him, admiring his young, handsome face and thinking the real shame was his celibacy. Wind ruffled his silky brown hair, and I imagined running my fingers through it. â€Å"You sound disapproving.† â€Å"I disapprove of sin, not of you.† He straightened back up and opened his eyes. â€Å"You I pray for.† I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't like being prayed for. â€Å"What do you mean?† He smiled at me, and I nearly sighed at his beauty. I longed to have him as a conquest, but he'd proven resistant so far. Of course, that only added to his appeal. I sometimes felt that if I could ever taste it, the energy from his soul would feed me for a lifetime. â€Å"I pray for your physical and spiritual health. I pray you will sin no more. I pray you will find some man you can marry and have children with.† He hesitated. â€Å"Although, I'd prefer it more if you took vows.† I arched an eyebrow of surprise. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Why not? You read and write. You're more educated than half the brothers at the monastery. You'd be a great asset to the abbey.† I tilted my head so that some of my hair spilled over my face, knowing how the light would set it ablaze. I held onto his gaze tenaciously. â€Å"Is that the only reason why? Or do you just like the idea of me never being with another man?† Andrew looked away and took a long time answering. â€Å"I'd like you to be my sister in Christ,† he said finally. â€Å"We all struggle with temptation, and I would like to see you removed from it.† With that, he stood up and straightened the kinks from his body. I remained sitting. â€Å"I should leave. It's getting late.† He started to walk away, but I called after him. â€Å"What about you? Do you struggle with temptation?† He stopped walking and glanced at me over his shoulder. A small smile, rueful and sad, played at his lips as he regarded me. â€Å"Of course. You are my great temptation, and you know it. I'd like to be free of that as well.† â€Å"Are you sure?† I asked softly. Shaking his head, still smiling, he left the garden. That had been our last truly happy day together†¦. Back in the present, in bed, sleepiness started to take over and interrupt my recollections. I put a bookmark in my thoughts, reluctant to leave the memory of when life with Andrew had still been sweet and good. I hadn't been able to stop that story's ending, but as I rolled over and studied Seth's sleeping form, I vowed history wouldn't repeat itself.

Reading Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 34

Reading Response - Essay Example In this film, director Lourdes Portillo shows various testimonies from the victims’ families, which, if only used properly, can help catch the real criminal/criminals. The film also indicates a possible collusion between the police and the criminals, where it is highly probable that some of the police are rapists too, since they have not duly resolved this long-standing investigation. Unfortunately, the local and central government are blind and deaf to the pleas of families, friends, and supporters of the deceased. To make matters worse, the cosmetics industry, through MAC and its collaboration with Rodarte, shows either apathy or absurdity in creating a cosmetics line called â€Å"Juarez.† Julianne Hing reports how consumers negatively reacted to the line. I appreciate that beauty and fashion bloggers made an outcry against this tasteless beauty line. These works underscore how insane these killings are because they reveal the ugliness of gender and social class codes and the ugliness of beauty brands. These works are connected to the social construction of gender, specifically, the visibility and invisibility of gender. Judith Lorber, in â€Å"Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender,† talks about how society creates and reinforces gender through different social, economic, political, and legal structures. Lorber stresses that â€Å"the most powerful means of sustaining the moral hegemony of the dominant gender ideology of the dominant gender ideology is that the process is made invisible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (58). My analysis is that gender makes femininity and masculinity visible and then makes it invisible through making society accept gender beliefs and attitudes. In the case of disappearing and raped women in Juarez, their gender and social class are the main reasons that they are invisible to their government. Nieves argues for the connection between gender and lack of

Commercial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Commercial Management - Essay Example There was a big hand of volunteers and a few full time employees in the completion of Didcot railways center 2011 project. For the more professional approach for the project it was ruled by a local enterprise partnership. Moreover, it is mentioned that a project team was hired by the Great Western Society and the team was headed by specialized skills in the area of project management, procurement and infrastructure engineering. Clearly, the technical and engineering side of the project, that was quite huge, was done under the supervision of a technical expert. Similarly, there was a project manager, leading the project and giving the timelines, cost and quality indications to its team with its complete consultation. The project management outlined a detailed communication management plan for all the documentation, quality management and scope to make a standard to be followed through the project The copy of project plan and resource plan were made available to volunteers and committe e so that they can follow up to it. The plans of the project were submitted to the stakeholders in the very beginning of the project year by the team of project management. Hence, the project plan was handled by all the stakeholders, committees and employees to execute the project take the controlling measures and re-implement it under the control of project management team. To chase up the timelines and deadlines the meetings were scheduled in all the groups at the end of every week keeping in mind the availability of volunteers. Then the experts and experienced leader in their respective fields lead the areas of their concerns. In 2010, the Government assigned the duty of Tourism and Heritage Minister to John Penrose MP considering the growth in tourism industry as a key role player in economic development. The measures of the Government and overall performance of the team managed them to achieve satisfactory results and sets targets for the particular year in

Service Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Service Marketing - Essay Example Service marketing in simple terms refers to both the business-to-business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) services and involves marketing such services as financial services, telecommunication services, all kinds of hospitality services, air travel, car rental services, professional services, as well as health care services (Lovelock & Gummesson 2004, p. 21). Thus, service marketing is a variety of the expressions and approaches of marketing ideas conducted with the hope of effectiveness in conveyance of ideas to wide range of population of individuals who receive it. As this paper is emphasizing on marketing of services, it is not good to overlook the concept of â€Å"service.† Services are the diverse economic activities offered to people or parties by another person or party. They are often time-based and effective performance brings about the desired outcomes to the objects, recipients, or the other assets of interest for which the purchasers have responsibility. The service customers anticipate value from their access to labor, goods, facilities, professional skills, systems, and networks in exchange for time, money, and effort. However, service customers do not assume ownership of the diverse physical elements involved (Lovelock & Wirtz 2011, p. 35). In the present day, every business entity is interested in promoting its business with such strategies of marketing that will foster its performance via the roof. There are numerous service sector businesses plugged with techniques of product marketing and this is the prime time for them to improve their marketing performance. In fact, services are totally different from products since they are intangible. In addition, the target audience for products and services is different hence the need of applying different strategies of promotion in order to attract potential clients. For effective promotion of services in order to generate significant buzz, service marketers are encouraged to employ 7 Ps i n their strategies of service marketing mix. The 7 Ps marketing mix is an extension of the 4 Ps marketing mix, which are the known as the marketing core strategies. The purpose of this paper is to provide advice to Mr Hirohito in his new venture of starting a high street restaurant in London. The paper shall provide information of how to develop appropriate strategies aimed at extended services marketing mix. It will also provide recommendations for action and preparation and presentation of informed, systematic, and effective marketing report as the basis for marketing decisions. Background Information: Hirohito Yamachu set up Wakaba Ltd, a London-based food company, in 2009 after being made redundant while working as head chef in Bank of Japan’s staff restaurant. The main business of Wakaba Ltd is involved in the supply of ready-to-eat ‘sushi’ meals and cooked Japanese cuisine to staff via company canteens in London City area. Currently, the business prides in its list of clients, which includes J P Morgan, Bank of Japan, Barclays, Chase Manhattan, and City Corp. While working there, his cooking was loved and much favored by the employees of the company unlike most of the other staff canteens. CEOs and senior managers even invited business clients, relations, and friends from outside for lunch in the staff restaurant. In 2008, unfortunately, Hirohito Yamachu became a casualty as the restructuring plan of the company as well as the ensuing BPR exercise reached an agreement of outsourcing in-house catering facilities. Termination of his career made him to establish his own business. Bank of Japan became his first client, as he did not need much introduction or serious marketing efforts. His cooking was done at his home with the aid of some family members

Reducing your Carbon Footprint Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reducing your Carbon Footprint - Assignment Example 2) As indicated above, my CO2 emissions are above the average of Americans mainly in home energy where they stand at 66%. There are different measures that I can take in order to reduce CO2 emissions at home. For instance, I need to resort to methods such as using solar power for heating purposes of water. I also need to make sure that I switch off all electrical gadgets that are not in use at a particular moment. I also need to seriously take into consideration elements such as recycling of waste products. The other important step that I can take is to avoid using fossil fuels for energy at home for different purposes such as heating water. These fossil fuels emit large quantities of carbon dioxide and these emissions negatively impact on the environment and climate at large. Instead of resorting to artificial cooling systems is homes such as air conditioning, I can resort to open windows during the day for fresh air since this helps to reduce the quantity of CO2 emissions into the environment. There are CO2 gases that are emitted into the atmosphere during the air conditioning process. 3) The emissions of the average American are way above that of the world average mainly as a result of industrial activity. America is a heavily industrialized country and a lot of fossil fuels are used as energy in the industries. America also has a large population of automobiles that use fossil fuels as their major source of power. Combustible fuels such as oil, petrol kerosene among others produce large volumes of carbon dioxide when they are used for different industrial purposes. Excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the atmospheres is detrimental since it leads to global warming (Waugh, 196). This entails that excessive heat is trapped in the atmosphere and this condition can lead to climate change. Perennial droughts and floods are likely to be experienced in different parts of the globe and

What Ties Mary Shelly's Frankenstein to Tony Morrison's Sula Essay

What Ties Mary Shelly's Frankenstein to Tony Morrison's Sula - Essay Example This novel compares to Tony Morrison’s Sula, written in 1978. The two books have strikingly similar themes, such as Family, mystery, the pursuit of knowledge, unconventional thought and love and romance. The theme of family ties seems to best join the two novels, since it is at the heart of this theme that the novels unravel. Both Shelley and Morrison seem top agree that the family is a very important institution in the society, and that its choice to accept or reject a person has serious implications on the person’s self worth, conduct and final outcome. For instance, both novels reveal that the family is the most important social order. Shelley’s Frankenstein’s begins with a narration by Robert Walton, an unsuccessful author who, in pursuit of fame, sets out on a scientific exploration of the Polar North. Captain Walton is writing a letter to his sister, Madam Margaret Walton Saville. The letter ends up being the novel Frankenstein. By indicating Waltonà ¢â‚¬â„¢s background, Shelley accounts for the inconsistencies and discontinuities seen in his narrative letter. On the other hand, Morrison’s introduction of the Bottom, the area where Sula is set brings about a slave and his master. The slave hopes to attain a reward from his master, who has become his family. The master points to the hills, the Bottomland. The authors could not have found a stronger way to introduce their stories. Shelley’s introduction of a captain talking to his sister foreshadows the close ties to be identified later in the novel. Similarly, Morrison’s introduction foreshadows the future issues which will arise from family ties. Captain Walton explains the story of Victor as received from a dying Victor Frankenstein. It will be noted that almost throughout the novel, Shelley introduces a character by first stating their family background. Victor’s birth in a wealthy family from Geneva, as well as that of his brothers Ernest and Willi am point to his current situation. The death of his mother just before he joins the University inspires him to venture in to researches in Alchemy, Chemistry and Physical Sciences. He is more fascinated with how such sciences can be used to bring back the dead. Shelley’s connection of Victor’s mother’s death to his ambitious pursuits in the University has significance in bringing coherence to her storyline. It is also a statement that circumstances affecting our beloved ones affect our life choices. Little is said about his brothers, which is understandable in a novel setting. On the other hand, in Sula, the background of the protagonist, Nel, and antagonist, Sula, take a similar perspective. The ... chapter contrasts the families of the two. Nel’s family upholds conventional living to the latter. The family wants her to lead a similar life, but she is not decided, even after meeting her unconventional grandmother. Sula’s family is the exact opposi te of Nel’s family. Her promiscuous mother and grandmother, as well as her three adopted brothers, the deweys represent an unconventional family. Nevertheless, Nel and Sula become fierce friends in their adolescence. Morrison uses the family to show how our personality types, life beliefs and philosophies are shaped. Similarly, the contrast builds in to his conflict and later resolution.